Birthdays within the Colosseum

Good morning. After the joy (not happiness) of yesterday’s 20yr 9/11 remembrance workout, I recognized the need to have a co-Q for my Q today at The Colosseum. After all, we’re celebrating two birthday’s, DaVinci’s & mine, I was sore and not sure what I had in the tank, but mostly because I want to share the opportunity with a brother. Fortunately, Punch List obliged my request.

Here’s what happened:

Mosey to the back lot (basketball courts).
51 + 1 SSH for DaVinci
41 Mountain Climbers
6 or so Wind Mills
41 LBC’s oyo

Mosey to the lot further in the back with the short wall and line up on the white line.
Run to the wall, 20 Muscle Ups then 10 Over & Backs which is quite literally, jumping over the wall and jumping back over. Do this 10 total times then plank at the white line for the 6.

41 American Hammers (of course) with a stop after 31 to catch a breather and ensure proper form for the final 10 reps.

Hand off to Punch List

Head back to the left side of the basketball court for multiple sets of Suicides.
5 Butterfly Sit-Ups
Run to the foul line and back
5 Butterfly Sit-Ups
Half court and back
5 Butterfly Sit-Ups
Opposing foul line and back
5 Butterfly Sit-Ups
Opposing base line and back

Repeat the same lines but now, perform 10 Prisoner Squats (w/ a jump).

Then, repeat it with 10 Hand-Release Merkins.

Then, repeat that with 5 Burpees (put the nail in the coffin on this one).

Lastly, for the finisher. Bear crawl suicide with a Merkin at each turn around.

Yeah, that was a great idea, enough of that nonsense…hand it back to Maximus.

For the final minutes, we made our way to the light post at the bottom of the hill going up the back road.
Run to the next light post, perform 4 Spiderman Merkins + 1 Burpee.
Run to the next light post, do the same.
Continue until 0555 then make our way back to COT.

Plank for the final 60 seconds with some intentional thinking for the last 30sec.

Thank you for the Happy Birthday wishes but more importantly, your presence.

DaVinci, I love sharing this day with you.

Punch List, thank you again.

Until next time,
Maximus

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Remember the 13

Today at the Armory, we spent 45 minutes in an attempt to remember and honor the 13 Service Members who paid the ultimate sacrifice last Thursday, August 26, 2021 in Kabul Afghanistan. While they are not the only ones lost or affected by this last 20 years of service, they are the most recent.
We had 25 PAX (1 FNG) in attendance and a number of shovel flags.

Operation Freedom’s Sentinel: This is the operation involving U.S. forces serving in Afghanistan in/around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan in an effort to evacuate U.S. citizens and those that have supported U.S. forces over the last 20 years.

Around 6pm local time, on Thursday, August 26, 2021, a suicide bomber walked into a crowd and detonated the vest.

13: U.S. Service Members were killed in the blast

170: Estimated number of Afghan civilians killed in the blast

15: U.S. Service Members injured

200: Estimated number of Afghan civilians injured in the blast

Regardless of your opinion of the events leading up to and surrounding this attack, our U.S. Military is a volunteer force aware of the risks they face.

Today, we will honor and remember those 13 U.S. Service Members who paid the ultimate price last Thursday.

Marine Corps
Sgt Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, assigned to the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California, assigned to the Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune, NC.
Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah. He was 0369, an Infantry Unit Leader assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Corporal Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio California. He was a Rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Corporal Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska. He was an Infantry Rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Corporal Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana. He was a Rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Lance Corporal David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas. He was a Infantry Rifleman, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Lance Corporal Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri. He was a Rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Lance Corporal Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming. He was a Rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Lance Corporal Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California. He was a Rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.

Navy
Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio. He was a medic assigned to the 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California.

Army
Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee. He was assigned to the 9th Psychological Operations Battalion in Ft. Bragg, NC.

Source: Military Times & Taskandpurpose.com

The Thang:
Plank while we listened to the list of names, ranks, assignments of the fallen.

13 Burpees
13 SSH

Mosey the estimated .1mi that we’d do before each of the 13 exercises
13 Upright Rows

Mosey
13 Lunges (ea leg)

Mosey
13 Staggered Merkins (13 with the right hand on the bell then flapjack)

Mosey
13 KB Swings

Mosey
13 Squats

Mosey
13 Leg Lifts

Mosey
13 Lawnmower Pulls

Mosey
13 Curls each arm or 26 two-handed curls

Mosey
13 Box Cutters

Mosey
13 Flutters w/ Press

Mosey
13 Overhead, single-arm press

Mosey
13 Side Lunges (ea leg)

Mosey
13 Merkins

We had a few minutes at the end:

Flutter Kicks w/ Press
American Hammers
We then reread the names.

SYITG
Maximus

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Roll The Dice

 

I had the opportunity to be joined by 13 other men this morning at Minnow Pond. It was hot and humid, but we covered 3 miles with dicey pain along the way. Here’s what we did:

Warm Up

  • 10 Ranger Merkins (IC)
  • 10 Plank Jacks (IC)
  • 10 Gorilla Humpers (IC)
  • 10 Burpees
  • 5 Y-Rises (IC) – an almost Overhead Clap

The Thang

The workout was pretty simple in concept, but not easy. Run to Fort Mill Animal Hospital, Town Hall, First Baptist, and the Improper Pig, roll the dice (color indicated exercise and number x10 represented count) and repeat. We used a 10-sided die (2 of each color on the die) and a standard 6-sided number die. There was one caveat, when it was your turn to roll, you had the option to take a chance or call 20 Burpees. The choice was up to the roller. There was a 17% chance we would do Burpees, but that could have been anywhere from 10-60 Burpees. So the chances were just as good that we would have done 10 Y-Rises as there was to do 60 Burpees. Two men chose the 20 Burpees, and to be honest, I would probably done the same. After all, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. To my best recollection, we did:

  • 10 Ranger Merkins
  • 100ish Plank Jacks
  • 150ish Gorilla Humpers
  • 50 Burpees
  • 175ish Y-Rises

NMM

In life, sometimes you have to roll the dice. If you stay stagnant, you’ll never know what might have been. Rarely do opportunities fall in the lap of the sedentary person. You have to take the risk to find the rewards. You must be willing to try, fail, and learn. Today’s workout was designed to let each man take a chance and see what was in store for the PAX. Everyone got better today because they were willing to do something…anything. Take that lesson with you throughout the week. Take a chance and roll the dice.

Aye!

Italian Job

 

 

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Remember the Simple Joys in Life and Smile

Today was my first Q since my dad passed away two weeks ago.  I wanted to plan the workout to celebrate his life and accomplishments, but I had a hard time putting it on paper.  We had some late arrivals so the disclaimer was brief.  We moseyed to the elementary school parking lot for warm-ups (SSHs, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, Plank Stretches, Mountain Climbers, Peter Parkers, and Parker Peter).

After warm-ups, I spoke about my dad’s adventure climbing the pyramids in Egypt.  I remember reading about the pyramids as a kid and my dad telling me, “I’ve been there.”  Since there are no pyramids in the area (although there is a building that looks like one in Regent Park), we ran up Dave Gibson Blvd to the bank parking lot to simulate the climbing of the pyramid.  Next, we ran over to the Cycle Bar.  I mentioned that my dad was a builder.  He started at a very young age, became a foreman for the building of several skyscrapers in Boston.  He wanted his family to grow up outside the city so we moved to Martha’s Vineyard.  He started his construction business during a tough economic cycle. He pushed through and built many houses on the island.  Back to the workout, I called this segment, “The Builder”.  Starting at the Cycle Bar, we started with 5 merkins, ran to the other end, and 5 squats.  We continued to weave back and forth through the parking lot adding 5 reps at each pass.  At the last row, we work finished with 30 reps.

My dad enjoyed exercising, especially running.  He did not start actively running until his mid 40s.  He coordinated several road races to raise money for different causes.  He also enjoyed the competition of running with his friends and racing to the finish line..Sound familiar?  As a group, we ran around the parking lot, it was good to see the Pax racing each other to the finish line.  Next, we moseyed back to the bank parking lot for some Ab exercises.  Later in life, my dad attended Jujutsu classes and use to talk to me about how important it is to exercise your core.

Finishing up the workout, we ran back down to the school and did a burpee builder at each light pole (28 in Total). My dad was a tough guy.  Forearms like Popeye and swung a hammer like John Henry.  In January, my sister and I came across a Christmas card from one of my dad’s running buddies.  Inside the card it said “You’re my best friend.”  We both laughed at it thinking it was funny for a grown man to write this, but they had developed a bond over the years to be best friends.  I can speak from experience that it is easy to not to talk about your “feelings” and “problems” and chalk it up to being tough and your ability to handle things yourself.   Having a group of men you can count on, to be there when you need them just as important as physical exercise.

 

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SAHCMMPQ

Fourteen pax attended the Second Annual Harry Carry Memorial Minnow Pond Q (SAHCMMPQ).  By mandate, YHC gets to Q Minnow Pond once per year.

Brief disclaimer and launch/run to stop “A” which was the new parking spots on Ardrey St. alongside WEP near 160.

The routine was described: board of pain with pairs of exercises.  Pax need to do a total of 100 of the pair and can split it up any way they want (i.e. 15 Merkins and 85 squats).  I called it a mix/match routine.

Then run to stop “B” which is the big parking lot behind Pike.  Get there by running this route: southwest down Ardrey to Harris, run east to Massey, then up/northeast on Massey to Pike’s big parking lot.  Distance is 0.7 miles between A and B.

There is a board at point B; different pairs of exercises, but same routine, mix/match to a count of 100.

Then run back to point A following the same route. Rinse/repeat the routine.  Exercise details:

Stop “A” exercises (mix/match to count of 100):
Started with: Merkins/Squats
At second visit do: Dips/Monkey Humpers
At third visit do: SSH/American Hammers
Stop “B” exercises (mix/match to count of 100):
First visit do: CCD/Bobby Hurley’s
Second visit do: Shoulder Taps/Freddie Mercuries
Third visit do: Calf Raises/ LBC’s

At 5:50 the front runners began collecting everyone on the run back to point B.  We got everyone back to COT and then did the pledge of allegiance (because I forgot to start off with it).

Approximately 4 miles ran.

Fini, COT

Prayers for those effected by COVID and for schools: kids and teachers.

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Fecta-Traz

11 pax posted at Alcatraz on another warm humid day.
This co-Q was the third Q in my birthday Trifecta (Ranch #1, Varsity was #2).

First Q at bat was Ruby Slippers who gave the disclaimer and warmup:
Cherry pickers, windmills, Peter parkers, parker peters (10x IC).

Thang 1: HIIT
At the playground area of Runde park.  Pax split into three groups. Exercise for 1 minute the groups move to next station.
station 1: pull ups (dead hang if you can’t do anymore)
station 2: Step ups
station 3: LBC
Next iteration was:
station 1: pull up and toes to bar (dead hang if you can’t do anymore)
station 2: Lunges
station 3: flutters
Next iteration:
station 1: Do one pull up and hold at the top.  Goal is 1 min; do a slow negative pull up if needed but hang on to the bars.
station 2: Lunges
station 3: V-ups

Thang 2: Field Sprints (with Merkins)
Pax line up on the outfield
Run at 50% for first 30 feet, then sprint/100% to end of the outfield.
Pax do 20 merkins.
Do the same run routine described above. At end pax do 18 merkins.
Rinse and repeat downwards to two merkins.

Q transition to Harry Carry.

Started with a run as a group in the surrounding neighborhood.  Simple loop of approximately ½ mile. Returned to Runde Park’s lot.

Thang 3: Prison Yard Burpees
Pax split into two groups.  Each group has a basketball half-court as their prison yard.
Groups start in corner 1 does 10 burpees.  Then bear crawl (alternate method allowed was lunge walk) to next corner and do 9 burpees.  Proceed with the descending count of burpees and bear crawls until 1 burpee is reached.

Run again as a group, different route, hit the hill on Tara Tea Drive. Distance of about 1/3 mile. Return to Runde Park’s lot.

Thang 4: Bear vs Crab Soccer
Done on a basketball court.  Cones used at each end to mark a ‘goal’.
Split pax in two teams
15lb slam ball is mid court
Team 1 bear crawls only, Team 2 crab walks only
Get the ball and try to score
One team did score, don’t remember who.  We did switch animals at some point.

Game was called when a bear tried to eat a crab.

Non-Mary: Monkey Humpers, Imperial walkers (both 10xIC).

Fini. COT

It was quite a spectacle to see pax go after the slam ball and had some scrums too.  A few pax were even able to ‘throw’ the slam ball…may have to modify the rules for future games.  This was good clean fun.
Quite a great way to end my Trifecta of Q’s.  Great group of HIMs we have in our region.

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Fast 5 friendly, except…

Remember, the Fast 5 was kicking off 2 hours post-COT so we need to make this one leg friendly. I got the memo but apparently, Bonsai did not. While the complaining in the second half ramped up, we knew we’d all be better for it.
With Maximus up for the first 30mins, here’s what happened:

We moseyed around lap around the park with Toy Soldiers and Butt Kickers thrown in for good measure.
Back in the parking lot, we did some slow squatting, 3-way calf raises and wide-arm Merkins

At the playground:
Group 1: 15 Pull-Ups & 30 Merkins
Group 2: American Hammers until Group 1 is done
Due to some questionable form, we did that one again with 10 Pull Ups and 20 Merkins.

Group 1: 15 Pull-Ups & 30 Carolina Dry Docks
Group 2: Freddy Mercury’s until Group 1 is done

Back to the lot for 10 Burpees, Boats & Canoes, Grave Diggers and Super Mans

Hand off to Bonsai:

We moseyed to the area at Fire Dept wall:
Level 1 Drill – 10 each
Merkins / Mountain Climbers, Hip Thrusters (questionable call)
25 LBCs
30sec Wall Sit
Repeat then run to the basketball court and back

25 Dirty Myrtle
15 Mike Tysons
25 American Hammers
25 Squats
Repeat then run to the basketball court and back

30sec BTTW
20 Plank Jack
10 Lunges each leg
15 Leg raises
Repeat then run to the basketball court and back

Bear crawl some, mosey, 30sec 6″ Merkin hold, mosey

COT

Maximus & Bonsai

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Pantheon Burpee Lane Humid Fest

12 PAX + YHC chose to post at Pantheon. Why it was never named Painathon I don’t know……but here we go.

Mosey warm up with some running and some other stuff

  • Mosey the .4 route of pain to point out the 4 pain stations
    • Weezy Jeffersons
    • Big Boys
    • American Hammers
    • Squats
    • Box Jumps
    • Lunges or Lungs….whatever you like
    • Diamond Merkings
    • Derkins
    • Hand Release Merkins
    • Inch Worm Merkins
    • Parker Peters
    • Mak Tar Za’s
  • Hit Burpee Lane
    • 5 Burpees
    • Bear Crawl 25 yards
    • 5 burpees
    • Bear Crawl 50 yards
    • 5 Burpees

Great Mumble Chatter and lots of sweat!

Thx 38 speacial! Everyone get better!!

 

 

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Converge with Colosseum

12 men showed up this morning at Golden Corral (with their man cards) including Geek Squad who was in town from Tennessee.  We began the workout with a trek down 160 to Brewsters.  Unfortunately, no ice cream, just a couple scoops of merkins, squats, and LBCs until the six arrived.

Next, we headed to the garden center at Walmart, a little over a mile from our starting point. We had time to complete another round of merkins, squats, and LBCs before Shady arrived with the Colosseum Pax.

Shady called out the instruction for a Dora, 100 wide arm merkins, 200 squats, 300 flutters.  Partner 1 did the exercises while Partner 2 ran across the parking lot to the front of the garden center and back.

We had just enough time to complete all of the exercises before running back to COT.

Great job by everyone this morning.  We covered 3 miles which is alot for some of the men who showed up this morning.  This is how we get better, do the hard things, push ourselves, and keep coming back.

 

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Colosseum Mayhem

Fifteen Pax posted at Colosseum.

Mosey run to Warm up: SSH, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, Moroccan N/C, Low Slow Squats, big arm circles, Peter Parkers, Plank stretches.  All in cadence, count varied 10 to 20.

Another short mosey run.

Circle up and did:
Thang 1: Banana splits
Partner up
P1 runs north to a cone placed 500’ away and heads back (distance is 500’ out, then same back, total 1000’).  P2 runs south to a cone also placed 500’ away road and heads back (total distance is also 1000’).
When the pax meet, they do the prescribed exercise:
First meet: do Bobby Hurleys = 100 total for the two pax. Then pax run again. Etc. the remaining exercises are:
Overhead Claps = 150, pax run, then:
Third meet =  Merkins = 200, pax run, then:
Fourth meet = big boy sit ups = 150, pax
Fifth meet = SSH = 100
Join in with the six to finish out.

Run to benches
Thang 2: Bench work, with bear crawl push
At the school’s benches:
Pax grab a spot on the benches.  Pax exercise while one lucky pax does bear crawl a 100’ loop around cones with a 15lb slam ball.
A new pax switches in for the bear crawl and remaining pax do the next exercise called out.  We did: Incline merkins, shoulder taps, LBC, Monkey Humpers, Imperial Walkers, decline merkins, butt touch squats.

Run to COT area; nice work by all pax!

Fini, COT

To close us out, I read Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
I noted to the pax that this verse reminded me of F3 where we learn from each other and become better for it…although there was a few cracks about the fools part.

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