When a man fails to show for a workout because of the weather, YHC has been known to look unfavorably on such behavior. This morning was cold (low 30s). It was rainy. And though it didn’t rain during the workout, it was wet and cold and could’ve opened up at any moment beyond the drizzle that was gently covering us in mist (just to make sure we were extra chilled).
Maybe I should have called folks out. Maybe Barry Manilow and I should have packed it in when we were the only ones in the parking lot at 0515. Maybe we should have headed over to Golden Corral and worked out there… We considered all of those things… But we didn’t… we worked as two instead.

Mosey down to the Cul-de-sac
Circle up (line up?) for the following:

• Windmills x 15
• Weed Pullers x 15
• Squats x 10
• Merkins x 10
• Richard Simmons x 15

Mosey up the hill and across Gold Hill to Publix.

4 corners escalator:
Round 1 = 10 reps
Round 2 = 20 reps
Round 3 = 30 reps
Then escalator back down to 10 of each… (30 again, 20, 10 — 6 rounds total)
Corner 1: Merkins
Corner 2: Squats
Corner 3: LBCs
Corner 4: CDDs

Then mosey back for COT.

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

NMM:
When no one was there but me and Barry to work this morning, I initially thought, “this is stupid. I should either go back to bed, get a hot beverage with Barry, or go be around the other pax at a larger workout.” Then this thought lodged itself in my little brain…
What would a LEADER do?
Well crap… That ruined my plans to succumb; my plans to be an object to be acted upon, and not to be a force to act. I committed to lead a workout at a certain time and at a certain place. If I fail to follow through in the small things, then I will more easily fail to follow through in the big things… How you do anything is how you do everything, or so they say…
Later in the day, I thought, “write a Backblast for two people? Sure… then I can complain about things, or bust guys balls for not showing or whatver.” Then, that same thought…
What would a LEADER do?
Crap again. No call outs. No making this about me and whether or not I was butthurt or not over attendance or anything else. No. It’s not about me. It never has been, and I hope that I can do better to make it so it never will be…

Men. I love you all. This cause continues to give me direction and it energizes me to improve every aspect of my life. You are my brothers. You have unknowingly helped me survive some of the worst days of my life over the past 18 months or so, just by being there. By your showing up, and just being you, you have lifted my spirits. By showing up and making workouts terrible, you helped me leave a lot of frustration and angst out in the gloom instead of in my home. I may have missed you this morning, it’s true, but we all have things that keep us out from time to time. I’m not worried about that at all. Just keep coming out. I need you. We all need you. Don’t think that we don’t notice when you aren’t there. And definitely don’t think that your being there doesn’t matter. It does… to you, and to me, and to everyone else that you may come in contact with. This is true not only of the Gloom, but elsewhere also. You showing up makes a difference. Anchorman said to me once that sometimes a guy may come out in the morning and he’s just hoping that there may be someone to talk to about something that’s going on in his life. So we should show because we might be the only one that is there to hear him that day…
You can fake being interested, but you can’t fake being present. SYITG.

Helmet, out.

12 pax gathered at the Ballroom for some fun and games (and music). YHC issued the disclaimer and we cranked out some SSH before moseying down into the business park. We turn onto the road that ends at a fence next to the car dealership for a little warm up. Being that it’s now 4 days after the workout, and I’ve Q’ed another workout since then, my memory may not be 100% on the exercises we did.

Warm-up:

• Windmills
• Cherry pickers
• Hillbilly Walkers
• Mountain climbers
• Peter Pointers
• Peter Parkers

Most pax were not familiar with the Peter Pointers (which is an Assassin speciality). Upon demonstration, one pax said “Are we really doing this?”. Yep, and Anchorman certainly had the best form.

Pax then moseyed to the parking lot below the infamous wall. There, we found a deck of cards and small speaker. Each pax was to take a turn flipping the top card of the shuffled deck. An exercise was done based on the card that was flipped, as per the following:

Spades – Scorpion Dry Docks
Hearts – Hello Dollies
Clubs – Monkey Humpers
Diamonds – Dips

Royalty cards were as follows:
Jacks – 5 Bomb Jacks in place
Queens – Lunges out to parking lot island
Kings – Sprint to road and jog back
Aces – Scale wall and run around

During the workout, pax jammed to enjoyed 80’s rock, a la Spotify over the speaker.

Pax did great, and it was an honor leading. Thanks to ChangeOrder for allowing me to Q!

Nine men ignored the forecast and posted at Ballroom and were blessed by a rain free work out in the gloom.

The Message:

What is empathy? Empathy is to understanding as agape is to love.  Crawl into your skin kind of understanding.  Empathy is created through relationships or through experiences.  Empathy cannot exist without Love.

Empathy is reaching out to that alcoholic, person whose marriage is broken, person that is showing signs of depression, is out of control with spending because you have been there, you can relate and you can help show them another path.  Whose life is God calling you into?

The Thang:

Mosey across Gold Hill Road to the small hill and run some hill repeats.

   High knees

   Butt kickers

   Side shuffle

   Karaoke 

   Toy Soldiers

COP – SSH, Hill billy walkers, merkins, peter parkers, parker peters

Wall work:

  Wall sit/ air press

  15 Mule kicks

  Wall sit / press

  15 Mule kicks

Deck of cards – at the bottom of the hill paired up and grabbed a coupon.  As one partner was doing the number on the card, burpee then number on card of exercise the other partner was running to the top of the hill and back.  Partners flap jack.

  Clubs – squats

  Hearts – overhead press

  Spades – Dips

  Diamonds –  curls

Mary

COT –

Eight men met on a cool December morning for one of the few remaining moderate workouts in 2016!  We had four Q’s today and this is what we did:

The Thang:

Bassomatic led the group out of the parking lot and down to the last lot on the left for COP:

COP (all in cadence)

Merkin x 10, SSH x 20, windmill x 15, IW x 15, Carolina dry dock x 10, left arm/right arm high (can’t remember the rest)

Hand off to Ditch Witch: 

Standing Hamstring stretch (left leg over right, reverse), arm circles-small/large – forward/reverse (can’t remember what else we did)

Hand off to Senator Tressel:

Form 2 lines along the curb, one behind the other.  Start running in place.  First group bearcrawls to the opposite end of the curb while the second group runs in place.  When the first group gets to the end, the second group bearcrawls to the opposite curb and joins the first group.  Do the same thing and get back to the start.  Rinse and repeat.

Back to the curb for 7’s.  1 derkin, 6 dips, 2 derkins, 5 dips, 3 derkins, 4 dips, etc.  All the way to 7

Mosey to the far end of the lot and form a single line.  Lunge walk 2 lines, do a burpee, lunge walk 2 lines, do two burpees, continue until you get to 5 burpees.

Mosey out of the back lot and head up to the hill on the right hand side (backed up to Ft. Mill Ford)

Jacob’s ladder pt 1:  bombjacks at the top.  Start at one and work up to 5.  Plank up until the six is in.  Do 10 merkins in cadence.

Jacob’s ladder pt 2:  squats at the top.  Start at 1 and work up to 5.  Plank up until the six is in.  Do 8 diamond merkins in cadence.

Hand off to Cake Boss:

Mosey back up to the road to a nice grassy spot near the front and circle up:

LBC x 15,  Hello Dolly x 15, Merkin x 10, Flutter x 15, protractor (10, 45, 90 degree)  mountain climber x 15 (can’t remember what else!)

Moleskin

I had planned to go to the Colosseum this morning, but changed my plans late last night when I received a  text from the site Q, Change Order,  looking for someone to lead the group.  I was happy to help, but going in, my plan was to recruit some new blood to assist with Q duties. Bassomatic and Ditchwitch volunteered to help as well as our ‘old faithful and reliable’ Cake Boss. I see a lot of new guys at various AO’s, but don’t see enough of those guys at the Q spot.  I visit the Ballroom semi-regularly and feel that this is a great location to break in new Q’s.

My thanks to Bassomatic, Ditchwitch, and Cake Boss for volunteering to help lead the group today. I thought everything flowed pretty well.  Too much planning or over thinking of a workout can sometimes kill it. Often times, the best workouts are those that are spontaneous and ‘off the cuff’.   It was a pleasure to lead the group and also to have some new guys take the reins.  If you are reading this (yes, I am talking to you, TPS and Bait Shop), and have not Q’d yet, find a workout you like and have the site Q get you on the schedule.  I guarantee you will be glad you did it.

Announcements/Prayers/Praises

Read you newsletter!

Prayers or a sister with cancer, families traveling over the holiday, families in crisis. Praise for White Lightning’s daughter (sweet 16 today!)

mod·er·ate

adjective
ˈmäd(ə)rət/
1. average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree.
“we walked at a moderate pace”

verb
ˈmädəˌrāt/
1. make or become less extreme, intense, rigorous, or violent.
“we should moderate the burpees”

I had to look this up before my Q at The Ballroom. I wanted to make sure I delivered what was expected at the AO. Coming off my first Goruck Tough, this was sounding like the perfect Q for me. Ease back into things. One thing though, moderate did not mean easy. Pax started rolling in and it was a frosty 28 degrees.

Start with the 5 core principles of F3
F3 workouts …
1. Are free of charge
2. Are open to all men
3. Are held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
4. Are led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary
5. End with a Circle of Trust

Disclaimer (longer than my normal “don’t die” disclaimer)

THANG
Mosey to the bottom of the street for COP

COP (All exercises in cadence)
• SSH X25
• Windmills X10
• Low Slow Squat X20
• Merkins X10
• Mountain Climbers X20
• SSH X25

Walk over to parking lot…

Rounder: Do an exercise then run a lap always facing in the same direction (Forward, Side Shuffle Left, Backwards, Side Shuffle Right, Repeat

• CDD X10, run
• Monkey Humpers X15, run
• LBCs X40, run
• MNCs X30, run
• Squats X20, run
• Hello Dollys X15, run

Mosey to parking lot across from Ballroom

Escalator: Do an exercise at cone, then proceed to next cone with varying modes of transportation

Cone 1: 10 Burpees, Bear Crawl to next cone
Cone 2: 20 Merkins, Lunge Walk to next cone
Cone 3: 30 Squats, Reverse Lunge Walk to next cone
Cone 4: 40 LBCs, Reverse Bear Crawl to next cone
Cone 5: 50 SSH

Little time left over? Use the cones for Merkin Suicides!

Basically a suicide run with 5 points (cones) but you have to do the number of merkins at each cone (Cone 1 = 1 merkin, Cone 2 = 2 merkins, and so on.

Mosey back to the AO via climbing the lower parking lot wall and finish with a few minutes of Mary.

COT and BOM led by Anchorman

NMM
Had a great time this morning and it was great to see everyone push themselves. Moderate was definitely not easy this morning. Everyone worked up a sweat and my legs were actually a bit sore walking up the stairs this morning. Tclaps to Freebird for staying out front the entire time. Additionally, Tclaps to Green Thumb for making it to his second workout. Great mumblechatter this morning. Thanks to Change Order for the opportunity to Q and I hope to come back again soon guys. I really enjoyed it.

Announcements (which are in the Newsletter)
• Sign Up for Joe Davis Run
• Sign Up for the F3 Christmas Party
• Something else I’m forgetting

Praise and Prayers
• Pray for a friend of Pax who lost his wife
• Pray for families
• Prayers for the families in Chattanooga who lost their children in the bus accident

Humbled to Lead
Zima

16 dusted off their dancing shoes, made their way through the fog and came out for a Presidential morning. Pre-launch talk about breakfast pizza and the weather. With the disclaimer read, we moseyed.

The Thang

Mosey to warehouse parking lot and circle up.

SSH x 15

(Slow) Windmill x 10

Imperial Walker x 10

Squat x 10

Cherry Pickers x 10

Stretch routine. Stretch with toes pointed out was a crowd-pleasing twist.

In honor of Trucker’s attempt to dedicate an exercise to each President, YHC decided to finish out the list and added one for the President-elect.

38. Gerald Ford: 1st President to hold office w/o being elected by the people = 38 – gas pump (LBC to Dolly)
39. Jimmy Carter: Was a peanut farmer = 39 – curb dips
40. Ronald Reagan: Survived assassination and oldest elected President = 40 – lunge right
41. George H Bush: Initiated Operation Desert Storm = 41 – lunge left
42. Bill Clinton: “I did not have sexual relationships with that woman” = 42 – head bob merkins
43. George W Bush: Lead war on Terrorism = 43 – gorilla humpers
44. Barack Obama: 1st African American President = 44 – ballerina (squat with calf raise)

President-elect Donald Trump :  Back pedal approx 30 yards.

Partner Up for DORA 1-2-3

Partner 1 runs to second light

Partner 2 starts exercise.

100 Merkins (single count)

200 Flutters (single count)

300 Squats

Wall sit x 2 (counting down the line 1-16 and back down)

Mountian Climbers x 15

Carolina Dry Docks x 15

Moset toward COT for Mary

Mary :   Boats & Canoes (thank you, Change Order) , Banana / Superman (Anchorman) , Protractor (Package) and Travolta (Barry Manilow)

COT

During the workout and in COT, we discussed the Margin. What are we doing with our extra time? We all talk and/or think about being a better father, husband, co-worker, friend, neighbor, (fill in the blank). But what are we doing to make that a reality? What actions are we taking to move us from where we are to where we “say” we want to be?

CSPAN shared his BullsEye principal.  M>2.0s>ShieldLocks>Blades>Work. Obviously, the vertical relationship (the most important one, BTW) is with the Sky Q.   We also discussed struggles of not being able to communicate or handle opposing views. This election has really divided some folks; people that are close to us, people we call our friends, people we love. Great advice is to Ask>Listen>Recall. You don’t have to agree, but respect them, and your relationship with them, enough to listen.

As always, I am humbled to lead such a group of HIM. Thank you for the opportunity.
See you in the gloom!
Beacon

By an act of Congress in 1845, the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November was designated Election Day for future presidential elections. The first such election took place on November 7, 1848. So, as it is November 8, 2016 and it falls upon us to participate in our civic duty to vote today. But since many of our PAX well past our high school civic class, who can recite all 44 presidents in order (other than Socrates)? So I figured it would be beneficial to go back to HS civics class and at the same time work our brains and body at the same time.

So the Thang:
Mossy to industrial building parking lot and circle up for COP. Conduct a few 10 count exercises then define the lesson plan:

Assigned an exercise per president per term – tried to connect a theme between presidents name/tidbit with the exercise:

1. George Washington: Hero of Revolutionary War = 1 – burpee
2. John Adams: Father of the Navy = 2 – carolina dry docks
3. Thomas Jefferson: A great scholar and founder of UVA = 3 – smurf jacks
4. James Madison: Father of the constitution = 4 – merkins
5. James Monroe: Father of Foreign Policy = 5 – monkey humpers
6. James Quincy Adams: Son of our 2nd President = 6 – sprint to building and back 6xs
7. Andrew Jackson: 1st president to survive assassination = 7 – American hammers
8. Martin Van Buren: 1st president who was born in the US, loved drinking Champagne = 8 – burpees
9. William Harrison: Had the longest inaugural speech and 1st to die in office = 9 – Bobby Hurleys
10. John Tyler: 1st Vice President to become president due to death = 10 – shoulder taps
11. James Polk: Launched the Mexican War to get CA & NM = 11 – peter parker
12. Zachary Taylor: 1st President with no political experience, a war veteran = 12 – decline merkins
13. Millard Fillmore: Established trade with Japan = 13 – Makhtar N’Diayes
14. Franklin Pierce: Gave inaugural speech without any notes/script = 14 – parker peter
15. James Buchanan: Only un-married President = 15 seconds of honeymooner
16. Abraham Lincoln: Delivered the Gettysburg Address and stopped slavery =16 –LBCs
17. Andrew Johnson: Before politics was a tailor in Tennessee = 17 – plank jacks
18. Ulysses Grant: The hero of the Civil War = 18 – imperial walker
19. Rutherford B Hayes: Known as Rutherfraud = 19 – Russian twists
20. James Garfield: 2nd President to be assassinated = 20 – windshield wipers
21. Chester Arthur: Established the Civil Service Commission = 21 – air squared (people chair with clap)
22. Grover Cleveland: Served 2 terms non-consecutively = 22 – calf raises
23. Benjamin Harrison: Grandfather was the 9th President = 23 – Hydrualic squats (KneetarN’Diayes)
24. Grover Cleveland: Panic of 1893 produced a severe national depression = 24 – chinook squats (w Moroccans night club)
25. William McKinley: 3rd President to be assassinated = 25 – mountain climbers
26. Theodore Roosevelt: Established the National Parks and a great outdoorsmen = 26 – side straddle hops
27. William Taft: Weighed over 300 pounds (needed F3) = 27 – seal jacks
28. Woodrow Wilson: Signed the Treaty of Versailles = 28 – wide arm merkins
29. Warren Harding: Played poker and drank during prohibition = 29 – hello dolly
30. Calvin Coolidge: Known as Silent Cal = 30 – crunchy frog (X&Os)
31. Herbert Hoover: Was blamed for the Great Depression = 31 – squats
32. Franklin D Roosevelt: “The only thing we have and fear itself” = 32 – WW II situps
33. Harry S Truman: Dropped the Atomic Bomb and practiced the piano 2 hours a day = 33 – bombjacks
34. Dwight D Eisenhower: Ended the Korean War and established the National Highway system = 34 – calf step ups
35. John F Kennedy: Youngest elected President = 35 – flutter kicks
36. Lyndon B Johnson: Engaged the US in the Vietnam War = 36 – lunges (single leg)
37. Richard Nixon: Watergate & “ I m not a crook” = 37 – prison squats

We only got through President #37 before having to mossy back for COT
The remaining presidents and exercises on the lesson plan:

38. Gerald Ford: 1st President to hold office w/o being elected by the people = 38 – gas pump (LBC to Dolly)
39. Jimmy Carter: Was a peanut farmer = 39 – curb dips
40. Ronald Reagan: Survived assassination and oldest elected President = 40 – lunge right
41. George H Bush: Initiated Operation Desert Storm = 41 – lunge left
42. Bill Clinton: “I did not have sexual relationships with that woman” = 42 – head bob merkins
43. George W Bush: Lead war on Terrorism = 43 – gorilla humpers
44. Barack Obama: 1st African American President = 44 – ballerina (squat with calf raise)

Lots of complaining regarding the # of X/Os and Makhtar N’Diayes having to be done on the pavement, but looking back, should have shorten COP since this was an extended COP workout. Great work by the PAX. Everyone but Senator Tressel received an A+ on their test, he only received a D+ due to constant complaining.

As always an honor to lead. Welcome Deep Dish (FNG). A reminder as today is election day. For most of us, today is a challenging day and a difficult day in selecting who should lead this wonderful country of ours. But as David Chadwick preached on Sunday, it is our duty to vote for GOD. HE will have the ultimate power in the direction for all of us and that he is our sole leader. Trusting in him and his words will only make us, as an individual and as a nation, stronger.

Read the newsletter and F3 Xmas Party 12/17/16 – BE THERE!!!
Prayers were not captured on phone, so i apologize. Prayers to those said and un-said.

Class dismissed,
Trucker, PhD in nothing

16 men enjoyed absolutely perfect weather conditions on a Tuesday morning at the Ballroom.  Here is what they did.

The Thang:

Make a 4 x 4 formation and start with a dynamic warmup of arm stretches, back stretches, and leg stretches – keep moving….

We stayed in formation and did a slow jog to the far back parking lot of the distribution business park.  In this formation we did:  SSH x 20, Merkin x 10, IW x 20, Morrocan nightclub x 20, MC x 20, HOLD/left arm, left leg high/right arm, right leg high, 6″/reg/6″/reg/recover.

40 yard sprints: 50% effort x 2 times, 75% effort x 2 times, and 100% (sprint) x 2 times

Stay in formation for moderate Pushorama:

Merkins x 10, take a short break, diamond merkin x 10, , short break, widearm merkins, x 10 short break.  Do three sets total of that.

Stay in the 4 x 4 formation and Mosey to the grassy hill off of the main road for Jacob’s ladder.  Start with one burpee at the top and work up to 5 burpees.  Finish and plank at the bottom.

Back in formation and mosey to the warehouse just behind the Ballroom parking lot.  “Uh oh, i know what’s coming next, ” was heard as the double reataining wall came into sight.  No gentlemen, no wall climbs today!  We are staying moderate (unlike the Q last week who shall remain nameless, although some people call him Old Bay)

People’s chair, recover, bear crawl to the curb, crabwalk back, people’s char again with overhead hand claps.  Get back in formation and mosey to the grassy area in front of the Chicken Roaster.  The grass was pretty rough so we broke ranks and found a good spot to land.

LBC x 20, Elbows to Knees (like a slow Freddie Merc) x 20, Hello Dolly x 20

COT

NMM

YHC had not Q’d the Ballroom in quite some time and was very pleased to get the call from Change Order a few weeks back.  It was even better when the weather finally turned cool and dry after the all the weekend rain from Matthew.    Who hoo! – this is F3 weather!  Why the formation?  Not sure really – just wanted to stay closer together today and see if we could stay that way,  which we did for the most part.

This was a very simple workout – take a short run, repeat some simple exercises and do it again for 45 minutes.  YHC loves a moderate workout for a change of pace, and based on the big numbers that the Ballrooom pulls in, the local F3 contingent must feel the same way.  And, it’s always awesome to be joined by four more respects (Twister, Elmer, Rainbird, Ditchwitch) on any morning.

In COT, the group mentioned those affected by hurricane Matthew.  Our local Pax knew folks that had homes that, thankfully, were saved.    Those in Haiti were not so lucky.   We prayed or those having surgery.  Praises for those getting married, those celebrating wedding anniversaries.

Announcements:  Convergence on Oct 28, Topic: race relations