Category: Ring of Fire

Twitter Burpee Challenge

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There is something about twitter and Slack (your welcome Crab Cakes) where you get to poke the bear and start a rash of replies about which AO is better, which one will have more PAX post, and who’s WO will SUCK more. Your YHC tried to create an unofficial convergence by calling out multiple PAX, and then Punch List took it to another level and would do burpees if additional PAX would post….Stang where were you???? Your Vols are bowl eligible, you should be posting now that you can be seen without getting grief. Actually where were all those PAX who were called out??? Disappointing, we all wanted to see Punch List do 100 burpees 🙁

The 12 PAX who did post were not disappointed.

The Thang:

Warm up with toy soldiers along roadway for 2 light pole lengths (longer than I thought), return with knee ups and lunges.  Circle up for COP – some windmills (Dirty Harry loves these!), Imperial Walkers, Hillbilly Walkers, Slow Squats, and merkings. Mossy past the pull up bars….PAX were shocked we didn’t stop there….they just didn’t know what as in store for them…to the bottom of the hill for round 2 of COP. Moroccan nightclubs, overhead claps, and toe touches.

Mossy up the hill to the pull up bars. Time for the real thing. Dora 400! Partner up. As a duo, 60 pull-ups with a challenge that each PAX does 20 true pull-ups (not using the foot rests). 100 merkins, 150 squats, and 200 LBCs. I know, this does not total 400….The other partner runs to the bottom of the hill and back.

Each PAX was then required to do 10 true pull-ups and 10 toe touches, while resting wall sits. Once completed, 5 more pull-ups. Can’t get better without doing them and they are the best exercise out there!!

Mossy to crosswalk and sprint to next crosswalk. Finish with 3 minutes of Marry.

Appreciate the opportunity to lead and push PAX on pull-ups, thanks Punch List.

Read the newsletter!

Prayers for Cash and Karrie who are fighting cancer….you can do it!

Trucker out

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Wegmans and Repeat at the Coop

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Since this was Repeat’s 2nd VQ, YHC led the warmup. Nothing fancy. Nothing special.

Partnered up near JROTC building. P1 runs to the top of the loop, 25 Merkins whiles P2 is doing LBCs. Switch once P1 returns. Next is 25 bomb jacks and flutters. Last is 25 monkey humpers and Rosalitas. Hand off to Repeat.

Repeat ran us up near the band field. There is a covered walkway with lights. At the first light we did 5 Merkins and 5 LBCs. At the next light we added 5 to each exercise so 10 and so on and so forth. Repeat estimates we did roughly 280 reps of each exercise.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead Punchlist.

Wegmans

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2019 Q4 PFT at The Coop

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Here are the results of the 2019 Q4 PFT

1 Minute of pull ups, sit ups, push ups and a 1 mile run

Results from Today.  No order.  Bold are the top numbers for a sections.

 

Results from this year.  Order is how many PFT’s posted.  Bold are leaders.

 

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QvQ 19.1 – Jiffy vs. Sasquatch

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21 PAX showed up to the first round of QvQ 2019. This first round is the classic match up from last year, which was decided by ONE point! That’s right, the reigning champ versus his challenger.

Jiffy versus Sasquatch

Brief history: Sasquatch lost to Jiffy last year by one point. ONE point! It was necessary for the match up to be repeated given the level of intensity at which both of these #HIM operate.

The clock struck 0515 and I directed everyone’s attention to the championship prize. A custom F3 shovel flag curated by YHC.

The intent of this shovel flag is to be much like a championship belt. I hope that it passes hands over the years, and we write the name of each years’ reigning champ on the back of the handle. It shall be brought to CSAUPs as well at any time the champion posts and desires to gloat. See below for a glimpse of the trophy.

0515.

I had five minutes to lead a quick warm up to get the PAX ready for what was to come.
Once we got our Tappy Taps out of the way, it was time to get down to business.

The rule of order is the competitor who is earliest to arrive will get to decide who goes first. Jiffy arrived at about 0435, so he was the clear winner. He chose to receive and go on the offense first.

0520.

Coupon Roulette

We came upon a sinister circle with 20+ cinder blocks, 50/60lb dumbbells, and retaining wall blocks! He had us circle around the coupons and choose one.

With your selected coupon you will complete in cadence called by Jiffy:

Shoulder press x 10
Curls x 10
Squats x 10
4 Count Flutters x 10

Jiffy then rolls three dice. One determines the direction we rotate. Two determine how many coupons in that direction we shift.

Get to your next coupon, repeat. Roll again.

Next coupon, do equal amount of burpees to number of coupons we rotated. Repeat four movements.

Roll again. Next coupon, do equal amount of partner clap push ups to number of coupons rotated. Repeat movements.

We hit round four and I was praying for a miracle, because my arms were already smoked.

0530.

Sasquatch takes the reigns and moves us to the pull up bars for a very creative assembly line of face kicks.

Nine PAX line up at pull up bars. The rest at various nearby stations. Do one pull up, shift one bar to the left. Once you reach the end you then BTTW crawl back to the other side of the pull up bars. Then head out to the street.

The remaining PAX are either doing burpees at either curb on the street nearby or run/nur down and up the hill (AKA Quadzilla!). Once you finish your respective station, move to the next and tap somebody at that station to proceed.

That was super original, and also tclaps to Jedi for doing a full handstand walk with no wall support both times through.

0540.

Jiffy gets his second opportunity to remind us why he is the champ.

We remain at the pull up bars and count off by threes.

Group 1: four rounds of 5 burpees/10 squats and then end with 10 partner clap push ups.

Group 2: four rounds of 5 pull ups/10 Merkins and end with 10 partner clap push ups.

Group 3: run to bottom of hill a dm bearcrawl up. At each cone do 10 Carolina Dry Docks.

We made it through 2.5 stations before running out of time. A great use of the AO. I wondered how Sasquatch was going to answer this painful segment.

0550.

Sasquatch has us count off by fours. He then leads us on a brisk mosey to the turf field. As we approach, we see two sleds at the closest end zone, and two at the far end zone. He sets one group up at each sled and has us complete the following exercises as a group on repeat:

Seal Sit-Ups x 10
Jump Squats x 10

Meanwhile, one PAX from each group pushes the sled 100 yards across the field to the opposite end zone. Once they reach the end, swap with someone in that group and they then push the sled back to your original group. Continue that snake like move until time is called. Woof.

0600 couldn’t come soon enough. Those sled pushes were terrible.

We hit 0600 and head back to COT to vote. The votes were cast, the points were tallied, and a winner was decided upon.

The winner of week one of QvQ is:

Sasquatch

It was close, but this time it was decided by 7 points. Sasquatch was awarded a patch since he will be advancing to the championship on 10/30.

A great showing by both of our competing Q’s. I think I speak for everyone when I say that was one of the more difficult workouts as of late at The Coop. And we’ve had some tough ones!

I’m looking forward to week two. We’ve got the Airborne Bad Assery of Geronimo lined up to take on our very own 1st F Q – Shady!

Announcements

Broga at The Ranch tomorrow! A special recovery focused workout for those running Ragnar this weekend.
QvQ next week: Geronimo vs Shady!

Prayers/Praises

Wegmans’ father in law has prostate cancer. It’s slow moving, but it’s cancer. Pray that it can be eradicated without much detriment to his M’s father.
Pray for the multiple PAX with pregnant M’s. It’s a transitional time but it’s well worth it. Pray we can as husbands love our wives like Christ loves the church while they are going through so many changes.

Thanks for the great beatdown, men.

Punch List out.

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ImpromptQ at The Coop

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The Coop has had quite a month, and with a VQ on the schedule I was excited to see that momentum continue to grow. Sadly, our Q was a no show. As the Site Q, I led the PAX this morning in an impromptu Q.

Mosey to Bus Loop for COP
SSH x 30
Tappy Taps x 10
Low Slow Squat x 20
Hold Al Gore 45 Seconds
Pulsing Al Gore x 16
Merkins x 10
Yoga Flow w/Runner’s Stretch

While trying to figure out the weinke during the COP, we were holding Al Gores. At that time, I asked the PAX to enlighten me if their least favorite workouts. Cleverly, Cheddah answered “This one!” So we pulsed. A nice little burn to start us off. While moseying around prior to COP I decided upon our first endeavor.

Weinke

Partner Up
DORA 1-2-3 at Traffic Circle/Staff Parking Lot
100 Big Boy Sit Ups
200 Squats
300 SSH

Mosey around back of school to Lunch Tables

Derkins in Cadence x 10
Step Ups in Cadence x 20

Note to self: NEVER do derkins next to Haggis unless you have perfect form. That man is an animal.

Mosey to Pull Up Bars (Much to Trucker’s delight)

Wall sits while outer two PAX do 5 pull ups and work their way toward the center.
Rinse and Repeat but change up grip on your pull ups.

Mosey back to Shovel Flag

Hip work Courtesy of Airborne, one minute each side.

In all, we had a solid morning of varied movements. There’s some freedom in being able to make up the weinke on the fly, though I can say I was a more distracted than usual. The PAX who showed are true HIM, though. Lastly, we ran 2.5 miles.

A Burpee penalty was discussed for Mighty Mouse. If we can get him to show, we may have to proctor said penalty… though we all know we’ll help him out. That’s how we roll. Let’s just hope everything is ok for him.

Announcements

Hardwood on Q at Varsity this week!
QvQ coming at you on October.
Christmas Party coming up… get your ugly sweater on.
Read your newsletter.

Prayers/Praises

Kaiser – praise for God’s promises. There are over 700 promises in the Bible.
Chicken Hawk – pray for marriages. Pray that we as apathetic men can step up love our wives the way they need it.

Hope everybody enjoys their day, and holds their loved ones tight.

Punch List out.

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Sometimes You Are The Six/IronPax wk2

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This is simply one PAX’s IronPax story.

Of course you can see who is posting this backblast, but that is really not relevant.

You can review the PAX in attendance and know which region and which AO this was held, but that is irrelevant, too.

IronPax was created by F3Greenwood for the Nation to step out of their comfort zone, to be tested and stressed physically. to organize a little competition, to see where you stand with your peers.  Throwing in a little competition to the Nation is a good thing; competition (much like running times in races) is definitely a driving force to maintain, build upon and evaluate individual’s fitness levels.

But ultimately it is about 2 things:

1) You vs. You.  How far, hard and/or fast can YOU push yourself? Where does YOUR fitness level stand? Do YOU need to post more to maintain YOUR desired fitness level? Are YOU taking advantage of the F1 opportunities in your region?

2) PAX supporting PAX.  When you are out there doing a weekly IronPax challenge, you are out there WITH OTHER PAX DOING IT.  You will not be left behind, and you will not leave others behind. Use your fellow PAX for inspiration. They are with you doing it.

After having done IronPax in the past, my goal this year was to simply finish each week’s workout. Week 2’s “Meatloaf Massacre” challenge was a super hard arm workout challenge. For this runner’s skinny arms,  adding in I have not been posting as much as I should recently, I knew I was going to have a tough time.

Cinder blocks were brought by a PAX. 12 men had taken the challenge on this day.

By round 2, I knew I was in trouble. This was going to be a struggle. I was ready to quit then knowing I was not going to finish. I kept going simply by the fact that other PAX kept going. Through round 3, into round 4, I had fallen way behind as my arms were nearly dead. I was watching the clock as we got closer and closer to 0600.

After 30 of 50 merkins in the last round (with one running lap to finish), I announced I was done. I didn’t want to hold anyone up.  But my quitting was not an option for 2 of my fellow PAX (who these PAX were is also irrelevant, but WE know who they were). “How many more Bolt?” was asked. It did not matter to them. I was getting  20 more done. “Ok, 5 at a time. We’re doing it with you. Let’s get it done.” Back on my knees in front of my cinder block with 2 PAX to my right. 5 merkins, rest. “5 more Bolt.” So 5 more, rest. Then 5 more, rest. And the last 5. “Go get your last lap done, Bolt.”  Before I knew it I was done.

I certainly was not expecting to be the six, but now I had an IronPax time to submit.

And that’s all that really mattered on this day.

I’m expecting I will need PAX support in the final 2 weeks of IronPax. And I know I will get it.

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September 11 Memorial Stair Climb

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Today I was honored to lead 39 men of the Fort in my version of a 9/11 Stair Climb…. I asked these gentlemen to bring rucks or sandbags and headlamps. This was to simulate the equipment worn by the first responder’s who entered the World Trade Center to do their jobs. We also had Charetta appear courtesy of Dirty Harry…she was our victim that needed to be  carried up and down the NaFo bleachers ….everyman carried their fare share of weight.

The workout was simple!!!!  There was no warmup….we didn’t need one….

The object was to climb the bleachers 27.5 times up and down carrying a ruck or sandbag….the goal 1980 steps or 110 stories….NaFo bleachers are 36 steps up and down…the men of the Fort  conquered this simple request but there was a catch…..when they came back down they had to do 9 inclined merkins and 11 squats… I think most did more than the required amount and for that I’m in awe…. I love being part of this great nation

Before the climb I shared a little about my experience that day 18 years ago as an NYPD officer and I asked each man to reflect between the hours of 8:46 am to 10:28 am these were the hours that changed my life and change the world as we knew it….I also wanted to remember my friends who gave their lives to save as many people as they could that morning :

NYPD PO MARK ELLIS TRANSIT DISTRICT 4

NYPD PO RAMON SUAREZ TRANSIT DISTRICT 4

PAPD PO ANTONIO RODRIGUES PORT AUTHORITY BUS DEPOT

I worked with these gentleman and they will never be forgotten…

Thank you Punchlist for letting me.lead these great men .

We had one FNG Lassie….welcome

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Bleachers of Pain

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Going to start off saying this is Punch List’s fault. I talked to him earlier and asked him 2 muscle groups he wanted to hit during todays workout. His choices were quads and back.

We had 2 FNG’s at The Coop ready to hit it. I started promptly with opening credits and a disclaimer, and ran to the football field bleachers for a quick warm up and examples of exercises.

The THANG:

I had the PAX partner up and I explained the WO. There where 8 exercises. 1 partner did the exercise while the other would do a lap up one side of the bleachers and down another then back to swap out with their partner. The rep count for each exercise was 100 reps.

The Exercises:

1: Dolphin Kick/Reverse Crunch (100 reps). They had a choice. The Dolphin Kick is done while lying belly down on the bleachers. Keeping belly and chest down you lift feet up together as high as you can to get a nice burn in the lower back area.

2: 1 foot on bench Lunge (50 reps each leg). With one foot stationed on the bleacher the other extended out and basically do a Lunge/squat using just that one leg.

3: Superman (100 reps). While lying face down on the bleacher putting arms straight out over your head. You lift feet/legs and arms up leaving belly on bleachers.

4: Sit Down Feet up Squat (100 reps). This is just performing a squat but lowering yourself onto the bleacher. You then while seated lift your feet off the ground for a brief second then raise yourself up into the standing position.

5: Wide Merican (100 reps). Self explanatory.

6: Step Up Knee Up (50 reps each leg). Step up on the bleacher with one leg. While up on the bleacher use other leg and lift it up 90 degree.

7: W Superman (100 reps). While lying face down on the bleacher you take your arms and bend them forming a W with your arms and head. While keeping your waist and legs on the bleacher you lift chest and arms up. Bring your arm back to try and touch your elbows keeping the W form. Working both lower back and between the shoulder blades.

8: Kneel Down to Stand Up (100 reps). From a standing position go down to your knees one at a time into a kneeling position. Then stand up one leg at a time. Alternating which leg goes first.

The results: This was a beast of a work out. While doing the exercises and going up and down stairs the movement kept everything loose and moving. Fatigued yes but mobile. Once leaving the site and making it home to go back to those stairs is when you felt the pain. To those having to go up flights of stairs or siting at a desk and getting up several times (me today) just remember this is Punch List’s fault. Thank you guys for coming out and supporting and pushing each other. This is what I look forward to and why I keep coming back.

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Power 10 Catch Me If You Can

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20 HIM Caught each other in a Power 10 Catch Me If You Can workout with partners

Power 10 – 10 reps of exercise, 9 reps, 8 reps…1 rep

Partner 1 starts with 10 reps of exercise while Partner 2 nurs or runs slow. Partner 1 sprints to catch up, then Partner 2 does 10 reps while P1 continues on.  P2 catches P1 and P1 starts 9 reps, keep going thru 1 rep.  Then start next exercise.

PAX modified some by adding bear crawls or lunges instead of the NUR or slow run.  Some did 10 of each exercise before moving on the 9.  All finished roughly the same time just in time for COT.

DarkHelmet called it “Spicy”

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Q v Q 2019

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It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce: the second annual installment of Q v Q is coming this October.

It will be modified slightly to increase the number of HIM in competition. Face kicks will abound as we have eight great Q’s lined up to make YOU better.

Scoring Criteria:

Creativity

Best Use of the AO

Level of Face Kick (AKA Difficulty of Beatdown)

Each PAX attending the workout will score each Q based out of maximum score of 5 points per category (15 points max). The winner will be determined based off of the higher total between the two Q’s.

On the last Wednesday of the month, the four Q’s to advance each week will face off in a ‘menage a quatre of pain’ with each taking on one 10 minute session

Schedule

October 2nd – Jiffy vs Sasquatch (this match up was too good not to repeat)

October 9th – Geronimo vs Shady

October 16th – Cha Ching vs Dirty Harry

October 23rd – Harry Caray vs. Youts

October 31st – The four advancing Q’s from each week will have one 10 minute session each to prove their worth as Best Q.

Format 

YHC will lead the PAX in a standard, warmup lasting 5 minutes. The rest of the time will be split into 10 minute blocks and one of the Qs takes the first 10, the second taking the next 10, the 1st Q has to opportunity to respond, and finally the 2nd Q has their opportunity to respond.

The Q that arrives earliest that morning will get to choose if they go first or second.

After the 40 minutes are up, the PAX will quickly vote, we will carry the 1, and determine a winner.

The winner of each week will also have the pleasure of providing a backblast for Funhouse’s appeasement.

Trophy

These Qs will be competing for a prize that will be on display each week during Q v Q at The Coop.

Q’s are subject to change. Any changes will be communicated by YHC.

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Punch List Out.

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