Tag: Dark Helmet

How heavy is a Bonsai tree?

Leave a comment

As I was preparing for the Q at Fire Ant I was excited and had everything planned out. However apparently the one thing I didn’t plan for was my inability to set the alarm for the correct time. I woke up at 4:55 and pretty much ran out of the house with all my gear in my hands. I was able to get to the AO with a few minutes to spare, but my head wasn’t in it. It didn’t take long for the Pax to notice as I completely forgot to count in cadence for the first exercise. After a couple exercises I was able to get my head right and lead. Apologize to the Pax for my mistake. Thanks for bearing with me as I proceeded to Q. In the end I believe it was a good workout, but definitely started out rocky.

We started the workout off with a homemade litter/gurney/stretcher (whatever you want to call it). However thanks to Spider Man I decided to place 230 lbs (my weight) of sandbags on this litter because he mentioned he was able to hold all the weight of a Bonsai in one hand. 4 Pax jumped on the litter while the rest of the Pax grabbed the cinder blocks and moved around toward the back of the school.

Dropped gear and began the warmup

Warmup:
Windmill – helps when you count in cadence so the Pax know how fast to go
Merkins
LBCs – after getting poked by the Pax I figured I would make sure they rolled on the wet ground
Superman

The Thang:
Pax counted off in 4’s since we didn’t have enough blocks for everyone. Each group took an exercise and work through all 4.

Round 1:
5 man makers
10 merkins
Farmer Carry down stairs and back up
20 LBCs

Bear crawl 40 yds
Crawl bear 40 yds

Pick up litter and cinderblocks and move

Round 2:
5 man makers
10 V-ups
15 Curls
20 Shoulder pulls

Pick up gear and move (Rotate as needed)

Round 3:
5 man makers
10 – can’t remember, but it was not fun
15 Squat Thrusters
20 Ruck Swings

Arrived at COT with 1 minute remaining so we finished off with 5 more man makers

The intent of this workout was to get Pax to work on their grip strength by carrying heavy stuff with their hands. I have found that carrying items where I need to leverage grip strength is a weak point of mine. My grip tends to give out much quicker than other areas. The only way to get better at something is to continue to work on it.

TClap |
2

Charter Band-aids for Little Warriors – PreBlast

Leave a comment

As most of the PAX in the Fort and Rock regions knows my 5 year old daughter (Emma) is a leukemia survivor. We still make a trip every 4 weeks to get blood drawn to check her counts at Levine Children’s Hospital. We also stepped up and raised money last year (Christmas time) for a fellow brother bout-time out of Area 51 son Jennings who has leukemia also.

It has come to my attention that the budgets have been cut in some of the pediatric departments and the first thing to go is usually the character band aids. You say how important is to have these band-aids? Well as far as the cancer kids go every time the have their PORT’s (Port is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin. A catheter connects the port to a vein) which for some kids is traumatic they get a band-aid over it. For others that are done with treatment such as my daughter Emma has to go back for the next 21 years to get checked (mainly blood counts). This not always easy for instance this past Wednesday she was poked 3 times. Well at the end the band aid can put a smile on a child’s face. This also goes for those kiddos that have to constantly get blood work done not just cancer kids.

So what I am challenging you to do is every week you go grocery shopping buy at least one box or more of character band-aids girls or boys. Also Spread the word in every COT. I will tweet out what AO’s I will be at and if anyone wants to step up and help me collect that would be awesome.

I also challenge others in different regions to pull together and do the same thing. My goal is to gather as much as possible and split it between Levine Children’s Hospital and Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital (St. Jude Affiliate Clinic) before Christmas.

Let a simple act of kindness put a smile on a little fighters face.

AYE. Lets do this.

TClap |
77

Lazy Dora

Leave a comment

12 Pax posted to Fire Ant tossed on their rucks and got a little stronger today.

With Fire Ant moving to a new location in two weeks I took the opportunity to move us 2 by 2 around the back of Harris Teeter to enjoy the wonderful aroma emitting from the dumpsters.

Rucks off for the usual warmup – SSH, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, Mountain Climbers.

The Thang

Partner Up for Lazy Dora.  Each team of two will do 100 merkins, 200 Flutters and 300 Squats.

For the merkins, partner 1 will do 10 merkins, while partner 2 planks.  Switch at 10 and Partner 2 will do 10 merkins while partner 1 planks.  Continue alternating until you reach 100.

For the flutters, partner 1 will 20 flutters (double count) while partner two will hold six inches.  Switch at 20 and partner 2 will do flutters while partner 1 holds six inches.  Continue alternating until you reach 200.

For the squats, partner 1 will do 25 squats while partner 2 does an Al Gore. Switch at 25 and partner 2 will do 25 squats while partner 1 does Al Gore.  Continue alternating until you reach 300.

Once all are complete move 2 by 2 to the parking lot in front of Bubbles and Bows and line up on the island for 7s.  Complete 6 ruck swings and bear crawl across the parking lot to other island.  Do 1 man-maker.  Lunge walk back to other island for 5 ruck swings.  Bear crawl back for 2 man-makers.  Continue this until you have gotten to 1 ruck swing and 6 man-makers.

Ended just in time for COT with Golden Corral.

Announcements

Fast 5k and F3 soccer – 10/27

Christmas Party – 12/1

Check WWL’s pre-blast for the custom ruck event coming to The Fort 5/4/2019.  Options for a Heavy, Tough, and Light.  Get signed up.

TClap |
2

Dora Vol. 2 – Back to Basics

Leave a comment

14 PAX (5 BCs 11 Ruckers) all got a proper disclaimer by YHC, and parted ways.

Bootcampers moseyed around the parking lot for COP.

COP (mostly x15 count) – MNC, IW, WM, LSS, Merkins, PP

The Thang – started with 11s, Burpees and Crab cakes, with bear crawling and crab walking in between sets

Moseyed over behind the tire place for DORA 1-2-3 (Derkins, Step Ups, Dips in the wall) with partner running around the two auto shops, a classic, but brutal workout for this AO.

COT – Read your newletter

Thanks Falcon Crest for the opportunity to lead

TClap |
1

A little movin’ & rollin’ with Florence

Leave a comment

I’ve been chompin’ at the bit to Q this new official Ruck AO, the Fire Ant, and this morning was the perfect time. Over the last few years, it’s developed a standard consistent with harder AO’s and I was not about to drop the ball today.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to post up at my folk’s house in Wilmington, NC where they recently had Hurricane Florence followed by 1-2 tornadoes pass through. It’s always different seeing storm aftermath in person; the images, the smells, the sounds of cleanup and water pumps getting rid of standing water. I’m not quite sure how I was going to be impacted but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. After all, neighbors are still unable to get in their houses. Perspective teaches me I need to keep my mouth shut and stay hydrated as I chip in to do a small part. After tree #4 came down and got hauled off, I had a revelation. What if I cut this next tree into the perfect lengths that would compliment my upcoming Fire Ant Q? Couple that with a previously-prepared Weinke and there you have it, we were set.

With a truck bed holding (8) 40-50lb logs, 18 of us converged on the Golden Corral/Fire Ant parking lot at HT. After Change Order laid down the disclaimer, us 12 Ruckers moved over for our warm-up jog around the lot.

After that, we kept the rucks on the ground and did our warm up:

Wind Mills

Moroccan Night Clubs

10 Forward & Reverse Arm Circles

Slow Squats

SSH

Grab a partner and meet at the rucks.

Catch me if you can with your partner and 3 Hand-Release Merkins. We went around the big loop once then a smaller loop after that for 2 loops total.

Head over to grab the logs. A brief explanation on where they came from and how they’d be used. We had to move both the rucks and the log and we’d work as a team to do it, looking to relieve the men with the logs.

Line up 2×2 with logs in the front. If you had a log, carry it overhead at the front and the rest of us would look to relive you en route. We made our way to the start of the Harris Teeter wall.

Lunge walk with a log press the length of the wall.

Bear crawl while rolling the log back to the starting position.

2×2 in formation with logs overhead to the 9-round parking lot & circle up.

If you have a log, hold it at 90 degrees and if you don’t hold your Ruck at 90 degrees. Each PAX does 3 curls going around the circle. If you’re not curling, you’re holding at 90.

On your back with legs straight and feet at 6″. Doing a log or ruck press for quite a few reps.

Get in 1 line, shoulder to shoulder. Seal team sit-ups with the rucks on front and keeping your head off the ground.

Same formation, flutter kicks with heads off the ground.

Back in 2×2 formation with logs overhead and offering relief, we made our way back to the original starting position. But before we finished, we got back in the seal-team line, on our backs and did bicycles with the rucks on front, both forward and reverse.

And so…that was it.

Announcements: Fire Ant AO moving to TCES in 3wks. Follow Spiderman for further details. Sign up for Paradise Reading Center: check with Copay and Deacon.

Prayers/Praises: Safety for all the PAX doing races (Bourbon Chase, CLT Marathon, Ragnar, Rucks), wedding anniversaries, Prayers for Half-Shell’s buddy who lost his son recently in a very sad event. We do not understand but we need to have faith in our Creator that he’ll somehow have something positive come from this. Prayers for his family and for all the scouts injured, those who witnessed and for their families.

Enjoy your day & make an impact.

Maximus.

TClap |
4

Not a Running Workout…Sorta

Leave a comment

The Coop takes me an extra 5 minutes to get to. I should really set my alarm 5 minutes earlier but hey, I’ll just move quicker. I don’t go often to this AO but it’s where i took my first face-plant at an F3 workout (I was the only PAX wearing a headlamp), so it’s got a special place in my heart. Running a bit late I rushed to get there on time and brush the fog away from my head. Arrived with a minute to spare, almost take a couple PAX out as I roll in, fall out of my car and greet the PAX. Oh boy, there’s some fit dudes here. Better make it count.

Brief Disclaimer (butchered it) and a bunch of jokes about how many miles are we going to run this AM, we set out for a 0.50 mile mosey warmup. Which ended at the Band Practice Field.

COP (SSH, Windmills, Mtn Climbers, Merkins) all in Cadence at varying counts

Line Up on the Baseline Goal Line (Thanks Ginsu)

  • Bearcrawl Suicides: Bearcrawl Forward 5 yds forward, 5 yds back, 10 yds, 15 yds, 20 yds, 25 yds (That would be 150 yds Tclaps)
  • Burpee Broad-Jump to the 50 yd line (then walk to opposite Goal Line)
  • Suicides by 5 yd increments all the way to the 50 yd line (then walk to the opposite Goal Line)
  • 10 Hand Release Merkins + 50 yd sprint – 3X (crowd pleaser)

Mosey to the pull-up bars for some DORA (Partner 1 Exercise, Partner 2 Run down to Stop sign and back)

  • 100 Pullups
  • 200 Merkins
  • 300 Flutter Kicks (ran out of time)

Mosey to the parking lot for a few minutes of Mary and close with a Body Destroyer.

Appreciate the heckling from Spiderman and DH. It’s how they love on you. Great mix of PAX this morning and got to meet a few new guys. Appreciate the opportunity Wegs and looking forward to hosting PAINtheon Games 3.5 this December at The Coop. I’m sure there was a bunch of other shenanigans that occurred during this workout but YHC was a little light-headed and focused on not spilling his merlot. Feel free to add on the twitter train. Aye!

COT

Announcements

  • Invergence this Friday
  • Convergence next Saturday
  • Fast Five October 27 (details soon)

Prayers/Praise

  • DH and Job Interview
  • Pray for Marriages

Thanks again Wegmans!

Zima Out!

TClap |
2

16 got Brenton’d at the Honey Badger

Leave a comment

16 brave little badgers got their man card punched this morning at the best AO in The Fort Region – The Honey Badger.

This AO is always a little bit harder, and a little bit longer than the rest. If you fight badger on Monday, and start your week like a hero – the rest of the week is a little bit easier.

This week we honored Officer Timothy Brenton.  Brenton, husband and father of two, was killed in the line of duty on October 31, 2009

The Brenton workout calls for five rounds of bear crawls (100 ft) standing broad jumps (100 ft) with 3 burpees after every five jumps. We modified this slightly to bear crawls of 100 yards, and broad jumps of 100 yards with 3 burpees every 10 yards. We also added a 400 meter run in between sets.

This is the second time the Brenton has made it to the Honey Badger – both times it was modified to 100 yards. So we are adopting this as the new standard.

Prayers to all effected by Hurricane Florence

TClap |
9

Stop the Sprints already. The Coop

Leave a comment

Disclaimer-
Mosey to football field 400 meters around track dynamic movements.
Mosey 400 meters around track at your pace (U vs. U)
Line up on the side lines count off by 2s
While P1 does exercise P2 sprints sideline to sideline.
E1- squats, merkins, American hammers
E2- bomb jacks, CDDs, flutter kicks
E3- jumping lunges, overhead presses, rosalitta
E4- squat to calf raise, hand release merkins, box cutters
Move to goal line- Lunge walk to five yard line do 1 burpee keep going to other end zone 1 burpee every 5 yards.
At other end 13 burpees OYO.
Bear crawl to the 50 yard line.
Mosey to benches 15 dips while partner planks, 10 dips, 5 dips.
Run 400 meters.
Mosey to pull up bars 5,4,3,2,1 while partner does Balls to wall.
COT.

Remember People willing to give all for you. Give you family and friends the best of you.

Prayers- Jobs, families, those in hurricanes path

Announcements- Invergence, reading in Paradise community

TClap |
1

The Fire Ant. 9/11 WOD

Leave a comment

There were roughly 2000 steps in the towers… If you just walk that (not on stairs) it’s roughly a mile…
There were nearly 3000 souls who lost their lives as a result of the terror attacks on 9/11…

Therefore, we were going to perform 1 mile of running (with rucks) and 3000 reps (one for each person who died).

Mosey over to the hill behind the apartments by the fountain (consult Google Maps if you have no idea what I’m talking about).

Up the hill and back (1/3 mile)
10 exercises/100 reps each

  1. Curls
  2. Merkins
  3. Squats
  4. Overhead Press
  5. Partner Leg Press
  6. Flutters
  7. Chest Press
  8. LBC
  9. Mtn Climbers
  10. Upright Row

Up the hill and back

  1. 100 count front hold
  2. 100 count plank hold
  3. 100 count squat hold
  4. 100 count overhead hold
  5. 100 count body destroyer
  6. 100 count lateral hold (switch arms at 50)
  7. 100 count close body hold (bent arms)
  8. 100 count tri hold
  9. 100 count boat hold
  10. 100 count body destroyer

Up the hill and back

  1. Curls
  2. Merkins
  3. Squats
  4. Overhead Press
  5. Partner Leg Press
  6. Flutters
  7. Chest Press
  8. LBC
  9. Mtn Climbers
  10. Upright Row

Now… we only got to about Flutters on set 1. I thought we’d get a little further, but it was HARD. The element of not being able to finish was kind of baked in there though, since all the people that day who died very unexpectedly didn’t get to finish either… Live every day. Don’t be complacent. Take the #DRP. Get right, Live right, Lead right, Leave right.

Helmet, out.

**Also, there was one other dude with us that morning, and I’m sure he’ll be offended, but I can’t remember for the life of me who it was… If you remember, or if it was you, sound off in the comments.**

 

TClap |
3

Q School 101- Part II

Leave a comment

School was back in session at Golden Corral for the 2nd week of “September Q School”.  Bones and Senator Tressel were the originally scheduled professors.  However, due to Senator being on the IR, YHC was called in as a substi-Q teacher.

14 pax posted for 2nd of two workouts covering 101 material.  An additional 8 pax went their own way with their black backpacks (likely not filled with textbooks).  NASA and TwoFerns brought out FNG, later to be named “Ruxpin”.

Bones kicked us off with a mosey around the parking lot with some high knees, butt kickers, Karaoke, and lunges.  Circling up for COP, he shared advice and wisdom on exercises that are simple and keep pax together. We did a few minutes of COP warm-up, with some exercises called out (and lead by) by pax that hadn’t Q’ed before (or only Q’ed once):

  • Windmills
  • Cherry Pickers
  • Moroccan Night Clubs
  • Seal Jacks
  • Slow Low Squats
  • Peter Parkers
  • Side Straddle Hops
  • Carolina Dry Docks

Mosey over to a different part of the parking lot where Bones emphasized that “simple” doesn’t mean “easy”, and that partnering up helps hold men accountable during the exercises.  We each partnered up for the next exercise event. All of the following were done with your partner, not switching off, like some lazy pax (or maybe just YHC) were hoping for.

  • 10 Merkins
  • Lunge across small lot
  • 10 Burpees
  • Bearcrawl back
  • 10 LBCs

Rinse and repeat 4 times.

Hand off to YHC.  We took a couple 10 counts and moseyed to the parking lot behind the shopping center.  I discussed a bit about how pax will follow and trust the Q until they have reason not to.  Trust can be broken by putting pax in dangerous situations.  Trust can be built by showing effort in planning.

Next up, Rugby Sprints.  Two sets of cones were set up about 30 yards apart.  Pax were instructed to perform exercises (together) until Q called out “GO!”.  At that point, pax were to sprint to the other cones, sprint back, then recovery walk back to the other cones.  Rinse and repeat as time allowed.  Stationary exercises we did where:

  • Merkins (in cadence)
  • Overhead Claps (in cadence)
  • Crab Cakes (in cadence)

Mosey back to COT.  Along the way we discussed the importance of promoting your Q via Twitter and documenting it afterwards via BackBlast.

T-claps to FNG Ruxpin for not only posting, but making his first post a Q school! With a Q school now under his belt, he should be ready to lead workout in no time.  Also, great work by NASA and TwoFerns for brining him out.

 

TClap |
1