Author: Short Sale (Page 1 of 20)

I’ll admit I’m a multiple snooze guy. Unless I have to be up for something like a Q, Sheild Lock Breakfast or early work meeting, I’ll hit the snooze button a few times. Hey, time management is my Jester, so it’s my daily battle. Don’t worry, I’ll live to fight it another day (#procrastination). Last summer, I initiated Snooze which allowed the PAX to sleep in a bit on a Friday, if they wanted. Of course some double posted, and that’s okay if you’re seeking that challenge. But there is no challenge to gain points. Really, Snooze is an alternative for the PAX that can start their Friday a little later than usual but still get in a solid workout. Back by some level of demand (wouldn’t say popular, yet), the shovel flag posted at 0640 Friday morning in McAdenville’s Legacy Park. By 0645, the alarm sounded and 4 other PAX were gathered around looking for instruction.

Warm-up:

5 burpees OYO, Seal Jacks, Imperial Walkers, Side to Side Lunge, Toy Soldier and MNC’s all IC x 10. Face the flag and salute a great country that we have the freedom to post at 0645 in the morning.

Thang:

My knee is jacked up so not a lot of running is on the agenda – slow mosey to the YMCA patio that is bounded by 2.5′ tall brick ledge. We’ll start in the center for some core work because that doesn’t hurt me knee. All in cadence x 15 (except when I forget to inflect on 14).

• Mtn Climbers, Knee Touches, Shoulder Tap + Plank Jacks, Ski Abs, Groiners, Freddie Merc, Raised Penguin, Opp Hand to Opp Knee, Reverse Crunch (the PAX’s highlight complaint), 90 degree alt R/L toe touch, Genie knee to elbow, Genie elbow to knee, elbow plank for J-lo’s (only 10 IC)

With the 2.5 brick wall, let’s take advantage w/ 11’s: 10 Derkins + 1 Dirty Hook up. That took about 10-12 minutes. Circle around to the back soccer field – partner up. I was the odd man with Tesla and Flintstone. Orangeman and Goose were the other. DORA with 100 Dips, 200 Merkins (Nantan complained, so I re-stated, “200” Merkins…no stuttering that I heard. Finish it off with 300 glute bridges which was awkward as the concrete seating under the building awning isn’t wide enough for and adult back, but we made do. Non-exercising PAX runs length of the wet field and touches the fence to return. Slow mosey back to the flag. Inside of 2 minutes, I was calling it but Flintstone and Tesla felt underserved, so they did burpees. Goose joined them and Orangeman looked at me and said, if the Q is done, who am I to argue? Time.

Prayers for Turtleman and family. Announcements – GasHouse 6/8 come get annihilated by HeiHei.

Double Post Recognition: Tesla and Goose. The 5 of us went to the Spruce Goose for coffee to decompress and talk about our upcoming day. Not a bad way to start a Friday. If you have a vacation day or extra time on a Friday morning, come join the PAX. Next week is Flintstone followed by Defib and Tesla.

Rare Q for me on a Wednesday morning. I owed Maybelline a Q as he has the GasHouse this weekend (come out and get some). I saw a drinking game where participants stacked cups competitively. I began to ponder how it would work within a workout. As I played out the concept, I thought a PAX of 8 would be ideal. As luck occurred, I saw 7 other men in the circle as I approached. How fortuitous.

Warm-up – the usual: Seal Jacks, Imperial Walkers, Toy Soldier, Side 2 Side lunge IC x 10. We said the Pledge.

Stay in the circle for the Thang:

• SSH IC x 30, run 1 lap around the building
• Iron Mike Tyson IC x 20, run 1 lap around the building
• Split Jack Toe Touch IC x 20, run 2 laps around the building
• Diamond Merkins IC x 15 (barely for the Q), run 2 laps around the building
• Jump Squats IC x 20, run 2 laps around the building
• Mtn Climbers (slow graze of knee 1″ over the ground), IC x 20

Mosey to the office building down the street in the back parking lot. I wanted an even middle of the parking lot so divided the PAX in teams of 4 (Team Amazon vs. Team GSM) and had them march toward the middle to create the line. There were 2 blue cones in the middle flanked by 3 green and 3 yellow cones. There were 8 exercises listed which would be performed as a team total. With teams of 4, I declared the total team reps to be 50 with the exception for LBCs to be 100 total. The teams gather at the edges or the parking lot and upon completion run to the center and move the blue cone one spot (green for Amazon and yellow for GSM). Goal was to get the blue cone to the 3rd cone of the team side. Sounds complicated? Oh good, then I’m not losing my touch. Competition breeds intensity and our PAX love competition. The teams were even through the first round. I had to figure out a difference maker. So, for round 2 I combined the exercises into groups of two. I now realize the reps need to be individualized or higher team reps. Stay tuned for the next opportunity. It worked out with Team Amazon earning the win.

With the time left, we hustled back to base for some core work to finish out our time.

COT: Prayers – Turtleman, Maybelline’s co-worker’s wife in stage 4 cancer, HS graduates, Choo-choo’s Mom; Announcements – Memorial Day Murph on 5/27 at 0700 at The Sandlot (Sword and Mt. Hollywood open at normal times).

GasHouse, at least the bootcamp part of it has a small pod of regular attendees but even that has fluctuated with events this time of year. We have graduations and surrounding events, end of year parties, and just life events that keep us on the move. Add in some injuries and the “regulars” are a limited number. So I’ve been recruiting a bit and trying to get some fresh leadership on the docket. SA as the site Q of Downtown requested May Q’s so I filled his May 10th slot on the premise of I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine – you site Q’s know the drill all too well. I twisted SA’s arm just enough for him to agree to lead 5/18. I got a text Thursday evening at 9 pm with some bad news, SA had to work. He promised to make it up another time. Hey at least I got a text and not the “no show.” But the word didn’t really get out the Q schedule had changed, so we had a nice spice of non-GasHouse regulars (thanks for posting Oompa, Leppard, Wiki, and Seuss). I put together a Weinke that would be considerate of those also supporting the Extinction Run and raising money for Anchorman.

Warm-up:

• Seal Jacks, Imperial Walkers, Side to Side Lunge, Arrows (in honor of SA), Toy Soldiers, all IC x 10 and then some Merkins IC x 5. Moved to some lower body stretching to finish off the segment. We faced the flag for the Pledge. Time to split.

Thang: The Public Library has a fresh coat of new asphalt so we did a short mosey to the lower Churchill Dr side of the library. There was no circle but the PAX scattered about for the same Core Burner I led on my Friday Downtown workout the week before. Leppard was the only repeat customer. All performed IC x 15. I flipped on the speaker to grace the PAX with a playlist based on the theme of drinking or partying (DM me if you need the tunes). It did spark some conversation. I may have Leppard on the verge of attending the next Steel Panther show.

• Mtn Climbers
• Knee Touches
• Knee Taps
• Plank Jacks
• Reverse Crunch
• Freddie Mercury
• Raised Penguin Crunch
• Turtle Crunch
• Opp Hand / Opp Knee
• Regular Penguin
• Legs 90 degrees, alternate R hand, to L foot & L hand to R foot
• Genie Elbow to Knee
• Genie Knee to Elbow
• Ski Abs

We did a slow mosey over to the upper section of the parking lot for the next portion for a HERO WOD – the Zach Tellier. This has been done a number of times. I like to add a short mosey between sets to break them up. This takes up about 20-25 minutes for any PAX seeking ideas. It is a full body working with the mosey adding a bit of cardio. It is a 5 set stack.

• 10 Burpees, mosey
• 10 Burpees, 25 Merkins, mosey
• 10 Burpees, 25 Merkins, 50 Lunges, mosey
• 10 Burpees, 25 Merkins, 50 Lunges, 100 LBCs, mosey
• 10 Burpees, 25 Merkins, 50 Lunges, 100 LBCs, 150 Squats, mosey

With about 12 or so minutes remaining, I offered the PAX a choice – Core Burner again or 11’s. Seuss and Wiki wanted core, but they were outvoted for the 11’s. We moved to another section of the new asphalt that was side sloped.  Exercise 1 was Mike Tysons and exercise 2 was flutter kicks (because Stroganoff happened to be standing beside me, you’re welcome). That rounded out the workout and we scooted back to the base with barely a mile of running – mission accomplished.

COT: Prayers for Turtleman and his family. Events upcoming – Memorial Day Murph Monday, 5/27 at 0700 at Martha Rivers.

Sometime in the next few weeks or months, I’ll have SA back to Q – keep an eye on your calendars. But next up on the GasHouse schedule are Maybelline, BOS, and Breaker. Happy to have any of the other PAX take a turn at the OG Gastonia Region site.

Sister Act requested Q’s for May. Why not help a brother out? Plus, I needed a good excuse to get up in the gloom. Last Friday on May 10th I was in the center of 13 PAX at the Downtown Rotary Pavillon. It went like this:

Warm-up: 5 Burpees OYO, Seal Jacks, Imperial Walkers, Side to Side Lunges, and Toy Soldiers all IC x 10, 5 more burpees OYO

Thang: stay in the circle and get into plank for a Core Starter all IC x 15

• Mtn Climbers
• Knee Touches
• Knee Taps
• Plank Jacks
• Reverse Crunch
• Freddie Mercury
• Raised Penguin Crunch
• Turtle Crunch
• Opp Hand / Opp Knee
• Regular Penguin
• Legs 90 degrees, alternate R hand, to L foot & L hand to R foot
• Genie Elbow to Knee
• Genie Knee to Elbow
• Ski Abs
• 5 Burpees OYO

We said the pledge. PAX didn’t like the IC to 15 – I’m sure their core felt some burn from it. Mosey toward York St and to the intersection of York/Main for the Route 198 – 3 exercises beginning at 1 rep and increasing to 11 using the light poles on the left side of Main. Exercises: HR Merkins, In/Out, Plank Jacks. Bullwinkle led the charge. Def Leppard was in the bat flippers – way to push Leppard. We did a 10 count once everyone was finished.

Move to the second level of the parking deck. School is finishing with exams so time for a test. Q set the clock for 0:20 seconds for two rounds of Merkins, Jump Squats, and LBCs. Take the average of the two sets and subtract 2. I know math is not some of your strengths so example: Set 1 of merkins in 20 seconds SA completed 20. In Set 2, SA completed 17. Divide 37 by 2 for 18.5 and subtract 2, round down for 16 required reps on the merkin segment. Each PAX had their individual goals (You vs. You, right?) for the 3 exercises. Now it’s time for the test – Every Minute on the Minute, complete the 3 different exercises at the individual rep limit. Most everyone finished with 15-20 seconds to rest. Then we ran to the other end of the parking garage and returned for the next round. I know, I know – it sounds complicated but really it wasn’t. The PAX managed fine.

COT – Extinction Run; Prayers for Turtleman, family, and guys on IR.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

Short Sale

Sunday, April 21st we had a healthy gathering at the Horse for some ruck and run. We followed up with our study of John Maxwells 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Chapter 2 is on influence. Very similar to QSource on Persuasion. As always, a heathy discussion.

Friday (4/19) was an awful day for me. We had to put our dog down that afternoon. Anyone who has that shared experience can experience the gut-wrenching decision of what is best for the dog comes at the expense of the process. Worse yet was the countdown until the 2:15 appointment. I worked from home and Pookie was in her customary spot in the home office within an arms reach. I fed her a box of snacks and treats as my guilt swelled. Pookie was a rescue that began as a two-week foster dog experiment. On day 3 that booger escaped out the door and challenged every bit of F3 fitness I had built to chase her over the neighborhood for 45 minutes in the dark. Once she finally tired to the point of a friend placing a leash around her neck and putting her in the car to return home, I was ready to return her, but my younger daughter pleaded to keep her. We obviously did and she became endeared to our hearts and part of our family. We believe her early life was on a chain in a back yard in the elements without much care or attention. The vet gave her the care and meds help. Pookie survived a tumor from her liver where the Vet estimated we’d have her 6 months at best. She made it almost 2 years. She’s been on joint medication for about 18 months and since Thanksgiving her rear legs have been struggling in day to day movement. About a month ago, she escaped again the Saturday night the Wolfpack won the ACC Championship (it was my fault for letting her out of sight). The Coconut Horse guys showed up that morning and helped search (thanks to those guys) but she wasn’t found. By that Sunday evening, I figured she went off to die on her own. But Monday morning, she showed up at a neighbor’s house. Pookie wasn’t done yet. That bought a few weeks to be with her but her health continued to decline as I was having to carry her upstairs or help her get around. I was trying to avoid the signs but they eventually became too clear. It was the 3rd dog I’ve had to put down and it’s the worst part of having a pet. So how do I pay homage to my girl? Fortunately I had the Q  Saturday and had one idea.

An FNG was in the circle Saturday morning. Alex Betancourth came more or less on his own though Enchilada had been EHing him. A former Army guy now working in financial crimes at BofA. I took a moment to cover the 5 core principles and then asked if Alex thought he wanted Mayor’s Pain Lab or follow me with the bootcamp. He chose the bootcamp. Now time for the unconventional warm-up – Pure Cardio: 10 exercises at 30 seconds each.

SSH, Merkins, Squat Jack Twist, Flying Squirrel, Plank Jack, Shoulder Taps, Hand Release Merkins, Ski Abs, Squat Jumps, Jump Rope

Coming in with a heavy heart, I took some measure of joy to catch glimpses and groans from the PAX as they suffered through 5 minutes of steady action. It was time to depart and 5 men followed me, including the FNG. We moseyed to the west side of Parkwood Baptist Church parking lot. Let’s keep the cardio going with EMOM:

• 3 burpees
• 6 merkins
• 9 squats
• 1 minute rounds, rest once the work is complete
• 10 total rounds

I intended to mosey to the old VA hospital hill for 11’s but took inventory of the PAX and Omaha’ed to remain in the same spot using the medians for Hand Release Merkins and Lunges. I hung back w/ the FNG (cover the 6) and we chatted. Alex stated “you guys are in really good shape!” I responded it takes more than 1 day a week and he should look at some other mid-week sites to kick start his desire to obtain better fitness. Dr. Seuss was the bat-flipper for this segment (no surprise there).

We took the long route to the other side of Parkwood at the top of the parking lot in front of the mobile trailer. I shared the prior day’s events about Pookie. The best thing I could incorporate to the workout was to play “Fetch.” We divided into two groups of three. Group 1 threw a tennis ball down the parking lot for Group 2 to chase and return. Group 1 would do core exercises then flap-jack. Exercises were:

Reverse Crunch, Slow Freddie Mercury, American Hammer, Opposite Knee touch-crunch, Butterfly sit-ups, Heels 2 Heaven.

We moseyed back to the base for COT. Announcements – Goonie. Prayer requests – TurtleMan. I asked Stroganoff – “whatever happened to BandCamp?” Strog’s son had posted a few Saturday’s in a row but recently been missing. Let’s go BandCamp – get in the game! More due to the FNG’s current job – we named him MasterMind – welcome.

Thanks for indulging me to vent about my dog. RIP Pookie.

Early on in the pushing rocks challenge there was a bit of mumble chatter about a certain man. Not just any man, but one that was an OG and not just any OG, but the one at the top of the fitness mountain top. He lived in Dallas within a few burpee long jumps of the Old School. He had a pull up bar in his front yard, old tires for high-steps, a plyo box. Yes, his front yard looked like a miniature Spartan course. where not only did the man train, but they held family training events. Overweight Dallasians, would amble by and be in awe as this chiseled speciman carved his body into lean mean, fighting machine. And then his grandmaw’s house became available, and he left us for the hood on the Charlotte west side. He linked up with the Charlotte elite and make no mistake, he was one of the elite. But he was only part of the Gastonia region in legend, a Kotter if you will. He would catch some flack from time to time; would he ever join us again? An like the phoenix rising from the burnt ashes, that day came.

Warm-up:

• SSH IC x 100
• Don Q x 1000
• Brief disclaimer: “If you want your ass kicked, follow me…otherwise suck it!”

Mosey:

We went on a 10 mile run at a 6 minute pace. It was brutal…only stopping to sweat every now and then. Was this David Goggins that came to Q? We pressed onward circling back to the first stop at Parkwood Baptist Church. Hardly out of breath, the Q calls for 100 burpees. Next are parking lot 11’s – Mike Tyson’s on one end, lunges on the other. We discussed the upcoming re-match of NC State vs. Duke – the Q is clear as to where his allegiance lies despite the name on his diploma. At the end, he asks for a negative 10 count – we’re already late for the next stop. We perform burpee-long jump lunges to the next stop at the Veteran’s hospital no less than a mile away. We arrive at the bottom of a steep hill with a 10% grade. Time for Triple Nickle – SA grins broadly, it’s as if the Q stole his simple Weinke (minus the 15 miles we’ve run already). Diamond Merkins at the bottom followed by Big Boys at the top while holding a small boulder over-head. We carry the boulder up and down the hill that makes the Crowders back-side trail feel like Sunday stroll. The PAX are gassed and the Q tells them to suck it up – this is the warm-up.

We do an Indian Run for the next 6 miles hitting the greenway and circling through Sherwood n/h. We arrive at the elementary school – there is a bull dozer in our way – the Q lifts it with one hand overhead and tells the PAX to cross under – Holy Shit, Moses just parted the Red Sea (yes there is irony is cursing and quoting the Bible – the Q doesn’t give a shit – onward!). We arrive at the track – the Q hands out 50 lb weight vests and says to put them on NOW!. He then calls 3 exercises: Hand Release Merkins, Squats, and Flutter Kicks – SA is beaming with joy. The first round is 5 reps – run a lap and if you don’t return to start in 60 seconds, a 25-burpee penalty. We barely make it back. Round 2 is 10 reps with a 40 second return: we miss and do the penalty. This event goes on for eternity all the way to 50 reps and then the pyramid scales down the other side. The PAX can barely move at this point. Q looks at his watch and says jail break back to the AO! The Q tears out like Flash Gordon chased by lightening – the Q wins. The rest of us stagger into the parking lot. There is one minute left – burpees until time is called.

COT – extinction run in May, Goonie, Community Foundation Run. Prayers for the PAX that survived and those that didn’t. Happy Easter.

Moleskin – don’t invite David Goggins to Q and if you want a solid beatdown, reach out to Pizza Man, he’s a giver.

Thanks for the Q PM – enjoy spring break.

Parts of this story are true and others are fabricated – figure it out yourself, or better yet – don’t be a puss and post when Pizza Man Q’s and feel the pain (in a good way).

I am not a “life-long” NC State fan. My dad is an alumn of the University of North Carolina so I grew up pulling for the Tarheels. That lasted until I became a freshman at NC State in 1989 and then I became part of the Pack. Ever since the primary sports athletic teams have not done all that hot. Got rid of Valvano, then Sheridan left in football. We’ve had some glimpses of success, but nothing sustained. Meanwhile our brothers up the road have several basketball National Championship trophies added to their shelves. This year’s basketball team was good, just not good enough. Plenty of discussion among fans and on the message boards about Keatts status as the head coach. The Big Cheese himself has been saying “Keatts gotta go…” for weeks now. The challenge with today’s college basketball is free agency without a salary cap. We’re in a different world these days and I don’t envy a coach that has to recruit new high school seniors, tranfer portal and re-recruit their own team. NC State was more or less a pick up team last summer and it takes time for coaches and players to learn the system, each other, and all the aspects of playing the game at a high level. Entering the ACC basketball tournament, State had little shot to win nothing more than a few games. No team had won 5 games in 5 days before. Keatts challenged his team “Why Not Us?” The guys bought in and have been on an amazing run with 8 wins in a row. I’m not sure State has won 8 basketball games in a row in years. After the historic ACC Championship win, when I’d expect their energy to dissipate, the team continues to prove me wrong. As I have told my daughter who is in the final month of her NC State experience, being a Wolfpack fan teaches perseverance. Maybe, just maybe, the curse has skipped my generation and will open a new chapter for Pack fans. For now, we’ll enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.

Oh – Monday I led a workout at The Sandlot – want to know what we did?

Warm-up – same stuff, different day. We had an FNG, Will Windley brought by Amazon, so I had to cover the 5 core principles and the disclaimer. Bob the Builder posted again – keep it up BTB.

Said the pledge and moseyed to the KFC parking lot – grab a rock – size matters. Use the curb with your plant foot for step-back lunges holding the rock. This is a great variation b/c the slight elevation makes your muscles work harder than usual. I felt this extra sore area the next day – I’m sure the PAX did as well.

• Elevated step-back lunge w/ the rock 10 per leg
• Squat and Press w/ the rock x 20
• Reverse Crunch with the rock overhead x 20
• Repeat circuit 2x for total of 3

I asked the PAX did they want to keep their rock? Only Winehouse did, majority overruled, dump the rock and follow me to the Food Lion parking lot. Partner 11’s – yes, your reigning Q of the Year has some tricks in the bag and this one is a crowd pleaser. It’s not as difficult as it sounds. I didn’t even need signs, props, or scantily clad women to assist.

Partner 1 on the north end of the parking section, opposite Partner 2. Each begins with 10 Plank Jacks and moves toward their partner, meeting in the middle for 5 boo-yah merkins, then continuing to the opposite side for 1 shoulder tap (count 1 side). Reverse course to run back to your start but again meet your partner in the middle for 5 boo-yah merkins, you get the drill. The 5 merkins ends up being 50 total, plus the shoulder work on the planks – so the PAX were feeling it. Why not add some more? But we’re running low on time, so 7’s instead of 11’s. Individual this time…6 Mike Tysons on one end, 1 jump squat on the other, nothing dirty in the middle. We made it back to the parking lot with a minute to spare.

COT – prayers for Turtleman, Huck, the Hall family. Announcements – Community Foundation run 4/13. FNG Will Windley, grew up in Gastonia, graduate of Gaston Christian. His best friend was the guitarist for Luke Combs (yeah – the guy that left, from Gastonia). Will works at BofA and Merrill Lynch, so we went easy on him naming him “Bull” welcome to the brotherhood.

The NC State Basketball tournament theme, “Why Not Us,” is simple but prescriptive. Could be applied to any group or any person. If someone is going to win, Why Not Us? Obviously there has to be talent, strategy, and execution as part of the equation, but having the freedom to perform is a big part of that and belief. When the next opportunity for you to lead comes before you, maybe its your time to shine: “Why Not You?”

Go Pack!

Short Sale

I have been working to line up a very special guest Q with this and the final weekend of March held open pending their schedule. I confirmed the special guest Q will happen next week (more to come on that announcement this week, but I’d start thinking about attending GasHouse next week #justsayin). What the Site Q failed to do was get a real Q for this morning. So that meant last night YHC had to piece together a Weinke. The forecast was calling for rain, so that meant finding some coverage. When my alarm rang this morning, I checked the weather – cloudy but no rain…good sign. I quickly wrote a new Weinke and stuffed both in my pocket.

The circle formed at 0655 and two younger kids were standing there. Apparently, they were not lost, and Linus didn’t abduct them. One was a familiar face, but he was much taller than the last time I’d seen him. Turns out they are JK2’s kids: Bob the Builder and X-Wing. We learned dad fart-sacked. Allright – that’s 2 Kotter Points for me Hunchback (unwritten rule is the Q gets to claim Kotters that show up on their own, at least that’s what Sargento told me). A few others rolled in including Nutria bringing an FNG. That meant a full disclaimer was in order. Now – it’s gametime.

Warm-up:

SSH, Imperial Walkers, Toy Soldiers, Side to Side Lunge, Arrows all IC x 10; we said the Pledge and departed.

A misty rain was in the air but much better than a downpour. We hustled to First Presbyterian Church in the front circle to use the benches.

• 20 step-ups
  • 15 dips
  • 15 derkins
  • 30 SSH
  • Repeat x 2
• Set II:
  • 20 Bulgarian Split Squats
  • 15 dips
  • 15 derkins
  • 30 SSH
  • Repeat x 2

Mosey to the back of the church and behind the boy scout hut to borrow some stones (size will matter). We then re-located to the entrance of the boy scout area and base of the driveway to the youth pad and split into groups. Whoopee and me vs. Seuss, JJ, and Bob the Builder…jk…no games today! Partner 1 got into a plank and Partner 2 placed the stone on their back for added weight and so the core would be worked stabilizing the stone. Partner 2 then ran toward the church and up the slight incline to execute 3 burpees before returning and replacing their partner. Two rounds each of that. Set 2 had the partner hold the stone overhead and Set 3 had the partner hold in a static half curl. Again, two rounds each with P2 running and doing 3 burpees. Put the stones back and then mosey up to the youth pad and under the shelter for 10 minutes of core.

• Table-top crunch – place your feet against the wall with knees bent 90. Do a sit up and touch the wall.
• Wall taps – legs straight in the air, bend knee and tap the wall
• Australian Peter Parker
• Elbow to Knee crunch
• Knee to Elbow crunch
• Pretzel crunch right, then left
• Full leg raise, tap heels at the bottom and do a butt lift when legs are overhead
• Alternating right hand to outside left foot and then left hand to right foot
• C-sit slow bicycle claps
• American Hammers
• All reps x 20

Arrived back at 0801. Announcements: Convergence 4/13 at the FUSE and Speed 4 Need. Prayers for Turtleman, Huck, and the Hall family.

COT: Nutria’s son: F3 Goofball is a boy scout and provided a sales pitch to support his effort to attend Boy Scout camp this summer. Anyone needing someone to sell ice to an Eskimo or maybe an air conditioning system, start recruiting Goofball now, maybe throw him some NIL money because he will be in demand in about 10 years. I think we all began raining cash for the Scout gift cards, chocolate, and meat sticks! Did I mention he was selling meat sticks? Because any F3 man trying to build their soccer arms could use some Meat Sticks, ASAP!.

After the epic sales pitch, we began to name the FNG, Adrian Vaccaro. Nutria brought him (points for Nutria) and he stayed for the Pain Lab so he’ll officially be in El Toro’s backblast. But when it came to naming him, we couldn’t get “Meat Sticks” out of our head. About like the years ago when Allen Take was hell-bent to name someone Squirrel Nut or something like that. Well, despite the PAX chanting Meat Sticks, we let Adrian tell us a little more about himself. We learned he played football in high school, both ways, and as a linebacker, his most memorable play was a strip-sack fumble recovery. Therefore we introduce you to “Meat Sack,” welcome! Coffeteria was held at Alchemy downtown that opened this week. The coffee bar is owned by the same person who runs one in Belmont. You had Seuss at coffee…we may add that to the rotation. No games were officially played today, because that is how the GasHouse rolls.

The core group participants of the GasHouse are gathered in a Kia Sportage, traveling the hills in Watauga County in the annual Mortimer. My original thought as the bootcamp Site Q was to fold in with the Pain Lab led by the Big Cheese himself. Earlier in the week, Flintstone encouraged me to keep the bootcamp Q because you never know. There is a reason he’s the Nantan – he was correct. Despite an ominous forecast of rain (at least it was low 50’s) I reviewed some old workouts and extracted a few ideas to build the newest Weinke, keeping in mind the conditions were going to be miserable and Flintstone’s knee is a bit jacked-up at the moment (speaking of – where is the Jacked Up Leg these days?). Sure enough this morning, it was a steady rain, but not terrible – the only thing more terrible is running all night long on mountain roads and trails (shout out to the Mortimer team HRB). I posted the flag and the circle gathered. Turns out we have some men that bought into the core principle #3 that we do this outdoors, rain or shine. I shared this and the other F3 Nation Core Principles in my disclaimer this morning because Hei Hei brought an FNG – Joshua Owen (more on him in the COT). Sargento asked about 2 minutes into my disclaimer if there would be a workout? Of course – here ya go:

Warm-Up:

• Toy Soldiers IC x 10
• Good Mornings (no cadence, just down & up) PAX didn’t count so we did more than 10, I think
• Alternating right over left (not patented though!) and good morning – what a combination! PAX were confused at this routine. But the chick on YouTube that I saw leading it was hot so guess that was the difference – Q-fail #1
• Side to Side Lunge IC x 10
• Imperial Walker IC x 10
• Another New Thing – Squat hold + Squat jump Stack. Lower to a squat, hold for 1 count, explode into 1 squat jump; lower to squat hold for the count of 2, do 2 squat jumps…you get the idea. PAX chattered a bit…when I got to 6, they really groaned so I knew I had to go to 7 and that was all my legs could take – it seemed to be a crowd pleaser so this will find its way into my rotation.

We split and to my surprise, six men followed me out of the parking, including the FNG. Glad I thought about what I was going to do on this Q. So, we hustled across the street to the back of the pharmacy building beside the library. Hot Corner said he’d do the boot camp as long as I didn’t make him lie on the wet ground – I gotcha big fella. We began under the covered awning against the brick wall for this routine:

• Hip Slappers x 10
• normally would bear-crawl but opted for the lunge walk instead
• Merkins x 10, mosey back to the wall
• 3 rounds
• Round II
• Dirty Hook-ups x 10
• Backwards Lunge Walk
• Parker Peter x 10, mosey back to the wall
• 3 rounds

Find a partner for the Dora

• Merkins x 100
• Imperial Walkers x 200 (count both sides)
• Flutter Kicks x 300 (count 1 side)
• other partner takes a lap around the building – Hei Hei said he was down with this running

Need a change of scenery but it’s raining harder now…let’s move to the front of the pharmacy for the good ole Route 198; “What chu say Willis?” It sounds complicated, but really its not. Instead of 1 exercise to stack, you have 3. Do it 11 times and you have 198 reps. To make it easier, the set combination works well because you begin with a shoulder tap, then a plank jack, then a burp (aka “in and out” – insert Michael Scott tag line “that’s what she said…”). Without 11 light posts, we used the brick columns on the pharmacy building as our exercise markers, so not much more than a few steps between. But doing the routine at set 5 and set 6 was a grind since it was an up and back routine. Since I had not practiced this, I soon realized, and hopefully the PAX did too this constant plank really burned the shoulders – point noted…another one for future Q’s. Upon completion, I had about 20 minutes left, and my Weinke was exhausted. Now time to make up some shit…we’ll stay under the porch for some core work.

• LBCs x 10
• Reverse Crunch x 10
• Alternating kick with clap under x 10 (I’d have to demo this)
• Run across the parking lot and return; do the circuit x 3
• Set II
• Penguin Crunch x 10
• 90 Degree Toe Touch x 10
• Alternating Leg Drops x 10
• Run across the parking lot and return; do the circuit x 3

That was it. The rain was now in a steady downpour, and we had only a few minutes to return to the AO. Q decision supported by the PAX to do the COT on site.

Prayers for Turtleman and Jackson Hall; Announcements for the Food Ruck and Community Foundation Run. Our FNG was pushing the whole time. At 38 years old, Jonah Owen is obviously fit and seemed to embrace the craziness of this brotherhood. Originally from Oregon before living in Alaska with his wife to be near family, he migrated to this area to train people on moving dirt and grading. We tossed out a few ideas, but I liked Band Camp’s suggestion of “Daylight” and we welcome him to the fold. What a first post in the miserable rain. Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of an hour in the rain but to switch the mentality – I can do about anything for an hour…well maybe not everything but working out in the rain and it’s over 50, so it won’t kill me. Pleasantly surprised at the numbers we drew this morning. Band Camp was back for like his 3rd or 4th Saturday straight – even without his dad posting – strong work BC, keep it up. Normally Cheesesteak has stuck at the Pain Lab on Saturdays, and it was good to have him at the BC. Hot Corner’s first post to the GasHouse and Hei Hei was back again. The mumble chatter was light, but Flintstone kept me in check. All in a day’s work at the GH. Thanks for the opportunity to lead…even in the rain. (Hey Hunchback – BB done in 4 hours – don’t put me on your list)