Tag: Band Camp

Conveyor Belt of Pain

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10 HIMs arrived to  see silhouettes of YHC’s untold horror in the backdrop of gloom at The Hive. After disclaiming that YHC is terrible at counting before 0800 the regular disclaimer was administered.

Things started out normal with some SSH to get the blood moving.  It’s really a great way to make the PAX feel like a regular workout is on the horizon.  Then we moved into a wide leg stance (sorta sumo) and dropped our six’s close to the pavement to get the hips opened up. Moving from one leg to the other, we stretched out the hamstrings and other muscles some people tend to forget exist. From there, we inched our feet out as close to a full split** as each man could handle, put our fingertips on the ground, and did fingertip pushups.
**except Band Camp, who surprised everyone in a full split without making a face

From there we went to the Conveyor Belt across the parking lot.  Each station had two parking slots between them and each exercise was given a brief demo before we dropped our bells at various stations and jumped on board.  The slots were:

  1. KB Swings (40 and a 30 were available)
  2. Box jumps (30x24x20)
  3. 3/4″x72″ Iron Staff – wrist rotations (I looked this up, pronation and supination of the wrists)
    1. Holding the staff straight forward, rotate to the left and right
    2. The work experienced with these is in hand placement, speed of rotation, and stopping momentum
  4. 10lb Training  Mace – barbarian swings
    1. Swing the mace to align it with the chest at shoulder height to the left and right, when the arm close to the ball crosses the body, it’s on the bottom.  When it’s on its own side, the top
  5. 3/4″x72″ Iron Staff – tip ups
    1. Hold the staff vertically with forearm horizontal
    2. let the staff fall down to horizontal, using only forearms, pull it back to vertical (mostly the first two fingers)
    3. Alternatively, with arm hanging, adjust the staff so that the long end is behind you and use only forearm muscles to bring it back to vertical (mostly the last two fingers)
  6. Tricep Extensions with that 40 pounder
  7. BB bag – ~14lbs of steel BBs in a 9×9 canvas bag
    1. hold the bag with one arm at eye level as far away as you can from your body, gripping it by its side with fingertips (so you’re looking at a square), the opposite hand is at your side.
    2. Let go of the bag and as you pull that hand down to rest, the other snaps up to grab the falling bag, again, with fingertips, raising it back into position.  There should be some hang time.
    3. Alternate hands, trying to keep the bag floating in the air with a bit of hang time
  8. Curls – 25lb bell
  9. Squats
  10. “Pick your own Mary” with a 25lb bell (YHC didn’t have enough slots for everyone, so this one came from the aether)
  11. Same as above, but disappears after a few seconds, explanation below

Timing:
There is always a traveling PAX. The PAX starting at station 11 did a small amount of Mary, then high-tailed it for station 1, taking over that station (at this time station 11 disappeared). The displaced PAX from 1 then bear crawled over two parking spaces to 2, relieving that PAX of that station, who would bear crawl to 3.  This continued until station 10 ran back to station one.

After a full circle of fun, everyone took a nice, restful run across the parking lot, and picked up where they left off.

This went on with everyone working together in harmony until there was about 2 minutes left in the workout and we were one station short of a full circuit.

Everyone circled up by the gear, YHC ran to grab a phone (pulling something in my calf halfway there…) and ended with COT.

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6

The Fort 6 year Anniversary – Making Getting Better a Priority!

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September 29, 2012 the landscape of Fort Mill changed dramatically. Some men from north of the border grabbed the attention of a few men south of the boarder and said we may have something for you. Double D, Santini, Senator Tressel, World Wide Leader, Red Banjo, Assassin, Peach and maybe others made the commitment to come to a “workout” on that Saturday morning. It was very skeptical, but I am sure each of them will say it changed their lives.

Here we are 6 years later, meeting in the same park with more than 200 regular participants (800+ over the years) at 37 workouts across The Fort/Lake Wylie area. Thank you to those that gave it away and thank you to those that said yes!! I think it is safe to say, IT’S MORE THAN A WORKOUT!!!

Today we recognize the 6 years with 6 Qs leading a beat down in 1st F style. On September 21st, Jekyll led us in our Invergence, which reminds us of the 3rdF and that there is something bigger than ourselves. Serving, Praying and Worshiping together happened then. On this day, we are getting better physically and having some fellowship with 70 of our PAX,

Format was a rapid fire approach where each Q has 10mins to lay it on the PAX. Old Bay would keep time and blow the air horn (maybe tweet the horn??), and then the next Q jumps in.

YHC asked for FNGS, (none) and explained the plan of attack, and then the Horn Sounded

The Thang:

  • Wegmans for COP
    • Mosey down path out to grass
    • Circle up and some traditional and not so traditional exercise moves.
    • We did notice another “Boot camp” group in the gloom. T-clapps to them, however also saw 2 holding clip boards…..not F3!!
    • Horm Blows
  • Funhouse on Q
    • Mosey to the hill for Jacobs ladder
      • Burpees
      • Squats
      • Some mary to fill time
      • Horn Blows
  • Jwow on Q
    • Mosey to top of hill for partner work
    • step ups/lunge walk up and down hill
    • squat jumps/lunge walk up and down hill
    • Plank hand slap with partner
    • Horn Blow
  • Twister on Q
    • Mosey to tree line
    • Army Crawl to tree /SSHs
    • Sprint to tree/Merkins
    • Army Crawl to Tree/SSHs
    • Sprint to tree/merkins
    • 2 rounds
    • Run Path until Horm
    • Horn Blows
  • FLUX on Q
    • Mosey back to hill
    • 6s – do following 6 times
      • bear crawl up hill
      • diamond merkins
      • bear crawl back down hill
      • Some filler in there of something aweful
      • Horn Blows
  • Assassin On Q
    • Mosey to play grownd
      • Dips
      • Derkins
      • Burpees
      • multiple rounds with running around the playground until…..
      • Horn Blows

The PAX was dripping wet from rolling in grass but also from the humid beat down that just occurred. Thanks to all the Qs for bringing it and having fun out there.

I brought up to the PAX “WHY”? Why F3 versus the many other options we have even outside of fitness and self help books. Why do we get up early and why do we do CSAUPS and why do we attend 3rdF and give away our time at various community organizations???

Pockets, Spud and Assassin all shared their Why. Thank you! I’m sure there were many more that would undoubtedly impactful.

I mentioned my why was straightforward for me. I want to continue to challenge myself physically, surround myself with like minded guys heading in the same direction and reach more guys for Sky Q and HIS purpose. I feel F3 has positively impacted my life in all 3 Fs and why would I not give it away??

See you in the GLOOM!

Cake Boss

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5

The Hive 2018:39 (Shovel Flag hand off)

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10 HIM gathered in the gloom for a split Q and passing of the shovel flag.

Tesh began:

SSH x25
Windmill x10
Imperial Walker x10
Lap around the parking lot (counterclockwise…)

COP:
5 Kettlebell burpees
10 Snatches (5 each arm)
3 reps of this

Partnered up and Lined up facing the stadium:
Farmer carry both bells while partner planks & shoulder taps
Repeat with partner doing overhead claps instead of planking

Switch Q to BandCamp:

Bear Crawl towards the stadium until we ran out of pavement
Al Gore for the 6 and then Al Gore+Moroccan Night Clubs x10
Honeymooner–>Downdog rinse and repeat
Bear Crawl back to our bells. Moved to the wall outside the gym.

COP:
5 burpees
10 Overhead chest presses
10 Reverse Lunges w/ kettlebell held at the beltline
Reverse Lunge w/ single arm press and hold for 10 count
NAMED EXERCISE: The Solo Tesh: (standing)
– single-arm overhead press the kettlebell and hold for 10 seconds
– return kettlebell to clean position and hold for 10 seconds
We did 3 reps on each arm
20 Goblet Squats
10 Overhead chest presses

Wall Sit with bell intermittently held over our heads during storytime. Rinse and repeat.

Mary:
Flutter x15
Superman x10
Peter Parker x10
LBC x10

NMM:

In honor of Tesh’s two years of steady leadership at #TheHive, this workout drew some from his first post at The Hive: https://f3thefort.com/2016/02/15/afraid/ Q-ed by Geronimo.

The Solo Tesh comes from a workout Tesh lead when he was the only PAX to post that morning. https://f3thefort.com/2017/02/24/2017-08-the-hive/ Looking at the dates and this tweet https://twitter.com/tesh_F3/status/966993038554882048, it appears that there may have been multiple solo posts for Tesh at The Hive. One aspect of his leadership that I appreciate and respect is how quietly he leads. He leads by example with little desire for fanfare . It was this solo-post tweet that got YHC to attend his first kettlebell workout: Tesh’s model encouraged me at The Hive at all. I’m grateful for Tesh’s work and honored to carry the shovel flag for #TheHive (and if necessary post in the gloom solo……ah February…..).

During storytime on the wall sits, I referenced the Poverty Simulation some of the PAX are putting on 10/13/18 at FBC in Fort Mill. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sc-thrive-poverty-simulation-york-101318-registration-49847017772. https://twitter.com/F3_ablock/status/1045695473707814912 I did not grow up in poverty, and specifically remembering my dad saying that folks could just work harder and would be successful. That was because my old man had worked hard and he was successful. But he also had a lot of advantages that allowed his hard work to pay dividends. Not everyone is so lucky. In my teaching, I see students that struggle with much more than the nuts and bolts of course work and assignments. The outside influences of poverty on college students is especially troubling. Consider a student that takes on debt to attend school to better themselves but is forced out of school after 3 years to work because their family needs the income. They have all the debt of a college degree with none of the job prospects. Understanding someone’s lived experience is a powerful tool. Hopefully PAX will take advantage of it.

Band Camp dismissed.

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2

Is Your Lamp Consistently Lit?

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It was an honor to be asked by Maximus to Q a Beyond Workout and after many days of juggling other commitments on the calendar, we ended up at Laces In. Thank you Lil’ E for allowing us to move in on your territory on this date. This Q was not that difficult to build as I have had plenty of time to work on it. Also, this BackBlast is a little different with the NMM at the beginning. The rest is below.

I had previously asked the PAX to warmup before the start time. However, just in case there were some who showed up cold, we did a quick warmup with 5 Burpees & 20 SSH’s in Cadence.

Let’s Go Beyond!

NMM

I Cor. 15:58 ‘Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.’

In the age of trains and cars, but before automatic crossing gates, the incidence of trains and cars intersecting at the railroad crossing often delivered disastrous results. Drivers of cars never seemed to see the train coming. The continued disruption with trains and cars brought forth the creation of the crossing guard position. The crossing guard was in a shack by the railroad crossing 24/7, with the train schedule, a lantern and the task of being on the road, at the crossing, waving a lantern to warn cars that a train was coming through.
One dark and stormy night, even with a crossing guard on duty, another tragic crash occurred. A lawsuit was filed by the aggrieved party (car). Who was at fault in this tragedy? Was it the car? Train? Crossing guard?
As the lawsuit proceeded in court, the judge begins his line of questioning to the crossing guard, “Were you there that night?”
Under oath the crossing guard replies, “Yes.”
Continuing with his line of questioning, the judge continues, “Did you have your train schedule?”
To which the crossing guard replies, “Yes.”
“Were you standing in the road at the appropriate time waving your lantern?” asks the judge.
“Yes,” replies the crossing guard.
The judge rules and finds in favor of the railroad, no damages and they were not liable for the tragedy. Upon leaving the courtroom, a spectator hears the crossing guard say, “Whew, sure am glad they didn’t ask whether the lamp was lit.” Moral to the story, don’t forget to ask if the lamp was lit. The judge asked the crossing guard all kinds of questions, but he did not ask the obvious, “Was the lamp lit?”
As we go through life, we are given many opportunities to ‘wave our lanterns’. Opportunities at home, at church, at work, in the community, etc. As a Christian, I can carry my Bible, act morally, share with my F3 brothers, those at work and in my home. I can attend church and participate in all sorts of ministries through the it and outside of it. However, if I do all of these things without my lamp being consistently lit, I do them in vain.
 
The verse from I Corinthians says we should always abound in the work of the Lord. It does not say, when you are at work, abound; or when you are at a workout, abound; at church, abound. It says ALWAYS.
This is something I think about regularly. It is easy for me to be joyful with my F3 brothers, those at my church, and even those at work. It is also easy to discuss salvation and what it means to me.
However, I am not as consistent when it comes to my own home. We get on a good roll, but it always seems that busyness and life takes over, and the first thing that is affected is my joyfulness at home and good discussions on our faith. So, as I start each day, I ask God to grant me a day where I can be a light for him no matter where I am at or who I face, especially at home. I have to request this because I know I need his help.
Are you waving a lantern that is not lit today? Is your lamp lit in most places, but not in some? Where do you need to ask for help from God and your F3 brothers to help you keep your lamp lit consistently?
Always abound in the work of the Lord, and your work will not be in vain. Make sure you are not just waving your lantern. Make sure your lamp is consistently lit.

WARMUP

See above.

THE THANG

After the warmup YHC requested that the PAX perform 5 burpees. From that point to the end of the WO we performed 5 burpees at the beginning of each round of exercises and at the end, with the exception of a few.

We quickly moseyed over the the large parking lot where I requested that the PAX circle up and perform the following in cadence: Merkins, CDD’s, Alternating Lunges, and V-Ups.
We took another quick mosey another parking lot where we performed Wide Arm Merkins, Pike Presses, Low Slow Squats, and American Hammers.
We took another quick mosey another parking lot where we performed Diamond Merkins, Dips, Low Slow Jump Squats, and LBC’s.
We took another quick mosey another to the front of the stadium we performed Hand Release Merkins, CDD’s, Alternating Jump Lunges, & Big Boy SitUps.
Then we took a mosey over to the Stadium and a small wall where we performed: Irkins, Dips, Step-Ups, & Derkins.
Then we took a mosey back to the COT for some blast off merkins, squats, and big boy sit-ups while I discussed the NMM.

The burpees were the constant in everything and if I forgot them, the PAX reminded me we didn’t perform them. As we went through the workout and I had some time, which was limited, I spoke about the NMM while doing planks or Al Gore’s. The completion came at the end.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Read Your Newsletter.

Hurricane Florence Relief Efforts-Watch Twitter.

Sept. 29-6-Yr. Birthday Convergence at The Fort-0600.

Oct. 13-Poverty Simulation-0900-1200/First Baptist Church Fort Mill.

CAH and G-Fit Workouts this weekend.

PRAYERS/PRAISES

Injured PAX.

Our Families.

 

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4

“Tappy Taps? Did you make that up?”

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‘Twas a glorious morning at NaFo, and 14 PAX rose to the occasion, including some from surrounding regions (Aye!). A lot of new PAX I’ve never met as well, perhaps a glimpse into how large this community really is. Had a moment to think how much of an impact this community has had on these men, and the impact it will have on many more. The clock struck 5:15 and we began.

Disclaimer to start it off, then we headed out for our warm up.

Mosey 1/8 Mile

COP
Moroccan Night Clubs x 25
Tap-py Taps x 10 (Look it up! It’s a thing on F3Nation.)
Plank Position
Peter Parkers x 15
Mountain Climbers x 15
Alternating Shoulder Taps x 15

Recover

Mosey to the Pull Up Bars for our Weinke Of The Day

Descending Rounds of 30 – 25 – 20 – 15 – 10 – 5

Burpees
Lunges
Squats
Derkins
Dips

Mixed in with 10 – 8 – 6 – 4 – 2

Pull Ups

Plank in wait for the 6 each round you finish and then we start the next round together. The best part about this weinke… it gets easier every round.

Ran back to our original spot for a little Mary
In & Outs (Boat/Canoe I was told) x 6… messed up my inflection there and someone caught me!
Six Inches x 1 Minute
Recover

COT

Announcements

Convergence at Walter Elisha Park Saturday – 7:00AM.
Pre Ruck – 6:15, Pre Run – 6:30. Both launching from Panera @ Kingsley.

Poverty Simulation is coming.

ABH (Always Be Headlocking!)

SpeedforNEED this weekend in Ballantyne – Isabella Santos 5K.

5K/10K Race and Fun Run

Prayers/Praise
Pray that Gods will be revealed to me and I accept it.
Praise for Drop Thrill having a job for a year!
Pray for Sugar Bugs parents on Pawley’s Island – The rivers are rising and the water is about 5’ from their house
Pray for those affected by Florence, those still dealing with flooding, and those who lost everything trying to recover.

Thank you Wegmans for the opportunity to lead 13 men in this gloom we love so much.

For fun… Notable MumbleChatter for the day:

As I laid out the Weinke: “Gee, Punch List… this is kind of Honey Badger-esque…”

“Kielbasa can you demonstrate a polish burpee for me?”
“I’m going to do 30 Polish Burpees… *waits two seconds* DONE!”

“I’m going to do my max number of pull ups over here… (20 yards away from the bars).”

IMG_7663

 

Punch List Out.

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5

What was that?

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What a beautiful, yet dark morning at Block Party (WEP). Great spirits this morning from the “Oceans 7” crew. Subtheme: “Do your best and forget the rest.”

Everyone did a truly great job for a workout that kept one on his toes. It started right at 5:15am with a disclosure while moving. Then working directly into your standard Straight Up “Ya never know what u are gonna get but it will always be a full body” warm-up for 10 minutes. Crowd favorites were Ab Vigoda and the Rolling Crucifix.

The Thang:

We practically sprinted over to the visitor parking lot in front of the business building a few blocks away and proceeded with plenty of Bear Crawls, Muscle ups (lots), Backwards Bear Crawls, Low Frog Hops, Alternating Side Shuffles, Sprints, Burpees, Merkins, and X-Jumps just to name a few. 5 second count between 2-3 back-to-back exercises. Lots of heavy breathing. Crowd favorite for this part was “The Absolute Worst Ever Berkin” (wide merkin, standard merkin, diamond merkin, Burpee up, Burpee down, diamond merkin, standard merkin, wide merkin – all jumping “push-ups”) – and that was the first rep . . . we won’t tell you how many we did . . . I can tell you it was not 1.

We moseyed over to the WEP playground where we proceeded to do some lunge walks. Then we entered into something that I did not see a lot of smiles about:

“P is for Pink Mini-Workout” (Yes, I brought out the white board but only had a PINK marker borrowed from my wife). Subcaption: “What R U Thinkin’?” setting this workout up inside of a workout?

  • Walk on 5 “Balance Beams” without falling over
  • 10 Derkins
  • 15 Full hands in-the-air Burpees (these were Band Camp’s favorite; they had his name written all over it)
  • 20 Full extension Chin-ups
  • 25 Deep Dips
  • 30 Seconds Balls to the Wall (or playround equipment)

We then proceeded to run toward COT but we were not done. A little surprise, or maybe yet another surprise, for the group this morning: up the hill Indian Bear Crawls while rotating thrusting and then throwing a 72 lb sandbag. We moved/threw the sandbag up the hill as a group and then down the hill. Plank position held while the bear crawler and the sandbag thrower did there thang. A “yukky” exercise.

We ended with 90 seconds of kick-through burpees in cadence minus the last 20 seconds where we pushed it OYO.

I can’t believe we got all that done in 35 minutes after a 10 minute warm-up.

Thanks again, Shady, for the opportunity!

COT: General Announcements, Praises, Prayers, Gave thanks to God who gives us so many things

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1

Laces In – 9.20.18

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14 strong at LacesIn on a great morning.  All tolerated a few of YHC’s favorite exercises.

Warm up

Short mosey and circle up for the usual suspects.

  • SSH
  • Windmill
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Merkins
  • Squats
  • Peter Parker
  • Parker Peter

The Thang

Mosey over the band lot and line up on the goal line for the following

  • Lunge walk 50 yards. Stop every ten yards for 10 squats.
  • Bear Crawl remaining 50 yards and 10 CDDs every ten yards.
  • Crabwalk back 50 yards with 10 LBCs every ten yards.
  • Burpee broad jump remaining 50 yards.
  • Theee rounds of suicides to the 10, 20, and 30

 

Mosey to base of hill at the entrance to parking lot from Munn Road and do the following:

  • 10 singe count Merkins, 10 sumo squats IC, 20 Freddy mercury IC. Run to third light pole and back.
  • 10 single count diamond Merkins, 10 monkey humpers IC, 20 Flutters IC. Run to top of hill and jog back down
  • 10 single count wide Merkins, 10 bombjacks, 10 hello dollies IC. Run to top of hill and jog back down.

Mosey back to start for a few minutes of Mary

COT

Announcements

Prayers/Praises

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0

Tomahawk 2018.38

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So today I had the privilege to Q at Tomahawk.  After driving what seemed like a time i could have squeezed in a Lord of the Rings movie, I finally made it out to Doby’s Bridge Elementary.  I’ll make the backblast short and sweet.

There was a warmup that consisted of the usual suspects:  SSH, Windmills, Merkins, Peter Parkers…

The THANG consisted of three parts

Lunge walk with bell pass through.  Lunge steps not in cadence but on my “Step!” and sprint when I say “Go!”  This was broken up by burpees (everything was broken up by a few burpees), KB swings x20 and snatches x5 each arm.

Next was a DORA but one runs with your partners and your own bell to the end of the parking lot and back.  Exercises were 100 Merkins, 100 LBCs, 100 squats

Last (I think) was mobility.  Wide sumo squat and hold, left, right.  Then work it out with a low slow quat in cadence.   Superman hold to an overhead clap for shoulder mobility.  Then work it out with some plank work: merkins, shoulder taps, 1 arm holds, 6 inches, mountain climbers.

Finish it with a few minutes of mary.  Flutters with bell, protractor with bell, LBCs with bell.

BTW… that some nice new blacktop.

 

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1

Q School Week 3

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A big turnout of 24 pax posted to Golden Corral for the third week of Q School.  The Ruck gang added another 9 pax, for a total of 33!  It was great to see such a large and enthusiastic group seeking to learn and grow.  The F3 mission is all about leadership, and the leadership foundation of F3 is grounded in the workout Q.  So, YHC was honored by the chance to help teach new Qs and to do so alongside our new 1st F leader, Royale.

Royale started us off with a full disclaimer and why we give it every time.  The PAX need to know and understand the assumption of risk every morning, no matter how many times they’ve posted.

Before the mosey to warm-up Royale took a minute to explain how to “read the PAX”.  The Q should be deliberate when starting the workout by eyeballing guys with experience levels and condition levels.  We talked about a Sweeper and how a Q should assign someone to the six.  No man left behind!

The Thang (DD takes over from here)

Warm-up run to back parking lot behind HT and circle up

COP — series of warm-up exercises led by various pax to get loose and to gain familiarity with Counting in Cadence, emphasizing a few important points:

  • Consistent correct use of three commands of Cadence counting for earning confidence of the pax and keeping them altogether in rhythm
  • Sync each count with a movement in the exercise…the Q is counting MOVES, not just counting out numbers
  • Use good form in all exercises
  • Use moderate or even slow counting pace — you can count too fast but you can never count too slow (just ask Senator Tressell)

After COT we broke the large group into 2 sub-groups.  Double D took Q101 group for newer Qs and those that have not Q’d.  Royale took his hand at the Q201 PAX that have Q’d at least a few times.

Double D continued the COP format to allow all pax more opportunity to lead exercises in cadence.  We discussed the fact that the Q’s role is to lead, and as leader his priority needs to be on the pax.  This is not a workout built for the Q’s benefit.  It’s a workout for the pax who are present, led by the Q. We also discussed not feeling trapped by your Weinke and like you have to follow it rigidly.  If you miss an exercise or your rep count is longer or shorter than you planned, just carry on.  No one knows your Weinke and no one will call you out as making a mistake.  Show yourself some grace and just keep rolling on.

The pax also raised many questions:

  • How to prepare — review prior BBs for the AO, review BBs for other AOs, talk to the site Q, make a scouting trip to the AO, arrive early to the workout, ask site Q to arrive early to the workout, practice cadence counting, practice exercises
  • Exercise choice/workout structure — don’t include anything you can’t comfortably do yourself, don’t overdo # of reps, include Dora, small group stations, OYO or partner portions as means to limit period of time Q has to count in cadence
  • Start/end time — Always start on time (ie, 0515 for most weekday workouts) and always end on time (ie, 0600 for most weekday workouts)
  • How to manage COT — always starts at end of the workout period (ie, COT is not included inside the workout time, such as 0515 to 0600), includes 5 elements: (i) count off, (ii) Name-o-rama, (iii) announcements, (iv) prayers & praises and (v) Ball of Man.  Does not have to be long or complicated.  just plan to cover the basics.
  • Backblasts — Q’s job is not complete until Backblast is posted.  Get Backblast posting rights from Old Bay or Gears.  Don’t feel pressure to write a novel.  Get the names and a basic summary of what happened.  Backblasts are critical because they provide connectivity for all pax – those present and those absent – and they provide material for Qs to draw on for planning their workouts.

In order to get he heart pounding and the sweat flowing, we did some sprints up the street by Grace Church.  Then we moseyed back to COT.  We discussed along the way back the importance of watching the clock and location so that you can finish on time back at home base.  It’s better to arrive back home early and knock out a few exercises there than to reach finish time 1/4 mile or more away from home.

During his session, Royale explained how you handle a Q-Jack or too much mumble chatter.  The group will usually self-police but if they don’t making guys do burpees is an easy way to get them back on track.  Do not give up your authority to lead.  Also talked about how to address the Larry Birds (guys out front on  their own) with a communication to them on what to do if they finish early.

But sitting around was not what we here to do!  Our next evolution started with a Lazy Dora.

  • Partner Up
  • 100 Merkins combined.  Rotate partners at 20 while other partner planks
  • 200 Flutter Kicks (double count) while other partner holds 6 inches.  Rotate at 25
  • 300 Squats while other partner holds Al Gore.  Rotate at 25

During these exercises I shared more about an advanced Q style.  What message can you bring to the PAX to help them become Accelerating men?  Some of my favorite workouts are when the Q shares a life lesson during breaks or incorporates it into his workout.  I gave ideas that I’ve stolen from all kinds of sources.  The Q-source, 43 feet podcasts, Jocko podcast, twitter, our 3rd F theme of the month, etc.…

An example I shared about a recent Q I had at the Abyss (see back blast) around the 43 Feet podcast and a Man’s Concentrica.  I made a bull’s eye game with corn hole bags.  The PAX competed around the different areas of focus in a man’s Concentrica.

We moved on to a wall for some more discussions and exercise.

The first wall had a ledge and was no good, so we moved down to the next building where a better wall was located.  Another great lesson from my mistake by telling guys to recon the site before the workout!

During wall sits we opened up questions from the PAX.  Some great questions were raised around workout groupings, how many reps should you prep for, and knowing your group.  We continued with BTTW and another Wall sit.

Last item I shared during the final wall sit was around the COT Prayer.  This was something that made me very nervous around my first Q.  I was not accustomed to praying much, and certainly not in public.  I told the PAX this is an important piece of your leadership when you Q.  Do not give this away to another man.  Finish what you started by sharing from your heart.  It does not have to be each individual prayer request from COT… but don’t forget about this practice too!

We moseyed back to the front of Harris Teeter and joined back up with Double D’s group.

COT

Naked man moleskin

Double D double-clutched the smartphone video during COT (where’s a millennial when I need one?), so this BB is missing a few pax names.  Apologies to those I missed for allowing my Respect traits sabotage the recording of your presence.

Thank you to all the pax who posted!  It was great to see so many new faces as well as some veterans in support of new Qs.  This morning reflected the excitement and engagement  of the pax necessary to sustain the culture of The Fort.

Thank you to each of the new Qs for stepping up. You will be nervous and anxious — that’s normal and expected.  Your workout won’t be perfect — no Q’s workout ever is.  You will also learn and grow through the process.

And a shout out to the Site Qs — take a look at the list of pax here and get these guys booked into Q slots!

 

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Lack of control

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This thing got started with a quick gathering to listen in to the disclaimer before we began the 45 min of activities planned.  Short mosey from COT over to the band practice practice field for a warm up.

Warm up included:

  • 40 SSH, 2 burpees
  • 30 shoulder press, 2 burpees
  • 25 Moroccan night club, 2 burpees
  • 8 windmill, 2 burpees
  • 15 squats, 2 burpees
  • 10 hillbilly walkers, 2 burpees
  • quick leg stretches, honeymooners, and downward dog – then we took off to the next spot

Mosey’d over to the smaller parking lot in front of the school with the loop in front of the main entrance where YHC scooped up a parking cone and dropped it off about 80-100 yards from the front of the school.  Next piece of fun ensued was as follows:

  • 50% run from main entrance to cone, followed up by 5 burpees
  • 50% run back to main entrance, followed by 10 bench step up’s each leg, and then 20 dips
  • Then repeat the above for round 2
  • 75% run from main entrance to cone, followed up by 5 burpees
  • 75% run back to main entrance, followed by 15 bench step up’s each leg, and then 25 dips
  • Repeat the above @ 75%
  • 100% / all you got run from main entrance to cone, followed up by 5 burpees
  • 100% / all you got run back to main entrance, followed by 20 bench step up’s each leg, and then 30 dips
  • Repeat the above @ 100%

In-between the 50-75% round and 75-100% round, YHC provided some words on “control”.  While some of us are more controlling than others, we all have our control issues somewhere in our lives.  Whether that be at home with the M and 2.0s, at work with co-workers or just the company in general, or trying to control and plan for a hurricane.  In the end, we can only control ourselves, how we act, what words we use and choices we make, if we want to push ourselves during a workout, etc.  When something like a hurricane comes along and we have no control, we can comfort our M’s and our 2.0s, but it’s really in God’s hands and we need to put our trust in Him.

Quick mosey back to COT (with the Laces Out PAX “stretching”) for some Mary, name-o-rama, announcements, prayers / praises, and ball of man.  Also knocked out 42 burpees in total for #1000September !

Good stuff – looking forward to next time!

-Shady

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