Tag: Amnesia

  • 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

  • Can You Feel The LOVE?

    We were all FNGs once…BUT….IF….you’ve been an F3 Northshore FNG recently, making your first post at the most logical AO, the Mandeville Lakefront, you’ve experienced some extreme H8 from on-Q-high.  Of course, I would never mention any Qs by name…but a few nicknames come to mind: Turbo (extreme H8), Maverick (he called it “a sampling” of H8), and who could forget Bushwacker and his “animal planet” on what had to be the longest set of city blocks in all of Mandeville (I attribute my slow typing to the blisters on my fingers from bear crawling).  And, there may have been another obstacle course beatdown sprinkled somewhere in there, but YHC cant remember that one very well.  To make a long story short, there seems to have been some sort of Challenge or Race at each Saturday morning beatdown this summer.   So YHC figured with all this H8, it was time for some LOVE.  So here’s how it went:

    Warmarama

    SSH, Imperial Walkers, High Knees, Butt Kicks.  x 15 all IC.  Then off we go for some fun and games.  Mosey to the Great Lawn…

    Thang:

    45 Minute game of Ultimate Frisbee with some school yard smack talkin’ mixed in.  It was awesome!  YHC felt like a kid out there.  Raise your hand if you’ve said, “Losers walk” in the last 30 years.    The game went great–we had some diving catches, some nice throws, some blocked passes and deflections.  Even Chris Berman and Tom Jackson would have been impressed if they had seen the full speed, Sportscenter-esque collision between Assets and TankedUp.    Relieved that no one was “Jacked Up” after the collision, YHC called “next point wins.”  With a quick score by the Shirts (the Skins fell asleep because the rest of the game was such a blowout), it was time to mosey back to the Flag for some Mary:

    Flutter Kicks, Hello Dollys, Putins, Rower Sit-ups, and Leg Raises.

    Countarama, Namorama, and YHC prayed us out.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead, men.  I appreciate it.

  • Birdcage – Week 2 – The Iron 34PAX Challenge

    Pre-Thang

    After YHC’s first visit at Okwata’s H4 Challenge, YHC discussed with Tool and Mahatma-Ice about the possibility of bringing a Rock City type of workout to Birdcage with cinder blocks.  Of course… with their support, YHC was able to get the goods (28 blocks at 28 lbs and 4 blocks at 19 lbs) from Tool and loaded them up onto Mahatma’s truck.

    Meanwhile, on Sunday, Reluctant Yankee sent out Week 2 IronPax Challenge, which incorporates exercises with cinder blocks.  What are the chances??? With many personal texts and mumblechatter convincing the Q to facilitate the challenge (a lot of passive aggressiveness), YHC finally decided to forgo his planned Q with the blocks and went with the challenge.

     

    The Challenge

    Thanks for many PAX help at 5 a.m. to mark the 25 yard distance and unloading all 32 blocks onto the field, YHC was able to start the disclaimer on time at 5:30 a.m. and off we go…. Unfortunately, YHC didn’t get enough blocks for the challenge.  YHC underestimated his popularity… didn’t expect to see 34 PAX and thought 32 blocks were more than enough.

    Actual Week 2 Iron Pax Challenge – accumulated Rep scoring

    4 sets x 8 minutes – perform as many reps as possible in 8 minutes.  After 25 reps, must run 25 yards out and back.  Rinse and repeat until 8 minutes is up.  Rest 2 minutes between sets.

    Set 1 – Thrusters with cinder block

    Set 2 – Curls with cinder block

    Set 3 – KB Swings with cinder block

    Set 4 – ManMaker with cinder block

    Total Score = Set 1 Reps + Set 2 Reps + Set 3 Reps + Set 4 Reps

     

    COT

    Count-O-Rama 34 PAX, Name-O-Rama with one FNG & one PAX from Tallahassee, announcements, intentions.  A record day at Birdcage with 34 PAX participating a heck of the challenge.  Welcome Iron Horse (Tallahassee) and Sinner Bloq$ (FNG) because he’s a pastor working out with cinder blocks.  How fitting???

     

    NMM

    T-Claps to everyone making the challenge possible at Birdcage.  Tool – supplying the blocks.  Mahatma-Ice – picking up the blocks with his truck.  Yankee – measuring the 25 yard distance at 5 a.m.  Hawgcycle, Candy Land, Gabrielle, Medulla, Angie’s List, Willie – help unloading off the truck to the field in the Gloom.

    Thank You all again for the opportunity to facilitate the challenge.  SYITG

    King Kong

     

    Standings – YHC didn’t get everyone’s reps because some modified the challenge, 4 PAX were using the 19 lbs blocks instead of the 28 lbs, or YHC just didn’t do a good job collecting everyone’s score.  Whatever the reason, this is the list:

    Rev-It – 325

    Seaman -625

    I Love You Man – 425

    Douille – 375 (left early)

    Iron Horse – 609

    Angie’s List – 502

    Bartman – 500

    Gabrielle – 583

    Willie – 558

    Rev Sox – 468

    Tinkles – 489

    Medulla – 455

    Quarter Pipe – 456

    Mahatma-Ice – 805

    Saban – 655

    Sinner Bloq$ (FNG) – 655

    Peaches – 475

    Hawgcycle – 592

    Reluctant Yankee – 445

    El Wire – 505

    Mariah – 495

    Chiquita – 415

    Candy Land – 325

  • 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!

  • This BB is Late – I’m a Bum

    Walking back to my house from the Uptowner, I met a man and woman walking their dogs.  The man was in his 50s and dressed as if he might own a sailboat.  It stood out to me that he was wearing sunglasses at 0630, so I will call him Shades.

    Shades:  You alright?

    Hawgcycle:  Yeah, why?  Do I not look alright?

    Shades: ….

    Hawgcycle: …..

    Shades:  Well, I can tell you are not a bum.

    Hawgcycle: …..

    Shades:  Where do you live?

    Hawgcycle: …..

    I’m pretty sure the fact that Shades told me he could tell I was not a bum means:

    1.  He was pretty sure I was bum when he first saw me.
    2. He was still not sure that I was not a bum.

    I’m not sure what the term bum means to Shades, but I am going to take this interaction as a compliment.  My alarming appearance and fatigued stagger leaving the Uptowner Arena means I left it all at the AO.  There is also the possibility that my disheveled hair, $3 flip-flops, painted toenails, and horrendous stench formed his opinion.  I’m sticking with the former.

    Here’s what put me in that state:

    Warm-up

    SSH x 30; IW x 31; Don Quixote x 15; Hug it out OYO while YHC gave some instructions.

    Iron-Pax Pre-Challenge

    20 Hand Release Merkins – 100 yard Bear Crawl – 20 Hand Release Merkins – 100 yard Bear Crawl for time.

    Wood Hero WOD

    400 meter run – 10 Burpee Box Jumps – 10 Sumo-Deadlift High-Pulls – 10 Rock Thrusters.  AMRAP.

    Most of us used the T-Shift Laundry Detergent Buckets to jump over for the Burpee Box Jumps.  A few used the pump wall.  We also used the buckets for the Sumo-Deadlift High-Pulls.

    NMM

    Many things were impressive about this group today:

    • 9 guys posted – big turnout
    • 5 guys wore red.  Most ever
    • All 9 were sub 8:00 on the challenge and ranked top 60ish
    • All 9 attacked the Hero WOD after bearcrawling for days

    Thanks to all those protecting freedoms around the world.

  • 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

  • Northshore H8!

    There’s been a fair amount of mumble chatter emanating from the Southshore lately about the so called H8! beat down.  Never to be outdone by our Southshore brothers, the Northshore PAX decided to turn up the volume to 11 this morning with a modified version of the H8!   After the standard disclaimer and a warmup of SSHs, Seal Jacks, Toe Touches, Imperial Walkers, Front to Back Lunges, Lateral Lunges, and Windmills, all IC and with rep counts from 10-20, YHC led fourteen men westward on the Mandeville Lakefront to the launch pad for 40 minutes of suffering.

    The PAX started the clock and their first lap with one Merkin.  This one Merkin was the centerpiece of YHC’s diabolical plan to make the Northshore H8! .01% better than the Southshore version.  YHC’s poor reading comprehension and math skills actually made it a lot harder, however.  YHC misinterpreted Hawg’s Friday afternoon briefing, realized his mistake 1 lap into the H8!, but by that time the horses were out of the barn and it was too late to recall them for revised instructions.  Anyone who has Q’d a beat down know how that works.

    At any rate, after that first Merkin (which was terrific across the board by the way), the PAX bear crawled 35 yards, ran out and back for .4 miles round trip, bear crawled 35 yards back to our starting point and then performed 8 burpees and 8 Merkins within each burpee to complete one lap.  This last part is where YHC mangled Hawg’s instructions.  We should have performed descending Merkins instead of 8 Merkins for each burpee, i.e. 36 instead of 64.  Too late.  The die was cast, as mentioned above, and there was nothing to do but get on with it.

    So we did, completing as many laps as possible in 40 minutes, dropping the number of burpees and Merkins by one on each lap.  Whether it was the extra Merkins or our lack of fitness relative to our Southshore brothers, we’ll never know, but no one completed 8 laps in the prescribed 40 minutes.  The PAX cheerfully embraced the suck, however, which is something.  Even when the wind picked up, it started to rain hard, and the Sky Q started throwing lightening bolts nearby.

    Thanks for letting me lead this morning, guys, and welcome to FNGs Survivor and The Hammer.  See you in the Gloom.

     

     

     

     

  • Carry Anothers Burden and Push Yourself

    YHC unexpectedly took the Okwata Q this week for two reasons. First was to help a brother out, and the second was because Okwata is a Rockin’ AO! With all the recent talk of the H8 lately, YHC knew we needed to do something to begin training for it. There’s no doubt previous training for the H8 led to the World dominance at the Gnarly Nutria! Enough about the World’s victory….

    YHC planted two shovel flags, one for ‘Merica, and one for the Nation! With the ole watch telling us it was 0530, time for the disclaimer…and then….

    Mosey around the Mardi Gras fountain, carioca left, then carioca right and circle up in front of the fountain.

    Warm Up
    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 15
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10

    Plank-o-rama (Ode to Rudy)
    Peter Parker IC x 15
    Shoulder Taps IC x 15
    Parker Peter IC x 15
    Mountain Climber IC x 15

    Mosey to the top of levee behind the fountain for a Chaos Run.
    Pax line up and begin to run toward Canal. When the Q calls “Disperse”, the Pax runs down either side, executes 3 burpees, then sprints back to top of levee, then continue run in single column formation. The Q called “disperse” about 5 or 6 times before we made it to Canal.

    BLIMPS
    Starting at the first corner of Lakeshore Drive and Canal.
    Burpees IC x 5 (6 count)
    Run up Canal to Amethyst Street
    Lunges IC x 10 (4 count)
    Run across to other corner of Amethyst and Canal
    Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 15
    Run down Canal to Lakeshore Drive
    Merkins IC x 20 (4 count)
    Run to original starting point corner
    Plank Jacks IC x 25 (4 count)
    Run up Canal to Amethyst Street
    Squats IC x 30 (4 count)

    Well, that was the end of the first set of BLIMPS, time to throw in some H8 training!
    Burpees IC x 5 (6 count)
    Run to the top of the levee on Canal, Bear Crawl across, run down to Lakeshore Drive
    Lunges IC x 10
    Run back up to top, Bear Crawl across, run down to Amethyst
    Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 15
    Do this until the BLIMPS are completed….

    Times Up, Mosey back to Flag for COT

    Count off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions, and ended with a prayer to the Sky Q.

    NMM

    Upon completing Plank Jacks at Amethyst, YHC stopped everyone for a 10 count. YHC asked all Pax to push themselves as hard as they can on the last leg, symbolizing carrying the burden of someone for just that brief time. We can’t take the pain or the suffering away, but we can help them carry it, even if for just a short period of time. It may only be symbolic, but YHC believes it transcends much deeper.

    YHC got to meet the legendary Amnesia today! Not sure if he’ll remember where Okwata is…..

    Thanks to Hokie Pokey, Bongo, JV, and Mahatma for pushing me today!

    Thanks for posting with me! SYITG