Is This Becoming Like a Thing?
Another Tuesday, another edition of Waxhaw Express at Cuthbertson. I guess Waxhaw Express has become it’s own version of your weekly dose of speed work in Waxhaw. If you’ve never been it’s a great opportunity to push yourself and work on your speed. The goal is to improve. It’s open to everyone.
Warm Up:
- Run .92 Mile
- SSH x 15 IC
- Imperial Walkers x 15 IC
- General Stretching
- Calf Stretch
- Toy Soldiers
The Thang:
- 7 x (2 min at I pace, 1 min job, 1 min at I pace, 30 sec job, 30 sec at I pace, 30 second jog)
- .9 mile cool down
Done! Over 6 or 7 miles in the books.
MOLESKIN:
After my back went out during a warm up run last Friday I wasn’t sure when I would be back out again.
Thanks to Deadwood for dropping off a TENS unit within a few hours of my injury and Goodfellow for offering up one as well. That thing is amazing and definitely helped with my recovery.
As much as I “hate” these Tuesday workouts they really make myself push through some mental barriers and I always enjoy them when I’m finished. Thank you Tool Time for the push and making it look easy, too easy.
Dasher and Glidah were killing it out there today and Scuba has become a new Waxhaw Express fixture, well done.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- 100 Pax challenge is still in full force
- Sign up for the June 27th F3 Waxhaw “Spartan Race” at Cuthbertson. Tap the logo in the upper right hand corner and then select “calendar”
Shake ‘n Bake speaks from the heart
With all that has been going on in our country over the past week, it has become more evident than ever that the “Waxhaw bubble” that we are blessed to live in is not the “real world” by a long shot. Lots of heavy and disturbing situations which make for uncomfortable conversations with your family, friends, co-workers, and others. But F3’s principles push us to not only confront the uncomfortable but to step up and lead during the messy situations.
One man who seemingly sprints towards the uncomfortable during workouts is Shake n’ Bake. He has often seen sprinting up hills at the end of workouts, calling himself names to “encourage” more effort, slapping his own ass, and coming alongside other PAX to call them out in a “loving” way to push harder. So YHC reached out to him last night to see if he would share some of his thoughts.
So after name-o-rama, Shake n’ Bake commanded the circle of 38 PAX for about 5 minutes. Not a peep, burp, or fart could be heard. He NAILED it. He spoke from the heart about what he HAS and IS experiencing in his life because of the “uniform he proudly wears.” He eloquently explained some of the day-to-day things that he has to endure that are MUCH different than most of us could even imagine. Shake got emotional when talking about the terrible conversations he has to have with his 7 year old son about “being different even though he is not different.” He illustrated how fear creeps in during situations with his wife and son during what most of us would consider “ordinary” activities.
Shake finished the impassioned speech with a simple yet powerful ask: Be the difference, don’t sit and not say something! Whether it be at work and you hear something in a conversation, DON’T JUST SIT IDLE. If out in the community and you see some injustice, STEP UP AND SAY SOMETHING. Be “That Guy” who people know that bad language, bad actions, bad intentions, etc. WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Because if nobody else will, you will SAY SOMETHING.
I know the above typed words don’t do Shake’s speech justice but hopefully you got enough out of it to prompt you to have some uncomfortable conversations with people you know and don’t know.
WORKOUT: We ran 1/4 mile intervals at fast-ish speeds for a total of 4 miles with some exercises mixed in
MOLESKINE: A couple dry heavers. Impressed with #Kotters Dancing Bear and Ignition FNG Fiji. Well done fellas!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- 100 PAX Challenge:
- Goal = 100 PAX donating and $10,000
- To Date: $5,550 and 50 PAX
- Purpose: Give all $ to 2-3 local charities with best plan to impact lives in our community
- To Donate:
- Venmo: @F3Waxhaw
- Paypal: F3Waxhaw@gmail.com
- Matching Gift: One anonymous PAX will match up to $1,000
- Next 10 PAX to give by Friday
- New Podcast from Transporter: Take a listen to this 10 mins
- Goal = 100 PAX donating and $10,000
Time to get back on the wagon
With the dawning of a new month, it seems appropriate to get back in the habit of writing backblasts for gear workouts.
After failing to set my alarm last night, I somehow (?) woke up at 4:37 and was conscious long enough to set an alarm for 5:30am. I rolled in hot at about 5:59am to find Wild Turkey (#kotters) doing some jump roping and Uncle Leo and Hoover getting their gear out. Ickey came in on two wheels and we had 5 for the main event.
Warm up:
- SSH x 15 IC
- Windmills x 10 IC
The Thang:
- 4 rounds of 5 1H swings with your left hand
- 4 rounds of 5 explosive merkins
Repeato for 4 sets of each, alternating right and left hands every set so you end up with 40 swings per side and 80 total merkins
After each set of swings (every 4 rounds), perform the KB complex on the left. After each set of merkins, perform the KB complex on the right.
KB complex:
- 1 swing
- 1 high pull
- 1 snatch
- 1 clean
- 1 racked squat
- 1 press
Waiter carries x 4 for :60 each, alternating hands for each one.
Finally, 2 more times through the KB complex on each side with 1:00 rest.
Announcements:
- SOB/Philly virtual beatdown with CSPAN and Wild Turkey at the helm
Moleskine:
- After this weekend’s heat (which will probably feel downright luxurious in a couple of weeks), this morning’s cool temps were a nice break.
- Another day of solid turnout from the pax, with Wild Turkey make his initial (I think) in-person post since the lockdown began. Gear workouts are a great way to post and still be socially distant since we’re pretty immobile and there’s not sharing of equipment. If you’re uncomfortable in a larger group with more movement, feel free to join us. Uncle Leo is becoming the latest Area 51 meathead while Hoover and Ickey have definitely been wooed into more regular posting by the later start time. Two other regulars, Mighty Mite (DR) and High Tide (IR – plantar) were not present, but both had good excuses. Thanks for coming out and allowing me to lead!
- We’re starting week 11 of the A+A program this week and hopefully the pax are feeling stronger. It’s a different approach to a workout, but keeps you fresh so you’re able to recover for your next workout. At the same time, it builds strength and aerobic endurance. The key is to use the right sized bell so you can deliver maximum power.
- Wednesday will be snatch day at Meathead and Hoover is already saying he wants to post-run, so plan accordingly.
History Made
The SpaceX historical launch is so yesterday’s news. Today represented the merge of the unofficial El Patron into the official BaseCamp. No one knew what to expect when this band of ragtag men would join the well-oiled F3 powerhouse. Like when Rodman joined the Bulls. Or South Carolina joined the SEC.
Heck, even JetFuel showed up without his shirt tucked in.
Actually, here’s the historical part: Unofficial records verified by PwC confirm this is the first gathering of more than 10 pax where everyone was over the age of 40. Accurate disclosure given with a plea, given the age group, to modify as necessary.
COP
During the quarantine, every Wednesday night I would watch Survivor and read the Exicon to find some new exercises, and break them out on Thursday morning for the not-F3 meet-up at Amelie’s. Most of them crashed and burned, but the good ones are thriving and, in some cases, becoming crowd favorites.
Sprinklers x 16 (nothing special about the number 16, other than its just the Euro-way of saying June 1 (ie, 1 June, or 1/6)
Air Dramas x 16 (you’ll feel these later… see also below)
Mountain Climbers x 16
Alternating Shoulder Taps x 16
THANG
Mosey at decent pace to Rosecliff, along the way perform 5 Wolverines at each speed-bump
Triple Nickel, 5 merkins at bottom of the hill; 5 jump squats at top
LBCs while the 6 comes in
Mosey at a less decent pass back to launch site, along the way perform 5 burpos at each speed-bump
* 1st complaint lodged as to number of “burpee-adjacent” exercises, duly noted by YHC these were also the last of said exercises
Back in parking lot, time for some COVIDs with appropriate measures in place:
C- Crab Cakes
O – Squat with and Overhead Press
V- V-ups
I – Imperial Walkers
D- Dry Docks
10 of each (50 exercises total) and then run lap around parking lot. 3 Phases of COVID reopening in Carolina, so 3 rounds.
At this point, jog at a snail’s pace to the rock pile – partner up with each pax grabbing a rock, with disclosure given multiple times to grab a lighter rock because we were going to do some “funky” (exact words) exercises.
Partner 1 runs to bleachers for 10 step ups (each leg); Partner 2 does bird pickers with rock (if you thought you’re gonna feel the air dramas later, just you wait). Flap Jack.
Next round, Partner 1 does 15 supine pull-ups; Partner 2 does goblet squat.
Final round, Partner 1 does 15 dips; Partner 2 does flutter kick with rock press.
*finish*
Under 3 miles, as promised to Semi.
MOLESKIN
Not a lot of chatter, today just seems a little weird given all that’s going on in Charlotte / the US / the world. I am sure we call agree we could listen to stories from Spackler’s 4oth bday all day and be entertained. Floor Slapper continues to be our medical and science expert on all things COVID. And Whiteclaw’s legend continues to grow! Once the seltzery opens, be on the lookout for the unofficial official beer run starting and ending at Summit Seltzer!
100 Pax Challenge: Compounding Interest
For a shortcut or for those driving, here is a shortcut to podcast where we talk more about the 100 Pax challenge:
For those that have the time, please read the below.
We are officially at 49 Pax who have accepted the challenge and have help raised $5,650.69. As in typical F3 fashion we did not set the bar low and provide an easy obtainable challenge. Instead, we setup a stretch goals that is difficult to obtain and requires more effort and determination then we probably thought we have ability to do at the onset. In fact, I think if you asked us at the beginning if we raised $5,000 would we feel accomplished and happy, we would have probably said yes. But not now. The committee recently got feedback from some who have already accepted the challenge, and that has increased our motivation. Now we are saying it is not a matter of if, but when will we complete the challenge. Read some of the feedback for your self, so you can see what other Pax are saying about this opportunity:
“It means a lot to me that we are doing this and I know the money will be put to good use in our local community. So much better than just giving to some far off charity where you don’t know if it is being used for the intended purpose. Great to be a part of something special like F3, and more specifically Waxhaw. We have a great group here.”
“I am so excited about the group of guys we are working with. This has been one of the best groups I’ve ever seen have real impact on the men that get involved.”
“If y’all need more to get to the target please hit me up”
Hey man don’t ever thank me this was my pleasure, you guys truly inspire the soul of the lost man….what we’re doing out there every morning is super special. You can count me in for a donation each month for a while.”
So at this time we will continue to draw upon what F3 describes as the 3rd F – Faith. We define as not one specific religion or faith system, but simply a belief in something outside oneself. So with that being said, we challenge you to put your “Faith” in this F3 Waxhaw group and help us as we look to directly impact our community by being able to proclaim that with the support of 100+ local men who continually come together each morning to grind, sweat, support, and move each other forward and ensure no man is left behind, but no man is left where you find him that we will not only reach our goal for this challenge, but will surpass it. I look forward to the opportunity in the next few weeks when we have the chance to present the financial support to the final selected 2-3 charities and not only seeing the money being put to work, but having the ability to continue to partner and serve in other capabilities to further their missions.
So now we are at that point of asking challenging you to take the next step. Be one of the 100 Pax who completed the challenge and helped with exceeding our goal. To further incentivize you, we have received confirmation from a Pax that is willing to match dollar for dollar any contributions received this week up to $1,000. If you work for an employer that offers matching on charitable donations, and you need to obtain further details on how to make work with 501 (c) status, reach out to any of the Committee Members (Bottlecap, Mad Dog, Centerfold, Recalc, Dancing Bear, Foundation) and we will assist in getting you the necessary information. So think about it, a $100 contribution could potentially equal $300. That surely will go along way and allow us to make a true impact in our community.
Here are the options for donating via Venmo/Paypal
- Venmo: @F3Waxhaw
- Paypal: F3Waxhaw@gmail.com
Look for more details to come out soon related to final recipients and how the money will be put to use, and how we can continue to partner with them in the future to improve our community.
If you want to hear more about the 100 Pax challenge give a listen to the podcast below. Where Transporter and I had opportunity to discuss the challenge.
First Flash – Hills and Crab Walks
This was a special Q for me after turning 56 yesterday. We had a perfect temperature to tour the Cuthbertson schools.
Warm-up
- Mosey from the parking lot to the bottom of the road by the bathrooms
- 20 Side Straddle Hops
- 20 Merkins
- Calf Stretches
- 20 Imperial Walkers
The Thang
- Mosey to the rock pile and grab a lifting rock
- Partner up
- 100 curls
- 100 overhead triceps
- 100 overhead press
- 20 Burpees
- Partner runs to sidewalk and back
- Mosey to the bottom of the hill near the tennis courts
- 10 Bobby Hurleys on the top
- 10 Merkins on the bottom
- Repeat 5 times
- Mosey to the first circle
- 10 Dry Docks
- 10 LBC’s
- 10 Mike Tysons
- Mosey to the second circle and repeat
- Mosey back to the first circle and lunge around it
- Mosey to the end of the HS parking lot for some light pole work and say hello
to the ignition group.- Crab walk to the next pole, oh so many complaints on this one 🙂
- Frog jump/Broad jump to next light pole
- Bear crawl to next light pole
- Mosey for 30 seconds / plank 30 seconds, repeat towards the middle school.
- Introduced a new exercise, not sure of it’s actual name, but you go in a plank and bring your straight out level with your right
shoulder and lift your right hand a bit off the ground while leaning on the left hand and repeat on the other side, up to 50 reps.
Some called it a break dance move, like a scissor. - Mosey back to COT
The Moleskin
As always, I appreciate leading such fine gentlemen on campus tours. The group today were a solid bunch, some complaints, but those
are good to hear. The hill and crap walks will be hurting me today. It’s great to see everyone out and pushing themselves.
Announcements
Adrian Boston – Shake N’ Bake shared his experiences about the current situation with what is going on with the protesters and how he has had his experiences even in our local community. Thank you for sharing Adrian.
Run Bread Bowl Run
I love the opportunity to lead a group of men and come up with new ways that people think my workouts are insane. For some reason, I enjoy the grimace of are we really doing this as much as when I complain about some other crazy workout someone put together for the pax. Finally, we were also able to keep the Pax together at the count of 17 with NC rolling back some of the safety measures across the state. We signed off on dicks, told everyone to stay apart and away we mosied for the warmup.
The Thang
- Jog to the front of the school
- SSD X 20
- Merkins X 20
- Parker Peters X 20
- Calf Stretch
- Potato Pickers
- Imperial Walkers
- Mosey to the path lined with Trees
- Alternate Trees with 5 squats at the first tree and 1 burpee at the next tree till the end of the road
- Burpees while we wait for the six
- Mosey to the alternate loop of the school for some DICKS
- Select a partner
- Between partners, 100 Decline Merkins, 100 Incline Merkins, 200 Crunches, 200 Donkey Kicks, 200 Side Strattle Hops
- The timer was you partner running a loop around the parking lot
- Anyone at the workout heard me yelling for Breadbowl to Run
- Mosey to the Rock Pile near the playground
- 50 Curls, 50 PResses, 50 Tricept Extension
- Repeat for 25 reps
- Mosey to the buses, do a burpee at each bus
- Mosey to the basketball hoops
- 200 Step Ups
- 200 Dips
- 200 Butt Touch Squats
- Run back to COT
COT
Thanks to Rudy for bringing coffee and donuts along with Brutus bringing some Gatorade because the humidity almost to a downpour. Welcome Lincoln, Son of Catfish as the FNG of the day. Let is be known that he now be called Nemo. I did a terrible job at COT forgetting the FNG as well as forgetting the marketing picture. Thanks for the pax letting me Q.
- 100 Pax Challenge to raise money for local charities – Give Early, Give Often – 100 men giving $100
- Waxhaw Spartan Race for local F3 men in June
- Q School and Site Q School in July
- Looking at new AO’s including Rayview Elementary, Waxhaw Elementary, and Weddington Methodist
Short Circuit
Today was iffy. No rain in the forecast but looking at the sky you would think different. The rain held off but the clouds kept the humidity high. The kind of humidity that just sucks the life out of you with each breath. That same kind of humidity we will be experiencing during our workouts from now to October. Oh well, this is the hand we were dealt and we accepted our challenge ahead.
DiCCs delivered Told the PAX we would be staying off the grass for the duration of the workout…
WARMORAMA
Was going to take us down to the Tennis courts for warm ups but remembered it was going to take way too long and so I audibled to circle up in the center of the traffic circle. Mushy mess was the status so we did 15 SSHs and headed to our next spot for 15 IW. Moseyed to the backstops of the softball fields and did 10X Merkin IC, right and left calf stretch, upward and downward dog and left and right runners lunge. Pick up a rock if you didn’t bring a coupon and Al Gore while this PAX chose their rock.
moseyed back to COT where we lined up our coupons/rocks for a 10-20-30 Circuit.
Circuit 1: 10 X Burpees, Bonnie Blairs(2=1), Reverse Plank Knee Ups(2=1), Mike Tyson’s & Lap around soccer field staying on sidewalk.
R/R X 2 more rounds
Circuit 2: 20 X Plank Jacks, Speed Skaters(1=1), Curls, Shoulder Presses & Lap around soccer field.
R/R X 2 more rounds
Circuit 3: 30 X Peter Parkers or Parker Peters, Squats, Carolina Dry Docks, Coupon Bent over Rows & Lap around soccer field
R/R X 2 more rounds
3 minutes of Mary 20 X Flutters, 20 X Heels to Heaven, 40 X Shoulder Taps & 30 second Plank
Return the rocks to their original resting place and done.
Blackhawk is becoming known for 2.0 participation. I’ve been posting here throughout the Pandemic every Saturday and I don’t remember a Saturday after the first “meeting” we didn’t have at least two participating. Today we had four and they didn’t just participate, they brought it in a big way. They’re getting it. They’re pushing themselves and making themselves stronger. It’s great to witness and be a part of their journey.
Announcements:
don’t miss the first launch of a US made Rocket in over 10 years today at 3:00.
100 PAX challenge
Q Source every Friday at 7:00 Cuthbertson MS immediately after workouts
YHC took us out
Chik Fila Tailgate Party
13 PAX gathered at the Pet Smart for DaVinci. 1st in-person time at DaVinci for YHC so wanted to make it a special one.
Warm-up: 2 burpees OYO, 10 IW IC, 4 burpees, 10 Moroccan Night Clubs, 6 burpees, 10 windmills, 8 burpees, 10 low slow squats, and 10 burpees.
Mosey to Best Buy for a bear crawl/merkin combo. After every set of merkins, Q counts out 5 bear crawls so we stay together. Start with one merkin, civilian count, go up to ten.
Mosey one lap around the entire lot to recover then line up again for Herschel Walkers (shout out to Lex Luther for this one). PAX line up and Q calls 10 civilian count sit-ups. On the 10th one, get to your feet and sprint across the lot. On the other end, line up again and do the same thing with 10 merkins, sprint back. Repeat three times.
Mosey over to Blakeney and the double stairwell. Groups of 2 and three for five stations: supine pull-ups (2x bottom of stairs), burpees (2x top of the stairs), and LBCs middle of the top walkway. YHC designated Frehleys Comet as our pace car and instructed him 15 supines, 5 burpees, and 25 LBCs. All other PAX rotate as the group behind you advances. This format worked in my head. In practice, C+.
Mosey to “the hill with the rock piles.” Every PAX selects his own lifting rock. Triple Lindy’s x 10, run to the playground for 20 derkins. We got three sets in in the time allowed.
Mosey toward launch and stop at the circle fountain for 20 x derkins, jump ups, dips, in and outs; then 15 x derkins, jump ups, dips, in and outs; then 10 x derkins, jump ups, dips, in and outs. Mosey back and plank until 7:30.
Announcements and Moleskin: Tclaps for Twister for posting 3x in his first week. Commish brought him out so T Claps for him as well. Keep working on FNGs everyone. And on that note…
Now is the time to EH guys who have been absent for a while. We have had a good first week back as SOB for in-person workouts but there are plenty of guys still on the sidelines. They just need a little push and will thank you for it.
Virtual work-outs are continuing as well on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. YHC is looking forward to Garage Band Monday morning. Keep checking Slack for these and other opportunities.
Rock Zero Backblast
23 with an FNG this morning for Rock Zero. Saw Hoover and Flipper pre-running. May have been others. Disclaimer given and we took off. KB crew was doing their thing in the next parking lot over.
Mosey around campus up near the church. Stop at parking lot in front of the gym and circle up.
COP
IW x 15 IC
Merkin x 10 IC
Alt Shoulder Taps x 10 IC
Mountain Climber x 10 IC
Low Slow Squat x 10 IC
Flutter x 20 IC
Mosey over to Rock Pile and grab a rock.
Rock Set
15s: Curl/Tri Extension/Thruster with 5 Rockee finish
Mosey toward the picnic area by the launch lot. Bear crawl through the courtyard next to the faux grass. Continue mosey to Avenue of Trees turnaround. 15 Heels to Heaven/15 High Flutter each leg. Continue to picnic tables.
Bench Set
15 Step Up/15 Dips/15 Derkins
Turn around and go back with a stop at the turnaround for 15 Heels to Heaven/15 High Flutter and back to your rock.
Repeat until called. We got 3 reps after the intro round. Mary and plank series when completed to regroup. T-claps to the Nantan, Alf, for going back and bringing in the six.
Mosey to Avenue of Trees. Run down the Avenue with a stop at every other tree for 6 Merkins. Mosey back. Plank o rama.
Mosey back to the launch lot.
COT
Moleskin
Proehl set the pace early for the AMRAP set. Alf was close behind with Slow Roll and YHC not too far back. Alf reeled in Proehl to take the win for the set. The quarantine has not slowed him down. Well done. Strong work by all.
FNG Spaceballs put in a strong showing. He is a RESPECT. Great to have him out and T-claps to Hops for the EH.
Speaking of RESPECTS, we had IH, Sweetness, Runstopper, Beaver, Snowflake, OT, and Cottonmouth in this category. Almost 1/3 of our group. Well done, men.
Plenty of mumblechatter this morning. Had Spackler shown, it may have been damn near impossible to maintain order.
Great to have a nice sized, COVID-19 compliant group this morning. Also very nice to have some fellowship at Coffeeteria afterwards. Thanks to Geraldo and Hoover for the opportunity to Q Rock Zero and to Iron Horse for the takeout prayer.
No announcements that YHC can remember. If you have any questions about those new-fangled hammer massagers, or whatever they are called, ask Flippper. He has a pretty sweet model that I am sure most of us would welcome in the arsenal. Have a great weekend men.