The stairs of Grout

WARMUP:
– yes!
THE THANG:
– Grout’s stairs of pain (contact Grout for details)
MARY:
– Jack Webb (Merkins + OH claps): 10-40
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– read your newsletter
COT:
– was held

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No Arrival

40-some pax posted to the region’s Ground Zero at WEP for a smorgasbord of pain, from 6@6 to Millkshake to a tried and true BC beatdown.  A very explicit and thorough Disclaimer was pronounced by Dark Helmet for the benefit of our FNG, and then the pax blasted off.

The Thang

The recitation of the 5 Core Principles quickly failed to meet DOAH’s standard, leading to some burpees.

Mosey around the parking lot with some toy soldiers and knee lifts mixed in, with the pax following onto the bandshell stage.

COP proceeded including more core principles along with some Merkins and DOAH’s proclamation that maybe the FNG’s fitness surpassed that of many of the pax present.  {Yes, he’s good at stirring the pot whether he’s poking at the Q or Qing himself.}

More mosey and more warm up exercises until the pax reach the far side of the WEP.

Enter stage left — the BAOPS boys via Clown Car — Trucker, Smuggler, Change Order & Longshanks, who just couldn’t stand the thought  of missing out on the best 1st, 2nd & 3rd F in The Fort on this given Saturday.  {Pro move by whoever made that call!}

Partner up for wheel barrow…to the playground…Yes…to the playground!…where the fun really starts.  {Fishsticks promptly cruised 85% of the way there to prove to his FNG that no matter what DOAH says, the FNG’s fitness had room for improvement.}

At the playground, each partner does 50 (yes, Five-O!) pull ups.  {Jiffy cranked out 30 in rapid fire.}

Some core work followed including LBCs and Rosalitas among others.

Handoff to Double D

Run to the bottom of the hill

Jacob’s Ladder with Donkey Kicks at the bottom and Sumo Squats at the top.  Traverse to the top via Bear Crawl and run to the bottom.

Mosey back to the parking lot with some Mary led by Jekyll

Climb the Stairway to Heaven via lunge walks, pausing for Carolina Dry Docks at each lamp post, starting with 5 reps and adding 5 more at each successive post.

Mosey down to the monuments with some Mary led by Longshanks

Circle up for an FNG introduction to Jack Webb by Change Order

Run home for final 2 mins of Mary by Longshanks

COT

NMM

A spirited pax at The Fort on this pleasant late winter morning!   Back to back weeks with a convergence at The Fort — thanks to the Alcatraz boys for adding their zeal to the day!

Maximus delivered the tailgate coffeeteria in the parking lot afterward and our FNG (EHed by Fishsticks) hung around long enough to learn the backstory of his name (Roy Kent) and to fill his rolodex with roofing customer prospects.

Welcome to Roy Kent!  Barry Manilow was quite vocal about the quality of the name and the importance of RK living up to it.  Well, if he doesn’t meet the mark, we can always default to what RK thought we named him — Rockette!

It was great to have Car Bomb among the pax today, fresh off his return trip from New Zealand, prior to his resettlement in another adventure.

The theme for the day was geared around the notion of life being an endless series of mountain climbs, peak after peak, with no arrival to the top in sight — ever.  Depressing, huh?  No, not for the HIMs of F3 and The Fort.  Give us the hard stuff.  We’re playing the long game and we know you can’t play it alone.  So keep posting, stay engaged with your brothers.  Together we’ll keep accelerating.

It was a treat to Q with DOAH for the first time.  We all look at him as just another member of The Fort, which of course he is.  At the same time, he also invests a huge amount of his life leading the 43 feet for the Nation.  Not only is it not easy being Frank {imagine how hard it must be for Traci his wife}, it’s also lonely at the top of any organization {how about leading one with 50,000 type A men?}, and it’s incredibly challenging to serve as the successor to any founder {would you want to try one Dredd’s shoes}.  Despite the small jabs, I say this with all seriousness — DOAH has taken on an extremely difficult challenge, one that he executes well with tremendous energy and virtue and that we all benefit from.  We’re fortunate that he calls The Fort “home” and that we get to take his crap on a regular cadence.  Thank you, DOAH!

Thanks to Grinder for the opportunity!  Always an honor to lead the men of this brotherhood!

SYITG

 

 

 

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Beyond The Lighted Stage

Ten of Fort MIl’s finest met at the newly remodeled Walter Elisha Park for a combined boot camp (The Fort)  and IR/walk and ruck(Milkshake).  I heard that the milkmen did a tour of downtown Ft. Mill holiday lights.  Here is what the boot campers did:

The Thang:

Senator Tressel on Q

After the standard disclaimer, the group moseyed around the parking lot and headed into the park before doing a 180 and jogging back to the pavilion stage for COP.

All in Cadence:

SSH x 25, windmill x 15, merkin x 10, IW x 20, squat x 20, CDD x 15, Freddie Mercury x 20, jumping lunge x 20, wide arm merkin x 15

Mosey to the playground:

Round 1:  10 pullups, lunge walk from the playground to the side walk, 20 merkins, lunge walk back

Round 2:  10 pullups, run from the playground to the walking path, 10 burpees, run back, 10 bomb jacks

Round 3:  10 pullups, bear crawl from the playground to the walking path, 20 diamond merkins, karaoke back

Boat and canoe x 5.

Hand off to Grinder

Dora 1, 2, 3  (100 merkins, 200 calf raises, 300 LBC).  Partner runs around the playground.

Mosey to the small lot at the park entrance and circle up.  With the pax in a circle, one person in the center did a modified American Hammer (20 count with a brick) while everyone else performed an exercise.  Everyone took a turn selecting an exercise and sitting in the center.  Today, we did merkins, flutter kicks, burpees, and others I cannot remember

We finished off with the ACDC hit, ‘Thunderstruck’.  Every time the band sang the word ‘thunder’, the pax did a burpee.   It was a crowd-pleaser and now I don’t like that song as much as I used to.

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

What a pleasure to be back at the Fort on a Saturday!  Alcatraz is my usual Saturday stop, but Grinder asked me to Q this past Sunday and I gladly accepted.   It’s been close to a year since I’ve been back to Walter Elisha Park and well over three years since I’ve Q’d a workout here.  Wow – how different it looks now! The town did a great job with the upgrades to the park and it was pretty cool to do COP from the stage of the pavilion.  I see many more there on future Saturdays.

It was a pleasure to be back at WEP and to lead the group on a beautiful morning.  Good to see my brother Cable Guy back in action after an extended absence, and yes, I just put another reference to my favorite band Rush into an F3 backblast (RIP Neil Peart).

Announcements/Prayers/Praises

  1.  Adopt a Highway starting today (way to go Fogerty and F3 for continuing to give back to the community).  #HIM
  2. Prayers for ST’s friend Joe with cancer, and for those suffering from Covid 19.
  3. Praise for DD’s friend (a single parent) who raised a son graduating from HS.
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Convergence – Shop Vac

65 PAX gathered to remember Shop Vac. Probably had closer to 70 at different points during the hour. Fishsticks took the Milkshakers

Lutefish warmup:
Sean Kelley, 56, Shop Vac

There are a couple of young men I was hoping would hear this this morning. While I’m talking to them, I’m also talking to myself and all of you.

We all know that or God, SkyQ, has written our books. He went before us, He knows us by name, and He alone knows when our earthly lives begin and end. God knew our brother Sean was to come home. And it doesn’t make sense to us.

But let me ask you this. What would it be like to know that when it is our time that we would also know that we accomplished the tasks that the Lord created us to do? God knows the great plans He has for each of you. You are here for a reason.

Wouldn’t it feel comforting to know that you full executed your purpose here on earth? Today we celebrate Sean, who I believe did just that. Sean loved his sons. It’s all he talked about when we worked out together. That, and his dream to have a home in Beaufort. He lived out and executed his purpose. We now have 2 of his sons as our brothers, and how great it is that the world is better because of him. Recover on your feet.

I read a quote recently:

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced; live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.”

Sean is rejoicing and would want us to do the same. And he would want us to do 56 side straddle hops in cadence.

Split out to:

  • Kettlebells
    • Uhaul
  • Bootcamp: split PAX into two groups for 20min sessions
    • Ruby Slippers
    • Band Camp

Uhaul’s KB workout:
56 Squats
56 Curls
56 Skull Crushers
56 Calf Raises
56 Uhauls
56 Flutters w/ press (4 count)
56 Dead lifts
56 Lawn Mower Pulls R
56 Lawn Mower Pulls L
56 American Hammers
56 LBCs (4 count)

Band Camp’s portion:
EMOM
minute 1 – 20 burpees
minute 2 – 30 jumping lunges
minute 3 – 40 Freddie Mercuries
minute 4 – 50 Carolina Dry Docks
minute 5 – 60 SSH

7s w/ Mike Tysons and Squats
Mode of transportation: bear crawl/crawl bear

Some in cadence jump squats, core work,

I found a backblast from Shop Vac…It reads with a lot more significance to me now. https://f3thefort.com/2021/04/14/403656/
I may have said something asinine while holding a squat and quoting his backblast.
Something like:
Have understanding when I say 5 more squat jumps
Show tolerance when I say 6 more squat jumps
Practice patience when I call 7 more squat jumps
Take direction as we’re now hitting 8 more squat jumps

Did a little sprinting as well with the second group. (Shop Vac would not have approved, and neither did most of the PAX)

NMM: Shop Vac’s love for and pride in his sons was palpable. He made me want to be a better dad. I’m glad to be around men that make me want to be better. Shop Vac was one of those dudes.

Ruby Slippers’s portion:
I had the pleasure of working out a lot with Shop Vac. His attitude, smile, and laughter infected you immediately every time you met him.

YHC remembers a time during COT after a workout where frustrations from my work life came bubbling to the surface. After I vented to the PAX about the situation ( usual selfish rant where everyone else has a problem but me ) and the Q finished prayer, Shop Vac pulled me to the side and gently explained that it was my attitude that needed to be adjusted, not everyone else’s. He did it in a manner where I gladly and thankfully accepted his advice.

The Thang:
At every Shop Vac Q you could count on stations, simple exercises and/or routines, and minimal running. The six was never left behind at a Shop Vac workout so we are using the buddy system to make sure that does not happen at this workout.

Set-up 4 stations in the shape of a square in the middle parking lot at The Armory. 4 stations represented each member of the Kelly family, there were 4 exercises at each station, partner work to complete a cumulative total of 56 reps of each exercise:

Sean’s station:
– Merkins, Diamond Merkins, Wide Arm Merkins, CDD’s
Stacey’s station:
– Crunches in cadence, Flutters in cadence, Big Boy Sit-ups, Straight Lower Leg Lifts
Jack’s station:
– Squats, Jump Squats, Lunges, Jumping Lunges
Brian’s station
– Side Straddle Hops in cadence, Seal Jacks in cadence, Mountain Climbers in cadence, Plank Jacks in cadence.

PAX partner up – complete all 4 exercises at a station and then mosey to the center. YHC stood in the center of the square to represent Francis, Shop Vac’s faithful four-legged companion, where PAX would come to complete 56 monkey humpers.

Continued around the stations until time was called.

Video Evidence: https://twitter.com/jisenhour/status/1456967297453727750

Welcome FNGs: Bow Wow Wow, Bam!, Triple H, Dictator, Wax Off, and Pool Boy

Prayers for Sean’s family.

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