A long overdue Back Blast so my memory from May 16th was initially a bit fuzzy but now it is crystal clear. I did take and run the same routine Wednesday evening and decided I would share the pain on the following morning’s Pax that showed up so what you read here took place on Thursday as well the very next morning.
The weather was clear and cooler than the previous evening’s beating temps and with temps in the low 70s it was very much welcomed. I waited patiently and finally Slater arrived just in time (Thought the morning would be a lonely run for a second there) and then while we stretched Mopar came in hot. So the three of us got ready for the mornings activities. We started with the 5 core principles, disclaimers and then stretched a little more as I felt Deja Vu wash over me as if I had just done this the day before. As the title intends and because both Lurch or LL Bean attended the Light Fighter beatdown and survived well I had already decided as I mentioned earlier that this group downtown would also be either reintroduced (see my VQ Back Blast) or introduced by fire in the early Florida morning.
YHC has already put in a quick 8:24 mile run to get warmed up prior to the Beatdown (starting to become a habit now) so we double time toward the bridge at an unusually fast pace for the other two; caught Mopar by surprise here. We stop at a half way point and go into four count exercises to break the run and let the heartbeat catch up with the breathing. Start with SSH, followed by Strawberry pickers and then Imperial Walkers…25 of each. Double time to the bottom of the bridge and do Windmills, Hilly Billy Walkers, and finish up with Hand release Merkins. Now I explain to them the Thang for the morning. My soon to be famous, may be repeated, and probably duplicated “4x2x5 Bridge Attack” goes like this. As a review, 4×5=20 and 2×5=10, here are rep counts at the designated markers 4= 4 light poles along the bridge and 2 is for 2 light poles. The concept is perform 20 reps of an exercise and then travel 4 light poles my chosen mode of transportation is the double time. Now perform 10 reps of an exercise and then travel two light poles; mode of transportation is Nur. Rinse and repeat up the bridge to the half way point and then change exercise and transportation modes heading down. Back up and over the bridge more of the same. Simple right? Here’s what happened..by the way MOT is Mode of Transportation from here moving forward.
Up the Bridge
LT Dan x 20 MOT Double Time
Shoulder Tap Merkins x 10 MOT Nur
Down the Bridge
Bulgarian Ball Busters x 20 MOT Double Time
Declined Merkins x 10 (Use the hand railing along the bridge) MOT Karaoke Right
At the bottom of the bridge we regather ourselves and I look at the time and have to change up the game a little since the bridge is a LONG way to go with this routine. I now know for sure that the routine is great and can be changed on the fly without any loss of intensity or control. A very attractive and blonde Scandinavian lady walks by and calls us out…she says to us, “You need to go all the way to there.” pointing at the end of the sidewalk down by the traffic light. Feeling gassed we stood a little taller and said, “Nah…” and headed back up the bridge. On the way back I change the routine and we go 2 lights and 1 light and cut the count to 10 and 5 respectively. This allows us to move quicker across the bridge now and stay with in the time limit. It also ramps up the intensity making the Darkness of this beatdown seem always constant.
MOT up the bridge is Double Time, Karaoke Left, Right, Lunge Walk, Toy Soldier.
Exercises are American Hammers, LBCs. Incline Merkins, Mountain Climbers, Dry Docks.
At the half way Point of the bridge we work on speed. Sprint as best as you can 2 poles and then walk or quick time 1 pole, rinse and repeat to the bottom. At the bottom we gather ourselves and stretch to cool down and then Double Time back to the statue. This men are tired, winded and feel fantastic in the end.
After announcements, praises and COT “Starbuck anyone?” But with busy days ahead and feeling the beating, the others go on their way and I run over to Starbuck for my much needed coffee.
Announcements:
- Sup N Run on the 25th of May it is here Get’r Done if you haven’t
- SRQ Vets 5 k Hike on the 25th of May, be there and support the troops here locally
- Savage Race on the 9th of November F3 Suncoast Team ready for sign ups “You’re already training for it so do it!”
- Great Fathers Day Race on Siesta Key June 15th. Run 5k on the beach in the sand.
- GoRuck Light on June 1st In Tampa.
Praises and Prayer Requests:
- New possibilities and changes happening in my life with the M as she looks into new opportunities for employment
- Our First Responders, Our Military to stay on point and be safe and protected
- All our injured and tired Pax member for a timely and healthy recovery
In closing, my AAR (After Action Review, When I go Full Army men , it’s on by the way) this has become a solid workout of 3.15 miles of ground covered with multiple pain stations along the route. I employed this in the AM on the next unsuspecting members of the Suncoast Pax that showed up to Unconditional Surrender for a Thursday morning Beating. They handled it fine and did a fine job at it training the Light Fighter way!
Airborne!! Coop out.
