Saturdays are now Tabaturdays in HMCS Calgary

Two sailors in Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Calgary are hosting a different type of workout class on their ship: Tabata, a form of high-intensity interval training that uses many small sets of a wide variety of exercises.

'When I joined the military I was out of shape but I met people, learned a lot from them and eventually I really got into fitness and now I want to share that experience with others,' said Sailor 1st Class (S1) Michael Moores.

Every class has a new theme; one of which was superheroes featuring a Superman pose core exercise, a Wonder Woman lasso exercise where a person had to pull around an 'Oscar' safety dummy with a rope and a Thor's Hammer exercise that involved pounding a pontoon with a hammer. Another was heavy metal, and not just the music - each exercise involved a steel plate.

'Group fitness is a way to make getting into shape and learning about fitness manageable and it helps hold you accountable because others are there to cheer you on.'

'The most interesting thing about Tabata is that it incorporates all different types of exercises. Whether its weight training, cross fit, cardio, martial arts - you can include anything,' said S1 Logan Hunder who is hosting Tabata classes with S1 Moores.

The two sailors met at Esquimalt, B.C., in 2018 and bonded over their shared interested of eating healthy, fitness and trying new things. Since then, they have been posted to the same ship twice, most recently to Calgary. The Tabata classes started in 2020 when Calgary sailed for approximately 50 continuous days during Covid-19 on an Operation Laser deployment.

Each Tabata class involves 14 different exercises, and these change every class. At the class, everyone gets into pairs and do seven different pairs of exercises which make for an intense hour-long workout.

Saturdays on Calgary have become Tabaturdays. Because the ship has been operating in the warm Indo-Pacific and Middle East during their current deployment on Operations Artemis and Projection, classes are usually held as early in the day as possible on the flight deck.

'They put so much work into this it's amazing - and they do it all on their own time in between watches. It's great to see this kind of effort and enthusiasm in our junior ranks,' said Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Rick Derkacz, Calgary's Operations Room Chief who is a weekly Tabata class goer.

Calgary is currently on Operation Projection and has been deployed since February 2021. Calgary and its crew are expected to return to Esquimalt, B.C., on September 1.

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