Dragon’s Den

This week is a special week as Thursday makes four years since I joined F3 up in Area 51 (south Charlotte) so I was happy to chip in and q again at Tomahawk which is at Doby’s Bridge Elementary, with a school mascot of a dragon.  Small world as my elementary school also had a dragon for a mascot.  Anyway, enough of this on to what we did.

After a pretty standard COP we got the bells a swinging.

25 swings
25 goblet squats
20 merkins
20 tricep extensions
25 LBC’s
30 curls
20 skull crushers
20 calf raises
20 American hammers

After every third exercise, run/walk a lap.  We got through two rounds and I added some core work in there as well just for fun.

I got at least one “I hate you!” from Polaroid or someone sounding like him so I feel like I did my job.

Welcome to Data Breach!  Looks like you guys are busy EHing your friends and neighbors.  Keep it up.  Great work out there DB!

Thanks for the HIMs you guys are and how you encourage me every day.

Peace out.  DT

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HIT at the Hive

Following up my tremendously successful initial kettlebell Q at Tomahawk last week I was asked to Q the Hive this week… That or they just needed someone to do it… I chose to believe it was because I excelled at my previous attempt…

Being Friday I thought maybe I could combine the HIT philosophy of Varsity with the Kettlebell workout of the Hive.  Sitting in the living room the night before googling “high intensity kettlebell circuits” I was smart enough to realize that 50 seconds on and 10 seconds off for 4 minutes per excercise sounded a bit too “high intensity” so I decided to cut it to 30 on with 10 seconds for 2 minutes each.  I was worried that the 10 seconds would be too much but decided to leave it there (spoiler alert… 10 seconds or rest goes MUCH faster than the same 10 seconds working out… its an odd law of time…)

So following a brief lap around the lot with some high knees and butt kickers and a quick warm-up with some SSH, windmill, imperial walkers and hillbilly walkers we turned on the little app with our nice coach and some classic rock to motivate us.  Each exercise consisted of 4 sets of 30 seconds on and 10 second rest

-Dead Lift

-Goblet Squat

-Row

-Russian Twist

-Triceps

-Lunge

-Curl

-Calf Raises

-Wood Chop

-Shoulder Press

-LBC

-Kettle Bell Swing

 

Following these sets we had Airborne lead us in a round of his hip exercises to close out the morning.  The we formed into COT with announcements and prayer requests

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Tomahawk-0 to 60 in 45 mins

12 PAX and YHC came in da Gloom of Doby’s Bridge Elementary to take our daily Red Pill. As I thought about what type of beat down I’d apply I realized simple is sometimes enough. We over complicate many things and our lives and we can’t do any one thing well. So I kept it simple and effective!

The Thang:

Warm Up around the parking lot with mini COP

Grab the bells and get after it. 20 exercises for 60 secs or 1 min each and after 4 we run a lap.  Fun times had by all!!

Flutter kick
Russian twist
V up
Hello dolly
Leg raises
Lunge
Squat
Right leg
Squat figure 8
Left leg
KB Swing
Shoulder press
Upright row
Bent row
Lat raises
R/L Curl
Concentration curl
Tri extension
Skull crushers
Calf Raises
YHC spoke about restoring old cars and how people can see the beauty in things that some of us don’t. I mentioned the research center in NC where body parts are being grown with people’s actual cells, so they can be interchanged if something goes bad….like car parts.
As much as we can exercise and change parts there is only one way to be restored…..through the Grace of Sky Q. He takes our old away and makes us New. He sees beauty in us that we don’t even see in ourselves. Find time to realize how Sky Q plans to make you restored and living a brand new life today!!
2/17-Breakfast at Philly UMC
2/20-1stF and 3rdF convergence at Forest Hill Parking lot
2/24-YETI…..just do it!
Thanks for Lead Polaroid!
Cake Boss
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Post Snow Cold Burn

11 at SlowBurn … label me disappointed, is it the cold? Is it the snow on the ground? Prepare Yo Self, put on some mittens and a cap and get out here … please (apparently I don’t say please enough)

Filling in for an injured PAX …

The Thang:
Mosey down the hill and circle up. Reps were 10x or 15x (sprinkled in 25s for OH Claps & MNClub). Burpees (1 or 2) in between each exercise after the first few were in the books. Windmill, Imp Walker, Plank-o-Rama (stretch it out), MNClub, LBCrunch, HR Merkins, Hillbilly Walker, OH Claps, Dying CR, CDDock, LSSquat, MNClub (yes, again), Freddie, Travolta (14 burpees in between).

Mosey to the lot on the other side of Lowe’s, run from the wall to the other side of the parking lot doing 7s, 1-6,2-5,3-4,4-3,5-2,6-1. Burpees and HR Merkins. Back to the wall … sit while the two ends pop out, do 2 burpees and return to the wall, until the ends meet in the middle. Recover. Back to the wall, everyone Bear Crawl from one end to the other. Recover.

Mosey to the front of Lowe’s. 3 station suicides.
Run, Shoulder taps 2ct x10, run back
Run, Shoulder taps 2ct x10, Donkey Kicks x10, run back
Run, Shoulder taps 2ct x10, Donkey Kicks x10, Monkey Hs x10, run back

Back to the big lot for some cool down, stop on the way for calf raises, 10x forward, 10x point in, 10x point out, OYO. Big lot … Squat, Mahktar N ‘Diayes, OH Clap, LBCrunch ….couple more ?

Indian Run back to COT

Looks like we made it,

Barry Manilow

 

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3 Celebrated the New Year With The Tomahawk

Yes, it is indeed January 16th, and yes this workout took place on January 1. LIFE.  Enough said.

I was a good boy on New Year’s Eve and limited myself to a couple drinks and stopped drinking by 9pm.  My friends gave me a hard time, but I already had my mind made up.  2018 will be the year I get BETTER; the year I do BETTER; the year I live BETTER.

Pinup and I weren’t sure if anybody would actually show up on New Year’s Day, so we were excited to see Skate or Die pull up.

(I think this is accurate, maybe missed something thoug
The Warmup
40 SSH right at the start to get the blood flowing
A short mosey to the wall where we took turns squatting while the next guy did High Knees for 60 seconds.
Funny how those 2 exercises can get you warm like no other.

The Thang
We moseyed to the back of the school for a few rounds of 2 minute AMRAP
Round 1 – Kettlebell Swings
Jog to the 1st light pole
Repeat Kettlebell Swings
Jog to the 2nd light pole

Round 2 – Curls
jog to the 1st light pole
Repeat Curls with the other arm

Round 3 – Tricep Extensions
Jog to the 1st light pole
Repeat Tricep Extensions with other arm
Jog to the 2nd light pole

Round 4 – Halos
Jog to the 1st light pole

Round 5 – Around the World
Jog to the 2nd light pole

Round 6 – American Hammers
Job to the 1st light pole
Repeat American Hammers, jog to the 2nd light pole

Mosey back to COT but we had a few minutes so we did some AB LAB

At COT I shared my Word of the Year: BETTER
2018 is the year I make everything I do and everything I am, better.  A better Christian by making more time for our Sky Q.  A better Husband by helping my wife more with our everyday duties.  A better Father by making sure my kids know I’m here and that I will give them the attention they desire.  A better PAX by being a better HIM…showing up to more workouts and Serve Saturdays. That leads to better Health and Emotional Wellbeing.  Skate or Die shared some ways for me to make sure these things happen.

We wrapped up with Prayers and Praises.  Happy New Year F3!

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#218in18 Kick-off Convergence BackBlast

76 PAX (including 4 FNGs) met in the gloom at Harris Teeter this morning to kick the year off the right way.

Group 1 – Jedi

Start with 60 seconds of plank tutorial, then a fairly lame attempt to explain the exercise “routine” for the upper body station. The routine, to be done in increasing AMRAP style:
· Incline Merkins
· Low Country Crab Boil (One leg, one hand dips)
· 90° Turn clockwise
· Staggered/Uneven Break Dancer Merkins (Left hand on curb)
· Staggered/Uneven Carolina Dry Docks (Left hand on curb)
· 90° Turn clockwise
· Pseudo Planche Merkins
· Donkey Kicks
· 90° Turn clockwise
· Staggered/Uneven Break Dancer Merkins (Right hand on curb)
· Staggered/Uneven Carolina Dry Docks (Right hand on curb)
· 90° Turn to starting position

Start with 10 reps for each exercise, then add 2 reps each round after that (10, 12, 14, 16, …). Only the elite few made it past the round of 12.

Group 2 – Peabody

An absolute honor to lead a convergence and had so much fun working with all the guys. Here’s the fun of the cardio Q.

SPRINT Relays!!!  

3 team

60 Yard sprint

Team members are doing Seal Jacks, side straddle hops, or flutters while teammate runs.

Winning team selects penalty exercise for 2 losing teams. (Unknown is losing team has to do the penalty exercise too but only half the reps).

Rinse and repeat the sprint relay races once teams are mixed up.

Mary to follow:

  • 50 LBCs
  • 25 Flutters
  • 10 Freddie Mercury’s

Lists of fun to hear the encouragement of other Pax and see the competition bring out the most in guys.  Saw lots of guys really push hard to win for their team.

Group 3 – Jekyll

Motley Crue and 80’s hairband soundtrack

  • COP: SSH, IW, Squat
  • 5 Burpee OYO, 4 OYO, 3 OYO
  • Lt Dan: squat and jumping , 1:4 ration
    • 1 squat: 4 jumping lunge, 2 squat: 8 Jumping lunge…10 squat: 40 jumping lunge
  • 5 burpee OYO
  • Calf Raises 25 each: Straight, Toes Out, Toes In
  • Donkey Kicks

COT

Welcome FNGs Iron City, Humps, Hillary, and Juliet

Prayers by CakeBoss for leadership.

– Ginsu

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Frosty Footloose

11 PAX gathered in about 18 frosty degrees at Footloose.  The most important thing is that they showed up!!!  That is the first step – show up!  Great job.

The work:

A brief disclaimer followed by Windmills and SSHs with a mosey to a church parking lot.  YHC has no idea which church it was as there are about three or four within rock throwing distance.

The main work was centered on a triangle – enough of the four corners – we went with the triangle symbolized by the triangle of pain, the Illuminati or the Taco Bell Stacker.

Three stations, with three rounds at each station with legs, abs and upper body.  After each rotation the PAX ran up and down the church stairs.  On round followed by a brief moleskin and then rinse and repeat.

With time still permitting and the temp only dropping the PAX serpentined the stairs followed by 50 calf raises.  With still more glorious time remaining,  we Indian ran to downtown FM and back to our COT.

We prayed for Squeaky’s daughter as well as Reece and Maggie – Mr. Clean’s 2.0s.

 

The moleskin:

When I was in college one of my room mates uncles was a priest.  Often, on Sunday, he would call and if we answered (no cell phones in 1981) he would ask whoever answered if we had been to Mass.  When I said no, he asked why.  Why?  Because, I said, I got nothing out of it.

Well, he said, it isn’t about you.  It is about you supporting the others are that are there.  By your mere presence you may mean something to someone.  And . . . maybe, you will benefit.

It is the same with posting in  the gloom – we are there to support each other.  To lend encouragement, a hand when someone is down, to offer advice (its free so its worth what you paid) and to just be there.

 

That’s all – Twister out.

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Milkshakes at Tomahawk

I love a good Twitter Storm… a little chatter and we had a pretty strong showing for a Monday. Milder weather probably didn’t hurt anything either… Let’s get to it:

Warm up lap around the outer loop of the parking lot

Circle up in middle of lot:
10 x windmill
10 x merkins
10 x squats
15 x SSH
10 x Moroccan Nightclubs

Grab your bell and go around school to small back parking lot.

AMRAP is the name of the game today… As Many Reps As POSSIBLE… You define possible for yourself, but I 100% promise you are capable of more than your mind thinks you are.

Very simple… 40lb. Sandbag is hoisted on to a Pax shoulders, and he runs about 150 yards down and back. This man is the timer. Do the exercise on the cone until the sandbag runner gets back, then rotate to the next cone.

Cones:
Curls
Goblet Squats
KB Front Hold
Flutters with press
Clean and press (L then R)
KB Swings
Around the World (or Slingshot)
REPEAT

NMM:
If you want to know what’s in a man’s head, watch his actions for a bit… We will eventually always betray what is inside us. I had hard work on the mind over the last few days, so I attempted to bring it to the Pax. After a couple rounds, though, I think I had quitting on my mind… I gave some inspiring blah, blah, blah at the start about working hard and how we were going to do as many reps as POSSIBLE, and how we should push and so on and so on… I ran fast when it was my turn… I lifted the heavy things… but I didn’t do it with the intensity and purpose that I knew I should/could have… I keep saying, “The hard work of this world will not be done by weak men.” I know it’s true, but I think I’m not even close to strong enough yet. Fortunately, I don’t have to be yet.

Helmet, out.

 

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12 Laps of Christmas with Some Discussion on our Favorite Gifts as Well as The Greatest Gift

We began with Sugarbug taking the lead for a mosey around the park and circle up in the field to get warmed up on this fridged 20-something morning.

24 SSH, 12 Windmill, 12 Moracan Nightclub, 12 Peter Parker, 12 Parker Peter (by now Dark Helmet and his ruck were starting to notice a trend and were getting nervous)

 

Mosey over to the playground to do some laps “12 Days of Christmas” style. It went like this (feel free to sing along)

One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Five bombjacks, Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Six lunges (each side), Five bombjacks, Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Seven dry docks, Six lunges (each side), Five bombjacks, Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Eight double count american hammers, Seven dry docks, Six lunges (each side), Five bombjacks, Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Nine dips, Eight double count american hammers, Seven dry docks, Six lunges (each side), Five bombjacks, Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Ten SSH, Nine dips, Eight double count american hammers, Seven dry docks, Six lunges (each side), Five bombjacks, Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Eleven plank jacks, Ten SSH, Nine dips, Eight double count american hammers, Seven dry docks, Six lunges (each side), Five bombjacks, Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

Twelve burpees, Eleven plank jacks, Ten SSH, Nine dips, Eight double count american hammers, Seven dry docks, Six lunges (each side), Five bombjacks, Four 4 count flutters, Three 4 count Mountain Climbers, Two 4 count LBC’s, One 4 count merkin and a lap around the WEP playground

 

Once the carol had been sung the choir lead was passed over to Quack Attack who began his lesson on the greatest gift

-Began with a circle of core work.  Quack Attack would call out an exercise and a PAX would ten count followed by another ten count by the next PAX clockwise. He would then discuss the next exercise as well as some insight into life for about a 10 count and we would begin again with the next PAX clockwise for a revolution around the circle. I don’t remember every exercise because I was trying to not fall over, but we did some plank, a dying cockroach of sorts (but it looked much nicer so we called it a dying palmetto bug), as well as some side planks with a hip dip that apparently looked so impressive the women on the track started giving us more room when they came by.

-Following this circle of fun we proceeded to run halfway around the tack around the park in a “native american” fashion… The PAX running to the front was instructed to yell their F3 name and the favorite gift they received as a child.  I must say based upon the answers it seems Nintendo did well during our childhood… Also I felt bad for the poor lady who must have thought 10 minutes earlier “What a nice cool morning for a peaceful walk with Fido at the park… It will be so relaxing… The odds of 20 men running in circles around me screaming the names of video games is incredibly low…”

-Once everyone had discussed their favorite gifts and we reached everyone’s favorite hill we split the group in half for a relay race.  The line was at the base of the hill and those PAX in line were to squat while the lead member ran up the hill and completed some sort of one leg squat jump that from any distance away looked like a typical drunk wedding dance.  They were then to run back to line and tap the next PAX

-Following this completion which was decided to be a tie (dealing out 5 burpees to everyone) we finished with another “native american” fashioned run the remaining distance around the park to the lot for COT.  On this run we were to say our F3 name and who was going to win the College Football Championship.   While there was some limited SEC support CLEMSON certainly was the polling favorite with a notable write-in (scream in) vote for Air Force… Maybe this is the year of the triple option…

 

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Sweatin’ To The Oldies @ #Slowburn

26 HIM came out for a warmer-and-drier-than-the-day-before “moderate” beatdown.  Welcome and disclaimer given and then I turned it over to Clark Kent for a little VQ Warm Up that went a little something like this:

10x Goofball
10x Windmill
10x Cherry Picker
10x Low Slow Squat
10x Side Straddle Hop

10x Merkin

Polaroid took back over and we moseyed to the back of Lowe’s for 2 rounds of:

30x Dips
Bear Crawl to the line
Lunge back to the rail
30x Calf Raises
Mosey to the side of Lowe’s for 1 round of Deck of Pain
Hearts = SSH
Diamonds = Bomb Jacks
Spades = Merkins
Clubs = Carolina Dry Docks
Jokers = 10 Burpees – – – – Dangerfield pulled the Joker!Mosey to the front of Lowe’s for a quick ab workout:

10x Flutter
10x LBC

Mosey back to the Warm Up circle for some Sweatin’ To The Oldies with
“I Get Around” by The Beach Boys.

Start in a squat and every time “I get around” is said you go up and down.  It’s 2m8s of squattin’ and hopefully the guys were feeling the Slow Burn.

Most of the PAX gave AYG to the Chick Fil-A hill and a mosey back to COT.  Great job!
Announcements:
-Turkey Day Convergence 11/24 0600 @ The Ranch
-Christmas Party 12/1 1830 @ Regal Manor Clubhouse
-Paradise Turkey Giveaway Bring a FROZEN turkey to an AO on Saturday, November 18th. Why? To bless the Paradise Community with turkeys for Thanksgiving. This turkey giveaway will reduce the financial burden for underprivileged families in this neighborhood as they prepare for the holiday. We will also eat lunch with the community during this event to further build relationships with our brothers and sisters in Paradise. Read the pre-blast for details regarding this fruitful event. Contact Deacon with questions.

Pinup prayed us out.

It’s always an honor Q’ing.  Thanks, again, Barry Manilow.  Peace.
~Polaroid

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