Horse Collar

There was a time when the world whispered. When quiet blanketed the meadows, and branches parted. When we hiked in wordless wonder and the birds regaled us once more with song. It was this morning at The Hive.

Warmup:

  • Side Straddle Hops
  • Windmills
  • Tappy Taps
  • Merkins
  • Perter Parkers
  • Down Dog/Honeymooner
  • Hamstring Stretch
  • LBC’s
  • Futters
  • Ran a lap

The Thang:

Partnered up because accountability matters. Cones were lined up with a plethora of KB exercises. The timer was an experiment of mine that was a cross between a human horse and buggy with battle ropes. The idea was to run across the parking lot with resistance. It was teeeeerible!! All of the pax would rotate through the cones onto the resistance run.

After a few rounds the timer switched up to bear crawls and waiter carries (aka The Tesh).

Six o’clock arrive fast. Back to COT for prayers and praises.

Prayers for mental health, cancer, and marriages.

JWOW

 

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X marks the spot

10 PAX

First round: start In the center with SLD, loaded carry to corner 1, 10ish reps of each exercise, loaded carry to center for SLD, loaded carry to corner 2, etc. we hit 6 corners before finishing with the flow at the end

Center
5 Single Leg Deadlift (SLD) each side

Corner 1
Goblet Squat
2 hand Thruster
1 hand Thruster

Corner 2
Clean
Clean and Press
Clean, Squat, and Press

Corner 3
Swing
One hand Swing
High Pull

Corner 4
Reverse Lunge
Forward Lunge
Reverse Lunge and Press

Finishing Flow
Single Leg deadlift
Single Leg Clean
Reverse Lunge and Press
Alternating Swing (3)
Snatch
Repeat on other side

NMM:

Sometimes there’s still work to be done, but you’ve got to go home. Focus on what’s important when the clock ain’t running.

Also Airborne got really animated at COT: video evidence:

Grateful for the opportunity to lead:


Band Camp dismissed

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Sun’s Out Guns Out at The Armory

Kept the guns locked away in the armory all winter? Time to bust them out with some upper body work. We are skipping leg day today and getting all the gainz upstairs. Today’s workout kicks off a Spring of Sun’s out guns out, where we will encourage Qs to focus on the upper body and do a buy in/buy out of hammer curls and tricep extensions just to drive the point home.

The Thang:

2 minutes each exercise followed by 1 minute of each exercise in round 2.

 

Biceps:

21s

Hammer Curls

 

Triceps:

Tricep extensions

scull crushers

 

lats:

Lawnmower pulls

Pullovers

 

Delts:

Overhead presses

Bat wings (with the provided light dumbbells)

 

Traps:

Shruggs

High Pulls

 

Chest:

Chest press (with the optional 60lb monster KB)

Derkins

 

Everyone got stronger today. Band Camp got the most out of his lower jaw exercising. Can you really own anything? Yes: you can own your GAINZ

 

Thanks to Shatner for handing off the shovel flag

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Your Q is Not Complete Until You Write a Backblast

“Your Q is not complete until you write a backblast.”

Our 1st F Q is cracking down on backblasts… and YHC has put this one off for a week.  One week late is better than never.

 

L Train hit up YHC late Monday night to lead some Broga and Miles at Bushwood. Always happy to oblige some deep muscle therapy.

 

Started the BC off with our usual disclaimer + the five core principles of F3. Then we moseyed away from the music and warmth of UHAUL.

 

Circuit 1: Broga

15 min Yoga Flow after 1 mile warmup

Deep stretch positions including runners pose, lizard pose, modified pigeon, chair (w/prayer twist), etc. The PAX were not pleased to be done.

Finish off with 5 dead hang pull ups.

 

Circuit 2: Deep Burn

Mosey back up the hill and across Whites Rd to Forest Creek Middle bus loop.

Plank in wait for the six.

Low Slow Squats x 20

60 Second Al Gore Hold at end of 20th squat.

20 Squat pulses to finish.

Lunges x 10

60 Second Hold at end of last lunge

10 Lunge Pulses to finish.

Flap Jack to the other side.

Mosey back to COT for a little bit of Mary to finish off.

 

Apparently the boys at Snake Pit likes to listen to “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. on repeat. You do you, UHAUL.

 

‘Twas a good time at Bushwood. L Train – thank you for asking YHC to lead.

 

Punch List out.

 

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Slinging Cannonballs in the Armory

PAX were advised that this would not be an “ease into the week” workout.

After warmup, we did a quick skill demonstration on Kettlebell swings and cleans. Reviews were mixed.

We then took a walk all the way around the parking lot with our kettlebells.

 

Thang 1: Dora

Partner up and do the following: 100 cleans, 150 chest presses, 200 swings, 150 curls, 100 squats. 1 partner walks to the sidewalk and back while the other chips away at the reps.

 

Thang 2: 4 corners, no dropping the bell

corner 1: the dumpster – deadlifts

corner 2: the funeral home – overhead presses

corner 3: the hearse – tricep extensions

corner 4: COT. When we arrived, Band camp asked if we can put our kettlebells down yet. I acknowledged his suffering, and told the PAX they would have to put their bells down… because the last corner was manmakers.

Some quick Mary to finish the time, and off to take on the week.

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3-1-22: 3 lessons, 3 stations

YHC took a call up on the schedule to kick off March.  20 decided to converge east of the peach stand.  Three lessons were shared from Seneca and a few exercises were called.

COP – After the pledge, a mosey to Kimbrell’s for COP – squats, people’s chairs, windmills, seal jacks, and burpees sprinkled in got everyone warmed up and on to station #1.

Lesson 1 – “Train your body rigorously so it is not disobedient to your mind”

Station 1 – 10 burpees upon arrival.  7’s to follow – kraken burpees at the top of the circle with squats at the entrance of the circle.  PAX returned to the top of the circle to confirm the lesson was learned.  It was. From there, we moseyed to…….

Lesson 2 – “He who is everywhere is nowhere”

Station 2 – PAX paired up completing a 4 corner, 2 round circuit 5-10-15-20 – burpees, merkins, squats and seal jacks.  Upon completion, 5 more burpees to ensure the lesson was learned.  It was.

Lesson 3 – “Happy is he who makes others better”

Station 3 – flutters in cadence, LBC’s in cadence and a mosey back to COT.  Early arrivers did a few burpees to finish out and a few abs – geometry class brought us to 0600 and COT.

Announcements were shared, prayers were offered and praises were given.

NMM – 3 takeaways to expand on the lessons learned:

1 – Rigorous training enables us to be durable as leaders in our homes and communities.  We are better equipped to handle life’s challenges and keep a calm and clear mind when our bodies are strong.  Our mind and spirit require the same training.

2 – The person who feels busy may find themselves living the life of a hamster on a wheel – in a sense, being everywhere, but nowhere.  Are we setting routines that allow for avoiding that trap? Our world is great at distracting us.  We are equipped to mitigate that through our disciplines, our training and how we apply it daily.

3 – Helping others improve in their journey expecting nothing in return is the ultimate gift of impact.  As leaders, we are called to give away what we know in the pursuit of helping others seek advantage.  The feeling of knowing your effort inspired or encouraged someone to go further, work harder, apply themselves more, etc. brings about a joy knowing your work as a servant manifested itself positively in others.

My thanks to Kermit for the call out and the opportunity to lead a fantastic group of HIMs.  I am grateful to start the day (and in this case) month off on an advantageous foot.

Keep going!!!

Cyclops

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Coast to Coast Qs

A mid-week substi-Q request left YHC a bit concerned on how to fill an hour of pain. Fortunately, the request was picked up by an old friend of The Fort that now resides on the other coast, 88.

88 and YHC met early to get a lay of the land. He volunteered to lead us off, but needed to know where a few things were. It was a dark and chilly morning, and the wind was cutting.

14 PAX gathered just before 0630hrs, and all got to meet the brother from the Gold Rush Territory. With one fresh face in the crowd, a strong disclaimer was given, along with the 5 core principles.

The Fort broke off from Milkshake for a little mosey to the back side of the Pike Engineering.

COP
10 Merkins IC
20 SSH IC
10 Squats IC

Then we moseyed to the entrance of Pike Engineering, and did a set of Minus 2 at the masonry knee walls. Starting with 20 incline merkins and rotating with dips, we did all the reps and eventually made it to 0. The high numbers and pain cause confusion for several PAX, but we won’t name names here, will we Italian Job?

88 led us on a mosey back to WEP, where cones were laid out in 4 corners.
• First lap included 10 merkins at each cone
• Second lap included 20 squats at each cone
• Third lap included 30 Mountain Climbers at each cone
• Fourth lap included all of the reps – 10 merkins, 20 squats and 30 mountain climbers at each cone

88 handed off to YHC and we started at the front of the amphitheater.

Typically, if I have prepared a message, it’s because I need to hear it. Several things have prevented me from posting consistently over the last month, and I can feel it when I do make it out. So, in a plank position, I went over Q3.10 Consistency – “The Consistent Leader is constant and regular in everything he does. His followers are drawn to him because his steadiness provides a safe harbor from the howling winds of Chaos and Flux that blow periodically through their own lives. He is their rock.”

Recover and run one lap around WEP, performing 5 burpees at each swing. Cyclops and Italian Job led the way, with Clickbait giving chase. “5 more” burpees were continued in front of the amphitheater while waiting for the 6, or Stang to return from the woods. Stang was incredibly uncomfortable in the open area of the park, constantly gazing towards the trees. I’m not sure if the sun rising early helped either.

“Strong Routines are the framework of Consistency.” We in F3 know what to do. Wake up and exercise, everyday, We shouldn’t have to think about it, just do it. Remove unnecessary decisions, and create routines.

Next up, Dan Taylors. All the way across the WEP field. A few PAX wanted to play on the playground, and I heard rumblings of other shenanigans, but feared turning around to see what they were doing. The field was longer than I thought, but we got 55 squats and 220 lunges in.

“The Virtuous Leader focuses on bandwidth not perfection.” Reminded the PAX that consistency will help minimize the flux in our life. This isn’t about perfection, but about limiting the lows in our life. The things that keep us away from a healthy lifestyle that enables us to lead.

We moseyed back to CoT, and with a minute to spare, got 5 Mike Tysons – Bear crawl and Crawl bear in to close it out.

We welcome FNG Spit Valve, had prayers and praises for those at D2D and to those in Ukraine and affected by the conflict in Ukraine. T-claps to Clickbait who is organizing some relief efforts to that part of the world.

Thanks again to 88 for answering the call to lead! We look forward to your return.

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Laces Smorgasbord

Laces had 10 PAX with a
Smorgasbord on the menu

Warmup
Big 4 corners
SSH
Carioca
IW
Butt Kickers
HW
Shuffle
Mountain Climbers
High Knees
SSH
Toy Soldiers
IW

Moseying with some of the following at stops
BTTW
Aussie Mountain Climbers
Mike Tysons (quite a few of these)
Bear Crawls
Bulgarian Split Squats
Some yoga

When we made it to the pull-up bars, YHC had stashed some kettlebells and cinder blocks.

Split into groups for
10 manmakers
Or
10 burpee pull-ups
Switched out
5 manmakers
Or
5 burpee pull-ups
Switched to the last group with called up and down weighted squats or pull-ups

Moseyed back towards COT
Stopped along the way for:
Box jumps on the loading dock
SSH at the bottom of a hill
Bulgarian Split Squats
Mike Tysons at COT

NMM:
When you notice that something isn’t getting done (in this case it was me counting SSH in cadence at the bottom of that hill), it could be because it’s your job to do it. Go take care of business.

PAX at Laces today demonstrated they’re capable of some awesome work. It motivates me to post with guys accelerating like so many of y’all are in The Fort. I consistently look forward to seeing how our efforts in the gloom help spark impact outside of the gloom.


Band Camp dismissed

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Push It Real Good

Arrived early to walk the parking lot, still trying to figure out the plan for the morning. One thing was certain, we needed to start fast, because it was cold!

9 PAX showed at the Snake Pit (and another 5 at Bushwood) on a cold and crisp morning. With the traditional tunes blaring, and the chatter already strong, YHC stepped into he ring and gave the disclaimer. Being my first kettlebell Q, a strong disclaimer was given. We ran off the boot campers and got started.

Warm Up
20 SSH IC
10 LSS IC – hold
10 MNC’s IC while in Low Squat Position
10 Windmills

Buy In
11’s (or 22’s – depending on your interpretation) with KB Merkins and Snatch’s. All reps were completed.

This warmed the PAX up real quick. Or perhaps it was the playlist that took some PAX back to their middle school dance days. Evidently, 12-13 year old’s did not realize what Salt-N-Peppa were talking about.

The Thang
Farmer’s carry over to the adjacent parking lot, where 4 stations were set up. Each station had 3 exercises with a goal of 20 reps per exercise. Between each station, PAX were to run quick lap around the parking lot.

Station 1
Curls – 10/each side
Goblet Squats
American Hammers

Station 2
Single Arm Thrusters – 10/each side
Tricep Extensions – 20 or 10/each side
Standing Oblique Crunch – 10/ each side

Station 3
Kettle Bell Swings
Single Leg Deadlift -10/each side
Halos – 10/each direction

Station 4
Lawnmower Pulls – 10/each side
Front Raises
V-ups

Most made it through 6 stations. Then we farmer carried back to CoT. We had time for one set of LBCs, and the boot campers arrived back, though one was sitting in his truck? It was cold out.

Announcements. Prayers for recent loss within PAX family and workplace. Praise for Bitcoin’s new addition.

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Fort Mill Tour – No Charge

We had 20 men show up this morning at Block Party.  Alot more than I anticipated, but it’s good to have a big crowd.  After a quick disclaimer, we did the typical warm-up exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills).

I explained to the Pax, we would be on the move this morning, touring Fort Mill.  Our first stop was the Hardee’s parking lot.  Once everyone arrived, we did the following exercises:

20 Squats

15 Merkins

10 LBCs

5 Burpees

Next stop was Unity Church on Tom Hall, instead of taking the shortest route, we ran down Spring Street to Leroy and met at the front of the church.  The same exercises were done by the Pax.  We continue our tour around town to the Church of God parking lot on Academy Street.   Once exercises were complete, we moved to the next stop, the parking lot across from the gas station on Spratt Street.

Our fifth stop was the Fort Mill Church of Nazarene on Harris Street.  We took the longer route up hilly Massey Street to Harris Street.  Again, another round of exercises.  Our last stop was Walter Elisha Park.

We then made our way back to COT for one last round of exercises. Total distance was a little over 3 miles. The continued theme from Monday’s Q, “No Shortcuts”.  We took the longer route to each location.  The routes were hilly and more difficult, but we are better than when we started this morning.  Keep getting after it.

Great job everyone!

 

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