After the “hearty” paper plate meal we got on Tuesday from Viking, some of us were still a bit famished. If the rest of the PAX was anything like me, the old hamstrings and abs were feeling great from the meal. However, certain muscle groups were a bit hungry. To top it off, the weather forecast for Thursday at 5:15 AM was scheduled to be a balmy upper 20s. There was much pre-emptive grumbling, social media posting, and maybe a few winter weather accessory purchases to properly prepare for the Thursday BD leading up to Thursday. YHC had no idea based on these factors how many brave members of the PAX would crawl out of those warm beds to join in the fun.
But sure enough, Thursday’s Gladiator workout came. It came without heat. It came without sun. It came without ribbons, boxes, and bags…no, that’s another story. When YHC arrived around 5:05, there were a number of cars, but few that had stepped out to brave the icy tundra of East Roswell Park. However, as 5:10 approached, members of the PAX managed to drag themselves out of the heat and comfort of their cars, trucks, and puddle jumpers ready to go, so we began. Disclaimer commenced and YHC shared that this BD was entitled “Top to Bottom.”
THE WARMUP
YHC then led the PAX on a mosey past the baseball fields towards the eastern entrance of the park to get the blood flowing. Some were probably worried that this would be the start of lots of running, but YHC revealed no secrets. We knocked out some SSH, Weed pickers, and Hillbillies before heading over to the outdoor gym area nearby. There may or may not have been some warmup counting challenges due to the balmy temps.
THE THANG
The TOP: The PAX lined up in a straight line on the sidewalk and were told each man would have their turn in sequence on the frozen pipes known as the pull-up station. Meanwhile, the rest of the PAX would progress through a series of the following four exercises until their turn battling the frozen pipe came: Carolina Dry Docks, Wide Merkins, Regular Merkins, Diamon Merkins. YHC advised the PAX it would be a good idea to pace yourselves on those exercises and focus on form since we had 15 brave souls show up. Since YHC did not choose the heated sidewalk portion of the park, much grumbling ensued about halfway down the line about how cold hands and fingers were. We pressed on and with chests and shoulders thoroughly warm, commenced an Indian Run back to the main soccer field.
The MIDDLE: In what some surely thought was some early Mary rotation, YHC shared we’d be doing a 4 corner ab section in unison. But NO, we’d only reached the middle portion of the workout. The corners consisted of BB situps, Freddy Mercury’s, LBCs, and American Hammers – 25 each. Oh, and don’t forget the bear crawl or crab walk between the short corners of the box. This elicited more grumbling about the cold turf, but again, we pressed on and followed these up with another Indian Run around the field.
The BOTTOM: Because what’s better than one workout on a soccer pitch (two consecutive Manchester shout-outs), just another workout on the OTHER soccer field that features a lovely miniature version of the Great Wall of China. Once we arrived, we lined up for 20 box jumps to the top of previously mentioned wall then lunge walked to the top of the penalty box. Once there, 30 air squats followed by Toy Soldiering to midfield where we did everyone’s favorite, 40 Bonnie Blairs. We returned to the starting point and another Indian Run ensued. With ample time remaining, YHC decided to add 25 plank jacks before we rinsed and repeated the initial workout with 15 of each exercise.
We then moseyed back to the flag and wrapped up with a few minutes of Mary.
The COT
Sox’s Mom and brother who are dealing with various issues currently and need to remain in our prayers.
No Longer Bound group – the collection continues with the goal of dropping off the 3 suitcases and assorted sundries that have been contributed on Wednesday. There are also plans for those that can attend to go to Caney Creek and workout with NLB that day before presenting them with the stuff. See Gladiator FB or Slack for more info/details.