14 men conquered today’s edition of the The Floater. Here’s how they did it.
Thang
Moleskin
As always, I appreciate the invite to come down and lead this morning. Thanks for the solid turnout on a chilly morning. We managed to warm up pretty quickly, almost too much. It was a good thing when Transporter’s hood came down, not so good when Tupperware’s shirt came off. Luckily it stopped there. Any more burpees and he might have been down to his skivvies. #PG13
Heading to Bojangles felt like a long field trip while we were doing it, but we ended up with just over 2.3 miles which isn’t too bad after all. Probably warranted another trip or two up the hill. Saw the burpee train rolling by as I pulled into the lot this morning and was sad to have missed it. The merkin snake became the burpee snake and problem was solved.
A lot of strong work thrown down by the Western UC PAX today and very little (if any) complaining even though some of those calls definitely warranted it. I was asked to make the workout tough this morning and hope it lived up to expectations. The hard work at The Floater continues the next 3 weeks with Transporter, General_, and Bottlecap mounting the throne the next 3 weeks. Better stock up on your witch hazel. (I know I’m a grown man, but it never gets old).
Great seeing a bunch of familiar faces this morning as well as plenty of new faces as WUC continues to grow. Had a great time with you guys and look forward to seeing many of you at the Christmas party tomorrow.
The Intro
Cold morning at OPES as the Pax gathered for #F3Hydra after having last Thursday off for Thanksgiving. It was one of those mornings where guys sit in the cars until right up to kickoff. Yet still we waited on Gloss. After the disclaimer, off we went.
The Thang
Mosey around the back of the school to the opposite side parking lot for COP.
Mosey across Rea to the church rock pile. Grab a rock you can handle for 25 reps. The routine was 25 reps of the called exercise with the rock, drop the rock, run around the church but stop at the corner of Edenbridge Lane and Rea for 25 merkins, keep running around the church back to where the rocks were and do called core exercise until the six arrived, then complete called core exercise x 10IC
After round 7, we returned the rocks and moseyed back to our COP parking lot for grinders. After a few minutes of grinders, we moseyed back to launch for quick finale.
Done. COT.
The Moleskine
Joshua 6:1-4;15-16 – Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town!
With the cold weather this morning, the goal was keep us working and moving as much as possible. Also wanted to get some lifting in. Seems we accomplished both, with minimal complaining and refuseniking, save the usual, of both, from Gloss and Spack. Since we were in the church parking lot, after round 6 we had a little Bible story time about Joshua and Battle of Jericho. All the pax seemed to have paid attention as kids in Sunday School, as they all knew they marched around for a seventh time before the walls came down. Don’t stop on 6.
Great group of men at Hydra, as usual. Good to be back out there. After a Puddin/Gloss exchange (which is #NSFW), Sleepy noted he’d missed that kind of humor since he hadn’t posted in a couple of weeks. Hopper, Sprockets, Ironsides and One Eye went about this workout very business-like and with great integrity on the reps #MenOfHonor. Mailman did solid work and didn’t appear to be holding back for his VQ at #F3Centurion tomorrow. While some guys grabbed rocks they could handle for 250 reps, Queen grabbed one most could handle for 2.5 reps #LunkAlarm. Pretty sure Jet Fuel had his half-zip tech pullover tucked in. Marge was basking in the glow of 12-0 and 5 in a row…he just kept repeating that for 45 minutes. BOG doesn’t do push-ups, he does earth-downs…was maxing out on the merkins. Spack did curls for every round. Iron Horse failed to post after a late night HC on Twitter.
Thanks to Marge and Queen for the opportunity to Q, in spite of my hiatus due to running.
The Announcements
Christmas party this Saturday.
13 PAX busted the freezing mark by running themselves warm around the Hump at Dromedary on a Wednesday morning.
The THANG:
The Moleskin:
Announcements:
Temperature gauge read 27 degrees and unless you left your bell in a warm oven overnight it was going to be a nipple tingler this morning!
THE THANG
50’s
40 swings 10 diamond push-up
30 swings 20 wide arm push-ups
20 swings 30 military push-ups
10 swings 40 regular push-ups
30’s
20 teabags 10 upright rows
15 teabags 15 upright rows
5 teabags 15 upright rows
20’s
15 OH press and 5 curls
10 OH press and 10 curls
5 OH press and 15 curls
One handed sets:
30 sec snatch right
30 sec snatch left
30 sec high pulls right
30 sec high pulls left
30 sec alternating swings
Repeat with 25 sec rounds and repeat with 20 sec rounds
Abs
10 Louganis, 10 seated bicep curls, 10 seated tri extensions
Repeat with 9 of each and then 8 of each
30 secs Flutter press with bell
30 secs Dolly press with bell
30 sec American hammer no bell
Good crew this morning and everyone got at it quickly. Warm weather gear was quickly discarded although the fingers only got warm after a few rounds of snatches twenty minutes in. It’s tough to keep the whole body warm on a 0.0 workout but I believe mission was accomplished by the end. Witch Dr would have been proud! BD
Announcements: Christmas party this Saturday at Seaboard in Matthews. Would be great to see as many lads as possible even if stopping by for a quick beer.
12… nope 11, made the trek to Calvary Church for this week’s chilly installment of Anvil. As everyone emerged from the warmth of their vehicles much attention was given to the attire each PAX was sporting. An assortment ranging from hoodies to t-shirts, pants to shorts and two in straight up tights. No newbies so off we go, not to the hotbox as requested by Brushback.
Head out of the windy confines of the “high ground” that Calvary Church occupies and onto Rea. Mosey down to Bevington. Regroup as we have already had a casualty to the uneven yet ground down sidewalk along the tree lined street. Our 12 had become 11 as a turned ankle rendered Hammer lame. Hope it’s minor issue Hammer. #iceup
20 SSH IC at Bevington and mosey on to Old Course.
Hold at Old Course for instructions on the McGee Special or “Peaks and Valleys”. At the peaks do Hand-Release Merkins. In the valleys do Jump-Squats. Start with a set of 5 and up it by 1 every consecutive set of peaks and valleys. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… You get the idea.
The goal was to get to the stop sign of Old Course and Piper Glen. Snuka, Lorax and Brushback would have made it if I didn’t call them back to the 10 spot. We held up for the six and then reversed it on the way back out starting at 10 and going down to 5. Peaks = Jump squat, Valleys = HR Merkins.
Plank it up and wait on the six at Rea and Old Course. 15 American Hammers then As Fast As You Wish, AFAYW, to Bevington.
Regroup with some plank work and head up to Calvary entrance 4. At the bottom of entrance, I know I know – we don’t do exercises at the bottom of the hill, run up AFAP and do 10 HR Merkins, 10 Jump Squats and 10 Burpees. (no flying squirrels)
Mosey across the parking lot sprinkling in some side steps left and right, backwards run and finish it with some dynamic stretches. Frankensteins and Buttkickers.
Circle up for Mary. In Cadence LBC x 15, Freddie Mercury x 15 and Dolly x 15.
Done/Frozen
Moleskin:
A strong group out there today. No one was left behind as the wienke was aggressive just like McGee. 😉 Old Course is a bit far from Calvary but worthwhile in order to get in a hill beatdown. Pair it with some exercises and you can convince the PAX that they did a Bootcamp and not a Running workout. (SHHHH)
Thanks to Lorax for posting the Q spot on slack. I need an excuse to bring my butt all the way back out to A51 from Steele Creek more often. #lazy #lunchrunner
Take out by Lorax
Announcements:
A51 xmas party – Sign up ends today. Get your spot
Joe Davis in March
Chiseled, originally advertised as a gear workout, started out with a bang. Gear being used focusing more on building muscle, somewhat less cardio. A few weeks into its launch, the advertised theme started fading away. Rumors were building…..Chiseled had lost its way. The mumble chatter being conveyed to the site Q’s, a yoga theme was taking over…..should we rename. Tends to be a recent theme these day, renaming???? From my understanding, the site Q’s called a special meeting to determine how to correct/change the direction. While in discussion and enjoying their favorite adult beverage, MD 20/20 and Zima, they heard a song come across the radio, Imagine Dragons – Roots. That’s it, “we have got to get Chiseled back to its roots”!!!!! Damascus started the redirect journey last week with sandbags from hell, it was my responsibility to keep it going. Full disclaimer….some of this is fictional, some not….You decide!!!!
With the temps hovering around 25 degrees, I did not know who would show for a Chiseled gear workout. I was pleasantly surprised to see 15 pax roll in ready rock the frozen Tundra of Chiseled.
The Warm Up:
The Thang:
9 stations set up with 2 exercises for each station, another was used as a runner. Pax would alternate between exercises with a runner being the timer. Once runner returned, everyone would rotate to the next station. We were able to complete three rounds before time expired.
The Moleskine:
Announcements:
Thanks to Mad Dog for taking us out.
After getting the call from the bullpen last night to step in and Q at Death Valley, I tried to come up with something creative to reflect the role a substitute teacher might play — maintain the organized chaos, make the time pass quickly, and don’t let any fights or extreme name-calling to occur.
With that in mind, the most creative idea that I could develop at 9:00 pm was surrounding baseball (go figure) and a test of random knowledge about jersey numbers of famous players in history.
At 0530, a look around the circle of 9 men found that only Puddin Pop was brave enough to have no tights on his legs in the 25 degree weather. After a short discussion about whether tights actually did any good, a quick disclaimer was given and off we moseyed down Woodfox Dr.
Stopping halfway down Woodfox, the PAX circled for a little COP — SSH x 15, IW x 15, LSS x 15, Merkins x 10, MC x 15. Continue to mosey up Rounding Run and over to Windbluff to where the main event was held:
Starting at the speed hump at the bottom of Windbluff, the pop quiz began. Each student would be given his individual turn to showcase his knowledge of historical baseball players. Instructions were given that all baseball players involved in the quiz would have worn a jersey number between 1 and 10. If the student correctly matched the player to his jersey number, the PAX would run to the top of the hill, do that jersey number of merkins, then run back to the speed hump and do that same jersey number of squats. However, if the student answered incorrectly, the answer was double the jersey number + 10. Once 8 rounds were complete (everyone went once except the Q), the PAX did an Indian Run back to launch. 3 minutes of Mary wrapped up the workout.
Moleskin:
There were a couple of random observations on a really cold morning as we moseyed to Windbluff. Puddin Pop, with his hoodie tied tight, was told he looked like a baby and needed a pacifier to complete the look. Smokey commented that his eyes were watering as though he was watching a chick flick with his wife (kudos to you, Smokey – get ready for those Hallmark movies this season. I hear they might make one this year where you can’t predict the outcome until at least 25 minutes in).
The PAX did better than expected on the baseball jersey number trivia and it was a fun way to keep moving and create some mumble chatter. Correct answers were: Derek Jeter (2), Babe Ruth (3), Cal Ripken (8), Ted Williams (9), and Chipper Jones (10). Incorrect answers involved Ozzie Smith (1), Johnny Bench (5), Mickey Mantle (7).
YHC can’t believe that Dollywood got his question right (Jeter) as I wasn’t sure he’d know a single baseball player’s jersey number! Puddin Pop was strong on the quiz. Like YHC, he properly stores his useless knowledge at the forefront of his brain. Hey, you never know when someone may want to know who won the NL MVP in 2014 (Clayton Kershaw – the last time a Pitcher won MVP)!
Always a pleasure to lead. Thanks for the good turnout, even in the cold weather.
Announcements:
Opportunity to serve by building a handicap ramp on Saturday. Meet at 0800 at First United Methodist Church in Matthews. No tools needed – just gloves and your work ethic. Contact Stone Cold if you need more information.
Christmas Party on Saturday night (Dec. 1)
15 PAX decided to venture out in this balmy spell we were having in the 50’s to work off the turkey pounds.
The Warm Up
Disclaimer given and again in honor of Big 10, we circled up (no mosey), much to the dismay of many
SSH X 15 IC
Merkins x 15 IC
Mountain Climbers x 15 IC
Calf Stretch
Flutters x 15 IC
The Thang
Ahh finally a mosey.
Mosey to 1st light on path towards Transporter’s shed
5 Merkins at each light all the way to Transporter’s shed
(merkins/planks until 6 joins)
A brief recce of the site earlier with Good fella (pre jog not a pre-run) showed that the rock pile was dwindling but thanks to Ignition and Asylum we were fine.
Grabbing a lifting rock the PAX circled to do some arm warm up exercises , 4 sets of bicep curls and Triceps extensions rotating clockwise after each set
Rounds of 20/10, 15/10, 10/10, 5/10
We then moseyed again to the roundabout behind the HS to do 7’s using both roundabouts. Merkins at the top roundabout and dry docks at the bottom.
(merkins/planks until 6 joins)
We moseyed to steps at the back of the HS for a Foundation special of calf exercises. The routine was 30 calf raises every step (In, out and straight). As always tehse things seem awesome on paper but varies in practice, an audible later changed it to every other step. The intent was for this to be done only once but Gator cub wanted second helpings (still in a thanksgiving mode apparently)
Mosey to front of the MS for partner work.
P1 runs short lap (not sure if it’s 1/4 or 1/2 lap)
P2 does exercises called.
Team does 100 Dips, 200 merkins, 300 Wall sits with OH press
Audible done at the end to get us back in time for COT to meet up with the PAX who went for a jog
Posse and Xerox closed us out with their favorite and least favorite exercises of dying cockroach and J-Lo’s
The Moleskin
Q Juice surprisingly only shows up when Q’ing, probably why DW Q’s so much. As always a real blast trying new things when PAX are willing to follow you no matter how crazy your ideas prove to be.
Announcements
Xmas Parties on 11/30 and dec 1
2nd annual Effies on Dec 7
Jingle Jangle Beer exchange on dec 15
Bottle cap still collecting donations of business attire, new or slightly worn for COTS
Dancing Bear collecting toiletries and clothing for homeless
A few weeks back I had asked Bernanke to take a turn on the Sparta Q line up and in true F3 fashion I received the standard response. Sure thing…What day do you want at my AO to Q in exchange. 🙂
Not a problem, I have had the honor of leading this pax before at Carolina Courts and had what I thought was a perfect idea (it looked much better on paper vs. being done) to keep the entire group within mumble chatter distance of each other.. well it was half right… we did remain within mumble chatter distance of each other. However, there was limited chatter today.
30 degrees 5:30 AM.. YHC 1st sub freezing post of the season.
Disclaimer given and with all Vets in attendance today I knew we were going push the limits of what all we could get done in 45 mins.
Time to get to work
Breaking from the Thrive tradition of a warm-up lap around the parking lot (minus the Thrive Challenge) we promptly got right to it.
Warm up: 1 BLIMPS
Mosey to the Tennis court and enter the cage
Perform one BLIMPS
Partner up: DORA 1,2,3
Pax 1 perform exercise as Pax 2 runs to far end of tennis court for 2 burpees and returns to switch out
Perform one BLIMPS
4 corners of Merkins w/ 10 Dry-Docks at center.
Perform one BLIMPS
Ladder 11s
Escape the cage at 6:30 and mosey back to launch site with no time for Mary.
DONE!!
Thank you Lamont for taking us out in prayer.
Moleskin: Okay, like I said above, it looks easy on paper…and truth be told, YHC has been focused on running more lately… soooooo. might have a slight #SoccerArm situation occurring. However, the noticeable lack of mumblechatter in today’s workout lead me to think I was not the only one just trying to make it through the beatdown. Oh wait.. I forgot that 2 pax figured out a great modification to get around the beatdown, but still post and chatter..
NOOOOOO i’m not referring to head bobbers or japanese style bow for squats … Actually, it was something about stealing your kids school backpack, filling it with foam and claiming you can’t do drydocks or burpees with it on.. 🙂
YHC has an excellent modification to the modification.. Drop the backpack and join in the fun.
All joking aside, today’s pax was SOLID.. Start to finish, this crew was non-stop. No 10 counts or slowing down.. No time for mumble chatter or complaining.. Just plain ole’ hustle in the cage for 45 mins straight. Every one of us left everything we had on the court this morning as we knocked out countless burpees, merkins/dry-docks, squats and all while completing 1.7 miles of suicide sprints in between.
15 PAX set off in the frigid temps and waved to Fast Twitch on the track before heading to anywhere but the track.
Thang
Moleskin
First off, want to say thanks to Hops for taking my Q a couple of weeks ago when I was IR and for getting me back on the Hawk’s Nest calendar. Too many unfamiliar faces this morning tells me I either need to spend a little more time in A51 or you guys need to spend a little more time in SOBland (probably both). I even managed to call Semi-Gloss Spackler at one point. I’d love to say it was just to piss your off, but I’m just bad with names. If it makes you feel any better, the hat Frasier was wearing at Timekeeper afterwards was far uglier than the banana hat you had on your head.
Saw the real-feel of 26 degrees this morning and decided we had to warmup quick and stay that way. Burpees and jump squats every time we traveled did the trick — and were a lot of fun as well, just ask the guys. Burpees on the final triple-nickel were admittedly unoriginal at that point, but we were off-weinke at the time and that’s what came out. At least we weren’t running ovals (except those 2 ovals in the parking lot).
All-in-all we got right around 2 miles with a good bit of full-body work in between. Great campus with tons of options and a strong crew at the Hawk’s Nest. Would love to see a Bagpipe / HN throw down at some point. If/when that happens, just don’t mention the word Panera unless you really want to get their blood boiling.
Appreciate all of you coming out today.
Announcements