Author: Chipper

With another ominous forecast ahead of us, members of Troubled Waters still fervently gathered in the gloom to ritualize our downpainments, and turn them into progress. We arrived under the concrete shelter and moseyed to the increasingly versatile basketball court/batting cages for the start.

Warm-Up:

• SSH x20
• Arm Circles x15 (front and back)
• Copperhead Squats x15

Circle of Pain:

• Pull-Ups x100
• Merkins x150
• Squats x200

Light jog around the track as the Sky Q began to release the rain.  Finish up by the flag for a quick word and off we went to get ready for mammon.

Moleskin:

There wasn’t much to write about today, but the workout was simple and effective.  The week’s weather report remains less than favorable, but I’m certain Troubled Water’s cantore remains strong and there are plenty of sheltered and dry resources for delivering pain at our AO.  And although the rain didn’t soak the PAX, humidity still exists, and it’s still brutal. At this point, I’d actually look forward to a cool mist from rain during a workout.

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The AO is conveniently sheltered beneath the I-310 concrete umbrella; so although the forecast warned of severe weather, three men confidently posted and were reminded why meteorologists have the best job.  So, without a drop of rain, we circled up to begin treatment.

Warm-Up:

1. SSH x20
2. Copperhead Squats x15
3. Arm Circles
4. Forward x15
5. Backward x15
6. Merkin x10 (4-count)
7. Imperial Walkers x20

The Thang:

Mosey to the basketball courts for some group activity.  One PAX ran about 200 feet to the pull-up bar and back while the remaining PAX worked on completing 50 pull-ups, 100 Squats, and 100 Merkins, alternating runners and exercises until completion.  Still lacking rain but staying under the concrete canopy anyway, PAX got on their six for some core work.

1. Bay City Scissors x10
2. Leg Raises x15
3. LBCs x20
   • 20 seconds of Rocky Balboa’s
4. Crunchy Frogs x10
5. Dying Cockroaches x15 (4-count)
6. Flutter Kicks x20 (4-count)
   • 30 seconds of Rocky Balboa’s

Now we’re awake, but it’s time to get woke.  So the PAX were given two options and chose the next exercise to finish off the morning.

Captain Thor: Ratio workout consisting of 1 Big Boy Sit-Up to 4 American Hammers (Russian Twists). Reaching 10:40 as the time limit elapsed.

Moleskin:

I think my favorite part of being Q is finding something else Kim Chi says he “hates” and then including that in my next workout.  He liked Dying Cockroaches today (who likes living ones?), so I’m scraping that from all future workouts. I have yet to Q a workout that leaves Torque on the mat, so I may have to start doing two-a-days to catch up. Or outsource my Qs. Either way, there’s something about taking the red pill and getting out in the gloom that provides a unique accomplishment and motive for the day. It’s a limited time offer we have every day, and I remain thankful for the men who assemble to partake.

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Three loyal men took a red pill and entered the gloom with cash in hand to put a downPAINment on our mission to serve each other through accountability and leadership. And what better way to do that than through mutual misery before the world wakes up?  There’s no better time than now, so once the PAX circled up we got things started.

Warm-Up:

1. SSH x20 IC
2. Copperhead Squats x20 IC
3. Arm Circle – forwards then backwards 15x IC each way
4. Merkins – 4-count x10
5. SSH x20 IC
6. Peter Parkers x20 IC

The Thang:

Run/Squat: PAX ran half a mile, stopping at each quarter mile to do 25 squats.

Mosey to the tennis courts for some tennis.  Unfortunately, the entire PAX forgot their rackets, so we did 25 squats instead.  But, we’re still here for a good time, so we formed a Circle of Pain.  Before we began, Joe Dirt mentions we were at 95 squats and asked for a nickel to get us all to a dollar.  We all had some change, so we did an extra 5 to satisfy the PAX OCD.  Who doesn’t love even numbers?

Circle of Pain: 2 rounds

1. Prisoner Cell Merkin Burpees x10
2. Bay City Scissors x10
3. Squats x25

Mosey to the Pull-Up bar for some… you guessed it, core work.

Core Work:

1. Leg Raises x10
2. LBCs x10
   • Break for Squats x25
3. Flutter Kicks x10
4. Crunchy Frogs x10
   • Break for Squats x50

Q figured since we were at the pull-up bar, we might as well go ahead and do some pull-ups.  We broke it up into two sets, each with three rounds as we all went around the circuit.

Set 1: One member does 25 squats while the other two either do pull-ups or an inverted row on the low pull-up bar.
Set 2: One member does 50 squats while the other two either do pull-ups or an inverted row on the low pull-up bar.

PAX finished up with two minutes to spare utilize, so we moseyed back to the front of the park and banged out merkins until time ran up.

Counterama, Namerama, and announcements.  Huddle up and prayer to send us off into our

My thought for the day: Lord, chisel us. In this life we fight. And this world is our arena. And like those before us, we stand side by side with our brothers as we press towards the mark of the high calling. And along the way, we pray, Father God, chisel us, and make us more like you.

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On the 6th of May 2017, two men gathered in the gloom with a mutual objective. The regulars of Troubled Waters went to support another AO, leaving only two to keep watch over Troubled Waters. And even if our wannabe FNGs had escaped the EH we put them in, it was go time. Mammon was calling on Q after the gloom, so Q audibled and decided we’d try to condense the beat down to 45 minutes. A mosey to the starting line for the morning delight.

Warm-Up:
Ain’t nobody got time for that, it’s go time! The PAX was on the move and did our rounds around the park, dropping every quarter mile for 25 merkins. But today isn’t chest day.

The PAX lapped a few power walking FIAs (unofficial), realizing the 6:30 AM Saturday “gloom” might as well be the afternoon. Halt at the pull-up bar for a change of pace.

Quick Circle Line of Pain:
1. PCMBs (Prisoner Cell Merkin Burpees) x10
2. Pull-Ups x10
3. Merkins x10
Well that was nice, let’s do it again.

Okay, enough of that, on your feet! Double time to the tennis courts. A set of 10 Bay City Scissors just to say we did abs today too.

Now, who’s bright idea was it to do 300 squats a day? That’s irrelevant. 6 sets of 50 squats coming right up! The PAX took brief rests in between sets to do bench dips and daydream about what the crew was doing at the Mothership AO. With burning quads, Q thundered his seal of approval during the last set. I believe it went something like this:

PAX approved.

Our watch was over and the PAX was content with our decision to take the Red Pill today and continue our quest to be HIM. Counterama and Namerama (nothing but mutual hate today), Announcearama, and the Ball of Man to send us on our way. T-claps to Joe Dirt for his DRP commitment and healthy competition. We may have to upgrade our EH to ETKs to bring in some more FNGs. But for now, the core is strong, and we’re committed to the mission.

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“There’s not a lot of running today… Right?”

It was Kim Chi’s lucky day since he waterlogged his running shoes with the recent downpour from the Sky Q.  But even though the PAX lucked out from running much today, a downpainment is still required for this transaction, and it was time to pay up. We circled up, gave the disclaimer, and got to work.

Warm-Up:

• SSH x20 IC
• Imperial Walkers x15 IC
• Windmills x15 IC
• Merkin x10 (4-count) IC
• Arm Circles (forward) x10 IC
• Arm Circles (backward) x10 IC
• Pigeon Stretch x10 seconds each leg

The Thang:

Mosey to the starting line of the track for a Merkin Lap (Run half a lap, about ¼ mile, drop and do 25 merkins, finish up the lap and drop for 25 more)

Mosey to the bleachers for continuous painment.

The Gross Workout (12 exercises, 12 reps each):

1. Lunges (4-count)
2. Merkins
3. Homer to Marge to Mr. Burns (Inspired by the F3 explanation for how this workout was named, for simplicity, I’ll call this “Waterford 3”s at Troubled Waters, after the nuclear plant near the AO)
4. Dips using the bleachers
5. Squats
6. Diamond Merkins
7. Bay City Scissors (8-count for 1)
8. Bleacher Shoulder Press (PAX teamed up to shoulder press one side of the bleachers)
9. Lt. Dans (1 squat followed by 2 single-leg lunges for 1 rep)
10. Werkin
11. LBFCs (Little Baby Flutter Crunches)
12. Inclined CHerkin (Push-Up position with feet on the bleachers, lower your body slowly to bring your forehead to the ground)

The PAX agreed this was in fact a gross workout, so we moseyed to the pull-up bar for more filthy exercises.

Pull-Up / Push-Up Combo (I think I’ve decided to call this exercise “Morning Call” – All but one PAX get into push-up position and hold the up position while one guy counts off doing 5 pull-ups.  Every time a pull-up is called out, the PAX does a merkin. After 5 pull-ups, he joins the PAX and the next guy gets up and calls out his 5 pull-ups. The cycle continues until all have performed 5 pull-ups. No one leaves the push-up position unless it’s his turn to call out pull-ups or until all calls have been made)

After three rounds of Morning Calls, Q decided a sufficient downpainment had been given.  But this could’ve been an infomercial because wait… there’s more!

• Copperhead Squats x15 IC
• Inclined CHerkins x15
• Parker Peters x15 (4-count)
• WWII sit ups x55
• Pull-Ups (alternating turns to burn the last few minutes before the sunrise)
  • T-Claps to Joe Dirt for hitting 55 total pull-ups to get through the double nickel challenge for the day. Someone needs to add a rucksack to this man. Or give him a donut.

Although running was limited to the preamble, the exercises still gave PAX the business.  Prayer and special intentions as we wrapped things up.  Thankful for the men who post and hold each other accountable, and those like us… the few.

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