Fountain of Youth

I was a last-minute substi-Q for Olaf. I almost thought I was going to have to go it alone, for the clock hit 0515 and I was solo. As I was running off Flounder showed up hot. I was SO glad because if I were to be solo I know I would not have pushed myself as hard. THANK YOU FLOUNDER! I know I have not been the best at posting lately, so this was a hands-on learning lesson as to why it is important to post even if you are not 100% into it – others could be relying on you to be there.

Warmup: Jog to the lot behind Just Fresh, then 15-20 of each: SSH, WM, IW, HW, MNC

THE THANG: The Fountain of Youth
Average age between me and Flounder was 64, but we do our best to try not to let our age slow is down. It is a number and a mentality. You are as young as you think you are!
At each of the four benches around the fountain there was a cone, and each cone had 2 exercises on them. Start with one exercise on one cone, do the exercise, then run the lap – from the fountain go to one of the roundabouts, run the roundabout then run to and around the opposite roundabout, then back to the fountain. It is a loop of approx 1/3 mile. Then go to the first exercise on the next cone. Repeat for the first exercise on each of the four cones. Once done, repeat for the 2nd exercise on each cone. Exercises on each cone were:
– Cone 1: 25 burpees and 50 step-ups (2ct)
– Cone 2: 50 LSS and 50 lunges (2ct)
– Cone 3: 50 merkins and 50 plank jacks
– Cone 4: 50 LBC and 25 box cutters

That took pretty much the rest of the time until COT.

Had a good amount of convo with Flounder. This guy is a huge HIM and someone who is definitely a vessel through which He works. It was great having some one-on-one time with him. GREAT way to start off the week!!!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Read your newsletter, get involved!

COT: Many prayers and praises were shared between the two of us, especially coming off of mother’s day.

Thanks for the impromptu opportunity to lead.
SYITG
-NASA

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Locking Shields, a how to…

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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Open Your Heart, Cover Your Plums

THE THANG: Maybe our most beloved PAX led the conversation this morning on the subjects of identity (sometimes multiple identities) and the purpose in trials we travel through.

Key takeaway: Open your heart and cover the plums.

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Art for a Cause

Art for a Cause!!

Invigoration of male community leadership…..F3 The Fort.

In light our beloved brother and ruck-master Divac’s incredible efforts towards something dear to his heart, AMRAP for Autism, two amazing pieces of artwork were commissioned to and completed by our very own artist extraordinaire and beloved brother DaVinci. Each realistically captures a ruck and F3 water bottle ready to go to work, and would be a great addition to anyone’s man cave, office, game room, all-things-ruck display case, or elsewhere. If you have a patch display – imagine one of these pictures above or next to it, or with patches around it!  But instead of keeping these for ourselves……and it is VERY tempting…..BOTH of these will be raffled off to TWO lucky PAX to benefit Autism Strong Foundation’s AMRAP for Autism.  The combo of DaVinci’s talents, Divac’s D2D, and NASA’s ruggedly good looks (and gift of admin) resulted in a match made in Heaven that YOU can be part of too!

The deets / rules / regs:

  • Each piece is 9in x 12in picture, matted in an 11in x 14in frame
    • Brown background is conte pencil media
    • Color background is watercolor paint media
    • Both signed by the artist
  • Raffle ticket purchase starts 05:00 EST Saturday 4/30/2022 and runs through midnight EST Saturday 5/21/2022
  • Drawing will be held on 18:00 EST Sunday 5/22/2022
  • Cost of raffle tickets:
    • $25 each
    • 5 for $100
    • 8 for $150
    • 12 for $200
    • 13 or more: $16 each
    • No in between ticket quantities
  • How to purchase raffle tickets:
    • Venmo: @Eric-Ransone, last 4 of cell is 1794
    • PayPal: @EricRansone
    • Be sure to include your full name, F3 name, cell phone number, quantity tickets, and a small love note to NASA in the notes of purchase/money transfer
    • Confirmation / notification of payment received will be sent via text
    • You can notify NASA via text at 407-902-1794 if you want to let me know it’s coming
  • Each raffle ticket purchase will be for an opportunity to win either picture, but not both
    • If a duplicate winner is picked after the first drawing, a new name will be drawn for the second picture
  • Winners do not get to choose which picture they want
    • First picture to be drawn for is the one with the brown background
  • Drawing will be held either via electronically (electronic raffle pick means) or via old school printout and hat drawing, pending number of entries received
  • Drawing will live streamed on Facebook, follow NASA (Eric Ransone) to get the feed
  • Delivery / pickup of pictures to / by the winners will be determined once winners contacted after drawing
    • If non-Fort Mill and immediate area resident, shipment will be arranged accordingly
  • ALL proceeds from raffle will be donated to Autism Strong’s AMRAP for Autism!!
    • Delivery method of funds to A4A is TBD and may be live streamed as well, or just a simple electronic donation on behalf of The HIM of F3 The Fort.

Please consider purchasing a raffle ticket. Each ticket matters! According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 44 children in the United States today. The Autism Strong Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization who provides local children with autism financial aid scholarships for therapy services, summer camp, and young adult weekend away experiences.

It is more than a workout.

YOU can be part of this worth cause! Thank you, good luck, and SYITG!!

–  NASA, DaVinci, and Divac

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Countdown at Soul to Sole

THE THANG: Great morning! We 2.75 miles total around ALL of Kingsley – both sides of 160. Each half mile we stopped and did a “countdown workout”: 10 merkins, 9 mountain climbers 2ct, 8 plank jacks 2ct, 7 Peter parkers 2ct, 6 squats, 5 lunges 2ct, 4 calf raises, 3 burpees, 2 squats, 1 burpee. All with ruck on. 5 stops for pain total. Excellent convo all along the way.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: read your newsletter get involved
COT: much to lift up in prayer and praise

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3rd Manion WOD with the AKA crew

WARMUP: mumblechatter

THE THANG:
Manion WOD
29 squats with ruck (with sandbags when available)
1/4 mile ruck (shared sandbags)
7 rounds

We did an extra rounds as time allowed for extra credit

MARY: mumblechatter
ANNOUNCEMENTS: sign up for blood donations🩸
COT: prayers for families, kids and teachers during the last stretch of the school year

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4 Corners of The Ballroom

Welcome to Bonus Ass Kicking April

We had 19 at the Ballroom for a glorious 4 corners of pain!

Every morning we post, we go to one of the ‘corners’ of our region but in the end we are all one of The Fort PAX.

It was great to see so many PAX on this chilly March  morning. Special shout out to Beaker for posting for the second time in 2 days! Great job and keep posting, also great work 3D supporting him

The Thang:

We started off with a warm up:

15 SSH

15 Wind Mills

15 Imperial Walkers

Break out to groups at each corner.

Round 1 – mode of transportation- karaoke

Corner 1: 10 wide arm merkins, 20 mtn     climbers single count,

Corner 2: 10 big boys, 20 dying cockroaches do

Corner 3: 10 burpees, 20 grave diggers, single Ct

Corner 4 : 10 plank jacks , 20 Peter Parker’s

After all 4 corners were done we gathered at top of hill leading to bridge until the 6 was is in. Morrocacan Night clubs were done while we waited. We then moseyed down to the bridge and back as a recovery from the  4 corners.

Then it was onto Round 2!

Round 2 –  mode of transportation- nerr

C1:  15 jump squats, 15 low slow squats

C2:  15 box cutters, 15 American Hammers

C3: 15 monkey humpers, 15 Cherry Pickers

C4: 10 hand release Merkins, 20 SSH

After all 4 corners were done we gathered at top of hill leading to bridge until the 6 was is in. Morrocacan Night clubs were done while we waited. We then moseyed down to the bridge and back as a recovery from the  4 corners.

We completed a second set of rounds 1 and 2 substituting Moroccan Night clubs for flutters.

After the second set was completed, we did a

Batman Death March around the school with the 6 doing SSH

That brought us back to COT

Great work by all today

-Yard Sale

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Hair Club for HIMs & others Conquer the Rooster

10+ pax of The Fort posted in The Gloom of Rock Hill amid heavy rain, high winds & falling temps to chase the rooster around the loop for 26+ miles.  Pax from Gashouse & Lake Wylie plus some FiA teams also joined the HIMs of The Rock for the CSAUP adventure, raising funds for Bethel Men’s Shelter in the process.

The Thang

Team relay consisting of 1 mile loops

25 loops completed in the following order:

JWOW
38 Special
NASA
Old Bay
Double D

Team completed 26th lap together for a total of 6 miles each, finishing in 3:35.

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

Congrats to HCHIMs on a great morning!  New milestones reached included:

  • First relay for JWOW and 38 Special
  • Return to The Gloom for Old Bay
  • Renewed lessons for NASA in tent set up in the midst of uncooperative weather
  • New glamour shots for YHC & JWOW in mullet wigs

Shout out to IJ, Longshanks, Cornerstone, Straight Up and Vuvuzela on their successful finishes with RH teams.

T-claps to Blueprint and Ponytail in Rock Hill for putting on a great event and to Catfish and Reborn for keeping The Rock solid!

These CSAUP events are as much about the fellowship with pax of The Fort and other regions as they are about pushing through the pain of the fitness elements (and the weather!).  A COT that includes a cold beer is a pretty good thing!

Six days until the Yeti!  Make it great!

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No Arrival

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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In Da Club

Five men showed on a cold morning at Golden Corral.  After the disclaimer, we moseyed over to Bubbles and Bows for a few warm-up exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and Plank Stretches).

Next, we were on the move around the HT building and down to the traffic circle for a round of merkins, lunges, and calf raises.  We then ventured to a little-known hill in the back of the apartment complex.  Three rounds of Nur up the hill, three burpees at the top, and ten Carolina Dry Docks at the bottom.  We made our way around the neighborhood with exercises (Merkins, Squats, and LBCs – 10 each) at each stop sign.

After traveling around the neighborhood, we ended up at a familiar fountain where we bear crawled around the circle and completed 20 dips on the guardrails.  We continued our run to the top of the hill and found a quiet parking lot for a few rounds of Mary (Flutters. LBCs, and Hello Dollies).

We returned to COT for a 2+ minute plank and finished our discussion on the Superbowl Halftime show.  50 cent was the most talked about artist.   I shared a story about a time when I was traveling to India for work.  One of the managers took me and a couple associates out to dinner.  He drove us to the restaurant in his car, playing “In Da Club”.  I remember closing my eyes thinking “I am driving around India, listening to 50 Cent”.  Wow.

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