Tag: Russo

  • Concrete Mount Suribachi – from Hogs Breath

    YHC felt some coupon inspiration could take place at the A1C!

    Warm up
    SSH IC x 20
    Seal jacks x12
    Arm circles x10

    Mosey to our coupons, much to the surprise of waterpick, cowbell, and Russo. “What we had coupons here!?!?!?” (For reference they are in a parking lot at the intersection of 26th ave and N Jefferson Ave, behind some ornamental bushes)

    After carrying our coupons to the the corner of the parking garage, we lunge walked to the entrance, of said parking garage. At the entrance all pax beautifully performed 25 overhead presses. Then backwards walk, with coupons, up the parking ramp. At the first landing, we performed 25 derkins (seeing the trend yet?) on to an overhead carry through the garage, followed by 25 side step overs. Then YHC could not remember the name of the exercise he planned out….so cowbell jumped in with a “murder bunny” suggestion up the parking garage incline! For the record the actual exercise I was looking for is a “bear and block” however, both cause pain so this completes the goal!! At the top we completed 25 curls. And a lunge walk back to the shovel flag, thus we completed a full compliment of Mount Suribachi. BUT what goes up, must come down, So we shoulder walked the coupons down to the base floor entrance. There we performed 10 tricep extensions and began farmers walks back to return the coupons.

    One more time we mosey to the shovel flag and began some Mary, of Captain Thor! One big boy sit up, then four American hammers; then increasing by two and eight respectively. We only made it through six rounds before we had to call time!
    Cowbell prayed us out with thoughts for a safe weekend and allowing us to come together.

  • PARKOUR!!!! – from Hogs Breath

    Through the thick swamp air, three brave souls began a journey over, under and through obstacles at Grandma’s house.

    As YHC planted the shovel flag into the soggy ground, a lone Russo joined in. So two pax began a

    WARM UP

    10 IC toy soldiers
    10 IC mountain man poopers
    10 IC Cornhoulies

    Followed by imperial walkers and butt kicks to “Baba O’Riley” by The Who. As we approached the last 45 seconds Nacho Libre pulled up!

    The Thang:

    Taking inspirations from Michael Scott [the office] we “Parkour!!!” throughout every obstacle YHC found, we would climb, jump, or duck under. Things such as bear crawl across the bench’s, jump over bike stands. Slalom throughout the support posts, then bear crawl through the support posts. A few wounded animals along the parking lot curb. Up the stairs, but under the stair railings!

    After we had enough Parkour we circled back up to perform a burpee-waterfall to “Thunderstruck” by AC / DC each time a “thunder” was called in the song one pax would perform burpee’s while others would SSH. This was performed in a roar sting fashion when each “Thunder” was sung. Nacho and YHC got stuck with several long “Thunder” breaks….

    The final Mary was to “Flower” by Moby. To those unfamiliar the song has the phrase “bring Sally up” and “bring Sally down” we performed this to sit ups [originally planned with Merkins but at this point our arms were smoked!] moving up or down in accordance to the lyrics of the song.

    We closed out with prayers to be good leaders throughout our communities. Thank you for giving me the chance to lead throughout these early gloomy and humid mornings.

  • How to Not Win Friends and Influence People – from The Hammer

    On Friday afternoon, as my thoughts strayed from work, and found their way to my F3 brothers, I noted Bushwhacker’s bat signal that the Lakefront had no Q for the following day. Unacceptable! I leapt at the opportunity to lead such finely honed machines and volunteered to take the proverbial bull by the horns.

    Later that Friday evening, as Bushwhacker destroyed me in Pickleball while local pros Chewy and Nacho gave YHC pity looks, we discussed the following morning’s beatdown. Shortly thereafter, Zoolander texted to inquire if the beatdown would be “burpee heavy”, as he was already 2 scotches in. Apparently YHC’s reputation for continual, repeated, full body movement exercises is well-established because he later assured me he cut himself off at 5, though I thought I detected a faint Highlands brogue in his speech.

    Anyway, 15 strong, including FNGs (Xerxes and Snapper) posted. And away we go…

    Warm Up:

    SSH x 15
    Butt Kicks x 10
    Cherry Pickers x 10
    Arm Circles x 10
    I think one more exercise…

    Thang:

    Mosey towards the beach, stop at Noah’s Ark for 15 Derkins, 15 Irkins oyo…then continue to the beach for…the most intense Battle of the Poles since Jaworski and Bartowski faced off in the early 80s.

    We split into teams of 2, though this was an individual exercise. To quote those motivational sages of Rocky lore, Survivor, “Its you against you”, and “though his body says stop, his spirit cries, NEVER!”

    The Main Event:
    Descending ladder of 8 count body builders. YHC did this once in my spare time and hated it, so I knew others would feel likewise. It goes like this — Each 8 count bodybuilder consists of merkin, plank jack, and groiner movements, so we began descending rounds from 10 to 1.
    Round 1: 10 bodybuilders (Each bodybuilder required 10 reps each of merkins/plank jack/groiners). Thus, to complete this round, one would have done 100 of each movement (10×10).

    Good news: Each round descended by one not only in bodybuilders, but also reps of each movement, thus:
    Round 2: 9 BBs (9 of each movement per rep = 81 each of Merks/PJ/Groiners)
    Round 3: 8 BBs (64 merks/PJ/Groiners)
    Round 3: 7 BBs (49 each)
    …you get the picture. By the Round of 5, it was actually quite refreshing.
    For those that finished, like Sir Whacker, I believe that translated to 387 reps of each movement. (check my math)

    Between each round, we ran about 50 yards to tag a swingset pole and run back.

    We called it about 7:23, and did an Indian Run back to the flag. Said Pledge of Allegiance, and moved our minds and hearts upon the heroic men and women who gave it all so we have the luxury to recreationally torture ourselves. Though best known for one of the most annoying earworms of the early 90s, Billy Ray Cyrus got it right in his song “Some Gave All”:

    “All gave some, but some gave all. Some stood true for the red, white, and blue, and some had to fall. If you ever think of me, think of all your liberty and recall…some gave all”

    YHC prayed us out, lifting up brothers Hog’s Breath, Jose, and welcoming FNGs Xerxes and Snapper. Welcome guys!

    Thanks for letting me lead. It is always a privilege. God Bless!

  • Tabata II: Electric Boogaloo – from Russo

    Pax of 7 were met with humidity and mugginess at the A1C today. Undeterred and unplanned, pax gave a hastily thrown together Tabata a go to celebrate the last day of school for the year!

    Warmup (all IC, between 10x and 20x)
    – Sealjacks
    – Cherry Pickers
    – Mummy Kicks
    – Windmills
    – Imperial Walkers

    Thang
    Tabata (multiple rounds, 45 seconds on, 15-ish seconds off, interspersed with laps around floor 4 of the garage)
    – Shoulder tap merkins
    – Crunchy frogs
    – Jump squats
    – Peter Parker’s
    – Derkins
    – American Hammers
    – Lunges
    – Air presses
    – Calf Raises
    – Bulgarian Split Squats
    – Urkins
    – LBCs

    With a few minutes left, pax wrapped up with Mary: Hello Dollys, Leg Raises, Gas Pumps, and Penguins.

    A great time was had by all!

    COT, Name o’rama, announcements, and prayer closed us out.

    Special mention of the Memorial Day Murph (5:15 AM Monday at the Marsh, corner of Livingston and Lamarque, coffee to follow?) and our thoughts and prayers to Jose for his knee MRI on Monday.

    Thanks to all for the fellowship and fun from the fellas on a Friday.

    SYITG

  • Northshore H8! Practically Perfect in Every Way – from TurboTax

    21 PAX posted for the fourth semi-annual and second official Northshore H8! which, like Mary Poppins, was practically perfect in every way. The weather was great, the course was marked clearly and the PAX were motivated. Plus everyone knew that whatever we did it would be at least .01% better than anything the Southshore could accomplish. We have the Freedom Hammer to prove it.

    Anywho…we hit it hard. Reputations were burnished, feelings were hurt and everyone seemed to get their money’s worth. Several PAX completed eight laps and those that didn’t weren’t far behind. Except, of course, for Akbar who very conveniently was “injured.” YHC didn’t see any doctor’s note…just sayin.

    8 laps translates to 3.2 miles running, 550 yards of bear crawls, 36 burpees and 120 hand release Merkins. Not too shabby.

    So rest up for 6 months, guys, and we’ll test ourselves again in November. Thanks for letting me lead. Over and out.

  • Time will tell – from Shooter

    In a selfish attempt to slow multiple PAX down for the upcoming H8, YHC will need to wait 24 hours to see if his evil plan plays to his favor.. Then again all the men that posted on this wonderfully cool gloom at the A1c have proven time and time again that they won’t be denied when it comes to a challenge.. Wether it be Einstein continuing an amazing streak of 38 years at the CCC T👏🏼, or Russo’s transformation of shredding lbs and becoming a runner through this last year of COVID, perhaps most importantly Cowbell breaking his record this week of being on time for the start of every beatdown 😬 (Alexis aka Brains for loaning the Audi)🤪 that must be the reason? Maybe it’s Jose10k and the past 60 plus streak of beatdowns I believe it was with inspiration of course from Zoolander with the sweat gallon challenge 🤢… My skin still itches for you Zoo!! However considering your one armed modified Merks or your Murphs in true form with a ruck sack I am sure your armor repelled the acid filled jug with ease… I look forward to seeing you guys crush the H8 in the Gloom, as I know my evil wish will NOT deter any of you from showing up or showing out or perhaps showing off as we meet at the Lakefront tomorrow for a Turbocharged Turbo tax Q!!

    Brief warmup
    All 10IC Grass grabbers, Torso twists, Cherry pickers, Toe touches, Imperial walkers and Seal Jacks.

    Moseyed over to the front or rear Tax payor funded fortress of a Justice center to Qs parked car. Retrieved our coupons with the perfect number of six.
    Instructions simple
    “Ring of Fire” check out the Exicon for details.

    Short order alternating Blocks/Cardio
    Squat thrusters, Bench box jumps, Shoulder press, Sister Mary’s, Curls, Apollo Onos, Chest press, Jumping Knee tucks, Block clean and jerks, Sprint up stairs and return to R/R 2 full rounds of all 10 and pressed for time we got back to the first 4 for the final round.. 24 sets of AMRAP with time blocks of 1 min…

    Returned to the top of the garage right on time to count-off, announce and YHC closed out the COT with intentions of awareness of Mental health Month for May..

    Always enjoy the Gloom with you men and appreciate the accountability!!

    PAX
    Cowbell, Einstein, Jose10k, Russo, Zoolander

  • What’s Tabata with you? – from Russo

    While I realize YHC is not the first to use that phrase when describing a pseudo-HIIT beatdown, it was certainly appropriate as a superstar pax of 6 knocked on Granny’s door this morning under pleasant (albeit warming) temps.

    Warmup (all IC, 12x to 20x)
    Seal jacks
    Grass grabbers
    Self love
    Toe touches
    Imperial walkers
    Cherry pickers

    Thang
    Trying to mix it up some, YHC deliberately stayed away from all things “Tunnel” and “Pilot House”, opting instead to rock around the block and give old Mandeville (well, at least every car that just HAD to turn onto Monroe) a Tabata show, 45 seconds at a time.

    Topics of chatter somehow included Humboldt State University, the date of April 20th, and Spongebob Squarepants.

    Standard mosey for one or two blocks in between the following, not necessarily in order or to scale:
    – 8 count bodybuilders
    – squat jumps
    – rower sit-ups
    – plankjacks
    – lunges
    – leg raises
    – shoulder tap merkins
    – suicide squats
    – hello dollys
    – T merkins
    – gas pumps
    – Peter Parker’s
    – LBCs
    – Calf raises
    – butt kicks
    – freak nastys
    – step ups (nicely in sync from Chewie, Zoo, and YHC)

    A mosey back home and a quick slalom through Granny’s columns closed us out.

    COT, Name o Rama, announcements, and a prayer from Hammer wrapped it up.

    Thank you to each of the gents posting this morning. It was another fantastic crew.

    Looking forward to Thursday’s F3/FIA mixer (6:30 Covington trailhead) and the Zoorich Classic on Saturday. SYITG

  • Moonshine? – from Russo

    Pax of 7 had a party at Granny’s this morning. After HogsBreath noted a lack of prior week participation, the call went out and was answered this week!

    Party started promptly at 5:15 (there were no fashionably late arrivals) with:

    Warmup (All IC, between 10x and 20x)
    – sealjacks
    – self love
    – goofballs
    – toe touches
    – cherry pickers
    – imperial walkers

    Pre-thang
    YHC loves granny’s house because of the layout. Stairs and the pilot house are one of my favorite places to do something a little different on occasion, so we started with something I’m going to call the Moonshine: 3 steps up, 2 down, until we reach the pilot house. 20 monkey humpers at the top (with no sunrise yet, that’s the “moonshine” part), then back down 3 steps, up 2.

    Round 2 replaced the 3 up, 2 down model with 3 calf raises on each step (because Math in the gloom is hard).

    Pax moseyed to the tunnel for Thang:
    A modified Dora 1-2-3 where Dora learned how to divide by 2:

    – 50 shoulder tap merkins
    – 100 squats
    – 150 crunchy frogs
    – Partner moseyed down to center tunnel and back peddled back up

    Round 2 (modified until the clock ran out)
    – plankjacks
    – lunges
    – Hello Dollys
    – karaoke in between

    A mosey back through the woods to our start wrapped us up.

    COT, name o rama, announcements:
    – F3/FIA get together next Thursday 6:30PM led by Bushwhacker
    – Potentially lunch on Friday
    – Zoorich Classic on Saturday

    Prayer closed us out.

    A thank you to the truly All Star team that posted this morning and one in particular to HogsBreath for the extra push. Until we do it again, SYITG.

  • Need more 10 counts – from Waterpik

    We definitely should have had more 10 counts at the beatdown. Since there were none, we hammered through 16 sets of Tabata (30 seconds with 10 seconds rest) and about 40 minutes with the cinder block coupon. Alternate cinder block reps with an assortment of other reps (mostly pull ups). At the concluding bell, YHC was thoroughly tired. Until next time!

  • Heroes – from Akbar

    We were heroes, if just for one day. YHC was sore all over, even without a weekend beatdown. Sleeping with your shoulder driven into the earth for 2 nights can put you on the pain train. So getting back to the basics at the Marsh was in order, after what seems numerous block workouts over the past month.

    Expecting a big crowd after we left the campground yesterday, spirits were high on arrival and dampened at 5:15 by the fartsackers. YHC can’t say much, I couldn’t even get Grover out of bed. So – alas it was 3

    Today, we made the big block to the lakefront, rips, and back up Noah’s Ark with great weather and conversation. Completing 3 Hero beatdowns.

    Marsh to Lakefront: IronMan
    30 SSH, 20 Squats, 10 Cross Punch Situps, 10 Hi Plank Rotations, 10 Dirkins, 12 Mountain Climbers, 12 Renegade Rows.

    Lakefront to Rips: Thor
    10 each, OYO/IC for each exercise: Lunges, Freak Nasties, Bulgarian Split Squats, Dirkins, Renegade Row, Irkin/Hi Plank Rotations, LBC’s, American Hammers, Turkish Getup

    Rips back to the Marsh: Batman

    20 Squats, 40 Cross Punch Situps, 10 Sister Mary Catherines, 10 Merkins, 20 Shoulder Taps, 20 Mountain Climbers, 10 Cross Punch Situps, 10 Leg Raises, 10 American Hammers

    Mary:
    Leg Raises, LBC’s, Dolly, Heels to Heaven, E2k

    Announcements: F3/FIA at the Gipper, 6:30 – last Thursday in April

    Count/Name – Russo prayed us out.

    Thanks for letting me lead, til next gloom – – Akbar