Author Archive Purple Haze

You Know There’s a Nice Field In Back Right?

The #F3DayZero shovel flag was firmly planted at the entrance to the McAlpine proving grounds as 18 pax gathered on this perfect Saturday morning.  Only we didn’t take the entrance down to the plush field…YHC: “Follow me”…and after a very, very baby jog we circle up on the roughest parking lot in Area51, the soft grass in our sights. #cruelty

The Thang

Stagecoach Q:

Warmup
  • Short jog about 20 feet

COP

  • 10 Burpees OYO
  • SSH x 26
  • 1 leg merkins x 15 (Right foot high)
  • IW x 26
  • 1 leg merkins x 15 (Left foot high)
  • Protractor
  • 1 legged Burpees 10 R
  • 1 legged Burpees 10 L
Mosey to front of school:
  • Plank walk along bench
  • Diamond Merkins x 15
  • Rinse and repeat
Little baby jog to rear of school and find a rock (or two)
Circuit work:
  • Pull-ups x 10
  • Dips x 20
  • Rock curls x 20
  • Rinse and repeat
Gassers on soccer fields:
80 yard run and back with called exercise at each end.  Plank after each round while everyone finishes.
  • 15 heels to heaven
  • 20 Peter Parker’s
  • 20 Mountain Climbers
  • 50 Flutters

Purple Haze Q

Partner up by similar ability then split up to form two teams. Two bags of poker chips. 15 dice. 6 pain stations set up about 40 yards from base.  Each pax rolls a die and runs to the corresponding pain station based on the number rolled. Perform the exercise, run back to base and drop a chip in your team’s container.  If you roll the same number two times in a row, run a lap around the 1/3 mile track before rolling again. After 20 minutes, the team with the most chips wins…the losing team gets punished.

Pain stations:

  • Station 1 – 10 merkins, 10 stagger R, 10 stagger L
  • Station 2 – 5 globe jumps
  • Station 3 – 40 suicide drills
  • Station 4 – 50 deep squats
  • Station 5 – 15 jump squats, 15 knee tucks
  • Station 6 – 15 diamonds, 15 CDDs

Time called.  But no time for punishment (more on this in the moleskin).  So all the pax run a lap, stopping halfway to circle up for some Mary:

  • Dollies – 25 cadence, hold them, spread them, together, spread them, together
  • Rosalitas – 25 cadence
  • Russian twists – 20 cadence

Run the rest of the lap,  up to the parking lot…end with 10 burpees OYO, just like we started.

COT – great send off from Header

Moleskin

  • The McAlpine parking lot is very rough.  It hurts.  So YHC had the Pax doing regular burpees, one legged merkins and one legged burpees.  Perfect day for gloves, if the pax had been warned to bring them. #Abrasions
  • The protractor on the pavement was unsavory, especially the roll over to the 180 degrees position. #ToughOnTheVertabrae. At the call to get on your six, Tiger Rag started gathering pine needles, like he was making some kind of nest.  It didn’t appear to help, as he skipped the 180.
  • During gassers, some of the faster pax (or quick starters?) were moved back 20 yards to keep the group together.  #missionaccomplished
  • Strong work by all, especially Spackler and Radar.  Must have been all the hydrating they did yesterday during #F3Golf.
  • Good to have Joe B. (Straight Jacket), psychiatrist from STL, join us today.
  • The dice game was unsavory…YHC rolled doubles and had to run the loop 3 times. #VegasBaby
  • Soccer mom showed up about 7:50 to set up for the day’s soccer games…nothing like being kicked off the field early by a tomato with some well known soccer club.  Where was Bulldog when we needed him? However, she did save the losing pax from the punishment: #KneeTuckBurpees
  • Great group of guys at Day Zero.

– Stagecoach (with some editorial from PHaze)

Announcements

  • New Sunday morning running workout (#F3Nomad) launching tomorrow morning (9/15). 0615 launch with Tiger Rag. 0700 launch with 49er.
  • New Friday boot camp workout (#F3Joust)  at Charlotte Christian. Stone Cold site Q. Launches 9/20 0530.

Pre-Blast: F3TheStand

Whether you are seeking a relationship with God, looking to draw closer to Him in your already existing relationship or just simply curious about what is involved in a 3rdF meeting, make plans to join us this Friday (9/13) at 6:30am at the Carmel/51 Panera Bread.

Over the next several weeks we’ll be reading and discussing the book “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymbala.  Through the book, we will explore what happens when men seek to know God and allow Him to invade their hearts and no doubt will be moved by the real stories of God’s provision and life-changing power.  And through our 3rdF discussion, we will gain strength and encouragement from one another as we deepen the bond created from our 1stF battles and the good times we share in the 2ndF.

Here are some links for purchasing the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Wind-Fire-Happens-Invades/dp/0310251532

http://www.christianbook.com/fresh-wind-fire-jim-cymbala/9780310251538/pd/251532?

But don’t worry about having the book for our first meeting…we’ll have some 2ndF and simply review a brief outline of the book.

See you after the gloom.  Aye!

– Champagne and Purple Haze

 

It’s Called SuperSet For A Reason

28 men showed up this morning to pound it out on the #F3Anvil. We did a few things that made us sweat.

The Thang

Run over to the B parking lot area for COP:

  • SSHs – 20 cadence
  • Push-o-rama Superset – 5 cadence each of Diamond, Narrow, Regular, Wide-Arm then CDDs
  • IWs – 20 cadence
  • Reverse Push-o-rama Superset – 5 cadence each of CDDs, Wide-Arm, Regular, Narrow then Diamond
  • Squats – 20 cadence
  • Push-o-rama Superset
  • LBCs – 20 cadence
  • Reverse Push-o-rama Superset…barely (more on this below)

Run to the front entrance off Rea Road.  Partner up (size does not matter) at the bottom.

  • Partner A – run up the hill to the light post at the front of the Church
  • Partner B – burpees
  • Flapjack until you reach 100 total
  • Plank-o-rama…led by Runstopper

Run to the back entrance off Rea Road for work on the hill.  Same partners. Start at the top.

  • Partner A – run down, run up, run down, bear crawl up
  • Partner B – called exercise     Round 1 – Jump Squats     Round 2 – Flutters     Round 3 – Merkins
  • Flapjack
  • Plank     Round 1 – Chair Plank     Round 2 – Plank (with some 6 inches)     Round 3 – 10 count recover

Run back to the launch point for a little bit of Mary.

  • Dollies – 20 cadence. Hold ’em. Spread ’em (several out of control remarks from the Pax about the call to “Spread ’em”). Together. Spread ’em. Together. Drop ’em.

COT

Moleskin

  • Sometimes you try things in a workout that have not necessarily been field tested and what looks good on paper doesn’t quite translate to reality.  The superset-o-rama was just that this morning.  The ladder up during round 3 proved most difficult.  The ladder down during round 4 was disastrous, with poor form and struggle abound by the Pax.  And YHC was so smoked, he tried to cut it short, for the sake of his teeth, and bag the last 5 cadence diamonds…but, in true F3 fashion, the Pax would have none of it…so we did them anyway. #ItsCalledSuperSetForAReason
  • Let’s face it…running uphill after doing burpees is a lethal combination.  Absolutely nothing fun about it.  But it was a good push by all the Pax.  Special thanks to Runstopper (#burpeemachine), who finished the burpees with his partner ahead of everyone else of course, for leading the plank-o-rama…had the Pax complaining about a Q jack.
  • The hill of the back entrance to Calvary never disappoint.  It looks short until you start running up it…or worse, start bear crawling up it.  The exercises on the hill today did prove inspiring to at least one of the Pax…with Bananas declaring his Hard Commit for the next Go Ruck Challenge.  Dora, he’s all yours.
  • No one actually begged for 0615 as YHC predicted in his pre-blast tweet…but Radar did call for mercy after just one set of Mary, claiming it was 0614 and we didn’t have time for anything else.  For his sake, YHC relented. #You’reWelcome
  • Props to 6 (TR, TL, Bug, Brew, Baracus & StoneCold) of YHC’s #F3BRR teammates for running it in from the ABC store at the Arbo…3 miles in with a little detour and 2 miles back.  YHC played tennis last night and didn’t join them…and was called Chris Evert first thing this AM by TR.  The edification one gets from being a part of a team is truly wonderful.
  • Like every workout YHC has ever been to where Semi-Gloss is also there, as we are waiting to start, he’s walking back from the on-site facilities. #Clockwork. The cargo jettison makes him extra fast…but the man must have no privacy at home.

Announcements

  • #F3RebelYell launches at 0530 tomorrow morning at PoloRidge Elementary.  Spackler and Crabcake are site-Qs and will be leading the way in the inaugural beatdown.
  • Labor Day convergence at South Charlotte Middle School – 0700
  • HDHH tonight – 0600 at Vintner’s and The Lodge

Homeless Guy Weinke

(On behalf of Mermaid and Tiger Rag)

As the shovel flag flew in the early morning breeze, 17 men, including 2 FNGs, set off into the gloom for another #F3DayZero beatdown.  Mermaid had the first half for his virgin Q. Tiger Rag had the second half for his 117th Q.  Both brought the pain.

The Thang

Mermaid Q:

Baby jog around the McAlpine track, stopping five times along the way for 15 merkins.

Run back up to the parking lot in front of the school for COP:

  • Burpees – 15 OYO
  • SSHs – 30 cadence
  • IWs – 20 cadence
  • Burpees – 15 OYO
  • Merkins – 15 cadence
  • Squats – 15 cadence

Mosey to the benches in front of the school.  Partner up (size does not matter) and follow the homeless guy weinke.  Partner 1 – run around perimeter of front parking lot; Partner 2 – perform outlined exercises; flapjack.

  • Round 1 – 10 dips, 10 decline merkins
  • Round 2 – 15 LBCs, 15 squats
  • Round 3 – 10 step ups (each leg), 5 burpees
  • Round 4 – 15 incline merkins, 15 SSHs

Decline plank-o-rama – right leg up, left leg up, six inches, right leg up, left leg up.

50 LBCs, then run to the side of the school for some people’s chair – regular, right leg up, left leg up, repeat. Finish Mermaid’s Q with 50 more LBCs.

Tiger Rag Q:

Mosey to the rails for some plank rail slides followed by a backward bear crawl up the ramp underneath the rail slide tunnel.

Mosey down to the basketball court and circle up for some Mary:

  • Hold six inches until all Pax arrive
  • One-legged flutter – 10 cadence
  • Other-legged flutter – 10 cadence
  • Flutter – 10 cadence
  • One-legged dolly – 10 cadence
  • Other-legged dolly – 10 cadence
  • Dolly – 10 cadence
  • Stop motion LBC – as many as the Q wanted to do
  • Stop motion flutter – as many as the Q wanted to do
  • Stop motion dolly – as many as the Q wanted to do

Mosey to the far side of the track, line it up along the sideline for sprint-o-rama (all timed):

  • Sprint from sideline to sideline and back – 40 seconds; repeat
  • Lunge walk for first 10 seconds, sprint to sideline and back – 30 seconds; repeat
  • Backward lunge walk for first 10 seconds, sprint to sideline and back – 30 seconds; repeat
  • Side lunge walk for first 10 seconds, sprint to sideline and back – 30 seconds
  • Other side lunge walk for first 10 seconds, sprint to sideline and back – 30 seconds
  • Sprint all the way to wall and back – 2 minutes
  • Suicide run to sideline and back then to wall and back – 2 minutes

Mosey to parking lot for COT.

Moleskin

  • Mermaid broke the seal on his virgin Q right from the start with the #merkinblast…75 in the first few minutes of the workout during the baby jog around the McAlpine track.  Then he showed he meant business in the COP with a very nonchalant call for 15 burpees on your own.
  • After the first round of burpees, he finally did cut us some slack with some SSHs…check that, slow-motion SSHs.
  • After the mosey to the front of the school for some partner pain station work, Mermaid revealed the exercises he had written on a cutout of a cardboard box.  It looked eerily similar to something a homeless guy would hold up, leaving many of the Pax wondering if the other side said “Will work for Food”.
  • With Mermaid’s blatant attack on the upper body, we were left to anticipate the typical Tiger Rag leg annihilation.  However, he threw us a curve ball early in the count and we didn’t get the bat off our shoulders.  It started with the rail slides and the aerial view of the backward bear crawls up the ramp they provided.
  • Then we just laid on our backs for an incessant and unrelenting amount of Mary.  All the one-legged and stop-motion exercises tested our coordination…and our resolve. #washboard
  • But then it came…the running. And more running.  Timed interval sprints. Throw in some lunge walks…and backward lunge walks…and side lunge walks.  Except for Fletch, we all got slower with each sprint…but all the Pax finished strong.
  • Welcome to our FNGs…Astro and Dory.

Announcements

  • New Friday GRC workout #F3Spearhead – The Hoff made another paid announcement for this…Dora is paying him $5 for each endorsement…and $10 for each person he recruits to the site.  Gullah – make sure you get a cut.
  • New Thursday workout launches this week at Polo Ridge Elementary…Spackler and Crabcake on Q for #F3RebelYell
  • New 3rdF workouts launching in a couple of weeks…#F3Aftermath on Wednesday 9/4 0630 at Starbucks Piper Glen with Skywalker and Busch and #F3TheStand on Friday 9/13 0630 at Panera Carmel Commons with Champagne and Purple Haze.
  • #BRR training run launching from the ABC store at the Arboretum at 0630 tomorrow morning.  Some of the A51 BRR guys are running the hills in Raintree and on Providence.  Any and all A51 Pax who want to join are welcome.

 

 

One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Pain

Silver Astronaut photo

12 men ignored the rain and suited up for another round with #F3DayZero.  It was Strawberry’s first Q and his birthday.  No party favors…just pain.

The Thang

Strawberry’s Q:

Mosey around the track at McAlpine…forward run, backward run, left karaoke, right karaoke, repeato…lunge walk down the back stretch.

Gather on the basketball court for COP:

  • SSHs – 20 (cadence)
  • IWs – 21 (cadence)
  • Squats – 20 (cadence)
  • Burpees – 39 (OYO)

Mosey over the field and partner up:

  • Joe Hendricks – Jump over and crawl under 5 times, flapjack…4 times, 3 times, 2 times, 1 time
  • Wheelbarrow – 5 steps then merkin…for 25 yards. Flapjack back.
  • High Wheelbarrow – 5 steps then merkin…for 25 yards. Flapjack back.

Mosey to playground for pain stations:

  • Chin Ups – 15
  • LBCs – 25
  • Dips – 25
  • Bearcrawl up hill, plank walk down railing
  • Repeato

Purple Haze Q:

Mosey back to the field for some exercises and running:

  • Round 1 – 7 jump squats, 7 diamond merkins, 7 25 yard sprints, 1 25 yard bear crawl
  • Round 2 – 7 jumping lunges, 7 wide-arm merkins, 7 25 yard sprints, 1 25 yard bear crawl
  • Round 3 – 7 squats, 7 merkins, 7 25 yard sprints, 1 25 yard bear crawl
  • Round 4 – 7 skater jumps, 7 narrow merkins, 7 25 yard sprints, 1 25 yard gorilla walk
  • Round 5 – 7 jump squats, 7 CDDs, 7 25 yard sprints, 1 25 yard inch worm

Mosey up to school for some people’s chair…regular, right leg up, left leg up, tip-toes, regular.

Then 20 donkey kicks against the school wall right up into balls to the wall after the last one. Hold it.

Mosey to the front of the school for some bench work:

  • 10 step-ups each leg, 10 decline merkins
  • 10 step-ups each leg, 10 incline merkins
  • 10 step-ups each leg, 10 dips

Mosey back to the parking lot for 6 MoM:

  • Dollies – 15 (cadence)…hold it, spread ’em, together, spread ’em, together
  • Mountain Climbers – 15 (cadence)
  • Flutters – 15 (cadence)…hold it, spread ’em, together, spread ’em, together
  • Exploding Merkins – 15 (on Q’s count)

COT

Moleskin

  • Not only was it Strawberry’s first Q but it was also his 39th birthday.  There were some birthday wishes in the pre-game chatter…and also some discussion of what was surely to come…39 burpees.  Strawberry delivered big time pain in his first Q.  He started us a couple minutes early so that he had time to deliver his full arsenal…and the 39 burpees were only the beginning.  The wheelbarrow merkins were bad…and then came the high wheelbarrow merkins…and complaints from the Pax. Well done Strawberry. #shoulderssmoked
  • In a scene reminiscent of a lunar landing, The Hoff arrived, threw open the hatch of his rocket ship and exited wearing a silver space suit.  YHC is not sure if it was for rain protection or sweat gear but it certainly created quite the buzz in the pre-workout chatter.  Discussions of the Apollo missions, Back To The Future and the Wizard of Oz ensued.  Oddly enough, the space suit was the Everlast brand…but it only lasted about 15 minutes of the actual workout before The Hoff had split the legs apart…they looked like Incredible Hulk pants after all the squats and burpees.  Duck tape and aluminum foil should fix the split…and blend right in with the outfit. #problemsolved #you’rewelcome
  • Iron Horse delivered a great send-off prayer.

Announcements

  • New Thursday workout, #F3RebelYell, launching August 29th at Polo Ridge Elementary.  Spackler and Crabcake are site Qs.
  • New Go Ruck workout, #F3Spearhead, has launched.  The Hoff on Q this week.  No word on the whether a space suit is required or not.
  • New 3rd F workout, #F3TheStand, launching September 13th at Panera Carmel Commons after #F3Centurion.  Champagne and Purple Haze on Q.  “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” is the book.

 

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of _______.

Sound of Music

Fill in the blank.

The air was thick when 17 brave men set off into the gloom for another encounter with #F3FastTwitch. We ran and did some other stuff.

The Thang

As promised, we got right to it as we launched out of the South Charlotte Middle School parking lot at 0515, setting off at a brisk pace out to 51 and up to  Walter Davie Park, where we gathered for COP.

  • SSHs – 20 cadence
  • IWs – 20 cadence
  • Push-o-rama Super Set (all cadence): 5 diamonds, 5 narrows, 5 regulars, 5 wide-arms, 5 CDDs

Ran from the Park up 51 to the entrance of Carrington. Pause for some plank work, including some 6 inches with a 10 count (crowd pleaser following the push-o-rama super set).  From there, we ran to the bottom of a fairly substantial hill on Coburn Ct.

  • 20 squats then sprint to the stop sign at the top, plank to wait on all Pax, mosey back down (more on this below)
  • 20 squats then sprint to the stop sign at the top, plank to wait on all Pax, mosey back down
  • 20 squats then sprint to the stop sign at the top, plank to wait on all Pax, mosey back down

From the stop sign at Coburn Ct, we headed over to Rosecliff, stopping at the speed bump at the base of the baby hill that led us back out to Strawberry Lane.  There we did some more hill work:

  • Sprint to the top, 10 burpees, plank, mosey back down
  • Sprint to the top, 10 burpees, plank, mosey back down

From there we ran back to the school parking lot, just in time to meet Mary.

  • Dollies – 15 (cadence), hold ’em, spread ’em, together, spread ’em, together
  • Flutters – 15 (cadence), hold ’em, spread ’em, together, spread ’em, together
  • Russian twists – 15 (cadence)

COT (great send-off from Chelms)

Moleskin

  • With the GRC and vacations behind them, the #BRR boys were out in full force to chase the miles and work the hills. Even Stone Cold set aside the Cro-Magnon kettlebell to make his first #F3FastTwitch appearance, although he did sport the tank top to show off the guns honed at #F3Skunkworks.
  • On the first trip up the Coburn Ct hill, Spackler, powered by his Bud Lights from last night and with fresh legs from his vacation, blew past most of the Pax on his way to the top.  Once he got there, he looked very much like Julie Andrews in the picture above, twirling about in celebration.  That was quickly dashed by the news of a mosey back down and repeato x2…”I thought we were only going once”, he muttered.
  • Joker, 49er, Turkey Leg and Frasier continue to be pace setters.  Candy Cane was right up there at the end as well.
  • Overall, we logged 3.67 miles this morning and tackled some pretty solid hills.  It was a great effort by all the Pax, as we ran at a solid clip between each stop and everyone really pushed hard up the hills each time.  TL, thanks for letting me lead such a strong group of men.
  • Welcome to FNG Candy Cane (Dexter P.).  Candy Cane is a Mizuno rep and an endorsement deal for the Men of #F3FastTwitch is already in negotiations.

Announcements

  • F3 discounts for ThunderRoad marathon and half-marathon (11/16) have been negotiated.  More details to follow on the website.
  • HDHH at Vintners on Wednesday.  Check out Twitter for any additions and/or audibles.

 

 

World Tag Team Championships

RoadWarriors

22 Pax entered the squared circle and took their shot at the #F3Centurion World Tag Team Championship belts on this very humid Friday morning.  Mall Cop and Purple Haze on the tag team Q. It was not pretty. Here’s how we slammed our heads into the turnbuckle:

The Thang

Purple Haze Q – Mosey to the parking lot to the right of the football field:

  • Baby jog around the parking lot islands…did some high knees, butt kicks, backwards run and karaoke.
  • Stop for the COP: Squats – 20 cadence (hold that last one at the bottom); Merkin mini-set #1 – 5 cadence each…narrow, regular, wide; Jumping Lunges – 20 cadence; Merkin mini-set #2 – 5 cadence each…diamond, stagger R, stagger L; Slow Jump Squat – 10 cadence (hold that last one at the bottom); Merkin mini-set #3 – 5 cadence each…regular, CDDs, regular (hold that last one in a plank, then 6 inches).

Tag into Mall Cop…into the ring and ready to go – Mosey from CLT Catholic School to the Aquatic Center with some lunge walk mixed in for good measure.

  • Partner up (size doesn’t matter) at the top of the parking lot hill. Partner 1 runs down the hill, 5 burpees at the bottom, then runs back to the top to tag team with their partner.  Partner 2 does exercise called until partner 1 returns.  Flapjack, then plank when done.  Exercises for each round were: 1) Merkins 2) Squats 3) Carolina Dry Docks 4) Alternating Lunges 5) Flutter 6) Merkins
  • This time the whole pax lunge walked down the hill, then Bear Crawled back up.
  • Lastly, the whole pax lunge walked down the hill, then Burpees Broad Jumped back up.

Tag into Purple Haze…a jump from the top rope to finish this thing. – Mosey to the Hospice Center parking lot for some Mary.

  • Dolly – 15 cadence…then hold it, spread ’em, together, spread ’em, together
  • Mountain Climbers – 15 cadence
  • Flutters – 15 cadence…then hold it, spread ’em, together, spread ’em, together
  • Exploding Merkins – 15 on Q’s count
  • LBCs – 15 cadence…then hold that last crunch
  • Groiners – 15 OYO
  • Plankorama, regular then elbows…with multiple 10 counts, just to make us think we were done

Mosey back for COT.

Moleskin

  • The tag team Q idea was born when it was realized that no one person could replace Chelms.  And with it, memories of the Road Warriors, Minnesota Wrecking Crew and even the Rock-N-Roll Express flooded in.  Sound off in the comments with your favorite tag team duo of all time.
  • It was a risky move…but YHC planned a COP without SSHs or IWs.  We just got right to it with all the leg work and the merkin mini-sets.  Not a lot of chatter…so one can assume that this one brought sufficient burn to the quads and pecs.
  • MC took us over to the hill at the Aquatic Center.  It was 93% humidity.  And there’s not a single stirring of air at the bottom of that hill.  It was awful.  During the tag team events, it was nice to see and hear a lot of encouragement as partners tagged in and out for the jaunt down to the bottom for the burpees.
  • Each exercise at the top brought its own measure of pain and left the Pax stretching out over the top rope ready to be tagged in…otherwise a 3 count pin down looked imminent.  Then came the bear crawl up the hill…it seemed to last forever.
  • And in a move equivalent to throwing someone over the top rope, MC called for the #UphillBurpeeBroadJump to close out his Q.  Immediate disqualification brother!
  • Once again, the Hospice center parking lot offered no pain management whatsoever.  The “hold-its” combined with the “spread ’ems” seemed to be a crowd pleaser, judging from the groans.  The multiple 10 counts on the elbow planks was a great teaser, pushing the Pax past the point where they thought we were done…good for the core, not so good for the elbows.

Announcements

  • New 3rdF called “The Stand” starting on 9/13.  Starts at 6:30 right after #F3Centurion at the Panera at Carmel Commons. Champagne and Purple Haze on Q, leading through a book to be determined.  Make plans to join.
  • New Saturday workout at OP Elementary 0700…#F3Ascent.  This is a moderate intensity workout…a perfect one to EH your buddies to.  No more excuses!
  • Sign-up for F3Dads trip to Camp Thunderbird.  Spots still available…but hit the website soon!
  • Area51 t-shirts…2nd round of ordering still open through Saturday night.

Ring of Fire, Demon Dice and the Mark of the Beast

12 brave souls ignored the heat advisory and made the choice to have a devilish good time at Day Zero.  Here’s the stuff we did.

The Thang

Boutique’s Virgin Q:

First…10 burpees OYO. Then mosey down to the Proving Grounds for a little COP.

  • SSHs – 25 (cadence)
  • Merkins – 25 (cadence)
  • Squats – 25 (cadence)
  • IWs – 28 (cadence)

Take off around the track to the other side of the field for some 100s. Partner up…Partner A does called exercise, Partner B does a 40 yard dash, flapjack. Go until you reach 100 as a team.

  • Merkins
  • Mountain Climbers
  • LBCs

Mosey to the basketball court for the Ring of Fire:

  • Pax bear crawl in a circle while 1st man sprints around the circle
  • When he returns the circle, Pax do 1 merkin
  • Back to the bear crawl. 2nd man sprints around the circle. 2 merkins for the Pax when he returns.
  • Go until everyone has run around the Ring of Fire.
  • Repeato with lunge walks and LBCs

Handoff to Purple Haze:

Time for Demon Dice.  1st Pax rolls the dice and entire group does exercise assigned to the number. Roll a double, double the reps. Assigned exercises:

  • 2 – 20 burpees
  • 3 – 50 mountain climbers
  • 4 – 25 jump squats
  • 5 – 20 merkin jacks
  • 6 – 50 dollies
  • 7 – 60 calf raises
  • 8 – 20 wide-arm merkins
  • 9 – 50 shoulder raises
  • 10 – 20 knee tucks
  • 11 – 1 minute of ski abs
  • 12 – 20 Carolina dry docks

We did this until all the Pax had rolled the dice.  Afterward, mosey back to the field to get some of the Beast. 6 exercises, 6 stops, 6 reps each stop.  Exercises:

  • Diamond merkins
  • Deep squats
  • Knee ups
  • Carolina dry docks
  • Jumping lunges
  • LBCs

Mosey back to parking lot for COT.

Moleskin

  • Despite starting the Pax off with 10 burpees on the roughest parking lot in Area 51, Boutique had some nerves in his inaugural Q (like calling for dips when he meant squats).  However, he knew he had planned for sufficient pain and he didn’t let the early falter stop him.  Plus, who isn’t nervous that first time out?
  • The 100s were a definite crowd pleaser and all the Pax were dripping with sweat by the time we finished.  During the 100s, Philmont comes in very stealth-like, fresh from Stonehenge…nice double down brother…especially with the pain that HoneyBee had planned there.
  • The Ring of Fire was most unsavory.  Even with only 12, the bear crawls seemed to go on forever while the Pax sprinted around the circle.  Combine the bear crawls with the merkins and the upper body was definitely smoked.  The lunge walk/LBC sequence that followed was not much better, especially since we were constantly getting up from and down on the concrete.
  • This was the first appearance for the Demon Dice…and it seems to be a keeper.  There were complaints about whether the dice were altered in any way since we hit on calf raises the first two times, hit on wide-arm merkins three times and also on dollies three times, including one double…that’s 200 dollies (Radar would have been proud).
  • The Beast was painful as usual.  We ran the entire field stopping at each trash can for the exercise. SouthPaw spent most of the time out front…ahh to be young again. It seemed we were running out of time and that our 5th trip would be our last.  However, the Pax, led Mall Cop, pushed through the jumping lunges quickly, leaving us time to knock out the LBC sequence.  Because of the time, the LBCs were an audible from the Haze favorite…Groiners.  Good thing.
  • Strong work out there today men!  Kotters to Champagne, back from his calf injury…sorry about the back to back to calf raises…all in the roll of the dice.  Thanks to Baracus, Mall Cop and Champagne to coming out after breaking their HC to join YHC at Centurion on Friday.  Ok, YHC HC’d for them…but nonetheless.

Announcements

  • F3Dads at Camp Thunderbird…check out the website.
  • 2nd round of t-shirt orders open a few more days.
  • Congrats to all our Area51 GRC brothers!  Awesome job men!!

 

Sandbags and Poker Faces

(On behalf of Good Hands)

20 strong and eager PAX showed up at Day Zero, ready for a Saturday downPAINment. Anticipation grew and groans were heard as Radar rolled in with the tailgate down revealing the return of the beloved sandbags.

The Thang:

WARMUP

Short baby jog around the parking lot. Circle up for COP:
SSH x 25
Imperial Walker x 25
Stop Motion Merkins (Smokins?) x 13
Hold it!
CDD x 10

Partner up, size doesn’t matter. Mosey to Radar’s truck and pick out a fun bag, on the way down to the track.

Catch-me-if-you-can around the 1/3 mile track. Partner 1 does 10 merkins while partner 2 runs with the sandbag, flapjack when partner 1 catches up to partner 2. Plank at the end of one lap. Rinse and repeat, this time with 10 squats. Plank when finished.

Mosey to the playground/basketball court area, kicking Gullah’s 2.0’s off the playground for some circuit work:

3 rounds of:

–          10 pull-ups

–          20 merkins (1st round regular, 2nd round diamond, 3rd round wide-arm)

–          30 dips

–          30 LBC’s

Plank when finished.

Turn it over to Radar

Mosey to mid-field, thankfully bypassing the sandbags left on the ground.

Form 2 lines for bearcrawl indian run race to the end of the field. After much modifying/groaning, audible to 20 burpees.

Stay in lines, face each other for a game of 5-card stud. Dealer pulls out a deck of cards, each with an exercise written on them. Each team gets dealt a card and does the stated exercise and # of reps. At the end of 5 rounds, best poker hand wins. Winners mosey around the track, losers do 100 yard partner-carry.

Rinse and repeat.

YHC can’t remember all of the exercises done, but it looked something like this:

–          30 burpees

–          40 knee tucks

–          40 merkin-jacks

–          50 LBCs

–          40 dollies

–          A bunch of some other things I can’t remember

Mosey back to the parking lot for some Mary:

–          50 flutters

–          40 LBCs

Moleskin:

Great job by all the PAX today. The sandbags were welcomed back with open arms. Appreciate the time and effort put in by Radar for everyone else’s enjoyment and pain. YHC made the mistake of partnering with Purple Haze, who carried it like it was a beanbag. Hard to tell with all the sweat dripping into my eyes, but I think it was Stagecoach & Radar leading the way around the track with the sandbag. Strong work guys (PEDs?). YHC had a couple other things planned, but due to time and anticipation of Radar’s experiments, decided to go ahead and turn it over.  Mumble chatter definitely picked up with the bear crawl indian run, which was simply insane #CSAUP. The poker game was also a crowd favorite, love the creativity. Nice work by Stonecold, who ran in from The Rock.

Brick got into some fire ants out on the field…lit up his leg.  Try not to think about that undeniable, incessant itching while on the air brother!

Radar squelched a coup-de-tat to move Mary to the grass by the school and instead we did it yet again on the roughest parking lot in Area51. Makes Mary hurt just a little bit more with gravel sticking into your back.

Good luck to all the Go-Ruck PAX next week.  #muchrespect

Thanks to all for letting me Q today, it was an honor to lead such a strong group of men.

– Good Hands

 

Day Zero Challenge: Sheer Will

The Day Zero Challenge was set forth (http://f3nation.com/2013/07/15/preblast-day-zero-challenge/) and 26 men (2 FNGs) showed up to test their will.  The nature of the workout is to push yourself hard for the full hour through the list of exercises with a 1/3 mile lap around the McAlpine Proving Grounds after each exercise.  You vs yourself.  See how far you can get this time.  Go farther next time.

The Challenge:

  • Burpees – 100
  • Calf Raises – 150 (50 regular, 50 toes pointed in, 50 toes pointed out)
  • Ski Abs – 100
  • Merkins – 100 (25 wide, 25 regular, 25 narrow, 25 diamond)
  • Deep Squats – 100
  • LBCs – 200
  • Carolina Dry Docks – 100
  • Knee Tucks – 100
  • Russian Twists – 100
  • Nipplers – 100
  • Jump Squats – 100
  • Mountain Climbers – 100
  • Shoulder Raises – 200
  • Sister Mary Catherines – 100
  • Dollies – 200
  • Hindu Merkins – 100
  • Squat Jacks – 100
  • Groiners – 100
  • Burpees – 100
  • Burpees – 200

Moleskin:

  • It was amazing to see how hard all the Pax worked today and to hear the encouragement that was shouted out to one another throughout the workout.  There was definitely a strong camaraderie at the end, after all the Pax had survived the Challenge that had been set forth.
  • A few stats: 6 Pax made it to the Jump Squats…one of them almost completed the full lap after the Jump Squats.  5 Pax made it to the Nipplers…with a few of those at various stages of completion of the lap after them.  8 Pax made it to the Russian Twists.  Those that completed the full laps after the Nipplers ran ~3.3 miles.
  • A big thanks to M. Radar who neatly wrote up the workout on posterboard for us and also created the playlist for the music (including Spackler’s request for Steve Winwood) that blasted throughout the hour.  I’m sure she also cleaned Radar’s beer stains and cigar ashes off the card table that held the sound system.
  • The next Day Zero Challenge will take place at the end of September.  In the meantime, keep coming out, working hard and prepare to blow past where you stopped today.  If you didn’t make it out today, come out next time.  The Challenge is open to anyone who dares take it on.
  • Welcome to FNG Sex Panther (news anchor Scott W.). Keep coming out brother.  Not all the workouts are in the Challenge format…but they all bring the sweet pain.