Before my friend and I dive any deeper down this twisted rabbit hole of self-inflicted torture, I’d like to introduce you to the set that got us started. We arrived at 24 Hour Fitness on a day like any other, except that on this day we were together. Two monsters of eccentric movement and screaming failure reps had descended upon the unfortunate gym goers of Mockingbird Lane.
Two mad men of creative bodily pain were sure to inspire an afternoon of unthinkable tortures through complex circuits, complicated patterns and impossible completion criteria. Strange combinations were set upon the table for consideration and after little debate, we settled simply on air squats and dips. Laugh now, join us next time or just keep reading in the safety of your pajamas or cubicle, try not to strain yourself as you sip your coffee and dance in your chair to Justin Bieber’s new jam.
Squats and dips, nothing else, no breaks, 10 minutes. Start on any dip rack and squeeze out 10 then drop your ass to the grass for 20 – 30 total repetitions is one Squid. I babied my legs and failed out my arms at 6 and Aaron hit 10 in 10 minutes. Last night, after a 40 minute circuit far more fitting our shared love of effective complexity, when I could no longer see straight – not an exaggeration – Aaron tacked on 5 Squids in 5 minutes for giggles.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it: 5 Squids in 5 minutes. This is a perfect benchmark for all of us. All you need is a stop watch and somewhere to do dips, full hanging dips. 10 dips and 20 air squats is a single Squid. Do a light warm up then get 5 Squids in 5 minutes. I’ll be pushing for this goal later this month. I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, we’re working on a slew of circuit workouts that will leave you in a blurry-eyed puddle.
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