YHC rolled into the Wynfield Forest parking lot at 0526 on a misty morning in the low 50s. There were several pax already standing around (the sarcastic weasel shaker was not one of them) and I dutifully pointed out that they were all getting a great deal since I was on time today… unlike my Q in August when I showed up 15 minutes late.
At 0530 we moseyed around the corner to the back of the parking lot where we kicked things off with a trio of exercises that are on the endangered list in LKN:
- Hillbilly Storm Troopers x15 IC
- Omaha’s Reverse Squat Folds x 10 IC
- Plank Jacks x15 IC
Jorel joined in mid-warmup and was probably a bit melancholy considering that at my tardy Q six months earlier he had the pleasure of leading with the Matterhorn. With all men present, we took the back entrance to the adjacent cul de sac where YHC tried to lead the men in a quiet SSH x15 IC but Ponch thought waking the neighbors up with his strong baritone voice was the better option.
Needing to leave the scene before the police showed up (SWIDT), we moved to the next intersection and the next phase of the workout. As The Force would say I say, “The rules were simple”®: we were to run to Queen’s Corner where we would do 10 Jack Knife LBCs with one leg extended (or whatever Toxic was doing). Then the pax were to run back the way they came to the furthest driveway on the right where they would do 10 Jack Knife LBCs with the opposite leg extended. Return to Queen’s Corner for 10 more reps on first leg followed by a run to the 4th driveway for 10 on the opposite side. Repeato not once, not twice, but thrice. For those playing at home, we wound up with 50 Jack Knife LBCs on each leg. We added in a few Mason Twists while waiting for everyone to — in Toxic’s vernacular — hurry up.
Next we moseyed Quadrophelia style up the hill towards the pain clock. Ponch opted to run into traffic citing no one would dare crash into a police officer (never mind he wasn’t in uniform), and Frontier graciously offered to run forward to keep an eye out for oncoming vehicles. At the top I was going to do another ladder, but Toxic had already picked out a rock for himself and YHC felt bad — bless his heart — so we all picked up rocks to be proud of and moved to the pain circle.
We completed Squats x10 IC and then walked Zamperini style 3/4 of the way around the circle. Toxic and Frontier tried to outrun each other to the finish line which indicated they needed heavier weights so we rotated 2 rocks to the right before completing Curls x10 IC. There was another Zamperini around 3/4 of the circle followed by new rocks and Overhead Press x10 IC. We repeated the cycle again to do Skull Crushers x10 IC and then once more for — Amen called it — 8-Count Burners x10 IC. We returned our toys to the pile and returned ourselves to Queen’s Corner.
Toxic thought he could read my mind by calling Muhammad Alis but I quickly came up with an alternative plan and went with Freddy Mercury x10 IC instead. Toxic prematurely called Rocky Balboas but YHC went with Merkins x10 IC. This is when Soprano ran through our workout a 2nd time without acknowledging us. I called for a run to the corner by the clubhouse with the promise that if anyone caught up with Soprano we would end the workout early.
At the corner, Soprano was nowhere in sight and so we Lunge Walked to the clubhouse entrance and then circled up for Mary. YHC started things up with 15 WWIIs and then passed the baton to Amen for his standard J-Lo x15 IC. I don’t recall who was next, but Low Flutter x15 IC was the call and then time was up. Regretfully, YHC issued the Recover x2 and moved to CoT.
Ponch tried to get us to laugh at a racist joke, but no one fell for it (we all know he keeps a spare set of handcuffs in his car). We offered prayers for Ruth and Daniel before going around the circle to name a blessing in each man’s life. I thought for sure someone would mention the Q, but in the moment I guess they overlooked the obvious answer. Following the prayer, we dispersed with Holiday rejoining me at Starbuck’s on Gilead for the 2nd half of #TobyTalks. All in all, it was a great morning spent with 10 men eager to get after it. I’m always thankful for the camraderie in the gloom.
MOLESKIN
You’ll have to go back and read the backblast if you want the commentary.