2022 Thanksgiving Day Convergence

Welcome/disclaimer
Warmup: SSH (I/C 15x), Windmills (I/C 10x). Imperial walkers (I/C 15x), Moroccan Nightclubs (I/C 10x), Mountain Climbers (I/C 15x), right arm high, left arm high
Ruckers dismissed with Olaf. Pax count off by threes; pax split up and will rotate between
JWOW Q:
Partner up for a Jack Webb. Mode of transportation is a partner push across the field (crowd pleaser).
1 Big Boy Sit-Up – Partner 1 pushes partner 2 across the field
4 Merkins – Partner 2 pushed partner 1 across the field
The goal was to get to 10 Big Boy Sit-Ups and 40 Merkins.

Grout Q:
1. 5 EA Burpee
2. 10 EA LBC
3. 15 EA CDD
4. 20 EA Lunges
5. 25 EA American Hammers
6. 30 EA Shoulder Taps
7. 35 EA Flutters
8. 40 EA Mountain Climbers
9. 45 EA Squats
Run to top of hill and back.
Complete # 1 thru # 8 and run to top of hill Ann’s back.
Continue dropping the last exercise.

HarryCarry Q:
At the middle school’s loop, start at the bottom of the loop and do exercise noted (listed below). Run to the short brick wall at other end of loop, jump the wall, continue running up the loop. Stop at flag poles and do Bobby Hurleys (15 oyo). The proceed to run back to bottom of the loop; do the noted exercise there and repeat with the run/wall jump/run/bobby’s etc.
Smurf jacks (20 OYO)
Squats (20 OYO)
Monkey Humpers (20 OYO)
Lunges (20 OYO)
Lunges (10 each leg OYO)
Sumo Squats (20 OYO)
At 07:25 Pax reconvened at field.
Six-count burpees (I/C 6x)
End. COT

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8/11/17 Swamp Style

Conditions were sweaty and humid…it felt like August in South Carolina

Gekko was the running and nobody ran with #HIM

Cornhole had 10 for his Ruck Q

I had 11 for the bootcamp

13 stayed for Romans 4 that Gekko Q’d

All had fun, you should have been there…

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Outland Invasion

Union County was really where the glue of F3 took hold for me. Pax like Double E, Hairband, Glass Joe and Counter Top were with me through the early days and the rough days of watching my mom decline and eventually pass in December 2014. So needless to say the UC has a special place in my heart and I was happy to help out and q even though the site q was nowhere to be found.

So the thang went something like this…

COP

SSH
Imperial Walkers
Morocan Nightclub (a fan favorite)
Hillbillies

Afer we were warmed up we made our way to the bus parking lot, which was empty. Perfect!

I don’t have a name for the first round but it goes like this:
In the center ten merkins, at one end ten squats at the other end ten LBC’s. Repeat until you’ve completed ten of each exercise. Always stop in the middle for ten more merkins. And go!

I could tell the pax were really enjoying this already for all the grumblechatter I was getting so since things were too easy we next moved over to the benches for a little Cindy.

Cindy in this case involves ten merkins, ten step ups and ten dips. Go until the q calls time. After about twenty minutes of this nonsense we make our way over to the wall for people’s chair with arm raises. We completed rounds of 40, 50, 60 and 100 (thanks Shephered for the 100).

Oh we’ve got more time! So another round of Cindy and some stretching then we headed back towards our start point.

At this point a lot of folks were rolling into the school, so they got to see our weird movements and they probably were thinking of calling the police.

After some Mary and stretching and yoga we wrapped things up.

Great work everyone!

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#HypeTrain Coming in HOT!

13 HIMs bought a ticket for a runaway train at #LacesIn on a beautiful Thursday morning at Fort Mill High.  What train you ask?!?  Well none other than the #HypeTrain itself.  After getting tasked with the Q for #LacesIn over 6 weeks ago YHC went on a all out #Hype Campaign to get as many Pax to #LacesIn as possible.  Did it work?  Meh.  But it was a fun ride.  Worked out for the best – less people to be disappointed by the over#hyped and under delivered beat down from YHC.  Oh yeah – before I forget – 5 other HIMs decided to go yogging (soft “J”) which is apparently running for an extended period of time.  #LacesOut

The Thang:

Static Warmup (apparently the Pax had a real problem with this one – apparently if you do not do SSH, IW, WM, Merks, Low Slow Squats (IN THAT ORDER) you will never hear the end of it)

1 min Squat Sit  (some *ahem* CSPAN *ahem* were not able to accomplish this task)

Deep Squat x 10  (no like….ALL the way down)

Warm-up Merkin (like it came from an alien planet)

On-all-fours Shoulder Stretch (yes – YHC did not pick the best patch of asphalt)

On-all-fours Bad Dog Hip Stretch (see above)

On-your-back Hip Thrusters

 

Whew!  So sorry to try something new.  It will not happened again.  Warmup over.  Pax happy.

Partner Up (size does not matter)

Partner 1 to run to end of parking lot and back (no YHC did not realize how long that really was)

Partner 2 to do perfect form merkins (no count total – just AMRAP with perfect form)

Flap Jack

Next round Deep Squats (no like….ALL the way down)

Final round LBCs with your feet on the ground (just humor the Q please)

Run it back again except partner run shortened to 3/4 but 3 froggers added at each light pole

Run it back a final time – partner run shortened to 1/2 but 5 froggers added at each light pole

CAN I GET A TEN COUNT!?!?!

Moving on to Rugby Sprints x 5 with LBCs with feet on the ground, Flutters, Mountain Climbers, Flutters, and LBCs with your feet on the ground

Next we move to the dreaded Partner Push/Sprint/Push (size kinda matters this time)

Flap Jack then Rinse and Repeat

Little baby jog back to a much better patch of asphalt for 6MOM with “the new one” added in there but apparently not appreciated.

COT

Great work men!  Welcome FNG – Deflategate!  Thank you all for posting to the #HypeTrain.  Very much appreciated.  YHC has been away from F3 for a month for vacations and business travel and got a taste of what life without F3 was like…..not good.  Old habits began to emerge around intake of food and drink so it was great to get back out and see each and every one of you waiting there for me to try and make myself a better man.  Asked the Pax what they saw in the mirror – did they see successes and strengths or failures and weaknesses?  What impact could you make with those around you if you saw the former (as the Sky Q sees you)?  Taking it a step further – what do you see when you look at those around you?  Do you see their strengths or their weaknesses?  Do you see their past sins against you or do you see what they have done for you?  Have you really forgiven them or do you see how they wronged or disappointed you in the past?  It’s hard to do but think about how your relationship would change for the better if you could really give grace to those around you as the Sky Q has given to you.  Thanks for the opportunity to lead gentlemen!  Always an honor.  Be a better man today then you were yesterday.  Aye!

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Old School Ruck Workout

The workout was actually pretty simple

Right at 5:15 and maybe a minute before I gave a very quick and brief typical disclosure except I say not to go at your own pace because you will be left behind.  Then the pax all grab their gear and 4 sandbags and headed out.

The Thang:
Ruck approx 1 mile down to Tega Cay Elementary while rotating coupons.  It was important that we complete this in 15 mins to ensure we could get some PT in before needing to head back.

After reaching the school in a little under 15 mins we did the following with partners:
went down the pavilon like area where Pax 1 would start with the sand bag and push it up to the first concrete pad.  Pax 2 would do 5 merkins and bear crawl up to pad and wait on Pax 1.  Switch and go to next pad.  Once at top both pax did 10 Man makers  (Rinse and Repeat)

Next round pax ran up the hill stopping at all 3 pads doing the following:
Flutter press
Squats
Partner merkins with sandbag (10)
– start in plank position shoulder to shoulder
– pull sand bag from one side to the other and do a merkin once the bag crossed all the way to the other side of paxs shoulders.  Rinse and repeat except only did 10 merkins at top so that we could get back to COT

Worked our way back to COT and once we got to the parking lot we partnered up and and both grabbed one end of the sand bags and ran the rest of the way in.  Finished with 1 minute to spare.  Good word this morning men.

Thanks for letting me lead.

Bonsai

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Stinky Morning at the Golden Corral

Cool morning at the Golden Corral with 20 men in attendance for ruck, running and boot camp activities.  The group split up evenly with two getting in some extra miles running.  After a brief disclaimer, we moseyed to the back parking lot for the following warm-up exercises:

SSH x20

Imperial Walker x20

Moroccan Night Club x20

Plank

Windmill x10

Next, we took a short jog to the top of the parking lot for some partner exercises.  First partner, ran up to the cell tower and performed 10 bomb jacks while the second partner performed the following exercises:

CCDs

Flutter Kicks

Burpees

Our workout was disrupted by the passing garbage truck carrying a potent mixture of foul smelling trash.   A few almost lost their breakfast.

Next, we ran to the church parking lot for a round of Doral 1-2-3.

100 – Squats

200 – LBCs

300 – Merkins

we finished with 50 Moroccan Night Clubs and two rounds of step-ups.

Announcements:

Convergence this Friday at Harris Teeter

Prayers:

Ginsu & M safe travels and new addition to family

Those unspoken

 

Always an honor to serve!

 

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DaVinci Cones Redux

Full disclosure: 6 of the Pax listed above were ruckers and their workout was led by NASA.

Today was the first time I’ve Q’d in a long time. I was a bit nervous, but have worked out all over this AO and sort of know the lay of the land. My Q Lane is more of the Set-It-And-Forget-It variety, and today was no different. With no further ado, here is:

The Thang

Long Mosey to parking lot in front of Old Navy. Circle up for some COP:

SSH, windmills —SLOW (you’re welcome, CSPAN), low slow squats, merkins, downward dog stretches, honeymooner, mountain climbers, peter parkers, freddys, LBCs

Mosey to the Valvoline for some hill work. Sevens or Jacob’s Ladder: merkins at bottom, bombjacks at the top

Mosey to the raised patio the the old Riverbleu only to find the ruckers using the spot, so it was off to Plan B. I had cones set up on the drive, one on either side of the fountain. Each cone listed 5 exercises and the required reps. Do the exercise, run a half lap to the next cone, do the exercise. And so forth until everyone had finished the circuit. Exercise were as follows:

Cone One:

  1. Slow Squats (20)
  2. Curb Dips (20)
  3. Mtn. Climbers (20 d.c.)
  4. Curb Derkins (20)
  5. CDD’s (20)

Cone Two:

  1. Imperial Wlkrs (20 d.c.)
  2. Jump Lunges (10/leg)
  3. Freddy Mercurys (20 d.c.)
  4. Flying Squirrels (10)
  5. Peter Parkers (10 d.c.)

Then we made our way to the Rivebleu raised patio for the following:

Divide up into groups of 3. First man runs the stairs, does 5 burpees, runs down the back stairs and back to the group while 2nd and 3rd man do squats. Then repeat with 2nd and 3rd man.

By this point, it was time to mosey back to COT for a couple minutes of ab lab. Freddys, Crunchy Frogs (demo and cadence from WitchHunt), LBCs.

Announcements:

Children’s Attention Home: Q or post to support these great kids who are victims of circumstance and are in need of positive male role models.

Delta signups have begun! Reach out to Wild Thing if you’re interested in joining a LKW team.

Prayers for pregnant Ms, for family struggling with addiction and recovery.

Moleskin

At COT,  I shared that today, 7/28/17 would have been my late father’s 75th birthday. In 2001, he died  of a massive heart attack at the age of 59. My father was a good man. A loving man and unfailing provider for our family. But he had personal struggles. He was an alcoholic. A workaholic. Never exercised. Attended church sporadically, especially during my years at home.

My dad didn’t have what I would consider close friends or a strong social network. He had a family, a career, a mortgage, two kids who stayed out of trouble. But he always struck me as lonely. Isolated. I daresay alcohol use was his way of self medicating: his way of trying to fill a hole and mask his feelings of isolation.

I am grateful to write here that I am not an alcoholic, although there was a time in my late 20s that I was definitely auditioning for the part. No one will ever accuse me of being a workaholic (though I do work hard). Though I may not eat the healthiest diet, I do post at workout consistently between 4 and 6 days a week.

But, perhaps most importantly to me, I have gained a strong network of men who support and encourage each other to become better.

My life is on a completely different trajectory.

I am not alone. I am not isolated. I am a grateful part of this community, and I thank each of you for being a part of my life.

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Golden Corral – RUCK HEAVY

It was an awesome morning and 19 PAX showed up to put some work in.  11 of us went to get our RUCK on.  Maximus had reached out and asked if I would be interested in a Co-Q with him as I’ve been freeloading for long enough.  I was pumped for the opportunity and gladly accepted.

WOD:

Grab a couple sandbags and ruck to our Warm-Up

Partner up and play a little catch me if you can… 5 Merkins

Shoulder Press

Upright Row

Curl

Tricep Extensions

Calf raises

Mary – Dead CockRoach, LBC, Flutter Kick

Then he passed the torch….

Indian run with merkins for two rotations through until we got back to the coupons (Ruck On for the rest of the WOD)

Picked up coupons and mosey to a nice gravel hill I found.  Two Groups, first group does squats while group 2 bear crawls up the hill . When six returns we switch.

5 burpees – OYO

Just for fun bear crawl up the gravel hill, then sprint to a marked destination

The PAX where in for a surprise, I drove up early that morning and dropped coupons for their enjoyment.

3 foot cement filled pipe – 7 foot cement filled pipe – 2 Sandbags – 5 gallon bucket filled with 4.5 gallons of water (the worst) – 30lb ammo can – (Add in the three previous sandbags we had that makes 10 coupons) – 11th Pax lost strap privlages.

Make our way to our next destination, while Rucking Heavy

Line up and grab some wall, Rucks on Laps, last guy passes his ruck down the line and sprints to catch it, then grabs some wall until the last guy gets his ruck back. (Gave us a chance to see who Rucks Heavy, and who carries a few barbie dolls)

Leave coupons mosey to a step up wall.

Partner 1 – 10 burpees while Partner 2 does step ups – switch and repeat

2 Double time laps around the oil change and back to repeat the wall rotation and pass.

Grab the coupons and make our way to my truck, we then caught the BC and did some Mary.

P & P

Mastodon, CAH, F3 Dads

Prayers:

Sick kids, Sen. Tressel family, Deacons wife (pregnant)

 

Was happy to lead and know I have a ton to work on but had a great time and can’t wait until the next time.  I mentioned during the WOD that typically the hardest part of a GoRuck event is carrying odd shaped coupons.  We get comfortable with our sand bags and logs.  So from now on if I Q expect some odd shaped coupons coming with.

Until next time, keep it on two wheels, RAD!

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Squad Goals

20 Men (1 FNG) posted at the Swamp.  11 Ruckers went off to do Rucker things while 9 stayed with YHC for a little AMRAP.

 

We previewed the course and had a little COP including Windmills, Imperial Walkers, and Moroccan Night Clubs.

 

The Thang:

30 Minutes Partner AMRAP, Half a Mile Circuit with 7 stations:

  • 20 Merkins
  • 20 Big Boy Sit Ups
  • 20 Peter Parkers
  • 20 Parker Peters
  • 20 Carolina Dry Docks
  • 20 Side Straddle Hops
  • 1 Burpee x Lap Count

Moseyed to COT for 5 MOM:

  • Too many Flutters
  • Just enough American Hammers
  • A touch of Freddy Mercury

 

Naked Man Moleskin:

I had a Cake Boss worthy Homily to share this morning, but maintaining order is more important than imparting wisdom during the 1st F Q.  So, you get the abbreviated (and likely better thought out) version here.

At the beginning of the AMRAP, I asked the guys to partner up with a guy who was comparable fitness-wise.  I asked them to share how many laps they thought they could get around the course.  I have no idea what each guy said, but the intent was to push each other to meet that goal.  I stayed with the FNG and visiting Java from Raleigh.

The purpose of this, and what I wanted to close out with, is that if we aren’t setting goals, we are just going through the motions.  There was some chatter on the twitter machine about moderate workouts being #problematic.  Someone put it best when they said “as long as the guys are working to get better, that’s not an issue”.  So my question to all PAX, regardless of fitness level, is “what are your goals”.  My 1stF goals this year are to a.) run 1500 miles and b.) finish my second marathon in 3:30 or better for a PR.  The reason I put it here is because goals only matter if someone keeps you accountable for them (thus the partner AMRAP).

Every PAX should have a goal for all three F’s, because all 3 F’s are important.  Beyond the F’s, this branches out into your personal and professional life.

Set Goals, Don’t just Coast.   You’ll be amazed at what you can do.

 

Honor to Serve.

 

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