Author Archive Voodoo

Saturdays are for the Boys

3 pax showed up at Calvary at 0700 yesterday for the latest edition of Olympus. After missing last week due to family travel (but not sorry to miss 20 minutes of snatches…), I was excited to get back out for an hour of bells.  Mighty Mite and High Tide joined me on a cool morning.

Warm-up:

SSH x 20 IC

10 2-handed swings

Windmills x 10 IC

10 2-handed swings

2 prying squats IC

10 2-handed swings

Main Thang:

Neupert: 10 sets of 2 double clean and press EMOM

Complex: Merkin on the bells, snatch L, merkin on the bells, snatch R. That’s 1 rep. Do 10 sets of 5 reps. Rest between sets.

Easy strength:

  • 4 sets of 5 double deadlifts
  • 4 sets of 3 renegade rows per side
  • 4 sets of 5 floor presses

Carry and Mary: farmer carry out, elbow plank, farmer carry back, elbow plank. Hollow body hold for 1:00, then glute bridge for 1:00.

COT with the RockZero pax. Thanks to Runstopper for taking us out.

Announcements:

  • Functional Strength Challenge will be at 0700 at Old Providence Elementary on 5/22.
  • Stone Chicken is next Saturday.
  • Waxhaw Trail Fest (WTF) is in 2 weeks.

Moleskine:

  • A small veteran crew for Olympus this week. It’s always good to have more pax, but the smaller crew makes for some good conversations. Thanks to Mighty Mite and High Tide for coming out this morning.

If you can’t do it, don’t Q it

5 pax showed up at Calvary in various states of cold weather gear for what is hopefully the last cold morning for several months. Bells were unloaded and distributed, tunes were loaded up on Spotify, and a disclaimer was given.

Warm-up:

  • Racked carry L
  • Prying squat
  • Racked carry R
  • Prying squat
  • 1-handed swing L x 10
  • Windmill x 10 IC
  • 1-handed swing R x 10

Main event:

  • Neupert: 9 sets of 3 DCL/DMP EMOM
  • Easy Strength: 3 double deadlifts (heavy), 3 renegade rows (per side), 10 explosive merkins x 3 sets
  • Viking Warrior Snatch Complex: 5-7 snatches at the top of the minute (:15 to complete), :15 rest, 5-7 snatches at the bottom of the minute (:15 to complete), :15 rest – for 15 minutes. Lighter weights target higher reps and heavier weights target lower reps. The goal is to complete 150-210 snatches in 15:00.
  • Goshawk: 8 goblet/teabag squats, suitcase carry 20 meters. Repeato for 8 rounds.
  • Holds: :20 double overhead holds, :20 double racked holds, :20 rest. Repeato for 3 rounds.
  • Mary: elbow plank, hollow body hold, glute bridge for 1:00 each.

COT – thanks to Cottonmouth for the takeout.

Announcements:

  • Please check Slack and the F3 South Charlotte website for upcoming CSAUPs – there are a ton of them. We’ve got trail runs, mountain runs, road runs, strength challenges, rut breakers, GORUCK events. There really is something for everyone out there. Pick an event (or a few), set a goal, and challenge yourself. It’s a great way to get out there and meet people from different regions too.
  • Backblasts are back! If you Q, it’s your responsibility to post one, so do it! If the workout Q doesn’t post one, it’s up to the site Q to post one. Embellishments are allowed, even recommended.

Moleskine:

  • Thanks to the pax for getting out there on a cold morning and following my lead. I don’t know about the rest of the pax, but I woke up tired and not really feeling it. If I were working out alone, I would have rolled over and gone back to bed. Knowing I had other pax relying on me to show up and Q got me moving and once the workout started, I forgot all about how tired I was (until the snatches). I’ve never regretted posting, but I usually regret not posting. Keep that in mind the next time you think about snoozing through a workout.
  • High Tide had offered to Q this morning, but had to bail due to a severe back spasm on a run yesterday. He offered to share the weinke with me to save me the prep time, which I appreciate. What I didn’t appreciate was him programming the 2 worst complexes out there for a workout he wasn’t going to make. The Viking Warrior snatch program is supposed to be 40:00 of snatches, but we scaled it back to only 15:00. It gets your heart rate up and keeps it there with just enough rest to catch your breath before you’re going again. The Goshawk doesn’t seem that bad until you start doing it and you don’t get to put the bell down the whole time. It’s a lot of squats and a lot of tension for a long period of time. All in all, a tough workout that High Tide developed and then missed. Feel better soon!
  • I hadn’t seen Victoria in a while, so it was good to have him back out. He picked a tough first workout to attend and did a great job on it. I hope to see him back out there soon.
  • While we were warming up, Cottonmouth mentioned to Victoria how Stone Cold put together a solid beatdown at Skunkworks a couple of weeks ago with “more reps, since we do lower rep workouts at Swole/Meathead/Olympus.” I think he retracted that statement during the snatches.
  • Sound off in the comments with anything I missed. Have a happy Easter!

 

It writes the backblast or it gets the hose

Ghost written by Voodoo on behalf of Frehley’s Comet, who is too old to figure out WordPress.

9 pax rolled into Calvary for our weekly dose of Wednesday metal. With Frehley’s on Q, a few things are guaranteed: (i) oldies on the boom box, (ii) inappropriate mumblechatter, and (iii) appropriate flatulence.

Warm-up:

  • SSH x 10 IC
  • IW x 10 IC
  • Prying squat x 1

Main Event:

  • Neupert: 10 sets of 6 double swings
  • Complex: Voodoo complex (1 swing, 1 high pull, 1 snatch, 1 clean, 1 squat, 1 press L, then R) for 5 rounds
  • Easy strength: 5 sets of declining reps 8/7/6/5/4 of lawnmowers L/R, single leg deadlifts L/R, upright rows, merkins, double deadlifts.
  • Mary: elbow plank x ~1:30 while we waited for Frehley’s to start his timer.

Time. COT

Announcements (stolen from Hoover’s excellent SACS backblast):

  • Stoned-chicken SOB CSAUP
  • If you didn’t get the newsletter on Thursday, use the FNG link to re-enter it.
  • WTF, it’s a CSAUP not just another acronym
  • Functional Strength Challenge, pick things up, put them down
  • Rutbreaker, get out there and break a rut or 3
  • 20 mile ruck with Purple Haze, beer and BBQ after

Moleskine:

  • Thanks to Frehley’s for taking the lead on Wednesday. He delivered a solid beatdown as usual. Great variety on the tunes as well, which is always a subject of conversation.
  • Welcome to site and kettlebell FNG Logjam! He moved up to the doubles during his first workout and has even ordered some bells of his own. It sounds like he’s hooked!
  • All of the bell workouts are looking for Qs, so raise your hand or we’ll just start putting people’s names on the list. When you Q, please write a backblast. If you don’t write a backblast, how will we know there was a workout???

Better than a Burpee

I came in on two wheels this morning (forgot to load the car last night) and found 5 pax ready to kick Monday in the teeth at Swole. After unloading my bells and issuing a quick disclaimer to the veteran pax present, we got moving.

Warm up:

  • SSH x 20 IC
  • Windmill x 10 IC
  • Prying squat x 2 IC

Main Event:

  • Neupert: 10 sets of 2 DCL and DMP every :45 seconds
  • Complex: merkin, snatch L (weak side), merkin, snatch R (strong side) x 5. Repeato for 5 total sets. ~:30 of rest between sets.
  • Easy Strength: 2 sets of 5 single-leg deadlifts (per leg), 2 sets of 20 merkins, 2 sets of 10 supine rows on the railings, 2 sets of 10 snatches (per side).
  • Carries: farmer out/back, then waiter out/back, switching arms. Walked to the far curb.
  • Mary: plank, hollow body hold, glute bridge. 1:00 each

Announcements:

  • The Functional Strength Challenge will be 5/22 at Old Providence Elementary. This is open to all pax and is focused on 3 exercises: the deadlift, pull-up, and snatch. There will be different categories for different experience levels (Meathead, Respect, Pax). Check out High Tide’s pre-blast.
  • The Rut-Breaker Challenge will start in May. It’s meant to get you out of your comfort zone (or rut) and get you posting at new AOs and new regions. There will also be a monthly CSAUP and rewards for EHing new pax. Check out Flipper’s ever-evolving pre-blast on the inter webs.
  • Speaking of CSAUPs, the Stone Chicken is being offered by the SOB pax on 4/24. Run from Da Vinci to Stonehenge, where you will complete 30 minutes of the workout, then run back to Da Vinci for another 30 minutes of boot camp. The running between sites should be ~9 miles, with routes mapped out by our region’s Magellan, a/k/a Tuck.
  • One more CSAUP is being offered – the South Mountain Run on 4/17. Check out Midriff’s pre-blast for more details.

Moleskine:

  • The merkin/snatch complex reminded a lot of the pax of a burpee (without the embarrassing flying squirrel part). Even thought they were rough, we all agreed we’d rather do them than burpees.
  • #cobains to the pax for the excessive merkins and snatches. I made a last minute change to the weinke and we ended up a little heavy on those exercises. Unfortunately, my options were limited due to leg soreness from Saturday’s workout and the need to be able to walk later today.
  • 50% respects at this morning’s workout, which is pretty standard for the kettlebell workouts. All were putting in hard work and keeping the mumblechatter moving.
  • Wild Turkey has been posting at Swole and SACS regularly since we launched the first program last January and is definitely getting stronger. I’m pretty sure he lifts the sofa off the ground with one hand to vacuum under it, just like Magda on speed. #somethingaboutmary
  • Mighty Mite kept his distance, probably because he’s aware of Frehley’s flatulence. I hope that man can get vaccinated soon because I can’t tell if he’s even working hard when he’s that far away…
  • Uncle Leo has the best Mary game in town. I almost farmed it out to him today since my Mary isn’t very creative. He better be ready because I’m going to call on him the next time I’m Qing. During the hollow body hold, he did the canoe while I did the boat and I don’t think he was shaking as much as I was.
  • It’s been good to have Cottonmouth join us for the last month or so. He says his knees are jacked up, but I haven’t seen an impact on his performance at any of the workouts. I think he even did all those squats on Saturday.
  • Frehley’s is clearly making gainz because he’s in the market for a pair of 24kg bells. For now, he’ll have to settle for my loaners. Happy to share!
  • Thanks to the pax for coming out and following my lead this morning. That makes three bell workout Qs in a row for me. It’s always a pleasure to lead such fine men with a shared love of bells. With the weather getting warmer and people putting their marathons behind them, hopefully we’ll see more pax out at the gear workouts.

We usually start easy

I returned from my 3 mile pre-run with Joker, who peeled out to go to SCMS to train for the next Beer Mile, and found Cottonmouth and High Tide unloading bells. As I got my gear unloaded, Butterfinger joined us, making good on his Slack promise from the night before. After loaning him a few bells and giving him a bit of a disclaimer, we got started on the warm up.

  • SSH x 20 IC
  • IW x 15 IC
  • Prying Squats x 2

On to the Neupert part of the workout: 10 sets of 6 double swings on ~:45 intervals

It had been a little while since we attempted the Eagle/Goshawk, so we I decided to do that. Both complexes consist of 8 squats followed by a 20 meter farmer/suitcase walk repeated 8 times without putting the bells down. The Eagle requires doubles and the Goshawk singles. We mixed it up and some pax used singles and some doubles. In an effort to actually complete the Eagle, I elected for the double 16s. It worked a lot better than the 24s, but was still extremely difficult. I think everyone got through all 8 rounds without putting the bells down. This was surprisingly hard on the grip and traps (at least for Cottonmouth and me).

Next, we moved on to Easy Strength:

  • Deadlifts – 2 sets of 5 reps (heavy)
  • Bottoms up presses – 2 sets of 5 reps (we hadn’t done any bottoms up work in a while, so it was good to try these with some lighter weights)
  • Upright row – 2 sets of 5 reps
  • 5 sets of 10 snatches L/R with :45/:40/:35/:30 seconds rest between sets

Lay on the ground to catch our breaths and then we moved on to some carries:

  • Racked carry x 1:00 out (1:00 recovery)
  • Farmer carry x 1:00 back (1:00 recovery)
  • Waiter carry (weak side) x 1:00 out (1:00 recovery)
  • Waiter carry (strong side) x 1:00 back (1:00 recovery)
  • Bottoms up (weak side) x 1:00 out (1:00 recovery)
  • Bottoms up (strong side) x 1:00 back (1:00 recovery)

Time for Mary:

  • Hardstyle elbow plank x :40, :20 rest
  • Hollow body hold x :40, :20 rest

COT with the RockZero pax – thanks to Flipper for the takeout

Announcements:

  • Functional Strength Challenge (FSC) – Max pull-ups, max deadlift, max snatches in 5:00. Different classes for different experience levels. May 22 at Old Providence Elementary. Check out High Tide’s pre-blast here.
  • The FSC is part of the broader Rut-breaker Challenge that Flipper is pulling together that starts in May. There will be a series of monthly CSAUPs and a competition to EH FNGs and post at different regions/workouts. Check it out and get out of your rut!

Moleskine:

  • Butterfinger mentioned an interest in Olympus last night on Slack and War Eagle tagged me in his response. It was great to have him join us today. He’s new to bells, but did great and was picking up the exercises like a pro. I look forward to seeing him come back out to the gear workouts.
  • Cottonmouth has become a regular over the last few weeks as he works his way back from his knee injuries. He was killing it out there and I believe he did all 64 of his squats during the Eagle.
  • High Tide brought more bells than me and was rarin’ to go when I got back from my pre-run. He was killing it on the double swings and you know he loved all the carries.
  • Frehley’s Comet rolled in just in time for the Goshawk. He had already gotten smoked at Wild Turkey’s Stonehenge workout, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way he crushed the workout. It was great to have him out there this morning.
  • The backblast title is a direct quote of what Cottonmouth told Butterfinger toward the beginning of the workout. I don’t consider 60 double swings easy, but you do you, Cottonmouth.
  • I’m Qing Swole on Monday to complete my bell Q trifecta. I hope to see you out there!

Back at it

10 pax arranged themselves in a sort of oval-like shape this morning as we prepared for this week’s rendition of Meathead. After a proper disclaimer, we got down to business.

Warm-up:

  • SSH x 20 IC
  • 2-handed swings x 10
  • Merkins x 1o IC
  • 2-handed swings x 10
  • Prying/Praying squats x 2

Sufficiently warm and disclaimed, we moved into the Main Event:

Double clean and press – 8 sets of 3 reps

For the complex, I wanted to get some single bell work in, so we did the following:

  • 1-handed swing x 5
  • Clean x 5
  • Snatch x 5
  • Push press x 5
  • Reverse lunge x 5

Switch sides. Repeato for 3 total rounds per side. This looked easier on paper than it was in practice. Definitely a grip tester.

Next, we did a little Easy Strength:

  • Deadlifts – 2 sets of 5 reps
  • Floor press – 2 sets of 5 reps
  • Lawnmowers – 2 sets of 5 reps
  • Double cleans – 4 sets of 5 reps

Still a little time left, so we did a mini-Goshawk:

Goblet squat x 8, suitcase carry for ~:30. Repeat for 4 rounds.

We finished up with the usual Mary:

Elbow plank, hollow body hold, and glute bridge for 1:00 each.

COT

Announcements:

  • Check Slack and the website for details on the Functional Strength Challenge that High Tide has put together. There are various classes for Respects, Meatheads, and Pax, so no need to feel intimidated. Strengths in some events will definitely incur trade offs in others. Like all CSAUPs, it’s an opportunity to get together and push ourselves to do more than we could do alone and maybe poke some fun at one another.
  • Please make an effort to put together backblast for your workouts! It’s a big part of keeping pax engaged and rewarding them for posting. They don’t have to be funny (see above), but get it down on the internet for posterity.

Moleskine:

  • Mighty Mite was kind enough to offer to let me work in with him on the double 32s for the presses, but I had to decline. The 28s are giving me enough trouble, thank you very much. I’ll try a couple of rounds of the double swings with them first.
  • The Alabama boys were giddy about their team’s success in a sport other than football. As Unplugged put it, they are unfamiliar with the concept of outperforming in sports. Pretty soon, we’re going to have to put them in a separate parking lot for the workout so the rest of us don’t vomit everywhere.
  • Ickey Shuffle was so mad at me for missing his Q at Swole on Monday that he defected to Q Anvil this morning. That hurts. Speaking of Swole, I’ll be Qing there next week. Come on out for more presses, but totally different complexes. I’m thinking we should do a full Goshawk…
  • The playlist came up with some GNR tunes from Use Your Illusion this morning that I think everyone appreciated. That album was such a big deal when it came out, it deserves to be celebrated.
  • We had a strong group of Respects out there this morning (like we do every Wednesday), with High Tide, Uncle Leo, Unplugged, Cottonmouth, and The Worm bringing the heat. Strong work, gentlemen.

Long time listener, first time caller

YHC pulled into the lot next to Seaboard a little after 0500 this morning. Slim Fast’s Expedition was there, but no other vehicles I knew. Gradually, more and more cars pulled in and we ended up with 10 pax ready to rumble. Fortunately, the two ladies who pulled in decided to do their own thing.

After a brief but thorough disclaimer, we launched into the Trade Street gloom toward Country Place Drive. As we approached our destination, Orange Whip looped back to pick up the six. Madison chose the savvy veteran move and “stopped to tie his shoes” instead.

Stop at the intersection of Country Place Drive and Drive and Matthews Estates Road for COP:

  • SSH x 15 IC
  • Merkins x 10 IC
  • Mountain climbers x 15 IC

Head into Matthews Estates. Take every right turn and at the end of every cul de sac, do 10 HR merkins and 10 jump squats. When you get back to the intersection with Country Place Drive, plank it up for the six.

Regroup and run together out to Trade, turn left and run past the Methodist Church and take a left through the parking lot. Run through the parking lot back to Country Place Drive and go left.

Plank up at the intersection with Matthews Estates Drive for instructions:

Partner up by speed. Partner 1 does the church loop, stopping in the parking lot immediately off Trade Street for 20 LBCs, then run back to the intersection. Partner 2 runs back into Matthews Estates, takes the second right onto Timber Knoll, then runs to the entrance of Gilchrest Circle. Do 15 Heels to Heaven, then run back to the intersection. Flapjack.

Repeato with 10 diamonds in the church lot and 20 wide arms at Gilchrest. Flapjack.

Head back toward Seaboard with a quick stop at the cool chess set tables for 10 dips, 10 step ups per leg, 10 derkins.

As we were waiting for the light to change to cross John Street (in a squat hold), we were joined by the Peak 51 crew. There were a few punches thrown, but cooler heads prevailed and we headed back to the launch.

Circle up for some Mary:

  • Plank up with feet on the low wall for shoulder taps IC x 15
  • LBCs x 20 IC
  • Box cutters x 10 IC (keep your feet up)
  • Protractor: 60 degrees, 90 degrees, 30 degrees, 10″ (keep your feet up)
  • Dolly x 15 IC
  • Glute bridge for ~30 seconds when time runs out

COT with the Peak 51 pax. Thanks to Lois for taking us out.

Announcements:

  • 3/19 – beer mile. 4 laps, 4 beers. Connect with Hoover for details.
  • Join Flipper’s 2021 March Challenge if you feel like doing way too many merkins, pull-ups, etc. in March.
  • Keep an eye out for a pre-blast for the Functional Strength Challenge in May. Max snatches, deadlifts, and pull-ups. Winner gets a free 1-year membership in F3.
  • Check out the pre-blast to Flipper’s newest CSAUP creation: the Rut-Breaker! (Name still under development)

Moleskine:

  • Thanks to Christmas and Madison for the invitation to Q this morning. Until last year, Meathead was on Thursdays, so I was always conflicted. Gypsy and I had planned a surprise Q swap between Sparta and Meathead a while back, but we never managed to make it happen. Now that Meathead is on Wednesday, Sparta fits better for me. I appreciate the nudge to get out of my comfort zone and it was great to see some pax I only know by name or don’t see as often as I’d like.
  • Having never actually posted at Sparta, I took some time yesterday to peruse Google Maps and look for good workout territory. The Sportsplex was definitely tempting and there’s a great greenway down the road too, but when I saw the cul de sac octopus of Matthews Estates, I decided that was where we needed to go. Thankfully, there weren’t a lot of instructions required in the actual neighborhood, but we did get one dog barking. #neighborhoodpatrol
  • The partner loops seemed to work pretty well except that I was partnered with Orange Whip, who is faster than me, even with 1 good leg. The pax managed to stay together and we got some planks and squat holds in while waiting for the six.
  • Thanks to Orange Whip and Madison for looking out for the six. It’s tough to do that when you’re focused on leading the workout, so appreciate the help.

Olympic Effort

4 pax were on time for Olympus yesterday. No rain and warmer temps made for a more enjoyable experience, at least until the workout started.

Warm-up:

  • SSH x 15 IC
  • IW x 10 IC
  • Sharon Towers x 20 IC
  • 2-handed swings x 20 OYO
  • Prying squats x 2

Main Event:

Neupert: 10 sets of 6 double swings

Complex 1:

  • 1 clean, 1 jerk x 5
  • 1 clean, 2 jerks x 5
  • 1 clean, 3 jerks x 5
  • 1 clean, 4 jerks x 5
  • 1 clean, 5 jerks x 5
  • 1 clean, 4 jerks, x 5
  • 1 clean, 3 jerks x 5
  • 1 clean, 2 jerks x 5
  • 1 clean, 1 jerks x 5

Carries: Farmer out, farmer back, waiter L, waiter R – 1:00 on/1:00 recovery

Complex 2: 11s of merkins and snatches

  • 10 merkins, 1 double snatch (do singles if more comfortable)
  • 9 merkins, 2 double snatches
  • 8 merkins, 3 double snatches
  • etc.
  • 1 merkin, 10 double snatches

Circle up with RockZero for COT.

Announcements:

  • Beer mile – 3/19
  • Mighty Mite is taking a month off before scheduling/promoting his next blood drive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sign up to donate when you’re eligible.
  • Frehley’s Comet on Q at Swole on Monday and Unplugged on Q at Meathead on Wednesday.

Moleskine:

  • Thanks to the pax for coming out today. I promised some new complexes and they more or less delivered. Mighty Mite was the only one to make it to the top of the pyramid in the first complex. He was also pressing instead of jerking, which is pretty damn impressive. He was disappointed we bailed on going up to 5 after he had psyched himself up. We paid the price when he wouldn’t allow for any modification of the second complex (which should have started at 10 snatches and 1 merkin). All those snatches were tougher than expected. The double snatch is a lot of weight to bring down from overhead, so some pax returned it to the rack and others switched to singles as the reps got higher. Better to modify rather than hurt yourself.
  • YHC pre-ran with Hoover and Slingshot at 0630. Hoover and I got there a little early and were waiting to run when we noticed a door open on a parked car on the far side of the RZ lot. A woman got out, fixed her clothes a bit, then a man got out. The woman got in the driver’s seat of the fogged-up car and drove off while the man walked to another vehicle and drove off separately. Things can get pretty crazy in a church parking lot at 6am on a Saturday. I guess the moral of the story is to make sure you check the F3 schedule before you choose a spot for your early morning rendezvous.

Three’s Company

It was brisk out at Calvary Saturday morning. Hoover and I met up at 0600 for a 60-minute pre-run. Both of us had slacked off this week and needed to get some miles in. We rolled back into Calvary around 6:59 and split up for our respective workouts. Mighty Mite and Frehley’s Comet were out of their cars and ready to rumble.

After a bit of small talk, we got started.

Warm-up:

  • SSH x 15 IC
  • IW x 10 IC
  • Sharon Towers x 10 IC

Main Event:

  • Neupert: 10 sets of 1 double clean and press. Each set performed at the top of the minute. Frehley’s Comet did a few swings after the first set to continue the warm-up.
  • Complex: 1 swing, 1 high pull, 1 snatch, 1 clean, 1 squat, 1 press L/R EMOM for 15 rounds
  • Carries: Overhead carry out/back with L/R, then farmer carries out/back. Approximately 1:00 per carry.
  • Easy strength:
    • 2 x 5 double deadlifts
    • 2 x 5 double chest press on your back
    • 2 x 5 single upright rows
    • 4 x 5 double cleans
    • 2 x 5 lawnmowers per side
  • Mary:
    • 15 flutter presses IC
    • 10 Bulldogs OYO

Done. Circle up with RockZero for COT.

Announcements:

  • Great job by Mighty Mite in organizing the blood drive yesterday. He also volunteered the whole time (7:45-2:00). 40 pints (5 gallons) of blood were donated. Thanks to all that came out.
  • There will be a beer mile on 3/19 at the South Charlotte track. Join the beer mile channel on Slack or reach out to Hoover for details.
  • Please keep the Palmer family in your prayers.

Moleskine:

  • A small, but good crowd this morning. Now that Mighty Mite isn’t a site Q down in SOBland, he’s been posting at Olympus more. Frehley’s decided not to double down after doubling down on Friday.
  • It was a bit of a deload workout on the presses with only 10 reps (after 18 on Monday). That was nice. 15 rounds per side of the Voodoo Complex got old after about 10 rounds.
  • If you haven’t joined us for kettlebells yet, feel free to come on out. We usually have extra bells and can bring more if you give us a heads up (on Slack). Now’s the time to work on those arms before you head to Cancun for Spring Break.

Round and round we go

Flipper texted me last night with his latest terrible Tuesday plan: 33:00 warm up, 26:00 of intervals, and 33:00 cool down. Little did he know that I had a Get Out of Jail Free card – I was signed up to Q Fast Twitch this morning. Unfortunately, I couldn’t meet him in Ballantyne at 0445 to run for 92 minutes. I had foiled his plot!

Not so easily dissuaded, Flipper came up with a “brilliant” (his word) plan – he would meet me at my house at 0500, we would run to the Arboretum and take the FT crew through his heinous workout. Since I had planned to pre-run anyway and hadn’t drafted a weinke for my Q, I took the lazy smart way out and accepted this proposal.

Flipper and I rolled up to the launch point at about 0512 and found Benny and Purple Haze waiting. I figured we’d have a light crowd since most pax think of me as more of a kettlebell-wielding knuckle dragger than a runner. Suddenly, 7 more cars pulled in and pax started circling up. There was some mumblechatter/encouragement from Joker and Purple Haze as Prohibition’s loosened up his creamy white thighs with his Stick (you’re welcome for that mental image), then 0515 struck and we headed out.

Run out 51 to Strawberry, turn left, then left on Woodfox, right on Rounding Run. Run through the intersection with Rounding Run, at which point Prohibition said “this is where we usually circle up.” Not today, pal! Keep running all the way around the loop and back to the intersection, THEN we stop.

Instructions: run around Rounding Run for 2:00 HARD, then recover back to the six for 2:20. We will do this a few times (6). The starting gun goes off and the pax take off. Flipper takes an early, substantial lead on the peloton, which consisted of YHC, Purple Haze, Enron, and Alf. We hit 2:00 on the way up that stupid hill on the far side. Wow, I hope I don’t have to run that again (spoiler alert: we did. 2 more times). Recover back to Benny, who disappears. We chase him for 2:20, then give up, turn around and run back up the hill for the next 2:00. On the next recovery, we grab Retread and then continue going clockwise around the loop and run into Benny, who is coming at us. Repeato for 4 more times. Flipper maintained his lead at the front of the pack for all of the intervals, but there was some jostling for position amongst the rest of us.

Circle back up at the intersection of Rounding Run and head back to the AO via Raintree Lane, Willow Point Road, and then cut through the giant Lego bricks to the Arboretum parking lot. Push it back to the start for an arrival at exactly 5:15. Approximate mileage of 6-7 miles.

Thanks to Flipper for taking us out in COT.

Announcements:

  • If you can, please consider signing up for the blood drive on 2/19 at the Brace YMCA.
  • Unsanctioned hops-based beverage mile run taking place on 3/19 at SCMS. Let Hoover know if you’re interested and make sure to bring your IPAs so you can compete in the Ductwork division.
  • Please keep Bout Time and his family, particularly his 2.0 Jennings, in your prayers.

Moleskine:

  • As the regulars can attest, I’m not a regular at Fast Twitch, so thank you to Benny for the invitation to lead this morning. It’s definitely intimidating to take the reins for an elite running workout like FT, but hopefully everyone got their money’s worth this morning.
  • Thanks to Flipper for the assistance with the weinke. I was going to do an out and back route, but the intervals were much more interesting and kept the group together.
  • Some observations from this morning’s shenanigans:
  1. Flipper is in peak form and was flying.
  2. At about interval 4, Joker stopped sandbagging and surged to second place, breathing down Flipper’s neck.
  3. Alf, Enron, and Purple Haze were also in the lead pack and pushing hard while maintaining a nice conversation.
  4. Prohibition and Ductwork were right behind them and put in a strong effort on the hills. Prohibition brought his mumblechatter game, but the intervals shut him up for a bit.
  5. Hoover has made amazing progress over the past couple of years and is killing it on the runs. He’s already clocking 25+ mile weeks with BRR 7 months away. #captain
  6. It was great to see Retread, who I hadn’t seen since he quit coming to my kettlebell workouts. #tear Hopefully I can get him back out there when it warms up a bit.
  7. Benny, though hampered with injuries, continues to put in the work and will be killing it again once he’s 100%. Keep it up!

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