8 B.L.I.M.P.S Stations and a Sleeping Truck Driver

2016-01-06Leave a comment

QIC: Old Bay
When: 01/05/16
Pax: Change Order, Solid State, Barry Manilow, Twister, MainnFrame, Anchorman, Chedda
Posted In: The Ballroom

“Hard core” would be how I described the PAX that posted to The Ballroom this very cold morning of 25 degrees. No complaints by anyone. Not sure that YHC would have posted if not for being on Q. Knowing that it would be cold, the weinke was built to keep everyone on the move without being a Run-N-Tempo-Clydes-Out. 1.75 miles were logged via loop of 8 pain stations, around a parked 18-wheeler whose cab likely nested a groggy-eyed trucker. Pax resisted the temptation of knocking on the cab door, suggesting he (or she) “come join us!”. Might as well have, as I’m sure the mumble chatter woke him away.

The Thang

Pax moseyed to each pain station for warm up as follows:

SSH x40
Windmills x15
IW x20
Merkins x15
Peter Parkers x20
Low Slow Squats x 20
Monkey Humpers x10

Main Event

As a group, we ran to each pain station and performed one exercise, with the rep count equaling the station number (1 rep at station 1, 2 reps at station 2, etc.). Once we finished the 8th station, all circled back to station 1 and planked until the 6 arrived. Rinse and repeat for next named exercise. The exercises were as follows (B.L.I.M.P.S.):

Burpees
Lunges (stationary)
Imperial Walkers
Merkins
Plankjacks
Scorpion Dry Docks

Mary

Flutters
Russian Twists
Hello Dollies
Chopsticks
LBCs

Moleskin

Similar to TheYard workout this past Saturday, we talked about selecting a personal word/theme for 2016. Several pax shared their word from 2015, and proposed a word for 2016. In many ways, just the act of selecting a word can foster a level of introspection that we tend to miss all to often, going through the motions of the days/weeks/months.

Thanks for the pax encouragement and hard work on a cold morning. And thanks to Change Order for allowing me the privilege of Qing.

AYE!

-old bay

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Hills-of-gloom Area of operation change

2016-01-06Leave a comment

QIC: Apache
When: 01/10//16
Posted In: Uncategorized

The hills-of-gloom new AO location-base has changed from Dave Lyle to Riverwalk 575, Herron Ferry Road, Rock Hill S.C. 29730, parking in the round about. The new AO will be more user friendly and a tremendous opportunity for the pax of the fort and rocktrill to have a mid way workout AO on the scence catawba riiver. It’s primary running workout, with the opportunity to grow in many directions.

The time will stay the same wheels up 0600 til 0700 on Sundays.

There will be 3 to 7 mile loops set for the pax who prefer min and extra milage and depending on level of runners. All routes will be adjusted to pax level of training and potential.

I’m also in the process of putting the Q schedule together for the hills of gloom, so throw me a HC if you want to Q and bring some added experience and excitement to the group.

Hope to see everyone in the hills, Aye!!!!

Apache!!!!!

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The Premier of Golden Corral 2016

2016-01-05Leave a comment

QIC: Senator Tressel
When: 01/05/2016
Pax: Howizter, El Diablo, DD, Chicken Hawk, Bing, Fish sticks, Legoland, Willey, Jekyll, Pusher, Boheim, Short Sale, Gecko
Posted In: Golden Corral

Fourteen men said, ’25 degrees is warm enough’, and posted at your neighborhood Harris Teeter for the first Golden Corral of 2016. Here is what they did:

The Thang

Easy jog around the parking lot and past the new bootcamp place in Tega Place. We spotted a sad clown alone inside holding a large rope as a small fern withered in the corner. (dude – who are you kidding? Come join us. It’s free and sooooo much better). We made our way back to the front of HT for COP:

All in Cadence: SSH x 50, Merkin x 10, Windmill x 15, IW x 25, Squat x 25, Morrocan Nightclub x 50, LBC x 25, Monkey Humper x 25.

Form a straight line about 20 yards from the retaining wall. While the group holds a plank position, one member of the group runs to the wall, does a box jump or step up, and runs back. When the first person returns to the line, a second person runs to the wall while the rest of the group drops to a 6″ plank. Rinse and repeat until the whole group runs and jumps. (Respectfully stolen from F3 Rock Hill)

Mosey to the botom of the hill behind the shopping center for Jacob’s ladder. Start with 5 burpees at the top, and count to10. Finish at the bottom, lunge walk back to the top of the hill, then mosey to the side wall of Harris Teeter.

Wall mountain climbers x 20 (respectfully stolen from F3 Metro), extended wall sit, and then another round of 20 wall mountain climbers. Mosey back to the front parking lot and circle up for ablab: Hello Dolly x 20, Freddie Mercury x 20, Pretzel Crunch x 10L/10R

COT

NMM

Whoo Hoo – what a great morning! It felt so nice to be out in the cold temps and dry air after several workouts in the December rain forest. The Pax were chatty and full of energy too. Fish sticks, true to his namesake cold blood, wore just a t-shirt and shorts. Good to see the new guys as well as DD, Pusher, Jekyll (where you been, man?) and Chicken Hawk, at the Corral again Felt like 2014!. It was a privilege to lead the first Golden Corral of 2016 and I look forward to many more this year.

Announcements/Prayers/Praises

Joe Davis Run Jan 9

3rd F Convergence January 22 to discuss Whetstone. Think about the theme for January (Accountability)

Yeti on Feb 20,

Check the F3 site and Twiter – it’s all there.

Prayers for a father recovering from surgery.

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Hey – Everyone Loves Bear Crawls!

2016-01-05Leave a comment

QIC: Crab Cakes
When: 01/05/16
Pax: Santini, Green Wave, CSPAN, Backdraft, Dawg Pound, Hasselhoff, Axle, Atticus, Houska
Posted In: The Colosseum

10 strong men headed into the cold hard gloom this morning to get better – one bear crawl at a time. Needless to say – they were crowd pleasers.

NMMS:

Little baby jog to the “grass area” in front of the school for COP/Warmup

IW x 20

WM x 15

Merkins x 10

LSS x 15

Peter Parkers x 15

Parker Peters x 15

Warmup over – line up along the edge of the….um….grass.

Extra long bear crawl to the opposite side of the field.

Extra long bear crawl to the opposite side of the field – AGAIN! (crowd pleaser)

Little baby jog to the hill at the back of the school and pair up – size does not matter.

Partner #1 run down the hill and give us 7 burpees

Partner #2 give us merkins until your partner gets back.

Flapjack with 6 burpees at the bottom and rotate squats in while you wait for your partner

Little baby jog to the front of the school for some Perfect Pushups.

Give us as many perfect merkins as you can give until your form starts to break. Then get up and run around the field. Do it again – your reps should go down. Do it one more time – your reps should go WAY down.

Head to the field for some Rugby Sprints x 5 with:

Freddy Merc’s

Mountain Climbers

Up/Downs

Merkins

LBCs

Back to the edge of the field for everyone’s favorite – EXTRA LONG BEAR CRAWLS x 2!

Finish with 6MOM

COT

Shout out for #Crossroads – 0610 every Tuesday at Dunkin Donuts at Gold Hill and 160. Come join the conversation and 2nd/3rd F.

CSPANs announcements: Joe Davis Run this Saturday. F3TheFort Fuel Challenge starts Jan. 18th. Padre Convergence Jan. 23rd. Read the Newsletter!

Prayers for our brother Lil’E as he struggles through illness that has landed him in and out of the hospital.

Great job by the pax this morning. First overcoming the very cold temperatures. Second for crawling through something they did not appreciate. Very strong work! It is such an honor to be involved with a great group of men. My best friend in MD is going through the toughest challenges of his life right now and he is entirely alone. Never take F3 for granted. It’s an amazing group that shows you that we should not be going through this journey by ourselves. We should be locking shields with each other and taking on life’s challenges together! Get involved in ALL 3 F’s and STAY involved in ALL 3 F’s. Aye!

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The Foundation: Living Life as a High Impact Man

2016-01-05Leave a comment

Posted In: Uncategorized

Mark your calendars for the next block in The Foundation titled – Living Life as a High Impact Man.

When: January 26th, 6:30AM – 8:15AM

Where: Christ Church (1412 Providence Rd)

Please click here to register*

*There is no cost….feel free to invite a friend; however, we ask that you sign-up so we can plan accordingly.

The first two sessions we discussed Accountability and Finding Significance in a World of Success. The next step as we move into January is to develop those topics into a series of actions that you can take in 2016. High Impact Men (H.I.M.) are intentional. They move with a sense of purpose, mission, and focus because they are on task. They have been called to something bigger than themselves. They focus on a life of legacy that shapes generations to come. They honor their families, their wives, their children, their communities, their country, and, most importantly, they honor God. They begin by praying, planning, and preparing – then acting with precision.

This session will be a workshop style format held at Christ Church. You will join other men as they seek to uncover the Ultimate Life Problem (U.L.P.) they are setting out to fix. You will begin a journey to uncover your High Impact Goals for 2016. You will then begin a process of distilling those goals into a One Word theme that captures the essence of your mission and purpose for 2016. This is not a secrets-of-success, print-off-your-goals workshop. However, if you want to ask some hard questions of yourself, then come join more than 100 other High Impact Men on the same journey. This session will not solve your entire 2016 plan, but it will set you on that path and give you a word that will inspire your focus for your year ahead.

The first 100 men to arrive will receive a copy of Jon Gordon’s book, One Word.

We look forward to seeing you on the 26th.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Given the overwhelming response, we are moving up our time to meet to 6:30AM. We will begin seating at 6:50AM. Please ensure to register so we can have plenty of food for the attendees. Please park in the upper parking lot of the church. There will be people directing traffic to manage the traffic flow properly.

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Welcome back, Old Man Winter

2016-01-05Leave a comment

QIC: Italian Job
When: 1/5/16
Pax: Schrute, The Riddler, Water Boy (FNG), Destiny, Boots, Catfish, River Rat, Burgundy, Sgt. York, Apache
Posted In: The Fort

11 PAX rolled out of their warm cars to work out in the cold this glorious Tuesday morning at Eagles Nest.

The Thang

Mosey to the Fountain for the Warm Up

25 SSHs in cadence
25 Imperial Walkers in cadence
40 MNCs in cadence
15 Windmills in cadence
15 Bombjacks OYO

Mosey to the steps

15 Dips OYO
15 Derkins OYO
15 Irkins OYO
15 Calf Raises OYO

Mosey to Student Center

People’s Chair (4 rounds)
BTTW (long 10 count)
4 Count People’s Chair (25 in cadence)
10 Kickboxing Burpees (burpee with a punch, punch, knee, knee in the up position)
Walking Lunges to end of the walkway
15 Dips OYO
15 Derkins OYO
15 Irkins OYO

Mosey to Alumni Walk

Aggregate partner work (one partner exercises while other runs then flapjack)
- 100 Merkins
- 200 Squats
- 300 LBCs

Mosey to COT

Stopped periodically for Merkins and Squats

Cool Down Stretches

Left over right
Right over left
Wide leg left, right, center

NMM

I really wasn’t sure how many we would have this morning as my car thermometer hit 19 on the drive in. I was thrilled to see 10 PAX, including 1 FNG, roll out of the fart sack and join YHC for some early morning fun. Props to Water Boy for posting his first time in the cold. We look forward to you coming back out. It was good to see The Riddler return after a week off for a birthday vacation. Destiny, thanks for joining us south of the river. You’re welcome any time. Boots and Schrute just keep getting faster. Catfish, thanks for letting me Q and for keeping us accountable on our form. Good to see River Rat back after a week off with his family. Glad Apache is feeling better and could join us after smart sacking yesterday. Burgundy and Sgt. York, thanks for setting a fast pace for us to follow.

As I said earlier, we need to keep each other accountable. So many of us will fall off the wagon if our brothers don’t push us, pull us, and question us from time to time. Continue being the #HIM your family, workplace, and community needs. We are making a difference in the lives of others. Keep doing what you do and we can make a big change in our communities.

Announcements

Joe Davis Memorial Run – Saturday at 0800. There is still time to sign up. The Patriot will be open if you do not plan to run.

Fuel Challenge Starting January 18th, Gears will be leading a “Fuel Challenge” to motivate Pax to think about what we eat through a progressive, multi-week program. Check out the pre-blast to learn about the challenge and how you need to start prepping today!

3rd F Convergence Jan 22 (Friday) @0600 – Eternal Church (map)- Start the new year off right. Post to this 3rdF Convergence to hear from High Impact Men on Accountability. Check out the pre-blast for more info.

Rock Hill / Easley Convergence Jan 23 (Saturday) @0700 – Star Command – Post to this “Padre Convergence” at the Upward Star Center in Spartanburg, with CSPAN, Padre, and Iceman on Q. Coffeteria to follow. Clown cars details are coming soon. Mark the date, and keep an eye out for the pre-blast.

Yeti #CSAUP Feb 20 (Saturday) @0600 – Sign up for the Yeti, Iceman, and other combinations of this 17 mile #CSAUP event. Follow this link to the online form. Check the pre-blast here for details.

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What are the point of those red balls anyway?

2016-01-04Leave a comment

QIC: Cornhole
When: 01/04/16
Pax: Royale, Mr. Clean, Vinny, Main Frame, Qwerty, Bart, Lego Land, Fish Sticks, Gears, Puddles
Posted In: Quagmire

Pulled into the parking lot and there where cars with the lights on but no one was willing to get out and stand around. After quick disclaimer and giving a quick outline of what was coming we were off.

Stopped just short of the Target entrance and warmed up with the standard set. SSH, IW, Windmills, Mtn. Climbers.

Mosey to stop sign and after getting strange looks from the local police officer the route began.
10 red balls, different exercise at each one.
Run to 1st ball perform exercise, run back to start.
Run to 1st ball perform exercise, Run to 2nd ball, run back to start.
Continue this until you make it through all 10 balls or time runs out.

Breakdown of exercises and cumulative total based on number of rounds completed.

	Rounds	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Exercise	Reps
1-Burpees	10	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
2-LBC’s	20		40	60	80	100	120	140	160	180	200
3-Merkins	20			60	80	100	120	140	160	180	200
4-Squats	10				40	50	60	70	80	90	100
5-SSH	20					100	120	140	160	180	200
6-Freddy Merc	20						120	140	160	180	200
7-CCD	20							140	160	180	200
8-Monkey Humpers	20								160	180	200
9-Hello Dollies	20									180	200
10-Bomb Jacks	10										100

Praises and continued prayers for Lego Lands Sister. Positive reports from last Dr. visit.

Announcements:
1/9 Joe Davis Run(still room and time to sign up)
1/18 Fuel Challenge(great way to understand what you are putting into your body. Both good and bad. Pre-blast on newsletter), Gears is Event Q.
1/23 Convergence in Greer(Pre-blast on newsletter)
If you haven’t selected a word for 2016, I highly suggest that you consider it. Looks for tweet and back-blast from Santini.

Great work from everyone. Each PAX pushed themselves today as it was truly you against you. I purposely did not ask to which station everyone completed. Did you maintain good form? Did you complete every rep? Did you push yourself between the stations? Only you can answer those questions. John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

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A celebration of the (F3) life of Jekyll…

2016-01-03Leave a comment

QIC: Dark Helmet
When: 01/02/16
Pax: Trucker, Gecko, Maximus, Gears, Hauschka, Omaha (2.0), Mighty Mite (2.0), Spider-Man, Senator Tressel (Respect), Mr Clean, Spitz, Short Sale (Respect), Howitzer, Royale, Sweeper, Fish Sticks, WWL, Backdraft, The Speaker, Dark Helmet (YHC)
Posted In: Alcatraz, The Fort

No, he’s not dead. He was, however, supposed to be my co-Q for Alcatraz that day, but had to change those plans due to: life. Not a problem, very appropriately a guy that Jekyll EH’ed stepped up. T-claps to Fish Sticks.

So a couple things you should know: 1. Jekyll named me. It was after his co-Q with Pusher at WEP where I was pretty sure I was going to die afterward. 2. After the first time I posted on a Friday at Slow Burn, it was Jekyll who came up to me after and said, “what are you doing now?” I answered, “I dunno, what happens now?” And he came in to Chicken and Wisdom with me. I was a new guy, I was little confused by this new ~~cult~~ group I was a part of, and he helped me feel welcome. It was appreciated. Since then, he and I have posted at a two-man Black Diamond workout where he Q-ed and I’m pretty sure I’m still sore from (it was like 6 months ago), have posted dozens of other times together, served alongside one another, etc. At this point, this whole thing is starting to sound a little too… I dunno… So, enough of all that.

The reason I mention those things, though, is that I thought it would be appropriate to lead the Pax in some horrible things that I learned from Jekyll over the last year. So, as is the usual case, we disclaimed and were off.

The Thang:
First there was some talking (yes, I can help myself, I just choose not to):
In my first workout with F3, Jekyll made us do a bunch of partner work. Between that and a couple of weeks later doing a terrible number of partner pull-ups with Spiderman, I really caught what I feel is the magic of F3 for me. That bond formed by the misery of a shared, terrible experience is what won me over. It’s why I love posting in the rain, or in the 7 degree weather… But I digress…
Next, there was some moving:
Warm up lap around the park then circle up:
Squats x 20
Windmill x 15
Mountain Climbers x 20
IW x 20
SSH x 20

Partner Ring of Fire:
8 stations in a ring about 50 ft from center, as follows:

25 Partner Derkins (each)
15 Partner Squats (each)
30 Plank Jacks
25 Partner Dips (each)
10 Partner Rows (each)
15 Partner Press (each)
10 Booyah Merkins
20 Big boy situps

Partner Carry out to cone, Bear crawl back to center. In center do Cinderblock burpees x 5, then move to next station.

Repeato as many rounds as possible until the 30 minutes is up.

Then… More talking. I’ll explain more of this at the end…

Hand off to Fish Sticks:
Mosey over to what may be the worst hill in Tega Cay (and that’s saying something).
Then it was 12s for the rest of the time (as opposed to Elevens… it was his daughter’s birthday this week, and she turned 12, so there you have it)
At the bottom of the hill do 1 squat. At the top of the hill, do 11 CDDs.
Next round = 2 squats, 10 CDDs… you get the idea.
When time was up, we moseyed back to COT.
Yes, in case you were wondering, it was terrible…

NMM:
A couple things I think were worthy of note:
1. I found it helped to keep going up and down that horrible hill all those times if I closed my eyes and swore under my breath a lot. Feel free to use this technique whenever you deem appropriate.
2. Hauschka brought his 2.0s to the workout. It was cold. And a Saturday during a long school break. And I had cinderblocks to workout with. And those brats lapped us… It was awesome.
3. At one point, about 5 or 6 rounds in, Mr. Clean started running up the hill backwards. “I need to work a different part of my body for a bit, this sucks.” or something like that was the explanation. Good stuff.

Right before I handed things over to Fish Sticks, I shared one other thing. About 3 years ago, long before F3, in my not-quite-as-directed efforts to be a good dad, I would frequently take all 3 girls to breakfast on a Saturday. I thought I was checking off “Good-Dad” boxes and persisted in doing it, even though they secretly hated it. I wouldn’t find this out until later, but it stemmed from this one experience in particular (with others similar in nature). Youngest had gotten apple juice with breakfast. On the way home, I said, “let’s not take the apple juice in the car.” After the “please dad, I’ll be really careful” routine, I relented. Within two miles, the apple juice was, of course, spilled in its entirety in the backseat. I was livid. I jerked the car to the side of the road and started fuming and cleaning. It was ugly. There was crying, yelling… just a bad scene. With the apple juice more or less cleaned up, the rest of the car ride was silent. I knew I hadn’t done the right thing, but I didn’t know how to fix it either. I apologized later, and that’s fine, but that wasn’t fixing the problem, it was just cleaning up the aftermath of the problem.
Fast forward to today, and I can say with some degree of confidence that the problem is largely under control. Not perfect, but DRAMATICALLY improved. My girls like to go to breakfast with me now. I don’t lose my temper over much, and certainly not over apple juice. Oldest told me the other day that one of the main reasons she is glad that I do F3 is that I’m not “Mad Dad” anymore. That was powerful to me.
Now don’t misunderstand, I go to church. I am very active in it. I have faith in God. But all that wasn’t completely fixing the problem either. Certainly not because Christ CAN’T or won’t fix it. But I think it was like I was trying to finish making a cake but skipping some vital step. I would fill bowl after bowl with delicious batter, pour it in a pan, then stick it in the oven only to pull it out 30 minutes later as a pan full of batter. It was frustrating. I was doing nearly all the steps, but no results. The problem was, I think, that I just hadn’t turned the oven on. I think that for me, F3 has been the oven. I think it’s partly because I try to leave some amount of frustration, angst, anger, or any other negative emotion out in the gloom. Where it’s safe to leave it. I can work my body to clear my mind. I can talk it through with my brothers out there. And their shoulders are strong, not like my sweet daughters… So, thanks, men. The Helmet family appreciates you…

Helmet, out.

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The Fort Fuel Challenge 2016

2016-01-032017-06-16Leave a comment

Posted In: Alcatraz, Block Party, Clydesdales, Flight Plan, Golden Corral, Laces In, Laces Out, Millllkshake, Pantheon, Quagmire, Ring of Fire, Run 'n Gun, Slow Burn, Tempo, The Armory, The Ballroom, The Colosseum, The Fort, The Hive, The Ranch, The Reservation, The Swamp, Varsity

Listen… We work out… Some of us work out most days a week. So with all this working out, the question is: Why aren’t we shedding the love handles and the spare tire? With the amount of physical torture we endure, we should be chiseled like a Marble Statue.

Alas, working out is only a portion of the plan… you have to stop eating garbage.

With that, I bring you The Fort Fuel Challenge 2016. This is the new incarnation of what we did a little over a year ago (found here), but this time around you have experience on your side… I am not a professional, but we’ve done this before and have seen results. YHC lost 7.5% of my mass (presumably fat), with the overall lead by Cash coming in at just shy of 10%.

The key to this isn’t calorie reduction (although that may be something you have to look into) and it isn’t about eating the same food every day for lunch. You don’t need to starve yourself to see results, you just need to feed the machine the right fuel. To feed yourself the right fuel, you need discipline and accountability. That’s really what the Fuel challenge is all about…

So here’s the deal. We are going to kick off on January 18th through February 29th. This gives you two weeks to do two very important things… in fact, these are so important that I would propose that you cannot succeed in this program with out completing them:

Clear out all the junk in your pantry/fridge.
Get the M on board

Number 1 is easy. Get rid of the junk now before you start. Less junk means less temptation. Eat it in the next two weeks if you have a problem with throwing it away, but get it out of your food storage before January 18th.

Number 2 is not as easy for some of us, but it is crucial. You cannot do this in your house on your own, especially if your wife is eating a bowl of Ice Cream after dinner every night. You will either come off as a self righteous prick or you will cave. Neither of these is a recipe for success. Get the M on board, she really wants to eat better too.

Base Program

The Fuel Challenge will give you a chance to test yourself with the support of your fellow men of F3. And maybe after 6 weeks, you will stick to the plan (or much of it) in order to live a healthier lifestyle. The program will have a base list of items that are prohibited during the six weeks as follows. This is mandatory and is really what will make the biggest difference in your quality of food intake.

No Fried Food
No Fast Food (inc. Pizza)
No processed snacks like Potato Chips, Candy Bars, Etc.
No Dessert
No Sodas or Sweet Tea
No Cheeses (including shredded, feta, or slices. Get it off your sandwiches and salads)(Cottage cheese will be allowed)
No Cream Based Sauces/Dressings (This Includes Fat Free Options for Ranch, Caesar, Alfredo, Etc.)

This seems like a significant challenge, especially for the road warrior, but you can do it. You just need to be aware of what you are eating and plan.

You will receive ONE free pass per week – this could be a steak dinner, a pizza, etc. – no carryovers though, the pass can only be used that week – try to use your weekly pass in moderation. Some call this a “cheat”, but use if you need to.

After week one, we introduce challenges, which are cumulative. Some would argue the health benefits of a few of these, but I don’t think anyone can claim that limiting these items will have a detrimental effect on your well being. Remember this is not about “dieting”, but about discipline. Keep that in mind.

Here are the cumulative challenges:

Week 2 (and on) – No Red Meat
Week 3 (and on) – No Breads (Sprouted Grain is accepted)
Week 4 (and on) – No Pork
Week 5 (and on) – No White Starches (Potatoes, Pastas, White Rice. We’ll talk about substitutes)
Week 6 – No Dairy or Things Cooked in Butter

Just like last time, we’ve “modified as needed”. Here are a few “Extra Credit” challenges for those so inclined. These are not mandatory, so feel free to adopt whatever works for you.

HC to F3 250. For those that are at 2-3 posts a week, this could be a way to up your game. Tracking F3 250 along with this attention to dietary details could be what takes your fitness (and physique) to the next level. You can even track using this handy template.
Implement Intermittent Fasting. I’m planning on doing this and would encourage you to try the same if you can handle skipping breakfast. There are numerous health benefits that are purported as side effects to Intermittent Fasting, but do your own research and try it if you think it makes sense.

Similar to last time, here’s how we’ll be tracking for accountability/encouragement from the participants:

On January 18th, post your starting weight in the comments of this page. You have time to buy a home scale or find out where the one at your gym is. On the pending February 29th backblast post, you will post your weight using the same scale. This requires honesty and consistency. If you want to weigh yourself in the buff (don’t tell us) just do it both times. Same if it’s in underwear and t-shirt, swim trunks, etc. Having a scale also helps track progress along the way but is not the ultimate measure of health. You will need to post your weight on both posts. You will also track your weight on the My Fitness Pal page.
Sign up for My Fitness Pal and download the app if you have not done so already (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ ). Enter in all of your information including starting weight. This will factor into your suggested daily calorie consumption. Send me (Gears) your MFP id so I can invite you to the group. You can reach me via twitter (@vinsonizer) or simply put the id in the comments below. If you didn’t have enough options, you can just go to the following URL and request group membership: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100013-f3thefort
Track your exercise and calories on My Fitness Pal. If you see really good results, guys may want to go back and see how you did it. The app allows you to scan bar codes, enter in recipes and ingredients to determine calories, and already has a robust library of foods from restaurants and grocery stores. You can also enter in weight goals and it will help provide daily calorie count, protein, carb and fat limits. You gain higher limits to stay on track with your goals by entering in your workouts.

One last comment to reiterate the above: If you are moved to do so, please view this as an opportunity to exercise not only physical/mental discipline, but also spiritual discipline. Any type of fast can be leveraged as a catalyst for prayer and worship, allowing the limiting of the desires of the flesh to remind us of our dependence on SkyQ. My personal hope is that this will be fruitful in all the self-dimensions of our personal lives: Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind.

If you are ready to go, comment below

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Welcome Back, Winter!

2016-01-03Leave a comment

QIC: Old Bay
When: 01/02/16
Pax: Anchorman, Magnum, Bassomatic, Slide Rule (FNG), Quickbooks, Freon, El Diablo, Duke Nukem, Crosscheck, Shelby, Misson Imbossible, Old Bay
Posted In: Millllkshake

The frost on the windows of those of us with usgaraged cars probably wasn’t so much a surprise as it was an “Oh yea, I forgot about that.” moment. And the additional gear to keep warm on this near-freezing morning reminded us that it might be many more weeks before we (re)discover what our fellow pax look like under the winter layers.

But the fresh seasonal temperatures didn’t stop a dozen pax from posting to TheYard this second day of 2016. Dark when we started, light when we ended, the pax did an excellent job sweating it out together and thinking about their word for 2016.

Welcome FNG “Slide Rule”, who is a student at Clemson and might very well learn to love burpees if he chooses to post with Padre in Easley.

The Thang

Mosey to west side of FMMS for a full body warm-up lead by Freon:

Imperial Walkers (IC) x15
SSH (IC) x15
Merkins (IC) x15
Carolina Dry Docks (IC) x10
Low Slow Squats (IC) x15
Side Lunges (IC) x15

Hand Off to Old Bay

Mosey to east side of FMMS for Slow Dirty McDeuce – each exercise done in cadence, 12x, with slow 4 counts, followed by a lap around the basketball courts

Set 1

Wide arm Merkins
Squats
LBC

Set 2

Dry Docks
Flutter Kicks
Calf Raises

Set 3

Dip
Step lunges
Weezy Jefferson

Set 4 – Progressive Jack Web (1-7)

Merkins
4 slow air presses
4 squats

Mosey to a wall for People’s Chair

Bear crawls down the line (x2)
BTTW (for recovery)
Lunges down the line and Jack Reachers

Mosey to the basketball court for foul shots

Each pax to take 3 shots.

If the pax taking the shot misses all 3, all pax sprint the full length of the court and back
If the pax taking the shot misses 2, all pax sprint half the length of the court and back

Circle up for some Mary

Freddie’s
Russian Twists
Hello Dollies
LBCs
Back Scratchers

COT

As always, it was a pleasure leading the fine men of The Fort. If you have not selected “your word” for 2016, continue to think and pray about it. And thanks to Freon for the excellent job in with the warm up.

AYE!

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