Operation Red Wings

Conditions: Clear Skies, 60 Deg F
This Thursday morning began with 6 PAX posting at Hill City. Delta and Prosciutto met up at the Italian’s residence for a little clown car car-pool action, but YHC needed the extra 15 minutes in the fartsack and ended up having to make the trek to Hill city on his own. YHC has been out of town on a little vacation and missed the past two posts…one of those posts happened to be Memorial Day so what better way to make up his absence on such a glorious day than to honor our heroes with a little MURPH action? FNG Rainman didn’t know what he was getting himself into, but he showed true courage and had himself one hell of a day (Excellent work Rainman).
 
Here’s what went down:
 
THE THANG:
The workout started with a little disclaimer and a short 0.5 mile mosey to The Walking Bridge via Manufacturers Blvd. and Frazier Ave. Upon, arrival at The Walking Bridge YHC instructed the PAX that we were going to be doing the Murph Challenge to honor our Veterans for Memorial Day.
 
Here’s a little summary of the Murph Challenge at Hill City:
 

  • 0.5 Mile Mosey (Hold Plank until 6 arrives)
  • Carolina Dry Docks / OYO x 25
  • Merkins / OYO x 50
  • Squats / OYO x 75
  • 0.5 Mile Mosey (Hold Plank until 6 arrives)
  • Carolina Dry Docks / OYO x 25
  • Merkins / OYO x 50
  • Squats / OYO x 75
  • 0.5 Mile Mosey (Hold Plank until 6 arrives)
  • Carolina Dry Docks / OYO x 25
  • Merkins / OYO x 50
  • Squats / OYO x 75
  • 0.5 Mile Mosey (Hold Plank until 6 arrives)
  • Carolina Dry Docks / OYO x 25
  • Merkins / OYO x 50
  • Squats / OYO x 75

 
TOTALS: 2 Miles, 100 x Carolina Dry Docks, 200 x Merkins, 300 x Squats
 
MARY
LBC’s / IC x 15
V-Ups / OYO x 15
Hello Dolly’s / IC x 15
Freddy Mercury’s / IC x 15
Pickle Pounders / IC x 15
 
COT – Countoff, Nameorama, Shoutouts/Requests, Prayer
 
Prayer Requests: Angus’s Family (they’re having a baby), Prosciutto’s friend (kidney dialysis, cancer), Laces Out’s Cousin (Cancer), Early Bird’s Mom (Laser Eye Surgery)
 
“Anything worth doing is worth over-doing”
 

The Inaugural Run…

The Scene: According to Prosciutto, it was mid-50’s with a slight breeze…beautiful morning for me to lose my F3 virginity by Q’ing for the first time.
Warm Up: Welcome // Disclaimer // Mosey to under the bridge
Side Straddle Hop / IC x 15
Baby Arm Circles (forward and backwards) IC x 15
Moroccan Night Club / IC x 15
Side Straddle Hop / IC x 15
Mountain Climbers / IC x 15
Dot Drill / 20 on your own
High Knees / IC x 15
Wide High Knees (Gus’s favorite) / IC x 15
Imperial Walkers / IC x 15
 
 
The Thang // Mosey to along the river walk
Modified DORA: (Partner up)
Partners will work together to accomplish:
100 Merkins, 150 LBC’s and 200 Squats
One partner will work on the exercise while the other partner runs to the first light pole and does 3 burpees and runs back. Once they get back, they switch.
 
Mosey to the base of Mt Madoryama…
Bear Crawl to the first light pole and lunge back x 4
 
Mosey to the bottom of the concrete stairs (down next to the lagoon)
Box jump to the top…after each stair you jump, do 1 dip…adding 1 dip to each stair you jump…example: after the 1st box jump, do 1 dip…after the second box jump, you do 2 dips…and on and on you go to the top.
PAX lined up for a Indian Run around Renaissance Park back to the Love Shack
Merry (At Love Shack)
Pickle Pounder / IC x 15 (everyone tried hard not to make eye contact)
Flutter Kicks / IC x 15
Freddie Mercury / IC x 15
Hold Low Plank for a 20 IC count
Hello Dolly / IC x 15
Rosalita / IC x 15
Box Cutters / IC x 15
Crunchy Frog / IC x 15
COT
Gus’ Transition to Memphis
Proscuitto’s family friend
Laces Out cousin // cancer, surgery in September
Word of the Day // One of the symbols for F3 is the shovel…God placed Adam in the garden and gave him the mandate to cultivate and make the rest of the earth flourish and look like Eden. We, as men have also been given the God-given mandate to cultivate our world and make things flourish. So, let’s grab our shovels and go to work. Let’s reject passivity and apathy and cultivate in the places God has placed us…In our homes, with our wife and kids, in our church, in our neighborhood, in our work environment, in F3…It’s so easy to abdicate our role and to slide into passivity; that is why F3, this band of brothers is so important. To help hold each other accountable and help us be the men that God has called us to be…Don’t give up men…the world has enough “boys who can shave” who have abdicated their roles, who are cultivating in the wrong places and the world is not flourishing as a result. May that not happen to us…Let’s grab our shovels and go to work; for the glory of God and for the good of those around us.
 
 

To The Bridge

The Scene: 65 and beautiful. It’s a great day to be alive, so let’s go to work men…
The Warm up: Welcome / Disclaimer / Mosey to under the Bridge 
Side Straddle Hop / IC x 15
Mountain Climbers / IC x 15
Side Straddle Hop / IC x 15
High Knees / IC x15
Wide High Knees / IC x 15
Dot Drill / 20 on your own
Side Straddle Hop / IC x15
Ring of Fire / Circle up…one by one, each man calls out an exercise. He then bear crawls around the group while they execute that exercise.
The Thang:
Since this PAX was made up of elite athletes, I called an audible and lead us towards that beautiful bridge over troubled waters for a little more cardio that was planned.
Hit the Walnut Street bridge and started with:
10 Burpees, followed by a little mosey
20 Merkins, followed by a little mosey
30 Squats, followed by a little mosey
Held a low plank for a 20 count and then headed back to do it all over again
30 Squats, followed by a little mosey
20 merkins, followed by a little mosey to the end of the bridge where we started
10 burpees
 
Mosey’d to the river side of Coolidge Park to utilize the park benches
Incline Merkins x 15
Step ups x 30
Decline Merkins x 15
Dips x 15
REPEAT
 
 
Mosey back towards Mt. Madoryama…In honor of Memorial Day, Democracy and Merica, we took a vote to take the long or short way back…long way wins.
Halfway back, we stopped to hold a low plank for a 20 count
Ended up at the foot of Mt. Madoryama…
Bernie Sanders up the Mt. with a run down x 2
Merry at the Love Shack
-Each man took a turn leading a exercise that made our abs burn and made our wives happy!
COT
Prayer Requests:
Gus // Transition to Memphis
Laces Out Cousin // Cancer, surgery set for September
Prosciutto’s friend
Word of the Day: Matthew 20:26-28 // Whoever wants to become GREAT must be a servant…just as the Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
 

Up the LADDER to the Top

Conditions: Overcast, 60 Deg F
This Tuesday morning began with 6 PAX posting at Hill City. The morning started with Delta and I heading to Prosciutto’s house for a little car pool action. When we arrived at the scheduled 5:10 AM, the thinly sliced Italian Ham was nowhere to be found. Delta and YHC waited for a good 45 seconds before deciding to leave the Fartsacker behind. Prosciutto texted the group message saying he fell back asleep because of the thunder storms when clearly he was just scared of the thunder storm workout yours truly was about to deliver. The entire morning had been rainy (I imagine the Good Man Upstairs was crying due to Prosciutto’s decision to Fartsack) but the Good Lord decided to dry the skies just as we arrived at the AO.
Anyway, enough shade throwing…here’s what went down:
 
THE THANG:
The workout started with a little disclaimer and a short mosey to The Great Hall. Upon, arrival at The Great Hall YHC instructed the PAX that we were going to be doing the Bearcrawl Ring of Fire. Very similar to the typical ring of fire, but instead of jogging around the circle you bearcrawl. PAX 1 calls out an exercise and then proceeds to Bear Crawl around the circle of PAX while everyone performs the workout that was called out. You continue to go around the circle until all PAX have completed 3 Bear Crawl trips.
When we were feeling nice and warm we took a little mosey to Mt. Midoriyama’s little cousin next door. This is where the real action took place.
 
Circuit #1
(Jacob’s Ladder)
This exercise starts out with PAX getting in a line at the bottom of the hill. All PAX run to the top of the hill where 1 Burpee is performed, then run back down the hill. Repeat this process adding 1 Burpee at the top, and continue to repeat until 7 total Burpees are complete.
7 Burpees doesn’t sound like much (well actually its 28 total Burpees) but adding that to 7 times up and down the hill really makes things much more complicated.
 
Circuit #2
(The Merkin Ladder)
Find a launch point and target point to duck waddle to while simultaneously holding a rock (Each PAX grabbed their own rock but YHC told everyone to swap rocks with a fellow PAX just to ensure no lightweight pebbles were picked up). Start with 1 Merkin. Duck Waddle to target point and back to launch point. 2 Merkins. Waddle to target point and back to launch point. 3 Merkins. Continue increasing Merkin count up to 10 total Merkins for a total of 55 Merkins.
When everyone was done climbing the Merkin Ladder, YHC instructed the PAX to bring their rocks back to their rightful place. While walking to the Land of the Rocks, the PAX were told to perform Overhead Presses. Everyone seemed to pick up their pace a little bit after that command.
 
MARY
15x LBC’s
15x Flutter Kicks
15x Freddie Mercury’s
15x American Hammers
 
COT – Countoff, Nameorama, Shoutouts/Requests, Prayer
 
“ You can’t climb the Ladder of Success with your hands in your pocket ”
 

Numbers Don’t Sweat

Conditions: Clear Skies, Fishy River Air, 70 Deg F, and 325% Humidity
 
This lovely Thursday morning began with 10 PAX…wait never mind…only 3, posting at Hill City. I am assuming that the majority of the crew couldn’t get out of the fartsack and most likely began their day by sitting on their back porch in the cool morning listening to birds,  sipping coffee and eating an organic/gluten-free/whole-wheat bagel with delicious spreads bought from some local farmers market. Totally just kidding, I am certain that everyone had a legitimate excuse to not wake up at 5:00 AM for an electrifying workout from YHC.
Anyway, enough rambling on…here’s what went down:
 
THE THANG:
The workout started with a little disclaimer and a short mosey to The Great Hall. Upon, arrival at The Great Hall YHC instructed the PAX to knock out 25 SSH’s IC to get the blood flowing before the real fun began.
 
COP #1
(Simon Saysssss BEARCRAWL)
This exercise starts out with PAX getting in a line and picking a point in the distance. In today’s case that point in the distance was a pillar under the bridge. Every PAX picked out a pillar about 15 yards away.
PAX #1 calls out an exercise and then Bear Crawls to that point in the distance and back to his starting point. While PAX #1 is Bear Crawling the rest of the crew performs the exercise that PAX #1 called out and they continue to do this exercise until PAX #1 gets back to his starting point. When PAX #1 gets back, PAX #2 calls out and exercise and begins his Bear Crawl while the others perform his exercise of choice. This rotation continues until all PAX have called out 2 exercises.
 
 
Circuit #1
(Charles Bronson)
50 SSH, 50 Merkins, 50 Pickle Pounders, 50 LBCs, & 50 Squat Jumps:
 
– Round 1: Start by completing 50 SSH’s, then perform 3 Pole SUICIDES
– Round 2: Start by completing 50 Merkins, then perform 3 Pole SUICIDES
– Round 3: Start by completing 50 Pickle Pounders, then perform 3 Pole SUICIDES
– Round 4: Start by completing 50 LBC’s, then perform 3 Pole SUICIDES
– Round 5: Start by completing 50 Squat Jumps, then perform 3 Pole SUICIDES
 
Circuit #2
The F3 Flag was being held prisoner by the sickly Angus in the trunk of his car. The punishment for an MIA Flag is Death by Burpees. In order to honor this penalty, YHC thought it necessary to do a little Burp Back Mountain repetitions up Mt. Midoriyama.
– PAX #1: Run up and down Mt. Midoriyama 2x
– All Other PAX: Perform Burpees until PAX #1 has finished his up/down travels of Mt. Midoriyama
– When PAX #1 is done, PAX #2 begins his journeys up Mt. Midoriyama while the other PAX are still doing burpees. This rotation continues until all PAX have scaled the Mountain.
 
 
MARY
15x LBC’s
15x flutter kicks
10x Freddie Mercury’s
10x Twists
 
COT – Countoff, Nameorama, Shoutouts/Requests, Prayer
 
If you’re reading this post then please take a moment to say a prayer for a good friend of one of our own “Prosciutto”. His friend has been fighting a long battle with kidney problems and has been on Kidney Dialysis for several years. He’s been waiting for 7 years to get a Kidney Transplant and within the next year this transplant was supposed to take place.
But more bad news hit as he was told by the doctors that he has a form of lymph node cancer and will not be able to have the Kidney Transplant for at least another 5 years. Guys, just take a moment a thank the Good Lord for how fortunate we are. This man is going through Kidney Dialysis and Cancer Treatments at the same time. I personally could NOT imagine going through what he has gone through.
Please just take a few minutes to pray, to ask the Lord to be with his family/friends and to lay his healing hand on this man’s life.
 
“ Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle”
 
 

Occupy Walnut Street Bridge

The Scene: 60 degrees not too hot not too cold
Warm Up: 20 burpees OYO. Learned this trick up in Hickory but decided to show some mercy and do 20 instead of the 50 Jordache made us do that cold winter morning.
The Thang: Mosey up to Walnut Street Bridge
Dan Taylor to light pole followed by 10 merkins IC
Bear Crawl to light pole followed by 10 decline merkins IC
Duck Walk to light pole followed by 10 incline merkins IC
Broad Jump to light pole followed by 10 flutter kicks IC
Backwards lunge to light pole followed by 10 RBC IC
Side lunge to light pole followed by 10 alternating shoulder taps
Side lunge (opposite side) to light pole followed by 10 WWI sit ups OYO
Dan Taylor to light pole followed by 10 LBC IC
Sprint to middle of bridge
Mosey to end of Walnut Street Bridge
Wall Sits 16 Muhammad Ali IC
Wall Sits 16 Joe Frazier IC
Wall Sits 16 Shoulder Press IC
Dips 10 IC
Mosey back to the start of the bridge.
Started Indian run after crossing Market St
Countorama
Nameorama
WOD: “It’s better to fail than to not risk failure at all” Joining F3 is about becoming a better person in your faith and health. It’s easy to stop showing up when you come last in sprints and every exercise but the men here motivate you to push beyond your capability. Failure is a part of life and you just have keep trying til you get the results you want. I’m thankful for the men here that push me everytime. I’m excited to see what the summer has in store for us
 

  • Steam Engine

Bridge (Beatdown) Over Troubled Water

Today YHC and 8 other PAX marched onto the battlefield of Hill City, but today’s battle was to be fought 1/2 a mile down the road at the Walnut Street Bridge. So we began our day by stretching it out and taking a little mosey from Hill City to the Bridge. Here’s what went down:
 
CONDITIONS: 65 Degrees and Clear Skies
 
WARMUP: Stretching and a short 1/2 mile mosey to the Walnut Street Bridge
 
THE THANG:
 
COP#1
– 10x SSH IC
– 10x Imperial Walkers IC
– 10x SSH IC
– 10x Squats IC
– 10x SSH IC
– 10x Moroccan Night Clubs IC
– 10x Arm Circles IC
– 10x Shoulder Press IC
– 10x SSH
– 10x High Knees
– 10x Wide High Knees
– 10x SSH
 
After the first COP the PAX seemed to be a little tired of standing around so YHC decided to go for another little run. It takes both sides to build a bridge right? Of course it does, so lets see what the other side has to offer.
We trekked across the 1/2 mile bridge completing 10 Body Builders at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the bridge. When all PAX reached the other side of the bridge it was time for a 10 second countdown to lead us into Circuit #2 (Lazy Dora’s). YHC informed the PAX that Lazy Dora’s consisted of no running like the normal Dora 1-2-3….needless to say PAX were excited….oh boy were they wrong.
 
Circuit #1 – (Lazy Doras)

  • Lazy Dora [ley-zee Dorh-uh]
  • noun
  • a deranged and despised relative of the Dora 1-2-3

100 Merkins

  • Partner 1: 10 Merkins
  • Partner 2: Hold Plank
  • Continue Switching until 100 total Team Merkins are completed

200 LBC’s

  • Partner 1: 20 LBC’s
  • Partner 2: 6″ Leg Hold
  • Continue switching until 200 total Team LBC’s are completed

300 Squats

  • Partner 1: 25 Squats
  • Partner 2: Squat Hold (Al Gore)
  • Continue switching until 300 total Team Squats are completed

 
When all Teams were finished with their Lazy Dora’s all anyone could think about was getting back to the Love Shack for some water and Prayer. Buuuut we’re on the wrong side of the bridge…”y’all remember how we got to this side of the bridge? Well the only way to get back is the same way”.
So YHC instructed PAX to trek back across the 1/2 mile bridge and to make sure they got in their 10 reps of Burpees at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the bridge.
By the time all PAX made it back to the North Side, time was running low. So we moseyed our way back to the Love Shack for some COT.
 
COT – Countoff, Nameorama, Shoutouts/Requests, Prayer
 
“If it doesn’t challenge you then it won’t change you”
 

Drop the BOMB on ‘Em

Today YHC and 8 other PAX marched onto the battlefield of Hill City with clear eyes and full hearts. It was early and the bodies were tired, but the mind prevailed over the body and the battle was won. There is absolutely no way we would’ve made it out of there alive without the return of Banjo (who this time did not revisit his dinner from the night before). Here’s what went down:
 
CONDITIONS: 60 Degrees and Overcast
 
WARMUP: Loosened up the muscles with some stretching and then started our mosey to the Great Hall
 
THE THANG:
 
COP#1
– 10x SSH IC
– 10x Imperial Walkers IC
– 10x SSH IC
– 10x Squats IC
– 10x SSH IC
– 10x Moroccan Night Clubs IC
– 10x Arm Circles IC
– 10x Shoulder Press IC
– 10x SSH
– 10x High Knees
– 10x Wide High Knees
– 10x SSH
 
Once we got our blood flowing in the first Circle of Pain, the PAX were begging for more…so their wish was YHC’s command. We started our mosey back to the Love Shack for COP Round #2.
 
COP#2 – (Circle Burp)
YHC instructed PAX to circle up and start chopping their feet. Starting with YHC and going around the circle each PAX, one by one, called out “down” and everyone hit the floor to do a burpee. Onc time around was just a tease so round and round we continue. The Circle Burp was completed when each PAX had called “down” 2x.
 
Circuit #1 – (B.O.M.B.S)
B:Bicep Curl x100, O:Overhead Press x100, M:Merkin x100, B:Bench Press x100, S:Squat x100
Pax #1 – Suicides, run from 1st pole and back then to the 2nd pole and back
Pax #2 – Perform BOMBS Exercises until partner returns
 
Not going to lie the BOMBS were brutal…but as an old wise man once told me, the only way to get in better shape is to simply do more exercises. I then asked Angus what time it was and being that he likes to keep the time to himself all he told me was “we’ve got time”. With that being said we made our way to Mt. Midoriyama.
 
Circuit #2
Bernie Sanders up Mt. Midoriyama and run forward back down. Ahhhh I definitely feel the Bern!! Sooo the only reasonable solution was to do it again.
 
MARY
– 20x LBC’s
– 15x Flutter Kicks
– 15x Freddie Mercury’s
– 10x Hollywoods (Each side)
 
COT – Countoff, Nameorama, Shoutouts/Requests, Prayer
 
“Remember that guy that gave up?…Neither does anyone else. The Giant in front of you will never be bigger than the God inside of you.”
 
 

2 Poles 10 Pax

Conditions:

Beautiful, mid-50’s and low humidity. Our creator provided a wonderful crisp morning with crystal clear skies.  Perfect opportunity to get better through peer leadership and accountability

Warm Up:

Mosey to the library (under Market St bridge) for some COP:

  • SSH x 15 IC
  • Imperial Walker x 12 IC
  • Mtn Climbers x 12 IC

Issue plank command to the 9 pax to commission random #SadClown passerby running in the park to join us (my first ever “In-Game Q” EH effort); sadly, he declined and I’m 0 for 1.  But, in the wise words of fellow pax, Angus, “The only way to get better at [insert anything here] is to do more [insert that which you are trying to get better]”.

No reason to stop here, let’s keep moving!

  • Parker Peters x 12 IC
  • Merkins x 10 IC
  • Baby Arm Circles (forward/back) x 12 (or 13) IC
  • Overhead press x 12 IC
  • Morrocan Night Clubs x 12 IC

The Thang:

2 Light Pole Blimps:
The idea here is to complete 5 exercises starting with the letter B, L, I, M, P, or S in sequence while increasing reps by 5. Starting position is determined by the Q, and YHC didn’t want to go lightly on an otherwise, very productive Tuesday. And so it goes…

  • Burpees x 10

bear crawl two poles and perform,

  • Lunges x 15

crab walk two poles and perform,

  • Iron cross x 20

**YHC pauses and checks on FNG-Banjo as he was re-visiting last night’s dinner. Who knew getting better would be so much fun and invoke such bodily fluid?
Lunge two poles and ** request 10 second count-off from FNG-Banjo **

  • Merkins x 25

bear crawl two poles and perform,

  • Plank Jacks x 30

sprint two poles and perform,

  • Squats x 35

Mosey back over bridge across swamp thing and collect the six at the big steps leading down to the swamp. At the bottom step perform,

  • 15 step-ups for each leg on bottom step
  • Box jump to the top of the steps
  • Merkins x 10 IC

YHC requests FNG (Chief) to complete a 10-count countdown before the pax mosey to lower hill
At the lower hill, YHC requests a Bernie Sanders to the top of the lower hill, perform 10 squats and then finish the run up to top of Mt. Midoriyama, complete 5 burpees at the top, then run back down hill, plank for the rest of the pax to finish.
Mosey to the #Loveshack for 5 minutes of Mary

  • Flutter
  • Rosalita
  • Leg lifts
  • Crunchy Frog
  • Lazyboy
  • Pickle Pounders; YHC recognized that this was a teaching moment. Offered a few words of advice to the FNG’s regarding eye-contact during this effort

COT

Count & Name-O-Rama

Moleskin:

Two new FNG’s, Banjo & Chief.  Great additions to the group as they pushed themselves to the point of merlot splash and they were able to hang through this Q which was a bit more challenging effort than we typically put on for FNG’s.  Great work gents!

The CRABS Made Me Do It

Today was a special day for YHC. It was an official Cherry Blast (#VQ). Got to Q my first workout with an excellent group of hard-working dudes.
 
CONDITIONS: 60 Degrees, Clear, Early, not a Sun in the Sky
 
WARMUP:
Mosey along to the wooden bridge
10x SSH
Mosey to The Great Hall
10x SSH
Mosey back to the wooden bridge
10x SSH
Mosey to the concrete stairway
10x SSH
 
THE THANG:
COP#1
– 10x Plank Jacks IC
– 10x Crab Jacks IC
– 10x Gus Jacks IC
– 10x Annie’s IC
– 10x Smurf Jacks IC
– 10x Split Jacks
 
Circuit #1
– Mosey down ramp to the bottom of the stairs
– Box Jump to the top of stairs
– Body Builders x10
One round was not quite enough so YHC decided to treat the PAX with a ROUND 2. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s GUS. Dude’s a straight ninja when it comes to box jumps. I heard he once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.
 
COP#2
Since the AO is nicknamed “Hill City” I figured why not enjoy it with a lil’ CLIMB
Crab Cakes, Lunges, Iron Cross, Merkins, & Bobby Hurley’s
Start with 1 rep each, then 2, then 3….etc until 10 reps each
 
MARY
– 10x Crunchy Frogs IC
– 15x Flutter Kicks IC
– 10x WWII sit-ups IC
– 15x Bicycles IC
PAX finished Mary at 0614 so that one minute is all we needed for a little sprint up Mt. Midoriyama to gaze at Nooga and all of its glory (It’s no Bass Pro Pyramid but…)
 
COT – Countoff, Nameorama, Shoutouts/Requests, Prayer
 
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t. “