Sometimes in boot camp, the workout is truly just to run the dickens out of the recruits. Stretch them at paces that make them push, or break. On this day, Blueprint did just that: run the PAX, make each one lead their own pace, push their comforts, and sprinkle in some occasional work such as wall sits, dirty hookups, and finishing it off with around the clock big boys and triple bear (a Blueprint special). In all, the PAX ran approximately 2.75 miles and got in some extra work. A simple, yet very effective workout.
Day: May 28, 2024
After a tornado-like storm swept through Gaston County in the wee hours of the morning, I wasn’t sure what kind of conditions to expect at The Yank. Though the clouds had moved on, I arrived at Stowe Park to find a storm of 5 – yes, 5 – FNG’s along with 13 pax ready to rock & roll. Come to find out that all 5 FNG’s were visiting Brutus and Big Lizard from Ann Arbor, Michigan. With just a slight tweak to the Weinke, I hoped to keep them engaged for the full 60 minutes. At 0700 we moseyed right over to the Bunker for disclaimer, warm-up (usual stuff), and recitation of the 5 Core Principles. Next moseyed up the hill next to the railroad tracks. The Thang was a “4 corners” routine. At each corner was 90 seconds of work (pair of exercises, AMRAP, switch as needed):
– Hand release merkins / American hammers (first round, all 4 corners)
– Bobby Hurleys / Superman pull-ups (second round, all 4 corners)
At some of the corners, I challenged the pax with some Memorial Day trivia – wrong answers incurred a penalty of 5 burpees. Even though Whoopee tried to lead the pax astray, Tesla and Watts Up (combination of extreme age and extreme knowledge of history – take a guess who’s who…) knew that Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, first celebrated in 1865 to honor fallen soldiers of the Civil War. They did get tripped up, though, on the fact that “Decoration Day” was first celebrated on May 30, 1968, then officially became the “Memorial Day” federal holiday in 1971 when it also moved to the last Monday in May. 5 Burpees! Whoopee might have done extra, but who’s counting?
In between exercises and trivia questions and the usual Q-heckling from the usual suspects, we got to know our FNG’s. They’re all students or recent graduates on their way to various careers – none in our region, unfortunately.
For the third round of 4 Corners (Mike Tyson / Flutter kicks), I had to slow down our bat-flipping FNG’s, so instead of moseying to the next corner, I called Carioca for the first two legs and “nur” up the hill back to the start. Time was getting short, but we got halfway through the last round (Plank jacks / Penguins) before finishing out with 2 minutes of Mary. Welcome Bacon, Hose, Laimbeer, Moonshine and Aunt Esther!
Announcements: PT tests and F3 dads coming up in June, check Slack.
Prayers: Turtleman, Jackson Curtie, Gavel’s nephew in car wreck, Big Lizard.
We rucked and did 5 minutes of Mary.