In honor of March Madness, the RFC hosted our first March Mania Challenge led by our Fearless Trainer, Angie Fernandez.  Team Captains gathered, or in my team’s case, conjured might be a better word ;),  a group of five SAS Employees.  Our task was to compete in dedicated Mania exercises consisting of plank, push ups, pull-ups, 1 minute of box jumps, and 5 minutes on Jacob’s Ladder in a double-elimination tournament.  Sixteen Teams began the tournament and competition was tight each round. Some of the highlights of the program include these ever-impressive records:

705 Steps in 5 Minutes of the Jacob’s Ladder by Bob Savino of We’ve Got Bob Savino, 670 by Paul Kovach of Gym Class Heroes and 669 by Chris Allen of the Slow Twitch Fibers.

66 Box Jumps in 1 Minute by Carrie Hughston of We’ve Got Bob Savino and 65 for Abby Domanowski of Hoops! There It Is.

108 Push Ups by Dawn Smith from BeastMode and Lili Fernandez from Crocodile Dendy's Crew.

34 Pull-Ups by Jarrod Burch from BeastMode and 33 by Chase Younts of Jordan and the Geriatrics.

In the Women’s Flex Hang Round, Sara Betz of We’ve Got Bob Savino held her chin above the bar for 87 seconds.

In Round 5, the RFC plank-holding record was broken by Angie Fernandez of Jordan and Geriatrics for 33 minutes, 2 seconds and Matthew Burdick of We’ve Got Bob Savino who held strong for 32 Minutes.

For the Final, We’ve Got Bob Savino and BeastMode battled it out in an obstacle course relay featuring 500 meters of Rowing, gym sprint, 100 jump rope turns, side shuffle + chest pass drill against gym wall 3 times, and finishing up with a ladder plank walk.

BeastMode took the win in the Obstacle Course which gave both teams 1 loss, so back to the weight room they went for a final round of push ups, pull-ups, plank, box jumps, and Jacob's Ladder.  Beating BeastMode in all but the push ups, We've Got Bob Savino took the 2017 championship title.

"CONGRATULATIONS to We've Got Bob Savino AND BeastMode… Unbelievable strength of mind, and body performances by all… The RFC staff is inspired and honored to have such an amazing group of participants as our SAS Family!!!" Angie announced in the final email.

And we, the RFC Staff, are truly proud and inspired of all the March Mania participants.  Thank you for the fun month of competition!

Need a quick and challenging workout?  Try the RFC’s March Mania Events yourself!

After warming up, complete the following exercises with a 2-3 minute recovery between each:

1. As many push ups as you can consecutively with good form.
2. Box jumps for 1 minute.
3. As many pull-ups as you can or flex arm hang as long as you can.
4. Jacob’s Ladder or run stairs for 5 minutes as fast as you can.
5. Plank with good form as long as can.

Cool down, stretch, roll, ice bath, get a massage, spray on some magnesium oil, take an Epsom salt bath, eat a healthy recovery meal, get some sleep, and repeat in a week or 2.  😉

No matter what fitness level you are, please remember form ALWAYS over speed. PRACTICE makes a HABIT– good or bad!  Getting in a few more repetitions, steps, or seconds is not worth an injury, so while the goal of this workout is to push yourself into the uncomfortable zone both physically and mentally, keep it proper (as in maintain proper form) and be safe!  Happy training!