Tag: The Labyrinth (Page 5 of 10)

7 showed for a gloomy boot camp on a Wednesday morning.

The Thang:

Pledge

30 SSH while we waited on Hushpuppy arrive from his car.

Mosey to wall beside Planet Fitness.

Wall Sit, then Wall sit with hands above head. Then March in cadence to 30.

30 Monkey Humpers

Lunge walk about 30 Yards. 20 Yards to the right then left. Then backwards back to the wall.

20 Jane Fonda’s. Plank with belly facing up and thrust hips up and down to a 3 count.

50 Squats.

Then back to the wall. Rinse and repeat with a few changes along the way. The Squats went down by 10 each of the 4 sets. We added Pickle pounders after the Jane Fonda’s. We also changed from Lunges to Karaoke, then to running.

In the mix of all of that we added a variety of calf raises to further the leg workout but focusing on the lower leg.

Mosey our way back to the wall at the bank.

20 Incline Merkins, 20 Dips, and 20 CDD’s. Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to start with 10 seconds to spare. (Hushpuppy, questioned or challenged that I might not make it back in time.

But we did.

The Moleskin:

Great group this morning. We had some Mumble Chatter or really it was more of Clavin adding sound effects to some of the workout.  But, he seemed confident that his wife would approve of the workout and might increase stamina or something he mentioned.

Also, Stinky Bird killed a turkey or at least that is what he tells us. He pounded his chest while saying this as if it was a giant Moose or a lion. But, good job Stinky Bird. Whoopee would be proud.

Prayers

Gastone Out!

An absolutely beautiful 52 degree and dry morning.  A perfect opportunity to defeat the fartsack and shake off the crust…I mean rust.  All regulars at this morning’s edition of the Labyrinth although some not so regular to this particular AO.  It was great to see some of the Folsom HIM’s make it to the South Side for a visit.  Great to see Balljoint, Westside, and SA joint us for a little “buttermilk”.  All great guys.

After some hellos and good mornings the clock struck 5:30.

Pledge.  We had to use to the flags on the back of Watts Up’s truck due to the site flag being in Turtleman’s front yard.  All is good with that.

Warmup was some stretching.

Mosey down to the park parking lot for the thang.

60 SSH

60 LBC’s

20 Squats

20 Merkins

20 American Hammers

Mosey to top of parking lot and back

breather

50 SSH

50 LBC’s

20 Squats

20 CDD’s

20 Heels to Heaven

Mosey to top of parking lot and back

breather

40 SSH’s

40 LBC’s

20 Squats

20 Monkey Humpers

20 Freddie Mercury’s

Mosey to top of parking lot and back

breather

30 SSH’s

30 LBC’s

20 Squats

20 Mountain Climbers

20 Big Boys

Mosey to top of parking lot and back

breather

20 SSH’s

20 LBC’s

20 Squats

20 Plank Jax

20 Box Cutters

Mosey to top of parking lot and back

breather

10 SSH’s

10 LBC’s

20 Squats

20 Merkins

20 American Hammers

Meander to benches for

20 Dips

Mosey back tp start

Upon special request for SA

10 Burpees

20 Flutters IC, DC

Time!

COT

Prayer

It was a real honor, privilege, and pleasure to lead this morning.  An outstanding group of guys, pushing hard, talking a little junk, and starting the day off right.

AYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Timeframe

This mornings disclaimer was, “ So easy, even a caveman could do it!” Suddenly, Stinky Bird ran away!! WTH!??? He would return with no explanation offered. I announce that recently I was listening to my son watching Family Fued in the other room and the topic was Exercises that a woman makes sexier by performing it…. crowd was quiet until someone says Jane Fonda’s ( well it was an X …. buttttt …. we perform 10 IC each side quickly) insert chatter
Next Folgers says monkey humpers … had to do 20 IC again …. another X … no more additions so I tell all the number one answer I think ( and a personal favorite of mine when it comes to the female body …. jumping jacks ( or SSH) 20 IC and I finish us off with the best response someone had said Burpees! To which Steve Harvey said , “ no one can make burpees look sexy!” 10 OYO there was some chatter about EZ Rider making them look sexy.
Off we go …. had fluorescent shirt and running belt with reflective material on for our visibility ( lately there’s been considerable traffic on streets since we SHOULD exercise caution especially in the gloom. We travel into South pines Subdivision a d I announce that we will perform 5 burpees 10 SSH 15 ……. ( queue up Jeopardy music as I draw a blank on what I had in store …. would remember and after 2 mail Boxes change the monkey humpers that someone suggested to merkins and lastly 20 flutters count one side ….. not much mumble …. most were gassed as we moved through … we all kept together today and only advanced when all were ready …as we approached Union Road many were ready to celebrate until I mentioned there are boxes in the other direction ….. however….. I tell all that approx 1 year ago we were under the Covid quarantine and AO s were closed for a time So I created a workout I performed in Southampton Subdivision ( where I live using these and sometimes changing a few routines like nurring the hill (S Pines has none) ….but based on something Gastone mentioned this morning I was changing the rest of the workout ! Suddenly there was a dogpile on Gastone as all tried to figure out what Gastone said to tick me off or set me off …. fists were flying …. it WAS exciting !! Had to be there..
Assemble at skinny grassy area beside Walgreens and line up behind me for a Turtle Crawl …. something from Turtleman ( usu performed on soccer field …. but ALL WERE EXCITED at possibilty of finding an anthill or doggie doo … or …. last man bear crawls to front ….. only one tour through …

And the best moment of the day :

Defib ( of all people) with the snarky comment that the next time I choose to honor someone I should choose Dry Rub !!

To the wall!!!!!

10 Mike Tyson’s Ic
10 step ups each side
15 dips IC
4? Mike Tysons IC
5 step ups each side
10 Mike Tysons IC
10 dips IC

Mosey to drive opening for former bank and do another Turtleman favorite 20 big boys and broad jump safely across street and do another 20 BB. mosey to finish and complete 1 burpee! For time!
Prior to this mornings start Gastone told all that Turtleman is facing 6 months of chemo … that’s why I choose to advance a workout I’d been planning to put together to let Tman know we love him and look forward to his return to our ranks !!! Let’s keep him in prayers and pour out love to his family anytime we can !

Prayers for Turtleman and family
GSM family
Dr Lesslie family
Friend of Stinky Bird
Sister of Stinky Bird ( employment )

Wednesday at Martha’s House, err The Labyrinth and 9 HIM were in attendance. It was dark and YHC had the weinke ready. This is what happened…

Disclaimer, I’m a professional, do what I say.

Warm Up – Goofballs, Don Quixote, the patented Sargento Right over Left

Count off to make sure we don’t leave anyone behind. Dry Rub warned me he’d be leaving early. We’ll decide if he gets credit or not.

Mosey doing a Bataan Death March to wherever we’re going.

End up at the center point of the baseball where we stopped and did some jump touch the wall things x25 IC.

Mosey down to the parking lot out front of the latrine for a round of Rocky Balboas x25 IC. At this point YHC laid out the first session of pain.

11’s – Tiger Squats on one end, Hand Release Merkins on the other.

Mosey back into the dark for an extended jaunt around back to the lower soccer fields for The Thang.

Dora 1,2,3 – Partner up, #1 runs to the other side of the soccer field, #2 does

• 100 WWI situps
• 200 CDDs
• 300 LBCs

Mosey back to the start for some Nolan Ryans IC. Time, thanks for the opportunity to lead men!

Prayer requests – Pray for the entire GSM family

Announcements – Mayor’s 2.0 trash cleanup this Saturday, Short Sale’s challenge, convergence, PT Test, TronMoss 5k

YHC took us out in prayer.

Disclaimer

Pledge

Warm Up:          Seal Jacks IC x 25

Hill Billies IC x 20

Slow Merkins IC x 10

Mosey to the maintenance building parking lot for an Abb Ring Of Fire with LBC’s.  Here we circled up and held the LBC starting position.  I started with one LBC.  The PAX to my left did one LBC, the PAX to his left did one LBC and so on until it was my turn again where I started the next round with two LBC’s.  We continued through the round of 7.  There was some creative counting as we went around the circle.

Mosey to the walking trail around the baseball fields for Bataan Death Crawl.  This is a combination of Catch Me If You Can and a traditional Bear Crawl. The last person drops and does 5 Burpees, while the rest of the Pax Bear Crawl in a line. After completing the Burpees, the last guy runs to catch the group, tapping the (new) last Pax on the shoulder, who then stops to begin his 5 Burpees, while the (former) last guy continues to the front of the line. Continue until all Pax have performed 2 sets of Burpees.

Mosey to the far end of the parking lot for 11’s.  Cracker Jacks (Bomb Jacks) at one end and Peter Parkers at the other end.  To do a Cracker Jack, start in ATG-Frog Squat position, w/ both arms extended straight down b/w legs + hands planted on ground. Perform a Star Jump & return to 1st position. This is basically a jump squat and a Side Straddle Hop combined into one exercise.

Mosey to the Picnic shelter for Dips IC x 10, Step Ups x 10 each leg, and Flutter Kicks IC x 20.  Rinse and repeat x 2.

Mosey to the entrance of the park for 5 Burpees.

Mosey back to the flag with 20 seconds to spare.

Great work today gentlemen.  I enjoyed the mumble chatter.

Dirt

Announcements:

Convergence on 4/17 at The Bulldog (W.A. Bess Elementary)

PT Test at GasHouse on 4/24

Prayer Requests:

EZ Riders family

Watt Ups M

Joey Denton

Turtle Man

9 PAX resisted the fartsack and put in some work at the Labyrinth this morning. Here’s what we did:

Disclaimer

Warmup

Pledge

Mosey to the park and over to the concession stand between the ballfields. The stand is the “hub” and the 3 sidewalks leading out are the “spokes”. Start with 5 hipslappers IC at the hub then run out a spoke, perform the called exercise for each round and then back to the hub for 5 hipslappers. Same exercise at the end of each spoke per round.

Round 1 = 10 HR Merkins

Round 2 = 20 Jump Squats

Round 3 = 30 LBC’s

Next up was a mosey to the big parking lot for some suicides. Run to the first island for 5 reps of Ranger Merkins, IW squats and Big Boys then back to the start for 5 Burpee’s. Run to the second island for 10 reps of same exercises, then back for 5 Burpee’s. Rinse and repeat for 5 islands, adding 5 to the number of reps each time.

Back to the start for some American Hammers and Flutter Kicks before time was up.

COT/NMM

Take the time to read the daily devotions that Sarlaac and Sparky post on Slack. It will only take a minute or two, but will impact your entire day. TClaps to these guys for what they’re doing.

Announcements

Service project – bring socks and reusable water bottles to Freight, Broke or Sargento.

New AO this Saturday – Cloninger Park in Dallas at 7am

Convergence April 17th at Bulldog (Bess Elementary)

PT test at Gashouse on April 24th

Prayer Request

JK2 and Family

Turtleman

SA and family

HIPAA and family

Dirt and CPAP job search

EZ Rider’s M

Big Pappy and family

Defib took us out.

It was a pleasure to lead.

I’m Broke

The rain held off, WaterBoy wanted to be respectful of those running relays this weekend, so he put together a workout that didn’t require much running.

It went down like this:

The Pledge, then Warmup – Burpees, partnered high 5 pushups, butt-kickers… but then raise your arms overhead…  then wiggle fingers, while turning a circle!  All men willingly participated.

Ran over to Big Martha parking lot where the fun began.  3 sets of six exercises designed to tank the legs.  Each exercise starts at the top of a minute.  Air squats, single leg lunge (one side, then the other), side lunges (one side then the other), bridge ups.  The first time through, 50 seconds do the exercise, 10 seconds runs in place, or jumping jacks, or rest.  Next time through, 45 seconds on the exercise, 15 seconds of run in place, or jumping jacks, or rest, last time through 40 seconds with the same for the other 20 seconds.  18 minutes total, then 2 minutes of calf raises for burnout.

Mosey down toward the picnic tables, same pattern, but with only 5 exercises repeated 3 times.  Pushups, dips, hollow body crunch, flutters, and then LBCs.

Mosey back to Pelicans, COT, Name-o. Pray it out. Done.

Clavin found it too easy, so he carried a 145lb Atlas ball.  Folgers ran a full lap around Marthas in each of the 10 second, 15 second, and 20 off times, totaling 19 additional miles.  Watts Up mosey’d down and back on his hands and did the whole workout inverted on one arm.  Gastone … well… he talked, said something about ant bites.

• Awoke to a 4:30 message that Dirt is down with down with something and very wisely needs to stay home … get better soon!
  I was just thinking the other day of going back to a workout that has no theme …. just straight out beat down …. listening to the crowd at the end … seems mission accomplished! Shoot I even received a semi-anonymous death threat !!
  Pledge ( get off the ground Whoopee )
  5 burpees
  10 SSH IC
  Oh s train ( not really) 5 burpees
  9 seal jacks
  Whoopee called for 5 burpees ( no, he didn’t , but he very wisely had started before I called it )
  10 Freddie Mercuries ( was waiting to see if any picked up on the decreasing numbers from previous … no comments so I ran us back up to 10
  
  Whoopee anticipates burpees …. nope …. away we go …
  Gather at front of park and decide we need a pax count 9 ( although 10 is counted …. one of those days …huh?)

and away we go ….again!

somewhere along path there’s grumbling about calendar mixups as this must be Thursday at the Pub or that, being that Sunday is Turn clocks ahead for daylight savings time, we’ve either time traveled “thanks Marty McFly!” Heard somewhere and JJ with the better response that we turned clocks ahead twenty four hours now instead of just a measly one!!

assemble at last soccer field for an old favorite of mine run to 25 yd line ( give or take) 25 merkins 

back to start run to 25 for 25 merkins and to the 50 ( most went WAYY TOO FAR) 50 squats and back to 25 for 25 merkins back to start 

Next to the 75 , I paused in confusion ( Q fail 1) I had intended jump squats or Bobby Hurleys but had Omaha’d this feeling too much running was on agenda and looked to preserve joints… much mumble here … Whoopee asks for Burpees (WHY?!?) I had previously used lbcs but am trying to “step” away from this as I think this is a little overused … someon e says “ American Hammers!” Sold to the man in … a dark shirt …. somewhere. And the 100 was plank jacks …. and you also add all previous exercises at appropriate moments.

assemble behind playground for Indian  Run …. damn I get hit with a lawsuit … Seems someone was waiting in the bushes to Red flag that !! Settle for JJ with the win again Washington Football Club run ( maybe we could even get their dance squad to do a routine for us …. hell they don’t even have cheerleaders … what’s UP with that! Sorry ….tell all to try not to push the mosey , and what do I do …. Q fail 2 … I mosey too fast get told to slow down. We even had music … I’ve wanted to do this for a while and was so excited to see Whoopee amongst us feeling he’d enjoy … Yackettty Sax ( better known as THE Benny Hill Theme) …. ran long path in park ( no woods!) assemble at turd shack for … Jack Webb’s up to 10 and down to 1 

lost my breath about number 8 on the way down and resumed count about 5 to finish count

mosey again telling all if you pass the Q it’s a 10 burpee penalty …. Whoopee stayed neck and neck challenging me …. so I turned the tables, literally … I began to nur….. until the end of the island 1000 or so feet along path. … mosey to gates where I unveil the design for The Labyrinth complements of Stogie … it should be posted later today 

in his excitement Whoopee remembers the 10 burpee penalty so I serve it up for all to enjoy!!

run back to start and call on Gastone to finish us off with 20 IC flutters ( went over about 3-4 seconds ) Stroganoff emerges from his run.

I hope all got their monies worth … it was after all  you can eat , double or nothing , no money back quarantees 

before I wrap it all up …. major props to Whoopee … he’s a stand up guy …. don’t think I’m picking on him … I just feel he’s great to work with, great to look at , worlds sexiest cardiologist, funny , witty , wise …( is this laying it on too thick W?)

announcements:

new AO Folsom area Saturday’s 7:00 by police station

i remind all that in the future as most of us are in dark colors as the days Q ( here and elsewhere) concern yourselves with safety as on Monday someone turned from Neal Hawkins quickly moving towards bank ATM that we had all used previous week … had someone done this a week prior …. I shudder to think! Whoopee wisely reminds all as Q to make sure someone has a phone in case of ANY emergency !

prayers for JJ boss ( mother-in-law passing)

Cpap , Dirt and Watts Up on job searches

Dirt under weather 

Turtleman hip

thank you men for this unexpected pleasure of back to back Qs!!!

Sorry Oompa Loompa,,, those were not my words but Dirts as he affirmed much of what Folgers began the disclaimer with as he extolled the virtues of the Joe .
We were all told to follow proper form and many of the days exercises would be referred to as jumping jacks instead of SSH …. do as I say …. follow the leader ,,,, etc etc….oh …. and we were also given a preview of our route and exercises but also advised that should any one be foolish to pass the Q, you must be penitent or face the WRATH!!
Pledge
And away we go with …. the Squat 25 oyo

Then what was supposed to be 25 IC Imperial Walkers but rapidly fell apart as Heckle And Jeckle made a sudden appearance adding and subtracting numbers creating so much havoc that when Folgers suddenly stopped us …. all were quiet as the flames sprouting from his amazing mustache froze us all in place …. Medusa has nothing on this boys!! We were transfixed as Folgers asserted his authority bellowing that we will now perform 15 merkins as a fair and just punishment while he glared at all !!! We remained quiet ( as if).

Now off to the concession area in the park for some nourishment ….

there was ( softly playing ) music … too bad no Whoopee …. as Rush played and at some point I thought I heard Magnum PI ( probably still on the mustache kick) maybe it was Hill Street …. either way it was an 80s anthem  of some type …. could  not hear anything else as the crickets were louder than the accompana accompana accompana …… the music …

15 shoulder taps while BTTW ( too bad again … no Whoopsie ) 

20 IC Flutters ( strong showing from Watts Up as he redeems us and earns much accolades and laurels from our esteemed leader.

10 shoulder taps and more flutters I think 

now to the parking lot …. confusion sets in as there are several paths … several lots …. and the crowd spirals back down 

we assemble at the last light pole and are informed that we are doing 11s and the destination for the other end is the Last ( yes …. we would be informed multiple times as the pax grumble and grouse ) light pole and that we would be doing American Hammers . At this point several confused ( and hearing impaired individuals ask to the continued chagrin of today’s Q that the EXERCISE AT EACH END …. “ LET ME SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU …. A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N  H-A-M-M-E-R-S!!!!”

sheesh

the only better moment came when all thoroughly confused individuals again earn the Qs wrath by failing to stop at the last light that was “on” …. the last l one was dark and was NOT to be our destination!

with about 5 minutes to spare we wrap it up and head home during which Stinky Bird learns that there was to be an additional exercise if only time would have allowed ( or some would have played nice) and Stinky Bird tells Folgers to use it as a suppository ( I think he meant repository …. but Folgers was mercilous as he beat Stinky Bird repeatedly with a blade of grass.

channeling Indiana Jones. Captain Stubing was the only other wise pax to receive praise as he arrived back at start first and was in proper plank form having understood the penitent remark from earlier 

with a minute to spare. Asstone was given as punishment for his earlier transgressions the penalty of flutters IC x25 with arms held high …… and to hopefully earn back some praise we all joined him in this punishment as many felt complicit in today’s shenanigans 

announcements for Strides of March

prayers for Dirt job search, Big Pappys son and father, Stogies dad, Sister Acts daughter 

now, you may wonder why Clavin is writing this? Well, it would appear that I am easily manipulated by the Jedi ….. 

some, all, most or none of this may or may not be true …. all I know is that Folgers last words this morning were that he would make ALL who were not present pay dearly

lastly it should be noted that that this was a Most Excellent Q!

The Site Q asked for February Q’s a while back. I needed motivation to the gloom so tendered my name for this date. Thankfully it was a clear morning, still in the thirties but the only thing worse than cold is cold and rainy (see Whoopee’s BB from Monday and my BB from Midoriyama last week). Clavin dropped some hype toward my visit to the Labyrinth (don’t worry – I Googled that spelling), gathering a veteran crew of 8 men ready to see what I had in store. Clavin has been focused on form and I support that effort. My disclaimer was “you vs. you, modify as needed – but don’t sacrifice form if you modify…this would quickly come back on me. So I announced the first exercise: Seal Jacks; in position – move (pause), ready? exercise! Now I’m not sure how this works for you, but I like to set my watch to track “performance” which is normal but I also had my phone (as all Q’s should do, especially when they mosey away from base). Well, instead of starting my watch, my gloved hand turned it off…dammit! About 3 reps into Seal Jacks, I “modified” to only leg jacks trying to re-start my watch. This did not go unnoticed. Whoopee and Gastone fired in with mumble chatter on the Q’s form not being proper. Ok – it’s going to be one of those workouts. Once my watch was working and we arrived at 10 reps, I thought about calling 50 burpees…but that wasn’t the plan. We continued:

• Toy Soldier IC x 10
• Imperial Walker IC x 10
• Bulldog knee to elbow SC x 10
• Mtn Climbers IC x 10
• Pledge

We moseyed out of the dark parking lot headed toward the park, running along the sidewalk. We went passed the main entrance to the maintenance shed. Circled and shared the workout would be this: whenever I stop or reach a specified point on the route, do the following:

• Merkins x 10
• Squats x 10
• Mtn Climbers x 10 (count 1 side)
• Plank Jacks x 10

The lower rep count (10) makes it easier to concentrate and not break form. We PAX can get into trouble trying to go to fast and miss the point of the exercise, so we’ll plan to stay together. And now the adventure begins. Instead of going into the park on the walking trail, I detour across the street into South Pines neighborhood – this to my delight initiated questions and more chatter. I speed up just to make them work harder as they have no idea how far we’ll go. But it was only one block to the corner of Rivermont & Valleywood. Set #2, run northwest, Set #3, #5, #7 would be where Rivermont and Spring Valley meet. Set #4 was Rivermont cul-de-sac, set #6 was at the cul-de-sac of Spring Valley (if you didn’t catch on this is a dead-end street – back to Rivermont and left turn (after set #7). We returned in the direction we came, skipping Morrocroft Trail (I drove it the night before – too lengthy) and stopped for #8 at Valleywood/Rivermont, then running north on Valleywood at a reasonable pace. #9 at Valleywood/Shady Bark where a dog went crazy but thankfully was fenced. We pressed on NE on Shady Bark. An interested homeowner stood naked at the window, wait what? No, just kidding – that would have added to this underwhelming story though. But there was a figure in the window wondering what 9 idiots were doing running up their road at 5:50 am. A car was idling in the driveway – while I’m sure the driver would be warm on their way to work, CO was filling the air. We quickly stopped at the cul-de-sac for #10 then re-traced to the intersection – more dogs barking and cars cranking, #11 at Valleywood/Shady Bark. Returned to Rivermont & Valleywood for #12. Cars filing out of the hood. Too much traffic, safely cross (at the crosswalk this time), to the sidewalk for set #13. Then at the main entrance to the park, #14. Then returned to base where Dirt opened his cadence and sprinted home. My watch said 6:08, so 7 minutes of Mary was filled this way: Turtle Crunch, In/outs, Elbow to Knee, Knee to Elbow, Flutter Kicks, X Crunch, Side Obliques raises R & L. The counts varied, abs hurt, so that was it. Pretty uneventful. And so it is possible for me to Q a simple workout. We got in nearly 2 miles by my GPS and the group stuck together for all 140 reps of the four exercises.

Announcements – well if you haven’t heard by now – there is a CSAUP approaching. March 6th, The Strides of March. Only 16 idiots willing to do this one at the moment but YOU can be next. Sign up via pre-blast or DM me for details. Also some time in April will be Convergence. Thursday will be Allen Tate’s 2nd F Lunch at Jackson’s Cafeteria: noon-1 pm. We’ll meet in the Def Leppard room. I hear the meatloaf is good. Prayers: Rudolph has the Vid – I checked and he’s hanging in there. Watts Up’s foot caught a sidewalk ledge on the EC run and took a fall on his shoulder. I checked and nothing was broken but he’s not up for any CDD’s anytime soon. He’ll fight through – prayers for his healing. Also PSA – be careful in the gloom about running. Folgers has a friend that is in terminal condition, prayers for his remaining time and support of family. JJ’s aunt is ill and JK2 completed our offered prayers. I took us out.

Moleskin – this idea has been brewing for a while. Gastone did it a lot while Site Q and Gold Digger did a version when I was a PAX. I had a penalty waiting if we had any bat flippers run to the front, but the PAX were content to stay in the cluster, traveling together. Again, low reps, proper form, keep the heart rate up. I’ll probably use this idea again as it seemed to work okay. Oh, looks like I’m Q-ing Downtown on Friday, maybe I can underwhelm those guys? Show to Know.