Tag: Fire Marshall Bill

No stinkin’ rain at The Armory!

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Having been in a Thanksgiving hangover after spending most of it on the road, the commitment I had made to Q the Armory on Monday was not even a thought. That is until, I got the DM from JWOW at 2pm on Sunday. Hmmmm…what excuse could I make I instantly thought, and then after further self-evaluation, and no easy way out, I committed to fulfilling my original obligation.

Weather forecast called for a 60% chance of rain. Fortunately, they are almost always wrong, and we got a nice 50 plus degree morning perfect for a KB workout.

All Vets were at the AO, so after a quick disclaimer, off we went.

Warm-up

Mosey (no KB) towards the front of the Church and then back towards the left side. Started with some side shuffles, changing directions, then butt-kickers and finished off with a little carioca ending back at the original launch spot.

SSH- x30

Moroccan- x30

Arm rolls- forward for 10 and then back for ten

Windmill- x15

LSS- x15

Merkins- x10/ hold

 

Recover

 

Mosey to the far-right parking lot when facing the Church.

 

The Thang

How convenient that there are 4 perfectly placed light posts on the side. And with that came the opportunity to complete 3 rounds of exercises, running between light posts. Just in case we were facing rain, I had placed each round of workouts in a special Ziploc. The PAX were impressed…not really.

Round 1

First light post- One arm curls- 20 each

Run to next

Second- Goblet Squats- 20

Run to next

Third- Overhead press- 15 each arm

Run

Fourth- American Hammers- 30

 

Round 2

 

First- Chest press- 20 each arm

Run

Second- Upright rows- 20

Run

Third- Cleans- 10 each

Run

Fourth- Big Boy- 20

Round 3

First- Single arm triceps extensions- 20 each

Run

Second- Straight arm raises- 15

Run

Snatch- 10 each

Run

LBC’s- 25

Run to final post

Partner Up

Time for some Dora

100- KB swings

200- Two-handed Tricep extensions

300- American Hammers

 

Partner one does the exercise while Partner two runs around the outside of the light posts we were just working through.

 

Called an audible partial way through the triceps due to time.  Asked the PAX to get to 150 Tricep extensions and 200 AH. Once completed, work on 100 squats until time.

 

Everyone hit the 100 squats just in time to get back to COT. With A couple minutes left, all PAX on their six for a quick round of Flutters.

 

Recover. With one-minute left I thought it was good timing to touch briefly on our word of the month, which happens also to be my word of the year. Shared with the PAX my struggles and the growth I think I have had over the last year and asked for their thoughts on the meaning to them. Many thanks to the PAX that did. I think vulnerability is a tough word to wrap your head around and even more difficult to exercise as a man. Challenge to all PAX to be especially more vulnerable to your M’s and 2.0’s. It will definitely bring you all closer and hopefully strengthen your relationships as our 2.0’s face their future challenges.

 

COT

Announcements- Xmas Party, Joe Davis, and Xmas Eve Convergence

Prayers-

PAX who are looking for work

Safe returns from the Holidays and for what’s ahead

California victims

Children fighting illnesses

Very appreciative for the PAX who showed up this morning and for the push. Thanks for the opportunity JWOW!

 

Frat Boy Out

 

 

 

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1+1=Terrible Downpainment

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19 Pax descended on Block Party including 3 for Pathfinder for an old school beatdown by YHC and Mash. Little did YHC know when I suggested to Mash that he co-Q with me that it would be his 50th Birthday at Block Party #Respect.

Mash and I have been friends for many years and I already had tons of respect for him. He is a good Christian, Husband and Father coupled with being a military veteran. Our children are the same age so we have lots in common. More importantly, he has demonstrated being a true #HIM since joining the Fort several years ago.

The Thang

Full Disclaimer

Mash on Q – Mosey out

COP – lots of chatter here…I may have been contributing

SSH

Moroccan Night Clubs

Windmills

Merkins x 15 (YEAH!)

Mosey to gravel lot and partner up

Dora 1,2,3

100 Merkins

200 Flutters

300 SSHs

Pusher on Q – Mosey to hill

Bear crawl up hill – #turrible

Dirty McDeuce powered by Halloween Candy

Side Note: Avg American eats 3.4 pounds of candy on Halloween; Candy has calories (duh!); 1 minute of Burpees equals approximately 10 calories;

All exercises IC x 12; Calories are based on “Fun Size” portions

Starburst (40 cals) – Squats

Skittles (63 cals) – LBCs

M&Ms (73 cals) – Wide Arm

Take a lap

Kit Kat (70 cals) – Jumping Lunge

Snickers (80 cals) – Flutters

Twix (80 cals) – Carolina Dry Docks

Take a lap

Reeses Cup (90 cals) – Bomb Jacks

Baby Ruth ( 85 cals) – Freddy Mercury

Butterfinger ( 85 cals) – Diamond Merkins

Take a lap

York Patty ( 50 cals) – Burpees

Crunch ( 60 cals) – Rosalita

Hershey ( 63 cals) – Burpees

Mosey Home

 

Moleskin:

  • Happy #Respect Birthday to Mash
  • Christmas Party on 12/1/18
  • Pre Christmas Drop In on 11/2/18 with Shady at Armor Artis
  • Be a HIM in your community…lots of examples were shared
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14 posted at The Armory today to honor the service of Assassin who turned the Site Q over to JWOW.   Best of luck to JWOW for the upcoming year although I am sure he won’t need any luck as long as the Brotherhood supports him, I will, how about you?

I am not the glowing writer that othe PAX are so best that I just get to the Thang.

We started with a very, very slow mosey past the tents to the far parking lot and circled up for a warmup.

Moroccan night clubs x20

Baby arm circles x 15

big arm circles x 12

LSS x 10

windmill with KB x10 each leg

We then partnered up because the gloom is always better with a friend. The PAX then head off to a parking spot where the find 8 spots with 3 exercises chalked out the object do the first exercise and the move to the next spot until all 24 exercises are completed. The exercises:

Front raise x 10 each arm
Side raise x 10 each arm
Merkin to row x 10 each arm
American hammer x 20
Sit-ups x 20
LBCs x 20
Skull crushers x 20
Triceps extensions x 10 each arm
Halos x 20
KB swing x 20
1 arm KB swing x 10 each arm
Snatch x 10 each arm
Goblet squat x 20
Calf raises 10 each in/out/regular
Lunge x 10 each leg
Turkish getup x 20
Chest loader swing x 20
Clean and press x 20
Shoulder press x 10 each arm
Upright rows x 20
Chest press x 10 each arm
Curls x 10 each arm
Lawn mowers x 10 each arm
Squat to press x 20

Always amazes at how some PAX can blow through these 24 exercises and start a 4th round kudos to them. I am not there yet…

After completing the rounds moseyed back to COT for flag ceremony, praises and prayers.

Dungaree out

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Run, run, run. Do some things. And then run some more. Grass is wet.

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The Thang:

 

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.

Until next time….

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Block Party/Colosseum Colombia Team Send off!

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28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matt 20:28

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

61 PAX and YHC came to Block Party this day to show support to those that have felt a call to serve. As we are commanded to serve locally, nationally and globally this group of men are going global to get uncomfortable and grow closer to SkyQ. The support, prayers and encouragement from our brothers in the PAX is overwhelming and powerful. Anyone that has not realized it yet, F3 is more than a workout!

The Thang:

  • Ruckers when their separate way with Cobra Kai at the helm
  • Runners went looking for golf balls at FMGC with Pusher at the point
  • The rest of us followed YHC for a boot-camp with 40 or so of our brothers
    • Mosey down path, across the field out towards 160 for COP
      • All exercises were to 11 count for the 11 heading to Colombia
      • Plank
      • SSHs
      • Squat
      • Merkins
      • MOracan Night Clubs
      • Sumo Squat
      • Wide Arm Merkins
      • LBCs
      • Peter Parkers
      • Rosalitas
      • Imperial Walkers
    • Mosey to playground
      • Ladder work
      • Do exercise with designated reps, take a lap, add next exercise, take a lap…..
      • # of REPS Exercise COLOMBIA PAX MEMBER TOTAL REPS
        1 Merkin Bonsai 11
        2 LBC Bubba 20
        3 Squat Cake Boss 27
        Here from PAX on their WHY
        4 Burpee Crawdaddy 32
        5 Inch Worm Merkins Elvis 35
        6 Sumo Squat Fire Marshal Bill 36
        Here from PAX on their WHY
        7 Bombjacks Flat Tire 35
        8 Overhead Clap Italian Job 32
        9 Leg Raises Mr Bill 27
        Here from PAX on their WHY
        10 Lunge Hops Sir Topham Hat 20
        11 Donkey Kicks Trucker 11
    • Right up against time we finished
  • COT
    • We had 3 FNGs, Love Handles, Arrowhead and Homer
    • CSPAN prayed us out  an prayed over the whole team

YHC can thank you all for being a stable rock in my life. I can’t say enough about what F3 and each of my Brothers means to me and how it has changed my life. More importantly it has allowed me to reach men for SkyQ’s kingdom and that is the best achievement ever.

Peace Men

Cake Boss out!

 

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If you build it, they will come..

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The weather forecasts leading up to Slow Burn showed what could have been a soggy outing. In preparation, I made sure I had not one, but two Weinke’s prepared for the PAX. One bringing back a popular game from College past to keep us dry, “Roxanne,” with a slightly different spin, and the other a friendly mosey around the parking lots with a few exercises mixed in. Surprisingly, it ended up being a perfect day and with it, an impressive 30 PAX showed for the party.

Warm-up

Mosey to the parking lot in front of Empire Pizza

Along the way, did some butt kicks, high knees and side shuffles, left and right and circled up for some warm-up

SSH- x25

LSS- x10

Windmill-x10

Moroccan- x25

Overhead Claps- x20

Happy Jacks- 4 rounds- 5 SSH/ 2 jump squats- a nice new surprise for the PAX

Mountain Climbers- x 10

Annie- 1-2 (1) Total of 10-

The Thang

Mumble Chatter was in full force and hard to avoid with such a great number.

First Round-Same parking lot, PAX lined up close to the center back parking line and faced towards the curb heading at a slight decline. Kicked off the fun with a round of 7’s. PAX started with 1- CDD and sprint to the other side- 6 squats. Continue this pattern until the the flip-flop happens, and you are ending with 6-CDD and 1-squat. Great work out of everyone. Plank until the Six was in.

Second round-Mosey over to the parking lot next to the new restaurant Persia (not sure if that’s the name). PAX lined up along the parking space middle line facing the curb. Seemed to be a theme for the day. Next up- Modified ascending bear crawl until 13. 1-CDD then Bear Crawl to other side- 2 Derkins. Bear Crawl back to starting position, complete 3-CDD. Continue this pattern until you end on 13- CDD. Once complete, a couple of ten counts and off to the next destination. Amazingly, the mumble chatter had decreased significantly!

Third round– Mosey over to the right side of Lowes and all the PAX grabbed some space on the wall. I had originally planned for some chicken peckers, look it up. Instead we started a 10 count at one of the PAX line and continued with all PAX in a chair position. PAX joined in with instructions to push everyone to that great feeling of displeasure. Thanks for chipping in! As it got to the halfway point, I could hear the mumble chatter wondering what happened to the moderate workout, so I gave a quick leg shake break. Quick it was, and then back on the wall. We didn’t quite complete the entire line but I commend the PAX on the effort.

Next up Individual suicides- showed the PAX the lines to hit and off they went. 5 Merkins after first set and 5 flying squirrels after the second.  Took a break in between to highlight for the group the mission and 5 principles of F3. Hopefully the FNG’s heard it!

Headed back to the warm-up spot for some Mary work

Dolly-20

Reverse Crunch- 20

American Hammer- 15

Flutter kicks- 15

Mountain Climbers/Peter Parkers/Parker Peters

Back to COT

It wasn’t quite Six O’ Clock so we needed one more exercise to get us there, and Trucker happily offered up toe touches to get us home. Thanks!

Announcements– read your newsletter

Prayers/Praises– Badger, Glenn, Children, Teachers, Parents, Smithers, CSPAN, if I missed one I apologize

Thanks for the support PAX and for Shady and FMB for bringing FNG’s- Wide Right and Wilson

And Smithers for the opportunity to lead!

Frat BoySlowburn

 

 

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Footloose with Cake in the Cockpit

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20 PAX including YHC hit the dance floor at Footloose. The idea is to workout so as Q I tried to be sure we got a good one in that the PAX could feel but also modify as needed

Flying is the safest form of travel and it may have to do with pilots that are accountable for the many lives on board their planes and so they take it  serious. The do pre flight safety-checks before every flight and if they skip it or get lazy, it could be the difference between arriving or crashing.

So man marriages in rough places and they don’t get there overnight….it takes time and it can be a long flight. I challenged the PAX on their “safety-checks and if they are performing them. 1 mile run with 6 Pain Stations in play with each representing a safety-checks, Away we went!

We did a mini dynamic warm up on our way to first pain station. Here is the wienke. Below is the moleskin.

NMS:

If we perform safety-checks with our M we will have better odds of landing the plane safely and at your scheduled destination.

  • Family – not logistics but emotional well being, likes, dislikes and direction of family members
  • Finances – top reason for divorce and can be solved with communcation and plan
  • Friends – Take interest in each others friends as its part of who they are
  • Fun – Be intentional with fun adventures like when you were “courting” each other…..lol
  • Fears – These guide decisions and if we don’t discuss them with M, we are makeing bad choices
  • Feelings – If you or the M is not feeling happy or feeling discontent, this does not just go away….need to discuss it and resolve it

Discuss these topics and do it often and your marriage will be safe!!

Thanks for Q Beacon

Peace!

Cake Boss

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Slow Burn Deck of Pain

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The morning started out cooler than yesterday…and everyone noticed that right away. That’s okay, because what I had in store would keep everyone warm enough without question.

Started out with the standard disclaimer, then moseyed down the hill for the warm-up.

  • Butt Kickers
  • High Knees
  • Circle up
  • SSH’s
  • Cherry Pickers
  • Windmills
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Hillbilly Walkers

Mosey over to the side lot for the Thang.  Now, when we got over there the PAX saw the deck of cards and immediately knew what was coming.  I set the ground rules:

Aces are 1, Face cards are 10, we will use the value of the card and do that many sets of 10 of a given exercise, and each suite for that card will determine what exercise would be done.

We did 4 rounds in total, with a lap around the building in between rounds.

Round 1 – CORE; Round 2 – UPPER BODY; Round 3 – LOWER BODY; Round 4 – CARDIO with the ultimate goal to provide a solid and challenging total body workout!

So, we started out with a face card that meant we had to get after it right out of the gate with 100 box cutters.  And the mumble chatter turned at that very first exercise of round 1 ;-).

Overall, we did hundreds of exercises, some more than others, but the exercises completed for each round were as follows:

  • LBC’s (Hearts) – We did about 60
  • Flutter Kicks (Clubs) – We did 100
  • Box Cutters (Spades) – We did 100
  • American Hammers (Diamonds) – We did 80

Run a lap around the building

  • Merkins (Hearts) – We did 80 or 90
  • Carolina Dry Docks (Clubs) – I think we did 70
  • Moroccan Night Clubs (Spades) – I think we did 40
  • Overhead Hand Claps (Diamonds) – I think we did 50

Run a lap around the building

  • Squats (Hearts) – I can’t remember how many we did
  • Monkey Humpers (Clubs) – We did 100
  • Apollo Ohno’s (Spades) – I think we did 40 or 50
  • Lunges (Diamonds) – We did 10 each leg

Run a lap around the parking lot to save time and get the last round in

  • Peter Parkers (Hearts) – I think we did 40 or 50
  • Mountain Climbers (Clubs) – I think we were in the 30 or 40 range
  • SSH’s (Spades) – We did 80
  • Parker Peters (Diamonds) – I think we did 20

Mosey back up to COT

There was a lot of complaining, but I was really proud of all the PAX as they pushed through the pain and discomfort and came out their comfort zone.  Moderate is a state of mind, and I will admit that a lot of times I tell myself I can’t do something, but then when pushed by the PAX I find out, hey, it hurt like crazy, but yes, I can do that!  Today it was my turn to lead the PAX and push them.  I’m feeling it for sure now, and I know they all are too…but I wouldn’t change it for the world!

Smithers…Out!

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Unrealistic Expectations at BEYOND

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We’ve all ages and abilities come to BEYOND since launching in January and while there have been some struggles along the way, I think the feeling is unanimous; we’re getting pushed physically and being challenged mentally, emotionally and spiritually. For those that are upcoming Q’s, the hardest part seems to be how to deliver a meaningful message and a good down inside of 45mins.

Well, it was now my time to pick the topic for the latest rendition. The launch was set for Varsity (NaFO) and the topic was one I’ve dealt with for years but didn’t know it was a problem until the last few weeks. You see, it wasn’t until some adversity and personal challenges that I realized my trends or perhaps more importantly, my tendencies. So what happens? I have these expectations of what I need to be and who I need to be which are of course, often times unrealistically high. When I fall short, which happens more often than not; I feel like I don’t measure up and reside on the line boarding failure. It’s a vicious cycle that leads to me being a less-than-desirable person to be around.

After the welcoming of a zealous FNG (Abscess) who was EH’d by Mr. FNG himself, Ginsu, I took a minute to walk through the disclaimer, what BEYOND is all about followed by the F3 CREDO: Leave no man behind and leave no man where we found him. This was done for me years ago and it is my promise to make every effort to pass it on. We then took off for a short mosey through the lot and circled up:

Plank Jacks x 10

Ski Abs x 10

Carolina Dry Docks x 10

Squat Calf Raises x 10

Forward Arm Circles x 10

Reverse Arm Circles x 10

Mak Tar Jahs x 10

This is where I let the PAX rest for a few minutes as I walked through my above challenges and what it turns into. It was also a good time to talk about how this life is not meant to be walked alone; queue the WHETSTONE relaunch coming up this Saturday 4/21. The feeling this leads to is what Scripture explains in Luke 22:31 where Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat.” These last few years have been a test, almost a sifting process that I have now begun to realize.

What we also realized was the neatly placed cones 50 yards apart in the parking lot. With all 20 of us lined up on one side, we sprinted to the other end and back at the following levels of effort:

50%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 25%

Mosey to the pull-up bars where 1/2 the PAX did 20 pull-ups (1 for each man that posted) while the other 1/2 did ankle grabs with their legs straight up against the wall. Each man cycled through 2 sets of each exercise and we made our way out to the adjacent roadway for:

4×4’s: Drop to a plank, 4 merkins, 4 full mountain climbers, jump up = 1 set. We did 10 sets.

With PAX on opposite sides of the road, we dropped to a plank with our hands in the road and our feet on the curb. We plank-walked down the hill about 25 yards to the cone then bear crawled back to the start. We switched sides and did it again, this time about 20yds down and bear crawled up.

It was now time for the ATM’s:

(10) 4ct Alternating shoulder taps

(10) Tempo Merkins: 3ct down and 1ct up

(10) Fast Merkins

We did 3 sets of this.

We then moseyed back to the cones for another sprint series that looked like this:

100%, 100%, 50%, 100%, 25%.

COT for a reminder of Whetstone and our FNG naming.

Loved every minute of it and thanks for the platform to share a piece of my story. I hope you learned a little tidbit and that I fulfilled my promise to not leave you where we found you.

Until Next Time,

Maximus

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Beyond #1…What’s at your CORE?

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Beyond can be defined as “Outside the understanding, limits, or reach of.” That is what this thing is all about; recognizing that a push beyond, in all many aspects of life, can be a really good thing. If you’re a killer runner, come do a Merkin and a Pull Up with us. If you’re strength nut, come do a few sprints and bear crawls with us. The reasoning for this is well documented now, dating back a few months to when Jekyll let me share about this at a Colosseum Q I had.

And yes, I am 8 days late in getting this BB written which is rather ironic. I will work to get these posted both by the Q’s and YHC in a more timely manner.

We started last Tuesday with the 1st round of Beyond and the theme was CORE. Besides the obvious, physical reference to the word, Core can be defined as, “A central and often foundational part usually distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature.” In other words, when the world strips away your exterior, what are you left with to truly guide you. To take this a step further, I let the PAX know that Beyond will challenge them to push past the limits they’ve previously established for themselves. This is aided by listening to a Podcast, “Team Never Quit” in which you listen to stories of people who’ve endured unbelievable challenges and have pushed through to find the redemptive outcome on the other side. It seems impossible when you’re in the thick of “it”, whatever “it” might be in your life, but God has a plan. Bad and difficult things happen, yes, but we try to find a glimmer of hope and positivity on the other side.

Enough rambling…I need to figure out a better way to capture the names for Beyond but for now, we’ll have to rely on my fuzzy memory. I know we had 15  which I think included the following, Bob the Builder, Geronimo, Band Camp, Straight Up, Fire Marshall Bill, Frat Boy, Longshanks, Jedi, Cha Ching, Ginsu, Trucker, Lutefisk, Bonsai, MacGuyver, YHC. My sincere apologies if I got a few of these wrong.

Once we separated from the Block Party PAX, we jogged through the park and made our way to the playground, which still sounds strange every time I write that. We did a few warm up exercises like SSH, Arm Circles, Sumo Squats and more SSH which was then followed by a little stretching and lot more of my talking (rambling). What I was trying to get to was that you can’t quit and if you need a little motivation to keep from quitting, look to the man to your left and right and realize they won’t let you quit and you don’t want to let them down. If it were just you out there, we’d quit a lot sooner. Remember, YOU’RE NEVER ALONE OUT THERE…SO DON’T QUIT.

100 American Hammers (we all thought about quitting on that one unless you’re Jedi/Geronimo

25 LBC

100 Flutters

30 Peter Parkers

50 Mountain Climbers

Partner 1: 50 Carolina Dry Docks   Partner 2: Pull Ups until your partner is done and flapjack

Partner 1: 15 Burpees   Partner 2: Pull Ups until your partner is done

Mosey to the Big Hill where found some cones forming a 15yd x 20yd rectangle on the hill.

Backward run up the hill, 5 Burpees at the top then run down. Repeat this 5 times.

Next we bear-crawled around the rectangle for 3mins which was awesome…

Mosey to the wall at the Springs building

Nothing fancy, just a mere 3mins of muscle ups…yup, it was turrible.

We talked about not quitting and trying to answer the question of whether or not you can change what is at your CORE. What is left when the world takes what you see, away? So that was it. I learned a lot in these 45mins and I hope we continue to see a good contingent of guys willing to push themselves.

As you were…

Maximus

 

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