Category: Backblasts

  • Quit Hitting Snooze!!!

    Quit Hitting Snooze!!!

    In honor of our favorite new reptilian PAX member, YHC built a workout that was all about what happens when you hit snooze. Namely, the ALARM keeps going off!

    Here is the abbreviated account of what went down on Tuesday at the Mandeville Trailhead.

    Warmup:

    SSH 20 IC

    Mummy Kicks 20 IC

    Butt Kicks 20 IC

    High Knees 20 IC

    Windmills 10 IC

    Superman Red Sun Yellow Sun 15 IC both directions

    The Thang:

    We moseyed to the playground (albeit in a roundabout manner). But we made the moseying a little more interesting by doing something called the 5 corner escalator.

    5 Corner Escalators: Start with 5 burpees (officially the first of the five corners) and start moseying. At the second corner you do another 5 burpees and add 10 high knee jump-ups. At every corner you do what you had done before and add another set of exercises with an increased rep count of five additional reps for every new exercise. On the last round we did 5 burpees, 10 high knee jumps, 15 merkins, 20 squats, and 25 mountain climbers. Well that escalated quickly…

    Arrived at the park and began what would be the main course of this morning breakfast beatdown. What’s that sound? It’s an ALARM!

    ALARM:

    A routine where you do an (A)rms exercise, (L)egs Exercise, (A)b exercise, (R) exercise, and a (M) exercise.

    ALARM 1 = Shoulder Taps (20 IC), Lunge (Court Length and back), Monkey Crunches (25 OYO), Reverse Crunches (25 OYO), Mountain Climber Merkins (15 OYO).

    Someone must have hit snooze, because a familiar sound rang once more. The ALARM went off again!

    ALARM 2 = Curb Albert (10 IC), PAX Called Up-Downs, Rosalita Wip (15-20 IC), Mini Chesto. The QIC cut this last alarm short so we could head back for our last exercise.

    We were running long but everyone obliged the Q to go a little over. They might have regretted doing that. It was time for the 5 minute plank challenge!

    5 Minute Plank Challenge

    • 1 minute elbow plank (Chilcutts) and rock back and forth past your hands.
    • 30 seconds side planking hip drops each side
    • 1 minute Dancing Chilcutt (Elbow plank with alternating straight leg raises)
    • 30 second side planks Nolan Ryan’s each side.
    • 1 minute Plank alternating feet stepping outside of your shoulders and back.

    That was brutal!!! Way to go guys for hanging in there! And man… Ocho… That story you told… Stunk…

    Circled up and Ocho closed us out in Prayer. Thanks for the select few who braved it this morning! What a pleasure it is to grow stronger with you men… And turtle.

  • Bayou Andme

    Well YHC was covering Q today for Shooter. Set my alarm and ran out the door a little early eager to lead the pack in the Northshore run day routine. And YHC led the PAX to the lakefront’s sunset point and raced on the pier. YHC won the race of course because the PAX allowed him to in order to boost YHC’s confidence as Q. However on the return, YHC started to tire out and the PAX beat YHC back to the starting place in the final push to the finish line. We then ended with 5 rounds of pullups pursuant to the monthly challenge of pull ups and BOM.

    Quote for the day:
    So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. -1 Thessalonians 5:6

  • Dog Days at The Gipper

    With the little ones heading back to school tomorrow, it seems summer is coming to a close.  In reality, of course, it’s been a mild August thus far, so we’re probably in for a pavement-melting October.  Regardless, YHC was happy to have the (ever-so-slight) dip in humidity this morning, though it did little to deter the PAX from sharing multiple stories of splashing merlot (along with specific locations) to our FNG before we even got rolling.  (spoiler: he did fine)

    Alright, let’s get this thing going…

    Warm-Up: Seal Jacks, Windmills, Mummy Kicks, High Knees, Butt Kicks (All 20x IC)

    The Thang:  Mosey to the justice center garage for Burpees (15), Lunges (20 IC), Imperial Walkers (25IC), Merkins (30), Plank Jacks (35IC), and Squats (40).  That’s right, BLIMPS, with some backpedaling and sprints in between as we made it up the garage ramps to the top.

    Up top we tried a new one – Dominoes.  All PAX line up in a left arm high plank along the curb, and the left-most man kicks things off by dropping into standard plank and doing 5 merkins.  Next man, and so on, until all have completed and are now in standard plank position.  Then swaparoo, with right arm high.  Two rounds of this had YHC recalling Grundy’s Plank Challenge from yesterday, and I called it.

    Down to the Justice Center for some quick leg business: Step Ups (each leg, 10x), 1 minute of Rocky B’s, up and around the stairs 2x, Bulgarian Split Squats (each leg, 15x), 1 minute of wider stance Rocky B’s, up and around the stairs 2x.

    Over to a patch of grass for Jack Webbs – up to 10 merks and 40 air presses.  YHC wanted to go one more, if only to mentally mess with Grundy, but alas, time called us back to the flag for an abbreviated Mary: Jane Fondas (15x IC) and leg pulses (15x IC), each leg.

    Countdown, naming and welcoming of FNG Dr. Buckeye (welcome brother!), announcements (get ready for the 10k sando and, if you’re interested, a street-fighting class courtesy of Turbo’s posse) and finally, Moby prayed us out.  Thanks for letting me lead guys, always a pleasure!

  • Never Gonna Dance Again…at the Foundry

    As I was walking over to the Foundry, I could feel the drop in humidity from the day before; from 97 to 93%.

    The Bold and the Beautiful showed up, DISCLAIMER, and let’s mosey.  We moseyed to the track, halfway around and kept going…to the Foundry.  Five pax, five stations and my phone for 80’s music and the Timer.

    COP: 20 x SSH, 20 x Mt Climbers, 30 x Arm Circles (15 ea.dir.), 20 x Jo-Lo’s

    The Thang: timer set for Spartacus time (1 min exercise, 15 sec rest/transition) for five stations.  Pull-ups, dips, box jumps, rows, Squat Walkers.  After two cycles, mosey to the water fountain and mosey back.  T-claps to the troops for planking while waiting for their turn at the water fountain.  Fall in for one more round and let’s mosey.  Back at the track we pulled off for some Mary.  30 x LBC, 30 x Flutter Kicks, 20 x Hello Dollys, and of course everyone’s favorite: Wife Pleasers x 20.  Running over time, back to the S/F.

    Countoff, namerama, announcements, shoutouts, and a prayer.

    (Thanks Da Parish for asking about George Michael’s music…and thanks Spotify for playing shortly after)

  • Lakefront Coastie

    I’m the Q again!  How did I get here?

    I grew up always being a follower, just someone who hung out but things are different.  Much different!  I’m not a kid any longer and although my sight is getting worse, my vision is getting clearer.  I see needs that demand attention, I see needs that are growing, and I see needs that are not going away.  What will I do?   Will I choose to be a High Impact Man (HIM) or will I choose the path of least resistance?

     

    A good friend and mentor once told me that being a leader will ALWAYS cost me something.

     

    Countoff, Namerama and prayers for my friend Shelly who lost her husband 1 year ago and is raising three young children as a young widow, Fracsac’s dad and Tool’s son.

    We headed east to the Seabrook bridge and rode at a brisk pace throughout in an attempt to join the 610 stomp at City Park for their COT.  I set the pace early at around 20-21 mph but Da Parish and Woz were on my heels.  They dropped me as we neared Franklin Avenue and slowed down as they turned back toward UNO.  After I caught up with them, we made a left at Paris and headed to City Park.  With 1 minute to spare, we pulled up to the COT and finished 12 burpees as a combined PAX.

     

    So today I lost sleep and the comfort of a warm bed but I gained so much more!   God, thank you for allowing me to lead!

    Luke 9:24 – For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

  • The 610 Stomp #102

    “What man actually needs is not a tension-less state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him” – Viktor Frankl

    6 men of NOLA gathered in a humid gloom.  Roots represented Uptown again, and Tool posted regardless of his flooded basement.  #Tclaps

    DISCLAIMER

    The Thang

    Two stations:

    1. The Track – Run a lap, then do 10x Burpees.
    2. The Refinery – Set of pullups / dead hang to failure; then a set of parallel bar / L-sit holds to failure.

    Pax runs between the two stations (about 0.5 miles each way) for 2.0 / 2.5 sets.

    Mosey back to the flag, where we were greeted by the Bucktown Coastie Pax (Da Parish, Triple Shift & Woz).  We welcomed them by sealing the deal with 12x Burpees.  Held the COT, which included the Countoff, Nameorama, Shoutouts, and a Prayer.

    Thanks for letting me lead!

    Moleskin

    It’s reinvigorating when you do something from the norm.  To harp on Hawg’s theme yesterday at Q-school, everyone has a different perspective and brings something new to the table.  This is why we need new Qs to step up.  For the existing Qs, challenge yourself to be creative in your beatdowns.

    The 610 Stomp Pax ended up with over 3.5 miles ran, 40 – 50 burpees. and a great head start on their pullup challenge. #ISI

  • Marsh Madness!

    Monday are tough but the pax are tougher!!! There was nothing different about today’s beatdown except the fact that we are getting faster and stronger! Get that crust out you eyeballs and let’s get this thing started!!!

    warmarama:

    SSH x20 ic

    TT x10 ic

    IW x10 ic

    along with some much needed Monday morning stretches…. hold for a long 10 count..

    the thang:

    and here comes brat!!! Coming in hot!! Just in time for our first go round…

    1:00m merkins to time or failure

    1:00m big boy sit ups

    1:00m pull-ups

    1mile run

    rinse and repeat!! ( Exclude the mile run)

    COT, BOM

    keep up the hard work fellas!!! You guys are setting the standard for men in our community!!

  • Rock City Q School

    New leaders bring new ideas and new ideas bring growth.  In hopes of accelerating that growth Tool suggested we have a Q school at Rock City today, so we gathered 17 strong in the gloom for some lessons in leadership.

    Disclaimer

    Most of us don’t do a good job with this, as we usually gloss over it as we start our mosey.  It’s important to emphasize a few points – We are not professionals, this is going to be physically demanding, there are inherent risks (physical exertion, it’s dark, mud, roots, rocks, etc.) and all participants assume those risks, and you should modify if necessary.

    Getting Started

    We moseyed past the rock pile to the t-ball field (Pontiff Playground was in surprisingly good shape after serving as a reservoir during Saturday’s street flooding).  It’s important to set a good tone for the workout early.  You want to portray that you believe that what you are about to do is worth doing.  That it is worth getting out of bed and to the park for 5:30.  We have to make it hard or it won’t be in important to the Pax.

    • 20 Burpees OYO (On Your Own)
    • SSH x 15 (IC); Imperial x 20 (IC); J-Los x 10 (IC)
    • Burpees EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) x 6 minutes (Reps: 12, 12, 12, 12, 10, 10)
    • Peter Parkers x 20 (IC); Plank Jacks x 20 (IC); Parker Peters x 20 (IC)
    • 12 Burpees OYO

    Total Burpees during Warm-up = 100.

    Cadence and Counting

    An important part of our workouts are the commands used to lead an exercise in cadence.  We use 3 two-part commands.  The fact that we use the same commands every time promotes efficiency and pace and keeps us together.  The commands are straight up army style, consisting of two-parts, a preparatory command, followed by a very brief pause, followed by a command of execution.  Example:

    • Next exercise is….the side straddle hop
    • Ready position…move
    • In cadence….Exercise

    There is great deal of controversy over whether it is Ready Position…move or Starting Position…move.  In the infamous DREDD/OBT video “How to Count” DREDD says “Starting Position.”  I gave my Freed To Lead Book away two years ago, so I’m not sure what it says.  However, I am pretty sure OBT used “Ready Position” when he taught me how to do it.

    Kimchi took over at this point and provided instructions for the different cadence counts we use.  Some points to remember:  The Q always counts 1-2-3, while the Pax responds on the 4th count with the number of the repetition.  The Q must change the tone of his count on the last rep to let the Pax know the exercise is ending.  If you are on the ground, tell the Pax to get up by saying “recover” after the exercise is over.  If you want the pax to stay down so you can lead them through 15 variations of plank and merkin exercises a la Rudy, then don’t tell them to recover until the end.

    • Red Bull Count – This is a super-fast 4 count.  Kimchi demonstrated by leading us in Red Bull Smurf Jacks
    • Normal Count, but slow exercise – This is a normal count, but you do half the exercise on the first 3 counts and then complete it quickly on the four count.  Normally used with Low Slow Squats, which Kimchi demonstrated with, but also works well with Merkins.
    • Slow Count – This is a super slow four count.  This one can be a little difficult and takes metronome like skills to keep everyone together.  Kimchi demonstrated with Merkins.  Personally, I use it for Don Quixotes and Good Mornings.
    •  8 count – Used for our more complicated exercises.  Kimchi demonstrated with 8-count Body Builders #crowdpleaser.  Also commonly used by JV for Dr. Ws.
    • Woz then reminded us that we left one out – the 2 count aka up/down cadence.  This cadence works well for all exercises in which you move up and down.  The Q calls out the commands Up and Down (or Down then Up depending on the exercise) as the Pax counts after Down (or UP).  Woz demonstrated with Squats.  #GRT

    Throughout this section, several men posted to the middle to practice leading an exercise.  T-claps to Babyface, Milkman, Marlin, Yo-Yo, Tiny Dancer, and the aforementioned Woz for stepping up to lead.

    Smoking the Pax

    When structuring a workout, you want to make sure that you smoke the super fit guys without leaving everyone else behind.  You also don’t want to make it so that the really fit guys are waiting around a long time for everyone else to finish.  The goal is to create a workout that smokes everyone, regardless of fitness level.  Shorty took over at this point and gave some examples of exercises one can use for this purpose.  You want to use exercises where the intensity is not dependent on time or distance.  For example, Tabata is a good one where everyone stays together and each man does as much as he can during each 20 second interval.  The EMOM used during the warmup is another good example.  Shorty suggested partner work.  Partner work is good because one partner may be able to carry more of the team load than the other.  As long as you don’t let Jadaveon and El Wire partner up together, it seems teams are usually more even than individuals.  Shorty led us in a round of abbreviated Dora.  One partner did Jump Squats while the other jogged to 40 yards and back.  Teams were to complete 300 jump squats, but we ran out of time around 200.

    Circle of Trust

    If there are FNGs, it’s a good idea to recap what F3 stands for and why we find it important.  We always finish with countarama, namearama, announcements and a prayer.

    Naked Man Moleskin

    • Great turnout today for Q-school.  We should have at least 17 for every Rock City.
    • Judging fro the mumblechatter, the 100 burpee warm-up seemed to be as much of a hit in The World as it was Uptown.
    • Good input from all the Pax today:  Triple Shift reminded us the importance of paying attention to the Pax as you lead and that it is ok to stop and correct form when you see people doing it wrong.  Tool suggested that splitting your VQ with someone else is always a good option.  Walleye reminded us of the importance of planning a total body workout and not just focusing on one area.
    • Rudy had a section planned on Trying New Things, but we didn’t get to it.  One reason we want new Qs to step up is because they often bring fresh ideas.  It never hurts to try something new.  If it doesn’t work, you don’t have to bring it back.  But more often than not, it works.
    • That brings me to flexibility.  Today, the cadence training was going well and we had a lot of newer Qs that we wanted to give some practice to.  We spent some extra time on that section, knowing it would cost us Rudy’s section at the end.  You want to bring a plan, but always be prepared to change it during the workout.
    • Also, it’s much better to over plan than under plan.  You never want to run out of things to do and then just be making stuff up to kill time at the end.  You want to finish strong.  In case you do run out of stuff, you can always finish with Mary, but it works best to have a go-to Mary series ready, instead of making it up on the fly.
    • If you attended the Q school today, let me know what worked well and what didn’t work well.  You can post it in the comments below.  I would love to have your feedback.  We are going to take this show on the road at the end of the month, and I would like for it to be better than what it was today.

    Thanks,

    Hawg

  • Free Throw Frenzy

    Great job to everyone who cranked out the Saturday morning beatdown at the Mother Ship. Squats, lunges, bear crawls, and derkins are alway a great way to get your weekend started.  TClaps to Brat and Crab Legs for finsihing the Mosey with a Purpose challenge in the designated time. We all had a blast to the past to PE class with lay ups, free throws, and suicides!!!

  • PreBlast: Keep it Simple

    I’m borrowing this workout from F3 in Raleigh, which is where I first posted back in 2015.

    We’re going to warm up in place:

    -20 x windmills
    -20 x SSH
    -2 x 20 second arm/chest stretches

    And then we’re going to run. We’ll stop every 1/4 mile to do 20 merkins.
    If you finish quickly, you can move on to do 40 LBCs. If you finish that, plank and wait until the 6 has finished the merkins, then everyone will run to the next 1/4 mile mark and repeat. We’ll end up back at the flag for COT.

    See y’all in the gloom.

    EDIT: we ended up alternating a bit, so we started with 40 LBCs at a few station.  We ran 2.5 miles total, so had 10 workout stops.  I think we did 7 x 20 merkins and 3 x 40 LBCs + lagniappe.  And we finished up with a little ring of fire back at the flag.