8 Men showed up at the Arbo ABC store at 5:45am on a Sunday. They weren’t forming a line for pappy, they weren’t even launching for a few miles with #F3RumRunner. Instead they piled into two swagger wagons and headed uptown to serve with Church on the Street under a cold wet overpass of 277. This is what ensued:
Warm up
Upon arrival at 6:15 we circled up with one volunteer coordinator and a few other volunteers, prayed for the mission and then headed under the bridge. There were a few people hanging out and happy to see us. Around 6:30 2 vans started showing up and unloaded tables, chairs, lights, a sound system and many containers of food.
The Main event
Once we were set up we started serving, I am guessing we served about 75 people in an hour. Here were our stations…
@Bout Time was serving up generous portions of eggs
@Brushback can sling grits like nobody’s business
@Hairball was the bread and butter of the whole operation…literally
@Voodoo was all over the oatmeal #Hardsell
@Slimfast was on syrup patrol, those flapjacks were swimmin’
@Spackler was the vet among us so he walked around and kept everybody straight
@Semi-Gloss split time between sanitation specialist and greeting people with his generally jolly and disarming demeanor
YHC was on customer relations, which means I refilled coffee OJ and made sure our guests were pleased with their experience at our fine establishment
While we were serving they played upbeat worship music from an ipod, a man stepped up to the Mic to preach the word, and then a worship leader owned it.
Cool Down:
Once everyone was served and we made sure the late arrivals were full we packed it all up. It was gone as quick as it arrived.
Moleskine:
Apparently on the way @Semi-gloss stopped for a double down of protein deliciousness at Bojangles.
One touching moment came when the worship leader broke into “Mighty to save” and a guest joined him on the Mic…I think @Spackler teared up
@Brushback’s GPS told us we only ran .01, but thanks to the #AngryWhiteSedan speeding down Tryon it is now a record for that leg on Strava #winning
Those that we served were very kind and grateful, those that lead this ministry are impressive and humble, Serving with these men was a blessing, great Second F.
@Radar who leads this charge wasn’t with us this time, the word on the street was that He is on suspension after yelling at @PurpleHaze about his form when serving pancakes recently. Seriously, thank you @Radar for continuing to offer this opportunity to serve. It was a great experience.
If you have not posted you should just go ahead and sign up for an upcoming date. F3 serves on the first Sunday of each month, and needs 6 men each time. If you are coming from A51 you launch from Arbo at 5:45am and you are back at 8am.
Here is the link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b44a5ab23a57-church1
Check Twitter for some great pics.
“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” – Matthew 25:37-40
5 Men set out to test their endurance at Olympus and here’s what we did:
COP:
Lap around the track, stop halfway for x20 SSH’s IC. Stop at bench area for 20 dips OYO. Finish lap and mosey to parking lot.
Main Event:
Round 1
50 Two-Handed KB Swings
50 Upright Rows
75 Squats–alternated between using KB and no KB
50 Merkins
1 lap around track
Round 2
100 SSH’s
50 Two-Handed KB Swings (5 of us there so alternated between each pax bell doing 10 reps with each one).
25 LBC’s/25 Flutters/25 Dollies
60 One-Handed KB Press(x30 R/x30 L)
1 Lap around track
Round 3
60 front lunges (30 per leg)
60 lawnmowers (x30 R/x 30 L)
100 Mountain Climbers
40 High Pulls (x20 R/ x20 L)
30 Snatches (15 Per Arm)
40 One-Handed KB Swings (20 per arm)
50 Good Mornings
50 Around The World (25 clockwise/25 counter clockwise)
More on the list, but it’s 8:00 so that’s a wrap.
Great work out there today men. My attempt was to test our endurance a bit by upping the reps and throwing in a little running. Hope mission was accomplished. Good mumble chatter as well with a wide range of topics from sports, to sundries of choice. Great having Wolfman and Geraldo out for the second week in a row. Also good to see Chum back out after two weeks off. Great also to have Byron out as always–glad you’re coming out more often again brother!
Announcements: Final opportunity to sign up for Mud run. Sign up for golf outing. Continue to keep Zippidy in your prayers as he continues to slowly recover. Thanks for the strong prayer to take us out Byron.
10 pax (including 2 FNGs) posted to the expansive AO of Ascent for a moderate kettlebell clinic and to get their weekends started off right.
The Thang
COP
Main Event – Kettlebells
Select a moderate sized bell to enable strict focus on form
Mosey to flat, dry-looking grass at front of school
Sufficiently wet, mosey back to parking lot
Mosey to Playground, with kettlebell
Playground Circuit
Mary
Done
COT
Announcements:
Red, Light, & Blue ruck event – see weekly email for details
Naked Moleskin:
The goal of today’s workout was to introduce kettlebells to the pax, in the moderate workout fashion that is Ascent, to provide them with one more option to get their daily downPAINment each week. With bootcamps, running, and kettlebell options, you really can find something that suits your need each day/week and mix it up for effective cross-training. Hopefully, you’ll consider adding Meathead (KBs & 0.0 running), Skunkworks (KBs, gear, & some running), and/or Olympus (KB & gear) into your mix of workouts.
So, YHC came into the parking lot on two wheels this morning, after trouble-shooting a toilet problem at home (broken flapper), and therefore missed out on any pre-game mumblechatter, but was pleased to see the small crowd that had assembled. We had plenty of KBs to go around (thanks to all who loaned extra KBs for YHC to bring and to those who brought extras), and it seemed everyone had a good size to experiment with.
Great job by all today. Great to see some veterans, Ascent regulars, and FNGs all pushing it and working on form. Keep after it!
Cobains (apologies) for the wet ground on the TGUs. Or, should I apologize for the TGUs? They seem to be a love/hate exercise for most folks, much like burpies, but they are an exercise I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate (unlike burpies). They really target a lot of areas and seem quite valuable. With practice, they do become easier, unlike burpies, as they are technique dependent, in my opinion. The wet ground? Well, it was softer than pavement.
The playground circuit was a modification of our quarterly benchmark “Cindy” routine (for which we’re overdue, by the way), which is 5 pullups, 10 pushups, & 15 squats for 20 minutes. So, you have that to look forward to, while you enjoyed today’s modification.
Thanks, as always, for the opportunity to lead. It’s an honor.
(sound off in the comments for anything I missed)
Of the 11 Pax posted at The Reservation yesterday, 10 were warmed up from a pre-mud run .30 minute non-stop workout.
The Thang’
Run to bus parking lot for COT:
Run to lower football field: Partner up.
Run to main building – find wall:
Mosey to Playground:
Find Partner for circuit: Perform 3x
Tight Circle for Jack Webb (1 Mirken, 4 arm raises; 2 Mirkens, 8 arm raises) upto 10 Mirkens, 40 arm raises.
Done.
Moleskin:
The SF was planted by Hopper and 8 Saturday morning warriors set out for another assault at The Rock.
The Thang:
Jog to lot closest to North Face for quick COP.
Slow Squat x 25 IC
IW x 25 IC
Suicide Sprints – 1st set regular. 2nd set w/backwards run.
Jog to bottom of NF for the following:
3Circuits of 13 Jump Squats at bottom, Run up NF, 13 Jump Squats at top, run lap around cypress trees, down the hill to bottom of NF.
AYG run once more up NF.
Indian Run with pax doing lunge walks to side of church.
Run to long lane.
High knees to first marked pole. Buttkickers to 2nd marked pole.
Run to end of lane and over to picnic tables in the woods.
20 derkins & 20 dips OYO
15 derkins & 15 dips OYO
10 incline merkins OYO
Mosey to sand volleyball courts.
Bearcrawl cross court & back.
Wounded bear cross court & back.
Jog to rock pile near the ballfield. Grab a Rock.
13 overhead presses IC w/rock
13 H-R Merkins IC
10 Tricep Extensions IC w/rock
13 Wide Arm Merkins IC
13 Bicep Curls IC w/rock
8 Diamond Merkins IC
8 Out-front Arm Extensions IC w/rock
13 CDDs IC
10 overhead press IC w/rock
Jog to lot next to launch lot
Flutter x 20 IC
Makhtar Ndjiaye x 13 IC
Rosalita x 13 IC
Dancing Chilcutt x 13 IC
Slow LBC x 20 IC
6 Inch/Regular Plank Wave x 7 or 8?
Knee up x 10 IC
Run back to church and back to long lane.
Karaoke Right 1/2 way. Flapjack and karaoke left.
Jog back to picnic tables in woods.
Jump Up x 25 OYO
One legged squat x 13 L. Flapjack. One legged squat x 13R OYO
People’s Chair up against tree w/25 Overhead Air Press IC
Quick Recovery
People’s Chair a al Frankenstein for 1 minute
Jog back to launch lot
Cumberland County Viaducts x 13R IC. Flapjack. CCV x 13L IC.
Done.
COT w/prayer by Harley
Ye Olde Moleskine:
Good crew this morning. Fair amount of mumblechatter from Tadpole and Flipper, our younger nautically-named pax.
Full disclosure – YHC was hurtin’ at several points today. #smokeyourself
20-20-20 was intended to be 20 minutes of legs, 20 minutes of arms/shoulders and 20 minutes of core/plank & mary.
Harley was complaining 1/2 way through the 3rd 20 – something about being cold after working up a good sweat during the first 40 minutes. He was wearing shorts and apparently the wind atop The Rock got the best of him. YHC caved and audibled….then proceeded to tweak my groin again on the karaoke nonsense. That was my fault. Rosalita was tweaking the old man’s groin, too. #mercy #old #injured #justdealwithit #gettingtiredofhashtags
Good to see Cable Guy – hadn’t seen you in many months brother. And T-claps to Tadpole for his acceptance to Liberty U this coming fall. God’s blessings young man.
Our “hate” M is in dire need of a rename. Something about Military Intelligence, but YHC informed him prior to launch that is also the abbreviation for a pax member’s bride. Somebody help me rename the lad.
Hope the pax got what they paid for…and then some.
Love Q’ing at The Rock – Area 51’s finest AO.
There were some announcements, all of which will be on weekly email…so read it.
Warm up:
Mosey around the buses to the rock wall
SSH 20 IC
IPW 20 IC
Mountain Climbers 20 IC
The Thang:
We grabbed a nice size rock from the the wall for some of the following
Curls 10 OYO
Shoulder Press 10 OYO
Rock Squat 10 OYO
Rockhopper 10 OYO
Jog up the stairs around the tree and back
Rinse and repeat x3
Mosey around the backside of the parking lot to the corner for 10 burpees
Continue down the cross country hill to the practice fields
6 cones set up 10 yards apart
0-10 yards Bear Crawl
10-20 yards Frog Jump
20-30 yards Crab Walk
30-40 yards Lunge Walk
40-50 yards Inch worm
Backwards run to the start for some Mary
Windshield Wipers 10 IC
LBC 10 IC
Side plank with JLo dip 10 then flapjack
Rinse and repeat X3
Mosey to the concession stand area
10 wall step ups L/R
10 Dips
10 Derkins
30 sec Wall sit with jabs
Rinse and repeat x3
Mosey back to fields
Run 10 yards 10 merkins then back to start 10 merkins
Run 20 yards 10 lunge jumps then back to start 10 lunge jumps
Run 30 yard 10 LBC then back to start 10 LBC
Run 40 yards 10 Drydocks then back to start 10 Drydocks
Run 50 yards 10 Lunge Jumps then back to start 10 Lunge Jumps
Run 60 yards 10 Merkins then back to start 10 Merkins
Rinse and repeat x3
Mosey back to the XC hill for 4 minutes of hill runs
Back to parking lot right at 7:30
Moleskin:
First time jitters, felt like getting ready for a first date. I have been thinking about what to do for the work out for over a month. Timing is tricky. I realized 30 minutes in I would need to add some additional sets. The concession stand area was an on the fly addition.
When the lead PAX finished each suicide instead of planking we all would help the six finish their sets. Great job Bratwurst for leading the team work. Kilowatt and Intimidator continue to make huge strides with their endurance. Crabcake, Frack, and Bratwurst pushed right through the workout.
Announcements:
Mudrun sign up, F3 Golf, and BRR
Please keep Ice 9 and Heather in your prayers!
15 men (including 2 – 2.0s) showed up this morning ready to work, and to dish out “supportive” feedback on a new era at #F3DayZero. The #F3DayZero Challenge is a tradition that began on 7/20/13, shortly after the initial shovelflag pierced the turf on the toughest AO in town. Despite an outside chance, slight odds, probable forecast, 100% guarantee of getting grief from at least one of the former site Q’s, the new kids in town brought out a modified version of the Challenge, paying tribute to the difficulty, and you-vs-you mentality of the original DZC. #CarolinaDryDogs
It almost felt balmy out this morning in the mid-20s as the faithful fleets rolled in to the not-so-smooth parking lot of Day Zero Elementary. The Day Zero Hawk was nowhere to be seen, probably got smart and flew south for the winter. With the shovel flag firmly planted and the crowd favorite tunes pumping, the men moseyed to the basketball courts where it all went down.
The Thang:
3 minutes per exercise. AMRAP. Begin.
The not-so-skinny Moleskine
Great seeing some newer faces to DZ- POP, Les Mis putting in work out there today. Prohibition made the wise decision to butter up one of the former site Q’s with some treats yesterday morning before dropping the bomb that the DZC weinke would look a little different this time around *GASP!* After roughly 60 “sharp” text messages chastizing and belittling the decision, the former site Q must have settled into said treats, or been watching Frozen and was able to “let it go.” For the night at least… Rolling up promptly at 0703 said former site Q settled into usual spirits and the refuseniking feedback was underway. Other pax chimed in showing their “support” and had lots of “really nice things” to say about how much fun they were having. As expected, the burpees were got lots of “cheers.” A little over mid-way through the Challenge, the running distance was audibled to give the pax more strides to loosen their legs #safetyfirst.
Other observations:
Prohibition’s tunes continue to get rave reviews. The best part about it is you never know which direction the next genre may go. Iron Horse lived up to his name. Despite starting on Team “We Hate Change” he crushed the workout, but no one was really surprised. Teddy and Frasier were not phased and nearly lapped the pax on the 1-lap circuits around the track. Purple Haze showed his 2.0s the way. One unnamed pax (noted above) shared a life lesson with Unitas and Johnny Mac saying “I got straight C’s on my report cards in school and look how I turned out.” Difficult to tell the angle here… Both 2.0s managed to show up their old man on nearly every exercise – by sheer coincidence finishing only 1 or 2 reps ahead every time. Sweetness came ready to work today, even after he and IH enjoyed a few of the best local 10.4% ABV beers in town yesterday #hopcakes Spackler and POP kept the conversation going the entire time. Not sure on the accuracy of their exercise counts though. A true DZ regular, Garbanzo wore shorts over his tights again today, which is always appreciated #RunStopper Les Mis probably had the best form in the bunch today. While some pax focused on quantity this dude put on a form clinic. Great having you out brother – come back next week. T-claps for a strong take-out today. Radar showed off his dominating speed and true support of the new weinke by performing exactly 1000 of each exercise. The guy works for a bank, who’s going to question his counting accuracy? Fresh off the CLT 10-miler, The Mouth was back in full effect at DZ. Living up to his nickname, he reminded YHC several times how much fun he was having.
Thanks to the pax for the opportunity to lead. Weekly, this group posts, rain or shine, puts in strong work, and never lets a Q get overconfident about how a workout is going.
T-claps to the pax that stuck around (and came from other AOs) to pick up trash around the AO today. Mermaid noted how appreciative the school administration is and that a little work goes a long way. More opportunities to come in the future.
Site Q’s – continue to challenge each other and look for ways to give back to your AO.
Announcements:
Sign up now for @F3Golf and the Mud Run
No waiting around today, we just got started and didn’t stop until Chippie’s watch said 7:00am.
Da Thang
Let’s Go
Circuit around Loch Ness
First wall = Good form dips and incline merkins
sprint to second wall = jump ups and slow, deep squats
sprint to picnic tables, decline merkins
sprint back to second wall = jump ups and slow, deep squats
sprint to first wall = good form dips and incline merkins
sprint back up to second wall = 20 climbs over and back on the wall, then squats
sprint back to picnic tables = decline merkins
Quick mosey to Fight Club turf for next circuit
10 pull ups – 10 Burpees – 20 supine pull ups X 3
Quick mosey to random parking lot
3 team relay race – then short quick mosey to hill and grab a partner
Hill circuit = partner 1 up the hills three tims, partner 2 dolly, REPEATO I think 3 times. Changed the ab exercise up and added 4 hills.
Mosey back to Loch Ness, plank work while we wait, then quick lap around, more plank then mosey home, finishing up with Mason Twist.
THINE OLE MOLESKINE
A lot of regular motor mouth SOBs on the scene today, which is always a lot of fun. The goal today was to pick up the pace a little and keep moving.
Welcome FNG Sparky, who wore a sweatshirt with the word Lindsay on it. Well that of course reminded Dirty Ole Man Frehley of his favorite actress Lindsay Lohan. We decided against his name suggestion.
Strawberry gave a shout out to Heartbreaker and Software for having a six pack. Apparently six pack means they have done 6 workouts in a row. Some PAX were confused and thought we were going to see a shirtless pose down. Thankfully no.
Always happy to lead the PAX in the gloom.
YHC was hoping to lead a riveting round of snow angel dollies. The weather let me down but it’s not like any of us are surprised anymore. Well…5 of us weren’t. Disclaimer – if you fart sacked because you were scared of the snow – do not read further – real men at work here.
The Thang:
Mosey to lot beside old City Tavern.
Circle up:
– SSH x 40
– IW x 20
– Slow Squats x 20
– Merkins x 15
Mary under canopy: LBC; Flutter; Heels to Heaven
Mosey to speed bumps behind shops
– 20 Carolina Dry Docks – sprint to next
– 20 Merkins – Karaoke to next.
– Monkey Humpers x 20 – flapjack Karaoke.
– ?Merkins – bear crawl to next.
– Lungewalk to next
Ppls chair – right leg; left; 20 x air presses; various.
Mosey around to Fountain area
– Sprint to fountain – 20 x dips; run to shops; 20 Dolly
– Fountain – 20 incline merkins; shops – flutter
– Fountain – 20 derkins; shops – Protractor
– Rinse and repeat except step ups instead of derkins
Mosey to Theatre for Ppls chair – bad idea due to ice so audible.
Suicides instead x 2
Circle up for Mary side bends and we’re done.
Moley, Moley, Moley, Moley:
-I might be the only Q in the history of F3 to also be the 6 – awesome work from the men who know better than to trust our weather stations.
-Tclaps to Frack – I’ve seen him more the last few months than anyone. He’s ready to lead (hint, hint).
-Frasier get a pass due to his neighbor and fellow F3 – Fire Hazard explaining his valid excuse to miss. #goodcover
-Speaking of Fire Hazard – he’s been out a lot as well. Great work.
-¾ of Ole Dirty SOB – Mud Run team representing. Recognize fools!
-Next time #Devilsturn; #Peak51; #Meathead – watch our AO twitter for the weather report #talkingsmack
0700 – McAlpine Elementary
Day Zero Challenge. 60 minutes. You vs. You.
Post tomorrow to challenge your physical and mental capacity for a tabata-style AMRAP power hour. Show by 0655 as we will tee off promptly at 0700.
Stats will be kept for each round. Set your baseline tomorrow to track improvement over the year.
Following the Challenge, Day Zero will be hosting an AO clean-up starting at 0830. Feel free to join from other Saturday AOs for some 2nd F and to give back. Coffee and a lean playlist will be provided.
Bring your own work gloves. Trashbags, rakes, other tools will be on hand.
See you at 0700.