Mountains beyond mountains, then after a shining green country and a swift sunrise

Where did the week go?
Where does the flame go when the candle is snuffed out?

Tonight's workout;
2 x 60 Days of Cardio ✓
2 x "10" ✓. (Those ab days are pretty salty. Tougher than a typical level 2 program)
A lot of Daily Dares, some from 2015, some 2020.

​​​​BTW, that Birthday Workout was fun and challenging. I went for the Extra Credit. Because I have to be that guy. That is doing all 30 Burpees in a row.

The 30 Burpees are full range: squat, kick back, push up, stand, jump, repeat. I did the last 5 a lot slower than the first 5. Whew! 😰

Thought for the day:
What's your favorite Ig Nobel prize winner? You don't know what those are?

The Ig Nobel prizes are prizes given out by the staff of the Harvard University journal, "Annals of Improbable Research". Prizes are often given to authentic research studies that are just plain hilarious. Like this one:

ACOUSTICS PRIZE [AUSTRIA, SWEDEN, JAPAN, USA, SWITZERLAND]
Stephan Reber, Takeshi Nishimura, Judith Janisch, Mark Robertson, and Tecumseh Fitch, for inducing a female Chinese alligator to bellow in an airtight chamber filled with helium-enriched air.

If you've ever taken a big breath of helium and laughed at the high pitched/squeaky effect on your voice, just imagine what a crocodile bellow would sound like.

Here's the abstract for the study. 🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊
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There have been some crackers over the years.
Dr Karl's prize for "what is belly button lint?" will always be close to my heart

Io6 A sincere thank you. I will remember this sentence for a long time:

"Dr Kruszelnicki, at his own expense, studied 5000 belly-button lint samples."

A masterpiece of deadpan humor.

Status report for the weekend
* 60 Days of Cardio: day 49, 50, and 52 done. Eight workouts to completion.
* "10": day 22, 23, and 25 done. Six workouts to completion.

I'm not sure how that happened. They were supposed to be synchronized, but now they are syncopated. 😊

Dares, dares, dares. Long legs and burgundy lips. Dares, dares, dares. Dancin' down on the Sunset Strip. Dares, dares, dares. Red lips, fingertips. (Sorry, having a Motley Crüe flashback)

July 2015
11: 100 squats
14: 60 seconds plank jacks
18: continuous crunches for an entire song (the song lasted 3:47) -- an actual daily dare
21: 60 seconds push up hold
22: 40 butt ups
24: 60 side leg raises
28: 50 scissors
30: 50 deep lunges with tap
31: 60 seconds squat + calf raise

September 2020
20: 30 circle crunches

​​​​​​​So, except for 5 minutes of slapping water, May to July 2015 is done. Now to work on August 2015 to April 2016. When this is done, all I will have to do is 2017 to November 28, 2018! And this will catch me up from the beginning of the whole Daily Dare concept.

A mere technicality. Perhaps I can finish in a week or two. 😆

Thought for the day
​​​​​​Dr Kruszelnicki, at his own expense, studied 5000 belly-button lint samples.

His conclusion: the lint is mostly fabric threads and skin cells directed toward the belly button by body hair. What a downer. I hoped it was made of dust falling to earth from comet trails.

My daily dose of dares!
To complete the months from August 2015 to April 2016, I plan to do each day's dare corresponding to today's date. Today is the 22nd, so I am doing any 20, 21, or 22, and so on. Only exceptions are for timed dares. Those are going to be done in supersets.
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Today -- September 22

2015
August
22: 200 high knees

September
21: 20 Squat Jump Knee-Tucks (Ninja style)

October
20: 20 tricep extensions

November
22: 50 plank jack

December
21: 80 Lunges

2016
January
22: 20 diamond push ups

February
20: 50 tricep dips

March
21: 200 Jumping Jacks

April
21: 30 Seconds Jumping Lunges

2020
September
21: 40 squat + step back
22: 40 seagulls
23: 40 prone fly extensions

Plus, two x 60 Days of Cardio and 1 x of "10"

No sweat.

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Miss_Dada , here is that boxing 🥊 thing I was thinking about... May do it, may video parts of it..

Four Rounds with the Champ.
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Round 1: Shadow Boxing
Keep a boxing stance — feet staggered, nondominant foot forward, knees bent, hands raised. Stay light on toes, and move in a semicircle, throwing rapid punches (any combination). Go for three minutes.
Rest one minute.
Repeat another 3 minutes, this time holding three-pound dumbbells.
Rest another minute.
Do a final set holding five-pound dumbbells.

Round 2: Heavy-Bag Work
Wear a pair of boxing gloves and do one three-minute round of punches, rotating the torso through each punch to generate force and snapping punches back as they land. Don't punch then stand around. "Dance with the bag," punching in a series — jabs, crosses, hooks — moving back to recover, then immediately punching again. After the three-minute round, rest one minute. Do 2 more 3 minute box/1 minute rest sets.

Round 3: Jump Rope (if I can, 😜)
Three straight minutes of continuous jumping. Make it easier by hopping around, switching from foot to foot, crisscrossing. Take a one-minute break, then go for another three minutes. For a final three-minute round, try double jumps, rotating the rope twice under feet with each jump. This increases the cardio demand and sharpens coordination and balance.

Mastering the Double Jump
Torso should be upright, arms straight and slightly out to sides, wrists relaxed. Think of bouncing straight up and down, and don't jump higher — instead, rotate wrists faster to get the rope around twice with each jump.

Round 4: Crunch and Plank
The power in a punch doesn't come from the arm; it comes from the torque of twisting your hips and firing all that energy through the muscles in your core. Your obliques, abs, and lower back have to contract to throw (and absorb) punches. While the twisting you do when throwing punches shadowboxing and hitting the heavy bag trains the obliques, the final two exercises below strengthen the front and back of the core. Do them one after the other without resting, and then take a 60-second breather. Repeat twice more.

A) dumbbell crunch: Lie faceup, knees bent with feet planted on floor; hold a 10-pound dumbbell in each hand directly over chest, arms straight. Crunch up, keeping arms straight, until shoulder blades are off floor; slowly lower to starting position. Repeat for 12 reps.

B) Plank to failure: Hold a perfect forearm plank as long as you possibly can. (Aim for at least a minute; your goal is 2½ to 3 minutes.) Hips should be lifted and your back straight, with abs, quads, and glutes engaged, shoulders directly over elbows, and forearms parallel. Fix gaze six inches in front of you to keep neck neutral.

That's awesome boxing workout Shikari Wow! Thank you ! I'll have to print it out and learn it all

As for combination of punches, I'm still learning it, I mean, to have it written exactly what to punch is the best ..to follow the video is then easiest of course, same with speed and power (to know how big power to use , for example 50% full power, or sometimes full power..)

Dancing with the Bag😃😁 I know what you mean,that is advanced level, let's say the Top! 🏆
Of course I am heading there and am more then happy to learn !!

For me, it's the jump rope that is the problem. I just can't get coordinated😥. So I plan on doing sprints and high knees for those periods.

Wednesday.... You know what day it is? It's Goblin Day.

Just thought it would be nice to announce it like that. I did the Goblin daily workout because it's fun. ✓
+ 60 Days of Cardio ✓
+ "10" daily session ✓
+ Fireheart, Day 1 ✓



And, the Daily Dose of Dares (August 15 to April 16) for the 23rd of September. Excepting timed dares or ones already done.

December 23, 15: 300 squats. (Whew!)
January 23, 16: 40 Matrix Bends
February 23, 16: 40 full bridge reaches
March 23, 16: 40 L sit ups

All done with extra credit ✓.

I'm not much into the Gundam thing, but by now everyone has heard of the giant robot being built in Japan. The "Popular Mechanics" writer says it's "wreaking havoc". What?

It's got a long way to go before that. Right now it's at the kneeling, walking, and making hand gestures stage. Havoc? Really??

Of course, it depends on the hand gestures, I guess. If you get flipped off by a 60 foot robot, you've been really flipped off. 😬

I wonder what the final cost will be?

​​​​​​I can't help but think that the builders know that Godzilla is just a movie, but do you ever really know?

So in honor of all those giant Japanese Tohei robots and monsters, I dedicate this workout.

60 Days of Cardio, 55 and 58 ✓
​​​​​​"10", 26 ✓
Firehose, 2 ✓

Daily dose of dares: 24th of September
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2015
August
24: 20 cross and pass

Sept -- timed dare

October
24: 40 plank walk outs

Nov
24: 50 infinity circles

Dec
24: 40 knee to elbow crunches

2016
Jan
24: 40 butt ups

Feb
24: 80 back leg knee strikes

March
24: 40 planks into lunges

April - timed dare

All with Extra Credit, except for the infinity circles and the knee-to-elbow crunch, I think. I held onto the fridge while doing both. Technically, not against the rules for ExC, but.... I won't take the ExC. ✌️

Shikari you have Spellbound badge I don't remember congratulating you ! Do I have a fever already 😳🤒 or did you hide your Badge Day??

Friday 🌃 night! Feeling "fire"! That's my new word. My daughter in college says it, so as papi, I must use it as often as possible.

Hey, my weight vest was delivered today. I went back and forth between 20 and 40 #. Having more weight capacity would give more flexibility b/c weights can be removed or added as needed. But 20 # is enough for me.


Well, here it is. Tonight was fire. I did today's session 20 pounds heavier than I was this morning. 😁

Daily dose of dares -- 25th of September
​​​​​​Sept 25, 20: 30 seconds push-up hold ✓
Aug 25, 15: 20 two point balance (no ExC)
Sept 25, 15: 50 side-to-side lunges (Ninja style - do bokken cross cuts along with the lunges) ✓
Nov 25, 15: 10 moving planks ✓
Jan 25, 16: 400 squat hold punches ✓
April 25, 16: 100 jumping T's ✓
✓ = ExC

Fire!

Fireheart, # 4 & 5. Because I wanted to test the vest, I skipped # 3 b/c of the sit ups, etc. I'll hit that fire tomorrow. These included punches, kicks, squats + kicks, etc. And push ups, plank hold, punches/palm strikes/back fists.

60 Days of Cardio, # 57. Half jacks and plank jump ins. Whew.

"10", # 27. (10 jumping jacks, 10 seal jacks, 10 jumping T's, 10 step jacks, 10 side jacks, 10 knee-to-elbow) repeat for 10 minutes. Double Whew. Fire.
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Thought for the day: if someone called me a dirty rat, I would consider it a compliment, as long as he or she was alluding to Magawa. The rat sniffs out landmines. And does it well. The story is here.

Miss_Dada , oh that? Yeah, I finished that one.

Before starting the chapter for the day, I did a bunch of the workouts (good, basic HIIT) and I found that I could go through 2, 3 or 4 chapters per day. I think it took about a week to 10 days. I did it along with 60 Days and "10", but these others take a little longer.

​​​​​Besides, I'm an old wizard and can bend space and time. 😜

Saturday night! (Tired of using the word "fire")
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So, I don't have a complete Daily dose of dares, but I have what I have. Now, the 26th.

2015
Aug: 50 Saves
Sept: 20 get ups (Ninja style, with bokken)
Oct: 40 climber taps
Nov: BIG FAT ZERO <- despite searching and searching, I cannot find this DD. 😡
Dec: 50 hop heel clicks

2016
Jan: 200 crunches (yes, 2. 0. 0. I did them on an exercise ball)
Feb: 100 Hundreds
March: 100 toe taps

2020
Sept: 40 balance lunges

All done with extra credit. When Oct begins, we'll rotate to the 1st, then the 2nd, and so on.

Perhaps tomorrow will be a good time to do the "3 minute rodeo". That's all those timed dares between August 2015 and April 2016. 🤔

Time to clear up 3 more things:
"10", #29 and 30 done. ⭐
60 Days of Cardio, #59 and 60 done. ⭐
Fire house, #3 and 6 done.

Frustrated. But tomorrow is a new day.

EDITED: I thought of something that helps me get less frustrated. Offering a helpful hint. One arm kettlebell clean and press (as in Gauntlet) can hurt your shoulder if you don't do it correctly.


A good video showing the steps between the left and right pictures is this one



For those of us doing the dumbbell variation of this exercise, here's a good video showing the "clean" part of the clean and press. The "press" part is the same as in the video above.



Doing dumbbell clean and press with bad form and too fast really hurt my right shoulder a few years ago, and it still hurts.

Go slow. Time under tension will increase your strength and power.

Wow that's impressive Shikari You're incredibly fast and it seems there is nothing what can stop you to complete any program!!
Congratulations to 3 Badges ( Spellbound included )

thanks for the videos you sent in here, I will go through that, because don't want to buy kettlebell and will use dumbbells in GAUNTLET program 👍