The Ranch

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Disclaimer

Mosey around parking lot doing various dynamic stretches/warm ups.

Circle up for warm ups- 20 SSHs, 10 merkins, 10 peter parkers, 10 Morakin night clubs.

Mosey to picnic benches 10 step ups, 10 dips, 10 single leg squats (each Leg), 10 derkins, hold plank for the 6 to finish. Drop to 9 the next set until we get to 1.

Mosey to playground- 5 strict pull ups 10 in and out ab crunches on the swings. drop 1 rep on each pull up until you get to 1.

Mosey to middle school parking lot partner up. run 1 lap opposite direction from partner half way do 10 alternating push up and clap. Run other half 1 partner chair sit while partner does 10 air squats. repeat 2 sets.

Mosey to middle school wall. 15 Balls to wall peter parkers 20 second wall sit. 10 balls to wall peter parkers 10 second wall sit.

Mosey to front of school same partners wheel barrow 1 partner to end switch and go back.

Mosey to COT.

Announcements- fast 5, family ruck

Prayers and praises- Our country ( the people and the natural disasters going on), PAX looking for work, families.

 

 

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7

Field work at The Coop

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15 HIM showed up to The Coop ready to put in work on this muggy October morning.  YHC hadn’t been to this AO in quite some time and I was excited to be back.  Off we went to the practice field.  Circle up at the 50.

COP:

WM x 10

SSH x 30

Merkins x 10

Peter Parkers x 15

Parker Peters x 15

Mosey to the goal line…

The Thang:

Round 1:

Lunge walk to the 50 stopping at every 10 for 10 squats.

Reverse lunge the last 50 and stop at every 10 for 10 monkey humpers

Suicides 20, 40, 40, 20

Round 2:

Bear crawl to the 50 and stop at every 10 for 10 merkins.

Crab walk the last 50 and stop at every 10 for 10 dips

Round 3:

Reverse bear crawl to the 50 and stop at every 10 for 5 merkins.

Reverse crab walk to the 50 and stop at every 10 for 10 dips.

Round 4:

Partner up…size matters

Partner 1 carry partner 2 to the 50 with 5 squats at every 10.  Switch and finish to the goal line.

Suicides 20,40,40,20,Goal

Mosey back to COT for 5 min of mary.

COT:

Prayers for baby’s on the way, world peace and those recovering from natural disasters.

Great to be back at a great AO with a great group of HIM.

Thanks for the opportunity Sugar Bug.

Until next time…

Seacrest, OUT!

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52

Smithers VQ at Footloose – Stairway to Heaven

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Smithers VQ

The weather was wonderful this fine fall October Morning…it felt just about as thick as ever and I was sweating even before I got out of bed!  Perfect day for my VQ!

As we were standing around talking before everything got kicked off I was amazed by the show of support of all the PAX rolling in one after another, 29 in all.  If only they had known what was coming ;-).

Started off with my first ever disclaimer…then a mosey to the back parking lot at First Baptist for the warmup:

  • Side Straddle Hops
  • Low Slow Squats
  • Windmills
  • Walking Calf Raises (aka how Cakeboss walked to school) to the wall
  • Wall sits for each PAX 10 count

Mosey across the street, down the steps, and across the next street to the parking lot next to Fort Mill Church of God…and wait, what was that in the humid glow of the streetlight?  Was that a board of pain?  Oh yes…

The Thang:

Partner up.  One partner starts the exercise while the other runs across the street and runs the snake on the set of steps…then back to take over the exercises for the partner.

  • 50 Bombjacks
  • 150 LBC’s
  • 200 Monkey Humpers
  • 150 Squats
  • 50 Merkins
  • 200 Calf Raises
  • 200 Side Straddle Hops

CONTROL is the word of the month.  We are all men….it’s in our DNA to want to be in control.  What do we need to find control?  In a car you need good tires…in a house you need a solid foundation.  You need a STRONG BASE…so…we worked on ours today.  Our legs (and a little bit of our core) were the focus…to give us a strong base to improve our control!

That said, we have all experienced things that didn’t go according to plan, and in many cases you could not regain that control no matter how hard you tried.  It is not easy to let go…it is not easy to adapt quickly…at least not all the time.  So, even when we ARE feeling in control we know that it is the Sky Q who has allowed that and trusted our leadership, Aye!  You see, the Sky Q uses us daily…sometimes to help others who are down, and pick them up…sometimes we are there to help those looking to help a brother up and we are the ones who are down.  Then there are the days where things just move right along without much resistance.  Those are the days where we should be letting the Sky Q know how much we appreciate His trust in us, and asking for continued strength to make Him proud!

Mosey back to COT for a quick round of Mary (just one set of flutter kicks) to close out our time.

My biggest fear was getting done WAY too early or not coming anywhere CLOSE to finishing the workout.  Sky Q steered me right in all the decisions, and I think for my first Q to finish with less than 2 minutes to spare…well, I’ll take that any day!

So, in closing…

My legs hurt, how about yours?

Smithers Out

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11

Summer in Oct.

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Since Oct at Block Party has been dedicated to Respect Qs, I decided I would push the envelope a little.  It didn’t help that the weather was consistent with a summer morning, 72 degrees and high humidity!!!

After a short disclaimer we started our mosey around the path stopping at each drill bit for 2 warm up exercises ( crossover leg stretch, WM, Hillbilly Walker, merkin, SSH,  squat). Mosey to the parking lot next to the soccer field above WEP.  Side note, we appreciated the Town leaving the lights on the soccer field lit for our workout.  At the bottom of the lot, partner up and we would have 3 exercises for 2 rounds.  Partner 1 runs the length of the lot and back and Partner 2 does the exercise and then flip flop.  Exercise count was 150,150,100.

Round 1 – Upper body (all need the work except our male model, BC)

  • Merkins
  • Dips
  • Wide Arm Merkins

Round 2 – Lower body

  • Squats
  • Calf Raises
  • Monkey Humpers

By now we were all dripping with sweat and a lot of complaining.  Circled up for 2 exercises (Moroccan night club IC 51x, O/H Clap IC 51x) since this is respect month, I decided to go with my age as the count.

Mosey down the hill a few minutes of Mary (Hello Dolly, Freddie Mercury, American Hammer)

With the word of the month being Control, my first thought of control is being in charge and leading in family, marriage, work or community.  I shared that with my adult(ish) kids it is more difficult to give up control as they are out of college or in college and allow them to accept the control and decisions of their life.  Giving up control is allowing others to make decisions, mentor and allow them to accept the consequences for their decisions.  As a parent we have a natural instinct to step in a be a solver and as our kids age we need to be able to allow them the ability to take some control of their decisions.

We ended with announcements and prayers.  Special prayers for Asphalt for  continued healing, Cake Boss’ sister, marriages, family and Pax looking for work.

Special thanks to Double D for providing the opportunity to Q and the hard work put in by the Pax.  Hope the Respect morning didn’t disappoint.

Rebel

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5

Children’s Attention Home / Guidance New F3 Exercise Station – Thank You

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All Area PAX:

On Saturday Sept 30 a small group of F3 PAX set out that morning, a short time after the Convergence celebrating The Fort’s 5th Anniversary, to permanently change the landscape at the Children’s Attention Home / Guidance. The fruition of all the burpees and subsequent pledges from the 2017 CAH Burpee Challenge spearheaded by Chicken Wing would culminate in the installation of some permanent outdoor exercise equipment that day. This small group of men would be representing many from F3 Nation’s local regions – The Fort, Rock Hill, York, and Indian Land, among others – who participated in the challenge. Those who participated believed that there was a meaning, a purpose, a goal that is greater than themselves. The exercise equipment will be a permanent physical example to those at CAH Guidance, and others as well, of what F3 is all about. Not only of the importance of the 1st F, but power behind the 2nd and 3rd F’s as well – when you invigorate the leader within, and you have Faith, the possibilities are limitless.

After several hours of hard work, with help from the young leader residents at CAH Guidance, as well as a lot of GREAT 2nd F, the work was finally complete! It was not easy work at all, but by now we all know to choose to do the harder thing and get after it, which the team did with no complaints. We all pushed, pulled, and motivated each other to completion, a true Shield Lock effort. By no means was it a ‘professional’ installation, but the heart put into the work cannot be denied. It was obviously a labor of Love.

The equipment is quite rugged, well designed, well built, and installed in a manner to where it will last quite some time. T-Claps to Chicken Wing on the design, Iron Horse for his incredibly well done job fabricating the bars, and to all of those who participated in the installation efforts led by Chicken Wing and Iron Horse. It was a GREAT team effort.

Before we even left, it was making an impact:
* Richard, who is the Supervisor of Grounds / Equipment Maintenance there at CAH, was nearly in tears and overwhelming in thanks at the effort put forth and how the equipment will help the kids there
* Many of the staff where quite speechless and thankful when they came out to see the finished work
* The youth were already hanging all over the equipment (who needs the concrete to set??), laughing and having a good time

And the impact will be a lasting one. Attached is a letter sent by the Volunteer Programs Coordinator at CAH, Sharada Abraham:

“”Good Morning Gentlemen,

I hope you all are well! I wanted to thank you all for the phenomenal job that was done on last weekend with the installation of the Pull Up & Dip Station. It looks great (pics are attached) and everyone is asking about it from the children, staff, and even our volunteers. I had the pleasure of giving a tour yesterday to one of our community partners and they were in awe.
Thank you all so much for your continued support of the Home. The pull up and dip station is a great addition to our Campus and I do believe our teens will spend more time getting FIT!
Thanks for all you do and I hope you all have a great weekend!

Sharada Abraham
Volunteer Programs Coordinator

 

On behalf of F3 Nation and CAH, I am incredibly thankful for the efforts put forth by the area PAX to get this done. From the inception of the Burpeee Challenge fundraiser by Chicken Wing, to the PAX participating in the challenge (I still do not like burpees, but I’m better at them now), to the PAX designing, fabricating the equipment, procuring the materials, facilitating the approvals, leading the installation efforts, and finally participating in the installation. It was quite a project, and a good example of what happens when you step outside your comfort zone to lead and make things happen.

Keep up the great efforts F3 Nation! Remember that within each one of you there is a true leader waiting to be unleashed if it has not been already. Believe in yourself,  be the change you want to see in the world, and get out there and make a positive difference in the world. Be the vessel through which He works.

You are all HIMs, and I am honored and privileged to be part of this wonderful thing we all call F3.

Thank you and God Bless
– NASA

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6

Tour De Lowe’s

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26 Men showed up on a glorious Friday morning for a Slow Burn.

Began with a Mosey to the Empire Pizza parking lot for some warm ups.  Line up. High Knee across parking lot, mosey back.  Butt kickers across, mosey back.  Karaoke across, Karaoke back.  Toy Soldiers across, mosey back.

Circle up. SSH x20, Windmill x15, Moroccan Night Club x20, Low Slow Squat x15, Merkins x10.

Short mosey to being the “Tour De Lowe’s”.   Found guardrail behind Lowe’s for stop #1: Dips on guardrail, Calf Raises, Freddy Mercurys, Rinse & Repeat

Continue the Tour De Lowe’s with a mosey to The Wall for stop #2:  Peoples Chair (5x 10 counts), 25 LBCs, Peoples Chair (5x 10 counts), 25 LBCs, Balls to the Wall (3x 10 count, felt much longer thanks to some non-standardized counting), 25 LBCs

Time Out for Zimmern’s first attempt at preaching.  Talked about Control and what things in life we have control over (thoughts, words, actions, reactions, etc) and what things we don’t have control over (spouse, kids, others, job, etc).  Things outside of our control often have a huge impact on our lives.  How do we learn how to control our response towards things outside of our control?  Drop Thrill quotes Proverbs 3:5-6: “ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  We need to turn control over to The Lord and trust in Him.  Ask Him for help controlling things that are within our control and help in guiding us with things outside of our control.

Complete the Tour De Lowe’s with a mosey to the front parking lot.  Pax pair up. One Pax starts squats.  Other Pax runs across parking lot.  switch.  Continue to 150 cumulative squats.  Repeat, but with Carolina Dry Docks.

Mosey over for a lightning rounds of 4 corners around Empire Pizza.  Pax counted off by 4’s.  #1 40x Merkins. Mosey to #2. 30x Flutter Kicks.  Bear Crawl to #3. 20x Bomb Jacks. Mosey to #4. 10 Burpees.

Return to COT. Name-o-Rama.  Welcome FNG Bowtie. Announcements. Prayers & Praises. Big Ball of Men.

-Zimmern

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7

Made it Matter – Quagmire 10/9/2017

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What a day a Quagmire this morning. Drizzling and humid.  Perfect for what I had in store. I told the Pax before we started that I was going to step out of my comfort zone and try to work a message into my workout. Normally I stick to sweat and pain but felt a calling for something more.

When 5:15 arrived there were 11 Pax ready to get started. Got the legal stuff out of the way and we were off.

We started with a slow mosey along with:

  • Toy Soldiers
  • Butt Kickers
  • Knee Pulls
  • High Knees

We circled up in front of Pet Smart for some stretching.  A whole lot of moans and groans from the Ragnar folks, so we spent some extra time getting loose. COP was:

  • Wind Mills x10
  • Weed Pullers x10
  • SSH x25
  • MCs x 30
  • Imperial Walkers x15
  • Merkins x10
  • Down Dog/Honeymooner
  • Mountain Climbers x15
  • Down Dog/Honeymooner

Recover and time for The Thang:

I told the Pax we were only doing 4 exercises today: Merkins, V-Up Twists, Jump Squats and Burpees. Simple and Easy (wink, wink). We would be moving between four corners (Front of Pet Smart, Front of Zoes, Front of Mattress Store and Front of Best Buy) performing the aforementioned exercises a set amount of reps.   (Unannounced to the Pax it was the total amount of reps performed in each cycle which would be significant.)

The plan was to perform all the exercises at each corner for the below reps:

  • 1st Cycle – Total of 28 reps for each exercise. 7 at each corner. Example:
    • 1st Corner – 7 Merkins, 7 V-up Twist, 7 Jump Squats, 7 Burpees
    • 2nd Corner – 7 Merkins, 7 V-up Twist, 7 Jump Squats, 7 Burpees
    • 3rd Corner – 7 Merkins, 7 V-up Twist, 7 Jump Squats, 7 Burpees
    • 4th Corner – 7 Merkins, 7 V-up Twist, 7 Jump Squats, 7 Burpees
  • 2nd Cycle – Total of 33 reps for each exercise. 8 at the first 3 stations then 9 at the last.
  • 3rd Cycle – Total of 49 reps for each exercise.  12 at the first 3 stations then 13 at the last.
  • 4th Cycle – Total of 58 reps for each exercise. 14 at the first 2 stations then 15 at the final 2 stations.

Unfortunately we ran low of time and were only able to finish cycle 1,2 and half of cycle 4. We skipped cycle 3 completely.  Then we all moseyed back to COT for an explanation of the reps:

  • On December 14, 2012, a young man walked into an elementary school in Newtown, CT and 28 lives were taken. Young Boys. Young Girls. Teachers. Mothers. Sons. Daughters.
  • On December 16, 2007, a young man walked around the campus of Virginia Tech and 33 lives we taken that day. Innocent students. Daughters. Sons. Brothers. Sisters.
  • On June 12, 2016, another young man walked into a nightclub in Orlando and 49 lives were taken. Friends. Co-Workers.
  • On October 1st, 2017, a man knocked out the window of his Las Vegas Hotel, opened fire and 58 lives were taken that day. Dads. Husbands. Mothers. Wives. Friends.

168 people lost their lives in these horrible events.

I designed a simple workout around the 4 deadliest shooting in modern American history and 45 minutes wasn’t enough time to complete the workout. 

These victims deserve your attention and emotion. There is no right way to react to such evil and madness. However SILENCE IS ACCEPTANCE. If we begin to accept these actions as normal then the madness starts to win.  We are better and these victims deserve better.

This is a call to make a positive impact on our world and F3 is a perfect vehicle to start this change. Use it and share it. Start headlocking in your community and build strong relationships with the current Pax. Change can happen one person at a time.

If not F3, then something. Anything. Dont wait for the madness to hit your doorstep. Be a positive light to the world now.

Dont wait for the next bad thing to happen to make these victims lives matter. THEY DESERVE TO MATTER.

Today we honored those that lost there lives. Today and forever, you matter.

Newtown, CT

Virgina Tech

Orlando

Las Vegas

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3

Is This October?

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When Assassin asked me to q a while back I thought October would be great.  Cooler temperatures and lower humidity.  That wasn’t the case!  Oh well, let’s work.

COP included the usual suspects and we warmed up and got ready for the main event.

Our KISS (keep it simple stupid) method or working out was very simple.  Perform called exercise and then run a lap.  Repeat until the list is complete.  The list went a little something like this:

25 swings
25 goblet squats
20 merkins
20 tricep extensions
25 LBC
30 curls (15 each arm)
20 skull crushers
20 calf raises
20 American hammers

We finished in time for two more exercises from the top of the list then we stretched a bit, Destiny prayed us out and we were out of there.  Barely a rain drop fell.  Thank you Sky Q!

Thanks Assassin for the privilege of leading one of the best gear workouts around.

I’ll leave you with this quote:

“If we take a step despite feeling uncomfortable, afraid, or inadequate, our comfort zones expand. We grow in strength and skill. What we consider normal for us changes, sometimes radically”.

Hopefully you moved your comfort zone a little this morning.

Thanks for the honor of leading.

DT out.

 

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1

Whitespace wins the day!

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11 veteran Pax posted to #BlockParty for the start of October.  This month is #Respect month on the Q schedule at this AO.  Senator Tressel was on Q, but unfortunately he faced the daunting responsibility of picking up his sister early that morning and driving to OH for a family funeral.  Old Bay kindly agreed to step up in the late night hour to take the Q  YHC kicked off the warm up to check the #Respect box according to original plan.  With a brief disclaimer and a reference to the monthly theme of #Control, the morning was launched.

The Thang

Warm up run 1/2 around WEP

Stop at far corner for COP — SSH, Hillbilly walker, windmill, low slow squat, Peter Parker

Mosey to play ground with some karaoke along the way

Pull-ups x10 OYO (in honor of ST since he never passes them up at WEP)

Plank sequence

Hand-off to Old Bay

Mosey to parking lot on 160 in front of UC Synergetics & partner up

A mash up between Four Corners and a Modified Jack Web series ensued from this point until completion

In parking lot:
1 burpee to 4 run-stance switch
+ Repeat with 2 burpees, then 3 burpees
Bear crawl to brickwall courtyard area
1 box jump (or step up) to 4 dips
+ Repeat with 2, then 3 box jumps
Partner wheelbarrow to street
1 big boy sit up to 4 american hammers
+ Repeat with 2, then 3 big boy sit-ups
Mosey to corner at stop light on 160
Jack Webb – (1:4 ration) for 3 reps

Return to parking lot for sessions 4-5

At last stationg (Jack Webb), pax take it all the way to round 10

Mosey home

COT

NMM

Prayers for ST on his unfortunate journey.  We wish he were with us and we know he wishes they same instead of the duty he was called to.  We were together in spirit at WEP and in OH.

T-claps to Band Camp for posting at his second workout since his FNG day at the anniversary convergence.  Keep it up, brother!

T-claps to Old Bay for responding to the call in the wee hours to fill in for ST.  He shakes a weasel like nobody’s bidness!!!

Old Bay’s message for the day related to #Control.  He talked about the importance of #Downsizing in life (not just your house) and #Simplifying as a means to relinquish #Control.  These steps create #@Whitespace for reflection and discernment in order to move forward intentionally and/or respond to where you are needed.  He certainly demonstrated that in spades today!

Thanks to the pax for posting to hold me accountable!

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3

Best of Both Worlds

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YHC freely confesses a fear of Alcatraz.  For over four years the site has represented a area of extreme difficulty, best to be avoided.  However, at the behest of the Senator, YHC committed to Q and to over come his fear.  He also, inexplicably, committed to Q at the Fort the same day.

The Thang

Part One

As Ragnar was in full swing, YHC felt it appropriate to lead off with a run, out and back. So,  out for approximately :10 with a two sets of SSHs, crab planks and twisting planks.  Run back to Runde park to pick up second half.

Moleskin

We discussed the theme of the month: control.  Specifically noting that we can control some things, and some things we can’t.  What get’s us in trouble is that tendency to try and control everything – its not possible.  We also discussed the Serenity Prayer which is a very fitting reminder for us all.

Part Two

Each PAX grabbed a cinderblock and made 3.5 rotations of the ball field doing curls, squats, tricep extensions, rows and presses in sets of 20.  YHC confesses to way too much mumble chatter, a signal of his ongoing fear of The Rock.

Closed with COT and the Serenity Prayer by Mr. Jenkins.

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