Tag: Tool

  • Muggy Monday

    A guy messes up once, and he gets no sympathy.  I suppose it’s a good think to keep one accountable.  Thanks, Rudy.  So at exactly 5:30:00.00, YHC gave an excellently excellent disclaimer, and the PAX was off.

    First Circle of Pain:

    • SSHs 30xIC
    • Don Quixotes 20xIC
    • Hill Billies 30xIC
    • Peter Parkers 20xIC
    • Parker Peters 20xIC

    The PAX get Rox, as big or little as you’d like.  Then mosey to the track.

    Second Circle of Pain:

    Line up in an earth circle (TClaps to Babyface for reminding us that a line on earth is of course a circle) for some suicides.  Mosey with you rock about 25 yards and then 10 burpees and return to 20 merkins; then mosey 50 yards for 10 burpees and return for 20 merkins; then mosey 75 yards for 10 burpees and return for 20 merkins; and finish with 100 yards for 10 burpees and return for 20 merkins.

    Third Circle of Pain (in a PAX-centric and not Q-centric circle):

    • 20 overhead lifts
    • 20 curls
    • 20 row
    • 20 squats
    • 20 benchpresses

    Rinse and repeat with a cycle of 13, and then rinse and repeat again with a cycle of 7.  Mosey back to the rock pile.  Tclaps to Bogey for his well aimed splash of Rudy from a good 10 yards away.

    Circle of Mary (if six minutes of Mary can do wonders, imagine what 3 minutes of Mary can do!):

    • LBCs x50
    • Dying Cockroaches x25

    Mosey back to the virtual flag for a countoff, name-o-rama, lots of prayers, and praise for a glorious morning.  Shalom, namaste and pax vobiscum, Jingle Vader

  • 49 +1 =

    To celebrate becoming worthy of respect, YHC took the Q on his birthday.   After a questionable disclaimer we headed out.  The thang – 15 minutes out and back down Bayou St. John. returning to the track for speed work.    YHC had the pleasure of running alongside GRT IronHorse from Jacksonville Fla.  Some of the PAX were a bit tardy on the return so there was ample time for planking. Next on the agenda was speed work.   We did a total of 10 50 yard sprints across the football field with very little rest between the last 2 rounds.  Fairly gassed we returned to the shovel flag for 49 flutter kicks as YHC didn’t technically become worthy of respect until later in the day.   We closed with a count,  name-o-rama, intentions and a prayer.   YHC is thankful to have F3 and certainly a better man because of it.

  • 19 for 11

    Back from Canada after a weeklong hiatus, YHC was ready to get back in the saddle.  7 days is enough to enable one to forget just how oppressive August humidity can be in the south.  Feeling like a weakened northerner, unable to face the Southern Summer, YHC decided to dress the part – so for today (and today only), Union General Ambrose Burnside made an appearance at Rock City.

    As the gloom lifted – PAX appeared, crawling out of every nook and cranny at Pontiff playground.  First there were 5.  Then 8.  Then 11.  Uptowners made the long Trek.  The clock steadily ticked towards 5:29 and the PAX just kept appearing.  5:30 – and BAM, 19 PAX set off down the path.

    Warm Up

    Assume the position.  Plank position.

    • Peter Parker x25
    • Parker Peter x25
    • Mountain Climber x25
    • Plank Jack x25

    Recover.  Just kidding.  Back to Plank.

    • Shoulder Taps x25
    • Floyd Mayweather x25

    Recover.  For real.  Now go get a Rock.

    At this point, YHC owes Bogey an apology.  I heard grumbling about lack of guidance on rock size selection.  Who else would grumble, I thought?  So I blamed Bogey.  But alas, it wasn’t him.  The grumbler still remains anonymous.  Probably an uptowner.

    The Thang.  11s

    Mosey to the tree-lined field.  Line up in the middle, facing West.  We’ll do 11s.

    • Burpees on the West side (starting at 1, heading up to 10).
    • West to East run: stop at your Rock for 11 Shoulder Presses
    • Squat Jumps on the East side (starting at 10, heading down to 1).
    • East to West run: stop at your Rock for 11 Curls

    When finished, PAX joined the circle for LBC waiting on the 6.

    Hydrate.  Can’t emphasize this enough over the summer.  Stay hydrated.  Quick water break at the Gazebo.

    Change of Plans.  Right, the Gazebo.  I’d forgotten about that.  Since we were all there (except the few left by the rocks because they didn’t want water), we grabbed some bench.  (the other 4 brave souls began running over)

    • Right Leg SU x25
    • Irkins x20
    • Left Leg SU x25
    • Derkins x15.  And those last 2 were killer for the Q.

    Grab a spot on the wall for a rest.  People Chair.

    • 90 seconds.  Up and shake it out.
    • 60 seconds, with Air Press x15

    Mosey back to your rock.  Bring the rock back to the pile (pressing, curling, overhead carrying while moseying).  Then back to the flag.

    Wrap Up: Count-off.  19 PAX, a new rock City record!  Great to see all of the new faces out and about.  Keep EH’ing – bring F3 with you wherever you go!  Announcements of upcoming races and events – Next Gen Gala on August 24th.  Keep up the great work, Babyface!  Finish up with prayers.  All: remember Rev Sox’s father in your prayers.  Losing a lifelong friend and partner cannot be easy, Sky Q: please grant Mr. Rev Sox the strength and comfort to persevere and grow.

    Also – thank you all for the prayers and support you have offered me over the last weeks.  My sister has a diagnosis, and its really the best possible outcome: stage 2a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, nothing below the diaphragm.  That all means her condition is very treatable, with a great prognosis.  Still a long road, and several chemo treatments yet to come.  But this is the best outcome we have been hoping and praying for since the initial diagnosis.  Thank you all again!

  • Hopping on the H8 Bandwagon with a H4

    “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” -Kelly Clarkson

    Lots of buzz going around lately about the semi-annual H8 coming up in October.  It’s always a tough workout as well as a good test of progress for the PAX.  It’s also a love-hate thing for YHC since it has put me through the wringer and almost killed me, each time getting closer to that 8 lap goal.  The run is palatable, as well as the bear crawl, but the merkins and burpees seem to be slow many of us down.  So, in order to fix this, YHC thought we’d knock out a scaled down version of the H8 as part of the Thursday workout at Okwata.  Here’s what went down:

    Conditions:  Warm, dark, and zero breeze…just how we like it

    The PAX:  Some usual Okwata crew plus King Kong making his way to the AO for the first time…t-claps

    The Disclaimer:  Not a professional…push yourself, don’t hurt yourself…try to give it your all for the next 45 min…

    The Warmup:  Mosey over to the usual warmup area only to find some loud people still partying/fighting so a detour over to the seawall area for SSHx20, HBx20, ACx20, WMx10, ISWx10, Plank Rollx10, Peter Parkerx20.  Then we lined up for a mosey along the seawall with a stop at each light pole for Squats x10 at each one, six poles total.  Probably not the best thing to do before the H4/H8 route but YHC wanted to make sure we broke a sweat first and the workout wasn’t a cakewalk.  Capped it off with LS Dips x25 at the planters.

    The H4:  Run the same lap/route as the H8 with bear crawls in the middle and merkins (instead of descending burp/merk) at the end…40 on 1st lap, 30 on 2nd, 20 on 3rd, 10 on 4th, 10 on 5th.  Goal was at least 4 laps in 20 minutes.  T-claps to Mahatma and Smooth for blasting off right out of the gate.  The PAX pushed hard and several guys finished 4+ laps.

    The Finale:  Enough time left for a mosey along the levee towards the House of Pain.  Group 1 stayed up top for LBC x40IC + Penguins x20IC (timer) while Group 2 ran down to the pull up bars for AMRAP Pullups followed by Hanging Knee-ups.  This was a long timer, maybe too long, but the PAX hung in there.  After a round for each group, time to head back to the flag.

    COT:  A few announcements and followed by a prayer.

    Here’s a few things we kicked around post-workout in regards to maximizing our individual performance at the upcoming H8:

    1.  Use the downhill runs to catch your breath and don’t try to race down.
    2.  The top of the levee has a few sharp surprises during the bearcrawl.  Appeared to be pieces of exposed plastic mesh.
    3.  Try to crank out the Merkins/Burpees in a fast manner.  YHC fell behind on this.
    4.  The fall and spring temps are more conducive to this workout than August.
    5.  Calling cadence and working in squats does not help boost your time.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    Tool

     

  • Blocks Under Your Tree

    Workout Log Sat – 8/3/2018

    18 men showed up well rested with normal Sat expectations for a good sweat….and the hint that gloves were recommended!

    Quick disclaimer – off for a mosey to our playground.

    Circle Up for WarmUp – keep is simple all in cadence x 16 4 count

    Michael Phelps

    SSH

    Quarter Lung L & R

    Mnt Climber

    Shoulder Taps

    Head to the parking lot: Tool was kind enough to load his sleigh with a “present” for each one of us: Full Cinder block weighing 28# and a 1/2 @ 18#.

    Return to the playground: Instruction for our Christmas Tree Workout given – as expected there was plenty of chirping but Q was able to get the idea across – A Christmas Tree Work out starts at the top and progressively expands as you move downward to the bottom adding intensity and challenge: Start with exercise#1, then repeat #1 and add #2, then repeat #1, #2 and add #3 then repeat  1, 2, 3,  and add #4……repeating and adding until you get through that last exercise.

    ALL to be completed while carrying, lifting or moving block present.

    #1-run approx 100 yards – NOTE because this was to be repeated Q instructed PAX to simply run the entire playground there and back and then start #2.  From that point #1 would only be have the playground there and back.

    #2- 10 one arm crossover push ups – up and over block (5 ea arm)

    #3-15 complex V-ups (with block in hand lift to a left leg V up then Right leg V up then  both leg V up

    #4 – 10 box jumps (using the benches across the street) or 10 each leg step up

    #5 – 10 Block Jacks – Q did a very spastic 1st demo but recovered to ensure everyone got the right idea.

    #6 – 10 Over head Squat Press

    #7 – 12 Rock Burpees – complete a Burpee then grab your rock to finish of with an overhead jump press

    Those that finished early were encouraged to do another round of all, excluding #1 – PAX got a 1 minute active recovery as we broke up into teams of 2.

    Line up with partner –

    Event #1

    Pax 1 Farmer carried blocks out approx. 30 yards while Pax 2 did 3 Burpees then Bear Crawled out to retrieve blocks with a farmer carry back while Pax 1 did 3 burpees and Bear Crawled.  Once back each Pax with block over head ran to the opposite end of the playground (approx 100 yards).

    Event #2 (Pax 1 became 2 and 2 became 1)

    Pax 1 would Kong Block out (Kong is a lowland gorilla movement of reaching out with hands pressing on the ground to move both feet up to a parallel position with hands).  Then complete 3 Burpees and Kong Block back.  To create separation Pax 2 would 1st do 3 Burpees and follow Kong Blocking out – also returning in the same Kong Block movement.  Once both PAX had completed the 1st run now PAX 1 would farmer carry both blocks 5o yards out – while PAX 2 did 3 Burpees then Bear Crawled out to retrieve blocks.  PAX 1 drop blocks a the 50 yard mark completed 3 Burpees and Bear Crawled back.

    1 minute active recovery while circling up for some upper body and core work

    10 seconds rest in between each movement below:

    Block Curls x 20 4 count

    Bent Over Row x 30 4 count

    Over Head Press x 15 4 count

    Block Curls x 15 4 count

    B-O Row x 25 4 count

    Front Raises x 15 4 count

    On our 6:

    Right arm block balance with legs lifted in flutter kick position x 30 seconds

    Left arm block balance with legs lifted in flutter kick position x 30 seconds

    Block Press with flutter kick x 20 4 count

    LBC with rock x 20 4 count

    Recover – time to return our blocks F3 ruck style – 2 lines – blocks overhead Q to call for right to left transition back to over head. – After loading the blocks – Q recognized there was still 2 minutes of FUN time left – mosey with PAX over to the far side of the playground – quick suggestions that we could all carry the burden of someone of something on our shoulders as we gave our all in one last push of physical output – Sprint 100 yards across the field – I can honestly say that although there was some initial grumbling EACH PAX gave this effort 100% finishing strong – although all of us a distant 2nd to Disclaimer – who by the way runs a FREE sprint workout each Sat after our F3 group finishes.

    Back to the flag – Count Off

    Announcements

    Add on – F3 inspires leadership – each PAX encouraged to sign up to Q workouts – Challenged to commit to 1 per month.

    Intentions

    Prayer of Thanksgiving

    Q requested a 1-2-3: F3 breakoff – much appreciated.  Thank you for the opportunity to lead this Sat workout!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 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

  • Stomp #153 – The Tribe Has Spoken

    A few more miles were added to the F3 odometer this Tuesday at The Stomp.  The scheduled Q was unable to make it so YHC became appointed to take the helm.  In an effort to mix things up, YHC suggested a Wisner route with some laps on the overpass but the silence and lack of enthusiasm meant the tribe had spoken so we opted to go the bayou route, as per Kimchi’s suggestion.  We ran for 40 minutes (20 out, 20 back) and enjoyed a little F2 chat early on before the PAX spread out at.  T-claps to Smooth for pushing hard and knocking out a little extra distance at the end.  Also, t-claps to Abacus for becoming a regular at The Stomp and becoming a better runner.  Once back, we utilized the last 5 minutes for: LBC x25, Penguins x15, Burpees x10, Plankorama 1 min, Hip Flexors 1 min.  COT to cap things off.  Solid way to start the day.

    Tool

  • Deck of Animal House

    July 28th, 1978.  A big date for all of us of a certain vintage.

    Yes, that’s right.  40 years ago today, Animal House made its debut.  YHC arrived at 6:20 to a moment of confusion.  “Dean Wormer” was there – and it took several minutes for the PAX to realize that this was not the same Dean Wormer named at Wolfpack Mountain yesterday, but was in fact a visitor from Up River in NC.  Welcome, Dean Wormer.  Little did he know that YHC had (quite unknowingly) prepared a personalized and appropriate workout for our visitor.

    As the clock ticked towards 6:30, the PAX continued emerging from the gloom – including one FNG, EH’d by our resident barber and newest F3 advocate – nice work, Calliope!  Then the clock struck the witching hour.  Time for a disclaimer, and then we were off towards the yard by the museum.

    The Thang – Pt 1

    First exercise is…..  Side Straddle Hop.  In Position.  In Cadence.  Begin.  x40.

    YHC then introduced the theme: 40 years since the release of Animal House.  The explanation of The Thang took a few minutes (sometimes the PAX seem “challenged” at following instructions).  Basically, its the Animal House Deck o’ Death:

    • Hearts are Burpees.  Same as always.
    • Diamonds are Neidermeyers.  (“Is that a Puh-ledge Puh-in on your Uniform?  Drop and Give me 20!”).  Yup, Neidermeyer == Merkin
    • Spades are usually squats.  So today, they were Otises (“Shout!  A little bit louder now!” etc…)  Otises == Squat Jumps
    • Clubs are usually Situps.  Follow along…  Situps == WWII Situps == D-Day.  So D-Days == Situps.  But we did Rower Situps

    Numbers represent Rep count.

    • Jacks = Pinto (“I lied a little bit; I’ve never done this before.  That’s ok, I lied too – I’m only 13.”)  11 reps
    • Queens = Mrs. Wormer (“What a coincidence.  I have a husband Dean Wormer also at Faber.  Do you still want to show me your cucumber?”)  12 reps
    • Kings = Otter (“Can we sit with you Mary?  I see you already have your lunch.  Can I just massage your thighs while you eat?”)  13 reps
    • Aces = Bluto (“Do you know what I am?  A zit!”)  15 reps
    • Joker = Flounder.  Double the previous exercise.
    • Deuce: YHC always finds the 2 cards to be a bit disappointing.  So to vary the workout, Deuce became another doubling card.  2 Hearts == Double the previous reps, in Burpees…

    Lots of mumble-chatter as instructions were given.  But YHC persevered through the mockery.  Then we were off to the races with the first card flip.  Mumble-chatter quickly halted.  Stopped for a 20 count after the Bluto of Hearts.  Stopped for a water break right around half-way.  Stopped for another 20 count somewhere around the Otter of Hearts.  Then powered through to completion.  Only one Q-dible: when the Deuce of Hearts appeared, we went with 2 Burpees (instead of 14 burpees, having followed the 7 of Clubs).

    Hydrate again, then recovery mosey to the Baby Foundry.

    The Thang, Pt 2

    Animal House.  Split into 6 groups of 4 for Animal stations

    • Pull Ups: The timer, each PAX in the group hits 10 Pull ups.  Spot if necessary.
    • Crunchy Frogs till timer.
    • Bear Crawl 10-20 yds, Crawl Bear back.  Repeat till timer.
    • Duck Walk 10-20 yds, Walk Duck back.  Repeat till timer.
    • Frog Jump 10-20 yds, Jump Frog back.  Repeat till timer.
    • Crab Walk 10-20 yds, Walk Crab back.  Repeat till timer.

    Stop by the Tool Wall for

    • Calf Raise x40
    • Monkey Humpers x40

    Mosey back to the flag.

    Back at the flag, we circled up for count-off and name-o-rama.  Some confusion by an unnamed-pax about which number followed 6.  Fortunately, other PAX jumped in to help.  I hope that Pax is able to bring better numerical skills to his day job at a hardware store.

    Naming of our FNG – a little too easy, given the theme of the day.  “Your Delta Tau name is Flounder.  Why?  Why not.”  Alas, we already have a Flounder, so we modifed – and he became Pinto.  Welcome aboard.  Then Frac corrected his train-wreck naming last week.  Welcome to the renamed Sac-a-lait (google it, if you need to.  Its totally SFW.)

    Close out with our prayers.  Intentions for recent passings and recovering friends and family.  Lord, be with your children who are suffering, and bless those who care for them.

    Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Fartlekkers Rejoice

    The Pax have been bringing their A game to the Stomp recently.  Multiple weeks of double digit counts and some all out effort have revitalized this legendary AO.  YHC had the good fortune to follow up a Rudy Q.  Surely I could make it over the low bar he had generously set for me.  It has been a minute since we have done farleks around here so I brought out my proven technique of yelling random percentage numbers at the Pax and letting them figure out what they mean.

    Disclaimer

    Fail.  I start off worse than Rudy.  Embarrassing.  In my zeal to give the Fartlek instructions I forget the disclaimer.  I hastily yell it as we run, after Recall brings the omission to my attention.

    The Thang

    Da Parish, who claims his super tight and bright cycling jersey must have shrunk recently, takes off on a solo trek around Lakeview.  I don’t know where he went, but where ever it was the women were blessed.

    The rest of us ran in relatively baggy outfits.  A picture is worth a thousand words:

    You thought I was going to post a picture of Da Parish’s outfit?  Sorry, I didn’t take one.  In case I ever decide to run for political office, I want to make sure no one finds anything like that on my phone.

    We started with your normal pace to the festival grounds.  As we reached the festival grounds we circled back around for the six.  For each of the following segments the early finishers circled around for the six so that we all stayed together.  Recovery pace between each segment

    • 70% effort to the big pavillion
    • 100% effort to the last tree before the path to the Wisner overpass
    • 60% effort up and over the Wisner overpass
    • Run backwards up the overpass, turn and run 75% effort down
    •  50% effort up and over the overpass
    • 80% effort to the turn that goes under the overpass
    • 75% effort to the turn that goes under 610
    • 100% effort to the top of the hill past 610
    • Normal pace to the backside of the track
    • 100% effort – 440
    • 100% effort -220
    • Recovery run back to flag

    We sealed the deal with 15 burpees.

    NMM

    If MapMyRun is accurate, and I have little reason to believe that it is, the entire Pax ran over 4.5 miles at a 9:00 min/mile pace.  That’s an impressive showing.  And they had plenty of breath to make several Junior High comments about entering the track from the backside.

    T-claps to El Guapo for EHing Swamp Cock to post at his first Stomp.  Hope you become a regular, brother.

    Looks like 33% of the LARC is taking their training seriously.

    I wore shoes.  I think that was a mistake.  I know Rudy was disappointed in me and for once I agree with him.

  • The Return of the Cusak

    The Q wanted to make sure he was on time this morning so he did not give Rudy any additional reasons to harass the Q.   Was a nice, warm, and muggy morning as the PAX met at the normal spot for Rock City.

    A quick disclaimer and PAX moseyed near the rock pile for some warm-ups as follows:

    Side Straddle Hops – 25x

    Hillbillies – 25x

    Peter Parkers – 25x

    Parker Peters – 25x

    Arm Circles – Forward – 10x, Backward – 10x (or maybe 9, I lost count), Overhead – 10x, and Seal Claps – 10x.

    Grab a rock from the rock pile and mosey to the football field for some fun.   Pax line up on the goal line with back to the goal post and facing the other end zone.   Start with 5 shoulder presses at the goal line, with the first press holding rock long enough to sing “In Your Eyes” – a nod to the Cusak – as defined in the F3 lexicon as follows:  (exercises completed while holding/carrying a CMU or block overhead, usually in conjunction with running or walking. A la John Cusak’s character in the popular 1980s movie “Say Anything.” Also allows for really poor versions of “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel to be introduced as #mumblechatter. )

    After 5 shoulder presses at the goal line, bear crawl to the 10 yard line for 5 merkins.    Lunge walk back to the goal line for more shoulder presses.   Increase number of reps by 5 for each exercise with each 10 yard increase in distance.  Finish the round with 25 shoulder presses, bear crawl to the 50 yard line, 25 merkins, and lunge walk back to the goal line.

    For active recovery – thanks Mahatma – run one lap around the track.

    Back to the goal line for more rocks.   After 5 curls at the goal line (Singing “Sledgehamer” on each curl was optional for second set), bear crawl to the 10 yard line for 5 monkey humpers.  Lunge walk back to the goal line for more curls. Increase number of reps by 5 for each exercise with each 10 yard increase in distance. Finish the round with 25 curls, bear crawl to the 50 yard line, 25 monkey humpers, and lunge walk back to the goal line.

    Mosey back to the rock pile and the flag, but wait we did not have a flag this morning.   We still knew where to circle up.     Count off, Name-o-rama, special intentions, and Ball of Man.   We named FNG “Frenchie” who was EH’d by Disclaimer.   Great Monday with 17 Pax at Rock City!

    Thanks to all for the opportunity to lead.