I’ll get right to it. There will be a drone flying overhead with a GoPro. A drone. Thanks to Spielberg for bringing the fancy toys – he’ll be taking shots throughout the workout, including a sweet overhead of the COT. Should be cool.
For the workout, we’re going to take advantage of the space this AO has to offer and keep the PAX together rather than splitting up into smaller groups. It will be cool to have such a big group and get to see everyone – and it will provide some cool action for the drone.
We have a few guys lined up to Q in a few places around campus:
I (Gummy) will start us off with something on the field in front of the church at the intersection (gotta look good for the traffic).
Mermaid will take us on a tour of the vast Calvary parking lots.
The Day Zero guys (Prohibition and Hairball) have something easy planned for us from their normal repertoire over on the big soccer fields. It’ll be a nice cool down.
19 men, without elephant books, gathered in a middle school parking lot early in the morning. Nobody new, disclaimer given, away we go.
Warmup
Jog down to the football field. Circle up.
SSH, Mountain Climber, IW, Slow Squat.
Line up abreast on the sideline. Jog to other side and back. High knees, buttkickers, carioca, etc.
On to the track. Partner up.
Partners run in opposite directions around the track. When they meet, 10 hand-slap merkins. Back to the start for 10 air squats (what does that mean?). Repeat with lunges, jump squats, more air squats. Mary, plank and 10 counts mixed in for recovery between laps. 4 laps = 1 mile. Boom.
Mosey over to the bleachers. Divide into four groups at four stations.
Derkins, Incline Merkins, Supine Pullups and Dips. Three times total.
Walk slowly over to the baseball field. Line up abreast on the first base line.
Divide into two groups. Group ones sprints. Group two waits until last man crosses the line, then sprints. Four times to line made by 2nd and 3rd base. Three times to the edge of the infield grass. Once all the way to the fence. Done.
Moleskine
I chased two guys all morning on the runs, and I still don’t know who they were. One of them had an SOB shirt on (Heartbreaker?), the other was wearing Orange. Those dudes were fast. I felt pretty good about myself during the sprints at the end, then SOB beat me to the fence by 20 yards. Sandbagger.
Geraldo sent me a DM last night asking if the workout was ruck friendly. No, it’s not. He still showed up with the ruck, after some number of miles before the workout, got it done, and did another mile with the ruck after. No big deal.
Jamboree ran in from near DMZ. And back, I assume. Strong.
The cool weather was a nice break. Makes me ready for Fall already.
Announcements:
July 4th Convergence at The Rock
Simba is joining Fireman Ed as co-Site Q for Base Camp.
5 men gathered this morning, charged everything to the Underhill’s account, and got things done like this. This was Hammer’s VQ – having not coordinated at all beforehand, we drew for who went first. I won. Good thing – we would’ve quit at 7:30 if he had started.
Gummy Q
Yog around the parking lot, mixing in various moves that apparently get us warmed up (high knees, butt kickers, etc.). Gather on the soccer fields for the warmup (IW, Slow Squat, SSH).
4 stations across the length of the field. 1 guy at each station, 5th guy runs from last station to first, first moves to second and so on. Stations were LBCs, merkins, jump squats, CDDs.
Mosey up to the islands. Work in a little Mary (Flutter, slow Freddie Mercury).
Then line up abreast at the first island for suicides. 10 merkins at the first island, then back. 10 merkins at first island, 10 jump squats at second, then back. So on with third island (CDDs), fourth island (squats), fifth island (nothing).
Mosey to the hot box for 10 derkins, 20 step ups, 30 dips, but mostly so I could drink from the water fountain. Hand off to Hammer.
Hammer Q
Four pain stations. First is 20 dips in the hot box. Second is 20 burpees at the fence with the yellow thing on top (150 yards away?). Third is 20 air squats at the backstop (150 yards). Fourth is 20 “sprints” up and down the hill. That’s 20 times up. Really. Repeat the whole thing.
Finished with some People’s Chair, Jack Webb up to 5, and a little Mary. Done.
Moleskine
Great VQ from Hammer. Unfortunately for him, I didn’t know it was his VQ until 2 minutes before the workout started. Bad site Q. He brought something new and tough to The Rock repertoire though. That is a big field. And hot. Didn’t bother Hops though. He earned himself a free coffee from Hammer by beating him (and the rest of us) around the circuit.
Announcements
F3 Dads was this morning. So was the last chance to collect grape jelly for Calvary’s food pantry.
After a successful break-in to El Guapo’s fortress, 18 men gathered at Base Camp. After being properly disclaimed, and despite the lack of a shovel flag (does Base Camp have a flag?), we proceeded thusly.
Warmup
Lap around the parking lot to pick up a straggler. Wait, there’s another one coming in. Another lap.
Circle up for SSH, Mountain Climber and Slow Squats (no IW?).
Lunge walk about 25 yards, then jog over to the cinder blocks. Partner up and select a block.
The Thang
Yog down to the bleacher area. Pick a bleacher (no partner or blocks, necessary, I just didn’t want to go back up there). 10 derkins, 15 dips, 20 step ups, then run to the light pole in the outfield and back. Repeat.
Catch me if you can with the blocks, chaser does 5 HR merkins. Run from bleachers to track, then around the track. Gather in the near end zone.
Line up abreast with your partner and your cinder block.
Partner 1 runs to the other goal line while partner 2 does the exercise. Flapjack. Repeat exercise with run to the 50 yard line. Exercises were curls, overhead press, squats, merkins.
Carry the block back to its home. Circle up for Mary. Flutter, Freddie Mercury, Rosalita, Protractor. Done
Moleskine
I’d like to start by thanking Passport and Fireman Ed for leaving the bathrooms at SCMS unlocked. Could’ve been an ugly start to the workout without those (dirty, but functioning) facilities.
Good group of guys this morning. All business. I don’t think I was heckled once. Heartbreaker and whoever he was working with were flying on the football field. It was good to partner up with Hard Hat. Tough, hard working guy.
Marge was lamenting our Clemson Tigers playing themselves out of the postseason. At least SC didn’t make the tournament.
Welcome to FNG Coolio (A/C guy). He was out front during CMIYC. Good work!
Announcements:
Southern Discomfort is coming August 1. 8ish miles and 7ish AOs on Hwy 51. Sounds fun. The weather is perfect on Aug 1 for that kind of thing.
NODA 5k this Saturday. Details in the weekly email.
Mermaid is coordinating a food drive for Calvary Church (AO for The Rock and Anvil). Details here: http://f3nation.com/2015/05/29/calvary-church-pantry-food-drive/
7 grown men showed up at The Rock this morning. With the shovel flag properly planted, and the PAX properly disclaimed, Hopper led us out into the wild parking lots of Calvary Church.
Warmup (Hopper Q)
Jog (editor’s note: too fast for a warmup) over to the parking lot near North Face. Foreshadowing?
Circle up for SSH, Slow Squat, IW.
Run over to the rockpile near the baseball field. More foreshadowing.
Partner up. Partners run to the entrance on 51, stopping at each speed bump where one partner does 10 merkins and the other does 10 jump squats, flapjacking at each of the speed bumps (4).
Hand off to Gummy
Mosey around the front of the church, stopping to select a partner for 10 hand slap merkins, 20 situps, and repeat. Continue the mosey to the top of the North Face.
Partner up. Partner 1 does the exercise while partner 2 runs around the trees, down the hill and up North Face. Flapjack. Repeat with HR Merkins, Lunges, CDDs, Jump Squats.
Back to Hopper
Run over to the rock pile near the baseball field. Partner up and select a big rock and a medium rock. Carry said rocks over to the soccer fields (editor’s note: mean). Partner 1 does an exercise with The Rock ™ while partner 2 runs to the fence (really?) and back. After first excercise, smart audible to a soccer goal about 2/3 to the fence. Flapjack. Repeat with curls, overhead press, skull crushers. Mixed in some partner situps and mason twists with rocks between sets.
Back to Gummy
Up to the picnic tables. Partner 1 does the exercise while partner 2 runs around the nearby median. Flapjack. Repeat with right leg step ups, left leg, dips, derkins. Carry the rocks back to their homes.
Back to Hopper
Mosey to the cars for Mary. LBCs, Rosalita, Flutter, Protractor. Done!
Moleskine
The fun of having two Qs is that both bring the heat without much rest. That was a tough workout. Hopper and I traded a few emails about what we had planned, then he went off script and pulled out a couple of stomach punches. Hammer continues to impress with his newfound speed. I was happy to be in front of him at the beginning of one lap, but that was short lived. Voodoo and Buttermaker pushed me hard on all of the runs down on the soccer field. Deep Dish was killing it on the runs, but took special interest in Flipper’s heart rate technology when it meant that he could rest instead of do merkins, etc.
Announcements
The Rock converges at Day Zero next week for a Memorial Day weekend special.
Stay tuned for potential convergence on Memorial Day itself.
13 men laced up and got after it at Peak51 this morning. Little baby jog around back to the well lit parking lot for warmup.
SSH, IW, Peter Parker, Slow Squats
Line up abreast on one side. Do the called exercise to the other side, then jog back. Just getting loosened up. High knees, butt kickers, carioca, etc.
Properly warmed up and stretched, we continued over to the side parking lot for the main event.
Partner up. Partner 1 does the called excersice while partner 2 runs around the short track parking lot. Each partner has two turns with each exercise. Merkins, Lunges, CDDs, Jump Squats. Pause for a little recovery between each set with Plank and/or wall sit.
Meander over to the hill beside the ball field. Line up abreast at the top of the hill. Run down the hill to the fence, do 10 jump squats. Back up the hill for 10 hand release merkins. Back down for 9 jump squats and so on. Stop when the leaders finished.
Stumble to the nearby parking lot for Mary. LBC, Dolly (or flutter, you pick), Freddie Mercury, Flutter.
Jog around the school, stopping for some Russian Twist and a little stretching.
Continue around to the parking lot, finish stretching there.
Moleskine
This was only my second visit to Peak51. They’ve built a great community of guys out there. I rolled in at 5:20 and there were already 6-8 guys there talking. And they stay late to catch up with each other. Great to see. Those of you who read backblasts for workouts you didn’t attend (Hops), go check out Peak51 yourself. Great group of guys.
Good work by everyone out there. We thought we lost DT for a bit, but he was just taking advantage of the AO facilities. No man left behind, unless you’re in the portajon. Hair Band did not follow him there.
Announcements:
Mint Hill workouts getting started – Mondays and Saturdays. Official launch 6/13.
New moderate running workout coming June 1. From SCMS. Contact Slim Fast.
Ah, it’s good to be back. No Shovel Flag in sight, but with a phone and a proper disclaimer, we proceeded thusly.
Lap and a half around the parking lot to pick up a straggler. Circle up for Warmup: SSH, IW, Slow Squats, Peter Parker, Parker Peter.
Mosey down to the track and line up abreast (hee hee) on the far sideline. Continue warmup by doing the called exercise to midfield, then jogging it out to the other side. High knees, butt kickers, carioca, bear crawl. I need a lot of warming up now, and it cuts down on the amount of time we’re doing hard stuff.
Still abreast (hee hee), run to other sideline, do 10 HR merkins, back to this sideline, 10 squats. Continue downward (9, 8, 7 reps, etc.) until Hopper finishes.
Mary break – LBCs and Flutters. Jog halfway around track to the other sideline.
Repeat the countdown from 10, but with CDDs and lunges, and only running to midfield. Stop when Hopper finishes (again).
Mosey to the bottom of the stairs. Mary break – Dolly, Freddie Mercury and Protractor.
Find a partner. Partner 1 runs up the steps and down the path to the left, back to the bottom of the stairs while Partner 2 does the called exercise. Flapjack until 6:15. My repertoire is rusty, so we repeated some exercises (Merkins, LBCs, Squats, CDDs, Russian Twist, etc). Done.
Moleskine
Well, I am definitely out of shape after my time on the IR, but it was great to be back out with the guys, sweating and getting dirty. My foot felt fine, but the rest of me has some catching up to do. I remember a day when I was faster than Hopper, but he was lapping me all morning on the back and forth exercises.
Great group of guys this morning. We realized that Robin Hood had dropped back during the move to the stairs. I asked Squid to jog back and get him, only to see two other guys emerge from the darkness with RH. No man left alone. Great work, guys.
Announcements
F3 Golf event is this Thursday, apparently. Contact TR if you want to help out.
Get a Road ID. If we don’t know your real name, wife’s name, phone number, etc, it is hard to help you in an emergency. http://www.roadid.com/
10 men with nothing better to do at 5:15 on a Tuesday morning gathered in the parking lot of SCMS, enjoying the beautiful, cold, rainy morning. Excited by a visitor from strange places (Glass Joe came all the way from Union County) and an FNG (Griner – ladies basketball coach at Charlotte Catholic), we headed out into the hard streets of South Charlotte.
Warmup run at a fellowship pace to Davie Park. Warmup with butt kickers, high knees and carioca in the parking lot. Assemble at the gate.
Proving that I am not a professional, we did a timed mile that was neither timed, nor a mile. Lots of PRs out there. Hairball came in at 3:15. Ok, maybe it was much less than a mile. Still.
Partner up. Partner 1 runs up around the upper parking lot loop. Partner 2 runs down towards whatever building that is at the end of the driveway, circles the loop and heads back. When the partners meet, do 40 merkins, 40 jump squats, 40 LBCs (per group). Flapjack directions. Repeat the whole thing again.
Gather near the gates for Mary (not so secret recovery). Flutter, Dolly, Russian Twist, Protractor.
Mosey towards the upper lot again. Find your partner. Partner 1 does the called exercise at the entrance to the loop while Partner 2 runs the loop around the parking lot. Flapjack. Repeat with the same exercise, both partners. Reps with 2 sets of lunges, burpees (thanks TL), jump squats.
Indian Run back to the SMCS parking lot. Done.
Moleskin
It’s not easy to design a Fast Twitch workout when there’s a fair chance that I’ll be the slowest guy out there. So we did lots of back and forth, loops, etc. that kept us all together. We still got about 5 miles in, most of it at high speed (for old guys).
FNG Griner is fast. Prohibition gets an extra referral bonus share for bringing him out. This was Lazy Boy’s first Fast Twitch post – and last, he says. He’ll be back. The Day Zero boys were out working hard today. I can’t really heckle them since they were mostly ahead of me. I’m probably still recovering from a much harder workout at The Rock.
Great work guys. While it wasn’t quite “fun”, working hard with this group is one of the highlights of my week.
Announcements
– Sign up for the private Area 51 showing of Unbroken on 1/10. Not many have signed up yet. Help the organizer out by getting it done soon. They’ll have to cancel the reservation with the theater if we don’t get the numbers up. REGISTER
– Joe Davis signups are still open, as is the opportunity to make a donation to the Foundation or to pay for coffeeteria afterwards (hosted by The Fort).
– Convergence on Christmas Eve at Calvary Church (Anvil). 6:00-7:00 followed by coffeeteria at Piper Glen Starbucks.
11 men eschewed more sleep and gathered in the parking lot of Charlotte Christian. More cars than people at launch time. Did we miss the rapture? Surely not. Onward.
Mosey down to the track, halfish of a lap, and gather for warmup.
SSH, IW, Mountain Climber, Slow Squat.
Mosey to the track in front of the bleachers.
Unnamed as yet routine where we do 20 of called exercise, half lap, 15, half lap, 10, half lap, 5, half lap. Good times. Repeat through the course of the morning with Hand Release Merkins, Jump Squats, CDDs and Lunges. What it lacked in creativity, it made up for with terribleness.
Between those sets, we did some mary and some feats of strength (Indian wrestling, plank wrestling and finger jousting). Mixed reviews of that portion of the program.
Finish with a fairly swift yog back up to the parking lot. 2.5+ miles. Not bad.
Moleskin
Good times. Good times. I guess 6 miles on the track at Fast Twitch wasn’t enough for me. I just hate to pass up the chance to take advantage of the nice padded track. Good work by the guys this morning. I saw Prohibition at the beginning of the workout, then about midway through I thought he’d taken off. I realized that he was just always way ahead of me. The boy has gotten fast – he’s probably ready to give The Rock a try.
It’s hard to tell what happens in the dark on that track, but apparently during one of the wrestling matches, Mr. Brady took out Uncle Leo. Leo emerged from the darkness with a nice cut on his forehead. Good thing I properly disclaimed the PAX before we got started.
We were all surprised in the COT to find out that the guy who kicked our butts on the track and the wrestling was a 16 year old kid from Covenant Day. Welcome to FNG Babel (or Babble?) – apparently he speaks three languages. And he kicked our butts. The future is in good hands.
Announcements
Sign up to see Unbroken on 1/10. Details on the website.
Joe Davis Run is that morning. Details on the website.
14 men gathered at The Rock for the gift that keeps on giving throughout the entire year. The shovel flag is still being cleaned by the previous owner, so with the VSF planted, we followed Hopper into the cold morning air.
Warmup – SSH, Mountain Climbers, IW. Off we go.
Follow Hopper and his whistle for a one mile run, mostly off campus. On the whistle, stop for 10x merkins for a few stops, then 10x flutter for a bit, finishing up with 10x heels to heaven. There was an extended plank-o-rama by Hops in there somewhere. End on the soccer fields.
Partner up. Size matters.
Partner carry 25 yards. Stop for 10x hand slap merkins. Flapjack partner carry another 25 yards.
Wheelbarrow 25 yards. Stop for 10x hand slap merkins. Flapjack, wheelbarrow 25 yards.
Partner sled push 25 yards. Stop for 10x hand slap merkins. Flapjack 25 yards.
Handoff to Gummy. Medium yog (soft j) to mosey to the top of the North Face, with a stop for flutter and dolly. Gather with your partner on the grass, not the driveway (#angrywhitesedan).
Partner 1 runs up the driveway, around the trees, down the hill and up North Face while partner 2 does the called exercise. Flapjack. Four times each partner – jump squats, hand release merkins, one leg jump onto curb, CDDs. Mercy.
Gather on the nearby field. Do mary exercise, in cadence. Sprint 50 yards. Sprint back to start. Repeat with LBCs, Rosalita, Russian Twist, Protractor, Cumberland County Viaduct.
Begin yog back to parking area. Stop for 20x dips, 20x derkins on picnic tables. Continue to parking area. Done.
Moleskin
Thanks to everyone who came out this morning. Hopper and I are honored to take over at The Rock. We hope we can carry on what Hops, Runstopper and Mall Cop started.
Hopper explained during the warmup that we’ll be focusing on three things for workouts at The Rock: running (goal is 2.5+ miles), limited (zero?) burpees, and moving around the AO. If you want to get better at running, but are scared of the crazy Fast Twitch and Devils Turn guys, come on out. We’ll make you better. The running will be designed to challenge the fastest guys, but not lose anybody. We covered about 3.25 miles today. My favorite part was when BLC said, after a trip up the North Face, “I thought this was a moderate workout.” Nope. Try Day Zero.
Announcements:
Area 51 private showing of Unbroken on January 10. Simba is event Q. Details and registration on the website.
Joe Davis Run is coming up. Details on the website.