Block Party was a sellout this morning with 22 pax punching their ticket for the unveiling of Figaro as Q.  The man did not disappoint, and the critics will be raving.

The Thang

Run to Founders parking lot

COP

SSH x30

Windmill x20

IW x20

Moroccan nightclubs x50 (so much for warm up!)

Merkins x15

LBCs x20

Flutters x20

Run to top of road by gun shop and partner up
Partner 1: Run to bottom of hill and AYG back up
Partner 2: Continuous LBCs
Flapjack
Rinse & repeat 2x w/Merkins on 2nd round and Flutters on 3rd round

Mosey to wall at Springs building

People’s chair
Lunge walk across parking lot
Wall pull-ups OYO x10
Rinse & repeat sequence

Mosey back to WEP circle

Run to top of Stairway to Heaven and back down
Freddie Mercury OYO x10
Rinse & repeat sequence

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

Stellar VQ by Figaro!  Stepping out of his comfort zone in the back of the pax, our brother nailed a 45-minute first-time effort with no assistance, including a solid message on #Hope (no matter what your struggles are — we all have them — hold on in your current days so you can enjoy better life in your latter days).  T-claps!  Thanks for leading and challenging the pax!

Speaking of struggles, Rock Thrill delivered a heart-felt challenge to the pax to support York County residents seeking to overcome addiction by registering for the Joe Davis Run.  Just do it!

S/O to our brothers from The Rock, who posted to support Figaro.  Great to have you up in The Fort for the Block Party adventure.  No shortage of barristers on hand to keep everyone in line.

Thanks for the energy and spirit everyone brought today.  You’d think it was Christmas week or something…

Have a merry one!

Eleven men met this morning at Walter Elisha Park to get their morning pick-me-up before heading to work.  Block Party is meant to be a teaching AO where the Q gives pointers for leading effective workouts and where new guys get a chance to get Q experience.  Today, I shared Q duties with Nuke and this is what we did.

The Thang:

Dynamic warm up:  knee pulls/ankle pulls,  walking lunge with arm raise, arm and shoulder rotation, inch worm/downward dog, toy solders.  Hand off to Nuke for COP.

SSH x 25, Morrocan night club x 20, Merkin x 10/hold/Peter Parker x 20, Squat x 20, Hello Dolly x 20, Diamond merkin x 10/hold/Parker peter x 20, LBC x 20,

Senator Tressel on Q

Slow mosey to the play ground

Three rounds of high intensity training

5 pullups, sprint to tree line and back, 10 merkins, sprint, 20 LBC, sprint, 15 squats, sprint

5 pullups, sprint, 10 diamond merkins, sprint, 20 flutter, sprint, 15 monkey humpers, sprint

5 pullups, sprint, 10 wide arm merkins, sprint, 10L/10R pretzel crunch, sprint, 20L/20R lunge, sprint

Margin is the theme this morning so we took some time getting to know each other a little better.  YHC asked each person to tell the group something about themselves.  To make good use of the time, we did this in a plank position and also while we worked our abs   Time ran out before we got to everyone so we stopped and made our way to COT.

Moleskin

Really enjoyed co-Qing this morning with Nuke.  I’ve worked out with him at Alcatraz and Pantheon, and I was happy to be there for his VQ.  He did a fine job today, and his military background was obvious when we heard his command voice..  At Block Party, the Q is asked to share some of his ideas about Qing a workout and about F3 principals.  Here is what I shared today.

1.  Always start with a warm up – decrease your chance of injury and makes hard stuff easier when your body is loose and warmed up.
2. Slow down the count – fast counting leads to poor form and less effective exercise.
3. Go to different AO’s to get new ideas and steal them.  My half of the workout today was stolen from Geronimo – thank you, sir!
4. Explore all 3 F’s.  F3 workouts are fun and get your body in great shape.  If all you do is attend a few workouts during the week, you will improve your physical condition and feel fine.  But, don’t miss out on the rest that F3 has to offer.  If you are not sure you want to Q a workout, try it.  I guarantee you will grow to love it.  Take advantage of 2nd F opportunities when you can.  You’ll find a fantastic group of guys who you will want to know better.  They will become your brothers. Learn more about the 3rd F.  Everyone is welcome whether you are a person of faith or not. Get involved in service and give back to the community – you’ll be a better man for it.

Thank you DD for the invitation to Q Block Party.  I truly enjoyed leading the group with Nuke today and it was a privilege as always.

Xmas party on Dec 17.  Rumor of a $5 discount for tix purchased on Friday – check that out.  Joe Davis Run on Jan 7.  Annual Thanksgiving convergence at The Ranch. 6am start.  Fried turkey after workout!  All Thursday workouts closed.     Read the newsletter!

13 pax emerged from their fartsacks and posted at WEP for the repurposed Block Party, a more intentionally lead workout geared for new Qs.

WWL & Repeat were the Qs, likely asked to Q based on their reputation of being hate hate (at least for a few more weeks for WWL) and picture perfect Power Skip (aka WWL’s) form.

The disclaimer was given, the pax were reminded of why we wake up at 0 dark thirty, to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership.

WWL shared his thoughts on what a good Q looks like, its not the youngest pax, the fastest pax, the pax who can do the most pull ups, etc, its a pax that is prepared. Draw up your winkie, run through it, be prepared. the last thing you want as a Q is to either forget your winkie or run out of materials and start grabbing for straws. Stick to what you know.

The thang:
Warm up lap around WEP
COP – SSH, squats, IW, merkins, mountain climbers, moroccan night clubs

Mosey to Stair Way to Heaven, partner up, partner 1 does a bear crawl suicide with squats at each light post, partner 2 does 20 squats and abs, flip flop.

HYC is a fan of partner work, for a few reasons, 1- it breaks up the pax into a smaller more manageable group and 2- it promotes accountability and support among the pax.

Mosey to open field, a WWL Q is not complete with some Power Skips, two lengths of some WWL’s.

Hand off to Repeat

Mosey, COP:
10 merkins
10 lbc
10 diamond merkins
10 lbc
10 wide arm merkins

Mosey to playground, divide into two groups, 1st group does pull-ups while second takes a lap, switch, round two with burpees.

Mosey, Repeat tried a new exercise that he stole from F3Charleston, like jack Webb except with LBCs and russian twists, we made it to 5.

Finish with a victory lap around the park.

Mole Skin:
Both Qs felt great to be back at WEP. This repurposed block party has certainly reinvigorated the pax.

Repeat shared some great thoughts on Margin and that we all had to say no to SOMETHING to post this morning, whether that be saying no to sleep, to waking up with your M, with your 2.0s, to reading the newspaper, etc. You said no because you valued the time in the gloom with your brothers. Two things can be gleamed from this, 1- you are out here, make the most of it, be present, give it your best and 2- be aware of saying no to the good opportunities, so you can say yes to the great opportunities. He also talked about effort and often when you bow out and drop out of an exercise, the pax next to you will bow out as well. So when you’re feeling like its your last rep, stick in there and knock out one more, for the guy next to you.

Prayers go out to What Did, Ollof and all of our pax and their families as we look to gather for Thanksgiving next week.

Was a pleasure and a honor.

Aye,
WWL & Repeat

I was honored to be ask to Q at the revamped Block Party.  This AO as the original, is THE PLACE to learn how to Q and sharpen your leadersip skills.  It promotes the mission statement and the 5 core principles each week.  A must for anyone wanting to improve.

After requisite disclaimer, since it was election day, I felt a duty to face the downtown Fort Mill flag pole and pledge our allegiance to Old Glory.  I also was called to revert back to our March word for the month: Leadership.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,  but with humility of mind, regard one another as as more important than yourselves.

Tree Series- perform exercise at each tree(15 yards apart), plank for #6: squat walk, sneaktoe lunge walk, luge walk, bear crawl, backward bear crawl.

Stairway to heaven.

Pair off- 1’s up the hill with exercise at each lamp post, 2’s stay back and AMRAP until 1’s return

• Round 1:”1’s”: 5 Merkins/ “2’s”:  Wide Arm Merkins
• Round 2: “1’s”: 3 bombjacks/ “2’s” LBCs
• Round 3: “1’s”: Burpees/ “2’s”I forget

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

Funhouse brought an FNG- Went to Butler HS, naturally his new F3 name is now Jeeves.  Heard we have one already so someone will need to check me on that.  Hey FH- next time you EH a guy, try not to make him come if he has the flu, will ya?  Strong performance this morning from McGuyver and Longshanks.  Those two always bring the 1st F.

I appreciate the opportunity to lead Block Party.  Double D’s leadership here to bring it full circle and have it be a haven for new Qs needing pracatice, vet Q’s to sharpen, and all PAX to get a reminder of our core principles is remarkable.

Yours,

Jekyll

As the day after Halloween, YHC had no clue what to expect as far as PAX attendence, but it was a great group on a fine morning where it all began in The Fort. As the Block Party is a weekly Q school flavor, rookies and veterans can certainly use tune ups and YHC was case in point with no watch!! I have to say that is my achilles heel, so shout out to Double D’s watch with no light, Keilbasa’s fine jewelery that he purchased from the black market overseas, Figaro stepped up and grabbed a watch that told time and was also visible in the darkness.

MacGyver came in, almost hit a departing walker, we started a minute late waiting for the 6, but we did end at 6:01 to make up for the tardy PAX.

Disclaimer given, trivia about who knew what 11/1 was, Keilbasa guessed it right off, pretty sure he was going to go drink all day as well!

With that, we were off on a mosey around the path for a bit, threw in some high knees, butt kickers, side shuffle, and backwards job. Circled up a few hundred yards down off the path in the grass.

Warm Up
Low Slow Squat x 11 IC
Monkey Humpers x 20 IC
Merkins x 11 IC
Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

Mosey across WEP to the hill for Elevens.

Low Slow Squat at the top of the hill, Burpees on the bottom. Start with 10 on top and 1 on bottom.

After that beautty, we headed over to the playset for a modified DORA.

Partner up.

P1 does pullups, P2 runs the outside of the playset. 2 rounds
P1 does merkins, P2 runs the outside of the playset. 2 rounds
P1 does squats, P2 runs the outside of the playset. 2 rounds

Heat to COT for abs.

PAX led aborama.

Time at 6:01.

Nameorama, Prayers, Praise from each PAX. Close out prayer.

NMM

Each PAX is a leader. It is up to this group to carry that water to ‘infect’ our community with values that will lead us out of the current trajectory that our political system, media, and social media are portraying. It all starts with making yourself better, so in turn you can make the guy next to your better, and so on. Make no mistake about it, what we have in The Fort is special. Let’s use this gift we have been given for the greater good. Always an honor to Q. Thank you all for following this am.

10 PAX appeared at WEP to enjoy the cooler weather with YHC on Q. Gave a brief disclaimer and a short message about how I plan (or don’t plan my workouts). A few things we learned today.

1. As Q, It’s not about you getting a great workout for yourself, it’s about leading the PAX through a workout that will benefit them. aka It’s not about you!!
2. A good full body workout includes upper body, lower body, abs and cardio. High reps are sometimes good for a workout but often lead to bad form.
3. The more simple the workout, the easier it is to write the Backblast.

The Thang

Mosey to the top of the hill, get to the stop sign and do 10 buprees, mosey back down the hill with butt kicks, high knees, and toy soldiers. Circle up in the parking lot for COP of:

25 x SSH
10 X Windmills
10 x IW
15 x Mountain climbers
10 x Peter Parkers
10 x Parker Peters
then hold for Right arm high, left arm high, honeymooner and six inches.

Explain Drillbits (mile markers around WEP) Plank at each bit until the 6 is finished
1st bit – 10 Merkins, 20 squats, 30 LBC’s, 40 SSH
2nd bit – 10 CDD’s, 20 Monkey Humpers, 30 flutter kicks, 40 SSH
3rd bit – 10 Merkins, 20 squats, 30 LBC’s, 40 SSH
4th bit – 10 CDD’s, 20 Monkey Humpers, 30 flutter kicks, 40 SSH
5th bit – 10 Merkins, 20 squats, 30 LBC’s, 40 Seal Jacks
6th bit – 10 CDD’s, 20 Monkey Humpers, 30 flutter kicks, 40 Plank Jacks

Mosey to the playground. 10 pullups, 20 Dips, 30 Hello Dolly. Rinse and Repeat.

Indian run the long way on the path back to the parking lot. Once there, lunge walk up the hill, do 10 burpees at the stop sign and run back down the hill for COT

Announcements – 1st F and 3rd F convergence this Friday, check the newsletter. 11-19 Soccer arms, Jacksonville GORUCK, Forging, do something. Christmas Party December 17th.

Prayers – Families, injured PAX, PAX dealing with issues at home, our country during the election. (nice take out by CSPAN)

Moleskin
1. Thanks to Double D for allowing me to get in front and lead this group today. Hope those that have not Q’ed a workout yet (Kielbasa, Training Wheels, Figaro) found this helpful and hopefully someone will put you on the schedule soon as I know that you guys will crush it when given the opportunity.
2. Can’t say enough about how important a backblast is. One of the cool things that I’ve found you can do is if you click on a F3 name you can see every backblast they’ve ever written. Great tool for newcomers if they remember who led the workout but can’t remember the exact name of an exercise or exercise sequence.
3. Yes, today’s workout was simple. Yes it makes for writing an easy Backblast. But I can tell each PAX today got a solid workout in. I know as men, sometimes we try to make our Weinkes more complicated/difficult than they need to be, when a simple yet efficient workout will also give the PAX a great workout. I also sometimes think we try to put too much into a 45 minute workout that we miss the point of the workout.
4. When its your turn to lead, do that. LEAD!! Understand the fitness levels of the PAX at that workout. When the Q says “modify as needed” that includes the Q modifying his Weinke to fit the PAX. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about the PAX you lead that day.

Mic Drop…..Longshanks out

Recently, the Fort launched the newest AO aka The Brutha which gave Repeat the opportunity to lead this launch. This led to a renewal of the Block Party by DD. DD wanted to relaunch this AO as a way to reinforce the mission, core principles and what it means to be a leader and Q in all 3 Fs. Over the past several weeks, it is clear that his goal is being met by both the Qs and the Pax. YHC was humbled to be invited to Q and voluntold Atticus to join me!

Weather: If I could add to the Lexicon, today would be called “F3 Climate”. When we arrived at BP it was 48 degrees and there was actually dew on the ground. Glorious! Combine the weather with 18 Pax who posted this AM and it was a great start to the day.

The Thang

Mosey around WEP

COP

SSHs x 25

Windmills x 10

Merkins x 15

IWs x 15

Mtn Climbers x 20

Moroccan Night Clubs x 20

Mosey to the hill

Jacobs Ladder

7 Burpees at top/1 Bombjack at bottom

Rinse and Repeat decreasing at top and increasing at bottom

Mosey to playground

15 Dips and 15 Derkins x 3

Handoff to Atticus

Introduced the Weird Science concept of chips, dips, chains and whips with partners

Partner 1 runs

Partner 2 merkins in the chips

Rinse and repeat with dips, ab crunches on chain swings and donkey kicks (whips)

Mosey

Bear Crawl Tag (a la Sharks and Minnows) – crowd pleaser

Bunny Hop Burpee Tag

Mosey back to COT

1 minute left so lets do SSH x 50 – Why not!

Moleskin

• Definitely uncovered some really nice bear crawlers out there including Dark Helmet, Crash and Chicken Hawk
• Upcoming 3rd F convergence on 10/28 to discuss racial tension and empathy. Make sure you post for that
• Forging on 11/19
• Christmas Party on 12/17 – Pay now before the rate goes up
• T Claps to Zima for hitting 250 workouts for the year

Its always a pleasure to Q a workout particularly with Atticus. Little did he know when he moved in over a year ago that I would be so annoying about F3! He has been a great influence on me with his wisdom and understanding of the Bible. Glad to have you brother!

Its always a pleasure to just post too. Today I met Kenbo who posted for only his 2nd time. Reminded me of how it felt for me and how it feels now. One of the best things I have ever done but could not have done it without the accountability of the Pax. Thank you!

Until next time…