The Best You can Do is All That’s Asked of You

YHC got a last minute request to lead at the Colosseum.  Of course, the privilege was accepted and off we went.  11 PAX assembled, were disclaimed and we moseyed off for some “fun”

COP – various exercises in cadence, a few burpees sprinkled in and we moseyed from there to the flag for a Pledge of Allegiance, afterwards – we were off to the bottom of light pole hill.

PAX were given the advice – “The best you can do is all that asked of you”.  The instructions were to do a series of the following at each light pole:

7 – burpees, 23 – squats, 19 – merkins, 48 side straddle hops.  More on the significance of the numbers later.

Upon completing each light pole, PAX returned down the hill and attempted the same at every other light pole.

At 0555 – YHC called a return to COT and PAX obliged.

NMM – This was YHC’s first Q since my father’s passing.  When considering the best way to honor him, it seemed fitting to use the date of his birth (7-23-1948) as the numbers of reps for the exercises we completed.    It also seemed appropriate to pass on the very advice he was given by his mother, YHC’s grandmother – hence the title of this back blast.  The advice is simple, yet entirely fitting for anything we take on in life as leaders – whatever the calling may be.

Shower Curtain, YHC thanks you for the opportunity to Q and to share, in the process, some timeless and relevant advice that serves as a good reminder to us all.

The best you can do is all that’s asked of you.

Grandma & Dad, thank you.

Gratefully,

Cyclops

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Coast to Coast Qs

A mid-week substi-Q request left YHC a bit concerned on how to fill an hour of pain. Fortunately, the request was picked up by an old friend of The Fort that now resides on the other coast, 88.

88 and YHC met early to get a lay of the land. He volunteered to lead us off, but needed to know where a few things were. It was a dark and chilly morning, and the wind was cutting.

14 PAX gathered just before 0630hrs, and all got to meet the brother from the Gold Rush Territory. With one fresh face in the crowd, a strong disclaimer was given, along with the 5 core principles.

The Fort broke off from Milkshake for a little mosey to the back side of the Pike Engineering.

COP
10 Merkins IC
20 SSH IC
10 Squats IC

Then we moseyed to the entrance of Pike Engineering, and did a set of Minus 2 at the masonry knee walls. Starting with 20 incline merkins and rotating with dips, we did all the reps and eventually made it to 0. The high numbers and pain cause confusion for several PAX, but we won’t name names here, will we Italian Job?

88 led us on a mosey back to WEP, where cones were laid out in 4 corners.
• First lap included 10 merkins at each cone
• Second lap included 20 squats at each cone
• Third lap included 30 Mountain Climbers at each cone
• Fourth lap included all of the reps – 10 merkins, 20 squats and 30 mountain climbers at each cone

88 handed off to YHC and we started at the front of the amphitheater.

Typically, if I have prepared a message, it’s because I need to hear it. Several things have prevented me from posting consistently over the last month, and I can feel it when I do make it out. So, in a plank position, I went over Q3.10 Consistency – “The Consistent Leader is constant and regular in everything he does. His followers are drawn to him because his steadiness provides a safe harbor from the howling winds of Chaos and Flux that blow periodically through their own lives. He is their rock.”

Recover and run one lap around WEP, performing 5 burpees at each swing. Cyclops and Italian Job led the way, with Clickbait giving chase. “5 more” burpees were continued in front of the amphitheater while waiting for the 6, or Stang to return from the woods. Stang was incredibly uncomfortable in the open area of the park, constantly gazing towards the trees. I’m not sure if the sun rising early helped either.

“Strong Routines are the framework of Consistency.” We in F3 know what to do. Wake up and exercise, everyday, We shouldn’t have to think about it, just do it. Remove unnecessary decisions, and create routines.

Next up, Dan Taylors. All the way across the WEP field. A few PAX wanted to play on the playground, and I heard rumblings of other shenanigans, but feared turning around to see what they were doing. The field was longer than I thought, but we got 55 squats and 220 lunges in.

“The Virtuous Leader focuses on bandwidth not perfection.” Reminded the PAX that consistency will help minimize the flux in our life. This isn’t about perfection, but about limiting the lows in our life. The things that keep us away from a healthy lifestyle that enables us to lead.

We moseyed back to CoT, and with a minute to spare, got 5 Mike Tysons – Bear crawl and Crawl bear in to close it out.

We welcome FNG Spit Valve, had prayers and praises for those at D2D and to those in Ukraine and affected by the conflict in Ukraine. T-claps to Clickbait who is organizing some relief efforts to that part of the world.

Thanks again to 88 for answering the call to lead! We look forward to your return.

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How Much Time Will We Waste?

Last week a dear brother of ours passed unexpectedly. He was one of the good ones – and he taught me a most valuable lesson about time spent and time wasted. He fought his demons and let them reign supreme for far too long – but he eventually said “enough is enough” and overcame those demons. From then on he was the husband, father, and brother to those around him that lead from the front. It was in that moment that he became the man God designed him to be.

So, today, we won’t waste time in doing what we need to do.

COP

56 x SSHs, Low Slow Squats, Overhead Claps

Mosey to Endzone on Field

Proverbs 6:9-11

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?

    When will you get up from your sleep?

10 

A little sleep, a little slumber,

    a little folding of the hands to rest—

11 

and poverty will come on you like a thief

    and scarcity like an armed man.


Field Work

Partner up, swap wheel barrow every 10 yards.

Endzone – Burpee Broad Jumps x 7

10 – Donkey Kicks

20 – Hand Release Merkins

30 – Jump Lunges (each leg)

40 – Air Squats

50 – LBCs

40 – Air Squats

30 – Jump Lunges (each leg)

20 – Hand Release Merkins

10 – Donkey Kicks

Endzone – Burpee Broad Jumps x 7

 

James 4:13-15

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”

14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”


Bear Crawl, Exercise

25 Yards

15 Bomb Jacks

25 Yards

15 Jump Squats

25 Yards

15 Bomb Jacks

25 Yards

15 Jump Squats

 

NMM

I’ll tell you this – I am a hypocrite. I have not been doing as I say here, but that is going to change. I am not going to be a man of inaction regarding what matters any more.

Dawson Trotman once said: “The biggest waste of time is the waste of time in getting started.”

 

Jack Webbs

1:4 to 10:40 on the field.

Mosey to Shovel Flag for COT.

Jack Webbs Cont’d

11:44-14:56 for Shop Vac

10 flutters to end it.

Final Thought

What do I need to do to stop procrastinating? What do you need to do?

Prayers/Praises

Prayers for Shop Vac and Nugent’s families – both died unexpectedly last week under terrible circumstances.

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Music Q/Football @ The Deep

Picked up a sub-Q from Homebrew and it was time to bring back what we’ve been missing so badly at The Deep…

 

FOOTBALL!

 

Disclaimer for our FNG (Two Stroke) and visiting member from California (88) and we were off.

 

Mosey to Oak Ridge Elementary Parking lot where we stayed for the first half of the workout.

COP included things like Windmills, Produce Pickers, Imperial Walkers, Hillbilly Walkers, maybe Merkins(?)

Music Q Time!- We did 4 songs with some exercises.  In between we cranked out 2 sprints of 30ish yards at 70% and 10ish yards at 100%.  About 10 seconds or so between each sprint.

Songs/Exercises included-

Phoenix/1901 – SSHs during verses/Morrocan Night Clubs during chorus

Hey Ya/Outkast- LBCs during verses/Freddie Mercurys during Hey Ya’s

Numb/Linkin Park- Plank Jacks during heavy parts/Shoulder taps through verse

All The Small Things/Blink 182- This one was my favorite.  American Hammers double count throughout the whole song.  Tried to get to 91 (x2=182).  We did the whole song with some breaks but the plan is to be able to do the whole songs without stopping.  I got to 52 before I had to break but kept the count and jumped back in.

Football Time!

Teams were formed.  Mostly even in size and ability.  New rules for the game were established.  Ultimate Football, dropped ball = change of possession.  When possession changes, new team starts at midfield.  When a team scores, the defense does 5 burpees.  Also had some cones marking out of bounds and end zone.

Highlights included:

-10 minutes of wet football, dropped passes, and no scoring.

-2 passing and 1 receiving TD by YHC

– Two Ferns breaking up a pass by attempting to break a pastor’s wrists/hands

 

Mosey back to COT and do some announcements/prayers

Announcements: Nessie and Party on 10/26, Regional Shirt launch!, and any donations for shovel flags needing to be made for future/current AOs.

Prayers: Survey Says Grandpa as he makes his journey to heaven (passed away during that morning), Wild Thing’s ankle and recovery, and healing for all PAX who are injured.

 

Thanks for the opportunity to lead as always O’Reilly!

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Getting G-Fit in Paradise

What a fun evening in Paradise!  If you have not gotten the opportunity to come see what G-Fit on Friday night is like, I highly recommend it.  Our brothers Deacon and Bolt and others have taken ownership of this AO and really are making it into something special.  This was my first time back to Steele Street Park since our Easter Egg Hunt outreach and it is a great little park.  Full court basketball, a field for football, a pavilion, swing set, spray park?  Awesome.  And like it says in the bible, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  We need more Q’s to step up and lead.  DO IT!  You will be blessed and encouraged, I guarantee it.  Here’s what we did on my VQ:

YHC gathered his 2.0, Captain Snooze, and his FNG friend from the neighboorhood and we arrived a the park around 18:40.  Kids and teens were on the court shouting around so we joined them.  I quizzed the crowd about F3 and who had attended a workout.  About half had.  We quickly head locked the other half and it was announced we’d start at the top of the hour.  As 19:00 approached, more and more of The Fort PAX started showing up.  It was great seeing so many familiar faces!  Longer shout-out to you all below but back to the blast.  We circled up at half court for disclaimer and a few words about what to expect for the next 45 minutes and we were off.

THE THANG

Mosey around the park, past the pavilion, around the bathrooms, loop around the spray park then high knees and butt kickers as we head to the parking lot.  Once on the lot, karaoke right for half, then left until the end.  Up the grass hill to the field area for COP

Reps were kept to around 10 for the following exercises, all in cadence:

SSH, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, Squats, Merkins, LBC, Flutters

Water break while we talked about the word of the month, discipline.  What is discipline?  We discussed that discipline is doing what is necessary even when it’s not what you want to do.  We need discipline in our lives to reach our athletic goals.  Kevin Durant did not develop his jump shot by shear luck or talent.  It has taken years of hard work and discipline to get his game to where it’s at.  We need discipline in our lives to reach our academic goals.  Good grades and success don’t just happen, they take discipline.  AYE!

The group was then split between younger kids and teens / adult and each group headed to a basketball hoop.  We lined up from tallest to shortest on the free throw line for a game of knock-out.  Classic game that is always fun.  Bolt quickly emerged as the man to beat but nobody actually could!  Fortunately he sat out after one victory and let some others win.  I think a total of 3 games were played.  Maybe 4?  Anyway, we grabbed a quick sip of water and then headed to the field for some flag football.

Deacon picked 2 younger lads as team captains and all the younger PAX were picked for teams.  Deacon and YHC served as coach / referee while the adult PAX resumed their battle on the basketball court.  The football game was a blast to watch and it was great to see the younger PAX work together as teams.  A bunch of touchdown were scored and a bunch of smiling faces greeted us as we call time and headed for COT.

At COT we named to 4 FNG’s and it was sweet to see how pumped the kids were at their names.  I think we did pretty good with 88 (Cowboys fan), Clutch (the star of the football and basketball games), Man of Steel (Steelers fan who was wearing a team jersey), and Philmont (Boy Scout working towards Eagle).

Announcement was made about a special Labor Day workout on 9/1.  Did somebody say PIZZA?  Expect record breaking numbers for that one.  No prayer requests but YHC took us our with a prayer asking God for help in developing margin and discipline in our lives.

Moleskin

As this was my VQ, I really appreciated seeing some familiar faces.  Thanks to Barry Manilow, Bolt, Deacon, Polaroid, Fish Sticks, and Wapner for posting.  Most brought a 2.0 with them and that is a great part of this AO.  Sharing the vision of F3 and the mission of this particular workout with your kid and having them join you is truly a blessing.  I have to say my heart was warmed when I saw a young kid from the neighborhood jump on my 2.0’s back.  Everybody got along great together, supported each other, and had a blast on a beautiful Friday night.  The sunset was unreal BTW.  Deacon said it’s like that after every workout.  Thanks to you, Deacon, for the opportunity to Q.  After all the unrest and hate on display in our country, it was a breath of fresh air to laugh and play and pray with men and young men of different nationalities.  It’s really not that hard when you just love one another.  Everybody loves love.

Flat Tire

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