It was an honor to be asked by Maximus to Q a Beyond Workout and after many days of juggling other commitments on the calendar, we ended up at Laces In. Thank you Lil’ E for allowing us to move in on your territory on this date. This Q was not that difficult to build as I have had plenty of time to work on it. Also, this BackBlast is a little different with the NMM at the beginning. The rest is below.
I had previously asked the PAX to warmup before the start time. However, just in case there were some who showed up cold, we did a quick warmup with 5 Burpees & 20 SSH’s in Cadence.
Let’s Go Beyond!
NMM
I Cor. 15:58 ‘Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.’
In the age of trains and cars, but before automatic crossing gates, the incidence of trains and cars intersecting at the railroad crossing often delivered disastrous results. Drivers of cars never seemed to see the train coming. The continued disruption with trains and cars brought forth the creation of the crossing guard position. The crossing guard was in a shack by the railroad crossing 24/7, with the train schedule, a lantern and the task of being on the road, at the crossing, waving a lantern to warn cars that a train was coming through.
One dark and stormy night, even with a crossing guard on duty, another tragic crash occurred. A lawsuit was filed by the aggrieved party (car). Who was at fault in this tragedy? Was it the car? Train? Crossing guard?
As the lawsuit proceeded in court, the judge begins his line of questioning to the crossing guard, “Were you there that night?”
Under oath the crossing guard replies, “Yes.”
Continuing with his line of questioning, the judge continues, “Did you have your train schedule?”
To which the crossing guard replies, “Yes.”
“Were you standing in the road at the appropriate time waving your lantern?” asks the judge.
“Yes,” replies the crossing guard.
The judge rules and finds in favor of the railroad, no damages and they were not liable for the tragedy. Upon leaving the courtroom, a spectator hears the crossing guard say, “Whew, sure am glad they didn’t ask whether the lamp was lit.” Moral to the story, don’t forget to ask if the lamp was lit. The judge asked the crossing guard all kinds of questions, but he did not ask the obvious, “Was the lamp lit?”
As we go through life, we are given many opportunities to ‘wave our lanterns’. Opportunities at home, at church, at work, in the community, etc. As a Christian, I can carry my Bible, act morally, share with my F3 brothers, those at work and in my home. I can attend church and participate in all sorts of ministries through the it and outside of it. However, if I do all of these things without my lamp being consistently lit, I do them in vain.
The verse from I Corinthians says we should always abound in the work of the Lord. It does not say, when you are at work, abound; or when you are at a workout, abound; at church, abound. It says ALWAYS.
This is something I think about regularly. It is easy for me to be joyful with my F3 brothers, those at my church, and even those at work. It is also easy to discuss salvation and what it means to me.
However, I am not as consistent when it comes to my own home. We get on a good roll, but it always seems that busyness and life takes over, and the first thing that is affected is my joyfulness at home and good discussions on our faith. So, as I start each day, I ask God to grant me a day where I can be a light for him no matter where I am at or who I face, especially at home. I have to request this because I know I need his help.
Are you waving a lantern that is not lit today? Is your lamp lit in most places, but not in some? Where do you need to ask for help from God and your F3 brothers to help you keep your lamp lit consistently?
Always abound in the work of the Lord, and your work will not be in vain. Make sure you are not just waving your lantern. Make sure your lamp is consistently lit.
WARMUP
See above.
THE THANG
After the warmup YHC requested that the PAX perform 5 burpees. From that point to the end of the WO we performed 5 burpees at the beginning of each round of exercises and at the end, with the exception of a few.
We quickly moseyed over the the large parking lot where I requested that the PAX circle up and perform the following in cadence: Merkins, CDD’s, Alternating Lunges, and V-Ups.
We took another quick mosey another parking lot where we performed Wide Arm Merkins, Pike Presses, Low Slow Squats, and American Hammers.
We took another quick mosey another parking lot where we performed Diamond Merkins, Dips, Low Slow Jump Squats, and LBC’s.
We took another quick mosey another to the front of the stadium we performed Hand Release Merkins, CDD’s, Alternating Jump Lunges, & Big Boy SitUps.
Then we took a mosey over to the Stadium and a small wall where we performed: Irkins, Dips, Step-Ups, & Derkins.
Then we took a mosey back to the COT for some blast off merkins, squats, and big boy sit-ups while I discussed the NMM.
The burpees were the constant in everything and if I forgot them, the PAX reminded me we didn’t perform them. As we went through the workout and I had some time, which was limited, I spoke about the NMM while doing planks or Al Gore’s. The completion came at the end.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Read Your Newsletter.
Hurricane Florence Relief Efforts-Watch Twitter.
Sept. 29-6-Yr. Birthday Convergence at The Fort-0600.
Oct. 13-Poverty Simulation-0900-1200/First Baptist Church Fort Mill.
The Coop takes me an extra 5 minutes to get to. I should really set my alarm 5 minutes earlier but hey, I’ll just move quicker. I don’t go often to this AO but it’s where i took my first face-plant at an F3 workout (I was the only PAX wearing a headlamp), so it’s got a special place in my heart. Running a bit late I rushed to get there on time and brush the fog away from my head. Arrived with a minute to spare, almost take a couple PAX out as I roll in, fall out of my car and greet the PAX. Oh boy, there’s some fit dudes here. Better make it count.
Brief Disclaimer (butchered it) and a bunch of jokes about how many miles are we going to run this AM, we set out for a 0.50 mile mosey warmup. Which ended at the Band Practice Field.
COP (SSH, Windmills, Mtn Climbers, Merkins) all in Cadence at varying counts
Mosey to the pull-up bars for some DORA (Partner 1 Exercise, Partner 2 Run down to Stop sign and back)
100 Pullups
200 Merkins
300 Flutter Kicks (ran out of time)
Mosey to the parking lot for a few minutes of Mary and close with a Body Destroyer.
Appreciate the heckling from Spiderman and DH. It’s how they love on you. Great mix of PAX this morning and got to meet a few new guys. Appreciate the opportunity Wegs and looking forward to hosting PAINtheon Games 3.5 this December at The Coop. I’m sure there was a bunch of other shenanigans that occurred during this workout but YHC was a little light-headed and focused on not spilling his merlot. Feel free to add on the twitter train. Aye!
Over the weekend, many of us had the opportunity to participate in the 9/11 GORUCK events. It was a powerful reminder that our days are numbered and we don’t have any idea what that number is… One of our Cadre, Mike S., told us stories of men that he knew that had joined the Armed Services in some form or fashion (just as he had) as a direct result of the events of 9/11. One of those was a man that later would give his life in service to his country, Severin Summers III. Cadre Mike knew Severin, and told us some of his story at the event. We thought it only fitting to perform the workout that bears his name at the Badger yesterday. And it was hard…
50 Pull-ups
100 Hand-release Merkins
Run 5K
You could do it straight or break it up as you saw fit. For me, I did them in sets of 10, 20, and 800M runs until complete. I think that everyone chose to break it up in some way… There was a lot of sweat. And pain… those are the things I remember…
We started our week on the right trajectory, with a reminder to live THIRD… like a hero…
I’m sitting down to write this BB and literally can’t do what I challenged the PAX with at this morning’s BEYOND workout. Eliminate the distractions. Oh, what’s this text say, how about this tweet mention (can’t miss that), work email really needs my immediate response, man those kids left their cereal bowls on the counter, what time are we leaving today, etc, etc, etc. At times it can be funny but others, it can be really frustrating. I allow myself to continuously chase progress and other tasks rather than finding joy in where I am. It then leads to what you’ll read about later…burnout.
So there you have it, this BEYOND post will be focused on a struggle many of us face and that is running from joy, not finding joy where we are or honestly, not being a joy to spend time with. That latter one has been my challenge over these last several years because of those first two.
On to it. Car after car after car rolled into the Hive parking lot and you know the feeling, the feeling of way more cars than you were expecting. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it gives you that kick in the pants, that extra motivation, that reminder of why you put your feet on the floor in the 4 o’clock hour. That’s what I was blessed to experience this beautiful morning as 33 other men, men that have pushed me over the years, men I’ve looked up to over the years, men who are about to bust it right along side me as we embark on something that typically looks better on paper. But that’s the idea, to push ourselves BEYOND our sense of normalcy both physically and mentally.
Funhouse escorted a group of 5 PAX for his killer initiative of RYAOA (T-claps on keeping that going) and the rest of us, 29 to be exact, circled up. After a quick explanation of BEYOND for the rookies and the search for any FNG’s, we discussed the plan with the weight, either Kettle Bell or Ruck…your choice. What I just realized, and to which nobody held be accountable, was that I forgot the all-important disclaimer. Men, never do that again. DO NOT START A WORKOUT WITHOUT A DISCLAIMER. You don’t have to be an attorney but verbalize the basics.
Starting on the curb nearest the tennis courts, run to the other side of the parking lot at 50% then 25% back. 10 Squats, 5 Burpee Broad Jumps then run to the other side at 75% then 25% back. 15 Diamond Merkins, 5 Burpee Broad Jumps then 100% to the other side followed by 100% back.
Switzer up for the first part of the discussion. I read the following definition: “Feeling of great pleasure & happiness.” After a few likely words were tossed out when I asked what word that defines, we got to the word of the day, JOY. I’m sure guys were wondering why in the world we’re talking about joy at an F3 workout, what kind of soft, starbucky-hands nonsense is this? That exact reason is the reason we’re discussing this word. It’s a word and feeling we don’t allow ourselves to enjoy often enough. There are people I enjoy being around and things I like doing but do I truly find joy in those situations? Said differently, do I enjoy being around those people or being in those moments and perhaps more importantly, do people find joy in being around me? Over these last few years, I’ve been operating like a hard-ass, focusing on task completion and moving from one thing to another. I can tell you, I’ve not been a joy to be around. While I was in it, I didn’t even realize it. How did I get here? Really, how do I get out of it?
That said, we split up into 4 groups, 1 for each corner of the large parking lot. In each corner, we did 10 Man Makers with your weight of choice. What varies is your mode of transportation between the corners.
Lunge walks with the weight overhead.
Bear crawl and transport the weight by any means necessary.
Reverse lunge walks with weight overhead or held out front. (This was definitely better on paper as many of us had to modify to a bear hugging of the weight.)
4 Kettle Bell swings or Ruck swings followed by 4 walking steps.
After 3 of these 4, time got away from me and I had to audible and bring the group back to the center of the lot. As mentioned before, us task-completers run from one half-baked focus to another and we rob ourselves of contentment and joy in the moment. After weeks, months or years of doing this, we inevitably get burned out. Very rarely does something positive come after this stage. However, here in the gloom of our Hive AO here, burn out means something different. I was hoping to have 15mins left at this point but as it was, we had 6 and only got part of the way (you see, I tried to fill the schedule with too much and didn’t complete what I intended). See the irony?
21 Curls in cadence (3ct down, 1 up)
21 Flutter Presses in cadence
21 LBC in cadence
15 Overhead presses in cadence (b/c I didn’t have what it took to get to 21)
Closeout: We have a hard time refocusing once something bad happens or if it’s not bad, just something that temporarily knocks us off our trajectory. Oddly enough, our kids do a better job of getting back on track than we do. If something negative happens to you during the course of the day, how quickly are you able to course-correct? Are you able to move on from a less-than-positive comment made about you and not let it affect the rest of your day? Watch your kids and take note. Watch them get in a disagreement with a sibling, maybe pout, then start playing or hanging out with them 1-2hrs later. Could you imagine what it’d be like if we dusted ourselves off and went back at it? There’s joy in overcoming.
Listening to a podcast yesterday where Rob O’Neill was being interviewed, he briefly touched on this by saying something that hit me like a 50lb Kettle Bell across the bridge of the nose. A little background, Mr. O’Neill is the Operator on Seal Team 6 who fired the shot that killed the most wanted terrorist of all time, OBL. I’ve been fascinated by our military and specifically, SF, for years and imagine how quickly they need to pivot on a decision and adjust to chart a new course. His comment was this when discussing attitudes, “Are you having a bad day or did you have a bad moment that you’re milking into a bad day.” Don’t shake that off, marinate on that for a while and it might just change how you respond in that next bad moment.
Tesh, I appreciate your willingness to let me run BEYOND at the Hive.
Men of F3, I’m humbled by your company this morning and every morning you allow me to state my hospital name, age and F3 name.
No man left behind but leave no man where you found him.
14 PAX arrived to a beautifully crisp August gloom.
Mosey around the parking lot, alternating with carioca, butt kickers, & high knees.
COP:
The Thang: a modified Super 21 sequence. We skipped the 21 reps of tricep extensions, but got the 21 LBCs in just under the wire (despite what Chicken Hawk’s clock might have said).
Naked Man Moleskin: Imposter Syndrome
I work as an academic and a musician. By outward measurements, I am successful (especially relative to the job market for musicians in academia at the moment…….). Yet I struggle with a few corrosively persistent thoughts:
“I just got lucky”
“I feel like a fake”
“I must not fail”
This is not unique in either of my fields (or perhaps any field?). In fact, I think some of these feelings continue to drive me to improve and grow. However, when our identity or self worth becomes intertwined so heavily with what we do (see also Mammon in the lexicon), life is out of sync/rhythm.
My desire to grow and develop as a professor and musician is a passion. Unfortunately I often become confused about my relationship with my work and who I am. My goal is to know that my identity is found in my Third F relationship with Christ. No……scratch that. This is something I already “know.” My goal is to consistently exhibit the presence of mind to remember where my identity is found. That if a performance or a class goes poorly, my relationship with my M, my 2.0s, or my prayer life doesn’t have to be affected in the slightest.
Thanks to Tesh for the opportunity to lead and the PAX of The Fort (plus Greenspan from Winston-Salem….this HIM is “Dash Strong”) for pushing me to be better.
17 PAX joined YHC for something different at the Beyond edition of The Ranch. In the spirit of Beyond, I wanted to try something that would push the PAX beyond their comfort zone. Something that would require some mental toughness, perseverance, and grit.
Hold plank (in various forms called by the Q – regular, elbow, left arm high, right arm high, honeymooner, downward dog) for the full 45 minutes of the workout, starting immediately at 5:15, ending at 6:00.
If plank was exited, PAX would have to do 5 burpees as a penalty and join back in the plank. This became 5 hand release burpees for the second half of the workout.
Q would read an inspiring quote re: mental toughness & perseverance every 2 minutes throughout the workout.
PAX were encouraged to partner up at the beginning of the workout and rely on each other to push through the pain.
Quotes:
“Mental toughness is spartanism with qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication. It is fearlessness, and it is love.” ―Vince Lombardi
“Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” ―Bill Russell
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” ―Thomas Jefferson
“It’s when the discomfort strikes that they realize a strong mind is the most powerful weapon of all.” ―Chrissie Wellington
“Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.” ―Swami Vivekananda
“Strong minds suffer without complaining; weak minds complain without suffering.” ―Lettie Cowman
“Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from indomitable will.” ―Mahatma Gandhi
“Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don’t so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head.” ―Joe Henderson
“Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears.” ―Laird Hamilton
“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ―Marcus Aurelius
“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them―a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” ―Muhammad Ali
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.- Walter Elliott
Grit is that ‘extra something’ that separates the most successful people from the rest. It’s the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality. – Travis Bradberry
”I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.”- John D Rockefeller
”Perseverance is also key to success in any endeavor, but without perseverance in combat, there can be no victory.”- Jocko Willink
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” -Thomas Edison
“With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.” -Thomas Fowell Buxton
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” – Christopher Reeve
“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
“Failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable.” – Joe Biden
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ―Nelson Mandela
“You do what you can for as long as you can, and when you finally can’t, you do the next best thing. You back up but you don’t give up.” ―Chuck Yeager
Announcements
Invergence
#218in18
Q School
Prayers
Various health concerns for people close to PAX
Thank you to all of the PAX for posting and trying something new and different. Thank you to Jiffy & Maximus for the opportunity to lead.
Nice humid and thick morning for a beatdown from YHC.
12 showed up 12 finished. Perfect number for some Dirty McDeuce
Warmup lap with Butt Kicks, High Knees, and Toy Soldiers. Circle up for some COP
SSH x 20
Windmills x 12
IW x 12
Mountain Climbers x 12
Peter Parkers x 12
Moroccan Night Clubs x 12
Overhead Claps x 12
Mosey over to the ROTC building for the Dirty McDeuce
Round 1 – 12 Squats (IC), 12 LBC’s (IC), 12 Pullups -run down the hill and back
Round 2 – 12 Sumo Squats (IC), 12 Rosalitas (IC), 12 Merkins – run the hill and back
Round 3 – 12 Monkey Humpers (IC), 12 Flutters (IC), 12 Toes to Bar – run the hill and back
Round 4 – 12 Lunges (IC), 12 Freddy Mercuries (IC), 12 Wide Arm Merkins – run the hill and back.
Mosey back down the hill to the elementary school for two round of People’s Donkey Balls. People Chair then 12 Donkey kicks, then Balls to the wall.
Mosey up towards the school gym entrance and the benches 3 rounds of:
12 Dips (IC)
12 Step ups each side
12 of an Ab exercise (IC)
Long lap Mosey back to the flag for a little Mary finishing with 12 Goofballs (IC) for Kielbasa.
COT and BOM
Moleskin
1. Short notice Q form Wegmans. Not sure who couldn’t make it but thankful for the opportunity to lead.
2. Yes, I can lead a workout and not make you do burpees. You can thanks Ginsu for that.
The Mission of F3 is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership. In order to invigorate male leadership, we must strive to invigorate and encourage new males to step up and become leaders. One of the best ways we have to accomplish this is to help new PAX learn what it takes to Q.
This is especially important this year as we push to expand the number of leaders in The Fort with our #218in18 FNG Campaign. We are encouraging SiteQs to schedule VQs throughout the remainder of this year. To support this effort, we need to make sure we provide the resources needed to these new leaders.
We’ll be launching Q School at Golden Corral (centrally located for everyone in the region) every Tuesday in September (4th, 11th, 18th, 25th). Q School will be led by a few of our veterans (who are also trying to get better at these opportunities to lead). Q School will feature both Q101 (perfect for new guys or those that want to get a handle on the basics) and Q201 (a more advanced session focused on some of the more detailed aspects of Q’ing).
Here is the schedule:
September 4th – Q101 – CakeBoss + Longshanks
September 11th – Q101 – Senator Tressel + Bones
September 18th – Q101 & Q201 – Double D + Royale
September 25th – Q101 & Q201 – Pusher + Dark Helmet
This is a great opportunity to work together to continue to develop leaders across the Fort Mill/Indian Land/Lake Wiley area. Contact Ginsu or any of the Qs listed above with questions.
