One morning, a man decided to take over the park near my apartment so his dog could more freely play without biting strangers. Because I was forced to go find another park, I ended up learning Flatbush Gladiators was hosting The Ultimate Gladiator competition on June 28.
The promotional poster listed pull-ups, squats, tire flips, burpees, two laps, and running stairs. That didn’t seem like much, but it was so intense!
To win, your time had to be under 15 minutes, but the referees didn’t cut anyone off. Spectators cheered harder. One competitor who took 25 minutes on his turn actually ran two more laps later with another competitor to motivate him to finish strong.
Competitors and spectators arrived at Wingate Park’s gym starting around 1 p.m. When everyone was present and registered, the competition kicked off with a thousand dollars cash and a trophy on the line.
Each competitor performed the entire workout before the next competitor started. The clock started running the second they took their first pull-up. That chin that had to be above the bar every time for 30 pull-ups and, if they stopped, competitors had to do 50 push-ups before finishing the pull-ups.
Then they would squat 50 times. A cinder block was set up to be sure competitors squatted low enough. Onlookers yelled, “Stand up all the way” or “Eat!” depending how competitors were faring.
Next they would swing across the monkey bars and complete five more pull-ups. Between rounds, one referee wiped down all the bars. Gloves seemed to be more important on the tire flips.
“He tore his hands open,” one man yelled almost right after SB’s first flip. Flatbush Gladiators posted video of what his hand looked like. For the competition, the tire that includes a steel rim was used. More than a few competitors did not seem ready for how much more that tire weighs than the usual empty tires.
The ref gave competitors the choice to flip first or start with a burpee. Each flip meant that many burpees needed to be completed, totaling 10 flips and 55 burpees. The sun was awfully bright for what had been forecast as a cloudy day. Event organizers poured water over more than a few competitors who appeared to be losing to the heat.
Spectators also encouraged competitors to breathe properly if they started to struggle. When one man wanted to quit, the group didn’t stop shouting reasons to keep going. He not only finished the tire flips and burpees but also finished the next two parts of the workout.
Only a few men ran the two laps around the track alone. Sometimes spectators ran with the competitors for support, like a group of kids who ran with one man, and other times the fellow runners seemed to be offering help to set a good pace.
The last part of the workout was to touch the wall at the top of each staircase in the stands along the track. That’s 10 sets spread along more than 100 meters. Competitors had to run each case to the far end of the track and then run the stairs coming back. The clock stopped when they touched the gate.
Finishes ranged from 11 to 25 minutes:
1. SB 11:05
2. JAE 11:52
3 MALIQUE 12:23
4. BOBBY12:39
5. KASH 15:24
6. TYHAIR 19:17
7. TODD 22:06
8. KEVIN 23:58
9. AARON 25:05
You can check out my video recap on Instagram.
Wellness bootcamps run every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for women at Wingate Park through August 31. You can learn more about bootcamp (and see more of my pictures) on the Flatbush Gladiators’ Instagram.
Men compete again Sunday, July 26. The women’s gladiator challenge will be Sunday, August 9.
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