Are you a Pogue or Kook?
What is a Pogue? — a working class kid
What is a Kook? — a lazy, punk kid
So what are you?
- Do you put in max effort at workouts? Do you push and push til 6:15? Do you seek out workouts and others that will push you? Do you have a sense of adventure and loyalty? Then you’re a Pogue
- Do you not run all the way to the curb? Do you do half reps? Show up but but don’t push yourself or others? Like the easy street? Then your’re a Kook
Oh man was it sticky this morning. Any time the Temperature at 5:15am is 73 degrees and the dewpoint is 73 you know it’s going to be sludge. Kind of like swimming in ocean but hot and miserable.
Speaking of the Ocean, have you seen Season 2 of Outer Banks yet? It’s the 2021 version of Goonies / National Treasure with that coming of age high school/college feel. Cheesy, bad acting, and I love it. I stayed up til midnight before this workout finishing season 2 so it was definitely on my mind this morning and while writing this backblast.
DiCCS were given (Disclaimer, Cell phone, CPR, Safety)
Warm-up:
- Mosey behind school to HS parking lot
- SSH x 10 IC
- IW x 10 IC
- Jimmy Dugans
- Glidah stretch
The Thang:
5-4-3-2-1 and 4-3-2-1 Fartlek
SET 1:
https://media.giphy.com/media/hveROP84rstqzuCkNS/giphy.gif
- Hard 5k pace for 5 minutes
- Recovery run for 3 minutes and collect everyone
- Hard 5k pace for 4 minutes
- Recovery run for 2 minutes and collect everyone
- Hard 10k pace for 3 minutes
- Recovery run for 2 minutes and collect everyone
- Hard 5k pace for 2 minutes
- Recovery run for 1 minute and collect everyone
- Hard 5k pace+ for 1 minute
Recovery run for 5 minutes
SET 2:
- Hard 5k pace for 4 minutes
- Recovery run for 2 minutes and collect everyone
- Hard 5k pace for 3 minutes
- Recovery run for 2 minutes and collect everyone
- Hard 5k pace for 2 minutes
- Recovery run for 1 minute and collect everyone
- Hard 5k pace+ for 1 minute
Recovery run for last 5/6 minutes
Finished! I think everyone had somewhere between 5 and 7 miles
MOLESKIN:
The Fartlek workout can be great for any group and groups with varying speeds because the goal isn’t distance, but time. With the middle school loop and the COT parking lot acting as an equalizer we could have pax of varying speeds finishing each rep at about the same time.
Hoping that the three amigos of LRC are ok as only Smithers and Foundation made the long drive over
Ghosted came in hot, disappeared for half the workout (we’ve all been there), but still put in a lot of make up work and was moving.
Where are the rest or your “Antelopes” Premature? Great work today.
Dasher thought I was the AD coming in on the back side of the school before the workout as he pre-ran the Express, who does that!
Atlas has come two weeks in a row, doesn’t matter if you have to leave early to get kids off, the work will pay off, great job.
I am looking forward to what John B and the rest of the pogues get into next season. The ending episode sure left some cliffhangers, won’t give it away.
Announcements:
- Cuthbertson Cross Country trail cleanup this Saturday at 8am after the workouts. I think Commitment and Homecoming are converging to head over together afterwards. We use so much of the Cutty campus this is a great way to give back, don’t miss it!
- Christ Closet needs help this Saturday with an estate pickup in Pineville. See Turnbuckle for info, especially if you have a truck and/or trailer!
How long is this workout?
Four friends posted this morning to get stronger and faster and watch the sunrise together. We did a few SSHs and some merkins, and then got to it, doing the following exercises, plus some:
- Bell in the air like you just don’t care
- Broken thrusters
- Floor to sides
- Gunslingers
- High-pulls
- Lawnmowers
- Russian bell twists
- Snatches
- Swings
- Through-the-leg lunges
- Thrusters
- Tricep extensions
Of course, I made some of these up. We generally stopped the reps for each exercise when Gerber started to fail. In between, we sprinted:
- Around the Petsmart
- Around the complex with the Hickory Tavern
- To the Target
- Through the Chick Fil A
- To the Brooklyn Pizza
- To the curb
I started to lose most of what velocity I had around 30 minutes in, so called OYO: thrusters with descending sets from 10 to 1, with a sprint to the curb and back in between each set, and then snatches from 10-1, same thing (which we didn’t finish).
Very impressed with Shriver today. When Gerber wasn’t winning the sprints, Schriver was. And t-claps to Damascus, who pushed hard the whole time despite one of his feet assuming a hoof-like shape, and hitting his 4th post in 5 days.
Hope y’all have a great day.
The Real Hero of Rock Zero
Ever had that nightmare when you show up to the first day of school and then realize that you’re not wearing any pants? That’s exactly how I felt at 0629 on Saturday morning. I had just arrived at Da Vinci (SOB’s PREMIER Saturday workout) for Frehley’s BD, when Strawberry looked over with a quizzical expression – “Aren’t you Qing Rock Zero today???”
I promptly checked my phone to realize that I had confirmed the date with Hoover. Just as Frehley’s and crew took off, I frantically hopped in the car and sped up north to my real destination. Stop at the house for a watch, grab a weinke off the shelf and start mentally rehearsing the main event that would be starting in less than 15 minutes.
Roll into the Calvary parking lot with 2 minutes to spare, strutting my stuff like I’ve been preparing this beatdown for weeks. Let’s see how this goes….
The Thang
- 5 jump squats at every tree from starting point to first entrance, warmup in parking lot on the way back to main building (SSH, IW’s, Moroccan night clubs, merkins). Mosey to rock pile by northern entrance of the building.
- Time to pay homage to the founding fathers of Rock Zero: GRAB A LIFTING ROCK, focus on lifting and not on running. Partner up. Will be spending most of our time with partner and said rock completing the three following sets
- Set 1
- Partner 1 chips away at 100 curls while Partner 2 runs to far parking lot lamp and back. Flapjack until complete, continue through 100 overhead press and 100 tricep extensions.
- Partner 1 bear crawls to parking island while pushing rock, Partner 2 does 50 american hammers with rock. Flapjack until complete
- Partner 1 balls to the wall while partner 2 does 10 crossover pushups on the rock, flapjack. Do this twice
- 5 burpees with rock (block-ees) OYO before next set
- Set 2
- Partner 1 chips away at 100 squats while Partner 2 runs to far parking lot lamp and back. Flapjack until complete, continue through 100 bent over row and 100 ground pounders
- Partner 1 bear crawls to parking island while pushing rock, Partner 2 does 50 big boy situps. Flapjack until complete
- Partner 1 sits on the wall with rock while partner 2 does 10 crossover pushups on the rock, flapjack. Do this twice
- 5 burpees with rock (block-ees) OYO before next set
- Set 3
- Partner 1 chips away at 100 curls while Partner 2 runs to far parking lot lamp and back
- Partner 1 and Partner 2 bear crawl to next parking island
- Partner 1 balls to the wall with rock while partner 2 does 10 crossover pushups on the rock, flapjack. Finish with mary
- 5 burpees with rock (block-ees) OYO
- Set 1
- Shed a tear while saying goodbye to lifting rock. Mosey back to launch. Finish with 2 called Mary and last 45 seconds in plank
Moleskin
- Shoutout to Strawberry for reminding of me of the right workout I needed to be at
- Thoroughly enjoyed the crew. Nice mix of familiar faces (HH, Mildew, DW, Alf) and newer ones (Cottonmouth, Blimey, WD, Emoji, Beaver, Dr. Belding)
- The Kettlebell Krew were not amused during the family photo. Everyone else was smiling except for these two. Must be the realization that bootcamps are better than KB’s
- At least 5 TWSS moments, particularly when comparing size of rocks and the ability to get them up
- Almost got lost in the parking lot a few times. Forgot how massive the Calvary campus is.
- T-claps to Hoover, Cheese Curd, Wild Turkey, Udder and Chelms for completing Grow Ruck 24 over the weekend
- Thoroughly enjoyable time despite my near-miss and last-minute prep work. I came away with more confidence in my ability to improvise and step up under pressure. I’m confident we each have more in us than we realize. The chaos and twists and turns reveal the resilience of our character
Announcements
- Q School at Da Vinci on 8/21, 0630 start time down the road
Always a pleasure to lead
Grinding at Olympus
4 of us posted at Olympus this past Saturday morning. It was a little drizzly, but that was a good thing because it kept us a little cooler. After a disclaimer, the veteran crew got to work.
Warm up:
- SSH x 20 IC
- Halo x 5 each direction
- Prying squat x 2
- Windmill x 10 IC
Main Event:
- Single press ladders: 5 x (1, 2, 3, 4 presses per side)
- 1H swings: 16 x 10 swings with :45 rest between rounds, alternating hands each set
- Farmer carries around the parking lot x 4
- Merkin to high pull L, merkin to high pull R = 1 rep. Sets of 5/4/3/2/1 reps
Mary:
- Elbow plank x 1:30
- Glute bridge x 1:00
Time. Circle up with RockZero for COT.
Announcements:
- Stone Cold is collecting adult bikes (26” wheels and bigger) at RockZero this Saturday (8/14). He’s got a charity that will fix them up and donate them to people for transportation.
- The F3 10 Year Celebration will be held in Wilmington over the weekend of October 8-10. There are a lot of great events planned and the whole family is welcome. Details and registration can be found here: f310year.com. We’ve also got a Slack channel dedicated to the event where you can connect with other South Charlotte pax planning to attend.
Moleskine:
- Thanks to the pax for coming out and putting in some work this morning. The weather wasn’t pretty, but it made it a little cooler than a typical August morning in Charlotte.
- It was good to have Victoria join us this morning. He was very honest in telling me that he hasn’t been posting as much because his buddy has a sweet home gym. Then I asked him if his buddy was out of town and he sheepishly said “yes.” His lack of F3 posts didn’t stop him from taking a few turns with some bigger bells.
- Mighty Mite broke out the big white 36kg bell (that’s 79.4 pounds to you non-communists). 160 1-handed swings with that kind of weight is impressive. I think he was pressing the 32kg bell as well. We were pondering whether he thought he could press a 48, which we will test another time.
- The Worm is a regular at the kettlebell workouts. At first, I thought Frehley’s was bringing him out, but he’s been more consistent than F3’s biggest hair band fan.
Grinding Bricks
10 guys came out in the swamp to sweat. I teased that we would find some open gates. I arrived early to confirm said gates were open (and they were). DiCCS. Lets Go.
WARM UP
Lap around the front on the school. Grab a straggler along the way. Circle up for:
- 15 Mountain Climbers
- Downward Dog
- 15 Peter Parkers
- Calf Stretch
- Jimmy Duggan with some lefts, rights, and leans
THE THANG
Mosey halfway up the entrance hill and team up into groups of three for a Grinder on the hill. Dealers choice at the top of the hill between squats and LBC’s. Runner in between. Inch Worm Merkins starting at the bottom of the hill and going up the hill with the caveat that the further you went up the hill, the less you then had to run. Three rounds. Recover at the top of the hill.
Mosey down Deal road towards the gravel athletic fields back entrance. Stop at the gate for 20 fence squat jumps. Some confusion as to if I said 20 or 25. I must have been in a good mood as I kept the count at 20 after being asked twice if it was 25.
Mosey to the brick pile and partner up. Called out three teams to grab the bigger bricks. Partners shared 100 each of front raise, side raise, reverse fly, and overhead press while the other partner ran to the lower gate and back. Due to time I audibled the side raises and reverse fly’s to 75. We didn’t have time to get to the over head presses.
Mosey back towards COT with collection exercises along the way including squats and LBC’s.
Arrive to COT with 45 seconds to spare – gas pumpers until time (Mad dog took the gas pumper a little too literally).
MOLESKIN
- Chastain and I break down the workout for the Q School into quarters to help new Q’s plan their Wienke. There is time for a warm up plus three groupings of exercises. Some how today I didn’t have time for a short warm up and just two groupings. Not sure where our time ran off to…I’m guessing the grinder on the hill took longer than expected and the run to the brick pile was longer…but still….it felt like a quick workout to me. I glanced at the watch while doing bricks to see 6:05 and had a quick oh shit moment. The watch watchers were quick to remind me we only had 7 minutes to get back to COT (how slow do yall think you run?). We of course kept doing brick work another 2 minutes then worked out way back and still arrived 45 seconds early.
- Rudy doing Rudy things while checking with the Q on future location to slip out for a bear in the woods moment.
- Everyone busting hard today. Almost went with the title no rest for the weary. We were all drenched at COT. Probably more to do with the humidity than the workout. Bricks for Dicks was also in contention for a name.
- Ex-Lax and Damascus deep in hunting discussions throughout the workout. A new power couple in the making? Perhaps they find a third wheel to make a run at the LRC threesome title? (Am I desperate to create Effee material when there is nothing there….Yes I am. Just ask Mad Dog about his whale tail moment at Floater 3 years ago).
- Thanks for the opportunity to lead Ricky Bobbie (Boobie?) and Schneider (Schnyder, Schnieder, ShaynIdar?). I haven’t Q’ed watchtower in a while and must admit, I love the Weddington campus much more than new town. Lots more options over there. Maybe a permanent stay???
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Cross Country Trail clean up this Saturday at Cuthbertson Middle starting at 8:00 am. Bring rakes, shovels, wheel barrows, loppers, blowers, ect.
- Christ Closet pick up on Saturday in Pineville at Noon. Unloading an entire house so need some man power to load trailers at the house and then unload at Christ Closet.
- Q Bites covering the question “Is F3 truly open to all men?” on Monday. Recent examples from F3 Princeton and the twitter backlashed they received for a Pride Q. (Hint: Slaughter and Dark Helmet stepped in and reaffirmed that F3 is open to ALL men). But while we are open to all men, are we welcoming to all men? Are we being proactive in inviting ALL men to help diversify our group.
08/04 Meathead
9 pax posted for some cool temps and AC/DC Radio at Meathead last Wednesday morning. Fresh off of a couple of trips, it was good to be back and leading a strong group of men.
Warm up:
- SSH x 20 IC
- Halos x 5 each way
- Windmills x 10 IC
- Prying squat x 2
Main Course:
- 5 sets of 5 double cleans followed by 5 double front squats with 1:00-1:15 rest between sets
- 11s with 10 snatches/1 merkin, 9 snatches/2 merkins, all the way to 1 snatch/10 merkins
- Grip smoker: 3 lawnmowers, 3 high pulls, 3 swings EMOM for 10:00, alternating arms each minute
- Static holds: :20 double overhead, :20 double rack, :20 farmer holds. Recover for 1:00 and repeat.
Mary:
- 1:20 of elbow plank
- 1:20 of hollow body hold
- 1:20 of glute bridge
Announcements:
- Adult (26” wheels or bigger) bike collection at RockZero on 8/14. Stone Cold is collecting bikes to be refurbished for transportation.
- F3 10 year anniversary will be held in Wilmington on October 8-10. This should be a great event with tons to do and the opportunity to meet pax from around the nation. There will be activities for the whole family, so Ms and 2.0s are welcome. See F310year.com for details and hop on the Slack channel to connect with other South Charlotte pax that are attending.
Moleskine:
- Cobains for the delay in getting this posted. Been catching up on work since returning from travel.
- Thanks to the pax for posting and pushing through a tough workout. Double front squats get the heart rate up and tax the legs. The static holds seem easy, but are grueling.
It’s My Q and I’ll Do Abs If I Want To
The beauty of being the Q is that if there is something you want to work on you get to call it. Need to get that vo2 Max up then make the workout running heavy. Need to swole up those soccer arms? Call lots of rock curls. This week YHC felt the need to pay special focus on the abs and core and noted as such on Slack the night before. 16 total Pax apparently agreed and here is what transpired.
Da Thing
Mosey to the HT parking lot for a warmup. Mosey over to Firebirds/Tipsy Taco and partner up. Round 1: P1 runs the 1st parking lot island loop while P2 does derkins, then flapjack. Round 2: P1 runs the 2nd parking lot island loop while P2 does incline merkins, then flapjack. Round 3: P1 runs the 3rd parking island loop while P2 does standard merkins, then flapjack.
Mosey to the Stonecrest fountains by Chipotle. Partner back up. P1 runs the loop around both buildings while P2 does step-ups then flapjack. Continue until your group gets 100 step ups. As we were finishing this round the early morning cleaning crew that do real work that early in the morning were coming through to blow out the area. Time to audible to the next stage of the workout. No worries, just more time for the ab work that I promised.
Mosey to Chick Fil A. Find your partner for the last song of this square dance. Round 1: P1 does LBC’s while P2 runs around the CFA, flapjack until your group gets 200. Round 2: 150 J-Lo’s. Round 3: 150 Chippy Crosses.
Head back to launch for about 3 minutes of Heels to Heaven, Flutter and plank.
Da Moleskin
Great crew out there this morning. We kept it moving and put some work in. As Rousey noted on Slack it was a nothing fancy old school circuit. Sometimes those are needed especially to concentrate on a specific area. It actually worked out that the grounds crew had us leave the leg portion early because if not we would not have been able to get the whole ab section in and that was the main focal point for YHC. Thanks Circuit City for tapping me to lead.
Announcements
- Happy Hour last Thursday 8/5 at Duckworth’s at Rea Farms. It was a good time.
- A51 bike drive organized by Stone Cold. Used bikes larger than 26″ needed. Please drop off any to donate at Rock Zero, which is at Calvary, Saturday August 14th 7:00.
- F3 10 Year Anniversary at Cape Fear October 8-10. Make your plans now.
Flash Shoulders Monday
DISCS
WARM-UP * Mosey lap around CMS Front Parking Circle
* 20 Rocking night clubs (Fuze Box:-))
* 20 Side Straddle Hops
*20 Imperial Walkers
*Plank Position – Calf Stretches, Jack Knifes, Downward dog, Upward Dog.
THE THANG
* Mosey to doing 5 Merkins at each light pole to front of high school hill for sevens: Top Hill – 1 Mike Tysons / Bottom Hill – 6 (2 is 1) American Hammers, 2/5, 3/4, 4/3, 5/2, 6/1.
* Mosey to back of the High School parking lot in back for 4 Corners – Burpees in the center, exercises in each corner:
Round 1: Start with 3 Burpees in the center
(25) Jump Squats / 3 Burpees center
(25) Plank Jacks / 3 Burpees center
(25) Freddie Mercuries / 3 Burpees center
(25) Big Boys / 3 Burpees center
Round 2: Start with 5 Squats in the center
(25) Mountain Climbers / 5 Squats center
(25) Heels to Heaven / 5 Squats center
(25) Backward Lunges (1 is 1) / 5 Squats center
(25) LBCs / 5 Squats center
Round 3: Jack Webb’s. 1 Merkin/4 Air Press..2/8, 3/12..up to 10/40.
*Mosey back toward COT.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
This Saturday August 14th:
– Cuthbertson High School Cross Country Trail Service Project in morning after workouts.
– Christ Closet Estate Sale Pickups in Pineville – need as many trucks and trailers as possible right after workouts.
MOLESKIN
15 Pax showed up and put in the work on this warm Monday morning. Appreciate the opportunity to lead such a great group of gents. Heart felt testimony during COT from Penalty Box sharing his one year anniversary and his gratitude for the solid sponsorship of Ricky Bobby and the brotherhood of F3.