Author: Walleye

  • It’s Blimping Hot Out

    Rock City has been a hot ticket the last few Mondays, with Uptowners and FNG’s alike arriving for a hot beatdown on muggy Monday mornings. No different today, with 15 men rocking Pontiff for a good sweat. A gentle disclaimer for our FNG, and off we go.

    We took the usual mosey just past the Rock Pile for our warm-up COP:
    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial walkers x 20 IC
    Merkins x 20 IC
    Windmills x 15 IC
    Arm Circles 10 Forward, 10 Backward IC
    Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    To the rock pile to grab a rock. YHC suggested just a medium rock today, so not to overheat with a bit of running. Then we mosey to the tree line along the running path for BLIMPS.
    5 Burpees
    10 Lunges IC with rock
    15 Imperial walkers IC with rock
    20 Merkins (without rock)
    25 Presses with rock
    30 Squats with rock

    The we mosey to the Pontiff Hill for 11’s, to the chagrin of Cowbell.
    Rock shoulder press on one side, run over the hill, Rock squats on the other side.
    This sufficiently gassed YHC, so a little water break was in order.

    Then back to the tree line for return BLIMPS.
    5 Burpees, this time with a rock press (courtesy of Triple Shift and Mahatma)
    10 Lunges IC with rock
    15 Imperial walkers IC with rock
    20 Merkins (without rock)
    25 Presses with rock
    30 Squats with rock.

    Mosey to center field for some rock Mary.
    Flutter kicks holding rock high x 20 IC
    LBC’s with rock on chest (Medulla’s idea) x 20 IC
    American Hammer with rock x 20 IC

    We then returned our beloved rocks and ran back to the flag for count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. Our FNG is a pastor who loves Alabama football, so the Pax named him War Eagle. Tool astutely noted that his neighbor was the original War Eagle, but has not ben out in over 2 years, so the name was repossessed. If @Reluctant Yankee finds this unacceptable, we will happily re-name him.

    Thanks for allowing me to lead.

    Walleye

  • Wednesday With Walleye

    8 men arrived at the Foundry for some sweat in the summer heat. Man it’s muggy. Welcome back Smooth!
    The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    Warm-up COP at the track:
    SSH x 20 IC
    IW x 20 IC
    Peter Parker x 20 IC
    Windmills x 15 IC
    Arm circles IC, 10 forward, 10 backward
    Mountain climbers x 20 IC

    Route 66 to the Foundry, with 10 lunge jumps at each light post

    Foundry Circuit x2
    1. 15 WWII sit-ups has the count
    2. Dips
    3. Pull ups
    4. Derkins

    Mosey to NOMA for Dora 123
    100 Merkins, 200 Squats, 300 LBC’s, while the other partner runs a lap around NOMA.

    Mosey back to the flag, with some Mary along the way
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC
    American Hammer x 20 IC

    Back to the flag at 6:15. Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer.
    Thank you for letting me lead!
    Walleye

  • Field of Dreams, and Rocks

    Well, summer is clearly here. Humidity, damp air, and sweaty shirts will be the norm for the next 3-4 months. And that means we are left with baseball and golf for the remainder of the summer. So to celebrate the nation’s (past) past-time, we worked in a beat down on the baseball diamond.  13 men showed up ready to sweat. A disclaimer and off we go.

    A short mosey to the warm-up COP:
    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial walkers x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm circles x 10 forward, 10 backward, IC
    Mountain climbers x 20 IC

    Grab a rock! Mosey to the baseball diamond for some Rock Circuits.
    Round 1: exercise, then run to the next base with rock overhead.
    Shoulder press x 20 IC, Curls x 20 IC, Rock Rows x 20 IC, Chest Press x 20 IC
    Round 2: exercise, then run to the next base with rock at chest level.
    Shoulder press x 10 IC, Curls x 10 IC, Rock Rows x 10 IC, Chest Press x 10 IC
    Round 3: exercise, leave your rock, bear crawl to next base, and pick up somebody else’s rock.
    Shoulder press x 10 IC, Curls x 10 IC, Rock Rows x 10 IC, Chest Press x 10 IC

    Mosey to the baseball outfield for Dora 1,2,3:
    Partner 1 exercises, Partner 2 runs across the baseball outfield and back.
    100 merkins, 200 squats, 300 LBC’s

    Stay in the outfield for Mary:
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Penguins x 20 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC
    Dying cockroaches x 20 IC
    American Hammer x 20 IC

    1 sprint across the baseball outfield and back. Then return your beloved rock to the rock pile. Run back to the flag for a finish right on time. Count off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions, and a prayer. Thanks for letting me lead!

    Walleye

  • What’s better then a Merkin ladder? 2 of course!

    I guess its better late than never to post a back-blast. Eight men arrived in the dark gloom on Wednesday 5/2/18. Still no lights on Roosevelt Mall. The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    We moseyed down Roosevelt Mall to a warm-up COP.
    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Lunges x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm Circles 10 forward, 10 backward IC
    Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    Next an Indian Run to the front of NOMA.
    Merkin ladder up the steps, 1 Merkin at the bottom, 11 at the top
    10 box jumps on the fountain at the bottom
    Repeat
    Merkin ladder up the steps, 1 merkin at the bottom, 11 at the top
    10 box jumps on the fountain at the bottom

    Mumble chatter ensues. As it turns out, 2 Merkin ladders not as much fun as it sounds. The Pax suggested a Reverse Merkin ladder for round 2 may be better. Perhaps they are right…

    Then exercises up and down the NOMA steps
    10 squat jumps at the top, 20 dips on the fountain at the bottom
    Repeat 3 times

    Next we moseyed to the Foundry for some circuits. 8 men, 4 stations:
    Pull-ups
    Body rows
    Step-ups
    10 WWII had the count
    2 rounds total

    Finally, to the track for some sprints, Hawgcycle-Style.
    We split into pairs. 1 man sprints 200 meters, the partner jogs across the infield to meet on the other side, sprint 200 meters, jog across the infield. 2 times around the track.

    A short mosey back to the flag. Count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. I am grateful to theses men for keeping me strong. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    Walleye

  • In the Dark at City Park

    We arrived at the Foundry in the pitch black, and soon realized the street lights were out. A true morning gloom! Oh well. The show must go on. The usual disclaimer, with an additional message of safety in the dark, of course, and off we go.

    First COP:
    SSH x 25 IC
    IW x 20 IC
    Plank jacks x 20 IC
    Low slow squats x 20 IC
    Arm circles x 10 forward, 10 backward IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Mountain climbers x 20 IC

    Next a little run, with route 66 down Roosevelt Mall with Dips.
    5 dips at 1st park bench, increase 1 dip per bench, ending at 17.

    Circle up for COP #2 with legs:
    Squats x 20 IC
    Lunges x 20 IC
    Jump squats x 10 IC

    Then we moseyed to the baby Foundry for some circuits.
    1. 10 burpees had the count
    2. Body rows
    3. WWII sit ups
    4. Pull ups
    (2 rounds total)

    On to the fence at Tad Gormley.
    Calf raises x 20 IC
    Derkins x 10 IC
    Calf raises x 20 IC
    Derkins x 10 IC

    Then BLIMPS at the baseball field, starting at the 1st base line, running to 2nd base and back in between.
    5 Burpees
    10 Lunges
    15 Imperial Walkers
    20 Merkins
    25 Plank Jacks
    30 Squats

    Finally, some Mary in the outfield.
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    LBC x 20 IC
    Hello dolly x 20 IC
    Dying cockroach x 20 IC
    American hammer x 20 IC
    Crunchy frog x 10 IC

    Run back to the flag for Count off, Name-o-rama, intentions, and a prayer as the sun came up.
    Thanks for letting me lead!

    Walleye

  • Minute Merkins are Harder Than I Thought

    A Pax of 6 arrived at the Uptowner for a morning of exercise without running. The usual disclaimer and off we go. The plan for today was Tabata with 60 seconds of exercise, and 10 seconds of rest. As it turns out, 60 seconds of exercise is harder than I thought.

    Warm-up COP:
    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Peter Parkers x 20 IC
    Low Slow Squats x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm Circles 20 Forward, 20 Backward
    Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    We mosey 20 feet for the first Tabata:
    Merkins for 60 seconds, focus on form
    WWII Sit Ups for 60 seconds
    Planks for 60 seconds
    Squats for 60 seconds
    3 rounds total

    Grab a rock, a big rock
    Chest press for 60 seconds. At this point, I conceded that 60 seconds is a long time. So we went back to In Cadence.
    Curls x 10 IC
    Rows x 10 IC
    Repeat for 3 rounds.

    Circle up for some Mary.
    LBC’s x 20 IC
    Flutter Kicks x 20 IC
    American Hammer x 20 IC
    Crunchy Frogs x 20 IC
    Dying Cockroach x 20 IC
    Box Cutters x 20 IC

    We returned our rocks, and had just enough time for more exercise with a smaller rock.
    Biceps curls into shoulder press x 20 IC.

    Final circle for count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. Thank you for letting me lead.

    Walleye

  • Rock around the track

    I arrived unusually early today (5 minutes) to get in a good stretch, and I was greeted with Bogey on his way out. Bogey, the QIC, got an email at 5:20am that his 9:30am flight got bumped up to 8:00am! So Bogey passed the Q, and his beat down plan, on to me. Not because I was qualified or talented, surely not, but because I was the first one there. Hawg arrived next, fresh off his 50K mountain run. That’s right folks, a 31-mile run up and down the hills of Arkansas. It only took him 7 hours 10 minutes to complete. (GASP!) The only thing I can do for 7 hours in a row is sleep. Congrats and Kudos, Hawg. A few more sauntered in, the usually disclaimer, and off we go.

    Throughout our gloomy beat down in the fog, Rudy ran laps around Pontiff in marathon preparation.

    We moseyed to the usual starting spot. Hawg took the lead for the warm-up COP.
    SSH x 30 IC
    Merkins x 15 IC
    IW x 20 IC
    J-Lo’s x 20 IC
    Low slow squats x 15 IC
    Arm circles x 10 forward, 10 backward IC
    Windmills x 10 IC

    Next, grab a rock and mosey to the track. Begin the Bogey beat-down.
    Run with rock 100 yards, leave the rock, and run 100 yards back to the starting point.
    8-count-body-builers x 20
    Run to rock, carry next 100 yards, leave the rock, and run 200 yards back to the starting point.
    8-count-body-builders x 15
    Run to rock, carry next 100 yards, leave the rock, and run 300 yards back to the starting point.
    8-count-body-builers x 10
    Run to rock, carry next 100 yards, leave the rock, and run 400 yards back to the starting point.
    8-count-body-builers x 5

    Circle up for more rock.
    Rock shoulder press x 10 IC
    Rock biceps curls x 10 IC
    Rock rows x 10 IC
    Rock squats x 10 IC
    Rock chest press x 10 IC
    Rock flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Rock shoulder press x 10 IC
    Rock biceps curls x 10 IC
    Rock rows x 10 IC

    Mosey back to the flag. Rudy joined us after his run. Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, special intections, and a prayer. We tried to do your proud Bogey!

    Walleye

  • Super Blue Blood Moon – Foundry Edition

    The Super Blue Blood Moon was to occur this morning. So I polled the men of the Foundry: begin the beat down, or watch the lunar eclipse??? They voted for both! Disclaimer, and off we go.

    We moseyed to the racetrack for a warm-up lap.
    10 burpees, run 100 meters
    10 8-count body builders, run 100 meters
    10 burpees, run 100 meters
    10 8-count body builders, run 100 meters

    Now to the warm-up COP:
    SSH x 20 IC
    IW x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm circles IC, 10 forward, 10 backward
    Mountain climbers x 20 IC

    We did 11’s across the football field, as the lunar eclipse began above our heads.
    Merkins on one side, jump squats on the other side.

    Next, a mosey down the back street to the Foundry, with BLIMPS at each light post:
    Burpees x 5
    Lunges x 10
    Imperial Walkers x 15
    Merkins x 20
    Plank Jacks x 25
    Squats x 30

    At the Foundry, 4 stations for 7 men. 3 sets total.
    10 WWII sit-ups had the count
    Body Rows
    Step Ups
    Pull-ups (Hanging knee ups to modify)

    Running short on time, we moseyed back to the flag, with the lunar eclipse 50% completed. Count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. Great morning, great eclipse, better men!

    Thanks for allowing me to lead.
    Walleye

  • Merkin Madness and Frozen SeaMan

    Bartman informed the Pax halfway through the gloom that frozen Seaman will last forever. True. Strange, but true. I’m not sure what question lead to this strange revelation, but true. So, anyway… YHC was a little nervous for my virgin Q at Wolfpack Mountain. Then I rolled in 1 minute late to a Pax of 16 men anxiously awaiting their beatdown in the gloom. Aye-yi-yi. Sorry to keep you waiting, my brothers.

    But safety first! We made time for the usual disclaimer, and off we go. We made a slow-mosey loop down St. Charles Avenue to end at the beautiful lawn in front of Loyola. Even after the freeze, it’s still some of the best grass Uptown. Circle up for the first COP:

    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Low slow squats x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm Circles 10 forward, 10 backward IC
    Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    Next we mosey to the bottom of Wolfpack Mountain for Animals Up the Mountain. What better place for Animals on Parade than Wolfpack Mountain??? Well, this was met with several groans, and as it turns out, there may be better places for this than a parking garage. But we must press on!
    We ran up the garage, and did animal walks at each end of each parking level.
    Floor 2: bear crawl
    Floor 3: crab crawl
    Floor 4: plank walks (OK, OK, not an animal, but whatever)
    Floor 5: duck walks
    Floor 6: frog jumps

    The top of Wolfpack Mountain is the best part of this location for YHC and many of the Pax. On this day, we will use this beautiful spot to alternate between Mary and Merkins. 2nd COP:

    Merkins x 10 IC
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Left-arm staggered Merkins x 10 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC
    Right-arm staggered Merkins x 10 IC
    Single-leg V-ups x 10 IC
    Left-leg cross-over Merkins x 10 IC
    Penguins x 20 IC
    Right-leg cross-over Merkins x 10 IC

    Down the mountain we go to the park benches on the Quad. Everybody grab a bench.
    Left-leg Power-Ups x 20 IC
    Dips x 20 IC
    Right-leg Power-Ups x 20 IC
    Decline Merkins x 10 IC

    Mosey back to the great lawn and partner up. One partner lunges across the lawn and back while the other partner holds a regular plank, left arm plank, and right arm plank. 2 sets, and we are out of time.

    Run back to the flag. Count off, Name-o-rama (apologies to Sandbar for calling him the wrong name in my oxygen deprived sate), announcements, intentions, and a prayer. A shaky start and a shaky ending, but we got it done in the middle! Thank you for letting me lead!

    Walleye

  • The Foundry

    5 men braved the cold on this morning to better themselves.  The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    A short mosey to the first COP:
    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Low Slow Squats x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm Circles IC, 10 Forward, 10 Backward

    Route 66 down Roosevelt Mall, stopping at each park bench.
    Start with 5 dips, increase 1 dip per bench, ending at 16.

    Mosey to the Baby Foundry. 5 stations for 5 men. 2 rounds.
    1. 10 burpees has the count
    2. Pull-ups
    3. Body rows
    4. Hanging knee ups
    5. WWII sit ups

    Next we Indian Run to the fountain in front of NOMA.
    Box jumps x 10
    Incline Merkins x 10
    Box jumps x 10
    Dips x 10
    Run down Esplanade and back
    Left leg step ups x 10
    Decline Merkins x 10
    Right leg step ups x 10
    Dips x 10

    Indian run back to Roosevelt Mall for some Mary:
    LBC’s x 20 IC
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC
    American Hammer x 20 IC
    Then we mosey back to the flag, stopping at each light post for 5 squats.

    Back at the flag, count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer.
    Thank you for letting me lead!
    Walleye