Welcome Back Struggle 004

AO: thestronghold
Q: SalPal , Chunks
PAX: bluemule, Dan and Dave, Wham-O, Sanctions, Papa Bear, Chunks, greyalbum, Crawlspace, Not-a-Sport, catfish, Penny Loafers, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Barney, toga, Decaf, Bobby Hill, Ice Box, Pick Me, Pope, Road Trip, Wendy’s, Stir Fry, Ambassador (F3 Annapolis), Mutt, Stage Dive
FNGs: None
COUNT: 26
CONDITIONS: Slightly moist.

WARMUP: A lot of side-shuffle hops and burpees, as it ought to be. Thanks to Chunks for getting the ball rolling.

THE THANG: 3 Groups rotating through sprints, burpees, and planks on a 1 minute timer, with 5 seconds to rotate. T-Claps to Dan and Dave for decreasing sub-30 second splits on all his sprints.

10 burpee salute to the Strugglers as they rolled in at 0600 hours.

Close with planks/”watersplashers” for Mary.

MOLESKINE: Great chatter and attitude today, and glad to be out in support of the men doing this latest Struggle. High concentrations of HIM on the 4:13 campus today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Struggle 005 date TBD.

COT: Lift up the men that took on the Struggle the last 16 hours.

Goblet of Ice Trifecta – Round 1- Triforce of Power

AO: titan
Q: Natural Ice
PAX: Chunks, Papa Bear, Cropduster, Sherlock, GameStop, Pep
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
Conditions: Sweat-soaked and glorious
Warm-O-Rama:
We kicked things off with Side Straddle Hops and a round of dynamic runner’s stretches, which successfully faked out Pep into thinking we were headed for a long run. In reality, I just needed a stretch after too many miles this week. Mission accomplished.

The Thang:
Cinder blocks were retrieved, and we headed to the hill for a devious round of 11s:
– Bottom of the Hill: Blockie Burpees
– Top of the Hill: WWI Sit-Ups

But wait—there’s more. Because I’m a glutton for punishment, each trip up or down the hill had its own special challenge:
1. Carry a cinder block
2. Bear crawl up
3. Crawl bear down
4. Crab walk down
5. Lunges uphill
6. Run backward uphill
7. Sprint (plan run)
8. High knees
9. Side shuffle (switch sides halfway)
10. Lieutenant Dan (lunge + squat combo)

We may have gone one minute over time… but the hill demanded it.

Moleskin:
Today marked my 5th year in F3 and the first of three consecutive Qs in the Goblet of Ice Trifecta.

After completeing the the Triforce of Power we have two more lined up:
– Triforce of Wisdom: Thursday at Green Machine
– Triforce of Courage: Friday at Handsomizer

COT:
Prayers lifted for the men of Stronghold walking through the fire tonight.

Announcements:
– 4th of July convergence at Handsomizer – final details TBD
– Upcoming CSAUP involving teams of 5 – details coming soon

SYITG,
Natural Ice

Tortoise & Hare, Run #4

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Young and Restless, bluemule, Chunks, Right Said, Wham-O, Barney, Judy, Decaf, Wendy’s, Ice Box, Stir Fry, Road Trip, Bobby Hill, Mutt, Singlet, Touchback
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: It is starting to get warm and humid. 66 degrees except by the barn where the temperature is noticeably cooler.

WARMUP: Road Trip was tapped to lead our warm up. While he switched up the order on us, he hit all the usual warmup exercises.

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!! A great morning for a run. The F3 PAX were a huge source of encouragement to the 4:13 Strong men. For the first time ever, every 4:13 Strong man turned in a new Personal Best time! Thank you for all of the encouragement that you provided today.

MOLESKINE: Based on past experience, this is the hardest week of the 40 Day Challenge, not because we do anything different but because this is the week that things start to become a grind. The men have to dig deep and find some source of encouragement to keep pushing. Today, we saw 7 men who have done just that!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Struggle 004 is this week. The 4:13 Strong Clay Shoot is this Friday. Spots are still available for anyone who would like to participate. DM me and I will get. you hooked up.

COT: Everything about the COT went in reverse order this morning, but we got it all in! It was a great start to the day at The Stronghold!

Green Sally Up, Green Sally Down

AO: bomber
Q: SalPal
PAX: Pep, Chunks, hambone, Right Said, Salami, Papa Bear, CubCadet, Skittles
FNGs: 1 Skittles
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Indecisively dry

WARMUP: HA! That’s funny… wait you’re serious?

THE THANG:

Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Old Miss Lucy’s dead and gone
Left me here to weep and moan
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Old Miss Lucy’s dead and gone
Left me here to weep and moan
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Old Miss Lucy’s dead and gone
Left me here to weep and moan
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Green Sally up and green Sally down
Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground
Old Miss Lucy’s dead and gone
Left me here to weep and moan

Also assorted merks, squats, bear crawls, wall exercises, hill sprints w/ burpees and Lt. Dan’s.

MOLESKINE: This song will live rent-free in your brain forever now. Also Puzzlah joined for coffeteria,

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Brewsday, Library Event, Struggle, see Slack for details. Welcome Skittles!

COT: Health, family, travel, other quiet intentions.

Running Blockie Apocolypse

AO: thestronghold
Q: Natural Ice
PAX: Young and Restless, Red Skull, Dan and Dave, Skeet, Purple Tiger, Decaf, Hipster, Chunks, Barney, Natural Ice, Ice Box, Road Trip, Mullet, Pick Me, Singlet, Stir Fry, Boby Hill, Wendys,
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
Conditions: Humid and PERFECT

Warm-Up:
We kicked things off with the classics: side straddle hops, light stretching, and a touch of Broga. Loosened up the shoulders with arm circles, overhead claps, seal claps, and Moroccan nightclubs. Knocked out a few Merkins to wake up the chest.

The Thang:
Everyone grabbed a cinder block coupon and got the run-down: this workout would be nonstop movement. Any downtime or wait-for-the-six moments defaulted to our “resting” move—lift block to shoulder, press overhead, switch sides, lower to ground, repeat.

We launched into a Blockee Apocalypse:
– Travel with your block
– Drop for a round of Blockees (Burpee + Merkin on block + overhead press with block)
– Start at 10 reps, decrease by 1 at each stop
– Between rounds, PAX rotated through WWIs, or our “rest” move

Made our way across the AO with grit and sweat. At the final stop, back at the starting deck, we flipped the script and hit one last set of 10 Blockees to finish strong.

Mary:
– Flutter kicks (too many)
– 20 WWI sit-ups in cadence

COT:
Wrapped with gratitude and a prayer for the men of 413 to stay strong and finish well.

Moleskin:
– Blocks were heavy
– Spirits were high
– No one quit in this group
– You can catch your breath with out stoping

SYITG
Natural Ice

Tortoise & Hare, Run #3

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Chunks, Wham-O, Young and Restless, Right Said, Barney, Decaf, Judy, Salami, Wendy’s, Ice Box, Stir Fry, Road Trip, Practice?, Bobby Hill, Life Saver, Mutt, Singlet
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Perfect running weather – 66 degrees

WARMUP: The usual: SSH, Squats, IWs, Stretches, WMHs

THE THANG: Partner Up and RUN!! Find someone that will push you to get better and run with them. It worked…5 PRs this morning. Our “All In” time is improving…today we were All In at 34:30 leaving time for a Burpee Apocalypse with some Squats mixed in just for fun.

MOLESKINE: Improvements are a sign of hard work. Please keep encouraging the 4:13 Strong men as they figure out what it means to fight for change in their life.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Struggle 004 is next week. If interested one of the final spots, reach out to tampalibra.

COT: Prayers for continued wisdom, strength and endurance.

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

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

Because Pep said

AO: the-castle
Q: Pep
PAX: Chunks, hambone, Strutter, Every Other, Dilbert, A Boy Named Sue, StepBrother, Hambone’sMouth
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Cool and slightly chilly

WARMUP: 75 yard mosey to tennis court

THE THANG:
Rectangle:
– one partner runs the tennis court while the other does a slower movement
– Slower movements
– Komodo dragon
– murder bunny
– bear crawl
– reverses
Dora:
– 100 American hammers
– 200 windshield wipers
– 300 fire hydrants

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
A running challenge that starts end of May until some time in September (check -f3-nashville-general)

COT:
– strutter’s MIL has liver cirosis (sp?)
– Chunks leaves Hendersonville next weekend
– Stepbrother’s friend who is getting a divorce (dude is drinking)

Dora for everyone

AO: greenmachine
Q: Pep
PAX: Chunks, Cowboy, Grape, moneyshot, Sherlock, Matador, Esposa, Betty Ford, Black Lung
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: cool but wet ground

WARMUP: none

THE THANG:
– dora-ish
– one partner runs in a rectangle (endzone to 50 yard line to sideline to endzone back to sideline)
– while other partner doing a slower movement
– switch when first partner meets second partner
– slower movements:
– komodo dragon
– murder bunnies
– bear crawls
– reversies
– dora:
– exercises:
– 50 mericans
– 100 windshield wipers (each side half)
– 150 fire hydrants (each side half)
– 11’s
– exercises:
– mericans
– squats

COT:
prayers:
– esposa’s wife’s shoulder (going to doctor to find out what to do) prayer for jumping children
– grape’s knee cap (the michelangelo anterior davinci metaclorian tendon is the medical term)
– cowboy’s uncle had a stroke