Goal today was to keep the heart rate up while focusing on upper body and core – pull-ups, stagger merkins to isolate each side, curls (for show), and upper / lower abs. Four executed that plan:
Thang
Run the Candlewyck mile. Grab a lifting rock from Wesley UMC and carry it back to the OPE bus parking lot.
Partner 1 – run to playground behind the school for 7 pull-ups and 14 hanging knees-to-elbows
Partner 2 – 10 staggered merkins on rock (each side), 20 curls, 30 Louganis
Flapjack and repeat until 6:05. Return rocks and run the Candlewyck mile again.
COT.
Announcements:
Moleskine
Guess starting at the beginning is the best place. Tied Bel Aire for the Candlewyck Chaser CR per Strava at the start, so appreciate One Eye pushing the pace. YHC breathing heavily, he seemed ok, so tried to headlock him into filling the vacant BRR spot to no avail. Rock selection remains a glaring weakness for YHC. What was a good size rock for 20 curls was a terrible size for 30 Louganis – can pretty much guaranty to miss your Q at DV tomorrow, Swiper.
Cold Cuts and One Eye crushed this one. One Eye did it in long sleeves, and then following yesterday’s COT shirt wringing, proceeded to create river of sweat that swept away several large ant mounds. I’m not sure the city storm water system could handle he and Mr. Brady at the same workout.
Thunder Road was pushing hard, it seemed, but he was running with One Eye most of the time. I don’t think we ran together until the final sidewalk back to COT. That bandana seemed to get quite a bit of use wiping sweat, so again, seems like he got his money’s worth. Same time / place next week.
We somehow managed to still clock over 3 miles plus 5-6 sets of exercises on what was intended to be a lower mileage day.
After being away for way too long for vacation, business trip and another vacation, I have returned for three Qs this week. It was two, but Pebbles need a sub. (He Qs all the time, so I’m not giving him any static.) My plan was to keep us moving, not run too far and incorporate some new animal/primal movements into the set.
And away we go, go, go…
Side Straddle Hop x 20
Merkin x 15 IC
Imperial Walker x 15 IC
Mountain Climber x 20 IC
Run down to the wall at Ballantyne Medical Pl.
7 muscle ups & 7 donkey kicks then run to corner of Ballantyne Commons and back
14 muscle ups & 14 donkey kicks then run to corner of Ballantyne Commons and back
7 muscle ups & 7 donkey kicks then run to corner of Ballantyne Commons and back
Run to the Duckworth Parking lot
Crawl (knees elevated, but not bear crawl) to end of parking lot – which is VERY far when crawling, 20 Merkins
One foot-hop (switching half-way), 20 Carolina Dry Docks
Side Shuffle, 20 American Hammer
Crab walk, 20 flutter
Broad Jump, 20 Sea turtles
Duck walk, 20 glute marches
Circle-up
20 Kick-through
20 Prone Scorpions
More Walls
Now at the tall wall next to Duckworth’s we completed circuits of wall climbs
A quick round of pulsing squats x 10
Back to American Vine Kitchen for Plank Wars. Loser does five burpees.
Moleskine
It’s great to be back! I missed you guys. I’m hope everyone enjoyed the new movements. The primal animal moves help incorporate full range of motion and core stability including the back. Though I did hear some mumble chatter about wanting to “just run”. (Hey if you want to run, show-up for Swift.) Check out the video for more ideas.
If you enjoy my Qs, see me at Dromedary and The Brave this week.
It was a beautiful morning, 78 degrees and only 84% humidity with clear skies. YHC led 16 PAX on a sweaty hour long workout. Since I’m still a novice Tweeter, only a couple saw my pre-blast which contained the following sparse information: we would be running a majority of the time, it would not be flat and we would not be in Raintree. And with a brief disclaimer we set off at 5:15am….
The THANG:
-One mile warmup. Mosey from SCMS up Strawberry left on Hwy 51 left into Davie Park down Windswept to parking lot for COP.
-Low Slow Squat x 15
-25 Merkins OYO
-Mosey out of Davie park, left down Hwy 51, left in to Carey Ridge to the end at Coburn Ct., plank up for the six.
-Run to the other end of Coburn Ct. and back (aka Half Pipe) as many times as time allowed. Regroup at other end of Coburn at 6:05 for some Mary. Flutter x 20, LBC x 20.
-Run back toward school, up Brownes Pond to Rosecliff to Strawberry. Indian Run back to SCMS.
MOLESKIN:
A smaller group for FT this time of year. Everyone worked hard on the hills of Coburn…it was a tough .6 miles each way, everyone got in at least 4 lengths with the faster guys doing 6. Turkey Leg fresh from vacation led the way with Alf and Gerber not far behind. Wasn’t too much chatter, we were all gasping for breath in the warm air. Sundancer was an FNG to FastTwitch, he seemed quite pleased to join the “running workout”. Kudos to PopTart, who despite confusing the post start time, still headed out to Five Knolls and Piper Glen just missing the group #ellobosolo. Thanks to Purple Haze for allowing me to lead these fine men. Thank you to Mermaid for the takeout.
Announcements:
F3 Pool Party this Saturday, August 20th, see web site to sign up, $10/family.
BRR Team still looking to fill a spot, contact Geraldo if interested.
With the pool party fast approaching, still time sign up / join, SOFA WIB plans to accommodate with a little late summer bod finishing work. Trust me, you’ve been running too much already.
Plan –
Partner up. Run the Candlewyck Mile. Once back to OP, run to the church across the street and select a team lifting rock (careful to avoid the fire ants known to inhabit this particular stream bed).
Partner 1 runs (notice there is no soft “j”) to the nearest playground\ to complete 7 pull-ups and 14 hanging knees-to-elbows.
Partner 2 stays put. 10 merkins on rock (each side, alternate hands), 20 curls with rock, 30 Louganis with rock.
Flapjack and repeat, ad nauseum. At 6:06, drop the rocks in their rightful places and run the Candlewyck mile again.
Fin.
Well Fight Club set a record with 8 tough guys showing up on Friday.
The Thang:
5 Stations (Heavy Bag, 3 Mit work stations, kettle bells or merkin stations)- Everyone rotated once through the stations for a 2 minute circuit with 45 seconds to go to next station. After everyone went once we split into two groups.
One group was lead by Argonaut for some Mary. The second group went to the ring. 2 rounds for 1:45 seconds in the ring, then switch to glove and pad work. Flap jack, group two went to do some mary while group 1 went to the ring.
Go showing today, many thanks to Argonaut for brining three other guys (Honeymoon, Peppermint, Gold Digger (FNG))out with him. All guys looked and acted like they have thrown a few punches before. I had the pleasure of getting in the ring with Honeymoon, if it was a straight street fight I might have lasted 10 seconds.
Thanks to all that came out, as you probably saw that this is a different workout, and time flies quickly.
Chippy
14 strong hit the hills of Mountainbrook here is how it went down…
Mosey from Carmel Park to Tufton Brae Ct cul-de-sac for SSH x 30.
Mosey to Mill Pond Rd for Merkins x 5 at each streetlight on the right. Plank-o-rama at the split in the road.
Mosey to the bottom of the hill on Mountainbrook Rd. 7’s with squats at the top and jump squats at the bottom.
Mosey a few blocks up Mill Pond Rd then Wide Arms x 5 at each streetlight on the left all the way to Carmel. LBC’s as we wait for the 6.
Mosey back to Church at Charlotte for Dips x 20, Wall Sits and Air Press x 10, Lower Wall Sits and Air Press x 10.
Head fake back to Carmel Park and mosey to bottom of the church parking lot for AYG to the top.
Mosey to Carmel Park parking lot for Burpees x 10, Heels to Heaven x 20, Oblique L x 10, Oblique R x10, Russian Twist x 10.
Moleskin
We had a strong group out there today and covered a lot of ground. We did manage to lose Bushwood, Snowflake, Aqua Fresh and Kirk along the way (Q fail!). All but Snowflake rejoined us and the pax was hopeful that all was good as Snowflake’s car was gone when we returned to the parking lot. Swiper was flying out there this morning and ’bout time and One Eye were not far behind. I know Bushwood and One Eye were neck and neck for the AYG.
Announcements: BRR September 10 and Area 51 pool party this Saturday August 20, only $10 per family – DM Kirk for details.
Always a good crew at this one. Thanks for the opportunity to lead!
YHC will be Q for another warm sweaty romp through the streets off Hwy 51. Here’s what I’ll share:
Come join the fun…tell a friend!
12 dudes came out to the Foxhole, well aware of the horrors that awaited them. As YHC rolled up to the lot at 5:15, 2 cars were already parked and empty. Flint showed up for the pre-run, but then thought it better to enjoy 15 minutes of asphalt stretching due to a sore foot (probably a good call). Tolkien’s truck was there as well; he was nowhere to be found. Here’s what YHC remembers from the 45 minutes between 5:29 and 6:15.
Looked around at 5:29 and a half, allowed the last few stragglers to make their way to the circle. Still no Tolkien, we all knew he was off MAFing somewhere in the darkness by himself. We had to start without him.
Post-warmup, we were joined by Marlin, starting cold, and Tolkien, who didn’t need a warm-up after a 7.5 mile warm-up.
(“the lap” = a lap around the soccer field, stopping at each corner for 10 hand-release merkins.)
Mosey back to launch with KBs.
If you posted at Foxhole today, you now know that YHC thinks the squat is one of the most important, yet neglected (in common fitness), exercises. Great work out there from everyone, and much respect to the handful of Clydesdales out there that pushed their limits on a Foxhole that was certainly not 0.0. A couple observations:
Flint has become quite fast. Looks like all those posts at running AOs (Swift and Devil’s Turn), coupled with consistent Foxhole posts is a winning combo. I think the weight loss since mid-May when MT brought him out for the 1st time has helped as well. Come see Flint deliver an epic lead at his VQ at Foxhole in 2 weeks. You won’t want to miss it.
Soft Pretzel was pushing the pace today and beat YHC back to the circle on the 3rd progression. He was uncatchable. As Pretzel knows well, mixing major muscle groups with running is a painful combination; his Q’s at Foxhole have been somewhat of an inspiration. (SP, you should Q another one soon Pretzel. Halloween is open. Take it click here)
Voodoo is a beast swinging that monster blue bell. Hopefully the > 0.0 at the ‘hole today was good for the BRR training. Thanks for coming out despite admissions of acute leg soreness, sorry it was all legs today #notsorry.
Loogie continues to post strong efforts despite shoulder trouble. Looked like all the “modify as needed” squatting you’ve done at other AO’s to avoid shoulder impairment helped with today’s squat workload. Well done. And thanks for bringing spare bells for our guests.
Frehleys Comet’s return to Foxhole did not go un-noticed; respectable respectness from this guy and at least 2 gallons of sweat on the turf field. Good to have you back sir.
Short Pole (recent FNG) did a solid job for his first post at a Gear workout, also had a solid gallon of sweat to ring out at the end.
Honeymoon had an interesting morning; ate some Astroturf pellets during the 6-inch plank (which wasn’t very long, so solid job there) and told Tolkien that he’s engaged to my brother… um, no. Must have been the high-heart rate disorientation ! Glad you backtracked on that one; both my bros are married, stick with the sister.
Marlin is all business out there. Glad you made it before we headed down to the fields; nice job on those squats.. deep. Too bad school is starting and we will see less of Nemo. First day of school ? #dadjoke
Mighty Mite seems to be all healed up from the bummed ankle from the F3 scandle, “Futbolgate” where Nard dog’s entire weight crushed one square centimeter of MM’s ankle. Good effort out there, always good to have one of the original KB bros at the ‘hole.
Fire Marshall Bill is becoming a regular at the Foxhole and crushes it every time. Perhaps you could lead a few good man click here.
JRR Tolkien did post at Foxhole. He was there. Present. Accounted for. I think the all those miles (including the extra 1.5 from the wrong turn) may have left very little fuel in the tank. Kudos for staying the course and putting in some work with us. As you can see, it’s not all grunting and 80’s hair band at Foxhole (except when Frehley’s leads). We get your HR up, and keep it there for 45 min. For real, thanks for showing, good luck with the marathon training.
TL;DR -> squats are good for us, but they are often neglected for fear they are dangerous. The fear is rooted in ubiquitous poor form among amateurs and old, sloppy research. Using goblet squats or front squats can help develop better form.
Quick rabbit trail, Matt Fraser, the winner of this year’s Crossfit games, has listed these two words, instead of a paragraph, in the “How I train” section of his athlete profile on the games website: “I squat”. Whether your attitude towards Crossfit as an organization and culture is one of (or a mix of) love, hate, or apathy, it is undeniable that the athletes that compete in their games are indeed athletes of the first order. The squat, in all its variations, is a foundational movement for folks who succeed in that environment. The squat, in its basic and simplest form, is a foundational movement for fitness success in any environment. Much of the fear about knee/back injury and squatting is based in poorly executed squats and poorly executed “studies” from the 1960s that linked knee injuries with heavy back squats. Shallow squats (I.e not below parallel), when done consistently, can overdevelop the quads relative to glutes and hamstrings. That asymmetry can cause stress on the knee and continue to influence the lower extremities toward bad squat form.
Squatting below parallel, even with no weight, can be a challenge for some (like YHC) due to lack of ankle and hip flexibility; the lack of flexibility causes folks to fall backward or squat shallow. Squatting with a KB racked in front can allow for a deeper squat because the weight is in front, and can build that flexibility.
Argonaut Out.
Swift will launch at 0515 from the Vine Restaurant in Ballantyne. Come at 0500 for some early extra easy running.
The THANG:
Get an idea of what your Interval Pace should be at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator. Input a Goal / Target, Calculate, Training tab, “Interval Pace” per mile is under the “1 mile” column.
Pax of 21 Got their Monday started of right with a beatdown with the magic number 7.
Warm-up:
Mosey to the front of the school along the way we did karaoke, backwards run until we hit the front.
Circle up:
SSH x 25 CI
MTC x 20 IC
Heals to Heaven x 20 IC
SSH x 20 double time
The Thang:
Mosey to the back side of the teachers parking lot to the 7
For 10 minutes we did as many rounds as we could complete
7 Clap Merkins
7 Knees to hands jumps
7 Squats
7 Burpees
7 Dips
7 Plank Jacks
80/100 yard run
The Pax completed 4 to 5 rounds.
Mosey down to the lower football field. When I came out to do some scouting on Sunday I found a 3 person football sled and a good hill the HS XC runners use.
We broke off into groups of 3. Each group had to push the sled 20 yards and back.
The rest of the pax did the following.
Run the hill (about 100 yards down and back)
7 Derkins
Run
7 MTC
Run
7 Burpees
Run
7 Canoes,
Run
7 Step ups
Once everyone finished the Blocking sled we did some planking to recover
We did another round minus the sled.
Once we finished that we heading back to the parking lot. We finished with 20 seconds to spare.
Moleskin:
What a workout today. I don’t know about the rest of the Pax but my legs are feeling in already. So I sent an hour on Sunday at CMS trying to find some new areas and come up with the workout plan. I hope everyone liked it. 🙂 The Blocking sled took me back to those HS days, I remember now why I hated it some much. Not sure how much Shop Dog like it. I am pretty sure I saw him spilling the merlot or bourbon from the weekend. We had an FNG (Ray Noonan) just move her from NJ 3 weeks ago. Found out about F3 from the Lawson neighborhood website. Ex-Football Center, lost 150 lbs last year. Moneyball said he missed his Greensboro F3 buddies/sisters. Frack was back from NY with bald head. Must have been a rough trip. It took Bottle Cap a little bit of time to get going this morning, once he got going he crushed it. Damascus is fired up to do the next Spartan race. Gerber blew by everyone on the way back to the AO. We had a couple of our regulars stay in the fart sack this morning.
Announcements:
Spartan Sprint – Sept 10 – Ft. Bragg
Spartan Beast – Oct 29 – Between Charlotte and Columbia
YMCA Event at Camp Thunderbird – Contact Posse for the details or website