Backblast for "The Army of Dan" at the battlefield on 4/25/26
PAX:
Mercy
Wario
Crawdad
Norm
Huckleberry
Gulliver
Spaulding
Hannibal
Rudy
Coconut (Q)
After some heavy rain the previous night, things cleared out, but the usual field was pretty soggy, forcing us to higher ground over in the amphitheater. Temps were comfortable at 0630 as we got started.
Everyone's favorite leg-day exercise, the Lieutenant Dan, is quite a burner, especially when done in high volume. But how did Dan rise to the level of lieutenant, and what would've happened if he had stayed in the army?
Intro: Mission statement, Core Principles, Credo
For a brief warm-up, we moseyed over to the amphitheater where the workout would take place.
THANG
Tabata style– rounds of 2:50 work-AMRAP, 2:00 transition/rest. For each round there's a standard to be achieved for 'promotion' to the next rank in Dan's army. If the standard is not achieved, PAX remain at the same rank the next round, unless otherwise instructed by the Q.
round 1: Private Dan–Air Squat + Air press. The standard is 90.
Transition–run a lap around the pond, review promotions, and prepare for next round by describing and demo-ing the exercise. Same transition performed between each round.
round 2: Corporal Dan- Squat. from low squat, transition into no-surrender, back to low squat, then stand back up. The standard is 40
round 3: Sergeant Dan– Lunge L, Windmill L, Lunge R, Windmill R. The standard is 40
round 4: Lieutenant Dan- Jump lunge L, Jump lunge R, Squat.
round 5. Captain Dan- Same as Lieutenant, but come to attention after the squat. The standard is 30
round 6: Major Dan- Same as Captain, but come to attention after each move: Lunge L – attn – Lunge R – attn – Squat – attn. The standard is 25.
round 7: Colonel Dan- Same as Major, but add air press with each Attn. The standard is 20.
round 8: General Dan- Lunge L–you have to put your rt. knee all the way down in back so you can transition from that lunge position into a no-surrender position (tall kneel), then back to the lunge position, then to attn. Same sequence with Lunge R-NS-lunge R-attn. then Flying squirrel. Basically this is adding some kind of 'back' move to each move of the lieutenant Dan. The standard is 15. These are hard.
round 9: Supreme commander Dan. Lunge L – attn – Burpee, Lunge R – attn – Burpee, Squat – attn – Burpee. The standard is 10. These are really tiring.
endex.
Totals: at least 270 squats in various forms, at least 160 lunges each side, at least 70 no surrenders, 30 burpees, 15 flying squirrels and 150 air presses. 695 reps and about 3/4 mile of jogging in the transitions. Not bad for a Saturday morning.
COR/NOR with Spaulding 6. Announcements and closing prayer.
Honored to lead and grateful to the PAX who put up with my kind of punishment! The concept for this workout, and several suggestions on the variants of the Lieutenant Dan, came from my children–Chopstick (15) and Karat (11), who know my love of really hard workouts, and themselves like lieutenant dans.
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