Eight of the finest PAX in Union County and the hinterlands of South Charlotte descended on Stallings Elementary for today’s installment of Conviction, ready to rock and roll.
Rock and roll? Yeah, YHC is going to try and limit the rock-related puns going forward.
So, after a heartfelt disclaimer, there was a warm-up mosey, winding through the launch-side parking lot.
Time to circle up:
COP
THANG
Head to the rock pile. PAX were instructed to grab a rock, but to choose it carefully. Get a rock that is good for travel, yet will give you a challenge to do exercises. Basically, don’t choose the “Regerts Rock” from last week.
Rocks chosen, mosey to the bus lot.
PAX put the rocks down to receive instructions. Start at the corner by the bench, do the called exercise and number of reps, mosey (with your rock) to the next corner and repeato, mosey to the next corner and repeato, mosey to the next corner and repeato, and recover mosey back to the starting corner and wait for the six.
Pretty easy, right? Well, the reason there so much emphasis on wisely choosing your rock is because there was one little tiny catch …
Once you pick up your rock to start, you can’t put it down for the duration of the workout.
No pavement, no grass, no bench, no sidewalk. YHC has to give it to the PAX, there were many contingencies thrown out, all of which were denied. Now, YHC didn’t say there couldn’t be creative ways to find rest, like resting the rock on a foot or knee or whatever. If you put down your rock, you must do 5 burpees on the spot. Add an extra burpee for any subsequent violation. Modify as needed.
Okay, let’s go …
After each round, recite the Rockman’s Creed:
This is my rock. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rock is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
Without me, my rock is useless. Without my rock, I am useless. I must lift my rock true.
Before God, I swear this creed.
Actually, we didn’t do the creed, but, that’s good, right?
After the final round, dump your rock in the gravel area by the playground and head to the wall.
Sit down in the People’s Chair. Arms out and hold it. Then 50 air presses, civilian count. Recover. Repeato.
Alright, grab your rock, mosey back to the rock pile. Throw rock angrily into the pile. Mosey back to launch for some Mary.
Time called.
COT
Count off, name off, announcements, takeout.
-30-
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Run Jen Run 5K this weekend. There’s a beer tent.
Jabberwocky on Q next week.
ROCKSKINE
Do you ever look at your #Weinke in the morning before heading out and just think to yourself, “Man, I really don’t want to do this.”? That was me this morning, as my body was quite sore after a rep-heavy kettlebell workout at Skunk Works the morning before. But, I was locked in.
Before officially starting, there was much discussion of college basketball, given the finish of last night’s UNC-Miami game. There was also gnashing of teeth related to the fact that the ACC Tournament is being held in Brooklyn this year. Being a Gamecock, this is of less concern to me, although my conference faces a similar phenomenon this year …
Bullwinkle: “Where’s the SEC Tournament this year?”
Lois: “The heart of SEC country!”
Bullwinkle: “Atlanta?”
Lois: “St. Louis.”
Now, apparently I wasn’t the only one beat up by the prior day’s workout. There was a lot of mumblechatter about yesterday’s Thrive — something about improper tallying related to the Thrive Challenge. Perhaps there was interference from Russia? #FakeNews
When I said “there’s a catch” before explaining the rule about not putting it down, there was an audible groan. There was an even louder groan when Bullwinkle asked about the penalty.
I think everyone was well oriented with his own rock by the end. Perhaps even an intimate connection made. Jabberwocky and his rock I think were destined for couple’s counseling early on. I myself realized about 10 curls in that I perhaps made a poor decision with regards to my own rock.
Now, I didn’t see any of this, but there were calls of “shenanigans” early on, perhaps levied at eHarmony? Now, of course, “shenanigans” sent me and Bullwinkle into a temporary fit of quoting “Super Troopers.” #Meow #LiterOfCola
Everyone really pushed themselves this morning. It was truly designed to be challenging, but also easily modifiable for each PAX to adjust to his own ability. The catch of not putting it down wasn’t designed so much to increase the difficulty, but just keep you on your toes … or in some cases, the rock on your toes.
Gypsy was out front for most of it, but always going back to make sure everyone was doing well. Sticky Note I gather is still relatively new to F3, but, he was knocking it out. With all of the mumblechatter and grumblechatter, the morning just flew by.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead this group of #HIM.
9 PAX decided to show up to the Scout Hut Love Shack this morning to reset and recover at Gumby.
Admittedly, when YHC was informed he was Q this morning, his mind instantly reverted back to the age of 13. How many lame jokes and innuendos could be made, given that we would be in all kinds of odd bodily positions here on Valentine’s Day?
First up, however, a serious note — there is a devotional to get to.
In addition to Valentine’s Day, it is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the Lenten season. Now, YHC, not growing up in a churched home, and currently being a “low church” kind of guy over at Carmel Baptist, the idea of a formal liturgical calendar is a little foreign. But, the magic of the Google machine turned up this devotional from BGEA on Ash Wednesday that is good for anyone looking to recognize and celebrate the season. YHC did have to edit for brevity for the in-person crowd, so, please go to the site and read the full thing.
And if you have any issues, call the BGEA call center and ask for Tweetsie personally. He’ll be happy to field your input.
Okay, now that we have THAT out of the way … there’s only one way to fully appreciate today’s BB, and you should do so by pushing play below:
So, we have the mood music … and the lights were turned off and we were Bambi-lamping this morning. The heat in the Love Shack was on and pumping. Let’s do this …
THANG
Corpse pose
Devo
Start moving your arms and legs, stretch arms over your head.
Windshield wipers, left and right. Holding one side each for a few breaths, then flapjack.
Bridge x5
Sit up, and flutter the wings of love, aka the butterfly. Push knees to the floor, as low as you can go.
Leave right leg tucked in, straighten out left leg and lean in toward your foot. Flapjack. Then put both legs out and grab your feet.
Head to Table Top.
Cat and cow, using your breathing as a guide
Odell Beckham with right leg, first out, then making circles clockwise, then counter-clockwise. Flapjack.
Remain in Table Top, and do the Bird Dog, left leg out, right arm out … flapjack.
Up to mountain.
Two guided Sun Salutations …
At down dog, we did some 3-legged dog and cheetah with the right leg. On the second run through, we did this with the left leg.
3 more SS OYO, meet in Mountain.
From Mountain, sit down in your chair. Arms up, then straight out, then kick right leg out into the Dancer pose. Throw in a quad stretch if you so desire.
Back in chair, arms out, then up, then recover.
1 SS OYO, then repeato on chair flow, switching legs on the Dancer pose.
Another SS OYO, then time to do the Cupid Shuffle. No, not the popular line dance done at only the finest weddings and dances, we’re rebranding the Warrior poses as “Cupid,” since he had arrows and stuff.
Oh, wait, do you need some more Barry? Yes, you do.
Okay, now that we’ve recharged … let’s go:
Then, turn and face the wall for star pose, lower down to the mat. Walk your hands back toward your six, then over to the left leg, then the right leg. After that, back to the middle, left hand on the floor, rotate over and reach up with your right arm. Flapjack. YHC was particularly inflexible on this move this morning.
Come back up into star, then back into Cupid 2, Cupid 1, mountain.
1 SS OYO.
Repeato the Cupid 1, 2, Peaceful, 2 flow on the other side. Once again, back into Star, lower down, then into Ninja. Bend your left leg and sit back on your left heel, right leg stretched out and right foot flexed up. Flapjack. This was popular amongst the PAX, given the grunting and groaning.
Slowly come up, back to Cupid 2, Cupid 1, mountain.
1 SS OYO, stopping at down dog.
From down dog, kick right leg out and bring it through to Pigeon. Keep that leg perpendicular — although the question was asked, “Perpendicular to what?”. Get down on your elbows. Slowly unwind back to down dog, then flapjack with pigeon on the other side.
Kick back into down dog, then finish up that SS.
On your six, bring your knees up, give them a hug. Roll around to get out the tension in your back.
Finish on a happy note. Happy baby, that is.
Corpse. Devo redux.
Fin.
Count off … Name-o-rama … COT.
Oh hey, since it’s Valentine’s Day, and YHC is on a bit of a sugar/carb detox, feel free to grab some chocolate hearts gifted to YHC on your way out.
-30-
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CPR training, if you’ve signed up, is Saturday at Providence Road Church of Christ. If you have signed up, make sure Madison has your $$$. T-claps to him for taking the lead on this initiative, and look for future opportunities to take the training and become certified — Madison did say more would be coming.
LOVESKINE
I did try and have a little fun this morning without going too overboard with the puns. I hope it was well received. Also, I hope that everyone enjoyed our soundtrack, which was, yes, Barry White Radio on Pandora. A definite departure from our usual Zamfiresque offerings.
When Paper Jam walked in, he asked if there would be any candy or flowers, given it is Valentine’s Day. Glad I could come up with at least half of that. Also, he saw my Barry White musical gambit coming … was hoping to keep that a surprise.
I did bring the M’s new Bluetooth speaker she received for Christmas, in lieu of my tinny keychain speaker. I like to think it helped set the mood. No complaints from the usual peanut gallery on that one.
The mood was enough where at one point, it looked like Paper Jam was getting up to take off his pants.
Glad to have Beaver show up — is he site FNG, or just back for the first time in a while?
As always, it was an honor to lead you guys. Thanks to Swiss and Tweetsie for the opportunity. Hope it was fun and functional.
Until next time, play us out Barry ….
Lois posting on behalf of Dora … well, actually, because of time constraints, anything related to the workout itself is Dora. The rest of it is relying on Lois’ spotty memory.
So, the biggest thing about today’s workout — since Dora was nursing an injured shoulder, we avoided pretty much any semblance of upper-body work. Anything that could be done with only one arm, we did it that way.
Thang:
Count off by 4s for the…
One-armed, Four-legged Starfish of Death:
Round 1:
Round 2:
#HappyPaxLetsDoAnother
Round 3:
One-armed Mosey “over there” for 3 Rounds of:
One-armed Mosey back to SP #TookTheLongWay
COT
Announcements:
Ummm … yeah, I don’t really remember. Slim Fast conscripting for BRR 2018. Beware.
Moleskine:
At the beginning of the workout, you could see the wheels turning in some of our heads as Dora said there would be no upper-body work. Hey great, no upper-body wor …. wait …. so all legs and core? Oh boy. This could get interesting.
The team starfish was a great variation on a F3 standard. Some of the team high-fives were, well, let’s just all be thankful no video cameras were present. My own team, with Tweetsie and Smokey, was a fantastic combo. Arguably our least-favorite exercise was the jump lunges/Sister Mary Katherines, although Smokey showed us he knew more about “Superstar” than you might have guessed. Smokey also showed us all up by taking Geraldo’s ruck halfway through the starfish.
During the step-ups, Geraldo brought up that musical classic from the 1980s, “Opposites Attract” by Paula Abdul (with MC Skat Kat). This was fun, although it was well past lunch before the song escaped my head.
Also, in between starfish sets, Dora participated in the planking … one arming it the whole time.
Kotters to Cocktail and MAD. Also, there were 13 PAX present. There are only 12 in the list. That’s because I could only remember 12. For the love of all that’s holy in this world, someone please point out who I am missing in the comments, because it’s driving me nuts.
T-claps to Dora for an excellent lead. Fireman Ed next week. Will Benny show up, since Fireman Ed all but guarantees an appearance of his favorite exercise? #JackWebb #MarathonTrainingThough
Sensei and I appreciate each and every one of you that come out on Thursdays. I know we are biased, but, you guys make this the best workout in Area 51 week after week. You guys live out the idea of iron sharpening iron, and we’re all the better for it.
Seriously though … who am I missing on the PAX list? AAAAAAAHHHHHH!
Update: 0928 Friday morning — I have been informed that Pele was the elusive 13th PAX. Cobains for the confusion.
So, YHC slept through his alarm, hauled it over to South Charlotte Middle School, and thought to himself, “Man, I’m really really late for Mountain Goat. In fact, it’s Monday. And this isn’t Mountain Goat. But there are PAX and a shovel flag, so, let’s have a workout.”
And that we did. After a barely adequate disclaimer — a minor Q fail since a FNG was in our ranks — we took off out of the parking lot and into the damp, misty gloom. After hanging a left on Strawberry Lane, we stopped at the Gateway Academy for …
COP
After that, mosey to the intersection of Strawberry and 51 for our instructions.
THANG
Time to battle The Beast: 6 exercises, 6 reps at 6 stops.
YHC’s original plan was to do this on the cozy, contained confines of the SCMS track. But, since there was rain, the track was flooded (#GlobalWarming #ThanksObama?), YHC decided to take this show on the road. Literally.
So, starting at Strawberry and 51, the stops were:
Once you finish, mosey/recover to the second entrance to the aforementioned crescent and wait for the six. Reverse course for the next round, with the recovery being from Gateway to Strawberry/51. Simple? No. But, whatever.
The exercises were:
Once we were finished with that, mosey back to the SCMS parking lot. Some Mary once we got there …
Finish off with some Sevens. Start with 1 squat, run to the truck, 6 Carolina Dry Docks. Run back to the start, 2 squats, run, 5 CDDs. You know the drill.
We made progress, but started to run short on time, so, finish up and head back to the flag.
Count-o-rama …
Name-o-rama …
Name the FNG …
Fin.
-30-
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BROlympics coming up — Feb. 24 at Weddington High School. Preblast with, wait, a trailer? … man, some of y’all are professionals … right here.
Tweetsie on Q next week. Glad he wasn’t scared off by the weather this morning or anything like that.
MOLEburritoSKINE
First off — welcome to our FNG, Chris, an environmental consultant. Despite a last name that would suggest Irish ancestry, he’s actually more Norwegian and German, so, therefore … Leprechaun. We thought about naming him after an endangered specie, but, we couldn’t really think of a good one.
In all seriousness, welcome Leprechaun. We promise, it gets better from here (kinda sorta).
Things started off with a bang as Goonie gave me crap about my apparently poor SSH form. At least I was able to turn and pivot and all of that.
Admittedly, I was a little hesitant about running The Beast on the road. As a wily veteran of Mountain Goat, I’m used to dodging a few cars, but that’s easier when straight-up running, versus knocking out LBCs and hearing “CAR UP!”.
I advised the PAX to bring headlamps for safety. Then, while I was giving instruction, Fireman Ed pointed out that many of the PAX, myself included, were standing in the middle of Strawberry in a blind spot. #SafetyFirst
We did have to be wary of a few cars, but, I like to think we made the most of it and kept everyone safe. Plus, we got a little more distance versus the track (I clocked in at 2.56 miles), not to mention the little hill climb coming back. It’s never too early to start dreading BRR training.
Goonie, as expected, got out in front and led the way. Everyone did a great job and I’m happy we were able to stay together as a group. I’m also glad the rain held off, but everyone was still able to go directly to the wet set.
I know there was definitely more mumblechatter … sound off in the comments.
Thanks to Goonie, Benny and Thunder Road for having me out. It was an honor and privilege to lead.
Lois posting on behalf of Kilowatt, who had an excellent Q in the balmy environs of Matthews Elementary School …
Tclaps to Slim Fast and Tweetsie for their pre-run. Honorable mention to Nomad for at least thinking about doing the pre-run.
The Thang:
A surprisingly small crowd for P51. I believe most of the usual PAX were still thawing out from last week’s frostbite. Some may have been scared off by the forecast of rain. They forgot that the rain only starts after P51. Bottom line, folks missed a comfortably cool and dry excellent workout opportunity.
Started with a mosey to ‘Industrial Parking lot’ … listen to Nomad whine about his legs and arms hurting from Conviction on Wednesday.
Disclaimer
Note: Erratic exercise counts due to the Q not being able to think straight with all the excessive mumblechatter.
Mosey to the church parking lot:
Partner run / 100 Merkins – Partners go to 100 or whenever the Q says stop. Bonhoeffer was hesitant to recover from the pavement when we were done. Must have hoped for more Merkins??
Karaoke around the parking lot – Start delayed by Tweetsie’s Google search and discussion on the definition of an alley.
Partner run / LBCs – Go until each PAX runs three times or whenever the Q says stop.
Bear Crawl to the second small tree, lunge walk to the end of the parking lot. Return. Some had difficulty counting to ‘the second’ small tree. Not everybody can be a math major.
Mosey to the rear school parking lot:
Five legged Starfish
Six legged Starfish (Slim Fast doesn’t like for starfish to have an odd number of legs so we modified for the R&R)
Mosey to the starting parking lot
COT
No Announcements
The Moleskin
Truly an enjoyable workout with a wonderful group of PAX. I had not Q’ed P51 in a while. Lois and Sensei graciously allowed me to pick any date I wanted to Q in January. Really glad I didn’t pick last week given the sub-freezing temperatures. I choose to believe that all the mumblechatter about my leadership today was due to the PAX being really glad I had returned to Q. No other reason makes any sense 🙂
kW
Nine PAX, including a visitor from The Promised Land (or at least the land where YHC spent 4.5 quality years getting edumacated), gathered in the cozy confines of the Scout Hut for another round of Gumby, the only F3 workout where you actually feel better when it’s over.
THANG:
Start in corpse for devo.
Stretch out, arms above head.
Bridge x4
Windshield wipers, L and R, last set holding in one direction while looking in the other (and requisite flapjacking).
Grab a strap or rope — wrap around left leg, 90 degrees straight up, then out to the left. Repeato, then flapjack.
Sit up, bring your feet in for butterfly. Give it a few flaps, then press knees to the floor (or as close as you can go).
Move to tabletop — cycle through cat and cow.
Then do the Odell Beckham — right leg out, as if to decorate a fire hydrant. Make circles with your knee. Flapjack.
Kick out into plank, run through a sun salutation 3 times. Meet in mountain, then do a half-salutation, meeting in down dog.
In down dog, right leg straight out in 3-legged dog. Then bring the knee in for cheetah. Go through that cycle three times, finish sun salutation.
Then, another half-salutation, going through the same series with the left leg.
1 full SS OYO. Meet in mountain.
Face the wall, star pose, slowly descend to mat. Walk your hands back, then to the right, then to the left. Arise!
1 full SS OYO. Meet in mountain.
Face the other wall. Star post, slowly descend to mat. Bend left leg, sit back on that leg, right leg straight out, foot flexed for the ninja post. Flapjack. Repeato. Arise!
1 half-salutation, meet in down dog.
Swing right leg through, come up into Warrior 1. Move to Warrior 2, then Peaceful Warrior, then back to 2 and 1. Repeato. Step into mountain.
Half-salutation into down dog, do the same warrior series on the other side.
Meet in mountain, let’s do some tree!
After some heavy wobbling on both sides in tree, half-salutation, meet in down dog, right leg back and through for pigeon. Elbows down to lean in to the stretch, then come back up. If you are a freak of nature, try and bring your arms up in almost a crescent lunge with pigeon.
Unwind, then flapjack.
Back down on the mat, hug your knees, roll around.
Resume corpse pose.
—30–
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Moderate running/boot camp workout launching from Socrates Academy (look it up, it’s under “So Crates”) Thursdays at 5:15 am. Get in touch with Madison for more details.
Paper Jam on Q next week. Always a good leader and crowd pleaser.
SKINE OF THE MOLE:
First off, welcome to Cesspool, a visiting PAX from “Famously Hot” Columbia, S.C. We were glad to have you. Also, based on his reaction, I like to think that this whole active recovery workout was a revelation. Gumby is taking over.
As usual, the music is central to the tale of a particular Gumby. Given that I forgot my speaker, which usually draws rave reviews from sound engineers Tweetsie and Swiss Miss, I had to run it off my phone. I also could not quite get the volume at a satisfactory level. I told our beloved Site Qs/sound engineers that they should put a community speaker in the budget for next year. I still like the ABR station on Pandora as a shakeup from the usual ethereal offerings centered around yoga. My personal favorite was a bluegrassy cover of “Heaven” by Canada’s favorite son, Bryan Adams.
Also, I just noticed for the first time this morning the bear cutout hiding in the rafters of our beloved scout hut. Kinda cool.
As always, thanks to Swiss and Tweetsie for the opportunity to lead (and for putting up with my smart aleck commentary in BBs). Gumby continues to be a key part of my own personal fitness routine, and it is always an easy choice hanging with a great group of guys.
Sound off in the comments for anything I missed (or when we might expect that community speaker).
14 PAX made a wise decision to get up and airlift over to Peak 51 on a rather chilly morning in downtown Matthews.
A fine disclaimer was given, with the main takeaway being “don’t sue me,” and off we go.
Mosey to church lot, with existential mumblechatter amongst the PAX about the disclaimer — I mean, you could sue, but, you wouldn’t likely be successful.
Anyway, mosey through the church lot and circle up …
COP
Thang
Line ‘em up at the bottom of the hill for what has become a Peak 51 staple — SUICIDES.
Using our familiar light poles as guides, we did a normal suicide.
After that, lunge walk to the top of the hill/back of the church.
Then, another suicide going back. See, we’re facing the other direction, with totally reversed uphill/downhill dynamics. #Variety
So, now with everyone warmed up, let’s mosey to the bus lot for the main event.
Time to take a ride on the Hindenburg, which, you’ll remember wound up as a flaming pile of rubble in New Jersey. With any luck, we’ll at least avoid the New Jersey part.
Now, while the Hindenburg was a Zeppelin airship (or dirigible, if you will), we are using the BLIMPS workout, with the four corners of the bus lot — the corner closest to the school, the Geraldo tree, the basketball hoop opposite the Geraldo tree, then the “big ol’ tree,” as per Horsehead last week.
So, do each called exercise and number of reps at each corner. Plank up when finishing each round.
So, following the BLIMPS model …
After the last round, Mary where you are.
Mosey back to launch. YHC’s Garmin clocked in at 1.87 miles (YMMV). Great job all around.
—30—
Announcements
ǝuıʞsǝןoɯ
There’s a lot here to unpack.
First, I did my best Indiana Jones by unearthing an artifact that some thought was just a myth, or had long since vanished, much like the Ark or the Holy Grail: the Peak 51 shovel flag!
Actually, I had a suspicion that Slim Fast had it, so, I asked. Sure enough, he did, and he was nice enough to bring it (apparently it will win him some favor with his M, as it is no longer in his garage). I will do my best to bring it out on the regular.
Sensei upon this discovery: “I’ve been a site Q here for a year and a half, and I didn’t know we even had a shovel flag.”
Second, speaking of Slim Fast, you knew this workout was going to be good because he took off his pants after pre-running with Sensei.
Next, for some reason, I was staring at my watch while disclaiming. There is a theory that I had a Weinke stashed on there. Might have to look into that for next time.
Mumblechatter was strong during COP and the suicides.Sensei was concerned about running over time, since we did 25 SSHs, instead of the usual 20 or so. The Mouth was in rare form, although he didn’t swing on an absolute softball of a #TWSS offered by Slim Fast.
When the main event was going on, there was much consternation over the mixing of airship metaphors — using BLIMPS but calling the whole thing the Hindenburg, which, as clarified above, was not a blimp. Feel free to consult the F3 Exicon for confirmation of both BLIMPS and Hindenburg.
Speaking of the main event, Shake ’n Bake was leading the way. The man has become an absolute beast, evidenced by pictures of himself on the F3UC Facebook group. If you aren’t in that realm, just wait until the next iCloud photo hack, and you’ll find them. Must be those endless bear crawls he’s fond of when he Qs.
Nomad was also out front as well. He seemed to get stronger the longer the workout went on.
Mouth also called out the Q on poor form on the merkins. #Accurate #CarolinaDryDocks
He was also having fun at the Q’s expense trying to decipher the next exercise in the acronym. Actually, everyone seemed to have fun with that. However, some of that mumblechatter needs to stay in the cone of sanctity.
Slim Fast performed a necessary Q-jack heading into the last round. I was feeling benevolent after the round of plank jacks — also my hamstring was threatening a revolt. I was originally going to modify to 30 squats, then take a lap, but, no, Slim Fast was Jiminy Cricket to my Pinocchio, acting as my conscience. If your legs are burning after 120 squats — look at him.
Also, shout outs to the ruck crew of Dora, Geraldo and Angler. Mad respect to Angler, who at 74 was doing something I’ve not dared to try in the form of rucking. I hope I just make it to 74, but, if I do, I hope I’m still getting after it.
Anyway, it was a privilege to lead this morning. Thanks to myself, who, as co-site Q has had a minor issue filling Q slots, so, it was part necessity, but I was itching to lead a workout, so, it all works out.
You guys are an amazing group of PAX — know that Sensei and I appreciate all of y’all for making this such a great site week after week.
7 PAX made the smart move to stretch themselves mentally and physically at Gumby this morning. Given the recent change in weather, I’d like to point out that Gumby is indoors at Ye Olde Scout Hut.
Lighting: Flourescent. No #BambiLamp this morning
Music: Avett Brothers Radio on Pandora, piped through my small bluetooth speaker
Devotional: Verses covered this morning: Proverbs 27:1-2. Yesterday, I was tasked with leading a devo for the kids at Learning Help Centers of Charlotte, where I volunteer as a tutor once a week. While the devo was based on F3 Nation’s favorite verse, Proverbs 27:17, I kept glancing up at the first two verses in the chapter. Looking first at verse 2, I was reminded that we should not only be motivated to do the right thing, but, we should do the right thing for the right reason. Check your heart as you think about your motives for doing anything. Like, with these kids I tutor — am I doing it so I can tell the Gumby PAX about it and get a pat on the back, or am I doing it in a #ISI effort to help these kids get better? If you are getting too full of yourself in such endeavors, backtrack to verse 1 to get a slice of humble pie, as it demonstrates how much we know versus how much God knows.
THANG
Disclaimer: I’m neither a yogi nor a brogi … follow me at your own risk … you break it, you buy it.
Corpse pose / Devo
Knees up toward 6, do a series of 5 bridges, holding each time, trying to get a better stretch each rep as we follow our breath.
Windshield wipers left and right, then holding legs left/head right, followed by legs right, head left.
Legs straight out — right leg up, and give it a hug. Flapjack, then bring both legs up and hug them, rolling around to loosen up the back as needed.
Grab your strap or rope — wrap around right leg, bring it straight up, then out to the side, back up, then out, then up. Flapjack.
Move to Table Top
Cat/Cow OYO
Another leg stretch out of Table Top — the Odell Beckham (fka the fire hydrant), right leg out first, then left. After a quick check to ensure no fines from the NFL were levied, we move on to …
Sun salutations aka the yoga burpee — 1 led by Q, followed by 3 OYO.
Turn to face the wall, feet apart, arms out in the star pose. Lower down. Walk hands back, then to the right, then the left.
Ascend — back to front, 1 SS OYO.
For the sake of balance, face the other wall. Arms out in star, descend. This time, turn your right foot on its heel and squat on your left for the ninja pose/stretch. YHC regaled the PAX of tales of Anderson’s School of Tae Kwon Do in scenic Greer, SC, where we would do this stretch on the regular, and it was a status symbol to be able to get your 6 all the way to the floor. Needless to say, YHC doesn’t have that kind of flexibility anymore.
Anyway, Ninja with right leg out, then flapjack, then flapjack and flapjack one more time. Straighten those legs out, ascend back into star, back to front with a SS OYO.
Now that our legs are sufficiently worked, let’s work on balance.
Tree pose, right leg on left, then flapjack. Flapjack again, trying to move leg higher than before, ensuring it’s not resting on your knee. And a final flapjack.
Now time to sit down in the Chair. Arms up, then arms out, moving into dancer pose on the right, then the left.
1 SS OYO
Finally, move into Down Dog, swing that left leg back, pull it through for YHC’s favorite stretch, Pigeon. Flapjack.
Back to corpse, quick devo recap. Time called.
Count off, name off, COT with a nice takeout by Jello.
–30–
ANNOUNCEMENTS
“It’s all on Slack and Twitter.” -Paper Jam
#Accurate
Coming up Nov. 4 is the Let Them Soar 5K at Christ Covenant. It will be a Speed for Need race, and, details are found in Tackling Dummy’s pre-blast.
Otherwise, well, Paper Jam said it best.
SKINE
Good group this morning. Mumblechatter started early as Swiss Miss gave Mouth a tee-ball #TWSS when selecting a rope from the fine selection available in the Scout Hut.
Also, I think Swiss Miss and Paper Jam’s friendship grew a little today, as they were perhaps in too close of quarters next to each other at some points during the workout.
Mouth also had a great retort when I tried to sound somewhat knowledgable when we were ascending and descending in the star pose — the line was something like “a yoga professional would tell you to feel each vertebrae move” and Mouth replied “yeah, they’re all cracking.”
Swiss Miss also continued the shade-fest he and Tweetsie started in regards to the quality of sound from my speaker, which, in its day job helps provide background music in the shower. Swiss specifically complained about a lack of bass, so, until I get that new speaker that was promised, it’s time to start researching how one might loop in a subwoofer from a TV sound bar. That thing has Nicki Minaj Super Bass, so, careful what you wish for.
In all seriousness, I know it’s said a lot, but Gumby helps get me through my F3 week. While we were in pigeon, I specifically recounted to the PAX about how the stretches we learn in Gumby (pigeon especially) helped me survive the BRR.
Always an honor to lead, thanks to Swiss Miss and Tweetsie for the opportunity.
Editor’s note: Lois posting on behalf of Smokey. After Smokey nearly killed all of us at Skunkworks on Tuesday, I was trying to keep the Q in a good mood. Other PAX tried to sabotage this effort at every turn (ahem … Geraldo and Cocktail). Anyway, on to Smokey’s BB:
The Thang:
YHC had a bad day on Saturday as his beloved VOLS lost to Florida on a last-minute Hail Mary walk off. YHC took his aggression out on Skunkworks on Tuesday, but there was still bitterness to come out on the PAX of Peak 51 this morning. In YHC’s defense this was outed in the disclaimer, but….
20x SSH
20x IW
20x Good Morning Nashville’s
Mosey to side parking lot where suicides ensued. At every change of direction PAX performed 10 of called exercise:
Round 1: LBC’s
Round 2: Merkins
Round 3: Burpees (modified to 5)
Mosey to small track where PAX performed 7 to 1 pull up ladder.
Mosey to parking lot for round robin circuit of 10 step ups (per leg) on the wall, 15 merkins in the parking lot, and 20 dips on the picnic tables. Rinse and repeat three times.
Mosey back to the parking lot for some Mary.
Mole burrito:
Lots of running and lots of mumbling this morning. The weather was awesome, but the chatter, led by Geraldo, led to my beloved VOLS. Though I could not hear it all, it fueled me. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger – right?! Tweetsie, also a VOLS fan, tried to console me, but to no avail! I love Bullwinkle’s perseverance. The dude never gives up. Shake ‘n’ Bake has now lost 45 lbs. doing F3 – awesome! Cocktail was instructing his 2.0 (Robin) about the importance of working on his abs for the ladies.
I have so much respect for Lois and Sensei. Thank you guys for the opportunity to lead!
Take out by YHC.
Go Vols. #VFL
Announcements:
F3 Golf is October 27.
First anniversary for Gumby is this upcoming Wednesday (9/27).
Isabella Santos 5K on 9/30. This will be a big Speed for Need event — not sure if discount code AGENDA still works, but, worth a try.
Gumby is refreshing in that it is the antithesis of a typical F3 sufferfest — but when one is coming off his inaugural Blue Ridge Relay experience, even the most basic of things (like “walking” or “standing up”) are sufferfests.
Anyway, enough about YHC, here’s what went down in the Scout Hut this morning:
THANG
Disclaimer. YHC is not a professional, and you should modify as needed, because the Q is probably going to be modifying.
Corpse for devo
Start moving legs and feet, stretch arms over head
Knees up for windshield wipers, left, right, left, right, etc.
Grab a strap or rope. Wrap around left foot and bring your leg straight up. YHC reminded himself (and the PAX) to breathe, and to deepen the stretch on each exhale.
Flapjack to right. Flapjack back to left, the back to right, then both legs, protractor style. The idea was to get to 90 degrees. YHC was not quite there.
Sit up, feet together for butterfly.
50 leg flaps, then press knees to the ground.
Move to table top
Do a series of cat/cow
Move to “fire hydrant.” Seriously, someone else came up with that name. Again, we’re blaming High Tide here. But, for the uninformed — from table top. move right leg out at a 90-degree angle. Hold it, then make circles clockwise, then counter, then back to hold.
Flapjack on fire hydrant.
Child’s pose — moving to the right and the left to get some side stretches.
Plank, then through Sun Salutation:
Plank
Up dog
Down dog (holding and walking the dog)
Halfway lift
Full fold
All the way up
Repeato 3x OYO
Move to low lunge
Frame front foot
Move to balance (or “cheerleader”) pose
Arms up and stretch back into crescent
Throw in a quad stretch by grabbing the back foot, if you so desire.
Back to balance
Back to frame
Repeato, sun salutation, then flapjack, end with another sun salutation
Move to runner’s lunge
Back knee on mat, front leg straight, toes pointed straight
Rotate toes up — if you so desire, frame your front foot/leg (PAIN)
Flapjack
Sun salutation, meet in mountain
Right foot back, into Warrior 1
Warrior 2
Lean forward
Peaceful warrior
Warrior 2
Turn to the wall in the “Star” pose, slooooowwwwwwwly lower into a deep stretch. Hands on mat/floor. Walk hands back to try and reach behind. Then to the left, then to the right.
Slooooowwwwwwwly come back up into star.
Warrior 2
Warrior 1
Mountain
Flapjack — this time, when we go down to the ground on the deep stretch, eave left hand on the ground, rotate right arm up and twist. Flapjack.
Slowly come up and finish warrior set.
Head into down dog
Swing left leg back and through for pigeon.
Untangle
Flapjack
Untangle
One more sun salutation
Back to corpse
Devo redux
Time
—30—
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Clear your calendars, because in two weeks (9/27), Gumby turns one! Swiss Miss said there would be a celebration, but no cake. I think we should get a smash cake. I decided to look back at the BB from the maiden voyage — I forgot about Horsehead’s industrial mat from the auto parts store.
Hey, want to Q at Outland at some point in the 4th quarter? Talk to Madison, as he is filling slots now. The workout meets Saturdays at Sun Valley Middle School.
The Fourth Annual F3 Golf Classic — Friday, Oct. 27 at Olde Sycamore. Details and registration at F3golf.com.
SKINE OF THE MOLE
Good crowd this morning. Thanks for putting up with another lower-body-heavy workout as part of my continued recovery from BRR agony. Next time I Q, I’ll sprinkle in some old favorites for balance/core, like tree, dancer, chair and half moon. I promise. Admittedly, a lot of the workout, especially the lunges, were cribbed from High Tide’s Q a couple of weeks ago.
I know the various stretches helped me out on the course (and I saw a lot of folks doing our staples out there) and I do feel good this morning after the good stretch session. Learning that stuff at Gumby was invaluable in BRR prep and during the relay itself. I literally wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise.
Only real mumble chatter came from the corner with Swiss Miss and Tweetsie, but there was plenty of it. Guess that was important Site Q business they were discussing.
Welcome to site FNG Belle … and is Chopper a site FNG as well? Also, good to see No Regerts again … still one of my favorite F3 names.
As always, I’m grateful to lead the group. Thanks be to Swiss and Tweetsie for the opportunity.