The Snake (and a word on 2nd F)

April 22, 2018 / f3barneyfife / Leave a comment

YHC enjoyed what I believe to have been only my second Q at The Forum. Here is a quick Backblast to commemorate that workout.

Conditions: 50 and warming, dry, full sun…as good as it gets.
PAX: 16, including FNG “Roadrunner”
WARM UP
IC SSH
IC Imperial Walker
IC Arm Circles > Raise the Roofs
SC GF (“Good Form”) Merkins
MOSEY TO SUPERMARKET
(YHC caught some flak during the mosey for referring to Walmart’s small grocery store format as a “supermarket” – not be confused the company’s larger Supercenters. After a quick google search, I stand by the chosen terminology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarket )
In front of the…market…we did, to the amusement of a few early arriving employees:
IC Shoulder Taps
SC WWI Situps
SC Sumo Squats
Slow GF Merkins
IC Flutter Kicks
THE SNAKE
The meandering climbing sidewalk that cuts through the eastern edge of Wald Park (and on through that section of Vestavia Hills), was dubbed “The Snake” for that day. After moseying to The Snake, we took off on a run up the path, in pairs, roughly 15 seconds apart. Each telephone pole along the way was a “snake bite” requiring 2 burpees. As PAX finished at the end, The Donald led everyone in that planking/arm lift thing.
LITTLE BEAR HILL
At the steep grass hill at the end of that portion of The Snake, in 2 waves, we bear crawled up and shuffled back down. Rinse and repeat.
THE SNAKE, AGAIN
After moseying to the bottom of The Snake, we went the full length, in new pairs. This time, we lunged the whole distance. The snake bites were 5 GF Merkins at each pole. YHC was paired with 3PO and got to listen to his watch periodically inform him in a female C3PO-like voice, how many calories he had burned. We planked again at the end, were PAX got a preview of the 3PO’s enthusiasm for leading something called a “core workout”.
MOSEY TO BENCHES BY THE TRACK
Here…dips and declines…repeated a few times

MOSEY TO THE FLAG
Back at the flag, YHC called on unsuspecting PAX to command us into another 10 or so exercises. It worked out well.

COT
I didn’t realize it at the time, but one man among us, Copay, had not been around in quite some time. He was at our very first workout, a founding father of F3 Birmingham. Welcome back Copay. During the name-o-rama video, The Donald knocked my water bottle all over me, and pretended it wasn’t intentional. Jiffy closed us out in prayer. We put in some work that morning, and I really enjoyed my time out there. I hope that most others can recount the same.

EPILOGUE
We’ve got a couple of 2nd F events coming up. Please prioritize these, particularly the Anniversary Toast on May 4th at 8 p.m. at Oak Hill, being Q’d by Stuntman. We’ll have workouts this week, next week, the week after that, and the week after that. We are doing great with getting in 1st F. But the 2nd F opportunities are just as important, and there are much fewer of them. We’ll have two workouts during our F3 Birmingham Anniversary weekend. We’ve also got PAX doing a CSAUP (Homewood 5K). If you can only get to one event — make it to The Toast. Even if you just stop by for one pint, and even if you don’t drink….make an appearance. #FELLOWSHIP

– Barney Fife

F3BHM One Year Anniversary Celebration (Stuntman)
Stuntman has wisely moved the event to FRIDAY NIGHT, MAY 4TH to avoid crossover with the We Love Homewood Day celebration on the 5th. May 6th marks the one year since the first F3 workout in Alabama. To celebrate this triumphant occasion PAX will likely raise a glass in a toast (hopefully several toasts) at 8 p.m. (exact time and confirmation location coming soon). If you can bring your M, or girlfriend, do so. If you can only manage to duck out alone, after the kids are in bed, that will do. Just be there to join your F3 brothers in celebration. Don’t miss this.

31 Flavors

November 9, 2017 / f3barneyfife / Leave a comment

Saturday, November 4, 2017
The Vulcan

Here is a recap of the crazy 31 Flavors workout at the Vulcan. Following a record turnout from the pre-workout ruck, several PAX helped YHC get this overly elaborate shenanigan setup. 31 cones were in place in 2 long parallel lines (designed to make conversation easier during this circuit type workout). Before each cone lay an index card indicating the exercise to be performed and workout tool. Tools included dumbbells, a round river rock, jump ropes, kettle bells, a burpee stick, a ruck plate, a pumpkin, etc.

Following a short warm-up (Arnold says: must take care of the shoulders) and a two-lap mosey of the park track, 35 PAX set up on the cone-marked workout stations. We definitely looked like a bunch of crazies trying to save money by avoiding a gym membership. Perhaps we are. At the end of the long rows of stations was the command position – the simple squat station. The guy on the squat station controlled the tempo as PAX were instructed to perform their stations exercise until commanded to MOVE by the man on the squat station.

Thanks to Sparrow for requesting that this be documented in a photo.

And that’s how it went down. PAX rotated clockwise to the next station on command to move and save for a few begged for (really) “20 counts” the fun went non-stop until the clock ran out. And yes… YHC played music. You’ve got to have music for a stationary F3 workout (that should be a top 10 rule). As some PAX have already explored, the more unexpected the music – the better (call it part of the “pain”).

I haven’t seen a large group of PAX laughing so much in a while. This workout has a touch of the ridiculous. Hopefully, there was profitable work in it as well. Name-o-rama…FNG naming (welcome Bumble Bee, Mr. Ed and Rambler)…a couple of announcements including an upcoming charity run…and Blue Angel closed things out with a prayer.

31 Flavors, or Gloom’s Gym, or whatever it is to be called, this madness will be improved upon and reprised as it was – at least to YHC – a fun change of pace.

HAVE FUN out there,

– Fife

Pre-dawn Police- escorted Ruck, Team Orienteering and Bag Pipe Closer

October 11, 2017 / f3barneyfife / 1 Comment

October 7, 2017 – The Vulcan

Pre-workout RUCK
A record 11 PAX +1 took the 50-minute R/T walk just past The Vulcan statue. The +1 was on-duty Officer Kitt, who pulled up on us in the parking lot, asked what we were up to, and after about 2 seconds of thought (really) announced to this group of strangers “I’m coming”. Before we knew it, he pulled a tac vest (his weight) out of the back of his Tahoe and headed up the road with us. Kitt turned back after a while and apparently ran (in uniform) at full speed across the park field coming suddenly upon straggler Bird Dog in the darkness. Kitt transported Bird Dog in his patrol vehicle up the road at high speed to the marching PAX.

(not pictured: Slumlord)

Warm Up

(Breeze takes down one of three shovel flags…PAX pays the price with F3 Birmingham’s flag down penalty – 20 O.Y.O. burpees)
IC Side Straddle Hop
IC Should Rotations Each Way
IC Shoulder Taps
IC Hello Dolly
IC Single Leg Merkins
IC Alabama Ass Kickers
IC Sumo Squats

THE THANG
Orienteering (not exactly, but the best way I could think of to describe it)
YHC + 4 other Q’s selected on the spot, each took (5) 6-man teams to different locations within a 2-mile R/T from Homewood Central Park. Each Q was handed an index card with his team’s destination and the work to be done along the way.

Destinations:
Homewood Board of Education Building
Spring Park (it does exist!)
City Hall
Piggly Wiggly
Trak Shack

On the way to destination AND on the way back, all on each team must complete:

50 Merkins
100 foot Bear Crawl
50 Squats
15 Burpees
50 IC Ray Lewis

At destination teams were to do an exercise of the team’s choice. The index cards also had 4 “get to know you” type questions to ask of the team members. YHC wrote up all of this voodoo, carried our team’s laminated index card and somehow forgot about the questions at the bottom of the card. Nice. But our team’s chatter was good, so the time still seemed well spent.

F3 Birmingham’s Scotty welcomed the PAX to the COT with bag pipes (video here), announcements, prayer requests, and prayer by Blue Angel. Welcome FNG Halftime.

As always, it is a privilege to Q an F3 Birmingham workout and a pleasure to do so on Saturday at The Vulcan.

Thank you,

– Barney Fife

BHam PAX Visit the Surface of the Sun

July 22, 2017 / f3barneyfife / Leave a comment

sun

7/22/17

The difference in summertime temperature between 0530 and 0630 is much discussed. I don’t know what the exact temp was on this sunny Saturday morning at The Vulcan, but afternoon’s heat indices are expected to reach 105 to 107. With an official heat advisory in effect, it was a HOT HOUR at The Vulcan. If you catch my mug at the end of this video name-o-rama I looked the worst of the bunch.

With 2 FNGs (Pilgrim and Elmer), a refugee in from the metropolis of Dallas (Plus One), and 22 local PAX, we got on with it…

WARM UP

IC (“in cadence”) Side Straddle Hop
IC Imperial Walker
20 SC (“single count”) Merkins
25 LYBs OYO (little baby crunches on your own)
IC Head Taps (like an alternating shoulder tap, except tap the back of your noggin)

THE THANG

(at the Amphitheater)

15 SC Decline Merkins
15 SC Dips
10 SC Decline Merkins (good form…its only 10!)
10 SC Dips
20 Steps ups for each leg OYO
20 IC Incline Merkins

THE SWITCHBACK (is back)

We’ve done this before. YHC (your humble correspondent) found it a bit easier than last time, but it is tough. In a single file slow moving line, we bear crawled down across the first amphitheater seat, make the turn, up to the next row and on again until the top was reached. The PAX did low flutter kicks at the top while waiting for the 6 to arrive.

THE 700 CLUB

I have to admit… I liked this one.

The specs:

In a 4-man team, collectively complete the following,
200 Merkins, 200 Prisoner Squats, 200 Dips, 100 Burpees (700 total reps for team to complete)
(7) lap run of “main loop” at the park (1.45 miles total… I measured it with GPS before the workout)

Teams were free to do all of this in any order they chose, as long as they stayed together as a team. Since teams would certainly complete this at different times, direction was given to stay in teams afterwards and continue with additional exercises of each team’s choice until the end of the workout period. I planned this intentionally with the goal of some bonding time in the small groups. I hope some enjoyed that aspect of it.

With 4-5 minutes left we circled-up around the flags and PAX were called up to direct us in an exercise. We were put to work by Rabbit (who needs to Q soon!), Saluki, and maybe one other. Grundl closed out the workout for us with a nice cool down selection: Burpees.

COT

Welcome FNGS: Blake Roberson (“Pilgram) and Paul Darden (“Elmer”)

Announcements:

Q School led by Scam coming up (full details to come)
Rabbit mentioned the plan for an upcoming AO in Mountain Brook
Prayer Request: Bruce Rem (sp?) battling pancreatic cancer

We were led in a pro-style prayer by Saluki. Approximately 10 PAX headed over to Octane for Coffeteria.

MOLESKIN

It is a privilege to Q an F3 Birmingham workout at The Vulcan. YHC had a “nice little Saturday planned”. Thanks for coming out. Always be head locking. Find the Sad Clowns out there.

See you in the gloom,

– Fife