At last!!! Cooler weather! It may not last long, but Thursday AM offered a glorious respite from the usual August heat and humidity. What more could one ask for – the chance to start the day with the Okwata levee, watching the sunrise over the lake, with an actually refreshing breeze in our faces.
YHC was running dangerously late. Apparently, the new, louder (this one goes to 11) bluetooth speaker recently acquired for mornings like this was re-purposed and sent with 2.0 to Notre Dame. That left me scrambling to find the backup – the teeny tiny not-quite-loud-enough fallback speaker. Sorry guys. That’s gonna make it harder for you to appreciate today’s theme.
But first: a disclaimer (for the veteran crew). Then off to the levee. Quick warmup of SSH x20 (with a brief pause waiting for JV to decide to start).
The Thang: 40
Today’s theme for the 40: American Top 40 list from August 26th, 1978 (40 years ago). Lots of good treasures on that list! https://top40weekly.com/1978/08/26/us-top-40-singles-week-ending-26th-august-1978
For those not familiar with the 40 (see “Smooth”):
- 10 Exercises
- Each exercise done in 4 sets (hence 40 sets)
- Each set is 10 reps (hence 40 reps per exercise)
- Each set on opposite side of the levee (hence 40 trips over the levee)
Exercise 1: Burpees! Lets get this started. Done to the music of the biggest drop of the week (a whopping 50 places – from 33 to 83): Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty
Exercise 2: Boxcutters. Biggest riser of the week: Paradise by the Dashboard Light (up to #42, won’t make its debut till next week though)
Exercise 3: Lunges (make sure your knee touches the grass). At spot #36: Dont Look Back by Boston (also – very fond memories for YHC: the very first album I ever bought. Still remember the trip with my Dad to K-Mart to buy it.)
Exercise 4: Crossfit Merks. At spot #27: Hollywood Nights by Bob Seger
Exercise 5: 8 Count Body Builders (these took a lot longer than anticipated). At spot #24: Two Tickets to Paradise by Eddie Money. There are some classics in the 20-30 range of this particular AT40!
Break while Frac gave us 20 count.
Exercise 6: Dying Cockroaches. At spot #14: Copacabana from Barry Manilow. Now we are entering “This is definitely the 70s” territory of the countdown.
Exercise 7: Copperhead Squats. At #11, a classic one-hit wonder: I Want to Kiss You All Over by Exile.
Exercise 8: Plank Walks. Now we are into the top 10. At #5 – Hot Blooded by Foreigner.
Exercise 9: Squat Jumps. Nothing like throwing these in after 32 trips over the levee…. At #3 – Miss You by the Stones
Exercise 10: LBC. Running short on time. Push through gang… At #1: Grease by Franky Valli!
Finish up with Count-off, Name-o-Rama. Announcements and Intentions. Prayers to use the gift of today wisely, and bless those suffering with cancer.
Thanks for the chance to lead, and see you all at WPM tomorrow!
