No Shenanigans Means a Little Shenanigans

AO: bomber
Q: Freakonomics
PAX: CubCadet, Vector, Papa Bear, Crawlspace, Sherlock, Pep, Hedwig
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: damp but not cold

WARMUP: the usual

THE THANG: Rounds of 5 exercises – Merkins, Squats, Carolina Dry Docks, Lunges, Rows (at the playground). Do 12 sets of each, run around the rec center and repeat with 11. Run around, do 10… I got down to reps of 5.

3 minute wall sit.

Superman Y.

6 minutes of mary

MOLESKINE: Can you show up at the end and still be counted. Just ask Crawlspace.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: none

COT: Pep’s Work, praise for Vector’s daughter honoring at graduation, those in Ukraine, and Natural Ice’s finding a new job.

Gametron

AO: bomber
Q: Wolfpack , Firefox
PAX: Crawlspace, Chunks, Right Said, CubCadet, Papa Bear, Pep, Hedwig, Puzzlah, Vector, Sherlock, DintyMoore
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: Good enough

WARMUP: Wolfpack led with
– SSH
– Imperial walkers
– Low and slow Squats
– Low and slow Merkins

THE THANG: With YHC and Wolfpack on Q, the only sensible outcome was some sort of gamified beatdown.

Part 1: Castle (led by Wolfpack)
PAX split into two teams. Field split in half with each team having a castle (aka, a base) at opposite ends, with a line of short cones, tall cones, and a 25lb sandbag at midfield, plus 3 or 4 short cones on each side of the field along the midline.

PAX had to travel to a cone, do an exercise based on the object, and then return it to their castle (or deliver it to the opposing team’s castle, if they chose to do so). Objects could be stolen from the opposing team’s castle using the same exercise.

Teams had 60s (sometimes 90s) rounds to score as much as they could. Short cones were worth +1 pt, tall cones were worth +2pts, the sandbag (always requiring 5 burpees) was worth -2pts (later amended to -4pts).

1st set of three rounds:
Travel = running
Short cone = 5 squats
Tall cone = 5 merkins

2nd set of three rounds:
Travel = side shuffle
Short cone = 5 wide merkins
Tall cone = 5 diamond merkins

3rd set of three rounds:
Travel = broad jumps
Short cone = 2 iron Lt. Dan’s
Tall cone = 2 burpees

Team 1 (Vector Sherlock Puzzlah DintyMoore YHC) took an early lead against Team 2 (Wolfpack Papa Bear CubCadet Pep Hedwig), but gameplay evolved with PAX realizing that there was enough time for the sandbag to travel to both castles. That led to some interesting waiting games over sandbag delivery plus some blocking maneuvers. Ultimately, it came down to a final round to break a 4-4 tie, which Team 1 came away with. That was not without some impressive sandbagged broad-jump heroics from Wolfpack. Also, Vector and CubCadet may never speak to each other again.

Also? So. Freakin’. Exhausting.

Part 2: Flip the Cone
Keeping the same team and same general field structure, a couple dozen short cones were scattered on both sides of the field, with cones on Team 1’s side right side up and cones on Team 2’s side upside down. Team 1’s goal was to end a 90s round with as many cones as possible right side up, with Team 2 aiming to end the round with more cones upside down. Except only mode of travel was a bear crawl in rounds 1 and 2 and murder bunnies in round 3. Teams instinctively split up into offensive and defensive squads with YHC, Sherlock and DintyMoore facing off against the defensive line of Papa Bear and Pep while CubCadet Wolfpack and Hedwig crossed the field to battle with Vector and Puzzlah. By the end, Team 1 came away with a 3-0 sweep but all PAX’s shoulders and legs simultaneously won and lost.

Finally, a 50s Hollow Body Hold.

MOLESKINE:
– Big thanks to Wolfpack for venturing to our neck of the woods and delivering the fun and the “fun”.
– Yes, this is what we do at all Game Nights
– Loved watching strategies evolve
– If you want to do a Q-collaboration in June or July, let me know! Sneak preview for next month: the most sought-after immune-system-themed combination we didn’t know we wanted – Vector + t-cell!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Spring Fling

COT:
– Everyone shared a word/phrase of gratitude

Month of the FNG Prep!

AO: bomber
Q: Toothless
PAX: Grape, Pep, Firefox, Vector, Tim the Toolman, Right Said, Sherlock, CubCadet, Papa Bear, Crawlspace, Supernova, DintyMoore, Toothless, Chunks
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: Quite fair, a bit muggy but no complaints for being solidly back in T shirt weather!

PLAYLIST: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/459qwYOyQ4j1hCmtMHFZsC?si=a23bad9eb37c4a0b

WARMUP:

Mosey to high ground, circle up

WAR
– SSH x 30
– Air presses x 10
– Windmills x 10
– Michael Phelps x 10
– Willy Mays Hays x 10
– Carrot pullers x 10
– Scorpions x 10 oyo

THE THANG: Month of the FNG Prep! :fng:

PAX count off forming three groups, 1, 2, 3…

– Group 1 does a patrol run down to end of lot and back up
– Group 2 does a ground exercise
– Group 3 does a standing exercise

All shuffle when G1 returns. Runners to the ground, ground stands up, and standing group runs.

Do four rounds (~2 mins AMRAP in each station based on runners):
1. G: Peter Parkers, S: Prisoner squats
2. G: American Hammers, S: Burpees
3. G: Carolina Dry Docks, S: Lt. Dans
4. G: Big Boy Sit Ups, S: SSHs (cut for time)

All answer a question within their group each round:
1. How did you get your F3 name?
2. What do you remember about your first workout?
3. Who invited you and why did you come to that first workout?
4. Why did you keep coming back? (cut for time)

Circle up for…

Rings of Fire :fire:

Thunderstruck
– High and low plank, up or down on “Thunder”
Roxanne
– SSH / Burpees on “Roxanne”
Flower (Bring Sally Up)
– Squat holds on “up” or “down”

MOLESKINE: Welp, the Respects may have HC’d, but the Un-Respectables recovered and showed out in force. Double Pickney action and the return of not 1 but 2 previous AOQ’s in Dinty Moore and Supernova walking into the warmup out of the Gloom made the comeback a statement victory. Will it start a streak??

Many people are saying the Rings of Fire section was their favorite part. That section was closely followed in the rankings by YHC calling out a penalty of 10 eight count body builders for the stalling of movement upon returning from a running segment, as Pep owned up to above, but there were others….

Hottest personal take of the day….Star Bagel has earned it’s place. After long dissent, taking over the porch with 10 dudes cracking wise ones and sharing about life has won me over (but just for bomber! don’t read this men of westeros)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Spring Fling! This Sunday from 12-3p! Edwin Warner Park Shelter #5 off of Vaughn Rd!
– It’s MONTH OF THE FNG! Let’s get new men out with us in the Gloom and give this thing away!
– The Merchant has a hot wing eating 2ndf opportunity the weekend after Easter, 4/26
– End of April will feature the Impossible Mile CSAUP @ greenmachine, Focker for details

COT:
– Toothless shared
– Grape shared

COT featured a message from YHC about Month of the FNG – F3 has been tremendously impactful to me over the last 6 years. This group has been there with me through job changes, kids, and all sorts of ups and downs. I want other men to have that same kind of connection and community, and I know you do too. Let’s give this thing away and invite the men in our lives who need F3!

As always, it was an honor to lead. Thanks to Firefox for the invite! It was a pleasure.

SYITG,
— Toothless :tooth:

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:

11 is a really big number when you’re holding a cinderblock

AO: titan
Q: SalPal
PAX: Pep, Goose, Black Lung, Half Lyfe, Wolfpack, Young and Restless, Tim the Toolman, CubCadet, Papa Bear, Sherlock, Crawlspace, Slim Jim, Wonderpickle
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: Acceptable

WARMUP: Mosey around the Parthenon + coupon pickup.

THE THANG: 11’s at the hill. Start with 10 squat thrusters at the bottom, 1 offset block merkin (each side 1/2) at the top. Mosey back and forth until you were at 10 on the top. Those without blocks did screamin’ eagles + bodybuilders + backwards mosey.

Returned the coupons, SSH and burpees to finish.

MOLESKINE: Hey PepGPT, come up with a meaningful insight into the nature of masculinity summarized from the conversations we had this morning during our workout.

Sure! I’d be happy to summarize some of the conversations that you had while working out this morning!

Everyone seemed to find the work challenging, and people decided to partner up to carry the load while making authentic human connections. The takeaway is that men can meaningfully accomplish more working together than alone.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Night Moves tomorrow
– Spring Fling April 6th

COT:
– Prayers for healing and perseverence in sickness.

Always an honor to lead. Stay Salty Nashville.

Respects win headcount

AO: westeros
Q: Pep
PAX: Vector, CubCadet, Tim the Toolman, Sherlock, Young and Restless
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
CONDITIONS: early spring chill

WARMUP: none

THE THANG:
– mosey to bridge
– Bear crawl across bridge and lunge walk back
– Dora at playground :
– 100 pull ups, 200 fire hydrants, 300 windshield
wipers
– Run: the drop office circle at the school

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– night moves Thursday

Prayers:
– chunks first day of new job
– Vector travel to Brazil and back

Guest appearance: SalPal , Chunks , Salami

God’s gonna cut you down

AO: titan
Q: Puzzlah
PAX: Firefox, Sherlock, Black Lung, CubCadet, DintyMoore, Tim the Toolman, Young and Restless, Pep, Papa Bear
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: springtime is peeking through

WARMUP:
SSH
Imperial walkers
Arm circles
Yoga
Merkins

THE THANG:
Mosey over to HCA garage
– Bottom (Ground Floor): 20 Merkins
– 2nd Floor: 20 Squats
– 3rd Floor: 20 Big Boy Sit-ups
– 4th Floor: 20 Burpees
Rd 1: sprint up inclines, mosey to next spot
Rd 2 (coming down): in reverse (Bernie down ramp), mosey to next spot
Rd 3: Bernie up, mosey and laps on roof for 6
Rd 4: mosey down and around.

Burpee for 6
My counts:
90 merkins total
60 burpees (plus any done at Start)

MOLESKINE:
On Johnny Cash’s 102nd birthday, we reflect on redemption.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Game night on Friday
Biscuit run on Saturday
Night Pax

COT: :black_heart:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6qf0kAUBFwuH8uMLC36atc?si=9_TvrRvVTC294TCkY8hHQw&pi=M2EKxuFhTkCOHq

Redemption Tour

AO: iiipillars
Q: Focker
PAX: t-cell, Grape, Harbaugh, gov’t mule, Haggis, Shania, Pep, Sherlock, wardas1, Swiffer, Canned Heat, Young and Restless, princessaurora, Howitzer, Big Bird
FNGs: 1 Big Bird
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: near tropical

WARMUP: stretches followed by mental math consisting of pull ups to failure, multiply by 5 and do squats, multiply by 2 and do crunches

THE THANG:
On track do the following:
-5 dive bomber push ups
-15 monkey humpers
-20 WW1
Run around track with straightaway sprints

-5 kick throughs
-15 jump squats
-20 dry docks
Run the opposite way
Broke this up by 2 sets of 10,20,30 DIDS

Mosey to start with one legged burpees and Mary to end it

MOLESKINE: lots of grumbling about the math. Yacht rock playlist really was enjoyed by all. Great way to set an intimate mood for the FNG

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Merlin Madness

COT: prayers for shared sorrow and shared joys!
“Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark” James 3:5
^i was an idiot in my marriage yesterday with my words. Learn from my mistakes

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)

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