Probably the warmest morning so far this year greeted the 8 Pax that rose to the occasion and posted at Joust today. YHC had planned to keep the Pax in perpetual motion to keep that heart rate elevated for the entire 45 minutes this morning. Made a few adjustments along the way, but I think everyone got their money’s worth. For those that slept in and missed out on a great morning to sweat, here’s what you missed.
No FNG’s – Quick Disclaimer and away we went as the clock struck 5:30
Run to the center of the football field for Warmup COP
SSHx20 IC
Stagger Merkin Left x 15 IC
IWX20 IC
Stagger Merkin Right x 15 IC
Grab a friend for a little Partner Work
P1 Runs up the stairs, around the sidewalk to the upper playground for 10 Pullups & 10 Hanging Knees to Elbows
P2 Runs a hot lap around the Track and knocks out triceps dips waiting for P1 to return
Complete 20 Partner Handslap Merkins and FLapJack
Two Rounds – Plank When done
Stadium Circuit (3 Rounds)
Up the stairs around the Announcers Both, down the stairs to the front row of the bleachers for the following:
20 Triceps Dips
20 Step Ups
20 Knees to Chest (abs)
Run it down to the Far 10 Yard Line facing the Hill for Endurance, push to Failure suicide of sorts
Starting at the
10 Yard Line – 10 Merkins, Run to far Endzone and back
20 Yard Line – 20 Merkins, Run to Far Endzone and back
30 Yard Line etc all the way to the far 10 Yard Line
Once you have completed all of the merkins, Begin same format with Squats in place of merkins
We got to about the 50 Yard Line during the Squat Round and then had to head back due to time.
Mosey back to the Parking lot for COT and Namarama
Thank you to Dollywood for taking us out this morning, much appreciated.
Announcements – have a great weekend and get outside with your family!
Moleskin:
The parking lot was relatively empty when I rolled in with 2 minutes till launch, and it would remain that way until go time. It was a strong group this morning with everyone pushing themselves along with plenty of encouragement. During the Partner Rounds, the young guns Yeti/Dollywood were pushing the pace with Ductwork/Cowgirl getting after it as well. As usual, Puddin Pop was working up a sweat and working hard as were Bounce and my partner SemiGloss. The partner merkins were a crowd pleaser which would only foreshadow the pain to come. Being that there was a 40 ft net blocking Grandmother mountain which was to be the tip of iceburg during the Suicide, YHC decided we needed some stair work in place of the hill. The Pax stayed together during the stadium circuit with Dollywood leading the group. With about 20 minutes left we lined up on the 10 yard line where YHC laid out the plan for the remainder of the workout. The Merkin round was a true grinder with muscle failure beginning at around the 40 Yardline. Several of the pax acknowledged that their merkin form was deteriorating at a rapid pace as the reps mounted. You should all be walking around a little bit swole today. That’s what a total of 370 merkins will do for you (60 in COP, 60 Handslaps, 250 during the suicide).
We ran out of time during the squat round with most folks getting to the 40-50 yard line. All in we covered 2.5 Miles.
Thank you header for the opportunity to lead.
Fletch
Backblast posted on behalf of Blazing Saddles
No FNG’s or Site FNG’s – Thorough Disclaimer was given (Pax were also disclaimed that today would be the VQ for Blazing Saddles)
Warm up- 20 SSH IC, 15 Merkins IC, 20 IW IC and 20 Swings OYO
Moved down to lower parking lot:
Partnered up:
Round 1: Partner 1 did Burpees while partner 2 fireman carried both kettle bells up and down stairwell- Flapjack
Round 2: Partner 1 did Merkins while partner 2 fireman carried both kettle bells up and down stairwell- Flapjack
Round 3: Partner 1 did LBC’s while partner 2 fireman carried both kettle bells up and down stairwell- Flapjack
Round 4: Partner 1 did Low Slow Squats while partner 2 fireman carried both kettle bells up and down stairwell- Flapjack
Round 5: Partner 1 did Flutters while partner 2 fireman carried both kettle bells up and down stairwell- Flapjack
Moved to upper parking lot
Round 1: Partner 1 did Swings while partner 2 ran full lap around parking lot- Flapjack
Round 2: Partner 1 did Clean and Press while partner 2 ran full lap around parking lot- Flapjack
Round 3: Partner 1 did Lawnmowers while partner 2 ran full lap around parking lot- Flapjack
Round 4: Partner 1 did T-Bag Squats while partner 2 ran full lap around parking lot- Flapjack
Round 5: Partner 1 did Curls while partner 2 ran full lap around parking lot- Flapjack
Time ran out and everyone returned to close it out in the parking lot. – Bulldog Thanks for Taking us out!
Moleskin posted by Fletch.
The VQ made his first time look easy this morning. He came with a plan and executed it seamlessly with a veteran group in attendance. Cadence count was no issue and he somehow remained focused during the awkward comments during the initial COT. I think half the pax were former Futballers trying to distance themselves from their soccer-arm past. Must be working, they were crushing it out there. Lots of running during the Upper parking lot round which was a challenge following the farmer carry stair climbing segment.
It was a clear cool morning in the ELE Parking Lot, home of Meathead. A good mix of veterans in the Pax to help some of the folks that were newer to KB training. Focus this morning would be on well rounded strength training with relatively low reps while transitioning between a wide variety of exercises. There was an FNG among the pax this morning, so a thorough disclaimer was given along with several demo’s throughout to emphasize proper form. The music selection from Pandora’s Workout Radio was spotty at best, thankfully my phone died w/15 minutes to go and Horsehead helped out with the back up tunes.
Here’s what we did this morning:
SSH x 20 IC
10 Two Handed Swings
IW x20 IC
20 two handed Swings
Merkin on Bell x 10 IC
30 Two handed Swings
Triathalon (3 Excercises together x 3 rounds)
Round 1
10 Clean Each Arm
10 Rack Squats Each Arm
10 Lawn Mowers Each Arm
LBC’s when done
Round 2
10 Snatches Each Arm
10 Romanian DeadLifts Each leg
10 Shoulder Presses Each Arm
Flutter when done
Round 3
20 Two Handed Overhead Press
20 Good Mornings
20 Upright Rows
Dolly when done
Partner UP for some doubles:
5 x 5 (5 Reps – 5 Rounds)
Double Swings
Double Cleans
50 Swings
10 Snatches Each Arm – Done
Announcements:
Muscledriver Going out of business Sale – go get a shiny new KB bro.
Take out prayer courtesy of Bulldog -thanks brother
Moleskin: Great day to be swinging bells with likeminded men this morning. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Don’t usually get FNG’s at meathead, and you certainly don’t get FNG’s that Run In to Meathead, but that is exactly what our 18 Year old FNG Footsteps (Scotti M) did this morning. A highschool senior and Football Player, he held his own out there with the Kettlebells. Showed pretty good form for his first time using kb’s.
The order of the day was to throw as many exercises at the pax in an attempt to hit most major muscle groups. Not sore yet, but it won’t be long.
I’ll admit, there wasn’t much effort put into the music selection this morning and my phone was about 30 percent charged upon arrival. Work out radio on Pandora let me down today, it was bouncing from pop hits, to hip hop to obscure rock. The Pax didn’t seem to mind the music or lack there of, they put in the work and powered through. Hightide brought an assortment of KB’s as did Witchdoctor, even sporting a new discounted purchase from Muscledriver. Bulldog and Horsehead were making it look easy on their side of the circle. Blazing Saddles, Destiny and MAD continue to post at KB sites and crushing it. Turkey leg may be nursing the runners knee, but no doubt the KB will help him during the Palmetto race coming up later this month.
Thank you HT and Brown for the opportunity to lead. Really enjoy q’ing at Meathead.
Conditions were perfect for a keep-it-moving kind of beatdown this morning at Kevlar. YHC was setting up some tires with the help of a few of the early birds when the clock struck 5:30. Quick disclaimer was given and the 11 (soon to be 12) of us took off.
Here’s what we did:
Run the long way to the base of the hill for COP WarmUp
Merkin x25 IC
SSH x20 10 Hand release burpees OYO (crowd pleaser)
Imperial Walker x20 – 5 Hand Release Burpees OYO
Partner UP and Face the Hill
Hillwork 100’s – Complete 100 Reps total – Partner1 Runs Hill + 5 Deck Squats (look mom no hands)
Partner2 Performs Exercise – FlapJack until 100 cumulative Reps are completed
Round 1 – Diamond Merkins
Round 2 – Jump Squats
Round 3 – Wide Arm Merkins
Round 4 – Speed Skater 1 Leg Squats
Various Plankerama along the way to allow all to finish
Take the long Way back to the launch point facing the Tires (plank to wait on the six)
Round 1
P1 Sprints to Pavilion (50 Dips) and Back
P2 Tire Hairburners to Midpoint of Field Back and 25 Bent over Rows with Tire (then run to Pavilion)
When Partners Meet 25 Partner Handslap Merkins (Return to Tires)
Round 2
P1 Sprints to Pavilion (50 Incline Merkins) and Back
P2 Tire Hairburners to Midpoint of Field Back and 25 Squats with Tire (then run to Pavilion)
When Partners Meet 25 Partner Handslap Merkins (Return to Field for MARY)
Flutter x25
LBC x30
Russian Twist x20
Moleskin:
Great group of guys out there today and everyone was getting after it from the opening bell. A few of the pax were either recovering from or nursing injuries, so there may have been a little bit of modification. Certainly no lack of effort out of the 12 in attendance though. The fasttwitch duo of Alf and TurkeyLeg made quick work of both the hillwork and runs to the pavilion, as did the Witchdoctor/Simba combo. There were several others out there pushing it start to finish, but man it is Really Dark over by the Tennis Pavilion. Despite recovering from illness, Brown was battling out there and was kind enough to call out our 1 and only 10 count. As luck should have it, the rest of us were holding low plank at the time of his 10 count (#coach of the year). We covered 2 miles and change and knocked through lots of reps. Couple of those small SUV tires had plenty of traction left as they were a motha to get started on the grass. Big thanks to LittleMike for taking us out this morning. As Curd pointed out, his prayer resounded as if it was delivered over loud speaker since he is a foot taller than most of the pax.
Thanks to Horsehead and Bulldog for the opportunity to lead today. Hope both of you guys heal up soon and will be back joining us in the gloom.
Thats a Wrap. Announcements:
New 3rd F Group “Foundations of Faith” beginning Wednesday at 11:45am – 1900 Grill on Eliz in Midtown (see Simba for details)
F3 Golf will be in July not April – there will be many posts to remind us. Keep an eye on the weekly emails.
F3 Family hike and picnic at Anne Springs Close Greenway (Fort Mill). Read the Preblast – http://f3nation.com/2016/02/17/sobs-family-hike-picnic-lake-hagler-ann-springs-greenway-12-2pm/
There was a slight chill in the air upon arriving at Mcalpine elementary this morning although it was expected to warm up during the course of the weekend. We would all experience a warming trend for the next hour. With the veteran pax assembled and disclaimed, away we went.
Quick warm up lap around the perimeter of the AO, with a stop at the retaining wall to regroup and knock out 25 decline merkins oyo. Continue to bball court for cop.
SSHx20ic
Diamond merkins x20 ic
Imperial walkers in fast cadence x20
Widearm merkins X20 ic
Run to pull-up station and plank in line. Each pax does 10 pull ups and goes to plank in back of line. Alternate elbow plank and regular until everyone completed their pull ups.
Tempo run to Hemingford for what was to be a bit of a massacre of sorts (at least for yhc).
7’s on Hemingford with Jumpmsquats on bottom and Hand release merkins on top.
**due to high intensity tag that has been applied to Day Zero – upsize the 7’s with 5 hand release burpees at both intersections on the way up and down**
Early finishers are rewarded with an extra pass up and down Hemingford…your welcome.
Run bevington toward AO, stop at carswell for (yes haze, I think you know what’s next) -All You Got left to the parking lot of the school.
Keep running to benches in front of school for circuit (plankarama)
20 jump ups
20 dips
20 incline merkins
Run the parking lot
2 rounds
Mary which included – flutter x25ic, windshield wipers x20ic, LBC x20ic
Head to cars for cot, namarama
NM
In full disclosure I do not like burpees, I mean really really dislike them and rarely offer them to the pax when q’ing. Honestly didn’t expect the 7’s to be that bad when I was putting together the plan, but around the halfway point I was regretting the hand release burpee add on. actually had some rock work and more pull-ups planned, but the Hemingford hill was a real monster and took much longer than expected. the pax of day zero comes to work and every man out there was putting in quality suffering and getting stronger. McGee, Frazier and Turkey leg set the pace on the hill with hops and the rest of the pax churning and burning on their heels. Yhc led from the middle today, hand release burpees sucked the life out of me, but I had a great view of some incredible efforts. Frazier got stronger as we racked up the miles and McGee and turkey leg were gliding up and down the hill. Hops and haze were machines out there knocking it out with great form and determination #freerange. Voodoo, dear abbey and red rocks formed a formidable group pushing each other through a real grinder this morning- very strong work men. Not much of a chance to catch your breath this morning, aside from at coffeeteria. 4.5 miles with 120 hand release burpees and assorted exercises is a great way to start the weekend. Enjoyed it fellas.
Hops- thank you for taking us out this morning.
Announcements- congrats to prohibition on the birth of a new baby.
Thankful for the opportunity to lead at Day Zero-
Fletch
The weather guessers were right on with their forecast. It was an icy and snowy mix last night and into this morning which resulted in a pretty crusty white surface along the 51 corridor. Leaving the house this morning I actually didn’t expect anyone to show given the pretty sketchy driving conditions and several AO’s closing due to inclement weather. I did one donut in the parking lot to check the running surface and to my surprise there was a decent amount of grip. 5:15 struck and it was just me in the lot with thoughts of heading back home creeping in…at about the time I was going to put the truck in drive, headlights began to show from around the bend. On Two wheels comes Mr Brady and that was more than enough to begin.
The Thang and the MOleskin
Quick but thorough disclaimer was issued and away we went. What Mr Brady lacked in illumination he more than made up for with bright colors and a hat with Bells. YHC had new batteries in his headlamp and a blinky so we felt pretty visible heading into the gloom.
Warmed up around Strawberry Lane to Woodfox. Got it moving a little faster on Rounding Run and settled into a nice pace for the remainder of our trip. No stops as it was windy and sleeting the entire run. Nice 2nd F along the way as we hauled up Windbluff to Providence. Made the decision not to run near providence due the possibility of cars fishtailing at the sight of two nuts running on the icy sidewalk.
Turned around and headed back to Raintree, sharp slippery left turn on Raintree and all the way up to Providence yet again. A Few near spills, but we made it back into South Charlotte Middle with 5.5Miles under our belts. The miles Felt a lot more difficult this morning, likely due to the extra concentration on footing.
Quick COT and take out for safe travels and health and we were officially done.
The plan tomorrow was for a heaping helping of Track intervals tomorrow to work on those fast-twitch fibers and increased speed over shorter distances. However, there is a very good chance that the track is going to be too slippery for sprints in the am based on the forecast. So, tomorrow we will be pulling the handle and hoping for Lucky 777’s on three of the best hills in Raintree.
Fletch
Posted on behalf of ExLax
11 men showed up in what seemed to be a monsoon, but we were able to push through in the nice 70 degree breeze in December, WHAT!!. We pushed through the rain and here is what we did.
THE THANG
WARM UP
20 SSH IN CADENCE
20 imperial walkers in cadence
Mosey To Lower Lot:
50 two handed swings
Suicides to all medians and up hill
40 merkins
Suicides to all medians and up hill
20 SSH IN CADENCE
40 alternating swings
Suicides to all medians and up hill
40 tea bag squats
Suicides to all medians and up hill
30 single arm swings
Suicides to all medians and up hill
30 merkins
Suicides to all medians and up hill
20 upright row and presses
Suicides to all medians and up hill
20 diamond merkin
10 snatches each arm
10 divebomber merkins
20 Louganis with KB
20 mason twists each side with no bell
15 Louganis with KB
15 mason twists each side with no bell
50 KB curls
Suicides to all medians and up hill
Great Job today by everybody and even though the hill and ground was wet, everyone hung in there and gave their best effort. I would also like to welcome FNG Destiny’s Child!! Have a Happy New Year Everybody!
Thanks,
ExLax
Announcements: 5 year anniversary of F3 at AG Middle School – New Years Day 7 am. Look for more on Website
16 Men arrived at South Charlotte Middle eager to get to work. There were only veterans in this crew so with a quick disclaimer away we went.
Run it to the Child development center parking lot for burpee/merkin mixer
SSH x20IC (just because)
5 burpees
Merkin x10 IC
5 Burpees
Close Grip Merkin x10IC
5 Burpees
Widearm Merkin x10 IC
Run it to Davey Park and Plankarama
From the bottom gate, alternate forwards run and backwards run with 20 Merkins at each LightPole – continue until we reach the park office parking lot at top.
Flutter on the curb until we all finish
Return flight to bottom gate alternating forwards run and backwards run with 20 Squats at each LightPole – continue until back at gate.
Run it playground and grab a partner.
P1 Runs to Bottom Gate and Back
P2 Completes Called Exercises (flapjack)
3 rounds of the following – 10 pullups, 10 Hanging knees to elbows, 10 DryDocks, 10 Squats
2 ronds of the following – 10 LBC, 10 Flutter Each Leg, 10 Heels to heaven, 10 Tricep dips
Gather your partner and run it back to Charlotte Middle School
Right at 6:15 – Cirlce up for Namarama
Moleskin- 100 percent humidity, light mist and fog awaited the pax this morning. As did a running intensive upper body beatdown. The pax met the challenge head on w/only a few moans and groans during the warmup and during the last few sets of merkins at the lightpoles. Not sure about anyone else, but the last few reps proved pretty challenging during the merkin round. Can’t recall how many lightpoles there were but i’d say somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 (that’s 200 merkins during that round). Lots of guys running hard between the poles with Buttermaker, Good Hands and Header leading the charge. Floor slapper and Semi Gloss were pushing hard during the partner work as it seemed everyone was getting after it. Not too much chatter out there this morning, but if anything happened to catch anyones eyes or ears, please post in the comments.
Announcements:
Holiday Party 12/12 at Sardis Swim and Racquet Club – Sign up by 12/4
Joe Davis Run 1/9/16 (see weekly email for preblast and sign up link)
It was a nearly perfect morning for a running intensive kettlebell beatdown and 19 of south charlotte’s finest showed up ready to work. With No FNG’s in attendance and the PAX thoroughly disclaimed away we went.
Warmararma:
Leave the bells and run to fire lane for Walking lunges, side shuffle right, side shuffle left, backwards run, run hard back to bells.
20 Two Handed Swings OYO
10 Snatched Each Arm
10 Racked Squat & Press Each Side
Drop the Bells on the corner and All you got to the Tennis Pavilion for 50 Triceps Dips. All you got back to bells – early finishers completed Alternating One Handed Swings until all pax were back at the bells.
Partner Up (bell size/speed do not matter) and head to lower lot for the main thang.
Rack em High right, Left and flapjack until we arrive at the Lot.
Spread out between the first and second Median for Partner Work
P1 Sprints to 2nd LightPole (100Yards) and Back
P2 Performs Exercise until P1 returns (Flapjack until Cumulative Total is Reached)
Exercises Performed:
Round 1: 100 Snatches
Round 2: 200 Cleans
Round 3: 300 Two Handed Swings
Between Rounds we performed 50 Flutters and 50 LBC to allow all to complete their exercises.
With 2 minutes left we headed back to the top lot with Bells Locked High – completed 20 IC Flutter Press – TIME CALLED
MoleSkin:
I was looking forward to my first Q at Skunkworks since being offered and accepting the Co Site Q last week (thanks Harley). The objective today was to create a high intensity workout with very little downtime allowing for maximum effort from the PAX. We stretched the legs with some longer runs (to the tennis pavilion) and pounded the pavement with plenty of 100+ yard sprints. Pretty simple workout, allowing for a ton of reps in a short period of time with little to no rest. The high rep count tested grip strength toward the later rounds. There were several folks flying out there on the sprints, from my own pain cave I witnessed WitchDoctor, Dollywood, Smokey, Header, Sanka and a few others on the bottom lot pushing the pace. Our two Respect status members of the pax Freedom and Destiny continue to crush it. No one was holding back on the top lot either with strong work being put in by all. If I missed any other feats of strength or impressive performances, please post up in the comments.
Thank you Harley for the opportunity to Co-Q this Site. Skunkworks has always been a favorite due to its mix of running and strength training. Even before owning a kettlebell, I remember enjoying the posts with a dumb bell. The accountability and push from the rest of the pax is what continues to make this site what it is. Lets keep up the intensity and continue making eachother stronger and faster.
Very much appreciate YoungLove Taking us out this morning.
Announcements:
1/09/2016 Joe Davis Memorial Resolution Run Link: https://joedavisrun.racesonline.com/
Please see weekly Email for Thanksgiving day A51 TurkeyBowl. Matthews SportsPlex