5 men faced down their fears and had a good workout, and a good laugh too.
The Thang:
After waiting for a good while for Mic Check to master his hand wraps (never happened) we began a rotation through boxing stations led by Chippy. We hit the punch bag some, hit the mitts some, and did a lot of shadow boxing. It was challenging to put any power into the bag since it was solid ice below it. The shadow boxing involved a lot of trash talk from Mic Check Mayweather.
Chippy was raring to hit someone and after about thirty minutes he sent us over to the hallowed patch of dirt and leaves known as “the ring”. After strict instructions to keep our punches to 25% or less the action commenced as follows:
Dead Lift vs Mic Check, Chippy vs Loogie, Haggis vs Deadlift, Mic Check vs Loogie, Chippy vs Haggis.
The power quotient steadily increased (this often happens in sparring) and I think we finished up around 50 – 60%. I think we all caught a few solid hits, and we all laughed our a$&@/s off at the showboating performed by a certain Mic Check. Problem is, the bugger is so quick he can get away with it.
Anyone who hasn’t tried Fight Club yet, you are missing a great workout and a good time. Sparring is optional – come on out and give it a try!
Temps were a little warmer and the PAX were in a chipper mood. Time for a classic beatdown at the Henge. Here’s what we did.
The Thang:
Mosey to parking lot for warm-up: 25 SSH, 20 IW, 15 merkins, and 20 mountain climbers (All IC).
Down to the lake for Ladders and Chutes. Ladder #1 = squats and decline merkins (11’s) and a lap around the lake. Ladder #2 = step ups and dips (11’s) and a lap.
Mosey down to the exercise trail and… AUDIBLE!!!… it was covered in ice. So continue on and do something different for upper body work (made up on the fly).
Partner up. P1 CDDs while P2 bear crawls across the lot and back. Flapjack. Then P1 does merkins while P2 crab-walks across and back.
Mosey across the street for some hill work. P1 runs up and down 3X while P2 does dollies. Then flapjack and repeat with flutters and finally LBCs.
AYG to the over pass and 3X people’s chair. (Regular, arm raises, arms out front)
Long mosey down to the soccer fields. (Note: had we tried the garage, that security guard was waiting for us again. Best to stay out of there for while.)
Circle up for a ladder up burpees with Mary in between. 5, 10, 15, 10, 5 X burpees alternating with heels to heaven, dying cockroach, LBC, peter parkers.
Mosey home and do some merkins to wait for the 6.
Moleskine: Mumblechatter was high throughout. Great group of guys and a real pleasure to lead. It’s only going to get better boys, this winter is on it’s last legs!
Announcements: Be on the lookout for some new 3rd F coming to Ballantine. Will probably be Tuesdays following Bagpipe at Einstein Bagels. Hops is looking for 2 men to lead – please reach out to him if you’re interested.
YHC had never been to Olde Providence – shameful as it’s an Area 51 site not too far from said home. Thankful Spackler had a midday tee time in Orlando and needed someone to take his morning Q. As I sat down to think of a game plan since I didn’t know the terrain, and I’ve never been Q for a moderate intensity either; I felt that I wanted to run through a variety of exercises – much like I myself needed to expand upon my comfortable 3 mile existence and visit more AO and meet brothers in pain.
…So after a High Tide led arm burnout (Pre-KB); YHC welcomed the 8 other PAX and off we went…
The Thang:
Warm up jog around track; backwards; karaoke; regular – mosey back over to parking lot.
Circle up:
– SSH x 20
– LBC x 20
– IW x 20
– Flutter Kicks x 20
– Slow Squats x 25
– Something!
– Carolina Dry Docks x 20
Partners – starfish – Middle partner with kettlebells – swings, presses, curls, pull; flutter presses – Partner runs to fire hydrant – 1 burpee and back; then 2 burpees; then 3; then 4; then 5.
Ppls Chair: air raises x 20; right leg up; left; right up with air raises; left. recover
Circle of merkins on curb: 12 oclock; 3; 6; 9 x 3; catch a breath; repeat x 2
Ppls Chair with 10 air raises x 3
Triple Nickle (5 merkins – run to playground – 5 pull up); repeat
Mosey to benches: dips x 20 x 2; incline merkins x 20 x 2.
Catch me if you can with Kettlebells (5 presses kettlebell).
Circle up for Mary: LBC; Rosalita; Heels to Heaven; Dolly; Russian twists; Dolly; Makhtar N’Diayes
Moleskin:
Fellow Disclaimer: Whenever you make it up on the fly at an AO you’re not familiar with – don’t expect a precise BB. Those men that were in attendance knew what we did. That being said, the above is a taste of the randomness that we did today. See a curb…hmm. I bet we can do a crazy merkin exercise. That’s how our crazy F3 minds work now; and that’s a great thing.
– Props for scissorhands and bootlegger for running in. Bet you didn’t expect running with KB when you decided that!
– High Tide was killing the pull ups – Pre KB didn’t slow him down.
– Heartbreaker was lapping everyone. Almost a year in and he’s showing how F3 transforms us.
– Sid the Kid has a month in. What possesses us to start early morning bootcamp workouts in the winter? He knows as of us F3 brothers do. Tclaps Sid – keep it coming!
– Haven’t been to Saturday Cofferteria in a while; YHC missed great 2nd F after a good beatdown.
– Hope everyone was pushed; while still feeling moderate was the recipe.
– Honor leading today. Stone Cold with a great closing prayer. Let’s keep everyone that needs prayers in our hearts. Thanks to Spackler for asking me to help him out. Enjoy the warmth. Don’t work too hard!
Odd to see other cars in the parking lot at 6 AM. My first thought was ‘Who would be out here at 6 AM?’. After realizing the irony of this thought (and the realization of the idiot who thought it), let’s get going.
Pre-work
Kettle bells by CounterTop and Drop Thrill
Running tour of the campus by Glass Joe and The Late Show
The Thang
Mosey to the shovel flag and circle up.
COP
Gather around and let’s get warm
Side straddle hops
Imperial walkers
Windmills
Low slow squat
Here’s Donut Hole….
Let’s do more windmills… What y’all can’t read my mind on when to stop?
Peter Parker Mtn climbers
Let’s go warm up some more
Mosey to the outhouse
Peoples chair
Coconuts over banana wall walk x 3
Peoples chair with some air press
Line up side by side and Plank up facing somebody for a little plank-o-Rama. Down to 6 inches. Hold…. Up and shift to the left. Repeato for a few rounds.
Back on the wall.
Done and mosey to practice field.
Over to the dip bars.
Partner up by speed.
P1 runs 30-40 yds while P2 does hand release merkins.
Flapjack
Repeato
Next round Turkish get ups.
Next round supine rows.
Finish up The Late Show with a panther crawl across the field.
Handoff to Glass Joe.
Let’s mosey to the back road.
Keeping your same partner from before, I give you two paths you can run:
1) Run along the back road to the parking lot behind the elementary school
2) Run along the trail around the field to the parking lot behind the elementary school
Or you can run a full track of 1&2
A full track would be roughly 3/4ths of a mile.
While P1 runs, P2 begins perfect form merkins (thanks to our sensei of form The Late Show for showing us the perfection).
Flapjack until 200 perfect form merkins combined are completed.
Since this took longer than I expected (which is actually good as PFMs should be a slow burn to get through since you are nearly kissing the ground each time down), we begin the Native American run back to the flag.
And there are those elevated telephone poles so let’s all scale them (thanks to CT for showing form).
Mosey back to the flag.
Hand off Q to Donut Hole for MOM in honor of his upcoming deployment.
3MOM
LBCs x 20
Flutter x 15
Dolly x 15
DONE
Moleskine
Strong work by all the men today. TLS was giving you a full body workout to get you warmed up for some running. We ended up at 3 miles according to Map My Run. Great to have Tough Skins out and hope we see you again. It was a honor to lead the guys today with lots of chatter and an unfortunate reference to spin the bottle (thanks TLS).
Announcements
Mud Run signups continue. Think we have at least 4 now for sure signing up.
Pray for our Outland Brother Z.
And finish with a strong prayer by Drop Thrill with the PAX surrounding Donut Hole.
Aye, out of the Gloom came multiple Metro Clown Cars, gathering to check out the Union County phenomenon that is … Commitment. AP and OBT on the Q.
The Thang:
AP Leading: Mosey to open area.
COP with SSHs, squats, merkins (kind of), flutters.
Run to practice football field.
Four corners (10 merkins)
Four corners (20 knee-ups)
Four corners (10 burpees)
Four corners (10 Turkish Get-ups)
Mosey to game football field. Split into two groups.
Run to top of each stairwell and down. Five merkins.
Repeat until all bleachers completed.
Handoff to OBT.
OBT Leading: The Dirty MacDeuce
Set 1: Wide-Arms, LBCs, Mountain Climbers
1 lap around the track
Set 2: Stagger Merkins, R then L, Rosalita, Jumping Lunges
1 lap around the track
Set 3: Jack Webbs (1 merkin, then 4 air presses x 12), Bicycles, Rock Hoppers
1 lap around the track
Set 4: Crab Rolls, Protractor, Burpees
1 lap around the track
Mosey back to the start for COT.
Spreadsheets from the Gloom:
_ AP: To me, the ultimate microcosm of F3 is the “lift-up workout.” Four years ago, I was out of town when The Rock’s workout started a trend that I say should never end. I’ve been on the receiving end of this while my M was recovering from a big surgery, and it’s one of the most powerful, moving experiences. I am and was honored to do this for Ice 9 and his M. Lots of Metro PAX in attendance. That was a testament to the man and his leadership.
_ OBT: Also great to see Bratwurst near his home turf. The Union County guys inform me that Marvin is the Eastover of Union County, so we really appreciate Brat’s willingness to slum with us over in hardscrabble Weddington.
_ AP: The first COP stalled a bit with a pinch in the wrist. I got deserved crap from the PAX/Incognitians for stopping the merkins and moving into something else. 50 flutters usually quiets the pax, and it did.
_ OBT: We had half of Team South Beach AND Pat Riley out for this workout, so Ice9 must be doing something right. Rumor has it the Black Tahoe got pulled over on 485 for an out-of-date license plate sticker and a trophy tied to the top of the vehicle; otherwise Cindy and 5-0 definitely would have been there.
_AP: LOVE this AO. Great for stairs, four corners, COPs, etc. Fun to do all of those.
_ OBT: All that, plus a nice track and a picturesque little bridge over the creek? I might need to look into those Union County taxes …
_BONUS: Chick-fil-a was doing free coffee day. Little did they know what hit them.
_ OBT: No one’s yet convinced me that Lizard’s Thicket in Cola isn’t the best Coffeeteria AO in all of F3, but … a trip to Commitment’s Chick-fil-A might be in order just to watch Ben Stein’s Money talk the counter girl into firing up the milkshake machine at 0745. Very strong.
_ T-Claps to Ice9 for what he has built with a ShovelFlag and a little #GingerLove. You guys have everything you need to build something great in UCo.
AP and OBT
It was mona a mono, man vs man, team vs team and an individual challenge as 12 men had to dig deep to overcome the competition. Based off the CMT show Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge which prides itself on finding the toughest athletes in a head-to-head, elimination style competition, Olympus got to see some great battles today!
The Thang:
Warm Up:
– Burpees x 10
– Slow Squats x 20
– LBC x 30
– Merkins x 40
– Monkey Humpers x 50
TEAM and Mono a Mono CHALLENGE:
– 2 Team Captains, name teams (Ultimate Warriors and The Moonies)
– 2 Teams of 6; each round 1 from each team competed in challenge
– Winning Team hands out the PAIN as penalty
– During Challenges, Teams do KB exercises non-stop until challenge over and a winner named
– Losing Team Penalties: Burpees, Merkins, Monkey Humpers, etc.
ROUND 1: HAIRBURNER RACE 50 YARDS
– Team 1 and Team 2 each send 1 competitor for 6 rounds
– P1 and P2 start at cones, Push Plates 25 yards to other cone and return back
– Winner is the one that makes it back first
– KB High Pulls – Team performs non-stop during all 6 rounds until everyone gets a chance to compete
– Losing Team Penalties: Burpees, Merkins, Monkey Humpers, etc.
ROUND 2: KETTLE BELL GRAB AND GO
– Team 1 and Team 2 each send 1 competitor for 6 rounds
– P1 and P2 compete. Stand at cones 40 yards apart. 45Lbs Kettle Bell in the middle
– At start, men sprint to the KB and must wrestle bell away from the other and bring it to the other end
– Winner is the one that makes it to the end with the bell
– KB Lawn Mower Rows – High Pulls during all 6 rounds until everyone gets a chance to compete
– Losing Team Penalties: Burpees, Merkins, Monkey Humpers, etc.
ROUND 3: TUG OF WAR
– Team 1 and Team 2 each send 1 competitor for 6 rounds
– P1 and P2 compete in Tug of Way
– Winner is the one that is able to pull opponent 15 yards past the middle cone
– KB Swings – Team performs non-stop during all 6 rounds until everyone gets a chance to compete
– Losing Team Penalties: Burpees, Merkins, Monkey Humpers, etc.
ROUND 4:BICEP CURL-OFF
– Team 1 and Team 2 each send 1 competitor for 6 rounds
– P1 and P2 compete by facing each other, picking up 65lbs Ollie Bar and going rep for rep until 1 man gives up
– KB Snatch – Team performs non-stop during all 6 rounds until everyone gets a chance to compete
– Losing Team Penalties: Burpees, Merkins, Monkey Humpers, etc.
ROUND 5: INDIVIDUAL SANDBAG RELAY RACE
– 1 competitor at a time
– Starting at cone, sprint 30 yards and pick up 65lbs Sandbag, run back to cone with bag and drop it off
– Sprint 50 yards and pick up 135lbs Sandbag, run back with bad to the Start Point
– Winner is the one with the fastest time
– KB Press, Mary, Rows etc. – Team performs non-stop during all 12 rounds until everyone gets a chance to compete
COT
Moleskine:
Hats off to everyone out there today! The efforts and spirit of competition had us raise the bar while keeping great sportsmanship in place. YHC wanted to bring something different and hope the Pax enjoyed it. T-Claps to Mighty Mite who crushed his own time and set the record with 25:95 in the bag run….6 seconds faster than his first run…and a huge THANK YOU to Fireman Ed who lugged those bags round after round so the Pax could compete.
End Result…The Ultimate Warriors destroyed The Moonies most of the rounds!
Look out for every 3rd Saturday of each month for Hoff’s GEAR DAY at Olympus.
It was an honor and pleasure leading such a strong group of men today.
Respectfully – The Hoff
8 men showed up for #DayZero. Here’s what we did.
The Thang
Purple Haze Q:
Run halfway around the track, out the back entrance onto Baybrook to the Rose parking lot for COP.
Line up along the curb for the burpee (Mayan) pyramid.
Mosey to the front of the school for some bench work.
Joker Q:
Partner up for some playground and track work.
Circle up on the basketball court for Mary.
Mosey back to playground for more pull-ups. Alternate with partner for sets of 10, 8 and 6.
Mosey back to school for people’s chair with air presses. Then 15 incline merkins on curb. Back to people’s chair with air presses. Then 15 decline merkins on curb. Done.
Solid takeout by Simba.
Moleskine
It was just like old times at #DayZero. @Radar thought he was back in charge, heckling everyone in sight, running his playbook of @PurpleHaze jokes to perfection. It was nostalgic really.
But there was also progress, with the return of @Baracus and @Mall Cop and the presence of site FNG @Simba. Simba even stepped up to take us out this AM…probably just didn’t realize we already have a site chaplain.
And of course @Garbonzo, @Joker and @Teddy have DZ in their blood now. However, the new site-Qs were missing…apparently having no concern for the fact that they are within the 90-day probationary period…sending some last minute tweet about participating in a 10-miler this morning.
Announcements
With the temps hovering around 10 degrees this morning, what better time to max out the misery index by introducing hairburners to The Brave!
The Thang:
Run to closest parking deck for warmup: run to the top and on the way down, 20 SSH and 15 IW at level 3, 15 merkins and 20 squats at level 2, 20 mountain climbers and 10 burpees at level 1. Continue down to the basement.
Set one: “People’s Monkey Balls to the Wall.” (Stole the name from Bratwurst… Dromedary favorite) 30 seconds of people’s chair, 30 sec of donkey kicks, 30 sec of balls to the wall. Repeat 3X then run to the top of the deck and back.
Set two: Divide the length of the basement into thirds. 1/3 = lunge walk, 1/3 bear crawl, 1/3 broad jumps. Down and back.
Run ~1 mile to parking lot for hairburners. Partner up. P1 run up and down the side hill 5x. P2 does hairburners across parking lot (note: nice slope on the parking lot as well). Flap jack. Rinse and repeat.
Run back to launch point and finish up with alternating burpees and Mary until time expires.
Moleskine:
At The Brave, we’re always looking for ways to make running harder. One of the best ways to improve your time in a mud run is to practice coming out of a tough pain station or obstacle, and continuing to run at a good tempo. The sets we did in the parking garage were tough, and as we all know, hairburners are as bad as it gets. If you can keep running after stuff like that, you’re ready!
Thanks to MT for bringing the plates, stashing them and coming up with a good format. I thought it worked well but also think we could do an entire Brave workout one day around hairburners. Food for thought.
Announcements: Sparten Race is day after Mud Run. Several guys looking for others to ride with.
As my one year anniversary in F3 quickly approaches the end of March, it’s one of those times that writers like to wax nostalgic and tell you all about achievements and all such nonsense.
I really won’t bore you with details like fifty six pounds lost so far, hopefully sixty or more by end of March. Or races run, or GORUCK’s completed. Again, not going to bore you with those stats, and try and toot my own horn. OK I guess I just did, but I know I haven’t gotten here alone.
What I do want to share is just some encouragement to my brothers.
No Man Left Behind is many PAX’s slogan and they truly live it. I’m usually the #six at most workouts but there is almost always a brother that comes back and checks on me or runs with me and I’m always grateful to not be left behind. We all say I Am Third, but it’s another thing to live it.
I think of a brother who on a whim decided to run with me at the Joe Davis 5k just because he saw I was running alone.
I think of going to my first Metro workout, knowing no one except the site Q via Twitter and finding the brothers cheering me on as I ran in for COT.
I think of my first post, the end of March 2014 when I was sucking O2 and these guys were telling me I was doing great, even though I knew better.
A few weeks ago I was down on myself for always being last, always being the six and always feeling like I had so far to go to improve. Then someone told me about Gnarly Goat’s previous story about The Goat or the Anchor Man from the Naval Academy.
You see, in the Naval Academy everyone is ranked, just like most schools. And the person that comes in last place is lovingly nicknamed The Goat, or the Anchor Man.
It would be easy to look at the last guy and think, wow he’s slow, wow he’s not very good, and wow he came in last place. But that’s not quite true is it?
The Goat is last place in the NAVAL ACADEMY. These guys are the best of the best. These guys will go on to serve our navy and our country in amazing ways and become leaders in their communities.
So last isn’t really last, when it’s last among the best. The best are still the best, even if you’re worst of the best, you’re still one of the best.
Then that brings me to F3. Many of you guys are really amazing athletes. You run fast, are strong and I never see you sucking wind unless you’ve been carrying me across a football field or something along those lines.
It’s easy for me, the six, to get discouraged, but when I realize that I’m among some of the best, even to be the worst of the best, is still the best.
F3 is changing lives, families, communities and yes even the world. We are all the best of the best, and even the worst of the best, is still the best.
Never forget about the six. Never forget how it felt to be a FNG and feel like you were going to die that first workout. Always look out for the slow guys, or the guys that aren’t as advanced as you are.
I’ve taken a different view on being last these days. I’m looking out for the PAX now. I’m looking out for the six, and making sure no one is left behind. Funny how when I focus on others, the pain of the workout lessens, and my joy increases.
Thank you brothers for the many, many ways you have invested in my life this past year and I look forward to paying it forward in 2015 – The Year of the Goat.
7 pax came together in the gloom to begin what would become a world wide tour of the campus @ Joust. Mr. Brady would be the tour guide. As we exchanged stories getting ready for the bell to ring at 5:30am, Mr. Brady enlightened us w a story when he experienced a frost bitten winkey on a run up in Boston. Feel free to reach out to him for further details.
The thang…
Mosey to end of parking lot where we circled up for a little COP. SSHx20, hillbilliesx20, mountain climbersx20, mosey to the track…
Indian run one lap around track, another lap around track with 10 Merkins in corner 1, 20 squats in corner 2, 10 Merkins corner 3, and 20 squats corner 4. A 3rd lap around the track w 20 split squats in corner 1, 20 squat jumps in corner 2, 20 split squats in corner 3, and 20 squat jumps in corner 4.
Mosey over to grand ma mountain where we ran up and did 12 pull-ups and ran back down, ran back up and did 12 hanging leg ups and ran back down, ran up backwards and did 12 derkins and ran back down.
Mosey over to stadium steps and partnered up. Did wheelbarrows up steps w 10 burpees at top. Flap jack w partner.
Run up to Blue door and do wall sits for 30 seconds. Mosey down to football field and do suicide sprints from goal line to 50, goal line to 40, goal line to 30, etc…. Between each sprint do 10 Merkins, 20 lbcs, 30 squats.
Mosey back up to blue door and do balls to the wall w 5 hip slaps.
Mosey to walk way and do 10 broad jump burpees and then lunge walk to parking lot where we sprinted to end of parking lot and back doing 6 lbcs at each light pole.
Mosey to vehicles for COT.
Shortest COT in the history of F3. Count off, no namarama, pray, see ya! As teachers and faculty arrived, one teacher rolled down his window and questioned our sanity as why we were running in single digits! He accused us of being a bunch of animals which we took as a compliment. Nice lead Mr. Brady!!! Job well done. See you @ Joust next Fri w Lobster Roll on Q. Bring an FNG!!