Luck Of The Draw
Nine brave men resisted the call of the fartsack and joined YHC to see what fate had in store and gain legendary bragging rights on feats of strength.
The Thang:
The Warm Up:
SSH x 20 IC
IW x 20 IC
2H Swings x 20
Grab your heaviest bell, partner up and mosey to track
P1 Farmer Carry, P2 15 Merkin Chasers
Plank when done to allow PAX to catch up
The Main Event:
1st PAX draws 2 cards, one from solo stack and one from group stack
Group performs their designated exercise until solo completes his
Move clockwise until all PAX have completed solo exercise
P1 Farmer Carry, P2 15 Merkin Chasers
Plank when done to allow PAX to catch up
1st PAX draws 2 cards, one from solo stack and one from group stack
Group performs their designated exercise until solo completes his
Move clockwise until all PAX have completed solo exercise
Repeato until time is up
Shuffled Deck Results:
- Solo: 50 Merkins, Group: Lunge w/ KB
- Solo: 30 Goblet Squats , Group: Lawnmowers
- Solo: 20 Pull-ups, Group: Squat & Press
- Solo: 25 KB Press (on back), Group: Merkins
- Solo: 40 Upright Rows, Group: KB Clean & Press
- Solo: 30 Merkins, Group: KB Halo
- Solo: 50 Swings, Group: KB Press (on back)
- Solo: 20 KB Merkins, Group: Good Mornings
- Solo: 40 Dips, Group: Cleans
- Solo: 50 Lawnmowers, Group: Alternating Arm Swings
- Solo: 30 Tricep Extension, Group: High Pulls
- Solo: 20 KB Clean & Press, Group: Lunge w/ KB Press
- Solo: 50 KB Press (on back), Group: Goblet Squat
- Solo: 25 Swings , Group: Deadlifts
- Solo: 6 Turkish Get Ups, Group: KB Merkin
- Solo: 15 per arm Squat & Press, Group: , KB Figure 8’s
- Solo: 40 Alternating Arm Swings, Group: Tricep Extension
- Solo: 20 KB Press (on 6), Group: Snatches
- Solo: 10 Pull-ups, Group: KB Press (on 6)
- Solo: 10 KB Clean & Press, Group: Swings
Moleskin:
The idea here was to put together a slew of group exercises that worked the entire body while utilizing a strenuous individual exercise as the timer for the group exercise. This resulted in each member having to push through the pain in order to avoid the PAX uproar. The catch? Shuffled decks of exercises for the group and the individual, resulting in a complete random combination of exercises and always leaving the PAX wondering what fate had in store for them next! I believe everyone got through 3 solo’s with a few of us getting lucky with 4.
Strong work by all today as you pushed yourselves through those solo exercises, none of which were easy. Horsehead claimed he was the master of his own destiny but was soon greeted with what fate had in store for him and it wasn’t pretty, Happy Birthday brotha. Probation killed the Turkish Get Ups to the relief of the rest of the PAX, on the flipside some thought Bulldog had left for the day after his visit to the playground for 20 pull-ups. #T-claps to Bulldog though for switching it up and going after some of the heavier bells.
Thanks for taking us out Bulldog and the strong prayer to lift us up as we venture out today.
My VQ was long overdue, but if anything it gave me plenty of time to think up this one! From all the mumble chatter and a couple audible 10 counts (Brown) it would appear the workout delivered. Leading you gents was an honor and I look forward to doing it again soon. Thank you all for bearing with me as I stumbled through some of vernacular, nerves will get ya every time!
Announcements:
- Shoes still needed for #SoleRedemption
- Be on the lookout for Thanksgiving morning convergence
- A51 Christmas Party signup by 11/20
Relentless
19 supporters joined Spack today for a little pyramid and partner work at #F3RebelYell. Here is how it went down:
No warm up and really no disclaimer (sorry TR)
Jog around theatre. Pyramid work around the theatre.
10 squats
20 hand release merkins
30 CDD’s
40 calf raises
2 min of plank work then complete the pyramid
40 squats
30 calf raises
20 CDD’s
10 hand release merkins
2 min of wall chair with hand raises
Mosey behind dumpster to get a rock. Partner up.
Partner 1 runs up/down hill 3 times while partner 2 performs exercise / flapjack. Exercises included:
Curls
Overhead press
Good mornings
LBC w rock
Alternating merkins with rock
Burpees
Dolly with/without rock
Backscratcher – partner has to run hill backwards 3 times (crowd pleaser)
Time runs out.
Moleskin
Great work by all today. Going to be the last ‘warm’ morning for awhile I’m sure. Hope your legs enjoyed all the hill work. Went through a few ‘one last times’ but it just felt too good to give up. Some observations/thoughts for the day:
- Freud was killing it on the hills. That’s what you do when in your early 20’s. Love having you out there to help push us.
- WTH is happening with the carpoolers in Heartbreaker and Strawberry? Might have to do a sweep of the vehicle for whatever kind of power boosters these guys are popping before the work out. Impressive work. And still a bit weird with the carpool thing.
- The Q didn’t spill but could have easily. Been fighting off a ‘cold’ all week. Shakes/sweats etc. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
- Not sure how but Gloss kept his shirt on today. He did go sockless following and if you got close you could tell. Halitosis of the foot.
- Haze took a nice break from his marathon training thinking he’d get some nice mileage with YHC leading. You got served with hill work. Consider it your punishment for missing so many weeks at RY.
- Big Black got approached by a slow drive-by following the work out so I approached the car to find a guy asking what the heck we were doing. I tried to EH him for another day. He said he would try but with it being the end of the year and Holidays and all……which leads me to my next and final point……..
- The Holidays are coming up and I know most of us have a lot of parties this time of year with a ton of booze and food. I know I partake too much this time of year so I would like to challenge everyone to try and keep everything in moderation over the Holidays. I know, I know for most of you that really know me you are laughing. But, I am going to really try and cut back on the bad this season (booze, junk food, bad habits) and really try to make an effort to enjoy the good (family, friends and giving). Hope you will do the same.
Announcements
#SoleRedemption is coming to an end. Get shoes in by tomorrow to whichever site you attend.
Sign up for the A51 Christmas party by the 20th of November. Check site for details
Sign up for the Joe Davis Memorial 5k/10k. Details are on the website as well.
Field of valor at Hydra
20 men entered the field of valor at Hydra to enjoy the last summer morning.
On any given Sunday, it can be 50/50 whether you win or lose. So we did 60 50’s to chase perfection….or at least to chase away the HDHH leftovers.
The Q’s feeble, aging mind cannot tolerate a complex weinke, so we kept it simple.
COP Warmup:
Slow mosey to the field….having seen Runstopper we were inspired to do 15 burpees OYO.
Continue slow mosey to football field and circle up
SSH x 20
IW x 20
Mountain Climber x 20
Dolly x 20
The Thang:
Down the merkin ladder….
50 meter sprint followed by 20 merkins.
50 meter sprint followed by 19 merkins…..and so on down to 1.
#harder than it reads.
Tough to plank after that.
Shake it out with a little mary: Flutter x 20
Back on the line.
50 meter sprint followed by 20 low slow squats
50 meter sprint followed by 19 groiners
Continue alternating down to 1
Last Round:
50 meter sprint followed by 20 LBC’s.
50 meter sprint followed by 19 LBC’s…..and so on down to 1.
Mosey back to parking lot.
Moleskin:
Great weather this morning. We’ll be wishing for this the next 3 months. This workout is self-regulated/motivated – you can run as fast as you want, and do the exercises with good form…or not. A lot of early commentary on YHC’s advanced age. Guilty. Young punks. Hydra is still the best AO in Area51, but we only saw a small box this morning. Good work by all.
Announcements:
28 pairs of shoes (+5 since Sunday and 2 at workout – thanks) gathered toward South Charlotte Area 51 goal of 300 for Charlotte Rescue Mission, Drop a note to Bugeater and he will pick up any men’s athletic shoes you have. Deadline is this Saturday. each him on Twitter @jasonhilliard
Gassed… Check; Arms Smoked… Double-Check
19 PAX entered the gloom and darkness of Death Valley for a “balls to the wall” workout that left at least YHC gassed and smoked! Thanks for allowing the workout to end mutiny-free… I’m sure it crossed some minds!
The Thang:
Warm-up lap around parking lot, then mosey to football field for COP
Burpees x 20 OYO
SSH x 25
IW x 25
Squats x 25
Merkins x 15
LBC x 20
Flutter x 20
CDD’s x 15
Mountain Climber x 20
Burpees x 20 OYO
Mosey back to Restroom Bldg and partner up:
Partner 1 runs lap around track
Partner 2 runs to bleachers by baseball fields and does 10 Dips, 10 Pull ups, 10 Squats
Meet back at top and do 20 Fist Pump/Hand Slap Merkins (Alternating), then flap jack.
We did this for about 15 minutes, and Horsehead and I got 2 complete circuits in… I’m sure others got about the same give or take a merkin… The merkins were painful!
Grab some wall by restrooms:
People’s Chair x 3 with arm presses (30-40-50)
Balls to the wall x 2 for :30 seconds
Mosey back to parking lot for some Mary-icing:
Freddy Mercury x 15
Dolly x 15
Burpees x 10 OYO
Done and done!
Moleskin:
It doesn’t look like much after I typed it, but man my arms were jello on the way home! I’m sure that was partly to blame on the pre-kettlebell workout with Stagecoach, Header and Crawlspace… however, I doubt they even felt it!
I actually think that was my inaugural Q at Death Valley, so will look forward to the next time! Everyone did great and gave their all! I enjoyed meeting some new PAX (Crawlspace, Back Office, Franks), and great to see Freedom outside of Peak 51… continuing to get strong!
Thanks to Stone Cold for the send off prayer.
Announcements:
1. Shoe drive continues for 1 more week.
2. Sign-up for Joe Davis Run.
3. Christmas Party 12/6.
4. 3rd F on Wednesdays Noon at Bonato’s by South Park.
Nut cracker
Twenty two brave men decided to come out and enjoy the last few days of a warm fall morning and the opportunity to wear short sleeves. We know that some of the Pax will continue to wear short sleeves i.e. TR but the sane ones will take more precautions come Friday when the cold hits.
The disclaimer was made and off we went to the parking lot between the movie theatre and Jersey Mikes.
The Thang:
Warm Up:
SSH x 20
Burpees OYO x 5
IW x 20
Burpees OYO x 5
10 regular merkins/10 wide arm merkins
Mosey to the corner of Elm and Ballantyne Commons in the parking lot next to Wells Fargo. Set of three exercises increasing after each round with three rounds total. The idea was to pick a piece of wall that challenged you. You had the option of step up, jump up or climb up. Most Pax selected the step up.
Round 1:
Merkins x 10
Jump up x 5
One leg squat x 5 each leg
Run around Wells Fargo
Hold plank with variation till the six comes in.
Round 2:
Merkins x 20
Jump up x 10
One leg squat x 10 each leg
Run around Wells Fargo
Hold plank with variation till the six comes in.
Round 3:
Merkins x 30
Jump up x 15
One leg squat x 15 each leg
Hold plank with variation till the six comes in.
Mosey back to the back of the theatre. Plank until the six arrives.
Round 1:
Donkey kicks x 10 hold your feet on the wall when you finish. Go into balls to the wall for a ten count. People’s chair with air presses x 20. Alternate right/left leg high.
Round 2:
Donkey kicks x 15 hold your feet on the wall when you finish. Go into balls to the wall for a ten count. People’s chair with air presses x 30. Alternate right/left leg high.
Mosey to the hill in the side parking lot of the theatre. Fives were called but that was obviously wrong once the instructions were given. Thankfully TR pointed out my error.
Round 1:
Run up to the top of the hill for five burpees and back down for one squat all the way through till one burpee and five squats. Plank at the end.
Round 2:
Run up to the top of the hill for five jump squats and back down for one merkin all the way through till one jump squat and five merkins. Plank at the end.
Circle up for some Mary:
Combination of dolly/flutter called on Q’s count x 20
Hand off to Pax that is called for their called exercise.
Longhaul Russian Twist x 20
Flutie Flakes Heels to heaven x 20
O-fer LBCs x 20
Outback JLo x 20
Duncan Scissor Kick aka the nutcracker named after Mic Check x 20
End with 5 burpees on OYO
Moleskin:
The idea today was to get off campus and look for new obstacles. Most of the Pax opted for the step ups. Next time we will do the climb ups to start getting us ready for Mud Run season. Duncan was impressive on the jump ups. He picked a big wall.
Mic Check was pushing it as always and does a great job of balancing between pushing himself hard and the Pax. The Pax in general did a great job staying together and supporting one another. That is what F3 is all about anyway.
The idea behind having other Pax call out and lead an exercise is preparing them to Q someone in the near future. Many of you have been coming out since the summer and longer and you are ready to lead the Pax. You will be called upon in 2015 so hopefully this is a way to start getting you comfortable with counting in cadence and lead a workout.
I enjoy it as always and you are a great group of men to lead.
Announcements:
Joe Davis Memorial https://joedavisrun.racesonline.com/register
Make sure you donate to the coffeeteria.
Christmas party. Sign up by the 20th. http://f3nation.com/2014/11/07/area51christmasparty/
Gear order needs to be in by the 22nd and 30th respectfully. Get your gear!
Area 51 gear http://f3.mudgear.com/collections/nc-clt-south-area51/products/f3-area-51-winter-pre-order
SOBs gear http://f3.mudgear.com/collections/nc-clt-south-area51/products/f3-sons-of-ballantyne-pre-order
That is all!
Preblast: Devil’s Turn (Pre-Thunder Road)
This week at Devil’s Turn it will be taper day for those planning to dominate Thunder Road on Saturday. Because of this, there will be even more variety of paces and distances.
Due to the variation, there will not be a central COT at the end, rather if PAX end up finishing together, have an informal COT and disband as needed.
Options – All start from greenway parking lot at the corner of Rea and Bevington Place at 5:15am:
1) Strange Brew Q – 2 to 3 miles at race pace (half or marathon pace) with stretch opportunities
2) Honey Bee Q – 4 miles out to S. Charlotte Middle and back at race pace (half or marathon pace)
3) Need Q – Run the typical Devil’s Turn Tempo/Track day format out to S. Charlotte Middle, around the track, and back for 4 to 7.5 miles to return by 6:10 am. (This option not recommended to Thunder Road participants – save it for Saturday).
That’s it. See you in the moderately cold gloom.
Breaking the routine over the Anvil
The SF was firmly planted by Mermaid, and 15 humpday warriors set out for another hammering at Anvil. Beaver joined us a couple minutes into our warmup run..and that was fortuitous as we needed an even number for all the partner work YHC had in store for the pax.
The Thang:
Quick Run to Entrance 3 on Rea Road with some buttkickers and high knees in the mix.
Quick COT:
SSH x 25 IC
Rockhopper x 20 IC
Slow H-R Merkin x 15 IC
Partner Up and jog to the pitch for the following (or something very like it anyway):
Partner pull – 40 yds. Flapjack
Partner push – 40 yds. Flapjack
Derkins with feet on partner in high plank x 13. Flapjack.
Incline merkins w/hands on partner’s back while he planks x 13. Flapjack.
Wheelbarrow 40 yds. Flapjack.
Wheelbarrow Squat x 13. Flapjack. Rinse & Repeat.
Old-school Sit-up x 13 with partner in plank holding feet down. 3 sets each.
Over-Under x 13. Flapjack.
Hand-Slap Partner Merkin x 26
Prairie Fire Mary x 13L, 13C, 13R. Flapjack.
Hand-Slap Partner Merkin x 13
Mosey to the hill from the pitch to the parking lot.
Pax in downhill plank for the following:
CDD x 13
Freddie Mercury x 13
Knee-up x 10
Jog to pavilion
People’s Chair for 90 seconds w/overhead press x 13
BTW x 3
Jog to launch lot with some time remaining on the clock
Plankorama
Christian Laettner w/right leg high, then left leg high – really engaging the core
Southern gentleman
Yankee aggressor
6 inches – 3x with 10 counts
Burpee x 35 for Boutique & Mermaid while rest of pax did LBC x 35
COT
Ye Olde Moleskine:
TR will be disappointed to learn that only the Q was sleeveless on this 44 degree morning. Nevertheless, the pax put in a good showing and pushed themselves…except Gummy, YHC’s partner. Just kidding brother – strong work – was good partnering with you despite your constant sarcasm and mumblechatter.
Good to have Dear Abby in the Southlands with us; and Beaver showed up for a midweek downPainment – glad to have you guys with us at Anvil. Also great to see Hammer back after a 3 month hiatus.
7 pairs of shoes collected – which meant 35 burpees for Boutique, the ShoeQ of Anvil. YHC had some trouble with the math on that. #liberalartsdegree
T-claps to Site Q Mermaid for bringing 6 of the 7 pairs. He, too, did the burpees. Most of the pax did 35 LBCs and a couple did burpee/LBC combo.
Gummy & YHC pert near had a collision with Hacksaw & Rehab during one of the pulls/pushes on the pitch — that would not have ended well for us.
Some unorthodox stuff on the menu this morning so hope YHC didn’t disappoint. Again, strong work out there men.
Announcements:
Christmas Party – Sat., 12/6/14 at Sugar Creek Brewery – email went out. Signup no later than Thursday, 11/20: http://f3nation.com/2014/11/07/area51christmasparty/
Joe Davis Memorial Resolution Run – Sat. 1/10/15 at Baxter YMCA in Fort Mill. Signup now: https://joedavisrun.racesonline.com/register
#SoleRedemption continues – bring your shoes….and your neighbors’ and co-workers. The push for 1000 pairs goes on.
#F3Swift – The folded Dandelion
7 SoB’s launched into the gloom at 0515 from the Vine Restaurant today. Last week, we picked up an unsuspecting FNG, this week, we roped in one from the get-go.
The THANG:
- 1.2mi Warm-up at 2nd F pace
- 3min of high knees, butt kicks, A-skips, B-skips
- 4 x 5minutes at Threshold Pace (find yours here http://runsmartproject.com/calculator)
- 1.0mi Cool-down back to COT at 2nd F pace
- Total miles – between 5 and 6
The Moleskin:
- Here’s the Strava report – http://www.strava.com/activities/218049436/overview – What you will see is that this looks like a folded Dandelion. You need a free login to view “Laps” that show where the Interval was run, for how long / how far, and what speed.
- Honey Bee was between Taper and Workout mode today. Getting roped into buddy-running the Thunder Road Half-marathon by your Father-in-Law makes sure you hold something out for this Saturday.
- Haggis in full “I don’t want to screw this race up” mode. Brought a tear to our eyes. He’s so grown up now! Usually, he would be pushing to the max.
- LongHaul is on the shorter road to recovery. Getting stronger each week, speedwork is his painkiller.
- Skywalker joined the PAX for a 2nd week in a row and didn’t get lost this time! We took the out, back, and around the Bull Ring loop this week. Even still, YHC took a wrong turn on the return route.
- Spinner is back now that the cool temps force him from his chosen implement of exercise. The bike just isn’t so fun when the wind chill brings the temps down below freezing. He’ll pack some extra coffee in a jug for leading the TR 13.1/26.2 on a bike this Saturday. Just hit him up for it when he passes you on two wheels.
- We couldn’t get Cam to join following his performance on MNF, Pretty Boy Quarterback is nowhere to be seen, so we got our friend Flutie Flakes to join as a FNG to Swift today. Either an inquiry into Swift or mistakenly arriving 15 minutes early for Bagpipe.
Announcements:
- Joe Davis Run – sign-up now!
- Swift is looking for a guest Q next week. In two weeks, we’ll start focused training for the Joe Davis Run 5K. Hopefully, we’ll get more Bagpipers and SoBs to bite, for the focus will be short fast intervals.
Stairwell to Heaven, Heels to
We laced up our shoes and took off towards the decks this morning.
The Thang
SSH x 25
Front Lunge x 5
Imperial Walker x 25
Side Lunge x 5
Merkins x 20
Mosey to the Premiere Deck
Count of by twos and separate, then partner up. Ones to the right stairwell, Twos to the left stairwell. We are about to run the stairwells and need to slim down the pax.
Partner 1: run up 5 flights and down. Twice
Partner 2: 20 Merkins, 20 LBC, 20 Squats, Repeato until partner is back.
Flapjack
Deck Ladder
1: 10 Burpees
2: 20 Merkins
3: 30 LBC IC
4: 20 Bicycle IC
5: 25 Heels to Heaven IC
Varios plank positions assumed while PAX bottleneck in the stairwell
Ladder back down
Mosey Home
Standard situps are called as we wait for the six at the resort
Plank fest at Gateway to Ballantyne waiting on the light
Run it home.
Moleskin
Always an honor and a challenge to lead the PAX. Learn something new each time. QIC Called for bicycles and honored Puppy Love in the process. He decided to take over. No sense in arguing, let him have it on downward ladder as well. Always have more planned than time on 45 minutes and takes a few to get there. Good running pace though.
Catch me if you can
Eleven brave men decided to forgo the fartsack and come out for some running. Catch me if you can was promised and delivered. It was a great group of men and many BRR veterans and a few future BRRers.
The Thang: Instructions were given and off we went into the gloom. The Pax did a nice mosey for a mile down to Woodfox to the Rounding Run Rd loop. We did a series of warmup exercises to get our muscles primed for the experience at the corner of Rounding Run Rd.
The Pax was asked to run at their target 10K pace in preparation for the Joe Davis Memorial run. Each Pax as they crossed the finish line of the Rounding Run Rd loop was asked to count the seconds between when they finished and the next Pax came across. Once everyone was through the field was inverted so the Pax that finished last started first. Each Pax after that started based upon how many seconds they finished in front of the next Pax that crossed the line. The idea was to have everyone stagger and then finish at the same time. The penalty for getting passed was five merkins at the end.
We did this loop a total of four times at a timed pace. The last loop you had to add five seconds to your start time based upon how many Pax you passed on the third loop. As I am writing this it sounds confusing but luckily it worked out during the workout.
We did a cool down run around the loop for a total of six times around the loop and then an Indian run back to the launch point.
Moleskin: Great effort out of everyone there today. I felt everyone was giving full effort. It always helps to run as a group and also be able to chase someone. Even the RFYL group was giving us props.
It was nice seeing some of the Pax that has not posted at Fast Twitch lately there today. Hope you keep coming out.
Announcements:
Joe Davis Memorial Run sign up. Please help contribute to the coffeteria as well. https://joedavisrun.racesonline.com/
Don’t forget to sign up for the Area 51 X-mas party. http://f3nation.com/2014/11/07/area51christmasparty/
Thanks Mr. Brady for the take out for remembering our veterans. Thanks for all that have served, are serving and future commitments.