Monthly Archive January 2020

TB on Q soon!!

Funny how 32-34 seemed pleasant compared to last Friday’s rain filled Diesel. 6 PAX made their way to a very high rep fast paced zero mileage challenge today.

Warm-up – What? We don’t warm up; we just get after it. Lots of stretching before in preparation. DiCCS shared, exercise form explained to limit strains and away we go.

10 Stations: (rinse and repeat until time is up)

  1. 20 Dips (using coupons to get really deep)
  2. 40 Squats (those suck)
  3. 30 Curls (coupon or 12lb dumbbells)
  4. 20 Over Head Triceps Extensions
  5. 20 Front Shoulder Raises
  6. 20 Dips Again
  7. 20 Speed Skaters – 20 Each Leg
  8. 30 Curls (20lb Dumbbells)
  9. 20 Lateral Raises (bad)
  10. 20 Reverse Fly’s (worse after doing Lat Raise)

Moleskin:

The group almost finished 5 laps around this mess. The best part about this type of work out and group is all the interactions. I mentioned that the speed skaters make my ass hurt and away we went. Turns out that Offline (R) is crazy funny when he finally speaks. I can’t remember if he said prison rape or if that is what I assumed he said, either way, we were laughing and a bit nervous after.

I’m confident everyone got a great pump from all the work. Some great stories on how TB is staying after it. Great job, we’re all proud of you. O-69 continues to get after it, keep it up.

Announcements:

Site Q School this weekend — if you can do a workout you can be a site Q!!!!!  Q School next weekend –See Posse – Bottlecap will gladly clown to the school.

COT – Keep Prayers up for Doc and Legalized’s son.

 

Amazing Race Series

13 Total showed up for Impromptu – temps were just right at 34 – low wind and humidity.

Week two of the Amazing Race Series:  I made a minor tweak, which was to remove the required route – giving Pax the freedom to roam as they wish to the next flag.  Also numbered teams and each team must complete each station in the numerical order.  Split up into 4 teams which seemed fairly balanced.

Warm-up – Quick mosey to the front of the middle school – SSH/calf stretch/merkin/

Assign Teams:

Ricky Bobby/Wedding Singer/Floppy Disk/Recalc

Doughboy/Mad Dog/Trojan

RunFlat/Schiender/Frack

Akbar/loafer/ChainSaw

Start/Finish – Front of Middle School – 5 Burpees each return

Stations:

Start of Path – Bear Crawl 50 yds

Rudy’s Poop Palace – 50 Donkey Kicks

Lower Football Lot – 50 Coupon Overhead Press

Upper Football Lot – 25 yd HairBurner

Front of High School – 50 Bobby Hurleys

Course covers close to 3Miles with some teams covering more due to wrong turns.

We’ll be changing up the course next month, but I think the concept fosters some team building and pushing fellow Pax or getting encouragement from fellow Pax that you might not normally connect with during the open workouts.

On my team I could see floppy disk pushing his limits as he’s on the newer side (a month or so) to our group.  He worked hard – was getting encouragement from Ricky Bobby and Wedding Singer.

I’m sure this was probably true for all the other teams – when we passed in the distance I could hear the encouragement all around.

Frack can thank me for assigning his team#2 which placed him at Rudy’s Place just in time.

And the winner is:::: Mad Dog/Dougboy /Trojan  Congrats!!!! prize is in the mail.

Announcements: Site Q School this weekend — if you can do a workout you can be a site Q!!!!!  Q School next weekend –See Posse – Bottlecap will gladly clown to the school.

COT – Keep Prayers up for Doc – a few brothers in the Mash Unit: Centerfold/CarbLoad/Jingles(?)/Spike(?) and just added to the IR Deflated(?)

Let’s not have the New Year Resolution Fall Off – search out those that came to a few workouts in January and push them.  Same for all in Dryuary and WeightLoss: take these as a time to “right-size” your drinking and eating.  Everything in Moderation..

Remember to have fun at the workouts!!! Get in the BallPit of life

kb – out

Did you know Fijian’s love 80’s Hairbands Also!!

DiCCs info given

Warm up:
Mosey lap around to front entrance of parking lot and circled up at YAMA
  • 20 Imperial Walkers in Cadence
  • 20 Low Slow Squats in Cadence
  • 20 Side Shuttle Hops in Cadence
  • 20 Mountain Climbers in Cadence
The Thang:
Start at YAMA with 4 Merkins, then to next restaurant/stores and Big Boy Sit-ups with respect to letters on the business signs keep alternating till you return to YAMA and do Mary’s. Treated with “Signs” by Tesla!
Mosey to South Parking Deck and group at bottom! Pay respects to an NBA legend Kobe! 8/24
Start with 8 Mike Tysons and run to next level and 24 Donkey Kicks, next level 8 Mike Tyson’s then 24 Donkey kicks, then wait at top with Mary’s till the 6 arrives!
Partnered up for StairMasters!
200 Carolina Dry Docks other partner runs down stairs and then back up!
200 Jump Squats partner runs stairs
200 Heals to Heaven partner runs stairs
200 Donkey Kicks partner runs stairs
200 Wall Seat Air Presses partner runs stairs.
Q called an audible as all time was winding down. The Pax completed approximately 75% of said exercises!
Pax were asked to pair up with a partner of similar speed for the next set of exercises which comprised of sprint races for each 50 yard straight stretch of the parking deck all the way down to the bottom! For some brilliant reason (maybe the high of DryUary coming to an end) I chose Transporter, 5 straight loses and 175 heart rate were the final results a few minutes later but felt great to get pushed to the limits! Treated by the soothing music of Twisted Sister “We’re not gonna take it!
Finished with the Fijian Fire Walk!
2 minute warning: do quick steps with a merkin on the down called by the Q!
Moleskin:
Great work today gents and hopefully the Q didn’t let any of you down, hope everyone enjoyed a little Fijian flare and the 80’s hairband music list with a little mishap of a hostage takeover of my Spotify by my daughter!
Pax: Fiji, Big Tuna, Lazyboy, Chipotle, Astrobe, Jobe, Big Ben, Mighty Mite, Delta, Swimmers, Shopdog, Posse, Transporter, Alf.
Announcements:
Site Q school tomorrow at Cuthbertson Middle at 6:30.
Q school next Saturday at Cuthbertson Middle @ 6:30
Encourage anyone who has led a F3 less than 3 times or would like to get gain additional knowledge before leading to attend and learn while getting a great workout in!
Transporter updated us with some great news on Doc’s speedy recovery and him reverting back to his good old self by setting new walking records at the rehab facility!

Table for 19 and the kids will eat for FREE!!

And for my 39th Q, I’ve expanded the menu to include fruit cups and homemade mac & cheese! I created a kids menu with random stops that did or didn’t have to do with food. My son helped color it in moments before we left the house and we were off.

Pulled up to the school. Familiar faces. Very proud to see my two project respects as I publicly share their names to complete the Octuple this week. It’s not easy task but Schneider and Recalc are two posts away from owning it.

Blades of Glory has 3 kids so all of his wouldn’t be eating for free. Read the fine print before trying to ask to speak to the manager next time.

DiCCS given. Goooooo…..

THE THANG

Mosey towards the middle school and circle up in front. Time to warm up and stretch these frames of ours:

• 20 x SSH

• 10 x Imperial Squaker

• Jimmy Dugan

• Calf Stretch

• Yoga Stretch

• 10 x Moroccan Night Club

Partner up, sizes don’t matter. First course is Mac & Cheese with a hot lap in between. Look at the first word of each exercise, it’s spells it. Nailed it!:

• Merkins

• Abcs with feet

• Carolina Dry Docks &

• Crawl Bear

• Hurpees (Hand Release Merkins)

• E2K (Elbow to Knee)

• E2K flip flop

• Squats

• Eleven Burpees a- TOGETHER!!

Mosey to Picnic Tables. Gladiator course for the kids across the picnic tables while the dads complete:

• 50 x Dips, run to Alcove, 20 x Donkey Kicks, run back to rinse and repeat.

Mosey to long sidewalk. Abs around the horn due to too much pizza. Everyone takes a turning calling one out and counting! 10 or 20 each…

We have arrived at Rudy’s Poo palace and we need to confirm if anyone needs to go to the bathroom. Everyone have a seat on the “toilet” aka wall.

• 25 x Air presses with heel lifts

• 25 x Jabs with Toe Lifts

• 10 x MTs in IC

• Rinse & Repeat

Let’s mosey but SAFETY FIRST!! Time for a fire drill…. everyone circle up in the grass. High knees and everyone takes turns yelling “FIRE!!”. Once yelled everyone drops down and rolls to the right, does a merkin, rolls to the left, another merkin and back up for high knees.

Mosey to COT. Some planks. Some more planks. 5 merkins. Heels to heaven. 20 x 6” plank jacks IC. Complete.

MOLESKIN

What a night!! So great to see everyone out with all the kids. No crying or whining, each putting in effort and they were all smiling ear to ear. I planned the weinke with something that moved semi fast so they wouldn’t get too bored with things like pushups.

Gerber has been bringing Speedbump out and I’m not sure what u was waiting for to snag my son. I was inspired and pinged BC to cook for this prized site. I loved every minute of it. Next time I’m bringing my 5 year old with me because he would have loved it.

It’s a fine line between a bootcamp and Dad’s bootcamp. We only got 1.79mi in but we did a lot in that time. If you did the reps and pushed it, you earned your dessert tonight. If you floated through the exercises and kept your HR to a minimum, why? In the morning I’ve heard Gerber and others say, “If I’m getting up at 430am then I’m going to bust my ass!” or something like that. Can’t say the same thing maybe about a workout at 530pm but the mentality should be all the same.

Tomorrow or Saturday or next week, gut check time. What’s holding you back? Your brain or your body? My guess is it’s your brain telling yourself to stop. Fight it. Try running to the next crack in the sidewalk and then the next one after that. Don’t stop pushing your limits. Do every last rep until you physically can’t anymore. After a while you will get faster, stronger but more importantly that voice in your head will get quieter.

A good one to try is the “no modify” week badge. This is one you don’t tell anyone about because Deflated hasn’t created a badge for yet but because it’s a personal goal. Do every rep and exercise called. Run every last lap. If you aren’t chasing after something, why are you waking up at 430am every day?

I took us out, cradle to grave. One love.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

See earlier BBs.

I hate them too

So I have a secret.  I’ll get back too that.

WU: Mosey over to the brewery.   2 more days for those of us whom stuck to it! soon we can par take!  Any ways,  20 SSH, Squakers (sorry I screwed up the cadence at first) and MC’s

The thang:  Run the road 3 burpees for the 10 light poles circle for the 6.  Quick feet and burpees.  Mosey toward Bojangles,  10 jump squats at each light.  Mosey to the tire place some high knees with burpees.  Mosey to the parking lot.  4 teams,  1 smash ball, 1 runs the lights,  rest run through cycles of Burpees, CDD, Merkins,  Forward lunges, back lunges, and a plank until everyone runs twice.  Rudy foolishly let us know it was his 42nd birthday so we can break these (burpees) up, 21 here, mosey,  10 at the bank mosey,  6 at the bottom of the hill and 6 at the top 42.   Finish with COT and flip flop let us know he turned 45 so we had to finish.

Moleskin:  Secret.  In order to grow as a human being I find ways to keep accountable to others,  I have failed more times than I can count but what keeps me going is progress.  Many aspects of life I have failed at but I don’t consider them failure because I don’t give up.  In my opinion, that is the key.  Some of you know I used to be a pretty big boy (peaked at 252) and the idea of running around and being able to do a mile in under 6 minutes wasn’t even a pipe dream.  Now I can, I can do a lot more than I could even in highschool. I don’t say this to brag so here’s the point.   The burpees you all had to participate in today was a punishment for failing at a commitment.  Any day I eat dairy I have a burpee penalty with my brother.  So, sorry brothers you had to participate today but its all good, you don’t have to be there for the rest of them I have to do.  It was a the penalty chosen because I hate them!

I knew January was going to be stressful for me and I knew my natural propensity to stress eat (that’s why i was a big boy) and over consume alcohol.  So,  what do you do about it? Put some guard rails up and use your brothers to help you with them!  Join Dryuary with a bunch of Beer connoisseurs and encourage each other on.  Get up every freaking morning  especially when you don’t want to and get after it, take q’s you don’t have time for,  put some punishments in place if you fail, whatever it takes but don’t give up.  WE all have excuses,  what defines us is our ability to overcome our excuses, learn from our mistakes and push each other to become better men.  That is what I saw this morning, thanks for letting me lead.

 

 

 

 

18 PAX earned a second helping at the Super Bowl dessert table

A crisp, damp morning welcomed 18 PAX out to the local Movie Theater parking lot.  After being subjected to a front row seat of Kirby getting dressed as he exited his car, the group gathered in normal fashion waiting for all to arrived.  YHC inadvertently called Brisket “Goonie” (they do look alike, amiright?) followed by a disclaimer and off we went.

The Thang

Moseyed out in front of HT for the Warm Up:

– SSH x 15

– IW x 15

– Daisy Pickers x10

– Mountain Climbers x15

Headed across the freeway known as Rea Road and circled up back by the Autobell.  Shortly after crossing Rea, One Star inquired if we were going to be in that vicinity for a while — YHC confirmed — and off he went to lighten the load at the 7-Eleven.

*** Count off by 3’s and separate into groups.

GROUP 1: Head to the Hilton for 15 Merkins — return to home base
GROUP 2: Head to the Piper Glen Cleaners for 20 Monkey Humpers – return to home base
GROUP 3: Head to the Residence Inn for 25 Flutter Kicks — return to home base
HOME BASE: 7 Merkins OYO
ROTATE —-> REPEATO

YHC failed to state clearly (or at all?) to the group how many rotations or when the pain would end. After what seemed like two full rotations the trucks and buses starting rolling thru the area and YHC called an audible to move to a safer location.

Back over Rea Rd towards Smashburger.  YHC can’t imagine they had the grill fired up at 6am but Long Haul and myself caught a whiff of something grilled …. and …. delicious.

Circled up for 7 more Burpees, just because.
Ran to Firebirds at 90% for a quick partner exercise:
– ROUND #1: Partner #1 = Dips on the wall; Partner #2 = Run around the median — backwards on the way back;        ROUND #2: Partner #1 = Derkins; Partner #2 = Same run
– People’s Chair with 100 air presses.  Extra credit to One Star for the enthusiastic counting.

Announcements:

  • Praises for a successful heart surgery for Doc!!  Challenging road of recovery ahead but great news with his surgery.  Bucky will (and has) send out information on how to help with meals, etc.  Keep praying for Doc and his family.
  • Beer Run = Feb 8th.  Check Slack for details
  • Load up on reflective wear, lights, etc.   Good safety reminder from Olaf.
  • Delta led us out in BOM.

Side note: Today marks 6 months since YHC has been posting.  Pales in comparison to the MUCH longer commitment many of you have made to F3.   The experience has been great and the encouragement along the way has made all the difference.   Always an honor and privilege to lead!

 

One is the loneliest number

Yeah I’m writing a backblast for multiple reasons:

  1. The LRC is a real thing, just check the tags sucka. So what if I’m the only one who showed
  2. I still ran 4.5 miles so I’d like to receive credit
  3. I felt like two reasons weren’t enough

I assume only Bottlecap and Zinfandel will read this so “Hey guys”

You run until you die, or an hour is up whichever comes first

Well that was my first Pursuit, not sure why I was surprised that we ran so much. There was a course and we ran until the time ran out. I hate Foundation and Smithers and their stupid quest to do marathons. No one lapped me so that was nice.

Do You Believe in Miracles? YES!

Today is a reminder that F3 is about much more than a Workout. One of our brothers, Doc McStuffins, is undergoing (at the time of this posting, has already undergone) major surgery to replace a heart valve that has caused him to change the life as he knew it. Not every one of the 19 Pax who posted at Dromedary today has had the pleasure of knowing, posting with, or calling Doc a friend, but we all still rally to support our F3 brothers no matter what the circumstance.  The least we could do today was to show up, work hard, push ourselves and each other, and thank God for the fact that we “get” to do this every day.  Here we go:

DiCCs info given. Playlist and speaker always ready to go. Time to mosey around the MRHS lot.  We stopped at the 4 corners for a warmup exercise while YHC pointed out some nice words written in sidewalk chalk. More to come on that.  Mosey past some pre-stacked coupons, around the entire lot, and back to the top of the lot.

The Thang:

Time for Four Corners/Starfish, with one of the following exercises written in a corner:

  • LBC’s x (20) + (3) Burpees back in the middle
  • Jump Squats x (20) + (3) Burpees back in the middle
  • Merkin Shredders x (20) + (3) Burpees back in the middle (these were brutal!)
  • Speed Skaters (1=1) x (20) + (3) Burpees back in the middle

Done!

Mosey to the side driveway where each Pax completes (20) Plank Jacks (CC) at each light, around the Globe, except for the last (3) lights where we audibled to (20) 6” Plank Jacks (CC).  All-in, there were (6) total lights.  Done!

At the Globe, the Pax would complete ¼ lap around the globe broken up into:

  1. Lunge Walk
  2. Hop on Right Leg
  3. Hop on Left Leg
  4. Lunge Walk

Done!

Everyone plank, then 6” Plank, ½ way down, etc.

Done!

Mosey to the alcove of the school, partner up, and complete the following, 2 times/Pax:

  • P1 LBC’s / P2 Run to next alcove, complete (10) Donkey Kicks, run back to P1
  • P1 Heels-to-Heaven / P2 Run to next alcove, complete (10) Donkey Kicks, run back to P1
  • P1 Flutter / P2 Run to next alcove, complete (10) Donkey Kicks, run back to P1

Done!

Mosey quickly back to the parking lot to enjoy those fine coupons/cinder blocks.  Same Partner for:

  • P1 Bicep Curls / P2 Run to, and touch, the speed bump and back
  • P1 Overhead Press / P2 Run to, and touch, the speed bump and back
  • P1 Man Makers / P2 Run to, and touch, the speed bump and back

5-minute warning according to YHC’s watch.  Grab coupons and deliver back to COT (load in my car!) for last few minutes of Mary.  Around the circle where we did something like this:

  • H2H
  • LBC
  • Protractor
  • Throw in some Dry Docks (Premature must have thought these were part of Mary!!!)

Done!

 

Moleskin:

As always, it’s a pleasure and an awesome responsibility to lead the Pax, especially at an AO near and dear to my heart at Dromedary.  It’s a great campus, very safe (other than a school bus once in a while), and there is a lot of room to roam. We stayed relatively close to the lot today but we still got to focus on and work the 3 areas that make for a solid F3 Bootcamp Workout…SPEED, STRENGTH, and CORE!

When I say everyone worked hard today, that’s no joke! There really wasn’t much circling back or waiting on the Pax today.  A true sign that we are ALL getting stronger and faster, and the type of workout we did today gave everyone a chance to transition quickly and keep moving.

We have a great group of guys at F3 Waxhaw, to include our brothers from SOB, Union County, Indian Land.  We know at times of need we are there for each other.  Like Transporter said today when talking about Doc as a Leader, Man, Friend… it’s not a matter of IF you come to a time of need…it’s a matter of WHEN.  These are the times when being part of F3 matters the most. We are not created by God to do life on our own, or to not compete and fight, not challenge ourselves, not hold each other accountable as men, and not support each other when times get tough.  We are truly blessed to be a part of F3.

Miracles:

We received some updates tonight from Doc’s wife that his Heart Surgery was a success today, and he will soon be better than ever! That is a Miracle in itself.  There are many miracles in Doc’s story, namely the man-made technology developed in the form of a Heart Valve, the skill of the Surgeons and Nurses who delivered a successful outcome for Doc, and the fact that he will now be able to make his Misery his Ministry after this health scare.  Miracles are everywhere if you open your hearts and minds to them.  We may not witness them today in the form of walking on water, turning water into wine, or multiplying 5 fishes and 2 loaves to feed 5,000, but they are there.

On a personal note…last week, my son’s teacher asked me to speak about the “Miracle” of my life, after my son told her my personal story of when I was born in Newark, NJ. Being born at only 4 lbs, 4 oz and 3 weeks late, the doctors told my parents I was not going to survive. The priest came in, baptized me, gave me my “last rights” as a Catholic, and everyone expected the worst.  Little did they know that God had a different plan and a Miracle in store.

Not only did I survive (1st Miracle), but I spent 4 months in the NICU.  This particular hospital in Newark, NJ, Presbyterian Hospital (which is the same name of the hospital my 3 boys were born in Charlotte!) had just opened that NICU a month before.  Maybe that’s why I was late?  Had I not been born at Presbyterian, there is no way I would have survived (2nd Miracle).

The Medical expenses for 4 months in a NICU were astronomical, and on a Fireman’s salary there is no way my parents could have paid it back. An organization called the “March of Dimes” paid the entire bill for my care (3rd Miracle).

I reminded the students that Miracles affect many generations as well.  Since I was not supposed to survive at birth, that means they never would have known their friend and classmate, Alex (F3 Flash).  That made it real to them.

Thanks for everyone’s prayers for Doc and his family, and for being the men and leaders that you are or are working to become. We are all in this together, fellas.  Iron Sharpens Iron!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.Romans 8:28

 

Announcements:

  • Site Q School on 2/1/20 at Cuthbertson Middle School. 630-730am Workout.  730-830am debrief/discussion at Chick Fila in Wesley Chapel. Posse and YHC on Q.
  • Q School on 2/8/20 at Cuthbertson Middle School. 630-730am Workout.  730-830am debrief/discussion at Chick Fila in Wesley Chapel. Posse and YHC on Q.
  • Sorry if I missed anything else, fellas.

YHC took us out in prayer, something we are calling “Cradle-to-Grave”. If you are on Q, you lead the workout, lead at COT, and close us out in prayer, or a quote, or motivational thought…whatever works for you. We know that public speaking and public prayer isn’t everyone’s strength, but we can all challenge ourselves and pull it off successfully if we just practice and prepare. We are here to help!

Meathooks

11 pax met at Calvary this morning for another edition of Meathead. Everyone was advised to be ready to rumble promptly at 0530 because the weinke was long and distinguished.

Thang (including recommended weights, but modify as needed):

  • 10 sets of 5 presses per side – 24kg
  • 10 1-handed swings EMOTM for 24:00, switching hands each minute – 28kg
  • 4 x :90 farmer carries – heavy – we ran out of time after 2 rounds

COT with the Anvil pax, where Wild Turkey provided the takeout

Announcements:

  • Keep Doc McStuffins in your prayers as he undergoes heart surgery this morning. The last I heard, it went well, but I’m sure he’s got some tough weeks of recovery ahead of him.
  • Keep Madison and his family in your prayers as his 14-year old daughter (Kennedy) has a brain scan scheduled for Friday. Pray for good news!
  • More trivial announcement – Swole on Monday will feature the same menu offered above, but with 30 minutes of swings. As a result, we are asking the pax to arrive at 5:15. We will start with the farmer carries, then move on to the presses, then the swings. Wild Turkey will be your Q. Again, please arrive ready to work as we will not have spare time. You are welcome to arrive at 5:30, but be aware you will just have to jump in wherever we are or modify the workout accordingly.

Moleskine:

  • Thanks to the pax for making it out and continuing to support the new strength sites and the SFG program we’re working through. This would have been a tough workout to get through alone.
  • Soul Glo seems to have figured out where Calvary is and has been at the last two Meatheads that YHC has attended.
  • Champagne joins us when he’s not driving a 2.0 to a 5am swim practice (#brutal). He was pressing the 28 easier than I was pressing the 24. As HT said, #oldmanstrong
  • Hoover is really excited about the 5:15 start on Monday – just think how little traffic there will be 15 minutes earlier! He looked strong out there, especially considering he moves the bell farther than the rest of us, so he’s probably doing 20% more work.
  • C3PO seem to have some emissions issues this morning or maybe he was just using it as propulsion to get his presses locked out.
  • High Tide said he wasn’t pre-running, then said he was, then was late to the workout because of his pre-run. Strong work nonetheless!
  • Gypsy is running again, but still joined us for some bells. #Madisonischeatingthough
  • Retread is slowly transforming into a meathead  – watch out, Slim Fast!
  • Mighty Mite blew through the presses and did it with a larger bell than most – the dude’s a beast.
  • Spackler joined us and provided his usual mumblechatter, including a cheerleading joke directed at the Q. #jealous? On the plus side of the ledger, he lured Bananas to the workout. Good to see you both!
  • Olympus is Saturday at 7:00 at Elizabeth Lane. The workout is on the shorter side, so expect some additional work. Also bring a mat if you’d prefer to do TGUs instead of waiter carries.