This morning, 8 PAX unknowingly woke to find themselves in Cut Me Mick’s laboratory. YHC has been thinking about ways to incorporate more back work into our morning routines. We can do merkins all day. But with limited pull-up stations, YHC sought to bring greater balance to the PAX, by keeping them off-balance and guessing all morning. So after a brief warm up, YHC lead the unassuming PAX in the pitch to try a few things new.
Warm up
- 20x SSH
- 20 x Imperial walkers
- Jog to the far hill
The Thang: The PAX reclined on hill as if they had returned to the fartsack.
3 rounds:
- 20 x shoulder high leg raise (feet down the hill)
- 20 x decline merkins (feet up the hill)
- Repeato – Without rest. Zero. None.
Broken Wheelbarrow across soccer field, flap jack – Partner 1 assumes wheelbarrow position but with Partner 2 only holding one of Partner 1’s legs, demanding dramatically more core stability.
PAX Assemble in mouth of soccer goal and rotate through the following exercises:
- 10 Burpee pull-ups on a wet, wide, slick soccer crossbar:
- Partner Lat Pull Downs – Partner 1 sits, legs crossed, arms raised. Partner 2, grasps his hands from behind and provides steady resistance as Partner 1 pulls his hands down engaging the lats. (Flap jack – again and again and again)
- Partner Dead lift. – Partner 1 lays on his side, bends one knee so as to hook his foot around the other knee. He also grasps his hands firmly together with elbow up. Partner 2 hooks his forearms through these “handles” (knee and elbow) and deadlifts Partner 1 AMRAP. (Flap jack)
- 3 x 20 Hindu Merkins
- 3 x 20 Prisoner Squats
- 20 Burpees
Inch Worm. – All PAX line up in a good form plank, inch hands forward as far possible, when you can’t extend any further, inch feet forward until you are back in a standard plank, and repeat until time called
Jog to low wall
- 20 x left/right step up
- 10 x Nipple Scraper Merkins – Also called a Half Moon push up. With hands on the curb & butts high, drop knees down and to one side. Lower one nipple until it touches the curb, twist your body in the low plank position until the other nipple comes to the curb, and then press up. That is one rep. Reverse the motion.
Mary:
- 50 x 4 count low slow flutter
Barbaric Yawp:
Some of the new exercises** worked well. Others did not go as smoothly. Thoughts on a few:
- Shoulder high leg raise (feet down the hill) – The hill added a new, drastic intensity, to an old standard.
- Broken Wheelbarrow – As good as a wheelbarrow, only better.
- Burpee pull-ups – Possibly the perfect full body exercise; however the PAX were limited by a high, wet, thick soccer cross bar.
- Partner Lat Pull Downs – The PAX experimented with hand grips. Some choosing to turn the exercise into a lat pull down/curls combo, others a lats/high pull combo. With practice, and similarly sized partner, this could become a great lat-shredder.
- Partner Dead lift – Great power move and fun to watch, eliciting much laughter. It was hard however to get the weight pairings right & several PAX were wisely diligent about protecting their backs. T-Claps to Bob Villa for both being able to lift 240lb-YHC, and for the stylish pose he struck while serving as the dead weight.
- Inch Worm – How can something hurt so much, yet feel so good.
- Nipple scraper merkins – Deep, slow and painful. You will discover muscles you did not know you had, and then shred them to trembling, frayed fibers .
**Suggestions for names welcome
It was a fun morning. The PAX were playful, good spirited and willing to help adjust and modify exercises on the fly. Hopefully each was also sufficiently pushed in the process.
COT, announcements and prayers, and then a few minutes of silence to soak in the morning.
With gratitude, Cut Me Mick
