Making Bad Things Better

Most of my Q’s in recent months have been ruck focused.  As I started thinking about what we would do on Wednesday, I realized that one of my last bootcamp Q was likely when Wegman’s held the QvQ event at The Coop in October 2018.  That was a fun Q but there were elements of it that I wish I had done a little different.  So why not take this opportunity to implement a few tweaks.

Warm-Up:

  • SSH x30
  • Merkins x10
  • Wind Mill x10
  • Mountain Climber x10
  • Imperial Walker x10

Mosey to the bottom of the hill by the pull up bars.

Activity 1:  Spider-Man merkins & pull-ups. 5 sets of trees

  • Run to first tree. Complete 2 Spider-Man merkins. Then run to the pull up bars and complete 2 pull ups. Run back down the hill.
  • Run to the first tree. Complete 2 Spider-Man merkins. Run to the second tree. Complete 4 Spider-Man merkins. Run to the pull up bars and complete 4 pull ups. Run back down the hill.
  • Continue the series through the fifth set of trees (10 Spider-Man merkins and 10 pull ups)

Mosey to the football field

Activity 2:  Cross the football field width wise down the yard lines. 5 burpees at each sideline

We did a version of this during the QvQ but I felt that version was ackward.  This one worked much better.

  • Partner carry 10 & 20
  • Bear crawl 30
  • Sprint 40
  • Crab walk 50
  • Reverse Sprint 40
  • Crawl bear 30
  • Wheel barrow 20 & 10

Everyone pushed themselves, the heat and humidity made sure of that!  Great starting the day with such a strong group!

Prayers for safety to all those traveling this week and rememberance of patience and what really matters as we spend time with family and friends.

Thank you Punch List for the opportunity!!

 

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Honoring Jose Nisperos

This was my first Q at a Hero Workout. I was nervous… I asked my 2.0, Eat Mor Chikin, to read a Hero story out of the book. He chose some real bad ass Heroes, but we didn’t see any Asian Americans. I did some research and learned that out of the 3,520+ Medal of Honor recipients, 33 were Asian Americans. I decided to honor Jose Nisperos, the first Asian American to receive the Medal of Honor, who received it for his actions in the Philippine–American War.

9 showed up at the usual AO and we prepared to mosey when Dark Helmet snuck up quietly right at 0500 to move us since there were a few band buses parked there with people sleeping. Dirty Harry was all about being loud and waking them up and I had already chalked up the road with my workout, but we moved away to let the band sleep. As we ran towards the front of the school, I was happy to see General made it out. So we had a total of 11. I gave a quick disclaimer and reminded the Pax of F3’s Mission to plant, grow, serve. We started off with a mosey doing butt kicks, high knees, carioca, and NUR (backwards run).

Warm-up: SSH, Low Slow Squat, Hill Billy, Neck Roll

Plank Hold while I read to the Pax about Jose Nisperos.

The Thang: 33’s

Start with one rep of each exercise and run 0.1 mile. Increase number of reps by one, then run back 0.1 mile and continue exercises. Keep increasing reps until 33. We were on a slight incline which added to the challenge.

Exercise for time:

  • Squat
  • LBC
  • Merkin
  • Superman
  • Squat Jump

There was quite a bit of mumble chatter in the beginning with the lower reps. That soon changed after we hit the higher reps. Going back and forth gave us the opportunity to encourage each other. Loved the hand slaps and motivating words being yelled out. Dirty Harry mentioned the distance was more than 0.10 miles. Not my fault, I had it all planned out near the AO and measured perfectly. Oh well, life will always throw you a curve ball. Learn to adapt.

With 5 mins remaining, we found a wall for some arm raises and B2W. I added a twist to the B2W by making the Pax lift one foot off the wall.

COT:

Announcements: F3 Dads on Saturdays at 9am

Dirty Harry reminded us to not be complacent with ourselves and friends. It was deep, thank you.

Prayers: Keep our brothers who are unable to post in our thoughts and prayers.

It was an honor to lead such a great group of men. Chicken Hawk up next to Q on Q 6/24/19!

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Dance Party at Varsity

Nine men came out to the party.  Weather was perfect.
Warm up
Mosey Run
Circle up and do:
SSH (IC 12x)
Windmill (IC 12x)
Imperial Walker (IC 12x)
Moroccan Nightclub (IC 12x)
Low Slow Squats (IC12x)
Merkin (IC 12x)
Peter Parker (IC 12x)
Plank stretches
Downward dog
Honeymooner

Thang 1: Elevens
Pull ups at the top of the hill
Bobby Hurleys at bottom
Start at bottom of hill

Thang 2: Global Warming
side shuffle in a circle and call exercises
SSH
Bobby Hurleys
Mountain Climbers
OH claps
Arm Circles
Etc

Thang 3: Sally Routine
Low plank/high plank [Flower by Moby]

Five minutes of Mary
Abs: LBC, freddie mercury,

Word of the month is: Salvation
This verse spoke to me: Matthew 7:13. Reminds me of the guardrails we need in our lives.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

COT
Prayers/Praises include: all the school kids at home and the energy they have during the summer months.

music playlist:
Takin’ care of business (BTO)
Big Bottom (Spinal Tap)
Back Door Man (the Doors)
the Man (the Killers)
Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin)
My Hero (Foo Fighters)
Fire (Jimi Hendrix)
19th nervous breakdown (rolling stones)
Today (Smashing pumpkins)

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Dora and Climbing Jacob’s Ladder

Today we had 12 brave souls that came out for my sophomore Q….hopefully I didn’t disappoint.  No FNG’s and the Disclaimer was given.

We started with a slow mosey around the parking lot and warmed up with :

Cherry Pickers, Imperial Walkers, Overhead claps and Windmills…with help from the group my Cadence will improve

DORA made an appearance and made us do:                                                                                                            100 Merkins                                                                                                                                                                           200 Squats                                                                                                                                                                             300 Flutters

When that was completed we were entertained with Jacob’s Ladder                                                            10 Pull-ups down the hill for 1 Burpee and back up the hill for more pullups and so on and so on until we finished.

Back to COT for announcements and prayers and we were joined by two ruckers.

Thanks Punch List for the opportunity to lead these men

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Hillbillies on the Loose at The Coop

Wednesdays are great. You’re in the middle of the workout week and your body and mind are prime to push things a bit. Today was no exception at the Coop.

No FNGs. Disclaimer was disclaimed. Off we went.

Slow mosey around the parking lot and pretty much back to the COT area for the COP:

15-30 of the following, keeping folks off balance:
* SSH
* WM
* IW
* MNC
* LSS

Then off to the track for the following:

Hillbilly 12s:

You vs you, as far as you can push it. 12 rounds of the following:

  1. 12 burping hillbillies (BH), then 1 humping hillbilly (HH), then one lap running the track (400m)
  2. 11 BH, then 2 HH, then 1 lap
  3. 10 BH, 3 HH, 1 lap
  4. 9 BH, 4 HH, 1 lap
  5. so on and so on until done.
  • burping hillbillies (BH) = a burpee but instead of a jump at the end you do a good knees to elbows hillbilly walker
  • humping hillbillies (HH) = a monkey humper transitioned to a hillbilly walker
  • Focus on getting the form right, don’t cheat yourself!!

Most completed 8-9 rounds, a few completed more. Everyone did great!! There was a lot of good mumblechatter as always with the Coop group, as well as some good ol fashioned complaining which means I did something right. If I can get Alchemy to slow down then I know I picked a good workout routine.

Kudos to those PAX who said they are not runners, that they do not like running –  they ran well the WHOLE TIME and pushed themselves. That’s how you get better at a weakness.

We do not do enough regular running / cardio in my opinion. We made up for that today. About 3 miles running plus around 80 BH and HH. Cardio health is the key to your longevity. Do not slack on it!!

Back to COT for Announcements, P&P.

Thanks Punch List for the opportunity to lead.

-NASA

 

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Intentional

We were blessed with a breath-taking views of the moon settling and the sun rising. What a great way to start the day! YHC posted a whole two minutes early to prove the Twitter mumble – chatterers wrong. LOL. Each #HIM shared their struggles in COT. Our discussion gave us a common lesson learned: limit our time with electronic devices. Electronic devices are consuming our time and driving our behaviors. The same goes for our children.

The Thang:

Mosey to the playground near Sugar Creek Elementary

COP: SSH (30x), IW (20x), WM (15x), Sumo Squats (15x), MC (15x), Clappers (15x)

Mosey to the JROTC Building: Jacobs Ladder with burpees at the bottom, pull ups at the top 9x

Mosey to the parking lot: Burpee Broad Jumps 30 yards and then run to the end of the parking lot and back 2x. One round of Wind Sprints.

Mosey to Sugar Creek Elementary: Balls to the wall, People’s Chair 3x

Moleskin:  

To be a high impact man, you must be intentional with your time. Our time on this planet is very limited and life moves at a fast pace. Respond to the Great Commission by intentionally investing time to build God’s kingdom. Do not let the ways of the world distract you from His calling. Be intentional with your family by studying and serving them. Identify and address the needs of your wife and children.

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Stairway to Heaven??

I’ve been fart sacking a bit so it was good DirtyHarry called me out to lead the Badger.  There’s nothing like getting back in the groove than Qing the Badger.  I wanted to make it a special one so I did some reconnaissance work the day prior and found some good accessories for the workout.  We honored fallen soldier and Officer Timothy Brenton.

Warmup with Imperial Walkers, Side straddle hops, Tappy Taps, Windmills, Honeymooner, Downward dog

The thang

Took a short mosey to the band practice field at the top of the hill.  In honor of Timothy Brenton we started with a 100’ (or so) bear crawl and back across the field with standing broad jumps.

Station 1 = 39 squats, Station 2 = 39 dips on benches, Station 3 = 39 merkins, Station 4 (Stairway to Heaven) – some may argue whether it was a true stairway to heaven.  PAX lifted heavy concrete blocks to the top of the stairway for 10 overhead presses, with a nice view of downtown Charlotte to ease the pain. Rinse and repeat X4

PAX Carried the blocks a few hundred feet around the corner of the school and laid them to rest.  Found a nice long wall to continue to blast our quads with wall sits.  Moved down to the cafeteria, found some nice benches, and continued working the chest with decline and incline merkins in unison.

Mosey down to the pull up bars to get a set of 10 in then made our way to COT.  Finished off with crunchy frogs, hello dollies, LBCs, and a stargazer pose.

Prayers for health amongst the PAX, family, and coworkers and praises for new promotions.

Announcements – Cannoli Run this weekend

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31 Heroes

Disclaimer
Short Mosey
Warmup:
SSH (IC 12x)
Windmill (IC 12x)
Imperial Walker (IC 12x)
Cherry pckers (IC 12x)
Low Slow Squats (IC12x)
Merkin (IC 12x)
Peter Parker (IC 12x)
Plank stretches
Downward dog
Honeymooner

Thang 1
Honoring the 31 Heroes of Chinook flight Extortion 17, shot down in Afghanistan in 2011.
Routine
Partner up
Partner 1 runs 400M loop
Partner 2 begins exercise routine:
31 LBCs (switches to heels to heaven about half way )
31 CCD’s (switches to Dips)
31 Squats (switches to Calf raises)
P1 picks up where P2 left off
Cycle through for 31 mins

Run to Pull up bars
Thang 2
Honoring Senior Chief Petty Officer Kraig Vickers (one of the 31 heroes aboard Extortion 17).  Kraig was a Hawaii native.
10 L pullups
10 toes-to-bar
10 chin ups
10 knees-to-elbow
10 Burpee pullups

Mosey back to COT area
Five minutes of Mary

COT
Prayers/Praises
Goruck went well and no injured PAX
Prayers for Stang and his family with the loss of his grandfather; prayers for those in medical care; praises for PL’s baby getting past eczema.

Welcome FNG Alchemy, who is Dirty Harry’s nephew in the CLT area for some weeks and will be posting with us.

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Honoring the fallen @honeybadger

 

The count was 14 on this day…

On this day it was truly an honor to be able to remember my friend, Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Dudley. He Passed on July 7, 2011 near Helmand Province, Afghanistan. TJ was flying in a mission to deliver supplies, including three 150-pound Pelican cases containing communications equipment. Everything was going well until the crew thought they were in immediate danger. Scrambling to leave the area quickly which unfortunately was something they did not have to do, things quickly went wrong. In the haste to get back into the Osprey, the crew neglected to tie down the Pelican cases and also did not tether into their gunners’ belts so when TJ ran back to man the M240G machine gun the cases began to move about in the aircraft. A lance corporal was unable to contain the heavy Pelican cases when the aircraft began accelerate and two of the cases flew to the back of the aircraft, striking TJ and that caused him to flip over the gun and fall to his ultimate demise.

TJ was a great man, he was a firefighter, a soldier, and paramedic, and most importantly, a father. He is survived by his wife and three kids who were 13, 5, and 23 months old at his death. TJ loved listening to Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen and was always a joy to be around. Gone but never forgotten! My ability to go out and enjoy fellowship with other men at F3 is in part because of people like TJ and we should never forget what these men and women sacrifice for us! Thanks so much for your service!

Mozy down to 50 yard line on the field for a small warm-up in cadence

Side straddle hop, squats, merkins- 10 each

The Thang…

Partner up

My way of paying homage to TJ was to keep with the numbers associated with his death.

Dora-ish workout

150 per exercise in rotating fashion

1st round is squats

2nd round is Merkins

3rd round is LBC’s

4th round is Calf Raises

5th round is jump squats

6th round is fluter kicks-double count

7th round is mountain climbers-double count

P1 runs 50 yards to end zone and back while P2 does the exercise and then you switch until done.

We also had a kettle bell that we passed up and down the line so that each PAX member could carry it periodically.

rinse and repeat…

We listened to Bon Jovi and The Boss, of course!

Mozy back to COT for name-o-rama, announcements and prayers

 

Thanks to Dirty Harry for the opportunity to lead and thanks to all PAX who made it out!

-Slash

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Start of May at the Coop…the Murph, partner style

15 men joined YHC to make 16 total at the Coop this morning. Simple weinkie…important concept.

Mosey to football field.

Warmup

  • 20 side straddle hops
  • 5 burpees OYO
  • 10 windmills
  • 5 burpees OYO
  • 15 big arm circles
  • 5 burpees OYO

Kept it short…we would need the time.

The Thang

Simple…partner Murph. Straightforward exercise, but the key was to stick with your partner and encourage/push him along the way.

  • 1 mile run
  • 100 pull ups
  • 200 push up
  • 300 air squats
  • 1 mile run

COT

Announcements – Memorial Day CSAUP, Ruck Heavy this weekend.

Prayers for travelers, UNCC school shooting, teachers in general.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead Punch List.

MOLESKIN

The partner theme was appropriate this morning. During the course of the morning with the PAX, I learned about a member of The Fort that has had marital troubles and subsequently split from his wife and another whose marriage is in a difficult patch as well.

It may or may not have been the case with these men in particular, but as sinners, we are incapable of living up to the standard that Christ set for us and as a result, we make poor decisions that often lead to terrible consequences. The funny thing is that often times, these decisions are made at times in our lives where we think we are at our best (pride comes before the fall). Our pride and self-righteousness blinds us to the efforts of the enemy that is constantly looking for ANY opportunity to tear down, separate, and destroy.

One of the best ways to fight this lifelong battle is to find a partner to do battle with. Someone that will push you, lift you up, and most importantly, hold you accountable (just like you will do for them). Someone that will recognize your pride and the small poor decisions that always lead to big poor decisions and check you before they tear you down. Someone that will constantly encourage you to put yourself 3rd, serving Christ first and your wife and family second. This is what we are called to do for each other.

If you don’t have a partner that believes in the same set of values and has similar goals as you do, do yourself and your family a favor and find one. We are not designed to go through our lives alone and unchecked.

– Ginsu

 

 

 

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