Author: Gumbo

  • Stop, Drop and Give me 20

    13 brave souls, including one out of town guest returning to the Motherland for the Holiday week, and our trusty guard dog, Cooper, posted to NoToll for the last bowl of 41-year old Gumbo to be served up, it started promptly at 0530 with 20 merkins OYO and the instruction that a 5-minute (give or take) timer was in play today.

    Mosey to the back lot for COP, all IC including:

    • SSHs
    • DQs
    • Imperial Walkers
    • Russian Soldiers
    • TIMER – Stop, Drop and give me 20 merkins OYO
    • LBCs

    THE THANG

    OG For Corners Bro-Code Style – form up in the dark corner of the parking lot (OG corner 1) for 20 merkins, plank for the six. Then mosey/run to the far corner of the field (OG corner 2) for 20 jump-squats and Al Gore for the six. Mosey/run to the brown water corner (OG corner 3) [TIMER- stop, drop and give me 20 merkins OYO] for 10 burpees and plank for six. Mosey/run to OG corner 4 for 20 WWIIs and plank for six.

    Pavilion 11s

    First, TIMER – stop, drop and give me 20. Followed by some Alternating Shoulder Taps.

    11s with jump squats and box cutters. Perform both exercises 10-1, then run across either field and back to the Pavilion, then 9-2, 8-3, etc. When finished, lunge around the Pavilion for the SIX and continue all lunging until the next TIMER. Bearcrawls were offered as a menu substitute…no takers.

    At last three more TIMERS went off at the Pavilion

    Pole Work – grab a Pavilion pole for a round of pole smokers IC, followed by Copperhead Squats IC. Repeato.

    Mosey back toward the basketball courts. Stop in the lighted area of the parking lot for TIMER – Stop, drop and give me 20 merkins OYO.

    Bearimeter – Upon arrival to the basketball courts, begin immediately into the bearimeter – and continue around the entire perimeter of the first court.

    Mary – circle up for MARY, including a APD, Hello Dolly, Rosalita, Rosalita, Hello Dolly, APD Ladder, and some Freddie Mercuries.

    2 more TIMERS disrupted our Mary time. Total Merkins today was 220.

    BTTF for COT, Numbers and Names, then YHC took us out.

    Announcements

    • Thanksgiving origins history lesson from TYA – Thursday 0600-0700 at Mary.
    • Black Friday all you can eat loops at Forest Hill Park.
    • Magnum PI Day – Saturday, December 5. Get your Hawaiian shirt and grow your stache.

    NMS –

    Another phenomenal morning to get out and get stronger. Great PAX this morning. Not a lot of mumblechatter or stink bombs…yes, Wilson fartsacked. But, lots of movement and great work put in.

    Great to see Sir Topham Hat back in town for the Holiday and looking as strong as ever. Also great to have Honeymoon and POG back posting at the bootcamps.

    Thanks for following my lead this morning.

    No More Gumbo For You…at least not this vintage!

  • “That is because you are doing them correctly”

    A lucky 7 PAX broke free and started their chilly morning off with a bowl of Gumbo. It has been a minute since Gumbo has been spotted on the menu at Timberwolf. It was good to be back. 0530 time to mosey…

    Mosey to the front parking lot for COP (you will notice a theme today), including:

    1. SSHs IC, then 1 merkin OYO
    2. DQs IC, then 2 merkins OYO
    3. Imperial walkers IC, then 3 merkins OYO
    4. Russian Soldiers IC, then 4 merkins OYO
    5. Copperhead Squats IC, then 5 merkins OYO
    6. Helicopters IC, then 6 merkins OYO
    7. LBCs IC, then 7 merkins OYO
    8. Freddie mercuries IC, then 8 merkins OYO
    9. [something else] IC, then 9 merkins OYO
    10. Alternating Shoulder Taps IC, then 10 merkins OYO

    THE THANG

    11s – mosey over to the large parking lot and start at lightpole 1 with 10 merkins and 1 jump squat. Run to lightpole 2, 9 and 2. Run to lightpole 3, 8 and 3….continue around the lot until the 10th lightpole where you do 1 and 10.

    Wall time – mosey over to the school and find some wall. 3 rounds as follows:

    1. 10 donkey kicks; bear crawl to the curb; 10 burpees
    2. 20 donkey kicks; bear crawl to the curb; 20 2 count flutter kicks
    3. 30 donkey kicks; bear crawl to the curb; 30 APDs

    Lightpole Alley – mosey to the beginning of lightpole alley. There are 10 lightpoles. Starting at lightpole 1, do 10 merkins OYO, run to lightpole 10 and do 1 burpee, then run back to lightpole 2 and do 10 merkins OYO and Al Gore for the Six. Continue this pattern all the way to lightpole 10 always with 10 merkins to begin and 10 merkins to end. Exercises in the middle included various counts of: box cutters, SSHs, American hammers, hello dollies, rosalitas, crab cakes, WWIIs, and others.

    Mary – with 1 minute left, flutter kicks in cadence.

    COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • Thanksgiving convergence at Mary
    • Black Friday Run-a-thon at the market at Batteau – see TYA for details
    • The merkin challenge is on, get on board – 300 merkins today at Timberwolf all in increments of 10. Large things done in small batches!
    • Prayers for Tobit’s grandmother and family, for Marmaduke’s MIL and family and for Boberry’s brother-in-law and family.

    NMS:

    There was little nip in the air, but Wilson did not sport the Bills Starter Jacket. He is saving it for the Super Bowl!

    Great being back out at Timberwolf. Great PAX – lots of mumblechatter – and even some talking. Most of the mumblechatter came in the form of noxious fumes from Wilson…powerful stuff!

    Line O’ the Day (and title) came during the 11s. As Tobit and Nancy and I were at about lightpole 8 or 9 doing jump squats, Tobit says “man, these jump squats hurt.” And, Nancy immediately responds: “yeah, that’s because you are doing them correctly”. Hysterical! Gotta know when to modify gentlemen!

    Way to work and thanks for coming out.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • An asphalt Field of Dreams at SOT

    8 men posted, 3 ran for their lives, leaving 5 to tackle the asphalt at SOT, it went something like this:

    Mosey around the parking lot an circle up near the cars for COP in case any LIFOs show up (none did). COP included:

    • DQs
    • Helicopters
    • SSHs
    • Imperial Walkers
    • Tempo Merkins
    • LBCs

    THE THANG

    Curb Crawl – Mosey to the front of the school for a good old fashioned curb crawl – up to 3, repeat 3, and back down. bear crawl/crawl bear in between – you know the drill.

    Mosey down to the large parking lot that is no longer packed with buses since they are out picking up kids.

    MODIFIED FIELD OF DREAMS – in honor of the World Series conclusion last night I grabbed the open Q slot late and needed to infuse some baseball theme. This is usually done on a baseball field, but today our field was lush asphalt. Split up and use the “pitcher’s mound” to modify for the 5-PAX. Each man does the identified exercise at each base AMRAP until relieved by the man running from the previous spot. The pitcher was our trigger and had to do 10 burpees as the timer, then run to home plate and relieve the man there. Other bases and exercises were:

    • Home – [exercise escapes me right now – but it was brutal, I assure you]
    • First – Squats
    • Second – Merkins
    • Third – LBCs

    Finished it off with 32 SSHs OYO for the 32 years between Dodger WS victories.

    Wall Time– Mosey around the side of the building for a beautiful piece of well-lit brick wall for some Donkey Kicks and DEEP Squats. Round 1, 10 of each and plank for 1 minute. Round 2, 20 of each and plank for 1 minute. Round 3, 30 of each and plank for 1 minute.

    Lunge Alley – making our way around the back of the school, lunge the lit alley way and watch out for the car.

    Mosey the rest of the way and down the hill to the bottom.

    The Suck (not many exercises are good with a PAX of 5, but the Suck is good no matter what the number). 4 exercise stations, 1 rabbit. Rabbit runs up the hill and back and triggers the switch to the next station. Stations were:

    • WWIIs
    • Burpees with a jump and a squat at the end
    • Box Cutters
    • No cheat merkins – HRM with Shoulder Taps at top

    2 rounds

    Ring of Fire – mosey back to the flag for a ROF as follows. Start in plank, first man does 10 merkins, then 10 hello dollies, then stands in Al Gore. Next man starts merkins when previous man switches to dollies.

    3 Minutes of Mary including Freddie Mercuries, Flutter Kicks and 6 inches

    COT, welcome runners back, Numbers, Names and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    Prayers for Offshore and his family after the passing of his MIL.

    Shoe drive continues through Saturday. Let’s get to 100.

    NMS:

    Great to be out this morning. It was a great morning for a workout. I saw the open Q slot while watching the World Series and decided to grab it. I’m glad I did. Thanks for letting me lead. Great work guys.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Gumbo’s Back on the Menu with two Tributes as side dishes

    Twenty men and 1 faithful companion total out at SOT this morning. 15 started their day with a warm bowl of fermented Gumbo. 5 took to the roads around SOT to continue race training. Well done all!

    For the Bootcamper 15, it went something like this:

    COT – Mosey down to the field and spot the PoPo parked in the lot down there when he/she shined the spotlight on the PAX and then left the scene. At the field, Van Halen tunes were started and COT went as follows:

    • SSHs IC x10
    • Imperial Walkers IC x10
    • Don Qs SLOW IC x10
    • Helicopters IC x10
    • Merkins IC x10
    • LBCs IC x20
    • Freddie Mercuries IC x10

    SHOWTIME

    Tribute to Van Halen with a JUMP-starter. Plank position, perform the up movement of the burpee with a jump every time you hear the word “Jump” then back down into plank. No biggie, just a 4-minute plank with about 30 “jumps”. That will get the blood flowing and wake the muscles up. May see that again on the circuit.

    S-T-A-C-H-E Time. Line up on the field end line for the following:

    • S – SSHs x84 OYO, run length of the field and back, Al Gore for SIX;
    • T – “Taps” Alternating Shoulder Taps IC x42, run, plank for SIX;
    • A – APDs IC x42, run, Al Gore;
    • C – Carolina Dry Docks x84 OYO, run, plank;
    • H – “Humpers” Monkey Humpers x84 OYO, run, Al Gore;
    • E – Eighty Four Seconds of PLANK (feel the burn);

    Mosey 1 lap around the track with the tunes in tow to shake out the muscles

    Triple Check Time at the bathroom building. 1 team member runs up the hill and back; 1 does Chicken-peckers, 1 does WWIIs. Three rotations, you know the drill.

    Lunges in place for the SIX.

    BTTF and plank for SIX and for the bell.

    COT, Numbers, Names, Announcements and YHC took us out

    Announcements:

    • DTH says shirts should be delivered in the next week or two.
    • Shoe collection. SOJ is ahead now – let’s keep it that way! Men’s shoes and kids shoes. All kinds welcome. Bring them out to AOs throughout the month.
    • Boberry has the Q for third F on Zoom – Tuesday at 7pm

    NMS:

    Great to get back in the Q saddle. And, amazing to have such a great PAX there this morning. The “84” reps in the STACHE workout was a tribute to YHC’s mom, who would have been 84 today!

    Oh, and did I mention that the STACHE BROS won the cornhole tournament on Saturday. Ok, I promise, last time I’ll bring that up…today.

    Strong work by all. Beautiful morning for it. Keep getting stronger men. Keep working hard. Be the best you can be all day, every day.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • 4th Annual HR Derby – There are no Big Al’s in our midst…

    but we do have Boberry Doublemint Snuff – the latest IPA flavor according to today’s PAX.

    I’ll save those of you in a hurry a lot of time — today’s HR Derby turned out like the last 4 – few HRs and LOTS of Burpees. Stop here if you don’t want to read the carnage.

    18 men stepped to the plate for 3 swings that resulted in exactly ZERO HRs and exactly 90 Burpees in approximately 25 minutes.

    It was so bad that we went Snake Draft and ran through the order in reverse with 2 swings each just so we could finally see a ball fly over the fence (other than the one I threw over the fence). LongPole was the first guy to break the seal and launch one out. Followed by Flatline and UpChuck.

    Not everyone was able to stick around for their second at bat, but roughly 90 swings produced THREE HRs. That’s it, I’m ordering a round of steroids for the entire PAX and I’m putting the balls in a humidor until next year. Next year, the HRs will be flying – you watch.

    Oh yeah, we started with some warmups – DQs, Helicopters, Jazzercisers, SSHs, Imperial Walkers, LBCs, Flutter Kicks and some high knees, butt-kickers, Karaoke’s and base-stealing sprints. PAX looked great during those. The carnage started when the pitches started.

    COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • Puppy Pile at NoToll 0700 next Sunday (7/12)

    Great to be back out there. See ya next year!

    No More Gumbo For You.

  • River Run Mash-up

    10 PAX (and 1 4-legged mile-slayer (Annie)) posted to log some miles and kickoff this unusual work week in the most normal way we know how – River Run. YHC was thrilled to see 9 other PAX to share some miles and fellowship with – and I almost lost them during the route instructions.

    YHC mashed up a couple traditional routes (the OG Tarrington Route, the Powderham loop and the Brigstock Out and Back) to make a new big loop that touched all 3 areas. Apologies for several turns, gents. It went like this:

    • Left out of BWES toward the River then a Right into Tarrington;
    • Left at roundabout on Welby and immediate Right on Sherfield;
    • RIGHT on Ashwell Drive and head uphill to Robious;
    • Left and across Robious to Ellesmere and into Powderham;
    • Left at first intersection onto Drakewood;
    • Follow Drakewood around the half-moon circle back to Ellesmere (it changes to Bosham and then to Glendower in the process);
    • Left on Ellesmere and take it to the end where it Ts into E. Brigstock;
    • Right E. Brigstock to Twin Team;
    • Left on Twin Team and BTTF – either directly or around the school or wherever the hell Rosie went…

    COT (distantly), Number-rama, Name-a-Rama and YHC took us out.

    Prayers for Doublemint and his family. His father passed away Saturday while in hospice care.

    Prayers also for those we know and love who are dealing with hardships or uncertainty in the face of the Coronavirus. Prayers also for all of our healthcare workers, especially hospital and ER workers who don’t get to work from home.

    Let’s help each other get through this. Let’s support our local businesses with carryout orders or gift cards. Let’s support those less fortunate than us in any way we can. And, let’s take this seriously and make smart decisions to help stem the tide.

    Have a great day men!

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • APB out for Roper’s Shoes…

    17 PAX (almost 18) posted for a Tuesday morning helping of Gumbo, it was served up with constant motion like this:

    First at 0517, Mr. Roper’s 4Runner pulls in next to the SS Gumbo and the window rolls down. Roper has a wry smile on his face and says “I forgot my shoes…well, see ya later Roper.” The morning shoe routine finally bit Roper in the arse. It would have been great to see Roper workout in his crocks, but instead, off he went. Hope the day turns around for you, Mr. Roper!

    0524 and only 4 cars in the lot, then the calvary came rolling in, including Ollivander coming in DK-hot and nearly ending Bone Thugs’ day before it got started…disaster averted, all is ok, let’s mosey.

    Off to the backlot for COP (and to be joined by a couple LIFO’s – Fresh Prince and maybe Snuff or Chaplin? – it was dark), that included:

    • Jazzercisers x10
    • DQs x10
    • Helicopters x10 — yes, Gumbo’s back was tight this morning
    • SSHs x20
    • Merkins x10
    • LBCs x 20
    • Warmups: form 5 single-file lines at the far end of the parking lot and traverse the parking lot as follows:
      • Round 1 = High Knees, plank for six, High Knees back, plank
      • Round 2 = Karaoke, plank, Karaoke, plank
      • Round 3 = Sprint, plank, Sprint, plank

    THANG:

    Proper Dora – Mosey over to pavilion and partner up. Together complete 50 proper dora sets of 1 WWII, 2 Squats and 3 Merkins. While one partner exercises, the other runs across the field and back.

    Plank-o-rama for the SIX

    Circuit Trio

    Round 1 = 10 Box Jumps, 10 WWIIs, 10 SSHs – plank for six

    Round 2 = 15 of each then plank for six

    Mosey back to bball courts

    Variety Suicides with Exercises and Mary

    Round 1 = normal suicides with 1 burpee at each stop

    Flutter Kicks

    Round 2 = backward suicides with 2 jump-shot squats at each stop

    Hello Dollies and Rosalitas

    Round 3 = half=suicide (only to the foul line and back, then to half-court and back) bear crawl and 5 merkins at each stop

    Freddie Mercuries for SIX

    Round 4 = Lung suicides with 5 SSHs at each stop

    BTTF for COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • HDHH, March 18 at ET’s – see preblast Oyster put up
    • Doozy has Q at NoToll next Tuesday (St. Patty’s day). He’s got big plans. Come see POG dressed like a leprechaun
    • Bone Thugs running 5K April 24 – keep pushing bro
    • Golf Tourney (May 15) to support Galactosemia Foundation – www.forethecause.org. Sign up, get on a team. Support Nancy and Wilson.
    • Prayers for Marmaduke’s mom – surgery tomorrow

    NMS:

    Great work today men. No real plan (as you could probably tell). Just wanted to keep things moving the entire time. For future reference – need a longer run to really get some of those Proper Dora sets done. But it worked out. Great partnering with POG on those.

    Gorgeous morning for a workout. Way to show up and get better guys. Great to see Bone Thugs posting and pushing it. Can’t wait to see him kill that 5K. Also, great seeing guys becoming new regulars like Snuff and Rosetta. EH and bring guys out as the weather gets better and before the heat shows up.

    Thanks for letting me lead. Hope that had enough spice for you Boberry!

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Tailwind = Good; Headwind = Bad

    7 men needed a few appetizer and dessert miles today. The tailwinds on the way to Dogpile were great. The reverse not so much. Great job guys.

  • 48 Months, 1461 Days – all 1 day at a Time

    28 gloom warriors fought the blustery winds and dominated Dogpile this morning. Gumbo had been missing from the Dogpile menu for quite some time, but it came back with a vengeance today. Today’s flavor was:

    Mosey around the normal COP circle and down into the amphitheater for COP, including:

    • SSHs x48 (one for each month Gumbo has been with F3)
    • DQs x14
    • LBCx x61 – 1461 days with F3
    • 1 Burpee OYO – 1 day at a time baby
    • Jazzercisers x10
    • Tempo Merkins x10
    • Hold Plank, down to Elbow Plank, then Alternating Shoulder Taps x10
    • Freddie Mercuries x10

    Meal Time (The THANG)…

    Step Aerobics –

    • On the way up 4 box jumps on each step
    • Coming down 4 Derkins on each step
    • Plank-o-rama for the SIX

    Rosie’s Rapid Fire Rando-rama

    Mosey behind the amphitheater to the fire hydrant area for some Rosie’s Rapid Fire Rando-rama exercises, all IC x10 and fast pace, including:

    • Hello Dollies
    • Rosalitas
    • Flutter Kicks
    • APDs
    • American Hammers

    Triple Check #1

    PAX 1 – run from fire hydrant to the rusty cage and do Burp-Ups (3 first round, 2 second round and 1 third round)

    PAX 2 – jump squats

    PAX 3 – box cutters

    Triple Check #2

    Mosey down to the pipe loop for the next triple check. Hold six inches, then 90 degrees, then 45 degrees for the SIX. Triple Check was:

    PAX 1 – run pipe loop

    PAX 2 – mountain climbers

    PAX 3 – Freddie mercuries

    Mosey BTTF via Love Hill

    COT, Number-Rama, Name-A-Rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • HDHH March 18 with rollercoaster run launching from ETs and returning for beers. See Oyster for details
    • Bone Thugs is going to do his first 5K the last week of April – way to go BT. We are hear to help and support you along the way. Keep showing up and getting 1 step better every day.
    • Hitchhiker completed his 100-day workout challenge. Congrats Bro! He is 25 lbs lighter, has a six pack and reports that his M is pleased!
    • Let’s keep our brother DTH and his family in our thoughts and prayers while he is on his mission trip.
    • Let’s keep Doublemint’s father and family in our prayers as his father has entered Hospice care.
    • Let’s keep Upchuck’s mother and MIL in our thoughts along with any others who have compromised or weakened immune systems during this COVID-19 scare. Be safe. Be Smart. Wash hands.

    NMS:

    It has been a minute or two since Gumbo attended Dogpile, much less took the Q and served up some spicy goodness. It was great to be back. Everyone pushed hard today. That wind was no joke, but we got our miles in and even put in a few minutes of EC (my bad).

    Well done guys. Thanks for letting me lead.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • I came, I saw no one, I ran anyway

    It was a single serving of Gumbo at RiverRun this morning. A beautiful morning for a run. YHC avoided as many hills as possible and logged 5 miles – all while thinking “did I miss a memo about a President’s Day convergence??”

    See you fellas at No Toll tomorrow…I hope.

    No More Gumbo for Me