DATE: 10/16/2018

WHERE: The Kodiak

THE PAX: Hard Hittin’, Panda, Goldberg, High Tops, Hartford, Fleetwood, Pie Bar, Conquistador, Chops, Dizzy, Candy Man, Blackhawk, Cyclops (FNG)

Total # of PAX: 14

Number of FNGs: 1

QIC: Westside

INTRO:

Woke up this morning really excited to Q for the first time at The Lion’s Den. Plugged in the address and what’ll you know, it’s the closest AO to my apartment! Not sure how I missed that up until now. YHC showed up a bit early to do some quick recon before the PAX started rolling in. 14 HIMs beat the fartsack this morning and it is time to introduce the newer PAX to some of the crowd favorites. 0530 sharp and we moseyed….well, we moved like 10 feet and circled up.

WARM-O-RAMA:

Circled up, welcomed the FNG, and provided a quick disclaimer. Warm-up were:

15x SSH
10x Imperial Walkers
10x Windmills
OYO Sun Gods (forwards and backwards)

Now that we were nice and loose time to get a little warm-up run in. Had the PAX line up on the first light pole for a Route 66. Perform 1 Merkin at the first light pole and then sprint to the next light pole where you will increase your Merkin count by 1. This was continued until we reached the 10th light pole (forgot about the hidden light pole at the turn so we just skipped it). Now that our heart rates were a little elevated it’s time for the hard stuff.

THE THANG:

The Cooper

I’m pretty sure that this routine was invented by the CIA to torture detainees at Guantanamo so why not unleash it on some relatively new PAX? The goal, line up on the light pole and sprint to the end of the bus lanes (roughly 100yds) where the PAX will perform 10 Squats, 10 Burpees, and 10 Merkins. Once completed, the PAX sprint back to the start to hold an air chair while waiting for the 6. This routine was repeated decreasing the count each time (i.e. 9 Squats, 9 Burpees, and 9 Merkins) all the way down to 1. By this point we had completed 110 Merkins. Why stop there? Quick 10 count so PAX can catch their breath and then it was time for the dreaded Jack Webb.

Jack Webb

The official Exicon definition for these is : A merkin then air press combination initiated on the Q’s command, with an ascending rep count of each, usually up to 10.

PAX circled up and YHC explained the routine. On the command ‘down’, the PAX would perform 1 Merkin. The PAX would then stand and perform 4 air presses. This routine was continued performing the following:

2x Merkins and 8x Air Presses
3x Merkins and 12x Air Presses
4x Merkins and 16x Air Presses
5x Merkins and 20x Air Presses
6x Merkins and 24x Air Presses
7x Merkins and 28x Air Presses
8x Merkins and 32x Air Presses
9x Merkins and 36x Air Presses
10x Merkins and 40x Air Presses

Favorite comment during this routine was Fleetwood saying “Oh, these aren’t so bad” (We were only at 3 and 12 at this point)

Arms and shoulders completely fatigued, YHC called for another quick 10-count since we still had time left. Time for some Mary Go Round! Despite physically brutalizing our arms, the PAX were still calling out chest exercises during the Mary. These guys are crazy, but I love it!!! Finished with Flutter Kicks and then called ‘recover’ just at 0615. Congrats men!

Total Merkin count was somewhere in the 195 range (I lost count after the Copperhead Merkins).

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CIRCLE OF TRUST:

Name-o-rama, 6th Man (Hartford), FNG (Cyclops). Prayers for Cricket’s family and Fleetwood’s neighbor. Praises for the recovery of Alcoa’s 2.0.

Naked-Man Moleskin:

Really appreciate the opportunity to come out to The Lion’s Den to lead these HIM’s. Welcomed Cyclops who shared a real tear jerking story about his struggles with health and his passion for running. I was really proud to be a part of today’s beatdown for that motivational story. I look forward to my next visit. Until then!