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

ULTIMATE

AO: atlantis
Q: Pole Dancer
PAX: SalPal, Subway, Right Said, sooner, Toothless, Oatmeal, Siri, Chunks, porcelain
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: Warm and Dry

WARMUP: Mosey around the field, active warmups, static stretching

THE THANG: ULTIMATE!

5 on 5 game featuring many downfield hucks, Oatmeal serving up assists left and right, Toothless’s heart rate reaching 225, and a beautiful snag by SalPal over the top of my dome to tie up the score in the last minute. Great time out there today shaking the rust off!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Brewsday on Tuesday

COT: Prayers for all the fathers out there, both with us and the dearly departed

Welcome FNGs

AO: titan
Q: Chunks
PAX: preacherman, Salami, SalPal, Sherlock, Natural Ice, Young and Restless, Papa Bear, Freakonomics, Doublemint (F3 RVA), Hipster, CubCadet, Spinal Tap, Black Lung, DintyMoore, Crawlspace, Pep, Cowbell (DR), Fanny Pack (DR), OJ, Kincade, Carrot Top
FNGs: 3 OJ, Kincade, Carrot Top
COUNT: 22
CONDITIONS: Perfect

WARMUP:

42 SSH = my age!

THE THANG:

The PAX voted and Yacht Rock was the playlist choice.

Pass the speaker run towards Love Circle.

Took a hard right on 29th and headed back to the hill next to the Parthenon.

Count off 1s and 2s. Partner up. Each partner group picked an exercise for the rest of the PAX while they were the timer and ran up and down the hill. Once everyone had a turn as the timer, mosey to the lawn in front of the Parthenon.

Round 1 25% to the other side and 1 burpee and back
Round 2 25% to the other side and 2 burpees and back
Round 3 50% to the other side and 3 burpees and back
Round 4 50% to the other side and 4 burpees and back
Round 5 90% to the other side and 5 burpees and back

Mosey back to startex with a sprint to the finish.

4 Mins of mary left with some up and downs with burpees

Always an honor to lead.

3 FNGs were welcomed to the crew: Carrot Top, OJ, and Kincade

MOLESKINE: 95% of men over 35 will never sprint again. We will not be a part of that statistic.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Check Slack

COT: Prayed out!

Impossible/Manly/Murder Mile

AO: greenmachine
Q: Focker
PAX: Betty Ford, Toothless, SalPal, Pep, Cowboy, Pole Dancer, Works for a Guy, t-cell, Black Lung, moneyshot, Young and Restless, Esposa, Matador, Shania, Topanga
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: Moist

WARMUP: Drive your car to the workout

THE THANG:
400 meter burpee broad jump :burpee:
400 meter lunge :leg:
400 meter bear crawl :teddy_bear:
400 meter “run” :man-running:

MOLESKINE: -the bear crawl makes the burpee broad jump feel like the lunges
-Works for a Guy unsurprisingly took the crown
-everyone was under one hour!
-coffee, Purity chocolate milk, and Donut Den treats provided (thanks Toothless!)
-one of my new favorite traditions is this horrible mile
ANNOUNCEMENTS: see ya next year!

COT: I think everyone wrestled with their respective higher power during the bear crawls

Nice Dice

AO: atlantis
Q: Subway
PAX: Oatmeal, Puzzlah, SalPal, Siri, Pole Dancer, DintyMoore
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: 50 cool and beautiful

WARMUP: Various stretching, mosey to waiting coupons

THE THANG:

10 SSH buy in
Roll dice – number matches the station; 25 reps of each station movement
Station 1
Merkins
Ranger Merkins
HR Merkins
H/L Merkins
Station 2
Curls
CPRs
Rows
Lawnmower Pulls
Station 3
Lunges
Squats
Seesaw lunges
Calf raises
Station 4
Overhead press
Taint scrapper
Thruster
Truck driver
Station 5
Amer Hammers
Mtn Climbers
Flutter Kicks
BBSUs
Station 6
Chest Press
Grave digger
Side bends
Blockees

Mary for final 3 mins

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: wings/some impossible man mile- check slack

COT: prayers for SalPal interview; Siri’s cousins wifes treatment; Pole Dancers wife’s recovery and Pole Dancers new job

HR Visits Atlantis on a Q-Swap

AO: atlantis
Q: Cowboy
PAX: SalPal, Oatmeal, sooner, porcelain, Subway, Siri, Puzzlah
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Hints of Rain Drops, 56º Breezy

ONBOARDING:
After mingling and chatter we started with some stretches.
SSH with some silent team building on 2nd round.
WMH, DonQs, Heels to Nuts,
Welcome to F3 – we are glad you joined us here at F3 and I am sure you are glad to have a place to be this morning in the Gloom. As a member of the Atlantis branch of F3 you should know the Mission and some key historical facts of F3.
We started with 11 points and each right answer reduced the buyin obligation. 4 Questions. Each right answer was subtracted from 11. 3 right answers.
8 Burpee Ladder:

TRAINING DAYS: Parking Lot Training (Oatmeal Style)
Skips, Bernie Back
Karaoke Burnie Back
Bernie Down, Sprint Back: 50%, 70%, 100%

TEAM BUILDING: Dora Style: Pair Up, Exercise on sidewalk by baseball field while parter runs the bases
100 Merkins
200 Crunchy Frogs till fail – Ukrainian Hammers to finish
300 Squat Thrusters
Follow the Boss around
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN: At Playground
Exercises while partner runs around the playground and thru the boulders.
Wall/Box Jumps
Dips
Alternating Step Ups

Park People’s Run – Outer Loop – Pass the speaker, burpee and to the front
OFFBOARDING – Mary Dealer’s Choice

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Spring Fling This Sunday
PlankPril
Merkin Challenge ongoing

COT:
Siri’s M’s Cousin – chemo

MOLESKIN – It was a privilege to join the esteemed men of Atlantis. It has been a long time since there and a quality group it is. Pole Dancer is running a good operation indeed, but there was some chatter about needing to upgrade the coffee game. I did bring a premium coffee experience and ma available for consultation. Toothless and Betty Ford have taught me everything I know.

I Can Drive 55 with a Few Friends

AO: bomber
Q: Vector
PAX: Pep, Firefox, Papa Bear, Strutter, DintyMoore, Chunks, CubCadet, SalPal, Cream Cheese, Wet Wipes, Tim the Toolman, Sherlock
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
Today’s Q was to acknowledge YHC’s 55th birthday a few weeks back. The theme? What’s the best part about birthday parties? No, not the gift bags. The friends. So today (after a Strutter request for a Hagar classic), we celebrated friends.

CONDITIONS: Balmy

WARMUP:
Standard Vector Birthday SSH set — 55 (set to I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Hagar. You’re welcome, Strutter)
LBAC x 20
RLBAC x 20
Overhead Press x 20

THE THANG:
Count off and get a partner. Your homework – find out an unknown fact about your friend t reveal at COT.

Mosey to Rec Center.
Pair of friends run around the Rec Center (fun fact finding time) while the rest of PAX work on 55 reps of the following:
Freddy Mercs
Regular Pull-Ups
Iron Mikes
Excellent Form Squats
Normal Merkins
Dips
SSH

Rinse and repeat x 3.

Mosey back to flag for Mary with Hello Dollys, Flutter Kicks, and Box Cutters.

PLAYLIST:
Why Can’t We be Friends? – War
Friends in Low Places – Garth Brooks
Friends – Jody Watley with Eric B. & Rakim
With a Little Help from My Friends – Beatles
You’re My Best Friend – Queen
Thank You for Being a Friend – Andrew Gold
Just a Friend – Biz Markie
You’ve Got a Friend in Me – Randy Newman
All My Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight – Hank Jr.
Best Friends – English Beat
My Best Friend’s Girl – The Cars
All the Right Friends – R.E.M.

COT:
Prayers for those affected by cuts in public health and research.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Spring Fling this Saturday April 6th — check Slack for deets (right Cream Cheese?)

A Few Select Random Facts:
Wet Wipes posing nude in print
CubCadet doing black ops security for Yo-Yo Ma’s son
DintyMoore’s old bottle collection (which he puts highlighters inside off with black light backlighting?)

Thanks HIM for pushing me into year 55!
SYITG,
Vector :microbe:

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:

Eccentric Pain

AO: atlantis
Q: Focker
PAX: SalPal, Toothless, porcelain
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
CONDITIONS: Chicago Style

WARMUP: Various stretches and letting the PAX have the illusion of choice for our playlist between yacht rock and oldies.

THE THANG: concentration on eccentric movement control with little regard to rep number.
PAX performed exercises while one PAX served as the timer with a 30lb ruck. Switch exercises when all have traveled
Burpees—>suitcase carry
Squats—>rifle carry
Dive bomber merkins—>lunge
Monkey humpers—>longer ruck shuffle

Core circuit
Slowwww heel drops
Slowwww WW1
Side planks, low plank

Merkin goal means burpee pumpers until time
1 merkin burpee, 2 merkin burpees, 3 merkins, you get the picture

MOLESKINE: this morning I was driving to Atlantis and the only plan I had was the word “eccentric”. We often focus on high reps and fast workouts, but concentrating on controlling the eccentric portion of an exercise (when your muscles are extended) allows for better hypertrophy, strength, and neuromuscular connection. It also teaches patience and mindful movements.
Plus it just really sucks and makes you way more sore. 40 merkins felt like 140.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: merkin madness continues and AOQ grow school! Hopeful plankpril comes back ( Grape).

COT: prayers for spouses, roles as fathers, Toothless mother in law and treatment.

Super grateful for you men this morning. In a world that gets fixated on numbers equaling success, doing a slow workout with a small group of guys meant a lot this AM.

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.