Tag: Dirty Harry

What….Gecko has a Ruck on?

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20 PAX came to the Swamp this morning to push themselves physically, bond socially, and encourage each other into the weekend.  8 men chose the boot camp option and 12 chose an option to Ruck.  After the initial shock that Gecko was standing there with a Ruck sack on we divided up and began the workout.

Boot Camp

Warm up

Mosey to (future) Tuesday Morning Parking lot

  • Windmills
  • Sumo Squats
  • Moroccan Night Clubs
  • Weed Pickers
  • Seal Jacks
  • Plank
  • Downward Dog….Honeymooner

The Thang

Using the red balls of Target I had placed a piece of paper with two exercises on them. The top exercise was done at the ball and the second was the mode of transportation to the next ball.

Ball One

  • Merkins
  • Bear Crawl

Ball Two

  • Squats
  • Lunge

Ball Three

  • Peter Parker
  • Crab Walk

Ball Four

  • Reverse Lunge
  • Broad Jump

Ball Five

  • Carolina Dry Docks
  • Crawl Bear

Ball Six

  • Sumo Squat
  • Reverse Lunge

Ball Seven

  • Wide Arm Merkins
  • Side Shuffle

Ball Eight

  • Squat Jump
  • Side Shuffle (flap jack)

Ball Nine

  • Hello Dolly
  • Mosey (back to beginning)

3 Burpees

We repeated this cycle three times with increasing reps.

  • Round 1: 10 reps
  • Round 2: 20 reps
  • Round 3: 30 reps

Mosey back to COT for 4 minutes of Mary.

Joined by the ruckers and did Nameorama, Announcements, Prayers/Praises.

I appreciate the opportunity to lead!

Bones

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1

HIIT @Quagmire

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Jedi put me on the Q schedule at Quagmire way back when we had a snow storm that paralyzed the Charlotte area. It has taken until Monday 25Mar for me to make my first appearance at Quagmire.  The night before, I loaded the ‘Yoda with coupons, made a playlist, and set my alarm for 0400.

I arrived early to unload my coupons and set up the pain stations just in case.  10 men had gathered in the Gloom for a Dirty Harry beat down. I tweeted that the workout would be post P200 friendly and that the PAX should bring foam rollers so they could stretch and roll their sore muscles. Everyone showed up empty handed. Good thing I brought all those coupons.  The disclaimer was given and off we moseyed to the adjacent parking lot for our warm-up.

30-SSH (never less than 30) thanks Pusher

10-Wind Mills

8-Imperial Walkers

11-Cherry Pickers

I checked my watch, it was already 0520 where had all the time gone? I’m used to badger time. I walked the PAX around and showed them the 12 different pain stations. I demonstrated a few exercises, paired my iPhone with the speaker, and got ready to start the timer. Today would be a HIIT workout with 1 minute at each pain station followed by a 15 second rest. The PAX chose thier station, I pressed start, and we were off.

Their Choices were:

Flutter Kicks

Rucksack Curls 35#

Bomb Jacks

Bear Hug Jug 55# (bear hug water jug while walking around traffic island)

Flutter Squats

O.H. Press with Ruck 30#

Bear Crawl 25yrd, Crawl Bear back

Farmer Carry Jug 55#

Inch Worm merkins

Bent Over Row 40# sandbag

High Plank

Man or teenager Makers 60#(man) 40#(teen) sandbags. All PAX chose to be MEN

When I pressed play on the timer, I was worried I had made things too easy. There was a lot of mumble chatter. But like a fine wine, a good beatdown sometimes takes time to mature and develop. Toward the end there wasn’t a lot of talking, we were all struggling to make it from station to station during our 15sec rest period. At least 2 of us looked like we had taken showers out there.  Jedi told me our time together was almost up. The PAX helped police up all the cones and coupons and back to COT we went. Monday was wear GREEN for Cerebral Palsy, several of the PAX did so. Thank you JEDI for the opportunity to lead the PAX.

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2

Simulation Training for May Event

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Seeing that many of the past Q’s at the Fire Ant have been ratcheting up the physical training, it was time for some simulation training since there are a few new newbies. 19 PAX chose to post this morning.

YHC acted as the cadre and asked for 1 rookie and seasoned PAX. Instructions were given – 5 minutes to get the PAX in formation, ruck up, sandbag ups, and move to the bus drop off. Off they went.  They were 30 seconds late, but Q decided not to penalize.

Next , 2 rookies were assigned team leader and assistant team lead. They were given – 10 minutes to get to big tree with 100 merkins and 100 LBCs. Off they went. As they headed towards the big tree, the TL/ATL stopped and had all PAX do 25 merkins and LBCs. The PAX stopped 2 more times, and then at the big tree finished the 4th set. They went 3 minutes over. I informed the PAX that it is critical to listen to detail. I didnt say all PAX had to do 100 of each, I said you had 10 minutes to get to tree with 100 of each. The PAX could have broken these out to each PAX.

Next, 2 new rookies were assigned TL and ATL. They were given 3 minutes to get to the basketball courts. They made this time – well 15 seconds late…. Each PAX had to do 20 manmakers due to previous penalty.

Lastly, 2 new rookies were assigned. They were given 5 minutes to get to flag poll with each PAX doing 100 flutters. The TL and ATL listened well since they informed PAX the full directions.

The key is to listen to the details by the Cadre in order to not get additional penalties.

Announcement and prayers conducted

 

 

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4

I Hate It… But I Love It!

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Jiffy asked me to Q The Ranch, and I was of course honored to be a part of #BlackDiamond month. I wanted to do something different, not only because it’s nice to mix it up, but because I was smoked the prior two days by other PAX and couldn’t handle another Merkin. I also wanted to throw some “recovery” into the weinke, which meant slow and methodical moves with added burn. It was harder to write this weinke because it really fell out of our norms of mosey/merkin/burpee. It was a welcome change, nonetheless.

It was a “balmy” 42 degree as I rolled up to The Ranch. Dirty Harry was awaiting my arrival. As we both got out of our vehicles, we spotted a soccer ball on the field. We immediately began showing off our skillz. By skillz I mean I played baseball my entire life and couldn’t do anything remotely skilled with my feet. Tinsel rolled up and showed us his actual skills. Jiffy set up the shovel flag as Duck Dynasty pulled in. We had a minute until 5:15 and Dirty Harry kicked a beautiful goal, bent just like Beckham to the far post. I couldn’t have defended it if I tried. The clock struck 5:15 and we were underway.

Disclaimer was disclaimed, and then we warmed up in place.

Warm Up

SSH x 30
Windmills x 11
Al Gore Night Clubs x 20
Tappy Taps x 7
Cat/Cow x 10 Breaths
Yoga Flow to stretch those glutes!

I was intentional about NOT moseying one bit today, and it changed the overall tone of the work out. It was focused, and it was filled with solid laughter and mumblechatter. We instead Walked Like Egyptians (WLE) to each station.

WLE to Picnic Tables

Step ups x 10 each leg
Dive Bombers Merkins x 10
Box jumps x 10
Superman Hold x 30 Seconds

Rinse & Repeat

WLE to Soccer Field

Renfrows x 5 Each Leg
Good Mornings – Back Extensions (Bent Over, Hands at Hips) x 10
Broad Jumps x 10
High Planks w/Opposite Arm/Leg Raises for 5 seconds each x 6

Rinse & Repeat

WLE to Parking Lot

Parking Lot
Duck Walks Across Lot
Single leg deadlifts in cadence x 10 Each Side
Squat holds with pulse – 30 Second Hold, Then Pulse x 10
Superman Hold 30 seconds then Pulse x 10

Rinse & Repeat

Mary

Ab Ripper X.

25 Each Exercise
In & Out
Bicycles (Forward)
Bicycles (Backward)
Crunchy Frog
Cross Leg/Wide Leg Sit-Ups
Fifer Scissors
Sadly it was at this point that we ran out of time… one day I’ll get all of Ab Ripper X into one Mary session.

The burn was felt during the workout, but I told the PAX that the burn would be felt at a later date… as we worked muscles we don’t usually hit on a normal weinke. I hope this is true, and that they enjoyed the different approach.

During the Squat and Superman holds I asked each of the PAX what they like so much about F3. I identified with each of these on a high level, because we are all cut from the same cloth.
Tinsel: Waking up early – gives him structure and he starts his day on the right track.
Duck Dynasty: All three F’s have already been sharpened in a few short weeks.
Dirty Harry: Brotherhood – he said otherwise he would have no friends!
Jiffy: He loves that we’re all going through the same things. It’s easy to think everybody else has it all together, but it isn’t so.

Announcements
Tinsel signed up for Let Me Run Boys Rock Hill

Prayers
NASA and his son/family as they navigate a diagnosis.
My 2.2, Gwenevere (Winnie), is in the 1st percentile for weight, so we have to supplement with formula and wake her up late in the evening to add a feeding. Pray she grows and gets healthier. Pray for my M that she knows she is doing the best she can for our 2.2 without feeling like a failure as a mother.
Dirty Harry’s M’s job search, still looking for full time, found a short term gig in the meantime to calm the nerves.

Jiffy, as I said in my tweet – you are a Mensch! Thank you for your leadership at The Ranch and for your positive influence/wisdom that we all absorbed that morning in the gloom! Until next time…

Punch List out.

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3

Where are you cheating?

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16 HIMs descended upon the Coop this AM for the DRP and a downpainment for the day. YHC volunteered to Q a few months ago when Punch List took over as  Site Q. IMHO the Site Q sets the tone and culture for the AO and is the most important building block of leadership in the 1st F. Punch List has continued the momentum from the past Q and has added his style. Honestly, I wanted to be a part of that momentum.

The topic was Choosing to Cheat written by Andy Stanley. This book has served as the Q point for previous workouts led by YHC and resonates with me after the most recent Q Source on M and the Jester. Despite all of my attempts to create relational rhythm across my #Concentrica, I simply can’t keep all of the plates spinning at once. When I choose to spin the M plate, my Mammon slows. When I choose to spin the Mammon plate, I notice my M plate, 2.0 plate and #shieldlock plate slow down. In every instance, I am choosing to cheat when I spin one plate vs. another plate. Something or someone is being cheated.

YHC asked the Pax this AM to choose not to cheat on the workout and away we went…

Mosey down the hill

SSHs x 30 (30 is the minimum)

Its x 15

Windmills x 10

CDDs x 15

10 Burpees

Mosey to next spot

10 Burpees

Peoples Chair x 3 ten counts

Squats x 20

Monkey Hummers x 10

10 Burpees

Mosey to pull up bars

10 Burpees

Group 1 – 10 pull ups

Group 2 -LBCs while we wait

Flapjack and then do it again

10 Burpees (We are up to 50)

Mosey behind the school

10 Burpees

Step Ups x 10

Dips x 10

Rinse and repeat

10 Burpees

Mosey to breezeway

10 Burpees

Big Boy situps x 15

Flutters x 15

Rinse and Repeat

10 Burpees

Mosey to parking lot

10 Burpees

Mosey to COT

IWs x 8

3 Burpees

Windmills x 8

2 Burpees

Total of 105 Burpees

 

Moleskin

  • Prayers and praise to Chicken Hawk and the impact of F3 at the Children’s Attention Home
  • Praise for Repeats Mom for her recent scan improvement with pancreatic cancer
  • Reminder about the Operation Sweet Tooth 8k on 3/30
  • Prayers for Esso who injured his back during the workout
  • Read the newletter

Thanks to Punch List for the opportunity.

Pusher out…

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13

The Coop 11:2019

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15 PAX (The Coop consistently draws some solid numbers) gathered in one of (possibly…) our last coldish gloom in The Fort. A quick disclaimer and we were off. We got in 40 burpees to help alleviate the penalty burpees Wegmans accumulated for sleeping through a Q at Fire Ant on Tuesday. (We got mathematically to 600, but probably only 550 counting modifications.)

Warmup

SSH x30
Mtn Climbers x30
TWSS induced bomb jacks
5 Burpees
IW x20
HW x20

Move to line
25%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75%, 85%, 90%, 95%, full sprint, bear crawl, full sprint, Burpees

Message about acceleration

Burpees

Mosey to pull up bars

Groups of 3
Derkin on hill
People’s chair with calf raise
Pull up

Burpees

Started in the down position and called up/down. Roughly 5 reps each. Switch stations, rinse and repeat

Round 2
Derkin in Hill
People’s chair w/calf raises
Toes to bar

Mosey to elementary lot. Burpees

Curb up for 10 Mike Tyson’s and bear crawl to the other side. Rinse and Repeat.

Lunges Around the World x5 Burpees

Message on self-denial during Lent. Discussion of what we’re giving up. YHC – alcohol, Dirty Harry – alcohol, Esso – TV

Burpees

Head to COT

Burpees
Pigeon Lunge
Seated Forward Bend (held for awhile)

NMM

In this Lenten season, I find myself contemplating the Christian discipline of self denial that relates to accelerating man and issues that hinder acceleration (The Jester). A fast helps focus the mind to a higher purpose. During Lent, when I’d normally reach for a beer or some bourbon, I am forced to focus on why I chose to give that up for 40 days. I am reminded of what Jesus gave up for my salvation. I try to remain grateful for to opportunity to sacrifice something and be connected closer to his sacrifice. As a bonus, I can also analyze the times I just habitually reach for a beer instead of actually waiting until I want a beer.

My challenge as a Q is to build 2nd and 3rd F elements into the 1st F workout. For this Q, I  accelerated (and occasionally decelerated) most cadence counts to help emphasize the additional physical gain from moving faster or slower. And hopefully these tempo changes focused the PAX on accelerating in all 3Fs during Lent, much like Cake Boss’s 40 day challenge.

Thanks to Punch List for the opportunity to lead.

-Band Camp dismissed

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2

Cindy meets blackdiamond

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I am always looking for opportunities to push myself out of the ordinary and this was no exception, thanks to Jiffy for hosting the black diamond series of events at The Ranch, this time I put together a simple routine but hard enough to have everyone engaged for the majority of the time.

We started the day with a disclaimer with no FNG’s, then we moseyed around the parking lot for the warm up:

Windmills,

cherry pickers,

moroccan night clubs,

low slow squats,

low slow merkins

We moseyed around the side and back of school about 1/3 of a mile to meet a row of cinder blocks at the back entrance of the middle school, toy soldiers, butt kickers, high knees and NUR were included in the run.

The thang, ALL exercises had to be done with cindy:

10 man makers

push cindy 20 yards bear crawl style

10 flutters

push cindy 20 yards hairburner style

10 squats

push cindy 20 yards bear crawl style

10 big boy sit ups

push cindy 20 yards hairburner style

10 biceps curls

push cindy 20 yards bear crawl style

10 american hammers

push cindy 20 yards hairburner style

10 overhead press

push cindy 20 yards bear crawl style

10 bent over row

push cindy 20 yards hairburner style

10 triceps extensions.. rinse and repeat starting with man makers

Lots of mumble chatter, it was a crisp 28 degrees but most PAX decided to shred a layer or two of clothes since we were all sweating buckets (especially me) it was a non stop series of exercises and all PAX pushed really hard to stay together. GREAT WORK EVERYONE!! We were able to complete 2 full circuits and the third circuit we cut down on the block pushing and only did all exercises one more time:

10 man makers

10 flutters

10 squats

10 big boy sit ups

10 biceps curls

10 american hammers

10 overhead press

10 bent over row

10 triceps extensions

With about 10 minutes to spare it was time to go back to COT, we carried all blocks back to the truck, about 1/3 of a mile taking turns since we had 12 blocks and only 7 PAX.

We circled up for announcements, prayers and praises and ended our journey with a ball of men and the Q’s prayer.

Till we meet again, Tinsel out….

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1

Clovis-esq (Honey Badger cont., kind of, from Monday)

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On this cold Wednesday morning in the gloom (sub 30 temp), YHC did a quick disclaimer after no FNGs were identified and took off for a quick mosey.  Circled up for some stretching and warm-up to get the blood flowing with the following: SSH (varying speeds, but mostly double and triple speed), diamond merkins, handful of burpees, low slow squats, arm and shoulder stretches, cherry pickers, more SSH at various speeds, and mountain climbers.

Had the PAX head over to the pull up bars while YHC went back for speaker and weinke.  YHC then laid out the plan for the remainder of the time – call it ~35 min….

The Thang

  • Partner up, size did not matter but accountability and pushing ability did…so good thing we’re all able to push each other and hold each other accountable – funny how that worked out
  • Each partner would do the following so no sharing or adding but here’s where the push and accountability came into effect
  • Partners would stay together and not leave each other
  • Exercises could be broken up;  meaning, do some chin ups together, then do some burpees, then go back to chin ups, etc. until the number was met by each person
  • (Music was then cranked on, which of course started with some Slim Shady…)
  • 40 – chin ups
  • 40 – hanging from bar, knees to chest
  • 40 – burpees
  • 4 – laps together around the big loop (about 1/4 mile per loop)
  • Then 30 of the above (3 laps), then 20 (2 laps), then 10 (1 lap)

Needless to say, this looked really good on paper YHC admits, but only to the running!  Note to future self is just 1 loop (maybe 2 max), but keep the rest of the exercises.  While there were some groups that made it through the 2nd round (30s), there may have been a few that got partially  into the 3rd round / 20s.  Either way, the low temps became an afterthought and with 5 min remaining, we packed up gear and headed back to COT for a couple rounds of Mary called out by the PAX where mumberchatter ensued.

All things in COT were had and we all set off for our day.  The push, partnership and accountability we had for 45 min was inspiring as YHC heard from some of you first hand how good it was to “feel the burn” from the workout.  This didn’t necessarily come from YHC and the workout, but the push you gave each other.  And looking back to the running portion, not such a terrible idea b/c YHC did give you a “cool down” period and a chance to do some 2nd F with your partner – so you’re welcome!  HAHAHA…maybe the PAX just didn’t need so long of a cool down.

Always a pleasure to take the reigns to write the workout and look back in the backblast write-up, but always exciting to see how it shakes out once the 45 min bell rings!  Until next time…

And as a last add, this workout was inspired from #DOAH and his Honey Badger service member “Clovis” from the HB hero book.  While we didn’t get to do the Clovis workout on Monday, this workout, although modified slightly, was also a tribute to Clovis.

Shady

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3

Black Diamond #3 at the Ranch – Get Some

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Expected rain all morning, but instead we got a comfortable 40 degrees with wetness all around us.  Perfect for what we were about to get into.

Reminded the Pax that this was a Black Diamond workout and immediately had a reaction that made it clear that some were unaware lol.  Since I dislike warm-ups, I got right to our “warm-up”.

1 – I’ve done this before  w/ my speaker & the Seconds app on my phone (get it if you don’t have it – it’s an awesome timer / tabata app w/ the ability to add music).

  • First 5 minutes of warm-up:  each minute on the minute, we’re all going to do 35 really fast side straddle hops and 8 burpees.  Every minute.  End result is 175 ssh’s and 40 burpees in 5 minutes.
  • Next 5 minutes of warm-up:  no break, right into merkin mode.  11 merkins, 10 diamonds, 9 merkins, 8 diamonds, 7 merkins…down to 1 merkin.  I think we were warm.

2 – 1/4 mile burpee fun:  we moseyed over to the circle in front of the Middle School, which is a perfect 1/4 mile loop w/ some hills in it, which I failed to recognize when throwing this together.  We partnered up and I gave the Pax the bad news.  I set up my phone w/ it’s bright light stop watch timer to help.

  • Sprint with your partner the 1/4 mile loop as fast you can.  Why you might ask?  Because when you finish and see your time for that loop, you both have that many burpees to split halfsies on.  Back in High School, low to mid 50 seconds was acceptable for the 400m dash.  That’s not what we’re capable of anymore – ranged from 70 seconds to 85+ seconds, which meant each partner had 35 to 45 burpees to do apiece.
  • Round 2 – do it again.  Only this time, the challenge was that if you beat your prior lap time, you can cut the burpees in half.  Well no one beat their time, haha, so we still cut it in half anyway.  Most laps were in the 80-90 seconds range this time, which meant, 40-45 burpees to split w/ your partner, or 20-25 a piece.

3 – Pretty sure after this the Pax hated my guts.  From there we hit the longest straightaway I could find.  Same partners as before.  This time Partner 1 lines up 10-20 yards away from Partner 2.  Partner 1 starts back pedaling as fast as they can while Partner 2 has to sprint to catch them.  Wherever they are caught, you stop right there and do an exercise, then a mode of transportation back to the starting line.  We did 4 of these (each partner chased 2x and back pedaled 2x):

  • First round (once caught) – 15 bear crawl merkins, followed by broad jumps back to starting line
  • Second round – 25 lunge jumps (do each leg and that’s 1), followed by bear crawl back to starting line
  • Third round – 35 american hammers, followed by lunge walk back to starting line
  • Fourth round – 45 wide arm merkins, followed by bunny hop back to starting line

4 – We had 5 minutes, so had to make the most of it.  Quick DORA against the Elementary wall by CoT.  Partner 1 does Jump Squats and the timer was Partner 2 running to wall and doing 15 Mike Tyson merkins (those are honestly some of my least favorite merkins:  feet flat on wall at base of wall, merkin position, bring you six to the wall with feet staying put and then all the way forward so that your hands are almost at your ribs as you go down for merkin).  Once Partner 2 finished their 15 rep count, the partners switched.  Think most teams got to 100 or so jump squats before our time was up.

2 Ruckers, 1 Runner and 16 Black Diamond Boot Campers was the count.  Thanks to Jiffy for the chance to do whatever I want without having to worry about how terrible it sounds.  Appreciate everyone kicking a$$ and finishing it all.

Prayers:

  • Dark Helmet’s M is traveling this weekend – travel mercies
  • Dirty Harry’s M has last day of work / transitionary time for new opportunities / jobs
  • Olaf’s continued progress on limiting ADHDs adverse impact on his life
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5

The Coop Shovel Flag Hand Off

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It was a crisp February morn… crisp enough to wear short sleeves, in fact. A change was in our midst and you could feel it coming in the air as Phil Collins would say.

Three weird-O’s (NASA, Dirty Harry, and YHC) showed up at approximately 4:10-4:13 to pre ruck four miles. Wegmans joined in somewhere along the way to get his daily mileage in, and then peeled off to get the field ready for his Weinke.

As Wegmans prepped, we finished our rounds and met up with other PAX around the shovel flag, which would soon be in my possession. Sixteen was the count.

Wegmans called the time, disclaimed the disclaimer, and then took us to the field.

We moseyed, we circled up, and we wind milled. Three times, in fact. Just enough to get Ginsu going about his affection for this specific movement. I cannot recall the other warm up exercises, but they were all counted to prime numbers in true Weginator fashion.

It was at this moment that I realized I had to utilize the best part of the AO. The toilet. I truly understand why NaFo is the #bestAO now.

Wegmans counted us off by 1’s and 2’s as I ran for the facilities. I took my break and found there was a 100 yard race of burpee/tire flips (one at a time), and my team has lost. This meant we did 10 Burpees while the other team did monkey humpers in our direction. We had a second chance, and we just about prevailed until shenanigans took place. Wegmans punished all of us with Burpees. That was fair.

Then he handed it off to the new site Q. I had some plans as well…

Football Field Circuit

Partner Workout

Each Partner Wheel Barrows every other 10 yards, both partners complete workouts equal to yard marker on the field that you land. Start at one end zone and work toward the other.

Endzone – Burpee Broad Jumps x 7
10 – Donkey Kicks
20 – Hand Release Merkins
30 – Jump Lunges (each leg)
40 – Air Squats
50 – LBCs
40 – Air Squats
30 – Jump Lunges (each leg)
20 – Hand Release Merkins
10 – Donkey Kicks
Endzone – Burpee Broad Jumps x 7

Gotta go back across the field.

All Together
Bear Crawls every 25 yards, stop for a workout
25 Yards
15 Bomb Jacks
25 Yards
15 Jump Squats
25 Yards
15 Bomb Jacks
25 Yards
15 Jump Squats

Props to Shield for kicking this weinke’s tail on his second post.

End with some Jack Webbs to burn the shoulders – made it to 5 Push Ups & 20 Claps.

Headed back to COT to do some quick Mary.

Ended with a shovel flag hand off. Looking forward to Site Q’ing the Coop for the foreseeable future. Hopefully I can keep the same momentum that Wegmans had working. Thanks to Wegmans for what he’s done with this AO. A true HIM.

Due to my slacking and not submitting this backblast immediately… I’ve lost track of the prayer requests. Please forgive me for that.

Some @HeardatF3 Mumblechatter…

Dark Helmet: “I wonder how this split Q is going to be?”

Wegmans: “Well I’ve already seen PL’s Weinke… so…”

Punch List Out.

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