Category: Varsity

Chia Pudding

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Four men showed up on a rainy morning for a little broga, exercise, and some healthy recipes.

Sasquatch started us off with 15 minutes on broga.  Lots of good stretches and poses to get our bodies right.

Next, we moseyed around the parking lot with some dynamic stretching. We made our way to the bus drop off.  The workout was simple, exercises performed near the school, once complete, run a lap and perform the first exercise along with the next and so on, “The Accumulator”.  Below are the exercises we completed along with the count:

  1. Squats – 20
  2. Merkins – 20
  3. Flutters – 20
  4. Plank Punches – 20
  5. LBCs – 20
  6. Carolina Dry Docks – 20
  7. American Hammers – 20
  8. Burpees – 10
  9. Lunges – 20

We got through all but the last two rounds.  Before we ran back to COT, we completed the last two exercises less the lap.  During the recovery laps, we learned about several healthy dessert recipes, like Chia pudding (Chia seeds + almond milk) or banana ice cream.

Great job everyone!

 

 

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Growing Up @ Varsity

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A steady rain fell as 7 PAX exited their vehicles at about 0514 and a quick disclaimer as we moseyed to find cover near high school entrance.

 

Sasquatch led us through 15 minutes of contortion that can best be described as pain pretzels.  Sasquatch nailed the balance poses, the rest of us sure tried hard.
At 0530, the reigns were turned over and the premise for the bootcamp was shared with the PAX.  My 3rd (and final) 2.0 turned 5yo this past week, so this beatdown was brought to us by the number 5 and inspired by the progression of his life thus far.
– Newborn:  feeding then pat the back until you get a nice BURPee…
5 quick burpees to get the blood flowing
– 6 months:  things get real interesting once they start crawling…
5 bear crawl laps around awning pillars at school entrance (after 3/4 of first lap i realized 5 may have been a little aggressive but we made it through)
-9 months: they are gaining balance and they start sitting…
Wall sit w/ MNC x10 (IC)
Wall sit w/ alternating heal raise x10 (IC)
Mosey (out into the rain) to pullup bars
-12 months: they are gaining arm and leg strength.  They push/pull/struggle to stand up on own…
5 rounds
5 pullups, 10 merkins, 15 air squats, run down to stop sign and back
Mosey back to covered high school entrance
-2 to 3 years: terrible 2s lead to laying on ground, flailing, and lots of grunting….
5 minutes of Mary. 5ish exercises. LBCs, peter parkers, nap time (Fishsticks knew we needed a break), Leg Lifts, V ups
End at 0600.
CoT under awning.  video-less Name-o-Rama/Announcements/prayers/praises
NMM
Pretty sure i heard a couple “this sucks” and at least one “cant wait to see what is next now that my arms, shoulders and legs are toast” so I think that means it was a good workout?  Bear crawls and pullups are not exercises I excel at, but I chose to put them in today to challenge myself and get better and hopefully that was the same for the other PAX (Sasquatch may have broke a sweat?).
Each year my 2.0s get older, I stress about whether or not I am raising them right and question if I should be doing things differently or if I am being too hard on the older ones or too easy on the younger ones.  Who knows.  Raising kids is tough. So, let’s all take time to cherish the special moments as they come because time flies and they get old quick!
SYITG
-Badlands
PS- my geography teacher lied – I guess it does actually rain in the Badlands.
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VarsityDay – Bodywash and Sasquatch edition

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Six pax showed up on a chilly Friday morning for some broga and a little beatdown.  After giving the disclaimer we moseyed over near the school entrance where there was some better lighting.
Sasqatch led a quick 5-minute warm up with some broga.

The group then moseyed over to the band lot for burpee suicides.  We only did one suicide at the start/end vs. ascending with each additional distance.

When complete, we moved over to the adjacent lot and paired up for a DORA with:
100 merkins
200 squats
300 LBCs

From here we went back to the school entrance and finished off with another 10 minutes of Broga.

Lastly we headed back to COT.

It was great to to see some PAX I hadn’t had the chance to meet before!

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F3 The Fort – Adopt a Highway (#2)

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****March 5th 2022- 7:45am – 8:00am****

Men,

We have officially signed up for the Adopt-A-Highway Litter pick-up program.  Our adopted Highway is US21 from Peachstand south to Sutton Rd. (2 miles). We will have a sign installed to promote this section of the highway.  We are encouraged to complete 4 pick-ups a year (once a quarter).  All supplies will be provided.  All we need to do is show up.  The SC DOT will come out and pick up our bags along the route after completion.

**Our NEXT Clean-up date is tentatively scheduled for March 5th. (start time )  7:45 am – 8:00am**. There is no time expectation for participation.  Stay as long as needed or head out early.  Modify as needed. Plan for 2 hours if you complete the 1-mile loop.  We split up into two groups last time and met at the halfway point.

We will begin at the Peachstand (rear of the building) and coordinate.  I have 30 vests and all supplies.

Fogerty will be the main contact for this event over the next two years.

Here are some of the logistics:

• Make sure your group knows that in case of bad weather the cleanup will be postponed. Litter collection should never be done in the dark or in bad weather.
• Notify local news media who may have an interest in publicizing your group’s activities. • Remind your group of the appropriate clothing. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts and sturdy shoes help avoid scratches and irritation from poisonous plants. Light or brightly colored clothing will make them easily visible to passing traffic.
• Be sure you have all the materials and supplies you’ll need beforehand, including first aid kits.
• Check with members of your group to be aware of any allergies that might be important (such as bee-stings, etc).
• Work out a plan for what you will do in the event of an emergency. Find out what the quickest route to the hospital is.
• Park vehicles at both ends of the adopted section.

• Volunteers must be at least 13 years old to participate in Adopt-A-Highway cleanups. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult on all Adopt-A-Highway cleanups.

The state does provide adopt-a-highway orange and blue bags.  Orange bags are for trash and blue bags are for recyclables if you want to recycle.  Your group is also provided with orange safety vests.   We do require four pickups every year, usually once every quarter.  All that is needed to be done after trash is picked up is to call or email me and I will send one of our crews to pick up the bags.

It is volunteers like you who are going to make a difference by speaking up and doing what they can to help their community.  Please let me know If you have any questions, I will be glad to assist you.

Thank you,

Sherry J. Johnson
Administrative Specialist/
Adopt-A-Highway Coordinator
SC Department of Transportation
803-327-6186 O I 803-327-6184 F
JohnsonSJ@scdot.org

District Four Maintenance
338 Robertson Road West
Rock Hill, SC 29730

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1st Annual The Fort Weight Loss Challenge

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The weight-loss challenge for 2022 has been established to create some focus on the Queen.  The goal is fellowship, accountability, support, discipline, and a little motivation.  Pax will depart on a 90-day journey beginning January 3rd, 2022, and ending on approximately April 2nd or 3rd.

There will be a buy-in and payouts to the top 3 places – determined by “percentage of weight loss”.   Uhaul has agreed to be the holder of the buy-in with a tracking spreadsheet created for each pax to help monitor their progress.  Good Luck Pax!

T-Claps to Uhaul for assisting with this endeavor!

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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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