Finish strong

AO: thestronghold
Q: Wham-O
PAX: Barney, Dan and Dave, Right Said, Chunks, Hipster, Decaf, Sanctions, Cuties, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Speed Date, Go Fish, Comic Book Guy, Old Man River, Mater, Shred It, Raisin
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: starry and cool

WARMUP: side straddle hop, squat, Willy Mays hays, arm circles, stretches (runners and sky/toes)

THE THANG:
– Indian run to far intersection
– 21s (side straddle hop to 21 self count) PAX must end on 21 exact
– 10 penalty burpees. PAX executed well, however a few were heard “counting cards”, the house called the cheating + 21 burpees
– Mosey to basketball court with coupons.
– Partner timed exercise: 1’s with block, 2’s lunging, timed by lunging person reaching partner.
– Exercise Rounds: curls, over head press, blockees, curls (for the girls)

THE FINISH:
– Indian Merkin “Run”
– all PAX in plank position, back of the line progresses forward up the line by doing 1 merkin with just the PAX directly in front of him. Once he reaches the front of the line, he planks and awaits the next man progressing. The exercise ended when the line progressed across the entire basketball court.

MOLESKINE: word of encouragement was that “Leaders run towards smoke” there isn’t always an obvious fire, but don’t turn your back on the metaphorical smoke in your world. Go stand in the gap, run towards conflict, and address issues before they burn things down.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: the Struggle! Signing day next Friday 10/24

COT: :pray:

Penultimate Run

AO: thestronghold
Q: Barney
PAX: SalPal, Decaf, Right Said, Chunks, Barney, Brown Slip, Salami, Dantana, Cuties, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Speed Date, Go Fish, Comic Book Guy, Old Man River, Mater, Shred It, Raisin
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Crisp & clear

WARMUP: Led by Raisin: SSH, Squats, IW, Stretch, WMH

THE THANG: 3 miles on a crisp morning. Early finishers picked up the six or reentered the circle for Burpees & Squats from 10 down to 1 followed by various planks, including alternating leg/arm raised planks.

MOLESKINE: PR set by Raisin: 18:41

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Career Fair & Signing Day next week followed by The Struggle.

COT: Prayed for injuries, families, and safe return of Red Skull.

Birthday CTF

AO: the-castle
Q: hambone
PAX: Chunks, Space Baby, Squatter, Butterfingers, Dilbert, Hipster, Fabuloso, Steely, Livin’ On A Prayer, Barney, Strutter, SalPal
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: just right to play CTF

WARMUP: lol no. Listen to the instructions. If you don’t, be on a team with hambone or make sure you’re listening to the instructions on the card.

THE THANG:
1. North vs South (side of the shovel flag)
2. Teams have 20 minutes to hide the 80lb sandbag in their territory (200 burpee penalty for all team members if all any team members are late getting back).
3. Each team member must touch the bag after it is placed / hidden (no slackers).
4. Bag must travel between .6 and .8 miles before placement.
5. After 20 minutes, teams switched sides and went to find the bag(s). First team back wins.
6. 200 burpee late penalty (not enforced)

MOLESKINE:
Congrats to the South for hiding the bag with camo and fooling the North-siders. Each man got over 3 miles of running / walking. Many thanks to the South team for making a strong effort to retrieve the bag where we failed.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: check Slack

COT: Thankful for 38 trips around the Sun. Let’s make this next one even better.

Tortoise & Hare, Run #4

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Touchback, Laces Out, DintyMoore, Judy, Hipster, Right Said, Chunks, Barney, Decaf, SalPal, Salami, Wham-O, Bruh Bruh, Mater, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Puppy Chow, Shred-It, Cuties, Go Fish, Speed Date, Comic Book Guy, Raisin, Old Man River
FNGs: None
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: Wet, warm and dark

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, Squats, IWs, stretches, WMH

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!! We were teased by the rain this morning…it held off until we got started and then somewhere along the route is started up.

SalPal hosted the After Party this morning, inviting everyone to join him at the picnic tables for some split squats, dips and decline merkins and more spilt squats.

MOLESKINE: Some how we were able to run 3 miles in the rain and attend the SalPal After Party but couldn’t execute the count in the circle. Life can be hard so at least get the easy parts right!

COT: Prayers for focus, consistency and endurance.

Tortoise & Hare, Run #3

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Wham-O, Judy, Young and Restless, Hipster, Laces Out, Chunks, Right Said, Brown Slip, Touchback, Decaf, Barney, tampalibra, Mater, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Puppy Chow, Shred-It, Cuties, Go Fish, Speed Date, Comic Book Guy, Raisin, Old Man River, Nap Time
FNGs: None
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: 64 degrees and dark…perfect running weather!

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up – SSH, Squats, IWs, Stretches, WMH

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!! Like usual, half the 4:13 Strong men took off like they were being chased. Several kept the pace up for the whole three miles and finished with sub 25:00 runs. We had four 4:13 Strong PRs this morning plus several F3 PRs. Everyone was so fast today we had five extra minutes of Mary for all!

MOLESKINE: What a great morning at The Stronghold. Thank you to the F3 PAX for strong showing and the great coffeeteria!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Struggle 005 – still time so claim a spot. I promise The Struggle 005 patch will be your favorite patch. Earn it and wear it with pride.

Don’t let your partner down!

AO: thestronghold
Q: toga
PAX: Red Skull, Dan and Dave, Chunks, Decaf, Laces Out, Wham-O, Right Said, Barney, Dinky, Raisin, Shred-it, Mater, Nap Time, Speed Date, Puppy Chow, Comic Book Guy, Old Man River, Goldfish, Rocket Man, Mosh Pit, Cuties,
FNGs: None
COUNT: 22
CONDITIONS: Glorious!
WARMUP: Mosey to the gravel parking lot for standard warmarama
THE THANG: Pair up with each pair drawing one block then mosey to the parking lot across from STEM.
Rd 1: All P1 hold the block above their heads while P2 runs to the end of the lot and executes 10 merkins as a group and return to P1. Flapjack only when the whole team is ready. Repeato x3
Rd 2: Mosey to the STEM building then all P1 hold the block in a wall sit while P2 runs to the rails along the walk and execute 15 supine rows as a group and return to P1. Flapjack only when the whole team is ready. Repeato x3
Rd 3: The PAX formed up on the side of the road where P1 performs a hair burner to the other side, executes 5 merkins, and mosey back to P2 who is holding a reverse plank. Flapjack only when the whole team is ready. Repeato x3
MARY: LBCs, merkins, flutters
ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Struggle is real. See tampalibra to secure your spot and participate with the men of 4:13.
See BWood General channel for other announcements
COT: All of the jobs these men compete for will require teamwork and reliance on the man next to them. We all have to be dependable for those around us, and we took some steps towards that today.

Tortoise & Hare, Run #2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Wham-O, Squatter, Crawlspace, Right Said, tampalibra, Chunks, Barney, Decaf, Touchback, Brown Slip, Laces Out, Mater, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Puppy Chow, Rocket Man, Shred-It, Cuties, Go Fish, Speed Date, Comic Book Guy, Raisin, Old Man River, Nap Time
FNGs: None
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: Dark, Damp and Humid – Where is fall?

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, Squats, IWs, Stretches, WMH

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!! Despite the conditions, the 4:13 Strong men showed out this morning. We had 8/13 PRs and a new fastest time for the class of 21:06 (Raisin).

For the first time in a couple of classes, we had everyone in under 40:00…now we are shooting for an “all in” time of 35:00.

MOLESKINE: Despite the great effort on the run, the effort and attitude for the COT was lacking. As a reminder to work all the way through and not get sloppy on the easy things, we took off on a “reminder run” before trying to get in the COT again.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Struggle 005 10/24. Let Tampa know if you are in.

COT: Closing prayer let by Comic Book Guy.

The Rise of WEIGHTSteros!

AO: westeros
Q: Michelin Man , Vector
PAX: Vector, Michelin Man, Pep, Tim the Toolman, Black Lung, bluemule, Chunks, CubCadet, Shy Guy, Spinal Tap
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: Hot Guy Fall

WARMUP: Warm Up OYO. Ran a quarter loop around the park.

THE THANG: DORA

1. Partner Up. Distributed weights. Thank you Chunks and Shy Guy. NO THANK YOU to Tim the Toolman. 🙂
2. Wall Sit – 1 Pax wall sits with the weight. Other Pax runs to the second portapotty and back. Repeat 3x each.
3. Black Lung and newly minted late guy Spinal Tap showed up. Black Lung penalty of 12 burpees.
4. Moved to the pavilion.
5. Pax does 50 squat thrusters with coupon. Then 100 senior proms (weighted alabama prom dates). Then 150 step ups with weights. Then 200 front touch thing with weights. Other Pax runs.
6. 40 fire hydrants. 40 jane fondas. 40 donkey kicks.
7. A minor amount of broga.

MOLESKINE: Thank you to Vector for an A+ fun and games playlist. Thank you to bluemule for letting Vec and I lead. Good job everyone racing me back up the hill including CubCadet and Pep and Chunks.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Check the Natural Ice blast!

COT: Thank you for these guys, and good weather, and healthy bodies.

Grow School III + The Reckoning

AO: -f3-nashville-general
Q: SalPal , Hair Band
PAX: Pep, Natural Ice, Juicy J (JBowman), Chunks
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
CONDITIONS:

WARMUP:

THE THANG: The Reckoning! A common piece of feedback I’ve had and heard about F3 is that sometimes you plateau physically. So, we are launching the Reckoning! Below is the link, it usually takes ~1 hour, with 11 exercises (in honor of the 11th anniversary) either AMRAP or for time. It’s the template for future Grow Schools, and if you want to run this as a one-off for a Q, be my guest. Just record your numbers, track in the sheet, and watch yourself get better.

T-Claps to Pep for helping me push through the pain after taking off ~20% of my right shin during box jumps, and to the other men for encouraging one another similarly.

Want to get in on the competition? Mark your calendars for Grow School IV + Reckoning on Dec. 6th.

Link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f-fBugEBgiOzyiNtQqxeE66tsGRcdIVvWH2JcIOYQT8/edit?usp=sharing

MOLESKINE: Discussion around intentional male community, Shieldlock, leadership, legacy, and growth. Great insights from Pep, Natural Ice, Chunks and Juicy J (JBowman). T-Claps to Hair Band for leading.

9/11 Convergence

AO: greenmachine
Q: Cowboy , SalPal, Pole Dancer, Black Lung
PAX: Michelin Man, Pep, moneyshot, Esposa, Betty Ford, Tim the Toolman, Works for a Guy, Goose, Squatter, Pepsi, Tinkertoy, Hipster, Purple Tiger, Chunks, Puzzlah, Hoffa
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
CONDITIONS: Beautiful Meteorological Fall Morning

WARMUP: SalPal led with F3 sanctioned exercises
Count off – 4 Groups
Mosey to Stadium

THE THANG:
Theme: Constant movement, Use stairs
Co-Qs: Pole Dancer, Black Lung, SalPal, Cowboy
4-Qs; 4 stations: 4 Stadium Sections:
1 Co-Q leads at a section. PAX rotates.
Tabata Style- 6 sets of 80sec +10sec rest btw sets – 1 min transition between stations.
By the end all have rotated thru all stations

Station 1: SalPal : Five Big Boy Situps, Run to top of Stairs, return
Station 2: Pole Dancer : Run Up the stairs, down the stairs, 10 burpees. Wall sit for the Six.
Station 3: Black Lung : Run Up the Stairs, AMRAP exercise to the timer.
Stair run variations by round: 1, hit every step, 2, hit every other step, 3, hit every third step, 4, bunny hop on every step, 5, broad jump up every other step, 6, free style stair run
AMRAP exercise by round (alternating upper/lower body by round): 1, merkins, 2, squats, 3, hand-release merkins, 4, iron mikes, 5, clap merkins (clerkins), 6, lunges
Station 4: Cowboy : Exercise then ascend the stairs
Rounds 1: Fire Hydrants 10 each leg. Bunny Hop up stairs; Round 2: Star Jumps, Bunny Hop Up 3: AL Prom Date Bridge, Leg out, Drop Leg and back up. 10 each leg, bunny hop.
Rounds 4-6 Repeat exercises followed by Box Jumps up Bleachers this time.

No Time for Mary

MOLESKINE:
Things OverHeard:
I gotta Go to Work
You did how many Burpees?
The inventor of the Burpee warned to never do more than 4 in at a single exercise session.

Great Representations from atlantis thestronghold greenmachine

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Check 1st F and F3 General Slack – Grow School , Night Moves 9/18, etc

COT: On this day we are remember the tragedy of 9/11, Charlie Kirk’s assassination (his family’s grief), Colorado School Shooting (grief of those families), generally hurt, loneliness, brewing hatred going unnoticed.