Equinox Tabata Class Review

This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.

Today’s Class: Tabata with Lindsey Cardin

Class length: 50 minutes

Description from the Equinox: A high intensity interval workout protocol where your rest is always shorter than your work. Designed to increase athletic performance and torch calories both during class and after!

What Class Was Like

An intense cardio and strength training combination class with almost no down time between sets. Lindsey would show the class two different exercises and then we’d alternate between the two of them for a certain number of sets and then move onto the next group of two. Recovery time in between was only enough time to get in position for the next exercise or for Lindsey to demonstrate the next two exercises.

Sample Exercises

• squats with weights
• high knees combined with burpees
• deep lunges with switch jumps in between while holding weights
• mountain climbers from a high plank position
• barbell work while in bridge position
• side planks with one leg extended

All levels welcome

Ok, so all levels might be welcome but I wouldn’t recommend this class for all levels. And that’s fine, it’s good to have challenging classes at a gym for people to work up to.  But if I were Equinox I’d re-label all classes with “high intensity” in their description to Intermediate instead of All Levels Welcome. Because I’m so glad I didn’t do Tabata as my first group fitness class. I couldn’t have done a lot of the exercises. You need to be able to not just hold a high plank, but lift a barbell with one hand while doing so. I’m not sure that’s a fitness ability I’d expect of “all levels”.

It’d be neat if Equinox listed which pre-requisite skills they’d recommended for their high-intensity classes. It’s probably not necessary since I suspect most beginners would see “high intensity” and start somewhere else, but it could help people choose appropriate classes to try or work up to a class they’re interested in.

Who would love Equinox’s Tabata class?

Anyone looking for an efficient way to get cardio and strength done who wants to sweat and work hard. Tabata works a lot of different muscle groups and provides a cardio workout that’ll push you on your recovery time in between sets. (And improving your aerobic capacity is great for your running.) This was a challenging class. I remember looking at the clock and thinking “20 minutes?! I can’t make it another 30! There’d better be 15 minutes of stretching at the end of this!!!!”

But make it I did. And the next morning I felt a good level of fatigue in an impressive number of muscles but could still go for an easy run. That’s a win.

Similar classes

Similar to Stacked because it worked a lot of different muscle groups and utilized weights, but more challenging than I remember Stacked being because the cardio was a bit more intense and the recovery time less. Also reminded me a little of Damage Control.

Would I go back?

Whew. Like many of the more challenging classes, I want to say yes because I want the strength and endurance of someone who goes back! My hesitation would be that the jumping component isn’t my favorite.

But I could see myself going back. It’s amazing to have an efficient and well-balanced workout that you don’t have to plan. I walked in, I worked as hard as I could for 50 minutes, and I left having strengthened a variety of muscles and pushed my aerobic capacity.

Taking the class I felt grateful for Lindsey and other instructors at the Equinox who take the time and energy to run these classes. It’s a luxury to have someone plan a full-body workout, demonstrate the exercises, and then time your workout segments. Lindsey was subbing Tabata on Sunday for an instructor who was out, and then teaching Ab Lab, and then teaching another Tabata class. That’s a lot of demonstrating exercises and watching the clock and telling a group of people to do something else every 20 seconds. You have to be pretty “on” that whole time.

Know before you go

This is not an easy class. It might be challenging for someone who has weak wrists (burpees, high planks, side planks) or knees/ankles (lots of jumping, some weight work from a lunge position on the knees – though you could modify that.)

Music is loud enough to power you through a crazy workout – some people chose to wear earplugs.

You should bring water but you’re going to be hard pressed to find much time to drink it.