Category: The Armory

Return of Pyramid of Pain @F3TheArmory

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  • QIC: CSPAN
  • When: 01/11/16
  • Pax: Trucker, Sugar Daddy, Dark Helmet, Longshanks, Peabody, Howitzer, Spitz, Chicken Hawk, & El Diablo
  • Posted In: The Armory

Conditions were clear and cold….27 degrees…

Disclaimer was disclaimed in detail…

THANG:

Long looping warmup randomly around FHC FM parking lot and campus with frequent stops for IC warmup exercises until I got warmed up #sorrynotsorry

“Pyramid of Pain” = using sidewalk chalk and the parking strips as stations, this was a UvsU challenge, and after you finished each station you would run a lap around 4 light poles. Most men made it through the circuit 1.5 times… I appreciate the pacing from Chicken Hawk, and he made sure my counts and form was perfect #ISI

10 KB Burps (crowd pleaser)

20 KB Tricep Curls

30 KB Bent Over Row

40 KB Curls = 20 left & 20 right

50 KB LBC

40 KB squats

30 KB Americans

20 KB Upright Row

10 KB Swings

Closed out with = Cool down stretches

Prayer and Praise

BOM

NAKED MAN:

Great morning and fellowship, and much love to our #HIM Dark Helmet for getting me back on the Q schedule @F3theArmory #closetohome.

We had a fun group discussion on the “why” you decided to come back to F3 for a second time. Obviously, most men are always going to reference back to the man that EH’d them, and the man that was there as the original Q, so obviously my challenge to each of you is to understand the “what and why” and the responsibility you have to each other, and to get involved and post, each man can make an impact on each other.

Also I would be interested the “why” you posted a second time at F3, please share with me the next time we post together.

Read your newsletter

Be a better today than you were yesterday,

Roll Tide!…Go Broncos!

AYE!

CSPAN

 

 

 

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The Fort Fuel Challenge 2016

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Listen… We work out… Some of us work out most days a week.  So with all this working out, the question is: Why aren’t we shedding the love handles and the spare tire?  With the amount of physical torture we endure, we should be chiseled like a Marble Statue.

Alas, working out is only a portion of the plan… you have to stop eating garbage.

With that, I bring you The Fort Fuel Challenge 2016.  This is the new incarnation of what we did a little over a year ago (found here), but this time around you have experience on your side… I am not a professional, but we’ve done this before and have seen results.  YHC lost 7.5% of my mass (presumably fat), with the overall lead by Cash coming in at just shy of 10%.

The key to this isn’t calorie reduction (although that may be something you have to look into) and it isn’t about eating the same food every day for lunch.  You don’t need to starve yourself to see results, you just need to feed the machine the right fuel.  To feed yourself the right fuel, you need discipline and accountability.  That’s really what the Fuel challenge is all about…

So here’s the deal.  We are going to kick off on January 18th through February 29th.  This gives you two weeks to do two very important things… in fact, these are so important that I would propose that you cannot succeed in this program with out completing them:

  1. Clear out all the junk in your pantry/fridge.
  2. Get the M on board

Number 1 is easy.  Get rid of the junk now before you start.  Less junk means less temptation.  Eat it in the next two weeks if you have a problem with throwing it away, but get it out of your food storage before January 18th.

Number 2 is not as easy for some of us, but it is crucial.  You cannot do this in your house on your own, especially if your wife is eating a bowl of Ice Cream after dinner every night.  You will either come off as a self righteous prick or you will cave.  Neither of these is a recipe for success.  Get the M on board, she really wants to eat better too.

Base Program

The Fuel Challenge will give you a chance to test yourself with the support of your fellow men of F3.  And maybe after 6 weeks, you will stick to the plan (or much of it) in order to live a healthier lifestyle. The program will have a base list of items that are prohibited during the six weeks as follows.  This is mandatory and is really what will make the biggest difference in your quality of food intake.

  • No Fried Food
  • No Fast Food (inc. Pizza)
  • No processed snacks like Potato Chips, Candy Bars, Etc.
  • No Dessert
  • No Sodas or Sweet Tea
  • No Cheeses (including shredded, feta, or slices. Get it off your sandwiches and salads)(Cottage cheese will be allowed)
  • No Cream Based Sauces/Dressings (This Includes Fat Free Options for Ranch, Caesar, Alfredo, Etc.)

This seems like a significant challenge, especially for the road warrior, but you can do it.  You just need to be aware of what you are eating and plan.

You will receive ONE free pass per week – this could be a steak dinner, a pizza, etc. – no carryovers though, the pass can only be used that week – try to use your weekly pass in moderation.  Some call this a “cheat”, but use if you need to.

After week one, we introduce challenges, which are cumulative.   Some would argue the health benefits of a few of these, but I don’t think anyone can claim that limiting these items will have a detrimental effect on your well being.   Remember this is not about “dieting”, but about discipline.  Keep that in mind.

Here are the cumulative challenges:

Week 2 (and on) – No Red Meat
Week 3 (and on) – No Breads (Sprouted Grain is accepted)
Week 4 (and on) – No Pork
Week 5 (and on) – No White Starches (Potatoes, Pastas, White Rice. We’ll talk about substitutes)
Week 6 – No Dairy or Things Cooked in Butter

Just like last time, we’ve “modified as needed”.  Here are a few “Extra Credit” challenges for those so inclined.  These are not mandatory, so feel free to adopt whatever works for you.

  1. HC to F3 250.  For those that are at 2-3 posts a week, this could be a way to up your game.  Tracking F3 250 along with this attention to dietary details could be what takes your fitness (and physique) to the next level.  You can even track using this handy template.
  2. Implement Intermittent Fasting.  I’m planning on doing this and would encourage you to try the same if you can handle skipping breakfast.  There are numerous health benefits that are purported as side effects to Intermittent Fasting, but do your own research and try it if you think it makes sense.

Similar to last time, here’s how we’ll be tracking for accountability/encouragement from the participants:

  1. On January 18th, post your starting weight in the comments of this page. You have time to buy a home scale or find out where the one at your gym is. On the pending February 29th backblast post, you will post your weight using the same scale. This requires honesty and consistency. If you want to weigh yourself in the buff (don’t tell us) just do it both times. Same if it’s in underwear and t-shirt, swim trunks, etc. Having a scale also helps track progress along the way but is not the ultimate measure of health. You will need to post your weight on both posts. You will also track your weight on the My Fitness Pal page.
  2. Sign up for My Fitness Pal and download the app if you have not done so already (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ ).  Enter in all of your information including starting weight. This will factor into your suggested daily calorie consumption. Send me (Gears) your MFP id so I can invite you to the group. You can reach me via twitter (@vinsonizer) or simply put the id in the comments below.  If you didn’t have enough options, you can just go to the following URL and request group membership: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100013-f3thefort
  3. Track your exercise and calories on My Fitness Pal. If you see really good results, guys may want to go back and see how you did it. The app allows you to scan bar codes, enter in recipes and ingredients to determine calories, and already has a robust library of foods from restaurants and grocery stores.  You can also enter in weight goals and it will help provide daily calorie count, protein, carb and fat limits. You gain higher limits to stay on track with your goals by entering in your workouts.

One last comment to reiterate the above: If you are moved to do so, please view this as an opportunity to exercise not only physical/mental discipline, but also spiritual discipline. Any type of fast can be leveraged as a catalyst for prayer and worship, allowing the limiting of the desires of the flesh to remind us of our dependence on SkyQ. My personal hope is that this will be fruitful in all the self-dimensions of our personal lives: Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind.

If you are ready to go, comment below

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The Ultra-vergence… Man, that’s a lot of vergence…

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(Poorly paraphrased from Dredd that AM): “Well, we [he and OBT] said, we’ll show up and if it’s just us two, then we’ll go do something else, but if they [the other invited Pax] show up, then we might have something and we’ll see where it goes…” (emphasis added)

That was 5 years ago. Now, we’re celebrating a new year, and we’re celebrating the 5 year anniversary (birthday?) of F3. Clearly, they had something…

As approximately one Pax for every day of the year crawled out of their clowncars and onto what may have been the wettest field I’ve ever been on, the energy was palpable. Friends from all over F3 Nation were reconnecting and new ones were being made, including an FNG from The Fort who apparently EH’ed himself (welcome Speaker)… There were smiling faces and shovel flags everywhere. The fun had started, but before long, it was time for the workout to begin…

As you can imagine, attempting to lead a group of 365 Pax is… well… ridiculous. It’s a little amusing to me that part of the whole reason Dredd and OBT broke off from the other workout group to create F3 was because the size of the group had become problematic and unwieldy. So, how should we celebrate 5 years of F3? Well, let’s see if we can’t have the most problematically-sized group come together and let’s try and make them follow instructions. (*COUGH* *GASP* *COUGH* You’ll have to excuse me, I’m choking a little on the irony…) Regardless, though, we warmed up, Dredd split us up into groups, and off we went. The workout, the “thang”? It was in there… We rotated through stations… there was some running, some ladders, some dips, some derkins, hills, burpees (of course), some other stuff… Was it the best workout I ever had? Well, it wasn’t the worst one for sure. But if you came for the workout, you may have overlooked what was happening.
As always, there were a couple of guys who were definitely there to prove they were fitter than the rest of us. That’s cool, you’re welcome here. There were a couple of guys who were clearly struggling to keep up at all. That’s cool, you’re welcome here. There were guys who wear blue collars all week long. That’s cool, you’re welcome here. There were guys whose net worth is that of a small country in certain parts of the world. That’s cool, you’re welcome here, too. Black, white, fast, slow, tall, short, rich, poor, fat, thin… all irrelevant. Welcome is what you are when you are here. It is this way because for that one hour, we all look basically the same (you know the uniform…) so you don’t know who is rich or poor or otherwise. For that one hour, we all basically act the same (unless you are Apache), we’re here to workout and fellowship a little. No one is elected, there is no hierarchy, no one is grading your performance… You know what it is? It’s because for that one hour, I believe, we are about as free as we can be in our modern, over-technologized, overcommitted, over-everythinged lives. We’re free from roles that weigh us down, free from the constraints that life and the world put on us… We’re just free to BE. That’s why we plant a flag, hustle, then take a knee at the end to give thanks to the SkyQ. That’s why we are proud to call ourselves a part of the Brotherhood of Minivan Centurions.

So, we converged, because I think somewhere deep inside we wanted to show our gratitude for this thing that has meant so much to us. Partly to God for leading us to it (or it to us, whichever), partly to the Redwood Originals for starting and sticking with it until it got to us, and partly to each other for continuing to push us to make ourselves more of what we were put here to do. I think that we came because there is strength in knowing and then physically seeing the fact that we are clearly not alone in this battle we fight. That at every turn, there is a man in a black shirt and running shoes that will help if needed.

Again, paraphrased very poorly from Dredd (right before the Ball of Man): “So now our job is to give it away. To share what has meant something to us. Because there are guys out there right now that you know who are crappy fathers, guys who are crappy husbands about to lose their marriages. There are guys who are crappy employees, or are otherwise just dissatisfied with their lives… and YOU CAN SAVE THEM.” (again, emphasis added)

To quote the immortal Forrest Gump: That’s all I have to say about that…

Until the next one…
Helmet, out.

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Clown Cars from the Fort for 1/1

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Gentlemen (and the rest of you):

I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for me, so I will. On 1/1/16, all PAX of F3 Nation have been invited to celebrate the 5th anniversary of this crazy thing that has inspired so many of us to burn the ships (and our fat pants), to reach in out in service and love to our community (and to our F3 brothers), and to straighten our walk with the SkyQ (which for me = My Heavenly Father). For me, this experience has touched and helped to shape nearly every aspect of my character over the last year that I have been involved, and I look forward to the next 5 years to see what changes will come from my association with all of you.

That said, we are going to support this “ultra-convergence”, if you will, and clown car up to the celebratory workout on New Year’s.

Here are the details as I know them:
1. We will meet at 0600 with wheels up at 0610 at the Baxter Starbucks
2. The workout location is Alexander Graham (AG) Middle School in Charlotte.
3. The workout start time is 0700. End is 0800.
4. There won’t be a much better time to bring an FNG, than to this. SO EH SOMEBODY.
5. I am not personally aware of any formal coffeeteria plans immediately following the workout, but I am certain that there will be at least one or two happening, so I’d plan on spending that time there as well.
6. The link to the Pre-Blast is here: http://f3nation.com/2015/12/16/the-fifth-anniversary-convergence-1116/

Several of you have committed to driving a car of clowns up, but if there are more, please let me know @darkhelmetF3, or let me know if you’d like to go, but not drive (which is the camp I fall into… Ask Spiderman (@F3_Spiderman) or Whitesnake (@Raindawg), nobody wants me to drive).

AYE!

Helmet, out.

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7 Mins and Lucky # 13

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  • QIC: Catfish
  • When: 12/14/15
  • Pax: Dark Helmet, Boy Band, Barry Manilow, Assassin, Huckleberry, Gevair, FNG - Heffernan, Stang, Chicken Hawk
  • Posted In: The Armory

Being given the opportunity to Q twice in less than a week at in the Fort was fantastic! I hope it was worth everyone’s effort to get outta the fartsack!

That thang …

With an FNG posting I attempted to complete the disclaimer but legal counsel was not present so hopefully it was ok! We circled up for a little COP/Warm up with most counts being 13 (Go Panthers!).

A quick mosey with kettle bells to the front of the church, dropped off the extra baggage and took a long lap around the parking lot. Upon our return to the bells the fun was explained.

7 minutes of two exercises with accumulating counts, followed by a long lap. The three sets where:

-Bobby Hurley’s / Upright Row — 1 hurley, 1 row, 2 hurleys, 2 rows, 3 hurleys, 3 rows … etc for 7 mins.

-Squats / Overhead Press

-Kettlebell swings / tri ext

There was a little mumbling about the 7 mins but all the men pushed through and got better for it!

Wrapped up with a short cusak back to the shovel flag for a few minutes of mary before COT.

Love this work and miss Mondays! Was an honor to Q and to welcome FNG “Heffernan”

Catish … over!

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12 Days of Christmas at The Armory!

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  • QIC: Seacrest
  • When: 12/07/15
  • Pax: Howitzer, Black Out, Longshanks, Boy Band, Chicken Hawk, Cheddah, Ginsu, Car Bomb, CSPAN
  • Posted In: The Armory

10 HIM showed up on this cold Monday morning to swing some bells…and run with them.

Disclaimer…disclaimed.

Mosey around the parking lot for a nice warm up lap and circle up.

COP

WM x 15

SSH x 30

IW x 15

Squat x 20

Merkins x 10

12 Days of Christmas – new workout for every number and work your way down.  You know the drill.

1 – KB Burpee (I had this at 5 and changed it on the drive over…#whimp)

2 – KB Fast Money Suicides (Cakeboss Fast Money Special)

3 – Clean & Press – Each side

4 – KB Merkins – 4 each hand on bell.

5 – Tricep Extensions

6 – Curls – Each side

7 – Rows – Each side

8 – Overhead presses – Each side

9 – KB Sit-ups

10 – Russian Twists

11 – Lunges – Each side

12 – Squats w/ Calf Raise

We finished up just in time!  Mosey to COT.

COT

Lots of prayers and praises from the PAX this morning.  Lift them up!

Moleskin

Longshanks FINALLY made one of my Q’s!  He and Ginsu were setting the pace.  Nice work!

Quiet group this morning.  Maybe everyone was trying to catch their breath…and it’s Monday.

Honor to Q.  Thanks Helmet for the opportunity!

Seacrest, out!

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F3 Dads 2nd F Star Wars

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Gents

Make it a full on 2nd F weekend: December 20th, the day after the great F3 Christmas Party- (Thanks Funhouse!), we have another opportunity for 2nd F.  This is an F3 DADS event.  Bring your 2.0(s) boys and girls for the 3:50pm showing of Star Wars, The Force Awakens.

Here’s the deal:

  • What: Star Wars Movie
  • Who: All Pax and 2.0(s) (boys and girls) are invited.
  • When: Sunday December 20th
  • Where: Manchester Cinemas, Rock Hill, SC
    • Time: 3:50 show time.
  • Why: F3 Dads.  Spend time with our 2.0s and give them the same experience we had as kids.  And transport back to when we were kids ourselves.  Wearing your Han Solo jacket or Yoda ears is purely optional.

This is opening weekend and the screen cannot be reserved.  The 3:50 time slot will sell out.  Call the theater or book on line for this show time.  Currently there are 230 seats open.  I anticipate our group to be atleast 100-150 ppl.  25-50 Pax each with kids.  Book ASAP…that is, after you finish booking your tickets for the Christmas Party.

Q’s- talk up in your COTs

Thanks

 

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Payment in the downpour

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  • QIC: BackDraft
  • When: 11/09/2015
  • Pax: Stang, Apache, BackDraft
  • Posted In: The Armory

3 pax showed up for a wet beat down by backdraft. It could have been 1 if the other 2 did not have to show up to pay off a bet to a true Tennessee fan. 2 of us got the gloom started off early with a nice 51 burpees in the downpour as to not take away from the Qs workout even if one of them was the Q.

The beat down started right on time and 3 crazy warriors were hoping that a few more headlights would turn in but that never happened. Q gave a brief disclaimer and let the pax know that he took on this Q at 2230 the night before but it would not disappoint. It went something like this.

Mosey around parking lot

circle up for a quick warm-up. 20 SSH, 15 cherry pickers, 15 IWs, 10 windmills, 15 peter parkers, 10 Mtn Climbers.

Take another mosey around

Pick up kettle bells for a tabata beatdown of upper and lower.

right arm presses, left arm presses, right arm curls, left arm curls, goblet squats.

Mosey

line up with kettle bells

10 reps each side curls than sprint to light and back.

KB swings 10 spint to light and back.

Mosey to wall

3 sets of wall sits and new exercise Backdraft came up with he calls SpiderBallz (Balls to wall but than peter parkers in the up position)

mosey back to COT

around the circle abs of each pax choice.

announcements read the newsletter.

Prayers to wheels who is on IR get back soon.

BackDraft out

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2015 Children’s Attention Home Angle Tree

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THE THANG:

We are partnering with CAH to give the PAX an opportunity to give back to the community in a small way. We are participating in an Angel tree for the Children’s Attention Home.

This Angel tree works a little differently than other tree’s you may have participated in the past. You are taking an Angel to purchase a gift for a general need rather than a specific child. These needs may be satisfied specifically during the Christmas season or throughout the year as new Children arrive or leave CAH.

We have volunteered to provide for the needs in three areas for the kids:

  1. Scooters, Skateboards, Ripsticks, Rollerblades, Helmets, Knee Pads  – All Sizes
  2. Card Games –  Go Fish, Old Maid, Uno, Phase 10, Skip Bo, Flash Cards, Playing cards
  3. Art Kits & Acrylic Paint – Jewelry Making, Beading, Scrapbooking, Origami Kits, etc.

** Note: CAH houses children from ages 18 months to 18+ years so you don’t necessarily need to just buy for the younger children.

Please bring your unwrapped gifts to any AO site Q (see weekly e-mail for Site Q list) through December 19th or to the Christmas Party on December 19th and they will funnel them back to me, Chicken Hawk.

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A Morning Swim at The Armory

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  • QIC: Barry Manilow
  • When: 11/02/15
  • Pax: Dark Helmet, Socrates, Patton, Howitzer, Barry Manilow (YHC)
  • Posted In: The Armory

5 men made it to The Armory on the wet November morning (There might be a song in that).  All kidding aside, is was great to see headlights join Dark Helmet and I in the parking lot, my expectations were not high.

Disclaimer and a brief comment of where we may stay dry, but the boards were in place and we were off.

A traditional Armory warm-up mosey around the lot, 20 SSH, 20 IW, 20 Windmills, 20 Squats. Mosey with your bell to the front ledge (a 2ft incline). OYO 20 dips, 10 each step-ups, 10 derkins. Mosey to the big lot. NOTE: In a heavy rain … 2x4s, duck tape and Sharpie …

One end of the lot there are 8 KB exercises, on the other there are 8 w/o the bell. KB first, run around the edge to the others, then back.  We made it though the entire program once, then the KB side twice, with running in between.

KB side: 20 tricep extensions, 10 each arm curls, 10 goblet squats/10 overhead, 20 chest presses standing (Howitzer insisted we do the second round like it was originally written, on your 6 w/ flutter kick), 20 swings 2 handed, 10 rows each side, 10 each side clean & press, 10 each way figure 8s.

w/o the bell side: 10 merkins, bear crawl to the corner, 10 bombjacks, 5 burpees (yes, only 5 and modify if needed), 20 mountain climbers, 10 monkey humpers, air chair with 20 overhead claps, 10  carolina wet docks.

Back to COT. Safe travels to Howitzer as he is on his way to the Middle East.

This morning marked 6 months for this former sad clown. Honored to Q at The Armory, thanks to Dark Helmet for giving me the keys and Howitzer, Socrates & Patton for joining me on a tough morning.

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