5:30 Impromptu

5:30 Impromptu

This week I was texting with Showgirl and he mentioned he enjoyed the 5:30 boot camps. Well yesterday we made a plan to meet at Impromptu for a 5:30 workout. It is with my surprise after a few months I still remembered how to set the alarm and actually woke up on time and made it shortly before 5:30.

Well as 5:30 rolls around it was time to do this.

Warmup Mosey to the front of the middle school for:

  • 20 SSH in cadence
  • 10 Hillbillies in cadence
  • 10 Imperial Walkers in Cadence
  • 20 Merkins
  • Calf Stretch

The Thang:

  • Starting at the path behind the school
    • 1 Burpee at the first light then add 1 for each additional lights ending with 8 at Rudy’s.
  • Wall Sits
    • 20 Air Presses and
    • 20 Jabs
  • Mosey to the tables at the Cafeteria for
    • 20 Derkins
    • 20 Dips
    • 20 Step ups
  • Mosey to steps at the High School for 3 rounds (drop 5 each round)
    • Bottom of Stairs 20 LBC
    • Top of Stairs 20 Mike Tysons
    • Run the path down and repeat 15, then 10.
  • Mosey to circles by the football field for 11’s
    • Top Squats
    • Bottom American Hammers
  • Mosey back for COT

 

It was great to get out with Showgirl again for some good livin.

I took us out.

The End.

Patio was Baking at Clyent Dinner

It was really ass swamp producing HOT!

Warm up down the sidewalk with a Mosey and stopping for SSH, Al Gore/Moroccan Night Clubs, Mosey some more stop for Merkins, calf stretch, Wide Arm Merkins, Duggans, 6 inches, Warm Up Complete.

Mosey up to the traffic circle by the stadium and back to the rock pile.  Grab a rock:

10-8-6-4-2

Burpee then broad jump over rock x10, Al Gore/rock press x10, Lunges with rock over head x10

Same exercises all the way down to 2.

Mosey to traffic circle.  Up top complete 25 step ups and bottom circle 10 Merkin Shredders.  Each group completes top and bottom.

Mosey to stadium parking lot.  Up 2 lights for 10 Speed Skaters and back 1 for 10 Bobby Hurleys.

Mosey to school and find a wall for:

9-7-5-3-1 Mike Tysons, Big Boy Sit Ups and Donkey Kicks

Mosey back to COT and find some shade!

Moleskin

It was hotter than two rats scrompin in a wool sock!

 

 

 

Not sure what to say, say it anyways

My M and I spoke about George Floyd last night,  she couldn’t finish watching the clip, I teared up.  Its wrong,  we need to say it out loud and call it what it is.  We need to be real about the white privilege we have, not that we can stop it but we can use it to help others given the opportunity.  That is all it should be used for.  We are strong men, we claim to be leaders,  good leaders stand against evil.  Do what ever you can to stand against it.  I am not exactly sure what that means but when the time comes and you have an opportunity to stand for what is right or voice you opinion against what is wrong, DO IT!

 

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”― Edmund Burke (in a letter addressed to Thomas Mercer).

A nearly unBEARable Jack Webb

4 PAX showed at the re-opening of The Arsenal. It’s been a pretty wet and rainy week, so YHC planned a Wienke that would avoid the grass and mud and what I’m sure was a swamp of a practice field. The disclaimer was delivered, this time I remembered the new bits too and we were off at 0530 on the dot.

WARMUP

From launch, take a lap around ILES stopping in the bus parking lot for a warmup.

  • 15 IC SSH
  • 10 IC Merkin
  • 15 IC IW
  • 30 IC Moroccan Nightclub

THE THING

  • Finish the lap around the school back to launch for a Jack Webb variation, which was to be followed by 2 more laps around the school and 2 more Jack Webbs.
  • Jack Webb #1 – 1x Carolina dry dock, 4x bear crawls, 2x Carolina dry docks, 8x bear crawls, 3x CDD, 12x crawls… 10x CDD, 40x crawls.
  • 1/2 mile lap around ILES – a very welcome break, arms already smoked.
  • Jack Webb #2 – the traditional merkin / air presses – those first 4 air presses hurt, the last 40… ouch.
  • 1/2 mile lap around ILES.
  • Jack Webb #3 – a welcome switch to abs with 2 count flutters and LBC’s – by the end I was ready to go back to arms/shoulders.
  • Final 1/2 mile lap around ILES put us at time, with total about 2.5 miles.

COT / ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • As more AO’s are opening, remember the PAX that are still taking advantage of the virtual for whatever their reason may be.
  • YHC will be one of them when the new baby arrives in the next couple of weeks! I’m pretty glad there will be the option for it.

MOLESKIN

  • The beatdown was pretty intense. I planned the bear crawl Webb as the final but decided to knock it out first which turned out to be a good idea. It was a doozy for sure. There were a couple of 10 counts to bring some life back to the arms and the following lap was with my arms hanging by my sides.
  • 40 bear crawls clears ILES parking lot. Good to know.
  • I Q’d The Brave last week but there was no IC counting. I forgot how difficult it can be. I had only done a warmup lap and was still somewhat struggling to keep the count for the warmup.
  • It was great to see some of the regulars back out at The Arsenal. I look forward to more showing up at future workouts.
  • Atlas grew a mean quarantine beard, and pre-ran under the radar! I only knew from Strava.
  • Thanks, Soft Pretzel, for taking us out. Kudos for back to back posts, coming from The Maul, after quarantine capped with a beach trip. Keep up the good work.
  • Happy Meal showed up strong as always as if he wasn’t coming out of quarantine.
  • C3P0 on deck for Q next week!

Today’s Chiseled Brought to You by Weinke Block

So I looked at my calendar this week just in time to see I was the pilot for Chiseled. Awesome! Went to work on the ‘ol weinke and nothing… You’ve been there right? Weinke block? I guess there are many blocks but stay with me here… I was struggling to come up with some great material to please the masses for a Wednesday morning beat down and it just wasn’t coming together. Maybe it was still trying to work around what’s left of our quarantine guidelines because I do genuinely enjoy a smaller group. Anyway, I reached out to my fellow Chiseled board members late night and received nothing but humorous .gifs in return making fun of my lack of preparation. So here’s where we ended up —> Grab the old cardboard signs from your VQ and use those with coupons and / or rocks at different locations on site. Rinse and repeat with a run in between and voila!

THE THANG

Cardboard placed at each spot on site and waiting for launch. In my head I’m leading 10 – 15 and here we are at 20 bodies. Not going to work with my weinke so made the executive decision with Fuse box to take half the group. I’m not even sure what he did but his group clocked in more mileage than mine so we’ll assume it was good. Mosey started with our coupons heading towards the Five Stones entrance but dropped them off half way to do some Toy Soldiers ( thanks Tool Time for the reminder and you already know the names of the exercises better than most ). Moseyed to pick back up coupons and on to far back parking lot to pick a spot and complete warm up: SSH x 10 IC Imp Wlk x 10 IC Merkins x 15 Super long awkward calf stretch x ea leg – include Damascus one liners and signature groaning noises First cardboard round of pain: All with coupon Coupon swing x 20 Man makers x 10 LBCs x 20 Thrusters x 10 In between each exercise hold coupon over head and execute a walking lunge to other side of lot Hot lap around Mt. Chiseled after completing last exercise Rinse and repeat for 3 rounds – We changed the lunge in between each exercise to bear crawls and maybe something else but I can’t remember Moseyed with coupon to location 2 – Mt. Chiseled parking lot Squats w coupon x 20 Traveling merkin on coupon x 20 Jumping lunge no coupon x 20 M. Tysons no coupon x 20 Maybe this is where we did the bear crawls but we also ran backward across the lot and crab walked back in between each exercise. It was all very sucky… Bear crawl up steep side of Mt. Chiseled and mosey down the other side then bear crawl back up and mosey down after last exercise. Rinse and repeat for 3 rounds. Had about 90 seconds to mosey back to COT with coupons in hand.

MOLESKIN

I hate not being prepared but we got ‘er done and it seemed like most everyone was sucking wind so I’m going with a WIN on this one. Sometimes thinking on the fly and just going with it is better than being over prepared. We were able to make quick decisions based on the size of the group with this AO and it worked. Glad to see so many familiar faces and pax I haven’t been able to interact with in real life for so long. Catfish was so excited I was on Q this morning he called me at 5:25 wondering where everyone was at so I reminder him of our current “summer” schedule. Tool Time is still a “new guy” but I see him post everywhere, keeps up with Wolverine and Gerber during Waxhaw Express runs and leads the pack carrying a coupon while reminding me of the next exercise during my own Q… Oh, and he’s already on the Chiseled calendar for his VQ. Glad to have you on board and excited to see what you’ll do next! Shout out to all the other “newer” pax that are becoming regulars. I haven’t had a chance to speak with several yet but look forward to it now that we’re up and running again. As usual the morning was mostly a blur but I remember there wasn’t a whole lot of chatter going on and a lot of hard work. Our groups mileage was overall pretty low (under 2mi) but we made up for it wrestling those coupons the entire time. I had the privilege to take us out and Gerber screwed up the family photo but it’s the thought that counts.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Happy F3 1yr anniversary to Speed bump! Being Gerber’s 2.0 has it’s advantages. I wish he would have put an odometer on him to see how far the kid has run / biked the past year. I guess we can check Gerber’s Strava account because I’m sure it’s pretty close… We’re about half way on our 100 pax challenge to get to $10k and support our local organizations. Looking forward to see how this continues to develope and grow. Don’t forget to reach out to employers to see if they’ll match a donation etc. Q source this Friday 7am at Cuthbertson Middle – bring a chair and coffee cup Remember, there’s a reason when you think about someone suddenly or that one thing is on your heart. Act on it, reach out, do something.

Memorial Day Popeye Special!

27 Pax paid their respects on Memorial Day.

Warmup mosey to the standard Popeye warmup.  10x Merkins, mountain climbers, imperial swawkers, etc, broken up by 10x SSH each time (God bless the SSH).

Start the workout, incoming rules apply (yell incoming, everyone does a burpee)

Move to the hill.  Bear crawl up the entire hill.  Medal of Honor reading, RIP Mike Murphy.

Mosey to the bollards.  LAC (legs, abs, chest) on stoplights, 10 reps each, to the soccer fields.

Low crawl (low, not bear, face dwn, everyone is wet) for 50 yds.  Medal of Honor reading, RIP Desmond Doss.

Mosey with intermittent Mary to the high school football field.

Mogadishu Mile run back to the parking lot.  Medal of Honor reading, RIP Gary Gordon and Randy Shurgart.

Gold star reading, RIP Ronnie Winchester, USNA football #73, class of 2001, Marine Lieutenant.

73 burpees, 10x each time broken up by variable Mary each time, in honor of my classmate Ronnie.

Bottom line, four veterans laid to rest, four primary exercises to honor them with random pain in between.  Thanks for letting me honor four heroes, one of them a friend.

 

Chainsaw, Frack (fellow OG), Rockwell, Buckshot, Boytano, Rudy, Blades of Glory, Fuze Box, Flash, Goodfella, Pickett Fence, Bo Knows (FNG, 2.0), Back of da (sp?,) Swimmers, Ice 9 (fellow OG), Posse (a.k.a Sargeant Hulka, The Big Toe), Premature, Bottlecap, Heisman (Beat Army, dude!), Wack, Shop Dog (fellow OG), Oh-69, Ricky Bobby, J-wow, Chicken Little, Popeye

 

Rocks and Running are like Peas and Carrots

YHC pulled into the parking lot with a few minutes to spare At 0530 the 12 Pax was properly disclaimed, and we were off. 

The Thang:

We took a nicely paced jog over to the parking lot with all the islands and construction equipment. 

COP:

  • SSH x 20 IC
  • Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
  • Low Slow Squats x 15
  • Windmills x 10 
  • Eight Count Body Builders x 10 IC (Crowd pleaser)

Hot Box Set

We jogged over to the hot box and partnered upPartner up, Partner 1 performs called exercise while Partner 2 runs and touches the church and back, then flapjack.

  • Dips
  • Incline Merkins
  • Step ups

Rock Work

We then moseyed over to the rock pile, making sure we don’t leave our rocks on the ground in the way of passing cars, of which there were a couple at that hour. Choosing a lifting rock for the follwoing.

  • Curls x 20
  • Tricep Extensions x 20
  • Overhead Presses x 20
  • Run to the rock and back
  • Squats with rock x 20
  • Flutter Kicks with rock overhead x 20
  • Louganis with rock overhead x 20
  • Run to the second lightpost on the right and back

Repeato, except I called an #Omaha and we didn’t run to the rock but to the light post instead. 

We headed back to the launch point stopping for an AYG run before working on our abs/”stomache”

Mary:

  • Flutter Kicks x 15
  • Dollies x 15
  • One more AYG run
  • Heels to Heaven
  • LBCs 

Done.

Moleskin:

  • 2/3 of the #Trifusnik were in attendance, and they exercised the #refusniks early and often starting with the SSH. Maybe Semi Gloss was resting himself for Hydra tomorrow.
  • Clover can’t keep count or intentionally tries to cross up the Q during cadence.
  • Pudding Pop correctly guessed we were stopping at the hot box but the box were disappointed that the run was to touch the church and back rather than the usual light post. There were several groans of “that’s far”, oh well. 
  • Mr. Magoo was getting some grief from Haze for making him work harder to keep up with the Pax on the runs to the church wall. 
  • Lorax and Spackler were giving it a go with the AYG sprint, looked like Spackler got the best of that one. The second AYG was a time killer, #Cobains. Pudding Pop noted that he only had one in him #TWSS
  • Jet Fuel put in his solid effort as usual, and was dressed appropriately with his shirt tucked in.
  • Spackler was out front as usual #LarryBird, he admitted that he’s a lot faster at 185 than 195. All those OTB workouts have done him good. 
  • Point Break was out there pushing it during the runs, nice job.
  • Haze provided some commentary during COP with the windmills, something to the effect that we’ve gone soft. Poke the bear and you get 8 count bodybuilders as reward.
  • TCLAPS to Haze for the extra credit 1.5 miles running in and running out. 
  • Spacklers new truck does everything including mixing drinks and blasting La Vida Loca from the tailgate speakers. Sweet new ride. 
  • Thanks to Lorax for the opportunity to lead and please sound off with any mumblechatter.

Announcements:

  • Hydra triumphantly returns tomorrow, officially at OPE with at later start, 0600, for those who like to sleep in some. Spackler has the Q for his 40th birthday. Join us, it promises to be a chatty one, and maybe there’ll be some White Claw at the end. 
  • Anvil needs Qs signup by reaching out to Lorax. Spackler on Q next week. 

By Design: Small Workout Groups for Men!

After a very successful Memorial Day convergence yesterday, Easy Button put the S.O.S. out to the Pax for a last-minute Substi-Q for Watchtower.  Quickly realizing Easy Button just stepped into the co-Site Q role of Watchtower, it was an easy decision to step up to help a brother out.

A wise F3 OG once told me “you owe it to your brothers to take the time to prepare a solid workout” and don’t just wing it, unless you have to. Today would be no different, as the plan happened quickly yesterday while going about the day. Speed + Strength + Core is always the foundation for a solid Q.  Mix in some coupons, Merkins, Burpees, a Starfish and magic happens!

We had a total of 11 men show up today, with 7 posting for the full bootcamp + 4 in the M.A.S.H. Unit. A little planning between YHC and Centerfold would have the M.A.S.H.’ers join the 7 of us for two specific rounds of work.

The Thang:

Today’s running warmup took about 15 minutes as we ran around the school, stopping at (6) locations, adding an additional exercise to the previous. It looked like this:

  1. Stop #1 = SSH x 10 (IC)
  2. Stop #2 = SSH x 10 + Plank Jacks x 10 (IC)
  3. Stop #3 = SSH x 10 + Plank Jacks x 10 + Low Slow Squat x 10 (IC)
  4. Stop #4 = SSH x 10 + Plank Jacks x 10 + Low Slow Squat x 10 + LBC’s x 10 (IC)
  5. SSH x 10 + Plank Jacks x 10 + Low Slow Squat x 10 + LBC’s x 10 + Flutter x 10 (IC)
  6. SSH x 10 + Plank Jacks x 10 + Low Slow Squat x 10 + LBC’s x 10 + Flutter x 10 (IC) + 10 Burpees OYO

Done!  Time to mosey to the Flag Pole circle at the front of the school where our 4 M.A.S.H. Unit brothers joined us for a nice Merkin Ladder (starting at 10, decreasing until 1…55 Merkins in all).  Done!

Leave the Mashers, mosey to the back field/track making a pit stop at the wall for (40) Air Press in a Squat + (20) Donkey Kicks OYO.

Continue to the Track/Field for the Starfish/4 Corners segment consisting of:

  • (20) H2H + (3) Burpees back in the center
  • (20) Jump Squats + (3) Burpees back in the center
  • (20) Dry Docks + (3) Burpees back in the center
  • (20) Speed Skaters (total) + (3) Burpees back in the center
  • Done!

Mosey to the parking lot to retrieve our own individual, Corona-Free Cinder Blocks for the next segment, along with our M.A.S.H. brothers.
*Note…when we arrived at the lot, YHC noticed a certain Pax seemingly/disturbingly “going to town” on the side of Brutus’s car. After a second glance, it appeared this Pax was doing some sort of wheelbarrow action with a rubber band…

Now back to the workout…Grab your Coupon for:

  • (25) Bicep Curls + (25) Overhead Press…run a lap
  • (20) Bicep Curls + (20) Overhead Press…run a lap
  • (15) Bicep Curls + (15) Overhead Press…run a lap
  • (10) Bicep Curls + (10) 3-count down Bicep Curls…run a lap
  • (10) Overhead Press…run a lap
  • Done!  End of Workout!

Moleskin:

A nice, quick, 3-laps around the school pre-run with Dasher on a humid day really got the blood pumping today. That man is Fast!  Great work today by Mad Dog on his 49th Bday (but he didn’t tell anyone to avoid having to do 49 Burpees!).  Fuse Box is noticeably faster than he once was. Easy Button killed it as usual. Popeye pushed himself hard after a solid and memorable Q on Memorial Day. I was also happy to see our (and YHC’s) 1st F FNG, Picket Fence, post again today after a good beating at the Memorial Day convergence. Keep showing up, brother. It never gets easier…you just get stronger!

Our M.A.S.H. brothers weren’t just going through the motions (except for the “motions” we saw beside the car!), but were working hard despite their injuries. It is so encouraging to see guys adapting to the situation, not making excuses, and getting in a good workout. Well done, Centerfold, Brutus, Chastain, and Mayhem!

As we all know, the design of F3 is “small workout groups for men”, with 10-15 Pax being the optimal group size. Today, we had 11 total, and it was perfect.  One thing we have seen through the SIPO is the value and blessing of a small workout group. Guys have challenged each other more, commiserated more, educated more, shared more, supported more, planned more, achieved more, respected more, enjoyed more…and Led More! ALL BY DESIGN!

We are planning more AO expansions in Waxhaw soon to thin the crowds at our workouts, and have identified several locations that may work well.  This will ensure we don’t creep back up to the 30-40 Pax per workout we saw prior to the last expansion/splits.  If we see the numbers increase again, we will add more AO’s and workouts and give more Pax a chance to lead as Site Q’s.  Our goal is to see the next group of leaders step into the role God designed them for, and we will be right there by their side when their time comes.  ALL BY DESIGN!

Announcements:

  • 100 Pax Challenge has raised ~$4,500 already. Keep it up, fellas!
  • Prayers for Centerfold’s wife as she undergoes some testing, and for his family friend going through a tough time. Pray for Mad Dog’s father-in-law and family, as he is in a tough battle as well.

YHC took us out in prayer.  #CradleToGrave.  As always, it’s a blessing to be able to lead my brothers today, and the strong friendships and bonds we have formed can not be taken for granted. I find great strength and courage every day in this group and it means so much to me and my family.  I know you have my back, and I have yours. Looking forward to seeing you boys in the Gloom again this week!

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

Goodfella

Do Not Read This

4 men and 3 2.0’s split the Q at the latest installment of Garage Band.

Pyramid

  • 2 minute run into our respective ‘hoods (1 min out / 1 min back)
  • Pax 1 calls an exercise
  • 2 minute run
  • Pax 2 calls an exercise
  • Pax 1 calls his exercise again
  • 2 minute run
  • Pax 3 calls an exercise
  • Pax 2 calls his exercise again
  • Pax 1 calls his exercise again
  • 2 minute run
  • keep building the pyramid until time expires

Here are the exercises that each PAX chose as we built the pyramid:

  • Tuck – merkins x 10 (90 total)
  • Fire Hazard – overhead press w/ weight x 10 (80 total)
  • Flutie Flakes – Squats x 10 (70 total)
  • C3PO – Plank w/ 10 toe touches (60 total)
  • Johnny 5 – Freddy Mercury x 10 (50 total)
  • Odd Boy Out – LBC’s x 20 (80 total)
  • T1000 – Burpees x 10 (30 total)
  • Tuck – Slow curls w/ weight x 10 (20 total)
  • Fire Hazard – Dips x 10

Moleskine

Appreciated the group participation.  Is a Tuck Pyramid an easy button for the QIC?  Yes.  Is it a fun and solid workout?  Also yes.  It also tends to be a well balanced one because of the variety of exercises selected by the PAX.  The best thing about this format is that whenever you use it you are guaranteed a unique workout, never to be repeated again.  We got in ~2.5 miles which is pretty good for a 45 minute bootcamp.  T-claps to the 2.0’s (Odd Boy Out, Johnny 5 and T1000) for doing a great job picking their exercises.  Especially T1000 w/ the burpees.  Pretty ballsy!

We will continue Garage Band as long as there is demand for it.  Who knows- maybe it’ll become a permanent addition to the schedule.  YHC loves the 0630 start time which allows for a pre-run w/out waking up super early.  And being virtual, you save driving time on both ends.  For you runners it’s a great opportunity to get some running and cross training in on the same day, while still getting a decent amount of sleep.  For the non-runners you get even more sleep.  Everyone wins.

Announcements

Keep checking Slack and the SCLT F3 site to keep track of all the virtual and in-person workout options in SOB Land.  Some start times are being modified as we transition back to the gloom.  The Maul is in-person tomorrow @ 0600.

Waxhaw Express

Waxhaw Express is your weekly dose of a speed workout.  It’s an hour and it’s also a great way to teach your body to run faster and get uncomfortable and progress.

DiCCS (Disclaimer, Cell phone, CPR, Safety) and 10-10

Warm Up:

  • Run .5 Mile
  • SSH x 15 IC
  • Imperial Walkers x 15 IC
  • Stretching including the calf stretch

The Thang:

  • 5 x (4 minutes at interval pace w/ 3 min jog)
  • Basically we started at the side of the high school and ran hard until about Rudy’s shed (which ended up being about 4 min).  We then jogged back to the side of the high school which took about another 3 minutes to start every lap.

Mosey back to AO

Done!  Another 6+ miles in the books.

Thanks for taking us out Nails.

MOLESKIN:

A little light on the train today.  Apparently Deadwood has a new puppy that keeps him up at night, Dasher and Bottlecap took another form or transportation, and Hollywood was MIA.  However, we did have one pax hear the call and didn’t want to lift anything after yesterday wanted to work on getting faster.  Welcome Recalc, first time caller.

Those that came saw Tool Time crush it, Glidah break through some mental barriers, Nails continue to get faster, and Recalc getting uncomfortable and faster.  Well done everyone.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • 100 PAX challenge is here. 100 individual pax donate $100 so that we have a fund to make some impactful local donations in the very near future.