Month: March 2024

Posted on

A Case of The Mondays

AO: toratoratora
Q: Goose
PAX: White Cloud, The Bobs, 40 Minutes, Hot Route, greyalbum, Daylight, Giving Tree, Culture Shock, Long cut
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: Windy

WARMUP: forward fold, Willie mays hays, arm stretches, forward fold.

THE THANG: Adora: 300 SSH and Merkins while partner runs hills

Lunge to runway

100 ww1 in 25 set increments which run between each set

Circle of Mary

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Friends By tbe River Festival starts next Friday 4/5

Sunrise Easter service at Cornelia Fort 630am

COT: prayers for 40 Minutes and his son’s Shenanigans.

Prayers for for greyalbum with his adoption proceedings.

Posted on

Elevens and Economics

AO: handsomizer
Q: Detective Pikachu
PAX: Freakonomics, Frasier
FNGs: None
COUNT: 3
CONDITIONS: Slightly chilly

WARMUP: 1 mile run around The Stadium, followed by stretches

THE THANG: Elevens on the Gated Hill to the southwest of StartEx. Merkins and WW1s. Mosey back to StartEx for Mary. Too many Jane Fondas.

MOLESKIN: good economics education from Freakonomics. You had to be there

ANNOUNCEMENTS: QIC is now under contract on a house. We’ll be leaving Nashville in August for the Upstate of SC.

Posted on

I’m a loser

AO: cruelhall
Q: Grape
PAX: blackwidow, Donkey Hammer, Right Said, EZ-Go, Accounts Receivable, Pedialyte
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: warm, but not warm enough to melt my ice cold heart after that Kentucky loss last night

WARMUP:
10 SSH
1 Burpee
10 Imperial Walkers
2 Burpees
10 Hillbillies
3 Burpees
10 LBAC F
4 Burpees
10 LBAC R
5 Burpees
10 OH Claps
6 Burpees
10 Seal Claps
7 Burpees
10 Moroccan Night Clubs
8 Burpees

THE THANG: To take out my frustration and sadness about being a loser, we listened to angry music and did hard things

Mosey to pavilion

4 Corners Partner Work

Corner 1
One partner does 16 Burpees
Other partner does merkins until complete
Repeat
Hold low plank for all in
Bear crawl the diagonal

Corner 2
One partner does 16 Burpees
Other partner does dry docks until complete
Repeat
Hold low plank for all in
Crawl bear to next corner

Corner 3
One partner does 16 Burpees
Other partner does WW1 until complete
Repeat
Hold low plank for all in
Crab walk the diagonal

Corner 4
One partner does 16 Burpees
Other partner does flutter kicks until complete
Repeat
Hold low plank for all in
Long mosey around the school to the playground

11’s with pull ups and Lt Dans

Long mosey to startex for Mary

MOLESKINE: thanks for having me EZ-Go! I hope to be invited back someday, which is unlikely…this group seems to be a group of winners…a group I don’t belong to

ANNOUNCEMENTS: brewsday, plankpril, murder mile

COT: prayers for peace for EZ-Go and fam in hectic season
Prayers for the Hill family and the Greene family

:grapes:

Posted on

Birthday #1s for My 54th

AO: bomber
Q: Vector
PAX: Black Lung, Cream Cheese, DintyMoore, Sherlock, Pep, Papa Bear, CubCadet, Chunks, Tim the Toolman, t-cell, Recharge, Focker, Spinal Tap
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
So, YHC turned 54 last week (What? I don’t look that old? Oh, stop with all the complements, you . . . ), so time once again for a Birthday Q. Today’s theme, blatantly stolen from a Hi-Viz Q a few years back, was #1 songs from my birthdays of days past.

CONDITIONS: 50s, light breeze – perfect for everyone except Focker who stated at coffeeteria how much he loves the mid-summer, 90s and high humidity workout. And he was serious . . .

PLAYLIST:
1970 (True Day of Birth #1) – Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel [NOTE: not the best workout song, bit of a downer, but that’s my true birthday #1]
1978 (8th Bday) Night Fever – Bee Gees
1980 (10th Bday) Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen
1983 (13th Bday) Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
1984 (14th Bday) Jump – Van Halen
1988 (18th Bday) Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley
1993 (23rd Bday) The Sign – Ace of Base
1997 (27th Bday) Wannabe – The Spice Girls
2003 (33rd Bday) In da Club – 50 Cent
2012 (42nd Bday) We are Young – fun.
2013 (43rd Bday) Happy – Pharrell Williams
2019 (49th Bday) Sucker – Jonas Brothers

WARMUP:
54 SSH as per Vector Bday tradition
LBAC x 12
Seal Claps x 12
Overhead Press x 12
RLBAC x 12
WMH x 10 OHO
Good Mornings x 10 OHO

THE THANG:
#1: Mosey to playground – 54s
5 exercises x 4 sets with Rec Center run in between each set.
50 Squats
40 Incline merkins
30 Big boy sit ups
20 Lunges
10 Pull ups
(Kudos to Black Lung for ensuring correct forms were followed)

#2: 54 sprint – 5 burpees, run up hill, 4 burpees

#3: DIDs: 18 each of Dips, Incline merkins, Decline merkins (18 x 3 = 54 . . . ’cause math!)

Mary with flutter kicks, boxcutters and some god awful exercise from Focker called Seal Crunches . . . form was definitely varied across the circle on those

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Thanks for Black Lung’s M with a new job
– bluemule beer event – check Slack (like literally EVERY single channel)
– Murder Mile next week at Green Machine

COT: Moment to take in the day and then thanks to the HIM who continue to push me and make me feel much younger than 54. I did appreciate hearing that many were gassed by the workout, with the highest praise coming from t-cell: “This is a workout that Vector would complain about if he wasn’t Q.” Well said, my friend. Well said. SYITG, Vector

Posted on

3, 2, 1…let’s count!

AO: atlantis
Q: Grape
PAX: Three Stooges, Cable News, Sally, Right Said, Puzzlah
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
CONDITIONS: cold, but not cold enough for sleeves

WARMUP:
Quick run around the parking lot to warm up my arms (@Sally reminded me that’s not how it works)
20 SSH
10 Imperial Walkers
10 Hillbillies
10 LBAC F
10 LBAC R
10 OH Claps
10 Seal Claps
10 Moroccan Night Clubs

THE THANG:
Let’s count animals!
1 Bear Crawl around the parking lot
2 minutes of Monkey humpers (this was much harder than I was expecting)
3 sets of 3×3 inchworm merkins
4 sets of 4 crunchy frogs

Mosey to the bigger parking lot

Let’s count down!
Dora 3-2-1
300 Squats
200 Merkins
100 BBSU’s
50 Burpees (I don’t think any group finished this)
Runner was going to the second tree and back

Mosey back to startex for Mary

MOLESKINE: super proud of the guys working hard. Was worried about Cable News for a bit, but like a true HIM he powered through! Also loved when Puzzlah would say “sweet” in a high pitched voice every time I gave him the rep count in the Dora. Thanks for having me y’all!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: brewsday, plankpril, murder mile

COT: everyone shared an intention, including prayers for family members and friends who are battling cancer, high school decisions for Puzzlah, and work stuff for Sally

:grapes:

Posted on

Put your back into it!

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string (Eli Kresta)
PAX: morning star, Pebbles, Siri, The Banker, Sooie, El Capitan, Wolfpack, Ex-Pat, @Link, @Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS:
Warmer than Tuesday but still brisk.

WARMUP:
– windmills, imperial walkers, wmh, gm
– Indigenous People’s run with football around the field
– Shoulder warmup

THE THANG:
Two people per station. Three rounds.
– Station 1: sandbag swings
– Station 2: pull-ups jump up and 3-count down
– Station 3: log floor to ceilings
– Station 4: lunges to the street and back
– Station 5: plank hold

MOLESKINE:
On Tuesday we talked about the GK Chesterton quote. Today I wanted to talk about our specific role as fathers. Whenever God the Father called someone in the OT, it led to an adventure. Moses brought his people out of Egypt, Abraham left his country and his family, David went up against Goliath, etc.
Part of our role as fathers is to provide our children with adventure in the context of safety. Even if you don’t believe in God or the bible, this is a biological fact. The role of fathers in hormonal development of their children is different than that of mothers and cannot be easily replaced. Fathers who engage in rough and tumble play in a adventurous (but controlled) manner have children who are better able to stand up to challenges and face adversity. Fathers are more influential on early language development because we often use higher level language with our children. Fathers even have an epigenetic effect on protein synthesis and gene expression. What we do matters.
In light of that, I am looking for ways to provide adventure and new challenges for my family. Introducing my daughter to the world one experience at a time.

If you want to read a little more on the science behind the unique role of fathers, this is a good article to start with and its references.
www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-anthro-091908-164334

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– That mile is coming next week at Green Machine. The knoll will continue as regularly scheduled
– Plankril is coming. One minute plank on the first and add 6 seconds every day.

COT:
Intentions were offered and prayers were said.

Posted on

Sawing Logs

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string (Eli Kresta)
PAX: Malibu, morning star, Pebbles, El Capitan, Aflac, Sooie, @Bumblebee, @Iowa
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS:
Cold. Where did the Spring go???

WARMUP:
(bonus warmup of unloading the logs from my truck)
– Good mornings and WMH
– Inchworm to merkin
– BAC
– Back-BAC
– Modified Welsh Dragons

THE THANG:
THANG 1
Pair up. Grab a log. 3 Rounds of the following
X20 broad jump burpees
X20 shoulder presses
X20 squats
Lap to Backstop and back

Thang 2
Two Rounds of the following
X20 Derkins
X20 Bulgarian Split Squats

Mary
American hammers with ball
WW1s
Hollow hold

MOLESKINE:
“The most extraordinary thing is the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.” – GK Chesterton
In a world full of chaos, broken families, and almost no respect for life, holding your family close really is becoming uncommon. We are not the norm, but, in all honesty, we should be. How often do I see the little moments with my wife and daughter as extraordinary. Are those moments where I’m tired and grumpy turned heroic when I can be a good father? For those of us who are Christians, we believe in a God who called people on epic adventures. But if you read closely, every epic story is centered around families, and the ones that end best, involve families that stick together and love each other well.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
THAT mile is coming soon
April marks the beginning of Pre-Hab at the Knoll. Come 15 minutes early for extra stretching and warming up.

COT:
Intentions were mentioned and prayers were said.

Posted on

Spring Training…for a CSAUP!! :tulip: :muscle:

AO: iiipillars
Q: Toothless
PAX: Grape, t-cell, Roboto (F3 Tulsa), Pep, Tackle Box, princessaurora, Harbaugh, Go Fish, Black Lung, Governmentt Mule, Frenchie, Haggis, Formica, Fanny
FNGs: None
COUNT: 15
CONDITIONS: Clear, crisp, winter’s final frost before spring sets in for good.

WARMUP:
– Mosey to field, circle up in middle
– SSH x 30
– Toe touch, left over right x 20 count
– Toe touch, right over left x 20 count
– Flamingos, each side x 20 count
– Windmills x 10
– Little baby arm circles x 10
– Big arm circles reversed x 10
– Michael Phelps x 10
– Scorpions x 10 then stretch OYO for explainer

THE THANG:
Plank and wait for the six between laps, all laps completed on the provided 200m track (half of a regulation sized track)
– Burpee broad jump a lap
– Modified to 1 burpee every 5 broad jumps
– Bear crawl a lap
– Lunge walk a lap
– Run a lap (cut for time)

Return to startex

Rings of Fire
– Song: Thunderstruck
– Exercise: Planks up and down on “thunder”
– Note: Good training for Plankpril
– Song: Roxanne
– Exercise: SSH then burpee on “Roxanne”
– Song: Flower
– Exercise: Squats up and down as directed

MOLESKINE:
YHC was pleased with the grumblechatter this AM – proved that the workout plan was sufficiently challenging. Could not place the man behind me that would shout out in a chipper voice “thank you, sir” for every exercise announced, had to be someone like Go Fish. The Q-drenaline helped push me this AM for sure, great work to the rest of the PAX who pushed themselves to get better.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– The Murder Mile CSAUP is next Thursday 3/28! Same time same place, extended workout time to accommodate the special event
– Plankpril coming up in just a couple of weeks!

COT:
– PA shared prayers for close relatives who are expecting
– Grape shared prayers for a close friend’s family working through a new cancer diagnosis
– YHC shared praise for the 2nd trimester allowing the wife’s nausea to improve
– Haggis shared gratitude for the F3 community after returning from a trip abroad where strong community is not as easily found

It was an absolute honor to lead this AM, men! You put in the work and you’re better for it! Thankful to be along for the journey, and I hope to see many of you out at the CSAUP next week now that you’re ready!!

— Toothless :tooth:

Posted on

Tortoise & Hare #1

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: bluemule, Longhorn, Hacker (Franklin), Right Said, Chunks, Decaf, Young and Restless, Big Country, Wookie, D Pole, Mix Tape, Milli Vanilli, Comeback, Army Surplus, Frozen, For the Girls, Westside, Pacer, Trajectory, C Sharp, Triple Sevens, Blitz, Sgt. Meatball
FNGs: None
COUNT: 24
CONDITIONS: Very cold 27 degrees

WARMUP: SSH, IW, Squat. WMH, stretches

THE THANG: RUN!!! 3 mile loop around the campus. Not bad for the first official run. Fastest time for the new class was 28:23, and all in at 40:18. Had a little time at the end for some Mary.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Happy 37th birthday to bluemule. Thank you for starting your day at The Stronghold!

COT: Comeback closed us out with a prayer.

Posted on

Ridin Dirty

AO: westeros
Q: Hacker (Franklin)
PAX: Vector, Right Said, Chunks, Pep, Siri, Natural Ice, DintyMoore, Young and Restless, CubCadet, Breadsticks, Frenchie, Roboto, Tommy Girl
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
WoR
– SSH
– IW
– BAC/Back BAC/OHC
– slow ass merks
– GM
– WMH
– Runner’s Stretch

The Thang
Pain stations with 1 minute AMRAP / 30 second rest
1. HR merks
2. 4 ct flutter kicks
3. BBS
4. 70lb farmer’s carry
5. 60lb sandbag burpee
6. 60lb medicine ball over the shoulder throw
7. 50lb row
8. 50lb goblet squat
9. 30lb plate uhaul
10. 40lb badonkadonks (Alabama Prom Dates)
11. 35lb kettlebell swing
12. 25lb kettlebell clean to press
13. stepups with 30 lb plate
14. battlerope

Lock in gains with a quick mosey, then r/r to time

MARY
– Plank rotation
– LBCs
– Scorpion Stretch
– Cobra
– Downward Dog

Announcements
– Beer tasting at Blue Mule’s house on Friday
– Tortoise and Hare tomorrow at thestronghold, bootcamp on Thursday
– Culture week in Franklin this week — all workouts led by current/former Nantans focusing on F3 culture
– Q vs Q on April 6th at +TN+37064/@35.9212646,-86.8612508,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x88647e558f4ee3e1:0x360564ef7acd299c!8m2!3d35.9212646!4d-86.8612508!16s%2Fg%2F11gh6bcw6g”>www.google.com/maps/place/Pinkerton+Park,+405+Murfreesboro+Rd,+Franklin,+TN+37064/@35.9212646,-86.8612508,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x88647e558f4ee3e1:0x360564ef7acd299c!8m2!3d35.9212646!4d-86.8612508!16… in Franklin at 6:30 AM. If Huntsville brings more PAX, they’re going to take our flag. Please, think of the flag. All TN PAX are welcome. If any AL PAX happen to ask you for the address, its… uh… maps.app.goo.gl/Ta6ZVAFduSGNZqi56?g_st=ic

Prayer Requests
– As discussed in-person

Moleskin
Identify and focus your energy on what you can control. There is a lot of stuff swirling around in all of our lives, some of which affects us greatly, and most of which we cannot control. You can think of these events as fitting into a series of concentric circles, like a target or dartboard. At the center, the bulls-eye, is your area of control. If you really think about it, that area is limited to yourself, your attitude, and your actions. Beyond that lies the area of influence, which gets a lot trickier: there many things we all want to influence, but influence is uncertain and situational. It isn’t control. You might have a lot of influence over, say, your kids or people who work for you, and much less over more distant relations or strangers. At the same time, the things we want to influence vary greatly in importance to us. The sweet spot for impact is high influence/high importance scenarios, but it can be productive to invest in low influence/high importance situations, so long as we understand up-front that those are investments that might take a long time to pay off (if they pay off at all) and may require allies with greater influence to help. Beyond the domain of influence is noise. Noise is a distractor. A Jester. The news, people who are beyond our reasonable influence, whose interests contradict our own, these are all noise in terms of our ability to create impact. The only thing you can do here is remove yourself from the noise, if you can, or choose to ignore the noise, if you must.

Sorry for the wall of text, but that was what was on my mind at the airport on Saturday.

Thanks for letting me lead today!