WEEK FOUR: LET'S RACE DOWN UNDER!

hawkins410

WOW! YOU AMAZING RACERS ARE AWESOME!
YOUR TEAMWORK IS INCREDIBLE!

NOW THAT THE TEMPERATURES ARE STARTING TO DROP FOR MOST OF YOU,
AND THE LEAVES ARE STARTING TO FALL
IT’S TIME TO HEAD TO A WARMER CLIMATE!

WE ARE GOING DOWN UNDER!

BUT NOT JUST ANYWHERE DOWN UNDER (IT’S A BIG PLACE),
WE ARE HEADING FOR THE LARGEST LIVING STRUCTURE IN THE WORLD:

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF IN AUSTRALIA!

IT’S SO BIG, IT CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE!

DESTINATION: CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA
DISTANCE = 3645 MILES

The temperature is a nice warm 87 degrees!

THE WELCOMING COMMITTEE IS READY FOR US!

“G’DAY MATE!”

PLEASE VIEW THE 3 MINUTE VIDEO BELOW! IT’S WORTH IT!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAyRBqKk3hk&t=23s

As the world's largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef stretches roughly 1400 miles along Australia's northeast coast.
The Great Barrier Reef covers an immense area of more than 134,000 square miles, larger than Europe!

Extending over such a vast expanse of ocean, the Great Barrier Reef is teeming with all manner of marine life ranging from huge humpback whales to tiny clownfish.

Below are The Great Eight of the Barrier Reef:

Whales:
During Australia’s winter, from June to September, up to 10,000 whales migrate north from Antarctica’s colder waters to the warm shallows of the reef to breed and birth their calves.

Sea Turtles:
Six of the world’s seven species of sea turtles can be found in the waters around the
Great Barrier Reef. The most commonly sighted species are green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles. We will be just in time to see the sea turtles lay their eggs on the islands!. The turtle hatchlings will be making their way across the beach into the ocean in December.

Sharks:
The Great Barrier Reef is home to numerous species of sharks, ranging from small, bottom-dwelling sharks, like wobbegongs, to larger types, like tiger and hammerhead sharks. The most common species are the white tip or the black tip.

Clownfish:
Made famous by “Finding Nemo”, the colorful clownfish is found along the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef. These small, striped fish are often spotted living among the stinging tentacles of the sea anemone.

Giant Clams:
The famous giant clam, the world’s largest species of mollusk, can grow up to four feet long and weigh more than 500 pounds! The hefty creatures also live to be more than 100 years old. While giant clams are rumored to trap unsuspecting divers in their quickly closing shells, there have never been any substantiated reports of human deaths from these animals.

Rays:
Several species of rays live along the Great Barrier Reef, from the common stingray to the large Pacific manta ray. The Pacific manta ray is the largest of all rays, growing up to 22 feet wide and weighing up to 3000 pounds. These massive creatures are quite graceful!

Cod and Grouper:
Cod and Grouper are among the largest of all bony fish and boast equally big mouths. Both species tend to be slow swimmers, plus they’re relatively unafraid of divers, which make them great models for underwater photography. The Queensland Grouper, is the largest bony fish found on the the Great Barrier Reef. It’s known to grow to massive sizes of more than eight feet long and weigh up to 800 pounds!

Maori Wrasse:
The Maori Wrasse, is the largest species in the wrasse family. They can grow to more than six feet long and weigh nearly 400 pounds. Adult Maori wrasse can be easily identified by their large lips and the prominent hump on their forehead.

FOR SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT AUSTRALIA GO TO: FUN FACTS

AND TO LEARN A FEW PROPER PHRASES IN “AUSTRALIAN”, HERE IS A SHORT YOUTUBE VIDEO TO HELP YOU OUT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDWsVXurkj8&feature=youtu.be

AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, IS THE ADORABLE QUOKKA, WHICH ALONG WITH THE KANGAROO AND THE
KOALAS ARE ONLY FOUND DOWN UNDER.

These adorable smiling creatures have actually turned into a “Quokka Selfie” craze!

Here is a fun little ditty to send you on your way to the challenges:

Down Under (Men at Work)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s

Be careful, it has a way of sticking in your head!

LET’S GO MATES!

CHALLENGE #1: “The Kangaroo Hop”
(10 points)

In Australia, kangaroos are often referred to as “roos”. Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers, jack, or old men. Females are does, flyers, or jills. The young ones are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop, or court.

FOR CHALLENGE #1:


TRY JUMPING ROPE AT LEAST THREE TIMES,
10 MINUTES EACH,
FOR A TOTAL OF 30 MINUTES!

If you don’t have a jump rope, you can improvise with an electrical cord (unplug it first!), a regular rope, a dog leash!


***IMPORTANT: IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE IN EXACTLY 10 MINUTE INTERVALS. IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE STRAINING OR PULLING TOO MUCH, BREAK THE 30 MINUTES UP INTO SMALLER TIME INCREMENTS!***


For some of you this may come easily, for others it works up quite the sweat and is a GREAT calorie burner!!

Jumping rope for 10 minutes at 120 RPM (revolutions per minute) produces the same cardiovascular fitness as the following activities:
Cycling 2 miles in 6 minutes
Handball 20 minutes
Jogging 30 minutes at a moderate pace
Running 1 mile in 12 minutes
Swimming 720 yards in 12 minutes

To get you started, below are two YouTube videos worth viewing:

Jump Rope for Beginners (a short tutorial)
https://youtu.be/quoyW7FZqdI

And common mistakes:
https://youtu.be/p92fkF6jRLQ

**IF YOU HAVE BAD KNEES OR ANKLES, PLEASE SEE THIS ALTERNATIVE:***

ROO HOPPING ALTERNATIVE***

THIS WEEK YOU ALSO GET A SECOND CHOICE! (AUSSIES ARE A GENEROUS LOT!):
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PLAYED HOPSCOTCH?

In case you have forgotten how, here’s a quick little link: HOW TO PLAY HOPSCOTCH

THE SAME RULES APPLY:
30 MINUTES OF HOPSCOTCH, BROKEN UP INTO ANY INTERVALS YOU’D LIKE!
YOU MAY MIX AND MATCH JUMP ROPE & HOPSCOTCH!
REMEMBER, ALL MINUTES SPENT ON PHYSICAL CHALLENGES COUNT TOWARD YOUR EXERCISE MINUTES/ MILEAGE!

DON’T TAKE THIS CHALLENGE LYING DOWN!

BE A GOOD MATE AND HOP ALONG!

AND REMEMBER, YOU CAN’T RIDE A ROO!

CHALLENGE #2: “Finding Nemo”
(10 points)

HOW MANY OF YOU SAW THE 2003 MOVIE “FINDING NEMO”? (Might be one of those fun questions to ask your teammates!)
IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT, I SUGGEST YOU SEE IT SOON.

Little Nemo got caught by a fisherman while showing off his diving skills near the coast of Australia. His dad, Marlin, and a forgetful Dory, went off to find him. Their adventures took them through the Great Barrier Reef! In the meantime, Nemo was trying to escape a dentist’s tank in Sydney. But poor little Nemo only had one flipper! So, he had to swim extra hard!!

WE ARE GOING TO JOIN MARLIN, DORY, BRUCE AND THE REST OF THE GANG TO HELP FIND NEMO!

“Hi Bruce”

IN ORDER TO DO THIS, WE MUST SWIM HARD AND FAST!
ONE WAY TO DO THAT, WE MUST STRENGTHEN OUR ARMS!

IN ORDER TO EARN YOUR 10 POINTS FOR CHALLENGE #2:
COMPLETE EACH VIDEO BELOW:

TOTAL ARM EXERCISE (11:55 minutes) WITH WEIGHTS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF0niVnmMY0&feature=youtu.be
AMAZING ARMS QUICK BURN WORKOUT (7:51 minutes): WITHOUT WEIGHTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKBbn5GBw0Y&feature=youtu.be

THEN CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE & REPEAT (as a 3rd video)

THAT’S IT! SO EASY!
BUT DON'T DO THEM ALL AT ONCE!
WE DON’T WANT ANY PULLS OR STRAINS!

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THE VIDEOS, YOU MAY SUBSTITUTE THE 10 EXERCISES, AS DESCRIBED IN THE FOLLOWING LINK, INSTEAD:

ALTERNATIVE TO "FINDING NEMO" VIDEOS

DON’T LET DARLA KEEP NEMO!

CHALLENGE #3: “The Beauty of Color!”
(5 points)

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE GREAT BARRIER REEF IS ONE OF THE MOST COLORFUL PLACES IN THE WORLD!
SO, WHAT BETTER PLACE TO FILL UP OUR PLATE WITH MULTIPLE COLORS THAN
AT THE GBR (GREAT BARRIER REEF, FOR YOU NON-AUSSIES)?

WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE OUR PLATE LOOK LIKE THE GREAT BARRIER REEF,
BUT WE CAN TRY!

TO EARN YOUR FIVE (5) POINT FOR THIS CHALLENGE:

EAT TWO DIFFERENT COLORS PER DAY FOR FIVE DAYS.

YOU MUST USE AT LEAST FIVE COLORS! TRY TO HIT AS MANY OF THE COLORS FROM THE LIST AS POSSIBLE!

THIS IS A FIVE DAY VERIFIED CHALLENGE!!

Of COURSE THIS LIST IS NOT FULLY COMPREHENSIVE!

YOUR 5 POINTS WILL BE VERIFIED WHEN YOU DO THE FOLLOWING:

After completing the challenge, POST one time on your Team Thread AND put your 5 points into the Challenge Box (the "5" will be "red").

In the post include the following:

-List each day (1-5) along with the foods that you ate, and their corresponding colors. (Days do not have to be consecutive).

Remember, you must consume a minimum of 2 colors per day. At least 5 different colors must be used over the span of the five days. Juice is allowable, but will only count as one color. You may not simply drink a glass of V-8 and claim you're done!

When MissionEnforcer sees your "Red 5" he will check over your post, and change it to "Black". Only at this time, will the points add to your total. If you notice that your points have remained "Red" for over a day, go back and recheck your post, making sure it's complete.

HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR TRAVELS DOWN UNDER!
"CATCHA LATER!"