Convergence. Post it…and they will come… tweet out date…and they will come…close AOs…and they will clown car…

I had the privilege of coordinating the one year anniversary convergence of the launch of F3 on the west side of Lake Wylie. Since I was given the task of launching this 1st AO “The Deep” with my F3 brother Dark Helmet I was happy to get this thing rolling! So I found three of those PAX that started in the first two weeks at the Lake Wylie Launch. These PAX have bought in big time to all 3 Fs we bring to F3. I asked them to Q with me, and requested they share (in just 1 minute) what F3 has meant to them over this last year. Here are there workouts and words. but first…circle up!

COP on the soccer field for all 65 PAX together
20 SSHs – 15 IWs – 10 Windmills – 15 LS Squats – 10 Merkins – 20 Mountain Climbers – 10 Peter Parkers – 15 Plank Jacks

Count off by 4s, this is now your group for the rest of the hour. Follow 1 of 4 Qs. Witch Hunt, Wild Thing, Davinci and Royale.

The Thang from Royale:

I had the back side of the school, nice long running track so I set up a few cones and picked some fun stuff for the PAX to do.

First, Partner Up to switch between exercises:

Round 1
Partner 1 : Suicide Sprints for two cones
Partner 2 : BTTW
Round 2
Partner 1 : Bear Crawl to Cone 2 run back
Partner 2 : Wall Sits
Round 3
Partner 1 : Lt Dan’s to cone 1 and back
Partner 2 : Durkins on a bench (painful)
Round 4
All out sprint to cone #3!

Royale Moleskin

Being the “veteran” guy in Lake Wylie I focused my speech on the Leadership opportunities you are given as part of this group. I shared how one year ago, after I moved across the lake that guys like CSPAN and Pusher told me to just get out here and open your own AO. That’s how this F3 thing works! After dragging my feet for the winter, CSPAN came back to me and said hey, we’ve got a guy that can help you get this thing moving, and he hooked me up with Dark Helmet. As a team we finally got it rolling early in April 2016. I couldn’t have done it without him!

So how does F3 make you all Leaders? Let me count the ways…the opportunities are many!
– Lead a warmup
– Lead a workout
– Run an AO
– Run a 2nd F
– Run a bible study
– Start an AO

In summary, NONE of this works and is here without the PAX taking ownership and leading in all of these ways. Now get out there and find how you can show that Leadership!

The Thang from Wild Thing:

I wanted to revisit my first workout with F3 so I channeled Dark Helmet and Longshanks.

With the workouts firmly affixed to a cinder block by some good ole fashioned duck tape, we got started.

The PAX circled up with block in the middle. First man up would read the exercise and then take a lap around the islands while the remaining PAX completed that exercise. Repeat until all 10 exercises are complete or we run out of time.

First lap – Kracken Burpees (burpee with 3 hand release merkins)
Second Lap – Squat Jumps
Third Lap – LBC’s
Fourth Lap – Calf Raises
Fifth Lap -Carolina Dry Docks
Sixth Lap – Flutters
Seventh Lab – Merkin
Eighth Lap – Bear Crawl
Ninth Lap – American Hammer
Tenth Lap – Jump Lunges

Wild Thing’s Moleskin

I wanted to revisit this workout that only a year ago brought me to my knees and nearly splashing Merlot. I encouraged the group to look at their lives and think about how much better you will get if you show up and put in the work everyday. It doesn’t come overnight, but the results will compound over time.

Also a big “thank you” to everyone for pushing me over this past year and encouraging me to expand my horizons and try new things…

I look forward to what the next year has in store for all of you.

The Thang from Witch Hunt:

My section of the workout would include two of my favorite things: Partners and Burpees.

I setup four cones in a square pattern approx 25 yds apart. Pax would pair up and work there way around the cones.

Cone 1: Partner A: 10 Merkins; Partner B: 15 Squats; Partner A: 20 LBCs; Both 1 Burpee
Cone 2: Partner B: 10 Merkins; Partner A: 15 Squats: Partner B: 20 LBCs; Both 2 Burpees
Cone 3: Continue pattern adding 1 burpee at each cone

The goal was to continue this pattern until we got to 8 burpees. Each group met there goal.

Witch Hunt Moleskin

Thank you to all the Pax that have made my first year of F3 something I will not forget.
Witch Hunt

“Merkin Mile” at the Deep with DaVinci:

Rather than being a rinse and repeat of my fellow Q’s, I opted for a set-it-and-forget-it workout. Credit for my introduction to the Merkin Mile goes to Kenyan, one of our other original PAX at The Deep. The title pretty much sums it up: You run a mile, and along the way, you do some merkins. In my set up, the number goes down with each lap, which gives us something to look forward to.

Here’s The Thang:

Get a running start to first set of cones; do 9 merkins; run half a lap to second set of cones, do 9 merkins.
Complete lap to first set of cones; do 6 merkins; run half a lap to second set of cones; do 6 merkins; etc.
…do 3 merkins for lap 3
…do 1 merkin for lap 4

And then it’s off to the next Q!

Fun Fact: I didn’t consider the fact that I’d have to repeat this workout FOUR TIMES during the hour. So, as Shady pointed out, I had my own Merkin Mile 5K®. But I made it, and it was a lot of fun.

Thanks to all the PAX that came out to show support to us in Lake Wylie. We hope you will join us again.

Aye!

DaVinci’s Moleskin

When Royale was working on plans for the convergence and asked each of us to Q a segment of the workout, he requested we each give a mini testimony about what F3 has meant to us over the last year. While we only had a minute on Saturday, I want to take this opportunity to expand on what I said.

As I was thinking about what I hoped to say during my Q, the word I kept returning to in my mind was “thankful.” I am thankful for this group. For what it represents, certainly, but more for the individuals in its ranks. There are so many who have profoundly impacted my life over the past year. You welcomed me, worked out beside me, sweated with me, pushed me when I was ready to quit. You have prayed with and for me, and through your words and actions inspired me to hold myself to a higher standard as a man.

Because of this group, I am in the best shape of my life. In the past 12 months, at age 47, I trained for and ran my first 10K. I ran the Yeti with Dark Helmet. I ran the Palmetto 200 as a proud member of The Mostly Respectables. This weekend, I will be joining 60+ brothers to take part in the F3 Custom GORUCK Tough Challenge. On May 20th, I will be participating in the 2017 Ultimate Challenge MudRun with Cha-Ching, Wild Thing and Witch Hunt.

I am doing things I never imagined, and having the time of my life.

But more than that, is this:

Because of this group, I know I am a better husband and father than I was a year ago.

Because of this group, I have grown closer to our Creator than I have ever been in my life.

Don’t get me wrong: I am still a mess. But I am working on being better every day. And it is my prayer that thorough my presence in F3, I can in some way give to my fellow PAX what you have given to me.

For all this, I am thankful.

~ Derick Wells, 47, DaVinci

To close, Dark Helmet provided a wonderful breakfast on site, many of the 65 men got to stay and share stories and complements for the killer workout. It was really a sight for our newer Lake Wylie PAX to see that many men out at the Deep in support of these guys. I’m truly appreciative of everyone’s efforts and we all look forward to continued growth for the area.

-Royale