29 PAX descended on Slow Burn for a leisurely Friday morning, stroll around the Chick and Lowes parking lots.  SlowBurn continues its reputation for great showings, and the PAX that posted proved it again today.  At 5:15, the disclaimer was recited (one day I’ll get the whole thing right) and the PAX began moseying down to the “warm-up lot”.

The WARM UP:

15 Windmills

20 Moroccan Night Clubs

15 SSH

10 Cherry Pickers

10 Mountain Climbers

10 LBC’s

The THANG:

Now that we were sufficiently warmed up,the PAX moseyed down and around to the backside of Lowes and proceeded to grab some rail.  Rail exercises as follows:

• 20 Dips
• 15 Incline Merkins
• 20 Dips
• 25 Calf Raises
• 20 Dips
• 15 Decline Merkins

Seeing as how the PAX were already grumbling and mumble chatter was starting to get louder and louder, the respectable and right thing to do was to feed into it a bit more.  The PAX took off on a path around the back of Lowes to find 4 cones strategically placed in corners of the parking lot with chalk written exercises beside each cone.  All proceeded to count off by 4’s and each respective number groups moved to their corresponding corners.

The 4 corners were laid out as follows:

• Squats / Lunges / Monkey Humpers
• Merkins / Wide Arm Merkins / Carolina Dry Docks
• LBC’s / Box Cutters / Weezy Jefferson’s
• Peter Parker / Parker Peters / Imperial Walkers

The PAX were instructed to each perform an exercise then to move clockwise around the parking lot until all three rounds were completed.  Each exercise were x 25 reps.

Seeing as how we had a bit more time than YHC anticipated, and that the moaning and griping wasn’t quite where it needed to be just yet, instructions were given to Rinse and Repeat the entire circuit, this time at 5 reps per exercise.

Once completed, all moseyed back to the parking lot from whence we came for a quick round of Mary then back to COT for count, name-o-rama, Announcements and Prayers and Praises.  We welcomed one FNG, ToolTime and Couples took us out in prayer.

As I reflect on this workout, and in anticipation for the word for July, I am grateful for the many “Freedoms” we all have, enjoy and come to treasure.  I pray that all have a wonderful 4th of July and spend a little of the time that we have that day, reflecting on those Service Men and Women that work so incredibly hard everyday to protect our very freedoms.

Many thanks to Barry Manilow for allowing me to Q, and for the great “encouragement” of the PAX.

Slow Burn is always a favorite AO of mine because it is a Friday, consistently well attended and mostly moderate.  With this being the 3rd Q in 3 days, I h Continue reading →

…including moderation…

Another beautiful Friday and 22 of us decided burning was better than fartsacking. We had an FNG so we disclaimed proper-like and then also reviewed the mission and core principles of F3. Always a good reminder for all of us… After a reasonable amount of ribbing of Gilmore and Deep Dish for having matching neon yellow shoes… (aww… so cute…) we were off…

The Thang:
Warm up:
Mosey to the lot in front of Empire Pizza
Circle up:

• Windmills x 10
• Imperial Walkers x 10
• Merkins x 10
• Weed Puller x 10
• Squats x 15
• SSH x 15

Mosey to the construction of the new Holiday Inn. We’re going to travel around the lot a few times. Here’s how we are getting around:
Start with 5 of an exercise at one end, run to other and do 10 of that exercise;
Run back do 15, then run and do 20, back and 25, one more time down do 30 of that exercise, run back to start. We’ll do this as many rounds as we can, as time permits. Yes. It’s as confusing and stupid as it sounds.

Here are the exercises:
Round 1: Merkins
Round 2: LBCs
Round 3: Squats

Then we moseyed over to a different lot to have someone who had never Qed before (in this case Bullwinkle) lead us in some Mary… then AYG back to COT.

NMM:
Nothing special or insightful to write on this one…

Helmet, out…

The Thang –

16 PAX gathered for Slowburn not knowing that YHC had checked out a few new exercises on the F3 website the nite before. Uh oh!

One FNG was present (welcome Bulldog). After a brief disclaimer, an equally brief warm up of squats and SSHs was completed.

Mosey to traffic circle in Baxter for Squats and more SSHs

Mosey to “downtown” Baxter on sidewalk in front of McAllisters.

With partner executed on round of BOMBS with alternating partner run up to second floor across front of building, down stairs and back across street to McAllisters

50 Burpees
100 Overhead Claps
150 Merkins
200 Twister Crunches (Modified from Big Boy Sit Ups) – yes, I have selfishly named this after myself.
250 Squats

With time remaining the squad executed 25 Air Squared Sits, 25 SSH and 25 Overhead Air Squared Sits

In column of twos moseyed back to COT

Ended workout with some Mary – 20 flutter kicks, 10 Grave Diggers (both sides) and finished with crunches.

Moleskin

This weekend is Memorial Day where we remember those who have fallen in defense of this country. Yesterday I was on a train in Chicago with a man who yelled and dropped f-bombs about all of the injustices this country had heaped upon him and how he “hated” the flag and all those that respect it. While I thought about saying something I realized that I should pray for him and hope that some day he will realize that it is those that defended this country that enabled him this gift of free speech – no matter how vile and disgusting it is.

So, on this Memorial Day weekend let’s take time to pray and say thanks that those have gone before us, preserving the freedoms that we all enjoy so much today.

Despite the threat of rain, 18 pax took their early morning DRP and gathered at the Chick for some great fellowship, and perhaps a few exercises. Temperature was mild, and though there was no rain at the time, the skies where threatening and the ground was very wet from rain just a few minutes before. SlowBurn always has a great showing, and the pax that post there are always high-quality. At 5:15 the disclaimer was recited and pax jumped straight into 20x SSH before moseying down to the traditional “warm-up lot”.

Warmup-o-rama

• 15 IW
• 10 merkins
• 10 mountain climbers
• 10 windmills
• 10 cherry pickers
• 5 morning woods OYO

The Thang

Pax moseyed a path behind the row of stores and landed in the Lowe’s parking lot near the contractor entrance, finding a few cones set up. Pax were informed that the main even would be “Doracides”, which is a hybrid of Dora 123’s and suicides. Upon hearing this, Helmet suggested he would just head back to COT. The details for these Doracides:

3 cones (each separated by about 15 yards) designated the “turn-back” points of a suicide (plus one cone to designate the starting point). Pax partnered up, size not mattering. For each “round”:

• Partner 1 did first exercise while partner 2 ran to first cone, did 1 morning wood, and ran back
• Partner 2 did second exercise while partner 1 ran to second cone, did 2 morning woods, and ran back
• Partner 1 did third exercise while partner 2 ran to third cone, did 3 morning woods, and ran back
• Repeat round, but flap jack with partner

Pax did 4 rounds of this. After the first round, YHC considered modifying to make it a little easier. However, my explanation made it sound even more confusing, so we decided to keep it the same as round one, since everyone understood it by now.

One interesting observation that YHC has never seen before at a workout (especially a moderate workout) is how an exercise was MODIFIED UP to BURPEES. It seems that Morning Woods on wet asphalt are more displeasurable than burpees, because nearly all pax in the Doracides made that modification. #t-claps

Here were the exercises for each round:
Round 1:

• Merkins
• LBCs
• Squats

Round 2:

• Carolina Dry Docks
• Flutters
• Lunges

Round 3:

• Peter Parkers
• American Hammers
• Money Humpers

Round 4:

• Wide-arm Merkins
• Alphabet Soup
• SSH

As we finished up the Doracides, the skies opened up and it rained hard. And equally as intense was the #mumblechatter as we moseyed the opposite direction of the covered area of Lowe’s. We stopped on the west side where there is a stretch of guardrail. Pax lined up along the rail and held a starting dip position. First pax at the top of the line then bear crawled to the end of the line, and all other pax “dip-walked” up the guardrail. In hindsight, there’s lots of potential for this type of exercise. Version 1.0 of this went ok, but the slipperiness of the guardrail in the heavy rain made it a bit challenging.

Rain started to let up, and pax moseyed to the wall of the defunct Baxter Bunch Jumpy House (or whatever ’twas called) where we lined up and did 2 rounds of wall-sits with Jack Reachers. We then headed back to COT.

COT – Maturity

Before name-o-rama, YHC mentioned a few words about our theme of the month, Maturity. All of it came from the document ChickenHawk wrote.

Maturity is action, or “outward expression” of Wisdom.

Things to consider when thinking about Maturity:

• Maturity comes when you stop making excuses and start making changes
• Maturity is learning to walk away from people and situations that threaten your peace of mind, self-respect, values, morals or self worth.
• Maturity – apologizing when you’re at fault. Admitting your mistakes and learning how to not make them again.
• Maturity is not when we start speaking big things… it is when we start understanding small things.
• You cannot have maturity unless you have perserverence in your life and you’ve gone through some pain. God cares more about your maturity then he does about your happiness.
• The scary reality is that maturity is a journey rather than a destination

Maturity, starts with a point of reference (father, public figure, hero) in our lives that we aspire to be like. Maturity grows as we are tested and we learn to cope with adversity in a way that doesn’t leave a path of destruction.

Mucho thanks to Manilow for allowing me to Q, and for the great encouragement and hard work of the Pax.

Great morning for 20 beasts to post up to Fridays installment of Slowburn- 2 animals- Trucker and newly minted 42 yearold Dark Helmet carried heavy things throughout the beatdown.  Had a Pusher sighting (always a good time) as well as his “robin”- or is it “batman”?  Or is it “Craig and Smokey”, I never know…Flat Tire who was bringing the R&B/Hip Hop Flava to the work out.

Disclaimer disclaimed and off we went.

Dynamic warmup of four corners shuffling in between with stretches, SSH, IW, Squats and the like.

The Thang: Dirty McDeuce: 4 rounds of 3 exercises with 12 reps each

• Merkin, LBC, Squat
• Widearm Merkin, Flutter, Lunges
• Diamond Merkins, Boxcutter, Monkey Humpers
• Burpee, Freddie Mercury, Bombjack

Arc loader series

• Squat walk
• Bear Crawl
• Toe lunge
• Crab walk
• backward run

Plank-O-Rama

Six Minutes of Mary

• Rosy, LBC, Dolly, Heels to Heaven, Gravedigger

Wallsits-

Naked Man Moleskin

Great work by all this morning.  Moderate doesnt mean easy and everyone out today proved it.  Proud of each of you men.  Great to get the heart rate up and leave room for a few 10 counts.

Announcements:

• All AOs in the Fort closed Saturday to converge at the Deep for 1 year anniversary.
• This months theme is Sacrifice.  There is a Fast planned for May 4th.  Prayerfully consider
• Many prayers this morning and lifting all up especially the great news from Socrates on expecting twins

Jekyll

SLowburn Ruck AO: Trucker on Q. Ruck to BAX town center and loop around parking lot. Circle up for March Madness 64. 64 squats, 48 IW, 32 LBCs, 24 up-right rows, 16 overhead presses, 12 merkins, 8 swings, 6 erkins, 4 derkins, 2 burpees, 1 burpee. clinb stairs, bear crawl to corner, side shuffle to other corner, luge walk to stairs, down stairs, side shuffle to other stairs and walk parking lot loop. Rinse and repeat and then up/down stairs. Ruck around town center to AO.

As I started to think about what I wanted to do for the workout this morning I quickly realized that some things such as wheelbarrow and the Bonsai Tree are out of the question (Yes, I am quite fond of the Bonsai Tree so beware next time I Q).  It’s harder than you would think to come up with ideas that are different (not the same stuff you have done in previous workouts) and not just walking around a parking lot for 45 mins.  So I started thinking about things that you could do where you might not necessarily be wearing your ruck, but you are using it.  That’s when I decided the workout would be a mixture of a block workout and ruck workout.

Warmup:
SSH
Merkins
Toy Soldiers
Low Slow Squat

Break into two groups:
Group 1 – Sprints Run half way drop your ruck, run back to start
run back to ruck and pick it up and carry to the end and drop your ruck
return to start and then run back and get ruck and run to finish
Group 2 – Hold squat with ruck on until Group 1 finishes
Group 1 and 2 flap jack

Mossy over to the lot beside Empire Pizza where YHC had set of 10 exercises laid out for the paxs.  Paxs broke up into 3 groups.  The exercises where performed in a set of 4 with more surprises in between sets.  Some exercises where done twice to go through 3 rounds of 4.

During the exercises it was not important how fast you could complete each round, but that you were staying with your group and being support for each other.  I often find myself when I am not with other pax whether its out for a run, riding my bike, ruck or whatever it is taking it easier than I would if I was with others.  It is important that we continue to support each other in all that we do not just workouts.  Each one of needs someone to come along and push us, help us or even carry us at times during our life.  Over the past 8 months that I have been a part of F3 I have seen each one of these being done by the fellow paxs and I appreciate those that have pushed, helped and carried me (Dark Helmet!!).  Always remember we are each others shield lock and to make another stronger makes you stronger!

Exercises:
Flutter with Ruck press 25
Curls 20
Get ups 10
Bent over rows 25
Hold squat and move ruck from right shoulder to left hip and switch sides (10 each side)
American Hammer 20 – Apologizes to Maximus and others as I called it Russian Twist during the workout
Skull Crushers 25
Ruck Swings
Upright Ruck Pulls
LBC 25

After Paxs completed 4 exercises we moved over to the hill behind Empire and proceeded to do Jacobs ladder with rucks.  (Mekins at the bottom and Bomb Jacks at top going 5 and 1 respectively).  During this time I wasn’t sure if Maximus was going to be able to finish because he kept complaining about a terrible smell and that it might make him spill the merlot.  Lucky more me my nose was stopped up and I couldn’t smell anything.

After Paxs completed second round of 4 we lined up and did a duck walk roughly 30 yards to and from the edge of Empire back to lot

After Paxs completed round 3 we lined up 2 X 2 and proceeded to ruck around the shopping center incorporating reverse Indian run where lead paxs would drop off and do different variations of 5 merkins and then join the back of line.  After completing loop millage ended up being roughly 1.1 miles for those keeping track for Pathfinder.

It was an honor to lead the paxs this morning as they suffered through my Ruck VQ.