“On this Team, We Fight for that inch…”

Relive or view the drama that was The Old Country Combine. For those of you that were there, post your favorite moment to comments….

Posted by: Z

“I am not a warrior. Very soon, You Will Be…”

What is our message. Old Country and Caliber are a lot different than a lot of the forums and programs in our community.

We’re not really all that Crossfit, we’re certainly not a power lifting program, and we aren’t Oly lifters. When I get asked how Old Country athletes train, my answer is pretty simple.

“We train to be hard.”

It’s pretty simple in life and in your training. You can choose to be a Viking or you can be a Victim. Caliber Cycle is showing up in more and more States and Old Country isn’t going anywhere. Wear your colors with pride and support the movement, I choose to be a Viking.

New Old Country and Caliber Cycle shirts and tanks are available for pre-order.
See mock ups and order here. Design previews below.

FRONT
BACK

Posted by: Z

“They look like big, good, strong hands, don’t they…”

Well we’re two weeks into the Crossfit Games Open online competition. Two weeks down and one workout… One Workout? Yeah one damn workout. The unstoppable juggernaut that is the Crossfit Games(you’ve seen their Reebok commercials right?) hit a glitch. If you read this I’m sure your familiar with the Crossfit Games and the issues the site has been having. So I won’t bore you with that explanation.

I understand the concept. I understand what they are trying to do with this online competition. But what I don’t think they understand is what it’s doing to some of the people who love what is said to be “The sport of Fitness”.

My job is a Coach(and online Anarchist), and as a Coach I get very close with my athletes. Their success is my success, their failures are my failures. When they hurt I hurt. I told you guys in a post last week that I find comfort in movies. And I liken this whole situation to the problem in  The NeverEnding Story.

I try and hold on for you. I know its frustrating. I know how hard some of you have worked. I understand it feels like the little guys is getting the shaft on some of Crossfits choices dealing with the games. I Wish it wasn’t the case. I see some of your competitive fires being diminished by the whole thing it makes me feel like Rock Biter…

I’m your Coach. I feel like I have big strong hands. I always thought that’s what they were. But between athlete frustrations or complaining at the end of week one I was spent. I didn’t even care about Open WOD 1 when I first did it. I was like Rock Biter, I thought my hands were strong, but the Nothing was pulling my love of the sport away.

Lucky for me my brother had a Come to Jesus Talk with me about it. And I had another opportunity at WOD 1. But even with a better performance in the books I was still dealing with upset athletes and it was weighing very heavy on me.

You know what I decided?

Fuck It.

Thats right I said Fuck It.
To quote Fight Club – “You had to give it to him: he had a plan. And it started to make sense, in a Tyler sort of way. No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.”

It’s suppose to be fun. The day I lose the joy in what I do is the day I stop doing it honestly. So what did I do last Friday? I’ll tell you what I didn’t do…

I didn’t sit in front of a computer screen hitting refresh on some Online Competition page. No I took joy in my training and what I do. I felt like kicking back and just lifting cause it’s what I love to do. And you know what it was fun again.

Do what you love.

Video by: Roo (I thought the multiple adjustment shots were hilarious)
Posted by: Z

“You ARE the Brute Squad…”

Eight weeks of work. Eight weeks has a purpose this weekend. The athletes of the OCS 5th Edition Strength Athlete Caliber Cycle get to throw down. The Old Country Combine kicks off at 12pm on Saturday.

Represent your program, come to bang. But dont get to comfortable. The 6th Edition starts in 4 weeks.

Post by: Z

“Yeah, it’s St. Patty’s Day, everyone’s Irish tonight…”

This is usually a day for Guerrilla Lifting submissions. But instead I decided I have to post this email I recieved from my dear sweet Mama Filer about my Pap. You wonder where I get it? – Z

Filer Family St. Patrick’s Day Story

 So about 11:45 Thursday night Michael(My Pap) comes upstairs.

Pap -“Where are the bandaids?”

Ma – “Why? And what time is it anyway?”

Pap -“I cut my arm opening a jar of pickles.”

Ma -“You’re kidding, right? Let me see.”

Long pause…

Ma -“I think you’re going to need stitches. That is really deep.” How the hell? Why the hell?”

Pap -“Still St. Patrick’s Day – was going for something green…”

After searching for big enough bandaid or something appropriate – and looking at cut again…

Ma -“I don’t have anything – what about superglue?” (KIDDING)

Pap -“Yeah, let’s try superglue.”

Ma -“Michael, I was KIDDING (using my best Charlie Sheen imitation.) Besides, I would have to go to the store.”

Pap -“Never mind, I’ll just wrap it up in this old dishtowel and we can decide what to do in the morning.”

It is now midnight and the check-out guy at Safeway looked at me questioningly when I checked out with a tube of Superglue and butterfly closures.

Now before I do this, I’m going to check it out online. Hmm…. closing a wound with superglue… Simple enough – Wash wound vigorously, apply superglue to edges of wound, using fingertips apply gentle pressure to close the edges of the wound being careful to not glue your fingertips to the wound. No problem..

Ma -“Wake up Michael! First we have to wash this out – vigorously.”

Pap -“Ouch!”

Ma -“Quit being a baby.”

Pap -“Wow, that really is deep isn’t it?”

Ma -“Are you sure we shouldn’t go to the ER?”

Pap -“Nah, this is what we used when I was a doctor in the war.”

Ma -“Hold still!”

Pap -“Hold that sumbitch together!”

Ma -“I am – hold still! Shit, I have superglue all over my fingers now.”

Pap -“You’re pulling the hair on my arms.”

Ma -“HOLD STILL! I don’t want to glue my fingers to your cut!”

After a minute…

Ma -“Wow, that really works! Does it hurt?”

Pap -“Not really… Say, did I ever tell you that my great great great grandfather old Stickum Filer invented the first superglue?

Ma -“Not tonight, let’s get it covered up and go to bed, Pickle Man.”

Ma -“By the way, how did you cut it anyway?”

Pap -“I was using the meat cleaver to try to pry the top of the canning lid off. At least I had the sharp end pointing away from my fingers. Think it will leave a scar?”

No comment…

Two days later, wound is closed and looks to be no infection. I would not advise anyone to use this technique unless dealing with a stubborn Irish, German, Russian at nearly midnight on St. Patrick’s Day. But it really works!

Written by: Mama Filer

Posted by: Z

“We stand Against the tide and We don’t Move…”

If your familiar with Old Country or the Filer brothers who run it for that fact, your know we love movies. In fact pretty much every article title on here is a movie quote.

My family LOVES movies.

Star Wars, TombStone, Top Gun we quote movies at our dinner table more than we talk at family gatherings. Some people find meaning in books or art. I find answers to a lot of my questions in life in movies. Yeah some people might think it’s silly but I’ve said it before…

“There are very few questions in life that can’t be answered by watching  Point Break.”

All cock mockery aside(Kill Bill), this is when the post gets a bit more serious. The title of this post isn’t exactly a movie quote. It’s based off one.

Based off one?

Yeah, that’s what I said, a saying based off a quote. It’s actually one that I put a lot of weight in. Like I said some people might find putting so much in movies silly. But I don’t. Some of my favorite times with my Old Man weren’t watching the Super Bowl or World Series. They were watching A Few Good Men for the 50th time(I can quote the shit out of that, and I’m pretty sure it’s why Nickays a lawyer).

Well this one isn’t from A Few Good Men, it’s actually from Gangs of New York. Not Leo’s best work, but Daniel Day-Lewis was flawless. His role as William Cutting(Bill The Butcher) was epic. He took the screen and you couldn’t take your eyes away. Yes, There Will Be Blood, and The Last of the Mohicans were amazing. Actually The last of the Mohicans is beyond amazing. I can be flicking through the channels half awake at night not really watching anything. I’ll  hear this song for a second and instantly recognize it and watch the whole movie.

Fucking EPIC… I hope you watched that whole clip cause it’s worth watching.

But anyways back to my original statement. Daniel Day-Lewis’s role as Bill The Butcher had a pivotal role in my life. People will tell you that Rudy’s story or Rocky changed their life some how. But for me, when Bill(Daniel Day Lewis) turns to Amsterdam(Leo) and says…

“Because that’s how you stand up against the rising of the tide.”

Something in me just clicked. I turn to that thought when ever life gets hard. I’ve even taken it and added to it making my own mantra. I’ve stood holding upset friends or gotten in a athletes face before and said this.

“We stand against the tide and we don’t move.”

I believe this more than anything. I grew up on the shores of West Seattle, my back yard was the Puget Sound. Every day I watched the tide come in and go out. I watched the tide flat I knew growing up change against the coming tide every day. I was still living there when I first saw Gangs of New York. I remember watching the tide one morning and thinking of that quote. And that’s when I promised myself I’d stand against the tide.

There are things in our life that our out of our control. They happen and we can’t stop them. But we do know they’ll happen, that’s life. The tide comes in and the tides goes out. It always threatens to wash everything away.

The real question is this.

Can you walk out into the water and stand?

The Tide will come in and it WILL go ba back out. You can’t stop it. But are you strong enough to stand against it and not move?

Posted by: Z

“Now, what are you gonna do?”

It’s that time of year again. Competition Season is upon us. And with the new Games format, last years Sectionals has been replaced with a 6 week Open. Info on the Open can be on the new fancy Games Site. You can also find a interesting article that our very own GogO submitted on there.

And how would it not be Competition Season if I didn’t post this…

Posted by: Z

“I got no Place else to Go!!!”

I’ve always said Old Country is a Open forum. I invite others to share with us their training and stories. Sometimes I don’t know who reads this thing. I see that a lot of people do but I have no idea who.

Then I received a email from a reader who let me know that Old Country ment something. Here are is a clip from what he sent me.

“The things I love to do the most in life are deep-sea diving, mountaineering and surfing. These are three activities where if you cannot keep your shit together physically and mentally its going to be a very bad day, and a bad day means dead or crippled. Physically, I train hard and have been doing a combo of crossfit, heavy lifting and austere training (lots and lots of pull-ups) to keep me hard. Mentally, I have to be flexible but defiant, I have to be ready to roll with whatever. For me OCS really exemplifies all of these things and I always look forward to the blog posts and always feel ready to lift after reading.

I do not have a regular group to train with here in the Olympia area. My local crossfit gyms simply have no times that jive with my work schedule. I have also found that telling a potential partner that, for example, the days workout might consist of flipping a giant tire a hundred times and then performing a heavy deadlift session sends them packing. So I train almost monastically, by myself, either in my garage gym at home or outside with whatever is at hand-in all weather. So for me, I look to OCS to be inspired by athletes who are harder and stronger than I am and have just the right attitude.”

I can’t tell you how jacked the email got me. I myself couldn’t find a Crossfit that fit what I was looking for when I started out. I took to working out by myself and when I could wrangle the original Barbell Club I had a crew to bang with.

The picture above is from OCS supporter Gordo getting his Guerrilla lift on during lunch. He tells me he has Kb’s and a medball stashed in his office and heads out back to get after shit when he has time at. From the look of Gordo and where he’s training he already has the makings of a modern day savage. Thanks for the email my friend, Get Some…

Posted by: Z

*The hoodies are in and now available for pick up. They are sick

 

 

“Coach don’t want to know about this”

Nickay takes a in depth look into Open competitor and Rowdy Club Scoundrel Blake Johnson. – Z

Recently OCBC member Blake left during the Caliber Cycle a whole week. He claims that he and his lovely bride were off to the island Maui in the Pacific Ocean for some R&R. This “statement” fooled many in the gym, but the Filer brothers know the dirty, grimy truth and felt that we could not go on any longer perpertrating this lie onto the masses. Blake was not really in Hawaii, he was in Tijuana, MX. Why was he in Tijuana? Why the deception of where he was going? Let’s look at some facts.

Tijuana: Tijuana is lovely this time of year, a good amount of sun but not as much as Maui. Why note this difference? Because Blake looked like he had just spent a week outside in a nice warm place because he has a freaking farmers tan. As anyone who has travelled to the Islands can attest to, one usually does not wear a shirt on the beach. Also who else was in Tijuana the same time that Blake alledgely was in Hawaii? Any guesses?

Bam. Doctor Dre. You see Dre had just been in a terrible car accident and needed a doctor to help him with his rehab, and his yoke. So both Dre and Blake went South of the Border recently. Coincidence? Maybe.

Blake’s deadlift: He’s increased that shit from 315 to 500 god damn pounds in a short amount of time!

Blake’s Healing Factor: Not too long ago Blake took a nasty tumble in icy conditions. Blake screwed up his teeth and had some nasty stitches from this fall. So what happened? The motherfuckers face healed up in like 2 weeks if that! I broke my jaw and that shit took months to heal to the point where I lift again, this guy is back in the gym in no time AND showed no sign of ever being hurt! Where I have heard about a healing factor before?

Face and hairdo: He has this militaryesque haircut going on. Not pure crew cut but a little longer. Also his face has seemed to regress in age somehow. This combination has seem like he is the newest recruit to the Treadstone project. Don’t let him get ahold of a household item for god’s sake.

Conclusion: Isn’t simple to see, Blake is a super spy with a mutant healing factor combined with the finest equine pharmaceuticals available in the great nation of Mexico. Either that or Blake is just a badass. I don’t know. I leave it to the people to make that final decision.

Posted by: Nickay

“Winning…”

You’ve seen intensity in the gym. Some times your not sure if its an act or if someone could really be that intense. Barking, kicking, slapping traps, rubbing chalk, EVERYWHERE…

Then there is the self motivational talk. Tony Robbins convinced Diego Sanchez to scream “YES!!!” before matches and it worked for him for awhile. Well I was never one for the talking to myself, but one man changed that.

“Meathead”

This is a title thrown on some gym rats. But we have one guy in our midst who embraces it and lives it. I’ve heard him call himself the foulest names and stare into peoples souls with a Viking like intensity that would make Mike Tyson think twice. Where does the hate come from and how does it stack up against other heavyweights?

Mark decide to submit this quiz to see if you could figure out who reigns supreme in the world of intense(or just plain bat shit crazy). Z

Slab or Sheen?

Earlier this week I was reading comments from Charlie Sheen.  My immediate thought was “wow, that sounds like something Slab would say.”  Later in the week I was reading a comment by Slab and had the thought of “Huh, that sounds like something Sheen would say.”  I am not suggesting they are the same person, only that they share a lot in common.  Consider the following. Both have awesome nicknames.  One is known as “Iceman” and the other is “The Machine.” One has a show called “Two and Half Men” and the other has the strength of two and half men.  One lives with porn stars, the other hosts an annual event called “Spankfest.” However, it’s the verbal weaponry that makes you think they could be out of one mind.  Slab and Sheen have the uncanny ability to cause your brain to do a double take.  When they speak, my reaction can be broken down into 3 different and distinct stages:

1.       Did he really just say that?

2.       You can’t really say that, can you?

3.       The fact that he actually said that is AWESOME

So, it’s time to play the game everyone loves “Slab or Sheen”.   The following 20 quotes can be credited to either Slab or Sheen.  Your job is to see how many you can get correct.  No cheating and surfing the web.  Honor code applies.

On Health

1.       I’m glad poontang is in the diet because I am a strict vagitarian

2.       I am on a drug. It’s called (Charlie Sheen/Slab). It’s not available. If you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body

3.       (Muscle Milk/Cocaine) is the best tasting stuff out there, in my opinion, but I hear it’s made with bald eagle feathers and unicorn tears so it’s spendy as hell too.

On intensity

4.       The beef is fully caked, and I have the Unstoppable Force state of mind as a result

5.       I’m an F-18 bro

6.       I have one speed. I have one gear. Go.

7.       I will get all up in your ear hole

8.       It’s a war. And it’s on.

On mixing humans and animals

9.       I have tiger blood and Adonis DNA

10.   It’s called (Ultra Manimal Bag/Charlie Sheen), and it’s made from 100% pure charging rhino sweat.

On Violence

11.   I am fueled by anger and hate

12.   If you’re a part of my family, I will love you violently

13.   I have no idea where everyone finds their inner rage to get violent and (move weight/smoke crack) listening to some of the songs on this list.

Philosophy on Life

14.   On Anthropomorphic Earth, some of this stuff would be sung by bunnies wearing tutus and throwing flower bouquets

15.   I’m a peaceful man with bad intentions.

16.   Let’s hook up and just bring fiery death.

17.   Resentments are the rocket fuel that lives in the tip of my sabre.

18.   Duh, winning

19.   I guess I am just that bitchin’.

20.   No one judges me…except God, and even HE thinks I’m a badass

Answers will be posted at the end of the day.  Good luck.

Article by: Mark
Posted by: Z