Backblasts

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Graduation

AO: iiipillars
Q: Will Norton
PAX: Grape, Haggis, Go Fish, Baguette, YumYum, princessaurora, Pep, Harbaugh, Shania, Sherlock, gov’t mule, wardas1, LorelaiG
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: humid

WARMUP: SSH

THE THANG: iiiPillars

1. Academic excellence: 8 burpees, 5 pull ups, 30 BBSU’s, rinse and repeat
2. Passion for Christ: 8 dips, 15 flutters, 20 merkins, rinse and repeat
3. Leadership development: relay sprints

Mary and mosey

COT: prayers for Lorelai with his father passing away a couple of weeks ago, prayers for some of the SPCA teachers who are battling cancer, prayers for summer, and others

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Derby’s First Race

AO: the-knoll
Q: Derby
PAX: El Capitan, AAA, G-string, Timber, Malibu, morning stār, Sooie, Stubs, Ex-Pat, Papa Bear, Étouffée, FLO, Tebow, @rubix @golddigger @bumbleebee, @Gecko
FNGs: 1 @Gecko
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Perfect

WARMUP: Baby Arm Circles, Big Arm Circles, Back Backs, Moroccan Night Clubs, Shoulder Press, Willie Mays Hayes, SSH

Mosey down the street to loosen up

THE THANG: Pair up DORA – One Runner/One Worker

Set 1 (Accumulating w/ Partner):
200 Merkins
200 Lunges (1 is 1)
200 WWII’s
*Early finishers go back to Merkin’s

Mosey down the street to “catch our breath”

Set 2 (Holds awaiting partner):
2x Low Plank
2x Butterfly Kicks
2x Squat

Ended w/ 5 minute Mary: Berpees, Heel Taps, J-Lo’s, Leg Lifts, V-ups, etc.

MOLESKINE: Reminder not to get caught up in life and lose focus on family. There are plenty of distractions out there that attempt to drive that wedge and sometimes it takes us stepping back to reprioritize what matters most.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Farm campout the last weekend of May. Reach out to morning stār for further details.

COT: Closed out w/ short prayer for families adjustment to Summer.

Thank you for the opportunity to lead the workout this morning!

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Tortoise & Hare, Run #2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Minnie Pearl, bluemule, Right Said, Decaf, Young and Restless, Wendy’s, Ice Box, Stir Fry, Road Trip, Practice?, Bobby Hill, Life Saver, Mutt, Singlet, Hoop Dreams
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: 72 degrees and humid…our first warm run of the year!

WARMUP: SSH, Tappy Taps, Windmills, Squats, IWs, Stretches, WMHs

THE THANG: RUN!! We got stopped by the train today and had to detour back around the white building. Now everyone knows the alternative route.

An overall great effort today resulted in 7 out of 9 4:13 Strong men setting a course PR!

MOLESKINE: Hard things get easier with more repetitions, so keep doing hard things.

COT: Prayers for strength, endurance and courage.

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Another Great Morning

AO: toratoratora
Q: 40 Minutes
PAX: Goodwill, greyalbum, Ultratecht, Space Baby, The Bobs, Long Cut
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: Ideal

WARMUP: Jog / Stretch

THE THANG: Tabata Circuit
40 seconds on / 15 seconds rest
Circuit of 3 exercises
Complete each circuit 4 times before moving to the next

Circuit 1
– Merkin
– Squat
– Freddie Mercury
Circuit 2
– Curls
– Coupon Swings
– LBCs
Circuit 3
– Overhead Press
– Split Squats
– American Hammers

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Come out to the next Pickin Party!

COT: Lots to be grateful for and lots of challenges!

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better late than never

AO: devilsden
Q: McAfee
PAX: Skeet, Woodchuck, Meat Sweats, Tumnuss
FNGs: None
COUNT: 5
CONDITIONS: a bit sweaty

WARMUP:

THE THANG: a whole lot of madness, see videos above for details

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Spartan Race in October!!!

COT: thankful for these men in my life, let’s keep it rolling

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Bomber Nostalgia – A Legend Returns

AO: bomber
Q: Vector , t-cell
PAX: Papa Bear, Hedwig, Sherlock, Puzzlah, Grape, Tim the Toolman, Michelin Man, Firefox, CubCadet, DintyMoore, Topps, Steampunk
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
Firefox arranged another hybrid Q bringing back a Bomber legend, t-cell, to Q . . . along with some other dude. In order to “set the mood,” the playlist focused on the Qs’ guilty pleasure: pop music princesses. That’s right – not a single song prior to 2014. That means no 80s songs or Beatles tunes, Pep. One disclaimer: YHC was struck when reviewing the playlist how many F bombs were dropped by these talented women. C’mon, you don’t need to curse to attain pop superstardom – ask Salt N’ Pepa . . .

CONDITIONS: Nostalgic

WARMUP: t-cell leads in a mosey around the AOQ. There may have been some signs of tears as he recalled the days of princessaurora and Hi-Viz (who??).

THE THANG:
#1: t-cell favorite – parking lot shuffle with escalating exercises of burpees, 2 jump squats, and some merkins. A little bit of mumblechatter about speaker volume and the tawdry subtext of these fine pop tunes.

#2: After being gassed from the shuffle, YHC took over to do DIDs at the startex (another t-cell classic) followed by a partner run around the Rec Center Circle highlighted by more burpees, squats, Iron Mikes, and merkins.

Mary to round it off with my 2.0, Steampunk, brazenly throwing out fingertip merkins as the next exercise. Needless to say, I a) was a proud papa and b) totally modified those buggers.

COT: Words or praise, prayers, and gratitude shared. This was also a celebration of my 2.1’s graduation from St. Cecilia Academy later Friday – she’s her own diva/princess of whom this dad is extremely proud.

Ended with a demand that coffeeteria heads to Dose to keep with the nostalgic spirit as well as the demands of our guest – the way many PAX became salty after that announcement made YHC think t-cell had asked for another round of fingertip merkins. Sheesh . . .

Always great to see F3 Nashville royalty at the Most Respected AO in Nashville. Come back again!

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Chaotic Mile

AO: pain-train
Q: Cheeks
PAX: Derby, G-string, FLO, Siri, Pitmaster, Stubs, Cheeks
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
WARMUP:
16x SSH
15x BAC
5x Good morning OYO
Leg Stretch OYO

THE THANG:
Mosey to coupons
2x 25 Squats
1x RDL

Mosey to football field
2x 25 OH Press
1x 25 KB swings

OH carry to tennis courts
2x bear crawl across court and crawl bear back

Mosey to kickball field
1x 25 Side lunge (no more, those sucked)
2x 25 Monkey humpers

Mosey to 9-Square
Hero style 25 burpee pull-ups

Mosey to church parking lot
Merkin ring of fire from 5
25x Hammer crunch OYO
25x Ankle taps OYO 2 is 1
25x Flutter kicks in cadence

Mosey to put coupons up and meet back at flag
2x 30s Superman
15x Diamond merkins
15x Regular merkins
15x Wide merkins

MOLESKINE:
Perspective.

Our roots run deep from our history and past. Don’t let those hinder you from understanding another person’s perspective because their roots run deep in their past as well. Be open and present. This has impacted me in my Christian journey with Christ. I struggle to understand other denominations, especially my wife and her Catholic faith. We both have to remember that context means different things to each of us when referring to church teachings. We are saying the same thing, but our past perspective blurs our understandings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Check the general channel for serving opportunities with SalPal They need PAX to step up and volunteer. I hear no burpees are required
– Bellevue annual picnic is this weekend. Bring your family and enjoy.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
– Stubs son and getting his driver’s license
– Siri and his wife for a healthy pregnancy
– Pitmaster and his career progression decisions

Thanks for letting me bring the beatdown! Have a great weekend men!

-Cheeks

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Partner Up

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: morning stār, Malibu, Timber, AAA, Pitmaster, G-string, Étouffée, Stubs, Gold Digger, Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: 70 degrees, partly clouded, just right for a sweat

WARMUP: Mosey (covered F3 mission, 5 core principles, Credo here), SSH, Slow Merkins, Slow Squats, BACs/back BACs/shoulder raises, Don Quixotes, good mornings

THE THANG: Partner up
1.Stations X 3: 40 sec on, 20 off
a. Pull-ups / plank
b. Stepups / Merkins
c. Bulgarian split squats / dips
d. Knee raises / mountain climbers

2. DORA (Hero style): walk hands out to plank and execute merkin, walk hands back. 50 reps. One partner does exercise, other runs ~100 yards

3. Vacuum Cleaner (3, 2, 1 rep sets): wheelbarrow position, walk 3 steps, do 3 merkins, walk 3 steps back; do set of 2, set of 1

MOLESKINE: G-string went beast mode and ended the DORA early for everyone, thanks to Étouffée for bringing some great coffee

ANNOUNCEMENTS: farm camp out with family the last weekend of May – see morning stār for more details!

COT: every drop of sweat is a deposit in something bigger than fitness – it’s a deposit into our discipline, integrity, and commitment into becoming better men. This time together isn’t just about reps and sets. It’s about accountability, resilience, and choosing discipline over ease.

Prayer intentions were given, and prayed for. Thanks for joining me this morning, men!
-Timber

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Cadence & Grisham

AO: thestronghold
Q: Ponzi , Ginger
PAX: Barney, Chunks, Ponzi, Purple Tiger, Young and Restless, Ginger, Decaf, bluemule, Wham-O, Right Said, Skeet, Red Skull, Practice, Gray Album, Pick Me, Lifesaver, Snuggie, Skud, Stir Fry, Roadtrip, Singlet, Mutt, Wendy’s, Bobby Hill, Icebox
FNGs: 7 Stir Fry, Roadtrip, Singlet, Mutt, Wendy’s, Bobby Hill, Icebox
COUNT: 25
Warmup (Ponzi on Q):
Started with the disclaimer — “Modify only as necessary, but we work to the standard.”
Talked through the importance of cadence — moving together, counting together, holding each other to a standard.
• First movement: Side Straddle Hops (SSH)
• Reps halted due to lack of unity → 3 burpee penalty
• Restarted but reps weren’t to standard → 5 burpee penalty
• Restarted again — this time, no unified count → 10 burpee penalty
• Fourth time was the charm: reps were clean, crisp, unified. 20 SSH IC.

Followed by:
• Imperial Walkers x10 IC
• Hillbillies x10 IC
• Merkins x10 IC (double time)

The Thang (Ginger on Q):
Grabbed blocks and moseyed to the court.
Partnered up in rows and columns for The Grisham WOD:
• Partner 1: Block Thrusters / Partner 2: Burpees → then swap
• Reps: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25
• Everyone held plank until the six was in

Then split into two groups:
• Each group had a leader and did movements in cadence together
• Group A: 20 Thrusters / Group B: 20 Burpees → then swap
• Reps: 20, 15, 10, 5 — all in cadence with group unity

Moseyed back, returned blocks, and circled up for COT.

Announcements:
• Brentwood Cookout – 5/22
• The Struggle 004 – 6/4

Prayers for Singlets mom and Ponzi dad for health and healing. Prayers for us as men to lead like we are meant to.

Moleskin:
We welcomed 7 FNGs — fired up to have the new 4:13 class in the gloom! Strong effort all around. We struggled, we led, we learned the standard together.
Iron sharpens iron. Let’s keep showing up.

SYITG,
Ponzi & Ginger

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Tortoise & Hare #1

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: SalPal, Right Said, Skeet, Barney, Decaf, Chunks, hambone, Judy, Antwaun, Tater (Skeet’s 2.0), Life Saver, Practice?, 7 4:13 Strong FNGS who will be named on Thursday
FNGs: 1 7 4:13 Strong FNGS who will be named on Thursday
COUNT: 20
CONDITIONS: Perfect – daylight, tall grass and cool temps

WARMUP: SSH, Squats, IWs, WMHs, stretches

THE THANG: Run!!! 3 miles around the campus followed by a treat of declining reps for sets of Squats, Burpees and WWIs, working from 10 – 1.

MOLESKINE: A great first effort by class 2025-03! First 4:13 Strong finisher was in at 24:01 and all in by 35:35! For the record, Tater beat Skeet for the first time, finishing with the fastest time of the day at 22:03!

COT: Prayers for family, strength, endurance and wisdom