18 tough guys from South Charlotte and beyond entered the friendly confines of Elizabeth Lane Elementary armed with enough Bells to put cracks in the one of the roughest parking lots in area51. Fortunately for the parking lot, we wouldn’t be putting the bells down much today. Plenty of sweat this morning thanks to the surprisingly warmer temps. The pax was properly disclaimed and we launched into the Warmup.
SSH x20
20 two handed swings OYO
Low Slow 3 count Squats x 15 IC
Merkins on your Bell x15 IC
Cleans x 10 Each Arm OYO
Snatches x 10 Each Arm OYO
The Main thing went down like this. After a few comments about needing to pass out headphones so the Pax can hear the tunes, the volume was adjusted and away we went.
4x4x4’s (Complete 4 reps each arm of the 4 Called exercises for 4 Rounds)
Round 1
Single Arm Swing
Cleans
Rack Squat
Snatch
(50 LBC once done)
Round 2
Single Arm Swing
High Pull
Reverse Lunge w/bell in Rack
Shoulder Press
(50 Merkin when done)
Round 3
Single Arm Swing
Single Leg Dead Lift
Lawnmowers
Rack Squat shoulder Press
(25 Merkin, 25 LBC when done)
Partner Up w/like Bells for Doubles: 5 Rounds of Each Exercise – Partner 1 on Bells, Partner 2 maintains static hold
Double Swings x5 (partner 2 Holds Low Squat)
Double Cleans x5 (partners 2 Holds 6 Inch Plank)
Double Alternating Should Press (partner 2 holds feet up 6 inches)
Moleskin: it was a great day to keep the bells in motion and get a good sweat out this morning. The usual Meatheads were in attendance and getting after it – lots of heavy bells being moved around the circle. Radar made a cameo and we even had Simba working out in his DasBoot. Turkey Leg is becoming a Meathead staple and getting in the double down pre-run (sorry I was there for the pre-run this morning brother). There was plenty of chatter before the start and during the warmup, but that quickly went away once the heavy lifting began. Strong effort by all in attendance as usual. Hopefully everyone got their money’s worth today. Always enjoy leading Meathead, thanks guys.
Thank you Simba for the takeout
Announcements: Joe Davis Run See link for Signup and PreBlast: http://f3nation.com/2015/10/28/2016-joe-davis-memorial-resolution-run-pre-blast/
Turkey Bowl – Thanksgiving Morning – Grudgematch of Type of AO (Running, Bootcamp, Gear) more details to follow
Bring back Kevlar? There was chatter in COT about brining it back. Bulldog is looking for interest, anyone interested in taking on co-site Q or Q hit him up.
11 Men found the Covenant Day Campus dry(ish) and cool on this dark dank morning. Turned out to be perfect conditions to punch the clock and get after it for 45 minutes. So that’s what we did.
Warm Up:
SSH x20 IC
20 Two Handed Swings OYO
IW x20 IC
10 Rack Squat with Press Each Side
10 Cleans Each Side
10 Snatch Each Side
Rack-em and mosey to the Fire Lane. Drop your Bells and Run a lap around the Perimeter (approx 1k).
Merkins while we wait
Partner Up with similar bells.
Crusher Combo – P1 performs 10 merkins on the Bell, P2 performs 10 T-Bag Squats FlapJack, 9 Merk, 9 T-Bag, continue to 1.
Sprints and Doubles
P1 Sprints to Rock and Back (Approx 100 yards) P2 Completes Double Bell exercise + 10 Merkins
5 Reps x 3 Rounds Each – with Plankarama Mixed in between called exercise
Exercises were as follows:
Double Swings
Double Alternating Shoulder Press
Double Rack Squat (crowd Pleaser)
Double Cleans
Double High Pull
Time did not allow for mary – finished right at 6:15
Moleskin – The weatherman must have frightened off some of the pax today as we had relatively low numbers at Skunkworks. The goal of the morning was to get in plenty of heavy lifting while keeping the pace up. Initial plan was to use the field for the sprints, but audibled for the fire lane due to smaller crowd – worked out pretty well with only limited dodge & weave during the out and back sprints. There were a few grumbles during the warm-up when we went from Squat Press to Clean to Snatch, but everyone pushed through as we have come to expect from this group. Nearly had to call search and rescue during the perimeter loop as Destiny’s whereabouts were in question. Turns out the savvy veteran took an alternate route and was waiting on the pax at the bells. The pax seemed very comfortable during the double bell sequence this morning – a testament to the effort that has been put in over the last few months. Time definitely flies when you’re having fun as the clock struck 6:15 before we could begin Mary. Your Car Seats are thankful we stayed dry this morning.
Announcement: Joe Davis Run 1/9/16 (5k and 10K options) Discount runs until 10/31
https://joedavisrun.racesonline.com/register
Grateful for Stone Cold taking us out this morning and for the opportunity to lead the men of Skunkworks.
Under a clear sky and cool temps – 13 beasts showed up at ELE to swing their way to mad gains. Apparently, several were still trying to cure thier BRR Hangover, with 3 Pax deciding to knock out 3 miles as a hair of the dog prior to the KB beatdown.
As the clock struck 5:30 it was time to get started…but wait I can’t figure out my sons bluetooth speaker. Soul Glow to the rescue as the rest of the pax were disclaimed we had glowing Tunes and could officially begin the workout.
Warmup:
SSH x 20 IC
20 2 Handed Swings OYO
Diamond merkin on Bell x 10 IC
20 Right Handed Swings OYO
Stagger Merkin Left Hand on Bell x 10 IC
20 Left Handed Swings OYO
Stagger Merkin Right Hand on Bell x 10 IC
Imperial Walker x 20 IC
Main Thang: Single Arm Stacked Ladder/or Pyramid
2 One Handed Swings, 2 Snatches, 2 Cleans, 2 Shoulder Press
Switch Hands and complete same reps and exercises
Ladder up with same exercises to 4, 6, 8, 10 then back down 8, 6, 4, 2
25 LBCS for early Finishers
Second Main Thang: Two handed Ladder
2 – 2 Handed Swings, 2 Goblet Squats, 2 Upright Rows, 2 Good Mornings
Ladder Up with same Exercises to 4, 6, 8, 10 then back down 8, 6, 4, 2
25 LBCs for those that finish early
Plankarama with several variations and extended holds in each
-For the numbers guys- that’s 100 single arm swings, 100 snatches, 100 Cleans, 100 Shoulderpress – 50 two handed swings, 50 goblet squats, 50 Highpulls, and 50 Goodmornings
TIME is CAllED.
Moleskin:
YHC saw a late tweet from TR about a #MeatRun prior to the KB’s and took the bait. Last time I tried to market the pre-kb run at Meathead I ended up running solo #poormarketing #targetmarket? – so I was trying to keep by BRR teammate from sad clowning along 51. Good to have Horsehead join us for a healthy 5k this morning. Likely keep that as an option for anyone wanting to stretch the legs a bit before lifting.
Having been away from the Bells for a month and half – there would be no doubles this morning- #nexttime. Plan was to keep it simple with high reps of meat and potatoes in the form of the ladder (or pyramid) of pain. Pretty sure it worked out, not a lot of chatter from around the circle as everyone was bringing it. Meathead pax have been getting stronger and everyone in attendance had their game face on. I was totally smoked by the time we hit 10 reps and had to take a few breathers along the way. Going to take a few weeks to get the strength back.
Witch doctor was slaying it this morning, heading up and down the ladders with efficiency – obviously he has been posting a lot lately. Bananas, Brown and Chanel were wielding some heavy metal on the other side of the circle as is their MO #gains. Hightide, Soul Glow, TR and Horsehead fresh off the BRR were back to Bells and didn’t skip a beat. Bulldog and Arena were showing no signs of fatigue as they were early finishers all morning. Gullah and Destiny had several bells between the two of them as they opted for some variety during the high reps. Better to finish a rep with good form at a lighter weight than not at all. YHC certainly employed the same strategy this morning.
Enjoyed the opportunity to lead the great men of MeatHead. Great way to start the day and one that we’ll feel all day long.
Announcements:
Starting a new book this friday at Compass
New Anson County workout launches on Oct 3rd. Would like to have some A51 Men help launch.
When I rolled into the parking lot a little early to set up, Witch Doctor was already putting in some work at the playground. Great way to deal with a little insomnia if you ask me. When the bell tolled we were a strong group of six (many of the regulars Are obviously cramming for BRR). Properly disclaimed with the free pandora playing we were on our way.
Warm up – SSHx20 ic, IWx20 ic, 20 two handed swings, diamond bell merkins x10 ic, 10 cleans each arm, stagger rt merkin on bell x 10ic, 10 squat press each side, stagger left merkin on bell x10 ic, 10 snatch each arm.
The Thang- partner up w like bells
Timer is two 10lb plate hair burners/farmer carry combo
p1 does hairburner while p2 farmer Carries both bells to cone (25 yards) switch at cone while everyone else performs called exercise
Called exercises were as follows:
goblet squat
snatch
Single arm swing
Cleans
Teabag squats
Single arm shoulder press
Hand release merkins
Lawn mowers
Wide arm merkin
Good morning
Close grip merkin
double bell 5×5 (complete 5 rounds of 5 reps each)
Swings
Rack squat
Cleans
quick break with lbcs x25 ic
High pull
50 2-handed swings
Flutter w press x 26ish
Moleskine: what we lacked in numbers this morning we more than made up for in badda$$ery. It was constant movement and lots of work today at meathead. Sweat was poring during the single bell sets and continued to intensify during the doubles. There seemed to be a few nagging injuries amongst the pax but you wouldn’t know it by the effort everyone put in. hacker was either having trouble with depth perception or was getting after it on the hairburner, constantly overshooting the finish line. Bulldog displayed some high level English math at the start of doubles- commenting that they were twice as hard as the singles. He was absolutely right- but no pain no gain. Despite a sore back for Brown and a re-entry from vacation for Gullah they were both crushing it as usual. The bulldog and witch doctor duo even put in an extra set during the double high pull, strong work gents.
Always a pleasure to lead at meathead.
Announcements:
Saturday gladiator games down south
Thursday ghost runner 730 abc arbo
The cool air arrived just in time for 11 Meatheads to convene on the ELE Parking Lot for a Kettlebell beatdown. As last night’s twitter message implied, there would be a focus on Endurance and Strength this morning.
This is how it went down:
Warmarama – as follows.
SSH x 20 IC
20 Two Handed Swings OYO
Merkins on your Bell x 10 IC
10 Cleans each Arm OYO
WideArm Merkins x15 IC
10 Snatches each Arm OYO
Endurance Sets: 2 Minutes ON – 30 Seconds off (2 SETS EACH with the exception of Squat/deadlift)
Alternating 1 Arm Swings
Cleans
Snatches
Goblet Squat (or Teabag squats)
Deadlift
Strength Sets: (2 Sets) Partner up w/similar bell
P1 on the Bells – P2 Corework x 25 as the timer
P1 Double Swings – P2 Ole School Situps x25
P1 Double Cleans – P2 Dolly x25
P1 Double Shoulder Press – P2 LBCs x25
P1 Double Rack Squat – P2 Flutter x25
P1 Double High Pull – P2 Bicycle x25
20 Swings On Your own to finish up the last 30 seconds.
Namarama – No announcements
Moleskin:
YHC arrived early to set up an IPAD for the Tabata and to get the tunes ready with the Iphone and cheap glow in the dark speaker. As the pax rolled in so did a horrendous odor that appeared to be coming from the woods behind the parking lot. Liberace and I were nearly overcome by the odor with every gust of wind. Not confirmed, but best guess is that there is a rotting carcass in the woods. But alas, the PAX was not detered from putting in maximum effort this morning. Tons of chatter this morning during the tabata. My musical selection (Foo Fighter Radio and STP Radio on Pandora) brought an onslaught of comments from the pax. In my defense, they usually play much more up-tempo tunes on these two channels. Despite the music being slow and depressing at times, the pax continued to mow through the 2 minute tabata with reckless abandon. Hacker (donning full on blacksmith welding gloves) even spiked his bell at one point during the alternating single handed swing tabata. Went gloveless for the remainder, and the pax standing next to him were much safer as a result. The chatter came to a screeching halt when the double bell work began. If you weren’t slinging two bells, you were dealing with loose gravel in your shoulder blades grinding out the core work. The three headed monster of TR, Brown and Chanel were throwing heavy weights around all morning long. Glad to have everyone out there this morning giving it all you got. Hopefully everyone in attendance had a great time out there, if you missed it – you missed it. Always an honor and a privilage to lead at Meathead.
20 men decided it would be in their best interest to swing a little iron and run some hills rather than to stay asleep an extra hour. It was the right choice!
The pax was disclaimed and off we went as the banged-up timex ironman watch struck 5:30.
Here’s what we did in the allotted 45 minutes.
20 Merkins on your Bell
Circle up in the Lot For COP
SSHx20 IC – 20 swings OYO
IW x20 IC – 10 Cleans Each Arm
Merkinsx20 IC – 10 Snatches Each Arm
Wide Arm Merkins x15 IC
Rack em and mosey to lower lot. Right Arm UP – Left Arm Up flatpjack along the way to Grassy Knoll
Turn and Face the hill for a Hill 10x20x30 Ladder consisting of the following exercises:
Hill Ladder: 10x20x30
Grab Some Hill for a Swing Ladder
10 swings – Run the hill
20 swings – Run the Hill
30 Swings – Run the hill
Same with Goblet Squat
Same with Two Handed Press
Plankarama between sets to allow the pax to finish. Some LBC’s thrown in for good measure.
Stay where you are and partner up with someone with Like Bell for Double Bell Work.
P1 on the Bells
P2 20 hand release Merkins will be the timer (audibled to regular merkins for exercises 2 and 3)
Exercises Performed: By 3 round Each
Double Clean- (Did a lap around the parking lot before the Snatches to shake out the dead forearms)
Double Snatch
Double Swing
Rack em and mosey back to lot for Namarama
Announcements – Due to construction Kevlar will converge with Joust at Charlotte Christian Beginning this week. Skunkworks will continue to meet at Covenant Day, but in a different parking lot- see twitter for updates.
Thank you Sussudio for taking us out this morning. Your words were spot on.
Moleskine: Spring conditions such as they were this morning are simply tough to beat. Why would anyone workout inside? A great group of men were ready to go at 5:30, so thats just what we did. Jumped right in with 20 merkins on your bells to the blood flowing and the lactic acid built up. Not a ton of chatter out there this morning, seemed as though it was business as usual at Skunkworks with everyone rolling up thier sleeves and putting in work. Brown even removed his sleeves at some point during the warm up. For those who were experiencing double bell exercises for the first time, they suck the life out of you after a few reps and require full commitment. Worth it in the end though, they will make your single bell feel so much lighter. From what I could tell everyone was pushing themselves pretty hard on the hill runs and bell work. Great encouragement out there this morning as well. Hope everyone got thier moneys worth.
12 of South Charlotte’s iron slingers descended upon the friendly confines of Elizabeth Lane Elementary for their weekly helping of MeatHead. Lots of bells and a few new faces in the crowd for today’s beat down. With FooFighter Pandora Radio playing from the glow in the dark speaker I borrowed from my 2.0 – we got started when the clock struck 5:30. Quick disclaimer and away we went.
Warm Up:
SSHx20 – 20 two handed swings OYO
IW x20 – 10 Cleans Each Arm
Stagger Merkin Rt on Bell x10 – 10 Snatches Each Arm
Stagger Merkin Lft on Bell x10 – 10 Shoulder presses Each Arm
The main Event: 50/20Rule (merkins or LBC were the recovery)
Goblet Squat x50/20 merkins
2 handed Swing x50 / 20 merkins
Deadlift x50/20 merkins
1 handed alternating Swings x 50 total /20 merkins
Teabag Squat x50/20 merkins
Extra Round of Merkins for those finishing Early
Cleans x 50 total /20LBC
Snatch x 50 total /20LBC
One Arm Shoulder Press x 50 total / 20LBC
Extra round of LBC’s for those finishing Early
Partner UP Like Bells – Head to Pull UP BARS (sorry about the mud)
P1 – 10 Pull Ups 10 Knees to Elbows – P2 Double Swing X 2 Rounds
P1 – 10 Chin Ups 10 Knees to Elbows – P2 Double High Pull X 1
30 Swings rounded us out at exactly 6:15.
Announcements:
F3 Golf – sign up (MeatHead is sponsoring a hole and can use some assistance – see Brown or HighTide for details)
Donations for Zip – see email for link and details
Ray Charles took us out with a reminder of what’s most important.
Moleskin:
Great group out there this morning with nearly perfect weather. If you want to get stronger – come to meathead or any of the other gear workouts w/in Area51, they flat out work. The goal of today’s workout was to create constant movement with little to no rest. This should provide great training for the Kettlebell Pentathalon which will likely resurface in a few weeks. Anyone who has completed the pentathalon in recent weeks knows you need to increase strength and endurance in order to see significant gains over your first round numbers. We front loaded the leg work which was very evident by the time we were launching into snatches and single arm presses. I heard a few folks remark that they didn’t have a lot of leg drive left by this point in the workout. Not a ton of chatter from my vantage point outside of a lot of heavy breathing. Everyone was getting after it this morning and as always it was a pleasure to lead at Meathead. If you’re not sore yet – you will be by tomorrow (the deadlifts will make sure of that).
A Solid Pax of 21 gathered in the lot totting Bells of various shapes and sizes. When the clock struck 5:30 they were disclaimed and got down to business. Circle up in Parking Lot for Warm Up. Tight circle for COP was an attempt to avoid further damage to the soggy grounds and to keep the PAX Dry. The later was foiled when the sky opened up during the Chest Press.
SSHx20 – 20 swings OYO
Imperial Walker x20 – 10 Cleans Each Arm
Merkinsx20 – 10 Snatches Each Arm
Wide Arm Merkins x15
Partner up with like size bells. Catch me if you can farmer carry to benches with 5 Diamond Merkin chaser (TR took us off-road to cut the corner and to add some danger)
Doubles: P1 runs to top road and back (approx. 200yds) P2 Performs Double Bell Exercise (Flapjack) x 3 Rounds
(Audible to shorten run to 100 Yards and go down to 2 Rounds after the Double Swings)
Various plank and Mary to wait on the six (Plankarama, leg hold, lbcs)
Double Exercises Performed
Double Bell Swing
Double Bell Rack squat
Double Bell High pull
Double Bell Chest press
Double Bell Shoulder Press (seesaw)
Singles- P1 does exercise on bench X25 Reps P2 is on the bell – 100 Bell reps combined
Rd1 snatch (step upsx25) _Flapjack to 100 Snatch combined
Rd2 teabag (derkinsx25) audible to 50 combined Teabags
Back to parking lot Farmer Carry (with 5 diamond merkin chaser)
1 minute over (apologies)
Namarama (possible name change for Clippie due to a failed attempt to rename himself Mountain Boy) – New name still pending – although Duggars appear to be the early favorite.
Announcements-
Sign up for Golf if you can make it
Moleskine.
It was a reasonably warm morning with a minute chance of rain, seemed a perfect day for doubles with some wooden bench work mixed in. Lucky for our LIFO HighTide, our warmup began right in the parking lot as he rolled in somewhere between SSH and Merkins. Plan today was to get warmed up properly – thanks to swings, cleans and snatches then roll right into double bell work. Nothing makes your current bell feel lighter than working out with two bells. Had to audible several times along the way this morning, so thanks for sticking with me. The P1 run was too long for P2 to be doing doubles, so we shortened that and reduced the rounds from 3 to 2 in order to get through the majority of the weinke. The sky opened up just in time for the double chest press – nothing like getting a face full of water while pressing kettlebells precariously above your face. At one point, someone asked if anyone had ever drown while participating in F3. Jury is out on that, but the rain did not stop the pax from wielding some heavy metal. In light of the slippery conditions, we opted for step ups in place of jump ups on the wooden benches. Maybe next time. Glad to have Hairband back from IR. Shout out to Drop Thrill and Freedom who were both getting after it this morning and for Squid for consistently posting just weeks after his first post.
Hope everyone enjoyed themselves out there this morning and thanks again for the opportunity to Q Skunkworks (the site that has something for everyone).
There were several cars in the ELE lot 5 minutes prior to MeatHead Launch. Apparently, the twitter blitz brought the pax out despite the near record low temps forecasted. A few more arrived and all 8 of us exited the warmth of our respective vehicles at exactly 5:30am. With the heavily layered Pax ready to get moving and iPhone playing Beastie Boys Pandora through a winter hat, here’s how it went down.
Warmarama – SSH x20 IC, 20 Swings OYO, IW x20 IC, Stagger Merkin Rt Hand on Bell x 10 IC, Flapjack
The Thang:
Multi-Movement Ladders with Two Handed Swing Chasers (2-4-6-4-2) -Complete 2 reps of the called exercise, then 2 swings, 4 reps, 4 swings…etc
Excercises Called:
Single Hand Racked Squat to Shoulder Press / Swing (Complete ladder then switch arms)
One hand Swing to High Pull / Swing (Complete ladder then switch arms)
Goblet Squat to 2 Hand Press / Swing
One hand Swing to Clean / Swing (Complete ladder then switch arms)
Teabag to Upright row / Swing
One Hand Swing to Snatch / Swing (Complete ladder then switch arms)
Partner Up for Double Bells: 3 Rounds of 5 Double Bell Swings, 3 Rounds of 10 Double Bell Chest Presses, while Partner 2 does leg lift. Lawn Mower x10 Each arm – Crusher curls by 10. The End.
Moleskine: Despite the cooler than optimal temps for a KB beatdown, the Pax brought it this morning with no excuses or complaints…well maybe there were a few complaints about cold toes and fingers, but otherwise it was business as usual. The Winter attire of the Meathead pax never disappoints. Nobody went sleeveless today – in fact Brown looked ready for the Iditarod with his excellent choice of animal pelted lids. Les Mis brought out the steel toed hiking boots (not a bad choice given the 0.0 format), and StoneCold kept nice and toasty with the full face mask. The only apparel failure of the morning came from my winter hat adorned iPhone which gave out about 15 minutes in. We didn’t skip a beat though as Brown quickly swapped out with his phone to continue the classy tunes. While there was some confusion on the outset regarding the Swing Chaser during the ladder, things appeared ironed out by round two. Grip is always a question mark when the winter gloves are wielding heaviy iron, but there no drops today. Thanks to Brown and HighTide for the opportunity to lead MeatHead and to the very Brave Pax for not letting me swing alone. We continue to pray for and lift up our brothers and thier families dealing with loss, injuries, and sickness.
Announcements: BRR, MudRun and F3Golf signups see Weekly email and website for dets.
9 men gathered at ELE for the weekly dose of pain and gain known as Olympus. Sure it was cold, but the beastie boys radio courtesy of pandora and a heaping helping of iron warmed things up quickly. Here’s how it went down.
COP – SSH x 25 – 20 swings, IW x 20 – 30 swings, Diamond Merkin x 15 – 40 swings, Wide Arm Merkin x 20 – 50 Swings
Partner up with Like Bells for Catch me Farmer Carry to end of Lower lot with 5 Hand Release Merkins chaser
Plank – then came the 100s
Partner 1 runs to End of lot and back Partner 2 completes kb exercise (Flapjack)
100 Total Snatches
100 total goblet squats
100 total Overhead Presses
100 Crusher Curls
Various plank and core work sprinkled in between rounds
Rack em and Mosey to Playground for Back and Core Work
P1 – 10 Pullup and 10 knees to Elbows
P2 – Upright Row x10 Lawnmowers x10 Each arm
RepeatO with same exercises.
Mary – flutter w press x 20 Russian twist w bell x 10
Two handed swings for the last minute. End
molskin: seeing the forecast for cooler temps, yhc wanted to throw some running at the pax to keep the engine warmed for the full hour. Byron was kind enough to show our fng and site fng proper form for the Kb exercises we performed and everyone in attendance was better for it. Thanks brother. It was a smoker out there this morning, the usuals were going heavy and getting after it. Fng Opie had a strong first post and was asking about week day options afterwards. Glad to have you out here. Squid posted at the rock last week w yhc on Q as an fng and mixed it up with bells this morning. Variety is the spice of life. The pandora station mixed it up w some vanilla Ice and Biz Markee bringing back some fond memories from the pax. If was a pleasure to lead and suffer alongside the pax at Olympus.
We continue to keep our f3 brothers and their families in our prayers.
Announcements:
f3 golf sign up is live
Mud run and brr sign ups