Do not be anxious

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I think we all can feel it. The holidays are upon us. The calendar is beginning to fill up. The “to-do” list is getting a little bit longer. And all the while, we’re supposed to enjoy this time of year.

Just typing that makes me feel anxious.

Personally, I will be hosting my first Thanksgiving this year. So the anxiety has been building over the last week. Over the same time period, I have felt a need to spend more time studying and praying. So when Kaiser asked me to Q, and to prepare a message if possible, I felt I should share the message I was experiencing, because often times, others are going through similar circumstances.

5 PAX plus YHC took the DRP and showed up on this frosty morning (25degrees in SC?!?). No new faces in the crowd, but disclaimed nonetheless, and added the disclaimer that I would try to delve into the topic of Prayer (Q1.10). Though I am a Christian, I reminded the PAX that F3 is open to ALL men, of ALL faiths.

We moseyed down to the Elementary school parking lot and circled up for a few warm ups:
• 10 Windmills IC
• 25 SSH IC
• 20 LSS IC

Philippians 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Then we moseyed back up the driveway to behind the stadium scoreboard and continued to warm up with:
• 10 Cherry Pickers IC
• 10 MNC IC
• Followed by some mild stretching

PAX partnered up for Chase the Bear back to the pull ups bars. Partner 1 began Bear Crawling while Partner 2 completed 10 merkins, then caught the bear and flip flopped.

The Thang
PAX all grabbed Cindy’s, and completed the following:
• Carry Cindy to stop sign at bottom of hill
• Murder Bunny with Cindy back up the hill
• Sumo Squats w/ CIndy
• Shoulder Press w/ Cindy
• Curls w/ Cindy
• Tricep Extension w/ Cindy
• Pull ups
First circuit included 10 reps, second circuit 20 reps and attempted third circuit had 30 reps. We lost a few Cindy’s along the way (but I blame the bitter cold for that).

Moseyed back to COT for Mary, but ran out of time in the first set of flutters.

Completed my sermon (aimed directly at myself) that an often neglected aspect of the Get Right is our faith. I encouraged the PAX to spend time daily studying and praying, for we never know when the anxiety will arise.

Name-O-Rama, announcements and prayers for safe travels, good times with our families, those that are experiencing the holidays without a loved ones, and for injuries.

Thanks to Kaiser for the opportunity to lead, and I hope everyone got as much out of it as I did!

Happy Thanksgiving, brothers.

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Mini BoP: Small Board, Big Pain

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I was a last-minute Q request from Lutefisk. I’m thankful he asked. As cold as it has been, it kept me from fartsacking, which I am very thankful for him asking. Accountability! Coming up with a weinke on last-minute notice can be tough. Luckily I keep a BoP or two in my garage for times like these.

Super cold out. 5 hard-chargers showed up ready to take the red pill. No FNGs, disclaimer was disclaimed, and off we went.

Mosey around the parking lot to get warmed up, approx 1/4 mile. Circled up for warmup. 14-20 random qty, 4-count of each:
* SSH
* WM
* STRAWBERRY pickers (cherries grow on trees yo)
* HW
* MNC

Then over to the lot near the doggie salon for the main event.
The Mini Board of Pain
Easy to follow, not so easy to execute. Do the exercises in sequence, that’s all. All are single count unless otherwise noted.

M-Bop
1. Burpees – 25
2. Calf raises – 50
3. Ski abs – 25 @2-count
4. Merkins – 25
5. LS Squats – 25
>> Run a lap of the parking lot (~1/3 mile loop)
6. LBC – 50
7. CDD – 25
8. American Hammers – 25 @2-ct
9. Mac-tar-jai’s – 25 @2-count
10. Jump squats – 25
>> Run lap of the parking lot
11. Mountain climbers – 25 @2-ct
12. Shoulder raises / OH claps – 50
13. Mary Catherines – 25 @2-ct
14. Hello Dolly! – 25 @ 4-ct
15. Wide-arm merkins – 25
>> Run lap of parking lot
>> Repeat

Everyone got in one complete round. A couple bat-flippers almost got 2 complete rounds, the rest got up to #6 thru #9. Great push! Good mumblechatter until the 2nd round of burpees hit. HA!!

Back to COT.

Announcements, P&P:
* READ YOUR NEWSLETTER, GET INVOLVED!!
* Praises for Lutefisk’s concerns for his heart not being as serious as it could have been
* Prayers for those involved in the Christmas parade tragedy in Wisconsin
* Prayers for those traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday
* Prayers for those that the holiday season brings sadness, remembrance of loss, and other burdens. Reach out to those you know are in those situations and bring them cheer as well as a shoulder to lean on. #NoOYO
* Prayers for health & healing, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually

Thanks for the opportunity to lead. Happy Thanksgiving. God bless.
– NASA

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Noisy Frog

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Alcatraz 11/20/21
Disclaimer
Mosey around to fire station driveway for
10 windmills IC
20 SSH IC
Then mosey back around to bracket all courts for
8 cherry pickers IC
15 low slow squats IC
15 MNC ICBuy in:
Apple Turnover: bear crawl/crab walk across B-ball court (baselline-key-half court-key-baseline) with 5 merkins at each stop. Then CrawlBear/Walk Crab back with same merkin count.The Thang:
Partner up.
Partner 1 does 20 squats, 10 merkins and LBCs until partner 2 returns.
Partner 2 runs to pull up bars, 5 pull ups and returns.I think we got 7 rounds in:
70 merkins
35 pull ups and countless LBCs.Hand off to Decibel.

Start things off right with:

SALLY- Merkin style

Mosey to the wall at the baseball field and partner up

P1- Peoples Chair P2-Run to Fence, 20 Bomb Jacks and run back- Flip Flop

P1- Bear Crawl to 2nd Base Line- 5 burpees-NUR back- Flip Flop

P1- BTW P2- run to Fence, 20 Apollo Ohon and run back- Flip Flop

P1- Bear Crawl to 2nd Base Line- 5 burpees-NUR back- Flip Flop

Circle Up for 7 minutes of Mary:  15- Boats-Canoe,15- Missionary Planks, 15- X-O’s and 20 Hello Dolly.

Mosey to Parking lot for a round of Burpecides.

Circle up on the Cement Pad (Old School) for COT

Great Group of guys out there today.  Always a blessing to lead!

Prayers for Families and Senators buddy Joe.

 

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Friday Funday at the Hive!

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Started with simple Warmup

Workout was a circuit of exercises and running

A round was 30 reps of an exercise, run across one lane, 20 reps, run two lanes, 10 reps, run three lanes. Repeat with next exercise.

Curls

Triceps/Skullcrushers

LBCs

Squats

Dead Lifts

Overhead Press

Flutters

Chest Press

Lunges

Uhauls

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Colosseum Backblast

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Warmup: Shady

QIC: Zima

25 Pax showed to see if the rumors were true. Or Shady has a degree in short-term hype trains. Maybe a little of both. Humbled to see y’all out there for an out of shape Q workout.

Shady did a 5 min warmup

Station 1: Burpee Suicides 5-10-15 reps (no foreplay @Jekyll)

Merkin Suicides 5-10-15 repsMosey to another Station at entrance to school

Station 2: Quadzilla for 4 minutes (run downhill and nur back uphill). #lovelanguageOG Quadzilla (thanks @Pusher). Same as above but with 10 squats at top and 10 jumping lunges at bottom.

Mosey to Elementary School Car Loop

Station 3: Run 5 laps doing 10 hand release merkins at starting line and 10 hand release merkins at half point (5 laps=100 hand release merkins)

I had 3.0+ miles by COT. It felt good to Q again and be in the gloom with y’all. I felt the love.

Announcements: Read the Newsletter

Prayers/Praises:
-Zima praise for Let Me Run Coaching
-Prayers for those suffering from depression (when in doubt, reach out)
-Prayers for Blount daughter who has cancer
-Prayers for Cyclops M whose uncle passed away

Apologies for any errors or omissions. Thanks for the opportunity. I need a nap.

Zima Out!

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My Navy Story

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A gang of four converged at Pleasant Knoll middle for the third installment of Veteran’s month at the Ballroom.   Here is what they did:

The Thang:

YHC greeted the group and thanked them for coming out this morning.  After a quick disclaimer, we made a formation of 4 and moseyed to the parking on the side of the school.

In formation:

SSH x 20, windmill x15, IW x 15,  merkin x 10, Morrocan nightclub x 15, squat x 20, mountain climber x 15/hold/6″/regular/6″/regular/right arm, right leg high/left arm, left leg high/walk up to CDD x 15/regular/recover.  (all done while holding plank)

Form 2 pairs and do 50 yd sprints:  2 at 50%, 2 at 75%, 2 at 100%

Go back to formation for pushorama

10 regular merkins, rest 10s, 10 diamond merkins, rest 10s, 10 wide arm merkins, rest 10 sec, 10 CCD.  Rinse and repeat for total of 3 sets.

In formation, bearcrawl20 yds, sideways crawl 10 yds, backwards bearcrawl 20 yds, sideways crawl 10 yds

Form a single file and do an Indian run around the parking lot twice.   Mosey out of the lot and along the front driveway to a spot under one of the lights for some mini-Mary:

Big boy situps x 15, Freddie Mercury x 15, American hammer x 15

COT

NMM:

When Triple Lindy asked me to represent the Navy during Veteran’s month, I told him there surely there was a better person out there to represent the Navy than me.  Honestly,  I never really considered self a true Navy veteran because  I served just about 18 months and was in school the whole time.   I never felt worthy being grouped together with others who have actually served their country, particularly those who served in a time of war.   As it turned out, though, I was the only guy he knew who was in the Navy, so I told him I would gladly do it.

As we worked through the exercises this morning, I paused several times to tell them about my experiences when I joined the Navy in college,  and my16 weeks at Officer Candidate School.  One of the things I remembered vividly was was when I was saying goodbye to my family and getting ready to drive to Newport, RI from Ohio.  My dad, who was not an emotional man, gave me a big hug and just broke down sobbing.  I think it was a mixture of pride and maybe fear for what I was about to do.  I lived at home while attending school and this was my first time away from home.

Upon arriving at OCS, after a friendly check-in by an admin officer, I was met by a senior student and told to ‘face the bulkhead.’  For the next week,  the ‘Indocs’ (junior students), were put through a series of mind games, semi-verbal abuse, physical challenges, horrible personal hygiene (1 minute to shower and shave),  all coupled with total exhaustion from the lack of sleep.  For a few folks, Indoc week was too much and they dropped out (one guy had to be put in the brigg for insubordination).  For the rest of us, we were relieved to be finished, but we still had 15 weeks to go.

I told the group that the recruiters did not prepare me (or many others, I suspect) for OCS (a little heads up about Indoc week would have been helpful).    I did very little to prepare and arrived there not in the best physical shape.  I couldn’t pass the standard required for push-ups and sit-ups so had to attend extra PE sessions at an ungodly hour of the morning (about same time that I have gotten up for F3 the past 9 years -haha).   Time was the enemy and it seemed that every waking hour was filled with either school, studying for tests, having a watch, or getting ready for inspections.   I was not used to that and struggled sometimes to get everything done.   Time management is still not one of my strong suits.   I can’t say I enjoyed OCS, but I came away from it a better man and with a long-lasting friend.  JP Tennant was the first guy I met during Indoc week and we still keep in touch.

After graduating from OCS, I went to the Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL where my Naval career would end, unfortunately.    It was a really tough school academically and I struggled from the start before eventually flunking out.  I had to option to stay in the Navy in another capacity,  or go to inactive reserves which is what I opted to do.  As a 22-year-old kid, it felt like the right decision, but I shared with the group that it’s one decision that I regret.

I had not thought about OCS in a long, long time and as I prepared for this Q, it was petty cool to go back and think about that time 34 years ago (man, I’m getting old).  It was also fun to share my story with Triple Lindy, Assasin, and Bitcoin.  Thanks for listening, guys and I hope you got your money’s worth this morning.

Announcements:  read the newsletter

Prayers and Praises:   Triple Lindy’s wife (wrist injury), ST’s friend Joe with Cancer, Cornerstone with a kidney stone.

 

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My pain, your gain

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When given the option to Q on the 11th or the 18th, YHC made the right choice. Last week I was not sick, now I am.  I wanted to make sure that whatever I did would prepare me for Sugar Daddy’s mountain party, and thereby make everyone a bit stronger for the experience.

I asked OTG if he would be so kind as to bring along a truckload of cinder blocks, and he obliged. This also gave me the ability to truthfully say I was not bringing cinder blocks, with the hope that it might attract a few more PAX.

The warmup

Quick mozey to the big parking lot for some SSH, squats, imperial walkers, and windmills. Then back to OTG’s truck.

The thang

Very simply, grab a block and follow me to the base of the hill. What’s that? The gate is open to the stadium? YHC called an audible and we took our cinder blocks to the bottom of the road.

The workout was simple. 21s.  Start with 20 murder bunnies at the bottom, run up to and around the traffic circle, 1 squat.  There was not enough time to finish this big bowl of stupid but, as expected, the PAX were easily able to overtake me.

COT

Some prayer requests went out and we talked announcements. There’s a lot going on

NMM

I overheard a good deal of mumblechatter during the workout as Yard Sale, JWoww and BattleBot easily lapped me. OTG hung back to help me feel better about the sorry state I’m in. LOL

But it’s never bothered me to be in the six. When I Q I try to make sure that all levels can work against themselves and get something out of it.  And since there was Q school going on and 2 of the PAX were relatively new to F3, I felt it was worth expounding a bit on that in CoT.

The best workouts aren’t always defined by an insurmountable burpee count, but by the fellowship experienced under that load.

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Dora, not Dora

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Earlier in the week, Mainframe lead a DORA without running.  I thought I would try the same at the Hive.  No running. well maybe just a little.

Warm-ups (No KB):  SSHs, Windmills, Imperial Walkers,  Plank Stretches

DORA #1:

  • 100 Overhead Presses (Alternate 10 reps while other partner holds bell overhead)
  • 200 Squats  (Alternate 20 reps while other partner holds Al Gore)
  • 300 LBCs (Alternate 25 reps while other partner holds bell above chest)

ok, we needed a break some we ran around the parking lot.

DORA #2:

  • 100 Curls (Alternate 10 reps while other partner holds bell in front of chest)
  • 200 KB Swings  (Alternate 20 reps while other partner holds Al Gore)
  • 300 Flutters (Alternate 25 reps while other partner holds bell above chest)

Next, we carried the KB overhead to the end of the parking lot, turned around and lunge walked back to the first light post.

Great work guys.  Lots of encouragement and mumble chatter.

Senior moment, forgot to change phone to video mode so I’ve got a cute picture of Airborne if anyone is interested.

 

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Currahee Shoulder Smoke

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Three rolled in to the parking lot ready and were ready by 0458 for the 0500 start.  At 0459:52 we saw a grey Subaru coming in on two wheels.  MainFrame  emerged, took the disclaimer as it was yelled to him from across the parking lot and it was on with a total of FOUR in attendance.

Warm-up:

  • SSH x30 in cadence
  • Merkin x10 in cadence

Still not warm it was time to warm up.  The PAX moved down to the elementary school drop off line.  Partner up, time to warm up with some Catch Me If You Can.  One partner runs with two rucks (45lbs in the ruck) while the other partner completes five burpees and then chases down their partner.  We did this around the big loop in front of the school.

Rucked around the drop off line, back to the cars, collected the sandbags and headed to the field.  We have two 60lb bags and two 40lb bags.

From the long end of the field and with your ruck on, throw the sand bag as far as you can, move to the bag, complete an 8ct body builder, pick it up, throw it again, and continue until you reach the other side of the field.

After completing a length of the field, we rucked to the end and back.  Then if you had 60lb bag last time, switch for a 40lb and vice versa.  Complete the throws and 8ct body builders again.

Ruck to the end of the field and back again.  Collect the sandbag, move to the gate and face the short length of the field.

Two lines of cones in the distance. for the Dora.

Dora:

  1. 100 Merkins
  2. 200 Curls
  3. 300 pull thrus (only completed one movement per PAX due to time)

Movement:

  1. Bear crawl while dragging the 60lb sandbag to the first cone line.  Pick up the bag, run to the second cone, turn around and head back to your partner.
  2. Sandbag throw with the 40lb bag to the the end then run back to your partner
  3. Overhead Carry

It was a smoker and another example of things we do when surrounded by strong men that we likely would not complete if we were on our own.

Prayers:

  • Grassy Knoll’s brother as he goes into surgery
  • Divac and his wife as they continue to seek ways to help their son

Thank you Divac for the opportunity to lead.  Currahee is one of my favorite AOs!!!!

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Q School – Snake Pit (kettlebell/gear edition)

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9 PAX for some Q school

Esso hit on the 5 core principles that every F3 workout shares.
Then YHC took over

Warm-up

We reviewed counting in cadence
– Next exercise is:
– Starting positions MOVE
– In cadence:
– EXERCISE, 1, 2, 3….

Then we had some PAX work on counting in cadence with various exercises. We worked it like an actor on stage calling for their lines. I fed them the 4 lines and they took off. Occasionally we adjusted for some correction or pointers, but these PAX can lead!

We had folks count: SSH and Merkins more than once (gotta practice). Then I encouraged them to learn to call 6-count Burpees in cadence for when they need to quiet the mumblechatter down.

Then we moved over to the Thang:
Written on the pavement was:
Overhead Press
Tricep Extension
Merkin on the bell
Skull Crusher
Lawnmover pulls

Initially I discussed the importance of having a list of exercises (weinke) written down to rely on. Doens’t have to be on the ground. Could be on a piece cardboard, index card in your pocket, back of a 12 pack, or sharpie on your arm: it is helpful to have your notes with you.

The first set we did 10 of each then planked up for a discussion.
Then we did 10 more of each and planked back up. When you’re actively resting between sets in a plank, it’s often a good time to share a message. F3 has THREE Fs!! If you’re just working to accelerate the 1st F, use the opportunity to Q as a moment to reflect and share how you’re doing on the other 2Fs. Think about 2nd F with your family, or your 3rd F as where you are on your faith journey.

In the gloom, PAX can see how fit you’re getting. But how fit are you to be a father, spouse, partner, friend, son, colleague, boss, communicator, facilitator, supporter…? How fit is your mind and spirit? How are you working to accelerate there? Be encouraged to bring some message, no matter how brief.

Then I called 10 more of these, and followed that round by immediately calling 20. This FINALLY got some PAX to balk and protest. Every one of these exercises was arm heavy, this is a POORLY PLANNED set of exercises.

We moved over to another bit of chalk on the ground:
Manmakers 1
Snatch 5
Merkins 10
Lunge 16
Flutter 20

This set allowed us to focus more on the entire body rather than just working one set of muscles to exhaustion and encouraging bad form or injury. It also steps things up as part of the weinke rather than relying on the Q to call reps.

YHC discussed using this a set with holding Al Gore between rounds to keep PAX together. Or possibly having a loop distance to run and allow PAX to more at their own pace. I like to keep everyone together and help exhort the PAX to move to the next exercise or finish their current reps. If you’re concerned about your fitness level or your speed relative to other PAX. Setting up a list of exercises and a loop distance between rounds allows the rabbits to move like rabbits and the Clydesdales to move like Clydesdales. It can even encourage more 2nd F as guys pair up or group up to work together. Maybe as the Q you choose to group with a newer guy or stay with the six to encourage guys as they’re accelerating.

We then moved to the final set of chalk on the ground. I’d paired up some exercises and then listed a mode of transportation. We were running low on time, so I gave the heads up to overprepare the weinke, and be willing to adapt and adjust. You’ve sometimes got to modify up or down (especially considering run distance) based on the PAX present, or you’ve got to cut when you’ve over planned.

So we just did:

Swings 20
Merkins 20
Bear Crawl – Crawl Bear from one island to another

Single Leg Deadlift 10
Manmakers 10
Sprint the parking lot and back

We returned to COT at 5:56 for some Mary (only one minute behind my schedule)

I had PAX practicing calling some Mary in a circle. For the newer PAX, I encouraged them to just call the same exercise the guy before did. You don’t have to think of something brand new to lead. In fact, it’s hilarious (to me) when we get a string of guys that all call Flutters and everyone is grumbling. Sometimes it’s the Qs job to silence mumblechatter, and sometimes you want to encourage it!

Hope the Q-school session was helpful and/or this backblast is useful for someone planning their next KB workout.

One last point with the kettlebells, form is important. If you don’t feel comfortable with an exercise DON’T call it. If you can’t DO IT, don’t Q IT! Or if you do want to do it anyway and aren’t sure, call/text Tesh the night before to make sure he posts. Then ask him to demonstrate. (that’s what I do. you’re welcome)

—
Band Camp dismissed

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