Lots of Crunches, Bears, and Chairs
14 pax ventured out on a sticky July morning to sharpen themselves and each other at The midweek venue, Anvil.
Disclaimer
The Thang:
COP
- SSH x 25
- IW x 25
- Mtn Climbers x 25
- CDD x 25
Mosey to front parking lot by hwy 51. Take a lap around lot to survey the situation.
End zone to end zone stackers (width of lot)
- 10 merkins
- 20 dips on curb
- Backwards run to other end of lot
- 30 squats
- 40 LBC’s
- Karaoke back (alternate each time)
- Repeato x 6 to even out the karaokes.
Mosey to baseball field
Bear crawl ring of fire around bases.
Guy in front gets up and runs around bases to end of line and resumes bear crawl position. Go through whole group – Ouch! #Crowd pleaser
People’s chair at pavilion:
- Left foot up
- Right foot up
- Toes
- Overhead press – 20 in cadence
Mosey back to parking lot
6 MOM:
- Toe taps (15 each foot in cadence)
- Dolly – 15 in cadence
- Flutter kicks – 15 in cadence
Mosey around lot to shovel flag, 10 burpees on your own
COT
Moleskin:
- YHC reminded the pax that he is no professional during the disclaimer it showed during COP…sorry for the missed calls – several PAX were on point and quick to assist.
- The end zone stackers definitely set the O2 deprivation in motion. Mermaid & Cain were out in front – nice work brothers!
- The Ring of fire/Bear crawl run went quicker than YHC anticipated – extra time always means more time for fun…enter the peoples chair. Sorry Champagne!
- The mumble chatter resumed during 6 MOM when YHC called out the toe taps. Threats to rename YHC twinkle toes were soon hushed. They may look silly but they work!
- As always it was a pleasure to lead a great group of men. Everyone pushed it today!
- Extra credit pre run – Baracus & Swanson. Kettle bells – Champagne, Abacus, Hair Ball (sound off as I know I’ve missed some)
Announcements:
- F3 Dads resumes this Saturday, 9am at Beatty Park – all 2.0’s are welcome.
- BRR fast approaching – order t shirts
- Mudrun sign ups – Gummy
It’s just a hill and a wall, push harder……
20 men showed up for a mid-week beat down at The Maul. Here’s what we did.
The Thang:
COP:
SSH X 25, IW X 15, Squats X 15, Merkin X 10, raise right leg merkin X 5, raise left leg Merkin X 5, 10 Burpees OYO
Mosey to the fountain for 30 dips, 30 Durkins and 20 jump/step ups, plank when finished, repeat
Mosey over to the wall behind the movie theatre.
6’s up the Hill– 5 Burpees at the top, 1 squat at the bottom, etc. – People’s Chair when finished
Partner up. Partner 1 runs up the hill, does 10 merkins and back, Partner 2 does the does the called wall exercises, then flapjack – Wall exercises included, Donkey Kicks, People Chair with press, Balls to the wall press. People’s chair when finished.
Partner wheel barrows up the hill, runback down and flapjack
Repeat the entire partner Hill/Wall work over again, including the partner wheel barrows.
Backwards crabwalk up the hill.
6MOM PAX Choice – bicycles, protractor, dolly, flutter, and YHC finishes us off with Skii planks
COT
Moleskin:
I’ve been eyeing the back wall of the movie theatre for weeks. It just so happens to be at the foot of a massive hill. The goal was to focus on the legs, chest and shoulders. Then throw in a little triceps work just for fun. The fountain work (dips, durkins and step-ups) and the hill 6s were just the warm up. As usual, Mic Check and Frazer set the pace up the hill with Soft Pretzel right on their heels. The real worked started with the partner wall/hill combination. The Donkey Kicks, People’s Chair and the Balls to the Wall Press were a great combination to the hills runs. Shout out to Dirty D on his effort in the uphill wheel barrows.
Great work by everyone this morning. It was a pleasure leading the PAX in the Gloom.
Announcements:
F3 Dads Back Up and Running this week.
BRR mix-up
Keeping faithful to their BRR training, 16 men of Fast Twitch mixed it up today with few hills and some distance.
The Thang
Warmup/COP:
- Lap around parking lot
- Lunge warm-up (various)
- SSH IC x20
Main event:
- Run out to RainTree, regroup for plankwork
- Down to bottom of Windbluff
- Sevens: Burpees at top, squats at bottom
- Run out to Providence, regroup for squats, etc.
- Run down Providence towards South Carolina
- Stop just short (back at RainTree)
- Indian run up raintree, back down Rounding Run to Woodfox
- Regroup, 20 merkins oyo
- AYG back to school
Total mileage: 5.9
Moleskine
- I think we’ve run this route sometime in the past, but apparently not all the pax appreciated the stroll down memory lane. Quoted from Gummy earlier today: “a brutal fast twitch… almost made it to Providence and 485“.
- Started out with a little something different with some lunge work in the quick COP;h/t to Uncle Leo for the moves from Matrix
- Lots of mumblechatter in the warm-up run out to RainTree, unfortunately was drowned-out by moans after the announcement of meeting at the bottom of Windbluff for some hill work
- Somehow Frasier jumped out in the lead and stayed out in front of the group the whole time. Fletch and 49er were right up there as well.
- Rest of the workout turned into a straight march for miles. Had another set of 7s planned for the hill at RainTree and Providence to balance, but called an audible with the IR to avoid the OT and kept it moving.
- Prohibition was keeping it strong until halfway through the IR and pulled back due to a calf… sorry we missed you – hope all is well.
- Missed last week’s Q, PH who apparently FNGed up at Mutha on Monday. Too much for the Haze? Hope to see you back soon.
- Always an honor to lead the men of Fast Twitch
Announcements
- Mudrun registration deadline 7/15. Register individually, then let Gummy know if you are on a team or free agent.
- Blue Ridge Relay shirts – orders due in by 8/2. See website for details.
- F3 Dads resumes this Saturday, 9am, Col. Francis Beatty Park, softball fields
#F3Swift – Captain Jack’s Revenge
The VSF was planted and 11 PAX disembarked on the journey from Charlotte NC to Philadelphia to deliver the signed Independence papers of Mecklenburg County to the Continental Congress. OK, so we stopped short on James Jack Ln. We wanted to feel like the famous Captain Jack. The first one, not the second one.
Captain James Jack
Captain Jack Sparrow
The THANG:
- 1.9mi easy warm-up from the Vine to the base of the hill on James Jack Ln (see http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/537141097 or http://www.strava.com/activities/163227691/overview for details on the route).
- At your 1 mile Race Pace effort (top end we run at Swift), run 200m up “Captain Jack hill”, jog 200m back down, run 200m up “CJ”, jog 400m down and past starting point to top of next hill, turn around and run 400m down and then up finishing on top of “CJ”, jog 300m down
- Repeat once more
- After the 2nd cycle and a brief recovery, run at 80% (slightly slower than marathon pace) back to the AO.
- Regroup and head to COT to hear the moans of Bagpipers
The Moleskin:
- Read the preblast for who is Captain Jack?
- Hill repeats were the name of the game today. Total of 1 mile up/down at very hard pace. Plus VERY rolling 1.0mi plus on the way home at 80% pace. YHC had difficulty explaining 80% pace, and Brisket hit it on the nose with “slightly uncomfortable”. Due to the hill on Ballantyne Commons at the end, it was probably more like “very uncomfortable”.
- Running up and down hills is not just good BRR prep, but that’s mostly why we’re doing it, it’s great speedwork if done controlled and in good form. Pace is important to start and finish the interval in good form. You don’t want to go too fast and then struggle to finish the interval with your form breaking down. It’s the same in the BRR – there’s always another hill (up or down) ahead. Here are a couple of good articles on Hill Running: http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/hill-running-training/ and http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/how-to-run-hills/
- Pulled Pork and Morning After (both Swift FNGs) have been hitting the extra 15min warm-up often with Swift prior to Bagpipe, but as we were on some uncharted territory during the warm-up and reasonably far away from the AO, they soldiered on. The EH worked!
- Great to have Soft Pretzel (though Puppy Love calls him “Softie”) back in the PAX. He must have answered the APB from last week.
- Honeybee has figured out the right ratios for maximum power on hills, or that dude is just designed for hills.
- Once again, we took to M. Tussaud’s fav run course, but trying to get him to look at it differently hopefully worked!
- The mileage at Swift has been getting a little longer each week, but Tootie, Undertaker, and Abacus keep coming out and are showing the gains.
- YHC thinks that “The Mouth” has earbuds to hear himself speak his own mantras into his ear. How else does someone get the nickname “The Mouth” but is just a little quiet on the runs? Oh yeah, we were all breathing hard because of the hills.
Announcements:
- F3 Dads – Col. Beatty Park this Saturday. Meet at the Softball fields (near the big playground) at 9am.
- BRR shirt – pick one out and we will do a group order to be delivered at Bagpipe / Swift. Money collected at pickup. Email paul.wuerslin@gmail.com if interested. Link here = http://f3.mudgear.com/products/f3-2014-brr-shirt. We have at least 3 planning to order (the minimum to avoid shipping costs), so join us now. Will order by August 1st.
You Can’t Spell Legendary Without Leg Day
25 Pax ventured into a relatively mild July gloom to face another edition the Skunk. YHC promised little running, meathead friendly, high wheezing and imminent death. With a heavy focus on legs, all goals except the death thing were achieved. But I did toss out the disclaimer prior to COP so I assume that legally covers me just in case it went bad.
0530 – And go:
Partner up and P1 Farmer Carry KB’s to church parking lot. P2 does 5 squats and catches P1 for the swap and repeat until we hit the lower lot. Grab your KB and circle up.
2-handed swings – x20 IC
SSH x 20 IC
Staggered arm Right Merkins x 15 IC (repeat with left)
IW x 20 IC
Flip watches around if you have them x 1 IC
Complete 5 reps of each of the following OYO – go through cycle 2x
Single arm swing R, single arm swing L, KB high pull R, KB high pull L, Snatch R, & Snatch L (For the rest of the workout this will be known as “The 5’s”. Sidebar: I will be hosting a lesson on creative exercise names at 5:00 AM before my next Q. Come join!)
Main Event:
Grab a slice of hill for 11’s.
Round 1: Goblet Squats at the bottom, Jump Squats at the top
Round 2: Overhead press at the bottom, Merkins at the top
Round 3: Thrusters at bottom, Burpees at the top. (Thruster starts as goblet squat and move bell to OH press as you come up from squat – IMHO they suck all the life out of you)
After completion of each Round do “the 5’s” until all Pax done.
Out of time – lug KB’s back to school
Moleskin:
Q’ing at Skunk is some of the most fun you can have. There is almost no limit to the level of difficulty you can bring. Some day’s the only way it could be harder is if it was longer. And no one can complain it’s too hard or Harley might pull your eligibility to come back. In truth YHC had the basic idea for this Q a few months back which gave me plenty of time to erase the easy parts and add in more fun. Nothing more fun than 30 trips up that hill.
Mileage wise we probably only hit .75 miles, but being all at 15%+ grade was just awful. Meatheads were likely fooled by the heavy emphasis on the legs vs. the upper body. Got to work the legs too so you don’t look like the guy above. Never skip leg day.
It appeared the crew of Flex led by their head Yogi Tiger Rag were all loose and a bit chatty during COP. They slowed the yammering after the 60 staggered arm merkins and those loose hammy’s might have been the factor slowing them on the hill a bit. You have to keep the suspension a little tight. I give Semi-Gloss an 7 out of 10 for the ninja roll under sniper fire he took in Round 2. Assuming that is when the leg quiver was on high.
I don’t know if TR was throwing in the towel your just checking the Q’s watch when he hollered that we were near the time hack on Round 3. It was all under control. If you feel you didn’t get enough core work with the swings, feel free to throw in 6 MOM at home. I am sure flutters and dollies will feel great today with those dead legs.
Always an honor to lead out there and always a great group to be with.
-Alf
Announcements:
Mud Run – Sign up as individuals. Sign ups close one week from today!
F3 Dads – Saturday, 9am, Bring the 2.0’s!
Kevlar and Joust back to normal on Friday
New gear workout on Thursdays starting 8/7 at Elizabeth Lane Elementary. High Tide is accepting recommendations for the name of the workout.
Bagpipe strikes back
30 brave men took on Bagpipe and Swift this morning. It was a nice cool morning, but we all got a bit hot.
Swift – Bratwurst, Honeybee, Tootie, Madame Tussaud, Brisket, Undertaker, Abacus, Pulled Pork, Morning After, Soft Pretzel, the Mouth
The Bagpipe thang:
Jog to Wells Fargo for warm up and disclaimer:
15 merkins. Plank for disclaimer. 15 merkins. 25 Side Straddle Hops.
Mosey to pain station #1: Plankerama then 50 or so heels to the heavens.
Mosey to pain station #2 (the banks of loch ness): Plankerama then 15 durkins, 15 dips
Mosey to pain station #3 (bottom of dunreggan brae): Plankerama then 10 burpees.
Run to top of dunreggan brae for pain station #4: Plankerama then 10 merkins.
Mosey to pain station #1: Plankerama then 20 bicycle plus 10 slow bicycle.
Mosey to pain station #2 (the banks of loch ness): Plankerama then 15 durkins, 15 dips
Mosey to pain station #3 (bottom of dunreggan brae): Plankerama then 10 burpees.
Run to top of dunreggan brae for pain station #4: Plankerama then 10 merkins.
Mosey to pain station #1: Plankerama then 25 rosalita plus 5 slow rosalita.
Mosey to pain station #2 (the banks of loch ness): Plankerama then 15 durkins, 15 dips
Mosey back to parking lot with brief plankerama on the way.
Moleskin:
YHC was in a pissy mood this morning due to chigger bites and lack of sleep. Couldn’t take the early mumble chatter from Freeleys Comet / Mic Check combo so decided to punish one and all with zero breaks and lots of 6-inch plankerama. The pax seemed to appreciate this approach and the mumble chatter gradually diminished.
Great work from all the pax – everyone stuck with it, modified as necessary, and no one took any breaks. Awesome!
It was a fun one this morning guys – thanks for letting me lead. Really enjoyed it.
YHC gone for next two weeks – Chippy next week, Soft Pretzel after that. Keep ’em honest!
A few of my least favorite things
6 men toed the line at the Matrix for Uncle Leo’s Least Favorites. Today we brought together 3 of my least favorite exercises paired with some running to keep everyone happy and O2 deprived.
The Thang:
Jog to back lot for COP:
Lunge warm-up (5 forward, 5 forward with twist, 5 lateral and 5 backward)
SSH x 20 in cadence
IW x 20 in cadence
Merkin x 10 in cadence
Jog to the Jungle Gym for round 1:
3 groups cycle through 3 exercises for 10 minutes: pull-ups, dips and run to far island and back
Jog to sidewalk by the field for round 2:
Partner up and Partner 1 runs to 2nd light pole and back while Partner 2 does burpees. Flap jack, rinse and repeat for 10 minutes
Move into field for Mary
LBC x 20 in cadence
Dolly x 20 in candence (hold ‘em)
LBC to right x 10 in cadence, to left x 10 in cadence
Rosalita x 20 in cadence
The Reacher with right arm x 10 in cadence, with left arm x 10 in cadence
[Reacher is elbow plank on one arm while other arm reaches forward and is pulled back to extension by your hip]
CCV x 10 in cadence on right, x10 in cadence on left
Jog to the lair of the blocks for round 3:
Partner up and Partner 1 runs to light pole and back while Partner 2 does called exercise with blocks. 2 rounds each of overhead press, curls and 3 rounds squats
Bear crawl ½ way back to lot then AYG second ½ to lot
COT
Moleskin:
1) Thin crowd today, YHC is not taking it personally.
2) The lunge warm up seemed to catch everyone off guard. Sound off in the comments if it was worthwhile or not
3) Lots of mumble chatter coming from Turkey Leg and Binary during round 1. Not sure what was discussed but it stopped when the burpees started.
4) Even after trying to slow him down with a bear crawl, Turkey Leg blew us all away in the last sprint to the lot
Advantage…Pax
With Independence Day safely in the rear view mirror, British rule was once again reasserted over the DMZ pax. With another classic Wimbledon final fresh in the memory, this morning’s workout had a certain tennis feel to it, both in terms of location and each count.
Circle up on the tennis courts: SSH x 40, Merkins x 15, Mountain Climbers x 30
Line up on one side of the courts for a 5 set match:
Set 1; Sprint to the other side and back, bicycles x 15, repeat sprint, dollies x 30, repeat sprint, LBCs x 40: Rinse and repeat for Sets 2-5 with 15x and 30x of various ab exercises including knee-ups, Russian twists, Rosalitas, flutters and always finishing each set with LBCs x 40
Mosey the long way round to the central part of Church @ CLT. Partner-up;
Partner 1 stays put and does derkins x 15, squats x 30 and dips x 40; partner 2 sprints around the church; switch while partner 1 sprints. Rinse and repeat 3x for each partner, a total of 6 games (1 set) per team.
Mosey to bottom of parking lot and head up the parking lot by way of:
13 broad jumps, 13 merkins
10 broad jumps, 10 double count dry docks
13 broad jumps, 13 double count LBCs
12 broad jumps, 12 hand release merkins
10 broad jumps, 10 double count dollies
The vague method to the counting madness – the total number of games in each set of yesterday’s final.
Just time for a tie-breaker; back to the center of the church and find your partner again, one more lap for each partner while the other does derkins x 15 and burpees x 15; mini plank-o-rama while the pax finish up, and a quick Mahktar N’Diaye x10
A good showing from the Pax today, although the Monday morning, post-Independence Day mood was a little quieter than usual. Appreciate the opportunity to lead….and the willingness of the Pax to follow instructions from a Brit. Thanks to Snowflake (War Daddy) for taking us out.
#F3Swift Preblast – Captain Jack
No, we won’t be meeting at the “Captain Jack” statue. Swift will launch at 0515 from The Vine restaurant at the Ballantyne AO. We will get in a little history lesson for James Jack while trying to measure up to this patriot’s effort for the Independence of the United States, North Carolina, and Mecklenburg County.
If you know anything about James Jack Ln, then you’ll know that James Jack’s ride to the Continental Congress wasn’t smooth and flat.
Hill repeats are in order with a little something extra.
See you in the gloom!
Sit Biscuit Poisoning
While Whiplash enjoyed warmed blankies and Hydrox cookies on L&D (#ExcuseBag) your local meatheaded, smokehooved yogi took the Q. Clinical jargon and surgically precise movements were replaced with a blunt force trauma approach: “Stretch until your arse splits open or you rupture a disc.” If ever a workout needed a disclaimer it was this one.
Having recently learned what the hip flexors are and that professional sitting men have a rather shabby pair, the goal was to loosen them up a bit. For the uninitiated, the hip flexor is the muscle that connects the lower anterior abdominus area with the upper flabby thigh region. What happens is this: when you’re on the sit biscuit all day working, driving, watching the telly and whatnot, the hip flexors are in a near-permanent state of flexion (what the pros call “scrunched up”). This results in deactivated glutes, a forward-tilting pelvis, lower back pain and tight hammies, among other things. Functionally speaking, the chair is killing your squat form and/or your ability to take a poop in the woods (or, if you’re Splinter, front yards in Piper Glen).
If I’ve learned anything from Byron, it’s that you never go on TV dressed as a pirate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNMoVo_Fkng I’ve also learned that you should work opposing body part–so, in addition to the hip flexors, we worked the hamstrings.
The WARM UP was something along these lines:
- Hokey Pokey Leg Shakes (This one is tricky because it creates a situation where all your testosterone leaks down the planted leg into a puddle on your yoga mat)
- Hip Circles
- Prying Squat
- Grounded crane pose (crane pose, but don’t lift feet)
- Windmills
- Standing hamstring stretch
THANG (more or less, and probably not in the right order)
- Deep lunge (on knee)
- Twisting lunge
- Hurdler hamstring stretches
- Standing hamstring stretches (deeper and longer)
- Pigeon pose variations – a crowd pleaser
- Seated hamstring stretches (L / R / Both). Use the straps/bands if needed.
- Cobbler pose
- Supine 3 way strap stretches: Hamstring, groin, IT band (or whatever that thing is that hurts so bad on the outer part of the hip).
- Repeato but push against the pull.
- That P90X move where you lay on your stomach, grab your ankles behind you and then push them away, causing the chest to rise up off the ground.
- Up dog, down dog
- A quick deep lunge to finish up
MOLESKIN
- If you see a rogue barge adrift on the Catawba, talk to Stone Cold about returning the rope used to tie it up.
- Whereas most of the pax could barely reach past their knee caps on the standing hamstring stretch, Chanel’s 84″ reach, combined with his 26″ inseam, allowed him to go palms to the ground. It was as freakish as it was impressive.
- It’s just a matter of time before Horse Head snaps clean in two. As brittle, and white (I might add) as a saltine cracker.
- Chanel and Spackler battling for biggest truck in 51. Horse Head vying for smallest. #ThingsINotice
- Still reeling from knowing Haze would rather run the Muthaship–on his recovery day, no less–than post at Flex with me on Q. Guess this is payback for all the youth size jokes.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Only one: sign up for the Mud Run by July 15.