Tag: Mr Clean

Puketoberfest…Wk 2

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Bonsai and his terrible ideas brought together round 2 of The Fort’s Puketoberfest as 7 men joined Jedi & YHC (welcome FNG Hit n’ Run) this past Saturday. The bar was set, the chatter was chatted and as the sun rose this beautiful morning, Jedi stood in the middle of the PAX for a moment to disclaim the disclaimer.

So…we mosey’d down the path with some knees-to-chest, heels-to-butt and toy soldiers. One more short mosey then forward moving hillbilly squat walkers (these are straight-up awkward) to the red-light sign.

Quick shoulder warm-up with Moroccan Night Clubs and some other stuff.

Enough of that, let’s get this going:

5 cones spaced 10yds apart. PAX do 5 burpees or some variation thereof, crawl/move to the next cone, 5 more of those burpees, crawl/move, etc to the end. After the burpees at the 5th cone, immediately do an about face and run the full 5-tier suicide using the cones that just marked your burpees. Finish with a Mary exercise while waiting on the 6. Us slow folks (Maximus writing) thankfully only got through 3 of the planned 6 rounds.

The variations were:

  1. Normal burpees, bear crawl, flutter kicks.
  2. Walmart burpees (Maximus fav), duck walks (Geronimo fav), dying cockroaches (nobody’s fav)
  3. Jackass burpees, 2 CCD & 2 Crab Cakes, LBCs

Hand off to Maximus:

Circle up in Ft. Mill’s best grass…

Jack Webb’s consisting of the typical offenders: 1 Merkin : 4 Overhead Claps up to 10:40

8ct Burpees for a few

Partner up at the playground:

P1: Pull ups while P2 runs to the path near the base of the hill.

Flapjack and repeat

P1: Tuck Jumps while P2 runs to the base of the hill.

Flapjack and repeat

Lt Dans consisting of the typical offenders: 1 Squat : 4 Jumping Lunges up to 6:24.

A few more 8ct burpees.

Line up in 1 line, arms width apart and drop to your 6, facing West for a full 51 (in a 4ct cadence so that is 102 total) American Hammers (Personal favorite)

Mosey to the base of the hill to run the to the top and jog back down…4 times.

Take a breather for a quick chat then 1 more time up for good measure.

COT

Announcements: Paradise reading center opportunity, F3 Christmas Party

Prayers: Marriages, FNGs.

No man left behind and leave no man where you found him.

Jedi & Maximus

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4

Brute Force Fight for the Fallen – Sand & Kettlebells at the Armory – PT. 1

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We remembered 104 fallen firefighters as part of the Brute Force Fight for the Fallen Fundraiser.  The initiative is led by 555 fitness which is a crossfit box, however we modified our workout to suit.

Warmup:  5 count in cadence – Side Straddle Hops, Diamond Merkins, Sissy Squat Jumps.

The Thang:  5 reps single count of each below in succession while each member alternated performing Brute Force Sandbag Burpees – demonstration link here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r51gttAhD_M&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Fight+For+The+Fallen+2018&utm_campaign=20068f1923-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_09_06_06_46_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4162720ddf-20068f1923-715270073&mc_cid=20068f1923&mc_eid=5041ced337

Squat to KB Swing
Curl to Arnold Press
Rear Lunge to Lawnmower
Front Raise to TriPress
Pullover to Straigh Leg Crunch

8 Revolutions, with Dungaree doing sandbag burpees all the way back to my truck!

In between revolutions, we discussed Encouragement, the Jester, and Bad Ideas.

Finale – 4 minute core thrasher with planks, carolina dry docks, honeymooners, and sphynx planks

Join the Brute Force Fight for the Fallen here. 

2) Sign up as a TEAM MEMBER under your TEAM NAME: F3_RELENTLESS (O’Hara)
 
3) And finally have them use your team discount when paying to save $5, use code: RELENTLESS
Prayers for guidance, clarity, strength and patience.
THANK YOU, AYE!

 

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4

Pax singing Panama at Pantheon

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5 men showed up for the workout at Pantheon.  Numbers low due to the Ragnar race on Saturday.  No worries, we had a great group of guys ready to take on the challenge.

The warm-up began with a lap around the car pool line.  We then circled up for the following exercises:

SSH x20

Imperial Walkers x15

Plank – downward dog, honeymooner

Arm stretch – up, down, side to side

That’s when the pax started singing Panama by Van Halen

uhh, I reach down between my legs n’ ease the seat back

She’s runnin’, I’m flyin’
Right behind in the rearview mirror now
Got the fearin’, power steerin’
Pistons poppin’, ain’t no stoppin’ now

It took me a while to make the connection..I am more of an 80’s R&B guy.

Next, we began the more difficult part of the workout.  We moseyed to the front of the school next to the pillars.  We started with an exercise, then a movement to the next pillar, skipping a pillar.  There were eight stopping points where we performed the following exercises:

Merkins x 10 = 80, lunge walk between pillars

LBCs x 10 = 80, bear crawl between pillars

Burpees x  5 = 40, duck walk between pillars

Carolina Dry Docks x 10 = 80, reverse lunge walk between pillars

After each round we ran around the parking lot.

Great job by all!

 

Prayers 

Family health

Injured Pax

Unspoken prayers

 

 

 

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Conveyor Belt of Pain

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10 HIMs arrived to  see silhouettes of YHC’s untold horror in the backdrop of gloom at The Hive. After disclaiming that YHC is terrible at counting before 0800 the regular disclaimer was administered.

Things started out normal with some SSH to get the blood moving.  It’s really a great way to make the PAX feel like a regular workout is on the horizon.  Then we moved into a wide leg stance (sorta sumo) and dropped our six’s close to the pavement to get the hips opened up. Moving from one leg to the other, we stretched out the hamstrings and other muscles some people tend to forget exist. From there, we inched our feet out as close to a full split** as each man could handle, put our fingertips on the ground, and did fingertip pushups.
**except Band Camp, who surprised everyone in a full split without making a face

From there we went to the Conveyor Belt across the parking lot.  Each station had two parking slots between them and each exercise was given a brief demo before we dropped our bells at various stations and jumped on board.  The slots were:

  1. KB Swings (40 and a 30 were available)
  2. Box jumps (30x24x20)
  3. 3/4″x72″ Iron Staff – wrist rotations (I looked this up, pronation and supination of the wrists)
    1. Holding the staff straight forward, rotate to the left and right
    2. The work experienced with these is in hand placement, speed of rotation, and stopping momentum
  4. 10lb Training  Mace – barbarian swings
    1. Swing the mace to align it with the chest at shoulder height to the left and right, when the arm close to the ball crosses the body, it’s on the bottom.  When it’s on its own side, the top
  5. 3/4″x72″ Iron Staff – tip ups
    1. Hold the staff vertically with forearm horizontal
    2. let the staff fall down to horizontal, using only forearms, pull it back to vertical (mostly the first two fingers)
    3. Alternatively, with arm hanging, adjust the staff so that the long end is behind you and use only forearm muscles to bring it back to vertical (mostly the last two fingers)
  6. Tricep Extensions with that 40 pounder
  7. BB bag – ~14lbs of steel BBs in a 9×9 canvas bag
    1. hold the bag with one arm at eye level as far away as you can from your body, gripping it by its side with fingertips (so you’re looking at a square), the opposite hand is at your side.
    2. Let go of the bag and as you pull that hand down to rest, the other snaps up to grab the falling bag, again, with fingertips, raising it back into position.  There should be some hang time.
    3. Alternate hands, trying to keep the bag floating in the air with a bit of hang time
  8. Curls – 25lb bell
  9. Squats
  10. “Pick your own Mary” with a 25lb bell (YHC didn’t have enough slots for everyone, so this one came from the aether)
  11. Same as above, but disappears after a few seconds, explanation below

Timing:
There is always a traveling PAX. The PAX starting at station 11 did a small amount of Mary, then high-tailed it for station 1, taking over that station (at this time station 11 disappeared). The displaced PAX from 1 then bear crawled over two parking spaces to 2, relieving that PAX of that station, who would bear crawl to 3.  This continued until station 10 ran back to station one.

After a full circle of fun, everyone took a nice, restful run across the parking lot, and picked up where they left off.

This went on with everyone working together in harmony until there was about 2 minutes left in the workout and we were one station short of a full circuit.

Everyone circled up by the gear, YHC ran to grab a phone (pulling something in my calf halfway there…) and ended with COT.

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6

The Hive 2018:39 (Shovel Flag hand off)

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10 HIM gathered in the gloom for a split Q and passing of the shovel flag.

Tesh began:

SSH x25
Windmill x10
Imperial Walker x10
Lap around the parking lot (counterclockwise…)

COP:
5 Kettlebell burpees
10 Snatches (5 each arm)
3 reps of this

Partnered up and Lined up facing the stadium:
Farmer carry both bells while partner planks & shoulder taps
Repeat with partner doing overhead claps instead of planking

Switch Q to BandCamp:

Bear Crawl towards the stadium until we ran out of pavement
Al Gore for the 6 and then Al Gore+Moroccan Night Clubs x10
Honeymooner–>Downdog rinse and repeat
Bear Crawl back to our bells. Moved to the wall outside the gym.

COP:
5 burpees
10 Overhead chest presses
10 Reverse Lunges w/ kettlebell held at the beltline
Reverse Lunge w/ single arm press and hold for 10 count
NAMED EXERCISE: The Solo Tesh: (standing)
– single-arm overhead press the kettlebell and hold for 10 seconds
– return kettlebell to clean position and hold for 10 seconds
We did 3 reps on each arm
20 Goblet Squats
10 Overhead chest presses

Wall Sit with bell intermittently held over our heads during storytime. Rinse and repeat.

Mary:
Flutter x15
Superman x10
Peter Parker x10
LBC x10

NMM:

In honor of Tesh’s two years of steady leadership at #TheHive, this workout drew some from his first post at The Hive: https://f3thefort.com/2016/02/15/afraid/ Q-ed by Geronimo.

The Solo Tesh comes from a workout Tesh lead when he was the only PAX to post that morning. https://f3thefort.com/2017/02/24/2017-08-the-hive/ Looking at the dates and this tweet https://twitter.com/tesh_F3/status/966993038554882048, it appears that there may have been multiple solo posts for Tesh at The Hive. One aspect of his leadership that I appreciate and respect is how quietly he leads. He leads by example with little desire for fanfare . It was this solo-post tweet that got YHC to attend his first kettlebell workout: Tesh’s model encouraged me at The Hive at all. I’m grateful for Tesh’s work and honored to carry the shovel flag for #TheHive (and if necessary post in the gloom solo……ah February…..).

During storytime on the wall sits, I referenced the Poverty Simulation some of the PAX are putting on 10/13/18 at FBC in Fort Mill. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sc-thrive-poverty-simulation-york-101318-registration-49847017772. https://twitter.com/F3_ablock/status/1045695473707814912 I did not grow up in poverty, and specifically remembering my dad saying that folks could just work harder and would be successful. That was because my old man had worked hard and he was successful. But he also had a lot of advantages that allowed his hard work to pay dividends. Not everyone is so lucky. In my teaching, I see students that struggle with much more than the nuts and bolts of course work and assignments. The outside influences of poverty on college students is especially troubling. Consider a student that takes on debt to attend school to better themselves but is forced out of school after 3 years to work because their family needs the income. They have all the debt of a college degree with none of the job prospects. Understanding someone’s lived experience is a powerful tool. Hopefully PAX will take advantage of it.

Band Camp dismissed.

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Alcatraz “fun”

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8 HIM got better this morning at Runde Park for some Lutefisk and Bear Grylls fun.

After a quick disclaimer (no FNGs) we moseyed around the parking lot to the field where we circled up for 7 warm-up exercises:

Peter Parkers  x 15
American Hammers x 15
Carolina Dry Docks x 15
Krakken Burpees x 5 OYO
E2K’s (R ankle over L knee, L elbow to R knee like a crunch) x 15
Ranger Merkins x 15
Seal Jacks x 15

And yes, that spells PACKERS.  GO PACK GO!!  Thank goodness the NFL is back on.  I’ve been having withdrawals.

The Thang:

Start with a modified “Charles Bronson:”
Perform 50 exercises at point A, sprint 100-ish yards to point B, army crawl to point C, mosey back to point A for 50 different exercises.
1st exercise: 50 x Side Straddle Hop
2nd exercise: 50 x Merkins
3rd exercise: 50 x Jump Squats

Next a modified “Millennial:” The PAX thought I would be calling out the exercises via text, twitter, or some other form of nonverbal communication.  Perhaps  we’d just have Bear Grylls do all of the exercises for us while we sat and watched.  But no, we’re gonna earn this one.  Split PAX into 2 teams of 4.  Starting point, do 25 x of each exercise, mosey 100 yards, 25 x of exercise, mosey 100 yards back, 25 x of exercise… you get the point.  Rinse and repeat 10x for a grand team total of 2000 ‘reps’ in honor of the millennials born around the year 2000.
1-Carolina Dry Docks
2-Squats
3-Moroccan Night Clubs
4-Flutters
5-Mountain Climbers
6-LBC’s
7-Merkins
8-Lunges
9-Side Straddle Hop
10-Burpees (a crowd pleaser)

And with that Lutefisk handed the baton to Bear Grylls.  The PAX were toast, and unsure of what to expect from what we saw earlier which looked like the unloading of Myrtle Beach from his Range Rover onto the sidewalk above captured in bags.

Ten stations were set up about 10 yards apart for partner work. The pace setters on the end were either a ruck down and up the hill or carry a 100lb sand bag up and down the hill. The other stations were AMRAP and included…. a ton of sandbags.  Each bag had different weights from 30lbs to 60lbs and included: calf raise into overhead press, bear crawl bag drag, row into curl, dead lift into kettle bell swing, and a ball slam and jump from crunch position.

With that a mosey to COT where we honored CSPAN with one thing each of us is thankful for. Prayers and praises for kids, uncles, jobs.  Praises for families, F3, job anniversaries.  Bear Grylls led us out in prayer.

I feel honored, humbled, and blessed to be able to have an opportunity to lead these true HIM who come out and give it all they have to get better.

Lutefisk out.

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3

Suffering in Silence

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18 assembled this morning for some bells (6) and #Beyond (12). YHC decided to change things up slightly. We did the Name-a-Rama first. Read on to see why.

NMM

You’ll also note that I’m posting the Naked Man Moleskin before the workout. Sometimes the message is more important than the workout. Today was one of those days. #Beyond is designed to take you out of your comfort zone and push buttons we would rather leave untouched. Today’s discussion was on depression.

Some facts:

  • There are 123 suicides in America every day
  • The highest suicide rate is adult males between the ages of 40 and 54
  • White males accounted for 7 out of every 10 suicides in 2016

These sobering statistics spoke to me because our PAX fit right in the sweet spot of these ranges. The average age this morning was 44 – right in the thick of these numbers. Depression effects men in different ways. This group is sandwiched in between the traditional silent, strong fathers who went to work and provided for their families and the more progressive, open generations of their sons who share parenting duties and aren’t always the breadwinners of the household. Many men never mastered either of these roles and now feel lost. We’ve married capable women who take care of everything from the children to the social agenda, leaving men to feel a void of purpose. Around this age, men look around at their neighbors and ask, “why am I not as successful as my neighbor?” Outside of our homes, we are lonely. We’ve lost track of our college buddies and only connect with our co-workers on a water cooler level. We feel like we haven’t accomplished enough. For all intents and purposes, men in their mid-40s often feel neutered – unable to provide the ways their dads did and unwilling or unprepared to be Mr. Mom to their older children. To make matters worse, a job loss or divorce often leads these men into a downward spiral of addiction and despair. Chances are, you’ve felt this way or know someone who does. It becomes our responsibility to reach out to these men and invite them into a brotherhood of love. Medical professionals recommend a few steps to battle depression. I added number 5:

  1. Seek social support
  2. Support your health (get enough sleep, control stress, and go outside)
  3. Exercise
  4. Eat Healthy
  5. Give your concerns to God

All of these are incorporated into what we do each morning at F3. Social support comes in the form of other men who are battling or have battled this demon themselves. To me, its finding blades and stones to sharpen each other. It’s the second F – Fellowship. Doctors recommend finding outlets to blow off steam, exercising and getting outside. How else better than exercising outside in the elements pushing past pain with your brothers in the Gloom? This is the first F – Fitness. Finally, acknowledging that there is a higher being that loves you and wants what is best for you. Rather than telling God how big your problems are, tell your problem how big your God is. This is the third F – Faith.

I realized that the reason F3 is growing is because it is the answer to the question we never knew we had. It is the antidote to society’s poison of depression. We all struggle, from project managers to pastors. We all battle life. Why not surround yourself with guys who can build the 3 Fs right beside you? Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says it best: “Two are better than one because they have good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, the other can help them up. But pity anyone who falls and has no other to help them up. Also if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Interpret those three strands however you wish. I like to think of them as me, God, and my brothers. That dream team can win any fight. Grab your shield and suit up, we’ve got a battle to wage.

The Thang

  • Mosey to the front of the church
  • Hold the Plank for the duration of Disturbed “Sound of Silence”
    • Listen to the lyrics. Acknowledge that many men battle depression in silence. We weren’t made to fight alone.

Mosey to the upper parking lot

  • 1 Minute of Squats
  • 40 SSHs (IC)
  • 10 Prison Cell Pushups
  • 40 Imperial Walkers (IC)

Mosey to the front of the church

  • 1 Minute of LBCs
  • 1 Minute of Flutters
  • 1 Minute of Rosalitas
  • 1 Minute of Freddie Mercuries

Mosey to the side lot

  • 1 Minute of Mountain Climbers
  • 1 Minute of Alternating Shoulder Taps
  • 1 Minute of Ski Abs
  • 10 Burpees

Mosey to the upper parking lot

  • 40 Overhead Claps (IC)
  • 35 MNCs (IC)
  • 40 Little Baby Arm Circles (IC)
  • 45 Overhead Press (IC)

Mosey to the front of the church

  • 1 Minute of Box Jumps
  • 1 Minute of Irkins
  • 1 Minute Dips
  • 1 Minute of Merkins

Mosey back to COT

  • Butterfly Stretch
  • Left Leg out Stretch
  • Right Leg out Stretch
  • 10 LBCs (IC)
  • 10 Pretzel Crunch Left (IC)
  • 10 Pretzel Crunch Right (IC)
  • 10 Pretzel Stick Crunch Left (IC)
  • 10 Pretzel Stick Crunch Right (IC)

-Italian Job

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16

Hills, Arms, Suicides and Hills

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Sir Topham Hat and I were pretty excited to take on Alcatraz together. A couple or “runners” who really “enjoy” hills? What could possibly go wrong? A warning was sent on the Twitter machine that this would be hill intensive, so I was pleased to see 11 Pax show in addition to YHC and STH. It was a bit of an Alcatraz reunion of sorts with some familiar faces. We knew we needed to bring it.

STH on Q

  • Warm up jog with side shuffles, butt kickers and high knees
  • Mosey to the play area
  • Amrap pull-ups (unassisted), 20CDD – 3 Times
  • Mosey to Parking Lot
  • COP: SSHx20, cherry pickers x 10, Mountin Climbers x 20, Peter Parker’s x 10, 6” twice
  • Mosey to Upper Hill for Jacobs ladder
  • 7 burps and 1 bombjack at top.  Made it 4 rounds
  • Al Gore to squats (which prompted some colorful comments. Just do an Al Gore while doing squats and it’ll become clear immediately.
  • Mosey to Wooden wall.  7 count incline merkins in cadence, flip to dips 7 count in cadence.  Flap jack 4 times #smokefest
  • Handoff to Zima

Zima on Q

  • Mosey to Parking Lot
  • 25 SSH IC
  • 17 Something I can’t remember IC (I blame it on being light-headed)
  • Mosey to Middle of Parking Lot for Suicide Burpees (5 burpees at baseline each time running to 3 increasing suicide targets)
  • Walk 20 yards back for 10 hand release merkins at baseline with 4 suicide series targets
  • Walk 20 yards back for 7 bombjacks at baseline and 5 suicide series targets
  • Go to field for 4 corners
  • Corner 1 20 Monkey Humpers IC
  • Corner 2 20 Walking Lunges IC
  • Corner 3 20 Monkey Humpers IC
  • Corner 4 15 LS Squats IC
  • Run to short steep lower hill for 5 Min Quadzilla (insert copious amounts of complaining herre)
  • Mosey back to parking lot for 5 mins Pax Choice Mary
  • Finish with double 10 count body destroyer

All in all it was a pretty good smokefest. Everyone pushed their limits

NMM (here are our notes)

  • STH is super fit but bailed for Zima Q (cited family commitments)
  • Fish Sticks = #King #WarDaddy
  • Great mumblechatter this AM
  • Maximus is a beast and smiles through the entire workout like “Is that all you got?” Yes Max, it is.
  • Highlight of the morning was Dark Helmet’s commentary on STH’s Al Gore Squats #graphic #hilarious
  • A couple of Pax almost got laid out by a Buck (Deer) that didn’t see them and then shot off across the street
  • Quadzilla is still a crowd pleaser (esp. when you add a minute)
  • For all the comments about being out of shape, Gears seemed to be towards the head of the pack
  • Glad to see half the team of “Beauty and the Beasts” support us

Prayer, Praises, Announcements

BOM on Zima

Thanks for the opportunity to lead Smuggler! Keep me in the rotation.

Zima Out!

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2

Hive: Super 21

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14 PAX arrived to a beautifully crisp August gloom.

Mosey around the parking lot, alternating with carioca, butt kickers, & high knees.

COP:

The Thang: a modified Super 21 sequence. We skipped the 21 reps of tricep extensions, but got the 21 LBCs in just under the wire (despite what Chicken Hawk’s clock might have said).

Naked Man Moleskin: Imposter Syndrome

I work as an academic and a musician. By outward measurements, I am successful (especially relative to the job market for musicians in academia at the moment…….). Yet I struggle with a few corrosively persistent  thoughts:

  • “I just got lucky”
  • “I feel like a fake”
  • “I must not fail”

This is not unique in either of my fields (or perhaps any field?). In fact, I think some of these feelings continue to drive me to improve and grow. However, when our identity or self worth becomes intertwined so heavily with what we do (see also Mammon in the lexicon), life is out of sync/rhythm.

My desire to grow and develop as a professor and musician is a passion. Unfortunately I often become confused about my relationship with my work and who I am. My goal is to know that my identity is found in my Third F relationship with Christ. No……scratch that. This is something I already “know.” My goal is to consistently exhibit the presence of mind to remember where my identity is found. That if a performance or a class goes poorly, my relationship with my M, my 2.0s, or my prayer life doesn’t have to be affected in the slightest.

Announcements:

Double D is raising money for a great cause. Let’s support him! Either with Burpees or $$.

Thanks to Tesh for the opportunity to lead and the PAX of The Fort (plus Greenspan from Winston-Salem….this HIM is “Dash Strong”) for pushing me to be better.

Band Camp dismissed.

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3

Iron PAX Challenge – Week 3

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9 men showed up for the third week of the Iron PAX Challenge including an FNG who had recently moved from Arizona.  We were very kind and tired after the challenge, thus giving him the name “Wildcat.  I explained how this morning’s workout would not be your typical workout.  He was willing to give it a try.

After the disclaimer, I provided a rundown of the events for the morning (see below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went around the circle for 5 minutes of warm-up exercises, then we began the 30 minute challenge.  Like last week, it was very difficult, especially the hand release merkins.  Here are the results for the group:

F3 Name                                                  Reps

Lutefisk                                                      492

Mr. Clean                                                   315

Straight Up                                               499

Cha Ching                                                 524

Mile High                                                   342

Wildcat (FNG)                                           255

Soprano                                                     330

Fishsticks                                                   495

Bolt                                                              HIM

 

Everyone did a great job again this week.  Cha Ching and Straight Up set the pace for the group. Lutefisk, Mr Clean, and Wildcat had impressive showings for their first challenge.

Prayers:

Lukefisk and his mother

Cha Ching and his M

Others unspoken

 

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