Tag: Bones

Run, exercise, rinse, repeat

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Simple but effective is the kick I’m on right now. I’m notorious for overcomplicating things so I want to avoid that in the gloom. Fortunately, 13 men joined me at Sweep The Leg and we were going to keep it simple with a count of 10 for each of 4 exercises, with an estimated .5mi run between each set.

I stared with the disclaimer and began to give the overview of exercise and the course but I was losing attention spans.
Our exercises were:
10 Grave Diggers on the right side
10 Wide-Arm Merkins
10 Grave Diggers on the left side
10 Dips

Here’s the course:
Around the back of Earth Fare then L/T down the side access road and L/T onto Dave Gibson to Patricia Ln.
Do the exercises

Run to GHMS, around the drop-off lane and to the front door
Do the exercises

Run out and back up to Ben Casey Drive
Do the exercises

Run across 160 and onto Emory and wrap around to the intersection with Brayden Pkwy
Do the exercises

Take a L/T onto Brayden then L/T onto Afton and take that all the way back to the left bend in the road
Do the exercises

Continue running on Afton around the loop then R/T and run out to Galbreath.
Do the exercises

Run back to COT
Do the exercises

Add on as necessary.

A learning for next time would be to ensure all crossing of 160 is done at the stop light. No need to add risk in the gloom. It was my pleasure.

SYITG
Maximus

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Quag-source

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When Olaf asked YHC to queue at Quagmire he, not surprisingly, had a little something different in mind.  In advance of the upcoming GrowRuck he asked me to make the workout ruck friendly and also to discuss Qsource Q1.10 (Prayer)

A quick disclosure was given, we acknowledged our FNG, Bones picked up his sandbag, and we were off.  During the ruck to a nearby parking lot we discussed the first Socratic: Does Faith Play a Role in Leadership?  Great discussion ensued and the consensus was that yes, it does because without faith, man sees himself as the king of his world and can’t serve others.  All actions will be focused on the improvement of himself and he will be unable and unwilling to lead others.

At the parking lot we dropped our rucks and ran to the other side to start some “back and forths”.  Five burpees at the start line then run back to your ruck.  Grab your ruck and walk back to the start with ruck overhead.  Rinse and repeat 5 times.

Now that we were warmed up, we rucked over to the front of Target for some Red Balls of Pain.  On the way we discussed the second Socratic: If Faith plays a role in Leadership, how do we get here?  Answers from the group centered around study, discussion and prayer with your creator.

At the Target we combined discussion with exercises.  At each red ball we did 20 ruck squats and 10 ruck curls.   Transportation between the red balls alternated between lunge walks and overhead ruck carries.  Discussion centered on the “What What”.  What will happen when I die?  and What does that mean about the way I should live?  The “What What” can’t be answered by yourself.  It is only through talking to your creator through prayer that you build faith and find the answers.

With enough time left we headed back to first parking lot for some more “back and forths”.  (Can’t have enough of a good thing)  On the way we discussed the third and final Socratic:  Are fear and worry bad things?  Discussion centered around them being both.  Good, in the sense that they help you avoid dangers and enable you to teach others to do the same.  Bad, in the sense that too much fear and worry can be paralyzing and you can’t accelerate without it.  Prayer is an essential element to overcoming fear and anxiety.  It unburdens you and builds your faith in knowing that there is something out there bigger than yourself that has your best interests at heart.

After an unknown amount of “back and forths” we headed back to COT while reinforcing the lessons learned.  YHC asked the Pax to, at some point during the day, to give some additional thought to their own “What What” and to continue their dialogue with their creator.

At COT we welcomed “Ski Patrol” (Cory) to F3, announcements, prayers and praises.

Olaf, thanks for the opportunity to lead.

Half Shell

Qsource April 23

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Sandbags and a few tests at Currahee

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Currahee (April 13, 2021)

The term Currahee, as suggested by Site Q, Divac, references a Cherokee word meaning “Stand alone together.” This is the motto of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division made known to most of us civilians through the HBO series, Band of Brothers. Over the last few months, Currahee has become synonymous with more difficult and become an AO where you come to be tested. With that understanding, it was now my responsibility as the Q for this morning to bring it.

Earlier in the week, I put the call out for this rendition to be a “heavy” version meaning, if you had a sandbag, bring it. Whether it was a 40lb, 120lb or a log, bring it. The PAX didn’t disappoint. This picture is before Site Q Divac dropped his 2 onto the pile.

Disclaimer for the 13 PAX: Check

Move ourselves and the coupons over to the turn in the drop-off lane.

Slick: SSH, Mountain Climbers, Windmills, 8ct Burpees, ½ the PAX sprint one way and back while the other ½ sprint the other way and back.

Explanation that during events, the Cadre’s will be yelling at you, testing you and giving you difficult time hacks to test the team. Utilizing a common test, the PAX had 10 seconds to empty their ruck of its contents. Penalty, 5 burpees. PAX then had 20 seconds to fill it back up…pass.
Do it again. 10 seconds to empty = fail, penalty. 15 seconds to fill = fail, penalty.

Ruck up and move all sandbags to the back of the school, drop in the center of the group.

10 Merkins / 20 Peter Parkers / 30 Slow Squats

Sandbags to the front of the school

10 Merkins / 20 Curls / 30 Flutters w/ Press

10 seconds to empty the ruck / 15 seconds to fill the ruck…penalty

Sandbags to the back of the school

10 Merkins / 20 OH Press / 30 High Pulls

Sandbags to the front of the school

Heels to Heaven

Man Makers

American Hammers

Groups of 3 run 30yds, slick while rest of the PAX plank. Complete till everyone goes through.

COT

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Currahee 3.30.2021

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Catch Up Backblast 2/5

 

Buy In 

5 Count Sandbag GTSS

5 Count Sandbag Clusters (Clean & Thrust)

5 Count BAD w/Sandbag

5 Count Sandbag Get Up

 

Coupon Ruck w/heavy sand bags and water jugs around the school.

 

2 TIMES

25-yard Duck Walk (5 Spaces), Walk Duck back

20 Ruck Squats

25-yard Duck Walk, Walk Duck back

20 push-ups

25-yard Duck Walk, Walk Duck back

20 Ruck High Pulls

25-yard Duck Walk, Walk Duck back

20 4-count flutter kicks, Walk Duck back

25-yard Duck Walk

20 4-count mountain climber, Walk Duck back

25-yard Duck Walk

 

Cash Out

5 Count Sandbag GTSS

5 Count Sandbag Clusters

5 Count BAD w/Sandbag

5 Count Sandbag Get Up

 

It sucked. We spent time under the 120, and everywhere else. Olaf said something profound (he usually always does), which I was planning to make the title of the backblast… but YHC slacked and didn’t write it down quick enough.

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Intervals at the Swamp

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I have been on a motivated 1stF acceleration tear recently and this continued with some relentless pain. Some might even say it was terrible. Introduced multiple uncomfortable exercises that targeted those obliques and hips. Penguins were a crowd-pleaser. Cookout Squats were also a fan favorite. Nut crushers took the cake. See the Workout summary if you are like me and get geeked out on the data. Stay Frosty my Friends! OLAF
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Consider my leg swept

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We ran fast and stopped when I needed for merkins. (did forget to hit pause on the mileage calculator once so the numbers are a tad off) Actually the first two miles were upper body, mile 3 was lower body, there was a little yoga thrown in cause we had time and needed it.

I think we hit 100 merkins, 50 dips, lots squats, and then finished with 10 burpees EMOM until 0600. Also 3.3 miles  

https://www.strava.com/activities/4678144477

NMM:

No vocal message today. I’m actually trying to be still and listen a bit more. It’s against my natural instincts, but so is waking up for a workout at 0515….so there’s that.

Thanks to VuVu for the call. Really grateful for the opportunity to lead at this AO. The amount of super fast PAX pushes me to MOVE. When I Q at STL, I know I can’t (shouldn’t) fall back to the 3 or the 6. It makes me give more effort than I might otherwise. Oh that we all could be leaders in groups that push us to be better.

—
Band Camp dismissed

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Pyramid attempt at Fire Ant

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On Christmas Eve, Divac introduced us to the way he was going to run The Fire Ant AO now that he is in charge. And guess what, it’s not for the faint of heart. That said, I had to live up to the billing.
In recent months, I’ve noticed a great way to challenge the PAX is to post the Weinke on the socials ahead of time. It also holds me accountable to planning the proper beatdown. So here goes:

Ruck 1 mile at a sub 14min/mi pace to TCES. Full disclosure, Punch List led us at a 13:37 pace…giraffe.

10 Man Makers
20 Lunges (ea leg)
30 Merkins (single ct)
40 Real Squats (you know what this means)
50 Mountain Climbers (left/right = 1)
60 LBC’s (single ct)
70 Curls
80 Peter Parkers (40 I/C) – I believe this is where the leaders ran out of time.
90 Bent Over Rows (45 I/C) – I was really looking forward to these!
100 Flutters w/ Press (50 I/C) – Surprise, Surprise. I was really, really looking forward to these.

Ruck 1 mile back to the Start Ex at a sub 14min/mi pace. We made it about .25mi and I abruptly stopped everyone for a Switzer. The new instructions were to Jail Break back to the Start Ex to complete as many Flutters/Press as you can until 0600. The leaders arrived at a 10:05 pace and a heart rate that neared, “explosive.”

COT practices with the Golden Corral bootcampers.

SYITG,
Maximus

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Christmas Dora

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Seven men + 1 late snowman (Olaf) showed up for the workout this morning.  We started off with a slow mosey to the back of Just Fresh.

Warm-ups

SSHs x10

Imperial Walkers x10

Windmills x 10

Gun Slingers x10

Next, we partnered up for a few rounds of stair climbs and exercises.  Partner 1 climbed the stairs across from Just Fresh while Partner 2 did the exercises (Carolina Dry Docks, Lunges).

We did two rounds of each exercise and modified the stair climb due to safety reasons.  Some of the steps were covered with water.

Next, we ran to Old Navy and back down the hill to the traffic circle.  The tree in the middle of the circle is decorated with Christmas lights so it was a fitting stop for our Dora exercise.  Partner 1 ran to the top of the parking lot near Old Navy while Partner 2 performed the exercises.  I asked the Pax to think about this week, the holiday, and what it means to each of them while they returned down the hill looking at the Christmas Tree.  Since we had some time, I adjusted the numbers a bit on the Dora.

150  Hand Release Merkins

250  Squats

350  LBCs

Next, we ran to the fountain for a set of step-ups and dips.  We had another time to bear crawl around the half traffic circle with some grumbling from the Pax.

Back to COT.

Great job Everyone!

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Spoon Feeding Instructions

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Learning to give clear instructions and the power of commanders intent.

Gekko was supposed to have the Q this morning but life called and he had to answer. Prayers for him.
5:15 struck and SlowJams brought out an FNG so the disclaimer was disclaimed and an overview of F3 was made.
YHC called his own number and grabbed some cones and headed towards the Home Depot for the warm-up.
Luckily I have been fortunate to get to spend some time with Tesla during the few times I show up for a PreRun at Quagmire so I learned that he had not led his VQ workout yet. So I gave him a heads up that today was his chance to practice leading a few exercises in cadence during the workout so we could all give some feedback before his big day.

YHC started the warm-up off with some SSH and some windmills then passed it over to Tesla to lead some SSH and some merkins. He did pretty well after a few corrections and will be ringing that second bell in no time.
Passed the baton over to Console to lead a few other exercises since he is fairly fresh to the game and I have missed his first couple of Q’s because of scheduling conflicts. As expected he shined like the stud he is. Way to live up to the hype and not be frightened by the thought of being compared to Tesla.

On to the Thang.
Mosey over behind Home Depot on the way to Target and get in a few seconds of peoples chair while waiting on the 6 to join.

Continue over to the Kohls parking lot for the meat and potatoes portion.
This part was supposed to be a lesson in preparation and the chaos that is unavoidable when a leader fails to convey the message clearly.
So YHC started out with no clear instructions to the PAX rather giving them just a single instruction meer moments before they needed it. The PAX were stumbling over each other because my instructions were not delivered in a clear and confident manner and there seemed to be no method to the madness. We started at one end of the parking lot and were moseying to the first street light pole performing the exercise then coming back to the starting line to perform some burpees before going to another light pole but sometimes we would come back to the starting line and other times we would just move on to the next light pole and exercise. The objective was to show how failing to communicate a plan, even a bad plan, was ineffective in achieving the mission (the current mission that I always try to achieve when leading a beatdown is to push every member of the PAX outside of their physical comfort zone while keeping everyone together as well as possible and allowing each member to not feel like a burden to the group or that they should have stayed in the fartsack).
When there is poor leadership the entire group is at the mercy of the commands of the Q. The Q is forced to either abandon the guys at the 6 or handicap the guys at the 12 in order to keep everyone on the same page. Just as in life each one of us men is at different places along our journey and therefore has different needs.

Once we finally got down to the end of the parking lot I let the PAX know my intended message for the workout and apologized for the intentional poor leadership.
Gave the PAX new clear instructions on how to proceed on the way back across the parking lot and turned them loose to go at their own pace. We spent the remainder of the time working through the exercise and encouraging each other to push ourselves to get better.

Finally, it was time to jailbreak back to the COT for Count-A-Rama, Name-A-Rama, FNG naming (welcome GuyTai), announcements, and prayers& praises.

Thank you to the men that showed up and pushed yourselves to get better. Hopefully, I was able to challenge you to look at the people that you lead and reevaluate how well you are communicating instructions to your team. Are you spoon-feeding them one bite at a time or are you laying out the buffet and letting them get after it?

Remember that those you lead are faced with many decisions every day and you want them to have the knowledge and confidence that they can make the decision without having to go into a holding pattern while they run it up the chain of command and await a response.
Set clear expectations, communicate them often, and allow your people to react and overcome.

Garrett Purvis 36
Build your guardrails out of bricks!
Olaf

Stay frosty my friends

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Balls of Pain to start your Thanksgiving week off right

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Because of technical difficulties by YHC I had no idea who had the Q this morning so as we waited for 5:15 to roll around I was frantically planning a backup beatdown just in case.
So 5:15 is when we start so without any more suspense I gave a steller disclaimer and led the 7 other gents towards Homedepot.
Warmup:
SSH
Merkins
Windmill
Peter Parkers
Parker Peters
Burpees (In Cadence)
At some point, Flounder joined the party so we had a solid 9 HIM ready to get better.

Mosey over to the front of Target for some Balls Of Pain
Suicide style. 10 reps each
Squats,
Merkins,
LBC,
Jump Lunges,
Regular Lunges,
Diamond Merkins,
Bomb Jacks,
Jump Squats,
Wide Arm Merkins,
Burpees,
Flutter Kicks,

Pick up the six then head over in front of Old Navy for some four corners.
Starting out with 25 SSH at each corner with NUR and sprint on the long sides with bearcrawls on the short sides.
Then move to the next round of 5 merkins, 10 merkins, 15 merkins, then 20 merkins at each corner.
Power Skip the short sides sprint the long sides.
Finally last round was a sprint round. 1 burpee, 2 burpees, 3 burpees, and 4 burpees with a sprint from each corner to the next.
Stopped to get in some dips at the fountain which must have been dirty because someone recently soaped it up and it was full of bubbles a plenty.
Ended with a jailbreak to the COT flag with staggard starts for those that wanted a head start so we could all be pushing until the finish.
A little bit of mary and count-A-rama, name-A-rama announcements and prayers and praises before our WarDaddy Flounder took us out with some touching words.
Great work by all. Tclaps to Tesla for crushing a preRun and still finishing out front for the main thing.

Garrett Purvis 36
Build your guardrails out of bricks!
Olaf

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