The Hive: Kettlebells, rain, tabata. What could go wrong?

0505 show up to the hive for prep. Layout cones and other various gear needed.
0510 see cars and trucks and more cars and trucks pulling into parking lot.
0514 Disclaimer and see another truck pull in (its Stang, we start to mosey for warm ups.)
0515 Warmups of various types.
0522 Start a Tabata that has to called out by Q due to speaker not working. ended up being great. I love mumble chatter and it was rolling good this moist morning.
8 stations- 2-3 PAX per station they went as follows.
Goblet Squats
Figure 8s
Shoulder presses with rucksack
Jump Rope
Alternating bicep curls
American Hammers
1 arm KB swings
Alternating hand on KB merkins
0600- Mosey with gear back to COT. The rain really started to pour down.
Prayers and Praises.
AkA- if you don’t know you better ask somebody.
Q Source
prayers for marriages and kids.

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Pull up bars and Tinsel Utensils

Great chilly morning after a snowmaggedon yesterday, PAX were in for a treat as we needed to stay warm.

We moseyed around the parking lot, about 1/3 of  a mile and started the warm up: Moroccan night clubs, low slow squats, al-gore night clubs, low slow merkin, mountain climbers.

we moseyed to the pull up bars area where we had some utensils to use and get better, a list of exercises was shown and off we went,

8 pull ups BAR

8 man makers w/cindy

8 toes to BAR

8 sledgehammer swing 4 each side

8 knee raises BAR

8 biceps curls w/cindy

8 chin ups BAR

8 overhead press w/cindy

4 tire flips

after one complete circuit we will run down the hill and NUR back up, rinse and repeat, after the second round we took a break to welcome Captain Thor and work on our abs. 1 Big Boy Sit Up-4 American Hammers progressive to 10 BBSU and 40 AH, lots of whining during this exercise as usual and even one PAX wondered why he was there if the Abyss was closer to his house. Then had a visit from superman to stretch out our lower back and we went back to our circuit:

8 pull ups BAR

8 man makers w/cindy

8 toes to BAR

8 sledgehammer swing 4 each side

8 knee raises BAR

8 biceps curls w/cindy

8 chin ups BAR

8 overhead press w/cindy

4 tire flips

on the last round of exercises some PAX where complaining about their arms being shuttered, so I decided to cut it short and end the beat down there, YOU ARE WELCOME!! with 3 minutes to spare we loaded the utensils back in the truck and went for some Mary, flutters, box cutters and rosalitas.

we circled up and went for head count and namearama, we had a few announcements and prayed for our families and kids.

Great morning and perfect weather for an out of the ordinary workout, thanks @PunchList for the opportunity to accelerate some happy campers’ day.

Tinsel out…

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No foolin’ at The Honey Badger today

17 PAX attended (probably most of them by accident) Ass kickin’ April Year 2.  AKAY2 started at the Badger today with YHC on Q (to make sure I post for day 1).  AKAY2 is a different AO every day (excluding Sunday) for the month of April.  Get to know the region by posting somewhere else.  Here is the schedule (shameless plug):

Today we honored a fallen soldier and YHC modified his workout.  See below for the Thang (the run portion was .33 miles):

Rinse and Repeat – I think the leaders got to a second round of the Squats.  The doubling up on the Burpees was a crowd pleaser….

There was a Shovel Flag hand-off this morning from the scarcely-posting Cheddah to the ever-posting Dirty Harry! Proof (that Cheddah even posted) below:

Prayers for new job opportunities, surgeries, injured PAX and unspoken.

FunHouse

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Bell In The Ring

On Friday, I had the opportunity to Q The Hive, a Kettle Bell workout that has developed the history of being a great, body-challenging, way to end your work week. Under no circumstances was I going to let that change on my watch. After all, Frat Boy was promising an FNG (welcome Mich Ultra) that he’s been working on for 2yrs. What does this tell you about Frat Boy? Leave it to say, Dog On A Bone.

Once we all circled up in the beginning and dropped our metal bells, the PAX were disclaimed. They were then reminded of the critical mission of F3 and if you’re a little hazy: Plant, Grow and Service small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership. None of those words are there by accident.

And then, we’re off for a mosey to the other large parking lot then back (sans bells) for a little warming up all in counts of 16:

SSH

Mountain Climbers

Peter Parkers

Parker Peters

SSH

Moroccan Night Clubs

American Hamers

Merkins

Grab your bells (notice the “e”) and report back to our circle. Only now, much larger; roughly 40yds in diameter. I would call out an exercise, we’d do a count of 16 of said exercise, set the bell down, run to the center of the circle, perform 5 burpees, then return to your bell. The running back and forth eventually turned to a jog. Here’s the menu:

Kettle Bell Swings

Left Arm Bicep Curls

Right Arm Bicep Curls

Overhead Lunges (Lunges with KB held overhead – 8ea leg)

Upright Rows

Bent Over Rows – Right Side

Bent Over Rows – Left Side

Tricep Extensions

Overhead Squats (Squats with KB held overhead)

Flutters w/  Press

Big Boy Sit-Ups

Stretch it out with some KB-free SSH’s

Thrusters (with the KB)

Now it was time for a little more cardio training. Lining up on the side of the large parking lot, we did a set of 5-Tier suicides followed by a set of 2-Tier suicides.

Line up for Seal-Team Sit-ups

LBC’s

Hello Dolley’s

Rosalitas

A reminder of the F3 Credo: Never leave a man behind but leave no man where you found him.

A reminder of F3’s 5 core principles: Free of Charge, Open to ALL MEN, Held outdoors-rain or shine, Peer-Led (no professional training), Ends with a C.O.T.

Several announcements which included upcoming events, headlined by the OST 8K for our man, Olive in LKN which by the time you read this, will have already happened. Get involved, Stay involved, and LEAD.

Read YOUR Newsletter.

Until Next Time…It has been my honor to serve

Maximus.

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#F3MentalBattle at the Abyss

YHC came in hot, as I slept through my alarm and woke up at 5:13, but I wasn’t going to miss this one.   Thanks to Royale for taking over the warm-up run.
COP – IW x 15, MNC x 15, SSH x 25, Peter Parkers x 10, Merkins x 10
The Thang
Pax partnered up for Dora on the hill.   After Burpees were done, we each shared with our partner how mental health or suicide has affected us or someone we know.
Dora:
50 Burpees
100 Squats
22 CDD for the 22 vets that we lose a day
Run a lap

45 merkins for comparison, the amount of homicides per day
Run a lap

96 flutters for every man that we lose a day
Run a lap
125 lbcs (I think I called out 145, sorry) for every suicide per day
Run a lap
Finished up with sharing my own experiences with depression.  Appreciate the Shield Lock… and then half a round of Jack Webs before COT, where we opened the floor for anyone to share.
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Simulation Training for May Event

Seeing that many of the past Q’s at the Fire Ant have been ratcheting up the physical training, it was time for some simulation training since there are a few new newbies. 19 PAX chose to post this morning.

YHC acted as the cadre and asked for 1 rookie and seasoned PAX. Instructions were given – 5 minutes to get the PAX in formation, ruck up, sandbag ups, and move to the bus drop off. Off they went.  They were 30 seconds late, but Q decided not to penalize.

Next , 2 rookies were assigned team leader and assistant team lead. They were given – 10 minutes to get to big tree with 100 merkins and 100 LBCs. Off they went. As they headed towards the big tree, the TL/ATL stopped and had all PAX do 25 merkins and LBCs. The PAX stopped 2 more times, and then at the big tree finished the 4th set. They went 3 minutes over. I informed the PAX that it is critical to listen to detail. I didnt say all PAX had to do 100 of each, I said you had 10 minutes to get to tree with 100 of each. The PAX could have broken these out to each PAX.

Next, 2 new rookies were assigned TL and ATL. They were given 3 minutes to get to the basketball courts. They made this time – well 15 seconds late…. Each PAX had to do 20 manmakers due to previous penalty.

Lastly, 2 new rookies were assigned. They were given 5 minutes to get to flag poll with each PAX doing 100 flutters. The TL and ATL listened well since they informed PAX the full directions.

The key is to listen to the details by the Cadre in order to not get additional penalties.

Announcement and prayers conducted

 

 

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Ad-lib at the Chupacabra

My apologies for the tardiness; that happens when priorities are out of whack. I also apologize if I missed a tagging of another PAX member…also a side-effect of not doing things on time.

Lutefisk took the bootcampers off and I took the small contingent of us Ruckers for a very brief mosey to our warmup spot…sans rucks.

Moroccan Night Clubs

Windmills

Squats

Merkins

Side Straddle Hops (all part of one’s normal warmup fare)

We’ll call this portion the Merkin-wave: Starting in the plank, 1 man will do a Merkin and return to the plank, the man to his left will do it, and so on down the line. We did this twice.

Next up is to do this with 3 Merkins…same series.

Line up at the bottom of the parking lot w/ rucks on.

Lunge walk up the hill then crawl bear back down.

Reverse lunge up the hill then bear crawl back down.

In Router’s absence, it was time for an abbreviated version of the Robbie Miller WOD, AMRAP style for 18mins:

  1. (6) 30′ Shuttle Runs
  2. (6) Burpees
  3. (6) Mountain Climbers
  4. (6) Ruck Get-ups

Mosey back to COT where Lutefisk took over.

Maximus…delayed.

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I Hate It… But I Love It!

Jiffy asked me to Q The Ranch, and I was of course honored to be a part of #BlackDiamond month. I wanted to do something different, not only because it’s nice to mix it up, but because I was smoked the prior two days by other PAX and couldn’t handle another Merkin. I also wanted to throw some “recovery” into the weinke, which meant slow and methodical moves with added burn. It was harder to write this weinke because it really fell out of our norms of mosey/merkin/burpee. It was a welcome change, nonetheless.

It was a “balmy” 42 degree as I rolled up to The Ranch. Dirty Harry was awaiting my arrival. As we both got out of our vehicles, we spotted a soccer ball on the field. We immediately began showing off our skillz. By skillz I mean I played baseball my entire life and couldn’t do anything remotely skilled with my feet. Tinsel rolled up and showed us his actual skills. Jiffy set up the shovel flag as Duck Dynasty pulled in. We had a minute until 5:15 and Dirty Harry kicked a beautiful goal, bent just like Beckham to the far post. I couldn’t have defended it if I tried. The clock struck 5:15 and we were underway.

Disclaimer was disclaimed, and then we warmed up in place.

Warm Up

SSH x 30
Windmills x 11
Al Gore Night Clubs x 20
Tappy Taps x 7
Cat/Cow x 10 Breaths
Yoga Flow to stretch those glutes!

I was intentional about NOT moseying one bit today, and it changed the overall tone of the work out. It was focused, and it was filled with solid laughter and mumblechatter. We instead Walked Like Egyptians (WLE) to each station.

WLE to Picnic Tables

Step ups x 10 each leg
Dive Bombers Merkins x 10
Box jumps x 10
Superman Hold x 30 Seconds

Rinse & Repeat

WLE to Soccer Field

Renfrows x 5 Each Leg
Good Mornings – Back Extensions (Bent Over, Hands at Hips) x 10
Broad Jumps x 10
High Planks w/Opposite Arm/Leg Raises for 5 seconds each x 6

Rinse & Repeat

WLE to Parking Lot

Parking Lot
Duck Walks Across Lot
Single leg deadlifts in cadence x 10 Each Side
Squat holds with pulse – 30 Second Hold, Then Pulse x 10
Superman Hold 30 seconds then Pulse x 10

Rinse & Repeat

Mary

Ab Ripper X.

25 Each Exercise
In & Out
Bicycles (Forward)
Bicycles (Backward)
Crunchy Frog
Cross Leg/Wide Leg Sit-Ups
Fifer Scissors
Sadly it was at this point that we ran out of time… one day I’ll get all of Ab Ripper X into one Mary session.

The burn was felt during the workout, but I told the PAX that the burn would be felt at a later date… as we worked muscles we don’t usually hit on a normal weinke. I hope this is true, and that they enjoyed the different approach.

During the Squat and Superman holds I asked each of the PAX what they like so much about F3. I identified with each of these on a high level, because we are all cut from the same cloth.
Tinsel: Waking up early – gives him structure and he starts his day on the right track.
Duck Dynasty: All three F’s have already been sharpened in a few short weeks.
Dirty Harry: Brotherhood – he said otherwise he would have no friends!
Jiffy: He loves that we’re all going through the same things. It’s easy to think everybody else has it all together, but it isn’t so.

Announcements
Tinsel signed up for Let Me Run Boys Rock Hill

Prayers
NASA and his son/family as they navigate a diagnosis.
My 2.2, Gwenevere (Winnie), is in the 1st percentile for weight, so we have to supplement with formula and wake her up late in the evening to add a feeding. Pray she grows and gets healthier. Pray for my M that she knows she is doing the best she can for our 2.2 without feeling like a failure as a mother.
Dirty Harry’s M’s job search, still looking for full time, found a short term gig in the meantime to calm the nerves.

Jiffy, as I said in my tweet – you are a Mensch! Thank you for your leadership at The Ranch and for your positive influence/wisdom that we all absorbed that morning in the gloom! Until next time…

Punch List out.

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FTW – Forget The Winkie

I had prepared a coin flip workout 5 weeks ago where we flipped a coin to see if we would use the right hand side or left hand side of the winkie for each exercise.  This week was to be the “other” side that didn’t get selected.  After seeing no FNG’s and giving a disclaimer, the ruckers (led by Maximus) took off and so did we.  Since our numbers were low (good luck p200-ers), Mile High suggested I ditch the winkie and see what happens.  So knowing nothing about what to do, I found us a nice little parking area to get warmed up.

WARM – O – RAMA:
– 15 x imperial walkers
– 15 x hillbilly walkers
– 10 x tempo merkins
– 10 count 6″ plank hold
– Back up for a 10 count: right hand and right foot high
– Flapjack
– 15 x LBC
– 10 Crunchy Frogs, OYO

Mosey to the wall hall between HD and Target:
– Hands on the wall, 10 x shoulder taps, dc
– Run to opposite wall, feet on wall, 10 x shoulder taps, dc, run back
– Wall sit, add on, one PAX at a time as follows:
(PAX 1) –> run to other wall, 10 x derkins, run back
(PAX 2) –> same, add 10 x SSH after the derkins
(PAX 3) –> same, add bear crawl instead of run to other wall
(PAX 4) –> same, add high knees instead of run back
(PAX 5) –> same, add 10 x merkins
Now reverse, so PAX 1 does them all, PAX 2 removes first exercise, PAX 3 removes first and second, and so on.  If you’re confused, just stop trying to figure it out.  It was so that we all ended up doing the same amount of work.

Mosey to water fountain for the thang:
YHC has either a 1 or 2 behind his back. Get it right, do the exercise and run a lap without the islands. Get it wrong, the lap is with the islands. YHC calls out the PAX one by one to guess, and they also get to call the exercise. First up, (1) #wrong 5 burpees + long lap. Second up (1) #wrong 15LBCs but HOLD UP.  We’re going to add on again.  5 burpees plus 15 LBCs + long lap.  Third (2) #correct 5 burpees + 15 LBCs + 10 double count heel touches + short lap. Fourth (1) #wrong 5 burpees + 15 LBCs + 10 DC heel touches + 7 merkins + long lap.  Last (2) #correct 5 burpees + 15 LBCs + 10 DC heel touches + 7 merkins + 30 dips + short lap.

Mosey to Office Max parking lot close to COT. Shuffle back and forth for about 15 parking lot lines. Jailbreak to COT.

All in all we hit 2 miles and did some great exercises and got to build on each other’s ideas.  Not a bad start to a Friday considering there was no plan.  Sometimes, no plans are the best plans.  I had a blast being able to lead for a moment today.  Mainframe had to take off to more bigly importanter things but we ended with a strong COT.  Announcements included a F3/crossfit event at WEP and operation sweettooth. TAP’s to the P200 PAX and all racers for health and safety.

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Capture the coupons @ThechupracabraSwamp

My apologies for the very late BB. This poor guy got stuck in draft mode. Cobains

We had the ruck boys join us for some fun at the Swamp. To know what went down, show up next time.

Olaf

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