F3 [almost NFL] Combine

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Weather: perfect day for a beatdown. Temps in mid-40s with some nice wind from the North. Dew Point in the low-40s was a welcomed change.

Pre-run: YHC and Bing set-out on a 6-mile pre-run that became a 6.5-mile pre-run that meandered through the normal Greenbrook–70–Lorraine loop, but then took a surprising turn for the sinister as the journey extended south on Lorraine where the cows hideout and no streetlights exist. It was cold, it was dark, it was windy, it was monotonous, but the conversation was good. So we ran, and ran fast toward the end. Bing promised to retreat to fartsack upon return to parking lot, but that desire quickly fell victim to what was to come.

Welcome: at exactly 0515, YHC greeted the obviously cold pax. Hands were rubbing together and jackets, hats and gloves were the accessories of the morning. The 5 core principles were recited, the disclaimer vocalized and away we went for a two-lap mosey that included high knees, lateral shuffles, nur, butt-kickers and skips. The pain that was to come begged for the legs to be stretched and warm.

CoP: After the mosey, the pax grabbed their beverages and headed to the basketball courts where the wind was howling and the ground was cold. The pax circled-up and YHC led the group in the following:

  1. SSH x30IC
  2. Mt Climbers x25IC
  3. Hillbilly Walkers x20IC
  4. Imperial Walkers x25IC

The Thang: With the NFL Combine getting plenty of TV time these days, YHC cooked-up a cardio-based HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) session for the pax. The actual NFL Combine consists of 6 events:

  1. 40-yard Dash
  2. Bench Press
  3. Vertical Jump
  4. Broad Jump
  5. 3-cone Drill
  6. Shuttle Run (aka, 5-10-5)

These events were modified for F3 purposes into the following:

  1. 40-yard Dash repeats
  2. Merkins
  3. Bobby Hurleys
  4. Broad Jump
  5. 3-cone Drill
  6. Shuttle Run

YHC explained the events some pax might not be familiar with. The 3-cone drill is an explosive assessment drill where the athlete begins in a 3-point stance, bursts forward 5-yards and touches the ground with the hand and returns back to the start touching the hand to the ground again. Then the athlete bursts to the 5-yard mark again, but this time makes a hard right turn and accelerated another 5-yards and turns back around back to the 5-yard spot making a hard left turn, returning to the original starting spot (think a big, inverted “L” shaped suicide type thing).

The other event others didn’t really know much about was the shuttle run. This event begins with the athlete at mid-court facing a sideline and in a 3-point stance. The athlete quickly accelerates to the right until reaching the 3-point line and touches ground with the hand, sprints back to the other side of the court, touching the ground at the other 3-point line, then turns back around and races to the mid-court where he started (aka, 5 yards right, 10 yards left, 5 yards right or 5-10-5).

After a quick demonstration by YHC, all seemed on the same page. The remainder of the beatdown was 4 sets of the 6 exercises conducted in 60-second bursts followed by 20-seconds rest. Once all six exercises were complete, pax earned a well-deserved 60-second break. Rinse-repeat for 4 sets.

The action was fierce, especially on the first 3-cone exercise — there were pax everywhere — lucky someone didn’t get trampled. YHC nearly took-out (or got taken out) by no less than Gator, Sniper, pincher and Goob. After the first cluster, the pax learned quickly and gave themselves much more room when partaking of the subsequent 3-cone exercises.

YHC logged nearly 1.5-miles of running during the beatdown, albeit slow! The Hurleys and broad jumps ended-up back-to-back thanks to YHC’s HIIT timer randomly selecting that brutal combination. The first set sent my glutes and quads into shock!

All survived and all got stronger. After the beatdown, pax returned to the parking lot for count-o-rama and name-o-rama. In all, 15 men braved the cold, wind and gloom to get better and grow deeper in fellowship. That’s a high draft pick all day long, regardless of F3 combine results!

Announcements:

  1. Camp Wilderness 5k/10k/15k coming up.
  2. SUP and Run 5k in May.
  3. 1st March Madness weigh-in is this Friday before 0900.
  4. Thankful Chili Pepper is getting better.

Prayers / Praises:

  1. First Responder’s safety.
  2. Ripken’s calf.
  3. ShamWow’s grandson, William, doing better.
  4. Continue to pray for Goob’s job search, still awaiting word.

YHC is thankful for the opportunity to Q a great group of men.

“To do what others cannot do, be willing to do what others will not do.”

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