7 guardians of the galaxy assembled for that weekly dance-off known as… Meathead!
Disclaimer provided, though not really necessary for this intergalactic group.
The Thang:
COP:
Sufficiently warmed and limbered up, let’s work!
Sparrow Hawk (thanks, Dan John):
Superset #1:
Cook Drill (thanks again, Dan John):
Superset #2:
Cook Drill:
Meathead Mary:
Extra Credit:
Fini.
COT
Announcements:
Naked Moleskine:
Well, YHC may have under-promised and over-delivered on this one. YHC wanted to try out a few things, threw them together based on time estimates and desired effects, and really, on paper, it didn’t look that bad. So, YHC told everyone as much at the beginning, that it might not be too bad, so we’d adjust if needed. Well, it was tougher than it looked. And, there was more shoulder work that anticipated. #bonuspoints Anyway, you’re welcome.
Solid work all around. Good to see MAD amongst us again. Swiss Miss took a break from running and brought out more bells (4) than YHC (3)! Tackling Dummy partnered up with YHC and pushed us through the sets. Hoover made the 50# bell look like 35#. Blazing Saddles and Soul Glow killed it like silent assassins.
TD, MAD, & YHC discovered we all lived a few miles from each other back in Birmingham. #sweethomeAlabama
Today’s musical selection was the Guardians of the Galaxy station on Slacker. And the inspiration for the BB title.
Ideas from Dan John, here, near the end of the article – Sparrow Hawk and Cook Drill.
Next week – June 1 – is open. Feel free to bring us Babewatch, I mean, Baywatch inspirations.
Thanks for the opportunity, guys!
Aye.
It’s that time again – time to order your summer Area 51 shirts!
There are hi-visibility colors for running (including singlet/tank options) and even a sleeveless MudGear option on black!
Whatever you choose, order by June 7!
(delivery by end of June)
https://f3.mudgear.com/products/f3-area-51-reflective-shirt-pre-order
https://f3.mudgear.com/products/f3c-a51
3 pax assembled to get stronger than you. How, you say?
The Thang
COP:
Singles (8-5-3):
Round One
Round Two
Mary Intermission:
Doubles (2 sets of 5):
Finisher:
Done
COT
Announcements
Naked Moleskine:
So, YHC was doing laps around the school for a pre-run, when Snoopy rolls in 10-15 till 0700. Finished up the run, and we were chatting about the recent attendance at Ascent. Constanza rolls in, still expecting a good handful or so more. Well, at 0702, we waited no more; pressing on (literally and figuratively) without them.
Small group meant lots of 2nd F opportunities – never a bad thing. Plus, no worry about pace or six or anything else – just focus on good form. And, excellent selection of bells – 14 bells for 3 pax.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead today. Always an honor.
Aye.
10 pax posted for their weekly stretching & mobility work and were “treated” to a playlist of Classical Movie Scores, as selected by the Slacker app.
Disclaimer – I’m not a professional. If it hurts, don’t do it or back off a little.
The Thang
COP
Main Event
Done
COT
Closing prayer by Tweetsie.
Announcements:
Supple Moleskine:
Thanks for the opportunity to lead this morning. Always an honor.
Aye.
7 veteran meatheads assembled on the Elizabeth Lane ES grounds, ready for their weekly slinging of metal, were briefly disclaimed…wait a minute…we have an 8th joining us, a visiting pax from Roanoke. Welcome!
Now, where was I…?
The Thang
COP – aka warm-up:
Chutes Swings & Ladders (down):
Time
COT
Announcements:
Swinging Moleskine:
Well, as always, Meathead is as hard or as easy as you choose to make it, depending on your KB size selection. The planned volume was high (400+ swings) but the reps were low, so YHC went heavy most of the time and it was felt for several hours, as was the plan.
YHC was on a 1200+ mile college visit road trip with 2.0 Low Tide last week when some Elvis tunes cycled through the playlist. Hmm… So, that was the playlist for today, and a solid lower body beatdown will leave your legs all wobbly like The King’s… so, there you go.
Welcome, Cake, from Roanoke. Glad you came down today. Please visit again. And, if you need any help bringing KB’s back to your local AO’s, just let me know!
T-claps to Brown on the fat cheerleader presses. How long will you be out for hernia surgery?
Shout out to Madison, Blazing Saddles, and Soul Glow for working in heavier bells from time to time. Same with Young Love, who brought a fine collection himself, both for working-in the heavies and for sharing with Brown.
Bulldog was no-nonsense on the work (but with solid commentary), as usual, and got in plenty of bonus reps. Well done. (and, thx again and looking forward to your lead next week)
That’s about it; besides, my notification for my next meeting just went off…
Aye.
Well, the men were separated from the boys this morning, as 5 men posted in the frigid, 40 degree air with a light breeze (seriously, the forecast was for 33, so this was balmy), while the boys were snug in their #fartsacks. Some serious iron was moved this morning, and it looked like this:
The Thang
Basic disclaimer given for this veteran crew, plus some guidance on what was ahead and how to make the most of it.
COP
The Humane Burpee (by Dan John – modified to amp up the pain)
Mosey to playground
Playground Ladder
Mosey back to parking lot
1 Minute of Mary
Done
COT
No announcements
Take out by Bulldog.
Naked Moleskine:
While we haven’t had a post as low as 5 in a while, the nice thing about a small group is the ease of mumblechatter and customization of the #weinke for the men at hand.
The #weinke was based largely on some workouts from Dan John. The ladders originally called for 5 rounds, counting down 5 to 1, but that obviously wasn’t enough for this group. So, we turned it up to 10. Depending on your bell selection, that may have been too high as the fatigue really set in on the later sets, but we pushed through nonetheless. Needless to say, bones were strengthened and other bodily benefits were accrued today, gentlemen!
The method to today’s madness was to:
A few observations:
Let’s continue to lift up Destiny & his family in prayer.
Thanks, as always, for the honor to lead today.
Aye.
13 posted for #gainz courtesy of a promised #0.0 and TGU-free beatdown. What transpired over the next 45 minutes solidified their reputations as beasts, efficient ones at that.
Disclaimer – not really needed for this group of vets, so something along the lines of a brief “I’m not a professional; don’t hurt yourself” was given.
The Thang
YHC adapted a plan from StrongFirst Master SFG Jon Engum called Deep Six. His plan was written expressly for use with groups and was estimated to last ~45 minutes. Perfect. For our purposes, a few modifications were made to (a) substitute overhead reverse lunges in place of the original TGUs (you can lead a horse to water…), (b) eliminate some of the rest periods (’cause we hate standing around), and (c) reduce the jogs to walks to preserve our #0.0 status.
Additionally, YHC noticed, after making the original #weinke, that Jon had an “advanced” version of the same workout in a ladder format. Hmm, we’ll save that for future use…or, will we…
COP – aka Deep Six – Round One
Left side:
Round Two
Left side:
Round Three
Left side:
Round Four
Complete on Left side + Right side without setting the bell down:
Done! Wait, that was supposed to take us 45 minutes?! It’s only 5:45!!
Audibles:
Playground Circuit for the March Pullup & Merkin Challenge
Advanced Deep Six – Ladders
(Complete on Left side + Right side with setting the bell down)
Meathead Mary
(Bulldog – are we going until 6:30 today? YHC – no, it just feels like it.)
Rinse & Repeato – Advanced Deep Six – Ladders
(Complete on Left side + Right side without setting the bell down)
(Bulldog – no, seriously. What time is it? YHC – 6:13; time enough for one more round.)
6:15 Done! Yes, really this time.
COT
Announcements:
Naked Moleskine:
Good group out today. After the thunderstorm last night and the brisk temps this morning, it was good to see a Meathead Dozen (13) out today.
There was some initial mumblechatter as we began our COP/warmup in Round One, but that quickly subsided, either due to us being in our pain caves or because Meatheads have to concentrate to count to 5 and remember 4 exercises.
Well, it’s a good thing that YHC always makes contingency plans and had the Ladder work in mind. Never thought we’d blow through that in 15 minutes! We should have picked up a few minutes, as a few rest breaks (laps) were cut out, but that doesn’t account for our speed. It’s probably more a testiment to our workout style (typically very few breaks and lots of reps) and the fact that our bells are relatively light. As Rx’d, most should have been using a 20-24 kg, depending age, weight, & KB experience. But, it also depends on your goals. No matter; by the end, it seemed everyone was ready for the end and got in a good workout. 2 workouts in 1, in fact. Plus, knocked out the pullups & merkins for today. Bonus.
Saturday, 3/4, marks 4 years in F3 for YHC. Noticed that Baracus & Wingman also celebrated 4 years this week. Like them, I’m thankful for all the iron-sharpening and, most of all, your friendships & comradery. It’s no comparison to the #sadclown workouts I was doing at the #fern before F3. Thank you.
Thanks, Header, for the take-out today.
And, thanks for the opportunity to lead today. It’s always an honor.
Aye.
11 pax posted for their weekly stretching & mobility work and were served a meatloaf of various broga flows with a side of a countdown of the 66 Best Songs from Movies & TV. (Meatloaf, by the way, was not in the countdown.)
Disclaimer – I’m not a professional. Don’t do it if it hurts.
The Thang
COP
Main Event
Done
COT
Announcements:
Supple Moleskine:
Today’s workout was 95% a selection of flows from The Athlete’s Pocket Guide to Yoga, which YHC regularly uses (as does Swiss Miss). It’s pretty plug & play, really; you just string together flows based on the area you want to work on (e.g. leg flexibility or balance, etc), pick a devotional and a playlist, and boom. Instant Namaste. As we saw today, some, like the rolling ball thing, don’t work as well as others, but generally, the desired effect is achieved.
Well, our musical accompaniment was a little hit-or-miss. That was a countdown of the 66 Best Songs from Movies & TV from the Slacker app. Not sure how these were determined but some of the ones you missed after the workout included: Ghostbusters, Rainbow Connection (Muppets), Gangster’s Paradise, and It’s a Long Way to the Top. So, you decide whether we were counting down or up the list. Either way, next time, we’ll try something else.
Speaking of trying something else, a longer corpse pose was included at the end. How’d that go? Was it just right, too long, too short? Let me know.
A few observations:
This Saturday, YHC celebrates 4 years in F3 (and 12 years in Charlotte). It’s been a fantastic journey – all 3 Fs + the CSAUPs – and it’s a blessing to be counted among the pax. Looking forward to the coming years. Thank you for your friendship & support (& mumblechatter) and the opportunity to lead today.
Aye.
RockZero is a big AO. Yuge, really. Maybe two miles around the perimeter. How in the world was YHC to Q a workout on this AO when all the #soccerarms could literally be a mile ahead of him? #leadingfrombehind With a direct assault on their soccer arms, that’s how.
The Thang:
10 pax assembled (later, 11)(including 3 pre-runners), with only two knowing what was in store. After a lame disclaim, and even numbers of pax, we bolted off (ok, moseyed off) to begin our day. “Car up!” Scatter! Like a bunch of ants after you’ve disturbed their ant hill, pax darted off in every direction as a car wheeled into the parking lot. We didn’t recognize him at the time, so thinking he was an arriving church employee, we continued to mosey out of Entrance 4, taking a left on Rea. YHC later checked the six to find a quickly moving pax, we planked up at the library entrance, and Rachel joined us as our 11th.
We continued our circuitous route, up Rea (yeah, it really is more Up than YHC realized), crossing at the light and making a left down 51, past the front of the church, and made another left into Entrance 1 of the church. After a false stop by the Hot Box due to some misleading mumblechatter, initiated by YHC, we finally ceased this running nonsense by the playground, having covered just over 1.1 miles (YHC was shooting for 1.0 miles but was happy to over-deliver).
Partner up
Pax were told to line up in order of their highest-to-lowest number of max rep pullups. Then, pax were paired up with their opposite ends of the line, in an effort to allow each man to push themselves, while keeping the group together. 4 groups of 2 + one group of 3.
Pullups
Mosey out of the playground to the parking area adjacent to the cemetery.
Merkins
When most groups were finished or nearly so (YHC had a schedule to keep), mosey to the parking area adjacent to the Hot Box.
Squats
Return home
With most groups finished or finishing, we left for our closing mile home, following the circuitous route we came in on, allowing faster pax to travel at their own pace. Again, old-school hand-slap partner situps for early arrivers/finishers (some chose to modify as necessary to preserve their #trampstamp).
Finisher
To ensure everyone received their full paid hour of fun (and because it’s rumored some non-runners like sprints), line up abreast for an AYG sprint across the parking lot. (Icky Shuffle took home the trophy, despite YHC’s slight benefit from being the starter and Prohibition’s 15 second head start.)
Done
COT
Announcements:
Naked Moleskine:
After 3 years, 11 months, YHC had his VQ at The Rock, now RockZero. For almost 2 years, YHC was site Q at Ascent, so that’s understandable. He has no explanation for the remaining time. With mixed emotions (excitement, anxiety, malaise, apathy, determination, deviousness, that burrito from last night, etc), YHC was determined to deliver.
Again, it’s a big AO with lots of options, but YHC isn’t super familiar with it beyond the soccer fields, parking lot (yuge), & North Face. Not being a runner, esp not a very fast runner, the soccer fields were out. Just did North Face a couple of weeks ago on a #recon post and slipped down twice (have since purchased trail shoes which are much better than slick road running shoes on wet steep grassy !@#$% hills), so that was out.
So, let’s focus on strength. YHC has a reputation (good, bad, indifferent) for kettlebells, but that’s too easy. Besides, you can come to Meathead (Thursdays at Elizabeth Lane ES) for that. Then, like a ray of sunlight on an overcast day, The Murph came to mind. It’s great, in that, it hits some of everything. It has: an opening mile run (which can/should be run as a near sprint but can also be throttled back to a mosey if needed), 100 pullups (hitting the back and biceps), 200 merkins (for the chest and triceps), 300 squats (for the legs and glutes), and a closing mile run (to finish off cardiovascularly). But, how to adapt it to a group setting, allowing each pax to give their all whether they are strong or less so at any element?
The opening/closing miles were easy enough to keep as a group mosey. Pullups seem to be the toughest for many, so that would be the match-up exercise, pairing the more capable with the pax still building their pullup capability or shedding their soccer arms. From there, add in short runs for muscle recovery and allow runners to get their run on without leaving non-runners too far behind. Partnering up should, theoretically double the reps for each exercise, but with the added running/rest breaks, only 50% was added to the number.
So, that was the method behind today’s seeming madness, a Deconstructed Partner Murph, and like the pretweet, it wasn’t #CSAUP because there was a point to it all, beyond just a beatdown. Plus, if you’ve never completed The Murph on your own, now you’ve had a taste and should have some confidence for this May, when you’ll likely have an opportunity.
Good work by all today. A little #grumblechatter here and there, but really, everyone seemed to embrace the challenge and buckle down to knock it out. T-claps! You’ll be better for it. (and, perhaps, a little sore) With the opening/closing miles + our running breaks, YHC had estimated a little over 3 miles, which was the AO standard at one point. Today, we overachieved with 4.1 miles(!), in addition to our feats of strength. Nice work, men!
Thanks, Flipper, for handing me the reins and to the pax for the opportunity to lead. It’s always an honor.
Aye.
I don’t know about you all, but I prefer my stretching and suffering in lower light environments, not under light bright enough to accurately gauge just how inflexible I really am. So, we dimmed the lights (plus, the antler chandelier is just cool) and commenced with the commencing. 11 were on hand today, including a few site FNGs, so we made sure they received the proper welcome.
The Thang
Disclaimer
COP:
Main Thang:
COT
Take-out by Tweetsie
Announcements:
Mood Lit Moleskine:
Several faces new to Gumby this morning, mixed in with the regulars. Really glad you joined us and hope you got out of it what you were looking for. With all the running, lifting, and pushing we do day-in and day-out, an active recovery day with stretching is what many of us need.
YHC admits to recycling today’s #weinke from his Q last month. Hope you didn’t mind. It was a good stretch last time, and YHC ran out of time to plan a new one. Besides, one of our goals is to have a few “canned” #weinkes that we can recycle from time to time. Should this one make the list?
The playlist was a quickie, using a “Movie Scores” station from Slacker, which worked out ok for the most part – only one song was skipped (two if you count the Cantina song from Star Wars that was skipped before play began). #EscapefromNY
Thanks for coming out today, and thanks for allowing me to lead. It’s always an honor.
Aye.
P.S. Sign up to Q. It’s not hard, you’re not expected to be a professional, and you get to pick the music! Let Swiss Miss or YHC know if you have any questions.