Tabata and Grace

There’s nothing more motivating then trying to workout and having your kiddo yelling at you that you’re not trying hard enough or going fast enough. I have to be honest it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. She’s normally sitting, I mean of course right, she wouldn’t actually BE working out, and typically she’s having a snack. The whole time she’s enjoying her leisurely moment, she’s yelling at you that you should be going faster and doing more. I have to say when she does this, I fast forward like 20 years in my mind and see her doing something like motivational speaking or fitness instruction or something. That kiddo does NOT suffer fools easily and needless to say she does not easily accept people’s excuses as reasons to avoid doing the work.

So I’ve learned when I work out, if she’s watching me, that I’m either going to get heckled (while having to take breaks to tickle her), or my workout needs to be as quick as possible because she’ll get over me doing my own thing quickly. We are at that age after all where she wants me to be at her beckon call, for her convenience so me doing my own thing doesn’t tend to last very long.

Which means when I’m working out at home, it’s usually a HIIT workout, normally Tabata (because that’s my favorite interval) and I’m done in less than 10 minutes. Tabata means that the work interval is twice as long as the rest interval, traditionally it’s done as 20 seconds of work and then 10 seconds of rest, but really you could make the interval be any length you wanted, as long as the rest is half as long. So one work interval and one rest constitutes a round and you do that 8 to 10 times. Your goal is to get as many repetitions as you can during the work interval. It’s the perfect interval for kids, I’m actually almost convinced that whoever invented it had a toddler running around their feet.

The best part about Tabata is it never gets easier and you can repeat the same workout because every single day (and your subsequent performance) will be totally different.

Here’s a fun one for you:

8 to 10 rounds:

20 seconds of work: Jump Squats

10 seconds of rest: Burpees