Modified Murph!

When: 6/20/2018

Q: Maj Payne

The Pax: Bone, Dr. Dandelion, Prenup, 90210, Leprechaun, Hightower, Speedo, Jenner and Flacco (F3 Carpex)

It’s always great to have DR PAX in the house, and today we welcomed Flacco from F3 Carpex, one of the regions that is helping to launch F3TheCapital. It was an honor to crush ourselves a bit n the gloom together!

Warmup: ez lap, SSH, IW, arm circles fwd and back, BWS and Merkins

The Thang: We at F3 ArlingtonVa have decided that it would be fun to knock out a Murph each week, so on this day, why not celebrate that by doing a modified partner Murph?

Partner up. Pax 1 runs around the arena while pax 2 exercises. As a pair, 100 x Australian Push-ups, 200 x Merkins, 300 x BWS. TCLAPS to Hightower for doing it with a ruck. Once complete, mosey right into a Jacobs Ladder on the nearby hillside. Start at top with 1 x BWS, run down for 6 x burpees. Then 2/5, 3/4, 4/3, 5/2 and finally 6/1. With the pax thoroughly smoked we moseyed back to the SP for a quick Mary. 25x flutter kicks and finish.

COT: It’s been an honor to pull this together with y’all. F3 is special. When YHC is feeling down and out for whatever reason, all it takes is a beatdown in the gloom to lift the spirit back up! Thanks for being here. Now go out and find others who can join us as we make ourselves into better bosses, employees, sons, fathers, colleagues…whatever role you serve in life, strive to be better!

Field Day…Horsepunch Style!

When: 6/18/2018

QIC: HorsePunch

The PAX – Maj. Payne, Dr. Dandelion, Subprime, 90210, Bone, Tirefire, Gavel, Jenner, Leprechaun, Shamrock, Prenup, NAFTA

Warm up:
SSH
IW
Windmills
Arm circles to Seal Claps
Merkins
Frankenstein Walk
Walking Dancer

The Thang:

13 Strong gathered together for a throwback to the good ol’days of middle school field day!

Bear v. Crab Soccer: Tough competition with almost no injuries.

Fastest Mile: two teams split opposite ends of field and relay 16x100m sprints or til each man ran 3 times. Winning time might have been only a few seconds slower than a world record…

Bear Crawl / Broad Jump Relay: same two teams opposite 25m. One direction bear crawl, the other broad jump. Each man completes 4 lengths. This was the easy part.

Then…The Wheelbarrow Push: Men in Pairs. One man in wheelbarrow the other holding his feet. From the end zone walk to 20 yard line doing 5 paired push ups /squats every 5 yards.

Winning relay team led Mary:
Reverse LBC
Flutters
American Twists
Bicycles
Bonnie’s Torture
WWIIs

COT:

Moleskin: We’re going to move Saturday workouts to Tuckahoe…and think of a good name for that AO. Prenup will sweep up anyone that posts at Yorktown for the next couple of times.

Love doing this in the gloom with y’all!!

Good Things Come in 3s!

When: 6/16/2018

Qs: Adolphus, Rambler, Coco

The Pax: Maj. Payne, Dr. Dandelion, Subprime, Bono, Bone, Earlybird, Happy Gilmore, Jenner, Gavel, Dory, Leprechaun, FNG Barrel Roll, FNG Tootsie, FNG Tire Fire

12 pax joined 5 others as they completed an EC Murph to make 17, including 4 from Churham, 1 from Greenville NC and 3 FNGs, all gathered at Yorktown HS (one of the most expansive and varied AOs YHC has seen) for the 3rd week of the Arlington launch. YHC had the first 20 minutes of the triple-Q, so after a quick round of introductions we were off.

Warmup:

Fellowship jog to the basketball courts for cadence-count instructions and warmup, including SSH, Willie Mays-Hayes, Slow Merkins and Mountain Climbers. 3 Arlington pax and 1 FNG took turns calling the exercises and cadence.

The Thang:

Pax counted off and partnered up, headed to the gym wall for People’s Chair. Partner 1 stayed in PC while Partner 2 sprinted across the BB court, knocked out 5 burpees and sprinted back to relive their partner. Flapjack. Group moved to the handrail (with FNG Alan performing a perfect stunt man barrel roll over the bar) for more partner work – Aussie pull-ups, Merkins & Toe Taps with SSH and burpees for pairs who finished early. Talked through using timers rather than counts to ensure all pax regardless of fitness can all get equally smoked. Sadly 20 minutes goes by quickly, and Rambler took the reins.

From Rambler:

It was 1988 when Paula Abdul’s hit song, “Opposites Attract” was released. Part of the chorus is as follows:

“I take–2 steps forward”
“I take–2 steps back”

These lines have been appropriated and manipulated to serve F3’s needs. Upon taking the reigns from Adolphus, we immediately dove into the Paula Abdul:

PAX lined up along the parking stall lines. It was about 60 yards of bear crawling 2 stalls forward, 5 merkins, crawl bear 1 stall back. Rinse and repeato. YHC called an audible after realizing how ridiculously long this would take. The second half was slightly easier as YHC informed the PAX to move from bear crawl/crawl bear to walking lunge/reverse walking lunge.

After catching the six, we moseyed to the football field and found our partners. As a team, Partner One (P1) held plank while Partner Two (P2) did 20 lateral leaps over P1. Upon hitting 20, P2 grabbed P1s ankles and wheelbarrowed 20 years. Flapjack and repeat back. The next set was similar, P1 got on their 6 and grabbed P2s ankles, executing 20 leg throw downs before P1 moved to child’s pose and P2 leap frogged over P1. The leap frog continued for 20 yards, PAX flapjacked, and repeato.

YHC had more in mind, but time was at a premium and I needed to hand over the beatdown to Coco.

Coco’s 20 minutes (originally billed as the cool down/sing-a-long portion of the workout) turned brutal as the pax moved to the football field and moved across 10 yards at a time, alternating bear crawl and lunge walk, with a burpee pyramid along the way (3 at the 10 yard line, adding 3 each time for 15 at the 50 and then back down, dropping 3 per 10 yards until hitting the goal line for a final 3. Once the 6 was collected and all pax were safely in the end zone, we went right into squat-o-rama, 2 at the 5-yard, 4 at the 10 (and so on) to mid-field, then sprint back. 51 4-count flutters and we were sadly (thankfully?) out of time.

COT:

Moleskin: Welcome FNGs Tootsie, Barrel Roll and Tire Fire! Prayers for friends of the pax dealing with illness, and for all the Sadclowns in Arlington (and beyond). May we all shine the light of F3 so they may find their way to the gloom, and find their brothers waiting.

TClaps to Maj. Payne and the Arlington pax who have planted the flag where it is clear to stay. We look forward to following your growth from Churham and to being back up there with you all again soon.

Aye!

Burpees are like life

When: 6/15/2018

QIC: Bono

The PAX: Prenup; Horse Punch; Dr Dandelion; Deflator; Bone (FNG); Speedo; NAFTA; Gavel; Subprime; Hightower

Jocko Willink says this is not a big philosophical statement, but it resonated with me “Burpees are like life.” In fact it resonated to the point that todays workout is based on the fact that, like a burpee, in life you “fall down and get back up.” Check out this video to listen to Jocko say it – https://mobile.twitter.com/jockowillink/status/890221220678868994/video/1 11 men, including 1 FNG (Bone) realized what Jocko meant by the end of the morning.

Warmup:

We took a quick “Follow me” mosey around Yorktown High to the Arena followed by the disclaimer. We started with a little warmup of Shock n’ Awe – a reverse Burpee ladder starting at 10 (with a surprise at the end) for NAFTA. That was followed by Wimpie Legs > Jump Squats; Jump Lunges; Donkey Kicks x3. YHC took a moment to explain Jacko’s little philosophical statement to the pax during the Ladder.

The Thang:

We moseyed to the track with a partner – sharing a time in life when you “fell down”. When we got to the track, my brain was as spent as my legs. Glad you all are a smart pax. We completed Remedial BLIMPS. Normally BLIMPS are done in a straight line and not repeated. Figured that we needed to do a lot of burpees and repeating the prior exercised made sense. Here’s how the BLIMPS went down. We started at the end zone and completed Burpees x 5. At the 20 yrd line we complete burpees x 5, then the Lunges x 10. Keep repeating every 20 yrds until all the BLIMPS exercises are complete at the other end zone. That was 6 sets of burpees.

On the way to the next evolution, partners had a follow-up conversation about a time when you “got back up” as we moseyed to the basketball court. Horse Punch and his band of studs went to retrieve Samara. The rest completed Mary. The first four flipped Samara across the basketball court & back. Then we switched to get each group of 4 (and a trio of studs). Not original, but with a hole that big, you don’t have to be original. Just strong. Samara has a big hole. Really this was just a scheme to use Samara for the photo. It was kick ass. We completed the following in the Circle of Pain:

– TWAs (Bonni’s suitcase situps)
– J-Lo (Plank position – hip drop)
– X & Os (on 6; extend/contract)
– Grave Diggers (side plank arm scoops under body)
– The Edge (on 6, rt leg extended x 10; left leg extended x10; both legs extended x 10)
– Flutter Kicks
– Slinkies (laying down; raise head; crunch legs; extend legs; lower head)
– Dr. D led the pax in a few more.

We ended with about 96 burpees depending on the number completed/modified. That’s a lot of burpees. That’s a lot of life…

BOM/COT – Prayers for Hightower and getting his family moved safely. Deflater talked about the same thing Wednesday. Prayers for our strength as men to be the fathers, husbands, and employees we need to be. Prayers to be vulnerable with our brothers in the Circle of Trust because that one of the safe outlets we have to act like men the rest of the day.

Moleskin – This workout is one I modified from a Q in ENC. It’s a favorite because it’s a way to bring the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd F into a workout. I love the repetition of exercises. Only by doing Wimpie Legs three times in a row, do you really feel it. Only by including surprises do we keep it real – like “No, bitches, 10 burpees. Life is full of surprises…”.
It was an honor to Q the workout today. I got to meet guys that I trust – you learn to trust other weirdos who get up to workout at 0530. Getting to meet guys, asking about their F3 names, and learning their story is how this huge nation becomes a brotherhood. Who knew that Hightower worked with two of my F3ENC brothers – one of who I sit with every Sunday at church. What’s the likelihood that I would be here the same time that Coco and his Churham crew is up to Q. My brothers – I am glad to join you in the gloom – every day – whether we are at the same AO or separated by hundreds of miles.

Dr. D’s Toybox

While this 13th day of June didn’t fall on a Friday, nor was it a full moon, the gloom still attracted all kinds of freaks! F3 Arlington VA’s 1,000 pound tractor tire received her official name: Samara (H/T visiting F3 Greenville’s Bono). And she left her mark on all of the 11 pax gathered for Dr. D’s Toybox Beatdown.

When: 6/13/2018

QIC: Dr. Dandelion

The PAX: Jenner, Gavel, Maj. Payne, Subprime, Horsepunch, Deflater, Bono, Hook’em, Speedo, Prenup

Warm Up:
SSH
Imperial walkers
Arm Circles
Merkins
Windmills
One lap on track

The Thang:
Round 1: Three groups, Three stations, One round each
Samara Sledgehammer, wall balls, (timer) lap around school with 10 x Australian push ups.
Round 2: Three groups, Three stations, Two rounds each
Samara flip, other two groups alternate rounds of air squats, jump squats, lunges, plank-jack burpees.
Round 3: Theee groups, Three stations, Tabata timer
Samara Box jump burpee, push ups, SSH, alternate at four rounds of Tabata
Round 4: Circle Tabata. Eight exercises.
Mt. Climber, front lunge, jump squat, burpee kick out, burpee, chest to deck hold, reverse lunge
Mary: Flutters, TSA’s, Superman’s, Plank knee to elbow, and American twists

COT: F3 Churham is coming to town this weekend. We’ll throw a Happy Hour for them at the Knights of Columbus Club at 5115 Little Falls Rd, Arlington, VA 22207. When you arrive, just say you’re with the Moneymaker (aka Horsepunch) party.