A long time ago in a F3 region far, far away…
What: This event, the first in a series of SOB #CSAUP’s pitting brother against brother, is designed to settle the long simmering feud between Stonehenge and da Vinci (with a little help from Chicken Run), and to coax PAX out of their comfort zones. After 5 years of insults, passive aggressive #FridayMarketing and ill-spirited workout count comparisons, this first episode will officially determine which Saturday SOB bootcamp reigns supreme. The rivalry may have cooled off recently, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a score to settle. These old wounds are still raw! We need the SOB’s (and friends) to come out in force to help determine which workout will wear the crown, and which will continue to eat bagels covered in ants and trash (ok, YHC might be slightly biased). Side note- if you’ve ever taken part in a #CSAUP you know that there is a direct correlation between the number of PAX and the amount of fellowship. So show up and let’s get stupid.
When: April 24th, 05:00AM
Thang:
The Competition:
Wear the color of whatever Saturday bootcamp you identify with in your heart (Stonehenge = blue / da Vinci = red). Points will be assigned to each PAX based on how many components of the #CSAUP they complete (see below). The workout with the most points gets bragging rights AND is awarded possession of a brand new SOB artifact that captures the spirit of all things #CSAUP and will be utilized in future events.
Options and Point System:
Misc:
It was a pretty warm morning today at around 59 degrees, so it was a perfect day for making Sweat Angels all over the pavement at Marvin Ridge. So that’s what we did.
Warm up:
Short mosey to circle up and do SSH, hillbilly walkers, plank jacks, and a few stretches.
Then we split into two groups by partnering up with someone of equal speed and then rock paper scissors, winners on one team, losers on the other. But I assured everyone not to worry because we are all winners.
I had two lines of cones set up with exercises and reps on each, one line for each team. We did a suicide race as teams. The cones had merkins, heels to heaven, speed skaters and smurph jacks, 20 of each. Each time you ran back to the base line you did one burpee, and you had to bear crawl to the first cone. After each round the winning and losing team had different exercises to do as a reward, the crowd favorite was the snow angels or sweat angels, whichever name you like better. 3 rounds of this routine was enough, smurph jacks really suck!
Then we mosied around the school stopping half way to do a set of Aiken Legs while the 6 caught up: 20 reps each of squats, bobby hurleys, speed skaters and lunges. Then we mosied over to the middle school entrance where we did a round of the Motivator, in honor of Posse who introduced us to this a few weeks ago.
Motivator is great: you start at whatever number you want, we started at 8, so we did 8 SSH, 8 Seal jacks, 8 no arm jacks, 8 skier jacks, then go to 7 of each, all the way down to 1 or each. It takes some special coordination to keep up with this one as we all count together and it moves pretty fast. Shop Dog showed off his dancing skills with some fancy footwork while Ice 9 harkened back to his childhood days of jump rope for hours and hours. It was fun, just not for the calves.
Then we mosied around to the back of the middle school where I had some more surprises waiting. We did a routing of 5 burpees, 10 merkins, 20 step ups, 20 dips, 20 bonnie blairs, then we mosied back to the front of the school for 3 rounds of Mary: Snow Angels, Austrailian Snow Angels, and Heels to Heaven. Everyone took a moment to admire their snow/sweat angel, then we were off.
Mosey to back of middle school and repeat the routine: legs were definitely feeling it.
Mosey towards the finish line stopping half way for more Mary called out by various pax. Shake-n-bake called out flutter kicks and cadence counted them up to 40, it was brutal as we thought he’d go on forever. He even came early for a pre-run, that guy’s a beast!
Final mosey and then jail break to COT. It was good to be done!
This morning at Anvil we had thirteen PAX including one FNG and were greeted by the first morning of the season that felt downright pleasant. I think the gloves can safely put away until November or December, and maybe even washed. I was thrown for a bit of a loop right from the start because based on the usual attendees of Anvil, I was expecting three things to happen:
Instead, the group was very affable and good-natured, so I had to adjust my expectations and press on. We began with a jog to the Astroturf pavilion and upon arriving the sign out front let us know that we had entered a designated mask zone. Outside. Really. Seeing no Karen Fauci types around to scold us we warmed up with the usual group of exercises. Surprisingly, we had nearly full participation in the side straddle hops, sans Hops. Far be it from me to judge (kidding, I love judging) that’s a weird exercise to boycott. I save my refuseniks for truly dumb things like burpees. Following the warmup we set off for the Avenue of Trees. Four rounds of a hard run to the end for merkins, squats, and Freddie Mercurys (20x, 15x, 10x, 5x reps) and a recovery jog back.
Next up a run to the hot box for bench work. First up was 50 dips then run to the end of the sidewalk and back. Next up was 20 incline merkins, 10 decline merkins, run out and back. Third round was 20 split squats, out and back, and lastly was 20 step ups. We had about 15 minutes to go in the workout by this time, so the instructions were given to run to the rock pile. Someone asked me if I meant the pile on the way back to launch or the far away one on the other side of campus. Bro, have you met me?
Upon arrival at the rock pile we had another question, asking if we were getting lifting rocks or running rocks. Again…I thought you people knew me. First exercise was the Sots Press, which is the overhead press while holding the squat position. Look, you people can give me all the dirty and disapproving looks you want, but I’m going to keep calling the Sots Press because it’s a great exercise and everyone should do it more often. Next up was the overhead squat and four rounds of curls and triceps extensions.
Lastly return to the launch lot for some Mary, mostly the usual exercises but I mixed in some of the isometric holds we do at Swole/Meathead/Olympus.
Mumblechatter seemed light this morning, which usually provides me fodder for backblast titles and material. I didn’t hear much that would give me an opportunity to go off on a rambling, loosely tied together tangent. However, it was good to see that some things remain constant. Snowflake still runs in and out of workouts, Rachel is still really fast, and Puddin still farts loudly during Mary. In an ever changing world, it’s nice to have some things remain constant. With little inspiration to work with, I’ll use the title of the backblast to pass along song useful information that I’m sure Clover (Area 51’s hard seltzer Q) would want everyone to know had he been there this morning, which he was not.
We had one FNG this morning, who we named Poblano. His last name is Scoville, like the heat units used to judge peppers and hot sauce. He is also a former collegiate baseball player at the state university of New Jersey, so we had a few areas to work with. The creative juices were flowing about as well as molasses rolling uphill in January and the suggestions flamed out quickly, much like the Big 10 and ACC in the NCAA tournament. We settled on Poblano because it’s a fun word to say. Not many announcements today, but please keep the Palmer family in your thoughts and prayers. Check Slack for some upcoming challenges/events. High Tide has a functional strength challenge later in May, with divisions for Respects, Meatheads, and mortals. Flipper has a couple things out there as well that I haven’t been able to read all the way through yet because, Flipper. In closing, we’ve hit that short stretch of perfect weather for afternoon patio happy hours so hopefully we’ll see some organized via Slack/text/email soon.
Due to a hole in scheduling, YHC grabbed the reigns and took control before this thing went sideways. Did that scare the Pax away? Was there a bribe to post elsewhere? Did some think it was going to be an easy day?? Who knows? 3 Pax showed up and attacked this fine morning with Rucks on.
Warm Up
1 lap around the track
The Thang
This workout was 100% stolen from the Pathfinder website. We had done it once before and it was a smoker, here is how it went down
4 total circuits/ rounds
Circuit x7
10x Squats (alternate ruck front and rear facing)
10x Ruck Overhead press
10x Ruck swing
Lap around the track
Circuit x5
10x Bent over rows
10x Curls
10x Ruck thrusters
10x Ruck sit-ups
Lap around the track
Circuit x3
10x Ruck overhead walking lung
10x Ruck high pull
10x Overhead Ruck triceps extensions
10x Ruck Russian twists
Lap around the track
Circuit x1
10x Ruck burpees
20x Ruck skull crunches
30x (broken up into 15 and 15) Dolly with ruck press
Lap around the track
2 more laps
DONE
YHC for the takeout prayer
Announcements
Ye Old Mole Skinny
Chiseled was launched as an AO back on 10/1/2018. With YHC’s previous Wednesday commitment to Dromedary and mostly taking Wednesdays off lately, I had never posted or Q’d Chiseled. Thanks to Fusebox for pinging me a month or so ago, today would be the day to Q Chiseled. Here is how it went.
20 Pax showed up (including some M.A.S.H.’ers as well) at a very well-lit Five Stones Church campus having no clue what to expect. To be fair, some have never attended one of YHC’s Q’s with my half-@$$ attendance the past 3 6 months. A good old-fashioned Strength + Core + Speed workout was planned, and it was time to execute. The expectation at Chiseled is to lift stuff…but YHC needed some running and core so we worked it into the mix.
The THANG:
A running warmup around the lot, up the driveway, around Mt. Chiseled, front of the church, and end up back near the Cinder Blocks. All of this while listening to a bunch of Rocky-themed songs…shocker, huh? First order of business would be the dreaded Merkin Ladder (#1). This time starting at 1 and working up to 10 for a total of 55 Merkins. Done!
Now, partner up for some strength work:
Done!
Next… (10) Burpees but jump over the Cinder Block after each. Done!
Mosey over to Mt. Chiseled with alternating side shuffles, then some backwards running. At Mt. Chiseled, partner up again for some Core work:
Done! Mosey back towards COT for the grand finale:
Merkin Ladder #2…What goes up must come Down! Start at 10 and work down to 1. This was brutal. We alternated between regular Merkins and Decline with our feet on the block. At about 3 reps, YHC was toast and physically felt like giving up. Not sure what the rest of the Pax did as the pain was too much to check on them. Done!
Quick Have a Nice Day and time was up.
Moleskin:
It was great to be out there today, leading a group of great men on a beautiful morning. Truth be told…YHC struggled at times this morning as the inconsistent posting has taken a toll on not only my strength and stamina, but my weight as well. More lifestyle and dietary changes have happened lately, and they are proving to be helpful. I say all this because I’m reminded a lot lately about how long it takes to get in “fighting shape”, and how quickly we can lose it. I started F3 back in 2016 and I now consider myself in the worst shape I have been in over the past 5 years (I know it’s all relative). Not great for the ego but knowing how far I have come since 2016 gives me peace of mind knowing I’m a lot better off than I once was. Isn’t that a microcosm of life? We all hit the wall from time to time, but as Men, Warriors, Providers, Protectors we need to fight our way back (physically, mentally, financially, spiritually, relationally with our spouses and family). Our families and community are relying on us to be the men God created us to be. There is a time and a season for everything, and I know and declare that our best days are still ahead of us. Keep grinding, fellas, and thank you for the continued support, motivation, fellowship, and energy you all bring to me and all of F3 Waxhaw and beyond. This is a special organization of special leaders, and we are blessed to be a part of it.
Announcements:
YHC took us out. See you all in the Gloom!
Goodfella
DEAR Cowbell,
I have a love hate relationship with you, love the challenge, hate how sore I am the next day. Today you worked us well, a little more running than usual but I am sure my back will still be sore. Next week I hope for more cowbell….
The thang, one mile warm up. 30 swings, 20 curls 10 thrusters, then 10,20,30 of the same in reverse. Between each set run to the top of the hill 7 burpees then back (42 burpees in total). With unclear instructions finish with a 1 mile run for two of us.
Moleskin: Cobber showed up committed as pushed himself. Beltway chose cowbell because it was the closest and yet still said he liked it. Bluescreen said the work out was weak and went by fast:) Chatterbox did not quit and was pushing each set, Surge didn’t quit either but was not a fan of the running. Gerber, as always, runs like a gazelle and showed the pax he was there to work as he always does.
10 pax arranged themselves in a sort of oval-like shape this morning as we prepared for this week’s rendition of Meathead. After a proper disclaimer, we got down to business.
Warm-up:
Sufficiently warm and disclaimed, we moved into the Main Event:
Double clean and press – 8 sets of 3 reps
For the complex, I wanted to get some single bell work in, so we did the following:
Switch sides. Repeato for 3 total rounds per side. This looked easier on paper than it was in practice. Definitely a grip tester.
Next, we did a little Easy Strength:
Still a little time left, so we did a mini-Goshawk:
Goblet squat x 8, suitcase carry for ~:30. Repeat for 4 rounds.
We finished up with the usual Mary:
Elbow plank, hollow body hold, and glute bridge for 1:00 each.
COT
Announcements:
Moleskine:
DICCS– no given but we had lights and reflectors ( Maddog would be proud)
Warm up- walk down a hill from Carb Loads house to bottom on the swinging bridge and to verify if Rubbermaid is showing or not. Rubbermaid stated he needed a rest day but with his addiction to running we needed to make sure he would not be left. 5:34am a Gazelle and a Chicken are off to find Hollywood somewhere out yonder…..
The Thang
Run from swinging Bridge to end of trail near Blackhawk ( BAMMMMMM I see Hollywood )
Now it is official 2 Gazelles and a Chicken will head back towards the bridge with Carb leading the pack in a somewhat group– Carb and Hollywood where clocking around a 9 min pace while the Chicken was hanging in trees and becoming one with nature flying solo clocking around a 9:30 pace.
Moleskin
I am starting to really love the trail run- challenging, rewarding and time fly’s bye. It was good getting back out there with Carb as we had great conversation and have not posted together in awhile. Hollywood is prepping for is nutty 25 miler and was in his normal zone today. At the end of our run we all chatted for awhile and basically all agree whatever board member came up one ONE Q in April only this close to APRIL is a mean person, especially for the well organized sites like FLASH and IGNITION as it appears those site Qs are always on point and probable already had Qs lined up – ugh…….. hahah !! I am not pointing fingers but through a few conversations and a few board members basically saying they had nothing to do with it appears this pressure might have come a 1-2 members- I can be bribed for information of who the suspect is though with a frosty beverage, not Coke or Pepsi but one with Hops and Barley..
In a perfectly timed exit to the trail run Carb and I came up the hill together on the way to his house just as Twinkle Toes was coming out of his house— unfortunately I already had my shirt off, wonder what Twinkle Toes is thinking about two dudes walking out of the woods at 7:15am and one dude has no shirt on. Thankfully he did figure out who we were so maybe just maybe that eased his mind, I think,,,.. Have a great day boys!!
Announcements
WTF coming so sign up
April 1 Q per month- boooooo
Yeah yeah yeah, I know, WAMRAP doesn’t do backblasts. The south-lands most reputable “off the books” workout has enjoyed its time in the shadows much too long. Don’t worry, this won’t be long, as it is hard to write much about a workout which consists of the the same things over and over and over again. So, I’ll keep it brief.
The Thang:
Mosey to the deck (of course)
Circuit:
1st floor, 1 burpee, up the stairs
2nd floor, 2 jump squats, up the opposite stairs
3rd floor, 3 6 inch plank jacks, up the original stairs
4th floor, 4 LBCs, run to top of ramps
Down the ramps w/ 10 merkins at the top and bottom of every ramp (60 in total each round)
Repeat the above but escalating the reps on each floor times the number of the round (IE 2,4,6,8 for round 2, 3,6,9,12 for round 3 etc). Merkin count stayed the same.
Everyone completed at least 5 rounds with the leaders getting through most of the first half of round 8
Mosey back to the start for Fluttah, Protractor, H2H
Done
Moleskinny:
When pulling into the lot thought it was odd to see Turkeyleg’s dad-mobile. While he has been a frequenter of WAMRAP in the past, a marathon in his very near future seemed to be a counter-indicator for redline exertion. Then Garcia, Tigerrag, and Frasier showed up to complete the picture that this was a run meetup site since those 3 NEVER touch the ground anymore. Good luck to TR and TL as they head north for the Chesapeake Strider’s Marathon this weekend. #bostonorbust
Alf and Orange Whip are not human, that is a fact. Though I think I give the edge to O Dub given Alf’s short arm advantage. Dasher hung with them through 5 and still was starting round 8 when we called it. Dude is Burly.
EE was chasing YHC the entire time and was rarely more then a merkin set behind, kept me motivated throughout, thanks for the push brother!
Christmas, Spare Parts, Ironsides, The illustrious Poptart, and Beetlejuice all threw down and were silenced by the effort from round 3 on. Sign of doing some strong work.
The thing I love about WAMRAP is it truly is You vs. You. A PAX can make the workout as hard as they want, or need, on any given day. My man Beetlejuice showed up at YHC’s request, having no idea what he was in for. Even coming off bilateral shoulder injuries, he found a way to make the circuit work for him, and was wrung out by the end of the 45 minutes. He may have given me the side eye, but I think he’ll be back.
I miss the days with Purrel and Rachael were WAMRAP regulars, they would put Alf and the one time WAMRAP great McGee in their rearview and never look back. Just goes to show even the strong have something to aspire to. We all need somebody to chase, ISI and all that.
Final thought, it is great to be back to bootcamps. After 6 months of non-stop run training, YHC is tired of the endless miles. Yes, there is another Marathon training block in my future, but until then Wednesdays at the ‘RAP are on repeat.
SYITG
-Flipper
Announcements:
-WTF Ragnar style trail relay on 5/1 (see Dasher)
-South Mountain CSAUP on 4/17 (see Midriff)
-Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement for a Stonhenge-Davinci CSAUP thingy (see War Eagle)
-Functional Fitness Challenge (https://f3southcharlotte.com/?p=418671)
-Rutbreaker Series Details coming soon (see slack channel or Flipper)
@ #F3Thrive, 12 PAX experienced the biggest upset of March Madness week. So since the upset winners in round 1 of March Madness won by a sum total of 71 points, this seemed like an important number for bringing the upset, so we used it.
The Warmup
The Thang
Moleskine
Reports are coming in that there was a solitary man rubbing things out with his stick over at the end of the parking lot. Doctors orders. #Madison
El fin.
Announcements:
Prayer: