Tag: Beacon

5 Year Anniversary Convergence BB

2 Comments

Saturday, September 30th 2017 was a special Convergence for the PAX of The Fort. On that day we celebrated 5 years of using these small workout groups to invigorate male leadership in Fort Mill. To honor the occasion, 88 PAX gathered at one of our favorite AOs (Nations Ford HS) to celebrate the day and the leaders that made it all happen.

We also celebrated 6 Friendly New Guys that joined us that morning. Welcome Tubs, Band Camp, Jughead, Atari, Hat Trick, and Saul.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, however. Here’s how we got better:

Warmup (led by Ginsu)

  • Mosey to the football field
  • 30 Side Straddle Hops
  • 10, 4-count windmills
  • 30 Moroccan night clubs
  • 10, 4-count merkins
  • 10, 4-count Peter Parkers
  • 10, 4-count Parker Peters
  • 10, 4-count LBCs
  • 20 low slow squats

Split into groups (Run, Regular Bootcamp, Black Diamond, Ruck, Moderate Bootcamp)

Run (led by Birdcage)

  • 800 meter indian run
  • 1000 meter 10k pace with 1 minute rest x2
  • 200 meter 1 mile race pace 200 meter cool down x4
  • 400 meter sprint corners recover straights
  • 1600 meter cool down
  • 5 miles total

Bootcamp (led by Royale)

  • Mosey over to the concrete football field
  • 10 merkins
  • Lunge walk 10 yards then do 3 burpees
  • Next ten yards bear crawl then 3 more burpees
  • Rise and repeat until we hit the other goal line
  • 10 count – going over the Five Core Principals of an F3 workout
  • Next phase we broke into 4 groups
  • At each corner of the end zones there were 5 exercises written on a board.  We would complete in your group and then run to the next corner. Everyone would hit al 4 corners.
    • Corner 1
      • 20 Merkins
      • 30 Lunges
      • 30 Dying Cockroaches
      • 30 Ski Abs
      • 3 Kraken Burpees
    • Corner 2
      • 20 Ranger Merkins
      • 30 Squats
      • 40 Freddy Mercurys
      • 40 Shoulder Taps
      • 10 burpees
    • Corner 3
      • 20 Durkins
      • 20 Jump Squats
      • 50 American Hammers
      • 30 Monkey Humpers
      • 10 Mountain Climber Burpees
    • Corner 4
      • 20 Wide Arm Merkins
      • 20 Sumo Squats
      • 20 V-Up Twists
      • 20 Bombjacks
      • 10 Squat Burpees
We talked about the word of the month – Leadership.  I shared we all have an opportunity to lead through F3, just like we all have the responsibility to lead in our homes.  I know I struggle with the balance of work and family time.  As the leader of our households we need to support our Ms and be the examples to our children.
  • Mosey over to the round about
  • Each man would take a lap around 1st doing Lt Dans
  • Finally we would bear crawl.
  • Mosey to the football field for the last 30 seconds and some LBCs

Black Diamond (led by Backdraft)

  • Mosey from warm up top pull up bars
  • Pull ups/ Burpee challenge – 9 pull ups 1 burpee., 8-2 , 7-3 until finished.
  • Mosey to stadium run the bleachers
  • 10 derkins
  • 10 dips
  • Mosey to track run 1/4 mile as fast as you can. U vs. U
  • Mosey to end zone. Count off by 2s. split into groups first person flips tire 10 times than run end zone to end zone while next person flips tire everyone else continuously do 10 merkins, 10 squats, 10 big boy sit ups. Keep going until all of group is finished.
  • 10 min 100 burpees. Do 10 burpees every minute on the minute. U vs. U
  • Mosey to 50 yard line 5 minute of Mary
  • Sideline sprints x 2 first set after you run 10 tuck jumps. 2nd set 5 hand release merkins

Ruck (led by Trucker)

2 20lb, 3 40lb, and 3 60lb sandbags were snagged from back of car as 8 PAX tucked down to the elementary school and dropped the sandbags next to the telephone poles. The 8 PAX carried the telephone pole around the parking lot. Left telephone pole where we found it and rucked backwards up the hill to the pull up bars. What’s a WO by Trucker without pull ups? YHC challenged the 8 PAX to do 2 sets of 5 pull ups with ruck on.

Rucked into stadium and lined up in 2 columns for sandbag throws from one end of football field to other and back. Then rucked up and down the football stand stairs from one end back. Rinse and repeat with sandbag throws and stadium stairs. Threw sandbags again down to other side of endzone and then formed 2 lines abs flipped tires from one end to other. Sandbag threw back to other endzone and climbed stadium stairs one more time. Finished with a 20 count flutters. Great work by seasoned and rookie ruckers.

Moderate (led by Short Sale)

  • MOSEY to Elementary School
  • Grab some Wall. Wall Sits while Pax at each end jumps out of line for 5 squats
  • Repeat with 5 Bombjacks.
  • Count off by 5’s and mosey to back of the parking lot
    • Number 1’s go to station #1
    • 2’s start at Station3, etc.
  • Stations: 3 minutes/station. Q calls stop & go
    • 1: 10 Merkins, 20 Calf raises
    • 2: 20 LBCs, 20 Monkey Humpers
    • 3: 10 SSHs, 20 Moroccan Night Clubs
    • 4: 10 Scorpion Dry Docks, 20 Squats
    • 5: 20 Imperial Walkers, 10 Apollo Ohnos
    • 6: 10 Broad Jumps, 20 Flutters
    • 7: 10 Bombjacks, 20 squat jabs
    • 8: 10 handclap merkins w/partner, 10 partner Derkins- Beloved by veteran Pax and FNGs alike
    • 9: 10 Jump Squats, 10 CDD’s
    • 10: 10 Dips, 5 jack Webbs
  • Mosey to Stop sign at bottom of hill for some Mary- Hello Dollies, Flutters, Protractor

MESSAGE ON LEADERSHIP- F3 gives us a great platform to grow our leadership skills and build confidence as a leader. The Pax will let you know if/when something has gone wrong but will also be there to lift you up. Also, the best leaders don’t focus on their ROLE, they focus on the GOAL. So, be the leader you were called to be.

Great group of men came to work. Veterans guided the FNGs and encouraged them at every step of the way. YHC kept reminding the group that it is UvsU out here. Some quality mumble chatter about what moderate means. Smiles all around when moved on from the stations.

Wrap Up

What we have at The Fort is special. It is a strong group of PAX led by men who live with intentionality. I am sure that each of us would agree that it has impacted our lives in ways that we will never be able to describe. At some point for each of us, we were gifted F3. We were headlocked by someone who recognized the impact that F3 had on them and how it could help us. With that in mind, let’s pay this gift forward. Be the leader you were called to be and use your influence to headlock the sad clowns around you, FNGs and Kotters, that are where you once were. Be a leader.

Ginsu

TClap |
16

Why you wanna give me a run-around?

Leave a comment

24 PAX gave me a run-around Thursday morning at Footloose.  Tuesday, I made it very clear to both PAX that were listening that Thursday, we would be running … a lot.

I rolled in with 3 minutes to spare, thanks too  … who cares, the Weinke was laminated, and I was loaded for bear.

1 FNG to welcome, a little mumbling, a disclaimer and we were off …

The thang:

Mosey around the main lot, then out to the road, down the hill and a tricky left before the big hill to the big church lot.

Line up for dynamic warm up
Squat walkers
Knee ups
Toy soldier
Windmill walkers
Bear crawl
Patrick Swayze (karaoke L&R, powerskip, backwards run arms out)
Inch Worm
Jonah Hill (3 broad jumps, 3 merkins x 7)

Mosey to the lot across the street, circle-up (ish)
IC: CDDx10, Travoltax10, Squatx10, 2 burpees OYO
Mosey up the stairs to the First Baptist back lot, spot #1
IC: LBCsx10, MNCx10, Monkey Humpersx10, 2 burpees OYO
Mosey around lot a bit to spot #2
IC: Flutterx10, Bombjackx10, Dying Cockroachx10, 2 burpees OYO
Mosey around the lot a bit to spot #3 near grass
IC: Hello Dollyx10 (shout out to Hef), Scorpion DD, KneeTar Jaix10, 2 burpees OYO
Mosey out the front to the church lot across form the fire station
IC: Rosalitax10, Merkinx10, Hillbilly Walkerx10, 2 burpees OYO
Mosey to small lot across from Hardees
IC: Freddiex10, Mahktar Jaix10, Calf Raisex10, 2 burpees OYO
Mosey … Down on Mainstreet … Down on Mainstreeeeeet to the courthouse lot around the corner
IC: Shoulder Tapsx10, Overhead Clapsx60, Imp Walkerx10, 2 burpees OYO
Mosey all the way back to where we started in the large church lot, lots of love and mumble chatter here since we went by what everyone thought was COT, but I saw 6 minutes left …
IC: Russian Twistsx10, Plank Jacksx10, SSHx10, no burpees this time

Back to COT

The skinny on this one was that we kept moving, nothing harsh, I didn’t have to carry Dark Helmet up 40 flights of stairs with a cinder block on each wrist (or whatever he makes you do), 10 counts were walking 10 counts, on your 6, on your feet, in a plank, on your feet. No rest, 45 minutes of exercise.

Welcome FNG Popper, EH’ed by a friend in F3 Columbia

Looks like we made it,

Barry Manilow

TClap |
5

80’s/90’s Themed High School Sports

Leave a comment
SSH 15
Mtn Climbers 15
Squats 15
windmill 15
Moroccan night club 25
The Thang:  (football style)
Monkey rolls for 30 secs
butt rolls 30 secs
chop and drop 30 secs
squat thrust 10
Discussed discipline and what that means to the Pax
Turned over to Bonsai for basketball style workout
Moseyed over to First Baptist Church back parking lot
Ran suicide with a twist up the hill
(Start running backward to first line)
– first line 10 merkins
– second line 20 squats
– third line 30 LBCs
– fourth line 40 toe taps
(After completing each exercise return back to start running forward)
10 merkins in cadence
Single leg hop to next row of parking spaces and back
Switch and repeat
Next split up in two groups
Group 1 – work their way through the cones setup with the defensive slide
Group 2 – merkins until the 6 completes the defensive slide
Rinse and Repeat
Group 2 – Bobby Hurley’s until 6 gets back
Move over to the wall for 20 jump wall taps
Mosey back to COT
Anchorman I appreciate the opportunity to lead and it was a great idea to
incorporate High School sports.
In case you can’t figure it out Destiny was the one in high school in the 80’s.  Just saying – All most respectable.
TClap |
0

Choose Wisely

1 Comment

I had the pleasure to cross the river and Q #FootLoose this morning. Conditions were okay considering its August in South Carolina – temps in the lower 70s and a light rain. All in, 28 #HIM made the choice to roll out of the fartsack and start their day off on the right foot. Here’s what we did…

The Thang
Short Mosey across the street to the circle in front of the church. Bird Cage reminded me that this area was just as congested as the previous spot, but that didn’t stop us from warming up, shoulder-to shoulder with our brothers.

  • 20 SSHs (IC)
  • 15 Hillbilly Walkers (IC)
  • 30 Moroccan Night Clubs (IC)
  • Mosey to the Church steps
  • Bear Crawl up
  • Crawl Bear down
  • Squats while you wait

Apparently, the steps get slippery when wet. Since I like to keep my teeth, we Omaha’d round two and moseyed to the lot to behind the church.
Circle Up for Choose Your Poison. We took turns rolling dice and choosing exercises. One die was the exercise (see below); the other was the rep count (x10). The roller had to choose which die was for the exercise and which was the rep.
1. Merkins
2. LBCs
3. Squats
4. Side Straddle Hops
5. Overhead Claps
6. Burpees
Luckily we didn’t have two sixes (60 Burpees) rolled, and if we did, the PAX calling the shots wisely modified. Even though this is a moderate workout, we did our share of Burpees (probably 50ish). Overhead Claps and SSHs were popular choices (maybe 200ish). Merkins and LBCs came up a few times (150ish). Squats were tossed a couple times (100ish).

  • Mosey to the wall
  • 15 People’s Chair (IC)
  • 15 One-legged Squats (flapjack)
  • 10 Merkins (IC)
  • Mosey back to COT

NMM
I was honored to be asked to Q this morning. TClaps to Anchorman for his dedication to growing #FootLoose and awesome leadership stepping up to take over, Beacon. This AO has tons of options, so reach out to Beacon to get on the Q schedule.
Today’s workout reminds us that every day brings choices. Post or not post? Boxers or briefs? Paper or Plastic? Gossip or Gospel? We have opportunities each day to choose wisely or poorly. Every choice brings consequences. Sometimes you will face a challenge where the choice is hard to make and the outcome is difficult to take, but when you make it through, you will garner something from the experience. When a choice needs to be made, you need to make it. You’re either in or you’re out. Own it.
It’s been said that opportunity knocks, but temptation leans on the doorbell. When there is a knock, open the door and dive in to the challenge at hand. When temptation leans, step back and evaluate the potential outcome. Is it worth it? Opportunity is often missed because it looks like work. Temptation is often chosen because it looks like fun. Realize that every action has a reaction and you have to deal with the consequences of bad choices.
Today, I encourage you to choose positivity. Whatever you want, make the decision and do what it takes to get it. There will be challenges, but the greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. Sometimes it takes time, but remember, patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

Aye!
Italian Job

TClap |
4

The British are coming, the British are coming…..

Leave a comment

Alcatraz invited a British VQ to lead the PAX to try and escape the infamous AO. Very little word got out that the British were invading Alcatraz, but 7 PAX stood their ground awaiting for a beatdown by our very own brit – Sparkplug. After giving a good disclaimer, mossy through the baseball fields for COP. His weinke was written in british, but the best part of COP was the accent!! lots of mumble chatter relating to that. Mossy over the restroom wall.

PAX took a seat on the wall for various counts, then sprinted to outfield wall and back. BTW followed with another sprint. Mossy back to other baseball field entrance for 4 corners. Each corners involved 50 reps. first corner involved the blocks near the playground. Only got through 3 of the 4 rounds before passing the tea over to Trucker.

Mossy to playground for 3 rounds of 5 pull-ups and 15 LBCs.

Mossy to short steep hill for more rounds of pain.

Line up in a single line and one at a time run to the top and back. Once the PAX reaches the top, the next PAX takes off. Those not running are doing merkins. RInse and repeat two more times.

Mossy to COT

Great VQ by Sparkplug!!!

Prayers to Senator Tressel and injured.

TClap |
0

The Yard – Getting Hazy, Hot and Humid while getting better!

Leave a comment

18 Men came to The Yard and it was crazy Hot

YHC did short mosey to COP

We did some stuff with the Dice of Pain and got loose

We then moseyed to the playground and found a whole new area that looked like fun, so we did some dips and swing crunches

Moseyed back around the school and did some wall sit and shoulder presses

We ran through the jungle gym to have some fun, while PAX were planking.

At this point we were dripping wet. IT was a soppy mess out there.

Mosey to the long drive and good news was we were in the shade

we hit every light pole all the way down doing the exercises on the ground and did same all the way back. Ran over the normal 7:50 mark but everyone was cool with it.

Mosey to COT and did a couple ab exercises then namarama.

The PAX finished strong in the muggy heat.

Our man Gilligan wanted to take off, but a couple of HIMs, Freon and Old Bay hung with the man and he finished. Gilligan shared with us that he is not the most fit guy but wants fellowship. We prayed for Gilligan, who in own words is not spiritual, and said we all have been there. We all need fellowship and we are trying to figure this life out together. I know I’m better today because of the PAX and that is why we need to continue to EH and help more guys realize what they are missing. #morethanaworkout

Cake Boss out!

 

TClap |
0

More pass the dutchie

Leave a comment

10 at Armory this morning got better.

The thang:

Warmup
Windmills
Imperial Walkers
Sumo Squats
Good Morning Stretch

Lap, then back for:

Merkins
Carolina-dry docks

Mosey over to the low wall with bells for some pain circuits.

Circuit 1 (Lap between exercises)
10 Dips with bell
10 Skull crushers
10 Lawnmower pulls each arm
Circuit 2 (Lap between exercises)
10 Curls each arm
20 K-Bell swings
10 Deadlifts
Circuit 3 (Lap between exercises)
10 Figure 8’s
10 Round the world
10 Shoulder Press

Partner Up

Partner 1 runs large loop with Bell
Partner 2 runs opposite direction, meets him and takes bell
(This was fun)

Repeat

Then back to circuits

Circuit 1 (No laps!)
10 Dips with bell
10 Skull crushers
10 Lawnmower pulls each arm
Circuit 2
10 Curls each arm
20 K-Bell swings
10 Deadlifts
Circuit 3
10 Figure 8’s
10 Round the world
10 Shoulder Press

We circled up for a round of pass the dutchie, Tesh’s invention and always the growls from handling his and Peabody’s bells.

Lunge with bell to parking lot, take a lap, lunge back to wall for a quick round of LBC’s  and Protractors.

Big ending with big ups to Sasquatch on the news of a boy due in January (and soon to be Uncle Wegmans.) Continued prayers for Smithers F-I-L.

Always a pleasure —- Assassin ——-

TClap |
2

Freedom to Choose

Leave a comment

The Thang

Mosey to “big parking lot” of St. John’s United Methodist for stretching, focusing on back, hips and glutes.

Mosey to “front/side lot” of St. John’s United Methodist for warm-up

Windmills x 10
SSH x 10
Imperial Walkers x 10
Hillbilly Walkers x 10
Moroccan Nightclubs x 20

Back to FIrst Baptist Churches fort Mill lot for “The Serpentine”
3 stations laid out amongst the 4 islands in the lot. Jog, bear crawl, sprint, power skip or whatever to each cone, perform the exercise and move on to the next. We moved up one row and down the next. Hence, the “Serpentine”.

Mosey to front steps of FBCFM

Calf raises x 10 (maybe it was 20)

Mosey down Confederate St. to back entrance of Church of God
Used back wall for Dips / Derkins x 10 each (rinse & repeat)

Mosey into breezeway for People’s Chair
Mosey into Parking Lot for 4 corners x 2 rounds
Plank for the six

Serpentine & 4 corners consisted of:

Seal Jacks (4 count) x 10

LBC’s x 10 (4 count)

Hello Dolly’s x 10 (4 count)

Burpees x 5 (sorry, had to break Moderate code)

Mountain Climbers x 10 (4 count)

Merkins x 10 (single count)

Bombjacks x 10

Monkey Humpers x 10 (4 count)

Carolina Dry Docks x 10 (single count)

SSH x 20 (4 count)

Plank Jacks x 10 (4 count)

Box Cutters x 10 (4 count)

“Your Choice” x 10 (2 of those)

“Your Choice” x 20 (2 of those)

Mosey back toward COT for Mary
American Hammers x 10
Box Cutters x 10
Flutters (or “Aquaman thingy’s”) x 10
Travolta’s x 10
COT – Prayers for Smithers, Molder, Smithers’ M & family as her dad fights on. Prayers for Ponch, having wrist surgery. Prayers for Gopher and his M on biz decisions  I’m sure I’ve missed a few and I apologize for that.

Naked Moleskin

We have freedom to choose. We can’t control what “happens” to us. We CAN choose our response. We can choose how to live our lives. Every day is made of 100’s or 1000’s of choices. Which choices are you glad you made? I have a lot. Which choices would you change? I have a lot of those, too!

Achievement or accomplishment (personal, career, family, fitness, financial, faith, etc) is the culmination of our choices. We remember the magic moment that the achievement occurred. Too often, we dismiss the 100’s or 1000’s of choices we made to get us to that point. Choose your greatness. You are free to do so.

As always, I’m honored and humbled to be surrounded by such high impact men & grateful for the opportunity to lead.

See you in the gloom.

Beacon

TClap |
4