started off a little different this morning ,, instead of the normal warm up, we  jumped straight into a 1 mile mossy which is out of the norm for me.. fat guys arnt suppose to run..  after a quick breather and a few words about second chances, we mossyed across the street to the library parking lot where we commenced to do 25 burpees an bear crawl to the next light pole all the way down the parking lot.. for a grand total of 110 burpees and about 100 yards of crawling, back to the ao for a quick ab lab , and the cot

Great showing from a great group of guys. It’s always fun to lead, even after being in and out with injuries it’s something I never want to miss.

Warm Up
SSH – 28
Mountain Climbers – 21
Low Slow Squats – 14

The Thang
Mosey over to Winthrop Fountain
SSH – 21
Mountain Climbers – 28
Low Slow Squats – 21

Mosey over to Winthrop Courtyard
SSH – 14
Mountain Climbers – 14
Low Slow Squats – 7

Mosey over to “Big Show” Amphitheater
SSH – 7
Mountain Climbers – 7
Low Slow Squats – 7

Split into Two Groups
Group One Runs “The Big Show”
On One Side Do 7 Squats, other side do 7 Merkins all the way to the top

Group Two Runs the Main Campus Courtyard Giant Lap
First Lap Seven Squats
Second Lap Seven Merkins
So on and so forth until team one reaches the top

Switch Activities group one takes Courtyard Run, Team two takes on “The Big Show”

Mosey on Back to COT

COT
Dynamic Stretching that I learned from Sasquatch, who is an amazing #HIM in case you did not know.

I spoke to Marriages as we continue in the 30 day marriage challenge of honoring our spouses.
I referenced Ecclesiastes 4:12 A Strand of Three Cords is not Easily Broken.
Remember to seek God as a couple as he is that third strand. Lean on him in the good times and the bad, and together seek him.
In order to be a better father be a great Husband to your wife, they live through your example.

F3 Rock Hill is growing fast, and with that comes new AO’s and new leaders. Over the next few months stretch yourselves. You will be called on to lead in F3, as you are called to do already in your daily life. Schrute and Italian Job spoke to this and how we can continue seeking to reach our community. We grow like a starfish, when one tentacle splits, it creates a brand new starfish. Be prepared to grow and do it with some great #HIM’s along the way.

Announcements
Children’s Attention Home is in need of more Male Leaders, continue to bring snacks out to the AO’s for the rest of the week. We had 117 snacks/drinks this morning!

Fastest 5K – 5/21 IT’S THIS SATURDAY PEOPLE

Hog and Coyote – 6/18

Check your email for additional announcements and details

Riddler Out!

Continuing on “The Marriage” theme we got into groups of two and you had to partner with someone who you don’t know and haven’t met and/or aren’t on the same page fitness wise. This is to help meet more PAX and push each other hard.

In the group of two you had to do merkins that add up 500 (so 500 merkins between two guys)

After 5 minutes we circled up and we did 25 SSH, 25 Mountain Climbers, 25 LBC’s, 25 Moroccan Nightclubs

Then we got with a new PAX (same rules applied as above) and you had to continue to do merkins that add up to 500

After 3 minutes we circled up and did 25 SSH, 25 Toy Soldiers, 25 Hello Dolly, 25 Imperial Walkers

We did 3 rounds of an Indian Run on the top deck of a parking lot. Wanted to find a running exercise where everyone could stay together and not get left behind.

“Hurricane” of Merkins. We circled up and did the sundial merkin (each PAX holds a plank and with their legs in the middle and you walk your hands around to 3, 6, 9 and 12 doing a merkin at each one). We listened to the song “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by the German rock band Scorpions and each time they said Hurricane you moved your hands to the 3, 6, 9 & 12 position doing a merkin. Remember Hurricane season begins June 1st!

It was great to see all the cars pulling in on such a hot and humid morning.  I haven’t lead 22 PAX in a long time, must be spring/summer.  I hope to see you all out there this winter when it’s 30 degrees, this is really my favorite time to post.   That’s really when you get to know a lot of the guys and really dig into the 2nd and 3rd F’s.  A short disclaimer and we took a short mosey over to the soccer field for warm up.

Carolina Dry Docks IC

Windmill IC

Morracan Night Clubs IC

We did a series of butt kickers, high knees, and karaoke on the way to the playground.

At the playground we counted off in 2’s and completed 3 series of exercises.

1’s 10 Pull ups while 2’s completed derkins. We completed 3 series of these

1’s 10 pull ups and 2’s 20 swing crunches. 3 series of these

1’s 10 toe ups and 2’s 20 squats. Only 2 series of these

So, I have started pushing myself to do things that I dislike not only in F3 but in everyday life.  Something has to be said for trying to reach out of my comfort zone and learn something new or get better at something you dislike.

That being said we did around a 40 yard burpee broad jump across the parking lot.  I also dislike pull ups, toe ups, derkins, and swing crunches.

I thought we would end the workout with some interval training since the Fast 5 is coming up so we stayed in our groups and ran around the carpool lane pushing our selves to run as fast as possible knowing we would have a recovery lap after we finished.  Completed 4 laps total, 2 fast and 2 slow. Great job all and it was a pleasure to lead the Ranch again this morning. Thanks Spider Man.

Announcements:

Fast 5 at Fort Mill High School. Sign up!!

24 Hours of Booty Fundraiser to kick cancers butt. This is a great way to contribute to finding a cure for cancer and I know everyone has a story to share.  WE NEED YOUR HELP So please see me, Spider Man, or Sir Topham Hat for more information on donating or riding to kick cancer.

Bring drinks and snacks to your AO’s to donate to children.

Prayers and Praises:

To F3 Olive for the loss of his 8 year old daughter suddenly.

Smokey’s family and daughter

Praise to Sasquatch’s Mom for winning the Leader of the year in Mental Health Award in NY. There is only one award giving yearly so T-Claps to Sasquatch’s Mom!

Prayers to Senator Tressels father in-law and a quick recovery from the fall and pneumonia.

“I do it myself”

Cerrano

I am sure many of you will remember the short story from high school called The Lottery.

It’s about a town who every year held a lottery.  Suspense built as the reader was kept in the dark as to the prize until the end – when the ‘winner’ was stoned to death by the rest of the townspeople.

What does this have to do with the Fast 5?

Anchorman has (shockingly!) not been asked to join a team, and since he’s one of the organizers of this whole thing we felt that was a tragedy.

Sooooo….

When you show up next Saturday you’ll be given a ticket.  If your ticket is picked, you don’t run and Anchorman takes your place.

Have you ever wanted to not win so much in your life?

#damnitsgoodtobeagangsta

I was very nervous about getting my first shot to Q at the Deep! I have been very fortunate to Post under the leadership of some great Qs, so I felt obligated to create a workout to live up to there level. I spent a number of days constantly tweaking and changing and there wasnt enough sleep to be had the night before.  But the day was here so lets get to it:

The Thang:

Royale got use started with a quick lap around the parking lot with included:
Butt Kickers
High Knees
Knee Pulls
Ankle Pulls

Then a quick mosey to the soccer field for the COP:

COP
SSH X25
Imperial Walkers X15
Merkins X11
Mountain Climbers X15
Moroccan NightClubs X15

Now onto the pain.

We started with a round of Four Corners.  Start wtih 20 Freddy Mercurys then:
1st Corner – 10 Pull Ups
Return to center for 20 more Freddy Mercurys
2nd Corner – 30 Wide Arm Merkins
Return to center for 20 more Freddy Mercurys
3rd Corner – 20 Bomb Jacks
Return to center for 20 more Freddy Mercurys
4th Corner – 30 Juming Lunges
Return to center for 20 more Freddy Mercurys

Royale concluded his half with a quick message regrading this months theme of Marriage. He focused on the upcoming Marriage Challenge. Encouraging us to focus on our M’s and to show them the love we have for them by partaking in the 30 day challenge.

Then Royale passes it off to me for the 2nd half.

Ride the Wave: We start with a quick mosey over to a very large and long hill, but at the Deep we dont have Hills we have Waves. And when you see a Wave as large as this one you gotta ride it. We zig-zagged up and down the hill 5 times really testing the legs. The Pax enjoyed it so much we rode it twice.

Following a quick 10 count we moseyed to our next challenge

The Deep:  On my recon of The Deep, I found the deepest hill at the AO and a perfect place to meet the Kraken. We would run up and down this hill performing decreasing Kraken burpees (5,4,3,2,1) each time down the hill. Facing the Kraken really tested the Pax but they powered through.

Quick message regarding marriage and Presence. I encouraged the Pax to be more present in there everyday lives to better strengthen their relationship with their M’s by “Giving 100%” and most importantly “Surrounding the Outcome”.

Then a quick mosey to the Tee Ball field.

F3 Baseball: Each base contained a different exercise. Home – Merkins; 1st – Squats; 2nd – LBCs 3rd – SShs. All Pax performed the exercise at the base while one Pax did a lap around the field. When the Pax returned we moved to the next base and another Pax started a lap. Continue until we completed 3 Home Runs.

We followed this by a final homerun performed by bearcrawling to 1st for one one-legged burpee, crab walk to 2nd for two one-legged burpees, crab walk to 3rd for three one-legged burpees and finally bear crawl to Home for four one-legged burpees.

Quick mosey up to the school for final exercise.

Walk the Plank – 6 Plank variations held for :30 seconds. 1st – Push Up Plank; 2nd: Side Arm Plank; 3rd: Front  Arm Plank; 4th: Forearm Plank; 5th: Plank Shuffle; 6th: Push up to Forearm Plank

Mosey to COT.

Announcements
May 21 Fastest 5K
May 21 Cannoli Run – be sure to sign up to support our brother Bolt
Read the newsletter for other important announcements

Prayer Requests
Royale son’s birthday (turns 8) and his 9th anniversary

Thank you to Royale for the encouragement and mentorship to get out there a start Q so early in my F3 journey. It was truly and honor and privilege to be able to lead the Pax through this workout.

Friday the 13th theme.  Ssh 13 count in cadence.  Merkin cadence 13 count.  Night clubs 13 count in cadence.  Mosey.  13 frog jumps single.  13 Russian twists cadence.  13 imperial Walker squats in cad.   Mosey.  13 single dragon crawls.  Al gore 13 count x 2.   Mosey to Yolk walk with pain sticks.   100 curls in ag.  100 tricep ext in aggregate.  100 squats in agg.   Mosey to wall.  13 count with partner x 2 sets.   Seal sit-ups.  Protractor.   Box cutter.  Lbcc.  Canoe/boat. Drop the Mic!

What a great Workout!

P.S. Dreamhouse lost his cookies – way to go Bull

Pray for world peace, hunger and all the unspokens.

29 PAX joined YHC at ManU as I had the pleasure of Q’ing on a beautiful morning with a little humidity. As I have seen other workout groups come and go, I believe F3 is here to stay. It has been a blessing to me see all PAX get stronger physically and spiritually through the leadership of other PAX and SkyQ.

I began at 0514 with an opening word on what shepherds do with the sheep & goats in the evenings. Short story is they must be separated from each other. The goats are taken indoors because they don’t have the natural protection that sheep do (wool) to stay warm through the night. In saying that, here we go.

WARM UP

Circle Up at Moe’s AO. All IC
25 SSH.
10 Slow Windmills.
10 In Place Toy Soldiers.
10 Knee Pulls.
10 Peter Parker Peters.
20 Italian Night Clubs.

THE THANG

Mosey into Manchester Park (shhh) to Main Shelter by Pond.

American Hammer for 6.
15 Irkins IC
30 Dips IC
15 Derkins IC

Four Corners of Pond & Pond AO (The Shelter)

Counted off by 2s. Groups 1 & 2 went in opposite directions. All PAX performed exercises below at each Corner and at Pond AO.

Lap 1.
Corners.
10 Diamond Merkins.
20 Wide Arm Merkins.
25 Merkins.
30 Makhtar N’Diayes
Pond AO.
10 Standing Mountain Climbers. Plank for the 6.

Lap 2.
Corners.
20 Jumping Lunges (Single Count).
20 Jump Squats.
20 Regular Lunges (Double Count).
20 Slow & Low Squats.
Pond AO.
5 Burpees. Apollo Onos/Windmills for the 6.

Lap 3.
Corners.
25 Table Top Dips
25 Carolina Dry Docks
25 Table Top Dips (Opposite Leg Raised)
25 Carolina Dry Docks
Pond AO.
10 Standing Mountain Climbers. Step Ups for the 6.

Tried to Double Mule Run back to Moe’s Parking Lot, but it didn’t work. So we Moseyed to the COT.

COOL DOWN

15 LBCs
15 Freddy Mercurys
15 Boxcutters

RECOVER!!

MOLESKIN

As always, it was great to be with all PAX this morning. This group of men is growing and improving daily. Great mumble chatter throughout. Thank you all for what you bring to the group. Keep up the great work.

In Matthew 25:31-46 (read throughout the workout), God’s Word tells us that when the Son of Man (Jesus) returns He will separate the people from ‘all nations’ as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats in the evening. The goats will be placed on His left and the sheep on the right. Then He will say to those on His right, the sheep, ‘Come’, inherit the eternal Kingdom prepared for you.

He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me’, you shall go into the place prepared for the Devil & his angels.

There is a lot to unpack in these verses, but take notice of one thing. There is no middle ground. You will be either on the right or on the left of Jesus at the Day of Final Judgement. The question is, if the Son of Man returned NOW, on which side will you be standing? If you have any questions, concerns, or doubts about your faith in Christ, I urge you to reach out and ask someone who can guide you through the Biblical path to Salvation. God’s grace is a free gift, not earned, given to all who receive and believe. You have to be willing to make the decision to accept or reject the gift. Is God drawing you to Him today?

FNG Intro and Naming: Welcome Cap’n Kangaroo.

Announcements:

* Patriot Shirt Order ends Tomorrow, 5/13. Contact Italian Job for info.
* Children’s Attention Home Event. 5/14 from 10:30-12:00. Lunch after at LRB.
* F3 Dads – 5/14 Night at the Knights with your 2.0s.
* 5/16 – Patton (age 14) will be on Q at Tomahawk at Doby’s Bridge Elementary. Attend if you can.
* Fastest 5K – 5/21 get your teams together now.
* Children’s Attention Home Field Trip & Cookout. 5/22 from 16:00-18:00 at WEP. TAKING DONATIONS OF SINGLE PACKAGES SNACKS AND DRINKS FROM NOW UNTIL 5/21.
* Hog and Coyote – 6/18. More details coming.
* Check your email and newsletter for additional announcements and details.

Prayer Requests & Praises:

* Health Concerns: Popeye’s Mother, Chaser’s Father-In-Law, Package’s Father, Gauge’s Father, Roxanne’s Grandfather, Reborn’s follow up visit today.
* Continue to pray for Olive and his family.
* Turbine – Praise to God for PAX stepping up to help friend from church move.
* Those who were not with us.

Disclaimer
Train horn blew right a 5:15am…at Old Town that means 10 burped OYO. How fitting is that🔥👊🏼

Warm up
SSH-15
IW-15
Windmill-10

Mozy to Freedom Center
Stairs the reverse bear crawl with Derkins as you crawl

Mozy to the Hotbox

The PAX starts by running to level 1 and doing the “up exercise” listed below, then they run back down to the lowest level completing the “down exercise” per level coming down, then turn around and go to level 2 and perform that exercise. Then go to level 3 and continue using the same pattern until all 4 levels are complete. After level 3, the PAX has to hit all levels “up exercise” to level 4 and “down exercise” to the bottom.

Level 1
Up-Corn Cob Merkins-10
Down-10 Lunges/leg
Down-5 Burpee Pull-ups 

Level 2
Up-20 Diamond Merkins
Down-20 Jump Squats
Down-5 Burpee Pull-ups 

Level 3
Up-30 CDD
Down-30 Squats
Down-5 Burpee Pull-ups 

Level 4

Up-40 Merkins
Down-40 Calf Raises
Down-5 Burpee Pull-ups 

Mozy to fountain park
Derkin side walk at steps of fountain park
30 Dips

Head back to COT

Prayers
Popeye’s mom-diagnosed with cancer
Families-may we be #HIM with our families, neighborhoods, work, and the world. May people say of us, “he has been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

It is so good to be back at Old Town after a long injury that is still in process of healing, but good enough to go. Sometimes in our spiritual walk, we end up taking time off because of the busyness of this world. Just like coming back to F3 after an injury, our Lord desires for all of us to come back to Him when we get caught in the busyness and things of this world. Many times, that will require us to humble ourselves and admit that we have made the things of this world a priority over our Lord that CHOSE to make us a priority by leaving heaven to live a life on earth He didn’t have to, just to die a death that we couldn’t take ourselves…separation from God due to our sin. By Christ dying that death that we deserved, but couldn’t pay for with any amount of good works, we have a gift extended to us THROUGH the blood of Jesus Christ. BUT, like any gift, it has to be given and it has to be received; otherwise it isn’t a gift. The gift has been given…have you received it yet? The gift that is free to us was COSTLY to God. It cost the life of His only Son, but Praise God, Jesus conquered death and hell and rose from the dead victorious so that we too can be victorious in this life and the one in eternity. If you have been in a tough season and need to come back, Jesus waits with arms open wide to receive you back into His fellowship. Humble yourself, confess your sins and rest in Him!! If you have never come to Jesus, His arms are open wide from the Cross He bore, inviting you to come as you are into the rest of His salvation.

Aye!!

GET READY PAX as The Fort will once again be hosting the annual Memorial Day MURPH – BUT this year we will be adding some friendly PAX competition.

Normal morning workouts will still commence at their respective AO’s but this will be your opportunity to either #DoubleDown or come out PUMPED and READY for the MURPH.

So here are the deets…

What is a MURPH? Really, I mean really? ok… http://themurphchallenge.com/the-workout/
■1 mile Run
■100 Pull-ups
■200 Push-Ups
■300 Air Squats
■1 Mile Run

…with a 20lb vest or body armor

This workout does not have to be done in order except for the mile runs. You can stagger your pull-ups/push-ups/squats. Ex. Complete 10 Sets of 10 Pull-Ups/20 Push-Ups/30 Squats.

REASON: LT. Michael P. Murphy (SEAL) was the officer-in-charge of a four-man SEAL element in support of Operation Red Wings. Murphy is credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. For his selfless actions, LT. Michael Murphy was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on October 27, 2007. We honor his sacrifice and memory though The Murph Challenge.

Date: 5/30/16

LOCATION AO: NAFO HS (think Coop or Varsity)

START TIME: 0640

COFFEETERIA: 0730 (TBD day of)

So whats this “friendly” competition thing all about?

There will be 3 MURPH categories in which there will be a selected winner (don’t get too excited, no monetary winnings here – just good fun and bragging rights)

3 Winning Categories:
■MURPH with 20lb vest (award given TBD)
■MURPH without vest (award given TBD)
■MURPH ‘Casa de diversion’ (modified pull-up version aka the FUNHOUSE award)

Don’t fall short, if you cannot or do not have a vest at least strive to perform your pull-ups without variation or as we stated above – try not to perform a #Funhouse so start working on those pull-ups today – you have time!

Look forward to seeing all the PAX out there and do not forget to EH and bring friends from other areas.

NEW NEWS 5/26/16 = MDM t-shirts are not available:
http://f3.mudgear.com/collections/f3-shirts/products/f3-memorial-day-murph-2016-pre-order = you waited too long and the order is over…contact @mudgear if you still want one…

@FunHouse has a #FUNRUN (#F3RUNCLUB is chicken$hit) planned the #MDM morning, read all about it here: http://f3nation.com/2016/05/25/pre-blast-for-memorial-day-murph-funhouse-funrun/

Special Instructions:Talk to a Vet this weekend, and get a name of a KIA/Service Member to celebrate in COT, and when you feel like quitting…take a look at the name of a person who would be glad to be here doing the #MDM, but gladly paid the ultimate price to ensure our freedom.