‘Tabaturdays’ on HMCS Calgary

Sailor First Class (S1) Michael Moores and S1 Logan Hunder lead Tabata workout classes on the ship’s flight deck to improve the physical fitness and well-being of the ship’s company during their deployment. Photo by Cpl Lynette Ai Dang, HMCS Calgary Imagery Technician

Capt Jeff Klassen
HMCS Calgary
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Two sailors in HMCS Calgary are hosting a different type of workout class on ship. It’s called Tabata, a form of high intensity interval training that uses many small sets of a wide-variety of exercises.

“The most interesting thing about Tabata is that it incorporates all different types of exercises. Whether its weight training, cross fit, cardio, marital arts – you can include anything,” says Sailor First Class (S1) Logan Hunder, who hosts the Tabata classes with S1 Michael Moores.

The two sailors met when they were at the same PAT platoon in Esquimalt in 2018 and bonded over their shared interest of eating healthy, fitness, and trying new things. They were posted to the same ship twice, most recently to Calgary.

The Tabata classes started in 2020 when Calgary sailed for 50 continuous days on an Operation Laser deployment during COVID-19.

“At that point, we didn’t know how long we were going to be at sea, so we wanted something that would help motivate us so we could sustain an interesting and useful fitness routine,” says S1 Hunder. “It works because it allows us to continue to try new and interesting routines.”

Each Tabata class involves 14 different exercises, and these change every class. At the class, everyone pairs up and starts with two exercises. They do 60 seconds of working out, and then 20 seconds rest, three times for each exercise. This is followed by a 60 second rest before swapping to another exercise. There are seven pairs of exercises in total making for one heck of an intense hour-long workout.

Calgary now hosts Tabata Tuesdays, Tabata Thursdays, and Saturdays have become ‘Tabaturdays’. Because the ship is currently on Operations Artemis and Projection in the warm Indo-Pacific and Middle East, they usually host classes as early in the day as possible on the flight deck.

Every class has a new theme. For example, there was a superhero theme where the exercises included a Superman pose core exercise; a Wonder Woman lasso exercise where a person had to pull around an ‘Oscar’ dummy with a rope; and a Thor’s hammer exercise that involved pounding a pontoon with a hammer. The soundtrack for the classes were superhero themed songs. Another Tabata class theme was heavy metal, and not just the music – each exercise involved a steel plate.

“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 First Class Rick Derkacz, Calgary’s Operations Room Chief and weekly Tabata class goer.

Why do they put so much effort into it?

“When I joined the military I was out of shape but I met people, learned a lot from them, and eventually I became really into fitness and now I want to share that experience with others,” says S1 Moores. “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. It’s just a great feeling helping others.”

Calgary is currently on Operation Projection and participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre. The ship has been deployed since February 2021 and is expected to return to Esquimalt in September.

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