Back to Work

Not sure about you but I rank Labor Day as my #3 holiday behind Christmas and Thanksgiving. Things seem to end and begin with this annual threshold. The end of summer, the last chance for a mini-vacation or extended weekend to the beach, when you can still get in the water. Summer pool clubs have their final cookouts before shutting down. But there are bright beginnings with 2.0’s beginning school – why they always begin a week or so before having a Monday off, remains a mystery. And then there is the start of football season: high school, college, and pro. I enjoyed a beautiful day on Saturday with good friends and great tailgate only dampened by my Wolfpack’s inability to make key plays against the Gamechickens. But that’s nothing new. Being a State fan requires perseverance which I’m told builds character. Must be why Wolfpack fans age in dog years. But enough of that mumble chatter. The other great thing about this time of year is the subtle change in weather. After a summer full of humidity where beads of sweat form at the fabled call of “Side Straddle Hops,” we gathered this morning at a cool 63 degrees. A brief survey of the 8 men standing around me at The Storm this morning indicated only Tesla actually “worked” this weekend (and that was by his choice). All others were able to enjoy a Monday free of their professional obligations which meant today it was “Back to Work,” so that was my theme. 0530 hit and I shared a brief disclaimer to modify as needed based on the suggested exercises. We recited the Pledge and got to it. A train seems to roll through Cramerton on Tuesday and Thursday mornings so I decided to get ahead of it:

Warm-Up

• 5 Burpees OYO
• 4×4 – IC x 5
• Get in Plank and remain:
• Plank Jacks – IC x 10
• CDD’s – IC x 10
• Peter Parker – IC x 10
• In/Outs – IC x 10
  Recover – shoulders were burning
• Seal Jacks – IC x 10
• Mosey to the lower parking lot behind the football stadium

 Thang

I employed Hand-Slap Merkins when I was Q at GasHouse last weekend and it was a crowd pleaser. I wanted the Storm boys to feel the love so we partnered and began with those. With 9, Mayor was the odd man out but he kept pace just fine. Instructions were to perform 10 Hand Slap Merkins with your partner, run about 25 yards to the opposite curb, and perform individual squats x 10. The PAX were eager and plowed through the workout faster than anticipated. I was worried my Weinke may lack the length to fulfill the task – wouldn’t be the first time. That is where the ability to improvise comes in – but that is a 2^nd F discussion, maybe after several rounds of shots. Time to mosey, the long way around the front of the school’s roundabout and then to the side entrance. Time for a little bit of Tabata which is a great segment because it is timed rather than counted. Everyone stays together but free to explore their own limits. The challenge was to maintain the pace of the exercise for 45 seconds with a 15 second rest between.

1)      Hip slappers

2)      Lt. Dans

3)      Flutter Kicks

4)      Donkey Kicks

The Storm typically features a reasonable amount of mumble chatter but today was about like a church service. A lot of measured focus among the PAX to push through both sets. Amid the heavy breaths when the final bell chimed to conclude this segment, YHC asked if anyone wanted to share anything fun they did over the holiday weekend. Tesla shot his limit of doves by 8:30 am Saturday and Dr. Seuss hiked Chimney Rock. With no other stories, time to mosey, taking another scenic route to the picnic tables outside the tennis courts. Find you partner for Dora:

• 100 – Derkins
• 200 – Dips
• 300 – Step Ups

P1 performs the exercise, P2 runs about 25 yards and returns to switch, sharing the load to reach the aggregate. The first two exercises added more to the shoulder work and the steps ups focused on the cardio and abs in addition to the legs. Much to my surprise, we hit the 45 minute time limit with this one. Once again, Mary was left waiting in the parking lot, next time sweetheart.

COT

Announcements for Burpee-thon 9/16, 9 am, at Rankin Lake – register; JJ5k is 9/23; Advisory Board Meeting will be Sunday 9/17 at 7:00 pm likely at Growlers at Loray Mill. Top Hat reported his daughter and friends are recovering from their car accident and will be okay – we lifted prayers for them as well as others that are searching.

Moleskin

Each segment had an upper body focus to burn the shoulders. I finally got my portable speaker synched with my phone’s playlist which was hand-selected to satisfy our Site Q’s taste which the Mayor texted was “Rock.” Well, there is a bit of age difference between yours truly and our leader and Rock can mean different things to different genera’s. When pressed, Mayor’s version and mine ironically are similar and resided in my playlist. The set began with GnR’s Nightrain (Radar attended the NC show I learned during hand-slap merkins), For Whom the Bell Tolls, Crazy Train, with a few others. Maybe the music kept the chatter down but I’d think the PAX were focused and ready to get back to work. Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Until the next time. (BTW – the train never came so we’re all +5 for the next one).