Here it is. The backblast you’ve all been waiting for. What a day men. Just want to start with some acknowledgemtn of all the HIM that made this day possible. All the guys that stepped up to Q sites, Jigglypuff for taking the SAG Q, and the entire SAG team. Without those pax none of this would have been possible. TY4YL!

Let’s get at it though. What a gorgeous weather day for this 2025 version of The Highland Games. Couldn’t have dialed it up any better. After getting every checked in and assigned their clans for the upcoming festivities we kicked it off promptly at 0545-ish with Squeeze Bag on the bagpipes. THANK YOU Squeeze Bag for coming over and absolutely crushing it on the pipes this morning (check Nextdoor for a glowing review). Announcements made, pledge pledged, and Squeeze Bag played us off on our way.

Over to the Point Break side of Waverly for some warm-ups led by YHC. Pax were high in spirit and full of mumblechatter at this stage of the Games. Once properly warmed, including a full set of SCary Stretches which blew our visiting pax’s collective minds, off we set for the first proper thang at FWD.

Thang 1 – Homegrown took the lead at stop one assigning each clan a task. The tasks were, shotput across the back field, coupon carries down the greenway, dips/irkins/derkins at the bunches by pavilion, and rockwork. Each clan rotated through each station and crushed it. Nobody was taken out by a flying stone, so off to a good start. Let’s continue!

Thang 2 – Lengthy mosey all the way to the home of the premier 0530 Friday AO, Shepherds Watch, for some Ultimate Frisbee led by the pax formerly known as Spayed. The clans paired up and had admittedly a ton of fun. Lot’s of slipping, sliding, spectacular defense, amazing catches, and of course, plenty of burpees for drops. Both teams claimed victory in the end and perhaps the true victor will never be known. In higher spirits than ever off the pax set for the next stop.

Thang 3 – Cross Tryon and head down to the top of the hill before the tunnel. Pax were gathered and WebMD took over. Pax were instructed to storm the tunnel complete with battle yells while running through. This was definitely one of the high points and the effect was truely nailed. Well done Web. Grab the rope and mosey down the greenway a ways for some…. tug of war led by WebMD and rookie of the year candidate Promo! Clans were paired up again and multiple rounds of tug of war were completed with a sprint in between each round. Pairings changed each time and resulted in some riveting mtachups. Indigenous peoples run to the end of the greenway and then regular mosey onto the next stop.

Thang 4 – Amway took the lead at the bottom of the dam hill, where lo and behold pain sticks were awaiting us. Pain stick dora-esque beatdown ensued. Each pax in the clan took a turn carrying the pain stick to the top and completed overhead presses to failure for points (one rep = one point). Bring the pain stick back down and the next pax goes. Pax at the bottom completed a Dora of 100 squats, 200 curls, and 300 rows. At one point Yogi decided to come up with his own method of returning the pain stick and almost broke multiple pax’s ankles, but thankfully nobody was hurt. Score was actually somewhat accurately kept and the winner was determined to be the Blue clan (Let’s go Blue clan!). Next up…. SAG STOP!

SAG team crushed the refreshment pit stop even if Chris R’s music did upset a gentleman who apparently sleeps in his polo shirts. Also, unfortunately (?) no plantains this year. Properly refreshed and refueled off we go for…

Thang 5 – One of the newer AOs launched in SCary is the Saturday morning 3rdF – The Accelerator that runs in conjunction with Loch N Load. The Accelerator is a 4-5ish mile run with a purposeful 3rdF discussion topic selected by the Q that week. Amway gave an overview and clans stuck together to discuss the topic of, “Which of the 3 Fs do you need to focus on most in your life right now?” I can only speak for my clan but the conversation was great, thought provoking, and really encouraging to hear other guys share. TY4YL in launching this great addition to our region Amway!

Thang 6 – Our Accelerator portion ended at Lochmere Village where none other than Fruit Loop was await us with a bucket of golf balls, how very Scottish. Next up was a golf ball relay race. Legs consisted of bear crawl golf ball push, merkins while holding the golf ball between your knees, bunny hopping while holding the golf ball between your hands with your palms down and not using your thumbs, and finally a lunge walk followed by tossing the ball into a bucket (10 penalty burpess if you miss). This was a ton of fun and resulted in many good laughs. But the fun wasn’t over, off we go!

Thang 7 – As we rolled into Ritter Park, the (un)official home of SCary, Kitty Litter took the lead. Clans were paired up and completed caber toss and giant tire flipping. At one point a tiny dog was almost impaled or flattened by cabers until successfully captured by HGTV (who proceeded to tell the lovely lady what all these crazy dudes were doing). Throwing logs and flipping tires is always a great time and this was another highlight for many of the pax. After we were done throwing heavy stuff around Shipyard stepped up and had a surprise for us… We needed the logs at the next stop, and there was only one way to get them there. One log per pax, and lets mosey. But don’t forget the flags!!! This ended up being quite the task and admittedly a lot harder than I thought it would be. TClaps to all the pax for carrying the logs and flags, nice work!

Thang 8 – Around we made our way to the back lot of the adjacent office park for what promised to be an experience with Shipyard at the helm. And boy did he deliver. With the help of CPR construction some pallet sleds had been created and were staged at one end of the parking lot. Our task, use the logs as rollers and pull the sleds to the other side, heaviest pax on top of the sled. At this point a lot of rule bending occured, but the Blue clan absolutely crushed it and completed the task to the letter of the law, and blue everyone out of the water. Well done Blue clan. Apparently according to Shipyard though, everyone lost and had to carry everything back to the start. This was arguably even worse than rolling the sleds down. Done and dusted time to head for home.

Our fearless SAG guide Astro on his trusty segway scooter led us back to Waverly where we were greated by the sweet, sweet sounds of Squeeze Bag serenading us with the bagpipes once again. Simply lovely. And with that it was a wrap.

COT: SCary picnic 4/28, 4-7pm, eating at 5:30p. See Sbarro for the sign-up sheet. SIGN UP!!! Several prayers lifted up.

Thanks again to each and every one of you for coming out this morning and making the effort to be there. Even moreso, thanks to each of your families and friends for putting up with us and the crazy stuff we do, the true heroes. It was an outstanding morning and an honor to your HG Q this year. F3 and this group of guys is incredibly and I’m lucky to have found my way here (shoutout to Astro for the EH almost two years ago now!). Way to crush it this morning!!

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I’m not sure how to describe this morning’s workout. I guess incredible experience for me to be in His story, to be able to step up, step out and share. You all make it better by being there. Carpex guys, Green Level, Peakcity, Churham….appreciate all you F3 men, wanting to be being part of His story, too. Receive the gifts. Keep your hands tight around it. Don’t loose it and please take all you’ve received today with you to share with others in your own way. Your friends, families this weekend. Keep it alive. We’ll do it again next year.

Welcome FNG 2 Chains !!

See most of you tomorrow HIGHLAND GAMES 2025

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11 pax plus the Q decided to take a trip down the lanes of yesteryear and play a game of….

Memory.

54 cards were spread out on a picnic bench that will be holding delicious food at the F3 picnic next Sunday (rumor has it there is a signup sheet somewhere) and the PAX had to pick 2 with the hopes of a match. Total # of the two cards resulted in the number reps to perform.

Detailed rules in the comments.

An expertly curated playlist (also in the comments) accompanied this intense workout of mumblechatter and shockingly high count of sir fazio arm circles. One thing is for sure, @grisham is never going to have a rotator cuff injury.

Stations of the cross
Highland Games
Make someone’s day better today.

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Got us some miles today. 5:30 sharp – off we go – warm up in one of those office buildings partway up cary parkway – GM, AV, HB, MC; then partner up and we are off – catch me if you can with 5 star jumps up the hill and across US 1. Stop at the first office building for a round of 15,10, 5 – dips, knee ups and irkins – then on up to seabrook avenue. Down the road – with stops every 2 houses for merkins or squats alternating. Once we reached MacDonald Woods Park, we did an animal crossing on the bball court. – bears, ducks, bunnys, crabs and frogs – one direction animal, jog back. Back on the greenway, when you reached the ramp for the bridge – lunge walk to the top. Stop in the middle of the bridge for Peoples chair and BTTW – 10 count down the line. Back to the flag for a perfectly executed 45 minutes and nearly 3 miles. Pretty short COT – mentioned stations of the cross and the Highland Games. Great coffeteria. Thanks for having me today.

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**Backblast: The Jordan Finals Tribute Workout**

*Date*: April 12, 2025
*Location*: Lochmere Parking Lot

On this fine day in the year of our Lord, 2025, a ruggedly handsome group of HIMS assembled to channel their inner “His Airness.” The workout paid homage to Michael Jordan’s NBA Finals flu performance—a legendary display of grit and determination.

With the silky rhythms of the *Space Jam* soundtrack to keep them in the zone, the men set out on a range of challenges that mirrored Jordan’s versatility:

1. **Shuttle Runs** – For that fast-break speed.
2. **Defensive Drills** – Hustling like MJ in his prime.
3. **Kettlebell Swings** – Building strength like a champ.
4. **Hill Runs** – Pushing through with Jordan-esque resilience.
5. **Rounds of Push-ups, Pull-ups, and Squats** – Because greatness demands reps.
6. **Layup Drills** – Some stayed in their lane; others showboated with long-distance shots.
7. **Final Feat**: A 250-yard car tow of a 2014 Ford Escape – because why not?

It was a performance worthy of the GOAT himself, with camaraderie and effort shining through every exercise.

**Announcements**:
– Check Slack for all the happenings this weekend.
– Haven’t signed up for the picnic? What are you waiting for?
– Highland Games are coming—don your kilts and show up in style!

**Inspirational Note**:
Life is a team sport, and we all need someone to lean on—just like MJ needed Pippen to conquer those legendary moments. Take a moment today to check on someone who might be in crisis or simply someone you haven’t heard from in a while. A small gesture can mean the world. Together, we can lift each other up and keep pushing forward.

**#NeverAlone #BeLegendary**
Great work today, gentlemen. Let’s keep hitting life like MJ hit those clutch shots.

The post 2025-04-12 Q’d by PickUp appeared first on F3 South Cary.

Where do I start? I planned an EC run to meet my Nantan and bring him back in to the flag.
The good news: I found my Nantan
The bad news: he was prairie dogging so bad, that he was walking back to the Circle K (not for coffee!)

10 HIMs joined me for the bootcamp while JP split home for an early conference or to clean his shorts. Not sure we’ll ever know for sure.

Warm-up lap through the hood behind the Teeter with two stops along the way for stretching.

Thang 1
After a successful game of chick across to Publix, the pax begin a snake around the lot with exercises increase the reps by 10% each time
10 T-merkins
11 American hammers
12 R (an exercise that started with R)
13 Incline merkins
15 Flutter kicks
17 F (a second exercise that started with F)

Thang 2
The pax rejoined with two mall walkers for 4 corners. Exercises were crowdsourced to give the appearance of no plan, but in fact there was a plan all along…
After 3-4 rounds of 4 corners, 4 corners was suspended for 90 days.

Mary
Back to the flag for 3 LBCs

Prayers for ankles, tick bites, wrists and Petey were lifted up.

Lead well and MIAGD HIMs!

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The SCary PAX converged this morning at a true fitness mecca: Waffle House. Thanks to the genius of Yoga Mat for dusting off this CSAUP a mere two weeks ago and bringing the crazy idea back to life. It went kind of like this:

1 big and dense waffle
2 eggs
2 pieces of buttery toast
Hash brows/grits (def not tomato)
Bacon/sausage (def not ham)
5K (3.00 to 3.16mi depending on watch and route)

Various techniques were observed to get the food down quick. Thread your favorite below.
A good time was had by all and amazingly no one reported a Merlot.

Awesome to have Petey and FNG Cutco join us.
MIAGD!

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These 8 HIMs weren’t scared of a little rain, and good thing because it turned out to be a beautiful morning.

3 for the EC.
For the ME, moseyed around the sheep loop and executed warmups in the usual spot. Headed to the shelter for non-standard DORA consisting of 100 derkins, 200 step-ups (L+R=1), 300 dips. OTW was highly skeptical of my L/R counting, seeking clarification numerous times.

For thang 2 we grabbed a rock and traveled the sheep loop with periodic exercises, working our way up to rock yo body.

Great way to start the week.
MIAGD!

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There was something for everyone this morning at South Cary’s premier Saturday AO. 8 runners ran, 8 boot campers boot camped, and 1 rucker rucked.
The boot campers made it down to the docks for standard warmups which quickly shifted to flying warmups because YHC didn’t want to cadence count any more.
Up to the road for what would be our thang for the day: counting the posts of the red railings that line the road. First section: squats, start at 1 and increment by at 1 each post until we get to the middle. There are 25 posts on that side of the dam, so 325 squats later we started on the other side, this time with overhead presses, to see if the railing was symmetrical. It was. After 325 overhead presses (and multiple amused drivers wondering what we were doing) we made it to the far side of that damn dam and could turn around and enjoy the sunrise over the lake.
Time to go back across. This time we did Paula Abdul’s (2 steps forward one step back) lunge walking 2 posts forward, running back one. After doing that for a bit, changed it up for time: run 2, lunge walk back 1. Made it to the middle bridge where the swans were swanning and the clock was ticking and started moseying back towards the flag, stopping a couple times for rounds of irkins on the railing.
YHC stepped in on the mosey back so we cut across the grass and slowed to a shuffle to wipe it off before a vanilla mary (LBCs, Chris R’s Cobras, Superman’s/Aussie Snow Angels). HAND as the runners returned to the flag.

Announcements: ASS Challenge sign up is locked, but all are encouraged to show up anyway; Highland Games and picnic are on the horizon.

Quote from Mark Twain: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, but your government only when it deserves it.”
I think about this for government and for the people more immediately in our lives. Support and love them all the time, even when their behavior doesn’t live up to their promise – and take that as an opportunity to guide and nurture them towards more appropriate action.

Good turnout at Chanticleer with a starskey by Petey .

The post 2025-04-05 Q’d by Shipyard appeared first on F3 South Cary.

Thank you to everyone who showed up to my VQ this morning and thank you to the Site Q, Amway for letting me lead the Q.

We started with some warm-up drills before getting into the Thang.

THANG:
A circuit of pull-ups, merkins, lunges and run around the big pickle. 10 sets total, so great job to everyone!

Announcements:
Highland Games 2 weeks from this Sat & SW Cary Picnic 1 week after that

COT:
Prayers for Sbarro’s kids, Pucnhout’s hand injury, Peter, continual wisdom and strength for everyone

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