Category: Backblast

AO: The Gauntlet

CONDITIONS: SMOOTH, PARTLY CLOUDY, LOW-MID  60S

PAX: SLASH, WALKMAN, KIWI

Q: FREE LUNCH

WARMUP:
SideStraddles 25x Windmillls x15 3rdGraders x15 Arm Circles Forward/Backward x12 Yoga Scorpion Stretch

THE THANG

“3M Special”

The “M ” is 5 markers/ cones placed in the shape of letter M
today it was 30 yards apart (adjust as you wish) 

What makes this M special is: starting at first cone

Standing Long Jump 30 yards to 2nd cone

Back Pedal (run backwards) to 3rd cone(middle point of “M”)

Sprint to 4th cone and 

Sprint to 5th cone

Bearcrawl back to first cone

Immediately into

NEXT CORE EXERCISE

V-ups to Exhaustion  into

Hollow Hold Plank (on your six with arms extended same height as feet) 30 seconds  into

Run the M 3 times  then

Ollie Planks to Exhaustion (skateboard grab style) it’s like a plank twist but as left arm goes up opposite leg comes through ie like skateboard ollie with arm out at top of the ramp) 

Hollow Hold Plank 30 seconds

Run the M 3 times 

Flutter Kicks to Exhaustion  

Hollow Hold Plank 30 seconds

Run the M 3 times 

Plank Hip Dips (Tic Tocs) to Exhaustion

Hollow Hold Plank 30 seconds

Run the M 3 times 

*2 men made it all the way through just at time- Slash Walkman props- everyone else just shy, we all went hard.

Final minute of standard MERKINS, FULL FORM- arms just at shoulder with, no saggy back, Fully down to chest touches ground, FULL EXTENSION up. To exhaustion then repeat until 1 minute is up.

COT
We all took a moment to reflect on a fault or something we have done in which we carry shame or guilt or at least we know we are lacking in. Something in which even our own self respect is lacking.

Then Q offered 3 quotes in reflection on this: bringing the idea of 1. Perseverance, 2. Patience and 3. honoring the Self as also Sacred

1. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen 

 “ It is the innermost thoughts and desires of men that are fed with their own food be it foul or clean. The “divinity that shapes our ends” is in ourselves; it is our very self. Only himself manacles man: thought and action are the jailers of Fate. They imprison, being base; they are also the angels of Freedom- they liberate, being noble. Not what he wishes and prays for does a man get but what he justly earns. 

His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions. In the light of this truth what then is the meaning of “fighting against circumstances”? 

It means that a man is continually revolting against an effect, while all the time he is nursing and preserving its cause in his heart. That cause may take the form of a conscious bias or an unconscious weakness; but whatever it is, it stubbornly retards the efforts of its possessor and calls aloud for a remedy. 

Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. A man who does not shrink from self crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set. This is as true of earthly as of heavenly things.”

2. Letter to a Young Poet by Rainer Marie Rilke

“…be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.“
Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.“

3. Yoga Nidra: Melatonin Magic by Jennifer Piercy

“Offer yourself the same kind of awe and wonder that you’d offer a force of nature…
like a vast and wild night sky”

AO: Lightning Rod

QIC: Danish

PAX: Free Lunch, Ghost, Kiwi, Murse

Conditions

A cool 64F but just what we needed to keep the sweat from evaporating

Warm up

Mosey to track

SSH x 25

Imperial Walkers x 15

Lateral Lunges x 16

Forward arm circles x 10

Backward arm circles x 10

Scissor Arms x 12

The Thang

10 Hand release merkins

15 burpees

20 Hand release merkins

15 burpees

30 Hand release merkins

15 burpees

40 Hand release merkins

15 burpees

50 Hand release merkins

15 burpees

(if you finish, go back down the ladder until the 6 is in)

mosey

High plank x 15

Flutter jacks x 15

Mosey back to LR

High plank x 10

COT

I shared my experience of having travelled to 5 different AOs and how it differed from ours. I was happy to share that our rigor and discipline in keeping the core values and set up of F3 is working to create more HIMs in our community.

AO: Lightning Rod

QIC: Slash

PAX: Kiwi, Bob Evans, Samaurai, Whitney, Walkman, Stray Cat, Free Lunch, Beach Bum

Conditions

Beautiful morning. Good energy and excitement w/ BeachBum coming in downrange and the PAX glowing from Walkman’s first Gaunlet beatdown yesterday.

Warm up

Coupon hop overs x 11

SSH x12

Slow High Knees x12

Windmills x12

YTW x12

Mosey to field w/ coupons

The Thang

“Around the clock“

Coupon lunge walk around the track w/ stops for exercises every 100m (i.e. clock targets at 3 o’clock, 12 o’clock, 9 o’clock, 6 o’clock x10 at each stop, so 30/120/90/60). Begin lunge walk around the track starting at 6 o’clock, toward first stop.

3 o’clock: 30 coupon snatches  

12 o’clock: 120 rows – 40 on right + 40 on left + 40 two handed 

9 o’clock: 90 goblet squats 

6 o’clock: 60 decline merkins (feet on coupon) 

We didn’t complete as intended but finished hella strong! The PAX were almost done w/ the goblet squats when Q called the mosey back. It was a particularly slow mosey, and we ended 5-minutes late. Lesson learned! Need to give at least 5minutes to get back to LR w/ coupons after doing banger legwork.

COT

Staying in the moment to do the incredible

I had another CoT prepared, but was so proud of the PAX today that I made that the topic. Even one pushed hard on this one. Doing a lap of lunge walks isn’t something we’ve done before (I think?!) and is a straight burner but everyone made it their own and finished super strong.

There was some banter during the workout that they would’ve have gotten out of bed if they’d known what was in store. Which reminded me that even our greatest efforts begin with small first steps. The first step for us is getting out of bed and committing to the unknown. Often I get wrapped up in the challenges of the future and lose track of what the immediate next step is. This was a good lesson that sometimes it’s most important to focus on setting a target that’s closer (in this case, a spot on the track to lunge to).

BeachBum added that it reminded him of breaking big goals down into smaller chunks to make them more manageable.

Free Lunch noted that the efforts of others pushed him to do a modification that accommodated for his injury, but was still demanding. It’s a great point to remember – you don’t have to just modify up/down but can/should also modify different to stay both healthy and challenged.

Great work out there, especially during a particularly big week (epic Sat beatdown, followed by 5 days of Gaunlet+LR ones!).

Rock on! Slash

QIC: StrayCat

PAX: Kiwi, Walkman, Whitney

Conditions

60 degrees and clear

Warm up

SSH x 20

Side Lunges x 20

Third Grade Exercise x 20

Slow High Knees x 20

Windmills x 20

Mosey to Field

20 YDS Deadbug Shuffle

20 YDS Deadbug Shuffle other direction

20 YDS Bear Crawl

20 YDS Jump Squats

20 YDS Dragon Walk

Pick up the Six

The Thang

12 Decline Merkins

12 Archer Rows

12 Dips

30 Leg Raises

30 Big Boys

Run around the track and stop to run up all the stairs and bleacher stairs

Repeat for time

COT

I shared about in addition to training your body we need to train our minds. This is illustrated in the movie Braveheart and also talked about by Warren Buffet and many others. Kiwi shared examples of this from Steve Jobs. There are books, audiobooks, online classes, etc. Many of these resources are free. Walkman suggested podcasts as well. Start learning something that interests you. I’ve never regretted any time I’ve spent learning.

StrayCat

QIC: Kiwi

PAX: Slash, Walkman, Kiwi, Samurai,

Conditions

65 degrees with 100% chance of beat-down!

Warm up

imperial walkers x 15

scissor arms x 15

ass kickers x 10

3rd grade exercise x 15

Monkey humper x 15

windmill x 15

Tennis courts

The Thang

Mosey to the roundabout, 10 merkins, then mosey to the tennis courts. complete circuit of lunge walk to half of tennis court, 10 merkins, broad jump back, jog to monkey bars. Do 10 pulse jumps squats. Go across monkey bars doing a pull up each time you move your hand to the next ring. Then jog to merry ground, do elbow to full plank with feet on the Merry go round. Each time you get to full plank again take one “step ” to the right with your arms and repeat until you go 180 degrees around the merry go round. Jog to swing and climb the pole. Repeat circuit till time.

Mosey back

Flutter kicks x20

frozen freddies – 15

COT

.Shared how my week was full of people in my life getting engaged, going through divorce, one had a baby, one lost a baby by miscarriage. We talked about how these big transitions in life happen and nothing is permanent or guaranteed. Every big event had many small miracles leading up to it, and if one thing changes – it can change ones whole life. Be grateful for the time we have with those we love and cherrish, because it can all go away so fast.

Slash shared a practice of conscious eating in picturing all the steps in the formation of the food you eat as a practice of gratitude.

Walkman shared about his mind pondering the connection between the relationship of scarcity and abundance in contemplating the ephemeral nature of things..

Samurai shared his thoughts on what lives on for us when we die.

These brothers are deep!

Kiwi

AO: Lightning Rod

QIC: Slash

PAX: Lumbergh, Kiwi, Bob Evans, Fishsticks (downranger IL)

Conditions

Mid 50s and dry….besides the misfiring sprinkler gushing water into the grass by our warm-up zone and adding lovely environmentally-unfriendly fountain sounds to the mix.

Warm up

SSH x 20

Halos x15

Butt kickers x15

Windmills x12

YTW x15

Cliffhanger Planks x15 (hands 6inches closer to feet than normal plank)

Mosey to field

The Thang

Tenet: going forward then in reverse (don’t get the reference? watch the mind bending movie!)

Start at end zone and move from corner to corner of the field, clockwise.

1st corner: 10 reverse snow angels  

1st locomotion to opposite corner: burpee broad jumps

2nd corner: 10 cliffhanger merkins 

2nd locomotion: bear crawls 

3rd corner: 10 reverse snow angels 

3rd loco: reverse burpee broad jumps (jump, get on your 6 w/out using hands, bend legs close to head, then explode to a squat w/out using your hands, stand, then broad jump. repeat)

4th corner: 10 cliffhanger merkins (hands 6inches closer to feet than normal merkin)

4th locomotion: crab walk 

As many rounds as possible with reps at each corner increasing by 10 each round. 

The PAX got through 1 full round and all had started down (or finished) the 2nd corner of lap 2.

COT

Caring for parents

My parents have been visiting from Alabama during the last few weeks, after not having seen them for almost 2 years (the longest period I’ve gone w/out visiting, by far!). We left our kids with them while the M and I got out of town. It was a super tiring experience for them and they needed lots of help from babysitters each day. The M and I had a realization that it’ll be difficult to leave the kids w/ my parents for these kind of trips again – it’s just becoming too much of an ask. It made me realize how my relationship with them is changing and how this is an inflection point for me beginning to take care of them (vs them taking care of me or our kids).

I’m thankful they’re healthy and happy right now. And as I prepare for what comes next in our relationship, I want to view this as an opportunity to be generous, compassionate and give back to the 2 people in my life who’ve given me the most.

Lumbergh shared his experience with asking his parents to move in with his family, and it reflecting the circle of life w/ the balance of responsibility shifting. Bob Evans shared his experience living with his dad and taking on more of the duties around the property because his dad is slowing down.

Great work and discussion with the crew today. Excitement is palpable for the ANNIVERSARY beatdown on Saturday! Will have an awesome slate of guests and Qs. Let’s get out there! Rock on – Slash