I drove right past my normal Friday post at Joust for my first Kevlar Q this morning. First vehicle I see pulling into the parking lot was the TRuckster. What happened to the “Great Pumpkin”? Horsey suggested it turned back into the TRuckster at midnight last night.
So as I’m parking my car, the nerves were running a little higher than normal this morning knowing a large crowd of mostly younger, stronger guys would be waiting for me. I thought there were high standards at Kevlar, so I put together a plan that I thought would meet those standards, and it didn’t include any strange objects, coupons, logs, etc. Just you and whatever weight you have on you. After a brief disclaimer, we were off to do it…
COP
Merkin Suicides on the hills
Exercises: Merkins, Wide-arms, Diamonds, hand release, burpees
Partner up:
Partner 1 runs parking lot lap while Partner 2 does called exercise. Flapjack until target number of repetitions achieved. Exercises:
Return to launchpoint
COT and Simba takes us out in the BOM
Moleskin
So the standards weren’t exactly what I thought…apparently the Side Straddle Hop standard is no more than 25 reps. Once the count exceed 25 the pax started dropping like flies…looking around in utter disbelief that the Q could do such a thing… the horror. Everyone perked up though once we jumped into the Imperial Walkers…I’ll bet I could have gone past 25 with these, but thought better of it cut it off there.
BRR training season is definitely upon us…there were some Twitter calls the night before requesting running Baracus vs. merkin Baracus. Do I have a reputation? I do love those merkins, but the love affair died down after last years 10K merkin challenge…never again after the 6 months of recovery time my shoulder needed. Nevertheless, we did some running AND we did some merkins today….even a few burpees called just for Spackler who was pleading that we don’t make him do anymore burpees this week. Sorry Spack…they’re good for you.
Definitely some Q failure during the partner work. The target counts were supposed to be 100 HTH, 200 air squats, and 300 LBCs. People finishing their HTH at various times looking for something to do… I called air squats thinking that was a jump squat…and who knows how many LBCs everyone did. My only response was “quit standing around and do something.” That’s a bank leadership tactic right there. I heard the calls to send me back to Q school in the morning. I probably need a refresher.
It was a chatty group of men this Friday morning…but the group looked strong. I was leading from the six during the hill suicides. I knew this group of men was strong and fast… you all were killing it out there. And Bulldog…I thought he was coming off IR? He was flying! Nice work men, and as always thanks for the opportunity to lead!
Announcements:
Pax of 18 worked on their Beach Body!
Warm-up (Quick warm-up, there is a lot we need to get through)
SSH x 30 IC
MTC x 30 IC
The Thang
Mosey to the back side of the school for the main event.
Round 1
25 Merkins
25 Jump Squats
25 Dips
Run to the “out house” which is about 600 yards round trip
5 burpees
LBC while we wait for the six
Round 2
50 Derkins
50 Box Jumps
50 Dips
Run to the out house
10 burpees
Heals to Heaven
Round 3
100 Merkins
100 Squats
100 Dips
Run to the out house
15 burpees
Flutter
Round 4
50 Derkins
50 Jump Lunge
50 Dips
Run to the out house
10/5 burpees
American Hammer
People’s Chair w/ Should Press 30 IC
Mosey back to the AO
Since we have a few minutes to kill
10 wide arm Merkins
10 diamond Merkins
10 Military Merkins
Bicycle 30 IC
Moleskin
I know we typically do a gear type workout on Friday’s but I wanted to change things up a bit. We did 255 merkins and covered 2 miles during the workout. It didn’t seem like that much running. Ops, I did say there would be much running. Bottle Cap, Land Shark, and Flipper led the charge during the first couple rounds of the merkin mania. With football season right around the corner I feel bad for Land Shark and Flippers teammates. They will be coming in ready to whip everyone else in shape. When I mentioned something about Beach Body, Dirty Bird said he was already ready for the beach. I love to see everyone working so hard and trying to get better at each workout. I do apologize that our FNG didn’t get the disclaimer at the beginning of the workout. They did show up a few minutes late and found us around the back side of the school.
Family workout on Saturday at 9:30 at Cuthbertson Middle. Wives, kids, and friends welcome. It will be a 30 minutes workout that will give everyone a sense of what we do at 5:30 in the morning. Hopefully they won’t think we are crazy anymore!
Spartan Super in Asheville August 6th. Sign up under competitive division and F3Nation team. Plan on going down the night before, not sure of the hotel plans yet.
Union County Q school is next weekend at Indian Land. Anyone thinking of stepping up as Q should think about going. We need more people stepping up to lead.
Thank you Shop Dog for taking us out.
10 vets came out to Hydra on a beautiful Thursday morning. A brief disclaimer was all that was needed for this crew, no FNGs unfortunately. I called this workout 400. As in 400 reps. But we had enough time and energy to make it 500. So it went…
Warm-Up
The Workout
Moleskin
Good group of men. All in 500 reps. Right at 2.4 miles on the feet.
Announcements:
Well, sadly a tweet about 1000 reps scared most of you from posting this morning. However, 12 bros couldn’t wait to find out. After further research, the 1000 rep challenge was for arms only, so I modified it …a little. See below:
SSH x 25
Merkins x 15
Prying squat x 5
Good morning x 10
200 KB challenge
Swing – 50 reps
Snatch – 10 reps each
Clean & Press – 10 reps each
Reverse Lunge – 10 reps each
Squat & Press – 10 reps each
Lawn mowers – 10 reps each
Swing – 50 reps
PARTNER UP/DOUBLES
Chest super set
Flat
Incline
5×10
Leg super set
Alternating lunge
Deadlift
5×10
Shoulders super set
Arnold press
Shrugs
3×10
10×10
Swings
Merkins
NMM – No Mary at Meathead
moleskin:
Another great group this morning. The usual suspects, because they fear nothing, and some new faces, because they knew nothing. The plan was never really to pack 1000 reps in 45 minutes. Not sure that can be done, and more than likely, that woulda included a lot of wasted reps. Not what we’re looking for with kettlebells. Not a lot of mumble chatter today, which is usually the case at Meathead. One, meatheads come to workout, and two, hard to hide lifting in a circle for 45 minutes. That’s really the beauty of this site and why we are stronger. So, if you’re reading this as a “non-BRO”, now is your time. Think you’re too inexperienced, everybody is at first and we have the pax to help. Think you’re too old, ask the co-site Q (46), other regulars who range from 46-52. Think you’re just a runner and this wouldn’t help, ask Turkey Leg, Fletch, TR, and Soul Glo if it’s helped them? Bottom line is, “Strength Matters”…post at Meathead.
Brown
Now there’s a title that is sure to create some page views for my backblast.
3 things I learned at F3 this week:
This morning 14 strong men saddled up to the greenway parking lot to conquer the smooth and sexy hills of #theLC. This is a great course and thanks to Hairball’s infatuation with MTV and their wonderful programming, we have a new classic route name. Maybe it’s the warm weather, the early sunlight, or most likely the PAX’s love affair with bald runners, but numbers are picking up for the summer at DT. Good to see a consistently strong crew out there.
The Thang:
The plan was simple this morning (as it usually is at DT when we aren’t trail running with Tuck). Mosey north on Rea, cross 51, and hit the Five Knolls neighborhood for some repeats. Just in case folks were delirious from the humidity, YHC drew a nice chalk map for everyone. It was very complex, but after walking HoneyBee through it a couple of times he finally got it. Directions: Start, long arrow with a u-turn back, Finish. Repeat. (it was the last one that tripped him up)
Moleskine:
The more things change the more things stay the same at DT….we had some “new” blood that YHC hasn’t met before (Fletch and Geraldo), and we had the same guys out front killing it (HoneyBee & Mr. Brady).
Speaking of HB…right out of the gate he takes off and I knew he was going for the infamous 3 laps. You can’t tell from Strava, but I think he got it. Kudos to you my fast bald friend.
Teddy, Fletch, and Mr. Brady were all strong this morning. Teddy stormed out of the gate only to have his soul crushed on the 2nd repeat of that beastly hill. He recovered nicely though and finished running hard. Mr. Brady was fast up and down the hill this morning….looks like he brought his Slip N’ Slide to the workout. Fletch was killing it…nice to meet you today. You stayed right with the Bee all morning…by the way, your movies are classics (I’ll have a bloody mary and a steak sandwich and….a steak sandwich please).
Cheddar showed up on time today!
StoneCold was a beast again today….we kept each other company up and down those damn hills. Thanks for not letting me slow down this morning…we both agreed that the hill on the way out is the worst. During our run he told me all kinds of cool stories about Vince McMahon. Did you guys know that wrestling is fake?
Another solid crew spread out across the course today….and it’s nice to see you guys out on a regular basis. Margo helped me set the pace at the beginning and ran hard until “leaving early for a meeting”. Hannibal was his methodical self, CheeseCurd complained that the hills sucked, Utah grunted at us when we said “good work”, Huggie Bear hugged everyone he saw, and Prohibition was boozing it up and down those hills.
Geraldo kept me company on the way back to COP. I asked him about Al Capone’s vault and how bad it hurt when the chair broke his nose. Bring back the Geraldo show!
Another fine showing for Devil’s Turn. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
A tenacious twenty men posted at Rebel Yell to knowingly or unknowingly support YHC on his 1-year anniversary of returning to F3. A total of 366 merkin-based exercises were called during the 45-minute workout to commemorate the 366 days that have passed since YHC’s decision to take the red pill and become better.
The Thang
Circle up next to movie theater for 6 very slow tempo merkins.
Mosey to grass at Stonecrest entrance on Elm (across street from Murderhorn entrance).
Diamond Jack Webb
Suicidehorn
Slap Happy
Mosey to main road that cuts through Stonecrest, near large hill.
Ascending Curb Crawl
Mosey back to parking lot for COT. For those of you playing along at home, that was:
Skin of the Mole
YHC really appreciates the men that made it out this morning to help celebrate. You (and others not present) have made YHC stronger over the past year and have pushed YHC far beyond where YHC thought possible. Not only that but the memories and friendships made in just one short year are priceless. YHC can’t thank you guys enough for the positive and lasting impact that you’ve had on YHC’s family.
Mario was strong as ever this morning, leading the way on Suicidehorn and the dreaded ascending curb crawl. Brisket, Bucky, Mic Check and Wild Turkey helped push the pace on Suicidehorn. Well done, men. Great to see Busboy after a year-long layoff. Keep posting. Congratulations to those that gutted through all 366 merkins that were deviously called this morning. YHC wasn’t sure we’d have enough time to get them all in but we kept the pace moving and got them done, just under the wire. It wasn’t fun and it wasn’t pretty, but at least it’s over and we’re sharper.
Announcements
14 men plus YHC decided to come out on a glorious Wednesday. Here is what happened.
Short disclaimer
Run up Sardis over to Robinsonwood and
COP on Post Oak Rd.
15 IW – CAD
15 Merk – CAD
Partner work.
3X = (1 partner runs up post oak left to Canyon trail and the other runs up right to Whitestone – Meet on Glen Oaks Rd.
15 Hand Slap Merkins. Run back and meet down on Post Oak – 15 Partner Derkins).
Mary down at the bottom till everyone gets back.
Most back up Glen Oaks and back to corner of Sardis and Sardis – Mary – LBC’s 30 CAD
AYG – Back to launch.
Mosey over to park benches – Split in two groups –
1st group – Runs to baseball fields
2nd group – 20 Dips, 20 Derkins, 20 step ups
Mosey BACK to baseball fields to hit 4 miles
COT
The Q’s thoughts – (aka Moleskin)
Twitter was all buzzing about my q this am. There was mainly lectures of how bad it was going to be and a notable “I have to see the disaster” from Bushwood. He always know how to build guys up. #ISI.
When I got there super early because I wasn’t exactly sure I knew what I was going to do. Two running group women stopped by my car and asked if I wanted to run with them. Not going to lie, for a split second I was going to leave my f3 brothers to fend for themselves #stillgotit. I couldn’t do that to Baracus. #accountability.
Hannibal, Steinbrenner and Bushwood all clown car’d it over to support/make fun of me.
The Robinsonwood circuit didn’t seem to bad when I was driving through there but when we started running I knew this was going to be a tough one. Everyone did awesome no mutiny was had. I did hear a call for audible mid-way through but everyone stuck through it.
When we got back to the AO I was informed that we were at 3.88 miles so we pushed it for 4 and achieved it. BRR season is here so I’m sure that this will be happening more and more.
I haven’t been to the charge since I took over at Death Valley but thoroughly enjoyed it and it was great meeting some new guys and seeing old faces I haven’t seen in a while.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead
Announcements –
Metro is doing the Goat, starting at Park Road Shopping center – Check twitter and the website. Sounds painful.
That is all.
Warmup
The Thang:
Mosey to the bottom of the Table and set up for the circuit (up the table then exercise, down tall oaks then exercise, then back on the greenway and exercise) of 0.7mi each lap:
Mosey back to the top of the table than Indian Run home as a group.
Mary:
Moleskin:
It was a great morning for a workout with a crowd joining us at 5:30 as the local school 5th graders prepared for their DC field trip. After realizing everyone wasn’t here to watch us workout, we made our way down to the greenway for a simple but hard workout. Lurking ahead was the daunting Farm to to table hill but the group conquered it with few problems on all 3 laps. Great to have two group FNGs out (rappers delight and Abba) as well as an old friend Skidmark back in the grind.
Announcements:
20 PAX posted for YHC’s first Q at #F3Dromedary. Easy to get in plenty of running at such an expansive AO. Here is how it went down:
WARMUP
SSH x 25 IC
IW x 20 IC
Merkins x 15 IC
Low slow squat x 15 IC
Mountain climber x 20 IC
THANG
4 corners around the big parking lot with 10 diamond Merkins at each corner. Plank until the six arrives.
Repeato, this time with wide arm Merkins at each corner.
Mosey to the short track and partner up between the track and picnic tables.
P1 runs a lap while P2 runs up to the tables and does 20 step ups and 20 dips, then back to track and meet partner for 10 hand slap Merkins. Flapjack, do another 10 hand-slap merkins, then plank and wait for the six.
Repeato, this time with 20 derkins and 20 squats.
Repeato, this time with 20 dry docks and 20 sister Mary Catherine’s.
Mosey over to the hill for 7’s with burpees at the top, and hand release Merkins at the bottom.
Plank until everyone finishes, then what the heck, plank up in a circle for a merkin-wave. Made it about 5 times around the circle. Recover.
Head back to base just in time for a couple Mary exercises.
LBC x 20 IC
Rosalita x 20 IC
DONE
MOLESKIN
This site has a really good group of guys which makes it very enjoyable and an honor to lead. Everyone really pushed themselves and each other. Great job. Sorry for all the running, but it’s what I’m weakest at so that’s what I need to do more of. YHC was too smoked to hear much mumble chatter, sound off below with anything I missed.
Announcements:
Several. Check twitter and website.
-3rd F Sanctuary at Brooklyn Pizza Wesley Chapel Thursdays
-SOB run at 7 on Wednesdays at Brazwells in Ballantyne
-F3 Dads – one in SOB land and one in Area 51
-This Saturday Cuthbertson Middle – Family F3 workout at 9:30
–
A few F3 Union Co happenings in June:
06/04 – F3 Anson County is converging with F3 Union Co at Outland. They’ve lost their campus to HS graduation that morning so thought they’d make the trek to UC like we made the trek to AC to launch down there. Cool way to meet some F3 guys you probably wouldn’t meet otherwise.
06/11 – Sun Valley clean-up. YHC and EE have noticed the campus needs to be picked up on some of our pre-runs. So, instead of a pre-run on 06/11, we will meet at 6 AM for a campus clean-up. Here’s the catch: YHC has the Q and I have plans for at least 300 burpees (notice that at least part). But, each full bag of trash is worth 50 burpees (half bags are worth 25 though YHC gets to determine what’s really half or not). So, don’t feel like you have to meet at 6 AM especially if you like burpees and a dirty campus. #giveback
06/18 – Union County Q School. Area 51 has done a few of these but it can be harder for some of our guys to make that trip so let’s do a Union County Q School. Hairband and YHC will lead and we will go from 7:00 to 8:30 that morning. Should help understand better about why we do some of the things we do. For guys not interested in Q school, we will still have our regular Saturday F3 Union workouts at Commitment and Outland. Sign up here if you plan to attend: Sign Up Genius
That’s all for now and look forward to seeing you in the Gloom!
Glass Joe