Category: The General

AO: The General

QIC: Traveler

PAX: Jenner, Major Payne, Prenup, Horsepunch, Toolbox, Sub Prime

The PAX voyaged to nearby Oak Grove Park where they made unconventional use of park infrastructure for the beatdown.

Warmup: SSH, arm circles, imperial walkers. Moseyed to Oak Grove Park, with a brief pit stop for Merkins.

The Thang:

One at time, the PAX did 5 flights of stair repeats while everyone else AMRAPed an exercise that the stair-climbing PAX prescribed. We quickly realized that the incentives were misaligned for the stair-climbing PAX to climb slowly while everyone else grinded through the exercise they suggested. Exercises included Burpees, Freddie Mercuries, Bonnie Blairs, Merkins, Flutter Kicks, and Bear Crawl (in a circle).

Inspired by a Jenner playground circuit at a different park in the AO, YHC devised a circuit in the Oak Grove Park playground. The loop included: 10 Dips on the slide, Bear Crawl along the ledge of the playground, 10 box [picnic bench] jumps, Bear Crawl along the other ledge, and 4 pullups on a rope hanging between two slides. The PAX did as many rounds as possible in a 5 minute window. Surprisingly, no injuries were sustained while completing this course in the gloom.

PAX moseyed to an entrance ramp to the park which had a dual-railing – a top rail for Australian Merkins and a bottom rail to hold the feet for sit-ups. While one PAX did a set of 20 Bonnie Blairs, the rest AMRAPed on Australian Merkins. Then while the next PAX completed Bonnie Blairs, the rest AMRAPed on sit-ups. PAX kept rotating between Australian Merkins and sit-ups until everyone completed their set of Bonnie Blairs.

We finished our time in Oak Grove Park with a homemade Pentathlon. The PAX made their way around the track on the perimeter of the park, completing a different workout at each of the 5 signposts around the track. The exercises were: 10 Burpees, 15 Merkins, 20 Jump Squats, 25 Toe Touches, and Walking Lunge / Frog Jump combination to the finish line.

Moseyed back to the field at The General.

Mary:

What’s better than 7 Minute Abs? 1 Minute Abs! With time running out, YHQ led the PAX in one minute of Gas Pedals in cadence.

CoT:

YHC was celebrating the newfound freedom of owning his first car, but recalled the wise words of the legendary Navy SEAL-turned-leadership-guru, Jocko Willink, and his motto – “Discipline Equals Freedom.” Freedom doesn’t mean doing whatever you want at any time. It means becoming whoever you want to be. This is accomplished not through spontaneity, but through the discipline to set goals and execute on them.

Announcements:

A new schedule is posted on The General slack channel! First up: Toolbox!

 

AO: The General

QIC: Traveler

PAX: Trolley, JAG, Sam Adams, 2 Percent, Lucius, Toolbox, DR PAX Super 8 (Naperville)

The PAX completed an ode to JAG and his beloved Washington Nationals on the morning of the National League Wild Card game. YHC even left the PAX with a score prediction for that night’s game.

Warmup: High Knees, SSH, Arm Circles, Cherry Pickers, Merkins

The Thang:

Dora 1,2,3s: Suicide Edition

PAX partnered up at the goal line. Together partners had to complete:

• 100 jump squats
• 200 merkins
• 300 American twists

While PAX 1 begins to complete the exercises, PAX 2 runs a suicide on the field. 5 yard line, back to goal line. 10 yard line, back to goal line. 15 yard line, back to goal line. 20 yard line, back to goal line. When PAX 2 finishes running, he picks up the exercise count from where PAX 1 left off, who then runs a suicide. Keep alternating until all exercises are completed.

Mosey to Quincy Park baseball field for next exercise.

F3 Baseball:

Start at home plate. The PAX move around the infield, stopping for an exercise at each base OYO. Regroup for a 10 count at home plate in between rounds.

• Round 1:
  • Exercise at each base: 7 burpees
  • Method of transportation: High Knees
• Round 2:
  • Exercise at each base: 14 sit-ups
  • Method of transportation: Bear crawls
• Round 3:
  • Exercise at each base: 21 flutter kicks (each leg)
  • Method of transportation: Walking lunges

Done in honor of the Nationals Wild Card game that evening, with a shout-out to JAG who will be cheering them on with his 2.0s. After 3 successful trips around the bases, YHC declared the Nats would win 3-0 against the Brewers. (Update: Nats won 4-3).

Moseyed back to the Washington-Liberty field for a Ring of Fire of push-ups to finish off the beat down.

Announcements:

1. Q schedule for The General is posted on Slack (and the Q-Signup sheet). Post ahead of time in Slack if you’re not able to Q on your scheduled day.
2. Super 8, a DR PAX from Naperville, asked us to consider supporting the F3 Naperville Foundation 5K Run, in support of an F3 brother in Naperville who is battling Glioblastoma. The run is next Saturday, October 12th and can be completed virtually. Proceeds go towards the Wounded Warrior foundation. Link here for more details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inaugural-f3-naperville-foundation-5k-tickets-70721579147?aff=ebdshpsearchautocomplete

CoT: 

YHC was recently discussing the idea of feeling in a rut with a friend, who suggested setting quarterly goals in different areas of life: Physical, Social, Professional, Spiritual, Family, etc. Not a novel concept, but YHC needed the wake-up call to set more tangible, actionable goals in different areas of life.

Very blurry photo in the gloom, taken by Super 8 as proof to his Naperville F3 brothers that he posted at The General.

AO: The General

QIC: Traveler

PAX: Dr. D, Trolley, JAG, Sub Prime, Sam Adams, FNG Romo

After a big thunderstorm the night before, the PAX gathered on the damp morning turf for a little card game. Respect for all PAX who stuck around after the CoT for some EC to finish the rest of the deck.

Warmup: 15 of each: Arm Circles, SSH, Imperial Walkers, Cherry Pickers

The Thang:

Deck of Cards Workout – Each suit is a different exercise:

1. Hearts: Burpees
2. Diamonds: Merkins
3. Spades: Sit-ups
4. Clubs: Jump Squats

PAX circled up and took turns drawing cards. Whoever drew the card led the PAX in the workout that the suit of the card indicated, in the quantity of whatever the number on the card was (eg. 8 of Hearts means 8 burpees). Face cards represented numbers 11-14.

Every two times going around the circle, PAX lined up to sprint the length of the football field and back as a “rest.”

This started off pretty casually, but the intensity quickly ratcheted up when we started drawing multiple hearts (aka burpees) in a row. YHC didn’t reveal the existence of Jokers in the deck until they were drawn, but the Jokers signified a 50-yard bear crawl. The pinnacle was in the 3rd round when the consecutive cards drawn were: Joker, then Ace of Burpees, then another Joker. All were huffing and puffing after that trio and were left wondering who shuffled the deck.

In the interest of time, we stopped before finishing the deck. However, all 7 PAX stuck around for some EC after the CoT to finish up the last 5 cards. Deck completed.

Circle of Trust: After celebrating Father’s Day last weekend, YHC reflected on lessons learned from his own father, inspired by his famous mantra: “Once a task is first begun, never leave it til it’s done. Be the labor large or small, do it well or not at all.” YHC’s take on it is to not be satisfied with doing a task or act of service just “good enough”, but really putting your all into it. We all notice good service when we are the recipient of it, yet often cut corners when completing tasks ourselves. But the attention to detail can really make other people’s days. Going the extra mile and completing our tasks with “excellence” helps us not only build a great reputation, but can have a profound impact on those around us. 

AO: The General
QIC: Traveler
PAX: Jenner, Major Payne, Dr. D, Trolley, Ringworm, Flood Plains, JAG, YNAB, FNG Country Road, FNG Quota

Cool morning, perfect for a music-themed beatdown. YHC curated a beatdown playlist and the PAX completed exercises throughout the duration of each song. All agreed that this was an easy way to ruin these songs for us. Two FNGs from Frederick, MD made the hour drive in the gloom as a Rite of Passage before completing the Run for Holland this weekend in Spruce Pines, NC.

Warmup: Lap around the track. Starting with regular mosey, transitioned to butt kicks, high knees, lunges, and closed by sprinting the straightaway. Finished with arm circles.

The Thang:
Workout consisted of 5 song-related workouts. Mosey as a recovery in between each song. PAX started at the WL field and continued to the Quincy Park playground, basketball court, and tennis courts. Playlist was as follows:

1) Tubthumping by Chumbawumba: SSH throughout the entire song. For every “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” PAX do a burpee. 26 burpees in total and a whole bunch of SSH.

2) Bicycle Race by Queen: Start the song with alternating lunges (gotta warm up the glutes before riding the bike). Transitioned to “Superman” (Lie on stomach, arms and legs extended and off the ground) when Freddy Mercury mentions “Superman” in the song. On the lyrics, “On your mark, get set, go,” the bicycle race begins! PAX perform bicycles until the end of the song. Tough to tell who won the race.

3) Roxeanne by The Police: Hold plank throughout the song. For every “Roxeanne” that is sung…do a Merkin. For every “red light”…do a plank jack. PAX didn’t really like the song before the workout…and reaaaally didn’t like the song afterwards. Flood Plains snagged a cone from WL to rig an ad-hoc amplifier for YHC’s otherwise quiet phone speaker.

4) Flower by Moby: A classic. “Bring Sally Up” and “Bring Sally Down.” Leg raise on the “up” and lower to 6-inches on the “down.”

5) ‘Til I Collapse by Eminem: Merkins to the beat of the song ‘til the PAX collapsed. Unfortunately, all PAX collapsed after the first minute. Switched to sit-ups for the next 90 seconds, then went back to Merkins for the final minute.

Mary: Bonnie’s Torture and a new exercise from Jenner that involved starting in one-legged crab walk position and repeatedly jumping to alternate legs.

Circle of Trust: After celebrating Mother’s Day last weekend, YHC reflected on lessons learned from his own mother, nicknamed “Happy Beth” for her ever-present sunny and positive disposition. We were all made to be joyful and we have so many reasons to do so. PAX were challenged to make Happy Beth proud by bringing smiles and joy to those they encounter this week.

AO: The General

QIC: Maj Payne

The PAX: Horsepunch, Trolley, Traveler, Dr. D, Jenner, Sam Adams

Lucky 7 PAX posted at The General this week for an epic beatdown that resulted in great fun for all. The following is a mostly accurate account of what happened…

WU:

20 x SSH
4 x the following:
Mosey 100 yds around the track, abrupt stop, 10 x BWS, 5 x Merkins, 10 x front lunge (in cadence). For fun and variety, we switched to rear lunges after the second 100 yd mosey.

The Thang:

Line up on the goal line.

4 rounds of the following…

• Sprint down and back (200 yds)
• 20 x Jump Squats
• 15 x Merkins
• 10 x No Merkin Burpees

This was fairly horrible, so we conducted 2 x ten counts in between each round, which made it so much better.  Strangely, counting to ten was not as easy as it sounds.

Once all rounds were completed, mosey towards the parking garage, but stop at some railings for 3 x 10 Down Unders.

At the parking garage, the PAX discovered a cinder block cache, which served as the first of four stations for the next sub-Thang!

AMRAP for 8-ish minutes!

Station 1: 10 x ground to overheads with cinder block
Station 2: 20 x LBC
Station 3: 20 x BWS
Station 4: 20 x Mountain Climbers, single count

Most made it around about 3x.  There were a few (Horsepunch!) that made it around slightly more.  All-in-all, it provided all PAX their daily carbon monoxide intake (since the garage is situated over top of I-66).  YHC was happy this day to pull in as the caboose alongside Trolley, who was crushing it.

Mosey back to start, where The General’s turf field, a peaceful location at 0530 in the gloom, had become a buzzfest of activity. There must’ve been several hundred paying customers of various workout groups galloping about.

Mary: Every other PAX take a turn for some version of abdominal torture.

COT: It’s important in life to take time to play.  As we forge our path forward through our days, we need to take time to have a bit of fun, and there’s no better way to do that then with a group of like minded brothers that we have within F3. As the saying goes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Don’t be dull, be great, in whatever you do.  Go out in the world today and make those around you better. Be a better dad, son, brother, father, colleague, boss…whatever your role, do the best you possibly can!  Aye!