Pendulum of Pain

A gorgeous June morning awaited us in the Gloom. We circled up counted off and the disclaimer was given to the 5 Pax in attendance

We moseyed over to the church parking lot to start

Warm up:
-15 SSH
-15 Wind Mills
-15 Apollo Ono

The thang:

We started off with speed work sprinting laps around the small lot with pain in between laps

Round 1: 10 hand release merkins OYO
Plank for 6 to finish, lap
Round 2: 15 Wide Arm Merkins

Plank for 6 to finish, lap

Round 3 : 20 Grave Diggers, 10 each arm
Lap plank for 6

We Mosey to round about at bottom of fire station hill

We did speed now we do hills

5 Burpees at round about after each round:

Round 1:
Fire station: 20 American Hammers
Houses: 20 Cherry Pickers

Round 2:

Fire Station: 15 Mtn Climbers
House: 15 Hillbilly Walkers

Round 3

Fire Station: 10 Big boy Sit ups
Houses: 10 Monkey Humpers

Rounds 4

Fire Station: 20 LBC
Houses: 20 Moroccan Night clubs

Round 5:
Fire Station 20 LBC

5 minutes of Mary with Pax picking an exercise for 30,25,20,15 and 10 Reps

We moseyed back to COT

Prayers for Slap Shot’s family mental and physical health, praise and prayers for Change Order dad gong through palative care, prayers for Spectres wife and her lump removal surgery

Thanks to Slow Jams for the opportunity to lead
– Yard Sale

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Airwolf inspired “ciabatta”

WARMUP: Mosey from flag to second parking lot. 20 count IC: SSH, hillbilly walkers, Cherry pickers, Moroccan nightclubs. 10 count down dog to 10 count honeymooner. Mosey to the band lot.

THE THANG: Tabata Time! 2 exercises, 45 sec intervals with a 10 sec rest between x 3 sets of ea. After 6th set, each PAX ran a loop around the light poles and planked for the 6. Rinse and repeat x5 cycles.
First cycle: hand release merkins & LBC’s
Second cycle: plank jacks & hello dollies
Third cycle: Carolina dry docks & calf raises
Fourth cycle: merkins & Bobby Hurley’s
Fifth cycle: Superman’s & monkey humpers

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Read your newsletter! Shady on Q at hanging with Stang today. F3 Dad’s is coming in June. Get your 2.0’s ready to roll!

COT: Bonsai’s family will be traveling to 3 different places, some separate from each other. Travel mercies and safety. JWOW travel mercies. Pothole clarity and patience. OTG is thankful to be back in the Gloom with his fellow PAX. We are all happy to have him back!

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Official Manion WOD

THE THANG:
Manion WOD
29 squats with ruck (with sandbags when available)
1/4 mile ruck (shared sandbags) some PAX run it
7 rounds

With about 10 minutes left on the clock @PunchList led us on some much needed broga.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
-convergence/invergence tomorrow at WEP
-AMRAP for Autism event tomorrow at Mathew’s Sport Complex

COT:
@What did led us on prayer, thank you for your visit brother!

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Snarky Puppy

WARMUP: Sasquatch led us though a quick disclaimer and then rocked a  killer broga set, one of the regions hidden gems is 15 minutes with this dude IMO. We went through a bunch of warrior poses etc. After that we did the workout then finished back with Sasquatch for 5 more minutes of body contorting fun.
THE THANG: Took the baton from Sasquatch and brought pax on short warm up lap to bottom of hill and back up. Quickly we grabbed some Cindy’s and then went over to small patch of grass to murder some bunnies. After a quick lap down to the other side of building and back then we started the main event, 11s. Pull-ups then run to bottom of hill and back. Then run to grass and do murder bunnies to other side of patch and back, roughly 30 ft. then do a manmaker. Worked our way though 7 rounds then we ran out of time. It was miserable.
MARY: see ⬆️
ANNOUNCEMENTS: invergence
COT: prayers for work challenges, baby on way for Wegmans and praise for Jesus and the ultimate sacrifice He paid on this day

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In Da Club

Five men showed on a cold morning at Golden Corral.  After the disclaimer, we moseyed over to Bubbles and Bows for a few warm-up exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and Plank Stretches).

Next, we were on the move around the HT building and down to the traffic circle for a round of merkins, lunges, and calf raises.  We then ventured to a little-known hill in the back of the apartment complex.  Three rounds of Nur up the hill, three burpees at the top, and ten Carolina Dry Docks at the bottom.  We made our way around the neighborhood with exercises (Merkins, Squats, and LBCs – 10 each) at each stop sign.

After traveling around the neighborhood, we ended up at a familiar fountain where we bear crawled around the circle and completed 20 dips on the guardrails.  We continued our run to the top of the hill and found a quiet parking lot for a few rounds of Mary (Flutters. LBCs, and Hello Dollies).

We returned to COT for a 2+ minute plank and finished our discussion on the Superbowl Halftime show.  50 cent was the most talked about artist.   I shared a story about a time when I was traveling to India for work.  One of the managers took me and a couple associates out to dinner.  He drove us to the restaurant in his car, playing “In Da Club”.  I remember closing my eyes thinking “I am driving around India, listening to 50 Cent”.  Wow.

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Way-Backblast – Pushing Through at Laces In

It’s been a long time coming, but finally stepped into the ring at Laces In and handled my VQ. 14 other PAX joined in the gloom for a little of everything, including an FNG.

Disclaimer

With one fresh face in the crowd, we went over the disclaimer, the Five Core Principles of F3 and the Credo. There was absolutely no mumblechatter during this disclaimer and the message was clear and concise.

Warm Up

We moseyed over to the band practice lot for 15 Low Slow Squats IC and 15 Cherry Pickers IC. Then began to mosey back to the student parking lot, but mixed in some Toy Soldiers, High Knees and Butt Kickers. Once in the student lot, CoP for 21 SSH IC and 10 Merkins IC.

The Thang

Utilizing the very large student parking lot, we did a modified 4-corners. The modification was to return to the center for 5 burpees between each corner. The 4 corners consisted of:

  1. Jump Squats & Fredie Mercury
  2. Derkins & Flutter Kicks
  3. Alternating Side Squats & Mtn Climbers
  4. Diamonds & Hello Dollys

We began with 20 reps, and increased the rep count by 10 each time around (round 2 was 30 reps of each exercise and round 3 was 40 reps).

After 2.5 laps, we circled up for one last set of burpees and moseyed across the parking lot to the hill. Since coming off a nagging injury, I have noticed “plateaus” during workouts even more. I reminded the PAX that when we’re faced with difficulty or plateaus in life, whether it’s our health, our relationships with our M and/or our 2.0s, or even at work, that’s when we should focus more and “push harder.” Here at the at the end of the workout, push yourself to sprint up the hill and get better.

After 3 trips up the hill, we moseyed back to CoT (merlot may or may not have been splashed by yours truly) for Name-o-rama, welcomed Battle Bot, announcements, prayers & praises.

Thanks for the VQ support, gentlemen.

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Q & Co-Q (VQ) with Skipper

The guy has been on a strong trajectory, we call it acceleration, since coming onto the F3 scene a few months ago. After some advertising and excitement, 13 additional PAX joined SKIPPER and YHC, 15 total, for a Block Party throw down.

Announcement of the Qs…check
Disclaimer…check
I surely hope they got their money’s worth. If not, don’t do the following.
Skipper took the PAX on the warmup run to FMCOG for
SSH
Low Slow Squats
Moroccan Night Clubs

Maximus on Q for the DECK OF CARDS!
Diamonds = Diamond Merkins
Hearts = Carolina Dry Docks
Clubs = V-Ups
Spades = Merkins
Jokers, of which there were 4 = 20 Sumo Squats

We didn’t make it all the way through the deck but here’s what we completed:
90 Diamond Merkins
104 Carolina Dry Docks
96 V-Ups
93 Merkins

Hand off to Skipper!!
From the corner of Withers and Academy, run hill repeats up Withers to Watson Street, yes, that hill. It was a ladder with squats at the top and burpees at the top. He’s a sick, sick man.

Mosey back to COT for the final round(s) of Mary.

Great morning to have these guys supporting Skipper’s VQ. Careful, his official, full 45min VQ is on March 30 at Golden Corral!

This COT stuck out to me due to the vulnerability by the guys. This was a true representation of what we have here and man, was it good. So blessed we are.

SYITG
Skipper & Maximus

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Doracide at the Abyss

Gave the disclaimer then started with a much needed warm up.

3 sets of Downward dog and honey mooner

10 SSH

10 Moroccan night clubs

10 Low slow squats

After the warm up, led the group in a partial mosey around school 

For the main event I let the Pax know my MO for Qs is Dora.  To mix things up I planned a nice long Doracide for this beautiful morning.  It consisted of:

Partnering up (group of 2 and 3) and while the first partner ran suicides of 250’ with 1 burpe, 500’ with 2 burpees and 750’ with 3 burpees; the other partner worked to knock out the :

100 lunges (each leg)

200 Carolina dry docks

300 Bobby Hurlys

400 hello dollies

After we finished this terribleness we didn’t have much time left so I had the pax get in a line in plank position. 1 by 1 we crab walked about 100’, then the next pax went and stayed in plank until the 6 was in.  Finally we moseyed back to COT.

Announcements: reminder of upcoming events (dam to damn bar, Lake Wylie convergence)

Closed with a prayer and we were out!

Thanks for the opportunity to lead!

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The tougher the practice, the more fun the game.

10 PAX gathered at the Abyss to close out 2020 the right way – by taking the DRP.  YHC got some help from the 2.2 the night before so the weinke was spelled out on the pavement for all to see.   Preparedness (and checking the weather forecast) helped set the tone for all to get their money’s worth.  Here’s what we did:

Mosey to the back of the school, a lap on the track at increasing speed up to AYG on the final straightaway and a circle up for COP.

COP – Various exercises in cadence, including low slow squats, people’s chairs, Moroccan night clubs while in the people’s chair, Imperial Walkers and Hillbilly Walkers and SSH’s – all in cadence.  A quick mosey to the basketball courts where more fun was on tap.

At the top of each key (there were 4 total), exercises were specified.  PAX completed the first exercise, ran to the second court, did the exercise there, ran back to the start and repeated this sequence until the 4th and final top of the key was reached:

Top of the Key #1 – 5 burpees (this was done 4 times total – 1 for the start and 1 for each of the 3 return trips)

Top of the Key #2 – 10 bobby hurleys

To of the Key #3 – 15 bombjacks

Top of the Key #4 – 20 boxcutters

Successful completion and the opening act was complete.  A quick 10 count was voiced and off we went for 12’s, 30’s and 20’s.

PAX were assigned 12’s in lane 1, 30’s in lane 2 and 20’s in lane 3’s.  Exercises were as follows – always adding up to the number between both sets

12’s

Set 1 = 10 burpees, run to other side of lot 2 squats, nur back to the start line

Set 2 – 8 burpees, run, 4 squats, nur

Set 3 – 6 burpees, run, 6 squats, nur

Set 4 – 4 burpees, run, 8 squats, nur

Set 5 – 2 burpees, run, 10 squats, nur

On to the 30’s in lane 2

Set 1 – 25 standing lunges, run, 5 merkins, nur back to start line

Set 2 – 20 lunges, run, 10 merkins, nur back to start line

Set 3 – 15 lunges, run, 15 merkins, nur back to start line

Set 4 – 10 lunges, run, 20 merkins, nur back to the start line

Set 5 – 5 lunges, run, 25 merkins, nur back to the start line

And finally…..we closed out 2020 in lane 3 with, of course, 20’s:

Set 1 – 16 bonnie blairs, run, 4 kraken burpees, nur back to start line

Set 2 – 12 hand release merkins, run, 8 kraken burpees, nur back to the start line

Set 3 – 8 Wide arm merkins, run, 12 burpees, nur back to the start line

Set 4 – 4 diamond merkins, run, 16 shoulder taps (double count), nur back to the start line

PAX finished strong and we moseyed to COT promptly at 0600.

NMM: The tougher the practice, the more fun the game.  Our lives will have difficult moments that we must navigate both gracefully and with patience.  As we lead our families and others, this phrase reminded YHC why the DRP and choosing difficult is ALWAYS the better thing.  Consider your ripple effect.  Consider the man who needs to see you out there but has not told you.  We don’t often realize our impact on others until after the fact.  By practicing hard, practicing difficult, pushing through adversity, we come through those moments to reach the realization that they sharpen us.  They improve us.  They strengthen us.  As we turn the page on a calendar year, it is my sincere hope for all of us that we embrace the lessons of 2020.  That we remember what we endured, and as importantly, remember how we finished: stronger than we started.  May the advantageous habits we form create the ripple effect needed in our world – as leaders, husbands, fathers, brothers and any other role we are called to serve.  Choose tougher.  And be better prepared for it.  The tougher the practice, the more fun the game.  Thanks to Grassy Knoll for the call to the bullpen.  To a stronger year ahead.

In Gratitude,

Cyclops

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Christmas Dora

Seven men + 1 late snowman (Olaf) showed up for the workout this morning.  We started off with a slow mosey to the back of Just Fresh.

Warm-ups

SSHs x10

Imperial Walkers x10

Windmills x 10

Gun Slingers x10

Next, we partnered up for a few rounds of stair climbs and exercises.  Partner 1 climbed the stairs across from Just Fresh while Partner 2 did the exercises (Carolina Dry Docks, Lunges).

We did two rounds of each exercise and modified the stair climb due to safety reasons.  Some of the steps were covered with water.

Next, we ran to Old Navy and back down the hill to the traffic circle.  The tree in the middle of the circle is decorated with Christmas lights so it was a fitting stop for our Dora exercise.  Partner 1 ran to the top of the parking lot near Old Navy while Partner 2 performed the exercises.  I asked the Pax to think about this week, the holiday, and what it means to each of them while they returned down the hill looking at the Christmas Tree.  Since we had some time, I adjusted the numbers a bit on the Dora.

150  Hand Release Merkins

250  Squats

350  LBCs

Next, we ran to the fountain for a set of step-ups and dips.  We had another time to bear crawl around the half traffic circle with some grumbling from the Pax.

Back to COT.

Great job Everyone!

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