Category: The Armory

Ring Around the Rosey

Leave a comment

10 pax showed up at The Armory this amazing Monday morning to start the week off right. I am certainly happy that I was finally able to come out and enjoy the gloom with my brothers for the first time since January due to my knee issues and subsequent surgery. It was a very sweet homecoming!

A certain HIM wasn’t able to join us this morning, due to marathon training, so we took turns around the circle, with each of us leading an exercise with the kettle bell.

I believe we made it around the circle about three and a half times, so we did a bunch of reps of about 36 or 37 different exercises. YHC took a pass on a couple laps, and manmakers, but it was definitely an enjoyable workout with plenty of 2nd F taking place as well.

Thanks to everyone that came out this morning, I’d ask everyone to invite one person they haven’t seen in a while, or who has never been out to come join the brotherhood at The Armory. We’re focusing more on the weights, not on the miles, so guys like me with lower body injuries can still come participate and get a good workout.

Remember that it doesn’t have to be complicated, simple is many times more enjoyable for everyone! (I may be biased as it was my first morning back…)

TClap |
1

9 Lovers of Triceps

Leave a comment

Where are all of the BB’s for The Armory? C’mon boys!

Warm-up of a mosey and some SSHs.

The Thang was ascending reps along the parking spots of Forest Hill Church. Line 1 = 1 Rep; Line 2 = 2 Reps…14 lines = 105 reps of each exercise. We Bearcrawled to each line…yay!

1. Curls
2. Swings
3. Double Arm Overhead Tricep Extensions
4. Skull Crushers
5…Dealers Choice of anything left on the board as time was almost up
a. Goblet Squats
b. Upright Rows
c. Chest Presses
d. Lunge Pass Thrus
e. Halos
f. Manmakers

Apparently Skull Crushers should never follow Tricep Extensions…my bad.

It’s always an honor to Q. Thanks goes out to Shatner for the opportunity. We prayed for a successful surgery and a quick recovery for him. And many other things.

TClap |
2

Deck of Pain

Leave a comment

After a quick disclaimer and generic warmup, we moseyed over to firepit area and circled up for the Deck of Pain.

Twelve strong men got stronger on Monday with a whole lot of fun kettlebell reps. We all took turns drawing from the deck so that YHC couldn’t be blamed for every card…

Spades were Squat Thrusts

Diamonds were Dead Lift/Upright Row combos

Clubs were Curls/Shrugs combos

Hearts were Tricep Extensions/Shoulder Press combos

Reps were figured by the face value of the card drawn, with all face cards being 10.

Aces meant a quick lap around the parking lot, and the Jokers made us do 10 burpees/manmakers.

Everyone worked super hard, and the mumble chatter was kept to a minimum.

Prayers for our families, our teenagers, and for us to have strength to get through our trials and keep to our goals.

Thanks to everyone for the fun morning in the gloom!

TClap |
1

Stealing from Metro

Leave a comment

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

TClap |
0

Ow, my Arms-ory

Leave a comment

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!!!

 

 

 

TClap |
4

Cold Bells

Leave a comment

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!

 

 

TClap |
0

4 Quarters of D.O.C.

Leave a comment

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

 

 

TClap |
2

pre_blast_METTLE FORGER_new_gear_AO

Leave a comment

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.

 

TClap |
21

Rain and Pain at #TheArmory

Leave a comment

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.

TClap |
2

Shovel Flag Handoff and Legacy Beatdown

Leave a comment

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!

TClap |
10