Tag: Smithers

Nihil Gastrocnemius

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TL:DR version

Have to stay off my left calf. I may miss some things or get the order wrong, since I had to modify my plan heavily.  We destroyed some quadriceps…

We took a stroll to the empty side of the AO parking lot and circled up for some

  1. Low Slow Squats
  2. overhead claps
  3. merkins
  4. “under the fence” merkins x 7 (can’t find in the exercises, but I know it’s common, accidentally fired my left calf and almost ate pavement, I had to stop and had everyone get up)
    1. Start in down dog
    2. bend arms like a Carolina dry dock
    3. keep them bent and push up into Honeymooner
    4. Reverse to down dog
  5. Stretching from sumo position, drop the six and extend each leg with the toe up

Next we partnered up for some modified Dora.  Each mover would go one way and start the stationary exercise when they got to the end, while the partner did the moving exercise.  The length was from one center line to another (about 19.5m)

  1. Toy soldiers – Squats x100
  2. Leg Sweeps – LBC x200
    1. Recommended modification for the sweeps was to squat with the six just above ground, extend the left leg and shift with the six almost dragging, bring the feet together, turn 180, extend the right, and continue)
    2. Deacon has SOLID sweeps
  3. A bit of talking about encouragement, and how we as men, (especially YHC) can easily tear down someone without thinking about it
  4. Open Tee Stance  walk – high knees across the body x300
    1. Open Tee Stance – walking with toes at 45’s away from center, the back knee is just above the pavement, and the front foot lands directly in front, come up and step in front of the back knee.  This kills the quads
    2. High knees across the body not  unlike the imperial walker, but higher and combat oriented
  5. 10 count to breath
  6. 10 burpees
  7. 10 count again
  8. Squat walking, with ducking and double punch – flutter
    1. At this point we changed it up to just two lengths, no counting, just flutter

Circle up and get some more leg stretching like in the warmup.  But that was just the interlude.  Some more circle exercises were on their way

  1. Forward split circular fingertip pushups
    1. Legs out with toes up, on your fingertips, sway back going down, and forward over the hands going up
  2. Horse Stance (Al gore, if you want) and 100 2-count punches
  3. Horse Stance and 25 2-count upper cuts
  4. 15 Imperial Walkers
  5. 15 Hillbilly Walkers

Finished with some forearm stretching and back to COT where we did Name O Rama (and my phone decided not to continue recording after 2seconds), and welcomed FNG “Shazam” to F3!! Announcements and prayer and break for the day.

Background on the modification

I’ve got a massive backlog of exercises that don’t involve running, carrying people, and the normal, exhausting, certain-death at other AOs.  Most of these revolve around my shaolin background, and I had built a fun tour of the DT Fort Mill around them…  But fate or my body had other plans…

Early AM yesterday YHC was leaving my son’s school conferences and hopped off the curb onto my left foot and the same muscle pull I experienced at the Hive two weeks ago reared its ugly head. I once again got the chance to hobble around town like someone had given my calf the Tonya Harding treatment.  I thought my number was  up.  I sent messages looking for a backup Q and began praying that when I woke up in the morning I’d be healed.

That didn’t happen.  But the spasm or whatever it is calmed down enough that at 0400 this morning I could put weight on the left without too much pain.  So I geared up and drove down to Footloose in the delightful weather we’re having, and selected exercises that didn’t require anyone to fire their calves.

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7

The Encore at Slowburn

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What is the Al Girdle reference? Maybe I heard it wrong, my hearing is a bit sketch (metal shows). I googled the heck out of it, and crickets … someone help a brother out next time I see you.

Lets get to it, 2 days, 2 what I hoped were moderish/noterate work outs, but it’s possible that my 100% is 50% from Gilmore-esque PAX. Either way, it was keep’em moving and mix up the exercises, I guess I’ll just keep doing it until there are no invites.

The Thang,

Mosey to the far side of Lowes, circle up, OH Claps x 15, LBCs x 15, Windmill x 10, 2 burpees OYO, Mor NC x 15, Shoulder Tap x 15, Weed Puller x 10, 2 burpees OYO, Dying Cockroach x 15, LSS x 15, Travolta x 10, 2 burpees OYO

Mosey to the other side of Lowes, circle up, CDD x 15, Richard Simmons x 10, Arm high 1/2 situps x 10, 2 burpees OYO, Scorpion DD x 12, Imperial Walker x 12, Flutter x 10, 2 burpees OYO, Mahktar N’Diayes x 10, Hillbilly Walker x 10, Heels to Heaven x 10, 2 burpees OYO

Mosey to the lot in front of Empire Pizza, 4 stop suicides, 10 reps at each stop
Scorpion DD
Scorpion DD, LBCs
Scorpion DD, LBCs, Donkey Kicks
Scorpion DD, LBCs, Donkey Kicks, Bombjacks

Line up and move from one end of the lot to the other side: Karaoke L, Karaoke R, High Knees, Butt Kickers, Moset, 50% run, 75% run, 100% run

Another round of suicides, 4 stops, 10 reps at each stop
CDD
CDD, BB Situps
CDD, BB Situps, Mahktar N’Diayes
CDD, BB Situps, Mahktar N’Diayes, Burpees

Circle up: Dog Petter x 10, Jump Squats x 10, Freddie Mercury x 10, OH Claps x 21, 3 burpees OYO, Rosalita x 10, 3 burpees OYO, Monkey Humpers x 10, Hand Release Merkins x 10 OYO, Flap Jacks x 10, Back to COT.

Looks like we made it,

Barry Manilow

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5

Footloose, Dog Petters and Gilmore

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A nice cool morning at Footloose … and we launch … then a wave of cars … thanks for joining us

Mosey around the lot to let the late arrivals join the group, out the entrance and up to the lot across from the FD. Circle up. Windmill x 10, LSS x 10, Carolina DD x 10, 2 burpees OYO, Mor NC x 15, Shoulder tap x 10, Imperial walker x 10, 2 burpees OYO, OH Claps x 26, Plank jack x 10, Hillbilly walker x 10, 2 burpees OYO.

Line up for Karaoke L, Karaoke R, Power skip and burpee broad jump x 10, back and forth across the lot.

Mosey to the furniture lot on the corner downtown, plank for the 6, Makhtar N’Diayes x 10, Dog petters x 10, LBCs x 10. Line up on the wall, wall sit, 2 x burpee wave from both ends.

Mosey to the PD lot around the corner, plank for the 6, OH Clap x 21, LBCs x 10, LSS x 10.

Mosey past the start, down the hill and to the corner lot, line up, 2 lines bear crawl, 2 lines lunge walk, walk it off 2 lines, R & R all the way to the end.

Mosey across the street, divide into 4 groups, group 1, run the spiral stairs, group 2, partner plank claps, group 3 run tall stairs and back, group 4, Scorpion DD. All groups rotate through until all 4 are done.

Mosey back to the grass by First Baptist sign, Calf raises 3×10 OYO, Mahktar N’Diayes x 10, Kneetar N’Diayes x 10, Jack Webb up to 5×20, ants, ants, ants

COT

Looks like we made it,

Barry Manilow

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12

SlowBurn Send-off For Rooney

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47 pax of TheFort posted this morning to show support for #HIM Rooney, who is moving to Seattle.  Rooney has not only impacted his brothers in F3, but many of our kids through his tremendous servant leadership as a principal in our school system.  There is no doubt he will be missed here, but that sadness is somewhat offset by the knowledge that he’ll be positively impacting families out west.

In anticipation (accurately) of a large crowd, it was decided the launch point and COT would be the Empire Pizza parking lot behind Chick-fil-a.  CakeBoss opened up with a few words about Rooney, then handed off to YHC.  We started with 25 side straddle hops, then moseyed up around Chick-fil-a (to pick up any twitterless pax that didn’t get the message).  We landed back at a parking lot near our launch point.

Warmup-O-Rama

  • Windmills (10)
  • Hillbilly Walkers (15)
  • CDDs (20)
  • Flutters (20)
  • Chopsticks (20)
  • Seal Jacks (20)

Mosey to parking lot in front of Lowe’s where a few cones had been set-up. Pax asked to partner up and told we’d be doing a Dora 1-2-3.  This was the same exercise Rooney had done during his VQ, which I had the privilege of posting to (was my 3rd post, I believe) at WEP back in November of 2014.  The turn-around point for the running was about 50 yards.

  • 100 Merkins
  • 200 LBCs
  • 300 Squats

After a 10 count, we moseyed to the parking lot on the west side of Lowe’s.  Cones were set up there for some “4 Corners” action.  Each cone had two exercises listed for each round.  Pax were instruction to alternate between the 2 exercises for the appropriate round (to 10 reps of each exercise).  They were told to move to the next cone when the group at the previous cone reached them.  No count-off by 4s done…pax could just pick a cone to be their starting point (lazy pax like YHC took the closest cone). Here were the exercises:

Cone 1
  • Round 1 – Flutters <-> Freddie Mercuries
  • Round 2 – LBCs <-> Heals to Heaven
  • Round 3 – Dying Cockroach <-> American Hammers
  • Round 4 – Chopsticks <-> Plank Jacks
Cone 2
  • Round 1 – Side-step lunges <-> Imperial Walkers
  • Round 2 – Bomb Jacks <-> Lunges
  • Round 3 – Monkey Humpers <-> Squats
  • Round 4 – High Jumps <-> SSH
Cone 3
  • Round 1 – Plank Punches <-> Dips
  • Round 2 – Merkins <-> 10 second Elbow Plank
  • Round 3 – CDD <-> Moroccan Nightclubs
  • Round 4 – Alternating shoulder taps <-> Parkers Peters
Cone 4
  • Round 1 – Box Cutters <-> 10 second Superman
  • Round 2 – Toy Soldiers <-> Speed Skaters
  • Round 3 – Donkey Kicks <-> Peter Parkers
  • Round 4 – Big Boy Sit-ups <-> Inchworm Merkins

We got through 3 rounds before time ran out and we headed back to COT

Naked Man Moleskin

After the workout, a couple dozen men gathered at Chick-fil-a to share with Rooney how he has impacted us (except for Dark Helmet, who served as a one-man roasting machine).  It was beyond evident that Rooney had a deep impact on many men, their kids, and their family, as a brother and a principal.  Rooney is an inspiring individual, and his courage to respond to God calling him across the country will undoubtedly also be an inspiration to those wondering if they should act on words from the Sky-Q.

Rooney, you have been an amazing example of “giving it away” everyday here in Fort Mill.  And now we have to let you give it away to another community (on the west coast, no less!).  But one thing is for sure: the world is a better place because of who you are and what you do.  No man, student, or family is left behind, nor are they left where you find them.  Strong work, brother.  Strong work.

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8

CSPAN Send off Convergence

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141 Men came to show the Respectable**CSPAN** some Respect!!

He leaves The Fort and heads north or as Dredd refers to Yankee land. Not gone forever but just up the road 600 miles to start a new chapter in life and in F3 as he will launch F3Philly.

I am not the most eloquent with my back-blasts and I am usually to the point with posting the workout, add some words and being done, however since I can’t get Italian Job to write this up and Double D challenged the PAX to think of one word to represent CSAPN, I think that is the best way to document this convergence.

Thank you CSPAN for being all of these things and more to you r brothers in the PAX. As posted on Twitter and many of these were repeated multiple times:

brother
camaraderie
commitment
confidence
connected
consistent
courageous
dedicated
empathetic
example
genuine
handsome
HIM
honorable
humble
humility
impact
influence
influencer
insightful
inspiration
integrity
investor
legend
magnanimous
model
respect
selfless
servant
shepherd
solid
squaredaway
steadfast
steady
wise

The Workout looked like this:

WWL at the Q:

  • Mosey around the lot
  • Line up; karaoke, side shuffle, high knees, butt kickers, toy solders, lungewalk, power skips
  • COP
    • SSH, squat, merkin, moroccan night club, 10 Flying squirrels
Double D at the Q:
  • Run to practice field
  • Plank sequence
  • Split into 2 groups on each sideline
  • Sprint to center and back to sideline
  • Monkey humpers x25
  • Rinse + repeat with Merkins x 25
  • CDDs x25
  • Burpees x25
Longshanks at the Q:
  • Burpees
  • Lunges
  • Inch worm Merkins
  • Maktar Ndiayes
  • Plank Jacks
  • Squats.

Dredd at the Q:

  • Prayer for CSPAN
  • Merkin/Ab Lab series
  • Truth Nuggets and Leadership development with Major Payne, Wegmans, & Drop Thrill
  • Mosey to hill behind Bob Jones Stadium
  • Prayer for CSPAN heading to F3Philly…..”CSPAN Coming”
  • More Merkin/Ab lab series

COT:

141 Count, Name O’rama, 2 FNGs (Bikini & Manzel), Skinny Jeans pray out over CSPAN and his IMPACT on men and for Sky Q’s kingdom.

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104

August 2018 – Impact Convergence

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On the morning of Friday, August 3rd, 61 Men of High Impact joined Homebrew, Deacon, & Jiffy for some #Convergence work.

For this Round Robin of Pain, we separated the PAX into 3 groups and rotated to each station for 12 minutes.

Station 1 – Jiffy:

He had setup a row of 4 cones in the bank parking lot and ran the PAX through the following exercises.

  • 5 Burpees OYO
  • Straight suicides
  • Lunge walk, 10 squats at each cone
  • Bear crawl, 10 merkins at each cone
  • 15 American Hammers in cadence
  • Suicides with 3 Bomb Jacks at each cone
  • Broad jump to each cone, 5 lunges each leg
  • Crab walk, 5 diamond merkins at each cone
  • 15 LBC’s in cadence

Station 2 – Deacon:

Find a partner

One partner runs to Pizza Hut and back while the other does a series of exercises until the team does merkins (100x), Squats (200x), LBCs (300x).

  • Partner Drills (Round 1) – Partner Big Boy Sit Ups (15x for 2 rounds), Partners Push Ups (15x for 2 rounds), Partner Leg Lifts (15x for 2 rounds)
  • Partner Drills (Round 2 if time permits) – Partner Wheel Barrels to each side of the parking lot (2x for 2 rounds), Partner Ski Jumps (15x for 2 rounds)

Station 3 – Homebrew:

4 Corners and Burpee Roll

PAX were divided into four groups, with one group being sent to each corner. Complete all exercises listed at your corner then bear crawl to the center. At the center was a large foam die. One PAX would roll the die for the group to determine how may burpees everyone would do. Amazingly, only one 6 was rolled all morning – I’m lookin at you IceT. Once the burpees were completed, crab walk from the center to the next corner going clockwise. Rinse and repeat until all corners are done or time runs out.

  • Corner 1
    • 40 SSH
    • 40 Plank Jacks
    • 40 Mountain Climbers
    • 20 Crab Cakes
  • Corner 2
    • 15 Merkins
    • 30 CDD
    • 15 Wide Arm Merkins
    • 5 Kraken Burpees
  • Corner 3
    • 10 Donkey Kicks
    • 50 Calf Raises
    • 40 Monkey Humpers
    • 20 Lunges
  • Corner 4
    • 10 Big Boy Situps
    • 20 Hello Dollys
    • 30 Dying Cockroaches (double count)
    • 10 Boxcutters

There were prayer requests for family, school returning and those with health needs.

Cakeboss took us out in prayer.

Great job, Homebrew, Deacon, & Jiffy!

– Ginsu

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2

Stairway to Heaven – 2

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14 was the count this fine August morning at Footloose.  That was 13 HIMs that did not know what was planned.

No FNG’s – quick disclaimer – mosey around the back of First Baptist

Warmup:

  • SSH’s in cadence
  • Low Slow Squats in cadence
  • Windmills in cadence
  • Cherry Pickers in cadence
  • Wall sit with each PAX giving a slow 10 count

Head across the street and down the stairs to the other side of Church of God.

We talked about the word of the month…Presence.  Where have you seen God’s presence this week in your own life or the lives of those around you?

Then it was time for The Thang

Partner up – size does not matter.  Each partner will do two rounds of each exercise, with one partner “running the stairs” and the other doing the exercise, then switch.  The different exercises were as follows:

  • Lunges
  • Monkey Humpers
  • LBC’s
  • Squats

When I say you run the stairs, starting on the right and working to the left we went up one section and down the next all the way across this nasty staircase (see Google image below…all sections were open, but boy did this suck especially after 2-3 times…that’s when it started getting really nasty).

So, my goal is that each time we get up today from behind our desks, each of the 13 other PAX will be muttering “Smithers!” under their breath 😉

Thanks to Beacon for the opportunity to lead at Footloose!

Smithers…out!

 

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3

Barney Fife’s Ballroom VQ

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The Message:

Since this was my VQ I was not overly confident and could feel the butterflies doing side straddle hops in my stomach. I had made a homemade deck of workout cards that I was looking forward to trying out. However, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry and my plan quickly fell apart. I am ashamed to admit that I underestimated my fellow PAX. My plan was based on a group of what I assumed would be 5 – 10 that would eventually draw 5 cards each by the end of the workout at which time we would compare hands for a modified game of poker.

As I stood in the gloom waiting to give my first disclaimer I was pleasantly surprised to watch the steady stream of vehicles arrive, one after the other. By the time 5:15 rolled around there was a total of 26 of us and I was less nervous and could feel the support in the air. I quickly realized that I would have to modify my plan but I was happy to do it because no matter what happened I knew I was among good friends that would be quick to help if necessary.

After stumbling over a barely adequate disclaimer we started with a CoP warmup:

  • Windmills
  • Side straddle hops
  • Hillbilly walkers
  • Carolina dry docks

After the warm up it was time for a short mosey to the football field.

The THANG:

The PAX lined up on the goal line and planked while one person at a time sprinted to the 40 yard line, drew a card and brought it back and called their exercise out in cadence. After each PAX brought one card back for a random beat down that worked the legs, arms and abs we split up into 5 groups on the field. Each group used the 5 workout cards that they had drawn from the pile and moved to the next group of cards when they were done. After each group worked through all 5 sets of cards we lined up on the 40 yard line for more sprints:

  • 10 yard sprint, imperial walkers back
  • 20 yard sprint, power skip back
  • 30 yard sprint, hillbilly walkers back

We moseyed back to the parking lot for CoT where I explained to the group what an enormous impact my F3 brothers have had on my life since I began coming in April and we all welcomed FNG Flyby to the family.

Thanks to Short Sale for giving me the opportunity to Q, I thoroughly enjoyed it and promise to make it SUCK more next time. Thanks to all the PAX who came out and showed their support.

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3

We are one Brotherhood

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15 came out on this mild morning, not knowing what they would be doing.  The point is, they got out of bed and came anyway.  There were no FNG’s (although there was a Kotter – Dog Pound, welcome back!) so I gave the abbreviated disclaimer and off we went.

Mosey down to the lot in front of Empire Pizza and circled up for the following warmup:

  • SSH’s
  • Cherry Pickers
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Moroccan Night Clubs
  • and Windmills

We moseyed a short distance to the lot in front of the Indian restaurant for the Thang…and what do you know, there was a white board with a bunch of things written on it.

I had called out on Twitter that this would be a moderate workout, and to some it was, yet to others it required a little more effort.  Either way, we were here, and this is what we were doing!

First thing we partnered up.  Each partner was to do the full amount of the exercises, but they were to hold each other accountable and drive to the end together.  If your group finished, you went to another group that was still going and joined in wherever they are.  Then when that group finished you joined up with another…and so on until we all finished together!  Here were the exercises done:

  • 50 Bombjacks (Single Count)
  • 50 Carolina Dry Docks (in cadence)
  • 50 LBC’s (in cadence)
  • 50 Monkey Humpers (in cadence)
  • 50 Squats (in cadence)
  • 50 Merkins (in cadence)
  • 50 Calf Raises (in cadence)
  • 50 SSH’s (in cadence)
  • 50 Reverse Crunches (in cadence)

So, as we wrapped up, everyone had completed a minimum of 850 reps of these various exercises, and those that finished earlier than others kept adding to those totals.

We finished up with a bit of Broga, and a slow mosey back up to COT where we shared a couple stories on what IMPACT we saw this past week.

Was this moderate?  You tell me.  Was it hard, absolutely (evident by all the complaining).  The point is that if we were doing this on our own, we most likely would have quit or cut corners at some point throughout the workout.  But we weren’t alone, we had our partner holding us accountable.  Take that same concept and apply it to Whetstone.  That is EXACTLY what we are doing when we commit to having a Whetstone partner (in my case, Destiny).  We hold each other accountable for day in and day out mundane tasks…we encourage each other when things go sideways…but…we do all this TOGETHER!

If you do not currently have a Whetstone partner, I seriously urge you to pray about it, and consider joining up for the program!

At a minimum, check in with a Brother throughout the week to see how they are doing, and be willing to be transparent and honest if someone reaches out to you!  Remember, WE are not worthy to judge others…but WE are called to lift each other up!

Smithers….Out

 

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5

Core Impact

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It was a really nice morning at The Ballroom!  The weather was perfect, the PAX were feisty, and the workout was tough (at least I think so).

We started out with a quick disclaimer (no FNG’s) and then we moseyed around the front of the school to the parking lot on the other side.

Warmup consisted of the following, all in cadence:

  • Side Straddle Hop – 25
  • Low Slow Squats – 10
  • Windmill – 10
  • Moroccan Nightclubs – 25
  • Cherry Pickers – 10

The Thang…I started out explaining that most everything will be in cadence, and to encourage participation by the PAX I asked that we take turns counting off cadence.  Let the core workout begin:

  • LBC’s in cadence – 15
  • Flutter Kicks in cadence – 25 (that is a LOT)
  • Hello Dolly in cadence – 15
  • LBC’s in cadence – 15
  • Flutter Kicks in cadence – 15
  • Hello Dolly in cadence – 15

A quick talk about IMPACT was had.  We can make positive, or negative impacts daily.  How will we choose to use the opportunities for impact?

Mosey around to the back of the school

Got some insight into CSPAN, how he got his name and what F3 has meant to him!

  • Hello Dolly in cadence – 15
  • Freddy Mercury in cadence – 25
  • Big Boy Sit-Ups, single count – 10
  • American Hammer in cadence – 15

Break for People’s Chair for a 10 count from each of the 18 PAX in attendance

  • Merkins in cadence – 10
  • Diamond Merkins in cadence – 10
  • Hello Dolly in cadence – 15
  • Freddy Mercury in cadence – 25
  • Big Boy Sit-Ups, single count – 10
  • American Hammer in cadence – 15

Mosey back towards COT

  • LBC’s in cadence – 15
  • Flutter Kicks in cadence – 20
  • Hello Dolly in cadence – 15
  • Freddy Mercury in cadence – 25
  • Big Boy Sit-Ups, single count – 10
  • American Hammer in cadence – 15

We then spent a few minutes doing some much needed (and appreciated, especially by our very own respectable CSPAN) Broga

And closed out with announcements, prayer requests, and encouraging the PAX to attend the 3rd F at Crossroads after!

As usual, it was an honor to lead.  Thanks Short Sale for the opportunity!

Smithers – Out

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