Fitness, Fellowship, Faith

Author: Nutria (Page 2 of 10)

Hangin with Fruity Pebbles at The Crick

Nutria posted downrange at “The Crick.”  The name of the AO is not how your neck feels when you sleep the wrong way and can’t turn it in a particular direction without a sharp stabbing pain shooting all the way down your spine.  No, “crick” is a southern term that means a shallow stream of water, aka creek.  But some people call it a “crick” which is almost as bad as the yankees who call it a “brook.” Anyway, we did burpees and some other dumb stuff.

Drag racing, Newports, and other bad habits

14 pax came out to welcome 2 FNG’s at The Yank.  As the clock struck 0700, the peanut gallery had already started jeering and heckling, even before I had a chance to give the full disclaimer.  From the very beginning, I knew this crowd was going to be lots of fun but tough to keep in line, and they didn’t disappoint.  We moseyed to The Bunker for warmup:  SSH, Imperial Walkers, Low-slow squats, merkins, Nolan Ryans, LBC’s (all 10xIC). 

The Thang:  We split up into 4 groups – in a crude manner that prompted criticism from a few armchair quarterbacks, but the method to the madness was to keep FNG’s with the guys who brought them out.   There were 3 exercise stations: Perfect form merkins, Jungle boy squats, and flutter kicks.  The 4th group bear-crawled from one station to the next.   The group at that station then bear-crawled to the next station, and so on.  I started music to begin the routine, but mumblechatter amongst the groups suppressed it into the background.  In my group with Gavel, Jane Fonda, and FNG Tom (aka Jelly Roll), we heard about Gavel’s upcoming Polar Bear Plunge into the pool at Lineberger Park, and Jane Fonda and Jelly Roll shared stories about modern college life. 

After one full circuit, groans and complaints from the pax told me I had done something right.  After 2 full circuits, I stopped the music, and we circled up to call out the 5 Core Principles:
1. Free of charge
2. Open to all men
3. Outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
4. Peer-led in a rotating fashion
5. Ends in a Circle of Trust

Without FNG’s, I would have done this Mayor style, testing the newbies and inflicting burpee penalties for punctuation errors or grammar mistakes.  And, in fact, when one of the pax shouted “Open to all men,” a few hecklers called out the fact that “Open to all men” is not the first core principle.  But, today it was more important to convey the meaning behind the principles since it’s part of what separates us from just another workout group or fitness center.

Next, we moseyed to Hawthorne St. for a Triple Nickel with big boy situps and Mike Tysons.  As a benevolent Q (only because we want our FNG’s to come back), I refrained from utilizing the entire gloriously steep hill, and instead defined the boundaries as a couple of telephone poles in the middle section of the street.  Bat flippers were to plank for the six.  Once the six was in, we talked about the F3 Credo: “Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you find him.”  This is the basic premise behind our practice of “picking up the six.”

We moseyed back to the bunker for another group of exercises in the same 4 groups as before:  Apollo Ono’s, Star crunches, and mountain climbers.  Transition between stations was lunge-walk.  After 2 full rounds, we circled up to review the 5 core principles, the credo, and bring it all together with the Mission of F3:  “to plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.”

With 11 minutes left, we had enough time for another quick Triple Nickel – Bobby Hurleys and CDD’s.  Then we moseyed to the flag for a few flutter kicks, star crunches, and the pledge to close it out.  Great push by all!

Announcements:  2nd F lunch 2/21 at Pita Wheel in Belmont; March 2 Q school at Gashouse; Rice n Beans one Tuesday mid-March; April 20 extinction run (preblast coming soon)

Prayers:  Praise for Montana and Jane Fonda getting back out.  Prayers for Brutus in Africa and racers participating in various events today.

I was thrilled to see such a  high quality crowd of HIM’s come out to The Yank today!  We captured everything that F3 is about.   I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead and look forward to seeing Pinto and Jelly Roll back out again soon!

– Nutria

“There’s no way Nutria will make us run in the rain.”

The third Core Principle of F3 is “Held Outdoors – Rain or Shine, Heat or Cold.”  That doesn’t mean we always subject ourselves to the most extreme conditions out there, but one reason for that principle is to get out of our comfort zones and learn to overcome obstacles – mentally and physically.  Real life doesn’t happen at 68-72 degrees, so being out in the elements makes us stronger. 

“There’s no way Nutria will make us run in the rain” thought some of the pax, but they would be wrong.   Gathering under the front portico of Life Church was a good start.  After the usual warm-up, we moseyed “the long way” with a 3-burpee Indian run (Pax at end of the line does 3 burpees then sprints to the front) to the back to pick up coupons.  

On the way back to the portico, we stopped at the picnic shelter for American hammers, flutter kicks, Superman pull-ups, mountain climbers, and big boys.  The rain eased up as we circled up back at the front, and I explained the rules:  One pax would lunge-walk with block halfway around the portico while others do an exercise.  We did 3 rounds with Thrusters, Rows, Swings, Pullovers, Curls, Squats, and Derkins (feet on the block).  All worked hard, but not hard enough to eliminate mumblechatter about post-Super Bowl analysis and commercial critiques.  After 3 full rounds of exercises, we returned to the picnic shelter for the same core exercises, this time 15 reps instead of 10.  Back at the front, we got almost one more full round before it was time to return coupons.

Announcements:  2nd F lunch 2/21 at Pita Wheel in Belmont; Q School Mar 2 at Gashouse

Prayers:  Huckleberry, Turtleman.  Pax on IR: Bubba Sparxxx, Amazon, Montana, and others.  Buckshot’s first day back to work.

I’m glad to have exceeded expectations this morning and thankful for the 8 HIM’s who came out on a rainy Monday morning to get out in the rain, lift heavy things, and prepare ourselves – mentally and physically – for the hard work that we are certain to encounter. 

– Nutria

Wild and Crazy at The Ricky Bobby

Day before the “Pushing Rocks” challenge kickoff, rocks were already being pushed at The Ricky Bobby.  Here’s what I remember:

5 burpees to start, then standard disclaimer and warmup.  Cheesesteak was amazed as I called 5 more burpees for the train 2 seconds before he heard the whistle!  On to The Thang:  Each pax received a pink folded-in-half sticky note “wild card” to – optionally – be presented at any point during the workout, at which point pax were required to follow the written instructions.  Then, the regular beatdown continued.  We got through a full round of dirty 11s (hand-release merkins and jungle-boy squats with 1 burpee in the middle each way) and moved on to alligator merkins the long way across the parking lot.  This was intended to suck.  It took 30 seconds of alligator merkins before Orangeman pulled out the wild card.  We did 59 burpees (as a group) as instructed, then Omaha’ed the remaining alligator merkins and circled up for a called exercise (AMRAP) while each pax in turn ran to the end of the parking lot and back.  We did Bobby Hurleys, American Hammers, and Nolan Ryans until they hurt or someone pulled a wild card or both.  Somewhere in the mix, Tesla presented the wild card that called for Stargazers!  Too bad there were no stars to gaze at on this cloudy humid morning.  After another round with Heels to Heaven, moseyed back to the flag for 4 minutes of Mary.  Orangeman’s 6-shooter was fully automatic with an infinite magazine, so Kool-Aid pulled one last Wild Card and did 10 burpees while the rest of us did Mike Tysons until time.  Whew, that was a lot!

Announcements – Folsom Nationals Feb 10

Prayers for marriages, pax on IR, Orangeman’s friend struggling, and Nutria’s daughter in spelling bee

I appreciate the HIM’s who came out today and didn’t take a “rest day” before Pushing Rocks.  I hope you got your money’s worth and even had a little bit of fun, except for the alligator merkins, that was just stupid from the get-go.  Thanks also to Roscoe, from whom I shamelessly stole the idea for the “wild cards.”  Good ideas are worth repeating/copying!

  • Nutria

Balancing Act

I stepped in to Q at Pain Lab on 17 hours notice.  ChatGPT (via Hunchback’s phone) provided the playlist on about 17 seconds notice as the Pain Lab Pax gathered our equipment at the picnic tables near the far end of the Schiele parking lot.  Problems were solved through mumblechatter (e.g. sleep deprivation, general state of the US Postal Service) and clothing was shed (but thankfully nothing approaching Gearwrench status) through hard work.

We began with a warmup from Roscoe before bootcampers took to the streets of the GasHouse.  Before assembling at the picnic tables, we hit shoulders hard with a Merkin Pull-through Circle of Pain, passing three kettlebells around the circle a few times.  That definitely got the blood flowing.  Next was the main event.  I explained the “30 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest” concept while AI (er, I mean Hunchback) took 17 seconds to set up music.  The exercises were selected to emphasize stability and balance, things that we don’t always give the attention they deserve:
– Step-ups
– Lawn mower rows (R then L)
– One-legged overhead presses (R then L – one arm KB press)
– Bulgarian split squats (R then L) – especially tough for balance with slippery benches
– Kettlebell swings

After 3 rounds, we paused for some core work:
– American hammers
– Star crunches
– Scissor kicks
– Big boys / Heels to Heaven
– One legged babymakers (R then L) – Grunts and groans confirmed to me that everyone loved these, especially performing for some of the girl scouts coming out to load up their cars from last night’s “camp-in” event.

2 more rounds of 30 sec work / 10 sec rest followed by same core routine, then another round of 30 / 10 exercises.  Clavin had to leave to get to work somewhere in the midst of all that.  With 2 minutes left, bootcampers returned to hold plank til we heard the 8:00 church bells for pledge and COT.

Announcements:  Feb 10 Folsom Nationals

Prayers:  Wojo’s coworker, Doff’s cousin, Huckeberry, Turtleman.  Praise for Whoopee’s 2.0s’ acceptance to NCSU and prayers for all young adults to have mental and fortitude in the face of adversity.

It was an honor to lead a great crowd at PainLab.  I appreciate Hunchback for the opportunity to fill in for Voodoo and all the HIM’s who joined in the fun.  I hope you got more than your money’s worth and a good start to your Saturday!

– Nutria

Started with 5 burpees then descended to chaos

The weinke was built around a routine called “Doc Wings,” borrowed from Doc at F3 Twin Cities (but based on a sequence in the exicon):  15 reps each in cadence of the following, without putting arms down:
– Moroccan nightclubs
– Air presses
– Arm circles (F)
– Grady Corn (overhead and seal clap combo; see exicon)
– Chinooks (F)
– Jack Reachers (air presses)
– Arm circles (R)
– Overhead claps
– Chinooks (R)
– Seal claps
– Raise the Roofs (air presses)

This was a crowd pleaser for sure.  Grumbling and general mumblechatter on a variety of topics accompanied the cadence.  Toes were tingling chilly after this, but shoulders were on fire!  Also, Tesla joined the circle 4 minutes late and nearly halfway into this routine but didn’t skip the customary “space suit” commentary.  That later morphed into mumblechatter related to birthdays, birthday suits, and CDD’s.  It was every bit as unsavory and grotesque as you can imagine.

Giving shoulders a rest, we moved to the next exercise regimen.  Pax alternate between LBC’s and reverse crunches (yes, two slightly different ab exercises) while one pax at a time NUR’ed to Screamo Taco and moseyed back.  This took longer than expected, so after 2 rounds we changed exercises to oblique crunches, alternating right and left (again, two slightly different ab exercises).  After two more rounds, we needed a more substantial change of scenery, so we partnered up and ran “catch me if you can.”  One partner lunge-walked while the other ran around the block, then switcheroo.  We ran 3 cycles, then went back to the first thing, except the pax returning from Nur/moseying called the next exercise.  After everybody took a turn, we still had 12 minutes, so it was “make it up as you go” time.   With a mosey to the fire station to think about it, I chose a hill sprint followed by a bear crawl.  Then we even had time for another hill sprint and some flutter kicks.  All pax were toasty warm for COT.

Announcements:  Sign up for pushing rocks; Folsom Winternationals Feb 10; Tardi Gras’s VQ tomorrow at Tequila Sunrise

Prayers:  Bubba Sparxxx surgery; Pax suffering and/or on IR

Great start to the day,  I’m grateful for all the pax coming out in the cold and hope you got your money’s worth and more!

  • Nutria

Warm and Cozy “Rack n Stack” at The Ricky Bobby

Core group of HIM’s came out for a 19-degree beatdown.  No disclaimer, went straight to business.  Side-straddle hops to get the blood flowing, then moseyed down the street to the parking lot of the Presbyterian church for some classic BLIMPS – “rack’em-stack’em” style from one end of the parking lot to the other.
B = 5 Burpees
L = 10 Lunges single count
I = 15 Imperial walkers single count
M = 20 Merkins
P = 25 Plank jacks
S = 30 Squats

At the end of this, we were all nice and warm – even Tesla, who wore long sleeves for once!  Goose delivered a 10-count.  Before the cold had a chance to settle back in, I broke the unfortunate news that our BLIMPS were stacked in the wrong place, so we reversed everything and re-stacked while enjoying some mumblechatter about frozen Teslas (the car, not the ornery old fart) in Chicago and Cheesesteak’s “business trip” adventures out west.

Announcements:  Sign up for Pushing Rocks.

Prayers:  Struggling marriages and all those suffering; Gratitude for God’s gifts and blessings

After making jokes about those Teslas in Chicago that couldn’t function, my car wouldn’t start until I warmed up the key fob!  This morning was tough but we fought through it together, and I’m glad to be able to start out the day with these HIM’s.

  • Nutria

Death by Blocks

Solid beatdown started with a standard disclaimer, warm-up, and mosey the long way to the back of the church.  We continued with 10x each of Nolan Ryans, American Hammers, and plank jacks, then it was time to get the blocks.  8 pax was a perfect number to partner up and rotate through 3 exercise stations:  Thrusters, Derkins (feet on the block), and uneven merkins (one hand on the block).  The 4th pair lunge-walked with farmer carry to the next station.  I set up the music and we got to work.  Pandora’s Heavy Metal station included Nirvana (which brought back some nostalgia for Cherie Berry), Korn, and a few ads because I don’t use Pandora enough to justify paying for it.  The ads were unwelcome, but I heard more grumbling about the assigned exercises, which very quickly burned out the shoulders.  After one full round, we paused for 10x each of Nolan Ryans, American Hammers, and plank jacks.  Then rinse and repeat for another full round.  At the start of round 3, it was time to change things up:  Same 3 stations with World War 3’s, Swings, and – selected by Orangeman – blockies!  We still lunge-walked between stations but pax choice of how to carry the block.  After 2 more full rounds, with Nolan Ryans, American Hammers, and plank jacks in between, it was time to move on. 

Preparing for this Q, I wanted to find something to work the legs like the Cheddar Shredder that Hot Corner has so generously introduced to our region.  Searching the Exicon, I took some inspiration from the Bataan Death March and modified it to use blocks.  Pax lined up shoulder to shoulder holding blocks and started to lunge-walk in a line.  I started on one end (without block) and did 5 burpees, then returned to the line to take Cherie Berry’s block.  He did 5 burpees and took the next pax’s block, etc.  This was as gloriously miserable as it sounds.  After each pax took a turn, we returned the blocks and moseyed back to the flag.  With one minute to go, we finished with flutter kicks, scissor kicks, and the pledge. 

Announcements: 
– 2nd F lunch this Wednesday 1/17 at Whiskey Mill
– Sign up for pushing rocks challenge
– CSAUP in Mint Hill on Feb 17 to honor Rick Pinto.  4 hours of carrying heavy objects and other fun stuff; Hot Corner has details.

Prayers:
– Hot Corner’s family dealing with loss of grandmother
– Tooth Fairy’s family with new baby
– Pax on IR
– Praise and gratitude for “warm” 40 degree January morning and opportunity to get outside with other HIM’s

It was an honor to lead this morning.  Thanks to the pax who came out on a holiday Monday to join!

– Nutria

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