It’s Still a Keeper

WARMUP:
THE THANG:

5 Rounds. Each Round has it’s mode of transportation. There are 5 exercises that were repeated each round. Do the 1st exercise, then do the transportation, do 2nd exercise, etc. When done with all 5 exercises. Repeat with the 2nd transportation. Added some * options to modify harder if needed.

Transportation

Sprint – 2 aisles

Side shuffle – 2 aisles *add bell

Lunges – 1 aisle *pass thru with bell

Bear Crawls – 1 aisle *Crawl Bear back

NUR – 2 aisles

Exercises

Curls – 10 ea arm or 20 both

Squats – 10 *20

Overhead Press – 10 ea arm

Tricep Ext – 10 *20

Swings – 10 *20

MARY:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
COT:

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All of them

PAX we’re disclaimed and the five core principles were voiced.

WARMUP: Mosey to Grace Presby – Various exercises with burpees mixed in for fun.

THE THANG: Partner DORA behind Harris Teeter so PAX could experience the “Golden Corral fresh air” 100-200-300: Burpees, Squats & Flutter Kicks. Mosey off campus to office park and former Gold Hill Y property.

1-17-23 at each stop sign/corner – time for 3 rounds:
Stop 1 – 1 kraken burpee, 17 hand release merkins & 23 big boy sit ups

Stop 2 – 1 kraken burpee, 17 wide arm merkins, 23 sumo squats

Stop 3 – 1 kraken burpee, 17 diamond merkins, 23 flutter kicks

Mosey to gold hill Y driveway for 5 more burpees OYO then a jog to COT.

MARY: no time for it
ANNOUNCEMENTS: were announced
COT: YHTBT

Thanks to Slow Jams for the opportunity. It’s always an honor to lead.

Gratefully,
Cyclops 👁

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Mystic Rhythms

WARMUP:
Slow mosey out of the park, along Windward drive, down Mariana’s Ct, back up to the Windward, and then circle up on the basketball court for COP

THE THANG:
COP (All in double count cadence):
SSHx 25, windmill x 15, CDD x 10, Squat x 20, American hammer x 20, jumping lung x 15, merkin x 10, box cutter x 15, cherry picker x 15, plank/right arm/right leg high/regular, 6″/regular/left arm/leg high/regular/6″/regular, 10 burpees OYO

Move to the middle of the parking lot, and split up the group.
Group 1: runs to the playground, and does 10 pull-ups, while group 2 does hello dolly. Flapjack
Rinse and repeat two more times with LBC’s and flutters

Mosey to the field for the Tunnel of Love (5 sets)

Mosey out of the park to the bottom of Mariana’s Ct for Jacob’s ladder. 5 reps on the hil, count 1-5 burpees at the top, run backward on reps 2 and 4. Mosey back to the wall along the concession stand in the park.

Power Square.
Assume BTTW on the concession stand wall, walk on your hands along the wall, lunge walk out to the 2nd base, bear crawl along a line parallel to the wall, lunge walk back. Rinse and repeat for a total of 3 squares.

Circle up in the field and finish off the workout with 10 minutes of Broga (Mountain Pose, Warrior I/II, Triangle, Cat/Cow, Knees to chest, Happy Baby, Corpe (aka Body Destroyer).

COT

Naked Man Moleskin
Great winter morning at Alcatraz! Love the cold temps and dry air. I can’t remember the last time Q’d a whole hour. It was nice having the full 60 minutes to make it tough, but also do something different. I took a cue from Change Order and included Broga today to mix it up a bit and cool down at the end of the workout (which we never do!)

Jiffy joined us today after an extended break from F3, but didn’t show any nice of lack of fitness. Good work, brother! We had a solid group today and everyone pushed through it to make themselves better. It’s always a pleasure to lead the fine men of F3, and I look forward to my next Q at Alcatraz.
The title of the workout is yet another Rush reference (RIP Neil Peart). Since we did yoga today, it seems to fit (a little – haha).

ANNOUNCEMENTS, PRAYERS, PRAISES:
Dam2Dam 10K coming up. Opportunities to run, ruck, or just volunteer. This is a benefit for FM schools. Read your newsletter.

Prayers and praises: Pumpkin Spice’s daughter going through treatment, ST’s son’s girlfriend’s father’s passing. Change Order’s mother-in-law with Covid. Praise for Uber’s son’s success as a student musician!

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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.

 

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No Arrival

40-some pax posted to the region’s Ground Zero at WEP for a smorgasbord of pain, from 6@6 to Millkshake to a tried and true BC beatdown.  A very explicit and thorough Disclaimer was pronounced by Dark Helmet for the benefit of our FNG, and then the pax blasted off.

The Thang

The recitation of the 5 Core Principles quickly failed to meet DOAH’s standard, leading to some burpees.

Mosey around the parking lot with some toy soldiers and knee lifts mixed in, with the pax following onto the bandshell stage.

COP proceeded including more core principles along with some Merkins and DOAH’s proclamation that maybe the FNG’s fitness surpassed that of many of the pax present.  {Yes, he’s good at stirring the pot whether he’s poking at the Q or Qing himself.}

More mosey and more warm up exercises until the pax reach the far side of the WEP.

Enter stage left — the BAOPS boys via Clown Car — Trucker, Smuggler, Change Order & Longshanks, who just couldn’t stand the thought  of missing out on the best 1st, 2nd & 3rd F in The Fort on this given Saturday.  {Pro move by whoever made that call!}

Partner up for wheel barrow…to the playground…Yes…to the playground!…where the fun really starts.  {Fishsticks promptly cruised 85% of the way there to prove to his FNG that no matter what DOAH says, the FNG’s fitness had room for improvement.}

At the playground, each partner does 50 (yes, Five-O!) pull ups.  {Jiffy cranked out 30 in rapid fire.}

Some core work followed including LBCs and Rosalitas among others.

Handoff to Double D

Run to the bottom of the hill

Jacob’s Ladder with Donkey Kicks at the bottom and Sumo Squats at the top.  Traverse to the top via Bear Crawl and run to the bottom.

Mosey back to the parking lot with some Mary led by Jekyll

Climb the Stairway to Heaven via lunge walks, pausing for Carolina Dry Docks at each lamp post, starting with 5 reps and adding 5 more at each successive post.

Mosey down to the monuments with some Mary led by Longshanks

Circle up for an FNG introduction to Jack Webb by Change Order

Run home for final 2 mins of Mary by Longshanks

COT

NMM

A spirited pax at The Fort on this pleasant late winter morning!   Back to back weeks with a convergence at The Fort — thanks to the Alcatraz boys for adding their zeal to the day!

Maximus delivered the tailgate coffeeteria in the parking lot afterward and our FNG (EHed by Fishsticks) hung around long enough to learn the backstory of his name (Roy Kent) and to fill his rolodex with roofing customer prospects.

Welcome to Roy Kent!  Barry Manilow was quite vocal about the quality of the name and the importance of RK living up to it.  Well, if he doesn’t meet the mark, we can always default to what RK thought we named him — Rockette!

It was great to have Car Bomb among the pax today, fresh off his return trip from New Zealand, prior to his resettlement in another adventure.

The theme for the day was geared around the notion of life being an endless series of mountain climbs, peak after peak, with no arrival to the top in sight — ever.  Depressing, huh?  No, not for the HIMs of F3 and The Fort.  Give us the hard stuff.  We’re playing the long game and we know you can’t play it alone.  So keep posting, stay engaged with your brothers.  Together we’ll keep accelerating.

It was a treat to Q with DOAH for the first time.  We all look at him as just another member of The Fort, which of course he is.  At the same time, he also invests a huge amount of his life leading the 43 feet for the Nation.  Not only is it not easy being Frank {imagine how hard it must be for Traci his wife}, it’s also lonely at the top of any organization {how about leading one with 50,000 type A men?}, and it’s incredibly challenging to serve as the successor to any founder {would you want to try one Dredd’s shoes}.  Despite the small jabs, I say this with all seriousness — DOAH has taken on an extremely difficult challenge, one that he executes well with tremendous energy and virtue and that we all benefit from.  We’re fortunate that he calls The Fort “home” and that we get to take his crap on a regular cadence.  Thank you, DOAH!

Thanks to Grinder for the opportunity!  Always an honor to lead the men of this brotherhood!

SYITG

 

 

 

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Convergence: Love & a passing of the flag

Station 1 (Santini): Traditional Pain Platoon

Just your basic beat the hell out of your legs exercises of lunges, squats, and burpees intermixed with meditation and box breathing exercises. Sprint to the top of the hill, recover, and do more exercises including Moroccan night clubs and Carolina dry docks.

NMM: Anxiety and gratitude are not able to occupy the same space.

Station 2 (Shady / Maximus)

Warmup (Shady) – 21 SSH, 5 burpees, 18 SSH, 5 burpees, 12 SSH, someone whined about burpees so we did 10 diamonds merkins…then did 5 burpees
Group 1
  • partnered up and Dora style started out with 100 pull-ups.  Partner 1 on the pull-up bar, partner 2 did a lap around the playgroud
  • Stayed on playground, stayed with partner, Partner 1 AMRAP merkins while partner 2 ran the length of the playground and back to AMRAP merkins
  • Stayed on the AMRAP theme with flutters, then back to merkins, then back to flutters…then (I think) time was called

Group 2

  • Partnered up and Dora style, but this time 50 pull-ups with the run around the playground (Q modification given time and we aren’t cyborgs)
  • AMRAPs were just 1 round of merkins and flutters (again, I think…may need a lifeline here from Max)
  • We made our way to the hill with the statue where Maximus laid down the NUR up the hill and at the top 10 bomb jacks and ran to the bottom where we did 20 American hammers..we did this twice
  • W/ time to spare we ran to the top for 10 diamond merkins and ran to the bottom for 10 V-ups
  • In buzzer beater fashion, we ran to the top again for 10 ranger merkins and ran to the bottom for a partner 1 lay on the ground and grab partner 2s ankles where partner 2 would throw partner 1s feet down 10 times as you straight leg lifted them to his face

Group 3

  • Dora style 50 pull-ups with the run around the playground
  • We made our way to the hill with the statue where Maximus laid down the NUR up the hill and at the top 10 bomb jacks and ran to the bottom where we did 20 american hammers..we did this twice
  • Running low on time ran to the top for 10 diamond merkins and ran to the bottom for the ankle grabbing / feet throwing core exercise 10 times
NMM: After each of the groups had done their pull-ups, Maximus and Shady shared their thoughts and experiences on LOVE.
  • Shady – areas of focus were loving your brother and being your brothers keeper.  Sending a text or reaching out to someone to just say “hey, thinking of you” could change their day.  Realizing that the ones you love are watching you, emulating you, picking up on good and bad habits.  Realizing we don’t know it all, especially to the ones we love, is a sign of humility and a factor of growth and development.  For those of us with children, we have never been parents before so we honestly have no idea what we’re doing.  Love starts with servant leadership and personally for YHC, this usually progresses when the mouth is shut and ears are open.
  • Maximus – For my discussion on love, it begins with being intentional as love is a decision. We must make the decision to be intentional with our actions. Whether it be in our faith, marriage, parenting of our kids, with friends and yes, even with work relationships, we must be intentional. Think about how easy it is to get distracted, whether at dinner with your wife or even on a Zoom call for work. We often allow our minds to wander or even start doing something else while the other person is talking, looking for our engagement. Stop. Be the person who is present in the moment. Put the shoe on the other foot. Love that person as your relationship to them allows.

Station 3 (Pusher & Cakeboss): Love Edition

COP
  • SSHs
  • Windmills
  • Squats
  • Mtn Climbers
  • Merkins
  • IWs
Cake Boss spells love “B-U-R-P-E-E”
The Thang
  • Jacobs Ladder with Derkins and Monkey Humpers
  • Plank/Dip sequence
  • Bear crawl to top with burpees
NMM:
  • Cord of 3 strands cannot be broken. Having God in your marriage is the 3rd string. Adding communication to the marriage strengthens it. – CB
  • Gifts vs Gaps. Focus on the gifts that your wife or significant other bring vs what she is missing. Seeing her this way builds love. – Pusher
  • Much love was on display with all of the mumblechatter and fellowship. The relationships formed through F3 has increased our love internally and is reflected outward to our Ms, 2.0s, PAX and community… #morethanaworkout

Shovel Flag hand off for two leadership positions in the Fort:

Shady handed off the Nantan role to Double D
Esso handed off the Weasel Shaker role to YHC

Awesome work by the PAX today. Hard to put into words how much improved my disposition on life is since moving back to Fort Mill because of F3. Grateful for an opportunity to serve the PAX of The Fort.

NMM: Double D was the site-Q at Block Party when I started posting. If it wasn’t for his steady presence with a commitment to the integrating 2nd F and 3rd F elements into each workout, I doubt I’d have kept posting. Double D is a genuine human, I’m a better dude for knowing him, and I’m excited for his leadership.


Band Camp dismissed

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Thanksgiving Convergence 2021

68 PAX in attendance for a pre-thanksgiving beatdown and some fellowship on a brisk morning Thursday 11/25/2021.

 

With the anticipation of fried turkey, oreos and coffee brought by @Change Order, @Smuggler and @RubySlippers, mumble-chatter abounded,  until @Hardwood took the center and called attention at 0600 hours. Disclaimer was disclaimed and the call for new FNG’s was made, no new FNG’s was the lone blemish on the otherwise fantastic morning in my humble opinion.

Run options led by @Gekko and a Moderate group led by @TripleLindy set off as the rest of the PAX moseyed towards back of Springfield Elementary. First Destination was in parking lot way back by the Middle School.

Circled up and @Hardwood called out the following exercises:

SSH- 40

Windmills

Downward Dogs and Honeymooners

Low & Slow Squats

Cyclops: Stay in Squat Position and complete Moroccan Nightclubs

 

The Thing

Series of Webs

Starting with Merkins and Overhead Claps

1×4 for 10 rounds of excruciating shoulder pain, mumble-chatter becoming more focused on the task at hand

more SSH 🤮

Next we completed ANOTHER WEB, worse than the last,

Shoulder Taps and Moroccan Nightclubs

1×4 for 10 more rounds that was never ever going to end

Lots of requests for Burpees strangely or anything other then arm workouts!

 

YHC began the 2nd half of the workout with more SSH

Mosey around to front of Middle School with 3 stops for 5 Burpees OYO, at the request of the PAX

Line up at bottom of small hill in front of school and explain the workout, AMRAP LEG CIRCUIT

Teams of 4 ish men cycle through three exercises at bottom of hill individually:

2 Squats

2 Split Lunges

2 Bomb Jacks

Next Broad Jump up Hill to top and complete the following:

2 V-ups

Bear Crawl to bench

2 Step Ups

Run around and down to bottom of hill stopping at cones for 2 burpees (two stops per lap)

Meet back at bottom of hill and repeat, only this time DOUBLE ALL REPS TO 4X

Goal is to complete 5 rounds or AMRAP, almost completed but just short of time before we had to get back to COT

YHC shared a article on Gratitude, and then @Shady shared the heart of the Fort, the success of @Seamstress initiative with the help of the PAX, @Seamstress shared his excitement and appreciation for the success of the event! Great job by all T-claps!

Finally we had a shovel hand-off YHC taking the Ranch from a long line of great site Q’s which I hope to make proud.

Then we were finally able to enjoy the fried delicacies and coffee! Cheers!

 

 

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October Hustle

9 Stallions greeted October at the Ranch for a Bootcamp and were joined by 2 Ruckers at COT.

The Thang:

Mosey to Square Field for Warm Up

  • SSH
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Hill Billy Walkers
  • Burpees

Mosey to Middle School Back Parking Lot

Bearpees – Jack Webb Burpee 1×4 Bear Crawl

Escalator. One exercise with prescribed count (IC), run the full lot and back

  • 10 Burpees
  • 20 Merkins
  • 30 CDD
  • 40 Low Slow Squats
  • 50 Lunges

Paula Abdul – 5 Burpees, Run Forward 3 Spots, Back 1 the length of the Parking Lot

Mosey around to back of School for Inchworm Merkins for length of the first building.

Mosey to Middle School Pickup Line for Merkin Gassers.  Set of 10 of each followed by Gassers to each speed bump and back.

  • Diamond Merkins
  • Werkins
  • Rangers
  • Merkins

Indian Run back to start for 6MOM and COT

Announcements: Read your Newsletter.

 

Honor to Serve.

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12 Days of Christmas

Today at the Ranch I had the pleasure of leading nine men in a 12 days of Christmas Beatdown. I know its a week before Thanksgiving but like everyone else we will skip to Christmas.

We started with a warm up of Windmills, Tappy Taps, SSH and Moroccan NC and then we moseyed to the back playground for some real fun.

Our 12 Days of Christmas :

1 BURPEE

2 MERKINS

3 SQUATS

4 MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

5 BIG BOY’S

6 FLUTTERS

7 DIAMOND MERKINS

8 LBC’S

9 BOX CUTTERS

10 CDD

11 AMERICAN HAMMERS

12 WIDE ARM MERKINS

OH!!  I forgot there was a lap around the loop after every day. There was some singing and some complaining as well.

We ended with some Mary and Two Ruckers joined us for  COT!!

Thanks Jiffy for letting me lead these fine men.

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Halloween Rain- The Ranch

It was a warm dark morning, rain heavy as I drove to The Ranch. One of my personal favorite AOs in The Fort. Maybe becouse it is where I was the site Q for awhile or maybe just becouse there are lots of areas to torture people when I am on the Q.
I was first to arrive and wondered how many would join me in the rainy gloom. Couple cars roll in just before zero dark start time.
Disclaimer. Mosey around parking lot and get a quick warmup. SSHs, LBACs, windmills, IWs.
Mosey to front of middle school- partner up by benches- 20 derkins, 20 alternating stepups, 20 dips.
Partner wheel barrow to end of side walk and back. repeat x’s 3.
Mosey to back of school- chair sits in cadence- Balls to wall incadence- bearcrawl out to edge of parking lot and back- 3 sets.
Mosey to play ground- 3 sets 5 pullups, 10 merkins, 15 squats.
Mosey to bus loop- duck walks 10 diamond merkins, bunny hops 10 wide arm merkins, 1 leg jumps 5 pistol squats, switch to other leg repeat.
Mosey to COT.
announcements, prayers and praises.
Backdraft out.

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