Author: Nutria (Page 3 of 10)

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

Some pax might have arrived with assumptions about what was going to go down at the Gashouse bootcamp.  Maybe since Shortsale mentioned beer and women, they would be a part of the workout?  Maybe since Sargento was heading up 2nd F Coffeeteria following the workout, there would surely be no burpees.  Right?  Right??  Let’s find out…

At 0659 I tried to identify one of the Pax who could reliably keep me on track for time.  (I don’t wear one of those fancy fitness-tracker watches, and I like to leave my phone behind when possible.)  Shortsale proved not to be a reliable time-keeper as he had to scroll through at least 7 screens on his watch to find out what time it was.  I quickly pivoted and relied on Sargento’s and Stroganoff’s time-keeping devices for the remainder of the workout.

No disclaimer for the group of pros present today, so we got right into a quick warmup (SSH, imperial walkers, squats, merkins, 10xIC each) before I handed the Pain Lab-rats over to Time Frame and moseyed across Garrison with 6 boot-campers.

The Thang:

Oh, we brought along with us 2 18-lb kettlebells for assistance with a few exercises.  We stopped first at the library for a wall-sit with 5 OH presses for each of the KB’s.  Next was hip slappers and dirty-hookups (10xIC) before moseying on down Churchill.  Some of the Pax wanted to catch up on college football scores and today’s upcoming games when I called for 5 burpees.  Yes, 5 burpees as the start of our “rack & stack” BLIMPS.  So, we’ll do 5 more burpees at the speed bump at the bottom of the hill, then proceed one at a time to:
10 Lunges
15 Imperial walkers
20 Merkins
25 Plank jacks
30 Squats

Each round at the bottom of the hill, we would do all exercises in sequence up to what we did at the top.

After racking and stacking all the BLIMPS, we returned to the library for a reprise of the wall-sit presses, hip slappers, and dirty hookups.

Moseyed up Garrison to the front of the Presbyterian church for Dirty 11’s, Mike Tysons and Bobby Hurleys with a single burpee at the midpoint between the exercises.  After 8 rounds of this, we had 5 minutes left.  (Thanks for keeping me on track, Sargento and Stroganooff!)  I called Omaha on the 11’s so we could head back to the Schiele for 2 minutes of Mary before it was time.  A couple of the Pain Lab pax joined us for some flutter kicks, dying cochroaches, and American Hammers.  Then time for pledge and COT.

See Stogie’s newsletter for announcements – there are quite a few.

Prayers:  Turtleman, Norwood, Montana, Jackson Hall, Les Nessman’s M and family, Anchorman’s effort to find bone marrow donors.  Prayers also for those living in fear – and gratitude for most of us who have the luxury of being able to take personal safety for granted.

It was a fun time to lead this group of HIM’s this morning – thanks for the opportunity!
– Nutria

It would have been easy to do something in the well-lit area of the parking lot that was mostly clear of debris.  We aren’t about doing easy things, though.  After Slaw’s warmup, I directed the Pain Lab Pax over to the pitch-black area near the picnic tables, covered with acorns, gravel, and stray mulch.  We managed to overcome these minor obstacles.  The rules were simple:  100 seconds of work on a pair of exercises (switch when and as often as you like) followed by 20 seconds transition.  Alternate exercises as frequently as you need to, but keep working all 100 seconds.
Overhead press / Upright rows
Goblet squats / Step ups
Big boys / Heels to Heaven
Kettlebell swings / Squat-curl-press
Derkins / Dips
Bulgarian split squats (left) / One-legged overhead press (left leg, right hand)
Bulgarian split squats (right) / One-legged overhead press (right leg, left hand)
Star crunches / American hammers

Rinse and repeat until time.  3 full cycles took us to 0759.  Rejoined bootcampers for COT.

See Gashouse BB for announcements and prayer requests.

As always, privileged to lead a fine group of HIM’s this morning!
– Nutria

Iron Pax Challenge might have driven away some of the regulars at The Ricky Bobby.  Y’all need to come back, and bring a friend, because the rest of October is going to be worthwhile with an All-Star Q lineup.

Anyway, quality trumped quantity today as Blackout and Kool-Aid showed up ready to work.  After a quick warmup of SSH, Hillbilly walkers, and low-slow squats (10xIC) we moseyed to the back parking lot for 2 rounds of Triple Nickel.  Before we started, I advised that my shoulder feels messed up, so I wouldn’t call any shoulder exercises, but substitution of any form of Merkin would be acceptable.  Here were the Triple Nickels:
– Jump-squats, Nur, Big boys
– Apolo Ohno’s, Carioca, Star crunches

These took a bit of time since we traveled the long way across the parking lot.  We moseyed back towards the flag but stopped at a few light poles for mountain climbers.  Next we moseyed to the field and “found” a couple soccer balls just asking to be kicked in the goal.  Each shot would cost 3 burpees for a goal or 5 burpees for a miss.  We each took a shot from about 30 yards away.  Kool-Aid and Blackout hit dead center of the net like pros before I hooked it wide left.  11 burpees.  Next round, the “pros” shot from 10 yards further away.  Blackout nailed it like he has ice in his veins, but Kool-Aid pushed wide right.  I found the right form and scored from 30 yards.  11 more burpees.  Last round with everyone from 40 yards, we all missed.  Enough is enough, so we headed back to the flag for burpees and Mary until it was time.  Blackout provided the title quote after Kool-Aid mercilessly called 6-shooters and proceeded to count up to 10 on both sides.

Announcements:
– Half marathon ruck in October, check Slack
– Christmas party Dec 2, check Slack

Prayers for my M traveling tonight, for marriages, and for all facing end-of-life issues for loved ones

Aye!
– Nutria

The title quote is attributed to our esteemed Nant’an (read on for the full context), who was grinding out step-ups when I arrived at Bulldog at 0525.

Today’s beatdown had been planned for one of the weeks in September during the Iron Pax Challenge, but I didn’t get to execute until today. The idea was to bring a few different exercises as a counter-balance to the muscle-misery of IPC. As 0530 struck, the blurry gray streak of Time Frame’s truck squealed into the parking lot. He managed to join the circle right at the end of the customary side-straddle-hops. Next was Imperial walkers, arm circles then on to The Thang, 30 seconds of work 15 seconds transition. Cranked up the Offspring channel and away we went, though Roscoe went his own way back towards the benches.

Round 1: Rotate clockwise through 7 exercises. Most don’t require coupons, but I brought optional 5-lb and 3-lb dumbells for the Nolan Ryans:
– Nolan Ryan (L)
– Heels to Heaven
– Nolan Ryan (R)
– Side plank (L)
– Superman pullups
– Side plank (R)
– Babymakers

Complete 2 cycles, then on to Round 2. I offered the Pax a choice; Time Frame opted for “Legs.”
– Kettlebell swings
– Lunges
– Calf raises
– Goblet squats

Complete 2 cycles, then on to Round 3:
– Kettlebell swings
– Curls
– Tricep extensions
– Dips

We accidentally skipped over the dips at the end of the first round (Q-fail), but then discovered in the second round that tricep extensions followed by dips was poor planning (another Q-fail?). No matter, it was time to go back to Round 1. We completed 2 more cycles of Round 1 plus one cycle of Round 2 until it was time.

Announcements:
– Half marathon ruck in October, check Slack
– Christmas party Dec 2, mark your calendars now!  Time Frame expressed personal gratitude for holding this event early in December so he and his M can enjoy both the F3 festivities and their anniversary. Which begs the question – where else would you want to be on your anniversary other than with your M plus 40-50 of your Brothers and their M’s? Just asking… Anyway, Roscoe responded that he and all the Pax appreciate Time Frame’s vocal talent. I won’t spill the beans on which 80s earworm we decided he’s bringing to the mic, but  our Nant’an encourages everyone to be there because “It’s going to be lit!”

Prayer requests:  Turtleman, Tube’s M, Spiderman’s father-in-law, Time Frame’s aunt

It was a beautiful morning to lead a fine group of HIM’s.  I’m privileged to have the opportunity.  Thanks brothers!
– Nutria

Castle Rock brought an FNG to Diablo Sammich, so I had to make sure we recited the 5 Core Principles and Mission of F3.  First was the usual disclaimer and a “long way” ruck to the parking lot at Martha Rivers (through the neighborhood and connector path, which was darker than Tequila Sunrise on a cloudy morning).  Then we paused for a quick round of Mary and those important bits of insight into who and what F3 really is.  Then we rucked around the softball fields and back to Pelican’s.  Great to see Castle Rock and glad to meet Red Rocks this morning!

Prayers for Turtleman and Bandit’s brother-in-law

Privileged to lead!

• Nutria

When I arrived at 0520, Roscoe already had blocks set up in the side parking lot between the school and track. We agreed that the blocks and exercises should be in one location. To account for the 0.2-mile track, I suggested running an extra lap at the start of the workout.  At 0525, Kool-Aid arrived. Seeing the blocks laid out, he realized that today was not the day to forget gloves and immediately went back “across the street” to get them.  In the meantime, Defib, Tiger and Tesla showed up as time approached 0530.  We explained the rules (pre-lap, then 5 rounds…).  As the clock struck 0530, Roscoe and I decided that his phone will be the official timer for the event and Kool-Aid was screeching back into the parking lot on 2 wheels.  Thinking on his feet like a true leader, Roscoe calls for the pledge to give Kool-Aid time to get to the starting point, then we all start together.  Well done!

Tiger had his heart set on AC/DC to accompany the grueling block work.  Unfortunately, there was a Q-fail and no music.  Instead, we enjoyed the oscillating hum of industrial-strength “AC” harmonized with random grunts and block noises rather than “DC.”

The workout itself sucked just like it appears on paper.  Beast that he is, Defib led the way (35 minutes, Aye!) and then did extra Blockies to help push me through the final round.  Tesla finished strong at exactly one hour.

All in all, it was a great start to the day.  Thanks to the 5 HIM’s who joined me for this voluntary torture!

– Nutria