Nine men didn’t have to bring out the rain slickers as the weather was quite nice even if a little humid. YHC decided to make the morning uncomfortable even if we stayed dry. But first, a few quotes to think about:
One Man with conviction will overwhelm 100 men who have only opinions
Winston Churchill
The last thing I want to do is hurt you…. but it is on my list
Runstopper on set of 11 burpees
A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall
Frank Leahy – Notre Dame
The thang:
COP – with burpee ladder up to 6 with a called exercise in between each set. We did SSH’s, IW’s, Slow Squats, Jumping Lunges, Rosalita, and Merkins
Mosey across 51 for COP in front of Amalies – knee ups and then continue burpee ladder with 7.
Mosey over to base of Palentine for Bermuda Triangle set. Up to top of Palentine for 1 burpee, run down lane and around building for 10 decline merkins, then down to road for 10 jump squats and back to start. Increase burpee count by 1 each time and we finished 4 laps. A few minutes of mary waiting on the six. Two rounds up Palentine to continue our ladder with 8 and then 9 burpees
Mosey back to the school parking deck for some gasers. Sprint as fast as you can from level 1 to level 3 up the ramp and then walk/mosey back down for recovery. 4 sprints and then plank for six
Two sets of Dips in cadence and then back to parking lot for last few minutes. We continued up the burpee ladder with 10 and 11 and then back to 1 with called exercise in between.
NM
We finished with 77 burpees for the morning and a surprising lack of moaning about how many we did. Next time I’ll call for a set of 77 burpees at once.
Ranger is heading to Fort Knox soon for training so praying for him
Runstopper was actually early today – first time that has happened as far as I know.
Clover keeps forgetting that Dook gear is not allowed on the campus. Penalty will be metted out next offense.
The Respects almost out numbered the non-respects as we had 4. Plus, Snooka was out front most of the morning with RS (almost Respect) right with him. I’d say the young guys need to step up their game – it was close to embarrassing (and would have been if Checkpoint had posted).
No announcements other than Runstopper reminding us to sign up for the Christmas Party (he doesn’t know it but that joke just got him nominated as the Chairman of the party).
Veteran Hydra crew so short disclaimer provided
Quick mosey around the school to get the blood flowing quickly – work to be done.
Mosey to field behind the school for COP
IW x 20 IC
Low slow squat x 10 IC
Slow Merkin x10 IC
The Thang
Mosey to end of field near school and line up abreast to receive instructions for:
The Escalator.
Instructions provided slowly and in triplicate to ensure everyone was on the same page.
5 squats, 5 wide arm merkins, 5 heels to heaven, 5 burpees – run to other end of field (approx 50 yards)
10 squats, 10 wide arm merkins, 10 heels to heaven, 10 burpees – 50 yard run
15 squats, 15 wide arm merkins, 15 heels to heaven, 15 burpees – 50 yard run
20 squats, 20 wide arm merkins, 20 heels to heaven, 20 burpees – 50 yard run
25 squats, 25 wide arm merkins, 25 heels to heaven, 25 burpees – 50 yard run
20 squats, 20 wide arm merkins, 20 heels to heaven, 20 burpees – 50 yard run
15 squats, 15 wide arm merkins, 15 heels to heaven, 15 burpees – 50 yard run
10 squats, 10 wide arm merkins, 10 heels to heaven, 10 burpees – 50 yard run
5 squats, 5 wide arm merkins, 5 heels to heaven, 5 burpees – Finished
Mosey to the playground for some bar work.
5 pull ups
10 merkins
15 squats
Rinse and repeat x 3
Mosey back to the field for some mary
25 x LBCs IC
25 x Flutters IC
High Plank – 1 min
25 Dollys IC
High Plank – 1 min – 6 inches 10 count.
6:15 – Finished
NMM
When Sprockets asked YHC to Q Hydra, YHC didn’t pay much attention to the calendar but then upon closer consideration, realized that this was a week away from YHC’s 6 year anniversary of joining F3. Figure why not make it the “early” 6th anniversary. Thanks Men for taking the time to come and join YHC in celebrating 6 years. It has truly been a great and life changing 6 years too. YHC is very thankful for all my F3 brothers, old and new and the significant impacts they have had on making YHC the person he is today. YHC looks forward to many more years.
Solid basic old school meat and potatoes workout this am. Escalator is no joke and leaves a mark. A grind from beginning to end. For those keeping score, it was 125 of all called exercises and approximately 400 yards of AYG. And everyone was crushing it and pushing themselves. YHC still needs to come up with a workout that might actually make Sprockets work – #machine
Sprockets and Gummy, thanks for the opportunity to lead. Hops, thanks for the takeout. Pax – thanks for following YHC around this am and thanks F3 Nation for the impact made no only in YHC’s life but every man that defeats the fartsack daily to make it out into the gloom. SYITG!
Announcements
Something about a beer run sometime soon, somewhere close – if you are participating, you don’t need to ask.
YHC sucks and figuring out the formatting on this BB platform
At 0530 local time… 75 years ago yesterday that Allied forces began hitting the beaches of Normandy to regain a foothold and open a second front against the Nazis.
It was pretty surreal … as we moseyed to our places to think about the kind of day we were going to have versus the morning those Allied soldiers were facing so many years ago.
YHC informed the PAX that today would be a time of remembrance… in no way shape or form would we aspire to endure pain like they did. No cheap testament. We just wanted to spend some time trying to grasp the magnitude of what was sacrificed and accomplished on those foreign shores so many years ago.
After a standard warmup… SSH, Merkins OYO, LSS OYO we got to business.
Partner up.
First statistic to consider was the number 13,000. The rough estimate of the number of paratroopers employed.
In teams of 2, we would do toes to bar, with each rep counting for 10 men. The teams would give the PAX a breather off the bar allowing for continuous progress.
All told – the workout of 9 men completed 1,300 T2B.
Each time a team of 2 reached 100 reps total they would add it to the group total by shouting out “100”… then “200” for the next crew and so on reaching 1300.
Statistic #2: 11,590
The number of planes employed in action and support of the landing that day and the subsequent month.
In teams of 2 calling out each time they reached 100… the 9 PAX completed 1,159 Jump squats… progressively contributing their total to the whole. Each single JS represented 10 planes departing their base.
Statistic #3: 5,333
The number of ships deployed in direct action and in support of the Allied assault. Flutters to complete 533 (with every two legs counting as one rep). Teams of 2 adding their score together and contributing to the group total each time they accumulated 100.
Statistic #4: 13×24
13 countries engaged for 24 days to complete the beach landing and secure a foothold.
In teams of 2, the PAX performed Merkins… each partner halving the total… resulting in 6 sets of 12 apiece.
After a short mosey back to basecamp… we undertook the final and most grim statistic.
10,000.
The estimated number of Allied men lost on D-DAY.
With only 6 minutes to go we were able to complete 500 burpees as a group. each one representing 20 men who sacrificed their lives.
6.
Before prayer we read the names of the men awarded a Medal of Honor for their actions that day.
Walter Ehlers
Carlton Barrett
John Pinder
Jimmy Montieth
Teddy Roosevelt Jr.
Howard woodford
Closing thought:
“It has been said that the most important thing that every man should know…. is what he is willing to die for”
Today is as good a day as any to stop and consider whether or not the life we are leading is worth the sacrifice those men made 75 years ago.
E ala ‘oe!! e holo ana nā kānaka
Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later western Europe) from Nazi control, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. As our brave men stormed the well entrenched German forces they had no choice but to advance from the water line and sprint up the 5 beach fronts (Gold, Sword, Utah, Omaha, Juno) against heavy fire, land mines, and obstacles all while wearing everything they needed for the coming months. Before the battle ended: casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.
3rd F:
We at F3 put in hard work every morning for 45 mins to an hour. But all of that pales in comparison to what our Greatest Generation did before us on the beaches of Normandy to end the spread of a tyrannical dictatorship and allow freedoms that would have otherwise been lost. Today’s Spartan Beatdown was a memorial to those brave men that ran the beaches and never quit.
Thank you Horse Head for taking us out today
2nd F:
1st F:
The Thang: Ole’ Glory (Spartan Style)
9 Pax arrived this morning for their daily dose of the DRP. Knowing today was going to be a grinder YHC brought bottle water and offered each pax member one to carry with us. Most took me up on the offer and others later wished they had.
With the Spartan Shovel flag in hand we started on a 1 mile warm-up run to the launch point of our 5 beaches assault.
Right out of School parking lot
Right down E Charles
Stopping at Cresdale Rd.
Quickly explain the workout and the goal was to complete it 5 times in memory or those that fought and died on the 5 beaches in Normandy on June 6th.
1/2 mile AYG sprint up the road (beach) to Matthews Mint Hill rd
(Optional 30 LBCs at the end)
1/2 mile Recovery back to launch point
(Optional 30 Merkins at the end)
Rinse and Repeat 4 more times.
Time called at 6:05
With Shovel Flag standing tall: 9 exhausted pax pledge allegiance
I pledge Allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible,
with Liberty and Justice for all.
Flag in hand to lead the way with a 1 mile run to go, we head back to the AO.
~5.75 to 6.75 miles with up to 150 LBCs and 150 Merkins for a Spartan style Ole’ Glory WIB.
No Moleskin today. Just thank a Vet for his/her service allowing you to read this in a free country.
v/r
Gypsy
8 pax on a humid Thursday for this week’s episode of Meathead. 3 pax were crazy enough to show up for a Meatrunner. At least one pax (YHC) regretted it when the workout started. A quick disclaimer was given and little history reminder of the importance of this day 75 years ago. YHC then informed the pax that this workout was put together with that day in mind. If there were any objections, they were lost in a cacophony of YHC’s loud choices in music.
The Thang:
75th Anniversary of D-Day set
5 merkins
5 goblet squats
5 OH Press
5 Good Mornings
5 bell thrusters
Repeat 3 times for 75 swings and 75 combined reps of the other exercises.
Operation Overlord set
Suitcase or overhead carry KB to designated spot in the parking lot (approximately 66 meters)
11 4-count flutter press
Suitcase carry back to starting point (approximately 66 meters)
11 4-count Leuganis
Suitcase or overhead carry KB to designated spot in the parking lot (approximately 66 meters)
11 4-count flying squirrels (without the merkin, but with the jump at the end)
Suitcase carry back to starting point (approximately 66 meters)
11 two handed curls / 11 two handed tricep extensions (repeat for 22 of each)
75 years ago, 6-6-44, Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. The idea for this set was to remember 6-6-44 or 66(meters) and 44 reps. With the distance covered as a reminder of the allied troops who traveled up the beaches under rucks weighing as much as 80 pounds.
The pax ran through both sets two times. The only difference was replacing the flying squirrels (should have worn gloves) with cleans (11 on both sides) and snatches (11 on both sides)
Mary:
11 4 count flutter press
11 4 count leuganis
11 Dolly (in cadence is 22) + 11 Rosalita (in cadence is 22)
Another round of 11 cleans per side and 11 snatches per side to finish it out
Endex
Beach-storming Moleskin:
Got asked by Voodoo to fill in yesterday afternoon and for once I’m in town so a chance to Q felt good. I was also the first pax that wasn’t on IR from the Voodoo go-to list. Hoping the others heal up soon.
Speaking of IR, Plasma was back from IR today. Good to see him again. We also had some (new to me) pax in the mix this morning. Nice to meet Swift and Victoria, hope to see you gentlemen again. Spackler decided a Meatrunner was in order with Voodoo and YHC. Not sure he’s going to repeat that mistake anytime soon. YHC was outrun by both but none of us were any more ready for the workout that followed. Schmedium and Sould Glo were silent assassins today, putting in the work with little room for mumbelchatter. Voodoo was the observant site-Q as usual helping Victoria and Swift with their clean and snatch forms.
Today’s workout was inspired by the GoRuck June challenge. Pledge some miles, do some workouts, support a good cause. YHC’s workout required no pledge other than to show up and put the work in,but no patch or cool t-shirt either. It was simple but effective with no overhead. I wanted the pax to stay together on the exercises. I drew a parallel to the boats on D-Day dropping troops onto the beaches. Each man was responsible for getting himself off that boat, and the CO was responsible for making sure they all moved together. Thankfully, it mostly worked.
As always, it’s an honor and a privilege to lead. Thanks to Voodoo for asking.
If you get a chance today or tonight, take a moment to remember what the world endured 75 years ago. Forces of tyranny shook the world to it’s core and the one thing that brought us back from the brink were the sacrifices of good men and women. Be it their time,
YHC had the take-out.
Announcements:
Beer mile – tomorrow. Not an F3 sanctioned event, but the participants are all in F3. Only slackers know where to find the details.
Indian Land – Arsenal
The PAX: Bottle Cap, Rudy, Fallout, Soft Pretzel, Jingles, Paw Patrol, Brexit, Fire Hazar, Stub Hub, Halfback, Ringer, Goodfella, Doogie, The Knish, Rockwell
Many may not be aware but nearly 4 years ago I posted for the first time ever at F3 at Indian Land Elementary School! So, I guess you could say there is a special place in my heart for Arsenal. Recently I’ve reconnected with this site and felt it was time to give back by taking a Q. This is an awesome campus for an F3 workout and I was pleased to see some of my Western Union County brothers in attendance to support me and the regulars from Arsenal! What a great community F3 is!
Here’s what went down:
Warm Up Lap
Circle Up
SSHs x 20
Potato Picker x 10
Imperial Walkers x 20
Merkins x 15
Plank Jack x 20
Mountain Climber x 20
Mosey to very, very STEEP and long grass hill
7’s – Squats at the top & Merkins at the bottom
Mosey to the playground and partner up
4 exercises while partner runs a lap
Pull ups x 100
Supine x 100
Derkins x 100
Box Jumps x 100
Mosey towards the front of the school
Up and over each wall – Mary at the end waiting for the six
Mosey back to grassy area – Jack Webb (Air Presses & Merkins)
Back to COT
MOLESKIN
I wanted to give the new comers to this site a glimpse of all the campus has to offer. Just know that we barely scratched the surface – so for the non-regulars, don’t be strangers – come back to Arsenal! My workout plan seemed to look good on paper but halfway through the 100 pull ups and supine’s I was certainly second guessing myself! Great push by everyone to power through those 4 exercises! Once again, a BIG THANK YOU to the WUC brothers that showed up. On behalf of Arsenal I can say your support is appreciated! It was also good to see Doogie back for a second time… keep it up young man!
I always enjoy the comradery and working out with such a great group of guys!
Thanks to Goodfella for taking us out!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
For those that weren’t aware, Goodfella shared with the group the details about Dromedary. Wednesdays at 5:30 am. Bootcamp style workout. Marvin Ridge High School.
Jingles announced details for Fix it for Christ. Waxhaw United Methodist Church. June 19th-22nd – a project to work on 40 houses. Jingles will put a link on Slack for those interested in volunteering.
Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.
Winston Churchill and, possibly, Bugs Bunny
I deciphered 11 from my voice recording, and Sparta claimed 13, with a total count of 21. None of these numbers add up, which seems about right for what happened today, so we’ll go with it.
THANG:
Warmup meandering around the campus to get things flowing.
COP behind First Baptist Matthews. SSH, IW, and some “Sharon Towers” that should probably be renamed to “Plantation Estates” for this locale. We also Petered and Parkered if I recall correctly.
Crazy 8s: Run a big figure eight with eight merkins on one end and eight LBCs at the other. Do it . . . .wait for it . . . eight times. After you finish eight rounds, pick up the six to make nine. Then get on your six for three sets of Mary. Whew.
Mosey over to the new Fisher Price picnic tables, but not before we attempt Boondock’s Rail Slide challenge. Hands on the one handrail and feet on the other, attempt a spider man side-shuffle from one end of the other. Lots of lounge-walkers refusniking this jewel. I suppose that’s a taste of my own medicine.
Joker 10/20/30 on the tables – Squats (with butt level gauge), Little Haze, and Farrokh Bulsara
Finally, suicides in the big lot. Assorted merkins for first set, and burpees for the 2nd (which I was baited into by Sardine, who then promptly refusniked them #troll). Couple of AYG gassers to deal the fatality blow. Boondock smoked us on the gassers, but Smokey was not far behind. Seems about right – a 13 year followed by a 50 year old man, and then the rest of us. You know who else can move, Lois “Freight Train” Johnston. We tried to bait Benny into a foot race on Slack, but I don’t think there’s anything else to prove here.
SKIN:
I’ve skinned the thang a bit already, so just a few more observations here.
Toodles,
Horsehead
Tags not working right. 16 pax
PAX: Bucky, Chipotle, Big Tuna, Swine Flu, Loogie, Boitano, War Eagle, Patent Pending, Escobar, Teleporter, Boss Hog, Olaf, Teddy, Ranger, Billy Goat, Mermaid
War Eagle for a pre-run. Had some reflective gear on, always good to see. Rest of us slackers showed up close to game time. Disclaimer given and off we go.
Thang
Mosey past the theatre and into the adjacent lot. Circle Up.
COT
IW x 15 IC
SSH x 15 IC
MC x 15 IC
Merkin x 10 IC
Alt Shoulder Tap x 10 IC
Alt Hip Slap x 10 IC
Low Slow Squat x 15 IC
5 Hand-Release Burpees OYO
Mosey up to Elm and take a right. Left onto Murderhorn. Mosey down the hill to the pool area. Stop at the rock pile. Grab a lifting rock to be proud of.
Rock Set
15 Curl/10 Thruster/5 Rockees/Hold rock overhead and walk up gravel path 75 feet and back down.
AYG up the hill to the 1st light. 10 Merkin. 10 Jump Squat. Down hill to rocks.
Repeat x 3
Mary/Plank-o-rama
Rapid Fire Rock Set
All exercises to 10 civilian cadence. Rock does not touch ground.
Tri Ext/Goblet Squat/Curl/Overhead Press/Tri Ext/Goblet Squat/Curl/Overhead Press. Hold Rock over head. 4 ten counts. Return Rock to pile.
Mosey up Murdehorn. Stop at 1st stoplight. Continue mosey up to the top with stops at each stop light. 20 merkins. Chair plank at top to regroup. Continue mosey to launch lot.
Mary-Dolly x 20 IC/Rosalita x 20 IC/High Flutter x 20 IC
AYG up the parking lot hill. Back down. 5 H-R Burpees.
COT
Skin
That was 3% of your day. I feel pretty good about that 3%. Hope the rest of the PAX do as well. Solid work today men.
Kotters to Big Tuna and Chipotle. Been a while men. Glad to see you this morning. Also, not sure when I saw Escobar last, always a pleasure.
Thanks to War Eagle for the invite. Don’t get over this way very often. Great AO.
Met Ranger last week at Centurion. Good to see him back out. Keep on posting.
Announcements
Church on the Street-once a month South Charlotte sends 5 or so PAX and older 2.0’s to help out with this ministry. Strawberry is your contact.
Beer Mile this Friday. Gummy is contact and will disclose secret details regarding time and location.
DiCCS (Disclaimer, Cell phone, CPR, Safety)
14 men and one Jingles imposter walking the roads made it out this morning
Mosey to Dreamchasers to circle up
Choo Choo, Burpee Train! …. Audible
Not sure how long the train was but pretty short this morning. I was on 32 Burpees when it passed
Now mosey to Dreamchasers to circle up
Abbreviated Warm-up:
The Thang:
Mosey across bridge and head to the Cookie Dough Bliss parking lot (in my opinion too just too much cookie dough and I’ll stick to ice cream but hey, you do you)
Start with 10 5 burpees and run down King St. and take a right on McCain and head towards South Providence School. 10 5 burpees at every intersection for a total of 40 20 burpees (thanks to the Burpee train I felt the need to reduce these)
Start at South Providence Elementary
Mosey to other side of South Providence to College St.
Mosey back to front of South Providence Elementary
Mosey back to Cookie Dough Bliss Building
Mosey back to start
DONE!
MOLESKIN:
I’ve been out the past two weeks since pulling my calf during my prerun at Watchtower. Thankfully the calf held up today and my goal was to keep it under 3 miles (2.98 is what I clocked). Everybody was really pushing it today and it felt great to be back out.
Hollywood was as usual so far ahead of everyone it. How is is possible the gap keeps getting bigger?
Great to see Easy Button back out along with Shake and Bake. I know first hand how these calf/Achilles injuries suck so glad to see those seem to be getting better
The dynamic duo of Deflated and Foundation seemed to be really pushing it out there today.
Great to see the Briarcresters out with Zinfandel, Fuse Box, Dancing Bear, and Eli. Way to clown car and push each other.
Deadwood and Zinfandel continue to push the boundaries with their weighted vest. Just remember, if the workout sucks, you could always have a 20lb vest on as well, right?
Dana and Carb Load were rocking it out there as well. Great job.
On my 39th birthday last year I had not run in three months and was getting ready to undergo my first of two hip surgeries. I’ll take 40 any day if it means I can wake up and push myself mentally and physically with my F3 brothers. Thank you for pushing me and holding me accountable the past five months as I’ve come back into F3 post injuries and surgeries.
Now off to the pool, or cake, or something….
Thank you for the opportunity to lead.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: