After a fun Saturday night the last thing I wanted to hear from Teddy, “Hey wingman, you have the Q at Firestarter tomorrow!”
Without an exact plan and a trip around Starbucks to find a smuggler smuggling we set off to 131 Main for warmup.
20 Side Straddle Hops
20 Imperial Walkers
10 Windmill
10 Squats
Mosey to the Amazing Lash Studio with 10 merkins and some plank on the way. Smuggler is located and lighter on his feet.
Partner up for Rock work.
100 Curls
100 Press
100 Tricep Extensions
100 Bent-over Rows
100 Squats
15 Press Flutters
10 Press Dolly
Mosey back to Blakeney with 10 Merkins on the Way
10 Getups on the wall Behind Old Navy
Suicides
10 Squats, Backward Run
20 Squats, Backward Run
30 Squats, Backward Run
40 Squats, Backward Run
Stairwell
5 Burpees in Every Corner
Wall
30 Punches
50 Air Presses
Thine Only
Mondays are hard. Its hard getting out of bed. Part of the reason I volunteered to help Teddy out with Firestarter. Thanks to all of you that continue to show up for the Premiere Monday SOB bootcamp. Its also great to see some newer faces out here.
5 7 9 13 Many PAX showed up for Chicken Run to get their own miles in and to support brothers who were DR running races. YHC was one of the late-comers who caught up with some along the way and appeared out of nowhere to others once we all arrived back at the PetSmart. Good discussions and nice, follow-able route by Tron on his first Chicken Q.
In line with the audibled reps on exercises, I audibled the due date of this backblast by a day…here we go…
This was my first Saturday Q and while I was in no short supply of things to do, my direction on what to do was lacking…sometimes. We start out with a mosey from the lot to the end of the gravel road leading to the trail, then circle back to the circle for some warm-ups.
Warm-Up
30 SSH (in cadence)
20 Imperial Walkers (in cadence)
15 Moroccan Night Clubs (in cadence)
15 Potato Pickers (in cadence)
20 Merkens (in cadence)
30 Mountain Climbers (in cadence)
Downward Dog/Upward Dog
The Thaang
Mosey from the circle back to the 1st tree across from the bathrooms. I can’t pull off repeated burpees, so I thought I’d break it down a bit to merkens and Bobby Hurleys. At the first tree we do 1 each then a Paula Abdul run up 2 trees and back 1 tree and we add a merken and a Bobby Hurley to the routine…we work our way up 3/4 of the way up the road after our first audible…we got up to a set of 12 each (but do the math…seriously, someone do the math, I don’t have the mind for that). Some of the guys probably did more.
We next mosey to the far lot of the school for a Starfish. We start at the center where 20 speed skaters begin the circuit…from the center we hit each of the 4 corners for an exercise, returning to the center after each corner for 20 more speed skaters. The 4 corners: Freddy Mercurys, Squats, Side Ups, and Lunges. We do this 2x.
We mosey back to the top of the hill and partner up. There was some confusion about what we were supposed to do, in what order, etc….my bad. The plan was we do 300 reps of 3 exercises (chest press, curls, overhead press) while the partner runs down the hill to the far end of the lot and return. We started out well…I think we all got through the first exercise up to 300. Time was a tickin’ and the arms were taking a lickin’, so, audible to 250 for the second exercise, then another audible to recover early on the last exercise…me and Chainsaw got over 100 (I’m sure others got more reps in).
Mosey back to the bathroom shed for 2 sets of dips and step ups (20 each) with a lap around the shed after each exercise…oops, scratch that, good call audible the step ups to lunges out of fear of breaking the picnic table benches under F3 weight. Still some time left…
Linebackers from the shed to the circle leading with the right leg, then returning to COT leading with the left leg. Still some time…
LBCs for the last about a minute…that’s a wrap…great work!
Moleskin
Great experience leading a Saturday workout for the first time…I’ll be back to Commitment and other Saturday sites too. The support from all the PAX when I Q and just post is very meaningful to me (and I know to other PAX as well). Such a great group of guys. Thanks!
Announcements
CPR Training on Monday, 3/29, from 6-8…sign up om GroupMe or see Surge.
Keep Centerfold’s mom in your hearts and prayers as she continues her battle against the Big C.
Announcing the long awaited launch of a new flexibility/stretching/ broga AO in the Waxhaw Region.
On Wednesday April 7, 2021, at 5:30 am will be the soft launch of Prickle and Goo at the playground area of the Millbridge Pool Parking lot.
THE THANG: Prickle and Goo is a stretching only/recovery type workout to assist with flexibility and help prevent injury. There is no running, no coupons, and no merkins. The workout typically starts with a few minutes of dynamic stretching to warm up the muscles then continues with a series of stretching/yoga/core type exercises.
We may use straps, a towel, or rope to enhance the stretches and a broga (yoga) mat is highly recommended because most exercises will be done on the ground. Some PAX wear their shoes, most perform the exercises in bare feet or socks.
If it rains, I will gain access to the “airnasium” of Millbridge, which is a large, covered area, so we do not have to stretch in the rain (which sucks and is not conducive to recovery).
THE HISTORY: About 4 years ago, Swiss Miss and High Tide (Area 51) realized there was a need for a recovery type AO. So they launched the first year ’round, in-door, AO in F3 history at the Boy Scout Hut in downtown Matthews. They named it Gumby. It focused on yoga/stretching type exercises with music selected by the Q. No COP, but they opened up with a prayer and ended with a count and COT.
YHC was a regular attender and Q of Gumby. I made the 20 minute drive each Wednesday because active recovery and flexibility is essential to prevent injury. This was especially critical when I transitioned from posting only at boot camps to posting only to the running sites.
When I had a change in my morning schedule that made it difficult to attend Gumby, I found myself struggling with tight muscles and suffered my first minor injury of F3. I attribute this injury to the loss of my weekly broga fix. I convinced a few other PAX in SOBLand that we needed to start our own broga AO and, thus, Pokey was born.
Pokey developed it own unique style. We met outside (from April until the weather turned cold, i.e. October/November), no music (but plenty of mumblechatter), and we began the workout with dynamic stretching.
The typical attendance for this style AO is 4-10 PAX.
It is easy to Q because there are hundreds of stretching exercises that can be discovered with a Google search or on YouTube and you are mostly stationary.
5-STAR REVIEWS/RATINGS: See what some other PAX are saying about the broga type workouts. (Disclaimer: these reviews/recommendations may have been altered or just made up in order to convince you to post this new AO. None of the PAX mentioned below were consulted prior to the publishing of this preblast.)
Frasier (winner of the Rooster race): “The only reason I can run this fast is because I regularly attended Pokey. If you want to run as fast as me, then I would recommend you regularly attend Prickle and Goo.”
Kid Rock: “If I was more flexible, I could run faster and maybe I could catch Frasier. I better goto Prickle and Goo.”
Transporter: “If I post Prickle and Goo, I can finally accomplish my fitness goals. I can be a strong as Kid Rock and run as fast as Frasier.”
Haggis: “I posted one time to Pokey and was forced to do partner stretches with Paper Jam. I never returned. They do some strange stuff at that workout.”
Goodfella: “I am definitely reporting this to the Millbridge HOA.”
Bottle Cap: “Now I understand why they kicked Paper Jam out of SOBLand.”
SYITG!
10 PAX showed up on a warm morning at the parking lot of the Millbridge pool to run. And run they did. After a proper disclaimer and poor explanation of what we were doing, we were off, running up Millbridge Parkway.
THE ROUTE: Officially known as “The Clippy Challenge”. Run from Millbridge Pool Parking Lot to the bridge in downtown Waxhaw and return.
MOLESKIN: This was my first official Q in the Waxhaw region. There was alot of self pressure to come up with something challenging for the PAX. Pursuit has a natural degree of difficulty because Millbridge has so many hills. In order to come up with something different or new, I thought it was best to do some advanced scouting to figure it out. One Sunday afternoon, I dragged our 2.0 (a.k.a Paper Clip) along with me as we walked around the neighborhood. After about 45 minutes of wandering, Clippy was exhausted and frustrated and blurted out “why don’t you just make them run to downtown Waxhaw.” Thus, the idea was born.
It is approximately 3.1 miles to reach the bridge from launch (6.2 miles total). There are at least 3 times on the way to the bridge that we have to run uphill. On the way back it is mainly downhill., except, at the 4-5 mile mark, we are faced with a steep uphill on Hudson Mill in order to reach Millbridge Parkway to begin a final decent to launch.
Wolverine and Ice-9 reached the bridge with time to spare and roamed downtown Waxhaw looking for the PAX of The Floater.
YHC, Rubbermaid, and Ghosted reached the bridge right before the 30 minute mark.
Ex-Lax, working towards a personal goal, crushed it, in terms of time, distance and speed.
Chastain was there primarily to insure the family photo was taken and Fuse Box was left wondering why they let this SOB into Waxhaw.
Turnbuckle and Jingles did their usual thang.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Alot going on in the Waxhaw region, new AOs, WTF (Waxhaw Trail Fest), and plenty of service opportunities. Follow GroupMe to keep up with it all.
I am beginning to feel at home in Waxhaw. I am grateful to all the PAX who have been so welcoming and thank you for providing the opportunity to lead this morning.
Warmup: Mosey to back parking lot. SSH, Moroccan Nightclubs, IW’s, 3 burpees, plank jacks, runners stretch, mountain climbers, calf stretch..
Thang: Mosey to the playground and partner up (only 4 of us plus 2 Mashers, so partnering wasn’t super complicated). Partner 1 runs a lap around the track with a burpee at far end, while Partner 2 starts into 100X each of BB sit ups, Bobby Hurleys, Hand release merkins. That sucked, so we audibled to 100X Dry Docks, Heels to Heaven and LS Squats for the round 2 repeato.
Mosey’d to entrance rock pile and got a lifting rock. 25X curls, tris and military press as a group.. Then run a lap around parking lot. 2nd set 25X hanging rows, bench and side to side’s, run a lap..
Almost time, so put rocks back and short mosey to COT area where Penalty Box and Mayhem were just finishing up their breakfast sandwiches and 2nd cup of coffee.. They joined us for a little ab work and time was called.
Good work out there boys. Way to push.
Great morning of camaraderie….When I joined F3 last July I watched a 90 second video of Dredd explaining in brief terms the concept of F3… He described the “2nd F” as the “Glue”. (Fellowship- Consistent Male Friendship)
Today, I really saw that concept in action. This was my first time attending NW…. I have read how it is a great way to get to know your “brothers” better and have meaningful dialogue. All of that is TRUE…plus just a good time!
It was fun learning a little about each person there….the hour flew by…amd really you just skimmed the surface….The fellowship is great…the needling is fun….laughs mixed in with a little serious conversation.
I will keep this short and say I truly enjoyed today…I highly recommend it….This is is a great format. I look forward to doing it again and if you havent tried NW yet….give it a shot! F2 is real.
I returned from my 3 mile pre-run with Joker, who peeled out to go to SCMS to train for the next Beer Mile, and found Cottonmouth and High Tide unloading bells. As I got my gear unloaded, Butterfinger joined us, making good on his Slack promise from the night before. After loaning him a few bells and giving him a bit of a disclaimer, we got started on the warm up.
On to the Neupert part of the workout: 10 sets of 6 double swings on ~:45 intervals
It had been a little while since we attempted the Eagle/Goshawk, so we I decided to do that. Both complexes consist of 8 squats followed by a 20 meter farmer/suitcase walk repeated 8 times without putting the bells down. The Eagle requires doubles and the Goshawk singles. We mixed it up and some pax used singles and some doubles. In an effort to actually complete the Eagle, I elected for the double 16s. It worked a lot better than the 24s, but was still extremely difficult. I think everyone got through all 8 rounds without putting the bells down. This was surprisingly hard on the grip and traps (at least for Cottonmouth and me).
Next, we moved on to Easy Strength:
Lay on the ground to catch our breaths and then we moved on to some carries:
Time for Mary:
COT with the RockZero pax – thanks to Flipper for the takeout
Announcements:
Moleskine: