17 SOJ faithful HIM’s were feeling froggy to embrace the suck at this morning’s SOT Birthday beatdown. Here’s how we may or may not be welcome back to their soccer field…
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Mosey to the top of the stadium and circle up in the flood lights
Welcome & Disclaimer
Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm
COP #1:
Mosey to the football field and collect the coupons (canoe, kayak, kettle bells) and assemble in the middle of the field
QUADRUPLE TRIPLE CHECK:
Station #1 – Two PAX pulling one PAX in canoe to side of field and back
Station #2 – P1 Sumo squats 50lb KB, P2 Mower Pulls 35lb KB, P3 carries 15lb KB overhead to side of field and back
Station #3 – Two PAX pulling/pushing one PAX in Kayak to side of field and back
Station #4 – Run the track
Each team of 3-4 PAX completed each Station as a Triple Check before switching to the next Station
COP #2:
CANOE LINDSEY (always adds up to 40!)
Line up on the side of the football field
Merkins: 30-25-20-15-10
Drag Canoe laden with PAX between sides (alternate PAX riding VS dragging)
Scrunchy Frogs: 10-15-20-25-30
Mosey BTTF for COT:
Counterama # 17
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
YHC took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: Brothers, what fun to muck around in the gloom carrying each other a bit! I’m very thankful for you guys carrying me in different ways over the last 4 years, and I’m really excited to see SOJ grow in the season to come. SYITG, DTH
Announcements:
Open invitation by DTH to any SOJ PAX interested in joining an SOJ Shared Leadership Team – just send a PM to Tryhard via Slack!
12/2 – Rosie’s M will be selling nudes of Rosie at the Gallery of the Black Irish Social Club from 5-8pm (321 W Broad St)
12/3 – Dogpile Magnum PI Day (mustache, Hawaiian shirt, donations for the Bridge)
12/10 – 3-6pm HDHH Hardywood West Creek with the Capitol PAX
12/20 – NoToll “12 Days of Christmas”
Prayer Requests:
Prayers for Honeymoon and his family with his Dad’s passing yesterday
A dozen SOJ warriors braved the cold gloom, warmed by the idea of a Tryhard sweat fest. While a couple gloom-brothers sauntered off for an intimate walkabout, here’s how the other x10 PAX celebrated YHC’s last day of hate:
The THANG:
DECK CHALLENGE:
Mosey to Field #1 and circle up
Welcome & Disclaimer
Explain the challenge is to complete x39 cards from the F3 deck, to honor the Q’s last day of hate
Classic rock playlist ON, let’s go!
SPRINT across field and back
x100 2-ct Flutters OYO
x20 Copperhead Squats IC
x10 4-ct Merkins IC
High-knee across field and back
x10 WWII IC
Butt-kickers across field and back
x20 Smurf Jacks IC
x10 Chuck Norris Merkins OYO
x10 Rosalita Dips IC
Bernie across field and back
x100 Calf-raises OYO
x10 Werkins IC
x20 Freddie M’s IC
Sprint across field and back
x20 Monkey Humpers IC
x20 Diamond Merkins OYO
x10 High/Slow Flutters IC
Bear crawl across field, mosey back
x10 4-ct Jump Squats IC
x10 HRM’s IC
x20 Heels to Heaven IC
x20 Burpees OYO
Lunge backwards down field, mosey back
x20 Merkins OYO
x20 LBC’s IC
x100 SSH OYO
x10 Gorilla Humpers IC
x100 Arms Circles OYO
x20 Am.Hammers IC
Sprint across field and back
Lunge walk down field, mosey back
x10 Carolina Drydocks IC
x15 Oblique LBC IC (ea side)
x20 Mtn.Climbers IC
x10 Lunges IC
x20 Shoulder Taps IC
x20 Plank Jacks IC
Karaoke across field and back
EXRA CREDIT!
8-ct Opus, x8 IC
8-ct DR.W’s, x8 IC
8-ct Body Builders, x8 IC
Mosey BTTF for COT:
Counterama # 12
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
YHC took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: As always it was an amazing honor to bring the heat for some beloved SOJ brothers. Between the labored breathing and rock music YHC made out some decent mumblechatter, and some kind of joke was enjoyed by the far-side PAX during our Gorilla Humpers, and of course there was some welcome hate-talk with the 8-count extra credit. Whadya expect?!? Haha, Look forward to seeing ya’ll for the 40th birthday Q tomorrow. Who KNOWS what crazy is comin! Yours, DTH
Announcements:
11/30 – DTH 40th bday Q at SOT
12/2 – Rosie’s M will be selling nudes of Rosie at the Gallery of the Black Irish Social Club from 5-8pm (321 W Broad St)
12/3 – Dogpile Magnum PI Day (mustache, Hawaiian shirt, donations for the Bridge)
12/10 – 3-6pm HDHH Hardywood West Creek with the Capitol PAX
12/20 – NoToll “12 Days of Christmas”
Prayer Requests:
PAX on IR – Doublemint, Doozy, Prince, and many others – connect with them and pray for them!
An 8-PAX of SOJ HIM’s prepared their hearts and minds for midterm elections in the best way possible, doing things the hard way, together. Here’s what went on the Gloom Ballot:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Collect bricks at YHC’s truck
Mosey onto the BBall court and circle up
Welcome & Disclaimer
THUNDERSTRUCK – Musical warm-up entailing the PAX perform repeated squats with bricks held overhead, then pumps bricks out to sides with each “Thunder” or “Thunderstruck” lyric
Other Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom
COP #1:
Mosey out to Field #1
QUARTER-POUNDER WITH CHEESE
Brinks in hand, the PAX gave a shout out to Bernie to reach each quarter of the field, stopping for reps, sprinting back to start between
x25 Brick Merkins
x50 Squats, bricks held overhead
x75 Freddie Mercury’s, bricks overhead
x100 SSH (bricks optional)
COP #2:
Brief Plankorama with Bricks in Hand
Low Plank held on bricks during MidTerms Trivia – PAX knowledge effectively demonstrated to the tune of prolonged low plank
COP #3:
Mosey back to the BathHouse for a TRIPLE CHECK
Partner 1 – Brick Hoedowns
Partner 2 – Core Brick Exercise (Dealers Choice)
Partner 3 – Runs down to the playground and back carrying their bricks
COP #4:
Drop off the bricks en route back to the Basketball Court
ELEVENS (to honor 11 Virginia Representatives being voted on today)
10–>1 Ball Dippers (2-ct)
1–>10 Merkins
Circle up for COT:
Counterama # 8
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
YHC took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: YHC didn’t feel particularly froggy this morning, but nothing like being the Q for an awesome band of brothers to kickstart the morning. The usual groaning was endured with bricks appearing, and more so with the musical beatdown to start the workout, but everyone did their best all the same! The appearance of the Blood Moon was spectacular, and the Elections Trivia was enthusiastically voted “Best Homeschool Curricula.” Appreciate ya’ll humoring and pushing me this morning. Love, DTH
Announcements:
Merkin Challenge ongoing
HDHH on 11/22 (2 weeks from today) at Hardywood West Creek
Forrest Hill Loops on 11/25 (see Slack)
Prayer Requests:
Last Call knows a young guy our age going on Hospice for Prostate Cancer – prayers for Buddy and his family, and for all of us to keep our eyes & hearts open to find JOY each day regardless of the trials of life
17 studs posted to SOT – 10 for bootcamp, 5 for run, and 2 for ruck. Here’s what the bootcampers did:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Mosey down to the lower lot and circle up
Welcome & Disclaimer
Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom
COP #1:
Mosey over to the grassy hill
KILO-DORA:
Moving partner bear crawls the hill, then runs around side back to partner
x100 WWII’s
x200 Merkins
x300 Squats
x400 Flutter Kicks (2-ct)
COP #2:
Moseyrama around the track for a TRYHARD SPECIAL at the guest bleachers to introduce TWO new 8-count exercises:
DIP-FLIPS: incline plank on bench – incline merkin, flip over, dip, flip over …did about 10 IC
KICK-FLIPS: plank on ground – groiner, flip over, inverse groiner, flip over …did about 10 IC
COP #4:
Head BRTF, stopping en route at the school brick wall for:
x30 Howdowns OYO
x20 Dirty Hookups OYO
x20 Donkey Kicks
Mosey BTTF for a few mins of MARY
RUCKERS x2 – Doublemint, Doozy
RUNNERS x5 – Florence, Tobit, Boberry, Don Draper, and Rosie
COT:
Counterama # 17
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
MUDSLIDE took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: Always a pleasure to be back at SOT, and appreciate the PAX humoring a couple new 8-count burners. They’re hard, so they’ll be back. Your as always, TryingHard
Announcements:
Hogan Beer Mile – see Slack
Prayer Requests:
Safe travels for House Party traveling to pick up the grandkids in Florida
Seven Forge regulars exchanged toasty fartsacks for frosty fun, as follows:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Moseyrama on the smelly hill
Variable IC Reps to get warm
COP #1:
Indigenous Curb Crawl
COP #2:
Triple Check at the Amphitheater
COP #3:
50’s at the Track
Mosey BTTF:
A few small COP’s and a sprint BTTF
A few mins of Mary
COT:
Counterama # 7
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
LAST CALL took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: The PAX enjoyed the Smell on repeat, observing the birth pains of a novel Tryhard exercise, Last Call wishing upon a shooting star, Snuff nearly forcing the Q to audible on 50’s, the naming of the Echo Chamber, and the return of the infamous BoneRubs. Twas fun, thx fellas. SYITG, DTH
Announcements:
5-8pm TONIGHT we’re meeting up for Happy Hour at The Veil of Forrest Hill with M’s & 2.0’s in tow.
Prayer Requests:
Keep HOUSE PARTY and his family in prayer as they’re taking in the grandkids this week out of a foster situation. They need our help with some last minute little kid supplies which you can bring to HDHH tonight or to Rock&Roll Sat AM. They need little girl cold-weather clothing (sizes 2T-6T welcome), a little kid table and chairs and/or booster seats, and whatever little girl toys/books/dolls/etc you can part with. Let’s help our brother out!
A 10-PAX of SOJ HIM’s looking for a good time found Sally awaiting them at NoToll. No Mudslide? No problem. Let’s do this:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Mosey onto the BBall Court and circle up
Welcome & Disclaimer
SALLY UP, SALLY DOWN (~1min of each: Merkins, Squats, Leg Lifts)
Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom
Round TWO of Sally Up Sally Down
COP #1:
Mosey to the Toll Bridge
7 MINUTE CIRCUIT:
Rotate through x15 Incline Merkins, x15 Dips, x15 Donkey Kicks
COP #2:
Mosey to Field #1
Line up for a LINDSEY:
Chain Smokers 30-25-20-15-10
Groiners 10-15-20-25-30
Run length of field between sets
COP #3:
STRETCHES & SPRINTS
Alternate stretching with variable speed sprints across Field #1
COP #3:
Mosey back to the BBall Court
Line up for DMC:
Duckwalk out half way
Complete x10 Merkins
Crawlbear Back
Complete x3 Rounds
GRAND FINALE:
Round THREE of Sally Up Sally Down
This time just Merkins to exhaustion, then switch to Squats for rest of time
COT:
Counterama # 10
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
YHC took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: Nice to get reacquainted with Sally this morning – Nancy was particularly pleased and asked for thirds. The initial “CrossFit Workout” playlist was total trash, but we landed in the “CrossFit Rock Station” which worked out well. Missed out on the potential Mudslide visit, but maybe next time – this stuff isn’t for the feint of heart! Appreciate ya’ll letting me lead. Recent injuries are improving, praise be to God. SYITG, DTH
Announcements:
10/20 SOJ HDHH at The Veil Brewing
Prayer Requests:
Healing prayers for Nancy’s daughter with a nasty ankle injury
Five SOJ redwoods welcomed an upstate brother and an FNG to the Rock&Roll gloom. AO was secured by Florence and Chaplain rubbing out an early one, and cool Fall weather got the PAX frisky for the DTH beatdown:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Mosey loop around the lot & circle up on the basketball court
CHUMBABURPEE – Musical warmup with ongoing SSH, broken up with a Burpee everytime they sing “I get knocked down”!
F3 Welcome & Disclaimer
A smattering of stretchy IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom
COP #1:
Mosey via GRABASS back to the Woods Trail Pull-up Bars
Grabass = Q calls a PAX name, he takes off like a bat out of hell, first PAX to catch him calls x20 reps of their choosing. The Catch – front runners mosey back to the Six to perform the reps.
COP#3:
Brother “FLINT” throws down a CINDY challenge:
Split up among 3 Stations
Station 1 – x5 Pull-ups
Station 2 – Merkins
Station 3 – Squats
Rotate for a total of 7 min
COP #4:
Indigenous People’s Run along the back loop
Stop half-way along grassy side for OVER-UNDERS x50 yards
COP #5:
Mosey to the Picnic Pavilion for TABLE MADNESS:
WINGNUTS – x10 IC
COYOTE UGLY’S – Each Partner x5 reps
WINGNUTS – x10 IC
HAIL MARY’S – x20 each, x2 Rounds
WINGNUTS – x10 IC
COP #
Mosey over to the parking lot
Circle up for PLANK COMPASS – each PAX’ feet remain fixed in place, while hands plank walk X degrees in whichever direction Q calls, with x5 merkins between each new direction
Mosey BTTF:
Body Builders, x10 IC
Flutters IC, Low & High, x20 IC each
CIRCLE MERK x3
COT:
Counterama # 7
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
Flint took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: Beautiful fall morning to have YHC’s brother FLINT (John Henderson) down from NYC, and to reunite with HEARTBURN after his long rehab from a crazy jaw injury, and to welcome Heartburn’s Jamaican friend BAYWATCH (used to be a lifeguard). Missed some of the regulars who are out of town – praying for safe travels guys! SYITG, DTH
Nine nubile gentlemen of the gloom struck their best pose on the catwalk while Snuff judged the lighting with an expert eye. Some earned a place on the centerfold, while all gave their best, but you had to be there to really bask in Glory:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Welcome & review NEW GLORY
Moseyrama around the parking lot loop then a few Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom
NEW GLORY:
x14 stations around a loop Circuit
You VS You, complete as many Circuit rounds as possible within 30min
Rosie – 4th HRM (3.5), DTH – Opener Burpees (3.1), Florence – WWII’s (3.0), Machismo – Mtn Climbers (2.13), Fiona – Ball Dippers (2.10), Singer – Chap Hill Burpees (2.9), Dealer – Chap Hill Burpees (2.9), HP – Jerkins (2.8), Snuff – IR Modified
BTTF:
5min of breathing/stretching
COT:
Counterama # 9
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
SNUFF took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: Solid numbers for this 3rd iteration of the Forge’s quarterly New Glory, and excellent efforts by all with Rosie breaking the record and Florence joining the 3.0 club. Also keeping an eye on Machismo accelerating closer to the 3.0 mark. Well done everyone! This won’t get easier, but keep posting and you WILL get faster. SYITG, DTH
Announcements:
10/20 SOJ HDHH at The Veil Brewing (BEER, CIDER, TACOS)
A swarthy band of gloom brothers gathered at NoToll to celebrate the DTH 4 year anniversary. There were promises of something new, and the eager PAX went to work:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Circle up on the BBall Court
Welcome & Disclaimer
x9 DQ’s IC
x27 SSH’s IC
x20 Copperhead Squats IC
x18 WWII’s IC
4×4’s Countdown Warmerama (4 down to 1, running across and back between sets)
Numbers derived from YHC’s first F3 post on 9/27/2018, making today 4 years!
Discover YHC’s Old Town Canoe awaiting the PAX at the gate
BOAT INTERVALS: 2 PAX Board the Canoe, rest of PAX carry the Canoe to next Interval, complete called exercise, repeato with x2 new PAX riding each time
Exercises completed in sets of 9, 27, 20, 18 (honoring YHC’s anniversary date)
x4 new PAX into canoe pulled/pushed to 50yard line, complete x50 Squats
Bernie back with empty canoe
x4 new PAX into canoe pulled/pushed to 75yard line, complete x75 Flutters (2-ct)
Bernie back with empty canoe
x4 new PAX into canoe pulled/pushed 100yard line, complete x100 LBC’s
Mosey BTTF carrying canoe overhead, and pause to take a group photo:
COT:
Counterama # 14
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
YHC took the PAX out in Prayer
NMS: Today’s team work with the boat was an awesome example of what we can accomplish when we rely on one another. There is more to F3 than merkins and mumblechatter, and YHC is deeply grateful to you brothers who have reciprocated encouragement and accountability. As YHC mentioned in closing, God doesn’t promise or call us to happiness or ease, but rather to holiness and tribulation. We aren’t made to do it alone, and YHC has found a brotherhood in you guys that’ll overcome every obstacle in a way that glorifies God. Here’s to 4 years and 44 more! (And happy co-anniversary to Don Draper!) SYITG, DTH
Fitness is best Accelerated by running with faster men. There is no best or only way to Accelerate 3S2T – Speed, Strength, Stamina, Toughness (physical) and Toughness (mental). What works best for the individual man will be dependent on the man himself and the circumstances of the time, place and age that are beyond his control. But what is true for all men seeking to Accelerate, is that it works much better as a GROUP than alone. Together, we pool our collective knowledge for the benefit of each individual and spur one another on to places we would never reach alone. This is the power of the Shield Lock, which is the horizontal relationship between men. Together, we sharpen each other–as iron sharpens iron. (QSource 1.2)
The Shield Lock has a Purpose beyond mere companionship. It is the means by which we fight the Flux, which is the emotional reaction to the peaks and valleys that appear throughout a man’s life. When things go well for the Amateur he is Happy and thinks the good times will roll on forever. When things go badly, he is un-Happy and thinks the world is out to get him. Happiness, the transitory positive feeling governed by mere external circumstance, is the province of the Amateur who is un-Prepared for the Flux. The Pro, through Preparedness, gets ready for the Flux because it is expected, and he also stays ready for its unexpected aspect: timing–he never knows precisely when to expect the next peak or valley. By locking shields with other men, the HIM hedges his brother’s peak against his own valley, and vice-versa. He knows that his valleys will tempt him to the Flux, and that he will need the strength of his brother’s peak to maintain Acceleration. Likewise, he knows that it will be his peak that provides his brother the bulwark he will need when a valley draws him toward the Flux. This, not companionship, is the ultimate Purpose of the Shield Lock and its primary distinction from a Club. (QSource 1.7)
