Tag: Fishsticks

Slow and Intensional Dirty McDeuce

Leave a comment

8 fine pax arrived at Pantheon ready for a beating.  As tempting at it was to pull out the bucket-o-pain for the second day in a row, YHC decided to reach way back in weinke history for a workout that was a favorite (perhaps?).  At any rate, near perfect workout weather, with the exception of it being just humid enough for there to be dew on the field.  No matter, plenty of options otherwise.

No new guys, but new faces to YHC (first time meeting BMT and Mousetrap – AYE!).  All were disclaimered and we set out for a mosey around the side of the school.

Warm up

  • SSH x40
  • Imperial Squat Walkers x20
  • Windmills x10
  • Peter Parkers x20
  • Flip over for dips x20
  • Mountain Climbers x20
  • Toy soldiers across parking lot
  • Lunges back
  • Shuffle left/right
  • Karaoke left/right

Run back to front of school

The Thang

We talked briefly (and throughout the workout) about the importance of being “attentional”; taking time to throughout the day to create some “white space”.  That’s where it’s often easiest to hear God’s voice.  To help appreciate how to slow down, the main exercises of this workout was a Slow Dirty McDeuce: 12 exercises, 12 slow reps each, taking a lap after every 3 exercises.

Round 1:

  • Wide-arm Merkins (3 count down, 1 count up)
  • Squats (3 count- down, 1 count up)
  • LBCs (3 count-up, 1 count down)

run lap
Round 2:

  • Dry Docks (3 count down, 1 count up)
  • Flutter Kicks (slow 4 count)
  • Calf Raises (3 count down, 1 count up)

run lap
Round 3:

  • Dips (3 count down, 1 count up)
  • Step Lunges – 12 each leg (3 count down, 1 count up)
  • Weezy Jeffersons  (3 count up, 1 count down)

run lap
Round 4 – this was done in Jack Webb style of 1 merkin, then 4 slow moroccan night clubs, then 4 squats then  2 merkins (then 8 and 8), etc.  We did this through 4 rounds

run lap and a half, and land back at COT.  I was sad we didn’t have time for the slow ladder in the field (everything in cadence, including slow bombjacks and 6-count burpees – next time!).

3 minutes left for a little Mary:

  • American Hammers
  • Skydiver
  • Pull the cord, then do moroccan night clubs, while on our bellies (stole that from CSPAN about 3 years ago).

Great job done by all!  Thanks FishSticks for the opportunity to lead!

TClap |
3

Bucket-o-Pain – New and Improved With More Awfulness!!!

Leave a comment

9 bootcampers and 7 ruckers landed at Golden Corral for a buffet of painful options.  Drummond brought an FNG (later named “Manifold”) to partake in the meal.  Don’t know about any of the other bootcampers, but YHC was thankful not to be part of the rucking group when Rad rolled the giant tractor tire out of the back of his truck. No bueno.

5:15 arrived, and after a disclaimer was offered, the bootcampers took off for a mosey around Rite-Aid, down to the auto-repair place, and back to the front of Harris Teeter.  Stops were made along the way for various warm up exercises, including:

  • SSH
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Sumo Squats
  • Peter Parkers
  • Dips
  • Windmills

38 Special came in hot, and caught up with us after our second stop on the warm-up run.

The Thang

At the stopping point in front of HT was the bucket of pain.  But this time the instructions were different than previous BoP appearances.  Here’s how it went:

  1. First exercise was drawn from the bucket.  Pax did 5 reps.
  2. Second exercise was drawn.  Pax did 10 reps of it, then repeated the 5 reps of the first exercise
  3. Third exercise was drawn.  Pax did 15 reps of it, then 10 of the second exercise, then 5 of the first.

Routine continued until 5 exercises were drawn (which had 25 reps).  Once completed, pax took a run around the entire front parking lot of the shopping center.  We had time to do this twice.  Here were the exercises.

  1. Round 1:
    1. 5 merkins
    2. 10 burpees
    3. 15 squat jacks
    4. 20 POGO (10 each leg)
    5. 25 plank punches
  2. Round 2:
    1. 5 jumping lunges
    2. 10 low, slow squats
    3. 15 moroccan night clubs
    4. 20 flying squirrels
    5. 25 Crab Cakes

After our second round (and run around the parking lot) we had time for a few minutes of Mary:

  • Flutters
  • LBCs
  • Chopsticks
  • Alphabet Soup
  • American Hammer

Time was up, and we headed back to COT.

Excellent work by all men.  T-Claps to Mainfold for his first post, and to 38 Special for his second post (in as many days). Thanks to Decibel for the privilege of Q’ing.

 

TClap |
0

4 Corners . . . with some “Elders”

Leave a comment

I will keep this backblast shorter, but I will say it was a lot of fun today at the Pantheon! Thanks to Fishsticks for letting me Q.

Some Pre-work:

1 group of runners headed out to who knows where at 4:45.

Fishsticks and I did some extra ab work that I call high octane abs. It hurt.

Disclosure given. Lots and lots and lots of chatter. Completely dark. Did I mention there was lots of chatter?

Short mosey to the lighted area for a different dynamic stretching workout after some high knees and butt kickers.

Some confused minds about what we were doing since very few had done this style of warm-up before (~8 exercises). Eventually I shifted to some traditional SSHs and the crowd went wild. It was like the PAXs’ bodies woke up.

At this point I inconveniently forgot a few demos of a few of the exercises to come for the main event.

The Thang:

We broke up into 4 teams of 5 and went to each respective corner on the soccer field. Fortunately, it was not very muddy.

I’d tell you the 20 different (and difficult) exercises that we did, but  . . . that means I’d have to type them out right now and I feel lazy after a long day of work. So if you are reading this, feel free to retweet it and comment what your favorite one was even if you don’t know the name of it. We did do Tunnel of Love and People’s Carry between cones.

I had a second round prepared, but, oh well, . . . time slipped away from us. Beware of next time. Round 2 was scheduled to be harder.

COT: Main Announcements: Convergence coming up; Praises: Lutefish’s daughter rocked it; Prayer: let’s continue to pray for children going through difficult times and Badger and his family.

Thanks to everyone, including the “Elders” for their hard work today!

Lastly, I think I missed one of you on the list. So sorry. My memory can only remember 19 out of 20 without a recording. Feel free to identify yourself.

TClap |
27

Clubhouse Tour

Leave a comment

It was a very active morning around Runde field.  The baseball diamonds were being groomed for upcoming tournament games.  There was also a large contingent of F3 runners participating in a 10 mile tour of Tega Cay.  After a quick disclaimer, we headed down the road to the clubhouse.  We stopped at the tennis courts next to the tallest flag in the area and performed the following warm-up exercises.

SSH x 20

Imperial Walker x 20

Windmills x 10

Merkins x 10

Plank Stretches , Downward Dog, Honeymooner

Next, we jogged over to the front of the Glennon Center.  Smuggler joined us after searching the hills around Runde looking for us.  We each took turns bear crawling up and down the steps while the others performed squats (Rd 1) and leg lunges (Rd 2).

Next, we moseyed to the driving range to enjoy the scenic view of Tega Cay.  The cost of this view – 10 burpees.  We took a 10 second break before our next journey down to the bottom of the hill near the putting green.  We split the group into two teams.  Team 1 ran up to the top of the hill near the tennis courts while team 2 performed merkins until team 1 returned.  The teams switched up routines and after completion we did a round of LBCs before running back up the hill again.

Next we started our return back to Runde, but before we ran back we had a few exercises to complete.  We picked up a rock of our choosing and did the following exercises:  Curls, Overhead presses, and Forearm extensions.  We took a short stroll to the retaining wall and walked along the wall using our hands.

We returned to Runde field for a few minutes of Ab exercises.  Straight-up had a few good ones – V-ups and Duck, Duck, Goose.

Great job everyone!  Thanks for putting up with all of the running (3.5 miles).

 

 

 

TClap |
1

Exten(d)uating Circumstances at Beyond Pantheon

1 Comment

The Beyond workouts initiated by Maximus at the start of this year are meant to test the PAX physically with black diamond-esque workouts, along with “extending” the Q in personal ways that may not occur at a standard workout. I jumped at this opportunity when presented and I recommend it to others to consider doing the same.

My Beyond topic was not going to be easy for me, and not known by many PAX. But I truly felt the need to use Beyond as a step moving forward and I have faith in support of the PAX. While my backblast is a little delayed, it is not for lack of thinking about how I was to write it up. I had already done a lot of thinking about it for weeks leading up to my Q.

The workout side of my Beyond was going to be tough and I’m sure the PAX who planned on posting knew a little extra running was coming.

As PAX were arriving, I advised to get their stretching in as we would be jumping right into the workout. A couple PAX arrived expecting Pantheon but were nudged into Beyond for a total of 12. Disclaimer given especially to modify as needed…but to try and push yourself.

I planned to speak in 3 parts during the workout about my spirituality, starting with my background (past), followed by my current status (present) and finishing with how I hoped to move forward (future)…hopefully with direct PAX help.

Before beginning the workout, I asked the PAX to keep an open mind and not to take anything personally. I needed them to bear with me as I knew only one way to speak on this topic and that was to be straightforward about my life experiences and observations. But as I get older, I see my mortality (and possible salvation) at hand.

I first told of my past as it pertained to religion. I was not raised in a religious family. I went to church a couple times, sometimes with my grandparents. Of course I was around Christianity my whole life, but I had no formal education. I told the PAX what I learned of religion as a child amounted to what I saw on tv…the Jim Bakers, the Benny Hinns, etc.  And what I was remember was a lot of asking for money and reading stories like those of older people giving away their life savings to guys like them. In college, I had some discussions with two brothers of the previous partying-type who had recently found God. So, my background is more logical and scientific without faith, or a faith ‘base’.

(I am sure this backblast may miss some things I talked about at Beyond, but possibly add a few things, too)

We moseyed around the school parking lot loop to the start of the straightaway for some “Burpee Miles”.  Our burpee miles were shortened for the .3 mile loop and consisted of 15 burpees, immediate sprint the straightaway cone to cone about :30,  jog around the loop back to the first cone. Rinse and repeat for 3 laps.

We went back for the 6 and crossed to the field for a break while I covered my “present” (or near present) within the last couple years.  A few years back, I used to have lunch meetings with a friend to discuss his Christianity and my spirituality. He always referred to me as a seeker. Some of the best discussions we had was coming at it from the point of view of Jesus as a man on earth. He loved everyone no matter the skin color or religious belief. He treated everyone equally. He had empathy for all men. He believed in good behavior by men.  I have taken this to heart and apply it to experiences in life, social issues, political issues, etc. Very simply…what would Jesus do? What would Jesus say?  Are people around me acting in a manner that Jesus would support?

I told the PAX that in quiet moments, I talk to God almost every day…even if I don’t have him defined by a book or even if I don’t know if I believe!  I ask questions, I ask for forgiveness for myself and I apologize for a lot of bad behavior that I see in the real world. I thank F3 because I know that without the opportunities that F3 has afforded me in this area,  especially seeing the positive things that faith offers, I would be nowhere near the seeking point I am now. While the F1 and F2 are of course important, its the 3rd F that is most consequential for all of us.

Our field work consisted of a continuous cycle through of exercises individually while each PAX put on a 40# ruck sack and carried a 30# sand bag overhead while crossing the soccer field and back. The exercises were, 25 each:

  • bombjacks
  • clap merkins
  • jump lunges left and right
  • plank jacks
  • squat jumps
  • reverse merkins
  • squat calf raises (a Tesh special)
  • plank shoulder taps

Much to the PAX dismay, we had time for 2 more burpee laps but with the burpees reduced to 10.

In COT, I addressed my “future” and how I move forward from here. I asked the PAX present, as I am asking any PAX reading this now, to reach out to me to discuss their faith….as of this writing a couple already have.  I need to reach out to Whetstone and continue pursuing in various ways. I will add here that while reading verses is ok, relating your personal belief system to me and how it applies in the real world is what I feel I need to hear. Tell me how you came to believe and about the positive ways your faith affects your life.  I see a lot of negativity in the real world, and our past history, and these things weigh on me heavily.  But be warned, if you take on this challenge that I present, there will be hard hitting questions and topics that I am not addressing here.

But I will continue seeking and ask for your help in the journey.

Bolt

Forgive me as there was more at COT but I waited too long for this backblast.

 

 

 

 

TClap |
19

Superbowl Hangover

Leave a comment

Pretty quiet morning at Quagmire due to the Superbowl.  I was prepared for some smack talk from the Eagles fans since I am a lifelong Patriot’s fan.  Bones and Homebrew showed up for some fun at Rivergate.  After the disclaimer, we headed to the front of Best Buy for some warm-up stretches (Butt kickers, Knees to chest).

Next, we moseyed to the back lot near Just Fresh and performed the following exercises:

SSHs

Imperial Walkers

Windmills

Plank (Downward Dog, Honeymooner)

Next, we moseyed to the Target red balls.  I was hoping for a larger crowd, but we made it work with the three of us.  Two of use lunged walked while the other person did five burpees.  We each got through three sets of burpees.

We took a short jog over to the parking lot near Michaels and performed some cadence strength training.

First round:  Bearcrawl/Merkin  10/10

Second round:  Crabwalk/LBC: 10/10

Third round:  Backward Bearcrawl/Carolina Dry Docks 10/5

Next, we ran back to the parking lot near Just Fresh.  We alternated running up and down the staircase while the other two did walk sits (two rounds).  We made are way to the fountain for two rounds of Dips, Derkins, and step-ups.

COT

Prayers for Homebrew and family with second child on the way.

 

 

TClap |
2

Our Community

Leave a comment

Sharkbait and I arrived a little early to get prepared for the workout.  We walked up to the basketball court and we were asked “Are you with F3?”  I answered “Yes, are you ready for the workout?” They all answered “Yes” with excitement.  Soon there were 25 PAX who showed up for the workout. I must say, this is record attendance for me.

We took a slow mosey around the park up to the church parking lot.  We circled up for some warm-up exercise.  I had a lot of help with picking out the exercise and leading the PAX.  Here are the exercises we performed:

SSHs, Merkins, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, LBCs, FMs and Big Boy Sit-ups

Next, we lined up for leg lunges across the parking lot.  Turned around and did our best to impression of a duck walking across the road.  Our final exercise was two merkins every other parking space.  Halfway through this exercise, I spoke to the PAX about how there are times in life when things are difficult and asked what things can help you get through these times.  The kids had some great answers.  I emphasized how important it is to talk to your family and friends during these times.  We finished with one more set of merkins and wrapped up with our Circle of Trust closed by Jay.

Lastly, Sharkbait’s thoughts G-Fit:

G-fit is very fun and if you haven’t came out then you should. The kids are very energetic and are very happy at the workout. After we do the circle of pain then we play basketball or football until we’re tired. This is my favorite out of all the workouts.

TClap |
5

Creative Misery at the Rock

Leave a comment

When Smuggler organized this Q combo, he must’ve known a lot of PAX were looking for that Saturday morning push. After some banter back and forth between the WEP Q’s and us Alcatraz Q’s, we were pleasantly surprised to see car after car after car roll into Runde Park this Saturday morning. The weather was warm and the PAX were primed with the early mumble chatter. With the typical “don’t hurt yourself and don’t sue if you do hurt yourself” disclaimer, we took a very abbreviated (10yd) mosey to the right side of the parking lot (a slight teaser for what was coming).

Jog to the other end of the lot and back then repeat.

Walking lunges 1/2 way down then high knees to the end. Same thing on the way back to the start.

Windmills & deadlifts to warm up the legs a little more then mosey to the top of “THE HILL”

PAX squat for 20sec then jog to the base of the hill followed by an all-out sprint back to the top of the hill and squat for the six.

Repeat for a 40sec squat hold then the jog down/sprint up and squat for the six.

Repeat for a 60sec squat hold then the jog down/sprint up and squat for the six.

Find some curb and 50 calf raises each leg.

Mosey to the field for a circle up.

This was when I think they really lost my mind…Lt. Dan’s (1 squat and 4 jumping lunges (2ea side counts as 4)) and we went to 8:32 before handing it off Tesh!!

With Tesh on Q, you just had a feeling this was going to get bad.

With the PAX in a very long plank:

5 Merkins

10 Mountain Climbers

5 Merkins

10 Peter Parkers

5 Merkins

Various Tesh-approved CORE exercises

Mosey to the fence line:

Merkin-Turtle crawl (can’t explain…you had to be there)

10 Merkins

Bear Crawl 50yds

More Tesh-approved CORE exercises

10 Bombjacks x 3 rounds

Mosey to the playground and split into 4 groups

Rotate through 5 pull-ups & 10 dips. For those waiting, hold the Al Gore pose.

Yet more Tesh-approved CORE exercises

Repeat the above 2 lines

Closed it out with 6min of Mary which couldn’t end fast enough.

Announcements: Yeti (Newsletter), Reading in Paradise

Prayer Requests: Praise for Palmer family, Cornerstone’s family, continued prayers for the Family & Friends affected by the recent tragedy’s our community has experienced, our officers, job transitions, marriages.

I’m sure Smuggler will get a little verbal backlash on this but hey, it made us better and everyone crushed it.

Maximus & Tesh

TClap |
6

A Visit to the Memorial Gardens

Leave a comment

Five men showed up for a post holiday beatdown on a chilly Wednesday morning.  After a brief disclaimer, we headed over to the side of the school for the following warm-up exercises:

SSH x 20

Windmill x15

Imperial Walker x 20

Moroccan Night Club x20

Next, we moseyed to the Tega Cay Memorial Garden for a quick dedication ceremony.  Several months ago, I ordered a brick to honor my grandfather’s service in the Navy.  He had a very big impact on my life when I was young.  He taught me how to be respectful and how to work hard for the things you value and the ones you love. He was physically active and a competitor at every sport he played.   He was a man of faith and always cared about helping others.  He passed away  when he was 99 year old so it was only right to honor him with 99 merkins.

We then ran over to the bottom of the outside theater for a burpee ladder.  At each level, we did burpees (5, 10, 15) and ran down the bottom for bomb jacks.  After a ten count rest, we made our way to the front of the school for leg lunges and squats between the columns.

Next, we ventured to mini track for alternating run/plank and ab exercises.  One person ran around the track while the others planked until the last person completed their run.  The next round was a run/LBC combination.

We finished off with balls to the wall along the columns in front of the school.

Great job by all!

Announcements:

Joe Davis 5/10k

Rooster Relay

Prayers:

Mr. Clean and his family

Family and friend who are battling illnesses

 

 

TClap |
0

Christmas Movie Trivia Loop

Leave a comment

When Pusher and YHC realized we were co-q’ing Alcatraz, and the weather was predicted to be quite winter-like, we decided a Christmas theme was in order.  But we wanted something a little unique.  So, we landed on Christmas Movie Trivia.

The wintry weather showed up on cue, though more cold and wet than snowy and Christmas-like.  “No matter” said the 12 pax that posted ready for the physical and mental challenges.

Pusher started us off with a jog intentionally avoiding the path around the ball fields.  We moseyed to a few different intersections near the park for various warm-up exercises, including SSHs, merkins, peter parkers, and a few others, while playing a little frogger.

We then moseyed to the bottom of a steep hill and partnered up (size no matter).  Partner 1 took the hill, while partner 2 held a squat.  Flapjack.  Repeat 2 additional times.

We then moseyed up the hill half way, and lunged the rest of the way.  Pusher then took us back to the parking lot where we started and turned it over to YHC.

We moseyed around the parking lot, then to the path that circles the park, where the first of about 30 cones was sitting (each about 10-20 yards apart, all along the path).  And so began the Christmas Movie trivia challenge.  Here’s how it worked:

  • On each cone was a trivia question.  Upon arrival to the cone, the question was read aloud.
  • While pax pondered and discussed the question, an exercise was performed, which was dependent on the movie.  Here were the exercises (some of which we didn’t get to):
    • A Christmas Carol – 10 high jumps
    • A Christmas Story – 10 Plank Jacks
    • Christmas Vacation – 10 Mountain Climbers
    • Christmas With The Kranks – 10 Bombjacks
    • Deck The Halls – 10 Plank Punches
    • Four Christmases – 10 Sumo Squats
    • Elf (My Favorite!) – 10 Squat Jacks
    • Ernest Saves Christmas – 15 Hillbilly Walkers
    • Holiday Inn – 10 Morning Wood
    • How The Grinch Stole Christmas – 10 Russian Twists
    • It’s A Wonderful Life – 10 Dry Docks
    • Jingle All The Way – 10 Run Stance Switch
    • Nightmare Before Xmas – 10 Crab Cakes
    • Miracle On 34th Street – 10 Merkins
    • The Polar Express – Bearcrawl to next cone
    • Scrooged – 10 Monkey Humpers
    • The Santa Clause – 10 Chop Sticks
    • Santa Claus: The Movie – 10 Speed Skaters
    • White Christmas – 10 Donkey Kicks
  • Once the exercise was done, pax had to agree on an answer.
    • If the answer was correct, pax moved on to the next cone
    • If the answer was not correct, pax had to do one or more penalty exercises.  Here’s how the penalties worked:
      • 1st incorrect answer – 10 burpees
      • 2nd consecutive incorrect answer (i.e. at next cone) – 10 burpees AND 100 yard run
      • 3rd (or more) consecutive incorrect answer (3 cones in a row)- 10 burpees AND 100 yard run AND 10 merkins
      • After the penalty was served, pax moved on to the next cone

We got through about 25 cones (with a score of about 50%) before running out of time.  The questions were tough, and thus we clocked in over 100 burpees.  I won’t post the questions/answers here in case any pax want to reuse this weinke, or a variant thereof (contact me on twitter if you’d like the questions and answers).

Moleskin

It was a privilege for Pusher and YHC to lead the workout at Alcatraz.  Pusher talked about how thankful we are for F3 and the amazing HIMs that make it so great, including and especially the pax posting to Alcatraz.  For me, what has made F3 so life changing isn’t the organization, or structure, or exercises or cool gear; it is the men of F3 that invested their time into “FNGs”, long after their first post.

If you are a man that a fellow F3 pax has invested time into, my encouragement to you (and to me) is to find a pax in F3 that could benefit from you pouring into them.

 

TClap |
3