11/13/2020 – Mettle Forger at Turner Field

Shoulders.  What’s on yours?

Weight endurance timed workout mixing different types of equipment.

Equipment:

  • BattleRopes, Dumbells, Bodyweight.

Warmup:

  • Parking Lot Mosey
  • 3 Rounds of 5 reps each in cadence:
    • Diamond/Regular/Wide Merkins,
    • Close/Regular/Sumo Squats

The Thang:

  • 3 rounds of these flight of 6 exercises in superset fashion:
    • 1st round:  30 secs,
    • 2nd round:  45 secs,
    • 3rd round:  60 secs
Flight
1 2 3
Battle Ropes Painter SS Hop Sd/Sd Fly
Dumbell UpRowPress Flipper/Open Side Fly/Frt Raise

Burnout:

  • 10 reps each followed by 1 minute of rest:
    • Mac Tar Jai,
    • A-frame shoulder merkins,
    • Plank swimmer vinyasa

Cooldown:

  • Dynamic arm huggers,
  • Forward/backward arm circles,
  • Shoulder stretch

Prayers:

  • Reduce Covid Spread,
  • Wisdom for doctors, scientists, and researchers to finalize a covid vaccine,
  • Healthy Holidaze,
  • All Men in Journey groups so they can recognize hindrances in their lives and allow Jesus to be present.

 

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Demerits

5 PAX at 0515, no rain

Moseyed up past the stadium
Found the new handicapped parking lot

COP:
Yoga
Shoulder Taps
Yoga
Monkey Humpers

Mosey towards the admin parking lot
Mike Tysons on the islands bear crawl between

Mosey to the Annex building
Dips in cadence on benches
Burpees on the ground OYO
Alternating 11/1, 10/2, 9/3, 8/4, 7/5

Mosey to pull-up bars
Now it started to rain

2 groups: one on the ground, one on the bars

I called up and down at random intervals to keep PAX from using momentum.

Round 1: pullups and merkins (flip groups and repeat)
Round 2: squats and toe touches (flip)
Round 3: pullups and merkins (flip)
Round 4: squats and toe touches (flip)
Round 5: pullups and merkins (flip)

We did roughly 5 pull-ups or toe touches to the bar each time

Mosey back to the benches
Dips in cadence on benches
Burpees on the ground
Alternating: 6/6, 5/7, 4/8, 3/9
Rain let up

Mosey back to COT

Flutters till 0600

NMM:
Reading the book How Ike Led written by his granddaughter.

Mentions the Q-source idea of taking the blame and passing the praise with a speech President Eisenhower never had to give. Also talks about he was in the lower half of his class at West Point on demerits, because he was NOT a follower in a leader’s clothes.

Something to think about…

COT:
Prayers for marriage, our country, Bodywash’s upcoming trip, and my brother-in-law currently in the hospital with COVID


Band Camp dismissed

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22 in the Rain

Veterans Day 2020.
Formerly known as Armistice Day which was to honor the end of WWI, Veterans Day was established in 1954 to honor  all veterans, those deceased and those still with us.

As we’ve all become familiar with, the number 22 is often referenced as the number of veterans who take their own life, everyday. While there is varying research out there to suggest the number might be a little less or a little more, there is one thing that cannot be disputed. Veterans are taking their own lives at a greater rate than civilians/those of us who didn’t serve. THAT is where we need to focus. Don’t worry about whether the number is really 19 or 23, know that our veterans are living with experience we, as those who didn’t serve, can’t begin to imagine. It is for that sacrifice and humility to serve above all, that we honor them on Veterans Day and yet again say, “Thank you for your service.”

Disclaimer then Snake Pit and Bushwood broke off.
Snake Pit:
Establish the 1/4mi loop around the parking lot with a warm up jog followed by
Arm Circles, Overhead Claps, SSH and a few Jump Squats

22
Will be in a circle and each exercise will consist of 22 reps, varying between 11 of each side or 22 in cadence.

22 Flutters w/ the press I/C, lunge walk to the center, 5 burpees, lunge back out.
22 LBC’s I/C, bear crawl in, 5 burpees, bear crawl out

Run 1/4mi loop

22 Overhead Press (11ea arm), crab walk in, 5 burpees, crab walk out
22 Merkins (11ea side with hand on the bell), lunge in, 5 burpees, lunge out

Run 1/4mi loop

22 Reverse lunges (11ea side), bear crawl in, 5 burpees, bear crawl out
22 Calf Raises, crab walk in, 5 burpees, crab walk out

Run 1/4mi loop

22 Bicycles (like Freddies but the bell held overhead or behind you), lunge in, 5 burpees, lunge out
22 Bells to Toes (it’s a V-up with the bell-11 I/C), bear crawl in, 5 burpees, bear crawl out

Run 1/4mi loop

22 Upright  Rows, crab walk in, 5 burpees, crab walk out
22 Curls

COT – THANK YOU VETERANS

SYITG
Maximus

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We have much to be Thankful for…

You may be feeling like 2020 will never end…. There have been obstacles put in your way all year.  You may be hung up  on all the challenges you’ve faced.

You may think you are ready to just sleep till January 1st.

I want to invite you to wake up, take a step back, and look around you.  Take a look at your brothers to the left and right.  Remember that guy who reached out to you during lock down to make sure you were ok, and maybe even convinced you it was time to come back out and post again.  Remember that we live in a free country, regardless of your political views, and democracy is a gift.

Remember that we have the freedom to converge and count our blessings.

This Thanksgiving we will continue The Fort tradition of a Thanksgiving convergence at 0630 at The Ranch.  We will celebrate what we have here in the region as we complete #AssKickingAutumn.  We will be led by two HIM who will push you physically but will also ask you to take stock in what you are thankful for.

We are blessed to be here with our brothers.  We are blessed to have you.

HC now, you’ll be thankful you did.

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Honoring Those Who Impact Us

This week, on Wednesday, we honor all veterans who have served and continue to serve our nation.  As part of that theme, YHC decided to get a little jump start by assigning a workout where PAX would honor a veteran of their choosing and, based on the name(s) of those veterans, complete as many rounds as possible of exercises associated with the letters of their name.

We gathered as 5 to start and, by the time we moseyed roughly 1/4 mile for some COP, Olaf and Flounder joined in.

COP – 11 windmills D/C I/C, 5 burpees, 11 Imperial Walkers D/C I/C, 5 burpees, 11 Hillbilly Walkers D/C I/C, 5 burpees, mosey further up the lot because YHC did not like the smell of trash, continuing with… 11 low slow squats D/C I/C, holding the last rep and remaining in the peoples chair for 9 Moroccan night clubs and 9 shoulder taps – both D/C and I/C.  Legs were warm and off we moseyed to the board of the alphabet.

The main event was designed to be between 2 & 5 rounds and all PAX worked hard, likely did more wall sits than they would in most workouts and it seemed a lot of leg work was done, but the beauty of these workouts was the simple fact that PAX were doing these to honor someone who impacted them – someone who made them better in their life.  May we be so fortunate to do the same for others as a matter of everyday practice.

YHC called time with 3 minutes to spare and we moseyed back to COT for geometry class with a few positions on the protractor before 0600 hit and time was called.

Announcements – Read your newsletter, XMas Party coming up and Thanksgiving convergence at the Ranch with a little football in Lake Wylie afterwards.  Travis Manion WOD on 11-20 at the Swamp.

Prayers – for families, for Olaf’s Mom as she relocates and his step dad struggling with an addiction.  For DaVinici and discernment on the path forward.

Praise for Jekyll’s Dad who served in Vietnam and is spending a weekend with his family coming up and for all veterans who have served us all selflessly and have sacrificed so that we might enjoy the freedoms and blessings of this nation.

NMM –  Q-ing is an honor.  Leading is a privilege and serving is our greatest form of impacting others.  YHC is grateful to the men of F3 who continue to serve as visible reminders each day of what impact and positive ripple effect can look like.  I am humbled to be in your company and thankful that all of you keep me on a better path with you than without.  My thanks to Olaf for the opportunity.

With Gratitude,

Cyclops

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APFT Oct 2020

NAME                    Merkins              BBSU               RUN                 AVE

Lutefisk                  81                          78                   75                      78
Uber                        99                          82                   74                     85
Slow Jamz            79                           54                  57                     63.33

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APFT Sept 2020

APFT late results from Sept at GC

Name                   Merkins %      BBSU %       Run %            AVE %
Olaf                         93                       66                      89               82.67
Slow Jamz           66                       52                      58               58.67
Fire Marshall Bill    58                  51                      43                50.67
Lutefisk                  71                     71                       78                73.33
Mile High               77                     58                       86                73.67
Shop Vac               94                     52                      NA                NA
Fun House           84                      95                      94                  91

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Rally-X

Five men showed up for the workout this morning.  Jester crossed the river to join us in some morning fun.  Before we started, I mentioned to the Pax that I enjoyed playing video games as a kid.  The phrase “Is that a roll of quarters or are you happy to see me?” was a common jab at the arcade.  One of my favorite games was Rally-X.  The goal of the game was to collect flags by driving your car around a maze while being chased by other cars.  The car was equipped with a smoke screen so you could crop dust the chasing cars.  I had planned the workout to be similar to this video game..less the crop dusting.

The morning route was mostly around the school, each stop we did the same exercises (5 burpees, 10 merkins, and 15 squats).  The stops were as follows:

  1.  Middle school faculty parking lot
  2. Football field parking lot
  3. Last light post at back entrance
  4. Basketball courts
  5. Elementary school faculty parking lot
  6. South State Bank
  7. First Watch (lap around parking lot)
  8. First Watch

We covered around 4.3 miles this morning, 40 burpees, 80 merkins, 120 squats, and alot of great mumble chatter.

 

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MilkShake 11.07.20

Four pax showed up for my first Milkshake Q.  I didn’t know what to expect so I was going to make it up as we go.

We moseyed over to Walter Eiisha Park to the playground for a few rounds of pull-ups.  I missed out on my Saturday morning routine of pull-ups before Alcatraz with Trucker and Change Order.  Esso was a beast doing the pull-ups with his ruck.  Next, we walked around the park and back towards downtown.  We stopped in front of Pike’s for two rounds of Dips and Derkins.

We headed back, walked up the steps to where a newly decorated Christmas tree.  It’s hard to believe the holiday is quickly approaching.  Uhaul kept the conversation going about his trip to Texas and the workouts he attended.

As we made it back to the church parking lot, I had one last workout for the group.  I still had bricks in the back of my truck from yesterday so we used them for a series of exercises.

Merkin/overhead claps with brick: 1 to 2 ratio, starting at 1 ending at 10

Squats with brick hold

Plank with brick raise

Squat with brick arm circles

Squat with brick shoulder press.

Great job everyone.

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Mettle Forger

Two showed up for a noon time study/work break on Friday.  It would be a simple workout, just some resistance work with bricks ..I borrowed this idea from Ruby Slippers.

We ran a warmup lap around the field and did the typical exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and Plank Stretches).

We each carried two bricks and lunge walked between the soccer goals stopping periodically to do a round of squats.  The next exercise was a merkin/overhead clap with the brick (1 to 2 ratio).  We started at 5 and finished at 15.  We took a lap around the field to shake out are arms and shoulders.

Bear showed me a few additional exercises with the brick.  We did several rounds of each:

Squat arm circles – Squat position while moving arms in a circular motion, clockwise and counter clockwise.  I call this Wax-on, Wax-off.

Squat arm raises – Squat position with an arm press.  I call this Raise the Roof .

Plank Raise:  Plank position alternating brick raise, left and right side.

We had a few minutes to do one more round of lunges before time expired.

This is a great idea for workout.  One thing I’ve learned about this year is the importance of flexibility and agility.  It is a way for men to take a break during their daily to get outside, workout, and enjoy fellowship.  It also fills a need for guys who may not be able to make it to the morning workouts due to other obligations.

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