Tag: Deacon

UNO (a VQ dream)

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3D’s VQ premiered an UNO workout with 12 guys.

(3D finally got access to post this.  Sorry for the delay.  It was so popular DropThrill has used it since.  Some of this is copied from his BackBlast.)

Shuffle the deck of Uno cards and whatever the number is, you perform that number of reps with the exception of 0 being 10. The color of the cards determines the exercise. You have to play your cards just like in Uno. Color on same color, or same number on same number.

Blue = Kettlebell curls
Green = LBC’s
Yellow = Squats with or without bell
Red = Upright rows
Skip = Run a lap
+2 = Two reps of 2 exercises from the list (player’s choice)
+4 = Four reps of all four exercises
Reverse = Do the same exercise you just performed
Wild = Change color

Sounds simple right? It is, until you get stuck on a color or number for a while.

If you dont have a card to play, you draw another card and have to do a Burpee.  The crew flipped this and in the spirit of camaraderie, everyone did a Burpee for every card drawn.

Folks tried to call out Uno, but we didn’t have a contingency for this.  Something to add for next time.

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Go quickly, go alone. Go far, go together.

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YHC was called out of the bullpen this weekend and had to bring a W/O that would make all PAX better.  A little thinking from prior beat down kettle bell sessions triggered moments of past pain that merited being brought out from the archives, so our week started off on the right (or wrong) foot.

11 #HIMs came out on a much warmer morning than prior days brought.  Could it be spring?  An opportunity for perspiration surfaced in YHC’s mind so after all disclaimers were put out, an acknowledgement of the FNG was given and off we moseyed to put the bells in the middle parking lot and circle up nearby for COP:

COP (all in cadence)

Morrocan Night clubs X 15, forward little arm circles X 15 and backward little arm circles X 15

SSH X 30 – varying speeds

Imperial Walkers X 15

Low slow squats X 15

Merkins X 12

Honeymooner, Salutations right and left, 6 inch hold (a curiously slow 10 count was delivered by one of the PAX – crowd pleaser)

Mosey around the A/O and back to the bells for the next round:

Main Event

Part of getting better and sharpening involves pushing limits and stretching comfort zones.  Prior to the W/O, YHC sketched out 3 exercises that the PAX were to repeat, as many rounds as they could, for 10 minutes.   They were:

15 Swings, 10 Goblet squats, 5 shoulder presses per arm – chalk was generously provided (by YHC’s 2.0) for PAX to keep their score and track progress (more to come on that).  After 10 minutes of hard work, decreasing mumble chatter as time elapsed and more sweat than anticipated, PAX finished, YHC called for a few 10 counts and, together, we took a “recovery mosey (couldn’t let the heart rate drop too much)” around the A/O coming back to where we started for……..yes……round 2: U versus U.

Rinse and repeat for 10 more minutes, PAX were challenged to do better and all responded.  Sweating ensued and work was done – all in the name of getting just a little better than before.

When time was called, YHC called for a “recovery” bear crawl to the inner curb and a “recovery” crawl bear back to the kettle bells where PAX gathered their belongings and wobble moseyed to COT for a little ab work…………but just a little.

All I/C and with bells (except the protractor)

American hammers (D/C) x 12

Flutters (D/C) X 12

Protractor at varying angles (10 degrees was the crowd favorite) with a few 10 counts at different points…….but just a few.

30 second body destroyer to finish……just because.

Transition to name-o-rama and COT:

Announcements – Paradise reading center Monday & Wednesday of this week – 4:00 Bethlehem Baptist Church.  G-Fit this Saturday at 3:00 – Steele St. park.  If you feel called to serve – do it.  Read your newsletter.

Welcome FNG – Bo Knows

Prayers – For those traveling on spring break.  Slow down and let those in a hurry pass.  Stay present and safe in life’s harried moments.  It can wait.  For injured PAX and those on the road to recovery. For all unspoken needs known to the silence of our hearts and Sky-Q alone.

It is always an honor and privilege to lead a group of #HIMs in any workout.  YHC hopes the invitation comes around again as today’s 45 minutes were inspired by different #HIMs in YHC’s life who have made me better than I could ever be on my own.  Leading today reinforced, once again, that we all sharpen one another by pushing past our perceived limits and stretching our threshold for discomfort and pain and that the reward of improvement is well worth the work put in.  So…….DO THE WORK!

My thanks to JWOW for the opportunity.  Looking forward to getting better with all of you……one day at time.

Cyclops

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Splash

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When I was driving to The Swamp and saw the rain coming in sideways, I thought “well it may just be Cha-Ching and me at the AO today.” I was surprised to see 18 Pax in attendance. The rain did not scare them away. To ensure they weren’t scared, we started the workout with Box Cutters in the largest puddle. Jedi loved it (kidding). That was the soggiest workout in my seven years with F3. However, it sure was fun. Would I do it all again? YES!

Mosey to the Cold Stone’s parking lot.

COP: SSH (20x), IW (20x), WM (15x), Sumo Squats (15x), MC (20x) and Box Cutters (15x)

Mosey to Bath & Body Works parking lot.

Circle up, count by 4, each group goes to a corner

Pyramid Drill: At each station/corner, do Burpees, LBCs, Jumping Squats in increments of 5 until we hit 15 repetitions then countdown to 5 as a group. Jog to each station.

Mosey to the Penn Station Subs’ parking lot.

Partner up. Partner Wheel Barrels to each side of the parking lot (2x), Partner Carries (2x), Partner Big Boy Sit Ups (15x for 2 rounds), Partner Ski Jumps (15x), Partners Push Ups (15x for 2 rounds), Partner Leg Lifts (15x for 2 rounds)     

Mosey to the parking lot behind Just Fresh

COP: LBCs (20x), Superman (10 second counts), Pepper Grinders (15x), Merkins (40x)

Moleskin

Wisdom starts with a respect for God. Read the B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for insight regarding what you ought to do. Don’t seek counsel from people who only tell you what you want to hear. Our wants and desires often lean toward our sinful nature.

The best counsel comes from wise men who tell you what you ought to hear. They challenge you to do and be better. You’ll want to ignore their advice that may inconvenience to your selfish motives. However, instead of dismissing what you don’t want to hear, lean in.

Also, be that man who helps others understand what they ought to do from a righteous and moral perspective.

#Wisdom #ISI #OughtTo

Peace,

Deacon

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#F3MentalBattle at The Coop

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It was a powerful day across F3 Nation as men from all over gathered at their AOs to workout and to raise awareness for Mental Health, specifically Depression and Suicide. It’s a thing that we as men tend to shy away from discussing, and our brothers Aerobie and Miyagi out of F3Louisville put out the call to post and to start eroding the stigma of mental health challenges among men (including our Pax).

So, we warmed up, I shared a bunch of statistics, and we went to work.

A modified Dirty MacDeuce was on the menu that morning.
3 exercises, 22 reps each (for the 22 Vets that commit suicide every day), then run a lap around the track. We did arms, legs, core each round; and we attempted to get in as many rounds as we could in the time we had.

I don’t remember all the exercises that we did, there were Merkins, and Squats, and Flutters, and Dry Docks, and lunges, and Makthar N’Diayes, and a bunch of other stuff. The point, though, wasn’t the workout. I’ll tell a couple of things I did remember…

  • Suicide is the 7th leading cause of death among men in the US
  • Every man in the circle raised his hand when asked if they or someone they know had experienced some sort of mental health issue
  • One of the main contributing factors to mental health issues is a feeling of isolation

You are not alone. You are NEVER alone. Reach out. Don’t suffer in silence.

Helmet, out.

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What Again?! Celebrating 5 Years In F3

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3/29/2014 was the first time I posted at F3 back at Ascent in Area 51.  I wanted to celebrate my 5th year anniversary by Qing in NC and SC to honor all those who have led me throughout my journey.

Thursday we decided to cut loose, foot loose and this was what happened.

We did a little warmup thang and then headed over to the Methodist church drive way.

12 Days of  Christmas in March? Yep.

So this workout is simple and easy to Q, but not easy to participate in.  Just like the song, you repeat every number every time you go up the chain.  Here’s our 12 days:

1- Run (1 lap if you’re a clydesdale, 2 if you’re speedy)
2- Turkish getups
3- Jump squats
4- LBC’s
5- Diamond Merkins
6- Imperial Walkers
7- Rosalita’s
8- Slow flutters
9- Low slow squats
10- Lunges (each leg)
11- Merkins
12- Bupees

We made it to twelve and I could sense that mutiny might be brewing so I took it down a notch and we eased into COT.

We did a little stretching and a little Mary and we were out of there.

Thanks for the chance to lead.  The chilly temperatures must’ve scared away half the pax.

Please lift up Rick from Mint Hill in your prayers who has cancer.

Shout out anything I missed.

DT out.

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Bracket buster round 2

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After a crazy weekend of March Madness – and Duke should have lost…13 PAX decided to post

mossy to concrete pad for bracket buster round 2.

In between each round, run a lap. Rounds go 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64.

So 2 burpees, run; 2 burpees and 4 shoulder presses, run; 2 burpees, 4 shoulder presses, 8 chest presses, run; 2 burpees, 4 shoulder presses, 8 chest presses, 16 curls, run; 2 burpees, 4 shoulder presses, 8 chest presses, 16 curls,  32 skull crushers, run; 2 burpees, 4 shoulder presses, 8 chest presses, 16 curls,  32 skull crushers, 64 LBCs run. 10 count

So 2 burpees, run; 2 burpees and 4 squats, run; 2 burpees, 4 squats, 8 chest presses, run; 2 burpees, 4 squats, 8 chest presses, 16 skull crushers, run; 2 burpees, 4 squats, 8 chest presses, 16 skull crushers,  32 hello dollies, run; 2 burpees, 4 squats, 8 chest presses, 16 skull crushers,  32 hello dollies, 64 flutters run. 10 count

So 2 burpees, run; 2 burpees and 4 step ups, run; 2 burpees, 4 step ups, 8 overhead swings, run; 2 burpees, 4 step ups, 8 overhead swings, 16 LBCs, run;

COT

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Shovel flag hand off at LacesIn

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15 Pax sounded the call and hit LacesIn on this brisk morning while 4 Pax hit the track for LacesOut.

The Thang

YHC ran through the disclaimer and then handed off Cyclops to get the party started.  I think Cyclops may have said Mosey, but it was basically a sprint from the stadium parking lot to the band parking lot.

COP – all in cadence.  Moroccan Night Clubs x 16, Baby Arm Circles foward and backwards x 16, SSH x 32, windmills x 16, Merkins x 8

Mosey back to The Hive’s parking lot and start at first light pole for 64 squats, mosey to light pole across parking lot for 32 walking lunges.  Mosey to next light pole for 16 calf raises regular, 16 calf raises with toes pointed in and 16 with toes pointed out.  Mosey back across parking lot to light pole for 8 box cutters, 4 bomb jacks and 2 burpees.  Do same exercises in reverse starting with the 2 burpees and working back up.

Hand off back to YHC.  I had planned on some NCAA march madness trivia and life got in the way, so just settled for one question.  Who has won the most titles and how many?  Bonsai and Offset combined for correct answer of UCLA with 11.  In honor of UCLA’s 11 titles we did 11’s with burpees and squat jumps.  Lined up on curb to start with 10 burpees ran to 2nd light pole for 1 squat jump, back to curb for 9 burpees then back to light pole for 2 squat jumps.  Continue until you are 1 burpee and 10 squat jumps.

Mosey back to stadium parking lot for 6 minutes of mary all exercises in cadence to 10.  LBCs with feet on the ground, lbcs with feet raised (normal), lbcs with right leg straight, lbcs with left leg extend, and dying cockroaches.

Announcements

Christina Latini Memorial 8k in Huntersville on 3/30.  If you cannot make that they are doing a virtual 8k at Alcatraz.

T-claps to Cyclops as he takes over as site Q of LacesIn.  Very excited to see what he will do as new site Q!  Also, much appreciated to everyone that has come out or Q’d at LacesIn the past couple of years.  You have made posting each Thursday enjoyable.

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Tinsel Utensils at Golden Corral

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Perfect weather to bring out some toys to play, I did my regular 4 stations setup where each stations works a particular group of muscles. After the disclaimer we did a quick run and started our warm up:

Windmill

Moroccan night clubs

Low Slow Squats

Mountain Climbers

Low Slow Merkin

The plan was to finish a full 4 station circuit within 22 minutes and we did, after completion of a station you had to  bear crawl the next one. stations were setup as follow:

STATION 1

30 LBC’s

30 Rosalitas

30 Sledgehammer swings (15 each side)

40 Heel Touches SC

40 Dying Roach SC

20 slam ball to ground with 20# ball

STATION 2

10 burpees

10  Tire flips

20  Monkey Humpers

20 lunges SC

30 low squat (touch the ground with hand)

50 calf raises

STATION 3

10 diamond merkins

15 wide arm merkins

20 regular merkins

30 battle rope wave SC

40 Shoulder taps

40 plank jack

STATION 4

USE WEIGHTS OR CINDY FOR ALL EXERCISES

10 man makers

15 biceps curls

20 bent over row

25 overhead press

30 triceps extension

40 shoulder shrug

After about 32 minutes we were done with a full circuit and had the visit of the legendary captain Thor, 1 Big Boy Sit Up and 4 American Hammers, progressive to 10 BBSU and 40 AH, lots of whining during this exercise, one PAX was even offered some cheese to go along with that whine!! After we finished captain Thor it was time to stretch out our backs with superman, we did 2×25 count. With about 5 minutes to spare we lined up next to what used to be Fort Mill BBQ and did some sprints all the way across to the end of the parking lot, after 5 sprints PAX where smoked but we had one minute left so we went for a 6th sprint, not sure if PAX liked it since there was lots of mumble chatter.

We moseyed back to COT for announcements, prayers and praises.

Great push by everyone, good mix of legs, core and upper body work.

Tinsel out…

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Purpose

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What an amazing day to be a part of The Fort Region! The weather was glorious. We kept the workout at a high level of intensity for 45 minutes. All of us pushed each other beyond our limits. Each HIM shared what was on their hearts in COT. I got emotional when Band Camp and 38 Special shared their fatherhood blessings and struggles. In fact, I’m still impacted by their testimonies. #RealTalk

The Thang:

SSHs (20x), IWs (20x), Parker Peters (15x), Slow Sumo Squats (15x), WMs (15x), Box Cutters (15x)

The Kettlebell Board of Pain:

  1. 100 Yard Dash
  2. Lunges (Double Count)
  3. Big Boy Sit Ups
  4. Goblet Squats
  5. Man Makers
  6. Merkins (Split Count)
  7. American Hammers (Double Count)
  8. Kettlebell  Swings
  9. Flutter Kicks (Double Count)
  10. Curls (Double Count)
  11. Tricep Extensions
  12. Upright Rows

COP: Leg lifts (15x), Skull Crushers (15x), Captain Thors (7x)  

Moleskin:

God has invested power in each of us. An example of God’s investment of power in man is when Peter healed the lame beggar in Acts 3. To make this miracle happen, Peter had to build a relationship with God, hear God’s calling and practice an act of obedience.

Do you know what power or spiritual gift God gave you? If so, what are you doing with your power?

We may not all be miracle makers. However, sometimes your obedience can help God’s victory.

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Being Vulnerable is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength

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P.S.A attendance is highly recommended. March 27th mark your calendars. F3 St. Louis very own Miyagi and Aerobie has brought light to a sensitive subject that’s right Suicide-mental health awareness. A subject we try and avoid talking about at all or till it’s to late. YHC will be on Q at the Panethon if you can’t make it to the west side of town Stang is on Q at Tomahawk and will also discussing the subject.

I am encouraging you to step up and share your experience. Whether it be about yourself or family member or even a friend. YHC will testify how this subject has effected my life. Please remember what we talk about in COT stays in COT it’s okay to be vulnerable. We are stronger together rather than alone.

Quotes
Don’t be ashamed of your story it will inspire others. Author Unknown

“You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.”

”I hide all my scars with an I’m fine.”

The bravest thing I ever did was continuing my life when I wanted to die. – Juliette Lewis

The world is a better place with you in it.

Suicide doesn’t end the chances of life getting worse, it eliminates the possibility of it ever getting any better. – unknown

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