VQ Warmup with a side of Tabata

WARMUP: Spectre led the warmup for his VQ. He was well prepared with a plan and executed :
10 SSH IC
10 Merkin IC
10 Mountain Climbers IC
10 Imperial Walkers IC

The second portion of his warmup had the pax circle up. One pax would take off running in a loop around the parking lot while the remaining pax would do an exercise. The exercises were :
Squats
Parker Peters
Arm Circles
Arm circles reversed
Moroccan Night Clubs.

We each got a turn. At the conclusion of the warmup feedback was provided. Overall a great VQ warmup! Can’t wait to see him lead a full WO in the future! (Spoiler it’s going to be at the Swamp)

THE THANG:
For my portion of the workout I led a simple Tabata. 1:00 minute of reps followed by 15 seconds of rest. During each minute the reps of the exercises would increase by 1 as you go. Meaning you would start with 1 Merkin to 1 shoulder tap but could end with 6 merkins to 6 shoulder taps by the end of the minute.
This sequence repeated for all exercises listed below.

Merkin: Shoulder Tap, Peter Parker, Row, Plank Jack

Squat: Forward Lunge, Calf Raise, Reverse Lunge, Jump Squat

Big Boy Sit-up: LBC, Hello Dolly, Flutters, Freddy Mercury

Recovery Lap around the parking lot and then round 2.

Once we were done had 60 seconds left so we did 20 Hand release Merkins and 10 Burpees.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Read the Newsletter
COT: prayers for cable guy and prayers for safe travels.

Thanks to Triple Lindy for the invite!

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You feel like it’s going to rain

WARMUP: Ran to the covered awning at school entrance. as it was raining in sheets.
40 SSH IC
10 Windmills IC
15 LSS IC held the low and added 10 MCCs IC
15 Merkins IC

THE THANG: We honored Sgt. Zachary Tellier today with his Hero WOD:
10 Burpees

10 Burpees
25 Merkins

10 Burpees
25 Merkins
50 Lunges (each leg)

10 Burpees
25 Merkins
50 Lunges (each leg)
100 Big Boys

10 Burpees
25 Merkins
50 Lunges (each leg)
100 Big Boys
150 Squats

As all reps were completed, PAX picked up the 6 and finished all of the reps with the 6. Everyone got all of their reps in.

With time to spare, we did burpicides and then had PAX call exercises IC on the benches (included dips, BSS, derkins and Peter Parkers) until 0600hrs.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: AKA continues, Blood Drive coming up on 5/12, a few PAX have Q’s this week in The Fort.

COT: Brief message on practicing what we’re studying and cutting one bad habit. @Wegman’s passed the shovel flag off to @Sawdust and we wrapped up in prayer.

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All Good at The Swamp

WARMUP:
Mosey to Fuji
SSH, Imperial Walker, Hillbilly, Mtn Climbers
Mosey to Near Death Island
One pax runs around the island while other pax exercise — Squats, Merkins, Parker Peters, Moroccan Night Clubs, Arm circles forward & backward

THE THANG:
Mosey to the fountain
20 Step Ups
20 Dips
10 Box Jumps
20 Derkins
Mosey to side of Best Buy
Balls to the Wall followed by People’s Chair (rinse & repeat)
Mosey to back end of Best Buy lot
10 Monkey Humpers
20 Parker Peters
30 Lunges
40 Shoulder Taps
50 Squats
Pax completed 3 rounds of the above with one lap in between
Mary — Flutters, Dollies, Backscratchers, Box cutters, Superman
Mosey home
10 Burpees OYO

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Spectre VQ next week!
AKA convergence at WEP 4/30
Invergence on Shield Locks at WEP 4/30
Q School coming in May

COT:
After several days of intense upper body beatdowns at AKA this week, on this Good Friday YHC concentrated on legs & core along with a message about the GOOD that is all around us and inside of us at all times. It’s easy to get sucked into the negative in our media, our workplace, our schools, our families and friends. Even when I block out media, change jobs and reel in my interactions with others, the negative INSIDE ME can still take charge and become my focus. It takes strong and intentional commitment to focus on the GOOD. The GOOD is just as much around us as the negative, and the GOOD even surpasses everything else! Let’s make it our mission to focus on the abundance of GOOD all around us.

Among the GOOD this morning was FNG/Hot Wheels, EH’d by Tesla and rising out of bed at his home in Mooresville! Not only did HW drive an hour to post at The Swamp, he engaged like a veteran pax taking his turn counting exercises, sharing about his priorities (Faith, Family, Friends) and his how he surrounds himself with people focused on values and character. In talking about the GOOD in his life experience he highly recommended Love’s as the best truck stop food on the interstate!! Sorry Cake Boss, no Bucee’s mention.

Airwolf’s cadence count melody suggest some real talent hiding in those vocal chords. Hey, Band Camp, we might have a Barbershop quartet or Acapella group Q here!?!?!

Slapshot continues to Make The Swamp Great Again! Thanks for your leadership and the invite to lead in the Gloom!

Last, among the NOT SO GOOD things today was YHC’s poor safety skills. I made the decision to wear the florescent vest even though the parking lots are lit to ensure we could be seen. But that’s not even half the battle — strong safety also requires SEEING and good judgment. Near Death Island got it’s name because of my call to mosey to the traffic island across from Fuji then my lead of the pax into the street without looking left. Yes, I missed an incoming car with high speed destined to take out the back of the pack. Fortunately, they looked and had the presence of mind to stop. The driver stopped too and waved them across. A teaching moment for sure. Stay safe men!

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Acceleration Requires Recovery

5 pax posted to Laces In on a June morning that somehow got lost in late March, but humid 65 degree weather didn’t slow this group or dull their edge.

The Thang

Warm-up at launch as Cohiba  slow-rolled his way into the Gloom — SSH, Mtn climbers, Hillbilly Walker, Windmill, Parker Peter, Plank Jack, Merkin

Mosey toward the gym with Carioca along the way

Half-speed run to baseball field

Nur back to other side of the parking lot

Line up near gym facing tennis courts for Series of sprints & exercises:
Sprint to 1st light pole & sprint back, recovery walk to 1st light pole, 5 merkins
Rinse & repeat to each of the next 3 light poles, adding 5 merkins each time (5, 10, 15, 20)

Mosey to baseball side of parking lot

Repeat sprint sequence with squats at each light pole (5, 10, 15, 20)

Mosey back to gym corner

Repeat sprint sequence with wide arms at each light pole (5, 10, 15, 20)

Mosey to baseball corner

Repeat sprint sequence with monkey humpers at each light pole (5, 10, 15, 20)

Mosey to gym corner

Repeat sprint sequence with shoulder taps at each light pole (10, 20, 20, 40)

Mosey to baseball corner

Repeat sprint sequence with LBCs at each light pole (5, 10, 15, 20)

Mosey home

Box cutters & Back scratchers

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

Strong push from an intimate crowd today with the sprint starting gun passing to each pax.

Funhouse didn’t let a gimpy hammy keep him from running the whole workout at modify pace and no recovery.  Then he carried the pax through the shoulder tap escalation with an aggressive cadence count.  And he capped the workout with a reminder that he wouldn’t be pushing the way he did without the presence of brothers in the Gloom to accompany him.  #King

The workout structure and message today revolved around the importance of Recovery, a key  element to enabling each of us to push ourselves, to grow, to achieve Acceleration.  In all areas of life — physical, emotional and spiritual — fitting recovery into the flow of life is an essential discipline.  It’s true for HIMs and true for Ms (thanks to Cohiba for the M reminder!).  Put Recovery on your to-do list.

Always an honor to lead.  Thanks to Yard Sale for the Q stick.

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Hair Club for HIMs & others Conquer the Rooster

10+ pax of The Fort posted in The Gloom of Rock Hill amid heavy rain, high winds & falling temps to chase the rooster around the loop for 26+ miles.  Pax from Gashouse & Lake Wylie plus some FiA teams also joined the HIMs of The Rock for the CSAUP adventure, raising funds for Bethel Men’s Shelter in the process.

The Thang

Team relay consisting of 1 mile loops

25 loops completed in the following order:

JWOW
38 Special
NASA
Old Bay
Double D

Team completed 26th lap together for a total of 6 miles each, finishing in 3:35.

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

Congrats to HCHIMs on a great morning!  New milestones reached included:

  • First relay for JWOW and 38 Special
  • Return to The Gloom for Old Bay
  • Renewed lessons for NASA in tent set up in the midst of uncooperative weather
  • New glamour shots for YHC & JWOW in mullet wigs

Shout out to IJ, Longshanks, Cornerstone, Straight Up and Vuvuzela on their successful finishes with RH teams.

T-claps to Blueprint and Ponytail in Rock Hill for putting on a great event and to Catfish and Reborn for keeping The Rock solid!

These CSAUP events are as much about the fellowship with pax of The Fort and other regions as they are about pushing through the pain of the fitness elements (and the weather!).  A COT that includes a cold beer is a pretty good thing!

Six days until the Yeti!  Make it great!

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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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Convergence: Love & a passing of the flag

Station 1 (Santini): Traditional Pain Platoon

Just your basic beat the hell out of your legs exercises of lunges, squats, and burpees intermixed with meditation and box breathing exercises. Sprint to the top of the hill, recover, and do more exercises including Moroccan night clubs and Carolina dry docks.

NMM: Anxiety and gratitude are not able to occupy the same space.

Station 2 (Shady / Maximus)

Warmup (Shady) – 21 SSH, 5 burpees, 18 SSH, 5 burpees, 12 SSH, someone whined about burpees so we did 10 diamonds merkins…then did 5 burpees
Group 1
  • partnered up and Dora style started out with 100 pull-ups.  Partner 1 on the pull-up bar, partner 2 did a lap around the playgroud
  • Stayed on playground, stayed with partner, Partner 1 AMRAP merkins while partner 2 ran the length of the playground and back to AMRAP merkins
  • Stayed on the AMRAP theme with flutters, then back to merkins, then back to flutters…then (I think) time was called

Group 2

  • Partnered up and Dora style, but this time 50 pull-ups with the run around the playground (Q modification given time and we aren’t cyborgs)
  • AMRAPs were just 1 round of merkins and flutters (again, I think…may need a lifeline here from Max)
  • We made our way to the hill with the statue where Maximus laid down the NUR up the hill and at the top 10 bomb jacks and ran to the bottom where we did 20 American hammers..we did this twice
  • W/ time to spare we ran to the top for 10 diamond merkins and ran to the bottom for 10 V-ups
  • In buzzer beater fashion, we ran to the top again for 10 ranger merkins and ran to the bottom for a partner 1 lay on the ground and grab partner 2s ankles where partner 2 would throw partner 1s feet down 10 times as you straight leg lifted them to his face

Group 3

  • Dora style 50 pull-ups with the run around the playground
  • We made our way to the hill with the statue where Maximus laid down the NUR up the hill and at the top 10 bomb jacks and ran to the bottom where we did 20 american hammers..we did this twice
  • Running low on time ran to the top for 10 diamond merkins and ran to the bottom for the ankle grabbing / feet throwing core exercise 10 times
NMM: After each of the groups had done their pull-ups, Maximus and Shady shared their thoughts and experiences on LOVE.
  • Shady – areas of focus were loving your brother and being your brothers keeper.  Sending a text or reaching out to someone to just say “hey, thinking of you” could change their day.  Realizing that the ones you love are watching you, emulating you, picking up on good and bad habits.  Realizing we don’t know it all, especially to the ones we love, is a sign of humility and a factor of growth and development.  For those of us with children, we have never been parents before so we honestly have no idea what we’re doing.  Love starts with servant leadership and personally for YHC, this usually progresses when the mouth is shut and ears are open.
  • Maximus – For my discussion on love, it begins with being intentional as love is a decision. We must make the decision to be intentional with our actions. Whether it be in our faith, marriage, parenting of our kids, with friends and yes, even with work relationships, we must be intentional. Think about how easy it is to get distracted, whether at dinner with your wife or even on a Zoom call for work. We often allow our minds to wander or even start doing something else while the other person is talking, looking for our engagement. Stop. Be the person who is present in the moment. Put the shoe on the other foot. Love that person as your relationship to them allows.

Station 3 (Pusher & Cakeboss): Love Edition

COP
  • SSHs
  • Windmills
  • Squats
  • Mtn Climbers
  • Merkins
  • IWs
Cake Boss spells love “B-U-R-P-E-E”
The Thang
  • Jacobs Ladder with Derkins and Monkey Humpers
  • Plank/Dip sequence
  • Bear crawl to top with burpees
NMM:
  • Cord of 3 strands cannot be broken. Having God in your marriage is the 3rd string. Adding communication to the marriage strengthens it. – CB
  • Gifts vs Gaps. Focus on the gifts that your wife or significant other bring vs what she is missing. Seeing her this way builds love. – Pusher
  • Much love was on display with all of the mumblechatter and fellowship. The relationships formed through F3 has increased our love internally and is reflected outward to our Ms, 2.0s, PAX and community… #morethanaworkout

Shovel Flag hand off for two leadership positions in the Fort:

Shady handed off the Nantan role to Double D
Esso handed off the Weasel Shaker role to YHC

Awesome work by the PAX today. Hard to put into words how much improved my disposition on life is since moving back to Fort Mill because of F3. Grateful for an opportunity to serve the PAX of The Fort.

NMM: Double D was the site-Q at Block Party when I started posting. If it wasn’t for his steady presence with a commitment to the integrating 2nd F and 3rd F elements into each workout, I doubt I’d have kept posting. Double D is a genuine human, I’m a better dude for knowing him, and I’m excited for his leadership.


Band Camp dismissed

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Fort Mill Tour – No Charge

We had 20 men show up this morning at Block Party.  Alot more than I anticipated, but it’s good to have a big crowd.  After a quick disclaimer, we did the typical warm-up exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills).

I explained to the Pax, we would be on the move this morning, touring Fort Mill.  Our first stop was the Hardee’s parking lot.  Once everyone arrived, we did the following exercises:

20 Squats

15 Merkins

10 LBCs

5 Burpees

Next stop was Unity Church on Tom Hall, instead of taking the shortest route, we ran down Spring Street to Leroy and met at the front of the church.  The same exercises were done by the Pax.  We continue our tour around town to the Church of God parking lot on Academy Street.   Once exercises were complete, we moved to the next stop, the parking lot across from the gas station on Spratt Street.

Our fifth stop was the Fort Mill Church of Nazarene on Harris Street.  We took the longer route up hilly Massey Street to Harris Street.  Again, another round of exercises.  Our last stop was Walter Elisha Park.

We then made our way back to COT for one last round of exercises. Total distance was a little over 3 miles. The continued theme from Monday’s Q, “No Shortcuts”.  We took the longer route to each location.  The routes were hilly and more difficult, but we are better than when we started this morning.  Keep getting after it.

Great job everyone!

 

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68 Years of Impact

13 Pax posted to The Ballroom on a crisp Dec morning with meteors falling and new and veteran pax rising.  Triple Lindy was honored at the start despite his DR status.  Our FNG was introduced.  A Disclaimer was proclaimed.  And then the fun started.

The Thang

Mosey to the football field with some carioca along the way

COP — SSH, Seal jacks, Mtn climbers, Windmills, Hillbilly Walkers, Burpees

Line up along goal line facing the field

Mosey to other goal line via lunge walks, bear crawls or combo of the two with stops every 10 yards for Merkins x10 at 10-30-50-30-10 and Squats x10 at 20-40-40-20-goal line

Plank series

Return mosey to original goal line via backward lunge walk, crawl bears or combo of the two with same stops and exercises on the return trip

COP — each pax calls an exercise and counts # of reps that match # of yrs he’s been posting at The Fort

Mosey to grass area halfway back home from football field

COP — Knee-tar-N’diaye, Freddie Mercury, Back scratcher,  LBC,  Superman

Mosey to school side entrance and form two lines for relay across parking lot and back with pax holding plank or Al Gore while they wait

Mosey home

COT

Moleskin

A lively festive spirit prevailed from pre-launch right through to the end.  Thanks to all the pax for the enthusiasm and energy today!  Many thanks to Cake Boss for the pre-marketing, which brought out a great crowd (but not CB!).  Hope the extra Zs paid off CB!

The remainder of the Geminid meteor shower entertained the pax throughout, at least while they weren’t comparing notes on favorite Tuesday night wines (@Pusher @Cheddah).

Poppins rallied FNG Dirty Bird for his first post.  His brother,  Spud, in the northern CLT burbs hadn’t been able to get him into the Gloom but a push from Poppins plus extra encouragement from CB sealed the deal.  Glad to have you among the pax, brother!

The cumulative years of experience among this group of pax was 68 years — an average of 5 years/pax.  And that’s’with a group that included 2 pax in yr 1 plus an FNG.  Excluding those three we had an average of 6.5 years.  Clearly this thing has legs!

Even in my 10th year, mornings like this make me feel young and like we’re only just beginning.  Long live The Fort!

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Changing of the Guard

28 PAX joined in the gloom for a brisk morning at Block Party. Though the temps were in the high-40s, the wind cut and made it feel much colder. Most were ready to get started and warmed up.

Bobber led off with the disclaimer, then we moseyed to the bank parking lot and circled up for 25 SSH IC. Moseyed to the Hobo’s parking lot for:
15 IW IC
10 Windmills IC
10 Cherry Pickers IC
10 Merkins IC
10 LSS IC
Held low squat for 10 MNC IC

Bobber, fighting back tears, then let go of his beloved BlockParty and passed the shovel flag to YHC. It was quiet as a mouse, absolutely no chatter was mumbled. So we did 5 burpees OYO to get back into it. 

The Thang
I explained to the PAX that I started F3 on a Monday at STL, where Pusher (in attendance) led a great workout, and I was encouraged enough to return the next day. The next day happened to be BlockParty, with CakeBoss on Q. It was a brutal morning, full of pain, so I thought we would do it again. 

3 lanes of bear crawls
5 burpees to exit the low side of the parking lot onto Main Street
Run up Main Street, back to the parking lot entrance on Clebourne Street.
5 burpees to enter the parking lot.
Plank for the 6.
This circuit continued, but the lanes changed to:
3 lanes Burpee Broad Jumps (a whole lot of mumblechatter and requests for a suggestion box)
3 lanes Duck Walk
3 lanes Toy Soldiers

Jogged back to Cot for 3 minutes of Mary.

Name-O-Rama, Announcements, Prayers & Praises. 

Thanks to Bobber for his leadership while Site Q, and providing the opportunity for YHC to continue the tradition at BlockParty. 

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