This week’s WAWA is a run-focused workout.  Our pace will be moderate as we work together to accomplish the workout.

Back again, is a “rope-run” effort.  I’m bringing my 15′ climbing rope along but we won’t be doing any climbs.  Instead, we’ll drape the rope over our shoulders as we run in a file formation, being careful not to let the rope hit the ground.  If that happens….well, lets just say it won’t be good news!

Keeping the upcoming 4th of July holiday in mind, our rope this week is actually a firecracker’s fuse…!  And just as it is with a lighted fuse, we’ll have a specific amount of time to complete each of the WAWA’s sets.  If we don’t finish in time, then “boom” goes the firecracker….or, in our case, additional exercises!

Here’s the workout:

Warm-up:

-Gather at 6:00 am in the downstairs basketball court of The Cornwell Center

-Light stretching

The WORKOUT:

Participants will gather outside The Cornwell Center and line up for the workout.  Light jog over to the Queens University parking deck stairwell.  Rope will be placed on the participants, practicing movements as we head over to Queens:

-Left side of body rope carry

-Left shoulder rope carry

-Above the head rope carry

-Right shoulder rope carry

-Right shoulder rope carry

SET Number 1:

Run up the stairwell, careful not to let the rope touch the ground.  At the top of the parking deck, we’ll do 15 pushups, again being careful not to let the rope touch the ground.  Teamwork is key!  After the pushups, we’ll run down the parking deck, zig-zagging to the base, returning to our start point.  Fuse time limit for this set is 4 minutes!

SET Number 2:

Run up the parking deck, stopping at each landing (near the stairwell entrances) to complete 25 flutter kicks.  To ensure we don’t drop the rope, we’ll hold our hands up high while laying on our backs to complete the flutter kicks.  4 landings = 100 flutter kicks, total.  At the top, run back down the stairwell returning to the start point.  Fuse time limit for this set is 5 minutes!

SET Number 3:  

Two laps around the soccer fields track.  At the first straight-away, left side rope carry.  At the next straight-away, transfer to left shoulder carry.  At the next, transfer to right shoulder carry.  On the final straight-away, right side rope carry.  Repeat the sequence for the second lap, then return to the start point.  Fuse time limit for this set is 6 minutes!

SET Number 4:

Run up the parking deck, stopping at each landing (near the stairwell entrances) to complete 25 modified jumping jacks.  The first landing’s jacks will be while holding the rope on our right side; right arms will remain by our sides during the jumping jacks.  Second landing is left side; third landing is back to right side; final landing is back to left side.  4 landings = 100 jumping jacks, total.  At the top, run back down the stairwell returning to the base BUT then taking one easy lap around the track.  Fuse time limit for this set is 6 minutes!

SET Number 5:

Run up the parking deck, zig-zagging up to the roof top.  As a group, we’ll need to complete 100 pushups, 100 flutter kicks, and 50 overhead rope presses.  Again, the rope cannot hit the ground.  Repetitions are total for the group.  The challenge is to pick our best people for specific exercises OR divide up the reps equally among the group.  REMEMBER….the rope cannot touch the ground!  Fuse time limit for this set is 5 minutes!

TOTAL Fuse Time Limits allowed across all 5 sets is 25 minutes.

At the conclusion of the fifth set, we’ll jog back to The Cornwell Center for stretch, cool-down, and devotion.  Note, if at any point we let the rope touch the ground, then we’ll do 10 pushups (together).  The Workout Leader is the final authority on “ground-touching” penalties, exceeding the fuse limits or nothing at all!

COOL DOWN and DEVOTION

Workout Leader:  Mike Lenhart

Devotion Leader:  Mike Lenhart

Read more "JUNE 29, 2016 WAWA: Carrying the Firework’s Fuse"

This week’s WAWA is mostly non-running focused and I’ve slightly modified the workout from one we did back in January.  I’ll set up 12 stations “around the clock”, with each hour designated as a different exercise.  Each designated “hour” will have one participant, ensuring we have all the stations covered.  The 6 o’clock position with have 45 reps of a specific battle ropes exercise.  (I will designate the battle ropes exercise in advance.)

Participants will rotate stations clockwise to the next “hour” once the individual at the 6 o’clock position completes the battle rope portion and yells “rotate”.

One set is equal to one ration through all 12 hours.

Our WAWA goal is to complete 3 sets.  In-between sets we’ll do relay races between the basketball end lines for approximately 5 minutes each.

WORKOUT LOCATION:  The Cornwell Center

WORKOUT TIME:  6:00 am start

WARMUP:

-Ballistic stretching

-3 laps around the upper track

THE WORKOUT:

Equipment:  BOSU ball, medium dumbbells (2), battle ropes, large exercise ball, small exercise ball, medium medicine ball, small medicine ball, and “surprise” equipment for relays.

3 sets (12 stations each) around the clock

2 relay races (5 minutes each) in-between clock sets

Clock Stations:

1 o’clock:  Jump Up, Squat, Jump Down

2 o’clock:  Overhead press with medium dumbbells

3 o’clock:  Wall Balls

4 o’clock:  Staggered arm pushups

5 o’clock:  Jump Rope

6 o’clock:  45 reps on the battle ropes

7 o’clock:  Plank

8 o’clock:  Regular pushups

9 o’clock:  Plate Presses

10 o’clock:  Bench Dips

11 o’clock:  Figure-eight extension with small medicine ball

12 o’clock:  Standing squats with medium dumbbells

COOL-DOWN and DEVOTION:

DEVOTION LEADER:  Mike Lenhart

WORKOUT LEADER:  Mike Lenhart

Read more "JUN 22, 2016 WAWA: 6 o’clock Wake-Up Call!"

Charlotte has seen its share of steamy weather this past week.  Temps will remain in the upper 80’s to low 90’s throughout the rest of the week!  So, join us this week for WAWA as we move to our “summer hours” start time of 6 am!  This will be one of the coolest times of the day; another reason to wake up and work out!

But don’t just wake up and be cool!…..Wake up and be Awesome!  And in that regard, I have an awesome hybrid-run workout for this week.

The Workout:  Two Segments

Segment 1:  “Run Focused”

After the warmup, participants will go outside the Cornwell Center for a “run at your own pace” workout.  Here’s the catch:  You will need to pay attention to your pace, time and distance.

Everyone will take off running at a moderate pace to the left along Queens/Selwyn.  Run for 1 minute, then turn around and backtrack towards the Cornwell Center for a minute again.  The goal is to finish exactly back at the Cornwell Center at the same pace.

Next, turn around and head back down Queens/Selwyn.  This time your “interval” is 2 minutes out and 2 minutes back.

Third interval is 3 minutes out and 3 minutes back.

Last interval is 4 minutes out and 4 minutes back.

Remember, the goal is to “hit” your turnaround points at the Cornwell Center on the designated minute interval.

After the run workout, we’ll gather in front of the Cornwell Center for the second half of the WAWA.

Segment 2:  “Conditioning / Interval Focused”

Here’s the basics for this “benchwarmer intervals” workout.  Seven stations with two exercises at each station.  The first exercise at each station will be a prescribed number of reps.  The second exercise will go until the end of the interval.  Each station’s interval is 2-minutes.  So, if you complete the reps of exercise 1 in 30 seconds then you have 90 seconds to complete exercise 2.  30 seconds rest in-between stations.

Here’s the breakdown of stations:

Station 1:  Exercise 1 (Step Ups x 25 per leg); Exercise 2 (Bench Dips)

Station 2:  Exercise 1 (Jump lunges x 15 per leg); Exercise 2 (Flutter Kicks)

Stations 3:  Exercise 1 (Bulgarian Split Squats w Dumbbells, 15 per leg); Exercise 2 (Hand Release Push Ups)

Station 4:  Exercise 1 (Step Up Squat Step Up x 15); Exercise 2 (Clocks with pushups)

Station 5:  Exercise 1 (Elevated Crunches x 50); Exercise 2 (Jumping Jacks)

Station 6:  Exercise 1 (Step Ups x 25 per leg); Exercise 2 (Scissor Kicks)

Station 7:  Exercise 1 (Downhill Pushups x 15); Exercise 2 (Bicep Curls to Overhead Press w Dumbbells)

Instead of a bench on the indoor basketball court, we’re going to stay outside and use the small wall to the right of the Cornwell Center (as you’re facing the front entrance).  We’ll grab our dumbbells and a yoga mat before starting Segment 2.

Cool Down and Devotion

Workout Leader:  Mike Lenhart

Devotion Leader:  Mike Lenhart

Read more "JUNE 15, 2016 WAWA: Don’t Just Be Cool…..Be Awesome!"

This week marks the last WAWA for several weeks where we’ll start at “5 dark forty” o’clock in the morning!  With schools around Charlotte letting out for summer break, WAWA will shift beginning NEXT Wednesday to our summer schedule of 6:00 am – 6:50 am.  So, get your butt out of bed one last time at an earlier hour….you’ll appreciate it and it will make next week’s WAWA even more of a treat!

This week, we’ll start at 5:45 am at The Cornwell Center basketball court, wrapping up at 6:30 am.

So this week, we’re going to focus on a lot of “five’s” since we might not see them for a while.  Here’s the concept:  I’m going to put you into two (possibly three) evenly divided teams.  We’ll do two rounds of exercises.  The first round will be 20 minutes long.  The second round will be 15 minutes in length.

Each team will have a set of 5 exercises, with each having a specific number of reps that must be done as a team.  For example, one exercise in the round might be 50 pushups.  The team can designate one person to knock out all 50 or split them between team members.  The total must be 50.  Divide and Conquer is the best strategy here!  Find your best performers on each of the exercises and go at it!

When a team completes one set of all five exercises with the required number, one team member will run over to a white board and mark down one dash under the team name.  The team then repeats the set of 5 exercises, completes them and runs over to the white board, marking another dash like before.

Round 1 will be 20 minutes.  The team with the most dashes at the end of Round 1 is the winner!

Round 2 will be 5 new exercises but at a shorter interval of only 15 minutes.

WAWA Location:  The Cornwell Center, basketball court

Start Time:  5:45 am

End Time:  6:30 am

The Warm Up:

-Ballistic stretches

-5 laps round the basketball court

The Work Out:

ROUND 1 Exercises:

-Pushups x 50

-Wall Balls x 50

-Stairs x 5

-Battle Ropes double-slaps x 50

-Step Ups x 50 (25 each side)

Round 2 Exercises:

-Jump Rope x 150

-Stairs x 5

-Battle Ropes, kneeling, single arms  x 50 (25 each side)

-Dumb bell lunges x 50

-Overhead Plate Presses x 50

Cool Down and Devotional:

Exercise Leader:  Mike Lenhart

Devotion Leader:  Mike Lenhart

Read more "JUN 8, 2016 WAWA: Last Day Starting with a Five!"