Fitness, Fellowship, Faith

Month: October 2016 (Page 2 of 5)

Look at Those Nice Jugs….

Yeah, I did that headline on purpose. Maybe a get a few curious PAX to see what went on at the GasHouse. I admit to being guilty of a clickbait headline every now and then, maybe you are as well. For the record, Kelly Kapowski can still bring it and for the record, ‘nice jugs’ is an applicable adjective. Okay, time to get this train back on the rails. I’ll digress into the workout which the theme was in fact handling some jugs, 1 gallon water jugs to be accurate. At maybe 8 lbs, it doesn’t seem like much but with enough reps and enough sets, the PAX seemed to feel the effects. On a cool Fall morning that is the essence of a college football Saturday, 9 men posted to lift, press, and extend some nice full jugs. With a veteran group, a light disclaimer to underline YHC had a few suggestions they were free to follow at their own peril. I went like this…

Warm-Up

  • 5 Burpees OYO (needed to get the mumble chatter going)
  • Moroccan Night Clubs – IC x 10
  • Squat Merkins – Sgl Ct x 10
  • (New! Stay in low squat; fall forward to a merkin; push back to squat stance. Nice grind for multiple muscles)
  • Seal Jacks – IC x 10
  • Don Quixote – IC x 10

Pledge

Mosey to Grier Middle School – stop at Q’s car to retrieve two gallon water jugs per PAX; proceed to the track.

Set 1: Single Count, 15 reps each;

  • Side lunge/extend: Begin with feet together, side step right and twist with one jug in left hand touching opposite foot, step back and extend arm to the left. Flapjack.
  • LBC holding one jug
  • Seated position, feet off the ground, alternate right then left arm extensions with jugs
  • Push, Press holding two jugs
  • Repeat two times

Set 2: Moved to the bleachers; Single Count, 15 reps each;

  • Bulgarian Squat – both jugs in hand; left then right
  • Bent over row – one jug in hand; left then right
  • Tricep kickback – one jug in hand; left then right
  • Repeat two times

Partner work on the track – separated into groups of 3 men

One partner lunge walks with two jugs in hand; The other two partners perform 10 LBC’s then 10 Merkins; pick up their two jugs and sprint to catch their teammate to switch out. With quads on fire, we Omaha’ed after 200 meters. Nice work to the team of Roscoe, Squirt and Bacon for pushing the pace and earning the right for extra credit plank work.

Walking mosey across the field to our starting point. The Q’s Weinke said a round of Dora 1-2-3 was up next. It would have been a painful stress on our upper bodies. I Omaha’ed and opted to dive into Mary (following my last QIC to keep our sweet girl happy).

Mary – most of these were in counts of 15, either in cadence or single count based on the called exercise.

  • Reverse crunch with jug
  • Flutter kick holding jug
  • Side plank lawn mower pull with jug (right then left)
  • Pointing Dog (plank position; right hand with jug draws in for elbow to touch left knee) switch

At this point my Weinke was complete. Only Stroganoff seemed to want Dora – he lost the vote – PAX’s choice began (to the best of my memory…)

  • French curls
  • American hammers
  • Tricep extensions
  • Bench press
  • Flys
  • Monkey humpers (began w/o jugs; the Spiderman added arms extended w/ jugs – ouch!)
  • Hammer twists (right, then left)
  • Appalachian Americans: with the jugs in hand, T-Square re-named Moonshiners.
  • Standard curls (we stopped short of 15 when Bacon lost his count)
  • Isolation curls – right, then left; led by Roscoe stating to go slow and squeeze at the top to create the definition. If you see anyone one of the PAX in a tank top this week – now you know.

Time to return the jugs and mosey to the AO. Announcements were CSAUP on 11/11-12. CSAUP t-shirt order is closed but will re-open after the event for those that missed the chance. We gathered into the BOM to lift up prayers for Bandit and losing not only his mother, but his M’s uncle passed recently as well. With T-Square and Stroganoff among the PAX, we were reminded of another round of hurt that circles among us. The visitation is Tuesday, 10/25 from 6 to 8 pm at McLean’s Funeral Home in Gastonia. The PAX are looking to show up in support. Look for more information if you would like to participate.

Moleskin:

Another fun opportunity to lead and be among F3 brothers. I began thinking about the concept to use water jugs as resistance for a workout earlier in the week. The Q spot for this morning was open giving me the sign to put the idea into motion (literally and figuratively). I felt better about my opportunity after hearing Stroganoff lead the Third F at Panera. He shared a message based upon his reading of “What’s With You and God” by Irving Stubbs. It was a good discussion where we talked about what our respective plans are as we mosey through our faith journey and the need to find courage to step forward and lead can be a daily test within our lives. Yet another example for the power within F3 to foster all of us to find our known and hidden talents and use them. (BTW if you clicked on the Kelly Kapowski link, you failed the test – 5 burpees OYO).

Cards Were Dealt!

Eight strong rolled into Midoriyama on a warm day for an old man Q. Disclaimer said. Let’s warm up.

Warmup

SSH x 20 IC

Arm Circles, small circles, medium (or smedium for Freight’s shirt), large, all forward then backward for about a minute.

Hillbillies x 20 IC (except I started Imperial Walkers or something but the Pax knew what I meant)

Mercans x 22 for the vets, these were counted by our own crusty old vet Slaw

Pledge

Thang

Mosey to first soccer field on the right near the bleachers.

A modified Deck of Death and instead of real cards, I had an app that we tried out to mixed results. I modified the exercises to things I liked and needed.

Hearts – Flutter Kicks IC x number on the card with face cards at 10.

Spades – Copperhead Squats IC

Diamonds – Mercans IC

Clubs – Run to Corner of the soccer field for curls IC with half cinder blocks, left there by Blart from a previous beatdown.

Jokers – 20 dips on the bleachers OYO

Whenever there was a Queen of anything except clubs (curls) we ran to the hill at the end of the soccer parking lot, did the exercise and ran back.

Whenever there was an Ace of anything except clubs (curls) we ran to the top of the hill near the dog park and ran back down, exercised, then ran back to bleachers.

I asked our high achievers to help me push the pace hoping to finish the entire deck of 54 cards in our time and they did.

We ran out of time with only 7 cards left but judging the sweat level, well mine any way, everyone was pushed. Pizza Man’s watch had over 2 miles covered and lots of reps, notice the IC on the exercises. When I Q’d last time I called it “Ups and Downs” and related each exercise to events that have happened to me and the M during our marriage. Somehow, everyone just remembered the “Downs” so I didn’t do too much story time today but I did make this point. No one knows what cards we will be dealt each day. Keep pushing through. Stay strong. Your faith, family and friends will help whatever that card is that you are dealing with.

Mosey back to the flag.

Announcements

CSUAP shirts and registration, Nomads leaving Eastridge Mall Saturday at 6:00 a.m. to go to Charlotte Mustang to workout. I can say it is fun to go to different AOs and meet new F3 Pax. Keep headlocking (EH). There are men everywhere that need this.

Paryer Requests – Floppy Disk’s M, Bandit’s mother and family, Tool Time (miss that guy).

COT

Moleskin

That Pizza Man is pushing hard training for his 26.2. He and his M have a 5K this week. He helped me count on several occasions. Note to self: It is sometimes difficult to Q, count, exercise and breath at the same time. Freight mentioned that getting up and down was sometimes more difficult than the exercise. How old is he? I noticed he exercised on the concrete after an incident with some ants on the trails. Lil’ Sweet kept trying to get a head start on each card. That guy is getting better each week. Huckleberry has a hurt shoulder but was pushing hard like he always does. He always make me work harder. Slaw has been called the happy exerciser and he always brings it and has a good time on the trip. Blart is really pushing and really getting stronger. Not a lot of mumblechatter out of that one but he is getting better. Billy Madison goes after it full force. He sprints and attacks each workout and has fun.

The dogs at the dog park didn’t seem to like us. Some of our guys discussed “manscaping” while others remain hairless. I think Lil’ Sweet and I are going trail running soon. He said we were. The dog park hill was more substantial than I remembered. The Men of Midoriyama pushed that rock today! Always a pleasure!

Weight Loss with TSquare

9 posted for some pain promised by Whoopee. I was fresh off the plane from a pheasant hunting trip with Feelgood, Bumgardner, Boss Hogg (remember him????) where I did my best to reduce the pheasant population and EH some unsuspecting sad clowns. Don’t worry, the pheasants were never in any danger from me.

We started with a disclaimer about being stupid and how the pain is felt by others then did a real-live warm up with SSH X 40 followed by squats, LBCs, Mountain Goats (someone shoot me and revoke my Q privileges if I try that one again), flutter kicks, and imperial walkers. Next we did a mobile warmup with slow high knees, lunge walk, karaoke and shuffle slide.

Pledge of Allegiance (standing, UP YOURS Kaepernick. We stand and show respect)
Mosey to the parking lot in Martha’s
Introduction to Jack Webb-Escalator from 10 down to 1 Merkins alternating with Escalator Air Presses from 1 up to 10. Short discussion on who Jack Webb was-thanks Spiderman for the unintentional reminder by mentioning something about Friday and shaking loose the cobwebs in my head that Jack Webb was the actor who played Sgt. Joe Friday on TV show Dragnet.
Mosey to parking lot in front of playground near picnic tables for the main event: in honor of Stroganoff (WHO I WON’T MENTION FARTSACKED TODAY) we did 22’s. The plan was 2 man teams but we had 9 present so (thankfully) we had teams of 3. Start on one end of lot and do 20 Burps then escalator down to 2 (by 2 each time) alternating with 2 Squats with escalator up to 20 (by 2 each time) on the other end of the lot. The painful part of this involved piggy back riding your partner from 1 side to the other. With 3 man teams, 1 Pax could walk/mosey each trip while the other 2 Pax became better acquainted during the piggy back ride. Sorry SledgeOMatic, the Queen did not accompany me to South Dakota and I ate and drank more than my share and probably put on a few pounds. This was the part of the workout that really kicked in with the weight loss. I was carrying TSquare on each of my trips and on about the 5th trip, he suddenly became a few pounds lighter. When I turned around to see what was going on, all I saw was Defib. Before he could jump off I took off like a …..well it was not really that fast however in my mind I was moving like Kimberly “Sweet Brown” Wilkins running for my life. I ran out and didn’t grab no shoes or nothing. AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bFEoMO1pc7k

I ran for my life all the way to the other side where I quickly deposited Defib before TSquare could trade places.
Next we moved on to the picnic tables for some dips: reps of 15 then 20 then 15 I think. The Turd Shack was calling (in a good way) so we went there for some hip slappers and donkey kicks. Time was running low so we moseyed back to Pelican’s but stopped along the way for front-of-the-pack-led Mary led by Defib then Billy Madison then Whoopee.
We arrived a little too soon so we had some more Mary then called it quits.
Namorama, Announcements, Prayers:
At the time we mentioned Bandit and his family going through some tough times with Bandit’s mother  (and some other Pax) and the need to be able to lean on each other and occasionally be carried or help carry each other when we are going through rough times. #shieldlock. The partner carry part of 22s above was meant to remind us of that-thanks for posting T Square-your presence is mutually beneficial and I know you know that.
Earlier today I received word from Bandit that his mother had passed away peacefully during the night. Although death will always be a part of our lives, I don’t think I will ever get used to it. I am sad for my F3 brothers when they are sad and I know things will be tough for Bandit for awhile. Take some time today to let those you care about know how you feel today. After reading this, please also pause for a few minutes to say a prayer for our brother Bandit and his family. We will be here for you when you are ready to come back. I am thankful for each one of you-we all have an impact on those around us, especially in the gloom-remember that and let that motivate you to get better and hold your brothers accountable.
Whoopee

All up hill from here

8 men pushed the rock and each other on the trails of Midoriyama. This is how it went.

Warmup:

SSH, Imperial Walker, Hillbilly, Merkin, Sandy V, Freddy Mercury

The Thang:

Pretty simple today. We ran the trails mostly. 2.25 miles worth. Started on the Big leaf loop and added in some of the Laurel loop. We stopped a few times to do 20 jump squats, 30 sandy v’s and 40 merkins.

COT:

Announcements: Nomads heading to the mustang in the metro

Prayer request-Floppy’s M, Injured brothers.

Pledge

Moleskin:

Thanks for the push today fella’s. I was running on zero sleep due to taking some allergy medicine at the wrong time. I really didn’t want to do it today after tweeking all night. Good to see Stroganoff out at Midoriyama again. It’s cooler now so if you want to come visit you won’t melt now.

FIRE BAD!!!

Tuesday morning…gloom…work to do…let’s do it. No disclaimer, everybody here is experienced.

Warm Up- Don Quixote x10IC, CDD x10IC, couple other things, can’t remember.

Pledge

Mosey to the other parking lot. Stop short of the target for a quick example of the Frankenstein walk, arms out, stiff legged steps reaching for your hands. We did this to the next island and then continued the mosey behind the school to a nice hill I’d scoped out on a run.

The Thang

11s – Little Baby Dips at the bottom, Bear Crawl to the top where the PAX did Knerkins and then back down the hill by way of the Crawl Bear. Good work men.

From there we moseyed back around toward the lot we came from for a round of Lindsay (like 11s but higher reps and moving the count by 5 in between). It went like this, on one end we start with 30 reps of LBCs, Frankenstein walk to the other side for 5 reps of Plank Jacks. The PAX went back and forth doing this for a while. The hardest part of this ended up being the never ending Frankensteins. The Mayor’s impersonation of Frankenstein was spot on, Fire Bad!

There was still some time left, so we set up for some Four Corners. Corner 1, 15 squats, mosey to the next corner, 15 merkins, SPRINT to the next corner, 15 lunges each leg, mosey to the next for 15 Peter Parkers then home again. Repeato reducing reps by 5 for two more rounds.

By now we were almost out of time so we walked back to the start for a quick round of Guantanamo.

Announcements- CSAUP

Good work men!

Pretty Simple

Nine loyal PAX rolled up into the Folsom gloom for a simple beat down this AM. Nothing like the cooler air of the coming fall mornings to get you pumped. YHC didn’t plan a technical or extravagant Q, but all in all, it worked out. With some chatter about election, society, and work we stretch it out to wait for any other non fartsackers. It’s 5:30, so let’s roll.

no FNGs, disclaimer

warmorama

hillbillies x15 IC, SSH x15 IC

tha thang

very, very, very long mosey up to the tennis courts for what really looked stupid on paper, if it had even been written. Partner up!

P1 will run a lap around the entire tennis court area while P2 performs the exercise. Switch and continue, like some Mary. U know the drill, accumulatively building to the total of each.

100 burpees, 200 Mt climbers, 300 LBCs, back down with 200 Mt climbers, 100 burpees. See, not too bad? Dolph, finishing 20 minutes ahead of the rest as usual decides it’s a good time to catch up on his Yoga while waiting. Once all PAX had completed, we too joined in. Not sure the names, but plank pointers for length of time and switch appendages? Anyways, short BB, but it took the entire 45.

Announcements, CSAUP Crowders ridge Nov. 11

COT

BOM prayers for our country, our families, and ourselves

Great work men! Push The Rock, or burpee! Thankful for the fellowship and encouragement from you guys everyday. Be strong and stay safe!

High Horse Dismount for Speed Work

2 brave men faced the Gloom without trepidation or fear. In a lonely and gloomy parking lot, 2 men bravely dismounted their steel horses and turned to face the uncertainty head on. YHC took the challenge of leading only himself and 1 other, which adds a level of intensity and uncertainty not there with a larger group.

PAX: JK2 (Q) and Discount Double Check

Warm-up
15 IC Appalachian Americans (Hillbillies)
15 IC Don Quixotes
15 IC LBCs
Arm Circles

Thang
Mosey to Goat Island Park taking the long way to the top of the hill, about 1.5 miles. Once we reached the park, we crossed the 2nd bridge where YHC uncovered his plan.

4 Rounds of from bridge 1 to bridge 2 as fast as you could approximately 400m. Recover with a short walk, and then mosey back to the start at bridge 1. This was 4 x 400m tempo speed work. After the 4th round, a short recovery, and then mosey back to the School, with just enough time for the pledge.

Bombs, Bears, and Crabs

Saturday Morning in October.  It’s gloomy at the start, 12 men climbed out of the fartsack for Bombs, Bears, and Crabs.

Disclaimer
Warmup: Mosey around the parking lot twice to get the blood pumping
Plank-orama:
plank jacks
Shoulder taps
Merkins
Peter parkers
Ssh
Hillbillies
Recover!

YC Planned on a Mosey to the Library for the warmup but the gloominess had me thinking of hidden prophylactics in the dark parking lot so I opted for the sanctuary of the parking lot outside the sanctuary.  We mosey’ed up the hill to the church parking lot to set off some BOMBS!

BURPEES X 50
OVERHEAD CLAPS X 100
MERKINS X 150
BIG BOY SIT UPS 200
SSH 250

By this time 40 minutes had already passed and we were nearly out of time for the fun!

Mosey to soccer field
Crab vs bear soccer 12 mins.
Surprisingly, the most agressive player on the pitch was Monk!  With the other team up 3-1 YHC called next score wins, but no one else scored so we ended in a tie.

Mosey back to the Schiele for some Mary til we die or the bells ring. The usual exercises:
CCV’s, Mountain Climbers, Bicycles, LBC’s, Flutters, Dying Cockroaches, but JK2 mixed it up with some Box Cutters, literally drawing boxes with both legs (like hello dolly and flutters at the same time).
And the 8:01 Church bells couldn’t come at a better time!

Announcements: Register for the CSAUP!,
Prayer requests: Bacon pulled a muscle while playing soccer, Sledges father and his new pacemaker, Bandit’s mom struggling with health, YHC friend Emmanuel with kidney failure, and of course our country. God help our country no matter who is elected!

Nomads visit “The Deep”

3 Gashouse Nomads rolled out of the mall at 5:30am to go visit “The Deep”.  I really enjoy this whole nomad thing cause it gives the group an opportunity to experience the 2nd F with each other.  We arrived at Oakridge Middle School a little early but it was ok, because it let us see how nice SC schools really are and how their lottery money gets put to good use.  Slaw found his parking spot at the sign that says “Secretary” and then one by one the PAX started arriving.  Double-D and Crabcakes  had Q and they didn’t let down.  By doing this nomad thing it also let’s us see new ideas and exercises to bring back to the Gashouse.  Once again I would recommend each of you come experience the nomad workout at least once to enjoy 2nd F with your brothers and visit different AO’s.  Thanks again for driving Slaw!!  Until next time Pizza Man is oooooouuuuuutttttt!!!

Namaste

The workout started with a little confusion when it was discovered that not one, but two Q’s had arrived with plans to lead the PAX.  After a brief discussion TopHat allowed YHC to proceed with his VQ.

Warm Up:

Side Straddle Hops x 15 IC

Mountain Climbers x 15 IC

Windmills x 15 IC

Prisoner Squats x 15 IC

The Thang:

Mosey from the park, up the hill (all the way) to the back parking lot of the First Baptist Church.  The lot was ironically one of the locations TopHat had chosen for his Q; providing us a preview of what’s in store for next week…..don’t miss it.  It’s going to be good!

The PAX circled up for a HIIT beat down that included 2 rounds of 10 exercises.  Each exercise (see below) was performed for 60 sec, followed by 15 sec of rest, with a 60 sec break between the two rounds.

  • Burpees
  • American Hammers
  • Peter Parkers
  • Catcher’s Calf Raises
  • Inch Worms
  • Prisoner Squats
  • V-Ups
  • Quad Push-Ups
  • Revers Lunge with High Kick
  • Kick-Outs

The mumble chatter slowed a little near the end of the first round but the AC/DC soundtrack kept everyone moving and they did an awesome job grinding it out to the end.  After a quick count-off we moseyed back down the hill to the track behind middle school.  Once everyone gathered in turn 1, YHC made a brief comment about how the various demands on our time requires us to have balance and focus in our lives to avoid getting into a rut.  With that, we began working on our balance and focus. Much like the HIIT beat down, each of the exercises were done for 60 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest.  The difference being, these exercises were a lot more (or exactly) like yoga poses.

  • Pointer Plank
  • Tree
  • Captain America Punches
  • Warrior II to Half Moon
  • Warrior III

    There were minor complaints about yoga from the PAX but in the end most agreed it was harder than in looked and walked away with a new found respect for the difficulty of gaining balance and focus.  There was even discussion about throwing a little more in next week.My first Q is now in the books.  It was a pleasure to lead y’all.  Everyone did an awesome job!
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