Fort Mill Care Center – Important Message

Leave a comment
  • QIC: Assassin
  • When: 03/06/2021
  • Posted In: Pre-Blast

PAX,

As many of you know, we have had the privilege of mowing the grass at the Fort Mill Care Center. This Spring will be our 6th season. We all stepped up after hearing of this important need for this service. Through all of our efforts we have received many messages of thanks over the years. Most recently, a few PAX took a Saturday to construct a shed to house the two mowers we have donated. The effort has not gone unnoticed.

Having said that, I’m asking you all to consider and for one or two HIM to take over the leadership of this weekly project. There has hardly been a weekend where we haven’t had one or more of you step up to serve and I’m looking for the next coordinator. I’d like to hand this off to someone (or a small group of you) who have a heart for what is happening at the Care Center.

Please give this some thought and reach out to me for more details. The essentials include the managing of the signup genius and the supervision that the job gets done each weekend. There is a sincere satisfaction of knowing we are making a difference as a small part of a vital community resource.  Thanks to all of you for your help over the past five years.

Assassin
Rob Jordan
704.626.2579

TClap |
7

Yeti 2021 – The Beast Lives On

Leave a comment
  • QIC: Gears
  • When: 03/06/2021
  • Posted In: Pre-Blast

As the frigid wind sweeps across the region, the men of The Fort hear the wild call of a winter beast.  The annual appearance of the Yeti has been rumored for weeks…. and today is confirmed.

The Yeti is a formidable foe, offering roughly 13 miles of ground to cover including both road and trails with multiple pain stations along the route to challenge the PAX.  There is a relay option every 3 miles to cut the event up so it is manageable by all PAX.  There is also a ruck option for those who choose that method to challenge the beast.

This year’s edition starts and ends at the newest brewery in Tega Cay, Model A Brewing, at 8am for runners and 7am for ruckers.  This will setup an endex at roughly 11am for an amazing 2nd F experience for the Pax to cap off a brutal morning with beers and food.  Check the route here and the menu here.

Painstations:

Leg Routes (Strava):

High Level Turn by Turn:

  • Leave Model A, Up Stonecrest in Front of Walmart
  • Right on 160 all the way down to right on Sutton
  • Right on Founders Street then directly into the park (Painstation #1)
  • Follow trail route markers
  • Upon exiting the park go up Founders across Sutton up Market
  • Right on Shady Grove Crossing
  • Enter YMCA parking lot and go to the right lot by Soccer Fields (Painstation #2)
  • Leave YMCA from opposite end of parking lot on Third Baxter
  • Right on Market up to left on 160
  • All the way down to Dave Gibson, around to the Colosseum Parking Lot (Painstation #3)
  • Leave out the back of the school and then left on Dam Rd.
  • Left on Gardendale (watch traffic) down to a right on Orchid way
  • Dead end at Lake Ridge Community Center (Painstation #4)
  • Leave Lake Ridge Community Center going up Angelica to take a left on Coralbell Way
  • At Dam road, cross over to take a right onto to the sidewalk
  • Left on Stonecrest Blvd all the way back to Model A

And for those willing to go the extra mile, there will be a traditional Zima Mile option at the end for bragging rights.  This pre-blast will be updated with the route link once we cap off the finishing touches.

This is the premium winter CSAUP in the region, so order a shirt and then lookup three Kotters and get them to HC today.

TClap |
62

Double Trouble At The Hive

Leave a comment

It was a dark and rainy morning… but that didn’t stop six Pax from getting up and after it at The Hive.

This workout is called Double Trouble and was named that before we lost our Metro brother of the same name, but this workout is done in his honor and memory.  Great high impact man who we just lost due to Covid.

The workout goes like this.  Each round of two exercises you complete 10 reps then 15 round two, 20 round three.

The exercises are:

Kettlebell swings
Shoulder shrugs

Goblet squats
Flutters

Curls
Merkins

Tricep extensions
Squats

Sumo squats (what more squats?!)
LBCs

Skull crushers
Rosalitas

Dead lift
Calf raise

Lawnmower
American hammer

Romanian dead lift
Dips

The mission of F3 is to plant, grown and serve small workout groups for the invigoration of mail community leadership.

I hope this one was a challenge and it was great to see Geronimo again, who we thought was leaving town already but has s reprieve.

Hope you have a great weekend and hopefully you enjoyed all the squats.

Thrill is gone!

TClap |
4

HIIT Jams

Leave a comment

Seven pax came out to the Varisty sing-along workout.  Weather was rainy at 41°.

Disclaimer given, noted that singing along was mandatory.

Warm Up
Mosey ‘laps’
SSH (IC 10x)
Windmill (IC 10x)
Imperial Walker (IC 10x)
Low Slow Squats (IC10x)

Thang 1: HIIT Routine
The tunes start at this point. Playlist below.
Set A: Do the below 32 seconds on, 10 sec standing rest in between
>Merkins
>Cherry Pickers
>Squats
>Dips
>Bobby hurleys
Set B: Do the below 40 seconds on, 20 sec rest in between (rest is a Low Plank)
>Mountain Climbers
>LBC
>Derkins
>Amer Hammers
>plank jacks
Set C: Do the below 45 seconds on, 15 sec standing rest in between
>Burpees
>Imperial Walkers
>Squat Jumps
>step ups
>SSH
Rinse/Repeat sets

Thang 2: Big Balls Routine
Played AC/DC’s Big Balls; do a monkey humper at each “Balls”.

Fini, COT

NMM: Pax stayed dry beneath the awing at the school entrance. Lots of quality mumblechatter revolving to favorite albums, favorite bands, best concerts the pax have attended.
Playlist:
Rock and Roll All Nite, KISS
Werewolves of London, Warren Zevon
Surrender, Cheap Trick
Bang the Drum All Day, Todd Rundgren
We Will Rock You, Queen
That 70’s Show Theme, Cheap Trick
Down Under, Men at Work
Lump, The Presidents of the United States
Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen
Cum on feel the noise, Quiet Riot
I fought the Law, the Clash
Ob La Di, Ob La Da, the Beatles
Big Balls AC/DC

TClap |
2

Hangin with Stang: Expectations

Leave a comment

So, to set the Expectations upfront, this won’t be as good as my last post 😉

Stang asked for someone to Q Hangin w/ Stang who had not yet done it.  So, seeing as I’ve never even been, I volunteered.  I don’t know if that’s a function of how much I miss you guys and want to get back out there or how much of a glutton for punishment I am to throw myself into the center of something I’ve never been a part of.  Those in attendance can decide which it was.

Fittingly, expectations were the topic that came to mind when Stang confirmed my appointment.  I’ve had a lot of those to work through recently.  I feel like expectations can be a blessing and a curse.  We have to first understand what we’re asking of others and what others are asking of us.  But more importantly, how was it communicated?  Was it fair?  Could it even be met?

I think expectations break into 3 real parts:

Expectations we have for ourselves.

Expectations we have thrust upon us.

Expectations we have of others.

Each one of these can have a dramatic effect on our relationships.  What happens to that relationship when expectations are not met?  This is true of the expectations we have of ourselves and how it affects our attitude.  How does the view of an employee or a direct report change when they don’t meet expectations?  What are you willing to do to make amends if you don’t meet someone’s expectations?

Many of us are driven men.  You’d have to be to get up before 5 am to do the things we do.  But how do we let our expectations affect those around us, especially our M’s and 2.0’s?

We had some great conversations about family, our own, and work expectations.  It’s so good to know that we are not alone.  We all have a story that we can learn from.  Make sure to share that story so others can benefit and learn.

I hope I met the PAX expectations today.  It was so good to be back out.  I miss the group so much not being able to come out and participate.  I look forward to getting back out in the gloom soon, even just to walk and say hi.

— Splinter

TClap |
3

Last min Charge at Chupercabra

Leave a comment

YHC was feeling saucy so I took up the challenge to Q the ruck workout only because it was going to be Lutefisks virgin ruck experience. I usually can’t post to Rivergate on Fridays because I have a journey meeting that starts at 6 bells over in Baxter. So to make sure the PAX get their money’s worth I showed up to preruck at 445 to make sure all of the cones were ready to go. MileHigh joined me around 500 for a quick lap around the parking lot to get introduced to the feats of strength written on each cone.
We got almost an entire full lap before swinging back by StartEx to grab the rest of the cronies for the official party.
Disclaimer was disclaimed as we were rucking to the first cone.
Idea is to keep everyone together while still pushing each man to his limit. A modified Paula Abdoole was described and the exercises were as follow:
Penguins,
Shoulder taps,
Hand release Merkins,
8 count body bag builders,
Ruck getups,
Ruck curls,
Scooby Doos-AKA ruck rows,
Squat thrusters,
Lunges,
Ruck swings,
Man makers,

The Guys did a really good job of performing the exercises and hustling to the next stop which is two cones up before coming back to the cone that was skipped. Keep pushing the pax and doing the work.
Great to see everyone’s smiling faces this morning. DaVinci thanks for the opportunity to lead. Hate I had to bounce before COT but I needed to be at The Journey before 6 more than I needed those last few reps.

Stay frosty my friends.
Olaf

TClap |
0

Pantheon Pain

Leave a comment

38 Special asked for a substiq and YHC answered the call

After a proper disclaimer, went into immediate COP then ran a mile to TC Baptist parking lot for vacuum cleaners until fail (flapjack for partner to do the same). An old fashion Dora with the running partner doing bear crawls up and jog back. head back to COT area but do burpee broad jumps the length of the school and reverse was a squat accumulator. pillar 1 was one squat and duck walk to the second pillar. then 2 squats duck walk to the third, etc, all the way up to 11. knocked out some ab exercises to finish it up.

PAX were beat down and satisfied, to my pleasure.  Thanks 38 for the opportunity!

TClap |
2

Marriage – Love AND Respect

Leave a comment

MARRIAGE

Built on love AND respect

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)

 

As you read this, there is a good chance you had memories from your wedding ceremony going through your head. You might have even cracked a smile. Or, if you’re like me, you also had visions of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson sitting in a church pew. Whatever your thoughts, you’re familiar with the numerous references to the word, “love.” Of course, love is at the root of why you ever said, “I Do.” But I believe that just below the surface of true and honest love is the concept of ‘respect.’ What if the Apostle Paul wrote these verses with the word “respect” as well? Imagine your wedding Officiant saying, “Love AND respect are patient and kind; love AND respect do not envy or boast; love AND respect are not arrogant or rude.”

The three words we humans perhaps desire to hear the most are, “I love you.” As I’ve aged, I’ve desired to feel an additional three words, “I respect you.” Is it because I’m searching for human validation or because I doubt my own ability? It’s probably a little of both…or more than likely, a lot of both. This is assuredly a me issue as my validation should only come from my Creator rather than His creation. You’re likely familiar with the book, The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (https://www.5lovelanguages.com/) and have an understanding of your language for giving and receiving love. If you’re not familiar, I implore you to read this book with your spouse. The concept of identifying my own love language and that of my spouse opened the eyes of my own marriage many years ago. However, as I referenced in my previous writing, it has taken me some time to learn to communicate effectively with the knowledge of my wife’s primary love language.

Her primary language is Words of Affirmation; she feels loved and appreciated by receiving affirming words. And not just from anyone, she desires those affirming words to come from me, her husband. She wants to know that as life gets crazy, she is still crushing life me, for us. I am sure for many, this seems easy, but for me, it has been the hardest of the languages to speak. Understand, my primary language is Acts of Service, with Words of Affirmation scoring my lowest. I feel loved when she helps accomplish the to-do list, and I love, by taking things off her to-do list. In my mind, I can feel dialed in when “doing” all these things, performing all these services. While in her mind, I am dropping the ball like a failed circus act. Uh oh Houston, you see the problem?

She knows I love her, and I know she loves me. But sometimes we don’t speak the language that we each hear the best. This can lead to a respect issue. It can lead to tension and miscommunication. If we are not careful, it could lead to me being with my friends talking about how my wife doesn’t appreciate what I do or that she is always waiting on me to take care of “things.” For her, it could mean conversations with girlfriends about why I just don’t tell her she is doing a good job holding her world together. Our plates of responsibility are full, but our emotional cups can sometimes run empty. I’m not sure if Paul could’ve helped our situation if he included respect in those verses from 1 Corinthians but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt.

This past year I witnessed a conversation that ultimately led me to this writing. I was part of a golf threesome and we had a solo golfer playing behind us. He eventually caught us and we offered for him to play through by himself, or he could join our group and have a little fellowship with guys for the final 6 holes. When faced with this decision, he chose to join us and his stated reason for this was, “I don’t mind playing slower because it means less time at home to hear THE WIFE complaining.” He went on to say a few other things that emphasized his point. WOW…really? We haven’t even introduced ourselves and this was his ice breaker. Where does a comment like that come from? Is it from a place of hurt, miscommunication, frustration, lack of love or perhaps, is it coming from a place of disrespect?

If he were a close friend, perhaps I’d have more context to know of a marital challenge or offer a follow up comment that would open the door to engage. However, I had just crossed paths with this guy and he didn’t even know my name. What would he say if he were more comfortable with the three of us? What then?

Marriage is a covenant. It’s a commitment. It is a statement that no matter what, we are not going to quit on each other. This is especially true when we don’t see eye to eye and have to work through a problem. When love AND respect are present, I know that on the other side of a rough patch, we will be able to look back and appreciate each other more because we respected each other enough to fight for our union. How much more would you respect someone if you felt confident in their determination to fight for you and stand up to protect you. Imagine my golfing acquaintance saying, “I’d love to join you three. My wife knows I love being on the course and said to take as much time as I’d like?”

I can’t say the 21 years Kim and I have been together have been the model of perfection. In fact, it’s really only been the last 2 years where we’ve hit our stride. But I will say this. I love AND respect my wife more than ever and I am confident in her love AND respect for me. I can still revert back to my language of service and fall short of speaking her language of affirmation, but neither of us doubt the other’s desire to improve. We make every effort to work through the rough patches and show our respect for each other by speaking the other’s language. Not only is love patient and kind, respect too, is patient and kind. Respect does not insist on its own way.

TClap |
20

Ring of Fire honors fallen heros

Leave a comment

YHC got the call to Q the newly renamed AO Ring of Fire in honor of our fallen F3 brother Cash. NAFO has become the home where we honor a lot of our hero’s who have fallen to protect our families and nation. It is also where we host the annual MURPH WO to honor LT. Michael Murphy who was the officer-in-charge of a four-man SEAL element in support of Operation Red Wings, as well as a graduate of The Penn State University (We Are…Penn State). Ironically there is a MAFO parking stall with the PSU logo near our normal COT spot, which was highlighted as we mossy over the field. This year and last has been crazy with loss of life; from COVID, to cancer, to military operations. It also has been a troubling time for our country and not to get political (which I don’t like to do) but we are all sons of HIM, it shouldn’t matter what side we are on politically, we are a country that was founded on men being created equal – ALL people should be and have to be treated the same way. Right now, this has been lost.

So YHC thought it would be good to honor our fallen brothers to show unity and the power in brotherhood.

We bolted over to the field, YHC gave a quick disclaimer and then explained the WO. There was no COP because we would not have enough time to complete the “modified MURPH”.  If you have never done the real MURPH, come out Memorial Day weekend and experience it. It is THE best WO and personal accomplishment you will ever do. What is it you ask rookies? 1 mile run followed with 100 pull-ups, 200 merkins, 300 squats, run a mile. Officially with a 20lb body armor (ruck or weight vest).

The thang:

Run a lap – 10 Pull-ups, 20 Merkins, 30 Squats

Run 2 laps – 20 Pull-ups, 40 Merkins, 60 Squats

Run 3 laps – 30 Pull-ups, 60 Merkins, 90 Squats

Run 4 laps – 40 Pull-ups, 60 Merkins, 120 Squats (only a few completed 4 laps and started on the reps)

For those PAX who posted, great accomplishment to the MURPH twist.

Don’t forget about our brothers who have fallen!!

Peace Out

TClap |
31

“Just the Facts, Ma’am.”

Leave a comment

YHC picked up the Q yesterday from 3D after a message was shot across Slack. With little prep time I went into the annals of prior weinkes and pulled out a subtle burner. Four showed up with their bells and we headed to our section of CRHS for the morning.

 

Mosey out to far lot, drop bells

COP

5 Burpees OYO

Bear crawl to next row

10 Goofballs (in honor of Geronimo)

5 burpees

Bear crawl to next row

10 Tappy Taps

Bear crawl to next row

10 Imperial Walkers

Crawl Bear back to KB

 

WEINKE

Five Stations 

15 Reps Each Stop

Method of Travel 

Round 1: Lunge walk

Round 2: Bear Crawl w/KB drag

Round 3: Lunge Walk

Row 1

Halos

Kid Launch

Row 2

One Legged RDL both sides

Row 3 

Tricep Extensions

Curls

Row 4

Goblet Squats

KB Swings 

Row 5 

Burpee Snatch

Run to end of lot and back

First round took about 13 minutes, so we kept pressing and were able to finish three rounds – that’s 405 reps in total not including the warm up. Nice job.

 

OH carry KB back to COT

 

Last Minute Mary (#LMM)

Z Press x 10

Flutter w/Press x 10

 

#NMM

The group was small but close today. Good talk about sons and wrestling and career changes. No matter what stage of life you’re in, there is impact to be made on your family and community. Let that not be forgotten in the midst of our day to day.

 

Punch List out.

TClap |
3