Every franchise has that third one. The budget goes to explosions, the plot goes out the window, and somebody jumps a shark. Every third installment also needs a name on the poster to put butts in the seats, so YHC is pleased to report that Rico turned up for his first Possum Pump. Nemo and 16-bit came back for the second week running. Four men, coupons on the asphalt, and the sun still an hour out.
The Pump has also moved off the tennis courts and down to the asphalt between the baseball fields. Coupons and tennis courts do not mix, and the retaining wall down there does more work than any piece of gear YHC owns.
Warm-Up
Mosey to loosen up, then circled up for:
SSH Good Mornings Frankensteins Imperial Walkers Hillbillies Sir Fazio arm circles Seal Claps Overhead Claps
The Thang
Two blocks. A block is one man’s Tabata: three exercises, four cycles, 50 seconds on and 15 seconds rest, with 30 seconds to recover between sets. About 15 minutes a block. Each block holds its own gear the whole time, so the men rotate and the weights stay put.
Block 1 — Coupon Chest Press, Box Cutters, Squats with a dumbbell. Block 2 — Derkins with the feet up on the retaining wall, Pickle Pounders, Step-Ups on the wall.
Two groups opened on opposite blocks and swapped at the halfway point, so everybody got both.
Notes from the field: Derkins were modified down to Erkins or standard Merkins as needed. On the abs, PAX alternated Pickle Pounders and J-Los, two rounds of each.
Mary
The clock had a little left, so YHC called stretching to close it out.
COT
Announcements: SOmbrero led Bass Lake services project Friday 9/11
Prayer: Rico family matters, YHC’s son starting last year in pre-K
Closing Remarks: Two weeks ago the Pump drew two men. Last week four. This week four again. Southwake’s oldest AO is not going quietly. Come find out.
Honored to lead! YHC out.
Riding into the Sunset
/in Viscous Cycle/by Flip PhoneFNGs: None (Unless you count me on the bike)
Warm Up: Rundown on the Operation of the Bike
The Workout: 9+ Miles @ avg 10+ miles per hour.
Mary: Racking the Bike
Announcements: Flip Phone has officially finished the Q’em All Challenge!
T-Claps (Recognition): @kubota for setting me up for success
Prayer: Healing and Health
Pumpkin Spice 8 year F3versary
/in Downtown Train/by Pumpkin SpiceFNGs: None
DATE: 2026-09-07
Q: Pumpkin Spice,
WARMUP: GM, Arm Circles, Overhead Clap, Seal Clap, SSH, WMH.
THE THANG: Grab a rock/coupon. Stack-em 8 count or in cadence (IC)
PUMPKIN SPICE with a LATTE Mary.
Plank Jack (IC)
Upright Row w coupon
Merkin
Pumpkin Press (IC) – Wonder Bra
Kevin Harts (IC)
Imperial Squat Walkers (IC)
Navy Seal Burpees
LAP
Swing w coupon
Prisoner Squat
Irkin
Coupon Crucible (IC 8 count w coupon)
Elf on a Shelf (IC w coupon)
Return rocks . Mosey to flag.
MARY:
LBC
Absolution
T-plank right
T-plank left
Earl Fondas
ANNOUNCEMENTS: support your 1st,2nd and 3rd F Qs. Mulching. See 3rd F.
COT: Cancun potential move and new job. YHC sell our house, buy a house and move to Clayton, 16-bit’s mom cancer. Celebrating her 70th bday this week.
Thank you all for celebrating my 8 year F3versary.
43 Feet: A Vision for South Wake
/in News/by UTILast Saturday, your leadership team met for our first quarterly meeting since Breach announced my upcoming appointment to Nantan. If you aren’t familiar here are our leaders along with an AI generated summary of what we’re supposed to do.
The agenda included a level set on our titles and what they all mean. We went a level deeper and chatted about some of the tactical things that typically line up to each of the roles just to make sure we were aligned. We will continue to revisit these tactical things and I hope to see them weaved into our 2027 plans as well.
From there, we focused on the top thing we wanted to put front and center for the remainder of 2026. AOs. You may have heard mumblechatter among PAX about the idea that some AOs should be paused or stopped. That is something we are looking at. Why? Because our numbers aren’t consistent and we are too spread out. How will we decide? The answer is a combo of standards and data.
From now until Jan 1, here is the high-level plan.
Some of these items are already in motion. A flag making opportunity is being Co-Qd by BnB and Choppa on 9/25.
In the last few days some experimentation has started with the F3 Nation Slack Bot which should help support the short-term focus for 1st F, 3rd F, WS, Comz as well.
Site Qs should expect to hear from FRAM on what those standards are and it will be up to the site Qs to hold the standard regardless of who the workout Q is each day. Starting in 2027, AOs will only remain active based on their ability to meet the standard. We may un-pause AOs in the future based on overflow concerns for remaining AOs or other needs/factors.
What’s next?
This leadership team will meet again in mid-November.
Between now and then, each of the leaders will be recruiting for leadership positions in each of their areas to create new teams. F3 is a Leadership Organization and we need your help. We need additional passionate minds to help plan out 2027 and take ownership of key areas of those plans. Once the plans are in motion, we will execute in a rotating fashion, finding Qs for specific events weaved into our plans along the way.
Deliverables before Mid-November for each area (WS, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Comz):
2027
What should each individual PAX do?
Your Humble Contributors
The F3 South Wake Senior Leadership Team
Possum Pump III; Bigger, Badder, Hairier
/in Possum Trot/by AbacusEvery franchise has that third one. The budget goes to explosions, the plot goes out the window, and somebody jumps a shark. Every third installment also needs a name on the poster to put butts in the seats, so YHC is pleased to report that Rico turned up for his first Possum Pump. Nemo and 16-bit came back for the second week running. Four men, coupons on the asphalt, and the sun still an hour out.
The Pump has also moved off the tennis courts and down to the asphalt between the baseball fields. Coupons and tennis courts do not mix, and the retaining wall down there does more work than any piece of gear YHC owns.
Warm-Up
Mosey to loosen up, then circled up for:
SSH Good Mornings Frankensteins Imperial Walkers Hillbillies Sir Fazio arm circles Seal Claps Overhead Claps
The Thang
Two blocks. A block is one man’s Tabata: three exercises, four cycles, 50 seconds on and 15 seconds rest, with 30 seconds to recover between sets. About 15 minutes a block. Each block holds its own gear the whole time, so the men rotate and the weights stay put.
Block 1 — Coupon Chest Press, Box Cutters, Squats with a dumbbell. Block 2 — Derkins with the feet up on the retaining wall, Pickle Pounders, Step-Ups on the wall.
Two groups opened on opposite blocks and swapped at the halfway point, so everybody got both.
Notes from the field: Derkins were modified down to Erkins or standard Merkins as needed. On the abs, PAX alternated Pickle Pounders and J-Los, two rounds of each.
Mary
The clock had a little left, so YHC called stretching to close it out.
COT
Announcements: SOmbrero led Bass Lake services project Friday 9/11
Prayer: Rico family matters, YHC’s son starting last year in pre-K
Closing Remarks: Two weeks ago the Pump drew two men. Last week four. This week four again. Southwake’s oldest AO is not going quietly. Come find out.
Honored to lead! YHC out.
A Different Kind of Game
/in AO Post, Paradise City/by UTIWarm Up:
The Workout:
Thang 1: Exploring the City
Trip 1: We mozy’d around the entire city. Along the way we stopped for SSH (back of the lot by the tennis courts) and Step-ups (near the entrance of the BB field)
Thang 2
Trip 2: We mozy’d around. Earkins were completed at the guard rails beyond the BB Court. We continued around to the Baseball entrance and used the wall for Dips
Back to Thang 2
Thang 2: The Ramp Side Quest
We mozy’d to the bottom of the ramp. Sprint Uphill to each Blue Sign on the way to the top. 10 Count Workouts at each stop
1st Sign: Sprint, Merkins, jog back down.
2nd Sign: Sprint, Squats, jog back down.
3rd Sign: Sprint, LBCs, jog back down.
4th Sign: Sprint, American Hammers, jog back down.
Back to Thang 1 / Trip 2
Announcements:
Prayer:
NEEDMORE?
/in AO Post, NeedMore Ruck/by UTIThe Workout: The yellow trail was selected. We extended on to blue. We lapped the Club House.
What I love about this AO is the time it allows for mumble chatter. We talked about the different options that exist regarding “Senior Games” in the area and Ponzi’s training for them. I shared about the leadership meeting from the night before, we had a great conversation about leadership in South Wake and the ways we can all be involved. We talked about the use of Rec League sports as cheap babysitting 😀 We discussed newer rules in sports and how they’ve dulled certain aspects of the game but maybe have also kept people safe.
We kept talking in the parking lot well after the workout. Good times. Good morning.
Announcements: 9/11 Mulch and 9/11 Heroes Run (9/12)
Prayer:
Humidity and Hills
/in Any Given Sunday/by Alex CoppolaFNGs: none
Warm Up: light stretching
The Workout:
I arrived at Womble a couple of minutes early to find Bleeder, Downrange and WildTurkey running laps around the soccer field.
Kimble showed up late which meant penalty burpees for all. There was some grumbling but we survived 5 burpees.
The Route: 5 miles through Womble down to Sugg Farm and the Bass Lake Greenway. We followed the greenway back to Grigsby and out to Holly Springs road to Bass Lake and back to Stinson. It seemed like the whole route was one slow hill.
Mary: none
Announcements: Wild Turkey Trot coming up in Nov. Mulch spreading with Sombero on 9/11.
T-Claps (Recognition):
Prayer: 404 new baby and mufasa’s cold
Real Life Super Heroes
/in Faith/by UTIMy Q at Ground Pounder was lined up with a regular 3rd F service opportunity. Through HOPE, Pumpkin Spice had met a single mom a few years back that needed some assistance. Long story short, it’s been a few years and there are a handful of guys that still show up to help her with some regular yard maintenance. Personally, this was my 2nd time helping out. Last time, it was with Moose before we grabbed a beer in Downtown Holly Springs. In an effort to document how we are MORE THAN A WORKOUT. I decided to write up a little backblast.
This yard isnt huge and with a few dudes we were able to wrap it up fairly quickly. 2 lawnmowers, 1 weed wacker, and a blower.
Feeling SUPER at Ground Pounder
/in AO Post, Ground Pounder/by UTIThis Q ’em all challenge has be venturing to AOs less traveled. It’s not that I’ve never been to Ground Pounder but It’s always been a while. With the way my brain works, I immediately envisioned the Avengers Doomsday ads that are out there (and the memes making fun of them) to introduce my Q at Ground Pounder. And a Super Hero themed workout followed.
Warm Up:
The Workout:
Thang 1: Super Human Rocks!
We mozy’d to the rock pit. We easily lifted the rocks with our super strength.
In the parking lot
Superman Curls: 15 IC – Hold the rock in a front rack position while lying in a Superman extension, or perform standard curls with superhero-level focus.
Thor Hammer Squats: 15 IC – Hold the rock with both hands over one shoulder, squat deep, and swing it diagonally across the body like bringing down Mjolnir. Alternate sides.
Mozy to a grassy space
Back to the lot and repeat these workouts 3x
Thang 2: Ground Pounder Cooldown
We mozy’d to the playground, on the way Socrates told me it wasnt uncommon to spend some time on the wall doing step-ups, earkins, derkins, and dips. Don’t mind if we do…
Announcements:
Prayer:
The Possum Pump Continues
/in Possum Trot/by AbacusLast week the Possum Pump drew two. This week it drew four. Doubling is doubling, and YHC will take it. Southwake’s oldest AO had iron on the ground before the sun was up, and the plan was simple: 2 blocks
Warm-Up
Mosey around the tennis courts to get the blood moving, then circled up for:
Good Mornings
Willie Mays Hayes
Imperial Walkers
Hillbillies
Sir Fazio arm circles
Seal Claps
Overhead Claps
The Thang
Two blocks of Possum iron. Timer at 50 seconds on, 15 seconds rest, three exercises through four cycles, about 15 minutes a block. Each block owns its gear the whole time, so the men rotate and the weights stay put.
Block 1 — Chest Press with the 50lb KB, American Hammers with the 25lb KB, Squats with the 40lb DBs.
Block 2 — Sandbag Rut-Rows, Norma Jean Rileys on the ab roller (say the name before you can come up), Weighted Lunges with the 30lb DBs.
Slot Machine and YHC opened on Block 1 while Nemo and 16-bit took Block 2, then the groups swapped and everybody got both.
There was a Block 3 in the bag — Hammer Swings, Box Cutters and KB Swings — but at four PAX it stayed in the bag. That is by design. The plan scales on headcount, not on how much any one man does.
Mary
About five minutes on the clock at the end, so YHC called stretching instead:
Reach to the sky, then all the way down the legs
Downward Dog
Cobra
Runner’s Pose
Supine spinal twist, right leg over left with the shoulders pinned to the ground, then left over right
COT
Announcements: Sombrero leading Bass Lake mulch drop on Friday 9/11
T-Claps: none
Prayer: School starting up. Nemo #empty-nestinglyfe
Closing Remarks: Fully-body got worked, but I got a feeling the ab workouts will be felt the most tomorrow.
Honored to lead! YHC out.