After Cary’s cycling class ends at 9:40, I head up to the pool deck to help out with the bubble take down. I arrive at a good point because the crew (about twenty guys and a couple of gals) has just begun pulling the material. The bubble weights around 4,000 pounds and the only way to move it around is to assemble a bunch of willing bodies and start pulling.
I’m well warmed up from the cardio workout so I grab a “C” clamp and take my place on the line. Everyone complains about bubble day but the truth is when we have a good crew, like we do today, it’s actually fun. We’ve learned over time that it works best if one person calls out the commands to pull and when we all act in unison, we can move a lot of weight. Our de facto foreman is Club Manager Mary Olson’s husband Gary. Gary’s been an integral part of the bubble crews at both clubs for umpteen years and he understands the process really well. He’s also spent enough time in the military to understand the importance of teamwork and he does a great job of leading us.
We make record time today and have the bubble completely rolled up and put on the pallet by 10:45 a.m. All that’s left is to take off the pool cover, replace all deck chairs and lifeguard stands and we’re back in business. We’ll have the pool back open shortly after noon, which has never happened before – yippee.
Cary’s class and bubble duty serve as my ‘warm up’ for Carla’s TBC class, which starts at noon. TBC (Total Body Conditioning) has a well deserved reputation as one of the toughest classes on the schedule but I like it because it’s filled with variety.
I talk my volleyball buddy David McFatrich, who’s been helping out on the bubble crew along with his son Luke, to come take TBC with me. I know that Dave’s working out hard for the summer beach volleyball season and he’s still got about fifteen pounds to lose, he says. This workout is right up his alley.
It’s a beautiful day outside and Carla has us begin by taking about a twelve-fifteen minute run around the Club and through an adjoining subdivision. We finish this warm up by doing lunges up the infamous Peckerwood Rd., which runs along the south side of the Club.
When we get inside, Carla herds us down to the gym floor where we are divided into teams of three. We begin things with a relay where we take a 25-pound plate weight, wrap it in a towel and place it on the wood floor. The goal is to push the plate from one side of the gym to the other where our teammate is waiting to ‘run’ the second leg. Each teammate is to run/push the weight a total of four times.
Carla running a class through drills
I get very low to the ground when I take my turn and this allows me the best angle to push and so I’m able to move along pretty quickly. Since I’m already down so low, it only seems natural, albeit a little show-offy, to dive across the line. I do this the first time without a problem but on the second lap I bang my knee on the floor and I wince in pain. I’m wondering if I’ve done serious damage and I’m feeling extra stupid for this sophmorish move. After a few seconds I realize that my knee is probably not maimed but I know it’s going to be sore. No more diving on this relay.
Carla has us do a few more relays like this including one where each team gets a yoga blanket and the race is to drag a teammate who’s sitting on the blanket across the floor before changing riders until everyone’s been a rider for two times. This relay is great fun when you’re getting the ride across the floor and considerably less fun when you’re towing big guys like Dave or Chris Norwood (my teammates).
After the session in the gym we move into the Group Ex studio where we divide into pairs. In this exercise one person balances on the Bosu ball (flat side up) while doing squats and chest presses with hand weights while the other person does squat lunges (I call these ‘burpees’). We alternate back and forth for different lengths of time as called by Carla and with essentially no rest between sets. This goes on for what seems like a long time.
Squat on Bosu ball (flat side up)
We finish up class with a hard set of abs where we again alternate stations with a partner. Several times during the ab workout I have to rest because I’m seriously out of gas.
Carla’s workouts are always inventive and ‘fun’ in a sweat-drenching sort of way. It’s also fun for me because I know a number of the Carla-ites like Lori Millner, Tricia Buchman, Michele Langston and Chris Norwood because they hardly ever miss one of her classes including the noon M/W bike classes that I’m also a regular in.
Checking the numbers I see that in 56 minutes I burn 571 calories with an average heart beat of 128 and a max of 152.
There are twelve gung ho sorts in class – all women except for me, Dave and Chris. The $25 gift certificate goes to Karen Jo Trulock.
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