Somewhere Over the Rainbow…6 PAX Get Stronger with 6 miles and Fellowship

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Clown car carrying Deadbolt and YHC arrived to a 50 degree Womble parking lot this morning. Clear skies with hints of blue and gold in the distance. Next week we’ll have to slide the time back to 6am to accomodate the earlier sunrises for the remainder of spring and summer. If you have posted over the past 2 weeks, you’ve probably noticed a consistent fixture in the form of Maybelline. Right on queue, there he was right where I left him last week, getting some stretching in. That’s 14 straight workouts, fellas. Strong work!.

Speaking of strong work, did anyone see Skidmark’s 5K time on Saturday? And just like that, there he was in the front seat of his red truck looking for an early morning recovery run. Another truck rolled in with Nemo in driver’s seat. Planted flag with 5 minutes left for any last minute takers of today’s edition of AGS… Received a text from Bobby Dall with the heads up that he was on his way.

6:31 hit and we were off for the following warm-up

Warm Up: Light jog to the end of the lot, side step squats on the return and circled up for SSH X15, Imperial Walkers x10. At that point, Bobby Dall joined the circle. No penalty burpees this morning as YHC was still recovering from Pikachu’s Turkish get ups at the Mason Dixon convergence yesterday. Also, for those in attendance at said convergence yesterday, what was up with the wheelbarrow staircase walks as the opening exercise?…Dang, Pikachu.

Finished off the warm up with a set of Mountain Climbers x15, Michael Phelps, and Left hand\right elbow-Right hand\left elbow stretches. Squat hold while YHC explained this morning’s route.

The Workout: Standard Bass Lake Route. Slight modification from previous week’s in that we would navigate the Lake in a clockwise fashion and enter and exit via greenway. No soul crusher this morning. YHC was just not feeling it, but will not disappoint next week if it is dry. As we ventured around the baseball fields, Skidmark confirmed a 2nd F at Dunkin Donuts after our run, and continued up Grigsby with Maybelline, Nemo, and Bobby Dall.

At the Sugg Farm entrance, Bobby Dall circled back for the six, first YHC, then Deadbolt. Exchanged some quality mumblechatter along the greenway, and about a mile in, Bobby Dall picked up the pace to catch up with Skid, Maybelline, and Nemo. Along the trail, took a few quality snaps of that trademark sunrise just beyond the trees. As we entered the Bass Lake parking lot, YHC and Deadbolt approached the Bass Lake “Killer Hill” with some reluctance, but more determination. Tackled the hill and the final bend around the lake. Halfway on the greenway back to Womble, we noticed a light rain sprinkle, which provided a welcomed cool down as we finished up our last 1.5 miles to the finish. YHC later received a pic from Bobby Dall who was able to capture a rainbow during his run. Strong runs by all PAX posting this morning and good to see some familiar faces return to AGS.

Mary: Stretches OYO

Announcements: Dunkin Donuts 2nd F, Wrightsville and Richmond Half-Full Sign-ups (never too early). NC Spring Classic 8k and 16k-April 27th. Coal Ash VQ tomorrow at Downtown Train. Maybelline VQ at Purple Cobra on Tuesday. PAX love VQ’s….come out and show some support. They will most certainly be beatdowns for sure.

Prayer: Prayers for Shredder, Crosby, and all PAX working through injuries. Additional prayers for a Wescott Neighbor who suffered a heart attack recently. Continued prayers for Lipstick’s mother in law, CrabLegs, DoubleD and his family.

Curls for the Girls

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2 for EC Nemo and Maybeline on a new 2+ mile route to avoid construction on HS Road.  Ran to Womble, around soccer fields, back to start with a little extra to get over .

Warm Up: Jog 0.4 mile around the block and back. Circle up for some of the regulars.
The Workout: Set up in a line for some station curl work. 4 weight stations – 20lb kettle curl – 25 lb right arm curl – 25 lb left arm curl – 35 lb kettle curl. Started in a line and as we worked through we did a set of 12 count, and before you got the first curl, and between each set of curls, did a 12 count of merkins along with the 12 rep curl sets.  Did this until each had done each of he 4 curl sets 1x, recover on the jog. Repeated but this time the exercise offset of curls was squats, recovered on the jog, then last round was LBCs. Each PAX got to do each of the 4 curls 3 full sets. Had a few extra mins so we knocked out some bear crawls.
Mary: Quick set homer to marge, low slows, hammers
Announcements: See slack
Prayer: Recognized spoken and unspoken, YHC took us out

No Q insight

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As the Q rolled up he spotted an unusual vehicle in the Starbucks lot. A gray Toyota Tacoma with a NC state flag license plate in the front. There is only one guy that rolls like that. Great to see Double D back in the gloom and grinding for a run. Unfortunately this Q has no insight into the workout as YHC and Shamwow did a mile warmup and bolted for a local 5k. Double D posted at GP later so must not have been too bad. Thanks to Maybelline as he was charged with keeping the 6 close. And for 13 straight days.

Warm Up: SSH, IW, Hillbillies, Good mornings, High Knees, and Butt Kickers
The Workout: 5-6 miles
Mary: coffee
Announcements: see Pikachu’s announcements, shirt order
Prayer: Full House’s dad out of hospitals great to see Double D

Carry Each Other’s Burdens

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EC: Emeril, Skid Mark, Nemo, Dumbo, Maybelline, Dawg Pound

Warm Up:

Lap around the lot then some standard warm-up exercises: SSH, Imperial Walkers/Hillbillies, Good Mornings, Sir Fazio Arm Circles.  One more lap around the lot.

The Workout:

Grab all of the gear (2- 3″ firehose logs, 2- 3″ firehose bundles, numerous kettlebells).  The journey we set out on included one lap around the soccer field with various pain stations.  The gear was only carried and not used at any station, this will be explained later.  First stop was at the stage, box jumps and B2W.  Second stop playground, pull ups and merkins. Third stop shelter, Urkins/Derkins/dips/squats.  Fourth stop tennis court, suicides/11s (people’s chair/merkins)/suicides.  Fifth stop along the path for some Broke Back merkins.  Walked back to flag and put gear in the middle of the circle to start Mary.

Mary:

Low slow flutter and LBCs

Announcements:

North/South Convergence Saturday, 30 March.

Check the Slackbook

Prayer:

Maggie/Clay/Crab Legs Always/Unspoken/Happy Birthday Roger Roger

Life Tips by CHiPs: All of the gear was carried throughout the workout to demonstrate the many burdens that we carry around daily.  The gear was not used during the exercises, but hauled from location to location on purpose. This was to demonstrate how meaningless it is to carry our burdens around endlessly, and by doing so, it weakens us mentally and physically for the important moments in life that we need all of our strength to tackle. It is a reminder that we are much stronger when we are not carrying our burdens around alone.  We as men are fixers and never want to appear weak, so we try to fix our hurts by ourselves (alcohol/porn/other addictions) and think that appearing like we “have it all together” it makes us look strong.  Well, that’s a lie!  Paul tells us in Galatians 6:2, “Carry each others burdens, and this way you will fulfill the *law of Christ (*Golden Rule).  We must have men in our life that we can talk to about our hurts/struggles/thoughts, and in so doing we “carry each other’s burdens.”  The enemy, Satan, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.  His main objective is to “steal, kill, and destroy” the very thing you hold dear.  We are constantly under attack and need to be ready.  Therefore, I challenge each PAX to find another man in their life that they can talk to and form a shield lock with when the crap hits the fan.

Get the Big Rock!

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Warm Up:Quick lap around the ball fields and then to the large parking lot for some SSHx20, IMWalkx10, HillBx10, Windmillx10, CottonPkx10, Merkinsx10, SumoSqx10, WW2x10.
The Workout: Parnter up.  Worked perfectly with 8 in attendance.  Asked to select a BIG ROCK for the workout.  A 6 exercise Dora(I think that is what’s its called).  Partner 1 did the exercise while Partner 2 ran the length of the parking lot and back.  Each exercise was done to 100 reps.  Each Partner picked up the count where the other left off when returning from the run.  We did 100 reps each of WonderBras, Squats, Tricep extenstions, St Leg deadlifts, Curls for the girls, Bent over rows.  A quick time check said we didn’t have much time for what i had planned but we scurried(not mosey) to the steps below the Center where size does matter with your partner and each partner carried the other on their backs up the long steps, one step at a time.  Meeting at the top for a set of 10 Merkins and then around back down the path to the bottom for Partner 2 to carry Partner 1 up the steps.  No time for extra Merkins as we mosey back to tennis courts for Mary.

Mary: LBC’sx10, FreddyMx10, BoxCutx10, HandreleaseMerkx10, AmerHamx10, Homer2Marx10, finish with everyone’s favorite PicklePoundx10.
Announcements: North/South Convergence.  All schedule workouts for the weekend are still on. GroundPound, UTurn, etc….
Prayer: Yogurts father in law had heart surgery, others unspoken.  Men, even though it was only my second Q, it was an honor to lead.

It’s a MARVELous Day

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A small Pax of 3 got out in the “can’t-decide-if-it’s-winter-or-spring” early morn for some superhero-infused conditioning.

Warm Up:

  • Sir Fazzio arm circles, Michael Phelps, Squats, Moroccan Nightclubs
  • Jog out, side-shuffle slalom, sprint back X3
  • 2 forward, one backward on the parking spaces
  • Side-straddle hop
  • 6-count merkins
  • Down dog
  • Jumping Spiders

The Workout:

Doc Ock’s Octagon of Pain
8 stations, 8 reps per stations, with bear crawls between each station.
Then a rest-in-the-run lap around the track, and rinse & repeat with 16 reps per stations (would go on to 24 if time permitted)

  1. Derkins
  2. Jump Squats
  3. Burpees
  4. American Hammers (cadence)
  5. Spiderman Pushups (like Peter Parkers, but you go down in the pushup as you bring the knee up)
  6. Lt. Dans (squat, then one lunge each leg)
  7. Outlaws (start like low slow flutter, but keep legs together and trace a circle; 8 clockwise, 8 counter-clockwise)
  8. 3-Legged Dog (down dog, raise a leg, do a pushup – useful progression for handstand pushups)

Mary:

Incorporated into the workout

Announcements:

Convergence at Pullen Park tomorrow; First Saturday 2.0 workout at Womble next week

Prayer:

Jess’ friend Nathan going through marriage struggles, working toward realignment and reconciliation, but damage has been done that will take time to heal.

Lucky Number 11s

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7 PAX showed up for Kenny’s Grave to see what the Q of the day was going to do.

16-bit and Messi showed up first, and got to choose the workout. Kind of. Both PAX picked two numbers, which determined two of the exercises for the 11s that YHC had planned. YHC balanced it out by picking the third.

Warm Up:

Mosey around the parking lot

Circle up, 20x Side Straddle Hops IC

Mosey around the parking lot

Circle up, 10x Good Mornings IC, 10x Fozzy Arms Circles Forward IC, 10x Fozzy Arm Circles Reverse IC

The Workout:

11s!

PAX bear crawled from Splash Pad to Playground, 10 pullups. Bear crawl back, 1 Turkish Stand Up. 9 pull ups, 2 Turkish Stand Ups, so on and so forth.

After completion of first 11s, YHC checked his phone and realized there was no way we’d get a second set of 11s in. Quick audible.

PAX ran from one end of parking lot to the other, 60 seconds plank hold. Ran back, 1x LBC IC. Ran back, 50 seconds plank hold, 2x LBC IC, so on and so forth.

Mary:

Circled up, went around the circle and had each PAX call out an exercise to do. Can’t remember them all. Finished it up with Have a Nice Days.

Announcements:

Check Slack, Swim training at Triangle Aquatic Center Tuesday mornings, Mason-Dixon Convergence on Saturday.

Prayer:

Continued safe travel for H1N1, prayer’s for H1N1′ and Messi’s church as the lead pastor recently passed away.

Double D’s knee.

Family with the son that recently passed away.

where’s midget

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Midget had your Q today. He was also going for the Fritter. Dumbo’s workout yesterday must have been too tough for he was a no show for EC. He is the first official drop out when going for the fritter.  There was hope for Midget to arrive for the workout.  As the clock got closer to 5:30 it was clear there was going to be no Midget.  But wait at the last minute a Buick roles into the parking lot.  All got excited that Midget made his Q… it turns out it was an FNG.

I really wanted to head to the abyss so I decided to step up and lead.

Welcome FNGs:

Welcome Babe. Crab legs brought out Babe. He has been cutting down trees in his backyard. The name Paul Bunyan was floated and then Breach recommended Babe. For those that don’t know Babe is Paul Bunyan’s Blue Ox.

Welcome Diddy.  Pac-man brought out Diddy.  By the way he drives the Buick above.  He works at Epic.  Nintendo was thrown out then Donkey Kong and then finally Diddy Kong.  I believe Breach was two for two today.

EC: Dawgpound, Dumbo, Warbucks, Maybelline

Warm Up:

Ran down to the bowl and circled up for the following:
Side Straddle Hops
Seal Claps
Good Mornings

The Workout:

Ran to the abyss. We went right into it. Partner up for the following.
Partner A did monkey humpers while Partner B ran down the stairs did 5 Burpees and returned. Then Partner A went down the abyss and Partner B did monkey humpers. We went down multiple times as we count down from 5 Burpees, 4 Burpees, 3 Burpees, 2 Burpees and 1 Burpees.

We then ran back to the bowl. One Partner ran up the one hill as the other partner ran up the other hill. We did 10 Merkins when the Partners meet at the bottom of the bowl they did 1 Burpee High Five. We repeated this counting down from 10 merkins to 1 Merkin.

Ran to the parking lot for the last bit. Circled up and did Circle merkins. Started with the Q doing 10 merkins. Everyone else planked hold. Then the pac to the right did 10 merkins. This went around the circle. If no break we went right into 5 merkins and then 1 merkin.

Mary:

Floor Wipers
Homer to Marge
LBCs
Pickle Pounders
Plank O Rama

Announcements:

Mason Dixon Convergence Saturday at 7 o’clock at Pullen Park
Shirt Order through April 5th

Prayer:

Prayers for those that where supposed to be here and where not. Hoping that they are okay.
Prayers always for Crablegs
Prayers for Shredder recovery

Opening Day – Field of Pain

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Emeril, Chips, BlueHen*, Skidmark*, ShamWow!*, Aquaman*, SlideRule, Pikachu*, Spanks, Lipstick, Nemo*, DaBusiness

As the EC crowd gathered cars were plentiful for opening day at TigerBlood.  Evidently cars were parked in the lot for an overnight field trip and the Q didn’t need to call an audible on the first workout.  Those with a * were off for EC with a course of hills mapped out by Skidmark.  The pace was set and the first EC at TigerBlood was complete.  14 brave showed up to see what all the hype was for the new AO.

Warm Up:

Quick run from the parking lot to the parking lot by the track. The run was split between butt kickers, high knees, and karaoke.

Circle up for…

Daniel-Son X 10

SSH X 20

Slow Good mornings X 10

Clock Merkins, 1, 11, 3, 10, 6 (or some variation of that )

The Workout:

In the spirit of the 2019 MLB Opening Day season the Q split the PAX into 4 groups for a game of Field of Dreams.

Here is how it went down…

Home plate: (15 burpees)- Home plate is the clock.  As a group do 15 burpees, then run to right field to relieve the group.  Right field will go to center, center to left, and left to home until all groups have cross home plate.

Right Field Foul Pole: (AMRAP Chilly Jacks) This station did As Many Reps As Possible of Chilly Jacks. Remember the team total.

Center Field: (AMRAP – Merkins) This station did  As Many Reps As Possible of merkins. Remember the team total.

Left Field Foul Pole: -(AMRAP – Fence Squats) This station did As Many Reps As Possible of fence squats.  Remember the team total.

Once all groups have completed the four stations everyone returned to home plate.  The groups reported their collective totals of the three outfield stations to determine the winner of Field of Dreams.  There was evidently Bad Math and with no replays available no winner was announced.

The PAX were guided on a run, with some misdirection, over to the road along the back of the school.  Everyone went down to the chill cut plank hold for a round of Box Jump/Plankhold Indian run.  Some mumble chatter was heard about jumping over each other.  After everyone had completed one set the Q moved the group to Low Slow Flutter/Box Jump Indian Run until we reach the end of road.

Next Up…  From Field of Dreams to Field of Pain

The PAX circled up in the field in from of the elementary school with a dirt track.  Partner Up. Plank hold while other partner box jumps over the partner and back for a total of 10 complete box.  The partner doing the box jumps then took off for a hot lap around the direct track while the other partner moved to Peter Parker merkins.  Rinse and Repeat.

On the way back to parking lot for Mary the Q guided the Pax over the Tiger prints hopscotching along each print.

Mary:

Crab Humper: IC X 20.  (While in the Crab walk position thrust the pelvis into the air)

Nolan Ryan X 10 each side with POW as the count  (The PAX did a side plank while  giving  an upper cut punch to Robin Ventura)

American baseball Hammers X 10 (a variation of American hammers while swinging an air bat on each side.

Boat Canoes X 10

Clock Merkins (3,9, 6, 10… or some variation of that)

Announcements:

Many options on Saturday – North-South convergence (see Emeril for carpooling details), normal U-turn, Dee Dee 5K(SkidMark is running and welcomes others to join).

Prayer:

Belle, CrabLegs

 

The PAX got after it today and look forward to continued fun at TigerBlood.

Squirkins While You Wait!

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EC: Dawgpound, Dumbo, LED, M4L

4 PAX showed up for EC this morning and the first leg of the Fritter. Good mumble chatter on the EC jog with LED and M4L circling back for the more “deliberate” runners – Dawgpound and Dumbo. 19 PAX showed up for the Main Event to get stronger today and discuss #f3MentalHealth.

Male Depression is a serious issue and I was glad to see the nation and the PAX take it seriously. YHC shared some stats and warning signs regarding depression and then several PAX shared how depression has touched their lives. I don’t think anyone left this morning without an increased awareness of this issue. We must be diligent in reaching out to our fellow F3 brothers and making sure we are all healthy – physically, mentally and emotionally. We must also go back into the community and be that same rock that someone needs. Take a minute and think about someone you know who might need a friend or someone to listen – you could be the difference!

Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Warm Up: Aquaman – SSH x30, Daisy Pickers x10 (Banana Seat is the only one who did it right), Fazzio Arm Circles x10 (front and back), Seal Claps x10, Burpee x5 OYO.

The Workout:
PAX paired up for the day. With your partner, run opposite directions around the tennis courts and do 5 Bropees (do an epic high-five with your partner on the jump of a Burpee) when you meet up. Bropees decreased until we got to 1 and made 3 laps. When finished, PAX waited under the light doing Squirkins (wheel barrow hold with one PAX doing Derkins then the other doing Squats using the first PAX legs as weight).

With all the PAX back together its time for a traditional Dora (100 Merkins, 200 LBCs and 300 Squats). One PAX does the exercise while the other runs to the entrance to the concession stand and back. As the pairs finished they were instructed to go to the center of the tennis courts and again do Squirkins while they waited on the 6.

The remainder of our time together was spent on the tennis courts. First the PAX had a Princess Tea Party (Patty Cake Merkins followed by People’s Chair using your partner as support). The first round consisted of 20 reps of each exercise followed by a sprint to the end of the tennis court and back. With all of the PAX remaining close together YHC decided we needed another round of 10 followed by an additional sprint. By this time we were really having a good time with our partner and learning some new exercises so YHC decided to wrap up with another instant classic, Lt. Get Ups (2 steps in a lunge walk followed by a Prisoner Get Up – think absolution but using your knees and not your elbows). We went from the middle of the tennis court to the end doing Lt. Get Ups and then bear crawled back to the center for Mary.

Mary: Aquaman – Low Slow Flutter x20, Box Cutter x20, Homer2Marge x20 then R leg x10 and L leg x10.

Announcements: Check social media

Prayer: Those traveling, those dealing with health issues and those dealing with mental health issues.

As we finished our extended COT and were leaving, Messi waited by the entrance to the tennis court to give every PAX leaving a fist bump. I don’t know about anyone else but that was just the thing I needed to put my day into high gear. Keep being that light in the world Messi – we need more of that!

It was an honor to lead you boys and I’ll try to do better next time. Thanks to my co-Q, Aquaman for taking warm up and Mary.