Get Some at GC

Coming off the Bert on Monday at Honey Badger, I knew I didn’t want to give in and do what my body wanted me to do (ie. stay away from merkins and squats), so I did the opposite.  The results were pretty gnarly.

Did a quick mosey around the Teeter parking lot, but did the widest perimeter possible while staying within the shopping center.  I told the pax that this particular lap is what we’ll be doing in between exercises…about a 0.30 mile loop.

First stop –

15 merkins, 15 diamond merkins.  Do it 4 times.  This seemed more logical when I drew it up.  The moans coming out of Slow Jamz was epic / a little concerning.  120 merkins later, we all took that lap and ran without the use of our arms / chest..

15 squats, 15 lunges.  Do it 4 times over.  120 leg reps didn’t feel good on the next lap we did.

15 LBC’s / 15 freddies…x 4 times.  Woof, then lap.

15 bomb jacks, sprint the parking lot length.  Do it 4 times.

From there, we’re moseyed over to the apartments behind Teeter where we started at the first roundabout and I gave the pax the instructions for what i call 21’s.  Starting in that central location, we do 7 reps of an exercise, run up the hill back to the entrance of Teeter (by Red Bowl) and do 14 of the same exercise, then run back, pass the central point and run down to the water fountain, and do 21 reps of the same exercise.  Quick 42 reps of each, and about 0.5 miles of distance with plenty of uphill.

Seal jacks x 7, run, x 14, run, x 21, run.
High knees x 7, run, x 14, run, x 21, run
Squats x 7, run x 14, run, x 21, run
Burpees (I waited until the very end to throw some of these at the pax) x 7, run, x 14, running low on time so ran to COT and did burpees until 6am (most got in about 5-8 to finish).

I always say, keep it simple, and that’s what we did.  Covered 2.8 miles and about 600 reps – 120 merkins, 120 squats / lunges, 120 LBC / freddies, 60 bomb jacks, 42 seal jacks, 42 high knees, 42 more squats and about 30 burpees.  Not a bad day at the office right there.

Ruckers made their way back and we closed out in prayer – school (our kids, teachers, admin), marriages, sickness / recovery, loss of a home, and praise for our health.

Thanks Luda for the call to lead – always love coming to the Corral.  Don’t ever hesitate to schedule me now that I’m over the bridge – happy to lead these great Fort guys.

Cha Ching

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One time at Bandcamp….RPG Style

Band Camp came to RPG with one objective, prepare the Pax for the Sweati on Saturday morning.  Objective achieved!  

BROGA prepared the Pax for the SWEATI -CSAUP and offered a subtle reminder of the importance to add in some flexibility training during the week!

Bandcamp directed the Pax thru 30 mins of BROGA, then turned over the RUN/RUCK option to Bass-o-Matic (RUN Q) & CakeBoss (RUCK Q).

15 mins remained,  for a 1-mile tempo RUN with Bass-O-Matic or the all-important 3rd F Ruck with Cake Boss!

What are you doing to Get Right, Live Right, and Lead RIght?  POST somewhere to get better!

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F3 Dads 2020

Having no idea what to expect, but knowing that YHC was (IS) not comfortable seeing big groups together at WEP when I drive by on 160, we set up cones 6+ft apart making two lines about 50 yards from each other.

When PAX and 2.0s started showing up, YHC was really happy to see everyone and set some expectations to stay in family units and attempt to maintain some distance from others.

BIG circle up for some warmups. All in cadence, most to 10
– SHH
– Merkin
– Imperial Walker
– Hillbilly Walker
– Squat
– Played: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Burpee
– Just like Rock, Paper, Scissors
except the loser has to do a burpee for every person in their family group that beats them. i.e., if you’ve got 3 kids they all throw paper and you throw rock, then you do 3 burpees.

Line up behind one side of the cones
– Dad vs. Kids race: stipulation Dads have to bear crawl.
Loser did 10 burpees counted by the kids
Lots of form critiquing
– Dad vs. Kids race part 2: stipulation Dads have to run backwards (Nur)
Loser does 5 burpees
*Note: it is a lot hotter in the sun at 0900 than 0515

Dad/Kid DORA
50 Merkins
100 SSH
150 Squats
*kids get to count their reps together. E.g., you have 2 kids and each does 10 merkins while you’re running, then your count starts at 21 as they run.

Mosey over to the shade for some yoga and a message about why Dads are leaving the house at Zero-Dark-Thirty. TL/DR: it’s because we want to be better. Not for ourselves, but for our families and our community.

Mosey back to the cones for a session of Leap Frog. WOW, leap frog is quite challenging on the WEP grass with younger kiddos.

0930, it was hot and I knew we had quite a few 2.0s to name. I could also see the kiddos starting to fade (cause certainly no PAX were). So we called it and headed to COT. Brief message about how school is going to look a lot different. Today’s workout is a slight look at keeping a distance from each other, but still trying to enjoy what we can do together.

FNG Count – 10
Spirit Child
First Responder
Hamburglar
Popper
Pulp
PK
Swordy
Designer
Inch Worm
Rogue One

T-Claps all around

Prayers for wisdom to be a better father.


Band Camp dismissed

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7 of Diamonds

There were 3 runners and 9 PAX joined YHC for the boot camp portion.  Was thankful for the help as this was my VQ for a boot camp.  Wanted to make it memorable…

After a quick reminder, gave the disclaimer and we were off.


Warm Up

Moseyed toward the back of the school stopping at first parking lot for Moroccan night clubs (x15) and merkins (x10).  Then moseyed past the back of the school to the next lot where we did low slow squats (x15) and mountain climbers (x10).

The Thang

As we headed up toward the field the PAX saw the chalk on the ground with the 7 of diamonds exercises laid out…I explained each exercise is done at the four locations I pointed out around the loop that goes around the field – about 1/3 mile loop.  All exercises were oyo.  Then it was time to get to it.  Gears was out the gate first and the rest eventually joined in on the fun.  The exercises were:

Burpees (7, 28 total)

LBCs (14, 56 total)

Lunges (21, 82 total)

Flutters (28, 112 total)

Jump Squats (21, 82 total)

Diamond merkins (14, 56 total)

Burpees (7, 28 total)

 

Only a couple made it all the way through and after the six was in we had about 2 min left.  Found a curb and did 30 dips (IC) and 10ish LBCs with a very irregular counting cadence.
Headed back to the shovel flag for COT.
Thanks 38 Special for the opportunity to lead.

 

 

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Handing Off The Shovel Flag for The BALLROOM – Part Deux!

Wow -what a great, steamy morning to be alive. Thanked the Good Lord for the beautiful moon rise on my way to the AO. Overcome with a sense of Deja Vu after handing the Shovel Flag off to Manziel last September, YHC also thanked my lucky stars that Smithers agreed to take it from me.  It wasn’t that easy to find a new Site Q as quite a few Pax turned down the opportunity.

But it was a perfect gloom for a beatdown and to pass the reins to one of the BEST AOs in The Fort, bar none. This place has wide open spaces and limitless potential. Cars kept rolling in and we waited an extra 30 seconds when Polaroid came in HOT. Disclaimer (has anyone actually read it?) was described and detailed. So, our journey began.

THE THANG:

WARM-UP: Mosey to other side of the school

COP:

  • Seal Jacks * 12
  • 5 Burpees
  • Moroccan Night Clubs
  • Mountain Climbers* 12
  • 4 Burpees
  • Squats * 15
  • 3 Burpees
  • Peter Parkers * 12 (almost lost my wind)
  • 2 Burpees
  • Low Slow Squats*10
  • 1 Burpee

MOSEY to ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DROP OFF LANE OR BACK LOT for Dirty McDeuce. Partner up- 3 exercises at each end, 5 reps at each end, then 10, then 15. LBCs, Merkins & Bombjacks

Thoughts on Complacency – How comfortable are you? Are you challenging yourself in any way? Are you stagnant and complacent? Nothing wrong with being comfortable and being able to relax. But a man MUST do things that make him Uncomfortable in order to grow. Without challenges and stepping outside of our comfort zone, our minds and our bodies begin to get soft. To truly thrive, you need to push your boundaries and lean into some discomfort. We live in a world of convenience and comfort. But the more you are wiling to challenge yourself, the more that you will thrive. HARD WORK AND SWEAT IS GONNA PAY OFF.  SO THINK OF WAYS TO PUSH YOURSELF OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. AYE?   

Mosey to WALL – Peoples chair, PAX JUMP out and do 5 SQUAT JUMPS, Bearcrawl to curb. Mosey to lightpoles. 10 Weezy’s. run to next pole, 10 Squats, back to first pole. 10 LBCs at 4th Poles, 10 Merkins at 5th Pole. Return to 1st Pole after each circuit (also called suicides)  

MOSEY TO Front of school for– JACK WEBB (only made it to 6 rounds). Back to COT

Announcements, Prayers (Otis’ Dad, Cash, Our Community). Lean Into the Discomfort and there you will find growth Gentlemen. Great group and great effort out there. These men help to sharpen me every time out. Eternally Grateful & Honored To Lead.

Don’t cut yourself Short.

Shortest Of All Sales, Out.

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Death by Nur and a visit by Dora, Jack Webb & Dan Taylor

Thank you to the 16 other PAX who showed up to Alcatraz on this beautiful gloom to share in some great fellowship and a little fitness. It was an awesome time and if you miss it, well, you missed out. Thank you to Trucker for allowing Longshanks and YHC to lead this morning.

WARMUP

We began the morning led by Longshanks with the 10-Bombjacks because Dark Helmet said something that was on the verge of crossing the line, although it was before the workout. Then we took a short mosey down to Anchorage Lane.

THE THANG

Once we arrived at the bottom of the hill of Anchorage Lane Longshanks told us the plan. We were going to Partner up. Partner 1 was to Nur up the hill and run back down while Partner 2 performed exercises in a modified Dora. Then flapjack. The exercises at the bottom of the hill were: 100-Dbl. Count Lunges, 200-Squats, 250=-Calf Raises, 200-Monkey Humpers, and 100-Burpees.

This took us to a little after 0700 and Longshanks handed it off to YHC.

Since Longshanks had mentioned to YHC he was going heavy on legs and burpees, I figured I would add in a little upper body and . . . legs & Burpees. We took a short mosey to the baseball field. YHC asked the PAX to line up in 4 columns and we commenced to begin a combination of Jack Webbs and Dan Taylors (alternating between the two) from a ratio of 1:4 to 10:40.

Then we lined up at the edge of the field. We then did 7’s with Burpees and Bombjacks to finish off the 30 minutes.

Once we arrived at the COT Gears led in a quick session of Dying Cockroaches to complete the hour. This morning was full of mumblechatter and fun. What you want to have at any F3 Workout.

NMM

Our Nation and world have been rocked recently with multiple crises. Coronavirus took over in late March and we are still dealing with the effects. We have seen cities, towns and communities torn apart as racial tensions have risen. Our public figures are constantly attacking each other for their ‘inabilities’ just to either gain or keep power. It seems as if we are coming apart at the seams. All of these and many more can cause stress in everyone’s lives and we are all affected.

The question and challenge I have for you today is who or where do you turn to for peace. Not a peace like the end of war peace or happiness. This term is thrown around way too much to where people just don’t understand the true meaning of it. This peace can be easily lost.

I am talking about the inner belief that you are truly at peace with yourself, the world around you, and SkyQ. For me this is a peace that you can only achieve through the blood of Jesus Christ. With this peace you are able to face the world that seems to be crumbling around us and not be shaken. Because this peace is given to us by God through his son and strengthened each day through the Holy Spirit. Seek this peace and if you don’t have it, feel free to discuss it with YHC and I will share with you.

I challenge all PAX to seek that peace, whatever it may mean to you so when tribulation comes, as it has, you will not be shaken. Seek a peach that can overcome the evil of this world and keep your keel straight.

John 16:33 ‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’

Aye!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Reach out to a Site Q to Q a Workout.

Sign up to serve at Bethel Men’s Shelter. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0444adaa23a2fa7-bethel

The Sweati – Sat., Aug. 15 at 0600 – Start at Colosseum

Meals on Wheels – Contact Change Order

FM Care Center Lawn Care

Read your Newsletter.

PRAYERS/PRAISES

The PAX shared their prayers and praises and Longshanks lifted them up.

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RPG-Varsity July Combo

Twenty three PAX converged at NaFo for the RPG-Varsity Combo (July 2020 edition).  Meteorological note: there was actually an occasional breeze blowing!

Started promptly at 0515 with Sasquatch leading the Broga portion.

Sasquatch leading us in some Broga

The peaceful warrior  pose was shattered by the breaking of wind by some Pax.

Next, the pax had their choice of what to do from 0530 to COT/0600:

Boot camp: Kaiser on Q

Pax did:  Stage 1 = bench workouts including derkins, dips, incline merkins.
Stage 2 = bear crawl around circle.
Stage 3 = broad jumps across parking lot mixed in with burpees.
Stage 4 = cinderblock curls and step ups on bench
Stage 5 = flutters/ab workout to wait for the six
Stage 6 = 10 pull ups 10 chin ups 10 reverse grip pull ups 3 burpees pull ups with wall sit between intervals
Stage 7 = short Mary with Freddie mercuries and hello dolly.

Run: Harry Carry on Q
Four pax ran a 3 mile loop at about a 8:10 pace.

run route

Ruck: Cake Boss on Q
Seven pax for the ruck, covering about 1.5 miles.  Topic: Matthew chapter 24 “Be ready”.

Fini, COT

Kaiser noted James 1:19; “…be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”   It can be a struggle to those in the right order.

Prayers for Cash.

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Hills, Sprint zone, Steps, Sprinklers, and Fun

13 men showed up for loops of fun this morning.  We began with the Pledge of Allegiance at 05:14.  A quick disclaimer and description of the route thereafter.  The warm-up consisted of running to the top of the hill on Massey Street. We stopped there of a minute so I could explain the “Sprint Zone. ” Four sprints after completing pain station #2.  To keep it simple since I tend to forget the pain station exercises, each station had the same exercises:  10 bomb jacks, 10 hand release merkins, 10 squats.  Four stations:  Gas station on the corner of Massey and Spratt, parking lot on Massey, parking lot on Spratt, and steps on White.  Each loop was about a mile.  The “Sprint Zone” turned into a “Recovery Zone”   for most after the first lap.

Everyone did a great job.  I appreciate coming out each morning,  hearing the encouragement from others, and challenging myself to do better.

Life changing group.

 

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Hill Suicides at STL

Late night, 1-3 AM 2.0 cuddles. Lack of sleep. Sure to be a strong showing at STL. Roll up to find Gears with that smile he always has on when he knows he is about to put in work. Solid crew to start, into 0514 the cars keep appearing.

 

YHC tried to explain the warm up lap, but it just didn’t make sense verbally (see below). Only way to ensure we followed the right path was to lead the way.

Warm Up Lap – 1 Mile

Start in Parking Lot

End at bottom of Brayden Pkwy Hill

Arrived in the 6:45 pace range… plank it up for the six to explain the meat and potatoes. Right arm high, left arm high, six inches. And we’re ready.

Weinke – Hill Suicides – 1 Mile Each

From bottom of Brayden Hill there are three breaks in the median. First break, 10 reps, back down the hill. Second break, 20 reps, back down the hill. Third break (top of hill), 30 reps, back down the hill. One full suicide was 1.08 miles.

Round 1 – Merkins/LBC’s

Round 2 – Curb Dips/Flutters

Round 3 – CDD’s/Hello Dollies

Round 4 (few made it into this round) – Squats/Rosalitas

After Bones and Vuvuzela decided to kick this weinke in the teeth, we made a break for COT with 5 minutes left.

Get to COT with time for Mary. 15 Reps WWI sit ups, plus a few Fifer Scissors before the clock struck 0600. Elevation gain was 364 ft.

Bones, B.O.B, and Vuvuzela were top three.

 

COT

Announcements

Sweati 8/15

Blood Drive Tomorrow

Read your newsletter!

 

Prayers/Praises

MOAB’s father rung the bell for Chemo and is prepared to take the next step

Cake Boss’ 2.0 (Owen) had and MRI for his knee. Prayers for a good report and that his degenerative tissue be healed. 

Band Camp’s friends going through a divorce – prayers for their reconciliation. We are only a few poor decisions away from that same situation. Be vigilant.

Pray for families and the leadership of fathers – without strong leadership for our families, everybody is bound to fail.

 

Gears, that was fun. Please put YHC on the Q list again soon.

 

Punch List out. 

 

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Snowman suicide at Sweep The Leg

YHC was late to the party placing cones for the beatdown so my man Gears lead the charge from StartEx. YHC was rolling up as the PAX were rolling out so I quickly parked and jail broke it towards the elementary school parking lot untied shoes and all.

Disclaimer was quickly disclaimed, thank you Maximus for providing cues as YHC struggled to be able to talk and tie shoes at the same time.
The Snowman Suicide was on tap for the unsuspecting PAX and boy was it going to be a doozy.

During this trying time, everyone is dealing with something and I wanted to remind everyone that Life is a team sport. And developed a beatdown that allows every single guy an opportunity to jockey for the top spot. This allows for the man out front to be continually pushed so that no one gets to take a break, no matter their individual fitness level.

Just as with anything in life, we are going to have setbacks, and we must remember that during these setbacks we must focus on the path forward and learn from the experience. It is also during these times that we must share that experience with our fellow PAX and those close to us; To allow them to learn without having to make the same mistakes for themselves.
“CLEAR THE PATH”
“LIGHT THE WAY”
The details:
Ten cones are placed along the route from the Elementary school teacher parking lot through the carpool dropoff lane over to the bus lot all the way around to Dam road.
Each cone has an exercise written on it. Every exercise will be performed 10 times.
This is a suicide workout but not just any suicide. It’s a slinky suicide of life so you go up 3 cones then back 2. Meaning that everyone will start by performing the exercise listed at cone#1 then the PAX will sprint past three cones to cone#4 to perform the exercise before coming back two cones to cone#2 to complete the exercise.
Then run to cone#5 to do the exercise, then back to perform the exercise listed on cone#3 and so on and so forth all the way up to cone#10.
So each time the guy in the lead is making progress by one cone but it’s taking him a lot of effort and having to backtrack a ton.

Here comes the kicker:
The kicker is that when the man in first-place finishes the exercise after coming back to cone #2 he then yells “Charge or Onward” and starts to run towards cone#5. Every person that he passes that are still on their way back to cone#2 skips the exercise at cone#2 and joins the leaders heading to cone#5. The leader has already cleared the path and is now lighting the way towards the next cone/challenge of life. Everyone can learn from the leaders experience and head towards the next challenge together. COVID SIDE NOTE: When I say together let me clarify that the distance between cones was large enough that social distancing was easy to maintain along the route (a full-sized road with no traffic) and ample hills to naturally separate the PAX. It is an extremely difficult process that allows every PAX to pick each other up and challenge themself to get better.

Here is the list of exercises
#1: Mack Tar Jighs
#2: Suicide Squats
#3: SSH
#4: Bomb Jacks
#5: ChaCha Merkins
#6: Bobby Hurleys
#7: Hand Release Merkins
#8: Jump Squats
#9: CDD
#10: Burpees

I try to hit all of the 3S2T in all of my Q’s and I feel this one delivered. The speed, strength, and stamina were definitely worked on and the constant switchbacks and hills really focused on the mental and physical toughness aspects. The look on guy’s faces during the beatdown showed the struggle but the encouragement was strong.

I think we made it through the burpees then back down to the Cone # 4 before having to jail brake all the way back to COT.
Great work was put in by all and I think the leaders got in over 4.6 miles and who knows how many exercises.
Count-A-Rama, Name-A-Rama, Announcements and Prayers and Praises before a circle of man.

It was a pleasure to witness the longest shooting star I have ever seen with you gents.

Thank you to Gears for the opportunity to lead these great HIM.
Stay Frosty My Friends!
Olaf

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