Do Mary or Rest?
A baker’s dozen (that’s 13 for those who have never been to a bakery) came out on a beautiful spring morning for some running, merkins, squats, & Mary.
The Thang
Mosey to the track for COP and the mandatory SSH and IW
Butt kicks and high knees for 100 yds
Karaoke 100 yds
100 yd run w/30 REAL squats then run 100
Repeat with 20 squats
Repeat with 10.
Partner up with someone you dont know (if possible).
Partner 1: 100 yd sprint with 27 hand release Merkins then sprint back
Partner 2 then does the above while P1 can rest or do Mary
Repeat with 24 hand release Merkins, then 21, then 18 and so on. This was a #TimeSuck and a real burner
Some Mary
Prayer Fire Mary – each Partner 30 reps
30 situps with your partner holding your ankles.
Moleskine:
So there was some discussion as the beginning of our Merkin Ladder as to whether the partner who is not running should do Mary while they wait. YHC left this up to the discretion of each of the pax. I’ve done this ladder before and knew that if I truly sprinted, I was going to need the rest. But we have some young studs in F3 now – not just the 40 and 50 somethings who first made up the Nation a few years ago. So they have a little bit more energy, stamina, and strength. Although some of the older guys were banging out those squat sets which was impressive, and yes, they were doing actual squats.
Later during the Ladder, someone said they overheard Stone Cold confessing about an injury recently incurred at home in the bedroom. However, SC wouldn’t fess up to it when YHC inquired in front of the group. Maybe it was just #WishfulThinking on his part.
Anyway, hopefully it was a good workout for those who came. Yeti, thanks for letting me lead.
Bougie in Bally
Eight guys were standing around in the Vine parking lot at 5:14:45 this morning when the smaller cousin of F3 Big Black rolled in hot. Like a gaggle of Canada geese (shoutout Strange Brew), they held their ground, between me and “my” parking spot. A couple soft nudges with the side view mirror and TR skootched out of the way just enough to get through. Truth be told, I was in the area at 5:06, scoping the route turn by turn to avoid getting lost. Somewhere deep in BCC about 5:08, the gut bubble popped. After hitting every red light on the way back up Johnston, a quick pit stop at 5:12 was in order at the Circle K. Back behind the wheel at 5:14, hammer down for the 0.2 mi trip to the Vine.
After a hearty disclaimer to a grisly veteran crew, we were off. Pay attention, here’s exactly what happened.
We worked our way past CVS and Duckworths to BCP and headed towards the promised land in South Carolina. Somewhere near “the end of the guard rail” we tripled up in groups of 3 for modified grinders of sorts. P1 ran up the hill to the BCC entrance on the left, and ran back to P2/P3. Meanwhile, P2 planked, and P3 did derkins off the plank. From where we were, to where we had to go was a lot longer than planned. So much longer, that some guys audibled to dips on the guard rail – total class. After each partner ran, we moseyed closer towards BCC. After each guy got the hill sprint in, we shot up BCP and took a left into BCC.
From the corner of (Capt.) Jack Rd. to Jockey’s Ridge was at a quick clip, with 5 burpees at each side street, totaling 20. The elevation and pitch of the hills was neat. From the sand dune to Bally Crossing was a quick-paced recovery mosey. From there to the clubhouse, the groups did a leapfrog CMIYC with 5 hand-slap merkins for the partners.
We maneuvered past the greens crews prepping for the Bob Barker Celebrity Pro-Am to the tunnel under Johnston Rd. 9 guys went in, 7 came out. Somewhere in the mix we lost a cell phone and two dudes. Two more guys peeled off to join the search party, leaving 5 to gut out the remaining 20 minutes. We rendezvoused at the corner of BCC Dr. for a quick tour of Ballantyne East. We rolled out the Brolympics timed mile a day early on the hilly mile stretch back to BCP.
From BCP back to the Vine, we did 10 merkins at every 3rd street light, banged a ringo on Bally Corp Place back by the Y and home and clicked the 6 mile mark with zero time to spare. The search party lumbered in with the missing iPhone in hand.
Fast crew out there today. Including the exercises, we averaged a sub-8 pace and covered about 6 miles. Way too nice of a group letting the hill repeats flub slide without any complaints – I was disappointed, actually. If we’re bein’ honest, I’m pretty stoked we didn’t really get lost. Good thing too, coulda gotten dicey getting lost in that part of town. For a workout labeled a bootcamp, we got some miles in. The exercises only felt a little “token”. To everyone that went north to Frasier’s Q for a day off, come back in 2 weeks. The site Qs there had a lapse in judgement and let me sign up to Q. Come party.
Announcements:
Not sure if you’ve heard, but the Brolympics are coming up. Tomorrow, in fact. At Community House Middle School at 6am. Coulda mis-heard him, but I think Tolkien said he’d do 50 burpees for everyone that beat him in the 100m sprint?
Peace & luv, HB
Wood you answer the call if Q asked you to circle up and get on all 4’s?
With all the chatter this week on Groupme regarding the track meet that Hollywood brought to Flash on Monday, I figured it was time to go the extreme opposite and try and Q with 0.0 miles of running. So here is how it went for the 10 PAX that showed:
Warmup:
50 ft walk across parking lot (Remind Popeye to slow down as there is to be no running today)
SSH
Imperial Walker
Cotton Pickers
Merkins
Mt Climbers
Thang:
Split into 2 groups – Group 1 on Jump Ropes Group 2 on Logs – 1:00 Intervals and flap jack
Exercises included (cannot remember exact order)
Jump Rope Exercises Log Exercises
- Standard 2 foot jump Merkins w/ hands on Log
- Jump left/right over line Squats w/ Log
- Jump front/back over line Shoulder Press w/ Log
- High Knees Sit Ups w/ Log
- Run in place Skull Crushers
- Backwards Merkins w/ feet on log
- Butt Kicks Squat and push press w/ partner
- Single Leg Flutter w/ Log
- Speed Plank Jacks
Return Logs to resting spot in woods
Circle up on all 4’s for hip flexor workout
- Single Leg lift
- Side Leg Lift
- Fire Hydrant
Moleskin:
Was little skeptical how the group would take to the idea of a 0.0 workout idea, but it appeared to not be a complete failure and still provided good workout for group. Idea was to use the jump rope to get heart rate up and then use the time with the log to actively recover. Found out that Moneyball is 2 pig tails shy of being the top double dutcher in playground and that Popeye knows how to properly place his log. Posse was correct in that this workout lead to many great lines that could have easily ended up on @HeardatF3. Transporter is correct in that if Doc or Frack were there for the final hip flexor workout that I would have been able to not be offended by the chatter to come on GroupMe no matter how much I read of the new book. Great to hear about all the causes and runs the group is participating in – Great Job and way to keep getting stronger.
Announcements:
- Brolympics this Saturday – check out the preblast online or sent by Hollywood/Doc – Should be great event and would be good to have representation by Union County guys.
- Family Day Workout scheduled for May 6th, be sure to bring entire family for workout
- Commitment is still on fr Saturday
- Official FIA launch this Saturday at Cuthberston Middle School 7:30 – Let the M’s know
- Couple of Races around area this weekend – TuckFest (Whitewater Center), Sunshine 5K
- Q School next week see pre-blast on website for anyone interested
- Union County F3 shirts to begin pre order in next week or 2 if interested
Friday Fun Day
Twenty three fine young and not so young men decided to show up today at Centurion. Even Frehley’s made the trek across the beltway to join us. There was mumbling right away about running when I was rolling out the old muscles. Just good prep work fellas.
A proper disclaimer was given, no FNG announced and no questions. We moseyed over to the parking deck. Circle up and we did elbow plank for two minutes. Proper form was strongly encouraged. The instructions were given for the next exercise. The triple nickel. We split into three groups to avoid congestion. Run to the top and do five diamond merkins. Run to the bottom and do five hand to wall to merkin exercises. Plank when done.
We moseyed across the street to the shopping center starting at the Jack in the Box side. The instructions were to stop at every crosswalk along the shopping center. Should have been seventeen total. We did five merkins at every stop. Mary while the six comes in. Reverse it and do five squats at every crosswalk, Plank while waiting on the six. Last round was stopping and doing five diamond merkins at every establishment that prepares and serves food. Mary while the six comes in.
We moseyed over to Palentine hill. We did five staggered arm merkins. Run over the hill to the other side, modify as needed of course, and do another staggered five arm merkins. Finish with mary while the six returns.
Mosey back to the AO with a minute and a half of elbow plank to finish.
Done!
Moleskin: This is quick. Have to get to work and change the world. We only ran 2.5 miles but we ran hard when we were running. Brillo, Swiper, Check Point and Bout Time were the out front guys. Palentine was sketchy due to it being wet. There are a lot of establishments that prepare food in the shopping center. Thanks to Check Point for keeping us honest about Planet Fitness and their smoothies. I sure only Haze would have known that since he was probably working there instead of with us.
Announcements: Not to late for the Smokey Mtn Relay, just kidding it is too late.
Brolympics tomorrow. 6:00am. Go watch the foolery. The timed mile should be awesome. A couple of fasties coming down from Metro. #Bostonqualifiers
F3 Dad’s campout next Saturday Anne Springs. $5 per person. Great deal and a lot of guys/kids coming.
Have a great day. Find someone to bring out to F3 and show the the fun we have. Attend the second F and third Fs. That is how you start to build stronger relationships.
Round Colony Way
15 PAX at Devils Turn this morning for an out and back, “how far can you get” type of run.
We showed up, we ran, we turned, we ran.
Today’s route was a modified version of the original run up to Colony, a.k.a. Danger Zone XL addition. Rather than heading up the sidewalk of doom on Rea, today’s route headed out Elm, to 51, before heading up Rea and Colony. But the concept was the same. Run as far as you dare, but be back by 6:15 for COT.
Based on Strava, it appears Hairball was hungry for some early miles this morning prior the the rest of us arriving. For the rest of us, after rounding the corner onto Rea, Frasier and Depth Charge set a sporty pace not to be matched by others.
Depth Charge gets the “most improved since joining Devils Turn and Swift” award this week, although he’s not on Strava so it doesn’t count.
The majority of the group settled into a spread of mid-7ish pace groups for our out and back run.
One Niner, having pushed the human limits already this week, wisely opted for the injury free 4.5 mile route. Also of notable mention was Fault Line who returned to Devils Turn this week, and led the group out to Rea road. Upon reaching Rea, he saved the leaders from certain death by a beast of a Jeep that would make Tiger Rag’s run home to mommy.
All and all, great turnout today, with some solid miles by the entire PAX.
It was an honor today to pick up the reigns from Honey Bee (who by the way was a no show – something about dog eating homework, with a promise to be back next week).
No Announcements, but show up to BROlympics for a good time this weekend.
Tour the Complete AO
What a great group of men this morning at what has turned into one of the most popular AOs in A51! 26 strong – someone said it looked like a convergence!
Ran down to the parking lot for Circle of pain – SSH x 20, merkins x 20, IW x 20, Peter parkers x 10, Parker Peters x 10, monkey humpers x 15.
Partner up. P1 runs to end of parking lot and back. P2 does said excercise. Flap jack. Excercise – lbc, heels to heaven, Freddie Mercury.
Mosey to picnic benches. Partner up. P1 runs down to stop sign while P2 does said excercise. Flap jack. Excercise – Derkins, calf raises, dips.
Mosey to track. Partner up. P1 runs a lap while P2 does said excercise. Flap jack. Excercise – low slow squat, jump squat, chin ups on playground.
Mosey to hill by baseball field. Partner up. P1 runs up the hill and back down while P2 does said excercise. Excercise – merkins, CDD, merkins.
Mosey to wall. Wall sits w 50 air presses. Repeato
Mosey back to parking lot.
COT
Lots of hard work out there by a lot of guys! 1.8 miles for the main event. Closer to 5 if you showed up for the prerun. What a terrific AO – it’s no secret as there are always a ton of guys. Keep up the great work! Sensei, Thanks for the opportunity to lead!
Final PreBlast: F3 BROlympics
If you like information then you are going to love this preblast.
The excitement is palpable in the BROlympic village as we stand less than 36 hours from the 2017 F3 BROlympics opening ceremonies. The event Q’s have gone to great lengths to guarantee that this will be a #csaup to remember. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, here are the details.
What: 10 individual events developed to test strength, speed, stamina, physical toughness and mental toughness. Participation in each event is optional. A point system will be used to determine an overall champion, with the top three competitors receiving awards.
When: Saturday, April 22nd 2017, 0600 – 0800
Where: Community House Middle School track (9500 Community House Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277)
Who: All men of F3, regardless of region
Schedule:
- 0530-0600: Check-in and warm-up (there is not an extensive group warmup due to time constraints, so arrive early to get sufficiently loose)
- 0600-0610: Instructions, Parade of Nations (F3 Nation), COP, Invocation
- 0610-0630: 1 Mile (2 heats)
- 0640-0700: 100m Prelims (OYO)
- 0715-0720: 100m Final
- 0730-0750: The Phlegethon (2 heats)
- *0610-0750*: Open Stations OYO
- 0750-0755: Official Scorer results tabulation
- 0755-0800: Closing Ceremonies: Awards, Name-o-Rama, BOM
Events (Revised):
- 1 Mile (2 heats)
- 100 Meters
- Preliminary heat is run OYO
- Top 8 competitors compete in Final head-to-head heat
- Max Burpees in 2 Minutes
- Chest to ground / Feet clear ground / Arms overhead
- Football Throw for Distance
- 2 attempts per PAX
- Keg Toss
- 2 attemps per PAX
- Enter throwing circle under control
- Throw keg w/out leaving circle
- Max Kettlebell Snatches in 2 Minutes
- Arm lock extension
- Switch arms as necessary
- Max Sit-ups in 2 Minutes
- Partner holds feet / hands behind head / knees bent
- Elbows touch knees and shoulders touch ground on each rep
- Max 135 lb Bench Press
- No time limit, but once initiated cannot rest the bar on the rack or chest
- Head/shoulders/butt on bench, feet on ground
- At least 1 forefinger in contact w/ “power ring” on bar
- Bar must touch chest / arm lock extension
- Max Tire Flips in 90 Seconds
- *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)
* A “river of boiling blood and fire” in the 7th circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno.
Scoring:
In each event, first place receives 100 points, second receives 95, and it continues to fall by 5 points through fifth place, which is worth 80 points. From sixth to 20th place, the drop is 2 points: sixth is worth 78 points, seventh is 76, and so on. Then from 21st place on, the drop is 1 point: 21st gets 49 points, 22nd gets 48, etc. This means that participating in an event guarantees you points, and skipping means leaving points on the table.
During the awards ceremony the top three competitors in each event will be announced, as well as the top “respect” competitor in each event. The three competitors with the most total points will bring home the hardware.
What to Bring:
- Shovel flags
- Any 40-50 lb kettlebells that you have
- Watch/Phone to time yourself and your partner
- Water (we will also have some on site)
- Old workout gear / F3 shirts for the F3 PAX that live at the Charlotte Rescue Mission. These guys MUCH appreciate our donations and truly wear them with PRIDE.
Event Map:
The Phlegethon:
See ya bros!
-TUCK
If you’re finished, just keep going!
7 veteran meatheads assembled on the Elizabeth Lane ES grounds, ready for their weekly slinging of metal, were briefly disclaimed…wait a minute…we have an 8th joining us, a visiting pax from Roanoke. Welcome!
Now, where was I…?
The Thang
COP – aka warm-up:
- 10 two-hand swings
- 20 Imperial Walkers – in cadence
- 10 two-hand swings
- 2 racked carries around the circle (R then L)
- 10 two-hand swings
- 5 Halos (R then L)
- 10 two-hand swings
- 3 prying squats
- 10 two-hand swings
Chutes Swings & Ladders (down):
- 10 two-hand swings
- 5 goblet squats
- Repeato 4 more times, declining the goblet squats 5 down to 1
- 10 one-hand swings (L)
- 5 presses (L)
- 10 one-hand swings (R)
- 5 presses (R)
- Repeato 4 more times, declining the presses 5 down to 1
- Bonus: if you finish before the Q, continue swinging & climb back up the ladder
- 10 one-hand swings (L)
- 5 racked reverse lunges (L)
- 10 one-hand swings (R)
- 5 racked reverse lunges (R)
- Repeato 4 more times, declining the lunges 5 down to 1
- Bonus: if you finish before the Q, continue swinging & climb back up the ladder
- 10 two-hand swings
- 10 full range of motion merkins
- Repeato 9 more times (10x total)
- Bonus: if you’re finished, just keep going!
Time
COT
Announcements:
- Q school – Outland, 4/29, 0630
- Brolympics, this Saturday, 4/22 – see guerrilla marketing on Twitter, Slack, website, & graffiti along our usual routes
- Meathead Q is open next week. Scratch that. Thanks, Bulldog!
Swinging Moleskine:
Well, as always, Meathead is as hard or as easy as you choose to make it, depending on your KB size selection. The planned volume was high (400+ swings) but the reps were low, so YHC went heavy most of the time and it was felt for several hours, as was the plan.
YHC was on a 1200+ mile college visit road trip with 2.0 Low Tide last week when some Elvis tunes cycled through the playlist. Hmm… So, that was the playlist for today, and a solid lower body beatdown will leave your legs all wobbly like The King’s… so, there you go.
Welcome, Cake, from Roanoke. Glad you came down today. Please visit again. And, if you need any help bringing KB’s back to your local AO’s, just let me know!
T-claps to Brown on the fat cheerleader presses. How long will you be out for hernia surgery?
Shout out to Madison, Blazing Saddles, and Soul Glow for working in heavier bells from time to time. Same with Young Love, who brought a fine collection himself, both for working-in the heavies and for sharing with Brown.
Bulldog was no-nonsense on the work (but with solid commentary), as usual, and got in plenty of bonus reps. Well done. (and, thx again and looking forward to your lead next week)
That’s about it; besides, my notification for my next meeting just went off…
Aye.
Good Day Thursday
It was a beautiful Thursday morning and 8 of South Charlotte’s finest gentlemen decided to post to Hydra. For those of you who failed to show due to calf cramps, hang nails and other creative excuses, here’s what you missed.
Following a brief but effective disclaimer…..Short mosey around the parking lot and circle up for COP:
- SSH x 10
- LSS x 10
- MC x 10
Run to the Harris Teeter, plank up, and run back to launch point.
Main Event:
Four stations provided the morning’s fun. Here’s what we did, using the concession stand as the center point for the remaining three stations.
- At the concession stand, perform 25 merkins, 10 jump ups / step ups, 10 peter parkers
- Run to the small tree near the football field and perform 10 jump squats
- Run back to concession stand and perform 25 merkins, 10 jump ups, 10 peter parkers
- Run to playground and perform 10 pull ups
- Run to the small track and do a lap running backwards
- Once lap is complete, run to playground and perform 10 pull ups
- Run to concession and perform 25 merkins, 10 jump ups, 10 peter parkers
- Repeat until 6:05
At 6:05, grab some wall for people’s chair. Each individual pax performed AMRAP merkins, as remaining pax did the same number of air presses while holding people’s chair.
4 minutes of Mary:
- Freddy Mercury x 10
- Dolly x 10
- Side crunch (each side) x 10
- Jack – knife crunch (each side) x 10
Done.
The Skinny:
Excellent work by a small, veteran crew who covered just over 3 miles. There was a little chatter around the sequencing of stations at the beginning of The Main Event, however, given the pax is smarter than the average bear, were able to figure it out. Great hustle by Jet Fuel, Arena and Iron Sides. Gummy ran in / ran out. Pudding Pop, Queen and Pop Tart showed us they can still knock out 50 merkins at the end of a workout. I enjoyed my assigned Q, hope you did as well.
Announcements:
- BROlympics – 6am Saturday, Community House Elementary
- Substrata: Tuesday night, 7:30. Hops led discussion. Fight: Winning the Battles that Matter Most. Vitner’s at Arbo. Beer served.
Return to the Valley
warmup: 30 SSH, 30 mountain climbers, 30 arm circles
the thang:
– 30 switchfoots, 30 alternate steps
– 15 dips at picnic tables x 2
– 30 jump ups OYO
– mosey to the valley, run the valley with stations. Plank till the six each time.
Station 1: 10 Merkens
station 2: 10 squats
station 3: 10 LBCs
Mosey to playground. 50 pull-ups OYO
mosey to the trailers. Trailer shimmies then lunges. Karaokes with defensive shuffles
mosey to columns. Wall sits with shoulders knees and toes
the mary
25 Rosalita whips, 20 Freddie mercuries, 30 LBCs
moleskin:
great weather and great group of guys this morning. Glad to see we didn’t scare passport off after his FNG workout last week. Grave dancer took us out. Prayers go out to GOP (back), sloppy(blah), and Funny (back). Have a great day and as always it’s an honor hanging with you guys in the gloom.
Announcements
– missions night at Becky’s house Saturday night