I was listening to another James Altucher podcast the other day when his guest, Shawn Stevenson, mentioned a “tabata” (aka HIIT) workout almost in passing. But what caught my attention was the 4 minute duration! Given that, how could I not give this a try…

If you want a quick primer (and it’s really simple) you can check out this link, but basically all you’re doing is 20 seconds at max intensity followed by 10 seconds of rest then repeat that 8 times.

Now, don’t go trying to count the time in your head. Instead get an interval timer like the aptly named “Interval Timer” for audio and visual queues.

Once you have the interval timer setup here’s some suggestions (yes, I realize some are not really aerobic and purests may balk but I don’t care)…

• Sprints (yeah, that’s it. But it’s only 4 minutes)
• Lap/Length in the pool (this one the timer may not work so great for, but 20 seconds is about how long it takes me to do a lap/length – depending on pool size)
• Curls, air squats, pushups, situps (x2)

Other things you might throw in the mix could be jumping rope, running in place, jumping jacks, or anything else that gets you moving. Google Tabata or HIIT for other ideas. Let me know how it goes if you give it a try!