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

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 v5

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hacker (Franklin), Judy, baggervance, SalPal, Chunks, Right Said, Decaf, 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: 20
CONDITIONS: The summer humidity finally found The Stronghold. It was a sticky 77 degrees at 0530.

WARMUP: Circle Up for the standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, IW, Squats, Stretches, WMHs.

THE THANG: Partner Up, Set a Goal, RUN!! Today we saw 5 new PRs! The runners were “All In” by 40:17. Our Rucker was in by 50:00.

MOLESKINE: It is easier to do hard things when you have a partner to encourage you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day for this class is next Friday, 6/28 at 11:30. Come join us, celebrate the accomplishments of this class and enjoy some Hot Chicken and Mac & Cheese.

COT: Prayers for clear minds, strong hearts, wisdom and courage.

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.