Can you make it to the Murderhorn?
If I wanted, I could write a lazy backblast. We ran to the Murderhorn and back. (Most of us.) However, F3 is not for the lazy.
After a 2 mi Pre-Run with Billy Goat (runner!), I dispensed the disclaimer and warned that we going farther than usual today.
From the CVS parking lot, a typical warm-up
Side straddle hops x 20
Imperial walkers x 15
Mountain climbers x 15
‘Mericans x 10
Thus began own trek down Ballantyne Commons toward the SOB’s infamous summit. Sensing we may have some Refusnik’s, I asked our regional Nan’tan to watch the six. (My spidey-sense was right. He was needed.)
We stopped a few times en route for ‘Mericans, burpees, bear crawls, assorted Mary and a few weird ones like the crunchy frog and low country crab.
In the end, most of us made the nearly 5 mi run. Kudos if you made it. If you didn’t Madam Tussaud, likely kept them busy.
Moleskine
My favorite part of most workouts is the mosey. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s a chance to check in with the PAX running by your side. It’s a 2nd F opportunity. You hear about upcoming kid’s soccer games, the latest thing at work driving someone crazy, jokes about the M and planned races. Use this opportunity, to introduce yourself to someone new and check-in with old friends.
Announcements
Next week, Nov 11 – BALROG II CSUP – https://f3southcharlotte.com/2017/11/01/preblast-balrog-ii/
Rooms still available for Great Wolf Lodge. See Madam Toussaud for details.
SOB Christmas Party – https://f3southcharlotte.com/2017/10/27/2017-sob-holiday-party-pre-blast/
Before climbing ladder, ensure that both shoulders are not needed for rest of day
24 men gathered in the light-less parking lot of Charlotte Catholic. Brushback was not among them despite what YHC took yesterday as an HC. The call of the garage workout is a strong one. Here’s how the rest of us started the weekend:
The Thang
Mosey to top level of deck for COP:
– SSH x 25 IC
– Mountain Climbers x 15 IC
– Merkins x 10 IC
Mosey back to bottom of deck to start the climb.
Merkin ladder up the deck – run up 1st ramp then 20 merkins, up 2nd ramp 19 merkins, so on all the way down to 1 merkin. Only do up ramps, once at the top head down the stairs and start back up.
Regroup at top of deck for some Mary.
LBCs x 25 IC
Boone LBCs x 10 each side IC
Flutter x 30 IX
LBCs x 25 IC
Dolly x 20 IC
Mosey down 51 to entrance to greenway. Partner up for some circuit work.
P1 – 10 pullups, then squats until P2 returns
P2 – lunge walk parking lot, jog back to P1
Flapjack then Repeat-O.
Mosey back to launch for 5(ish)MOM including but not limited to LBCs, flutter, Rosalita, over unders, Russian twist.
Done.
NM:
Margo messaged late Sunday about YHC covering the Q. Considering YHC missed last week’s suckfest with nagging knee pain, there was some hesitation. Margo slyly offered to defer it to another week, which felt about like him suggesting that my M just cover. Game on Margo. The Q was mine. The good Lord blessed me with a pain-free knee, so hopefully everyone feels like we got some good work in. And apparently we covered 3 miles, which was accidental (sorry, knee). Magically, the pain seems to have shifted from knee to both shoulders. Who needs those anyway?
Thanks to Margo and Udder for the opportunity. One of the last workouts in the complete dark and also probably one of the last beanie free workouts of the season.
Announcements:
Converge at the Vine next Friday at 5:15am with The Brave.
Race tomorrow at Calvary to support program for disabled adults – sign-ups still open.
Joe Davis sign-up is live.
A veteran is doing 30 marathons in 30 cities in 30 days. Next Thursday is Charlotte in Freedom Park. Looking for co-running supporters. See Runstopper for details.
Pray for Margo’s dad who will have open heart surgery next Friday.
Thurston’s VQ at Thrive
Posted on behalf of Thurston, #cobains for the delay that is on me.
On Halloween morning nine pax gathered in the cold gloom for their weekly calisthenics. Hoffa rolled up
on his motorcycle, seemingly impervious to the elements. 5:30 rolled around and with little fanfare we
began…
The Thang
Did a warm-up mosey around the parking lot #HairbandMile, then circled up for
Side straddle hop x25
Imperial Walker x20
Mountain climber x20
5 burpees OYO
After this we moseyed over the road for some suicides. There was some debate over the proper
nomenclature regarding the concrete “things” where we stopped and exercised. Island? Peninsula?
Isthmus? No name was settled on and the exercise continued nonetheless. At each stop we did
Squats x20
Merkins x20
LBC’s x20
Monkey humpers x20
Bomb jacks x20
Mosey over the hill and find a spot in the middle for “Clock merkins”
Q calls out a time (12:00; 6:00, etc.) and do 5 merkins OYO facing that direction
After that it was time for some reverse hill runs, as follows:
Run backwards up hill, 10 LBC’s at the top, back down hill
Run backwards up hill, 9 LBC’s at the top, back down hill
Etc… down to 1 LBC
Our quads will thank us tomorrow. From here we proceeded to the soccer field where we did good ol’
fashioned suicides. No special exercises, just running. Following this, we moseyed to the parking lot for
the “Bear-muda Triangle,” as follows…
There are three markers in the parking lot, 30 yards apart.
At marker 1, do 1 burpee and bear crawl to marker 2
2 burpees at marker 2, then bear crawl to marker 3
3 burpees at marker 3, then bear crawl back to marker 1
Repeat
Cry
We then moseyed over to our spot behind the building. We started with “Balls to the Wall.” (Side note: I
prefer the name “Testicles to the Vestibule” for this one, but that probably has too many syllables to
catch on.)
Hold handstand for 10 count (x2)
Then we got into the People’s Chair for
100 arm presses
Back to the parking lot to circle up on our sixes for
American Hammer x20
Freddy Mercury x20
Dolly x20
Rosalita x20
Superman
Protractor
In summary, it was a great introduction the art of Q’ing. Many thanks to my fellow pax for an awesome
and strenuous workout today!
FNG Calls Site Q a Woman
Posted on behalf of Purell:
15 pax (including 1 FNG) squeezed into a school bus filled parking lot ready to jump-start their week with a healthy beat down.
The Thang:
After a brief but substantial disclaimer, YHC decided the only way to counter the 35 degree weather was to limber up and keep moving.
COP – 2 laps around the 1,000 busses with a sprinkling of high knees, butt kickers, and karaoke. SSH x 20 IC, IW x 20 IC, LSS x 10 IC, Windmill x15 IC, Parker Peters x 15 IC, HR Merkin x 5 IC.
Mosey down Woodfox, left on Rounding Run, stopping at Rising Meadow for some peaks and valleys hill work. 5 burpees at the bottom of the hill, run up Rounding Run to the first speed bump at the top of the hill for 10 monkey humpers, continue towards Raintree Ln and run to the bottom for 15 merkins, run to the top at Raintree Ln for 20 mountain climbers/leg. Plank while waiting on the 6, then 20 LBCs IC. Rinse and repeat in reverse direction starting with burpees again and ending at Rising Meadow. Plank til 6 has arrived and 20 Dolly IC. Repeat this loop one more time with 20x Flutters IC and much to the pax chagrin, 10 Cumberland County Viaducts/each side.
Mosey back towards camp stopping once to recover the 6 and get 20 counts of Freddie Mercury in.
Mosey to the rock pile, grab a partner and a lifting rock to work on the beach body. Only 6 months til bikini season.
Round 1 – P1 runs to bleachers for 15 incline merkins and run back, P2 does overhead press, flapjack.
Round 2 – P1 runs to bleachers for 15 dips and back , P2 has tri extensions and curls, flapjack.
Done. COT.
Moleskine:
Pleasantly surprised when I pulled in the lot at my usual 90 seconds before kickoff to see so many PAX, especially given the cold temps. We had one FNG (Windex) out today courtesy of Horsehead. Somehow when coming up with the FNG’s name, we got on the topic of Greek meanings and Windex quickly pointed out that Goonie means woman in Greek. So yes, FNG called the site Q a woman… very solid first post, welcome aboard and hope to see you often. FIA will love you Goonie.
Everyone was getting after it today, pushing hard from start to finish. BaseCamp is always such a great group of guys working their tails off while encouraging one another. As YHC is still relatively new to the F3 Nation, it is an honor to be asked to lead by Drano and Goonie, and an even bigger honor that you all followed. Looking forward to seeing you all in the gloom again soon!
Announcements:
Holiday party – Dec 8, apparently the same day as Star Wars so no nerds will be attending the party
Let them soar 5k @ Christ Covenant Church, Sat Nov 4
Pancakes and Beer 5K @ OMB, benefits MedAssist, Sat Nov 4
Move Love Bombs, Less F-Bombs
This was Big League Chew’s prayer after leading the men in an epic, curb heavy workout today at Kevlar.
14 of South Charlotte’s finest, and some dudes who had not been to Kevlar in a while posted on a perfect 58 degree morning.
Some backblasts start like “it was a quiet crowd this morning, not much mumble chatter”….this backblast will not start out that way. With the typical jackasses in attendance paired with Big League Chew’s questionable start to the workout there was plenty of new material to uncover.
The Thang
BLC (Big League Chew) took us on a stroll down to the lower church parking lot.
Circle up
We did an assortment of toe touches, SSH, IWs, 5 burpees OYO, merkins, and a very strange 10 second countdown of plank, followed by a 30 second countdown of plank…this equaled 40 seconds for those fo you keeping time. Thanks to Witch Doctor for doing all of these countdowns with a serious face because the rest of the PAX would not have been able to.
BLC threw in a “okay, lets just do X” a few times which got me nervous thinking his plan was just coming together this morning. During the merkin cadence there was a long pause to start and Bulldog asked “did he just black out?”. It was perfectly appropriate because I think we all were thinking the same thing. Needless to say, I couldn’t finish my reps. Good rule of thumb, when you start getting heckled, start running….
Next…
We ran up a few notches on the parking lot and in honor of an Afghanistan veteran which I Googled but could not find the name – we did the following 6X.
24 Squats
24 Merkins
24 Full Sit Ups
24 Lunges
Run 1/4 mile
X6
Field work
Run over to the field where the sprinklers were going…but clearly due to Horsehead’s plea the church/school only runs them on one side of the field leaving plenty of space for us to run.
Suicides:
Run 25 yards, 2 burpees, back
Run 50 yards, 4 burpees, back
Run 75 yards, 6 burpees, back
Run 100 yards, 8 burpees, back
Burn out on merkins…20 was about right
Wrap up – Reverse run X 2 across field
Winding Down
Head back to main lot and stop at every curb on the way to do 10 merkins in cadence. This was a clear time kill as BLC realized he had about 10 minutes of things to do. Pop Tart kept locating the curbs, BLC kept obliging, and Bulldog, realizing that things were getting a little stale decided to do impressions of what sounded to be a British Big League Chew on steriods during the cadence count with the highlights being the numbers Se”B”en for 7 and catorce for 4. He credited his WV roots for being able to so masterfully mimic BLC’s accent.
Bulldog was especially proud of the “B” in se”b”en and rightfully so, it was a crowd pleaser. Pop Tart threw out some spanish word like “hola” just to get involved in the festivities.
Not sure BLC will ever get through another cadence count without this happening to him. His deep, powerful, Southern voice sounds like he used to be a radio disc jockey deep in the North Carolina woods back in 1965…..”And now, the song you’ve all been waiting for…….. Down in the River There was a Banjo Man by Merle Travis”. People would pay good money to have a voice like that.
Ye Moleyskinny…
High Tide was the only pre-runner…he did this after a very hard Meathead the day prior so his legs should be hurting by now. It was good to see him at Kevlar – he comes sometimes but he’s been very vocal in promoting the F3 winter gear sale, even commenting on BB that he didn’t attend…I’m fairly certain he’s getting a cut of the proceeds…can’t prove anything yet.
Bananas was claiming that he could barely walk after posting 3 times this week and added in the moans to make sure we believed him. Super convincing moans and face gestures. He definitely posted 3 times.
Two young bucks – Archie and Honnie (sp?) came out and are students at CDS. They typically post at Atlas up in Metro so hopefully we can keep them around on the South side. Some of you guys sound (and look) like you’re close to retirement and I’m a little concerned about Kevlar’s succession plan”. Could Archie and Honnie be the next Bulldog and Horsehead? Only if one of them takes complete responsibility for the AO and the other only shows up to heckle the Q.
Pop Tart clearly and articulately shouted “oh shit” when BLC announced 5 burpees OYO. Come on Pop – it’s 5 burpees and remember, less Oh Shit and more Love Shit…wait, that can’t be right.
Thanks to BLC for his leadership and take out.
Announcements:
A51 Winter Gear Info: https://f3.mudgear.com/collections/nc-clt-south-area51/products/f3-area-51-winter-pre-order?variant=970165533
TOMORROW – 5k at Christ Covenant: https://f3southcharlotte.com/2017/10/11/pre-blast-for-let-them-soar-5k-speedforneed-event/
We’ll be making a Q list for the winter months and inserting names in their – if I don’t have your info e-mail me if you want to be added to the list. Also, if you don’t want to Q let me know that too. juliusmilani@gmail.com
Area 51 Christmas Party 2017!
Who can believe it’s already November and time to start locking down the Christmas event schedule. While I wish I had the ability to share a dry, witty pre blast (see Ickey Shuffle) it ain’t going to be that good. What you will get are all the details on how to join us to have a great time.
Area 51 will be hosting the Christmas party at Seaboard in downtown Matthews! It should be a great event to enjoy some fellowship with the guys you have been working out with all year without actually having to workout. And you get to bring your M with you so she can meet the guys with all the funny nick names that you talk about.
The Date: Friday, December 8, 2017 at 7:30 PM. You have nothing better to do that night.
The Location: Seaboard in Downtown Matthews. You all asked for something relatively close with the ability to Uber in an out should you need to. We got that.
The Alcohol: Cash bar – the venue serves all the wine and craft beer you and your M can pay for. Just drink responsibly and tip your bartender. Plus they are supposed to start brewing their own beer in the back building this month!
The Food: We will have hors d’oeuvres covered. If you would like more you are welcome to bring in any food to Seaboard and there’s a chance of a food truck or two out front if the weather is decent.
The Price: All that for $20 a person! (That’s $40 a couple for you math majors) Just go pay our PayPal account and note its for the Christmas party, your F3 Name and M’s name should she be joining you.
PayPal link: paypal.me/F3Area51 (This will show as Keith Hendrix)
Or use email address: area51bizq@gmail.com When you send the money, use the Friends & Family option to avoid additional fees from PayPal.
The Dress Code: Plan on Snappy Casual or Festive or Just NOT your smelly workout gear. It’s a bar in downtown Matthews, so don’t over do it, but at least try to make an effort not to embarrass your M. For some of you that may be too late, but try anyway.
Also: This party is different than the SOB party (which is on Sat 12/16). It’s OK if you are an A51 guy and come to Seaboard. It’s OK if you are an SOB guy and go out to the Barn. It’s also OK if you are ambiguous, like Devil’s Turn, and want to go to both parties. Just don’t go to neither.
Sign up, Pay up, Talk it up, and HC or ask questions below.
-Alf
You want reps? You got reps …
11 pax gathered in the dark (10 meatheads and 1 runner) for a whole bunch of reps and a playlist that promised to stay in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Pretty sure there were a few post 80’s songs in the playlist, but at least there were plenty of reps to go around.
Hoover-sized shovel flag planted, disclaimer given, and out of nowhere Rachel pops into the circle minus a kettle-bell. Pax stood in stunned silence until YHC said, “You know we’re not running right? You’ll be in that same spot at the end of the workout.” Rachel confirmed, he was lent two kettlebells and we got underway.
The Thang:
Warm-up:
SSH x 20, Two-handed swing x 20
IW x 20, Two-handed swing x 20
Plank up – mt climbers x 20, hold plank for 20 seconds, Two-handed swing x 20
Circuit 1:
Squat, Merkin, Good Morning, Two-handed Swing
x 20, x 15, x 10, x 5
Circuit 2: (single sided)
Clean and press from ground, Reverse lunge, Lawnmower (reverse grip), alternating swing
x 10 each side, x7 each side, x 5 each side, x 3 each side
waiter/rack/suitcase carry across the parking lot. Start with right arm, come back with left.
Circuit 3:
Curls, Upright row, Overhead Tricep Extension
X 20, x15, x 10, x 5
Circuit 4:
alternating swings, Snatch, OH presses, diamonds merkins,
x 10 each side, that’s all the time we had for that circuit
Mary: LBC’s with bell IC x20, standing oblique lean with bell x10 each side.
The Moleskinny:
It was billed as a bunch of reps, and the pax got their money’s worth. YHC was swinging a 53 lb bell and was usually the last to finish each set, so it’s safe to say the pax were killing it the whole time. The playlist was a big hit by track 2, with pax commenting to turn up the AC/DC and Tom Petty.
The idea with this workout was simple, exhaust the muscles in the first set of the circuit, then dial back the reps each time so at the end 5 reps felt like the hardest 5 you’ve ever done. Not sure if it turned out that way, but the mumble-chatter was low and everyone was sweating at the end. The most important part (to YHC) was stopping after each circuit to wait for all pax to finish so we always start together and no one ranges out too far ahead of the group.
Great work today and thanks to Tulip for taking us out.
Announcements:
Let them Soar 5K – This Saturday
Christmas Party – December 8th at the Seaboard in Matthews
Winter Gear Order – See the F3 website before next Friday, makes a great Christmas gift
Finally for your listening pleasure, today’s playlist:
Jimi Hendrix – Spanish Castle Magic
AC/DC – Shoot to Thrill
Tom Petty – Runnin’ Down a Dream
The Who – The Seeker
The Doors – Roadhouse Blues
CCR – Fortunate Son
The Black Keys – Grown So Ugly
The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter
Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
AC/DC – Let There Be Rock
Stiff Little Fingers – Guitar and Drum
Supersuckers – Paid
Final Countdown
It was an honor to have my first Death Valley Q. I don’t know the area very well, so we stuck to the track for most of the workout. Thanks to Spackler for his dainty farts that kept us entertained throughout the workout.
Here’s how it went down…
Jog to track
Side Straddle Hop, Imperial Walker
2 laps in under 4 minutes
Begin the countdown
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – Merkins and Squats
Lap, sprint last straightaway
Countdown from 9 – dry docks and jump squats
100 yd dash, recover with backwards jog
8- 1 – flutter and lbc
2 laps, under 3:50
7-1 – partner handslap merkin, sister Mary Catherine
25 bear crawl steps, jog
6-1 – nippler and bird dog
25 lunges, jog
5-1 – heels to heaven and dolly
1 lap, under 1:50
4-1 burpee, speedskater
3-1 clap merkin, reburpee
15 burpee broad jump, jog
2 minutes – freddy mercury
1 minute – plank
Final Countdown complete! For all you arrested development fans out there, I’ll leave you with the mental picture of Job Bluth doing magic.
Thanks Dollywood and Smokey for the chance to lead!
PreBlast: Balrog II
Balrog I, the SOB region’s first #CSAUP event, lived up to its name. It was a complete beast. So intense that Honey Bee moved to a different region and Pebbles hasn’t been seen since. The overwhelming consensus, despite reason, was that we must do this again. Enter Balrog II.
Key Details
Date: Veteran’s Day, 11/11/17
Time: Main Event 0700 – 1100 / Lunch & Drinks @ Hickory Tavern Ballantyne @ 1100
Start/End Location: Hickory Tavern Ballantyne
Format: 13 mile loop course with five 20-minute pain stations (distance does not include mileage covered during pain stations)
Course Options:
- Full course from Hickory Tavern Ballantyne: 13 mi
- Join at Elon Park ES ~8AM: 8.5 mi
- Join at Blakeney Shopping Center (main fountain area) ~8:45AM: 6.0 mi
- Join at Stonecrest Shopping Center (movie theater) ~9:30AM: 4.0 mi
Course Map:
Misc:
- PAX will stay together. No man left behind.
- Water will be provided at pain stations
- Bring fuel so you don’t bonk
- Bring shovel flags (it is Veteran’s Day afterall)
- Bring change of clothes for lunch
- Finger foods provided at Hickory Tavern free of charge (thank you Kid Rock)
- Still evaluating possibility of event shirt order
- Donations collected will benefit the Patriot Military Family Foundation (PMFF)
If you were not there last year, you may be asking yourself, “Why would I do this?“. 33 PAX of all shapes, sizes and abilities answered the bell in 2016 and the positive feedback was overwhelming. The 2nd F was unparalleled. For a lot of us it was the hardest thing we had ever done, and we left looking forward to next year. That time is now. With your help we can make the sequel even better. Like Sharknado 2 or Speed 2: Cruise Control. But with merkins.
-TUCK