Swingin’ in the Rain

Swingin’ in the Rain

5 bros pulled up in the InVue parking lot (to get a little shelter from the rain) at about 0530, ready to kick off a new year of Swole with a hypertrophy program of High Tide’s design. For details of the program, see here.

After a thorough disclaimer for the pax, we got started with a little warm-up:

• SSH x 20 IC
• IW x 10 IC
• Windmill x 10 IC
• Low Slow Squat x 15 IC – this is when Hoover and Lex pulled in after going to McAlpine at first
• Arm circles forward x 10 IC
• Arm circles backward x 10 IC

With the pax sufficiently warmed up, we moved on to the main event, which consisted of 5 sets of 3 supersets of exercises performed every 2:00. Pax with smaller bells, work for 1:30 and rest for :30, pax with medium sized bells, work for 1:00 and rest for 1:00, pax with large bells or doubles, work for :30 and rest for 1:30. It worked out that most pax did 1 or 2 sets every 2:00, depending on bell size.

• Superset 1: 8 cleans and 8 presses for 2:00 x 3
• Superset 2: 8 squats and 8 merkins for 2:00 x 3
• Superset 3: 8 heavy swings and 8 lawnmowers per side for 2:00 x 3

Carries – either farmer (if you have doubles) or waiter (alternating halfway for singles) – 90 seconds x 2 with 90 seconds rest between

Mary – 1:20 elbow plank until out of time

Announcements:

• The 2022 Passport Challenge kicked off on Saturday. Visit as many F3 AOs in any region as possible in January and February to win a sweet pair of dog tags (and regional bragging rights). A more fulsome pre-blast can be found here and you can sign up here.
• Q Source will kick off this Sunday at the Panera at the Arboretum from 0800 to 0830 (after Rum Runner/Rucker – see Slack for starting times for each). For those who are unfamiliar, Q Source is an F3 leadership development program with weekly discussion topics. If interested, join the discussion on the #qsource channel on Slack and/or come join us on Sundays. Please see Geraldo’s pre-blast here.

Moleskine:

• T-claps to High Tide for taking the lead in designing the new program for the M-W-Sa kettlebell workouts. Please take a look at the spreadsheet he put together (see link above) as he’s done a great job of laying out what we’ll be doing and how to perform the supersets. The only (slight) modification we made today is to allow for pax with lighter bells to do 2 sets every 2:00 instead of the prescribed 1. The program is designed to wave intensity throughout the week by adjusting the number of sets. For those days with fewer sets, the Q will have some time to fill with other exercises, complexes, etc.
• Thanks to the pax for coming out this morning and following my lead. It was a wet (though not cold) morning, which makes it tough to get out and swing the bells (cough, Frehley’s, cough). It’s not often that I thank a member of the pax for cruising an elementary school parking lot picking up guys, but thanks Hoover for patrolling the McAlpine parking lot and bringing Lex over.
• The playlist was Spotify’s “Rock School,” which looked good at first glance, but did include a few songs that were #verboten for various reasons (i.e., too slow, female lead singer that wasn’t Evanescence or Garbage, etc.). Thankfully, Frehley’s wasn’t there to complain and Hoover didn’t throw a bell at me because he only brought one. #nospares
• I know Wild Turkey was getting after it this morning. He did at least 2 sets every 2:00 and he wasn’t using a small bell. I also saw Lex getting after it with multiple sets on at least the clean and press. Strong work for both of you. I’m sure others were working hard too, but it was tough to see with the way we were set up in a line instead of a circle/oval.
• Someone had too much chili last night or something because they were smoking us out under the cover a couple of times this morning. Normally, I would blame Frehley’s or The Worm, but neither was in attendance.
• With a new year comes all kinds of resolutions. While resolutions can be helpful for some people, most of us have experience with setting high goals in January only to have them fade by February (or maybe January 15th). Instead, set achievable/measurable goals and share them with your friends (or your Shieldlock in F3 jargon). Have them hold you accountable for achieving them. F3 is a great way of making progress because it’s designed to instill accountability. Regardless of your goal, there are pax training for the same thing or something very similar. Want to ruck a bajillion miles in 2022? Reach out to Wild Turkey, Geraldo, Cheese Curd, or some of the other SACS-heads. Want to run a marathon? Talk to Bunker, Frasier, Hairball, Garcia, Flipper, Grasshopper, or any number of the amazing runners we have in our midst. Want to dial in your snatch, learn to bent press, or just get better with kettlebells without hurting yourself or embarrassing yourself at the gym? Come on out to Swole, Meathead, or Olympus and stand next to me, Mighty Mite, High Tide, Unplugged, Wild Turkey (again), or any of the other regulars. Want to get in great all-around shape so you can chase your kids around the yard? Try keeping up with Alf, Orange Whip, Mic Check, or any of the other boot camp all-stars at any of the numerous boot camps in South Charlotte. If you have a different goal, talk it up and you’re likely to find someone crazy enough to do it with you. Alright, that’s enough talking – get out there and do something.