Reminisce about the “Pain”theon

I haven’t been to one of my old favorite AOs in WAY to long.  We start to get spoiled with so many great  F3 options that it gets easy to stay close to home. I love Funhouse’s idea of Ass Kickin’ April and getting out to 30 different AOs during the month.  I challenge each of you to answer the call and post to a different AO and meet some new PAX once every few weeks!

So when I was asked to Q again at the Pantheon I answered the call.  I started DMing some of the Lake Wylie guys to see if they wanted to come with me and we had several show up this morning too!  I was quite surprised to see 24 PAX there at 5:15…. two were FNGs EH’d by Bones and two were 2.0s that Uber brought with him.  The FNGs were named “Grout” and “Safe Word”, respectively.  ALL of them did great on a challenging workout today.  Sorry to the 6 men that were cut out of the video Namorama.  I recalled 3 from my terrible memory, but 3 have been left off the tags…comment below and I’ll add you.

The Thang

Long disclaimer with new FNGs

Dynamic Warmup Lap

COP with SSHs – Imperial Walkers – CDDs – LS Squats – Merkins – Windmills – Mountain Climbers

I pulled some of my old favorite Weinkes from the Pantheon and put them together.

Evolution #1

Took two lanterns with me and we moseyed to the graded hill on the NE corner. Love that hill area and we did “8s” (because 7s is too hard of math for me it seems..)

Bottom of Hill 1 Bomb Jack

Top 7 Merkins

up and down the hill switching until you hit 7 Bomb jacks and 1 merkin

Evolution #2

I celebrated my one year anniversary back in 2016 at the Pantheon as Q.  I pulled out this terrible idea and we did it again.

Burpee Celebration

I counted in year 1 that I went to 147 workouts that year.  We would do the following.

17 burpees to start

Complete a lap in the parking lot

10 burpees at the start until we completed 13 laps. (10 x 13 = 130) + 17 = 147 burpees

With only 25 minutes of time that was a little ambitious.  Many finished 9 laps.  Some +/- 1 lap…

6am back to COT

Got to name our FNGs, Todd and Jason…both did great today.  Todd went first, said something about having a safe word after a pineapples reference that came from living in Hawaii…that was it for him…

Jason does sales somehow related to tile splash or tiles…Grout stuck!

Announcements – Prayers and time to go!

Thanks Bear Grylls and Fish Sticks for having me come out and share.  I really enjoyed being a part of the Pillars of Pantheon series as well!  Great idea and addition.

An Honor to Lead,

Royale

 

 

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Pantheon – 5 at 5

5 PAX took the DRP and came to Pantheon for a 3rd Q in 5 days from YHC.  It was a hot and humid morning, who would have thought that of Tega Cay in July?  Needless to say, YHC brought a Weinke and a speaker.  That’s all that is needed.  And we’re off….

The Thang

Big Lap around parking lot to COP

SSH X 30, Windmills X 10, Squats X 15, Merkins X 10, Mountain Climbers X 15, SSH X 30

Mosey to WalMart Way, bottom of the hill.  Hill repeats with 5 Flying Squirrels at top and 10 Squats at bottom.  Rinse and repeat X 3.

Mosey back to Shovel Flag.  Turn on the tunes and get ready for the 10 minutes of burpees.  6 burpees in 1 minute X 10 sets.  Crowd pleaser.

Mosey to the Pillars.  Wall sits while one PAX sprints to end of sidewalk and back.

Done

COT – Prayers for travels, returns, in route babies, patience for parents with kids during summer break, prayers for stop being an asshole to the M (that’s mine).

FunHouse

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Pillars of Pantheon – PreBlast

Pax:

We’ve all joined F3 for various reasons; however the common theme is acceleration in each of the 3 F’s.  In the spirit of QSource, 43Feet, Roundtable and others we are launching a new and insightful discussion:  Pillars of Pantheon.

Pillars of Pantheon will be a quick two minute interview with the Pantheon Q of the Day to expand on these questions:

> Tell us about your own EH experience and induction into F3?

> How has F3 helped you accelerate your 3 F’s?

> What is one idea that you will spearhead to take F3 into the future?

The Pillars of Pantheon discussion will occur after COT and the Gloom Crue in attendance are welcomed to listen in and discuss with that day’s Q post recording.  The intent is to strengthen our 2nd F, tighten our Shield-lock and of course, sharpen each other.

AYE!

-BearGrylls

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600M Shoulder Shredder at Pantheon

GREAT morning!! Take advantage of the May chill. A month from now we will be far from it.

No FNGs, disclaimer was said and off we went.

Ran around the short loop of the parking lot to warm up and to the non-residential side of the school for the COP:

20 or so of each:
* SSH
* Windmills
* Imperial Walker
* Hillbilly Walker
* MNC
* A little Broga

Then we went back to the front of the school where YHC had set up the main event.
600
6
What did these two numbers mean to me? That’s what I asked on Twitter the day before.
Well…..
The large oval-ish drive that starts at the student drop-off area at the front of the school and proceed all the way around the field out front and back is about 600m long. Then I had set up 6 work stations of cones w labels that detailed an exercise to do, then a means to transition to the next cone. That’s 100 meters roughly from station to station.  First station is right by the school near the baseball field, then proceed clockwise all the way around.

Stations are as follows:
Station / Exercise / Transition to Next
1 / 25 Merkins / Burpee broad jump
2 / 25 4ct Flutter / Lt Dan
3 / 25 Reverse Crunch / Bear Crawl
4 / 25 Merkins / Run
5 / 25 4 ct Flutter / Bear Crawl
6  / 25 Reverse Crunch / Lt Dan

A lot of bear crawls and Lt Dans!!  We finished with almost 10 minutes left. Next time I’ll up the exercise count from 25 to 50. I did not want to start another loop so we went to the posts along the student drop off for  2 rounds of BTTW-to-burpee, and people’s chairs – to – burpee. Then a short jog around the lot to COT.

Everyone did great. Shoulders are kinda smoked. Great discussions during the WOD. See below.

Announcements / P&P:
* Read your newsletter, get involved!
* Remembrance workout in honor of Badger at Golden Corral coming up
* Cannoli run/ruck on 5/18
* Convergence 5/24
* F3 Dads/kids at the Deep on 5/25
* Prayers for Bear’s mother in law as she fights cancer
* Prayers for Router’s M
* Prayers  for injured PAX, marriages

Mental Health Awareness Month – My Story

May is Mental Health Awareness month, with the purpose of bringing mental health in all aspects out in the open, drive support, find cures/treatments, and open minds. During the first half of the workout, when I had breath, I started sharing with the PAX something that has recently and directly affected me and my immediate family I am responsible for here in Fort Mill. I have a sister who, for 30 years, has fought depression and still is. I have friends who live with it as well. I have a friend who is bipolar. Mental health issues have been in my life for some time, I am no stranger to them.

But this new development hits even closer to home now. My older son, who is now 10, has been diagnosed with ADHD since 1st grade. We got him the help and meds he needs and all was well.  But over the past year we noted some changes in him. Not just pre-puberty or a 10yr old boy being a 10yr old boy, but some of the previous diagnoses were being amplified, as well as some new concerns. To most people he is a normal boy but in certain situations our concerns became evident. He’s an incredibly intelligent boy but his grades were way off, and some behaviors were concerning. After several months of doctor visits, questionnaires, testing, and so forth we found that he is now on the Autism spectrum, diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. We were really not too surprised, and by no means disappointed or mad or what not. It’s NOT about us as parents, that our child is ‘defective’ or ‘broken’ or ‘abnormal’ as some parents would possibly feel when they hear the diagnosis.  To most others who first meet him he seems like a normal boy – active, chatty, but a little socially awkward (just like his dad). Because he is. He just processes info, reacts to input, and shows emotion a little differently than others. What the diagnosis meant is that he will get the help he needs when he transitions to middle school next year. He won’t be in special ed classes, he won’t be set aside from the others or what not as most parents fear about. He will be in a normal class but will have his own ‘personal assistant’ of sorts. All of this came from months of effort by many, including us.

But my main point is not my personal plight or that of my son. It’s that it took so long to get to where we are now, with answers and a plan to get him on a path for better success in life however it is defined. In the US there are over 1.1 MILLION physicians and growing. They are everywhere. They fill up their own phone book (millennials may have to google what a phone book is). But there are only roughly  28,000 psychiatrists and 106,000 psychologists in the US. And that number is declining as the number of registered psychiatrists that are retiring is more than new ones to replace them. That’s almost 9:1 ratio, which is unacceptable, and to me is VERY indicative of our view, culturally, towards mental health. What that also means, and what we experienced first hand, is when you have a need for mental health diagnosis, treatment, and support – it is not easy to find. It is not as readily available as the minute clinics inside every CVS and Target, not as readily available as the Ortho treatment centers or family care centers that are everywhere. Seeking help is a long, arduous process that you have to push, drive. If you break an arm, in most suburban environments help is less than 10 minutes away on average. But if you are suffering depression or show signs of mental trauma, your options are few and they are often over-booked. Why is that? Why isn’t anyone concerned as they should be?

Mental health is just as important as physical health. Period. Unfortunately many do not see it that way. It is still in the shadows in this country in my opinion. It’s getting better, but still has a long way to go. When the average person hears ‘mental health (issues)’ they think looney bin, straight jackets, problem people/children, crazy people, warped minds, and just general problems they do not want to understand, deal with, or be exposed to in their warm, comfy cocoon of a life they’ve made. Because hey, it does not affect them right? Mental health issues are more prevalent that one may think, but they still have a stigma associated with them. Birds of a feather flock together is the old saying. It is a quite true and very simplistic statement about human sociology, human nature. Those in the mental health struggle feel they cannot be part of the “normal”, average flock. That is the burden they bear, but it is also the burden placed upon them as well. That has to change.

The only way to break that stigma, to bring things out of the shadows, is to be open with the struggle, be open-minded about the struggles, and to educate and enlighten for fear tends to be bred from the unknown. People in the struggle cannot feel ashamed or scared to talk about it. People in their lives need to learn that they need to be the non-judgmental, fearless support system they can be. Society in general needs to demand more access to diagnosis, treatment, and support. If we can change a culture over time to – view cigarettes as a health hazard and not a cool stress relief; to view great white sharks as an endangered species that need to be protected instead of slaughtered like Jaws monsters; to be more mindful of our resources and impact to our earth; and to value diversity and the differences in each other – then why can’t we change the culture to a one more empathetic, understanding, and open towards those in the mental health struggle?

We need to break the stigma.
Be open.
Be open minded.
Be the change.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
-NASA

 

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Beep beep I’m a jeep, clank clank I’m a tank

17 strong at The Armory. The weather was great and the iron was aplenty.

Warm up

  • SSH 25 I.C.
  • Windmill 10 I.C.
  • Leg stretches
  • Merkins 10 I.C.
  • Mountain Climbers (foot all the way up to hands) 10 I.C.
  • Moroccan Night Club 15 I.C.
  • Imperial Walker 15 I.C.
  • Hillbilly Walker 15 I.C.
  • Mosey over to the middle of the parking lot

The Thang

  • 10 Man Makers
  • 10 Turkish getups (5 each arm)
  • Split into Teams Alpha and Bravo
  • 1st timing mechanism: mosey with bell while other team does exercise
      1. High pulls
      2. Curls
      3. Triceps
  • 2nd timing mechanism: bear crawl drag bell
      1. V ups skull crusher
      2. Thrusters
      3. Calf raises
  • 3rd timing mechanism: “Beep beep I’m a Jeep, clank clank I’m a tank” (“Jeep” is a duck walk with bell close to chest. “Tank” is a duck walk holding the bell out in front.
      1. Flutter presses
      2. Dead lift
      3. Around the world

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to lead and associate with such a great group of men. Good work today from everyone.

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Mental Health Awareness at the Pantheon

Mosey around the side of the school.

quick word about what mental health means to you

Warm up
15 – Windmills
15 – Imperial Walkers
20 – Moroccan Nightclubs
10 cherry pickers

5 burpees OYO

30 count people’s chair  with arm flutters
Balls to the wall 10 count

30 count people’s chair with
Balls to the wall 10 count
30 count people’s chair
Balls to the wall 10 count

5 burpees OYO

Mosey to the back of the School

discuss that there is more to mental health than depression

20 Merkins
20 CDD
20 Hand Release Merkins

5 burpees OYO

Lunge walk half way down flip to LT. Dan’s

5 burpees

mosey to the side of the school

Plank
Plank shoulder taps
Seal Team Sit-ups

20 American Hammers

Mosey to the front of the School

Global warming with 30 Monkey Humpers each Pax one at a time while Every one held al-gore, imagine 25 pax  = sore legs

Maximus Shared his struggles  and YHC spoke about my struggles in the past due.

It was awesome to hear so many Pax open up and being vulnerable. T-Claps to all that attended this is not a easy subject to discuss.

Prayers sent up for those that are struggling and have struggled with this topic.

 

 

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Pantheon Pain

When Bear Grylls calls for a Q, Lutefisk answers. Except I forgot until the night before with no Worship Planning reminder.  Good thing I led a workout in February that was a coin flip.  If the coin was heads, we did X.  If it was tails, we did Y.  Well, we never got to do the other side of that table.  So today, we did.

Warm up music brought to you by Bear Grylls followed by a brief disclaimer as we watched a truck come in hot.  Who could it be?  Unrecognizable.  Oh, enter Hat Trick, after a year of absence, he decided to work out with F3 instead of the Baxter Y.  Welcome back & kotters, brother!  This reminded me of how important the 2nd F is.  Like Sky Q, F3 is always gonna be here for us.

Warm-O-Rama:
18 SSH
28 Ass kickers
18 LSS
28 Mtn climbers
18 Head Shoulders Knees & Toes (taps, each hand, in plank/CDD position)
22 Gorilla Humpers
9 Ankle Grinders (much confusion on this one.. too early for brain participation)

Mosey to side of TCES for wall work:
Shoulder Taps – 20 each hand
Ascending Testicles – 10 counts each starting at 30 degrees, then 45 degrees, then 70 degrees, then BTTW
Wall sit, one at a time run 50 yards and execute 10 jump squats each

Indian run to front of school for some of the thang:
Partner up for Dora 1-2-3 (merkins-LBC-squat), run the length of the parking lot
This is where pothole thought it was our last run, so he challenged YHC to AYG.  Thanks a not lot… we still had 2 more to go!
On the last one, Cable Guy challenged YHC to AYG.  Seriously?! #disrupters #respect

Bear crawl about 40 yards and crawl bear back for our finale, the swirly:
Either you got them or gave them in high school. The head in the toilet #flush
Except in F3, partner holds ankles and lifts straight up (ok, more like a keg stand). 5 Derkins, flapjack.  5 more, flapjack for a total of 10 each.  Broad jump to COT.

Announcements, Prayers and Praises, BOM. Thx BG for letting me induce some pain this AM.

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Pantheon – A little bit of everything

6 Pax braved a possible deluge of 40% chance of rain. YHC was duped to take the Q by an unnamed #HIM that was on a mission to get YHC to post this week.  Mission was successful.  YHC took the bait, set the alarm and made a weinke.  Needless to say, YHC needed the kick in the ass to get moving after that start of this year.  So here it is:

The Thang:

Easy Mosey to Bus lot – COP

SSH X 50, Imperial Walkers X 20, Squats X 20, Mountain Climbers X 20, Merkins X 10, Hill Billy Walkers X 20, Moroccan Night Clubs X 20, Carolina Drydocks X 20.

Suffuciently warmed up, mosey to the hard top in back of school

Wind sprints by each Pax, other Pax did excercises (merkins, mountin climbers, flutters, etc) X 3 rounds.

Mosey to the amphitheater for a Jacob’s Ladder to 7 with Squats at bottom and Burpees at top.

Mosey to the Pillars o’ Pain in front of school and pair up.  Pair run small parking lot circle while the Pax pops a squat for a long wall sit.

A couple of minutes of Mary and done.

COT – Announcements – Yeti!  Step up to Q for March, especially if never Q’d.  P&P – Pray for my brother Scott going through a divorce, 38 Special has a doc appt for his back, BG’s mother in law recovery!

Naked Moleskin – PAX, as the guy who “tricked” me to Q, he reminded me this morning that “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and has no one to lift him up”. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10  Notice that the verse DOESN’T say “Picks him up”.  It specifically says “LIFTS” him up.  My shield lock saw that I was down, he lifted me up. Seeing my need for help, he lifted me from my original sloth position and into a position to act, to lead.  The picking up is physical, the lifting up is everything that matters. Thanks unnamed fellow Pax.

 

#Jekyll

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What is weighing you down?

Four men showed up on a cold morning at Pantheon.  The question today was “What is weighing you down?”  The holiday season usually exacerbates the things that are weighting us down.  Whether it be struggling with finances, relationship issues, work stresses, or losing a loved one.  As men, we continue to add these thing to the bar until it is overloaded where we cannot lift anymore or it comes crashing down on our chest.

So what is the solution?  First, the workout and how it ties to the question at hand.  We started with a quick jog around the carpool circle. Next, we did the following warm-up exercises:

SSHsx15

Imperial Walkers x15

Windmills x15

Plank stretches

Next, we did the following exercises with cinder blocks.  The repetitions were completed when each person had jogged around the parking lot or alternatively carried two cinder blocks down the length of the school building and back to the starting point.

Exercises:

  1.  Squat thrusters with block
  2. Burpees block jump
  3. LBCs
  4. Offset merkin
  5. Freddie mercury
  6. Derkin

We finished with a round of flutters and box cutters.

Getting back to the solution..what do you do? I don’t have all of the answers, but I can share my experience with you.  In 2013, I my job was very demanding due to some organization changes within the company.  Our regular summer vacation was cancelled due to amount of work.  I promised my wife and kids I would make it up to them.

On August 11, my older brother called me.  I was running on the treadmill at the time so I did not answer the phone.  He called again.  I jumped off the treadmill knowing something was wrong.  It was..my younger brother had died.  I was in disbelief, how could this be.  I physically fell to the ground in tears.  He was my younger brother, I was suppose to protect him, but I was too busy working. I could probably spend a lot more time on the story, but the aftermath was worse.

I did not want to talk to anyone about it and I continued to go to work and do my job like nothing happened. The impact was felt by my wife and kids.  My wife and I grew farther apart.  Things finally got better when we began talking about it, eliminating the noise in our lives, and prioritizing what we wanted most as a family.  The best way to describe the impact of this experience is the feeling when you are able to drop a heavy weight after carrying it for a while.  Your body feels lighter, almost floating.

There are a number of great men here in the Fort.  All who come with different experiences and backgrounds.  Take advantage of it.  Find that someone that you feel comfortable and share these things that are weighting you down. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it gets easier over time.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead,

Fishsticks

 

 

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Pantheon vs. Alcatraz January Commitment Challenge

As we all develop our word for 2019, I would ask you to consider commitment.  As each new year turns we all make resolutions to change things in our lives to help our family, employer, and community.  However, most tend to lose sight of their new year resolutions in mid January and fall back into old habits.  This challenge is to help overcome that.

What? The Pantheon challenges Alcatraz to an average attendance competition in the month of January, 2019!

Where? The Pantheon bootcamp ( 5:15am very Wednesday at Tega Cay Elementary starting 1/2, 1/9, 1/16, and 1/23 ) and The Alcatraz bootcamp ( 6:30am every Saturday in historical Tega Cay at Runde Park starting on 1/5, 1/12, 1/19, and 1/26 ).

How? We’ll tally attendance as usual across the above stated 4 dates at each AO and average them out.  All are welcome…newbies, kotters, respectables, sons and of course EH an FNG.  Aye!

The Stakes? The losing AO and associated Q’s for stated dates have to facilitate that workout in Q vs. Q fashion and then host coffeteria and bagels at the winners next AO wearing pink tutu’s!  Other bad ideas will be evaluated!

Why? Don’t ask why, ask why not!  But more seriously, we’re trying to bolster attendance at key Tega Cay AO’s and because we all want to get better! CSAUP!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2019!

-Bear Grylls and Smuggler

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