McDonald’s for Breakfast

Warm-O-Rama:
-20 Peter Parker Peters
-10 Low Slow Toe Squats (don’t fall over Trucker)
-20 Flutter Kicks With Arm Flutters
-20 Hello Dolly With Flutter Kicks
-15 Calf Raises While Holding Al Gore
Mosey to wall for:
-20 People’s Chair With Arm Flutters
-10 Alternating Shoulder Taps While Holding BTTW

The Thang:

4 corners with station in the middle.
In the middle we all did 5 body bag builders for stations 1-4 each time while burpee broad jumping to the station and back, then 15 flutter kick & arm stations 5-8 and did duck walk from the middle to the station and back.
Station: exercise (all in cadence and together as a group)
1: Air chair and overhead claps x 15
2: Low slow jump squats x 15
3: Superman position + Moroccan NC’s x 15
4: CDD + donkey kick x 15
5: Derkin + shoulder tap x 15
6: Dying cockroach + flutter kick x 15
7: Aussie snow angels x 15
8: American hammer + lbc x 15

Trucker for a 10 count and mosey to open parking lot. Pick a partner and stand 8 parking spaces apart. Meet partner in the middle and knock out 10 clap merkins. Method of transport for round 1 is bear crawl to partner, crawl bear back. Round 2 crab walk forward, 10 clap merkins, crab walk backward.  Repeato.  Cot.

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Disco inferno with DJ Twister

Twister was up to getting the group awake this am with some 70s TV trivia which is good for the respect crowd but very challenging for those of us born in the late 70s…and even an 80s in there.  Since YHC controlled the weinke but not the jams, all was good.  Disclaimer was given as the sweet melodies of 80s rock played in the background, and a brisk mosey ensued to the track.

Warmup of SSH, windmills, imperial and hillbilly walkers, merkins, low slow squats for counts ranging from 10-25 got the blood flowing.

Boss Hogg took off for loops on the track given the nursing on the shoulder while the rest of us counted off in 2 splitting into groups.  Here’s the game: name the 70s TV show tune played by DJ Twister and avoid the 5 burpee penalty.  While you’re thinking of the song, do the name of the exercise called off by Shady below with a minimum and maximum number associated (this was adjusted very quickly b/c some people watched a lot of TV growing up!)

  • 10 hand release merkins
  • 20 squats (10 min)
  • 25 CDD (10 min)
  • 30 lunges (10 min)
  • 50 plank shoulder taps (20 min)
  • 40 ski jumps (20 min)
  • 60 calve raises (30 min) – out/reg/in
  • 20 diamonds (10 min)
  • 50 SSH (25 min)
  • 25 merkins (10 min)
  • 40 mountain climbers (20 min)
  • 30 American hammers (20 min)
  • 30 plank jacks (15 min)
  • 50 LBC (25 min)

We rinse and repeated through most of the list but the minimums were removed a second time through.  With about 15 min left, we ran around the track stopping at each 100 yard corner where we did some core (for the most part).  1st corner was 50 LBC, 2nd corner was 20 big boy (and some monkey humpers for our our track walkers passing by), 3rd corner was 30 American hammers, and 4th and final was 30 flutters.

With about 5-10 min remaining, we took our last bit of time to the football field.  Lining up on the goal line, we ran back and forth from the goal line to the 10 yard, back to goal then to 20…all the way to 40 yard line.  At each 10-40 yard line, we did 1 burpee for 10 yard up to 4 burpee at 40 (so a total of 10 burpees + the running for those of you who struggle with quick math!).  Once back on the line, there was time for a 10 count along with a message about being intentional.  Be intentional with the exercise, be intentional with your kids at home and at their activities, be intentional with your wife – pay attention to them!

Once everyone caught their breath, we rinse and repeated the lines and burpees – crowd favorite!  Once said and done, we did a mosey back to COT for closing ceremonies.  All in all, great morning and great push from the PAX.  Enjoyed it as usual and thanks to Manziel for the opportunity!!

Shady

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Downpour with Roxanne at Laces In

This morning was supposed to be very wet, and again the Weather professionals got it wrong. Knowing the anticipated challenges, I prepared a weinke that would allow for a covered area. And….not a drop of rain. Had to make some audibles on the fly to make sure the PAX got a good sweat in. To my surprise, 9 HIM showed up for the morning’s beat down. Only vets were present so I delivered a quick disclaimer and off we went.

 

Mosey to the main parking lot taking a left turn immediately because it was too windy for Trucker…mumble chatter champion. Completed the mosey and circled up in front of the drop off area near the front of the gym.

 

IW x 20

SSH x 25

Windmill x10

Overhead claps- x20

Happy Jacks- 5 rounds

MNC x10

Seal Jacks- x15

 

PAX headed over to the curb, lined up across and turned and faced the parking lot.

I spent a little time here sharing with the PAX about a recent pledge brother that took his own life last week. With that came a challenge, to think about Men that you can be impacting that need your support. Whether you think it is annoying or not, there are men out there that are desperately seeking another man to pick them up. All it takes is an additional call or text, anything to let them know you are thinking of them.

 

Ok, with that in mind, the PAX were instructed to do suicides to the fourth line with a numbered space. When you reach the 4th number perform the exercise listed and then run back. Hold a plank for the 6.

 

Round 1- Merkins x10

Round 2- CDD x10

Round 3- Burpees x10

 

Continued with the message to the PAX to make sure it stayed in the front of their mind during the workout. Reminding them that if it’s them that is struggling to not go through it alone.

 

Next Mosey was to the breezeway area at the football stadium.

 

Circle up. I had prepared a little Roxanne workout in anticipation of the downpour that didn’t happen. After some brief fumbling with the technology, off we went.

 

Roxanne, you don’t have to…- flying squirrels

 

In between- The Pax were doing Seal Jacks.

 

This got the blood going! Of course I am a sweater, but there some extra puddles around me during this. It looked like the PAX were enjoying it as well.

 

Immediately after the song, we jumped into the Deck of Death.

 

Spades- CDD

Hearts- Monkey humpers

Clubs- Plank Jacks

Diamonds- wide arm Merkins

Joker- 5 burpees

 

We made it through about ¾ of the deck and the runners joined us for the last few.

 

Back to COT

 

Announcements– Newsletter

 

Praises– for the PAX who showed up. I was reminded this morning that being in the gloom makes a positive impact on our daily lives. This does mean you necessarily have to participate in the workout if you are on the IR. I encourage PAX on the IR to show up with a partner and walk and enjoy some fellowship.

 

Prayers-

 

Bonsai’s Wife’s grandmother

Cyclops Dad

The family of my brother whose life ended too soon

My wife’s student who passed away

Injured PAX

Marriages

Any I missed

 

Additional thoughts on challenging us as men and fathers to enjoy the moment and practice patience as best as you can.

 

Mental Health- I will repeat this over and over, you are not alone. Engage, ask, and reach out. If not, this is just a workout.

 

 

Thanks for the opportunity and for showing up on this rainy day.

 

 

Frat Boy

 

 

 

 

 

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You want me to take that coupon to the top of that hill HOW??

The morning started simply enough with a warm-up mosey around WEP with stops at each pain station to warm up and explain the ins and outs of the first half workout…

Station

  1. Carolina Dry Dock to Bear Crawl in the direction of the next station in an ascending fashion…
    1. 1:4, 2:8, 3:12, 4:16, 5:20 and then run to the next station
  2. 5 Burpees then 25 Low Slow Squats finishing with 5 burpees before running to the next station
  3. 25x Shoulder Taps in cadence to 25 Lunge Walks (each leg) then running to the next station
  4. 60 count Honeymooner to allow for reset, 20x Merkins in Cadence, 20x Low Slow Squats in cadence and running to the final station
  5. 25x American Hammers in cadence, 25 Plank Jacks in cadence
  6. Rinse and Repeat course until halted by JWow

Then began the real pain…  after unloading coupons in the shape of cinder blocks from the back of the Slash-mobile we wandered off to a secluded portion of the park…

JWow found many ways to carry the coupons up a hill in an irrational and chaotic way…  A grand time was had by all.

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A Morning Walk Through Town

Five men gathered at Veteran’s Park and spent an hour together.  Here is what they did:

After the Pax were disclaimed,  I took a few minutes to ask each person what their ailment was so I had an idea of what we could do today.   For the record:  Maximus (foot), Twister (detached retina healing), Flat Tire (bruised abdomen/ribs -thanks for showing us too), Crab Cakes (groin pull) and Senator Tressel (knee pain and torn calf muscle).    With that, we were ready to get started and since we were standing next to the Veteran’s Memorial, it seemed fitting to recite the pledge of allegiance.  Then the walk began:

Head west on North White Street.  Along the way, we passed the morning crowd at The Fort who were running circuits and doing something that looked kind of painful. ( Yeah, we weren’t going to do much to that today).

Stop at the small lot next to the Springs building and stretch from head to toe.   Continue on to the playground at WEP.

At the playground do 3 sets of pullups (10 reps/set)  Leave the playground and walk to the entrance in front of the Springs Building.

Plank hold/6″ hold for a bit.  Find the grass and do some abwork (pretzel crunch and something else)  Follow the path to the side parking lot of Springs.

On the low roofline of the building, do wall pull-ups (10 reps).  From there we bear crawled across the lot and held a dip position on the curb.  Bear crawl back to the building and do a wall sit (I think).

Walk back to Veteran’s Park.

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

That doesn’t look like much.    Was that all we did?  Oh no!  What isn’t shown is all the conversation that happened during the walk and in between the exercises.  I have known these fine gentlemen for several years and decided that today would be a great opportunity to get to know them better.  We shared a lot of things from when we were growing up, through college and our first jobs, how we met our wives and proposed to them, and how we all ended up in Fort Mill.  Here are just a few of the findings from our hour together:

  1.  Charlie comes from a family of engineers and his dad taught at Lousiana Tech
  2. Andrew has known his wife since middle school and lived in Portland for a couple of years.
  3. Dave turned down Notre Dame University for Villanova and Salomon Bros for Pepsi (or another company).
  4. Tyson was a semi-professional rugby player and proposed to his wife in Ireland (in less than ideal conditions).
  5.  Frank became a Naval officer after college, but left after only 18 months on active duty.

Today was all about the 2nd F, and it was one of those times when people together and there is a certain chemistry within the group.    From the start of the hour to the end,  everyone got into the spirit of sharing, and all the guys were more than willing to talk about their lives.  We learned a lot about each other, poked fun at the things we did when we were younger, and enjoyed a walk together on a beautiful autumn morning.  I have Q’d many, many times over the years and can honestly say that today’s Q was one of my favorites.  Thank you, Charlie, Andrew, Dave, and Tyson for making today’s F3 workout memorable, and one that I will remember for a long time.

Announcements/Prayers and Praises

  1.  Funhouse’s son (Offspring) in Alaska with an infection and low O2 level.  Funhouse traveled to Alaska.
  2. Injured Pax and friends with illnesses

 

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Pastor of Pain

YHC was asked to Q at the Hive by a HIM named Band Camp and I jumped at the request. I am use to Kettlebells and love Qing them. Today I brought with me a WO that was recently Q’d at my home AO #Cannonball by Survey Says! and I named it the Pastor of Pain after him.

We started with a basic Traveling COP with some SSH, MNC’s, Low Slow Squats and some basic Arm stretches. We eventually made our way to where I had a few cones set up about 10 parking space’s apart from each other and began:

The Thang was basically a ladder:
Begin at Cone 1 with 10 Man Makers then Broad Jump with the Bell in hand to the second Cone and do 10 Snatches then Broad Jump to the third cone and do 10 Turkish Getups then overhead bell mosey all the way back to the first cone.
Start at Cone 1 again with 20 Wood Choppers Lunge to the second cone and do 20 overhead bell Presses Lunge to the third cone and do 20 Bell Swings then overhead bell mosey all the way back to the first cone.
Start at Cone 1 again with 30 Goblet Squats Bear Crawl to the second cone and do 30 Curls then Bear Crawl to the third cone and do 30 Bell Merkins then overhead bell carry mosey all the way back to the first cone.

Repeat the Thang again in Backwards order starting with the 30 reps segment.

Last thing to finish the time I Beta tested a part of our First Lake Wylie CSAUP “Nessie”. Basically a kettlebell high plank shoulder to shoulder bell pass/Indian run style if that makes sense then same thing kinda but head to toe bell pass. Beta test worked because everyone hated it.

Got to meet a few new PAX and that is why I always like Qing and different AO’s.

Finished up with a COT (announcements, a few prayers and praises and all thankful for another day).

Thanks for the opportunity to lead Band Camp

I am enjoying this ride I am on and am not sure where it is taking me but all we can do is prepare and train.

TWO FERNS!

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Cards & Bells

Yeah, why not take the deck of cards across the lake? What could go wrong? Oh, you mean Cannonball is a kettle bell workout…uhhhhh, ok.

Welcome to what went through my head as I penned the Weinke for this morning’s Q at Cannonball. During the TRAINING process for an upcoming event, I’ve spent a decent amount of time with the infamous deck of cards so the last thing I wanted to be called was selfish. I must share this with my “friends.” After all, we only have 45mins which, after a little warm up, means closer to 40.

So, once 14 others joined me and got disclaimed, we took off on our warm up jog with a little, and I mean a little, additional stretching. Back to the start for some warm up exercises consisting of:

Mountain Climbers, Peter Parkers, Merkins and Windmills

Soooooo, get comfortable with your bell and listen to today’s version of the deck of cards.

Like normal, each suit represents an exercise and the number/face on the card represents the rep count. Here’s the twist, I’m planning to get through the entire suit (numbers at random and are decently shuffled) before moving on. Once we finish a suit, we’ll do a little 4-corners visiting. I know, I know, you’re longing for a better explanation so for those still reading (hey Funhouse), you’re welcome:

Diamonds: Slow upright rows w/ the KB.

Run the 4 corners of the parking lot with 15 Merkins at each corner.

Hearts: 8ct Body Builders with a KB swing at the top rather than a jump. We made it through about 1/2 of these before I noticed the time was getting away from me. Yeah, I’ll blame it on that.

Run the 4 corners with 15 Chop Sticks at each corner. Think Flutters but in a “C” formation rather than straight up and down.

Spades: KB Curls. While challenging these were a welcome change.

Run the 4 corners of the parking lot with 10 Dips at each corner.

Clubs: KB Thrusters. We made it through 5 of these before losing to Father time.

It seemed a little too easy in the beginning but as has been the case EVERY SINGLE TIME we do the deck of cards, it turns into a heavy dose of humility. For those that travel with work and you’re not able to find an AO to visit, take a deck of cards with you to have your own workout in the hotel gym or parking lot. It’s a great alternative to running with the fern. Unless of course, you get to run with Two Ferns.

My message today was about training. I shared some personal training journeys I’m currently on and encourage the PAX to train for something. Don’t make the mistake thinking training is only possible in the physical sense. Training is putting a plan together to get better at something or in some aspect of life. Think about how you can train spiritually, mentally, emotionally or, in a relationship. If you’re not training, you’ll be stagnant which means you’ll become part of the culture. We need to be the “break the glass” people that our conentrica calls. However, if you’re not training, you won’t get the call.

Good times hanging & laughing with the boys of LKW.

Maximus

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September 11 Memorial Stair Climb

Today I was honored to lead 39 men of the Fort in my version of a 9/11 Stair Climb…. I asked these gentlemen to bring rucks or sandbags and headlamps. This was to simulate the equipment worn by the first responder’s who entered the World Trade Center to do their jobs. We also had Charetta appear courtesy of Dirty Harry…she was our victim that needed to be  carried up and down the NaFo bleachers ….everyman carried their fare share of weight.

The workout was simple!!!!  There was no warmup….we didn’t need one….

The object was to climb the bleachers 27.5 times up and down carrying a ruck or sandbag….the goal 1980 steps or 110 stories….NaFo bleachers are 36 steps up and down…the men of the Fort  conquered this simple request but there was a catch…..when they came back down they had to do 9 inclined merkins and 11 squats… I think most did more than the required amount and for that I’m in awe…. I love being part of this great nation

Before the climb I shared a little about my experience that day 18 years ago as an NYPD officer and I asked each man to reflect between the hours of 8:46 am to 10:28 am these were the hours that changed my life and change the world as we knew it….I also wanted to remember my friends who gave their lives to save as many people as they could that morning :

NYPD PO MARK ELLIS TRANSIT DISTRICT 4

NYPD PO RAMON SUAREZ TRANSIT DISTRICT 4

PAPD PO ANTONIO RODRIGUES PORT AUTHORITY BUS DEPOT

I worked with these gentleman and they will never be forgotten…

Thank you Punchlist for letting me.lead these great men .

We had one FNG Lassie….welcome

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Light on mileage, Heavy on the push

While the research may vary, the average ant can lift/carry 10-50 times its own body weight. Luck for us at the Fire Ant AO today, we were only carrying ourselves and our Rucks, which varied from 30lb-45lb. So, to that I say, you’re welcome.

We had a small yet might group of Ruckers this morning as 4 others joined YHC. Once disclaimed, we Rucked to the playground for:

50 Pull-Ups (slick)

50 Push-Ups (with Ruck)

Ruck to the soccer fields for bit of a 4-corners covering half the entire field. Once we figured out the appropriate sides of the field for transportation between corners, it would be Bear Crawls (with Ruck) on two sides f the field and walk (with Rucks overhead) for the other two sides. In the corners:

Corner 1: 25 Ruck Curls

Corner 2: 25 Bent over Rows

Corner 3: 15 Hand-Release Merkins

Corner 4: 25 Upright Rows

We completed the circuit twice then made our way over to the flag pole:

15 Flutters w/o the press

15 Freddy Mercury’s with Rucks up

10 Flutters w/ the press

Ruck back to COT to hold the Al Gore position while each PAX recounted where they were when they learned of the events of 9/11.

Remember. Never Forget. Be Present

Maximus

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7th Year Convergence for The Fort

The 7th Year Convergence for The Fort followed an exhilarating Invergence from the night before.  Hoping to continue that acceleration, the 4 Q’s had a plan to talk about the 4 Skills needed for Virtuous Leadership: Vision, Articulation, Persuasion, Exhortation.

CakeBoss to start us out with Vision: Recognizing advantage and the movement required to achieve it.

Disclaimer and welcome
“Go Hard or Go Home!”

Take off for 100 yard mosey up path, Get in 3 lines – Indian Run across WEP

Break into 4 lines, 2 groups of seal teams -20 seal team sit ups in cadence

Back into 2 lines , Everyone plank – Tunnel of Love (25 guys per line) – Plank series while guys army crawling under

Crowd pleaser for sure!

7 Burpees for 7 Years!

Vision is what I spoke about and the men that saw the advantage of F3 and planted it (moved towards it) in Charlotte, the The Fort and we continued to give it away in Rock Hill & Lake Wylie.

Hand off to Maximus

Articulation: Describing vision to others in a clear manner. Being able to tell others where we’re going and being able to describe that vision to others.

So, with that said, we’re going over to the top of the big hill to start with drill bits:

½ the group goes one direction while the other goes the opposite way

At each white post (drill bit), 10 Jumping Lunges (10 each leg)

10 Jump Squats

Mosey to the base of the other hill, the one with the statue on it:

NUR (backwards run) up the hill

3 Burpees at the top

Bear Crawl down

5 Burpees at the bottom

Hand off to Fun House for the “P”.

Persuasion – The initiation of first Movement.  Convincing people to move in the direction of advantage, abandoning their Status Quo,

YHC gave an awesome yet forgettable speech about Persuasion.  Then the Thang:

Circle Up – Duck, Duck, Goose – One guy runs around the circle the rest of us plank, the next guy goes when the running guy finishes.  Planking excercises were called out: High Plank, Low plank, Mountain Climbers….. Audible called to get the next guy running after 1/2 a lap around the circle of Pax….. Peter Parker, Parker Peters….. Audible called to get the next guy running after 1/3 lap around….. Mak-Tar-Jai, Left Hand High, Right hand high…..Done.  That took 10 minutes!  60 guys is a lot of guys to be running around in circles.

Stay in circle, 5 minutes left, Jack Webb: 1 Merkin to 4 Overhead hand claps.  We got to 8!

Hand off to Pusher for Exhortation!

Exhortation – Incentivizing The Breach Of Obstacles.

Burpees x 10 OYO
Flutters IC x 10
Mosey to a corner of WEP
Burpees x 9 OYO
Flutters IC x 10
LBCs IC x 10
Mosey to another corner
Burpees x 8 OYO
Flutters IC x 10
LBCs IC x 10
Rosalita IC x 10
Mosey to another corner
Burpees x 7 OYO
Flutters IC x 10
LBCs IC x 10
Rosalitas IC x 10
Hello Dollies IC x 10
Mosey to another corner
Burpees x 6 OYO
LBCs IC x 10
Flutters IC x 10
COT
Naked Moleskin – The name-o-rama took forever.  That is a good thing. When 60+ PAX post to celebrate something that has obviously changed their lives, then change is happening!  Thanks to Maximus who put this awesome weekend celebration together!  His leadership is not only Effective (Using VAPE) but he is a Virtuous Leader! (Check out the Q Source for the 5 C’s Virtues of Virtuous Leadership) Can’t wait to see what year 8 brings to The Fort!  More importantly, who it brings!  Time to go EH someone.  See you in the gloom.
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