Tag Archive for: Woody

U-Turn 5-13-2023

Respect The 1st F

/in /by

Warm-Up: Warm Up: Good mornings 10x to stretch out; 58 SSHs to recognize my 58 years of the good life.

The Workout: 5.8 mile run based on the Original U-Turn route: Irving, Thomas Mill, Green Oaks, Ballentine, Elm, Main, Holly Springs Road, Sprint to Starbucks

COT Message:

  1. Respect the 1st F. If you are a site Q, if you leading workouts, if you regularly attend a workout, then you should be flying an F3 flag. Why? The mission of F3 is to plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership. Planting a flag at your workout is a metaphor for that mission. Without a flag, we’re just a bunch of guys working out together. Respect the 1st F, fly your flag, give others the opportunity to experience F3.
  2. Don’t wait until you’re in your 50s to develop an exit strategy for work. If we’re all lucky, we’ll live to be 90 years old. Do you want to work beyond your 50s or 60s? I don’t, at least not tied to a desk. Make a plan now.
  3. Don’t wait until your in your 50s to find Jesus. Turn your life over to Him now and your life will be much more peaceful.

Announcements: Udder has a bib to give for a half marathon in Umstead for next weekend.

T-Claps (Recognition): none called out today

Prayer: Safety to Redenbacher, who’s taking a deep underwater dive in Florida today. Strength and safety to Bobby Boucher, Gator, who are knocking out the New River Marathon near Boone today.

Second F: Panera. I brought a box of fresh strawberries from Miss Madison’s Strawberries. You can find one of their stands on the corner of Bass Lake Road/Hilltop Needmore and Sunset Lake Road (you know, the Citgo station). These strawberries were delicious.

Bottom Line: This was a great way to kick off my birthday. I really appreciate everyone coming out–I know many of you adjusted your runs and plans to be there, so THANK YOU! And I appreciate all the kind words and support throughout the day. Now, go build yourself an F3 flag and fly it!

UvU DORA at DTT

/in /by

FNGs: Nope

Warm Up: Good mornings, SSH, Moroccan Night Clubs, Sir Fazio F/R, Seal Claps, Overhead Claps

Moseyed to far end of parking deck.

The Workout:

A you vs you DORA. Complete 50 Merkins, 100 LBC IC, 150 squats, AMRAP each set, run to top of stairwell and back between each set, back down. PAX decided to stay together for counts to push each other and keep mumblechatter going.

After complete, did BTTW x20 each PAX, people’s chair x20 each PAX.

Moseyed to rock pile abs grabbed a medium rock. Completed chest press, skullcrushers, curls for the girls, overhead press, ruh rohs.

Mosey back to flag.

Mary: Homer to Marge, Box cutters, low slow flutter, low slow flutter again, American hammers, and a little light yoga/stretching to finish it out.

Announcements: Davis (3-Alarm) birthday coming up

T-Claps (Recognition): All of the guys who did the smoky mountain relay, guys who pushed 3alarm and Wolfie this weekend at spring classic, all volunteers too.

Prayer: Boucher’s friend John who lost his dad to cancer

YHC took us out.

IMG_7998

Field Trip to West Lake Middle

/in /by

Got to Disney a couple min before 05:30. The Fellas were warming up and finishing up their EC’s. I brought my pup Sullivan previously known as PoopEater 2.0 joined the warm up circle and we kicked things off.

Warmup
  • sir fazio’s
  • Good mornings
  • Imperial walkers
  • Mtn Climbers
Workout (5 rounds)
  • 16 hang clean jerks
  • 8 goblets
  • 4 burpees with a hop over
  • 1 lap around the track (400m)
Mary
  • dead bugs
  • Boat canoe
  • Pickle pounders
  • LBC’s

Announcements

  • Holly Springs Classic is coming up and we are looking for fellow PAX to step up and join the cause. We will be handing out water and helping out in other ways.
  • PoopEater 2.0 was renamed at the end of the workout. His proper name now is BlueSuede

Prayer

  • Pray for Davis.

So many WWIIs

/in /by

FNGs: Nope

Warm Up:  SSH, windmill, good morning, sir fazio arm circles, frankenstein, slo-mo merkins

The Workout:  Super lazy copy and paste from a workout Abe ran here last year.  Starting from the parking lot, made our way down the greenway, stopping at every other light pole for an exercise.  Upper, Lower, Core, repeato. 

For upper, we either did a merkin sampler (5 standard, 5 wide grip, 5 diamond), or Carolina Dry Docks. 

Lower we alternated between standard squats and jump squats (Squat down, touch the ground with both hands outside the feet, then spring up to a jump).

Core was only WWIIs.  I wanted to max these out for some reason.  Mission accomplished. 

Mary:  Not much time left, so we did box cutters and LBCs…I think that’s it.

Announcements:  Nope

Prayer:  My M in her job search

Death by Dips

/in /by

YHC took an opportunity to jump back in the Q circle today aboard the Train! Have struggled for months with physical/health issues and I just got cleared a few days ago to work out again, so I figured…”why not?’

FNGs: Nada

Warm Up: Good Mornings, Fazio’s, Imperial Walkers, Frankenstein

The Workout: A short mosey to the hallway between parking deck and Main. 10/15/20 Dips, 10/15, 20 mountain Climbers IC. Then we moseyed on don to the parking garage for some DORA.

DORA consisted of 100 Hand-Release Shoulder Tap Merkins, 200 Monkey Humper IC, and 300 LBC. Partners ran the stairs up to do 10 more dips each pass.

Wall Work consisted of 2 rounds of People’s chair, while the end PAX bear crawled to the end of the line.

We took a quick mosey over to the small rock pile in the main lot. 4 PAX did AMRAP chest press, while the other 3 PAX rotated to complete 3-Man Rows (ie. 2 men stand as the base while the other lies down and does inverted row). 2 rounds of this and more on this later.

Mary: Supermans, shoulder roll stretches, Cobra Stretch.

Announcements: Like the exercise mentioned above, our job as the men of F3 is to pick eachother up when we are down. Many PAX during the last many months for YHC have reached out and have my sincere thanks as YHC has not been the best version of himself for months now. Our job in F3 is to pick up the six, never leave someone behind, and help eachother do things we don’t think we can do.

T-Claps (Recognition):

Prayer: Woody’s M has some promising job prospects on the line. Pumpkin Spice has kids with need for safe travel. 16-Bit, his family and kids with various things going on. YHC for continued clarity on health situation, good results, and strength to bite down and move forward.

2023 F3SW TownHall

2023 F3 South Wake Town Hall

/in /by
BREACH INTRO

Ground Rules for the Meeting – Show Respect to everyone, Let each other talk, be kind

F3 Core Principles were reviewed
 
Everyone asked to remember our WHY
 
Rough Spots Addressed Up Front – Based on Breach conversations with PAX to this point since becoming Nantan for SW
  • Breathtaker – Seen by some as a measuring contest that was limited to those with the budgets to participate
  • Covid – Division based on and still present since F3 SW AO shutdown
  • June/May Challenge – Competition/Points/Rules – PAX pushing themselves rubbed some the wrong way
Let’s use this opportunity here to discuss our perspectives, work on fixing things, and move on.
 
OPEN DISCUSSION
 
What’s the Problem/Solutions?
  • Pre-covid – more comradery, more community, more supportive.  AOs started despite the shutdown
    • Should we have more convergences to bring a larger group of PAX together more often?
    • Growing number of workouts happening at set dates/times weekly that aren’t on the website, not pre-blasted, don’t present themselves as open to all (undisclosed)
      • Concern raised about FNGs going to these undisclosed workouts, are they being introduced to the greater F3 South Wake?
      • Concern raised about a lack of time shared with PAX that only go to undisclosed workouts
    • Point Countered – some have moved away from Social Media including Slack making it harder to share with a wide audience but noted that there are still some that go to 
    • It was discussed that we have ~472 PAX listed on the website, it was estimated that we have ~100 Active PAX in reality with a split of about 20 in FV / 18 “BlackOps” / 40 HS
      • Feeling was that we are losing PAX, folks are falling out, and our division can lead to the feeling that we are lacking in community
      • It was countered that covid or not, this has always been the case.  People decide F3 isnt for them, cold weather, hot weather, life happens, injuries, it’s always in flux
      • The PAX that arent showing up are opportunities for us to continue reaching out and staying in touch – growing 2nd and 3rd F would mean avoiding losing PAX to injury or workout related reasons for not showing up.
      • Lots of good growth and FNGs joining us all the time – great leadership coming from them too.
  • We used to be more grass roots, less structured – No one person calling the shots
    • Lot’s of rules being dictated down from the leadership team, should we remove leadership and be more FREED TO LEAD?
    • Point countered
      • Leadership team is a model that exists throughout the nation.  Part of what F3 is
      • No dictators in the leadership team just FREED TO LEAD PAX trying to help set examples around the Fs
      • Other than Covid there have been no rules or mandates passed down nor should any one F3 person be able to do so.
      • As in Covid, it was suggested that F3 not officially meet in alignment with national and state laws – black ops AOs popped up, no one stopped them.
  • Transitioned to a run club, covid spurred more running for all PAX and it’s continued
    • Bootcamps are pushing 3+ miles, R4TJ is pushing 9-10 miles
      • Was told that if you don’t expect to bring 3 mile minimum to Paradise City, don’t expect to Q by Site Q
    • Point countered re:mileage
      • Strava shows more experienced runners ‘picking up the six’ for greater mileage at AOs
      • Paradise City is listed as a high intensity workout with a 3 mile min expectation every week
    • BREACH:
      • Reviewing website listings to ensure clarity on what bootcamps vs running vs high intensity means
      • Conversations with Site Qs around working to maintain a standard depending on the expectation bootcamps should be less than 2mi, shovel flags, Q School, etc
  • Did we grow too fast?  Should we consider shutting down some AOs?
    • Discussion in the room resulted in the idea that AOs should self-govern, Site Qs should take responsibility/decision to officially close it down based on lack of attendance/Qs
  • We need to plant shovel flags more often
    • Site Qs need to take responsibility for planting a flag
    • It was suggested that we should have a 2nd F for making shovel flags – DOC and VIDEO examples – these are all over the internet
  • We need to keep up with BackBlasts
    • These are maybe largely unseen but a valuable resource for FNGs learning about F3 and eventually running their own Qs
    • Can be valuable to PAX going to a new/different AO to get a sense of what typically happens there.
    • Can be valuable to PAX Qing an AO for the first time
    • BackBlast Generator is now available to make it easier – Ask SoftServe for a website login if you dont already have one.
  • 2nd F
    • Is in a good place – Coffee is shared almost daily and regularly
    • It was asked that there be more emphasis on sticking around after COT if possible, 2nd F can be open to more with a few more minutes in the lot
    • More social events?  Rush Hour Karting was suggested recently, talk of a 75 Hard BBQ Celebration
      • Need more leadership in planning events, just like 1st this is a leadership opportunity
      • Doesn’t have to be well thought out or planned – Pick up BB games, Disc Golf, whatever you’re into just invite others if you are looking for people to hang with.
  • 3rd F
    • We have always been great about stepping up and taking care of our own – family hardships, celebrating new 2.0s, moves, etc
    • HS Food Cupboard is still out there but they are getting alot of support from the Boy Scouts, less needs for us at the moment
    • Holly Springs and Fuquay Town partnerships have been good for F3 SW
      • Can we shift our relationship to be less about manual labor?  What else can we offer?  Professional Services?
      • It was pointed out that things like HollyFest have been great for bringing FNGs to Fuquay
      • FV PAX were set to be at CelebrateFV but it was cancelled due to weather in 2022
      • We are listed as a free exercise class in Fuquay Parks and Rec – has brought FNGs and made our workouts officially sanctioned by the town so we won’t be kicked out of parks.
    • School Partnerships to find more 3rd F opportunities, improve our relationships there as well
      • Will likely need to find local school leaders – NutCracker has had the Principal at a workout before 😀
    • Parade Participation?
    • Abe is our 3rd F Q
      • Reach out if you need support with any ideas on 3rd F leadership opportunities.
      • Freed to lead, we need leadership in 3rd F and 2nd F like we have in 1st.  If you see something worth doing go after it.
    • 3rd F is organic and is best limited to 3-5 guys, shared bible study or book study
    • Doesn’t just have to be about doing physical good, it’s about spiritual good as well.  Great examples out there today on this too.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
  • We can’t force our way back to the way things were.  Things Change.
  • Intentionality.  We should still figure out who we want to be as a region and individuals and work towards it.
  • Negativity spawns negativity – we need to be mindful of how we talk to one another.  Especially on Slack where inside jokes and playful banter can be taken the wrong way.  
  • Slack – Think your messages through and recognize when in-person, phone, or direct text messages to smaller groups are warranted.
  • If you aren’t adhering to the F3 Core Principles, you aren’t running or attending an F3 workout.
purp-cobra-moving

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

/in /by

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 😀

Broken strap on

/in /by

FNGs: No

Warm Up: The usual

The Workout: 7’s on the hill, squats & star jumps.  Then PAX grabbed coupons, headed to the parking lot and set up Six stations: merkin, lbc, dips, curls, lbc, shoulder press.  

6 PAX exercised while 7th pax was the timer – pulling Quadzilla from a predetermined start line, to a predetermined turnaround (approx 30 yards), and finish at the start line.  3 full rounds were completed by each PAX.  Fun times

Mary:  side hip raise, then some others that ive forgotten

Announcements:

T-Claps (Recognition):

Prayer:

img-1888~2

Oh brother, where art thou?

/in /by

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.

U-Turn Segment Challenge – Use Segments to Get Stronger, Faster, Smarter

/in /by

15 PAX ran the 12 Oaks Route, regular direction. That’s counterclockwise. Here’s today’s challenge: Pick a Strava segment along this route and see what you got. Using Strava’s segments, you can not only find out how you are doing against your peers (U vs. them), but you can also find out how you’re doing versus yourself (U vs. U).

Strava is full of segments. A segment is simply run (or ride) that goes from Point A to Point B. When you run the segment, Strava automatically records your run. Ever notice your Achievements on Strava? Could be your fastest mile, 5k, 10k, marathon or whatever. It can also be your best performance (PR) on a Strava segment.

Today, I identified three segments on the the U-Turn – Twelve Oaks Route (a segment in itself) and challenged PAX to lay down their fastest time:

  • 12 Oaks to Irving Pkwy (1.33 miles along Green Oaks Pkwy from New Hill Rd to Irving Pkwy)
  • Irving Pkwy Roller Coaster Hills (0.46 miles up/down Irving Pkwy)
  • Sprint to Starbucks (0.31 miles from shopping center entrance, right turn to Starbucks)

During the run, 187 coached Moose on the Climb out of 12 Oaks segment. Moose jumped into the Top 10, claiming 8th spot (6:30 pace uphill!). I saw @Pikachu take off on the Sprint to Starbucks. Already a Top 10 finisher there, he didn’t shuffle the Top 10, but he did get his third fastest time 5:07 pace!). @Woody laid down PRs without even trying!

In the end, Strava revealed Segment PRs for @Dawgpound @TomTom @Woody @187 and significant Achievements for @Dahmer @Pikachu and @Moose. Great work fellas!

Again, you don’t have to bust the Top 10! But, you can see how you are doing over time. Feeling strong? Tackle a segment along your run. How did you do? As an added bonus, every time you run a segment, you are essentially doing interval training, which leads to you getting stronger, faster, smarter.

Announcements: Pikchu’s church Oasis holds its first Sunday Service this weekend in the new building.

Prayer Requests: Injured PAX.

Like many of you, I’m trying to improve in 2023. On thing I’m doing is reading the book, Jesus Calling, a daily reader. I thought everyone could benefit from a passage I read this week. I read that as part of the closing prayer. See image below.