Baltimore's Monkey Bar Workout is No Joke

As the sun sets over Lake Montebello, the park’s 1.3-mile walking path is full of people biking, rollerblading and running.

But halfway around the loop, on a patch of Astroturf covered with fitness equipment, a group of 25 to 30 men are hitting the monkey bars for a hard-core workout.

They call themselves Auto Bar Baltimore. You can find them swinging, leaping, pulling up and pushing down, laughing and cheering each other on at the park’s outdoor gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6:30 to 11 p.m. 

“It’s addicting,” says 38-year-old Dante Osborne, who has lost 30 pounds in three months. “Once you do your first major move, there’s no looking back.” The physical results are proof that these workout work.

Even the basic moves are intense. They include pull-ups with windshield wiper legs, pull-ups with bicycling legs, upside-down sit-ups, triceps dips with legs extended forward and more.

Reggie Ross, 52, warms up by pedaling his legs in a triceps dip position, then hinges his body forward until it’s vertical in the air, a move nicknamed the Superman.

Most of the moves are named after the things they resemble, like the flag, the Superman, windshield wipers, muscle up, J-Bar and the inverted L.

“At a gym, we work one muscle at a time, but out here, we use our body weight in all natural movements. We do functional muscle movements, basically calisthenics,” says 36 year-old Jomo Prince.

Exercises are grouped into different categories: basic, intermediate and advanced.

There’s also freestyle, which means combining different moves, or creating new ones to target different muscle groups, play around with new ideas and have fun.

Although they look like Cirque du Soleil performers, none of them are professional gymnasts or athletes. They are clerks, drivers, social workers, college students and business owners who share a mission—to be healthy, strong and positive, and to help others become healthier.

“We are trying to encourage people to choose healthier lifestyles,” says 35-year-old Tarahn Harris.

Although most people are probably not strong enough initially to perform may of the bar exercises, everyone can start small, simply by changing their eating habits and adding fitness into their routines.

Prince shows me a basic exercise called the pedal pull-up. Imagine doing a pull-up while pedaling your legs like a bike. The added legwork builds core strength and endurance, taking a basic pull-up to the next level.

The basics are still extremely hard—push-ups, pull-up and triceps dips are challenging without adding anything fancy like flips, leg lifts or side-to-side knee tucks. 

Old-timers coach the newcomers, and encourage them to start off slowly. Over time, they will be able to do the more advanced moves.

But even the old-timers are new at this. Four months ago, most of the members didn’t know each other. Today, they cheer each other on, help each other out and seem as close as brothers. They are motivators and teachers, comrades and friends.

Although they are transforming their bodies physically, the camaraderie and positive energy are transforming much more.

“I love being out here, working out. This workout builds cardio endurance and takes you to a whole new level. It forces you to eat right, cause you can’t have a cheeseburger and come out here and do these tricks,” says Osborne.

“They don’t realize how much dedication it really is, but it’s total stress release in a positive atmosphere,” says 27-year-old Mike Jones.

“It might be intimidating coming over here, but we embrace anyone who wants to work out with us.” 

Gregory Fisher, 44, says, “We’re colorblind. There’s no prejudice out here. All are welcome.”

Jones hopes Auto Bar Baltimore will branch out to other places, attract more participants and even go into schools to teach kids healthy habits.

“We have a lot of pudgy kids. I’d like to get into the schools and get those kids out here to be fit.”

Osborne says members will continue to work out together through the winter months. Come spring, they hope to have doubled in size, have a website up and running and be branching out into the community, teaching others that fitness and health are fun.

Join us next week as we visit health food stores in the Baltimore area. We'll compare products, prices, inventory and location to see which is best for you.