The Unknowns -- Hero Workout Description, Tips & Tricks
Back on Veterans’ Day 2011, I created the Unknowns as a Hero workout for the athletes at Friendship Fitness. Today, it is a workout that has been completed by thousands of people, on 5 different continents and over 15 countries around the world! Below, Maria and I discuss the background of the Unknowns, the movements and layout of the workout, some tips & tricks to finishing and more. We do this workout every year on Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day:
Thank you guys for watching and supporting this workout!
If you do The Unknowns please leave a comment for us. If you would like to donate, here is the Tomb Guard Donation page: https://tombguard.org/centennial/donate -- Soldiers buy a lot of their supplies out of their personal funds, and these funds go to help the Sentinels and their families in my ways.
https://www.hfotusa.org/ -- Homes for Our Troops
https://www.k9sforwarriors.org/ -- K9's for Warriors
These are two of our favorite charities to support. Please consider donating if you liked/watched this video!
The Unknowns:
For Time Complete 21 reps of:
1. Front Squats
2. Pull-Ups
3. Sumo Deadlifts
4. Push-Ups
5. Push Presses
6. Wall Climbs
7. Squat Cleans
8. Burpees
9. Curtis P’s
10. Toes-To-Bars
11. Double-Unders
12. Power Snatches
13. Broad Jumps
14. Wall Ball Shots
15. Box Jumps
16. Calorie Row
17. Overhead Squats
18. Kettlebell Swings (53/35 lb)
19. Kettlebell Snatches (53/35 lb)
20. Kettlebell Taters** (53/35 lb)
21. Thrusters **Time Cap:
45 minutes -- RX (95/65) +20/10lbs for every time you finish under 45mins
Background: This Hero workout is in honor of those military combat Heroes that cannot be identified, except as “Unknown.”
All American service members depart for war with a name and identity, but not all return with the same or return at all. In essence, any grave marked “Unknown” could be any soldier who went to war and never returned.
That is why this workout honors ALL the lost by honoring those who could be anyone.
In the most appropriate fashion, “The Unknowns” was designed by former Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Sentinel #563, Jeff Binek of Friendship Fitness @friendshipfitnessohio (Dublin, Ohio, USA).
With regard to the movements of the workout, Jeff said:
“The Movements were designed to create different “phases”, similar to training at the Tomb. The beginning phase (movements 1-9) get your HR up quickly and have a few spots that you have to grind through. Section 10-17 are designed to be faster movements that require a bit more skill, and the final movements are ones that I wanted you to have to fight to keep moving to finish under the time-cap. There are places you can go fast and complete with ease, and places you have to be slow and intentional and grind through, much like training as a guard.”
The workout was first performed on Nov. 11th, 2011, which is also known as Armistice Day (the end of WWI), and Veterans day. This date holds special significance to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, as the first ‘unknown’ soldier was a casualty of WWI, and was interred at the Tomb on Nov. 11th, 1921, during an enormous ceremony to honor the unknown fallen.
The following quote is commonly associated with “The Unknowns” in other locations on the internet, and according to Jeff, he believes this was a statement he made while describing the workout to athletes before they were to perform it. The statement was captured on a video, and transcribed. It is, without a doubt, the most appropriate way to mentally understand the passion of a Sentinel and the honor they protect, and therefore, this workout.
“We represent the soldiers who have been killed in action, and have no remains left that can identify them. These soldiers are thus deemed “Unknown Soldier” on their headstone in Arlington. There are literally thousands of these headstones. Think for a moment about what it would mean for you to have a child, brother, sister, or parent in a conflict, and never know what happened to them. Never be able to attend a military funeral for them, or know if they were a POW, or KIA. These men and women that are the Unknown Soldiers of America gave not only the ultimate sacrifice of their lives, but also of their Identities, arguably more important. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a tribute to these men and women. As Sentinels we are responsible for guarding the Tomb 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since 1937 and representing them for the remainder of our lives. We will never forget and we will never stop remembering and protecting these soldiers until the last one is identified. As Sentinels we are the only family that these Unknown Soldiers have to visit their graves – an honor we take very seriously.”
