Endless Reps, Together

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: morning star, El Capitan, Wolfpack, Sooie, Malibu, Merchant, Right Said, Link (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Decent weather for ducks, but at least we had 70s Rock to listen to. :the_horns:

WARMUP: Caboose-is-loose run to the top of Harpeth Knoll hill. At top of hill, all PAX will do together:

-10x 3-count merkins
-10x 3-count squats

Turn around & return to playground. Split up into two teams & line up at playground.

THE THANG:

Phase 1:

Each PAX team will perform the following “endless” exercises …
– Lunges
– Leg Raises on back
– Carolina Dry Docks
– Freddy Mercuries

One PAX will long jump to opposite end zone lamp, high knees back. Rotate until all PAX have completed the mosey, then move on to the next exercise. Rinse, repeat.

Phase 2:

Mosey to flood table.

All PAX perform “endless” dips while one PAX runs to backstop & back. Exercise is complete when all PAX have completed backstop mosey.

Phase 3:

A Cool Down Stretch!

– Butterflies with deep breathing sequence
– Straight-leg stretch
– Child’s pose (my favorite)
– Downward dog / arch
– Viper
– Power Push-up Stretch
– Deep calf stretch
– Back twist

MOLESKINE:

I struggle with anxiety, especially when it comes to finances. Recently, we’ve had several (expensive) things hit my family at once which has caused me to reflect… do I trust that God will take care of us? As a Christian, do I believe Jesus’ words when He tells His disciples to “consider the birds of the air & the flowers of the field” and “does not Your Father provide for them”? I challenged the PAX to consider their personal anxieties, and to give them up to the Lord who knows & cares for them.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

– #PreHab will continue each morning at 5:15 unless otherwise notified by morning star
– That Mile :grimacing: is happening at greenmachine Thursday. I will be offering a slightly (but only just) less difficult workout at the-knoll.
– Plankril is less than a week away… One minute plank on April 1st (no fooling), add 6 seconds each day after that.

COT:

Prayer requests were shared amongst the PAX. We closed in a moment of silent reflection & prayer, followed by Sooie Brewie.

I’m so thankful for y’all.

:mountain:

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.

March Madness 1994

AO: detention
Q: EZ-Go
PAX: Donkey Hammer, Accounts Receivable, Cowboy, Deep State, Esposa, EZ-Go, Focker, moneyshot, Movin On Up, Right Said, Topanga, Matador
FNGs: 1 Matador
COUNT: 12
In honor of March Madness being upon us we performed 45 minutes of unending movement to the tune of Jock Jams (see below for link if unfamiliar, thank me later).

CONDITIONS: Just right

WARMUP: Indigenous peoples run, parking lot side shuffles, stretch it out

THE THANG:
Mens bracket: (suicide between each exercise)
68 – squats
64 – block rows
32 – block mercs
16 – triple arm killers (curl, press, tricep extension)
8 – 8 count body-builder
4 – hand stand push ups
2 minute low plank

Women’s bracket: (15 SSH between exercises)
68 – mountain climbers
64 – hello dollys
32 – block mercs
16 – block raises
8 – 8 count body-builders
4 – burpees
2 min 6 inches

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Murder Mile Thursday at greenmachine, get there a few minutes early

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

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:

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.

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.

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:

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.

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: