15 farmers plowed the fields of Stonecrest shopping center. We prepared the ground, and some of us almost dropped seeds prematurely. In the end though; all of us felt like the whipped cream icing on top of a Strawberry Shortcake.
What we did:
Mosey to the far end down in front of Target and circle up. Disclaimer was given and we began.
– SSH X 20
– IW X 20
Enough with the pleasantries – let’s get really started.
All Pax will run up the parking rows stopping at the top for 5 merkins and then back down to the bottom for 10 LBC. Goal is to push yourself as hard as you can knowing that this exercise will be more of a marathon than a sprint. Not sure if we will finish on time. However, all of us did in less than 30 minutes. After completion, instructions given for 50 additional merkins and 100 LBC.
Brisket led Protractor and Rosalita until we all finished.
Mosey to the theatre for People’s Chair
– Arms out front and take turns raising right foot then left for silent 10 count.
– Air presses: 50 regular; 50 with right foot raised; 50 with left foot raised.
Mosey for 8 minutes of Mary….but wait. Loogie and Brisket remind me that there is a very nicely mowed hill waiting for us so….
Triple Nickel – 5 LBC at top; 5 LBC at bottom; 5 times up and down.
Mary: Heels to Heaven X 20; Flutter X 20; Freddy Mercury X 20
DONE!
Moleskin:
– Kudos for the best insult from Crab Cake for my ‘well thought out plan’ of running back and forth – might not have been bells and whistles but it turned out quite effective.
– Beaker is fast. That’s about all there needs to be said. He left all of us. Well; Brisket was hot on his heels. But those two just toyed with us it seemed.
– Wingman coined it best in describing Heartbreaker. He’s like a locomotive. Starts slow, and speeds up to an unstoppable force. He passed me 1/3 of the way in and almost chased down Brisket.
– Brisket led the slowest Rosalita I’ve ever experienced. I felt quite dirty after that one.
– I don’t think he and Loogie made many friends in reminding me of that nice perfect hill to run up.
– Kudos for Tuck for the original idea of the zig zags in the parking lanes.
– I didn’t know if we would finish the zig zags, but we all did in less than 30 minutes. That’s outstanding and we all pushed hard the entire time. No one got too far behind (unless your vantage point was Beaker because he smoked us all).
– Thanks for letting me lead and take us out. F3 means so much to me because of the men that support each other when we need it most. YHC has had some personal trials befall me recently, and the amount of fellow Pax reaching out and praying for me has been nothing short of humbling. I can only thank them and F3 and hope to be able to pay it forward to someone else experiencing pain.
Announcements:
– Convergence at The Arsenal this Saturday. Stonehenge and daVinci closed. Start at 6am for a 15 minute obstacle course, and workout begins at 6:30am.
– F3 Dads at the Charlotte Knights – May 14th. Signup and pay by April 28th. This will sell out so make plans and sign up know.
– F3 Camp tweeted out and pre-blast on the website. If you never have done it before YHC HIGHLY recommends it. F3 has the entire Camp Thunderbird on the shores of Lake Wylie at our disposal. It is a blast! Held mid-August (12th – 14th I believe). Additional information forthcoming.
13 of us were going to undress and take on the gents of Devil’s Turn up the MurderHorn; but we thought better of it and kept the chaos to a minimum. Instead we put down 3.5 miles which is a win for all of us larger guys.
The fully dressed thang:
Mosey really, really far away and circle up. Disclaimer given.
– SSH x 20
– Sumo Celebrations (that’s a new name for what we did. I would describe it publically, but Cheese Curd wouldn’t appreciate that)
– ATMs for 1 round
Mosey down MurderHorn quickly to try and catch DT crew.
Sprint up as fast as you can to try and challenge some of their times on Strava (see Wing Man and his tech magic for your split time).
Leave area before passing out. Mosey down Elm to Ballantyne Trace Ct. Mosey to BC Parkway. Turn back and group up at Forum Ave.
11s from Forum to Elm. Merkins at bottom and Squats at top.
Mosey to St. Matts. Circle around with 10…no 5 merkins (thanks to Van Pelt) at each speed hump.
Kick it back to cars arriving a little after 6:15am. COT
Partially dressed Moleskin:
– YHC dreamed of sprinting the entire way up the MurderHorn. That was a dream. The Horn won this round.
– Felt like an ‘On Wisconsin’ reunion. Only missing Iron Horse; but had the tri-fecta of Heartbreaker, Bucky, and Cheese Curd in attendance.
– Speaking of Cheese Curd – it’s fun to have a veteran mubblechatter (that’s a word in F3 speak) post. Area 51 has so many good ones. Keeps the atmosphere lighter.
– Mr. Miyagi is fast. Lapped me on the 11s before I even gave up (not a good post for the Q).
– Enjoyed the company of the pax today…really good crew of people. Not that I don’t ever enjoy the pax; maybe just felt more emotional after almost dying at The Horn.
– Thanks as always for allowing me to lead you fine men.
Fully naked announcements:
– Ann Springs Greenway – some SOBs are getting together this weekend or something to that effect.
– Mud Run – get 4 men together soonest and start running in quicksand to train.
– Ghost Runner is starting back
7 Pax were teased by a truck bed of firewood in the coldest week of the year. They thought YHC might make a fire; and we sing songs and tell spooky stories about nightmarish places like “The MurderHorn” or “The North Face” or “Ben Nevis” or “Black Diamond”. Unfortunately for them, YHC didn’t bring a lighter so we had to try it the Boy Scout way with Fire by Friction. We all got warm; but the wood didn’t. Same results so there’s more than one way to skin a cat. …Or stay warm while working out in the cold gloom.
Here’s what we did…
Warm Up:
– Hillbillies x 10 (This exercise is just too funny not to do ever so often)
– Mtn Climber x 15
Run out of shopping center at Chick-Fil-A and @ outside sidewalk of S/C and back to cars (~ 1 Mile). Stop a few times and plank with called exercises to wait for the 6.
Plank and take turns overhead press my new toy x 10 while wait for 6.
Watch Loogie put us all in our place by showing his man strength and pressing the 8 foot 4×6 one handed. ONE HANDED MEN!
Stacks: Get in teams of “X”. …OK, weinke change because we cannot have teams with only 7. This is where the workout turned a tad clunky (sorry fellas; sometimes it looks so good on paper but that’s why our beloved Panthers aren’t Super Bowl Champs).
– Grab 15 pieces of firewood. Mosey to front of Theatre. While one Pax runs the length of the lot and drops off one piece of wood into a pyramid stack; remaining Pax do called exercises: Merkins, Carolina Dry Docks, LBC, Heels to Heaven; etc. etc.
– After half way YHC felt this was a boring exercise and a failure with no teams for competition so we started grabbing multiple pieces of wood to complete the exercise much quicker.
– Grab stacked wood and back to cars.
Al Gore’s grip strength: Al Gore position. Hold 2 pieces of firewood at very end.
– Straighten left arm in front and slowly raise up halfway and hold for X sec. Then right arm.
– Straighten both arms on side and slowly raise up halfway and then hold for X sec.
– YHC’s back was giving out so let’s continue grip strength work while Peoples Chair.
– Exercises while Ppl Chair: Arm raises in front and side x 20
Lunge Walk length of Theatre and back while passing wood between legs (That doesn’t read well)
Firewood Mary:
– Pax single file facing same way and Russian Twist while passing firewood to the end and then back.
– Pax line up single file facing the side and on your 6. Hold feet 6-inches while you pass a coupon down the line to the end and back and end and back…etc. until ab failure:
o Round 1: One piece of firewood
o Round 2: 2 pieces
o Round 3: One brick and 2 pieces
Regular Mary: Flutter and Dolly
Moleskin:
– See above for a sprinkling of commentary
– I enjoy bringing coupons so we are not always running and merkins; running and burpees; running and more merkins. I hope the Pax that post appreciate a little originality. Originality sometimes gets the best of me though, and my workouts can sometimes not work out (see what I did there). This was one where I didn’t anticipate a smaller crowd and had a proper backup plan. Sorry guys. Loogie can attest as he’s been to most of my workouts both good and bad #greatsupporter
– Speaking of Loogie – Him only having one good arm didn’t stop him from showing us all up. My new coupon contraption (see Twitter for pic) isn’t too heavy, but it’s defintely not easy to press one handed. Loogie did it multiple times with ease. I warn any Pax that might feel man enough to challenge him to a lifting competition. Just don’t do it. #youwillbeembarrassed
– One winner exercise that will show up again was the Firewood Mary. Expect that in the near future. Yes that does mean I will continue to bring coupons. If that’s not your bag; fortunately you have many other AO options.
Despite the absence of the SF (thanks to the fartsacking Site Q), 16 of F3’s finest really got after it this morning. After a quick warmup of 15 SSH’s and 15 Imperial Squat Walkers, both with messed-up cadences #Qfail, we moseyed to speed bump alley for a little poker.
After pairing up, instructions (probably not enough) were given:
Suicide ladder with the speed bumps – 11 total speed bumps. Each team picks a card when they get back to the start line (YHC had prepared 2 decks of playing cards with different exercises) and keeps the cards for the best poker hand at the end. Exercises were anywhere from 5-15 of:
Merkins (including werkins, partner derkins, handslap merkins, offset, diamond, etc.)
CDD
Burpees
Various Mary (Flutter, Dolly, Rosalita, LBC, Heels 2 Heaven Prairie Fire Mary, etc.)
Bear crawl one speed bump
While YHC was catching his breath after finishing with 12 Burpees, Crab Cake led the pax in some plank-o-rama #Qjack. A quick round of Heels 2 Heaven caught the six, and we moseyed back over to the launch lot. Stopped at the movie theater for some people’s chair and air presses.
Still had about 10 minutes left, so we grabbed some rocks and did some more partner work. Partner one did called exercise while partner 2 ran across the parking lot, then flapjack. We got in chest presses (2 rounds), curls (2 rounds), and merkins (2 rounds). Had about a minute left so we enjoyed some elongated protractor. Time.
Naked Moleskin:
When I first heard of the Deck of Pain, I loved the idea, so figured I’d give it a whirl in my first Rebel Yell Q. The hope was to mix it up and give the pax all a little variety in their workouts. No two teams had the exact same experience, so I hope that kept it interesting. Thanks to Cheese Curd for pushing YHC the whole way #tclaps. We were coasting out front until we pulled a bear crawl. That sucked much more than I thought it would. Curd kept picking Mary exercises and was called out for putting some back. At least we were trying for a little variety. I still think we ended up doing 5 or 6 Mary exercises. My arms were happy after a merkin-filled beat down the morning prior.
Everyone was pushing real hard out there. Great job by Crab Cake and Van Pelt leading the way. Mario’s team was also killing it. I estimated the whole ladder to be about 2.25-2.5 miles, so we all knocked that out pretty well. I think Mario’s team also won the poker game with a straight flush. They were supposed to get a prize, but another #Qfail happened. Cobains.
Loved seeing the competitive nature of a bunch of guys during the rock work. Big Tuna and Heartbreaker were taking on all comers on the short sprints.
As always, it was a pleasure to lead through the gloom. I hope you all came out a little better (and a little sore).
#KeepPounding
13 fans of teams not wearing Crimson or Orange got enough sleep to post #allin #rolltide. We’re now that much closer to being crowned champion of the Bagpipe AO. Wannabe ‘Swift’ pretenders didn’t stand a chance!! They didn’t bring their ‘F3’ game.
<<>>
What we did:
Mosey to Ballantyne Village parking deck
– Imperial Squat Walkers x 20
– Hillbillies x 20
– Peter Parker x 10; Peter Parker Merkin x 10
– Regular Merkins x 15 then 6 inches: hold for a very slow Big Tuna 10 count.
– Run backwards all the way up BV deck; stopping at every turn for 50 flutter kicks; plank and stretch at top.
– Run forwards stopping at every turn for 30 Carolina Dry Docks; plank and stretch at bottom. 6 inches and hold for a quicker 10 count courtesy of BOG.
Mary in the basement
– Heels to Heaven x 20
– LBC x 20
– Rosalita x 20
Mosey to Costigan Park
– Bulgarian Squats each leg in single cadence x 20 each leg. 20 again; then 15; 10; 5 each leg.
– Knee tucks x 20 single cadence (fast) then another 20 (slow cadence)
– Dips x 20 in cadence (fast) then another 20 (slow cadence)
REPEAT knee tucks and dips
Mosey down Durant and across Ballantyne Medical Pl. and around the long way back to the cars.
Dolly x 50 to end. Swifters joined in the winner’s circle.
Moleskin winners:
– Only late hit was Strange Brew who stepped up to the 1st string. At the end it did feel as though he missed his fellow bench warmers.
– All Pro, Peddles was in attendance – made YHC a little nervous that our game plan wasn’t sound enough for him.
– No sign of that other Mud Run team…..I know for a fact Mr. Bean isn’t a Bama or Clemson alum so I’m left wondering where they were.
– We had a ‘Walk On’ today. He earned a scholarship.
– We also had The Commish make sure that form was correct and kept within the rules.
– And we had a true Professional Athlete in our midst…and Blades of Glory posted too!
– YHC is glad that we can now concentrate more on college Bball. We do live in the heart of basketball heaven for goodness sakes.
Announcements:
– This weekend is the hard launch of daVinci: Saturday in Blakeney Shopping Center at 7am. Some lunatic Pax want to double down Stonehenge and then daVinci. Stonehenge is letting out early to oblige. Let’s all become a little more crazy and join in. HC in the remarks.
With no formal Q on the schedule, and a big travel week for many Pax; YHC decided to shift the start time to 6am for the lucky non-bankers but extend the workout time for one solid hour. And of course the brick pavers were on hand! We have a even 16 so we broke up into teams of 4. First a quick grab of 24 bricks, and quickly mosey around the course for instructions:
Stations and layout:
Station #1 at back of the side lot at theatre: Hair-burners to cones and back.
Station #2 right past the HB cones: Man-maker merkins x 20
Station #3 at our usual hill: run up and down hill following cone pattern.
Station #4: run @ theatre (stay on the concrete/follow the map of the building): run up stair well at far end and down to stop sign at Elmstone.
Station #5 at hill behind Firebirds: Cross Elmstone and up the hill – 5 burpees up top – up and down twice.
Station #6 short jaunt back in parking lot in front of theatre: suicide bricks with partners.
Station #7 at the side of the theatre: Ppls chair; bricks raises x 50
So now you know the course. Let’s get started…right after a quick warm up – SSH x 10
Run course until time called
Relay Races with same 4 man teams:
– Suicide bricks. = Every 1 parking space – 2 teammates place bricks out/2 pick them up. Round 2: every 2 parking spaces; round 3 – every 3 spaces. Round 4 – every 3; Round 5 every 2.
Each member of the winning team calls a Mary exercise plus 1 wild card exercise.
Time.
No Moleskin – this was fun and I am sore. I enjoy trying to put together a different workout. Different workouts, but always using my paver bricks. Love those things! This is my 3rd Christmas with F3, and I’m so thankful for this organization and the men that I have the honor to work out with and lead. Thanks to Wild Boar for the perfect take out prayer reminding us what Christmas is truly about.
Ever wonder how many Pax can file out of a Clowncar at 5:33? Enough to triple the number of Pax, and change YHC’s workout! At any rate, after some SSH and a 10 burpee penalty for being late; we continued working ourselves for the remaining time.
– SSH x 20
– Burpees x 10 OYO
– IW x 20
It’s pretty hot this AM, so let’s get on our six on the wet pavement to cool off.
Legs at six inches. Hold. In fact, we’ll keep our legs up this entire exercise set.
– LBC x 20
– Heels to Heaven x 20
– Dolly x 20
Recover
Mosey to parked buses. Since every Wednesday during the school year we cannot use these as props, there’s no way YHC was not going to use them. Let’s call the next exercise the ‘Weaver’. Weave around each bus; every 4 drop and do 20 merkins. Weave around every bus.
Mosey to offset brick wall. Wall walk….nevermind. This is a fail and will never be tried again.
Mosey to front of middle school. Partner up. Partner one jump wall and up and around parking lot. Partner two does said exercise. Flap Jack.
– Squates
– Lunges
– Wall walk
Mosey around to middle school cafeteria area.
– 200 dips, 50 derkins, 50 incline merkins, 2 laps around track. Time called before all could finish. Fast mosey back to cars.
Moleskin:
– It’s not December; I don’t believe it.
– Welcome Elmer Fudd and G-String
– How many people live in Lawson?! All on the same street?
– Merry Christmas
Announcements:
– Joe Davis 5K and 10K. SIGN UP! NOW
– Informal workout in the Dirty South at Cuthbertson HS. Run by the Lawson boys. All 36 of them.
A gear workout is an easy excuse to bring out YHC brick pavers. I’ve had some ideas; let’s see how they work out.
The Thang:
Circle – Disclaimer: I have never led a gear/kettlebell workout. I don’t know what I’m doing!
– SSH x 20
– 2 Handed Swing x 20
– LBC x 20; IW x 20
– Good Morning x 20
– Flutter x 20
– Figure 8 x 20 (10 each way)
– Heels to Heaven x 20
Partner: Grab 4 pavers among each 2 man group; grab 1 bell per group. Mosey over to basketball courts.
– Basketball Court: 1 Pax carries all 4 pavers and drop 1 off at each corner while the other does said exercise. Once all dropped off flap jack, and partner # 2 picks them up.
o 1st round: 2 hand swing.
o 2nd round: bent rows/lawnmower.
o 3rd round: snatch.
o 4th round: clean
o 5th round: clean/press
– Man maker merkins with bricks x 10; relax, x 5
– Back to courts for next round. Partners flap jack in that the one who placed the bricks will be the one picking them up.
o 5 rounds as above.
– Man maker merkins with bricks x 5
3 Man grinders: Partner #1: people’s chair paver air raises. Partner #2: run between Pax. Partner #3: goblet squat
Collect toys and Indian Run (sort of) back to the cars.
Circle of Bells. Pax call each exercise and lift until next Pax calls another – one round.
End.
Moleskin:
– This was fun. 1st time leading a gear workout. I need to go more often to learn the Kettlebell lifts. Good site too.
– It was crazy warm for the 3rd week of December. Shorts at Christmas. Crazy
– Thanks for the hospitality Voodoo.
– Thanks for the take out Frehley’s.
Announcements:
– Joe Davis – sign up!
Posted on behalf of ‘Merica. Detroit – Recognize
Warmup:
Side straddle hop x 15
Mountain climbers x 15
Merkins x 15
Imperial Walker x 15
Mosey to station 1
(1)
Dips x 10
Derkins x 10
Step ups x 10
Buried x 10
Mosey to station 2
(2)
People’s Chair with air press in and out x 10
One legged people’s chair with air press x 5 each leg
Mosey back to station 1 (repeat)
Mosey to station 2 (repeat)
Mosey to station 3
(3)
Jump ups x 10
Wall sit Freddy Mercury’s x 10
Merkins x 10
LBC’s x 10
Mosey to station 1 (repeat)
Mosey to station 2 (repeat)
Mosey to station 3 (repeat)
Mosey to station 4
(4-The Hill)
Bare crawl up the hill
Lunge walk down the hill
Merkin ladders at top and bottom x 10
Mosey the parking lot for lunge walk straightaway
Mosey to next parking lot for final straightaway sprint
Circle up for some 6Mom
Crunchy Frog x15
Russian twists x15
Heels to heaven x15
The Rosalita x20
Flutter x25
LBC’s x25
KR
Open Moleskin – sound off with remarks. Good VQ K/R
It’s been a while since I’ve brought out to bricks. I not only brought them out; but I brought out a wheelbarrow. OK then. What are we going to do with that?
Mosey to truck for 2 brick pavers each. Mosey around to four corners of parking lot for instructions of Starfish layout. Drop bricks at each station and circle up in center of lot.
SSH x 20
IW x 20
Starfish: Partner up.
– 1st leg of Starfish: Agility ladder merkins x 3
– 2nd Leg of Starfish: Ppls Chair / Brick Raises x 150 (audible to 120 – 150 quickly became crazy)
– 3rd leg of Starfish: Suicide Brick relay x 3: 1st partner run out 2 parking spots and drop off a brick. Runs back for another brick and drops off 4 spots away. Back for a 3rd brick and drops off 6 away. 4th brick and 8 spots. 2nd partner doing LBC during the suicide. Flap jack with 2nd partner reversing order and picking up bricks.
– 4th Leg: Bear crawl half way to 2nd light. 10 diamond merkins with bricks; lunge walk with slapping pavers together between legs back.
– 5th Leg: Pax Wheel Barrow – Partner 1 sit in wheelbarrow while partner 2 pushs him up each side of the lot. Flapjack.
– After each leg; run back to center for 10 Blockees, and then out to next leg.
Collect bricks from each station and circle up near vehicles. Merkin Arm Raises x 20. Recover and shake out arms. Merkin Arm Raises x 20.
Done.
Moleskin:
– Big turnout this morning. Great leadership with Bratwurst and Bananas growing site.
– Merkin arm raises were tough. That’s being added to the list. So are the suicide brick relays.
– The AO has a huge parking lot. Endless possibilities. YHC hopes the dear leaders let me exploit this site again soon. Promise to get better on posting an on time BB.
– Thanks for letting me lead today. I always enjoy it.