15 Pax showed up at Stonecrest confused about who was on Q. Little did they know, they were in store for the OG Q of The Maul with some new up his sleeve.
The Thang:
Mosey to the corner of the parking lot for a quick warm up.
20 SSH, 10 IW, 10 Windmills
Mosey to the top of the Murderhorn and AYG Sprint to the bottom.
IT PAYS TO BE SLOW
Based on the pax order of arrival at the bottom, they are given proportionate reps of exercies on the upcoming lap up and down the horn. Ie. Fast guys do 8 merkins at each light, a little less fast guys do 7, ……fastish pax do 2.
Same concept for the next round, this time with jump squats.
Same concept for the 3rd lap, substitute jump squats with burpees.
After everyone finishes, mosey to the back of the theater. Pax hold people’s chair until its time to Balls to Wall Walk w/ Verkins(new exercise) at each sidewalk crack #crowdpleaser. Once the hand stand walk is complete, hold peoples chair again. Plank walk back with a merkin at each crack.
Mosey over to hill near parking lot, break into two groups.
Group 1 lunge walks backwards up the hill, Group 2 holds plank, flapjack.
backwards bear crawl, six inches(with feet)
Front lunge walk, plank
front bear crawl, six inches
Run out the clock with some Mary led by LogJam, HeartBreaker, and No Show and a minute of elbow plank.
COT:
Dredd on Q at Da Vinci Saturday. Frehleys on Q at Stonehenge. Happy Hour on Thursday at Blackfinn Ballantyne 530 PM. BeerRun 3 Saturday 5.18, join the slack channel to learn all the details and to HC.
Moleskine:
It’s always nice to Q The Maul. It’s where YHC got to cut my teeth on learning how to Q. A couple of the pax(Mic Check, Frehleys, Market Timer, WingSpaceMan, and Strawberry) in attendence today have been posting at The Maul since it’s inception. The long standing friendships were evident by the pointed trash talk and bathroom humor.
In a couple of my last Qs, I’ve been trying to challenge all pax but make things more challenging for the guys who usually lead the pack. I did so by giving the guys who run faster, more reps. This backfired a little on me by the end where pax were openly conspiring to all finish at the same time once they picked up on my pattern. However, it must have worked at least a little bit because Mic Check, Teddy, and Happy Meal were still finishing first. Maybe they should get even more reps next time.
50 pax converged upon Da Vinci. With dozens of pax expected to post, most cars were parked in the Petsmart/Best Buy lot. Which is where we mosey for a quick disclaimer/warm up.
10 SSH
10 IW
Split up pax by their birthdays Jan-June goes with Wild Turkey. July-Dec goes with Mighty Mite. This is probably they way we should split large groups up in the future. It was quick and worked really well at breaking up a large group fairly evenly.
WT Q
Q1Since Mighty Mite didn’t plan much of a run, I figure I could add some mileage to the workout. My plan was to run from launch at Best Buy and head up Blakeney-Heath Rd to Playground for some traditional bootcamp exercises. What really happened was we ended up taking way to long to get up the hill and barely enough time for a bear crawl in the grass. We managed to squeeze in some ‘mericans, mountain climbers, shoulder taps and brief wall workout. Adding to the mayhem was a spill by Bucky who was tripped up by a recently plowed road sign. I didn’t hear too much complaining, but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
Q2From the Fountains of Suburban Soft Rock we went under the archway for a series of partner stair climbs. This was a much better experience format. The sets included partner-slap ‘mericans, sit-ups and burpees, 10, 20, 30, respectively. A bear crawl catch me if you can and finally a cumulative 200 squat circuit. The stairs helped air out the pax and keep everyone relatively together.
Do you want any commentary? Jokes? I’m not sure if you are doing a more rah-rah – go F3 or a more “who can believe Fire Hazard has friends” route?Seriously, that was a successful morning! Big crowd, lots of fun and good workout. Thanks for organizing!
MM Q
Mosey to Blakeney Playground for a Partner Murph. Pax one runs to fountain and back while Pax two performs exercises to get to the total(100 Pull Ups, 200 merkins, 300 squats). Both groups finished a little early, so the time was filled with mary and planking for the entirety of the Rocky Theme(more on that later). As 0730 approached, all pax returned to the Chick Fil A and ran out the clock with some burpees.
People always say that you love all of your children equally. But I definitely liked the first group of pax that completed the murph more than the second because they were much more complimentary of my 80s montage playlist. If I wasn’t already punishing the 2nd group with a murph, I would have punished them more. Billygoat and Escobar were particularly vociferous, claiming they would rather run than be motivated to improve by the great lineup of songs….which was
Hearts on Fire: Rocky IV
You’re the Best: Karate Kid
Be a Man: Mulan
Push it to the Limit: Scarface
Eye of the Tiger: Rocky III
Dangerzone: Top Gun
Gonna Fly Now: Rocky
For some reason, I had a hard time hearing War Eagle’s name and he had to repeat it several times. Weird.
After COT, we welcomed 4 new FNGs, which is more than we’ve had in a while(more on that later). Stormy(brought out by Haggis), Brexit, Bad Call(brought out by Fire Hazard), and Escort(Boitano). Great job EH-ing these new guys. Hopefully we’ll see them out in the gloom.
After the main even was completed, the pax entered the Chick Fil A for breakfast. I didn’t do an official count but it seemed like pretty much every pax that posted enjoyed some chicken(which is better than bagels) at CFA after the workout, it was PAXED in there. Additionally, several other pax who were nursing injuries were on hand to catch up with their friends. Because we blitzed the CFA, the line to order food was long, so I spent some time talking to the pax at all the tables, and that was probably my favorite part of the morning. I was part of several different conversations that broached a variety of topics; getting together to watch some March Madness later in the day, coaching kid’s sports, helping eachother with yard work, preparing for an upcoming race, getting excited about a neighborhood garage band concert that afternoon, planning an outing to a baseball game, or just catching up with an old friend. These conversations reinforced that F3 is having an impact with everyone in attendance. This is more than just a “workout cult” as a lot of people jokingly refer to it. The gloom has forged great friendships that have transcended the couple of hours we spend together in the morning. It would be great if we could have an FNG day where we bring out 20+ FNGs(and we should always keep trying for that) but for pax that have been in the gloom for several years, a good deal of their best male friends are already part of F3 Nation.
We must be swift as the coursing river
With all the force of a great typhoon
With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
MM
YHC started cooking up this beatdown during last week’s #tweetandmeat session. After losing our dear friend Foxhole(RIP) a few months ago, I was downright giddy to see 11 pax swinging iron on a Monday in SOBland. Kettlebells in the Stonecrest parking lot is great but it avoided the crown jewel of the AO, the Murderhorn. I eagerly offered to Q and spent all week looking forward to making the first weighted trip to the Murderhorn. Fast forward to 5:12 AM this morning, I am the only one sitting in the parking lot and afraid I will be carrying a sandbag up the Murderhorn by myself. A minute later Loogie and Purell joined me in the parking lot…better..but still not ideal. Thankfully several pax rolled in late and we had 8(even number!) who were given instruction to partner up, with one kettlebell, and one sandbag.
COP: Quick warm up, SSH, IW, LSS
Mosey to the top of the Murderhorn. Learn instruction for the main event. Partner one takes sandbag for a trip up and down the horn, stopping at each light and stopsign for 5 clean and front squats with the bag. Partner 2 stays at the top with the KB for an AMRAP of curls, presses, tricep extensions.
After each partner has a turn with the sandbag, weights are redistributed. Heavy sandbag to the group that finished first(70 lbs), 2nd heaviest bag to 2nd place finishers(60 lbs) and so on.
Next round: 10 sandbag squats at each light and stop sign. KB work at the top, squats, lunges, RDLs.
Redistribute weight, 3rd round. 5 presses for sandbaggers on the horn. LBCs, Flutters, and man maker merkins for KB work at the top.
Mosey back to launch. Burn out the rest of the time with 11s of KB swings and merkins. 10 swings 1 merkin, 9 swings 2 merkins, 8 swings 3 merkins……1 swing 10 merkins.
COT
Moleskine: YHC was thankful that it stopped raining by 0515 and that 7 others joined me in the gloom. #tweetandmeet is a real thing now.
Not much to say about the workout other than “Going down is a lot easier than going up”.
During the KB AMRAP there was a lot of chatter about daily offerings to the porcelain god and how it can make or break your posting for the day.
Old man Frehley’s is your Q for next week. Come see if all of his body parts are still working.
Announcements: Stay safe in the gloom. All pax should work on becoming more visible, especially at AOs that cover a lot of distance and go off campus. Trade in your black shirts for bright ones, wear reflective belts, light up straps, and headlamps.
FNG/Kotters day Convergence 3/30 at Da Vinci. Bring out any and all men that need F3.
At around 1700 on Monday evening, YHC was reminded of my Q the next morning by a well-timed Kirby slackbomb. My 70ish lb sandbag was still sitting in my trunk and the weather report called for rain.
Upon my arrival at the site, I pulled the sandbag out of my trunk and Kirby asked “need another sandbag?”. Yes.
10 pax converge to see the two sandbags, get a quick disclaimer, and off we go.
The Thang:
Indian Run with Sanbags all the way to the parking deck and up the ramps to the top.: The sandbags start at the end of the line and the pax with the sandbag sprints to the front. Once at the front, the sandbags are passed to the end of the line.
Mosey down the stairs. For the beginning of parking deck suicides. Run to the top of the 1st ramp, perform 5 burpees. Run back to the start, 1st 2 finisher owe 20 sandbag squats before starting their next round. Run up to the top of the 2nd ramp, perform 10 burpees, run back down to the start, 1st 2 finishers owe 20 sandbag squats before starting their next round………….all the way up the parking deck and perform 25 burpees.
Indian run with sandbags back down all the ramps to the parking lot next to the launch.
Break into even teams of 5 fast guys and 5 faster guys for a relay race. Faster guys get the heavy bag. Slow guys get the less heavy bag. Each pax completes a 100 yard sprint while the rest of the pax holds plank. Winning Team completes 14 burpees. Losing Team completes 15 burpees.
Mosey back to launch and complete 10 more burpees to give us an even 100 as we run out the clock
COT
Skin:
Between reminding me on slack and providing gear that I didn’t even ask for, Kirby is really stepping up as the new Q of Bagpipe.
Bagpipe is blessed to have a lot of different athletes of different speeds. YHC hoped to leave no man behind by giving the Larry Birds more reps and more weight as a prize for finishing first.
Somehow Cheddar ended up in the Slow Guys line. Probably the reason why they won.
If you enjoyed sandbag work, stop by the new Monday workout Genesis at the Blakeney AO. 515 launch. 45 minutes of bootcamp followed by a 15 minute stretch with the Blakovery Pax.
There are two Christmas parties coming up. Sign up now to save money.
YHC promised low mileage for this morning’s post and at 6:28 AM, there was concern that this detered several pax from posting. Luckily several joined in the last minute and we were on our way.
The Thang:
Mosey across Rea and AK to the Blakeney Shopping Center stairs near the yoga studio.
Quick COP
SSH X 20
IW X 20
Windmill X 20
Run up the stair case 13 times, perform 13 merkins at the top each time. Total: 169 merkins
2018-1776 = 242 Burpees
23 sets of 10 burpees and 1 set of 12 burpees
A little moseying and mary to break up the burpee barrage.
Mosey back to launch.
2 min of mary.
COT
Moleskine:
Uncle Leo led a birthday candle bash at the Maul 5 years ago for July 4th. American is 5 years older and 5 burpees more difficult.
The pax didn’t enjoy it. But we’ll do 243 next year.
When Tuck started da Vinci over a year ago he did so in the spirt of creativity. His latest Q recruiting technique of offering a pair of Mona Lisa socks is nothing short of genius #renaissance man. YHC needs some new socks so I got on the Q schedule. This is probably my 4th or 5th da Vinci Q but first backblast. #cobains
The Thang:
Mosey across AK to Best Buy parking lot for a quick dynamic warmup. High knees, Butt kickers, Side shuffle, karaoke, toy soldiers, lunge with twist.
Mosey across Rea Road to the play ground.
Burpee pullup ladder. 1 burpee 10 pull ups, 1 burpee 9 pullups, …..1burpee 1 pullup
100 lbcs sprinkled into ladder
Mosey to wall behind Target Loading Dock for peoples chair. 50 arm raises, 30 sec right foot up, 50 side raises, 30 left foot up, 50 front raises.
Mosey to the top of the hill next to the school. Find a lifting rock. Curls, overhead press, bent over rows, tricep extensions. 20, 25, 30 sets of each.
Mosey back to blakeny. 30 Rosalita on the corner of AK and Blakeny Heath to wait for six.
Continue mosey to parking lot in medical office park.
Crooked Ladder
Lunge walk with increasing jump squats up to 9.
Bear crawl with increasing merkins(x2) up to 18.
Run(or walk if you anymore) with increasing burpees up to 9.
Circle around the fountain for dips, incline merkins, and hip slappers. 20 and 30 sets.
Cross the street for some Mary to run out the time. Led by Teddy and PJ.
COT
Moleskine:
The majority(5) of the pax took part in a 10 min prerun to make the rest of the pax feel bad about themselves. Thanks.
Before the workout, Strawbeery correctly predicted the Merkin Bear Crawl Ladder. Apparently Heartbreaker is going to do it again on Thursday at Rebel Yell if anyone is hungry for more.
Not intended to be much running today, strava said we did about 2 miles.
With the Patriots and Tarheels being champions of their respective sports, YHC made a joke about how being crooked pays off before the crooked ladders.
During breakfast, Commish, Kid Rock, and YHC encouraged Escobar to sign up for an obstacle course race. You should too if you see him.
Announcements:
Brolympics at 6-8 next week at Community House Middle.
12 pax that weren’t running Joe Davis ended up running a 5k anyway. Please excuse spelling and grammatical errors, written from a phone.
The thang:
Mosey to the bull ring and circle up for a quick warm up
Ssh × 20
Iw × 15
MC × 15
Side lunge x 5
4 laps around the bull ring with a different called exercise for each of the parking lot entrances(20 give or take) along the lap.
1st lap: 2 burpees each
2nd lap: 10 squats each
3rd lap: 5 marlins each
4th lap: 20 lbs each
With the clock running out the pax moseyed to the fitness trail for some AMRAP pull ups and planking.
Mosey back to the launch with some lunge walks on the bridge. MT and YHC led some Mary to burn out the last 2 minutes on the clock.
Various tracking devices had us at about 3.15 miles.
Moleskin:
Wild Turkey and Paper Jam were both out early for separate pre runs. WT reportedly did a little less than 3 miles. PJ reported 15 miles. YHC is skeptical.
Let Luther completed the whole workout with a ruck on. He was among the leaders on several laps around the ring. Strong work!!
The form police were out in force. Several pax who weren’t even in attendance were called out.
Frasier was supportive of the six and ran with them for the first 3 laps but turned on the afterburners for the final lap and finished well before the rest of the pax.
Mic Check completed his pull ups on the high bar while YHC worked the the low bar. The sight was humorous.
Thank you for the Spanish lesson, Escobar.
YHC was inspired to run a little bit from WT’s lifeguard tweet yesterday. The Friday twitter campaign is always a fun part of the week.
Announcements: Stonehenge closed next week for convergence at DaVinci. 6:30 AM at Blakeney Chick Fil A. Mic Check and Tuck on Q.
Tolkien is on the hook for all his Joe Davis Burpees before he can go to coffeeteria next week. Should be fun to watch.
Thanks to Tolkien and WT for the opportunity to Q
Last Friday night General, One-Niner, and YHC rucked around the greenway for the last Black Diamond. General couldn’t go get a beer so One-Niner had no choice to hand the baton to Mighty Mite.
Elon Park is one of the better AOs in the region and closest to my house so we met at 0500 and got after it.
THE THANG
Warm Up 12 SSH, 12 IW, 12 Windmills
Each pax picks up two bricks and gets instruction:
1 mile run to and back from the clubhouse in the woods with bricks
100 pullups on the playground(no bricks)
200 man maker merkins with bricks
300 squats with bricks
400 lbcs with bricks
1 mile run to and back from the clubhouse in the woods with bricks
MOLESKINE
Black Diamond is supposed to be a more difficult than average workout and I think we accomplished that. None of the pax finished the 2nd mile and only a few were able to finish the reps and get a short run in at the end. Most of the mumblechatter was complaining about the workout. Adding brick man-makers in the merkins was the biggest #crowdpleaser.
In the spirit of fostering leadership amongst the pax, the next Q was given to Fallout. Stay tuned for his decision on the next time and location.
Announcements:
YHC to Q Stonehenge this Saturday. We’re going to do a lot of 30 sets. DaVinci is converging with with Stonehenge. If you’re not out running in the woods for Ragnar, come for the birthday celebration. Even try to come by if you have enough time between Ragnar legs.
The Brave and Fight Club both closed on 10/7.
Pray for all those in harm’s way from Hurricane Matthew
10 Pax showed up in the “gloom” and gained some weight.
Quick Warm COP and Disclaimer in the parking lot:
20 SSH
20 IW
21 Mountain Climbers(Q Counting Fail)
10 Side Lunges
Pax become acquainted with a pair of bricks they’ll be carrying the remainder of the hour.
Edward Brickhands Mile:
Pax run the half mile from the launch point to the gazebo in the woods, pausing for 5 squats with bricks above their head at each light post(~15 light posts)
One Niner led the pax in fluttah kicks as we waited for the 6.
Run the half mile back to the launch point substituting 10 brick curls at each light post. FH led the pax in some mary waiting for the six.
Mosey to the center of the soccer field for some Jack Webb
1 merkin 4 presses, 2 merkins 8 presses,………11 merkins 44 presses.
Rosalita X 30
Mosey to the side of soccer field and lunge walk the entire width a brick twist with each step.
Bear crawl across half of the field *
Pax lineup in plank. End pax does Over/Unders with bricks. We traversed 2 fields and everyone got 5-6 turns making their way through the line.
Mosey up to the school(with a crawl under the trailers) for some people’s chair work.
30, 40, and 50 sets of curls and over head press.
20, 25, and 30 sets of front raises and side raises.
Back to start for 10 man maker merkins.
COT
Moleskine
YHC was unsure of how many bricks would be needed with numbers of this fluctuating. 44 bricks aren’t very expensive but still a little over zealous. It sounds like numbers were down across all of SOBland so no offense taken.
The brick weighted bear crawls were planned for a specific pax who wasn’t present today. Maybe next time.
We did a lot of shoulder work today.
Thank you to Pebble for providing the opportunity to lead. It was fun to finally Q a workout at this AO without KBs.
Announcements:
Whetstone mentorship program is starting to match folks. Still a chance to sign up.
HDHH at Brazwells Ballantyne tonight at 7:30.
Midsummer’s Eve Run at 7:00 at Broken Egg Cafe(next to Brazwells)
Service Project at Anne Springs Greenway at 9? on Saturday. Picnic to follow.