Swings at Block Party

YHC had two plans in case the setup for the Strawberry Festival hindered the better workout, but a quick walkthrough of WEP revealed that everything was normal and the fun could begin as hoped.

12 PAX appeared in the gloom, 4 runners ran, 8 campers booted. No FNGs, issued the disclaimer anyways.

Starting with a mosey half way around WEP and stoping to warm up the no leg parts in the field the PAX enjoyed the following:
20x SSH
10x Low Slow Squat
10x Werewolf
10x Tea stance dips, each leg – Standing normal, step the right leg over the left and space about shoulder width.  It’s awkward. Now sink until the left foot comes up and the left knee hovers over the ground.  Now hold both arms out with palms out, dip down until the knee brushes the dirt.  Do this ten times and reverse.

Now mosey back to the trail and over to the playground.

PAX paired up (8 was the magic number, worked perfectly!). One partner has his legs hanging on a swing, hands in the wood chips, doing one of three painful exercises until their partner comes back. The other runs about 50m away to perform a set number of exercises. The groups worked together. No man was left behind.

YHC demonstrated palm to back of hand pushups for advanced mode. After a few on the swing, knuckles were preferred.  The flips caused a lot of wood chips in the face.

Swing exercise | Partner exercise 
Pushups | Squat Jumps x10
Knees to chest | Calf Raises x20
Pike (plank to down dog) | Squat Jumps x10

Pushups | Squat Jumps x10
Knees to chest | Calf Raises x20
Pike | Squat Jumps x10

Broga break
10x windmill
Down dog
Honeymooner
Justifier on the ground, pressing up with arms to stretch abs. Isolating left by looking over right shoulder and a slight right twist, reverse, then center. Good stretching all around

Back to the swings for another set

Pushups | Flutter x20
Knees to chest | Box Cutter x10
Pike | Bomb Jacks x10

With only six minutes left we moseyed the remaining trail back to COT with enough time for:
Squat Calf raises x 20
Bomb Jack’s x 3 (with a four count)

The runners rolled in and someone may have referred to Polaroid as “A shining unicorn in the gloom” as he ran through the fog.

Circle up for announcements and a prayer.

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3

Birthday Build A Burpee

At 1910 (7:10pm) on 26 April 1982 YHC entered the world.  Its been 37 years since then, I’ve learned a lot, most of it the hard way. I hoped to share a little of the knowledge I’ve accumulated from my short time here on earth. Punch List arrived and sang me the most beautiful version of Happy Birthday I’ve heard in a while. Dude can sing.

The clock struck 0515 and off we went for a quick(ish) mosey through the gates and onto the field. The Q-drenalin was flowing and there was talk of the abnormally quick pace I was setting.  We circled up near the far endzone for our warm-up.  10 slow windmills and 10 Ranger merkins (thumbs on nipples) that was it, warm-up complete. Things were about to get crazy and everyone would be plenty warm soon enough. I told the PAX to line up on the Goal line for the Birthday beat down I had planned.  I like to make things hard whenever I am given the opportunity to lead. To be honest, my goal each time is to make myself throw up. I’ve yet to do it, but, we all have dreams.

MEAT AND ‘TADERS

Starting at the Goal line, perform 1 Burpee, Bear Crawl 10yrd, 2 Squats, B.C. 10yrd, 3 Burps (from the front leaning rest, bring feet in towards hands then shoot them back out), B.C. 10yrd, 4 Merkins, B.C. 10yrd, 5 Star Jumps, B.C. 10yrd, 6 Burpees, B.C. 10yrd, 7 squats, bc 10yrd, 8 Burps, bc 10yrd, 9 Merkins, bc 10yrd, 10 Star Jumps, bc 10yrd to goal line.

I quickly realised this workout might be the one that makes me get sick, Excellent.  While the PAX caught their breath in the end zone, I shared a little bit about where I was 10yrs ago.  I had just gotten out of the Army. Fresh off of my second deployment, 15 months. My first deployment was 12 months. 27 months of my life spent in a country where 1/2 the people wanted to murder me and it felt like a 1/4 of them tried.  There were many days in Iraq that I felt like i wouldn’t make it through the day. There were 100’s of times where i was convinced “this is it, this is where we die, on a roof, in Iraq, surrounded by terrorists.” When I left the Army, my thoughts went from, “I might not make it through today,” to “I dont want to make it through today.” I spent way too much time drinking and trying to forget. I was lost and wasnt sure i would make it back.

At the goal line, 11 Burpees, Lunge Walk 10yrd b/c that was what Strait Up was doing. We lunged in between each exercise, 12 Squats, 13 Burps, 14 Merkins, 15 Star Jumps, 16 Burpees, 17 Squats, 18 Burps, 19 Merkins, 20 Star Jumps, End Zone.

This second round woke the PAX up, the complaining finally got started. I told Shield a few weeks ago, before his VQ, that the sooner the PAX start complaining, the better he is doing. I checked my clock, we were a little ahead of schedule.  Time to share a little bit more about my journey. When you first enter Basic Training, you are introduced to the concept of a Battle Buddy. A soldier and his battle buddy go everyehwere together. You are not allowed to do anything without your battle buddy in Basic. Need to ask the Drill Seargent a question, you had better grab your battle buddy to do so. They wont talk to you alone. My guess is bc of abuse allegations. After Basic Training, the battle buddy concept continues on. When you deploy to a war zone, your battle buddy is even more important.  I was an infantry line medic, I really enjoyed my job.  I got to fly in helicopters, shoot guns at people, kick in doors, arrest terrorists, and so much more. Part of being a line medic is earning the trust of your infantry guys. Sometimes the 30 of us might be miles away from any kind of ground support. If something happened and someone was to get hurt, I was the only person there with any chance of keeping them alive until a medivac helicopter could come get them. They trusted me with thier lives, and I trusted them to keep me safe when I turned my back, put my gun down, and started working on our friends.  I told the PAX that I had battle buddies that if I called them and said, hey I’m bringing a body to you, they wouldn’t ask questions, they would just start digging a hole. I clarified, that I WAS NOT asking any of the PAX to dig me a body hole.

21 Burpees on the goal line, Power Skip between exercises, 22 Squats, 23 Burps, 24 Merkins, 25 Star Jumps, 26 Burpees, 27 Squats, 28 Burps, 29 Merkins, 30 Star Jumps, power skip into the endzone for a little break and more sharing.

This round of exercises really got them complaining, I was told that I would probably spend my next birthday alone if this was my idea of a good party. I didn’t know I didn’t have friends until I found F3. I had my wife and kids, but no guy friends. Being friendless become my normal. I did everything with my family or alone. I was a sad clown. After I started doing F3, I found my people, again. I had a group of guys who trusted me and cared about me. I found 2 guys who love and care for me in Wegmans and Punch List, my shield locks.  I’m no loger alone, I have a platoon again.

We were still ahead of schedule, time for the final round. I added the Bear Crawls back in to slow us down a bit. 31 Burpees, 32 Squats, 33 Burps, 34 Merkins, 35 Star Jumps, 36 Burpees, 37 Squats. That was it, that was my Birthday beat down, My Birthday Build a Burpee.

I shared a little more, about how I’ve been trying to live me life. I mentioned earlier that there were days in Iraq that I felt, for sure, were gonna be my last days on earth. I’ve started to try and live each day like it was my last. Love your wife like its the last day you get to do so.  Kiss her each day like its your last time getting to kiss her.  Love your kids, hold them, make sure they know you love everthing about them. Tell them how awesome you know they are.  Today could be your last. Dont let the last memory your family has of you, is you being a butthole.  I didnt think anyone would make it to 37. Straight Up and Punch List (who is using vegan cocain) made it to the end. Most of us came up short.  That was the idea, I didnt want anyone to finish, bc no matter how hard we try, we will never defeat time.

 

Thank You Harry Carry for this opportunity to lead. Thanks Birdcage for letting me take your Q. And thank you to everyone who showed up, knowind YHC was on Q and I was gonna try and kill us.

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5

Friend or Faux – April BEYOND

For those newer PAX who aren’t familiar with it, BEYOND is a roving AO started by Maximus last year that is designed to push us beyond, both physically and personally. The workouts are supposed to be tough, and the message is supposed to be challenging. Combining the two is what makes this workout unlike the others.

After a brief hiatus to restructure it a bit, BEYOND made its return this morning with YHC on Q. It was humbling to be asked to kick it off, and definitely challenging to prepare. I tend to be good at putting together difficult workouts, but I usually don’t attach a message, as I do so much “messaging” for my job. But I accepted the challenge, struggled through preparing, and hoped that maybe a few PAX would make the effort to post.

To my surprise, 13 PAX joined YHC at Rivergate on a Thursday at 0500 (yep, not a normal day to be at Rivergate or a normal time to start). These men came ready to push it, so a disclaimer was given with a reminder that this is going to be harder than normal, so try not to modify. Dig deep and get it done; you didn’t come for it to be easy.

Following the disclaimer we took off on a fast mosey (avoiding a cement truck!) around Home Depot to Target for the warmup and message intro (content of message will be below).

Warm Up (such as it is)

  • 50 (NOT low-slow) squats in cadence (don’t know the best way to actually list the numbers here, so I’m doing total count, not cadence count, which would have been 25, if that makes sense…)
  • 50 merkins in cadence
  • 100 SSH in cadence

RUN to parking lot in front of Pier 1. Time Hack: 4 minutes.

All PAX arrived with about 30 seconds to spare. Circle up in plank – aka, forward listening position – for next part of message (see below). Next round of workout:

  • 50 jumping lunges in cadence (25/leg)
  • 50 diamond merkins in cadence
  • 100 high knees, single count

RUN to Just Fresh parking lot. Time Hack: 4 minutes.

All PAX arrived with about 30 seconds to spare. Circle up in plank for next part of message (see below). Next round of workout:

  • 25 triple-pulsing sumo squat jumps in cadence (“20 would have been fine”)
  • 50 pseudo planche merkins (request for exicon name change to “flippin’ merkins”)
  • 50 bomb jacks

RUN out to 49, down to 160, and around CVS to parking lot by Friday’s. Time Hack: 5 minutes.

All PAX arrived with no time to spare. Close to the burpee penalty. But alas… Message given in plank then next part of workout:

  • 30 triple-pulsing lunge jumps in cadence (“that’s more than 25”; “do you want to walk in circles forever?”)
  • 50 breakdancer merkins in cadence
  • 50 tuck jumps

RUN to the (no longer) dead end road in front of Home Depot. Time Hack: 5 minutes.

Bones led the PAX on a creative route that cut out roughly .2 miles, so all PAX arrived with a minute to spare. Message given then last round of exercises:

  • 50 squat jumps in cadence
  • 5 slo-mo merkins (request to call them “ferkins” for “f@$%(* merkins”)
  • 20 run lunge high knee skips

RUN to COT. Time Hack: (a very generous) 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

All PAX arrived with time to spare. End in plank for the final thoughts before recovering at 0600 on the dot.

Standard COT with all the bells and whistles.

Message content:

We have been talking a lot lately about being vulnerable and open about our lives and the struggles we face. There was a big push in March when we discussed Mental Health Awareness, and we’ve continued to encourage this among the PAX. And that’s great, and it should continue to be encouraged. But, as we pursue this, we need to be aware of what we are actually asking of people and consider if we – as individuals and as a group – are ready to actually take on what we are asking.

In our culture today – American culture, US Christian culture (for many of us), and F3 culture as well – we have placed a high value on being authentic, which is really what we are wanting when we want people to be vulnerable. We want them to be authentic. To be “real.” A lot of this comes from seeing so many prominent leaders crash and burn after some secret part of their life comes to light, usually in very embarrassing ways. We don’t want to be taken in or lied to, so we promote authenticity. But this heavy emphasis has led to a sort of initiation rite within our various groups. “I want to trust you, but only if you’re willing to be open and honest with me.”

So we try it. And somebody shares something like, “I really struggle with playing too many video games” (totally a made up example, so I’m not calling people out). I for one would not be able to relate with that person very well; if I’m honest with myself, I don’t see that as a big issue (though it definitely can be for the person dealing with it). Or it goes the other way, and in a spirit of authenticity, somebody shares something “big,” like an ongoing struggle with same-sex attraction. How would that be received in an all-male group such as F3? Now we are all uncomfortable. That’s too big or too weird of a struggle for us to relate with. It’s easy for us to relate with each other on marital struggles, or alcohol, or gambling. Or a big one in men’s groups would be porn. We can relate on these issues. But something big? Nope.

So, now we have limits. We have a scope of “acceptable” struggles. It has to be big enough that it doesn’t look like we are hiding something, but it can’t be so big that it’s intimidating or awkward to those in the group. And this inevitably leads to a couple big issues.

First, we have made certain struggles acceptable. We EXPECT you to struggle with something like porn, and if you don’t, you’re lying. You’re not being honest with yourself or others. So now we are essentially requiring this struggle as a rite of passage, but it also holds us back, because now you aren’t allowed to actually get past this struggle. You may improve a bit, but in order to be “real,” you need to continue to struggle with it, because if you somehow manage to get past it, then you’re untouchable or unrealistic. How can I relate with you now that you’re not struggling with what I’m struggling with? I need you to struggle so that I can feel better. So we hold each other back.

But, this scope of “acceptable struggles” also encourages a “faux authenticity,” a fake honesty where somebody either says they struggle with something they don’t struggle with in order to fit in, or they under-share, holding back the big struggles so they don’t overwhelm the group or get shunned. You come across as being authentic, because you shared a real (or, realistic) struggle that we can relate with, but in reality your struggles are completely different and you’re just struggling silently in a crowd. And we don’t take the initiative to ask questions or press deeper, because your struggle fits our expected framework. So we build this community essentially based entirely at the surface level, where we think we know each other, but we’re all withholding something, all the while seeming authentic and vulnerable.

So what do we do with this? Because I don’t think I’m alone in seeing this and living this out.

Are we actually ready to embrace real authenticity? Are we ready to meet people where they are – where they REALLY are – whether the struggles seem small or huge? And then, are we ready to walk with them out of these struggles and into victory, rather than holding them back so we can feel better about our own struggles? Are we ready to ask the hard questions, and have those questions asked of us?

Because I know that there are men in our group who are dealing with some awful stuff. And we say we want them to be vulnerable and share. But do we really want that? And are we ready to love them and embrace them and carry them when they do?

For those struggling right now, this is not a call for you to start having verbal diarrhea all over COT. That might be your thing, and I guess that’s fine if it is. But for most of you – most of us – it’s a call to start small. Find a guy or a group of guys – a shield lock – with whom you build mutual trust and can share openly and love freely. This is admittedly hard, especially if you’ve been burned in the past. But it is also freeing, especially when you realize that your struggle – that struggle you’ve carried with you for years and years – is not who you are. And there are people around you who will love you even if they know your junk, because your junk is not YOU.

We talk about leaving no man where we find him, but are we ready to really embrace this and walk with each other through the junk? Are we ready to BE authentic and also allow others to be as well? To foster true authenticity rather than force faux authenticity?

Imagine the impact this can have on our group – on our community as a whole – if we have small groups of men how are truly open with each other and walking with each other out of our struggles. It’s a big task, but it’s worth pursuing.

Are you ready?

Thanks to WitchHunt for the opportunity to lead and the encouragement to push the PAX physically and personally. This was a huge growing opportunity for me as I prepared, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to think through all of this. I hope some of you out there can get something out of this as well.

Jedi

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14

Q2 2019 PFT @ The Coop!

2019 quarterly PFT at the Coop was on schedule for day 21 of Ass Kickin’ April!  17 PAX came out to see progress that has been made since Q1 of 2019.  We had 8 repeats and 9 new comers.

The Thang

Warm up – Lap, COP with SSH, Squats, IW, Moroccan Night Clubs,  6 count burpees. Mosey to Pull Up bars.

PFT – 1 minute: Pull Up, Big Boy Sit Ups, Merkins.  The 1 mile run.  We did this.  Here is the output.

2019-Q1 2019-Q2
Name Pull Ups Sit Ups Push Ups 1 Mile Run Pull Ups Sit Ups Push Ups 1 Mile Run
FunHouse 5 45 37 6:40 6 41 45 6:04
Sk8orDie 5 39 37 DNP
DarkHelmet 22 42 64 7:21 26 44 63 7:10
Kaiser 15 22 61 7:38
SugarBug 3 29 36 8:41
Esso 12 38 43 8:25 14 42 53 7:28
Sasquatch 24 54 64 DNP
ChickenHawk 25 43 60 7:37
Wegmans 1 26 24 8:54
Husky 13 45 52 7:34
PunchList 12 39 33 6:48 17 46 48 6:33
DirtyHarry 5 50 50 7:28 12 53 61 DNP
Youts 18 44 51 8:49 26 48 64 8:34
Slash 8 26 31 8:45 9 27 44 7:42
Xray 3 12 25 9:15
Chunck 2 32 20 8:32
Tinsel 22 38 36 8:43 25 43 45 DNP
DD 18 25 54 6:35
Nasa 14 42 41 7:12
Harry Carey 12 32 37 5:58
Geronimo 23 43 40 6:45
Shady 37 44 44 7:03
Hardwood 19 26 51 9:17
FishSticks 11 56 52 6:22
Barry Manilow Present

FunHouseNaked Moleskin:  Looking at the 8 repeat PAX, all got BETTER!  Imagine that.  Continue to take the DRP, you get better.  Either if is all running, Bootcamping, Rucking, etc.  Keep posting and you get better! I have data and a spreadsheet to prove it! #WesaelShakerDolphin?

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3

6 years, God only knows where I might have been….

6 years ago YHC rang the bell for the first time with a handful of rag tag HIM’s. There were 3 workouts, total, in The Fort. A lot has changed!  YHC was blessed enough to be able to come to Block Party and Q on a day that has changed my life.  32 other PAX joined YHC in the gloom for some fun for Day 20 for Ass Kickn’ April Y2!

The Thang:

Long loop around WEP

COP

SSH X 50, Squats X 25, IW X 20, Mountain Climbers X 25, Plank Jacks X 25, Slow Sumo Squats X 25, 6 count Burpees w/ hand clap X 10, SSH X 10 – Mosey to playground

DORA 1-2-3

Partner up, 100 Merkins, 200 Squats, 300 LBCs. Go.

Huddle Up

Got the PAX together to briefly talk about what F3 has done for me.  I had initially thought that F3 would always be a physical challenge, and it is, but I would never have guessed how much the 2nd and 3rd F’s would come into play.  Having 32 other men show up at 0515 to work out under my lead, shows exactly what F3 is all about.  Supporting your F3 brother celebrate a special, life changing day by doing burpees and dodging fire ants.  The 1st F is the magnet, always pulling you in.  The 2nd F is the glue, keeping you connected and active.  The 3rd F is the dynamite, serving others, putting yourself 3rd and sharing this crazy thing F3 to all men around you. Off to the hill for Jacob’s Ladder.

Jacob’s Ladder – 8’s – 1 Burpee at top and 7 Bomb Jacks at Bottom. Add, subtract, flippy flop, you know the drill.

Off to COT, but lets do some more while we count down to 0600.  30 seconds of Mountain Climbers, Plank, burpees….. Saved by the Bell. Done.

Great Tuesday morning.  So humbled and blessed with the HUGE turnout this morning.  I couldn’t be more excited about being a part of F3!

FunHouse

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7

US Army Staff Sgt / NYPD Police Officer James McNaughton

We had 23 PAX show up for my VQ this morning….the support was much appreciated.

The morning started with a quick jog around the NAFO parking lot and ended with a standard warm-up of  Imperial Walkers, Morrocan Nighclubs  and Hillbilly Walkers.

Today we Honored a Fallen Soldier and NYPD Police Officer and our workout consisted of :

10 Burpees and a 100 yard run

27 Merkins and a 100 yard run

10 Donkey Kicks and a 100 yard run

27 Big Boy situps and you guessed it a 100 yard run

10 Lunges and a 100 yard run

27 Squats and who would have thought another 100 yard run

We Rinsed and Repeated ….. Some rinsed and repeated more than others.

Thanks to Dirty Harry and Punchlist for pushing me to lead this great group of men and getting my VQ under my belt.

Shield

 

 

 

 

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7

Tri-Q at The Fort

It was an honor to travel across the River on this cool Spring gloom with Italian Job and Canseco to join up with 9 of our Fort and Rock Region brothers on the day before Easter. Thank you Bonsai and the rest of our brothers for the opportunity to lead this morning.

As Italian Job, Canseco and YHC discussed this workout the previous week, we decided that it would definitely be split into three equal time periods with each of us focusing on different body groups. Italian Job began with the F3 Disclaimer and welcome to all:

WARMUP

 There was no Warm-Up

THE THANG

Italian Job moved right into working the upper body. This is what was done:

10 Burpees (OYO); 5 Plank Destroyers (Plank, Makhtar D’Diaye, Merkin, Alternating Shoulder Tap, Plank Jack); 20 MNCs (IC); 10 Merkins (IC); 20 Little Baby Arm Circles (IC); 10 Wide Arm Merkins (IC); 20 Overhead Claps (IC); 60 Seconds Arm Circles in Plank; Mosey to Springs or Playground; 20 Irkins; 20 Dips; 20 Derkins; Mosey; 10 Wide-Diamond-Wide (OYO); Mosey; Merkin Ring of Fire (10 rounds).

After he finished, the Q Stick was handed off to YHC for the lower body portion performing each of the following exercises for 50-seconds and resting for 10:

Squat + Calf Raises; Squat Jacks; Mosey; Alternating Hamstring Reaches; Broad Jump w/Back Pedal; Mosey; Left Lateral Lung; Right Lateral Lung; Squat Tap-Outs; Mosey; Left Leg Lunge; Right Leg Lunge; Mosey; Step Ups; Squat & Squat Jumps.

Then YHC passed off the lead to Canseco for some Core & Cardio and an awesome work below in the NMM. This is what he led us in:

YHC planned to use the steep portion of the running path for sets of core exercises with a jailbreak between.  We did 2 to 3 exercises for each set and started at the bottom of the hill.

We did the following with a jailbreak between sets.

All In Cadence:
30 Imperial Walkers; 50 Flutters; Jailbreak

20 Mtn Climbers; 20 Freddy Mercurys; Jailbreak

20 American Hammers; 30 Pretzel Crunches (15 each Side); 10 Makhtar N’Diayes; Jailbreak back to top

20 LBC’s ; 10 Delayed LBC’s; Plank w/6 Inches and Up x2

Mosey to COT where IJ led us in another 10-Burpees for fun

Great work was put in by all PaX in attendance. Thank you again for allowing us to lead.

NMM

Canseco shared his heart this morning. Below is what he discussed:

The sun came through the clouds and shined directly on us during Reborn’s leg workout.  We were at the top of the Walter Elisha Park looking out and for a few moments everyone was quiet.  I had something to share with the PAX and in that moment this capped it off.

I have been reading through the gospels the last couple weeks and wanted to share something that has been stirring in me.  So, as we know its Saturday before Easter and Jesus has been crucified and placed in a tomb.  On this day thousands of years ago there were all kinds of emotions for those who were near to Jesus.

Those near to him who followed and loved him were doubtful, confused, and didn’t know what would happen next.  The Pharisees and scribes still saw Jesus as a threat to their own Kingdom and world and placed guards at the tomb.  I find this interesting as he is dead yet they didn’t believe?

I shared Matthew chapter 21 with the PAX when Jesus curses the fig tree that didn’t have any fruit.  Jesus disciples said how can it wither instantly? Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea, it will happen.” 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”  Jesus was preparing them to believe and have faith during the darkest and most doubtful times to come.

We know what happened next.  We have record and an account of the resurrection.  But we still have to figure out what we are going to do with Jesus?

Is Jesus threatening your Kingdom, life, and world.  Are you keeping him at distance and putting HIM away somewhere so as to hide?

Or, are you believing on His life, death, and resurrection as sufficient for your sins and eternity with HIM.  You can’t hide from the light!!!

My prayer for the PAX was that just as the sun rose before our eyes this morning that the Son of Man would rise in each of our hearts this day, tomorrow, and forever.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

April 3rd F Theme-Be Still.

Summer Lawn Service at the Care Center-Sign up now.

Manion WOD-April 27-See Cobra Kai.

Date Night-April 27-Contact Wegmans.

PRAYERS/PRAISES

Prayers and praises were mentioned and Italian Job

lifted them up.

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3

History at The Hive

Pulling into the HIVE early to set-up shop YHC was surprised to see 2 cars already there! Rebel was enjoying a few ‘Be Still’ minutes and Geronimo was getting after it in the parking lot with what appeared to be his Ruck. The rainy weather was holding off & it was a perfect 65 degrees-A great morning to be in the Gloom!

The cars kept rolling & rolling in….17 PAX in total

5:15am- No FNG’s so hit the disclaimer and off we went

COP: Mosey to band parking lot and return back.  Exercises in cadence-

  • SealJacks x 20
  • IW x 15
  • HW x 15
  • Windmill x 10
  • Cherry Picker x 10
  • Plank, Honey Mooner-Downward Dog, Plank
  • Merkins
  • Mountain Climbers x 15

The Thang:

Today’s workout was built around the History of the Hive. All repetition #s, exercises & stories shared were specific to this AO.

4 stations here we go:

Station 1- History Lesson- What is the most famous saying @ The Hive? “5 @ The Hive”. The PAX passed the test with flying colors. In honor of “5 @ The Hive” we hit a 5 cone drill Jacobs ladder style:

  • Cone 1) Inch Worm Merkins & Goblet Squats
  •  Cone 2) Triceps Ext & Reverse Lunges
  • Cone 3) Bicep curl w/ Shoulder press & Burpees
  • Cone 4) BackRows & Swings
  • Cone 5) Upright Rows & Fwd Lunges

Kudos to the PAX as they just got after this station. Little time for mumble chatter with the exception of those as they finished Cone 3 with Burpees.

Station 2- History Lesson- How many years has the Hive been an AO? How many site Q’s have there been & who are they? The PAX again pulled together and we went with 3 years (almost 4 years) and 3 sites Q’s- Longshanks, Tesh & BandCamp!

In honor of this we went 3 rounds of the Site Q’s assigned exercises:

Longshanks-Thrusters, Tesh-The Standing Tesh or Bi/Tri, Bandcamp-Swings

  • Round 1: 9 Thrusters, 9 count Standing Tesh, 9 Swings
  • Round 2: 9 Thrusters, 18 Bi/Tri Superset, 9 Swings
  • Round 3: 9 Thrusters, 9 count Standing Tesh, 9 Swings

Station 3- History Lesson- Geronimo’s Gauntlet (This needs to be in The Exicon) 

We did our best rendition of the 2018 Hive version of Geronimo’s Gauntlet. A Pax favorite it was started by no other than Geronimo himself and it goes something like this- *Line up all the Kettlebells lightest to heaviest. One by one, Pax go down the line and perform bent over rows at each KBell. (3 rows each side for time today). The waiting Pax can plank up, Al Gore, etc… With 17 KBells lined up our lats got some serious work. The heavy 40-50lb KBells at the end of the line gave us all an example of how JWOWW, Geronimo & Tesh get after it. Strong work Men!

Station 4- 5:58am and we escaped the planned AMRAP station due to time. Better to be over prepared than not enough. YHC took a moment to read  from the theme of the month and take just a moment to “Be Still”.

COT- Announcements from Newsletter, upcoming events

Prayers/Praises: Rebels 28th Wedding Anniversary. Prayers for all families traveling for the upcoming Spring Break week.

It was an honor to be with the Pax this morning- Thanks BandCamp for the opportunity!

Weezer

 

 

 

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Mile High at The Fort

First off- Cobains to Bonsai for this trady BB.  The beatdown was on point.

A hearty crew began strolling in around 6:20 with headlamps both running and car with much excitement and anticipation.  Plenty of jokes going around as I brought my 2.0 that now towers over me by about 5 inches.  Par for the course.  Dont know if this was Milehigh’s first Q at the Fort but he easily stepped up to the plate.  There were a handful of pre rucks and pre runs from PAX accelerating their #King.  Fishsticks ran all the way from Tom Brady’s back yard which was about 7 miles.

Milehigh took the reigns first and led the PAX on a mosey run around the park and then off campus for a circle of pain with standard issue but equally difficult warm ups.  DORA was the name of his game and MH extended to 4 rounds of 100 merkins, 200 Carolina Dry Docks, 300 Squats, 400 LBC aggregate between your partner.  P1 runs up the grassy cliff, bangs out 5 more merkins and tries not to be a rolling wheel of cheese on the way down.  Festifun (from Rock Hill) came in guns blazing and was big on the #pickupthesix encouragement that #teamHYDE had fallen to #DFL.

Handoff to YHC and with no words really planned have been struck and moved by the acceleration of Mile High in fitness, fellowship and his faith.  7 months in and he’s running the yeti, leading workouts, understanding accountability and seeing the virtues of shield lock.  AYE!

AYG up the hill for a partner series of wheelbarrow, carries then toe lunges and burpee broadjumps #crowdpleaser.

Finished out with 2 teams of tunnel of love and finally seal team situps.  Indian run back to home.

  • Geronimo is F3.  King is locked in, always welcoming and a magnet for anybody
  • No one knows exactly why DOAH wore his reflector vest during the workout.  but he stayed safe, so goal attained.
  • Kernel(14 yo 2.0) took it on the chin well and kept up with his old man despite YHC being able to fit in his pocket
  • Lutifisk is looking lean and mean- aye brother keep up the King/Queen
  • When did we start naming ppl after the bad roads in Fort Mill- Pothole and Asphalt?
  • Tesh kept his shirt on but he was conflicted
  • Finally- those who played in the grass the second half, truly get the original Fort. Skin fungi be damned.

AYE!

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Philly Inspired Psy-Ops CSPAN at the Coop

34 was the count at the coop and it was a great morning at the Coop with the temperatures near perfect and a special guest visit by Grand-Tan, CSPAN himself.  It was great to catch up with a #HIM and for his presence in the PAX.  But you can’t have  Grand-Tan return without a little engagement in the routine.  CSPAN honored us with his slightly angry, Philly version of a warm up.  The good news is that the PAX was angry at him and not me.
Prayers for Shady and his spill on the sprint back to COT and subsequent trip to the MD.  Grateful for Dirty Harry and his field ops specialty and coolness under pressure.  The highlight of the morning was watching guys step ups and do their part when another brother was in need.  That my friends is F3!
Message: Be Still
  • Where does your mind go in the stillness?
  • Regrets for the past, fears of the future, how many of us were thankful for the moment, how often do we use stillness in the moment to experience God’s voice and direction … I don’t do being still well because my mind constantly has chatter.
  • Be Still- observe the mind – become conscious to what is going on in your mind – results in your ability to be present and to own the thoughts in your mind
Warm up/ COP – CSPAN  maybe I will just summarize it at as a Nascar like (right turns though) sprints with up/downs with flutters, and more flutters and a few more flutters and then some flutters.  I think that covers it.
Mosey to band parking lot:
Suicide Sprints: 10/20/30
  • 50% sprint
  • Karaoke
  • Side shuffle
  • Full length full speed
  • Power Skips back
Rugby Sprints to the 50 and walk it back
  • SSH
  • Merkins
  • Mule Kicks
  • Flying Squirrels
Every 5 to the 50
  • Bear crawl 5 yards then 5 CCD increments sprint to the end
  • Burpee Broad jumps 5 yards then 5 merkins
Wall sits with burpees
2 minutes of MARY
Prayers for Shady’s recovery and quick return. Prayers for Bailey (CSPAN’s daughter) and the birth of their son today at 12:30. Many unspoken prayers known and unknown are put at the foot of the cross and we ask that the Lord tends to them according to his Will.
Aye!
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