Tag: The Goat (Page 13 of 23)

The guys started showing up around 5:20 a.m.  I noticed a few cars, but its not how many cars show up its how many people get out them. 2 cars 5 PAX. The Stanley crew showed up in one vehicle than began ribbing each other about who lived in the nicer neighborhood.

Let’s do this!

Pledge

Warmup: 400 meter run to get the blood flowing.  There was some mumble chatter that this may turn into a running work out.  Not today, but maybe closer to the Joe Davis run.  SSH x 20, Don Quixotes x15, evidently these are Tool Times favorite. The mystery is still unsolved, are they stretches or exercise?   The PAX were quick to let the Q know YHC was counting way too fast. Note to self count slower.  Some PAX even said they felt a bit dizzy.  Finished warmup with Burpees x5 (OYO).

Mosey to the Gazebo for 5 pull ups, 10 plank jacks, and 15 LBC’s rinse and repeat 3 times.

Mosey to the basketball court with a quick stop for a wall sit under the train tracks before completing mosey to the court.

At the court:

15 squats on end line, Inchworm with 5 Merkins at the bottom until you reach half court, Burpee Broad Jumps to the other end line, 15 CDD’s. Mosey back to starting point.  In the demonstration of what we would be doing for the work YHC mistakenly said Derkins which Sargento was quick to correct to CDD’s.  Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow Sargento.   The plan was to rinse and repeat 5 rounds, but YHC Omaha (Sometime things look better on paper) after round 2 to replace the inch worm with Goof Balls to half court going forward.  On round 4 replaced Burpee Broad Jumps with Lunges to end line.

Finished work at basketball court with shuttle run:  free throw line, half court, free throw line, and end line.

Mosey back to the Gazebo with another quick stop for a wall sit under the train tracks before completing mosey to Gazebo.  25 dips on wall before hitting the Gazebo for a little Ab work.

30 flutter kicks

20 crunchy frog

15 heels to heaven

10 shoulder taps ( Total of 20)

YHC believes there was one more Ab exercise, but the YHC cannot remember. It may have been some LBC’s.  YHC will do better to remember next time.

Mosey back to parking lot for 5 Burpees (OYO).  With a minute to spare the Q asked Tesla for an exercise, so we end with 20 SSH.

COT

Annoucements:

Remember the Reason for the Season.

Joe Davis run, January 6th.

Tool Time Q at the Black Knight on Monday.  Not sure of time.

Name-O-Rama

Prayer

Great work this morning men!  Thank you for everyone who came out.  It was an honor to lead.  I went back and forth about stepping up to take the Q for this morning when Dolph offered it up.  I look at this as my VQ.  My first Q was at running AO at the Storm when it existed which was pretty easy right.  You just go for a run.  I have grown from the experience of planning and leading the workout and writing this Backblast.  Thank you for the opportunity to lead, and I will see you in the gloom.

Boudin  (AKA: The Big Deal, Bluedin)

Trouble started brew’in last week when my 2.0 brought a cold into our home. I managed to keep my distance but Wednesday, I could feel my immune system giving in. About like the final five burpees of a Slaughter Starter when body attempts to overtake the mind. My buddy Slaw was eager to use his blocks so I accepted his offer of coupons but maybe regretfully his suggestion to Q in my place. Nah, I’ll get some rest and be good for the wake-up call, I thought. Wednesday afternoon I sound the pre-blast alarm that I had the Q at “The Storm.” Brownstreak quickly caught the mistake and it would not be my last. I take shots of Nyquil like it was my 21st birthday and head to bed, only I barely sleep, tossing and turning, my body intermittently going from hot to cold. I awake ahead of my 0500 alarm and there is no backing out now.

The crowd begins to gather at 0525, welcoming ABBA back from the IR surrounded by what has become a steady cast of characters on Tuesday and Thursdays in the cold gloom of Cramerton. 0530 hits and I offer the disclaimer of being a real idiot for standing in 35 degree weather when I really should be in the sick sack. Maybe I can sweat out the germs. Here we go:

Warm-Up

• Take a lap around downtown Cramerton to get the blood flowing. About mid-run Dolph sends his train through. It just so happened that upon the return to the parking lot the first official exercise was:
• 5 Burpees OYO (Slaw confirmed the written word on my Weinke)

with Brownstreak in the circle, I went full disclosure that each exercise would be 10 reps which I quickly forgot as I continued with Mountain Climbers when the PAX had stopped. What a dummy I am…next up:

• Hillbillies or as T-Square prefers “Appalachian Americans” Only thing is the Q performed Imperial Walkers instead – another Q-Fail
• Squat Merkins IC x 10
• Mtn Climbers IC x 10
• SSH IC x 10
• 5 Burpees OYO

Mosey the long way around to the upper parking lot near the bridge for The Thang:

I was the QIC at GasHouse on Saturday and introduced the bear-crawl/merkin performed to the famous Beatles song “Let it Be.” I did pose the question asking if any of the PAX were Beatles fans to which Tesla and Dr. Seuss raised their hands. The song began and 41 merkins amid four minutes of bear crawls now has The Goat hating the Beatles as well. Onto the next bit of fun which had us mosey back to the parking lot to visit Slaw’s truck and each grab a block and a partner – time for some Dora.

P1 runs to the bottom of the hill and returns to relieve P2 performing the following exercises using the cement block in aggregate:

• 100 Kettle Bell Swings
• 200 Bench Press
• 300 Curls

Evidently it had been quite some time that Sargento had lifted anything heavier than 12 ounces as he initiated the chatter quickly complaining about everything from lifting blocks to the music selection (he later clarified he respects Rush but they are not his favorite – wonder if Whoopee’s been influencing him?). We had a bit of time remaining and needed to continue working our arms and shoulders. Keeping our partners with P2 performed:

• 5 Blockees and rested until P1 completed a trip down the hill and back to flap jack. This routine continued for the following exercises:
• 5 Block Webbs
• 10 Curls

With about 8 minutes left, we returned the blocks and circled for Mary:

• 10 reps each of:
• Mtn Climbers
• Peter Parker
• Jingle Bells
• Merkin
• Flutter
• Box Cutter
• Leg Lifts
• American Hammer
• Alternating Leg Lift Claps
• Crunchy Frogs

COT

Announcements for the Joe Davis Run and the Advisory Meeting Sunday, 12/17 at downtown Tequilas (whatever the new name is). We lifted prayers for a friend of Slaw’s M fighting cancer as well as those that have lost loved ones this year where their place around the Christmas Tree must reside in their hearts. The good news is the eternal hope that comes from the fulfilled promise the Christ Child was born. Knowing that He would eventually die for our sins provides some level of solace that our prayers can be answered.

Moleskin

I’ve yet to perform the perfect Q where everything goes as intended. It didn’t help that I was hopped up on cold medicine either. A few days removed from the actual event, I’m feeling the effects of the workout and the virus Q-ing a beatdown on my immune system but I’ll recover in due time. I was fortunate to partner with Dr. Seuss for Dora and he is sneaky strong busting out AMRAPs in his time with the blocks. Same can be said for the others that pushed through. Thanks to Slaw for bringing his coupons to the workout. I tried to oblige to fulfill his music requests but failed to add the TSO choice – another Q-fail – they seemed to have come in bunches this morning but I was fortunate to be among brothers sweating in the gloom and I missed that the past two mornings in the ‘sick-sack.’ Until the next time.

9 of  Gastonia’s finest men showed for Gastone at Goat Island or they just came to get a workout and it had nothing to do with me.

The Thang:

30 SSH

25 Imperial Walker

Mosey up the street to wall in front of a church.

15 Dips 3 count.

Mosey behind the community center to the stairs in front of the baseball field.

First we did Bunny hops up the big stone steps to the top and then did 5 Burpee’s. Rinse and repeat 3x

Next, Long steps up the middle. Really long set of steps and very vertical. We did 11’s, 10 Merkins at the top and 1 Squat at the bottom. We finished when we switched the number. Steps were brutal.

Mosey back to Dock beside the bridge to the island. Tried to do a workout on these but we might have broken the dock.

So we went to the bridge and did a Bear Crawl from the bottom to the middle of the bridge. Not easy.

We lunged back to the side we started from.

Mosey to the Bootcamp hill. In Gastone form we ran up the hill backwards.

Did some but kick, Merkins, High Knee’s, Merkins and then,

6 Minutes of Mary.

20 Flutters

20 Box Cutters

40 LBC’s on your own.

Rinse and repeat

Done.

The Moleskin:

Must have been a good workout at least for me. My legs were shaking on the way home and my arms were not much better. The other reason is we were low on Mumble Chatter mainly because Mayor must have slept in.

Great group of guys.

The honor was mine, thanks for allowing me to Q.

Gastone Out!

0500 Thursday morning my phone, serving as my alarm, chimes and I avoid the snooze button, why? because I’m the Q today at Goat Island. In order to make it on time, I can’t “tarry” as my wife often, almost daily reminds me. Time management is a vicious opponent of mine, one that provides a daily challenge. I constantly seem to be in a hurry and my family and friends will attest, often late. I can report that I’ve never been late for a Q, though when some set-up of a pain station or depositing coupons is required, I’ve managed to arrive at the start. Back to Thursday morning, I leave in plenty of time to arrive at 0520, good so far. I break up the ladies at About Face Bootcamp performing burpee-long-jumps down Center Street. I check and do not see Roscoe. His sweet M must have shared that painful exercise with the lovely Misty leading her troops. Alone in the parking lot, I stretch in the quiet gloom hopeful a few PAX will post. Mayor and Dolph are typically early birds, so I figure they have other plans this day. Finally a car pulls in and Dr. Seuss joins me. Tiny Tank was famous for skipping the warm-up and that was my plan today. At 0530 Slim Shady appears from the shadows, as I’m about to mosey he informs me GQ is expected and could we wait a few minutes. Informally I suggest Moroccan Night Clubs. After a minute we see headlights; “side to side lunge.” GQ is primping in the mirror to ensure his hair and beard are tight (lookout Frank…). 0532 Slim Shady runs to retrieve his brother in law and guide him to our circle…more informal warm-up: “Toy Soldiers.” GQ finally joins us. “Do you need any warm-up?” I ask. GQ replies that he’ll be fine. 0533 we set off on a mosey up Center Street toward the empty church parking lot at the corner of 10th and 8th. Another tip of the cap to Brownstreak, I announce the first pain station will be my version of the “Dirty Thirty.” The twist is to perform 3 burpees between 9 other exercises that were performed OYO at 30 reps, single count (when applicable). It went like this:

Thang:

• Merkins
• Mountain Climbers
• Sumo Squats
• CDD’s
• Plank Punches
• Baby Dips
• SSH
• Alternating Lunge
• Flutter Kicks

Wouldn’t you know a train rumbled through around CDD’s so we added two extra burpees to pay our dues. From here we moved across the street to the Rec Center parking lot. When I’m unable to attend F3, I’ll supplement my cardio with Insanity workouts in my garage. There was a good set from the most recent Max 30 Cardio disk that I thought the PAX would enjoy. I set the timer for a 30 second circuit of 4 different exercises and a 30 second rest between.

• Medicine Ball Jack (pretend you have a medicine ball and as your legs split, twist from side/side)
• Plank Jack then do an In/Out
• Power Knee (set 1 – right, set 2 – left)
• Suicide Flying Squirrels (use the width of a parking to run between and perform FS each side)

On a reconnaissance mission, I found a baby hill that Gastone would salivate to inflict pain. Individual 11’s were called. Begin with 10 Merkins at the top and 1 LBC at the bottom; progress down and up. The hill provided enough resistance to burn the quads a bit. Once that session was completed, it was time to partner up. I paired with Dr. Seuss while GQ and Slim Shady kept it in the family. Partner 1 would perform flutter kicks while Partner 2 ran down a set of steps, around the building and back up our baby hill. No time and no limit on the reps. We went two rounds. I checked my watch and thought it said 0605. So I went for another round, this time with American Hammers. After both partners complete a round, Slim Shady confirmed the time was 0613. Looks like a jail break is in order. We returned to the AO at 0618. We recited the pledge and heard prayer requests for Slim Shady’s father hoping to hear good news about an upcoming treatment; a new leadership program at The Pointe Church; Dr. Seuss and all the kids, teachers, administrators and parents with school under way. It was a little tardy on the start and the finish, but it all worked to produce another good start to our days.

Moleskin:

William Penn said “Time is what we want most, but use worst.” My M challenged me on the way out the door this morning to be home by 0630 in order to take our kids to their youth groups Bible’s and Biscuits at Bojangles. She may have huffed under breath that she would be the one that ends up taking them. She works out at the aforementioned About Face Bootcamp, enjoying the camaraderie as well as the exercise. But they don’t have the COT and Ball of Man which are key elements of F3. The power of prayer is a weapon at our disposal. Ephesians 6:18 says: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” So in typical fashion, I get home a little later than intended and hurry to shower. My time this morning was well spent. A small group of four allowed for direct conversation with Dr. Seuss, GQ, and Slim Shady which made for very little mumble chatter. We all bared down to push through the “suggested exercises.” The Cramerton Rec center is a good spot with lights and a hill to employ as a natural coupon; we should hit that more often. Though there isn’t a set deadline to write a back blast, this is a day later than intended, but I’ll keep working on my nemesis, trying to get better, as we all are. BTW – I did gather my kids to arrive at Bojangles at 0700, right on time. Maybe I’m getting better already. Until the next time, it was a pleasure to lead.

First day of REAL fall at The Goat featured low temps in the 50s, a full moon, and willingness to put up with a parade of horribles Tesla’s way.  It went something like.

COP:

SSH X 25

5 burpees to honor the train

IW X 25

6 burpees OYO

merkins X 15

7 burpees OYO

Foot to hand stretch each side

8 burpees OYO

Mosey over to the park for some partner work.

Round 1 : P1 runs halfway over the bridge and does 5 hand release merkins. Then all the way and 10 HRMs. Mosey back.

P2: Dips until P1 returns.

Flapjack.

Round 2: same run by P1 with 5 jump squats, then 10, mosey back. P2 does heels to heaven. Flapjack

Round 3: P1 does same run as before with CDDs 5X10 as before. P2 does LBCs.

Mosey back to Gazebo for more punishment:

pull ups: 10X

Mike Tysons: 10X

Copperhead Squats: 10X

Repeat three times.

Bear crawl up the hill, mosey back, all Pax.

Lunge walk up the hill, mosey back.

Mosey down to the bottom for triple nickel.

Merkins at bottom 5X

run to intersection

LBCs at top 5X

Repeat five times

NMM: Great work by the Pax today, hate we only had four on such an awesome morning. Really getting comfortable leading at this A/O. Lots of toys to play with. Full moon and great weather helped. Talked about a beer at Mayworth’s on some midweek night coming up. Will put that together for some 2nd F fun.

Great to lead these guys. Tesla is enjoying dual citizenship in Gashouse and Metro immensely. Bring a fNG with you next time ad let’s keep moving on!

Tesla out.