Tabata

Moving to South Carolina meant a lot of changes, obviously. I still haven't found a place to get my hair done (my roots look ridiculous right now) or to get manicures and pedicures. I'm still on the job hunt. Perhaps most importantly, I have to find a new go-to restaurant. I was told there was a Chili's here, only to arrive and learn that this was extremely false. The closest Chili's is in Savannah!

Lately I've been looking for a new place to work out. I was going to Bodhi Hot Yoga in Stuart. It's a power vinyasa class, which is basically cardio yoga. It was an ideal work out for me. I feel awkward lifting weights at the gym, and classes motivate me more than working out alone. I tried the two yoga places in town, and realized that yoga and cardio do not mix in this town. As a result, I joined the only local gym, the YMCA.

The Y offers a schedule every month that has a list of classes and times. At the bottom of this list is a brief description of each class. I tried a few of the classes, but I kept noticing a class called "Tabata" on the schedule that didn't have a description. I brought up to my friend Melanie who is also a member of the Y. "There's a class on the Y schedule, that doesn't have a description. I'm not really sure how you pronounce it," I said.
"Oh my God, It's Tabata, right? The reason they don't give a description is because if there was one, no one would ever go to that class," Melanie informed me. (Tabata is pronounced Ta-bot-uh) She went on to describe a class that did everything in 20 second intervals. You do an exercise hard core for 20 seconds and then have a 20 second break. This didn't sound too bad to me. Half the class you spend taking a break. Perfect!

A few days later, another woman convinced me that this class was amazing, so I went with her and tried it. IT WAS AWFUL! We started out doing jumps with one foot on a Burpee ball and the other on the ground. We did the 20 second Tabata intervals four times on each side. The 20 seconds that I thought would be breaks in between, were instead spent running in place or doing squats. Twenty minutes into the hour long class, I decided that I hated the instructor and whoever invented this terrible class. Ten minutes later the instructor said that these "break work outs" were optional. I hated her even more now for not telling us that initially. Somehow I managed to survive the class, probably because I was physically incapable of doing as many push ups as possible in eight Tabata intervals. I did about 5 push ups all together, so I got a pretty good break during this 5 minute 20 second period.

After the class, I actually felt really good! I convinced myself that I would try Tabata again, because it was the only class I've found that really makes me feel like a did something worthwhile. Tabata was a great discovery!

I haven't been back. My calves hurt for the next five days, and going up or down stairs was unbearable. I still plan on trying Tabata again but only when there's time for post-Tabata stretching. Also, only if I can convince myself to go through that torture again.

Never take a class at the gym that does not provide a description. Hopefully, finding a new hair stylist won't be such an awful experience.