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.

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.

Fun & Games

AO: thestronghold
Q: Minnie Pearl
PAX: Wham-O, Purple Tiger, Right Said, Skeet, Young and Restless, bluemule, Barney, Decaf, Minnie Pearl, Mutt, Ice Box, Practice?, Stir Fry, Road Trip, Singlet, Bobby Hill, Wendy’s, Life Saver
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Beautiful

WARMUP: Nope

THE THANG: Gorilla Complex
-8 curls
-8 rows
-8 presses
-8 triceps extensions
-8 merkins
-short run
Perform 8X

To elevate and reward morale, we played several games along the way.
-Rochamburpees
-Duck Jousting (bluemule would probably have won if he wasn’t robbed)
-Bear Crawl/Broad Tump Tag
-Guantanamo

MOLESKINE: Blessed is the man who delights in the Law of the Lord

Psalm 1
Psalm 16:11
Psalm 37:4
Psalm 20:4
Psalm 17:14

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT: prayers for endurance, hope, peace, communication. Also prayers for the health of family members.

Tortoise & Hare, Run #2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Minnie Pearl, bluemule, Right Said, Decaf, Young and Restless, Wendy’s, Ice Box, Stir Fry, Road Trip, Practice?, Bobby Hill, Life Saver, Mutt, Singlet, Hoop Dreams
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: 72 degrees and humid…our first warm run of the year!

WARMUP: SSH, Tappy Taps, Windmills, Squats, IWs, Stretches, WMHs

THE THANG: RUN!! We got stopped by the train today and had to detour back around the white building. Now everyone knows the alternative route.

An overall great effort today resulted in 7 out of 9 4:13 Strong men setting a course PR!

MOLESKINE: Hard things get easier with more repetitions, so keep doing hard things.

COT: Prayers for strength, endurance and courage.

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

Tabata @ The Bomb

AO: bomber
Q: Cowboy
PAX: Pep, Vector, Firefox, Puzzlah, Tim the Toolman, Wet Wipes, DintyMoore, CubCadet, Right Said, Papa Bear
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: Cool, Damp, Early Spring-like, Music was a Mashup (Playlist here) music.apple.com/us/playlist/hayseed-umphreys/pl.u-leyll0GHxgZkbN

WARMUP: SSH (for Pep), Downward Dog, Cobra, Calf stretch, Imperial Walkers, Hillbillys, Don Quixote,

THE THANG:
Split in 4 groups which turned out to be pairs (3 came later to flesh out the 11)
To the playgroud

Tabata Style : 45 sec on 15 sec between, 2 rounds, 2 sets
Station One : Pull Ups with Squat in between
Station Two : Crunchy Frogs
Station Three : Incline Merkins
Station Four : Swing Thrusters (knees to chest)

10 count
Mosey to the hill
11s – Mountain Climbers, Iron Mikes, Slap Merkins in the middle
In pairs the teams begin on opposite ends (each start at 1 doing opposite exercises ) When you meet you partner do 5 slap merkins.

MOLESKINE: Words of Gratitude from the PAX: Heard Wife, Grandkids, Son coming home, New Pope, many more.

Pleasure to join in the fun. Execellent AO, Big tnx to Firefox for luring me over.
Coffeeteria – Took over Star Bagle, excellent convo

Habemas Papam!

AO: titan
Q: SalPal
PAX: Pep, Spinal Tap, Sherlock, Black Lung, DintyMoore, Right Said, Tim the Toolman, Freakonomics, Papa Bear, Squash (someone get this guy on slack!)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: A little moist.

WARMUP: Two laps around the parking lot.

THE THANG: PAX did dealer’s choice routine while they went up one by one to elect an F3 Pope at the Centennial Conclave, held at the Parthenon. Cardinal Burkrall was elected Pope Bearcrawl I, and in his honor we bearcrawled the length of the Parthenon green and back.

MOLESKINE: I need to work on giving clearer directions.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Middle TN Convergence, RenFaire, Brewsday in a month.

COT: For Papa Bear’s family friend Nancy that passed unexpectedly, for the Catholic Church as a new pope is elected. For intentions unspoken.

Roll the Dice

AO: bomber
Q: Subway
PAX: Sherlock, Firefox, Wet Wipes, DintyMoore, CubCadet, Tim the Toolman, Right Said, Hedwig, Vector, Papa Bear
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: beautiful 63 degrees

WARMUP:
Mosey with coupons for 1/2 the PAX; various stretching, LBACs, Squats

THE THANG:

Buy in of 10 SSHs; next rnd. 10 squats; next rnd. 10 burpees; rinse repeat

Role dice after buy in – number corresponds to Station – at which you do 25 reps of each movement:

Station 1
Merkins
Ranger Merkins
HR Merkins
HL Merkins

Station 2
Curls
CPRs
Rows
Lawnmower pulls

Station 3
Lunges
Squats
Seesaw Lunges
Calf Raises

Station 4
Overhead Press
Taint scrapper
Thruster
Truck drivers

Station 5
American Hammers
Mtn Climbers
Flutter Kicks
BBSUs

Station 6
Chest press
Grave diggers
Side bends
Blockees

Mosey back with coupons

3 minutes of Mary

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: brewsday Tuesday

COT: Thank you all for letting me lead! Looking forward to being back soon.