Author: backblasts

Date: 2025-04-22
AO: ao_flat_earth
Q: Tortuga
PAX: Banks, Spielberg, Candyland, DQ, Cheese, Bloomer, LeMond, Panda Express, BigBlue, Jack, Lib, Krampus, Dewey, Oompa, Guppy, White Noise, TBTF, Velveeta FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
WOR: yes

The Thang: 10v9 drubbing by the 9

Moleskine: Make the lazy choice the better choice: put those Oreos on a top shelf in the basement and the nut mix in the pantry. When you’re craving a quick snack we usually default to the easier option. You might go downstairs, get out the step stool and get some oreos, but you’ll probably settle for the convenient nut mix.

COT: Spielberg’s green card interview Thursday, Lib’s family adjusting to life divorced and reconciliation.

Tags: ao_flat_earth, Banks, Spielberg, Candyland, DQ, Cheese, Bloomer, LeMond, Panda Express, BigBlue, Jack, Lib, Krampus, Dewey, Oompa, Guppy, White Noise, TBTF, Velveeta

Date: 2025-04-21
AO: ao_tar_pit
Q: DQ
PAX: Panhandle, Tortuga, Oompa, Big Mac, LeMond
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
WOR:
– SSH
– Goofballs
– Arm circles
– Abe VIgodas
– Copperhead squats
– Copperhead merkins

Thang 1:
PAX compete against each other, finishing a set of exercises as fast as possible. Once one PAX finished, everyone else stopped and reported their rep count. In general the first to finish was rewarded with 10 sandees and the PAX with the lowest rep count earned 5 sandees (towards the end, we’d take one extra guy to work on the sandees). Everyone else ran the hamster wheel. Repeat with the next exercise. The PAX performed this pattern with the following exercises: – 40 burpees
– 40 hand release merkins
– 40 block jump squats
– 30 burpees
– 30 hand release merkins
– 30 block jump squats
– 20 burpees
– 20 hand release merkins
– 20 block jump squats

Thang 2
Sandbag relays and EMOMS. PAX split into two teams for a relay-ish event. One PAX from each team starts at the top of the hill with a sandbag and completes the following – Carry sandbag down the hill
– 5 sandees
– Carry sandbag back up the hill
– Drop sandbag and run down the hill
– 10 burpees
– Sprint back up the hill

While that is happening, the remaining PAX are doing an EMOM workout. We rotated through the following minute routines which all included 5 burpees (which quickly went down for most PAX) and 12 reps of an exercise: – 5 burpees / 12 thrusters
– 5 burpees / 12 uneven merkins
– 5 burpees / 12 2-is-1 bonnie blairs
– 5 burpees / 12 coupon swings
– 50s plank
:
When a PAX finishes their relay portion, they swap out with a team member doing the EMOM. WInners and losers of the relay didn’t really matter because my team lost. However, we were able to get 15 minutes of EMOM work in and finished all together with planks.

Moleskine:
Pray that your kids would be surrounded by leaders and friends who would encourage them towards a life that honors God.

COT:

Tags: ao_tar_pit, Panhandle, Tortuga, Oompa, Big Mac, LeMond

Date: 2025-04-19
AO: ao_mastodon
Q: Falsetto
PAX: Bloomer, White Noise, Stock boy, Mr Roboto, Dumpster
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
WOR:
– SSH ICx15
– Goofballs ICx15
– Abe Vigodas IC x10
– Tin Soldiers ICx10
– Arm Circles, foreward/backward IC x10
– Seal Claps ICx10, Overhead Claps ICx10
– Moroccan Nightclubs IC x10
– Mountain Man Poopers ICx10
– Michael Phelps OYO, triceps stretch OYO

The Thang:
Thang 1: HardCORE workout
**2 rounds
20 Windshield Wipers IC
20 McGill crunch (10 each leg)
30 sec side plank both sides
20 bird dogs

Coupons to Hoffa for Thang 2
Thang 2: Tabata 20s work 10s rest
4min-8 exercises= 1round(3 rounds)
**Manrise after each round!

Blockees
Overhead Press
Merkins w/ coupon
BBSU
Squats w/ coupon
Mountain Climbers
American Hammers
Dips

Scout run around short loop with last PAX completing 5 SSH before sprint to front.

Ring of Fire and Mary to finish the hour

Moleskine: Deal with situations where a wrong has occurred. Be humble enough to listen if it’s you committing the wrong. Confront people who have wronged you with love and a desire for them to grow in character and be better in the future. Your own kids, co-workers, spouse. Issues are an opportunity for everyone to get better.

COT: Mr Roboto situation Stock boy friends dealing with cancer Jailbreak recent procedure and for quick and full recovery

Tags: ao_mastodon, Bloomer, White Noise, Stock boy, Mr Roboto, Dumpster

Date: 2025-04-19
AO: ao_tar_pit
Q: Da Vinci
PAX: LeMond, Homie, Archive, Panhandle, Portage, Beaker, T-bone, Krampus, Lakers, Toto, Da Vinci FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
Warmorama: Stretch with burpee for every time the Boss says “I’m Goin’ Down

(set list is a series of songs with a downward theme, including Freddie King, Maren Morris, Allman Brothers, Howlin’ Wolf, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Woody Guthrie, Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin, Matt Maher, Garth Brooks)

The Thang: Around the lake with sets of 40 down exercises in cadence. 40 squats
40 dips (2 is 1)
40 merkens
40 BBSU
40 Squats

Murder bunnies to top of school, perfect form or return to stop. WAIT! Load coupons into the Dodge Ram instead. (image of what Christ did for us)

At the top

Partner Up: 2 TOWERS OF POWER (while your partner squats)
Partner Block Swing
DOWN AND SPRINT UP!
Squeeze Curls and BBSU
40 around the worlds and Leg lift
DOWN AND SPRINT UP!
Regular curls and LBCs
Gravediggers and Outlaws
DOWN AND SPRINT UP!
Skull crushers and box cutters
(Also featuring a Lakers mortuary story during one exercise.)

Moleskin
“In the mysteries of Isis, the Mysteries at Samothrace, the Mysteries at Eleusis, in all of those you had the descent into the underworld. The descent was both symbolic and real. Christ descended as well. What did Christ bring into the underworld that was different than what the earlier Mysteries had been able to do? It’s really quite a central question because something changed in the very nature of the underworld. Christ’s descent was not like an Orpheus or or others who have descended and then came back – Christ overcame. That reality is often not considered at all. It wasn’t just a pivot to the underworld, it was an overcoming and a changing of its nature.” -Robert Faas

Tags: ao_tar_pit, LeMond, Homie, Archive, Panhandle, Portage, Beaker, T-bone, Krampus, Lakers, Toto, Da Vinci

Date: 2025-04-18
AO: ao_flat_earth
Q: Candyland
PAX: Banks, Cheese, LeMond, Manhole, Jolly, Spielberg, Bloomer, Shiplap, DQ, White Noise, Gummi Bear, Dewey, TBTF, T.B., Tortuga, Pitch Pipe, Velveeta, Fiona FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
WOR: UnCadenced SSH, Down and Back

The Thang: 10v9 Ultimate Frisbee

Moleskine: Do hard things, make sacrifices for others

COT: Spielberg’s Green Card Interview, Hancock (and Family)’s loss

Tags: ao_flat_earth, Banks, Cheese, LeMond, Manhole, Jolly, Spielberg, Bloomer, Shiplap, DQ, White Noise, Gummi Bear, Dewey, TBTF, T.B., Tortuga, Pitch Pipe, Velveeta, Fiona

Date: 2025-04-18
AO: ao_ground_zero
Q: Da Vinci
PAX: Dumpster, Ankles, T-bone, Panhandle, SAGA, Stock boy, Beaker, Falsetto, Portage, Mr Roboto, The wet burrito, Da Vinci FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
WOR: Side straddle hops followed by Abe Vagodas that morphed into Windmills

The Thang: Silent ruck with Stations of the Cross read during squat hold. There is chatter next year about a FIA Stations of the Cross convergence. Stay tuned!

Moleskine: From Curt Thompson’s book The Soul of Shame: “Like shame, recent sociological research about the place and function of vulnerability affirms what the biblical narrative has for over four millennia been telling us about humans and God. As we read about the triune God considering the possibility of creating humankind in his image, we get the impression God knows that inviting humans to join him in this joyful life on earth would necessarily mean that God was setting himself up for a rough go of it. God put himself in harms way simply by making us. The act of creation was one of vulnerability, and act in which God was open to wounding…. (p. 121-122).

COT: Silence

Tags: ao_ground_zero, Dumpster, Ankles, T-bone, Panhandle, SAGA, Stock boy, Beaker, Falsetto, Portage, Mr Roboto, The wet burrito, Da Vinci

Date: 2025-04-17
AO: ao_mastodon
Q: DQ
PAX: Panhandle, Tortuga, Spokes, Big Mac, Jailbreak, Da Vinci, Cheese, Sparrow, Stock boy, TBTF FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WOR:
– SSH
– Goof balls
– Arm circles
– Abe Vigodas

Thang 1:
Cooties – 5 exercises tabata style. 20s of work / 10s off. Cycle through those exercises 5 times. Exercises were: 1. Pullups
2. Curls
3. Single arm row (R)
4. Single arm row (L)
5. Coupon Swings

Thang 2:
The Shop – 5 exercises tabata style. 20s of work / 10s off. Cycle through those exercises 5 times. Exercises were: 1. Derkins
2. Table presses
3. Dips
4. Upright row
5. Standing tricep extension

Thang 3:
At Hoffa, one round of:
– 100 rep spittoon of WW2 situps
– Murder bunny up Hoffa
– 100 rep spittoon of coupon v-ups
– Rifle carry back down

Moleskine:
Our young families group at church recently hosted a “grandparents panel”, where we connected with and learned about parenting from grandparents within our church. One of the most concrete takeaways for me was to write / communicate a blessing for each of your children. The grandmother who shared that said her husband did that for each of their kids, and it is most impactful memory her kids have of their dad.

Some tips for preparing a blessing for your child (taken from: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/how-to-bless-your-child/): – Emphasize their value, worth, and gifts
– Provide them a vision of their future
– Remind them you are here to support them along the way

COT:

Tags: ao_mastodon, Panhandle, Tortuga, Spokes, Big Mac, Jailbreak, Da Vinci, Cheese, Sparrow, Stock boy, TBTF

Date: 2025-04-17
AO: ao_dark_room
Q: Beaker
PAX: Framed, Manhole, Lakers, Toto, LeMond, Jolly, Banks, Beaker FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
WOR: SSHs, Abe Vigodas, Good Mornings, Tappy Taps

The Thang:
Scout run the 0.8 mile loop and end at the new giant broga mat, stopping four times to do the following exercises: 25 squats
25 side lunges
25 merkins
25 dips

Starting on one edge of the penalty area body aiming west, PAX performed a clap merkin, rolled to their left along the line until they were face down again and did another clap merkin. PAX repeated this to the center line, rotated 180˚ so that they aimed west and continued to roll south until they reached the end of the penalty area. Plank for the 6.

Broga with Beaker, some standing, some from our knees, some from our back, some mumble chatter and just the right amount of body shaming.

Moleskine: One of my kids books had the line, “I love you freer than the freest kite that has ever flown.” Garbage. It is only because it is bound and restrained that a kite can fly. Do not resent the things that restrain you (namely you M, 2.0s, responsibilities) but use them to truly fly.

Also, if you are wondering if I ranted about this nonsense line to my 2 year olds as I read this book, you don’t know me very well.

COT: Beaker’s M, the PAX

Tags: ao_dark_room, Framed, Manhole, Lakers, Toto, LeMond, Jolly, Banks, Beaker

Date: 2025-04-16
AO: ao_dark_room
Q: LeMond
PAX: Beaker, Jolly, Toto, Crack, DQ, Framed, Manhole, Lakers, Banks, LeMond FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
– Warmorama:
– SSHs
– Abe Vigodas
– Copperhead merkins
– Copperhead squats
– Side leg raises
– Full batwings
– Pre-thang:
– Rocky Balboas
– The thang:
– Two sets of cones, about 60 feet apart from each other. Start at one end. – Murder Bunny to first set of cones. Once there, 10 Big Boys. – Rife carry to second set of cones for 10 thrusters. Hold plank. – Drop coupon and sprint back to starting line
– Mosey back to coupon. Rinse and repeat (starting on opposite side).
– Total of 10 “reps”, totaling 100 Big Boys, 100 Thrusters, about 150 murder bunnies, and about 500 feet of overhead carry, plus 10 sprints. – Q threw some core exercises in after some of the sprints.
– Flutter kicks
– Freddie Mercuries
– Side bends
– Extra thang in between rounds 9 and 10 because the Q can’t count! – Block spittoon of 150.
– Moleskin:
– No one makes fun of a seedling. A seedling might look small and fragile, but it’s full of promise — just needs the right time, care, and space to grow. No one mocks a seedling because we all know it’s becoming something greater.
– In our lives, we struggle with learning new things or relearning old ones but we must be patient and allow the seedling to grow.

Tags: ao_dark_room, Beaker, Jolly, Toto, Crack, DQ, Framed, Manhole, Lakers, Banks, LeMond

Date: 2025-04-16
AO: ao_tar_pit
Q: T-bone
PAX: T-bone, Panhandle, Tortuga, DQ, SAGA, Samsonite
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
WOR: SSH, AV, tricep and shoulder stretch, picking daisies, runners stretch

The Thang: 1) scout run around lake Ellyn. 2) 11’s on the ramp – burpees and BBSU 3) scout run around the lake again 4) stretching

Moleskine: Mark Twain – Good judgement is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgement.

COT: Sweet Treats and Paris back together after year long deployment. T-bone friend Ben awaiting eye biopsy

Tags: ao_tar_pit, T-bone, Panhandle, Tortuga, DQ, SAGA, Samsonite