With 100% rain forecasted the plan was to run and have pain stations under the covered areas at FMMS & FMES. Since Normandy sandbag workout has been washed to sea, I thought I would utilize the sandbags in my garage and introduce to The Yard.  The plan was set for the Seattle weather pattern and fortunately the rain was minimal.

Six strong pax gathered in the yard and no FNG’s so short disclaimer and off we went. Mosey to far side other school for warm up, butt kickers and high knees along the way.

• 15 SSH IC
• 15 Mountain Climbers IC
• 10 Merkins IC
• mosey back to  middle school (here comes the rain)
• 15 windmills
• 15 IW
• 25 MNC

The Thang – 4 Stations 3 rounds each station. Partner up… 1st partner does exercise to a number count while 2nd partner does next exercise until 1st partner completes number. Flapjack and cycle 2x.  After completing 1st round mosey to 2nd station complete 1st round 2x then 3rd station and 4th. After 4th mosey back to first station and begin 2nd round.

Station 1 – sandbag station

• 20 shoulder presses /  Box Jumps
• 20 curls  /  lunge walk to doors and back
• 20 squats  /  peoples chair

Station 2 – benches in front of MS

• 10 partner Merkins  /  dips
• 10 step ups (each leg)  /  CDD
• 20 Derkins  /  Mountain climbers

Station 3 – breezeway between schools

• 5 pull-ups or 10 wide arm Merkins  /  Calf Raises
• 5 hanging toe touches or 20 Peter Parker’s / burpees
• 20 plank jacks  /  Flutter kicks

Station 4 – front of Elem School

• 30 jump rope  /  Plank
• 20 mule kicks  /  CDD
• 25 SSH  /  Mountain climbers

Audible on round 3 to only 1x for each exercise. All pax stayed together and pushed hard through each round. Although we were dry from the rain we were wet with sweat!!  Rain then felt good. Running out of time and all stayed for the extra credit free throw shooting. Each pax 1 at a time had 3 shots with other pax on the line. With 2 makes, next person up, 1 make everyone does a sprint in parking lot, 0 makes and everyone does a suicide in parking lot. Let’s just say we all need our day jobs!!

We discussed the importance of relationships in our lives and continually fostering those relationships whether it is family, work or community. As this year is quickly coming to a close and the emphasis this year has been on being a HIM in your environment. What does this look like in your family, work and community. With the holidays coming and we will see family and friends that we only see a few times each year, how can we develop a closer relationship and share our faith during these times. Sometimes the hardest people to share with are those in our family. Remember that our actions speak louder than our words.

Circle up for COT, announcements and prayer request.  Prayers for healing, relationships and work relations.

Thanks to Old Bay for the opportunity to Q this morning. Awesome site and always an honor to lead a great group of men!!!

Five guys showed up at the yard on a great morning to get some sweat on… in moderation of course.

COP

SSH

Apolo Ono

Merkins

Mountain Climbers

Dips

Squats

Plank

Indian run

Plank

Run

Lunge walk

Bear crawl

Hand stand

Run

Lunge walk

Bear crawl

Curb dips

Run

Lunge walk

Bear crawl

Partner (while partner runs)

50 burpees

200 CDD

150 squats

Round of Mary

Basketball – 2v2:  Partner 1v partner 1 first to make it other team does bomb jacks

We quickly warmed up to the brisk weather this morning. The fellowship was amazing as the Pax shared their personal stories and challenges. #ISI Our FNG heard about F3 during Dredd and OBT’s speech at the Rotary Club. He joined us and did an excellent job with the exercises.

The Thang:

Mosey to the bus loop for COP:

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

Mosey to the parking lot:

COP: Scorpions (15x each side), Superman (10 second counts), Oblique Ups (15x each side), Pepper Grinders (15x)

Mosey to the breeze way.

One partner does LBCs while the other does pull-ups. Do a team total of 100 pull-ups.

Bench workout:

– Round 1: Derkins (20x), Box jumps (20x), Incline Merkins (20x)

– Round 2: Dips (20x), Steps ups (20x/leg), Dips (10x)

– Round 3: Extreme Derkins (20x), Deacon Mercuries (20x)

Mosey to the end parking lot for Ultimate Corn Hole. The winning team calls the exercise of choice for the other team to do.

Moleskin:

We are often busy because of the many priorities, distractions and everything else that demands our time. All of us have 24 hours in a day. Are you effectively using your time?

A way to answer this question is by monitoring your margin. In business, margin is a measure of the resources spent vs the return on the investment. When a business uses their resources  beyond the level of a healthy return, their margin goes into the red.

In life, we must ensure that we don’t go into the red with our time. Keep your priorities distinct and separate. The quality time with your family should not get encroached by non-value added things. People often let technology invade their family time. They are heads down on their phones instead of making quality face-to-face conversations. As a result, they are not present in their daily interactions and this routine pushes them deeper into the red. This one of many examples of why we need to manage our margins.

Keep your priorities. Be present. Keep a healthy margin in your life

While planning this second workout for this new AO I was staring at a weather forecast that said 100% rain.  Considering the amount of CYA in weather forecasting industry you hardly ever see a forecast as definitive as 100%.  So I planned for rain.  As fun as it is to slop around in a muddy field (October 24th!!!!) I couldn’t ignore the great amount of cover offered by the excellent new AO.

I pulled in the parking lot 15 minutes before kick off to find the shovel flag already planted.  Site Q Old Bay was already there so we would have at least 2 which was good because my moderate workout required partner participation.  Soon after Senator Tressel pulled in and the clock said it was time to begin.  We started with a mosey tour of all the covered areas and were approaching the warm up area when Solid State pulled up to join us.

Warm up:

• 25 SSH
• 15 Imperial Squat Walkers
• 20 Windmills
• 10 Merkins
• Hold 6 inches

One really nice thing about this AO is it offers the normal covered walkway between the buildings as the other schools in the Fort Mill area but this one is built really low.  Low enough to allow a slight jump up to grab one of the steel support beams and perform some pull ups.  First exercise, partner assisted pull ups.  Do at least 5 assisted, if required, and then continue to failure or 10, whichever comes first.  We did this 3 times alternating and somehow we all got heavier with each set, except for the Senator of course who again reminded us why we yell “RESPECT!”

We then took a short mosey to the end of the covered area on the middle school and began a partner routine that involved one partner doing a stationary exercise while the other partner completed a movement exercise.

• Partner 1 – Hold elbow plank; Partner 2 – Run the entire covered area of the middle school and back
• Partner 1 – Hello Dolly; Partner 2 – Bear crawl to the second door and jog back
• Partner 1 – Merkins; Partner 2 – Lunge walk to the second door and job back

Complete the series twice

We then moved to the benches for two sets of leg raises and dips.

A very short mosey to the end of the covered area we circled up for some shoulders and abs.  We completed both a 10/40 of Jack Webbs and a 10/40 or Captain Thors (big boy sit-up followed by a 4 count of American Hammers).

We had about 5 minutes left in the workout and YHC had exhausted the weinke, so we took a little jog.  At the suggestion of the PAX we left the covered area and ran the parking lot, so yes we experienced some of the wonderful 55 degree rain.

Thank you to Old Bay for the opportunity to Q this wonderful new AO and thank you to the men who came out!!  Always humbled to lead such a group of #HIMs.

Announcements:

• Mud run 10/24.  Last chance to sign up.  Bus arrangements coming soon.

I’m sure many pax are thankful to hear that The Yard has finally launched…not necessarily because it will be their favorite AO, but likely because this they are sick of YHC forever tweeting and talking about it at COT.  Your tolerance for the pound-it-in-your marketing is appreciated.

For the launch, six awesome pax joined YHC on a wet morning that was darker than typical for this time of year, given the cloud cover.  The rain was a soft mist that frosted Deacon’s hair in such a way that it made him look twice his age (some might say “CSPAN’s age”, but this pax).

Twister and Rebel posted with YHC early for an extra-credit run before the workout…covering about 2.5 miles.

The Thang

Mosey around to back bus entrance of schools.  Circle up.

COP Warmup

– Windmills x10 (IC) >> Lunges in to center of circle, then backward lunges out
– Imperial Squats x10 (IC) >> Lunges in/out
– SSH x 20 (IC) >> Lunges in/out
– Sealjacks x20 (IC) >> Lunges in/out
– Plank Jacks x20 (IC)
– Mountain Climbers x10 (IC)
– Alternating Shoulder taps x10 (IC)

Mosey back to blacktop near loading dock.

Ring of Fire

12 cones set up in a circle (like a clock face) about 30 yards in diameter.  Each cone (borrowed from Jekyll, borrowed from Funhouse) had an exercise and rep count.  All pax started at the center and ran out to different cone and do the exercise (the cone they pick was their starting point).  Once done with the exercise on the cone, they ran back across the center, around the opposite cone, then back to the center where they planked for 10 seconds and did 5 bombjacks.  Pax then ran out to the next cone (moving clockwise).  The exercises was done once all 12 cones had been completed by everyone.

Ultimate

The pax moseyed down to the football field for a game of Ultimate Frisbee.  Each possession change, all pax had to do 5 squats.  Each score, the team scored upon had to do 5 burpees while the scoring team walked to the other side.  To make the teams even, YHC played full time offense, which proved to be confusing to him for at least the first quarter of the match.

Nakedman Moleskin

I’m really excited about this AO.  It has been strategically planned to tackle two of the top 5 EH excuses: #1 “I need to get into shape to workout with you guys” and #3 “That’s too early to get up to work out.”  Personally, these were my #1 and #2 reasons for not trying F3 up until almost exactly a year ago.

The intention isn’t that workouts at this AO will be easy.  Like all workouts, the option to modify should be there for everyone.  It just should be that more in-shape pax can “modify up” to get a tougher workout, without newer pax feeling wimpy for doing less than what the Q has suggested. I truly hope #sadclowns find The Yard a friendly place to get their first impression of F3, and one that will be a starting point for the life changing affect F3 has had on so many.

AYE!

-old bay

A Fantastic Five pax gathered in the FMMS parking lot with the goal of exercising their bodies and creative skills by the time the workout was over.  Skinner wisely capitulated to CSPAN’s cyber bullying and posted, despite a very late night cheering on FMHS football to a victory just hours before.  Bernanke flew in from Area51 thanks to a little EH’ing from his brother in law (YHC), and Assassin completed the motley crew.

The Thang:

• SSH x15
• IW (high) x15 => High Knee
• Seal Jacks x15
• Windmills x10 => Butt Kickers
• Merkins x10
• Dry Docks x10=> Shuffle L/R
• Low Slow Squat x20

Mosey to the playground around back:

• 20 swinging crunches
• 10 pull ups (supine as moderation if necessary)
• Rinse and repeat, with pull-ups being AMRAP the second time

Mosey to mini-soccer field in playground area for 4 corners

• Corner 1: 10 diamond merkins
• Corner 2: 10 regular merkins
• Corner 3: 10 wide-arm merkins
• Corner 4: 10 carolina dry docks
• Rinse and repeat, but the second time, movements between corners had to be facing the school (shuffle, left, backward run, shuffle right, forward run).

Mosey back to main part of the Yard for suicide bear lunges:

• Bear crawl to first cone
• Lunge walk back
• Rinse and repeat to 2nd and 3rd lines.

Mosey to some bolted down benches for 20 dips (called as an Omaha by YHC).  Continue mosey down to entrance of school driveway near Springfield Parkway.  Partner up (size no matter), and each team to grab a quarry rock.  Partner #1 to run up driveway and back while partner #2 did rock exercise.  Flapjack.  Following exercises done by each partner:

• Squats
• Curls
• Overhead press
• Triceps
• Bonus: 20 Russian Twists while other partner planks.  We learned from the wise old CSPAN that planking on elbows with palms up was the most effective method, while also being easiest on shoulders.  Excellent advice!

The mosey back to the main part of the Yard involved alternating backwards walks and regular jogging (each timed by 10-counts by various packs).

At the loading dock area, we found a platform of increasing height that box jumps or knee-ups could be done.  The pax lined up at the short side and did box jumps or knee-ups while the person at the shortest side of the line lunged to the other side (like an indian run).  Once the group did two full rotations, we quit and headed back toward COT.

But before COT, we did some ascending dealers-choice ab work, which ended up being as follows:

• YHC called Weezy Jeffersons – so we did 5
• CSPAN called for Hello Dollies – so we did 5 Weezy Jeffersons, then 10 Hello Dollies
• Skinner called for LBCs – so we did 5 Weezy Jeffersons, 10 Hello Dollies, 15 LBCs
• Bernanke called for Freddy Mercuries- so we did 5 Weezy Jeffersons, 10 Hello Dollies, 15 LBCs, and 20 Freddies
• Since we were at time, Assassin asked we just to 5 Weezy Jeffersons, which is all we did for the last round.

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

Absent from posting today were Solid State and Rebel (both out of town), who are veterans of the AO’s 2 weeks of unofficial workouts.  It seemed unfair that the workout name would be picked without them.  However, YHC solicited name ideas from them the evening before to make sure they were included in the list of nominations.

Official launch is scheduled for 10/26, and the immensely-gifted Catfish will be working on an awesome-sounding shovel flag between now and then.  Hope to see you there!

Eight adventurous pax took part in the first official workout at Fort Mill Middle School.  This new AO seems to be a great venue for workouts of a variety of intensity levels.

The Thang:

Mosey to circle drive on back side of FMES for dynamic warm-up:

• SSH (IC) x15 => High Knee // Run half way around
• IW (IC) x15 => High Knee // Run half way around
• Windmills (IC) x10 => Butt Kickers // Run half way around
• Low Slow Squat (IC) x20 => Butt Kickers // Run half way around
• Merkins (IC) x10 => Shuffle Left/Right // Run half way around
• Dry Docks (IC) x10

Indian lunge walk/run to covered walkway

Split up into 2 groups for Triple Nickel under walkway (each team starting at opposite sides)

• Diamond Merkins
• Regular Merkins
• Wide-arm Merkins

People’s Chair while each pax bear crawls down the line.  Rinse and repeat (I think).

The pax then moseyed down to the soccer field for some Ultimate Frisbee (4v4).  Teams were the same as those that had split up for the triple nickel earlier.  Exercises were added for every turnover (5 bomb jacks or 10 squats) and every score (winners walked while loser did 5 burpees).  We quickly learned that the Frisbee wasn’t exactly regulation spec, and in fact flew wildly out of control after a few yards in flight.  This made for many, many turn overs (and thus many, many exercises).  YHC changed the turn-over exercises a few times, and eventually abandoned them all together.  The game itself proved to be a smoker as it was.

With about 5 minutes left, we headed toward COT for a few minutes of ab work.

Moleskin:

The pax said they enjoyed the change up from a traditional bootcamp workout.  YHC would love to see this be considered a regularly “fun” workout that a variety of age groups could post to (even 2.0s that are perhaps 10 and up).  When planning this expansion, the goal of this workout has been to offer something that is both moderate in intensity, and moderate in how early in the morning it is…all in hopes to entice more FNGs to post.  But with a properly planned weinke and/or an extra credit pre-workout run on the greenway trails nearby, this should be a workout for all levels of fitness.

Right now, the plan is for one more pre-official-launc workout at this AO this coming weekend, then the official launch and naming of the AO on 9/5.

YHC greatly appreciates the pax that posted, showing their support for this expansion.  Looking forward to the creative fun other Qs bring to this AO!

AYE!
-old bay