Tortoise & Hare, Run #5

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Right Said, Crawlspace, Judy, Young and Restless, Chunks, hambone, Salami, Barney, Decaf, Wendy’s, Ice Box, Stir Fry, Road Trip, Bobby Hill, Mutt, Singlet
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: Beautiful 63 degrees

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, Squats, IWs, WMHs, Stretching

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!! This morning we had 5 PRs from the 4:13 Strong men and at least 3 PRs for the F3 PAX. A great effort and attitude at The Stronghold today by all. This is the first class that has a real chance at reaching a sub-30 “All In” time.

MOLESKINE: The right partner can make us stronger, faster and better. We have seen some great improvements on Tuesday morning as we set intentional goals and work together to reach them. Thank you to the F3 PAX who have consistently joined us to run with this class. Only one more run to go.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day is 11:30am next Friday, 6/20.

COT: Bobby Hill closed our group by leading us in prayer.

Welcome Back Struggle 004

AO: thestronghold
Q: SalPal , Chunks
PAX: bluemule, Dan and Dave, Wham-O, Sanctions, Papa Bear, Chunks, greyalbum, Crawlspace, Not-a-Sport, catfish, Penny Loafers, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Barney, toga, Decaf, Bobby Hill, Ice Box, Pick Me, Pope, Road Trip, Wendy’s, Stir Fry, Ambassador (F3 Annapolis), Mutt, Stage Dive
FNGs: None
COUNT: 26
CONDITIONS: Slightly moist.

WARMUP: A lot of side-shuffle hops and burpees, as it ought to be. Thanks to Chunks for getting the ball rolling.

THE THANG: 3 Groups rotating through sprints, burpees, and planks on a 1 minute timer, with 5 seconds to rotate. T-Claps to Dan and Dave for decreasing sub-30 second splits on all his sprints.

10 burpee salute to the Strugglers as they rolled in at 0600 hours.

Close with planks/”watersplashers” for Mary.

MOLESKINE: Great chatter and attitude today, and glad to be out in support of the men doing this latest Struggle. High concentrations of HIM on the 4:13 campus today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Struggle 005 date TBD.

COT: Lift up the men that took on the Struggle the last 16 hours.

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!

Running Blockie Apocolypse

AO: thestronghold
Q: Natural Ice
PAX: Young and Restless, Red Skull, Dan and Dave, Skeet, Purple Tiger, Decaf, Hipster, Chunks, Barney, Natural Ice, Ice Box, Road Trip, Mullet, Pick Me, Singlet, Stir Fry, Boby Hill, Wendys,
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
Conditions: Humid and PERFECT

Warm-Up:
We kicked things off with the classics: side straddle hops, light stretching, and a touch of Broga. Loosened up the shoulders with arm circles, overhead claps, seal claps, and Moroccan nightclubs. Knocked out a few Merkins to wake up the chest.

The Thang:
Everyone grabbed a cinder block coupon and got the run-down: this workout would be nonstop movement. Any downtime or wait-for-the-six moments defaulted to our “resting” move—lift block to shoulder, press overhead, switch sides, lower to ground, repeat.

We launched into a Blockee Apocalypse:
– Travel with your block
– Drop for a round of Blockees (Burpee + Merkin on block + overhead press with block)
– Start at 10 reps, decrease by 1 at each stop
– Between rounds, PAX rotated through WWIs, or our “rest” move

Made our way across the AO with grit and sweat. At the final stop, back at the starting deck, we flipped the script and hit one last set of 10 Blockees to finish strong.

Mary:
– Flutter kicks (too many)
– 20 WWI sit-ups in cadence

COT:
Wrapped with gratitude and a prayer for the men of 413 to stay strong and finish well.

Moleskin:
– Blocks were heavy
– Spirits were high
– No one quit in this group
– You can catch your breath with out stoping

SYITG
Natural Ice

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.