Went to bed mentally prepared for a deluge of rain and a very soggy workout. Perhaps it was all that Flint rain talk that made it seem like it was going to be really wet. YHC was looking forward to a grueling hour of wet, rain in the face, soggy shoe suckage. Clock struck 4:15 and I was awakened not by my alarm, but by the internal fear of being late to a workout I promised to lead. Whatever, I’m up. After a couple AO inspection stops along the way, arrived at the Vine at 4:45, just before Gumbo arrives for an unannounced pre-run. Off he goes for an extra 1.5 miles, leaving YHC alone to wait for the only 2 hard commits for the day: FireHazard and GoldDigger. Knew the numbers would be down due to opening of College Football and rain threats (see note below), but by 5:15 we had 9, which was great for the planned pull-ups at the stations. More on that later. Here’s what went down today at the Brave.
Mosey down to the lot near the gas station. Circle up for:
– Good Morning X 15 IC
– Merkins X 15 IC
– Seal Jacks X 15 IC
Run down the path around the lake counter-clockwise to the first building.
Zig, zag from the building, over the wall down to the water’s edge, back to the wall. 10 Box Jump Ups, over, touch the wall.
Repeat 5x
Mosey around the lake clockwise until you hit the other walls.
Zig, zag from the building, over the wall, down to the water’s edge, back over the wall, 10 derkins, touch the wall.
Repeat 5x
Mosey around the lake counter-clockwise Down to the fit trail.
Run down to the pull-up bars, 10 pull-ups, run back to the concrete
Path.Repeat 5x
Some tidy town Ballantynian that works for the corporate park got a call from Flint last night; He warned of torrential rain and the negative effects it could have on the safety of people trying to do pull-ups in the rain. This call of warning resulted in the dip bars and pull-up bars being aggressively wrapped in DO NOT CROSS tape. That or something a lot worse happened. We’ll never know (unless Flint confesses)
Mosey down the trail to the bottom of Bagpipe hill, back up a little to get a running start.
PAX instructed to run all out to the bridge. Recover and Plank for the 6.
Mosey down B-Corporate past aLoft to the Premier building. Past the parking deck (#rulefollower), to the Hell-a-pad . Pause for 20 Phelps merkins. (i.e enforced hand-release merkins). Mosey down to the Rock Ampitheatre
Mosey down through the Premier and Harris lots, to the Ballantyne commons entrance. Mosey down Ballantyne Commons, right on Johnston, down to the hotel, slight right and into the path that you to Ballantyne Corporate. Plank for the 6, Mosey down Bagpipe hill then right into the parking lot.
30 Burpees on your own. PAX were prodded to attempt to get 30 in a straight set.
Mosey back to launch to get all PAX assembled by roughly 5:16. #cobains for the tardy.
The goal today was to create a workout that would be helpful for both BRR and Spartan trainees and to cram it into an hour. Somewhat of a challenge. Challenge accepted. Hoped for 4 miles and got it. Tried to lead as much of the mosey today on the soggy grass to try to provide some trailish / soggy texture for our spartan folks, but didn’t enforce it as most of the BRR guys wanted road miles. Ballantyne isn’t very mountainish, but we did try to get some elevation in: Bagpipe Hill (Segment), the path between the Rocks and the Hell-a-pad, and Red Riding Hood (Segment). Overall, Strava says somewhere between 200 and 390 ft of Elevation for the 4 miles. Not a ton of time for “obstacles” with all the mosey here and there, so we stacked em all at the beginning so the running would be more laborious.
Great group today, lot of speed. You can tell that folks have been training for runs. No surprises in the individual efforts: Thin Mint killed it up Bagpipe hill on not-so-fresh legs after some obstacles, General has major ups, probably could have handled a wall twice as high, Wild Turkey is a beast and so fast during the hell-a-pad segment that his partner missed his arrival #theflash, Gumbo showed no signs of having run longer than everyone else, he is a picture of pace consistency, Fire Hazard committed, showed up early, followed instructions and beasted the workout; nothing makes a Q happier than a PAX that does those 4 things in that order. Madame T cruised through all the push-ups today (175 if you include the burpees) and led the mumblechatter. Fallout is impressive; showed freakish strength at the BlackDiamond last week, and wicked speed today at Brave. Who needs balance when you have both. Gold Digger is a 2NG who’s only other post in F3 was a well-attended 0.0 FightClub from a few weeks ago; not sure he was expecting all the running; he hung tough, performed well and got a second wind AFTER the burpees (#hatehate, #warbaby). YHC was mouth breathing pretty much the whole time.
One final note, there was some chatter on slack last night about the weather. Let me state it here if it isn’t already obvious: Weather should not be a factor on whether you post to a workout. Sometimes the conditions are ideal; sometimes they are not. It may not seem like there is a lot at stake when missing a workout for silly reasons like weather. Think on this. Just like the body, the mind is a muscle. Without “exercise” it can become a weak muscle. Posting to workouts whether the conditions are 63° and Clear, 45° and Rainy, or 9° and Icy is a great way to train your mind muscle, and get it in the habit of keeping promises, regardless of the weather or other obstacles.
Mario and MT, thanks for the opportunity to lead. Enjoyed it.
Argonaut Out.
14 total for the workout. The Indian Land people came out for the Black Diamond today. The parking lot was full of some unfamiliar cars; YHC is usually pretty good at playing automobile Jeopardy game.
I’ll take Alliterative Domestics for 100 Alex. “This blacked out, backed in Tesla is usually on two wheels and brimming with colorful kettlebells”. Answer: What is the Voodoo Vehicle?. (that was easy…ya… it was the $100 question), or , Same category, for 200, “This two tone #builtfordtough black on silver F-150 is bigger than it’s driver’s social media presence and is often filled with orange home depot buckets”, Answer: What is the Tolkien Truck (also easy). I’ll take The DMV Knows My Nickname for … ok, enough of that.
Good to see a few rare faces (rare to YHC at least). Billy Lap was taken to collect any stragglers (only 2), a brief disclosure given, warmup neglected, and we were off. Here’s what went down.
Split the men into 2 groups of 7:
– Group 1 (let’s call them Foxtrot Company, led by Fire Hazard #tclaps)
– Group 2 (let’s call them Alpha Company, led by Argonaut)
Each group would do the segments below, switching and repeating between the Run and the Gauntlet, so each group gets a total of 4 runs and 4 times through the gauntlet.
33 seconds on, 12 seconds off, rotating through these exercises:
1. Muscle-Ups (on a chest high bar)
2. Goblet Thrusters (Single 24kg/53lb Kettlebell)
3. Pull-Ups (Dead-hang)
4. Toes to Bar
5. Clean and Jerk (Barbell, 95lbs total)
6. Heavy Swings (36kg/80lb Kettlebell)
7. Dumbbell Burpees (Pair of 20lb dumbbells)
8. Dead Lift (Barbell, 225lb)
Run Out down the slope for 2 minutes 30 seconds, leader calls “turn around”. PAX turn around and run back up, aiming for a negative split.
(The “slope” is about a 40-50ft gradual fall/climb over 0.3 – 0.4 miles)
After round 4 of the Time-Based efforts through the Gauntlet and the Run, the 7 men from Alpha Company (Group 1) line up behind the deadlift’s. The men from Foxtrot Company (Group 2) circle up in the parking lot and rotate leading some core work.
Each PAX through the gauntlet as fast as possible, doing 4 quality reps at each station. After someone finished, give your self a short break then relieve one of the PAX from Foxtrot Company’s Mary circle and get in line to sprint the gauntlet. Continue Mary until all had completed the gauntlet. Some good assorted Mary:
– Crunchy Frogs
– Roll-Up Vs
– 6-inch Plank Jacks (surprise, surprise)
– H2H
– La Rosalita
– and many other fan favorites.
When done, mosey down to the lower parking area (about 250 yards from launch), circle up for:
– 20 Phelps Merkins (see link scroll halfway down )
– 15 LBCs.
– Lay on your stomach…wait.
– Ready, Set, Go. Sprint to launch.
– Count, Name, Take-out.
Today’s Black Diamond was one of those workouts (as are many others) that can be easy or hard depending on how much you push yourself. The 14 dynamos that comprised this morning’s PAX ensured a difficult workout by pushing each other, it would have been a flop as a Black Diamond otherwise and could have been a very easy workout if folks didn’t push for more reps in the stations, or more meters on the run. Hopefully, today’s effort was enough to both cause some good cardiovascular discomfort during the effort (build that strong heart), and some good hypertrophy and muscle breakdown that’ll hurt tomorrow (build it back stronger). Hard to recall all the quality individual efforts today as the PAX were broken into 2 groups, and YHC had salty sweat in the contacts that occluded my view after round 2 or so. Same sentence can apply to all: good work!
Thanks for the opportunity to lead. Pebbles has next Black Diamond, stay tuned to the @F3BlackDiamond handle (don’t hold your breath for the retweet).
Happy Birthday Fire Marshall Bill, Argonaut Out.
Many convergences where mentioned:
– Labor Day at the Maul (stay tuned to Twitter for times)
– September 14th at Calvary Church (stay tuned for to Twitter for times, or ask Goonie)
– Indian Land convergence / honoring deploying service member (Bounty Hunter’s bro-in-law, ask Bounty Hunter for details)
17 dudes ready to start the weekend out right posted at one of the finest AO’s in the nation, either due to excellent marketing or habit. Here’s what happened next:
Low Slow Squat x 10
mosey back around the launch point to pick up Kamamcho and a growing band of late-comers (Posse, Ranger, Kevorkian) #billylap
NOTE: If you kept your time separately, and the above is off, sound off below and I will adjust.
With not a ton of time remaining, begin 11s on the long gravel hill (~55ft in 2 tenths)).
– Burpees at the bottom.
– “Phelps Merkins” at the top.
After Doc and McGee were down to 4 Burpees, 7 merkins, we huddled up at the bottom, did some burpees and started back towards the launch.
– Mosey to the bridge.
– Broad jump across
– Plank for the six.
– Mosey to the high parking lot.
Exercise Name: We did something today that we called a Phelps Merkin, but several other names were suggested: Lochte Merkin, Prone Jack Webb, and Phelps Merkin. The exercise itself is meant as a surefire way to enforce full range of motion on regular merkins, and get a little extra shoulder burn. Starting in full plank, the cadence count goes like this:
1. Chest to the ground (i.e bottom of a merkin)
2. Hands off the ground and then extended all the way out in front of you.
3. Hands back to your side in “pre-pushup” position.
4. (PAX Count) Push up until arms are fully extended.If you have any bright ideas for what to call this, or know what it is called already comment below.
We got 3.5 to 4 miles in today. By all accounts, that was not pleasant. Doesn’t read like much was done in the hour, but starting with an all out 1-mile gasser added an element of extra fatigue that snowballed throughout the morning, at least for YHC. Good effort from all on said mile run. A couple sub-5 minute efforts (T-claps McGee and Doc) and I’m sure Dasher may have been in the 5-min club if he hadn’t run stadium stairs before the workout began. Also a shout-out to Dirty Bird who almost got in sub-10 minutes on the mile and ran a very aggressive last 200 meters.
A couple other observations from a sweaty morning:
– The ants were ubiquitous this morning, particularly whenever we hit the deck for merkins or mary, and particularly near Transporter.
– Tip of the hat to Redskin (a local fitness legend in the area) for unlocking the track for us after the mile, so we didn’t have to prison break out.
– Tranporter found some choice facilities (an great port-a-jon, in his words) just as we were starting the 11s. He ended up missing the whole thing, but did a set of 15 burpees in a show of camaraderie (nearly all the PAX joined in after 5 solo reps). A quality moment, way to join in Snowflake and force us to do the same.
– No rocks were touched today, although many looked longingly at them and made comments about their proximity.
Argonaut Out
12 dudes came out to the Foxhole, well aware of the horrors that awaited them. As YHC rolled up to the lot at 5:15, 2 cars were already parked and empty. Flint showed up for the pre-run, but then thought it better to enjoy 15 minutes of asphalt stretching due to a sore foot (probably a good call). Tolkien’s truck was there as well; he was nowhere to be found. Here’s what YHC remembers from the 45 minutes between 5:29 and 6:15.
Looked around at 5:29 and a half, allowed the last few stragglers to make their way to the circle. Still no Tolkien, we all knew he was off MAFing somewhere in the darkness by himself. We had to start without him.
Post-warmup, we were joined by Marlin, starting cold, and Tolkien, who didn’t need a warm-up after a 7.5 mile warm-up.
(“the lap” = a lap around the soccer field, stopping at each corner for 10 hand-release merkins.)
Mosey back to launch with KBs.
If you posted at Foxhole today, you now know that YHC thinks the squat is one of the most important, yet neglected (in common fitness), exercises. Great work out there from everyone, and much respect to the handful of Clydesdales out there that pushed their limits on a Foxhole that was certainly not 0.0. A couple observations:
Flint has become quite fast. Looks like all those posts at running AOs (Swift and Devil’s Turn), coupled with consistent Foxhole posts is a winning combo. I think the weight loss since mid-May when MT brought him out for the 1st time has helped as well. Come see Flint deliver an epic lead at his VQ at Foxhole in 2 weeks. You won’t want to miss it.
Soft Pretzel was pushing the pace today and beat YHC back to the circle on the 3rd progression. He was uncatchable. As Pretzel knows well, mixing major muscle groups with running is a painful combination; his Q’s at Foxhole have been somewhat of an inspiration. (SP, you should Q another one soon Pretzel. Halloween is open. Take it click here)
Voodoo is a beast swinging that monster blue bell. Hopefully the > 0.0 at the ‘hole today was good for the BRR training. Thanks for coming out despite admissions of acute leg soreness, sorry it was all legs today #notsorry.
Loogie continues to post strong efforts despite shoulder trouble. Looked like all the “modify as needed” squatting you’ve done at other AO’s to avoid shoulder impairment helped with today’s squat workload. Well done. And thanks for bringing spare bells for our guests.
Frehleys Comet’s return to Foxhole did not go un-noticed; respectable respectness from this guy and at least 2 gallons of sweat on the turf field. Good to have you back sir.
Short Pole (recent FNG) did a solid job for his first post at a Gear workout, also had a solid gallon of sweat to ring out at the end.
Honeymoon had an interesting morning; ate some Astroturf pellets during the 6-inch plank (which wasn’t very long, so solid job there) and told Tolkien that he’s engaged to my brother… um, no. Must have been the high-heart rate disorientation ! Glad you backtracked on that one; both my bros are married, stick with the sister.
Marlin is all business out there. Glad you made it before we headed down to the fields; nice job on those squats.. deep. Too bad school is starting and we will see less of Nemo. First day of school ? #dadjoke
Mighty Mite seems to be all healed up from the bummed ankle from the F3 scandle, “Futbolgate” where Nard dog’s entire weight crushed one square centimeter of MM’s ankle. Good effort out there, always good to have one of the original KB bros at the ‘hole.
Fire Marshall Bill is becoming a regular at the Foxhole and crushes it every time. Perhaps you could lead a few good man click here.
JRR Tolkien did post at Foxhole. He was there. Present. Accounted for. I think the all those miles (including the extra 1.5 from the wrong turn) may have left very little fuel in the tank. Kudos for staying the course and putting in some work with us. As you can see, it’s not all grunting and 80’s hair band at Foxhole (except when Frehley’s leads). We get your HR up, and keep it there for 45 min. For real, thanks for showing, good luck with the marathon training.
TL;DR -> squats are good for us, but they are often neglected for fear they are dangerous. The fear is rooted in ubiquitous poor form among amateurs and old, sloppy research. Using goblet squats or front squats can help develop better form.
Quick rabbit trail, Matt Fraser, the winner of this year’s Crossfit games, has listed these two words, instead of a paragraph, in the “How I train” section of his athlete profile on the games website: “I squat”. Whether your attitude towards Crossfit as an organization and culture is one of (or a mix of) love, hate, or apathy, it is undeniable that the athletes that compete in their games are indeed athletes of the first order. The squat, in all its variations, is a foundational movement for folks who succeed in that environment. The squat, in its basic and simplest form, is a foundational movement for fitness success in any environment. Much of the fear about knee/back injury and squatting is based in poorly executed squats and poorly executed “studies” from the 1960s that linked knee injuries with heavy back squats. Shallow squats (I.e not below parallel), when done consistently, can overdevelop the quads relative to glutes and hamstrings. That asymmetry can cause stress on the knee and continue to influence the lower extremities toward bad squat form.
Squatting below parallel, even with no weight, can be a challenge for some (like YHC) due to lack of ankle and hip flexibility; the lack of flexibility causes folks to fall backward or squat shallow. Squatting with a KB racked in front can allow for a deeper squat because the weight is in front, and can build that flexibility.
Argonaut Out.
14 dudes ready to start the weekend out right posted at one of the finest AO’s in the nation, either due to excellent marketing or habit. I love the month of July, humid mornings and 100 degree afternoons. Here’s what happened next:
NOTE: We had a new face, so for anyone new reading this, IC = In Cadence. 1 count sequence (1,2,3,#) is 2 reps. i.e 20 SSH IC = 40 Side Straddle Hop (i.e Jumping Jack). OYO = On Your Own, 1 rep = 1 rep, performed at your own pace. Mosey = jog.
Grab a rock as “thick as your thigh”, this little guy was your partner for the remainder of the workout. Choose wisely
Hold that Rock Squat during Q’s instructions about the AMRAP to follow:
NOTE: the route I’d mapped out on Strava included a .2 mile run here, but there was a newly erected 12 ft chain link fence (or newly locked fence) had other plans for us. #qfail
NOTE: Hat tip to Transporter for the heads up on the time. YHC was about to start COT at precisely 7:15. Closing out a workout at quarter past the hour is all YHC has ever known. Knew it was an hour workout, lost track of the fact that we started at 6:30 somewhere during the indian runs. #qfail #cobains
ENDEX
Solid effort from all despite the collection of Q fails on the hill run and YHC’s attempt to terminate the workout at 45 rather than 60 minutes. Transporter was quick to point out that he paid for a 60 minute boot camp, and that’s what he was getting. No arguments here. Solid group of guys out there, hard to remember all the individual efforts, but here are a couple notes:
Chime in below with anything I missed. For YHC, that was both miserable and fun. I guess that’s what makes F3, F3. Next week, another guest from the Ballantyne crew, JRR Tolkien, will be Qing. I’m sure he has a good plan in the works; and if anyone is keen on finishing well in the Spartan, you’ll probably want to be there. JRRT has posted some really competitive times and placed in the top ten in several Spartan races.
Argonaut Out.
8 men gathered in the steamy morning darkness to get what they had coming to them: the usual mix of strength then speed that is FatCamp.
1 minute, 15 second timed intervals of slow, deliberate, full range reps at the following stations, resting as necessary:
– as many reps of Pullups
– as many reps of Double Kettlebell Squat Thruster (90lbs racked total)
– as many reps of Toes to Bar
– as many reps of KB Presses (55lb or 35 lb options)
– as many reps of Heavy Kettlebell swings (80lb KB, AKA The Liberty Bell)
– as many reps of Abyss Merkins (feet on box, hands on dumbells)
– as many reps of Barbell Deadlift (185lb)
– as many reps of Carolina Dry Docks
Rotate pax through this cycle 3 times
AMRAP in Parking lot. The lot forms a square, this starts in the bottom left corner of the square (near the entrance to the playground, facing the street)
– 30 KB Swings
– Run to end of lot (top left corner)
– Side Shuffle/Karaoke over towards the school (top right corner)
– 15 Burpees
– Backwards Run towards the soccer field (bottom right corner)
– Side Shuffle/Karaoke over towards the playground (bottom left corner)
– Repeat until 6:09
The plan was to do partners at stations and engage P1 in the exercise at 10 reps, and P2 with active recovery Mary. Only had 8 PAX, so improvisation was name of the game. Ditched the partner work, and just do one man per station; as many reps as you can, recover as necessary with a core exercise or standing around breathing heavy. Quality work from all the attendees of the fat camp today, everyone did solid work on the heavier lifts/swings.
Congrats to Marlin, who crossed the 50 mark this week, and earned an rousing “RESPECT” from all the PAX. With all that new respect, he felt compelled to lead us in a good closing word. Pebbles and Thin Mint were flying out there in the Speed Portion; Thin Mint was especially impressive since this was just a day after his Bagpipe VQ; Pebbles can burpee at an incredible rate. Frehleys used an iron will in the last round of the Strength Portion and elected to swing the Liberty Bell (ole 80 pounder) again for the duration of the last set. Well done and much respect. Nard Dog is a beast and continues to post at an alarmingly consistent rate, well done. Mario and Firehazard did solid work, and enjoyed some 2nd F throughout the Speed Portion; hard to say if it was mumblechatter or silent solidarity. Both those dudes are strong, and crushed the dead lifts. Mario confessed that he nearly stayed in the ‘sack this morning, well done on the great escape my man.
Humbling to lead such great men, sorry for the late start…wasn’t sure where the birthday boy, Marlin, went. #nopaxleftbehind.
Argonaut Out.
9 men dragged their weary frames out of the weekend hay to swing some schwetty bells. When YHC arrived at 5:20, expecting to see an empty lot (due to strong Muthaship marketing), there were already a half-dozen PAX astir in the lot. These dudes were ready to rock. After a brief obligatory disclaimer we were off.
30-15 Timed HITT
Semi-circle up around the whiteboard and music box. YHC queued the wordless EDM music and the tabata style (x seconds work, x/2 seconds rest) timer, then perform the segment exercise together at high intensity and speed for 30 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of recovery and prep for next station. Segments were as follows:
NOTE: each segment performed at greatest possible speed while maintaining form, to EARN to 15 seconds rest.
Lots of dripping sweat now. After the last cycle, change the segments to the following for 1 more time through, same 30 seconds on 15 off:
– LCB
– Parker Peters
– Flutter (with KB press)
– Parker Peters
– Jump-Ups
– LCB with KB
– Run the lap.
Good numbers today despite the handful of regular Foxholers that took the morning to honor the Muthaship’s final voyage. Not a ton of chatter out there today, especially during the main event. There were no formal complaints about the music (YHC has had at least 3 musical Q fails in recent history). There was just one informal mumble by Frehley, who “bowowowowowow”ed like an electronic dog in imitation of one of the riffs. In all deference and respect to the ‘respect’ crowd, hair metal is great for lifting weights slowly and/or drinking beer, just not an ideal motivator for keeping the pace up in high intensity intervals… need ‘dem beats. Everyone did a solid job keeping the pace up during the intervals. Frehley’s, Uncle Phil, Band-aid, Gomer Pyle and Nard Dog did a solid job holding down the left side of the semi-circle, looked like it was raining over there halfway through with all the sweat. The rest of the crew held down the right side, and particularly crushed the plyo work. Good to see some new faces at Foxhole like NutterButter, who is clearly an experienced F3er, YHC hasn’t seen him at Foxhole before. Speaking of newish faces, it was remarked that NardDog may now have the record on smallest number of days between first post and first donning of an F3 shirt, at 5 days. If no one claims a better time in the comments in the next 5 days, the record is his. Thanks for the opportunity to lead gents. It was a pleasure.
Sorry for the lame title; Frehley’s scratchy, drink-needing throat still managed a perfect impression of that riff, and now it is etched in RAM for the rest of the day
Argonaut Out.
9 PAX worked a handful of traditional KB exercises into sweaty exhaustion on what might have been the hottest, most humid morning of the year so far.
Circle up at midfield on the turf for timed KB intervals. During the timed intervals PAX do called exercise continuously for the duration of the segment, if resting had to keep one hand on the bell the entire time…even if it was a loose hand (thus title), just don’t let go.
30 seconds each of:
– KB Snatch
– two handed American KB Swings
– one handed Russian KB Swings
– two handed Russian KB Swings
NOTE: YHC bungled the time on this one. Set the watch for intervals of 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds. After realization, adjustment, and a facepalm, the seconds scheme for this one may have been something like: 70-20-30-30. #qfail.
45 seconds each of:
– KB Snatch
– two handed American KB Swings
– one handed Russian KB Swings
– two handed Russian KB Swings
60 seconds each of:
– KB Snatch
– two handed American KB Swings
– one handed Russian KB Swings
– two handed Russian KB Swings
120 seconds each of:
– KB Snatch
– two handed American KB Swings
– one handed Russian KB Swings
– two handed Russian KB Swings
NOTE: this was really long. If YHC would have remembered the bluetooth speaker, it might have been slightly more bearable. Forgot the speaker; then Voodoo offered mid-mosey; then YHC said yes, then no because I didn’t want to interrupt the flow. Again … #qfail
Resisted the urge to do some sort of 6/6/6teen themed workout, and did THIS instead. THIS sucked a lot for YHC. Grip, low back, hamstrings, and shoulder complex all destroyed. These time-based AMRAPs are a great way to strengthen your grip and mind. The whole crew put out a solid effort and did not complain at all. As you might expect, minimal mumble chatter for the duration, as most of us were either swinging for our lives or panting on the turf.
Nard Dog, a self-proclaimed Kettle-bell virgin, was swinging the bell with authority and looked like a pro on the single arm swings as he effortlessly switched hands on each. Hat tip to Frehley’s Comet for tutoring and demonstrating solid technique to the new guy; at one point, Frehley’s was demonstrating how to get power in the swing by using hips, glutes, etc and he lost the bell in the sky, overhead. #theskyisfalling. Glad no one was hurt. Voodoo was out there swinging the monster blue bell and didn’t take many rest breaks at all, except for the one break he took after what appeared to be a frustration throw of his KB into the middle of the PAX circle. Well done out there Voodoo, love the emotion ! Wild Turkey, had a really strong performance despite his extended break from Kettlebells and his solo pre-workout at F(B)oxhole with 10,000 single-unders with the jump rope. Soft Pretzel forsook the Union County brothers for a morn at the Foxhole and crushed it; the man just doesn’t quit (Still one of the best F3 workouts YHC remembers was a Soft Pretzel Foxhole Q from February 15 this year, that thing was a doozy). Marlin and Bandaid were across the circle from YHC and delivered a solid performance; Marlin was to volunteer (be voluntook) for the larger bell. Flint is obviously becoming a regular at the best gear AO in SOB, he did really well and led us in one of the longest 10 counts (while planking) that YHC has been a part of. Flint VQ is sure to be coming soon…maybe at Foxhole?
Well done guys, you left it all out on the field…well except for the sweaty Astroturf dingle-berries (voodoo’s term) that we picked up while doing some Mary. Despite a host of Q fails today, Voodoo still announced YHC as a the newest member of Foxhole’s site Q team. Honor to lead you gentlemen this morning, it shall not be the last time.
Argonaut Out.
10 summer lovin’ PAX greeted humid June with a groan and renewed resolve to get bigger, faster, stronger. Here’s what happened next:
Partner Up. Rounds are 3 minutes long.
Rd A: Abyss Merkins with Resistance : P1 with feet on curb, hands on KB handles, P2 stands in front and applies pressure to shoulders of P1. 8 slow, deep merkin reps. Switch and Repeat until round is over.
Rd B: Dead Hang Pull-Ups: P1 does 8 dead hang pull-ups (pausing a full second at full extension), P2 deep air squats (1 second hold at bottom) until P1 is finished. Switch and Repeat until round is over.
Rd C: Arm Complex: P1 and P2 do same thing.
– 8 bent over row (R)
– 8 curls
– 8 bent over row (L)
– 8 curls
– 8 KB press (R)
– 8 tricep extension
– 8 KB press (L)
– 8 tricep extension
Cycle through until round is over.
Repeat rounds A, B and C, three times each…Then,
50 KB Snatch OYO, Plank for the six.
Mosey down to the pristine artificial turf for some max effort, full length sprints. The goal here was to work on long-striding, well formed sprints, that stay at full speed for the length of the soccer field. 110 meters. Mosey to the south side of the field:
COT, OneNiner closing prayer
The joints and muscles groaned deeply when YHC emerged from the sack this morning, and complained again when emerging from the truck in the Elon parking lot. It was clear that YHC was going to be passenger #1 on the strugglebus for this post. As the PAX rolled in, it was obvious they were in no hurry to emerge from the “comforts” of reclined bucket seats and recycled air. Clearly everyone was sore from a combination of Memorial Murphs, Black Diamonds, long trail runs, and/or hot-tubbing. Like an old locomotive that hadn’t been greased in a while, we all joined in a long groan as we set off for the initial mosey at a slow pace. Reassuring to know that YHC was not the only passenger on the pain train.
Grinding effort from all this morning. Lot’s of good grunting during the resistance merkins; nothing quite like the sensation of complete muscle failure. Pretty sure you could put a house on Haggis or Marlin’s back and they could still complete the resistance push-up; Overhead simple doesn’t quit, he had one rep during the last round that probably should have resulted in failure, but he pushed through, completing maybe the longest rep of all time (complete with grunt). Fire Hazard and Tolkien beasted the pull-ups (others may have as well, but noticed those two dudes crush it particularly). During the unexpected call for 50 snatches (even YHC was surprised, where the heck did that come from), Pebbles grabbed YHC’s mega bell and crushed the snatches. (the megabell is only 55lbs, but the handle is super fat, which makes it mega and sucky). Thanks Pebbles, I got to use a smaller bell and save my breath to call the next exercise. There were some really fast dudes out there on the sprints; Mario, OneNiner, General, among others. Overhead probably PRed on his last 110 meters, solid push dude. Hat tip to Pebbles, Mario, and OneNiner on counting out the Mary.
Everyone coming out, while sore and probably in need of some recovery (or hot-tubbin) for a Fatcamp sufferfest today was a tribute to the esprit de corps of SOB and IL PAX. Well done dudes, continue to embrace the suck.
Argonaut out.
At Rea’s Crest of Stone, 17 Wednesday warriors wandered weary-eyed to the long-handled “war hammer” area of operations, The Maul. Here’s what happened next in the theater of war:
NOTE: YHC thought the two line Indian Run would be good and could inspire some sprinting competition and esprit de corps, but then noticed that the line was mathematically half as long, so YHC called an audible and had PAX run forward, backward, forward. ProTip: stick with the regular Indian Run.
Count off PAX into 5 groups. Set up 5 stations that the PAX will rotate through. PAX at Stations 2 – 5 continue their exercises until the group at Station 1 is complete. Here are the stations:
– Station 1: Run a square (400m) karaoke right, sprint, karaoke left, sprint backward.
– Station 2: 10 Jump Lunge (each leg), 5 Carolina Dry Docks (repeat ↺)
– Station 3: 20 KB Swings, 5 KB Presses (each arm) (repeat ↺)
– Station 4: 10 Air Squats, 5 High Knee Jump Squats (repeat ↺)
– Station 5: 20 Mountain Climbers, Knee to opposite, 5 Hand Release Merkins (repeat ↺)
NOTE: In YHC’s rush to get this segment kicked off, the music selection was rushed for this segment. The PAX not only had to suffer through the exercises, but also through some B-track eclectic dance electronika music. **ProTip: blindly clicking a Spotify “workout” playlist while in the fog of Q my land you in a list called “ELECTROWorKOUT” (as YHC did). To be fair, it does have 872k followers and I did see some of the PAX heads bobbing. Philmont smelled popcorn.
Roughly 30 minutes of this; each group went through the all 5 stations 3-4 times.
Tight circle, 3 minutes of Russian Twists, with 2 KBs being passed along the PAX.
Widen the circle, then:
– 25 Flutter IC
– 25 LBC IC
– 10 Heels-to-Heaven IC
– ENDEX
NOTE: YHC lost track of time on the Mary; hat-tip to the PAX for the heads up. ProTip: 2 bells is too few for a PAX circle of 17 Russian Twist, YHC should have brough the rest.
Good effort by all today. Mic Check’s karaokes are faster than an average man’s sprint; Loogie is clearly part kettlebell; he would say (in a Christopher Walken voice) “you know what this weinke needs? More Kettle Bell”; Outback’s “no man left behind” attitude on the square run for vocally acknowledged several times; MT was crushing the stations almost as much as he was leading the PAX in bashing the dance craze music; Philmont (who was abandoned by all other Group 4 cohorts save YHC) kept a solid effort throughout, and was heard begging for some theatre popcorn as the smell wafted through the parking lot several times; VanDamme responded well to the urging of the PAX and put together a great effort. Everyone pushed it hard, too many to name all. Thanks for putting up with YHC today, first Q at the Maul and first time attempting to engage in PAX crowd control; big numbers is a different ball game.
Thanks Squid for taking us out.
Argonaut Out.