At a Crossroads

4 minnows (NASA, Peach Stand, Vuvuzela, Grout)
2 ruckers (Skipper, Warning Track)
WARMUP: it was already warm when we got there
Mosey to the 4 corners by the church for….
THE THANG:
Mosey on over to the corner of Academy and Withers, via Main to Confederate. Academy and Withers is the start point of The Cross workout:
– Up the hill on Withers to the parking lot at the top of the hill. 10 Merkins and 15 2ct mountain climbers
– Back down to start point, then 1 burpee
– Down Academy towards Fort Mill Church of God. Stop at the student ministry building. 10 Merkins, 15 LSS
– Back to start point, 1 burpee
– Up Withers to corner at Confederate, 10 merkins and 15 LBC
– Back to start point, 1 burpee
– Down Academy to corner near Main, 10 merkins and 15 2ct fullter
– Back to start point, 1 burpee
– Rinse and repeat, adding 1 burpee each round
– Everyone got through 3 complete rounds, some hard chargers started on a 4th
– Back to COT

Total count:
3 miles even, at least 24 burpees (some did extra, starting round 4),  and minimum of 120 merkins, 45 MC, 45 LSS, 45 LBC, 45 2-ct flutters.

MARY: about 2 min worth
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Convergence tomorrow! Bethel Men’s Shelter meal service tonight. Read the newsletter and get involved.
COT:
A lot of P&P lifted up. Enjoy the freedoms provided to you by this great nation, and safely celebrate it’s freedom and birth tomorrow.

Blessings and SYITG
NASA

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Pyramid of Pain

WARMUP: Circle up in the parking lot at COT for the following, all 4 count:
– 15 SSH
– 10 WM
– 15 IW
– 15 MNC
– 10 Strawberry pickers
Then mosey to the parking lot entrance on Main St by Hobo’s for…….
THE THANG:
Pyramid of Pain
Workout area is the parking lot behind Hobo’s, from entrance on Main to entrance on Clebourne. 7 exercise stations, first one right at the lot entrance on Main, each approx 25-30 yds apart, with the final station 7 at the entrance on Clebourne. Stations are:
1. 5 burpees
2. 10 cinderblock curls
3. 15 cinderblock overhead press
4. 20 LSS
5. 25 merkin
6. 30 LBC
7. 35 flutters 4 ct
Method
Start at station 1, do the exercise. Lunge walk to 2, do the exercise. Then run back to station 1. That is round 1. Repeat, but each round you add on an exercise station, doing each station, do not skip any as you progress towards each station. Lung walk to each station, then run back to starting station 1.
Rd 1
Station 1 + Station 2
Rd 2
1 + 2 + 3
Rd 3
1 + 2 + 3 + 4
And so on until you get to station 7

Everyone finished all stations. The plan was to then, after you finish station 7, do NOT run back to starting station 1, but instead cross the railroad bridge on Clebourne, then stop at the field that COT is on the opposite end of (approx 80 yards?), then bear crawl across the field to the gravel lot, then run back to starting position 1 and repeat. We ran out of time, so after we finished station 7 we just ran across the field to COT just in time for 6am.

Everyone did GREAT! Mumblechatter was excellent, humidity was off the charts, we all put in a solid effort of pain and sweat equity. I will Q this again if given the opportunity, but will skip the warmups so we can do the bear crawl to COT.

MARY: None
ANNOUNCEMENTS: A LOT going on. Read the newsletter, reach out in COTs and get involved.
COT: A lot lifted up. Do not forget to celebrate the good things, good moments in life, do not just focus on the negative or bad. Little victories. They help change the prism of how you look at things. If you only tend to focus on the bad or negative, that is all you will see. Do not let the good things slip through! Change that prism, one little victory at a time.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
SYITG
-NASA

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It wasn’t that hot or humid

WARMUP: not at MP
THE THANG: Running was the game. Up Massey to gas station. Each stop was 5 Spider-Man merkins, 10 CDD. Next stop was corner of Aubrey for same 5 and 10. To Skipper cross road for 5 and 10. All the way to the City Hall office building (I think it’s called), 5 and 10. Up to the painful glass filled parking lot for 5 and 10. To the print shop for 5 pull ups, 5 and 10, then 5 pull ups again. To the corner down by burrito place, 5 and 10. To COT, 5 and 10. Back up to gas station, 5 and 10. Down the street past the park to 160, 5 and 10. All the way back to COT, 5 and 10.

Then to the church 4 corners for…5 and 10. Shortcut back to print shop for Soup, earned $1, but up the hill and back to print shop for the rest of us for the 5, 5, 10, 5 series.

Then back to COT.
MARY: not really
ANNOUNCEMENTS: July 4 convergence, July 3 men’s food shelter
COT: completed

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One to Ten

WARMUP: Yea, it’s a good thing. We did that.
THE THANG: String of Pearls…classic. Mosey and stop occasionally for:

– Merkins
– Squats
– Carolina Dry Docks
– Lunges (2 is 1)
– Dips
– Monkey Humpers
– LBCs
– Mountain Climbers (2 is 1)
– Plank Jacks
– Flutters (in cadence)

Started with 1 rep or each, which Bonsai believes was barely worth coming down from the mountain for. And added a rep each time we stopped. We got to 10

MARY: Was mostly build in, but we did some hip flexibility in the last few minutes.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 7/3 service date at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040A45A4A929A4F49-56341795-bethel#/ could use some signup help and some hands the day of. If you’re in town on 7/3, make an effort to help serve.

COT: What are you moderating that is helpful to you? What are you moderating that is unhelpful? What SHOULD you be moderating more?

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You Don’t Lick Them!

4 runners: NASA, Double D, Sprocket, Cubbie
4 ruckers: BassOMatic, Fogarty, Crab Cakes, and THE Twister
WARMUP: Yes, mother nature warmed things up for us, a very swampy 78 deg start at 0515.
THE THANG:
The ruckers went off holding hands and singing camp songs, while the runners went to the lot between the football field and the school. It was partially under construction but still provided a 400m loop where we did pyramid Fartleks:
5 min easy warmup run, then hit the intervals:
2 min hard, 1 min off
3 min hard, 1 min off
4/1
5/2
Then back down
5/2, 4/1, 3/1, 2/1
Then a 3-4 min cool down run to COT, where the ruckers met us along the way there.
Everyone crushed it, even though it felt like we were running inside a steam sauna. Zero air movement too. We all left some water weight behind.
MARY: none
ANNOUNCEMENTS: read your newsletter and get involved!
COT: mentioned Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month again and had a brief discussion on that. Lifted up P&P.

Speed work is the way to becoming a better runner. It is not just for sprinters, and it does more than just improving your average run pace. Endurance, leg strength, lung capacity, VO2, aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, threshold limits, and more all benefit from speed work. Ideally it is done regularly in ones running plan, like monthly or bi monthly. You won’t expand your limits unless you push your limits.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
SYITG and Blessings,
NASA

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Copperheads and Coyotes

WARMUP: None
THE THANG: We ran! Or rather swam in the thick humidity. 4 runners, 2 ruckers. Run route was:
Out to Dobys Bridge, left onto it. Then right into Dominion Bridge neighborhood. Exit hood left onto Whites Rd. After a quarter mile or so, take a right into Catawba Ridge HS. Take that access road all the way behind the school to where the baseball/softball fields are. Stay on the outer perimeter of that parking lot, bearing right, heading in the direction towards the Parkway. Turn right to run along the front of the school, then cut across the sidewalk that connects to the East parking lot, near the band practice field. Stay on the outer perimeter of it, then turn right, headed to where the Snake Pit AO meets. Run the perimeter of that lot, interrupting the Snake Pit PAX, then exit the school. Cross over Whites Rd into Forest Creek Middle School. Run around the perimeter of the school, then back to Whites Rd. Right on Whites, then right back into Dominion Bridge neighborhood, then back to COT.
MARY: none
ANNOUNCEMENTS: read The Fort Weekly newsletter and get involved.
COT:
A LOT lifted up. June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. We don’t hear much about it at all, and that needs to change. Considering that 80% of all suicides globally are men, the awareness is much needed. Also considering that at least half of the men in the world will have a mental health issue in their life, yet less than 30% will not discuss it or seek help, the numbers are against us. It is the byproduct of societal expectations and stigmas, but also the expectations and perceived norms we put on ourselves. Yet men are suffering, falling apart inside, but the facade of smiles or toughness is all people see. I opened up about how I’ve been dealing with issues over the past year or two, and my mom getting sick then passing away only magnified it all. I’m done with covering it up, and I am working towards getting better. Another PAX shared his story about getting in a bad mindset, dealing with mental health issues himself, even thinking about ending it all via suicide. One thing that helped was breaking down the wall, the facade, and opening up about it. He mentioned that even being out in the gloom talking to guys helped. Don’t isolate.

A quote I recently saw really stuck out to me:
Suicide is a very permanent solution to what are often temporary problems.

Life is precious. Yes, it is full of ups and downs. Add expectations and what not to those downs, and it multiplies the weight of those burdens, then you end up pulled down a deep worm hole really quick. One that seems impossible to get out of. If you seek help, it makes things a little easier. We men are happy and fulfilled when we provide, build, create, teach, love, and help others in various ways, but we don’t do that very well for ourselves. Educate yourself about Men’s Mental health issues. Education is power, but it also helps you see the signs. Signs in others and in you. Raise awareness starting with you, then help beat the drum. It may not get as popular as Save the Ta-Tas (Breast cancer awareness month), but we all need to help elevate it.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
Blessings and SYITG
-NASA

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The Lane

Warm up: SWIMLAPPs
SSH, windmills, Imperial Walkers, Moroccan N/Cs, low slow squats, arm circles, Peter Parkers, plank stretches.

Thang: The Lane. Do as many rounds as possible.
Pax get two cinder blocks and just need to follow the signage.
Start with 15 OH presses (w/ one block) at road, adjacent to the pull up bars.
Farmers carry about 300 feet (to the paint)
Ground the blocks, run to AO Jones (about 450 feet)
Do 15 burpees, run back to the blocks
Farmers carry back to start/finish line
Ground the blocks, do 15 OH presses with one block.
Run down to the stop sign,
Do 30 LBCs.
Run back to start/finish line.
Make a tick mark
Repeat. Starting with 15 PH presses.

Did this for about 30 mins. Got about 4 rounds in.

Cindys go back, run to shovel flag, some light mary.
Fini
COT

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What’s the Cadence

WARMUP: LOL. Just counted # of packets
THE THANG: Jog to town of Fort Mill wall 15 Derkins in cadence, jog to WEP stage 20 LBCs in cadence, Jog a loop round WEP back to stage 25 Merkens in cadence, jog to Massy Hill 15 squats in cadence. Rinse and repeat OYO. Some got 3 the King (Max) got 4.
MARY: brief. Don’t know grabbing phone.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: newsletter.
COT: what happens stays

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Honoring the 4,414

WARMUP: none
THE THANG:
Tomorrow is the 81st anniversary of D-Day. 81 years ago isn’t that long ago. Tens of thousands of troops from 15 Allied nations had the unified goal to stop a madman from taking over the world. Many knew they were not coming back, yet they had no reservations about stepping up to perform the daunting tasks ahead of them. 4,414 Allied troops were killed in action, approx 2,500 of them from the USA alone. About 2/3 of them were KIA at the 5 assault points, beaches at Normandy- Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The remainder were KIA as paratroopers behind enemy lines. Today we honored them.

A 1,944 meter loop (1.2 miles for us Americans), with 5 pain stations for each of the landing zones.
Utah – 5 burpees
Omaha- 10 merkins
Gold – 15 big boy sit-ups
Juno – 20 CDDs
Sprint up the hill, then
Sword – 25 LSS
Repeat 3x

MARY: a little, about a minute worth
ANNOUNCEMENTS: read your newsletter
COT: this is the place to open up and share. I have trouble with this, but getting better at it. We spent a good 5-10 minutes sharing. Don’t take the COTs for granted. It may be the only place you can share your burdens with guys who literally have your back and support you. Most of the time after workouts we rush the COTs, eager to get home and get on with our days. Do not be afraid to be the one to tap the brakes, slow things down, and open up….or allow others to do so as well. We had some great conversations this morning. Warning Track put it well….vulnerability is not weakness, rather a sign of strength and leadership. I needed that COT today. Thanks fellas. Love you guys.
SYITG
NASA

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Loops of Clebourne

Minnow Pond is one of the premier AOs in the Fort. Thanks to NASA for his leadership. YHC was honored to Q the workout and bring some pain to start the day. In addition, I wanted to bring a heartfelt message to the men as I am grateful to be their brother.

WARMUP:

No warmup. Pledge then 5 burpees
THE THANG:

Run Clebourne loops with 5 stops. Remove a stop for each loop the start over again when 5 loops have been completed.

Stop 1 – 5 burpees
Stop 2 – 10 merkins
Stop 3 – 15 Monkey Humpers
Stop 4 – 20 dips
Stop 5 – 25 Big boys

COT:

Strong COT this AM! Prayers and praises all around.

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