Block Party Beat Down

I was excited to Q Block Party after the co-Q at The Fort on Sat.  I arrived early and saw 7 runners take off at 5:00 sharp with Bird Cage leading the way down the back trail.  Cars began to file in and the cars kept coming.  I wasn’t expecting a large crowd and then I heard that CSPAN was still in town and was coming to Block Party so I knew there would be a big and rowdy crowd on hand.

Once we hit 5:15, no FNG’s were present so a short disclaimer and off we moseyed.  Since the park has several obstacles littering the grass from the festival, I was going outside of the park.  We moseyed to the first parking lot up front and circled up.

  • Imperial Walkers
  • SSH
  • Arm circles front and back
  • arm stretch across body
  • mountain climber
  • slow merkin – 3 count down, 3 count hold, 3 count up

Mosey over to the sidewalk and wall near Springs Global.  3 exercises , 3 sets, decreasing reps each set.

  • Dips – Reps –  25/20/15
  • Derkins –         20/15/10
  • Step-UPS –     30/20/10

Mosey to the big hill and meet at the top parking lot.  3 excercises, 15 reps each, then run to bottom of the hill and come back up the hill backwards.

  • Squats/Monkey Humpers/Calf Raises
  • Slow Merkin/MNN/O/H Clap
  • Flutter/ Big Boy Sit-up/Hello Dolly

Mosey back to the sidewalk and wall where we started and do one more set of  dips and derkins 20 & 15.  Mosey back to the park. Since we had a few minutes left I decided to take a lap around the park on the path for an added bonus.  We ended back at the parking lot for set of LBC’s.

This was a great morning and I enjoyed the chatter and hard work.  Through the Q Source, I have been motivated to look for ways to continue to accelerate  in all areas.  I shared with the group that I have been successful in accelerating in King, Queen and Jester control, but the last 4 weeks the QSource was focused on Faith.  I was convicted that I am not accelerating in study and recognize the need to have my shield locks there to hold me accountable and provide the push I need.  I asked everyone to think of where they need to accelerate and who are they going to have beside them to hold them accountable.

Thanks Esso for the opportunity to Q and lead the Pax.

Rebel

TClap |
4

Grace & Freedom

We had a 8 Pax post at the Colosseum today for a high impact workout. There were 3 respectables among us (Rebel, Bassomatic and Asphalt). They posted strong, ran hard and made us hustle to keep up with them. Straight Up met us after his pre-run and he was ready to bring it. Shout out to Fogerty for blessing me with this opportunity Q.

The Thang

Mosey to the back parking lot

COP: SSH (10x), IW (10x), HBW (20x), Sumo Squats (15x), Merkins (20x), MCs (15x), WMs (15x)

Mosey to the basketball courts and partner up.

Dora (100 Merkins, 200 LBCs, 300 Squats).

Mosey to the front of the school.

Partner Wheel Barrels to each side of the parking lot (2x), Partner Big Boy Sit Ups (15x for 2 rounds), Partner Ski Jumps (15x), Partners Push Ups (15x for 2 rounds), Partner Leg Lifts (15x for 2 rounds)     

Mosey to the bus loop for catch me if you can for 2 laps and 2 burpees at each exchange.

Mosey to the next parking lot.

Moleskin:

We are so blessed by God’s grace that sometimes we take it for granted. He sends angels before us to protect us on a daily. For example, do we stop and thank Him for daily traveling grace and a safe commute to and from our workplace? We should.

Shame is the opposite of His grace. Forgive yourself for your mistakes and flaws. Don’t strive for perfection. Instead, commit to making a perfect effort. That’s all anyone can ask of you.

Forgive others. Giving grace to others ensure your freedom. Freedom comes from not holding on to grudges. Be free.

Peace,

Deacon

TClap |
3

6 years, God only knows where I might have been….

6 years ago YHC rang the bell for the first time with a handful of rag tag HIM’s. There were 3 workouts, total, in The Fort. A lot has changed!  YHC was blessed enough to be able to come to Block Party and Q on a day that has changed my life.  32 other PAX joined YHC in the gloom for some fun for Day 20 for Ass Kickn’ April Y2!

The Thang:

Long loop around WEP

COP

SSH X 50, Squats X 25, IW X 20, Mountain Climbers X 25, Plank Jacks X 25, Slow Sumo Squats X 25, 6 count Burpees w/ hand clap X 10, SSH X 10 – Mosey to playground

DORA 1-2-3

Partner up, 100 Merkins, 200 Squats, 300 LBCs. Go.

Huddle Up

Got the PAX together to briefly talk about what F3 has done for me.  I had initially thought that F3 would always be a physical challenge, and it is, but I would never have guessed how much the 2nd and 3rd F’s would come into play.  Having 32 other men show up at 0515 to work out under my lead, shows exactly what F3 is all about.  Supporting your F3 brother celebrate a special, life changing day by doing burpees and dodging fire ants.  The 1st F is the magnet, always pulling you in.  The 2nd F is the glue, keeping you connected and active.  The 3rd F is the dynamite, serving others, putting yourself 3rd and sharing this crazy thing F3 to all men around you. Off to the hill for Jacob’s Ladder.

Jacob’s Ladder – 8’s – 1 Burpee at top and 7 Bomb Jacks at Bottom. Add, subtract, flippy flop, you know the drill.

Off to COT, but lets do some more while we count down to 0600.  30 seconds of Mountain Climbers, Plank, burpees….. Saved by the Bell. Done.

Great Tuesday morning.  So humbled and blessed with the HUGE turnout this morning.  I couldn’t be more excited about being a part of F3!

FunHouse

TClap |
7

10 at the hive for a Go Ruck inspired Kettle Bell workout

Warm-up began with:

  • Short mosey
  • SSH
  • Moroccan Nightclubs
  • Hillbilly Walkers
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Windmills.

We then moved to the side of the parking lot to complete the body of the workout

10 sets of:

  • Suitcase carry of bell to far end of parking lot and back AFAP (switch hands at far end) *Tesh estimated this to be 80 yards each way.. Far more than the 50 that I had intended…
  • Once back 10 Goblet Squats and 10 Swings then repeat
  • Final 5 sets had 10 Lunges, 10 Plank Pass Through, and 10 Overhead Press added to reps due to mumble about how easy the back-blast would be to write

Finished at exactly 6:00… Just like I had planned…

TClap |
4

Fishing with Bass-oh-Matic

Celebrating Bass-o-Matic Birthday! 10 HIM came to the Ballroom for a cool 45 degree morning workout and a chance to get better.  No FNG’s, Disclaimer, and a question to all the Pax, Are you accelerating ???

Time to Mosey!  

Circle up for the most important 10 mins of the morning :  The Warm-up! (avoid injury)

SSH x 15, Moroccan NightClubs X 10, Imperial Walkers X 15, Merkins, X 10, LBC’s X 10,  Windmills X 10, Cherry Pickers X 10,  Hamstring Stretch (Right over Left)  – (Left over Right) Touch your Toes, HillBilly Walkers X 10, 2 Flying Squirrels  – Warm up Complete – Time to Mosey!

Start with some DORA  – Partner up! :  100 Bobby Hurley’s  ( Partner Plank ) X 20 :  200 Dips ( Partner takes a lap ) : 300 Step ups (Partner take a lap)  – modified to 200 Step ups.

Time to Mosey around the school to the Wall !  Pax immediately took their spots on the wall without hesitating, but the Q had to explain the Red Chair sitting empty.   Circled up the PAX for a quick Happy Birthday Bass-O-Matic salute, and explanation of the Red Chair that was RESERVED for the Birthday Guest!    Bass-O-Matic took his spot on the throne, Pax took their spot on the Wall for the standard Wall Sit with one Pax jumping out of line to complete an exercise that was instructed by Bass-O-Matic.  That’s right, the Q had been turned over to Bass who had full discretion for the reps and the exercise to be completed by the PAX jumping out of line.  We worked our way down the line with a big grin worn by Bass-o-Matic,  as he relaxed in the chair.  Recover!  Rinse and Repeat with Bass in full control of the Pax, but this round he completed the exercise he called out,  side by side with each Pax!  (Impressive!! – HIM)

Recover: Time to take a minute to Revisit the “Theme of the Month – “Being Still”  :  Time to Organize Personal Priorities,  What are your Strengths and Weaknesses, What Can YOU contribute, How can you become an Encouragement and Helper rather then a drag or disappointment. Being Still is an opportunity to see who “we” really are!  “Being Still” gives you the time and privilege of knowing who GOD really is……..YOU can lean on him, He can take away your  burdens, He can provide STABILITY in your life!  Offer God the gift of Stillness in times of Quietness!  Aye!

Time to Mosey!  We made our way up to the front of the school where 4 of the Light poles had cardboard signs beneath them…..words of encouragement!  We circled up at the first light pole and completed the words of encouragement with each Pax taking the lead for an IN-CADENCE workout.  We completed the set of 3 exercises at each of the 4 Light Poles before heading back to COT with 1 minute to spare:

1st Lightpole : Flutters x 15, LBC’s x 15, Shoulder Taps x 15

2nd Lightpole : Merkins x 15, Man Climbers x 15, Wide Arm Merkins x 15

3rd Lightpole  Low Slow Squats x 15, Sumo Squats x 15, Lunges x 15

4th Lightpole : SSH x 15, PlankJack x 15, and finally BombJacks (OYO X 15)

COT:  Reminder about Mental Health conversations and awareness!  Q Source, Prayers and Praises: Closed out.

Blessed for the Opportunity to “Q”  – Blessed for F3 and association with HIM!

 

 

TClap |
5

The Art of Merkin Cadence…

What is more difficult than doing 20 merkins first thing in the morning? Trying to do 20 merkins first thing in the morning in cadence and remembering to breathe! I was doing well until I hit merkin #11 and it was downhill from there. I got to 19 and decided that breathing was more important than following my weinke to a T.  After catching my breath and drastically cutting down on my already small warm-up, I decided to go ahead and mozy over to the band parking lot to begin our workout. Here’s how it went down…

The Thang:

William Wallace #1

PAX breaks up into even groups, dispersing to four corners with radio in the middle playing 90″s grunge. (make sure you know exactly how to do the routine so that explanations come easy!) While each person holds a plank, one group member does a bear crawl to the center for 20 triceps merkins and then run back to the group. Each man does each exercise once. Next is 20 big boy sit-ups, 20 LBC’s, and 20 squats. That is a long plank hold!

We then took a quick break to talk about something that was weighing on my mind so I thought I would share with PAX. From time to time I get a feeling that I should reach out to a certain person and it will nag at me until I finally give that person a call or have some quality face-to-face time with them. I feel like it is God telling me that that person needs me for some reason. I encouraged the PAX to not let this feeling pass you by and to reach out to someone if they’ve been on your mind.

William Wallace #2

Instead of holding plank, PAX stayed in Al Gore position throughout.

Bear crawl to center for 20 wide arm merkins, 20 LBC’s, 20 big boy sit-ups, and 20 calf raises.

on to the last portion of our routine…

Partner up, size matters

Lazy Doras

100 total merkin to be done in a rotating fashion. One does 10 merkin while the other holds plank until you reach 100. Partner carry to the next position and alternate between 100 squat jumps while partner does flutter kicks. Partner carry again to next position and 100 LBC’s while partner holds squat.

Thank goodness we didn’t get to the 50 burpees and superman holds!

Mozy back to COT where we finished the workout with our 40’s (40 merkins, 40 LBC’s, 40 Squats, 40 bomb jacks)

Name-o-rama, announcements and prayers.

It was a great workout with a great group of men and we were all able to get better!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to lead, Lil E!

 

Cheerio,

Slash

TClap |
0

History at The Hive

Pulling into the HIVE early to set-up shop YHC was surprised to see 2 cars already there! Rebel was enjoying a few ‘Be Still’ minutes and Geronimo was getting after it in the parking lot with what appeared to be his Ruck. The rainy weather was holding off & it was a perfect 65 degrees-A great morning to be in the Gloom!

The cars kept rolling & rolling in….17 PAX in total

5:15am- No FNG’s so hit the disclaimer and off we went

COP: Mosey to band parking lot and return back.  Exercises in cadence-

  • SealJacks x 20
  • IW x 15
  • HW x 15
  • Windmill x 10
  • Cherry Picker x 10
  • Plank, Honey Mooner-Downward Dog, Plank
  • Merkins
  • Mountain Climbers x 15

The Thang:

Today’s workout was built around the History of the Hive. All repetition #s, exercises & stories shared were specific to this AO.

4 stations here we go:

Station 1- History Lesson- What is the most famous saying @ The Hive? “5 @ The Hive”. The PAX passed the test with flying colors. In honor of “5 @ The Hive” we hit a 5 cone drill Jacobs ladder style:

  • Cone 1) Inch Worm Merkins & Goblet Squats
  •  Cone 2) Triceps Ext & Reverse Lunges
  • Cone 3) Bicep curl w/ Shoulder press & Burpees
  • Cone 4) BackRows & Swings
  • Cone 5) Upright Rows & Fwd Lunges

Kudos to the PAX as they just got after this station. Little time for mumble chatter with the exception of those as they finished Cone 3 with Burpees.

Station 2- History Lesson- How many years has the Hive been an AO? How many site Q’s have there been & who are they? The PAX again pulled together and we went with 3 years (almost 4 years) and 3 sites Q’s- Longshanks, Tesh & BandCamp!

In honor of this we went 3 rounds of the Site Q’s assigned exercises:

Longshanks-Thrusters, Tesh-The Standing Tesh or Bi/Tri, Bandcamp-Swings

  • Round 1: 9 Thrusters, 9 count Standing Tesh, 9 Swings
  • Round 2: 9 Thrusters, 18 Bi/Tri Superset, 9 Swings
  • Round 3: 9 Thrusters, 9 count Standing Tesh, 9 Swings

Station 3- History Lesson- Geronimo’s Gauntlet (This needs to be in The Exicon) 

We did our best rendition of the 2018 Hive version of Geronimo’s Gauntlet. A Pax favorite it was started by no other than Geronimo himself and it goes something like this- *Line up all the Kettlebells lightest to heaviest. One by one, Pax go down the line and perform bent over rows at each KBell. (3 rows each side for time today). The waiting Pax can plank up, Al Gore, etc… With 17 KBells lined up our lats got some serious work. The heavy 40-50lb KBells at the end of the line gave us all an example of how JWOWW, Geronimo & Tesh get after it. Strong work Men!

Station 4- 5:58am and we escaped the planned AMRAP station due to time. Better to be over prepared than not enough. YHC took a moment to read  from the theme of the month and take just a moment to “Be Still”.

COT- Announcements from Newsletter, upcoming events

Prayers/Praises: Rebels 28th Wedding Anniversary. Prayers for all families traveling for the upcoming Spring Break week.

It was an honor to be with the Pax this morning- Thanks BandCamp for the opportunity!

Weezer

 

 

 

TClap |
4

Mile High at The Fort

First off- Cobains to Bonsai for this trady BB.  The beatdown was on point.

A hearty crew began strolling in around 6:20 with headlamps both running and car with much excitement and anticipation.  Plenty of jokes going around as I brought my 2.0 that now towers over me by about 5 inches.  Par for the course.  Dont know if this was Milehigh’s first Q at the Fort but he easily stepped up to the plate.  There were a handful of pre rucks and pre runs from PAX accelerating their #King.  Fishsticks ran all the way from Tom Brady’s back yard which was about 7 miles.

Milehigh took the reigns first and led the PAX on a mosey run around the park and then off campus for a circle of pain with standard issue but equally difficult warm ups.  DORA was the name of his game and MH extended to 4 rounds of 100 merkins, 200 Carolina Dry Docks, 300 Squats, 400 LBC aggregate between your partner.  P1 runs up the grassy cliff, bangs out 5 more merkins and tries not to be a rolling wheel of cheese on the way down.  Festifun (from Rock Hill) came in guns blazing and was big on the #pickupthesix encouragement that #teamHYDE had fallen to #DFL.

Handoff to YHC and with no words really planned have been struck and moved by the acceleration of Mile High in fitness, fellowship and his faith.  7 months in and he’s running the yeti, leading workouts, understanding accountability and seeing the virtues of shield lock.  AYE!

AYG up the hill for a partner series of wheelbarrow, carries then toe lunges and burpee broadjumps #crowdpleaser.

Finished out with 2 teams of tunnel of love and finally seal team situps.  Indian run back to home.

  • Geronimo is F3.  King is locked in, always welcoming and a magnet for anybody
  • No one knows exactly why DOAH wore his reflector vest during the workout.  but he stayed safe, so goal attained.
  • Kernel(14 yo 2.0) took it on the chin well and kept up with his old man despite YHC being able to fit in his pocket
  • Lutifisk is looking lean and mean- aye brother keep up the King/Queen
  • When did we start naming ppl after the bad roads in Fort Mill- Pothole and Asphalt?
  • Tesh kept his shirt on but he was conflicted
  • Finally- those who played in the grass the second half, truly get the original Fort. Skin fungi be damned.

AYE!

TClap |
1

AKA to Clydesdales for a River Run

Day 9 of AKAY2 did not disappoint.  13 PAX came out to run the hills of the River District.  Beautiful morning, no sweat shirts and lots of yellow running gear!

4 mile loop: down Market straight to River District cul-de-sac and come on back.

5 mile loop: 160 to Sutton, right on Market intersection, straight to River District cul-de-sac and come on back.

Everyone got back safely and finished with COT.

Prayers for Jessica, Rebel’s co-worker,  battling 2 forms of cancer.

TClap |
1

Fooled!

The Thang

12 days into spring, in SC, you’d think the gloom would be a perfect time for a run. Not that it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle, but the 11 PAX that made it to Flight Plan were shocked, shocked I tell you, at the low 30’s temperature accompanied by a constant wind that seemed to come from every direction.

But we carried on with a newly modified River District route that avoids New Gray Rock since traffic has become too heavy. Down Sutton, right on Founders and over to Sterling Heights (which seems to be uphill in both directions), cross over to Harvest Pointe and loop it back the same way.

Announcements:

Canoli Run May 18th at St. Philip Neri – Proceeds sponsoring the Children’s Attention Home.

Praise:

Rebel’s Daughter starting a new job in San Antonio

Strong F3 representation at Christina Memorial 8K and Virtual Run at Alcatraz

Hootie – Running bridge run Saturday; Dungaree Bridge Run AND A Spartan Race!

NMM

I know it was a coincidence, but the slight change in the route, brought about big challenges today. Heading back up Harvest Pointe, the wind hit us dead on. Heading out Sterling Heights was hillier than any of us remembered. But we all made it back. We all agreed we were better for the extra effort the run required of us. So when you have those challenges in your routines, with your family or with your job, are they really worth getting upset about? Maybe just think of them as a windy/rainy day at your AO. Yeah there’s a little more effort, but those are the ones we always remember. Make sure you’re not looking back shaking your head because all you could do was mumble chatter, but you’re looking back smiling because you knew all along you could get through it.

 

TClap |
1