Yesterday I had the chance to try a group workout with Kyle
from Off The Wall Fitness. I had been
introduced to them via a tent during the 3W Six Pack Series. They were popular not only for their service,
but also the portable propane heater. As
I have been interested in shaking things up, I put my name on the list for a
complimentary workout.
The studio is nestled into an industrial complex in
Broomfield, which is ideal for these group workouts. There is no sense in me paying for extra
overhead. I arrived at about 4:15 PM for
a 4:30 PM session and warmed up with some jump rope and stretching.
The workout officially started with a warm up of 10
pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 10 jumping jacks, 10 kick throughs and 10 arm
swings. They had these resistance bands
which made it possible for me to do 10 pull-ups, otherwise I would not have
made it past my usual 3.
Next was the core workout.
One day a week, they do a test set.
I was “lucky” enough to schedule my initial session during the test
set. It was a series of Cross fit
sit-ups, Burpees, Walking Lunges and Double Unders preceded by either a 100
yard out and back run (down the stairs to a truck across the parking lot) or 30
second wall sit. The number of
repetitions was 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The full test set would therefore include 55 of each exercise 5 runs and
5 wall sits. Needless to say it was
brutal. Of 6 people in the class, the
winner came in at 25 minutes, I was dead last at 38 minutes, but within a
couple of minutes of fifth place. The
double unders were demoralizing as it was either the prescribed number or
double the prescribed number of attempts.
The early finishers had the luxury of doing some core work
while everybody was finishing up.
Once recovered and hydrated, the balance of the hour was
Tabata Abs, which consisted of 3 sets of 3 exercises (Bicycles, Planks, Leg
Lifts) 20 seconds ON and 10 seconds OFF.
This may not sound like much but the 3rd set was a killer.
The class was well organized with friendly folks. It was half men and half women. The girls seemed younger, but I was in a
similar age range with the guys. The
exercises were explained clearly and Kyle kept an eye on us the whole time.
The membership costs are steep, but the personalized
attention is a perk. Membership options
include drop in, punch card and monthly plans for 3, 4 or unlimited classes per
week. Class sizes are capped at 12 and
reservations are expected.
I would go back, but today my shoulders and abs are
cautioning me to wait a couple of days.
2 comments:
Sounds like a BRUTAL workout! It seems like it would be really beneficial though, to help strengthen the core and other muscles. Is it considered a Crossfit gym?
It is a fitness studio. It appears the guys background is corporate fitness center.
My lats are still killing me.
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