September 11 Memorial Stair Climb

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

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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Burning Down The Colosseum

Gladly accepted the Q request from Jekyll a month ago for an AO i had never posted to.  He told me the Qs really bring the pain. Visited the week prior to get the lay of the land and he was not joking. With that I couldn’t slack off. 26 PAX 3 FNG got after it in the Gloom this morning. Really dig these MONSTER number  Workouts.

Here’s how it went down.

Mosey up to second Left turn to Parking spaces.

Bone the Fish.

3 Shuffle Right 3 Shuffle Left 3 Karaoke 1-1-1–Really crazy to do this with these numbers.

Warmup

SSHx15 MNCx15  Hillbilly Walkers x 15

Imperial Walkersx15 Dips x 15

The Thang

9 exercise stations 20 reps per. Except #1. Thanks Pothole! Mode of travel listed at each station for return to middle. All returns to middle do 5 burpees- Mosey to next station

Station 1- Abs 30 American Hammers Ct 1 side- Sprint to light pole/cone 5 Low Slow Sprint to next station

Station 2- Legs 20 Block Squats – Bear Crawl to Center

Station 3- Arms 20 Wide Arm Merkins– Bear Crawl to Center

Station 4- Abs 20 10 Peter Parkers/ 10 Parker Peters- Bear Crawl to Center

Station 5-Combo Al Gore w/bricks  10 Lateral Raise 10 Lateral Row = 20 reps Sprint to cone – 5 merkins Sprint to next station

Station 6- Arms 20 GTOs Ground to Overhead- Crawl Bear to center—–Really how does a Pax break a cinderblock in half????

Station 7-Abs 20 War Hammers combo WWII sit-up 1x American hammer- Crawl Bear to Center

Station 8- Legs 20 Monkey Humpers  Wheel Barrow to center and switch after burpees to station 9

Station 9- Pass the Ruck- Stand Back to back and pass back and forth in circular motion 20x  Mosey to center.

Rinse and Repeat

All PAX completed roughly 1.5 rounds. From the mumble chatter throughout the #Beatdown it appeared to be successful.

Return to COT to name the FNGs and hand off the Shovel flag.

Thanks Again for the Opportunity to lead.

Good Luck Hardwood and Great work Jekyll. Will see me more regularly at the Colosseum.

Duck Out!

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Extortion 17 – CPO Mills

Fourteen men came out Honey Badger for a Hero-based workout.

Disclaimer
Short Mosey
Warmup:
SSH (IC 12x)
Windmill (IC 12x)
Imperial Walker (IC 12x)
Cherry pickers (IC 12x)
Low Slow Squats (IC12x)
Merkin (IC 12x)
Peter Parker (IC 12x)
Plank stretches
Downward dog
Honeymooner
Run to ROTC building,
Read Extortion 17 page 152 of Hero book, text is copied at end of BB.

Thang 1 Honoring Extortion 17
Pax count off by three’s and report to their station.
Each station has three exercises; Pax do exercise for 1 minute, then get a 8 second rest/transition. Go through all three and then repeat that cycle one more time (used a timer app on the cell phone to prompt transitions).
Station 1 (6 mins)
1 Curls, block
2 squats, block
3 KB swings, block

Station 2 (6 min)
1 LBC
2 dips
3 American Hammers

Station 3 (6 min)
1 Knees to chest
2 Mtn Climbers
3 Low plank

After first six-minute set, all pax run to parking spot #31 (approx. 950’ one way)
Do 17 burpees
Run back to ROTC building
Pax rotate to next station

After second six-minute set, all pax run to parking spot 17
Bear Crawl to spot 31
Do 6 burpees
All Run back to ROTC building
Pax rotate to next station

After completion of third set: pax wall sit. Read CPO Stephen Matt Mills bio (was on Extortion 17), text is copied at end of BB.

Thang 2 Honoring CPO Mills
Wall sit and all pax hand over 15 lb slam ball. Back and forth for 6 loops.
Short mosey run
Do global warming routine for a few rounds.  End with 8 burpees OYO.

Then 5 min of mary.

Fini, COT

NMM
I last Q’d Honey Badger in May and honored Extortion 17 back then, with a secondary Thang honoring SCPO Kraig Vickers (also on Extortion 17).

Today’s routine was slightly confusing for the first round, but all pax got the hang of it for the remainder.

Had an FNG, last name spinner and he got “Fidget” as his nickname. I forgot to reiterate the five core principles of F3 for the FNG…should have done that at the beginning of the workout.

Prayers for school starting peacefully and with patience.

Extortion 17

On August 6, 2011, a U.S. Army CH-47D Chinook helicopter approached a landing zone in Afghanistan 40 miles southwest of Kabul. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. Insurgents fired at the Chinook, severed one of its rear rotor blades, and brought it crashing to the ground. All 38 onboard perished instantly in the single greatest moment of sacrifice for Americans in the war in Afghanistan. Those killed were some of the U.S.’s most highly trained and battle-honed commandos.  31 US service personnel, one canine, and 7 Afghans were on the flight.

CPO Stephen “Matt” Mills
Chief Petty Officer Stephen Matthew “Matt” Mills, was born Oct. 25, 1975 in Austin, Texas.
Shortly after his high school graduation, Matt enlisted and reported to the Great Lakes Naval Training center in Illinois in January 1997. Upon completion of basic training he was stationed aboard the USS KINCAID and served for three years.
Very early on, Matt knew he wanted to be wanted to be Navy SEAL and in June 2000 he entered Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training.
Upon completion, the Navy commissioned Matt Mills as a SEAL reporting to SEAL team Three on Sept. 11, 2001. Mills later completed the process that it takes to become a member of the elite Team 6.
Matt Mills completed numerous deployments around the world in support of the Global War on Terror and was a highly decorated combat veteran, having served in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned numerous awards including:
Two Bronze Stars Medal with Valor
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Valor
Presidential Unit Citation
Purple Heart

Chief Mills was an avid hunter and enjoyed anything outdoors. Matt is survived by his widow Keri, sons Cash and Bryce, daughter Zoe, his parents Steve and Cheryl, and siblings Michael and Ashley.

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