I am sure some will disagree with this, but IMHO:
If you want maximum benefit from Tabata or HIIT:
1. you must sprint, not bike or swim or eliptical or treadmill or anything else. The human body evolved to run: to catch food and away from danger. No other body movement has the same cardio benefits or the same beneficial hormone enhancing benefits which maximize fat loss and cardiovascular improvement.
2. You must sprint @ 100%, and only until you have to slow down. Anything more than that and you are doing Interval Training NOT HIGH INTENSITY Interval Training or Tabata. For most people that is only about 100M or 10-20 seconds.
That said, almost any exercise is better than no exercise, and the best exercise for you is the one you will do consistantly for the rest of your life.
So if the cardio glide is all you have to work with, use it, and experiment with what regimen on it works best for you.
