I have a special place in my heart for the Pax of Lake Wylie… It was good to pull up and see a lot of farmer’s tans and previously unbeknownst tattoos as 17 (I think maybe a record for this AO?) men posted with no sleeves because we wanted to show solidarity and maybe even work through a touch of the complex emotions that come along with something like what we learned of last night and this morning.
In case you are reading this without context, a Member of F3 Nation in Lexington, SC, John Flanagan – F3 Cheech was hit and killed while running. It’s an absolute tragedy, and a little hard to wrap our heads around…
We started with an extended disclaimer (FNG and current events led us to that) and then brought it in for a quick Ball of Man to pray for safety for us, but more especially peace for Cheech’s family. Two young kids and a dedicated wife had their father and husband taken away… Then it was off to The Thang:

When you Q 4 times in a week, you get a little stale, perhaps… So rather than go crazy and get creative, and candidly since a little wind was taken out of the sails due to the present circumstances, these men got a repeat of Tuesday’s workout at The Colosseum.

Warm Up lap around the Bowl n Bounce with a little dynamic stretching
Circle up in front for Windmills, Moroccan Nightclubs, Merkins, Squats, SSH, etc.
Then we moseyed to the lot over behind the Bagel Boat for the Main Event…

Split Pax into two groups. 1 runs across the lot and back while other group does the exercise with INTENSITY, AMRAP until the other group gets back.

We did:
– Squats
– Mountain Climbers
– Squat Jumps
– Shoulder Taps
– T-Merkins
– Lunges
– Merkins
– SSH
– Flutter Kicks

Moseyed back toward COT for a quick wall sit and 10 count BTTW, then COT…

============

NMM:
There was actually a fair amount of funny stuff that happened during this workout. It would be easy to not mention it because of the somber tone of life at the moment… but here are a few things anyway…
– As is apparently par for the course, the Cat Lady made threatening gestures toward us with her car… Long story, ask Royale.
– Olaf without meds is a thing to behold… He never takes them before a workout, but today he was in rare form…
– Austin Powers (British) is Qing two days after Independence Day. After making jokes about Revolutionary War round 2, DH said something that was supposed to sound British, but sounded more like, as Witch Hunt put it, all the Axis Powers combined into one accent… Thanks for the history lesson…
– Andretti stated more than once how he doesn’t care for sweaty men
– Witch Hunt has a tattoo of his old girlfriend’s name on his shoulder. Not really, but it was fun to bust his balls about it.

That’s all I got at the moment… Gotta get another Q ready for tomorrow.

Helmet, out.

It all started with a challenge from Witch Hunt to see who would have more PAX between the PoopDeck and GrandStrand. Luckily for me the PAX and Site Q’s came through to deliver one of the best showings the PoopDeck has had. 14 PAX answered the challenge. YHC issued a quick disclaimer and we moseyed off before a quick warm up that went something like this:

-SSH x 25
-Windmill x 10
-Peter Parker x 10
-Moroccan Night Club x 10
-Mountain Climbers x 25
-Plank Jack x 10
-Imperial Walker x 10
-Merkin x 10
-Squat x 10
-Parker Peter x 10

The THANG

For our first station we completed 3 rounds of a modified Ascending/Descending Testicles. It goes like this…start in Merkin position with feet against the wall, hold for 10 seconds, move to 45 degrees for 10 seconds, then full BTTW for another 10 seconds. Repeat on the way back down. Recover into The Peoples Chair for 30 seconds. Rinse and repeat moving to 7 seconds then down to 5 seconds.

Next we moseyed to the boat ramp parking lot for some fun with a cinder block. With the theme of the month being Faith YHC encouraged the PAX to have Faith that we looked out for each other and would not make the group suffer for our own recovery. PAX circled up and took turns running with cinder block while the remaining PAX completed the exercise. We did 2 rounds cutting the run in half the second time. The exercises are as follows:

Kracken Burpees
Squat Jumps
LBC’s
Calf Raises
Carolina Dry Docks
Flutters
Merkin
Bear Crawl
American Hammer
Jump Lunges

We still had a few minutes left so we moseyed back towards COT where YHC got the opportunity to try something new with the PAX. For the remaining few minutes YHC took the PAX through a few Yoga poses to stretch out, focus, and recover.

Got the “call” on the Twitters late yesterday afternoon that a substi-Q was needed at PoopDeck. It’s been a while since I have led a workout, so I felt compelled to raise my hand. Plus, I knew if I Q’d, there’d be no burpees. After Witchhunt’s Q at Abyss, that was very important to me.

The Thang

Having properly disclaimed that I am not a professional, etc., we went for a two-lap mosey around the parking lot, with a little side-shuffle and karaokes, then switching to toy soldiers all the way to COP. Warm up was off the cuff, and as I remember it was:

• SSH x 15
• Windmills—nice n slow x 10
• Weed-Pullers aka Potato Pickers aka Cherry Pickers x 10
• Merkins x 15 (“10 would have been plenty.” — Dark Helmet)
• A little stretching of the “claves” and the back, then
• Mountain Climbers x 15 (“10 would have been plenty.” — Dark Helmet)

A little MORE stretching of the “claves” and the back, then

• Peter Parkers x 15 (AGAIN from Helmet lol)

Then a short mosey to the front of Bowl n Bounce. We used the columns as distance markers.

• 5 merkins, bear crawl to next column
• 5 LBCs, crab walk to next column
• 5 merkins, bear crawl to next column

and so on.

Then, on the way back:

• 5 squats, lunge walk to next column
• 5 squats, lunge walk to next column

and so on.

Then we took a long(ish) mosey to the parking lot near the lake for some OBT-inspired Dirty McDeuce. 3 exercises per set, 12 reps of each with a long(ish) lap between sets.

• Merkins, LBCs Squats
• RUN!
• Shoulder Taps, Freddy Mercurys, Lunges
• Run!
• Parter Derkins, Crunchy Frogs, Jump Lunges
• Run!
• Incline Diamond Merkins (on wood posts), Dying Cockroaches, Sumo Squats
• Run!

Then, since Kamikaze is getting ready to head to Japan for 3 years, I asked him to come up with our last set:

• Merkins, LBCs(?) and Mountain Climbers
• Run! (lap and then back to COT)

We arrived back with a couple minutes left on the clock, so I asked for the PAX to name some ab exercises. Cable Guy counted off some American Hammers and Andretti did some Fast/Slow Freddys. Then it was time for some announcements (Convergence) and praises prayers. I asked Kamikaze to take us out with a prayer. I wish I’d had my phone recording, because it was a perfect prayer and there’s no way I can recount it as eloquently as he prayed. Though he was only able to post with us for a week, he is truly an F3 brother and will be missed. We wish him well as he deploys to Japan where he will serve as a Navy Chaplain.

Thanks to all the men who posted and to WildThing for the opportunity to Q.

I am just one, but  I am one;
I cant solve all the problems, but I can solve one;
I won’t let what I can’t do prevent me from doing what I can.

Another beautiful morning at the Poopdeck brought out 8 Pax ready to push themselves and get better. I was excited to try some new things and I knew this group would be up to the challenge.

After a short mosey around the parking lot to get the juices flowing, we circled up in the Bowl ‘n’ Bounce parking lot for a quick warmup:

• SSH x25
• IW x10
• Windmill x10
• Merkins x10
• Downward Dog/Honeymooner
• Burpees x10 (because thats what ya do)

Pax are warm so we moseyed behind the Sherwin Williams for The Thang:

I had setup 6 cones in the shape of an ‘S’ approximately 10 yards apart from each other.  One Pax would bear crawl the cones and then run back through completely the course while the remaining Pax performed an exercise. Once they were finished another Pax would take their place and we would move onto the next exercise. The exercises were:

• Peoples Chair
• BTTW
• Merkin 6-inch Hold
• Al Gore
• American Hammers
• Carolina Dry Docks
• Jumping Junges
• Flutter Kicks
• Burpees with a twist

Each Pax pushed it through the course in order to lessen the suffering of the other Pax performing the exercise.

Following a 10-count, we moseyed back to the Bowl ‘n’ Bounce parking lot for an escalating HIIT workout.

We started with 1 exercise, adding another exercise until all 5 exercises are completed in succession. Then, work back down until only the last exercise is left.

20 seconds (20s) per exercise:

• Exercise 1 then 20s rest
• Exercises 1 and 2 then 20s rest
• Exercises 1, 2, 3 then 20s rest
• Exercises 1, 2, 3, 4 then 20s rest
• Exercises 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 then 20s rest
• Exercises 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 then 20s rest
• Exercises 5, 4, 3, 2 then 20s rest
• Exercises 5, 4, 3 then 20s rest
• Exercises 5, 4 then 20s rest
• Exercise 5

The exercises were:

• Floor Touch Jump Squats
• Plank Hold
• Squat Thrusts
• Fast High Knees
• American Hammers

We got through it with no time to spare, it was 6:00 on the dot. So we took the short walk to the flag for COT.

I really enjoyed the workout today and the push each Pax put in.  Thanks to Wild Thing for the opportunity to lead.

Announcements

Rock Hill Convergence

Prayers

Traveling mercies for Wild Things M.

Until next time, back to the hunt…

Spring break week…small group…too much laughing…

Disclaimer

warm-up-o-rama

mosey

more warm-up-o-rama

mosey

bur-pee escalator at T-Bones walkway 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 felt like more than 55 must have been the bear-crawl in between

mosey

boat dock ABLAB – probably too much abs for a 45 minute workout…pretty awful, probably the crowd favorite

mosey

long plank sequence

mosey

peoples-donkey-balls

mosey

inspect Crossfit Box

mosey

last round of bootcamp exercises

more laughs

COT / Prayer or Praise / BOM

Lots of laughs this morning and 3 lessons…..kids don’t float, Australian guys should never sell deck supplies, and you need to ask one of the other men the third joke…

appreciate the opportunity to Q
AYE!
CSPAN

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know this BB is late. Like I’m embarrassed it’s so late. But hey, I owe it to the guys that put in the work to fulfill my duty as the QIC.

As I finished feeding my youngest daughter at 3:30 in the morning knowing that I had to get up for this Q at 4:30 I was dreading the rain that I could hear on my window. Miraculously my alarm went off and I was able to man up and get into my truck and head to the poop deck my favorite Thursday morning option AO.  At the ten after five mark their were cars in the parking lot and people started exiting into the Gloom awaiting the Beatdown that was to be had. I had to muscle up some Q strength and scrounge up some energy to put it into high gear for these fellow men; 7 total it was. Now onto the thing:

Disclaimer was disclaimed before a mosey around the shops to count cats.

Circle up for a good old dose of side straddle hop. Then a round of low slow squats,  Followed by Parker Peters and then Peter Parker’s.

Next up we had some hand release merkins.  We did a set of ten in cadence then we did a circle of merkin where we all hold a plank and then each person goes around wave style and does 1 hand release merkins on their own. It was so fun the first time around we decided to rinse and repeat.

Now that everybody’s chest and shoulders are feeling real nice we switched it to the lower body.  Starting off with a circle of monkey humpers wave style of course 10 each everyone else holds. Then we got the pleasure of doing some crossover lunges across the parking lot, those left us feeling great so we went ahead and took it over to the curb for some quick feet and some line work.  Here we jump across the line back and forth. Then repeat doing single leg left, right, then double feet across the line then flip it around and come back.  Calves we starting to burn so more calf work seemed appropriate. Over to the curb for some curb work going up and down the curb to get those legs hot and inflamed. Still have plenty of time so we took it on down near the dock at the boat launch and did a little pick your poison; each pack calling out an exercise and then running a loop around the boat launch parking lot while the rest of the pack performed the exercise. Don’t remember every exercise but I know there was some Cha-Cha merkins, some double leg jumps, single leg mountain climbers, bomb jacks, American hammers, freddie mercuries and some plank holds.

After all the fun down at the boat launch we moseyed back up for name a rama,  announcements and ball a man always a pleasure gentlemen.

NMMS
This past year has been a whirlwind with the excitement of expanding our family from 4 to 5 only followed by the dagger of losing the baby after a few appointments. Then the healing and growth that comes with prayer and time was capped off with a miracle conception that the Dr even described it as a chemical pregnancy but the Lord knew his plan all along. The complications that followed for the next 31 weeks and 2 days were some of the hardest burdens I’ve ever faced but through it all I’ve shared the burden with many HIMS that prayed and supported my whole family through this difficult time.
http://biblehub.com/matthew/11-28.htm
Says come to Jesus and help will give you rest.
This past year has been so difficult but has caused me to swallow my pride and open up to complete strangers about what I’m afraid of as a man, a father, a husband, and a follower of Christ. I’ve allowed myself to be vulnerable, which has taught me that I’m not alone on this journey on the big ball, and can lean on my fellow brothers and as one, call upon the Lord to lighten our burdens.
Everything’s worked out according to his will and his plan and I’m so grateful for the support, the encouragement, and the time spent with fellow PAX during this journey.
I’m a better man as Olaf than I was as Garrett thanks to F3.
Thanks for taking the time to read such a long winded tardy sleep deprived recount of the past year all stimulated by being offered the honor of Q’ing in such a great group.

Today I pinch-Q’d at PoopDeck. DarkHelmet, having pushed himself to injury at the Paintheon Games, needed someone to step up and fill in.

Fun Fact #1: I didn’t want to do it at first. My 2.0s haven’t been sleeping well the last few nights, waking my M and I up all hours. I was so freaking tired! I had a busy day at work, a challenging evening flying solo, helping with homework and getting the kids fed and ready for bed. I also made the mistake of looking at the forecast. Selfishly, I wanted the choice to “oversleep” or “not hear my alarm.” I wanted to be able to decide at 0455 whether or not to drag out of bed and post. Some days it is an easy choice. Some days it’s low 30s and foggy.

But a brother needed help, so I made the choice to HC.

Fun Fact #2: When you’re Q, you have to come up with a workout. This stresses me out to no end. I’ve posted 3, 4, sometimes 5 times a week for months now, and am so impressed by how easy some Qs make it look. No Weinke. No Sharpie-scrawled forearm notes. Seemingly no plan at all, but they just keep it moving, mix it up, and before I know it, I’m at COT trying to catch my breath and remember how old I am for Name-o-Rama. I’m not there yet. It’s like the moment I agree to Q all ideas fly out of my head.

Thanks to DH for the idea of pairing exercises to each letter in D-A-V-I-N-C-I. As he was texting me options, I sensed a little disappointment that there’s no B for Burpees or K for Kraken Burpees, but hey, he named me…

Fun Fact #3: I got stumped on “N.” So, I turned to the “Exicon” section on the F3 website. A quick peek on the site and I found a couple that I’d never done before: the “Not-So-Lazy-Boy” and the “Never-Cross-Dolly.” Both are terrible, terrible ab exercises that I will be putting into my Q arsenal.

The Thang.

YHC announced the deal: we’re going to spell my F3 name with exercises. With each letter, the PAX had the choice of an exercise from Set 1 or Set 2.

Set 1

D=Dive Bomb Merkins x 10
A=Alternating Shoulder Taps
V=V-Ups
I=Imperial Walkers
N=Not-So-La-Z-Boys
C=Carolina Dry Docks
I=Iron Mikes (aka Jump Lunges)

Set 2

D=Dan Taylors (aka Lieutenant Dan’s)
A=American Hammers
V=V-Up Twists
I=Indian Bear Crawl (Dang!)
N=Never Cross Dolly
C=Crunchy Frogs
I=Imperial Squat Walkers

We made choices, worked through a set, took a lap around the parking lot, and rinse and repeated, doing whichever exercise we didn’t do first go-round. Then, another lap, and back to “D.” This time, I opened it up to the group to offer ideas. Dips for “D,” Decline Merkins, etc. The funniest moment was on “A.” WitchHunt said he tried to clear his mind, but he had a “Stay Puft” moment. I of course had to know what he thought of. “It’s terrible. I tried to think of nothing.” And then we found a wall for “Ascending Testicles.”  After that was “V” which became a “Variety Pack” of merkins. By this time, we were a few minutes before COT, so we sat on our 6 for some Ab Lab. Big-Boy Sit-Ups (Andretti), Slow/Fast Freddys (WitchHunt). Then one final lap to level set the day and back to COT.

COT

We talked about relationships. How they require hard work, commitment and tenacity to survive and flourish. About how important the family unit is. How little things like sharing a meal around the table make such a big difference in our sense of feeling connected to the people most important to us. As we approach the Christmas holidays, choose to seek moments to be present, be focused, and BE TOGETHER, in one place and time, with those you love.

Prayers for family members with health issues. Praises for the birth of Olaf’s new baby and the health and strength she’s showing. Praises to the amazing will and dedication of Olaf’s M.

Moleskin

As I have gone through my day after our workout today, I kept coming back to this idea of “choice” and what a powerful thing that can be.

Sure, some choices are fairly benign.
Paper or plastic?
Booth or table?
Patriots or any team that plays the Patriots?

Some choices can be life altering.
Should I find a new job or keep the job I don’t like, but is familiar?
Should we work on fixing our marriage, or just throw in the towel?

Often in life, it’s the choice that requires more work that makes us stronger.

You take the job. You fight for your marriage.

This morning, in the gloom, I offered a choice: “Okay, next we have ‘I’: Imperial Walkers or Indian Bear Crawls?” And seconds later, we were bear-crawling across the parking lot. The harder choice.

That’s what I find so humbling and so inspiring about the men of F3. You push yourselves and me every day to be better. And I thank you.

Gratefully,

DaVinci