To Take Down a Titan

AO: titan
Q: SalPal
PAX: Detective Pikachu, Hair Band, Avalanche, bluemule, Pep, Barry Lee, Salami, The Merchant, greyalbum, Sherlock, Planter
FNGs: 1 Planter
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: Ripe for Adventure

WARMUP: Quick mosey + dice burpees.

THE THANG: Buckle in. Bold + Italics = critical path through workout.

Your party has answered the call to slay Nashvillia, the evil goddess of woo girls, beer bikes, and unsavory public behavior. She is a powerful deity, so you will have to acquire mighty artifacts and magicks to slay her.

Your path takes you through the Forest of Sir Bearington, a sentient bear with no love for humans. The party druid disguises everyone as rabbits to help avoid detection. Broad jumps!

You arrive to the blacksmith to decide on your weapon, and in doing so, prove yourself worthy to wield it. Do you choose:
1. Realmbreaker, The Legendary Greathammer of the Dwarf King Ulush? – 5 minutes, 11 burpees EMOM
2. Heartseeker, The Mythical Bow of the Unspeakable Hunter, Garog? – 5 minutes of suicides, EMOM
3. The Whisper, The Unassuming Dagger, Which Grants Invisibility? – 5 minutes of isometric merkins

You decide to take your new weapon out for a spin and gain some sweet sweet experience points. You find a nearby cave and stumble upon:
1 – an arch-lich, its eyes burning with hatred as it attempts to consume your soul. 15 Burpees! 15 Lt. Dans!
2 – a mind flayer and a legion of intellect devourers. 15 burpees! 10 Lt. Dans!
3 – an enraged earth elemental. 15 burpees! 5 Lt. Dans!
4 – a pack of hobgoblins. 15 burpees!
5 – a few goblins. 10 burpees!
6 – a single rat. 5 burpees!

Might alone will not slay the goddess; you need magic. Duh. An archmage has lent you his spellbook, but you only have time to learn 1 spell. You decide on:

Fireball – Ring of Fire
Lightning Bolt – Catch Me If You Can Burpees
Snow Storm – Howler Monkeys

Finally prepared, you slip into the grand throne of Nashvillia. You find the temple fortress surrounded by beer-drinking valkyries screaming “Party in the US” and throwing cans at attempted intruders. You opt for:

1. Outright Violence: Burpee-Jumps to the half field and back
2. Stealth. Bear Crawl around Parthenon

You make your way to the grand throne room, and find Nashvillia waiting for you! This is the final assault. Your options:
1. Charge blindly ahead: Field-Long Boo Boo Bear Crawls
2. Work together with the party in a coordinated attack: DORA, 100 Lt. Dan’s.

Nashvillia, weakened by your attack, transforms into her final form: a terrible pink dragon with the words “Venmo for drinks” etched in its side. This is your last chance! You:
1. You realize that your strength lies in friendship, and you move as one, shoulder to shoulder with men you have learned to call brothers: 10 Booyah Merkins, 10 Hi-Five Jump Squats, 3 sets
2. You make a heroic last stand, staring death in the eye as you shoulder the responsibility of defeating this fiend, even at the cost of your own life: 10 Worlds Worst Merkins

At the very end of every adventure, there is a lesson. You discover:
1. The demons you face, and strength to conquer them, come from within you, and that life is the struggle to overcome the darkness in men.
2. Glory comes from not just the stories we tell, but the comrades that can share in those legends.

Either way, 10 burpee buyout.

MOLESKINE: Don’t take things too seriously. Have fun with the hard things. Make every day an adventure

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hunger Games, Sooie Party, Brew Ruck, Night Movez, Run around the Castle (GEODIS). See Slack for more.

COT: Prayers of gratitude for progress with adoption process for Grey Album. All other intentions spoken and unspoken.

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.

The Return of Bagger Vance

AO: thestronghold
Q: baggervance
PAX: Chunks, Hair Band, Natural Ice, Skeet, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Red Skull, Decaf, Dan and Dave, Mayday (F3 Omaha), Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Dr. Seuss, Skechers, Double Flush, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: A perfect 63 degrees with a beautiful sunrise. Rumored to be the last nice day for a while.

WARMUP: Circle up in the parking lot for a standard warm-up consisting of SSH, IW, HBW and some fancy stretching. Take off for a brief run which included some side shuffle and skips.

THE THANG:
Meet on the basketball court for some movements to half court and back. Bear Crawl + Crawl Bear x 2, Inch Worm, Worm Inch.

To the block pile, every man grabs a block. Block work included Merkins with feet on the wall, Murder Bunnies, Redrum Bunnies, Blockies, OH Press, 1 arm OH Press, Block Swings, Lung Walk, Rifle Carry, March back to block pile to drop off the blocks.

Meet in the circle for a little BV Yoga before time was called.

MOLESKINE: Good energy this morning. It was nice to see some of the 4:13 Strong guys push hard and complete the work instead of giving up and stopping short like they would have done a couple of weeks ago. Progress is being made!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day for this class will be Friday, June 28 at 11:30am.

COT: Prayers for fallen 4:13 Strong men, families and our city.

Tortoise & Hare v4

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hacker (Franklin), Natural Ice, Chunks, Right Said, Hair Band, Decaf, Longhorn, SalPal, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Clean Plate, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Dr. Seuss, Skechers, Double Flush, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: Absolutely Perfect. 57 degrees with a beautiful sunrise.

WARMUP: SSH, Squats, Hill Billy Walkers, Stretch, WMH.

THE THANG:
Partner up and RUN! We had three PRs this morning, and everyone was in by 45:10. Cruise Line did 1.6 miles with a 30lb Ruck and was waiting for everyone at the finish line.

Circle up for some Mary while we waited for the six to come in. We did PAX choice and made it about 1/2 around the circle before calling “Time”.

COT: Prayers for perseverance, wisdom and courage.

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

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.

Tortoise & Hare, v1

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Chunks, Skeet, Hair Band, SalPal, Natural Ice, Hacker (Franklin), Michelin Man, Longhorn, Decaf, baggervance, Touchback, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Snooze, Clean Plate, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Skechers, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: Perfect 70 degrees with a beautiful sunrise just as promised.

WARMUP: SSH, Imperial Walkers, Tappy Taps, Squats, Stretches

THE THANG: RUN!!! – The first official three mile run for this class. Hair Band set the pace and the rest of us tried to keep up. The first 4:13 Strong finisher was Practice? at 25:03. We had one more 4:13 Strong man finish under the 30:00 (LifeSaver). All in time of 51:28 so there is a lot of room for improvement.

MOLESKINE: Thank you for coming out and helping the new class figure out what it means to run 3 miles. Before our next Tortoise & Hare, this group will have some opportunity to practice their running. We will run penalty miles Wednesday and Friday morning at 0530. Same distance and same course as today. All are welcome to join.

COT: Closed with a prayer for strength, courage and guidance.

Respectapalooza

AO: westeros
Q: CubCadet
PAX: DintyMoore, Vector, Tim the Toolman, Pep, Hair Band, Red Skull
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: Wet and windy with a hint of electricity in the air. And then, at 5:30, the skies cleared…

WARMUP: Mosey to the school pick-up and drop-off circle. Mumblechatter reflected on how nice it was to just be 5 men over 50 hanging out. And then DintyMoore and Hair Band joined us, late. Mix of SSH, Arm circles F / B, seal claps, WMH, GM, IW and HK. Pax sufficiently warmed up.

THE THANG: Belated celebration of Cinco-de-Mayo, with Pep getting the right answer on the history of the holiday. Hint, has nothing to do with Mexican Independence or the Alamo.

C – Climbers, 35 reps each leg
I – Iron Mikes, 45 reps each leg
N – (High) Nees, 55 reps each leg
C – Crunches, 65 four count
O – Overhead Claps, 75 reps

Between each letter, pax did a lap of the traffic circle. Last lap was done French retreat style, backwards (aka Bernie).

Mixed in some squats and chair on wall, then mosey to front steps. Did two sets of stair climbs doing incline merkins every other step. Mosey back to start for 8 minutes of Mary, round robin, 25 reps each exercise.

Entertainment provided by an 80’s pop rock mix (Squeeze, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis), yeah really old stuff. It was a recycle, because I didn’t remember I was Q until 10:35 last night.

MOLESKINE: Gratitude for opportunity to work out together on a day when most thought the weather wouldn’t cooperate.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: pain-train kicks off in Bellevue this weekend. No bomber And for those, like me, who missed it, westeros has a new AOQ. Thanks to Chunks for his leadership, and to bluemule for stepping up to lead.

COT: Prayers for Hair Band visit home to Mom, his company and his new endeavors at church. Prayers for Pep to get another project at work. I’m probably forgetting something. Sorry. Oh, and thank you, Lord, for letting the Respects win one hands down, no ties / no debate.

Are You Not Entertained!?

AO: middle-tooth
Q: Toothless
PAX: Rocket Mortgage, Betty Ford, Hair Band, Young Pawn, Oatmeal, Subway, sooner, Puzzlah, Focker
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: The rain let up just like I planned it at precisely 5:27am. In scouting the conditions, I encountered a crawdad swimming on the asphalt. True story, will share the evidence.

PLAYLIST: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0NyMRuMJGaBWv8NwcJHMrm?si=a9c2c1828dc74b12

WARMUP:
– SSH x 80 (Colosseum was finished in 80 AD!)
– Willy Mays Hays x 12 (two each side)
– Michael Phelps x 10
– Big Arm Circles x 10
– Reverse Big Arm Circles x 10
– Good Mornings x 10 oyo

THE THANG: Are You Not Entertained!? :crossed_swords: :stadium:

Start with a 4 minute plank for plankpril to “win the crowd”

Count off into 2 groups. For the following rounds, all reps must be completed, but groups may pick up reps from the six to complete. Loser will have a choice of exercise in the next round, team wins will matter at the end.

Round 1
– Bear crawl to fence
– Lunge back
– 50 merkins
All run 2 laps when completed

Round 2
– Chariot (wheelbarrow) to fence
– Broad jump back
– Choice: 50 WWI’s / 100 American Hammers (2ct.)
– Team 2 won Round 1, so Team 1 chose 100 two-count American Hammers
All run 2 laps when completed

Round 3
– Suicides x 3 (each far court line, first & back, second & back, 3rd & back)
– Inchworm Merkin there
– Bernie back (outside line to avoid collision)
– Choice: 50 Euro Steps / 100 Squats
– Team 1 won round 2, so Team 2 chose 100 Squats

30 Burpee buyout, minus 5 per winning round for each team.
– Team 2 won 2 rounds and did 20
– Team 1 won 1 round and did 25.

Back to Startex for Mary – dealers choice of weapon (exercise) and proceed til time.

MOLESKINE:
On a particularly rainy morning, YHC was grateful for the 10 PAX who did not let the fartsack win them over and who came out to test their mettle.

I personally found the playlist invigorating, and while there was mumblechatter, I think all but 2 PAX held the full 4 minute plank! Excellent full body yells on brand from Young Pawn.

Considering the conditions, we stayed pretty dry all the way until Mary when Rocket Mortgage promptly had us down in the water for our first exercise. Thanks for that – made the coffee from sooner taste even better!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: So very many – please see -f3-nashville-general for the full list!

Additional announcement is that Oatmeal and sooner are taking their families camping this weekend to Montgomery Bell State Park, and there’s an open invite to others who want to go!

COT: YHC echoed the message in the pre-blast about the importance of AOQs in F3 and shared gratitude for the 5-6 current and previous AOQs we had around the circle. I reiterate that we want PAX to lead before they’re ready and to leave before their ready, and we are pushing to help that trend solidify.

Prayers shared for recent diagnosis, death of an extended family member, and for a tragic incident in another F3 region with an FNG collapsing & not making it. Will share more as that travels through the grapevine.

Thank you, HIM, for your effort today. May you be better for it!

As always, it’s an honor to lead.
— Toothless :tooth: