Location: Hunter Boulevard, so grassy and lush this time of year!
Weather: Cool and overcast, perfect burpee weather!
Buds: 2, Teresa and Marty
Willing Buds: Zero!
High points: Hellos from Gretl and Erin!

Today we did a bastardized Tabata workout (What are Tabatas? Check out our Tabata video, here!). We used the Tabata timer to complete 9 sets,  followed by three sprints. The emphasis, as you can see, was burpees. In the end, we managed to do 112 burpees. OMG. I'm so proud of us!

Tabata Sets:
1.  All burpees
2.  twizzlers and hip thrusts
3. Burpees and push ups
4. Jane Fonda leg lifts (various)
5. Burpess and mountain climbers
6. Lunges and squats
7. Burpees and ski-skates
8. Jane Fonda leg lifts (you're welcome, Teresa!)
9.  All burpees

I don't want to belabor the point, but that's 112 burpees.  112. Did I mention, one hundred and twelve burpees? Right off the bat, I told Marty and Teresa that maybe I wouldn't give them the entire rundown of the workout up front, because really, who wants to know that they're about to do 112 burpees?

The Trick
Instead, I asked them (and myself) to do just 4 burpees for each 20-second period. A Tabata has 8 periods so we did 32 burpees in the first and 7th Tabatas and 16 in the 3rd, 5th and 7th Tabatas. Voila! 112 burpees!

Notes
It would be crazy to attempt 9 all-out Tabatas. In fact, we used the Tabata timer but paced ourselves through those burpees, doing just 4 per 20-second period. Also, we chilled by doing things like Jane Fonda leg lifts between sets. (Still, we did 112 burpees. Yes!)

Warning
Don't rush out and do 112 burpees. Also, it's important to do burpees right. Take a look at this from The New York Times.

Okay, folks! Here's the latest from my workout log. The Brutal Bowl is a hill sprinting workout that takes advantage of a quirk of Seattle geography: streets that run alongside a hill that, instead of running strictly parallel, form more of a bowl shape. This creates an awesome loop for running, because you have a long, intense hill on one side, An even longer flat recovery jog, and a rather steep, somewhat shorter recover walk back to the lowest point of that hell hill! It makes for a great HIIT workout. Marty and I did five of these and finished with a few sets of arm moves featuring a glorious view of a very sparkly Lake Washington. Whew!

Have you got bowls where you live? Try the Brutal Bowl and report back for some hearty congratulations!