Tag: Maximus

Locking Shields, a how to…

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Great Invergence today at WEP to close out an entire month of acceleration.

Now that we have finished a month of accelerating HIMs all over the Fort, how do we maintain that acceleration?

Answer? ACCOUNTABILITY!

Best way to execute accountability? Locking shields with fellow PAX.

Best way to consistently lock shields? Join a Shield Lock.

Today we heard from some 🛡🔒 PAX sharing experiences, advice and offering up themselves to their fellow PAX to learn the power of 🛡🔒.

To know more, ask a PAX that was present.

Need guidance or advice moving forward?  Reach out to @Pusher and he will point you in the direction of success and accountability.

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Miles, Merkins, and Bear Crawls

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Warmup: 55 SSH (IC) (While we had a visit from the boys in blue)

The Thang:

Merkin Mile part 1. Runde to Marina parking lot.

Run .25 miles – 25 Merkins

Run .25 miles-25 HR Merkins

Run .25 miles – 25 Merkins

Run .25 miles – 25 HR Merkins.

We ended up by the Marina Parking Lot for stage 2 of the workout.

10 Minute EMOM

5 Diamond Merkins

10 LBC’s

15 2-ct Flutters

5 Diamond Merkins

I scaled this portion up as we went a long and we ended on

7 Diamond Merkins

15 LBC’s

15 2-ct Flutters

7 Diamond Merkins

To cool down from the EMOM we did 20 SSH (IC) and 10 Michael Phelps.

Merkin Mile Part 2. Marina to Runde Parking lot.

25 Merkins

Run.25 Miles (we bearcrawled a portion of this up “the hill” to keep everyone together)

Run .25 Miles – 25 HR Merkins

Run .25 Miles – 25 Regular Merkins

Run.25 Miles – 25 HR Merkins

All Told we finished 2 miles with 100 regular Merkins, 100 HR Merkins and 100(and change) of Diamond Merkins.

After some LBC’s IC and just about 20 minutes to go in the WO. I asked the PAX to choose between option 1 and option 2.

Of course Option 3 was selected. As a result I called (partially inspired by JWOW’s Q the previous day) to do a Bearcrawl Webb. For this one, and since it’s BAPOPS, I called a burpee bear Crawl Webb.

1Burpee-4 Bear Crawl Steps. We did it all in the Runde parking lot and got all the way up to 10-40.

With just a handful of minutes left we got down to the Basketball court where I planned a “tempo” cool down.

12 Low Slow Squats IC

12 Tempo Merkins IC

12 Big Boy Sit-ups IC

12 American Hammers IC

Then went to

10 Low Slow Squats

And….before I could call the Merkins Uber distracted us all with a Huge Osprey flying overhead. It was effective in that it got the PAX out of the Tempo Merkins..it was in-effective in that since we only had 60 seconds left it gave me the opportunity to call 10 Burpees OYO.

This was a great morning and great time to spend with the men. Thanks to all who posted and Skipper for the Opportunity!

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Prison Yard Beatdown

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10  Pax converged at the rock on a cool Saturday morning 0630 for a full body beatdown led by Sasquatch and YHC.

*pre-pull-ups were completed by Skipper, Maximus, Sasquatch and YHC. All of them.

Sasquatch kicked the sesh off with a brief disclaimer and  a unique and effective warm-up that included:

SSH

5+ minute plank with upward dog, downward dog (with multiple variations)

Peter Parker

Parker Peter

Plank jacks

Merkins

Wide-arm merkins

Now that the upper body and core were fired up we moseyed over to the playground where we completed:

3 sets of 5 pullups

5 toes to bar

10 partner clap pushups

wheelbarrow ~20 yards

2 sets of 5 curb merkins

5 curb burpees

5 curb sit-up-getups

1 set of 5 windmill merkins

YHC took over right at 0700 and brought the PAX back to the parking lot where we split into two groups, first group (A)  runs lap around park, stopping at all park benches to complete a number of exercises, return to parking lot and switch with group (B) who is completing exercises in cadence with good form (AMRAP):

1st lap, Group B- Deep squats (AMRAP), Group A – Runs with 10 dips each bench (20 total)

2nd Lap, Burpees (AMRAP) and Step-ups (20 total)

3rd lap, Monkey Humpers (AMRAP) and Derkins (total)

After much grumbling and some counting methods no better than our last few elections we switched it up and moved to front of parking lot for some more partner work.

First partner sprints to far end of parking lot, 2nd partner holds plank. We did 3 or 4 rounds

Finally we did some Mary for 3 minutes, flutter kicks in cadence and american hammers to get us to 0730 and COT.

Thanks for the opportunity Skipper!

 

 

 

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Sun’s Out Guns Out at The Armory

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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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Failure is an Option

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Disclaimer:  I didn’t plan my workout the way I should have this morning, but I did have a topic we would run (literally) with this morning.  Failure. No one wants to hear the word.

synonyms
loser · born loser · incompetent · nonachiever · underachiever · ne’er-do-well · disappointment · write-off · no one · nobody · inadequacy · insufficiency · deficiency · lack · dearth · scarcity · shortfall

Back to the workout, first stop was the Subway parking lot.  I gave the Pax a few minutes to think about how many merkins they could do in 2 minutes, similar to APT.  Next, we each did our best to meet or exceed the goal.  I asked the Pax who didn’t meet their goal how they felt..most disappointed.  We briefly discussed failure.  How do we teach our kids how to handle it? Do we help them through it or let them learn on their own?

More discussion later as we moved to the next location.  After 13 years in the area, I still can’t remember street names.  We took a left at Hardees and I right on Hill (I called it Shady street) which wrapped around to 160.  We ended up at the Presbyterian Church.

Three rounds: Half the group ran around the front of the church while the others did an exercise.

Round 1:  Squats

Round 2: Burpees

Round 3: Plank

Next stop was First Baptist Church parking lot.  The group was split in half again.  Two pax were lined up on opposite sides on parking lot approximately 50 yards apart.  The other pax ran to the far end of the parking lot and switch places with the other pax.  It short, continuous sprinting back and forth for seven minutes.  With a few minutes left, we caught our breath, compared our heath rates, and moseyed back to the flags.

We had some extra time on the clock for some Mary.  Jekyll shared his experience with his 2.0 working on his Eagle scout project. The tricky balance between helping him navigate and letting him learn on his own.  Whether you call it a setback or failure, the more you learn how to handle these situations, the more the boulder becomes a pebble.

Keep getting better, Don’t give up!

 

 

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Are you running to or running from? And Duck Donuts

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SWEEP THE LEG

Monday, 3/7/2022

11 PAX – @Cubbie, @Vuvuzela, @Maximus, @Skipper, @Pusher, @Trucker, @38Special, @Shady, @FishSticks, @Badlands,@FireMarshallBill

Duck Dounts Workout Plan:

Run over to Brayden

Run 1 donut lap – 0.6 miles each

Complete next exercise

Donut lap is Emory to Helton, Helton to Emory

 

Lap 1 (Maple Bacon)

Exercise 1 – 20 Merkins

Lap 2 (Cookies and Cream)

Exercise 2 – 30 Dips on the curb

Lap 3 (Peanut Butter Paradise)

Exercise 3 – 50 squats

Lap 4 (Strawberry Shortcake)

Exercise 4 -Mountain Climbers – 50 each leg

Lap 5 (S’Mores)

Exercise 5 – Freddie Mercuries – 50 each leg

Extra Lap (Coconut Island Bliss) (@Vuvuzela, @Maximus, @Badlands, @Fishsticks, others??)

Exercise 6 – 50 Flutter Kicks

Head back for COT

PAX Notes:

Cubbie learned there are 5 rules to F3 not 3. Great start. Cubbie led PAX across 160 and went first while others decided not to become road meat, smart choice. We met at Emory and Helton by Brayden mailbox for workout plan. Trucker and 38Special got a head start, then ran in the reverse direction with Fire Marshall Bill. Cubbie ran with Skipper and helped with the hills. Mumblechatter helped push through. Vuvuzela, Badlands, and FishSticks led. Maximus, Shady, and Pusher followed in pursuit. Those 6 were able to complete Lap 6 / Exercise 6. Vuvu and Badlands stayed behind to catch remaining PAX and almost beat Cubbie back to COT.

4-5 miles ran

Covered plus/deltas for Cubbie VQ. Need more rest, less cardio in between running. Need to not shout at the nice Brayden neighbors during exercise explanation. Good plan with nice visuals and theme. Good workout, everyone seemed like they gave it 100%. There was some complaining about no actual Duck Donuts but the way I see it everyone had at least 5 while others went for half dozen.

Closing message before Announcements, Prayers, Closing Prayer – Are you running to or running from?:

STL is a running style workout. We are running around our communities, running for ourselves, running to be better men. We are running to these things – What are we running from? Is it that:

  • Anger that comes out when we are disciplining our children
  • The need to be in control
  • Joker in your life: Porn, Alcohol, drugs
  • Relationship with your wife that you want to improve that you don’t know how, with your children, with God

I had to start to get right in my mind to what I am running from. After being defeated, exhausted, and spent, I realized I couldn’t outrun my own Joker. By facing it head on, I was able to start that journey. I realized I need to be honest about myself and where I wanted to go. Most important I realized I could not go somewhere I had not gone before by using my same old mindset. I am not perfect and still struggle every day. But I try to be 1% better than the day before.

Start your journey today. Be honest about your struggle, get help professionally, join a Whetstone or Shieldlock, and start to attack your problems head on. And that is where each of us can become a better co-worker, leader, coach, Cub Scout leader, Dad, Husband, Son, and a man.

Honored to lead VQ. Thanks to those who showed and got stronger.

Cubbie out

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Your Q is Not Complete Until You Write a Backblast

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“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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STL – Just Keep Going

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9 PAX at Sweep the Leg

3.75 mile route through Baxter, some got a little extra at the end.

Every stop we did the following exercises for the 6 to arrive. When the 6 was in, YHC called either one more exercise or we went back to moseying
Exercises:
5 burpees
10 merkins
15 squats
20 flutters
25 lbcs
Mostly we continued on after squats or flutters

When we arrived at Alison Park everyone had 5 pull-ups, but they called the up and down. Other PAX were doing merkins because there’s only one pull-up bar in all of Baxter. 40 merkins and 5 pull-ups for everyone at Alison. From there we continued our route

NMM:
The workout was designed to model the following scenario. Sometimes things are rough and you want them to change. But you find the change is just as rough or worse. So, you go back and forth. The point is: you don’t stop.

An honor to lead such a fast group.

—
Band Camp Dismissed

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No Arrival

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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

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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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