Opening Qi Gong/Stretches
Neck
Shoulders
Spine
Hips
Knees
Ankles
Starting position/commencement
Energy ball – fluid movement
Upper Body
Arm work
Commencement
Single whip
Move hands like clouds
Lower Body
Tai Chi walk
Step
Lunge
Heel pivot
Lunge
Side Step x 3
Putting it all together!
Closing Qi Gong/stretch
Sacred Scrolls
I am not a professional and I am no Tai Chi expert, but I’ve always been curious about Tai Chi and have taken few class, including a leader workshop many years ago. This was my first time truly teaching Tai Chi. I really appreciate everyone’s willingness to try something new. I’m forever thankful for F3 and variety of workout options, especially Gumby.
If you are curious about more Tai Chi resources – here are two reputable organizations –
Saturday, April 28, 2018 was a gorgeous day for the seventh annual Sarcoma Stomp, hosted by the Paula Takacs Foundation for Sarcoma Research. Their mission is to raise funds that will directly benefit the fight to end sarcoma, by supporting local, innovative research to develop and offer cutting-edge treatment options to more sarcoma sufferers.
So many cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their families and friends were dressed in team colors – Team London, V4V (Victory 4 Virginia), The Tumornators, just to name a few. And in the middle of more than 1000 race participants was F3 and Speed For Need, providing locomotion for three young cancer fighters and Jamie, an inspiring survivor who beat sarcoma 36 years ago.
Pitino, Sir Topham Hat, and YHC had the privilege of driving Jamie, who was diagnosed with a rare form of Sarcoma at a young age and is one of the few who beat it and never looked back. She has been a part of the Sarcoma Stomp in the past but before today she had never participated in the race. Speed For Need made it possible for her to ride side-by-side with so many people impacted by Sarcoma and other cancers.
Then there was Mikayla, a young cancer fighter from Morganton, and her supporters, The Tumornators. Mikayla was laughing at Keith’s jokes for a while, but YHC noticed she was wearing iphone earbuds at one point during the race. Coincidence?
The positive electric energy radiating from Virginia Tanner and her V4V supporters, who came from Hickory to support her, was contagious. As a former cross-country runner, her being able to experience the thrill of a 5K with her friends and family was only surpassed by her determination to finish the race on her own 2 feet by pushing the racing chair across the line. Truly Inspiring.
Finally there was London, a 14 year old 7th grader at Carmel Middle. She planned to participate in the 3k walk with two of her schoolmates, but when she spotted a friend running the 5k, she quickly ordered Matlock to change course and start running the 5k course! The most special moment for the pax was seeing her face when she received her SFN medal. She was so excited and couldn’t wait to put it on. Later, she told Matlock that he deserved it more for doing all the pushing — she was so humble and thankful.
Inclusion is one of SFN’s primary missions. Last Saturday the men of F3 Nation answered a call to serve and came together to provide the means (the speed!) for these four ladies to participate in their race with their friends and family. It was a privilege to meet and run with these fighters who are engaged in the battle of their life, and to witness the love and support around them. I was proud to be a part of the SFN team today and I hope we inspired others to get in the fight to end cancer. Who pushes who?
Scabby
Large Group this am – must have been the mention of a form clinic that brought them out.
Solid 29 Pax strong – biggest showing so far at Hawks Nest.
Disclaimer provided to accompany the documents signed and to account for several site FNGs and one true FNG.
Off we went – YHC had to rely on site Q Doc for directions because this AO has tons of ways to get turned around.
Worked our way over to the larger parking lot near the football field for COP.
COP (all IC)
SSH x 20
IW x 15
Low Slow Squat x 10 – 3 down/1 up
Mtn Climbers x 20
Slow Merkins x 10
The Thang:
Mosey back up to steps outside the gym.
20 dips, then up the large steps (Q fail for not saying just the large steps)
3 rounds
Mosey over to Swim Mac on property – planning a nice triple nickel – but informed by management that Mac is off limits, including their grounds – good to know for future Qs
Time for a slight modification
Mosey on by the pool and hang a right across the bridge and by the baseball fields to the covered area with picnic tables.
10 jump ups / 20 dips / 20 derkins x 3
Plank when done.
Head back the way we came and cross the bridge heading to the football field.
Stop for a brief rest and some people’s chair on the bridge
Time Hawks Nest was introduced to The Escalator.
Mosey to football field and line up abreast in the end zone.
5 jump squats / 5 merkins / 5 heels to heaven / 5 burpees
run to just past the bleachers (approx. 70-75 yards)
10 jump squats / 10 merkins / 10 heels to heaven / 10 burpees
Run back to end zone
15 jump squats / 15 merkins / 15 heels to heaven / 15 burpees
run to just past the bleachers
20 jump squats / 20 merkins / 20 heels to heaven / 20 burpees
Run back to end zone
15 jump squats / 15 merkins / 15 heels to heaven / 15 burpees
run to just past the bleachers
10 jump squats / 10 merkins / 10 heels to heaven / 10 burpees
Run back to end zone
5 jump squats / 5 merkins / 5 heels to heaven / 5 burpees
No way around it, that one leaves a mark
Getting short on time so quick mosey back to launch point, again Q needed to ask for directions to get back to field beside middle school (more recon required next time)
3 mins left – time to also introduce Hawks Nest to Jack Webbs
1 merkin / 4 air presses
2 merkins / 8 air presses
3 merkins / 12 air presses
4 merkins / 16 air presses
5 merkins / 20 air presses
6 merkins / 24 air presses
Finished.
NMM
Great group out today – pax kept showing up before launch and YHC wondered if Hops and Doc had scheduled a convergence. Great to see old and new faces – this is turning into a great AO that pulls pax from all over Area 51 / SOB land.
Everyone was killing it today so little need for form police and for the record Mermaid, according YHC’s calculations may have set the record for the fasted Escalator. Those burpees were crazy fast.
And on the subject of the Escalator, thank Swim Mac for that one because it was a complete audible once the triple nickel was removed. Next time may bring the supersized Escalator out – this was just the regular sized one. Again, great solid work by everyone – hope this had something for everyone. Covered a bit of ground and did some work (If someone has the mileage, let YHC know or put it in the comments. Thanks Doc and Hops for the opportunity to lead this great group, and thanks Men for following YHC around in the gloom this am. Can’t say it was all fun, but we will be better for it.
Thanks for the takeout Hops – always on point.
Champagne out.
It has been close to a year since I have posted at Bagpipe, so it was nice to visit my old stomping ground. This site was were it all began for me. I have been running more and not making it out on Tuesday, so I was happy to step up when Tagalong reached out. I sent out a note for a pre-run that everyone ignored, and showed up to find Mario, Teddy and Mark Kay running. I guess this is what I get for not posting in a long time. After a 15 minute run, the parking lot filled up and off we went.
Mosey through parking lots towards small pond next to Eaton Corp. Circle up for the warm up. Disclaimer given.
20xSSH
20xIW
10x Merkins
Mosey to the actual pond and meet up at the bottom of the hill. Backwards bear crawls up the hill, then run a lap. Repeat 3 times. (note to self: wear gloves next time) After the Pax completed the circuit, mosey towards the Bullring and meet up towards the front. This is the point when I was told that Kirby re-injured himself. There was a comment that it happened before the disclaimer, but I am pretty sure he was running fine before the warm up, so I am protected by the disclaimer. Lunge walk from one median to the next and back.
Line up at the end of the first parking row and run around the buildings clockwise, performing 10 merkins at each speed bump, and 10 at the end of the row. Repeat all the way around for three rows. Total of 140 merkins. Mary while we wait on the six.
Mosey through parking lot to Brixham Hill Ave. 10 squats at each street light on the way back. Circle up in the parking lot for some Mary.
COM
20 x Chippy Cross
20 x Back Scratcher
10 x Canopener each leg.
Moleskin: Thanks again Tagalong for getting me out of my comfort zone and asking me to post. It is fun to mix it up. I had totally forgotten about the small pond until my pre-run, so I couldn’t help myself but use that hill. Backwards bear crawls sounded great at first until I realized the grass was wet, cold and probably 30 inches high. Unfortunately we had already committed. I can’t seem to lead a workout without a lot of merkins so thanks for putting up with it, again. Strong work by the whole Pax. Thanks for the guys staying with Kirby who had another run of bad luck and re-injured his leg. Sorry if I had anything to do with it, and hope you heal fast.
Announcements:
Frehley’s Comet leading the next Swift Q. Or is he?
“Extreme Ownership” Leadership book discussion at the bagel place every week after the workout
12 men gathered this morning to get a little better. Here’s what went down.
The Thang
YHC’s usual brief disclaimer given. Then off we went out of Latin. Left on Raintree. Left on Whitethorn. Run to the end of Whitethorn where it meets Four Mile Creek at the blinky red light. Circle up for a very quick COP consisting of 10 LSS in cadence. That was it. We had already ran over a mile so that was deemed to be sufficient. Everyone find a partner. There was an even number today so this worked out well. Partner 1 runs down Whitethorn then left on Raintree. Partner 2 runs down Four Mile Creek then right on Raintree. When you meet your partner, do 20 jump squats. You each turn around and run back the way you came. When you meet again, do 20 more jump squats. Now flap jack directions and repeat. Gather up where this all started and then head back toward the launch. Stopped about 2/3 of the way back at a light pole. We would finish up Whitethorn by alternating sprints and recovery between light poles. There were still a few minutes left so that meant there was time for a couple of more sprints. Sprint one was up Raintree to Holly Hill Farm. Easy back to Whitethorn. Last sprint was down Raintree to Providence. Head back to launch. Done.
Moleskin
Once again, great work men. Way to get after it. It was fun leading today. About the title, YHC decided to change up the cadence count on some flutters at the end. Just for fun. So instead of inflecting on the final rep, there was a count down. Subsequently minds were blown. Everyone seemed to know what it meant though. So hey, a little something different.
YHC volunteered to take the reins late yesterday. Watchtower is hands-down the second best AO in all the land…behind the Floater, of course. YHC relapsed into #528 mode this morning and barely made it on time. Nonetheless, we got there, exchanged brief pleasantries and were off.
Warmup:
Long-ish mosey behind school up Posse’s virtual run loop and back around the front. YHC had a suspicion there may be a straggler…there he was, Xerox in the flesh. #533.
We grabbed Xerox and headed over to the first portico.
SSH x 20
No Frack, No problem- 2 Stretches from the Moneyball’s Originals collection (slight angst from the Pax of what was perceived to be a yoga workout in the making)
Old Man Stretch – no explanation needed- except for Halfback. He was perplexed and definitely didn’t feel any of it
Clover Pickers – YHC just made it up. It’s like a Potato/Cherry/Cotton Picker without the time-wasting clap…most commonly referred to as a hamstring stretch
Hands flat on ground, walk hands over to Right Foot, then Left, then walk out to a Plank
Merkins x 15
The Thang:
“Warmup Part 2” (At this point, Frack would have been doing abs).
Partner up. Two wall exercises. Partner 1 runs to far curb, Partner 2 does exercise
Long Mosey around front of school towards the back lot. At this point, the MapMeister (Recalculating) and Mr. DelFrisco (Fuse Box) both claimed my weinke was being made up on the fly. They quickly learned different. Rule of the Road, never mock a man’s weinke.
BurpWalk: Follow sidewalk to top of parking lot (going straight up the lot). -Mary til the 6.
At each road section, do 5 burpees. Once you’ve made it to the top do 5 burpees all the way back. I believe it wound up being 40 burpees
SquatLap: At Each light pole around the perimeter of the backlot, do 5 jump squats. I believe it tallied somewhere around 100 jump squats -Mary til the 6.
CPB (CleanPressBurp): Grab a rock Frack would not make fun of you for choosing. Partner 1 runs to last tree towards end of parking lot and returns. Partner 2 Cleans, Presses, and Burps lifting rock until they return. 40 as a team. -Mary til the 6
Long Mosey to the Football Field- Disclaimer, we stayed off the track and only used the bleachers. When YHC said AYG to the shortwall after the steps, MadDog redirected and said run behind the bleachers just in case.
Bleachers: Run up and down all flights. Upon completion, wait for 6 with some Fence Sitting (Halfback’s idea). Quick mosey to short wall.
CheekSlappers: Partner 1 presses butt cheeks to wall (basically sitting down and standing up), Partner 2 runs to bridge and back. Audible midstream after Partner 1. Sent Partner 2 all the way to the barn with a courtesy yell when they’d reached the bridge.
Mr. DelFrisco was not pleased with this turn of events, but meat-sweated it all the way to the COT.
The End.
Moleskin:
After a bit of early consternation by a few of the Pax, YHC is hopeful this morning’s version of Jazzercize hit the spot. Legal Zoom and Halfback pushed it the whole day with Recalc and Mad Dog not far behind. In spite of the meat sweats for having consumed an entire baby calf yesterday evening at DelFrisco, Fuse Box pushed hard…and didn’t spill the beef.
What can be said for Jingles and Beltway? Both travel non-stop for work and show up when they can and bust their butts. Great job you guys. Xerox, you continue to inspire. Doughboy keeps getting faster and faster. 280 is only a number…unless it is riding on Damascus’ or Fuse Box’s back up #keithjonghill in which case, it is more than only a number!
Posse took his own advice and chose not to be the 6 today. Way to go, man- knew you had it in you. Chipotle was running like he’d just polished off a burrito, and I believe Deflated said he’s ready for his VQ. Of course, nobody could really hear him so we’ll just have to wait and see on that one!
Announcements:
Lift our brothers in prayer – Transporter and Abacus’ wife.
Mad Dog- Final interview later this week
Open Door- Bible Study Sunday 7am @ 5 Stones
Family F3- Starts May 12th at Cuthbertson at 9. Will be something for everybody
Thanks to Doughboy for taking us out.
Its about that time of year…. Ragnar Trail relay is coming October 5th-6th and its time to start convincing 7 other PAX to join you in the biggest F3 gathering of the fall. Unfamiliar with Ragnar? YHC is on Q again and has all of the information you may need!
Teams of 8 (or 4 if want Ultra), run relay style overnight on 3 different trail loops setup at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill SC. The loops all start and stop at the Ragnar village where you and your fellow PAX will be setup in our own F3 tent site. The race is complete once all of your team runs each loop once, totaling approx 16 miles per runner. Depending on your team, the race takes approx 20 hours to complete. In the Ragnar Village they will have free coffee, Smore’s, bonfires, hammock village, and if you arrive early enough- you can even demo some badass Salomon shoes for the weekend at no additional cost.
Last year we had a pretty great setup, and this year should only improve. I will be utilizing the help of several other regional Q’s to help get the word out to their specific regions, and keep the PAX better updated than just YHC is capable of doing, as well as better coordinating the amount of food and items we bring. We will once again have our very own campsite, specific to F3 and very close to the the village to make for easier runner transitions. We are allowed to set up the night before on Thursday, and Ragnar will have the village open for pre-party and course preview. We have our own F3 cooking facilities stocked with food, drinks, snacks, and BBQ grill for us to cook our own dinner and breakfast. I would suggest still bringing anything specific you may need for your team, but a large quantity of food will be provided. This year Ragnar is providing a special overall Top F3 team award for the winning F3 squad. Ragnar has provided F3 with a locked in rate again this year. No matter when you sign up, the registration fee will be $1080 with code: F3VIP
However, the sooner we can get teams registered, the faster we can get our plans ironed out for our campsite and provisions.
Leading up to the event, YHC will host several on site preview runs, REI classes, online giveaways in addition to updated information on packing lists and runner info. Hop on slack channel #Ragnar2018 for the most up-to-date posts, or keep an eye out on Twitter for more info.
Quick summary:
*Fri and Sat October 5th and 6th
*8 PAX per team
*Approx 16 trail miles in 3 legs over 20+ hours
*Code: F3VIP for locked in rate of $1080 for full ($135/runner) or $700 for Ultra ($175/runner)
*Lots of freebies and information leading up to raceday
*Please utilize and share this REGISTRATION LINK to increase our future Ragnar handouts
…..list of regional Q’s to come