AO: Bon Iron

• QIC: Machizmo
• Date: September 12, 2026
• PAX (9): Machizmo (QIC), Turtle Wax, Rage Bait (FNG), Chicken Muddle (FNG), Tenman, Trojan, L Woods, Scram, Ranger
• FNGs (2): Rage Bait, Chicken Muddle

The Welcoming of the FNGs

• Rage Bait (FNG Dan): Down range from out of town alongside his brother Turtle Wax to celebrate their sister’s wedding at the Botanical Gardens after a 17-year courtship and engagement. Turtle Wax shared childhood memories of Rage Bait pushing his buttons to the point of household foot chases with kitchen cutlery. Dan’s high-level electronics expertise makes him the architect of modern automated headaches (think unresponsive Alexa/Google smart-home tech). Thus, your new antagonist was christened Rage Bait.
• Chicken Muddle (FNG Thomas): Recruited by Tenman during a neighborhood stroll. Father of four (raising three solo until meeting his wife of 11 years, plus one stepdaughter) with a son preparing for the U.S. Navy. When the PAX suggested Mr. Wilson or Brunswick Stew honoring his southern drawl and Brunswick County roots, Thomas set the record straight: down home, it’s strictly known as Chicken Muddle. A gentle giant has officially entered the gloom.

Warm-Up

Machizmo led the crew on a mosey around the kiosk circle mixing in high knees, step-overs, and butt-kickers before circling up for:

• Side Shuttle Hops (SSH)
• Don Quixote’s 
• Big Boy Sit-ups (arms crossed) 
• American Hammers
• Merkins 

The Thang

Part 1: 20-Minute Bus Loop AMRAP

The PAX marched to the truck to claim their cinder blocks (“ball and chain”). True HIMs took the challenge up a notch with a dual-block farmer’s carry out to the bus loop.

After a walk-through demonstration at each station, the 20-minute clock started. The PAX crushed approximately 4 continuous rounds of:

• Station 1: Goblet Squats & Kettlebell Swings (block-weighted)
• Station 2: 10 Incline Merkins on Bent-Over rows (5 right, 5 left)
• Station 4: Block Thrusters & Presses
• Station 5: 10 Block Hammers & 10 Block Sit-ups

Chicken Muddle arrived mid-AMRAP, jumping straight into the grinder without missing a beat.

Part 2: A Tale of Two Hills (11s)

With grip strength thoroughly spent, the PAX returned the Cindys to the truck bed and moseyed to the church hills for an 11s ladder:

• Hill 1: Incline Merkins (10 down to 1)
• Hill 2: Lieutenant Dans (1 up to 10)

The PAX left no man behind, circling back to pick up the six and burn out the clock.

COT (Circle of Trust) & Coffer

• Announcements: Fall rec sports kick off this weekend. Shoutout to Hooker, Scram, L Woods, and Machismo for coaching youth leagues and investing in the community.
• Message: Reflecting on Chicken Muddle’s wisdom on fatherhood and raising kids into solid human beings. F3 is about physical sharpening, but more importantly, about stepping up as leaders, fathers, and brothers for the people who rely on us.
• Prayers: Safe travels for our down-range visitors, blessings and great weather for Turtle Wax and Rage Bait’s sister’s wedding at the Botanical Gardens this afternoon, and perseverance for Thomas’s (Chicken Muddle’s) son as he enters the Navy.

Forecast fulfilled: A scattering of cinder blocks, guaranteed pain, and clear skies for the wedding.

Machismo with a well run and pre-organized hot potato formatted Q on a wonderful Saturday Morning. PAX arrived, and Machismo lead to start with a Warm-A-Rama (Bus Circle Loop)

We started things off low and slow to get the blood flowing:

 * Side Straddle Hops (Low & Slow)

 * Don Quixotes

 * LBCs

 * Obliques (Right)

 * Obliques (Left)

 * Merkins

The Thang

Round 1: Eye of the Hurricane (Asphalt Rectangle / Basketball Court)

 * 5 Burpees in the center hub.

 * Travel to 4 corners with escalating reps:

   * Corner 1: 25 Merkins

   * Corner 2: 50 LBCs

   * Corner 3: 75 Squats

   * Corner 4: 100 Side Straddle Hops

Round 2: Playground Havoc * Machismo passed the Q off to Dookie, who led the PAX through a playground beatdown.

Triple Check: Pull-Ups; Dips; Track Loop. Repeat 3.

Round 3: 11s * L Woods took the reins next, leading the group through a round of 11s.

Merkins / Pickle Pounders – Run the Outfield.

Round 4: Transition * DTH took over to lead transition exercises between stations.

Burpee Broad Jumps across the parking lot…. Followed by consecutive cone hops (the fatigue can make this quite scary for your man parts).

Round 5: Wall Work * Scram took the lead next for some solid wall work.

Start with 25 count of milkers; followed directly by a 25 count of Muhammed Ali’s; Mosey to second wall for some balls to the wall Shoulder Touches

600 / Mary

 * Dookie grabbed the final hot potato to close out Mary just as time expired.

Aye! Strong work by all 7 PAX today.

two men this morning a great time in the gloom

**Warm-o-Rama**Moseyed around the area to get loose, working through the warm-up almost entirely in conversation with Trojan — good sign of an AO that’s found its rhythm. Don Quixote in cadence, Michael Phelps, obliques (right and left), capped off with 20 merkins (10 on a 2-count) to get the blood moving

.**The Thang***Baseball Diamond — 3 Rounds:*- 15 merkins at 1st- 15 squats at 2nd- 15 Freddie Mercuries at 3rd- 15 burpees at home

*Dora at the Playground:*Partner-style — one PAX ran the gravel track around the playground while the other worked through 25 pull-ups, 50 merkins, and 100 dips.

*Wall Work — The Great Wall at Bon Air Elementary:*Full stop for wall work, hoedowns, 15 donkey kicks, 15 milkers, and 15 more donkey kicks.

*Bus Loop Wind Sprints:

*A few sprints working up through effort levels — 50%, 75%, up to 100% — then moseyed back.

*Curb Work:*Closed out with 25 curb ups and some more ab work.**Mary*

*Cooldown and a prayer walk around the church.*

*COT**Good fellowship and conversation to close it out. Talked through the Hernán Cortés question — tool in the hand of God, or violent and objectionable conquistador? — with some solid reflection on the age of exploration. Trojan and I got into male leadership: the accountability that comes with hard decisions, and the need for bold leadership in the church — men willing to take risks for the Kingdom and for the good of their communities.**Announcements**- Snuff’s pool party — 8/28, 6:30 PM- Elle Woods leading a food distribution event on 8/29 — reach out to him for detailsAlways amazed how much you get out of a workout even when it’s just two men in the gloom. ?

Warm-A-Rama

• Mosey: Lap around the school (Sufficiently winded!)
• Don Quixotes
• Arm Circles (Forward & Backward in cadence, with plenty of chatter)
• Dead Man Hang (Stretching right & left legs)
• Merkins

The Thang (4 Rounds of Cinder Block Beatdown)

Location: Bus Parking Loop (keeping it close to the Flag)

1. Farmer’s Carry: Both blocks to the far end of the bus loop. And back (this was a bit of. Stretch and we had to stop on passion to give the grip a rest)
2. Bear Crawl Block Drag: 10–20 yards down and back.
3. Alternating Rows: 12 reps Right / 12 reps Left (hand anchored on the other block).
4. Cinder Block Thrusters: 12–15 reps.
5. Block-Over-Burpees: 8.
6. Rest & Repeat for 4 full rounds! X

Ended with several rounds of block excercises and Ranger Resistance – 3 seconds of iso resistance reverse leg lift (great burner).

Always good for the hang afterwards. Coffee started around 6:45 and ended around 7:30. 45 min. workout 45 min. hang. This is starting to become the Bon Iron way. Good talk about conversation and communication at coffeeteria. Cindy makes a good makeshift camp chair after a burner of a workout. Tin Man and Ranger great having you.

The Scene

Five HIMs gathered in the Gloom ready to take on a classic tour of the neighborhood—specifically, two churches and a bank. Legend has it if you hit enough holy ground and financial institutions in one beatdown, you either find salvation or a siren.

Warmerama

Location: Stony Point Parking Lot

We got the blood flowing with a quick-progression warm-up:

• Side Straddle Hops
• WWII Sit-ups
• Ukrainian Soldiers
• Arm Circles
• Raise the Roofs

The Thang

Stop 1: Stony Point — Four Corners

We hit the corners for a classic circuit:

• Corner 1: Merkins
• Corner 2: Lt. Dan’s
• Corner 3: LBCs
• Corner 4: Side Straddle Hops

Stop 2: Bon Air Baptist Church — Dora

Partnered up to grind through the reps while the partner ran:

• 100 Merkins
• 200 Squats
• 300 Freddie Mercurys

Stop 3: Wells Fargo Bank — Parking Lot Pain

• Cocaine Bears: Bear crawls across 12 parking spaces.
• Squat Escalator: Worked our way through a painful progression before heading back on the run toward the flag.

COT / Devotional

Mumblechatter & Reflection

During the beatdown, chatter turned toward the movie The Odyssey and how its timeless themes strike a surprising parallel with Hebrews 13.

‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ‘

Hebrews 13:2-5
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/HEB.13.2-5.NIV

We reflected on the virtue of hospitality—how ancient Greek culture (and Zeus’s laws of xenia) stressed the importance of entertaining strangers and keeping the marital bed pure, ideas echoed directly in scripture. We talked about the call in Hebrews to commiserate with those in captivity as if we were alongside them, cultivating true empathy and open doors for those around us.

Prayers & Intentions

• Trojan’s Dad: Prayers for continued healing and full recovery following his recent heart attack.
• Tin-Man’s Son (Brandon): Prayers for wisdom and guidance as he considers joining his dad at the roofing company.

Solid work by all five men today. If Wells Fargo didn’t appreciate us doing Cocaine Bears in their lot, no worries—they’re closing down anyway!

Inspired by the AI generated Hype Song mentioned above, 6 brave souls came out for a Saturday morning beatdown at Bon Iron. While the Q didnt slam as many Burpees, he did “Make the Whole Crew Look Beastly”

Start with wet-ish Warmarama: SSH; Copperhead Squats; Ukrainian Soldiers; Mericans; Mountain Climbers; etc.

Nice Long Jog around the big loop to a triple check on the playground: Pull Ups; WW2; Run

Mosey over to an abbreviated 4 corners prostitute style, where you had to sprint to the first corner (25 monkey humpers); then lung to the next corner (25 LBC’s); Broad Jump to the 3rd corner (25 Mericans); squat to the last corner (25 SSH).

Mosey back to the playground for another triple check on the playground: dips; Plank: Run. On the mosey back to the COT, we finished with a nice burpee and sprint.

names, numbers, announcements

YHC: Machismo

The PAX: Machismo, Tin Man, Dookie

The Vibe: High-grade conversation, contractor iron sharpening iron, and a firework-inspired beatdown to celebrate America’s 250th.

Warm-O-Rama

We kicked off with a mosey around the school. The conversation started immediately and didn’t stop. With three contractors in the mix, the focus naturally locked into construction, communication, and leadership. We knocked out an “in-conversation” warmup:

• Side Straddle Hops (SSH)
• Ukrainian Soldiers
• Imperial Walkers
• Dead Man Hangs

The Thang

1. The Firework Four Corners

We hit the first rectangular pavement area for a hurricane-style routine. The center was the “fuse” (called in Cadence), building tension before exploding to the four corners.

• Corner 1: 15 Diamond Merkins
• Corner 2: 20 Wide-Grip Merkins
• Corner 3: 25 Carolina Dry Docks
• Corner 4: 30 Shoulder Taps

What worked: The cadence in the center genuinely felt like a shell getting ready to explode. It completely redefined the usual four-corners monotony.

2. Hub & Spoke Bus Loop

Next, we rolled to the bicycle course/bus loop. We held the Ab Center in Cadence, bursting outward down the spokes for:

• Imperial Squat Walkers
• Squats
• Ukrainian Soldiers
• Curb Hops: A new crowd favorite. 25 reps jumping from the gutter onto the yellow curb. Total burner that required unexpected balance and coordination.

3. The Triple Check

We moved to the chain-link fence by the baseball diamond for a grueling 6-to-8-minute rotation:

• Station 1: Chain Smokers
• Station 2: Squats
• Pacer: Run to the far end of the fence and back.

4. Skate Ramp 11s

Dookie dubbed this one perfectly. At the Stony Point berms by the church, we launched into 11s:

• Start at Berm 1: 1 WWII Sit-up
• Run down into the parking lot and up the other side to Berm 2: 10 Merkins
• Descend/Ascend and scale it (2 WWIIs / 9 Merkins… down to 10 WWIIs / 1 Merkin).

The Real Burn: It was the constant running back down and up between the berms that redlined our heart rates. Pushing through together three brothers holding the line made for an incredible finish. Hit the clock perfectly right at the cutoff.

The Naked Moleskin & Coffeeteria

YHC had the privilege of sharing about my dad for a second time, handing out two more paisley white handkerchiefs. Tin Man reflected on how his own grandfather always carried one, sparking a great conversation on what it means to simply be useful men.

At Coffeeteria, the contractor talk continued on a deeper level. Dookie and Tin Man opened up about their job sites and the genuine pride they take in their craftsmanship. While they talked about the daily frustrations of managing crews who leave trash or sloppy work behind, the ultimate resolution of the group was clear: having pride in the work you do is incredibly important and defines who you are.

We also got personal: Dookie shared about Eliza heading to Roanoke for “grandma camp.” We reflected on loving our kids well—especially the difficult ones, who actually need that extra grace and love the most.

The EH of the Day: Machismo spotted a marathon runner cruising past the AO. He successfully ran him down and engaged him. Turns out his name is Jeb (F3 Name: Sandy), and he used to attend F3 a couple of years ago. We grabbed his contact info and are shifting him to plug into The Forge or NoToll since he lives near Bon Air. Welcome back, Sandy!

Q’s Review: What Went Well & How to Level Up

• The Wins: The thematic “Firework/Fuse” concept kept the energy high, and integrating the heavy conversation seamlessly into the movements made the workout fly by. Catching “Sandy” was a masterclass in Always Be Recruiting.
• For Next Time: The Curb Hops and Skate Ramp 11s were massive hits; we can easily expand on curb/obstacle balance work and high-intensity hill transitions in future Qs to keep pushing our coordination and endurance.
• Dookie called the Q for next week. Get ready for it.