After hundreds, probably thousands, of miles of BRR training in the hills of Raintree and Piper Glen (including two common-law HOA memberships), a dodgy knee, a monkey fist knot in my left glute, grape-sized blisters, and a dead toe nail: the hay is in the barn and the biscuits are in the oven–back to the bells. Finally. Fourteen like-minded pax, including a robust SOB showing, moved the iron in a workout that scarcely registered on the pedometer.
The Weinke….
WARMUP
HEAVY
CONDITIONING
COT
MOLESKIN
This was really two workouts stitched together: heavy work followed by conditioning work. Ideally, you’d spend 30, maybe 40, minutes on Heavy day and maybe the same on a separate conditioning day. The abridged mashup was to serve for some KB object lessons.
First, most guys can handle significantly more weight than they are currently swinging. This isn’t an ego thing–it’s an acknowledgement that the ballistic nature of many of the KB moves allows for more weight. A KB is not a dumbbell: a DB is typically used to isolate muscle groups whereas a KB combines muscle groups. The additional muscle groups combined with the ballistic movements leads to heavier weights. You may not be ready quite yet to jump to 48 kg, but you most likely need to move up at least one KB size, but probably two.
Second, you need more than one KB--heavier for grinding moves like swings and squats and a smaller one for presses (and maybe groundwork), when you start to fatigue, and for combining for doubles. The Meathead concept of 0.0 allows for this–all the bells are right there in the COP. It’s harder to accomplish in the typical F3 “gear” workout; not easy to tote 2 KBs around the AO (but it can be done…)
Third, the KB is a great conditioning tool. The swing ladders got the heart rate up and perhaps got in your head a little (50 swings? Again?). It may have exposed a weak link–if your form is not compact and efficient you fatigue early. Most likely, your grip is the first give out.
If you want to sharpen you form, pack on muscle and strengthen your grip, join us for the 10,000 swing challenge this fall: 500 swings a day (5 sets: 10x / 15x / 25x / 50x), 2 days on, 1 day off. Look for tweets after the BRR.
Other comments/observations:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
9 men met in the refreshingly cool gloom to work up a sweat and thrash their muscles.
The Thang –
Run to back field:
SSH x 25
Imperial Walkers x 25
30 Merkins on-your-own
Squats x 25
Burpees x 200 (Alternating sets of 20 LBC’s and Flutters while waiting for PAX)
Flutter Kicks x 30
50 LBC’s on-your-own
Dollys x 25 (30?)
Mountain Climbers x 15
Jack Webbs (1 push-up / 4 arm-raises)- Ladder up to 6 x 24
Jog to 1/8th mile track:
Lung-Walk – 1/2 lap
Bear-Crawl x 20 yards
Crab-Crawl x 20 yards
Jump Squats x 10
Jog remaining 1/4 lap
30 Merkins on-your-own.
Circle up in parking lot for 10 Burpees on-your-own.
COT
No announcements today, and not a lot of chatter was heard, save for some grumbling about the 200 burpees. Thank you for playing, tune in next time.
– DK
12 brave souls skipped on fart sacking to face a beat down in the gloom, and one almost didn’t make it back. Of course that one was the Q when trying to demonstrate the exercise slipping and falling. Have fun in the comments and yes bb is a little late.
The Thang:
Warm up: Two laps around the track
25 X SSH, 10 X merkins On Your Own, 20 X IW, 10 X CDD OYO, 20 X squats, 10 X wide arm Merkins OYO, 20 X MC 10 X CDD OYO
Mosey back to the track:
Round 1
10 X pull-ups, 15 X Dips, 15 X step ups and one lap around the track
Plank when done
Round 2 repeat
Long mosey to the Football Field circle up:
Mary: 20 X Freddy Mercury, 20 X Sid the Kid (10 each way) 20 X roslita
The Q’s favorite Jack Webb
1 X Merkin, 4 X air presses, 2 X Merkins, 8 air presses and so on up to 8 X merkins and 32 X air presses.
Line up for some cone drills, eight cones set up in two squares 15 yards between cones. Run to first cone, backwards run to next, then shuffle between, forward sprint, shuffle to next square and repeat. Then finish up with 10 jump squats and sprint to starting line
Repeat again with karaoke, instead of shuffle.
While demonstrating the clumsy Q slips and falls and hurts himself. Should have listened to Alf and did a convergence with Olympus
Divide up into two groups each gets its own set of squares,
Relay races backwards run, shuffle, sprint fwd, shuffle next person go.
First round everyone does merkins while they wait and LBCs when finished.
Team 1 won round 1 but being the good people that that they are decided to do 5 burpess with the losers
Repeat the race, two more times and both times team 1 was supper gracious and joined losing team 2 with 5 burpees.
Mosey to the field in between the base ball fields,
15 yards of bear crawl and 15 yards of crab walks, then repeat back to starting line,
Head to the school for two sets of the peoples chair.
The end:
Moleskin:
Another excellent job by the pac but not such a great job by the Q. I met a several new faces out there today always enjoyable; thank you all for letting me lead always an honor.
Announcements:
Mud run still open
Still looking for drivers for Blue Ridge Relay vans
20 men headed back to school for the basics – hills, walls, and cardio. Cooler temps made the morning somewhat enjoyable. I think.
SSH x 25
Imperial Walker x 20
Merkins x 15
Mountain climbers x 20
Jog to Firebird’s wall, partner up;
Partner #1 – parking lot sprint 50 yds, 10 merkins, return
Partner #2 – nonstop jump-ups until partner #2 returns
flapjack
Partner #1 – parking lot sprint 50 yds, 20 squats, return
Partner #2 – nonstop jump-ups until partner #2 returns
flapjack
To the Fountain:
Partner #1 – lap around the 2 buildings, stopping halfway for 20 mountain climbers
Partner #2 – 10 dips, 10 derkins, 10 squats on repeato until partner returns
flapjack
Partner #1 – lap around the 2 buildings, stopping halfway for 10 burpees
Partner #2 – 10 dips, 10 derkins, 10 squats on repeato until partner returns
flapjack
Standing broad jumps 20 yds, bear crawl 20 yds
To the Firebird’s Hill:
Partner #1 – sprint up hill, back down (1 time)
P #2 – nonstop LBCs, then flapjack
Partner #1 – sprint up hill, back down (2 times)
P #2 – nonstop flutter, then flapjack
Partner #1 – sprint up hill, back down (3 times) #crowdpleaser
P #2 – nonstop dolly, then flapjack
Partner #1 – sprint up hill, back down (2 times)
P #2 – nonstop rosalita, then flapjack
Partner #1 – sprint up hill, back down (1 time)
P #2 – nonstop Mason Twist, then flapjack
Puppy Love closes it out with his proprietary bicycle pain session
Head back home
Elbow plank 10 count, 5 merkins
Elbow plank 10 count, 5 merkins
COT
Moleskin
Solid cardio today with lots of running mixed with the classics. Outback & Mic Check were hammering the hill runs. Yogurt too.
Frehley skipped KBs #weak
Tech fail as my phone didnt record my attendence speech so I know I’m missing someone.
My bad, sound off below. Thanks, enjoyed my first Maul Q.
—Posted on behalf od Semi-Gloss, everyone’s favorite shirtless Q—
20 pax entered the gloom and came out the other end a little changed
30 SSH – Cad
30 Mountain climbers – Cad
1 Burpee
Indian run Mustangs and Clydesdales to davie park
Partner up
One partner runs and other partner does Diamond, Wide arm, Reg x3
2nd session – one partner runs other one does Squats, pull ups and Dips
Indian run back
Wall sits
Arm raises 30 cad X
Mary
Freddy Merc – 20 cad
Dolly cad – 20
LBC’s as many as you can do in 30 sec
The Moleskin (or hairy backskin):
Announcements:
Chasing pencil-armed ectomorphs* through Raintree and Piper Glen the last few months has begun to putrefy this Meathead. All my running parts hurt–I am coming home to my people with the #0.0 guarantee.
Part 1: Heavy
Bring all of your bells, even the light ones. We will go heavy for the first half, sometimes with single bells, sometimes with doubles.
Part 2: Conditioning
We won’t move an inch but it will feel like hill sprints.
We start promptly at 0530.
*ectomorph, a human physical type (somatotype) tending toward linearity, as determined by the physique-classification system developed by the American psychologist W.H. Sheldon. Although classification by the Sheldon system is not absolute, a person is classed as an ectomorph if ectomorphy predominates over endomorphy and mesomorphy in his body build. The extreme ectomorph has a thin face with high forehead and receding chin; narrow chest and abdomen; a narrow heart; rather long, thin arms and legs; little body fat and little muscle; but a large skin surface and a large nervous system. If well fed, he does not gain weight easily; if he becomes fat, he is still considered an ectomorph, only overweight. Compare endomorph; mesomorph. Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/178685/ectomorph
So it is one week before the BRR. Should we be tapering? Maybe after this weekend, but until then… we train.
What better to train for the BRR than one last hill week at DT? We will head again to Piper Glen and follow the same course as previous weeks except for the following options.
Option 1 (blue pill – 6 mi): Run standard course with energy and stamina and at the end of the run in Piper Glen, turn right onto Old Course and head back to COT (standard plan from previous weeks). If you get back to the parking lot early, optional distance down Bevington Place can be pursued.
Option 2 (red pill – 6+ mi): Run the standard course until you come to the end of Links Dr. (on the return leg) and turn left onto Piper Glen Dr. at the bottom of the hill. This is where the fun occurs. Proceed at a quick pace up the Piper Glen Dr. hill all the way to the crest. Then proceed back to the bottom of the hill at the intersection with Links Dr. Try to maintain pace back down the hill too. Then turn around again and head up the hill to turn right on Old Course and head back to the parking lot. (this allows a full appreciation (1.5x) of the largest hill YHC knows in these parts)
Option 3 (green pill – 4 mi): Run the standard 4 mile course out to Piper Glen. Proceed around Old Course to dead end. Take right down the hill and turn left on Old Course again to head out of the neighborhood and back to base. Add some distance down Bevington place if needed to hit 4 miles.
Meet at the greenway parking lot at the corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place to leave for the 4 and 6 mile routes at 5:15 am. We will head out together for a 0.75 mi “apartment loop” and then proceed for the main event through Piper Glen. YHC will have chalk to mark the way for both the 4 mile and 6 mile options.
For those that return to the greenway parking lot earlier than 6:10, feel free to add a little extra distance by turning right down Bevington place for an out and back. Time it properly to return for COT at 6:15 am.
If you are into knowing where you are going, see the following post for some pertinent info.
http://f3nation.com/2014/06/18/devils-turn-preblast-time-to-hit-the-hills/
I was a bit thrown off as I pulled into the Calvary Parking lot on this relatively cool August morning. I approached our normal gathering area seeing what appeared to be many vehicles parked in the darkness. “OK…looks like a good turnout this morning,” I thought. As I got closer and my eyes adjusted to the darkness in the parking lot, I noticed that these vehicles were dump trucks, backhoes, chip spreaders, and steam-rollers. The entire parking lot had been paved, and cones blocked entry from the driveway that circled the lot. “Hmmm…this is a problem. Where is everyone?” I continued to follow the driveway along and to my relief I spotted many cars and a few kettle bells swinging at the end of the parking lot. “I found my pax!” It was a nice turnout today, and now we have a nice smooth surface for all future COPs. No more CCVs on broken glass!
Anyways, once we all found our way to our new, albeit temporary gathering spot, we got after it (after a short disclaimer of course). Here’s what we did….
Short warm-up jog around the parking lot only to end up right back where we started for COP.
COP
Mosey to bottom of Entrance 4
Triple Nickel
Mosey to the playground
Mosey to the picnic shelter
Mosey to baseball field
Mosey to Hill
Triple nickel (again)
Mosey to courtyard
Mosey to large field in front of church, line up and sprint across field to driveway at top of North Face, plank until all arrive
Mosey around to bottom of North Face, plank until all arrive
Once all finished, we jogged back toward the cars and sprinted the last 200 yds.
Moleskin:
What an awesome morning for a workout!! We got a nice break from the heat and humidity, and we continue to be blessed to be able to use the great venue at Calvary Church. Today, we got to see and experience all of it! YHC is not the most creative guy in the world, and I had to improvise this morning because I didn’t have time to plan out something special…so I figured I’d pull all the regular tricks out of the bag and take the pax on a tour to see all the great things this venue has to offer. I think it was while we were at the baseball field when Haggis commented that we must be doing every exercise known within F3. Not all of them, but we certainly did many of them.
It was great to see many of the regulars this morning, but also a few faces we don’t typically see at Anvil – Haggis, Margo, Furley, and Whiplash. Thanks Whiplash for EH’ing FNG Jeff D, who from here forward shall be known as Brutus. Jeff is a Michigan fan, so he is now appropriately named for the Ohio State mascot. Brutus’ wife, who is a Ohio State fan will be very happy with the name choice. Nice one Hops!
T-claps to our KB’ers this morning. I didn’t take notice of all that were participating, but I think it was Abacus, Mermaid, and Cane. Not sure if Swanson did his regular pre-run, but if I missed you, sound off in the comments and take credit! Also
Thanks to Hops for the strong closing prayer! Many prayer requests among the pax, including Turkey Leg, whose mother passed away this morning.
Always a pleasure leading you guys. It was fun this morning.
Announcements:
24 strong SOBs embarked on a brief tour of Ballantyne. Many of the pax were disappointed that it wasn’t longer. If only we had more time…
Since the Sons of Ballantyne are one big happy family, all 24 meatheads from Bagpipe plus the 9 speedsters from Swift are included in this backblast.
The Thang:
Warm up at Vine while waiting for those delayed by traffic: 25 side straddle hops, 20 mountain climbers, 15 imperial walkers, 15 merkins plus a bit of plankerama.
Mosey for a while, then plankerama. 10 merkins at the wall, 12 durkins at the wall. 12 dips on the wall.
Mosey for a while to the bottom of a hill, then plankerama. 10 merkins, 5 6-count burpees, sprint to top of hill. 10 Merkins, 5 6-count burpees.
Mosey to the distant lake. Plankerama. Unspecified number of merkins in cadence, then 10 6-count burpees in cadence. Run around lake. Unspecified number of merkins in cadence, then 10 6-count burpees in cadence.
Mosey to the bulls. On back for Mary. Feet 6 inches, then protractor for a while. Transition into 20 flutter, protractor, 20 dolly, protractor, 20 heels to heavens, protractor, 10 slow bicycles, protractor, 20 rosalitas, protractor. Elbows for a while, then an unspecified number of merkins.
Mosey to Loch Ness. Plankerama, 10 merkins, 15 durkins, 15 dips.
Mosey back to COT while passing the Swift runners on the way.
Moleskin:
– Had hoped for a full tour of Ballantyne, but the hill was too good to miss and slowed things down a bit.
– Strong showing from all the pax, and welcome to FNGs Yinzer, Brokeback, and Switch Hitter.
– YHC is the world’s worst with names, so I might have this wrong… it was either Heartbreaker, Sunrise, or Strawberry (or perhaps all three) giving a lot of verbal encouragement, especially during Mary. Much appreciated.
– Next week Madame Tussaud has the Q. That will make this week look like a piece of cake.
27 pax, most of which have been suckered into this #BRR thing, showed up for a bit of running on this cool, crisp August morning.
The Thang
No warm up. Run to Windbluff Drive.
Triple Nickel on Windbluff – merkins at top, squats at bottom
Mosey to Rounding Run – partner up
Partner A goes one way on Rounding Run while Partner B goes the opposite – when you meet complete 10 squats – complete another 10 squats when you meet back after completing the circle. Then go opposite ways and repeat until 6:05.
Total Mileage ~ 6 miles
Moleskin
I love short backblasts, which is typically the case at Fast Twitch. Short backblasts do not reflect an easy work out though. I think we all got our fill this morning….well wait, 26 of us did. Bugeater’s alarm must have failed him again as he showed AFTER the Triple Nickel. We could all tell he was really pushing himself on his ‘run’ to come find us. He definitely looked a little startled as 26 horses came barreling down Rounding Run, blinking lights and all. But he did make it for the Rounding Run circuit which was delightful….and dark. Good Lord it was dark. Luckily some of us responsible folk had on our blinkers and lights. Looked like a damn circus out there. Funny how I came to find out there were RFYL folks on that loop as well. I saw a tiny figure coming at me and thought to myself that it had to be Purple Haze or BOG and decided to wait until we were about to pass to yell out a “Blaaaahaa UGhhhhhh, I’m so tired!” I scared the crap out of that RFYL girl. Poor thing was probably looking over her shoulder the rest of the morning. Oh, Jesus Gandarillas aka Snowbird, our FNG today. What did you do to Madison to get the invite to FT as your 1st post?! Good work brother. Keep coming on out. Lastly, to any of you reading this that weren’t there today or weren’t paying attention, Cheesecurd will be coming out with a new Stretching With Moon Shoes On (parking lot edition) mens running calendar. #thankyouRadar
Announcements
Let Baracas know if you want to be an alternate or driver for the fast approaching BRR. Certainly to be some good 2nd F.
Go online to sign up for Church On The Street. Need to fill the last few months of the year. See Radar with questions.