Land of 1000 Dances (Hero WOD for Chief Warrant Officer Louis Rocco)

Land of 1000 Dances (Hero WOD for Chief Warrant Officer Louis Rocco)

6 HIM took the red pill this morning and are better for it.  This is what they did:

Cliff’s Notes: ran lunged and crawled up and down that deck, carried heavy items up and down that deck, coupon pain stations on top of deck while moving to some funky music (ie 1st title of BB), learned about the heroism of above mentioned soldier on this day in 1970, later awarded Congressional Medal of Honor, made our work/pains seem minimal, lot’s of swinging/lifting/holding/throwing/squatting/grunting/sweating/crawling…

After a moderately thorough disclaimer (that happened to cover Charlotte Christian and Covenant Day as well as Charlotte Catholic), we were off for some dynamic stretching in the parking lot/road to include goose walking (crowd favorite), high knees, butt kickers, karaoke left/right, backwards run, and regular ole’ mosey.

THE THANG:

ROUND ONE – COP #1

CCM  (civilian count merkins) x 5 IC

IW x 20 IC

CCM  (civilian count merkins) x 10 IC

Low Slow Squat x 20 IC

CCM  (civilian count merkins) x 15 IC

Wind Mills x 10 IC (PAX modification in effect here)

CCM  (civilian count merkins) x 20 IC (50 merkins before 545 am – check)

ROUND TWO – Run/Recovery up and down parking deck

After each set the Larry Birds will mosey back to join the 6 to keep the team together today.  Last man finishes first each time.

Run 30 seconds + 5 merkins then recover

Run 60 seconds + 10 merkins then recover

Run 60 seconds + 15 merkins then recover

Run 30 seconds +20 merkins then recover (50 more merkins = 100 done by 5:45 am – check)

(planned to extend runs to 90 and 120 seconds but the suck factor of running up hill in the humidity (and knowing what was to come per the weinke) led to a Q modification here.

ROUND THREE – Move up hill without running

Line up abreast and after each set again reconvene as 1 team together

Lunge Walk

Bear Crawl (PAX modification again noted).

Backwards Bear Crawl

Crab Walk

Backwards Crab Walk (minimal buy in here)

Burpee Broad Jumps (surprising compliance here – good work men!)

ROUND FOUR – HERO WOD Honoring Louis R. Rocco

(Carry heavy stuff up hill)

See below for biographical info

Elevator Action was an amazing video game from 1983.  Today’s elevator action included leading the PAX to the elevator for a surprise.  It was not a restful ride up.  Doors opened to reveal 9 coupons:

Kettle bells: 25 lb, 25 lb, 30 lb, 40 lb, 45 lb, 50 lb.  Ruck with 50 pounds.  Sand bags: 40 lb. and 60 lb.

Team moved all that weight up the parking deck the long way, stopping halfway through each level to redistribute coupons amongst the PAX.  Variety of carrying techniques were used.

ROUND FIVE – COP#2 – 9 pain stations using different exercises/movements of the aforementioned 9 coupons.  Rotate every 30 seconds due to limited time.

25 lbs x 2 – double swings

30 lbs – upright rows

40 lbs – Lawn Mower/Bent over rows

45 lbs – T Bag Squats

50 lbs – 2 handed wings

RUCK – hold overhead (crowd pleaser – harder than it looks)

40 pound sand bag – shoulder to shoulder alternating presses

60 pound sand bag – dead lift it, clean it, throw it as far as you can, pick it up, repeat (crowd favorite)

Tunes courtesy of Wilson Pickett (Land of 1000 Dances) , Kool & The Gang (Celebration), The Isley Bothers (It’s Your Thing).  If time allowed we would have grooved to Herbie Hancock (Rockit), Sly & The Family Stone (Everyday People), Harold Faltermeyer (Axel F), Michael Jackson (Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough).  YHC felt funky yesterday, hence the play list.

Then carry all the coupons back to launch via any means/method necessary – avoid failure.  Finish.

BONUS – 3 MOM

Flutter kicks with air presses (no more coupons!)

Heels to Heaven

American Hammer

COT

Take out by YHC

MOLESKIN

This was a great group today.  Ages varied but many respects this morning.  Everyone was pushing hard and helping each other carry the load, literally.  Mumblechatter was pretty mild but started early and kept the clock moving despite the hard work put in.  YHC brought 9 coupons, not knowing how many PAX would show.  Several other great options at other AOs today so not sure who would come.  If we had more than 9 PAX then YHC was going to have us partner up and alternate carrying a coupon and doing an exercise – maybe a CMIYC scenario.  That wasn’t a problem today.  However, we had 6 PAX and 9 coupons – and some were HEAVY.  Was planning to just leave 3 behind and each grab a coupon.  Well, these guys just grabbed ’em all up before I could direct traffic and we were off hauling the ALL the gear up hill.  Again, STONG work by all and even more impressive TEAM WORK.  And, that parking deck is sneaky.  YHC has somehow only posted with a parking deck one time prior in nearly 2.5 years in F3 (and it was at The Fishing Hole a few weeks ago).  The layout of the deck is confusing to me so YHC came early to scout it out.  It just seems to keep on going and going.  After reading the below bio, it was clear that if nothing else we had to move the coupons to the top the LONG way.

A few quick plugs.  If any of the PAX liked carrying stuff or working as a team or swinging bells, then check out GORUCK or PATHFINDER or MEATHEAD (even though it conflicts with this work-out time wise).

In thinking about Memorial Day YHC wanted to honor/remember one of our military hero’s.  This soldier was awarded the medal of honor for his bravery on this very day, 48 years ago, so it seemed appropriate to discuss this with the PAX this morning and post it here.  What’s equally impressive is that after the war he continued to serve this country in many ways.  After dropping out of HS to join the Army at 17, he returned from Vietnam and promptly earned a college degree.  He was an inaugural member of the US Army’s first Physician Assistant program in 1972.  He served the veteran community through peer counseling, homeless sheltering, college tuition assistance, etc.  He returned to active duty in 1991 during the Gulf War!  What?!  That’s awesome!  He later worked with AIDS and veterans against drug abuse.  He died of lung cancer in 2002 and was buried with full military honors in San Antonio.

Here is the medal of honor citation:

LOUIS R. ROCCORank and organization: Warrant Officer (then Sergeant First Class), U.S. Army, Advisory Team 162, U.S. Military Assistance Command.Place and date:Northeast of Katum, Republic of Vietnam, May 24, 1970Entered service at:Los Angeles, CaliforniaBorn:November 19, 1938, Albuquerque, New MexicoCitation:WO Rocco distinguished himself when he volunteered to accompany a medical evacuation team on an urgent mission to evacuate 8 critically wounded Army of the Republic of Vietnam personnel. As the helicopter approached the landing zone, it became the target for intense enemy automatic weapons fire. Disregarding his own safety, WO Rocco identified and placed accurate suppressive fire on the enemy positions as the aircraft descended toward the landing zone. Sustaining major damage from the enemy fire, the aircraft was forced to crash land, causing WO Rocco to sustain a fractured wrist and hip and a severely bruised back. Ignoring his injuries, he extracted the survivors from the burning wreckage, sustaining burns to his own body. Despite intense enemy fire, WO Rocco carried each unconscious man across approximately 20 meters of exposed terrain to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam perimeter. On each trip, his severely burned hands and broken wrist caused excruciating pain, but the lives of the unconscious crash survivors were more important than his personal discomfort, and he continued his rescue efforts. Once inside the friendly position, WO Rocco helped administer first aid to his wounded comrades until his wounds and burns caused him to collapse and lose consciousness. His bravery under fire and intense devotion to duty were directly responsible for saving 3 of his fellow soldiers from certain death. His unparalleled bravery in the face of enemy fire, his complete disregard for his own pain and injuries, and his performance were far above and beyond the call of duty and were in keeping with the highest traditions of self-sacrifice and courage of the military service.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Forgot to mention any this am but plenty of options to remember/honor our fallen hero’s and burn some calories with your F3 brothers Saturday and Monday – check other BBs, Twitter, Slack, etc.

Thanks to the site Q’s and the PAX in attendance today.  It is always an honor and a joy to serve with you.