Author Archive WildTurkey

Muscle Shoals, more like Muscle Swoles!

On a frosty Monday, six movers of metal joined me for a salute to the Muscle Shoals sound.

During the ’60s and ’70s, the biggest artists in the world retreated to small-town Alabama to work with famed music producer Rick Hall and the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, aka the Swampers. Away from the hustle and bustle of places like New York and Los Angeles, the artists were isolated and distraction-free with only one thing to pass the time: make hit records.

And that’s what happened. Over and over again.

But Muscle Shoals isn’t some musical relic of the past.

Still today, artists continue to make the pilgrimage to record there in search of that elusive Muscle Shoals sound that created so many iconic songs over the years.

15 Famous Songs Recorded in Muscle Shoals – Tennessee Valley Weekend

  • Warm-up
    • Side-straddle hops
    • Steve Earls
    • Arm circles
  • Neupert
    • Clean + press 6 sets of 2 reps (go as heavy as possible)
  • Complex
    • Two-handed swings, optimally with two bells, pyramid 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
    • Thrusters, optimally with two bells, pyramid  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
  • Easy Strength
    • 2 set of 5 reps, sumo deadlift, diamond ‘mericans, lawnmower rows
    • Snatches – 5 sets of 5 reps each arm (50 total)
  • Mary
    • Sit-up and twist with bells x 20
    • Elbow plank – 1 min
    • Hollow body hold – 1 min
    • Glute bridge – 1 min

Muscle-skine

I’m still settling into this new program. It’s a bit more to remember as a Q, but I welcome the variety after months of swing after swing. My advice is to use Voodoo’s notes and plan a little extra to ensure it meets the time requirements. Thank you to the guys that came out on a banker’s holiday. Let’s keep getting better together.

Holiday Hurlers

A trio a dumdums showed up for four rounds of frosty HIIT.

:45 on, :15 off Tabata / 1:00 break between rounds

  • Ruck Swings
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Ruck Push-Ups
  • Ruck Overhead Press
  • Inchworms
  • Short (Pulsing) Squats
  • Walking Lunges
  • Squat Jumps
  • Burpees

Dirty Buy Out:

  • 2:00 Walking Lunge / Ruck Overhead
  • 2:00 Burpee w/ Ruck Jump
  • 2:00 Ruck Bent Over Rows

Moleskine

Well, I checked the schedule and found out I was Q for today’s SACS (and yesterdays Fast Twitch). It was a good reason to create the following setlist. I’m grateful, Cheese Curd and Hoover came out and put up with my musical “taste”.  And double props to Hoover for his doubledown.

I borrowed this workout from the Spearhead training course. I have a few weeks left and for $25 it has kept my rucking and weight training on track. The PATHFINDER Ruck Training Program from Team SPEARHEAD

Happy New Year!

 

Setlist – song, album, artist, running time
Link to the tunes

1
T.V. Eye
Funhouse
The Stooges
04:17

2
It’ll Never Happen Again
Pissed On Another Planet
The Scientists
04:21

3
Territorial Pissings
Nevermind (Remastered)
Nirvana
02:22

4
Feel All Right
… Play 9 Songs With Mr. Quintron
Oblivians
03:26

5
My Love Is A Monster
Bluff City
Compulsive Gamblers
03:25

6
Modern Art
Arabia Mountain
Black Lips
02:04

7
Reptile Style
Time Bomb High School
Reigning Sound
03:22

8
Bring It On Home
Rock & Roll Is Dead
The Hellacopters
02:10

9
Middle
Scream Dracula Scream
Rocket From The Crypt
01:01

10
The Reproduction Of Death
Survival Sickness
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
03:47

11
Let’s Dress Up the Naked Truth
Destroy-Oh-Boy!
New Bomb Turks
02:00

12
Abra Cadaver
Tyrannosaurus Hives
The Hives
01:33

13
You Can’t Touch Her
All Men Are Liars
Neckbones
02:56

14
Love You So
The King Khan & Bbq Show
03:45

15
Man Made of co2
1000x
Man Or Astro-Man?
02:14

16
Bellbottoms
Orange
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
05:18

Holiday Hooligans

A trio of wise men gathered for a heavenly multitude of swings.

Swing Set
90 seconds each set
10 two-handed swings
8 push-ups

10 single-arm (weak side) swings
4 sit-ups with bell

10 single-arm (strong side) swings
8 push-ups

10 alternating swings
8 sit-ups with bell

10 American swings
8 push-ups

x 5

300 swings
96 sit-ups
96 push-ups

Weighted Carries
Farmer carry to deadlift high pulls x 5
Waiter carry to lawn mower x 5

Core
Elbow plank – 1 min
Hollow body hold – 1 min
Glute bridge – until time (not very long)

Setlist

1 Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight) ~ Ramones

2 Fairytale of New York (feat. Kirsty MacColl) ~ The Pogues

3 Merry Xmas Everybody ~ Slade

4 The Christmas Song ~ The Raveonettes

5 Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) ~ Darlene Love

6 Oi To The World! ~ The Vandals

7 Christmas Vacation ~ Descendents

8 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing ~ Bad Religion

9 A Christmas Duel ~ The Hives w/ Cyndi Lauper

10 Happy Xmas (War Is Over) ~ The Polyphonic Spree

11 Father Christmas~ The Kinks

12 Christmas Tree On Fire ~ Holly Golightly

13 We Three Kings ~ The Reverend Horton Heat

14 The Night Santa Went Crazy ~ “Weird Al” Yankovic

Link to playlist

Moleskine

The holidays are about hope. Today, the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines arrived to facilities across the US. Thank you to the very smart people who worked on the formula, the brave volunteers who participated in the trial and the logistics team and drivers for getting this valuable cargo to its destination. We are going to get through this year and better days are on the way.

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Swing Variations – Soundtrack by The Pixies

A small(er) group of men gathered for a Monday meltdown.

90 seconds each set
10 two-handed swings
4 thrusters
4 push-ups

10 single-arm (weak side) swings
4 thrusters
4 push-ups

10 single-arm (strong side) swings
4 thrusters
4 push-ups

10 alternating swings
4 thrusters
4 push-ups

10 American swings
4 thrusters
4 push-ups

x 5

Waiter, rack and farmer’s carries
Elbow plank 1 min
Glute bridge (almost) 1 min

Moleskine
After Van Halen and KISS playlists, I decided to push the sonic boundaries and play one of my favorites bands – The Pixies. It’s not likely that you’ve heard them, but your favorite alternative bands love them. They wrote guitar-based songs with hooks, but mixed artsy noise and cryptics lyrics that would alternate between breathy whispers or full-throated shouting. They were among a handful of 1980s bands  that provided a contrast to make-up and spandex rockers. (Other notables include REM, Replacements, Husker Du, Jesus & Mary Chain and Sonic Youth.) Over the years, a few songs have made it onto soundtracks and even commercials. You can find their best loved “hits” here.

Boxer-themed Circuit Training

 

Opening set – dynamic running drills and burpees with the standard warm-up COP.

4 rounds, 8 exercises, 1 min each

Burpees
American hammer
Push-ups (I really think the word merkin is dumb.)
Sit-ups
Squats with upper-cuts
Mountain climbers
Shadow boxing  <- Adding a link is pretty boss.
Heels to Heaven

 

Adding a pulled quote in the backblast makes it look really professional

 

Wordplay on Moleskine
Here’s the part where we write about an important life lesson. It’s also a good place to remember that wacky thing that happened. Also, mention that WordPress is awkward and you couldn’t get it to work.

Announcements
Blood drive
Give2Give
Makeshift Marathon

 

Cobra Kai – Flip the Script

Cobra Kai is the follow-up to Karate Kid. The series focuses on the movie’s villian Johnny. After losing the All-Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, he is directionless, drinks too much and works menial jobs. After a rescuing a teen neighbor, he begins the road to reclaiming his past and his dojo. The series is the perfect tribute with just the right amount of action, 80s nostalgia and fan service. It’s a must watch.

In response a Facebook friend of mine challenged us to “Cobra Kai” other 80s movies. Here’s my submission.

Teen Wolf’s career in the NBA is ended when he succombs to his predator instinct and kills rival player. Jailed he begins a journey into self-discovery with the help of a changling warden.

Opening Scene

An agitated Old/Teen Wolf is pulled from a solitary confinement cell, inside the walls are gouged with claw marks.
Warden: I guess they meant it when they said you’d be a handful. Now that I’m in charge. Change is coming Mr. Wolf. Big changes.
Old/Teen Wolf: What you do know about change. I’m a monster. That’s all I’ll ever be!
Warden: I know more than you think.
Old/Teen Wolf: You don’t know what I’m dealing with.
(Warden reaching out, with a clawed hand) 
Warden: Oh, I do…I most certainly do…
Opening credits roll, The Cramps I Was A Teenage Werewolf plays.

Submit your ideas on the comments or Slack.

The Workout –

John J. Delaney Loop
Typical warm-up
3 sets of graduated sprints with 10, 20 and 30 reps push-ups, squats and big boy sits
Dips and step-ups on the fountain
Bear crawls, lunge walks and broad jumps at Harris Teeter
Lake laps and burpees
Run home (fast)

Back to Cobra Kai. What does that have to do with F3? Everything. It’s the story of a high school athlete who figured he peeked and failed. He’s friendless and purposeless. Then, he gets into fitness and works on reaching out to the community. He’s not perfect, but through the series, he keeps trying. That’s your message friends – keep trying. Your life is far from over. Find your purpose, reclaim your life and never give up.

Rucking and (Big) Rocking

This is a double-decker BB. Deal with it.

WEDNESDAY 

The nameless sandbag/ruck workout at SCMS featuring YHC, Geraldo and Proehl.

6 Cones or Markers or whatever spaced down…you are going to do suicides on these.
Cone 6
Cone 5
Cone 4
Cone 3
Cone 2
Cone 1
Start

ALL Suits and Cards 2 – 6 = Suicide Cone touches.
Example: draw a number 2 card (Two Cone touches): Run to Cone 1, back to Start, run to Cone 2 and back to start. Done.

Example: draw a number 5 card (Five Cone touches): Start and Run to Cone 1, back to Start, run to Cone 2, back to Start, run to Cone 3, back to Start, run to Cone 4, back to start, run to Cone 5, back to Start. Done.

Rest of the cards:

Hearts: Jumping Jacks
Spades: Burpees
Clubs: Push Ups
Diamonds: Squats
Face Cards = 15 reps
Aces = 20 reps
Jokers = Run a lap

The verdict: If you want to feel old and out of shape. Workout with Proehl. He’s 19/20 in the army and crushes every workout he attends. Also, he’s super nice. Geraldo gave us the back round on this workout and let us know you could face it twice at a GORUCK event.

 

FRIDAY – The Brave
Eight hombres moseyed to Big Rock and did an AMRAP around the boulders descending and ascending a nice hill filled with roots and rocks.

The Verdict: Be sure to check Slack, keep an extra headlamp in your car and make sure those batteries are charged.

Moleskine

As I introduced the crew to Big Rock I mentioned that these boulders were a gathering place for Native Americans. To survive in those time you needed to be fit. Hunting, hiking, tracking and foraging took strong bodies. You needed fellowship. Men worked in teams to find food and build shelter. Lastly, those men, all men, need faith. We need to know that there is a power and purpose beyond ourselves. We need all three Fs.

 

 

Shine a Light

I’m not alone in claiming the Rolling Stones as my favorite band. There’s a strong case to be made for the Stones to be the greatest band of all time. For 60+ years, Mick, Keith and Charlie have written iconic tunes recorded timeless albums and fundamentally changed what it means for a band to tour. For today’s Meathead setlist, we fired up Exile on Main St. and went 10 swings a minute for 25 minutes. Next we alternated farmer’s and waiter carries with deadlift/high pulls on one end and thrusters on the opposite side of the parking lot. We finished with the core classics – plank, hollow body hold and glute bridge.

Since it’s a double album, we didn’t get to the end of the recording, but the song Shine a Light has a special meaning for me. Mick is singing about his former bandmate, Brian Jones. Jones became addicted to drugs was dismissed from the band (the band he started) and died soon after in a drowning accident. The song is a plea for serenity for his former mate.

Lyrics of "Shine a Light"

The song is both mournful and hopeful. Even in the depths of desperation and death, we seek peace for our friends and family. Chances are we all know someone battling demons of addiction and mental health issues. It’s impossible to “fix” these people. We can only be there when they are ready. Print a list professional help and resources, drive them to appointments, remind people to take their medicine and complete the journals and breathing exercises. Join them for a walk in woods Pray together.

Luke 11:33 ESV

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

Hillacious

Pax – Teddy, Old Cooter, Young Cooter, Mr. Magoo, Swine Flu and YHC

Simple is not easy.

Warm-up with the usual side-straddles, Imperial Walkers, plus Steve Earles, ‘mericans, ,mountain climbers, plank jacks, Super-Mans, flutter and Dolly.

Hill 1 (by the Target road sign)
Dora 123*
100 ‘mericans
200 squats
300 little baby crunches

Hill 2 (adjecent to Elm)
BPM*
100 burpees
200 plank jacks
300 mountain climbers

*Partner combined total

Grinders with bomb jacks and Carolina dry docks

Flutter, Rosalita and high flutter

Molten Skin

Strong word by a small crew. Minimal bitching despite a pretty wretched q with continous uphill movement.

Lessons for today
Simple is not easy.
Your partners can help you.
Work as hard as you can.
Understand the purpose. We do this not to suffer, but to improve our health.
Appreciate the reward. Be proud, but not boastful of your accomplishments.
It will pass. Every hardship and trial ends, eventually.
Thank God for your blessings, but recognize your responsibility to do his will.

BOMBS over Ballantyne

Pre-Run – Billy Goat and YHC for 2 miles of extra credit. Stonehenge is the only AO where you can get a full 90 min. Man up and show up.

Warmer-Upper in the Staybridge Lot
20 Side Straddles
20 Imperial Walkers
10 Steve Earles
10 ‘mericans
10 Supermans
20 Flutter
20 Dolly
20 Rosie

BOMBS @ Campbell’s lot. Someone should name it the soup bowl or something
With a  partner complete
50 burpees
100 overhead claps
150 ‘mericans
200 big boy sit-ups
250 squats

Bagpipe Hill
Run to the top then 100 side straddle hops
Run to the top backwards then 75 mountain climbers
Run to the top as fast as you can 50 Freddy Mercury

Run home with some ‘mericans sprinkled in

Finish with sky humpers, bridges and lbcs

Moleskin
It’s good to be back. Great to see old faces and new faces including National Treasure, Spareparts and Midriff. Keep coming out! We covered 3.5 miles plus a full body workout.

I got called out for working out on my own and virtual lately. TBH, I still get a little nervous in a larger group. The consequences of community spread are severe. Be diligent and persistent.

As if you needed another reminder, times are tough right now. Keep training, keep pushing and never give up.

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Mumblechatter

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