13 PAX, including two FNGs, braved the icy cold this morning to climb the slopes of Mt. Chiseled. A quick check of the weather app last night led this guy to believe we’d have temps around 34 degrees. Cold, but nothing out of the ordinary. On the ride to the AO at 0500 the truck temp read 27. Frosted Coupons. A frozen tire. Ice in the buckets? This is no time for an audible!
The Warmup:
Quick jog around Mt. Chiseled to get our bearings and get those creaky joints moving. Back to the start and each PAX grabs 2 bricks.
AMRAP – 1 minute each with a 10 second transition period between
Not much mumble chatter. One PAX mentioned it might’ve been cause everyone was secretly thinking how much they hated me.
The Thang:
Hearken now and hear my tale of a band of adventurers. Brothers. PAX! Who braved the chill and wintry morn’ to challenge themselves, test their mettle, weave this tale of gallant daring, and impose their will upon the mountain!
To the far side of Mt. Chiseled they strode and gathered up the great bricks of stone.
At last they were off with ten goblet squats that had broken down many lesser men. Then down with the stone and up the icy cliffs, across the far side of the frozen tundra where they warmed themselves by doing a single, solitary burpee. Alas, no rest for these weary souls, so back across the icy plains to the slippery peak of the mountain and descend, descend, carefully… gracefully, down the treacherous mountainside.
Again, again! Nine squats, two burpees. Eight squats, three burpees! These brave adventurers pushed and forged ahead on a quest that seemingly had no end. When their bodies felt they could surely handle no more, at last reprieve was upon them. In total, no less than five and fifty burpees and five and fifty goblet squats were vanquished by these brave PAX.
With the dreaded peak now behind them, the determined warriors strode forth to steel themselves against one last test.
In teams of three the PAX found themselves strewn across a vast battlefield. On one end they toiled to lift great coupons to row, curl and press. On the other the men speedily skated, pushed down the earth, and scaled the ground like a web crawler. And in between, the hearty PAX sprinted with great haste to relieve the brothers of their onerous burdens.
It was on this set of tasks the determined brotherhood labored until the final trek to where their journey both began and would now end.
Moleskin:
If you actually read that then I’m sorry. Sitting at the courthouse while awaiting a hearing means a lot of bored free time.
Big thanks to Fuse for showing up early to assist with the coupons and then making another run to storage when the PAX count exceeded expectations.
Another thanks to Xerox and Mayhem for helping with the clean up.
Welcome to Sambuca and Uncle Si (double respect. Not sure if those guys were warned what they were getting into but they looked like regulars to me. When you meet them, be sure to ask how they got their names.
Welcome back to Offline. After some injuries and an extended time off he was back and sweating with the rest of us
Announcements:
Thanks Recalculating for taking us out.
The air was chilly but still warmer than average for early January as YHC stepped into the Scout Hut and cranked up the heat to “sweltering” in preparation for this morning’s workout.
Disclosure was given and Devo started as Pax continued to filter in (not calling you out here, you know who you are).
Devo: Three New Year’s Resolutions to Keep by Ann Marie Chilton
Warm-up
Imperial Walker – 10IC
Low-but-not-so-slow Squats – 10IC
Slow Giant Arm Circles – 5F/5B R/L
One-legged side-straddle-swing (AKA “agility test”) – 10/leg
Vinyasa – 1X slow together with 10 calf raises in DD position
Vinyasa – 1X together at regular speed
Vinyasa – 1X OYO
Main Thang:
All movements are 4 times at 5 secs hold, then 1 more time at 45 secs hold. (4-5-45) Vinyasa between each stretch.
Low lunge
Seated forward fold w/strap
Quad stretch
Gate pose
Prone shoulder roll
On your 6: Dead pigeon then straight leg cross-body stretch
Toes pose
TIME
Announcements:
After a long and distinguished tour of duty as Site Co-Q, Tweetsie passed the mantle (and importantly, the keys) to our new Site Co-Q Julip.
Moleskin:
Good crowd for today’s edition of Gumby. YHC wanted to mix it up a bit with “different” music, a few minutes of actual warm-up (never stretch a cold muscle), and an approach to stretching modeled more on what you’d get at Physical Therapy then a yoga studio. I’d love feedback in comments here or DM on Twitter @SwissMissF3 or Slack. (Already noted: standing quad stretch seemed to go better with wall support. “Agility test” in warm-ups was a bust.)
Check out the full devo in the link above. Good stuff that we should all take to heart and make part of our life this year.
Thank you to Tweetsie for being a great site co-Q for a long time (over two years, I think). His millennial technical prowess saved this near-Respect’s bacon from getting tossed into Q jail too many times to count. Fortunately for me (and all of us, really) he’s not going to disappear even though he’s moved. He’ll still be in the Q rotation at Gumby and probably other A51 AOs.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead and try new things,
Swiss Miss
13 pax experienced the dawn of a new day in South Charlotte yesterday with the launch of the newest gear workout and the first workout of the new strength program. As you’ve undoubtedly heard if you’re reading this backblast, there will be 3 strength workouts a week going forward: Mondays at McAlpine Elementary (Swole), Wednesdays at Cavalry (Meathead), and Saturdays at Elizabeth Lane Elementary (Olympus).
The Thang (along with recommended weights):
| Single presses: 6 x (5 press ea side@ 20kg) | |
| 1H swings: 16 x (10 swings OTM @ 28kg) | |
| Farmer’s walks: 4 x (90 sec @ “heavy”) |
Thanks to Udder for the takeout in COT.
Announcements:
Ye Olde Moleskine:
Had the opportunity to Q at Bushwood and was a little nervous I must say. Where is the valet and how much do you tip at the bag drop? Golf attire, collard shirt, socks or no socks – lots to think about. I took out a cart for a quick run of the course to get my bearings (how much do you tip the Cart Guy?). 17 men showed up on a near perfect day to play 18. While I didn’t think this would be Junior Tour event -I was surprised that this was a Champions Tour Event – 17 Pax – Average Age of 46
(FYI – need to get Dobber? added into the system)
Disclaimer, Cell, CPR, Safety
Warm up: Typical: SSH, LSS, Merkin and Mountain Climber
Thang
Mosey to one of the the lower income neighborhoods in marvin:
Mosey through path to parking lot for some basketball conditioning:
Line touches. Sideline to Sideline. Partner up. Go sideline to sideline in 1 minute for x number of line touches. Combine # you didn’t get to for Burpee penalty.
This is an old pre-season basketball conditioning drill that might have been performed in the 80’s. Garbage cans would be placed at each end of the court. We could have used the cans today – Hats off to Dobber with the first Merlot spill of 2020.
Asked the park ranger to help speed play and get us in front of the foursome that was goofing off— headed to wall.
Finish
COT/Announcements: Toothbrushes/Paste/Soap – needed for Ray of Hope bring to Dana and others. Christ Closet Folding for this Saturday 8AM AkBars Church on Newton/Cuthby. 2.0 friendly
Lots of Respect’s and those in the forty something bracket – average Age of 46… Very Impressive. I don’t know of a place – gym, ymca, or neighborhood club (not to be named) that would give this type of effort in the gloom on a consistent basis. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by outstanding men, who are supportive and in it together and who also don’t forget to laugh and bust BALLS. Besides the workouts we have some lifestyle habits some are trying to improve on: Dryuary still going strong and Weight Loss Challenge along with some goal setting to give a path for improvement in 2020.
Keep it up – Playhouse is open for business. *Disclaimer on the Playhouse*** Must be Unoffendable to join – must be willing to get your feelings hurt once in a while – can’t suffer from BUTTHURT
FYI – need to get Dobber? added into the system
9 PAX gathered in the gloom to start their week the right way. After an abbreviated disclaimer we were off.
Moleskin
Strong group of PAX out today. YHC managed to lead from the middle. Chalet and Bout Time were way out in front. Not sure which actually claimed the VT. Good to have Gangsta Mouse back out at DMZ. Aquafresh marketed my Q on the tweeter but was a no show. Always a pleasure to lead the DMZ pax. Thanks for the opportunity. Aye.
No announcements.
I had to give this backblast this title simply because of the overwhelming disdain everyone displayed when I said “alright boys, 2 lines for the burpee Indian Run.” That title just barely won out over Ol’ Captain One Eye got stuck in Utah and abandoned his Q. Anywho, 32 Men braved the 33 degrees outside this morning between Flash and Ignition and kicked butt. I’ll admit I stole a few things Dasher did on Friday at the inaugural Swarm workout. My goal was simply to keep everyone moving with the low temperatures outside. NO Webbs that stop the flow and lower the heart rate!
Warm Up:
Mosey down the pass to Rudy’s Poop Palace, on the way butt kickers, high knees, karaoke and circle up:
SSH—-Audible let’s move up the road to get out of the bus driver’s way.
SSH x 15, LSS x10, Moroccan night clubs x10, Merkins x10, calf stretch, jimmy dugan stretch, 6″ Plank Jacks
That Thang:
Partner Up with P1 running to school and complete 20 dips and 20 step ups, P2 runs to lower traffic circle by stadium and bear crawls the entire circle. Meet in the middle for 5 hand slap Merkins. Complete 2 full rounds.
Mosey to bottom of hill by stadium for 2 light poles up on left at sprint/mile pace then 1 light back at recovery jog. Make it to the top of the hill. This got the heart rate up very quickly and I believe our FNG(Slow Pitch) spilled some merlot.
At the top of the hill, 2 Lines for Burpee Indian Run. Lots of groaning and foul language commenced at this point. Guy in the back does burpee then sprint to the front. Run to the sidewalk below the stairs.
From there 10 Dry Docks at intersection, run to stairs 2 burpees before going up, lunge walk to wall and then 10 Mike Tysons. Everyone got 1 round some started on round 2, time to get back to COT.
Moleskin:
Great to see these big numbers on a nice chilly Monday. NO excuses when we have so many options out there available to us. Guys pushed hard this morning and I believe Flash out performed Ignition! Big props to all those staying strong in the Dryuary, I know it’s not easy but stay the course.
Announcements:
Collect the toothpaste, tooth brushes for the F3 Guys
Folding guys needed this Saturday from 8-12ish. See Dana for more details.
Banjo and I get the call from Deadwood while he’s out in Utah that the private plan doesn’t land until midnight. After the limo ride from the tarmac to his home he won’t get to sleep in his hyperbaric chamber until probably 1:30am. No problem bud, we can handle flash….
I log into South Charlotte’s F3 site to see who is on Q to post the marketing and whoops, I have the Q at Ignition. Sorry Banjo but you will go it alone this AM.
What to do for my 37th Q, what to do. I don’t want to set the mileage record because that’s boring as hell. Just straight running for 60 minutes? I’ve followed that Q and I hate it. So I planned a Q that started with demoralizing running in the gloom chasing yourself and by the end we would finish together. Let’s roll!
DiCCS given. A Flash participant almost took off with us and we saved him just before lift off.
THE THANG
Mosey to the front of the school and onto the main road. Run down passed the buses and end at Rudy’s Palace of Fine Poops. Circle up… (0.46mi)
• 20 x SSH
• 20 x Low slow squats
• 10 x Moroccan Night Clubs
• Jimmy Dugan
• Calf Stretch
Time for a lispy play on Burpee Mile. The Mike Tyson 1.6th Mile. Starting at the palace, complete 4 MTs. Run up towards COT stopping at the small sidewalk which takes you to the back of the school and complete 8 MTs. Run down said sidewalk passed the lunch benches, stopping at the corner near the dumpsters and buses. Complete another 8 MT and continue back down to the start of Rudy’s Porcelain Emporium to complete 8 MTs. Complete 4 laps. That’s 24 MTs per lap + 4 from the start = 100 total MTs (2.06mi)
Let’s mosey to those nice new benches! (2.31mi)
At the benches 10 x box jumps, at first traffic circle 30 x Speedskaters and at the second traffic circle 15 x monkey humpers. Down and back 2.5 times. (3.51mi)
Mosey to the center of the lot for a starfish. 10 Big Boy Situps at the center every time. Complete 10 of each: Carolina Dry Docks, 6” plank jacks, Bobby Hurley’s and gas pumps. (3.95mi)
Long ass mosey back to the finish. Stopping periodically for a round of 5 burpees. At the end two jail breaks to burn any excess gas in the tank. (4.56mi)
MOLESKIN
That opening lispy MT 1.6mi was an ass kicker! 100 MTs with all that running inbetween was rough. Everything else went as planned and no audibles were called. Everyone got over 4mi and the guys in the front broke 5. I looked at my watch to see 4.81mi and a 1,000 burn which is perfect because I’m going after the pride and the glory in the weight loss competition.
Great job to everyone that posted this morning! Bottlecap and Hollywood in the front of the pack all morning. Wolverine was too and it was great to see him back out. I spent most of the morning running next to Legal Zoom and that dude pushes hard. Shake’s humorous “no” makes me laugh every time he says it no matter what. I thought we were going to lose Recalc when we crossed up with Flash but Dana held his hand through the traffic circle to give him the strength he needed. Great to see Prime posting for this 3rd time today and his 2nd Ignition Post? Dang! Great job Cobbler pushing through it all this AM.
Today is that tough reality. We are all officially going back to work after a great few weeks of quite days (for a lot of us). Stay the course boys! Have a great day at work, get good meals in, spend quality time with the family, get a good nights rest and set the alarm for 430am. We are back in the gloom tomorrow….
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Recalc at Bushwood and Wedding Singer at Watchtower
3rd F Squad is collecting toothbrushes and toothpaste, bring to any workout to drop off.
Saturday, 8am – Christ Closet’s Organizing and Folding party!
Welcome FNG, Slow Pitch!
The new strength program is starting tomorrow at McAlpine Elementary (9100 Carswell Lane) at 0530. We’ll continue on Wednesday at Meathead (at Calvary) and then Saturday at Olympus (at Elizabeth Lane Elementary). Here’s the plan for the week:
| Session | Exercise | Notes |
|
1
|
Single presses: 6 x (5 press ea side@ 20kg) |
“OTM” means swing on the minute, so there will be just over 40 sec (:40) rest between sets of 1-hand swings, alternating sides. 90 sec farmer’s carries are hard; use as heavy a weight as you are able.
|
| 1H swings: 16 x (10 swings OTM @ 28kg) | ||
| Farmer’s walks: 4 x (90 sec @ “heavy”) | ||
|
2
|
Deadlifts: 3 x (5 lifts @ 155lbs) |
These deadlifts are a relatively light weight; about 70% of 1RM. Alternate sides with the waiter carries. Double clean and double front squats can be done as a complex, or in separate sets.
|
| Waiter carries: 5 x (1 carry ea side @ 32kg) | ||
| Double cleans: 5 x (5 cleans @ 24kg) | ||
| Double front squats: 5 x (5 squats @ 24kg) | ||
|
3
|
Single presses: 10 x (5 press ea side @ 20kg) |
Larger volume of presses, but the weight is still light. Swings also relatively light, but a long session.
|
| 1H swings: 20 x (10 swings OTM @ 28kg) | ||
| Farmer’s walks: 4 x (90 sec @ “heavy”) |
If you have multiple bells, please bring them. You’ll need one you can press for reps and another (heavier) for swings. The farmer’s walks will be with a bell in each hand, as heavy as you can handle for 90 seconds. We will likely partner up for the doubles on Wednesday.
While it would be great to make all of the workouts, please join when you can.
See you in the gloom,
Voodoo
YHC just knew that this morning Rebel Yell would continue the trend of large crowds and then some with this being the first workout after New Year’s and all. With 2 minutes to launch there was about 4 guys then as we got closer to 5:30 the number bumped up to 9. I am going to go with the fact that guys were still out of town or still on holiday time. Me thinks next week will be the start of big numbers. Nevertheless the 9 PAX that said to heck with the fartsack were ready to get after it. After a disclaimer here is what went down.
The Thang:
Moseyed to parking lot in between HT and CFA for warm up. SSH, IW, Hillbilly’s and Mtn Climbers. One resolution YHC wants to add to his regimen is more stretching. So we did some sort of yoga stretch that C3PO brought out at Davinci last week and then finished off with some calf stretching. From here we crossed Rea to the parking deck at Brown Bag. Unfortunately The Bag was not open so we could not get a steak sandwich so instead we did a round of 7’s. Starting on the bottom level we did 6 Donkey Kicks, up the stairs to the other end of the parking lot for 1 burpee. Run down back to the bottom for 5 DK and then up for 2 burpees, repeato until we finished with 1 DK and 6 burpees. Long Haul ordered 6 inches until all were done.
From here we headed to the office along Ballantyne Commons ( I think it is an arthritis consultant) that has a great rock pile. Heard a couple of PAX note that they had not been here and was a rarely explored area of RY. Very true and should be utilized more. The PAX partnered up and grabbed a lifting rock between them. P1 started curls while P2 ran to the other end of the parking lot and bear crawled one of the parking lot sections. Flapjack until 100 total curls…wait check that. The PAX was flying through these so bump that to 120. Then P1 did triceps while P2 ran to the other end of the lot for 10 plank jacks…120 total. Final round was P1 doing overhead presses while P2 ran to the boulder pile and cranked out 8 derkins…120 total.
Moseyed back to launch stopping midway for Hot Yoga and Mic Check to call a couple of Mary exercises. Back to launch 1 minute past…sorry fellas for going long.
Moleskinny:
You would have thought that this was YHC’s VQ because I kept making so many audibles. I had my weinke all laid out (huh huh) but the parking deck 7’s took a little longer than I thought. So I scrambled some of my exercises up to make sure that I got the ones in that I wanted to. And I was going to go with 120 reps at first but thought that I needed to shorten for time…should have known with this group to keep the bar high. Then I had the PAX start to put their rocks back after 2 rounds of partner work but then 2nd guessed and decided that we had enough time to get a 3rd round in. Thanks to Wingman for pointing these out and keeping me from getting a big ol Q head.
Nice work by all. The day after New Year’s is a tough one to motivate for but YHC hopes that you got your money’s worth. Observations: Long Haul stayed at the front with YHC to keep him company but I think that I was holding him back. Amazing that at 50+ he stays at the front and doesn’t appear tired when all is done. Not enough T-claps can be given to Loogie for posting and gutting it out with his shoulder hurting. He is the epitome of working through the pain and still improving. I am in awe. It is well known that Mic Check has some of the best exercise form in all of SOB land but apparently his warning form needs work. The PAX grumbled as Mic Check called out bumps and other hazards after they had already gone past them. Hot Yoga is a man of few words but he knocks it out each and every time. RY will look to get you on the Q calendar soon. Swine Flu is a model of consistency posting both in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd F’s. Thank you for becoming a pillar in SOB. Cooter (2) has made it back from his leg health scare to be better than ever. Impressive drive through that and awesome to see you back in the fold and then some. As noted above thanks to Wingman for leading the mumblechatter charge. I honestly think that mumblechatter is what makes our workouts fun and keeps guys coming out. This was YHC’s last week as site Q of RY. YHC would like to thank Olaf for being a site Q with me and being invaluable in keeping RY the best AO on Thursdays at the corner of Elm and Ballantyne Commons.
16 Pax braved the threat of rain, avoiding fart-sacking, and shunning the alternative of the cozy indoor confines of Club Stonehenge (“not that there’s anything wrong with that”). Clearly, guys were ready to shake off the extra fluff of the holidays, sweat it out, and get to work. Layers were quickly shed, as 50+ degrees and fast movement warm up a body pretty fast! The over/under on Commish losing his hoodie was 12 minutes…I took the under & won. The drizzle stopped just as we were starting, so 90% of our sogginess was due to sweat, and not rain. Covered about 2.5 miles, and all should have pretty shaky arms, core, and legs now. Scheduled Q OchoCinco rolled into town late last night from Denver with his family, so needed to call YHC out of the bullpen. An honor to oblige…
The Thang: Welcome FNG Mike (eventually “Trickle”) Disclaimer given (not a pro, suggestions, modify, can’t sue)
-Warmup circle: Imperial Walker, Low Slow Squat, Mtn Climb, PeterParker/ParkerPeter, Bulgarian Ball Busters…YA!
-Mosey/Warm-Up toward Target: butt kicks, side shuffle, backward, high knees
-Partners behind Target (that doesn’t sound good!)- 10 Ab Throws/flap jack, then at each light post do 10 Hand Slap Merkins and 10 Jump Squats, then finish other end with 10 Ab Throws/flap jack. (Transporter led some wall sit/shoulder stuff awaiting the Six.)
-Run toward Old Navy Wall- 60% speed to curb (5 burpees), 75% speed to gate (5 burpees) All Out to wall (5 burpees).
-To the Hill…10 Carolina Dry Dock & 10 Sister Mary Kath (x2), then up the hill and grab lifting rock.
-Rock Circle – Various Pax called out Shoulder Press, Curls, RHL, Calf Raise, Squat, Rows, Triple Lindy, Merkins (etc), Hammy Stretch Thing (from FNG “Trickle”). Rotated around the circle various times to change up the rock sizes. (put rocks back, head back down hill)
-Some Mary in parking lot of 131 Main.
-Stairs, Rails- 10 Pull Ups under rail 1, 10 Split Squats at rail 2, upstairs and over, do 10-15 Wide Merkins up there. Loop that for 5 or so minutes. Swift mosey back to AO.
Moleskin:
As we took off at 6:31 and Circuit City sprinted out of his car, “Circuit City, we’ll be at Best Buy” was a no-brainer (he actually works for Best Buy). During Imperial Walkers, I looked at Boitano and said “Where-is-One-Star?” in my cadence, only to have OneStar sprint into the circle 10 seconds later – that was perfect. Usually One-Star’s ability to entertain is very purposeful, but in this case it was a happy accident. Wisconsin contingent of 4 today (Circuit City…Sheboygan, Hearthbreaker…Madison, Transporter…Kenosha, Bucky…Greendale/Milwaukee), who each called Mary in succession at one point- Transporter’s never-ending American Hammers were not popular, yet appreciated. Wow, quite a variety of rock sizes for Rock Circle – some stones, and some planets. Lots of mumblechatter about “compensating” for various things based on size of rock picked. FNG “Trickle” was called on during the Rock Circle, and provided both an explanation & demo of an elaborate hammy stretching move #OverAchiever #TooGoodForUs? Soft Pretzel & Transporter were out front on most moseys, and circled back for Pax for extra mileage. Many are on the “Dry-uary” train, and further connected at Coffeeteria to help support each other with a month of general detox.
Paper Jam, Chopper & Madison joined COT from the runners (there were at least 10 more, most at Coffeeteria…which was BIG!).
Announcements: Likely convergence next week at Stonehenge…try to stay tuned.
FNG “Trickle” was EH’d by Gilbert (we all live in the same neighborhood). He comes into ’20 wanting to serve more in the community, and be more purposeful about his health – perfect alignment with F3. How many others in our communities want this, but don’t know we are an option? Be a talent scout for FNGs, and get them out!
Takeout by PaperJam. Prayers & good vibes to Chopper (test results), Doc McStuffins (big procedure in 3 weeks), and Gillooly (baby coming).
Always an honor to lead/Q. Great to see you all today, and great push – thanks for your efforts. We all are coming into 2020 with hope & intent to improve, grow, shed, slim, strenthen, etc. There is no magic formula – got to put in the work and get uncomfortable on a recurring basis. And that is much easier to do together. So get out this week!