F3 Gastonia

Fitness, Fellowship, Faith

Author: Flintstone (Page 22 of 23)

Kicking off Race Week

March 19, 2021 / / 0 Comments

11 strong at The Sandlot to start off Race Week.  Bricks, stacking, loops, and bad directions made it just your typical morning in the gloom with YHC at the helm.  Here’s what I remember:

The Thang:

  • 20 x SSH (IC)
  • 15 x Mountain Climbers (IC)
  • 10 x Mike Tysons (IC)

Everyone grabbed bricks before the workout.  YHC suggested to grab however many you wanted and adjust as necessary throughout.  As the brick work is getting easier, YHC doubled up, and wanted to encourage others to do the same.

We did 3 rounds of AMRAP 50 seconds, with 15 seconds to transition in between of the following exercises:

  • Hammer Curls
  • Bent-over Rows
  • Pullovers (lying down, arms straight perpendicular to the ground, keep them straight and lower them to the ground over your head, then back up)

YHC learned to bring music from last time, and we heard some Blues Brothers,  Sam & Dave, and “Johnny B. Good” (“that Michael J. Fox song”).

Put the bricks up, and mosey down into the park for some “Rack ’em and Stack ’em”, a Dirt classic, where we mosey to the outside, do the next exercise, then Nur back to the middle to stack what we got on top of what was there.  Badly explained, we just did it, and it was easy enough in practice.

Exercises were:

  • 10 x Hand-release Merkins
  • 20 x Crunchy Frogs
  • 30 x Apolo Ohnos

Once we got through all three and their stacks, we took them back to the rack and unstacked them, so the whole thing looked like this:

  • 10 x HR Merkins
  • 10 x HR Merkins
  • 20 x Crunchy Frogs
  • 10 x HR Merkins, 20 x Crunchy Frogs
  • 30 x Apolo Ohnos
  • 10 x HR Merkins, 20 x Crunchy Frogs, 30 x Apolo Ohnos
  • 30 x Apolo Ohnos
  • 10 x HR Merkins, 20 x Crunchy Frogs
  • 20 x Crunchy Frogs
  • 10 x HR Merkins
  • 10 x HR Merkins

The Apolo Ohnos were something to see, as it was noted that it looked like Gastone was line dancing out there.

We wrapped it up with a Group relay Loop down at the soccer field where we split into 3 groups with 2 groups stationed on opposite sides of the field doing exercises while the 3rd group runs between them.  Once the running group meets an exercises group, they replace them and start doing the exercises AMRAP, while that group becomes the running group and runs to the other side of the soccer field to replace the other exercise group.  Repeato until time called.

Exercises were (AMRAP until the group came in):

  • 3 x Seal Jacks & 1 x Burpee (on repeat) on one end
  • Imperial Squats on the other

We didn’t get many laps in as time was running short, and Stinky Bird thankfully made sure YHC knew we needed to allot plenty of time to get back to the flag.  We wrapped it up and headed back as time expired on the workout.

Announcements:

  • Convergence 4/17 @ Bulldog
  • PT Test 4/24
  • Relays this weekend (P200, P70, Mortimer)
  • New AO in Dallas 3/27
  • Freight collecting socks & water bottles.  Donate equal numbers.

Prayer Requests:

  • Turtleman’s recovery
  • Joey Denton’s recovery
  • EZ Rider’s client with lung cancer
  • PAX looking for work

Moleskin:

Race Day is here.  Good luck to everyone representing F3 Gastonia in the P200, P70 and the Mortimer.  Stay safe and strong and get after it!

Yabba Dabba Doo

A stylin, profilin, kiss-stealin, wheelin & dealin beatdown, and the NEW Tag Team Champions of the WORLD

February 21, 2021 / / 0 Comments

5 of F3 Gastonia’s finest, and 1 from the Livermush Capital of the World took a little trip down memory lane and paired up with the PainLab to crown the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express as the undefeated tag-team champions.  Here’s what I remember:

Knowing Latte from F3 Shelby was coming in, YHC worked on Woody to try to get the band back together.  Woody’s been on the IR, but wanted to give it a go, so the stage was set.  Reached out to Tube with an idea, he was game, and with a late-night Weinke ready to roll, 7 o’clock came and it was time to go.

One problem.  No Woody.  Turns out Father Time catches up to all of us, and we just don’t heal like we used to.  To see if he was ready, he did some light work, and it wasn’t going to happen.  If you know Woody, he’s only got one speed, and that’s balls to the wall, so today wasn’t the day.

The Thang:

  • 10 x SSH (IC)
  • 10 x Hillbilly Walkers (IC)
  • 10 x Cotton Pickers (IC)
  • Train (5 Burpees – OYO)

At this point, we heard from the man himself and followed it up with

  • 4 Wooooo! x Ric Flair Burpees

Pledged and split and bootcamp moseyed to Grier.

When YHC was just a young Flintstone, my family started going to Brookleigh Baptist Church off Robinson Rd. in Gastonia.  Latte’s dad was the preacher there and Woody’s family attended very regularly.  It was the kind of church where everyone attended regularly and everybody knew everybody really well.  As we grew older, the 3 of us spent a lot of time together, and as the youngest, YHC was always a passenger in Woody’s Ford Taurus SHO or Latte’s Chevy S10.

So that explanation took forever, but not as long as it took to call the exercise.  In Triple Nickel fashion (but definitely not a Triple Nickel), we did 5 rounds and 5 reps at these stations:

  • BBC (Brookleigh Baptist Church)
    • Bonnie Blairs
    • Big Boys
    • Chuck Norris Merkins
  • SHO (Woody’s Ford Taurus SHO)
    • Sandy Vs
    • Hand-release Merkins
    • One-legged calf raises (each leg)

stopping halfway between stations for

  • S10 (Latte’s Chevy S10)
    • 10 x SSH

Took a couple rounds to find the rhythm of it, but it eventually went down like a nice raw egg.  Work done, on to the next one.

We used to play 21 a lot, not Blackjack, but the basketball version of 21.  Nutria explained it well, calling it “basketball without the rules”.  So we partnered up and each partner went a separate direction to do the exercise at that station, ascending in reps from 1-10.  2 partners x 10 reps = 20, and then you take a free throw to make 21 and win the game.  Stations were

  • Apolo Onos
  • Dying Cockroaches

With time running short, YHC called a number of Omahas, took advantage of rule changes that allowed my teammate a clutch second free throw (nice work Watts Up), packed up my balls and headed back to the shovel flag to meet up with PainLab.

As a teenager, Monday nights were all about wrestling, WCW Monday Nitro and WWF Monday Night RAW were in a battle of their own, and we watched Flair, Hogan, Stone Cold, HBK, the Undertaker, the nWo, DDP, The Rock, Mean Gene, and the whole cast of characters put on a show every Monday night.

Together with the PAX of PainLab, we put on a show of our own, with a little tag-team tournament.  After a trip to the Footmobile for some bricks and a quick split into partners we were ready.

The idea:

  • 2 Teams of 2 PAX squared off in 3 minute matches
  • PAX #1 does reps of called exercise and keeps count while PAX #2 holds a position
  • When PAX #1 can’t do any more, he “tags” in his partner, and the 2 switch
  • Total score for each team for each match is the combined total number of reps of the 2 PAX
  • Team with the highest number of reps wins the match

The Teams:

  • Tube & Dirty White Boy
  • Les Nessman & Flintstone
  • Nutria & El Toro
  • Bandit & Latte
  • Linus, Handcuff & FNG (Ziptie)
  • Dirt, Clavin & Hermie
  • Voodoo & Watts Up

The Exercises:

  • Merkins / Plank
  • Michael Phelps (w/bricks) / 6 inches
  • Overhead Presses (w/bricks) / Hold bricks to the side
  • LBCs / Lateral Planks
  • Standing Shoulder Taps / Bricks overhead

4 rounds of intense staredowns, lots of hollerin, and questionable counting led to a championship match between Voodoo & Watts Up (Rock ‘n’ Roll Express) and Dirt & Hermie (who got the name “Bert & Ernie”).  Rock ‘n’ Roll Express finished the job, remaining undefeated for all 5 rounds and earning the first tag-team title that I’ve ever given out.  I guess we need to have championship belts made and challengers to the title to make it official.

Had a blast with the guys from PainLab, as the tournament was a good time.  I didn’t even catch too much crap for coming in at 8:02 (as I recall, the best Monday night’s ran over too, so it was an authentic experience).

Announcements:

  • Strides of March – March 6th – Sign Up
  • Rooster – March 13th
  • Mortimer Team raising money – Sargento to post info

Prayer Requests:

  • Dirty White Boy w/programming course
  • Latte’s sister-in-law recovering from surgery
  • Firemen & Law enforcement officers
  • Texas and the south
  • Bandit’s friend Rob is doing better
  • T-Square & family
  • Tube’s brother-in-law w/addiction

Moleskin:

Part of growing up and getting older is the regular rotation of people into and out of life’s orbit.  Changes in homes and hometowns and jobs and phases of life and kids and their friends and parents generally mean that at any given moment on any given day, the people you spend the most time with and those you trust could be very different than those from, say 5 years ago.  We go our separate ways, lose touch, and find it hard to recreate the same conditions that brought us together in the first place.

It’s an obvious part of why family is important.  Whether your family is your family in a literal sense, or a group of people that have stuck with you through thick and thin, they’ve been there through all the phases and really know you.  They’re genuinely irreplaceable.

Latte and Woody who have been there through it all and still keep coming back for more.  Sure, some times are more frequent than others, but we’ve always got each others’ support, and a strong foundation built by years of trust that we can always lean on.

By joining F3 and being a part of the PAX, we inherit a family that will know us and support us to the extent that we allow ourselves to be known and supported.  The fundamental principles of inclusion (for all men) and the COT make this possible.  As we go hard and bump fists in The Gloom, we forge the same kind of foundation with our F3 brothers as we do our friends and family.  We lock shields with those most like us, and celebrate and mourn with each other as life happens.  The national reach of F3 means that no matter where we go, we have brothers in the area who have likewise done more Merkins and Burpees than they can count.

It’s why reaching out and bringing back Kotters is just so important.  Each day that goes by makes it harder for them to come back.  Injuries, life, or just chronic fartsacking have a way of derailing things and making a SadClown of anyone.  We can’t make decisions for anyone else, but a strong EH game and constant support can go a long way.  There’s too much good in F3 for men who have been a part of it and needed it to feel like they can’t be a part anymore.

At the end of the day, family is all we got.  I’m thankful for mine.  I’m thankful for Latte and Woody.  And I’m thankful for the men of F3 Gastonia.  Grateful, as always, for the opportunity to lead.

Yabba Dabba Doo

Where the Wild Things Are

February 15, 2021 / / 0 Comments

BOS, Pilgrim’s Progress, Tube and Flintstone rucked.

Sargento & JJ ran the loop.

Whoopee ran with DDC, then without DDC, then ran some more.

Announcements:

  • Strides of March

Prayer Requests:

  • Guys on IR
  • Tube’s Brother-in-law
  • Bryan Allf took a dive while running and had some nasty injuries – Be careful out there, especially in the dark

Moleskin:

As always, a great discussion during Q Source on a variety of concepts and topics.  In a discussion that kept coming back to the idea of “freedom”, this particular line from The Four Agreements stood out, “A Toltec becomes wise, becomes wild, and becomes free again.”  There’s an awareness and understanding about a man’s current state and the truths he believes.  There’s a draw to the Gloom, where a lot of the other rules don’t apply.  Where men can let it rip.  Where mumblechatter and candor are encouraged.  We do Completely Stupid and Utterly Pointless things regularly, and make sure that everyone else knows that we’re idiots, and by following us, you too are an idiot.  In the process, we find our authentic selves and continue that daily journey to be just a little bit better than the day before.  There’s a wildness, a freedom, and an authenticity to the Gloom that’s hard to find anywhere else.

Glad to be a part of it.  Always grateful for the opportunity to lead.

Yabba Dabba Doo

The Toboggan. It’s not just a runnerless sled.

February 10, 2021 / / 0 Comments

9 showed today for what was inevitably my last Q at The Ricky Bobby as I’m probably not going to be invited back to MHC headquarters after a workout consisting of merkins, Merkins, and more MERKINS.

Buckeye was out early for some EC, the rest showed up at go time, so we went.

The Thang:

  • 15 x SSH (IC)
  • 15 x Seal Jacks (IC)
  • 10 x Mike Tyson’s (IC) – (“Well that escalated quickly”)
  • 5 x X Plyo Merkins (IC) – Start from plank, narrow hands & narrow feet. Down -1, Up and off the ground into wide hands and wide feet position – 2, Down – 3, Up and off the ground back to narrow hands and narrow feet position – 4
  • 5 x Eskimo Merkins (My Count) – A Dirt specialty.  Down, nose to ground & up – 1.  Down, nose to ground & micromerkin nose to ground again for a total of 2 touches – 2.  Repeat to 5.
  • 30 x Mountain Climbers (IC)
  • 40 x Toe Touches (IC)
  • 30 x Freddie Mercuries (IC)
  • 40 x Flutter Kicks (IC)

YHC was calling for the bell at that point, and was glad the round was over.  Calling cadence got tough.  We knocked out the pledge and moseyed across New Hope to the church where more merkins were waiting.

YHC called it a triple nickel, but some disagreed with the name.  Not sure how it can get more triple nickel than 5 exercises of 5 reps 5 times.  Here’s what it was:

  • Side 1
    • 5 x Diamond Merkins
    • 5 x Pseudo Planche Merkins – Merkins with grip reversed, fingers pointing at toes, hands under belly
  • Middle
    • 5 x Burpees (One Way only)
  • Side 2
    • 5 x CDDs
    • 5 x Chuck Norris Merkins

After the call, YHC was reminded that the Site Q was none other than the President of the Merkin Haters Club.  Regardless, work was done by all.  Mosey back to the Scout Hut.

Partner up for something in the form of Lazy Dora.

  • Partner 1 – 25 x Squats
  • Partner 2 – People’s Chair w/air presses

Switch after each set of the 25 squats for a total of 150.

Mumblechatter picked up discussing Buckeye’s bright orange toboggan.  Those who are right say it’s a hat, or a “knit cap” as they call it when its 4 degrees below zero in Kenosha, WI.  Others who are wrong say it’s a specific type of sled.  Clarity and consensus is impossible to come by with both sides digging in.  Regardless, YHC is fairly sure that this workout will be remembered, at least in his mind, as “the toboggan” workout.  Mosey back to the flag.

Back in the circle, we pressed on with:

  • 30 x Mountain Climbers (IC)
  • 40 x Toe Touches (IC)
  • 30 x Freddie Mercuries (IC)

5 minutes still on the clock, and YHC was out.  Of plans, of gas, of brain activity.  Pretty much everything.  I had to call for an unprecedented 10 count in the circle before the last round of Flutter Kicks.  Done.  At this point, Buckeye and his orange toboggan came through in the clutch, with a reminder from the 1st F Q that we should incorporate stretching into our workouts when possible.  Saved.

  • 40 x Flutter Kicks (IC)

Kicked it to Buckeye for the last 4 minutes to stretch us out.

Announcements:

  • Extinction Run Saturday – Parking is going to be hard to come by, so park elsewhere and walk in if possible.
  • Bottoms Up at Primal @ 5:00 every Friday
  • March CSAUP – 3/6 – Strides of March
  • Mortimer Team Fundraiser – Bountiful Blessings Food Pantry – More information upcoming
  • Sargento with Q at Tequila Sunrise on Friday

Prayer Requests:

  • Sweetheart’s M with some unexplained loss of hearing

Moleskin:

My last Q at The Sandlot, discussion came up about the early days of F3 Gastonia, and how, at least in the minds of those reporting, there were more exercises and less running.  I remember during some of my few early-days posts the circle at the beginning would sometimes be longer and reps not just used as a warm up, but to push.  Not that the older was better than the new, in fact, I like what the running does to let you go see things and put on the miles while adding the variety of location.  But variety.  It’s a good thing.

Full disclosure, I reached out to Double Stuff to find some different Merkins to break out in this workout.  Needless to say, the list he sent reminded me of how much room I still have to grow.  A couple of them, I had no chance doing, as any flex in the elbow would have had me quickly collapsing to the ground.  But a couple of them I could, and so I modified a little off the list and put together a workout to give some of these things a try.  While we didn’t do a ton of reps, it’s still worth doing.  You’ve got to start somewhere.

Always a privilege to lead at TRB.  Maybe I’ll get to do it again someday.

Yabba Dabba Doo

Who said it was the women’s soccer team?

February 1, 2021 / / 0 Comments

12 @ The Sandlot for some brick work and YHC’s first stab at using a timer to time things.  Learned a lot along the way.

Chatter before 5:30 was on the length of Short Sale’s… backblast, and the ever growing legend of what Linus said Saturday.  Guess you had to be there.

The Thang:

  • 15 x Goofballs x (IC)
  • 15 x Seal Jacks (IC)

To the Footmobile for bricks, which were a chilly 0 degrees Kelvin and managed to suck out what little warmth was in our hands.  Then, to the park, bricks in hand.  Stop at the gate for

  • 10 x Merkins w/bricks (IC)

Then, mosey down to the end of the parking lot by the bathrooms for the Main Event.

We circled up for 1 minute each of the following 4 exercises:

  • Standing Shoulder Taps (AMRAP)
  • Skullcrushers w/6 inches (AMRAP)
  • Chest Flys (AMRAP)
  • Lunges w/Overhead Press (AMRAP)

Then ran a short lap around the parking spots before repeating the exercises for a total of 4 rounds.

Here’s what we learned:

  • If you use a timer, it’s best to bring music
  • The size of a nutria is up for debate.  Opinions ranged from rodent to groundhog to small pig.
  • There may or may not be a topless soccer team of an undisclosed gender playing in Macon, GA.
  • The “good ‘ol days” of F3 Gastonia weren’t so run heavy.  The running was often the worst part of a bootcamp workout for a lot of the PAX.  For whatever reason, the running doesn’t seem as bad any more.
  • Reasons for F3 names, workouts that broke us, and, of course, the cold of the bricks and the parking lot were all part of the mumblechatter

It all went by quicker and not as difficult as I expected.  With 4 rounds completed, we didn’t really have time for part 2, so we moseyed back to the start, stopping at the gate for

  • 10 x Merkins w/bricks (IC)

Once we got back, it was time for Mary:

  • 15 x Flutter Kicks w/bricks over head (IC) – Watts Up
  • 15 x Michael Phelps w/bricks (IC) – EZ Rider
  • 5 x Brickees (OYO) – Whoopee
  • 15 x Squats (Single Count) – Captain Stubing
  • 10 x Boxcutters (IC) – Nutria
  • Hold Plank, w/R&L Arms Up – Dry Rub
  • 15 x Lateral Raises (IC) – Dirt
  • 15 x LBCs (IC) – Linus

And that was it.

Announcements:

  • Roscoe’s 50th Birthday is today.  Roscoe is a leader of leaders, requiring the best out of all of us.  Much Respect to the newest member of the (R) club.
  • Nutria with the Q tomorrow at The Storm
  • Qs needed at The Sandlot and Downtown.  Reach out if you’re interested
  • Extinction Run – 2/13
  • The Rooster – Rock Hill – 3/13

Prayer Requests:

  • The family of Double Trouble
  • Tick Tock and family
  • EZ Rider’s family
  • JK2 & family
  • Those on the front lines

Moleskin:

First Q as Site Q, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to lead.  The Sandlot is a great place for a beatdown.  There’s a rich history in that parking lot and that park, and a lot more history to be made.  A number of the PAX there today got their start at Martha’s in one of it’s iterations, including YHC.

The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know, and the more I’m ok with all of it.

SYITG

Yabba Dabba Doo

Tammy Wynette and Single Count Confusion at The Storm

January 27, 2021 / / 0 Comments

A massive thunderstorm scared off all but 8, who put in work at The Storm of a different kind.  Here’s what I remember:

  • 10 x Goofballs (IC)
  • 10 x Don Qs (IC)
  • 10 x Hillbilly Walkers (IC)

The Thang

Unsure of what kind of conditions we’d be in, the plan was to utilize the cover, so we moseyed to the front door of the school to start things off with

Tammy Wynettes

  • Pax 1 does 10 reps of a ground exercise
  • Pax 2 does 10 reps of a standing exercise, matching the pace and rhythm of Pax 1 (“Stand By Your Man”)
  • Ground Exercise: 10 x Mike Tysons
  • Standing Exercise: 10 x Imperial Squats
  • 2 Rounds, so each Pax did both exercises 20x total

A bluetooth speaker would have been nice at this point, or even just the forethought to actually play the song with the speaker on YHC’s trusty iPhone, but that’s what a better Q would have done.  Anyways, that was quickly done, being only 2 rounds, so we moseyed back to the covering by the side door to unroll the instructions for The Main Event (“Because that was just the warm up.”)

The Main Event was a set of 11s as follows

  • Side Door
    • 1 Burpee
    • 1 Travolta (right arm)
    • 1 Toe Touch
  • On the way from the Side Door to the Front Door, stop for
    • 7 Squats
    • 7 Dips
  • Front Door
    • 10 Hand Release Merkins
    • 10 Travoltas (left arm)
    • 10 Toe Touches
  • Mosey all the way back to the Side Door

And it’s 11s, so you know the drill

For intermission, once the 5/6 round was completed, at the Side Door, complete the following before starting the 6/5 round:

  • 100 Flutter Kicks (Count 1 Side Only)
  • 100 People’s Chair Overhead Presses
  • PAX discretion on how to break these up

Too many instructions, and a lot to remember, but the rhythm of it all was pretty natural after the growing pains of the first round.  YHC made the mistake of declaring that he finally understood what “Single Count” meant, only to be confused again by the discussion that followed.  Surely there is an easier way to describe it.  YHC will stick to “one side only” while calling exercises and will ask for clarification from another Q for the foreseeable future.  No time for a second full round of Flutters or Wall Sits, or even to make up the 5 burpees for the train as we only had time for a few Flutter Kicks at the end of it all.

A quiet COT at the Side Door, either inspired by the intensity of the workout, a lack of sleep from the thunderstorms, or both.

Announcements

  • The Storm needs Qs, step up and lead
  • New Friday AO to be named this week; Orangeman is Site Q
  • Extinction Run – 2/13
  • Mortimer Ruck – See Watts Up if you’re interested

Prayer Requests

  • Our Country

Moleskin:

Outdoors.  Rain or Shine.  Part of what we learn in The Gloom is consistency.  Roscoe will be the first to tell you that “Tomorrow is Thursday and we hit The Pub on Thursday.”  When the decision is already made, it’s just a matter of executing the decision.  I’ve learned not to wait until the morning to decide whether or not to post, because if I did that, there’d be a lot of times that I wouldn’t make it.  No try, only do.

When it comes to consistency, there’s not better examples than Dirt, Watts Up, and Dr. Seuss.  Whether it’s leading EC at 0500 at a bootcamp, first in line to volunteer to Q, or posting twice on a Tuesday, you know these PAX will be there.  These HIMs push me every day.  It’s great to Q on uncertain days like this knowing you’re not going to be the only one showing up.

Watts Up hit 100 miles in January already this month, after getting painfully close during the November Challenge.  It’s not any easier, Watts Up.  You’re just getting stronger.  A well-deserved Most Improved PAX who isn’t slowing down.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

Yabba Dabba Doo

Did we go to the Parking Deck?

January 23, 2021 / / 0 Comments

A strong mix of regions at Downtown, with 9 men putting in strong work.  Burpees were done for trains that weren’t there, and the distance from the parking lot to the flag got a whole lot longer.  No frogs were squished in the execution of this bootcamp.

The Thang:

  • 10 x SSH (IC)

At this time, Purple Haze and Wirenut joined us, so we blessed them with

  • 10 x Monkey Hummers (IC)

Then on to

  • 10 x Hillbilly Walkers (IC)
  • 10 x Freddie Mercuries (IC)
  • 10 x Mountain Climbers (IC)
  • 10 x Mike Tysons (IC)

Pledge and Mosey to South & Second for

  • 5 Burpees (OYO)

Since the Sizzle Suicide is such a hit at The Goat, YHC brought it to a new crowd at a different AO.  We ran suicides up South with between Second and Franklin with telephone poles as the mark, stopping for LBC’s along the way as follows:

  • Run 1 pole – 10 LBCs
  • Run back – 10 LBCs
  • Run 2 poles – 20 LBCs
  • Run back – 20 LBCs
  • Run 3 poles – 30 LBCs
  • Run Back – 30 LBCs
  • Run 4 poles – 40 LBCs

During the last run, a truck turned down South and our game of Frogger got a little dicey, but a countoff afterwards confirmed that we were all accounted for.

We moseyed from Franklin back to the parking lot side of the Gaston County Administration Building, where a train inspired another round of

  • 5 Burpees (OYO)

And then we started a workout that probably already has a name, but YHC doesn’t know it, so we called it the Cyclone Stacker.  It went something like this:

  • 5 Burpees
  • Run a lap around the building
  • 10 Squats, 5 Burpees
  • Run a lap around the building
  • 15 Crunchy Frogs, 10 Squats, 5 Burpees
  • Run a lap
  • 20 Pseudo Planche Merkins, 15 Crunchy Frogs, 10 Squats, 5 Burpees
  • Run a lap
  • 15 Crunchy Frogs, 10 Squats, 5 Burpees
  • Lap
  • 10 Squats, 5 Burpees
  • Lap
  • 5 Burpees
  • Lap

HIPAA told me about the Pseudo Planche Merkins while I was prepping for a different Q a while back and I thought this was a good spot to bring them out.  The PAX disagreed, and there was a good amount of modifying.  They’re really not as bad as you’d think.  They’ll probably make a return to the Weinke in the near future.

Inside of 10 minutes to go, and looking for for some lunge work without a lot of instructions, YHC omahaed to a simple instruction

  • Lunge Walk back to the flags

On a Downtown post years ago, Whoopee had us lunging all over that parking lot, so I knew it’d been done before, and then some.  In the end, it seemed like the right amount – exhausting with the need to shake the legs out a couple times, but not impossible.

We were back at the flag with a couple minutes to spare, so it was time for some Mary that went down like this:

  • 20 x Mountain Climbers (IC – Wirenut)
  • 20 x Flutter Kicks with Arms Back (IC – EZ Rider)
  • 20 x American Hammers (IC – Purple Haze)
  • 10 x Crab Crunches (IC – Linus)
  • 20 x SSH (IC – Folgers)

Folgers wrapped up the SSH and the clock ticked 6:15.

Announcements:

  • P200 & Mortimer upcoming
  • Doodles put out a call for runners to join the P70 which is the last 70 miles of the P200.  Still need 1 more as of these announcements
  • Round Up and Hacksaw running 50 miles in 24 hours
  • Sparky is working on registrations for a Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters conference March 19-21 (same week as Mortimer & P200)
  • Linus has the Q next week at Downtown

Prayer Requests:

  • F3 Tick Tock’s family
  • Sister Act’s family
  • The Burr family (from EZ Rider’s church)
  • Gold Digger, Broke, Lil Nugget and family
  • Healing for our country
  • Blart’s M with some medical tests
  • Cougar’s grandma
  • Westside’s grandma

Moleskin:

Keep up the daily push to be better men, husbands, fathers and community leaders.  Proud to be a part of the PAX.

Yabba Dabba Doo

Early Morning SmokeOut at The GOAT

January 18, 2021 / / 0 Comments

14 strong at The Greatest AO Of All Time for a familiar, yet pretty thorough, beatdown.

No FNG’s and a quick disclaimer, where YHC pledged to be the Q for the entire day, only to be proven wrong almost immediately after as I turned it over to the one and only… Pilgrim’s Progress, who kicked us off.

The Thang:

Pilgrim’s Progress called each in cadence:

  • SSH x 20
  • Grass Pickers x 10
  • Mountain Climbers x 10
  • Merkins x 10
  • CDDs x 10

Next up, Sizzle Suicides (starting from Floyd & Blackies, up the hill on 8th):

  • Run 1 pole – 10 LBCs
  • Run back – 10 LBCs
  • Run 2 poles – 20 LBCs
  • Run back – 20 LBCs
  • Run 3 poles – 30 LBCs
  • Run Back – 30 LBCs
  • Run 4 poles – 40 LBCs

Then to the Rec Center for a round of Dora.  For this Dora, we’d start from the entrance to the Rec Center parking lot, find the biggest hill you could find, and Nur to the parking spaces in front of the apartments.  Then, mosey back.  In the meantime, your partner works towards these exercises:

  • 100 Hand-Release Merkins
  • 200 Squats
  • 300 Flutter Kicks

This was a grind.  The first round of HRM weren’t awful.  The second round were.  Also Nurring up that hill got old quick, but we at least got to entertain some guy in his parked car taking his early morning smoke break.  Nothing like seeing a bunch of guys running backwards at your car when you’re getting stoned.  Had Sargento been there, I’m pretty sure he would have EH’d him.

Once all that nonsense was over with, we moseyed back to the stairs behind the shops, where Sausage wasn’t quite sure how to count to ten.  We wrapped things up with a Triple Nickel–one set of exercises at the bottom of the stairs, run up the stairs, one set of exercises at the top, run back around the building to the start.

Bottom of the stairs:

  • Bobby Hurleys x 5
  • Oblique Crunches LS x 5

Top of the stairs:

  • Bobby Hurleys x 5
  • Oblique Crunches RS x 5

The burpees got cut due to time, though I doubt anyone really minded after the work done earlier.  I hadn’t got my timing right yet in a Goat Q, so I wanted to wrap things up as close to the COT as possible.  Turns out we finished up right on time, thoroughly smoked.

Announcements:

  • New AO starting tomorrow at Belmont Central
  • Gavel’s VQ on Monday 1/18 at Mt. Hollywood
  • Saturday is Breaker Breaker’s Birthday Q at the Yank, followed by a launch of Q Source
  • Saturday is also Buckshot’s 1 year F3 anniversary
  • Primal Friday 5:00
  • Baby Gold Digger
  • New Honor shirts out there

Prayer Requests:

  • Double Trouble (F3 Charlotte) on a ventilator
  • Stogie’s dad
  • Pilgrim’s Progress’s friend’s son’s heart condition
  • National Guard heading to Raleigh for riot control
  • Our country

YHC took us out

Moleskin:

Lots of men pushing the rock these days, but definitely want to give kudos to Sausage, who’s come out firing and has been a great addition to the PAX.

Thanks to Pilgrim’s Progress for the assist today.  He’s really been putting in work and expanding his F3 schedule.  Next up, a VQ, and hopefully soon.

Thanks to all for the prayers and the contacts while my son was sick and my family was quarantined.  It was my first time away since being a regular, and it sucked.  I can’t imagine how tough IR must be, when you mix the injury and not being able to get out there in The Gloom.

Thanks again to all for the opportunity to lead.

Yabba Dabba Doo

38 Goofballs, but No Cake

December 20, 2020 / / 0 Comments

It was a great day to turn 38, with a strong crowd of 22 including a FNG (Sweetheart) and a visitor for the occasion in from Shelby (Latte) for a birthday event with singing but no cake.

The Thang:

  • 38 x Goofballs (IC)

Seemed the most logical way to start a birthday beatdown.  Then to the pavilion, which had chairs set up, either for YHC’s birthday, or an event the night before.

  • 10 Burpees (OYO)
  • 10 Toe Touches (IC)

Up the hill to the picnic area for

  • 10 Dips (IC)
  • 10 Decline Peter Parkers (IC)

To the track for

  • 10 Mike Tysons (IC)

Then back down the side of the hill by the park bathrooms for

  • 10 Freddie Mercuries (IC)

The push of the PAX is one of the best things about F3, so the workout today was designed to be a partner workout where both partners complete separate parts of the workout, then come together for combined exercises before switching the workouts.  It went something like this:

  1. Dora 1-2-3
  2. PT Test 100 Round OR Elevens
  3. 400 Combined Flutter Kicks
  4. Elevens OR PT Test 100 Round
  5. 400 Combined MNC

Dora:

  • 100 American Hammers
  • 200 Seal Jacks
  • 300 Dying Cockroaches

PT Test 100 Round:

  • Run 1 Lap
  • 100 Merkins
  • 100 LBCs
  • 100 Squats
  • 100 SSH
  • Run 1 Lap

Same Rules as PT Test in that you can’t move on until you’ve completed all 100 exercises.  No splitting it up

Elevens:

  • Pavilion: 1 Burpee & 1 Toe Touch
  • Picnic Area: 10 Dips & 10 Decline Peter Parkers

Well by the time YHC had finished the opening monologue of instructions to get this workout in motion, we were almost 20 minutes in.  Everything quickly became double count, and we got in what we could.  All groups finished Dora, first workout, 400 flutter kicks, and were into the 2nd workout when time got short and we headed back to the Pavilion for COT.

Still waiting on the day when 100 Merkins feels easy.  MHC enrollment was up as a result of this workout.  The Hill on the Elevens had things at a crawl for the second group.

YHC apologized for talking too much.  The PAX said they wished there was even more talking.  Anyways, was a different way to lead a workout, and I think I’d try it again, maybe next time with a few fewer instructions.  I’d like to see how it’d turn out if given enough time.

To kick off the COT, the PAX broke into song, with a surprisingly on-key rendition of “Happy Birthday”.  These were not the same men who bellowed “The 12 Days of Christmas” at the Yank last week, that’s for sure.  The official F3 Gastonia Choral Director must have put in some work over the week.

Announcements:

  • BOS thanked everyone who participated in the Food Ruck and in donating cans
  • Convergence 1/9 @ Folsom in place of the Christmas Party
  • 10 miles from Coconut Horse on 1/1.

Prayer Requests:

  • Tiger’s hand
  • Orangeman’s daughter
  • Sister Act’s upcoming surgery
  • Slim Shady’s dad with chest pains
  • Norwood’s friend and wife dealing with separation
  • All those with COVID concerns

We welcomed Sweetheart to the group, as he mentioned marrying his “high school sweetheart” during the naming.  He wasn’t warned.  We look forward to seeing him back in the Gloom.

Always a privilege to lead, and this one meant a little extra with the birthday thrown in.  Also, thanks to Latte for making the drive down from Shelby.  He came out to the Shelby convergence and has been putting in work up there.  I’ll have to make a return trip to the Powderhorn to return the favor.

Still no sign of the cake.  I guess we will have to wait until next year.

Yabba Dabba Doo

Coconut Horse & Q Source – Year In Review

December 20, 2020 / / 0 Comments

4 ruckers and 1 runner at the Coconut Horse on a cold, wet morning that was less cold and less wet than YHC expected.

Q Source

Excellent discussion, as always, with these highlights:

  • The influence of media and information
  • The importance of maintaining a healthy Concentrica
  • Accelerating, goal setting, and fortifying gains
  • Overcoming an injury to reach a personal goal
  • Jon Gordon – One Word
  • The balance between speaking up and listening and utilizing both as a leader

Roscoe took us out with a joke about two Republicans and their meeting with God.

There are 2 great options for Q Source next year.  As you continue your Acceleration into 2021, consider adding a regular trip to Crossroads or the Coconut Horse to your routine.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

Yabba Dabba Doo

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