10 souls headed out into the gloom for a good old fashioned beat down. Except when the Tennesseans started bringing up Goat Yoga and telling us too google it. Not really sure about all that.
Warm up:
Jog over to the other side of the school and circle up.
20 X SSH
15 X IW
15 X squats
10 X merkins
The thang:
Little baby jog over to the bleachers in the middle of the baseball fields
Start by running to the play ground do 10 pull-ups then run back to the bleachers and do 20 step-ups 10 each leg. Back to the play ground 9 pull-ups, next back to bleachers 18 step-ups. Continue with this format until one pull-up and two step ups. Took a lot longer than I thought probably because of me. Even Bug Eater made it out for the first time in a few years. Queen was probably planking for 10 mins before I caught up. Great job.
Mosey over to the baseball field circle up
Couple rounds of Mary
20 X Freddie Mercury
20 X LBCs
Then begins the Jack Webb seem to be new to a lot of people at this AO, especially the Tennesseans, more used to Goat Yoga right Scratch and win.
Jack Webb
1 merkins followed by 4 air presses up to 10 merkins and 40 air presses nice and slow.
Mosey back to play ground
Run to benches at the front of the school for 10 incline merkins then back to the playground for 10, next round 9 and 9, then 8 and 8, wanted to keep going but was told we were out of time so we headed back to the launch point
Moleskin:
Thank you Queen and Marge for letting me Q always great full for the opportunity. Welcome Trolley he was in town for work and does F3 in Tennessee, scratch and win is also from Tennessee, reference to the Tennesseans above. Good to see the Leprechaun made it out again just started F3 this week and is drinking the Koop-aid.
Welcome back Bug Eater looks like you added the Freshman 15. Keep coming out! scratch and win thanks for taking us out. I apologize for any errors typed this on my iPhone. If anyone was offended it was definitely the IPhones fault.
Four faithful showed under an extra bright moon this morning ready to take on whatever Sparta threw at them. They immediately regretted their decision when YHC told them today’s workout “was going to suck” before the disclaimer was given.
The Main Thing
Workout was described, Disclaimer was given, and we were off. Down Simifield Church to Weddington Ridge. Hang a left on WR and follow it down to the end. Notice the 3 speed bumps along the way…..
At the intersection of WR and Cameron Creek, circle up for COP – 25 SSH IC, 15 IW IC, 10 Windmill IC
The Beast is a workout that requires 6 reps of 6 different exercises 6 times. We doubled-down this AM by running back up the Weddington Ridge hill stopping at each of the 3 speed bumps to perform the called exercises (that hill is a beast in and of itself). Repeat on the way down. The exercises were:
Going Up – 6 Merkins, 6 CDD, 6 Diamond Merkins – Run to the stop sign
Coming Down – 6 squats, 6 lunges (each leg), 6 Romanian Dead lifts (each leg) – Run to the stop sign
Work hard to get all 6 laps, but head back to the cars at 6:05 – whichever happens first. The group completed somewhere between 4.5 – 5.5 laps. The Beast won this round, but we now have a baseline to see how much better we get next time we take on The Beasts.
Mileage ranged between 4.5 – 5.1 miles. Elevation change from bottom of Weddington Ridge to the top is 230 ft. Each time up & down the hill = .6 miles
Announcements
BROlympics are 2/24
CPR Training is 2/17 @ 9A – 11A. Sign up deadline is 2/10
Moleskin
Woody was quick to start with the mumble chatter – something about being out of his mind for being there at 5:10AM, but that 30 mile backpacking trip he has planned (backpacking is a polite way of saying Ruck) ejected him from the fartsack this morning.
Arsenal was dressed like a ninja. It was 34 degrees and he was dressed like it was 3 or 4. That’s the thing with Arsenal – you can never tell the temp by looking at what he’s wearing. He sports the long pants & F3 logo shirt in January or July. When it’s 18 or 81. Today was no different.
Shake N Bake had on a fluorescent yellow shirt that practically glowed. When he stepped out of his car and into the spotlight from Socrates, it reminded me of when Ric Flair emerged from behind the curtain, stepped into the spotlight and began to make his way into the square circle. SNB has decided to tackle his 1st half marathon in April, so he’s in full training mode.
Similar situation for YHC. In a moment of weakness, I agreed to join an Ultra P20o team. The race is March 24 and I need miles, and what better way to get them than to be surrounded by friends who are willing to suffer along side of me.
Sparta continues to thrive as a weekly running/bootcamp workout. We have a solid group that shows each week and routinely see new faces. It’s always an honor to lead. The time spent with you guys is priceless.
I have ten minutes between meetings to write this blast.
If you are coming to Arsenal, you need to pre-run. That triple hump hill will put hair on your chest.
After a succinct disclaimer, we left the ventured behind the school.
COP
SSH
IW
LSS
MC
Merkins
MC
Wide Merkins
MC
Diamond Merkins
Playground Pull-ups
10 pull-ups
Counter-clockwise lap
10 knees to elbows
Counter-clockwise lap
10 burpee pull-ups
Counter-clockwise lap
Multiplier
Back at the two-tiered parking lot
Run a lap
1 burpee, 2 Carolina Dry Docks, 3 heels-to-Heaven
Run a lap
2 burpees, 4 Carolina Dry Docks, 6 heels-to-Heaven
Keep going…
10 burpees, 20 Carolina Dry Docks, 30 heels-t0-Heaven
We finished with Merkins & LBC
Moleskine
The multiplier is all about mental toughness and that’s the only toughness that really counts. Keep pushing through. When you think you don’t have any left, I 100% guarantee you have more. Persistence!
Thanks for the opportunity to lead in SC!
10 of Area 51’s finest meatheads posted at Elizabeth Lane Elementary this morning to make sweat angels in the upper 30 degree chill. The Q was last to arrive and received a lot of encouragement to get the workout started. You can’t have a Meathead workout without music (too much grunting), so it takes some time. Patience, brothers.
Once YHC was good and ready (it was probably 30 seconds after 5:30), here’s what we did:
COP:
The Thang:
Circuit 1:
Carry (pax choice) to the second median, switch hands and carry back
Repeato 4 more times for a total of 100 1H swings (50 per side), 50 C&Ps (25 per side) and 25 chest presses.
Circuit 2:
Carry (pax choice) to the second median, switch hands and carry back
Repeato 4 more times for a total of 100 high pulls (50 per side), 50 snatches (25 per side) and 25 goblet squats.
Mosey to the Playground for Circuit 3:
Repeato 4 more times for a total of 50 merkins and 25 pull-ups.
Mosey back to the parking lot for pax-led Mary:
Thanks to Swiss Miss for taking us out in COT.
Moleskine:
Announcements:
YHC thought he had the Anvil Q last week, but apparently a McGee”will you Q next week” during a set of merkins the week before doesn’t mean what it use to. He has moved on to bigger and better things, the sign up genius. So when the sign up genius was making the rounds last night at 10PM with an opening for today, YHC figured it was time. I guess you could say I had a weinke burning a hole, nevermind. 5 others made it out as well for the return of the cold temperatures and the Super Blood Blue Eclipse Full Moon, or something like that.
COP
Mosey around the parking lot to the circle in front of the Child Life circle.
IW x 20
LSS x 20
MC x 20
Merkin x 20
Diamond Merkin x 20
Wide Merkin x 20
10 Burpees OYO
The Thang:
Mosey to the drop off area in the parking lot, which happens to be halfway between the two rock piles. Partner Up. Each partner runs to different rock piles, exercise, run back to drop off and 10 hand slap merkins with partner. Bring your rock back to drop off on the 2nd and 4th rounds to join the fun.
1st – Overhead Press x 20
2nd – Tricep Extension x 20
3rd – Curls x 20
4th – Rock Squats x 20
5th – Rockys x 10
Mosey to the tables, 20 dips, 20 derkins, run to North Face, lunge walk to the bottom after you cross the rocks, 20 jump squats at the top, run back to tables. Repeat with 15s and 10s.
Peoples chair on the wall behind the tables. Leg Raises. Air Press x 50.
Mosey back to launch for some stargazing:
American Hammer x 20
Flutter x 20
Heels to Heaven x 20
Freddy Mercury x 20
YHC with the take-out prayer
Annou
Moleskin:
Very veteran group today made things easy. The group was able to stay together the whole time as we made it around the AO. It took half the workout for my fingers to warm up, but carrying frozen rocks probably doesn’t help. Maybe I need to invest in some of Mermaid’s big boy gloves. They at least made the hand slap merkins easier for Brilleaux. Utah earned his first War Daddy badge and celebrated with some tendonitis, heal up. McGee was eager to get his beach bod in shape for his day trip to Miami. Rachel was our resident expert on the Blood Super Blue Moon, but all left disappointed. Maybe during Mary it was tinted a slight bit of orange more than it was at start, but that’s all I’ll give it. Until the next one.
On a surprisingly wet and unsurprisingly chilly Tuesday, we had a good-sized crowd at Thrive. 15 pax showed up to brave the elements and burn off calories in advance of all the wings and pizza we’ll be consuming on Super Bowl Sunday…
The Thang:
Mosey across street to gov’t building
Running thang…
mosey to pond
Suicides (out and back at each island – 5 stops total)
At each stop do the following…
Mosey to wall
Circle up on your 6’s
Great workout! Thanks to all who came out
Like the quadrennial lighting of the Olympic flame, the relighting of the Antlers chandelier brought in 8 pax like stiff moths to a flame, eager to loosen things up a bit. With a few of the pax just returned from a pre-run, we were ready to go.
The Thang
Disclaimer
Savasanna – corpse pose
Devotional
Relying on God’s Grace
1 Peter 2:21 (HCSB) – 21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (HCSB) – 16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
What began as a call to humble willingness to suffer [in Jesus’ name, as He did, may become] an insidious tool for self-righteousness.
Perhaps the most difficult task for us to perform is to rely on God’s grace and God’s grace alone for our salvation. It is difficult for our pride to rest on grace. Grace is for other people—for beggars. We don’t want to live by a heavenly welfare system. We want to earn our own way and atone for our own sins. We like to think that we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there.
All the suffering I could possibly endure could not earn me a place in heaven. Nor can I merit the merit of Christ through suffering. I am altogether an unprofitable servant who must rely on someone else’s merit to be saved.
With Paul we can rejoice in our sufferings if they enhance the glory of Christ. We can rejoice in our persecutions and look forward to the promised blessing of Christ. But the blessing Christ promised, the blessing of great reward, is a reward of grace. The blessing is promised even though it is not earned.
Augustine said it this way: “Our rewards in heaven are a result of God’s crowning His own gifts. Sola gratia.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 (HCSB) – 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
Adapted from Dr. R.C.Sproul at https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/avoiding-false-theology-suffering/
Warm-up:
Chair & Tree series:
Standing Balance flow:
Vigorous flow:
Lunge series:
Pigeon – right then left
Devotional encore
Ephesians 2:8-9 (HCSB) – 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
Time
COT
Limber Moleskinne:
Apologies for the delayed backblast. It seems YHC has gotten out of the habit, but that’s no excuse. #cobains
Great group today. YHC has missed the group, with varied reasons week to week (sleep in day, running, etc), and the stretching. It is vital, and this is a great option to have within F3.
Hopefully you all left more limber than you arrived. If not, at least we had some fun with old TV and movie theme songs – Knight Rider, The Munsters, Mission Impossible, among them.
Thanks for the opportunity to Q and for your leadership of the site, Swiss Miss & Tweetsie!
Aye!
5 Pax joined together on a unseasonably mild morning. Disclaimer given. Mosey out to 51 and towards the sprawling downtown Pineville area. We circled up within eyesight of Kit’s and Pintville, unfortunately it was not time for a cold one.
COP
Cherry Pickers, Shoulder Circles, Ave Bigodas, Mountain Climbers?
THANG
Mosey towards the Park, brief stop at the GraceLife Church to plank and wait for six….we then continued to Belle Johnston Park
Grab a lifting rock by the shelter, Private Benjamin picked a boulder
20*curls, 20*overhead presses, 20*tri-curls….leave lifting rock for later
Partner up, take a lap around the lake (much further than YHC realized), partner 1 does 10*merkins and then catches up with partner 2, who then does 10*merkins….alternate until 1 lap is complete
Retrieve lifting rock
20*curls, 20*overhead presses, 20*tri-curls
On your own, take a lap around the lake stopping at alternating street lights to complete 10*mountain climbers?…halfway through YHC called an audible and we began doing 10*squats at alternating street lights lung walking to each…once we made it back to the shelter
Retrieve lifting rock
20*curls, 20*squats
Placed lifting rock precisely where we found them
Moseyed back towards launch. Stopped at GraceLife Church for some Mary. Planked near 51 waiting for the six. Sprint all you have back to launch.
MOLESKIN
Enjoyed leading the group and trying to keep up with Yomo-Chunder on the partner run. Always good to start out the week with a great group of men.
Brolympics – Feb 24
Richard Sheltra 5k/10k – April 28