Blue Plate Special AO

June 8, 2021

5:45-6:30 PM

Hot, a bit sticky with a slight breeze

PAX: Minute Man, Expired, Windmill, Swank, Polaroid, Michelin Man, Ratatouille, Odessa, Dapper Dan, Mr. Hand, Fletch, Guiding Light (Q)

It was a bright sunny late afternoon at the Plate. YHC set up the cones and the course for what would be an Old School beatdown. The reason being, most of the men who show up at the Plate are Old, and the AO is a School–Western Guilford Middle. Would the PAX get pushed to their limits? It was yet to see…. Right of the bat, at 5:45, YHC rolled in and put everyone on notice that they needed to modify if necessary given the heat and the pace of the workout. Every single exercise would be done in sets of 20, just in case we lost track.

Warma-rama:

Side staddle hops

String rippers

Imperial Walkers

Workout proper:

We moseyed down to the track. Plush and soft, yet dark and roasting in the late day sun, the track was the staging ground for our first challenge: one lap of alternating mosey and butt kickers. YHC would call for the switches every 100 meters. When finished, find a nice piece of track to plank on for the six.

Mosey up to the picnic table dining area on the side of the school. It was here that we planked for the six and, when everyone was in, we split into two groups. One group did wall sits while the other did a bench exercise, then we’d switch places.

  1. Derkins
  2. Step ups
  3. Dips

That done, the PAX kept up pace and quickly made their way to the back parking lot in a cozy little shaded area in the nook of a Pin Oak tree. There, nestled between two unassuming cones was a stack of exercises. We would do each one (20 of each, of course), rotate, and another man would take the next card and lead the exercise:

  1. wojo squats
  2. Alternating shoulder taps IC
  3. Carolina dry docks
  4. Merkins
  5. Monkey humpers
  6. Merkins

There was a flipside with another set of exercises for the ‘2nd round’ but we never got to these.

We moseyed all the way back to the track for a second heaping helping of the first challenge. We tried to EH a gentleman sitting in the bleachers watching us to join in, but he said “I’m done.” Whatever that means…. No time to waste, back up the hill and towards the picnic benches again for round two. Same thing there, we just forewent the steps ups for the sake of time.

We hit the last ten minutes harder as we pushed into the final stretch. Each man had been asked to think up a name of a person they want see out here next week, and plan to EH. We went around the circle and at the mention of each name, we all did a burpee. When that was done, we did the last 2 exercises of mary at the shovelflag:

Heel touches

American Hammers

With that, we counted off, circle up for announcements, CoT, and a quick work (a prayer by YHC on the blessing it is to be free, post, and how we must implore others to find accountability).

All business aside, PAX posed for a photo, and several men broke out coolers full of cheap, yet effective, beers. Most stuck around for 1/2 hr and chatted on light topics.

Was a joy to lead you men. Thanks for coming out and striving to be better. AYE!

GL