Author: Whitesnake

  • Bear Crawl to nowhere

    Four fan favorites braved the cold and went Deep. We started with a bus loop warmup and then circled up for some SSH, IW, Ukrainian Soldiers, Flutters, H2H, Merkins and Helicopters.

    We then crossed the street and went into Greengate down Vinery Ave. We did consolidated 7’s at every section of row houses. Started with 6 two count shoulder taps and one merkin and then 5/2,etc.

    At the end of the street we partnered up and one partner ran around the block and the other did flutters, then squats and then HRM .

    It was now time to get Deep. We moseyed a bit down the street until we came to a sign warning us about a steep decline. We ventured down the paved path until it flattened out and I gave instructions: Ukrainian Soldier walks until we get to the bridge, bear crawl on the bridge and then lunge walk after the bridge.

    Into the dark we went, and this is where we found out the bridge went on FOREVER! So after too many bear crawls, I called an audible and we lunged. At some point the bridge ended and we moseyed a bit and then turned around. On the way back we did more Soldiers and then bunny hopped up to the bridge and ran on the bridge back to the start of the path. We then bear crawled up the steep decline.

    We reversed the same 7’s on the way back and then had time to hit the hairy Nuckol. There we did balls to the ball toe taps and then Australian mountain climbers with runs up the hill in between with 5 burpees at the top.

    We then moseyed back to the cars and did some Mary until time.

    No announcements and I took us out in prayer.

    Mr. Rogers and I enjoyed some coffee and company afterwards. We had the Starbucks all to ourselves.

  • Where is my Gypsy?

    With your feet on the air and your head on the ground
    Try this trick and spin it, yeah
    Your head will collapse, if there’s nothing in it
    And you’ll ask yourself

    Where is my Gypsy?
    Where is my Gypsy?
    Where is my Gypsy?

    But Lighthouse was there, and we ran 3.4 miles pre Gridiron. And Gypsy showed up at coffee/eggnog to answer our question.

  • A Festivus Miracle!

    A Festivus Miracle!

    A record 17 for the regular Thursday Circus Maximus AO including Tippecanoe!

    The story of Festivus: Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my daughter. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way. What happened to the doll? It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born. A Festivus for the rest of us.

    Before I went over the 5 key to Festivus, we did some warmups in honor of my favorite Seinfeld episode that featured opposite George. Because if every instinct I have is wrong, the opposite would have to be right. We did some reverse arm circles (10 big then 5 small), then some forward, then we put our arms all the way up and our legs together to start some opposite SSH. Some gravitated to normal SSH, White Deer did his normal weird ones and Chum was just lost. I think it broke him. We also did some other warmups including Ukrainian Soldiers, Flutters and Merkins.

    We reviewed as a group the 5 principles of Festivus. 1) There is an aluminum pole with no decorations (I find tinsel distracting). The pole was proudly displayed on the sidewalk. It’s made from aluminum. Very high strength-to-weight ratio. 2) It begins with the airing of grievances 3) Their is a meal 4) It ends with the Feats of Strength and 5) Be on the lookout for a Festivus miracle(s).

    The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with some exercises and now you’re gonna hear about it. We went around the circle and announced what exercise we had a problem with and then we all did 20 of such exercise. The Pax had problems with Sit and Presses (twice), Squats (twice), Pulse Squats, Burpees (10 reps, not 20), Swings, A lap around the bus loop, Waiter carry, Clean & Press, Russian Twists, Lawnmower pulls, Halos, Pull throughs (twice in a row, thanks Mr. Rogers), One legged deadlifts and a few others. 280 reps, 10 burpees, one lap and a waiter carry for a long walk and the grievances were complete.

    We had a little time for the Contest. The first contest was for me to explain the game Odds and Evens. Some Pax never heard of it, some knew but pretended not to understand just to hear me explain it poorly thrice times and others did not care. You should’ve seen the look on Handshake’s face! It was the same look my father gave me when I told him I wanted to be a ventriloquist. We then partnered up, played odds and evens (2 out of 3) and the winner did curls while the loser ran to the end of the lot and did 5 burpees. We did three rounds. The Pax was angry after that, my friends. Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.

    All right, everyone. It’s time for the Festivus feats of strength. Each member would duck walk with hands behind our back and try to knock over each Pax. Using your hands is illegal and you must stay inbounds. Last man “standing” wins. Let’s rumble!! Some opted out and then chaos and cheating ensued. Fudd was the last duck standing and is the 2024 champ. I am making a donation to the Human Fund on Fudd’s behalf! Chum, getting dumped on his face during the feats of strength, ended up crying.

    We then circled up for some Mary. We did Presses, LBCs & Flutters with the Bell.

    After circling up for prayer, we had coffee and for the Festivus meal I brought some black & white cookies (see, the key to eating a black-and-white cookie is you wanna get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet still somehow, racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie… all our problems would be solved) and chocolate eclairs that were from the top of the trash, above the rim, on a magazine and still had the dolly on!

    Chum, whether still confused by the SSH or from taking the biggest fall, was not feeling well:

    Chum: I don’t feel so good.
    Pax: What’s wrong?
    Chum: My stomach. I think it was that cookie.
    Gypsy: The black-and-white?
    Chum: Yeah.
    Gomer: Not getting along?
    Chum: I think I got David Duke and Farrakhan down there.
    Seymore: Well, if we can’t look to the cookie, where can we look?
    Chum: Oh, my stomach! I feel like I’m gonna throw up!
    White Deer: Wait. What about your vomit streak?
    Chum: I know! I haven’t thrown up since June 29, 1980!

    Another Festivus in the books. Until next year when I am allowed to use the word “Annual”…

  • Soft and Wet

    We ran a little over 3 miles including a quarter pounder with merkins, plank jacks, mountain climbers and SSH, two rounds of partner bus loop runs with HRM and three hundred yard sprints. We left our mark on the Short Pump Elementary football field.


  • Lighthouse takes the lead!

    While I need the additional miles, the main reason for running with Lighthouse at Brunch Club is to do this post and get Lighthouse to win for the most posts in 2024. Note that he has no desire to win and probably has a dozen other Brunchclub runs with Gypsy that no one recorded. But he should win. He deserves it. And then he gets to go for most Q’s in 2025!!!

    3.2 miles pre Gridiron.

  • Conquering Nakatomi Plaza

    Conquering Nakatomi Plaza

    Come out to Heartbreak, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…

    Sixteen warriors came out to Heartbreak Ridge and most regret it. According to Argyle the former limo driver and now Quioccasin Middle bus driver, it went something like this:

    Warmups behind the goalposts of SSH, Ukrainian Soldiers, Helicopters, Arm Circles, Flutters and LBCS. A couple stragglers come in during warmup. Welcome to the party pal!

    Head to base of the hill. Ten up and downs on your own. Pax are already tired of this routine. I think I heard someone grumble at the top: Oh, you’re in charge? Well, I got some bad news for you *Whitesnake*, from up here it doesn’t look like you’re in charge of jack shit. (10 hill climbs)

    Partner up. Try to find a partner who saw too many movies as a child. Another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he’s John Wayne, Rambo, Marshal Dillon. One runs and the other does an exercise, switch. Box cutters, Overhead claps, Merkins, Burpees, Squats. (BOMBS) (15)

    Time to sneak through an air duct. Bear crawl up the hill, run back. Two times. I’m just a fly in the ointment, The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass. (17)

    Find a new partner. Bombs made out of C4 so four C exercises: Calf Raises, reverse Crunches, Carolina drydocks, a lbCs. (21).

    I could tell it was time to do something new. The man is hurting! He is alone, tired, and he hasn’t seen diddly-squat from anybody down here. Why don’t I wake up and smell what I am shoveling? I listen and so we 7’s up and down the hill (of course). HRM at the top and Burpees at the bottom. (28).

    Wanting to know what a TV dinner feels like, we do two more airducts (bear crawl up, run back) (30)

    5 more flights to go. 5 up and downs on your own. (35)

    And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.

    But wait, the hostages are on the roof! One more to the top, shoot your machine gun (Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho) to scare the hostages back down the stairs and head back to the flag. “Go fuck yourself Whitesnake” was the mood.

    Back at the flag, we had a few minutes for some Mary. Hammers, Heals to Heaven and some stretching ended the morning. Wasn’t that fun?

    Announcements: The Bridge this Saturday, Upchuck leading and reach out to him to join. Firehouse Subs at noon today. Gomer and Pigskin raising funds for the Mountain Medical Team with Friends of Barnabas in Honduras.

    I was inspired by a reading at Church this past weekend from Luke 3. It is about John the Baptist (McClane) and quotes as it is written in Isiah:

    “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
    ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
        make straight paths for him.
    Every valley shall be filled in,
        every mountain and hill made low.
    The crooked roads shall become straight,
        the rough ways smooth.
    And all people will see God’s salvation

    Pray that every mountain and hill is made low. Especially for Mary, Molly, Fireman Ed and Gypsy.

    Thanks for everyone who came out to Heartbreak today and some for the first time in a while. You are always welcome and it does not always suck. And one more thing:

    Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!

  • Bright something or other

    I posted a route last night and then mumbled it to a few others before we ran. Then I short circuited and led a few of us down a wrong turn that worked out in the end. Others did the route correctly or walked their own route.

    I’m so stupid

    Pax: Stupid-foolish, gullible, doltish, dumbbell, lamebrain…

    Shut up!

    Pax: Shut up – silence, hush, sit on it, can it…

    With excitement like this, who is needing enemas?

    (And scene).

  • Say Cheese!!

    Five regulars and a FNG ran 4 miles this morning in our successful quest for the Wellesley tunnel. We did some warmups in the lot near the Gazebo first and then hit the tunnel and stopped at the tennis courts.

    We did one round of H. 20 count of an exercise at each point and 5 burpees in the middle cross—and you need to cross after each exercise. Started with the 5 burpees and then four exercises were dips, WWII, Merkins and Squats. Total of 25 burpees.

    Roger Roger took us out a new paved trail to extend the running part. Ended up 5 minutes late but no real complaints.

    FNG Brandon enjoys photography as a hobby and is now known as Cheese.

    Prayers for Molly, Mary and Fireman Ed.

  • Who needs a marathon?

    When you can run 3.3 miles before Gridiron. The End.

  • The Fart Duel of 2024

    The following AI generated story is a slight exaggeration of what happened this morning during White Deer’s Q. I don’t use AI in my Q writeups, only for White Deer.

    In a gym that time forgot, nestled between the mists of myth and history, there stood a rugged clearing surrounded by thick oaks and buzzing with strange anticipation. The air was rich with an improbable concoction of sweat, wildflowers, and the faint aroma of roasted chestnuts. It was here that a peculiar gathering took place: the legendary fart duel between Attila the Hun and the White Deer.

    The attendees were a motley crew, each one stranger than the last. Whitesnake, with their long hair and leather pants, were tuning their guitars, their riffs barely holding together against the dissonance of the bad country music already blaring from the speakers. Bedpan, the wiry jester with a wicked grin, whispered quips to anyone who’d listen. Offshore, a mysterious figure wearing sunglasses and a sailor’s cap, watched the scene with arms crossed, nodding along to the beat.

    Next to them, Lighthouse stood tall, beaming like a human beacon, his white robe swaying with the force of a nonexistent breeze. Pigskin, a burly fellow with a perpetual game face and cleats that dug into the dirt, did squats while muttering plays under his breath. Mr. Rogers, calm as ever in his iconic cardigan, offered quiet words of encouragement to everyone, including the participants. And finally, Gaudi, draped in colors that rivaled the most ambitious stained glass, sketched the scene on a scroll, arching eyebrows at every absurd twist.

    The center of attention, however, was the duel itself. Attila the Hun, mighty conqueror of the Huns, shirtless and muscled from kettlebell training, twirled his iron weight like it was featherlight. His eyes burned with the glint of a man who had faced battlefields but was now set to prove himself in an entirely different arena.

    Facing him was the White Deer, a mystical creature, whose coat shimmered like a cloud at sunrise. It pawed the ground with a mix of grace and anticipation, nostrils flaring slightly. This was no ordinary deer—it was said to be born of wind and moonlight, its flatulence capable of clearing forests or, on a gentler day, creating sweet breezes across meadows.

    The duel began. The kettlebells clanged like war drums as both Attila and the White Deer crouched in focus.

    Attila let out a fierce bellow, lifting a kettlebell above his head, muscles rippling. With a deep inhale and a defiant glare, he unleashed a sound that could have belonged to the storm gods—a guttural, thunderous blast that made the leaves above tremble and Pigskin lose his balance mid-lunge. The force reverberated through the clearing, bending tree branches and causing Bedpan to clutch his sides in awe.

    The White Deer, initially unfazed, raised its head. It shifted slightly, its elegant legs crossing like a dancer’s. A moment of silence fell over the clearing. Then, with the gentlest lift of its tail, the Deer responded. A sound followed—soft, melodic, almost like the whistle of a flute mixed with the chime of a distant bell. But instead of sweeping through the clearing in triumph, it faltered. The breeze that followed was mild, barely ruffling Gaudi’s bell.

    Attila’s eyes gleamed with the realization. He stepped forward, chest heaving, and raised his arms high. A second, more powerful burst emerged from him, louder and deeper than the first. The ground shuddered, and the leaves of the towering oaks fell like rain. Whitesnake stopped playing, their jaws dropping, while Pigskin hollered, “Touchdown, Attila!”

    The White Deer staggered backward, its eyes wide with the acknowledgment of defeat. Even the mystical shimmer of its coat dimmed slightly as it lowered its head, conceding with a graceful bow.

    Mr. Rogers smiled softly, approaching the Deer with a kind pat. “Even in defeat, there is grace,” he whispered.

    Attila grinned broadly, the pride of a conqueror mixed with the lightness of unexpected victory. He extended a hand, not to gloat, but in mutual respect. The Deer accepted with a gentle nod, eyes twinkling with the promise of future contests.

    Attila’s gaze softened, and his thoughts traveled back to his childhood. He remembered sitting at the foot of his grandfather’s grand hearth, the old man’s eyes twinkling beneath his furrowed brow. “Little Attila,” he’d say, with a grin as wide as the plains, “strength is not only in the sword, but in the breath. The art of wind is ancient, passed down from chieftains to warriors. Respect it, and it will serve you well.” The memory of those lessons, playful and absurd as they seemed, were woven into Attila’s life, shaping the warlord he became.  Teaching this gifts to Mariner will take time but will be time well spent.