Tag: Nasa

Mettle Forger 12.18.2020

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5 pax gathered at Turner Field with 2 shorties playing in a rock pile.

Warm-up
-SSH
-IW
-HW
-some yoga
-Mountain Climber
-Peter Parker
-Parker Peter

Take a lap (about 1/3 mile)

Circuit:
2 min at each station (20 seconds on, 10 second rest)
Battle Ropes
– Double Whip
– Alternating Whip
Manmaker w/50lb
KB Swing 35lb
Carry 65lb
Run another lap as active recovery

Made it through the circuit 2.2 times

Finished with some mary
– freddie mercury
– dying cockroach
moved quickly between the two

 

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12/11/2020 Mettle Forger Mixed Obstacle Course

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6 Posted for a mixed obstacle course/sandbag/kettlebell and other various accessories to support.  Fence hops in between each station.  Sunny day with temps in the 60’s.  500 calories torched!

Warmup:

  • 10 each at various speeds of  Side Straddle Hops, Honey Mooners, and Front Straddle Hop Seal Jacks.

The Thang: 

  • The pax received the assignment8 alternating stations on the field and parking lot with 3 exercises each with various equipment including fence hops in a rotating fashion.
Field Reps Lot Reps
Bucket Carry to fence
20lb SB American Hammer 20
Low Platform – calf raises 20
Fence Hop
Lunge Slam Throw – Mid Field
10 Burpees 10
20 Flutters 20
Fence Hop
Pullups/20 sec hang 10
35lb SB Curls 10
Mid Platform – step ups 20
Fence Hop
Sled Pull – Mid Field
10 Bombjacks 10
20 Crunches 20
Fence Hop
25lb DB Pullovers 20
50lb SB Press 10
Tall Platform – Squat Jumps 10
Fence Hop
Bear Crawl
20 Parker Peters 20
20 Box Cutters 20
Fence Hop
30lb KB Swing 10
65lb SB Row 10
Highest Platform – Decline Merks 10
Fence Hop
10 Squat Jumps 10
20 Diamond Merkins 20
20 Peter Parkers 20

Announcements:

  • Read your newsletter, Baxter Gnome Event, Pantheon New Years Eve extravaganza,

Prayers/Praises:

  • Slapshots Mother In Law hip repair, Orange Crushes Son return to wellness, COVID-19 relief.

Aye!

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Ballroom Fun

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Beginning today, I wake up 5 minutes earlier than usual so I’m not rushing to get to an AO. I typically pull up around 5:14. No more of that bs. I keep telling myself to go all-in so I need to be more disciplined all the way around. It worked well; I got to #TheBallroom early just so I could freeze my balls off with a couple other guys as we waited for 5:15.

My game plan this morning was to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We stuck to that plan.

Warmup: Mosey around the lot and sung some karaoke while we waited for the last car to park. The pax taught me that if you flip and reverse a karaoke then you’re not really flipping and reversing anything. You can only reverse, no flip. After some High Knees and Buttkickers, we circled up and did some SSH, Low Slow Merkins, Weed Pullers, and Goofballs.

The Thang: We moseyed to the athletic field parking lot for some more SSHs and back and forth running. I wanted to keep our heart rates up a bit but made it a you vs you run. We did some Mountain Climbers and even more SSHs and then some more back and forth running. The we moseyed down the path for the next stop. There we did some more SSHs, Mountain Climbers, Merkins, SSHs, Karaoke (Uhaul was in a singing mood), LBCs, CBLs, and then a mosey back to the school for some wall sits. A couple rounds of 3 counts per pax, a round of 3 merkins per pax, a round of 1 burpee per pax. Somewhere in there we Toy Soldier’d over to the hill for a Bear Crawl up and a Crawl Bear down. A slow walk up the hill to the school’s awning got us to our endpoint. We did some Dips. We did some Incline Merkins. We did some Calf Raises. We did some Step Ups. 6 o’clock bell rang.

I always hope to push a moderate workout to the higher threshold of moderate. I never want it to be too easy. Nobody yelled at me so I hope it wasn’t too easy. I appreciate the opportunity to lead; thank you Smithers.

Announcements: 8th Anniversary Party.
PSA: Get yourself some term life insurance.
Prayers & Praises: Praise for Drop Thrill’s brother being home. Continued prayers for his recovery. M’s & 2.0’s.

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New Fellowship Ruck AO Official Starts 9/10 at 5 am

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The fellowship ruck Sole to Soul that we have been doing unofficially for about 3 months has been gaining momentum so we have official start  date of 9/10 at 5 am. We shoot for  4 plus miles every Thursday starting at Panera Bread in Kingsley followed by Hanging with Stang afterwards. What better way could you start your day with a awesome mumblechatter while rucking and a great conversation afterwards with a great sunrise. Join YHC as we launch this AO. I look forward to seeing you in the Gloom.

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Covid Vaccine for the Soul Coming in September… Join In

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Has Covid frozen your faith Journey as Churches have closed their doors?  Or maybe Covid has you asking bigger question of God and you would like to be in a community of Men to discover the answers.  Are you interested in growing in your faith walk? Discovering a path toward an Intimate, Abiding relationship with Christ through a small group study.

Maybe you have been in the church for your entire life, the last 10 years or you are just now opening your mind to this idea of a higher power… a “Sky Q”.  Regardless of where you are in your faith walk we all have room to grow and mature in our relationship with Christ.

We are all on a faith journey and some of us are more or less equipped to take our faith deeper.  If you have a gap in any of these areas then I have a challenge for you.

  1. Do you feel that you have created a solid foundation of knowing who God is and his desire to be a part of your life?
  2. Are you in a group that is consistently seeking to grow in a relationship with God?
  3. Do you feel that you have an adequate tool kit to help you grow deeper in your faith?

In September, we will be launching into a Journey to build from the ground up a knowledge of who God is and to start to learn how to have an intimate, abiding relationship with him.  Please reach out to any of the Journey alumni to learn more and to get connected.

Aye!

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Valentine’s Day Hangover Milkshakes for Everyone

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Well, after very active Valentine’s Day celebrations there were 6 HIMs in need of recovery Saturday morning.  Almost 3 miles of ground covered, all while actively obeying traffic laws to ensure we did not have another run in with local law enforcement.

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QvQ 19.1 – Jiffy vs. Sasquatch

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21 PAX showed up to the first round of QvQ 2019. This first round is the classic match up from last year, which was decided by ONE point! That’s right, the reigning champ versus his challenger.

Jiffy versus Sasquatch

Brief history: Sasquatch lost to Jiffy last year by one point. ONE point! It was necessary for the match up to be repeated given the level of intensity at which both of these #HIM operate.

The clock struck 0515 and I directed everyone’s attention to the championship prize. A custom F3 shovel flag curated by YHC.

The intent of this shovel flag is to be much like a championship belt. I hope that it passes hands over the years, and we write the name of each years’ reigning champ on the back of the handle. It shall be brought to CSAUPs as well at any time the champion posts and desires to gloat. See below for a glimpse of the trophy.

0515.

I had five minutes to lead a quick warm up to get the PAX ready for what was to come.
Once we got our Tappy Taps out of the way, it was time to get down to business.

The rule of order is the competitor who is earliest to arrive will get to decide who goes first. Jiffy arrived at about 0435, so he was the clear winner. He chose to receive and go on the offense first.

0520.

Coupon Roulette

We came upon a sinister circle with 20+ cinder blocks, 50/60lb dumbbells, and retaining wall blocks! He had us circle around the coupons and choose one.

With your selected coupon you will complete in cadence called by Jiffy:

Shoulder press x 10
Curls x 10
Squats x 10
4 Count Flutters x 10

Jiffy then rolls three dice. One determines the direction we rotate. Two determine how many coupons in that direction we shift.

Get to your next coupon, repeat. Roll again.

Next coupon, do equal amount of burpees to number of coupons we rotated. Repeat four movements.

Roll again. Next coupon, do equal amount of partner clap push ups to number of coupons rotated. Repeat movements.

We hit round four and I was praying for a miracle, because my arms were already smoked.

0530.

Sasquatch takes the reigns and moves us to the pull up bars for a very creative assembly line of face kicks.

Nine PAX line up at pull up bars. The rest at various nearby stations. Do one pull up, shift one bar to the left. Once you reach the end you then BTTW crawl back to the other side of the pull up bars. Then head out to the street.

The remaining PAX are either doing burpees at either curb on the street nearby or run/nur down and up the hill (AKA Quadzilla!). Once you finish your respective station, move to the next and tap somebody at that station to proceed.

That was super original, and also tclaps to Jedi for doing a full handstand walk with no wall support both times through.

0540.

Jiffy gets his second opportunity to remind us why he is the champ.

We remain at the pull up bars and count off by threes.

Group 1: four rounds of 5 burpees/10 squats and then end with 10 partner clap push ups.

Group 2: four rounds of 5 pull ups/10 Merkins and end with 10 partner clap push ups.

Group 3: run to bottom of hill a dm bearcrawl up. At each cone do 10 Carolina Dry Docks.

We made it through 2.5 stations before running out of time. A great use of the AO. I wondered how Sasquatch was going to answer this painful segment.

0550.

Sasquatch has us count off by fours. He then leads us on a brisk mosey to the turf field. As we approach, we see two sleds at the closest end zone, and two at the far end zone. He sets one group up at each sled and has us complete the following exercises as a group on repeat:

Seal Sit-Ups x 10
Jump Squats x 10

Meanwhile, one PAX from each group pushes the sled 100 yards across the field to the opposite end zone. Once they reach the end, swap with someone in that group and they then push the sled back to your original group. Continue that snake like move until time is called. Woof.

0600 couldn’t come soon enough. Those sled pushes were terrible.

We hit 0600 and head back to COT to vote. The votes were cast, the points were tallied, and a winner was decided upon.

The winner of week one of QvQ is:

Sasquatch

It was close, but this time it was decided by 7 points. Sasquatch was awarded a patch since he will be advancing to the championship on 10/30.

A great showing by both of our competing Q’s. I think I speak for everyone when I say that was one of the more difficult workouts as of late at The Coop. And we’ve had some tough ones!

I’m looking forward to week two. We’ve got the Airborne Bad Assery of Geronimo lined up to take on our very own 1st F Q – Shady!

Announcements

Broga at The Ranch tomorrow! A special recovery focused workout for those running Ragnar this weekend.
QvQ next week: Geronimo vs Shady!

Prayers/Praises

Wegmans’ father in law has prostate cancer. It’s slow moving, but it’s cancer. Pray that it can be eradicated without much detriment to his M’s father.
Pray for the multiple PAX with pregnant M’s. It’s a transitional time but it’s well worth it. Pray we can as husbands love our wives like Christ loves the church while they are going through so many changes.

Thanks for the great beatdown, men.

Punch List out.

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Sometimes You Are The Six/IronPax wk2

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This is simply one PAX’s IronPax story.

Of course you can see who is posting this backblast, but that is really not relevant.

You can review the PAX in attendance and know which region and which AO this was held, but that is irrelevant, too.

IronPax was created by F3Greenwood for the Nation to step out of their comfort zone, to be tested and stressed physically. to organize a little competition, to see where you stand with your peers.  Throwing in a little competition to the Nation is a good thing; competition (much like running times in races) is definitely a driving force to maintain, build upon and evaluate individual’s fitness levels.

But ultimately it is about 2 things:

1) You vs. You.  How far, hard and/or fast can YOU push yourself? Where does YOUR fitness level stand? Do YOU need to post more to maintain YOUR desired fitness level? Are YOU taking advantage of the F1 opportunities in your region?

2) PAX supporting PAX.  When you are out there doing a weekly IronPax challenge, you are out there WITH OTHER PAX DOING IT.  You will not be left behind, and you will not leave others behind. Use your fellow PAX for inspiration. They are with you doing it.

After having done IronPax in the past, my goal this year was to simply finish each week’s workout. Week 2’s “Meatloaf Massacre” challenge was a super hard arm workout challenge. For this runner’s skinny arms,  adding in I have not been posting as much as I should recently, I knew I was going to have a tough time.

Cinder blocks were brought by a PAX. 12 men had taken the challenge on this day.

By round 2, I knew I was in trouble. This was going to be a struggle. I was ready to quit then knowing I was not going to finish. I kept going simply by the fact that other PAX kept going. Through round 3, into round 4, I had fallen way behind as my arms were nearly dead. I was watching the clock as we got closer and closer to 0600.

After 30 of 50 merkins in the last round (with one running lap to finish), I announced I was done. I didn’t want to hold anyone up.  But my quitting was not an option for 2 of my fellow PAX (who these PAX were is also irrelevant, but WE know who they were). “How many more Bolt?” was asked. It did not matter to them. I was getting  20 more done. “Ok, 5 at a time. We’re doing it with you. Let’s get it done.” Back on my knees in front of my cinder block with 2 PAX to my right. 5 merkins, rest. “5 more Bolt.” So 5 more, rest. Then 5 more, rest. And the last 5. “Go get your last lap done, Bolt.”  Before I knew it I was done.

I certainly was not expecting to be the six, but now I had an IronPax time to submit.

And that’s all that really mattered on this day.

I’m expecting I will need PAX support in the final 2 weeks of IronPax. And I know I will get it.

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Honoring 5 heroes from 9/11 at the Honey Badger

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16 PAX joined me to honor our fallen heroes, this time I went off the book and decided to do my own version and honor some of the heroes from the tragedy of 9/11.

-During the September 11 of 2001 attacks, 2,977 people were killed (excluding the 19 hijackers) and more than 6,000 others injured

-The immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes (including the terrorists), 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon

-Of those who perished during the initial attacks and the subsequent collapses of the towers, 343 were New York City firefighters, 23 were New York City police officers and 37 were officers at the Port Authority.

We had hundreds of heroes that day but I decided to honor 5 that made a great impact, they are not in any specific order but here are their names:

  1. NYPD Officer Moira Smith was the first officer to report the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 when she saw the first plane strike the first tower of the World Trade Center. Smith, a 13-year veteran, ran into the towers and began assisting in the evacuation. Officer Smith is credited with saving hundreds of lives that day, giving her own in the process. She was the only female NYPD officer to die on 9/11.
    She was survived by her 2-year-old daughter and her husband.
  1. Welles Crowther was an investment banker working on the 104th floor of 2 World Trade Center (the south tower). When United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower, Crowther remained calm. Just minutes after the plane hit, Crowther called his mother to let her know he was okay. He then began assisting others in evacuating, at one point carrying a woman down 17 flights of stairs, only to return to the 78th floor to continue helping others.
    Crowther had made it out of the building and was running back into it with a “Jaws of Life” tool when the tower collapsed. He was 24 years old.
  1. Mark Bingham ark owned a public relations firm, the Bingham Group. He was a passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93. Bingham was among the passengers who, along with Todd Beamer, Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick, formed the plan to retake the plane from the hijackers, and led the effort that resulted in the crash of the plane into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, thwarting the hijackers’ plan to crash the plane into a building in Washington, D.C., most likely either the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House. Before their final mission, Mark called his mother and told her that he loved her very much. His mother, Alice Hoagland, is a former flight attendant. Since Mark’s death, she has become a world-renowned expert on airline safety as well as an activist for LGBTQ issues in memory of her heroic son.
  2. Ronald Paul Bucca was a Fire Marshal with 23 years on the job with FDNY. An Army Special Forces reservist, Bucca was known as “The Flying Fireman” after a spectacular fall from a tenement fire escape. Bucca, a marathon runner, died responding to the 78th floor of the south tower moments before it collapsed.
    He was the only FDNY Fire Marshal to be killed on 9/11.
  1. Retired United States Army Officer Rick Rescorla was working as the head of security at Morgan Stanley on the 44th floor when tragedy struck. Rick was there during the bombing at the Trade Center in 1993 and believe that the Towers were still a target for terrorists. He even predicted that a plane might be flown into them one day. He implemented security procedures for Morgan Stanley, including having practice evacuations every three months.
    On 9/11, Rick systematically helped the firm’s 1,000 employees out by ordering them through the stairways. He sang a Cornish battle song to boost morale, as he had done for his troops in Vietnam. After someone told him that he also needed to evacuate Rick said, “As soon as I make sure everyone else is out”. He was last seen heading up the tenth floor when the Tower collapsed.

WARM UP

We started with a slow mossey around the parking lot with some toy soldiers in between runs.

Back to COP for warm up exercises:

Windmill

Moroccan night clubs

Low Slow Squats (crowd favorites)

Cherry pickers

THE THANG

Mosseyed to the pull up bars area were some utensils had been setup for the following 9-11 format WO, 9 exercises with 11 reps each and then RUN down the hill to the stop sign and NUR back up, RINSE AND REPEAT, the plan was to do this 5 times, one for each hero but due to time restriction we completed 4 circuits with just enough time to run back to COT for announcements, prayers and praises.

11 pull ups BAR

11 big boy situps

11 toes to BAR

11 sledgehammer swing

11 knee raises BAR

11 merkins

11 slam ball to ground

11 Carolina dry docks

11 tire flips

It was a tough workout but it’s totally worth it when honoring our heroes; everyone pushed themselves through it with lots of mumble chatter but at the end we left better men!!

I was honored to Q the Honey Badger this week, thank you Dirty Harry for the opportunity to lead. #NeverForget

TINSEL out…

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September 11 Memorial Stair Climb

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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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