SPORTS
Week four of getting fit while social distancing
In week four of my series about getting fit while social distancing, I went back to the wide world of YouTube to see what other channels have to offer.
I settled on another effeminate sounding channel called Popsugar Fitness. Maybe one day I’ll feel confident enough to try workouts from a more macho looking guy who promises me I will get as jacked as him, but I want to steer clear of that for now.
Pop Sugar Fitness is one of the biggest workout channels on Youtube, with more than four million subscribers and more than 570 million total views. A couple of workout videos get released every week, with hundreds dating back nine years.
Popsugar Fitness, as the name implies, seems to mostly cater towards women. While the workout leader could have just been encouraging the two ladies working out with her, she was looking up and addressing the camera right at me when she yelled “Come on ladies.” Also in one workout, the way I was asked to move my hips was a way I had never been asked to try before and am glad I was in the privacy of my own home.
Further research reveals Popsugar to be much more than just a YouTube channel. It is media lifestyle brand all to itself, focusing on catering towards women. While there is some turnover, every video is led by a different fitness personality.
Some I assume work at the channel while others are friends of the channel who drop by to maybe get some exposure or are workout celebrity’s in their own right.
Besides the main person leading the workout, there are usually two women on either side of her.
One demonstrates the easier version of every exercise in the workout while the other does normal version the person leading the workout is doing.
Usually both of these people serve to reinforce how much they are feeling the workout incase you needed to make sure it is not just you and your out of shape self that is feeling the burn.
I again settled on 10 minutes because I needed some comfort in dropping again into the unknown. Despite two weeks of doing exercises at home, I still feel a long way from what I would consider fit.
I had one previous experience with Popsugar Fitness in January. I randomly did a 10 minute workout my first day. While it said it was a standing cardio workout, I have come to learn since then, that for me, the only thing I will be feeling afterwards is soreness from my legs.
With a different workout personality putting out a different type of workout every day, with some workouts ranging from as long as 45 minutes to as short as four, I was not sure what I was going to get in terms of intensity with each workout.
My first one on Saturday was 10 minutes that had words like “standing” (so I would not have to face my shedding rug) and “barre” in the title. The lady leading it was a guest who’s claim to fame was being actress Drew Barrymore’s trainer.
The workout was tough. It was hard. I was not ready. The mentioned hip movements, supposed to work out your core, came in this workout. Despite the name labeling it a mostly core workout you could do standing up, the only thing burning were my legs from the workout and my cheeks from embarrassment at attempting to move my hips in a way I never want them to move again.
I usually have started my weekend workouts in this series being overly cautious and starting light, but this first day seemed like I might be in for a tough four more days. I saw no workouts on the channel with the beginner label or low impact next to it.
Luckily, I found shorter workouts. I found a five minute arm toning workout and a four minute core workout that I did the next two days that were easier only because they were shorter.
I have done a few arm toning workouts now since I own no free weights and want to avoid large quantities of pushups. Wiggling your arms at odd angles for 30 seconds to a minute straight will get them tired and sore, but not in the same way lifting weight will.
I get the feeling these short workouts are meant to be added on the end of some other workouts or are maybe a part of a longer workout that got cut off. Still, I did them on Sunday and Monday and my quota of two easier workouts out of five was met.
The fourth workout was a longer arm and core workout that got me back down on my shedding rug. Surprisingly it was not full of tons of pushup variations.
There was some awkward side planking that had me cursing at the workout leader.
It was not because my arm was hurting, but because the lack of circulation had my forearms falling asleep on me while trying to hold myself up. I guess these were the crux of the second half of the workout because we did a couple sets on each arm.
This was the one workout I did this week that was led by a guy. I am pretty sure he is one of two guys featured on the channel outside of guest instructors.
He happily admitted midway through the workout it was getting too hard for even him and the one women who was supposed to be doing the more advanced version that featured a small amount of weight that I opted not to include at the start.
This did not make me feel any better they were struggling. What are you doing leading a workout this tough without labeling it as such you evil tyrant?
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Indians wrapped up their first playoff berth since 2005 with a dominant win against Chico on Thursday at home.
The Indians won 10-0 in four and half innings due to run-rule to earn the district’s final playoff spot and break a nearly two decade drought.
Nocona was in a similar situation last year after beating Chico in the first game before losing twice more to the Dragons, once in the regular season finale and then in the play-in series.
The Indians won the first game earlier in the week 9-4, but knew they could play better. On Thursday they then proved it.
In the bottom of the first inning, Nocona got the scoring going as Wesley Murphey hit an RBI double. Two batters later, Landon Fatheree drove in two runs with a double.
Konnor Harrington followed with a groundout that scored another run as the Indians led 4-0.
In the second inning, Nocona kept up the pressure. Brody Langford drove in a run with a single. Later with the bases loaded, Caden Belcher was hit by a pitch that scored a run. A later passed ball allowed one more run to score as the Indians extended their lead to 7-0.
Nocona got one more run in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Wesley Murphey grounded into a fielder’s choice out that scored one run to make it 8-0.
The Indians got the final two runs they needed in the fourth inning. Walker Murphey and RJ Walker hit back-to-back RBI singles to put Nocona up 10-0.
Chico needed to score at least one run to prevent the game from ending early due to run-rule. Instead Walker Murphey completed the shutout performance by retiring the next three batters to end the game and the Dragon’s season.
The Indians won 10-0 and earned the district’s final playoff spot.
Wesley Murphey and Fatheree drove in two runs each to lead the team. Walker Murphey led the team with three hits. The team finished with 11 hits and drew six walks.
Walker Murphey also allowed zero runs and one hit while striking out five batters and walking none. The defense behind him committed only one fielding error.
Coach Zach Denson was beyond proud of this team for breaking the playoff drought.
“The amount of growth that they have shown throughout the year has been the most incredible I’ve seen in 13 years of coaching,” Denson said. “We went on a little skid in the middle of the year and that could have derailed our young team, but it actually brought us closer together as a unit.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie Jackrabbits were able to clinch the final playoff spot on Thursday with a senior night home win against Henrietta.
The Jackrabbits won 6-1 in a game where all of the offensive action happened in the first three innings for both teams.
Bowie came into the game needing to win. Failing to do so would mean setting up a series with the Bearcats for the final playoff spot. If the Jackrabbits just took care of business against a team they had already beaten once pretty easily then they could avoid that whole situation.
Henrietta knew it was playing for the future of its season and struck first. A one out double followed by a single two batters later put the Bearcats up 1-0 against Bowie’s top pitcher Edmond De Leon on the mound.
The offense responded in the same inning with a two-out rally. Troy Kesey hit a single and Hayden Rodriguez drew a walk. De Leon then hit a double to drive one run in.
Cooper Hammer was then hit a by a pitch to load the bases up. Rayder Mann then drew a walk that scored one run and the Jackrabbits led 2-1 before the next batter popped up for out three.
Bowie added to that lead in the second inning. Boston Farris led off with a triple. Tucker Jones then hit a groundball to second base that resulted in an error that allowed Farris to score and make it 3-1 for the Jackrabbits.
Bowie then extended the lead in the third inning. Hammer hit a one-out single. Mann and Cy Egenbacher followed with hits that resulted in fielding errors for the Bearcats. The Jackrabbits scored one run on the second error.
Farris then hit a single that drove in another run. After a strikeout, a wild pitch then allowed another runner to score as Bowie was up 6-1. Another strikeout ended the scoring for the Jackrabbits.
The next three and half innings saw neither team score runs, though both had several chances with two runners getting on at times.
Henrietta’s best chance came in the fifth inning with two singles, but De Leon and Bowie’s defense shut that down. De Leon retired the final seven batters he faced as the Jackrabbits won 6-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Last week all of the area schools competed in their district’s tennis tournament and several schools had athletes qualify for the regional tournament.
In the end, 10 athletes finished second or better at district to move on for a chance to qualify for state.
Unfortunately, no players from Bowie were able to break through and qualify.
Many faced early seeding opponents from tennis power Vernon that ended their tournament.
The highest finish for a Bowie player was Lily Hodges who placed fourth in girls singles.
From Nocona, one girl was able to break through as Kaygan Stone finished second in girls singles to qualify for regionals.
Stone has had a tough year, dealing with shoulder problems that shortened both her volleyball and basketball seasons, but she bounced back this spring to qualify for regionals in tennis.
Her teammate Melissa Segura was not so lucky, as she finished third in girls singles and just missed the cut, having to settle for an alternate spot
At the 1A tournament, several schools had multiple athletes in one division qualify.
From Saint Jo, last year’s state qualifying girl’s doubles team of Kyler Dunn and Taylor Patrick won the division.
They beat out the second place finisher and their teammates, the girl’s doubles team of Maxey Johnson and Bailey Nobile, who also qualified for regionals.
From Gold-Burg, Jimena Garcia and Alyson Rojas placed first and second in girls singles to move on to the regional tournament.
Other schools only had one team or individual.
From Forestburg, the mixed doubles team of Jesse Wadsworth and Alli Cisneros finished second as they qualified for regionals.
From Prairie Valley, Case Carpenter finished second in the boys singles division.
To read the full story and see pictures of all of the qualifiers, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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