12… nope 11, made the trek to Calvary Church for this week’s chilly installment of Anvil. As everyone emerged from the warmth of their vehicles much attention was given to the attire each PAX was sporting. An assortment ranging from hoodies to t-shirts, pants to shorts and two in straight up tights. No newbies so off we go, not to the hotbox as requested by Brushback.
Head out of the windy confines of the “high ground” that Calvary Church occupies and onto Rea. Mosey down to Bevington. Regroup as we have already had a casualty to the uneven yet ground down sidewalk along the tree lined street. Our 12 had become 11 as a turned ankle rendered Hammer lame. Hope it’s minor issue Hammer. #iceup
20 SSH IC at Bevington and mosey on to Old Course.
Hold at Old Course for instructions on the McGee Special or “Peaks and Valleys”. At the peaks do Hand-Release Merkins. In the valleys do Jump-Squats. Start with a set of 5 and up it by 1 every consecutive set of peaks and valleys. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… You get the idea.
The goal was to get to the stop sign of Old Course and Piper Glen. Snuka, Lorax and Brushback would have made it if I didn’t call them back to the 10 spot. We held up for the six and then reversed it on the way back out starting at 10 and going down to 5. Peaks = Jump squat, Valleys = HR Merkins.
Plank it up and wait on the six at Rea and Old Course. 15 American Hammers then As Fast As You Wish, AFAYW, to Bevington.
Regroup with some plank work and head up to Calvary entrance 4. At the bottom of entrance, I know I know – we don’t do exercises at the bottom of the hill, run up AFAP and do 10 HR Merkins, 10 Jump Squats and 10 Burpees. (no flying squirrels)
Mosey across the parking lot sprinkling in some side steps left and right, backwards run and finish it with some dynamic stretches. Frankensteins and Buttkickers.
Circle up for Mary. In Cadence LBC x 15, Freddie Mercury x 15 and Dolly x 15.
Done/Frozen
Moleskin:
A strong group out there today. No one was left behind as the wienke was aggressive just like McGee. 😉 Old Course is a bit far from Calvary but worthwhile in order to get in a hill beatdown. Pair it with some exercises and you can convince the PAX that they did a Bootcamp and not a Running workout. (SHHHH)
Thanks to Lorax for posting the Q spot on slack. I need an excuse to bring my butt all the way back out to A51 from Steele Creek more often. #lazy #lunchrunner
Take out by Lorax
Announcements:
A51 xmas party – Sign up ends today. Get your spot
Joe Davis in March
Chiseled, originally advertised as a gear workout, started out with a bang. Gear being used focusing more on building muscle, somewhat less cardio. A few weeks into its launch, the advertised theme started fading away. Rumors were building…..Chiseled had lost its way. The mumble chatter being conveyed to the site Q’s, a yoga theme was taking over…..should we rename. Tends to be a recent theme these day, renaming???? From my understanding, the site Q’s called a special meeting to determine how to correct/change the direction. While in discussion and enjoying their favorite adult beverage, MD 20/20 and Zima, they heard a song come across the radio, Imagine Dragons – Roots. That’s it, “we have got to get Chiseled back to its roots”!!!!! Damascus started the redirect journey last week with sandbags from hell, it was my responsibility to keep it going. Full disclaimer….some of this is fictional, some not….You decide!!!!
With the temps hovering around 25 degrees, I did not know who would show for a Chiseled gear workout. I was pleasantly surprised to see 15 pax roll in ready rock the frozen Tundra of Chiseled.
The Warm Up:
The Thang:
9 stations set up with 2 exercises for each station, another was used as a runner. Pax would alternate between exercises with a runner being the timer. Once runner returned, everyone would rotate to the next station. We were able to complete three rounds before time expired.
The Moleskine:
Announcements:
Thanks to Mad Dog for taking us out.
After getting the call from the bullpen last night to step in and Q at Death Valley, I tried to come up with something creative to reflect the role a substitute teacher might play — maintain the organized chaos, make the time pass quickly, and don’t let any fights or extreme name-calling to occur.
With that in mind, the most creative idea that I could develop at 9:00 pm was surrounding baseball (go figure) and a test of random knowledge about jersey numbers of famous players in history.
At 0530, a look around the circle of 9 men found that only Puddin Pop was brave enough to have no tights on his legs in the 25 degree weather. Â After a short discussion about whether tights actually did any good, a quick disclaimer was given and off we moseyed down Woodfox Dr.
Stopping halfway down Woodfox, the PAX circled for a little COP — SSH x 15, IW x 15, LSS x 15, Merkins x 10, MC x 15. Continue to mosey up Rounding Run and over to Windbluff to where the main event was held:
Starting at the speed hump at the bottom of Windbluff, the pop quiz began. Â Each student would be given his individual turn to showcase his knowledge of historical baseball players. Instructions were given that all baseball players involved in the quiz would have worn a jersey number between 1 and 10. Â If the student correctly matched the player to his jersey number, the PAX would run to the top of the hill, do that jersey number of merkins, then run back to the speed hump and do that same jersey number of squats. However, if the student answered incorrectly, the answer was double the jersey number + 10. Once 8 rounds were complete (everyone went once except the Q), the PAX did an Indian Run back to launch. 3 minutes of Mary wrapped up the workout.
Moleskin:
There were a couple of random observations on a really cold morning as we moseyed to Windbluff.  Puddin Pop, with his hoodie tied tight, was told he looked like a baby and needed a pacifier to complete the look. Smokey commented that his eyes were watering as though he was watching a chick flick with his wife (kudos to you, Smokey – get ready for those Hallmark movies this season. I hear they might make one this year where you can’t predict the outcome until at least 25 minutes in).
The PAX did better than expected on the baseball jersey number trivia and it was a fun way to keep moving and create some mumble chatter. Â Correct answers were: Derek Jeter (2), Babe Ruth (3), Cal Ripken (8), Ted Williams (9), and Chipper Jones (10). Incorrect answers involved Ozzie Smith (1), Johnny Bench (5), Mickey Mantle (7).
YHC can’t believe that Dollywood got his question right (Jeter) as I wasn’t sure he’d know a single baseball player’s jersey number! Puddin Pop was strong on the quiz.  Like YHC, he properly stores his useless knowledge at the forefront of his brain. Hey, you never know when someone may want to know who won the NL MVP in 2014 (Clayton Kershaw – the last time a Pitcher won MVP)!
Always a pleasure to lead. Thanks for the good turnout, even in the cold weather.
Announcements:
Opportunity to serve by building a handicap ramp on Saturday. Meet at 0800 at First United Methodist Church in Matthews. No tools needed – just gloves and your work ethic. Contact Stone Cold if you need more information.
Christmas Party on Saturday night (Dec. 1)
15 PAX decided to venture out in this balmy spell we were having in the 50’s to work off the turkey pounds.
The Warm Up
Disclaimer given and again in honor of Big 10, we circled up (no mosey), much to the dismay of many
SSH X 15 IC
Merkins x 15 IC
Mountain Climbers x 15 IC
Calf Stretch
Flutters x 15 IC
The Thang
Ahh finally a mosey.
Mosey to 1st light on path towards Transporter’s shed
5 Merkins at each light all the way to Transporter’s shed
(merkins/planks until 6 joins)
A brief recce of the site earlier with Good fella (pre jog not a pre-run) showed that the rock pile was dwindling but thanks to Ignition and Asylum we were fine.
Grabbing  a lifting rock the PAX circled to do some arm warm up exercises , 4 sets of bicep curls and Triceps extensions rotating clockwise after each set
Rounds of 20/10, 15/10, 10/10, 5/10
We then moseyed again to the roundabout behind the HS to do 7’s using both roundabouts. Merkins at the top roundabout and dry docks at the bottom.
(merkins/planks until 6 joins)
We moseyed to steps at the back of the HS for a Foundation special of calf exercises. The routine was 30 calf raises every step (In, out and straight). As always tehse things seem awesome on paper but varies in practice, an audible later changed it to every other step. The intent was for this to be done only once but Gator cub wanted second helpings (still in a thanksgiving mode apparently)
Mosey to front of the MS for partner work.
P1 runs short lap (not sure if it’s 1/4 or 1/2 lap)
P2 does exercises called.
Team does 100 Dips, 200 merkins, 300 Wall sits with OH press
Audible done at the end to get us back in time for COT to meet up with the PAX who went for a jog
Posse and Xerox closed us out with their favorite and least favorite exercises of dying cockroach and J-Lo’s
The Moleskin
Q Juice surprisingly only shows up when Q’ing, probably why DW Q’s so much. As always a real blast trying new things when PAX are willing to follow you no matter how crazy your ideas prove to be.
Announcements
Xmas Parties on 11/30 and dec 1
2nd annual Effies on Dec 7
Jingle Jangle Beer exchange on dec 15
Bottle cap still collecting donations of business attire, new or slightly worn for COTS
Dancing Bear collecting toiletries and clothing for homeless
A few weeks back I had asked Bernanke to take a turn on the Sparta Q line up and in true F3 fashion I received the standard response.  Sure thing…What day do you want at my AO to Q in exchange. 🙂
Not a problem, I have had the honor of leading this pax before at Carolina Courts and had what I thought was a perfect idea (it looked much better on paper vs. being done) to keep the entire group within mumble chatter distance of each other..  well it was half right… we did remain within mumble chatter distance of each other. However, there was limited chatter today.
30 degrees 5:30 AM.. YHC 1st sub freezing post of the season.
Disclaimer given and with all Vets in attendance today I knew we were going push the limits of what all we could get done in 45 mins.
Â
Time to get to work
Breaking from the Thrive tradition of a warm-up lap around the parking lot (minus the Thrive Challenge) we promptly got right to it.
Warm up: 1 BLIMPS
Mosey to the Tennis court and enter the cage
Perform one BLIMPS
Partner up: DORA 1,2,3
Pax 1 perform exercise as Pax 2 runs to far end of tennis court for 2 burpees and returns to switch out
Perform one BLIMPS
4 corners of Merkins w/ 10 Dry-Docks at center.
Perform one BLIMPS
Ladder 11s
Escape the cage at 6:30 and mosey back to launch site with no time for Mary.
DONE!!
Thank you Lamont for taking us out in prayer.
Moleskin: Okay, like I said above, it looks easy on paper…and truth be told, YHC has been focused on running more lately… soooooo. might have a slight #SoccerArm situation occurring.  However, the noticeable lack of mumblechatter in today’s workout lead me to think I was not the only one just trying to make it through the beatdown. Oh wait.. I forgot that 2 pax figured out a great modification to get around the beatdown, but still post and chatter..
NOOOOOO i’m not referring to head bobbers or japanese style bow for squats … Actually, it was something about stealing your kids school backpack, filling it with foam and claiming you can’t do drydocks or burpees with it on.. 🙂
YHC has an excellent modification to the modification.. Drop the backpack and join in the fun.
All joking aside, today’s pax was SOLID.. Start to finish, this crew was non-stop.  No 10 counts or slowing down.. No time for mumble chatter or complaining.. Just plain ole’ hustle in the cage for 45 mins straight.  Every one of us left everything we had on the court this morning as we knocked out countless burpees, merkins/dry-docks, squats and all while completing 1.7 miles of suicide sprints in between.
15 PAX set off in the frigid temps and waved to Fast Twitch on the track before heading to anywhere but the track.
Thang
Moleskin
First off, want to say thanks to Hops for taking my Q a couple of weeks ago when I was IR and for getting me back on the Hawk’s Nest calendar. Too many unfamiliar faces this morning tells me I either need to spend a little more time in A51 or you guys need to spend a little more time in SOBland (probably both). I even managed to call Semi-Gloss Spackler at one point. I’d love to say it was just to piss your off, but I’m just bad with names. If it makes you feel any better, the hat Frasier was wearing at Timekeeper afterwards was far uglier than the banana hat you had on your head.
Saw the real-feel of 26 degrees this morning and decided we had to warmup quick and stay that way. Burpees and jump squats every time we traveled did the trick — and were a lot of fun as well, just ask the guys. Burpees on the final triple-nickel were admittedly unoriginal at that point, but we were off-weinke at the time and that’s what came out. At least we weren’t running ovals (except those 2 ovals in the parking lot).
All-in-all we got right around 2 miles with a good bit of full-body work in between. Great campus with tons of options and a strong crew at the Hawk’s Nest. Would love to see a Bagpipe / HN throw down at some point. If/when that happens, just don’t mention the word Panera unless you really want to get their blood boiling.
Appreciate all of you coming out today.
Announcements
VQ – where big ideas become lessons learned very, very quickly.
20 PAX fought the cold to come out to my highly anticipate VQ. I’d been prepping for weeks….months even(no..not really months). This work out had to be EPIC(Spoiler Alert: It wouldn’t be). 4-corners? Nah, too basic….a little triple nickel? Played out….burpee suicides??? Ok, let’s reel it back just a bit.
But finally the prep work was done, the wienki (spellcheck???) was ready to go and all that was left was to see how this all played out.
What an awesome experience leading this group. The sense of accomplishment set in right away as I started hearing the complaining during those bear crawls. Really appreciate all the support from everyone that came out this morning.
The pax continue to impress, with everyone seeming to get faster each time we’re out there. Ruby (Rocket Ismail) really turned on those afterburners for the sprints. It might be time for the pax formerly known as Dana to turn in his Clydesdale card for good. Dancing Bear was back in action after and as spry as ever. Krusty is still trying to hold onto that self proclaimed name change…stay krusty my friend.
A solid showing from the MillBridge contingent (the real #1 ‘hood) – Jingles, Goodfella, Legalized – Great seeing you all out crushing it this morning!
Genesis
Donning their weight vests, One-Niner & General_ plowed through the metal murph.
1 mile run
300 two-handed kettlebell swings
200 kettlebell squats
100 kettlebell rows
1 mile run
Extra credit – Snatches & a few minutes of core work.
Takeaway – If you need a recommendation for a Christmas brew, these guys have some recommendations. Plus, One-Niner may or may not endorse drunken yard work.
REAL Swift
This week called for Sprints and there was no way I going to opt for mile repeats. Honestly, it’s because interval running, especially sprints is important to building speed, muscle and endurance. (For me, mile repeats would just turn into speed-single speed jogging.)
Sweet Bessie
1 mile-ish warm-up jog
Ceremonial warm-up drills
Sprint 400m / jog back to start
Sprint 300m / jog back to start
Sprint 200m / jog back to start
Sprint 100m / continue straight and run the Rushmore/Synchrony loop
Takeaway – Citgo and Valderama were the real speed demons. Those guys were keyed up and smoked the sprints. Madam Tussauds still has crazy speed. Goonie had to depart early, but made the most of his time. Paper Jam – a true runner kept his feet moving and insisted on taking the long way home to get some extra mileage.
SOAPBOX –
Hey all you runners, step up and sign up to Q. That includes bootcamps, too. F3 runs on volunteer leaders. Plus, a variety of Qs, workouts and routes is what make F3 unique. It’s easy to find ideas for workouts and routes online, plus site Qs and vets can offer advice.
On a brisk chilly morning 37 men across the REAL, FAKE Swift and Bagpipe fought the freeze to get better. Apparently there was a mutiny among the Swift PAX with the inability to determine which WO was the REAL Swift, but that was nothing compared to the contention that the Oatmeal-flakes brought to the Bagpipe board last week when it was suggested to move Bagpipe to Panera. Although I have an opinion i will not take the time to express it here since the decision was made clear this morning when Tagalong announced that Bagpipe would be staying at The Vine. Frehley’s had some strong influence (possibly a political payoff) on this one which awarded him the Oatmeal Cup.
So with the trophy given, the Bagpipe PAX ventured out. Wait…no we didn’t…we did 40 merkins to get those shoulders warm before stomping some asphalt.
We got close to a mile in, working in some merkins, squats and other various exercises before hitting our landing point at the bottom of Bagpipe hill.
11s was called with Burpees at the bottom and Squats at the bridge, starting with 1 Burpee. Instruction was to partner up so everyone had someone to encourage.
Although we only made it to 8 Burpees we still got in our 9 and 10 before COT.
Thanks to all the PAX for showing up and thanks to Kirby and Tagalong for the opportunity to lead.
Announcements: Bring lightly used clothes and Toys to your AOs this week for Escobar. Please bring lightly used clothes (business clothes and “NEW” socks are preference) for Strawberry to take to Church on the Street.
Christmas Party sign-up is over. If you made the list, look forward to a good time to be had this Friday!
Not sure if I even wanted to do this work out, I somehow graciously accepted the honor to Q. Hollywood was so confident in my abilities to lead a 4+ plus mile hour long workout, he chose to prerun prior to the workout. Huge confidence booster, then off we go.
The Thang
5 awesome and patient PAX went for a stroll around the back of the school to the track parking lot where disclosures were given while planking, some calf stretching, some peter parker stretching with potato pickers.
Faster pace mosey (than I am use to) around the High School lot to Champion Forest entrance.
10 Merkins each light to the stop sign. (Circling back for the 6- me) I am already dragging.
25 squats next running down to back entrance (near pool) with 10 plank jacks at each light. 25 squats at each stop sign again and repeat on way back. Dragging more as the 4 PAX continue to kill it.
Head back to the Champion Forest main entrance with 10 lunge jumps at each light. (Circling back for me again) meanwhile Hollywood’s blinking light continue fade into the distance.
Off the lower practice field area using the concrete pathway (roughly 100 meters), 25 curl to press with heavy brick at bottom and 25 dips at the bench x 3 running between.  Next set included 20 squats with brick at bottom of path, with 20 Dirkins at top x 3.
Finally, what everyone was waiting for. Oregon drill time. We did an altered version as there was only 5 of us but please see link for an explanation of the real deal. https://coachesinsider.com/track-x-country/articles-track-x-country/running-form-oregon-drill-article/
Cones were placed 20 yards apart 80 yards down creating a 200-yard rectangle. First 80 yards were to be ran at 50% speed, next 20 yards at 75% or race pace, then all out sprinting the next 80 yards, dog the next 20 yards. Rinse and repeat for the next 7 minutes. Grass was damp (soaking wet if you once played in the minors and a little slippery without holding a racket). It was a little dark, but with the use of his handy new headlamp, Deadwood was able to guide everyone back to the safety of the high school parking lot and crisis was averted. Nonetheless, something new and everyone “got after it” and embraced the idea of Oregon drills. Next time, we will shoot for 15 minutes.
Mosey back to Transporter’s shed, then stop at each light alternating 10 Dry Docks and 10 Mountain Climbers reaching the Flash PAX as the clock strikes a quarter after.
Moleskin
As with every workout, Hollywood and Bottlcap were the men among boys. And the rest of us were just happy to be in their presence until they would literally run out of our sight.
Deadwood (logging 25 plus miles a week and a minimum of 3 Qs each week) and Moneyball(nursing a dozen ailments including something about glow in the dark socks and throwing left handed) strolled through the workout with ease. Even occasionally dropping back to keep me company as I volunteered to be the 6 from the very beginning, and oddly there was only 5 of us.
Jingles (Flash Q) took care of roll call and announcements.  Goodfella took us out.
*Please refer to Flash BB for full list if announcements.