Author: backblasts

Date: 05/21/24
AO: #ao_tar_pit
PAX: @Jolly @Tortuga @LeMond @Panhandle @DQ
FNGs: 0
Q: @DQ
Total: 5

WoR

• SSH
• Goofballs
• Copperhead merkins
• Copperhead squats

The Thang
PAX met on the grass on the west side of the track and partnered up. At the grass, PAX would combined complete 100 reps of an exercise (this got modified down to 80 at blockees). The exercises were:

Derkins off two stacked coupons. The partner not doing work was blessed with a break while waiting his turn.
Blockees

• 1-is-1 lunge with overhead press
• Thruster curls

After completing the reps of one exercise, the partnership would run one lap around the track. This MOT for this lap would alternate between:

• Partner 1 broad jumps. Partner 2 does 10 burpees and catches up to Partner 1. Switch.
• A classic jog

We only did the broad jump / burpee MOT for 1 full lap. The second time we did that MOT, we did it for just half the lap and ran the other half.

Moleskine
Do something different with your wife. Erin and I had a great time with the swing dance lessons hosted by @Ankles. It was our first time taking dance lessons, and it was my favorite date we’ve had in a while. Dinners and shows are great as dates, but even those become routine. But something about getting uncomfortable, doing something new, working together in a new way made for a really vibrant time together.

Date: Saturday, 5/18/24

AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Jailbreak, @Falsetto
FNGs:
Q: @Stock boy
Total: 3

WoR: Motivators, Abe Vigodas

Thang 1: 11’s – Merkins and Squats

Thang 2: Do the following exercises, where you run a lap around the parking lot in between:
American Hammers x100 (2 is 1)
BBSUs x100
Curls x100
Derkins x100
Elf on the shelf x50
Flutter Kicks x50 (2 is 1)
Goblet squats x50
Humpers, monkey style x50
Incline merkins x50
Jump squats x50

Moleskin: Think about how this verse puts values on traits that are the opposite of worldly advice – Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14

Prayers: @Falsetto’s friend recovering from a medical procedure, @Jailbreak’s work in a bit of turmoil.

Backblast: The Odyssey Workout

Date: 5/15/2024

AO: #ao_tar_pit

PAX: @Tortuga, @Spit Valve, @Stock boy, @Panhandle, @LeMond

FNGs: 0

Q: @LeMond

Total: 5

• Background

  • Homer’s “The Odyssey,” which is a classic epic poem about the adventures and trials of Odysseus as he attempts to return home after the Trojan War:

• Warmorama: 5 mins

  • 20 SSHs

  • Tappy Taps

  • 20 4-ct mountain climbers

  • Bat wings

• Cyclops’ Cave Escape, at start of track.

  • 10 one-legged Merkins

  • 10 one-armed Burpees

  • 10 one-legged toe touches.

  • 10 one-legged squats, assisted

  • Repeat with left leg

• Circe turns Pax into swine

  • 50 yard swine crawl, 10 burpees, and swine crawl back

• Clashing Rocks

  • 5 uneven merkin drag coupon, 5 BBSs with coupon

  • 10 uneven merkin drag coupons, 10 BBSs with coupon

  • 15 uneven merkin drag coupons, 15 BBSs with coupon

• Sirens’ Call

  • Hold plank 30 sec.

  • Rotate to right, hold 30 sec.

  • Hold plank 30 sec.

  • Rotate to left, hold 30 sec.

• Scylla and Charybdis

  • Scylla: 10 stair merkins

  • Charybdis: rifle carry to the top, coupon rotations around torso, 10 in each direction

• Battle of the Suitors, by 6:05am.

  • 108 coupon swing, 108 one-armed rows, split between partners

• Mary

  • Iron crosses

  • Supermans

  • Flutter kicks

• Moleskin

  • “By hook or by crook, this peril too shall be something that we remember.”

  • This line, spoken by Odysseus, reflects his resilient spirit and determination in the face of adversity. It’s a powerful reminder that the challenges we face today will one day be memories, shaping our stories and teaching us invaluable lessons.

Backblast: Run Club for Recreation

Date: 5/15/2024

AO: #ao_ground_zero

PAX: @Cottontail, @Frank, @Ankles, @Stock boy, @Buns, @Manhole, @Search Party (F3Naperville), @Dr. Phil, @Topham, @Toto, @T.B., @Tortuga, @Panhandle, @T-bone, @Pool Boy, @Mr Roboto, @Beaker, @Underoos , @Kip, @Sparrow, @TBTF, @LeMond

FNGs: 2

Q: @LeMond

Total: 22

• Warmorama:

  • 20 SSHs

  • 10 Tappy Taps

• Notes:

  • The Pax ran, walked and rucked and from #ao_gound_zero and then met up back by 6:15am.

  • F3 Wheaton welcomed two FNGS: Underoos and Kip.

• Moleskin

  • “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • Q’s thoughts: I can achieve more if I am honest about my fears and decide that facing them is worth it.

  • My fears are different from those of others.

Backblast: Let the rain come down

Date: 05/09/2024

AO: #ao_dark_room

PAX: @LeMond, @Toto

FNGs: 0

Q: @LeMond

Total: 2

• Warmorama: 5 mins

  • Goofballs: 25

  • Tappy Taps

  • Mountain climbers: 25

  • 20 SSHs

  • Bat wings

• At start of field:

  • Coupon thrusters

  • Pax take turns with one half doing ten at a time, the other half holding plank.

  • Repeat and then sprint to end of field.

  • 10 smurf jacks; then run back

• Two rounds: do one exercise Every Minute on the Minute, for 10 minutes.

  • 10 Burpees

  • 20 Prisoner Squats

  • 20 Merkins

  • 25 Curls

  • 20 Leg Raises

  • 10 Burpees

  • 20 Overhead Press

  • 25 Jump Lunges, 1 is 1.

  • 20 Bent Over Rows

  • 25 Dips

  • Each Pax owes 5 Kraken Burpees: burpee with 3 hand-release merkins

• Moleskin

  • “I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

  • I can’t remember all of the workouts I’ve done and you might not remember this workout but all workouts have made you.

Date: Monday, 5/13/24

AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Pool Boy, @Panhandle, @Frank, @Falsetto, @Jailbreak, @TBTF, @Sparrow, @Ankles, @Mr Roboto, @Dr. Phil
FNGs:
Q: @Stock boy
Total: 11

WoR: Good mornings, Lat stretches, Runner stretches

Thang: Ran, rucked, and Murph’ed.

Moleskin: Challenge yourself to reach out and connect with those you wouldn’t normally try to; you might be surprised when your attitude toward them changes.

Prayers: @Panhandle’s mom, my friends and neighbors.

Date: Thursday, 5/9/24

AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Tortuga, @Samsonite, @Jolly, @Panhandle, @The wet burrito, @T-bone, @TBTF, @Banks, @Jailbreak, @Da Vinci, @Cottontail, @Bloomer, @Spit Valve
FNGs:
Q: @Stock boy
Total: 14

WoR: Motivators, Abe Vigodas

Thang 1: Travel along the path starting at the west end of the parking lot, traveling the short lap coming south at the first bridge, ending near the base of Hoffa. Stopping at each lamppost, each PAX takes turns either calling a 10 count rep of some coupon related exercise, or calling a challenging mode of transport to the next lamppost (e.g. murder bunnies).

Thang 2: We turned around and did it again, back to the first lamppost.

Moleskin: I am going to be interviewed by elders to become a deacon, but I feel somewhat unqualified, as if I’m not morally virtuous enough for the position. I’m sure they will likely ask about any moral failings I might have. So I’ve started thinking about what bad habits and questionable proclivities I might have, and I’ve tried to focus on confronting my flaws honestly. I want to try to live up to what I imagine their expectations will be.

Prayers: @Tortuga’s 2.0s as they hike up a volcano in Guatemala.

Date: Tuesday, 5/7/24

AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Sparrow, @Jailbreak, @Samsonite, @Da Vinci, @TBTF, @LeMond, @Mr Roboto, @Dead Drop
FNGs:
Q: @Stock boy
Total: 9

WoR: Side straddle hops, Abe Vigodas

Thang 1: Mary Murph: ½ mile run, 100 hanging leg lifts (feet to bars if you’re manly), 200 BBSUs, 300 flutter kicks (2 is 1), ½ mile run

Moleskin: Shameless repeat, but I need to work on this myself: Work on patience with your loved ones, especially your wives. Try not to get frustrated, but treat them with grace and compassion. Honor the commitment you made when you married.

Prayers: @Mr Roboto’s friends/family members with upcoming surgeries.

Date: 05/4/24

AO: #ao_tar_pit

PAX: @The wet burrito @Panhandle @T-bone @Manhole @LeMond @Cottontail @DQ @Sparrow @Beaker

FNGs: 0

Q: @Beaker

Total: 9

WoR

SSH (x50)

Abe Vigodas (x10)

picking daisies (oyo)

Bat wings (x20 + Moroccan night clubs + pretzel arms)

Michael Phelps (oyo)

Arms across chest (oyo)

Thang

Mosey to the bottom of the wheel for Wall of Jericho

A a group, in cadence, we completed a 7-count set of an exercise, and then moved on the the next exercise. After the completion of all 7 sets, the PAX ran a loop up the ramp, over and down the stairs to the far ramp, down to street level and back around to where we started. We planked for one minute and then started agin.

Exercises:

Standing rows

CPRs

Goblet squats

Lunges

No plankin’ surrenders

Derkins

American hammers

The goal was 7 loops. We completed 6.

Moleskin

I recently had a parenting moment where we learned that my 2.0 has been dreading school for months, all because guilt from a lie she told. The guilt weighed on her in really tangible ways. As we get older, we get desensitized to when we don’t live up to our values/commitments/words. However, these things still weigh on us. May we seek to be more sensitive to our shortcomings and drive to confess our sins, seek reconciliation, and make amends.

COT

@Manhole’s dad and M, @SAGA’s 2.0s wedding, and graduation for college students, especially @T-bone and @Panhandle’s 2.0s.

Date: 04/30/24
AO: #ao_tar_pit
PAX: @Tortuga @8-Track @Panhandle @Shiplap @Jolly @Spokes @DQ
FNGs: 0
Q: @DQ
Total: 7

WoR

• SSH
• Goofballs
• Arm circles
• Copperhead merkins
• Copperhead squats

Thang 1
Inspired by @LeMond inspired by @Crack we did Dan Taylors with coupons, going straight from warm-o-rama to our beatdown destination on the grass in between the track and the lake.

Thang 2
We had a straight line of 6 cones lined out ~10 yards a part. Cone 0 was our home base. We performed the following routine:
Murder bunny 10 yards to the next cone
Perform 5 reps of exercise 1
Leave coupon and run back to Cone 0
Perform 10 reps of exercise 2
Run back to your coupon
Repeat Step 1 going to the next cone. Increase reps of exercise 1 by 5 and reps of exercise 2 by 10

When the PAX reached the final cone (~50 yards out), they performed 25 reps of exercise 1, reverse murder bunny’d back to Cone 0, and performed 50 reps of exercise 2

We did this routine 3 times with the following exercises:

Round 1

• Blockees
• Bicycles (1 is 1)

Round 2

• Thrusters
• Merkins

Round 3 (only went up to 15 reps of exercise 1 and 30 reps of exercise 2)

• BBSU with shoulder press
• Bonnie Blairs (1 is 1)

In between Round 1 and Round 2, the PAX did wind sprints back and forth from Cone 0 to Cone 3 a total of 3 times, targeting completion in 40 seconds.

Moleskine
According to a 2022 Gallup study, 91% of adults age 30-49 say they keep their phone nearby nearly all day. Our kids are going to mimic the relationship with our phones that we model. It’s so important to model this well.

One thing we can do is "volunteer for presence". Tell your kids before you hang out with them, "Let me first put my phone away". Be a part of the 9% of people that can intentionally distance themselves from their phone.