9 pax reported for duty at the best kettlebell workout in SOBland for some Farmer carries and doubles.
The Thang:
COP:
Partner up with similar size bell for Catch Me If You Can. P1 takes off with both KBs while P2 completes 10 Merkins, then chases down P1. Flapjack to the basketball courts on the bus parking lot.
The Main Event:
With your partner, line up on the first basketball outer line for some partnered doubles work. P1 does called exercise while P2 runs to the far outer line on the 3rd (or 4th for some) basketball court and back (approximately 80 yards). Flapjack.
Catch Me If You Can around the other side of the school, stopping at the picnic tables for some singles work.
P1 completes exercise at picnic table while P2 performs KB exercise
Catch Me If You Can back to the cars for the finisher:
Done. Thanks to Argonaut for the takeout.
Announcements:
Moleskine:
8 pax met up on the last day of June for a lot of swings, with some other exercises worked in for variety.
Veteran crew, so a minimal disclaimer was applied.
Circle up for COP:
Swing set warm up:
Single KB work:
Repeato
Partner up for double KB work:
Repeato
Thanks to Freedom for the takeout.
Moleskine:
Announcements:
15 loyal pax patiently followed YHC around Stonehenge this morning. Here’s what went down:
Mosey from the Vine (avoiding getting run over by Gumbo) and circle up near the Ballantyne Village parking deck for COP (where Gumbo joined us):
Mosey to the stagnant air of the basement of the parking deck. Ignore the complaints of the pax about the fresh air outside and the fact that they spent an hour in the parking deck at the Brave yesterday. #notmyproblem
Plank it up for a description of the triple nickel.
Mosey to the base of Ben Nevis for a run to the top. 5 burpees at the road at the top. Mosey back to the base for 20 dips and 20 derkins on the guardrail. Run up and catch the six, then return to the base.
Run to the big pond near the launch point. Unfortunately, YHC took Rushmore Drive instead of Ballantyne Corporate Place, so we never made it back to the pond for circuits. Instead, we cut through some parking lots, crossed the bridge at the little pond where Madame Tussaud once made us do 11s with burpees and merkins. #shudder and stopped at Harney Drive to do some Mary while we waited on the six:
Continue mosey down Brixham Hill Avenue to the launch point. Still a few minutes left, so we’ll do some sprints:
YHC with the takeout at COT.
Moleskine:
Announcements:
17 strong posted for a tour of Old Providence Elementary on Saturday morning. Geraldo and Dora did a 2 mile pre-ruck, then Dora headed home for 2.0 duty while Geraldo stayed to suffer.
Similar to a few months ago, Goon and YHC decided to split Q duties. It seemed to work well last time, so why not?
The Thang:
After a quick disclaimer and welcome to the FNGs, Goon led us to the baby track for some moseying/COP:
There may have been another lap. On about the 3rd lap, YHC decided to challenge Geraldo to a sprint and lost. #justlikeFriday
Voodoo leads the mosey across Rea and over to the rock pile by the church. Grab an exercise rock. It should not fit in your pocket.
Run to rear of school and grab some wall for People’s Chair with 50 air presses (apologies for YHC’s civilian count issues here)
Mosey to concession area for 3 rounds of:
YHC led the pax back to the starting lot before realizing we were going to the little field, where Goon restored order:
YHC took over and went back to the rocks for another round:
Run back to concession stand for 2 rounds of:
Mosey back to rear of building for People’s Chair with Frankenstein and alternating foot raises with 10 counts, then 50 air presses (slightly better cadence this time).
Mosey back to the little field for a finisher from Goon:
Back to the launch lot for COT.
Moleskine:
Apologies for the delay in getting this posted. It’s easier to sneak in backblast writing during work than the weekend. #keeptheMhappy As a result of the delay, the above backblast should serve as an approximation of what we did. Please sound off below with anything that was missed.
We had a great turnout this morning, including 2 FNGs and 4 2.0s. The pax did a great job of keeping together, using planks where necessary to wait on the six.
Our FNGs, Walton (father of 10 children – #happyfathersday) and Umizoomi (wearing a Dragon Ball Z t-shirt, so why not?) were crushing it out there this morning. They did not look like FNGs. Umizoomi and Nemo were pushing hard on the warm up laps and had no trouble with the pace all morning. I didn’t notice if they grabbed bigger rocks than their dads, but maybe someone did?
My Garmin had us at ~2.3 miles for today, which is solid for any workout, moderate or not. Speaking of which, I know this is supposed to be a moderate workout, but YHC always feels beat afterwards. It really is you vs. you in F3, so don’t be intimidated by any workout. If it sounds interesting, try it. Everyone is welcome to every workout and can modify as needed.
Thanks to Pele and Gullah for the opportunity to Q this morning. Goon and YHC had a great time leading the pax and it’s always an honor to lead.
Announcements:
14 (not really) portly pax gathered at Elon Park Elementary at 5:15. Co-site Q Pebbles got an extra 15 minutes of sleep and joined us at 5:30. #beautyrest
A full disclaimer was given to the pax, then we headed out.
Warm up mosey around the school and down to the sidewalk between the field and the trailers. Line up for COP:
Mosey back to the bells for the Thang:
100 swing set pyramid:
Grab the bells and mosey down to the plush artificial turf field.
Line up along the sideline and begin the swing/dip set:
Partner up by bell size and speed, with bell size more important. This is where poor Uncle Phil got stuck with YHC, farmer carrying ~97 lbs of kettlebells. This appears to be ~65% of his bodyweight.
P1 farmer carries the bells across the field while P2 performs the exercise and then runs the field. Flapjack and come back.
Drop the bells and lunge walk across the field, bear crawl (or bear gallop in MT’s case) back.
Bunny hop half the width of the field, then crab walk the rest. Backward run back.
Suicides to the near line of the big goalie box (I think Argonaut called it the “18 yard line”), then the far line, then the far sideline.
Plank work:
Gather the bells and return to the starting point. Circle up for Mary, initially led by pax that had not Q’d workouts before.
Time. Thanks to Argonaut for the takeout in COT.
Moleskine:
Announcements:
8 savvy veteran pax rolled up on Elon Park Elementary for another edition of Foxhole (YHC was on two wheels). Unfortunately, our Q for the day didn’t have his calendar up to date and was DR for work. After the radio silence on Twitter and Slack, YHC was somewhat prepared, but the pax elected to play a little musical Qs instead.
Circle up for COP:
> SSH x 20 IC (Frehley’s Comet)
> IW x 15 IC (Mighty Mite)
> Low Slow Squat x 10 IC (Freon)
> Merkins x 10 IC (Voodoo)
Now that we’re warmed up, time for some bells.
The Thang:
Voodoo round:
> 10 1H swings each arm, starting with the weak side
> 5 C&P each arm, starting with the weak side
> 5 pullups
Argonaut round:
> 10 snatches each arm, starting with the weak side
> 10 pullups
Voodoo round:
> 10 lunges each side
> 5 single leg Romanian dead lift per side
> 5 goblet squats
Frehley’s Comet round:
> 5 pullups
> 20 incline merkins
> 20 dips
Mighty Mite round:
> 20 man-maker KB merkins
> 20 tricep extensions
> 10 Romanian deadlifts
Argonaut round:
> 15 American swings
> 15 sumo deadlift to high row
> 15 diamond merkins
Frehley’s Comet round:
> KB Dolly presses x 15 IC
> Dolly x 15 IC
> Flutter x 20 IC
> KB Russian Twist x 10 IC
> Russian Twist x 10 IC
> KB heels to heaven x 15 IC
> Run a lap
Argonaut’s finisher:
> 10 swings, 3 presses per arm. After each round, pax rotates left to the next bell. Complete one lap.
Thanks to Argonaut (I think) for the take-out.
Announcements:
> YHC on Q at Fat Camp on Wednesday at 5:15 at Elon Park Elementary. Come on out for the worst good time you’ll have all week.
> Q school is being held at the Panera at the Arboretum on June 4th. Preblast is here.
Moleskine:
> Thanks to the pax for stepping up in the absence of a Q. YHC couldn’t find Bounty Hunter’s twitter handle on Sunday for the pre-tweet and his sign up pre-dated the establishment of the Sign-up Genius site, so there was a bit of a site Q fail there.
> YHC was either exactly on time or slightly late, depending on how accurate your watch was. YHC was happy to provide entertainment for the pax while trying to get parked between Mario and Fire Hazard’s Xterra. No paint was traded with either, so I call it a success, regardless of the comedic value.
> This was a tough one. The successive tricep beatdown from Frehley’s and Mighty Mite, then the finisher from Argonaut was tough. YHC ended that circuit on Mighty Mite’s (respectable) 60 lb. KB, which was not fun.
> Thanks to Argonaut for the help with the backblast. I’m pretty sure it’s inaccurate, but it’s a lot better than it would have been if YHC had been working from memory.
> Feel free to chime in with any other announcements or mumblechatter YHC missed. Again, great to see everyone this morning and thanks for supporting the best Monday gear workout in the region.
(Posted by Voodoo on behalf of Voodoo and Goon)
16 pax posted at Old Providence Elementary this past Saturday for what they thought would be a moderate beatdown by YHC and Goon. Fortunately for them, Goon didn’t bother bringing the “moderate.”
The Thang:
Goon leads:
Head to the baby track for a few laps with IC exercises mixed in: SSH, merkin and Imperial Walker with Q-jack by Mall Cop to slow the cadence down to human pace.
Grab the kettlebells and head to the nearest unlined field. Gently place the bells at the near end of the field and then mosey to mid-field for a COP consisting of:
a. Jack Webb from 5 merkins/20 air presses to 1 merkin/4 air presses
b. LBCs
c. Windmills (10 each direction)
d. Russian Twist
e. Freddie Mercury
f. Rosalita/Flutter
g. Protractor
Voodoo leads:
Partner up by bell size. P1 runs to the other end of the field and does 10 Russian twists while P2 does KB exercise. Flapjack.
a. Shoulder press (alternate sides as needed)
b. Swings (1H or 2H, alternate sides as needed)
c. High pulls (alternate sides as needed)
d. Snatches or cleans (alternate sides as needed)
Run to concessions stand for 5 step ups/10 dips/15 LBCs. Repeato x2 for 3 rounds.
Goon leads:
Mosey to the large field in the back for a mini-Beast (5 reps performed every 10 yards for 5 rounds), then mosey back to the start:
a. Cumberland County Viaduct L
b. Cumberland County Viaduct R
c. Low Slow Squats
d. Makhtar N’Diaye
Voodoo leads:
Mosey back to the school and Peoples’ Chair with 25 air presses IC
Mosey back to the near field for another round of KB exercises with your partner. Only changes are that P2 runs first and performs 15 LBCs at mid-field.
Gather the bells and head back to the launch lot for COT, where Goon took us out.
NMM:
> Apologies for the delay in getting this backblast posted. Work and work travel made it tough to get the time. Please comment below to the extent YHC has left anything out or mixed up any of the above.
> YHC has never attended or led a moderate boot camp, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Since most workouts are you vs. you, “moderate” really is a relative term. YHC thought the workout was tough and everyone was pushing out there. Great work by the pax.
> Little known fact: Goon actually EH’d YHC way back in 2013. He showed up at my house on a Saturday morning smelling ripe and wearing workout gear. Based on his physique, YHC figured he’d been doing some aggressive yardwork (just kidding, Goon), but he said he’d actually been at a free boot camp with a group called F3. Intrigued, I showed up at Anvil a few weeks later and was introduced to Radar’s sandbags and the joy of hairburners. A few months later, when I was able to move my arms and legs again, I made my second post. As they say, the rest is history.
> Thanks to (original) Pele, Gullah and Ickey Shuffle for allowing Goon and YHC to Q. This was YHC’s first post to Ascent, although I’ve been to Olympus many times. It was good to join the pax and YHC appreciates Goon splitting the Q (and devising the whole workout).
YHC showed up in the parking lot with about 30 seconds to spare to find that 8 pax ignored Cantore’s prediction for 80% chance of rain and showed up at Meathead this morning. The beatdown was adaptable, but YHC didn’t want the pax tearing up their moist mitts on the swings and snatches. For those of you not paying attention, this beatdown strongly resembled the one YHC delivered at Foxhole on Monday. #nopointsfororiginality
COP:
The Thang:
Circuit 1:
Overhead carry to the far median and back, switching arms at the turn.
Repeato 4 more times for a total of 100 swings, 50 C&Ps and 25 deadlifts. Mix up the carries, some of which were to the middle median.
Circuit 2:
More carries to the middle or far median, with pax choice on some carries
Repeato 4 more times for a total of 100 high pulls, 50 snatches and 25 goblet squats.
Still some time left, so the Q called for Byron’s KB flow, where the pax start swinging and the Q calls out new exercises and the pax move into them “in the flow.” This was meant to last a few minutes, but was actually less than a minute due to Q smokage.
High Tide called for lawnmowers, so we did 10 per side.
One minute left, so 2H swings until Q calls time.
COT: Thanks to Destiny for the take out.
Moleskine:
When YHC saw that High Tide had the Q for this week after leading about 2 weeks ago, I DMed him and offered to take it. If you enjoy a site, please sign up to Q it. F3 only works if everyone contributes. Sign up link for Meathead can be found here.
This workout seemed “popular” at Foxhole and there’s little to no overlap in the pax, so it was brought out again (with some slight modifications for weather, 0.0 and AO features). All of the pax were pushing hard today and I hope they got their money’s worth. If not, Brown and High Tide will offer a refund after next week’s workout.
As mentioned in my Foxhole backblast, the point of this beatdown is low reps with good form and pushing yourself on weight. If you were flying through the circuits and are swinging a bell weighing less than 24 kg/50 lb., it might be time for a gut check. Stepping down on the presses makes sense, but the ballistic exercises (swings, high pulls, snatches) require more weight. If you want to try out a bigger bell before buying, please ask around for extras.
Brown gave YHC the inspiration for the backblast title and was swinging and carrying some big bells. I think he did the deadlift with two 24kgs. #oldschoolstrong
Witch Doctor was swinging a sweet new 24 from Muscle Driver (#RIP) and was looking good out there. Pressing a 24 is no joke unless you’re Busch or Brown.
High Tide pulled out the 32 for a few rounds of something (it was dark out there), which is always impressive. YHC has one at home that I don’t think I’ve picked up yet. #settinggoals
Blazing Saddles has been a regular at Meathead at least since YHC stopped fartsacking on Thursdays and made a triumphant return a 4-6 weeks ago. He’s getting stronger and form is improving. I smell a Q in his future…
Fletch was Fletch. He flew through the exercises with ease despite using a bell that’s probably half his body weight. I think we should take up a collection to buy him a weight vest and a bigger bell to bring him down to human levels.
Destiny continues to post regularly and get stronger and stronger. He’s showing good form and might be ready for a bigger bell. #hinthint
Mad was working hard on there while still getting the movements down. Keep posting, brother. It doesn’t get easier, but you’ll get stronger (and eventually get a bigger bell).
Announcements:
9 pax made the unwise decision to post this Monday morning instead of fartsacking. The beatdown was intended to hit the major KB exercises with a little running mixed in for active recovery. It might not have seemed overly creative, but it should leave you sore in all the right places. Reps were kept to reasonable levels to push pax to maintain proper form and possibly reach for that bigger bell.
COP:
The Thang:
Circuit 1:
Run the big lap through the parking lot
Repeato 4 more times for a total of 100 swings, 50 C&Ps and 25 pullups.
Circuit 2:
Run the little lap through the parking lot.
Repeato 4 more times for a total of 100 high pulls, 50 snatches and 25 goblet squats. The last two rounds were combined due to time constraints.
COT: YHC took us out.
Moleskine:
Strong work out there by all of the pax. As mentioned above, the point of this was low reps with good form and pushing yourself on weight. If you were flying through the circuits and are swinging a bell weighing less than 24 kg/50 lb., it might be time for a gut check. Stepping down on the presses makes sense, but the ballistic exercises (swings, high pulls, snatches) require more weight. If you want to try out a bigger bell before buying, please ask around for extras.
Pebbles gave a half-hearted effort on the Imperial Walkers, but YHC will give him a pass because it’s a questionable exercise. He also did some of his pullups with a KB on his foot. #beastmode
Loogie is still recovering from a shoulder injury, but was out there and modified as necessary. If he’s out there with one shoulder, what’s your excuse for not posting?
Marlin was our War Daddy, but he was pushing hard. YHC remembers getting passed by him on at least one of the laps. #wardaddystrong
Irish Cream ran some ridiculous trail run yesterday, so this was a nice dose of cross training (except for the running and squats). That dude is going to crush some obstacle course races this year.
Argonaut was flying out there, although YHC was disappointed in his attire this morning. Being from Canada, I expected shorts and a sleeveless shirt. #thinbloodedcanadian
Mighty Mite was also crushing this workout. It’s hard to tell how big his bell is because most bells look small next to him, but he might need to invest in a bigger one.
Gomer Pyle returned to action after spending Spring Break in Florida and handled this workout with ease. He’s been posting regularly at Foxhole and some SOB bootcamps, and he’s definitely getting stronger.
It was good to see Chipotle out at Foxhole again after his Q 2 weeks ago (YHC was DR last week). He was pushing hard as always and did a great job on a grinder of a workout.
Announcements:
11 bros posted at Meathead this morning to see what YHC had up his sleeves (yes, YHC wore sleeves to Meathead).
The Thang
Warm up:
Head down to the small island of grass near the playground for a little joint mobility work. YHC got some of this from a tweet someone put out there about two quick exercises you should do before every workout. I think it was Wild Turkey, but can’t verify.
Prying squats (with or without weight, opens up the hips)
Dead hangs from the playground equipment (decompresses the spine)
2x TGUs per side (all-around great KB exercise) #crowdpleaser
Head back up to the parking lot for some tabata cycles. 30 work/:30 rest:
1) Alternating swings
2) Military press R
3) Military press L
4) Lawnmower L
5) Lawnmower R
6) Snatch L
7) Snatch R
8) Russian twist with kettlebell
9) Squat – unloaded pistol for round 1, pax choice for subsequent rounds
Repeato x 2 for 3 rounds through
Finisher: Go heavy
Six Minutes of Mary – pax choice:
COT – Thanks to Horsehead for the takeout.
Moleskine
YHC built this workout based on an article from StrongFirst. The goal is to focus on 7 basic human movements (push, pull, hinge, squat, loaded carry, rotation, counter-rotation). If you want to read the article, you can find it here. We didn’t quite hit them all, but YHC feels like we got our money’s worth.
There were some groans when YHC announced we’d be doing Turkish Get-Ups during the warm up. Although they’re brutal, TGUs are a great exercise, you can read all about them here (Bulldog).
The goal for this morning was to allow the pax to use some smaller bells for the single arm work (primarily the military press) and some larger bells for the ballistic exercises (swings, snatches, etc.).
The music was the 90’s alternative mix on Spotify, which reminds YHC of high school/college. #glorydays It was reasonably well-received until Rage Against the Machine came on and dropped f-bombs for about 30 seconds straight, echoing Bulldog’s response to the call for TGUs. #refusenik
The pistol squats were tough and definitely need some work. YHC attempted one set (#nobalance) and then moved on to the relative comfort of teabag squats.
Feel free to chime in with any mumblechatter YHC missed.
Thanks to High Tide and Brown for allowing YHC to lead this morning and thanks to the pax for showing up and putting in work.
Announcements