18 men from the 3 South Charlotte crime families Region Boards showed up at Cerberus AO (Waverly) to workout and then discuss how we can better Plant, Grow, and Serve our collective communities. The idea was that our Regions are so close geographically, that our Board members should collaborate more in order to reach more Sad Clowns.
If you haven’t been in F3 too long, let’s give a quick recap of the Board’s role and responsibility:
Group discussion:
Break out by function:
Key Takeaways:
We are incredibly blessed to have F3 and the Boards take our responsibility very seriously to share it and grow it. We have a LOT of opportunity individually and collectively to PLANT, GROW, and SERVE. Let’s continue to get after it and accelerate in our Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. If we each our doing this, we will attract more men and make our communities better.
Warm Up
Told the pax opening Mosey would be to Millbridge Pool parking lot, I started out towards traffic circle, most thought I’d take the shortcut route, nah, not today, back up Nesbit drive to the long way to the MB parking lot. Stretches – Dugans, Calf, Can Opener, downward dog, upward dog, Moroccan nightclubs. Mosey back to entrance of elementary school.
The Thang
Partner up, opposite ability. P1 runs around and up parking lot to chain link fence while P2 does exercise. Stop when your team has completed the assigned number of reps. If finished early, help other teams with their reps. 70 Burpees, 200 Dry Docks, 200 Bobby Hurleys.
Mosey to soccer field. Same partners, run the perimeter of the soccer field, partners running in opposite direction, each time they meet, 10 merkins. Run around the field 3 times, for a total of 6 sets of merkins.
Line up along backline of soccer field. Run backwards the entire length of the field, run forwards back to start. Repeat 3X’s.
Mosey to traffic circle. Same Partners, P1 runs to first lightpole on right, P2 does exercise, swap until all reps are completed. 100 big boys.
AYG back to COT.
Ye Ole’ Moleskin
One Pax, who shall remain nameless, overindulged in some adult beverages the night before. Opening mosey of .6 miles did not agree with him and said Pax tossed his cookies the entire time we were stretching in Millbridge parking lot. It was a loud, substantial, somewhat violent expulsion of gastric fluid, impressive, ‘Davey Hogan-esc’. Way to push through the remainder of the workout. Said Pax said he thought when he saw I was Q, not much running would be involved. It wasn’t that much, 4 miles.
Prayers to Deepdish’s colleague who lost his 30 year old son in a tragic accident.
YHC took us out.
The Warmup
PAX recognized the reps of 12 theme and asked if Weinke had something to do with school. I told them yes and asked if they were up for the challenge to graduate before time expired? Response: No Problem!
The Thang
The Thang was simple:
First Grade = 1 rep per exercise
Finish by running the parking lot twice
Second Grade = 2 reps of the same exercises above finishing with running the parking lot and started in Third grade doing 3 reps Repeato 12 more rounds.
The question: Did the PAX graduate before time expired? Simple answer: Nope and dropped out middle of 11th grade.
PAX really pushed hard today and amazing we actually got in the three miles running in a parking lot
After the workout, I went to Coffeteria and saw the PAX from Commitment. Popeye asked about the Weinke I put together and I explained the 12 exercises per grade until PAX completed 12th grade. He said “That’s the Billy Madison!” I had not idea of a Billy Madison and asked what is that? He said look it up. Well, I looked it up and found Going to School with Billy Madison out of Greensboro. Read for your enjoyment.
Announcements
WTF May 1st – signup on Group ME
Last week Midriff asked for a Substi-Q, so I rang the bell. DaVinci is a great AO, easy weinke and lots of area to cover, so I planned a brief tour. First two out of the cars, YHC and Loogie. None of the ‘good morning’ time wasters, straight too it. “Well, NC State has won the same amount of Tourney games as UNC.” HAHA that was just the start…
The Thang:
Disclaimer
Mosey – circle around back of best buy
X10 merkins at every stop sign (done once we reach 200 merkins) (Madness)
COP (near Velo bike shop)
– Imperial walker x 20 in cadence
– Hands up / LSS x 20 in cadence
– Explosive squat x 12 22 in cadence (hands to ground in semi squat, legs kick back like a burpee, feet back to start, stand up (1)) We kept at this modified burpee until the giggling stopped
– American hammer x 20 in cadence
– Recover
Mosey to first row parking – shoulder to shoulder facing chick joint
– Bear crawl to next set of parking spots, lunge walk to next, bear crawl, lunge – 4 rows – repeat back (I could feel this in the legs)
Line up facing lot, shoulder to shoulder plank, each have a parking spot – (another made up excercise)
– far left side Pax runs to opposite end, drops to plank, everyone does one merkin, next guy, 2 merkins, next guy 3 merkins
– Repeat until everyone has gone
– (hopefully enough to cover a 3 minute plank)
Mosey behind target – x10 merkins each stop sign
Grab a lifting rock
– 20 curls
– 20 triceps extensions
– 20 overhead press
– X2 – replace rocks
Lunge walk to speedbump Mosey to lamp post / 20 squats x3 speedbumps lamp posts
Little plank work at the end
Mosey to Blakeney Heath
Everyone turn around and run up the hill backwards
Mary
– High Flutters x 20
– Box cutters x 15
Backwards down the hill (carefully keeping an eye on any cars, none were seen)
Mosey to fountains – (finish up merkins) – Well almost…we got to about 160, lots o mumble chatter about them
At fountains – dips x 10, step ups x 10, derkins x 10 take a merkin break – 15 Big Bois
Check time
Head to playground
– Partner one does pullups / partner two runs to starbucks bushes and back
– Flapjack
– Repeat until each partner does 30 (most were accomplished)
Check time
Head back to start – we got to 180 at BB
– 2 1/2 minutes remain, what should we do? 20 merkins to 200 (Mic Check)
HBH for one minute
Done
– Awesome group of guys. Several young guys too, and they were always in the front. Only ‘letting’ me lead.
Thanks for the takeout Mic Check. Loved the addition to ‘raise up any unspoken prayers’. Sometime we hold them in, sometimes they need to be ‘raised up’.
Fredo out –
Many men misjudge strength. They look at the outside. At what a man can do with ease. This is a mistake.
True strength is what a man does when he is exhausted. When his resources are gone. When he has hit his limit.
True strength is the man who keeps going. Who never quits. Who breaks every barrier. Who breaks even his own body if necessary. Muhammad Ali said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”
Today we saw that Popeye is a man of true strength. With his heart rate above 180-190 for much of the workout, he never quit. He never stopped. He never let his body tell him no. He hit barrier after barrier. Limit after limit. And he shattered them. Man, it was awesome and inspiring to watch. I wish you could have been there. If Popeye keeps intermittent fasting and hitting workouts like he has the past few weeks, he is going to be a terror.
For the workout itself, to start we did 15 or so intense minutes on the ground with continuous exercises: jump squats, donkey kicks, stump jumpers, jumping lunges, mike tysons, SSHs, 180s, big boys, merkins, heels to heaven, flying cockroaches, hands in the air knee ups, and more. Then we ran about 5 miles (6.3 on the apple watch) with 5-6 rounds of 800s racing our partners with 20 rep exercises in between, followed by 3-4 stagger-start sprints down the hill, followed by all-ya got back home and up the hill. It was a good morning.
Peace be with you.
YHC totally forgot about this Q until EB gave me a quick reminder. Awesome, every time I Q it seems to be bad weather….fingers crossed. My plan was to keep it super simple and I did, but with the floater even simple can be hard.
2 min warning snd DiCCSahfjenkd given. Let’s mosey.
pretty quick pace straight to the BB court at Bad Idea, circle back for the 6. As the 6 came strolling in carrying on a conversation I thought, damn these guys are in shape and I need to step it up! I was wrong..they like to talk and not work. The floater is no place for that.
Warmup:
10ssh
Calf stretch
runners lunge
Let’s mosey! I’m looking for miles not imperial walkers!! but if Holloywood would have been present I was goin g to call those just for him! Ha.
The Thang:
Bad Idea…Bottom (near school) 10 Mary Catherine’s
Top (near cemetery) 10 merkins
down and back is one….x3
Cemetery loops… run large loop around cemetery.
Start with 1 burpee and increase by 1 each lap and stop at 5
Finish up cemetery loops and mosey straight to Another Bad Idea.
Bottom of ABI 10 dry docks…top 10 big boys
time was running out and I never said how many times we would run this loop… so the gazelles kept rolling and with 3mins left I had to call it. Quick pace around the block back to COT! Done.
The Moleskine:
I’ve been in and out of F3 over the past year but now realize I need it and the pax need me more than ever! When did the 6 stop working and start sharing baking recipes while at the floater? Smh… for those of you at the rear and busting your a$$ I commend you, well done! For the rest of you slackers, lock that up! Maybe you only show to chat, great….but go do that at pursuit.
Quick Highlights:
BC has always been fast but he made the hills his biocth today! Crushed it!!
Ice as usual killed it and I even got a dry heave out of him!
Shake continues to get back into his Pre run shape…soon sir, I will be calling on you for Preruns!
EB/ Chastain pushed each other today and it was great! I hope all the Betty Crockers took note of how that works! You push each other and you get faster and then you can talk while at the front and working hard. It’s Amazing!
Much Respect, Respect for Blue Screen. I think he said he has only posted at #87 once…hopefully he will be back!
I think everyone that posted worked hard in their own mind and that’s great! We all know you have more and would appreciate you pushing harder (safely) and making other men better..share your best cup cake recipe at coffeteria!!
love you guys, well done!
Announcements:
New AO launching at Waxhaw Elementary on 10/29?? @ 5:15
New Mountain Bike group starting up (insert name) see Rockwell for details… possible April 1st for first ride!
I took us out.
The 3/19 edition of Marvin Miles turned out to be a spicy one as the group of ocho picked up the pace. Two store FNGs made it out, but only Paper Jam protested the format and its lack of a count-o-rama at the end. YHC would comment more on the conversation and commentary but the gap with the frontrunners limited that awareness. Prohibition was generous enough to run sweep with YHC and we talked many things that are now a blur. Welcome, Blood clot, to Marvin Miles and week look forward to seeing you more often. Tiger Rag had to find another dancing partner with tigerball on pause for a few days, and Frasier and Bunker still think 50 degrees is long sleeve weather. Finally, don’t tell Polly there a BB and official tag for Marvin Miles or it might sink us.
What: a challenge – to measure all of the hard work you put in week after week
Who: ALL pax (yes, that means bootcampers, meatheads, and even runners)
When: 0700, Saturday, 22 May 2021
Where: Olde Providence Elementary School
How: watch Slack/Twitter for Google Doc signup
The Thang:
The inaugural F3 Functional Strength Challenge is designed to test, nay, to challenge the functional fitness you’ve been striving for week after week. Why? Why not?? Besides the fun of it and the CSAUP nature of a challenge, it will provide a measuring stick for where you are now versus where you want to be (above/at/below) and enable you to quantify future improvements (beyond simply thinking, “well, I feel stronger”). It will also challenge you to improve. Happy with your performance? Can you beat it next time? Heck, can you maintain it through the daily challenges we all face – aging, injury, other commitments, etc?? Unhappy with your performance? Can you address the areas that disappointed and improve next time?
The events:
The three events are designed to identify well-rounded overall functional strength.
Deadlift – gross strength. This expresses itself in so many areas of daily life – carrying in the groceries, picking up kids, yard work, lifting the corner of the car with one hand while changing a tire with the other, etc. You know, the work capacity to get $hit done.
Pullup – strength to weight. It’s not enough to be a 400 lb. mountain who can lift a small car, if you can’t pull your chin over a bar. Similarly, if you’re a 120 lb. sinewy runner, can you pull yourself up and get over the proverbial wall? Either way, the pull-up tests your ability to ambulate your body.
Snatch – strength endurance. How big is your engine? How long can you move that load? Besides being everyone’s favorite exercise, the czar of kettlebell movements covers all the bases. It builds hip strength and power, helping you in the deadlift. It builds grip and back strength, helping you in the pull-up. And it builds aerobic endurance, necessary to move loads over time. If you only train one exercise…train the snatch.
Which division is for you?
With three divisions, it’s easy to tailor the challenge appropriately for you.
Scoring
Deadlift – Competitors will be ranked based on the number of successful reps completed. Competitors will use the designated weight for their division.
Pull-ups – Competitors will be ranked based on the number of successful reps completed.
Snatches – Competitors will be ranked based on the number of successful reps completed. Competitors will use the designated weight for their division.
Scoring for each exercise is based on the pax’s rank. 1 point for 1st place, 2 for 2nd, and so on. In the event of a tie, the pull-up goes to the heaviest person and the deadlift will go to the lightest. A tie in the snatch test will stand. These points will provide a ranking for each event and for each division. Points will be added across the three events for each division to provide an overall standing for the divisions. The pax with the lowest score across all events in his division will be deemed the winner of his division.
Example:
| Rank | Pax | Deadlift | Pull-ups | Snatches |
| 1 | A | 6 (24 reps) | 9T (15 reps) | 3 (114 reps) |
| 2 | B | 10 (19) | 2 (19) | 7 (103) |
| 3 | C | 1 (30) | 5 (17) | 18 (91) |
| 4 | D | 8 (21) | 9T (15) | 13 (95) |
| 5 | E | 14 (14) | 12 (14) | 5 (108) |
Watch for Rules (to be posted) for more information.
How does this fit into Flipper’s Rut-Breaker CSAUP? I have no idea, but I know that it does. Brush up on your calculus skills and check out the Rut-Breaker preblast here.
In the story of the prodigal son, the forgiving father orders his best calf to be killed in order to provide a feast to celebrate the return of his wayward son. This morning’s Centurion was a return of sorts, for the Q, and Shoe, and probably Hops (even though he Q’d last week) and Runstopper. It was like old times. Mermaid was like the father, welcoming us all back with open arms. Although there was no fatted calf, but he could have least purchased us a pastry from Amelie’s.
The workout was pretty straightforward. We moseyed from the Amelie’s parking lot around Carmel Commons to the lot at Palatine Hill. We just did some IWs, and skipped the hill due to the rain that fell just before tip-off. After that we continued on Carmel Commons, crossing over Carmel Rd where we tucked into the parking lot of the first office building on the left. We did a little more COP, then moseyed down to the rock pile at the Colosseum. We did a rapid fire upper body rock set and then ran a loop up the Carmel Commons hill and then back down the parking lot. We then did a leg set with the rock, followed by another loop run. We returned our rocks, and found a line in the parking lot where we did sets of merkins and squats w/ chair plank holds followed by sprints up the parking lot hill. We moseyed back across Carmel Rd toward Cabo’s and turned left to get some bench set work. The benches were not steady so we stuck to upper body decline merkins, dips and incline merkins. After that we lunge walked a bit and then ran around the front of the shopping center back to launch. We ended with some Mary and one burpee just for Mermaid.
It had been a long time between my posts at Centurion. It was good to be back out there, and I couldn’t help but reminisce at Palatine Hill and the rock pile at the Colosseum. And it was a strong group of Pax that did solid work throughout. Thanks for the opportunity to lead, and for the push through all we did this morning.