Tag: Martha’s House (Page 10 of 21)

When I was a kid, I thought anyone 40 years old was just that, old. As a kid who loved sports, I watched Nolan Ryan, Jack Nicklaus,and Carlton Fisk who were all competing in their 40’s, and they were old. Now as I stand on the precipice of what I may have once perceived as the beginning of the end, I am once again reminded that life is about perspective. Age is just a number and not a defining characteristic. 5:30 is not really that early for a workout if you are up for a challenge and enjoy the fellowship of the guys that are pushing you. Burpees really are a fun and entertaining way to spend time at a worko… OK, I’m still working on that perspective.

So to prepare me for the life altering change that I am about to face, the workout had a 4-0 theme.

Warm-Up
Side-straddle Hops x 40
Moroccan Nightclubs x 40
LBCs x 40

The Pledge

The Thang
Mosey to the field beside the playground in the park.

Being 40 is something that doesn’t just happen overnight so you have to build up the years (or decades). So some 4-corner work should help with this. Run to each corner with exercises at each stop.
Corner 1 = Merkins x 10
Corner 2 = Squats x 20
Corner 3 = LBCs x 30
Corner 4 = Flutters x 40

Starting tomorrow, who knows if I’ll ever be able to take the stairs again so I need to learn to use the escalator? So Four Corners Escalator it is… Same exercises, but you take the earlier reps with you as you go.
Corner 1 = Merkins x 10
Corner 2 = Merkins x 10, Squats x 20
Corner 3 = Merkins x 10, Squats x 20, LBCs x 30
Corner 4 = Merkins x 10, Squats x 20, LBCs x 30, Flutters x 40

We took the escalator up, but we don’t want to be stuck on the top floor at Belk’s at the mall one day waiting for our M to find us and tell us to go get the car… So reverse escalator.

Corner 1 = Merkins x 10, Squats x 20, LBCs x 30, Flutters x 40
Corner 2 = Merkins x 10, Squats x 20, LBCs x 30
Corner 3 = Merkins x 10, Squats x 20
Corner 4 = Merkins x 10

Mosey to the large soccer field at the bottom of the hill.

In old age, you get dependent on others to help you through the simple tasks. So some partner work is in order.

Partner 1 runs to the other side of the field while Partner 2 does reps. Then flapjack, and Partner 2 does the running while Partner 1 does the reps. The plan was 4 x 100 giving us 400 reps, but time required us to Omaha to 50 reps on the last 3 exercises.

CDDs x 100
Lunges (single leg count) x 50
WW2 Situps x 50
Dying Cockroaches x 50

Mosey to the shelter

Right Leg Step Ups x 20
Left Leg Step Ups x 20
(That’s a total of 40)

Mosey back to Pelicans, but first a pit stop.  Gotta get use to making extra stops on long trips because I hear the ol’ bladder just can’t hold it like it could in the younger days.  Grab a spot on the curb.

Dips x 40 (I did say dips, not drips; don’t believe there were any bladder issues)

Complete the mosey back to Pelicans.

COT
Prayer Requests
Bandit’s aunt- cancer
Easy Rider’s uncle Keith
Mr. Jenkins’ friend w/ cancer
Family and friends of teenager involved in recent car crash
Our country

Praise for Dr. Feelgood’s dad. Glad to hear he is doing well. Look forward to you being off IR and back physically in the gloom with us.

Prayer to Close

4 took part in an impromptu Coffeerama at HT/Starbucks. Really enjoyed the conversation guys.

Thanks to the men who showed up this morning, and the Gastonia F3 PAX as a whole who have pushed and encouraged me for almost a year now. As I said earlier, it’s all about perspective. We talked last week in our study of the book, Freedom From Fear, that it’s all about attitude (Tuesday mornings, HT, 6am, not too late to join). You’re only as old as you feel, and that rock you’re pushing is only as big as you allow it to be. Our main verse yesterday in Sunday School was Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Look to God for that peace that only He can provide, live that peace in trying times, and share that peace with others who are in need.

Let’s do it again sometime.

I’ll admit I have been a fairweather fan (fool?) as of late, but knew I had the Q this morning so I was pumped!  There were still traces of the snowy conditions of the past weekend on the grass and sidewalks of Pelican’s and the low/slow rain from the early hours continued to annoy us throughout, but 12 High Impact Men splashed and swam and became stronger!

Warm-a-rama — SSH IC x20; Appalachian Americans (Hillbillys) IC x20; Seal Jack IC x20; LBC IC x20; SSH IC x20; Imperial Walkers IC x20; Plank Jack IC x15; LBC IC x15

Took a brisk mosey over to the park picnic benches for some pain stations; 2 rounds each, 4 men to a station all IC x 20 of: Step-ups, Abyss Merkins (reguLAR for those whose reach was not wide enough) and Dips. (Thanks to Whoopie and Stroganoff for helping lead the count when I was struggling)

Circle up in the parking lot for the following:  Walkerstrong (continuous Imperial Walkers as each man takes a turn praying aloud); WWI Situps IC x20; LowSlow Squats (YHC had planned on IC x30….I lost focus at about 25 and awoke from my daydream at about 38 so I figured what the heck…at 60 I jokingly called “half-way-there”….at 70 Squirt yelled “He’s a machine” so I was then determined to make it to 100….and I was spent at 101, however Gastone said he was looking forward to the other 19…not skipping a beat YHC delivered 19 more to make a total of 120 IC !); repeat Walkerstrong, this time each man singing a bit of a song instead of praying (Whoopie was on my left as we started this round, but somehow ended up halfway around next to Bandit at the finish….I think he snuck around to avoid singing); Navy Seal Situps x20; Warrior Lunges ICx20

By now nearly soaking wet we finished with a lap around the playground perimeter and moseyed back (thanks to Bulldog for tagging along in the back with me…..backwards!) to Pelican’s parking lot to talk to Mary for a couple minutes: Dying Cockroach (thanks Bandit) ICx30?; Gastone was disappointed I didn’t pick him first so gave him next option which was Flutter Kicks IC x40/50?; and with 30 seconds remaining we came full circle with some more SSH IC x20.

Moleskin — Great work today men!! I am still amazed at this group/company/organization of men who not only tolerate a fluffy out of shape dude like me, but allow me to “call the game” so to speak.  I have struggled with exercise and fitness my whole life and to not only be included and accepted, but pushed to the front gives me great energy and self-esteem.  Gastonia has a great bunch of HIMs and I invite any and everyone to our region!

Prayer concerns: Feelgood and his family, those on injured list

Cold, real cold. We’re all idiots, not just the Q this time. YHC hasn’t posted at Martha’s House in probably at least 2 months, so long he felt the need to introduce himself to the PAX. Even made the mistake of calling Stone Cold Bandit. My apologies brother! The disclaimer was given and we’re off.

Pledge

WarmUp

SSH x15IC, Goofballs x15IC, Moroccan Night Clubs x20IC, Dying Cockroachs x15IC, Mountain Climbers x15IC

Mosey toward the old Teeter parking lot doing a little follow the leader to avoid traffic and ice covered sidewalks.

Arrive at the lot for a quick (not really) round of 11s. At one end we do Mountain Climber Merkins, other end was Rosalitas. This took a while because of the Mtn. Climber part of the merkins, it was good though.

Next were the Deconstructed Burpees. 10 squats, 10 In & Outs, 10 Merkins, 10 more In & Outs, 10 Jump Squats.Rinse and repeat x3. It was in between these sets that I’d ask one of the PAX to share 15 seconds about themselves. I picked this up the previous week when Apache guest Q’ed Goat Island by way of Rock Hill. In my opinion, it’s a perfect way to encourage some conversation and sneakily get us a breather.

A short mosey (about 20 yards) to a convenient spot for the Bermuda Triangle. At corner 1, do 1 burpee, bearcrawl to corner 2, do 2 burpees, bearcrawl to corner 3, 3 burpees and bearcrawl to the start.

Mosey back to where we were for Whole Lotta Rosie. This is based on an AC/DC song about a plentiful woman and her dimensions. It goes like this: 30 Mtn. Climbers, 42 LBCs, 30 more Mtn Climbers, 39 Hip Thrusts, 30 Mtn. Climbers, 56 Flutter Kicks, 30 Mtn. Climbers. That’s a lovin’ woman!

Mosey back over to the triangle for another set of Bermuda. Finally mosey back through the snow to Pelicans. Wrap up the last minute with a set of Nolan Ryans. Aye!

In reading almost all of the backblasts over the last couple of months, I realized that I’d gotten into a bit of a rut with my schedule, posting almost exclusively at The Storm, Goat Island and The Fighting Yank. While the consistency, along with my usual running routine, has provided some pretty good physical fitness, the pattern kept me from all the other guys who post at the western AOs including a ton of newer PAX. It was great meeting Stone Cold and TK, keep up the good work men! If you have a chance to post somewhere you haven’t before or in a while, do it. You’ll probably see some old friends and meet some new ones too.

Until next time men, it was a pleasure to lead you! Aye!!!

16 men showed up for a Gastone Q of pain. Nice temperature outside this morning with a nice size crowd ready to enjoy a nice weather day at the beginning of Winter with no rain but 8 feet of snow on the way. We had a little talk of the Carolina/Clemson basketball game until..

The Thang:

Interrupted Mumble Chatter to start the Q at 5:30am with 10 Diamonds

Pledge

30 SSH (Hushpuppy entered on the 3rd count but always catches up)

10 Carolina Dry Dock

30 Imperial Walker

10 Wide Arm Merkins

Follow me for a little Mosey to The Hill of Village Ridge.

Plank with some 6 inches mixed in and a little 12 inches, then right arm up and right leg and switch while the 6 gets caught up.

Then Backwards to the top. It’s a long hill so this always is a crowd favorite.

Plank and then 10 Diamonds

Mosey to the bottom of the Hill for Plank, Plank 6 inches, Plank half way down, etc.

Lunge Walks to first road on left and plank

Karaoke Left and Right to the next road on the Left. (At this point we were missing 2 people so Hushppy and Spiderman headed back to try to find them.)

Duck Walk to the next road on the left.

Backwards Run to the top. Then Plank.

Headed back down and collected Hushpuppy and Spiderman and maybe one other along the way but KFC was not to be found.

Mosey back the back entrance short cut to the park and then to the overhang with picnic tables.

Everybody on there backs with feet six inches off the ground then 90 degrees. Hold

Then we did 3 sets of 45 count first at 90 then half way down, then 6 inches.

Holding feet in the air still we did 30 3 count flutters Recover (Everyone really seemed to enjoy this part thus far)

Next 20 Dips 3 count

25 Flutter 3 count

30 LbC’s

15 Dips

Mosey back to the parking lot.

I picked up the 6 so as I got back some squats were going on as I arrived they finished so I noticed we had 1 minute left and that seemed like a good time for 10 Burpee’s. Hushpuppy suggested that they should have not stopped the squats.

Moleskin:

Overall a great morning with an awesome group of guys. KFC’s truck was no longer at the parking lot when we arrived back and I do hope that he does come back and joins us. I hate loosing a guys and everyone should keep in mind that the workouts can get hard but nobody is judging you and you should go at your own pace.  It takes time to get in shape and can be hard but we all want you at the workout. We had 2 FNG’s Brian Gerdis (Bad spelling) Bulldog and Shaun Jones Tube. Welcome to the pax and we look forward to seeing you at many more. TK retured for another and is working hard and doing great.

Thanks everyone it is always an honor to Q!

Gastone

It was cold and rainy and the last thing my M said before I walked out the door was something that ended with “stupid” so I just smiled and kept on going. I arrived to find several others already there including an FNG???!!! A rainy, cold, holiday and he had no more sense than to get out in the rain in the gloom. Our kind of guy-he heard about us/met us at Crowder’s Ridge at our CSAUP a few months ago. Glad to have you TK, hope to see you out here again, hopefully with better weather.

Disclaimer, WU: 5-10 IC SSH, Merkins, Squats

Pledge, still have the Ghost Flag.

Long mosey to Hawks Nest School with quick talk about how improving my running makes the rest of F3 less painful then we got to it. Partner up and P1 does exercise while P2 ran the parking lot trying to Chinook for as much as possible. Flapjack then move on to next exercise. The exercises were Merkins for 1 min, SSH for 2 min, and Squats for 3 min. Next was “30 Seconds of Uncle” which was a new exercise. P1 and P2 do 30 seconds of called exercise AMRAP but keep good form then swap. The plan was 3 different rounds of this but ran out of time so we just did 1 round of Hip Slappers and Burpees (30 seconds of each). Did not have much time so did a Hodor partner carry across the lot, mosey back, then flapjack with partner. This was so much fun, we changed partners and did it again. We didn’t have enough time for Jack Webb but we did it anyway then moseyed back to start where we found Spiderman coming back from a run. Apparently my WU routine was not long enough and he arrived just after we left. Spiderman gets a big ATTABOY for sticking around and getting in a solo workout-not sure I would have done that, especially in the cold rain.

We named our FNG (TK). Hint, don’t make a face like that when we suggest your name or it will stick. We did our quick announcements and prayer then 9 headed for coffeerama.

As usual, I was really glad I got out of bed and put in the work this am. I’ll say it again, the more I run the less painful the rest of the workout seems to be. Coffeerama also seems to be better on these holiday days-got to hear a lot of stupid crook stories which seemed to be the theme of the day. Good getting to know the pax on days like these.

Reminder: (after) Christmas Party at my house this weekend. Details in weekly newsletter.

1299 Audubon Drive (1st house on left in neighborhood next to new YMCA site (same side of road as YMCA), Saturday, Jan 7 at 7pm until whenever, $10 per person, will have everything here-leave kids at home and bring M. Everyone welcome (even if have not posted in long time). I am ordering food this week so let me know if planning to attend.

Whoopee

Football season is winding down with a few meaningless bowl games played out, unless your team happens to be in one of them (Wolfpack 41/Vandy 17). The NBA has played a third of their games already where as college is about to begin conference play. With a college or pro basketball game on each night, I began thinking of a F3 workout to use the old round ball. As a retired church league coach, I dug into my folder of old practice plans. No need to teach fundamentals to a bunch of grown men – you either have it at this point or your don’t. The eager PAX that crawled out of their fart-sacks desired cardio. I went to the white board and begin to draw up plays, I mean exercises.

The Snow Cone parking lot was filling up with some regulars and new faces to the AO. Fist bumps were flying. Mr. Jenkins on his third day in a row, having survived Gastone’s Monday beat-down which is an accomplishment for even the beasts. Glad to see Easy Rider off the IR; Freight is making the most of his vacation with an early post; Udders (Greensboro, NC) was lucky enough to marry a Gastonia girl and slid out of his in-laws again for another dose of pain; and then we had an FNG, Mark Hill putting his first stake in the ground. We all circled up with a short disclaimer: “You should have hit the snooze button; big mistake coming here this morning but since you were dumb enough to do it, may as well make the most of it. Modify as necessary, go at your own pace…”

The Pledge was recited in unison and then a quick outline of The Thang that would make Brownstreak happy and a quick demo of the two exercises to execute while waiting for the Six.

Warm-up:

• Side Straddle Hops – IC x 5 – Time to run (Whoopee smiled at the brevity)

I needed props for the workout. The Force told me I needed more than 8 basketballs. Thanks to Stroganoff for digging into his garage and finding additional balls. Something about grown men waking up in the early morning hours elevates the juvenile humor – insert any joke about “balls” here (yours are bigger than mine, quit grabbing my ball, my balls are flat…yada, yada). Each man grabbed a ball (but not before comparing size and color (insert ball joke #2) and took off running down Riverwood Parkway dodging some unusually extra traffic.  At the first neighborhood entrance, perform plank jacks with both hands on you ball (insert joke about balls here as well). At the third neighborhood entrance, perform merkins rotating one hand on the ball. Do these exercises to failure, rest and go again until the Six arrives. Head across the street to the church parking lot – plank jacks again while waiting for the Six. The final decent was to arrive at the basketball court at the back of Robinson Elementary School, where I spent a good chunk of my youth going K through 6th grade. I’d love to go into great detail, describing how YHC’s legendary status began on that very blacktop but as an undersized, frail guard, I didn’t gain the toughness playing full court 12 on 12 at recess. If only F3 was around in the early 80’s, I could have made it.

With any new workout a Q anticipates the guest-i-mated time allotted which rarely transfers to reality. Such was the case this early morning where the trek over took fifteen minutes. Quick math left me with about fifteen minutes to cram a full Weinke (you can derive a ball joke here if you choose) in order to return to our AO on time. Practice always begins with lay-ups and this session was no different. The men went through a rotation while waiting for the Six. I arrived just in time for Spiderman’s dunking exhibition.  Need to start with some cardio. PAX planked until it was their turn for the drill:

• Side shuffle cone drill
• Run forward to goal #1 for 10 backboard touches (7′ goal)
• Back-peddle to center for 10 Merkins
• Sprint to goal #2 for 10 more backboard touches
• Back-peddle to corner for 10 CDD’s
• Side-shuffle to start and plank
• Rinse/repeat

Next segment – partner up; sit back to back sharing one ball (PAX offered plenty of ball jokes but curiously none involving Lance Armstrong – cardio may have caused deliriousness).

• Side to side pass (think American Hammers)
• Overhead pass, tap ball between legs (like a modified WWI)
• Right Shoulder to Left Hip then Left Shoulder to Right Hip
• We did about 20-25 of this set.

Next segment – keep partners; P1 does exercise while P2 runs to end of court and back

• Merkin while rotating ball between left/right hand
• Plank jacks with hands on ball
• A-frame abs (think Freddie Mercury but with extended arms holding ball, pull down as knee rises)
• Figure 8 – pass ball side to side with raised knee
• L-pass – circle ball around one leg raised at 90 degree with other leg 6″ off ground (use a medicine ball if trying at home).
• We did a total of 30 in aggregate of each set.

Final segment – no basketball practice is complete without suicides except this set was called Burpee Suicide. Arriving at the lines, perform a burpee before returning to the baseline. This will be included in a future Weinke, using the parking lot. The brevity failed to incite the mumble chatter desired.

With 15 minutes to go, time to return home. Gastone and Stroganoff led the PAX and gathered for a few flutter kicks at the mid-way point. YHC took the chance to get to know our FNG as he shared “I nearly puked back there…” I replied that splashing merlot is an honor among the PAX. DaVinci, Bandit, Freight, Hushpuppy, and Gastone circled back to bring us in, encouraging Mark along the way. Upon arrival it was 6:14 and no refunds would be offered: Flutter Kicks again – 16 in cadence – TIME.

Announcements: After Christmas Party at Whoopee’s House – RSVP. Nomads this Saturday are headed to the Mustang (East Lincoln) at 0600 from the Eastridge Mall parking lot (behind Dunkin Donuts).  We welcomed Mark Hill, a father of two young kids that works at Grainger. He was EH’ed by Lil’ Sweet, posting to this AO due to his house being across the street in South Pines. A few ideas flew around with ‘why would a chicken cross the road?’ being combined with the nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken for our newest member to be named: KFC. Welcome to the PAX!

Prayer requests: We lifted up Top Hat, Pizza Man, T-Square, and Dr. Feelgood who have various concerns with their families. We also prayed for Slaw with challenges he has in his life.

Moleskin: As with any workout, there is always room for improvement. I made some notes and will look to refine for the future. It was great to see the mix of regulars along with new guys to the AO. The distance was a little much but having balls in our hands certainly made it more fun (does that cover all the ball jokes from this workout?). Thanks for the chance to coach once again.

11 showed for up for a burn down of the cookie dough holiday over indulgence.

The Thang:

30 SSH

Pledge of Allegiance

Mosey to the lower parking lot for plank and wait with a little raise left arm and left leg switch to right side. Then 6 inches for 30 second count silent in my head. (Stroganoff needed 12 inches)

Then mosey to the wall for Wall of Fire (Wall sit, while one guys at a time does 10 Burpee, 10 Merkin, 10 LBC)

Then Balls to the Wall for a 30 count (inside voice on the count)

Mosey to the lower field. Get in line for a little Walk Like and Egyptian attempt. ( never did this one before and will give better instruction next time but we pulled it off.)

Stayed in line but in a plank with bear crawl to the front of the line one cycle.

Then Indian Run until we get around most of the circle. Plank

10 count then headed to the center of the field for 6 minutes of Mary.

50 Flutter (This was to easy we will have to increase the number)

30 LBC’s

20 Russian Twists

Mosey to the middle of the other field and circle up.

10 Diamonds

30 Squats

Mosey a random course along the playground and then to the far side of the baseball fields.

Plank then 6 inches for rest. Then Carolina Dry dock 20.

Mosey to bottom of grassy hill for Lunge walks up twice then Wide Arm Merkins 20 count. 20 Flutter.

Mosey towards home base with a head fake going past to the low wall.

20 3 count dips, 10 3 count dips, 10 3 count dips, 10 3 count wall step ups, 10 on your own wall jump up.

Mosey back to the finish right on time or maybe a minute over.

Moleskin:

Lot’s of guys working hard out there today along with me. 2 new FNG’s with us today and we can now welcome FNG Squirrel and Prius to the PAX, to young men that are ready for the challenge. Just so everyone knows that when these boys go away to college they do offer F3 in these area’s around the Triad. Whoopee has the PAX party coming up and would like to get RSVP’s if you plan on attending, all are welcome. Prayers for all those in need and for the one’s that think they are not in need. Thanks for letting me lead today such a great group of guys, it is always an honor.

Aye! Gastone!

Eight bad-ass Gastonia PAX thawed out well after a sub-30-degree Bandit beat down.  A few of these tough (aka not-so-smart) guys showed up in shorts for the 27 degree chill.  Not naming names, Gastone.

At 0530, warm-up started with:

• SSH x20 IC (nice speed work by Hush Puppy)
• Merkins x10 IC
• Don Quiote  x10 IC
• LBC x20 IC
• Burpees x10 OYO

After a brief pause for the Pledge, the PAX take a short run to the old, empty, Harris Teeter parking lot (perhaps this should be called the Belacino’s parking lot).  The first downpainment was Four Corners.  We ran between 4 corners completeing the following exercises at each stop:

• Dying Cockroaches x20 OYO
• Mountain Climbers x20 OYO
• American Hammers x20 OYO
• LBC x20 OYO

After completeing the first set, we plank for the 6.  Then just for fun – 10 more Burpees OYO.  Rinse and repeat for total of 3 full circuits.  I’m pretty sure Short Sale lapped us on the first circuit. Stud!

Then we run back through to the Sterling Bank parking lot and loop back up the sidewalk and find a place on the wall.  Next downpainment included the following:

• Arm Squats (aka Dips) x10 IC
• Step Ups x20 IC

Rinse and repeat for total of 3 sets.

Then we return back to Pelican’s for partner work.  Downpainment of choice is, of course, Dora 1,2,3.

• 100 Merkins
• 200 LBC
• 300 Squats

With exactly 7 minutes remaining (I love it when a plan comes together), we wrap up People’s Choice 7-Minutes of Mary. All had the opportunity to lead exercises. And Gastone taught us all what happens when the Q gives up control.  40 Flutter Kicks (Stroganoff would have been proud of you)!

Great to see you guys this morning!

If you enjoyed today’s beatdown, I’ll be doing it again next week – my VQ at Folsom!  CAN’T WAIT!

Bandit

7 Strong for a Monday morning workout in the gloom at Martha’s House. Not too cold but some significant wind dropped the temperature chill down a few notches.

As usual we gathered at Pelicans for some pre-workout mumble chatter and were thrilled to see an FNG in our midst. Getting toward a new year is a good time for EH’ing as many will be setting some New Year’s Resolutions…..why not F3??

We got right to the warm up on time thanks to the high dollar Casio on the Q’s left wrist:

In Cadence

SSH X 16
Imperial Walkers X 16
Moroccan Nightclubs X 21
LBC’s X 18

Pledge

The Thang

Mosey to the far end of the parking lot at Martha Rivers for some 22’s (11’s with the added number of reps to add up to 22 and count by 2’s)

20 reps of Merkins – Run to other side of parking lot – 2 reps of squats – run back to starting location
18 reps of Merkins – Run to other side of parking lot – 4 reps of squats – run back to starting location
16 reps of Merkins – yada yada, etc. etc…….you get the point. Continue until the last set included 2 Merkins & 20 squats

Mosey to center of the baseball fields for some Dora 1 – 2 – 3 work.

Partner one does exercise while partner two runs to the post at the end of the walkway/spoke of the wheel and then switch positions for cumulative reps as follows:

100 Merkins
200 LBC’s
300 Flutter Kicks

Mosey to the covered picnic shelter for some final work as follows in Cadence:

Dips X 15
Squats X 20
Dips X 15
Squats X 20
Dips X 15
Squats X 20

Mosey back to Pelicans for one quick set (or attempt) of Flutter Kicks. At rep # 26 or 27, we discovered the real reason he is called “GAS”tone, it was an epic, dinosaur killing explosion and YHC was in the line of fire and unable to complete the planned 40 reps of flutters. Workout abruptly ended.

Several announcements from the Advisory Board meeting: New 3rd F every Tuesday morning, 6:00 am at the new Harris Teeter/Starbucks on the corner of Robinwood & Kendrick Rd. New running workout on Thursday mornings, 5:30 am – 6:15 am, meet in the parking lot at the Publix/Hickory Tavern location. January 7 – F3 party at Whoopee’s – M’s invited, let Whoopee know if attending.

Several prayer requests. Remember the significance of this week.

Welcome to FNG Ditka. Look forward to seeing you at another workout, great work this morning!!

As always, I was honored to lead the group this morning. Until the next one, Aye!

Stroganoff

Boot camp workouts are predicated on “muscle confusion” and since each Q designs their own workout there isn’t a grand plan with alternating focus on the various muscle groups. Each workout has its own tempo and identity. Gastone is the new CEO of Martha’s House and has brought a new energy to the venue, constant energy seems more appropriate. I offered to fill the open Q slot and went to the drafting table, determined the session would go at a pace respectful to our new leader. Little did I expect to get pre-workout mumble chatter based on my pre-blast tweet declaring “no running.” How do you like that? Like a stubborn teenager avoiding authority, I became more convinced my plan was correct. I had 11 PAX to be the judge. Stroganoff shares insightful leadership quotes and the one I found to fit this situation is attributed to Socrates (or So-cratz according to Bill in the most excellent film: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure): “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

Approaching our launch time, there was a larger than normal group stretching and moving around the damp parking lot. Freshly named Stone Cold quickly made it to post #2 having made his debut four days prior; a good sign as our region grows with additional #HIMs. As the circle began to form, Gastone noticed two men in the distance of Martha River’s parking lot. His F3 senses kicked in and he was off to check if they might be FNG’s. A minute later we were introduced to Bounty and Nunchuck, on their own nomadic venture from their home AO of Rock Hill, SC. We exchanged introductions, quickly realizing their F3 birth names were much tougher than ours as we offered a “Whoopee” and a “Stroganoff” among others. We definitely lose the name game, but could we bring the heat in the workout? Let’s find out….

Warm-up

• Seal Jack IC x 10
• Don Quixote IC x 10
• Toy Soldier IC x 10
• Side to Side Lunge IC x 10

Mosey to the bank across the street for the Pledge. We then moseyed 20 yards to the rear of the building and that was all the moseying we were going to do. Mumble chatter ensued. Instructions were provided, disclaimer re-stated – modify as necessary, go at your own pace. There would be 6 sets of 5 exercises timed at 30 seconds with a 10 second rest. Any PAX having completed an Insanity DVD will recognize some of the exercises that do not have an F3 brand affixed to them.

1. Set 1
   1. SSH
   2. Merkin
   3. Squat
   4. Flutter Kick
   5. Freddie Mercury
2. Set 2
   1. Burpee
   2. LBC’s
   3. Side Straddle Squats
   4. Jingle Balls
   5. High Knee Twist
3. Set 3
   1. Burp to Lunge
   2. Dips
   3. Diamond Merkin
   4. Shoulder tap w/Plank Jack
   5. Cross Jack
4. Set 4
   1. Merkin Jack
   2. Bobby Hurley
   3. Crunchy Frog
   4. Box Cutter
   5. Iron Legs
5. Set 5
   1. WWI Sit Ups
   2. Pike Ups
   3. Pretzel Crunch Right
   4. Pretzel Crunch Left
   5. Spiderman Merkin
6. Set 6
   1. X Crunch
   2. Plank to Squat
   3. Prison Cell Merkin
   4. Hook Lunge
   5. Ski Burps

Like any of these ambitious sets that are timed, the set-up and rest periods to catch the PAX breath encroaches the dedicated 45 minutes of the weekly workout. We made it through all six sets one time but only halfway on the second go around. We moseyed back to the start for one minute of Mary: Hillbillies IC x 15 and Imperial Walker IC x 5 before time expired. Good work by all the PAX to push through. Tabata sets are always a You vs. You. The group setting provides the background noise even though George Strait didn’t make the playlist (next time Whoopee – I promise). But in this setting it’s your gloved hands pushing against the rock, trying to get a little better than before.

Thanks to Bounty and Nunchuck for joining us this morning. Hope you will come again when we make a broader tour of the AO. We shared announcements about our upcoming Convergence at the GasHouse Saturday am. Bring an item or two off the list to support Operation Sweet Tooth. Monk shared his new plan to post a bible passage that can be the basis for the Third F at Panera or any time at your leisure. Finally Whoopee needs a head count for PAX and M’s attending the After Christmas Party January 7^th. There is no truth to the rumor that his M will do a burpee for every female in attendance.

Thanks for the opportunity to follow my lead, even if you didn’t get to run.