Blog 7 – Team Updates, Odd Object 2.0, Team Weekly Challenge
Greetings from isolation, Apocolifters, CHOMA-19, QOTDs, and Quaranteam!
WEEKLY UPDATE
I hope you all had a great first week of the challenge – especially with some of the things maybe not so directly related to time spent working out. The coaches are all proud to report that members have been focused on some of the finer points of the challenge – walks, cooking, taking time to engage with others, NAPS! I for one, have recently moved (closer to the gym) and took my 15 min walks on the beach in Cathedral Park, Fritz has been carrying the load for me when it comes to napping (he should probably get credit for being awake at this point), and we cooked a new recipe I’ve been wanting to try called chankonabe, or sumo soup – for those who don’t know, I have a weird infatuation with niche strength or regional sports, Sumo perhaps being towards the top of my list. Keep up the great work!
A QUICK REMINDER: you have until the end of the day Monday (that’s probably today) to get your scores reported to your coach. We will be releasing the scores during my Thursday blog post.
COACHING TIDBIT
We still want to give you a little extra content that may help you during your time away from the gym, and would love any suggestions you have for blogs. Let your coach know what you’d like to hear about.
For this week, I wanted to circle back to the Odd Object blog I wrote a few weeks ago. No, not to really drive home the idea of lever arms or center of mass or force production, but maybe more of a practical list of things you may have around your house for things to use:
- Backpack/Duffel Bag/Suitcase – Coach Courtney and Steve made a video a few weeks back using a backpack, but really any fillable bag would suffice. We’ve all stuffed a suitcase full of (insert random belongings here) only to be told that it weighs too much at the ticket counter. A note here: Be careful about dropping your things. Duffels are probably the best bet if you are looking to throw/drop something. Backpacks and suitcase can hold/haul a lot of stuff but really aren’t sewn or constructed to be all that dynamically durable. I know this from years of destroying backpacks growing up – Sorry, Mom. We all have our own unique talents.
- Boxes/Bins – Another options to load and hold lots of weird stuff – books, clothes, keepsakes from god-knows-when. Frankly we might even have a bin in the closet or garage that is already full. Same rule applies above. Be nice to your things, we aren’t capacity testing the things in our house here.
- Jugs – I’m generally referring to a gallon jug here. Cheap. Easy to find. A gallon of water weighs just under 9 pounds (you can fill them with anything – laundry detergent, dirt, hand sanitizer). Since it has a handle, you could find it useful as an alternative to any dumbbell or kettlebell work. If you want to get wild, you can find a bigger jug. Remember, about 9#s/gallon. Depending on said jug, you might find these suitable for throwing not because they any sort of durable, but if dropped – and subsequently broken – you haven’t lost all that much (Unless the water gets on you. Then it’s just a little pride. Wall ball, anyone?).
- Bench/Chair/Table – This category isn’t exactly loadable, but we’ve all experienced a little annoyance at the awkwardness of moving and hauling furniture. Again, be careful how you set these down.
- Pots/Pails – It’s April, and showers bring May flowers. Fill your pot up with whatever you’d like. Don’t forget that pots don’t have tops.
- Rocks – Find a rock that you find to be manageable. Careful with these. They are not ergonomically designed and are not as forgiving as water.
- Food – This goes for cans of food or bags of food. We might have a large bag of rice, a sack of potatoes, or dog food that we can fling around.
- Living beings – Lions, tigers, and bears… Children, dogs, cats… Yeah, maybe not cats.
This is by no means an extensive list. Let us know if you’ve come up with something else. We’d love to share it with everyone else.
TEAM CHALLENGE
*checks mic* “AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR…”
The 5-point Team Challenge for week 2 is:
- Create a Team Motto.
… and as a little extra credit:
- Teams will earn 3 additional points for a “#” (read: hashtag) variation of the motto for a maximum score of 8 points.