Category: The Armory

Stealing from Metro

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11 PAX on a crisp November morning

YHC got some influence one from one of the few backblasts written at F3-Metro’s Combine (Kettlebell and Sprinting) AO.

Warm-up
Run a big lap with unnecessary looping
Plank
– shoulder tap
– yoga
– mountain climber
– yoga
– peter parker
– yoga
– parker peter
Imperial Walker
Hillbilly Walker

Move with bells to parking lot
Line up from one island facing another

Ladder:

  • 5 manmakers
    -bear crawl to the next island and back
    KB Swings for the six
  • 5 manmakers
    5 goblet squats in cadence
    -bear crawl to the next island and back
    KB Swings for the six
  • 5 manmakers
    5 goblet squats in cadence
    10 upright rows in cadence
    -crawl bear to the next island and back
    KB Swings for the six
  • 5 manmakers
    5 goblet squats in cadence
    10 upright rows in cadence
    10 overhead presses in cadence

Move with bells to the farthest parking lot
Line up between one set of lights facing the other
We did an exercise with the bells and then sprinted to the other set of lights. At the other end, we did a descending count of merkins and sprinted back to our bells. So:

10 Merkins/Sprint/10 Alternating Lunges in cadence/Sprint back
9 Merkins / 5R & 5L Single Legged Dead-lifts
8 Merkins / 10 Sumo Squats
7 Merkins / 5 Manmakers, then 5 more
6 Merkins / 5R & 5L Snatches
5 Merkins / 5R & 5L Single arm overhead press
4 Merkins / 5 Lawnmower pulls each side, then 5 more, then 5 more
3 Merkins / 5 Goblet Squats in cadence
2 Merkins / 10 Swings
1 Merkin / 10 Overhead Presses

Move with bell back to COT

Flutters with press
Seated Yoga until 0600

Prayers:
Fathers that have passed recently
Those battling illness (COVID, Cancer)

NMM:
I sat on this backblast a bit and have lost my steam on a message. I remember an idea of checking in with your word of the year and how much of a struggle this year has been.

My word was Input. And I’ve been letting the world decide what my mental input is more often than deciding myself. There’s still days in the year left to get better…so let’s go work on it.

—
Band Camp dismissed

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Ow, my Arms-ory

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Welcome to another edition of a #SkateOrDie beatdown.  This one the result of Uhaul (as former site Q of the Armory…when did that happen?) attempted to not be there for my workout.  He was there, so I guess that didn’t  “work out” for him!

The warmup:

Moseyed the bells over to position them for use during the main event.  Continued to mosey around the parking lot, picking up Uhaul and  Shatner along the way.  Some dynamic stretching and SSHs rounded out the pre-work.

On the the main event:

– 5 cones marked the stations for the following exercises:

– 20 KB swings, 20 KB Squat, Curl, and Press, 20 (10 each arm) KB Clean and Press, 20 KB Thrusters w/ O/H Triceps Extension, 10 Man-makers w/ the bell

– Travel between the cones was by way of bear crawls w/ the bell and back to start was by way of lunge walk w/ KB pass-thru.

– Rinse and Repeat 3x.

– Circle up for PAX-led Mary for last 5 minutes.

– Discussed Thankfulness in advance of the upcoming holiday (and no running with the bells).

– Thankful for the opportunity to lead!!!

 

 

 

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Cold Bells

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9 men showed up for a cold kettlebell workout this morning at The Armory.  Good news, I planned to divide the group into teams of 3 so it worked out perfectly.  Since 9 / 3 = 3.  🙂

In order to get warm, we took a lap around the parking lot.  Next, we did a few exercises to get ready for the main event (SSHs, Windmills,  Imperial Walkers, Arm Circles, and Plank Stretches).

Next, we moseyed to the main parking lot where we formed teams of three.  Dora theme, exercises were written in chalk 25 yards apart (I didn’t measure it, but it looked close).  Two of the partners began the exercises while the third partner “traveled” to one of the partners.  Once he reached the other partner, they switched out and partner two headed back  to partner one. The mode of transportation was either a lunge walk, overhead bell carry, or the dreaded crab walk.  The exercises at each stop were as follows:

Stop 1

150 KB Swings

225 Curls

300 LBCs

300 Calf Raises

 

Stop 2

225 Squat Thrusters

300 Uptight Rows

300 Flutters

300 Chest Presses

 

The reps were high, but everyone was able to get through most of it.

Great job Everyone!

 

 

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4 Quarters of D.O.C.

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7 Men got better @ The Armory & lifted heavy things frequently during a 4 Quarter Deck of Cards inspired workout.

Brief Disclaimer & Warm-up:

Mosey into IW/HW/WM/CP/LSS/MNC

The Thang:

4 Quarters of Deck of Cards-

*Hearts = Supersets of Bicep Curls & Overhead Tricep Extensions

*Diamonds = Bent over Back Rows (both sides)

*Spades = Swings

*Clubs = Squat Thrusters (Squat w/ Shoulder Press finisher)

-After each Quarter Pax took a loop around the parking lot. By the 3rd/4th Qtr the #reps were starting to add up. Proud of the PAX getting through it as our breathing & our Bells seemed to be getting heavier near the end.

Announcements:

New GEAR  AO on Friday’s in Tega Cay/Christmas Party

Armory Shirt Pre-Order (Need 3 More as of 10/26)

https://f3.mudgear.com/products/f3-the-armory-pre-order-october-2020

Prayers/Praises:

Relatives in Hospital, Co-Workers, Families/Children during Halloween

 

 

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pre_blast_METTLE FORGER_new_gear_AO

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Friends:

I’d like to make available the training gear I’ve accumulated as part of my personal training venture to the Pax of The Fort and start a new Gear AO!

What:  Dealers ( Q ) choice gear AO.

Where: 12:15 pm on Fridays at Turner Field parking lot in Tega Cay.  45 minutes in length.  Inaugural workout on Friday, 10/23.

Why:  To serve the Pax who have flexibility to work from home or may not be early risers.  To reinvigorate Kotters or recruit new FNG’s who need a shieldlock.

How:  the Weinke could include the gear in my trailer or based on the Q’s of the day preference like kettlebell, ruck, or a combination of all.  I will assist the Q’s in setup.

Special Bonus:  a commemorative patch will be awarded to the first 10 Pax who post!

FAQ:

What gear will Bear Grylls make available to the Q’s?

    • The contents of my trailer include sandbags, kettlebells, dumbells, barbells, slam balls, TRX, battle ropes, jump boxes, bench, water jugs, squat rack, strength sled, speed and agility equipment and resistance bands.  A full gear list will be provided to Q’s so they can build their Weinke.

What if the weather turns bad, will the equipment be ruined?

    • Most of the equipment is rubber-coated, however, we won’t use any bare metal items if there is precipitation.  The Q of the day can always revert to a run or boot-camp model.  There is a soccer and baseball field at Turner which provides many pain-station options.

Other questions and concerns can be sent to Twitter at F3_BearGrylls or on Slack.

 

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Rain and Pain at #TheArmory

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It wasn’t supposed to rain after 4am but it was sprinkling when I arrived at Forest Hill Church. My weinke was prepared and I wasn’t going to change directions just because of a little rain. We did 21 SSH’s to warmup and then walked over to the far side of the lot where I knew there were the most parking spaces. It started to pour. I briefly thought about going under cover (because it was pouring, not sprinkling) but got over it really quickly.

The Thang:
Line up along the parking space lines.
1. 10 Swings at every line (hold plank for the 6) walk back to start
2. 10 Squats at every line (hold plank for the 6) walk back to start
3. 8 Double Arm Curls at every line (hold plank for the 6) walk back to start
4. 7 Double Arm Tricep Extensions at every line (hold plank for the 6) walk back to start
5. 5 Big Boy Situps w/ Press at every line (hold plank for the 6) walk back to start THESE WERE THE BEST THANKS TO THE PUDDLES!
6. 4 Halos at every line (hold plank for the 6) walk back to start
7. 2 Lunge Pass Throughs at every line (hold plank for the 6) walk back to start
8. 1 Man-maker at every line (hold plank for the 6) walk back to start

Did I forget something?

We finished at 05:58, just in time to walk back to COT.

F3 is outdoors, rain or shine. We embraced the suck with minimal whining and it was good.

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Shovel Flag Handoff and Legacy Beatdown

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It was my honor to receive the Shovel Flag from Uhaul this morning. I’m looking forward to joining with all the great HIMs that frequent this AO to continue the legacy that was celebrated today.

But enough about YHC, we enjoyed a true legacy beatdown this morning that included the following; (forgive me if I missed something)

0515 came early this morning for some of us… very early for a few that came rolling into the parking lot hot just in time for the fun!

  1. Uhaul started the custom playlist for the morning and then led us in some warmup exercises at the shovel flag to get the blood moving. We did a metric ton of SSH’s, was anybody still counting when they finally ended? All I know is Uhaul was having too much fun with them! These were followed by Moroccan Nightclubs, Tappy-taps… And we were moving!
  2. Mosey with our bells over to the far end of the parking lot for JWOW’s Q; There we did 30 counts of a bunch of exercises including curls, goblet squats, flutters… Probably some more that I forget at the moment. Between each set we ran a “suicide” with cones previously laid out by JWOW.  – Side note- B.O.B. recommended an official name change for suicides in light of our focus on mental health. I believe I heard either Gears or Cake Boss say “Gassers” while in COT, and I would second that. I don’t see that name used in the Exicon, how do we get an official name change for mental health awareness?
  3. After JWOW, Assassin had us on our sixes playing hot potato in a circle, passing our bells around the circle from left to right, then back right to left. We also did a bunch of LBCs while partners ran a kettle bell relay around the parking lot.
  4. Dark Helmet on Q had us lifting our bells, a lot! Shoulders were definitely burning! We also ran again around the parking lot. Music choice was… interesting, I’m going to assume that not many guys have ever worked out to the peaceful and spiritual sounds of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Maybe in SLC? We all thanked Uhaul for that!
  5. My turn. 50 Shoulder presses/tricep extensions, farmer carry across the lot. 50 Front shrugs/upright rows, overhead carry back across the lot. 50 halos and 50 around the worlds, farmer carry across the lot. 50 chest presses/skull crushers, overhead carry across the lot. And finally, 50 bent over reverse flys.

0600 we moseyed back to COT for Nameorama, Shovel Flag Hand-Off, and prayers and praises.

Prayers for our concentricas, prayers for F3 Hightower who was killed in the line of duty this weekend in Myrtle Beach. Especially for those who are left here without him.

Thank you Uhaul for the opportunity, thank you everyone for your support!

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EMOM Kettle Bell Blast

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15 muscle men got stronger this morning with a stupid workout by YHC. We busted out about 40 minutes of straight slinging bells, with very little rest. I mean, this is a kettle bell AO, so we did kettle bell stuff… lot’s of it. Mumble chatter was light, I guess the guys were too busy oxygenating to waste breath, or I was too red-faced to hear it over my own heart beat…

After a quick confirmation that there were no FNG’s we commenced with a quick disclaimer and on to the warmup to get some blood pumping. SSH, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, Moroccan nightclubs…

Gave the guys a brief explanation, and started pumping iron! We did the following 30 exercises for 1 minute each with no rest in between besides how long it took to transition into the next exercise.

5 minute biceps

2 handed straight curls 1 minute

2 handed reverse curls 1 minute

1 hand concentration curl 30 seconds each side

1 hand Drag curl 30 seconds each side

2 handed concentration curls 1 minute

5 minute triceps

Closed tate press (lying down, elbows out to side) 1 minute (not a taint-press, Uhaul…)

Close-grip Bench press 1 minute

Skullcrushers 1 minute

Alternating Tricep kickbacks 1 minute

Overhead extension 1 minute

5 minute shoulders

Alt slicer (straight arm side to side with pass) 1 minute

Bent over rows 1 minute

Overhead press (push head through) 1 minute

Alt side raises 1 minute

Front raises 1 minute

5 minute chest

Push up one hand on bell with pass 1 minute

1 arm fly 30 seconds each arm

1 arm bench twister (palm to rear, palm to front) 30 seconds each arm

1 arm Standing upward fly 30 seconds each arm

Standing Valley press (bell crusher forward press) 1 minute

5 minute back

Power bent over row 1 minute

1 arm underhand row 30 seconds each arm

Alternating Y-back 1 minute

Lying pullovers (lats) 1 minute

Top bottom supermans (top with bell) 1 minute

5 minute legs

Goblet squat 1 minute

Alt lunges 1 minute

Straight leg deadlift 1 minute

Calf raises 1 minute

Sumo squats 1 minute

1 Full minute of rest, you’re welcome!

Compound exercises

KB swings 45 seconds, 15 sec rest

Overhead extension/overhead shrug combo 45 sec, 15 sec rest

Alt Side lunge/side bend combo 45/15

Front shrug/Front raise combo 45 sec, 15 sec rest

Goblet squat/overhead press combo 45 sec, 15 sec rest

 

With about 90 seconds left, Polaroid led us in some flutter kicks until 0600.

Countorama, Nameorama, Announcements, Prayers/Praises

Please keep our children’s mental health in your prayers as they are being constantly bombarded with outside stresses at an unprecedented level, including strange school schedules due to covid, social distancing requirements, political pressures, news…

Thanks Uhaul for the opportunity to lead this incredible group of HIMs. I am truly blessed to be able to associate with you all. Keep accelerating!

 

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ISI DORA at The Armory

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It has been 1 year and 5 days since YHC last Q’ed at The Armory. Quite a few fond memories of the AO… including almost splashing merlot under the leadership of Assassin. Always a privilege to be asked to lead such a fine establishment. The cars just kept rolling in this morning… and luck would have it that an even number of PAX showed up. A few newer faces appeared and YHC was happy to be introduced. 

0515

Disclaimer

Proverbs 27:17 –

Mosey to Concrete Benches w/bells.

COP in Cadence

10 x Diamond Merkins on Bells

10 x KB Swings

5 x Burpees

10 x OH Press

20 x SSH

Overhead Hold KB while YHC explains weinke. 

ISI DORA

Tell PAX to partner up with someone of equal “shape” or “fitness.” PAX 1 does exercise, PAX 2 moseys out and back to a determined point. Both PAX keep number of reps secret from one another. Once the specific movement is completed, disclose number of reps. PAX with lower number of reps does a penalty exercise to make up the difference. Other partner planks in the meantime. The goal of this is to push your partner to do more reps than you. To run faster than you. To push them to push you. To sharpen each other. 

Round 1 – Lower

Movement/Penalty

Goblet Squat/Bomb Jacks

KB Swings/Bomb Jacks

Alternating Lunges/Bomb Jacks

Step Ups w/Bell/Bomb Jacks

Round 2 – Upper

Straightaway Sprints Three Islands Out + Back

Movement/Penalty

Strict OH Press/Halos

ALPOs/Halos

Curls/Halos

Skull Crushers/Halos

Round 3 – Full Body/Hybrid Movements

Movement/Penalty

Turkish Get UPS/Man makers

Burpee Snatch/Man makers

1 Arm Clean and Press/Man makers

Z Press/Man makers (American Hammer body position with OH Press)

 

Five minutes left – head back to COT to knock out some Mary.

American Hammers w/KB x 20

Flutters w/press x 20

Hello Dolly w/extended hold x 20

KB 3 Count Sit Ups x 5 (as Dirty Harry put it – it’s like the Big Boy Sit up and the American Hammer got together and had a baby). 

0600

Announcements

The Fort has a birthday coming up! Look out for info on Slack.

Alcatraz will have the most mumble chatter ever as Stang and Trucker co-Q this Saturday.

Prayers/Praises

Truckers 2.0 – injured and cannot play football at the moment – pray for his spirits to remain high as he navigates a tough situation. 

Pray for our children – especially those who are most impressionable right now by every message being thrown at them. Nature Boy said it well that he’s at a point in his life where he and his peers are most susceptible to influence from outside sources. 

Prayers for we as fathers to lead our children on the right path while they navigate their daily challenges. Prayers that we can push them on toward Christ. 

Today was fun. It involved much sharpening and the group in attendance was quite encouraging. Props to Band Camp for keeping up with Tesh, to Dirty Harry for not splashing merlot, and to Singlet & Nature Boy for literally sprinting every time I saw them running. Oh to be young…

Thanks UHAUL for the privilege to lead.

Punch List out. 

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The Sweati 2020

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The Sweati 2020-
79 HIM took to The Forts annual summer CSAUP event. It was 78 degrees when 24 Ruckers launched from The Coliseum at 0530. They had their disclaimer and direction to the first of the 3 pain stations. Just After at 0600 54 runners took to the route. They departed and ran about 2.5 miles and got to meet Bones at Golden Corral for the first pain station. He worked them over as they came in for about 10-15 minutes. Once he finished dishing the pain they took off to Pantheon only about 1.5 miles up the Road. Fishsticks was waiting for sprints and pain. He had the PAX attention for another 10-15 minutes. Once they left they brought the route back to YHC. While waiting for the PAX to return and doing burpees I decided that my other two Qs most likely put the PAX through so much I would give them a choice. Either 20 burpees at 5 light poles with bear crawls in-between or they could buyout of it for a $50. going to our brother Cash. Most wanted to take on both challenges. We wore black for Cash and am still amazed at the Photos coming in from across the Country showing support to this HIM. We love you Cash. Here is a link to the pay-pal account if you feel you would like to support.

paypal.me/f3thefort

Backdraft Out

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