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Is-dark-mode-better-for-you-980x551

Dark Mode Activated

FNGs: none

Warm Up: SSH, Imperial Walkers, Hillbillies, Daisy Pickers, Sit Fazio Arm Circles, Seal Claps, Overhead Claps

The Workout: Thing 1: four corners

Each corner added a new exercise until we had four exercises. Then we started dropping them off. In between corners, we alternated between bear crawls and lunges.

Exercises went (15 each):
merkins
merkins, squats
merkins, squats, WWIIs
merkins, squats, WWIIs, mountain climbers
squats, WWIIs, mountain climbers
WWIIs, mountain climbers
mountain climbers

Thing 2: rocks

We moseyed over and got shmedium rocks. 3 rounds of Colt 45s, triceps, ground pounders, chest press and ruh rohs. SSH in between rounds to keep the blood moving. Returned our rocks and moseyed back for Mary.

Mary: popcorn Mary followed by a little yoga.

Announcements: Jellybeans is the new site Q at Purple Cobra! Also, Fumunga is doing a NCAA bracket, benefiting the Travis Manion Foundation.

T-Claps (Recognition): Jellybeans for taking over site Q role at Purple Cobra.

Prayer: Gatlin family (friends of Bobby’s) for the loss of their family member.

purp-cobra-moving

Purple Cobra Backblast – Brought to you by Dall-e 2 and Microsoft Bing

FNGs: NOPE

Warm Up: A short mosey around the very small parking lot

The Workout:

I was just invited to use Microsoft Bing’s new AI.  This was my first time using it. 

Here was my prompt:

Generate a story about an F3 workout called purple cobra where we ran 0.69 miles, did a workout routine called coyote ugly, a murph DORA, and stair climbs on picnic benches. Guys with named Pumpkin Spice, Woody, Snap, Hasselhoff, Brexit, Cancun, Jellybeans, Stubs, and UTI were there

And a correction I asked for…

Change the story and change the QIC to UTI, change the Coyote Ugly workout to be a wheel barrow merkin walking up the picnic table on your hands and back down again, replace the squats with LBCs, and change the 400 meter run to an out and back army crawl

This is the backblast it wrote for me, I put the questionable information in bold (you can tell it’s sourcing other backblasts posted on the internet but pretty cool!):

It was a cold and dark morning when Pumpkin Spice, Woody, Snap, Hasselhoff, Brexit, Cancun, Jellybeans, Stubs and Purple Cobra gathered at the park for an F3 workout. They were greeted by UTI, the QIC for the day. He had a wicked grin on his face as he announced the plan for the workout.

"Today we're going to do a wheel barrow merkin walking up the picnic table on your hands and back down again," he said. "Then we're going to partner up for a Murph DORA. One partner will do an out and back army crawl while the other does 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 LBCs. You switch when your partner comes back and keep going until you finish all the reps. Then we're going to finish with some stair climbs on picnic benches. You'll do 20 step-ups on each leg followed by 20 dips on each bench."

The PAX groaned as they heard the brutal workout ahead of them. They knew UTI was notorious for his challenging Qs. But they also knew that F3 was about pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone and growing stronger together.

They started with the wheel barrow merkin walking up the picnic table on your hands and back down again. UTI paired them up and instructed them how to do it: one partner holds the other's legs while he walks on his hands up one side of the table then does a merkin then walks down the other side then does another merkin then switches roles.

The PAX quickly realized that this was one of the hardest exercises they had ever done. The wheel barrow merkin walking up the picnic table on your hands and back down again was exhausting and painful on their arms chest core legs balance coordination

They encouraged each other with shouts of "You got this!" and "Almost there!" as they completed each round of wheel barrow merkins.

They also teased each other with nicknames like "Pumpkin Spice Latte", "Woody Toy Story", "Snap Chat", "Hasselhoff Knight Rider", "Brexit Britain", "Cancun Spring Break", "Jellybeans Easter", "Stubs Nubs" and "Purple Cobra Dodgeball".

They finally finished wheel barrow merkin walking up the picnic table on your hands and back down again and moved on to Murph DORA. They paired up with their buddies and grabbed a pull-up bar or a tree branch.

Murph DORA was another beast of a workout that tested their endurance and strength. The pull-ups were hard on their arms and shoulders, the push-ups were tough on their chests and triceps, and the LBCs were killer on their abs.

They cheered each other on as they did an out and back army crawl between their partners and did their reps. They also challenged each other with friendly competition like "Come on Woody! Don't let Pumpkin Spice beat you!" or "Hasselhoff! You're faster than Snap!"

They finally finished Murph DORA after what seemed like an eternity. They were dripping with sweat and panting hard.

They thought they were done but UTI had one more surprise for them.

"Alright PAX! Let's go to those picnic benches over there!" he shouted.

The PAX groaned again as they followed him to the benches.

UTI explained how to do stair climbs: step up onto one bench with one leg then bring up your other leg then step down onto another bench then repeat with your other leg then do dips by placing your hands behind you on one bench then lowering yourself until your elbows are at 90 degrees then pushing yourself back up then moving onto another bench then repeat.

The PAX did stair climbs until their legs felt like jelly and their arms felt like noodles.

They finally finished stair climbs after what felt like forever.

UTI called them into a circle of trust where they counted off said their name age F3 nickname thanked him for leading them prayed together gave announcements about upcoming workouts events community service opportunities etc

They ended with a group photo where they smiled proudly despite being tired sore dirty

They had just completed an epic F3 workout led by UTI

They had just experienced fitness fellowship faith

They had just become better men

Mary:

The AI forgot about Mary but then again I didn’t really prompt it to talk about Mary

  • Homer to Marge
  • Box Cutters
  • Flutter Kicks
  • Arm Stretches
  • Runners Pose
  • Leg and Back Stretches

Announcements:

F3SW Town Hall Meeting tonight at 7pm – Bass Lake Boat House

T-Claps (Recognition):

Brexit on an impressive finish at Wrightsville, let’s wish him luck for Tobacco Road up next in 3 weeks.

Prayer:

For all the parents out there working hard to guide our children through life.  Give us strength!

 

We didn’t actually take a photo after the workout.  So here is what dall-e 2 cooked up for me 😀

nacho

Wild Twerkey and Nacho Cheese

YHC showed up at the new Purple Cobra site at Jones Park to find Wild Turkey sitting off to the side revving his Jeep….lights pointed down to the area where we thought we might drop our cinderblocks off, but we decided on a different location. Abe had too showed up early to help scout a location for the coupons. Started running low on time before the main event. We ultimately decided to place the blocks behind the short wall on the right hand side of the playground right after the workout was over.

FNGs: None

Warm Up: SSH, Imperial Walkers, Hillbillies, Seal Claps, Overhead Claps, Moroccan Night Clubs

The Workout:

PAX moseyed over to the short wall on the right hand side of the playground. We performed 2 rounds of the following exercises: Derkins, Irkins, Dips, Bulgarian Split Squats. Added Step-ups on the 2nd round on the short wall.

We then went over to the bathroom/facilities area and completed 3 rounds of people’s chair with BTTW, plank holds, and chilcutt planks in between each round of people’s chair.

Next we went over to the rock pile to grab medium-sized rocks. Bobby Boucher picked out one of the biggest rocks I’d ever seen at an AO. Each PAX rotated in between each exercise to make sure we each got a turn with the large rock. Lots of complaining from the PAX during this portion of the ME, some due to the rocks, and some due to Bobby Boucher letting out some extremely wet gas that was dubbed as “Nacho Cheese’ by the PAX. Abe soon chimed in on the smelly fun. The exercises consisted of chest press, overhead press, ruh-rohs, skullcrushers, goblet squats, wonderbras, and curls for the girls.

Finally we went over to the bleachers beside the ball field. We split up into two groups with one group climbing to the top of the bleachers and completing various exercises while the other group stayed at the bottom and did air squats until the first group returned. Exercises at the top consisted of squats, merkins, carolina dry docks, and some weird variation of squats that Wild Turkey was doing that looked like he was trying out for an adult film. We dubbed him as Wild Twerkey during this portion…there are some things that you just can’t unsee….we also mixed in a few different methods of going up and down the bleachers such as bear crawls and crawl bear.

Back to the flag for Mary.

Mary: Popcorn consisting of LBC, WW2, Xs and Os, low slow flutter, alphabet soup spelling out N-A-C-H-O-C-H-E-E-S-E-F-A-R-T-S, Homer to Marge including single leg, and some new exercise that Pumpkin Spice picked up from Peak City – don’t know what it was called but basically like boat canoe with heels up, tap hands on the ground while keeping feet up all the way to 100. That hurt!

Announcements: Town hall at Bass Lake on Feb 28 @7pm

T-Claps (Recognition): All PAX for coming out to support the AO location change. Thanks to guys who helped move the coupons from my truck to their new home at Jones Park. Many hands make light work.

Prayer: Hasselhoff’s great uncle dealing with some heart issues, Kosher’s MIL diagnosed with breast cancer, praise for Kosher’s half sister who was approved for a kidney transplant at UNC. This now puts her on the list so that when she does find a donor match, they can complete the surgery. Bobby Boucher interviewing for potential new job that came out of the blue.

Also a reminder from YHC based on Bobby Boucher’s situation and some personal things that have happened with me lately that some of the best things come from unexpected opportunities. Reminder that God is in control and it’s HIS timing, not yours! Put your trust in Him!

YHC took us out.

img-1888~2

Oh brother, where art thou?

FNGs: Bellhop (brought to us by Jigglypuff from Carpex)

Warm Up: 0530 rolled around with no sign of Q, so Abe started things off with the warm up. Into was given to the FNG. SSH, Daisy pickers, Imperial Walkers, Hillbillies, Sure Fazio Arm Circles, Seal Claps, Overhead Claps

The Workout: Breach took over for the first part of the workout. We moseyed over to the rock pile. Let’s if heavy lifting followed by a bear crawl / push the rock and lunge back.

Next, Woody took us over to the amphitheater where things got a little tense as we squared up with the Crazy Ivan crew. Woody had us do arm and legs including step ups, dips, durkins and People’s Chair. The rounds of burpees on our way back to start.

Mary: Kosher moseyed in for Mary and to face the music. Popcorn Mary to wrap things up.

Announcements: Take care of yourselves out there, we aren’t invincible.

T-Claps (Recognition): PAX for stepping up and leading in turns.

Prayer: Wild Turkeys friend who passed away and his family.

Is it still supposed to burn after 5 years?

7 years ago – I had reached my max weight the year prior, 230 lbs.  After a friend and colleague passed away unexpectedly, I decided to train for and run in my first race ever.  The Triangle Sprint Tri.  I spent the next year biking, running, and swimming to the best of my ability – trying to prepare enough to survive the race.  I had a small group of local Tri-ers that helped me through along with some friends that also decided to race in the name of the friend we lost.

6 years ago – I had just completed the Triangle Tri, in the year prior I lost 30 lbs.  I was looking for something to keep the momentum.  I was working my way through a trial with a local CrossFit gym.  It was expensive, the people were nice but I still felt out of place.  I had started running with the Holly Springs Run Club and continued to off and on as well.  I was inconsistent and gained back 10lbs.

5 years ago – I showed up solo to my first workout at Paradise City after being EH’d only 1x several months before at a Wednesday morning Holly Springs Run Club run.  (I ran next to Deadbolt that morning).  July 24, 2017 I joined F3.

Today – I’ve lost 50 lbs since starting my fitness journey.  Much of it would never have been sustained without F3 and this community.  There are so many physical, mental, and personal challenges that I have faced because of F3 OR been more prepared for in my everyday life because of F3.  Marathons, Relays, the Pandemic, life…

The following workout closely resembles my first post Q’d by Emeril and CHiPS

FNGs: Nil

Warm Up:

  • Fellowship Run
  • Fast Feet on the Curb and switch
  • Carioca and switch
  • Circle Up
    • Windmills to 15
    • SSH to 50
    • Good Mornings to 10

The Workout:

Thang 1
Parking lot – B O M B S
Partner up. Pax 1 does exercise while Pax 2 runs to middle of parking lot.
Swap out and continue the exercise until each amount of reps are complete.
The exercises and reps are: 50- Burpees / 100- Overhead Claps / 150- Merkins / 200- LBC’s / 250- Squats.

 

Thang 2

Trio’s at the ramp. Partner A wheelbarrows Partner B. Partner C performs 5 Burpees and then sprints to catch the pair. Partner C then wheelbarrows Partner A. Partner B performs the 5 burpees and then sprints to catch the pair. Partner B then wheelbarrows Partner C. And so on and so forth until the Q says to stop

Mary: Pickle Pounders, Homer to Marge, Pigeon Pose, Runners Pose

Announcements: Picnic this weekend, Derek Davis 5k

T-Claps (Recognition):  Thanks to F3 and F3 South Wake for being here.  I didn’t know I needed this but I needed this.  I appreciate everything this community has done for me personally and what I know it is and continues to be for all of us.  Keep grinding.

Prayer:

CHiPS delivered these at my first post, still fit today as you imagine they might coming from the good book.

  • Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in face you are doing.

 

5 years ago our big community was much smaller. EC didnt exist, our group fitness target was the HSHM, At best we had one AO a day. We keep getting bigger, we keep getting stronger in many ways. Keep picking up the 6 core to what you do and who we are. Let us get bigger, but keep your small tribes moving too.  -UTI

 

——————————————–ORIGINAL BACKBLAST FROM FACEBOOK————————————————

July 24, 2017
PAX of 33 showed up to muggy sweaty Paradise City.
PAX: Pikachu, Jeter, Buford, Blue Hen, Roger Roger, Deadbolt, Baywatch, Sausage Party, Bluewater, Tofu, Big Perm, Chipshot, Java, Backpage, Dog Pound, Foghorn, Nemo, Patch, Moby, Yellow Card, Slappy, Icing, Happy Trees, Midget for Life, Sliderule, Slidetech, Anthrax,
FNG UTI
2.0 FNG’s Hulk, Messi, Stryker
SSH x 20, Windmills x10
WARM-UP on the jog
Sidesteps both sides, fast feet on the curb. 10 slow merkins
Parking lot – B O M B S
Similar to Dora 1-2-3 but more exercises. Partner up. Pax 1 does exercise while Pax 2 runs to middle of parking lot. Swap out and continue the exercise until each amount of reps are complete. The exercises and reps are: 50- Burpees / 100- Overhead Claps / 150- Merkins / 200- LBC’s / 250- Squats.
Trio’s at the ramp. Partner A partner carries Partner B. Partner C performs 5 Burpees and then sprints to catch the pair. Partner C then partner carries Partner A. Partner B performs the 5 burpees and then sprints to catch the pair. Partner B then partner carries Partner C. Partner A performs the called number of the called exercise and then sprints to catch the pair. Up the ramp to tennis courts.
From Tennis courts to Bball court – Start with 5 burpees, 10 lunge each leg while walking, 15 imperial walker each side while walking, 20 merkins, 25 plank jacks. Mosey to the bball court for Mary.
15 each Freddie Mercury, Low slow flutter, Homer to Marge
10 each Hillbillies, 9 Good Mornings
COT
Arena – Need shoes size 10-11. Bring them to Owais or join him on Fridays at 2:30 for a workout
Raleigh Rescue Mission – Owais working to set up 2 days of feeding the homeless. More info to come
Holly Springs ½ Marathon – Lot of South Wake guys running in it. Join up as training will start soon.
PRAYERS:
CHiPS – Prayers for guidance to his nephew.
Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in face you are doing.

All Aboard the Warbucks Express

FNGs: Welcome Alpo!

Warm Up:
Mountain climbers, merkins, windmills, good mornings, sir fazio arm circles.

The Workout:
Broken wheelbarrow 1:4 merkin:wheelbarrow step ratio up to 10:40 completed by partners. 1 burpee each time PAX switched up to 5. Squats while we waited for the 6.

Circled up for howling monkeys followed by 20 merkins. We did this twice.

Mosey’d to rock pile and grabbed medium rock. Cusacked it to the parking lot passed traffic circle for some rock work. 20 count of rut rows, curls, squat press then pushed rocks while bear crawling across lot. Then did 20 count of rock swings, ground pounders, and rock hinges and lunge walked back for overhead press, tricep ext, squats. Returned rocks and mosey’d back to the flag for Mary.

Mary:
Heel taps, LSF, homer to marge, plankorama, downward dog, toe touch.

Announcements: Picnic 7/30, 1776 workout next week.

T-Claps (Recognition): strong work by all this morning.

Prayer: UTI, Fanny Pack, Hasselhoff’s mom, Alpine. YHC took us out

Sweaty 2 miles

Warm Up: SSH, sir Fozzy, GM, imperial walker
The Workout: various stops throughout the park. BTW, preachers chair, LBC, Merkin. Erkins Durkin Dips X2, up and around the stairs, lol slow flutter, prisoner squat.

four corners in the big lot, 20 WWII, 15 Merkin, 10 squats, five Burpee OYO.
Mary: Homer to March, box cutter
Announcements: see slack
T-Claps (Recognition): Mookie for being 110%
Prayer: stubs, lipstick, slide rule

Loops around Sunset Lake Commons

FNGs: Dr. Feelgood, Ponch
Warm Up: Side Straddle Hop, Imperial Walkers, Hillbillies, Good Mornings, Sir Fozio Arm Circles / Seal Claps / Overhead Claps
The Workout: The name of the game today was String-o-Pearls. Mosey, stop, exercise, continue. We took a trip around the Harris Teeter shopping area while following a pattern of upper / core / lower exercises (merkins, WWIIs, squats, etc). 20 reps each stop. We did also stop for People’s Chair (10 count down the line for a total of 140 count) and Balls-to-the-Wall (5 count for a total of 70). 1.5 miles completed along the way.
Mary: More WWIIs, Dying Cockroaches, Homer-to-Marge and Mountain Climbers. Finished up with some yoga. Ended a bit early to make time for the FNGs.
Announcements: Get on that meal train for Stubs! (see Slack for details)
T-Claps (Recognition): Dr. Feelgood and Ponch for coming out to their first F3 workout. Hope to see you guys again soon!
Prayer: Stubs and his family, Sand Crab’s friend (new baby)

When do we get to do some running?

FNGs: none
Warm Up: Mosey out to Raleigh St and back. Side Straddle Hops, Good Mornings, Imperial Walkers / Hillbillies, Sir Fazio Arm Circles / Seal Claps / Overhead Claps / Moroccan Night Clubs.
The Workout: Moseyed down to the Block on Main and circled up in the underground lot. YHC called out 7s with Australian Pull Ups down under (get it?) and Lunges up top. Next were 11s in the amphitheater. Merkins at the bottom, LBCs at the top. Wrapped things up with a mosey past Pace Yourself back to start.
Mary: 25 WWIIs, 25 Shoulder Taps, 25 Mountain Climbers, 10 American Hammers. Ended with some quick yoga.
Announcements: none today
T-Claps (Recognition): All of the Respect PAX out this morning!
Prayer: Slide Rule’s family, Stubs, 3 Alarm, FedEx’s M’s friend

Cletus: Yogurt 4 yr & 57 yr – Takin’ Care of Business

EC: Abe, Alpine, Bleeder, Cupid, Lipstick, Skidmark, Pikachu, UTI. In May 2018, @Skidmark invited me to an F3 workout. Probably the easiest headlock ever. On May 13, 2022, 27 men posted to celebrate my 4 years of F3 and 57 years of life. When we came rolling in from EC at 5:27 am, I was overwhelmed by more than two dozen men, circled up, ready to go.

Special invitation: Yogi, who was at my first workout. When it was time for my F3 name, after fruitless discussion around Raleigh native, environmental worker, and more, I got the “What was your first concert?” question. Answer: BTO, you know, Bachman Turner Overdrive, who sing, Takin’ Care of Business. Dorton Arena, ~1975. Yeah, Yogi chimed in, Takin’ Care of Business – TCoB! Slide Rule heard “TCB” and immediately thought TCBY – The Country’s Best Yogurt. Ok, your name is YOGURT!

Warmup: 1) Run to top of Ivan lot. 2) Circle up for 57 SSHs. Count off: 27! 3) Mosey to amphitheater lawn area. 4) Jack Webbs to 30; 19 pickle pounders, 19 squats, 19 Catalina wine mixers. (19 x 3 = 57) 5)  Mosey up to greenway, on your six. Guantanamo. Wide range of pushes from nice and easy to brutal by Pikachu. Long time to circulate 27 PAX. Mosey to truck to pick up gloves. Note: Should have picked up speaker too! Mosey to rock pile. Each PAX grab a rock.

During the workout, I missed several counts and received much-deserved grilling. During my days of Q’ing Cletus, I was never known for counting.

The Thang 1: Count off in 1s and 2s. Simple exercise – 1s bear crawl to top of parking lot and back, while pushing your rock. 2s do AMRAP curls for the girls (Round 1), rut rohs (Round 2), prisoner squats (Round 3).

The Thang 2: Circle up in “grassy” lot. Similar to Banana Seat’s and Pikachu’s AC/DC Thunderstruck workout, I used Takin’ Care of Business as the song and we did a burpee with every “Takin’ Care of Business.” That’s 27 (compared to 31 for Thunderstruck). Volume was way too low, so yes, should have grabbed speaker while at truck. Anyway, everyone grilled me for that.

Mary: Circle up on tennis courts, where it all began. Big boy sit-ups, Pickle pounders, Box cutters, Protractor. Have a nice day.

Announcements: #Junechallenge and more on Slack. Highlighter running for Congress.

Prayer requests: Yogi prepared a list of goals at the suggestion of his pastor. Boy George selling house and moving family. Highlighter pointed out those who need help mentally may not be reaching out. Find them.

Message: Thanks for all the F3 support over the years. It’s a real privilege to be part of this group. Each one of you has been a positive influence in some way. Thanks for keeping the F3 SouthWake standard high. F3 is the real gift.