Convergence Before the Invergence

It was rainy, cloudy, dark, in other words perfect weather for a convergence. We had roughly 55-60 PAX out for the variety of workouts that were about to be executed.  Disclaimer disclaimed, FNG identified (Randy from heaven on earth (aka Pittsburgh) , and we launched.

Bootcamp Q : Slapshot

Bootcampers followed me up the hill and towards the springs parking lot. After a quick plank for the 6 we moved onto to the parking lot across 160 behind the former bank and now drug store for the warm-up.

Warm-up:

50 SSH (IC)

20 Merkings (IC)

10 Michael Phelps (IC)

5 Windmills (IC)

20 Mtn Climbers (IC)

Stretch

20 Plank JAcks (IC)

Mosey to the other side of the parking lot.

DORA: Partner up with someone you haven’t worked out with. Run was around the drugstore and through the parking lots.

200 Plank JAcks

200 Toe Touches

200 SSH

150 Diamond Merkins

100 4-Ct Flutters

Recover Run Back towards COT.

Tabata Series

30 Seconds on 10 seconds off

4 Rounds 4 sets

  1. SSH
  2. Seal JAcks
  3. HR Merkins
  4. Am. Hammers

Last 7 minutes: 10 Burpess EMOM (which was reduced to a an 11 of sorts after minute 5 where we started going 10 burpees plus 1 BBS, then 9 burpees plus 2 BBS….etc… until we had about 20 seconds left.

I had everyone recover on their feet and then add 1 last Burpee.

NNM: I spoke today about one of the many examples of what F3 has meant to me. Specifically, the other day I was out for a pre-run where I started out at a “comfortable pace” already deciding in my head what I was “good” with that morning.  Then about 2 miles in I came across a fellow Pax who got to the AO early and decided to go find me. We started to run together and my “comfortable pace” got very uncomfortable very quickly. All told, when we got back to COT I had increased the pace I was running at by over 35 seconds. He literally found me where I was, didn’t leave me behind, and pushed me to accelerate. It is what I needed then, and it’s what I needed 5 years ago when I started F3. I never knew how fast I could run, until I started running with faster guys. That Friday morning was a great reminder that I can always push more, that I have plenty of gas left in the tank, and that somewhere out in the gloom a brother is willing to go find you and get you better. (Thanks Olaf)

Whether you are accelerating 1F or the 2nd and 3rd, run with faster guys and don’t just be comfortable. You never really know what you are capable of until you push just a little bit more.

AYE!

Running Q Bandcamp

Speaking of Running with faster guys…Bandcamp executed a 10K route where he was able to hit a PR. The route went all over the downtown Fort Mill area. Again, men surround yourself with HIMS you never know what you’re going to be able to do.

Ruck Q : JWOW

Ruck to Church of NAzarene

10 rounds –

5 merkins at the bottom then 10 squats at the top of the stairs.

Rucked to Print Shop

20 step ups and 20 dips

Rucked up Main STreet and back to Wep for the chair swing loop at each chair swing 5 squats and 5 CDD’s One more half loop to COT.

Kettlebell Q: 38 Special

Leg stretches for a couple minutes while us 40somethigns PAX complained about our joints

The Thang:

10 each of Arm Curl and Press, tricep ex. and overhead press. Grabbed bells and went for a stroll around the park. Bells always farmered carried. We used the park equipment to tell us what to do. Each Swing 20 swings, Statues 30 Standing Tesh with squat each arm Bathrooms = 20 squats same set as the start upon our return.

Paired up for a dora

100 Goblet Squats

200 Calf Raises

300 Flutter with chest press

6 minutes to go carry back to bathroom and back 1 minute of squats and 1 minute of swings.

IR Q: Kermit

Took a nice mosey around downtown Fort Mill and even down to the Peach stand and back. Big thank you for leading this piece and not leaving any men behind!

 

Post Workout  JWOW led us in prayer and we named a  FNG The name Cannonball.

TClap |
0

The Darkest of ALLL Convergences

80ish of the Fort’s, Lake Wylie’s, and Rock Hill’s finest converged this fine Monday to celebrate and show our support for the Darkest of All Helmet’s becoming the new Nantan of F3 Nation.

After my usual disclaimer and a giving of thanks for those who all showed , Dark Helmet led the warmup. As any true leader would do he quickly refreshed (and reinforced via burpees) the core mission of F3 and our core principles. After a rough start we did eventually nail it. After some side straddle hops and merkins the Pax were released into their own unique workout groups.

HERO WOD(Honey Badger)

This was my Q and I’m always humbled to lead Hero style workouts. They should be hard but also purposeful. For me I have created two unique workouts to honor different men of my family who have served. They would be the last people to ever consider themselves heroes. But that’s why I honor them. They sacrificed more than I ever could and I will always be inspired by them. I hope that in this very simple way their stories help inspire others.

For the purpose of today’s workout I truncated both them in the interest of time.

The “Uncle Paul”

I encourage anyone to Google the USS Pueblo Incident to get the full details but the long and short of it is that my wife’s Uncle Paul was a member of the USS Pueblo crew when it was captured by North Korea in 1968. For 11 months he was help captive as POW. Tortured, sleep deprived, and subject to all sorts of propaganda he along with 81 of his ship mates were eventually returned to the US. As a result of his PTSD he hasn’t been able to sleep for almost 50 years.

The Workout:

82 SSH (IC)

11 Burrpees OYO.

1 LAP around the Earth Fare Complex.

As we returned to our starting position I began the Second Hero Workout of the day. The “Sgt. Major”. This one is a WOD I’ve done before for the Honey Badger and is about my father who was a Command Sgt. Major in the 28th ID. Again for the sake of time I limited the usual 3 miles I try and incorporate into this workout for 3 laps instead. The exercises are as Follows.

28 Burpees

1 Lap

28 Burpees

56 Squats

1 Lap

28 Burpees

56 Squats

112 HR MErkins

1 LAP.

(Pick up the 6 if you can)

This pretty much took us up to the bell after a brief visit by the ruckers. Thanks to all who broke off to me to indulge me and these workouts. They are supposed to be hard and challenging and I hope we all got our money’s worth.

 

Running Boot camp: Sweep the Leg – FishTix

Group was split into teams of 4. Relay race around the parking lot two stops with exercises. Two runners traveled to stop 1 and stop 2 respectively while the other team members did the exercises at the stops. Once the runners arrived the running duties were handed off. Process was continued until the closing bell.

Stop 1 Exercises: HR Merkins, Dips, Burpees, CDD, Mike Tyson Merkins

Stop 2: Jump Squats, Flutters, Mnt Climbers, Lunges, Box Cutters

Rucking – VA – Olaf

4 corners with low slow squats, merkins, Lunges, and shoulder taps. After round 1 got a 40 and a 60 pound sand bag to spice it up. The bags were rotated around by the Pax.

Kettlebell – Armory – BandCamp

4 Rounds:

16 clusters (clean, squat, press

16 single arm swings (alternating)

16 lateral lunge with a row (8 a side)

Short Mosey

Some overhead lunges and suitcase deadlifts when the heart rates got too high.

Running – Flight Plan – Bass-O-Matic

Ran a bunch 🙂

At 6:00 I blew a whistle and we all reconvened for the longest Namearama I ever conducted a brief reminder of the Rooster, to read the newsletter and to have our Nantan of the Fort Esso lead us out.

Best of luck to Dark Helmet in his new role! Let’s all continue the mission!

AYE!

 

TClap |
0

A Little of This and a Little of That

On a brisk morning in the gloom we began by heading to the soccer fields.

Butt Kickers, HIgh Knees, Karaoke, Other direction, NUR.

Mosey to parking lot by playground:

SSH x15, plank, Peter Parker x15, Honey Mooner, Down Dog, Parker Peter x15, Honey Mooner, Down Dog, IW x20

To the playground

10 Pull ups, 20 Merkins, 20 swing knee ups, One Lap around the parking lot, Rinse and Repeat, Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to parking lot with big island.  Bear Crawl, Crab Walk, Crawl Bear and Walk Crab.  Stopping  3x for AB LAB.

Mosey to side of school:  Peoples Chair (person on each end does 5 burpees and repeat until all have done them), BTW (10 count each person down the wall), rinse and repeat.

At picnic tables and 10 step ups each leg.

It was great getting out to the Ranch.  Seeing some HIM that I don’t regularly see.

Thanks to Mainframe for the opportunity.

 

TClap |
0

45s

WARMUP:
15x
SSH
Low slow squat
Cherry Pickers
Moroccan Night Clubs
Peter Parker’s
Hillbilly Walkers

THE THANG:
45s
Count off in groups of 3
# of reps – 15
Do workout #1 together to start
Run down to loop and back
Do workout #1, #2 together
Run down to loop and back
Add new exercise after each run
Do exercises I. Cadence as team of 3
1. Merkins
2. Bobby Hurley
3. Flutters (DC)
4. Burpees
5. Lunge jumps (DC)
6. V-ups

MARY:
Plank for 6
15x Mtn Climbers

COT: prayers: parents and kids. Dads are learning they can’t effectively parent by yelling at their 2.0s. Have grace, understanding, and know when to listen and keep your mouth shut. Praises: Keep trying new approaches with 2.0s, ask how you can help them. Let them know when you make mistakes.

Serenity Prayer:
“God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Cubbie out

TClap |
0

Remembering Badger

Thirty-five of Fort Mill’s finest gathered at Springfield Elementary to honor a brother who left us too early:  Matt Giesler, aka Badger.   Matt was originally from Wisconsin but made his home in SC with his wife Becky and his three children Brayden, Ashlyn, and Carsten.   Badger was a neighbor and friend to me, Decibel, Trucker, and Jiffy, and this morning, his fellow brothers of The Fort joined us for a brisk morning workout.  Here is what we did:

The Thang:

Senator Tressel led the pax on a short lap around the drop-off lane of Springfield Elementary before ending up in the adjacent field for COP.

All in double count cadence:

SSH x 25, IW x 25, merkin x 10, windmill x 15, mountain climber x 25, Freddie Merc x 25, hello dolly x 25, squat x 25

Line up next to the set of cones:

Round 1:  Lungewalk to 1st cone, 5 squats, continue to 2nd cone, 10 squats, continue to 3rd cone, 15 squats, run backwards to the start.

Round 2:  Bear crawl to 1st cone, 5 squats, ….., run backward to the start

Round 3:  Run to the last cone, 10 burpees, and run backward to the start

Handoff to Decibel:

Do the following exercises with a lap around the field between each:

MERKINS X25
ALTERNATING LUNGES X25
TOE TAPS X25
TONY HAWK BURPEE X15
GORILLA HUMPER X20
IMPERIAL WALKER X20
EMPTY WHEELBARROW
SQUATS X20
LBCs  X39
E2K X20 EACH SIDE
ROSALITA X25

Heals to Heaven x25

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

ST’s comments:

I was truly touched by the number of men who showed up today to honor Badger.  I know that many of the men did not know him, but it meant a lot to us to have such a large group together as we remembered Badger.    It was another reminder to me of what a special thing we have at F3 here in Fort Mill and how much my F3 brothers mean to me.

Decibel’s thoughts:
It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since Badger went to be in heaven.  I
was blessed to spend time with him prior to his passing.  We talked about him
being saved and how important that was to him.  He let me know that his M was a
big reason he was saved but also saw my family’s reaction to losing our
daughter and son and our dependence on God at that time.  I am saying this to let
you know as Christians people watch our actions and want to make sure our
actions match our words.  I encourage every Christian brother in F3 to live out
your faith and in times of need lean on God just like Badger did in his time.
My M and I received a letter from Badger.  In that letter he mentioned F3 and the
support he and his family received after the diagnosis.  I remember him just being
in awe of all the people that were praying for him.  He was so touched by this
community that he asked that I make sure that his boys get involved in F3.  They
would have been there today, but his youngest wasn’t feeling well. To have 35
men in our community support Badger is amazing.
Badger was a man I respected to the utmost.  He was not a guy that sought
attention or glory, but he was always there when you needed him.  He loved his
family and was a loyal friend.  I am still in awe of how he bravely prepared to walk
into heaven.  It was so comforting to know he was going to see Jesus.  He told
me many times that he would take care of our babies (Elizabeth Grace and
Garrett) until we met up with him.  Badger was a great Father and I know he is
having a blast with my kids in heaven.
Let us all take this time to pour into, support, love on and encourage our F3
brothers. Then take that momentum and turn it to our families.  Then take that
momentum and pour it out on the least and the lost in our community.  Badger
knew that God had a purpose for him and that purpose was to spread the word of
God’s Grace and Love.  Let’s make that happen for him.

Prayers and Praises – as spoken during COT

Announcements:  F3 The Fort 10 year anniversary starts this week.  Check Slack for the schedule of events.

 

TClap |
0

Lucky 7’s

WARMUP: Mosey to stop sign, run back towards CoT and perform exercise at each speed bump.
THE THANG: Lucky 7’s AMRAP
7 pull-ups
7 hanging leg raises
7 wide grip push ups
Walking lunge + broad jump to stop sign
Turn and run down hill to stop sign and back up
Rinse and repeat
**1st 3 rounds wait on the 6
MARY: multiple PAX chose Mary exercises
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Read the newsletter carefully
COT: Be the man God wants you to be and you want to be everyday when you walk back through your door at home. No matter what type of day you have at work out on the job be the man God created you to be at home. Who do you want to be everyday when you return to your family?

TClap |
0