Oh, oh, it’s MAGIC

AO: titan
Q: Vector
PAX: Black Lung, Chunks, Detective Pikachu, DintyMoore, Firefox, Freakonomics, Good Morning America, greyalbum, hambone, Natural Ice, Pep, preacherman, Right Said, Salpal, Spinal Tap, Tim the Toolman, 15-Love
FNGs: 1 15-Love
COUNT: 18
As is often the case with a Vector Q, the workout planning involves weeks of theme playlist curating and then a frantic 24 hours of “crap, how do I create a workout to match my super cool playlist?” So, in that spirit:

While many may try to use instant supplements or crazy muscle building ideas to get swole, you can’t rely on magic to get fit. So in honor of Harry Houdini, born 150 years ago in 1874, I present a different kind of magic to get y’all in shape.

CONDITIONS: Damp yet perfect

WARMUP: Mosey around the parking lot to the far side of the Parthenon. Willy Mayes Hayes x 10, LBAC x 10, Seal claps x 10, Overhead Press x 10, Reverse LBAC x 10, and Good Mornings x 10 OHO

THE THANG:
MAGIC #1 – 150 reps of each exercise and a run around the Parthenon between each:
M – Merkins
A – Alabama Prom Dates
G – Gorilla Humpers (which I had to example multiple times . . . hmm)
I – Iron Mikes
C – Carolina Dry Docks
(Fair amount of mumbling that each leg should not count only 1/2 on these exercises . . . I did not waiver).

MAGIC #2: 150 reps but no running in between due to time
M: Mountain Climbers
A: Ass Kickers
G: Great Form Squats
I: Incline Merkins
C: Crunches (Little Baby)

Ended at time – welcomed FNG 15-Love a recently married tennis fan EH’d by Detective Pikachu.

PRAYERS: To Grey Album on impending adoption and associated stress, friend Yuri and family facing pancreatic cancer, and others I forgot (apologies!)

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hunger Games this weekend, Hike/Ruck with 2.0s to give M’s a break – see Slack for deets.

Honored to lead and that you all continue to tolerate my Q-uirkiness (see what I did there?) in leading . . . SYITG
Vector

First Tortoise & Hare of 2024

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: MySpace, Right Said, Chunks, Skeet, Hacker (Franklin), baggervance, bluemule, Decaf, Judy, Woodpecker, D Pole, Wookie, Goldie Locks, Army Surplus, Yak, Frozen, Lost & Found, Evel Knievel, Sunshine, Neanderthal, Peach Pie, Princess, Tatter Tot, Iron Flush, Mittens, Mr. Krabs
FNGs: None
COUNT: 27
CONDITIONS:
Slippery, Sloppy, 46 degrees

WARMUP:
SSH, Squats, WMH, IW, Stretch

THE THANG:
3 Miles loop, Intervals (2 min run / 1 min walk)
All in time of 38:19
45 seconds of Mary

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Great first run for this class!

New Year Revolution 2024

AO: bomber
Q: Puzzlah
PAX: DintyMoore, Black Lung, Right Said, Tim the Toolman, Vector, Puzzlah
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: icy cool

WARMUP: mosey let’s call it 1012 meters

Move the body a bit. Hit the shoulders and calves and hips.

THE THANG:
Kicked off 2024 with a 2024 inspiration

Do 20 of each movement, quick mosey down the hill, sprint up the hill, 24 of each movement, then repeat quick mosey and sprint.

20–24

Merkins
(Jump?) Lunges
Carolina Dry Docks
Skaters/curtsy lunge
Plank shoulder taps

Recover and mosey another let’s call it 1012 m to our finisher. That’s more or less 2024 m round trip.

We finished off with the 20 m (actually 20.24 m) beep test  📟📟📟 of V02 max capacity. Two lines of cones separated by 20(.24) m. Man starts running on the beep, then aims to reach the cone before the next beep. And beep. And beep. And beep. Every minute or so, the time between beeps decreases. See info here: www.beeptestguide.com/table.htm

Quick aside: The test is hard. It was introduced to me by my old men’s league rugby coach, a wild, brilliant, ferocious South African who told us that his coach growing up would back an ambulance up to the pitch and make them run 20 m back and forth in 100 degree heat until that truck was filled with the bodies of the men who were able to drag themselves of the field. By comparison, this was pleasant. Shout out to my old coach Eugene wherever you are in the world.

Back to today, congrats to all the men who pushed their limit and a special shout out to the few who reached the 8th round. Hope to try again post #leanpax to see how we’ve pushed ourselves. Thanks for your support as a first time Q today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Game night January 27.

Prayers

Christmas Caroloing

AO: westeros
Q: Chunks
PAX: Salpal, Grape, hambone, Right Said, Crawlspace, Detective Pikachu, Vector, Focker
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS:

WARMUP:
25 SSH
Some other stretches
THE THANG:
Mosey across West End for a tour of the neighborhood and lights.
Stopped at every house that had lights to do a variety of exercises.
Stopped along the way to deliver a christmas present to one of out fellow PAX
Mosey back to the hill near the startex for some dealers choice while one PAX ran up and down the hill
One more lap around the AO stopping at one last house for some exercises.
Mosey back to StartEx.
My gift to the PAX was ending a couple minutes early.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
New Year’s Day Convergence
Lean Pax #leanpax
Hendersonville re launch 1/13
TAPS:
DP’s family after loss of grandmother
Focker’s coworker’s husband

Always an honor to lead. Christmas is a time to be with family and you guys have become my family. So grateful to be a part of this group. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

Cardio and Core

AO: westeros
Q: Michelin Man
PAX: Right Said, Black Lung, Pep, Natural Ice, Red Skull, Focker, Salpal, DintyMoore, Vector, Sherlock, Crawlspace, Pop-A-Lock, Tim the Toolman, Supernova, Spinal Tap, Detective Pikachu, Grape, Shiplap
FNGs: 1 Shiplap
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: Effin Cold

WARMUP: Upon exiting his vehicle to his walkup music, Michelin Man warned the PAX to stretch before the disclaimer because MM wastes no time warming up. With the disclaimer aggressively given at 5:30 on the dot, a mosey then ensued.

THE THANG #1: First, the PAX ran around Elmington to the port-a-potty hill and held a plank for the six. Upon all in, the PAX sprinted up the hill 3x, with a mosey back and plank after each. MM then inquired of other PAX whether they came to work out (hat tip: Crablegs). Four PAX in succession answered in the affirmative and asked for 1 sprint extra, yielding a total of 7x sprints up the hill. Natural Ice also asked for a Bear Crawl, which YHC declined.

THE THANG #2: The PAX then mosey backed to the tennis courts and formed a circle, upon which time, Black Lung joined the group. The Thang #2 ensued. Each PAX in turn would call a number 1-10. MM would then provide an exercise corresponding to that number that the PAX would do for 1 minute. The number had to have special significance to the PAX (i.e. Tim the Toolman called 6 because he turned 60!!! today). There were two lists: Cardio and Core. I alternated between the two. Here were the numbers:

Cardio:
1. SSH
2. Plank Jack (not called)
3. Tuck Jumps
4. Mountain Climber
5. Squat Jump
6. Star Jump (not called)
7. Iron Mike
8. High Knees
9. Butt Kickers
10. Muhktars

Core:
1. V-Ups (not called)
2. Hollow Body Hold
3. American Hammer
4. LBCs (not called)
5. Scissor Kick
6. Box Cutter
7. Happy Crunchy Frogs (not called)
8. Bird Dogs
9. Leg Circles
10. Flutter Kicks

MARY: The PAX returned to the port-a-potty hill for one more sprint and a mosey to startex to finish. 1 burpee completed for Tim the Toolman (and Pep!) birthdays. Of note, Black Lung went back and did the 7x sprints after Mary.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Brewruck
2. NYD Convergence
3. LeanPax
4. New AOQ at Westeros NEXT WEEK!
5. Welcome FNG Shiplap!

COT: Many prayers offered, with Crawlspace aptly summarizing as “Everyone’s family.”

It was fun. MM Out.

Holly Body Ho Ho Hold OR Why Santa’s going to have a litigious off-season

AO: bomber
Q: Firefox
PAX: Puzzlah, Right Said, Tim the Toolman, Vector, Cream Cheese, Pep, DintyMoore
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Ripe for a Labor Revolt

Santa’s workforce had a lot to get done in the gloom this morning. As the Assistant Supervisor to Santa (ASS), YHC was in charge of getting the crew ready to hit the assembly lines, QA product, load up the sleigh, and get the goods delivered.

WARMUP:
Santa has not volunteered to lead a Warmorama in quite a while, citing prior workplace injuries; so, instead, we mosied up to the parking lot and did the following sequence OYO:
40 plank jacks
30 mountain climbers (1 side = 1/2)
20 merkins
20 forward LBAC
20 backward LBAC
20 air presses
Run (most of) the length of the parking lot and back

Feeling a bit spiteful due to the numerous workforce dress code violations, Santa had us repeat this sequence.

THE THANG:
Warmed up, we split up into two crews of 4 and hit the assembly lines, arraying ourselves in 2 lines on our sixes. Each group with a roughly 13 lb, expertly wrapped present, 1 PAX would hold the present above their head and do 10x flutter kicks, then pass the present to the next PAX, proceeding to bear crawl to the end of the line to await their next turn. Anyone not bear crawling or doing flutter kicks held a Holly Body Ho Ho Hold. We proceeded down the length of the parking lot, then came back, this time holding our legs in a 6 inch hold and doing 5 presses with the gift.

We repeated the assembly line, this time each PAX doing a single WW1/Holly Body Ho Ho Hold sit-up with the gift before moving to the end of the line expeditiously (no bear crawl), going the length of the parking lot and back.

With everything assembled, we needed to run the toys through QA inspection. All PAX circled up and held a chair, passing the gifts around for several rotations. Then, we got on our sixes and repeated a round of inspection, this time in a Holly Body Ho Ho Hold.

With inspection complete, it was time to load the sleigh. Given our diminutive stature, this required a bit of extra effort; so, in our circle, we did jump squats “in unison,” passing the present to the next PAX after each rep.

We reformed our groups of four and departed for our Present Delivery Run, which, if you took a step back, looked a lot like an Indigenous Persons Run, except the presents were being passed down the line and run back up to the front.

Finally, Santa decided to go home and hit the hot tub with Mrs. Claus early, leaving us to deliver gifts to the last two kids, which just so happened to be in some remote mountainous regions. For the first delivery, we consolidated our efforts and did an American Hammer pass with the gifts up the drive from the lower parking to the stop sign, each PAX doing a bear crawl after handing off both gifts. The last kid really didn’t deserve the special treatment, but unfortunately, we were in jeopardy of losing our “No Nice Kid Left Behind” bonus; so, we split back up into our groups of 4 and did burpee broad jumps up the drive to the stop sign, taking turns jumping forward with the gift.

LSD BOMBS

AO: atlantis
Q: Chunks
PAX: Toothless, Salpal, Right Said, Red Skull
FNGs: None
COUNT: 5
CONDITIONS:
Brisk and Refreshing

WARMUP:
41 SSH
Good Mornings
13 Low and Slow Squats

THE THANG:
Decided to pivot from my original idea because of the “healthy” group that showed up. @right said told me recently that if I wanted to be a better runner I had to identify as a runner and do LSD. Long Slow Distance (LSD), what were you thinking. 😉

@red skull gave us the familiar “RUN” command and we set off to tour the Nations. Thanks Toothless and Right Said for the navigation.

Once my watch alerted me we had run 1 mile we stopped for a round of BOMBS: 5 Burpees, 10 Overhead Press, 15 Merkins, 20 Big Boy Situps, 25 Squats. Then “RUN” was bellowed again and off we went. Finished mile 2 and stopped for BOMBS Round 2: 10 Burpees, 15 Overhead Press, 20 Merkins, 25 Big Boy Situps, 30 Squats. “RUN” for the last time today was given. Ran back to StartEx, with 5 mins to spare for some Dealer’s Choice Mary. I missed the opportunity for BOMBS round 3 and was the PAX told me they were expecting it to start at 15 Burpees. Next time fellas, next time.
MARY:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
BrewRuck 12/15
1/1/24 Convergence
1/13/24 – Hendersonville workout
COT:
Bareback’s in laws as they prepare for the upcoming funeral
Praise: Mr. Pickney’s continued improving health. Toothless’ mom’s health no being as serious as first thought.

Coffeteria at Ramblin Joe’s: Lots of great conversation on how we can be better leaders and book suggestions.

Thanks as always for the opportunity to lead.

SYITG,
Chunks

12 Coupons of Christmas

AO: titan
Q: Natural Ice
PAX: Black Lung, Red Skull, Michelin Man, Pep, hambone, Right Said, Chunks, Crawlspace, Spinal Tap, Salpal, Freakonomics, Tim the Toolman, Focker, Detective Pikachu, Natural Ice, Opie and Beatle
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: Merry and Bright

WARMUP: A Quick run through of the usual suspects SSH, OHP, LBAC, SC, WMH

PAX grabbed all the coupons available and went out to the play ground.

THE THANG: 12 Coupons of Christmas

Similar to the 12 days of Christmas but better, PAX received a present each round building on top of the previous round, starting with “A jog around the building”. For each round PAX performed the new work out as well as all exercises proceeding it

1. And a Jog around the building (1×12=12)
2. Two Blockies (2×11=22)
3. Three Pull ups (3×10=30)
4. Four block Squats (4×9=36)
5. Five Overhead Block Press (5×8=40)
6. Six Block Derkins (6×7=42)
7. Seven Curls (7×6=42)
8. Eight Block Sit Ups (8×5=40)
9. Nine Mountain climbers (9×4=36)
10. Ten American Hammers (10×3=30)
11. Eleven Block Dips (11×2=22)
12. Twelve Lt Dans (12×1=12)

In the end, YHC’s generously gave the PAX 364 and ran over 2 miles.

Playlist was a variety of Rock/Punk Christmas music

Prayers were lifted and announcements announced

Thank you for the opportunity to lead!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2WRg0IlN8BRdAlkJAGMrgB?si=00ff9b9f7d4f4c0b

Blood and Honey

AO: bomber
Q: Salpal
PAX: Chunks, Right Said, Firefox, Solo Cup, Puzzlah, Cuban Missile, Detective Pikachu, hambone, DintyMoore, Papa Bear, Critical Fail
FNGs: 1 Critical Fail
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS:
Full from Thanksgiving dinner.

WARMUP:
A simple warning that this was gonna suck.

THE THANG:
Crawlbear up the hill. Bearcrawl to islands in parking lot, 5 burpees at each. Bearcrawl Paula Abduls. Bearcrawl back down the hill. Pullups, burpees and big boy situps from 1 to 7 and back down again, ‘cuz people wanted to stop bearcrawling.

MARY:
Dealers Choice

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Brewruck Dec. 16th.
– Game Night @ Firefox Residence Dec. 2
– Jan. 1st convergence.

COT:
– Prayers for the homeless of Nashville.
– Prayers for safe travels of loved ones.

Coffee at Star Bagel.

Sincerely,
MeanPal

Hey Gravity!

AO: westeros
Q: Sooie
PAX: Salpal, Chunks, Siri, Grape, Red Skull, Michelin Man, Wolfpack, Tim the Toolman, Natural Ice, Right Said, Spinal Tap, Sherlock, Black Lung, Solo Cup, Sooie, Cashcab
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS:
It’s been colder.

WARMUP:
Breathwerkins
BAC 15
BBAC 15
Don Quixote 10
Imperial walkers 15
SSH 15

THE THANG:
Pull-ups 30 sets of 1 EMOM. Between pull-ups AMRAPs of the following
Spicolli’s 3x
Squats 3x
Low plank 3x
Spicolli jumps 3x
Jump squat 3x
Plank thigh tap 3x
Leg raises 3x
Big boy sit-ups 3x
Mtn climbers 3x
Iron Mikes 1x
Burpees 1x
High/low planks 1x

MARY:
Big boys from 0614-0615

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mosey from Dose (Murphy road) 0530 tomorrow. See @chunks.
@Grape on Q at #iiipillars tomorrow
#no-noise-november in full swing. Never too late to get in on it.
COT:
YHC shared how No Noise November is already having a positive impact on my habits. Offered up prayer for prayer requests mentioned. Enjoyed some Sooie Brewie™️ and maybe…just maybe we witnessed what will be known as The Westeros Miracle: my thermos is 64 oz yet all 16 PAX enjoyed the Sooie Brewie and there was enough left over for a full cup when I returned home. So take a moment to day to recognize the miraculous in the mundane.