Author: backblasts

Date: 2026-05-16
AO: Ground Zero
Q: Crack ,
PAX: Flower Boy, Crack, Tortuga, Jayhawk, Doublemint, Mr Roboto, Brainfog, Dumpster, Lakers, Cookies, Beaker, Adam Krueger, Buffer (2.0) FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
PAX assembled at ao_ground_zero at 0445 to load up. After a short prayer, we piled into the vans to head downtown. Special shout-out to Endo and Semi Pro for being our Uber drivers!

After a group photo, we moved towards Lake Michigan. Sadly, we were unable to actually “touch” the lake this time (we needed Bloomer!)

Official start was 0536. We headed west to Michigan Ave, then headed north to Madison St. There was some mumblechatter at this point about how we weren’t going west as YHC had promised. That was soon rectified when we turned WEST on Madison St.
The group generally stayed together as we walked through the beautiful neighborhoods that make up the western part of the city. After passing through Oak Park and into Forest Park, we turned south on Des Plaines to catch the start of the Illinois Prairie Path.
At this point we started splitting into multiple groups based on pain level and pace.
Lunch stop was Phase 3 Brewing in Elmhurst. Brainfog and Adam Krueger decided to push straight through instead of stopping. Doublemint headed out early from lunch, and then Tortuga decided to go catch him. That left 9 in the Fellowship. Dumpster’s brother-in-law, Gavin, joined us for lunch and the finish, and Lakers came up lamenting and called for pickup. He promises to finish the ruck.

All in all, it was a great ruck on a beautiful day. Kudos to all the finishers, especially Buffer, who stuck it out and finished strong.

Celebratory milkshakes and adult beverages were consumed at 302 Wheaton after completion.

Tags: Ground Zero, Flower Boy, Crack, Tortuga, Jayhawk, Doublemint, Mr Roboto, Brainfog, Dumpster, Lakers, Cookies, Beaker, Adam Krueger, Buffer (2.0)

Date: 2026-05-16
AO: Flat Earth
Q: Archive ,
PAX: Jolly, Banks, Shiplap, Swish, Bloomer, Has Been, Cheese, White Noise, Archive, T.B., Panda Express, Hypotenuse, Wagyu, Homer, Hailey, Count FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
WOR:

The Thang: 8×8

Moleskine: Slow Down!

Tags: Flat Earth, Jolly, Banks, Shiplap, Swish, Bloomer, Has Been, Cheese, White Noise, Archive, T.B., Panda Express, Hypotenuse, Wagyu, Homer, Hailey, Count

Date: 2026-05-16
AO: Mastodon
Q: Stock boy ,
PAX: Cheap Shot, Endo, Stock boy, Falsetto, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), The wet burrito FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
WOR:
Abe Vigodas, tappy taps, bat wings.

The Thang:
Burpees, Orangutans, Merkins, Big boys, Squats (B.O.M.B.S.) at the shop. We started doing 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 respectively followed by a lap around the playground, noting the order in which we finished. Then pax #1 did as many Burpees as possible while the remaining pax ran another lap around the playground. When the last pax finished their lap, pax #1 called out how many reps he completed, and then got to rest while the other pax did 5x that number of reps spittoon style. Then pax #2 took his turn with Orangutans, etc.

We got through:
B – Stock boy
O – Endo
M – Too Big To Fail (TBTF)
B – The wet burrito
S – Falsetto
B – Cheap Shot
O – Stock boy
M – Endo
B – Too Big To Fail (TBTF)
S – The wet burrito
B – Falsetto
O – Cheap Shot
M – Stock boy
B – Endo
S – Too Big To Fail (TBTF)
B – The wet burrito

Moleskine:
Matthew 6:25-34 – do not be anxious.

Tags: Mastodon, Cheap Shot, Endo, Stock boy, Falsetto, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), The wet burrito

Date: 2026-05-15
AO: Ground Zero
Q: Dumpster , Mr Roboto
PAX: Crack, Panhandle, LeMond, T-bone, Dr. Phil, Cheap Shot, Mr Roboto, Stock boy, Shamwow, Dumpster, Buns, Mr. Bean, The wet burrito FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
WOR:
Arm Circles
Seal Claps
Hillbillies
Stretch OYO

The Thang:
Runners ran East to Blanchard St. and went up and down the hill. Ruckers rucked East.

Moleskine: I’m notorious for collecting stuff- especially if it’s free or cheap and I sometimes don’t put things in their right place or don’t have a spot for them. I’m going through my cluttered garage right now- sorting and organizing and decluttering stuff that I put in it over the winter.

Find ways to declutter your life – whether it’s physical things, ideas, bad habits, toxic people, etc

Tags: Ground Zero, Crack, Panhandle, LeMond, T-bone, Dr. Phil, Cheap Shot, Mr Roboto, Stock boy, Shamwow, Dumpster, Buns, Mr. Bean, The wet burrito

Date: 2026-05-15
AO: Flat Earth
Q: Gummi Bear ,
PAX: Shiplap, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Pine tar, Wagyu, DQ, Panda Express, Gummi Bear, Cheese, Spit Valve, Manhole, Banks, Oompa, Bloomer, Tortuga, Dewey, Has Been, Hypotenuse, Jolly, Krampus, Frogger, Cutter , Cutter FNGs: 1 Cutter
COUNT: 22
WOR: old school mosey and down and backs (despite shock, complaints and jeers from some of the pleabs).

The Thang:
Two games of ultimate 6v6 on football field and 5v5 on soccer field

Moleskine:
Your Molskines have an impact here

Tags: Flat Earth, Shiplap, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Pine tar, Wagyu, DQ, Panda Express, Gummi Bear, Cheese, Spit Valve, Manhole, Banks, Oompa, Bloomer, Tortuga, Dewey, Has Been, Hypotenuse, Jolly, Krampus, Frogger, Cutter , Cutter

Date: 2026-05-14
AO: Mastodon
Q: Mr Roboto ,
PAX: Stock boy, Da Vinci, Endo, Samsonite, Beaker, Mr Roboto, DQ FNGs:
COUNT: 7
WOR:
Sit-ovators from 7 (Sit on coupon as we do motivators. Surprisingly good at working out muscles around top of legs below waist.) Copperhead squats x10
Batwings x10 (Arm Circles forward and backward x10, Michael Phelps, Pretzels, and Moroccan Night Clubs)

The Thang:
SHOP EMOM/AMRAP
– Format: 40 seconds work / 20 seconds rest. Each minute is a different exercise. Repeat the 5-exercise cycle 6 times. – Coupon Curl – Seated at edge of picnic table
– Overhead Press – Seated at edge
– Bent-Over Row – Seated, lean forward
– American Hammer – Seated on table
– Skull Crusher – Lying on table
FINISHER — Abs Are All You Need
– Play “All You Need Is Love” — The Beatles (~3:47). Hold crunch position (supine, elbows and knees touching) throughout. Perform a Big Boy Sit-Up every time you hear “All You Need is Love” or “Love is all you need.” MARY for 3 minutes.

Moleskine:
– None of us who is married has a perfect marriage, but if we put in the work to resolve conflict we can make them better.

COT in thread.
(Also, this is the picture that my preblast pic was based on.)

Tags: Mastodon, Stock boy, Da Vinci, Endo, Samsonite, Beaker, Mr Roboto, DQ

Date: 2026-05-14
AO: Dark Room
Q: Jolly ,
PAX: LeMond, Banks, Body Double, Framed, Toto, Tortuga, Jolly, Crack, Manhole FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
WOR:
5 min EMOM: 35 SSH/7 burpees
Abe Vigodas
Arm Circles
Michael Phelps

The Thang:
More EMOM!
We did two exercises every minute increasing the reps by 1 each round until you fail to complete them in the minute. Upon failure you run the short loop and start on a Mary spittoon.

Round 1:
2 Murder Bunnies out and back, 5 thrusters. Add one to both each minute.

BBSU spittoon to 450

Round 2
2 Lunges/ 10 Merkins

Flutter kick spittoon

Round 3
2 Broad jump burpees (not to be confused with Tortuga’s burpee broad jumps) / 15 curls

Bicycle kick spittoon.

Final round
Sprint to light pole and back/ 30 goblet squats. Did this twice.

Moleskine:
Work hard/play hard

Tags: Dark Room, LeMond, Banks, Body Double, Framed, Toto, Tortuga, Jolly, Crack, Manhole

Date: 2026-05-13
AO: Ground Zero
Q: Manhole ,
PAX: Stock boy, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Audible, Ankles, Dumpster, Crack, Manhole FNGs:
COUNT: 7
WOR: sure

The Thang: to the marsh!

Moleskine: gratitude

Tags: Ground Zero, Stock boy, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Audible, Ankles, Dumpster, Crack, Manhole

Date: 2026-05-09
AO: Tar Pit
Q: LeMond ,
PAX: LeMond, Da Vinci, T-bone, Archive, Endo, Homie, DQ, Panhandle FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
• Warmorama
– SSHs
– Imperial Walkers
– Toy Soldiers
– Mountain Climbers
• Mosey up and down stairs at the school
– Stop to do side plank hold
– 10 urkin/derkin swivels: 10 up, 10 down
– Body weight hold on ledge for 1 minute
• At the field
– Torture
– 1 blockee, 4 murder bunnies
– 2 blockees, 8 murder bunnies
– Up to 6 blockees, 32 murder bunnies
– Save the Knees: 4 sets of 4-count exercises
– 10 merkins
– 10 alt arm/leg raises
– 10 leg swings
– 10 Australian Snow Angels
– Broadjump burpees to the cones.
– Circle of Death:
– Groiners to 100
– Sprint back to the blocks
• Game of Uno
Credit to Drop Thrill from F3 Fort Mill for this idea!
• Shuffle the deck of Uno cards and whatever the number is, Pax perform that number of reps with the exception of 0 being a short lap around the playground. The color of the cards determines the exercise. You have to play your cards just like in Uno. Color on same color, or same number on same number. • Blue = Curls
Green = BBSs
Yellow = Goblet squats
Red = Bentover rows
Ø = Run a lap
+2 = Two of the last card/exercise drawn
+4 = Four reps of all four exercises
Reverse = Do the same exercise you just performed
Wild = Change color
• Mary
– Dead Bugs
– Freddie Mercuries
– Flutter Kicks
• Moleskin:
– Resentment and letting go of past hurts.
– My prayer: God, show me the way to let this go. Help me to forgive others and myself.

Tags: Tar Pit, LeMond, Da Vinci, T-bone, Archive, Endo, Homie, DQ, Panhandle

Date: 2026-05-12
AO: Dark Room
Q: Lakers ,
PAX: What, Body Double, Lakers, Manhole, Toto, Crack, Flower Boy FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
WOR:
Gentle Mosey around parking lot. First, but not last, instance of Manhole saying he was ready for coffee. Stretches

Scout Run around the Broga Mat. All agree to buy Body Double some shorts asap.

The Thang: At the BOUNCE HOUSE
Circle up at center court. What made a great effort to get mumble chatter going right away.

Ring of Fire: Q calls directions and all pax shuffle left or right, facing center the whole time. When Q calls “down” do a burpee.

Doracides: Partner up.
Pax 1 does a ladder run to 3pt line, half, 3pt, far baseline.
Pax 2 does exercise. Excercises were 100 jump squats, 200 lunges, 300 squats. Toto proved himself to be a BEAST as usual.
When pax finished, join the Six. Everyone does all the reps, if you finish early, you do extra! Flower Boy was not nearly winded enough.

Knockout: We played a quick game of Knockout. Manhole won!

Moleskine:
“Every choice you make is a vote for the man you want to become!” Become the HIM you want to be!

Tags: Dark Room, What, Body Double, Lakers, Manhole, Toto, Crack, Flower Boy