Civics Lesson in the Gloom
12 men toed the line at The Matrix today to start the week off right.
The THANG:
COP:
- SSH x 43 in cadence (# of presidents)
- 4 burpees OYO (# years per presidential term)
- Mtn Climber x 43 incadence
- 4 burpees OYO
- IW x 43 in cadence
- 4 burpees OYO
- Merkins x 43 single count
Jog to the blocks – partner up and each pair grab a block
Partner work – 4 rounds
- Rd 1: Partner 1 does block presses while partner two runs around field. Flapjack
- Rd 2: Partner 1 does block curls while partner 2 runs field. Flapjack
- Rd 3: Partner 1 does block squats while partner 2 runs field. Flapjack
- Rd 4: Partner 1 does two hand block swings while partner 2 runs field. Flapjack
Return the blocks and jog to front lot for Mary
- LBC x 20 in cadence
- Freddie Mercury x 20 in candence
- LBC knees right x 10 in cadence
- LBC knees left x 10 in cadence
- “Cherry Bomb” x ~5 in cadence (thanks Radar!)
Mosey to Jungle Gym
- 10 pull ups / 20 merkins / 30 dips
- 10 pull ups / 20 incline merkins / 30 dips
- 2 x 1 minute People Chair
Moleskin:
1) We learned that the school wall facing the soccer fields is not People’s Chair friendly – not enough side walk to plant your feet
2) Some post workout debate on number of presidents. YHC went with 43 based on the number of men that have led this great nation. Grover Cleveland sometimes gets counted twice because he served 2 non consecutive terms.
10 Burpees or 10.9.8.7.6…
So 5 Pax gathered in the gloom, well 4 did, the 5th joined a little later, better late than never but that doesn’t mean it won’t go in the back blast.
This being Pele’s first Q it was a pretty tough time/place to do it, however a remarkable amount of composure and ad lib was to be found in the new Q and off we went:
Mosey to field oops, I mean parking lot
15 SSH
15 IW
15 Slow Squats
15 Mountain Climbers
Line up on the line
high knees down 40 yards, butt kickers back
15 squats
Fast as you can 40 yards, run backwards back to the line
15 Merkins, recover
karaoke 40 yards AND BACK
15 CDD
Lunge Walk down and jog and bear crawl back
15 squats
Mosey to bleachers by concession or maybe it was the playground equipment, yeah that was less difficult let’s say
10-20-30
Merkins-dips-squats
Partner AMRAP pull ups +2 x 2 (an Ascent staple)
People’s chair x 3
turn over to Brew
Wall plank or handstand as the case may be x 2
Shoulder to shoulder, merkins x 5 IC
Plank and end man hop over heels until all have gone through twice
COP for dynamic stretching:
Leg circles x 10 each leg IC
The “Ballet” x 10 each leg oyo
The hip flexor stretch
Jog around the parking lot
Now to run a half mile for time (pax sound off in the comments on your time to track for next time around)
YHC ran with a Garmin and when it hit 0.5 I stopped and read my time and then those finishing after, a very strong effort by the pax in challenging conditions (ran to Harris Teeter so not flat and also had two good sized snow patches to navigate, this should make it easier to beat our times next go round)
Slow recovery jog back to campus with a plank o rama in the middle to catch all pax
Mary:
Flutters x 15
Dolly x 10
LBC x 15
Heels to Heaven x 8
Cross oblique crunch x 8 each side
Partner up, partner paddy cake merkins x 10, partner fist pump sit ups x 10 repeato x 3
short jog around the parking lot again
Look, there is 2 more minutes left, what should we do?
We all know what that means, Q calls out 10, everyone knows what it means but HT pulls one of the best Q jacks I’ve seen and starts counting down from 10, nice try but we still do 10 burpees on our own to end off
Moleskin:
A great first Q by Pele, certainly considering the conditions and the modifications he had to make (YHC saw his original plan and he did have to modify quite a bit). The pax hung in there, was a great workout with some good men. We’ll repeat the 0.5 mile for time somewhere down the road to record the improvement. So that is is on record YHC’s time was 3:18 which was 18 seconds off the desired pace so will have to get it next time. Strong effort by Pele on the run, didn’t give up and Hopper was looking pretty strong (helps to have the long legs maybe?). Passport was battling the back pain (take it easy brother, we don’t want to kill you) and High Tide despite complaining about not having his special running socks (do they do the running for you?) pulled in pretty close behind YHC so not sure what the issue is (it’s all mental, you really are pretty strong!).
An honour to co-lead today with one of the very many inspiring pax turned Q in Pele today, I’ve seen you come a long way brother, this is always the beginning and I can’t wait for Q number 2.
Announcements:
Time to sign up for the BRR, seriously you can do it and it’ll be fun
Eight Summit Olympus
When: 2/15/14
QIC: Baracus and Gullah
The PAX: Swiss Miss (Site FNG), Night Court, Lab Rat, Southpaw (2.0), Fletch, Big League Chew (WD), Baracus (QIC), Gullah (QIC and YHC).
8 PAX showed up to escape cabin fever and embrace the semi-icy conditions at Olympus; here’s what we did:
Baracus on Q:
Warm up:
-1 lap around the parking lot to get the blood flowing
-Halos x 10 in each direction
-Around the World x 10 in each direction
-Figure eight x 20 total
KB/Bodyweight Strength Circuit:
-AMRAP in 5 minutes of 15 two handed KB swings/5 burpees.
-AMRAP in 5 minutes of 15 sumo squats/5 burpees
-AMRAP in 5 minutes of 10 reps per arm overhead press/5 burpees
-AMRAP in 10 minutes of 10 squat cleans/5 reps per arm renegade rows/10 reps overhead lunge
Gullah on Q:
-move to the curb for 1 minute of skip ups
Then circle back up for:
-Regular two handed KB swings x 20
-Overhead two handed KB swings x 20
-Alternating one-handed KB swings x 20
-KB rack x 15 each side
Run 1 lap around parking lot
-KB rack and hold x 10 each side
-Squat & press x 15 each side
-KB lunges x20
-Lunge & KB rotation x15 per leg
1 minute of curb skip ups
-tricep extensions x 20
-upright rows x 20
On the wet pavement for:
-Lat pullovers x 15
-Greg Louganis x 15
-LBC x 20
-Flutter w/KB press
PAX backsides are wet & cold so a request was made to audible to Good Mornings x20
Time is 8:00 so that’s a wrap.
Moleskin:
Great effort out there this morning guys. Hands were getting very wet and cold and everyone pushed through. Good encouragement in the first half from BLC and Night Court. Everyone enjoyed the tunes provided by Baracus and there was even some singing heard. YHC tried to implement some new movements, but had to audible due to poor performance, mainly the combo lunges and one arm KB swings #don’tdowhatyoucan’tQ. Great to have Southpaw back out there and site FNG Swiss Miss. Always good to have Lab Rat the exercise scientist there to make sure correct form is followed. I think Fletch got a little impatient with YHC at one point when there was a little lull in the action and he asked “What do you have for us next Gullah? Missed having The Hoff out there, hope that knee feels better soon brother. Contact Baracus to sign up for the BRR and we have the GRC coming up in March. Thanks to Night Court for the great prayer to take us out.
Always a pleasure to lead such a fine group of men.
DayZero – blood on the Q
PH gave YHC the privilege of planting the SF through the not-so-permafrost, and 9 sturdy souls made the questionable decision to follow Radar off campus.
Thang:
Radar’s Q: (with apologies in advance for inaccuracy as I deleted his text of his regimen, and he’s a couple beers into a pub tour in NoDa as I type this, so I don’t dare interrupt him)
Run to retail center next door to McAlpine Elem….what’s the name of that spot? Yellow Rose is clearly the anchor tenant…..if you ask Spackler and Radar.
1 minute to stretch as Radar exclaimed: “Do whatever you want for this minute – it’s your warmup”
Mosey to Radar’s 4WD chariot and grab a sandbag and partner up.
20 burpees OYO
“Catch me if you can”. Partner 1 runs with sandbag while Partner 2 does 10 burpees and then catches up to partner 1 to take sandbag…and so on and so on. Lap is 0.6 miles.
Burpees for those finishing first.
100 merkins combined for partners.
Repeat the Catch me if you can. Partner 2 does 20 merkins, then catches up to partner 1…..and so on.
Burpees when we return.
100 merkins combined for partners.
3rd lap of Catch Me…..Partner 2 does 20 Ski Abs, then catches up.
Hops’ Q:
Bearcrawl up the hill out of the Yellow Rose Shangri La Center.
Jog to school entrance.
Lunge walk up the hill entrance.
People’s Chair – 3 or 4 minutes with overhead presses x 20
Mosey to hand rails
Suppine pull-ups x 13
Suppine pull-ups x 10 with underhand grip
Jog to the soccer fields and circle up
Modified SheHateMe:
10 minutes of: H-R Merkins x 10, Jump Squats w/ 90 degree pivot x 10, Flutters x 10 each leg; audibled to 15 of each exercise 1/2 way through
Jog back to school
BTW x 3
CDD x 10
Dolly x 13 at curb with legs below curb level
People’s Chair- 2-3 minutes: Right leg & Left leg off ground….not at same time; Overhead press x 10
COT
Moleskine:
Radar gave the pax random times by which all were supposed to finish the 0.6 mile loop – ranging from 5 minutes to 7 minutes. Not sure any of us ever finished on time, but regardless we did burpees or something of the like as penalty. Pretty sure Frasier & I finished on time once…but with no acknowledgement from aforementioned Q. At coffeteria, Radar expressed surprise that the loop was 0.6 miles…hmmmm…
YHC, well-known merkin weakling, was thankful for the encouragement from his co-Q while struggling to finish the 50 merkins between laps….perhaps I need to incorporate some bad form on merkins so to keep up the pace. Where’s Bananas when you need him? ‘Tis why YHC never calls anything but H-R merkins. #deathtoheadbobbers
When the pax got back to the school for People’s Chair, Mighty Mite realized he’d cut his hand on some glass during the bear crawls. Always wear gloves gents! Apparently one of Yellow Rose’s finest was doing some bottle-spiking last night.
Strangest comment of the morning, among many from YHC’s co-Q, went something like this after Mighty Mite realized his hand was bleeding –> “Why is your blood on the inside of my thigh?!!” What in the world? They were partners during Radar’s 1/2 of the workout….let’s not linger too long on wondering how that happened…..yikes.
During the SheHateMe session, Mighty Mite returned with his hand wrapped in a sweatshirt – Kudos to you brother for pushing onward….and that after he, PH and RT did a 4+ mile ruck session with 2 of RT’s co-workers. Speaking of your co-workers RT: “Where was the EH from you?” YHC asked if they were staying for the workout….and they looked as if they didn’t know there was a workout going on after the ruck session.
Splinter joined the pax after the 1st lap around the Yellow Rose Shangri La Center….not sure when Zoila joined in to wrest the LIFO title from Splinter’s cheerleading-gloved fingers.
Radar was in rarer than usual form with his encouragement. Invite the pax the to chime in to add more flavor to the backblast.
Great to have Matlock out with us again. Welcome back brother. And welcome to Zoila, who was FNG to Day Zero; and more importantly – Praise God and congratulations to Zoila on the birth of his 3rd child!
It was fun fellas. Thanks to Purple Haze for the invite to co-Q……I think.
It Only takes 2 to make a PAX, 3 makes it a Party
After a week of snow with the 2.0s out of school, 3 PAX decided it was time to get out of the fartsack and put in a little downpainment. SF was planted in the snowy ground. Fields were still covered with the white stuff but plenty of asphalt provided ample opportunity to get some work done. Here’s what went down:
Run around the parking lot and circle up (triangle up?) for COP:
- SSH x 25 (IC)
- IW x 25 (IC)
- Squats x 25 (IC)
- Merkins x 15 (IC)
Line up at one end of the parking lot for The Stack:
- Run to the other end, 5 burpees
- Run back, 5 burpees/10 squats
- Plank with RH, RL, LH, LL
- Run to the other end, 5 burpees/10 squats/15 CDD
- Run back, 5 burpees/10 squats/15 CDD/20 jumping lunges
- Plank with RH back pocket, RL, LH back pocket, LL
- Run to other end, 5 burpees/10 squats/15 CDD/20 jumping lunges
- Run back, 5 burpees/10 squats/15 CDD
- Plank with RH out front, LH out front
- Run to other end, 5 burpees/10 squats
- Run back, 5 burpees
Head over to playground for a little circuit work:
- 10 pull-ups
- 20 dips
- 20 squats
- Rinse & repeat x 2
Mosey to front of school:
- PC x 60 sec
- Merkins x 15
- PC x 60 sec
- Wide arm merkins x 15
Out to parking lot and line up at light pole:
- Karaoke to 1st b-ball goal & back
- Slide to 1st b-ball goal & back
- Butt kickers to 1st b-ball goal & high knees back
- Backwards run to 1st b-ball goal & jog back
Back to front of school for 6 MOM:
- Dolly x 25 (IC), Hold’em (10 count from Floor Slapper)
- Flutter x 25 (IC), Hold’em (10 count from Far Side)
- Rosalita x 25 (IC)
- LBCs x 25 (IC)
- CCV x 10L & 10R (IC)
Jog back to original parking lot and line up for:
- Bear crawl to building, lunge walk to door, jog to end
- Jog to door, lunge walk to end of building, bear crawl back to start
- Broad jump to building, lunge walk to door, jog to end
- Jog to door, lunge walk to end of building, broad jump back to start
Slow mosey to rock pile and grab a friend:
- Curls x 15 (IC)
- Goblet Squat x 15 (IC)
- Chest presses x 15 (IC
- Rinse & repeat
Back to launch point for a mini-COP
- SSH x 25 (IC)
- IW x 25 (IC)
- Squat x 25 (IC)
COT
Moleskin:
With the recent snowfall and some rain falling as YHC left the house, wasn’t sure how many PAX would venture out for the weekly posting of #F3Area51. Arrived at the parking lot & found it empty around 6:55. Started debating whether willing to make a sadclown post when 4 Runner pulled into the lot. Far Side jumped out of the car ready to roll. Soon after Floor Slapper wheeled in as well, ready to post before heading up to Boone for some snow tubing with M & 2.0s.
Far Side continues to make strong recovery from back surgery. Not long before he will be back out in front of the PAX.
All the fields were still covered with slush from Winter Storm Pax. Fortunately, parking lot was clear and we were able to get in a solid beatdown. With all the melting snow and puddles around, YHC called for 6 MOM on the covered sidewalk in front of the school. No complaints heard from the PAX.
Thanks to Floor Slapper for taking us out and keep safe as you and the family enjoy some winter fun up in the mountains.
PREBLAST – Area 51 Mud Run Time Trials 2/15/2014
The Area 51 Mud Run Time Trial Day is ON as Scheduled
- With recent snow, sleet and ice, as well as rain expected overnight, prepare to get wet and muddy! Bring a towel and change of clothes.
- Parking lot at Sun Valley Middle School might be icy. Alternate parking is available at Sun Valley High School.
- Meet at the shovel flag to launch at 0700
On Saturday, February 15, Area 51 will hold a mud run time trial and obstacle course training at Outland. The thought here is to provide an endurance based workout with a good amount or running and pain stations. If you’re signed up for the mud run, try to post with your team. If you’re whole team cannot be there, come anyway. If you’re not part of a Mud Run team, come out & run to be paired with unaligned PAX of similar fitness level. Or just come out to get a taste of what the Mud Run is all about.
- § Who: All PAX are welcome. Post with your mud run teammates if possible. If not, come anyway.
- § What: Mud Run training day
- § Where: Outland (Indian Trail: Sun Valley Middle School) Click here for map: Outland
- § When: Saturday, 2/15/2014 at 7:00 am (get there early to stretch and warm-up)
- § Why: Endurance training to help prepare us for the mud run in April
There will be a coffeeteria afterward at Starbucks just down the street.
Email Stagecoach (tj.zitney@gmail.com) with any questions.
Frosty V-Day
4 Brave pax fought their way out of the fart sack to post this morning. YHC warmed up on his own by freeing a sad clown’s car from grips of the snow and ice.
The Thang:
Hops, PH, and YHC started the down painment in the main parking lot.
SSHs- 20
Imperial Walkers-25
Mighty Mite rolled in late taking a lap around the stadium before he found the pax
Squats-20
10 Burpees on your own
Mosey to the benches
Dips-15
Mosey to the front to find picnic table area a sheet of ice and chose to 10 Burpees on your own in the drive.
Mosey to back for some bear crawls and crab walks followed with a little plan-o-rama.
Mosey to the East parking lot
SSHs-20
Squats-20
Flutters-20 Hold 6″ for Hops ten count
Rosalitas-25 Hold 6″ for Mighty Mite long ten count
Bicycle-20 recover
Bear craw from one light pole to the other
Crab walk back
10 Burpees on your own. This is where YHC really started to fall behind and needed a ten count from PH.
Mosey to the lower field for 10 burpees on your own
Bear crawl up the hill and backwards bear crawl down ten Merkins at the bottom.
Rinse and repeat.
LBCs- 25
Bear crawl up the hill and backwards bear crawl down ten Merkins at the bottom.
Rinse and repeat.
Carolina Dry Docks-20
Mosey to the main parking lot
Bear crawl up hill crab walk down.
Rinse and repeat.
Squats-20
Dollies-25
Heels to Heaven-15
Imperial Walkers-25
Hand release Merkins-15
YHC may have called it a few minutes early, but nobody complained.
Very short COT with one 4 pax.
Discussion began about where to get breakfast and 2F. Unfortunately Mighty Mite had to remind YHC to close with the ball of man.
The Q was obviously winging it this morning, not knowing what the conditions were going to allow. It was great to get out of the house and get some 1st and 2nd F. Very humbling for the Q to come in last for most exercises #onmywayback.
Aye!
Hardcore in the snow
12 brothers stepped out into the ice and snow this am not really knowing what to expect. 2 rucked in 6.1 miles – 2 rucked in 3.3 miles and 8 showed up for a pre kettle bell workout @ 0500. Strong work.
COP – (25) SSH, (20) IW, (20) slow squats
Bring the circle in a bit and we did 3 merkins and then everyone rotated left to our neighbors position and did 3 more merkins. Rotated clockwise till we got back to our starting point.
Grab a partner – one partner ran around the track while the other partner did an exercise. Flap Jack after each exercise… The exercises went like this…
Carolina Dry Docks, Stagger merkins, Reg Merkins
Flutter w KB press, Louganis w KB, LBC’s
Calf raises, slow squats w KB, Burpees
Diamond merkins, Stagger arm merkins, wide arm merkins
Rock Hopper, Heels to Heaven, LBC’s
Good work! Bring it in for Prayer
Its Valentines Day and unfortunately the two visuals i left with today were how Bull Dog carries his pill in his pocket (Dr. Dre would not approve) and how Radar brushes his teeth in the mornings w his red head lamp.
PreBlast: Joust to converge with Kevlar 2-14-14 at CDS
Brothers, we are going to converge Joust with Kevlar tomorrow at Covenant Day School. Header and Mall cop are set to Q a V-day beatdown. Get out if you can and get rid of cabin fever. Drive safe.