Fantastic Four at Footloose

4 came to Footloose for some moderate work.

Mumble chatter varied… Dads doing cheer hair….diaper changes….Michael Jackson buying trains from Carowinds…

1 min per exercise,  10 sec rest

LBC, Rev Crunch, BB Situps, Heels to Heaven, Flutters, Superman, Freddie Mercury, Hello Dolly, Hillbilly Walkers, Imperial Walkers, Squats, Lunges, Calf Raises, Side Lunges, Air Drama, Monkey Humpers, Al Gore, Step Ups, Back Lunges

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Rankel and RJ

Seven pax met at Honey Badger to honor two heroes and get some miles in.
Disclaimer given.  Began with stretches (honeymooner, downward dogs) to prep for the main event.  Two pax left for a run, leaving five for the hero workout portion.

Warmup
Ran a 400m loop
SSH (10x I/C)
Windmills (7x I/C)
Imperial walkers (10x I/C)
Moroccan N/C (10x I/C)

Hero workout #1: The Rankel [image with bio is attached]
6 thrusters (cinder block)
7 burpee pull ups
10 KB swings (cinder block)
Run a 400m loop
Repeat for 23 mins, as many rounds as possible

Light mary in between hero workouts: flutters, hello dollies, LBC (all 10x I/C)

Hero workout #2: The RJ [image with bio is attached]
800m run
50 feet of murder bunnies (cinder block; done on the grass section near the ROTC…great recommendation from the site Q)
25 merkins
Repeat (we got two good rounds in)

Put blocks back to their cozy stack.

Runners returned and all seven of us were able to get one (1) big boy sit up achieved before 0600.

COT
Prayer/Praises
Park, Tootie, and their entire family.
Our kids that are thinking through what/where to go after high school.
Joy and continued well-being for expectant pax/families.

Rankel Bio

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Heavy dice

After a warmup of low slow squats, merkins, SSH, and swings, we took a quick mosey around the parking lot.

Uhaul eventually showed up and joined us, along with his playlist of “things that kinda sound like Metallica”.

Today, we let the dice decide our reps as we worked through a pre-determined list of pain. PAX took turns rolling 2 dice and we just did that number of reps. I had promised in Slack that today would be for heavy bells and low reps, which mostly held true. If any PAX rolled doubles, we added 5 burpees to the lineup.

The movement list is as follows:

Swings

Goblet squats

Deadlifts

Hammer Curls

Overhead press

Scull crushers/tricep extensions

Lawn mower pulls

Single leg deadlifts

Cleans

high pulls

Chest Presses

Snatches

Mozey

 

After 2 rounds through the rotation, a very suspicious truck pulled into the parking lot. “That can’t possibly be Tesh!” the group cried. We readied our kettlebells as our only defense against the intruder. Heartbeats quickened, palms sweated, pupils dialated, and we fixed our gaze upon the magnificence that was… Tesh.

Not nearly enough light ribbing later, Tesh joined us.

We accomplished 2 more rounds with his highness, and the burpees kept flowing – finally giving way to some Mary at the end of the workout followed by COT.

Solid crew this morning.

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No Arrival

40-some pax posted to the region’s Ground Zero at WEP for a smorgasbord of pain, from 6@6 to Millkshake to a tried and true BC beatdown.  A very explicit and thorough Disclaimer was pronounced by Dark Helmet for the benefit of our FNG, and then the pax blasted off.

The Thang

The recitation of the 5 Core Principles quickly failed to meet DOAH’s standard, leading to some burpees.

Mosey around the parking lot with some toy soldiers and knee lifts mixed in, with the pax following onto the bandshell stage.

COP proceeded including more core principles along with some Merkins and DOAH’s proclamation that maybe the FNG’s fitness surpassed that of many of the pax present.  {Yes, he’s good at stirring the pot whether he’s poking at the Q or Qing himself.}

More mosey and more warm up exercises until the pax reach the far side of the WEP.

Enter stage left — the BAOPS boys via Clown Car — Trucker, Smuggler, Change Order & Longshanks, who just couldn’t stand the thought  of missing out on the best 1st, 2nd & 3rd F in The Fort on this given Saturday.  {Pro move by whoever made that call!}

Partner up for wheel barrow…to the playground…Yes…to the playground!…where the fun really starts.  {Fishsticks promptly cruised 85% of the way there to prove to his FNG that no matter what DOAH says, the FNG’s fitness had room for improvement.}

At the playground, each partner does 50 (yes, Five-O!) pull ups.  {Jiffy cranked out 30 in rapid fire.}

Some core work followed including LBCs and Rosalitas among others.

Handoff to Double D

Run to the bottom of the hill

Jacob’s Ladder with Donkey Kicks at the bottom and Sumo Squats at the top.  Traverse to the top via Bear Crawl and run to the bottom.

Mosey back to the parking lot with some Mary led by Jekyll

Climb the Stairway to Heaven via lunge walks, pausing for Carolina Dry Docks at each lamp post, starting with 5 reps and adding 5 more at each successive post.

Mosey down to the monuments with some Mary led by Longshanks

Circle up for an FNG introduction to Jack Webb by Change Order

Run home for final 2 mins of Mary by Longshanks

COT

NMM

A spirited pax at The Fort on this pleasant late winter morning!   Back to back weeks with a convergence at The Fort — thanks to the Alcatraz boys for adding their zeal to the day!

Maximus delivered the tailgate coffeeteria in the parking lot afterward and our FNG (EHed by Fishsticks) hung around long enough to learn the backstory of his name (Roy Kent) and to fill his rolodex with roofing customer prospects.

Welcome to Roy Kent!  Barry Manilow was quite vocal about the quality of the name and the importance of RK living up to it.  Well, if he doesn’t meet the mark, we can always default to what RK thought we named him — Rockette!

It was great to have Car Bomb among the pax today, fresh off his return trip from New Zealand, prior to his resettlement in another adventure.

The theme for the day was geared around the notion of life being an endless series of mountain climbs, peak after peak, with no arrival to the top in sight — ever.  Depressing, huh?  No, not for the HIMs of F3 and The Fort.  Give us the hard stuff.  We’re playing the long game and we know you can’t play it alone.  So keep posting, stay engaged with your brothers.  Together we’ll keep accelerating.

It was a treat to Q with DOAH for the first time.  We all look at him as just another member of The Fort, which of course he is.  At the same time, he also invests a huge amount of his life leading the 43 feet for the Nation.  Not only is it not easy being Frank {imagine how hard it must be for Traci his wife}, it’s also lonely at the top of any organization {how about leading one with 50,000 type A men?}, and it’s incredibly challenging to serve as the successor to any founder {would you want to try one Dredd’s shoes}.  Despite the small jabs, I say this with all seriousness — DOAH has taken on an extremely difficult challenge, one that he executes well with tremendous energy and virtue and that we all benefit from.  We’re fortunate that he calls The Fort “home” and that we get to take his crap on a regular cadence.  Thank you, DOAH!

Thanks to Grinder for the opportunity!  Always an honor to lead the men of this brotherhood!

SYITG

 

 

 

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QSOURCE 2022.08 – KING (Q1.2)

Q 1.2: King

King: The daily discipline of physically training the body.

Let that sink in and we’ll break it down in sections.

Daily – One should be making repeated efforts to train. This doesn’t have to mean running 10 miles every day. It does mean putting in some sort of physical effort to invest in your body. On a given day, your body could benefit from lower impact activity like stretching, walking and yoga.

Discipline – You cannot slack. You must establish guardrails or involve others who will hold you accountable because after all, you cannot hold yourself accountable; don’t lie to yourself. Identify your tendencies that keep you from physically training your body on a daily basis and put the measures in place to keep you from ditch-diving. Establishing that is an example of discipline.

Physically – As part of the Get Right, you must put the physical work in so that you can be better equipped to handle what life throws at you. Additionally, I have found that if I get a solid workout or run in, my mind is cleared of the fog and I am open to correction, new ideas and ways in which I do just about everything, better.

Training – You’ll never arrive. You are constantly putting in work to get just 1% better. Identify a goal and make incremental improvements. When you’ve reached that goal, make another goal. Improvement is not made in the completion. Improvement is a process of continual training. As you’ve heard countless times, life is lived in the process, in the journey.

Body – There is a lot of reading and study to be done in order to better understand what both Christian and secular writers mean when stating that our bodies are temples. Regardless of your view, you know the basics of that inference. You should treat your body well, and in this case, that means physically training on a regular basis to keep your temple sharp and ready.

This relationship we have with our bodies begins with Fitness, hence why that is the first F. It is not negotiable; I must be physically able to perform the physical necessities of life in order to be effective. If I am unable to carry my kid after she breaks her leg or I am unable to put a suitcase in the overhead bin of an airplane, how effective am I? I would be more of a liability instead of an asset. I never know when “the time” will come so I must train on a daily basis, utilizing a variety of methods, to be ready.

Why do I push for 1% better through different training methods? If all I do is run, I can’t carry my kid. If all I do is rucking or weightlifting, what will I do when my kid wants to run a 5K with me; ask her to walk? Integrate a variety of training methods to challenge your body and build stamina. Stamina fights fatigue. Fatigue happens when you’re not trained for that next 1%. Fatigue keeps you from stepping up when only you can step up. When no one else can, you can…you must. In the words of the late Travis Manion and now memorialized by the Travis Manion Foundation, “If Not Me, Then Who?” In the end, fatigue makes cowards of us all. Fight the fatigue. Fight for that next 1%.

It is important to understand too, that no matter how far or fast you run, no matter how much you can carry, the inevitable time will come when you can’t out-King your Queen. The Queen is the next section in Q-Source and that too, requires discipline and guardrails. For this however, I’ll remain focused on the need for the daily discipline of the King.

A few years ago, F3 PAX around the country spread the initiative of the F3-250. The spirit behind this was to encourage PAX to participate in 250 workouts in a calendar year. This could be a great measure of accountability for men. If you have another man tracking with you on your way to 250, you’re more likely to put your feet on the floor when the alarm rings in your ear. Another tactic is to let someone know the night before where you’re posting. Set your clothes out and get everything else ready. That’s discipline. Find yours. Locally, there are men among us who are engaged in daily check-ins with other men as part of their daily discipline.

It takes a want-to in order to make this a reality, no one will do the work for you. Our world is full of excuses that will entice you to take a more comfortable or faster path. I challenge you to not succumb to that excuse. Why? Inevitably, the “stuff” is going to hit the fan and YOU will have to respond in a way that requires physical effort. You will not have the time to look for the easiest route or the route with the least resistance. You will have to act because only you can. Check that, you won’t have to. You GET TO.

How will you ensure readiness? By engaging your KING and having the daily discipline to physically train your body, your temple. If you need help or accountability, I will gladly walk with you. Just know, you won’t walk forever because I’m going to push you to run or carry weight while we walk.

I love you too much to let you stay static.

Maximus

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Chia Pudding

Four men showed up on a rainy morning for a little broga, exercise, and some healthy recipes.

Sasquatch started us off with 15 minutes on broga.  Lots of good stretches and poses to get our bodies right.

Next, we moseyed around the parking lot with some dynamic stretching. We made our way to the bus drop off.  The workout was simple, exercises performed near the school, once complete, run a lap and perform the first exercise along with the next and so on, “The Accumulator”.  Below are the exercises we completed along with the count:

  1. Squats – 20
  2. Merkins – 20
  3. Flutters – 20
  4. Plank Punches – 20
  5. LBCs – 20
  6. Carolina Dry Docks – 20
  7. American Hammers – 20
  8. Burpees – 10
  9. Lunges – 20

We got through all but the last two rounds.  Before we ran back to COT, we completed the last two exercises less the lap.  During the recovery laps, we learned about several healthy dessert recipes, like Chia pudding (Chia seeds + almond milk) or banana ice cream.

Great job everyone!

 

 

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QSOURCE 2022.07 – DRP(Q1.01)

Q1.01 DRP
DRP: The daily commitment to accelerate your Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith
For anyone who has been living under a rock for the past 20 years the daily red pill is a reference to the choice that Neo is faced with in the movie The Matrix. The main character is faced with a choice to accept the truth that is hard to face, (by taking the red pill), or to ignore the truth and pretend the newfound knowledge he has recently acquired doesn’t exist, (by taking the blue pill). He is told that by taking the blue pill he is making an informed decision that he wants to continue living in a synthetic world where he can go through the motions and live his life and eventually die without making any significant impact on the world but knowing that the whole thing is just one giant lie of deception. Or he can take the red pill which will force him into a life of suffering and hardship which is guaranteed to suck yet he will have the freedom to make his own choices instead of being a pawn in someone else’s game.
How is this scenario relevant to what we are trying to learn from the F3 leadership manual? It is a challenge for us as men to make a conscious decision to have a say in how we live our lives. Most men reading this are in the 1% club, compared to billions of people around the big ball who struggle daily to survive, and if not careful can go through our entire lives without having experienced the full spectrum of what life has to offer. When I say the 1% club I am meaning that you probably woke up in some sort of a dwelling that has running water, electricity, food in the pantry, and freedom from persecution for personal beliefs. To put it bluntly, we are at serious risk of living a soft life never even realizing our true potential. This is the ultimate waste of resources in my personal opinion. Great so what do we do about it? Enter the idea of the (DRP) or Daily Red Pill.
The QSource defines the DRP as the daily Commitment to Accelerate your Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. Let’s wait to unpack the definition in order to first call attention to the capitalized words in the statement. When regular words are capitalized within the QSource text it is because those words take on a specific definition as it pertains to the F3 world. See Foundation QF2, Language, for reasons why Dredd redefines common words.
• Commitment is defined as, (IDA): the Unwavering loyalty to the Group and unflinching determination to accomplish its Mission. (Q3.9).
• Accelerate is defined as, (IDA): To increase the pace of Movement.
• Fitness is defined as, (IDA): A man’s Right relationship with himself.
• Fellowship is defined as,(IDA): A man’s Right relationship with those in Proximity.
• Faith is defined as,(IDA): A man’s Right relationship with his Creator.
So let’s do some algebra and plug all of the definitions into the original statement and see what we get.

DRP: The daily (unwavering loyalty to the Group and unflinching determination to accomplish its mission) to (increase the pace of Movement) for your (right relationship with himself) your (Right relationship with those in Proximity) and your (Right relationship with his Creator).

Whew, that was a mouthful. So what does it all mean? Explain it like I am five please snowman.

It means that to take the DRP a man must set his daily purpose to improving himself, his relationship with those in which he interacts, and his relationship with his Creator.

Sounds simple but unfortunately, it doesn’t make it easy.
Great now we are getting some traction. We know what the DRP is now let’s talk about why it’s important to you. Let me be the first to possibly hurt your feelings and say that you are soft, easy to kill, and will give up at the first sign that things become difficult or dangerous. But there is hope for you I promise. If you don’t take offense to the previous statement then you might need to do some soul searching or you have already learned the magic of the DRP and understand that my insult is my attempt to be the Disruptor, see QF1, in your life. I know for an absolute FACT that you are capable of so much more than you think you are and I want to challenge you to take the first steps to achieve a more rewarding and joyous life. How can I be so sure that you are capable of more than you think you are you might ask? It’s not because I have some all-knowing crystal ball; it’s because I have been there in your shoes going through life panicking at every little change that happens that I can’t control. It isn’t until now at the ripe age of 37, yeah I am still EH’ing for heaven, which I understand the importance of the DRP and why it’s the first Q point in F3’s leadership manual. I would argue that the DRP is a concept that without understanding and accepting, a man will continue to live a life of uncertainty and fall into the victim mentality that the world is out to get him and will continue to struggle until he gives up and taps out, physically or emotionally. But there is hope and that hope lies in the daily decision to do hard things. This can be getting up early to post to a workout that will improve your physical fitness, planning a date night to strengthen your relationship with your M, or attending a 3rd F group to increase your knowledge of your Creator. The key is daily discipline. The daily discipline is hard to maintain which is why you must establish guardrails. To establish guardrails you must establish routines. And routines are created by the daily positive habit behaviors which are called Bricks.
This is why for all of last year I was encouraging guys to “Build your guardrails out of Bricks”.
So take your DRP and surround yourself with like-minded brothers and with time you will be able to achieve things you never thought possible. I have never met Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice but I can say with confidence he understood the importance of doing hard things daily in order to achieve his goals.

“Today I will do what others won’t so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.”
-Jerry Rice

Stay frosty my friends,
Olaf

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In Da Club

Five men showed on a cold morning at Golden Corral.  After the disclaimer, we moseyed over to Bubbles and Bows for a few warm-up exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and Plank Stretches).

Next, we were on the move around the HT building and down to the traffic circle for a round of merkins, lunges, and calf raises.  We then ventured to a little-known hill in the back of the apartment complex.  Three rounds of Nur up the hill, three burpees at the top, and ten Carolina Dry Docks at the bottom.  We made our way around the neighborhood with exercises (Merkins, Squats, and LBCs – 10 each) at each stop sign.

After traveling around the neighborhood, we ended up at a familiar fountain where we bear crawled around the circle and completed 20 dips on the guardrails.  We continued our run to the top of the hill and found a quiet parking lot for a few rounds of Mary (Flutters. LBCs, and Hello Dollies).

We returned to COT for a 2+ minute plank and finished our discussion on the Superbowl Halftime show.  50 cent was the most talked about artist.   I shared a story about a time when I was traveling to India for work.  One of the managers took me and a couple associates out to dinner.  He drove us to the restaurant in his car, playing “In Da Club”.  I remember closing my eyes thinking “I am driving around India, listening to 50 Cent”.  Wow.

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Convergence: Love & a passing of the flag

Station 1 (Santini): Traditional Pain Platoon

Just your basic beat the hell out of your legs exercises of lunges, squats, and burpees intermixed with meditation and box breathing exercises. Sprint to the top of the hill, recover, and do more exercises including Moroccan night clubs and Carolina dry docks.

NMM: Anxiety and gratitude are not able to occupy the same space.

Station 2 (Shady / Maximus)

Warmup (Shady) – 21 SSH, 5 burpees, 18 SSH, 5 burpees, 12 SSH, someone whined about burpees so we did 10 diamonds merkins…then did 5 burpees
Group 1
  • partnered up and Dora style started out with 100 pull-ups.  Partner 1 on the pull-up bar, partner 2 did a lap around the playgroud
  • Stayed on playground, stayed with partner, Partner 1 AMRAP merkins while partner 2 ran the length of the playground and back to AMRAP merkins
  • Stayed on the AMRAP theme with flutters, then back to merkins, then back to flutters…then (I think) time was called

Group 2

  • Partnered up and Dora style, but this time 50 pull-ups with the run around the playground (Q modification given time and we aren’t cyborgs)
  • AMRAPs were just 1 round of merkins and flutters (again, I think…may need a lifeline here from Max)
  • We made our way to the hill with the statue where Maximus laid down the NUR up the hill and at the top 10 bomb jacks and ran to the bottom where we did 20 American hammers..we did this twice
  • W/ time to spare we ran to the top for 10 diamond merkins and ran to the bottom for 10 V-ups
  • In buzzer beater fashion, we ran to the top again for 10 ranger merkins and ran to the bottom for a partner 1 lay on the ground and grab partner 2s ankles where partner 2 would throw partner 1s feet down 10 times as you straight leg lifted them to his face

Group 3

  • Dora style 50 pull-ups with the run around the playground
  • We made our way to the hill with the statue where Maximus laid down the NUR up the hill and at the top 10 bomb jacks and ran to the bottom where we did 20 american hammers..we did this twice
  • Running low on time ran to the top for 10 diamond merkins and ran to the bottom for the ankle grabbing / feet throwing core exercise 10 times
NMM: After each of the groups had done their pull-ups, Maximus and Shady shared their thoughts and experiences on LOVE.
  • Shady – areas of focus were loving your brother and being your brothers keeper.  Sending a text or reaching out to someone to just say “hey, thinking of you” could change their day.  Realizing that the ones you love are watching you, emulating you, picking up on good and bad habits.  Realizing we don’t know it all, especially to the ones we love, is a sign of humility and a factor of growth and development.  For those of us with children, we have never been parents before so we honestly have no idea what we’re doing.  Love starts with servant leadership and personally for YHC, this usually progresses when the mouth is shut and ears are open.
  • Maximus – For my discussion on love, it begins with being intentional as love is a decision. We must make the decision to be intentional with our actions. Whether it be in our faith, marriage, parenting of our kids, with friends and yes, even with work relationships, we must be intentional. Think about how easy it is to get distracted, whether at dinner with your wife or even on a Zoom call for work. We often allow our minds to wander or even start doing something else while the other person is talking, looking for our engagement. Stop. Be the person who is present in the moment. Put the shoe on the other foot. Love that person as your relationship to them allows.

Station 3 (Pusher & Cakeboss): Love Edition

COP
  • SSHs
  • Windmills
  • Squats
  • Mtn Climbers
  • Merkins
  • IWs
Cake Boss spells love “B-U-R-P-E-E”
The Thang
  • Jacobs Ladder with Derkins and Monkey Humpers
  • Plank/Dip sequence
  • Bear crawl to top with burpees
NMM:
  • Cord of 3 strands cannot be broken. Having God in your marriage is the 3rd string. Adding communication to the marriage strengthens it. – CB
  • Gifts vs Gaps. Focus on the gifts that your wife or significant other bring vs what she is missing. Seeing her this way builds love. – Pusher
  • Much love was on display with all of the mumblechatter and fellowship. The relationships formed through F3 has increased our love internally and is reflected outward to our Ms, 2.0s, PAX and community… #morethanaworkout

Shovel Flag hand off for two leadership positions in the Fort:

Shady handed off the Nantan role to Double D
Esso handed off the Weasel Shaker role to YHC

Awesome work by the PAX today. Hard to put into words how much improved my disposition on life is since moving back to Fort Mill because of F3. Grateful for an opportunity to serve the PAX of The Fort.

NMM: Double D was the site-Q at Block Party when I started posting. If it wasn’t for his steady presence with a commitment to the integrating 2nd F and 3rd F elements into each workout, I doubt I’d have kept posting. Double D is a genuine human, I’m a better dude for knowing him, and I’m excited for his leadership.

—
Band Camp dismissed

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Niece and Knees

2 Pax showed post-Super Bowl (Rams defeated the Bengals). Destiny was on the Q-roster, but not present. Hopefully he just had too many wings watching the game. Miss getting to see that HIM in the gloom.

After some mumble chatter about going back home, we warmed up literally and figuratively.
– IW
– HW
– Windmill
– Shoulder Taps
– HUMANE BURPEE (15 swings, 5 merkins, 5 goblet squats, 15 swings, 4 merkins, 4 goblet squats, etc.)

Then we ran through some sequences. Among the work was:
Swings (one hand & two hand)
High Pulls
Plank Rows
Curls
Clean & Press
Push Press
Tricep Extension
Flutters
Chest Press
Burpee Snatch
Snatch

About 15 min in, Smokey and Sugarbug drove up in the coordinating Jeeps. Good thing we stayed with the workout initially. I hate to leave another guy hanging in the gloom.

Once our number was 4, we started rotating the who called exercises.

NMM:
Don’t quit. It ain’t over, ’till we say it’s over.

Prayers for:
Shatner’s Niece
Shatner’s Knees
Liquidate’s little girl undergoing surgery in Boston

—
Band Camp dismissed

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