Swole at the Hole
11 fatties for a day at the ‘hole. 7 pre-runners (Fire Hazard, Nard Dog, General, Erector, Argonaut, Bounty Hunter, Cobbler) started. Bounty hung back as Cobbler pulled in on two wheels (late from #poo), then there were 5 pre-runners. General announced that he wasn’t staying, so he is just a runner, now there are 4 pre-runners. When we got back to the launch, Bounty was stretching and adding yogurt to the approved menu for the nutrition challenge after his 700 meter run was cut short by a Cobbler #poo. Now that we’ve got that shit out of the way. Time to get going.
Warm-Up
- 10 SSH, IC
- 10 Merkins, IC
- 10 Windwill, IC
- 10 KB Squats
- Run 300 meter loop
- 20 KB Squats
- Run 300 meter loop
- 30 KB Squats
- Run 300 meter loop
The Thing
Partner Exercises
Mosey over to the edge of the parking lot.
Setup
- Partner A: Feet on curb, hands on the handles of two bells, merkin position.
- Partner B: Standing in front, hands on shoulders, applying downward force.
Work
- Partner A: 8 reps, full range of motion.
- Partner B: apply enough force so that PAX can only get 8 reps.
(Some Mary as we wait for the group of three)
Field Exercises
Shoulder carry your “favorite” bell down to the field.
Setup
- split the bells up, heavier on the right of line, lighter to the left.
- PAX split into two groups.
Work
-
Group 1 (heavier bells):
- KB duck walk 10 steps
- 5 KB Squats
- KB duck walk 10 steps
- 10 KB Squats
- KB Duck walk 10 steps
- 15 KB Squats
-
Group 2 (lighter bells, all below are single arm, each arm):
- 5 bottom-up KB presses.
- 5 tricep extensions.
- 5 curls
- (repeat until ALL of group 1 is done.)
(swap sides and go again)
More Field Exercises
Everyone Find your bell again, and line up on the line.
Set 1
- 20 KB Swings
- 20 KB Squats
- Sprint to opposite sideline.
- Backpedal back.
- 20 KB Squats
- 20 KB Swings
Set 2
- 10 American Swings
- 10 Clean and Press (5 each arm)
- Sprint to opposite sideline.
- Backpedal back.
- 10 Clean and Press (5 each arm)
- 10 American Swings
Set 3
- Grab some fence.
- Windshield Wiper / Leg Lifts
- Threw some splat jacks in there.
- Flutter and Rosalita at the top.
- More splatjacks, etc
ENDEX
- hustle the bells back to the launch.
- 1 min of merkins to finish out.
Fat Mole
Really good crew this morning; good mix of guys who’ve been out for a while and new guys who’ve been coming out every week. Not a lot of complaining despite a couple new and awkward exercises. Frehley’s had the towel out, so you know he was pushing it and it was at least a little bit warm; Fire Hazard was nursing a sore hammy, but that didn’t stop him from heckling YHC to join a full Ragnar team or staying toward the front of the pack. Cobbler showed resolve in coming back after #poo and pitching a solid performance; you too will be a speedster like Mario, just keep the #poo going. Nard Dog does not weigh 220 lbs, despite Fire Hazard’s claim (when recounting Might-Mite-Gate). Fatty is trying to deflect, obviously. Body Bag keeps posting, but refuses to give his birth name in COT; wit sec? Wild Turkey gave the most emphatic “NICK TURKAS” during name-o-rama and paired it with an eye roll, hoping Body Bag will get the picture. YHC sort of likes the dark air of mystery that surrounds Body Bag, let’s keep it that way. Soft Pretzel was crusin out there today and presented a great opportunity to give to Houston in a very granular way (DM him for details). Bounty Hunter is leading the food challenge again. Word on the street is he will finish the food challenge and be down 25 lbs. One Niner appears to be back of IR; looked to be in full form again. Erector is like a honey badger out there; he fears nothing. Crushing the pre-run on his first post to a new AO. Ballsy.
- Sign-Up for Isabella Santos Run, or Tolkien will rage face you.
- Food Challenge starts today. Contact Bounty Hunter for details.
Will Feehan
Retrospective
The scenes of September 11, 2001 are seared in many of our memories. For a lot of us, it presented a spectacle of terror; something we perceived with just our eyes. There were nearly 10,000 that were either wounded or killed in the attacks, and thousands more in the city that witnessed the suffering of those around them. For them the smells, sounds, tastes of that day are likely flooding back to memory. It was a dark day, many lost their lives instantly, others lost lives while fleeing the area, and still others, brave others, that lost their lives running towards ground zero, toward danger, to save others. Men like Will Feehan, Today’s workout was dedicated to the men and women who served New York on that wretched day.
Paying Tribute While Getting Warm
It was a really good day for shovel flags. The wind kept that thing square all morning. Before we set off we took off our virtual hats and had a short moment of silence for the first responders who gave their lives for others.
Indian Run lap around the school, with Old Glory flying out front.
- 9 Side Straddle Hop
- 11 Low Slow Squat
- 9 Merkin
- 11 Mountain Climber
- 9 Imperial Walker
- 11 Windmill
Heavy Things for a Heavy Day
After trying to get warm in what was a pretty chilly morning, given all the wind, the group gathered for 9 exercises each performed 11 times. Kettlebell sizes ranged from 25lb to 80lb. Almost everyone got a turn to handle the “Liberty Bell” (the fat 80lber). While the liberty bell is really a Philadelphia thing, and has “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof” on it, which is pretty darn patriotic, so it’s pictured below.
- Squat (11 reps)
- Swings (11 reps)
- Rows (11 reps)
- Clean and Press (11 reps)
- Reverse Lunge (11 reps)
- American Hammer (11 reps)
- Pistol Squat (11 reps)
- Sotts Press (11 reps)
- Burpee + Swings (11 reps)
Something That Was Not Very Smart
After we had our fill of lifting. The bells were shouldered and taken to the top of a 1/4 mile hill (really a pretty low grade incline compared to the nonsense on the Blue Ridge this weekend). We divided into two groups. Each group had to get their bells down the hill and back in suicide fashion. i.e Run the bells out to the 2nd speed bump, then run back sans bell, then run back to the bells and take em the distance, run back, and then run back out to fetch the bells and bring em all the way back. If was a tough slog, uphill, against the wind, weight on the shoulder. A good test of resilience. Reminds me of the HIMs that guarded the tomb of the unknown soldier during Hurricane Sandy. They Posted at the tomb despite the danger, very patriotic. The absolute very least we could do is post in some high winds on a Monday morning.
- every time you cross a speedbump, no matter which direction, do 5 squats and 5 merkins.
- if you complete the suicide first, double back and help your team with their bells.
- alternate duties on the heavier bells.
- 1/4 mile hill, do it fast.
Landing the Plane
We closed out with some Mary. And COT
- 9 sets of 11 leg lifts in varying directions.
Moley
This will be brief as YHC has been sprinkling Mole into the entire backblast lately. Good work by all today. Nice to see some faces we don’t normally see on a Foxhole Monday. Do yourself a favor and read something about 9/11; take a minute to remember, and thank a local emergency services worker for their service. 400+ emergency responders lost their lives that day, including Will Feehan, FDNY Commissioner at age 72. Respect.
Argonaut Out.
FNG Convergence: “Back to School” Edition
TL;DR -> Bring an FNG or two to Bagpipe on Tuesday, August 29th at 5:30am
One day, somewhere between 5 years ago and yesterday, it was your first day at an F3 workout. Whatever you thought after that first post, you liked it enough to come back, and you’ve since joined the community with enough vigor to be reading a “pre-blast”. Take the opportunity to find a new guy, share why you’ve benefitted from F3, and invite them to their first F3 workout.
What.
At the core, this event is a regular workout that will follow the normal rhythm and cadence of an F3 workout. It is being designated as a special opportunity to bring brand new guys out, or bring those guys that haven’t posted in a while back out to a workout. It is essentially, “bring-an-FNG-to-post” day.
Why.
This event serves to bring guys together from the region in an effort to grow our influence in the region and add some new guys to our number. It is easier to convince them to come if they know there will be other new guys present.
When and Where
Bagpipe (Vine American Kitchen, Ballantyne), Tuesday, August 29, 2017, 5:30a (regular time)
Asked and answered.
Q: Will this be a moderate workout ?
A. No chance. Not a moderate workout at all, though certainly will have room for new folks to “modify as needed”. Thin Mint and Madamme T are splitting the Q duties.
Q: Will there be a pre-run ?
A. Absolutely. 5:00am.
Q: Do I need to bring anything special ?
A. Yes. A new guy or two.
See you there gents.
Argo
Fire Engine Red Pill
14 of Charlotte’s manliest men, and 1 beast from Winston Salem opted for the red pill (which is a thing that should only be used for “The Matrix” IMHO). “You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
Popping That Pill
Doing nothing, then doing something. That transition is one of the hardest in life for many people. Folks see something challenging and are paralyzed as they overthink it, fear it, wait for it to start. Going from a group of standing PAX to the inevitable “Let’s go” is good practice overcoming a challenge by taking the hardest step: starting it.
- Mosey out to the side lot next to the playground.
- 15 SSH, in cadence
- 15 Low Slow Squat
- 15 Merkins, in cadence
- 15 Mountain Climbers, in cadence
Care To Join Me
“Grab a partner, speed doesn’t matter”, that was the call. A freudian imperative followed by moral platitude. Partner work keeps us honest. No one wants to let their partner down, so we hustle.
- Partner A: 10 pull-ups
- Partner B: run forwards across parking lot, run backwards to return.
- Partner A goes to relieve Partner B
Complete 5 rounds. 50 pull-ups each
Volunteering
There were no actual fires to fight this morning. Our run up the road to the firehouse was merely to support first responders by exercising on their driveway and creating the impression for the passers by that “the firemen are exercising to keep you safe”. We all have ways we do our civic duty.
- various plankings waiting for the six
- Burpo, 4 slow ones in demonstration.
- 10 Burpos, in cadence.
- 10 count (Young Love)
- 10 Squat Jumps, civ count.
Burpo: A low burpee. Starting position is bottom of a squat. Then reach hands out to ground, legs fire back into a plank, chest to the ground, pushup, draw legs back into a squat, final position is the bottom of a squat. No standing up for the duration of the reps.
Squat Jumps: Differs from a regular jump squat in one way. Land each time in the bottom of a squat. No standing and locking out legs for the duration of reps.
Quiet Qadence
From the firehouse, we headed back towards the launch but took an unexpected and abrupt turn down Knox Rd. Knox Rd has a nice little hill, we moseyed down it about 400 meters. Shhh. We kept a tight circle on a piece of road that was uncomfortably close to someone’s bedroom window.
- 20 low squats, civ count.
- 5 squat jumps (see note above)
- 400 meters, max effort up the hill back to the main road.
One More Time with Feeling
“Grab a partner, a different one”, that was the call. So we did. Once again, YHC was left out in the cold, partnerless. Such is the lonely existence of the visiting Q.
- Partner A: 15 diamond derkins (feet on curb, barely qualifies as derkin)
- Partner B: alternate between pull-up and toes to bar.
- Partner A relieves Partner B
Complete 5 rounds. 75 derkins achieved.
Track, no Field
Very few things get the ole heart pumping like some maximum effort runs (no, not those runs). We moseyed over to the area near the “Track for the Vertically Challenged” (or whatever you call that little 2-laner that the elementary kids run on).
- Hot 400m -ish around the track enclosure on the sidewalk, bus entrance, and back.
- 30 secondsish of walking recovery to the straight away.
- 100m -ish sprint down the straight away (after several false starts)
Gettin’ that Left One
No one likes an unbalanced set of reps. That theory was tested this morning. We shuffled over to the wall at the entrance of the school and did some windshield-wiper-esque leg lift things. We made sure to go back for that one lift on the left that was missed.
- lay on your back, head facing the school wall, with hands and fingers under the concrete rivets.
- On Q call, lift legs, and body up: Center, Right, Left, etc.
- ~ 30-40 slow reps with some negatives (10 count slow release)
Power. Off
Off we trotted back to the car lot, each PAX dripping with stink and sweat. All were gathered, only one injury (Orange Whip blew a tire on the 100, hope it heals up soon man!). Squid took us out, here are some announcements:
– Speed For Need event on October 7 (Heather’s Heros). Contact Madison for details.
– Winston Salem Sufferfest, 90min of pain, followed by beer. Contact VanGogh for details.
– Kinetic Heights, back in action on September 13th. Obstacle training. Contact Argonaut for details.
– the Moley is sort of mixed in above, the clock has run out on this BB. Feel free to add observations below.
Poptart, thanks for for the opportunity to lead.
Argo Out
Organic Waterade® +
One short of a dozen brave souls ended up taking on the hills and thrills of Ballantyne this morning, the main event started at 5:15am, but the story starts an hour before….
Eyes Wide Shut
After a night filled with dreams of waking up late and missing the workout, the morning presented itself at 4:10, a full 20 minutes before the usual “pre-run” alarm. These alarm-less wake-ups are both curse and blessing: cursed because they withdraw precious minutes from the sleep bank, blessed because the the chance of arousing the M out of her slumber are reduced, especially blessed this morning because it gave YHC time to add some ice to the Yeti and stop at the office for some cups to serve the Organic Waterade + (recipe below).
Sara, Plain and Small
After a pit-stop at the office, dropping off the ride (and the cooler) at the launch, getting an awkward “We’re not running with you” wave from Outback and Madamme T, it was time to run over to the Sara’s YMCA to find Joe Schmo. If you haven’t been to the Sara’s Y, it comes highly recommended by Tuck, YHC and several others as a great place to compliment your F3 regimen with some weight, grip, and other training that requires cool gear. Also, a great place to EH folks. YHC EHed one of the employees this morning, TBD if he shows.
The American Kitchen
The small pre-run was a meager mile or two and ended at the Vine. The crew was rounded up, a disclaimer given, and we began, kind of.. Joe Schmo stopped off to pull a Mario/Transporter in the bushes behind the Vine at 5:14, and at 5:15 a gray F-150 pulled up with Uber inside. This was Uber‘s second F3 post ever, his first was in February or March. (at that rate, we won’t see him again until Christmas). In response to all this last minute PAX chicanery the whole crew ran 2 laps around the Vine parking lot until everyone was ready.
Setting the Oven to Keep Warm
Only a short distance away is a well lit parking lot across from Duckworth’s. We circled up and performed the following exercises:
- 20 Side Straddle Hop
- 10 Low Slow Merkin
- 10 Phelps Merkins
- 20 Low Slow Squat
The Curious Case of Benjamin Nevis
We kept warm after the warm up and ran West on Ballantyne Commons to the base of the Ben Nevis hill, stopping occasionally for planks and phelps merkins. The instructions were given:
Run at your 1/2 mile pace up the hill to where the neighborhood entrance directly after the Gateway daycare is. Upon arrival perform rounds of 10 jump lunges, and 10 merkins until the last man arrives and gets 2 rounds of the lunges and merkins in.
Early arrivers to the top included: Joe Schmo, Doc, General, Fire Hazard, Frasier (probably others as well).
Driving Hard in the Valley of the Spring
The crew moseyed into the neighborhood to the cul-de-sac at the bottom Valley Spring Dr., various plank / merkin at the base of the hill as we ensured the 6 was in. Vally Spring Dr has two side roads on the right hand side (on the way up) that split the road roughly into thirds. The instructions were given:
- Run forwards hard to the first side road.
- Run backwards hard to the second side road.
- Run forwards hard to where the road hits the main neighborhood road.
- At the top perform rounds of: 10 jump lunges, 10 merkins
Top performers included: Haggis, Joe Schmo, General, Doc, Frasier, Firehazard
Hunting for Doves
From the top we scurried back down the hill, but hung a left down Dove Hunt Pl, and through the the cul-de-sac and to the neighborhood playground. Instructions were given to partner up:
- Partner A: 10 pull-ups (good form)
- Partner B: Flutters until Partner A is done.
- Repeat the above for 3 rounds, flutters until last pair is in (which was several flutters)
After each completing those 30 good looking pull-ups, the group moseyed over to the base of the Dove Hunt Pl hill. Instructions were given:
- Run forwards hard to the second car on right.
- Run backwards hard to where Dove Hunt hits Valley Spring.
- Run forwards hard to where the road hits the main neighborhood road.
- At the top: various planks.
What Goes Up Must Come Down
We scooted out of the hood and across Ballantyne Commons to the opposite side of the road to stride it out down the Nevis hill. The focus here was on building good controlled speed on the downhill. We gathered the PAX at each cross road and performed 20, 15 and 10 merkins OYO. We eventually made our way to the entrance of the Ballantyne Village shopping/dining area, and took a few strides of walking recovery before the next segment of the workout.
Ready….Go
Into the BV Parking Deck we went, to the basement floor. Instructions were given to sprint up the westward ramps, and walking recovery up the eastward ramps, we gathered all the PAX for before each sprint. There were three in total, PAX were encouraged to give 110% effort on the sprints to earn the walking recovery. There were a total of 3 sprints, the winners were: Argonaut, General, Haggis on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sprint, respectively. Quality efforts from everyone on those.
Coasting
From the top of the BV deck, we took in the sunset sights for 3/10ths of a second, enjoyed the breeze, then headed back down the deck ramps, and back to launch for a total of ~ 5 miles. Those who arrived first were greeted with some heavenly ounces of Organic Waterade +, a 2.0 version of the famed recovery drink popularized by Firehazard at the Hurricane Mud Run Ragnar Trail Race last year. Plain water for the others when the ‘Ade was gone. There’s nothing that water is that Waterade isn’t.
Shutting it Down
Good run from all this morning. Folks ran hard and rotated duties staying with the 6 (T-claps to Fire Hazard, Haggis, Frasier and others YHC didn’t see). The hope today was to give the folks training for hilly races a chance to work on some hill speed while keeping the less run focused engaged by frequently re-grouping to pound out some calisthenics. Good luck to all the Spartan racers this weekend. Bring back the bling.
Organic Waterade +
- Ingredients
- 1 gallon, Clean Cold Water
- 1% of 1 teaspoon, Organic Banana-Orange Fruit Juice
- Instructions
- Mix and serve in a recycled paper cup.
KHOCR
Nine guys looking for some grip / obstacle training gathered inside KH. They looked around for YHC… 5:29. Still nothing. At 5:30 YHC makes a sweaty entrance busting through the doors at a sub-7 pace. (10 minutes earlier) Fire Hazard and Shortpole convince YHC that I’ve led them astray in the pre-run through Landsdowne and it is time to turn around. Suddenly, the planned easy 5k turns into what would be a near 4-miler, ending at 5:30 on the nose.
After a brief disclaimer (and a reminder that an actual waiver has been signed), we snatched up some dumbbells, put them in position and got warmed up:
- 15 SSH IC
- 15 Merkins IC
- 15 Mountain Climbers IC
- 4 laps around the high ropes
Thang
Dumbbell Chorus
- Run out, around the high ropes, to the open area near the cross log.
- 20 Merkins
- Run up the stairs.
- grab the dumbbells (15-10 lb),
- 10 dumbbell burpees (weights in hand for duration of burpees, weights must come overhead and touch for each rep)
- keep weights in hand, load onto shoulders, run down the stairs, around the high ropes course, up the stairs. Set me down
- Run to the Warrior Course.
Verse 1
- Rings/Boards Obstacle
- Monkey Bar See Saw
- Devil’s Steps
- Salmon Ladder
Dumbbell Chorus (see above)
Verse 2
- Rings/Boards Obstacle
- Monkey Bar See Saw
- Devil’s Steps
Dumbbell Chorus (see above)
Verse 3
- Rings/Boards Obstacle
- Monkey Bar See Saw
Dumbbell Chorus (see above)
Verse 4
- Rings/Boards Obstacle
Bridge
- Wall Pegs. Traverse east to west.
Dumbbell Chorus (see above)
Verse 5
- Zig zag obstacle
- 3 walls obstacle
- Overhead Log obstacle
- Cargo Net
Dumbbell Chorus (see above)
Sweaty Log Mary
All exercises below completed with 20-30 pound log segment and in cadence.
- 30 log LBC
- 10 6-inch plank jack (hands on top, not side of log)
- 15 log flutter
- 10 World War sit-ups (civ count)
- 10 log LBC
- 15 log flutter
- 15 6 inch plank jack.
Done.
Moleskin
Good mix of regulars and fresh faces today. Doubtfire, Madison and No Regerts made first time appearances, and given the permanent smiles on their faces throughout the effort, it won’t be the last. Haggis, posted for a second consecutive time and was scene doubling down on the rings a few times (I think he missed those in the Savage race). Fire Hazard and Nard Dog continued to work hard… on pressuring YHC to run BRR and/or Ragnar (no movement yet, keep trying guys). Short Pole kept up with the pace during the pre-run, and continued to push through the Kinetic course. Swiss Miss owns KH now, pretty sure he’s never fallen off the rings, no matter how blown out the grip has been.
A couple interesting moments from the morning:
– Nard Dog going for the up-n-over roll on the cargo net and getting trapped like a fly in a web (the struggle was real.)
– Fire Hazard taking an elegant fall from the top of Devil’s Steps (#notconcussed)
– YHC’s sudden recognition that the references to Doubtfire on Slack the other day were about a real person (Haggis’ brother), not the way Haggis looked in that old contorted photo.
Announcements
- NEXT Kinetic Trip is August 11, 2017. All the info is pinned in slack. DM YHC there, or on Twitter, or email, or as a comment below.
A Foxhole Fourth
A perfect summer morning in south charlotte: 70, not too humid, bright moon. Solid conditions for a morning workout. YHC joined Wild Turkey for an easy 5k on the “new” loop. Voodoo came in hot and missed us, but tried to catch us on the old “loop”… didn’t happen. A couple site former site Q’s in attendance, but no throwbacks (Honey Bee, Market Timer, etc). Today marked the 4th Anniversary of Foxhole. Here’s what we did to honor that milestone:
Warmup
- SSH 20 (cadence)
- Windmill 10 (cadence)
- KB Squat 20 (civ count)
- Hot Lap around the lot.
- KB Sumo-High Pull 20 (civ count)
- Merkin 10 (cadence)
- KB Swing 20 (OYO)
Workout
Scoot down to the turf field. Everyone line up on the close sideline for some “bursts”
Burst One
- 20 swings
- 10 Squats
- Sprint to opposite sideline
- Run backwards back to line
- KB Swings until the 6 is in
- 10 count
Burst Two
- 20 sumo-high pull
- 10 KB jump squats
- Sprint to opposite sideline with the bell
- Run backwards to the line with the bell
- Flutters until the 6 is in
- 10 count (of cadence flutters)
Burst Three
- Bear Crawl with KB pull and drag to mid-field
- KB lunge to the remainder of the way to opposite sideline
- Run with KB back to the line.
- LBC until the 6 is in.
- 10 count (of cadence LBC)
Burst Four
- 10 toes to fence rail
- 10 merkins
- 10 KB jump squats
- Backwards run to opposite sideline
- Backwards runs back to line
- Toes to the fence rail until the 6 is in.
- 10 count (of slow fence to the rail)
Burst Five
- 20 sumo deadlift high pull
- 20 KB swings
- 10 KB squats
- 10 KB jump squats
- Run to opposite sideline of the 2nd field (twice the distance)
- Run back to the starting line.
- Heels to Heaven until the 6 is in
- 10 count (of cadence flutters)
Burst Six
- 10 toes to the fence rail
- 20 merkins
- KB lunge walk across the field to the opposite sideline.
- Sprint with KB back to the start.
- LBCs until the 6 is in.
Finisher
Drag the bells up to the launch, set em down next to the shovel flag. Head to the playground for some jump pulls. Jump pull is a pull-up with jump assistance at the bottom: this aids in enforcing full range of motion. Most PAX don’t have good form on pull-ups / can’t do any. This is a good way to train those muscles through the full range.
- 20 Jump Pulls OYO
- 10 count.
- 15 Jump Pulls OYO
- 10 count.
- 10 Jump Pulls OYO
- 10 count.
- 5 Jump Pulls OYO.
- 10 count.
- 1 slllloooooww L-pull-up. (up-up-up-up-holllldd–down-down-down)
DONE.
Writings
YHC has only been part of F3 for 18 months. Nearly every Monday has been spent here at the Foxhole. There have been some really brutal workouts in those 18 months; this one (for YHC) was no exception. The group that came out today showed great tenacity. After each Burst they seem to say, “that all you got ?”, so we went hard today. 8 guys today, which is a perfect number.
Wild Turkey: 2nd consecutive post at the ‘Hole and pushed it hard today. Great 2nd F in the pre-run. WT got the full 75 minutes of Foxhole goodness today, and is sure to be feeling it as he drives his clan up to Wisconsin tomorrow. Good luck with that, and we are expecting some solid Strava activity whilst you are up there.
Voodoo nabbed his same parking spot. Grabbed the same bells (though elected to leave big blue at the launch), and had a solid performance today. Even though there wasn’t much technical KB work today, the dude can still swing and pull like the best of him. We all knew the absence from KB site-Q ing was short-lived though. Word on the street, Voodoo is now site-Q at Meathead, a 0.0 gear site in the heart of A51. Way to step up.
Short Pole: From aerial view, you’d think Short Pole was the 6 today during the bursts. He was in fact the last one back on several of them, but not by much. The Reason. YHC handed him the 24kg bell today (the one with the fat handle). The rest of us were 40-50lbs today. Even a few extra bell pounds can add a ton to the exertion needed to propel it. Well done Short Pole, you get the “heavy” award today. Speaking of heavy, Short Pole has got a lot less of that going on these days. Rumor has it, he’s down to mid 190s from somewhere north of 220… #t-claps.
Soft Pretzel was next to YHC on the line today and pushed it hard and was at the head of the pack several times. This is even more impressive given that pretzel is fresh off of vacation (or some sort of travel) in which many pretzels were likely consumed.
General: is Fat. No, it is not just a Fire Hazard joke anymore. YHC’s success in the Fat Boy challenge will require me to launch various negative Ad campaigns against the General so that he begins to actually believe he is Fat, and will maybe run a little slower in the next Fat Boy challenge. This is especially critical given that General bested YHC in most of the Bursts today. General, nice work.. fatty.
Loogie pushed hard until he succumbed to his injuries and had to leave. He showed a tremendous amount of support and his presence, as a former site Q, was much appreciated.
Fire Marshal Bill was out front today on several of the Bursts, and continues to dominate gear oriented workouts (that’s usually where YHC sees him). FMB’s support for gear oriented workouts, and his ability to crush them like a cheap RC Cola can are among the top reasons why Fire Marshal Bill is joining YHC as co-site-Q at the Foxhole. Nothing will stop us now.
Thanks for following YHC into the Foxhole today.
Argo Out.
Announcements
- July 19th: Kinetic Heights trip (details on Slack, or DM YHC on Twitter)
- July 26th: 2nd Running of the FatBoy challenge
- Thursday 3rd F oppo, Gut Check, weekly after Rebel Yell. Come ask and answer hard questions
Nein Gear Stations
The last couple Fat Camp outings have been low numbers, so a fellowship of nine was a welcomed surprise. 3 (Tuck, Argo, General) for the early pre-run, and 4 (Tuck, General, FNG, Fire Marshal Bill, Wild Turkey) for the second run. Seems like General Underscore and Bounty Hunter have that AO pointed in the right direction. Here’s what we did (after an adequate disclaimer after YHC ogled a new guy):
Heavies
The following stations were conquered under this timing scheme: Each PAX stays at a station for 3 rounds before moving on. Each round, the goal is 8 repetitions (rep details are below). After you complete the reps, the remainder of the time in the round is rest. The timing for the rounds was: 40 seconds, 32 seconds, 24 seconds (5s per rep, 4s per rep, 3s per rep). Getting all 8 reps in was more challenging than the numbers bear out.
Deadlift Burpees
1 Rep ==
- feet on box, hands on barbell
- perform push-up
- jump feet off box into Deadlift stance
- perform Deadlift (165lb)
- jump feet back to the box.
Spider-Man Abyss Merkins
1 Rep ==
- feet on box, hands on dumbells
- deep merkin, chest to dirt.
- bring knee up to elbow on way down (alternate)
Double KB Row Lunges
1 Rep ==
- standing straight, KBs (40lb each) in hand.
- lunge forward
- perform upright row with each bell while at bottom of lunge.
- return and switch legs.
Battle Ropes
No Reps, just:
- continuous battle-roping
Pull-up Knee Ups
1 Rep ==
- pull-up, then bring knees raised.
- lower back to bottom of pull-up
Muscle-Ups
1 Rep ==
- pull-up
- transition into straight bar dip.
Sit-Up Squats
1 Rep ==
- laying on the ground, 24 KG bell held on chest
- sit-up, hands forward with bell
- roll forward into the bottom of a squat
- stand up
- reverse it back to laying down position.
Shuttle Runs
No Reps, just:
- shuttle runs, back and forth.
Liberty Swings
1 Rep ===
- 80lb KB swing, half way to chin height
- 80lb KB swing, to full chin height.
Mosey down to field
Horribles
- Sprint 30, Recover
- Sprint 60, Recover,
- Sprint 90, Recover,
- Sprint 120, Recover
Mosey up to playground
Hands & Core
- 20 LBC
- Windshield Wipers (Various)
- 10 LBC
- Windshield Wipers (Various)
- 10 LBC
- Windshield Wipers (Various)
- 4 fingers, 4 pull-ups, 10 count hold.
- 3 fingers, 2 pull-ups, 10 count hold.
- 2 fingers, 1 pull-up, hold as long as you can.
Skins
Good work from all today, despite some rampant Q failure near the beginning of the workout. Really was NOT expecting “nein” PAX for Fat Camp. Good crew today, and a nice prep for Fatboy next week. Welcome FNG, “Great Wall”. “Castaway” a close second given the long hair and beard look.
Announcements
3rd F After Rebel Yell – Fire Marshal Bill has details.
Fatboy Workout Next Week – Fatcamp 0530
Richard Simmons
6 gathered at the pre-dawn hour of 0510, 1 showed at 516. The 1 never caught the 6, but not for lack of effort.
Warmup
- Run past Lake Lochness to the parking lot near the fit trail entrance.
- 10 Windmill, IC
- 20 Low slow squat, IC
- Run to pull-up bars
- 20 pull-ups OYO
- run around Lake Lochness, backwards run on the patios.
The Main Thing
Run back passed the launch, up Ben Nevis, into the neighborhood at the top and down to the playground at the bottom of the hill. Along the way, we stopped 6ish times for 35 seconds of continuous, unbroken leg exercise and 35 seconds of continuous unbroken merkin varietals:
- Jump Squats, Merkins
- Jump Lunges, Merkins
- Jump Squats with pause at bottom, Merkins with pause at bottom.
- Jump Lunges with pause at bottom, Merkins with pause at Bottom.
- Regular Squats, Diamond Merkins
- Lunge Walk (30 meters), 20 merlons and plank.
At the playground there is an octagonal monkey bar set with relatively thick bars on the outside and skinny ones on the inside. We engaged in some pull-up/grip work:
- 5 finger grip: 5 pull-ups, deadhang 10 count.
- 4 finger grip: 4 pull-ups, deadhang 10 count.
- 3 finger grip: 3 pull-ups, 10 count.
- 2 finger grip: 1 pull-up, dead hang(ish)
Step over to the swing set, jump up to the fat bar on the top, dead hang as long as you can. (q-fail on this one, some peeps couldn’t reach the bar)
Partner up for a pair of exercises:
- one full revolution of monkey bars (hit every rung)
- Box jumps on top of picnic table
repeat for 2 rounds
Run back to the launch point, pausing approx. 2 times along the way for 35 seconds of continuous leg exercise and 35 seconds of continuous seconds of merkin-ish stuff:
- Regular Squats, Merkins (at the bottom of the big hill)
- Lunges, Merkins (mid-way down Ben Nevis)
Back at the launch, circle up for some Mary.
- 20 freddy mercury, IC
- 10 6-inch plank jack, IC
- 20 flutter, IC
Bucky with a solid takeout in COT.
Moleskin
Nice fast group at Brave today. We were thankful for the even number (for partner stuff), even if that meant leaving Fallout to run about the AO in search of us. Apparently, he searched all the usual Argo haunts: Hell-a-pad, Harris Deck, etc. to no avail. YHC had no idea what to do today, and was thankful for the supportive crew and the push. Jump lunges look a little off, especially when one puts their hands on the hips and smiles too much (Flipper…some sort of Gene Simmons comment here), but… the lunges made the 4+ miles harder to earn. All in all, it seemed we were all pretty gassed by the end in a workout that kind of wore on you as the morning went on. Well done all.
Summer Kick-Off Convergence (SOB)
~68 men gathered (15 new guys), in a tight circle, in the parking lot next to the cinema. Disclaimer and instructions were given, and we were off.
The Warmup
We jogged over to the empty parking lot beside Smoke, since the other lot looked like 485 at rush hour, and made a big circle.
20 Jumping Jacks (Side Straddle Hops), In Cadence (40 jacks total)
15 Push-ups (Merkins), In Cadence (30 total), hold in plank at the end.
15 Mountain Climbers, In Cadence (30 total), jump up to feet at the end.
20 Low Slow Squats.
The Workout
Grinders (Tuck)
We jogged over to the parking area near Chicos/Chipotle. Instructions given to get into groups of 3 for a partner workout involving flutter kicks and box jumps (step-ups, jump-ups).
- Partner 1: flutters in front of Chicos
- Partner 2: jump-ups or step-ups at fountain area
- Partner 3: run from Chicos to fountain and relieve partner 2
- Partner 2: run to Chicos and relieve partner 1
- Partner 1: run to fountain and relieve partner 3
Continue for 7 minutes
Hills (Argo)
Everyone ran from the Chipotle parking lot to the truck delivery lane behind Target. Instructions were given for a workout consisting of hill runs, hand-release push-ups, and supermans.
- E1: 20 supermans
- E2: Sprint up the grass hill to the Elm Rd sidewalk.
- E3: 10 hand-release push-ups (merkins)
- E4: Run down the grass hill to delivery lane.
Continue for 8 minutes
Suicides (Tuck)
We moseyed back around the buildings to the parking lot in front of Harris Teeter.
- 5 burpees OYO
- hold regular plank
- suicides w/ 2 lines
- 5 burpees OYO
- hold elbow plank
- suicides w/ 3 lines
- 5 burpees OYO
- hold six-inch plank
- suicides w/ 4 lines
- 5 burpees OYO
Finisher (Argo)
We shuffled over to the next parking lot for some leg work.
- Lunge.
- Lunge.
- Lunge again.
- Lunge once more.
- Lunge another time.
- …
Continue for 100 meters
Core
Everyone circled up.
- 15 6-inch plank jack, In Cadence (30 total)
- 30 crunches (LBC), In Cadence (60 total)
- 20 flutter kicks, In Cadence (40 total)
- 20 dolly, In Cadence (40 total)
- 20 heels to heaven, In Cadence (40 total)
- 10 rosalita, In Cadence (40 total)
Announcements
1 Memorial Day 2017 – SOB Murph Convergence – Monday, 0700, top of Ballantyne Village parking deck – http://f3nation.com/2017/05/16/preblast-sob-memorial-day-2017/
2 Say a prayer for Market Timer’s father who was diagnosed with cancer this week.
3 SOB HDHH – TODAY at 5:30 at Blakfinn in Ballantyne
4 Speed for Need – check out this worthy cause
- About: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl-iPn4sAWk&feature=youtu.be
- Donate: https://www.crowdrise.com/f3-nation-speed-for-need-charitable-initiative
Notes
This was a big diverse group this morning: from elite athletes to first timers, from 20 yr olds to 60 yr olds, from guys at the top of their career to guys looking for work, and a variety of other wide ranging contrasts. One uniting commonality this morning was completion: everyone gave it their all and got to the finish line. Awesome to see the more veteran guys helping the new guys along and encouraging them. Well done men !
It was an honor to lead with Tuck this morning. If you see him this week, give him a high five; this was an idea of his that he described months ago in a midnight e-mail entitled, “I Should Be Sleeping”. It’s an interesting title that many men use as an excuse for not exercising in the morning, which in turn yields not exercising at all since most responsible, hard working men don’t have large dispensable chunks of personal time during “regular people hours”. Today was a good step in the right direction in letting other guys know that there is a free, early morning fitness option for them that will pay dividends in a variety of areas of life.
A couple of other observations from this morning (please add yours in the comments below):
- The scene of 60+ cars rolling into the theatre parking lot in the span of 5 minutes.
- Tolkien’s “Short Man, Big Box Jump”
- Heartbreaker high speed hill descents.
- Fire Hazard hitting the gas pedal on the suicides.
- MT, Loogie and Thin Mint pushing the 6.
- Kid Rock lunging the 100 meters faster than some folks run it.
- Philmont cheering for himself during COT
Argo Out.