Prayers Against Our Ego

Mosey behind school > Warm Up

Line Up on BBall Court baseline > Suicide sprints and plank/mountain climbers, 25 in cadence; total of 3 sets

God, make me strong to overcome the desire to be wise and to be thought of as wise by others that are as ignorant as myself. I turn from my wisdom as well as from my folly and follow You, the wisdom of God and the power of God.

Mosey to Parking Lot in front of school > Burpees up downs (football practice style…chop them feet, drop when I say to), plank jacks & seal jacks; 20 in cadence; total of 3 sets

Divine Father, I pray that You protect me from the subtle traps of the ego,
Guard me against temptations of self importance,
Cultivate humility within me,
Give me the strength to battle my ego,
Bless me with the ability to love,
Give me the courage to live in constant surrender to your will
Love me, guard me, guide me and protect me always.

Mosey to BBall Court behind school > Bomb jacks x 20, and Merkins, Diamonds & Wides 5 to 10 in cadence; total of 3 sets

LUKE 18 – The Pharisee and the Tax Collector 9 [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but l beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, [the tax collector] went down to his house justified, rather than the [Pharisee]. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

5. Mary

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Thanksgiving Convergence 2021

68 PAX in attendance for a pre-thanksgiving beatdown and some fellowship on a brisk morning Thursday 11/25/2021.

 

With the anticipation of fried turkey, oreos and coffee brought by @Change Order, @Smuggler and @RubySlippers, mumble-chatter abounded,  until @Hardwood took the center and called attention at 0600 hours. Disclaimer was disclaimed and the call for new FNG’s was made, no new FNG’s was the lone blemish on the otherwise fantastic morning in my humble opinion.

Run options led by @Gekko and a Moderate group led by @TripleLindy set off as the rest of the PAX moseyed towards back of Springfield Elementary. First Destination was in parking lot way back by the Middle School.

Circled up and @Hardwood called out the following exercises:

SSH- 40

Windmills

Downward Dogs and Honeymooners

Low & Slow Squats

Cyclops: Stay in Squat Position and complete Moroccan Nightclubs

 

The Thing

Series of Webs

Starting with Merkins and Overhead Claps

1×4 for 10 rounds of excruciating shoulder pain, mumble-chatter becoming more focused on the task at hand

more SSH 🤮

Next we completed ANOTHER WEB, worse than the last,

Shoulder Taps and Moroccan Nightclubs

1×4 for 10 more rounds that was never ever going to end

Lots of requests for Burpees strangely or anything other then arm workouts!

 

YHC began the 2nd half of the workout with more SSH

Mosey around to front of Middle School with 3 stops for 5 Burpees OYO, at the request of the PAX

Line up at bottom of small hill in front of school and explain the workout, AMRAP LEG CIRCUIT

Teams of 4 ish men cycle through three exercises at bottom of hill individually:

2 Squats

2 Split Lunges

2 Bomb Jacks

Next Broad Jump up Hill to top and complete the following:

2 V-ups

Bear Crawl to bench

2 Step Ups

Run around and down to bottom of hill stopping at cones for 2 burpees (two stops per lap)

Meet back at bottom of hill and repeat, only this time DOUBLE ALL REPS TO 4X

Goal is to complete 5 rounds or AMRAP, almost completed but just short of time before we had to get back to COT

YHC shared a article on Gratitude, and then @Shady shared the heart of the Fort, the success of @Seamstress initiative with the help of the PAX, @Seamstress shared his excitement and appreciation for the success of the event! Great job by all T-claps!

Finally we had a shovel hand-off YHC taking the Ranch from a long line of great site Q’s which I hope to make proud.

Then we were finally able to enjoy the fried delicacies and coffee! Cheers!

 

 

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Q School at Footloose

10 pax decided to post at Footloose this morning for a little bootcamp Q School. YHC endeavored to create a WO this morning that would provide a few reminders/tips to seasoned PAX while focusing on some key fundamentals for newer PAX.

Pre-Disclaimer: I had all the PAX hold plank while I talked a bit about what goes into Quing a workout before 5:15. In short, 80% of a great Q happens before 5:15. Some best practices that were mentioned:

  • Write the Weinke down
  • Over prepare ( always have more than you need)
  • Make the workout scalable both in types of exercises and difficulty
  • Be site aware ( how to best utilize the AO)
  • Try and keep the group together as much as you can
  • Start on time

Remember, PAX are getting up early to drive to a Workout you are running. If anything you owe them the time and effort to make their time and effort worth it.

Disclaimer: We talked about the key components of a good disclaimer.

  • Announce who you are, you are not an expert
  • Ask for anyone new (I prefer to ask for new ppl as opposed to “FNG” in the event someone shows up not knowing what a FNG is)
  • If we have a FNG make sure there is someone (Site Q or person who EH’d him) that will stick with him and encourage him. Also be sure to mention our 5 core principles and welcome them to the WO.
  • Make clear that all exercises are suggestions and participants in the workout are assuming all risk. As a result, modify as needed to avoid injury
  • Highlight potential risks during the workout (going off campus, traffic, wet surfaces, poor footing etc….)
  • If you are going off campus count how many PAX you have before you break COT. If you leave with 10…end with 10.
  • Start the workout.

The Warmup:  Maintaining our position at the Shovel Flag but before the actual exercises I mentioned how important it is to show proper form during this portion of the workout. Often times all eyes will be on you and as a result you will need to set the example. If you cannot maintain good form (or cadence) during an exercise then just don’t’ do it. ( If you can’t do it …..don’ t Q it)

Next YHC went into the fundamentals of cadence calling. Announcing the exercise, telling pax to “move” into position, declaring if this next exercise will be in cadence(or OYO) and then to “begin”.  The key is to practice and to be mindful of “setting a pace”. I executed a set of SSH’s both at a slow place to demonstrate the cadence and then speeding it up to demonstrate how to pace the exercise. The next exercise was the Windmill. Which I was very careful to ensure that a proper pace was maintained.

One other tip to mention with warmups. Be mindful that it’s a “warm-up” As the Q don’t blow yourself up on the warmup…you have at least another 40-35 minutes to go.

 

The Thang:  As we begun the main portion of the workout I mentioned to the PAX that one thing I like to do with my workouts is “time box” my Wienke. In short, I like to keep to a schedule to ensure we get plenty of work in the 45 minutes while guaranteeing that we get all PAX back to COT at 6:00. For example a  Weinke of mine is laid out like this:

5:15-5:17 Disclaimer

5:17-5:18 Mosey to Warmup

5:18-5:23 Actual Warmup

5:23-5:25 Mosey to Thang Part 1.

5:25-5:40 Thang Part 1

5:40-5:42 Mosey to Thang Part 2

5:42-5:58 Thang Part 2

5:58-6:00 Run to COT

Through experience you’ll be able to determine how much time certain types of exercises or routines take  so be prepared to audible if needed or modify a workout up or down depending on the time allotted.

Specific to todays Q School I wanted to share with the Pax some basic exercise routines we leverage in F3 that are great ways to structure a workout and enable the opportunity to both scale up and down if needed. The routines we did were:

  • Pearls on a String ( 15 Merkins, Squats, Plank Jacks, LBC’s)
  • 7’s ( Carolina Dry Docks and Hello Dolly’s)
  • DORA (28 HR Merkins, 56 Squats, 112 LBC’s and 1 Kraken Burpee Each per Partner) In honor of Veterans Day I arranged the rep counts of this Dora to reflect the different Regiments, Brigades, and Divisions my father (CSM Pysher) served in during his career.

A couple things I mentioned during this portion of Q School:

  1. Don’t be afraid to modify up or down during these types of routines by changing reps, modes of transportation or by adding or subtracting exercises. Notice if the Pax are struggling or if they are blowing through it. You want to keep ppl moving and not have anyone standing around or getting discouraged.
  2. An easy way to do so is to carry chalk with you during your Q. For example I had written out the Dora in the parking lot before we started. At the conclusion of the Dora I simply added with chalk 50 SSH OYO. It’s an easy simple, effective way to modify the workout as you go.
  3. Keep things as simple as possible. The routines highlighted in today’s Q School are very simple yet very effective in that they provide a structure that will enable all pax to participate in a workout. Remember, if you are explaining……you are losing.

After the conclusion of the Dora we had roughly 10 minutes left which gave me the opportunity to go over a couple “time killing” routines that I have used in the past couple years.

Going back to what I had mentioned earlier about being over prepared it’s always a good idea to have in your back pocket a couple things (not just 5 minutes of Mary) that you can execute either on the way to COT or at COT that will keep PAX engaged.

  • Last Man Planking: all Pax in a circle. Essentially the last person maintaining good plank form “wins”. At the Q’s discretion he will call out an exercise like merkins  to “weed out” the herd. If and when someone taps out they will then do an exercise AMRAMP until a winner is declared.

 

  • EMOM Series: Utilizing your phone (and the SMARTWOD app) you can fill the remaining time by calling a series of exercises with a certain number of reps to be completed each minute on the minutes. What’s great about this is you can set the total time of the workout but modify the rep count to either increase or decrease the intensity of the workout.

 

 

  • 5 Burpees OYO :  This is always a crowd pleaser. You can leverage this throughout any workout to help quite out of control mumble chatter or to give you a few moments to think on your next piece of the workout.

COT: I have two alarms on my phone set for my workouts. One at 5:58 to remind me to get moving towards COT and the second one right at 6:00am

We discussed doing the count, namearama, the video and leading into announcements and prayers. At todays Q School there were specific prayers for our veterans and all they do, have done and continue to deal with. Additional prayers for health and guidance.

Final thoughts on Q School:

  1. Preparation is key to leading a successful Q. practice cadence, write your workout down, scout the site, and time box the workout to ensure everyone gets their money’s worth.
  2. As the Q you are the example if you can’t do it…don’t Q it.
  3. While leading the workout is 1st F. Remember to ensure that 2nd F is covered as well and keep ppl together.
  4. Leverage the Site Q for ideas and for counsel if you are concerned about a certain type of exercise or course. (if you are around houses you may want to be quite or if there’s a fence that’s locked…don’t jump it)
  5. Always have your phone on you (or ensure the site Q has theirs). It helps with the workout but from a safety perspective it’s good to have on your person.
  6. Look at F3Nation for additional workout ideas. Your brothers from across the country are constantly putting together innovative ways to lead workouts in the gloom. Feel free to “leverage” their input and ideas.

 

Hope you all find this helpful! Be on the lookout for more Q School in the coming months! SYITG

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Colosseum Backblast

Warmup: Shady

QIC: Zima

25 Pax showed to see if the rumors were true. Or Shady has a degree in short-term hype trains. Maybe a little of both. Humbled to see y’all out there for an out of shape Q workout.

Shady did a 5 min warmup

Station 1: Burpee Suicides 5-10-15 reps (no foreplay @Jekyll)

Merkin Suicides 5-10-15 repsMosey to another Station at entrance to school

Station 2: Quadzilla for 4 minutes (run downhill and nur back uphill). #lovelanguageOG Quadzilla (thanks @Pusher). Same as above but with 10 squats at top and 10 jumping lunges at bottom.

Mosey to Elementary School Car Loop

Station 3: Run 5 laps doing 10 hand release merkins at starting line and 10 hand release merkins at half point (5 laps=100 hand release merkins)

I had 3.0+ miles by COT. It felt good to Q again and be in the gloom with y’all. I felt the love.

Announcements: Read the Newsletter

Prayers/Praises:
-Zima praise for Let Me Run Coaching
-Prayers for those suffering from depression (when in doubt, reach out)
-Prayers for Blount daughter who has cancer
-Prayers for Cyclops M whose uncle passed away

Apologies for any errors or omissions. Thanks for the opportunity. I need a nap.

Zima Out!

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Q School – Snake Pit (kettlebell/gear edition)

9 PAX for some Q school

Esso hit on the 5 core principles that every F3 workout shares.
Then YHC took over

Warm-up

We reviewed counting in cadence
– Next exercise is:
– Starting positions MOVE
– In cadence:
– EXERCISE, 1, 2, 3….

Then we had some PAX work on counting in cadence with various exercises. We worked it like an actor on stage calling for their lines. I fed them the 4 lines and they took off. Occasionally we adjusted for some correction or pointers, but these PAX can lead!

We had folks count: SSH and Merkins more than once (gotta practice). Then I encouraged them to learn to call 6-count Burpees in cadence for when they need to quiet the mumblechatter down.

Then we moved over to the Thang:
Written on the pavement was:
Overhead Press
Tricep Extension
Merkin on the bell
Skull Crusher
Lawnmover pulls

Initially I discussed the importance of having a list of exercises (weinke) written down to rely on. Doens’t have to be on the ground. Could be on a piece cardboard, index card in your pocket, back of a 12 pack, or sharpie on your arm: it is helpful to have your notes with you.

The first set we did 10 of each then planked up for a discussion.
Then we did 10 more of each and planked back up. When you’re actively resting between sets in a plank, it’s often a good time to share a message. F3 has THREE Fs!! If you’re just working to accelerate the 1st F, use the opportunity to Q as a moment to reflect and share how you’re doing on the other 2Fs. Think about 2nd F with your family, or your 3rd F as where you are on your faith journey.

In the gloom, PAX can see how fit you’re getting. But how fit are you to be a father, spouse, partner, friend, son, colleague, boss, communicator, facilitator, supporter…? How fit is your mind and spirit? How are you working to accelerate there? Be encouraged to bring some message, no matter how brief.

Then I called 10 more of these, and followed that round by immediately calling 20. This FINALLY got some PAX to balk and protest. Every one of these exercises was arm heavy, this is a POORLY PLANNED set of exercises.

We moved over to another bit of chalk on the ground:
Manmakers 1
Snatch 5
Merkins 10
Lunge 16
Flutter 20

This set allowed us to focus more on the entire body rather than just working one set of muscles to exhaustion and encouraging bad form or injury. It also steps things up as part of the weinke rather than relying on the Q to call reps.

YHC discussed using this a set with holding Al Gore between rounds to keep PAX together. Or possibly having a loop distance to run and allow PAX to more at their own pace. I like to keep everyone together and help exhort the PAX to move to the next exercise or finish their current reps. If you’re concerned about your fitness level or your speed relative to other PAX. Setting up a list of exercises and a loop distance between rounds allows the rabbits to move like rabbits and the Clydesdales to move like Clydesdales. It can even encourage more 2nd F as guys pair up or group up to work together. Maybe as the Q you choose to group with a newer guy or stay with the six to encourage guys as they’re accelerating.

We then moved to the final set of chalk on the ground. I’d paired up some exercises and then listed a mode of transportation. We were running low on time, so I gave the heads up to overprepare the weinke, and be willing to adapt and adjust. You’ve sometimes got to modify up or down (especially considering run distance) based on the PAX present, or you’ve got to cut when you’ve over planned.

So we just did:

Swings 20
Merkins 20
Bear Crawl – Crawl Bear from one island to another

Single Leg Deadlift 10
Manmakers 10
Sprint the parking lot and back

We returned to COT at 5:56 for some Mary (only one minute behind my schedule)

I had PAX practicing calling some Mary in a circle. For the newer PAX, I encouraged them to just call the same exercise the guy before did. You don’t have to think of something brand new to lead. In fact, it’s hilarious (to me) when we get a string of guys that all call Flutters and everyone is grumbling. Sometimes it’s the Qs job to silence mumblechatter, and sometimes you want to encourage it!

Hope the Q-school session was helpful and/or this backblast is useful for someone planning their next KB workout.

One last point with the kettlebells, form is important. If you don’t feel comfortable with an exercise DON’T call it. If you can’t DO IT, don’t Q IT! Or if you do want to do it anyway and aren’t sure, call/text Tesh the night before to make sure he posts. Then ask him to demonstrate. (that’s what I do. you’re welcome)


Band Camp dismissed

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Pick Your Poison

Disclaimer. Mosey lap around parking lot. Warmup with usual.

Pax circle up. Go around circle, 1st pax picks an exercise for the rest of us to do while they run the lap. Go around circle with same method. Now, partner up. Partner does exercise their partner called the 1st go round, other partner runs lap. Pick a different partner–same thing. Now we finish with you doing the exercise you selected, 2 max out sets.

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Convergence – Shop Vac

65 PAX gathered to remember Shop Vac. Probably had closer to 70 at different points during the hour. Fishsticks took the Milkshakers

Lutefish warmup:
Sean Kelley, 56, Shop Vac

There are a couple of young men I was hoping would hear this this morning. While I’m talking to them, I’m also talking to myself and all of you.

We all know that or God, SkyQ, has written our books. He went before us, He knows us by name, and He alone knows when our earthly lives begin and end. God knew our brother Sean was to come home. And it doesn’t make sense to us.

But let me ask you this. What would it be like to know that when it is our time that we would also know that we accomplished the tasks that the Lord created us to do? God knows the great plans He has for each of you. You are here for a reason.

Wouldn’t it feel comforting to know that you full executed your purpose here on earth? Today we celebrate Sean, who I believe did just that. Sean loved his sons. It’s all he talked about when we worked out together. That, and his dream to have a home in Beaufort. He lived out and executed his purpose. We now have 2 of his sons as our brothers, and how great it is that the world is better because of him. Recover on your feet.

I read a quote recently:

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced; live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.”

Sean is rejoicing and would want us to do the same. And he would want us to do 56 side straddle hops in cadence.

Split out to:

  • Kettlebells
    • Uhaul
  • Bootcamp: split PAX into two groups for 20min sessions
    • Ruby Slippers
    • Band Camp

Uhaul’s KB workout:
56 Squats
56 Curls
56 Skull Crushers
56 Calf Raises
56 Uhauls
56 Flutters w/ press (4 count)
56 Dead lifts
56 Lawn Mower Pulls R
56 Lawn Mower Pulls L
56 American Hammers
56 LBCs (4 count)

Band Camp’s portion:
EMOM
minute 1 – 20 burpees
minute 2 – 30 jumping lunges
minute 3 – 40 Freddie Mercuries
minute 4 – 50 Carolina Dry Docks
minute 5 – 60 SSH

7s w/ Mike Tysons and Squats
Mode of transportation: bear crawl/crawl bear

Some in cadence jump squats, core work,

I found a backblast from Shop Vac…It reads with a lot more significance to me now. https://f3thefort.com/2021/04/14/403656/
I may have said something asinine while holding a squat and quoting his backblast.
Something like:
Have understanding when I say 5 more squat jumps
Show tolerance when I say 6 more squat jumps
Practice patience when I call 7 more squat jumps
Take direction as we’re now hitting 8 more squat jumps

Did a little sprinting as well with the second group. (Shop Vac would not have approved, and neither did most of the PAX)

NMM: Shop Vac’s love for and pride in his sons was palpable. He made me want to be a better dad. I’m glad to be around men that make me want to be better. Shop Vac was one of those dudes.

Ruby Slippers’s portion:
I had the pleasure of working out a lot with Shop Vac. His attitude, smile, and laughter infected you immediately every time you met him.

YHC remembers a time during COT after a workout where frustrations from my work life came bubbling to the surface. After I vented to the PAX about the situation ( usual selfish rant where everyone else has a problem but me ) and the Q finished prayer, Shop Vac pulled me to the side and gently explained that it was my attitude that needed to be adjusted, not everyone else’s. He did it in a manner where I gladly and thankfully accepted his advice.

The Thang:
At every Shop Vac Q you could count on stations, simple exercises and/or routines, and minimal running. The six was never left behind at a Shop Vac workout so we are using the buddy system to make sure that does not happen at this workout.

Set-up 4 stations in the shape of a square in the middle parking lot at The Armory. 4 stations represented each member of the Kelly family, there were 4 exercises at each station, partner work to complete a cumulative total of 56 reps of each exercise:

Sean’s station:
– Merkins, Diamond Merkins, Wide Arm Merkins, CDD’s
Stacey’s station:
– Crunches in cadence, Flutters in cadence, Big Boy Sit-ups, Straight Lower Leg Lifts
Jack’s station:
– Squats, Jump Squats, Lunges, Jumping Lunges
Brian’s station
– Side Straddle Hops in cadence, Seal Jacks in cadence, Mountain Climbers in cadence, Plank Jacks in cadence.

PAX partner up – complete all 4 exercises at a station and then mosey to the center. YHC stood in the center of the square to represent Francis, Shop Vac’s faithful four-legged companion, where PAX would come to complete 56 monkey humpers.

Continued around the stations until time was called.

Video Evidence: https://twitter.com/jisenhour/status/1456967297453727750

Welcome FNGs: Bow Wow Wow, Bam!, Triple H, Dictator, Wax Off, and Pool Boy

Prayers for Sean’s family.

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Way-Backblast – Pushing Through at Laces In

It’s been a long time coming, but finally stepped into the ring at Laces In and handled my VQ. 14 other PAX joined in the gloom for a little of everything, including an FNG.

Disclaimer

With one fresh face in the crowd, we went over the disclaimer, the Five Core Principles of F3 and the Credo. There was absolutely no mumblechatter during this disclaimer and the message was clear and concise.

Warm Up

We moseyed over to the band practice lot for 15 Low Slow Squats IC and 15 Cherry Pickers IC. Then began to mosey back to the student parking lot, but mixed in some Toy Soldiers, High Knees and Butt Kickers. Once in the student lot, CoP for 21 SSH IC and 10 Merkins IC.

The Thang

Utilizing the very large student parking lot, we did a modified 4-corners. The modification was to return to the center for 5 burpees between each corner. The 4 corners consisted of:

  1. Jump Squats & Fredie Mercury
  2. Derkins & Flutter Kicks
  3. Alternating Side Squats & Mtn Climbers
  4. Diamonds & Hello Dollys

We began with 20 reps, and increased the rep count by 10 each time around (round 2 was 30 reps of each exercise and round 3 was 40 reps).

After 2.5 laps, we circled up for one last set of burpees and moseyed across the parking lot to the hill. Since coming off a nagging injury, I have noticed “plateaus” during workouts even more. I reminded the PAX that when we’re faced with difficulty or plateaus in life, whether it’s our health, our relationships with our M and/or our 2.0s, or even at work, that’s when we should focus more and “push harder.” Here at the at the end of the workout, push yourself to sprint up the hill and get better.

After 3 trips up the hill, we moseyed back to CoT (merlot may or may not have been splashed by yours truly) for Name-o-rama, welcomed Battle Bot, announcements, prayers & praises.

Thanks for the VQ support, gentlemen.

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eating our way through the air

19 PAX Gathered and it was so humid we had to “eat our way through the air.” (-Slash)

We started with a quick warmup
SSH – 19 to the number of PAX

Mosey towards the old Church of God parking lot
IW
HW
Moroccan Night Clubs
Merkins – slow count (everybody’s favorite)

Brief mosey to the other Church of God parking lot
Burpee Square (thanks Naperville)
Start in one corner
10 Burpees – bear crawl to next corner
9 Burpees – lunge walk to next corner
8 Burpees – crawl bear to the next corner
7 Burpees – reverse lunge walk back to the first corner
6 Burpees – bear crawl to next corner
5 Burpees – lunge walk to next corner
4 Burpees – crawl bear to the next corner
3 Burpees – reverse lunge walk back to the first corner
2 Burpees – bear crawl to next corner
1 Burpee

View the retaining wall and consider how it works…not by specific acceleration, but by staying put at the ground falls around it revealing all the bricks supporting the top layer

Mosey to the old middle school (banks st. community gym)
Some Yoga for the 6
10 Squats
10 lunge steps
10 Jump Squats
10 lunge steps back
Repeat

Mosey Back – I got gassed on the mosey back. Once your belly is full, eating your way back through the air is really difficult.

Flutters to 0600

NMM:

Sometimes, as the flux hits us all, we lack the motivation to accelerate of our own accord. But if we can call on discipline to continue moving, we can see ourselves rising even though we feel like we’re staying put–just like the top level of that retaining wall. I’ve been feeling that flux for a little while leading up to the big 4-0. And honestly didn’t know how to convey that message until I looked up at the end of too many burpees and too many bear crawls and saw that wall.

Grateful for the opportunity to lead and the support of all the PAX. Y’all help hold me up whether you know it or not. Thank you.


Band Camp Dismissed

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