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Aerobics classes add another dimension with weighted vests
Tuesday, June 23, 1998 By Tasha Zemke, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
You're feeling heavy. Very heavy. Maybe 15 pounds heavier than your normal weight.
To make matters worse, for the next hour, you and 11 other people will complete a series of high-intensity aerobic exercises - simulated basketball jump shots, jogging in place, lunges - with the occasional 10 to 20 tricep dips and push-ups thrown in for additional agony.
"Argh," says the woman in front of you, and you can't help but notice how the occasional trickles of sweat have become steady rivulets down the gutter of her spine.
But you can't give up. Not while "Too legit to quit" by M.C. Hammer is playing. Not while you're wearing this Intensa-Fire Training Vest, which looks like a black life preserver. Only this vest would sink you in the water because it is filled with steel-lead weights.
"Don't let that weight hold you down," orders Kelly Schmidt, the Downtown Athletic Club's group exercise director.
Schmidt, 28, helped develop this Intensa-Fire Training Vest aerobic class, which she said is the first one of its kind in the country.
The vest was designed by Patrick Ott, 28, of Erie, who used it to help him build up strength on a shoulder he injured while playing football at Mercyhurst College five years ago. Using the vest strengthened his shoulder without causing stress to the muscle group.
Ott said the vest is now a conditioning staple for professional and college hockey, basketball and football teams, including the University of Pittsburgh Panthers.
"It was geared for football, but anyone can use it who wants a full body workout," he said. "Because it's placed high on the body, your abs, your lower back and your legs get a workout" and your heart rate increases.
When a friend of Ott's brought a vest to the Downtown Athletic Association, Schmidt jumped at the idea of using it and met with Ott in December to discuss incorporating the vests in an aerobics class.
The club bought the vests, which cost between $149 and $189 a piece, and Schmidt designed a high-intensity, low-impact step aerobics class with "explosive" movements.
"It's fat-burning effective, especially for large muscle groups. You feel it in your legs right away."
Like a life preserver, the rugged nylon vest slips over one's head, and side straps are tightened for a snug fit. The user then hefts the steel-lead combo weights, up to 60 pounds worth, into the vest's front and back pockets.
Schmidt said she liked the idea that people of different fitness levels could adjust the weight to meet their personal limits. Most beginners start with an unweighted vest or five pounds, and they can add weight as their strength improves. Schmidt works out using 10 pounds.
"It became popular [with members] very fast," Schmidt said. The club offers the Intensa-Fire Vest Class twice a week, and it is consistently booked.
Mary Anne Gedrock, 40, of Aspinwall, participates in the Wednesday lunch-hour class. She has been breaking away from work at her Downtown Mellon Bank office for the past six months to attend.
"It's a good overall workout, and you're beat up doing it," Gedrock said. "The weight definitely makes a difference."
Schmidt said the afternoon sessions are predominantly filled with men, which is not a common sight in aerobics classrooms.
"The vests look very masculine," she said. "And a lot of the moves mimic athletes."
Class participants move like boxers jumping rope or basketball players launching free throws. And they do plenty of sit-ups, too.
"I've been doing different aerobics classes in the different [cities] I've lived, and this is the hardest. It's the added weight," said Mike Getka, 31, from Upper St. Clair.
Getka comes in weekly during his lunch break from the Westin William Penn, and after four months using 10 pounds, he doesn't think he'll break above the 15-pound barrier.
Getka is one of the class members who will make it through the entire hour without taking a break or quitting early. Usually two or three participants drift out quietly before class's end, wet hair sticking to their foreheads, glad to discard the vest.
"Aren't you glad you don't carry that extra weight?" says Schmidt after class. The remaining participants exhale large breaths after their cool-down and slowly remove the weights.
Schmidt smiles. "Piece of cake."
Intensa-Fire Training Vests come in three models, and a smaller vest is made for females. To order, call Resistance Wear at 888-4-Resist or check out the company on the Web at www.resistancewear.com.
The Downtown Athletic Club, at One Bigelow Square, offers classes at 12:10 p.m. Wednesdays and 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. Classes fill early and nonmembers may attend for $15, but priority is given to club members. For details, call the club at 412-560-FITT.
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