Tag: SandLot (Page 5 of 10)

There were 11 HIM who showed in the gloom at Martha’s House this morning. No disrespect but apparently I’m an old curmudgeon and it’ll always be Martha’s to me. Memories. Here’s what happened…

Disclaimer

Warmup – Goofballs, Don Quixote’s, R over L

Pledge of Allegiance

Mosey to the center part of the baseball fields for The Thang

Birthday Number Thing

In recognition of my 2.0 Queso’s 16th birthday yesterday and my 2.2 Allie’s birthday tomorrow, I decided to do some stuff with their birthdates.

Karaoke out the left spoke and at the end do 18 merkins (Queso’s birth day is the 18th). Plank for the 6 then do 3 burpees (I have 3 kids).

Nur up the middle spoke and do 20 squats (Allie’s birthdate is the 20th). Plank for the 6 and the do 3 burpees.

Karaoke out the other spoke and do 24 LBSs (Feta’s birthdate is the 24th). Plank for the 6 then bear crawl around the middle building.

Repeato this 3 times. Bonus time was when we got to reminisce about the classic 80’s cartoon “Pole Position” AND single the unforgetable theme song. Good times! There were a couple lessons during this Thang.

1. Don’t get so excited that you try to “thread the needle” between PAX when you’re karaokeing. This will almost never end well, just like today. Luckily, the only casualty was the temporary loss of a shoe.
2. When everyone is going to the end point of a section to do an exercise, don’t be the guy who stops really short and makes everyone jump over or fall on top of them. Go a little further and help your brother out that way.

Mosey up the middle spoke for the next routine – 12’s

We made it 12’s instead of 11’s because dear Allie turns 12 tomorrow and, well, I’m Sargento. At one end do 11 V-Ups, at the other end do 1 WWI sit up. We made it about halfway before having to mosey back to the start due to time.

Thanks for letting me lead today men. Hope you enjoyed the push!

Announcements – PT Test this Saturday

Prayer Request – GSM, Turtleman, Folgers travelling this week, Roscoe’s father in law, JJ’s mom had hip surgery today, Mt. Holly teenage who passed from cancer this week

Sargento out!

8 in the Gloom this morning ran around, did some American Hammers, ended where we started, picked up some cinder blocks and did some exercises with them.  Here’s what I remember:

The Thang:

• 10 x SSH (IC)
• 10 x Hillbilly Walkers (IC)
• 10 x Don Quixote (IC)
• 10 x Mountain Climbers (IC)
• 10 x Mike Tysons (IC)
• 10 x Dying Cockroach (IC)

Mosey to the park entrance

• 10 x Hand-release Merkins (OYO)

Mosey to the turd shack

• 10 x American Hammers (OYO)
• 10 x Hand-release Merkins (OYO)

Mosey to the far corner of the soccer field

• 15 x Double Crunches (LBC and Reverse Crunch at same time) (OYO)
• 10 x American Hammers (OYO)
• 10 x Hand-release Merkins (OYO)

Mosey out the trail

• 20 x American Hammers (OYO) (“You know there are other exercises, right?”)
• 15 x Double Crunches (OYO)
• 10 x American Hammers (OYO)
• 10 x Hand-release Merkins (OYO)

Mosey to the front of the neighborhood

• 20 x Hand-release Merkins (OYO)
• 20 x American Hammers (OYO)
• 15 x Double Crunches (OYO)
• 10 x American Hammers (OYO)
• 10 x Hand-release Merkins (OYO)

Mosey to the doctor’s office parking lot

• 20 x American Hammers (OYO)
• 15 x Double Crunches (OYO)
• 10 x American Hammers (OYO)
• 10 x Hand-release Merkins (OYO)

Mosey back to the flag.  Time to get out the blocks.

• 15 x Curls (IC)
• 15 x “Millies” (IC) (From Shelby TT – Chest Press into a Pullover)
• 10 x Tricep Extensions (IC)
• Murder Bunnies to the other side of Snoballs
• 10 x Squats (IC)
• 10 x Merkins w/1 hand on ground and 1 on block, switching hands (IC)
• Murder Bunnies back to the flag
• 20 x American Hammers (IC) (Legs over block)
• 20 x Flutter Kicks (IC) (Block extended over chest)

Quick PAX choice

• T-Square – 5 x Blockees (OYO)
• Clavin – Plank & Arms up Stretches
• Hushpuppy – 15 x Curls (HP count, 1 – Curl, 2,3,4 – Lower)

Announcements:

• 4/17 – Convergence
• 4/24 – PT Test
• Week 2 of “Name it & Claim it” Challenge – Squats

Prayer Requests:

• Lewis & Shook Families
• GSM
• Turtleman
• Flintstone’s sister

Any and all PAX present were welcome to take a block with them for the Convergence.

Moleskin:

I can’t put anything here that hasn’t already been thought or said about the tragedy in Rock Hill.  All I can say is to everyone affected, we think about you often, and keep praying for strength and healing.  If any of you need anything, reach out to a brother.  That’s the whole reason we do all of this.

Block work is tough.  Looking forward to getting stronger so it’s not as bad.

Great to have T-Square and Hushpuppy out in The Gloom at The Sandlot this morning.

Yabba Dabba Doo

It was an awesome morning to exercise – what is this thing they call gloom – 46 degrees, clear skies, dry air – what more could you want?  Oh yeah then there was the Q … well I guess you can’t have everything.   7 HIM were up for a Defib challenge this morning.  3 Pax had already put in EC run so I guess that means they knew what they were in for.  Dirt, Watts Up and Flintstone have been real rock pushers lately as a I drove to the AO a few min early to do some recon I passed these guys getting after it over a mile from the AO.  As time approached 3 more men arrived and it was on.

Warm UP :

Obligatory SSH x20

LBCs x 20

Merkins x 20

The thang:

Mosey down towards Riverwood neighborhood stopping at each light pole for the best exercise ever.  At this point YHC proclaimed his love for the the burpee which exercises the upper body, abs and lower body, however,  I felt there was room for improvement – so after reviewing the exicon the night before I found the perfect modification to the burpee – the hand release burpee (HRB) – that is a burpee with a hand release merkin in the middle.  Starting with the first light we did 1 HRB.  The second light 2 HRB continuing all the way to the back entrance of Marthas which amounted to 10 light poles so ending with 10 HRB.   This was surely a crowd pleaser as the men were speechless.  From this point we moseyed to the turd shack for some shoulder work – 3 sets of Hip slappers, wall sits and dirty hook-ups (10 each).  Quick count off then to parking lot for 11s with CCDs and dying cockroaches – We started with lounges between exercises but the Q’s knee didn’t like that so we completed the 11’s with regular mosey between exercises.

YHC did not realize how time flies when the pax are having such a great time.  Unfortunately we did not get to go to the picnic tables for more fun so it was time to mosey back to Sno balls but on the way back we did find time for more HRB at each light pole this time counting down from 5.  Once back we had time for 3 minutes for Mary. – Flutters, Dying Cockroaches Hillbillies and Dirty Dogs. – Time

Announcements:

Short Sale’s April challenge – “You name it you claim it”  –  this week is Merkins –

April 17 Convergence at the Bulldog – all other AOs closed

April 24 PT test at Gashouse – other AOs will be open

Be on the lookout for a pre-blast from Bos to have a CSAUP in May

Prayers:

Watts Up’s wife – recovery from surgery (Whats Up is carrying the load)

Those traveling for holidays

Flintstone’s sister dealing with long term COVID symptoms

Turtleman and family

Folger’s friend needs liver/kidney transplant

Thanks to all the men who showed up this morning to encourage each other to be better versions of themselves! It was a please being your host this morning.

Until next time Defib out

In case you didn’t hear, the Mortimer 100 was nine days ago. That’s the 100 mile relay between Hickory and Boone. And the fact that it’s no where near 100 miles from Hickory to Boone is not the strangest things about that race. For all the shenanigans of that adventure read that BB when it comes out. YHC was inspired to bring the Mortimer spirit down to the southern end of the F321 corridor.

After a quick recon mission, I rolled up on some runners getting in some EC. They later put the invitation out to join them every Monday at 0500 for some EC.

A good crowed began to gather on a chilly Monday morning. 0530, let’s go.

The Pledge, followed by a brief disclaimer.

Warm-up
SSH x 15
Merkins x 15
LBCs x 15

Let’s mosey. A quick detour through the abandoned bank parking lot to throw the PAX off and then off to our destination. I’d planned on stopping to collect everyone together, but the PAX stayed pretty close together for the mosey. After several comments about not knowing if they’d posted at The Pub, I decided to give them what they asked for and stop the mosey. Well what do you know, we are at the base of Gastone’s Hill. What are the odds?

Full of the Mortimer spirit, I told the PAX we didn’t have enough time to get in 100 miles or even 100 kilometers in the time we had so we’d have to settle for 100 count of exercises.

Here’s the thang:

Up the hill. Stop at each mailbox and perform ten of an exercise. One exercise. Ten at each mailbox. Easy enough? Stop after the 5th mailbox to plank for the 6. We would soon discover that the 5th mailbox was not exactly half-way up the hill. It wasn’t even a quarter-way up the hill.

Round 1 – Merkins

The 10th mailbox wasn’t all the way to the end of the street so some PAX continued doing the exercise at the 11th and even 12th mailbox. Hey, YvY.

Mosey to the bottom of the hill.

Round 2 – Squats – Plank after for the 6 after the 5th mailbox again.

Up to the top then mosey to the bottom of the hill.

Round 3 – Big Boy Sit-ups facing uphill – Plank 4 6 after 5.

Up to the top then mosey to the bottom of the hill.

On the way down, I was thinking of the exercise for round 4. I thought calf raises would be pretty terrible but I’ll put the choice out to the group. Without prompting or hesitation, Gastone blurted out, “Calf raises.” There you have it. It’s his hill and that’s what I’d been feeling so calf raises it is.

Round 4 – Calf Raises with a NUR up the hill (in honor of the “by any means necessary” strategy I used to make it up Pilot Ridge Rd and up to Howard’s Knob during the Mortimer) – Once again plank 4 6 after 5.

Up to the top then mosey to the bottom of the hill.

Time to mosey back.

Announcements
Convergence 4/17 @ Bulldog (WA Bess Elementary)
PT Test 4/24 @ Gashouse
Be on the lookout for the 1st F challenge in April – Pre-Blast coming soon
0500 EC at Sandlot on Mondays
New Dallas AO – Saturday morning 0700

Prayer Requests
CPAP and Dirt – job searches
Joey Denton
Turtleman
Big Pappy’s family
Sister Act’s family
Tube’s brother in law

Prayer to take us out.

It was truly an honor to lead such a fine group of men this morning. As always, I enjoyed the fellowship.

Until next time…

Welcome to a dark, gloomy and Stinky Weinke!

Pledge – Disclaimer

Warm-up
SSH X 25 IC
MNC X 25 25 IC
PETER PARKERS X 15 IC
MERKINS X 15 OYO

Let’s Mosey! All the way to the former Grace animal hospital.
DIRTY DOGS! 15 each leg OYO
suggestions from the peanut gallery on another animal related exercise……MONKEY HUMPERS!
Mosey to Hawks Nest Elementary!
AB BLASTER!
American Hammer x 25 IC
Big Boys x 30 OYO
Crunchy Frogs x 15 OYO
Can’t remember if we repeated here…. probably did, but Mosey on to Robinson!
Repeat Ab Baster near the playground.

Mosey to the cat walk.

ELEVENS! Mike Tysons one end, Lunges each leg other end. Dips in the middle same as number of Mike T’s.
We had to cut it short on the last round, so one burpee instead! Head back. We make it back about one minute late… maybe 1.5 minutes…

TIME + !

Good work men.

Announcements, Prayer requests, COT, namerama.

Stinky Bird OUT!

11 strong at The Sandlot to start off Race Week.  Bricks, stacking, loops, and bad directions made it just your typical morning in the gloom with YHC at the helm.  Here’s what I remember:

The Thang:

• 20 x SSH (IC)
• 15 x Mountain Climbers (IC)
• 10 x Mike Tysons (IC)

Everyone grabbed bricks before the workout.  YHC suggested to grab however many you wanted and adjust as necessary throughout.  As the brick work is getting easier, YHC doubled up, and wanted to encourage others to do the same.

We did 3 rounds of AMRAP 50 seconds, with 15 seconds to transition in between of the following exercises:

• Hammer Curls
• Bent-over Rows
• Pullovers (lying down, arms straight perpendicular to the ground, keep them straight and lower them to the ground over your head, then back up)

YHC learned to bring music from last time, and we heard some Blues Brothers,  Sam & Dave, and “Johnny B. Good” (“that Michael J. Fox song”).

Put the bricks up, and mosey down into the park for some “Rack ’em and Stack ’em”, a Dirt classic, where we mosey to the outside, do the next exercise, then Nur back to the middle to stack what we got on top of what was there.  Badly explained, we just did it, and it was easy enough in practice.

Exercises were:

• 10 x Hand-release Merkins
• 20 x Crunchy Frogs
• 30 x Apolo Ohnos

Once we got through all three and their stacks, we took them back to the rack and unstacked them, so the whole thing looked like this:

• 10 x HR Merkins
• 10 x HR Merkins
• 20 x Crunchy Frogs
• 10 x HR Merkins, 20 x Crunchy Frogs
• 30 x Apolo Ohnos
• 10 x HR Merkins, 20 x Crunchy Frogs, 30 x Apolo Ohnos
• 30 x Apolo Ohnos
• 10 x HR Merkins, 20 x Crunchy Frogs
• 20 x Crunchy Frogs
• 10 x HR Merkins
• 10 x HR Merkins

The Apolo Ohnos were something to see, as it was noted that it looked like Gastone was line dancing out there.

We wrapped it up with a Group relay Loop down at the soccer field where we split into 3 groups with 2 groups stationed on opposite sides of the field doing exercises while the 3rd group runs between them.  Once the running group meets an exercises group, they replace them and start doing the exercises AMRAP, while that group becomes the running group and runs to the other side of the soccer field to replace the other exercise group.  Repeato until time called.

Exercises were (AMRAP until the group came in):

• 3 x Seal Jacks & 1 x Burpee (on repeat) on one end
• Imperial Squats on the other

We didn’t get many laps in as time was running short, and Stinky Bird thankfully made sure YHC knew we needed to allot plenty of time to get back to the flag.  We wrapped it up and headed back as time expired on the workout.

Announcements:

• Convergence 4/17 @ Bulldog
• PT Test 4/24
• Relays this weekend (P200, P70, Mortimer)
• New AO in Dallas 3/27
• Freight collecting socks & water bottles.  Donate equal numbers.

Prayer Requests:

• Turtleman’s recovery
• Joey Denton’s recovery
• EZ Rider’s client with lung cancer
• PAX looking for work

Moleskin:

Race Day is here.  Good luck to everyone representing F3 Gastonia in the P200, P70 and the Mortimer.  Stay safe and strong and get after it!

Yabba Dabba Doo

A few weeks back Flintstone asked YHC to take today.  He had the day off and wanted to sneak off to F3 Shelby to join his friend Latte for Blocks by the Fire.

So here we are.  Thanks Dirt for the EC…

7 joined YHC when 0530 hit.  No FNGs, so no disclaimer.

We knocked out The Pledge of Allegiance to start.

Today is National Peanut Cluster Day.  Dirt noted that its also International Women’s Day and YHC added its also National Proofreading Day.

Are these related?  Maybe.

How do these relate to what is planned…

Mosey….To KFC.

There was a brief discussion (given the length of the mosey) if this workout needed a special disclaimer about any hidden nut allergy or possible milk…  again .  No Epi-Pens provided.

Copying is a form of flattery, they say. (Or lack of originality)  So we started on a modified recent Broke Q.

4 Exercises, done IC.  Starting with 5 and going to 1.

• SSH
• Squat
• IW
• LBC

Mosey on to Withers and Whisenant.

Time for The Cooper.

10 Burpee’s, 10 Merkins, 10 Squats, 10 Big Boys then take a lap around the loop. Rinse and repeat with 9,8,7…all the way down to 1.  (Full disclosure, YHC did Flying Squirrel as shoulder is not 100%)

Still plenty of time left, so mosey to Fidelty Bank.

In Broke’s Q, the 4 Exercises were done IC and were 10 to 1.  So it was time to catch the rest.

4 Exercises, done IC.  Starting with 10 and going to 6.

• SSH
• Squat
• IW
• LBC

Lap around the building.

Time was getting short, so everyone was instructed to pick an Ab exercise.  We were going to do 15 IC.  It didn’t matter if there were repeats, the idea was to keep at it for the time left.

We did one or more sets of the following:

• American Hammers
• Boxcutters
• Flutters
• Freddie Mercuries
• Dying Cockroaches

BTW, this ended up being way suckier than expected.

30 seconds left, just enough time for a quick mosey to the flag.

Time!

Announcements:

• New AO in Folsom – 27-Mar @ Cloninger Park

Prayer Requests:

• Turtleman Hip
• Dirt’s Job Search
• Watts Up’s Job Search
• P200, P70, Mortimer Teams

YHC took us out.

Thanks for all that showed!
Good Work!

Thanks for the opportunity (or in this case be asked) to lead.

Watts Up Powering Down

When Flintstone rolls up to Pelicans on Neal Hawkins Road, he usually parks around back where it is very dark.  Today was no different.  Flintstone ran EC with Watts Up, EZ Rider and I so I knew he was back there changing his shoes and shirt before the boot camp work out.  There was a light reflecting off his car and from my position in the front parking, without my glasses it looked like he was still back there.  I knew it was getting close to 5:30 so I hollered out “Come on Flintstone, It’s time.”  I heard a voice from behind me say, “I’m right here, Dirt.”  The PAX who were present had a good laugh at that.  I found out long ago the we need to be able to laugh at ourselves and this was another opportunity for me to do so.  Unfortunately, I find myself in this position all too often.  I hope you can laugh at yourself as well.

No FNG’s so the usual disclaimer.  Don’t hurt yourself, make it harder if you want or easier if you want.

Pledge

Warm Up:

Seal Jacks IC x 20

Hill Billy Walkers IC x 10

Plank Jack IC x 20

Mosey to the entrance of the park and do 8 Count Body Builders x 5

Mosey to the far end of the parking lot stopping at each light to do 5 Diamond Merkins. This was getting tough by the time we got to the end of the entrance road.

Suicide Ladder

A shuttle run with an exercise set after each return to the starting line. After each full shuttle run the exercise count goes up by five reps.

1^st Round

Flutter Kicks (count 1 leg) x 5, 10, 15 (90 total reps)

Merkins x 5, 10, 15 (90 total reps)

Tiger Squats x 5, 10, 15 (90 total reps) These kind of turned into regular squats after a while.

2^nd Round

American Hammers 10, 20, 30 (180 total reps)

Almost time so we will do Monkey Humpers (120 total) as we Mosey Back to the flag.

Good work this morning gentlemen.

Announcements:

Strides of March is this Saturday March 6^th.  See Short Sale’s Pre Blast to sign up.

The Mortimer and P200 are coming up quickly.

The PT test will be at Gas House on 3/27.

Prayer Requests:

Watts Up has a job interview on Thursday.

EZ Rider’s family

Joey Denton a friend of Stinky Bird was in a serious car wreck

I have not been Q for a looooong time. Really long. Like……long. So when Flintstone asked me to Q a week or so ago, I knew there was only 1 answer.  I knew after Dam 2 Dam I would be a bit sore, but that, as we all know, is not a good enough excuse. Sure enough the legs were a bit sore. Tube committed to posting to my Q with the agreement that running would not be on the menu. Little did he know at the time that was actually going to be good for me….maybe.

There was a crowd of around 8 when I pulled up despite the rain and cooler weather. It felt good to be out there….who believes that??? It sucked. It was cold. It was raining. My bed was way more comfortable. However, it was great to be back out there with the guys. It has been too long. It’s easy to complain about the cold and wet mornings when you have an option. When you cannot be there for legit reasons….well, that’s when you really appreciate the gloom and your F3 Brothers.

I started with a quick disclaimer just after giving props to Folgers for both his name and for continuing to post-real big props to this guy. He is a big-time rock pusher. If you don’t know the origin of his name…..ask him. I know where you can find him most mornings at 0530. We hit the pledge then got to work. I started by ‘splaining we would not be running today which caused a groan from a few guys who knew this meant lunge city.

We started off lunging to the wall and did some dips. We then got back to lunging and I gave Clavin a choice: Money or Chicken? He chose money so we headed to the bank (instead of KFC). We only lunged part of the way then slow-moseyed the rest of the way. Once we got there I opened the weinke using my trusty Otter Bag from Apple (thanks Clavin) and we got to work. We started against the wall in a line for some “Squat the Line’ which goes like this: everyone Balls to the Wall then start on one end and first PAX drops for 10 squats while others remain in BTTW. He finishes squats then back into BTTW. Next PAX drops for 10 squats on down the line. The Q had mercy (and got tired) so we had others drop for the squats from other end then the middle. Once everyone got some squats, we all dropped and recovered. Note to self: this would be much better with like 2 PAX next time, maybe even solo. We lunged to the other side of the bank and realized the AC units were in the way for us to use the wall (thanks Stroganoff) so we lunged back to the first side of the bank. Next up were some Australian Mountain Climbers with sets of 10, 15, and 20. We had a short intermission then started with the big thang: 22’s: 22 reps on 1 side then drop by 2 reps every time across and back. The first sets were Merkins and LBCs. The second set were Hip Slappers and Big Boy situps. I have to say those Hip Slappers kicked my rump. They were tough-I guess I need to be doing more of them.  It was getting close to time so we started with our trip back home with Murder Lunges; 4 lunges for each leg then 1 Merkin. Repeat with 2 Merkins. Repeat with 3 Merkins. Keep going up with Merkins until you get back to home base. Some of us took a short cut (followed the rules, but still took a short cut). It was an un-named PAX whose name rhymes with Asstone. I believe we (and by “we” I mean all of us except Asstone) got up to 12 Merkins before we got home and about the time Asstone was offered a ride from some random dude in a wife beater who thought we were chasing him (in slow motion????). We had a few minutes at the end so we did 5 reps of any called exercise from each PAX then called it a day. We finished with COT then got outta there.

Today was a really good day. It was good to be back. Last night I took some pictures of Jocko’s book Discipline Equals Freedom to read to the PAX while we recovered between exercises. I didn’t add any commentary because…..well, Jocko wrote it. Anyone who reads Jocko probably understands what I mean. If you have the book, you can look these pages up: Begin, Weakness, Destroyer Mode, Fear of Failure, and Not Feeling It. Here are the cliff notes:

Begin-get out in the gloom and work your ass off

Weakness-everyone has weakness, work your butt off and fight every day to get better, don’t accept weakness as a final destination

Destroyer Mode-Q power, get some

Fear of Failure-fear of failure can and should motivate you however be most afraid of doing nothing

Not Feeling It-go anyway, get it done, the only thing you should procrastinate is procrastination.

Thanks for the invite to Q Flintstone. It was what I needed. I should have done this a long time ago. Glad I have been around HIMs to keep me somewhat involved even though I have not been very visible.

Whoopee

YHC had no inspiring words in honor of Presidents Day for the 9 PAX at the Sandlot who started the holiday week right. It was straight down to business to kick off the week. The Thang:

Warm up with Toy Soldiers, IC x 10, Seal Jacks, IC x 15, Imperial Walkers, IC x 20.

Mosey to the park stopping for 5 burpees at the gate, then continue to exercises at 4 stations.
Picnic shelter #1: Merkins, Lunges, Flutter kicks (10 / 10 / 20 OYO).

(After station #1, YHC lost the Weinke. It was hiding in pants pocket the whole time but just didn’t want to come out into the cold. Flintstone was correct in pointing out that simply writing the Weinke is good enough to serve the purpose, then you don’t actually need it.  So we continued on and YHC didn’t miss a beat.)

Picnic shelter #2: Derkins, Backward Lunges, Plank Jacks (10 / 10 / 20 OYO).

Bleachers: Dips, Step-ups, Flutter kicks (10 / 10 / 20 OYO).
(First round only: pause for POA near flag in middle of softball comlex.)

Parking lot: Nolan Ryans, Lunge-jumps, Plank Jacks (10 / 10 / 20 OYO).

Rinse and repeat with reps escalating to 15 / 15 / 30.

Rinse and repeat with reps escalating to 20 / 20 / 40. But time was running out, so round 3 got cut short. And that’s a lot of lunges, so at shelter #2 YHC called a 20 / 10 / 50 – fewer lunges but more plank jacks. That left just enough time to mosey back to the starting point, where the shovel flag would be if we had a shovel flag.

Announcements: Strides of March 3/6
Prayers: Gaston’s mother, Dr. Fisher, PAX on IR, the nation

As always, it is an honor to lead.
Nutria