21 men cane to minnow pond from all directions and walks of life
the plan was simple
run, exercise, run, exercise, run, exercise
starting at memorial park across from launch point
10 Donkey Kicks
run up Massey
10 Merkins
run down Spratt
10 leg raises
run back to memorial park
5-7 Rounds
60-75 reps of exercises as each round we increased by 1 rep
3.5-4.0 miles
Was expecting a wet one this a.m. and while the rain held off a bit, as predicted, we were blessed with an abundance of water from the sky.
Got to the site early to setup shop and hide coupons from COT view. Jwoww happened to drive past the secret location on his way in and the tires were compromised.
Quick disclaimer and off we went for a mosey down to the entrance of the field, circled back around to COT for a warmup.
We then moseyed to 1 of 3 pain stations for the main event and fired up the playlist.
DMC – Duck Walk, Merkin, Crawl Bears
Had cones spread 15ish yards apart explained the exercise; Duck walk w/ KB to first cone, 5 merkins, crawl bear back to starting position. Rinse and repeat bringing your KB to the next station and increasing merkin count by 5. Uhaul in his brilliance asked whether we were going to the 4th cone, of course, why would it be there otherwise?
After the 2nd round, you start feeling the impact of merkins and crawl bear. #shoulderstrong
After we wrapped up, the first station, off to the 2nd.
Partner up P1 run with tire to 2nd light post and return serving as the timer. P2 complete exercises on board of pain. Each partner execute on exercise, rinse and repeat through exercises. Walked through exercises and asked Bird Cage to demonstrate Hay Makers as I failed miserably at The Hive last Friday. This is about when the rain decided to appear.
Exercises in order:
Sadly, running out of time, we were unable to move to the 3rd painstation, packed it up and headed back to COT for a finale.
Perfect song to end the workout, while in plank position:
With 2 minutes to spare, suggested Burp & Squat increasing reps by 1 to 5. 1 burpee followed by 1 squat and so on. That was met with minimal enthusiasm and we made it to 4 by time.
Always enjoy the solid mumblechatter at this AO, makes embracing the suck that much more enjoyable. Thanks 3D for the opportunity.
Video evidence below:
Well YHC watched Aquaman the night before and as customary, I looked up the workout Jason Momoa did to get in shape for this role. Low and behold, it could work with body weight exercises.
All familiar faces were present so the disclaimer was brief. A brief mosey followed by some warmup exercises. Nothing out of the ordinary.
The Thang:
AR-7. Accelerated Results. First was dips. Followed by jump squats and finally Merkins.
Format was as follows:
7 sets of 7 reps with 7 seconds of rest between sets. We did all 7 sets and did a short mosey as our rest.
Next was 6 sets of 6 reps with 6 seconds of rest. Short mosey.
Last up was 5 sets of 5 reps
After we finished up the dips, we moseyed to a grassy area to preserve the old joints. Same format just Jump Squats this time. Since the legs were jello-like, no mosey, just recovery.
Finally we moseyed near the pull up bars for the Merkins portion. Same format.
And then… we headed back for some Mary and COT.
thanks to Harry Carry for the opportunity!
Wegmans
2019 was a Flux-y year for YHC. Getting in the groove of a new job, 3 of 5 2.0’s leaving the house, mom deciding to move into assisted living, brother going through a second divorce, etc. Needless to say it could have been a lonely year. Could have been. If not for my Shieldlock, along with a lot of other F3 brothers, it would have been. My Shieldlock was made earlier in 2019 and has been solidifying and accelerating ever since. The 3 HIM’s that I was so blessed to get in this Team have made more of an impact in my life than ever expected.
The Weasel Shaker is letting go of the “2019: Year of the BackBlast” and picking up a new and I think more impactful 2020 Mantra. “2020: Year of the Shieldlock”
You may ask: Funhouse, what is a Shieldlock? Let me explain. It’s awesome. Here are the details.
Shieldlock is found in the first quadrant of the Q source, Get Right. More specifically Q1.7, if you are following along with the idiotic numbering system. It is the Horizontal Relationship between Men.
The WHY: We cannot do this thing called life alone. Man the hunter is born hard-wired to protect himself and his loved ones from other hunters. Recognizing strength in numbers, we combine into Communities for our mutual protection from aggression. When threatened, we lock our individual shields together into a defensive wall to repel the invader. While both threat and defensive means have evolved throughout history, this elemental fact of who we are has never changed. The HIM locks his shield with other HIM’s to protect the people behind the wall.
The WHAT: The Shieldlock is NOT a Club, it is a Team. Made up of 3-5 HIM, 4 is a great number, who form the horizontal relationships that protect and enrich us all. The HIM recognizes his Shield Lock as an essential relationship within his Concentrica (ask me if you need to about this one too) and one of his most important Teams. He takes great care in nourishing it as he knows he can neither hunt nor defend alone.
The HOW: Team (Shieldlock) is governed by the rule of 3P, meaning that its Members must be in Proximity, have Purpose and meet Periodically. Proximity requires physical nearness. Purpose is the fighting of the Flux, which is the emotional reaction to the peaks and valleys that appear throughout a man’s life. Periodic is the final element of the 3P. The Shield Lock must come together periodically to be Effective.
So? I want to help the Pax of The Fort to see the impact that a Shieldlock can make in your life. I am making myself available to anyone who is looking to form a Shieldlock, any current Shieldlock that may need some direction or a struggling Shieldlock that needs help in accelerating. My vision is that we get 4 guys that live near each other, that may know each other at some level (even if it is just posting at the same AO week after week) and have a schedule and lifestyle that suits to meeting regularly.
Pro Tips in starting a Shieldlock: 1) Find 2-3 guys that you already have some level of relationship and that you trust. These guys should be around the same age, have about the same family lifestyle, and live near each other (like in the same town to make it easy to meet). 2) Make sure that all the guys understand the Why behind the Shieldlock. This is not primarily a Bible Study, happy hour buddies, or just to talk about your day. The Why is fighting the Flux. To get transparent and vulnerable so that your Shieldlock can effectively lock shields and lift you up out of the Flux and you can do the same for them. 3) Set a reoccurring time and place to meet. The good thing about a 4 man Shieldlock is if someone misses, there is still 3, or at least 2. If you have a 3 man Shieldlock you will be meeting 1 on 1 and missing out on the purpose of having multiple men locking shields. Power in numbers right? 4) Get started. There is no better time to meet than this week! Remember that it takes time to build relationships and trust, don’t force it. However, if you don’t start nothing will happen.
Please reach out to me at 803-833-2398, joshuacsale@hotmail.com OR Slack if you have questions about a Shieldlock, how to start one or how to restart one that may be fading.
FunHouse
It is time to grab your heavy thing and honor our local hero Mike Doty. Detective Mike Doty has a tremendous impact on our community. Our annual workout Is one of our ways to recognize the man Mike Doty was
This year we will meet at The Patriot in Rock Hill on Saturday, January 25th at 0700. Bring a ruck, a sandbag, a kettlebell, cinder block, whatever. Ideal weight is between 25 and 30 pounds.
Sullivan Middle School
1825 Eden Terrace, Rock Hill, SC 29730
On Tuesday the 7th, 15 #HIM descended upon Golden Corral to continue making 2020 a year of acceleration. 10 PAX started early as YHC encountered Dark Helmet leading a group around the grounds. Fortunately, they did not mess up the sidewalk chalk – that came in handy later to give PAX some not so subtle reminders about what to do…..many times.
After the 10 extra credit (BTP) PAX joined for the boot camp or ruck, here’s what the boot campers did:
Mosey to COP – 12 low slow squats (D/C), hold the people’s chair after the 12th squat while doing 12 double count Moroccan night clubs, Imperial Walkers X 12 (D/C), Hillbilly Walkers X 12 (D/C). Mosey some more……COP (continued), 15 SSH’s (D/C), 10 Windmills (D/C), 15 Merkins (D/C), 15 Mountain Climbers (D/C), 10 Plank jacks, then mosey to the main event.
The sidewalk chalk served as the guide, the date was 1-7-20 – those numbers add up to 28. Every sequence was an exercise followed by a bear crawl a set distance (25-ish yards) (no one went as fast as Tesh would have), another exercise, a mosey back to the start line and repeat. The exercises of the day were……squats and merkins – always adding up to 28.
26 squats, bear crawl, 2 merkins, mosey back
24 squats, bear crawl, 4 merkins, mosey back
22,6 20,8 18,10 16,12 14,14 12,16 10,18 8,20 6,22 4,24 2,26
The squats got less, the merkins more and all PAX got better,
Over 2700 merkins and over 2700 squats were done in total. YHC heard about it later.
After one fast and one not so fast 10 count, we moseyed around the building to do, of course, 7’s – it was January 7 after all.
The exercises were Kracken burpees and Carolina Dry Docks – 6 KB’s a 15-ish yard lunge walk, 1 CDD and a mosey back to the wall, 5 KB’s, lunge walk, 2 CDD’s and a mosey back 4, lunge walk 3, 3 lung walk 4, 2 lunge walk 5, 1 lunge walk 6.
After Pusher proclaimed how terrible all this was (YHC thought Carolina Dry Docks would make him feel better), we had just enough time to get to COT for 2 minutes of Mary before the Ruckers saved us from going past the 0600 bell.
Slow Flutter kicks (D/C) x 15
Protractor at varying angles, finishing at 0 degrees and 0600 for COT.
Announcements:
1-29 Grapevine fundraiser for Classroom Ready – Celebrity bar tenders. Who will be there? (#showtoknow)
Let Me Run seeking coaches for teams in schools in both Fort Mill and Rock Hill – reach out to Cyclops or Double D with interest and/or questions.
Word of the Year – Focus on it and live it out. Use your shield locks to hold you accountable. Together, we all get better than we ever would alone.
Praises and Prayers – Lutefisk’s Father-in-law, Cyclops’s Dad, Tinsel’s brother, Duck Dynasty and his niece and for continuing to be a hope and light to others in a world that is often darker than we like.
Just prior to COT, YHC shared the 3 elements of a high impact relationship – 1) it meets you where you are 2) it provides safety to allow you to grow and 3) it teaches you about yourself.
Thanks to F3 and the high impact relationships it provides its PAX. We have the privilege and honor to be sharpened and honed by many high impact men within our community when in one another’s presence – through all 3 F’s – what a gift it is.
As we all seek to make 2020 a year of acceleration, YHC is grateful for 2 things today: 1) To Lutefisk for the opportunity to Q – it’s always an honor and 2) To the brothers of F3 for being a reason YHC chooses the harder thing far more often than I used to.
Stay after it. Keep going. Kamwe Kuacha (Never Stop).
Honored.
Cyclops
Willpower is only the trigger to get a person started on a positive habit (#Brick). In order to maintain and continue #Bricklaying, a person needs to change the mental and physical environment in which they live, so that the habit can develop the “muscle memory” needed to go the distance. My #DRP list is lengthening, as is my ability to have #IMPACT in the men around me, and the following is intended to continue to put me on the right trajectory.
For the year of 2020, my word is “GO”. In an effort to continue to #Accelerate my 1stF, and beginning on 1/6/20, I am instituting (for myself and anyone who wants to join me) an EC (Extra Credit) 15 minutes (of Boot Camp or running, or maybe even Broga) prior to every 45 minute workout. I will tweet and Slack the location with the hashtag #BTP the day before for those who wish to join me. (It’s a way to “trap” myself into an accelerating habit…)
For example, Monday I usually hit Honey Badger which is an hour workout. There would not necessarily be an EC prior to this (though there could be). Tuesday, I will be at Golden Corral. At 0500, I will begin an EC portion of the workout for those that want to join. It will launch from the same AO, and will be back at the AO in time for the 0515 normal start of the Post.
Clear as mud? Good. Ask me your questions. Otherwise, check your Twitter/Slack and #Accelerate with me.
Helmet, out.
21 Pax showed up for the Slug-fest that was a Cha-Ching and YHC’s Co-Q. All Pax arrived on time for the special 0500 kick off. I was taking the #ShovelFlag at the end of the Beatdown so we wanted to do something brutally special to mark the occasion.
Quick disclaimer and we where off and rolling. Cha-Ching had the 1st 30 minutes and didnt’t disappoint.
Mosey to the end of the BEst Buy /Pet Smart Parking lot. 30 SSH- Mosey on to the other side of Home Depot 15 bomb jacks, run back to spot by Petsmart 20 smurfjacks, run back to HD 30 seal jacks, run back to PS, 30 plank Jacks.
Mosey over to the wide parking lot in front of PS. Break up into two groups for a new take on Bone the Fish.
Bear crawl up two parking spaces then side crawl down the line then up two more, rinse and repeat. Total parking lot length was about 15 spaces. At the end do 30 squat jumps. Bear Crawl down and back again , do 20 donkey kicks. Then we bear crawled up two spaces and side shuffeled the width of the whole parking lot. Continue this down the length and did 10 burpees to complete the movement.
Mosey over to the fountain 3 types of burpees before time expired on the first 30 minutes.
5x Kracken Burpees, 5x knee slap burpees and 5x 1 leg burpees.
At this Point I took the Reins:
The Shovel Flag Switch
Split PAx into teams of 3.
MAX REPS TO FAILURE
P1s = Body weight in the lower level of stair alley
P2s= Run between groups: up/down the stairs
P3s= Cinder blocks
Basic rules: P1 Starts on the bottom level of the outdoor patio across from Just Fresh doing Max Rep Body weight exercises. P3 moves to the dead end side of the parking load and does max reps of cinder block exercises. P2 starts with P3 and runs roughly 100 yrds up and down the stairs to P1. Upon arrival they switch. P2 does body weight and P1 runs up and down the stairs to P3 and they Switch as per the above. Rinse and repeat through the various exercise combos.
Exercises:
Round 1- P1- MTN Climbers P3- Block Squats
Round 2- P1- LBCs P3- Block Swings
Round 3- P1- Squats P3- Block Curls
Round 4- P1- Bomb Jacks- P3- OH Presses
Round 5-P1- The Claw( Thnaks PotHole) : P3- Block Hammers
Round 6 P1- Merkins P3- Squat Thrusts
Round 7 P1-Peter Parkers P3- Alt Hand Block Merks
Round 8 P1- BBS P3- Man Makers
We Made it Through 6 rounds finishing on Squat Thrusters and Merkins.
With 4-5 minutes left we picked up the cindys, beatdown boards and laundry pile( it was decidedly warmer than some of us expected) shuffled back for COT.
I accepted the Shovel Flag and look forward to growing the reputation of the #Swamp as a smoker AO in The FORT. Appreciate Cha-Ching thinking of me to take over for him. It’s an honor!
Duck Out!
One Word Year in Review
When: 1/17/20 after the Convergence, 6:15 AM
Where: Eternal Church offices (“the Shack behind Zaxby’s)
What: One Word 3rd F Invergence
Who: All Fort Pax looking to improve
How much weight can One word carry? What’s in a Word? Each year, The Fort (along with many other F3 Nation regions) undertakes a “Word of the Year” challenge. Just another tool in the toolbox on the road to growth. The rules are quite simple:
As we gather to kick off the One Word Challenge of 2020, come hear from 4 of the The Fort’s Highly Impactful Men about the word they chose for 2019. How did that word shape their 2019? Did it help them become a better servant leader, husband, father, brother and/or friend?
Bring your questions, thoughts and words. See You There.
Short Sale
Four men posted for Milkshake: two infirmed and two rucking. Weather was pleasant at 45 degrees (or so) and dry.
1st F Notes: Plan was for a walk with a couple of interruptions for exercises.
Walked around the park and headed to Main Street.
On the way, stopped at the veteran’s memorial and did squats, peter parkers, and incline merkins.
Walked up Main Street, then headed east. Circled back down via Williamson and Confederate Streets.
Headed up the hill Massey Street, stopped and did more squats and merkins. Avoided the barking dog and lady with the penchant to call the police on F3 guys by walking down Massey to Harris and Ardrey back to WEP.
We covered approximately 2.5 miles. Map with critical events is included.
2nd F Notes:
With Christmas just a few days before, we discussed the favorite gifts we received this year: Wegman’s Yeti camping mug (not just for cocoa), Peabody got a picture of his dog in impressionist style.
We also discussed our first cars, which was a topic on my mind since my daughter just turned 16 and got het license.
Also was my first time doing a ruck walk-about (thanks to Shady lending me his ruck).
Milkshake is a great way to know your fellow pax better and have fun.