Don’t go whistling Dixie on Missionary Ridge (see https://youtu.be/xhMZ961Hbcs if you want to hear the tune)

QIC:  Peanuts

Date: 01/16/2020

PAX: Fissure; Jabooti; Fastlane; Lanyard; Early Bird; Evita; Homeschool; Misfire; Babel; Countdown; Spangled; Swisher; Swingset; Free Candy; VILA; 9 Volt; Lutefisk; Doodles; Mayhem; Gobbler (FNG); Fully Monty (FNG); Zipper (FNG)

AO: RidgeCut


Conditions

I got a lot of problems with you people.


COP

SSH x 15 IC;

Fwd Fold x 10 IC;

Willie Mays Hays x 10 IC;

LBAC x 10 IC, RLBAC x 10 IC, Shoulder Press x 10 IC, Moroccan Night Club x 10 IC

Mosey to Church and do some Iron Chair


The Thang

Battle Above the Clouds
Mosey over to the Hill. Pax pair up. Pax 1 bear crawls up the Hill in a zig zag fashion while Pax 2 does 15 Merkins & 15 LBCs. Upon Pax 2 completing the exercise they jailbreak to Pax 1 to relieve them and swap out.

423 vs. 706 Civil War

Divide up in groups of two and either join the North (423) or the South (706):

423:

Pax 1: 20 squats; 20 lunges; 20 Bonnie Blairs

Pax 2: Hold Plank

Rotate until you get to 423

706:

Pax 1: 25 Flutter Kicks; 25 Hello Dollys; 25 Reverse LBCs; 25 Leg Lifts

Pax 2: Hold Al Gore

Rotate until you get to 706

Upon completion, rotate to the other area code (423 to 706/706 to 423).

Finish the Thang with a 10 count followed by jail-breaking back up the Hill.


COT

Finished up with the Circle of Trust and Ball of Man.


Moleskin

First time I’ve ever seen an FNG bring an FNG – kudos to you Gobbler or maybe Full Monty. What came first the chicken or the egg?



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    AIKEN LEGS OR WHY DOES CANDU FEEL SO RANDY?

    Related image

    QIC:  Peanuts aka Hot Nuts

    Date: 01/7/2020

    PAX: Candu, Pebbles, Sunburn, Dirk

    AO: Boneyard


    Conditions

    Moist with a Waxing Gibbous


    COP

    In honor of my good friend Fissure, there was no warm up. Actually we did burpee ladders with sprints. Pax lined up at one end of the parking lot and sprinted to the other side to do 10 burpees and then sprinted back to do 9 burpees and so forth until we reach the illustrious 1. At that point the fabulous AOQ instructed that there had been a magical burpee bus that graced us with….wait for it – 5 MORE BURPEES!!!!

    seth rogen dirty randy the league


    The Thang


    Pax split into pairs of 2. One pair goes to the wall of shame and the other pair stays in the ‘yard to pump iron.

    Trailer Park Boys Bump GIF - TrailerParkBoys Bump Randy GIFs

    In the ‘yard there are 2 stations and one with the coupon and one without. For the lucky soul with the coupon they get:

    1. Reverse curls x200
    2. Turn the Wheel x200
    3. Coupon Swings x200
    4. Standing Twist x200
    5. Standing Chest Press x200

    For the fortunate soul without the coupon they get:

    1. Pull ups x50
    2. Knee ups x100
    3. Dec Mercans x200
    4. Deep Bar Squats x200
    5. Burpees x100

    Turning next to the wall of shame:

    1. Box Jumps x150
    2. Dips x150
    3. Incline Mercans x200
    4. Step ups x200
    5. Monkey Humpers x200
    Season 1 Randy GIF by Dream Corp LLC

    The thang begins when the remaining 1 pax runs from the ‘yard to the wall of shame. Upon reaching the wall he tags out with one of the other pax and they switch places and so forth. This was never much fun. After sustaining tremendous bruises to our collective egos, all pax gather at the the wall for a round of Aiken Legs – Squats x20, Bonnie Blairs x20, Box Jumps x20 and Step ups x20 with no break in between. Sensing the sweet taste merlot in my mouth, we decide to mosey back to the flag.


    COT

    Talked again about commitment. See the message from my Q the day before if you would like to read more. I am beating the drum!

    Counterama, Namerama, Announcearama and the Ball Of Man.


    Moleskin

    How many Randys can I find that make Candu feel randy?



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      WE DON’T TAKE RESOLUTIONS

      QIC:  Peanuts

      Date:  01/06/2020

      PAX:  John Doe; MaYhem; Best In Show; The Count; Red Tees; Fastlane; Moondance; Toe Tag; Swingset; Chavez

      AO: Beast Ridge – aka the real Ridge.


      Conditions

      Dusty and Dry


      COP

      1. SSH x15 IC
      2. Quad Stretch x10 IC (per leg)
      3. WMH x10 IC
      4. 3rd grade exercise x10 IC
      5. Fwd Fold x10 IC
      6. Upper Back Stretch x10 IC
      7. LBAC x15 IC
      8. RLBAC x15 IC
      9. Groin Stretch x10 IC


      The Thang

      Pax reluctantly counted off in groups of 3, grabbed our weights and moseyed to the dry and dusty soccer field. Once at soccer field they were rewarded with paperwork for their respective stations – i.e. 4 corners. Explained between corners each group would jailbreak best they could in the sandy conditions. Each exercise is done collectively by the group to reach the total reps listed. Complete one round at each station before moving on to the second exercise and so forth.

      Station #1

      1. Box Jumps x100
      2. Dips x100
      3. Inc Mercans x200
      4. Step Ups x200

      Station #2

      1. Bernie up the hill x20
      2. St. B Squats x100
      3. Monkey Humpers x200
      4. Squats x300

      Station #3

      1. LBC x300
      2. Flutter Kick x400
      3. Pickle Pointer (w/ optional hamstring cramps) x400
      4. Hello Dolly x300

      Station #4

      1. Curls x400
      2. Overhead Press x400
      3. Bent Over Rows x400
      4. Overhead Tricep Extension x400

      COT

      What is the point of taking commitments and not resolutions? What are commitments? We commit (i.e. conceive and believe) to doing something to reach a desired end state (i.e. achieve). What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve. Commitment breeds instinct. When we commit to doing something over and over again it becomes instinctual. Hesitation ceases and instinct prevails. Fartsacking is no longer a possibility. Mel Robbins describes the 5-Second Rule which naturally has 5 elements: The moment you have an instinct – to act on a goal – you must push yourself – to move within 5 seconds – or your brain will kill it. In my mind this is how instinct is truly developed. More to follow….
      Finished up with the Counterama, Namerama, Announcearama and the Ball Of Man.


      Moleskin

      Trying to challenge myself this year to grow. Coming to F3 has become instinctual. Now it is time to take that instinct to the next level. I dare you to join me.

      Image result for i dare you gif


      News

      Gloomies are January 13th at 1830. Remember the 3rd F.


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        An Old Fashioned @ Beast Ridge 11-11-19

        QIC: Peanuts

        Date: 11/11/2019

        PAX: Fastlane, MaYhem (Respect), Oiler, SwipeRight, Vaccine, Early Bird, Walla Walla, Sidekick

        AO: Beast Ridge


        Conditions

        Cold. Temps got up to 68 degrees during the day (seems incredible given the weather since) but was a balmy 41 degrees for the Thang


        COP

        • SSH x10
        • Forward Fold x10
        • Willie Mays Hays x10
        • Little Baby Arm Circles x10; Reverse x10
        • Shoulder Press x10
        • Quad Stretch x10
        • Calf Stretch x10
        • Third Grade Exercise x10
        • Arm Stretch x10


        The Thang

        Mosey over to the soccer field where we count off by 4 and do an old fashioned 4 corners, which unlike Momma’s Old Fashioned Pancake Breakfast (which really doesn’t include the words “old fashioned” but for some reason I always call it that when ordering) or Uncle Hershel’s Favorite Breakfast, it sadly is not the kind of of old fashioned that will make you look like this guy:

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        At each corner pax are greeted with another mouthwatering smorgasbord of exercises, the likes of such almost made me need to put on my buffet pants (if your looking to get some they are out of stock):

        Image result for buffet pants

        Corner 1:

        1. Dips
        2. Incline Mercans
        3. Box Jumps
        4. Decline Mercans

        Corner 2:

        1. Squats
        2. Lunges
        3. Toe Squats
        4. Monkey Humpers

        Corner 3:

        1. SSHs
        2. Imperial Walkers 
        3. St. Bernard Squats
        4. Plank Jacks

        Corner 4:

        1. LBCs
        2. Flutter Kicks
        3. Hello Dolly Crunches
        4. Pickle Pointers

        The pax start out by doing 20 reps at each station and then increase by 5 each round through.  In between stations on the short side of the field pax side shuffle to the next station.  On the long side of the field pax jailbreak.  Finished up with a lap around the field indian-style.


        COT

        It was Veteran’s Day.  Spoke about the sacrifice soldiers and their families make every day around the world.  Deployments last a long time and have a huge effect.  You hear the stories about the tours of duty during Vietnam – 365 and a wake up.  The problem is that doesn’t tell the whole story.  You have all the time on the front end preparing for the deployment and all the time on the back end adjusting to being back in the world.  I try to tell the soldiers I talk to that a deployment is in reality a 3 year process – there is the year you spend getting ready to go, the year you are gone and the year you spend getting used to being back.  That’s if your lucky.  For lots of folks it takes a lot longer than a year to adjust to being home.  Some people never adjust.  There are the dudes I know that have deployed 7 or 8 times in the past 15 years.  You become consumed by it.  Your life becomes defined by firefights, rocket attacks and IEDs.  Then you come home and your life is defined by car rider lines, mortgage payments and orthodontist appointments.  To try to explain it sometimes seems incomprehensible.  The struggle to not become defined by these things that simply do not and cannot relate to normal life is a monumental feat and I believe is truly the biggest sacrifice veterans make. 

        Sleeping in bunkers night after night waiting for rockets to fall, standing on a wall for hours on end waiting for trucks to blow you up, feeling your ears ring and the earth shake, hearing the taps play….these are things no one wants to see or do, but given the choice every veteran I have ever met would be the first one there, because in the end they know if not us, then who and if not now, then when.   They know in their heart of hearts they could not live with the thought of someone else going in their place, standing in their shoes.  These are things I hope and pray my children never do or see.  These are the sacrifices veterans make each and every day.  I guarantee it.

        Theirs not reason why,

        Theirs but to do and die.

        Into the valley of Death

        Rode the six hundred.

           

        Image result for soldiers memorial


        Moleskin

        Good to feel the cold weather again with these 8 brothers.  Lot more than we had a lot of days last winter at Beast Ridge.  Which, btw, IMHO needs to get some good old fashioned (there’s that phrase again) feuding brewing with the RidgeCut.  If I was a little more tech savvy I would replace the names below with Sidekick and Jazzy Jag.  The real question is which is which?


        News

        All the news is old now.


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          Duck, Duck….Goose

          QIC: Peanuts

          Date: 10/17/2019

          PAX:  Skitch, Chiclets, Money Ball, Callahan, Hobo, Sherlock, Blindside, Doghouse, Lutefisk, Cowbell, Red Tees, Cyanide, Sunshine, IronButt, the Count, Early Bird

          AO: Hill City


          Conditions

          Cooler “fur sure”.  Not as wet and sloppy as one might hope for crawling on the ground.


          COP

          Played lots of Black Hawk Down soundtrack in my vehicle, but then decided more of a traditional, cohesive warm up was necessary.  Moseyed to the great hall and decided we better get it on:

          • SSH IC x 20
          • Calf Stretch IC x 10 (per leg)
          • Quad Stretch IC x 10 (per leg)
          • Slow Squat IC x 10
          • 3rd grade exercise IC x 10
          • Mercans x 20 OYO
          • Hip Rotations IC x 10
          • Reverse Hip Rotations IC x 10

          The Thang

          Mosey back to the grassy field (if there is a name for this field I know not) pax counted off into 2 teams.  Set up shuttle cones in a T formation.  Sprint to middle cone.  Karaoke right to next cone.  U-turn and karaoke to far cone.  U-turn again and karaoke to back to middle cone and sprint back.  Second man starts when the first man gets to middle cone and so forth until everyone cycles through.  Rinse and repeat x 10 (really only 3 but no one kept count).

          When we got tired of this and heart rate was significantly raised, it was time to crawl.  I distinctly recall 3 experiences I have had crawling in my military career or as the army calls it the “low crawl” and the “high crawl”

          Image result for low crawl army meme

          The first was in Sand Hill (where the mud is really is 18″ deep) when you crawl under the wire in the dark while they fire an M60 over your head.  Of course in all the fun of it you are surely convinced that they are firing that thing 6″ over your head.  The reality is they suddenly flipped on the lights when we did it and sure enough one “private” was caught in the midst of a full on sprint – he was then on known only as Jesse Owens.  The second was in OCS (which if you have never experienced is a real hoot) when they made us crawl in freshly hosed down trench every time we tried to go to chow.  The third was when in all my brilliance I led a young PL out into a field to point out a plume of smoke coming out of the nearby woodline only to discover that it was the kick off to an ambush and the PL and I were suddenly surrounded by a barrage of gunfire that literally made us hit the deck so hard the poor PL broke off his front tooth on the buttstock of his weapon.  He yelped so loud I thought for sure he’d been shot.  I tried to crawl over to him but he wisely pulled a Jesse Owens (see above) and sprinted for the rest of our patrol and dove into a ditch.  I on the other hand crawled my way to the ditch which in retrospect was far stupider, but apparently I put on quite the IMT clinic.  Whew that was a long story.

          Anyway, staying in our teams the first pax sprinted to the middle cone and set up in a low plank.  The next pax sprinted and hurdled the low-planker and set up next to him in the low plank and so forth until all pax were in railroad-style fashion in low plank.  Upon the last man getting in low plank, all pax moved to the high plank and the first man crawled underneath the line of pax.  This repeated until all pax were standing.  Rinse and repeat in reverse order.

          Circle up in teams.  One pax calls out an exercise and team performs while the pax to his left sprints the circle around the field.  Repeat until everyone has run. 

          Getting bored of this we move on to the best part – playground games.  Duck duck goose – F3 style.  All pax circle up – the bigger the circle the more fun it could be!  All pax get down in high plank, accept me.  I get to run around the circle and tap legs with the proverbial duck, duck…..goose.  I pick Lutefisk, which on his worst day runs a 4.5 40 (of course so does my grandmother, but she is 6’3″ and 250 lbs).  We run around the circle and he catches me about a quarter of the way.  Unfortunately for him, we aren’t playing in the old school playgrounds of yesteryearImage result for dangerous playgrounds

          and everyone is a winner

          Image result for participation trophy meme

          so he is “it” and the process repeats itself.


          COT

          Shared my common theme of growth and change.  It’s coming to a theater near you.  Finished up with the Circle of Trust and Ball of Man.

          Moleskin

          I think I’ve said enough.


          News

          Yeah we had that.


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            Skies Out, Thighs Out!

            QIC: Peanuts

            Date: 09/06/2019

            PAX: Sidekick, Money Ball, Bernie, John Doe, T-Rex, Rollback, 9-Volt, FNG-Paper Boy, FNG – Double Dribble, Gaylord, Escobar, Madoff, Anny, Toe Tag, DNF, FNG-WreckedEm

            AO: Hacksaw


            Conditions

            Gloomy (aka foggy) but this was only due to the poor participation (Sidekick) in response to the the call for short shorts (see below). 


            COP

            Meet up in the parking lot and mosey to the flag pole.

            15 x SSH IC

            10 (1000) x Forward Fold IC

            15 x Imperial Walkers IC

            15 x  Pickle Swings OYO

            10 x Arm Circles (fwd and reverse) IC

            10 x Shoulder Press IC

            10 (1000) x Quad Stretch IC (each leg)

            10 (1000) x Calf Stretch IC (each leg)

            10 x Mercans IC

            The Thang

            Counted off into groups of 4.  Moseyed around the square and showed each of the 4 stations and went over the scoresheet.  Each team of 4 would have one man at each station to perform the exercise for a 2 minute period.  At the end of 2 minutes Q blows the whistle and the pax mark their total performed on the scoresheet and jailbreak/mosey to the next station.  Each team works through until they complete all 4 rounds at all 4 stations.

            Station 1:

            1. Mercans
            2. Shoulder Taps
            3. Burpees
            4. Dips

            Station 2:

            1. Air Squats
            2. Single Leg Lunges
            3. St Bernard Squats
            4. Monkey Humpers

            Station 3

            1. SSH
            2. Imperial Walkers
            3. Plank Jacks
            4. Iron Mikes aka Bonnie Blairs aka Mike Tysons

            Station 4:

            1. Flutter Kicks
            2. LBC
            3. Pickle Pointers
            4. Hello Dolly Crunch

            COT

            In honor of the Hacksaw and the missing flag, we decided (I decided) to do “just one more” and knocked out 5 burpees.  


            Moleskin

            It was a bit like herding cats. 


            However, that was mostly my fault.  We adapted and overcame with slightly shorter times for the workout stations.  Arithmetic, even simple adding of numbers greater than 10 on a piece of paper, seems challenging at 5:30 am.  

            Related image

            There was a real lack of participation in my short shorts, tank tops, sweatbands and the like.  I blame Candu, Care Bear and Best in Show for not showing up – fortunately I found at least two of them hanging out down on the pier:

            Related image

            It kinda disappointed me that we didn’t have more time to try my new version of duck duck goose – I call it duck duck mary. 


            News

            None.  Except Iron Pax which everyone talks about constantly.


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              Playing with House Money

              QIC: Peanuts

              Date: 05/06/2019

              PAX: Fastlane, Jabooti, Skitch, Sidekick, FNG-Sparky, The Count, Threeskin, WuzntMe

              AO: Beast Ridge


              Conditions

              56 degrees, partly cloudy (Skitch said it was chilly)


              COP

              • Imperial Walker x 10 IC
              • Knee & Ankle Rotation x 5 IC
              • Hip Rotation x 5 IC
              • Thigh Stretch x 10 IC
              • Third Grade Exercises x 10 IC
              • Mountain Climbers x 10 IC
              • Plank Jacks x 10 IC

              The Thang

              Teams of two (one team of three) get poker chips from Q and mosey to soccer field where the dew was fresh.  Meet at the bottom of the bleachers and place poker chips on the bleachers.

              5 CARD STUD

              Pax 1:  take one poker chip and proceed to do 5 Incline Merkins OYO followed by a box jump up to next step.  Rinse and Repeat until reach the top of bleachers and place poker chip at the top and mosey back down. 

              Pax 2:  Bernie Sanders across the soccer field and do 5 burpees OYO at the other side and sprint back to bleachers. 

              Pax 1 and Pax 2 switch.  Repeat until all poker chips are at the top of bleachers.

              BELMONT STAKES (one lap around the soccer field)

              • Short side:  Alternating lunge followed by 10 squats OYO.  Switch to 5 squats OYO half way (unless your name is Sidekick then continue with 10)
              • Long side:  Sprint (disregard your lane and just use Maximum Security…oh wait I mean Effort)
              • Short side:  Bernie Sanders.

              SECOND CHANCE BETS

              Pax 1:  Back to the bleachers and 5 Dips followed by box jump to next step.  Rinse and Repeat until reaching the top of the bleachers.  Don’t forget to grab your poker chip and mosey back down and place at the bottom. 

              Pax 2:  Bernie Sanders across the soccer field and do 15 LBCs on the other side and sprint back to bleachers. 

              Pax 1 and Pax 2 switch.  Repeat until all poker chips are back at the bottom.

              ROULETTE WHEEL OF MARY

              Pickle pointers x 10 IC

              Flutter kicks x 10 IC

              Pretzel crunch x 10 IC

              Big boy sit ups x 15 IC


              COT

              Discussed the need to always be looking to grow and change.  If you hide from change, change will come for you.  Change is not something to fear but can always be an opportunity.  Yours truly refused to change for a lot of years and then change came whether I liked it or not.  It can be a lot harder that way, but once you begin to accept it and use it for growth it can be a wonderful thing.  I truly believe that each time God sees us refuse to change he is keeping tally and he will just keep trying until we eventually get that we have to do it.  It starts off as a slight nudge, but if we don’t pay attention it turns into Jesus coming Reggie White style (http://phillysportsphan.blogspot.com/2006/07/mike-golic-reminds-us-why-we-loved.html).


              Moleskin

              It was fun being the Q.  A little stressful, but good to see the encouragement of the HIMs that were there.  Hearing Jabooti whine made me certain I led a good workout.


              News

              Murph at the Dame on Memorial Day.  For anyone who is unaware of this event, I will offer that Lt. Michael P.  “Murph” Murphy was an absolute HIM.  After graduating from Penn State and being accepted into law school, he, instead, chose to become a Navy Seal.  When I think about the Murph event being way to hard to even comprehend, I remember that Lt. Murphy did this thing on a regular basis and how hard it must have been to fight on that day in mountains of Asadabad.  Michael Murphy in tan and brown desert camouflage looking at the camera. He is wearing several pieces of green military combat gear and is holding a weapon. There is a hill behind him covered in rocks, dirt and sticks.


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