# Helper fitness



## Ben Thompson (May 2, 2009)

Do most people who do helper work take up jogging or sprinting to get in shape for it? I have started helper work and get winded easily even though I go to the gym. I'm never taking yoga or tae- bo either. It has to be at least a semi-masculine exercise. I would also concider bike riding to get fit but it can't be a pink bike. Remember in Rocky 4 where he goes to russia and chops trees down and climbs the mountains? Yeah the exercise has too look kind of like that. I would even concider growing a beard but...probably not. Anyway what do you do?


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## Vanessa Dunstan (Apr 27, 2010)

Hey cant get much more masculine than boxing. I do this for fitness (yeah Im a woman) LOL Its awesome for fitness work tho!!


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## andreas broqvist (Jun 2, 2009)

I do weight lifting and MMA traning.
Plus I do sprints with the suit on in a incline. I found a nice PDF on Decoy trning. Ther was aloot of sprints back and fort and stuff like that. Wery usefull.

You can run upstairs with chanins on you sholders and stuff like that. Do explosive traning.


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## todd pavlus (Apr 30, 2008)

Plyometric exercises would help. The ARF website has decoy conditioning exercises on there 

http://arfcanines.com/Decoy%20Conditioning.pdf


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## Tim Lynam (Jun 12, 2009)

Ben,

Got a lot of good ideas here!

Here's mine:

A good warm up regimen before starting to work, including stretching and some wind sprints is imperative.

BREATH. Many decoys I worked with forgot to breath while they are working a dog. Sounds crazy, but; it's true. Anyone training in Martial Arts knows the importance of breath control. Think about it while you're working, and you may find you are holding your breath more than you realize. Better yet, have the trainer remind you.

Work more dogs! "Dogersize" is the best training for working dogs. There is no substitute for a lot of suit/sleeve time.

Make sure you, the handler and the trainer understand what is supposed to happen when training. You'll have to put out less effort per dog if everyone is on the same page. It all adds up.

Good luck with your conditioning!

Tim


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## Troy Seaton (Sep 4, 2007)

I swim 1.24 miles 6 days a week(freestyle,breast stroke and kickboard for all legs)...gonna get back to doing some sort of weight training 2-3x a week as well in the near future...currently 6' 2" 250 but lookin to get down in the 220-225 range as the knees take too much of a beating as is.TS


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## Adam Swilling (Feb 12, 2009)

I agree with alot of what's been posted; Tim, you've hit the big nail on the head: work dogs! Running for endurance does not help as much as people think. Working dogs is more explode and stop. That's a different type of endurance, so the sprints help. The closest thing I've ever done to that is football drills in high school. 

I'm in the gym 3 nights a week working on arms (biceps, triceps), shoulders, back, and pecs. I've been pleasantly surprised at how much this has helped with working dogs. 

But then again I do all this and then see some round short guy work dogs for hours with the athletic ability of an NBA point guard and wonder what I'm doing.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Grasshopper...breath in...breath out...be one with the activity. A tense body uses more energy and a relaxed one can do more. Working dogs uses different skills than bike riding! Start small and then work more dogs...:-k


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Ben Thompson said:


> I'm never taking yoga or tae- bo either. It has to be at least a semi-masculine exercise.


Don't discount yoga...I took a lower back yoga class back in the fall and the instructor is also the instructor for the Mizzou football team. The guys were a bit resistant to it at first and then really got into it and really liked it for their increase in performance. We'd do some yoga poses and stretches for martial arts too.


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## Mark Horne (Oct 12, 2006)

Try and think functional; what is required of your body during the activity. Running or swimming at a steady pace for 40mins is NOT what you do. Your activity is actually anaerobic as opposed to aerobic. The muscles loaded are core;back/abs/obliques. The knees and ankles are worked usually on one leg, turning and twisting etc.

The best training is still a class of Circuit Training, even Olympic Coaches agree nothing has been invented since the sixties that compares with the gains in performance and conditioning.

The boxing and MMA training is a good shout, when you train legs its one legged squats or lunges varying the angles. Strengthen the hips,knees, ankles and core for the role.

Abs again should involve lots of twisting exercises, not straight forward crunches or sit ups; you just don't use that range of motion on the field.

Sprinting is good, but with press ups, squat thrusts, bur pees in between for explosive moves.
Don't forget "The Plank" exercise, its critical.

Some of the helpers I have come across in Europe are like athletes these days, on the hand there are dozens of blokes in their forties who's Backs are wrecked because they relied on youth to get them through their younger days.

Good Luck.


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## Matthew Grubb (Nov 16, 2007)

Don't forget the heat and hydration.... They take a toll on the body in the suit.


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## Ben Thompson (May 2, 2009)

Vanessa Dunstan said:


> Hey cant get much more masculine than boxing. I do this for fitness (yeah Im a woman) LOL Its awesome for fitness work tho!!


Boxing thats a good idea did you get that from Rocky? Are your hands now registered as weapons? :lol:


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## Ben Thompson (May 2, 2009)

"BREATH. Many decoys I worked with forgot to breath while they are working a dog. Sounds crazy, but; it's true. Anyone training in Martial Arts knows the importance of breath control. Think about it while you're working, and you may find you are holding your breath more than you realize. Better yet, have the trainer remind you."

I have to admit this is probably one of the key things I forget! I seem to get more winded if a dog is biting me then if I am jogging or sprinting.


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## Ben Thompson (May 2, 2009)

Adam Swilling said:


> I agree with alot of what's been posted; Tim, you've hit the big nail on the head: work dogs! Running for endurance does not help as much as people think. Working dogs is more explode and stop. That's a different type of endurance, so the sprints help. The closest thing I've ever done to that is football drills in high school.
> 
> I'm in the gym 3 nights a week working on arms (biceps, triceps), shoulders, back, and pecs. I've been pleasantly surprised at how much this has helped with working dogs.
> 
> But then again I do all this and then see some round short guy work dogs for hours with the athletic ability of an NBA point guard and wonder what I'm doing.


I've always done high reps low weight at the gym. 3 sets of 15 reps each set trying to build muscular endurance but this kind of thing is more explosive like everyone is saying. So probably I should add heavy weights with lower reps.


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## Toran Scott (Mar 27, 2009)

It's pretty intense but the "Insanity" DVD's are perfect for what you are wanting endurance wise. Cardio, plyometrics, explosive moves with a bit of rest inbetween, guaranteed to kick your tail. I was giving my wife a hard time cuz she bought the biggest loser workout dvd's and then I tried one... on the lowest level... I couldn't keep up with "contestants", I was sore for 3 days. I went out to the Jimmy VanHove seminar and got destroyed (everyone did) and decided I needed to become a "loser" myself. Just started to the Insanity DVD's and they are killer but really good. I'm almost 36 so I'm no spring chicken but I've always been pretty athletic and in decent shape but to get serious with working dogs in a trial setting (and training setting as well) you gotta be in good shape. Of course there is no substitute for working dogs but you still gotta get in shape. Football players don't play football all the time to get in shape, they condition, lift, and do drills (training) so they can play football at the highest level. Working dogs is important but you still need the anaerobic workout. Mark Horne had some good tips, I'd take some of his advice.
Toran


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## Brett Patterson (Dec 3, 2009)

Something that has helped me get in better shape for working dogs has been crossfit. They post workouts on their website daily and you can do them almost anywhere or modify them so you can. They use circuit training and its good to do a few times a week. Wouldn't do it more than a few times a week though or you will lose power for endurance. Here's the website http://crossfit.com/.


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

For a good cardio workout, I stand in the middle of the street and have my wife drive towards me at breakneck speeds and do a panic stop.


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## Adam Swilling (Feb 12, 2009)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> For a good cardio workout, I stand in the middle of the street and have my wife drive towards me at breakneck speeds and do a panic stop.


 That is freakin' hilarious!


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## Vanessa Dunstan (Apr 27, 2010)

Ben Thompson said:


> Boxing thats a good idea did you get that from Rocky? Are your hands now registered as weapons? :lol:


Haha no not quite LOL 
On a serious note boxing training is very intense. I think its an awesome way to get your fitness up there where it needs to be. I also ride dressage and it helps with that immensely also. 
We do alot of sprint work, skipping, pushups (varying angles), ab work(varying angles),we do what we call a hover (I think someone else here calls it the plank) military presses for shoulders with weights, alot of bag and pad work which helps with your upper body strength, then once we have done all of this we do 3 sets of 10 minute weight circuits. It all takes about 1 and half hours and we do this 3 days a week. Its great!!! :wink:


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## Vanessa Dunstan (Apr 27, 2010)

gerry grimwood said:


> for a good cardio workout, i stand in the middle of the street and have my wife drive towards me at breakneck speeds and do a panic stop.


lmao!!!!


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Not a decoy here but I think only one poster (Tim) mentioned stretching. I would put a high priority on that right next to explosive endurance.


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## James Downey (Oct 27, 2008)

Mark Horne said:


> Try and think functional; what is required of your body during the activity. Running or swimming at a steady pace for 40mins is NOT what you do. Your activity is actually anaerobic as opposed to aerobic. The muscles loaded are core;back/abs/obliques. The knees and ankles are worked usually on one leg, turning and twisting etc.
> 
> The best training is still a class of Circuit Training, even Olympic Coaches agree nothing has been invented since the sixties that compares with the gains in performance and conditioning.
> 
> ...


****ing A!


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## Riley Rodewald (Feb 12, 2008)

All good answers also if you do do weights focus on compound lifts. Cleans are good for explosive training and they work your entire body.

Also yoga is really good. I trained for competitive hockey the last 3 years and was in good shape but some of those yoga exercises are killer.


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## andreas broqvist (Jun 2, 2009)

Yes the is only 6 exersizes in weight traning.

Back : Dead lifts
Legs: Scuats
Pecs : Dubel/benshPress
Biceps: DumelCurls
Triceps: FrenshPress
Sholders:Overhead press

5 heavy repps times X Sets of thos exersises is the onlything you nead.

Everyting ellse is fluff


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## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

depending on where you live you can do some critter wrestling every morning.
In the deep south you can wrestle with Alligators, in the far north, moose are a good sparring partner.
If you live in the north west I would reccomend fighting a Grizzly bear a few times a week, and a mountain lion the rest of the week.
If you live in southern California just jog through the projects with an "I hate Obama" T shirt on. ( I have several to loan you if you want)
Are these the manly-man types of excercises that you were looking for?


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## Linda Flemmer (Jun 16, 2009)

You all forgot the West Virginia "dead hay lift".

The farmer that delivered 10 tons of hay to us last summer doesn't look like much - until he starts throwing 50 lb bales of hay from a hay wagon over his head into our hay loft. 

Only 50 lb dead lifts? Hah! Well... try reps of 10 - forty times! And toss it 10 feet over your head! Then climb up and stack it!

That was one fit boy! 

Linda


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> For a good cardio workout, I stand in the middle of the street and have my wife drive towards me at breakneck speeds and do a panic stop.


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## Mario Fernandez (Jun 21, 2008)

You need to work on some Rotties while wearing ankle weights (2lbs). Sounds a little crazy but works. Those resistance bands work also,  I will try to use them for stretching before working dogs. A lot of good suggestions. Diet is important.


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## Adam Swilling (Feb 12, 2009)

mike suttle said:


> depending on where you live you can do some critter wrestling every morning.
> In the deep south you can wrestle with Alligators, in the far north, moose are a good sparring partner.
> If you live in the north west I would reccomend fighting a Grizzly bear a few times a week, and a mountain lion the rest of the week.
> If you live in southern California just jog through the projects with an "I hate Obama" T shirt on. ( I have several to loan you if you want)
> Are these the manly-man types of excercises that you were looking for?


 Also in parts of the South, you can participate in something referred to as "sister chasing". From what I've been told, it will help develop that explosive endurance and overall cardio health. I've met people that have obviously participated in this activity because I'm convinced they have an "Uncle Dad".


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## Hoyt Yang (Dec 26, 2007)

Adam Swilling said:


> Also in parts of the South, you can participate in something referred to as "sister chasing". From what I've been told, it will help develop that explosive endurance and overall cardio health. I've met people that have obviously participated in this activity because I'm convinced they have an "Uncle Dad".


:lol: LOL @ uncle dad!


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## Yvette Woodward (Feb 9, 2010)

If you think helper work is challenging for a guy, try doing it if you're a chick. 

I think mountain biking is going to do me the most good because east coast riding is anaerobic lung-cracking leg-busting sprint work. If you're riding a bicycle on a bike path or those west coast fire roads then you will not get the same experience.

Stretching is very important for me, and I always stretch when I put on my scratch pants even when the boys laugh and point. Call it sissy if you like, but I consider flexibility and warmed up muscles essential to avoid unnecessary damage. 

The good news is that if you are physically active, reasonably flexible, and at a healthy weight then you are already "ahead". I think you should find some activity you ENJOY so that you will stick to it. That to me would be more important than what activity some might think "best".

Yvette


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## Tim Lynam (Jun 12, 2009)

Let 'em laugh Yvette! If I didn't warm up I was gassed after 4 or 5 dogs. If I warmed up, I could work 40. I had more than a few young people ask others "What's the old man doing?" when I was warming up. They always wondered what my secret was when I worked them into the ground at 40 years old... I also feel that's one reason I still have good knees and no back problems.

Ya, let 'em laugh...


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Tim Lynam said:


> Let 'em laugh Yvette! If I didn't warm up I was gassed after 4 or 5 dogs. If I warmed up, I could work 40. I had more than a few young people ask others "What's the old man doing?" when I was warming up. They always wondered what my secret was when I worked them into the ground at 40 years old... I also feel that's one reason I still have good knees and no back problems.
> 
> Ya, let 'em laugh...


 Tim tell the full story...7 pound toys CAN'T wear you out! LOL
Good anything is the key and knowing when to call it is also a plus...do it well!!!


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## Tim Lynam (Jun 12, 2009)

Busted! 

Chihuahuas and Min Pins, 40 at once! Then I had to sit down... I never heard the word "OUT" so many times in one session before! LOL. I think you over estimated their weights though, Howard. 5 pounds, maybe...


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Tim Lynam said:


> Busted!
> 
> Chihuahuas and Min Pins, 40 at once! Then I had to sit down... I never heard the word "OUT" so many times in one session before! LOL. I think you over estimated their weights though, Howard. 5 pounds, maybe...


 Guessing weights...the reason I'm not a "weight guesser" at the State Fair! :mrgreen:


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## Mark Horne (Oct 12, 2006)

Some great advice coming out here, I am a Sgt on a SWAT team, tried the yoga, it was too hard; its serious stuff not to be taken lightly.

On a final note; the quickest way to DESTROY gains in performance is routine.(this includes the dog too) It takes the Human Body 3 weeks to adapt to any exercise routine before it starts taking short cuts and not developing, I can only guess a genetically bred working dog takes a lot less.

E.g. Week 1 reps of 15 for speed and endurance, week 2 reps of 10-12 for muscle mass and conditioning, week 3 reps of 6 for strength, week 4 anything you fancy for fun.

At the same time week 1 may be Dips for chest, week 2 Dumbbell bench press, Week 3 Heavy Bench Press or Press Ups; same muscles different ranges etc No Over Use and plateaus.

When you hit 40 bin the running on hard ground and cycle or use the treadmill.

Cheers


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## Mike Burke (Jan 28, 2007)

Some good responses....

For the thread starter.....

I myself use HIIT....High Intensity Interval Training. I use the football field next to my house.... sprint 50 yards and after each sprint I would either do push ups,jumpin jacks,sit ups,mountain climbers,pull ups from the goal posts, wheel barrel walks if I work out with a partner.

I also have a several different size tires.... a huge tractor trailer tire that I use to flip and after each flip I do a box jump onto the tire.... I also hit the tire with a 16 lbs sledgehammer. The smaller tires I use for core strength.... again I go onto the football field and toss the tires in different motions... over the head toss and side tosses. i also use medicine balls for sore work outs.

For leg strength... I do hindu squats, lunges, bw squats and I push my Tundra up and down my street with my wife steering. Pushing the truck really helps build strength big time. 

As part of my interval training I use a method called the tabata method... you can use this method with any exercises... I use it with push ups, sit ups, pull ups, mountain climbers and burpees. None the less... you will build insane endurance and you will lose weight as well with this method. Here is a link for the tabata method....
http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_tabata_method

Another workout I do with the tabata method is sprinting...here is an article on using the tabata method...it is called guerilla cardio.
http://www.cs.unm.edu/~wneumann/files/guerilla_cardio.pdf

Another poster wrote that riding a bike will not help...I disagree....riding a bike with intensity will build endurance.... riding a bike up hills will build leg strength and endurance.... 99% of hockey players use stationary bikes for endurance building.

But... most of all... work dogs over and over... use long drives... and Like Mario F wrote.... work the big dogs... like the Rotties....and take em on long drives! 

Good Luck with your training.


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## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

Mike Burke said:


> Some good responses....
> 
> For the thread starter.....
> 
> ...


If I recall my conversation with you a couple of years ago at out regional your also a firemen? Your work out regiment cant hurt staying on top with your job.
Good luck at the AWDF


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## James Downey (Oct 27, 2008)

Mike Burke said:


> Some good responses....
> 
> For the thread starter.....
> 
> ...


 
****in A Mike....where's my shirt!!!???? 

As for the bike. I use AeroDyne bikes with the Tabata method. 5 minutes....You will vomit. I am pretty lucky when it comes to fitness education. My job is also very demanding physically, and I am in charge at my unit to prepare young canidates for our job before they go to school. So I get sent to fitness schools a few times a year. Then my wife is an atheletic traing and fitness trainer and she majored in Exercise and nutritional sciences at SDSU. The training Mike is describing is the future of Training....intense interval training. 

I also would like to add though that the next step is Neuro muscular training. When training specific movements for technique and skill. There are finding that athletes such as a boxer who throws punches till he is weary. Makes less technical gain on the movement than a boxer who throws punches and stops before he gets tired....I know the grey area is how do you build stamina specific to the sport without losing technique. Well through a technique called periodization. This breaks up routines of sports specific training into workouts with different goals. Say at first the boxer wishes to hit harder, for a few weeks he keeps his boxing workouts light, focusing on building muscle by keep his muscles under tension longer. This means slow reps. the specific number of reps he does, does not matter. Just keep the weight moving slow, do not stop at the top or bottom. Then he has to turn the muscle he has made into muscle that is strong, this where weight and reps matter. now he tries to move the weight with explosive power...taking long rests in between sets. this is not about exhaustion this about making the movements explosive. Then moving onto the next phase, which is turning the strength into useful movement. This where he starts reving up his boxing workouts. Taking all the work he has done before and turning into a punch. Here is focusing on technique Then when goes to get in fight shape he starts doing his interval training. Now through each period you mix in a little of the others to keep gains. But they are not your focus. Make Sense?


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## andreas broqvist (Jun 2, 2009)

daaaame mike. that was a nice tip. i have totely mist that one.
i tryed it out in the gym this morning.
im a small guy and only bench around 220.
but i thaught hey 90 for 4 minutes shuld be a brees  2 set and then i had to go down to 70 ha ha.
ths will be a fun cuple of weeks to se what gains can be made with this.


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## kamphuis gerben (Jan 29, 2009)

the best way to get in shape 
for decoying smoke cigarettes,drink loads off beers 
working a lot of dogs every day 
why spend so much time getting in shape by running sit upps wasted time 
work lots off dogs thats a decoys job 
greetings gerben


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## Mike Burke (Jan 28, 2007)

I'm with ya on the beers... a KNPV decoy can do this while he is decoying because he does not do much... runs away... rides a bike and does a little screaming... LOL..just kiddin. It is my favorite sport though...I wish it was in the states.


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## Mike Burke (Jan 28, 2007)

Mike Scheiber said:


> If I recall my conversation with you a couple of years ago at out regional your also a firemen? Your work out regiment cant hurt staying on top with your job.
> Good luck at the AWDF


Hey Mike... 

Yes I am a NYC Fireman... the workouts help big time for the job.

I worked the AWDF's last year. Thanks for the well wishes though.. appreciate it.


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## Mike Burke (Jan 28, 2007)

James....

Sorry about the shirt.... But your old training partner MJ told me not to send you a shirt. LOL! J/K.... please send me your address again. I apologize.

Andreas....

Just try push ups first.... you can use weights, but use very light weights.... I mainly use body weight exercises.
Try the sprints that way! You will throw up. LOL


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