4 real men (arguably dumb men) decided to show up to The Matrix this morning during one nasty rain storm. With a shovel flag firmly planted in Poptart’s backseat, without any disclaimer despite the treacherous conditions, and the rain continuing to get harder, we took off right at 0530. Here is what we did:
Mosey down to the lower lot for a quick lap and head back up the main drive to grab O’Tannenbaum. Run in front of the school and into the main teacher’s lot to circle/triangle/square up.
COP:
Mosey over to playground.
Reverse 3 Exercise ladder:
Mosey over to covered area in front of school:
Mosey back to the cars and call it a morning.
Ye Wet Moleskin:
This was a morning to sleep in. Honestly, when I started F3 over 3 years ago I loved these kinds of mornings. There was something about working out in a downpour that was exhilarating. Somewhere in the last couple years that changed and turning the alarm off when hearing the rain outside became the norm. Only reason I was coming this morning was because I was scheduled to Q. On my drive over, I kept thinking/hoping nobody would show and I would just turn around and go home and back to bed. As I’m driving down McKee I see a set of headlights in the parking lot. Thinking, let’s put my sales career to test (since I’m in the booze business, do I actually do much selling?) and see if I can talk this fellow into saying we did but we didn’t kinda thing. I pull in next to Pop Tart and we just kinda look at each other. I’m hoping he’s reading my mind about bailing. Nope, he just jumped out of the car and is standing outside…in the rain. Then Madison pulls in too. Great. Can’t quit now. In the midst of the torrential rain, I don’t hear Madison claim that he can be talked out of this workout. Damn, that was my chance! Okay…let’s mosey. As we came back up the driveway, we see OT standing out in his yellow poncho looking around for us. Had we been any later he claims he would have headed straight for the covered area thinking we would be there. And by that he probably meant back into his car before he is seen.
Having the small group forced us to keep each other accountable and put some hard work into each exercise. Madison thought he saw lightening early on. We think it was just a light turning on. Those can be tricky. Later we did see a couple of big flashes, but with the accompanying booms, it was clearly transformers blowing up. Hope they got that power back on for those unfortunate few. OT started to shortcut the counting on the second round of air presses by only counting single digits after 20, but then confused himself, and me, so we all had to count the rest of the way. When we were bear crawling, I gave the order to crawl to the end and come back. Madison quickly asked if it was to the end of the covered area or to the end of the sidewalk, to which YHC replied “just go until it gets wet!”. Take that as you please.
Overall, really strong efforts out there this morning by all 4 of us veterans. Honestly, I am happy you guys showed up and forced me to do this workout in the rain. It was a lot of fun and I’m glad I did it. I still will probably turn my alarm off next time though. Until then…
Pro
Announcements:
It was a dark and stormy morning…and YHC had not Q’d a workout since February – or posted consistently since early March(!). Holy mother what a suckfest today was. I had been up since 4am basically listening to the rain, wishing for it to stop…it didn’t, so here we all are.
YHC pulls up to drop off some coupons around 5:25am…no one at the PD station…will YHC be the only one in attendance? The wheels begin to turn…
Drop off the coupons to the rear of Jack Hughes Park, come back and there are TWO cars where previously there were none…it’s 5:29a…okay, let’s get this over with. Disclaimer begrudgingly given, we set sail:
COP
1.25 mile warm up to The Hut and back to the rear of Jack Hughes Park – get them juices flowing. On approach, grab one of 4 plates (45 lbs and 35 lbs) and head to the picnic pavilion…let the record reflect that Prvt Benjamin was the only one who grabbed a 45. #LarryBird
Slow Merkins X 15
Mtn Climbers X 15
THANG
Triple Lindy’s X 15
Driving Miss Daisy’s – Biceps – static lifts X 30 seconds (arms @ 90 degree angle)
Drop ’em
15 slow dips
25 Step ups each leg
Triple Lindy’s X 15
Driving Miss Daisy’s – Biceps – static lifts X 30 seconds (arms @ 90 degree angle)
Mosey over to Parks & Rec Office, grab some wall
People’s Chair Merkin assembly line X 15 (while in ppl’s chair, one by one drops for a merkin, gets back into people’s chair, next man goes, and so on…once everyone has done one merkin = 1 rep….this sucked)
Mosey back to picnic pavilion
Triple Lindy’s X 15
Biceps – statics X 30 seconds
15 slow dips
Return the plates
Mosey back to launch point
Fin.
COT
Name-o-rama and last call for the Sheltra Run…Tclaps to Pvt Benny for a STRONG EH on Snowflake. Think we got one more on the list!
Private Benjamin / Snowflake – Thank you for being there this morning. I needed to be up and out today, and I need to put the wheels back on the bus. Thanks for being part of the first step. DF out.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 3 years and over 100 workouts of Interval running in SOB land, but it’s time to recognize it and move on. We’ll have a less structured workout this week in that it won’t be PreBlasted, but come prepared for the shorter stuff of 0:30 and 1:00 intervals. In particular, one interval that better be faster than 0:36 (but not Frasier)…
Let’s take a second to talk about the weather. If you are on your feet and running when it’s raining and above 50 degrees, wearing a long sleeved shirt, and perhaps have a visor or hat to keep the rain out of your eyes, you’ll be pretty comfortable. No excuses for the weather on this one.
Timeline:
Shame on you men for clicking on this Backblast after that title! But, hey, now that YHC has got your attention. Yes, Foxhole did happen this morning… no prerun, no kettlebell clinic, and had it not been for site-Q Argonaut and Mighty Mite showing up at 5:28am, YHC was about to head home for some shuteye after being weary from the BROlympic Games and CSAUP of video editing all of yesterday. Wait, you don’t know about the BROlympicGames? Here is the link to the Backblast with EPIC videos: http://f3nation.com/2017/04/24/brolympic-games/ Anyway, back to the workout…. original plan for this Q was to do OCR strengthening exercises on the field, to prepare for the upcoming Savage Race, but YHC figured that with 100% chance of rain, ain’t nobody was gonna show regardless of how much marketing YHC did. So no marketing was done #throwingGoodmoneyafterBad . Will need to save OCR training for another day.
Anyway, back to the workout, the three of us pushed our cars across the street to the Harris Teeter parking lot to warm up the legs. In the lot, we played shopping cart dodgeball (throwing the carts, not pushing them), bent a few telephone poles to work on our grip strength, and scaled the side of the stucco buildings to the roof to work on grip strength. Finally, we went in the Harris Teeter, and jumped in the frozen pizza section freezers for 10minutes nekkid to work on our mental toughness. Mighty had to throw out a few fish sticks to fit in his, and somehow YHC got stuck next to the frozen General Tso chicken microwave dinners. Finally, to warm up we went to the candles aisle, lit one up, and did some brogan to work on our mental game…. clothes back on at this point. We felt comfortable at that point and did COT right there. YHC got Wardaddy for the day too.
Each of us had announcements about a myriad of different topics:
Anyway, in all seriousness, thanks Argo and Mighty for showing this morning. YHC would be thanking you for NOT showing as well, but you did, and YHC had a fun hard different workout to start the work week off. YHC isn’t at all surprised that the two of you were there this morning. Argo is one of the most prepared site-Qs YHC knows, and leads by example always a professional, and showed he was a sprinting force as well as a strength force at The BROlympics… speaking of that, nevermind…. Mighty is also top notch in the reliability category. Dude has plenty of reasons to be doing other things as a young buck, and a s a busy traveler for work, but he always shows up. He’s even the guy to Q a workout that nobody wants to because numbers will be low for a race. Mighty, you gotta stop purging even if you’re losing weight from it dude. XOXOXO
Enjoyed working out with both of you men this morning.
SYITG ~JRR Tolkien
F3 founders, Dredd and OBT, wrote a book about how it all transpired: Freed to Lead-F3 and the Unshackling of the Modern Day Warrior. I encourage you all to read it. You can order it by clicking this LINK
I will share some #Nuggets from Freed to Lead on a weekly basis in a post much like this one. Each post will require only a few minutes of your time. Most of the words will be straight from the book.
Chapter 1: The Explanation. F3 is a solution to a problem. Take a minute to think about how F3 fills a void in your life. The void was the problem.
Chapter 2: Why We Are Here. 3F’s: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith.
1F Rules (Core Principles)
The Q (workout leader) is free to design and run the workout as he sees fit. The Q gets feedback from the PAX about whether his leadership is any good. Feedback is generally immediate, abundant, and forthcoming, whether the Q wants it or not #mumblechatter
F3 started 1/1/2011. I will leave you with that. Will post again next week and share some more. Buy the book and read it. EH (Emotional Headlock) those around you. Give it away men.
No SF planted as co-site Q Flipper was off in Cancun taking selfies of his pedicure and umbrella drink. Several cars in the lot before YHC arrived…belonging to the misguided souls, I mean intrepid runners, who took on the Smoky Mountain Relay. The RockZero pax mustered, and after a fairly thorough disclaimer by YHC’s standards, we launched for another Saturday morning assault on Area 51’s best AO.
The Thang & Ye Olde Moleskine:
3 pax/2.0 combinations, including Backdraft’s 2.0 FNG Stick. Hard to think of Nemo as a 2.0, but he is only 16. Of course, Dear Abby is plenty young enough for Chelms to be his dad…or is Chelms old enough to be his dad? Anyway, I’m losing focus here. Below is what we did, or something akin to it.
Jog to one of the lots near the gym building for COP:
IW x 20 IC
Slow Squat x 20 IC
H-R Merkin x 20 IC
Slow Flutter x 20 IC
CDD x 20 IC
Jog to picnic tables near volleyball pits for
10 Jump Up’s & 10 Derkins
15 Jump Up’s & 15 Derkins
20 Jump Up’s & 20 Derkins
Jog to playground for 3 cycles of:
Donkey Kick x 15 (feet on swings)
Jump Squat x 15
Jog to rocks near the ballfield. Partner up and grab a rock.
Mosey to adjacent lot for the following:
P1 Overhead Press. P2 runs to light pole & back. Flapjack.
P1 Tricep Extension, P2 runs. Flapjack.
P1 Thrusters, P2 runs. Flapjack.
P1 Bicep curls, P2 runs. Flapjack.
Mosey to grass between road & ball field for following with rock:
American Hammer x 13 IC
Louganis x 13 IC
Squat hold for 1 minute? with rock.
Jog to the semi-circle wall with astroturf (prescription turf?) in front of gym.
Walk wall with feet on wall 1/2 way. Bearcrawl down.
Walk wall other direction 1/2 way. Bearcrawl down
People’s chair with overhead press x 25 IC
Jog back to launch lot for some Mary including:
Freddie Mercury x 13 IC
Makthar N’djiaye x 13 IC
Protractor with each pax calling out degree.
Hand off from YHC to Gummy for final 15 minutes.
Apparently, Gummy called Triple Nickel on Northface for the remaining time. Not sure what exercises he called at top/bottom of the aforementioned monstrosity.
COT & Announcements?
Flipper asked YHC to Q and then headed to Cancun…co site-Q Boerewors was also nowhere to be found…appreciate the support! Former Site Q’s are personae non grata apparently.
Chelms, fresh off a week in the Florida Keys, stumbled in this morning. Dear Abby, who’s finally getting some sleep since his 2.1 is now sleeping through the night, posted as well. Good to see you back in the gloom brother.
Also had not seen La-Z-Boy, Cottonmouth or Busch in the gloom in a long time. Good to see you gentlemen. Busch even Re-EH’d Backdraft, or was it FNG Stick that pried him from the iron claws of the fartsack. Backdraft, ever the surly sort, stated on a few occasions after YHC called an exercise – “This is why I quit F3”. Welcome back friend…many happy returns. Guessing your 2.0 plays lacrosse, thus the name?
Gummy was kind enough to Q the last 15 minutes as YHC had to bail at 7:45….had a golf round to play….even won some money! Appreciate my co-Q showing up even after a late night at the USNWC with the M.
Teddy, Tiny Dancer & Jet Fuel were getting after it out there….triumvirat of silent assassins.
Nemo was flying around out there as was Dear Abby…and Busch as well….though he also made sure Busch Ice was on form….paying attention Chelms?
Our WD Marlin looking strong as usual.
Not sure what happened after YHC left, but the twitter remarks about the Triple Nickel lead me to believe there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth…and Backdraft probably quit F3….again.
Always a privilege to Q men. God’s continued grace to all of you.
Saturday dawned gorgeous and didn’t even give a glimmer to the monsoon that would descend on the Carolinas Sunday. it was a great morning to workout.
With my back and ankle issues, I wasn’t running anywhere very far and one of the brothers had already contacted me that he wasn’t able to either, so we were staying close to the school. Does’t mean we won’t sweat! Here’s the deal:
COP
SSH
Merkins
Moroccan Nightclub (A fan favorite)
Hillbillies
The Thang
After we were warmed up, we headed over to the track for 11’s. Obviously there isn’t a hill close to the school so I modified it to allow for pax to walk if needed.
At one end of the track we did jump squats and the other Carolina dry docks until the runners had finished their entire set of eleven. If you could run, you ran. Otherwise walk. The three runners were all looking strong. Great work guys!
After 11’s we made our way back to the school where my flashy sound box was waiting along with a 20 lb and 30 lb kettle bell.
Since no one else had kettle bells we made due and it worked out pretty well I think. We did the following exercises, once with a 20 lb and the other with the 30 lb bell and in between you were doing some type of exercise while you waited on the bell.
Curls
Triceps extensions
Press
Squat and thrust
Lunge
Russian Twist/ aka American Hammer
LBC
Once we finished this round of pain we made our way over to the wall for a little people’s chair. A little stretching and yoga and we were done!
Great job brothers! I was starting to wonder if anyone was coming at 6:50 since no one was there. But Snoopy was there and Sony rolled in, then Mall Cop and Slum Dog made their way in on two wheels.
Ascent is where I first posted the last Saturday in March, 2014 so it will always hold a special place in my heart even though I live in The Fort now.
Thanks for the honor of leading. Everyone was working hard and taking that Daily Red Pill.
DT out.
Alarms chime at 4:30 AM. Wild Turkey, Tuck and JRR Tolkien rise to begin an epic day of 1st, 2nd and 3rd F that will set the bar for all future CSAUPs.
Volunteers and gear donors decked the field and track with a shovel flags, tent, registration table, event signs, timing clock, three empty kegs and 20+ kettle bells. By 6 AM, Community House Middle School swarmed with 60 men, representing six regions, who would be tested mentally and physically by a wicked decathalon.
As the Olympic theme played, the competitors, shovel flags in hand, took to the track for a warm up lap and circled up for side-straddle hops, imperial walkers and ‘mericans. Then Tuck delivered a rousing invocation praying for fierce, fair and safe competition. Next, a prerecorded speech featuring a Scottish accented Tolkien reciting adaptations of the greatest, inspirational cinematic monologues dazzled and dazed our competitors before beginning the day’s first event. For a list complete list of event descriptions and rules, click here.
List of Events and Top Finishers
1 Mile
1 Fahvra
2 Foulball
3 Nash
100 Meters
1 Fahvra
2 Copay
3 Dasher
Max Burpees in 2 Minutes
1 General
2 Fahvra
3 Kid Rock
Football Throw for Distance
1 Early Bloomer
2 Dasher
3 General
3 Kid Rock
3 Tuck
Keg Toss
1 Argonaut
2 Poptart
3 Kid Rock
Max Kettlebell Snatches in 2 Minutes
1 Argonaut
2 Buckeye
3 Kid Rock
Max Sit-ups in 2 Minutes
1 Tuck
2 Fahvra
2 Strawberry
4 Haggis
Max 135 lb. Bench Press
1 Frack
2 Damascus
3 Mighty Mite
Max Tire Flips in 90 Seconds
1 Strawberry
2 Kid Rock
3 General
The Phlygethon (medley event with 1 minute plank, 100 meter sprint, 20 burpees, bear crawl to opposite side of track, 40 single-arm kettlebell swings, 400 meter kettlebell carry to finish)
1 Fahvra
2 Pebbles
3 General
Overall Winners
1Fahvra
2 Kid Rock
3 General
Overall Respect Winners
Fredo*
Snowflake
Checkpoint
*originally not designated Respct
For a link to the full results, click here.
To view and add (please do!) to the photo album, click here.
Additional video, thank you Gator Bait, click here.
Thank you volunteers and gear donors:
Without your generous help, this event could not have happened!
Market Timer – Registration and event data
Goonie – Keg Toss event Q
Paper Jam & Commish – Football throw event Q
Madam Tussauds – Kettlebell Snatch event Q
Toolbag – Bench press event Q
Bratwurst & Mr. Brady – Running event timers
Gear donors included Pebbles, Strange Brew, Shortpole, Argonaut, Kid Rock, Voodoo, Chanel, Commish, Gator Bait and Madame Tussauds. Thank you to all who shared kettlebells.
Moleskine:
The goal of the BROlympics was to put all three Fs of F3 into action. Our mission calls us to be leaders. For too many men, becoming physically and mentally idle leads to isolation and vice. One does not simply participate in F3. To be part of the F3 community you will be asked to, at a minimum, lead a workout. For some of us, it’s a rare opportunity to be “in charge”. Inspired by this freedom, we took action. All three of us had talked about putting on an F3 Olympics for a long time. We finally set a goal, a date and began a long conversation to determine events, logistics, scoring and marketing to make it all happen. We hope this event will serve as inspiration to the other Pax to choose a project at home, in the community or with your brothers of the gloom.
First F
For many of us, we get up 2, 3 or, if you’re Fire Hazard, six times a week to workout. This event was an opportunity to test yourself physically and try events in a competitive environment. (We all push harder when points are at stake.) Moreover, use your scores as a baseline to for continuous improvement. We hope to see you next year, fitter and prepared to smash your previous scores.
Second F
As Saturday Site Qs, we have long pushed Pax to post on Saturdays. A longer workout and coffeeteria provides an opportunity for 2nd F that doesn’t exist during the week. In addition, the partner scoring format was designed to foster enhanced competition and conversation. We hope you had the chance to catch up with current friends, connect names with faces and meet others for the first, but not last, time.
Third F
We are all called to love God and one another. There is no greater expression of that love than brothers coming together in fair competition. (No divas, no tantrums, no sore losers, not gloaters, just 60 men encouraging eachother to be thier best.)
Service
Thank you everyone who donated workout gear to the Men’s Shelter. These donations are incredibly encouraging to the men in need.
If you enjoyed this event or backblast, please Tclap to help spread the word for next year.
I am a man of constant sorrow…this applies most every Monday morning, but especially a rainy Monday. Only one way to get back in the right frame of mind. Join 4 other waterproof men in the gloom for some solid work at DMZ.
The Thang:
Mosey to C@C breezeway for COP:
20 SSH IC
15 Mountain Climbers IC
10 Merkins IC
Audible due to downpour and perform entire workout (almost) in breezeway.
Begin with 10 burpees.
Run lap around church doing your best to avoid the deep water.
Back to breezeway for exercises. Round #1 is 30 squats followed by 30 CCDs.
Continue rounds 2-6, changing up exercises as follows:
#2 – 15 jumping lunges, 15 wall-tar n’diayes (thanks to Hops and Centurion for the loaner)
#3 – 10 burpees, wall-sit w/ 25 overhead presses IC
#4 – 10 burpees, wall-sit w/ 25 overhead presses IC
#5 – 20 wide-arm merkins, 50 LBCs
#6 – 15 diamonds, 30 bicycles
Mixing in mary and plank in between rounds.
Brave the elements out from under the breezeway for:
30 dips
30 step-ups, one each leg
Another lap around church.
10 burpees OYO
On the six for some Mary:
20 dolly IC
20 rosalita IC
15 heels to heaven IC
Line up in breezeway. Lunge walk down and bear crawl back. 20 squats OYO.
Another lap. #outofweinke
miscellaneous mary
10 burpees in breezeway
Done.
Back to launch.
Naked Moleskin:
Traveling for work and time is scarce, so this will be brief. Great work by all this morning. Always an honor to lead the PAX at DMZ. Such a solid AO with plenty of territory and options for variety. #wastedallofit It seems we have traded cold weather for rain, and I for one, am not a fan. We may not have stayed dry, but my only goal was to keep mud out of the title of this backblast. Shout out to One Eye for the opportunity. Enjoyed it men.
Announcements:
17 of South Charlotte’s finest decided to join the fun Friday workout that is Kevlar. Had to pull out a few weeks ago on the Q due to bad lumbar, sciatica, groin…ahh, who knows . So Fault Line subbed me out then, I think this was my turn to sub back in.
Noticed Spackler had his 2.0 out in Fists of Fury, well done lad! A lot of usual suspects at Kevlar, and Swiss Miss made an appearance after he said had been possibly a year.
Went with the disclaimer of “All right guys, uh, this is a blues riff n B, watch me for the changes, and uh, try and keep up.” Most of the guys got it immediately, good on ya. Then gave the normal disclaimer about not doing anything stupid and injuring yourself, like doing burpees or something like that.
Proceed with the chlorophyll
Took the lap out to the street in Matthews, up to the old CVS lot at the corner of 51 and John St (I think) for COP.
IW x 20
CDD x20
LSS x 20
MC x 20
Told the Cruisers (guys that are into fast cars and fast women) to go ahead and proceed back to the rock ravine near the tennis court shelter and halt.
Partner up, grab one rock between the two of ya.
Mosey on down to the bottom of the hill by the stairs. Partner 1 does called exercise while Partner 2 runs a hot lap up around the corner to the street, down the stairs back, flapjack
Rd 1 Curls
Rd 2 Overhead press
Rd 3 Tri extension
Rd 4 Squats
Repeato it all
Put your rocks in a place that won’t ruin some overachieving student’s tires at 5:50am before school. Mosey down to the benches in front of Preschool?
Stay with Partners. Partner 1 does called exercise at benches, Partner 2 runs up around median with rock.
Rd 1 Jump/Step ups
Rd 2 Dips
Rd 3 Incline merkins
Repeato x 2
Mosey back to rock garden, take rocks back to rock ravine. AYG back to cars for Mary
Dolly
Freddy Mercury
Flutter
Rosalita
What time is it? 1.5 mins left
Backscratcher (thanks Bulldog)
LBC x 25
done
Story Time
Great to see Spackler’s 2.0 Fists of Fury out there this morning. He’s faster than his pop, but has some work to do to keep up with his mouth.
Lex and I were lamenting about the fact that Rhapsody and Orange Whip need to be split up on partner work. I think they lapped us twice on the rock work. Fletch and Alf are still fast as heck too.
At one point Squid brought out an nice Ogilvy line from Bad News Bears which got us talking about whether or not the movie was “kid friendly”. Umm, probably not, but I was a little flabbergasted when Bulldog said Goonies was just as bad. No way mate!! Both movies are American classics and need to be celebrated.
Fault Line and I were also talking about how bad the Giants have sucked so far this year. Long year though bud, we’ll be ok.
Great crowd as usual out at Kevlar this morning, thanks to Whip and Fault Line for the opportunity to lead.
Harley, thanks for leading us in prayer brother.
Announcements: Brolympics at Community House Elementary tomorrow morning from 6-8am.