Taper with a Merlot Twist

Taper with a Merlot Twist

22 dodgy geezers showed up at Kevlar for a nice taper involving sprints, hills, tires and the odd any hill. No snakes today and we got right to it.

THE THANG

Mosey to church lot

SSH x 20
IW x 25
Merkins x 12
MC x 15
Dry Dox x 10

Sit into two groups (eventually) with first group running lap and the next group lunge walking in same direction. Switch when running group catches lunging group. Repeato with bear crawls.

To the Hills

Jacobs Ladder to 7 with manmakers at top and same number of squat jumps at bottom (extra credit knee slaps.)
Mosey to field with sprint to flag pole

1) Partner 1 elbows to regular plank Partner 2 sprint to tires for 10 tri dips.
2) Repeato with mason twists and dry dox.
3) Repeato with flutter kicks and decline merkins.
4) Repeato with burpees and inside grip merkins.
5) Repeato with Turkish get ups and stagger merkins.

Mary till time ran out.

COT

MOLESKIN

Tough to predict numbers today with Mud Run lads “tapering” in preparation for tomorrow but ended up with 22 hard working fellas. Bananas showed up in his snuggie so as to emulate the feeling of his fartsack. TR was there bright and early studying his form guide prior to critiquing the workout even though the he should have been “tapering” himself. One lad certainly not “tapering” was Fraggle who lost his cornflakes somewhere between the hills and the tires. In F3 terms this type of occurrence is described as the spilling of merlot and this warrior battled on and he reminded me of the guy in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81hT3wNFB4k&sns=em

They were a few concerned looks as the pax headed to the soccer field which had not been cut in a while. Tall grass means only one thing and the rumors of snakes made their way around. The lads got to inspect the tires up close for any rattlers by sticking their heads down deep for the Carolina dry docks. Wolf man was particularly strong on the tires as partners worked hard to get back and make the switch. The burpee call got a few moans from Chuck E Cheese but all in all a good sweat for all involved.

Thanks to Strikeout for taking us out in prayer today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Good luck to all participating in Mud Run.
May 10th is first 3rd F Friday book study. True Measure of a Man by R.E Simmons. 6:30-7:15 am at Arboretum Chic Fil A. Stonecold and Bulldog leading.
Only Saturday workout is the Rock at Cavary 7am.

Centurion – Partners in the Pit

12 men enjoyed the less gloomy gloom for a great time, albeit a somewhat quiet one.

The thang:

Short jog to parking lot, for:

SSH IC x 40

Merkins IC x 10

Imperial Walkers IC x 25

Squats IC x 26

CDD IC x 20

LBC IC x 20

Short jog to the picnic tables for short dip/step up ladder from/to 10

Short jog to the Pit with lunge walk down the hill

Run to end of pit and do 10 burpees, run back to do 10 merkins, count off in finishing order

Partner up with number to equal 13 (i.e. 12 and 1, 11 and 2, etc.)

In partner: 120 Merkins, partner a run to end of field and back, partner b merkins flapjack until complete, plank when done

120 LBC, partner a run to end of field and back, partner b LBC flapjack until complete, plank when done

60 Spartan Burpees, partner a run to end of field and back, partner b Spartan Burpees flapjack until complete, plank when done

mosey to road and back to shovel flag for MARY:

Flutter x 25

Dolly x 25

Heels to Heaven (thanks to the demo by Haggis who gets the extra credit) x 15, YHC was demonstrating strained counting at this point

Mason Twist x 15

High Dolly x 20

Protractor for c. 1 min

Conveniently already in the right configuration for COT:

Moleskin:

Great effort by the pax today, a number of shout outs, Cain looking very strong as well as Sacagawea on his first post, well done, Haggis not looking worse for wear after another of his epic races last weekend (50k in the mountains).  Shout out to Manners and Enfield, keep pushing us old guys, great to see you out there.  Thanks to the pax for the opportunity to lead and to Escargot for really leading up the effort to build up the Centurion workout, great campus and good 2nd F as well, also thanks to the prayer taking us out and keeping our brothers running the Mud Run lifted up for strength and safety.  Good luck boys!

 

 

The quiet before the storm

The Thang: It was a straight 4 or 6 miles this morning for the pax.

Moleskin: Quiet slow pace this morning for most. Except for Sprague and Strange Brew who showed up early and fininshed strong. Sprague is always fast. Strange Brew, I think, even surprised himself this morning at how fit he is getting.

Cheese Curd and YHC were actively tapering for the mud run this morning (as opposed to all those passive fartsackers out there). We are now loose and ready to roll come Saturday.

Skywalker suffered in silence this morning as he worked to get back his running legs. I think peer pressure helped him keep going and never quit. Good for him.

And Swiss Miss was out yet again. He’s becoming quite the regular. Look out.

News: Convergence in the south on Saturday morning. 7am at the Rock. There will be no Stonehenge or Area 51 workouts. The rest of us will be having fun in a watered down cow pasture.

 

The Gopher- Part 2

33 men accepted the challenge and posted this morning for a 45 minute non-stop DV beatdown -aka-The Gopher (yes Tiger Rag… I got the workout idea from Haywood/WIB.. but isn’t that what backblasts are for??).

Warm up:

-YHC explains the course.

-Pax partner up.

The Thang:

Bang!

-Pax run around parking lot. Teams complete 20 merkins at concession stand.

-Man A runs to football field and runs one lap around track, then runs back to the transition area (concession stand).

-Man B runs down steps to baseball fields and completes 20 reps each of: dips, modified pull ups, carolina dry docks, and LBC’s then runs back to transition area.

-At transition area each team completes a team total of 20 merkins; then man A&B switch.  Goal is for each team to complete 8 loops.

-Early finishers- Extra credit 2 MOM.

Moleskin:

-It was very quiet this morning… as expected.  The only chatter that could be heard was in the transition area amongst teammates looking for one another, dividing up the 20 merkins, and giving the occasional shout of encouragement.

-This was a great final team cardio workout before the mud run.  45 minutes of constant running with pain stations added in is brutal; especially when you are have a team component factored in.  Pushing yourself to dig a little deeper so that your teammate is not having to knock out all 20 merkins or is having to wait/plank for you at the transition area is a great motivator.

-The goal of 8 completions of the loop was a bit optimistic, but hey..it’s F3 so the bar was set high.  I believe the most loops completed was 6.5.  If any team completed more shout out in the comments… you guys deserve the recognition.

-T-claps to Strange Brew and Thin Crust. You guys have come a long way brothers!

 

-Strong soft launch this morning at The Maul (Stonecrest).  26 post with 1 FNG…. EH’d by guess who????  I guess we can now assume that any FNG named after a fruit is a member of the Bananas’ clan.

-Time to taper.

Looking forward to Saturday.

49er

 

Addition By Division

Twenty six big, hairy American winning machines layeth the smacketh down at Area 51’s newest workout, The Maul (even though we are meeting at a power center, not a mall…just play along).

WARM UP

  • Mosey to the parking lot (one of just a few paved spaces in our new digs)
  • SSH x 20
  • I-Walker x 20
  • Slow-Mo Squats x 25
  • Perfect Merkins x 10
  • Mosey to wall (good morning to Matlock, passing in the Benz)

THANG

  • 11’s:  Wall Jumps / Dips
  • Walking plank around portion of fountain.  Left, then Right.
  • 50/50’s:  50 yard sprint/10 merkins, repeato up to 50 merkins
  • Mosey to loading dock, U-Turn so as not to rouse the #SleepingTrucker.  Sweet dreams, Rubber Duck. Mosey to dew-covered, steep hill at back of theater.
  • Let us contemplate steep hill with a 2 minute People’s Chair
  • Old School Jacob’s Ladder:  1-7 burpees.
  • Abort Old School Jacob’s Ladder.  Men down!  Abort!  Back to loading dock in silent mode, like a Prius in space.
  • Speed Bump Burpees.  Sprint to Speed Bump, 5 burpees.  Six speed bumps.
  • Circle up and hold 6″ waiting for Mary.

MARY

  • Low/Slow Flutter x 15
  • Slow Dolly x 15
  • Slow Rosalita x 16
  • One legged flutter dolly x 10L
  • Other-legged flutter dolly x 11
  • LBC x 16 (legs at 90 degrees, uncrossed)

FINISHER

  • Speed Bump Mosey Sprints:  mosey to 1st bump, All You Got to 2nd, mosey to 3rd, AYG to 4th, repeat.
  • Plank to regroup
  • Mosey back to start
  • Test run of next week’s hill x 1 (Success)

COT

MOLESKIN

  • F3 is free, but not cheap.  It costs you sleep.  It costs you comfort.  It costs you pride (but builds it at the same time).  And despite that–or perhaps, more accurately, BECAUSE of it–twenty six men gather to run around in the Target parking lot.  You wouldn’t come if it wasn’t hard.  This is a good thing.
  • 3x Claps to all who supported the new effort.  Last week’s count at DV was 50.  This week’s Wednesday counts at 59.  Addition by Division.
  • More Russian chauffeurs spotted at A51.  Thanks to Peekup Andropov for hauling the 2.0’s, Infield and Manners, to and from the workout.  Perhaps sensing a emotional car-jacking, Andropov peeled out of there on two wheels.  Come join us next time.  It’s free….
  • Trending: Open Pit Action (OPA) shirts.  Baracus yesterday, Brown today.  Pose Down Season approaching.
  • Radar must have spiked the Grape Ne-Hi with some 5 hour energy.  Killing it on the Speed Bump Sprints.
  • Most were secretly hoping to see someone go in the fountain during the 11’s.  Some not so secretly hoping.  Agree with Sprague–those walls were not regulation (though not as bad as C-Rock).
  • Welcome to (yet another) Bananas EH: FNG Strawberry (last name Fields).  Your lifelong dream of doing sprints in a loading dock have been fulfilled.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • HDHH at 1800 – 1930 at Vintner’s Wine Market at Arb.
  • A51 Convergence at The Rock Saturday, 0700 – 0800.  NO WORKOUTS at Stonehenge or Area 51 (McKee) on Saturday due to Mud Run.

Forget Proper Form

30 men enjoyed a crisp morning of kettlebell fun.

Warmup:
– SSH, Two-Handed Swings, Merkins, Goblin Squats, Mountain Climbers

Burpee Chasers
– Partner up, try to match KB size
– Partner 1: farmer carry 2 KBs, Partner 2: 5 burpees, sprint to catch Partner 1…flapjack
– Around church to stairs, two-handed swings while you wait

Mary w/ KB
– Mason Twists, LBC, Flutters, Planks (no KB), Peter Parker (no KB)

Merkin Chasers
– Find partner, repeat lap the other direction replacing 5 burpees with 10 merkins

Partner Sprints
– Partner 1: KB exercise, Partner 2: spring exercise…flapjack
– Upright row / springs
– Goblin squat to press / bearcrawl, crabwalk, sprint
– Tricep presses / backwards sprint, spring

Lungewalk to Wall

People’s Chair w/ KB

Moleskin
Proper form is key for KB exercises, and Tiger Rag’s coaching is usually appreciated…However, his instructions on where to put your thumb on the two-handed KB swing was not a pleasant visual.

I had the misfortune to be partnered with TR and his 50 lb KB on the first lap and was thankful for Bulldog to switch with me on the second lap…but somehow I ended up with Header and his 40 lb KB. You guys are impressive with those man-sized KBs, my forearms are still twitching.

I tried to keep the pace up with no breaks, hope you enjoyed it. Great enthusiasm and good work out there! My shoulders are still hurting from Runstopper’s Jack Webb on Saturday.

— Harley

Death Valley Preblast- “Ready for the Mud Run?”

If the answer is “no”… show up.

If the answer is “I/we think so”…show up.

If the answer is “yes”….show up and prove it.

Launch time 0530.

Final pre-mud run endurance workout tomorrow morning at Death Valley.  45 minutes non-stop  with pain stations (the clock doesn’t stop for a “10 count” in the Mud Run!).  Tapering begins at 0615.

If you are looking for something a little more on the “lighter side” and are thinking about posting at the soft launch tomorrow at Stonecrest Tiger Rag will be there to deliver another Area 51 PAIN fest.

 #no-wheretohideinsouthclt.

See you in the gloom.

49er

 

Soft Launch: New Wednesday Workout

Addition by Division.  Breaking your routine.  Starbucks and Chicken Minis.  All good reasons to post at STONECREST tomorrow for the soft launch of the Wednesday workout.  All Pax welcome.

Details:

    • SOFT LAUNCH:  WED, APRIL 24.
    • STYLE:  Boot camp.
    • TIME:  0530 – 0615
    • MEET: Side parking lot next to Stone Crest movie theater (tucked away out of sight).  Closer to Elm than Rea.
    • QIC:  Tiger Rag and other motley characters until full time Site Qs step up.

Look, we hit 50 at Death Valley.  That was fun.  But there’s a reason we meet in small-ish groups: 2nd F.  Time to bust it up.

Taba…what?

(…posted on behalf of Lex Luthor…)

The shovel flag was planted this morning and 28 (C.J. Spillers # for all you Clemson fans) men posted this morning in the cool 40 degree weather. Rookie Q, Lex Luthor, brought his stopwatch inspired workout “Taba…what” to The Matrix. The morning workout was laced with burpees which was a nod to Dora’s Burpee fest earlier in the year – don’t think that we got to the record of 161 but we tried. (…the list of guys that made it – if I missed you it was inadvertent so please reply and give me some stick next time you see me.)

The Thang

Jog to far end of the soccer field.
Warmup

  • Side Straddle Hops – 26 (odd number to end on as the rookie Q forgot to stop at 25 – he was obviously having too much fun counting 1,2,3)
  • Merkins – 15
  • Mtn Climbers – 15

Tabata (5 sets)
Each exercise performed for 20 sec followed by 10 sec rest.

Set 1

  • Merkins
  • Carolina Drydock
  • Alternating Lunges – Forward
  • Alternating Lunges – Back
  • Repeato

Set 2

  • LBC’s
  • Squats
  • Side Lunges
  • Burpees
  • Repeato

Set 3

  • Plank
  • Side Plank on the Left
  • Side Plank on the Right
  • Burpees
  • Repeato

~ 1min break between sets

Set 4

  • Merkins
  • Jump Squat
  • Alternating Jump Lunges
  • Burpees
  • Repeato

Set 5

  • Mtn Climbers
  • Jump Squat (rotate 180 degrees with each jump)
  • High Knees
  • Burpees
  • Repeato

Herschel Walker (2 sets)

  • LBC’s (20x)
  • Sprint (30 yds)

“Burpees for your Bros” for those who finish early

  • Merkins (15x)
  • Sprint (30 yds)

“Burpees for your Bros” for those who finish early

Box Bear Tri (1 set due to time constraint)
Break into 3 groups with each starting with one of the following

  • Box Jump on the 12 tree stumps behind McKee (15x)
  • Bear Crawl to circle of benches in the woods ~30 yds away
  • Tri Dips (20x) – Bear Crawl back to the Box Jump
  • Wall Sits and Walking Lunges were added in for good measure so speed up the event and give some added pain for those who finished early.

Mary

  • Bicycle (20x)
  • Mason Twists (20x)
  • Flutter (15x)
  • Heels to Heaven (15x)

Moleskin

The rookie Q enjoyed the opportunity to put the crew through their paces – thanks Dora and Joker for the opportunity.

It took a few minutes for the chatter to start but the boys quickly made up for lost time and chided Lex for not yelling loud enough or not giving proper demonstration prior to the exercise (I enjoyed every moment of it).

It was great to see everyone pushing themselves through the Tabata part of the workout this morning. It was noted that you can do anything for 20 seconds and I believe that it was also pointed out by a member of the PAX that you can do some things twice. Please reply if you can give the proper attribution to the person who pointed this out as there are a couple of guys who are still doubled over in laughter from this one.

Some movie trivia lighted the mood with fan favorites – Tombstone, Dazed and Confused, and Batman making the rotation.

Great work out there by Chicken Wing (Buffalo’s finest) – I could see those Burpees from a mile away with that white hoodie – giddyup. Thanks to Fireman Ed and Irish Cream for posting at the Matrix – I know that you guys typically roll out of bed to Base Camp and I mean roll for Fireman Ed (he lives 100 yards away) but it was great to see you burn up some petrol and bring the pain. Not sure how we did it but I know that we snagged a Metro guy out in the burbs – cheers Corchiani. Who knew that F3 had made it past Pineville-Matthews Rd.

Announcements

  • -Convergence at the Rock this Saturday at 7am for all of those who are not going on the Mud Run

Base Camp Review – We Lost a Few…

Started out with 13 into the beautiful gloom, a slight hint of chill in the air, all the more reason to get going.

The thang:

Light jog around baseball field to circle up for warmup:

SSH x 30

IW x 20

CDD x 20

Merkins x 10

Squat x 20

lunge walk to stairs, bunny hop stairs, light jog to track

400m around track with x 5 merkins in each corner, track finishing order

Partner up with opposite number (i.e 1st with 12th, 2nd with 11th, etc.)

In partners, (thanks #Dora):

CDD x 80, partner 1 start with CDD, partner 2 run from mid field to end and back and flapjack until 80 complete, plank it up when done

LBC x 80, partner 1 start with LBC, partner 2 run from mid field to end and then bear crawl back and flapjack until 80 complete, plank it up when done

Burpees x 40, partner 1 start with burpees, partner 2 run from mid field to end and back and flapjack until complete, plank it up when done

Jog around field, no wait YHC had to audible himself on that one, make it half way round the field, back to center as Mary came a calling:

Low flutter x 20

Dolly x 20

Heels to heaven x 10 (thanks or no thanks to #Haggis for showing me this one)

High flutter x 10

Mason twist x 15

Mosey to washrooms

People’s chair x 45 sec x 2 (moans could be heard on x2)

Balls to the wall x 45 sec x 2 (Bulldog declined the extra credit pushups but held on to the end, always strong brother!)

COT:

Great job by the 11 pax that finished, lost 2 somewhere in the darkness (sound off below)…

FNG Joe Peterson (sp?) now known as Waiver, YHC will have to make sure to read the disclaimer every workout now…

Had fun leading the men today, great effort by all and good teamwork on the partner work, strong mumblechatter throughout.  Moon River offered to sit out balls to the wall number 2 but was encouraged not to do so and so he pushed on ahead, well done sir.  Strong shoulder workout today with the CDD and BTW or at least I feel it, maybe just recovery still hard to say, either way it’s good for you.

Forgot to mention the mini convergence on Saturday at the Rock to accommodate for those running the Mud Run on Sat, Runstopper and YHC on Q for that at 7 am.

Thanks to SMASH for a great finish to remind ourselves who we are and why we really come out to F3, for our whole being, our faith which builds ourselves and our families.