Once Upon a Time in 13 Rowdy Colonies

AO: greenmachine
Q: Hair Band , Black Lung
PAX: Dumpster Fire (F3 Naperville), Pebbles, moneyshot, Hipster, McAfee, The Merchant, Rocket Mortgage, Works for a Guy, Natural Ice, bluemule, DintyMoore, Dilbert, Good Morning America, Cowboy, El Capitan, Wolfpack, SalPal, Hair Band, Sparrow, Tim the Toolman, Black Lung, Esposa, Grape, Country Parkour, Under the Table, Haggis, Strutter, Chunks, Michelin Man, Focker, Fake Job, Late to The Party
FNGs: 2 Fake Job, Late to The Party
COUNT: 34
CONDITIONS: bright and swampy

WARMUP:
30 SSH, 5 Good Mornings, 10 Merkins, 10 Squats. 10 LBAC, 10 Reverse LBAC, 10 Imperial Walkers, 10 Hillbillies.
Thing 1: Burpee Apocalypse (10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1)

THE THANG:
A salute to the 13 colonies.
1. 10 New York Yurpee (Burpee Variation. Merkin at bottom of burpee is a clap-merkin and on up portion there are 2 tuck jumps per burpee).
2. 30 Virginia V-Ups
3. 50 South Carolina Side Straddle Hops
4. 30 Rhode Island Iron Mikes (2-count)
5. 30 New Hampshire Hand Release Merkins
6. 50 New Jersey Jump Squats
7. 50 Connecticut Crunches
8. 35 Maryland Merkins
9. 50 North Carolina Dry Docks
10. 50 Massachusetts Mountain Climbers (2-count)
11. 50 Georgia Gorilla Humpers
12. 50 Pennsylvania Plank Jacks (2-count)
13. 50 Delaware Dips

Run half lap around the track and start from the top. 3 rounds.

Total reps 1776.

MOLESKINE:
This workout was a beast sprung most from the tortured mind of Black Lung
We had 5/34 men completely finished the work out
We finished by reading the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence & saying the pledge of allegiance

Preamble: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:
– SalPal requests prayers for his baby on the way and his baby they just pulled from daycare

Final Tortoise & Hare for Class 42

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Skeet, Right Said, Hair Band, Chunks, SalPal, Longhorn, baggervance, bluemule, Natural Ice, Decaf, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Dr. Seuss, Skechers, Double Flush
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: 70 degrees – perfect weather for setting a PR

WARMUP: Circle Up 1 min late as YHC lost track of time while pairing pace setters with runners. Standard warm-up of SSH, IWs, Squats and stretching.

THE THANG: Every 4:13 Strong man was assigned an F3 man who was charged with setting and holding a pace. The pairings and pace assignments ensured that every 4:13 Strong man would be able to set a PR if they stayed with their pacer.

The pacers did a fantastic job. The 4:13 Strong men not so much. We had two reach a new PR and two that came very close. The other eight turned in a pretty pathetic final run.

MOLESKINE: You may be set up for success, but succeeding still requires effort. The 4:13 Strong men had everything they needed to turn in their best run of the class…the only thing lacking was the attitude and the effort.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day for this class is this Friday (6/28). We will gather at 11:30am. The ceremony will begin around 11:40am and will last less than 30 minutes. Lunch and fellowship will follow. Come join us and help celebrate what these men have accomplished.

COT: Practice? jumped in to close out our morning. Following the COT he shared that was his first time leading a group prayer.

Tortoise & Hare v3

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Decaf, bluemule, Hacker (Franklin), Chunks, hambone, baggervance, Michelin Man, Hair Band, Longhorn, Right Said, Judy, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Clean Plate, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, Skechers, Double Flush, Dr. Seuss, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: A perfect 72 degrees with a beautiful sunrise over The Stronghold

WARMUP: Some extra encouragement was needed to get the circle formed this morning. Once we were all in the circle, we did our simple stretches and warmup: SSH, Squats, IWs, WMH, Stretch

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!

MOLESKINE: Despite having an F3 partner who was tasked with setting the pace, most 4:13 Strong men took off on a 1/4 mile sprint and left their partner behind. Once we made the first turn past the smoke stack, 4:13 Strong were out of gas and had trouble keeping up with their partner. What a great example that being consistent is more important than being fast.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Struggle 002 kicks off tomorrow night at 9pm. We have 10 4:13 Strong men and 10 F3 men that are embracing the challenge.

COT: Prayers for encouragement, strength and consistency

Sneaky Murph

AO: westeros
Q: Grape
PAX: bluemule, DintyMoore, Michelin Man, Pep, Spinal Tap, Tim the Toolman, Breadsticks, Hedwig, Wedding Singer, Poutine, Griswold, The Pharmacist, Spear
FNGs: 3 Griswold, The Pharmacist, Spear
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: great weather for no sleeves

WARMUP: typical shoulder burner

THE THANG: sneaky Murph
Ran to the top of Love Hill and stopped at various points to do Merkins, completed 200

Took in the sunrise with several other groups of lovers

Ran back down to the playground with stops at various points to do squats, completed 300

Pull ups to failure at the playground

Back to startex with a sprint along the way

MOLESKINE: really glad we had a moment to catch our breaths at the top of the hill, it was great getting to take in the sunrise over Nashville with brothers

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 2.0 workout on 6/8! Check f3dads for more details, but come on out!!!

COT: praises for Hedwig for landing the job, prayers for Breadsticks as he moves in 2.5 weeks, prayers for Pep for work travel (or maybe Comi-Con, who knows)

:grapes:

Tortoise & Hare v2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Thunder Duck, baggervance, bluemule, Right Said, Chunks, Michelin Man, Hair Band, Decaf, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Clean Plate, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Double Flush, Dr. Seuss, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 22
CONDITIONS: Perfect running weather – 63 degrees with a beautiful sunrise.

WARMUP: Circle warm-up with some SSH, IWs, Tappy Taps, stretches and squats.

THE THANG: Pair up and RUN!!! We had three 4:13 Strong PRs this morning. We also recorded the slowest 3 mile run since the inception of the program – 59:17. Thanks to Chunks for sticking it out with Cruise Line and offering some encouragement along the way. We have plenty of room for improvement.

We managed to work through a Burpee Apocalypse with an equal number of squats plus some good core work while waiting for the six.

COT: Prayers for family, strength, wisdom and encouragement.

Salute to Lt. Dan

AO: westeros
Q: Toothless
PAX: Vector, Tim the Toolman, bluemule, Spinal Tap, Natural Ice, Andrew Flood, DintyMoore, Breadsticks, Salami, hambone, Chunks, Pep, Michelin Man, Siri, Solo Cup, caprate, Cheech, Hot Wax, Jockey, Hedwig, Underage
FNGs: 2 Hedwig, Underage
COUNT: 21
CONDITIONS: Sublime overcast morning, light mist from the field sprinklers

WARMUP:
20 x SSH
12 x Willy Mays Hays, 2 each side
30 count x toe touch
30 count x flamingo, both sides
1/2 mile light mosey around park perimeter

THE THANG: Four Corner Dora
Partner travels around 4 corners with a mosey/shuffle/bernie/shuffle per the 4 sides

PAX wait for 6 to rotate (low plank/pick up reps), Lt. Dans to rotate between each station

Corner One: 50 Iron Mikes (2 ct)
Corner Two: 100 Jump Squats
Corner Three: 200 Bonnie Blairs (2 ct)
Corner Four: 400 Side Straddle Hops

Wrapped with some prisoner squats, reverse lunges, star jumps, and sprinters stretch to bring us to time.

MOLESKINE:
PAX were surprisingly good natured about the exercises, but the conditions were just right and the group energy was high so I think we all felt a lift from the good vibes. Stereotypical rock playlist did not distract from the chatter but gave rhythm to the calisthenics.

It was an honor to have men from the Asgard region in town as well as Jockey from across the pond! Also had two FNGs from DintyMoore, great to meet them and welcome them in to this crazy thing we do.

Coffee at Dose was exceptional, took over the whole cafe & got a little rowdy. :coffee:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– may-you-pull-up continues, never too late to join!
– Fresh cohort for thestronghold starts this Thursday

COT:
YHC had an injured wrist, hence the leg day, so my message was for the PAX to appreciate the health we all had that allowed us to get up and get out to a workout, and to not take what isn’t promised for granted.

Prayers for Siri with summer childcare, Pep with his current project at work, and FNG Hedwig for job prospects.

As always, it was an honor to lead, men!
— Toothless :tooth:

Staying Dry

AO: greenmachine
Q: Focker
PAX: Cal Worthington / Nantan / F3 Charleston Cent, bluemule, Nutty Professor, Cowboy, moneyshot, Haggis
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: Wet with eventual sunny sunrise

WARMUP: various stretches

THE THANG: 10 – 1
– Hand Release Merkins
– Y’s
– T’s
10 – 1
– Squats
– Lunges
– humpers
10 – 1
– Alabama Prom Dates
– Jane Fonda L
– Jane Fonda R
10 – 1
– ww1
– Leg Raises
– Reverse Crunch

One lap
20 low and slow squats
20 carolina dry docks
20 diamond merkins
20 legs raises
20 crunchy frogs
Repeat

MOLESKINE: the rain tricked us but we remained dry and content. Cal Worthington / Nantan / F3 Charleston Cent brought good energy once again this week. Nutty Professor looked right at home on the track.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: pain-train launching tomorrow! greenmachine Will be closed next week for thestronghold

COT: prayers lifted for perspective in this life. No day is guaranteed so be quick to love, quick to forgive, slow to speak and slow to anger. Gratefulness for Haggis and his new job!

Final Tortoise & Hare for Class 2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Chunks, Right Said, bluemule, Decaf, Michelin Man, Longhorn, Skeet, Hacker (Franklin), Detective Pikachu, John Deere, Yak, Frozen, Westside, Pacer, C#, Triple Sevens, Blitz, Sgt Meatball
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: A perfect morning for a run. 43 degrees, a beautiful sunrise, a train and a locked gate.

WARMUP: Westside took us through our warmup – SSH, IW, Stretches, Squats and Tappy-Taps

THE THANG: Pair up – each 4:13 Strong man picked an F3 running partner and set a goal time for the run. The pairings seemed to work well as today was our fastest run of the class. We were “All In” by 34:00 with 7 out of 8 4:13 Strong men setting a new PR.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day is this Friday, 11:30am. Come celebrate what these men have accomplished and stick around for some lunch and fellowship. It is one of the best ways to spend your Friday lunch hour.

COT: Red Skull closed with a prayer.

Triangle of Sadness

AO: thestronghold
Q: Sunshine
PAX: Chunks, Red Skull, Dan Tanna, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Decaf, Hacker (Franklin), Swingline / Jason Aeverman, bluemule, Skeet, Dan and Dave, Shoota, McFly (Franklin), Sunshine (Franklin), Woopie (Franklin), Noble Virus (Franklin), Blitz, Fozen, C Sharp, Yeti, Sgt. Meatball, Pacer, Westside, Trajectory,
FNGs: None
COUNT: 24
CONDITIONS: Cool and damp

WARMUP: SSH, Mosey, Arm Circles, Seal Claps

THE THANG: 3 station beatdown. PAX separated into 3 groups and partnered up within those groups. Group 1 grabbed coupons for their station and we all moseyed to the bball court. Each group started at a different station and rotated throughout.

Station 1
Curls
Overhead Press
Dips

Station 2
Bolt 45s

Station 3
Big Boys
American Hammers (2=1)
Leg Lifts

Perform 5 reps of each exercise, then move on to the next station. After completing all 3 stations, go up 5 reps to 10 total. Next round, 15 reps. So on until Mary.

Mary consisted of the song “Roxanne.” SSH through the song, performing a burpee every time Roxanne is said.

MOLESKINE: Sometimes we act like life gets easier the older you get, always looking to the next stage you think will be easier than the present. Like this workout, though, it often gets harder. You may find your groove or sweet spot, but then you up it by 5 reps, making it more difficult. Moments like that are when you lean on your battle buddy.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT: YHC was too busy trying not to splash merlot to finish up after Moleskine.

Tortoise & Hare

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: bluemule, Hacker (Franklin), Skeet, Longhorn, Decaf, Judy, Chunks, Buritto (Franklin), Yak, Frozen, Westside, Pacer, Trajectory, C#, Triple 7s, Blitz, Sgt Meatball
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: perfect running weather – 63 and no rain!

WARMUP: Yak took us through a warm up which included SSH, IW, and a little stretching.

THE THANG: RUN!!! 3 miles around the campus. No train, no rain, a little pain. We have multiple PRs this morning – 5 from the 4:13 Strong guys and a couple from the F3 crowd. Overall, a great morning at The Stronghold.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The 4:13 Strong annual fundraiser is this Thursday. Several of our men will be on the stage sharing a testimony or performing some original music. It is going to be a great night!

COT: Yak closed us with a prayer.