I had looked at my calendar and noticed I only had 2 Q’s for the month of January and Pantheon was on the list. With that, I said it has to be good and someone had to pay!!

13 PAX joined in after some pre-runs and probably other types of runs that we won’t discuss, but they came to pay respects and I was humbled and honored to lead this fine crew. My appreciation to Fish Stix for the lead and once 0515 hit we were off to the gloom.

Pleasantries were given and disclaimer…..I think.

Mosey around school to back playground and then to Basketball Court

·         COP

·         Imperial Walkers

·         Merkins

·         Squats

·         Peter Parkers

·         Hillbilly Walkers

·         Parker Peters

YHC talk to the PAX while air was being sought after and I mentioned how I saw a deer on the way to the AO and the deer ran the opposite way. I found it interesting that animals know when danger is near and we are all hard wired to know right from wrong as well, yet deer get hit by cars and we also slip and make mistakes and bad choices….sometimes over and over again…..WHY? Constant friction of know the right thing but doing the wrong and feeling like we got run over by a truck after. More to come…..

Line Up at Bball Court baseline – count off 1’s and 2’s

·         Suicides

·         Squats

·         Suicides

·         Wall Sits with Shoulder Presses

·         Suicides

·         B2W

·         Suicides

·         Carolina Dry Docks

So we make bad choices but they don’t have to define us. I know that F3 is good because it has made me better. When asking the PAX, they agree they have gotten better because of F3. In fitness, fellowship (friends) and faith I have gotten better and because of this I have made less bad choices. I have PAX that tell me to get better and hold me accountable without judging and tell me its ok to work hard, do the best you can and put in the extra work needed to make that difference. I mentioned…..think of the men that don’t have F3. Now it makes sense on why some people just keep making bad choices, like happy hour versus going home to family or its ok to spend money on yourself….you deserve it versus its not about me as “I am 3rd”. Starting to see how we get better??

Mosey to Swing Sets – Partner Up flap jack in-between exercises

·         Partner 1 takes lap

·         Partner 2 begins 60 Pull Ups

·         Partner 1 takes lap

·         Partner 2 begins 60 Swing Crunches

·         Partner 1 takes lap

·         Partner 2 begins 60 Dips

·         Partner 1 takes lap

·         Partner 2 begins 60 Merkins

Mosey to side of school Playground with Wall sit stop along the way

·         Partner 1 – 15 Swing Crunches

·         Partner 2 – 15 Derkins

·         Flapjack

Single file jog to front of school

We get better by sharpening each other and we should look to sharpen others. When things are tough and we feel “unhappy” we put in the extra work and get it done. At Home, at work in life things are tough and by being surrounded by HIMs, we make it and get better. We do the extra work happily and push our brothers as well.

·         Full sprint to Shovel Flag

Sky Q put the extra work in for us….by sending his one and only son in our place. Called the great exchange. Him for us……so I do all I can to honor what he has done for me. Aye!!

• Joe Davis Run…..be there
• Yetti….sign up ASAP
• Prayers and Praises – we have a good Sky Q!!

Humbled and Honored to lead

Cake Boss

YHC surprisingly woke up Wednesday morning after flying home from the Rose Bowl on the red eye the previous day energized to lead an always good group of PAX despite the heartbreaking lose by Penn State. During the game YHC kept thinking about the weinke and kept saying that if Penn State wins, we won’t do burpees or run a lot; but if we lose then burpees and running will be part of the weinke. Unfortunately, Penn State couldn’t make a first down on the last series of the game and we gave away a win to the real USC. Despite the loss, I was extremely grateful for such a great season when no one expected this, we were still winners. So how do I incorporate losing into my weinke? The thang:

A nice mossy around the parent drop-off circular road

COP that included IW, Windmills, Merkins, SSH, and slow squats (plus a skid mark from Package)

Line up at one end of the parking lot for suicides (punishment for not being able to run 4 yards for a first down).

Start at the first parking lot stall line and do 5 burpees
Run to third parking lot stall line and do 2 diamond merkins
Run back and repeat exercises at each parking lot still line (just like suicides)
Run to the sixth parking lot stall line and do 4 wide arm merkins
Run back and start over again….you get the drift
9th parking lot line do 9 military merkins
12th parking lot line do 26 LBCs
15th line do 19 squats
18th line do 4 Carolina dry docks
21st line do 12 side squats
24th line do 18 flutters (double count)
27th line do 7 burpees

Mossy around the parking lot to complete a route that looks like the number of points Ohio State scored in their bowl game (sorry but had to do it)

Line up at end of parking lot again and do 1 true set of sprints utilizing the landscape medians

COT
Congrats to Bouncehouse for almost getting through the suicides twice (wish I was 17 again), as well as a few other PAX who were into their second round (Aquaman and Longshanks). So just one more tidbit about the number of exercises during the suicides. if you combine the first two you get 52 – # of points USC scored, combine the next 2 and its the # of points PSU scored. 26 is the jersey number of our MVP – RB Saquon Barkley, the next three is the total rushing yards he had in Rose Bowl (194), the next is the jersey number of our star WR – Chris Godwin who racked up 187 yards in receiving.

Thanks PAX for posting on a morning where I was still sleep deprived from my quick trip, you all make me and other PAX accountable and help push through when we don’t seem to have any energy. I am also honored that 19 PAX showed up as well.

Announcements: Joe Davis was to be this Saturday but has been postponed to Jan 14th due to snow. FYI, there will still be a “ruck in the snow” this Saturday. Follow CSPAN for more details. Yeti is fast approaching as well (Feb 18th) and starting this week there is a Ruck workout each day of the week for those who are doing the April GoRuck Challenge. Only 113 days till that CSAUP!!

Prayers to Olaf’s M and family, teachers and students heading back to school, and 1 more that I can’t recall (this is what happens when you do write your backblast the day of Q – DO backblasts!!!!)

As always, thanks for the opportunity to Q!

Trucker

It was a cold morning and felt a lot like December unlike most of the month to date.  Surprisingly there was a pretty good turn out even though it was 4 days until Christmas.

Warm up:
SSH
Merkin
Imperial Walker

The What:
When I started to prepare my winkie I was trying to figure out something with a theme for Christmas.  So I decided to write a bunch of different exercises on bows and then throw them into a Christmas bag.  Each Pax would take turns pull a bow and everyone would then do the exercise on the bow.  After the bow was pulled twice it was thrown out.  In between some of the exercises we would run to the stop sign and back.

With about 5 minutes to go and my arms and legs shot we did some ab work.

LBCs, American Hammer, 6 inches

It was a pleasure to lead the group of guys and discuss what Hope means to me.

Bonsai

In just few days we will say goodbye to 2016. But before we do, one last chance for YHC to Q a workout and try to make each PAX better.

8 posted at The Pantheon, despite the knowledge of better options. Disclaimer given and off we went.

The Thang

Short mosey lap with high knees, butt kickers, and toy soldiers. Circle up in front of the school for some WIMPS

Windmills x 10 (IC)
Imperial Walkers x 10 (IC)
Monkey Humpers x 10 (IC)
Peter Parkers x 10 (IC) w/ some plankarama
Super x 10 count

Mosey to the cones for a 30 minute AMRAP. Each cone (9 cones total) was 2 parking spaces away from the next. When you get to the end, PAX choice of movement back (bear crawl, run, crab walk, backwards run, karaoke, etc.)

Cone 1 – 40 SSH
Cone 2 – 10 Diamond Merkins
Cone 3 – 25 Squats
Cone 4 – 5 Burpees
Cone 5 – 30 Hip Slappers
Cone 6 – 20 Flutter Kicks
Cone 7 – 10 Wide Arm Merkins
Cone 8 – 20 Carolina Dry Docks
Cone 9 – 25 LBC’s

After 30 minutes we moseyed to pillars at the front of the school for some People’s Donkey Balls.
20 count People Chair
5 Donkey kicks
20 count Balls to the wall
Rosalitas x 10 (IC)
20 count People Chair
5 Donkey kicks
20 count Balls to the wall
Dying Cockroach x 10 (IC)

Mosey to the flagpole for the Pledge of Allegiance and 22 Merkins

Head on back for COT and BOM

Announcements – New Years Day Trail Race, Joe Davis 5k/10k on January 7th, Yeti on February 18th.

Prayers/Praise – everyone said something CSPAN style – knee surgeries, cancer, loss of loved ones around Christmas, family situations, Hope.

Moleskin
1. 2016 has been a bad year for famous people. Those that have passed on include: Prince, George Michael, Muhammad Ali, Nancy Reagan, Carrie Fisher, Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Glenn Frye, Abe Vigoda, Patty Duke, Merle Haggard, Pat Summit, Gene Wilder, Alan Thicke, John Glenn and many others. It got me thinking about who is now missing from our PAX in 2016. The big 3 I think of are Solid State, Howitzer, and Bing. I know all 3 of these men made an impact on my life while they were here. I know they are off doing great things in their new communities.

2. Spoke a little bit about what Hope means in my life at COT. A couple of weeks ago at church, our Pastor was doing a sermon about God being there in ALL THINGS. He is there when everything is great he is there when everything isn’t great too. I challenge you to think of a time in your life when things weren’t going great or as things weren’t going according to YOUR plan. As you think about that time in your life, look at the blessings that came out of it. When I was going through a divorce 5 years ago, I thought I had it all figured out, I had MY PLAN. Little did I know God had a different plan for me. Some of the blessings that came from God’s plan:
a. Met my wife Elizabeth
b. started going back to church
c. started coming to F3 (could make a whole entire list of the benefits I’ve received from coming to F3)
d. got involved in Spartan Races
And the list could go on and on. But the key is to have HOPE, because eventually everything will turn around as God is in ALL THINGS.

3. Thank you Fishsticks for putting me on the schedule.

Longshanks out

This morning, I had planned to log some miles and rest my sore shoulder so I skipped the madness at the Coop.  I decided to run a few laps around Pantheon before venturing down Gold Hill Road.  As I made the turn to the front of the school, I notice, not one, but two cars parked in front of the school.  I thought to myself “Should I continue to run as planned or should I check and see if they were here for a workout?”  I ran back to the parking lot to check it out.  Sure enough, River Rat and On the Rocks were here to workout.  I informed them about the fun they were missing at the Coop.

Running would have to wait.  After the standard disclaimer, we ran a lap around the car pool circle.  Next, River Rat lead the warm-ups with the following exercises:

SSH

Imperial Walker

Windmill

Merkins

Moroccan  Night Club

Next, we ran another lap around the car pool circle.  At each light pole, we performed the below exercises, adding one exercise (ten reps) at each light pole:

Squats

Carolina Dry Docks

Calf Raises

LBCs

Moroccan  Night Clubs

Merkins

Flutter Kicks

Next, the Q was handed over to River Rat for another lap around school parking lot.  We started with a reverse run or “Nur”, then high knees, butt kickers, shuffle right/left, and karaoke right/left.  We arrived back at the front of the school for On the Rocks to lead us in a round of dips and wall sits.  Next we ventured to the columns for a few minutes of balls to the wall.

With about five minutes left, I thought it was a good idea to end with a burpee lap around the school, 5 burpees each light pole.  We missed out on the PAINtheon games, but we experienced some of the pain.

Announcements:

Joe Davis Run – January 7th

Prayers:

Praise for the F3 group, always open and willing to serve

Families during the holiday season

Quick black blast today because I have some things to attend to this morning. 4 showed up on a perfect cool morning for a YHC led rinse and repeat circuit. Here’s how it went:

Warm-up laps around the drop off lane with high knees, butt kickers and side shuffles. Circle (square? diamond?) up in front of the school for some SSH, toy soldiers, IW, slow merkins and slow squats.

The circuit

Station 1 in front of school: 20 merkins, 20 squats, 20 LBCs

Mosey to station 2

Station 2 at top of drop off lanes near road: 20 wide arm merkins, 20 lunges, 20 curb dips

Mosey to Station 3

Station 3 at base of amphitheater: bear crawl up the hill 5 burpees (rinse and repeat x5)

Then back to station 1 and rinse and repeat all.

We got in 2 2/3 laps (nobody seemed to disappointed to miss the last Station 3)

LBC’s for a minute at COT to get our money’s worth.

Announcements and prayers for: potential new job, surgery recoveries and kids/family.

Really good group and we all hung together to squeeze out some 2nd F along the way.

Blessed to have this group and honored to lead.

Tchaser – out!

Unseasonably warm weather posted with 7 pax at Pantheon. The ground was wet, but the rain had stopped. The Thang part of this Weinke was based on an “Arise” workout YHC posed to a few weeks ago in Greensboro (credit Leverage, the QIC of that workout).

Warm-Up
Mosey around the road circling the field in front of the school. High knees, butt kickers, shuffles left and right throughout. Stop for COP warm up:

• SSH x20
• Windmills x10
• Peter Parkers x20
• Parker Peters x20
• Possibly one or two forgotten others

Mosey to cones at the end of the east-end of the straight-away right in front of the school (drop off area). Partner up, size doesn’t matter.

Partner 2 starts at cone 2 (west-end of straight-away) with stationary exercises (listed below)
Partner 1 starts at cone 1 and does moving exercises (also listed below) to cone 2 (100 yards)
When partner 1 reaches partner 2
* partner 1 runs lap to circle back to cone 1 and begins stationary exercise
* partner 2 begins moving exercise to cone 1
When partner 2 reaches partner 1
* partner 2 runs lap to circle back to cone 2 and begins next stationary exercise
* partner 1 does moving exercises again for 100 yards to cone 2
Repeato until everyone has done all stationary exercises on the list (or time runs out).

We ran out of time, but got through the first 4 stationary exercises. The straight-away may have been more than 100 yards.

Moving exercises:
* 1 pair of lunges, 1 broad jump, 1 burpee, then 2 reps, then 3 reps, and so on until opposite cone (100 yards away) is reached. Most pax got to 6 reps before they reached the second other cone.

Stationary exercises completed were:
1) Plank punches
2) Monkey Humpers
3) Box cutters
4) Dry Docks

Mary
Senior’s choice ab work, where we started with the oldest pax. Exercises included:

• Flutters
• Box Cutters
• Freddie Mercuries
• American Hammers
• Chop Sticks
• Flutters while propped up on elbows

Excellent work by the pax. Every time we did the moving exercise where we had to take 2 hops, Crash would start shout “2 hops this time”, and pax thus wanted to do the Cupid Shuffle. T-claps to Taz for motivating his dad, Aquaman, to post an F3 workout instead of a refrigerator workout.

Thank, Fish Sticks and all Pantheon pax, for the opportunity to lead.