Golden Corral Ruck 8.15

6 men battled the humidity and an uncomplicated, but still taxing workout.

I’m way behind on the backblast for this one and hoping I get this in before today’s Golden Corral Ruck workout gets posted.

Warmup

Ruck two by two to the church parking lot, circle up and drop our rucks.

SSH x 25, Windmills x 10, Imperial Walkers x15

The Thang

Remain in our circle and did the following- all in cadence unless otherwise noted.

  • Squats with ruck out front x 12
  • Ruck Curls x 12
  • Flutters x 12
  • Merkins x 10 (single count)
  • Lunges x 12
  • Overhead press x 12
  • Big Boy sit ups x 12 (single count)
  • Burpees x 10 (single count)
  • Drop our rucks and run a slow recovery lap around parking lot

Repeat two more times. The last round all exercises were to ten, because honestly YHC was spent.

Moleskin

I’ve done this twice during my ruck Qs and I’m not sure if it reads easy but I promise it gets difficult. Rad and Cornhole have been lucky enough to be at both.

Almost skipped the lunges in the 2nd round but Cheddah wasn’t going to let me. I think he was trying to  delay the inevitable burpees.

On the last set Deacon suggested OYO so I could take a break from counting. I think he could tell I was running on fumes. I was committed at that point and pressed on. If you can’t do it don’t Q it.

All in all everyone crushed it and worked hard out there. I appreciate being given the opportunity to lead and thanks for the support.

 

 

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This Just In: Injured PAX deliver Epic Beatdown (at The Fort)

It’s exciting!  Something about Qing The Fort is just exciting. It was YHC’s (Zima) first post almost 4 years ago. It was my first VQ warmup (w/ CSPAN and Audit..no pressure). And it’s the perfect location to bring guys from all sides of town together..to sweat…to sharpen…to get better.

Disclaimer: Sasquatch has been on the IR with an achilles injury. Zima has been on the IR with a rotator cuff injury. Chances are you might not get your money’s worth. If you wanted to get a good beatdown go to Alcatraz. If you wanted to play soccer go to the Deep.

However, Sasquatch and YHC don’t let something like this get in the way. We embrace it and work around it. We conspired to deliver a beatdown that ensured afternoon naps.

THANG

Sasquatch on Q

Mosey to Anchorman’s Cones (Thanks Anchorman)

Dynamic Warmup (from one side of cones to the other)

  • Knees to chest
  • Heel to Waist
  • Heels to Butt
  • Inch-worm
  • Side Shuffle (fwd and back)
  • Low side shuffle (fwd and back)

Circle Up for COP

  • SSH IC X15
  • Moroccan Night Club in static lunge IC X10 (each leg)
  • Plank Series
    • Peter Parkers IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Parker Peters IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Mtn Climbers IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Ski Jumps IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Plank, Left High, Right High

Mosey to Playground

  • Sasquatch THANG (Groups of 3) – Rotate when Position 1 completes – 4 Rounds
    • Position 1 – Toes to Bar (or knees to chest) X8
    • Position 2 – Freddy Mercury’s
    • Position 3 – Merkins

Zima on Q

Mosey to the base of the cones for some Dora 3-2-1 (Reverse Dora). Partner Up! One partner runs (50 yds out and back) while the other completes the exercise.

  • 300 Flutters (2-Count)
  • 200 Mtn Climbers (2-Count)
  • 100 Bombjacks (say what?)

Mosey to statue hill for Quadzilla (see: Quadraphilia in the #lexicon). YHC sets timer for 4 (actually 5) minutes and PAX run uphill backwards and downhill forwards until time called. It’s a quad killer.

Mosey back to the cones for…

Suicides; however you need to do the following exercise at the beginning and then every time you reach the “baseline”.

  • Series 1 – 5 Flying Squirrels
  • Series 2 – 5 Tuck Jumps
  • Series 3 – 10 Monkey Humpers

With just a few minutes left we finished with SSH IC X25 and then American Hammers IC X20 or 25 (Can’t remember). Clean up the cones and mosey to the parking lot for COT.

Moleskin

It’s frustrating having an injury. We should do well to lift up the many PAX dealing with injuries, because it can drive a #HIM crazy.  Fortunately for Sasquatch and YHC, we can modify and work around what ails us. For others it might not be as easy or the injury may be too severe. All this to say if you know a PAX in this predicament, shoot them an uplifting text, give them a call or meet them for lunch.

Tclaps to all the PAX who put in the work this AM. There was a lot of meat in today’s workout and we tried to keep things moving at all times (see: move with a purpose). It seemed we needed to push a little harder this AM to let the other (Paid) workout folks (about 20 of them) at WEP know this wasn’t your ordinary workout. These were guys getting after it and leaving it all out on the field. That and it’s always fun to chase Longshanks. One day man…one day.  Here are the rest of my notes.

  • Thanks to Anchorman for the cones
  • It’s amazing that Crabcakes can pull an Elvis without anyone knowing #promove
  • Tclaps to Spiderman for running 8 miles and then joining the workout
  • It’s always fun to workout with Longshanks and Dark Helmet. Uncomfortable, but fun!
  • Wegmans really needs to share his shaving technique with his brother (Sasquatch), nah we probably wouldn’t recognize him then.
  • Great to see so many familiar faces and some new ones. I need to get over here more often.
  • Quadzilla is still a favorite of mine and the PAX still hate it. Yay!
  • Thanks for putting up with us and allowing us to lead

Prayers and Praises

  • Lots of prayers for injured PAX
  • Prayers for families experiencing strife
  • Praise and prayers for several 2.0s on the way
  • Prayers and for teachers
  • Praise and Prayers for 2.0s and families back to school

Announcements

  • Lot of marketing for Qs next week
  • Nun Run – get it on the calendar (see newsletter) and run with SPEED FOR NEED
  • Read your newsletter

Always an Honor!

Zima & Sasquatch

 

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Eclipse at the Colosseum…Rock Hill Rip-off

Leading up to this fine Tuesday at THE COLOSSEUM, there were a few challenges and statements made about who would be willing to come out. Of all the conversations, I’ll give credit to those who showed after being personally invited: Jekyll, Bonsai, Snap Hook, Shady, Sir Topham Hat. The others that didn’t show…well, you’re probably better off not trying to erase a few bad songs from your memory. But for those that did, you’re welcome and I’m sorry (actually, not really).

I wanted to do something a little different from my usual, like pullups at the playground or the deck of cards. So, in search of something creative, I didn’t have to go far. So much can be found if we travel across the river; whether virtually or physically. In this case, Italian Job gave me beat down rights with a slight modification to his Eclipse-Day post and I brought it to the Colosseum.

Once I get to the parking lot, I am immediately met by two better-than-punctual FNG’s that Nomad EH’d. Welcome Rebar and Ham. And oh by the way, we quickly realized these are two of the most fit FNG’s to post at 0515. Side note on Ham, it’s comical when an FNG receives a call sign to which he is clueless on its reference. That’s why we all help to contribute to Wikipedia.

So after a disclaimer that turned into mumbling, we were off to the back parking lot where we circled up for a warm up of:

SSH x 20

Butt Kickers x 35

Merkins x 10

American Hammers x 25

Merkins x 10

Freddy Mercury’s x 20

Merkins x 10

LBC’s x 25

Calf Raises x 50 OYO

This is where the plagiarism came in. We used the same 5 songs Italian Job used which for those who didn’t read that yesterday, went a little something like this:

Song 1: Ain’t No Sunshine: Hold squat position then do a tuck jump when you hear, “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

Then line up on the line and sprint to the light pole and back and get in the circle.

Song 2: Blinded By The Light (Remix): Moroccan Night Clubs then 3 Overhead Claps when you hear, “Blinded By The Light” This got really annoying.

Then line up on the line and sprint to the light pole and back and get in the circle.

Song 3: Black Hole Sun: Hold in the UP dip position then do 1 dip when you hear, “Black Hole Sun”. This got really, really difficult.

Then line up on the line and sprint to the light pole and back and get in the circle.

Song 4: Ring Of Fire: On your back, hold your feet at 6″ and do a Big Boy Situp when you hear, “Ring of Fire.”

Then line up on the line and sprint to the light pole and back and get in the circle.

Song 5: Total Eclipse  Of The Heart: Plank during the song and do 1 Burpee when you hear, “Turn Around” and 1 Merkin when you hear, “Total Eclipse Of the Heart.” This song is way too long.

Then line up on the line and sprint to the light pole and back and get in the circle.

We then ended with 25 American Hammers and 25 Flutter Kicks.

Great job today by everyone putting up with my nonsense.

As You Were.

Max

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Block Party Mix bag of tricks

Mosey to parking lot across the street from bank
20 SSH
20 Morracain Night Club
10 small forward arm circles
10 small backward arm circles
10 big forward arm circles
10 big backward arm circles
20 Morracain Night Club
Feet together bend over with arms folded to stretch out the back and hamstrings
Honeymooner
Walk hands out to plank and do 10 peter parkers
Walk hands to feet and stretch again
Since it rained quite a bit last night YHC decided to modify the location of
what I had planned.
Originally I had planned to do this part of the workout on the hill right by COT
with the lights going up, but had to
modify and move it over by Hobo’s due to the mud on the hill.
At each light pole do the following exercises
Burpees – bear crawl to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8, P5 – 10)
Total of 30
Pulse squat jumps – run backwards to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8,
P5 – 10) Total of 30
LBCs – run to next pole (P1 – 4, P2 – 8, P3 – 12, P4 – 16, P5 – 20) Total of 60
Dips – lunge to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8, P5 – 10) Total of 30
Next we moved across the street to enjoy a nice round of Pink Floyd the Wall. I
don’t know why it is, but I for some crazy
reason enjoy this exercise. I think it mainly has to do with how silly we look
to poeple driving by as we are in BTW position.
For those who are not familar with Pink Floyd the Wall here it is:
BTW for 30 secs
1 merkin in BTW position
2 merkins at 45 degrees
3 merkins at 15 degrees
Then move into the people’s chair for 30 seconds.
Repeat 3 times – however I decided to through in 5 flying squirels in between
rounds.
Then we moseyed back down the hill to the stairs and did merkin stair climb
working our way up the two flights of stairs
and did squats until the six was in.
Good work today gentlemen.
Double D thanks for allowing me to come out and lead the pax this am.
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  • QIC: Wegmans & Dark Helmet
  • When: 08/17/2017
  • Posted In: Laces In

This was my VQ and I was very honored to lead a great group of guys in the gloom. I told Dark Helmet I didn’t want the reputation of moderate and so l tried my best to uphold to that.

Standard warmup of Peter Parker, Parker Peter, SSH, etc.

The main event: moseyed out to the soccer field for 4 quarters in the 4 corners.

1st quarter – 25 Burpees then mosey to the next corner of the field.

2nd quarter – 50 Merkins then mosey to the next corner.

3rd corner – 75 Squats then mosey to the last quarter.

4th Quarter – 100 LBCs then turn the ship over to Dark Helmet.

Mosey to the stadium entrance and line up on the pillars. One man per pillar and alternate between wall sits and balls to the wall. One guy would come down and bear crawl, crab walk, army crawl or backwards run to the end and post back up.

After this we did some Mary while we waited for the Laces Out guys to meet back up.

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Pigskin in Paradise

I had the privilege to spend Friday evening with 22 other men and young men of the Paradise community. Conditions were, well, August in South Carolina – upper 90s with humidity. Here’s what we did…

The Thang

  • Mosey to the splash park
  • Circle up fo 10 SSH in cadence
  • 10 Merkins in cadence
  • 10 LBcs in cadence
  • Grab some wall for 10 Dips in cadence
  • 20 Calf Raises OYO
  • Mosey to the court for 10 Air Chair Claps in cadence
  • Full Court Suicides
  • Water and Powerade break
  • FOOTBALL TIME

NMM

The excitement Friday night was palpable. Bounty Hunter and I arrived 15 minutes early to set up the field. This prompted Scooter and Prescott to come running. When we started throwing the ball around the field, the park filled up fast. By the time 7:00 rolled around, there were kids EVERYWHERE. Thank you Deacon and Bolt for inviting me to lead. Thank you Fish Sticks, Barry Manilow, and Bounty Hunter for helping control the chaos. Final Score: 50 something to 40 something. For those who haven’t attended G-Fit, get out there and see what you’re missing.

I talked to the young men about community and brotherhood. We all need our friends and families when times get tough. Your brothers, regardless of skin color, religion or any other label that divides us, need you and you need them. There is nothing impossible when you are surrounded by people who will encourage and lift you up. What makes G-Fit special is it’s symbiotic relationship. We need each other. Those young men remind us to have fun. We can show them what love and brotherhood look like. Now, more than ever, we need to show love. God created us in His image and we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. Where better to live that principle than Friday nights in Paradise?

With a heart filled,

Italian Job

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The Hive 2017.32

Quick and dirty backblast:

Warmup: SSHs, IWs, Merkins

The Thang:
Mosey to the drag strip patio for decent concrete and good lighting (it’s also better for acoustics  😛 )

2223 – inspired by the CrossFit games this is 4 intervals, three 2 minute intervals with 1 minute rest and a 3 minute interval to end it.  So each interval is 20 Jump Squats, 60 Freddy Mercuries (single count), AMRAP KB Snatches (alternate arms)

This is a real burner.  Its only 12 minutes but I definitely had to rest and then mosey and then rest some more.

Next was 3 rounds of 4 count Russian Twists x20 and B2W Shoulder Taps x10

Finished it with some abs and 10 KB burpees.

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Overflow of Pax at Slow Burn

28 men battled the humidity this morning and welcomed FNG “Ace” to the Pax who was head locked by Wheels!  Nice job by all moderating up or down depending on your need.

Message:

Discipline:

  • We all have struggles with disciplining ourselves.  Maybe for you it is the harsh  words spoken, diet, gossip, eyes wandering, pornography, envy, serving in your marriage, serving and teaching your kids or serving the least of those in our community.  Whatever it is there  is Hope!
  • Bottom line – you can’t do it by yourself.  I find that my discipline gets better when I move closer to the Word and further from the world.  Find a guy to lock shields with to walk in life together
  • Warm up by Wheels – Wheels got his tires warmed up again after being a cotter for too many months.  In promptu Q by Wheels with some SSH, Squats, Merkins, Windmills… nice job stepping up to lead. 

 

  • Running warm up – Various running, side shuffle, karaoke and sprint varities
  • 3 minutes of Mary
  • Partner up/ Pair off – Joust (lunge walk, bear crawl) 3 rounds
  • Pentagon of Pain (split into five groups) – do each exercise on the cone (10x). Run to middle 5 merkins, clock wise go the next cone and back to the middle with 5 merkins.  Until each exercise is done 1x.  Rinse and Repeat

It is always and honor and privilege to lead the pax in a work out.  Thank you to Barry Manilo on having the opportunity to serve the men of The Fort Pax.

Peace!

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4 Corners of Body Destruction

No, we did not do the Body Destroyer for 45 minutes, Birdcage! However, there was consistent feedback that this was a brutally different workout. Welcome to “ya never know what ur gonna get with Straight Up!”

A big shout out to all the men that joined me. I was very, very proud of them, and especially proud of Short Sale, Nomad and Sparky. Seriously, this was not an easy workout. A special thanks to Crawdaddy who helped with the group activities and leading his team. Here is what we did. If you decide to copy it for one of your Q’s, feel free to but you have to invite me because I want to do it again!

I. Beginning: Disclosure mentioned; No FNGs

Theme: First thought on Discipline today:  “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.” (Zig Zigler)

A head’s up that we will have teams. Divided into teams. Advised we will be competing against each other’s team.

2 running lines to warmup. During warmup, ask person you are running next to:

1, If you had unlimited time, what would you consider to be your favorite thing to do with your time?

2. If you had unlimited money, what would you do?

II. Running Warm-up: 2 line Groups 

Gradually moseying around The Ranch/school doing toy soldiers, butt kickers, high knees fast,  one leg hops, side straddles.  

Another thought: “Discipline, for the Christian, begins with the body. We have only one. It is this body that is the primary material given to us for sacrifice. We cannot give our hearts to God and keep our bodies for ourselves.” (Elisabeth Elliot)

III. 2 Circle up Warm-ups around school

First Circle in front of school: 8 merkins, 9 squats, 11 toe raises, 10 second Shoulder Stretch

Second Circle in back of school: 8 SSHs, 8 Ab Bigodas, 10 second Partner hamstring stretch

Meant to read this one to the guys: “The battle of prayer is against two things in the earthlies: wandering thoughts and lack of intimacy with God’s character as revealed in His word. Neither can be cured at once, but they can be cured by discipline.” (Oswald Chambers)

IV. Workout Segment: (Entire Soccer) Field challenges

Team Straight Up vs. Team Crawdaddy

**Reminder that if someone on your team is not finished with the exercise and you are, then join in and do it with them to help them succeed and be a teammate! Do all exercises together as a group; push your team; form is crucial; your captain will make you do it again if you do not do it correctly!

Start in the middle of the field and race to your corner

Corner #1:

7 bropees

20 Parnerkins (Partner Derkins) (each partner has their turn)

(Similar to parts of a 1 legged Hail Mary without the bench) 13 Single leg in the air dips each side; after you go down one, then give the other partner a high five, then go on the the next dip, then a high five, . . . so you want to sit next to each other but in opposite directions

8 Squerkins each

15 Deep Squat creating an X on the way up

Leap frog to the half field line

Plank position crawl (keep your back flat, abs tight) from half field line to the next corner to Corner #2.

Corner #2:

7 bropees

9 Dive bombers (“Under the hedge/fence” and clap one of your partners hand once “under the fence”)

14 Skull Crushers doing at same time with your partner/team

17 alternating lunges each side

Tunnel of Love with your entire Team (no coupon); 2 pass throughs per person

65 imaginary towel hops in unison as a team

Wheelbarrow with partner to next corner cone (switch half way); go to Corner #3 (or back to the mid-field cone if we are out of time)

Corner #3:

7 bropees

19 Canoe Crunches (like Boats to Canoe but no boat and rather row your canoe back “through the water”; doing both sides is one)

14 total Walking merkins – 2 left, then 2 right equals 4; face your partner, do not go the same way. Pass each other every time.

18 Boxing puncher planks (one PAX fist to another PAX’s fist; no pushup)

Plank (10 sec hold) to 6 inches (10 sec hold) – 2X each

Partner carry (Fireman’s carry) to half field line (Parter up on your team and whichever partner has enough in him to do it!). Then switch to . . .

Alternating Broad jumps with partner (pass the other partner on each jump) until corner cone #4

Corner #4:

7 bropees

13 Pattycake (single) Merkins

4 Burpee Squat next to your partner; do at same time

36 Squats

18 Frog crunches (on the ground in standard crunch position, legs bent at 90 degrees in air with insides to feet touching each other only; then with hands in prayer position, reach to the connection point of your feet)

Lunge and reach (10 each side pretending you are picking up a can from a shelf and putting it way up high)

Weekend at Bernie’s to middle of field; switch half way

WOWWY! There were a lot of exercises! Did we make it all the way through all 4 Corners of Body Destruction? Well, . . . almost. I would say both teams had about 2-3 exercises left. It was a close race to the end to see who would finish first. To hard to tell. Until next time, Team Crawdaddy!

V. Mosey back to COT

I encouraged the PAX to focus on being disciplined in all aspects of life, especially their time with God.

“God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.” (Billy Graham)

Announcements

Whetstone – consider getting involved; see Rebel (newsletter) if you have questions about it

Praises

Prayer requests.

Sending out into Thursday’s work day and special prayers for the children starting school and for dad’s to be encouraging to their kids for the year.

Thanks for the opportunity, Backdraft! Aye!

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Not Too Much Running

So 8 Pax showed up at the Deep for a muggy 78 degree early morning beatdown.  Cha Ching asked if there was going to be a lot of running, to which YHC responded, “Not too much” (We will come back to that).

No FNG’s were present but a short disclaimer was given anyway to ensure the PAX knew they weren’t being led by a professional.  With that, we were off for a mosey around the back of the school with butt kickers, high knees and toy soldiers.

Warm Up

15 – SSH
15 – IW
15 – Mountain Climbers
15 – Peter Parkers
15 – Parker Peters
20 Moroccan Night Clubs (Cadence called by my 2.0, Omaha, which was really cool)

The Thang

Mosey to the parking lot on the side of the school for some 4 corners

We spent a minute talking about discipline and using our time exercising to think of areas of our lives where we lack discipline and need to make improvements.

5 Kraken Burpees in the center, head to a corner, perform the exercise and back to the center for 5 Kraken Burpees, etc…

Corner 1 – 30 Carolina Dry Docks
Corner 2 – 30 LBC’s
Corner 3 – 30 Jumping Lunges (each leg with lot of mumble chatter)
Corner 4 – 30 Diamond Merkins

Rinse and Repeat X 2 (Audible for 15 jumping lunges each leg and 20 diamonds for subsequent repeats)

Mosey to the side of the school and grab some wall for People’s Chair

Pax 1 bear crawl to the track (15 yds.) for 5 squats, next Pax, etc…
Rinse and Repeat X 3 and alternating on one legs holds for the repeats
Final Wall Exercise, hold BTTW until failure. Nice job Brickhouse for leading the way!

Mosey to the elementary track for some running (not too much)

Pax were instructed to run a mile at their own pace. Each lap was to be preceded by 5 Kraken Burpees. Sort of a Kraken Burpee mile. After all of the Pax finished, and great job to all, we moseyed back across the street for stretching and COT.

The Moleskin

Thanks to all the PAX for enduring more running than I thought I had planned. When we finished up, my watch read 3.1 miles. My “not too much” running ended up being more than usual. Sorry Cha Ching for the unintentional false advertising.

As we circled up we finished with a few words on discipline. As we think about our lives and all of the good things that we have to be thankful for, including those areas where we are very well disciplined (like coming to a workout on a Saturday morning), we are forced to think about the area(s) of our lives where we lack that same discipline. Hint: The area(s) we have much work to do are those that we repeatedly ask for forgiveness from God and/or others. The writer of Hebrews refers to it as “the sin that so easily besets us”. If we ask God for help in these areas, he will surely offer help. We just have to ask.

Prayers

Brickhouse – upcoming adoption
Cobra Kai and wife Jennifer’s recent test results
Injured Pax
Tater and ongoing trials with his eye. Prayers that the latest treatment will help.
Cornerstone’s daughter Emma and ongoing treatment

Great job guys! Thanks Royale for the opportunity to lead!

Hauschka

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