Category: G-Fit

20 @ G-Fit 12/23

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It was a windy Saturday afternoon with overcast skies, but our Sky Q kept the rain away and 20 Pax came out to play, including 6 HIM.  Showing up to G-Fit and CAH makes you a true HIM, in my opinion.

We started in a circle and did a few warmups IC:
15 Overhead Claps
15 SSH
10 Weed Pullers (I’ve always called these Cherry Pickers but recently thought about it…Cherry’s grow on trees!)
A round of Forearm Planks while we all called out our F3 names
10 Merkins

Next we took a mosey around the basketball courts.  Some Pax gave it AYG and got a “‘atta boy” from me.  I then lined them all up on the left side of the basketball courts and we played a quick round of East to West.  Left side was East, Right side was West (probably backwards I now realize). When I shout West, everybody runs to that side.  When I shout East, everybody runs to that side.  Last person to reach the side sits out.  If I all East and you run West, you’re out.  Visa-Versa.
I found some exercise dice at Target and brought those along from a round of Lucky Dice.  A few of the kids took turns rolling the dice that determined what our exercise was and how many reps we do. The options were:
Merkins
Lunges
LBCs
Wild Card (rollers choice)
Squats
SSH

x10
x20
x30
x30 seconds amrap
x60 seconds amrap
x90 seconds amrap

We were all ready for a game of basketball after a few rolls of the dice so that’s how we ended our time together.  The old guys vs. the youngins’.  Old guys totally rocked it out.  😉

Much love to Deacon for the opportunity to lead G-Fit.  Being there is always an honor and always a pleasure.  I invite all of TheFort to give it a try ASAP!

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THE PAX OF FORT PLEDGES TO HELP ANOTHER BROTHER AND HIS FAMILY OUT

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Its Christmas time and the word of the month is giving so I am asking if you would take moments pray about giving to help a fellow pax. Last year Stang got the Fort and the Rock pax to donate gift cards, cash and presents for me and my family.  This was huge for me and my family, with that  being said I feel the need to help a fellow pax and give back. I have been in touch with our pax of the Fort looking for someone to help out. This morning in COT it was mentioned by Destiny that a fellow pax’s son has just been diagnosed with leukemia and his wife is pregnant with twins. Then again Ginsu and Rock thrill had a tweet about it and come to find out it is an Area51  pax named Bout time his sons name is Jennings. This hits close to home and just knew this is who we need to help this year. a few

If I have never had the pleasure of posting with you in the Gloom I would like to take a second and share my story, Dec 2015 on Christmas eve my 2.5 year old daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia ALL Type B, on Christmas day she had surgery to have a port installed and her first 3 rounds of chemo. We spent Christmas in the hospital and I broke down never cried so hard in my life. I reached out to God prayed that everything will be okay and about 10 min later after the took my daughter back for surgery he answered my pray because a peace just came over me and heard the words its going to be okay.  The last 2 years have been a hard 2 years with ups and downs but also have enlightened me, allowed me to get closer to God.  It also allowed me to become apart of F3 with out the men of this group not sure where I would be mentally and physically today. I like to thank you for the push the words of encouragement.

 

I am asking pax to give what your heart tells you. Prayers gift cards, cash etc. I have seen what awesome pax you can be when challenged to give you all always go above and beyond.

See your site Q’s for collections and or Dark helmet , Stang, Witch hunt, Royale and Cornerstone, we want to wrap it up by 12/22/17

 

2 Corinthians 9:7

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Proverbs 18:16

A gift opens the way
and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 

Thanks Again HIMS

Cornerstone

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The Fort pledge to help another Pax out

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Its Christmas time and the word of the month is giving so I am asking if you would take moments pray about giving to help a fellow pax. Last year Stang got the Fort and the Rock pax to donate gift cards, cash and presents for me and my family.  This was huge for me and my family, with that  being said I feel the need to help a fellow pax and give back. I have been in touch with our pax of the Fort looking for someone to help out. This morning in COT it was mentioned by Destiny that a fellow pax’s son has just been diagnosed with leukemia and his wife is pregnant with twins. Then again Ginsu and Rock thrill had a tweet about it and come to find out it is an Area51  pax named Bout time his sons name is Jennings. This hits close to home and just knew this is who we need to help this year. a few

If I have never had the pleasure of posting with you in the Gloom I would like to take a second and share my story, Dec 2015 on Christmas eve my 2.5 year old daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia ALL Type B, on Christmas day she had surgery to have a port installed and her first 3 rounds of chemo. We spent Christmas in the hospital and I broke down never cried so hard in my life. I reached out to God prayed that everything will be okay and about 10 min later after the took my daughter back for surgery he answered my pray because a peace just came over me and heard the words its going to be okay.  The last 2 years have been a hard 2 years with ups and downs but also have enlightened me, allowed me to get closer to God.  It also allowed me to become apart of F3 with out the men of this group not sure where I would be mentally and physically today. I like to thank you for the push the words of encouragement.

 

I am asking pax to give what your heart tells you. Prayers gift cards, cash etc. I have seen what awesome pax you can be when challenged to give you all always go above and beyond.

See your site Q’s for collections and or Dark helmet , Stang, Witch hunt, Royale and Cornerstone

 

2 Corinthians 9:7

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Proverbs 18:16

A gift opens the way
and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 

Thanks Again HIMS

Cornerstone

 

 

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2017 Paradise Turkey Giveaway

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What an amazing day! The main goal for this year’s turkey giveaway was to further connect with the Paradise community. Paradise is an underprivileged black neighborhood in Fort Mill, SC.

We blessed the beautiful people of the Paradise community with over 160 turkeys, 120 homemade cupcakes (courtesy of Barry Manilow’s family) and 320 slices of pizza. All supplies were depleted within the first hour of the event.

Hundreds of families from Paradise and F3 were in attendance. Our fellowship was incredible.  #HIMs of F3 were true gentlemen and carried turkeys for the women and the elderly of the neighborhood. They were flattered by the kindness of the men of F3 and our willingness to serve.

One reason why so many families from the neighborhood attended this event is because of F3’s  consistent presence in the community. Our weekly workouts called G-Fit (aka Get Fit) helped us build relationships with the local families. Being constantly present builds trust, removes social divisions and helps us to live out the “Golden Rule” of loving our neighbors.

A young man named Vincent who lives in Paradise attended the event. Vincent was born and raised in community. Earlier this year, he referred to F3 as “them” or “those guys.” He mentioned F3 in a respectful way but it was clear that the Pax was viewed as “outsiders” from the Paradise community. He took the initiative to help distribute flyers for the turkey giveaway. Vincent connected us with several influential leaders in the neighborhood. During the event, he carried turkeys to the cars of women and the elderly. Vincent helped to clean-up after the event. When we debriefed at the end of the event, Vincent stopped referring to F3 as “them” and referred to F3 as “us.” He said unabashedly that “I am in support for F3 because F3 is here for us.”

Vincent’s story highlights what it takes to make a positive impact in underprivileged neighborhoods. We must meet people where they are and then address their needs. At the event, several parents in the community asked if the men of F3 can mentor their children.

Mentoring in the Paradise community is now our top priority. We will be intentional about creating opportunities to mentor the children. As we mentor we will teach life skills. A turkey giveaway provides the people of Paradise with a meal for a couple of days. Mentoring and teaching children of poverty life skills will show them how to provide meals for themselves for life.

This year’s turkey giveaway deepened F3’s impact and relationship with the families in Paradise. Your support made this event possible. Thank you for supplying turkeys. We appreciate your prayers and contributions toward the event. Most of all, T-Claps for your servant leadership in our underprivileged communities.

See pictures from the turkey giveaway here: https://goo.gl/72uEcp

Peace,

Deacon

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Paradise Turkey Giveaway

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The F3 Fort Mill Pax is organizing a turkey giveaway in Fort Mill’s Paradise Community. Paradise is Fort Mill’s historic black neighborhood that has a rising poverty level. It’s located across the street from CVS on Tom Hall (near downtown Fort Mill/Doby’s Bridge Road).

Why: We will bless the people of Paradise with turkeys for Thanksgiving. This turkey giveaway will expand our reach into the community to develop male leaders through the F3 model. The Pax will eat pizza with the community to make this event relationship- based and not just a turkey transaction. This event creates as opportunity for us to engage and pray with this community that we continue to impact.

When: 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on Saturday, November 18th.

Where: Steele Street Park (in the pavilion) at 600 Steele Street, Fort Mill, SC 29715.

Call To Action: 1) Donate a FROZEN turkey, or 2) Make a monetary donation which will be used for turkey purchases via Copay’s Paypal account which is https://www.paypal.me/KFields84, or 3) Attend the event and engage with the community.

How To Donate A Turkey: Bring a FROZEN Turkey to a Saturday AO on 11/18/17. Site Qs will then bring the turkeys to the Event Leaders.

Event Leaders: Deacon (Twitter @careervaluebook), Barry Manilow (Twitter @chadhartman), Copay (Twitter @F3_Copay), Penny Pincher (803-727-8791), Bolt (Twitter @F3Bolt)

Event Parking: Please park at the Bethlehem Baptist Church at 601 Joe Louis Street, Fort Mill, SC 29715. Use the parking lot on the left side of the building (the parking lot that does not have a carport).

Spread the word!

If you have questions or would like to volunteer for this event, contact Deacon (Will Uter), will.uter@careervaluebook.com, 704-208-6935.

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G Fit

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Great evening at G-Fit.  Got there early and got a game of Bball going with the kids.  Was thanked by a Paradise adult for all we do.

About 30 gathered for some fitness- we mosied around the park before circling up for SSH, Squats, Merkins and burpees.

Over at the basketball court  we lined up on the short side for bear crawls, crab walks, lunge walks.  Lined up again.  P1 ran around the playground.  P2 did merkins, squats, LBCs

after we played Red light/Green Light- we split off into group of Football and basketball or the rest of the evening.

Great Stuff!

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Getting G-Fit in Paradise

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What a fun evening in Paradise!  If you have not gotten the opportunity to come see what G-Fit on Friday night is like, I highly recommend it.  Our brothers Deacon and Bolt and others have taken ownership of this AO and really are making it into something special.  This was my first time back to Steele Street Park since our Easter Egg Hunt outreach and it is a great little park.  Full court basketball, a field for football, a pavilion, swing set, spray park?  Awesome.  And like it says in the bible, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  We need more Q’s to step up and lead.  DO IT!  You will be blessed and encouraged, I guarantee it.  Here’s what we did on my VQ:

YHC gathered his 2.0, Captain Snooze, and his FNG friend from the neighboorhood and we arrived a the park around 18:40.  Kids and teens were on the court shouting around so we joined them.  I quizzed the crowd about F3 and who had attended a workout.  About half had.  We quickly head locked the other half and it was announced we’d start at the top of the hour.  As 19:00 approached, more and more of The Fort PAX started showing up.  It was great seeing so many familiar faces!  Longer shout-out to you all below but back to the blast.  We circled up at half court for disclaimer and a few words about what to expect for the next 45 minutes and we were off.

THE THANG

Mosey around the park, past the pavilion, around the bathrooms, loop around the spray park then high knees and butt kickers as we head to the parking lot.  Once on the lot, karaoke right for half, then left until the end.  Up the grass hill to the field area for COP

Reps were kept to around 10 for the following exercises, all in cadence:

SSH, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, Squats, Merkins, LBC, Flutters

Water break while we talked about the word of the month, discipline.  What is discipline?  We discussed that discipline is doing what is necessary even when it’s not what you want to do.  We need discipline in our lives to reach our athletic goals.  Kevin Durant did not develop his jump shot by shear luck or talent.  It has taken years of hard work and discipline to get his game to where it’s at.  We need discipline in our lives to reach our academic goals.  Good grades and success don’t just happen, they take discipline.  AYE!

The group was then split between younger kids and teens / adult and each group headed to a basketball hoop.  We lined up from tallest to shortest on the free throw line for a game of knock-out.  Classic game that is always fun.  Bolt quickly emerged as the man to beat but nobody actually could!  Fortunately he sat out after one victory and let some others win.  I think a total of 3 games were played.  Maybe 4?  Anyway, we grabbed a quick sip of water and then headed to the field for some flag football.

Deacon picked 2 younger lads as team captains and all the younger PAX were picked for teams.  Deacon and YHC served as coach / referee while the adult PAX resumed their battle on the basketball court.  The football game was a blast to watch and it was great to see the younger PAX work together as teams.  A bunch of touchdown were scored and a bunch of smiling faces greeted us as we call time and headed for COT.

At COT we named to 4 FNG’s and it was sweet to see how pumped the kids were at their names.  I think we did pretty good with 88 (Cowboys fan), Clutch (the star of the football and basketball games), Man of Steel (Steelers fan who was wearing a team jersey), and Philmont (Boy Scout working towards Eagle).

Announcement was made about a special Labor Day workout on 9/1.  Did somebody say PIZZA?  Expect record breaking numbers for that one.  No prayer requests but YHC took us our with a prayer asking God for help in developing margin and discipline in our lives.

Moleskin

As this was my VQ, I really appreciated seeing some familiar faces.  Thanks to Barry Manilow, Bolt, Deacon, Polaroid, Fish Sticks, and Wapner for posting.  Most brought a 2.0 with them and that is a great part of this AO.  Sharing the vision of F3 and the mission of this particular workout with your kid and having them join you is truly a blessing.  I have to say my heart was warmed when I saw a young kid from the neighborhood jump on my 2.0’s back.  Everybody got along great together, supported each other, and had a blast on a beautiful Friday night.  The sunset was unreal BTW.  Deacon said it’s like that after every workout.  Thanks to you, Deacon, for the opportunity to Q.  After all the unrest and hate on display in our country, it was a breath of fresh air to laugh and play and pray with men and young men of different nationalities.  It’s really not that hard when you just love one another.  Everybody loves love.

Flat Tire

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Pigskin in Paradise

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I had the privilege to spend Friday evening with 22 other men and young men of the Paradise community. Conditions were, well, August in South Carolina – upper 90s with humidity. Here’s what we did…

The Thang

  • Mosey to the splash park
  • Circle up fo 10 SSH in cadence
  • 10 Merkins in cadence
  • 10 LBcs in cadence
  • Grab some wall for 10 Dips in cadence
  • 20 Calf Raises OYO
  • Mosey to the court for 10 Air Chair Claps in cadence
  • Full Court Suicides
  • Water and Powerade break
  • FOOTBALL TIME

NMM

The excitement Friday night was palpable. Bounty Hunter and I arrived 15 minutes early to set up the field. This prompted Scooter and Prescott to come running. When we started throwing the ball around the field, the park filled up fast. By the time 7:00 rolled around, there were kids EVERYWHERE. Thank you Deacon and Bolt for inviting me to lead. Thank you Fish Sticks, Barry Manilow, and Bounty Hunter for helping control the chaos. Final Score: 50 something to 40 something. For those who haven’t attended G-Fit, get out there and see what you’re missing.

I talked to the young men about community and brotherhood. We all need our friends and families when times get tough. Your brothers, regardless of skin color, religion or any other label that divides us, need you and you need them. There is nothing impossible when you are surrounded by people who will encourage and lift you up. What makes G-Fit special is it’s symbiotic relationship. We need each other. Those young men remind us to have fun. We can show them what love and brotherhood look like. Now, more than ever, we need to show love. God created us in His image and we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. Where better to live that principle than Friday nights in Paradise?

With a heart filled,

Italian Job

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No Barriers

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What a beautiful day in Paradise, literally. The new workout start time of 7 PM was perfect for watching the sunset from the top of the hill at Steele Street Park. 12 Pax posted strong in which 8 were from the community. We had 3 FNGs.

The Thang:

SSH (30x), IW (20x), WM (15x), Sumo Squats (15x), MC (20x), Merkins (15x), LBCs (15x)

Mosey around the court

Drills: 7 layups with the right hand, 7 layups with the left hand.

Played knockout 2x

Played 5 on 5 up to a total score of 10. Each bucket counted as 1. Bolt and Jiffy were on the same team and played like Jordan and Pippen.

Moleskin:

We moved the G-Fit workouts in Paradise from Saturday mornings to Fridays at 7 PM. The shift in workout times is intended to engage more people from the community. An evening workout removes the common excuse of “I couldn’t wake up on time.” Moving the workouts to Fridays appears to be a good change so far.

Bolt has been making a huge impact in the community. One of the younger Pax from the community called him “Dad.” If I have to state the obvious, here it is: the younger Pax and Bolt look nothing alike but they are both in God’s family. They have built a strong, genuine relationship that wins over any social or man-made barriers. #AwesomeSauce

We need to continue to step out the bubble, out of our comfort zones to step into each other’s life to make a real impact. It’s a double blessing when that someone else doesn’t look like you or share your social status.

Peace,

Deacon

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11

Cones and Bball G-Fit

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First off- Cobains on the late delivery.  I had good intentions and then the new site switch- but alas!

11 PAX comprised of 3 adults and a terrific 8 kids (6 of which are from Paradise) attended this morning.  All of the kids got F3 shirts and i could see the change in them as they tanglibly became part of something.

For warmups- we did traditional exerices but ran end line to end line in between.  Next up, 5 cones were set out on the ball court- 1 in each corner and 1 in the center.  Pax had to complete an exercise, run to the middle, exerise, run out to new cone.  Next I found one of our water bottles following our water break.  I had each kid toss the bottle however far they wanted, we all run to it and he calls out an exercise.  Giving them ownership in this really keeps them engaged.  Q’s- get them involved.  They want to help, they want to be “the guy”.  We then split off into teams and played 3 on 3.  Newsflash- I didnt start in HS and have carried those poor skills into adulthood.

We had a great discussion on character and that #charactercounts.  The boys responded well.  I encourage any and all PAX to participate in G-fit.  You do not need to be on Q.  The more times the community sees your face the better!  T-Claps to Chickenhawk, Deacon and Bolt for their leadership and passion here.

 

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