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This Posts’s Author: Matt (@esmartwave)

After storming the hill, we celebrated appropriately.

Welcome fellow com-PAIN-triats! Today’s tale is of how a small force of individuals successfully liberated Kilbourn Park and brought unto it the basic and inalienable right to Pain, Fun, and the pursuit of healthy living! It was on this day that this bold septet overcame the mild 40F temp and damp weather to ensure that future generations would know the freedoms that we have come to cherish. While the odds against us were very much like the last battle scene with Matthew Broderick in the movie “Glory”, our outcome was considerably more favorable! And believe it or not, we were out there for almost 1hr 45 mins!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Kilbourn Park is just West of Humboldt Avenue at the place on North Avenue where the road bends, and is located on Milwaukee’s East Side. This park also happens to boast a baseball/kickball field, basketball courts, a walking path, a great jungle gym… oh yeah, and one of the BEST views of the Milwaukee skyline in the city. A great place for a conversation, thinking, or taking photographs at dusk. This week’s Pain participants included some of the new faces from last week. Thanks again to Brennan (@brennanMKE on Twitter) for being the club photographer! Also, there is talk about Pain in the Snow being a sledding event that is family-friendly, so keep your eyes and ears open!

Check out high-res pics at:
http://ow.ly/GSEE – Participant Pics
http://ow.ly/GSFT – General Pain Pics

Our fierce battle with Pain for Fun. We achieved glorious victory in the name of Pain.Kilbourn Park, Milwaukee.

Warm-up Circuit (2 rounds)

• Stair Run (intermediate)
• Push Ups
• Squat Kicks
• Dips

We started off with a smaller group today, and once we did introductions we got started right away. To best prepare for our righteous battle, we opted for stair runs with sparsed other activities to start with.

Pump and Jump Stairs

• High-step Stair Run
• Stair Step Jump

Deciding that our training needed to be just a little more brutal before REALLY starting our initial assault on Kilbourn Park, we did another stair run, alternating between high-steps and jumping every flight. This inspired us and raised our morale to get us over the hill and fight for the right to PAIN.

Up & Down Circuit (2 rounds)

• Lat Pull-ups (5+ each side)
• Bi-Tri Air Pull-ups (10)
• One-leg Glut Busters (15)
• Push-ups (10-15)
• Calf Raises (15 or more)

For our first Kilbourn encounter, we opted for a combined upper and lower body circuit, to give each a little time to rest. This worked upper body HARD, and was a great partner set. Kilbourn 0, Pain 1. Just a safety reminder to always keep your back straight, which uses your core to stabilize and also works that as well.

Core Meltdown Circuit (2 rounds)

• Arm Throws
• Recumbent Water Jug Bug
• Bicycle Kicks
• Swing Planks
• Swing Jacknifes
• Leg Throws

This circuit really tested our mettle, and brought some solid pain to our cores. But our resolve, being tested, would not budge! We overcame this challenge, teaming up in partners again. Kilbourn put up a good fight, but lost again to our iron will! Kilbourn 0, Pain 2! Victory was in sight!

Cool Down

• Light Jog (1/2 Mile)

Feeling good about our inevitable annihilation of Kilbourn Park’s defenses, we decided to do a Victory Lap around the concrete track. It was this final action which broke Kilbourn’s spirits, granting us glorious victory! We then let the denizens of this fair park know that we had liberated them. They too, were once again safe to have Fun in whatever form of Pain they wished to practice.

Workouts

Squat Kicks
Perform a squat, raising up on one leg while kicking the opposite leg out and as high as you can. When you bring your leg back down, go back into the squat position.

Bi/Tri Air Pull-ups
With your partner holding your feet, hold onto a monkey bar rung and pull yourself up. Remember to keep your back straight! I performed this by myself by hooking my feet onto another rung.

One Leg Glut Busters
Hook one foot onto a ledge or something similar, and with your other foot planted firmly on the ground, lower your body and bring it back up (using only the leg on the ground to raise you and lower you). Make sure to keep that back straight, and if you have a bad knee this might not be good for you.

Recumbent Water Jug Bug
Holding a water jug in both hands, lie on your back (or sit on a bench in a recumbent position) and then twist the water jug from side-to side while moving your legs in a slow kicking motion.

Swing Planks
Focus on the abs and not the back for this workout. Holding onto a standard playground swing with your hands, get into a push-up position. Slowly extend your arms away from you, almost as if you were putting them over your head. DO NOT extend them past 70 degrees, as it can hurt your lower back. you can either hold your arms our at a 50-60 degree angle, or slowly extend and retract them towards your body. Those with weaker lower backs might want a spotter for this.

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