Let’s get physical!
I don’t like working out. There. I’ve said it. I don’t get that runner’s high. I don’t feel deprived when I can’t go to the gym. And I’m not a fan of residual sweat on the Nautilus machines. I mean, ick.
But at the same time, I’m not keen on having flabby thighs and a monster butt. So I’ve come to accept that some level of working out is necessary. I should probably say that I have no problems with being physical. Hauling wheelbarrows full of gravel into my back yard, digging up weeds, riding my bike for long distances, hiking in the park, swimming — these are all Good Things. But, alas, the Good Things aren’t enough. To whittle away butt-and-thigh, some more focused work needs to be done.
Since I’m not the insane amazing Julia London who purposefully runs long distances (without a bad guy chasing her!) and actually seems to enjoy it, I have to get more creative. And, yay, I’ve figured out what works for me! Tabata sprints and Body By Science. In BIS, you use the machines to lift weights to failure. So, basically, you’re lifting for probably a minute. I do the five basic machines. And then, whoo-hoo, I’m done! (the only hard thing is writing it all down and adjusting the machine each time. Hard being a relative term. As in, hard for us lazy folks who wish we could afford a trainer to follow us like a puppy dog and do that for us.)
But it’s Tabata sprints that I really, really love. I have a Tabata Timer app (it was free!) on my iPhone and that makes it super easy. 
With Tabata, the idea is 4 minutes of 20 seconds like a bat out of hell, and then 10 seconds of nada. So I do one set (8 reps of the 20/10–the App does the counting down for you and beeps when it’s time to switch) on a bike, then 1 set on the floor with crunches, pushups, lunges, squats and deadlifts. And then one set on the track. I can run if it’s only for 4 minutes with breaks every 20 seconds. So 12 minutes of workout, plus the minimal between time. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But trust me when I say that you really feel it. Now I just have to stick with it …
How about the rest of y’all? What’s your exercise of choice? Have you done the Tabata thing? How’d it work out for you?
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