A couple of weeks ago at Peak 51, Bullwinkle put the EH on YHC to venture across the county line to lead Union County’s newest workout, Conviction. So, YHC packed up and hit the road.
It was a mix of familiar faces and some new ones. Introductions done, disclaimer given, and off we moseyed to the bus parking lot.
THANG
Circle up:
Mosey over to the field next to the playground. YHC brought up the fact that there were no side-straddle hops in the COP. This factoid was acknowledged with some puzzlement. Time to rectify that with some ChumbaBurpees.
So, for the uninitiated, we play that musical treasure “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba, and when the refrain of “I get knocked down …” hits, do a burpee. If you aren’t doing a burpee, you are doing side-straddle hops. It sounds amusing, until you actually do it.
Enough of that … time for the main course. Time to battle The Beast — 6 reps of 6 exercises at 6 stations. We started at the lone light pole near the playground and used the rest of the light poles along the perimeter as the stations, offering various run lengths in between 6-rep sets.
The exercises:
As we waited for the 6 to come in on each set, various bro-ga stretching was led. Planks, leg stretches, pigeon, etc.
Alright, back to ChumbaBurpee Field (naming-rights fee to be collected later) … there was a palpable sense of dread, but, fear not. No burpees, instead, we did the Sally plank challenge.
So, YHC called up “Flower” by Moby. Hold elbow plank … when you hear “bring Sally up” move to regular plank, then back down with “bring Sally down.”
Back to the bus lot … some quick lunge walks along the bus parking lines. When you get to the end of the line, do called Mary.
10 LBCs IC
10 Dolly IC
10 Heels to heaven IC
Mosey back to launch. Time called.
Count off, name-o-rama, COT.
–30–
M O L E S K I N E
While I joke about crossing the county line, Stallings Elementary is actually pretty close to my house, although the roadwork at Idlewild and 51 made me have to take the super-scenic route to get there.
I really liked the setup at the school, and it was a great group of PAX this morning. I hope everyone was sufficiently challenged by The Beast. It’s a good workout where it can be easily modified, or you can really push yourself with heartier runs in between stations. I know I was losing speed toward the end.
It was good to have Snooki join in — he’s a PAX from Greensboro who has relocated to Monroe, and is getting plugged in with the Union County crew.
The most mumblechatter came during the two musical interludes. I think it was Jabberwocky who said of the ChumbaBurpees “the worst part of that is the song will be stuck in my head the rest of the day.” You’re welcome.
Bullwinkle chimed in with the requisite Eminem diss of Moby during the Sally plank challenge, which was good. The great unanswered question after that: What was the point of the song? Who knows.
As far as the actual exercise goes, doing a plank challenge on wet grass is a bit of a challenge. I know I was slipping and sliding a bit, and at times, my plank was more of a jacked up hold of a Carolina dry dock.
So, there was a connection point of all of these exercises: A couple of weeks ago, while I was at the beach, I made the decision to post with a group in Murrells Inlet — Blackbeard’s Revenge — and I am so glad I did. It was good to keep taking that #DRP, and to not lose any fitness ground during a week where it is super easy to just coast through. So, in tribute, all of the exercises were done at some point during those three days.
If you travel for work or for fun, it’s worth it to post to a workout if one is nearby. It’s fun to get after it with some new guys, and, as I said both in person this morning, and on Twitter — when you post in a completely new area, you get an idea of the power and reach of this crazy F3 thing, because it feels like home.
Anyway, it was an honor to lead this morning. Chime in below with any comments. Keep up the good work, and I’ll be back sooner rather than later! Aye!
13 PAX assembled on a slightly damp, but sometimes breezy, morning for a weekly dose of metal-swinging fun at Skunk Works.
A moderately okay disclaimer was given, and off we go.
Warmup:
Thang:
Stay in the circle. Do a set of 3 exercises. 1 runner travels on the outside of the circle while rest of PAX is doing AMRAP of 1st exercise. Next runner up, AMRAP of next exercise. Next runner, AMRAP of 3rd exercise. Rinse. Repeat.
1st set:
The “runner” was not running, but lunge-walking.
Once everyone has lunge-walked, take a lap around the track.
2nd set:
“Runner” was moseying with the bell outside of the circle.
Next up, line up on the sideline for some sevens.
Mosey back to lot.
Mary:
20 LBCs OYO
15 Flutter press IC
15 Dolly IC
—30—
Skunkskine:
It seems that the TGU to start off with was a popular move. YHC is nursing a minor leg strain and didn’t think about that as far as his own get-up strategy, which almost led to an ultimate #Qfail 1 minute in.
The circle did lead to some mumblechatter with neighbors. Probably the best thing to come out of it was a story about Yeti being accosted by a lunch lady who thought he was a student trying to skip out on lunch.
Speaking of Yeti, he and Smokey were leading the way on the 7s.
It wasn’t noticed until we arrived, but Tweetsie and YHC came dressed alike: hi-viz A51 shirt, blue shorts. NO, it was not planned. Somehow, this mattered not to the group.
It started to drizzle ever so slightly on the second round of 7s, which was great, considering we were doing overhead presses at the time.
Good to see Horsehead and Smokey out there. Also, Yo Yo Ma was … traveling/visiting … an old veteran returning … some combo of both? Someone feel free to set the record straight there.
Smokey gave us a great takeout in the ball o’ man.
Thanks to Harley and Fletch for the opportunity to lead. It was an honor to get out with everyone and swing a bell this morning.
Sound off with comments!
Six of Area 51’s stretchiest PAX descended upon the Scout Hut for this week’s installation of Gumby. Here’s what it looked like:
First, we had to get the mood lighting set. So, it was a Bambi Lamp morning.
Start, as usual, in shavasana. Devotional came from Swanson’s tribute to Cheech that is floating around the F3 social-media space. We concentrated on the aspect of wearing our faith on our sleeve — we want to live our lives in the way described in 1 John 4:13-15 so that at the end of our own lives, we might reflect 2 Timothy 4:7-8.
From corpse, stretch out, arms above head, start moving hands, feet, fingers, toes.
Knees up for a series of windshield wipers, followed by a series of bridge stretches.
Then, sit up, feet together, knees out for some butterfly stretching. We did about 50 “flaps” of our knees, then, brought our feet closer in and pressed knees close to the floor, using our elbows to try and press. This brought back memories of joy and pain from YHC’s time as a teenaged Tae Kwon Do prodigy student.
Stretch legs straight out and touch your toes.
Move to table top for some cat/cow, followed by side bends.
Sit back on your feet, stretch hands out into child’s pose, moving over to the left and right.
Back to table top for broga’s version of the burpee — sun salutations! We did 5 — first one led by YHC, then the next 4 OYO.
Then came some chair work —
Sit back into chair, arms up. YHC decided to bring an aspect of the people’s chair to Gumby, leading 5 slow air presses. After that, arms out straight, then back up.
Recover. 1 burp, er, sun salutation OYO.
Back into chair:
Arms up, 5 air presses, arms up, arms out — now, leave your left arm out, grab your right leg, and move into dancer. Standard advice of “find something to concentrate on” given, YHC still stumbled around. Apparently talking, balancing and concentrating is too difficult.
Leg down, arms out, arms up. Recover. Salutation OYO.
Repeato, flapjacking with left leg back into dancer.
Final set: arms up, 5 air presses, arms up, arms out, right leg back into dancer, then tip forward onto your block/water bottle/whatever into High Tide’s favorite: Half moon. Back to dancer, leg down, arms out, arms up. Recover. Salutation OYO.
Repeato, flapjacking with right leg back.
Now it’s time for some war face with warrior!
Right leg back into Warrior 1, Warrior 2, lean in with your FORWARD foot (thanks to Swiss Miss for helping YHC when he was confused about left/right), back to Warrior 2, turn and face to the right.
Arms out, slow descent into good ol’ leg stretches. Walk your hands back, then to the left and right. Ascend. Warrior 2, Warrior 1. Mountain. Yoga burpee OYO.
Left leg back into Warrior 1, Warrior 2, lean in, back to Warrior 2, turn to the left, 5-count windmill. Warrior 2, Warrior 1, Mountain, Saluburp OYO, meeting in plank.
From plank, swing right leg back and forward into pigeon, really leaning in to get down onto the elbows. Unwind, move back to plank and flapjack.
Unwind, back to plank, then back to corpse, devotional review and finitio.
Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, lock shields and Tweetsie took us out.
-30-
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Kinetic Heights field trip on Friday. Pre-run at 0500, workout at 0530. See the Kinetic Trips channel on Slack for more details.
Convergence at the American 4 Miler on Tuesday — this will also be the debut of the Speed for Need chairs. Skunk Works should be on as scheduled, but, as of right now, there is no Q, so, get with Harley if you feel so moved to lead. Otherwise, I guess the regulars will just show up and do a bunch of swings.
Paper Jam on the Q next week!
GREENSKINE
The morning got off to a great start — I fartsacked through my own pre-run alarm, leaving Tweetsie to explore the mean streets of downtown Matthews on his own. This also resulted in his first Site Q panic attack as Tweetsie didn’t know if I was awake and was planning to actually show up. You’re welcome.
I hope everyone enjoyed the workout. I tried to mix it up a tiny bit with different poses in different flows (like the dancer-to-half-moon bit) and add some new wrinkles, like the air presses. I also tried to concentrate on the lower body, as most of my upper body is still on fire after Skunk Works yesterday, but that’s another story.
Now to the most important part of any Gumby BB — THE MUSIC. I had a complicated setup that was the envy of the PAX. This also helped me keep track of time, since (1) the Q can’t see the clock in the hut (2) the clock has been dead for the last couple of weeks … maybe as an act of service we should bring some fresh batteries?
Oh, and hey, speaking of BATTERY …
So, once the music started, some gentle cellos filled the Bambi Lamp-lit room and all was well. Then Swiss Miss asked the million-dollar question:
“Is this ……. Metallica?”
YOU BET IT IS. Today’s soundtrack was provided by Apocalyptica, a Swedish cello quartet that plays Metallica covers (and other metal type tunes). I referred to it as “oddly soothing.” Not sure what the other PAX thought of it. Some were probably horrified not so much by the music, but that I knew about this group.
The official set list was:
This is all off the aptly titled album “Plays Metallica by Four Cellos.”
As always, this is one of my favorite groups, and this workout is essential for me just as a way to keep myself fresh as the wear and tear of other workouts builds up. Thanks to Swiss Miss and Tweetsie — it was an honor to lead, and I hope to do it again as soon as Sept. 13!
A near-record 28 PAX made a solid life decision to post at Area 51’s loudest workout to be put through the paces by YHC on his VQ.
After a pretty thorough disclaimer, we moseyed out, taking the long way to the back parking lot via the front of First Baptist (#RIPGiantTreeOnTheCorner).
COP
THANG
Head to the bottom of the hill and find a partner for a fun first course.
In tandem, P1 runs forward, P2 backpedals. Reach the first lamp post, one partner planks, the other puts his feet on the planker’s back, 5 derkins. Flapjack.
Flapjack running, so, P1 backpedals, P2 runs forward to next lamppost. Repeato on the plank/derkins. 5 each.
Sprint to end. Plank until the six arrives.
Going back down hill, we did the same drill, but with forward/backward lunge walks. Plank/derks appropriately.
Mosey to the back lot …
Last week, Tweetsie had the easy theme — May the 4th be with you. Since my Q came on the 11th, I was reminded of the best “rockumentary” of all time, “This is Spinal Tap.” So, in deference to Spinal Tap’s world-famous amplifiers, time to do some 11s!
Start at one end of the bus lot, do 1 jump squat. Run to the other end, 10 merkins. Run back, 2 jump squats, run, 9 merkins, etc.
Usually 11s are done on a hill, but since hills are objectively awful, YHC opted for flat land, but long flat land. It seemed to get longer as the reps continued. A lot longer.
Once we finished up, we kept the Tap theme going with what I called “Stonehenge,” which is where a man’s a man and the children dance to the pipes of Pan.
Sounds cool, right? Yeah, it was just a really terrible version of Duck, Duck, Goose.
We formed 2 circles (original thought was 1 big circle, but with so many PAX, 2 proved to be a better choice). On your six, start doing called exercise. One person makes a quick lap around the circle, then when he gets back, resume exercise and the next person in the circle runs, so forth and so on. Basically AMRAP until all are finished running.
This was a new one to the group, so, in the beginning, it was not unlike the intro to the titular song — “No one knows who they were … or what they were doing,” but, we figured it out.
Just enough time to mosey back to launch, count-o-rama, name-o-rama, ball o’ man, Tweetsie with a strong takeout.
-30-
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Starting Wed. May 31, there is a new workout — Conviction — starting up at a new AO — Stallings Elementary. See or talk to Bullwinkle for more details.
If you’re looking for a Peak-style workout on a Saturday, hit up Ascent/Olympus. 0700 at Olde Providence Elementary.
High Tide posted a quick survey on Twitter gauging interest in a possible Area 51 gear order. Stay tuned on that, as those custom orders have a limited window.
Not mentioned in COT, but worth bringing up: Our SOB brothers are hosting an FNG convergence on May 24th at The Maul (Stonecrest movie theater). Pre-blast is here. Time to really crank up the EHs.
MOLESKINE
I did some research, and, according to the Internet, the Peak 51 record is 30 PAX on Nomad’s Q back in February. We were right on the cusp today. It’s awesome to see so many guys coming out to get after it.
Next, special t-claps to Atlas, who ventured up from the hinterlands of Indian Land to support YHC on his VQ. It meant a ton to YHC to have him show up, especially since he was my EHer for a quite a while before I decided to take that #DRP.
Kotters to Dumpster Fire who escaped the wily Pineville PD to revisit his old buddies at Peak. Also, kotters to the legendary Horsehead.
YHC appreciated the heckling from ruck buddies Atlas and Geraldo during COP. What they don’t realize is that coaching 8- and 9-year-olds in flag football has sharpened YHC’s focus such that talking over directed mumblechatter is quickly becoming second nature.
Not as much mumblechatter on the 11s, especially as the reps grew. Everyone was crushing it, though. T-claps to Geraldo, who was doing a great job encouraging everyone as we were pushing through.
More mumblechatter in the Stonehenge portion, mostly in the form of Slim Fast singing some of Spinal Tap’s greatest hits, such as “Listen to the Flower People,” “Gimme Some Money” and, of course, “Stonehenge.” Also, if you missed his cranking up some of those songs and doing some low-key head banging after the BOM, well, I’m legitimately sorry you missed it.
Retread and YHC were talking on the mosey back to launch — we got in just under 2 miles all told, with the 11s accounting for about 1.2 of the total. Awesome, awesome job.
In the COT, Booyah brought up the new F3 Podcast. You should listen to it. The latest episode was timely for YHC, since it’s all about the Q.
On a personal note, thanks for the opportunity to lead. It was an honor to lead such a big group with a lot of heavy-hitters.
I can’t help but be reflective here on VQ day: It was July of last year when one of the saddest of the sad clown brigade sheepishly crept into Mountain Goat one Friday in hopes that this F3 thing was going to be all it was purported to be.
Over these last few months, I’ve so enjoyed getting to know all of you guys. It’s like everyone says — the first F is what first gets you out of the fartsack, but the second F is really what keeps you coming out. So many have served as such an encouragement to me, especially in those early days where I was on the cusp of passing out or dying or whatever at any given moment. Y’all continue to set the bar high, and, more important, set it as a bar worth jumping over.
To the newer guys, it’s true — it doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger — and let’s face it, it’s more rewarding that way.
Okay, I’m done. SYITG!
10 PAX took their dose of the #DRP and ventured out to Ye Olde Scout Hut for some figurative and literal stretching at Gumby.
COLD OPEN:
After a minimally adequate disclaimer, we started in corpse pose while YHC read 1 Peter 5:6-8:
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (ESV)
YHC talked about addressing the visible nerves of his 8/9-year-old flag football team before their first game a few weeks ago, telling them “nervous” can be okay, if you channel it the right way, but not to let “nervous” become “scared.” Isn’t it wonderful that we have a God who cares about us such that we can give over our anxieties to Him? But, there is a catch … more later …
THANG:
WARMUPS
From corpse:
Move to table top:
Stand up for sun salutations, or, as YHC calls them when no one’s looking: Yoga Burpees. So, that meant 1 guided yoga burpee, followed by 3 OYO.
HOLD ME CLOSER, CHAIR AND DANCER
Repeato with requisite flapjacking on dancer.
WARRIOR DASH, BUT WITHOUT THE DASH
Start in mountain, step back into warrior 1, making sure hips are square, then warrior 2, back to warrior 1, then mountain, then 1 YB OYO.
Next round, add on a Booyah-inspired lean forward in warrior 2, then add on peaceful warrior and pyramid/triangle (YHC was confused as to the name of the one we were doing).
So, the final sequence was:
Repeatos after the YB during the buildup, with requisite flapjacking to get right and left sides covered.
GOOD OL’ WIDE-LEGGED STRETCHING
Face the wall to YHC’s left/PAX’s right, spread legs.
Arms out and slow fold down to the middle. Touch the ground/mat. Walk hands back toward your 6, back out, then right side/left side.
Slowly back up. Repeato.
TRUNCATED PIGEON
Start in down dog, right leg back, swing through for pigeon. Try and get your elbows down. Move back up and flex your left leg up and try and grab it. Only the real overachievers such as High Tide and Madison pulled it off. The rest of us, YHC included, just grunted flexing our legs.
Unwind, move back into down dog, flapjack with left leg and OOPS TIME’S UP.
After a scramble to unwind from pigeon and briefly land back in corpse, YHC revisited the devo … yes, we have a God who cares for us and wants us to give Him our anxieties, but we must remember the first verse in the passage – we are to humble ourselves first, because, if there’s one thing that’s a certainty, it’s that we aren’t in charge, and we should always be humble as we approach the throne.
–30–
GREEN MOLESKINE:
There is a certain irony, given the devo, that YHC was a little nervous in his first venture as Q. The goal was to concentrate on quality versus quantity, so it was a lot of Gumby meat-and-potatoes with some slightly longer-than-average holds on each one, with the movement coming with the barrage of yoga burpees.
The workout music was, as usual, an adventure. We were using the SiriusXM app to stream in music. YHC started with some classical music until Horsehead piped up that it sounded like “Kill the Wabbit.” YHC quickly found something more Horsehead’s speed, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by the venerable Cyndi Lauper. There was a palpable disappointment amongst the PAX when we had to turn that down for the devo.
Related: Welcome back Horsehead.
Eventually, YHC settled on a jazz standards station. Ethereal in its own right, but a little more peppy than usual. Next time YHC promises he will deliver on his promise to bring Apocalyptica to the masses. Until then, enjoy their stirring rendition of “Nothing Else Matters.”
Great takeout (as usual) by Tweetsie.
It was an honor to lead this morning. Can’t wait for the next opportunity! We might actually end on time next time around.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Q needed for next week’s Gumby. Let High Tide know, because he’ll need to pass off the keys to the hut.
F3 is launching in Pittsburgh on April 28. Stone Cold and Baracus are going up for the launch. If yinz know of anyone in the city (AO will be North Park), EH them to post at launch. If you need EH verbiage, Horsehead has you covered: “If you like them, tell them about F3. If you love them, tell them to move.” According to Stone Cold, there will be at least 1 trip to Primanti Bros.
Also on tap for expansion: On May 6, F3 Birmingham is launching. High Tide is likely to fall on that sword. If he does, I expect him to bring back Dreamland for everyone.
I forgot to mention during announcement time – there is still a big need for men to serve at Carmel Baptist Church’s upcoming Joy Prom, which is a full-scale prom for special-needs folks.
(Fri. Apr. 28 6:45-9:45pm and two times on Sat. Apr. 29 1:00-3:00pm / 6:00-9:00pm)
In essence, you get gussied up in your suit (or tux, if you ball that hard), you are paired up with a female guest for the evening. You take her to get some jewelry, sparkles, etc., then hit the dance floor. You also in theory go have a dessert with your guest, but, sometimes, they don’t want to leave the dance floor.
It is one of the best ways you can spend 3 hours on a given evening. It does not disappoint. Do it. Tweetsie and I will both be there on Friday the 29th, where there is a better-than-average chance you’ll see me flip out in the DJ room when “Turn Down for What” is played. Let either of us know if there are any questions, or you can go see more details and signup at joyprom.org. If you need any more convincing, watch the videos there.