Category: Northshore

  • Deconstructing to Death – from Steve

    It felt like a real missed opportunity when The Pelican was a no-show this past Friday. YHC was looking forward to the incredible post-debate deconstruction that’s only possible between Pelican and Russo. But, alas, no Pelican.

    Russo was instead stuck with another “Sleepy Joe” (YHC), and he himself had stayed up late watching and analyzing the “event,” so YHC was thankful he was able to motivate enough to get out there this morning.

    Instead of deconstructing the debate, we deconstructed some burpees on the way to the Marsh: squats, merkins, groiners, squat jumps, 10x each at every intersection.

    Mini Murph at the Marsh (aka, a “Smurph” … I forget who coined that one, Zoo?). 5 rounds of: 5 pull ups, 10 merkins, 15 squats

    Russo schooled me on the different manicures and fake nails of some of the current Olympic track stars as we pressed onward (still deconstructing burpees), now heading to the bridge near Jackson for a set of 11’s: Big boys To SMK’s.

    Finally had to call it and head back for time. Russo prayed us out. Appreciate the fellowship and the absolute dedication and consistency from you, Russo.

  • 4 Corners Core – from Einstein

    Warm and humid today – but it’s always a couple degrees cooler atop the Justice Center Parking Garage.

    Warmup: toe touch, arm circles, snap crackle pops, hi jack hi jills, side straddle hops, vertical penguins, grass grabbers, imaginary jump rope, scissors, etc.

    Thang: core exercises at each of the four corners of the parking deck, with running, bear crawling, lunging etc. to each corner.

    Plenty of chatter today, with Jose10k and Moby sparring as usual, and BBQ kept us entertained with his nature boy observations. It was a splendid sunrise, with a brilliant three quarter waning moon to the West. Fletch spotted a cumulonimbus cloud.

    DarkWingDuck prayed us out, with intentions abound.

  • It’s the Final Countdown!!!! – from Jose10k

    7 HIM took the red pill this morning to push themselves in this awful humidity. Einstein and YHC took off early for the prethang. A quick mile before the start of the beatdown. We returned to the flag to see 5 men eager to go, but something was missing. I left my gloves on the bench, but “someone” decided to walk off with them.
    Quick warm-up where Brexit (his first post at the Gipper) learned some new warm-up exercises. He also learned that when he posts with these gentlemen with wordly wisdom, being 38 brings the hate.
    The Thang: Simple countdown from 10. 10 reps of 3 exercises, run a loop, 9 reps of each exercise, run a loop, etc… The exercises: burpees, jump squats, big boy sit-ups. Finished up with 5 minutes of Mary including a Covington favorite: wife pleasers!
    COT with intentions for Moby’s friend Joseph, Einstein’s Daughter is expected a daughter!
    DarkWing Prayed us out. Thanks for joining me today/reading this backblast!. Come out and join us tomorrow at 5 am at the Scramble for some BEAST exercises! Zoolander is bringing the pain for his anniversary this weekend. SYITG

  • Just the facts, creativity tank is on empty – from Russo

    Right at about one million degrees and 345% humidity this morning for Pax of 3.

    Warmup (all 10x)
    – SSHs
    – toe touches
    – Torso twists
    – Arm circles
    – hillbillies

    Thang
    Mosey around old Mandy, stopping every block or so to do a 5-4-3-2-1 rep for different exercises.

    Group 1 Reps/ exercises
    5 T merkins
    4 Peter Parker’s
    3 Wide merkins
    2 8 count body builders
    1 Burpee

    Group 2
    5 SMCs
    4 Ballerina squats
    3 Imperial squat walkers
    2 Star Jumps
    1 Smurfjack

    Group 3
    5 Leg raises
    4 Crunchy frogs
    3 V ups
    2 Gas pumps
    1 Big Boy sit-up

    After block 3, we performed all three groups before continuing on.

    At the seawall, it was the modified “Steve circuit”, all 10x IC, sans those step downs he loves so much.

    -freak Nastys
    -BSSs
    -Step ups

    Reverse! On the way back and at home base, we reversed the rep count (e.g., 5 burpees, 4 8 counts, etc.)

    Wrapped it up with some Mary:
    – penguins
    – Wife pleasers
    – Freddie Mercury’s
    – hello Dolly’s
    – Rosalitas
    – 1 minute or so plank

    Quick COT and we were done for another day. Gentleman, as always, enjoyed the comraderie, even if I was quiet because it was brutally hot and I was sucking wind throughout. SYITG

  • I’ll get all the sleep I need when I’m dead – from Akbar

    Fond memories flooding my sleepy brain as YHC arrived to 17 pax helping celebrate 5 years of F3. 11 hours of sleep in 2 days gave me brain farts. 2 Toe Touches IC almost back to back in the warm up, forgot PAX names when calling 10 counts, and didn’t think to tell anyone it was my 5 year anniversary.

    5 years ago, YHC arrived at the Lakefront, unwillingly, overweight, and probably hungover – EH’d by Russo and my wife. Bubba was the Q, there were men of all ages, speaking to each other like they’ve been friends for 10 years. The one thing I remember most vividly was being last, but I was not alone – learning the concept of picking up the six. No man left behind, that stuck with me. The rest of that year, I was hooked, stopped the gym, started hitting 3-4 days a week, CSAUP’s, and building lasting friendships. I lost 25 pounds in 6 months and never looked back. Fond memories, and more to come.

    Warm up:
    SSH, arm circles front/back, self-love, toe touches, Imperial Walkers, toe touches, Hillbillies, and some other stuff

    Mosey toward the wall near the Gazebo for Red Hot Chili Pepper: Dirkin, Freak Nasty, Irkin, Step Ups – x10 IC descending to 6

    Mosey to the Shaft for Benjamins.

    2 exercises each round, 25 reps each, with a mosey back and forth from the flag. 100 total per round

    Another version of sleepyhead emerged – the plan was to do Freak Nasties and Dirkins first, until YHC realized we just did 180 Merkins on the wall. Modification was needed.

    1. Stone Mountain, Bear Crawl, Mountain Climber
    2. Superman’s, Flying Nuns (lunge walk with arm circles), George Thorogoods
    3. Squats, run, Renegade Row
    4. Reverse Grip Merkin, Bear Crawl, and something else.

    Mosey back to the Gazebo for more Benjamins with Core focus.

    1. Little Manny Crunches, run, LBC’s
    2. Crunchy Frogs, run, Hello Dolly

    Mosey a little further to get some shade, circle up for some shoulder work.30 second for each exercise with a hold at the end. Moroccan Night Club, We’re not Worthy – aka Field Goals, ,Cherry Pickers, Overhead Claps, hold arms out straight – @ 30 seconds each.

    Indian Run to the Flag – kinda – everybody just really took off and ran in a line with some sprints.

    At the Flag, 7 minutes of core. Hello Dolly, Crunchy Frogs, E2k, and some other stuff.

    Count, Name, and YHC prayed us out with thanks for F3. Remembering Birds family, Jose10K’s student and their family.

    Announcements:
    Spartan Dallas in October, sign up soon – talk to Hammer. Plenty of runs coming up for July 4th through Thanksgiving.

    Zoolander’s 6 year anniversary Q next Saturday.

    Here’s to 5 more years 👊
    SYITG, Akbar

  • 7.564k Au Lait – from Steve

    I don’t know, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

    But hey, that’s what you get when you cut off two fingers and a few left turns. Apparently Legal and Bean could further trim the route if Tank doesn’t return from his European vacation soon.

    T-claps to Parrot for getting some extra, and to William for his ever-improving one mile sprint.

    Coffeteria followed, where we learned not to wade into Bushwacker’s reading history – some things you just don’t want to know.

  • 7.564k Au Lait – from Steve

    I don’t know, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

    But hey, that’s what you get when you cut off two fingers and a few left turns. Apparently Legal and Bean could further trim the route if Tank doesn’t return from his European vacation soon.

    T-claps to Parrot for getting some extra, and to William for his ever-improving one mile sprint.

    Coffeteria followed, where we learned not to wade into Bushwacker’s reading history – some things you just don’t want to know.

  • Dice Games at the A1C – from Shooter

    Warm-ups followed by a lap down to the bottow and back up to the top. Then it was time to bust out the Dice built by Whacker. One die had a number, the other die had the exercises. Each person rolled the exercise die once the number die was rolled. First round number: 25. The exercises were burpees, 8 count body builders, and wife pleasers.
    The second number: 20. The exercises: merkins, jump squats, leg lifts. The final number: 10. The exercises: burpees, right elbow left knee, left elbow right knee, and tbh I forgot the 3 exercise. Then it was a recovery walk to the end of the parking lot with a 35 pound weight, jump rope, and a core exercise. 1 minute at each station. The 35 pound weight was rifle carried (shoulder press to intesify), squat thrusters for round 2, and curls for girls for round 3. COT and Darkwing prayed us out.

  • If My Calculations Are Correct, When This Baby Hits 88 mph, You Are Going to See Some Serious… – from Steve

    My favorite part of Q’ing a Gipper beatdown? The disgusted look on Moby’s face when he finds out I have the Q and starts muttering obscenities under his breath. It warms my heart and makes me realize that some tiny part of me actually looks forward to being Moby’s age.

    Light chatter among the gathering crowd before a group of us took off on the 1 mile pre-thang, which saw a little excitement today: a silver sedan barreling down Theard and blaring Fortunate Son, thought it’d be a wise idea to take a left turn (and, mind you, not an intersection empty of… say, 5 running pedestrians) at 65 mph and accelerating, nearly taking out Einstein. Of course, you can’t take Einstein down that easily – he deftly outmaneuvered both the vehicle and a large puddle without much effort. I guess all those ice skater hops and star jumps have paid off. The whole episode became slightly awkward when we then caught up with Fogerty only a block later, to find him gently reversing into his apartment parking spot (still full volume with the Creedence, though; I’m sure his neighbors love him).

    Having survived a brush with death and safely back at the Gip, we found a nice crowd of 10 for the Juneteenth holiday. Knocked out the usual warmorama before taking off for the back of the Justice Center for a routine of 3 exercises, 15 reps of each, followed by a lap around the courtyard and another 3 exercises:

    – Merkins, Squats, Dollies (IC)
    – Hand-release Merkins, Bobby Hurleys, Gas Pumps (IC)
    – T-Merkins, Lunges, Dying Cockroaches (IC)
    – Staggered Merkins, Star Jumps, Box Cutters (IC)
    – Wide Merkins, Sister Mary’s, Wife Pleasers (IC)

    Chatter of Shooter’s burpeepalooza from the day before – a routine named “Hightower” (but apparently NOT after the character in Police Academy?!?) – sent our Pax down the 80’s rabbit hole, with characters and quotes from One Crazy Summer, Better Off Dead, and others being bandied about.

    Next up, over to the front of the Justice Center for the usual leg routine:

    x12 IC Step ups, Freak Nasties, Step Ups (other leg), Derkins -> 5x calf raises up each step
    x12 IC Bulgarians, Freak Nasties, Bulgarians (other leg), Derkins -> 5x calf raises up each step
    x12 IC Step downs, Freak Nasties, Step downs (other leg), Derkins (we caught you doing extra derkins, Moby – so don’t be acting like this was a hard beatdown!)

    After solving the mystery of whether it was a Yorkshire terrier or Amber Heard that crapped the bed, it was finally time to call it and return to the flag. COT, announcements (more brutal Spartan training at the Scramble and an Akbar 5-year anny on Saturday), and then Einstein prayed us out with intentions for the Perrin family, the Tillery family, and Grundy’s new baby. It was really great to be back at the Gipper, made me realize just how much I miss this AO and the Covington Pax. Thank you gents for having us and for the opportunity to lead!

  • The HighTower – from Shooter

    4 HIMs to the 💊 this Gloom to get out at Granny’s and put in some work..
    Warmup of 15IC Imperial walkers, SSH, Cherry pickers, front claps and Grass grabbers..
    Moseyed down Girard toward the lake stopping at every second block to complete a round of the HighTower (check Exicon for description) Burpees of all sorts of variations was had along the way with the final set performed in the overflow lot of OLL. Utilized for 4x back pedals and sprints.. Returned to AO for Wife pleasers and L/R elbow to knee 15IC..

    Closed out with prayers for the Tillery family, as well as recent news from a former 10k students family… 🙏🏼🙏🏼

    Until the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!!