Rain & Ruck – Embrace The Suck

4 Brave Ruckers were not scared of the post-Irma rain & wind and made it out the GC for a ruck beat-down that went something like this:

Warm up: Man-Makers X10

Ruck out to Pain Station #1:

Squats with Overhead Ruck X15

Ruck Curls X20

Ruck Tricep Extrensions X20

Big Boy Sit-Ups with Overhead Ruck X10

Ruck Out to Pain Station #2:

Step-Ups on wall with overhead ruck press X10 each leg

Ruck Swings X20

Ruck Out to Pain Station #3 (The Hill):

Flutter Kicks w/Ruck Press X20

Bear Crawl up hill

Hand Release Merkins X10

Big Boy Sit-Ups with overhead ruck X10

Ruck back down the hill

Flutter Kicks W/Ruck Press X20

Lunge Walk Up hill with Overhead Ruck

Long Ruck around the perimeter to Pain Station #4

Ruck Curls X20

Ruck Tricep Press X20

Big Boys Sit-Ups with overhead ruck X10

Man-Makers X10

 

COT

Announcements: Nun Run, Invergence/Convergence

Prayers/Praises: Post Hurricane relief in both Texas and the Southeast. Support for F3 PAX reverting Columbia mission trip to FL mission trip

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Game Set Match

13 posted to Laces In/Laces Out on a morning when Sky Q provided the natural version of the NFL’s Cool Zone to keep the pax going through the sweat and pain of another gloomy Thurs morning at FMHS.

5 runners launched at 0500 for Laces Out

9 pax posted at 0515 for boot camp (well, 8 posted for Laces In and Trojan posted for Laces Out…fearing the Spartan wrath that was coming, Trojan peeled off during warm up to get his miles in).

The Thang

Warm up run w/karaoke around parking lot between gym and tennis courts

COP

Mtn climbers x10

Merkins x10

Mtn climbers x10

10x Burpees OYO

Mosey to tennis courts

Line up at corner of base line: Bear crawl to net, sideways crawl across to other sideline, backward bear crawl to baseline, sideways crawl along baseline to starting point

Mosey to baseline on other side of the court: Lunge walk to the net, sideways lunge to other baseline, backward lunge walk to baseline, sideways lunge along baseline to starting point

Mosey to other court and repeat same two cycles from court 1

Mosey to third set of courts closest to football stadium

Line up along near sideline for suicides across two courts

Recovery walk to far sideline

Repeat suicides across both courts

Recovery walk back to original sideline

Mosey to other side of court

Repeat two sets of suicides with recovery walks in between

Mosey to Center Court (middle set of two courts)

Each pax positioned at a baseline corner of one of the courts for Four Corners series
Baseline Corner 1: Merkins x10, run to next corner
Baseline Corner 2: Merkins x10, run to next corner
Net Corner 3: Sumo squats x10, run to next corner
Net Corner 4: Sumo squats x10

Shift clockwise to the next corner
Baseline Corner 1: CDDs x10, run to next corner
Baseline Corner 2: CDDs x10, run to next corner
Net Corner 3: Monkey humpers x10, run to next corner
Net Corner 4: Monkey humpers x10

Shift clockwise to the next corner
Baseline Corner 1: Burpees x10, run to next corner
Baseline Corner 2: Burpees x10, run to next corner
Net Corner 3: Bombjacks x10, run to next corner
Net Corner 4: Bombjacks x10

Shift clockwise to the next corner and repeat prior series
Baseline Corner 1: CDDs x10, run to next corner
Baseline Corner 2: CDDs x10, run to next corner
Net Corner 3: Monkey humpers x10, run to next corner
Net Corner 4: Monkey humpers x10

Victory lap around center court

Run home

Few Mins O Mary — Rosalita x10, Dollies x10, Flutter x10, Freddie Mercury x10

COT

NMM

US Open tennis is underway, so it seemed like an appropriate time to capitalize on the tennis courts.  Proved to be a good appetizer for Shady, who left today to head to NYC to take in a couple days of the Open.

Great to meet Ham and Rebar, recently EH’d by Nomad.  Solid young pax…expecting them to be stepping up for VQ soon.

Good to have Kooter back out.  Pretty certain we worked off some of those calories from the recent road trips.

Chicken Hawk broke out the mumble chatter early in the warm up — Santini would have been impressed!

Hope Li’l E was pleased not to miss out on 10 Merkins during the warm up.  Mind reading the Q can be dangerous…those Merkins ended up being squeezed into the middle of 10 Burpees.

Life has been coming fast and furious to me throughout this spring and summer.  Sometimes it has felt like life has been getting the better of me.  It was great to post in the drizzle and dish out pain to some willing and energetic pax.  Thanks to Li’l E for the invite.

 

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Little of this, Little of that

12 men posted to LacesIn on a perfect temperature kind of day. We even had a light breeze.

Warm up

Short mosey and circle up for the usual suspects.

  • SSH
  • Windmill
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Merkins
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Squats
  • Peter Parker
  • Parker Peter

The Thang

Mosey over the band lot and line up on the goal line for the following

  • Lunge walk 50 yards. Stop every ten yards for 5 squats. Jog back to start
  • Bear Crawl 50 yards and 5 CDDs every ten yards. Jog back to start.
  • Crabwalk 50 yards with 10 LBCs every ten yards. Jog back to start
  • Burpees broad jump 50 yards. Jog back to start.
  • Theee rounds of suicides to the 10, 20, and 30

Mosey back over to base of hill at the entrance to parking lot from Munn Road and do:

  • 10 singe count Merkins, 20 squats IC, 30 LBCs. Run to top of hill and jog back down.
  • 10 single count diamond Merkins, 20 sumo squats, 30 Freddy mercury. Run to top of hill and jog back down
  • 10 single count wide Merkins, 20 monkey humpers, 30 flutters. Run to top of hill and jog back down.

Mosey back to COT

Had a great time Qing today and thank you all for coming out and supporting LacesIn at the new location.

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Never left BAM

It was a beautiful, slightly less humid morning as the PAX gathered at the Swamp. It’s nice to see some new faces around the circle this morning before we split into the boot-campers and ruckers. Some form of a disclaimer was given and off we went toward the Depot.

Normal mix of high knees, butt-kickers, and karaoke’s on the way. Circle up at HD for warm-ups. 25 SSHs, 15 IWs, 10 Windmills, 10 Peter Parkers, 10 Parker Peters, 25 MNCs, 10-Sumo squats.

Mosey to Books-A-Million lot.
Suicides starting from far cub and using each parking divider (4 trips).
Leg pyramid: 10 Burpees, 20 1-leg lunges (10 each), 30 Mtn Climbers, 40 Squats, 50 SSHs, 40 Squats, 30 Mtn Climbers, 20 1-leg lunges, 10 Burpees
Suicides – audible to only 3 trips.
Merkin clock: 1,4,7,10-Diamonds / 2,5,8,11-Wide Arm / 3,6,9,12-Regular. Go around the clock and do the merkin type. (I hadn’t done this in a while and now I remember why).
Suicides – 3 trips
Ab time: 15 Flutters, 20 tiny circles (10 each way), 15 Freddie Mercury’s, 15 LBCs
Suicides – 2 trips
Small jack pyramid: 10 Bomb-jacks, 20 Plank-jacks, 30 Seal-jacks, 20 Plank-jacks, 10 Bomb-jacks
Bear crawl suicide – Bear crawl from end of one parking lane to beginning of other lane, 1 merkin, backwards bear-crawl to start, 1 merkin. Did this 5 times.

Mosey back to COT for some dying cockroaches before the ruckers came in.

We never left the BAM lot but I tried to throw a little bit of everything in today. Great job by everyone. I’m always honored to lead this group of impressive PAX. Thanks CableGuy for the opportunity.

Logging out,
Mainframe

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Golden Corral Ruck 8.15

6 men battled the humidity and an uncomplicated, but still taxing workout.

I’m way behind on the backblast for this one and hoping I get this in before today’s Golden Corral Ruck workout gets posted.

Warmup

Ruck two by two to the church parking lot, circle up and drop our rucks.

SSH x 25, Windmills x 10, Imperial Walkers x15

The Thang

Remain in our circle and did the following- all in cadence unless otherwise noted.

  • Squats with ruck out front x 12
  • Ruck Curls x 12
  • Flutters x 12
  • Merkins x 10 (single count)
  • Lunges x 12
  • Overhead press x 12
  • Big Boy sit ups x 12 (single count)
  • Burpees x 10 (single count)
  • Drop our rucks and run a slow recovery lap around parking lot

Repeat two more times. The last round all exercises were to ten, because honestly YHC was spent.

Moleskin

I’ve done this twice during my ruck Qs and I’m not sure if it reads easy but I promise it gets difficult. Rad and Cornhole have been lucky enough to be at both.

Almost skipped the lunges in the 2nd round but Cheddah wasn’t going to let me. I think he was trying to  delay the inevitable burpees.

On the last set Deacon suggested OYO so I could take a break from counting. I think he could tell I was running on fumes. I was committed at that point and pressed on. If you can’t do it don’t Q it.

All in all everyone crushed it and worked hard out there. I appreciate being given the opportunity to lead and thanks for the support.

 

 

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This Just In: Injured PAX deliver Epic Beatdown (at The Fort)

It’s exciting!  Something about Qing The Fort is just exciting. It was YHC’s (Zima) first post almost 4 years ago. It was my first VQ warmup (w/ CSPAN and Audit..no pressure). And it’s the perfect location to bring guys from all sides of town together..to sweat…to sharpen…to get better.

Disclaimer: Sasquatch has been on the IR with an achilles injury. Zima has been on the IR with a rotator cuff injury. Chances are you might not get your money’s worth. If you wanted to get a good beatdown go to Alcatraz. If you wanted to play soccer go to the Deep.

However, Sasquatch and YHC don’t let something like this get in the way. We embrace it and work around it. We conspired to deliver a beatdown that ensured afternoon naps.

THANG

Sasquatch on Q

Mosey to Anchorman’s Cones (Thanks Anchorman)

Dynamic Warmup (from one side of cones to the other)

  • Knees to chest
  • Heel to Waist
  • Heels to Butt
  • Inch-worm
  • Side Shuffle (fwd and back)
  • Low side shuffle (fwd and back)

Circle Up for COP

  • SSH IC X15
  • Moroccan Night Club in static lunge IC X10 (each leg)
  • Plank Series
    • Peter Parkers IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Parker Peters IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Mtn Climbers IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Ski Jumps IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Plank, Left High, Right High

Mosey to Playground

  • Sasquatch THANG (Groups of 3) – Rotate when Position 1 completes – 4 Rounds
    • Position 1 – Toes to Bar (or knees to chest) X8
    • Position 2 – Freddy Mercury’s
    • Position 3 – Merkins

Zima on Q

Mosey to the base of the cones for some Dora 3-2-1 (Reverse Dora). Partner Up! One partner runs (50 yds out and back) while the other completes the exercise.

  • 300 Flutters (2-Count)
  • 200 Mtn Climbers (2-Count)
  • 100 Bombjacks (say what?)

Mosey to statue hill for Quadzilla (see: Quadraphilia in the #lexicon). YHC sets timer for 4 (actually 5) minutes and PAX run uphill backwards and downhill forwards until time called. It’s a quad killer.

Mosey back to the cones for…

Suicides; however you need to do the following exercise at the beginning and then every time you reach the “baseline”.

  • Series 1 – 5 Flying Squirrels
  • Series 2 – 5 Tuck Jumps
  • Series 3 – 10 Monkey Humpers

With just a few minutes left we finished with SSH IC X25 and then American Hammers IC X20 or 25 (Can’t remember). Clean up the cones and mosey to the parking lot for COT.

Moleskin

It’s frustrating having an injury. We should do well to lift up the many PAX dealing with injuries, because it can drive a #HIM crazy.  Fortunately for Sasquatch and YHC, we can modify and work around what ails us. For others it might not be as easy or the injury may be too severe. All this to say if you know a PAX in this predicament, shoot them an uplifting text, give them a call or meet them for lunch.

Tclaps to all the PAX who put in the work this AM. There was a lot of meat in today’s workout and we tried to keep things moving at all times (see: move with a purpose). It seemed we needed to push a little harder this AM to let the other (Paid) workout folks (about 20 of them) at WEP know this wasn’t your ordinary workout. These were guys getting after it and leaving it all out on the field. That and it’s always fun to chase Longshanks. One day man…one day.  Here are the rest of my notes.

  • Thanks to Anchorman for the cones
  • It’s amazing that Crabcakes can pull an Elvis without anyone knowing #promove
  • Tclaps to Spiderman for running 8 miles and then joining the workout
  • It’s always fun to workout with Longshanks and Dark Helmet. Uncomfortable, but fun!
  • Wegmans really needs to share his shaving technique with his brother (Sasquatch), nah we probably wouldn’t recognize him then.
  • Great to see so many familiar faces and some new ones. I need to get over here more often.
  • Quadzilla is still a favorite of mine and the PAX still hate it. Yay!
  • Thanks for putting up with us and allowing us to lead

Prayers and Praises

  • Lots of prayers for injured PAX
  • Prayers for families experiencing strife
  • Praise and prayers for several 2.0s on the way
  • Prayers and for teachers
  • Praise and Prayers for 2.0s and families back to school

Announcements

  • Lot of marketing for Qs next week
  • Nun Run – get it on the calendar (see newsletter) and run with SPEED FOR NEED
  • Read your newsletter

Always an Honor!

Zima & Sasquatch

 

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Block Party Mix bag of tricks

Mosey to parking lot across the street from bank
20 SSH
20 Morracain Night Club
10 small forward arm circles
10 small backward arm circles
10 big forward arm circles
10 big backward arm circles
20 Morracain Night Club
Feet together bend over with arms folded to stretch out the back and hamstrings
Honeymooner
Walk hands out to plank and do 10 peter parkers
Walk hands to feet and stretch again
Since it rained quite a bit last night YHC decided to modify the location of
what I had planned.
Originally I had planned to do this part of the workout on the hill right by COT
with the lights going up, but had to
modify and move it over by Hobo’s due to the mud on the hill.
At each light pole do the following exercises
Burpees – bear crawl to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8, P5 – 10)
Total of 30
Pulse squat jumps – run backwards to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8,
P5 – 10) Total of 30
LBCs – run to next pole (P1 – 4, P2 – 8, P3 – 12, P4 – 16, P5 – 20) Total of 60
Dips – lunge to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8, P5 – 10) Total of 30
Next we moved across the street to enjoy a nice round of Pink Floyd the Wall. I
don’t know why it is, but I for some crazy
reason enjoy this exercise. I think it mainly has to do with how silly we look
to poeple driving by as we are in BTW position.
For those who are not familar with Pink Floyd the Wall here it is:
BTW for 30 secs
1 merkin in BTW position
2 merkins at 45 degrees
3 merkins at 15 degrees
Then move into the people’s chair for 30 seconds.
Repeat 3 times – however I decided to through in 5 flying squirels in between
rounds.
Then we moseyed back down the hill to the stairs and did merkin stair climb
working our way up the two flights of stairs
and did squats until the six was in.
Good work today gentlemen.
Double D thanks for allowing me to come out and lead the pax this am.
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8/11/17 Swamp Style

Conditions were sweaty and humid…it felt like August in South Carolina

Gekko was the running and nobody ran with #HIM

Cornhole had 10 for his Ruck Q

I had 11 for the bootcamp

13 stayed for Romans 4 that Gekko Q’d

All had fun, you should have been there…

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Choose Discipline and BRR

It was a steamy morning at WEP, but that didn’t discourage Last Call during his VQ nor did it scare off any pax from supporting him.   A lively and energetic group of 23 pax posted to honor and encourage him.

Santini had EH’d FNG/Wazowski (aka Ernie Bhend) so a full fledged disclaimer was pronounced and the baton was handed to Last Call to launch.

The Thang

Last Call took the pax on a warm up lap of WEP, then circled the pax up in the grass near the parking lot (YES, the grass!  What a bold move for a VQ!)

COP

SSH x25

Moroccan night clubs x20

Mash up of Hillbilly Walker + Imperial Walker x20

Merkins x10

Peter Parkers x20

Slow squat x20

LBCs x20

Hand off to DD

Mosey to playground & partner up
Partner 1: Run lap
Partner 2: Continuous pull ups (keeping cumulative count with partner)
Flap jack
Rinse & repeat
Tip of the cap to Senator Tressel for his emphasis on need for more pull ups

Plank sequence including Makhtar N’Dyae ( requeted by Santini)

Mosey to the grassy area near the statues at the bottom of the hill & plank it up for commentary about Blue Ridge Relay.  (Yes, it is a shame that The Fort has no teams competing this year in BRR.  Thus, the next 30 mins of the workout became BRR-lite)

Run to top of hill almost to gazebo + 5 Burpees + run back down
Rinse + repeat for 5 total rounds

Mosey to pathway heading out the back of the parking lot & regroup with partner
Partner 1: Run down hill, up other side to trail intersection and back
Partner 2: Continuous merkins (continuing cumulative count with partner from earlier point)
Flap jack
Rinse + repeat

Plank sequence, squats, bombjacks

Mosey to bottom of hill at COT & regroup with partner
Partner 1: Run up hill to 4th light post and run back down
Partner 2: Continuous donkey kicks (keeping cumulative count with partner from earlier point)
Flap jack
Rinse & repeat

Mosey back to grass where Last Call started and circle up

Flutter x10

Hello dolly x10

Freddy Mercury x10

Rosalita x10

Penguin x10

Superman x3

Run to tent in middle of park

Run home AYG

COT

Naked man moleskin

Solid VQ effort by Last Call today — well done, brother!  Welcome to the club and find a way back into the center of the circle somewhere ASAP so you can hone the skills and expand the experience.

Welcome to FNG/Wazowski (yes, he’s an eye doc)!  You had the privilege (and pain) of enduring a tough workout on a particularly swampy morning — great job making it through to the finish today!  A little merlot splash proves just how far you can push when challenged by other like-minded men.  You’ve found a home here in The Fort for sure.  Look forward to seeing you back in the gloom soon!

T-claps to all the pax for the support of Last Call and Wazowski today.  Special recognition to Santini for EH of Wazowski and Sir Topham Hat for EH of Last Call two months ago.  Also kudos to Peabody, Longshanks and others sweeping the six.

Welcome back home to Ginsu!  Great to have you back in the gloom with your brothers.  Look forward to hearing more about the China experience and your expanded family.

Did I mention the weather was warm and humid today?

That was a tough outing today – great work by everyone pushing through!

In the absence of any BRR activities in The Fort this year, I felt compelled to bring that experience home.  It is an incredible event, and I am disappointed we won’t have any teams to represent The Fort this year.  I know Rooney is running with Dredd & OBT on a 6-man team — way to represent us, brother!  The hills and the pain and the sweat today were all reflective of the reality of what it is to run the BRR – but only the smallest taste of the joy of that event was gained today.  Please consider BRR in 2018 – you won’t regret it.

The message throughout today’s workout revolved around the monthly theme of Discipline.  When I saw Chicken Hawk’s message at the start of the month, I was immediately disturbed.  The word brings about uncomfortable feelings for me related to punishment, reprimands and admonishment from parents, teachers and bosses.  Discipline is something I experience as being imposed on me by someone else, which I never receive well.  I quietly thought maybe I would check out on the theme for August.

Then, on a business trip this week I made some poor choices around web surfing in the lonely isolation of a hotel room.  My re-entry back home included a volatile interaction with the M around my indulgence in a personal vice.  BOOM!  Discipline (or my lack of it) suddenly hit me between the eyes.  It became very real very quickly…clearly this is the right theme for me this month.

I have much to learn still around Discipline.  Santini mentioned during the workout and in a long conversation afterward that the root of the word Discipline relates to “learning.”  The learning I’ve gained in the past few days has come through dwelling on my word for 2017 — CHOOSE —  in the context of Discipline.  In this frame of mind, I am beginning to see Discipline as part of my pathway from where I am currently to the future I CHOOSE to pursue.  In this way, Discipline becomes part of the learning process of how I move toward the fuller, holier life I long for…because I CHOOSE to seek that future point, NOT because someone else is imposing anything on me.

Thanks to Bonsai for putting me on the calendar and for looping in Last Call for the VQ.  We missed you today.

Thanks to all who posted and endured today’s workout.  Your presence, effort, resilience, encouragement and support inspire me!

 

 

 

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CO VQ with Weezer at Block Party

14 Pax came looking for a party at Block Party this morning only to be greeted with some pain and humidity.  The temps didn’t feel bad this morning but the air was thick.  I think all the pax were soaked after the mosey except for Weezer.  Who should have been sweating with his VQ warm-up just ahead, however this cool cucumber delivered a COP like he’d been doing it for years.  Here’s what went down…

Weezer on Q

COP:  Mosey to the wall lot on 160.  In cadence – SSH x 25, WM x 10, IW x 20, Low Slow Squat x 15, Morrachian Night Clubs x 20                                                                                                                                      12 single count slow merkins (focus on form), Mountain Climbers x 15

Pass off to STH – Mosey to lot above and find a spot on the ledge.

Single leg step ups x 10 each leg, 10 Burpees, 20 Dips.  Rinse and repeat 3 times

Mosey to lot across from gun shop.  Sprint the hill to the top.

50 Shoulder Taps – Run to 2nd light (50 yds), Bear Crawl to curb (20 yds), 10 Bombjacks – run back  Ab work – Slow Freddie Mercuries                                                                                                                              50 Mtn Climbers – Run to 2nd light (50 yds), Bear Crawl to curb (20 yds), 10 Bombjacks – run back  Ab work – Hello Dolly                                                                                                                                                        50 CCDs – Run to 2nd light (50 yds), Bear Crawl to curb (20 yds), 10 Bombjacks – run back                  Ab work – X&Os                                                                                                                                                              50 Merkins (Crowd Pleaser)- Run to 2nd light (50 yds), Bear Crawl to curb (20 yds), 10 Bombjacks

Mosey back to COT.  2 Mins left so 10 Burpees and Protractor

NMM:  Had a great group of Pax today.  Lots of good mumble chatter and complaining.  Which as a Q I’ll take the latter as a compliment. Tclaps to Weezer for stepping up to lead the COP.  Next up will be the full meal deal for him.  Seeming how he pulled off the COP like a seasoned veteran, the rest will be a cake walk.  I spoke a little bit at COT about how Qing has helped me become a better leader at home, work and in the community.  I encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone and try it if you haven’t done so already.  You will be a better person for it.

Prayers for Kielbasa friend’s family, Bonsai’s friends daughter, Ginsu’s adoption, & patience. Mission Trip and Tclaps for the support of the pax.

Until Next time –

STH/Weezer

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