Author: Fastball

  • Soybean’s Red Stick Beatdown

    By: Soybean (F3 Memphis)

    The Scene:  The Knoll

    Conditions: 50* and perfect.

     

    Fastball and YHC arrived at the Knoll at 0645 to scope it out. There were some people setting up tents and cauldrons (?) for a party of some sort. F3 parties are a little different, so we went yogging to find an expanse of wet grass and a stash of CMUs. When we got back to the starting point, there were more tents/cauldrons and a handful of eager-looking 25-55 year-old men. We exchanged pleasantries, wondered aloud if the jambalaya was for us (apparently they cook it in huge cast iron pots like witches), then, oh look!, it’s 0659. By the time we formed a haphazard circle, it was 0700.

     

    Welcome

    Disclaimer

     

    I am not a professional

    You are participating at your own risk

    You are responsible for your own well-being

    You are here voluntarily, and you are not paying to be here

    Know your limits and do the best you can; all exercises are suggestions and can be modified

     

    Warm-a-Rama:

    SSH x20

    Imperial Walkers x15 (should’ve demonstrated that one…)

    Lil mosey to pick up the extra CMUs we needed and back to the start.

     

    The Thang: 

    YHC had the distinct pleasure of introducing the Red Stick PAX to Flora 1-2-3.

    PAX partnered up with their CMUs, and completed the following:
    100 Derkins (P1 does 10 while P2 holds decline plank; flapjack until the couple reaches 100)
    200 LBCs (holding CMU on chest or above head, P1 does 20; P2 holds legs at 6” with CMU above head; flapjack to 200)
    300 Goblet Squats (P1 does 25 while P2 holds Al Gore with coupon; flapjack to 300)

    Next, to the dismay of many, we did an Indian run for about a quarter mile, down a hill, and onto a damp expanse. The expanse is in the middle of a Frisbee golf course, and there were two dudes playing at 0700!

    Burpee Catch-Me-If-You-Can
    Same partners as before. P1 backpedals down the field. P2 does 3 burpees, then sprints to catch P1. Upon catching P1, P2 backpedals and P1 does burpees. Etc. Four rounds, with BBSU mixed in for the pairs that got done first.

    Mosey back to the start point.

    PAX lined up with their CMUs, shovel flag planted about 15 yards opposite. YHC demonstrated the bear block (bear crawl, pulling CMU forward). Then we did…
    Curls x20 – bear block 15 yd
    OH press x20 – bear block back
    Curl x15 – bear block
    OH press x15 – bear block
    Curl x10 – bear block
    OH press x10 – bear block

    Tank Tread: PAX line up in boat pose, alternating directions. We passed 3 CMUs down the line, and the guy at the end ran to the front with the CMU.

    Mary:

    Triple Crush OYO x20 (CMU curl to overhead press to skull crusher)
    American Hammer IC x15
    Triple Crush OYO x15
    American Hammer IC x15

    We had a couple minutes left, so I turned it over to the Baton Rouge PAX:
    Topanga – leg raises x20
    Big Easy – LBCs x30? 40? Lots of groans from the PAX when he never stopped going!
    30 sec plank until 0800

    Count-o-Rama

    Name-o-Rama

    COT / BOM:

    YHC shared a quote from the Q Source about Disruption. “Leaders influence movement to advantage…Because it induces movement, leadership causes disruption.”

    “If a man calls himself a leader but does not cause Disruption by initiating movement, then he is not practicing leadership. He might be doing something else, like managing or engaging in politics, but he is not leading. He is a leader in name only until people begin to follow him to an advantageous place that he has visualized and articulated to them. A leader influences movement to advantage.”

    You can read the whole article here: https://f3nation.com/2017/11/26/disruption-f-1/
    The Q Source index: https://f3nation.com/q-source-index/

    Prayers for Money Cat’s daughters’ relationship, Duracell’s wife’s family in the loss of her aunt

    Announcements:

    **Shameless plug** F3 Memphis is hosting GrowRuck 12 in September this year. This is a weekend-long event that combines all 3 F’s with PAX from all over the South. Dredd and OBT, the founders of F3, will be there to lead a workout and leadership class. Then Saturday night, we’ll do a GORUCK Tough event together. It’s an incredible chance to grow personally and with the PAX. Get in touch with Soybean if you want more details.

     

  • Stairways and Tunnels of Fun

    The Scene:  The Colosseum

    Conditions: Early. Cool. Breezy. Gloom.

    Welcome

    Disclaimer

    Warm-a-Rama:

    Worms still had the flag held hostage, so we met where we felt the flag would be.  It was early and cool, so we got warm by doing the following:

    • Capri Lap – a little mosey. We ran to a little hill near Perkins Road. There was actual light here.
    • SSH – 20x
    • Butt Kicks – 20x
    • High Knees – 15x
    • Al Gores – 10X.
    • Merkins – 10x
    • Bobby Hurleys – 10x
    • Burpees – 5

    The Thang: 

    Perkins Road was a little loud, so we ran over to another little spot under a tree. With no light. While there, we found the sand volleyball court. It was tempting, but we stuck to the script (maybe next time).

    • 30 Al Gores
    • 30 Lunges
    • 30 Merkins
    • 30 LBCs – We all sat on our 6, nervous that we were about to sit on an ant pile. Rumor has it that everyone made it out ok.

    We then moseyed back to normal spot near playground. We did a mix-up version of stairway to 7 (or stairway to hell, as Rocket calls it).  We ran from parking lot to driveway. Once there, did 1 burpee.  Then ran back for 5 Merkins. Ascended to 5 burpees and descended to 1 merkin.  T-Claps to Topanga and Duracell for running at top speed, while talking somehow.

    Finished with a little Tunnel of Love.  After what seemed like 10 minutes, we looked at our progress and it appeared we had only moved about 10 yards. Shoulders were burning.  Definitely feeling the love. So we spaced out our tunnel.  Finished strong.

    It was fun.

    Mary:

    Everyone led a Mary exercise:

    • Fastball – American Hammers – 20 count
    • Dagwood – Leg Lift – 20
    • Shangeaux – Jane Fondas (or “Our Sweet Jane” as Shangeaux called it) – 12x
    • Rocket- Jane Fonda (change over)
    • Topanga – Instead of ABCs, we spelled out Josh Black.
    • Duracell – Bicycles – 20x
    • Big Easy – LBCs – 25x

     

    Count-o-Rama

    Name-o-Rama

    COT / BOM:

    Praise – Duracell’s relative Rebecca is cancer free! She has young children and has been fighting it for some time. Praise God!

    Announcements:

     

     

     

     

  • Stormed the Knoll

    The Scene:  The Knoll

    Conditions: Ominous.

    Welcome

    Disclaimer

    Warm-a-Rama:

    Seeing how the convergence on the North Shore was taking place at the same time, the JV team stayed back and “Stormed the Knoll.”

    • Capri Lap – a little mosey.
    • SSH – 10x
    • Al Gores – 10X.
    • Merkins – 10x
    • Goofball – 10x
    • Burpees – 5

    The Thang: 

    With Tornado warnings out, we thought it would be a good idea to workout together in an open park.  And because we’re men, and this is the USA, we did.  It went like this:

    The PAX moseyed to sundial. Formed circle and performed a little arm and leg circuit.

    • 20 Merkins
    • 12 Freak Nastys
    • 20 Incline Merkins
    • 12 Freak Nastys
    • 20 Derkins
    • 10 Freak Nastys
    • 30 Al Gores
    • 30 Lunges
    • 20 Step-ups
    • 20 Box jumps

    We then went on a little mosey.  But ended back at the sundial (easier access to shelter).

    We then did my favorite.  Partnered up and did Col Trautman.  One partner runs from sundial to pull-up bars and does 5. While the other did AMRAP of the following:

    A – Arms – Freak Nastys

    L – Legs – Al Gores

    A – Abs – LBCs

    M – M workout – Merkins

    P – P workout – Planks

    We then did a couple group exercises. We broke the field into thirds and did the following:

    1. Tunnel of Love – with only 5 PAX, this was a lot of crawling.
    2. Plank Snake – a lot of running.
    3. Bridge of Hate – So this was a new one. We all laid on our backs side by side. One person then laid down (backwards… which is important… like a trust fall) and then gets passed along by the PAX. Like crowd surfing.  Dagwood was first one up. Long story short, this ended quickly and Dagwood may have been violated. We do hope he shows up again and doesn’t press charges.

    Mary:

    With the ominous clouds still a brewing, we did our Marys:

    • LBCs 20x
    • Jane Fondas – 10x each leg
    • Leg Lifts
    • American Hammers

    Count-o-Rama

    Name-o-Rama

    COT / BOM:

    Announcements:

    Coffeeteria:

    We ordered our food and coffee. Shangeaux showed up to fellowship. Then those ominous clouds broke loose. The electricity went out (as a tornado touched down about 2 miles away). The millennial baristas were frazzled. They closed the store and went into the back of store to take cover. But the PAX stayed in the cafe, sipping our coffee, and talking about life.  Shangeaux gave some nice advice on parenting, and also explained to us how he has the best job. Ask him about it. Power came on.  Back to being men, serving our homes and community.

     

     

     

     

  • The Sultan of Squat

    The Scene: The Knoll

    Conditions: Cool. Calm. Swampy.

    Welcome

    Disclaimer

    Warm-a-Rama:

    Prior to starting, we had a couple PAX with some interesting items: Money Cat with a Chocolate syrup bottle and Missile Toes with Rotating Push-up Bars. But, whatever, it was 0700, so we just got started. We did a little mosey and ended at some random spot in the grass. Then did the following to get ready for the big game:

    · SSH – 20x

    · Goofball- 15x

    · Bobby Hurley’s – 15x

    · Merkins – 15x

    · Al Gores – 15x

    · Burpees – 6

    We then ran backwards to sundial. Not sure why we ran backwards, but we did.

    The Thang:

    MLB’s Opening Day was this past Thursday. Seeing how Baseball is America’s pastime, we had to celebrate accordingly.

    1. Hit For the Cycle – We got into a circle at the Sundial, and started our attempt to hit for the cycle. Twice.

    · Slowjangle Biscuit (lunges in a circle) – 40x. This was our Homerun.

    · Al Gores – 30x. Triple. My legs and the fellas were mad at me. Dagwood feared I was broken and just stuck on repeat cause I just kept counting and counting and counting.

    · Merkins – 20x. Our double.

    · Freak Nastys. – 10x Our single.

    · Burpees – 5x. This has nothing to do with the cycle or baseball. But we did it just because.

    · Freak Nastys – 10x

    · Merkins – 20x

    · Al Gores – 30x.

    · Slowjangle Biscuit – 40x. At around 28, Shangeaux threw is glove at me in protest and in anger. Typical soccer player.

    2. Foul Poles – We then mosey’d across Highland Road to the baseball fields. We partnered up. One partner jogged around the fence (well, where we would assume a fence would be) from foul pole to foul pole (well, where we would assume a foul pole would be), and then sprinted back, across the outfield back to beginning foul pole. Other partner did AMRAP of assigned exercise. We did this 5 times, while doing merkins, Al Gores, LBCs, Merkins, Al Gores. We found out pretty quickly this field doesn’t drain well, and that most of the PAX aren’t baseball fans. It was a sad moment. So, I encouraged everyone to watch the Sandlot.

    3. Curse of the Bambino– We then ran to home plate. We circled up and planked, while one partner ran around the bases (well, where we would assume bases would be) for a Homerun. Once he made it home, we all did 1 merkin together. Then next guy ran, and then we did 2 merkins together. We worked our way up until we all hit a Homerun. YHC failed to tell everyone the goal was an inside-the-park homerun. So, Worms started us off with a nice Homerun trot that would make The Great Bambino proud. Dagwood got the memo and showed us his speed and slid into home plate. Unfortunately, he wasted his life playing soccer. Money Cat did swing his Choclate Syrup Bottle, which ended up being his water bottle for the day, and Missle Toes did use his push-up bars for all merkins, which is amazing.

    Mary:

    We mosey’d back to some random spot in the grass near the flag. We each led a Mary.

    · Fastball – LBCs 20x

    · Rocket – Jane Fondas – 10x each leg.

    · Dagwood – American Hammers – 30 count. I’m glad I wasn’t counting this one, cause I was in pain.

    · Workhorse – Leg Lifts – 20x. Workhorse also did these with his hands behind his head like a real man.

    Count-o-Rama

    Name-o-Rama

    Welcome – Big Easy

    COT / BOM:

    Two praises: 1. MoneyCat winning his office Easter Basket Contest with an F3 box and winning a fitbit. 2. Worms becoming an Aggie Fan! His son got a full ride scholarship. YHC closed us.

    Announcements:

    04BA2130-8C08-43D5-B8D9-8578C8DD5C15

    E78946F0-E1BF-4355-BD9C-78FD17062990

  • A Buzzer Beatdown

    The Scene: The Knoll

    Conditions: Mosquitos and Mud.

    Welcome

    Disclaimer

    Warm-a-Rama:

    Warmest day of the year. But we still did our warm-a-rama.

    Started with one full lap ending at the sundial.

    · SSH – 25x IC

    · Arm cirlces (15 Fwd/15Bkwds)

    · Bobby Hurley – 15x IC. (FNG was excited about this one. Gave a little shout out to ASU, he’s alma mater.)

    · Al Gores – 10x IC

    · Merkins -10x IC

    · Burpees – 8x on own.

    The Thang:

    We did our own form of March Madness.

    1. Suicide Madness– Mosey’d to the muddy football field. We stood at football goal line. Sprinted to about 20 yd line and back two times between each of the following:

    · 64 – SSH – (Workhorse finished these at blazing speed. But, in mid-sprint about the 10 yd line, he stopped, turned around, laughed, and said he only did 32. He came back and finished the rest. We were reminded you can’t look too far ahead. All eyes on you, Virginia. All eyes on you.)

    · 32 – Merkins.

    · 16 – Al Gores – Madness really set in

    · 8 – Burpees – Gabriel was still smiling somehow.

    · 4- Burpees

    · 2 – Burpees – A lot of midwife noises here.

    · 1 minute planks

    -Flutter kicks waiting on 6 man.

    We then took a little apocalyptic tour through the woods and over the log bridge. No injuries reported.

    After the long tour, we made it back to the sundial. We did a quick set of 15 merkins, 12 Freak Nastys, 10 Merkins, and 10 Freak nastys.

    2. Col Trautman – We then partnered up and did a little Colonel Trautman. One partner ran from sundial to pull up bar and did 5 pull-ups. While other partner stood at sundial and did lunges AMRAP. We did this for 4 quarters. Felt like we were in triple OT. MoneyCat finished his last one with a dead sprint back. The crowd erupted.

    Mary:

    We were running late for Mary’s, again. But 4 PAX led their favorite:

    · Fastball – LBCs – 10x

    · Dagwood – Jane Fondas (Rt) – 10x

    · Shangeux – American Hammers – 15x

    · Snack Pack – Jane Fondas (Lt)– 10x

    We cut it close on time, but we nailed it! A buzzer beatdown.

    Mosey’d to Flag. Gabriel, still smiling, sprinted to flag. It was the fastest I’ve seen it done. And it’s not even close.

    Count-o-Rama

    Name-o-Rama

    Welcome, Hogfish!

    COT / BOM:

    Announcements

    T-Claps to Money Cat for increasing his merkins by 400%. And for losing about 35 lbs over the last few months! Well done!

     

  • The 5-Man Army

    The Scene: The Colosseum

    Conditions: Cold again (55). Really windy. Less than average muddiness.

    Welcome

    Disclaimer

    Warm-a-Rama:

    It was early, windy, and chilly, so the warm-up was a little longer than normal.

    · Capri lap – we did about 5 laps in the parking lot.

    · Mosey – ran to parking lot on other side of Olympia Stadium.

    · SSH – 25x IC

    · Bobby Hurley – 15x IC.

    · Al Gores – 10x IC

    · Merkins -10x IC

    · Burpees – 7x on own.

    The Thang:

    Due to the Oscars, we did a little movie theme:

    1. Lt. Dans – I called these Aiken Legs, but a better name is Lt Dans (from Forrest Gump), cause afterwards we all felt like “we aint got no legs.” We stood on one end of parking lot and lunged to the median. Then did 10 squats. Lunged back to starting end and did 15 more squats. Went back one more time for 20 squats. These were painful, and pretty sure someone cussed at me.

    2. Speed Burps – Named after the movie Speed. While the movie had a bus, Keanu Reeves, and a bomb, we didn’t. So, instead, we did 10 burpees at each speed bump as we mosey’d back to flag. I took a Christopher Columbus route (all over the map) to make sure we hit up all the bumps.

    3. Col. Trautman – Named after the fella from Rambo. We partnered up. One did freak nasty’s AMRAP while other partner ran to monkey bars and did 5 pull-ups. We did this 4 times. And as Col Trautman said, “It was a bad time for everyone, Rambo. It’s all in the past now.”

    4. Catch Me If You Can — We kept the same partners. One partner took off running backwards while the other partner did 10 merkins. After 10 merkins, that partner sprinted to catch his partner. Then swap. We went from parking lot to driveway, which we could see for the first time thanks to the sun rise. We did this 4 times. Wheezing and slouching were at an all-time high.

    Mary:

    We were running late for Mary’s. But we did it. Everyone led their favorite Mary exercise.

    · Fastball – LBCs – 10x

    · Rocket – Double Legged Mt Climbers – 10x

    · Dagwood – Jane Fondas (Rt) – 10x

    · Shangeuxs – Jane Fondas (Lt) – 10x

    · Worms – Oooh Marys – 10x

    Count-o-Rama

    Name-o-Rama

    COT / BOM:

    Announcements

    FWIW – The 5-Man Army didn’t win an Oscar.

  • Nasty at the Colosseum

    The Scene: The Colosseum

    Conditions: Dark, no rain. 72

    Warm-a-Rama:

    Goofball – 20x
    Sixty Second Arm Circles aka SSAC’s – 20x
    Toy Soldier – 20x
    Forward Lunge – 15x
    Backward Lunge – 15x

    The Thang:

    Mosey to location near the velodrome

    Arm Day!
    Merkin – Regular Stance 15x
    LBFN Little Baby Freak Nasty’s (on stairs) 10x
    Prisoner Squat – 20x
    Merkin – Wide Stance 15x
    LBFN’s- 10x
    Al Gore’s – 20x
    Merkin – Diamond Stance 15x
    LBFN’s- 10x

    Mosey back to starting parking lot

    Pull Up / Freak Nasty (stolen from Fastball Olympics)

    Team Up
    Guy 1: Run to Monkey Bars do 4 pull-up’s
    Guy 2: Freak Nasty until Guy 1 is back
    Repeat 4 times.

    Mary:

    LBC’s- 15x
    Leg Lifts – 20x
    Shoulder Taps – 20x
    Jane Fonda Right – 15x
    Jane Fonda Left- 15x
    Double Leg Mountain Climbers – 10x

    Count-o-Rama
    Name-o-Rama

    COT
    Announcements
    Tiger Bait is Q for Saturday
    * Shangeaux – decide to ‘self punish’ for being just a bit late for post. Did a few extra Merkins. Good man Shangeaux!
    * Worm’s scouted out and recruited a FNG after the PAX left the AO. His street name is “Matthew”

     

    Backblast created by Rocket.

  • Olympics @ The Knoll

    The Scene:  The Knoll

    Conditions: 66 or so. Best day yet. Still muddy.

    Welcome

    Disclaimer

    Warm-a-Rama:

    In honor of the winter Olympics, we did our own F3 Winter Olympic beat down (kinda).

    • Capri Lap – a little mosey.
    • Nancy Kerrigans – 10x
    • Dutch Skates – 10x. I’m positive no one medaled in this one.
    • Side Straddle Hops – 20x
    • Bobby Hurley – 15x
    • Burpees – 5x

    The Thang: 

    We mosey’d to the sundial taking the scenic route.

    1. Olympic Rings of Fire – We got in a circle (ring). We did 5 workouts. All bringing fire.
      • Slowjangle biscuit – 40x. Walking lunge in a circle in unison. Many midwife noises here.
      • Al Gores – 30x. Feelin’ the burn.
      • Freak Nastys – 20x.
      • Merkins – 10x
      • Burpees – 5x. Wheezing in unison at this point. But we went back up the ladder.
      • Merkins – 10x
      • Freak Nasty – 12x. (Goal was 20)
      • Al Gores – 20x. (Goal was 30)
      • Slowjangle Biscuit – 20x. (Goal was 40)

     

    Our goal was to finish with same reps as first round. But we switched up the routine for the last 3.  We lowered our level of difficulty and got deducted by the judges.  But we finished.

     

    1. Burpback Mountain – We mosey’d to the large hill over the bridge. Found all the puddles and planked for the 6. This was our first partner competition. It was our version of downhill skiing team event.  Or something like that. We partnered up.  One partner did burpees while the other partner ran to top of the hill (mountain) and back down. Reverso. Partners traded until got to 60.  Then planked for 6.
    2. Plank Snake – This was our group event. Kinda like a mix between bobsledding and slalom. We improvised here. The plan was to use coupons for the Bridge of Hate. But coupons were gone. So, all PAX lined up planking on the ground in a line. One PAX slalomed through everyone to end of line, and then planked, prompting another PAX to begin to run through. We did this all the way across the field. Worms went and talked to a man on a cart. He got on the cart. Then he disappeared.

    PS- Field is longer than appears.

    1. Pull-up Race – This was our final event. A little race. We ran to monkey bars. Did 5 pull-ups and then raced back to the flag. This was my time to get revenge on MegaDad. But he was fartsacking. So, the rematch will have to wait.

    Mary:

    • Pickle Pounders – 10x. A lot of people were out at the Knoll, so this was… interesting. No one made eye contact.

    *Worms came back. He was safe. He found the coupons. Not sure about the man on the cart.

    • American Hammer Rings – We sat in circle. 1 PAX did American Hammers on 4 count while the others held feet up. We went around 2 times.
    • Jane Fondas – 10x (each side)
    • LBCs – 10x

    Count-o-Rama

    Name-o-Rama

    Welcome Topanga!

    COT / BOM:

    Announcements

    T-Claps to Tiger Bait for being the next Q at the Knoll.

     

  • Love Potion #9

    The Scene: The Coliseum

    Conditions: 60 degrees or so. Always muddy.

    Welcome

    Disclaimer

    Warm-a-Rama:

    It’s Valentine’s Day, so we set the mood and warmed up together.

    · Capri Lap – a little mosey. Ran past football field to other parking lot.

    · High Knees –

    · Butt Kicks

    · Carioca

    · Side Straddle Hops – 20x

    · Bobby Hurley – 15

    · Burpees – 5

    The Thang:

    We moseyed back to the flag.

    In light of the romance in the air, 2 PAX partnered up and committed to each other for the rest of the beat down. We had a total of 5 PAX, so Rocket and Dagwood let me be the third wheel. It was sweet and they did a good job of keeping things from getting awkward.

    1. Colonel Traut Man – One partner performed Freak Nasty’s AMRAP while other partner ran to pull-up bar (monkey bars at park) and did 4 pull-ups. And then reverso. We did it 5 times.

    2. Tammy Wynettes – I called these Tonya Wynettes. Whoops. But Tammy sang “Stand by Your Man” – so we did. One partner does merkins while the other partner does Al Gores. Side-by-side. But room for Jesus. You both count and do the rep at same time. Once you hit 10, reverso. We went to 60.

    3. Bropees – This was the first partner routine where we got to spend quality time together. Face to face. Eye to eye. We did burpees in unison. When got to the top of the burpee, we jumped and gave each other high 10s. We did 10.

    A little mosey to a curb in the driveway. This is when our partner time (date) was over.

    4. Ascending Curb Crawls – We each bear crawled from one side of the curb to the other and performed 1 derkin (with feet on curb). We then bear crawled back to other curb and did 2. We ascended until we reached love potion number 9. There were a lot of midwife noises here.

    Mosey’d back to flag for Mary’s

    Mary:

    Rocket led us for the 6 min Mary. We could have used a dry surface, but we all chose the muddy grass cause we’re men.

    · Leg raises -10x

    · Shangeauxs (Mt. climbers with knee to alternate elbow). – 10x

    · American Hammers – 10 count

    · Double Mt Climbers – 5 count

    · Jane Fondas – 10x (each side).

    Count-o-Rama

    Name-o-Rama

    T-Claps for Dagwood for ditching fartsack and enjoying his first gloom workout.

    COT / BOM:

    Announcements