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The Hueymelon

 

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 06/21/2018
PAX: Ducktales, Fissure, Geek Squad, Geiger, Mr. Clean
AO: Huey

Conditions

Stupid muggy and hot. Relative humidity was 1000%

The Disclaimer

Give it your best, don’t save anything for later. If you must know, I had cabbage and bok choy yesterday at lunch, so I’ve disclaimed about all I need to about any bad air. You’re welcome. Push yourself.

At the outset of the workout, YHC pulled a cooler out of the car and situated it right beside the shovel flag. Mentioned there may be something in it, but, perhaps not?  It was up to the effort level of the Pax whether or not the contents in that cooler would be rewarded…

COP

SSH x 30 IC, ST Merkins x 12 IC, Heels Up x 12 IC, LOLs x 10 IC, Donkey Kicks x 10 OYO, Burpees x 10 OYO, FKs x 12 IC

The Thang

Given the unfamiliarity of the Huey AO, YHC consulted support on a good spot to do some runs and additional parking lot work. Little did I know, that would involve obstacles.  We hopped a ravine and hit the far parking lot…
Spartan Run x 5
Sprint ~50 yards and walk back to starting point with group
Monkey Humpers x 12 IC
11s at the Thunderdome
Find a bar that you can reach and make 11s with the two exercises in typical fashion; increment Pullups & decrement Prisoner Squats
* Mosey to some parking lot lines and re-group
Perform the following in order for the length of 5 parking spaces (pair up for last effort):
1) Broad jump to line; perform 1 Burpee
2) Bear crawl to line; perform 1 Merkin
3) P1 carry P2 down 5 spaces and P1 wheelbarrow P2 back
*Flapjack
(YHC decided to cut this short in order to meet our deadline and also get in some mary)
MOM:
Pistol LBCs x 20 IC
Pretzel x 10 IC
Flutter Kicks x 12 IC
American Hammer x 10 IC
Rosalita x 12 IC

Moleskin

Watermelon was distributed as the team worked hard in the gloom; they earned it definitely. 
As we devoured the watermelon like a pack of hungry wolves, we discussed the definition of what Fellowship means – a cornerstone component of F3 – and the importance in our lives as a community of leaders of men.
 

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The Second “F”

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 06/18/2018
PAX: Angus, Best In Show, Coin Purse, The Count, Free Bird, Sidekick, Whittler
AO: Beast Ridge

Conditions

Dew-laden and a bit cooler for a June gloom (~mid 70s)

The Disclaimer

We talked about how the terrain has the potential to reach out and grab you or turn your ankle.  We said you were here on your own decision and that it is to your benefit to do your best and modify if needed.

COP

SSH x 30 IC
BAC x 12 IC (L/R)
Mtn Climbers x 12 IC, Plank, ST Merkins x 12 IC, Plank
LOLs x 10 IC (Left side & Right side)
*Mosey to the bathroom facility nearby; or as Best-in-Show refers to it — “The Doghouse”

The Thang

The theme was fellowship, so each of the movements in today’s Q were done in a 2 or 3 man grouping.
Fellowship 1:
P1 – Air squat -or- wall sit
P2 – Decline wall plank aka Balls to the Wall (just the plank part though, don’t get it twisted)
P3 – Out & back run to the third handicap parking sign through crossing traffic like frogger. First objective is to run, second objective is to not die; best of luck!
RR x 2
Fellowship 2:
*Mosey to the swingset & partner up in 2’s
P1- pull-up hang x 12 IC
P2- Plank
RRx3
— lots of mumble-chatter and belly-aching about how the dew made for a slipper swing set top-bar. As a result, YHC assessed the situation and called an omaha – shifted the pax to the other kid’s play set nearby for the third fellowship
Fellowship 3:
Pax were instructed to partner up and communicate their intent, their commitment, for the # of pull-ups they can successfully complete on their own.  After self pull-ups are completed, partner will “spot” 3 additional pull-ups.
P1 – # of pull-ups committed
P2 – assists for the final 3
Fellowship 4:
Again, Pax partnered up one more time (finding a different partner this time).
P1 – Woolly Worms x 10 OYO holding P2’s feet, while..
P2 – Completes BBSU until P1 is complete
RR x 3
Fellowship 5:
As a group, mosey over to the soccer field and line up together.
– 5 burpees at one end OYO
– Run to the caution A-Frame sign (roughly ~50 yards)
– 5 Pretzels each leg x 5 IC
RR until time

Moleskin

It’s been over a month since my last Q and, frankly, I’ve missed it dearly.  I always enjoy connecting with the pax through a gloomy beatdown.  But, also, in other ways.  This past month I’ve had opportunities where guys have unselfishly committed their time or their tools to help me get some things accomplished at our new home.  5 guys, one day, came up to move some logs around… took me about 10 minutes to get 5 HCs.  That felt like a real slam-dunk.  I don’t know of any other thing where this sort of commitment and accountability exists amongst men.  It was a moment of pride and a moment of validation, for something that I myself have aligned with to make me better. In-turn, it has also given back and I have received. What an incredible feeling.
In searching for a theme and a moleskin, I did some browsing around and found a great one centered around fellowship, so it seemed appropriate to deliver this morning.
This is a paraphrased version from “NASA” (out of Fort Mill AO):

Fellowship involves effort towards mutual trust, reliance, respect, acceptance, accountability, and vulnerability, creating a bond that is more than friendship.

We as men, old or young, tend to carry all of our burdens on our own shoulders. We let self-perceived things like fear, anger, pride, prejudice, shame, expectation, and guilt prevent us from lightening those burdens through developing a fellowship with others.

It takes a brave person to make themselves vulnerable to try to develop a fellowship with someone else, but when you do it becomes a blessing. Life changing. Forging a fellowship allows all the walls we each build around us to protect ourselves from each other to come down.

It all starts with trust and making yourself vulnerable to others. So, seek fellowship, find a battle buddy

News

Where’s Huey Lewis when you need him?
Not much on going on from this morning’s chat…

Upcoming Qs

Visit the Q-Schedule for all the latest…

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Life is Uphill

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 05/07/2018
PAX: Angus, Early Bird, Sidekick, Speed Bump, Whittler
AO: Beast Ridge

Conditions

60 degrees of Fahrenheit, some pockets of cold air and some pockets of hot air; a Beast Ridge special touch

The Disclaimer

Welcome to F3, a free peer-led workout. You’re here because you decided to be, so do the best you can, push yourself. If it hurts, that’s a good thing, if it hurts too much, let us know. If it hurts because you’re a sissy, may God have mercy on your soul and you better have thick skin… sissy boy.

COP

Seal Jacks, IW, PP w/ Merkin (5 IC), High plank, Side plank/side plank, Hillbillies, ST Merkins
* All IC x 11 unless otherwise noted

The Thang

YHC felt like spreading it around this morning and creating a number of challenges with variety instead of a straightforward punch-in-the-mouth. As a result, the Pax completed a variety of F3 staples with care and alarm.
Merkin Mile
10 OYO merkins for every .25 mile
11s
Instead of the usual increment/decrement routine, we just did two exercises at top/bottom of the corner hill.  Each of the pax got a chance to call out two exercises for the Pax to perform 11 reps each.
1 – Merkins/Squats (Pro)
2 – Plank/Lunges (Pro)
3 – Spartan Abs/Pickle Pounders (Sidekick)
4 – Merkins/Squats (Angus)
5 – Froggy Squats/LBC (Whittler)
6 – Crab cakes/BBSU (Speedbump)
7 – Reverse Lunges/??? (Early Bird)
*mosey to concrete steps
5-7s
For the date – May 7th (5-7) – we did alternating 5s and 7s
5 incline merkins
7 box jump
5 decline merkins
7 BBSU
* Repeat x 3

Whittler’s <@f3whittler> comment about doing BBSU’s up an incline made for a great workout title. And very appropriate food for thought. Here’s how it went down…
Sidekick <@mattgt5> noticed, “Whittler is doing the BBSUs up the hill.”
To which, Whittler replied, “Life is uphill.”
Indeed it is.  Well played, sir!

50 yards of Mary
* Pax line up at the end point of the stairs and face the full length of the field ~100 yards. Each 50 yards were completed together. As the early Pax waited on the six, they planked or did pistol LBCs.
– Bear Crawl 50 yards
– Duck Walk 50 yards (turn around)
– Bear Crawl 50 yards
– Lunge 50 yards
*Time was starting to close in on us….

Merkin Wave
* Pax form a circle and increment one merkin per each revolution
We made it 5 rounds of Merkins until endex

Upcoming Qs

5/8 – Whittler
5/9 – Picasso
5/10 – Fissure
5/12 – Open @ Landfill
5/14 – Sidekick
5/15 – Laces Out
5/16 – Ohms
5/17 – Rainman
5/19 – Mr. Clean

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Super 21 & Wiffle Ball

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 04/22/2018
PAX: Angus, Candu, Cherry Log, Geek Squad, Mr. Clean, Ringwald, Slippers, Snowflake, Vila, Wort
AO: Landfill

Conditions

An unseasonably cool 41 degree morning proving this to be a very cool spring day in Chattanooga.  I checked the sunrise times and 7:03am was the rise, so I knew we’d have plenty of sunlight for what was shortly coming.

The Disclaimer

We’re here to have fun and get better together. Push yourself but don’t hurt yourself. Modify where needed.

COP

Side Straddle Hop x 20 IC
Lunge x 12 IC
Arm (Merkin) x 12 IC
Cherry Pickers x 15 IC
Knees (High then Wide; both) x 12 IC

The Thang

When I saw that I was going to have a Saturday Q towards the end of April two things popped into my mind. Yes, we will have an early sunrise, and two, what can we do for fun?  I didn’t think we should dedicate an entire 60 minutes to fun, because I didn’t want to let the PAX down.  They show up to get down and to get beat down.  So, we did both:
Super 21
An old fashioned increment/decrement beatdown routine with a run/sprint/jog between each designated end point.
Merkins & Squats made sense here, and we filmed it with the GoPro time lapse shown above.
Wiffle Ball & Burpees
The game is basically baseball with a plastic yellow bat and plastic white (and sometimes red(?) ) balls. We counted off one’s and two’s and then separated into our respective group. YHC thought long and hard on a plan of attack to keep it simple, fitness-focused and fun all at the same time.  So, the rules were kept simple:
Offensively, if you:

  • Strike Out – 10 burpees (team penalty)
  • Get out in some other way (e.g. pop-up, ground ball, put out, peg) – 5 burpees (individual penalty)

Defensively, if you:

  • Make an error – 5 burpees (individual penalty)
  • Allow a run to score – 1 hill run per run scored (team penalty)

 
Not that it matters, but YHC team won … by a sizable margin. But, YHC team did have to execute lots of strikeout burpees.  Ya win some, and you lose some…

Moleskin

Geek Squad offered a great word of wisdom from a group activity that he and his team at work learned recently.  There are 5 dysfunctions of a team:

The five dysfunctions are:

  • Absence of trust—unwilling to be vulnerable within the group
  • Fear of conflict—seeking artificial harmony over constructive passionate debate
  • Lack of commitment—feigning buy-in for group decisions creates ambiguity throughout the organization
  • Avoidance of accountability—ducking the responsibility to call peers on counterproductive behavior which sets low standards
  • Inattention to results—focusing on personal success, status and ego before team success

He shared that he felt that F3 was a great opportunity for men to come in and be connected with such a great team; also, to learn what a successful and non-dysfunctional team looks like. F3 is encouraging, it’s uplifting, it’s a place where men are committed to one another and accountable to the overall success of the team.  Thanks for sharing this with us Geek Squad, albeit impromptu or otherwise, it was awesome to hear you share that.

News

Special Olympics event
Trail Races
GoRuck Tough

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Ascending the Birds

 

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 04/02/2018
PAX: Best In Show (Respect!), Early Bird, Free Bird, Whittler
AO: Beast Ridge

Conditions

52 degrees fahrenheit

The Disclaimer

Disclaimed

COP

A little MC about beer and birds (as in ‘Early’ and ‘Free’), then straight to the Disclaimer and we’re off!

SSH (20 IC), IW, Finkle Swings (15 OYO), Squats (12 IC), Angle Grinders (12 IC), Plank-o-rama (regular, side, other side) (10 IC), GMA (10 OYO)

Mosey around in a loop and then to the “Dog House” as Best-In-Show often refers to it and begin the thang…

The Thang

Ascending Testicles: Cousin of Balls to the Wall. Start with feet on wall in 15 degree descending Merkin (Derkin) position. Do 10 Derkins then walk feet up wall to 45 degree Derkin position. 10 more Derkins then walk feet up wall to full Balls to the Wall pose. Can add 10 more Derkins here if you’re tough enough. Or hold in BTTW pose.

**SINCE THE PAX WERE SO AWESOME WE DID THEM AGAIN**
For good measure, 10 more derkins in cadence on a mole hill nearby.
— Mosey over to the parking lot for the next exercise —

Burpee Dans: OYO. Line up across field/parking lot. Perform 1 Burpee : 4 lunges forward until you reach other side of parking lot. Turn around, perform 2 burpees : 4 lunges back to starting position. Rinse and repeat as necessary increasing burpees by 1. Pick up the six or plank until all PAX finish.

MC: Whittler decided he would try to pull one over on YHC, with regard to the 1:4 ratio, suggesting that when the fourth round (e.g. 4:4) comes, we could just do one of each… or 1:1.  I’m not sure ratio’s work the same way as fractions.  So, as Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friend!”
– Also, in between reps, YHC talked of the 30 second rule (I had it wrong, it’s the two minute rule – shameless newsletter plug)

…[B]uilt off the notion that Sir Isaac Newton suggests, “objects at rest tend to stay at rest and objects in motion tend to stay in motion.”

Three (3:4) was the magic number here and the Pax were ready for something new. Endex was slowly approaching, so we looped around for a 4 minute mosey and then left time for 6MOM
6MOM:
Asheville Abs *T-Claps to F3 Hickory/Steam Engine for this gem
FK x 20 IC
Asheville Abs
Freddie Mercuries x 12 IC
Stop Time

Muhlessskin

First, let me say, it’s always refreshing to see an FNG turnaround and post a day or two later.  Extremely proud of Free Bird and his commitment this morning — look forward to seeing him much much more.
On the heels of Easter weekend, the theme of sacrifice was fresh in my mind, as well as ascension; hence the “ascending testicles”.  Also, persevering through that which you would rather not do but know that you should.  We’ve all got so much to be grateful for, but nothing is greater than the gift of everlasting life. We owe everything to God for the gift of his son and so, also, for the sacrifice his son made for us. In our every day life, YHC implored the pax to consider ways in which they can serve and sacrifice for others in every day activities; pick up some chores, give your time, lend an ear, etc.  So often, we get stuck in a world of self-absorption that is all about us. Every sacrifice is a gift from one to another, no matter how great or small.  As is always the case of gift giving, it feels much better to give than to receive.

News

Thursday Happy Hour – Location TBD (see Whittler)
April 6 – Fissure, Picasso, and Vila representing F3 in the Nashville GoRuck (Tough & light)
April 21 – Chattanooga MS Walk – Mr. Clean for details
August 2018 – Go Ruck Chattanooga – Vila for details
September 2018 – Tough Mudder Nashville – Ohms for details

Upcoming Qs

PreBlast: 04/02 – 04/07

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ABC – Always Be Cerving

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 03/19/2018
PAX: Angus, The Count (Respect), Ohms, Ringwald, Sidekick, Skidmark, Speed Bump, Whittler
AO: Hill City

Conditions

55 degrees, heavy fog with half mile visibility, gloomy

The Disclaimer

Disclaimed

COP

SSH x 5 IC, High Knees x 5 IC, Hillbilly’s x 5 IC, Wide HK x 5 IC, Mtn Climbers x 5 IC, BAC (F/B), Shoulder Press (per Sidekick — aka ” Ray Lewis’s”), MNC

Mosey around the boob hill and circle back around to the hill cleavage for two ladder’s

Ladder 1: SSH/Merkin – 6:1, 5:2, 4:3, 3:4, 2:5, 1:6
Ladder 2: IW/Squat – 6:1, 5:2, 4:3, 3:4, 2:5, 1:6

The Thang

Mosey down to the great hall to grab some coupons.  As a servant-leader, I offered to grab the rock coupons to the PAX while they took rest.
ALARMS (initially from the January 28, 2017)
A1:
– Shoulder Press x 15 OYO w/ coupon
– Lunge x 15 IC w/ rock
– LBC x 15 IC
– Two light pole sprint and back
– Merkin x 15 (IC)
A2:
– Shoulder Taps x 12 IC
– Squat x 12 IC w/ coupon
– Peter Parker’s x 12 IC
– Monkey Humpers x 12 IC
– Makhtar N’Diayes x 10 IC – Always fun to describe this one… 

As stated in the exicon: Named for late ’90s Sengalese basketball player at UNC notorious for his elbows. Pronunciation: MAC-tar JIE – rhymes with “sky”.

A3:
– Carolina Dry Docks x 10 IC
– One-legged squat x 10 IC w/ coupon
– GMA x 10 IC
– Reverpee OYO x 10
– Minute Plank
**Mosey back to Mt. Madoriyama
Bear Crawl to top/ run back down to start, Bernie Sanders to top/run back down to very bottom of grassy hill near swamp, Run like a human to the top of Mt. M
Mosey to shovel flags
Alarm sounds on my watch and that’s time!

Moleskin

An opportunity to lead is an opportunity to serve and proper execution of each provides a positive example to those around you; at home, at work, in the gloom.  Everyone’s watching, judging and taking notes. Be an example in your leadership and your servitude.
Shared a personal story about being a servant to others from this past weekend.  Prep for Q School, Delivery of Q school, servitude to my family with meals/cleaning/care-taking, etc. I could have mailed it in with Q School, but what good would that do? For the other guys who showed up to be there alongside me, that was an honor and a gift back to me.  If I show them it’s okay to take leadership lightly, they will do the same, and so creates a culture of mediocrity and “fake leadership”.
It’s not a self-brag, it’s not some self-fulfilling prophesy, it’s not sexy by any means and I didn’t get an award or a blue ribbon (not even a PABST!)… It’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s what we’re called to do as MEN. Serving others is a privilege and honor and it should be viewed as such. I’m giving to others what they’ll also provide back in return; a future investment, if you will.  In time, these leaders will give back to me, to us, to F3, to their community and families and co-workers. Why should I sit idly by just taking when I can contribute and give back?
There’s so much to be grateful for, and oh so much to take for granted; keeping a proper perspective in mind and placing yourself third at all times keeps you properly grounded; Selfishness, greed, infidelity, over-consumption and gluttony (Oh, how I love Golden Corral!) are some of the many other consequences to losing that “third” mentality, losing focus and perspective.
Be a servant, be a leader, be a positive influencer today.

News

– Happy Hour Details are fuzzy;
a) Weds or Thurs
b) Oddstory or Hutton & Smith Brewing
*** keep your eyes on GroupMe & Whittler’s direction for startex
– F3 Chatt on the news tomorrow @ 5am on CBS (WDEF); Angus, Ohms and Prosciutto to Q — set your TV sets and DVR’s to record because no one watches the 5am news
– GoRuck
– Tough Mudder
– Prayers for The Count in his blood solicitation in Virginia (prayers for the community impact)

Upcoming Qs

3/21 – Snowflake – Griff
3/22 – Whittler – Hill City *********VQ ALERT********** #airhornX3
3/24 – Angus – Landfill
3/26 – Best In Show – Beast Ridge
3/27 – Fissure – Hill City *********VQ ALERT********** #airhornX3

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Q School – 03/17/2018

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 03/17/2018
PAX: Best In Show (Respect), Candu, Early Bird, Fissure, Geek Squad, Mr. Clean, Ringwald, Snowflake, Whittler
AO: Landfill

Conditions

58 degrees, 80% relative humidity, light wind, overcast, gloomy

The Disclaimer

Disclaimer disclaimed and taught

Mumblechatter:

0652 – Mr. Clean & YHC finish up the 05:30 ruck around just in time to welcome the pax.
0655 – inevitable discussion about march madness and the biggest upset in the history of all histories. And how Clemson is going to lose to Auburn by an unfathomable amount.

COP

7 minutes of long and drawn out detail about:
– The format of the workout
– The responsibility of the Q
+    Enter Snowflake
– The importance of preparation
– The F3 Credo & “string of pearls”
+   Enter Ringwald
– The importance of being on time
– Attitude and delivery approach; impact on pax
– Who is the leader and what it means to be the leader
– How to call an exercise and how to count
At this point, the pax appeared eager to get it started as Candu was doing all sorts of strange pre-stretches and calisthenics, sooo.. we hit the Slaughter Starter (nod to Bagger Vance [Nashville] for this one)
Slaughter Starter
10 Body Builders OYO
10 Burpees OYO
10 Merkins IC
Rinse & Repeat; lots of midwife noises from Candu
Mosey to bottom of the hill for the warm-up:
SSH, IW, Hillbillies, Good Morning Abby, Crunchy Frog, Supermans all IC x 12
Around the World x 2  (clockwise/counter-clockwise): YHC had to described and demonstrate this one, likening it to a plank while rotating in a direction as if you were a compass;
Mr Clean decides to call it a protractor (wrong) and the mumblechatter takes over; Ringwald having to clarify the difference. Haven’t we been over this –> to never question my SC math knowledge

The Thang

Commence Indian Run up the hill and around the upper field (2 laps) and return to bottom of hill for two rounds of BLIMPS:
BLIMP 1:
BLIMPS x 20
Reverse Burpees (YHC omahas to ten reps); “Reverpees”? <--- Thanks Mr. Clean Lt Dans Imperial Walkers Mtn Climbers Plank Jax St Bernard Squats ** Pax needed a breather so YHC injects the mission of F3 and the 5 core principals of F3 workouts ** BLIMP 2:
BLIMPS X 20
BBSU
Lunges
Imp Walkers
Mommy Makers
Peter Parkers
Table Saw (we did these wrong here)
Clouds started swirling, lightning started to appear and the thunder was far away; according to the Native descendants in the group — thanks, by the way, guys.
Quick time-check showed we likely didn’t have time for another BLIMP, so we moved to:
Wheel of Table Saw x 5
Wheel of Merkins x Twelb
Mosey back to pavilion for 6MOM as the lightning and thunder was starting to close in on us.
Mary: Flutter Kicks, Pretzel, Pistol LBCs, BBSU, The Very Mercurial Fred

Moleskin

Quick discussion on the importance of the moleskin, the sources of inspiration, etc.
“Nothing in the world is worth having or doing, unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.  I’ve never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life.  I’ve envied many a people who led difficult lives and lived them well” – Teddy Roosevelt

News

No news is good news

Upcoming Qs

3/19 – Vila – Beast Ridge
3/20 – Prosciutto – Hill City
3/21 – Snowflake – The Grif
3/22 – Whittler – Hill City **VQ**
3/24 – Angus – Landfill

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It means more

 
QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 03/05/2018
PAX: Angus, Early Bird, Snorlax
AO: Beast Ridge
Conditions: Temperature, mid-30’s.

Disclaimer was provided and the warm-up began very promptly @ 0530.
Warmup:
– Burpees x 5 OYO
– Lunges x 10 – single count
– High Knees x 10 IC
– Lunges x 10 – single count
– High Knees x 10 IC
– IW x 10 IC
– Flutter Kick x 12 IC
– Wide High Knees x 10 IC
– Hello Dolly x 12 IC
– ST Merkins x 10 IC
– High plank x 12 IC
– Burpees x 5 OYO
The Thang:
The Pax commence a short mosey to the soccer field steps…
Stadum Step 11’s:
– Clap Merkins & Dips at the bottom
– Squat Jump to top
– Squats at the top (decrement until 1 rep)
**Mosey to baby steps
Calf-raises x 15 IC
Burpees x 5 oyo
Repeato
**Mosey to the stop sign
We grabbed some of the landscaping blocks, paired up and picked a light pole 50 or so yards away.
PAX 1 executes an AMRAP (“As many reps as possible”) exercise whilst PAX 2 Bernie Sanders’ to the light pole then mosey back forward-running like an actual human being.
Exercises:
1: Bicep Curls w/ coupon,
2: Shoulder Press w/ coupon
3: Bent-over row w/ coupon
Count-o-rama
Name-o-rama
WOD
Buckle-up for this one…
This past weekend, YHC and 7 other hardened F3 guys from F3Chatt (Best In Show, Fissure, Mr. Clean, Picasso, Steam Engine, Vila, Whittler) took on the Chattanooga Marathon challenge. It was a real gas! I do admit, I couldn’t have completed the race (nor would I have tried) without the incredible commitment and accountability F3 has instilled in me.  Both teams excelled, and I think we did better together than we would have fared had we tried to go it alone; certainly a testimony to the “sharpening” and teamwork ever-present in F3.  When finished, other F3 brothers from Chatt were there to greet us and offer their congratulatory remarks on a job well-done (and yes, a little ribbing as well).  For me, this really was the cherry on top and signified the importance of what we’re doing here; answers “Why F3?”. To know that there was support outside of the two teams running was remarkable and for them to show up and offer that support was unbelievable. Cannot thank you guys enough.
Prior to the race start, we had the opportunity to fellowship briefly with some other F3 men from around the nation (from Mint Hill, NC). It’s always great to get to know and meet other guys from around the country that do F3 as well.  It’s really an amazing revelation when you do meet them, simply put, it is akin to having a brother you never knew about; you share many of the same core values F3 helps to reinforce – commitment, focus, level-headed, hard-nosed, cordial, amicable, I AM THIRD mentality. Only difference between you two is geography.  Hard to explain but each of you will understand when given the opportunity to meet someone from beyond the F3Chatt gloom.
After meeting and connecting with these two gentleman on twitter, I began looking through some of their prior communications to their respective AO’s.  Here was a tweet that really stood out to me from “Chum”, which I felt was absolutely appropriate given the aforementioned commentary regarding accountability and support:

It’s more than a shirt; more than a sticker.
It’s more than platitudes; more than getting quicker.
It’s an attitude.
It’s a commitment.
It’s every day.
This is more than a workout.
This is F3
#ironsharpensiron

Thank you all for being brothers in the gloom and brothers in Christ! Iron Sharpens Iron indeed!
Aye!
-Prosciutto

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11 Poles

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 02/12/2018
PAX: Best In Show (Respect), Early Bird, Whittler
AO: Beast Ridge

Conditions

Gloomy, wet and lots of unavoidable puddles from the 2″+ of rain over the previous 36 hours.  The rain also presented itself as a welcomed challenge during the 6MOM

The Disclaimer

Very important!
1) I’m not a professional
2) You should modify where you feel the need to do so
3) You are here on your own volition
4) Push yourself, but don’t be an idiot – you have places to be today, tomorrow and the next day; do not hurt yourself!
5) Welcome to F3!

COP

Given the 12th day of February – everything will be 12 reps…

Seal Jacks x 12 IC
IW x 12 IC
Peter Parker (w/ Merkin) x 12 IC
High-plank x 12 IC
Side plank x 12 IC
Other side x 12 IC
Hillbillies x 12 IC
Slow-Tempo Squats x 12 IC

The Thang

Route 66: An exercise in which you start with 1 rep at a predefined stopping point, then add one additional rep at intervals until you hit 11 stops. We used light posts with runs in between each increment. Sum of 1 full Route 66 = 66 reps; imagine that!
Route 66
Plank Jack – Mountain Climber – Burpees:
In the spirit of the Februburpee monthly challenge, YHC was exploring another variant of the standard burpee.  Thus, the Plank Mountain Burpee was born; this one will need a name due to the high volume of suck.
The movement from standing position goes down to a kick-out plank, 1 plank jack, 4 mtn climbers, standard merkin and pop-up to standing position and jump squat; that’s 1.
PJMC reps 1-11
Squats reps 1-11
Two rounds of the Route 66 was enough and we were almost out of time…
Two-space suicides in the parking lot – there are roughly 12 parking spots/suicides in total

Mary with Rain:

– LBC x 12 IC
– Rosalita x 12 IC
– Leg Lifts x 12 OYO
**Pass the lead to Whittler
– Reverse Pickle Pounders x 12 IC
**Pass the lead to Best-In-Show
– American Hammer x 12 IC
**Pass the lead to Early Bird
– Pickle Pounders x 12 IC

News

Mr. Clean’s service opportunity to feed the less fortunate families/children in the area
Chattanooga Marathon Relay
Friday Breakfast Club this Friday (City Cafe)
Go Ruck Tough (Chattanooga) – August
Tough Mudder (Nashville) – September

Upcoming Qs

2/13 Stairmaster
2/14 Ohms 2/15 Laces out
2/17 Vila

Posted on

Obstacles & Communication

QIC: Prosciutto
Date: 02/03/2018
PAX: Angus, Best In Show (RESPECT), Candu, Fissure, Geek Squad, Mr. Clean, Snowflake, Steam Engine
AO: The Landfill

Conditions

Upper 20s, a bit overcast with a nip in the air

The Disclaimer

Gentleman, I don’t get paid a dime to do this and am not a professional; you’re all here of your own choice – therefore do not sue me if you are injured/mamed/decimated/eaten by a land shark from the retention pond, blown up by a doggy-land-mine, etc.  With that said, do the very best you can, even if that means you need to modify – go for it

COP

SSH x 10 IC
Windmills x 7 IC
Slow-Tempo Squats x 10 IC
CDD x 10 IC
St Bernard Squats x 10 IC
Planking Hydrants x 10 IC (R/L)
Mommy Makers – 8 Count x 10
Mosey to the top park gate
Execute 7 burpees
Mosey to the start of the charted obstacle course
Execute 7 burpees
*YHC discusses the importance of communication and articulation of the goal/mission, offers simple explanation for “Startex/Endex” and demonstrates that the signs clearly state your objective
Mosey to next station and then traverse the hill to the bench jumps
*YHC discusses the next station
Pax Execute 7 burpees
Mosey to next station to discuss the calculated movements with coupons
*YHC demonstrates a weighted bucket “Shrug” and also delivers a key point that the font in the signage was a 96; Best-In-Show offered his gratitude for this fact (Respect!)
Pax Execute 7 burpees
Mosey to next station and demonstrate the log squat
*YHC explains the cadence of the ab routine
Pax Execute 7 burpees
Mosey to next station and move down the hill to Endex
*YHC discusses the next station
Pax Execute 7 burpees
If you were wondering if 42 burpees back-to-back would be tough — think again. Check that one off the list of accomplishments. 42 for Jackie Robinson

The Thang

The Charted Obstacle Course
First Obstacle
5 Pull-ups on the pull-up bar
5 Merkins
Second Obstacle
Bear crawl to bottom of hill (~50 yards)
Third Obstacle
Run to top of hill
Fourth Obstacle
Perform 5 Incline Merkins on first bench
Bench Jump (5) benches
Fifth Obstacle
Perform 5 Decline Merkins on last bench
Perform 5 Roll & Merkins to next obstacle
Sixth Obstacle
Lunge to next Obstacle ~40 yards
Seventh Obstacle
**Performed with supplied weighted bucket coupons and a Dwayne**
15 Curls with Dwayne
15 Tricep Extensions with Dwayne
15 Shrugs with buckets
Eighth Obstacle
Jail Break – 40 yards to next obstacle
Ninth Obstacle
10 Freddie Mercuries (IC)
10 American Hammers (IC)
10 Leg Lifts (Single-count)
15 Log Squats w/ Log
Tenth Obstacle
Run down hill
Eleventh Obstacle
Bear Crawl to Endex — after the first time through – this was Omaha’d as a Lunge to Endex
At the end, plank if the first obstacle is already manned. If not, repeat.
In total, PAX were able to complete nearly 3 full cycles of the obstacle course. Very proud of the effort put in this morning.

Moleskin

Communication- think about communication for a minute. How much do we take it for granted?
After something is said aloud, you have to:
1) Hear it
2) Interpret it
3) Understand it/Visualize it
4) Take action
And we all do this, no matter where you learned your native language. Human-kind is built to communicate. What an incredible thing.
#TruthNugget: The better you can communicate the more effective you will lead.
Allow me to share a story about communication – It’s about a man named Gerlando. A good man, a hard-ass working man, a farmer, a military service man, a husband, a father, a gardner, a wine-maker, a cured ham connoisseur, a dreamer, a LEADER. He was an enterprising man who believed he needed to do something outside of himself – not particularly and immediately for himself. He had a vision that he could make the lives of his family, his children and children’s children and so-on better than his own if he moved them to America, aka “The American Dream.”  Through the right amount of communication (and articulation), he allowed his wife to understand the vision, accept the proposal, move to America, gain employment, procure a house, and the rest was history… How much communication played into this? The ending to this story is a man standing here talking to you all (communicating & articulating) about the value of good communication, and an example of what it amounts to for a leader.
So, in F3, Articulation is one of the four F3 Leadership Skills (VAPE). Vision-Articulation-Persuasion-Exhortation.
Articulation is a fancy way of saying clear/precise communication with a vision and a mission. A clear and defined way of getting a group to understand the mission/vision and setting forth to accomplish that shared vision. The Q, the leader, must-MUST do this well. The criticality of his ability determines the outcome and the overall success.
Ever been to a VQ? Ever experienced a “less than perfect” workout? What was the problem? Articulation, perhaps…
F3 is is rooted in the foundation of good articulation.
Consider the workout for a moment. It’s 100% Peer-LED! Leading is articulation and communication of the end goal- the vision.
Even beyond the workouts – the F3 purpose… it’s well-articulated.
Male Community Leadership has never been at a lower ebb in our nation than it is right now. Our intent is to strengthen this through a Visualized series of Outcomes. Each new Workout we plant is one of those Outcomes.

News
**Ruck / Run begins this week at Monday/Wednesday AO’s**
Monday @ The Griff @ 5:30-6:15
Wednesday @ Beast Ridge @ 5:30-6:15

F1 Events:
– Chattanooga Marathon Training will continue (Picasso & Steam Engine on Q) – Event Date = 3/4/2018
– GoRuck Tough (Chattanooga) – Event Date = August; Vila on Q for Ruck training
– Tough Mudder (Nashville)
F2 News:
– Friday Breakfast Club will commence this week (Mr. Clean on Q); location is Lillie Mae’s in Hixson @ 6:30am
– Potluck event (date TBD – April timeframe) at Mr. Clean’s house
– Flag football and family day – March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day)
– Mr. Clean is looking for HCs to support the Food & Fun Program which is an opportunity to serve low-income students with healthy food options (please message Mr. Clean with interest)

Upcoming Qs:

02/05 (Beast Ridge) – Rainman
02/06 (Hill City) – Steam Engine
02/07 (The Griff) – Mr. Clean
02/08 (Hill City) – Snowflake
02/10 (Landfill) – Ohms