Dealer’s Choice: Shovel Flag hand-off at The Ballroom

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A beautiful early fall morning with a bright moon called some hearty soles to the “new” Ballroom. Q-drenaline was surging in my veins as the cars kept rolling in. YHC was proud to have my 2.1, Pigeon roll out of the fartsack to join us. As no FNGs were present, an abbreviated disclaimer was offered. Off we went.

Mosey to inbound carpool lines and circle up. COP: (all IC), SSH *20, Windmills * 15, Merkins * 10, Pater Parkers * 10, Plank-o-Rama (As hard as I try, YHC still can’t get execute the hand/foot in the air combo), Squats * 20, MNC*25. Now that we’re warmed up, mosey to the gym wall. Before we got to the wall sits, YHC offered a few words on Leadership: F3 is an incredible opportunity to hone your leadership skills. As I am also a scout leader, F3 has sharpened my abilities and made me much more comfortable taking on the mantle of leadership.

Wall-sits while Pax on each end run out of line, do 5 squats, return and next man goes. Repeat, but this time each Pax does 5 Bombjacks. Nice form by Twister and Anchorman had a nice vertical. Now that the hammys are sufficiently smoked, mosey to the staff parking lot, under the bright lights for:

Deck O Pain: Each Pax draws a card and the group does the number of exercises on the card. Exercises were based upon the suit shown on each card as follows: Hearts = merkins, Clubs = squats, Diamonds = LBCs, Spades = Bombjacks. Each time a 10 is drawn, everyone run a lap around the lot. This is an easy “set it and forget it” piece and gets everyone engaged in the workout. Newer Pax get a chance to practice calling out the cadence and can gain some confidence in their leadership skills. Some quality mumblechatter followed along with an inordinate amount of merkins. We made it to about card 42 when YHC called an Omaha and had us run one more lap. After that, mosey back to COT.

Before the announcements, YHC offered a quote that I really enjoyed on Leadership:

Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. – Harry S. Truman

 That really hit home- having the courage to lead and building my skills are areas that I often fall short on. But sharpening iron alongside my brothers will help me to progress in these areas.

Announcements: upcoming Invergence and Convergence, G-fit workout on Fridays, read your newsletter. Prayer and a praise for our scout leaders of Pack 250, other prayers for Houston, F3 Columbia team and injured Pax. Cake Boss took us out with an awesome, prayerful giving of thanks for the leadership shown by fellow Pax and asking that we each become the leader that our Father meant us to be.

Before we got to Prayers, the Shovel Flag for the Ballroom was officially passed off to YHC as the new Site Q. I was honored when Cake Boss asked me to take over for him. Big shoes to fill there, but this is always a solid group of supportive Pax, so just know that I’ll be reaching out to each of you to get on the schedule. Thanks also go out to Change Order for leading this AO for many years. One reason I was glad when Cake Boss approached me about taking over as site Q was that I had thought about it when Change Order had been looking for someone months ago. Probably should have stepped up then, but opportunity came knocking again. As always, color me honored and humbled. See y’all in The Gloom.

Short Sale out.

 

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Tubthumping at Slowburn

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I was very happy to see 28 PAX report to Slowburn for my VQ! As promised via Twitter the day before, I did my 28 Merkins during a count-o-rama. No FNG’s. Gave the disclosure and we formed 2 lines for an Indian Run to the warmup at Empire.

Warmup

Cherry Pickers x10
Slow Windmills x10
Low Slow Squat x10
SSH x10
Goofballs x10 – Dang, y’all looked goofy!

We counted off by 5’s and the 5 teams did an Indian Run to the far side of Lowes for…

The Thang – 5 Stations

  1. Core
    1. Forearm Plank 10 count IC
    2. Captain Morgans 5 each side IC
  2. Legs
    1. Monkey Humpers x10 IC
    2. Tree Huggers 10 count IC
  3. Pecks
    1. Werkins x10 IC
    2. Derkins x10 IC
  4. Arms – Dumbbells Provided
    1. Left Arm Curls x15 IC
    2. Right Arm Curls x15 IC
  5. Abs
    1. Flutter Kicks x10 IC
    2. Sweat Angels x5 IC

Rinse & Repeat

Teams then moseyed, again Indian Style, to Baxter’s Playhouse for some “Tubthumping”. I had the loudspeaker set up to play Chumbawumba’s Tubthumping.
Lady singing = MNC
Guy singing = SSH
“I get knocked down…” = BURPEES! Did you do all 28 burpees?

OYO mosey back to Empire for some stretching and then a mosey back to Chick-fil-A for COT.

Announcements: 9/11 @ Tomahawk Birdcage is requesting PAX to show up for a special Remembrance Workout, Invergence/Convergence last Friday/Saturday in September, Donate underwear for victims of Hurricane Harvey, SpeedforNeed!

Prayers for our Brothers going to Columbia, M’s and 2.0’s, Weather, and all the unspoken requests.

I had a blast.  It’s an honor working out with you guys!  Big Thanks to Barry Manilow for allowing me this VQ opportunity. 

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Clydesdales – Value Run

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Not much to add.  We had 3 options Value loop to Walmart, a trail run through Baxter and a pineapple run through Baxter.  All were safe and returned without any skid marks. Peace out!

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22 for lessons on Self and Spiritual Discipline

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BALL ROOM WORKOUT 8.29.17

 

 

Little baby arm circles 10 IC

Windmill 10 IC

Low slow squat 10 IC

 

 

Mosey to the bridge

Irkin then inch worm to the right to the end

Dip then crab craw back to the center

Meet back in the middle talk about spiritual discipline

 

Secrecy: not making our good deeds known, let god take receive attention. This is something i have been trying to work on and not to boast about what i have done but to allow him to receive the glory

 

Submission: to allow gods will to free us of our burdens & cares so we can follow Jesus. My testimony was when my daughter was diagnosed with cancer i gave it all to him and the worry and stress was gone something amazing.

 

Soul Friendship: engaging with fellow disciples of Jesus in prayerful conversation or spiritual practices. A great example is wet stone partner and i encourage you to be a part of that program

 

Mosey to the wall and stairs

Peoples chair with some arm straight out, overhead pumps 2 teams

1 from each team runs up the steps and back down

Feel the burn

 

Mosey to the left side of the school to open parking lot

 

2 teams, 1 team runs together around the parking lot while team 2 preforms exercise till the 6 is back then team 2 runs

 

CDD

Fire hydrants left leg (lift your leg up like a dog pees on a fire hydrant) thanks to my ST. Simmons brothers for that one

 

Fire hydrants right leg

 

Worse worse worse LBC ( start in LBC position right elbow to left knee then right elbow to left elbow to right knee then preform crunch) now you know how it got its name, thanks to my ST. Simmons brothers for that one too

 

Plank jacks

 

Bomb jacks

 

Calf raises

 

Next came a little word on self-discipline

 

Self-discipline: the ability to control one’s feelings & overcome one’s weakness. This one I struggle with especially sweets in the house I lack this and need to improve on it.

Will Power: control exerted to something or to restrain and impulse. I have taking on the Ragnar this year which a year ago I would have said you are crazy if you think I am going to attempt that. My mind set now is I am going to crush this race with my fellow brothers. So Saturday rolled around I choose not to stay and watch the fight that was so hyped up but to wake up and run at 5:45 in the morning to train for this race. Mind over matter

Determination: firmness of purpose

Mosey to cot

For some AB Lab

Start with American hammers IC

LBC IC

Freddy Mecury IC

LBC IC TCLAPS to the FNG (PSYCHO) perfect cadence count

 

22 at the BALLROOM

1 FNG (psycho)

Announcements

Prayers and praises

Nam-O-Rama

As always a pleasure to lead a great group of HIMS

Fantastic work gentlemen

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Staying Upside-Down at Pantheon

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I’m heading off-grid for two to six weeks, so when the call went out from Fish Sticks on Tuesday asking for a sub Q for Pantheon, I hesitated then accepted the challenge. Seven showed up and a disclaimer heavy on “modify as needed” (we’ll be upside-down a lot) was disclaimed.

Quick mosey around the parking lot, pulling in the usual high knees, butt kickers, and toy soldiers. Circle up for some good hip and shoulder prep:

  • Windmills
  • Hillbilly walkers
  • Pseudo-planche merkins
  • Side plank
  • Reverse plank
  • Inverted mountain climbers
  • Side plank on the other side
  • Normal merkins
  • Downward dog
  • Runners lunge
  • Low lunge

Mosey around the school to the basketball court for

The Thang

Pair up (or two twos and a three). One partner does wall walks (plank, walk up to BTW, and then back down to plank) at one end of the court while other partner does break dancer merkins (demo requested) at the other. Bear crawl to center court for partner pistol squats, then duck walk to other end of the court to do the exercise you hadn’t done yet. Bear crawl to center court to meet with partner for another round of partner pistols. That’s one round.

The plan: downward ladder from 10 to 1 rep of each

Audible called after the round of 9, so it turned into 10-9-6-4-2, totaling 31 wall walks, 62 break dancer merkins (31 per side), and 62-100ish pistol squats, depending on who was counting.

All PAX duck walked to the base line (we still had one of those left to keep it even), two quick ten counts were counted, then we moseyed back around to COT for a few minutes of Mary (and some shoulder relief via the shoulder lounge).

  • 8-count V-ups
  • Heels to heaven
  • Side crunches

Announcements:

  • Senator Tressel’s underwear drive
  • Invergence (Sep 29) and Convergence (Sep 30) celebrating 5 years of F3 in The Fort
  • Mini convergence Sep 7 to send off Colombia team
  • I think we mentioned some other stuff too

Praises and prayers

  • Nobody fell on their heads this morning, but Bolt slammed his knee into the wall, which reminded us to pray for all the injured PAX…and those dealing with life and family things
  • Prayers for those affected by Harvey and in the path of Irma (and those affected by flooding in Sierra Leone, Niger, India, Bangladesh…..)

Really proud of these guys for putting up with my twisted idea of “fun,” though I’ve never seen people leave an AO so quickly following COT.

I look forward to the next inverted exercise we can come up with and the brave men who get to try it. Thanks to Fish Sticks for the opportunity.

Jedi

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Colombia Mission Trip Sendoff @ The Ranch 9-7-17

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On a cool morning in early September, the men of The Fort gathered together to support the group of 12 men that answered the call to serve those in need in Colombia.

Mosey to the soccer field

The Warm-up (VQ led by Skinny Jeans)

  • 20 4-count side straddle hops 
  • 15 4-count windmills
  • 10 4-count Merkens
  • 15 4-count mountain climbers
  • 20 low slow squats
  • 8 burpees OYO

Mosey to the football field

The Thang

Markers set up every 25 yards on the football field from endzone to endzone. PAX will start from one endzone and run from marker to marker and do the following exercises (below) at each. They will then run on the track back to the starting point.

  • 10 merkins, 2 burpees
  • back to start – LBCs for six
  • 10 Carolina DD, 2 burpees
  • back to start – flutter for six
  • 10 squats, 2 burpees
  • back to start – American Hammer for six
  • 10 bomb jacks, 2 burpees
  • back to start – freddy mercury for six
  • 10 dips, 2 burpees
  • back to start – heels to heaven for six
  • 10 lunges (5 per leg), 2 burpees
  • back to start -diamond LBCs for six
  • 2 burpees per marker

Mosey to COT

Today we focused on the 12 men that are leaving tomorrow to serve in Colombia. We had the privilege of hearing the reasons why each of them have been called to serve during todays workout and then pray over them at the close. We are all lucky to have these men as our brothers and will continue to pray for them as they make their way abroad.

As mentioned in COT, each of us were blessed with passion for certain causes and influence to impact them. Find your passion and your calling and answer that call, whatever it may be.

Ginsu

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Getting “Jack”ed at The Hive

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Nice cool morning at The Hive with the Typical number of 5 ready to get better. Quick Disclaimer and then time to get Started.

The Thang

4 corner Mosey Lap to warmup.
SSH x 15 at first corner
Windmills x 15 and second corner
Imperial Walkers x 15 at Third corner
Mountain Climbers x 15 at Fourth Corner

Grab The bell and head to the Board and a deck of cards.

Diamonds – Chest Press
Hearts – Upright Rows
Clubs – Sqauts
Spades – KB swings
Jacks – 10 Bicep Curls each arm (all within the last 8 cards, hence the title of this BB)
Queens – 10 Deadlifts
Kings – 5 KB Burpees
Ace – Run a lap around the parking lot

After going through the deck finished with:
15 shoulder Presses run to opposite side of parking lot and do 20 Situps and run back to bell.
20 American Hammers run to opposite side of parking lot and do 15 Merkins and run back to bell.
15 Tricep extensions run to opposite side of parking lot and do 20 flutter kicks and run back to bell.

Mosey back to the cars with bell in tow.

Announcements – Invergence/Convergence last Friday/Saturday in September

Prayers – Airbornes Daughter and Clemson with all she has done for the First Friday Parade, those affected by the Hurricane, Injured Pax, marriages,

Moleskin – Not much to say today. Thanks Tesh for the opportunity to come out and lead The Hive again.

Shanks out

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Backblast for Tomahawk 9-4-17

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It was a dark and cool Labor Day morning. We got our kettle bell on.

Mosey to the back of the school.

WARMUP:

  • 30 Side Straddle Hops
  • 10 Windmills
  • 20 Moroccan Night Clubs
  • 10 4-count Merkins
  • 10 4-count Mountain Climbers

Mosey to the side of the school.

  • 5 burpees

Mosey to the front of the school.

  • 5 burpees

Mosey back to the parking lot and grab your bell.

The Thang:

  • Start at one end of the parking lot
  • 10 curls (each arm)
  • bear crawl halfway across the lot, run the rest
  • 4 burpees
  • run back to starting point & plank for six
  • 20 goblet squats
  • bear crawl halfway across the lot, run the rest
  • 5 burpees
  • run back to starting point & plank for six
  • 6 inches for a 10 count
  • 10 overhead press
  • bear crawl halfway across the lot, run the rest
  • 6 burpees
  • run back to starting point & plank for six
  • flutter with bell, 10 4-count
  • 10 tricep extension
  • bear crawl halfway across the lot, run the rest
  • 6 burpees
  • run back to starting point & plank for six
  • one arm press w/ flutter, 10 4-count each arm
  • run to other side of lot
  • 6 burpees
  • run back to starting point

Mosey back to COT for 3 minutes of Mary

  • boats & canoes
  • Captain Thors to 5×20

Announcements

  • VQ Month
  • CAH
  • Temporary SiteQ for Tomahawk (Sauerkraut on IR)

Prayer Requests

  • Kids in school
  • Travel
  • Hurricane victims
  • Geronimo interview

Ginsu

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Snap Hook kept it Straight

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Moseyed around the driveway loop to the courtyard

Warm up:

20 Side straddle up

20 wind mill

20 Moroccan nightclub

20 mountain climber

20 Peter Parker

Zigzag through the parking lot area with :

Side shuffle along the line and lunge in the between the line

Side shuffle along the line and bear crawl

Round 1:

10 merkins, run and climb the wall, 10 squat on the other side

8 merkins, run and climb the wall, 8 squat on the other side

6 and 6, 4 and 4 , 2 and 2

Abs work in the playground area:

20 3 count LBC

20 Flotters

Round 2:

10 Burpees, run and climb the wall, 10 monkey humpers on the other side

8 and 8, 6 and 6, 4 and 4, 2 and 2.

Abs work in the playground area:

boat and canoe in cadence

20 Freddie mercury

Round 3; partner up and get a bench

Partner 1: run to the end of the parking lot and back

Partner 2: dip on the bench

Partner 1 :run to the end of the parking lot and back

Partner 2: Step up

Partner 1: run

Partner 2: derkins

Partner 1: run

Partner 2: Calves raise

Partner 1 : run

Partner 2: box cutter

Moseyed back around the parking lot loop to COT

I enjoyed being Q at the Colosseum. I appreciate everybody enthusiasm, energy and counting

in cadence with me. Good times and fairly painful.

 

 

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PRE-BLAST: Hurricane Harvey Underwear Drive!

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Gents,

Please consider donating a pack or two of new, packaged underwear for victims of Hurricane Harvey.  This is a big need for those folks and you can help alleviate at least one of the many issues they are facing right now.  Bring your packages to Alcatraz, The Fort, The Deep, and The Yard this Saturday, September 9 and give to the site Q’s.    We need all sizes for men, women, and children.    This is a one week blitz to get as many packs as possible so please help spread the word at COT’s this week.  If you cannot make your workout this Saturday and wish to donate, please contact me via Twitter.  Thanks in advance for your help!

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