Month: December 2019

Vanilla Ice Q:

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PAX: Whoopi, Salty, Shop Vac, Houston

Warm-Up: Jumping jacks, Potato diggers, High knees in cadenceThe Thang: We counted down the decade in a reverse Thunder & Lightening with 20 squats in between each exercise. We counted 10-20 then back down to 10. Then we of course had to end the decade with Sally!

COT: My wish for you all

Msafiri Q:

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PAX: Shop Vac, Gish, Salty, Forever 21, Margarette, Atlas, Katahdin, Crush

Warm Up: Arm Circles (IC), Happy Jacks (x5) (IC)

The Thang: Full body Tabata rinse and repeat with a decrease of rest from 10 seconds to 5 seconds in between each exercise on the second round. We were ambushed after finishing our first round by a slow and long burpee train.

Cool down: child’s pose, cobra pose, standing forward bend – all held for 20 seconds/each

COT: Enjoy December

Sometimes, you have to let go.
You have to accept:
some of trees you thought were evergreen
would only hold leaves for a season.
You have to realize that sometimes
the conversations
you thought would lead to more,
new horizons,
open doors…
might not lead to the results
you were looking for.But in all of this letting go,
you slowly begin to find:
your heart kept you breathing
one breath at a time.
A sign
that hope
is still abundant within you,
even when you don’t know why.So let this be the December
you always remember.
The December you chose to believe:
letting go did not make you weak.
And you are free to start over
with or without the closure.
No matter the uncertainty,
you are free to know peace.For all of the words
you never got to say
and all of the little things
that will never be the same,
I truly believe
you are going to be okay.
You will find new rhythms
no matter what has changed.Because in just one month
everything changed,
and you kept breathing, anyway.
You kept believing
after everything,
this was not the end of your story.
And breath by breath,
you learned to embrace
S U R R E N D E R:
“I am slowly learning to accept
the way things are changing.
Not a single thing I am missing
has kept me from becoming.” – MHN

Learning to say no with the understanding and realization that not a single thing I’m missing has kept me from becoming who I need to be. But in all actual reality when I say yes to what aligns with my vision and no to what doesn’t I become more of who I was intended to be and not what others want me to be.

Whoopi Q:

PAX of 6 – Whoopi (Q), Vanilla Ice, Salty, ShopVac, Houston, Athena, Whoopie

Warmup: In partners, complete 100 of each exercise below between you taking turns one at a time. After every 20 reps, the pair can choose to either run a lap or do 5 burpees as a team. Each team must pick burpees at least once during the 100 and can walk one lap during the 100. After each set of 4 exercises, switch partners.Mountain Climbers (do sets of 5 before switching, both legs = 1)
Squats
Leg Lifts
Tricep Dips
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Jumping Jacks
Calf Raises
Sit-ups
Air Punches (do sets of 5 before switching, both arms = 1)
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Basketball shuffle
Bridge w/ Straight Leg
Up/Down Plank
Arm Circles (do sets of 5 before switching, front + back = 1)
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High Knees
Pile Squat
Flutter Kicks (do sets of 5 before switching, both legs = 1)
Incline Push-ups

COT – I’m a planner and I am very future minded. I’m energized by what’s to come, so I’m often dreaming about the trips, the plans, the exciting things that could happen. But at the end of a year, I think it’s always good to look back and reflect. Sometimes it’s a tricky thing to do this in a way that’s healthy. Maybe this past year was really hard and you’d rather forget. Maybe you are worse off in some way – financially or health-wise or in your marriage/family – than you were a year ago and you feel guilty about that. But we always have to try to look at the past with kindness for ourselves so that we can grow in the future.“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made… By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this… I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. / I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies aheadNow that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it./ But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. / Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”So remember we are not defined by our past, it is only there to teach us. And in moving forward, be fair to yourself when setting goals, keeping in mind where you’ve been and where you’re at now. “Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal.”
Phillipians 3:14-19

Vanilla Ice Q:

PAX: Msafiri, Houston, Calamity Jean, Atlas, Salty, Whoopi
Warmup: High knees and jumping jacks in cadence

The Thang: We did a Tour de JC style workout, where I hid clues to the next destination – just like in the Amazing Race!

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COT: With my birthday approaching, the end of another year, and the close of a decade this quote spoke to me and how I’ve been feeling. I am much more comfortable being alone and independent so I’ve had to choose many times to make connections with others; it doesn’t come naturally to me. So thank you to all my FiA’s who have welcomed me and made me feel loved and appreciated

Atlas Q:

PAX: Atlas, Margarette, Gish
Disclaimer: I am not a professional. Workout at your own risk and modify exercises as necessary.

Warm-up: High knees, jumping jacks in cadence
The Thang:
1. Running with Rudolph (5 high knees, 5 mountain climbers/ 5 sets)
2. Cupid crunches (10 crunches)
3. Dasher’s Flight School (5 snow angels, 5 superwoman/ 5 sets)
4. Take-offs with Vixen (10 burpees)
5. Punch the Abominable Snowman with Prancer (sit up, punch 5 times/ 5 sets)
6. Blitzen’s “Blades of Glory” (10 skater lunges)
7. Donner’s Peppermint Twists (10 Russian Twists)
8. Carrying the toys with Comet (10 hallelujahs)
9. Landing Practice with Dancer (10 jump squats)
10. Santa Congratulating his flight crew (10 shoulder taps)
11. Reindeer Practice run (lap around Farmer’s Market) then repeat until time is up.
We did this one and a half times then finished off with a bit of Sally.

Cool Down: PAX stretched it out as we circled up.

COT: If you had asked me 8 months ago if I’d be leading a workout outside in 25 degrees at 5:30 in the morning, I would have said you were crazy. There is a quote from Andy Andrews that says “Discipline is the ability to do something you don’t want to do, in order to get a result you really want to get.” This is true with fitness or anything we have to work for.

Passport Q:

12 Days of Christmas!

PAX: Diego, Katahdin, Margarette, Crush, Salty, Peaches, Atlas, Gish, Passport.

Disclaimer

Warmup: jumping jacks, high knees, potato diggers, all in cadence. Arm circles.

The Thang:
12 days of Christmas, just like the song.

First day- 30 second plank for FIA
2nd day- 2 walking lunges
3rd day- 3 low squats
4th day- 4 quick high knees
5th day- 5 holiday burpees
6th day- 6 hallelujahs
7th day- 7 perfect pushups
8th day- 8 jumping jacks
9th day- 9 mountain climbers
10th day- 10 leaping lunges
11th day- 11 Russian twists
12 day- 12 crawling inchworms

We had a couple of minutes spare at the end, so we did a round of Sally to finish off.
Count-o-Rama
Name-o-Rama

COT: 13 things mentally strong women don’t do.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/13-things-mentally-strong-women-dont-do-according-to-a-psychotherapist-.html

Announcements- Atlas’ Reindeer Games Q on Wednesday, party on Thursday. Check #swag channel on Slack.

Whoopi Q:

PAX of 5 – Whoopi (Q), ShopVac, MSafari, All Star, Gish, Whoopi

Warmup: We did a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Tour de JC! All of Santa’s present were stolen by the evil Krampus pirates, so Santa sent us (an elite team of elves) to get back the presents and save Christmas! All decisions were made before the PAX knew what exercises they represented. Starting at Founders Park, the PAX had the choice to take the more direct, but dangerous route or the safe longer route. They chose the dangerous route, which was up Tombstone Hill. Since the pirates had scouts in that area, we had to bearcrawl up half of the hill and tiptoe the other half. At the top we ended up being spotted, so we sprinted back to the beginning and had to take the long route anyway. We ran to Whitney St and since we knew this choice was safe, we ran up the hill backwards to make sure we weren’t being followed. We skipped past the graveyard as to look “nonchalant” if spotted. Continuing down Whitney, we arrived at the edge of the pirate ocean. PAX could choose to either jump from ice block to ice block (squat jumps) or stay on one ice block to paddle forward (walking lunges) for one block. Turning right on W Main St, we found the ship (the white wall in front of the Wash sign). PAX had to choose whether to climb on board by a possibly guarded ladder (25 step ups) or hoist themselves up by a rickety rope (25 wall pushups). The rope ended up breaking so those that choose the rope had to be carried, by either piggy back ride or fireman’s carry, the next block.Take a left on N Boone and head towards the JC Christmas tree. Since we were all on board the ship at this point, we had to squat and duck walk the next block to avoid detection. Finally arriving at the Christmas tree, we found the presents but were also confronted by the pirates! The PAX had to decide to fight (high kicks and jabs) or make peace (yoga sequence). We all decided to make peace using the spirit of Christmas and the pirates decided to give back the presents!We ran back to Founders Park through downtown.

COT: How we choose to look at something can make all of the difference. Savor the choices that bring joy and be grateful for the times that we were saved from the natural consequences of our negative choices.

Threat Level Q:

PAX of 5- Threat Level, Peaches, Gish, All Star and Margarette

Disclaimer

Jog to warm up

The thang:
Jog a lap between each exercise
100 squats
90 mountain climbers
80 pretzel arms
70 jumping jacks
60 lunges
50 crunches
40 shoulder taps
30 tricep extensions
20 curls
10 burpees

COT- With moving to a new place throughout the week, I’ve been so busy and haven’t been able to enjoy much time with my daughter. She is growing so fast and this is such a fun age, so I want to slow down and really enjoy this season. I encouraged everyone else to slow down and enjoy the things that are important to them right now.

Whoopi Q:

12 Days of Christmas
PAX of 6 – Whoopi (Q), Vanilla Ice, Atlas, Doublemint, Gish, Smores
Whoopi Warmup to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

“On the first day of Christmas my FIAs gave to me…”
1 – a Christmas running party (a lap around a tree shape made by lamp posts)
2 – 2 jump squats
3 – 30 second plank
4 – 4 burpees
5 – 5 long held leg lifts
6 – 6 hard push ups
7 – 7 full sit ups
8 – 8 mountain climbers
9 – 9 knee tap lunges
10 – 1 minute wall sit
11 – tae-bo punch kicks
12 – inchworms
Just like the song, start with the first exercise. Then move to the second and first again. Then third, second, first, etc. until you’re doing all 12!

COT – “As my life has been altered once, it can change again…”
I was recently talking with someone who just found out their unborn child has down syndrome. The news seemed to come out of the blue and she is having trouble processing through it. I remember when I found out that I had cancer and it felt the same way – I woke up and everything was fine, and then someone told me I had cancer. We all come across things like this daily, big and small. And when you are hit by a big one or seem to be drowning under a LOT of little ones, it’s encouraging to me to remember that we don’t know what a day can hold. And we can just as easily get the worst news as get the best news. Yes, there was a day I was told I had cancer, but there was also a day when I met the love of my life. Both were unexpected. There were multiple days where I locked my keys in my car, but there were also days that I got an unexpected few hours to read in a coffee shop. There are days I feel fat and gross, but there are also days that I feel strong and beautiful. When a hard thing hits, definitely feel all the feelings but remember that it isn’t the end of the story, and who knows what gifts tomorrow might bring.