Tortoise & Hare – Run 3

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Chunks, Hair Band, Crawlspace, Barney, Judy, Right Said, Decaf, Dan Tanna, Poker Face, Hello Kitty, By Design, All Wheel Drive, Hot Wire, Greyhound, Fresh Start, Hoop Dreams, Richie Rich
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Perfect running weather – 54 degrees and dark!

WARMUP: The usual – SSH, Squats, IWs, Leg Stretches and some OYO stretching.

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!! 3.0 miles. We had the usual hares take off in a sprint while the rest of the group maintained a good steady pace. Just like in the story, 3 of hares were overtaken but one remained out front.

We had 4 4:13 Strong men set PRs today, all of which were below 30:00! This is a fast class that continues to push themselves on Tuesday mornings.

MOLESKINE: Thank you for running with us morning. Your encouragement of the 4:13 Strong men makes a huge difference in their day.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Reminder: The annual 4:13 Strong Standing Strong dinner is on Thursday, April 24, 6p-8p. F3 Franklin, F3 Brentwood and F3 Nashville all have tables at the event. Brentwood has already filled their table, and Franklin is close. The Nashville table is in last place. If you would like to join us, let me know and I will get you registered.

COT: Prayers for family, healing, strength and endurance.

AOQ Grow School – The FNG Experience

AO: stonewall
Q: Toothless
PAX: Hair Band, sooner, Right Said, Chunks, Cowboy, Pep, SalPal, Tea Party
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Cool, not crisp. The in-between zone gear wise.

PLAYLIST: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/459qwYOyQ4j1hCmtMHFZsC?si=53422ffe45df444f

WARMUP:
– SSH x 30
– High knees x 10
– Butt kickers x 10
– Windmills x 10
– Willy Mays Hays x 12
– Carrot pullers x 10
– Michael Phelps x 10
– Good Mornings x 10 oyo

THE THANG:

Patrol run to lot by mansion, PAX count off forming three groups.

– Group 1 does a ground exercise
– Group 2 does a standing exercise
– Group 3 runs and is a timer

All shuffle when G3 returns to get time at each station. Runners to the ground, ground stands up, and standing group runs.

Do four sets (~2 mins AMPRAP in each station based on runners) – AMPRAP = As Many Perfect Reps As Possible:
1. Hand Release Merkins, Prisoner squats
2. American Hammers, Burpees
3. Carolina Dry Docks, Lt. Dans
4. Big Boy Sit Ups, SSHs

Patrol run back down the hill and circle up for…

Rings of Fire :fire:
Thunderstruck
– High and low plank, up/down on Thunderstruck
Roxeanne
– SSH / Burpees on Roxeanne
Flower (Bring Sally Up)
– Squats, as directed by Moby

MOLESKINE: Good work this morning men! The rotations section featured questions to ask of your group, such as:
1. How did you get your F3 name?
2. What do you remember from your first workout?
3. What made you decide to come out to that first workout?
4. What made you decide to keep coming after that first workout?

CoT featured everyone sharing one thing they learned about their fellow PAX – this was a great chance to share about our fellow PAX and practice for learning about FNGs during the workouts!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– AOQ Grow School was this morning (thanks Pep :smirk:)
– Hot Wings event from The Merchant on 3/26
– Spring Fling on 4/6 from Pitmaster and Natural Ice – CBO
– Merkin Madness continues!
– April will be the Month of the FNG! To be shared broadly later this weekend

It was an honor to lead men! Discussion notes from the Grow School portion on the FNG experience will be posted soon for the benefit of all. Thanks for the work you put in this morning on both fronts! And thanks to Hair Band for coordinating a great opportunity for our PAX! :muscle:

— Toothless :tooth:

Tortoise & Hare #1

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Chunks, Right Said, Crawlspace, Dan Tanna, SalPal, Decaf, Barney, Peso, Percy Jackson, FNG 1, FNG 2, FNG 3, FNG 4, FNG 5, FNG 6, FNG 7
FNGs: 7 FNG 1, FNG 2, FNG 3, FNG 4, FNG 5, FNG 6, FNG 7
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: A cool 41 degrees…perfect for a dark, early morning run.

WARMUP: SSH, Squats, IWs, stretching

THE THANG: Partner up with someone who knows the course and RUN! Early finishers had a choice…spend time in the circle with SalPal or go back and pick up the six. Not surprising that most chose to go back than to get better with Sally.

MOLESKINE: A great first effort today by the 4:13 Strong men. Despite having to crawl under the gate to reach the finish line, we still had an “all in” time of 37:52. Not a bad start for this class.

Thank you to the F3 PAX who joined us this morning. Your presence was greatly appreciated.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The 4:13 Strong Standing Strong dinner is 44 days away. Three regions are in a competition to see who can fill a table first. The current score is: Brentwood 7, Franklin 5 and Nashville 2. Register to attend the dinner and help get Nashville across the line first. Reminder…M’s are welcome and encouraged to join you at the dinner. Find the link for registration in a previous Stronghold post.

If F3 existed 80 years ago…..

AO: atlantis
Q: CubCadet
PAX: SalPal, Chunks, Firefox, Right Said, Pole Dancer, Toothless, Young and Restless, Subway, CubCadet
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Colder than we expected

WARMUP: Workout was inspired by Q’s recent visit to the National WW2 Museum in NOLA. We mosey’d in formation around the ball field. PAX has to stay two columns abreast and within arm’s length of person in front. Allowed to ample mumble chatter and heal-stepping, but good team cohesion. Q threw out a few random bits of WW2 / fitness related information….like “in 1941, the recommended time for unit fitness was 1 hour after breakfast”

Once to parking lot, we did the standard 21st century warm-ups b/c the 1940’s once looked too much like bad dance moves and Q didn’t care to demonstrate.

THE THANG: The WW2 standard physical fitness test (I am sure there are many, but this is the one we did).

– Pull-ups to exhaustion. Had to modify based on equipment. In 1941: 20 was an Excellent Score / 9 was a Fair Score.
– Squat Jumps to exhaustion: These are not your standard F3 Squat Jumps. Starting position is squatting on right heel with fingers laced on top of head, palms down. The feet are 4 – 6″ apart with he feel of the left foot on a line with the right foot. Spring upward until both knees are straight and both feet clear the ground. Keep upper body erect. While off the ground, reverse your feet before you land. Each leg is 1. In 1941: 75 was an Excellent Score / 38 was a Fair Score.
– Push-ups to exhaustion: If it looks like a merkin and smells like a merkin. In 1941: 54 was an Excellent Score / 30 was a Fair Score.
– Sit-ups for 2 min: Legs straight at start, hand behind head, scorer holds feet / ankles. Left elbow to right knee on the up (one rep), then alternate to right elbow to left knee for rep two….. In 1941: 79 was an Excellent Score / 51 was a Fair Score.
– 300 yard shuttle run: Spring 5 segments of 60 yards each in parking lot. Distance was only approximate. In 1941: 44 seconds was an Excellent Score / 50 seconds was a Fair Score.

Then we moved to the “Mass Athletics and Group Games” portion of the session. Field Manual 21-20 (c 1941) lists many, but we chose a couple reps of “Follow the Leader” through the playground / obstacle course and then “In and Out” which was sort of a last-man-up run with a rolling basketball, pax in a stationary line, and some zigging and some zagging.

Fit in 30 reps of flutter kicks before time.

MOLESKINE: We all know some history of WW2 whether from school, books, movies, friends or family. It’s nearly impossible to comprehend the entire world being solely focused on one thing for 5+ years. There are some elements of its origins and residue that impact the daily news 80 years later. I’d like to think that if F3 existed back then, its members would have made us very proud (and probably given us a real beat-down).

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 4:13 strong kicks off new class next week. Please consider supporting. For details and other events, see slack.

COT: Pole Dancer friend’s baby getting out of N-ICU. Toothless mother-in-law health. Chunks new job / travels. Firefox challenges as a leader / mentor at work. And the intentions in our heart.

Thank you for the opportunity to lead.

Love is . . .

AO: bomber
Q: Vector
PAX: Pep, Firefox, DintyMoore, sooner, Sherlock, Right Said, Tim the Toolman, Puzzlah, Fish Food (DR)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
YHC was the Q-pid for today’s Valentine’s Day prep for the PAX. I even had a bow . . . seriously.

CONDITIONS: Chilly, 23 degrees with love in the air

PLAYLIST:
Theme of “Love is . . .”
Love is like Oxygen – Sweet
Love is a Battlefield – Pat Benatar
Love is an Open Door – Kristen Bell/Santino Fontana (from Frozen, not Moana sooner)
Love is the Drug – Roxy Music
Love is the Answer – Aloe Blacc
Love is a Stranger – Eurythmics
Love is in the Air – John Paul Young
Love is Blindness – Jack White
Love is the Answer – Dan Seals
Love is Dangerous – Fleetwood Mac
Love is Strange – Mickey & Sylvia
Love is a Long Road – Tom Petty

WARMUP:
Mosey in heart-shaped circles
LBAC x 20
Seal Claps x 20
Overhead Presses x 20
RLBAC x 20
WMH x 10 OHO
Good Mornin’s x 10 OHO
SSH x 20

THE THANG:
Q-pid started his work by having the PAX partner up and do several partner themed exercises:
Partner merkins x 20 (with clap between rep)
Partner WWI x 20 (with claps at top)
Partner chair squats x 30 sec x 3

Mosey to playground for some LOVES
Lunges x 100
Overhead presses x 100
V-shaped Pull-Ups x 100
Excellent form incline merkins x 100
Sexy squats x 100

[Aside: at some point sooner got caught up in the love and might have been twerking on the swing set pole . . . Q-pid supports all kinds of love, so go crazy HIM)

Mosey to flag for V-Day Mary of Alabama Prom Dates, J Los, Monkey Humpers, Jane Fondas to get those special parts trained for the day. So good, we rinsed and repeated.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– No Beer Ruck this weekend
– Game Night at Firefox abode Feb 28 at 7p
– Night Moves March 6 at 7:30pm

COT: Words of gratitude, prayers, and praises lifted up. Listened to the morning for a bit. Thankful for all of the HIM during what for me has been a very stressful time in both my personal (losing my mom) and professional (funding uncertainties, colleagues losing jobs abruptly) lives. Thankful to the PAX for pushing me each day.

SYITG, Q-pid (aka Vec)

Tortoise & Hare #5

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Decaf, Barney, Right Said, Crawlspace, Whoppi (Franklin), Big Rig, Toadstool, Wolverine, Mane ‘N Tail, Sax Man, Toots, Square Root, Airball, Yes Chef, D Pole, Jackie Moon, Danny (to be named when he returns to our Thursday workout)
FNGs: 1 Danny (to be named when he returns to our Thursday workout)
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: WET and COLD – a nice cold, constant rain for the entire run – 39 degrees

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

THE THANG: RUN!! 3 soggy miles followed by some fun in the circle. Spent time on the ground to make sure that everyone enjoyed the moisture.

MOLESKINE: Despite the less than ideal conditions, we had one FNG and 4 PRs this morning. What a fantastic Week 5 showing.

COT: Prayers for strength, guidance and healing.

The Final Stretch of Leanpax

AO: titan
Q: Firefox
PAX: preacherman, Crawlspace, Right Said, Tim the Toolman, Spinal Tap, Papa Bear, CubCadet, Young and Restless, Sherlock, Pep, Good Morning America, Wolfpack, Swap, Zinfandel, Toucan
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: Hungry

WARMUP: Barely a mosey to the Parthenon entrance and 20SSHs

THE THANG:
To push us toward the finish line of leanpax, YHC prepared a playlist of songs about all the foods I miss (although, most of them I do not currently crave).

Thang 1:
PAX partnered up. One PAX stayed at the benches and did an exercise while the other ran the loop (which reminded me of a donut…), then swap. 2 rounds for each exercise
– Dips
– Bench flutters (on your six facing the bench, hover one foot above the bench, one foot below, then alternate)
– Bulgarian split squats

Thang 2:
Mosey over to the walkway closer to the playground. Staying in pairs, 1 PAX did a travel exercise, the other did a stationary exercise, run back and then swap. 2 times through per pairing of exercises.
– Murder bunnies & Imperial Hoppers (aerobic imperial walkers with a hop as your knee comes up to your elbow).
– Bear crawl & shoulder tap plank jacks
– Broad jump burpees & WW1s
– Crawl bear & Buzzsaw planks

Mosey back to Startex, 10 WW1s and a Hollow Body Hold till time.

MOLESKINE: Awesome support from the PAX picking up the 6. Those murder bunnies were brutal. Leanpax is hard, but worth it. Kudos to all the PAX participating.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Game night!

COT:
– Vector and his family
– Gratitude for Papa Bear’s family gathering for 3.0’s baptism

Tortoise & Hare – Run #4, See it Through

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Chunks, hambone, Right Said, tampalibra, Crawlspace, Decaf, Barney, Whoopi (Franklin), D Pole, Yes Chef, Airball, Sax Man, Jackie Moon, Wolverine, Mane ‘N Tail, Big Rig, Toots, Toadstool
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: 61 degrees with a light mist in the air

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

THE THANG: Partner Up and RUN!!

MOLESKINE: We had several PRs today – Wolverine, Mane ’N Tail and hambone!

Today we put into practice the last line of the poem we have memorized…“eyes front, head high, to the finish, see it through”. Several PAX failed to see it through this morning, opting to take a break after the run rather than join the circle. To make sure that everyone finished together, a surprise 1/4 mile was added in before COT.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Only two more runs remain for this class. Signing Day is Friday 2/21

COT: Prayers for healing, family, strength and guidance.

Rain, Rain, Go Awayy

AO: bomber
Q: Grape
PAX: CubCadet, Papa Bear, Jordan OpLibertas, Tim the Toolman, Pep, doge, Michelin Man, Firefox, Right Said
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: rainy, but it went away

WARMUP: mosey to the clubhouse
SSH
LBAC
Claps
Moroccans
Stretching

THE THANG: partner up
One partner runs around the clubhouse while the other does a set then flapjacks

Regular squats
Apollo Ohnos
Imperial walkers
Normal merkins

Regular dips
Air presses
Iron mikes
Normal merkins

Gorilla humpers
O squats

Alabama prom dates
WW1’s
American hammers
Yellowjacket run to startex
iYt’s

COT: loved everyone sharing one thing they are grateful for. Prayers for Vector’s mom, for our nations leadership, for health of friends and family, for airplane crash victims

:grapes:

BurpeeClock-Alypse

AO: thestronghold
Q: Natural Ice – CBO
PAX: bluemule, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Dan and Dave, toga, Chunks, Chyna, Young and Restless, Red Skull, Mullet, Right Said, Skeet, Decaf, Natural Ice – CBO, Airball, Yes Chef, Square root, Toadstool, Mane ‘N Tail, Saxman, D Pole, Big Rig, Duece and a Half, Jackie Moon, Take 3, Toots, Wolverine
FNGs: None
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: Fantastic

WARMUP:
– SSH
– Squats
– Merkins
– Arm Circles
– Air Press
– Seal Claps
– Moroccan Nightclubs
– Stretching as needed

THE THANG:
PAX set off on a mosey toward the Helicopter Pad. However, YHC quickly grew deeply disappointed at the sluggish pace, so the mosey evolved into a series of sprints to keep things honest.

Burpee-A-Clock-Alypse – Round 1
– 5 burpees on the minute, every minute, for 15 minutes
– Between sets, YHC generously provided “active recovery” through squats, SSH, and LBCs
– Total burpees: 75

After finally feeling properly warmed up, we took off on sprint intervals back toward the StartEx. Along the way, we peeled off for 5 more rounds of burpees to bring the total up to a nice, even 100.

Upon returning to the StartEx and realizing we still had time left, YHC—ever the gracious leader—gifted the men with an opportunity to complete 5 bonus burpees (you’re welcome).

COT:
Outstanding effort from the men of 413 Strong today. The grit, attitude, and willingness to push through the suck were truly impressive. Proud to lead this crew!