Jock Time: Muscle Beach

The Culinary Capers posts have far outnumbered our Jock Time posts to date on the trip. When we reached finally reached the West Coast, our belts were nearing their last hole and Captain America’s suit was fitting pretty snugly. To blend in with the beautiful people in LA, we hit Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach to work off some of our BBQ sandwiches, steak dinners, camping hotdogs and 11 days worth of many Bronson nights.

We climbed a 30 foot rope and swung on a rings course to embiggen our biceps and back muscles in a sun soaked workout. We took a stroll in the Pacific Ocean to strengthen our lower body by plodding through the waves. Understanding that in LA perception is more important than substance, we spent more time working on our body building poses in front of the Muscle Beach sign than we did actually exercising.

Que Rocky Training Montage Music and get ready to be inspired…

Detour #1 – James Madison University

If you are going to travel, you need directions. That’s not a Chinese proverb, just a fact.

Two hours into our trip, it was time for breakfast and to get our travel plans we decided to fill up on Shmiscuits, Schmagels and Shmuffins at Sheetz. After eating, we drove through Harrisonburg to consult a wise bronze mentor, James Madison and receive our official itinerary. Our seemingly simple task of picking up our directions quickly proved harder than expected. James Madison decided to impose a test of ‘worthiness’ and said that “You Shall Not Pass Until You Defeat Me in an Arm Wrestling Contest”. He is a big deal former president guy and now made of bronze both of which make him a formidable opponent even for a super hero.

Thankfully we had been doing our Over The Top road exercises to strengthen our biceps and forearms since leaving from D.C. Those two hours of training paid off as after a 9 minute long back and forth arm wrestling match, Captain America finally pinned the bronze fist of James Madison.

As promised, James Madison turned over the AAA Trip Tix with turn by turn directions for the whole trip.

In a surprising move, he also agreed to let the travelers meet his pet Duke Dog and learn how to be fierce in the face of adversity. Duke Dog nearly bit off Chris’s head but he was eventually tamed.

The travelers received a hand shake and “Good Luck” from James Madison and a nice hard bronze lick from the Duke Dog. Then they loaded back into their van and pushed off on the highway towards Nashville again.

Over the Top: A Lesson in How to Stay in Shape on the Road

Many have asked how we plan to keep our ripped manly figures while doing nothing except eating, drinking and driving (not necessarily in that order, well at least the drivers won't be drinking).



Following the example set by Sylvester Stallone's workout routine in the classic road film "Over the Top", not only will we stay in shape, but we will come back fitter than ever. Armed with classic exercises such as the Sunset Stretch, Roadside Push Ups and Armwrestling our five traveling heroes will be heating up the summer. Look out ladies.

Click the green caption icon to see the name of each exercise.