How does one pull off HITT training at the gym? Im mean, just run as fast as you can for 60 seconds than jump on the outside ledges and slow it down? Way to hard to be hitting the decrease speed button while sprinting at 7.5-8.0mph
The whole key to HIIT style cardio is simply jacking your heart rate and in turn oxygen use. You dont need a treadmill or a bike to do this. There are a ton of ways to do it with bodyweight exercises or light weights.
Also, for tabatta style 60 seconds is likely too long to push 100%.
Try something like this, jump rope for 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds for 4 minutes, then find a bench and two foot jump up onto bench and down fully opening hips at the top or in the air as your coming down, 30 seconds on 30 second rest for 4 minutes. If you are jumping rope as fast as you can and jumping up on the bench as fast as you can those 8 minutes will kick your ass.
You also dont have to have a rest in there. find yourself a little space next to a pull up bar and start your watch. Do 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 deep squats with no weight and repeat that as many times as you can in 20 minutes and when your done tell me it didnt kick your ass.
Checkout the crossfit website for a list of their daily workout and try some of them. They wont get you jacked in terms of overall mass or anything but they burn fat like crazy. The added endurance and changes that happen to the body for those short duration heart pounding workouts also benefit your your mass and strength workout because your VO2max goes up and your body becomes crazy efficient at fueling your muscles all without jacking up muscle ravaging cortisol levels that standard moderate intensity cardio tedium workouts do.