Focus

It was great to post with the 10 #HIMs at the Yard this morning. I told the Pax that we were going to play basketball and there was no need for gloves. They looked apprehensive but said “ok?” Boogie Down brought his son Julian as our FNG. Nice work Boogie Down!

The Thang

Mosey to the back parking lot

COP: SSH (10x), IW (10x), HBW (20x), Sumo Squats (15x), Merkins (20x), Moroccan NIght Clubs and Overhead Claps (15x)

Mosey to the next parking lot near the station

Leg Warm-Up: Toy Soldiers, Shuffle Left, Shuffle Right, Back Pedals, Karaoke Left, Karaoke Right, Power Skips

Mosey to the basketball courts for a quick game of Knockout followed by a 5 on 5 basketball game for intense cardio.

COP: LBCs (15x), Rosalettas (15x), Hello Dollies (15x), Flutters (15x)

Moleskin:

During the first couple of days of a recent summer vacation, I was consumed in distractions from bring present from my family. I was wasting time on my cell phone that I could not get back. I finally decided to put my cell phone in another room so it was not easily accessible. With the phone distraction removed, I was more focused and present for my family. My next challenge is to more consistently remove distractions and to focus on my priorities, like my family and God’s calling on my life.

What are the distractions? Electronic devices are a huge distraction for many of us. Some people are distracted with the past because they obsess over what they could have, should have and could have done. Some people are distracted with worrying about the future. It’s likely that the worries for the future will not become reality.

All we have is right now. Tomorrow is not promised. Yesterday is gone. Be present. Be focused.

Peace,

Deacon

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We are one Brotherhood

15 came out on this mild morning, not knowing what they would be doing.  The point is, they got out of bed and came anyway.  There were no FNG’s (although there was a Kotter – Dog Pound, welcome back!) so I gave the abbreviated disclaimer and off we went.

Mosey down to the lot in front of Empire Pizza and circled up for the following warmup:

  • SSH’s
  • Cherry Pickers
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Moroccan Night Clubs
  • and Windmills

We moseyed a short distance to the lot in front of the Indian restaurant for the Thang…and what do you know, there was a white board with a bunch of things written on it.

I had called out on Twitter that this would be a moderate workout, and to some it was, yet to others it required a little more effort.  Either way, we were here, and this is what we were doing!

First thing we partnered up.  Each partner was to do the full amount of the exercises, but they were to hold each other accountable and drive to the end together.  If your group finished, you went to another group that was still going and joined in wherever they are.  Then when that group finished you joined up with another…and so on until we all finished together!  Here were the exercises done:

  • 50 Bombjacks (Single Count)
  • 50 Carolina Dry Docks (in cadence)
  • 50 LBC’s (in cadence)
  • 50 Monkey Humpers (in cadence)
  • 50 Squats (in cadence)
  • 50 Merkins (in cadence)
  • 50 Calf Raises (in cadence)
  • 50 SSH’s (in cadence)
  • 50 Reverse Crunches (in cadence)

So, as we wrapped up, everyone had completed a minimum of 850 reps of these various exercises, and those that finished earlier than others kept adding to those totals.

We finished up with a bit of Broga, and a slow mosey back up to COT where we shared a couple stories on what IMPACT we saw this past week.

Was this moderate?  You tell me.  Was it hard, absolutely (evident by all the complaining).  The point is that if we were doing this on our own, we most likely would have quit or cut corners at some point throughout the workout.  But we weren’t alone, we had our partner holding us accountable.  Take that same concept and apply it to Whetstone.  That is EXACTLY what we are doing when we commit to having a Whetstone partner (in my case, Destiny).  We hold each other accountable for day in and day out mundane tasks…we encourage each other when things go sideways…but…we do all this TOGETHER!

If you do not currently have a Whetstone partner, I seriously urge you to pray about it, and consider joining up for the program!

At a minimum, check in with a Brother throughout the week to see how they are doing, and be willing to be transparent and honest if someone reaches out to you!  Remember, WE are not worthy to judge others…but WE are called to lift each other up!

Smithers….Out

 

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Impact on the Yard

It was a blessing today to Co-Q with my 2.0 and experience him stepping up to help lead the Pax through all his self-doubt and anxiety as we have all experienced when we were asked to step out of our comfort zone.

After many challenges of getting him to think through a plan, a sleepless night and pure unadulterated anxiety… he ultimately stretched the Pax out and completed 5 rounds of COP exercises with perfect voice commands to command the pax.  With  no Weinke in hand no less.  #Impact

The message:

We spoke about impact.  We spoke about impact from the perspective of the impact we have on others and thinking about what do we want others to say about us at our own funerals.  What Impact do we want them speaking about? But we also spoke about those things that have an impact on us.  As unpleasant, vulnerable or difficult as they are we need to recognize those things that have a positive impact on us (i.e. F3) and keep doing them.  Keep going and letting them have their impression on us.

The Thang:

Mosey to side parking lot for some stretching and COP lead by Shin Guard

COP included

  • Merkins
  • Squats
  • Moroccan Night Clubs
  • LBC
  • Mountain Climbers

Mosey to Basketball lot

Rugby Sprints including CDD, Merkins, Flying Squirrels, High Low Flutters

To the wooden tree boxes split into 2 groups group 1 doing or toe touches x2 rounds Dips x 2 rounds and Irkins x1 rounds and group 2 running while group 1 does exercise.

Mosey to wall for some wall sit, bear crawl indian run x2 then some other fun wall activities.

COT

It was a pleasure to lead today and I’m very proud of my 2.0.  Aye!

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Some new things at Slow Burn

Thanks to Smithers for the opportunity! Reaching respectable now allows me to feel a little more comfortable at a moderate workout. No more razzing from the PAX!

Arrived early, set out things. Put in the bifocal contacts to help see taped-on-arm weinke (as usual). The bifocal contacts did not really help too much but this weinke was almost memorized. Welcomed the PAX. Lots of new faces for me. Highly recommend to get out to different workouts and meet new guys.  Read the disclamer.

Mosey along Empire Bldg with high knees, toy soldiers, shuffle it up. To middle of parking lot for warmup exercises: SSH, WM, LBC, Merkins, Goofballs, IW, Flutters, MNCs. Then to curb for a couple new exercises for many…

Rocky Balboas (boxing motion, alternating toe taps on curb), Twist Merkins or Nipple Scratcher Merkins (hands on curb, on drop down, one leg twist through trying to get each “nipple”…hey, it’s in the exicon…to touch the curb), RB’s again, Mike Tysons (feet on curb in flat position, squat, on the up, do  a merkin), RB’s again. Back to middle of parking lot for…

…4 corners explanation. 4 cones at the corners with 3 exercises each. Complete exercises, plank until ALL PAX done, mosey to middle for core work. Broke into groups of 4.

  • Cone 1: 10 Carolina Dry Docks, 10 Donkey Kicks, 10 alternating plank arms high.
  • Cone 2: 15 Monkey Humpers, 10 Bomb Jacks, 20 High Knee Taps.
  • Cone 3: 15 Squats, 20 Calf Raises, 20 side to side jumps.
  • Cone 4: 10 Merkins, 10 Dips, 20 Mountain Climbers.

We got through one cycle. Core work included LBCs, Hello Dolly, Freddy Mercury, Protractor, and… I think here…maybe in warmup…”point/whip the finger” one leg flutters. Ok, I made this name up. An exercise I do, on six, one leg tucked under butt, one leg flutter, lower as safely as you can from flat to on your elbows. The flutter leg is the ‘pointer’ of the 5 body appendages.

To side of Lowes. Stayed in groups of 4 and had 4 stations.

  • Station 1 sprinted length of Lowes and yelled “turn” at the corner signaling other groups to turn around. (This was to have e1 finish about the same time.)
  • Station 2, 2 PAX carried the #120 Worm coupon until hearing “turn” then handed off to other 2. Good job PAX in improvising the alternating carry as I had not indicated so.
  • Station 3 Burpees until finish.
  • Station 4 Lunge walk until hearing turn then back.

Oh yea, PAX carried and passed around a 30# coupon the whole workout. I did not say, but this coupon was intended for a peoples chair line pass w/ overhead press, curls, etc, if we had time. We didn’t.

We covered good standards of a workout including small group, partner and individual work. And for a moderate workout, maybe a little less running, a few less reps and nice mix of moving and rest time. Weinke it so that PAX are finishing exercises about the same time.

COT.

Noted to PAX to talk with your kids about things in the news, including recent suicides and the immigrant situation. They are seeing these things and it is our job as fathers to talk with them the best way we can.

Prayers for Foley who is dealing with cancer.

Sweati on the  way! No details yet makes it all the more intriguing. G-Fit in Paradise and CAH workouts need Q’s!  Use this opportunity to take a small step to #ServeCommunity.  F3Dads Camp Thunderbird camp coming up near end of summer.

Shout out to NASA for his work and commitment to CAH.

All are invited and encouraged to attend the 4x/week F3 gatherings in Fort Mill to improve your mind and spirituality. It is an open environment and all men will feel comfortable.

Aye! Bolt

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First-time Footlooser

This backblast will be pretty concise since YHC does not remember much after having 3 Q’s in 3 days.

The warm up was your standard warmup consisting of SSH

Moroccan Night Clubs

Windmills

Etc

The Thang

We partnered up and completed a lazy Dora with 100 merkins, 200 LBCs and 300 squats. The lazy part came in when P2 would hold a plank while P1 did 10 merkins and then flapjack. We would switch after 10, 20, 30 reps respectively .

After, we moseyed to another spot in the parking lot and counted off by 4. Each number was in a different spot completing a different exercise. The group where #1s started kept cadence and after they completed 15 reps we rotated. To go from 1 to 2 and 3 to 4 the mode of transportation was a bear crawl and the other spots were via lunge walks. After 3 rounds of that torture, we went back to COT for some peer led MARY .

Thank you for the opportunity to lead this great group of HIM.

Wegmans

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11s and Horse

Thank you Hasselhoff for the opportunity!

Standard warmup down on the football field.

Followed by some 11’s including Merkins and WW2 situps.

After we finished that up we did some dynamic exercises to not quite halfway across the field including but not limited to side shuffles, lunge walks, and toy soldiers .

We then moseyed back towards the basketball court and found some wall to do a nice wall sit .

We found a basketball and played a terrible game of H.O.R.S.E.

After your team missed the shot everyone had to do the following exercises and include all the letters your up to.

H- hand release merkins x5

O- overhead claps x10

R- rosalita x15

S- squats x20

E- everything

 

Wegmans

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Delusions Day

You know you must be doing something right when PAX figure out your the Q and they moan. Was pleasantly surprised by the number of PAX that showed up considering competing against the Nantan tour.

Festival of Popular Delusions Day

On June 6, 1944, over 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, in France, beginning the push to retake Western Europe from the Nazis. A day before the invasion was the last day that Nazis could have had the delusion that their Reich would last 1,000 years, hence the day is celebrated on June 5th.

characterized by or holding idiosyncratic beliefs or impressions that are contradicted by reality or rational argument, typically as a symptom of mental disorder.

Dynamic Warm-up
Toy Soldiers
Butt Kickers
High Knees
Lunges
Everybody 2 bricks
20 – Moroccan Knight Clubs
20 – Plank punches front
20 – Overhead Presses
20 – LBC’s
10 – Lunges
20 – Curls
20 – Plank punches sides
20 – Squats w/ overhead press
10 – Lunges
20 – Hello Dollies
20 – Rosalitas
20 – lunges w/ overhead press
20 – Standing Tricep extensions
Jack Webs (1-2) 1,2,3,4,5, (15 Box Cutters, 10 Loungers) 4,3,2,1
20 – Roman chair – punches
Return Bricks to pile
Mosey back to COT stopping at Light Poles
20 – LBC’s
20 – Squats
5 – Merkins
20 – SSH
Total Mileage under 1 mile – does that equate to moderate.

Announcements
3rd F – Lunch Los Aztecas, Sweati, Hog Coyote, Care Center Lawn Care use Signup Genius 1hr, F3 Dads Saturday’s in June, Crossroads

Prayers
Winchester-Health issues
Dumpster Fire’s Brother Died 34
F3 brother in Lenior,NC Son with tumor waiting Diagnosis. Cornerstone working on clown car.

Always an honor to lead leaders. Thanks for the opportunity Short Sale.

Cornhole
Out

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16 @ The Ballroom 5/15

  1. It’s always exciting to see cars come in hot around the curves of Pleasant Knoll Middle School to get to the workout on-time.  Everybody was in the circle when my phone alarm signaled it was 0515.  No FNG’s, but I disclaimed because a Q should always disclaim.
  2. We took off for a mosey towards the super far back parking lot with butt-kickers and high-knees.  Halfway to the lot we stopped for some warmup moves that included:
    1. SSH
    2. Seal Jacks (Jack Seals? Apparently I do them in reverse.)
    3. Weed Pullers
  3. At the back lot we did more SSH before grabbing a Cindy for some Walking Lunges ending with an All You Got back to the start line. We did that 2 times across the parking lot before we cleaned up the lot of random bigger Cindy’s.
  4. I broke out the Jumbo Cards for a round of Deck of Pain. As we went around the circle, I asked pax what Accountability means to them.
    1. Spades = Merkins
    2. Clubs = Crunches
    3. Hearts = SSH
    4. Diamonds = Monkey Humpers
    5. Face Cards = 10
    6. Aces could be 1 or 15, Dealer’s Choice.
    7. Jokers = 5 Burpees (no Jokers were pulled, hallelujah!)
  5. We had plenty of time left so we counted off by 2’s and did an Indian Run to the track where we completed 1 lap.
  6. We took a 20 count as we walked to the bleachers.  At the bleachers we ran up and down each stairway (4 rows) and then kept on running all the way back to the school.
  7. I gave the pax 2 options: Continue running around the paved path to COT or take the “shortcut” and Bear Crawl up the hill to COT.  It was about 50/50.

We did the Big Ball of Man thing.
Continue to pray for Badger and also our brothers who can’t seem to beat the fartsack. Prayers and Praises went out and up for Cornerstone’s MIL. Signup to cut the grass at Fort Mill Care Center, see Assassin for more info. READ THE NEWSLETTER!

I consider it an honor and privilege to Q a workout.  A big THANKS to Short Sale for the invite.

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Footloose with Cake in the Cockpit

20 PAX including YHC hit the dance floor at Footloose. The idea is to workout so as Q I tried to be sure we got a good one in that the PAX could feel but also modify as needed

Flying is the safest form of travel and it may have to do with pilots that are accountable for the many lives on board their planes and so they take it  serious. The do pre flight safety-checks before every flight and if they skip it or get lazy, it could be the difference between arriving or crashing.

So man marriages in rough places and they don’t get there overnight….it takes time and it can be a long flight. I challenged the PAX on their “safety-checks and if they are performing them. 1 mile run with 6 Pain Stations in play with each representing a safety-checks, Away we went!

We did a mini dynamic warm up on our way to first pain station. Here is the wienke. Below is the moleskin.

NMS:

If we perform safety-checks with our M we will have better odds of landing the plane safely and at your scheduled destination.

  • Family – not logistics but emotional well being, likes, dislikes and direction of family members
  • Finances – top reason for divorce and can be solved with communcation and plan
  • Friends – Take interest in each others friends as its part of who they are
  • Fun – Be intentional with fun adventures like when you were “courting” each other…..lol
  • Fears – These guide decisions and if we don’t discuss them with M, we are makeing bad choices
  • Feelings – If you or the M is not feeling happy or feeling discontent, this does not just go away….need to discuss it and resolve it

Discuss these topics and do it often and your marriage will be safe!!

Thanks for Q Beacon

Peace!

Cake Boss

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Choosing Not to Cheat – Ballroom Style

Honestly, YHC was stoked to Q the Ballroom this week. First, I had not visited the new site since moving from PKES. Second, I had not seen a lot of the Pax at this site and third the weather was perfect with a mild 60 degrees at launch.

I have struggled with moderate workouts for many years because I don’t view these men as “moderate”. If you define men who get up around 4:45 to post in any weather conditions and workout for 45 minutes while sharing fellowship and faith throughout as moderate, then so be it.

I recently spent some time in fellowship with other Pax and was reminded of the book by Andy Stanley, Choosing to Cheat. The gist of the book is that we are all cheaters. We cheat on our work by spending time with our wife. We cheat on our wife by spending time with our kids and so on. This book hits home for me. While work/life balance is unattainable and a #Oprahbomb, I find that I get the validation that I so desire from work and gravitate to working harder for more validation. I asked the Pax who posted to choose not to cheat for the next 45 minutes on their workout and to hold each other accountable in doing so.

The Thang

Mosey to football field

COP

SSH x 30

Windmills x 15

IW x 15

CDD x 20

Plank Jacks x 20

Night Clubs x 25

Mosey to 50 yard line

Burpee Ladder Starfish

2 Burpees in middle

Sprint to corner

20 Mtn Climbers

4 Burpees in middle

Sprint to corner

10 merkins in cadence

6 Burpees in middle

Sprint to corner

20 Squats in cadence

8 Burpees

Sprint to corner

20 Bomb jacks

10 Burpees

Ladder back down

Partner up for Ab Ladder

5 Situps

Sprint

5 Situps plus 10 flutters

Sprint…you get the idea

Finished with 5 sit-ups, 10 flutters, 15 Freddy, 20 LBC, 25 American Hammer

Random ladder of burpees and abs to finish…lots of complaining here

 

Moleskin

  • Prayers for Badger and Bullwinkles Dad
  • Lots of upcoming events…read your newsletter
  • Praise for Barney Fife and Boogie Down

Thanks to Short Sale for the opportunity. Love what you have done at the Ballroom!

Pusher out!

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