Insanity Max:30 Tabata Strength Review

Tonight was my first go with Tabata Strength and it did not disappoint. When I first read the description in the DVD box it said that it was Tabata with no rest periods and that sort of concerned me - one of the reasons why I love Tabata-style workouts is because the short length of time, plus the brief break makes me feel like I can go all out the entire time and really get in a good workout. Well, I'm happy to report that there ARE breaks but they definitely are not as frequent as with the Tabata Power workout - but I will say that they fall at an appropriate time and do not make things completely unmanageable.

My Max Out time for this one was 13:20 which is rather high and I was very surprised that I made it that far! Insanity Max:30 is changing my mindset - which is the same thing the original Insanity did. It is helping breakdown so many mental blocks. There were many times during this workout that I was like "You will max out the next set of reps you do" and then I'd hear the countdown beats and buzzer and say to myself "Holy crap you made it through another round". Then the mind shift came "You will make it through another round" and I kept going. When I maxed out though, I MAXED OUT. It was odd - I thought I would max out in the push up series as I wasn't modifying them and push ups aren't a strong suit of mine - not even when I teach my Insanity class - but where I maxed out was some plyo lunges which ARE my strong suit! Very odd, but I'll take a 13:20 max out time (I want to point out here that maxing out earlier is best as it means you are pushing yourself to the max the entire time. In this case, I was doing just that without modifying HOWEVER I teach Insanity as a live class multiple times a week, so my endurance for these types of movements and series may be different than the average-bear's).

My favorite move of the workout had to be the diamond jump burpee. Most people hate burpees - I love burpees. My class will tell you that :)

My least favorite move aka my new move to conquer would have to be the scissor push ups. They were so hard, and came toward the end where your body was toast but I WILL master those dang things! I think tonight I was able to do 2 and then I died - my goal is by the end of Month 1 to be able to do 6 -- which is a weird number, but just roll with me on this one.

I was really happy that I enjoyed this workout like all of the other ones. This program, is by far my favorite one to date and one that I could see doing over and over again. The original Insanity - you get through that thing once and its like "Oh jeez - I have to do it again!?" But this workout, with its sensitivity to time is one that I could see being in rotation for a long time.

Interested in learning more? Shoot me a message and lets talk to see if this program is right for you! nik4213@gmail.com

What is Tabata?

If you are like me, life can get a bit crazy leaving you almost NO time to workout at all. For those days that are even too crazy for me to put in one of my DVDs, I turn to my Office Lady Tabata workout.

Simply put, Tabata goes a little something like this:

Workout hard for 20 seconds
Rest for 10 seconds
Repeat that 8 times
1 Minute Rest in-between exercises

So for example, let's say you are doing mountain climbers. You would go hard with those for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, and then repeat that circuit 8 more times. Once finished, you get a 1 minute rest before you go onto your next exercise.

The benefits? Increased burn rate of calories and fat even when you are not working out

You can do a Tabata-style workout with basically any sort of fitness moves - upper body, lower body, cardio, you name it. They are great for when you are short on time, want a burst of energy, and need to stay on track.

Here is a sample workout that I do when I just have 20 Minutes to spare **Please note, you need to warm up, so I added in an additional set to gradually increase my heart rate and warm up the muscles**

Warm Up:
Jog (progressively faster throughout the 8 rounds to warm up, get your blood pumping, etc)

Tabata Workout:
Jumping Jacks
Speed Skaters
Floor Sprints
High Knees
Push Ups

Try this out on your lunch break and get increased calorie burn through out the day, a small ass, thinner thighs, a shrinking waste line and a burst of energy to carry you into your afternoon.

Oh, and did you know the new Insanity Max 30 has some workouts that are based off of this very model? Can't wait - increased results, increased burn, so much less TIME!!