With Hurricane Florence bearing down on the Carolina coast, it seems the entire Southwest is fully in storm prep mode. Had this workout on my calendar for a few weeks now and was looking forward to getting out in the gloom with the Tobacco Road bros. Was disappointed when I got the message late yesterday that the gates to Herndon Park may be locked up, and thus the workout would be cancelled. Thankful that Durham Parks & Rec did not shut us down this morning. (Thanks Knope!).

In my preparations, I came across this nifty little ditty of a Bruce Lee workout performed by a F3 Memphis group. With a little tweaking, I figured it would be perfect for my Tobacco Road debut.

INTRO

Rode in with Paperboy and Goat. Arrived a bit early in order to do a bit of recon.

Any AO that has an open and operational rest room scores top points with YHC. Tobacco Road, 10/10 for facilities.

Greetings & fist bumps with the guys arriving. Good to meet a couple new faces (Glass Joe and 16th Seed).

One Minute Warning

No FNGs. All Pros. Brief Disclaimer.

0530. It’s Go Time.

WARM UP

10 SSH, IC

5 Burpees, OYO

5 Spider Jumps (Burpee with 2 X-Large Mountain Climbers in lieu of Merkin), 8 Count

* 5 Burpees, OYO for Knope and Boucher who joined us late. Welcome brothers!

5 Body Builders (Burpee with a Plank Jack after the Merkin), 8 Count

5 Man Makers (Triple Merkin Burpee with a 2 one armed rows), 8 Count

MAIN EVENT

Mosey over to the playground. Introduced the workout for this morning. We will be hitting a Bruce Lee circuit. Most folks, especially in F3, think abs when they hear Bruce Lee workout. However, today, we will be doing a nice metabolic body weight circuit designed to hit all major muscle groups, along with quick paced 200 meter run to rev up the heart rate.

9 Rounds with Bruce Lee

Had PAX divide into 3 Groups of 4, and 1 Group of 5. Each group will hit each of the 4 stations detailed below. If a group completes their allotted exercises and reps for their station, they are to perform SSH AMRAP until every group has finished. Once everyone is done, we immediately rotate to the next station and hit the next set of exercises. No breaks. Completion of all four stations equals 1 round.

The 4 Stations:

• Station 1: Run, 200 Meters (Playground to the lamp post @ the top of the parking lot and back)
• Station 2: Diamond Merkins, x10 SC and Jump Lunges, x10 (1-2)
• Station 3: Pull Ups, x10 SC and Hanging Leg Raises, x10 SC
• Station 4: Burpees, x10 SC and BW Squats, x10 SC

We all crushed 3 rounds. The guys did such a stellar job, I wanted to reward the group with a brief rest break to bring the heart rate down. Had the guys circle up and after the last run group gave us a quick 10 count, we got some recovery in by performing 10 Burpees and 5 Man Makers, OYO. Rest break over, we had just enough time for one more Bruce Lee cycle.

Once complete, had the guys mosey back to StartEx and circle up. The circuit involved roughly 30-35 minutes of work. In that time, Bruce Lee was able to knock out 9 rounds. We were able to get through 4. Not bad. Next time, we will definitely get the rest. Nice work, brothers.

Now, it was time to finish off with a quick Bruce Lee ab circuit for Mary.

Mary

• WWIIs, x20 OYO
• Flutter Kicks, x20 IC
• LBCs, x20 IC
• Heels to Heaven, x20 IC
• 6″ Hold, 1 Minute (Took this time to thank the brothers for coming out and for announcements)

COT/BOM

Announcements (during our 6″ Hold)

• Honey Badger, Falcon, and Wall all potentially live for tomorrow. Check Slack for confirmation and for any other Friday AOs that will be open tomorrow.
• Be on the lookout for opportunities to help out this weekend. Stay safe and take care of your loved ones, friends, neighbors, etc.

Name-o-Rama

BOM

YHC took us out. Thankful for the brothers who came out this morning. Thankful for our health and for the beautiful morning. Prayers for our brothers and sisters out on the coast, especially those who may not have received timely notice or lack the resources to evacuate. May there be a hedge of protection over all of those who are in the storm’s path and wake. Pray that the storm will pass with minimal harm and damage. Pray for the health and safety of all of us and our loved ones this weekend.

Saw this Bruce Lee quote last night: “Don’t pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” This doesn’t mean we should pray for or seek out a hard life, but rather to seek out ways to equip and prepare ourselves in the event that life should present us with tests and challenges. My wife educated me about this parenting phenomenon called being a “lawn mower parent.” Lawn mower parents go out of their way to “mow down” all the potential problems or obstacles that may be in their child’s path. Their intentions may be in the right place…help their kids avoid trouble or pitfalls that may lie before them…but this act is actually setting their kids up for failure, robbing their children with the opportunity to develop necessary life skills like resilience, courage and problem solving. Had the opportunity to go up to NYC this past weekend with the F3 Churham squad taking on the 9/11 GoRuck HTL. These guys paid good money to basically put themselves in harm’s way and allow someone to kick their behinds for an entire weekend. Now, that is extreme, but we all should put ourselves regularly to the test, preferably on our own terms, our own accord, so that we will always be in “ready-mode,” and no matter what life may throw our way, we will stand up to the challenge with confidence and resolve. Amen.

Thank you again, brothers for an awesome morning. Proud to be a member of the Tobacco Road fam. Look forward to seeing you all again soon. Until next time, aye!