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.

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.

An Excuse to Work Legs

AO: atlantis
Q: Hair Band
PAX: SalPal, Toothless, Pole Dancer, Puzzlah, Siri, Pothole
FNGs: 1 Pothole
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: chilly

WARMUP:
Mosey 1 laps around soccer fields
Good mornings
Cherry pickers
Willie mays hayes
Cowboy hip rotations (fwd & bck)
50 SSHs

THE THANG:
30 sec high knees + 10 perfect merkins
Repeat 10 times

15 Drop squats + sprint parking spaces
Repeat 8 times

Lunge walk around parking lot

4-5min of 10 burpees + 10 v ups alternating

MOLESKINE:
In a world of well rounded workouts, Hair Band seems obsessed with getting our legs solid as marble. Complaints from the pax about leg soreness will be seen as badges of honor from Hair Band and only seek to fuel his love of leg based workouts. If anything, Hair Band feels like a merciful Q in that he allowed us to do Merkins.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
• Night Moves hosted by SalPal March 6th, check his preblast for details
• AOQ Grow School coming back atcha Saturday March 22nd stonewall tel:0600-0800
• Spring Fling hosted by Natural Ice – CBO, check main channel for details
• May CSAUP coming your way

COT:
• prayers for work transitions and changes happening, prayers for men looking for work, prayers for babies on the way, over all health and well being

Thanks for letting me Q, this was a fun workout and due to my lack of bringing a speaker the mumblechatter was mumbling.

Welcome to Pothole!

Rock on,

Hair Band :sign_of_the_horns:

That-workout-from-Friday redux

AO: westeros
Q: CubCadet
PAX: DintyMoore, Vector, bluemule, Pep, SalPal, Spinal Tap, Michelin Man
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Brisk 32 but manageable

WARMUP: 25 SSH, WMH / GM OYO, mosey around the big field (on the pavement)

THE THANG: Yeah, I stole my own workout from Friday / Bomber. Modified it slightly to make it less confusing (based on anonymous feedback)

– Endzone: 5 SSH
– 10 yard line: 10 burpees
– 20 yard line: 20 WW1
– 30 yard line: 30 mountain climbers
– 40 yard line: 40 merkins
– 50 yard line: 50 squats
– 40 yard line: 40 ski jumpers
– 30 yard line: 30 American Hammers
– 20 yard line: 20 box jumps
– 10 yard line: 10 wide arm merkins
– Endzone: 5 SSH

Rinse / repeat in reverse order

Travel between yard lines as a group was half bear crawl / half lunge worms (lunge, lunge, inchworm forward, 2 merkins, inchworm back up)

Sprint length of the “field” – 1x

Mary – round robin, 25 reps each exercise for 8 minutes

Playlist as also a recycle: Super Bowl Halftime songs.

MOLESKINE: Things I learned today:

– DintyMoore is alive
– SalPal was 12 in 2011
– Prince was the greatest SB halftime act. Ever.
– Coffee at Dose is pretty cool (#lovingmysabbatical)

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Congrats to those who finished Leanpax. Check slack for details on Brewruck and Night Moves coming up.

COT: Prayers for:
– People and critical care / research institutions impacted by government budget cuts, and struggling with uncertainty.
– Vector and family over his Mother’s passing
– Michelin Man dealing with some back issues (and our gratitude that he came to hang with us)
– SalPal dealing with some leadership challenges / change at work
– Intentions in our hearts.

Grateful for the opportunity to lead.

KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid

AO: atlantis
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Puzzlah, Pole Dancer, SalPal, Son of Red Skull
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
CONDITIONS: Perf

WARMUP: SSH, Shoulder Burns

THE THANG:

PAX worked through a circuit of:
– Incline Merkins
– Dips
– Decline Merkins
– Sandbag Carry

Sandbag carry was the “timer”. Once everyone completed two sandbag carries we took a run around the football fields.

Second circuit of:
– Dips
– Carolina Dry Docks
– Dips
– Sandbag Carry

Went until all PAX completed two sandbag carries and took another lap around the football fields.

MOLESKINE: It was a quick one with a good mix of strength and cardio.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT: Leading is encouraging and uplifting. Where in your daily life are you looking for opportunities to lead and take on responsibility?

Someday We’ll All Enjoy Running, But Not Today

AO: westeros
Q: Hair Band
PAX: Chunks, Grape, Tim the Toolman, DintyMoore, Michelin Man, Pep, SalPal, Son of Red Skull, Red Skull, Young and Restless, bluemule, CubCadet, Sherlock, Vector
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: a bit chilly, a bit damp

WARMUP:
Good mornings
Cherry pickers
Willie mays hayes
Cowboy hip rotations (fwd & bck)
50 SSHs
High knees
Butt kicks

THE THANG:
Mosey to parking lot hill
2x 50% sprint up hill, jog down
2x 75% sprint up hill, jog down
2x 90% sprint up hill, jog down

3 Sets
20 Squat jump with knee tuck (40 drop squats as modification)
50 Iron mikes (25e)
15 merkins
Hard sprint up hill (85% effort), jog down (30-40% effort)

In cadence squats on Hair Band count

Mosey to jungle gym for as many rounds of
25 pull ups and running a lap around the drop off circle as possible

MOLESKINE:
A thought I had during the beatdown: how we, as individuals, approach a workout together is often a reflection of how we live our lives in relationship with others.

Another thing I learned today: if I see people shorting themselves in an exercise, it fires me up. I have more to say on this matter but it’s probably better I don’t.

Shoutout to DintyMoore for being a monster and raising his lactaid threshold this morning.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– AOQ Grow School coming to a saturday soon near you
– Spring CSAUP in the works
– Spring fling led by Natural Ice – CBO
– 4:13 Strong Dinner fundraiser April 24th

COT:
– health and wellness for friends & family, prayers & praises for employment

Rock on and don’t cheat yourself out of getting better,

Hair Band

Oh Hill No!

AO: the-castle
Q: Strutter
PAX: Chunks, Pep, hambone, SalPal, Son of Red Skull, Salami, Tea Party, The Merchant, Strutter
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Not raining! As promised.

WARMUP: The warmup consisted of the following exercises, all in cadence:
20) SSH’s
20) Imperial Storm Troopers
40) Arm Circle Complex
A short Mosey to the base of the hill.

THE THANG: Run to the top of the hill and return for an exercise. We performed these in sets of 3.
The first 3 trips were paired with 10) merkins IC.
The next 3 trips up the hill featured 10) American Hammers IC.
The 3rd set of hill climbs were followed by a merkin complex consisting of 10) merkins OYO (that fulfilled the 70/day requirement of a few of the Pax), 10) Wide Grip merkins IC, and 10) Diamond merkins IC.
To

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT: