Tag: Royale

Kettlebells, Bear Crawls, Oh My

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Assumed the Cannonball AO was about as far from me as the Deep and left the house early, only to arrive at the AO a solid 12 minutes before kickoff.  Was surprised to see one of the Church doors open and kettlebells visible from the parking lot.  I guess that kind of red carpet service you get when the site Q is the Assistant to the Parking Lot Manager of New River Church and one of their pastors frequents this new AO.

Once the pax funneled in, I took them for a quick loop around the parking lot and knocked out the warm-up:  (in cadence) SSH x25, windmills x10, overhead press w/ KB x10, halos x10 (counter clockwise & clockwise), merkins x15, downward dog / honeymooners and an attempt at Supermans w/ KB in hand (went over real well lol).

Ran the guys w/ our KB’s down to the far end of the parking lot and we got started:

  • 4 cones set-up (1st at the far end of the lot), the next 3 about 7 parking spaces apart.  Quick and dirty – do an exercise at the first cone, immediately lunge walk (w/ twist) w/ KB to the next cone, drop the KB, run back to the first cone (every time) and bear crawl back to your KB.  Once there, you do the next exercise, lunge walk w twist to the next cone, drop weight, run to the very first cone, bear crawl back to weight (now 2x the original distance)….you get the point.
    1. Exercise #1 – plank rows w/ kettlebell (10 reps per side).  Key here being to maintain flat plank the whole time as you hold body w/ 1 arm and pull w/ the other.  Lunge walk, run, bear crawl, (wait for all Pax to finish bear crawl – those waiting did upright rows w/ KB), then
    2. Exercise #2 – wood choppers (crowd pleaser).  It’s a play on the KB swing, but a little harder.  Start w/ KB above your head to the left then swing it down to the right side of your legs, and then swing back up to the left side of your head.  Key here is to not blow out your knee, but to actually accelerate as much as you can on the way UP.  10 reps going left to right, 10 reps right to left.  Lunge walk, run, bearcrawl 2x the distance (wait for pax, those waiting did curls w/ KB), then
    3. Exercise #3 – single leg RDL’s (romanian dead lifts) w/ kettle bell in the hand of the leg that is going straight back.  10 reps per side.  Lunge walk, run, bear crawl 3x the distance (those waiting for pax to get back did thrusters w/ KB), then
    4. Exercise #4 – toe touches w/ KB (20 rep count).
    5. Turn around and rinse and repeat whole cycle, only double the rep count for all exercises above.  Good stuff.  Bear crawled out at this point.
  • Next up were some good old fashioned super sets – two exercises given, do them back to back, no complaining.
    1. Alternating merkins w/ one hand on the KB at all times (10 reps per side) / bent over KB tricep extensions (10 reps per arm)
    2. Get ups (hold KB in each hand 5x each) / KB jump squats (10 reps)
    3. Big boys w/ KB press (15 rep) / KB american hammers (20 reps per side)
  • Only had a few minutes, so we gave ourselves 10 parking spaces to get back to COT and everyone did bear crawls back to COT w/ KB in hand (use it as a hand, no dragging, switch hands half way through).

    I have to say the effort level by everyone was awesome to see – not a single person was half a$$ing it – all were finishing each set strong and suffering through each of the long bear crawls.  I was especially proud of one of their newest pax, Mysterio, who did not give up on that last KB bear crawl stretch.  The dude had some serious fight – he’s going to be good one.

    Thanks Two Ferns for the chance to step up and lead at the new Lake Wylie KB AO.  Didn’t really know what to expect w/ a KB workout, but had a blast – hope the others did as well.

    ChaChing

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1

Challenged to “Bring It”

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A few months ago, Dark Helmet and I were challenged to “bring it” to The Deep. I’m not sure how I got roped into the conversation as I no longer provide the top-tier workouts I used to. You see, it’s not because I’ve gotten soft (well, maybe a little), it’s more due to the physical acceleration of the PAX, which is evident when I cross the water and see the brothers in Lake Wylie. My workouts aren’t as hard as they used to be for some.

That said, I’ve become known for 2 things: the deck of cards and cinder blocks. I couldn’t disappoint the fellas. Dark Helmet on the other hand, is known for many things (not including many leather-bound books, rich mahogany, a perfect quaff or starbuck-y hands). And, with these many things, he brought his level of creative, pain-inducing exercises to the first half of the morning’s Q.

Once DH signed a few autographs, gave a very clear disclaimer, he took off for the warm up mosey. Then did a few warm-up-type exercises which included all the regulars and plenty of chatter.

Grab a partner and since when does size not matter…in Wheelbarrow racing?

You and your partner will alternate wheelbarrow’ing around the circle which I swear, grew as we were encircling it.

Next, grab the cinder blocks from Maximus’ truck for a little DORA activity.

Partner 1 (P1) would run around the main lot while Partner 2 (P2) would do the exercise then flapjack for:

200 Bicep Curls

300 Overhead Press

400 Bent-Over Rows (modified the count for timing and inserted chest press)

Hand off to Maximus for more partner work

P1: Ski Abs

P2: Toe Taps on the block (25ea side)

Flapjack

P1: Burpee Broad Jump ~50yds & NUR back

P2: Mountain Climbers with your hands on the block

Flapjack

P1: Beep Beep I’m a Jeep for 25yds & Lunge Walk back

P2: Bomb Jacks

Flapjack

Now with both partners at one end and the block at the other:

P1: Sprint to the block, 10 Man Makers with the block, Sprint Back

P2: Flutters from the V-up position

Next up, partner big-boy sit-ups while passing the block back and forth

I can’t fully recall if we did a few 8ct burpees to finish it off but it’d be a lot cooler if we did…so let’s assume we did.

Hey PAX, wherever you call home, go somewhere different. Organize a clown car with a few other locals and go see a different AO on a Saturday and attend their Q-Source. You never know what you’ll learn. Dark Helmet and I appreciate the opportunity to put ourselves through misery in the spirit of Qing for a great group of F3’s finest PAX.

Until Next Time.

DH & MAX

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2

That was a lot of sit-ups

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My 2nd of 3 Q’s in 3 days. Always a pleasure to Q The Swamp!  Now that I am Ruck free and with no big race on the schedule I’m free to just do regular old Bootcamps. My favorite workouts combine a good amount of running(big surprise) with a bunch of other stuff so that is what we did today and  was glad to have a bunch of guys to share it with.

Started off with s nice mosey warm-up with some dynamic warm-ups of butt kicks, high knees, shuffles and some karaoke.

Circle up in the HD parking lot for COP consisting of SSH, IW, Carolina Dry Dock, Peter Parker, Mountain Climbers, then a series of Downward dog to Honeymooner. Back on our feet for Windmills, Apollo Ono(look out for the car), and just for fun some Monkey Humpers.

Mosey to the bike racks at HD for the main thing. Partner up for a nice BOMBS routine. One partner does the exercise the other does a lap around Home Depot.  There  were some complaints that the lap was a little long even though I assured them it was only about 1/4 mile  I was accused of measuring Zima miles.

50 Burpees, 100 Overhead claps, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Sit-ups(crowd favorite), 250 Supine Pull-Ups(only because I hate squats and I needed an S).  We did not make through all the pull-ups, headed back to COT for a few minutes of Mary, ending with a Body Destroyer.

Announcements – Convergence 5/24, Honor Badger at Golden Corral 5/21 wear Red, Read your newsletter

Praises for Lutifisk daughter, Dungaree’s 1 year anniversary, prayers for kids cancer relapse.

Challenged the PAX to take the role as the leader in their home.  We are called to lead, do not be a passive bystander or even worse do not take or accept the role as another child in the house.  Be the man/leader you are called to be.

Thanks as always for the opportunity to lead this great group!!

 

 

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4

10/20/30 at Cannonball (Back to the Basics)

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12 PAX appeared in the gloom. We got the Kettlebells out and No FNGs present, but a lot of new faces in the gloom. Gave a basic disclaimer as we moseyed around the parking lot and through the dark tunnel and into the old Church Parking lot were Whitesnake took control of the COP. He has a VQ coming up so I hit him up yesterday and asked him if he wanted to lead us in the COP and he said “heck yah” . He was prepared, he later told me that he watched a Video online of Dredd showing how to lead a COP. Whitesnake killed it with some Imperial Walkers, Produce Pickers, Sun Gods both ways, MNC’s and then some fast paced until we slowed him down Wind Mills (something we all get a little fast on when we do them for the first time). I remember Jedi stopping me and setting me straight. I then went into the middle of the COP and had everyone hold an Al Gore and I briefly talked about all the new faces and that when leading up to the VQ’s remember you are the one in charge and to take lead and men will follow you. Also keep in mind that it is only exercise and not surgery so it is ok if you mess up.

We then moseyed over toward the New Parking lot and on the way we did some Toy Solders. Picked up our Kettle Bells and did the Following

10/20/30 (3 reps)
Big Boys with a Kettlebell raise and push over the head to the knees
Tricep Ext.
Lawn mowers (15 each arm)
Then take a lap with the Bell

10/20/30 (3 reps)
Kettlebell squat thrusters
American Hammers counting the right side only
Skull Crushers
Then take a short bear crawl lap with the Bell to the first cone and back

10/20/30 (3 reps)
Turkish Get ups 5 each side (not a popular one just ask Whitesnake and the Pax with the Ruck on
KB Swings
Shoulder Presses 15 each arm
Then take a lunge lap around the second cone with the Bell

Ended right on time with cheers that the Turkish Getups were done.

Announcements as usual Canoli Run, Savage Race, Heavy Coming up, New River Men’s Breakfast, F# Dads May 25th, Memorial Day Convergence, Read your news letter.

Prayers and Praises, O’Reilly had a friend end his life recently, Roger (Riverboat) and his battle with cancer, Traveling Pax and sick Pax.

Thanks to all that came and got better. I am glad to be out there with each of you . You make me stronger. Kudos to Whitesnake for leading the COP.

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3

Friend or Faux – April BEYOND

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For those newer PAX who aren’t familiar with it, BEYOND is a roving AO started by Maximus last year that is designed to push us beyond, both physically and personally. The workouts are supposed to be tough, and the message is supposed to be challenging. Combining the two is what makes this workout unlike the others.

After a brief hiatus to restructure it a bit, BEYOND made its return this morning with YHC on Q. It was humbling to be asked to kick it off, and definitely challenging to prepare. I tend to be good at putting together difficult workouts, but I usually don’t attach a message, as I do so much “messaging” for my job. But I accepted the challenge, struggled through preparing, and hoped that maybe a few PAX would make the effort to post.

To my surprise, 13 PAX joined YHC at Rivergate on a Thursday at 0500 (yep, not a normal day to be at Rivergate or a normal time to start). These men came ready to push it, so a disclaimer was given with a reminder that this is going to be harder than normal, so try not to modify. Dig deep and get it done; you didn’t come for it to be easy.

Following the disclaimer we took off on a fast mosey (avoiding a cement truck!) around Home Depot to Target for the warmup and message intro (content of message will be below).

Warm Up (such as it is)

  • 50 (NOT low-slow) squats in cadence (don’t know the best way to actually list the numbers here, so I’m doing total count, not cadence count, which would have been 25, if that makes sense…)
  • 50 merkins in cadence
  • 100 SSH in cadence

RUN to parking lot in front of Pier 1. Time Hack: 4 minutes.

All PAX arrived with about 30 seconds to spare. Circle up in plank – aka, forward listening position – for next part of message (see below). Next round of workout:

  • 50 jumping lunges in cadence (25/leg)
  • 50 diamond merkins in cadence
  • 100 high knees, single count

RUN to Just Fresh parking lot. Time Hack: 4 minutes.

All PAX arrived with about 30 seconds to spare. Circle up in plank for next part of message (see below). Next round of workout:

  • 25 triple-pulsing sumo squat jumps in cadence (“20 would have been fine”)
  • 50 pseudo planche merkins (request for exicon name change to “flippin’ merkins”)
  • 50 bomb jacks

RUN out to 49, down to 160, and around CVS to parking lot by Friday’s. Time Hack: 5 minutes.

All PAX arrived with no time to spare. Close to the burpee penalty. But alas… Message given in plank then next part of workout:

  • 30 triple-pulsing lunge jumps in cadence (“that’s more than 25”; “do you want to walk in circles forever?”)
  • 50 breakdancer merkins in cadence
  • 50 tuck jumps

RUN to the (no longer) dead end road in front of Home Depot. Time Hack: 5 minutes.

Bones led the PAX on a creative route that cut out roughly .2 miles, so all PAX arrived with a minute to spare. Message given then last round of exercises:

  • 50 squat jumps in cadence
  • 5 slo-mo merkins (request to call them “ferkins” for “f@$%(* merkins”)
  • 20 run lunge high knee skips

RUN to COT. Time Hack: (a very generous) 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

All PAX arrived with time to spare. End in plank for the final thoughts before recovering at 0600 on the dot.

Standard COT with all the bells and whistles.

Message content:

We have been talking a lot lately about being vulnerable and open about our lives and the struggles we face. There was a big push in March when we discussed Mental Health Awareness, and we’ve continued to encourage this among the PAX. And that’s great, and it should continue to be encouraged. But, as we pursue this, we need to be aware of what we are actually asking of people and consider if we – as individuals and as a group – are ready to actually take on what we are asking.

In our culture today – American culture, US Christian culture (for many of us), and F3 culture as well – we have placed a high value on being authentic, which is really what we are wanting when we want people to be vulnerable. We want them to be authentic. To be “real.” A lot of this comes from seeing so many prominent leaders crash and burn after some secret part of their life comes to light, usually in very embarrassing ways. We don’t want to be taken in or lied to, so we promote authenticity. But this heavy emphasis has led to a sort of initiation rite within our various groups. “I want to trust you, but only if you’re willing to be open and honest with me.”

So we try it. And somebody shares something like, “I really struggle with playing too many video games” (totally a made up example, so I’m not calling people out). I for one would not be able to relate with that person very well; if I’m honest with myself, I don’t see that as a big issue (though it definitely can be for the person dealing with it). Or it goes the other way, and in a spirit of authenticity, somebody shares something “big,” like an ongoing struggle with same-sex attraction. How would that be received in an all-male group such as F3? Now we are all uncomfortable. That’s too big or too weird of a struggle for us to relate with. It’s easy for us to relate with each other on marital struggles, or alcohol, or gambling. Or a big one in men’s groups would be porn. We can relate on these issues. But something big? Nope.

So, now we have limits. We have a scope of “acceptable” struggles. It has to be big enough that it doesn’t look like we are hiding something, but it can’t be so big that it’s intimidating or awkward to those in the group. And this inevitably leads to a couple big issues.

First, we have made certain struggles acceptable. We EXPECT you to struggle with something like porn, and if you don’t, you’re lying. You’re not being honest with yourself or others. So now we are essentially requiring this struggle as a rite of passage, but it also holds us back, because now you aren’t allowed to actually get past this struggle. You may improve a bit, but in order to be “real,” you need to continue to struggle with it, because if you somehow manage to get past it, then you’re untouchable or unrealistic. How can I relate with you now that you’re not struggling with what I’m struggling with? I need you to struggle so that I can feel better. So we hold each other back.

But, this scope of “acceptable struggles” also encourages a “faux authenticity,” a fake honesty where somebody either says they struggle with something they don’t struggle with in order to fit in, or they under-share, holding back the big struggles so they don’t overwhelm the group or get shunned. You come across as being authentic, because you shared a real (or, realistic) struggle that we can relate with, but in reality your struggles are completely different and you’re just struggling silently in a crowd. And we don’t take the initiative to ask questions or press deeper, because your struggle fits our expected framework. So we build this community essentially based entirely at the surface level, where we think we know each other, but we’re all withholding something, all the while seeming authentic and vulnerable.

So what do we do with this? Because I don’t think I’m alone in seeing this and living this out.

Are we actually ready to embrace real authenticity? Are we ready to meet people where they are – where they REALLY are – whether the struggles seem small or huge? And then, are we ready to walk with them out of these struggles and into victory, rather than holding them back so we can feel better about our own struggles? Are we ready to ask the hard questions, and have those questions asked of us?

Because I know that there are men in our group who are dealing with some awful stuff. And we say we want them to be vulnerable and share. But do we really want that? And are we ready to love them and embrace them and carry them when they do?

For those struggling right now, this is not a call for you to start having verbal diarrhea all over COT. That might be your thing, and I guess that’s fine if it is. But for most of you – most of us – it’s a call to start small. Find a guy or a group of guys – a shield lock – with whom you build mutual trust and can share openly and love freely. This is admittedly hard, especially if you’ve been burned in the past. But it is also freeing, especially when you realize that your struggle – that struggle you’ve carried with you for years and years – is not who you are. And there are people around you who will love you even if they know your junk, because your junk is not YOU.

We talk about leaving no man where we find him, but are we ready to really embrace this and walk with each other through the junk? Are we ready to BE authentic and also allow others to be as well? To foster true authenticity rather than force faux authenticity?

Imagine the impact this can have on our group – on our community as a whole – if we have small groups of men how are truly open with each other and walking with each other out of our struggles. It’s a big task, but it’s worth pursuing.

Are you ready?

Thanks to WitchHunt for the opportunity to lead and the encouragement to push the PAX physically and personally. This was a huge growing opportunity for me as I prepared, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to think through all of this. I hope some of you out there can get something out of this as well.

Jedi

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14

Ladders everywhere at Crows Nest

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I’m very ready to be done with the cold.  Another day below 50 degrees, but we warmed up pretty fast.  At 5:15 we had 7 guys ready to start their week right. Disclaimer and GO!

Dynamic warm-up going behind the school

High Knees –  Butt kickers – Side shuffles  –>

I heard one of the PAX behind me say, “watch…next will be Toy Soldiers…”

Sounds like I’m being too predictable!  But I like toy soldiers, so we did them anyway…

COP

SSHs – Abe Vagotas – Daisy Pickers – CDDs – Merkins – Mountain Climbers – Broga – Crunchy frogs

Headed over to the loading dock, one of my favorite spaces at the Crows Nest.  If you haven’t been here, this AO has so many options, you can do almost anything! A Giant Hill, playground pull ups, rocks for weights, the loading dock…

Today would be filled with Ladders…

Ladder 1 = 10 down 1 up

11s with Derkins & Crunchy Frogs

10 derkins on the curb run to the loading dock overhang, jump up and do 1 crunchy frog

Ladder 2  = 10 up 1 down

Ran over to the brick “round table”

10 Step Ups each leg –> 1 Big boy sit up

Apache 10 count from Speed Handle (thanks for sharing)

Ladder 3 = 6 up 1 down

Over to the playground

6 pull ups –> 1 Deep Squat

Next was a new one for me Indian Merkin Bear Crawl?

Line up in plank head to toe

Last PAX bear crawl to the front while rest of the line does merkins

We made it two rotations before we almost crashed to our faces… my arms definitely did not want to work on the 2nd bear crawl!

Apache 10 count from Whitesnake (thanks for sharing)

Mosey to COT at the front of the school.  6am sharp!

Announcements

Savage Race 5/18  Cannoli Run same day, lots of other great things

Prayers

For Flux’s son Evan as he gets some testing down today.  Safe Travels. Celebration of Jesus and his resurrection! The Baptism of Two Ferns Sunday and his son Hound!

An Honor to Lead

~Royale

 

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0

Duck Season

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12 #HIM reported for Duck Season at the Abyss. Couldn’t have asked for a better crew for my VQ. All got better, All put in solid work and held each other accountable for reps. When Copyright asked me if I’d Q 3 weeks ago in the gloom at FireAnt, I was a bit worried. Wasn’t sure I physically had what it took to lead men of this caliber with barely 1.5 months of F3 #BEATDOWNS under my belt. I felt the drive to #Accelerate and took him up on the offer. 1 day short of 2 full months in, I took the reins. I said that to Say this- F3 is the real deal. From day 1 I have had far more in shape and capable guys pick me up and push me through the hardest challenges. Creates a real drive in a Fella to Accelerate! You don’t get that w/your ear buds at the gym! No Turning Back Now!

Now to the Fun!

0514- All veteran Pax on hand, so a quick disclaimer about No Liability, all exercises are suggestions and modify as needed.

Quicker than expected Migration/Mosey to the back of the school with a ½ lap around the track and circle up for COP.

Warm Up “The Hunt”

  1. 15-16 SSH IC
  2. 20 Morrocan Nite Clubs IC
  3. 20ish Imperial Walkers- Yes it is harder to count the cadence but the more the merrier, Right?
  4. Ahead of time so an on the FLY adjustment:
  5. Plank Position- Hold some decent amount of time.

While holding Plank: Question our 3yr anniversary man Da Vinci- What the Best Part of his F3 Journey? Comradery with the Pax and the consistent Push to be and do better. Not a direct quote but the sentiment is right.

  1. SuperMan: Question Lutefisk on His favorite park of F3? Knowing there is a car in his drive way waiting for him to go workout every day.
  2. SuperMan w/ Arm Flutters- Mumblechatter picked up here with guys swimming with arms and legs churning away. Question Cornerstone on the above. Comradery again was the Key. Yes it does get harder to talk and listen while holding an Arm Flutter SuperMan!

Back to our Feet for last preset exercise

  1. 15 Cherry Pickers IC

Migrate to side of School for 2 rounds of peoples chair with Bear Crawl down the line. Rnd 2 PC with 10 squats down the line.

Migrate back to the Front of the AO.

The Thang- #TheDucksStrikeBack

Johnny Cash showed up for an Ole Fashioned Ring of Fire. Preplanned on the day before so all exercises and modes of travel were all  written in  chalk, including directional arrows. Pax partnered up to hold rep accountability. Thanks Jedi for keeping me honest on that 1st set of Burpees. Not sure how I got off but yes I was short reps and made them up accordingly.

We met at the center of the ring and knocked out the first set of 10 Merkins.

  1. 25 Carolina Dry Docks- Duck Walk to Center -10 Merkins
  2. 20 Lunges 10/leg –DW to Center – 10 Merkins
  3. 15 Bomb Jacks- Bear Crawl to Center- 10 Merkins
  4. 15 BBS and 15 LBC-BC to Center- 10 Merkins
  5. 15 Burpees- BC to Center- 10 Merkins
  6. 15 Diamond Merkins- Sprint to First green column in traffic circle and back.
  7. 25 Mountain Climbers- Sprint to cone in handicap spot- Surprise 10 Squats
  8. 15 GTOs with provided Ruck or Cinder Blocks. Sprint to cone in back corner- Surprise 10 more squats.

Sounds like most pairs and 1 threesome made 2-2.5 rounds. Might have had a pair of Monster #HIMs who made 3 full rotations, Cha-Ching and Lutefisk. That has not been verbally confirmed but Good On Ya Men either way.

Big Ups to Royale for knocking out the entire workout with his Ruck ON. #RuckFriendly

Wrap up to COT w/ 2mins to spare. FunHouse suggested 2 mins of SSH. Ask and Ye Shall Receive. Mumblechatter ensues over cadence pace so I sped up the count.

Announcements

Reminder about F3 Mental Health and Suicide Awareness- Keep it at the forefront.

Date Night 4-27 TT Ft Mill

Prayers and Praises

Bone’s Home Appraisal Today

Cornerstone- 2.0 having Blood work done and he is starting a new health plan.

PAX Traveling and injured.

Thanks Copyright for the Honor to Lead these Men!

 

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7

Run with Faster Men…

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A Running BB?  6 was the count at Sea Legs Tuesday. I couldn’t believe Bones was out here only 1 week after twisting his ankle pretty badly at the previous Sea Legs session.  You would think that would have slowed him down!

Gave disclaimer and course direction.  My goal was to run the Oleander Hill a couple times, I have set up a Strava segment for it to help us get better.  We would do that loop twice then head up to the Soccer fields on Palisades and head back to our start.

When we finished all PAX were accounted for, with Bones and Hauschka leading the way.  On our usual run for Sea Legs my goals is 5 miles.  Today I was pushed to 5.5 miles. How?  Bones slowed down long enough for me to pace with him for the first 4.5 miles.

So how do you run faster?  RUN WITH FASTER MEN.

Thanks for the push!

~Royale

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1

Back to Basics at The Deep

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After my Q on Thursday I feel like Q #3 this week would a good opportunity to go back to basics.  As the Lake Wylie guys celebrated 3 years since the launch of the Deep this week I forget that we have a lot of “newer” faces around.  I wanted to make sure we can get the “why” of a lot of the things we do in F3 shared and engrained with the PAX.

This morning looked like it was going to be a wet one.  At 6m when I woke up it was POURING. But looking at the weather it showed a break for our 7-8am hour. I had planned a weinke with lightning options and no lightning ones.  Regular rain is the BEST and not a determining factor on the weinke.  (Core principle #3; to be discussed later)

I was successful at dragging Lancelot out of bed (but not The Lorax) so we were glad to see so many guys, including a few 2.0s at The Deep at launch time.  Gave the disclaimer and we did a couple dynamic warmup laps around the parking lot until we circled up for COP.

During COP; Gave the proper instruction on what it takes to lead the group in cadence.

Announce the exercise – move the men into position – begin the exercise and count in cadence – I completed SSHs as the example

Then I asked for some of the newer PAX jump in the middle and to lead a specific exercise.  From memory I think it went like this…

Lancelot – Windmills

Captain Jack – Imperial Walkers

O’Reilly – Daisy Pickers (or non-descript produce pickers)

Whitesnake – Squats

Bono – Moroccan Night Clubs

John Wick – Merkins

Next we moved to the back on of the school, the lightning had held off (so did the rain) so I gave O’Reilly the choice of our next Evolution; Dora 1-2-3 or Lazy Dora.  He’s been reading up on the lexicon so he was smart and picked Dora 1-2-3

Partner Up

Partner 1 does exercise while partner 2 runs about 30 yards down the straightaway then switch

We did:

100 Merkins

200 Squats

300 single count Flutters

For our 10 counts I asked all who knew the 5 core principals of F3?

  1. Free 2. to all men 3. held outdoors (rain or shine) 4. lead in rotation by a member of the group 5. closes with a COT

Next Evolution we moseyed over to the east parking lot

On Thursday several of the PAX did not know what a Kraken burpee was!  Since this was a Lake Wylie day 1 Original I had to share and spice it up.  All credit for this goes to Shady who wrote this up in a black diamond BB a few weeks ago.  He called it “Krack Webbs”.  When I announced it to the group, several guys were not happy with what was to come.

  • 1 Kracken burpee (1 burpee + 3 hand release merkins for the pushup part of the burpee)
  • 4 squats
  • Repeat all the way up to 10 Kracken and 40 squats totals equal 55 Kraken burpees & 220 Squats

About halfway through this terrible idea we heard some lightning.  I coached the guys on proper procedure when leading.  Rain = Great, Lightning = take care of your PAX.  We used this parking lot just in case of lightning, so we could easily move under the awning at the east side of the school.  Lesson learned = be mindful of your surroundings and have an alternate place in your plan for safety.

Finished the Krack Webbs under the awning as a little rain started. I wanted to quit at 8 rounds, but somehow we kept going!  That one pushed us all!

Evolution 3

Wall sits with a twist.

We were already under the awning so we would sit on the wall, left to right would bear crawl and we would just keep going.  When we ran out of wall stay under the awning and hold Al Gore while the group continued to bear crawl.

Last thing we did was at the request of Link… he mentioned crab walks so we continued down the hallway for the last 20 yards doing that.

At the end I shared I quote I found from Santini and shared it with the PAX.

Why do we do have Three Fs?

“It’s not an accident.  Men of purpose and impact are intentional about their lives. Men who become part of F3 start to explore the idea of Faith.  In many cases, this starts with asking questions like, “What do I believe?  What do I value? What is important to me?  Is there more than just writing a mortgage check?  Who can I share the things that concern me, scare me, or challenge me?”  These questions drive a man to assess his measure of impact in the world around him.” ~Santini

COT

Announcements – Savage Race 5/18 we are planning an F3 Dads day at the Deep 5/25

Prayers and Praises – New homes for Wildthing and Bones (Link); Healing for those fighting cancer and other ailments.

An Honor to Lead!

~Royale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1097 Day Review for Lake Wylie

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Today started off great.  It was warm(ish) around 58 degrees.  Set up at the Poopdeck and pulled in to a big crowd of guys.  In total we had 21 when I gave the disclaimer.  Once again really glad to see Funhouse, Fishsticks and Anchorman on their tour of the region for Asskickin’ April! 30 days, 30 AOs around the region, year #2!

So my teaser in twitter last night was a note on “Show up today to find out what happened 1097 days ago!” We would take a little trip down memory lane.  I gave the disclaimer and we were off.

dynamic warmup run =  High Knees – Buttkickers – Toy Soldiers

COP

SSH – IWs – Daisy Pickers – Merkins – Windmills – Broga – Mt Climbers

At the end of COP I shared what happened 3 years and 2 days ago (1097 days).  That was the first day of the launch of The Deep on the west side of Lake Wylie.  It has been just over 3 years that F3 has been around (seems like yesterday) for many of these men.  I let them know we would take a stroll down memory lane because I pulled some ideas off a few of my weinkes from that time.

1st Evolution

Lt. Dans with 10 flying squirrels at each of three cones

At the end we took an “Apache 10 count” and Anchorman got to share about himself.

2nd Evolution

I discussed that 1st day at thee Deep and Dark Helmet’s introduction to our own “special” exercise…the Kraken Burpee.  Half the guys didn’t know what it was! (I have truly failed you).  For the guys that did know, they let out a sigh knowing what was to come.

This evolution required four corners (cones) and one in the center for:

  • Center 5 Kraken Burpees
  • Corner 1 30 Merkins
  • Corner 2 30 Squats
  • Corner 3 30 Crunchy Frogs
  • Corner 4 30 Bombjacks

We split into four groups, started at the properly numbered cone.  Did the exercise, then met in the middle for the 5 Kraken burpees each time then rotated clockwise (yes Flux CLOCKWISE) to the next cone.

When all this fun was done I shared an old moleskin that I wrote back on 4/24/2016 a few weeks after The Deep’s launch.  I was so glad to see Anchorman today, because he’s mentioned in it!

Here it is:

Moleskin from 4/24/2016:

For the last month I have butterflies every time I pull up to The Deep…I always feel like I’m going to be alone at 7am. But every week, my fears go away when that first car makes the long turn into the parking lot…and more just keep coming! It’s been an honor to be able to share what F3 has done for me over the last year with the men of Lake Wylie. And although we didn’t have any FNGs this day, I know that the men already involved are going to make a difference in this community.

During our 10 counts today I shared some of the great truth nuggets I’ve gathered from our 3rd F conversations around fatherhood. There were 3 main lessons we received from What Did, Double D, Anchorman and Gekko at the 3rd F convergence a few weeks ago…and I thought it was something to repeat to the PAX today.  So Fatherhood was my 10 count.  Here’s what my interpretation looked like…I hope it does justice to the men that shared!

  1. Respect your M for your family to see. Your children see everything…every fight, joke, rudeness you put out there.  And then they think this is an acceptable way to treat a woman or wife.  Make sure it’s positive.
  2. Be present: We usually get family time at our worst time.  The last few hours in the day after you’ve done what it takes to feed the family.  Through F3 I’ve received the energy and strength to make that time worth while…when I used to want to veg out in front of the TV or my iPad for my alone time.  When you do get that time, use it and be there in mind, body and spirit!

3. I shared Gekko’s story about his daughter’s recent break up with her boyfriend. In short, she broke up with him because she expected more, like the relationship that Gekko and his M have.  What a complement to being a parent! But Gekko shared that his #1 advice was to raise his children to glorify God, and point them in his direction… and that’s the best you can do.  I appreciate those words Gekko.  Wanted to make sure they were shared!

Long enough share.  Mosey over to the wall by COT.  BUT WAIT! on our run back we see the Cat Lady… 5 burpees men!

Went to the wall…

Evolution #3

BTTW Mosey that Bart created back on his VQ in 2016. PAX would stand in a line doing reverse lunges while end of line would go to the wall, post up in BTTW and then hand walk down the full length of the wall.  This was new for a LOT of guys this morning.  Lots of mumble chatter on this one.  Half way through we switched to Squats to finish out the long line.

Evolution 4

Jack Webbs to 10…another crowd pleaser.  Radar lied and said he didn’t know what these were…

Back to COT with no time to spare

Announcements – Ass kicking April and Savage race 5/18

Prayers: For healing for Chop Block’s FIL with brain tumor and needs a true miracle,  Rocket in Lake Norman and his biopsy, Bones, Tinsel and Davinci for injuries that need healing.

BOM and we’re out!

BUT WAIT… on my way home I get a text from one of the PAX.  Next time you see Jedi you’ll understand what I mean… THAT happened at the Poopdeck. I’m so glad he is OK, pride will heal and cuts do as well… with 5 stitches.

An honor to Lead

~ Royale

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