Tabata in Columbus

Week 4: Bummer

2008-07-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

I did my own Tabata bike workout on Monday, doing three rounds of sprints to make up for the lack of workouts over the weekend due to moving to a new place.

I couldn't make Tuesday's class and when I showed up bleary-eyed on Wednesday, there was a surprise: Melanie no longer works at the gym.

Long story short, we will pick up Week 5 next week somewhere else. But this week was not as intense as it should have been. On Wednesday I did the workout on my own, and I will go again today and maybe tomorrow.

I did weigh myself, and the good news is that in the first three weeks of Tabata, I lost just over two pounds! My clothes fit better already and I'm thrilled with that.

Let's hope I can keep it up after Week 5 is over!

Week 3, Day 4: Let's not do that again

2008-06-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, 4 days in one week is more than enough. Either I'm going to lose a lot of weight or I'm going to die.

Melanie stuck with the 3 sprint rounds today but said, "just for fun!", let's try something else. The first two sprints weren't too bad, even breaking through up to 15 and back down. That's fine.

And then the last sprint. Well, it was only one sprint for 20 seconds. BUT it was at level 20. Yeah. Our RPMs, which were hovering around 95 for some of the up and down sprints, suddenly plunged to about 45.

It was like peddling through molasses.

Again, sheer silence as we felt our jelly legs slide away from our bodies when it was over.

And with that, we were done for the week, and with week 3.

A few of my classmates had Melanie weigh them before class and all were pleased with their results so far. I'm waiting until the end of week 5, so if I survive, any weight lost will just be icing on the cake that I shouldn't be eating!

Week 3, Day 3: Holy Cow!

2008-06-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day I seriously thought about skipping Tabata.

After a crazy night of thunderstorms, which scared me as much as it did my 2 year old and the dog, I was in no mood to get up when the alarm went off at 6 a.m. So I didn't.

Then I woke up in a panic and looked at the clock. 6:18. The gym is only 2 minutes away so technically I could make it, if I could get out of bed. I rolled over and closed my eyes.

And then Melanie's face appeared before me, hovering in a spooky way with that look of disappointment and thought of "you're only hurting yourself." So I rushed out a bed, grabbed a handful of almonds and got on my bike just in time for the torture to begin.

And her 'promise' from yesterday to give us three rounds of sprints came true. The first two were fine; we are all strong by now. But that third one, yikes. We started at level 9 and increased a level with each sprint until we hit level 15. And then we collapsed on our bikes.

As Melanie said though, three weeks ago we couldn't have pushed through a level 15, even for one sprint, and now we have.

Tomorrow will be our fourth day in a row this week. I'm going to need a nap....

Week 3, Day 2: No Talking

2008-06-25T05:33:00.000-07:00

You know we're working hard when at the end of the first set of sprints, there is no talking. No jokes, no laughing. We are all breathing hard and feeling the pain.

We are halfway through this five-week session and just as we are feeling strong, two things will happen:

1) we will have four sessions this week

2) Melanie is going to add a third set of sprints to tomorrow's workout because it's looking too easy for us

All I can say is that it was definitely tough to get out of bed for this morning's workout and so I can only imagine how hard tomorrow's will be, given all that there is to look forward to!

Week 3, Day 1

2008-06-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling stronger but Melanie may just kill me.

I did the Tabata workout on my own on Sunday so that today, Tuesday, wouldn't be too bad. And it wasn't TOO bad. I feel much stronger than two weeks ago when we started but just as I get comfortable (if you can be such a thing sprinting at 6:30 in the morning), Melanie changes things up.

At the last sprint of the second set, she had us lift out of our seats - like a traditional "jump" in Spinning class. Ugh.

And then, because next Friday is the holiday, we will hold our make-up class this Thursday, so, as Melanie points out, we get to see her for four straight days this week.

I don't mind seeing her that often but my legs might protest!

Week 2, Day 3: Riding the Pain

2008-06-20T05:29:00.000-07:00

I realized this morning that I forgot to blog after Wednesday's class. This is probably due to two reasons:

--the shock from someone walking on my stomach
--the fatigue from my personal training session with Melanie immediately following the Tabata class

On Tuesday, Melanie had joked that she liked to line people up sometimes and walk across their abs. So on Wednesday that's what she did.

There on the floor, seven of us lined up like ties on railroad track, Mel told us to tighten our abs. I was smack in the middle of the track and when she got to me, moving so quickly across us, I must have let go of the 'tightening' because Mel catapulted off of me, touching Jamie quickly and landing on the floor.

She skipped Laura completely at the end. But so she wouldn't feel left out, Mel returned to step on Laura before breaking out in laughter.

I hadn't realized that I un-tightened but I'm fairly sure that it was from the shock of feeling a sneaker on my stomach, and the weight of a person in that sneakers. Yikes! I think my ribs are broken!

Follow that up with a personal training session with Melania, focusing on legs, and I was knocked out. Literally. I had to lie down with my legs up at one point so I wouldn't faint. Melanie and I agree that it was due to not eating enough before class. That, oh, and the fact that I haven't ever worked my body this hard in my life.

So today my legs, even two days later, felt like lead during Tabata. But as tired as I am, I do feel stronger and leaner already and, maybe in a few weeks, ready to have someone walk across my stomach again.

Week 2, Day 1: Laughing

2008-06-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

Who knew I could laugh so much at 6:30 a.m.?

Two good parts today, in between being ready to pass out at Level 10, resting at Level 9.

First, out of six people in the class, two rode on recumbent bikes rather than uprights. Those of us on the uprights might have thought for a second that other other ones were easier (and maybe just a bit inclined to use them tomorrow). But watching those two grunt and sweat, it was quickly apparent that perhaps the recumbents were just a tad bit harder. So I'll keep my upright, thank you very much.

Watching Joshua on his recumbent getting up to 120 rpms at Level 12, and then Richard up at 130 rpms, I see how much bigger the men's leg muscles are, especially compared to me and Corey slugging it out at Level 10 and struggling for 108 rpm. It's not a competition with anyone but myself but the boys' muscles are bigger.

But Corey did us girls proud, and made me laugh again during our post-workout stretch. When the boys grunted and groaned into position, Corey easily stretched out and touched her toes, saying something like "If I can't be the fastest on the bike, I can stretch the best."

Hearty laughs all around as we all recovered from another grueling workout.

Day 3 Video: Red in the Face

2008-06-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

This is video of me at our Tabata class, day 3. I would have said hello to the camera if I could catch my breath.

By the way, have I mentioned that this class is held at 6:30 a.m.?!

Day 3: I get it now

2008-06-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

I see how this is going to work.

Last Tuesday was at Level 9 sprints. Wednesday was Level 9. Today was Level 10 - our "breakthrough" day.

When the first sprint of the first round of interval comes, I'm ready. I'm out the gate like gangbusters. RPMs are high, around 118, I'm feeling good. 20 seconds, no problem.

Rest for 10 seconds (feels like 2), then second sprint. OK, not as fast, RPMs a little slower. By the end of the last interval, I'm dog tired.

At this point, Melanie says anything above 100 RPMs is good. For me, the ability to breathe at this point would be good.

Here comes the second set. There's not much chatter or laughing now as Melanie exhorts us to beat Joshua's RPMs of 123 (he's two bikes over and the only guy in our group of four today). I get up to 120 on the first interval after the rest, but after that, lucky to break 114.

Being such a goal-oriented person, I'm just looking toward the last interval. And of course that's when Melanie says to do the last interval at Level 12, "just for fun." Luckily, none of us had enough breath left to swear out loud.

So that's how it's going to be. Wednesdays we'll feel just the slightest bit comfortable and then, bam! Friday comes along and we breakthrough, just for fun.

Tabata: Day 2

2008-06-11T05:39:00.000-07:00

Day 2 was better and worse.

I wasn't so much sore as I was fatigued. Warming up on the bike before the sprint, I thought "maybe this won't be so bad," but as soon as we started the first sprint, my thighs' reaction was "are you kidding me with this??"

Yes, dear thighs, I have not worked you like this since...well, probably ever. Asking you to sprint one day is one thing, doing it a second day in a row, I can see why you are complaining.

But my recovering heart rate, after the two rounds of intervals, was lower that it was yesterday, so that already is an improvement. And I didn't fall off the bike, so I consider that a major victory.

Bottom line: my legs are thrilled that tomorrow is a day of rest before we are back on the bikes Friday.

Tabata Class: Week 1, Day 1

2008-06-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

It's been ten minutes since I got out of my post-Tabata shower and I'm still sweating.

It was that good.

I moved to Columbus, Ohio, last Tuesday, joined Lifestyle Family Fitness (Henderson) on Friday, and found myself this morning at 6:30 a.m. doing a killer workout called the Tabata protocol.

The personal trainer who sweet-talked me into talking this class, Melanie Dana, has a killer body and was able to keep smiling as she told us how hard this five-week class would be. I was (and am) ready to get my butt kicked to lose the thirty pounds I've been carrying around since my daughter's birth (she'll be 3 in the fall). So there I was, with four other people, sweating it out on stationary bikes at the crack of dawn this morning.

Tabata promises a great workout in just 14 minutes. Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is, but I have to agree that I worked harder in the time that Melanie pushed me this morning that I probably have since high school (and that was 20 years ago).

(Read more at: The secret of Tabata: this 14-minute workout may be the best you've ever had!
Men's Fitness, May, 2004, by Alex Koch)

The structure is interval training: 20-second bursts of speed followed by 10 seconds of rest at a slightly lower intensity. It can be done with biking, running, swimming, etc. While my "burst of speed" definitely won't break any records, the class did kick my butt and I'm prepared to kick butt right back.

Good thing too, as we do it again tomorrow at 6:30 a.m.