Find your adventure

AO: handsomizer
Q: G-string (Eli Kresta)
PAX: Natural Ice, Rocket Mortgage, Freakonomics, Red Skull, Spinal Tap, Black Lung
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS:
Rainy and chilly. Perfect for a beatdown… in the parking deck.

WARMUP:
– Motivator X6
– Inchworms
– Mosey to the parking deck
– BACs
– Back-BACs
– Overhead Claps
– 20 burpee buy in (hero style)

THE THANG:
Split into two teams
Thang 1:
Rotate through the following exercises
– Pullups on the ledge
– endorphins with the sandbag
– Bear-crawl up the incline and back

Thang 2:
Complete the reps as a team
– 150 perfect merkins
– 200 sandbag rows
– 250 air squats

MARY:
– 25 big-boys
– 25 LBCs
– 25 slow leg raises
– 45 second hollow hold

MOLESKINE:
“The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.” -GK Chesterton
Looking back on my life, my twenties were full of adventures (travel, missionary work, moves, etc.), but now that I’m thirty, I am married with a child. There is a lot less obvious adventure in the day-to-day operations now. HOWEVER, it fills my heart just as much as the adventures did in my twenties.

How do we view adventure? How do we see the extraordinary in our daily lives? Do we see our roles as husbands and fathers as truly heroic, and do we treat them as such?

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Biscuit run tomorrow

COT:
Friend of PAX has lost multiple children in the last 12 months. Prayers for him.

SLAMBALLY’ALL

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, DB, morning star, Pebbles, Sooie, Wolfpack, Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: old man winter not dead yet

WARMUP:
Motivators from 5
Yes/No/maybes 5
BAC 15
BBAC 15
Don Quixote 10
WMH OYO
Good Morning OYO
Caboose is loose with the slam ball around the knoll. Slamball gets fumbled, 5 slow merkins ended up doing 20 all together

THE THANG:
THANG 1:
Iron Mikes 10x
Side lunges 10x
Shoulder taps 10x
Climber taps 10x
Derkins MAX
Single Leg Bridges 10x
Side Bridges 10x
Squat hold for the 6’s the mosey around the backstop.
REPEAT 3x

THANG 2:
Hangs: 1 minute on 30 seconds off (3x)

THANG 3:
Ultimate Capture the Slamball
Get tagged, turnover possession.
Slamball hits the deck/fumbled, 5 burpees

MOLESKINE:
Faithfulness in the mundane will echo forward for centuries. Recounted a small excerpt from the autobiography of John G. Patton (1824-1907) about his relationship with his father and when he left home for seminary. His father was a sock maker and they lived in a small village in Scotland:

My dear father walked with me the first six miles of the way. His counsels and tears and heavenly conversation on that parting journey are fresh in my heart as if it had been but yesterday; and tears are on my cheeks as freely now as then, whenever memory steals me away to the scene…His lips kept moving in silent prayers for me; and his tears fell fast when our eyes met each other in looks for which all speech was vain! We halted on reaching the appointed parting place; he grasped my hand firmly for a minute in silence, and then solemnly and affectionately said :
“God bless you, my son! Your father’s God prosper you, and keep you from all evil !”
Unable to say more, his lips kept moving in silent prayer: in tears we embraced, and parted.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– biscuit run Saturday, March 2
– Bring Your Kid to Workout day at #the-knoll Tuesday, March 5
– Terrible mile: Thursday, March 28

COT:
Closed with prayer.

L.E.A.P. D.A.Y.

AO: greenmachine
Q: princessaurora
PAX: Breadsticks, Cowboy, Focker, Grape, moneyshot, Rocket Mortgage, t-cell, Topanga, Works for a Guy, monster biscuit, Haggis
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS:
Practically arctic juxtaposed with the balmy weather just days before

WARMUP:
Mosey to midfield for a little COP:
– SSH
– LBAC
– Randies
– Moroccan Night Clubs
– Fire Hydrants
– WMH

THE THANG:
Line up in the end zone for a L.E.A.P. D.A.Y. escalator. Each round, PAX perform exercise, Bernie to 50-yard line, and jog back. With each successive round, PAX are adding the next exercise on top of previous exercises before their runs.

Lunges x 10
– Eccentric Squats (3-ct down) x 20
– Apolo Ohnos x 30
– Plyo Jumps x 40

400m lap to shake the legs out, and then, in keeping with the day’s “extra” theme, perform final round with all four exercises one more time.

Moving into the upper body portion with the same format.

– Dive Bomber Merkins x 10
– Ab Thrusters x 20
– Y-Raises x 30

200m lap followed by an extra round of all three, then mosey to the pull-up bars.

Split into groups of three. One group calls ab exercise while they perform 29 pull-ups each as a team (modified for time, but not before t-cell, moneyshot, and YHC tested the original plan).

FIN

MOLESKINE:
Soundtrack consisted of bonus/hidden tracks through the years, and there were some real nostalgic gems in there.

Always a great group at greenmachine. Thanks to Focker for letting me take the reins on this extra day and for caffeinating us all. I might need to make GM a part of my routine.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Murder Mile – 3/28
Plankpril – 4/1-4/30

COT:
My BIL and his wife’s pregnancy
Haggis’s job search

PA out.

Leap Day! (Almost)

AO: titan
Q: Grape
PAX: preacherman, Right Said, Crawlspace, Sherlock, Black Lung, Pep, Natural Ice, Firefox, greyalbum, Tim the Toolman, Spinal Tap, DintyMoore
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: warm and windy! Got done right before the showers

WARMUP:
20 SSH
10 WMH OYO
10 Good Mornings OYO
10 LBAC F
10 LBAC R
10 OH Claps
10 Seal Claps
10 Moroccan Night Clubs

THE THANG: In honor of my son’s 1st real birthday tomorrow (he’s turning 4…or 1…or something) we worked on our leaping ability with a jump-themed playlist

Mosey
Stop at various points to do 20 crunchy frogs IC
At the ellipse, partner up for Dora

LEAP
100 LBC’s
200 E2K (mountain climbers)
300 APD’s
4:00 Plank (1 minute at a time with 20 seconds of rest)

Mosey to hill

FROG
Frog jump up hill, run down
Run up hill, run back down
Obama up hill, run back down
Grapevine run to startex

MOLESKINE: those frog jumps really wrecked me. Hope you guys enjoyed the Mary themed Dora. Thanks for having me!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: biscuit run, plankpril

COT: Grey’s adoption, upcoming surgeries, selfish parenting

Tortoise & Hare – The Final Chapter

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hair Band, Right Said, Judy, Longhorn, Skeet, Decaf, Woodpecker, Wookie, Goldie Locks, Evel Knievel, Sunshine, Neanderthal, Peach Pie, Prince’s Hot Chicken, Tatter Tot, Iron Flush, Mittens, Mr. Krabs
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: 63 degrees and dry despite some distant lightning and thunder

WARMUP: Mr. Krabs led us through a thorough warm-up: SSH, IW, HW, WMH, Squat, Good Mornings

THE THANG: RUN!!! 3 miles. It was a little disappointing that no 4:13 Strong man set a PR on the final run of the 40 Days. At least Hair Band got a 2024 PR finishing in 20:37!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day is this Friday at 11:30. Come join us as we celebrate this class transitioning into the Work Phase of the program.

COT: Prayers for strength, guidance and wisdom as these men begin interviews and the job selection process.

Partners

AO: iiipillars
Q: Vector
PAX: Bard, Black Lung, Dollywood, Focker, wardas1, Go Fish, Grape, Harbaugh, Natural Ice, Pep, princessaurora, Tackle Box, t-cell, YumYum, Haggis, TiVo, Fanny (Kotter with a long-forgotten name)
FNGs: 2 TiVo, Fanny (Kotter with a long-forgotten name)
COUNT: 18
YHC became a smidge nervous when our AOQ Grape announced todays’ session as one I’d be “committing crimes against our bodies,” although that did prompt a HC from Natural Ice due to interest in an “awkward” workout . . . Then the lightning storm prior to start had me possibly scrambling with a workout other than “let’s stand in the middle of a field at the top of a hill.” But the storm passed, the weather was perfect, and (I think) no bodies had crimes committed against them.

For today’s theme, I unearthed a playlist used up in Louisville during a recent visit to see pumpkin spice — the Louisville PAX, not ones to note the brilliance of a theme playlist, didn’t take too kindly to some of the cheesy selections, even at one point grabbing the Vector-o-jukebox to change songs. Party foul, bro. I knew the HIM of iiiPillars were far more appreciative of cheesy playlists, so this one, about partners, seemed perfect.

CONDITIONS: Post storm perfection – nice breeze, good temp.

PLAYLIST:
It Takes Two – Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
Why Can’t We Be Friends – War
I Got You – Split Enz
Just the Two of Us – Grover Washington Jr w/ Bill Withers
We Can Work it Out – Beatles
Best Friend – English Beat
Get Together – The Youngbloods
With a Little Help from My Friends – Beatles
Together Forever – Rick Astley
You’re the One that I Want – Olivia Newton-John/John Travolta
Team – Lorde
Come Together – Beatles

WARMUP:
(10 burpees to start due to the flag falling to the ground followed by 5 more due to some PAX sass re: YHC following his own instructions). Mosey to field.
Started with counting off and noting your partner, who you’d be stuck with the rest of the morn.
SSH x 20, LBC x 20, Seal claps x 10, Overhead claps x 10, Overhead press x 10, RLBC x 20. WMH and Good Mornings OYO x 10 each.

THE THANG:
#1 PAIR: Plankjacks, Abd crunches, Incline Merkins, and “Regular” Squats – total 200 per exercise per pair, one exercises while partner runs lap.

#2 DUO: Dips, Underdogs, Overhead Squats x 200 with laps

Mosey back to Startex and high 5 partner for job well done.

MOLESKINE: Named FNG TiVo (given prior h/o of work with Direct TV) and a Kotter who had forgotten his name from long ago — as per renaming rules, the second name must be more embarrassing (assuming he was not the FNG once named “Soft Wood,” an unfortunate choice that led to never seeing that HIM again). princessaurora noted with the HIM’s initials BG that a Bee Gees song name was appropriate, specifically “Fanny” – a song about a woman who needed to be “tender with [the] love” of the 3 Australio-UK Disco singers. Natural Ice, there’s your awkward . . .

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Biscuit Run Half Marathon this weekend – check slack for deets.

COT:
1. Prayers for Yuri
2. A lot of mumblechatter about the 60s flavor of the playlist . . . YHC took no offense, as great music is timeless, my friends.
3. Grateful for the PAX of HIM for allowing me to lead, tolerating once again (and far more that Louisville PAX) the playlist, and making me stronger and better each day.

SYITG,
Vector

Texas Independence Day – 2024 edition

AO: middle-tooth
Q: sooner
PAX: DrRupp, Oatmeal, Toothless, Pole Dancer, Michelin Man, Rocket Mortgage, Cowboy, Betty Ford, moneyshot, monster biscuit, Gilmore Girl
FNGs: 1 Gilmore Girl
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: a truly warm spring texas-like morning with a whipping wind carrying the scent of freedom

WARMUP: an active warm up

THE THANG:

Battle of the Alamo
– pull ups to exhaustion, hang until all in, lap, repeat x3
– swing decline merkins to exhaustion, plank till all in, lap x3

Go for reinforcements
– texian run down granny white and back

Remeber the Alamo! 13 days of battle (aka 13s)
– Iron mikes + star jumps
– murder/redurum bunny travel (much like the alamo, we were overcome by exhaustion and converted to mozy/bernie travel halfway through the battle)

Long live the Alamo
13 star jump buy out

MOLESKINE: Michelin Man is disappointed by presence of a Texas Battle flag on the shovel

ANNOUNCEMENTS: toothless has much better posts than his predecessor

COT: prayers for family, grief and healing

Take My Breath Away

AO: toratoratora
Q: Goose
PAX: Culture Shock, Giving Tree, 40 Minutes, Double Bass, White Cloud, greyalbum, Hot Route, Daylight, Invictus
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: Perfect

WARMUP:
Willie mays, Forward Fold, arm circles, arm stretch
THE THANG:
Elevens: SSH and squats, merkins and LBC

Lunge to the light

300 squats with run after every 25 reps

Circle of Mary

ANNOUNCEMENTS: continued prayers for greyalbum daughter after her recent surgery.

Have a great week!

Crumping

AO: westeros
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Tim the TOOLMAN, Black Lung, DintyMoore, Grape, Natural Ice, Pep, Red Skull, Sally, Spinal Tap, Blueprint
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: Guns out, cut off sleeves type of morning

WARMUP: Mosey around. BACs. BACBACs. Imperial Walkers. WMHs.

THE THANG:
Split up into pairs (Choose a new Pax to pair with after every exercise). Theme was, if you can do 1, you can do 2, if you can do 2, you can do 10. Each Pax alternated with each other working up from 1 rep to 10 reps. 55 total reps per exercise per Pax.

Overhead Seal Claps
Mosey to tennis courts
Squats
Mosey to playground
Merkins
Mosey to stairs
Step Ups
Mosey to Playground
Dips
Mosey to tennis courts
Iron Mikes
Mosey back to flag

MARY
Same concept, but in a group working up to 5 reps.

Leg Raises
Shoulder Taps

MOLESKINE:
Crumping is a term in mountaineering/backpacking when every movement is tough and even the smallest steps feel hard. It’s in these moments that we need to realize that if we can take one step, we can take the next. And even more important to understand we don’t have to go at it alone. Ask for help where you need it and lend a helping hand when you can. “Leave no man behind and leave no man where you found him”

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Biscuit Run this Saturday (Westhaven to Loveless)

Next Tuesday (3/5) Bring Your Kid To Workout Day at TheKnoll in Bellevue. If you’ve ever wondered what a 2.0 workout looks like bring the kids and come out! (Recommended age 6+)

March 28th Murder Mile at Greenmachine

Plankril coming in April. See Grape for details and get ready to become ripped SkaterBoys

COT: A moment of silent reflection for all prayers spoken and unspoken. Cheers to you men!

Burpees-on-a-String AO Tour

AO: hendersonville
Q: Chunks
PAX: Pep, Splitter, Disc Jockey, Sunshine, Right Said, Crawlspace, Desk Pop
FNGs: 1 Desk Pop
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Warm and breezy

WARMUP: SSH, Good mornings

THE THANG:
Burpee Mountain
Mosey to the hill
Burpee Mountain
Sprint to the top, mosey to the high school
Burpee Mountain
Mosey to the football field
Choose your own adventure: PAX line up on the endzone. First PAX chooses an exercise for the group to perform while he moseys to the other end zone and back. When he returns, next PAX chooses and exercise and does the same. Go until all PAX choose an exercise. Switch to the other endzone and repeat.
Burpee Mountain
Mosey
Burpee Mountain
Mosey to Mary
Finish Burpee Mountain

Mary: Dealer’s choice ab exercises until 6:45

MOLESKINE: Two Chunks Qs, two Disc Jockey merlot splashes

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT: