06/04/2021 - The Launch Pad - BackBlast
AO: The Launch Pad
When: 06/04/2021
PAX:
Number of Pax: 8
Pax Names: Belichick, Cupcake, Drago, Face Plant, Glass Joe, Mia Hamm, Nacho Libre, Twinning,
DR Names:
Number of FNGS: 0
FNG Names:
QIC: Buttermaker
Introduction
PreBlast
LAUNCHPAD
Friday, 6/4/2021 at 5:15 AM
If you like Bear Crawls, Merkins, Renegade Rows, and Sprints, join us at the LAUNCHPAD tomorrow ITG.
If you don’t like any of the above, MODIFY all you want!
Bring Coupons (if you have extra Coupons, please bring an extra Coupon).
Warm-O-Rama
Reach for the sky and touch your toes stretch
Crouch as low as you can go
Knee to elbow twist stretch in cadence
Grab Coupons and head to the football field
The Thang
Thang 1
Bear Crawl from the 50 yard line to the Goal Line. Every 10 yards, we’d pause, hold plank and do a number of Merkins, rotate clockwise from 12 O’clock to 3’Oclock, do a couple more Merkins, rotate to 6 O’clock, etc… By the time we reached the Goal Line, we’d done 30 Merkins.
On to the Coupons- Renegade Rows with Coupons- 8/6/4/2 with each arm. I recommend Renegade Rows using Coupons- it is a great exercise for the back and you really feel it in the forearms. We did a total of 20 Rows for each arm, we probably could have repeated that routine to get the full benefit of the exercise. I hope it was a good introduction to an exercise not done very often.
10 Consecutive Broad Jumps from the Goal Line. Each HIM marked the yard line they made it to on their 10th Broad Jump. Everyone sprinted from the yard line they jumped to back to the Goal Line. We ran 4 of these sprints. The farther you jumped on the Broad Jumps, the farther you had to sprint. I believe Mia Hamm and Nacho Libre had the longest sprints… serves you two right for being more athletic than the rest of us! Chumps!
Thang 2
Sprinting routine.
We split into two teams of 4 and 5 (the team of 5 had 2 guys run together, Glass Joe and I ran together)
Each team sent two of the PAX to opposite Goal Lines. Each team sent the 1st HIM to sprint 100 yards, once the first HIM reached the opposite Goal Line, the 2nd HIM started his Sprint, and so on until each teammate completed the 100 yard sprint. Each HIM then moved the starting line in 10 yards to make it an 80 yard sprint and we repeated the above process, then we moved it in another 10 yards on each side to make the next sprint a 60 yard sprint, and finally we did a 40 yard sprint.
Then… we repeated the above.
Thang 3
I found a neck strengthening routine that requires no weights or resistance. It was created by some guy who has a Jailhouse Strong web site. Check it out- he has a lot of exercises on his web site that could be incorporated into F3 workouts.
We rotated the neck exercise with calf raises
Mary: We did a Hollow Hold for 4 minutes with a few breaks.
Closed it out by carrying the Coupons back to the parking lot.
Circle of Trust
Running long distances is not for me, but I can run sprints (what I call sprints). Earlier this week, I found a running routine on-line that uses a sprinting routine in an attempt to give the benefit of gained endurance one gets from running long distances.
I attempted an abbreviated form of this running routine today during Thang 2. I hope everyone got something out of that routine.
We’ve all been hoping to open back up and get back to normal… It’s happening, people are going back to their offices full time, they are traveling for work for the first time in several months, families with school age children are getting back into that little league grind (kids who began to get used to sitting down for leisurely family dinners are going back to “normal”- wolfing down Hot Pockets as they are being hurried in the back of the minivan to a double header). Welcome back to normalcy.
Don’t forget that we are in the sweet spot of the year- between Memorial Day and Labor Day. As we dive head first back into the grind, please try to take time to recall a moment in each day that brought you joy. Whether your son or daughter is the kid who hit a home run, or if your kid is the one who ran the wrong way on the bases, find the joy in that moment. We are in the best time of the year- remember that and seek the joy in each day.
Naked Man Moleskin
Each Thang we did today was something I’ve never done in F3 before and I couldn’t have asked for a better crew to try out all of these new routines.
Mia Hamm was the site Q and he couldn’t have been better, from bringing and extra Coupon and the speaker to provide tunes, to keeping me in line and on pace throughout the workout and through the CoT and Name-o-Rama. He and Cupcake are two kind souls and they set a great vibe at the LaunchPad. For those who don’t get out to the LaunchPad often, I strongly recommend this AO, if for no other reason than the company.
I have no idea how he got the name Cupcake in F3, but it’s fitting. Think about any time you walk into a party and you see cupcakes on display- you’re instantly delighted. That is exactly how everyone feels every time Cupcake shows up for an AO- pure delight- great dude and always the most chilled out guy around.
I would bet Nacho Libre is in the absolute top percentage for overall fitness in all of F3, but he simply has no peer when it comes to mumblechatter! Every morning ITG is a million times better when he shows up.
Once again, Glass Joe and I found each other when two guys had to pair up for running. Glass Joe and I are kindred spirits and no one can convince me otherwise. I always hitch my wagon to Glass Joe because he is the perfect combination of being a hilarious guy who, somehow, simultaneously pushes himself and everyone around him throughout each workout. I am not sure how he pulls that off, but it’s impressive.
Belichick. That really is all I should have to say: Belichick. I am always pleased to note how many great guys I come across in F3, but Belichick is to class acts as Nacho Libre is to mumblechatter.
Drago is more machine than man. He always seems to be as happy to see everyone as everyone always is to see him. Some of the HIMs today, including yours truly, were a little gassed after the sprints, Drago looked like he was just getting warmed up.
Twinning and I always seem to be on the same page. I don’t know if we share a similar demeanor, or the fact that we are around the same age, but I can always count on Twinning to shoot me a look that says something like- “This is crazy and we have no business doing this but we’ll get through it.” He truly leads by example as much as any other HIM in F3- soldier on, we’re all in this together. There’s always an extra sense of togetherness whenever he shows up to an AO.
Face Plant has done as much as anyone for the overall wellbeing of the all the men of F3. He has taught countless guys the proper, most efficient way to do many workouts- he singlehandedly led a great number of HIMs through a workout routine for the first several weeks of the lockdown last spring. From what I can tell, he put F3 on his shoulders and carried us through March and April of 2020. He does all of this while being one of the most jovial and happy-go-lucky guys in F3. I always have a great time hanging out with Face Plant, whether it’s during the workout or at Coffeeteria.
We obviously had a great crew out at LaunchPad today- I don’t get out to weekday AOs as often as I’d like, but every time I do get out ITG, I have a great time.