Return to the Mountain (Rising Meadows)

Return to the Mountain (Rising Meadows)

11 now stronger pax posted at Mountain Goat, getting back to their roots doing a little hill climbing.  Appreciate Booyah who showed up to accompany YHC on the pre-run.

The Thang:

Warm up run to Rising Meadows in Raintree followed by dynamic stretching.

Run up Rising Meadows for 30 sec at a “hard” pace and then mentally place a marker at that spot

Recover down the hill.

Repeat x 5

Time for a break, run up the hill backwards this time…

Then repeat the forward up the hill process 5 more times

Meet at the top of the hill for 3 x downhill repeats recovering up (not as much of a recovery).

Partner up and head back to the Semi-Gloss Palace, then circle back to the six to finish at the track for 4 rounds of 200 M repeats with 200 M recovery at your R or mile time pace.

Finish off with 2-3 laps of cooldown and then off to the cars for COT.

NMM:

This one really seemed to hit the legs pretty hard, the mix up of hill and then higher turnover speed will probably be good long term but my legs are killing me.  Strong effort by all the pax today.

OCR Training at The Brave

9 SOBs launched at 0515 from The Vine for some Obstacle Course Race (“OCR”) Training. We waited until 5:16 for JRR Tolkien but he was a no-show.

Here’s what we did:

The Thang:

Mosey to the parking lot near the intersection of Ballantyne Corporate Place and Brixham Hill Ave. for COP: SSH X 10 IC, IW X 10 IC, Merkins X 10 IC

Mosey over to Ballantyne Corporate Place for instructions from the Q. We are doing an obstacle course pyramid that includes stops for Dips, Pull-ups and Burpees. The first round included sets of 10 of each exercise and was done at fellowship pace so everyone could learn the route.

We ran .25 miles up Ballantyne Corporate Place to the Bridge and did 10 Dips on the Bridge.

We then ran a total of .35 miles by heading back towards the start, turning left into the first entrance of the Snyder’s Lance Building, then around back behind the building and bear crawled over the bridge, then turned left onto the athletic trail, and jumped the parallel bars, stopping at the pull-up bars for 10 pull-ups.

We then moseyed back .25 miles towards the bridge, jumping over the parallel bars and bear crawling over the bridge and turning left on the fitness trail. We then turned left on Ballantyne Corporate Place and finished at the start by doing 10 burpees.

Time to climb the ladder. The .85 mile course was repeated 4 more times with sets going up to 15, 20, 15, and back to 10. Once you finished, you are to run the course in reverse direction to the six to help them finish their set.

We then moseyed over to the short wall next to Lockness for LBCs X 50 IC.

COT

Moleskin:

I was absolutely pumped to see Loogie pull up to the AO this morning. I saw him on Wednesday for the first time in several weeks and he told me he was going to be a runner for a while so his shoulder can heal up. YHC send him a personal invite promising he could run as much or a little as he wanted this morning at The Brave.

Today was about pushing yourself to a pace that you can maintain for the whole hour. Fire Hazard led the way with Cable guy right on his heels. Wild Turkey and Van Pelt we neck and neck for the entire workout. YHC followed after those guys wondering what the heck I was doing to myself after Soft Pretzel’s calf crushing workout in Indian Land yesterday. Outback, Mr. Bean and Frehley’s Comet were next and I could hear some very entertaining mumble chatter about Frehley’s trip to the National Championship game (Sorry Frehley’s). The star of the hour, Loogie, held down the six. He crushed the course. I gave him an opt out circuit if he wanted less miles and he wanted nothing to do with that. Great work fellas.

It was an honor to lead you men in The Gloom

Announcements:

Double down Opportunity tomorrow 1/16. 6 – 6:45 at Stonehenge (0545 pre-run option) and 7-8 at Ballantyne’s newest workout da Vinci. Coffeeteria at Starbucks to following Da Vinci.

F3 Family Hike at Anne Springs Greenway on Saturday January 23rd. Cost is $5 per adult to get into the park. We will hike and at a picnic.

Two Cents’ Worth

Suggestions are ideas that can be taken or rejected; it’s up to the person who receives the suggestion.  They can be in the form of advice, opinions, recommendations, tips, proposals, or a myriad of delivery methods.  Suggestions frequently make their way into our morning workout routine.  Sometimes they are helpful, sometimes they are not – usually they are considered ignored by the workout Q, sometimes (but infrequently) for the betterment of the workout.

26 conceitedly assertive pax posted at F3 Kevlar on this fine January morn, many still basking in the afterglow of the man-ball of awesomeness that was fired from the Kevlar cannon a week ago to this day.

What I remember from the workout:

COP at gym parking lot near flagpole – couple of unmemorable things and 5 burpees – defined this location as STATION 1.

2nd COP at base of high school hill – couple more unmemorable things and 5 burpees – defined this location as STATION 2.

3rd COP on soccer practice field – at least one more unmemorable thing and (maybe) 5 burpees – defined this location as STATION 3.  Note the tires all lined up in a row with the cones.

Split in three groups (while planking, you know, to avoid standing around).  Split off to your respective stations.  Rotate through the stations until time is called.

  • STATION 1 – 25 big boy setups under the flag pole
  • STATION 2 – 3X hill repeats, with 10 merkins at the bottom each time
  • STATION 3 – hairburner with the nasty tire to the cones and back (option to burpee broad jump)

If you found yourself amongst strangers midway through, you were either really fast or really slow – or maybe your teammates were.  No worries – you vs. you.  Keep on pushing.

Regroup everyone and head back to the practice field.

Suicides to the cones

  • 10X merkins, then 20X
  • 10X sister mary catherines, then 20X
  • 10X something I forget, then 20X
  • 10X diamonds, then 20X
  • 10X burpees, then 20X – these were strictly for Hannibal and Steinbrinner (Happy Birthday)
  • straight suicide run to both cones – repeat 3 times

Circle up for Mary

After a near mutiny, with 2:30 left on the clock, the Q acquiesced to the rabid calls for the Bangles and attempted an abbreviated Eternal Flame with a couple of discretionary fast-forwards.

DONE

Small burrowing insectivorous mammal with dark velvety fur, a long muzzle, and very small eyes skin

No idea how many to plan for this am, so I set out 9 tires figuring we would have 20 and it would be overkill. Surprised by the numbers, and we had just enough once we split into three groups.  52 combined last week between Joust/Kevlar and 47 this week is some sweet action.  I think the summer merger gave Joust some time to establish itself, while the Kevlar reopening re-attracted some past attenders.  Either way, we are glad to see this.

By the way, setting up all of this junk before the workout takes more time that I thought.  I have always taken the fabled Bulldog workouts for granted, but the little fella gets up at around 3am to set up shop.  He told me I had to make Kevlar different (i.e. don’t just run around and do merkins for 45 mins), so this was my attempt.

The absence of Bananas was noted, but not entirely unexpected.  This hurt deeply after I endured his horrible #brobuster double kettlebell workout at the Meathead and cordially invited him to join us in this mornings festivities.  His response was a somewhat lukewarm “I need to.”  It appears that he yielded not to his needs, but to his wants this morning.  Perhaps this was because I threw up in my mouth and accidentally spit it into his sock yesterday.

Lots of suggestions coming in left and right throughout the morning.  Some of these were audible, and some were just demonstrated by the pax by creating their own version of the workout.  Next week, I will bring a suggestion box that will be located on top of the trash can, barely balancing on the edge.  Some notable suggestions included:

“I thought this was supposed to be Fun Friday!  Can we just do the Bangles thing and some Mary?”

“I’m not going to do any side-straddle Hops, even though they are my namesake.  (this was an implied suggestion) and I think everyone should follow suite.

“Instead of the sit-up station, I’ll just lay here for a while and wiggle my legs a bit.”

“I brought Steinbrenner all the way here (it’s his Birthday, don’t you know) and told him that we wouldn’t do any burpees since you are leading.  There is no basis or historical precedent for this, but you should consider it strongly.”

“You shouldn’t have started that next suicide run, because there is a man still struggling to finish the last one and he looks like he may die”   (note,  suggestion was retracted once I pointed out that it was only Brown)

“I can’t hear you because you sound like you have a mouth full of half-chewed Raisinets – please speak more clearly and/or hire a translator”

“We should really do the Bangles now because it give me an opportunity to stop exercising and just lay there for the rest of our time together”

 

Announcements:

  • Compass on Fridays at 6:30 – Arbo Chick Fil a
  • New SOB workout launching at Blakeney 0700 – SOBs will finally see each other in daylight (not sure if this is a good thing or not)
  • Outland/Commitment converging at Commitment 0630
  • Ascent/Olympus converging for Kettlebell-fest.  The Rock may also be involved in this, but I didn’t listen very closely.  Bring your wallet.
  • Alf promising a death-workout at Day Zero tomorrow – at least 13 miles and 800 burpees.

That’s all for now.  Stone Cold on Q next week, so hope to see you fine gentlemen back out.

 

Double Dose

The boys were looking eager for a double dose of the pain train today and although you are a fit bunch I hope I stung you a little.
16 strong, just the perfect number for x2…

The Thang:

SSH x 20 IC
Merkins x 20 IC
Stretch it out
Good mornings x 15
Two hand swings x 20

Partner up like sized bell:

8 x 4 double swings
8 x 4 double clean and jerk
8 x 4 double chest press on back (decline)
8 x 4 double snatch
8 x 4 lawnmower each arm
8 x 3 double goblet squat
8 x 4 double press

50 Swings without stopping

Moleskine: The workout was planned to make guys work, I trust it hit the ones who wanted it… Turkey Leg and Fletch were on the Union County line running like coyotes when I saw them from my warm car on the way in and still made it in time.
Witch Doctor was killing it today as usual, Destiny bringin it as WD, and leave it to Horsehead to throw up in his mouth and skip it into my ankle…fellowship. Busch showed up in his sleeping bag just in time and jumped into the heavy weights literally in his sleep, beast.
Good to see POP out there swinging some iron, he’s only a runner in the daylight, there’s a monster inside trying to get out! As always, this is an awesome site and I appreciate the opportunity to lead the guys in S. Charlotte that are struggling with High T.

Mountain Goats return to their roots

Good news…watch programming not required

Bad news…hill repeats are on the menu

Good news…Pre-run at 0500 at a true warm up pace

That is all, see you tomorrow

#JukeJeep 101

Geraldo spoke it into existence and thus, it is so named: #JukeJeep.

JukeJeep indeed re-appeared, along with 10 red rockers that reveled in some Sammy Hagar and Chickenfoot this morning. Of course a little Flyleaf, Lacey Sturm and Skillet never hurt no one. But the KB’s… well, thats another story. As the Doms begin later today, let me just say with all the sincerity I can muster…. “You. Are. Welcome”.

It begins……

Upper parking lot.

5:30 lets roll – 3 laps around upper parking while waiting on the “coming in Hot” gang.                     Then Mosey to back parking lot, next to the track. JJ and KB’s awaited.

Header Q-jacked and led some SSH x30 while YHC fired up the JJ.

IW x30

Disclaimer disclaimed, proclamations made, instructions on how to do 2 Handed Swings was given and we. are. off.

Part 1

Circuit:

.45 secs – LSS

.30 secs – Two Handed Swings (KB) or Plank (modify)

.30 secs – Reverse Lunge (right)

.30 secs – Reverse Lunge (left)

.30 secs – Two Handed Swings (KB) or Plank (modify)

1:00 min – Merkins oyo

.45 secs – Carolina Dry Docks

.30 secs – Two Handed Swings (KB) or Plank (modify)

1:00 min – LBC

.45 secs – Heels to Heaven

2:00 mins – i-Pace lap around the track

Plank when finished

REPEATO (entire circuit)

Part 2

1:00 – Two Handed Swings

1:00 min – LBC

Mosey to Matthews Elementary breezeway

.30secs – Peoples Chair

.30secs – Lower 1 inch, Peoples Chair

Air presses x 30

recover

.30secs – Peoples Chair

.30secs – Lower 1 inch, Peoples Chair

Air presses x 30

recover

.45secs – Peoples Chair with KB in Goblet position

recover

40 step ups (on retaining wall, varying heights based on your adventure desire)

10 Incline Merkins (on the wall)

Take KB’s and mosey to upper PL.

Part 3

Circle up

the Dolly x30

LBC x20

the Rosalita x30

LBC x20

the Protractor (called clockwise through the entire circle of Pax)

theEnd

I think we may have possibly scared the tomatoes away this morning with Sammy Hagar blaring and KB’s swinging. But thats ok … the upper parking lot seemed to work well for them. Subsequently,  the boombox they typically use may have not been capable of producing the Decibels needed to overcome the raucous activity and inappropriate sounds emanating from the pax, ……not to mention the music.

Special thanks to Header and Geraldo (ruck) for the gear.

Sinsei… literally rang his bell and has marks to prove it!!!! ( he is one Tough pax)

I am beginning to notice that Nomad (respect), Short Circuit and Retread just consistently knock it out and manage to make the rest of us look like we have no idea what we are doing. HA Great job guys, awesome, consistent work ethic.

Tawney as always tearin it up.

Thx to Smokey for bringing Sean (FNG). Now known to the world (at least the F3 world) as theMic! (pronunciation: “the Mike”)

Thank You SlimFast and Geraldo for the opportunity to lead and for your relentless coaching and encouragement. Blessings All

Thank You Smokey for the out.

 

 

 

Start your morning with some gris gris

YHC rolled in early (5:26) to lead the merciless, unrelenting beatdown of 16 unsuspecting PAX (plus YHC, who was suspecting).

The Thang:

After a quick disclaimer (YHC is definitely not a professional, modify as needed), we were off. Things started with a long jog/run to the parking lot in front of Firebirds and Cantina 1511 (IMHO, not the same since the founders sold out, I’d recommend their new place, Paco’s Tacos and Tequila in SP). The Q enjoyed the “I thought you were a kettlebell guy” comments from the PAX during the relatively long run.

Circle up for the warm up COP:

  • SSH x 21 IC
  • Merkins x 11 IC
  • IW x 16 IC (cut short by a random car the PAX thought was pulling through, but was just parking in front of Cantina. At 5:35am. Strange. YHC kept a wary eye.)
  • Merkins x 11 IC – hold for a generous 10 count by Strawberry
  • Mountain Climbers x 26 IC (21 or 26, can’t quite remember)
  • Recover

Head over to the low wall around the fountain between D&D and Chipotle (the restaurant, not the F3 man). Grab some wall for the following:

  • 20 dips/20 bench squats/20 merkins
  • Run around the D&D and Chipotle buildings clockwise
  • 20 dips/10 split squats each leg (the wall was too high for bench squats)/20 derkins
  • Run around the D&D and Chipotle buildings counterclockwise
  • 20 dips/10 split squats each leg/20 incline merkins

Run back to the parking lot in front of the movie theater for 3 man grinders:

  • P1 does Sister Mary Catherines
  • P2 does drop squats
  • P3 runs back and forth
  • We did several rounds of this until YHC had jelly legs.

Run over to the theater wall near the launch point for a quick B2W/Peoples’ Chair set:

  • B2W with 10 thigh slappers each side (Goonie told YHC he would refusenick to protect his face. Understood)
  • Peoples’ Chair with 25 air presses IC
  • B2W – hold for a little while, enjoying the sensation of blood pooling in your brain

Mosey to the base of that monster hill for a triple nickel:

  • 5 merkins at the top
  • 5 jump squats at the bottom
  • Repeat x 4 for a total of 5 rounds (hence, the triple nickel)
  • Fire Hazard started the plank while waiting for the six (and the Q).

Still some time left, so let’s do some more grinders (same teams):

  • P1 does merkins (CDDs allowed after first 2 rounds)
  • P2 does LBCs
  • P3 runs
  • We did ~4-5 rounds

On your belly for an out and back AYG to the next light post. On your belly for another AYG to the light post. On your belly for a final AYG to the start point. I think Bucky won all of those, so he was apparently sandbagging the rest of the workout.

Seven Minutes of Mary:

  • Heels to Heaven x 21 IC
  • Protractor including 6″, 45, 90, 60, 6″
  • Rosalita x 16 IC (not sure of the count actually)
  • Russian twist x 20 IC (Fire Hazard)
  • Dolly x 30 IC (Strawberry) – that hurt
  • LBCs x 26 IC (again, not sure of the count)

Done

COT: Thanks to Big Tuna for the takeout

Moleskine:

For those of you not fully conversant in Voodoo lore, “gris gris” has two meanings. #classisinsession The original is an amulet to ward off evil (this is the definition referred to in the tweet). The more common (at least to Cajuns) meaning is black magic used against an enemy. I hope everyone enjoyed the gris gris (second meaning) this morning.

According to my trusty Garmin, we got about 2 miles and hit the legs pretty hard. YHC has had some tough workouts at this site and hope he was able to deliver sufficient pain for the PAX. If not, please see Heartbreaker and/or Strawberry for a refund. I’m pretty sure it will be paid in pavers from Strawberry’s truck, so be careful what you wish for.

This was YHC’s first Q of 2016 and it was an honor to lead a strong group of (mostly) wily veterans. Thank you to Strawberry and Heartbreaker for the opportunity. Keep up the good work at a great site. Also, thank you to the PAX for posting in the chilly temps.

YHC didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the namorama and didn’t get his phone out of the car. As a result, he missed one member of the PAX in the list up top. Sound off in the comments and get the credit you so richly deserve. [Added Wild Turkey above. Sorry to have left you off originally!] I have only posted to Rebel Yell once before, so it was good to see some new faces. I hope to see more of you in 2016.

Announcements:

  • Car break-ins occurred at Cavalry this weekend. The PAX are reminded to keep valuables out of sight and only bring what is necessary for the workout (license, phone, 3-5 kettlebells, reflective vest, bluetooth speaker, 3 sets of gloves, hat, etc.).
  • A new SOB workout launching at Blakeney on Saturday at 7am. Stonehenge (Fire Hazard on Q) will let out 15 minutes early to accommodate a double down by the SOB faithful that also want to support Tuck’s new site. YHC will be a gametime decision depending on libation intake levels Friday night.
  • I think Strawberry had another announcement, but YHC forgot it. #cobains Sound off below.
  • It’s race season, with a 5k (or longer) supporting a worthy cause seemingly every weekend. Anyone who posts regularly can do a 5k and the time commitment on the day of the race is minimal. Pick a cause you care about and get signed up. Bring your M and 2.0s and lead your family by example.
  • If you post regularly, sign up to Q. F3 is a peer-led organization and only survives if members of the PAX step up to take their turn at the helm. If you want to make a bigger impact, SOB is building out the ranks of a leadership team and would likely welcome your help.
  • YHC will be the Q at Centurion tomorrow. Come see if I’ve got anything left. It doesn’t feel like much right now.

PreBlast: da Vinci Launch 1/16/16

See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
-Deuteronomy 1:21

The next great SOB AO is just sitting there. The least we can do is go up and take possession of it. Join us this Saturday at 7AM at the Blakeney Shopping Center to help launch F3 da Vinci with style. Coffeteria to follow at Starbucks. Stonehenge will be ending at 6:45AM on launch day, so doubling down is thoroughly encouraged.

We are excited to bring F3 to even more men in the Ballantyne and surrounding areas. The Blakeney AO was selected very carefully and deliberately. It is strategically located and is full of iron sharpening features that we’ll be utilizing for years to come. Get some!

Why “da Vinci”?: You may have heard of Leonardo da Vinci. He was a true creative genius; a master of painting, sculpture, invention, architecture, science, mathematics, engineering, music and on and on. This name sets the tone for the type of creative/thoughtful workouts that we’d like F3 da Vinci to be known for.

Where: Blakeney Shopping Center (corner of Rea Rd. and Ardrey Kell Rd.). Park in courtyard area in front of main fountain/playground area and gather in fountain/playground area.

When: Saturday, January 16th at 7AM

Style: Bootcamp

Site/Launch Q’s: Tuck and Mic Check

A mile, sprints, grinders

A 9 headed Hydra slithered forth this morning from the fart sack to embrace the cold and to get a few miles in.

The thang:
*20 SSH
*20 IW

* Run to Harris Teeter
*Grab coffee & donuts, oh wait we’re not Sofawib and it’s not raining
*Squats on the playground, wait for the 6
*10 good form, obligatory pull-ups OYO
*Partner up with someone of similar speed and head to the Frozen Tundra
*Race your partner across the Frozen Tundra, winner does 20 LBC’s, loser does 30
*Repeato with dollies, flutter kicks, Mercans
*Lunge walk across the other side parking lot, then do it backwards
*Gather FNG Jim (Nugent)
*Head to the church parking lot and grab a rock for some grinders
*Four laps to the donation bin while your partner does curls and overhead presses
*Back to the parking lot for a take out.

*Not naked but well layered Moleskin
Excellent group out today with a LOT of incredible speed. The past few months I’ve been keeping pace with Marge but at the HT he put it into fifth and must have done at least a 7:00 mile. A word to the wise, don’t partner with Icicle when racing unless you really want to do a lot of mercans or flutter kicks. Frosty Paws lived up to his nickname with those gloves, it felt unbelievably cold despite my phone saying it was 28. Speaking of cold, Jamboree and Puddin’ Pop, among others I believe were both wearing shorts. #crazyashell. At least Queen and I had the sense to bundle up. Welcome to FNG Nugent, good to have you brother. I look forward to many a genealogical discussions when I’m not doing head-bob pull-ups (kidding).

Thanks for the opportunity to lead, to grow stronger, faster, more mindful and conscientious. The take out by Frosty was an excellent reminder to me to strive to be more thankful for all of this.

See ya’ll again in the gloom.

~Finis

-Daisy

Chilly Rocks

11 posted for a strength builder this morning.

The Thang:

Quick jog to warmup
20 SSH IC
20 Merkins IC

Grab a lifting rock from the pile and head over to the small track

Place your rock on the ground, run a lap.

5 Rounds of
20 Curls
20 Merkins
20 Squats

2 Laps

5 Rounds of
20 Shoulder presses
20 Lunges
20 Tricep Extensions

3 Laps

50 Shoulder Presses
50 Merkins

Return the rocks to their home.

6 MOM
20 LBC’s IC
Protractor
20 Flutters IC
20 Rosalita IC

Moleskine:
It might not be as original as the Pax would like but effective for certain. I like the small track work in between the lifts, and the high reps hopefully brought the less ambitious rock selectors back to the crowd a bit. Lots of finger pointing, rock envy, and complaining this morning which always makes it a little more entertaining and hopefully is driven from a place of pain and aggravation as any good Q looks to create for the Pax. Everybody worked hard and I only heard one person admit to skipping reps…. it sorta rhymes with Fart Worst. Speaking of which, one of the pax to my left apparently layed down some thick methane for his bros who were breathing cold clean air up until that point. It’s all part of the experience Russ. I’m sure Bratwurst is going to tell me that it’s not all methane, that it contains nitrogen, hydrogen, etc… just like he killed our dreams of shooting stars, Santa, and the Easter bunny this morning. You have to have friends that give you the hard truth I guess. Stumphugger is not easily peer pressured, his rock was pumice and he was proud of it. Grease Monkey must be doing high weight low reps at the gym, complaining of curling a rock 20 times with 20 inch biceps…not buying it. Nice to see Tuck out, go see him at Blakeney on Saturday morning, new workout coming to town.