Had a more than Moderate workout at Slow Burn on April 19th. All were pushed and got 1% better with Burpees.
WARMUP:
31 IC SSH
THE THANG:
Moseyed up the Massey St Hill to the parking lot.
Counted off into 3 groups to engage in a DORA style workout.
50 Merkins, 100 BBs, & 150 squats per pax in your team. As the group completes the exercise, a pax runs down the hill and back. Swap out till all reps are done.
Moseyed over to the parking lot behind Springs Global on McCammon St for another DORA style. Maintaining the same group,
25 half burpees (down to merkin and back up stopping at the squat position as 1 rep), 50 Mike Tyson’s, 100 LBCs. 1 pax from each group runs to the end of the parking lot and back. Swap out till reps are completed.
Headed over to the parking lot with the big wall by Pike for some wall sits and merkins. Lined up on the wall, and from the outside in, each pax would do 10 merkins then back on to the wall. Once we got to the center, repeat going back to the ends.
Headed over to COT to wrap up with 10 burpees OYO
MARY: had a little lamb?
ANNOUNCEMENTS: NEWSLETTER
Ten year celebration came to a close this morning with a convergence at WEP. 12 men came earlier for a run to support Operation Sweet Tooth. 84 men attended the main event with three great HIM leading the workout: CSPAN, Maximum, and WWL. No warm-ups this morning. CSPAN took his group around the block with various stops along the way. Seven reps of Flying Squirrels, Merkins, and Sit-ups. WWL had playtime at the playground. Burpees and Pull-ups along with running fast around the playground. Did I mention Power Skips? Maximum had a simple plan. Run backwards up the hill many times and destroy your abs with American Hammers.
We closed the chapter on the first 10 years.
Monday begin the next.
The future is bright.
How will you contribute to the next 10 years?
Make an impact.
16 PAX for The Fort and 6 PAX for Milllkshake on a lovely spring morning
Battlebot started off with disclaimer and straight into warmups in the amphitheater parking lot… first warmup exercise he called was Goofballs, and with that the milllkshake crowd had seen enough and split.
(IC) – Goofballs, Cherry Pickers, Overhead Claps, MNC, Merkins
We then began a mosey on trail towards Harris Street Park with a pain stations along the way
Station 1: 10 reps – Monkey Humpers, Imperial Walkers, American Hammers
Station 2: 10 reps – CDD, Peter Parkers, Lunges
At Harris Street Park:
use full length of basketball court – Bear crawl to one side, crab walk back
use full length of basketball court – high knees there, duck walk back
10 reps each exercise-
use benches – Bulgarian Split Squat, Incline Merkins, Step Ups, Derkins, Dips
use swingset – pullups
Burpees
Run halfway back up trail towards WEP until you get to the beer bottle, turn around and hit the full circuit again
BattleBot handed Q to YHC at about 0658 and we began our mosey back towards WEP – about 3/4 of the way back we stopped for 25 LBCs (IC)
Continued to WEP playground where we partnered up for a DORA – Partner 1 exercises while partner 2 runs from playground to the statue on the hill.
Exercises:
50 reverse pushups on swings (short on swings so a couple groups got to do 50 pullups)
100 hand release merkins
150 squats
We finished up the last 7-8 minutes with a HIIT 45Sec ON 15Sec OFF doing the following exercises:
Burpees, Freddy Mercuries, High Knee Taps, SSH, In&Outs, Side to Side Squats, Shoulder Taps
Congregated back at the parking lot with about 30 seconds to spare and Al Gored to finish at 0730.
Got through announcements and started Prayers/Praises before I realized I forgot Name-a-Rama. Another reminder that I am surely not a professional.
Thanks for the opportunity Grinder
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:
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.
YHC had the privilege to lead 24 other men through a stations workout with a discussion on the transformational relationship with our Ms. Conditions were perfect – 62 degrees and a slight breeze. The Disclaimer was disclaimed and we were off. Here’s what we did:
The Thang
Mosey to Top of Main
Mosey to First Baptist Parking Lot
Mosey to behind the Police Station
Mosey to Top of Main
Mosey to the corner of Tom Hall and Monroe White
Mosey to Academy and Monroe
Mosey to Mosey to behind the Police Station
Mosey back to COT
Total Mileage – 2.20
NMM
We call our wives “M” because she is the Most important relationship we have. That relationship is transformational. Before marriage it was “me” and “her.” Once married, “we” became an “us.” It is no longer solely about you. You are to serve your M. You are to pursue joy with her – even when things are tough. Its not a game. There is no scoreboard. There are no winners and losers and no one gets a participation trophy. We are to love her as Christ loves the Church.
Society tells us that marriage is 50/50. Let me assure you that is a farce. There are times it is 80/20. There are times it is 20/80. As John Michael Montgomery once said, “Life’s a dance you learn as you go. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow.” Marriage isn’t about keeping tally of who has done what. This isn’t Chuck E. Cheese – you can’t trade in your emptied dishwasher tickets for a guy’s weekend. That’s not how it works. You empty the dishwasher so she doesn’t have to. You set the example for your children so they know how to be a good husband one day or what to look for in a future husband. They are watching, so make your actions count.
It was my pleasure this morning to have the opportunity to lead today. I was encouraged by the push from the guys and the mumblechatter at the stops. Today personified why F3 matters so much to me. But remember, if your focus becomes more about the fitness and fellowship with your friends and less about loving your wife, your concentrica is out of alignment. Keep each other accountable and pursue your wife. Let her know she matters. Don’t seek relationship maintenance. Instead, keep accelerating. Don’t meet in the middle, go the distance and serve her.
Aye!
Italian Job
This is the first full week of 2021 and YHC was glad to step in when a Q was needed at the Ballroom. IIRC, the last time I Qed there was back during Short Sale’s tenure, when Google Maps had no aerial photos.
8 PAX appeared in the gloom on a cool Tuesday morning. The weather said that there was some light rain in the area, but it wasn’t at the Ballroom.
The disclaimer was a disclaimed in a new way today, because YHC would be describing some very odd, new exercises and prescribing modifications as we went along. It may have sounded a bit professional, but I assured the PAX that I was not getting paid.
A quick mosey around the parking lot followed by:
15x SSH
10x Low Slow Squat
10x Imperial Walker
10x Hillbilly Walker
Mosey around the back of the school for a stop by the bridge. Here we would do some stretching and exercises that were passed down from the Shaolin lineage, as well as from a cult known as Chung Moo Quan (more on that, later). This was part of the standard warmup from YHC’s studio in MN.
Legs about shoulder width for these, always both sides. Static stretches held 10s
1. Arms overhead, grab the R hand and stretch (pull) to the left without a twist. (lats)
2. Arms straight out, L hand toward L ankle, no twist (obliques and some lats)
3. L arm out, palm up. Grip L fingers with R hand using overhand grip (thumb to thumb) and pull down and back to armpit (inner forearms)
4. Elbows tucked into sides, L hand by chest, grab top of L palm with R overhand. Pull L arm up, push R hand down. Basically fold your hand back toward the elbow (wrist tendons)
5. Widen stance a bit. R in L hand fingertips up. From standing position, dip down to behind the ankles and come back up. (like cherry picker, but just once and up) 3 times. Then both hands on lower back, chest and stomach out for the “old man getting out of bed” stretch three times. 5 rounds
6. Both hands make a diamond near the ground, legs straight as possible. Slowly orbit from ground, to the right, behind, to the left and back to the ground. Reaching as far as possible for entire movement. 3 orbits each direction
7. Legs out as far as they go, heels down and toes up. Fingertips on the ground (was pretty easy for the PAX to get the fingertips down). Fingertip pushups. Rock back on the way down, over the hands on the way back up. 10x
Mosey up the hill to the back of the school. Everyone on their six. Both sides if only one is listed, static stretches for 10s if not listed
Mosey around to the front of the building again and instructed PAX to find a pillar for support. Each exercise is right and left leg
Now that the warmup is complete, walk over to the high side of the parking lot and line up for the Doji. This is a balance and strength exercise that can be done by anyone.
Start by standing straight up. Using your L hand reach behind the R shoulder and ‘scoop’ with your fingertips, as you come around the front of your body, step into a deep forward stance with your R knee at 90º, and your L leg straight out, both feet parallel and about 45º off the direction of travel. Shift your stance to L forward stance while scooping behind you with your R hand, when you come back around, step forward staying very low, into L forward stance and push ahead with your L hand open, fingertips just at the shoulder level. Scoop behind w/L going into R forward, then step forward with R and push with R.
It sounds like a complicated movement, but it wasn’t too difficult for the PAX. YHC called out each movement and we travelled about 15m with it (about 10 steps each foot), then turned around for another go.
After this movement we had about 12 minutes left. I had planned on getting more running into the workout, and skimmed over in my head the various workouts and exercises that would be good for a moderate workout without toasting the legs any more than I already had.
The best way to get some extra steps in? Dora
100 pushups, 200 squats, 300 LBCs!!!
We finished with about 90 seconds left, which was enough time for 20 flutters and a very quick saunter over to CoT
8 PAX counted off and name-o-ramad
Not a lot to announce right now, so Drop Thrill hyped the 2021 Christmas party.
Praises were voiced, prayers were requested.
Yeah, so the cult thing. My Shaolin teacher got caught up in a cult known as Chung Moo Quan in the early 90’s. I joked with the PAX about this commenting that they should hand over their wallets and sign some forms, to some good natured chuckling. Obviously none of us are involved in anything like that, so we can laugh about it.
But have you ever tried to point out someone’s poisonous indoctrination? It’s usually not pretty. The cult indoctrinated don’t usually even know it’s happened because of how “normal” it seemed on the way in. They’ve received a lot of training and are well equipped to remain indoctrinated. Pride, ignorance, shame… all of these methods are veiled as normal and create an indoctrinated member.
I realize it’s super weird to expound on cult membership at a workout or in a backblast, but I assure you, dear reader, that it is relevant to every day lives.
Because while we may not be members of Chung Moo Quan, vandalize a building in the name of Tyler Durden, chant “the greater good” in a hooded robe, or follow Jim Jones into death, we’re all subject to attempted indoctrination during almost all of our waking hours.
TV advertisements try to indoctrinate you into the cult of yourself. Talk shows and news commentary try to indoctrinate you into the cult of bitterness, greed, or supremacy. Our free country is, for the most part, monetizing our minds through indoctrination. It’s incredibly difficult to tune it out.
This is why my word this year is “Discipline”. I’m using two definitions. The first is the study of a subject, the second is to train.
Discipline as a study helps me to understand my beliefs and how they work in a world that wants me to change them all the time. It applies to all 3 Fs as I intend to refocus on nearly 20 years of Shaolin training, be more intentional about being social (the pandemic has made life very cozy for a hardcore introvert like YHC), and actually focus on spiritual beliefs.
Discipline as a training regiment helps me to be strong enough to understand whether indoctrination is attempting to change my beliefs, or I’m just wrong. As a physical training regiment, discipline can help me get the sleep I need and eat correctly. And as social training, I can tune out awful social static.
On a crisp 48 degree morning, a similar # of pax posted for a convergence at The Fort/Milkshake to commemorate 8 yrs of pain and impact in the Gloom of Fort Mill, SC and elsewhere in York County. The occasion drew pax from Rock Hill, Metro and Raleigh.
The Thang
Double D led a warm up with yog to the Church of God parking lot plus some Carioca
COP — Mtn Climbers, Peter Parker, Parker Peter, Monkey Humpers, SSH, Seal Jacks, Merkins
Hand off to Jekyll
Yog up the hill to the rug factory lot and a re-introduction to, yes, you guessed it — The Board Pain!!!
See photo for the Weinke from here….or check your soreness today (Sunday) for those who were present. A Jekyll Classic! Heard at F3 from Redwood @Santini “I’ve been avoiding this Board for years…100 Burpees!!”
Yog back home
COT
Naked Man Moleskin
8 years…Is that a long time? Well, the average time of degree completion for US college students is 6 years. Only 50% of startups make it to the 5th year mark. So, I suppose 8 years qualifies as something of a landmark. At the same time, I don’t personally remember much about being 8 years old. What about the 8 years from 2-10 years old? Or maybe 10-18 years old? Yes, I remember more…and if I had my way I’d like to forget some of those moments!
Well, I can remember quite a bit of the past 8 years. I quite clearly remember 9.29.12…a date etched in my memory like my wedding day, my daughters’ birth dates and my birthday.
As I reflect back on 8 years of #Impact delivered by the men of F3TheFort, what really matters is 10.06.12 and 10.13.12. You see, those were the Saturdays when pax returned to WEP for week 2 and week 3. And FNGs posted for their own personal version of #TheLaunch. And then Saturdays became Tuesdays, too. And then a short time later they also became Thursdays. In the end, what matters the most is not what happened in the past, but what happens today. Or what will happen tomorrow when pax post to one of 30+ workouts across Fort Mill/Tega Cay or 70+ workouts across York County.
Just. Keep. Posting. The one true constant across life is #Change. Since 2012, I’ve moved to a different house, nurtured two chicks out of the nest, collected a paycheck from two additional employers and traversed through a lot of ups and downs. One of my rocks during this period has been the community of #HIMs known as F3TheFort. You’ve been steady in your acceptance of me each time I post. And along the way, you’ve revealed to me more and more parts of myself as you’ve revealed parts of yourself. I know I’m all the better for it, and so is my family. I’m pretty certain you’re better too. And in the process our town, county and country are also better.
So, yes, we should take heart in what’s transpired over the past 8 years. It is remarkable. It is a blessing. Some might call it a miracle….or miracles. And the only way to honor this fruit and express our gratitude to God and the men who’ve contributed (past and present) is to Just. Keep. Posting. Because if a day ever comes when no one posts…well…let’s Just. Keep. Posting.
18 PAX gathered in for The Bubble amidst humid conditions outside a mushroom pool.
Warm-up:
SSH x51
1 Burpee
Windmill x10
2 Burpees
Merkin x10
3 Burpees
Lap
Karaoke
Some yoga
4 Burpees
The Thang:
Run 1 mile to Alison Park
Al Gore to Monkey Humpers facing Sutton Rd multiple times to keep together-ish
6 Exercises for 12-reps (all in cadence):
Merkin
Low Slow Squat
Alternating Lunge
Mountain Climber
Peter Parker
Burpee
Rinse and repeat total of 144 (a gross) of reps
Run 1 mile back.
Stopping for some monkey humpers along the way to keep the group together-ish.
NMM:
There’s a lot of turmoil going on in the world. Americans (in general) have largely been spared inconveniences since WWII (maybe gas shortages in the 1970s?). In many cities, we’re being asked or required to wear masks to quell the rampant spread of COVID-19. For almost all of us, this is an inconvenience. But luckily it is only an inconvenience.
Today’s workout was certainly not convenient, with the exception of the location for some PAX. We recognize how simple workouts in the humidity makes us better. YHC is officially exhorting us to be leaders and do the inconvenient things like wearing a mask for our community’s health.
Side note:
As an FM local, I remember when Baxter was a cow pasture. Traffic is worse in town, but so much about Fort Mill is better because of the folks who moved here. I appreciate what y’all bring to our town. It is great to post with PAX from all over who are working to make themselves and our shared community better. T-Claps to y’all.
What I learned:
At The Bubble, 10 PAX doubled down posting twice today. YHC tried to keep the warm-up close for those PAX arriving late. My advice to future Qs is: DO NOT plank up in the parking lot until 6:20 or so. Unless you want to raise your heart rate from fear rather than mountain climbers as a vehicle whips into the parking lot you’re lying down in…. My mistake. Won’t happen again.
COT
Prayers:
Bonsai
Cash
—
Band Camp dismissed
Thanks for the Q spot Drop Thrill, sorry for the delay in posting. This was a fun workout and I enjoyed getting to know Uhaul and his 2.0 Bowser better. Grade dad and cool kid! Bowser will get a chance to lead on 5/30 and I know he will do awesome. Boogie Down was there to – great to see you man and I hope that knee keeps feeling better.
For this workout we basically walked around the pond behind the Domtar buildings, walked all around the Fort Mill High School campus, and stopped many places along the way to gather together and do some stretches and exercises.
I missed the landing by 5 minutes, sorry for being late! Hope to see everyone again soon.
Flat Tire