Our Community

Sharkbait and I arrived a little early to get prepared for the workout.  We walked up to the basketball court and we were asked “Are you with F3?”  I answered “Yes, are you ready for the workout?” They all answered “Yes” with excitement.  Soon there were 25 PAX who showed up for the workout. I must say, this is record attendance for me.

We took a slow mosey around the park up to the church parking lot.  We circled up for some warm-up exercise.  I had a lot of help with picking out the exercise and leading the PAX.  Here are the exercises we performed:

SSHs, Merkins, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, LBCs, FMs and Big Boy Sit-ups

Next, we lined up for leg lunges across the parking lot.  Turned around and did our best to impression of a duck walking across the road.  Our final exercise was two merkins every other parking space.  Halfway through this exercise, I spoke to the PAX about how there are times in life when things are difficult and asked what things can help you get through these times.  The kids had some great answers.  I emphasized how important it is to talk to your family and friends during these times.  We finished with one more set of merkins and wrapped up with our Circle of Trust closed by Jay.

Lastly, Sharkbait’s thoughts G-Fit:

G-fit is very fun and if you haven’t came out then you should. The kids are very energetic and are very happy at the workout. After we do the circle of pain then we play basketball or football until we’re tired. This is my favorite out of all the workouts.

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Getting G-Fit in Paradise

What a fun evening in Paradise!  If you have not gotten the opportunity to come see what G-Fit on Friday night is like, I highly recommend it.  Our brothers Deacon and Bolt and others have taken ownership of this AO and really are making it into something special.  This was my first time back to Steele Street Park since our Easter Egg Hunt outreach and it is a great little park.  Full court basketball, a field for football, a pavilion, swing set, spray park?  Awesome.  And like it says in the bible, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  We need more Q’s to step up and lead.  DO IT!  You will be blessed and encouraged, I guarantee it.  Here’s what we did on my VQ:

YHC gathered his 2.0, Captain Snooze, and his FNG friend from the neighboorhood and we arrived a the park around 18:40.  Kids and teens were on the court shouting around so we joined them.  I quizzed the crowd about F3 and who had attended a workout.  About half had.  We quickly head locked the other half and it was announced we’d start at the top of the hour.  As 19:00 approached, more and more of The Fort PAX started showing up.  It was great seeing so many familiar faces!  Longer shout-out to you all below but back to the blast.  We circled up at half court for disclaimer and a few words about what to expect for the next 45 minutes and we were off.

THE THANG

Mosey around the park, past the pavilion, around the bathrooms, loop around the spray park then high knees and butt kickers as we head to the parking lot.  Once on the lot, karaoke right for half, then left until the end.  Up the grass hill to the field area for COP

Reps were kept to around 10 for the following exercises, all in cadence:

SSH, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, Squats, Merkins, LBC, Flutters

Water break while we talked about the word of the month, discipline.  What is discipline?  We discussed that discipline is doing what is necessary even when it’s not what you want to do.  We need discipline in our lives to reach our athletic goals.  Kevin Durant did not develop his jump shot by shear luck or talent.  It has taken years of hard work and discipline to get his game to where it’s at.  We need discipline in our lives to reach our academic goals.  Good grades and success don’t just happen, they take discipline.  AYE!

The group was then split between younger kids and teens / adult and each group headed to a basketball hoop.  We lined up from tallest to shortest on the free throw line for a game of knock-out.  Classic game that is always fun.  Bolt quickly emerged as the man to beat but nobody actually could!  Fortunately he sat out after one victory and let some others win.  I think a total of 3 games were played.  Maybe 4?  Anyway, we grabbed a quick sip of water and then headed to the field for some flag football.

Deacon picked 2 younger lads as team captains and all the younger PAX were picked for teams.  Deacon and YHC served as coach / referee while the adult PAX resumed their battle on the basketball court.  The football game was a blast to watch and it was great to see the younger PAX work together as teams.  A bunch of touchdown were scored and a bunch of smiling faces greeted us as we call time and headed for COT.

At COT we named to 4 FNG’s and it was sweet to see how pumped the kids were at their names.  I think we did pretty good with 88 (Cowboys fan), Clutch (the star of the football and basketball games), Man of Steel (Steelers fan who was wearing a team jersey), and Philmont (Boy Scout working towards Eagle).

Announcement was made about a special Labor Day workout on 9/1.  Did somebody say PIZZA?  Expect record breaking numbers for that one.  No prayer requests but YHC took us our with a prayer asking God for help in developing margin and discipline in our lives.

Moleskin

As this was my VQ, I really appreciated seeing some familiar faces.  Thanks to Barry Manilow, Bolt, Deacon, Polaroid, Fish Sticks, and Wapner for posting.  Most brought a 2.0 with them and that is a great part of this AO.  Sharing the vision of F3 and the mission of this particular workout with your kid and having them join you is truly a blessing.  I have to say my heart was warmed when I saw a young kid from the neighborhood jump on my 2.0’s back.  Everybody got along great together, supported each other, and had a blast on a beautiful Friday night.  The sunset was unreal BTW.  Deacon said it’s like that after every workout.  Thanks to you, Deacon, for the opportunity to Q.  After all the unrest and hate on display in our country, it was a breath of fresh air to laugh and play and pray with men and young men of different nationalities.  It’s really not that hard when you just love one another.  Everybody loves love.

Flat Tire

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Pigskin in Paradise

I had the privilege to spend Friday evening with 22 other men and young men of the Paradise community. Conditions were, well, August in South Carolina – upper 90s with humidity. Here’s what we did…

The Thang

  • Mosey to the splash park
  • Circle up fo 10 SSH in cadence
  • 10 Merkins in cadence
  • 10 LBcs in cadence
  • Grab some wall for 10 Dips in cadence
  • 20 Calf Raises OYO
  • Mosey to the court for 10 Air Chair Claps in cadence
  • Full Court Suicides
  • Water and Powerade break
  • FOOTBALL TIME

NMM

The excitement Friday night was palpable. Bounty Hunter and I arrived 15 minutes early to set up the field. This prompted Scooter and Prescott to come running. When we started throwing the ball around the field, the park filled up fast. By the time 7:00 rolled around, there were kids EVERYWHERE. Thank you Deacon and Bolt for inviting me to lead. Thank you Fish Sticks, Barry Manilow, and Bounty Hunter for helping control the chaos. Final Score: 50 something to 40 something. For those who haven’t attended G-Fit, get out there and see what you’re missing.

I talked to the young men about community and brotherhood. We all need our friends and families when times get tough. Your brothers, regardless of skin color, religion or any other label that divides us, need you and you need them. There is nothing impossible when you are surrounded by people who will encourage and lift you up. What makes G-Fit special is it’s symbiotic relationship. We need each other. Those young men remind us to have fun. We can show them what love and brotherhood look like. Now, more than ever, we need to show love. God created us in His image and we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. Where better to live that principle than Friday nights in Paradise?

With a heart filled,

Italian Job

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