Circle up with runners and hit up the announcements
10/27 – Fastest 5k & F3 Soccer
12/1 – Fort Christmas Party
Prayers for Jwow travel and Double D nephew/family.
Spoke about all the hours in the day and if we are filling our heads with trash, trash will come out. It is in the form of negative outlook, pessimism, depression. Instead fill yourself with encouraging positive productive things and don’t feed off of the culture…..it only lies to us which leads to disappointment. Connect with Sky Q often and find out his plan for you and how to navigate this crazy life!!
12 #HIM decided to NOT take the Daily Blue Pill and posted to The Colosseum to be entertained by YHC on Q. It was a very quiet crowd so #mumblechatter was at a low level but the #effort was at a high level as we pushed forward through what #life throws our way. Side Note: Jekyll decided to go yogging (soft J) which is apparently running for an extended period of time.
The Thang:
Dynamic Warm Up
High Knees, Butt Kickers, Toy Soldiers, Slide Left, Slide Right, Karaokes Left, Karaokes Right, Flamingos, World Wide Leaders (Power Skips #registered), Long Strides.
Warmup Complete!
Slow Mosey to the Arrows.
Now before YHC even explained my idea (which looked good on paper) a comment from the peanut gallery turned out to be true in the end “arrows are never a good idea”. We decided to forge ahead anyway – because in the end – we don’t really have any other option (both at a post and in life – more to come on that in a bit).
So here was the different Phases of a Burpee Deconstructed:
Phase 1: 3 Squats at every arrow
Phase 2: 3 Froggers at every arrow
Phase 3: 3 Merkins at every arrow
Phase 4: 3 Bombjacks at every arrow
Now the Pax saw this next Phase coming up Broadway in a cab. But #life is kinda like that in a way – you see something you do not want to do but have to tackle it anyway.
Phase 5: Reconstructed Burpees at every arrow
Now the Pax may have not seen the next phase coming. But #life is kinda like that in a way – sometimes you think it can’t get any worse and then something blindsides you at a low point. We tackle it anyway because what is the alternative?!?!?
Phase 6: Bearcrawl back to start (about 125 yards judging by Google Maps)
Crowd Pleaser! All Pax dug deep to finish that one.
Next up? Jacobs Ladder with MORE Reconstructed Burpees.
Then Mosey to start for 6MOM.
COT.
Great work by all Pax! Appreciate humoring YHC on the arrows. Appreciate the opportunity to lead. Appreciate the #encouragement from the brother on my left and the brother on my right. Appreciate F3 The Fort for everything it has done to make me a better person.
YHC #encouraged the Pax to take that step forward into service. It may feel uncomfortable, you may not think you are making an impact, you may be afraid to put yourself out there. The answer is to take the step and keep taking that step forward. You will eventually have an impact. Otherwise we will be on the sideline and that is not where F3 is designed to keep us. F3 wants us out in our community being a leader. Aye!
Mosey up Munn Street to the other side of the school.
A few warm up exercises in the parking lot.
Partner up for accountability and run the LARGE half circle stopping three times to do 10 burpees, 20 merkins, 40 lbcs at each stop.
The complaining..errr…mumblechatter started.
Nice soft grass was found on the lacrosse field along with 2 tires. Two groups lined up. One line ran carrying the smaller tire while the other line rolled the tractor tire the length of the field. The remaining Pax did a series of exercises until their turn.
Complaining.
A nice lil mosey o a wall for some sits and BTTW.
Another run and then 150 calf raises (50 regular/50 toes in/50 toes out)
Lots of complaining.
Ran back to COT for a quick round of Mary.
The End.
My message was short but hopefully is remembered when life happens – there is opportunity in change. Look for the good side and embrace what that can mean for you.
As always an honor to lead the men of The Fort, esp on the day we honored Dark Visor who passed away yesterday in Alpharetta at a workout.
10 HIMs arrived to see silhouettes of YHC’s untold horror in the backdrop of gloom at The Hive. After disclaiming that YHC is terrible at counting before 0800 the regular disclaimer was administered.
Things started out normal with some SSH to get the blood moving. It’s really a great way to make the PAX feel like a regular workout is on the horizon. Then we moved into a wide leg stance (sorta sumo) and dropped our six’s close to the pavement to get the hips opened up. Moving from one leg to the other, we stretched out the hamstrings and other muscles some people tend to forget exist. From there, we inched our feet out as close to a full split** as each man could handle, put our fingertips on the ground, and did fingertip pushups.
**except Band Camp, who surprised everyone in a full split without making a face
From there we went to the Conveyor Belt across the parking lot. Each station had two parking slots between them and each exercise was given a brief demo before we dropped our bells at various stations and jumped on board. The slots were:
KB Swings (40 and a 30 were available)
Box jumps (30x24x20)
3/4″x72″ Iron Staff – wrist rotations (I looked this up, pronation and supination of the wrists)
Holding the staff straight forward, rotate to the left and right
The work experienced with these is in hand placement, speed of rotation, and stopping momentum
10lb Training Mace – barbarian swings
Swing the mace to align it with the chest at shoulder height to the left and right, when the arm close to the ball crosses the body, it’s on the bottom. When it’s on its own side, the top
3/4″x72″ Iron Staff – tip ups
Hold the staff vertically with forearm horizontal
let the staff fall down to horizontal, using only forearms, pull it back to vertical (mostly the first two fingers)
Alternatively, with arm hanging, adjust the staff so that the long end is behind you and use only forearm muscles to bring it back to vertical (mostly the last two fingers)
Tricep Extensions with that 40 pounder
BB bag – ~14lbs of steel BBs in a 9×9 canvas bag
hold the bag with one arm at eye level as far away as you can from your body, gripping it by its side with fingertips (so you’re looking at a square), the opposite hand is at your side.
Let go of the bag and as you pull that hand down to rest, the other snaps up to grab the falling bag, again, with fingertips, raising it back into position. There should be some hang time.
Alternate hands, trying to keep the bag floating in the air with a bit of hang time
Curls – 25lb bell
Squats
“Pick your own Mary” with a 25lb bell (YHC didn’t have enough slots for everyone, so this one came from the aether)
Same as above, but disappears after a few seconds, explanation below
Timing:
There is always a traveling PAX. The PAX starting at station 11 did a small amount of Mary, then high-tailed it for station 1, taking over that station (at this time station 11 disappeared). The displaced PAX from 1 then bear crawled over two parking spaces to 2, relieving that PAX of that station, who would bear crawl to 3. This continued until station 10 ran back to station one.
After a full circle of fun, everyone took a nice, restful run across the parking lot, and picked up where they left off.
This went on with everyone working together in harmony until there was about 2 minutes left in the workout and we were one station short of a full circuit.
Everyone circled up by the gear, YHC ran to grab a phone (pulling something in my calf halfway there…) and ended with COT.
Cool 67 degrees at the Colosseum. YHC (again) came in on two wheels. Luckily there were some hearty PAX ready to get to work. A Pre Blast Tweet went out to let folks know to expect running. Twitterless Green Wave groaned when he arrived.
COP
SSH, Squat, Moroccan Night Club, Merkin, Plank O Rama
The Thang
Partner up for accountability and encouragement. 3 stations as far away from each other as possible.- run (not mosey) to each station for exercises. rinse/repeat alternating laps. Get as many laps as you can in 40 minutes.
A lap: 30 Lunge, 25 LBC, 15 Merkins
B lap: 30 Mountain Climbers, 7 three merkin burpee, 25 squats.
7-8 laps was the number. guessing 3-4 miles and 4x the reps of above exercises. Love Handles got the VT today- lead lap all day while proclaiming he was going to spill merlot (Mexican). Update- he didn’t. LH also hit the 1000 burpee challenge with 1075 total. Look out men- this man is coming for you. Plus he’s a #HateHate so you know he’s got years ahead of him to dole out pain. Time to put him on a Q roster.
Discussed word of the month: Encouragement, talked of look at your circle of influence (apropos as I just now listened to this weeks 43 feet podcast) and a great article from Benjamin Watson in All Pro Dad on “Making sure my kids know a father’s love”. I tweeted out link. Read it and go listen to the latest podcast.
Lots of men looking forward to Ragnar and Bourbon Chase. If you have yet to do a CSAUP (completely stupid and utterly pointless), do this now. runs, races, mud runs, ragnars, fast 5, Palmetto 200, etc. I know of no other vehicle that brings together all 3Fs and truly lights the fire.
10 HIM gathered in the gloom for a split Q and passing of the shovel flag.
Tesh began:
SSH x25
Windmill x10
Imperial Walker x10
Lap around the parking lot (counterclockwise…)
COP:
5 Kettlebell burpees
10 Snatches (5 each arm)
3 reps of this
Partnered up and Lined up facing the stadium:
Farmer carry both bells while partner planks & shoulder taps
Repeat with partner doing overhead claps instead of planking
Switch Q to BandCamp:
Bear Crawl towards the stadium until we ran out of pavement
Al Gore for the 6 and then Al Gore+Moroccan Night Clubs x10
Honeymooner–>Downdog rinse and repeat
Bear Crawl back to our bells. Moved to the wall outside the gym.
COP:
5 burpees
10 Overhead chest presses
10 Reverse Lunges w/ kettlebell held at the beltline
Reverse Lunge w/ single arm press and hold for 10 count
NAMED EXERCISE: The Solo Tesh: (standing)
– single-arm overhead press the kettlebell and hold for 10 seconds
– return kettlebell to clean position and hold for 10 seconds
We did 3 reps on each arm
20 Goblet Squats
10 Overhead chest presses
Wall Sit with bell intermittently held over our heads during storytime. Rinse and repeat.
Mary:
Flutter x15
Superman x10
Peter Parker x10
LBC x10
NMM:
In honor of Tesh’s two years of steady leadership at #TheHive, this workout drew some from his first post at The Hive: https://f3thefort.com/2016/02/15/afraid/ Q-ed by Geronimo.
The Solo Tesh comes from a workout Tesh lead when he was the only PAX to post that morning. https://f3thefort.com/2017/02/24/2017-08-the-hive/ Looking at the dates and this tweet https://twitter.com/tesh_F3/status/966993038554882048, it appears that there may have been multiple solo posts for Tesh at The Hive. One aspect of his leadership that I appreciate and respect is how quietly he leads. He leads by example with little desire for fanfare . It was this solo-post tweet that got YHC to attend his first kettlebell workout: Tesh’s model encouraged me at The Hive at all. I’m grateful for Tesh’s work and honored to carry the shovel flag for #TheHive (and if necessary post in the gloom solo……ah February…..).
During storytime on the wall sits, I referenced the Poverty Simulation some of the PAX are putting on 10/13/18 at FBC in Fort Mill. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sc-thrive-poverty-simulation-york-101318-registration-49847017772. https://twitter.com/F3_ablock/status/1045695473707814912 I did not grow up in poverty, and specifically remembering my dad saying that folks could just work harder and would be successful. That was because my old man had worked hard and he was successful. But he also had a lot of advantages that allowed his hard work to pay dividends. Not everyone is so lucky. In my teaching, I see students that struggle with much more than the nuts and bolts of course work and assignments. The outside influences of poverty on college students is especially troubling. Consider a student that takes on debt to attend school to better themselves but is forced out of school after 3 years to work because their family needs the income. They have all the debt of a college degree with none of the job prospects. Understanding someone’s lived experience is a powerful tool. Hopefully PAX will take advantage of it.
It was an honor to be asked by Maximus to Q a Beyond Workout and after many days of juggling other commitments on the calendar, we ended up at Laces In. Thank you Lil’ E for allowing us to move in on your territory on this date. This Q was not that difficult to build as I have had plenty of time to work on it. Also, this BackBlast is a little different with the NMM at the beginning. The rest is below.
I had previously asked the PAX to warmup before the start time. However, just in case there were some who showed up cold, we did a quick warmup with 5 Burpees & 20 SSH’s in Cadence.
Let’s Go Beyond!
NMM
I Cor. 15:58 ‘Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.’
In the age of trains and cars, but before automatic crossing gates, the incidence of trains and cars intersecting at the railroad crossing often delivered disastrous results. Drivers of cars never seemed to see the train coming. The continued disruption with trains and cars brought forth the creation of the crossing guard position. The crossing guard was in a shack by the railroad crossing 24/7, with the train schedule, a lantern and the task of being on the road, at the crossing, waving a lantern to warn cars that a train was coming through.
One dark and stormy night, even with a crossing guard on duty, another tragic crash occurred. A lawsuit was filed by the aggrieved party (car). Who was at fault in this tragedy? Was it the car? Train? Crossing guard?
As the lawsuit proceeded in court, the judge begins his line of questioning to the crossing guard, “Were you there that night?”
Under oath the crossing guard replies, “Yes.”
Continuing with his line of questioning, the judge continues, “Did you have your train schedule?”
To which the crossing guard replies, “Yes.”
“Were you standing in the road at the appropriate time waving your lantern?” asks the judge.
“Yes,” replies the crossing guard.
The judge rules and finds in favor of the railroad, no damages and they were not liable for the tragedy. Upon leaving the courtroom, a spectator hears the crossing guard say, “Whew, sure am glad they didn’t ask whether the lamp was lit.” Moral to the story, don’t forget to ask if the lamp was lit. The judge asked the crossing guard all kinds of questions, but he did not ask the obvious, “Was the lamp lit?”
As we go through life, we are given many opportunities to ‘wave our lanterns’. Opportunities at home, at church, at work, in the community, etc. As a Christian, I can carry my Bible, act morally, share with my F3 brothers, those at work and in my home. I can attend church and participate in all sorts of ministries through the it and outside of it. However, if I do all of these things without my lamp being consistently lit, I do them in vain.
The verse from I Corinthians says we should always abound in the work of the Lord. It does not say, when you are at work, abound; or when you are at a workout, abound; at church, abound. It says ALWAYS.
This is something I think about regularly. It is easy for me to be joyful with my F3 brothers, those at my church, and even those at work. It is also easy to discuss salvation and what it means to me.
However, I am not as consistent when it comes to my own home. We get on a good roll, but it always seems that busyness and life takes over, and the first thing that is affected is my joyfulness at home and good discussions on our faith. So, as I start each day, I ask God to grant me a day where I can be a light for him no matter where I am at or who I face, especially at home. I have to request this because I know I need his help.
Are you waving a lantern that is not lit today? Is your lamp lit in most places, but not in some? Where do you need to ask for help from God and your F3 brothers to help you keep your lamp lit consistently?
Always abound in the work of the Lord, and your work will not be in vain. Make sure you are not just waving your lantern. Make sure your lamp is consistently lit.
WARMUP
See above.
THE THANG
After the warmup YHC requested that the PAX perform 5 burpees. From that point to the end of the WO we performed 5 burpees at the beginning of each round of exercises and at the end, with the exception of a few.
We quickly moseyed over the the large parking lot where I requested that the PAX circle up and perform the following in cadence: Merkins, CDD’s, Alternating Lunges, and V-Ups.
We took another quick mosey another parking lot where we performed Wide Arm Merkins, Pike Presses, Low Slow Squats, and American Hammers.
We took another quick mosey another parking lot where we performed Diamond Merkins, Dips, Low Slow Jump Squats, and LBC’s.
We took another quick mosey another to the front of the stadium we performed Hand Release Merkins, CDD’s, Alternating Jump Lunges, & Big Boy SitUps.
Then we took a mosey over to the Stadium and a small wall where we performed: Irkins, Dips, Step-Ups, & Derkins.
Then we took a mosey back to the COT for some blast off merkins, squats, and big boy sit-ups while I discussed the NMM.
The burpees were the constant in everything and if I forgot them, the PAX reminded me we didn’t perform them. As we went through the workout and I had some time, which was limited, I spoke about the NMM while doing planks or Al Gore’s. The completion came at the end.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Read Your Newsletter.
Hurricane Florence Relief Efforts-Watch Twitter.
Sept. 29-6-Yr. Birthday Convergence at The Fort-0600.
Oct. 13-Poverty Simulation-0900-1200/First Baptist Church Fort Mill.
As with Hurricane Florence, the PAX poured into the Colosseum in anticipation of the destructive forces YHC was about to deliver.
Mossy to small teacher lot at entrance of school for COP:
Windmills (lots of great mumble chatter about starting with these from Pusher)
Imperial Walkers
Slow Squats (more mumble chatter about the irregular counts)
Elbow Plank March
Moroccan Nightclubs
Merkins
Mossy to top of hill for hill repeats towards SC 160:
run to each light post (realized there was only 3, so audible to include 2 imaginary light poles), partner up each round with a different partner to push each other
round run was 20 LBCs each
round two was 20 Squats each
round three was 20 merkins each
round four was 3 burpees each
20 Big boys sit ups before running back to COT and at each light pole do 2 burpees
Before COT complete hello dolly and heels to heaven
As i mentioned during a 10 count, PAX need to lean on their life partner or a PAX to help survive through hurricanes and rough times. Life can not be controlled, you need to let go of control and trust in the LORD to help you through the storms.