Salute to Lt. Dan

AO: westeros
Q: Toothless
PAX: Vector, Tim the Toolman, bluemule, Spinal Tap, Natural Ice, Andrew Flood, DintyMoore, Breadsticks, Salami, hambone, Chunks, Pep, Michelin Man, Siri, Solo Cup, caprate, Cheech, Hot Wax, Jockey, Hedwig, Underage
FNGs: 2 Hedwig, Underage
COUNT: 21
CONDITIONS: Sublime overcast morning, light mist from the field sprinklers

WARMUP:
20 x SSH
12 x Willy Mays Hays, 2 each side
30 count x toe touch
30 count x flamingo, both sides
1/2 mile light mosey around park perimeter

THE THANG: Four Corner Dora
Partner travels around 4 corners with a mosey/shuffle/bernie/shuffle per the 4 sides

PAX wait for 6 to rotate (low plank/pick up reps), Lt. Dans to rotate between each station

Corner One: 50 Iron Mikes (2 ct)
Corner Two: 100 Jump Squats
Corner Three: 200 Bonnie Blairs (2 ct)
Corner Four: 400 Side Straddle Hops

Wrapped with some prisoner squats, reverse lunges, star jumps, and sprinters stretch to bring us to time.

MOLESKINE:
PAX were surprisingly good natured about the exercises, but the conditions were just right and the group energy was high so I think we all felt a lift from the good vibes. Stereotypical rock playlist did not distract from the chatter but gave rhythm to the calisthenics.

It was an honor to have men from the Asgard region in town as well as Jockey from across the pond! Also had two FNGs from DintyMoore, great to meet them and welcome them in to this crazy thing we do.

Coffee at Dose was exceptional, took over the whole cafe & got a little rowdy. :coffee:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– may-you-pull-up continues, never too late to join!
– Fresh cohort for thestronghold starts this Thursday

COT:
YHC had an injured wrist, hence the leg day, so my message was for the PAX to appreciate the health we all had that allowed us to get up and get out to a workout, and to not take what isn’t promised for granted.

Prayers for Siri with summer childcare, Pep with his current project at work, and FNG Hedwig for job prospects.

As always, it was an honor to lead, men!
— Toothless :tooth:

In my head take 2

AO: handsomizer
Q: Grape
PAX: Pep, Natural Ice, Spinal Tap, Frasier, caprate, Black Lung, Old Maid
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: very pleasant, unlike the attitude of the lady setting up for Vandy commencement

WARMUP: 15 SSH
10 good mornings OYO
10 WMH OYO
10 LBAC F
10 LBAC R
Mosey to the bottom of stairs (a couple burpee stops along the way)

THE THANG: Partner up
Run the stairs while other partner does exercises
Change exercise with each new song

Derkins/irkins
Squats
Burpees
Ab thrusters
Lunges
WW1’s
Monkey humpers
Back to startex with some Mary stops along the way

COT: prayers for Pep in his search for a project and for parents approaching summer

:grapes:

Something about old dogs and new tricks.

AO: titan
Q: Michelin Man
PAX: Pep, Michelin Man, Natural Ice, Detective Pikachu, Spinal Tap, Firefox, Right Said, Crawlspace, Supernova, Papa Bear, caprate, Puzzlah, Good Morning America, Tim the Toolman, Salami, Kirkland
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: solid. no complaints. no jackets.

WARMUP: none

THE THANG:

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:

I pity the fool that thought this would be a “fun, light-hearted workout”

AO: westeros
Q: Sally
PAX: Natural Ice, Red Skull, Spinal Tap, Pep, Chunks, Vector, Michelin Man, Crawlspace, Tim the Toolman, DintyMoore, Grape, Cash Cab
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: Foolish and Foolhardy. Definitely sleeves-optional.

WARMUP: Warmup mosey to courts + active stretches upon arrival.

THE THANG:
1. EMOM – alternate suicides with 10 burpees.
2. Deconstructed Burpees (atomic thrusters, merkins, squat jumps, burpees) from 1 to 10
3. Hill sprints forwards + backwards, some dealer’s choice routines.

MOLESKINE: (Can someone tell me the difference between this and announcements?)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Plankril
– UFC Fight Night – see 2nd F channel
– Franklin vs. Huntsville contest

COT:
– Shooting victims at restuarant in Nashville.
– For those returning to church at Easter
– Gratitude for my wife finishing her defense.

Quote from “Into the Breach”:
I hope, too, that you will take what is helpful, bring it to the Lord in prayer, and go forward confidently in your vocation as men. Our life in Christ is not one of “do’s and don’ts,” but an adventure in authentic freedom. Embrace that freedom in order to place your life at the service of Christ, beginning in your home and radiating into the world.

Always a pleasure to lead. Sally out.

Mindfulness

AO: handsomizer
Q: Chunks
PAX: Spinal Tap, Grape, Right Said, Red Skull
FNGs: None
COUNT: 5
CONDITIONS: Pleasant

WARMUP:
Mosey to the Parking Garage
Normal warm up of SSH, Imperial Walkers, Little Baby Arm Circles
THE THANG:
Exercise at the bottom of the ramp, mode of travel up the ramp to half way do the exercise again, mode of travel to the top of the ramp excercise again
Exercises: Merkins, Hand release merkins, big boy situps, LBCs, Lunges, Jump Squats
Mode of Travel: Bear Crawl, Lunges, Mosey, Bernie

Pass the Speaker Caboose is loose run back to the startex
MOLESKINE:
Reach the top of the parking garage
Paused for a moment to take in the sunrise and think about the meaning of the upcoming Easter Weekend.
Shared a little bit of what I said at my Grandfathers funeral about being present in everything we do

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
4:13 Class in need of encouragement, so make plans to come and encourage these men as they start a new life.
UFC 300/BBQ on 4/13/124 in Hendersonville. Check out 2ndf for details
Plankpril startes 4/1/24. Check slack for all the details

COT:
Closed in prayer for Easter and all of us dads to be present with our kids.

Birthday #1s for My 54th

AO: bomber
Q: Vector
PAX: Black Lung, Cream Cheese, DintyMoore, Sherlock, Pep, Papa Bear, CubCadet, Chunks, Tim the Toolman, t-cell, Recharge, Focker, Spinal Tap
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
So, YHC turned 54 last week (What? I don’t look that old? Oh, stop with all the complements, you . . . ), so time once again for a Birthday Q. Today’s theme, blatantly stolen from a Hi-Viz Q a few years back, was #1 songs from my birthdays of days past.

CONDITIONS: 50s, light breeze – perfect for everyone except Focker who stated at coffeeteria how much he loves the mid-summer, 90s and high humidity workout. And he was serious . . .

PLAYLIST:
1970 (True Day of Birth #1) – Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel [NOTE: not the best workout song, bit of a downer, but that’s my true birthday #1]
1978 (8th Bday) Night Fever – Bee Gees
1980 (10th Bday) Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen
1983 (13th Bday) Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
1984 (14th Bday) Jump – Van Halen
1988 (18th Bday) Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley
1993 (23rd Bday) The Sign – Ace of Base
1997 (27th Bday) Wannabe – The Spice Girls
2003 (33rd Bday) In da Club – 50 Cent
2012 (42nd Bday) We are Young – fun.
2013 (43rd Bday) Happy – Pharrell Williams
2019 (49th Bday) Sucker – Jonas Brothers

WARMUP:
54 SSH as per Vector Bday tradition
LBAC x 12
Seal Claps x 12
Overhead Press x 12
RLBAC x 12
WMH x 10 OHO
Good Mornings x 10 OHO

THE THANG:
#1: Mosey to playground – 54s
5 exercises x 4 sets with Rec Center run in between each set.
50 Squats
40 Incline merkins
30 Big boy sit ups
20 Lunges
10 Pull ups
(Kudos to Black Lung for ensuring correct forms were followed)

#2: 54 sprint – 5 burpees, run up hill, 4 burpees

#3: DIDs: 18 each of Dips, Incline merkins, Decline merkins (18 x 3 = 54 . . . ’cause math!)

Mary with flutter kicks, boxcutters and some god awful exercise from Focker called Seal Crunches . . . form was definitely varied across the circle on those

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Thanks for Black Lung’s M with a new job
– bluemule beer event – check Slack (like literally EVERY single channel)
– Murder Mile next week at Green Machine

COT: Moment to take in the day and then thanks to the HIM who continue to push me and make me feel much younger than 54. I did appreciate hearing that many were gassed by the workout, with the highest praise coming from t-cell: “This is a workout that Vector would complain about if he wasn’t Q.” Well said, my friend. Well said. SYITG, Vector

Relay for Life

AO: handsomizer
Q: Hair Band
PAX: Natural Ice, bluemule, caprate, Chunks, Spinal Tap, Mansport, Plunger
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: perfect English weather

WARMUP:
Mosey
Good mornings
WMHs
LBACs
Air press
Michael phelps

THE THANG:
Relay Race day! Two teams

15 burpees for lead off runner, rest of team continues to do burpees until runners get back
Runners Run ramp
Once all in winner is declared and winning team gets to choose a different exercise for themselves, that exercise can only be used once though. Winning team also adds 5 reps to their exercise each time they win
Rinse and Repeat

Final scores
Team blue mule, mansport, chunks, and Hair Band 3 wins
Team Spinal Tap, Cap Rate, Plunger, and Natural Ice 1 win

MOLESKINE:
Rugby might be the best sport?
If you are traveling to Scotland, start in Edinburgh or Glasgow and travel around the Highlands

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– murder mile at greenmachine, check channel for details
– bluemule hosting a beer tasting for his birthday, likely happening the 22nd
– Plankpril, check 1stf channel for details

COT:
– each man shared a prayer request, prayers for health, wellness, deaths of family members and friends, new jobs, job search, traveling mercies

As always, thank you for having me out to lead! It was an honor and a privilege to become more handsome at the Handsomizer.

Rock on,

Hair Band

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.

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

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!