It’s a fun challenge trying to create a workout around interesting – yet useless – information. YHC had the Q at Rameses this week, so I simply started by thinking about the name of the AO, Rameses. A few Google searches later and my mind was off to the races! This morning, nine PAX paid homage to Rameses the Mascot as well as several other UNC concepts/people.

WARM-UP – Parking Curb Plyometrics (to music!) – All PAX chose an individual parking curb in the main lot, the music began, and the group worked through a series of several plyo exercises using the curbs.

RAMESES – Boucher shared the origin of UNC’s Rameses mascot, which first appeared in 1924. The PAX then did 24 merkins in honor of that majestic, dorset-horned creature.

TARHEEL – The PAX then discussed the origin of the term Tarheel, which can be traced back to the naval shores industry that was booming in North Carolina for much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The robust pine forests of the Cape Fear Valley provided the resources necessary to produce tar, pitch, and turpentine for both British and colonial merchant ships. The work to produce these products was dirty and hard, and the term ‘Tarheel’ was originally a derogatory term for the NC locals in this industry who constantly wore clothes covered with those sticky substances. The PAX split into three teams and honored the original ‘Tarheels’ this morning by putting in some hard work of our own. See below.

• Station 1 – Rotate between completing 5 – Carolina Dry Docks and 5 – Makhtar N’diaye’s (until Q calls to recover and rotate)
• Station 2 – Tire Sledge Hammer, Tire Flip, and Sandbag Toss (with each subsequent round, change until you have done all three exercises once)
• Station 3 – UNC Basketball Medball Exercises (a few exercises from a workout published in Men’s Health interview with UNC Basketball in 2008) – Cinderblock Front Circles, Cinderblock Chops, and Cinderblock American Hammers
• The three groups rotated through each station above three times

TAR PIT – We did not have tar (Thank God!) But we did have sand. The homage to ‘Tarheels’ continued at the sand volleyball courts. Read on.

• Station 1 – 10 Pull-ups
• Station 2 – Sand Shuttle Run and Backwards Run to Start (AMRAP)
• Station 3 – Carolina Dry Docks and Makhtar N’diaye’s (5 by 5, AMRAP)
• The three groups rotated through each station above two times

SPONTANEITY – With a little time left, each group of three was assigned a volleyball court. While two PAX stayed back away from the net, the third man tossed a cinder block over the volleyball net from side-to-side five times. This process was continued until each PAX had thrown the cinderblock back and forth over the net for two sets of five (Damn, that net is high!) The two men away from the net were continuously given exercises to complete from the Q, while waiting for their turn to toss the cinderblock. What a great time we had!

MARY – RAISE UP!!! – YHC shared the story of Moses Barrett III during Mary (commonly known to the masses as Petey Pablo). We ended the workout by planking through the song , Raise Up, from Petey Pablo and doing a merkin every time North Carolina was mentioned in the song.

All attendees not born in North Carolina were immediately adopted as native sons by the end of this beat down – a well-deserved honor.