In honor of Yoshi turning 13

I had the privilege of Qing for the first time in quite some time. Thank you for the opportunity, 38 Special!

In honor of my son turning 13 soon (an American teenager!), most rep counts today were 13 in nature, single count for most of them.

4:45 was a run to Palmetto West and back

5:00 was more running past Lakeshore Christian Church and through the stairs backway to the Pantheon

5:15 boot camp and runners split. Disclosures stated.

Small warm-up with SSHs, various leg stretches, and windmills.

Ran to backside of TC Elementary to gradually rotate around the school and did 3 exercises per random location to include:

Reverse Lunges, Bench Jumps, Incline Merkins

Turkish Get-ups, Air Mountain Climbers or Goofballs, Lunges

Merkins, Jump ups (super high), Bear Crawls

Pull ups, Broad jump, Cross jumps (creating a cross)

Mountain climbers, High knees, Spiderman crawls

More bear crawls, Jump down from benches focusing on solid landing, Dips

75% effort level sprints X 2, Bear Crawls

Thought about stealing the Broga-boyz shoes – (yes, this was an exercise)

 

Then on to Circuit Training: The timer was the jump rope to 100 and then we rotated.

Shoulder press with a Spartan bag

Sandbag pickups and over the shoulder throws

KB individual curls

Band curls

 

Ended with various ab exercises as a group to include, but not limited to: Starfish crunches, Side crunches, Cockroach, and everyone’s favorite, Russian V-twist get-ups.

COT to include announcements, LOTS OF PRAISES, and some prayers.

Blessings to all!

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Crossroads – Cost of Marriage

What did it take to purchase an engagement ring?

  • Story of a guy living on Tuna sandwiches in order to save enough money to purchase an engagement ring. The moral is not working hard and saving, but what is the cost to express your love?

Average Wedding costs $27k

  • What are the real costs of marriage?
    It costs more than money, wedding, ring, honeymoon–àCost you yourself
    Ephesians 5:25: “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.”
  • What was the largest or biggest sacrifice in your mind for your marriage?
    Career
    Ambition
  • What has been gained by being married
    Love
    Children
    Legacy
  • Have you ever said, “I shouldn’t be with someone if I’m not happy?”
    This is self-centered, shallow and reflection of our culture
    Not part of Vows taken
    We probably all go into our “wedding” thinking man I’m Happy, but have we thought about how short sighted that is??
  • Marriage is about love which is something we CHOOSE
    It is represented by sacrifice, serving, giving, forgiving over and over and over
    It’s called Commitment because it does not = personal happiness but LOVE (giving)

1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
CHOOSE LOVE
1 Peter 4:8: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
No matter what happens, CHOOSE LOVE as it covers the mess
John 15:12: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
Back to Ephesians 5:25

  • What does this look like in application
    It’s about offering forgiveness when you’ve been hurt.
    It’s about giving your time though it’s not always convenient.
    It’s about sharing your heart when you’d rather hold back.
    It’s about cleaning the kitchen after a long weekend, even if it’s your least favorite job.
    It’s about choosing to respond with love when you’d rather respond in anger.
    It’s about offering a listening ear, when you’d rather tune out or go to bed.
    It’s about putting someone else’s needs and desires before your own.
    It’s about giving up that last bite of cake, just so your spouse can enjoy it.
    It’s about laying down your rights, to make way for the rights of another.

Formula:
You before Me – not sometimes, not weekends, ALL THE TIME
We before I – even with the kids, job, hobbies

  • The world despises the sacrificial side of marriage
    strive for power, control and the upper hand in a relationship
    do what feels right
    that love is about doing what makes us happy
    if we feel less than happy, they encourage us to bail, to abandon ship and to stop investing
    Mark 10:9: “Therefore what God has joined together let no one separate.”

God’s plan = more we give, the better we become
Real love is not self-seeking, and it will always cost you
It will cost your heart, your time and your money
It will cost your comfort, your rights and your pride
It will cost you to “lay down your life” for the life of another
And only those who learn to die to themselves are the ones who get to experience the resurrection power that comes with it—resurrection into real love, into real life, and into meaningful relationships.

Romans 12:10: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

  • Marriage is a reflection of our relationship towards God, bride of Christ
    1:1
    He died for us, so we can live
    He leads us to resurrection life
    Love like No Other
    1 Peter 3:7: “In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.”
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Thank you Lord for the cool weather

After being gone a few weeks it was great to be back at Tempo and a beautiful morning for a fellowship  pace 5 miles.  I lead the 3 other Pax on what i have named the Zima loop(just because Zima showed it to me first). Down Hubert Graham, around Walmart through GHMS and back out to 160 to home. A great route, couple nice hills and not too much traffic.

Prayers for the Pax, that we would be the Virtuous Leaders in our homes that we are called to be.  Prayers for aging parents.

 

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Sweating it out at Golden Corral

15 #HIM met on this muggy morning at the Golden Corral for a good old fashioned beatdown.  Lutefisk had to substiQ for me last Friday and by coincidence he didn’t have a Q lined up today so lucky me and lucky PAX I stepped up to bring the pain at one of my favorite A/O’s.

Started with the disclaimer and we were off.

 

Warm Up

  • Mosey to the back of Harris Teeter
    • I intentionally asked the PAX to circle up pretty close to the dumpsters.  If you are on #SLACK and you read the fabulous piece Crab Cakes wrote last week then you would know why
  • SSH X 20
  • Imperial Walker X 15
  • Merkins X 15
  • Mountain Climbers X 10
  • Recover and mosey to the tire shop

Activity 1

  • 30 Durkins
    • Lap around the tire shop
  • 30 Dips
    • Lap around the tire shop
  • 20 Box Jumps
    • Lap around the tire shop
  • Elbow plank and wait for the 6
  • Mosey from the tire shop to the parking lot in front of Baker’s Buzzin

Activity 2 (11’s)

  • I instructed the PAX to partner up and size did matter
  • This activity was 11’s and consisted of burpees and merkins (hopefully all of you know what 11’s are and if not it pretty much means the exercises have to sum to 11.  Example 10 burpees and 1 merkin, 9 burpees and 2 merkins, 8 burpees and 3 merkins etc….)
  • There are a total of 10 rounds.  The method of transportation was different for each round.
  • Round 1 was 10 burpees at the beginning then wheelbarrow to the end of the parking lot (it’s a long way away) and then complete the 1 merkin.  The partner that was holding partner #2’s legs had to carry that partner back to the start.
  • Round 2 9 burpees then the second partner had to wheel barrow to the end.
  • We did the wheel barrows and partner carries for rounds 1-4
  • Rounds 5 – 7 were bear crawls and run back
  • Rounds 8 – 10 were crab walks and run back

Surprisingly enough I looked at my watch and it was 5:59.  Time to mosey back to COT.  As you can imagine there was a ton of moaning and groaning, that translates to #WINNING.  The PAX got their money’s worth

At COT we had an #FNG Sam and his handle is Mach3.  Went through the announcements, prayers and praises and Funhouse took us out with a prayer.  Couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day!

 

Mile High Out

 

 

 

 

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Leaving Home

It was a Thursday morning gloom at Laces In…a Thursday in May when the temp was already higher than it should be…a Thursday when our Site Q was DR but his predecessor provided strong support…a Thursday after The Murph when mumblechatter still reflected stories from the experience…a Thursday after YHC (aka, Dan from Dallas) returned to The Fort following a long weekend trip to the land of his origins…a Thursday without any FNGs.  So, the Disclaimer was brief and the pax were off.

The Thang

Mosey to parking lot near tennis courts

Pause at first light pole — SSHs

Mosey to next light pole — Mtn climbers

Mosey to next light pole — Low slow squat

Mosey to next light pole — Imperial Walker

Mosey to next light pole — Hillbilly walker

Mosey to next light pole — Merkin

Mosey to next light pole — Peter Parker & Parker Peter

Mosey to baseball field, pick partner & muster on opposite sides of home plate for 60 second intervals

Cycle 1: Partner 1 runs to 1st base for Burpees AMRAP while Partner 2 runs to 3rd base for Bombjacks AMRAP (flapjack)
Cycle 2: Partner 1 runs to 1st for Merkins AMRAP while Partner 2 runs to 3rd for CDDs AMRAP (flapjack)
Cycle 3: Partner 1 runs to 1st for Sumo squats AMRAP while Partner 2 runs to 3rd for Monkey Humpers AMRAP (flapjack)

Plank + Al Gore sequence at home plate

Rinse & repeat 3 cycles 2 more times

Muster at home plate for some Mary — Hello dollies, LBCs, American Hammers, Superman

Mosey home

Plank it up for final 2 mins — shoulder taps, plank jacks

COT

NMM

Thank you to Cyclops for the invite to Q.  I can’t recall my last BC Q in The Fort, so it was a treat to be leading the pax.  Also a pleasure to connect with a handful of new faces.  It’s great to see pax of The Fort continue to #giveitaway!

The word from Funhouse (who posted to LO) after COT was that the LI pax returning to Shovel Flag looked gassed.  Music to any Q’s ears, for sure.  T-claps to the pax for pushing intensity throughout, especially to those who went to bed at Zero Dark Thirty and still posted (ahem…Slash).  The work was hard but the grass was soft and weed-free.

The workout on the ball field was built around the theme of “leaving home.”  Dallas is my place of birth but it’s no longer my home, physically or emotionally.  While my weekend trip for a nephew’s graduation proved to be fruitful on many fronts, I felt no nostalgia for the place.  I don’t say that with any disgust or anguish…it’s just a fact.  This was the first time in the 13 years since I moved to FM that I felt no emotional pull westward.  The realization prompted further reflection on whether I’d left behind certain habits and vices from my adolescence and young adulthood in Dallas — petty grievances with siblings and old friends, disrespecting parents, excessive drinking (and occasionally driving), strip joints and the list goes on.  Yes, I’ve turned a page since moving eastward, far from perfect, but further down the path of maturity.  How about you?  Are you still clinging to the past?  Whether your origins are in CLT/FM or elsewhere, might there be elements of the past, baggage from “home” or an earlier stage of life that you need to leave behind?  Marinate on that a bit as you recover and allow the sweat to evaporate.  And make a choice, take a step toward maturity and #Acceleration.

Thanks for being part of this Thursday.

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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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AKA to Clydesdales for a River Run

Day 9 of AKAY2 did not disappoint.  13 PAX came out to run the hills of the River District.  Beautiful morning, no sweat shirts and lots of yellow running gear!

4 mile loop: down Market straight to River District cul-de-sac and come on back.

5 mile loop: 160 to Sutton, right on Market intersection, straight to River District cul-de-sac and come on back.

Everyone got back safely and finished with COT.

Prayers for Jessica, Rebel’s co-worker,  battling 2 forms of cancer.

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Octagon of Pain, same low price, but now with more jumping!

Great morning and a great crowd of 16 PAX at the Poopdeck.  I mean it was still hot and humid as hell, but that’s par for this summer.

After a quick disclaimer we took off around the lot for a mosey that included some shuffle steps, NUR, and Toy Soldiers before circling up near where the cat lady roams for some Warm-A-Rama.

  • Windmills x10 IC
  • Planks (2x 10 counts)
  • Merkins x 10 IC
  • Morroccan Nightclubs x 10 IC
  • Low, Slow Squat x 10 IC
  • Hold squat (2x 10 counts)

Short Mosey to the upper lot (deck?) at the Poopdeck, I’ve been Q-loaded the last couple of weeks and the previous 2 Q’s were brutal on the arms and shoulders so I decided to mix it up a bit this morning by giving the upper body a complete break at the expense of all leg plyo workout.  I wasn’t sure how it was going to go over, but everyone seemed pretty beaten by the end.  In any case, here is the breakdown of how it works:

  • 8 Cones setup in an Octagon in the parking lot (fairly large in diameter though I didn’t count the paces) with a 9th cone in the middle of the Octagon.
  • Each cone had a (jumping) exercise on it
  • Pair up (only for the push, none of this required a partner)
  • Pick a cone, do the exercise on the cone, and then Broad Jump to the center cone and do 8 Burpees, then Broad Jump back to one of the 7 remaining cones and continue through until all 8 are completed and a trip back to the center cone after each cone for 8 more Burpees.
  • The exercises were:
    • 100 SSH
    • 100 Jump Rope
    • 50 Jump Squats
    • 50 Jump Lunges (25 each leg)
    • 50 Lateral Jumps (25 each leg)
    • 50 Knee Tuck Jump-ups
    • 50 Squat Jacks
    • 25 Bomb Jacks
      • ~64 Burpees
      • lot of broad jumping!

Everyone made it through at least once, which was the goal. In typical Jedi fashion he made it through a couple extra.  With about 10-15 minutes left we lined up for some Indian running around the parking lot.  Lead PAX drops and does 4 Burpees and rejoins at the back of the line.  We cycled through each of the 16 PAX twice before heading back to CoT and about 2 minutes of Mary to end the workout.

  • 6th annual Invergance at Rush Pavilion 9/21 @ 5:30
  • Prayers for all the teachers and kids in school
  • Prayers for injured PAX

Thanks Peg for the opportunity to Q!

Until next time,

-Flux-

 

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Still in Abyssness

I seem to keep having my last Q in the Carolinas at least once a week now. Gonna need to stop calling it that until I got a final date for when I leave. Bones gave me the Q for abyss at sea legs, came up with something on the spot that went more or less like this today-

Mosey to basketball court, COP

Mosey to the back road. At top of back road, tried having us do rugby sprints, learned its kinda hard to do it coming downhill, didn’t realize the angle was as steep as it was when trying to stop suddenly for six inches. Did this all the back to basketball courts

WIth a partner, each man does 30 pullups  altogether, switching off to run to give breaks between sets. I love my pullups, and 30 is ambitious I think for most people.

After this went on to main event. Tried explaining the whole routine before starting, but learned it was alot easier to just go round by round and have the PAX follow along till the habit picked up.

ISLAND HOPPING

4 islands nearest us in parking lot, do a set of an exercise and run to next. then,Far away islands, run to each and do 15 LBCs.  last island near middle by COT, 10 burpees before moving on to next round. rounds were as follows:

1.10 merkins

2.20 squats

3.20 monkey humpers

after going through one cycle of this, PAX had it down pat. 10 minutes, left, started over with intention that everyone do as much as they could before time. Pax in lead got to monkey humpers again before COT called.  As usual, Jedi was beast mode and in the lead and never looks like he’s dying haha.

Had lunch with Qbert today who was present, I asked him what the general impression was of ” a whopper Q”, if it had any general characteristics . He answered that it was that nobody ever knew what it was going to be or what to expect. Really, Really glad to hear that because honestly, my biggest thing that I want to avoid at all costs, is to be too predictable or cliche when I lead the beatdown. So its good to know.

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Pantheon-A good decision or not . . . ?

Been sick for four days now and decided to suck it up and lead this morning no matter how I felt. Tough, tough decision. Stupid decision to go out, too, but I couldn’t leave my brothers hangin’ in the (almost) cold. Just didn’t do any fist bumping today or breathing in somebody’s face. Worked on my verbal compliments today and, boy, were there plenty to give with this group of men!  It was a blast as usual when you don’t know what you’re going to get with Straight Up!

Standard Disclosures No FNGs today

Quality over Quantity today

Topic of the Month: Victory

Shared what came to mind for me was:

1 Corinthians 15:57: But thanks be to God! He gives us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Warm-up:

Ran a small lap: doing

High knees

Butt kickers

Bunny hops

Figure 8s

Toy Soliders

Continued with:

12 each person’s name SSHs

12 Ab Vigodas

15 Low slow squats

15 Peter Parkers

12 Merkins

15 Moroccan nightclubs

Rolling Crucifix – 4X each side

Table Twists – 4X each side

The Thang:

Attempted to run individually .65 miles but we cut it short at .35 miles

Moved to the field:

3 Exercises in a row:

1. Twisting Pistons until failure

2. 4 “Mancave move” (name made up by me) while others choose between X-jumps or no arms up burpees or scissor squats. 2 people did the move at a time and then 2 more rotated in. “Mancave move” is a merkin on weights, right row, merkin, left row, left row, merkin, squat press of weights up and control down, then repeat

3. 12 Alternating plank jacks or just plank jacks if you are not coordinated

20 second rest

2 Exercises in a row:

1. The Lazy Dora: Partner up;

One partner planks (Regular plank or back plank if you choose)

Other partner:

60 total Heals to the Heavens (12 each, then rotate with partner)

60 total each side Austin Ass-Kickers (12 each, then rotate with partner)

60 total cross jacks + 60 total plank jacks (12 each, then rotate with partner)

2. Tree hugger (for all of us) for 3 go-rounds: squat position hugging imaginary tree and PAX not hugging sprints around the group and taps shoulder of next person who then sprints, . . . 3X around for each person.

30 second rest

Burst Training:

2 50 yard sprints

Final Exercises:

15 Straight Calf Raises

10 Merkins

10 Squats

15 Outward Calf Raises

10 Merkins

10 Squats

Mosey to parking lot

COT

Announcements/Read your newsletter

Highlighted Praise:

Fish Sticks going to see extended family over the weekend

On the Rocks has read 94% of the Bible. Have you?

Highlighted Prayer Requests: For children in our area suffering from things such as bullying, identity issues, and self-esteem challenges. Our challenge: to encourage these preteens/teens with words of Victory listed above.

Diesel’s father’s next steps in life

Safety for Fish Sticks half marathon

Fish Sticks: thanks for the opportunity to lead some outstanding, hustle-oriented men this morning! It was fun!

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