YHC had a plan in place for today's Q that quickly turned into a last minute pivot night of, after reading the first 2 chapters of Dave Asprey's new book "Smarter Not Harder". While putting together my playlist of mostly Canadian Stripper Songs (fond memories of my childhood, but I digress) for the fellas to enjoy (or annoy), I decided to incorporate some of his theories into the plan – in short and to my knowledge (I haven't FINISHED the book), he makes references to us always being in a state of flight or fight – like if we were running away from a LION, and that we never move from that state to one of total rest. Apparently, moving from these bursts of energy to a state of rest is where the gains come from and in shorter periods of time – sounded good to me so I decided to do some biohacking myself, and introduce this concept to the PAX. In order to help facilitate the resting phase, I referenced the research from James Nestors book "Breathe" and encouraged the PAX to work on breathing in and out of their nose as much as possible (turns out we are a bunch of mouthbreathers!).
The Thang:
Usual introduction, pleasantries and disclaimers.
Warm up (to focus on large muscles groups)
SSH
Imperial Squats
Willy May's Hayes
Chinooks (both directions)
Overhead Claps
Seal Claps
Mosey to the side of the AO to the underutilized hill section.
Brief introduction to the plan – burst of energy like you are being chased by a Lion, followed by a pause, controlled breathing and rest (no mouth breathing) while enjoying Canadian Stripper Music.
Multiple sets of: 3 Burpees (emphasized the best form possible) – run down the hill to the bottom – followed by 3 Jump squats (best form possible) – returning sprint up the hill followed by aforementioned pause, breathing and enjoyment of "ballet" music.
Rinse and repeat.
After each set, the PAX focused on breathing and controlling heart rate.
From there we Mosey'd over to the brick pile, where each PAX claimed a brick and lined up in the parking lot.
2 set HIIT of 45 seconds on and 10-20 seconds rest – again focusing on the bursts of energy with each exercised, followed by a moment of rest.
Thrusters – rest
Inchworm – rest
V-ups – rest
Bear Crawl – rest
2 cycles with longer rest between.
Mosey to the Start ex.
Mary: "wipers" both directions, box cutters, super mans and some spinal stretches to the enjoyment of Canadian Music Legend Stompin Tom Conners (who was NOT a mouthbreather).
Prayers / announcements.
Cloudbuster participants and Cadre's all recognized for their extraordinary efforts over 12 plus hours of humping a ruck other terribly heavy items. Preparations are under way for a fall Ruck, PAX encouraged to participant in this one of a kind team building exercise.
Prayers of thanks for having our Brother Count Chocula back in the fold and in great spirits.
Prayers up to Crashcart's M Vivian who will be undertaking several interviews for a position she is passionate about – we know that she will find her path either way and be stronger for it.
What you see in the world is a reflection of what is in your heart – may your heart be filled with Love, Grace, Peace and Compassion.
If you have read this far, stripper music playlist can be provided on request.