16 Pax showed up to the Swamp to put in some work. Trucker would provide the ruck pain and I would take the bootcampers. Disclaimer was given and the ruckers went left and bootcampers went right.

We moseyed over to the front of the Wine Shop for a quick warmup that included some SSHs, windmills and imperial walkers. Also burpees, lots of burpees (Always a crowd favorite). Once the Pax were good and warmed up we moseyed to the fountain to get to the main event.

The Thang

I borrowed this workout from our Nantan. He brought it to the Abyss one Wednesday and I enjoyed it so much I thought I would spread the joy.

The idea is to complete a series of exercises then run a lap around the parking lot. Then return to complete the next set and so on and so forth. Once you completed the 10 exercises you started over but added an additional lap in between. Below are the exercises:

1. 50 Merkins
2. 40 Flutters
3. 30 Dry Docks
4. 20 Flying Squirrels
5. 10 Squat Jumps
6. 10 Bombjacks
7. 20 Box Jumps
8. 30 Dips
9. 40 American Hammers
10. 50 Jumping Lunges

Cable Guy and Cha Ching led the way completing 15 exercises, while the rest of us did our best not to die.

When we reached the time we headed back to COT to meet up with the ruckers.

Pax put in a great effort considering all the running involved in this workout.

Thanks to Cable Guy for the chance to lead.

Until next time, back to the hunt…

First time back at Q in ages since being on IR then Marathon training.  I had plans for the PAX that included a full body overhaul… along with running.

The Thang

Mosey to HD Lot
COP (Merkins, Windmills, Potato Pickers, etc)

4 Corners

• 5 Round the world Squats
• 10 Squat Jacks
• 15 Monkey Humpers
• Plank to 6

Repeat with Double Counts

Line up for Rugby Drill Suicides across two lanes of parking

• Flutter
• LBC
• Merkins
• Grave Digger L
• Grave Digger R

Mosey Between HD and Target

• Elbow Plank Suicides
• Peoples Chair Suicides
• Elbow Plank Suicides

Mosey to Fountain for Fartlek Pyramid around the loop

• 1 minute sprint pace, 1 minute recovery run
• 2 minute sprint pace, 2 minute recovery run
• 3 minute sprint pace, 3 minute recovery run
• 2 minute sprint pace, 2 minute recovery run
• 1 minute sprint pace, 1 minute recovery run

Mosey to COT.

NMM

I could probably write a few more thousand words here.  I was placed on the IR around June last year due to a wrist injury, which led to BRR training, which eventually led to Marathon training.  This was the first Q I’ve had in ages that wasn’t a running workout…. so i made it a mixed running workout, even though the PAX that showed for Boot Camp weren’t self labelled “runners”.

Regarding the title, I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about specialization and how easy it is to get into a rut with our fitness.  In the end (at least for the moment), I’ve come to align with something I first read in Natural Born Heroes, and then from MovNat (thanks DaVinci) which is summarized in this AoM podcast.  The main idea is we should be “Fit to Be Useful”.

I can’t think of a single person that needs me to run 26.2 miles for them, but I can easily think of a friend who needs a strong back and good endurance to help unload something from a truck or fix something in the home.  We should be out here getting fit to help one another, not to look good in a bathing suit or set a marathon PR.  There’s nothing wrong with those things, but they are fleeting objectives.  The end goal should be that I want to be fit to be of service, whatever that looks like.  In retrospect, this aligns pretty much with Dredd’s summary of 3S2T.  I need to be ready to help when help is needed.

Honor to Serve.

F3 workouts have been a staple in the first hour of my day for about 8 months now.  I have been honored to Q on five of those occasions but this is the first time I have written a Backblast. I know, shame on me.  So here is my attempt to recap what 15 men left out on the asphalt today…

After the usual disclaimer that I am not a professional (just play a doctor on TV), 9 PAX left for some boot camp fun while 6 men trudged out with their RUCKS.  On several occasions our paths crossed and it appeared that the RUCKERS were getting their money’s worth.  As for the boot campers we executed the following:

Warm up to combat the chilly air

Mosey over to Target were we did the “old fashioned” defensive slide basketball drill.  Every Red Ball was an opportunity to switch directions.  (2 rounds)

Mosey over to traffic circle: Bear Crawl around it

Mosey back to Target: Lunge and Crab Walk.  Alternating at each Red Ball.

Mosey around back to the ally:  Merkins – Sprint – Abs

• Series of Merkins (regular | wide | ranger | diamond) with sprints and Ab workout (LBC | Freddy Mercuary | Flutters | Rosalita)

Mosey to the fountain: Partner Fun

• Step ups
• Dips
• Squats

The other partner ran down around traffic circle and then switch

The Finisher

I asked the PAX if they wanted to finish easy or leave stronger.  It was unanimous vote (hands) to finish strong (although there was some mumblechatter suggesting otherwise)

• 8 – 40 yard sprints

Each sprint was an opportunity to improve one degree better.  Each man challenged themselves and left better than when he arrived.

COT (Circle of Trust)

I shared at COT about how Abraham held his staff up in the air during the battle between the Israelites and Amalekites. And as long as his staff was in the air- the Israelites were winning.  When his arms grew tired and his staff fell – the Amalekites were winning.

Along his side, Abraham had 2 people, Aaron and Hur.  These two guys grabbed Abraham’s arms and helped him hold them up.  As a result the Israelites defeated the Amalekites.

We all have the opportunity to hold each other up.  We all face trials and tribulations and it is the support of others that help us overcome them.  So I encourage to look around and find the arms of PAX that may be fighting their own battles and help hold up their arms.  Together we can all be stronger.

Special Note:  We had a fantastic experience at 3rd F this morning.  As we were stuffing our faces with fried chicken to counter balance the workout we just had, a gentleman entered the room.

He explained that he had been noticing our workouts on Friday mornings and had asked the manager about our group.  She informed him that we workout every Friday and that we met for bible study afterwords.  He further explained that he used our group as an example in a devotion that he led at his company (Samartan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child) and how we were exemplifying what God had called us to do…Strengthen both your minds and Body.

He encouraged us to keep setting a great example and reminded us of the impact we have with our daily actions.

Turns out that he and his wife are heading to Iraq for missions and later this year will be going to Alaska to work with wounded Vets.  He accepted our offer to pray for him and it was he that left with a blessing as well.  God Rocks!!

I’m not always right, but I’m always sure. It may not have been the “right” thing to do, but I was sure it was right to look at ways to apply the 5 Core F3 Principles into our daily lives. It is my belief that those principles came into the brains of OBT and Dredd by Providence (capital P). It is my belief that Providence (God) always has a pattern in all that He performs. It is an effective teaching method, to be sure.
The Big 5 are:
1. Free
2. Open to All Men
3. Held Outdoors in Rain or Shine, Heat or Cold
4. Peer-Led in a rotating fashion
5. Always end with a Circle of Trust (and typically a Ball of Man)

Here’s the Thang:
Mosey to lot by PetSmart for Warm-up
Abe Vigodas x 10
Richard Simmons x 10
IW x 10
Merkins x 10
SSH x 20
Moroccan Nightclubs x 15
Peter Parker x 10

We break to discuss FREE for a second or two:
Free as in Freedom as in one’s ability to choose.
In your family, in your life, the most important thing that you have, in fact, the only thing that is uniquely yours to give, is your freewill. You have been endowed with much, and every single bit of it can be taken again from you by the One that provided it in the first place, EXCEPT for His gift to you of your own Free Will. Every day, make sure that you are using it for His purposes and that you are leaving your will (much like The Son did on the Cross) on the altar of sacrifice as an offering to your Heavenly Father.

Mosey to front of Old Navy
10 Burpees in Cadence – 6 count
10 Burpees OYO AYG

OPEN TO ALL MEN
This is different than Men Only. Men Only is a statement of EXclusivity, whereas Open To All Men denotes INclusivity. F3 does not care if you are a man that is black, white, rich, poor, or otherwise. Neither should you. If you look around and see that everyone around you looks, acts, votes, and spends exactly like you, then it may be time to fix your circle. A friend of mine once said, “If both of us agree on everything all the time, then one of us isn’t necessary.” You can disagree without being disagreeable, and open your mind and your circle to ideas and people that challenge you.

Crab Walk half – Bear Crawl half to front of Books-A-Million
Wall sit for the 6

OUTDOORS RAIN OR SHINE, HEAT OR COLD
F3 groups workout regardless of external circumstance. If a little rain, or a few degrees can keep you from being out to improve your 1st F, then I have a sneaking suspicion that you are prone to make similar weak arguments in other areas of your life. Simply put, there are no excuses for not doing the things that you know you should do. I tell myself all sorts of smart and logical things as to why I should or shouldn’t do a thing. The truth is, though, that if I don’t want to, and there aren’t others around helping me be accountable, then I will struggle to do the thing. The Daily Red Pill isn’t just for posting at a workout. It’s a Pill that must be taken for your marriage, your fatherhood, your shield lock, and your community. I have said it before, and I will likely say it forever: The hard work of this world, will not be done by weak men.

Mosey to front of Rue 21
Dora’s Backpack
Get in groups of 3 – Partner 1 carries Partner 2 length of building then flapjack
Partner 3 is doing exercise – then rotate
Cumulative 100 Merkins – 200 Squats – 300 LBCs

PEER LED
This means that it can go well or poorly, but it’s all a learning process. If you are not strong enough to relinquish control and allow a thing to go wrong, or allow the people around you to fail, then I may recommend learning to count to 10 more often. This is ESPECIALLY true in the lives of our kids. I mean this with all the love in my heart, but if you are Helicopter Parenting, then you are doing it wrong. If you don’t let your kids try much and you are always stepping in, then you are cheating them. You are being negligent in your duty as a parent, because you have now made it about YOU and not them.

Mosey back for Mary
Various Maries…

COT/BOM
We always end our workouts this way. We always end as a group to acknowledge that there is something bigger than ourselves out there that needs us to be more. We return thanks to God, and acknowledge openly the needs of others. If this isn’t a practice already in your own home, then may I recommend that you make it one? End each day with a Family Ball of Man/Woman/Children, and watch how things change for the better in your lives. Then after the kids are down, have a similar experience with your wife. The COT is part of what engenders trust among the Pax. That is something that you shouldn’t live without in your home.

Helmet, out.

On a unseasonably warm morning 4 men strapped on their rucks with YHC and got a bit stronger today.

The Thang

We rucked on over to the All American Burger company parking lot where we would spend the duration of our workout.  It was maybe 100 yards.  We didn’t cover much ground today.

Warm Ups

SSH, Windmills, Imperial Walkers,

The main event was a 8 exercise tabata.  Each exercise we would do 8 reps. 20 seconds AMRAP and 10 seconds rest.  Simple, but effective workout.

These were the exercises, all done with rucks:

Squats, Ruck Swings, Flutters, Merkins, Lunges, Sit ups, Overhead press with ruck, Man-makers

After this we moseyed back to COT and jumped in with the boot campers to finish up some mary with them.

Moleskin

This is an easy workout to plan, but man is it a TBQ.  We were all feeling it at the end.  I think during the workout the merkins hit the hardest.  After the first 2 sets my arms were shot.  I flipped the order of the sit ups and the overhead press because my arms were still recovering from merkins and I think we all needed an extra set to recover.

The group lucked out and we skipped a rep of the manmakers at the start of that set because I called burpees, but executed a manmaker.  There’s a difference…you didn’t think the Q would know how to do his own exercises. You’re welcome for the break.  T-claps to Router as this was his first post in 4 months after a back injury and it wasn’t an easy one to slip back into. Dude hung tough though.  Good work by all – everyone really pushed themselves.

Welcome to one of the last workouts of 2016! Thanks for playing!

A few ruckers and a few for Bootcamp with 18 total the numbers are good!

I wanted to end 2016 on a good note so even though I wasn’t feeling 100% I gave it all I had!

We mosied on through Rivergate to get warmed up

COP between Home Depot and Target

A little windy and cool so we kept moving during the COP

After the COP we went to the wall and did 3 rounds of Wall sits, Donkey Kicks and BTTW

Mosey over to Target to the glorious Red Balls

Partner up

Suicides Start with 10 Squats at the start and at each ball do 10 partner hand tap sit-ups

Mosey over to the fountain and do some dips and derkins

Mosey back to the COT

It was a very chilly day at the Swamp this morning. Excitement was in the air for Bing’s last workout in the Fort.  When 5:15 hit, we had 6 Pax ready to ruck and 18 Pax ready to bootcamp.

To warm up we took a short mosey around the Swamp with some dynamic exercises (High Knees, Butt Kicks, Karaoke, Toy Soldier). We finished in the Home Depot parking lot and circled up for COP.

I reached out to Bing the night before to see if he wanted to participate and he volunteered to take the COP. So I handed it off to Bing for a variety of work (Merkins, Windmill, SSH. Once everyone was loose, Bing passed it back and it was time to get to work.

The Thang

I tried to design a workout that would test the Pax without requiring a lot of running. So that means Burpees, 100 to be exact. I brought back a new favorite of mine, the 100 Burpee Challenge. It consists of 10 different burpee variations for 10 reps with 30 second rest in between. The burpees were:

• X Burpees
• Split Burpees
• Thigh Slap Burpees
• Burpees w/ Parker Peter
• Squat Hold Burpees
• Burpees with SSH (3x)
• One-Legged Skier Burpees
• Heel Slap Burpees
• Frop-Hop (3x) Burpees (May need to change the names of this to Make-It Clap Burpees)
• Hand Release Burpees

This is the perfect start to a workout on a very cold day. Nothing gets the blood flowing like 100 Burpees.

Then it was onto the next. We moseyed to the alley behind the Home Depot for some wall work.

We started People’s Chair with 25 Overhead presses. When finsihed it was 5 Burpees OYO. Then back to the wall for People’s Chair with 50 Overhead Presses. When finished it was 5 more Burpees OYO. Finally it was People Chair with 75 Overhead Presses. When finsihed it was 5 more Burpees OYO.

Next we moseyed to the infamous ‘Big Red Balls’ in front of Target. Not a final tour of the Swamp without the Big Red Balls. Here we bear crawled while stopping at each ball for 5 merkins. This was a much better idea on paper. #SoMuchBearCrawling

With only a couple minutes left we formed two lines for a nice Indian Run back to the shovel flag.

When we got back to the shovel flag we met up with the ruckers and Bing closed out the final minute with some merkins.

Thanks to all the Pax that came out to support Bing as he embarks on this new journey in his life. I believe I speak for all the Pax, when I wish him all the best as he starts this new chapter. Your positvity and energy will surely be missed in the Fort.

Prayers

• Mr T’s wife dealing with loss
• Parents traveling to Indonesia
• Olaf’s new baby
• WWL M sister-in-law dealing with cancer
• CSPAN’s M having knee surgery
• Gear’s family friend waiting on medical testing
• Royale’s father
• Bonsai’s wife recovering
• Bing’s 2.0s and the move to FL

Until next time, its back to the hunt…

24 men met on a brisk morning at The Swamp.  Some came for bootcamp, some for Ruck, and the others for a little run and fellowship.  Here is what the bootcampers did:

The Thang:

Dynamic warm up with knee pulls, ankle pulls, lunge/arm extensions, arm circles, shoulder stretches, toy soldiers.  Mosey out to COP:

SSH x 50, Merkin x 10, Windmill x 10,Diamond merk x 10, LBC x 25, Squat x 20, IW x 20, Mountain climber x30/hold/6″/hold/6″

Line up along the curb for 11’s.  1 derkin/10 dips, 2 derkins/9 dips, 3 derkins/8 dips. ….all the way to 10 derkins/1 dip.

Mosey to adjacent lot, break into groups of 4 and run 40 yard spints, with short recovery.  I think we did 10 today (give or take – crowd pleaser)

Mosey to the alley between Home Depot and Target.  Line up along the wall.

Balls to the wall, then bearcrawl to the opposite wall, and back up to BTW.  Bearcrawl back to the start.  Extended people’s chair with overhead hand claps.    Rinse and repeat whole thing.

Mosey back to the 1st lot for ABLAB:

Freddie merc x 25, Pretzel crunch x 10L/10R, Hello Dolly x 20.  Superman hold x 3, V-up x 10

Indian Run back to COT

Moleskin

Wow – that was quite a crowd for a Friday!  It was an awesome morning – cold, crisp weather, the tree Xmas lights out, and a good motivated group.  There was a lot of chatter before we started and when we finished, but not so much in the middle.    I had a couple challenges this morning (Peter Brady voice on a couple cadence counts and having a larger group than expected) so a couple audibles were called during the workout (dips and derkins, bearcrawls in the alley). Luckily, this place is HUGE so there plenty of room to improvise.  I like to break out the sprint repeats every now and again to get the Pax moving out of their comfortable run pace.  T-claps to Wild Thing and Cha Ching (hey, that rhymes), for really pushing the pace on each repeat – well done gentlemen!   Also, shout out to our war baby today, Sweet Feet, age 10 for coming out with Dad and braving the cold.  Good luck with the test today, young man.

The Ruck craze taking over Fort Mill  was in full display this morning.  Earlier this week, the ruckers took over the bootcampers at Golden Corral and forced them to join the ruck.  When will this madness end?  It was great to have a large festive group, with lots of new faces this morning. Everyone worked hard today and it was a pleasure to lead them.

Announcements/Prayers/Praises:

Xmas Party (Dec 17) , Turkey collection for the Paradise neighborhood (Dec 17 – Deacon, Figaro, Bolt), Joe Davis Run (Jan 7).  Read the newsletter!

Prayers for those that struggle with the holidays and a call to the Pax to spread hope.

Prayers for several children with serious illnesses (too many), medical tests, and , and

Prayers and good luck to all of the runners traveling to Kiawah for the marathon and 1/2 marathon.

Nice crowd out for various forms of exercise (Bootcamp, Ruck, Run).  8 men went on an adventurous route around Rivergate.  After a brief disclaimer, we jogged over to Gander Mountain.  Lots of mumble chatter about the amount of running, but I promised it would get better.

Warm-ups:

SSH x25

Imperial Walker x20

Windmill x15

Various plank stretches

Next, we lined up for the following exercise combinations along the length of Gander Mountain store front:

Leg Lunges / Squats

Reverse Leg Lunges / Leg Lifts

Bear Crawl / Merkins

Crab Walk / LBCs

Reverse Bear Crawl / Carolina Dry Docks

After a couple moments to catch our breath, we jogged back to the Fountain and performed the following exercises:

Derkins x10

Dips x10

Flutter Kicks x10

Rinse and repeat 3 times

We then jogged back to the front of PetSmart.  I heard someone mention “Burpees” so I made a slight modification to the end of the workout.  At each crosswalk, we added 5 burpees to the sprint back to COT.

Announcements:

Read newsletter

Convergence Thanksgiving day at the Ranch

Christmas party, sign up and pay up

Prayers:

Gecko’s church friend’s newborn fighting an intestinal issue

Prayers for the men and their families who have not been out with the Pax

Always an honor!

Fishsticks