3 pax met up at Elizabeth Lane Elementary for an intimate episode of Meathead. 2 of us pre-ran individually. I got started late, so I only did 2.5 miles. Purell started later and probably finished 5. #faster
We met up in the old gathering spot, driving the joggers over to the other side of the parking lot and away from our historic stomping grounds.
Warm-up:
Main Thang:
Single arm pyramid
Complete 2 per side, then 4, 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
Partner doubles pyramids
Complete 1, 3, 5, 3, 1 of each exercise before moving onto the next exercise
Mary:
Finish up with :30 each of the hardstyle plank, the hollow body hold, and the glute bridge.
COT – YHC with the takeout
Announcements:
8 pax rolled into Elizabeth Lane on a chilly (mid-30s) November morning to attack round 12 of the Total Tension Strength program. We started week 5 with our press pyramid.
Warm-up:
Main Thang:
Chaser: 100 double swings in sets of 10-20
Cool-down: hard style elbow plank x 0:30
Announcements:
Sign up for the holiday party!!!
Moleskine:
An unlucky 13 met at the Meathead Inclement Weather Location (or the MIWL), a/k/a the tennis shelter at Covenant Day School on Halloween 2019 for the 11th installment of the Total Tension program. As usual, Tiger Rag took the reins and led the pax through the following:
Warm-up:
Main Event:
Pax partner up for the usual exercises (all performed as doubles):
Perform 100 double swings in sets of 10-20.
Cool-down with the same exercises as the warm-up.
Announcement: sign up for the Holiday Party. Migthy Mite and others have put a ton of work into it, so sign up and sign up early. It’s always a lot of fun (at least the years I’ve been able to make it).
NMM:
10 pax circled up in the gloom yesterday (yes, this backblast is posted over 24 hours after the workout, the horror!). 5 (YHC, TR, HT, Header, and Chin Music) chose to pre-run the #SpamRunner route starting as early as 0450.
Warm-up:
Main Thang:
Single arm pyramid:
Do 2, 4, 6, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps of each exercise
Perform various carries to the second island and back (suitcase, racked, overhead, bottoms-up).
Partner doubles pyramid:
Do 2, 4, 6, 4, 2, reps of each exercise and rest while your partner works.
Bodyweight time-waster (yeah, I said it):
Mosey down to the kitty litter (unless you’re TR or HH) for 1 round of:
Return to the parking lot for 10 snatches per arm, then 5 snatches per arm.
Thanks to High Tide for graciously accepting my invitation to lead the take-out.
Announcements:
Moldy-skinny:
15 pax arrived at Calvary Church this morning for my Q. When contemplating my weinke yesterday at work, I wasn’t sure which direction to take it. With Flipper’s manifesto no longer providing the minimal guidance of light days and heavy days, I had complete latitude. As they say, too many choices can be paralyzing. Might as well go with an old standby – gear.
After a brief disclaimer and a welcome to our FNG (Rupert S., accompanying Boerewors), we moseyed around the parking lot to make Gummy happy. After that, we circled up for a little COP:
The Thang:
Split the pax into groups of 2. Group 1 performs a called exercise while group 2 carries various implements (large kettlebells, sandbags (40-80 lbs.), a tree limb, a keg). Each group gets a turn on the bells and a turn on the carries.
We broke it up a bit with 3 laps around the parking lot. Finally, we did two sprints, which were made more exciting by the slippery asphalt (I didn’t think it was possible to miss the cheese grater parking lots we usually find at our AOs). Gummy accurately called these out as time-killers.
Finally, we circled up for some Mary:
Time. Thanks to Gummy for the takeout in COT.
Announcements:
Skinny moley thing:
5 pax posted at Meathead this morning for some kettlebell work. For some reason, numbers are light these days. Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s all the running with BRR around the corner, maybe it’s the pax taking some vacation during the last gasp of summer. For whatever reason, they weren’t there and they missed out.
Chin Music, Header, and YHC met up at 5:00 for a 3 mile pre-run. They were kind enough not to dust me, but I definitely outsweated the two of them combined.
We circled up and YHC provided a legally airtight disclaimer. Seriously, Young Love would have been proud.
Warm up:
The Main Event:
Singles work #1:
Partner up for doubles work (Unplugged went solo and might have done some extra work):
Singles work #2 (try not to put the bell down during swings):
Pax choice: repeat doubles set from above
We had a few minutes left, so we did some pax-called Mary:
Time. Circle up for COT and a solid take-out by Header.
Announcements:
Moleskine:
He hated all this, and somehow he couldn’t get away.
-Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (also TAF, who seems to be Chester’s favorite)
15 pax met up this morning at the greenway parking lot at Sardis Road and Old Bell Road, prepared for their weekly trip into the heart of darkness to kick the bully (Mount Yucca) in the shins.
After a brief disclaimer, 12 of us set off at precisely 5:15 (Federalist, Hoover, and Mr. Brady) met us on the course. As a veteran leader, well aware of his own weaknesses (namely, Oreos, IPAs, and running), I had devised a plan that required absolutely zero leadership. After all, this site basically Qs itself.
The plan was simple: start at the cul de sac at the top of Old Bell Road. Run down and make a right on Wilby and follow it all the way out to Sardis Road. Turn around and return to the top via Mountainview. That’s one lap, run as many as you can, then meet at the flagpole at 6:08 (that’s 6:08AM Eastern time, Cheese Curd!) for the pledge, then mosey it back to the launch. Everyone got in at least 2.5 laps. The leaders were somewhere on their 4th when time ran out.
Chester’s Moleskine:
We all know that no one comes to a Horsey backblast for details of the workout, so #cobains for the above recap. This morning’s fever dream started like all of the others, with a bunch of men standing around, looking at each other in a parking lot. Some of the visitors had already dispensed with their shirts, their semi-chiseled flesh glistening in the light of the moon, like a bunch of backup dancers from an off-brand Chippendale’s show at a motel near the airport. The others remained shirted, mostly in non-performance shirts sure to shear their nipples off by the end of today’s journey. On the run in on Old Bell, you hear a lot of strange noises from the darkened woods. Shining your headlamp into the bushes, it’s not uncommon to see glowing eyes staring back at you. Deer? Coyote? Man? Chester? Just keep running. Despite the other pax on the course, there is inevitably some time out there where you’re utterly alone in the darkness with nothing but your thoughts to keep you company. “Why am I doing this again?” “Why do my friends invite me to these workouts? Do they secretly hate me?” “Why did I eat that burrito for dinner last night?” “Why are my shoes so squishy?” [Those last two are not related, I swear.]
Horsey is as much a battle of emotions as it is hills. Keep the legs moving, tune out the weird noises, and ignore the possible sexual predators. Thanks to the pax for coming out this morning and helping push each other.
Random observations:
Checkpoint, the sole representative of #TeamRifty, was at the front the entire time. Mr. Brady was in second place from a speed perspective, but might have been first if the competition was volume of sweat wrung from his shirt post-workout. TAF has possibly the most impressive beard I’ve ever seen on a non-millenial. Part of me wonders if he has any small rodents living under there, like the brown wizard from the Hobbit. Despite all of his complaining post-workout, Gypsy is getting strong and is going to crush his marathon later this year. We might need to change his nickname to Waterboy if he keeps hiding water bottles everywhere. Cheese Curd is usually my speed, but he stayed just out of my reach today. You know he’s feeling good if you don’t hear any moaning noises while he’s running hills.
Alright, I need to get to bed. Sound off in the comments if you have any more observations or feedback. I’ll be sure to pass along any suggestions to management.
8 pax posted at Death Valley yesterday in the soupy gloom. Methinks they were there to see if I knew where the AO was, but they were kind enough to stick around for the workout.
Warm-up:
Mosey around the parking lot with a little carioca. This was a spur-of-the-moment call that almost backfired when YHC’s feet got tangled up. That would have been a record early Q fail.
Circle up at the start point for the usual:
The Thang:
Mosey to Davie Park and plank it up for the six. Lo and behold, Spackler and his merry band of Anvil pax show up as well. [If you want a more interesting backblast, head over to his Anvil post here.]
Partner up by AO. Partner 1 heads to the playground for 5 pull-ups, 10 merkins, and 20 split squats (10 per leg) while partner 2 runs to the fence, stopping at each light post (on the way out and back) for 5 merkins (35 per round). Flapjack and repeato until each partner does both parts of the workout 3 times.
We then moseyed up to the lush soccer field (it’s so nice I’m going to have to say it’s better than the Charge) for Four Corners with 15 heels to heaven at each corner.
We bid adieu to the Anvil pax and moseyed back to SCMS. Plank for the 6 at Strawberry and 51 and again at the launch. We might have done some Mary, but I can’t remember at this point.
COT – thank you for the take-out, Smokey.
Announcements:
Moley-moley:
“Running! If there’s any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can’t think of what it might be. In running the mind flees with the body, the mysterious efflorescence of language seems to pulse in the brain, in rhythm with our feet and the swinging of our arms.”
Joyce Carol Oates
Whatever, Joyce. I want some of the drugs she was on when she wrote that. We all know running blows and it’s all about counting the minutes or the miles until you can stop doing it. But since we’re all a bunch of crazy idiots that get up way too early to do hard stuff, 11 of us knuckleheads met up at Charlotte Latin (not South Charlotte Middle School) for my running workout VQ. No site Qs or shovel flags in attendance (sorry, Hops!).
After waiting for Alf to style his hair (gotta get it juuuuust right) and one of my better disclaimers, we departed the lot at about 5:16. Much to Gummy’s chagrin, we were late. We moseyed out onto Providence (without anyone getting hit by the swimmers pulling in aggressively) and down to Raintree Lane. Run into Raintree and circle up at the intersection with Four Mile Creek. I gave the pax their instructions a couple of times (Mr. Brady was very rudely talking over the Q) and off we went. Well, Rosie did his own thing, but that’s okay because he’s fast and young and we’d rather he ran off into the distance so we don’t have to be confronted with the fact that he’s faster and younger than the rest of us.
The Thang:
Split into groups of 3 (YHC was odd man out) and each partner runs in a different direction:
When you get back to the intersection, repeatedly perform 10 jump squats and 20 LBCs until your whole team is back, then each pax member does 5 burpees and switch legs. Repeato until about 6:05. Everyone should have gotten in 4x 1 mile out and back runs.
Mosey back to the start. Much to Gummy’s chagrin (I imagine), we were early. #symmetry Pax option to either join the Hawk’s Nest pax for Mary, do some more running in the parking lot, or stretch it out.
COT with Hawk’s Nest. Thanks to Pop Tart for the takeout.
Moleskine:
SYITG,
Voodoo