Last Minute Switch

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Shocker (Mark Holmes), Chunks, Dan and Dave, Minnie Pearl, Bill Dance, Decaf, Young and Restless, Yak, Frozen, Westside, Pacer, Trajectory, C#, Triple Sevens, Blitz, Sgt Meatball, Mr. Clean
FNGs: 1 Mr. Clean
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: A chilly 46 degrees

WARMUP: Mosey to the gravel lot for a Toga-inspired warm-up:
– Motivators
– Slow and Low Squats
– Imperial Walkers
– T-Ups
– Scorpion Stretch

THE THANG:
– Run to the front STEM parking lot for some EMOM work: 15 burpees, 20 squat jumps, 25 WWI’s
– Run to the NSA parking for another round of EMOM work
– Run to the Dept of Safety parking lot
– 15 burpees then Lt. Dan’s with locked arms to the next light
– 20 jump squats then bear crawl to next light
– 25 WWI’s then crawl bear to final light
– Run to the helipad – 15 burpees
– Run to the maintenance parking lot – 20 jump squats
– Run to the smoke stack – 25 WWI’s
– Run to the hill for two attempts at crawl bears up the hill
– Run to the StartEx for a little Mary

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Stronghold is headed to Franklin to defend the flag. Join us at The Armada at 0630 for a Mid-TN / Alabama convergence.

COT: Prayers for strength, courage and wisdom

First One – Done!

AO: thestronghold
Q: Right Said
PAX: Dan and Dave, moneyshot, Betty Ford, Cowboy, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Skeet, Young and Restless, Decaf, Minnie Pearl, bluemule, Red Skull, Sunshine, Bill Dance, Wookie, D Pole, Comeback, Army Surplus, Yak, Frozen, Pacer, Mix Tape, Milli Vanilli, For the Girls, Westside, Trajectory, C Sharp, Triple Seven, Blitz, Sergeant Meatball
FNGs: 9 Mix Tape, Milli Vanilli, For the Girls, Westside, Trajectory, C Sharp, Triple Seven, Blitz, Sergeant Meatball
COUNT: 30
CONDITIONS: Absolutely perfect at 57 degrees

WARMUP:
Mosey to the front parking lot for:
– SSH, LBAC, R-LBAC, Seal Claps, Good Mornings, WMH
– Partner Up – 1 F3 PAX to 1 4:13 Strong Participant (we had the perfect number to get to our 1:1 ratio!)
Mosey to the basketball court with a quick stop at the Block Pile to pick up one block per pair.

THE THANG:
Assemble along the baseline – Partner 1 works while Partner 2 moves the length of the court and back, swap and then hold plank for all in.
– Round 1: Block Curls, Suicides
– Round 2: Block Squat, Lunge
– Round 3: Overhead Block Press, Suicides
– Round 4: Block Wings, Suicides

Circle up for the Doomsday Circle (Ring of Fire) – Each man does one merkin, advancing around the circle until 500 merkins were completed. If a break was needed, complete 15 SSHs and then re-enter the circle.

Mary – Flutter Kicks, Hello Dolly, Freddy Mercuries,

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The newest class is off and running. Thanks to the PAX from greenmachine who joined us this morning. It was great to have you out!

Six more weeks with this class. Come out and join them.

Boops

AO: thestronghold
Q: baggervance
PAX: Skeet, Minnie Pearl, toga, Dan and Dave, Mullet, leatherneck, Decaf, Red Skull, Bill Dance, Casual Friday, Dantana, Woodpecker, D Pole, Wookie, Goldie Locks, Army Surplus, Yak, Lost & Found, Evel Knievel, Sunshine, Neanderthal, Peach Pie, Prince’s Hot Chicken, Tatter Tot, Iron Flush, Mittens, Mr. Krabs
FNGs: None
COUNT: 28
CONDITIONS: A Perfect 43 degrees

WARMUP: Disclaimer followed by SSH, IW, HW, Squats and creative stretching

THE THANG: Partner Up followed by a long two column Indian Run around the campus and to the basketball court.

Partner 1 does a stationary exercise while Partner 2 does a shuttle run, then switch: Round 1 – Side Lunge; Round 2 – Squat; Round 3 – SSH. Mosey to nearby building and hold wall sit while receiving instructions.

Mosey to the block pile. Partner 1 does a movement with the block x 10 while Partner 2 does a movement without a block, then switch: Round 1 – Block rows with opposite leg in the air + Up Downs; Round 2 – Bulgarian Split Squat with block + Reverse Up Downs; Round 3 – Block Step Ups + Peoples Chair

Mosey to the Gravel Lot and then line up for various modes of transportation – Bear Crawl, Crawl Bear, Side Shuffles, Skips and Boops.

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
This class is two weeks away from completion of the 40 Day Challenge.

COT: We were reminded of the importance of locking arms with other men who can help encourage us and lift us up when we need it.

Lessons

AO: thestronghold
Q: tampalibra
PAX: Red Skull, Ginger, Young and Restless, Grape, olanmills, Doggystyle, Decaf, Skeet, Minnie Pearl, Sunshine, Lost and Found, Goldie Locks, Yak, Prince’s Hot Chicken, D Pole, Bill Dance, Army Surplus, Tatter Tot, Woodpecker, Evil Knievel, PeachPie, Mr Krab, Neanderthal, Wookie, Iron Flush, Mittens
FNGs: None
COUNT: 27
CONDITIONS: Perfect

COT:
Let’s nail the COT first bc it was a marquee moment for YHC. This morning was a (not so) nice reminder that yeah you can feel good about yourself getting out and doing good but that doesn’t mean there are not lessons for you to learn along the way.

Here’s the short of it. One of the guys was chirping at me pretty consistently. At first I was confused and wasn’t sure who he was talking to or what nonsense he was even saying. I pushed back a little eventually and he clearly was not getting the point so I escalated a bit and I went too far. It was a calculated or intentional escalation that I felt necessary at the moment BUT I said something I did not mean to say and there is no excuse. The whole thing is on me and I own that. Period. I stopped the whole thing and publicly owned up to it, hopefully he heard my apology took it as sincere and we all move on better.

I’ve got egg on my face and to be honest it’s been wearing me out all day.

The only silver lining is hopefully everyone there saw an example of a man admitting he is wrong, owning it, and apologizing. Not something we see a lot of these days to be sure. I’m sorry I let y’all down and hope I can earn the trust and respect back.

WARMUP:
SSH x 50
Squats x 10
Fire Hydrant x 20 each side
Jack Webb – goal was to get to 10 but it was crawling so we stopped at 8. This was done together with each PAX down the line calling out the next rep number and exercise

THE THANG:
Grab a block and head to the hill

7s: Reverse burpees at the bottom, We’re Not Worthy at the top. Carry you block with you at all times.

YHC planned on a politician up the each each round, as well as a surprise speed bump, but we were already running behind.

Mosey to the basketball court

Partner-burpee-thruster-apocalypse:
P1 does 10 burpees while P2 does 10 block thrusters, switch and rinse/repeat

P1 does 9 burpees while P2 does 9 block thrusters

Goal was to get to 1 but we ran out of time and I believe only got to 5

MARY:
No Mary due to time

Discern the signs

AO: thestronghold
Q: morning star
PAX: Chunks, Skeet, Minnie Pearl, Wolfpack, baggervance, Dan and Dave, Decaf, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Red Skull, morning star, Woodpecker, D Pole, Wookie, Goldie Locks, Army Surplus, Yak, Frozen, Lost & Found, Evel Knievel, Sunshine, Neanderthal, Peach Pie, Prince’s Hot Chicken, Tatter Tot, Iron Flush, Mittens, Mr. Krabs, Long Horn, Bill Dance(?), Dantana, Cat Man
FNGs: 1 Cat Man
COUNT: 29
CONDITIONS: high 20’s and lively

5:30 – disclaimer given … YHC asked men to raise their hands if they were willing to take personal responsibility for their own safety. Modify as necessary.

WARMUP: mosey to the light, circle up … motivator x5, lazy imperial walkers x10, hard style low slow squats x11

YHC taught PAX how to do fast and loose drills (active recovery) … dubbed “Mickey’s” or “Soviet Sprinter Shakes” … the idea is to shake the tension out of your limbs as if you were shaking water off after a shower.

THE THANG: partner up and stay in a circle. 11 seconds of jump squats, then 49 seconds of active recovery …. for 30 minutes. pairs take turns carrying coupons around the basketball counts, completing 5 supermans between the far two goals.

PAX were instructed to transition from jump squats to SSH if they experienced 1 of 2 signs: lots their power on the jump or had trouble singing along/talking between sets of squats.

It was long and monotonous and we passed our time by encouraging each other, signing along with “Lean on me” (which was on repeat). The challenge was to stay mentally engaged the whole time; powerful jump squats and constant movement during active recovery.

Mary: baby crawl, bear crawl, cat crawl, imperial walkers, skipping … all done while moving in a circle.

MOLESKIN: YHC shared the story of when my mom kicked my dad out of our apartment when I was 13. Talked about how that flipped my world upside down. I cried myself to sleep that night, lonely and afraid. Ultimately my parents got divorced and my adolescence was an experience of me being emotionally orphaned; there was not a place in my home for my heart to express itself or grow in maturity.

YHC shared how I used to avoid my past, the painful memories and even grew to despise my story.

However, as I’ve leaned to go back to those traumatic moments, bring them into the light, share them with others … I’ve found the capacity to offer grace, kindness and tenderness to parts of my heart that were frozen in time. As I practice this, I grow in resilience.

Just as we had 2 signs that we used to transition exercises during the workout we also have signs that our heart and body gifts us with: emotions. Each emotion I experience can be a doorway into my story. And if I discern it and go back with curiosity and kindness I have an opportunity to find healing and ultimately grow in maturity.

New approach to consider: we accelerate our capacity to do hard things not by gritting our teeth but by offering tenderness to our hearts.

So, go forth and do the hard internal work … do it with a guide (a trusted friend or mentor or counselor) and see your maturity advance!

YCH blessed the PAX and we ended with “Heart on 3”.

Was wonderful to finally make it out to the stronghold.
– m out!