Author: wstark

11/7 – Vurph

Q – Viper

PAX:
Vespa
Doogie
Gold Wing
Purdy
Brickyard
Manchester
Rudy

The Thang:
Standard Vurph:

.3 mile run

10 rounds of:
10 burpees
20 diamond Merkins
30 LBCs

.3 mile run

CoT

6 – Doogie

11/07/2025 – The 45th:

Date: 11/07/2025
Time: 5:30 – 6:15 AM
Location: Nightmare – Municipal Park, Perrysburg, OH
Q: Bourbon

PAX Count: 13 Total
PAX Names:
Guardian
Spaulding
Irish Hoss
Fat Amy
Huckleberry
Tarnished
Longhorn
Cocktail (DR from Columbus)
Photon
Dodger (Kotter)
Doubtfire
Geppetto
Bourbon (Q)

F3 Mission: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith; To plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership

Principles of F3:
• It must be free of charge
• It must be open to all men
• It must be held outdoor, rain or shine, hot or cold
• It must be peer led in a rotating fashion by men who participate in the workout, with no training or certification necessary
• It must end with a Circle of Trust (COT)

Disclaimer Statement

Warmup:
• Side Straddle Hops – 45 in cadence; We changed this to 52 in cadence in celebration of Tarnished’s birthday as well.

Beatdown:
• 4 Rounds. 5 Exercises per round. 45 seconds of work. 15 seconds of rest. 1 minute rest between rounds.

• Round 1: Foundation 45
o Merkins
o Air Squats
o Mountain Climbers
o Carolina Dry Docks
o Bonnie Blairs

• Round 2: Core Crusher 45
o Big Boy Sit-Ups
o Flutter Kicks
o Little Baby Crunches
o Freddie Mercury’s
o Leg Raises

• Round 3: Power 45
o Burpees
o Jump Squats
o Plank Jack Shoulder Tap
o Lt. Dan’s
o Absolutions

• Round 4: Endurance 45
o Suicides
o Apolo Ohno’s
o Suicides
o High Knees
o Suicides

• Birthday Finisher: The Final 45 (45 reps of each)
o Air Squats
o Merkins
o Big Boy Sit-Ups
o Mountain Climbers (4-count)
o Burpees (we didn’t get to these as time expired on us)

• Count-O-Rama and Name-O-Rama
• Learn about the 6: Tarnished.
• Announcements
• LDP3
• COT / Prayers and Intentions

7 November 2025 Backblast: Dora, Colson, Southie, and FNG “Pennywise” posted.

Run 1 mile to fitness trail.
AMRAP pull-ups.
AMRAP sit-ups.
Planks – 1 minute
AMRAP Dips
AMRAP pull-ups
Merkins 25 x 2 sets
Box jumps
Air squats
10 pull-ups
Run 1 mile back.
End with COT.

Backblast: November 23rd, 2025

AO: The Foundry – Gateway Middle School – Maumee, OH

PAX:
Photon – Q
Big Spoon
Coconut
Doubtfire
Flipper
Footloose
Guardian
Isosceles
Meatloaf
Rumor

Workout: Animolympics

FNG’s: N/A

Mission and Principles:
F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith
Mission: To plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
The core principles of F3 are that it is always:
1. Free of charge
2. Open to all men
3. Held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
4. Led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary. You versus you. Modify or stop an exercise if you need to. The most important thing is that nobody gets hurt.
5. Ends with a Circle of Trust
Credo: Leave no man behind but leave no man where you find him

Warm-up: In Cadence

SSHs: 20
Chain Breakers: 10
Suck Its!: 10

The “Thang”:

Simple concept. PAX competed in 10 distinct competitive races using a different animal-inspired MOT for each race. Distances were scaled according to difficulty/speed of the MOT, with the slower MOTs going a shorter distance. Each round, 1 of the PAX did not compete, and instead acted as the time-keeper using the Rudy Timer. Exercises, Distances, Winners, and Times below:

Winner MOT Yards Win Time Avg TIme
Big Spoon Frog Hop 50 23 35
Big Spoon Alligator Merkin 25 55 77
Big Spoon Murder Bunny 50 27 44
Photon Crab Walk 50 28 56
Iso Bears and Blocks 25 26 40
Big Spoon Cheetah Sprint 200 27 40
Iso Inch Worm Crawl 25 41 56
Big Spoon Duck Walk 50 28 43
Big Spoon? Welsh Dragon 15 ? ?
Coconut? Ape Hop 50 ? ?

Ended with:
Count-O-Rama: 10
Name-O-Rama

The Six – Big Spoon

LDP3
Ball of Man

Spreadsheets from the Gloom: So Big Spoon is a beast…but we already knew that. Would be interested to know how Iso and Coco would have performed if they weren’t holding back to ensure their health for the Churchill’s Half this weekend…I’m sure one of them could have slid into another spot or two. That said, given the winning times (and even the average times), this beatdown was slow, and pin-pointing the reason is proving challenging. Perhaps it’s because all of the races were extremely high intensity and we needed some rest between each race? Original plan was to run through all 10 races at least twice, if not three times each. Was there too much demo-ing? Too much rest between races?

Given the light volume of work, it was still a blast. Some tough movements and some tight races. And some good data that will be utilized during the next implementation of Centipede. I’ll probably even take Coco’s idea and use this data for a more diabolical beatdown in the future.

No tunes today with the constant movement, demo, and phone juggling, but a banger playlist was created.

Was a pleasure to lead this one even if it wasn’t my best.

11/6/25 The Armory
Becoming a Soccer Ref

Intro/Welcome
Mission
Core Principles

No warmup just went into explanation and the Thang.

The Thang:
Did a suicide ‘run’ style workout. Had an AR (Assistant Ref) side that used a smaller weight and a Ref side. 4 cones were setup and ran to first cone did reps, ran back, ran back to first cone did reps and then ran to second cone did reps and then back to the start and cycled like that until you got to the 4th cone and then went on to the Ref side which used Blocks. Once both sides were completed, ran a lap around the parking lot and restart. A couple PAX finished 2 sets and most finished at least 1.5 sets.

AR Side:
Cone #1: Throw-in x 10 reps (raise weight from side to a 135 degree angle, complete with both arms)
Cone #2: Offside/Foul x 10 reps (raise weight from side to straight up above shoulder, complete both arms)
Cone #3: Goal Kick x 10 reps (raise weight from side to a 90 degree angle in front of your chest, complete with both arms)
Cone #4: Corner Kick x 10 reps (weight in hand tap opposite shoulder and move to a 45 degree angle pointing at the ground, complete both arms)

Referee Side: (carry block with you throughout this side)
Cone #1: Squats x 10 (to help with dodging a ball that’s kicked at you)
Cone #2: Overhead hold x 10 (air press with a block but hold at the top for 5 sec. To signify a ref holding their arm up in the air for Offside or penalty call)
Cone #3: Kettlebell Swings x 10 (signify signaling for a goal kick)
Cone #4: Curls x 10 (signify bringing the whistle up to blow it)

Run a lap, repeato!

Count o rama
Name o rama
6 – Vespa
LDP3 – Vespa
Announcements – F3 Holiday Gathering (pay Huck), Saturday 8:30-10 Cedar Creek Church clean up.
Words of Affirmation

COT
Pax:
Yoshi (Q)
Photon
Gold Star
Norm
Huckleberry
Fat Amy
Vespa
Stark
Purdy
Manchester
Doubtfire
Brickyard

Longhorn
Mile high
Spaulding
Rumor
Guchi
Stalker

Partner Beatdown

Motivators

Low plank with 100 box cutters, switch as needed

20 Jack and Jill Merkins

Walking lunges to 3rd light pole and back keeping pace

20 Squat with claps (face opposite directions, clap at top)

100 Wheelbarrow push up squats, switch as needed

Squat hand hold with high knees at level of raised hands for 60 seconds switch as needed

Crab plank and 100 wipers, switch as necessary

20 Pistol squats while holding hands

High Plank and 100 LBCs switching as needed

Repeato.

AO: Wakanda

PAX:
Chubbs
Quick Draw
Arcy
Footloose
Wario-Q

F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith;

Mission: The Mission of F3 is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership

Five Core Principles:
It is free of charge
It is open to all men
It is held outdoors
It's led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion
Ends with a Circle of Trust

Our credo is: Leave no man behind yet leave no man where you found him.

Warm up: 7 count Motivator

Workout: Temple Run

We ran laps around the circle at Wakanda.
On one side of the circle we did block work, and on the other side we had MOT exercises. Each place had a deck of cards, and the suit drawn determined the exercise we would do.

Block work: (10 reps each)
Spades – Man makers
Diamonds – Thrusters
Clubs – Grave diggers
Hearts – Block swings

MOT:
Spades – Bear crawl
Diamonds – Lunge walk
Clubs – Inchwormees
Hearts – Gorilla Walk

We continued like this until 0608.

COR
NOR
6 from Footloose
Announcements
LDP3 from Chubbs
Prayer

Backblast: November 1st, 2025

AO: The Battlefield – The Shops at Fallen Timbers – Maumee, OH

PAX:
Photon – Q
Arcy
Bourbon
Coconut
Crawdad
Doubtfire
Djibouti
Golden Gate
Jersey
Norm
Quick Draw
Spaulding
Stark
Wipers

Workout: The Return Of The Thriller

FNG’s: N/A

Mission and Principles:
F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith
Mission: To plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
The core principles of F3 are that it is always:
1. Free of charge
2. Open to all men
3. Held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
4. Led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary. You versus you. Modify or stop an exercise if you need to. The most important thing is that nobody gets hurt.
5. Ends with a Circle of Trust
Credo: Leave no man behind but leave no man where you find him

Warm-up: In cadence to music

Sumo Squats (2 is 1) – 10
Gore Claps (2 is 1) – 10

The “Thang”:

This was a 12-round ladder workout where a new rung was added to the ladder each round, each rung being an exercise out of the plank position. After each round, all PAX ran a four-tier suicide and held Al Gore while waiting for the 6 to finish. For the work portion, the PAX lined up side-by-side about 6 feet apart from one another in three lines drawn off by three sets of cones. This spacing was used to ensure every PAX had enough space to perform the Thriller routine without any collisions. On the Qs count the routine started, with YHC calling out cadence throughout its entirety. During the last 4-count of each “rung” in the routine, the Q also called out what the next movement/exercise would be in the progression. This continued until the routine was complete for any given round. Run the suicides and repeat until entire routine was built and run in succession. The culmination of this was a 1:30 minute, in cadence routine performed by all PAX, from the plank position, to the backing Thriller track.

Dance exercise were as follows…and yes, they were included to try and mimic the dance moves MJ actually used in the video. Notices that Mountain Climbers were replaced with Peter Parkers and Plank Punches with Travoltas for this one. Both gave a little more flair to the routine.

Rd. Reps
1.) Forward Bear Crawl Slow/fast: 4/8
2.) T-Cross Hand Release Merkin: 4
3.) Zebra Butt Kick (2 is 1): 4
4.) Kick Through (2 is 1): 4
5.) Plank Skier (2 is 1) 4
6.) Plank Jack Shoulder Tap (2 is 1): 4 (waterfall from 3rd row)
7.) Lateral Bear Crawl Right/left: 8/8
8.) Reverse Flying Squirrel 4
9.) Travolta (2 is 1): 4
10.) Peter Parker (2 is 1) 4
11.) Pickle Pounder (2 is 1): 4
12.) Plank Compass: 16

After the final round, there was an encore where YHC provided an opportunity for another PAX to lead the cadence calls. Coconut was up for the call and performed it beautifully.

Ended with:
Count-O-Rama: 14
Name-O-Rama

The Six – Quick Draw

LDP3

Ball of Man

Spreadsheets from the Gloom: If you thought that “Thriller” couldn’t get any better, you were wrong. If you thought “Thriller couldn’t get any harder, you were wrong. This was the one. The best run-through of this beatdown so far, and there is video to prove it. Peter Parkers and Travoltas are harder than the exercises they replaced and moving Flying Squirrels up to an earlier round ensured fatigue set in faster than ever. And that’s not even mentioning the waterfall…

What a great addition. There were definitely some concerns that adding a waterfall/cascade during a particular exercise would end in disaster, but the PAX stepped up and nailed it during the plank jack shoulder taps. 1 measure of just the 3rd row, then the 2nd row jumped in, and finally the front row. Timing synced up with the frequency of claps in the Thriller track and resulted in a visual-sonic bliss. Seriously…just watch the video and bask in its greatness, including the timing of the song finale itself. The front row was absolutely on fire for the full run through.

This is my absolute favorite beatdown and it continues to get better every time it’s run. I truly appreciate the enthusiasm for the idea and the participation of the PAX during each and every run through. It’s that kind of energy that encourages me to want to keep upping the ante on these beatdowns

As I’ve said before, this beatdown will be back. It is THE Halloween beatdown of the Swamp now. But the approach is still just getting started. There are currently two installments in the books with another 5 planned. MJ is here to stay.

Backblast: October 27th, 2025

AO: The Gauntlet – Rivercrest Park – Perrysburg, OH

PAX:
Photon – Q
Big Spoon
Flipper
Guardian
Irish Hoss
Madden
Mile High
Rumor

Workout: Burden In My Hand

FNG’s: N/A

Mission and Principles:
F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith
Mission: To plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
The core principles of F3 are that it is always:
1. Free of charge
2. Open to all men
3. Held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
4. Led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary. You versus you. Modify or stop an exercise if you need to. The most important thing is that nobody gets hurt.
5. Ends with a Circle of Trust
Credo: Leave no man behind but leave no man where you find him

Warm-up: In cadence

SSHs: 20
Chain Breakers: 10
Suck Its!: 10

The “Thang”:

Simple premise. There were two sets of cones spread 10 yards apart. PAX started at one line and moved back and forth between the two sets of cones for the entire beatdown. The catch was that they had to hold their block with the same grip the entire beatdown, as they would for a man-maker. There were three MOTs that they could rotate between, but they could never do the same MOT back to back out-and-backs.

Rifle Carry
2-handed farmer carry
Ape Hop

In the event that a break was needed from movement, a PAX, at any time upon returning back to the starting line, could elect to perform 10 man-makers before the next MOT. It ensured they never let go of their grip while also giving a minor reprieve to the weight of the block.

There was a 5 minute EMOM timer running throughout the entirety of the beatdown. Every time the EMOM sounded, PAX had to drop their blocks and perform 5 burpees.

Ended with:
Count-O-Rama: 8
Name-O-Rama

The Six – Flipper

LDP3

Ball of Man

Spreadsheets from the Gloom: This was inspired by the Soundgarden track Burden In My Hand, and a burden it was. Not sure my grip strength has every been tested so heavily at a beatdown before. It seemed like PAX were begging for the burpee EMOM to go off to get a reprieve. That said, it was necessary. The originally plan for the EMOM was to perform Thrusters, but it was obvious before the first timer even beeped that it would be required to be able to put the block down every once in awhile. No sense in getting carpel tunnel or dropping a block on a head.

Other than that though, it was a great concept. There was just enough MOT variation (combined with the man-maker option) to make it doable while still remaining incredibly tough. Anything longer than the 10 yard out and back probably would have been too much.

There were a handful of good tracks that made this playlist shine, targeting live versions wherever possible.

“Burden In My Hand” – Soundgarden: Live From The Artists Den
“Hard To Handle” – The Black Crowes: Freak ‘N’ Roll…Into The Fog
“Never Let You Go” – Third Eye Blind: Live At Red Rocks
“Hold On” – Pearl Jam: Live in Philadelphia 10-30-09
“Heavy” – Collective Soul: Live
“Never Let Me Down Again” – Smashing Pumpkins: BBC Session
“Never Gonna Give You Up” – Rick Astley: The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala 1988
“Never Let You Down” – The Verve Pipe: City Winery New York 4-23-23

This was a good one; a concept worth exploring further with different twists. Hope some PAX enjoyed the flavor as much as I did.

Echo-Q
Wario
Big Spoon
Rumor
Lyman
Lonzo
Meatloaf
Opening and then a mosey around perimeter of parking lot. Did some SSH’s, chain breakers, arm circles, and circle arms in cadence. Then a little stretching on own for warm ups.
BEATDOWN was 100 SSH’s, 90 mountain climbers, 80 squats, 70 lunges,60 LBC’s,50 flutter kicks 2×1, 40 big boys, 30 shoulder taps 2×1, 20 merkins, 10 absolutions. In between each exercise you did 10 burpees. If you finished a lap around the perimeter of parking lot and start over. Big Spoon did make it around the to the top again. Couple guys finished and made a short run and the rest were about done with reps!
COT, Rumor was 6
Prayer