Category: Varsity

Nas on a Nasty morning at Varsity?

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11 met on this misty/chilly morning at The Varsity. Band Camp led off with disclaimer that covered both he and I (fortunately). Then 3 PAX went on their own for a long run. The rest of us followed Band Camp the get started.

From Band Camp:
This morning I kept the yoga simple under the awning as rain was approaching:
We built up in segments to flow through Surya Namaskar A. Then had time for one sequence of Surya Namaskar B.
YHC passed the reins over to Kermit at exactly 0530. Always an honor to lead any workout, but leading Broga is an enjoyble chance to maintain focus through some excellent mumblechatter and groaning from the PAX.

From Kermit:
I thought we should wrap up the work week with some fun. And with the dry conditions and good lighting under the awning, I gave my “message” to the PAX: “Everything will eventually come to an end, So try to savor the moment, cuz time flies don’t it. The beauty of life, you gotta make it last for the better, cuz nothing lasts forever.” – Nas

Let’s get to work.

We left the dry comfort of the awning and moseyed through the rain to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill.

The Thang
ELEVENS – burpees at bottom of the hill and pull ups at the top of the hill.
We may have referenced the lyric “savor the moment” a couple of times.
Band Camp and Poppins led the way, and finished with a few minutes left in the gloom. A DORA of merkins, squats and more hill running was waiting for them.

Back to CoT, and joined back up with the runners.

NMM, Announcements, Prayers & Praises.

Thanks to Bodywash for the opportunity to lead.

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Caveman skills

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Five pax at Varsity on Black Friday 2021.
Started with Broga led by Sasquatch, then hand off to YHC for the bootcamp.
Thang #1
Theme was caveman skills, so started with a run (ancient man likely had to run after their prey for a long distance). Then ended up at the pull up bars:
5 pull ups followed by 10 merkins (I/C); repeat. Then a bar hang with knees-to-chest.
Thang #2
A caveman needs to drag his kill back to the family cave. Thus: sled pull from bars to stop sign and back again. Sled has four cinder blocks in it. While the one pax pulls the kill, the other pax toss a 15lb slam ball to each other. Each pax got a chance at the sled pull.
Thang #3
Run as a group down to the elementary school lot.
Spear throw. Homemade ‘spartan’ spear and capybara target. Pax started at about 40 feet from target, and we all missed. Got a little closer, and all missed. Got a little closer and Skate connected for the kill!
Celebrate being able to eat with 10 burpees.

Run up to shovel flag and do 4 mins of Mary.
Fini/COT

Materials/instructions:
Sled: plastic concrete mixing tub (large) from Lowes. A rope is wrapped around the tub’s lip.
Capybara target: foam, cardboard, googlie eye, glue; marthastewart.com for instructions.
Spear: shovel handle, lumber nail/spike, 2-part epoxy. Also marthastewart.com for instructions (jail-house lessons section).
Some workouts are best done when there is no-school…don’t need someone calling the cops on a “…bunch of guys running around with a spear…”

Skate takes the kill!

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Varsity: new format: part 2

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6 PAX, 34 degrees, #winning

Sasquatch set a pretty high bar last week with this new format of Broga followed by a Bootcamp. YHC fired up the core with some yoga and moved into a brief Vinyasa routine

Headed over to the pullup bars; arrived at 5:32.
3 rounds of, 30 seconds on with 10 seconds of rest. (I added 20 seconds of mercy between each round)
Burpees
Pull-ups
High Knees
Pistol Squats
Burpee Pull-ups
Hanging Knee to Chest with twist

That was hard…

I had my kettlebell collection setup:
Sasquatch 45lb
Skate 40lb
YHC 35lb
Shield used a cinderblock, because he’s the man. #respect
Cohiba 30lb
Bodywash 20lb

30 seconds each
2 minutes each hand

One-handed Swing
High Pull
Snatch
One-handed Thruster

This was hard…

5:54
American Hammers with the bell for 1 min

Great work by PAX not expecting bells to be there.
5:55
Finish with some more yoga, specifically pigeon lunge

0600

Lots of prayers:
Skate’s 2.0 looking at colleges
Bodywash’s dad and father-in-law
Shield’s mom dealing with cancer
Band Camp’s friend dealing with cancer
Shop Vac’s family (his funeral is tomorrow)

Lots of praise:
Skate’s 2.0 looking at colleges
Bodywash’s dad is improving
Sheild’s mom’s cancer is treatable
Band Camp’s friend’s cancer is treatable
Shop Vac’s family can see the IMPACT he had on all of us

An honor to lead
—
Band Camp dismissed

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F3TheFort Holiday Drop-In

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The Forts annual holiday party will have a different feel this year.
With COVID still lingering we have decided to have a gathering but it will be a bit different.

We are encouraging The PAX to go to dinner with your M and either your Shieldlock, Whetstone, or small group of fellow PAX and their Ms. After dinner we will all gather for an hour or so of a social hour(s).
This will give our Ms the opportunity to meet the crazy fellas we spend the early mornings with but more importantly their M.

We are all fortunate to have this crazy group it is also just as important to try and let our Ms meet some other ladies in the community and possibly let them start great friendships as well.

Make it a day of F3. Start with the golf outing, go to dinner and then grab a couple beers, a bottle of J Lohr wine, a cocktail and let’s kick off the holiday season.

If COVID worries you or your M we will have an outdoor area to hang out at as well as indoor areas.

Where- Springfield Community Center- by the tennis courts/pool
420 Horton Grove, Fort Mill, SC 29715

Time- 7pm-9pmish

When- Dec 3rd, 2021

Contact- Backdraft with any concerns…

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F3 The Fort Anniversary Party

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Get ready to celebrate the Anniversary of The Fort. Location will be next to The Springfield neighborhood pool under the pavilion. but the date is set Sept. 17th, 2021. 1830-2130 or 630pm- 930pm for anyone that dosn’t know how to do military time. Cant wait to see you all. It will be the same as last year and bring your own dinner and drinks. We will have a few people speaking.

Look forward to seeing everyone.

location- Springfield Neighborhood Pavilion, next to pool

time- 630pm- 930pm

what to bring- whatever you want to eat and drink.

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Trifecta of Q’s

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So, I got asked to Q last minute for Wednesday at Ring of Fire (8/18) and was already scheduled to Q at Footloose for Thursday (8/19) and then NASA had to try and find a sub for Varsity on Friday (8/20), so I just said I’d do it all. I mean @HarryCarey just did it, so why couldn’t I? I’ve been chasing him for years and still have a long way to go to try and keep up/catch that HIM.

So, I planned it out. Arms Day at Ring of Fire, Legs Day at Footloose, and IronPax prep at Varsity. Here we go!

Arms day was an AMRAP with the pull-up bars, Cindy, and some core to break it up. 1 minute on 30 seconds off.
Pull-Ups
Squats with Block
Curls
Overhead Press
LBC’s
Merkins
Flutters
Burpees
Low plank
Side Straddle Hops
Repeat.

Music kept us going with mostly hard rock from the ’90s and 2000s. @Sheild thinks I’m the next Tony Robbins as I was trying to motivate and keep everyone going on our rest periods.

Thursday at Footloose we did 7’s. Launching from the AO, we went over to Minnow Pond to see if we can pick a fight, to which they just ignored us. So, we ran the hill. Monkey Humpers at the bottom near the main road, because you know, Monkey Humpers ;). Up the hill and then squats.

We then ran over to Fort Mill Chruch of God for a round of 7’s using the stairs and the parking lot. I didn’t exactly think this one all the way through before giving instructions. Run up and down the stairs, then do 6 calf raises, run back over the stairs and run a lap around the parking lot and back up over the stairs to do 1 Bobby Hurley. Complete the circuit until 7’s is completed. That ended up being 14 laps around the parking lot. We ended up with 3 miles on this day. Lots of good mumble chatter and fellowship on those laps.

Finally, @ Varsity, we did IronPax prep with the Week 0 2018 workout. 50 squats, 40 big boys, 30 merkins, 20 lunges (modified down from Bonnie Blairs as we’re old and our knees can’t take it), 10 burpees run a lap. Do this 4x for time.

@Slapshot killed it and completed the circuit in 24:39, while @HarryCarey finished in 28:10 and YHC in 30:30. The rest modified and got their own solid workout/ruck in.

Q-ing the trifecta was a great test as it made me get creative and stay engaged with the group. We’re called to be leaders and this was a good test of my abilities over a longer period, not just every once in a while. Thanks to all for the opportunity to lead. I enjoyed it!

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Sexy Derkins

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Six pax for a birthday workout.  This was workout #2 of my Trifecta Q’s.
Warm Up
Mosey run (Toy soldiers, high knees)
SSH (IC 10x)
Windmill (IC 10x)
Imperial Walker (IC 10x)
Low Slow Squats (IC10x)
Mountain Climbers (IC 12X)
Plank stretches, up dog, down dog
Headed towards the benches area under the awning in front of the school.

Thang 1: HIIT Routine (the 1990’s playlist begins here)
Set A: Do the below 32 seconds on, 10 sec standing rest in between
Merkins
monkey humpers
Squats
Dips
Bobby Hurley’s

Set B: Do the below 40 seconds on, 20 sec rest in between (rest is a Low Plank)
Mountain Climbers
LBC
CDD
Amer Hammers
plank jacks

Set C: Do the below 45 seconds on, 15 sec standing rest in between
burpees
Imp Walkers
Squat Jumps
step ups
SSH
In between sets we did some bear crawls. Rinse/Repeat sets as time permitted.

Thang 2: Sexy Derkin challenge: Done to the song “I’m too Sexy”. Pax do a derkin at each “sexy”. Total of 22 derkins in 2 minutes 50 seconds.
Run to shovel flag. Some light Mary (LBC, Hello Dolly)

Fini, COT

NMM: Awesome way to start the day, my 47th birthday. Truly an honor to spend it with these pax.
Blessed with a bright shooting star before the workout began (thanks sky Q).
Lots of chatter…I think collectively we named every rock band from the 1990’s.
Treats were handed post workout: Stracciatella mini cupcakes (thanks to my M).
Playlist:

Title artist Year released length
beautiful people maryln manson 1996 3:43
everlong foo fighters 1997 4:11
I am one smashing pumpkins 1991 4:06
song 2 blur 1997 2:01
been caught stealing janes addiction 1990 3:35
flag pole sitta harvey danger 1997 3:37
more human than human white zombie 1995 4:28
seether veruca salt 1994 3:17
suicide blonde inxs 1990 3:52
Vow garbage 1995 4:30
Derkin Challenge Song:
I’m too sexy Right Said Fred 1992 2:50
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Must meet the standard to make Varsity

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Now that the Journey 3rdF meetings have finished my Friday has opened up for hitting some AO’s that I haven’t hit in a while to meet some of the fresh guys who share the Gloom. Little did they know what to expect. Being that the Q point for this week is Accountability which is Q point 2.5 if you happen to be following along with the idiotic numbering system it was time for some accountability at Varsity. My original Q plan got tossed as soon as the number of PAX hit more than 8 so I modified from an accountability rotation where we would all hold a plank and watch each man perform the exercise using their best form while the remaining PAX observe and critique to something more familiar while still tying back into standards and enforcement. The old school APFT was introduced to the unsuspecting PAX after we performed some SSH and some Merkins, and a few peter parkers. Same as always, 2 mins as many correct reps as possible. 2 mins of merkins where must go at least down far enough where your upper arms are parallel with the ground, extending all the way up to lock out arms to complete the rep. No resting on the ground, no removing hands or feet from the ground or the count is terminated. Partner up to make sure the standard is upheld and enforced. Next exercise is the big boy situp. Hands must be interlocked behind the head. No resting on the ground. Feet and hips must remain on the ground during the event. Chin must come up further than your tailbone in order for rep to count. Scoring was based on as many correct reps as possible in the 2 minute allowed time. Final portion was the 2 mile timed run. Thanks to splinter for maintaining a great relationship with the local AO authorities who allowed us to use the track. Clock was started and everyone was off. 8 laps around the track and remember your time when you cross the finish line. Everyone did a great job pushing and encouraging each other to finish strong. Great job fellas. Head back over to COT for CountARama, NameARama, announcements, prayers and praises. Encourgment to find another man or three and lock shields to allow yourself to become fully unlocked. Thanks for the opportunity to lead Splinter on a great morning and was wonderful to see all of the new faces. June FNG Jamboree is in full swing. Find someone and bring them out to F3. Stay Frosty my friends, Olaf
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Varsity Peer Pressure

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I thought I had it timed where I’d roll up at 5:02 and miss the pre-run that Splinter had slacked out the night before.  However, I must have been driving a little to fast and got there at 5:01.  So what did I do…Yup a pre-run.  Wasn’t much of a headlock though he asked and I didn’t have a good excuse lined up so there ya go.  Enjoyed it though having a little convo with Splinter solving world problems.  We were so into it we had to kick it up a knotch speed wise as we rolled up right at 5:15.  Wouldn’t ya know Backdraft was there waiting so I had to kick it in with a brief disclaimer and full out mosey to keep it on time.

Out into the gloom we went for our first stop and the warm up.  SSH, Mtn. Climbers, Windmills, Moroccan night clubs, Imperial walkers and hill billy walkers.  Now on to the meat & potatoes portion of the workout.

We did 5 rounds of HIIT 3 minute exercises (10,15,20) with a Rebel favorite Burpee stack.  Ask him about it.  Followed by lap round the playground in between rounds.  Started out with shoulders, merkins, mtn. climbers and shoulder taps for 3 minutes.  Lap around the playground.  Second round was abs with Big Boys, American hammers and flutters.  I tried to forego the burpee stack but gave into peer pressure again.  Next round was legs, squats, monkey humpers, and calf raises.  Round 4 was SSH,  overhead claps,  and Moroccan night clubs.  Pax choice was round 5 and we ended up with abs.  Mosey back to COT and 10 burpees to finish up the workout.

Thanks Splinter for the opportunity.

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Made the cut at Varsity

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It was a good morning for a pyramid scheme at Varsity

Disclaimer was done
Warm up jog down around the loop at the elementary school and back to the pull-up bar area.
Warm up exercises: Wind Mills, Moroccan Night Clubs, Turkish Get Ups

Grab a pull-up bar station for the following:
10 Merkins, 5 Pull-Ups
20 Merkins, 10 Pull-Ups
30 Merkins, 15 Pull-Ups
30 Merkins, 15 Pull-Ups
20 Merkins, 10 Pull-Ups
10 Merkins, 5 Pull-Ups

Run 1/4mi on the track then pyramid #2:
10 American Hammers I/C
5 V-Ups
20 American Hammers I/C
10 V-Ups
20 American Hammers I/C
10 V-Ups
10 American Hammers I/C
5 V-Ups

Run 1/4mi on the track then report to the goal line
Bear crawl to the 50, run to the opposite goal line then back to the 50
Crawl bear to the end zone then run to the other end zone

Run 1/4mi on the track then back to the goal line
Sprint to the 25 then back to the goal line for 10 Jump Squats
Sprint to the 50 then back to the goal line for 10 Jump Squats
Sprint to the 75 then back to the goal line for 10 Jump Squats
Sprint to the opposite goal line then back to the goal line for 10 Jump Squats

Some additional ab work prior to COT.

Maximus

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