Tag: #SOJ

  • Kettlebell Hot potato

    4 SOJ beasts escaped the warm fart sack this morning for a kettle bell beat down. Since no one took the Q it was tie for some hot potato… here is how it went down

    Warmarama led by Nancy Lopez ( SSH, Helicopters, Imperial walkers, cherry pickers, Merkins, LBC, flutter kicks, plan jacks)

    Mosey to the corner for a Swoop led Dora- 50 curls, 100 skull crushers, 150 squats….timer runs to the island

    Cookie jumped in to lead a 4 corners (prostitute style) with his cheese slicer…..around the parking lot . 10 merkin pull throughs, 20 overhead press, 30 lawnmower pulls, 40 raise the roof

    Rudy jump in next to led some strectching after the run…calf raise, alabama prom dates, lunges, one leg alabama prom dates

    Back to swoop for a little parking lot circuit each parking spot we did 10 squats , 10 curls, 10 skull crushers…then run to the island and back to the parking spot one closer to the island and took one off each exercise….repeat till we were down to zero

    Nancy closed us out with some mary ( box cutters, hello dolly, rosalita )

    announcements – rosie’s 12 days of Christmas coming up

    rudy took us out in prayer. have a great day guys!

  • Thankful for breaking bread

    Swoop, his M and 2.0’s were the excited to have our first opportunity to participate in breaking bread. The whole family took time to help make the meal for 8 people this evening. I am sure the food was enjoyed by the people but I am also sure my 2.0’s were able to see how we can help those in need. Thanks again for the opportunity !

  • Tunnel of Fudge

    Taking the latest 1st F challenge seriously, a solid SEVENTEEN studs of the SOJ gloom (including one FNG) converged on Rock&Roll to burn off those extra slices of Thanksgiving pie. Here’s how they stayed warm adding a legendary beatdown to the revered annals of “Tryhardian feats you’ve always dreamed of…”

    The THANG:

    WARMERAMA: 

    • Mosey on the Court and circle up
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom
    • Between each set of reps do 5 burpees …probably 40 burpees completed

    COP #1: 

    • Mosey back to the lot and partner up
    • P1 – Burpee Broad Jumps
    • P2 – runs to end of lot and back to switch with partner
    • Continue switching until end of lot

    COP #2:

    • Mosey to the tennis courts
    • TRIPLE CHECK
    • P1 – Chainsmokers
    • P2 – No Cheat Mericans
    • P3 – Runs courts perimenter

    COP #3:

    • Moseyrama to big center lot
    • BOOYAH CATERPILLAR:
    • Partners face each other in plank lined up on adjoining parking spaces
    • While partners do Booyah Mericans, last pair box jumps the planking PAX to the end
    • Traverse Lot

    COP #4:

    • Mosey to THE WALL:
    • Hoedowns x20 IC
    • Dirty Hookups x10 IC (ea side)
    • Donkey Kickoffs – up to 15

    COP #5:

    • Back to the main center lot
    • ESCALATOR 4 CORNERS:
    • Add reps sequentially at each corner
    • C1 – x5 Burpees
    • C2 – add x10 WWII’s
    • C3 – add x20 Jump Squats
    • C4 – add x40 Flutters (2-ct)
    • REVERSO, hitting C3-C1 again

    COP #6:

    • Mosey onto the baseball field
    • TUNNEL OF FUDGE:
    • PAX line up with partners back to back in Peoples Chair
    • Last pair Army Crawl through tunnel and reform back to back at the end
    • Traverse Field

    COP #7:

    • Mosey back to the bball court
    • FIVE MINUTES OF MARY:
    • American Hammers
    • Rosalita Dips
    • Oblique LBC’s – ea side
    • Alabama Prom Dates
    • Starfish Crunches

    COT:

    • Counterama # 17
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • YHC took the PAX out in Prayer

    NMS:  SOJ shows UP ya’ll. Way to take that beatdown in stride fellas. And welcome to STEAMER from New England – TClaps to Melville/WetBandit/Deepdish for headlocking him out. Let’s keep the Rockwood Momentum going at win that Jan 1 Convergence Q! Yours, DTH

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

    • Shoe Drive! Bring extra/old shoes to DTH
    • 12/9 Magnum PI at Dogpile

    Prayer Requests:

    • Florence – hip pain
    • Machismo – shoulder injury

  • Virginia was the first(even Kennedy admits it)

    So a disclaimer….it’s taught that the Pilgrims in MA. were the first to celebrate Thanksgiving, yet at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia, 38 settlers came here, part of their charter was to give a day of thanks(hence the history is Virginia is the first to celebrate the holiday). President Kennedy 11/5/63 proclaimed that both states are great, yet Virginia was the first(so those in Massachusetts or the New England area we have that). President Lincoln was the president to declare it a national holiday in 1863. I have more little tidbits to come….here’s the main part

    We had a great crowd of 32(range in age from 9 to 70) come out for my VQ with a convergence(the biggest one I lead so far was 18 but this was huge, which I hope will lead to me leading bigger ones down the road). The start, everyone met in the parking lot of Mary Mumford Elementary(I did a little walk thru prior to make sure I had an idea what I wanted), once we took off to the black top of 50 states for a WARMARAMMA(SSHs, Don Quixtoes, Helicopters, Cherry Pickers, Copperhead Squats, Merkins, LBCs, Alabama Prom Dates). Once that was completed, over to the big field for 11s(my 11s consisted of Mike Tysons(aka Beast) Merkins and Breakdancer(leg drives thru to each side). 11 trees out in the field, able to finish it off in 1 fail swoop.

    Part 2….four corners(non ladies of the evening) style. 25 Supermans, 50 Carolina Dry Docks, 75 Monkey Humpers, 100 2-count flutter kicks(the only thing now looking back at it, I would have reverse the movement from one corner to another where the long sides bear crawl, the short lunges). It still taxes the body, everyone finished then it was back to the 50 states.

    Part 3….triple check(remember the wall is not a person). People’s chair, Jump squats, run to the fence and back(same deal there I would have made one tweak with the run, bernie back but i was in full workout mode so I am not changing

    Part 4….Dora(classic style) 100 Merkins, 200 squats, 300 LBCs(with the run around the full area with the courts. I have to admit that worked out great with the distance of the run, it really stretched things out

    Final little bit…floor sprints(quick round of 10) it was finished. Numbers, names(intro for an FNG who was our youngest) prayer lead by YHC to close it out(then hang-out time and snacks thanks to Heist and Bodos)

    Welcome Happy(Wilson called him Chubbs) the one that Jaws played(Richard Kiel) in Happy Gilmore was Mr. Larson(had the nail in his head). A lot of energy try to chase him down a few times. Pigskin who is someone I need to bring with to a Spartan race I know he was in it when he’s counting in German(he’s ready to go). Overall guys, thanks for the opportunity to lead this

    So a couple of fun facts….favorite side dish for Virginia on Thanksgiving(Mac and Cheese), now an interesting one was Texas with chicken spaghetti(no idea). I have a lot of more workouts, different ideas planned I haven’t really cracked open things that I have to use(trust me when it happens and probably soon you will be going oh boy). One goal I have and I need to upgrade a couple of things is be able to publish backblasts quicker(I need to upgrade my Ipad and add a keyboard so example on Saturdays at Starbucks, I can knock it out then be done. Workouts I am going to be leading more next month, look at the schedule hit some spots that I haven’t been at for a while(6-8 is a reasonable number) close out 2023, get ready for 2024

    Have a good one, see you tomorrow at Rock n Roll

  • Gratitude: The Non-Hallmark Card Type

    8 men answer the 530a Monday call to get after it despite the mid 30s temperature and thanksgiving week get out of jail card. Always inspired by their commitment to push themselves and thankful for the opportunity to lead this group of men. 

    Q shared his perspective on gratitude and the humbling year that was 2023. Pushed PAX to dig deep this week on uncovering what we’re really grateful for and to separate that from the surface level, holiday card version of what we mean when we’re grateful. 

    For me, it’s the fact that my youngest, Liv (1), is alive today. It’s for my health. It’s for my marriage not only suriving, but thriving, in a pediatric terminal illness diagnosis when data suggests otherwise. And, it’s for meeting this inspiring group of men when I needed them most. F3 has been a boon in what can best be summarized as a traumatic year for me. With those challenges comes transformation, and while it wasn’t a fair trade, I’m a better version of myself because of all of it and to put a positive spin on it, after surviving that, nothing can shake me moving forward.

    Here’s what went down:

    Warm up — @ Alamo

    • Circle up
      • Side Straddle hop — 15x
      • Dead man hang. C, L, R 
      • Don Quixote — 10x
      • On your six, Roscoe’s mom
        • History lesson, heist 
        • Leg over body 
      • On your six, leg to chest, L/R
    • Mosey to Rankin Drive

    Blimps

    Thing 1 — B.L.I.M.P.S (Rankin Dr)

    • B – Burpees 15x
    • L – Lunges 20x (single count)
    • I – Imperial Walkers 25x
    • M – Merkins (no cheat) 30x
    • P – Plank Jacks 35x
    • S – Squats 40x

    Plank for the 6, hold — right/left/regular, drop to low hold, recover

    Line up — run aheads to Endstone trail 

    Thing 2 — DORA Abs Verison @ Run past goal, to stop (Endstone Trail) sign/end of street and back 

    • American Hammers 50x
    • LBCs 100x
    • Heels to Heaven 150x

    Line up — run aheads to Litton Dr

    Gratitude mosey — stop half way for real talk with the men

    Thing 3 — DORA (Litton Dr)

    • Runner around cul de sac 
    • Carolina Dry Docks 50x
    • Jump Squats 100x
    • SSH 50x

    Line up — mosey back to The Alamo

    Thing 4 — Ring of fire choice of merkin x10 

    COT — @ Alamo

    • Announcements
      • Heist Kettlebell Q tomorrow 
      • Thanksgiving Bootcamp @ MM, 6a
    • Prayer requests
      • Wildfires
    • Bring it in

  • Taking a ride down Route 66

    10 Fearless men turned out this morning for a nice morning ride down Route 66….Here is how it went down.

    Mosey to the other side of the horseshoe for a warmup- helicopters, dead man hang, imperial walkers, merkins, LBCs

    mosey over to the tennis court for a 4 corners (prostitute style) – 10 mountain climbers, 20 merkins, 30 monkey humpers, 40 freddie mercury

    Then off to Route 66- run around the neighborhood with a burpee at the first intersection and adding another burpee at the next…..we traveled past 11 intersections with increasing burpees for a total of 66 burpees. there were no pit stops on route 66 and Wildcat was our pace car so we crushed this!!

    back to the clubhouse for a dora- 50 carolina dry docks, 100 high knees, 150 LBC

    finished the time off with a 4 corners around the parking lot ( prostitute style) – 10 LBC, 20 Squats, 30 heels to heaven , 40 box cuttters

    Time called.

    announcements- meals for shaw shank, thanksgiving Q, breaking bread

    Wildcat took us out in prayer

    Thanks to the group. always an honor to lead this group of guys who are pushing to better themselves every day.

  • The Adventures of the Nipple Ring Posse

    With the upcoming race and ruck over the weekend, YHC had advertised a Recovery Day at Twin Team. No burpees, no hand release merkins…….but we still managed to put in some work. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    To the Circle for Warm up:
    Side Straddle Hops, Arm Circles, Imperial Walkers, LBC’s, Alabama Prom Dates, (S)Crunchy Frogs, Shoulder Taps.

    Mosey the long way to the Track. PAX got to call out a 50 count ab exercise: LBC’s while in route.

    At the track: 50 Flutter Kicks followed by a couple of Hundred Meter Leg warm-ups: Can Openers, Butt Kicks, High Knees


    2 x 200 meters. Jog the curve, Striders down the straight away.

    Appalachian Lunge Walk in between the sets, plus 50 WWII Sit ups.

    50 count Suzanne Somers (RIP)

    Mosey to the back of the parking lot: 7 hill repeats followed by 50 Peter Parkers. Bear Crawl up the last hill.

    Back to the Flag for 5 minutes of Broga: Focused on hips and hamstrings.

    Numbers/Names/Announcements/Prayer Requests

    YHC took us out

    Final Thoughts: Enjoyed the workout this morning! Doozy is running the full marathon tomorrow and Don Draper (and others) are in the half – good luck to all! There was also a lot of buzz about the Ruck for Food – see slack for details. The backblast title is kind of a long story………

    SYITG

  • VQ=Done

    11 PAX gathered at the Old Hundred Racetrack to help keep me on track for my VQ.   Missed a few counts and the order of closing, but after 8 month, VQ=Done.  First time in 8-months I have seen a warm up that had no mosey or SSH- Hope they don’t kick me out :).  

    Warm Up:  Imperial Walkers, Cherry Pickers, Arm Stretches x 2 way, Don Quyotes, Merkins, LBC-

    COP 1: Kettlebell carry around the racetrack and stopped at each light pole.  Stop1-10 Kettlebell Curls, Stop2- 20 Kettlebell Squats, Stop3- 30 Kettlebell Skull crushers, Stop4- 40 Kettlebell Lunge, Stop5-40 Kettlebell Curls, Stop6- 30 Kettlebell Squats, Stop7- 20 Kettlebell Skull crushers, Stop8- 10 Kettlebell Lunge

    COP2. 11’s- Kettlebell Plank pull-throughs with Kettlebell Bench Press

    COP3. Triple Check- Kettlebell Swings, Kettlebell side bends, and runner went between light poles. 

    COP4. Another Kettlebell carry around the racetrack and stopped at each light pole.  Stop1-10 Kettlebell Swings, Stop2- 20 Kettlebell Alen Iversons, Stop3- 30 Kettlebell Lawnmowers, Stop4- 40 Kettlebell Overhead press, Stop5-40 Kettlebell Swings, Stop6- 30 Kettlebell Alen Iversons, Stop7- 20 Kettlebell Lawnmowers, Stop8- 10 Kettlebell Overhead press

    Numbers, Names, Announcements & Prayers to include Vagabond and his family as they start the next chapter in their life and everyone during this election day.   

    Thank you everyone for this opportunity and allowing me to lead us out in a prayer my M and I say with our kids EVERYDAY.  Teach them young to pray and communicate with other- we all need help others from time to time-set that good example.    

    Stark Family Morning Prayer:

    Jesus, we want to thank you for all these great gifts you have given us, especially the gift of life.

    We pray that as we journey today that you journey with us; as we walk you walk by our side to help guide me us and lead us. 

    We pray that you help us to find our words so that we know what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. 

    We pray that you help us to treat others with kindness and respect, the way we want to be treated. 

    We pray that if something happens today that you give us the strength and courage to tell mommy or daddy or the teachers. 

    We pray that you help us to grow happy, healthy, gentle, and kind, and to be good listeners and to do your will. 

    Amen. 

    God is good. God is great. Let us have an Awesome day. 

  • If you can VQ for 70, you can Q for 9

    If you have never had the pleasure of having your balls busted by Heist then shame on you! He spent 3 months busting YHC’s balls earlier in the year to join F3 and then every day after YHC’s VQ (9/16) to pick up another Q. If you can VQ for 70 PAX members, you can Q for 9 Pax members, so get your ass on the sign-up sheet is what I vaguely remember him telling me. Well, the ball busting ended today! Q taken and workout ready to go, until a PAX member (won’t mention names Warby) reached out and asked if there was a lot of running. YHC woke up at 12:30 AM and 2:30 AM to change things up a bit to accommodate for the 5-6 week lingering coughers. Here is what went down:

    Warm Up: Mosey to the Graythorne entrance and back to the Alamo for the following exercises: SSH x 15, Imperial Walkers x 12, Arm Stretches x 4 way, Merkins x 10, Seated Butterfly Stretch, Freddie Mercuries x 15

    COP 1: Parking lot curb block walks with Merkin between blocks traveling both right and left while 1 PAX member at a time runs loop around the Alamo. Performed curb block walks until each member circled the Alamo once. This burned the chest/shoulders way more than it seemed like it would at 12:30 AM.

    COP 2: Partner up for Dora without running? – 100 Crab Walk Single Leg Extensions (2 count), 200 Box Cutters, 300 Ball Dippers: Partner 1 performs Dora exercises while partner 2 performs 7 Burpees – switch until exercises complete.

    COP 3: Mosey to front of the Alamo for a Triple Check – Squats, WWIIs and runner up the hill to the Graythorne entrance.

    COP 4: Mosey to the tennis courts for 4 corners: 1st Corner x 10 Carolina Dry Docks, 2nd Corner x 20 LBCs, 3rd Corner x 30 Mountain Climbers (announced single count, Wildcat requested double count, ask and he shall receive), 4th Corner x 40 Calf Raises with Raise the Roof.

    Mosey back to the parking lot to circle up for ring of fire stretches for last few minutes.

    Numbers, Names, Announcements & Prayers to include continued recovery from cardiac surgery for Warby’s father, Hermes surgery this coming Thursday and YHC’s coworker who just lost her mother to battle with cancer.

    Thanks to all that showed up today and hope to see more of you out there this week. In all seriousness, the ball busting was completely worth it. I appreciate Heist getting me out there and introducing me to a great group of guys and a way to better myself physically, mentally and emotionally. You can’t help others fill their cup if yours is empty and the fitness, fellowship and faith sure has kept my cup overflowing! It was an honor to lead the group today and look forward to many more.

  • The Fence is Your Friend

    12 SOJ all-stars gathered in the chilly gloom for the latest edition of Rock N Roll. The following is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to the parking lot for Warmarama:
    LBC’s, Freddy Mercuries, Alabama Prom Dates, American Hammers, Dead Man Hang AND Forward Straddle Hops, Mario Jumps, Karaoke, Walking Knee Pulls, Mummy Kicks all across the parking lot.

    Mosey to the back of the baseball fence for Exercise One: 100 Chain Smokers. Stop when the first man hits 100 (Florence).

    To the Baseball Outfield for Exercise Two: 7’s (kind of like 11’s); Chicken Peckers and Donkey Kicks. Run along the outfield fence in between sets.

    Mosey to the back Parking Lot for Exercise Three:
    Triple Check – Run down the hill and back, Merkins, Jump Squats.

    To the Pull Up Bars for Exercise Four: Circuit – do in any order:
    10 Burpees, 20 Hanging Knee Raises, 30 Hand Release Merkins, 40 WWII Situps, 50 Dips.

    Back to the Parking Lot for Exercise 5: Crab walk across the parking lot.

    To the Flag for 2 minutes of Monkey Humpers

    Numbers/Names/Announcements/Prayer Requests

    YHC took us out

    Final Thoughts: Great group this morning! First time really feeling the fingers freezing – especially during the Chicken Peckers. We had a random Michigan fan pop in during the circuit and trash talk Big Rig. He did not appear overly interested in coming out for a workout, unfortunately. What I love about Rock N Roll is that it has developed an amazing core of PAX who are very consistent. As always, it was a great honor to lead. Happy upcoming birthday to POSH!

    SYITG