Tour de Draftee Stop #15: The Distillery

Tour de Draftee Stop #15: The Distillery

QIC: Draftee

Date: 07-02-2026

PAX: Tonka, Drama Queen (WD), Dr. Toot, Blind Date, Pele' (WB), Draftee, and Jake (dog).

The Thang

The morning began with one coupon per HIM and a simple objective: remove everything unnecessary until only the essentials remained.

Round 1 – Mash

10 reps each

• Goblet Squats
• Overhead Press
• Bent-over Rows
• Coupon Deadlifts
• American Hammers

Recovery: Walk 25 parking spaces and return.

Round 2 – Fermentation

Removed American Hammers.

10 reps each

• Goblet Squats
• Overhead Press
• Bent-over Rows
• Coupon Deadlifts

Recovery: Walk 20 parking spaces and return.

Round 3 – Distillation

Removed Bent-over Rows.

10 reps each

• Goblet Squats
• Overhead Press
• Coupon Deadlifts

Recovery: Walk 15 parking spaces and return.

Round 4 – Barrel Proof

Removed Coupon Deadlifts.

10 reps each

• Goblet Squats
• Overhead Press

Recovery: Walk 10 parking spaces and return.

Round 5 – Final Pour

Removed Goblet Squats.

10 Overhead Press.

Recovery: Walk 5 parking spaces and return.

With plenty of time remaining, the workout was run in reverse.

Each round added one movement back while increasing the recovery walk by five parking spaces until the PAX had worked their way back to the full workout.

The Story

The Distillery was built around one simple idea:

Remove everything unnecessary until only the essentials remain.

Five fundamental movements.

Nothing fancy.

Nothing complicated.

As each round progressed, one movement disappeared while the recovery walk became shorter.

Ironically, the recovery walks turned out to be one of the best parts of the workout. Rather than walking mindlessly to a cone, everyone found themselves counting parking spaces while catching their breath. It gave the PAX something to focus on while preparing for the next round, and the shorter recoveries naturally increased the intensity.

It didn’t take long for a consensus to form.

Overhead Press was everyone’s least favorite movement.

Drama Queen suggested it should have been placed fourth in the order instead of second so it could have been eliminated much sooner.

YHC also learned an important lesson.

Apparently, deadlifts require muscles that haven’t been visited in quite some time.

The lower back made sure that message was received loud and clear.

Tonka and Blind Date embraced the challenge by reaching for the big-boy blocks.

Then Pele’ reminded everyone why he’s leading the Tour.

During the American Hammers, he casually rested both feet on top of his coupon instead of the ground.

The improvised modification immediately caught Dr. Toot’s attention.

Credit where it’s was due—it was an impressive bit of on-the-spot creativity.

With time still remaining, the workout took an unexpected turn.

Instead of ending early, the process was reversed.

One movement was added back each round.

The recovery walks gradually became longer.

The workout became whole again.

Perhaps the best observation of the morning came from Tonka.

He appreciated the simplicity of the workout and commented that we don’t spend enough time getting back to the basics and making sure the foundation is strong.

Sometimes the simplest workouts teach the biggest lessons.

Pele’ finished the morning the same way he started it—setting the standard and earning his customary chorus of “Hate! Hate! Hate!” during COT.

Tour Update

The race for the belt continues.

SYITG.

— Draftee