Monthly Archive October 2020

AMRAP is BACK

Hostile Take Over

Swarm attacks Impromptu

Recal and I have been talking about bringing back the monthly AMRAPs and he asked me yesterday if I could step in and Q Impromptu since his back was hurting.  Swarm was already planning an AMRAP, so we agreed I would take over both today.

Swarm met at 5:15 as usual

Crowd was unusually light with 4 PAX members.  Must be IPC hangovers and were scared.

Warmup

Ran .50 miles and stretched some then ran another .75 mile back to COT to pick up Impromptu crew.

 

DiCCs given again

Off we went towards the HS parking lot for warm up.

  • SSH x 15 IC
  • MTC x 15 IC
  • Calf stretch
  • Runners stretch

 

The Thang

.30 mile ish course with 7 pain stations.  The course was part of the OG AMRAP one.

  • 10 yard walking lunges
  • 20 Mike Tysons
  • 20 Squats
  • 20 Incline Merkins
  • 20 Step ups
  • 20 Dips
  • 10 yard walking lunges
  • Add 1 burpee per round completed

 

Did not realize how long it would take to get back after finishing the 30 minutes and yes, we were 30/60 seconds late getting back to COT.  Makes me just as mad.  I may have been yelling at people to hustle back so we would be late.  Hopefully, your feelings were not hurt.

Gilda has gotten fast a shit lately however he got bit by the non-IPC bug today.  He is not used to doing high volume of exercise reps.  Maybe he will start doing more bootcamps.   Recal is hurt and was still out putting in his best effort.  Schneider was crushing it today.  He was right up front with the lead Pax.  I love seeing 069 out there every day.  Most days he is alone.  That is a man with a goal and is on a mission.

Ignition goes Off Road

So, I thought we would mix things up a little from the normal road running and go off road. Since its been fairly dry all the XC trails were in good shape. Moneyball’s name was brought up because the grass was pretty wet.

DiCCS

100% headlamp compliant.

Mosey down to hit the trail behind the lower soccer field. Wolverine high stepping it so he would not get his shoes wet. Stopped and did some stretching before we hit the wooded part. Goal was to run the first part at a faster pace. Once we popped out of the woods everyone did 25 merkins. Mosey back to do the section again but with 25 squats.
On to the second section which was a little shorter but ended with a large hill. Did 25 merkins after the first one. Mosey around to do second round but played chase the rabbit. Group 1 took off and group 2 had to catch them. That rabbits got murdered.
Moseyed over to up to the retention pond up by the MS and grabbed a rock and ran around the pond and ended with 25 curl to shoulder press to tricep extension. Rinse and repeat x 1.
Continued to follow the course up to the spirit trails. Did a couple laps around the 400 loop with some exercises after each lap. Headed back out of the woods and followed the wood line around to crazy cabin guys house where we did some mike tysons.
Headed back to COT area. When we got back we had 7 minutes left so we did 4 minutes of hill runs off the MS parking lot and ended with a round of Mike Tysons.

4.75 miles and burned about 200 more calories just from running trails.

1973

11 men joined me today on a crisp, 50 degree morning in the “Gloom”. The stars were out and the moon was bright. Not much need for a headlamp but most of us wore one for safety and just in case Mad Dog’s minions came to spy…

We had a couple of Cotters (Catfish and Til Tok) join us today which was great.

DiCCS were delivered so eloquently announcing we would go off campus for a special treat and we were off.

Warmorama

Mosey along Waxhaw – Indian Trail Rd. to other side of campus and circle up for stretching in the bus lot. 20 X IW, Plank up for calf stretch L/R and then Runners Stretches L/R while we observe the beautifully lit sky. 20 X MC and Up/Down Dog.

Thang

Mosey to mailbox depot in Bridgemeade.

Run Around perimeter of neighborhood turning into all culdisacs on right. Do 1 X Burpee at each driveway. Total of 47 burpees and a little over a mile travelled.

Mosey back to basketball courts beside playground at school and do Captain Therkin Web.

Mosey to midway between basketball courts and partner up for P1 run to b-ball court at front of school and do 10 X in/outs, P2 run to opposite b-ball court for 10 X Merkins, Run back to midpoint and do 10 knee ups together, R/R X 2 and Mosey back to COT. Done!

Moleskin

Today is the celebration of my 47th completed trip around the sun. What a journey it has been. I’ve done a lot of things I am proud of and some things I’m not so proud of. One thing I do know is that my intentions have always been good but sometimes best intentions don’t always turn out positively.  I won’t go into any detail but my life so far has definitely had its ups and downs. Mostly ups and no complaints from me about the downs. Everything up to this point has taught me a lesson or two, whether good or bad. I love my family, I love my friends, I love my life and that’s all that really matters. Sure I have regrets and sure I wish I was better with finances but all-in-all, I have a pretty awesome life. F3 has been an incredibly positive force in my life since I joined a little over a year ago. I love being a part of all 3 F’s when other commitments allow. We are a force for positivity in our community and we lead the way with our good souls and our “can do” attitude. I especially enjoy being around like-minded men who see the world around them and make it better for everyone they can. Thanks for letting me lead this fine group of men at Watchtower today. I appreciate all of you!

 

 

Cobra Kai – Flip the Script

Cobra Kai is the follow-up to Karate Kid. The series focuses on the movie’s villian Johnny. After losing the All-Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, he is directionless, drinks too much and works menial jobs. After a rescuing a teen neighbor, he begins the road to reclaiming his past and his dojo. The series is the perfect tribute with just the right amount of action, 80s nostalgia and fan service. It’s a must watch.

In response a Facebook friend of mine challenged us to “Cobra Kai” other 80s movies. Here’s my submission.

Teen Wolf’s career in the NBA is ended when he succombs to his predator instinct and kills rival player. Jailed he begins a journey into self-discovery with the help of a changling warden.

Opening Scene

An agitated Old/Teen Wolf is pulled from a solitary confinement cell, inside the walls are gouged with claw marks.
Warden: I guess they meant it when they said you’d be a handful. Now that I’m in charge. Change is coming Mr. Wolf. Big changes.
Old/Teen Wolf: What you do know about change. I’m a monster. That’s all I’ll ever be!
Warden: I know more than you think.
Old/Teen Wolf: You don’t know what I’m dealing with.
(Warden reaching out, with a clawed hand) 
Warden: Oh, I do…I most certainly do…
Opening credits roll, The Cramps I Was A Teenage Werewolf plays.

Submit your ideas on the comments or Slack.

The Workout –

John J. Delaney Loop
Typical warm-up
3 sets of graduated sprints with 10, 20 and 30 reps push-ups, squats and big boy sits
Dips and step-ups on the fountain
Bear crawls, lunge walks and broad jumps at Harris Teeter
Lake laps and burpees
Run home (fast)

Back to Cobra Kai. What does that have to do with F3? Everything. It’s the story of a high school athlete who figured he peeked and failed. He’s friendless and purposeless. Then, he gets into fitness and works on reaching out to the community. He’s not perfect, but through the series, he keeps trying. That’s your message friends – keep trying. Your life is far from over. Find your purpose, reclaim your life and never give up.

Extra Credit Monday, or How the 70’s helped me become a better (bell) swinger

7 men gathered in the gloom of the not-so-smooth InVue parking lot for this week’s edition of Swole. We had two runners show up, so YHC assumes they were lost or woke up on a Monday expecting it to be Tuesday (those swifty, fast-twitchers).  With the playlist prepped, courtesy of Unplugged’s Sunday request, and a weak disclaimer, the timer was set and off we went … to a distance exactly 0.0 miles away.

The Thang, the moleskine, and some other stuff:

02:30 on and 00:30 off.  Rinse and repeat until 250 swings, then do some static holds and planks.  That was the plan, the execution not so smooth.  these were the exercises.  two sets.

25 swings
5 Upright Rows
5 lawnmowers (per side)
5 goblet squats
Rest
25 swings
5 shoulder press (per side)
5 merkins
5 romanian deadlifts
Rest

The exercises held up but YHC left too much time between sets and realized, after set 1, to change up the timing.  No worries.  Basically, I dropped the 30 second rest off some of the sets and incorporated static holds in some of the other rest periods, and then actually allowed a rest twice (you’re welcome).  Thanks to YHC’s trusty accountant, Uncle Leo, we actually did 300 swings not 250.

So all pax in attendance get a 50 swing credit to use at any workout of their choice this week.

CREDIT SMALL PRINT:  Some restrictions apply.  All swings credited with bell weight of equal or lesser weight to the bell weight used on 10/05 at Swole.  Credit is non-refundable, non-transferrable, has a cash value of 0.00, and is not legal in any of 48 contiguous states.  Residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam are not eligible for a credit.  Not to be combined with credit offers from other AOs, other regions, or yo mama.  Pax must present this backblast to the Q of their workout choice to redeem the 50 swing credit.  The Q reserves all rights to acknowledge the credit or tell the pax to go pound sand.  If pax feel this credit was issued in error, they must respond to this backblast in writing with a darn good reason.  After which YHC will tell the pax to go pound sand.

The fun part about the workout was the playlist (isn’t it always).  70’s funk, thanks to a request by Unplugged.  Admittedly, YHC was a little challenged to develop this playlist.  Most of the music in YHCs catalog that could fit the 70s funk genre was not what one would classify as “good music to swing heavy iron to” but somehow it worked.  Grasshopper was a fan and that gets a Chuck Norris sized thumbs up in YHC’s book.

Playlist:

Curtis Mayfield: Pusherman
Average White Band: Pick Up the Pieces
Spinners: Rubberband Man
Ohio Players: Love Rollercoaster
Charles Wright: Soul Train
James Brown: The Payback
Curtis Mayfield: Superfly
Edwin Starr: War
Isaac Hayes: Theme from “Shaft”
Stevie Wonder: Higher Ground
Kool and the Gang: Hollywood Swinging

Announcements:

There’s a whole bunch of stuff going on in SOB-land this month.  There’s a Q-school/bloodrive/convergence/happy hour lasting the entire month of October.  In YHC’s opinion that sounds like a blast and you should all sign-up (YHC did).  As per the usual, Mighty Mite has all the details but you should check out Slack for more updates.

YHC had the take-out.

Are you going to eat your fat?

Fourteen joined up at South Charlotte MS for a Sardine inspired beat down.  Floorslapper even beat Geraldo there.  You don’t see that often.

Warmups:

Hillbillies – 13
Windmills – 12
Superman – 11
Imperial Walkers – 11
Alabama Jackass Legkicks – 4 count – 10 each leg
Workout:
Carolina Drydocks – 30
Run a lap in parking lot
Monkey Humpers – 30
Run a sprint
Jack Knives – 10 each leg
Run suicides
Obligue crunches – 10 each side
Diamond merkins – 10
Run a lap in parking lot
Dead bugs – 10
Diamond merkins – 10
Sit-ups – 10
Run a sprint
Hip Bridge Toe Touches – 4 count / 10
Run to rock pile
100 bicep curls with rock
100 tricep press with rock
Run to benches on other side of school
75 bench dips
Diamond merkins – 10
Sit-ups – 10
Indian Run down the road
Indian Run back / stopping at speed bumps – 10 merkins each time
Sit-ups – 10
Merkins – 4 count touch shoulder & side – 10
Observations:
Not a lot of running today,  which was made up in a thorough boot camp beat down.  A couple new exercises out there today (or maybe just new to me).  Let’s talk about the Alabama Jackass Leg Kicks.  So, your on all 4’s and you kick your leg up in the air in two stages.  For a second I thought I was in some kind of deranged Saturday Night Fever episode but quickly realized I was in the synchronized swimming scene from Caddyshack.  All is well.
We should talk about Penis Pushups.  If you read back through the workout, you’ll notice diamond merkins keep showing up.  Apparently, someone (probably me) got called out on poor formed merkins – you know the kind where you bend at the waist and your crotch hits the ground before you barely bend your elbows?  That’s a Penis Pushup and they have been outlawed.
Thank goodness Point Break had his watch on today.  We’d probably all be back at SCMS wandering around the parking lot.
Way has been reading Floorslapper’s book on when workouts begin.  The answer is 5:32.  Always has been, always will.
Everyone was pushing hard today and getting a great start to a Monday.  Good to see some newer guys come out to BaseCamp – LaFawnda, Midriff, Way – welcome and I hope to see  you there again.
Sign up for the blood drive!!!
Sardine, thank you for leading today and taking us out!

I Got Your Back

33 strong (including Ignition and MASH) for Flash this morning!  This was a last-minute Q for me.  Goodfella was scheduled but had to back out due to a leg injury.  No worries Goodfella — I got your back!  Hope you have a speedy recovery!

The disclaimer was given, and we were off…

Here’s what went down:

Mosey down to towards the shed and circle up for warm up exercises:

Side Straddle Hops x 20

Imperial Walkers x 20

Plank Jacks x 20

Mountain Climbers x 20 (uh, make that 10).  Had to cut that short due to traffic.  Safety first!

Mosey to the traffic circles for 7s

Burpees and Big Boys

Mosey to the large lot for 4 Corners

Exercise at each corner:

Bobby Hurley’s

Merkins

Bomb Jacks

V-Ups

10 of each and repeat lap twice

Mosey to benches for Dips and Step Ups

30 of each, 20 of each and 10 of each

Mosey to the front of the middle school

Air Press x 20

Donkey Kicks x 10

Jabs x 20

Donkey Kicks x 10

Air Press x 15

Donkey Kicks x 10

Jabs x 15

Donkey Kicks x 10

Jail break back to COT

Done!

MOLESKIN

Before we started, Doughboy learned I was on Q in place of Goodfella and admitted that Bread Bowl purposefully fart sacked because he feared a Goodfella Q.  LOL!  We missed you Bread Bowl!  Either way, it was a perfect, crisp morning and the PAX was energized to get the week kicked off!  A shout out to Chicken Little for continuously pushing himself at the front of the pack and then circling back for the 6.  He certainly logged more miles than anyone today and deserved the Chain of Pain at COT!  It was awesome to see 2 FNGs this morning and kudos to the PAX for giving them solid nicknames.  Welcome Smuggler and Dyno-O-Mite!

As always, it’s an honor to workout with such a great group of men.  Thanks to each one of you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • Sign up for the blood drive!
  • An F3 Marathon is being planed for November 14th. Get a team together and run it as a relay. Need volunteers too.
  • Reach out to Bottle Cap if you are interested in participating in “Sober October”.

“I shall be sober this afternoon”

14 guys at Asylum did about 4 miles worth of pearls on a string, with merkins, squat thrusts, SSHs, plank jacks, donkey kicks, mike tysons, rock hoppers, stump jumpers, wide arms, mountain climbers, jump squats, 180s, side squats, big boys, bicycle, heels to heaven, russian twists, flutters, and more.  It was a rather unpleasant group today, in a fun way. Lots of arguing, bickering, and repartee.

I told Smokey right off the bat that I cannot abide fools. He retorted, “apparently your mother could.” After that, we started running. Later, Blue Screen was arguing with Ralphie. He told Ralphie, “when I was your age, I talked just the way you are talking now.” Ralphie said, “if only I had known you when you were at your best!” Schnitzel accused Shop Dawg of being drunk. Shop Dawg replied, “but I shall be sober this afternoon and you, sir, will still be German.” (I was personally offended by that one.) Fuse Box said that Swimmers was a “modest person, with much to be modest about.” Swimmers said to the rest of us that Fuse Box “loves nature, in spite of what it did to him.” Showing the Dana the family photo afterwards, Posse said to him, “You’re really handsome in this picture, I didn’t recognize you!” Dana replied, “sometimes I need what only you can provide; your absence.” Then it started getting really ugly. Chatterbox told Flanders he was “a parasite for sore eyes.” Flanders replied that Chatterbox “can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know.” Loafer even bickered with Dilbert at Q source, asking, “must you fall asleep while I’m speaking?” Dilbert just smiled, “no. It is purely voluntary.”

Thanks to Dana for taking us out.

Announcements:

TAP for Hightower, his family, and the men of Grand Strand.

3rd F: Blood drive needs 20 guys to sign up today or shame and dishonor will be brought upon F3Waxhaw.

3rd F: Christ’s Closet folding party tonight, and giveaway hours Thursday night.

3rd F: Open Door Saturday and Sunday mornings w/ 3 options, currently in Romans. Sanctuary Monday nights to be starting a new study a week from today on the Christian disciplines.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL

My 3rd Q, My 1st at the Dinner, Dinner always seems to the place to experiment and explore so I took a chance.
Wanted a little team building, healthy competition and fun between the PAX.  DICCS given and way we go.

Warmup

Roundhouse Mose to get the blood flowing, followed by SSH, Merkins, Plank Hold and some Stretching.
Continued Mose to Rock pile were Pax pick their new best friend, the Rock.  (they were warned they were going to be running with Rock)
After Rocks were selected Pax Riffle Walked to Football Combine

The Thang

Football Combine Course – Two Teams of 6,1st team to football wins
– 14 Bomb Jacks – Jailbreak to
– 14 Burpee Block Jump Overs – Jailbreak to
– Army Crawl
– 49 Big Boy Situps – now reverse
– Stretch March (like punting a football)
-Bear Crawl
– Broad Jump (what was I thinking)
– Pickup Rock 30yard Sprint, last team member go get the football

Team 1 winners of Combine course but Team 2 does have redemption =  Tug of war
Drum Roll, Team 2 pulled out the WIN for Tug of War! 1 for 1..

After returned our Rocks and last minute table walk to burn off the remainder time, again Dinner allows for some improvisation.

Moleskin

WHAT ALOT OF FUN, I think the PAX had a blast, would love to do more team style workouts.
It is always a blessing, honor, and privilege to lead our F3 Paxs.
Brothers, this groups means the world to me, it has keep me sane at a time when honestly I do not know what I would do without.

Thank You.  Gob Bless..
Hi Hat.

Announcements

  • Blood Drive – October 17th
  • Christ’s Closet folding/give-away nights – Mondays and Thursdays

A plethora of bells

4 pax (as expected) gathered at Calvary this morning for a bell extravaganza in refreshingly cool temps. After weeks of swings, YHC thought it might be fun to bring out some bigger bells for the pax to try. High Tide confirmed he would be in attendance via text the night before and offered to bring some of his big bells as well. He also brought some much-needed sanity to the number of reps we’d be performing.

Warm up:

  • SSH x 10 IC
  • Windmills x 10 IC
  • 20 swings OYO

The Thang:

  • 10 swings with the 48kg/108# bell
  • 10 swings with the 44kg/97# bell
  • 15 swings with the 40kg/88# bell
  • 15 swings with the 36kg/79# bell
  • 25 swings with the 32kg/70.5# bell
  • 25 swings with the 28kg/62# bell
  • 50 swings with the 24kg/53# bell
  • 50 swings with the 20kg/45# bell

Repeato for 400 total swings.

We finished a little early, so Alf and Madison performed various exercises while High Tide and YHC decided to start again from the top and get through the 2 sets of 25 for an even 500 swings.

COT with RockZero. Thanks to Sprockets for the takeout.

Moleskine:

  • Thanks to the pax for coming out and trying something new. With all the swings we’ve been doing, YHC thought it would be fun to have a less-structured day with some bigger bells. It helps the pax understand what they’re capable of and makes your “heavy bell” feel much lighter.
  • Alf made the mistake of showing up at Olympus on the wrong day, but he gamely played along. He got a few swings in on the big boys and crushed the rest of the bells.
  • Madison took his turn on all of the bells and was looking strong out there this morning. Hopefully he’ll be able to keep up with his pace group tomorrow on their 35-mile ride.
  • High Tide loves big bells and he cannot lie. He skipped the 20 OYO swings so he could have the first shot at the 48 and he set the pace on the rest of the swings.

Announcements:

  • Sign up to donate blood on 10/23 at the Brace (formerly Siskey) YMCA. Search for Mighty Mite on Slack to find the preblast.
  • October is Give2Give month for the F3 Foundation. If you’re able, please try to make a donation to support the professionalization of the foundation. More details here.

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