Tag: Fishsticks

Armory

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11 men showed up this morning at the Armory for my second Kettle Bell Q.  It was good to see Trucker in the crowd.  I made sure to emphasize “Modify if necessary” since he is recovering from an injury.

Warm-up:

Leg stretch (Butt kickers, knees to chest)

Plank stretch (Honeymooner, downward dog)

SSH x 15

Merkin x 10

Windmill x 10

Next, we moseyed to the main parking lot near the light post for some partner exercises. Partner #1 would perform a stationary exercise while Partner #2 would be in motion.  Once Partner #2 completed the exercise, he would flipflop with Partner #1. Below are the exercises:

Round                    Stationary                      Motion  

1                                KB swing                          Jog around the parking lot

2                               Squat                                  KB carry between light poles

3                               Figure 8s                            Bear crawl

4                              Upright row                      Burpee broad Jump

5                               Curl                                      Lunge walk

6                               Shoulder press               Jog around the parking lot

7                               Skull crushers                  Inch worm merkins

8                               Tri-extensions                  Squat walk

 

Great job this morning! Lots of good chatter and encouragement.

 

Prayers:

Families in Alabama impacted by the Tornado

Comfort for families grieving a loved one

Healing and comfort for families dealing with illness

Healing and speedy recover for injured Pax

 

 

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The runners take on Pantheon

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Thanks to Gears for putting the word out and doing some quality marketing for a rare Bootcamp Q by YHC, and an equally rare BC participation from Gears & Zima.  As I waited in the gloom, the cars kept coming in.

Circled up, disclaimer was given and the 3 runners took off and the rest of us moseyed around the parking lot for a nice warm-up.

COP – SSH, IW, Low slow squat, Merkins, Mountain Climber, Peter Parker

Mosey to the bottom of Hubert Graham hill for a little BLIMPS.  Run to the top -5 Burpees, back down for 10 Lunges(each leg), back up for 15 IW, Down again for 20 Merkins, up again for 25 Plank Jacks, last trip down for 30 Squats.  Mosey back to school parking lot for a round of 11.  Start on the curb for 1 Mike Tyson(look it up) Bear crawl across parking lot for 10 Hello Dolly(in honor of Carol Channing RIP) jog back for 2 Mike Tyson, and so on and so on. The Mike Tysons were a real crowd pleaser, especially with the runners.

Another Mosey around the parking lot, with an AYG to finish at COT just in time for some Mary.

All in all a great morning, awesome to see some faces I hadn’t seen in a while, and it’s always fun to have Olaf around.  Thanks to Royale for making the long trip over the bridge to join us.

Announcements – Q-Source, Joe Davis, Special Honey Badger workout on Monday, and of course The Yeti!

Quick discussion on the Word of the Year, a few guys shared their word and why it was chosen

Prayers & Praises – Mile High is thankful for coming out for 6 months and the change it has made in his life. Prayers for sick friends & family members as well as injured Pax.

 

 

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What is weighing you down?

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Four men showed up on a cold morning at Pantheon.  The question today was “What is weighing you down?”  The holiday season usually exacerbates the things that are weighting us down.  Whether it be struggling with finances, relationship issues, work stresses, or losing a loved one.  As men, we continue to add these thing to the bar until it is overloaded where we cannot lift anymore or it comes crashing down on our chest.

So what is the solution?  First, the workout and how it ties to the question at hand.  We started with a quick jog around the carpool circle. Next, we did the following warm-up exercises:

SSHsx15

Imperial Walkers x15

Windmills x15

Plank stretches

Next, we did the following exercises with cinder blocks.  The repetitions were completed when each person had jogged around the parking lot or alternatively carried two cinder blocks down the length of the school building and back to the starting point.

Exercises:

  1.  Squat thrusters with block
  2. Burpees block jump
  3. LBCs
  4. Offset merkin
  5. Freddie mercury
  6. Derkin

We finished with a round of flutters and box cutters.

Getting back to the solution..what do you do? I don’t have all of the answers, but I can share my experience with you.  In 2013, I my job was very demanding due to some organization changes within the company.  Our regular summer vacation was cancelled due to amount of work.  I promised my wife and kids I would make it up to them.

On August 11, my older brother called me.  I was running on the treadmill at the time so I did not answer the phone.  He called again.  I jumped off the treadmill knowing something was wrong.  It was..my younger brother had died.  I was in disbelief, how could this be.  I physically fell to the ground in tears.  He was my younger brother, I was suppose to protect him, but I was too busy working. I could probably spend a lot more time on the story, but the aftermath was worse.

I did not want to talk to anyone about it and I continued to go to work and do my job like nothing happened. The impact was felt by my wife and kids.  My wife and I grew farther apart.  Things finally got better when we began talking about it, eliminating the noise in our lives, and prioritizing what we wanted most as a family.  The best way to describe the impact of this experience is the feeling when you are able to drop a heavy weight after carrying it for a while.  Your body feels lighter, almost floating.

There are a number of great men here in the Fort.  All who come with different experiences and backgrounds.  Take advantage of it.  Find that someone that you feel comfortable and share these things that are weighting you down. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it gets easier over time.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead,

Fishsticks

 

 

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Arcade of Pain

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Five men showed up for a cool morning beatdown at Golden Corral. After a quick disclaimer, we circled up for a few warm-up exercises:

SSH x15

Plank Stretch

Imperial Walker x15

LBCs x 15

Windmill x15

Next, we moseyed over to the church for the arcade beatdown.  We performed the following exercises based on the video games below.  After the exercise, we ran around the parking lot and back to the front of the church.

Exercises:

 

  1. Pong, released in 1972, first commercialized video game.  Exercise:  28 Moroccan Night Club
  2. Space Invaders, released in 1978, first game to save high scores and rumor (untrue) was the game was so popular that it caused a yen shortage in Japan.  Exercise:  25 Squat SSH
  3. Pacman, released in 1980, 240 dots on each screen.  Exercise:  27 Hello Dolly
  4. Donkey Kong, released in 1981, Nintendo trademarked the phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong!”  Exercise:  29 Hammer Leg Lunges
  5. QBert, released in 1982, world record for the high score was 33 million.  Game was played for 84 hours and 48 minutes.  Exercise:  20 Sidewalk Hops
  6. Tetris, released in 1984, first game played in space.  Exercise:  20 Box Cutters
  7. Super Mario Brothers, released in 1985, The clouds and bushes are the same shape just different colors.  Exercise:  23 Squat Jumps
  8. Tyson’s Knockout, released in 1987, Mike Tyson was paid $50,000 to endorse the game.  Exercise:  25 Plank Punches
  9. Angry Bird, released in 2009, Over 200 Million hours are spent a year playing this game.  Exercise:  29 Carolina Dry Docks
  10. Minecraft, released in 2011, Initial game was created in six days and the game grossed over $100 Million in 2012.  Exercise:  21 Diamond Merkins

Returned to COT.

 

Prayers:

Job challenges and stress

Holiday season stresses

 

 

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300 and more at Alcatraz

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Two of the Fort Mill famous Run and Gun Musketeers led Saturday’s Alcatraz workout.  One, Mainframe, has been a solid, regular poster and another, Bolt, has been fartsacking too much and turning into a Kotter Q (only posting when Q’ing). Bolt arrived early to lay out his goodies.

Solid plan in hand from both. Mainframe led out testing everyone’s stamina.

Started with a lap around park then back to parking lot for normal starters – Windmills, Hillbilly Walkers, SSHs, Merkins, Mountain Climbers, and MNCs.

Warm-ups done, onto the “300”. Pretty simple concept, 10 exercises, 30 reps each. The focus was on legs and abs. The plan was to run suicides after every 2 exercises. 3 line suicide with 10 seal jacks at each line.

Exercises for the 300 were: Smurf Jacks, Flutters, Bomb Jacks, Tiny Os (15 each way), Plank Jacks, Big Boy Sit-ups, Jump Squats, Box Cutters, Monkey Humpers, & Hello Dollies. We had to skip the suicides between the last set in order to stay in the :30 time window. (It’s amazing how we get used to 20 reps on most exercises… so pushing past for another 10 can really bring about the mumble-chatter).

Bolt took over with sandbag mania , duct tape wonders at 4 of 6 stations. Pairs went to each station and did work during a time frame of about 2 minutes. The actual time was determined by the pair of PAX either carrying sandbags down the parking lot with burpee stops and/or the pair of PAX working and dragging the 140# Worm sandbag across the field and back. (trust me, that sucked). After each performance, met in the middle for some ab work, then broke out back to the stations.

The 6 stations were: sandbag carry with at least 3 burpee stops, sandbag American hammers, playground hang (as long as you can), 10# sandbag each hand or cinderblock burpees, Worm drag, Balls to the Wall.

Implementing individual stations, it should be noted, has it’s positives and negatives. It can offer some creativity. It allows for PAX to workout at their own pace. If paired, builds comraderie. But the Q has to be aware that he is no longer “directly leading”.  PAX may not push at the stations as much as if the Q was leading. Q’s should make sure they are mixing up their Q’s over time.

As a write this BB, I can tell you I am really sore in the thighs and lower back. Pushing up the rep count will do that and should be done periodically. Mixing in something unusual like a 140# Worm pull will definitely work new muscles.

Thanks to PAX for their effort. Had some good mumblechatter. It was highly unusual, but this Alcatraz stayed in the parking lot for the full hour. I’m pretty sure that won’t happen again. It was great meeting again some new PAX. Keep posting and Q!!! Thanks to PAX for helping Bolt cleanup.

COT –

Decibel requesting support with the breakdown of Badger’s business. This is what F3 is all about. Support your brothers, do what you can.

Cornerstone still collecting bandaids for the Children’s Home. Xmas party was same today, now happened, and looked like a very good time. Join Bolt in Paradise every Saturday 3:00 pm to workout and interact with the kids of the community. Volunteer at the afterschool tutoring and homework at Bethlehem Baptist every Monday and Wednesday 3:00 pm.

Bolt spoke of his fartsacking  and thanks Jekyl for the kind words about his involvement in the Paradise community. PAX, always speak up about your brothers and the good things they do.

Mainframe took us out. PAX met at DD for some F2.

 

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Dura-freakin-bility

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Great morning in TC- 12 men farted outside of the sack.- wait.  Unsacked the fart…wait.  Got out of bed in 26 degrees to take the DRP and get better.  It was old school good old times.

Had the stairs in mind today but not enough light- another time Pantheonians.

After a couple of PLLs(parking lot laps), we headed to field.

COP:

  • SSH, IW, Squat, Moroccan night club, with 2 burpees in between.
  • Kareoke, Toy soldiers,  70%, 80%, 90% runs across field

The Thang: Dora 123

  • 100 Mac Tar N Jai
  • 200 Sumo Squat
  • 300 Freddy mercury

Merkin Clock: # of merkins = position on the clock.  total 78.

Close with some MAry: Box cutters and Dying Cockroaches

Naked Man Moleskin

Everybody rocked the #king today as we did all cadence and partner PT today.  Great work by Pax in picking up the #6 during Dora.  that’s what its all about men.  Leave no man behind.  Good grass work today- no one complained.  Funhouse spouted some nuggets on durability.  More accurately- dura-freakin-bility.  Posting in adverse conditions better prepare you to succeed especially when handling hardships or challenges.  Do the hard thing men.  take the DRP.  A few words on changing your mindset by swapping the words “have to” for “get to”.  This simple little trick will help you really appreciate all your have and move towards gratitude.

Announcements:

  • Bear Grylls taking over as Pantheon site Q- AYE!  Great work Fishsticks and looking forward to Bear Grylls leadership.
  • Bear Grylls Rucking again in honor of cousin who committed suicide from PTSD serving to tours overseas.  He will cover 125 miles and has a goal of raising $2200.  He will tweet out details so you can read more and donate/support.  #WYH
  • Christmas party Saturday
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Always a burpee mile at Pantheon

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Not too much creativity was brought to Pantheon on this comfortable, non-raining day. Arrived and set out 4 marker softballs around the larger running loop. YHC started with a message about serving and talked about the Thanksgiving drive in the Paradise neighborhood.

No FNGs, gave disclaimer. Started with a jog around the loop to note location of softballs for future use. Butt kickers, side shuffles, and a run backward high knees with no injuries reported. Followed with a circle of a few warmup exercises which included the always popular scissor one-leg flutters.

Workout consisted of running the large loop, stopping at 4 softballs along the way to do burpees. First loop 5 at each softball, then 4 and we eventually finished the 3rd lap. PAX took turns leading during the laps at the pace they desired. After each lap, we performed a series of exercises focusing on arms or legs. Exercises included, but may not be limited to:

Legs: squats, sumo squats, mountain climbers, people’s chair ( a few times with PAX counting down) , ski jump squats (very difficult to count as Q).

Arms: Balls to the wall 3x?, merkins, 6″ merkins, etc.

Calves: Rocky Balboa toe taps, calf raises, squat jumps focusing on getting off toes.

Finished with 3+ minutes of Mary feet never touching ground.

Gave more info about the food drive for our Thanksgiving efforts in Paradise. Thank you to Pantheon PAX for their pledges and donations which have already started come in just a few hours later!

Sign up for Christmas party.  Cornerstone is accepting character bandaids for the children’s hospital until somewhere around Dec. 20.  Come out to G-fit, our weekly workout in Paradise on Saturdays at 3:00 pm at Steele Street Park with the kids. Volunteer at the Reading Center on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:00 pm at the Bethlehem Baptist Church, 601 Joe Louis St.

Prayers for Triple Lindy’s son. Prayers for our kids in school and sports. Support each other outside of our workouts. Triple Lindy is seeking employment if any PAX can help. While overlooked in COT, prayers to Lutefisk and family in their time of loss of his mother.

Thank you to Olaf for taking us out.

YHC had a good talk after with Fishsticks and Triple Lindy (first time meeting).

Here is the link to support our Thanksgiving efforts in Paradise. We must move quickly, within the next couple days.  https://f3thefort.com/2018/11/13/support-thanksgiving-food-efforts-in-paradise/

Aye Bolt.

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Support Thanksgiving Food Efforts in Paradise

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***** Update Thursday 9:00 pm *****
Great thanks to the PAX who have donated, and in just one day 1/2, we reached our goal!  Please, no more donations, but, if you were considering, let Bolt know in case we want to add additional families to receive food.
If you would like to volunteer to help deliver (no 2.0’s on delivery, please) to the families, please let Bolt know ASAP. Delivery is being planned for Saturday from 1-3:00 pm (before the G-Fit workout). If needed we will deliver later Saturday, or on Sunday.
For this saturday….1-3:00 pm – food delivery…followed by G-Fit with the kids at 3:00 pm  please join us and bring the 2.0’s to g-fit!!!!

I will be purchasing food tomorrow.  Today, I was able to get 10 large baskets with Thanksgiving themed ‘liners’ (for a nicer food presentation) at a near-donation price from the Humane Society thrift shop. They have supported us previously, and offered to continue to give us sports balls which we use and distribute to the kids in Paradise. We will also be getting a supply of corn, beans and yams which we will not have to purchase. This means we will be able to give the families a larger gift certificate to the grocery store to purchase any additional food items that may want outside of our basic food items (ie. dessert, etc).

Thank you! bolt *****

 

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us,  and Bolt and Deacon are seeking PAX support (quickly) in a small effort to provide full Thanksgiving meals to families in Paradise.

F3 has had a presence in Paradise for over a year and half now. In past years we have had a community turkey drive. We are changing it up this year to provide (at least) 10 full meals to specific high priority families in need. We are working with Kim at SON Ministries to identify these families. But we must move quickly in our efforts with a target delivery of this weekend 11/17-11/18 and an absolute deadline of Tuesday 11/20.

<See also below schedule of events in Paradise over the Thanksgiving holiday>

Each meal will consist of a turkey and all side dishes (list below) needed for a full meal. THANK YOU TO FIGARO (Montrio Belton) who will purchase all of our needed turkeys! This means we just need the side dish item package.

*** As of 11/14 8:15 am, WE ONLY NEED 5 MORE FULL SIDE ORDERS! Full orders are about $30 unless you want to add few items, ie. dessert) ***

HOW TO SUPPORT

  • Purchase the side items on your own. IF YOU PLAN ON PURCHASING THE FOOD ON YOUR OWN, PLEASE LET BOLT KNOW IMMEDIATELY FOR TRACKING PURPOSES!
  • Partner up with another PAX to purchase the items.
  • Donate any money amount to Bolt via Paypal. Send to: thenewpauko@hotmail.com
  • Pledge: If you want to commit but can’t do PayPal, just let Bolt know ASAP and he will cover your pledge until he sees you next.
  • From there, meet up or schedule pickup with Bolt or deliver to 3728 Leela Palace Way in Waterstone near Tega Cay.
  • Assist in delivery to families in Paradise.

Paradise Schedule of Thanksgiving events

  • Sunday, November 18. Volunteer at “Harvest of Thanks and Poor Man’s Meal”, a community meal held at Jerusalem Baptist Church in the Life Center. It would be great to have F3 support at this community event. More details to come via Twitter.
  • Weekend 11/17-11/18 through Tue 11/20. Help to deliver our holiday meals.
  • Saturday, 3:00 pm,  11/24. Post at G-Fit with a holiday pizza/food party following.

Thank you to everyone for your support on this endeavor and to all PAX that have joined us in Paradise!

Aye! Bolt …….. Always open for suggestions!!!

Food side list –  (You can shop anywhere and you can alter this list as you see fit. Pics below are from Harris Teeter. This link may take you to the shopping cart: https://shop.harristeeter.com/store/C39878905#/cart)

Required:  8-10 lbs potatoes, stuffing @ 12 oz, green beans @ 30 oz, corn @ 30 oz, collard greens @ 30 oz, cranberry sauce @ 14 oz, gravy @ 18 oz, mac and cheese @ 3 boxes 20 oz.  This list includes mostly canned foods because delivery will be days before Thanksgiving.

Possible additional:  celery, onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, rolls/biscuits, DESSERT.

( I don’t think these screenshots have turned out too well. Will try to improve.)

 

 

 

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VQ at the Hive

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It was a cold and rainy morning at the Hive. Not an ideal morning for swinging metal around, but that did not stop seven men from battling the elements to workout. After a quick disclaimer, we took a jog around the parking lot.  Next, we did some light stretching to reduce the risk of injury.

After the warm-up was complete, we formed a circle around a light pole.  The workout was called the Kettlebell Clock (not very original, but it works).  Like the face of a clock, there were twelve exercises.  At twelve o’clock, the person performing the exercise would act as the second or  “sweep” hand of the clock.  Once complete, we would rotate to the next exercise by lunge walking to the next interval of the clock.  Below are the exercises we performed for each interval:

  1.  American Hammer
  2. Curl
  3. KB Swing
  4. Flutter
  5. Upright Row
  6. Shoulder Press
  7. Tri-cep Press
  8. Figure Eight
  9. Lawnmower
  10. LBC
  11. Chest Press
  12. Rounds 1 and 2 – Squat Thrusters (20 reps), Rounds 3 and 4 –  Burpees (5 reps) with a light jog to the end of the parking lot and back.

Great job by all.  We had some fun discussion ranging from how much a musical instrument costs to the Hamm brothers.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead!

Prayers:

Families traveling for the holiday

 

 

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Smashing Taboo on this Election Tuesday

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Today 11 men  joined together in the unseasonably warm but wet aftermath of a heavy rain that preceded us.  Plenty of puddles to step in but lots of good fellowship to counteract the wet.  My apologies to Long Shanks for getting his shoes wet by moseying through the fields

Message:  The challenge during partner activities was to engage in the taboo… to engage in dialogue around politics and religion.  The great deceiver has created societal roles that it is taboo to talk about politics or religion because he knows when we talk about difference, when we talk about our own pain and suffering that what we usually find is commonality, hope and support that he doesn’t want you to find.  This month take a leap of faith and make yourself vulnerable by speaking about something on your heart that you wouldn’t normally speak about. Find healing, support and hope in the men around you.

The THANG:

Started with some stretching… because we are old (except Falcon Crest but he played along)

Moseyed past the smelly trash can to the back parking lot for some Rugby sprints that included SSH, CCDs, Merkins, Sumo Squats, Hill Billy Walkers and maybe a couple others.

Mosey to the side HT wall for some wall sits and bear crawls from one end to the other (that is one long wall……….)

Mosey to Grace parking lot for the Starfish which included 8 pain stations within 1 Min. on and 15 seconds of transition which we did two rounds of that included 50#, 30#, 25# weights and a 10# ball.

This morning was a good work out but great fellowship among the pax.  It was a lot of fun connecting but also sweating!  Special call out to my partner, Old Bay,  for the good conversation on politics and religion.  I’m better because of the conversation.  Aye!

 

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