Author: Nutria (Page 1 of 10)

The 8 pax (including one FNG) who came out to The Ricky Bobby learned that pigs’ teeth are sometimes used to help train military dentists, and some beetles can grow to be nearly the size of your fist.  And, according to a former Nantan who made an impromptu appearance, there is no “correct order” to the 5 core principles.  It’s a matter of interpretation, but I’m sure that topic will resurface when Mayor has his next Q or at happy hour, whichever comes first.

Anyway, here are a few other things that went down in The Gloom.  With an FNG in attendance, I gave a full disclaimer and a standard warmup of side-straddle hops, imperial walkers, low-slow squats, merkins, and LBC’s (all 12xIC).   Then we moseyed to the back parking lot, stopping for 5 burpees on the way. That’s also when Orangeman pointed out a humongous gnarly green beetle on the sidewalk near the school entrance.  Maybe he was trying to warn us about something?  Nah…

At the far corner by the playground, I explained the “4 Corners” format of 4 exercises x 12 reps each at every corner.  Oh, and to get from one corner to another we would bear crawl the short legs and Nur from the 4th back to the 1st.

1st set = CDD’s, Nolan Ryans, Squats, Dying cockroaches
After the first set, we paused to recite the 5 Core Principles.

2nd set = Hand release merkins, Superman pull-ups, Squats, American Hammers
After the second set, we paused to recite the credo and mission of F3.

3rd set = Big boys, Heels to Heaven, Scissor kicks, Star crunches.
Since the 3rd set was all core, we naturally recited the 5 core principles again.

At 0607 we had some time for set 4, which was a “rinse and repeat” of the previous 3 (Set 1 at Corner 1, etc).  After 3 corners, we moseyed back to the flag just in time for pledge and COT.  Our FNG had plenty of name possibilities as a dentist, Air Force veteran, father of two, bourbon aficionado and volunteer swim coach, but “Novocaine” fit best as he kept up with the pax for the duration and seemed immune to the pain of the beatdown.  He also cut Tesla short in the middle of one of his snarky questions, enlightening us that pigs’ teeth are a lot like human teeth and often used for dental education.  Welcome, Novocaine!

Announcements: F3 Dads this Saturday 0700 at Martha Rivers Park; 2nd F lunch next Wednesday 19th at Bubba’s 33; Traditional July 4th beatdown at The Yank will start at 0630.

Lots of prayer requests:  Eh Y’all’s mother-in-law, Kool-Aid, Lane Lineberger, Barnes family, friends of Orangeman and Nutria, and all marriages.

Thanks to all the pax who came out today, both new faces (Eh Y’all first time and Kool-Aid back in action) as well as the regulars.  It’s a privilege to lead and get the day started out right.  Aye!

Just 30 minutes before the workout, I asked Hunchback to create a playlist to facilitate discussion about essential movies for our kids to see.  The plan worked well as mumblechatter ranged from “What movie is this one from?” to the value of real estate agents and do they really earn their commissions?

After the pledge and Hei Hei’s warmup, we did 3 circuits of exercises, 45 seconds each followed by 15 seconds rest to mix in with the mumblechatter:
Set 1 (repeat 3x) = Deadlifts, Overhead presses, Pullovers, Star crunches, Flutter kicks
Set 2 (repeat 3x) = Swings, Hand-release merkins, Rows, Big boys, Reverse crunches
Set 3 (repeat 3x) = Step-ups (or squats), Curls, Babymakers, American hammers, Scissor kicks

With 3 minutes to go, we put away coupons and planked til the end.

I’ve been away a lot over the past 3 weeks, so this was a great way to start a Saturday with a lively group of HIM’s.  Thanks for the privilege to lead!

Announcements:  Convergence to honor Turtleman Monday 0530 at “Neverland”/Sandlot; F3 dads at Martha Rivers next Saturday 6/15 at 0700; check Slack for other stuff going on.

Several prayer requests I can’t recall; Hei Hei took us out.

After a tornado-like storm swept through Gaston County in the wee hours of the morning, I wasn’t sure what kind of conditions to expect at The Yank.  Though the clouds had moved on, I arrived at Stowe Park to find a storm of 5 – yes, 5 – FNG’s along with 13 pax ready to rock & roll.  Come to find out that all 5 FNG’s were visiting Brutus and Big Lizard from Ann Arbor, Michigan.  With just a slight tweak to the Weinke, I hoped to keep them engaged for the full 60 minutes.  At 0700 we moseyed right over to the Bunker for disclaimer, warm-up (usual stuff), and recitation of the 5 Core Principles.  Next moseyed up the hill next to the railroad tracks.  The Thang was a “4 corners” routine.  At each corner was 90 seconds of work (pair of exercises, AMRAP, switch as needed):
 – Hand release merkins / American hammers (first round, all 4 corners)
 – Bobby Hurleys / Superman pull-ups (second round, all 4 corners)

At some of the corners, I challenged the pax with some Memorial Day trivia – wrong answers incurred a penalty of 5 burpees.  Even though Whoopee tried to lead the pax astray, Tesla and Watts Up (combination of extreme age and extreme knowledge of history – take a guess who’s who…) knew that Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, first celebrated in 1865 to honor fallen soldiers of the Civil War.  They did get tripped up, though, on the fact that “Decoration Day” was first celebrated on May 30, 1968, then officially became the “Memorial Day” federal holiday in 1971 when it also moved to the last Monday in May.  5 Burpees!  Whoopee might have done extra, but who’s counting? 

In between exercises and trivia questions and the usual Q-heckling from the usual suspects, we got to know our FNG’s.  They’re all students or recent graduates on their way to various careers – none in our region, unfortunately.

For the third round of 4 Corners (Mike Tyson / Flutter kicks), I had to slow down our bat-flipping FNG’s, so instead of moseying to the next corner, I called Carioca for the first two legs and “nur” up the hill back to the start.  Time was getting short, but we got halfway through the last round (Plank jacks / Penguins) before finishing out with 2 minutes of Mary.  Welcome Bacon, Hose, Laimbeer, Moonshine and Aunt Esther!

Announcements:  PT tests and F3 dads coming up in June, check Slack.

Prayers:  Turtleman, Jackson Curtie, Gavel’s nephew in car wreck, Big Lizard. 

I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately and had the chance to revisit Princeton, NJ where “Noodle” delivered a beatdown worth repeating.  So I shamelessly stole it, including the new warmup “exercise” called Weed Pickers – same as gravel pickers, cotton pickers, grass pickers, etc., EXCEPT the hand clap is behind your back.  Unlike those other kinds of “pickers,” weed pickers just might be a real exercise!  OK, maybe not, feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.  Maybe it’ll become one of Mayor’s discussion topics at happy hour…

After the weed pickers, I called 5 burpees – at the faintest echo of a train horn in the distance – before Radar could even protest!

Enough warmup, on to The Thang – a simple “EMOM” routine that I also stole from Noodle:  1. Mosey for 60 seconds; 2. Stop to exercise for 60 seconds; rinse and repeat until time.  Exercises were:
 – Flutter kicks
 – Perfect form merkins
 – American hammers
 – Jungle boy squats
 – Mountain climbers
 – Mike Tysons

We moseyed towards downtown Belmont and the track behind the old middle school, stopping at prescribed intervals along the way.  Mumblechatter was light at first but picked up steadily by the time we crossed Central Ave.  At the track, the usual mosey was replaced by nur and karaoke both ways before it was time to head back.  (Thanks to Flintstone for a not-so-subtle nudge about what time it was.  I had miscalculated how late it was and really didn’t want Flintstone to be right, but dammit he was right.  So we reversed directions around the track and headed back to the flag. )  The moseys back to start might have stretched a little longer than a minute, but the six came in right on time for COT.

Announcements:  Rice n Beans 5/14 – HC to Anchorman.  2nd F lunch 5/15 at Ray’s.  Extinction run 5/18 – come out even if you’re not running, show support!

Prayers:  Praise to Jane Fonda getting married, also Tooth Fairy and Flintstone’s son getting new jobs!  Prayers for those with storm damage, kids in school, Termite, Tesla, and pax on IR.

It was a privilege to lead – thanks to all you HIM’s who showed up and followed!
 – Nutria

Be on the lookout, next time I Q, I’ll be calling “weed pickers” and “arm pretzels” courtesy of Noodle at The Big House in Princeton, NJ.  (If you’re thinking those aren’t actually exercises, I won’t argue otherwise, you can air your grievances while we do them anyway.) See actual bb below.

Laps Around the Square

During a business trip to Chicago, I agreed to swap dates with Maybelline so he could “smartsack” for Ville to Ville.  A few stories from Thursday’s “Dip City / F3Chicago” workout gave me a good starting point for Friday’s Weinke. 

“Chick” got to know Slaughter – CEO of F3 Nation who Q’ed Downtown not too long ago – a few years back.  So, after the standard disclaimer, we got right to the point and kicked off with the “Slaughter Starter” – 20 burpees OYO.  This was an immediate crowd pleaser but effectively set the tone for the next 44.5 minutes of pain.  20 burpees behind us, next was a gem from “GTL” (named for the Jersey Shore reality TV star for those who remember that monstrosity of a show) called the Leprechaun.  In cadence, it’s hopping back and forth (not bending over), touching your hand to opposite toe.  Bedpan got a little excited and made this into a full-blown jig, so look for it to be repeated next time he Q’s at your local AO.

To move from Warmup to Thang, I organized a small tribute to the late OJ Simpson, the “OJ Mosey.”  One pax led with a slow Bronco pace while 2 single-file lines followed in Indian-run fashion, but the last pax in each line did one burpee before sprinting to the front (but still behind OJ – err, Pallbearer).  The slow-speed chase, I mean mosey, took us to the parking garage. 

To get to the top of the deck, we bear crawled up the ramps and nurred across the flats. At the top I called for some extra-dirty 11’s: Mike Tysons and Jungle Boys, with a Kraken burpee in the middle on every back-and-forth.  This was more taxing on the shoulders than I’d planned, but these HIM’s pushed through.  Some of us learned that Chicago is known as the “Windy City” not because of the wind, but because there are a lot of “windbag” politicians blowing hot air.   We also found out that the Chicago Hilton embosses its silverware (ask Bedpan how he knows). 

Going back down the parking deck, we carioca’ed both ways across the flat levels.  This took some time and a significant toll on hip flexors.  We then returned to the flag with another OJ procession, this time with Volt in the lead.  With 8 minutes left, we did calf raises (10xIC) on each step up to the pavilion then finished out with exactly one round of Mary and the pledge. 

Announcements = 2nd F lunch at Simonetti’s this Wednesday,  Goonies event 5/4, Extinction Run 5/18

Prayers = V2V runners, Purple Haze’s coworker Rory, Bo Thompson’s daughter, praise for Tube helping Hei Hei find an apartment

Thanks to the HIM’s who posted this morning – it was a pleasure to lead!

 – Nutria

Second rainy Wednesday in a row.  After a pretty standard warmup, I explained the simple format:  One pax rolled the die and chooses one of two exercises corresponding to the number rolled.  Exercises included perfect form merkins, burpees, Makhtar N’Diayes, American hammers, Star crunches, and more.  There was no counting – when someone said “enough” we stopped and moved on.  After everyone had a turn rolling the die, we ran a lap in the rain. 

Goose thought we did too many burpees; Tesla thought it wasn’t enough. Nobody thought we did too many Makhtar N’Diayes, and we didn’t get nearly as wet as we did the previous week during Cheesesteak’s waterlogged VQ.

Announcements:  2nd F lunch Apr 17th at Simonettis,  Goonies CSAUP 5/04,  Extinction run 5/18

Prayers:  Anchorman, Turtleman, Jane Fonda, marriages

Privileged to lead a small group of dedicated HIM’s.  From Slaughter, CEO of F3 Nation:  “If you’ve never been to a workout in the pouring rain, you’re missing out. It has healing powers”.

– Nutria

7 HIM’s gathered at Bulldog on a perfect day for a beatdown.  There was a multitude of gripes and grievances expressed by the pax, and Flintstone will undoubtedly be haunted for the rest of spring break by the electronic voice calling out “3-2-1-Exercise 1.”  Here’s how it went down.  We started with a quasi-disclaimer followed immediately by Seal jacks, Abe Vigodas (super-slow), Low-slow squats, and merkins (all 10xIC).  I set up music and moved on to The Thang, 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest (“Tabata”).  4 rounds of each set of exercises:

Set 1 = KB pullovers, Thrusters, Lawnmower rows (L), Lawnmower rows (R)

Set 2 = KB swings, Flutter kicks, Mountain climbers, Heels to Heaven

Set 3 = KB pullovers, Curls, Bulgarian split squats (L), Bulgarian split squats (R)

Set 4 = KB swings, American hammers, Star crunches, Scissor kicks

10 seconds of rest is usually an ambitious transition time, especially if changing positions or weights.  However, I really wanted to avoid pauses that extended the rest time.  At the same time, the “Tabata” concept (20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest) requires you to work hard to make your 20 seconds of work count every time (more on that below…).  In the end, we all put in good work and got better.

We took one farmer-carry mosey around the parking lot between Sets 2 and 3, and after Set 4 there was just enough time for a down-and-back lunge walk.  Hunchback helpfully posted a permanent American flag on the post that used to have the “Turn your engines off, kids breathe here” sign which curiously got replaced by a “No smoking” sign, so we said the pledge and continued with COT.

Announcements
Montana VQ Saturday at The Yank
Convergence 4/13 at CaroMont Park downtown, followed by Community Foundation Run with Speed for Need, all other AO’s closed
Extinction run to be rescheduled.
FCA Golf tournament on April 15th – see Hot Corner to participate or help sponsor

Prayers
Latte, Huck, Kool-Aid and Pax on IR, marriages.

It’s an honor to lead this morning – thanks to all the pax who showed up and expressed their honest feedback.
– Nutria

Lagniappe:  In case you’re you’re curious about whether or not 20 seconds is REALLY all it takes to get the job done, here’s a brief history (from https://www.verywellfit.com/tabata-training-definition-1230982).

Tabata training originated from the world of athletes, as many of our workout ideas do. Dr. Izumi Tabata, a professor at the Faculty of Sport and Health Science at Ritsumeikan University in Japan, along with the head coach of the Japanese speed skating team, wanted to find out if very short bursts of high intensity exercise, followed by even shorter rests, would improve the skaters’ performance.

Welcome to Monday at Life Line.  There were no pleasantries or BS today.  Cherie Berry conveniently slipped away to “make the coffee” as the clock struck 0530.  Warm-up consisted of SSH, Imperial walkers, Mountain climbers, Nolan Ryans, Superman pull-ups (10xIC).  I gave a brief disclaimer somewhere in the middle of those, then went straight to Thang 1:  Hot Corner helpfully reminded me that it’s called a Ring of Fire after I described that we would do merkins like a count-off, one at a time while all pax hold plank.  10 pax = 10 merkins each.  Next we moseyed the long way around the building to get blocks.

Thang 2 was EMOM Blockies, but not as cruel as Hei Hei’s routine last week.  We started with 5 and got up to 8 after 4 minutes.

Thang 3 was a classic Lifeline routine. Pax do block work while one “timer” pax carries a sandbag up the hill and back.
Thrusters
“Lawn mower” (bent over) Rows
Dead lifts
Curls
Reverse lunges (with block)
World War 3 sit-ups
Uneven merkins

After 3 full rounds of exercises (and having to rein in Hei Hei who just about had the sandbag on his back already), we paused for another Ring of Fire, this time with leg-lifts while pax hold six inches.  Cherie Berry had returned by this point, so it was initially confusing that there were 11 pax instead of 10…

Then it was back to Thang 3 for another round or two before we started the “cool down” routine, reversing the EMOM blockies starting at 8 and ending at 5.  Many of the pax took exception to the term “cool down,” but it was 38 degrees and the number of blockies was going down every minute, so I rest my case.  We then returned blocks and moseyed back to the flag.  There was enough time for one more Ring of Fire, with jump-squats while pax hold Al Gore.  We finished out the last 90 seconds Mary-style with American Hammers and LBC’s, then pledge and COT.

Announcements 
VQ’s coming up:  Cheese Steak 3/27 at The Ricky Bobby, Montana 3/30 at The Yank
Convergence 4/13 at CaroMont Park downtown, followed by Community Foundation Run with Speed for Need, all other AO’s closed
Extinction run to be rescheduled. 
FCA Golf tournament on April 15th – see Hot Corner to participate or help sponsor

Prayers
Kool Aid, Blueprint, Huckleberry, Anchorman, Turtleman.  Other pax on IR.  Marriages.

Afterwards, Cherie Berry explained the last 7 things Jesus said before He died.  I won’t try to paraphrase or condense the meaning of these, but I encourage everyone to look further into these on your own – whether you were there or not.  We all benefit from a few minutes of extra prayer and reflection during this Holy Week. 

Always an honor to lead – thanks to the 9 HIM’s who participated in the entire beatdown and to the 1 HIM who joined after making the coffee (it was good coffee, I’ll admit).

Merlin and Mr. Tuttle and another pax with a name I can’t recall were interested to hear about our Pushing Rocks challenge.  Good morning to share stories downrange.