Author: Nutria (Page 2 of 10)

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

The discussion about Pushing Rocks point system reminded me to submit this.  Art Van de Lay was not the Q but he was there.  So was Birkenstock (nor was he the Q).  Fruity Pebbles said he would be there, then said he wouldn’t, and he was right.

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

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

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

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

Mumblechatter was already going strong at 0530 as I joined the circle of pax.  We started with the pledge and a mosey to the front of the school to get out of the rain.  (It wasn’t raining too hard, but that could change at any time.)  An ideal Q, maybe a “professional,” would have scoped out the terrain and conditions ahead of time, but I didn’t arrive early enough to get that done.  Fortunately, the walkway wasn’t saturated with puddles. 

Warm-up commenced with a quick count-off and disclaimer and side-straddle hops.  Then we see headlights in the parking lot.  Once we confirmed Tesla’s unmistakable figure approaching, we did burpees until he joined us.  Next, on to The Thang:

• 5 core exercises, 10 each in cadence:  Star crunches, American hammers, Mountain climbers, Dying cockroaches, Big Boys (OYO)
• 11s:  Hand release merkins / Bobby Hurleys
• 5 core exercises, 15 each in cadence:  Star crunches, American hammers, Mountain climbers, Dying cockroaches, Heels to Heaven (OYO)
• 11s:  Scorpion merkins, (merkins with one leg in the air, just to mix it up) / lunges
• 5 core exercises, 20 each in cadence:  Star crunches, American hammers, Mountain climbers, Dying cockroaches, Big Boys (OYO)

Lively mumblechatter kept going with all manner of criticisms and grievances, but we worked through it.  During the last round of core work, mumblechatter gave way to grunting and groaning, so I knew something was right!  There was no giving in on those reps, even though it was tough to keep the cadence going.  But, every Q is a leadership learning experience.  As some pax were wondering why we had stayed under the covered walkway the whole time, the next set of 11s was an opportunity to give the peanut gallery what they wanted.  So, we went out in the rain with step-ups at the posts / benches followed by CDD’s in the middle of the parking lot.  We ran out of time halfway through and got back to the flag for COT.

Announcements:  2nd F lunch 17th at Whiskey Mill

Prayers:  Mayor’s M, Turtleman, others

It was awesome to have strong attendance in lousy weather – including a rare bootcamp appearance by Alma Mater and Cheesesteak’s first post at The Storm!  Thanks to all you  HIM’s for coming out and for the opportunity to lead.

– Nutria

I was excited to see several cars at Pelicans as I pulled in for my 2nd-ever appearance at The Labyrinth.  I was thinking the Site-Q swap between Maybelline and me (advertised on Slack as a “mystery guest Q” both here and at The Ricky Bobby, though it was no mystery to anyone paying attention) had generated excitement across the region.  EZ Rider and Winehouse were ready to go, but Flintstone and Whoopee were MIA.

At 0530 the beatdown commenced with a warmup of SSH, Imperial walkers, and Nolan Ryans (10xIC).  In the middle of these, Bullwinkle joined us, so we did 5 burpees (just for the hell of it) and moved on to the main event.

We started on the wall of Pelican’s with Dirty Hookups (10xIC).  Even though the wall felt flimsy and rickety, almost like wet cardboard, we made it through these plus a wall-sit and hip slappers (10xIC).  After that, we moseyed over to the parking lot at Martha’s House for Team Dora.  Team 1 (Winehouse and I) worked while Team 2 (EZ Rider and Bullwinkle) went to the next island and back.  Exercises were:
– Hand-release merkins
– Reverse lunges
– Flutter kicks

We did 3 cycles with the following instead of moseying:
– Round 1:  Nur there, mosey back
– Round 2:  Carioca facing the ball fields
– Round 3:  Carioca facing the parking lot

Next we moseyed to the center of the fields and found walls much sturdier than those at Pelican’s, so we repeated the dirty hookups (10xIC), wall sit, and hip slappers (10xIC).  Then with 17 minutes to go, I explained the instructions for “Boo-yah 11s:”
– Partners Nur to opposite light poles.
– 10 burpees
– Mosey back to middle.
– 1 “Boo-yah” merkin
– Proceed as standard for 11s (9/2, 8/3, etc.)

I thought we could finish these, but I was mistaken unfortunately (or fortunately, according to EZ Rider).   After the round of 5 burpees (or maybe 6, I can’t remember), we moseyed back to Pelicans for COT.

Announcements:  2nd F lunch 1/17 at Whiskey Mill

Prayers:  Pax traveling and on IR

There were two cars in the parking lot as I pulled in at 0527 on this warm December morning. The Sentinel’s small white hatchback was at the far left, away from the school. A familiar gray mid-size SUV was at the other end, but something wasn’t right. Was the mist on my windshield clouding my senses??  No, in a strange twist opposite of yesterday’s “Bulldog Time Warp,” it was Tesla – early!

I was wary of more unusual events, but things seemed to settle back to normal at 0530.  No other pax showed up after I planted the shovel flag, so away we went. No disclaimer, just a brief warmup then The Thang:

• Sequence of 7 core exercises in cadence (American hammers, Scissor kicks, Star crunches, Mountain climbers, Oblique crunches, Big Boys, Heels to Heaven)
• Triple Nickel (burpees/lunges, CDD’s/Bobby Hurleys, Perfect form merkins/Reverse lunges, Mike Tysons/SSH)
• Rinse and repeat (same core exercises; different ones as noted for Triple Nickels)

This Weinke was definitely core-heavy.  We pushed hard and got halfway through the 4th set of Triple Nickels, then time!

Despite the lousy weather forecast, it was great to be out in the gloom and start the day right. 

 – Nutria

High quality HIM’s at The Ricky Bobby came ready to work.  We warmed up with SSH (10xIC) and that was it.  I hope nobody decided to show up 2 minutes late, because we were gone down the road to New Hope Presbyterian for Double 11s.  Started with 1 Mountain climber and 10 Mike Tysons, then moseyed around to the other side of the half-circle driveway for 1 Bobby Hurley and 10 Big boys – proceeding, of course, in standard 11s fashion.  The PAX (cough-Tesla-cough) opted for making it a “dirty” double (because “why wouldn’t we?” – I knew the answer before I even asked), so we paused at the church steps for 5 derkins every time we crossed.  On the Bobby Hurley-Big Boy side of the circle, a foul odor invaded the cool morning air.  Orangeman denied responsibility as he didn’t partake in the usual “Taco Tuesday” festivities.  Tesla was wearing an Under Armor shirt that appeared cleaner than he deserves.   So, we concluded it must have been a skunk defending its territory… 

I had a lot more planned for the church location, but it was 5:56 when we finished the Dirty Double 11s.  Orangeman passed on my offer for a 10-count, so we kept moving and moseyed back to the school for Team Lazy Dora:
 – 100 merkins – took turns with 10 reps at a time while others held plank. 
 – 150 squats – took turns with 10 reps at a time while others held Al Gore
 – 200 flutters – took turns with 10 reps at a time while others held 6 inches

This was a burner, especially the squats / Al Gore, and we left some distinctively sweaty “art work” on the asphalt for the teachers to admire as they arrived at school.  But we still had 9 minutes left, so we proceeded to a 4-corners escalator:
 – 10 Bobby Hurleys, bear crawl short way across the parking lot
 – 20 merkins (after repeating above exercises), nur the long way across the parking lot
 – 30 Hello Dollys (after repeating above exercises), bear crawl short way across the parking lot
 – 40 mountain climbers (after repeating above exercises), nur the long way across the parking lot

That left us 2 minutes over – Q Fail!  Move quickly on to COT.  After the pledge, we greeted Mrs. Breaker Breaker and pointed out that she was later than usual.  We knew, clearly, that it was Breaker Breaker’s fault.  But Mrs. Breaker Breaker informed us that the principal didn’t want teachers arriving at school before 6:30 for some inexplicable reason.  Mrs. Breaker Breaker had been going in around 6:30 for a few days and is now gradually getting back to her normal arrival time.  Several other teachers also arrived “early” as we finished up COT.

Announcements:
You missed 2nd F lunch at The Lodge in Belmont, which was mostly a reunion of this morning’s PAX from The Ricky Bobby.  Balljoint took advantage of half-off draft beers and Goose arrived late to enjoy his 2nd lunch of the day.  Other announcements:  Thanksgiving Ultimate – sign up on Slack.  Christmastown 5k – HC to Broke to help push a chair, or just show up to support.   Christmas party Dec 2 – fill out the form and RSVP.

Prayer requests:  Tesla’s sister, PAX traveling next week, and Israel.

I’m glad for the opportunity to lead and start the day right!
 – Nutria