12 Pax arrived at the Hive for a kettle bell beatdown by YHC and a VQ from Cyclops. Funny how this happened…Cyclops has been a The Fort regular for some time most notably at the running AOs. In the last year, he has been posting to more of the bootcamps and KB workouts as well. YHC has noticed and voluntold him to join for a VQ at the Hive.
Planning the Hive with Cyclops brought back so many great memories from when I first posted at The Fort back in 2012. When given my first opportunity to Q a workout, I honestly could not sleep the night before. I actually still have that problem today. It is honor to lead the men of The Fort and I am humbled by the opportunity. YHC could feel that same vibe from Cyclops and he did not disappoint.
The Thang
Mosey to FMHS football parking lot (YHC on Q)
Toy Soldiers followed by lunges followed by karaoke followed by Wojos
COP
Windmills
SSH
Merkins
CDD (Cyclops favorite)
Mtn Climbers
Squats
Mosey back to the KBs
A brief story about leadership and what it means to lead (I suggest tuning into the 43 Feet podcast for further guidance)
Handoff to Cyclops
4 Quarters each round of KBs including 4/8/12/16/20 reps
28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matt 20:28
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
61 PAX and YHC came to Block Party this day to show support to those that have felt a call to serve. As we are commanded to serve locally, nationally and globally this group of men are going global to get uncomfortable and grow closer to SkyQ. The support, prayers and encouragement from our brothers in the PAX is overwhelming and powerful. Anyone that has not realized it yet, F3 is more than a workout!
The Thang:
Ruckers when their separate way with Cobra Kai at the helm
Runners went looking for golf balls at FMGC with Pusher at the point
The rest of us followed YHC for a boot-camp with 40 or so of our brothers
Mosey down path, across the field out towards 160 for COP
All exercises were to 11 count for the 11 heading to Colombia
Plank
SSHs
Squat
Merkins
MOracan Night Clubs
Sumo Squat
Wide Arm Merkins
LBCs
Peter Parkers
Rosalitas
Imperial Walkers
Mosey to playground
Ladder work
Do exercise with designated reps, take a lap, add next exercise, take a lap…..
# of REPS
Exercise
COLOMBIA PAX MEMBER
TOTAL REPS
1
Merkin
Bonsai
11
2
LBC
Bubba
20
3
Squat
Cake Boss
27
Here from PAX on their WHY
4
Burpee
Crawdaddy
32
5
Inch Worm Merkins
Elvis
35
6
Sumo Squat
Fire Marshal Bill
36
Here from PAX on their WHY
7
Bombjacks
Flat Tire
35
8
Overhead Clap
Italian Job
32
9
Leg Raises
Mr Bill
27
Here from PAX on their WHY
10
Lunge Hops
Sir Topham Hat
20
11
Donkey Kicks
Trucker
11
Right up against time we finished
COT
We had 3 FNGs, Love Handles, Arrowhead and Homer
CSPAN prayed us out an prayed over the whole team
YHC can thank you all for being a stable rock in my life. I can’t say enough about what F3 and each of my Brothers means to me and how it has changed my life. More importantly it has allowed me to reach men for SkyQ’s kingdom and that is the best achievement ever.
5 pax and 10 young men joined together to spend some quality time together at Guidance to talk about leadership and the #1 thing you can control in leadership and that is our own, individual response to circumstances.
To start with the end… in COT asking for prayers three of the boy’s prayers revolved around going home. That was a prayer that I can’t even comprehend but I think it became a little more real this past week as we can feel for the young immigrant children sitting in “camps” separated from their parents and these children like the young men from Guidance… just want to go home and be with their families.
Today’s theme was leadership and by golly we were going to live it.
SSSSSLLLLLLOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW Mosey to church field at the top of the hill.
Circle up with some stretching lead by Tyrees and we then moved into some COP. Then Curry entered the circle and helped complete a few more exercises in cadence.
Then we started a friendly competition. Identified 4 team leaders to select their teams. Which took slightly longer than expected but we got there. Competing in the following events.
Balance – stand on one foot holding the other for as long as you can, then jumping until you fall
Strength – Hold the longest Plank… Senator Tressell and Pony tail were boss at this event. Respectable… very respectable
Speed – Sprint suicides by team… first one to finish gets points
Agility – Dribbling the ball down the fields
Agility 2 – Dibble the ball down, circle the cone and come back
Small sided games (1 team against the other, first goal wins)
A group of 22 pax converged at the HT lot for another edition of Golden Corral. Once the runners took off, and the ruckers marched on, 3 Pax joined YHC for the bootcamp workout. Here is what we did:
Mosey around the HT parking lot and pause for a quick warm up of knee pulls, ankle pulls, toy soldiers, lunge twists and arm circles. Mosey a little further to the perfect spot for COT:
All in Cadence:
SSH x 40, merkin x 10, squat x 20, mountain climber x 30, alternating lunges x 15, CDD x 15, LBC x 20
Mosey to front of HT store and face the front parking lot:
Full parking lot suicides (stop at each concrete island in lot). Repeat 2 more times.
Mosey to the side of the HT store:
Balls to the wall/hold, bear crawl to the O’Reilly parts store and balls to that wall. Bear crawl back to HT store.
Peoples chair against HT store, 10 overhead claps, lunge walk to O’Reilly parts store and peoples chair against that wall. Lunge walk back to HT store.
Repeat #1 above
Repeat #2 above
Plank it up for a quick talk on the word of the month: IMPACT
I mentioned to the Pax that one of the strongest aspects of F3 is the network that has been built over the years. There is strength in numbers and I the best example of the impact of a large network was the flood relief provided to Columbia two years ago. Hundreds of men organized a relief effort in an incredibly short time. It was an amazing thing to see and to be part of. Another way you can have impact through your F3 relationships is reaching out to your Pax when they need encouragement or just a note to let them know you are thinking about them. A quick text or phone call can make a huge difference when you are down.
Back to work. Indian Run around the whole lot and circle up for quick ablab:
Hello Dolly x 20, Freddie Merc x 20, Superman hold x 30.
End with the Body Destroyer (lie flat on the ground, breath deep, relax, no talking)
COT
Naked Man Moleskin
Was good to be Q at the Corral after an extended break including some time on IR. It’s still one of my favorite AO’s. Something about being under the lights makes it pretty cool. We had a good group today. My apologies to Manifold and Curious George for not learning your names before we started the workout. My calls for 10 counts from ‘you guys down there’ were a little awkward. Glad to have you men, and Bones with me today. Hope to see you again soon.
I shared my thoughts on the word of the month, IMPACT, with the group (which is a rarity for me). I’m not much for breaks when I Q (other than 10 counts) so we did this in the plank position.
It was an awesome, very humid, morning at the Corral and a pleasure to lead such a fine group of men. Thanks for the Q spot, Decibel!
Announcements/Prayers/Praises
Go Sleeveless for Cheech, this Friday, June 22 at all workouts
Prayers for Dark Helments friend who was killed in a motorcycle accident, F3 Elmer who has luekemia, and for a friend of Drop Thrill , whose child who has recovered from a serious illness.
Somehow, it slipped YHC’s radar that today’s Golden Corral Q fell on him. Nevertheless, when this truth was brought to light 8 hours before launch, frantic efforts were made to plan SOMETHING. Six PAX joined YHC to learn what happens when little time is spent planning a beatdown. Here’s what we did…
Mosey 1½ times around the parking lot, including side shuffles, knees-to-chests, and toy soldiers before circling up in front of O’Reilly Auto Parts next to the bank. Following a quick warmup of the standards (SSH, windmill, low slow squats, and merkins), we moseyed around to the newly paved hill into the newly built apartment complex behind the Teeter.
The Thang
Beginning at the bottom of the hill, PAX will complete a certain number of burpees, run to the top of the hill, perform exercise on sheet taped to cone, run down the hill, more burpees, back up, etc. The breakdown of exercises:
10 burpees at the bottom, 100 LBCs at the top
9 burpees at the bottom, 90 squats at the top
8 burpees at the bottom, 80 merkins at the top (crowd pleaser, this one)
7 burpees at the bottom, 70 Freddie Mercuries at the top (double count)
6 burpees at the bottom, 60 monkey humpers at the top
5 burpees at the bottom, 50 pseudo planche merkins at the top
4 burpees at the bottom, 40 dying cockroaches at the top (double count)
3 burpees at the bottom, 30 hillbilly squat walkers at the top (single count)
2 burpees at the bottom, 20 breakdancer merkins at the top (single count)
1 burpee at the bottom, 10 v-sits at the top
38 Special didn’t get the memo on the descending number of burpees and proceeded to do 10 burpees each round until probably round 4 or 5. There’s always one who doesn’t get it, but good for him for doing the harder thing.
All PAX picked up the six and finished with a mosey to COT, arriving at exactly 0600. For being poorly planned, this turned into a perfectly timed workout.
Announcements:
PAINtheon Games, 13.June.2018, 0500
Hog and Coyote V, 16.June.2018, 0500 ruck, 0600 everybody else
Sweati, sometime in July, details generally lacking
Prayers and praises:
CAH – pray for the kids, the workers, the volunteers, and praises for the opportunities we’ve had to pour into them
Drummond and his family are handing two foster children over to their forever family this weekend. Prayers for the transition – the good parts, and the hard parts.
Per Drop Thrill, Donut Hole is being deployed again, so prayers for him and his family in the weeks/months ahead. (I never thought I’d type a sentence starting with “Per Drop Thrill, Donut Hole…”)
Prayers for all the PAX who are injured and for those looking for jobs (or otherwise “funemployed,” as Homebrew called it).
Maximus has given me free reign over this backblast as he handed me his actual weinke after the workout. Unfortunately, creativity has subsided after a couple days. I really suck at expedient backblasts (no excuse).
I had legs. Maximus had arms and I believe the PAX might have preferred to have that reversed.
Arrived early, placed some cones on the double ballfield, tossed out a football and dragged out the worm. There was no weinke taped to the arm on this day. 8 PAX arrived w/ Geronimo and Dark Helmet arriving just on time after having stopped to help a lady with car issues. I do not have all the details as I missed that early mumblechatter getting us going.
Actually read the whole workout disclaimer from my phone to make sure I got it complete. Also, be sure to check out the ‘full’ disclaimer on the F3 website which is much more detailed and covers additional items.
To the field for some warmup and starting tossing around the football, each PAX threw and we moseyed to it followed by an exercise. Tosses varied in length but everyone got a turn. Before we left the field, I told the PAX that I believe in 2 things at Alcatraz. 1) making use of the hill and 2) making use of the field…basically getting down and dirty in the morning dew. We were going to do both, so before leaving for the hill, we did some:
Panther Pound Burpees – Some have done this with me on Q on before but maybe no one from this group. This exercise is in the exicon as I got it approved around the time when the Panthers were in the Super Bowl. It is essentially a football cornerbacks drill combined with a burpee. Q leads, start fast pumping the feet up and down. Q decides how long and yells drop (right or left), hit the ground do a pushup, roll right or left, get up to a jump hands over head. Repeat as necessary until very dirty. As I was doing them, too, I could not take notice to proper form, but I would have liked to see the feet of the PAX pumping a little faster….
To the hill. The downhill was a mosey each time. I think we did 3, 4? laps. On the uphills, we did various lunges, broad jumps, a sprint, etc and full 1/2 lap backwards.
Back to the field to incorporate some partner work lunge walking and carrying the worm, a 120# somewhat awkward coupon with handles on the end and in the middle. While partners carried, the rest of the PAX did core work and sprinted to the carriers when they got done. Repeat to give everyone a chance with the worm. Somewhere in my 30 minutes we did a bunch of various calf raises, although I did miss Tesh’s squat calf raises.
We did one last minute of Panther Pound Burpees and Maximus took over.
Maximus’s truck bed popped open to a whole lot of cinder blocks, one with each of our name on it (not literally) along with a very large boombox. Ok, the box was not much bigger than my hand. But it did play what could be considered a very challenging workout song Moby’s “Flower” which mentions Sally a lot.
I did not know this song but apparently it is used by a lot of people for exercising, similarly to “Thunderstruck.”
We did bicep curls with our blocks, curling on every “up” in the song, holding, then down on every “down”, but not letting it touch your body. The first time around was the long version, or so it seemed. A little bit nasty if you ask me.
Followed by: Slow flutters block press, American Hammer-position leg extensions.
Back to the song for Shoulder Presses, the short version, I think…Then
10 burpees, 20 CDD, 30 Mtn Climbers followed by cinder block push of about 25 yards.
10 bomb jacks, 20 LBC, 30 dying cockroaches (by this point, that was almost literally), and a block push back to the starting point.
Fortunately, time was done because what was left on Maximus’s weinke would not have allowed our arms to hold a steering wheel and drive home.
With suicides of recent celebrities, we talked about suicide and addressing it with our kids if they are old enough, and to be aware of family and friends who may be experiencing difficulties in their life. Apologies for not recalling more of our COT discussions. CSpan’s party weekend was in effect.
It was another great Saturday morning at Alcatraz. 6 hit coffeeteria at DD after.
June 2 marked the official start to summer at The Fort, and 13 men met at WEP to get after it. The mumble chatter started early and continued through the workout (well most of it, anyway). Here is what happened:
The Thang:
Mosey from the parking lot, through the wooded trail, and out to the main road. Head to the Springs lot for COP:
All in Cadence:
SSH x40, Windmill x 15, CDD x 20, Squat x 20, Mountain Climber x20/hold/Peter Parker Peter x 15/hold/mountain climber x 20, Boat and canoe x 4, Monkey humper x 15
Mosey to the narrow parking lot by the Springs building and pair up.
Partner 1 does Freddie Merc’s while partner 2 runs the full length of the lot and back. Flapjack
Partner 2 does Sumo squats while partner 2 runs the full length of the lot and back. Flap jack
Take a short mosey to the awning over the sidewalk
3. Partner 1 does wall pull ups while partner 2 crabwalks the width of the parking lot and back. Flapjack.
Since this was the first week that The Fort started at the earlier time of 6:30, we moseyed back to the park thinking there might be some Pax who didn’t get the message. Sure enough, Weezer and Drop Thrill were in the parking lot waiting for the workout to start. We picked them up, did a short mosey to the field and I handed off to Walker
Line up for 11’s: 10 burpees at the start, run about 20 yards, do 1 LBC, run back. Continue decreasing the bupees by 1, while increasing the LBC’s by 1 until you complete 1 burpee and 10 LBC’s. Plank for the 6.
Walker then led the group through a series of upper body and ab exercises:
20 merkins (double count in cadence)
20 diamond merkins – oyo
10 plyometric merkins (hand clamp or full body jump) – oyo
10 prison cell merkins – oyo
50 flutters in cadence (crowd pleaser)
40 Freddie Mercs in cadence
20 regular merkins in cadence
10 merkins with left palm facing the sky, right regular, 10 opposite (impossible, except for the Q!)
Hold feet 6″ off the ground for 90 secs
30 flutter kicks in cadence (ugh!)
COT
Moleskin:
Walker and I had a Q planned for Alcatraz about a year ago, but a scheduling conflict prevented it from happening. So, I was pretty psyched when Bonsai told me I was paired with Walker for today. Walker is all business and always pushes the Pax. I like that.
There was plenty of mumble chatter from the get go. I called out the 60 sec warning before the start of the workout, but I don’t think anyone noticed as everyone continued to talk. I had to yell slightly to get everyone’s attention when we were starting the workout. The chatter continued on the trek through the woods and during COP. People just wouldn’t shut up this morning – it was great. It’s good to be the Q when that is happening.
Walker took some time to remind the Pax about good form on merkins (to prevent shoulder injuries) and LBC’s (for better results). Slow down the pace and do the exercises properly. It’s good advice for guys who workout several days a week. He called out some pretty tough merkins (plyometric) and some done on the back of your hand (try that sometime).
We had a lively group today and it was truly a pleasure and a privilege to lead them with my friend and co-respect, Walker.
Announcements: F3 Dads starts today and goes throughout the summer. Contact Change Order for more details or if you’d like to Q.
A motivated group of 6 men met at The Ranch for another test of their strength and endurance. Here is what they did:
The Thang:
Warm up with walking knee pulls, ankle pulls, toy soldiers, and lunge twists. Take a short mosey and circle up for COP:
All in cadence:
SSH x 30, potato pickers x 10, merkin x 10, IW x 20, mountain climber x 30/hold/6”/regular/6”/low plank/regular. LBC x 25
Take a short mosey and stop at the entrance to the drop off circle at the elementary school entrance.
ST400 – (5 rounds, 4 exercises/round, 20 reps/exercise, run a lap in between). Today, we cut it to ST350
Round 1: Merkins, Freddie Mercs, squats, burpees, run a lap
Round 2: Diamonds, flutters, alternating lunges, burpees, run a lap
Round 3: Wide arms, hello dolly’s, sumo squats, burpees, run a lap
Round 4: Staggered merkins (L/R), Rosalita’s, monkey humpers, burpees, run a lap
Round 5: Dips, pretzel crunch – stop here. We ran out of time.
Take one last Indian run around the loop and head back to the starting point.
End with the body destroyer ( lay on your back, breathe deeply, stare at the sky, and don’t talk)
COT
This is a pretty tough workout and everyone got after it today. The 20 burpees followed immediately by the run kept the heart rate up quite well. Sasquatch ran at a swift pace around the loop this morning. I left a sweat stain on the asphalt during the warm-up and Change Order’s shirt came off after round one. Yes, it was humid. Not a lot of mumble chatter today, but Sasquatch did manage some slightly sarcastic encouragement to the group during round 3 or 4 of the burpees. We were running a bit short on time so we avoided the 5th round of burpees. We may or may have had time. Or, perhaps the Q was gassed after round 4 and could not call out another round of 20 burpees (maybe). In any event, it was a great day at the Ranch and a privilege as always to lead such a fine group of men.
Announcements/Prayers/Praises
Read your newsletter! Need a Q for Guidance (CAH on May 26), also need Q’s for F3 Dads in June (Change Order)
Continued prayers for Badger and his family and for the Jennings family
Praises for Sasquatch’s sister graduating from college. Safe travels for the Sasquatch and Wegmans to NY this weekend.
Twelve at Golden Corral for a substi-Q on the hottest morning of the young spring! 74 degrees at post time but when Corn Hole ran in from his home dripping wet, all the sudden I felt a lot cooler.
This morning we focused on the theme of Accountability as it relates to our word of the year. The question is do you have a word? How are you engaging with that word? How are you holding yourself accountable? By this time of the year you should have your word engrained were you are thinking about it constantly and understanding how it intersects with your life. You own it. Tell someone what you want to change and ask them to ask you about it when they see you.
The Thang:
Start with a bit of stretching to loosen up a bit… it was no Broga but Senator appreciated it and I think others by the end of the post were hoping we would have spent more time there.
Mosey to the field at the church with some curb hops and such along the way.
Circle up with a COP (sort of) which included 20 Maq-tar-jai, 10 Knee-tar-jai and some 4 (1×4)Jack Webbs.
Mosey to parking lot for a partner exercise of 2 rounds each of merkins while the partner runs then squats while the partner runs.
Mosey to parking lot behind HT for some plate pushes with partner while pax goes through a series of exercises until we push through the full rotation. Including dips, CCDs, lunges, and a bunch of other fun.
Another round of overhead plate carries with another series of exercises
Headed to the wall for some fun with passing the plates and pushing it back down to the other end. Then some wall stand walks and Australian wall walks… fun, fun and more fun! Just ask Corn Hole
Headed back to COT with a bit of Mary before counting off!
It was an honor to lead the Pax through the morning and I’m better because of it. Aye!
Begin with disclaimer and went around the roadway circle for a “quick slow” mosey.
Circle up for warmup
-10x windmills
-10x low slow squats
– 15x peter parker
-15x parker peter
-downward dog / honeymooner
-10x plank jacks, recover
-10x cherry pickers
Mosey to other side of parking lot where the real pain began early:
-Merkin ladder: drop for 20 merkins, run 10 yards and drop for 19 merkins, run back 18 merkins, run back 17 merkins…. rinse and repeat until 10 merkins for a quick 165 merkin beatdown. WOW
Mosey to baseball field where we completed the field of dreams: count off by 4’s, each base had 3 PAX. The 4’s started at home plate for 15 burpees – they are the timekeepers. When done, each base moved onto the next base until the cycle was completed by all. 1st base was AMRAP squats, 2nd base was SSH’s, and 3rd base was LBC’s.
Circle up around the pitcher’s mound so we can finish off our arms with Jack Webb’s.
It is now 0700 and time for Senator Tressel to take over with:
Mosey from the ball field and head down to Tara Tea Dr (steep hill). Form two groups and face the hill:
1. Round 1: run to the top off the hill and back, plank at the bottom until everyone is back, recover. Slow squats on Q’s count with a few holds mixed in.
2. Round 2: run backwards to the top and back, plank at the bottom, recover.. Slow, alternating lunges on the Q’s count with a few holds mixed in.
3. Round 3: run to the top and back, plank at the bottom, recover. Slow monkey humpers on the Q’s count with a few holds mixed in.
4. Round 4: run backwards to the top and back, plank at the bottom, recover. Calf raises for an unspecified time while the Pax cacthes their breath.
5. Round 5: run to the top, run back down, then run back to the top, do 5 burpees at the top, plank until the 6 is finished.
Mosey back to the baseball field for tunnel of love. The Pax attempted 2 rounds, but it was a bit of a cluster. Lutefisk’s merkin fest was too taxing on the upper body, and sustaining a tunnel for 16 to pass through was ill advised at that point.
Circle up for 6 MOM (all in cadence)
Freddie Merc x 20, Hello Dolly x 15, American Hammer x 20. Superman hold x 2. End with the Body Destroyer (one of YHC’s personal favorites).
COT – prayers for sicknesses to be healed among PAX and their families and mother’s day with special shoutout to Mr Clean’s children and all children who have lost their mothers.
It is now 38 hours since the completion of this, and I still hurt. Everywhere. Which is awesome. Thanks for the opportunity to lead! -Lutefisk