Backblasts

Date: 2026-05-20
AO: The Patriot
Q: SAAS ,
PAX: Walker, CableGuy, SAAS, Jones, Ice Tea, Fiddler, Smokey, Big Short, Wedding Singer, Malpractice FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
WARMUP: usual, then mosey to baseball diamond
THE THANG: One PAX took turns trying to hit a bucket on home plate from six different positions ranging from center field to right in front of it. On-deck PAX pulled a movement from a hat, led cadence until the thrower hit the bucket. Merriment ensued. MARY: we ate a LOT of bugs.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: trifecta; nite owl
COT: coaching youth baseball has been one of the greatest joys of my life. You don’t have to be good, just enthusiastic. Volunteer!!!!

Date: 2026-05-18
AO: Horizon
Q: sticks ,
PAX: sticks, Bo, SPINAL TAP, Bellhop, Disco, Attache’, Purple Rain, 3 mile, vplaxico FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
WARMUP:
THE THANG:
Thang 1
Run to a landmark, stop and circle up. Rotate through these stations, running between each: • Merkins x15 IC — upper body, trail arm strength
• Squat to Rotational Reach x15 IC — simulate weight transfer through impact; reach opposite hand to outside of opposite foot at bottom • Lunge with Torso Twist x12 IC — hip mobility + rotation under load Run the full loop twice.

Thang 2 — The Fairway Circuit (~12 min)
Stay at one location, AMRAP style for 3 rounds, 90 seconds rest between:
• Bear Crawl 20 yards — shoulder stability, the unsung hero of a consistent swing • Plank Hip Dips x20 — oblique stability, prevents swaying
• Glute Bridges x20 — hip extension power, critical for driving distance
• Superman Hold x10 (3-second hold each) — lower back and posterior chain endurance
• Lateral Shuffles x10 each direction — lateral athleticism, weight shift drills MARY: stretching and LBC’s
ANNOUNCEMENTS: trifacta
COT: In 2009, at Turnberry — nine months after hip replacement surgery — 59-year-old Tom Watson led the British Open going into the final round.  This was a man who hadn’t won on the PGA Tour in over a decade. He was 11 years older than the then-record holder for oldest major champion.  Nobody gave him a shot. And for 71 holes, he played like he belonged there — because he believed he did.
Standing on the 18th tee with a one-shot lead, he hit a solid drive down the middle. He pulled an 8-iron, hit what looked like an exquisite approach — and somehow the ball trickled off the back of the green.  He had a makeable eight-footer for the win. By his own admission, he hit a “lousy putt.”  And just like that, it was gone.
Watson later wrote that the outcome is what matters — not whether you hung in there and put on a good show. He said, “Almost. I had it within my grasp, I was in a good frame of mind, I wasn’t nervous, but I let it slip away.” 
Here’s the thing though. A month after Turnberry, driving around Crater Lake in Oregon — apropos of nothing — Watson turned to his caddie and said just one word: “Almost.”  That’s it. One word. He carried it, he owned it, and he moved on.
We’re all going to have our Turnberry moments — in our jobs, our families, our health. Moments where we did everything right and the ball still rolls off the back of the green. The question isn’t whether that happens. It’s whether we keep showing up at 59, with a bad hip, believing we belong on the first tee. That’s what we do out here. We show up. Together.

Date: 2026-05-20
AO: Potomac Rising
Q: 120 ,
PAX: John Kluge, 120, Baguette, Cookies, FIFA (F3 The Capital) FNGs: None
COUNT: 5
Warm up:
10 Side Statal Hopes
10 Harry Rockettes
10 Cherry Pickers
10 Willy’s
10 Mercians

The Thang:
10x (2nd round 15x) repeat 4 times
Military press
RDL
Rowes
Squats
Burpees (5x for 2-4)

Mosey around the school between rounds

Mary: (ic)
20 crunch
20 reserve tabletop/toe taps
20 crunch
20 reserve table top/toe taps
20 right side setups
20 left side setups
15 full sit-up punch (boxers)

Homework
15 American hammers
15 single leg stretch
30 Fred mercury’s

COT:
Step away when you need too.

Date: 2026-05-20
AO: Ignite
Q: Legacy ,
PAX: Rim Fire, East Wing, Kodak, Goldfish, Legacy, Hobbyhorse FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
WARMUP: ssh, imp w, hill Billy mt dew, Willy Mayes area, Phelps, rve, mor nightclub, down dog

THE THANG: The first rule of Samurai Hammer Noodles is we don’t talk about Samurai Hammer Noodles. IFYKYK!

MARY: not needed

ANNOUNCEMENTS: summer pop up, beatdown 6:30 pm; beeroteria 7:15 pm See the_night_owl; national cadre terrapin-station Friday 5/29; CSAUPs Galore!

COT: we aren’t here to compete with each other — it’s you vs. you. Congratulations on pushing yourself; pushing yourself is hard, which is why a lot of guys don’t do it

Date: 2026-05-20
AO: Compound
Q: Gherkin ,
PAX: Skidoos, Gherkin, Roddick, Poe, citrus, Concierge
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
WARMUP
SSH, IWs, Hillbillies, Michael Phelps, Cherry twists, Willie Mays Hays, down dog, worlds greatest stretch

THE THANG –
Mosey to the garage.
Murph Prep
– 3 stations – pull ups, merkins, squats
– 15 seconds per station, 5 second rest between stations
– 15 rounds
F3 SPEED Cornhole
Rules:
– Break into teams.
– The throw line is 10 yards from the exercise line and the boards are 7 yards from the throw line.
– All PAX begin performing the first exercise of Set A while one PAX from each team bear crawls from exercise line to the throw line, throws 4 bags, notes his score, picks up all 4 of his bags, drops them at the throw line and runs back to his team.
– As each team’s thrower returns to throwing, that team moves on to the next exercise in the set and the second pax repeats the process.
– The process is repeated until a team has scored 21 or more. (3 points for bags through the hole, 1 point for each bag on the board, learners are 0). – Rotate through exercise sets.
– Both teams do burpees equal to the number of points they lost by Exercises:
Set A – Shoulder Taps, Mucho Leggos, Toy Soldiers
Set B -Burpees, Bobby Hurleys, Plank Jacks
Set C – Hand Release Merkins, Squats, Low Plank

MARY
J Los, Flutter kicks, LBCs
ANNOUNCEMENTS
– Pop-up AO with post beerateria this summer on Thursday nights in Arlington. . Check the #the_night_owl channel. – The Murph Challenge Memorial Day Monday at George Mason
– Boneathon Saturday May 31st – sign up so Bone can make you a t-shirt – Convergence is the first Saturday of June (6th) – 0700 at Roosevelt Island. COT
– YHC’s 55th birthday is today.
– As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned that not all friendships are equal. The best people to surround yourself with are people who celebrate your progress, challenge your thinking, and push you to be your best self—even when it’s uncomfortable.
– Good friends support you, but the best friends stretch you. They’ll call you out when you’re slacking, not to tear you down, but because they believe you’re capable of more. They’re the ones who clap the loudest when you win. They’ll push you to apply for the job you don’t think you’re qualified for. They’ll remind you of who you are when you forget.
– I want to surround myself with people who inspire me—people who make me want to level up, not just fit in. That’s why I love F3 – leave no man behind and leave no man where you found him. Thanks for coming out and motivating me.