Tag: Change Order

Getting Mobyfied at Alcatraz

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Maximus has given me free reign over this backblast as he handed me his actual weinke after the workout.  Unfortunately, creativity has subsided after a couple days. I really suck at expedient backblasts (no excuse).

I had legs. Maximus had arms and I believe the PAX might have preferred to have that reversed.

Arrived early, placed some cones on the double ballfield, tossed out a football and dragged out the worm. There was no weinke taped to the arm on this day. 8 PAX arrived w/ Geronimo and Dark Helmet arriving just on time after having stopped to help a lady with car issues. I do not have all the details as I missed that early mumblechatter getting us going.

Actually read the whole workout disclaimer from my phone to make sure I got it complete. Also, be sure to check out the ‘full’ disclaimer on the F3 website which is much more detailed and covers additional items.

To the field for some warmup and starting tossing around the football, each PAX threw and we moseyed to it followed by an exercise. Tosses varied in length but everyone got a turn.  Before we left the field, I told the PAX that I believe in 2 things at Alcatraz. 1) making use of the hill and 2) making use of the field…basically getting down and dirty in the morning dew. We were going to do both, so before leaving for the hill, we did some:

Panther Pound Burpees – Some have done this with me on Q on before but maybe no one from this group. This exercise is in the exicon as I got it approved around the time when the Panthers were in the Super Bowl. It is essentially a football cornerbacks drill combined with a burpee.  Q leads, start fast pumping the feet up and down. Q decides how long and yells drop (right or left), hit the ground do a pushup, roll right or left, get up to a jump hands over head. Repeat as necessary until very dirty. As I was doing them, too, I could not take notice to proper form, but I would have liked to see the feet of the PAX pumping a little faster….

To the hill. The downhill was a mosey each time. I think we did 3, 4? laps. On the uphills, we did various lunges, broad jumps, a sprint, etc and full 1/2 lap backwards.

Back to the field to incorporate some partner work lunge walking and carrying the worm, a 120# somewhat awkward coupon with handles on the end and in the middle.  While partners carried, the rest of the PAX did core work and sprinted to the carriers when they got done. Repeat to give everyone a chance with the worm. Somewhere in my 30 minutes we did a bunch of various calf raises, although I did miss Tesh’s squat calf raises.

We did one last minute of Panther Pound Burpees and Maximus took over.

Maximus’s truck bed popped open to a whole lot of cinder blocks, one with each of our name on it (not literally) along with a very large boombox. Ok, the box was not much bigger than my hand. But it did play what could be considered a very challenging workout song Moby’s “Flower” which mentions Sally a lot.

I did not know this song but apparently it is used by a lot of people for exercising, similarly to “Thunderstruck.”

We did bicep curls with our blocks, curling on every “up” in the song, holding, then down on every “down”, but not letting it touch your body.  The first time around was the long version, or so it seemed. A little bit nasty if you ask me.

Followed by: Slow flutters block press, American Hammer-position leg extensions.

Back to the song for Shoulder Presses, the short version, I think…Then

  • 10 burpees, 20 CDD, 30 Mtn Climbers followed by cinder block push of about 25 yards.
  • 10 bomb jacks, 20 LBC, 30 dying cockroaches (by this point, that was almost literally), and a block push back to the starting point.

Fortunately, time was done because what was left on Maximus’s weinke would not have allowed our arms to hold a steering wheel and drive home.

With suicides of recent celebrities, we talked about suicide and addressing it with our kids if they are old enough, and to be aware of family and friends who may be experiencing difficulties in their life. Apologies for not recalling more of our COT discussions. CSpan’s party weekend was in effect.

It was another great Saturday morning at Alcatraz. 6 hit coffeeteria at DD after.

Aye. Bolt

 

 

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Breathing Relief

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Cable Guy lost his sidekick so Smuggler put out an APB for help and YHC decided to make it 3 in a row Qs. Cable Guy started off with:

Quick COT: 30 SSH; 5 burpees OYO; Squats, then mosey around the park

Another round of COT:

Seal Jacks; wide merkins; imperial walkers; wide merkins; moroccan night club; peter parker; parker peter; 10 burpees (5 for each late PAX arrival)

Grab a block for Burpecides:

Round 1: suicides to each of the 4 cones, increase burpees by 1 at each cone, back at start complete 5 squats – ALL with block

Round 2: same but with tricep extensions

Round 3: same with curls

Round 4: hand off to Trucker

Mosey to long hill. Start at top, run to bottom and complete 5 merkins, run to top and complete 10 LBCs – UvsU for as many rounds until Q calls halt. (most of PAX got 3 rounds in, a few got 4).

Mosey towards fire station, stop at Pull Up bars. This is the 10 count. each PAX does 5 pull ups while rest of PAX does squats until everyone completes their pull ups.

Moesy to short hill. Start at bottom, run to top by fire station and complete 5 merkins, run to back down and then up other side of hill and do 5 merkins, run back to bottom. Plank till 6. Repeat 3 times. Bear crawl to first driveway up hill then sprint to top of hill by fire station. Mosey back to COT for 3 minutes of Abs.

its always an honor to Q the best AO in The Fort. Each PAX proved they could push themselves especially in an extreme humid morning. Remember to be an IMPACT to your family and community.

Trucker and CG

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Seis Rancheros

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A motivated group of 6 men met at The Ranch for another test of their strength and endurance.  Here is what they did:

The Thang:

Warm up with walking knee pulls, ankle pulls, toy soldiers, and lunge twists.  Take a short mosey and circle up for COP:

All in cadence:

SSH x 30, potato pickers x 10, merkin x 10, IW x 20, mountain climber x 30/hold/6”/regular/6”/low plank/regular.  LBC x 25

Take a short mosey and stop at the entrance to the drop off circle at the elementary school entrance.

ST400 – (5 rounds, 4 exercises/round, 20 reps/exercise, run a lap in between).  Today, we cut it to ST350

Round 1:  Merkins, Freddie Mercs, squats, burpees, run a lap

Round 2:  Diamonds, flutters, alternating lunges, burpees, run a lap

Round 3:  Wide arms, hello dolly’s, sumo squats, burpees, run a lap

Round 4:  Staggered merkins (L/R), Rosalita’s, monkey humpers, burpees, run a lap

Round 5:  Dips, pretzel crunch – stop here.  We ran out of time.

Take one last Indian run around the loop and head back to the starting point.

End with the body destroyer ( lay on your back, breathe deeply, stare at the sky, and don’t talk)

COT

This is a pretty tough workout and everyone got after it today.    The 20 burpees followed immediately by the run kept the heart rate up quite well.   Sasquatch ran at  a swift pace around the loop this morning.  I left a sweat stain on the asphalt during the warm-up and Change Order’s shirt came off after round one.  Yes, it was humid.   Not a lot of mumble chatter today, but Sasquatch did manage some slightly sarcastic encouragement to the group during round 3 or 4 of the burpees.   We were running a bit short on time so we avoided the 5th round of burpees.  We may or may have had time.  Or, perhaps the Q was gassed after round 4 and could not call out another round of 20 burpees (maybe).     In any event, it was a great day at the Ranch and a privilege as always to lead such a fine group of men.

Announcements/Prayers/Praises

Read your newsletter!  Need a Q for Guidance (CAH on May 26), also need Q’s for F3 Dads in June (Change Order)

Continued prayers for Badger and his family and for the Jennings family

Praises for Sasquatch’s sister graduating from college.  Safe travels for the Sasquatch and Wegmans to NY this weekend.

 

 

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Full body pain dished out at Alcatraz

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Begin with disclaimer and went around the roadway circle for a “quick slow” mosey.

Circle up for warmup
-10x windmills
-10x low slow squats
– 15x peter parker
-15x parker peter
-downward dog / honeymooner
-10x plank jacks, recover
-10x cherry pickers

Mosey to other side of parking lot where the real pain began early:
-Merkin ladder: drop for 20 merkins, run 10 yards and drop for 19 merkins, run back 18 merkins, run back 17 merkins…. rinse and repeat until 10 merkins for a quick 165 merkin beatdown.  WOW

Mosey to baseball field where we completed the field of dreams: count off by 4’s, each base had 3 PAX. The 4’s started at home plate for 15 burpees – they are the timekeepers. When done, each base moved onto the next base until the cycle was completed by all.  1st base was AMRAP squats, 2nd base was SSH’s, and 3rd base was LBC’s.

Circle up around the pitcher’s mound so we can finish off our arms with Jack Webb’s.

It is now 0700 and time for Senator Tressel to take over with:

Mosey from the ball  field and head down to Tara Tea Dr (steep hill).  Form two groups and face the hill:
1.  Round 1:  run to the top off the hill and back, plank at the bottom until everyone is back, recover.   Slow squats on Q’s count with a few holds mixed in.
2.  Round 2:  run backwards to the  top and back, plank at the bottom, recover..  Slow, alternating  lunges on the Q’s count with a few holds mixed in.
3.  Round 3:  run to the top and back, plank at the bottom, recover.  Slow monkey humpers on the Q’s count with a few holds mixed in.
4.  Round 4:  run backwards to the top and back, plank at the bottom, recover.   Calf raises for an unspecified time while the Pax cacthes their breath.
5.  Round 5:  run to the top, run back down, then run back to the top, do 5 burpees at the top, plank until the 6 is finished.
Mosey back to the baseball field for tunnel of love.  The Pax attempted 2 rounds, but it was a bit of a cluster.    Lutefisk’s merkin fest was too taxing on the upper body, and sustaining a tunnel for 16 to pass through was ill advised at that point.
Circle up for 6 MOM (all in cadence)
Freddie Merc x 20, Hello Dolly x 15, American Hammer x 20.  Superman hold x 2.  End with the Body Destroyer (one of YHC’s personal favorites).
COT – prayers for sicknesses to be healed among PAX and their families and mother’s day with special shoutout to Mr Clean’s children and all children who have lost their mothers.
It is now 38 hours since the completion of this, and I still hurt. Everywhere.  Which is awesome. Thanks for the opportunity to lead!  -Lutefisk
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Bucket-o-Pain – New and Improved With More Awfulness!!!

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9 bootcampers and 7 ruckers landed at Golden Corral for a buffet of painful options.  Drummond brought an FNG (later named “Manifold”) to partake in the meal.  Don’t know about any of the other bootcampers, but YHC was thankful not to be part of the rucking group when Rad rolled the giant tractor tire out of the back of his truck. No bueno.

5:15 arrived, and after a disclaimer was offered, the bootcampers took off for a mosey around Rite-Aid, down to the auto-repair place, and back to the front of Harris Teeter.  Stops were made along the way for various warm up exercises, including:

  • SSH
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Sumo Squats
  • Peter Parkers
  • Dips
  • Windmills

38 Special came in hot, and caught up with us after our second stop on the warm-up run.

The Thang

At the stopping point in front of HT was the bucket of pain.  But this time the instructions were different than previous BoP appearances.  Here’s how it went:

  1. First exercise was drawn from the bucket.  Pax did 5 reps.
  2. Second exercise was drawn.  Pax did 10 reps of it, then repeated the 5 reps of the first exercise
  3. Third exercise was drawn.  Pax did 15 reps of it, then 10 of the second exercise, then 5 of the first.

Routine continued until 5 exercises were drawn (which had 25 reps).  Once completed, pax took a run around the entire front parking lot of the shopping center.  We had time to do this twice.  Here were the exercises.

  1. Round 1:
    1. 5 merkins
    2. 10 burpees
    3. 15 squat jacks
    4. 20 POGO (10 each leg)
    5. 25 plank punches
  2. Round 2:
    1. 5 jumping lunges
    2. 10 low, slow squats
    3. 15 moroccan night clubs
    4. 20 flying squirrels
    5. 25 Crab Cakes

After our second round (and run around the parking lot) we had time for a few minutes of Mary:

  • Flutters
  • LBCs
  • Chopsticks
  • Alphabet Soup
  • American Hammer

Time was up, and we headed back to COT.

Excellent work by all men.  T-Claps to Mainfold for his first post, and to 38 Special for his second post (in as many days). Thanks to Decibel for the privilege of Q’ing.

 

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WHETSTONE…Relaunches at THE FORT

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Several weeks ago, it was announced that our region, THE FORT, would be closing all Saturday AO’s and holding a convergence at FMHS to get the PAX together as we thank Rebel for his leadership of Whetstone and relaunch it under Repeat and World Wide Leader (WWL). I was excited to hear we’d be getting many of the region together but I wasn’t expecting what came next. It was a text asking if I’d Q the workout.

Q, like part of it, half of it or …? The response was, THE WHOLE THING. I love to Q every chance I get but to do so on a day like this, well, I better make sure it includes a little something for everyone. Or, almost everyone.

————————————————————————————————————–

And this is where I let life get the better of me. I try to follow the 48hr rule on posting a BACKBLAST, especially when they’re significant but I let life and travel get in the way. It is now Saturday, one week later, and I’m just finishing this BB. Life can get challenging, it can get stressful, it can get you riding the highs or down in the lows. And this past week, our family has experienced some of each. Maybe this was the week where I really came to realize how valuable having a Whetstone partner can be. Someone that I can share the highs with and someone to help get me out of the lows; or to keep me honest when it’s my own doing that has me on the outside looking in on the joys of life.

That said, I’ll take you back to last Saturday, April 21 where we had a a few pre-ruckers and a total of 58 PAX converge to re-kick off this critical program.

We got ourselves into an odd-shaped kidney-like shape for the disclaimer, the announcement of why we were there this beautiful morning and to acknowledge our 2 FNG’s in the PAX. We counted off in 4’s then took off toward the big parking lot for a warm up jog in 4 lines. This jog included some karaoke’s and 4 lines doing an indian run which was way harder than it appeared on paper.

In these last 2 years, Whetstone has brought together some extremely HIM. One of those men has gone through a tough 18mos and he was gracious enough to share some of his story to include the impact Whetstone had on his life as we circled up to hear his words. I know he wouldn’t endorse this comment but anytime Mr. Clean wants to share experience or wisdom, the PAX listens. And listen we did.

After backing the group back out to a circle-like shape, I was giddy to honor Santini in the only way I knew how…with a deck of cards. However, on this day we utilized 1/2 the deck and considered it our warm up:

Hearts = Side Straddle Hops

Diamonds = Carolina Dry Docks

Spades = Squats

Clubs = Merkins

Then a little action from the Burp-Merk: Standing, we then dropped to a plank, did 5 merkins then jumped up. That equals 1 and we did 5 total.

This was when we got to listen to our very own Nantaan, Cake Boss, as he shared the impact Whetstone has had on him. Yet again, another powerful testimony.

Then off to do 4 corners in the lot with:

Corner 1 = Dancing Crabs x 15ea and Dips x 20

Corner 2 = Dying Cockroach x 15ea and Flutters x 20ea

Corner 3 = Burpees x 10 and Jump Squats x 10

Corner 4 = American Hammers x 25 and Freddie Mercury x 20ea

Mosey over to the wall for B2W while doing 5 “push ups” followed by 15 calf raises. We did this 3 times.

To close out our testimonies, my man Chicken Hawk laid it down for us. He shared the impact Whetstone has had on him, his marriage, his family…his life. Life isn’t meant to be traveled alone. Well said brother.

6ct Burpee which I needed a little help from the Helmet of Darkness to remind me the steps. Remember the line, “If you can’t Q it, don’t do it?” Yeah, me too but I obviously didn’t follow that too closely here.

This is where the cat-herding became evident. The PAX exhibited patience with me as we attempted a modified DORA series consisting of:

50 Flying Squirrels, 50 Diamond Merkins and 50+ Flutters

We then took off for the main entrance to the football stadium and lined up in 4 lines facing down the hill. Once everyone readjusted, it was 15 American Hammers, 15 Flutters and 15 Hello Dollies. This was done several more times.

Well, that put a bow on the workout portion of this convergence and after the COT, FNG naming of RBG and Whiskers, we then handed it off to World Wide Leader and Repeat to lead the Whetstone discussion.

Announcements: The relaunch of Whetstone. Thanks to Rebel for getting this off the ground 2 years ago and to Repeat / World Wide Leader for taking the reigns.

Prayer Requests: Badger. Camp Care 5K. Jennings Palmer’s transplant. Olive’s 8K in memory of Sweet Tooth. Elmer.

Honored and appreciative of your patience.

Maximus

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Moderate rain day and extra moderate day

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It was really rainy…and about 48 degrees…and really did not feel like old men weather…

disclaimer

we got less than a half mile of running during the 45 minutes…lots of cadence exercises and broga

lots of #mumblechatter and cheese farts…it was weird, odd tasting, and wonderful…my favorite topic was MC Hammer songs, personally, #2legit is still the best. Crab Cakes has a solid base of knowledge of all things MC Hammer. It is almost never the star, but always the entourage that creates the spiral downward…remember that in your own life.

COT/Prayer or Praise/ BOM

If you actually read these backblasts- let me know the next you see me…

If you were too scared to post you missed out today…absolutely a good time

AYE!

CSPAN

 

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Where is Spring??

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18 Men showed up on a very chilly April morning. The pre-ruck was very well attended, and the ruck portion was being Q’ed by Olaf and there seemed to be several implements of torcher that were assembled for the rucking PAX to carry around.  5:15 came and the disclaimer was given(in spirit if not actually) and the entire group was challenged to begin thinking of prayers that needed to be shared at COT. No prayers for your neighbors sick cat, what do YOU need your brothers to know and pray for in your life?  With that the Ruckers were dismissed and the rest of us circled up for some COP.  SSH, IW, Squats, on your side for some hip flexing and strengthening – Jane Fonda – Leg Circles forward and reverse, back kicks.  All on your side 5 count then flip sides. Strong loose hips are key to injury prevention.  Mosey to lay out the cones for a 5 corner workout tour around the Golden Corral. 1st cone at the bottom of the hill(10 Bomb Jacks) Cone #2 at the top of the hill(20 LBC) Cone 3 around Auto Parts and Oil change(10 CDD) 4th cone at COT(15 Squats) Cone 5 at Dominos(15 Merkins) You vs You workout, you choose how fast you want to push it, how hard you want to work.  The PAX did awesome, everyone finished at least 4 full laps and a few did 4 plus, Mileage count was over 3 miles, pretty strong for a 45 minute boot camp.  Final mosey to COT

Announcements – Strawberry Fields, Guidance & CAH, Bonsai has Beyond next Tuesday at GC

Prayers & Praises – Continued prayers for Badger – Prayers for patience and wisdom with young kids(especially boys), Prayers for healing for the young kids in our community growing up in dysfunctional or non-existent homes, prayers for patience and energy to continue dealing with the racial injustices that many of us don’t want to admit exist.  I appreciated the hearts of the men who shared this morning, and challenge the PAX to press into being vulnerable with our real struggles and needs so that we can properly car for each other.

 

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Alcatraz Custom Q

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Two Q’s and One PAX for an hour of fun.

Three of the Alcatraz faithful gathered in the gloom with Change Order and YHC at the helm.

A quick disclaimer was all that was needed before a quick mosey around the park.

Circle Up for Warm Up:

SSH, Merkins, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, etc.

Mosey to the wall for alternating exercises.

Wall Sit while partner(s) perform exercise, the flip-flop.

  • Bear Crawl to Second Base and mosey back, Crab Walk to second base and mosey back, Frog Jump to second base and mosey back.
  • Rinse and repeat.

Exercise while partner(s) run(s) over the fence to the top of the hill.

  • LBC’s, Sit-ups, Rosalitas, Grave Diggers
  • Rinse and Repeat

Static Stretching (hamstrings, and IT band) I can’t really explain it!

Head to the back of the dugout for some step-ups and dips (20 each).

And to the bottom of the big hill for a Dora 1-2-3. 100 Merkins, 200 Bomb Jacks, 300 Squats, while alternating running to the crosswalk sign half-way up the hill.  I will admit to an Audible on the running portion of this exercise after about 5 trips up the hill, with a shift to a similar distance and about 1/3 the vertical climb heading in the other direction.

Dora complete, we headed back to the ball field for 4 minutes of Mary.

COT

Prayers for those suffering from both chronic and acute illness.

Thankful for F3 and our many blessings.

 

As always, it is an honor to have the opportunity to lead.

Smuggler

 

 

 

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#RPG

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11 PAX posted to RPG for some Broga and miles.

Beautiful spring morning with a temperature of 54 degrees.

Disclaimer, disclaimed.

The Thang:

20 minutes of Broga (courtesy of Sasquatch) loosened up the PAX before we headed off on a 3.5 mile run through Regent Park.

NMM:

As the Q, one of my main goals, was to keep everyone together, or at least on course.  It goes without saying, running at 5am, through neighborhoods, on a newer AO, posses a challenge.

I fell short of my goal and had a couple of the PAX get lost in the neighborhood. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have the PAX give YHC the opportunity to develop and become a better leader by allowing YHC to make and learn from my mistakes.

In the end, everyone made it back to COT. YHC’s lesson learned: ask a PAX (or two) who is familiar with the course to pick up the six so QIC (YHC, in this case) can keep oversight of the other PAX.

F3 does develop leaders. For that opportunity, I am thankful.

COT – Prayers/Praises

Bass-o-Matic, thank you for the opportunity to Q.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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