SLT Notes – 1FQ

 

Michael Pysher 41 SlapShot

 

Our leadership team has been thinking and talking a lot about our mission. That is, why we do what we do. For me, being a 1FQ is not about burpees, push-ups or how fast we all can run our miles. It is, simply put, how we can connect our physical fitness with our fitness as men, fathers, husbands, and members of our community. For our region it’s how we further the mission of F3 by aligning our first F with Fellowship and Faith.

 

When I think about why I came out 4 years ago on a cold March morning to run and do push-ups with a bunch of strangers it’s not the “why” of coming out that first post. The more important questions are; why did I come back, why did I stick around, and why did I ultimately accept the 1FQ role.

 

Part of that why is of course physical fitness. We all of us get a rush out of doing this don’t we? The feeling of accomplishment that we’ve run more miles in one morning (or two) before 6am then other men will run in an entire week. That feeling of camaraderie when we complete an Iron Pax workout and fist bump each other at the end of our shared suffering.

 

But that’s not the only reason I keep coming back and I’d argue it’s not the only reason why a lot of your keep coming back.

 

We do what we do here in the Fort and in 1F because it’s more than burpees, it’s more than pushups its about how we prepare and deal with all of our obstacles day in and day out. By taking on the physical we make ourselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually stronger in the process. Because none of us do this alone. That sense of togetherness extends from fitness to the fellowship aspect. From there, we start to accelerate our impact in our greater community.

 

Whether it’s the races we run to raise money for charities, or the men of our group who have taken it upon themselves to lead community initiatives ranging from 5k’s to men’s shelters, to adopting a highway.

 

The bonds we’ve formed in the gloom build the foundation for us to have a larger and greater impact than any of us could’ve accomplished by ourselves.

 

In that spirit, your SLT team is dedicated to continue to accelerate as a region and increase our impact on our community one merkin, one burpee, and one Catalina Wine Mixer (it’s a real exercise trust me)  at a time.

 

So, what is the answer to the question Why? Well part of the reason is because it’s fun of course. Another is because of the sense of community we’ve built with each other. But for me, what keeps me coming out week after week, month after month, is a simple phrase that in this one shot we have in life we don’t really have to do any of this……. We GET TO DO IT.

 

Thank you to all who share the gloom with us, to all who push their mental and physical selves and most importantly to those who take that shared suffering and focus it on how to answer that question Why?

 

With that said Can’t wait to see you all out there in the gloom accelerating all 3F’s One burpee at a time 😉

 

Michael Pysher 41 Slapshot

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Is eight enough for a party… it was today at Block Party

8 at Block Party for some time in all three Fs… The humidity was @ 100% and even though water wasn’t falling from the sky there were plenty of sweat puddles!

Mosey to the top of the hill for Warmup

  • SSH (25)
  • Imperial Walkers (15)
  • Windmills (10)

Mosey to the bottom of the hill for suicides x2 (even though Dark Helmet wanted to do another round)

  • Start with 10 burpees
  • 1/3 up hill running backwards
  • 2/3 up the hill running with side-shuffle
  • 3/3 (all the way) up the hill sprinting

Mosey back up the hill to the wall pair up

  • Wall up/ muscle ups with a 50 LBC as the timer x3 rounds
  • Wall Sit with 20 merkins down the line

Mosey to step wall in the court yard

  • Round 1 – 20 step ups, 20 dips, 20 derkins
  • Round 2 – 30 step ups, Max (or 60) dips, Max (or 30) derkins
  • Round 3 – 10 step ups, 10 dips, 10 derkins

Back to COT for 4 minutes of Mary.  It was a pleasure to lead, thank you for the opportunity.

CH out.

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Bushwood from Tennis Courts to Grassy Knoll

We had 8 at Bushwood for a morning that we talked about purpose… God’s purpose for our lives and how our purpose intersects with occupation (or if it does).

Warm up

Mosey to Tennis Courts for three rounds of

  • Derkins
  • Dips
  • Step ups

with a run in between

Mosey to the back wall to pass the coupon while the Pax performs wall sits and the mode of transportation is either a bear crawl or lunge walk

Final round was 7s with Bobby Hurley’s at the top of the hill and Donkey Kicks at the bottom.  The mode of transportation was bear crawls up and crawl bears down the hill.

Thank you for the fellow-ship and the opportunity to lead!

CH

 

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Sweaty at Minnow Pond by CH

On a toasty morning in the gloom @ MinnowPond everyone got in between 3-4 miles with three pain stations.  For most 4 rounds were completed with pain stations of…

  • 30 Merkins –  Corner of main and 160
  • 20 Jumping (Squats/lunges) – Church of God
  • 10 Pull-Ups – Printshop

It was a glorious morning!  1% better.

 

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Letter to The Fort

THE MISSION

“The Mission of F3 is to plant grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.” This mission is two interconnected parts, one part accelerating the other: 1) our workouts and 2) our community.  It has been proven across numerous communities just like Fort Mill that F3 makes a man stronger and then that man makes his community stronger. As a member of the pax, you personally have two responsibilities: 1) Emotionally Headlocking (EH) other men in our community to join us so they may stand up straight like you, and 2) to become a Virtuous Leader in this community.

THE VISION

Several months ago, Double D convened a group of pax to strategize about The Fort’s future—to discuss our next Position of Advantage. Two key positions emerged: 1) Accelerating our Leadership Development Process (LDP) and 2) being more visible in Fort Mill through our marketing efforts (MKT). You will see these two positions added to The Fort’s leadership team (SLT) and a lot of momentum created around these fronts.

THE STATE OF THE REGION

The state of The Fort is strong, but not so strong that we can stop paying attention. We have a lot to be grateful for: a growing pax full of High Impact Men, an abundance of AO’s with a variety of options, our longstanding commitment to all three F’s, a strong SLT and much more. We also must continue to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men. We must continue invigorating male community leadership. The Fort’s SLT are all volunteers whose lives have been deeply enriched by F3 and are committed to serving the PAX and Fort Mill. Whenever you have ideas, questions, concerns, or just a funny joke to share, let us know.

SYITG,

Esso

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Dam to Dam 2024 – Preblast

The mission of F3 involves the invigoration of male community leadership. This leadership leads to impact and influence within our community. Consistent with this mission, F3 the Fort has impacted our community over the past 4 years through our fundraising efforts tied to the Dam 2 Dam relay. In total, we have raised over $100,000 towards Harlans Heroes, St. Jude, Autism Strong, Defend the Fatherless as well as created a scholarship for local high school seniors at all 3 schools in the Fort Mill area.

This year, we are requesting your support by participating in the Dam 2 Dam relay which will be held on Saturday, February 17th. The relay consists of 100km run from Lake Murray Dam to Lake Greenwood Dam and can include 4-6 runners. Registration will open on September 1st at 7 AM and will likely be sold out by 8 AM so there is a high sense of urgency. Below is the link to the website where you can find the registration:

https://damtodamrelay.com

Our goal is to raise $50,000 to support the ongoing local F3 scholarships as well as an additional local charity yet to be identified (Coming soon). To meet this goal, we have the following planned events:

September – TBD

October – TBD

November – BBQ and Bourbon 11/10/23

December – Shanking with Stang

January – Dam 2 Dam Bar 10k

There will be more details to follow via Slack. Please reach out if you have any questions or ideas to support. Look forward to continuing to impact our community!

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Changes Are Coming

One of the things F3 does well is promote individual leadership. It provides a platform where everyone is Free To Lead in whatever initiative they see is necessary to create an impact. We step up to be QICs for AO’s, 1st,2nd and 3rdF events, etc. and that’s the great sign of a leader.

Another great sign of a leader is understanding your audience and impact, understanding when to pívot and readjust. Follow me here. With the plethora of AO’s to choose from on a day to day basis, sometimes some sites get left out with no one showing up to support. That can be very deflating to a person’s ego. With Wednesdays being one of the days where there are so many choices to pick from, I’m choosing to adjust Tallawah’s schedule from weekly to bimonthly.

Starting Sept 6, Tallawah will only be opened on the first and third Wednesdays (and fifth if applicable) for a 45 minute gear workout. After August 16, the next time Tallawah will be opened will be Sept 6.

Thank you,
Beaker out ✌🏾🧪

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Shieldlock vs. Shieldlock!

Get ready! The next couple of months are going to get crazy at #ao-Varsity as the ShieldLocks around The Fort show us what they’ve got! Each week we’ll have an entire Shieldlock co-Q a workout for those brave enough to show up. Lets see which Shieldlock brings the most pain!
First on deck are the FortHorsemen. There will be cindy’s, there will be bar work, there will be running, and a little something extra. Show to know this Friday at #AO-Varsity!

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