The past few weeks we’ve had some fun with Joss Whedon and celebrating his contribution to the world of sci-fi, girl power, and geeky/nerdy fandoms. Three weeks, and three Tabatas. You’ll be pleased to know this week, I’m not doing a Tabata. No, no, a high intensity interval training workout with only four movements can’t cover all the awesome that is in this week’s workout. We have to create something…bigger.
I LOVE the Avengers. Mostly Thor, but all of the characters are amazing. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much I even enjoyed Avengers: End Game. It’s not often they can wrap up a story that I’ve watched from the beginning in a way that doesn’t leave me cringing in SOME capacity, but I actually enjoyed the ending of this era. (Okay, I’ll stop here before I give away any spoilers, if my sentiments didn’t give away anything already…)
But one of my favorite memories of Avengers will always be the end of the first Avengers movie where they are all sitting down eating shawarma together. It was after that end credit scene that Chris and I had the Greek dish while visiting New York, and then we found Mr. Gyro’s in Seattle.
Oh, there’s a tangent for another day, but suffice to say Avengers introduced us to our absolute favorite eatery, our favorite food, and even our favorite Saturday tradition while I was working at the zoo. So, yeah, Avengers pretty much rule. And wouldn’t you know it, Joss Whedon wrote and directed this iconic film.
Avengers was also one of my first attempts at a Fandom Fitness workout. It’s morphed a bit from my first editions, but the style has pretty much stayed the same. This is what I call a Ladder. Starts low rep count, but more difficult exercises, and as the exercises get “easier” (not as complex or lower intensity), the rep count goes up.
Avengers Assemble
One round for time. Go at your pace and modify exercises as necessary.
- 10 Thor Thrusters- Using any weight (dumbbells, medicine ball, or Thor’s Hammer), hold the weight in front of you at your chest. Squat down until knees are at 90 degrees. Stand up and press weight to the sky at the same time. Return weight to front rack position to reset and repeat.
- 20 Black Widow Burpees- Start in a neutral standing position. Squat and hinge forward to place hands on the ground. Jump or step your feet back into a plank position. Lower yourself all the way to the ground, then push back up into a plank position. Jump or step your feet back to your hands. Jump up into the air or stand and clap your hands over your head.
- 30 Black Panther Box Jumps- Jump from the ground with both feet landing on a step, box, or sturdy container. Step down carefully and repeat.
- 40 Iron Man Incline Push-ups- Stand in front of a chair, table, or bench. Place your hands on the top edge of the incline. Place your feet so you when your arms are straight, you are leaning forward over the top of the incline, but you are in a straight line, your body perpendicular to your arms. Bend your arms, keeping your elbows close to your body, lowering yourself to the edge of the you’re incline. Push yourself up back into the plank position by tightening your core, and straightening your arms back to starting position.
- 50 Stan Lee Sit-ups- Start in a sitting position, with feet facing and touching each other and knees facing away from each other close to touching the ground. Lay all the way down on the ground and touch the floor with your hands. Using your core muscles, sit up all the way and touch your feet.
- 60 Guardians of the Galaxy Glute Bridges- Lay on your back with knees bent. Push your butt (glutes) up to the sky to create a straight line from your knee to your shoulder blades.
- 70 Hawkeye High Knees- Standing, bring one knee off the ground to hip height, placing hands as a target if needed. Replace the foot and repeat with other leg.
- 80 Scarlet Witch Skaters- In a standing position, jump sideways (laterally) on one leg. Bring the opposite leg slightly behind you. Use your opposite leg to slightly balance you as you hinge forward and tap the ground, bending on your standing leg. Skip sideways to the other side, bringing the opposite leg slightly behind you and using it for balance as you tap the ground. Each skip is one repetition.
- 90 Captain America Calf Raises- Stand in neutral position, hands at your side. To perform calf raise, simply stand on your tip toes and come back to equal distribution of weight.
- 100 Avengers Arm Circles- Stand in neutral, hold arms out at your side, and circle, keeping arms straight.
