04/06/2021 - Dark Tower - OCR training Day two . . . GET A GRIP
AO: Dark Tower
When: 04/06/2021
PAX:
Number of Pax: 17
Pax Names: Augustus Gloop, Bongo, Columbus, Dabo, Dingo, Fathom, Harbaugh, Hootie, Mellencamp, Radio Flyer, Shirley Temple, Sparky, Townie, Wide Right,
DR Names:
Number of FNGS: 2
FNG Names: bassmaster, bear spray
QIC: Wine in A Box
Introduction
Please add Bear Spray and Bassmaster to the directory.
Day two of OCR training.
When I did my first OCR the first thing that failed was my grip. I had no idea how much forearm and finger strength played into being successful at obstacles. So . . . lets do a grip-centric beatdown.
After some unwanted and unsolicited masturbation tips from Wide Right on the pre-blast, We had a great crew assembled.
I scouted Dark Tower to get inspired for exercises and what we would be doing. But whenn I was setting up this morning, a guy in a carryall from the parks district drove around in a freaking HAZMAT suit and started spraying some toxic chemical in the tree I had tested for the rope climb.
Ummmm WTF dude. Not cool.
Harbaugh came jogging down to help set up (because he is an awesome site Q) and we picked out another tree. Getting close to 5:10 . . . so lets get back to the parking lot and light this candle . .
Warm-O-Rama
15 SSH
10 Abe Vigodas
10 arm circles.
The Thang
THANG ONE
- Count off by FOURS. PAX had trouble with this. Thankfully we soldiered on. We would stick with these teams of 4 for the rest of the beatdown.
- Mosey with coupon to bridge.
- 5 pull ups on beams. self-spotted if necessary.
THANG 2
Mosey to field facing Dark Tower. In teams of 4, do the following DORA
Partner 1- Box jumps at base of dark tower until sandbag partner arrives
Partner 2- by the cafe, pick up a sandbag and run to the guy doing box jumps. Box jump partner runs sandbag back to the cafe.
Partner 3- Coupon Goblet squats until sandbag gets back, then rotate to . .
Partner 4- Coupon curl to press (amrap style) until taking sandbag and running back to base of tower.
two full rotations . . then plank for the 6.
THANG 3
Back to the bridge
- Wheelbarrow races across the bridge, switch with your partner and come back.
- “Parkour” across the bridge. using the railings, you cant touch the ground, only shuffle along the railings while holding on for dear life.
- Come back on the same side you were on for the opposite direction.
- Monkey hang. (each team gets on a beam, and does a monkey hang until there is one man left standing “bassmaster won”. Once eliminated hold plank.
- Then go to the ropes with large knots hanging from the crossbeams. Only holding the knots, each team would take a turn until one team won. (big forearm burn)
THANG 4
- mosey to a big tree by the quarry pond
- I set up an 15-18 foot rope climb. Each PAX would try to climb it. PAX watching were doing a combination of lunges, bobby hurleys and squats. (Harbaugh, Bongo and Hootie all got to the top)
Grab your coupon and mosey over the hill back to the parking lot
- Grab a chunk of conduit (I didnt have enough) Do reverse grip coupon curls. 12 reps.
- “Can openers”. Holding the thick middle part of your coupon, bend over at the waist and do five rotations all the way to the left and all the way to right. Switch hands and repeat. (holy crap forearms at this point)
Then some MARY
Circle of Trust
CoT was about how important grip is to OCR training. Grip is also intensely taxing mentally. The will to hold on and not drop will test you, and see how far you can push yourself. Forearms and grip strength are rarely a focus of workouts, as we stick to large muscle groups and full body movements. But today was about OCR. Fantastic push by everyone today, and thank you for coming out. If my fat ass can do Frontline OCR last fall, then everyone here can too. SIGN UP!
Naked Man Moleskin
I do love me some Dark Tower . . . great group of guys and great push today. We used a lot of muscles that arent normally the focus, and everyone should be feeling this later. Definitely stretch your forearms and shoulders out today!
A few call outs . . .
- Harbaugh, Bongo and Hootie are animals on the rope climb. really fantastic job!
- Dabo . . . stop taking my coupon . . . WTF.
- Sparky . . . your form on the rope was breathtaking to behold. really inspirational.
- Bear Spray, great to meet you!
- Bassmaster, great to meet you, and you dominated the dead hangs today!!
- Shirley Temple, thanks for helping break everything down afterward! Great to post with you!
- Fathom- come a long way in a short period of time. Great push today!
- Dingo, Radio . . . We all need some more work on that rope. Me especially.
- Wide Right, you were sweating way more than normal. I dont know if that was because you were overdressed or you liked the workout. Id like to think it was the latter . . .
- Mellencamp . . the ONLY Pax that attended both OCR Qs so far!!!! BIG PROPS!
- Townie . . . always smiling. You are a goddamn ray of sunshine my friend.
- Columbus- Why do you bellow COLUMbus? Whats the significance? For real . . .
- Augustus Gloop. Nothing seems to faze you at Qs. I feel like you could do a 7 pack of black diamonds in a week at this point . . . something for the rest of us to work towards.
- Harbaugh- Great site Q! Pictures, Video, and the set up ahead of time was greatly appreciated. Clear that Saturday morning for OCR my friend . . . you would KILL that course!
I originally thought we would all get incredibly sick and die from the toxic spray from the park district. That was unplanned and unnerving.
Onto Day three . . . .