Author Archive Damascus

Burpees For All My Friends

I love F3, and love to both push the PAX and be pushed. I sometimes have a tendency to call people out (if I do, it is because you’re cheating yourself). Sometimes I get called out (thanks Posse). Know it is always out of a desire to help you improve, which in turn helps everyone in F3 improve…

Anyway, back to the workout at hand. Given Chiseled is not your normal AO, and mileage is supposed to remain low, it’s always a challenge to develop a workout that makes the sweat pour down like rain. I teased 45 minutes of partner carries, thinking the turnout would be low, but to my surprise, the cars kept flowing in and we had a small mob on our hands. Already had to think if audibles and the DiCCS had not even been given yet…

DiCCS provided on time (thanks you Recalculating’s countdown)

Warmup

  • Mosey around the parking lot
  • SSH x 15 IC
  • Merkins x 15 IC
  • Calf Stretching (Ahhhh)
  • Let’s GO!

The Thang

  • 30 burpess OYO, just to slow some of the gazelles down for what was to come
  • Divide into groups of 3
    • Round 1
      • P1 = AMRAP with sandbag
        • Bent Over Rows
        • Shoulder Presses
        • Curls
      • P2 = (Approx 50 yards away) AMRAP w/ bodyweight
        • Squats
        • Speed Skaters
        • Merkins
      • P3 = Sprint between partners and take up their exercise
      • Repeat 3 times each
    • Round 2
      • P1 = AMRAP Peter Parkers
      • P2 = (Approx 50 yards away) AMRAP Mountain Climbers
      • P3 = Sprint between partners and take up their exercise
      • Repeat 3 times each
  • Circle up for some burpee webs
    • 1 burpee / 4 jump squats
    • 2 burpees / 8 jump squats
    • ….
    • We only got to 8 x 32
  • 30 seconds left – 5 more burpees OYO

Moleskin

  • Everyone pushed hard today and did an awesome job!
  • The numbers must be a result of the excellent Launch party on Monday, which is driving people to post more…
  • It was great to see 3 2.0s + 4 Respects in the same workout!
  • Post workout – Catfish tells me how much he’s loving F3 (has only been posting about a month). After his 1st workout, he ditched his cigarettes forever!! That is something to celebrate and be proud of brother! Keep up the good work…
  • Thank you as always for the invitation to Q – I love leading you guys!

Announcements

  • Pray for Dancing Bear’s friend who’s 1st child was born with a partial liver and is currently being treated.
  • Pray for Catfish’s friend who currently has no feeling on her left side due to a recent accident.
  • If you’re a leader in Waxhaw, step up and plug in somewhere. Leaders are needed in for 3 Fs. See a board member for details.
  • Speaking of leadership, Chastain and Brutus are staring a new AO. This will be a 0.0 gear workout on Friday mornings at Five Stones ( pending site approval). Templates will be provided, so Q’ing should be a breeze.

The Fat Man Runeth

It seemed a lot of guys figured they could ease into the week by attending a running workout led by a fat guy. But, if you know me, I like to ensure 2 things happen when I Q – 1) I do something that is unexpected, and 2) I do something that I hate. I theorized that everyone would expect me to play to my strength – shorter distance with more pain stations. Hence, I went the opposite direction and opting for high mileage with a few pain stations to keep us honest – giving us a record breaking 6 miles for Clydesdales like me, and a whopping 7 miles for some of the Gazelles!

Warmup

  • Mosey around the Middle School and along the road to the Lawson entrance by Five Forks.
  • Some quick stretching
  • Active warmup down Five Forks
    • High knees to the 1st light
    • Jog to the 2nd light
    • Butt kicks to the 3rd light
    • Jog to the 4th light
    • B-skips to the stop sign

The Thang

  1. Run to the end of Great Rd
    • 5 burpees at Pawpaw Ln
    • 5 burpees at cul-de-sac
    • Gazelles circle back for the 6
  2. Run back down Pawpaw Ln / Right on Surveyor General / run to the end
    • 5 burpees at Pawpaw Ln
    • 5 burpees at Great Rd
    • 5 burpees at cul-de-sac
    • Gazelles circle back for the 6
  3. Run down Surveyor General to Trading Path Ln
    • 2 burpees at every light on the right
    • Gazelles circle back for the 6 at Pawpaw / Pool / End
  4. Recovery Mosey back down Five Forks / along frontage trail / down Brough Hall / Left on River Bank / End on Lawson Dr
  5. Paula Abdul to the end of Lawson
    • Run to 1st stop sign / run back to start
    • Run to 2nd stop sign / run back to 1st
    • Run to 3rd stop sign / run back to 2nd
    • …..
  6. Fast Mosey back to the start

Great push by everyone this morning! Thank you for allowing me to lead this morning. I love to joke and bust chops, but it is truly an honor to post along side you guys.

Announcements

  • Pray for families impacted by this weekend’s shootings. Talk to your kids (age appropriate) as they have questions and concerns, even if they are not coming to you about them…
  • Damascus looking for a few REAL MEN who will run the Ragnar (10/5-10/6) – DM for details.
  • Boys and possible 2.0s can see Deadwood or Zin for the Atlanta Spartan.
  • Swimmers looking to finalize his team for the Prostate Awareness 5k – 9/14 and it’s a Speed for Need event.
  • Welcome to 4 FNGs (see the Flash BB for details as they all posted there).

For Moneyball

After a strange turn of events, I found myself on Q for the 3rd time this week. Unlike we normally see with Deadwood, this was purely coincidental, but I tried to bring something different to all 3. Asylum used some heavy gear, Watchtower was a burpee bonanza, so today’s focus was going to be on mileage – goal of at least 3…

As the PAX began filtering in, I kept waiting in anticipation for our 2 vest wearing site Qs. With 1 minute to spare, and neither of them in site, I was willing to settle for at least 1, but fartsacking took hold and we were all shocked that we were stood up by both on this fine morning… The dreams of the 10 faithful who did show crushed, we decided to sweat as a way to hide our tears.

Warmup

  • DiCCS provided – emphasis on safety as we were crossing roads this morning
  • Mosey to Dream Chasers
  • 20 SSH IC
  • Downward Dog
  • Calf Stretches
  • 10 Willy Mays Hayes

The Thang

  • Part 1
    • 1 mile mosey to Waxhaw Elementary
    • Mary for 6
    • Head to the playground for partner work
      • Partner 1 = AMRAP pullups
      • Partner 2 = Run up the hill to the school / 5 burpees / run down and relieve your partner
      • 5 rounds
  • Part 2
    • Mosey to the top of Bad Idea
    • Run down the hill – 10 speed skaters
    • Run back up the hill – 10 jump squats
    • 5 rounds — Had to audible to 3 due to time
  • Part 3
    • Mosey across bridge, past Dream Chasers, stopping at Providence Rd
    • Jail Break back to start

Moleskin

  • After being stood up by not 1 but BOTH site Qs after a barrage of threats and harassment yesterday afternoon about getting the BB out, I was tempted to scrap the BB as a passive/aggressive way to hurt them both. Then Moneyball caught wind of their betrayal and stepped in on their behalf, begging to keep the streak alive. Moneyball – This one is for you brother!
  • Another day where everyone pushed themselves and me hard. I have traveled to many other AOs across the country, and I can honestly say that few to none push as hard as the Area To Be Named Later…
  • Great to see Ranger coming out, giving up sleep over summer break to better himself for HS soccer!
  • Shake and Bake must have the strongest jaw in all of UC due to the constant jawing he does… BUT, he’s doing it while crushing the exercises, so there’s that…
  • Posse, Xerox, Doughboy and Blades of Glory all pushed hard today. This was not an easy day for non-Gazelles.
  • Dasher and Easy Button ate this one up like it was nothing. No doubt it was just a quick snack before their main meal at Client Dinner tonight.
  • Dana rocked the 20lb vest the whole workout with me! Welcome to the vest club – Membership today 4 2!

Announcements

  • Keep Radar in your prayers, but more importantly take a few minutes and make a call. Let him hear your voice and know that his brothers have not forgotten him.
  • Zero Prostate Cancer Run – September 14 – See Swimmers for details.

Swampy

22 men decided to post on what can only be described as a swampy morning. Thanks to last night’s rain, the humidity was up and some plans for wheelbarrow relay on the soccer field had to be altered. None the less, the show must go on, and so it did. Add some beliefs that I stole this Q from Zin, and we had all the makings for a wonderful morning.

DiCCS proclaimed, and we’re off….

Warm-up

  • Very quick lap around the parking lot (complaints already starting about the pace…)
  • Circle up for a quick but effective warm-up
    • SSH IC x 20
    • Merkins CC x 20
    • Downward Dog
    • Calf Stretching

The Thang

  • 4 Corners – Alternate 10 burpees and 10 jump squats at each corner (stop signs) x 4 laps / Gazelles continue laps until the 6 was in
  • Mosey to far playground
  • Cindy’s Lap
    • Partner 1 = Cindy (5 pullups / 10 merkins / 15 squats) – AMRAP until partner 2 returns
    • Partner 2 = Lap around the adjoining track
    • Each partner must complete 3 laps
    • Some quick Mary waiting on the 6
  • Mosey to front of school
  • Alternate burpees (5) and jump squats (5) at each light – all the way to the end and back (12 lights)
  • Some short Mary
  • Jail break to start

Moleskin

  • Complaining started out at what could be an all time high for a non-partner carry call. YHC almost blew past the 1st stop sign on 4 Corners, and my abrupt stop got the PAX complaining immediately. However, there was a quick hush as the realization that 80 burpees were required to complete the 1st station… I believe everyone was hoping for an audible, but that was not in the humidity soaked cards this morning.
  • Deadwood and Zin both donned their vests today. I’m not sure how they made it through the 120 burpees and 120 jump squats with those, but they somehow did.
  • Goodfella is a burpee machine, lapping the field (he made sure to announce it) for 4 corners.
  • Chicken Little has channeled his inner Hollywood and suddenly become stupid fast…
  • Some PAX still need to work on pullups… The Murph 2.0 is coming for Veteran’s Day, so you need to be prepared.
  • That said, the PAX as a whole KILLED it today. This was a tough workout by anyone’s standards but everyone pushed hard and made it through. I would bet that 90% (maybe 100%) of us would not have done this a year ago. Great job!
  • Thanks as always for allowing me to Q. I’ll see you for my 3rd Q in a week at Floater!

Not Much Running

I was called in from the bullpen yesterday afternoon due to a Zinfandel Gold Cup outing impacted his ability to effectively take the reins. Not wanting to dust off an old Q (not that I can effectively remember them anyway), I set up to have a lower mileage, but still difficult Q, incorporating some gear to make Transporter happy.

The Warmup

  • DiCCS given
  • Quick Mosey around the parking lot and circle up in front of Target
  • SSH IC X 20
  • Merkins IC X 10
  • Calf Stretching
  • An early attempt to undermine the Q already by Ice 9
  • And we’re off….

The Thang:

  • Serpentine – 6 lengths in the Target parking lot w/ exercises at each island (3 per length)
    • Eastbound = 10 merkins at each island
    • Westbound = 5 burpees at each island
  • Mosey to my truck to pick up 2 20lb slam balls – Here I attempted to instruct the PAX for a simple Indian Run where the person in front drops the ball / the person in the back picks it up, sprints to the font, drops it, and repeat… While this seemed simple enough, Ice 9 again attempted his sabotage and confused the PAX, almost derailing the whole morning. Luckily, this was a short run to the back of Target, so his damage was limited…
  • At the wall, a quick game of Don’t Let it Drop (2 rounds)
    • 2 teams, each in a single file line facing the wall
    • 1 PAX tosses the ball above a designated line on the wall and peels to the back where he performs 1 burpee and returns to the line
    • The next PAX must catch the ball on its decent, toss it above the line, peel off, 1 burpee, and return to the line
    • Each PAX much complete 3 rotations – Every time the ball does not make it above the line = 5 burpee penalty of the team / Every time the ball touches the ground = 5 burpee penalty
    • Losing team = 5 burpee penalty
  • Mosey back to my truck to deposit the slam balls, partner up (1 Gazelle + 1 Clydesdale per team), and pick up some sand bags (50 or 60 lbs, depending on your bag) – or in Kirby’s case, my bag of Deer Corn…
    • P 1 does an AMRAP of varying exercises w/ the sandbag – Rows, Curls, Shoulder Presses
    • P2 Runs a hot lap around the Target traffic circle
    • 3 rounds total
  • Circle up for some Captain Therkins – 1 big boy sit up + 4 American hammers + 2 merkins / 2 big boy sit ups + 8 American hammers + 2 merkins…. We made it to 9/36 before time overtook us…

Announcements

  • Prostate awareness run – Sept 14 – See Swimmers for details
  • Sanctuary – 7:30pm Monday @ Brooklyn Pizza

Moleskin

  • Welcome to our new FNG – Green Hornet – named because he looks like Seth Rogan… He killed it today for his 1st workout and even joined us for Q Source afterwards!
  • Welcome back to McFly who has been battling injury and health issues. I hope today was the 1st of many days we’ll see you back out there brother!
  • Ice 9 – I still love you brother, despite your attempts to throw me off my game today
  • Everyone pushed hard today. We mixed it up with some tough exercises, but you all crushed it! Thank you for pushing hard and continuing to inspire me to push as hard as I can.
  • Thank you for Zinfandel for putting his entertainment above the Q and pulling me off the bench – You know I love it and always have your back brother!

0.0

I had a nasty thought one day about how to make a Web combo even nastier than what I had previously experience. That combo, which you’ll see below, was the center point that this Q was built around.

Secondarily, knowing that Chiseled is supposed to be more gear focused and lower mileage, I was challenged to come up with a workout that would be both tough and short distance – exactly 0.0 miles. The PAX in attendance will have to tell you if I was successful, but it was a fun challenge either way, and as always, I feel honored to lead such an amazing group of men.

Modified DiCCS presented (lifting safety vs running)

Warm Up:

  • SSH x 20 IC
  • Moroccan Night Club x 20 IC
  • Merkins x 10 IC
  • Downward Dog

The Thang:

  • 30 burpees OYO
  • Pick your poison – 60lb sandbag / 50lb sandbag / 45lb plate
  • Round 1
    • P1 = Weight exercise / P2 = Merkins or Dry Docks
    • Team total = 100 shoulder presses / 100 curls / 100 50 triceps presses
  • Round 2
    • Burpee Web (1 burpee / increments of 4 reverse lunges)
  • Round 3
    • P1 = Weight exercise / P2 = LBCs
    • Team total = 200 bent over rows
  • Round 4
    • Captain Therkins (1 big boy sit up / increments of 4 American hammers (rounds 1-5) switch to Heals to Heaven (rounds 6-10) / 5 merkins in between
  • Quick Merkin Ladder to finish – 5 + 10 + 5
  • Done!

Moleskin

  • It was obvious from the start that this was going to be a different workout. Bread Bowl was very excited when I announced we would travel 0.0 miles. He changed his tune by the end…
  • The PAX seemed to really LOVE the Burpee Web – This will have to make a return visit in the near future…
  • The ever-positive Posse got so upset at YHC when I called out 200 rows, that he actually swore at me. It may not have been intended this way, but I’ll take it as a compliment
  • Everyone pushed extremely hard today. WUC has great men and I see improvements in just about everyone. I travel to different states and have posted at many sites, and no one has anything on WUC! Keep up the hard work.

Announcements

  • Pray for Radar and his family due to the recent loss of his Dad, Jerry from a respiratory disorder.
  • Pray for McFly who is dealing with the return of an illness to him and some others in his family.
  • Open Door – Sunday @7:00am – Five Stones – starting Philippians
  • Sanctuary – Monday’s @7:30am – Brooklyn Pizza Wesley Chapel – staring Mere Christianity
  • Thank you Nails for taking us out!

New Q In Charge

YHC was honored to lead 13 PAX on a foggy morning at Chiseled. Little did we know that today was a special day as Rudy was named new co-Q for the site. To celebrate, I ask a simple question – when is 1.87 miles too far? A – When it’s all done in a sprint…

DiCCS given

Warmup

  • Mosey to back parking lot
  • 15 SSH IC
  • 15 Grass Grabbers IC
  • Calf stretching
  • 15 Merkins IC
  • Quad Stretch
  • Let’s Go!

The Thang

  • The concept was simple. Break into groups of 3. P1 & 2 perform exercises with sandbags at opposite ends. P3 Sprints from 1 end to the other. Rotate sprints until the entire team completes the required number of sprints.
  • To add some flare, I decided to make it a competition, with the losing team paying a 15 burpee (each) penalty. Non-losers watch on in plank position.
  • Round 1
    • Exercises = Sand bag Thrusters / Sand bag Rows
    • Sprints = 5 each
  • Round 2
    • Exercises = Sand bag Squats / Speed Skaters
    • Sprints = 7 each
  • Round 3
    • Exercises = Sand bag Lunges / Sand bag Roman Deadlifts
    • Sprints = 5 each
  • Round 4
    • Exercises = Sand bag Cleans / Jump Squats (no bag)
    • Sprints = 5 each
  • Round 5
    • Exercises = Sand bag Squats / Speed Skaters
    • Sprints = 7 each
  • Mosey back to start
  • Done!

Moleskin

  • Everyone pushed extremely hard this morning, with the burpee penalty rotating between teams.
  • While I could say something about everyone this morning, I have to call out 4 individuals specifically:
    • Mayhem – Welcome back! You promised to show and you proved to be a man of your word brother. Thanks for pushing!
    • Wedding Singer – Dude, you have dropped some serious LBs… Keep up the good work!
    • Bread Bowl – I thought the sprints would get you this morning, but you pushed harder than I think I’ve seen you push before. Awesome job!
    • Rudy – I’m not sure if it was co-site Q juice, but you were flying during your sprints!

Announcements

  • 3rd F opportunities
    • Open Door – Sundays, 7:00am @ Five Stones Church
    • Sanctuary – Mondays, 7:30pm @ Brooklyn Pizza
  • VQ for Wolverine – Thursday, 5:30pm @ Cuthbertson Middle School
  • Congrats Rudy on being named new co-site Q

Misery and Mystery

The day started out with a little misery and mystery. Misery in the fact that our star Q Deadwood was down and out with the apparent flu. Mystery in that he did not announce who his substi-Q would be, leaving everyone wondering who was taking the reins to try to adequately replicate the beatdown expected to be delivered by Deadwood.

By now, the astute among you have likely determined that the mystery substi-Q was YHC. I am continuously honored to post with such great men who push each other and me each day. Despite the jabs and banter, know that I am in awe of this group. WUC is a special group of men and I’m proud to be part of it.

Enough of the sappy crap – here is how the morning progressed….

Disclaimer

  • Disclaimer (new, full, safety inspired one) given
  • FNGs sought but none found – Posse’s theory was that it was due to FNGs not knowing what an FNG is, but that was not to be – there were truly no FNGs….
  • Time to mosey

Warmup

  • Quick mosey to the Wesley Chapel Town Hall
    • Surprisingly, many PAX were excited, stating they had never been to that part of the AO
    • This obviously was more than Dana could take, as he disappeared, only to be seen a few short moments later, attempting to act out his rage
  • 20 SSH IC
  • Quick Mosey around the perimeter of the shopping center to the backside of Rack Room, with a few stops along the way for warmup moves – Low Slow Squats (20 IC), Merkins (20 Civilian Count), calf stretches
    • As we rounded the last corner, a white Subaru came flying by in an attempt to take out the Q – Driven by none other than our outraged Dana – Thankfully for YHC, his accuracy was impacted by his rage and he narrowly missed, driving on back to whence he came…

The Thang:

  • Station 1 – Partner work
    • P1 = Exercise
    • P2 = Run around traffic circle and return
    • Team total = 100 Mike Tysons (clearly a crowd favorite based on the immediate cheers that rose up upon this announcement) / 150 jump squats / 200 heals to Heaven
    • Mosey to Target entrance
  • Station 2 – Serpentine
    • Alternating jump squats (15) and merkins (15) at each light
    • 12 total lights
  • Station 3 – Burpee Suicides
    • Still in Target parking lot
    • Start at island – 1 burpee
    • Sprint to 1st light – 2 burpees
    • Return to start – 1 burpee
    • Sprint to 2nd light – 3 burpees
    • Return to start – 1 burpee
    • Sprint to 3rd light – 4 burpees
    • Return to start – 1 burpee
    • Sprint to 4th light – 5 burpees
    • Return to start – 1 burpee
  • Jailbreak to start
  • Time for 20 Squats (civilian count)
  • Tetelestai!

Mublechatter

  • Great work by all PAX today. It would be impossible for my feeble mind to recall everyone’s performance, but the following stood out to me today:
    • Hermie – It was great to meet you today! I look forward to posting with you more often.
    • Rudy – Strong showing today – You continue to push hard and get stronger each workout.
    • Zin – You’re getting way to fast… You blew by me on the jailbreak like I was not even moving.
    • One Star – Another awesome showing – You crushed the burpee suicides.
  • Get well quickly Deadwood – This was only a shadow of what you would have had in store for the PAX.
  • Dana – All joking about your rage aside, I hope your foot is better (real reason for your early exit) and we see you back out quickly.

Say What

After a late date audible by the scheduled Q, YHC took the reins for my 2nd Asylum Q in a row. The weather was perfect – no rain, snow, sleet, or wind, and relatively mild temps for the last week in February. A perfect day for 7 PAX to push ourselves beyond our comfort zones with a little AMRAP. Thank you as always for the opportunity to lead
(albeit from the middle of the pack) such a great group of men!

Warmup

  • Disclaimer given
    • Professional? – Not by any means
    • Can you sue anyone? – No way
    • Modify if/as needed? – Always
    • Cell Phone? – Check
    • CPR? – Check
  • Quick lap around the parking lot
  • Motivators – 10 down to 5

The Thang

  • An old fashion beatdown – AMRAP around the Target shopping center consisting of the following stations – 20 reps each station:
    • Step Ups (1×1)
    • Dips
    • Roman Deadlifts
    • Derkins
    • Squats
    • Merkins
    • Repeat as often as possible
  • Did I mention that all of this would be done with a 40lb sandback on your back?

Mublechatter

  • From the start, I knew we were in trouble – Transporter was our only CPR certified and cell phone carrying hope. The rub is that for many of us to be in earshot of him in our time of need, we’d almost be guaranteed the need for his assistance… Thankfully, no mouth to mouth required
  • Upon the announcement of the sandbags, the overwhelming joy expressed by the PAX almost brought YHC to tears
  • Good Fella, after a 2 week break, picked the leaky sandbag and bolted ahead of the pack
  • Smokey, not to be outdone, was quick on GF’s heals (sans the leaky bag)
  • Transporter was Transporter (you know)
  • Swimmers showed that he may still be green, but can hang with the big boys, slightly trailing Transporter
  • Akbar blurted out a phrase I never thought I’d hear the Pastor say and dare not repeat here…
  • Shop Dawg killed it as always – hard to believe the man is 54

Announcements:

  • Pray for Dean Longo and family after the sorrowful loss of his wife Lynn-Marie to cancer – A great woman of faith and participant in back to back SFN Race for the Cure events
  • Pray for Smokey and his wife after the sudden loss of her father – Another man of God who is now home
  • Christ’s Closet – Truck loading 4pm Friday, 10/1 / Delivery 10am-3pm Saturday, 10/2
  • Sanctuary – Monday night’s at 7:30pm – Brooklyn Pizza Wesley Chapel
  • Sign your young kids up for youth sports and volunteer to coach at www.legacysports.org – A great Christian organization in dire need for volunteer coaches – Who better than the men of F3?

Audible

YHC had the honor to Q back to back with today being the 2nd 1/2 of that equation. Despite having what I thought was a solid plan to nuke the legs of each of the 22 PAX, I had to audible twice this morning – The 1st because we had too many PAX to use the sandbags I loaded into my truck and the 2nd when I completely screwed up the Beast (6 exercises, 6 reps each, 6 rounds)… So much for planning.

Warmup

  • Disclaimer given
  • Mosey around the whole parking lot
  • Circle up
  • 20 SSH IC
  • 20 Mountain Climbers IC
  • Calf Stretch
  • Instructions on noise level before heading to the neighborhood for a failed attempt at the Beast

The Thang

  • Part 1
    • Mosey to the top of Springwood
    • Run to 1st light – perform exercise / Return to start / Run to 2nd light – perform exercise – run to 2nd light – perform exercise / Return to start… All the way to the 6th light
    • Light 1 = Squats x6
    • Light 2 = Jump Squats x6
    • Light 3 = Lunges x6
    • Light 4 = Reverse Lunges x6
    • Light 5 = Side Lunges x6
    • Light 6 = Burpees x6
  • Part 2
    • Mosey to PetsMart
    • Groups of 3
    • P1 = 1 legged Roman deadlifts
    • P2 = Step Ups on wall by Brooklyn Pizza
    • P3 = Run in between
    • Repeat until time runs out
  • Jail Break to start
  • COT / Announcements