7 pax (incl one 2.0) partnered up in the balmy gloom, ready to rock it. Fortunately, YHC had made plans to help them accomplish their mission. Here’s what we did:
The Thang:
Mosey around to the other side of the school for
COP:
Mosey to the Playground
Playground Circuit 1:
Mosey to the church across the street
Rockin’ Partners
Mosey to parking lot for Water Break, then mosey to the Playground
Playground Circuit 2
Mosey to Concession area
Refreshing Concessions
Mosey back to parking lot
Mary:
Done
COT
Announcements
Naked Moleskine:
Great group today and lots of 2nd F. If we could only do something about the heat… Nonetheless, everyone was really getting after it.
Great to see Old Bay, from the Fort, again this week and his 2.0 (Hurler). Enjoyed partnering up and our conversation throughout.
Sony is posting consistently, getting stronger all the time. Anything to avoid the hardcore running, right, Sony?
Great meeting Bernanke, who really gets after it too. Fireman Ed commented that he’d found someone who sweats as much as him. Glad the weather and workout provided you with this opportunity to connect.
Good seeing Fireman Ed, as always, and his reliable mumblechatter.
Pele was looking stronger on the runs today. All that hard work at Mountain Goat is paying off.
Lot of merkins today, even though none of us are participating in the 10k merkin challenge. Just bonus work. Also got in plenty of pullups. Seems that we don’t get enough pulling work from day to day, so since we have great facilities here at Ascent, we just have to take advantage of it. Not a ton of running, just short bursts, as YHC had plenty at Mountain Goat and discussed with Strange Brew there would be a lack of it today. (Say, SB, where were you today?)
Always a pleasure and an honor to lead at Ascent. Thanks for your site leadership, Pele.
Aye.
15 meatheads came out to see whether YHC could keep them sweating for 45 minutes without resorting to his signature Turkish Getups (perennial crowdpleasers). Despite the call for TGUs, sarcastic or otherwise, none were given, but work was. For the uninitiated, here’s what that looks like:
The Thang:
COP
Grab a bell you can press 5-6 times with good form (no push presses) and mosey to the playground.
Superset Ladder 1: Clean & Press / Pullups
Grab your bell and mosey back to the parking lot
Superset Ladder 2: Deadlifts / Merkins
2 minutes remaining. 1-handed swings to run out the clock.
Done
COT
Announcements:
Calvary Church Pantry Food Drive: bring canned roast beef, canned salmon, canned ham (5-13 oz) to the next Meathead workout, June 11. (Thanks, TR, for the fitting recommendation.) See link for more details.
Naked Moleskin:
Great work out there today by all. Lot of good mumblechatter and 2nd F, while moving iron at the same time.
Smart choices were made by the pax today, whether in selection of appropriate KB size or modifying the exercise as needed (see: good mornings instead of deadlifts – TR & Brown and 1-handed pushups by Chanel).
Props to Champagne (who wasn’t here), who provided the superset inspiration at Foxhole, where we paired C&P with Merkins. Simple, yet effective. Today, YHC saw fit to substitute pullups for the merkins, pairing the merkins with deadlifts instead. For the Deadlifts, what we lacked in weight, I hope we made up for with volume.
For the Merkinators among us, 90 merkins were tallied. Wanted more? Sorry, this is Meathead. Also tallied 90 double deadlifts, 60 clean & presses per side, 60 pullups, and a bunch of swings, mostly one-handed.
YHC wasn’t feeling 100% today, even lining up Brown last night as backup, so I didn’t capture a lot of backblast worthy observations & mumblechatter. Feel free to add your own. But, I did post and make it through the workout, so that’s something for today’s To Done list. Hope yours is as fulfilling.
Always an honor.
Aye.
High Tide
As YHC sat down last night to put together a comprehensive weinke for the morning beatdown, AC/DC’s Thunderstruck was playing in the background. Then Def Leppard; 38 Special; you get the idea. it’s amazing the impact music can have on your mood and psyche, sometimes making you feel almost invincible. 11 pax (including two 2.0’s) posted to see what that felt like.
The Thang
COP:
Mosey to Playground for
Partner Work:
Mosey to Football Field for
Animal Walks (~15 yrds and back):
Mosey through trails to neighborhood street with nice hill for
Triple Nickel
Mosey back through the trails to football field.
Mosey back to playground for another
Circuit 2:
Mosey to COP field for
Mary:
Time
Done
COT
Announcements:
Naked Moleskine:
So, yeah, the weinke is tougher by the light of…gloom. A few audibles were called for the sake of time, yeah that’s it (and to prevent smokeage of all).
Great work by all today. Lot of strong work, both individually and as partners.
As YHC and Low Tide rolled in for preKB, Slim Fast’s car was already there. About 2/3 of the way through the KB routine (solo, as Low Tide played on his phone in the car…shame), Slim Fast & Sensei came running around the corner – something about 3+ miles and a 7:48 (?) pace. Strong start, gentlemen!
Everyone seemed to enjoy the animal walks. Well, at least the non-mobility challenged, light weight 2.0’s.
Outta time and random thoughts, so add in your observations in the mumblechatter below.
Aye.
High Tide
9 pax gathered for another session of iron sharpening, and today, the whetstone was The Moderate Murph. Here’s how it played out:
The Thang
COP
The Moderate Murph
Mary – 5 min intermission (recovery)
2 more rounds of 1/2 mi jog & 5 min of Cindy
Mary – part 2
Mosey back to the starting lot
Done
COT
Naked Moleskine:
Well, it was time today for the quarterly installment of “Cindy”, our 20 minute benchmark at Ascent, consisting of a rinsing & repeating of 5 pullups, 10 merkins, & 15 squats. However, with a soggy A.O., YHC was faced with what to do for the remainder of the hour that wouldn’t leave us muddy and in the doghouse. Cindy is, of course, close to The Murph, so that had potential, but Ascent is a moderate workout. Hmm…well…you can do almost anything for 5 minutes, so YHC split the runs and the work into 5 minute segments, inserted Mary halfway through for recovery, and the weinke was done.
The beauty of a timed segment workout is that pax of all abilities can moderate or push themselves as needed. Everyone pushed pretty hard today – not a lot of mumblechatter as we ground it out. It took awhile afterward for YHC to fully recover, and I’m expecting to feel it tomorrow. Assuming this will be a common experience.
Great having some former regulars back out amongst us again, for several weeks now.
Thanks as always for the opportunity to lead. (and, the door is always open for new Q’s at Ascent – let me know!)
Aye.
With a Weinke conceived and refined in Alabama, 13 pax accepted the challenge as true Giryas.
COP:
Grab a working sized bell, plus one smaller, and mosey to the playground.
Simple & Sinister
Ladder Up to 5 (L & R)
Multiples of 7:
Mary:
Mosey back to parking lot
Time
COT
Announcements:
Naked Moleskine:
Great group of meatheads out there today, including site FNG Byron & Squid (1st or 2nd time out?). Gummy and Stump Hugger were out, continuing to recover from all that running nonsense – good to see you. And many familiar iron wielders. Stay Puft was our War Daddy (War Chicken? Rallying cry for that other Alabama school that shall go unnamed in this respectable backblast)(still, respect based on age and the run in), while Sanka took War Baby honors.
There was some mumblechatter and funny looks when YHC called for a mosey with your bells (regular + one smaller), but all was ok once the playground was reached. The call for 100 1-hand swings had a few questioning their choice of bells, which led to the explanation of the 2nd bell (don’t smoke yourself this early in the workout).
Only a few grumbles were heard in reply to the call for Turkish getups, so the substitutionary 100 burpees went unused. Well done by all.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead. Contact YHC to get on the Q rotation, if you’re not already on it.
Thanks, Byron, for taking us out and reminding us of all we have and who we are and the responsibilities & opportunities we have.
Aye!
The Thang:
COP:
Double KB Clean & Press
Get in a group, Partner up and perform 5 x 5 double KB clean and presses, focusing on technique.
Tabata
20 seconds working, 10 seconds recovery for 8 sets x 4 rounds with one minute rest between each round. The goal was to score the same number of reps for all 8 sets.
Then Two rounds of side planks with leg raise to activate hip and glutes
Followed by two minutes of stretching
Done
Announcements: Sign up for golf
Naked Moleskin:
A Pax of 20 gathered under the setting moon and a gentle breeze to fall in love with Tabata all over again. On that note, there seemed to be quite a few “that’s what she said” type comments during certain exercises and instructions. The goal this morning was to provide adequate time to warm up and mobilize in preparation for what was coming. There was a good bit of chatter through the first round which sharply fell off during the second and ceased during the squats. No FNG’s today, but I think it was a record number for Meathead (aye).
(posted by High Tide, on behalf of Les Mis – great VQ!)
10 pax (including 2 FNGs) posted to the expansive AO of Ascent for a moderate kettlebell clinic and to get their weekends started off right.
The Thang
COP
Main Event – Kettlebells
Select a moderate sized bell to enable strict focus on form
Mosey to flat, dry-looking grass at front of school
Sufficiently wet, mosey back to parking lot
Mosey to Playground, with kettlebell
Playground Circuit
Mary
Done
COT
Announcements:
Red, Light, & Blue ruck event – see weekly email for details
Naked Moleskin:
The goal of today’s workout was to introduce kettlebells to the pax, in the moderate workout fashion that is Ascent, to provide them with one more option to get their daily downPAINment each week. With bootcamps, running, and kettlebell options, you really can find something that suits your need each day/week and mix it up for effective cross-training. Hopefully, you’ll consider adding Meathead (KBs & 0.0 running), Skunkworks (KBs, gear, & some running), and/or Olympus (KB & gear) into your mix of workouts.
So, YHC came into the parking lot on two wheels this morning, after trouble-shooting a toilet problem at home (broken flapper), and therefore missed out on any pre-game mumblechatter, but was pleased to see the small crowd that had assembled. We had plenty of KBs to go around (thanks to all who loaned extra KBs for YHC to bring and to those who brought extras), and it seemed everyone had a good size to experiment with.
Great job by all today. Great to see some veterans, Ascent regulars, and FNGs all pushing it and working on form. Keep after it!
Cobains (apologies) for the wet ground on the TGUs. Or, should I apologize for the TGUs? They seem to be a love/hate exercise for most folks, much like burpies, but they are an exercise I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate (unlike burpies). They really target a lot of areas and seem quite valuable. With practice, they do become easier, unlike burpies, as they are technique dependent, in my opinion. The wet ground? Well, it was softer than pavement.
The playground circuit was a modification of our quarterly benchmark “Cindy” routine (for which we’re overdue, by the way), which is 5 pullups, 10 pushups, & 15 squats for 20 minutes. So, you have that to look forward to, while you enjoyed today’s modification.
Thanks, as always, for the opportunity to lead. It’s an honor.
(sound off in the comments for anything I missed)
YHC arrived at OP to find High Tide swinging iron and join in on some swings. Scissorhands arrived by foot and with VSF planted we were off as a pax of 3. The rain had stopped, and we went soberly into the gloom.
Here is what we did:
COP:
At the playground 3 rounds of:
Head over and grab some wall for some people’s chair arms by our side, arm raises, out in front
mosey to the concession area:
Working to stay on dryer land, and since the Tai chi class had moved to the football field, we welcomed the Tripod to the concession area.
Mosey back out to Rea Rd via other parking lot, then back to launch for Mary:
turn it over to Scissorhands for some much needed stretching.
Moleskine:
A pleasure to lead the pax today, With only 3 pax, there was some good 2nd F along the way. My goal was to keep the pax moving with lots of reps and allow everyone to push themselves. As we got going, the pax noticed the consistent sets of 10. When High Tide reached out to YHC to Q at Ascent, the first date open was today. It was a no brainer for YHC. Yesterday, YHC celebrated 10 years of sobriety from alcoholism and 10 glorious years living with the King! It has been a great 10 years of living and look forward to many more. Thankful for F3 as another positive impact and outlet in my life today. Thanks for taking us out High Tide!
Announcements
7 pax for the weekly #0.0 beatdown known as Meathead. Without further ado, here’s what they ground out:
The Thang:
COP:
Mosey to playground. 2-hand swings while waiting for the music to start. #noads
Simple & Sinister
Active Recovery
The Finisher
Mary
Done
COT
Announcements:
Begin forming your teams and signing up for BRR & Spring Mud Run
Moleskin-e:
T-claps to all for pushing through the many grinding exercises today, as YHC sought to mix things up a little from our usual ballistic dosages.
Welcome to site FNG’s Hoser and Strange Brew. Glad to have you guys out today and look forward to seeing you again.
Acknowledged – the Turkish getups suck and are a real #crowdpleaser. However, it’s been said, and therefore must be true, that they are great for building shoulder strength. Paired with swings, the two exercises will provide 80% of the benefit you’ll receive from KB training. So I’ve read…So we did them… The particular pairing today of the 100 1-hand swings + 10 TGU’s is known as the Simple & Sinister routine, and I’ll agree with that one. The Simple part is building up to using a 32kg for each (not there yet), while the Sinister is reaching the 48kg Beast for each (not going there). Anyway, that’s the method behind today’s madness.
The early move to the playground was to provide a more suitable TGU surface than the rough parking lot. While the mulch was softer, it was somewhat unstable at times. Next time, perhaps we’ll try the smooth track, unless the grass is dry.
Well done, Hoser and Tiger Rag, working through your injuries on the Turkish getups, modifying as needed, as well as the other exercises. For those reading this who weren’t there, Hoser posted wearing an ankle boot! Needless to say, YHC was not prepared with a suggested modification for that! TR continues to mend his calf, which I understand may be on a road near you very soon.
Speaking of TR, he was again swinging doubles today on the Finisher portion, apparently not getting enough Thurs, Mon, & Tues. Strong!
Since no one commented, let it be know that YHC was sporting the Meathead/Gear sleeveless shirt today…albeit underneath the fleece outerlayer. A little bit cooler today than first thought and nearly caused a cold wardrobe fail. Thankfully, the fleece salvaged me.
Bananas brings the heat next week.
Thanks for coming out each week and for the opportunity to lead.
Aye.
47 men (including 3 FNG’s and 2 2.0’s) resolved to improve themselves in 2015 and posted at the Area 51 convergence at Ascent this gloomy, wet Saturday and left a little better for it (and a lot muddier & wetter). With workouts converging from The Rock, Olympus, Stonehenge, and Area 51, along with host site Ascent, the pax got a little taste of everything on the buffet. Here’s what they sampled:
The Thang:
COP:
Welcome and Disclosure to all FNG’s and pax
Number off by threes. Remember your number for your starting station.
Begin at your starting station and rotate to the next at predetermined times.
Station 1 – The Rock, on the far football field – Q’ed by Hopper and Gummy
The Beast – 6 reps of 6 exercises (varied by group; full menu below) at 6 cones on the field – sprint back to start after each
Station 2 – Olympus, in the parking lot and on the track – Q’ed by Gullah
Rinse & Repeat
Rinse & Repeat
Station 3 – Ascent, on the playground – Q’ed by Strange Brew
Partner up – size doesn’t matter
Mary
COT
Announcements:
Joe Davis – Jan 10
Unbroken movie night – Jan 10
Hill & Dale – new F3 race management company – trial run (pun intended) on Jan 31
Wet Moleskin:
A big F3 Area 51 welcome to our three FNG’s and T-claps for posting on a wet gloomy morning. The genesis of today’s convergence was the knowledge that many men make New Year’s Resolutions to get in shape for the new year and F3 is tailor made to help them, beyond just the fitness (1st F). Posting in the winter, in the rain or wet, isn’t easy for everyone, but you’re that much further along and glad for it when you do. Besides, how often do grown men get to play in the mud?!
So, the guys from The Rock drew what turned out to be the shortest straw with their station located on the football field. When our original plans were made, who knew it’d have a inch of standing water on it. I suppose we could have audibled to another location, like the neighborhood hill or the bus lot, but what’s the fun in that? We’d have missed out on splashing around in the mud and dodging the dog poop on football field. Additional notes from the football field:
Olympus kept us dry, there in the parking lot but did throw us a curve with the laps on the track. Keeping us, and our muscles, guessing as to what’s next. (Shameless plug: Meathead offers KB’s on Thursdays with 0.0 running, Olympus offers KB’s on Saturdays with a little more movement, while Skunkworks offers KB’s on Tuesdays with more running (for recovery, they tell me))
Ascent benefited from the quick draining mulch on the playground and provided us with the exercise we don’t get enough of at most AO’s – pullups. Thanks, SB! Knowing this, we try to work these in each week at Ascent (and often at Meathead too).
Finally, a big thanks to all my co-Q’s today – Gummy, Hopper, Gullah, & Strange Brew. We couldn’t have hosted this without your help.
And, thanks to the entire pax for the opportunity to lead today. It’s always an honor.
(Sound off in the comments below on any good mumblechatter that I’ve missed.)
Aye.
High Tide