Scouting Run – Wet Behind the Ears @ 40
13 Pax gathered in the Gloom for a downPAINment at The Rock for a final scouting trip, and to help Hops celebrate his 40th Birthday!
The Thang:
We’re not going to give a whole lot away in specifics of the workout as today was a dry run of just some of the pain for The Rock prior to our Sept. 8th Big Bang launch. Well for most of us it was a dry run, but more on that in a minute. We once again smoked ourselves running through only about 25% of the campus here at Calvary Church. This is a great campus to hold an F3 workout and we are blessed the Leadership of the church has allowed us to hold our new Sat. morning Charlotte South boot camp here. We once again tackled North Face, did a lot of running and pain stations, and had to get the sand out of our shoes!
Great job by all the Pax this morning including our FNG Michael Axelson (from here forth known as C. Everett Koop). It does get easier, as I am surely living proof of that. Looking forward to having you back out in the Gloom at all the Charlotte South Workouts!
T-Claps to Ray Charles pushing through the workout with a tweaked groin. One of us mentioned we were putting Icey Hot on our lower leg/calf while RC was talking about his #23 style dunk yesterday and slightly pulling his groin. One mistaken Pax merged the 2 conversations and immediately grabed his crotch and buckled his knees at the thought of Icey Hot. Slow down there brother, Ray Charles isn’t about to go there! Also T-Claps to Ray Charles for his volunteer work with the Johnson C. Smith Football team. He would like some support from the Pax throughout the football season at some of the games and practices to help support and mentor some of these young men as 95% of them have grown up without a father in the picture. It would be a great way for us to use the 2nd F while serving our community. You never no how you are going to affect another persons life!
And now to the final exercise of the day as one of us gets wet behind the ears. We transversed the parking lot over towards a smaller hill next to the pond to get ready for the last exercise. This time Run Stopper was taking the Q to lead us as he yelled out “Next Exercise is, The Bum Rush” as he tackles Hops and throws him into the pond! It was one of the biggest surprises and was great fun. Hops took it like a gentleman and was able to laugh it off with us as we all sang happy birthday. Happy 40th brother! After Mrs. Hops said your hair still smelled like pond algae after washing it 2 times I hope you showered off for a third! If you’re on Twitter check out the video that Tiger Rag posted of the festivities. If your not on Twitter then shame on you and join using your F3 nickname as your handle. We will be pushing a good bit of information out via Twitter as well as the website. Here is a link if you have a Twitter log-in: http://twitvid.com/YFVTN
F3 Dads was a blast as about 12 of us from Charlotte South headed to Freedom Park with the 2.0s after our downPAINment in the Gloom. My kids can’t wait till next year to do it again.
Announcements:
Next week everyone will all be at Area 51 at McKee Rd Elementary. Then the following week, Sept. 8th, will be the Big Bang Charlotte South Convergence at The Rock. We want every Area 51 Pax that has ever posted to be there to get smoked and have a great time! Begin EH’ing your friends by letting them know this will be a great first F3 workout to start. Beginning Saturday Sept. 15th both Charlotte South boot camp workouts will be held simultaneously at each respective site.
If you haven’t already signed up for the Spartan Sprint Race in March what are you waiting for? Area 51 and The Rock need to represent! Sign up by August 30th through the website to get in on the F3 discount.
100 = 105
26 men gathered in the Area 51 swamp land this morning.
The Thang – McGee QIC
The Burpee Warm-Up:
Side Straddle Hop x 10 / 1 Burpee
Side Straddle Hop x 10 / 2 Burpees
Merkins x 10 / 3 Burpees
Imperial Walker x 10 / 4 Burpees
Knee-Ups x 10 / 5 Burpees
Diamonds x 10 / 6 Burpees
SSH x 10 / 7 Burpees
Mountain Climbers x 10 / 8 Burpees
Slow Bicycle (The Bootlegger) x 10 / 9 Burpees
2 Minutes of People’s Chair / 10 Burpees
Subtotal Burpees = 55
The Devil’s Workout
Widearms/Diamonds/Merkins
Squats/Burpees/Jumping Lunges
Knee-ups/Jackknives/Bicycle
Burpees/Turkish Getups/Burpees
Turkish Getups/Burpeesx7/Turkish Getups
Subtotal Burpees = 50
Total Burpees = 105
The Thang – Slapshot QIC
Run to rock pile Squats with rock x50 Jump ups x25
Run through neighborhood to back field Peter parker x15 Parker peter x15 Walking lunge 1/2 field Bear crawl 1/2 field
Run to trail Dips x25 Run trail Dips x25
Run to playground Pull-ups x10 Scissor crunch x20 Pull-ups x10 Scissor crunch x20
Flutter kicks x20 LBCs x10 Dolly x20 Knee-ups x10
Run to parking lot
Nakedman Moleskin
-McGee may be good with numbers, but the oxygen deprivation resulted in a few unintented extra burpees this morning. 100, 105… what does it really matter… once you cross the century mark you know it’s gonna hurt.
-Turkish get-ups were introduced to Area 51 this morning… a real crowd pleaser. Thankfully, today was without bricks… maybe next time.
-Today’s age range for the PAX… 26 [Donkey Kong] and 58 [Boss Tweed]… proof that F3 fits for all ages. We know for certain that Donkey Kong will still be out in gloom 32 years from now… showing FNGs in 2044 proper form for burpees.
Headlamps required…..
The Thang:
Eleven Pax posted for The Devil’s Turn; 2 for the 6 mile run and 9 for the 4 mile.
Moleskin:
The lack of a moon this morning made running the greenway even more interesting. It was practically pitch black without the use of a headlamp and the trail was not visible in the shaded areas. Sparky (headlampless..) encountered a lone aged tomato (headlampless as well) and both parties suffered mild heart attacks, however this encountered did provide Sparky with a new finishing PR! Way to push it! Next week will be the first time trial and all will set their new PR (maybe with the exception of Sparky!) to improve upon in the coming weeks. Nice job Mall Cop and Thin Crust… already showing improvement. Welcome back Cowboy. Aye!
Dirty Laundry
23 men gathered in the gloom for a Death Valley party.
The Thang
-Run to track
-Warm up: SSH, Imperial Walker, Squats [each X20]
-Track work, in partner format:
- 1/4 mile run, 100 merkins [in aggregate, with partner]
- 1/4 mile run, 150 squats [in aggregate, with partner]
- 1/4 mile run, 50 burpees [in aggregate, with partner… F3 style of course]
- 1/4 mile run, bear crawl [50 yards], crab crawl [50 yards]
-Short Mary
-Plank-o-rama
-Other stuff… just riffing it… merkins, mountain climbers, etc.
-Run up hill to Circle of Trust [COT]
Nakedman Moleskin
- Today was the high water mark for a Death Valley workout… 23 men… triple claps
- We started today by picking partners. Your humble correspondent [YHC] asked that men pair up with someone they don’t know that well. Needless to say, chaos ensued. For a casual observer, it must have looked like a Sadie Hawkins dance or a speed dating event in the gloom. I even overheard a few rejections among the PAX… Man #1 says to Man #2: “Hey you got a partner?”… Man #2 replies back to Man #1: “Um, sorry, but I’m already spoken for.” It was a scary scene, never to be repeated. I’m scarred for life.
- Much chatter among the PAX today regarding what us men do with our dirty laundry when we return to our nice suburban homes in the wonderful land of Charlotte South. Many bad ideas surfaced, but YHC may have set the bar at new lows, acknowledging a recent decision to place my post-workout shorts on a hanger in the master bedroom. Let’s just say that MJoker was not pleased. “Kick ’em when they’re up, kick up when they’re down… we love dirty laundry.”
- Many headlamps were donned this morning… and may be a valuable addition to future Death Valley workouts.
- Far side showed today that his speed on four limbs rivals his speed on two.
- Lost Weekend… welcome back to the gloom… if you had stayed away much longer we might have renamed you to Lost Summer.
- Nickname-o-rama today in the COT was a pleasure to behold. On the turn of a dime someone can go from Boudreaux to Dora.. harsh brothers, very harsh.
- The Rock… September 8… Calvary Church… come out for a good time.
40 is the new 30…Bring it!
The Shovel Flag was planted and 14 of my F3 brothers helped YHC celebrate my 40th b-day in style with some pain management!
The Thang:
Run with dumbbells to lower lot, some lunges to warm it up.
SSH x 40
Imperial Walker x 40
Spartan Merkin x 10
Wide-arm Merkin x 10
Diamond Merkin x 10
Jacob’s Ladder with dumbbells- Spartan Burpee at top with dumb bells, of course
Run back to CDS for Wall work
People’s Chair- 40 sec
Wall Plank- 40 sec
People’s Chair- 40 sec
Balls to Wall- 40 sec
Dumb Bell work-
Shoulder press x 10
Curls x 10
Tricep extension x 10
Rinse, repeat
Teamwork- 40 yard station DASH (Burpees while you wait on your teammates)
Station 1- Hairburners
Station 2- Hariburners (Yep, Why not?)
Station 3- Tire Pulls
Station 4- Sled Pull
Station 5- Tire Flips
Mason Twist with Dumbbell – (20ish count)
Nakedman Moleskin:
Gotta love the Nibbla, calling YHC out on the 40 theme after the SSH’s.
Strong work on the hill, men….noticed Harley, Countertop, and Joker leading the way there.
Donkey Kong- totally vertical on Balls to the Walls, impressive!
Inaugural launch of Tiger Rag’s new toy, the SLED! Crowd pleaser for sure….key, stay low. Run Stopper killed it.
Hops turns the big 4-0 on Saturday, come help him celebrate at ARea 51.
Hope you boys enjoyed the variety today.
F3/Dads- this Sat at 0930-1030 -meet near the Train, bring the 2.0’s
Sept. 8th- Launch of The Rock at Calvary..according to Run Stopper, “The Rock will break you”. There some hill there that may be named Everest…come find out what it is all about.
The Rock… T-minus 19 Days…
26 men gathered in the gloom for a Saturday morning dose of pain and suffering.
The Thang
Countertop – QIC
COP
- SSH x 30
- Imperial Walkers x 20
- Merkins x 20
- LBC x 20
- Arm Circles/stretches
Sprints, crawls and burpees
- sprint to mid field / High Crawl back / 30 Spartan Race Burpees
- sprint to mid field / High Crawl back / 20 Spartan Race Burpees
- sprint to mid field / High Crawl back / 10 Spartan Race Burpees
Mary
- 20x dolly (and hold)
- 15x flutter
- 15x rosalita (and hold)
- 15x flutter
- 15x freddy mercury (raised)
- 8x knee up
Ochocinco – QIC
- Lap around campus
- Playground… alternating pull ups and jump squats
- Field work… high knees, sprints, etc.
- Merkins
Nakedman Moleskin
-The QICs were forced to improvise, adapt and overcome… well, actually it was just a girls soccer tournament that posed the challenge… but, with the large field overtaken by some of Charlotte’s finest young soccer players, the Area 51 PAX bounced around the campus fringes to find suitable space for a proper beatdown.
-After a nine month hiatus, Special K made an appearance in the gloom. Welcome Back!
-Feats of strenght and speed: Donkey Kong tapped into his inner primate, demonstrating tremendous knuckle-walking speed in the bear crawl. Ochocinco and Far Side turned on the jets in the 50 yard dash.
-Five members of the PAX conducted a scouting mission at the new Charlotte South workout site — The Rock — that will officially launch on Saturday September 8th at Calvary Church. Indications are that this site will have much to offer, including a hill that may leave you running home for momma.
65 degrees and dark
12 Pax set out for an early morning jog on the McAlpine Greenway.
The Thang:
6 miles for those who set out at 5:15. 4 miles for those leaving at 5:30. Or anywhere in between for those who felt like doing their own thang.
Moleskin:
Bratwurst was kind enough to show up down south this morning and take it easy on us novices. Our comfortable pace brought some us in at a 7:30 pace.
It’s nice to see more pax showing up even if they are not completely comfortable with the running thang. Guys were scattered all over the greenway at different distances and paces. The more the merrier. And it all beats dreaming about your sub-spartan effort in the fartsac!
Then there are the regulars, along with your QIC’s, Ray Charles, Joker, Callaway, and Donkey Kong have made all the rounds so far. Strong work men.
Death Valley – Gridiron Sharpening Gridiron
The Thang:
Most exercise performed while carrying a football. It was a decidedly football-flavored workout with Death Valley regular Pretty Boy Quarterback turning 37 today. A fumble at any point resulted in a penalty of 5 burpees.
Run one lap around track
SSH’s x 37
Squats x 37
Merkins – Right hand on football x 10; then x10 with Left hand on football
Mountain Climbers – Right hand on football x10 then Left hand on football x10
200 yard medley relays x 4 with 4-man teams with football as the baton. (50 yard sprint, 50 yard karaoke, 50 yard backpedal, 50 yard sprint)
50 yards of lunges while threading football between legs with each lunge
40 yard bear crawls x 2
50 count combo of burpees and makthar ndiaye’s
Jog to hill
7 hill runs with 3 merkins at top and bottom of hill
People’s chair balancing football on legs
6ish minutes of Mary to include the seldom utilized Cumberland County Viaducts
COT
Naked Moleskin
Strong turnout for an admittedly unorthodox workout with footballs included. The mystery-wrapped- inside-an-enigma known as Donkey Kong showed up with tape-wrapped Goruck bricks as his football which made the downpainment decidedly more difficult for him. McGee, on the other hand, chose a Frisbee from his trunk in the absence of a football.
TigerRag and Callaway among others did their best to try to force fumbles hoping to punish the unsuspecting with the obligatory burpees.
All in all – a good showing from the boys in the Southlands with McGee still a part during his summer stay in the South.
Hops
250 Burpees and a Strong Handshake
Eighteen Pax posted for the first installment of Spartan-specific training, Skunk Works style.
WARMUP
- SSH x 20
- Fingertip Merkins x 10
- Squats x 20
THE THANG
Partner Up for Stations. 1 Pax performs exercise while other Pax performs 30 Spartan Burpees. Flapjack at completion of burpees.
- Towel Pull Ups
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Chain – Supine Pull Ups
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Dumbbell Forearm Curls: Std, Twists, Reverse
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Rock Pinch each hand
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Hand Clamp Plate Press (2-10 lb plates, alternate arms)
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Tennis Ball Squeeze
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Weighted One Handed Tire Pull (“The Nibbler”)
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Farmer Carry (2 -35 lb plates)
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- One Handed Weighted Bag Carry
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Screwdrivers (All)
- 30 Spartan Burpees
- Fingertip Plank (30 sec)
- Forearm Stretch Plank (Fingertips toward toes)
- Fingertip Plank (30 sec)
COT
MOLESKIN
- With the Spartan Beast a mere 60 days out, the Skunk pax got to work tightening up the weak spots: rope climbing and burpees (the easy, Spartan kind). Due to the trivial fact that we didn’t have a climbing rope, we worked on the prerequisite course to rope climbing (and a respectable handshake)–grip strength. And lots of burpees.
- Father Time’s brisk pace prevented the Pax from making all 9 stations (the 10th was a duplicate), but most made it through eight. That’s 240 Spartan Burpees per pax. Strong Work by all.
- Why do our #SadClown / #SoloFern friends need F3? Because of exchanges like Callaway to Joker: “We’ve already done 240 burpees, might as well make it 250.” And so they did.
- Donkey Kong, sensing climbing (#Wheelhouse) might be in the offing at future workouts starts asking about access to the roof of the gym….Um, no. And send our greetings to Faye Wray.
- The Skunk Works itinerary will take a decidedly Spartan flavor the next 8 weeks. Metro Pax encouraged to follow Nibbler’s example and join us. Actual climbing ropes, barbed wire and mud to be featured in coming weeks.
- A51 Expansion News: Area 51 will add a second Saturday workout called The Rock, on Sept. 8, at Calvary Church. Start EH’ing your Ballantyne and Pineville friends. T-Claps to site Q’s, Mall Cop, Hops and Run Stopper for getting this done. Details to follow.
McGee Takes Gold
89 [QIC]
-SSH X20
-Imperial Walker X20
-Merkin X15
-LBC/Dolly/Flutter X15 each
-3 stations at playground [3 sets of each]:
a] Pull Ups X10
b] Jump Ups X20
c] LBC X20
-Peoples Chair [3 sets of one minute] with Decline Merkins X10 in between sets
-Burpee ladder with alternating exercises [Merkins, Mountain Climbers, and Burpees on top of Burpees, etc.]
Joker [QIC]
Olympic Themed Events
– 800 Meter Race
– Leap frog [with partner]… not sure what the Olympic connection is here, but roll with me
-Partner carry
-Rock squats [100 reps aggregate in partner format]
-Merkin competition [first 3 to 50 reps win medals]
-100 Meter Race X3
-Modified Mary
Nakedman Moleskin [and I don’t mean Randy Travis]
-McGee turned out a strong performance, medaling in every event [including a number of Golds]. Michael Phelps beware, but rumor has it that the IOC has launched an investigation into McGee’s performance [blood doping allegations surfaced among the PAX]. All kidding aside… great work McGee.
-Grandmama has got wheels, showing endurance and speed with medal performances in both 800 M and 100 M events
-Quarter Pounder showed his inner Usain Bolt today, demonstrating that being 6’5″ can have its advantages in the 100M sprints… strong work.
-Tiger Rag and Joker battled for Bronze in the 800 M. The finish has been disputed, so a coin flip or race off may be necessary next Saturday.
-APK… welcome back to the gloom… hope to see you on a consistent basis.
-Donkey Kong sportin the clean shaven look today… it’s a good look.
-Triple claps to the FNGs today. Strong performance for The Oracle and Boss Tweed… with Boss Tweed as both an FNG and War Daddy today [58 years young!]. Joker 2.0… nicknamed One Liner today… seemed to enjoy himself today.