New Years Day Convergence – Welcome 2026!

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hipster, DintyMoore, Mumbler, Ponzi, Natural Ice, Purple Tiger, hambone, toga, Chunks, Barney, Wolfpack, Tinkertoy, Young and Restless, Tim the Toolman, Decaf, Grape, Pep, Topanga, Take 3, Animal, BTB, Tool Bit
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: 32 Degrees – perfect workout weather!

WARMUP: Mosey to the gravel lot for the usual warm-up: SSH, IWs, Windmills, Squats, Merkins, T-Ups and Scorpion Stretch.

THE THANG:
Mosey to the Auditorium

Part 1: Mental Toughness Week (Tryouts) – Burpee Apocalypse with a run around the building the building in between each round.

Mosey to the North Lot

Part 2: 40 Day Challenge – 6 weeks of work condensed down to six movements: Lt. Dan, Bear Crawl, Crab Walk, Burpee Broad Jump, Crawl Bear and Politician.

Mosey to The Hill

Part 3: The Work Phase – 7’s on the hill with Hand Release Merkins at the top, run down the hill, Jump Squats at the bottom, Politician up the hill.

Mosey back to the flag and time!

MOLESKINE:
4:13 Strong is a great program for men who want to change the course of their life, but it is hard. Only 35% of the men who enroll have what it takes to complete all program requirements. A big factor to success are the relationships that our men build with other men who can show them how to handle hard things. You can make a real difference for the 4:13 Strong guys by showing up, working out with them and modeling how HIM face challenges.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
LeanPax begins on 1/5
The Stronghold is now meeting every Thursday
Struggle Prep is coming in a few short weeks
Young and Restless is the new AOQ of The Stronghold

COT:
A great turnout for our New Years Day Convergence. Thank you all for coming out to join us!

Beggin’ for a Leggin’

AO: greenmachine
Q: SalPal , Wolfpack
PAX: Cal Worthington, Shy Guy, Esposa, Purple Tiger, Cowboy, Pep
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Mid-50s. Shorts and t-shirts for sure.

WARMUP: I propose we delete this section, if you need a warmup, come early. Sorry Pep, no SSH.

THE THANG: I got everyone’s limbs lubricated with split squats and weighted wall sits. Wolfpack aroused our heart rates with sprints, lunge walks and bear crawls. We climaxed with ring of fire squats and burpees.

MOLESKINE: Innuendo, Split Speakers, Indigenous People, Typical Pep Bit ft. Cowboy “Is this ?” Also coffee this morning ripped. 11/10.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hair Band deigned to drive in and announce 3rd volunteer and donation opportunities, see slack. 2nd F Christmas party, see channel. F3 After Hours. Grow School. See slack, see slack, see slack.

COT: For those suffering, intentions unspoken.

Ultimate Burpee A Clockolypse

AO: handsomizer
Q: Natural Ice
PAX: Salami, Pal, Purple Tiger, Squatter
FNGs: None
COUNT: 5
CONDITIONS: spoooky

WARMUP: none

THE THANG: 7 burpees every minute on the minute for 38 minutes straight. The 5 burpees every minute for the last 7 minutes.

Thats 301 burpees

MOLESKINE: do hard things

COT: lifted up the nation praying for peace and hope.

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.

90’s Summer Morning Beatdown

AO: thestronghold
Q: Hipster
PAX: Tebow, Pearl (Jonathan Halter), tampalibra, Red Skull, Dan and Dave, Right Said, Barney, toga, Chunks, Natural Ice, Purple Tiger, Young and Restless, Decaf, Wham-O, Napoleon, Step Back, Cowpie, Blackjack, Puppy Chow, Big Mama, One Star, Clorox, Cool Runnings, Beyonce, Purple Rain, Old Made
FNGs: None
COUNT: 27
CONDITIONS: Pleasantly Moist

WARMUP: Classic WOR, grab a coupon

THE THANG: Name That Tune – 90’s Hip Hop Hits

Blockey buy-in (10 I think?), start the music

Each song we are moving around campus, carrying the coupon.

At each stop – Around the Worlds waiting for the 6

Once all in – 413 PAX has the chance to name artist and title. Correct answers reduce # of blockeys, incorrect answers add more.

There were 8 or so stops around the Stonghold, with a smattering of correct answers, averaging about 7 blockeys per stop, with some WW1’s mixed in for good measure.

Back to the startex for the blockey/WW1 finisher.

MOLESKINE: Lively PAX this morning, decent showing with Name That Tune considering most of these pups hadn’t yet been born.

Thanks to the F3 guys who added some extra support and encouragement for the slower PAX, great group effort all around.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 50 miler coming up

COT: Prayers for 413 families going through some stuff, and the current class to stay focused and persistent. Always an honor to lead!

Decath-WTF?

AO: -f3-nashville-general
Q: CubCadet
PAX: Pep, Tim the Toolman, Spinal Tap, Papa Bear, hambone, Sherlock, Young and Restless, Wolfpack, Purple Tiger, Choo Choo, Beaver (DR from outside Richmond), Radish (birthname Lewis)
FNGs: 1 Radish (birthname Lewis)
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: only 79

WARMUP: The usual stuff, and 10 burpees, much to the dismay of hambone (“what next, bear crawls?”)

THE THANG: On the 49 Anniversary of Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner’s Olympic Record Decathlon performance in Montreal and to celebrate GameStop getting permission to go north of the border, we did a modified decathlon.

Day 1 Events
– 100 m dash: sprinted length of Parthenon
– Long Jump: 20 lung-worms
– Shot Put: 40 sit-ups
– High Jump: Hop up Parthenon steps 2x
– 400 m run: Run the ellipse

Day 2 Events
– 110 m hurdles: 110 high knees
– Discuss Throw: 50 dips
– Pole Vault: 40 merkins
– Javelin Throw: 50 squats
– 1500m run: Run 3 sides of the great lawn

Repeat sequence doing half the reps, and skipping the 1500m run

MOLESKINE: Think of somebody in your life who might need a check-in from you. Reach out.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Check Slack, but there is a 2.0 event (nerf battle). And still selling that 50 mile thing.

COT: Welcome to Radish (aka Lewis, 24, originally from South Africa. Just moved back to Nashville, after previously being at Lipscomb). I don’t get credit for EHing – somebody else said something, then I just had him Long-Jump next to me. Thanks to other PAX for making him feel welcome, including Coffeteria.

Prayers for Pep stress at work. Alleviation of suffering in Gaza. Gratitude that impact of overnight tsunami was not worse.

Thanks for allowing me to lead today!

Good Warmup

AO: thestronghold
Q: SalPal
PAX: Chunks, Barney, Wham-O, Purple Tiger, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Young and Restless, Red Skull, Decaf, Puppy Chow, Step Back, Napoleon, Purple Rain, Old Maid, Big Mama, Cow Pie, Cool Runnings, Clorox, One Star, Beyonce
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
CONDITIONS: Absolutely perfect, if you ignore the heat advisory

WARMUP: Never heard of such a thing.

THE THANG: 100 SSH, Good ‘ol Sally Shake’n’Bake, Deconstructed Burpees + Bear Crawls

MOLESKINE: Received a temporary ban from the Stronghold. I guess I did something right…

ANNOUNCEMENTS: CSAUP 50!

COT: Families, patience, discipline and excellence.

Struggle

AO: thestronghold
Q: tampalibra
PAX: Skeet, Barney, Wham-O, bigbang, Minnie Pearl, bluemule, House Arrest, Squatter (F3 Muletown), Red Skull, Decaf, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Hipster, Young and Restless, Dan and Dave, Chunks, hambone, Ponzi, Purple Tiger, Purple Rain, Black Jack, Beyoncé, 1 Star, Napoleon, Clorox, Old Maid, Go Fish, Step Back, Speed Date, Cool Runnings, Cow Pie, Puppy Chow, Big Mama, Kneecaps, Slick Rick, Tebow
FNGs: 17 Purple Rain, Black Jack, Beyoncé, 1 Star, Napoleon, Clorox, Old Maid, Go Fish, Step Back, Speed Date, Cool Runnings, Cow Pie, Puppy Chow, Big Mama, Kneecaps, Slick Rick, Tebow
COUNT: 36
CONDITIONS: Ripe

WARMUP: SSH x 30, Squats x 10, Merkins x 15

THE THANG:
Grab a block!

In the format of 7’s we started with 15 lunges (1is1) and 1 curl+1press, 14 lunges and 2curl+2press…1 lunges and 15curl+15press

Next we did 7’s: thrusters and burpees – mode of transpo is an overhead block carry

Circle up for 20 4-count flutters with block overhead, 19 block situps, 18 4CF’s, 17 block situps, etc all the way down. Don’t believe we made it past 15.

All-in-all a great workout! We were ~5 minutes over on the first two blocks, we should have had ample time to finish the core block. It’s not over-Q’d it’s the standard but 30+ guys are hard to move and hambone’s goofy ass tried to cause confusion on the counting and Red Skull somehow forgot how to demo a thruster like they haven’t been a staple of Struggle 001-004

MOLESKINE:
YHC got an urgent and tough call mid-workout that pulled me away for a second. Sobering example that stuggles dont care what you’ve got going on. Trying to help some dudes out? Trying to get your life in order? Finally submitting to God after years of straying? New baby on the way? New job? etc etc They’re coming brothers whether we like it or not so how can we prepare? We practice hard things so that we know how to respond when hard things happen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Ragnar thingy – get at Chunks if you’re one of those weirdos that love running
Struggle 005 – announcement and new promo video about to drrrrroop

Look Back and Look Forward

AO: thestronghold
Q: Chunks
PAX: toga, Purple Tiger, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Right Said, Red Skull, Decaf, Barney, Young and Restless, Tater, Wendy’s, Ice Box, Stir Fry, Road Trip, Bobby Hill, Mutt, Singlet
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS:

WARMUP:

Indigenous peoples run with Q setting the pace to first parking lot.
13 SSHs and the explanation

THE THANG:

Indigenous peoples run with Q setting the pace to next parking lot.
Each 4:13 HIM told the PAX what they were proud of they overcame during the last 40 days. Then lead the PAX in 5 eight count bodybuilders.
Indigenous peoples run with Q setting the pace to first parking lot.
Each 4:13 HIM told the PAX what are their goals moving forward. Then lead the PAX in 5 eight count bodybuilders.
Red Skull & Decaf & YHC lead 5 eight count bodybuilders with words of encouragement
Indigenous peoples run back to StartEx
Circle up for some Mary to wrap it up

MOLESKINE:

This is not the end it’s just the start.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:

Nice Throw, Now Do Some Burpees

AO: handsomizer
Q: Firefox , Freakonomics
PAX: Purple Tiger, Salami, Natural Ice, Old Maid, SalPal, Vector, CubCadet, Papa Bear, Hedwig
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: A little soupy

WARMUP:
15x SSH
10x FLBAC
10x RLBAC
10x Good Mornings
10x WMHs

THE THANG:
Part 1, led by Freakonomics :
OYO, PAX did the following
– 20 Merkins, plank hold till all in
– 40 Squats, chair hold till all in
– 20 Carolina dry docks, dry dock hold till all in
– 40 Lunges, squat hold till all in

Mosey down to the field
Part 2, led by YHC: Ultimate Frisbee!
Team Bomber-ish: Purple Tiger Hedwig Papa Bear Firefox
Team Handsome-ish: SalPal Freakonomics Natural Ice Salami Old Maid

Scoring teams walked and did 5 burpees. Scored upon teams stayed and did 15 merkins. Team Handsome-ish rotated out a player who exercised on the sidelines. Team Bomber-ish did a fair number of burpees to start but Team Handome-ish mounted a comeback late that was not enough to make up the margin that no one was keeping track of.

CubCadet and Vector walked and heckled. You can’t have ultimate without hecklers. This is the way.

MOLESKINE:
– Enjoyed witnessing Hedwig discover of the joy of ultimate. “I get why lacrosse players quit the team for this!”

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Game night next Friday, YHC hosting
– Convergence at greenmachine, check Slack
– July 4th convergence, check Slack

COT:
– Job searches and friends/family health
– All PAX shared a word/phrase of gratitude