Four men showed up in the gloom with some time left for introductions and small talk. The clock struck 5:15 and we were off to the school bus parking lot before the diesel fumes got too bad. During the short mosey in a black car came tearing in to on 2 wheels. Glad to see that general could make it out. He had HC’d the day before and I have never seen him miss an HC. Evidently, there was an emergency pit stop at the gas station.
Warm up:
All in cadence
10 – windmills
15 – Indian Walkers
10 – Merkins
A little plank work
15 Mountain Climbers
Then we moseyed over to the playgrounds for a couple of rounds of exercises and laps.
round 1 –
20 step ups
run to the picnic tables
20 Decline Merkins
Run to the small playground
20 big boy dips
round 2
20 pull-ups (rest and shake it out or modify if needed)
run to the picnic tables
20 Incline Merkins
Run to the small playground
20 big boy dips
Plank work between rounds while we re-grouped
Head to the walkway by the busses for a 50 yard lunge walk and a 50 yard bear crawl
Over to the short walls in front of the school.
2 pairs and a Q tagalong work toward 100 burpees per pair. One partner does burpees the other jumps 3 walls and then heads back.
Some wall sits to rest our upper body then over to the parking spaces for some sprints.
Birdcage suggested some abs so we did an extra long session of protractor to ablige him. Then for the suicides.
I cant remember exactly what we did, but there were suicides, backward suicides, bear crawls, crab walks and an extra long suicide.
Finally some Mary to end it all.
The Moleskin:
It was a great day in the gloom and I for one was smoked after the burpee walls and sprints.
General was leading the way the whole time as usual. I have gotten used to Qing from behind him. Kielbasa and Birdcage were both pushing hard today and have keep getting stronger and faster. It was great to see the prodigal Soft Pretzel back at The Arsenal. Pretzel always has a strong showing at all of his posts.
SYITG
The Thang,
Run around the parking and then hit some SSH’s, Merkins, and Windmills (I was sore from Swift and really needed this).
Next we moved to the 7 stations:
We did this circuit a few times with the Kettle bell swings as the “Pace Car” (thanks for that idea Soft Pretzel). We also ran a lap around the parking lot after a each circuit.
Then we went to the fields and sprinted, did Mary, and Planks.
Moleskin.
I took the Q for this one on Tuesday night so it wasn’t very creative, but everyone pushed hard and at least I was smoked by the time it was over.
As always it is an honor to lead these fine men. A few of which I was meeting for the first time.
Announcements. Since I am late anything that was said is now over.
The Thang…
Run a quick loop around the parking lot to warm up then we circle up.
SSH x 20 IC
Imperial Walkers x20 IC
Good enough to get started.
We headed over to the play ground for an explanation of the Pain Stations.
Each station was 1.5 minutes with a 30 second break to head to the next station.
Go through each station 2 times then head down to the soccer field for some sprints.
I cannot recall the exact sprints we competed, but it was something like this…
Across the field short length and back Recover with some Mary.
Run across the field then Bear Crawl back more Mary
Ran backwards across the field then sprint back and more Mary
Mosey over to the long end of the field for some more sprints with lots of Planks and extended counts in the 6 inch position.
The moleskin:
Really great crew out there today. I think 10 PAX is a good number for this workout easy to set-up the stations and good competition on the speed portion of the workout.
From the comments YHC received during the workout it was a smokefest for the shoulders. going straight from the battle ropes to the Merkins was horrendous. Although everyone pushed hard and got it done.
Per the usual Mario, General and One-Niner were smoking the sprints and Nard-Dog was right there with them. Great push fellas. Seeing you out there in front of YHC gave me more reason to push hard and get better.
Bunker took one of his 6 running days a week off to join us at Fat Camp. For a long distance guy he was pretty quick on the sprints and didn’t look to have to many problems with the gear (maybe he is just a soccer arm guy in disguise).
Over Head and Flint were out as usual and continue to push the gear hard and appeared to push right into the Pain Cave and come out the other side stronger. Great having you guys out there.
Argonaut is a beast with the gear and kept up well in the sprints even though he was suffering from some shin splints. Way to push through the pain. Hope you feel better soon.
This was YHC’s first time posting with Incoming. He seems to be a surly man that will push all the way through the workout. Thanks for posting at Fat Camp with me. Don’t be a stranger.
I was accused of yelling at the PAX too much (especially about Plank form). NO Sagging Asses and it is NOT Downward Dog. Just trying to do my best to make us all stronger. I am sure you all will pay me back with some satisfying mocking of my form in the near future.
As always it is a pleasure to lead these fine men in the gloom.
SYTIG
The Thang…
The clock struck 5:30 and we were off to the COP to warmup in front of the movie theater.
SSH x 20 ic
Merkins x 9 ic
We then moseyed over to the murderhorn where we would complete 3 rounds.
Round 1: 15 Squats (watch the form) then down the murderhorn and 15 burpees.
Round 2: back up the ‘horn for 10 squats then down and 10 burpees
Round 3: Up the ‘horn one more time for 5 squats and then 5 burpees at the bottom
When you are done catch up with the six and finish with them or do some Mary at the bottom of the hill.
Mosey over to the park and split into 2 teams after some Mary.
First team does 15 pull-ups (aided or unaided) and 30 merkins.
Second Team does 10 step-ups each leg and 30 dips.
Flapjack then meet in the middle.
Head back to the bottom of the Murderhorn for some plank work waiting for the 6.
Then complete 10 burpees and head to the top of the murderhorn for some mary while the pax congregated.
Next over to the hill behind the theater for a short triple nickel (5 squats at the bottom, 5 merkins at the top, 5 rounds).
Then over to do some suicides and then 4 minutes of Mary.
Done.
Moleskin…
I was hoping Fraiser was going to do some running at the Maul today as I am not ready for my impending races. I gave him a shout and he let me know that I could do all the running I wanted if I would Q since he would not be able too.
Worked for me. So I figured we would spend some time on the Murderhorn. There was a great effort by the PAX on this horribly muggy morning. Squid was out in front as usual followed closely by Cold Cuts. It was great to see Philmont and Burn Out again (Philmont is back from a hiatus and Burn Out is getting ready for a Go Ruck). There were definitely other solid efforts out there, everyone was pushing hard. Unfortunately, I had my head down most of the time to try to catch my breath.
Thanks to Poptart and Heartbreaker for leading some of the Mary while I recovered.
As always it was a pleasure to lead a fine group of men.
The Thang,
the clock struck 5:30 and we were off. We headed over to the parking lot across from the vine for a little warm-up and a short disclaimer.
The following was completed in cadence.
20 x SSH
20 x IW
10 x Merkins
Then we headed over to the pond with the waterfall and the bridge (with a stop for 10 body builders IC):
At the lake we completed 5 laps of the following:
Run up the grass hill and complete 10 merkins then back down the hill to the sidewalk.
Continue around the pond on the sidewalk and do lunge walks between the 2 park benches.
Then up to the top of the stairs for 5 burpees then go back down the stairs and back to the hill.
Next we partnered up and one partner completed Merkins and the other ran up and down the hill. Flapjacking until we reached 100 combined merkins.
Then we moseyed back towards the AO via an Indian run with a couple of stops for mary.
The Moleskin,
So with some great directional help from Mic Check YHC took the long way to the elusive lake. The PAX were all pushing hard and it was great to lead at bagpipe again.
As always it was a pleasure to lead a fine group of men.
Please read the whole Pre-Blast, but here is the gist of it all:
1. Sign up here as an individual: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/f3-spring-mud-run-2016-f3-only-tickets-22178583741 Choose Charlotte, NC South as your region
2. Email Fire Hazard with: Team Name and the F3 Name, Hospital Name and the Email Address of each man on the team here: Chip.testerman@gmail.com
This preblast contains all the Area 51/SOB/ UC PAX need to know about the 2016 Spring Mud Run.
What: The Ultimate Challenge Mud Run is the F3 Nation “Super Bowl,” only better because it happens twice a year. The course is around 6 miles with 30 some obstacles. Obstacles are pretty evenly spread out throughout the course with obstacles about every 1/5th of a mile.
When: Saturday, 30th April, 2016 at the Leatherneck course near Columbia, SC.
How: 1. Go to the main eventbrite to register https://f3mudrunspring2016.eventbrite.com to register. Individuals register on your own – not as a team. Register by March 1, 2015. Select South Charlotte as your region. Registration is $55. Strawberry will handle transportation. It normally runs $35- $40 per person. Sundries and drinks for the bus ride are on your own (no hard liquor please). The F3 Beer Boat will be at the race.
Registration is considered a “hard commit” with no guarantee of refund should you be unable to compete, even if your slot is filled by a free agent (see below). If you register and cannot meet your commitment, it’s your responsibility to your team and your Region to find a replacement.
YHC will be maintaining a Free Agents list to assist will building 4 man teams.
F3 South Charlotte Mud Run Teams and Free Agents: HERE
Why: Because it’s Completely Stupid And Utterly Pointless (CSAUP) and most of your other Area 51/SOB/UC brothers will be participating. The 2nd F component is even more fun than the race. If you can post to an hour long workout you can complete this race.
Helpful Info
Start by posting at The Brave on Friday mornings at 0515 @ The Vine Restaurant in Ballantyne. The Brave is an hour long running and obstacle training workout designed specifically for training the PAX for the Mud Run.
Other running workouts to consider:
Fast Twitch – Tuesday @ South Charlotte Middle School
Swift – Tuesday @ The Vine Restaurant in Ballantyne
Devils Turn – Thursday @ Four Mile Creek Greenway
The Thang….
The clock hit 5:15 there was a quick disclaimer and the PAX headed over to the parking lot across the way to warm up.
COP – in cadence
20 – SSH
15 – Windmills
OK that is enough. Time to mosey over to Ballantyne Commons Parkway and gather the Pax for instructions.
Run up the right hand side of Ben Nevis stopping at every entrance point to complete alternating Burpees (10) and Squats (20). YHC thought we would have 7 stops and end up with 40 Burpees and 60 Squats. Luckily YHC was wrong and there were 8 stops so the PAX each received 40 Burpees and 80 squats. Pebbles finished first and corrected YHC’s squat form. Then we headed back to the pick up the 6 and finish another 20 squats as a team.
The next item on the agenda was an Indian run for a few hundred yards where the PAX were led in some Mary and Merkins.
We then continued to mosey down to Rushmore for some more Mary while we waited for the 6. YHC lead the PAX down Rushmore over to the lake with the Bridge. During this mosey the PAX completed a 25 yard Bear Crawl.
Once at the lake the PAX were instructed to complete a set of 7’s on the big hill. Burpees at the bottom and Merkins at the top. A few more Merkins were completed after planking for the 6 and we were off again.
YHC headed over to the pond closest to 485 (which is .3 miles around) and the PAX partnered up. Each man would do 3 laps while his partner alternated Lunges and CCD’s. Oh wait. There is not enough time for all of that. So Outback made a wise comment that he would start the Mosey with some of the smoked PAX while the other did one more lap.
The only takers on the final lap were YHC and Pebbles. After this lap the PAX grouped back up and moseyed back to the AO.
The Moleskin –
This was a fine group of men to lead today. It was nice to see Golmer out at the brave and T-Claps to Bandaid for coming out to the Brave for his second F3 workout ever (First was the Maul this week). He pushed hard and did not quit. Hope to see you two at Da Vinci tomorrow. Pebbles was speedy as usual and Wild Boar showed off his speed keeping up with Pebbles step for step on the lap around the lake. Haggis helped us keep our merkin form in tip top shape per the usual. Also, T-claps to Outback for keeping the group together and pushing everyone, #him.
Announcements:
-Family Hike on February 20th Ann Springs Greenway
-Sign up for the Balrog
-Mud Run is coming get your teams together
The Thang….
The clock hit 5:15 and we grabbed a pair of 50lbs sandbags and a 60 lbs sandbag and headed from the Vine to our favorite parking garage in Ballantyne Village. Once there, we headed down to the basement and circled up.
COP – in cadence
20 – SSH
20 – IW
15 – Windmills
15 – Merkins
Here we split into 2 groups (a 2 man and a 3 man) one group stayed in the basement and completed bent over rows. The other ran to the top of the covered part of the deck and back. Then we flapjacked.
Once we completed that fun we did a bear crawl for about 80 yards with 10 civilian count merkins/CCDs every 10 yards.
We then did a belly start sprint back over to the start point
At this point we circled up for 1 minute of each of the following exercises. Rotating until the 5 PAX completed each exercise.
– Cleans w/ 60lbs sandbag
– LBCs
– Curls w/ 50lbs sandbag
– Flutter Kicks
– Overhead Press w/ 50lbs sandbag
We then took a rest with the Peoples Chair with arm flutters and Balls to the wall. Rinse and repeat
Once this was completed the PAX headed to the top of the deck and completed 20 Low Slow Squats in Cadence. Then back down to the basement with 20 Sumo Jumps OYO.
At this point we headed back, as it is a slow mosey with a sandbag on your back in the snow.
The Moleskin –
Over the last week, Tolken, Champagne, Madam and YHC have been working on a great gear workout for the dedicated PAX of the Brave. As this AO started out to train people for OCR’s YHC thought it would be a good idea to get stronger for the obstacles. It was going to be a beatdown of epic proportions. Then Thursday morning came around and the Snowpacolypse was upon us. For safety’s sake we decided to move to the garage and postpone the epic gear workout. So keep your eyes open for the reschedule date.
When YHC pulled up about 3 minutes prior to the start time there were 2 lone cars in the parking lot. YHC thought about the possibility of talking Outback into just heading back to our Fartsacks and pretending this never happened. Fortunately, Tuck pulled in and YHC new that there was no way we could peer pressure all 3 pax to do the wrong thing. #ACCOUNTABILITY. The 3 PAX grabbed the 3 sandbags YHC happened to have in the back of the SUV and headed to the garage. Right as the Mosey began Wingman pulled into the lot and quickly caught up. The conversation on the slow mosey was around the PAX that did not show up (Tolken, Bean, MT and Champagne). Champagne had a great excuse as he was helping with The Stand today (and yes I will check the backblast to ensure he didn’t fartsack). Madam was having some sickness issues he didn’t want to share with the PAX (which we appreciate). That leads us to JRR Tolken he had been on Slack this AM and HC’d last night. Where was he???? Then about ¾ of the way through the mosey he caught us and had some flimsy story about being stuck behind a “snow truck”. So the only one left was Bean. He had texted me the night before saying we should clown car to stay safe. I agreed and I texted him at 4:55. No reply. What a shameless fartsacker (if you see him give him a hard time). Anywaaaaay. YHC thought the PAX got a pretty good beatdown that was the opposite of the usual Brave running heavy MO. YHC really appreciated the 4 PAX that posted with him today and pushed hard. It was a pleasure. Also, a big thanks to Outback for taking us out.
As usual it was an honor and a privilege to lead this group of men in the gloom.
Announcements:
-Family Hike on Jan 23rd at Anne Springs greenway is CANCELLED
-Come out to Stonehenge or daVinci in the morning if you can make it out
The Thang….
This week’s Stonehenge started at 5:45 with a 1.3 mile pre-run. At 6:00 we swung back by the Vine parking lot to pick up all of the folks that wanted to start at the actual start time. We then moseyed over to the parking lot by the Hotel.
Here 3 exercises were completed in cadence:
12 – SSH
12 – Low Slow Squats
12 – Merkins
We had no FNG’s so an abbreviated disclaimer was given and we headed off to the hill by the Snyders Building.
YHC gave the instructions and we were off. The PAX needed to run up the hill to the bridge and complete 12 Burpees and then back down the hill and complete 12 drop squats. This would be rinsed and repeated 3 times. When complete head back to the six and finish with them.
From here we headed over the parking lot beside Snyder’s where we completed a long bear crawl with 12 merkins every 4 parking spots. The first set was in Cadence the other 4 sets were civilian count.
We then moved on to some assorted sprints across the lot from a prone position.
As we had to end early so that many of the PAX wanted to head over to daVinci, YHC decided that we should start heading back to the Vine. On the way we divided into teams of 3 and headed down to the exercise trial for 3 rounds of 12 dips, 12 pull-ups and 12 supine pull-ups.
Then head back to the Vine parking lot with some Al Gore’s and Russian Twists.
The Moleskin –
As the Pax soon found out it was the YHC’s 1 year anniversary in the F3 Nation and since it would be boring to do 1 of everything YHC chose to go with the month count of 12. The Pax (Champaign my fellow site Q from the Brave mostly) made sure to remind YHC that he does not know how to do cadence count properly.
It was a good crew today and just as on YHC’s FNG workout Frasier was way ahead, although YHC could almost keep him within eyeshot this time. So there have been some gains made in YHC’s overall fitness. Everyone in the PAX pushed hard. Semi Gloss (who I don’t believe has attended Stonehenge since YHC started a year ago) pushed especially hard and completed both the pre-run and a pre-pre-run.
As usual it was an honor and a privilege to lead this group of men in the gloom. YHC would like to express his sincere gratitude for all the men of F3 that continue to push him and Frasier for the original EH.
Announcements:
-Family Hike on Jan 23rd at Anne Springs greenway.
The Thang….
Since YHC tweeted that the PAX would be warmed up and sweating within 5 minutes of the start of the workout, as soon as the clock struck 5:30 the PAX took off towards the lot in front of the theater.
Here 3 exercises were completed in cadence:
15 – SSH
15 – Low Slow Squats
15 – Merkins
No sweat yet from the PAX so we headed over to the big hill across from the theater and completed a round of 11’s. starting with 10 Burpees at the bottom of the hill and one Squat at the top and going until we were at 10 squats at the top and one Burpee at the bottom.
Finally the PAX were warmed up and sweating. We completed some assorted Mary at the bottom of the hill until the six completed the activity.
A few of us shed some layers and we were off again, this time moseying over to the fountain by the Chipotle.
Here we partnered up. Each set of partners had to complete 100 dips and 100 derkins. One partner would complete the exercises while the other would run around both buildings. Then flap jack until the number is met.
The Pax then took a meandering Indian run to the speed humps behind the target for the next set of exercises.
Complete a suicide run with 10 squats at each speed hump (none required on the return trips to the original speed hump) and end at the far other side of the building. YHC decided that we would all head back to the six and finish together.
One last Mosey to pick up the gear we had shed, and then complete 10 LBC’s at each of the light posts on the way back to the cars (8 or 9 I believe).
Complete some flutters and LBC’s until the clock struck 6:15.
The Moleskin –
I believe that YHC kept the promise to have the PAX sweating within 5 minutes of starting the workout. There was definitely a lot of grumbling around the Q calling 11’s at the big hill instead of 7’s at a much smaller hill closer to the cars. Of course the mumble chatter did not sway YHC’s called exercise and the PAX pushed hard to get the task completed. YHC was glad to see quite a few PAX off of injury or breaks. Loogie was back out after being cleared from the Dr. He only has one good wing so he is now a runner for the next 6 weeks. Maybe now is the time for Brat and Honeybee to EH him into Swift and Devils turn. Also, note from the PAX list that Linus has been added to at least 2 or 3 backblasts as Lioness. Is a name change in order??? Also, a big thanks to Squid for taking us out as only he can.
As usual it was an honor and a privilege to lead this group of men in the gloom
Announcements:
-DaVinci starts this Saturday at 7:00 in Blakney. The Stonehenge workout will be 45 minutes so that we can double down and support Mic Check and Tuck.
-Family Hike on Jan 23rd at Anne Springs greenway.