Video Bootcamp

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11 men showed up for the workout at WEP.  After a quick disclaimer, we began with some light stretching before we jogged up the path leading to the soccer field.  Once we reached the top, we jogged back down for some additional warm-up exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and plank stretches).

Next, we moseyed to the playground for a modified Dora.  Once we arrived, there were two men doing pull-ups.  We asked if they would like to join..they declined and disappeared into the gloom.  It kind of felt like a scene from the movie The Outsiders.  Anyway..we began with 100 pull-ups.  Partner 1 – pull-ups;  Partner 2 – run across the field and back to switch out with Partner 1.

Once all teams were done, we ran a lap around the park and stopped near the statue.  Next exercise 200 merkins.  Partner 1 – merkins;  Partner 2 – run up to the top of the hill and back down for switch out.  The area was dark and unfortunately Offset found one of the holes and hurt his leg. Everyone did a great job making sure he was ok.  After a few minutes, he was up and back exercising with the group.

Next, we headed to the parking lot for the last part of Dora.

Exercise: 300 squats

Partner 1 – squats;  Partner 2 – run to the third lit lamppost, 5 burpees, and run back down the hill.

We finished with a shoulder shuffle around the parking circle, clockwise and counter clockwise.

Great job by all.

Thanks for the patience with the video!

 

 

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Venom

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Observations:  7 #HIM put up a strong Q at the Snake Pit today.  It was a beautiful brisk morning. The Pax tried to keep up with Scrum the whole time.  He was flying! Uhual brought tunes to keep our minds off of the pain. 

The Thang:

WMs (15x), SSHs (20x), IWs (20x), Mountain Climbers (15x), Slow Sumo Squats (15x), LBCs (15x)

The Kettlebell Board of Pain:

  1. 100 Yard Dash
  2. Lunges (Double Count) 
  3. Big Boy Sit Ups
  4. Goblet Squats
  5. Man Makers
  6. Merkins (Split Count)
  7. American Hammers (Double Count)
  8. Kettlebell  Swings
  9. Flutter Kicks (Double Count)
  10. Curls (Double Count)
  11. Tricept Extensions
  12. Upright Rows 

Moleskin:

God has invested power in each of us. An example of God’s investment of power in man is when Peter healed the lame beggar in Acts 3. To make this miracle happen, Peter had to build a relationship with God, hear God’s calling and practice an act of obedience.

Do you know what power or spiritual gift God gave you? If so, what are you doing with your power?

We may not all be miracle makers. However, sometimes your obedience can help God’s victory. 

 

Peace,

Deacon

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Lake Wylie QvQ Bracket Tournament

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Alright Pax it is time for the first annual QvQ bracket style tournament to determine who is the Baddest Motha F3 Q in the Lake Wylie region! A championship belt (and bragging rights)will be given to the winner. Maybe even a ticker tape parade…and a Nike shoe contract…and guest appearances on all the late night talk shows.  Ok, so none of that stuff will happen but hey…one can dream after all.

Da Rules

 We are currently Beta testing whether to go with one 20 minute round per contestant or two 10 minute rounds.  Scoring will be judged on Fun Factor, Creativity, and Toughness. A 1-4 for each category will be entered by the judges(Pax who attend). A perfect 12 is the object for all the contenders to aspire to.

Contenders and Dates

December 2 at Crows Nest (5 AM Crowders Creek Elementary) – Survey Says vs Two Ferns 

December 9 at Black Flag (7PM at Good Samaritan Church) – O’Riley vs Royale

December 11 at ShipWrecked (5AM at Oak Ridge track side parking lot)- Clutch vs Wolverine

December 17 at Cannonball (5AM at New River Church) – WhiteSnake vs Flux

December 21 at Tha Deep (Quarterfinal)

December 27 at Bermuda Triangle (Quarterfinal)

Finale TBD

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!!!!!!!!!!!

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(Pre-Blast) Metro Monday at Quagmire – Happy Birthday Mile High

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Here’s what we’re going to do tomorrow AM, for those that see this and care at all:

.5-ish mile loop
Move fast – for real

6 stops/exercises around the loop – 20 reps of everything
Flux and Two Ferns try and do actual reps as best you can.

Goal is 6 loops

  1. Corner by McDonald’s = Ranger Merkins
  2. Brick pad 1 = Squats
  3. Corner by CVS = Flutter Kicks – 4count like a man, please
  4. PARTNER CARRY across in front of Old Navy to brick pad
    1. Curb Alpert – 4 count
  5. Next brick pad = Double Leg Lifts
  6. Corner by wine shop/zoe’s = Burpees
  7. BACK TO 1 – BEAR CRAWL THE LENGTH OF THE ROUNDABOUT ON YOUR WAY BACK

Doubtful there will be time left, but if there is, we’ll do some Mary…

The idea is to run the weakness out of ourselves… Yes, you read this correctly. Come warm. No warm up tomorrow.

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Lessons Learned from Pushing Beyond: Stories from a GORUCK HTL

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**CONVERGENCE ALERT**

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
What: A Special Fort/LKW/Rock Convergence
When: 11.23.19 — EC Starts at 0600; Main Convergence at 0630. Panel from 0730-0830
Where: The J-Wow Outdoor Training Facility (Walter Elisha Park) then to Panera for the panel
Who: Every man you know (in or out of F3) that wants to be sharpened
Why: FOMO. Or really because we are going to get to the heart of why we do what we do in F3…

A few weeks ago, 4 men from The Fort (Spiderman, Maximus, ChaChing, and Catfish… yes, we still claim Catfish sometimes) completed one of the most grueling tests of endurance that exists. The GORUCK HTL. For the uninitiated, this consists of 3 events in one. A GORUCK Heavy (a 24+ hr Ruck event typically covering as many as 40 miles or more with a less than 50% completion rate), a GORUCK Tough (a 12+ hr Ruck event typically covering as many as 15-20 miles), and a GORUCK Light (another 6+ hour event covering  another 7-10 miles)… all while wearing a ruck and doing LOTS of Ruck PT. It’s awful on every scale and requires a lot mentally and physically from everyone who completes it.

Therefore, there are countless life lessons and training lessons baked into the preparation and completion of such a thing (as well as a lot of great war stories). So, on 11.23 starting at 0630 (0600 for the tough guys), we are planning to hold a convergence workout, with special Qs, and then plan to hear from a panel of our HTL Finishers, moderated by YHC.

What was training like?
How bad was it really?
Would you do it again?
Questions from me and you will be answered… you may want to bring your notebook for this one…

Aye! Helmet out.

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Dam to Dam for a Cause

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  • QIC: Pusher, DD, Cake Boss, Sippy Cup, Rebel, Fogerty, Bass-O-Matic, Mainframe, Short Sale, Barry Manilow, Anchorman, Boss Hog, Twister, Shady, Esso, Slash, Tesh, Router and Hardwood
  • When: 02/15/2020
  • Posted In: CSAUP

F3 defines a CSAUP as a dirty, dangerous and difficult event that builds Trust between Team Members. In the Fort, we are expanding this definition to apply that trust back into invigorating male community leadership in 2020.

20 HIMs have committed to run the Dam to Dam Relay on 2/15/20 which is a 100km course from Lake Murray (near Columbia) to Lake Greenwood on behalf of Classroom Ready, a program under the Foundation for Fort Mill Schools that provides free school supplies to students in need in York County School District #2.

We are asking you, the men of F3 the Fort, to support our schools and our mission of invigorating  male community leadership with the Dam to Dam for a Cause mission. Over the next 3 months, we are requesting donations be made to Classroom Ready via their website Foundation for Fort Mill Schools/Donate

As you consider your amount of donation, please keep the following in mind:

$25 – Provides a student with a pencil box filled with supplies/binder
$50 – Provides an Elementary school student with a backpack & supplies 
$75 – Provides a Middle or High School student with a backpack & supplies
$100 – Provide a Graphing Calculator to a High School student
$250 – Provides a High School classroom set of agendas (40 total)
$500 – Provides a set of (100) 3 inch binders
  • All donations are accepted
  • The Foundation for Fort Mill Schools is a 501 (c) (3) organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent the law allows. The Foundation does not provide financial support for programs regularly funded by the Fort Mill School District operating budget. Strict management of fiduciary responsibility is a basic tenet of the Foundation.

Our goal is to address a need within our growing community by partnering with Classroom Ready and the Foundation for Fort Mill Schools. We thank you for your support in advance!

 

 

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Priorities – 3rd F Word for November

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I don’t know about you, but the time between Halloween and New Years always feels like it flashes by. The parties, the travel, the visiting relatives, year-end deadlines, procrastinating on buying and then wrapping gifts – it all seems to add momentum to the accelerator of time. And before you know it we’ll be in 2020.

With the additional responsibilities of the Holidays demanding our time, it’s often hard to keep priorities in perspective during November and December. We talk in F3 of Concentrica as a bullseye, with our relationship with Jesus at the center, then our M, 2.0s, friends, and finally work making the outermost ring. But how often do we find ourselves trying to justify a different order?

 

“I would spend time in the Word this morning, but I’ve really got to get to work.”

“I know my M had a stressful day, but I already told the guys I’d meet them for a beer.”

“We were supposed to spend time as a family tonight, but my team never gets a nationally televised game.”

 

We have to be on our guard because truly living third is difficult. The difference between living for God and others before ourselves, and just looking out for number 1 is often a few split-second decisions a day. That’s why it’s so important to be intentional with our choices – make them ahead of time (as much as we can) rather than in the moment. Otherwise whatever is making the most noise gets our attention, rather than what is most significant.

Scripture

  • “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33
  • “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” – Mark 8:36
  • “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Matthew 6:24
  • “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” – Ephesians 5:25

Questions for Self-Reflection

  • How can I be more intentional about where my time is spent, especially when the Holidays hit?
  • Who can I ask to hold me accountable when my Concentrica starts getting misaligned?
  • What one thing can I do daily to keep God at the forefront of my life?
  • How can I better serve my wife?
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Band Camp-Slash CO-Q

Slash on Q:

9 pax showed up on an unseasonably warm, late October morning at Block Party looking for some solid acceleration. After a quick disclaimer it was time to mozy, so mozy we did! Our destination was a bit farther than many probably anticipated, but they survived! We headed to Church of God (COG) just past the police station and apparently I though it was smart to circle up in a four way stop? After some brief confusion my CO-Q quickly spoke up and said :maybe we can use the lovely flat parking lot that’s 13 feet away? So we did and we began to delve into my portion of the workout. After 2 impressive and in perfect form side-straddle-hops we started the routine. I wanted all PAX to have a say in what we did so each man took their turn running up a hill and upon his return he would then call a workout and lead in cadence while the next man took his turn running. We were able to go one full round and then it was BC time! We did a bear crawl over to the staircase where our next HIM took over!

The thang:
Mozy to COG
2 side-straddle-hop

Merkins
flutters
Windmill
Moroccan
Freddie
6 count plank jacks
Monkey humpers
Baby arm circles (forward and reverse)
LBC’s

Band Camp on Q

COP

Front Scales and Back Scales (warrior 3)
https://www.crossfit.com/essentials/front-scales-progression
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/warrior-iii-pose

Went around the group holding each pose for 20-30 count.
Challenging everyone’s balance

Thang:
2 30lb kettlebells were strategically pre-placed by my co-Q and I prior to the workout

Each PAX performed a kettlebell complex
– burpee over the bells
– two arm bent over row
– kettlebell clean
– squat and press (thurster)
– rinse and repeat

(probably easier to see than read: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2zrBV6FWgu/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet)

While one PAX performed the complex the rest of the PAX went up & down the large staircase, did two merkins, and then returned via the large staircase.

This took a while, and then we moseyed back.

COT

NMM:

The workout today challenged our balance and everyone shared the load. It would have been a TALL order to do all those hill runs individually or all that kettlebell complex for 20min straight. Sometimes when we’re off balance, we need help carrying the load. Along with that, we should also notice when those around of us are off balance and help them carry their load.

An honor to lead and share the Q with a HIM I respect so much.

-Band Camp dismissed.

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Runaway Recycling Truck at The Snake Pit

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4 lonely PAX braved the forecasted rains to pick up and set down heavy things at #TheSnakePit this week.

With a slight sprinkle in the air the workout began with some warmup and a mosey down the hill. Once at the bottom of the hill our fearless leader let us know that we would not only be picking up and putting down heavy things, we would also be running up and down the hill. Repeatedly. Over. And. Over. And. Over.

Exercises included the following:

  • Kettlebell Swings
  • Skull Crushers
  • Low Slow Squats
  • Military Press
  •  LBCs

Probably some other stuff, but it was at this point that we nearly got recycled… disaster averted and all safely returned to COT.

Upon pulling away after the Ball of Man the heavens opened and the rains arrived.

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Downpour with Roxanne at Laces In

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This morning was supposed to be very wet, and again the Weather professionals got it wrong. Knowing the anticipated challenges, I prepared a weinke that would allow for a covered area. And….not a drop of rain. Had to make some audibles on the fly to make sure the PAX got a good sweat in. To my surprise, 9 HIM showed up for the morning’s beat down. Only vets were present so I delivered a quick disclaimer and off we went.

 

Mosey to the main parking lot taking a left turn immediately because it was too windy for Trucker…mumble chatter champion. Completed the mosey and circled up in front of the drop off area near the front of the gym.

 

IW x 20

SSH x 25

Windmill x10

Overhead claps- x20

Happy Jacks- 5 rounds

MNC x10

Seal Jacks- x15

 

PAX headed over to the curb, lined up across and turned and faced the parking lot.

I spent a little time here sharing with the PAX about a recent pledge brother that took his own life last week. With that came a challenge, to think about Men that you can be impacting that need your support. Whether you think it is annoying or not, there are men out there that are desperately seeking another man to pick them up. All it takes is an additional call or text, anything to let them know you are thinking of them.

 

Ok, with that in mind, the PAX were instructed to do suicides to the fourth line with a numbered space. When you reach the 4th number perform the exercise listed and then run back. Hold a plank for the 6.

 

Round 1- Merkins x10

Round 2- CDD x10

Round 3- Burpees x10

 

Continued with the message to the PAX to make sure it stayed in the front of their mind during the workout. Reminding them that if it’s them that is struggling to not go through it alone.

 

Next Mosey was to the breezeway area at the football stadium.

 

Circle up. I had prepared a little Roxanne workout in anticipation of the downpour that didn’t happen. After some brief fumbling with the technology, off we went.

 

Roxanne, you don’t have to…- flying squirrels

 

In between- The Pax were doing Seal Jacks.

 

This got the blood going! Of course I am a sweater, but there some extra puddles around me during this. It looked like the PAX were enjoying it as well.

 

Immediately after the song, we jumped into the Deck of Death.

 

Spades- CDD

Hearts- Monkey humpers

Clubs- Plank Jacks

Diamonds- wide arm Merkins

Joker- 5 burpees

 

We made it through about ¾ of the deck and the runners joined us for the last few.

 

Back to COT

 

Announcements– Newsletter

 

Praises– for the PAX who showed up. I was reminded this morning that being in the gloom makes a positive impact on our daily lives. This does mean you necessarily have to participate in the workout if you are on the IR. I encourage PAX on the IR to show up with a partner and walk and enjoy some fellowship.

 

Prayers-

 

Bonsai’s Wife’s grandmother

Cyclops Dad

The family of my brother whose life ended too soon

My wife’s student who passed away

Injured PAX

Marriages

Any I missed

 

Additional thoughts on challenging us as men and fathers to enjoy the moment and practice patience as best as you can.

 

Mental Health- I will repeat this over and over, you are not alone. Engage, ask, and reach out. If not, this is just a workout.

 

 

Thanks for the opportunity and for showing up on this rainy day.

 

 

Frat Boy

 

 

 

 

 

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