Though YHC enjoys the feelings produced by Christmas songs this time of year, nothing really compares to what a good Christmas carol does to you. Oh, yes–they’re two different things. Just do a Spotify search, and you’ll find your playlists provide two different experiences. As it turns out, Christmas has been around a lot longer than today’s version of Old St. Nick (only really popularized in his current form by Coca-Cola less than 100 years ago). But, sadly, most people haven’t experienced the deeper depths of the season, which can only be accessed via the old school Christmas carols, the English-language ones that have been around for centuries and can still be heard in the background of movies, commercials, and tasteful stores. You grew up with them, they’ve been around forever, but maybe you’ve never noticed them, or they’ve been drowned out by modern day noise like Bing Crosby, the Beach Boys, and color television. So, this morning, YHC decided to provide a little cultural healing via beautiful, age-old carols and burpees.
We started with a warmup of the usuals with an eventually solid group of 8 PAX rounding out the circle where the blocks waited ominously.
This was followed by a long-winded explanation of the above with instructions that a carol would play for about three minutes, during which we’d do 7 reps each of 3 exercises over and over while the PAX tried to guess the title of the carol. If they guessed it, no penalty, but if they didn’t, all would do 10 burpees. It went like this:
* In the Bleak Midwinter:
* AMRAP: 7 merkins, 7 squats, 7 BBSU
-Valve: “Is this English?”
* Holly and the Ivy:
* Manmakers, curls, rows
-Popeye: “Come ye Merry Gentlemen?”
* Wassail Song:
* Toe tappers, Appolo ono, WWI sit-ups
-The only one the PAX got, despite having the three song title magicians (AB, Popeye, Suckle), and a Tana, in the mix; only got it because it says “Wassail” a bunch.
* Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming:
* goblet squats, tricep press, WWIII situps
-Valve: “I’m pretty sure this is the other one again.”
-Popeye: “Joy to the Merry Gentlemen?”
* Wexford Carol:
* Werkins, lunges, Freddys
-Tana: “This is Sara McLachlan, isn’t it.”
* The Boar’s Head:
* OHP, coupon swings, pull-throughs
-White Meat: “Lucky Charms Christmas?”
-Popeye: “Deck the Halls with Merry Gentlemen?”
* Coventry Carol
* Staggered merkins, block pooper squats, Afflecks
-AB: “Yorkshire Carol? London Carol? Burmingham Carol? Shakespeare Carol?
Stratford upon Avon Carol? Mr. Bean Carol?”
* Gabriel’s Message:
* SSH, 8-count bb, Bonnie Blairs
-Popeye: “Renaissance Fest ye Merry Gentlemen?”
Truth be told, YHC just wanted an excuse to listen to those songs, and those three-minute, three-exercises routines punctuated by burpees are a great way to get the heart rate cranking and the muscles burning without having to leave your spot.
So, for homework, find a version you like of each of these (and the other awesome carols you might find on Spotify, like “Bring a Torch, Jeannette Isabella,” “In Dulci Jubilo”, “Once in Royal David’s City”, “Sussex Carol”, or “Ding Dong Merrily on High”) and put them during a long car ride with the fam. Unless, of course, you just want to keep letting Bieber tell you what he got for his girlfriend.
SYITG,
Goose
