Last Saturday, YHC moved from Chatham county closer to the center of the Carpex universe, going from 0 AOs* within an EC-able 3-mile radius to approximately half of all the AOs in Carpex (or as HK calls it, the Nation). What better way to move in, meet new Pax, and ensure that YHC wakes up and works out each day instead of sleeping in on a week off than to Q every day at a Cary AO?
* Alas, excluding pop-up AOs, which I’m very sad to no longer be near The Board Meeting.
Monday, August 2 @Kryptonite (Hi-Tempo)
The EC Pax apparently were enjoying the cooler morning so much, they almost missed the workout. When life hands you tardies, make ’em do burpees, as the F3 saying goes.
Warmup: Loop around lot for ECers. Don Quixotes, TIE fighters fwd, OH claps, TIE fighters bkwd.
Travelling burpees for the penalty on the way to the big parking lot.
Thang 1: Double 7 merkins. Hand-release on one side, regular in the middle, and wide-grip at the far side. Alternate between forwards and backwards jogs. 7*12 = 84 total merkins for those wondering. Does not count for merkin challenge because interrupted.
Thang 2: Agility drills. Skiiers to first island. Broad jumps to next island. Sprint to last island. Turn around and do another drill. Typewriters to first island, then switch sides to next. Carioca and switch sides to next two islands. Sprint to last island. Rinse and repeat.
Thang 3: Pearls on a String Mary. Stop at various intervals on the lake trail back to do an ab exercise: V situps, LBCs, merkins, monkey humpers, sprints, American hammers, heel taps, hillbilly rockettes, bear crawls, Michael Phelps, shoulder taps, calf and runner stretches.
COT: Check the monthly newsletter for service opps and events. Cards for Grease Monkey in South Africa.
Story time, so YHC found Carpex searching for gyms via Google Maps, and Kryptonite was the place that popped up. I wondered, what sort of gym is at the Koka Booth? When I found the website, I saw that Kryptonite was something called a "hi-tempo" so I didn’t post there and haven’t posted at a hi-tempo since (excluding when Qs like Squatter or Prodigal come to the bootcamps!)…after moving so close by, I thought that this would be a nice challenge for myself to start off a tour of the local AOs and meet the Pax out here. Thanks for the opportunity to lead!
Tuesday, August 3 @Claymore (Limited Run, Maximum Suck, Good Coffee, Questionable Company)
When asked for the preblast what the plan was, YHC had merkins and nothing else. Skipper rebranded this as a "super secret plan," and my mind leapt to secret agents action flicks and Fight Club. And thus, the idea for an MMA Q was born. At least we will assuredly check the questionable company box.
Warmup: Bear crawl to start. TIE fighters fwd, OH clap, Michael Phelps, Good mornings, TIE fighters rev. Grab two light rocks to close, then walk to the tennis court.
Thang 1: Clock merkins. 3 rounds to hit 96 (exceeding the merkin challenge count for the day). For a description of how these work, see YHC’s previous Piranha Park backblast.
Thang 2: MMA kickboxing. Are you ready to rumble? Or at least to look ridiculous? Feet shoulder width apart, staggered stance (left leg forward), and keep moving around the whole time. 3 rounds for an AO-KO (hey ohhh).
Round 1: Basic moves: YHC calls out a move (or number), and the Pax monkey-see-monkey-do. 1 is a jab with left hand, 2 is jab with right, 3 is like a side swipe with left, and 4 is a power side swipe with right. Whe
- 1 (left arm jab)
- 2 (right arm cross)
- 3 (left arm hook)
- 4 (right arm cross hook)
- Uppercut (use your legs!)
- Front kick (same leg as you punched with)
- Switch kick (jump to switch foreleg, then kick)
- Low kick, then high kick
- High knee
- Duck (squat)
Intermission: Walking around court while doing rock exercises like overhead press, tricep extensions, curls, flies, etc.
Rounds 2 and 3 integrated in:
- Square shuffles
- Sprawls (like a burpee without the jump)
- Plank typewriters
- High plank crossover toe touches
- Squat plus punchout
COT: 10 Pax, a couple respects and an honor. Prayers & Praises for the slate of upcoming events and service projects, as well as for Pinto’s 43rd wedding anniversary and another grandchild, and the Kotsch family health issues.
Wednesday, August 4 @Point Break (Bootcamp)
YHC did some site recon by hitting up Shake Shack the day before; a Q’s gotta do what a Q’s gotta do.
Warmup: Good mornings, Michael Phelps, Windmills, OH claps, Water Wheels (homage to the water fountain at Waverly, not particularly well-received, I might add), Seal claps.
Thang 1: Four Corner Merkins: Corner 1 for 10 diamond merkins, Corner 2 for 20 werkins, Corner 3 for 30 merkins, Corner 4 for 40 plank pulses. You can do A-Team next Monday.
Thang 2: The Fifth Leg. Mosey to the courtyard and partner up for five rounds of leg work.
| Round | Partner 1 Leg work | Partner 2 run pickle |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulgarian split squats | Bear crawl up and down the staircases |
| 2 | Single leg deadlift, finish with toe on top of ledge | Crab crawl up and down the staircases |
| 3 | Step downs | Paula Abduls up and down the staircases (2 steps forward, 1 step back hot feet) |
| 4 | Step ups | Backwards run, being careful on the staircases |
| 5 | Sumo squats | 5 burpees at the top |
No time for Mary 🙁
COT: 14 Cleavers and 10 bootcampers, a couple respects amongst us. Be sure to sign up for the F3 10 year anny so we can pelt the N’antans with water balloons. TCP this Sunday, Chaingang the 21st. Prayers and praises for Track Star’s M’s friend’s progress through her separation and custody battles.
Thursday, August 5 @Bradford’s Ordinary (Bootcamp)
Somehow, this was YHC’s first time at the premiere BO in the nation. Great site! Nothing like exercising in a downtown. It was getting to the point in the week where YHC was a little tired of running, and so the idea for a strength-focused routine was born. Apparently many others had a similar idea, since more than half the people at the flag broke off to ruck or otherwise muck around.
Warmup: At the bank: SSH, Imperial Walkers, TIE fighters forwards, Seal Claps, TIE fighters backwards, Good mornings.
Thang 1: At parking lot by the police station, 96 merkins.
Thang 2: Mall walking painstick DORA. Mosey to the parking deck to retrieve the painsticks. Partner 1 mall walks down the deck and back, mixing up how you carry and how you walk (e.g., backwards and rifle carry or side shuffle and overhead carry). Partner 2 knocks out AMRAP for 100 overhead presses, 200 rows, 300 bench presses, and 400 curls. Most agreed curls are not a good idea with painsticks; just awkward to hold on to.
1 of 5 teams completed the rounds before we had to return back to base. Got to the flag just in time, depending on how quick you ran…sorry guys.
COT: 21 Pax total, various bruisers and ruckers and 10 boot campers, with 15 TTT participants. TCP this Sunday. Prayers (and cards) for Grease Monkey. Get your cards to Ma Long Bell by this Monday.
Friday, August 6 @Slippery When Wet (Bootcamp, off-the-record hi-tempo)
Having been tipped off (see Pigpen’s backblast) that SWW has a somewhat slippery definition of bootcamp that is more like a hi-tempo, YHC planned out a running-heavy Q that would also build in some stretching and abs, since I’ve shorted those muscles in the week so far. Bit surprised at the turnout (22 Pax); I guess even a full week of Clockwork Qs can’t deter these high impact men.
Thang 1: 97 Merkin Challenge. Crowd pleaser for sure. At least it was on the soft playground.
Thang 2: Catch me if you can: At the Long Branch pond, 5 high jumps or 10 single-legged deadlifts when your partner get caught. Thanks to the Pax who led Mary while we picked up the six.
Thang 3: Something about Mary 7’s: Backwards run up the slight incline off Kildaire Farm between Lochmere and the greenway while partner does AMRAP abs (LBCs, Hammers, Penguins).
Thang 4: Vanilla run along the greenway back to the flag. A few abs and some stretches to wrap things up.
COT: 22 Pax, including I believe 3 honors and 4 respects! No hates, not anymore. TCP this Sunday, Chaingang the 21st, and 2nd F lunch next Tuesday. Praises for brother’s recovery from surgery, prayers for Yogi’s son’s MIL’s amputation and caregivers.
NMS
Bootcamper rollcall: All Ours, Antique, Augmented, Bagels, Bartman, Bañjo, Bluewater, Breezy, Build-a-Bear, Cauliflower, Chanticleer, Chipper, Chops, Clockwork, Decal, Denali, Entitlement, Foie Gras, François, GTL, Higgins, HoppinJohn, IC Lite, Imp, Joe Smith, Kermit, Kitty Litter, Kwik Stop, Largemouth, Loom, Mayflower, Memento, Peaches, Pineapple, Pinto, Repeato, Saban, Shipyard, Skipper, Staubach, Steaks, Term Paper, Thurston, Vegemite, VHS, Viewmaster, Voltron, Wonderbread, Yogi
Summative comments:
- The weather was unbelievably crisp, in the first week of August no less. Truly glorious.
- So far in my humble experience, B.O. has the most hospitable Site Q in Cary. Servant leadership and F3 camaraderie on full display!
- Speaking of hospitality, YHC appreciated the free trunk coffeeteria every day of the week. Not sure you could swing that in POGL…but Wahoo & WWW are tryin’ at Cornerstone.
- The CAR- folks of the Carpeckers really love their spin-offs…most days the number of Pax breaking off to ruck or run outnumbered the bootcampers. This has never happened in my experience in the Peak of Good Living…too busy paddling on the lake or swinging around sledgehammers to share a site, I guess.
- Might be BRR-related, but the CAR folks also really like their ECs; almost every day there were 5+ out there getting at it.
- It was a pleasure to lead and meet so many new HIMs. If I missed you from the Pax list of bootcampers in this backblast, please let me know and YHC will be happy to correct it.
Day-by-day quotables and notables:
- Monday: The best time for a first-time hi-tempo Q might be after Chanticleer leads the Beige Bro’s & friends on a coming-in-hot new EC 4+ mi route. You might actually keep up for the first thang or two. Also for all the BRR preppers, check out their Beige Ops 50k this Sunday, #carpex-running for more info. You can join for any part you want, 9-10min pace, they launch at 0400 so do the math and see where you want to join!
- Tuesday: YHC led what was probably the most ridiculous F3 workout I’ve ever participated in, and I truly appreciate the Pax being good sports and rolling with the punches. And if you attended and are reading this, yes, I am not above reusing a stale joke.
- Wednesday: Thurston suggested we do an F3 agility week, focusing on form and exercises meant to quicken us up. Sounds like a good idea to YHC; anyone else want to Co-Q?
- Thursday: Despite having made the painsticks, it had been a hot minute since Bañjo had done a workout with them. Seemed like there might be a moral to this story…perhaps something like, "You can set it and forget it, but one day it might pop back up and upset you." Best I can do…stay tuned for his launch of a 3rd F stories fellowship this September and I’m sure we’ll learn how to get better at storytelling.
- Friday: Yogi emphasized the importance of safety and picking up the six when participating in an outdoor workout. A good reminder to plan out instructions for what Pax can do if they finish early, building in exercises for others to catch up, and similar things…also good opportunities for other Pax to jump in and lead, which many did this morning, so I appreciate it!
Final call to action: Join us this Monday, August 9th at A-Team to celebrate the end of the #onehundredmerkins challenge.
Well done clockwork. Well done