Rankel and RJ

Seven pax met at Honey Badger to honor two heroes and get some miles in.
Disclaimer given.  Began with stretches (honeymooner, downward dogs) to prep for the main event.  Two pax left for a run, leaving five for the hero workout portion.

Warmup
Ran a 400m loop
SSH (10x I/C)
Windmills (7x I/C)
Imperial walkers (10x I/C)
Moroccan N/C (10x I/C)

Hero workout #1: The Rankel [image with bio is attached]
6 thrusters (cinder block)
7 burpee pull ups
10 KB swings (cinder block)
Run a 400m loop
Repeat for 23 mins, as many rounds as possible

Light mary in between hero workouts: flutters, hello dollies, LBC (all 10x I/C)

Hero workout #2: The RJ [image with bio is attached]
800m run
50 feet of murder bunnies (cinder block; done on the grass section near the ROTC…great recommendation from the site Q)
25 merkins
Repeat (we got two good rounds in)

Put blocks back to their cozy stack.

Runners returned and all seven of us were able to get one (1) big boy sit up achieved before 0600.

COT
Prayer/Praises
Park, Tootie, and their entire family.
Our kids that are thinking through what/where to go after high school.
Joy and continued well-being for expectant pax/families.

Rankel Bio

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Growing Up @ Varsity

A steady rain fell as 7 PAX exited their vehicles at about 0514 and a quick disclaimer as we moseyed to find cover near high school entrance.

 

Sasquatch led us through 15 minutes of contortion that can best be described as pain pretzels.  Sasquatch nailed the balance poses, the rest of us sure tried hard.
At 0530, the reigns were turned over and the premise for the bootcamp was shared with the PAX.  My 3rd (and final) 2.0 turned 5yo this past week, so this beatdown was brought to us by the number 5 and inspired by the progression of his life thus far.
– Newborn:  feeding then pat the back until you get a nice BURPee…
5 quick burpees to get the blood flowing
– 6 months:  things get real interesting once they start crawling…
5 bear crawl laps around awning pillars at school entrance (after 3/4 of first lap i realized 5 may have been a little aggressive but we made it through)
-9 months: they are gaining balance and they start sitting…
Wall sit w/ MNC x10 (IC)
Wall sit w/ alternating heal raise x10 (IC)
Mosey (out into the rain) to pullup bars
-12 months: they are gaining arm and leg strength.  They push/pull/struggle to stand up on own…
5 rounds
5 pullups, 10 merkins, 15 air squats, run down to stop sign and back
Mosey back to covered high school entrance
-2 to 3 years: terrible 2s lead to laying on ground, flailing, and lots of grunting….
5 minutes of Mary. 5ish exercises. LBCs, peter parkers, nap time (Fishsticks knew we needed a break), Leg Lifts, V ups
End at 0600.
CoT under awning.  video-less Name-o-Rama/Announcements/prayers/praises
NMM
Pretty sure i heard a couple “this sucks” and at least one “cant wait to see what is next now that my arms, shoulders and legs are toast” so I think that means it was a good workout?  Bear crawls and pullups are not exercises I excel at, but I chose to put them in today to challenge myself and get better and hopefully that was the same for the other PAX (Sasquatch may have broke a sweat?).
Each year my 2.0s get older, I stress about whether or not I am raising them right and question if I should be doing things differently or if I am being too hard on the older ones or too easy on the younger ones.  Who knows.  Raising kids is tough. So, let’s all take time to cherish the special moments as they come because time flies and they get old quick!
SYITG
-Badlands
PS- my geography teacher lied – I guess it does actually rain in the Badlands.
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Today’s Workout Brought to You by the #12 & Alan Magee

It was a chilly morning at Honey Badger, but 8 showed up to honor a WWII hero, Alan Magee

January 3rd is the anniversary of one of the most amazing tales of survival from WWII. It was #OTD in 1943 that the B-17F Flying Fortress, “snap! crackle! pop!”, of the 360th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, was lost on a daylight raid over Saint-Nazaire, France. Aboard was ball turret gunner Alan Magee.
Despite 28 shrapnel wounds, Magee had left his ball turret when it was damaged by German flak. He discovered his parachute had been shredded by the same flak and was useless. Just then, another flak hit then blew off a section of the right wing, causing the aircraft to enter an unrecoverable spin. Magee blacked out from lack of oxygen because of the high altitude and was thrown clear of the aircraft. He fell over four miles without a chute before crashing through the glass roof of the St. Nazaire railroad station. Rescuers found him on the floor of the station severely injured but alive.
Magee was taken as a prisoner of war and given medical treatment by the Germans. He recovered and was liberated in May 1945. He received the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. He passed away in 2003 at the age of 84.
We warmed up with 12 reps of SSH, Mountain Climbers, Merkins, and Windmills.
The Thang:
Buy in 17 burpees
Run 1200m
43 Merkins
43 LBC’s
43 Plank Jacks
Run 800m
21 Merkins
21 LBC’s
21 Plank Jacks
Run 400
11 Merkins
11 LBC’s
11 Plank Jacks
Buy out 17 burpees
After everyone completed the WOD, we moved on to the bars and blocks
12 pull-ups
Wall sit for 45 seconds
6 pull-up
Wall sits for 24 seconds
3 pull-ups
Wall sits for  12 seconds
We picked up the blocks.
12 reps of OHP, curls, squats, big boys, and chest press
Overhead carry the block down the hill to the stop sign.
6 reps of the aforementioned set
Overhead carry the block back up the hill.
Set of 3 reps
Finished with some Mary.
The number 12 had special meaning today as tomorrow (1/25) marks 1 year since I donated my kidney.  It’s been quite the year and I’m thrilled to report that Petra, my recipient, it doing great!  I learned about Alan Magee from Facebook and I also learned of Petra’s need from FB.  Yes, there are a lot of terrible things on social media, but there are some pretty awesome things out there too.  As @DarkHelment mentioned, it’s all about how you use it.
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Mark “Pitbull” McDowell WOD

We had 9 PAX at Honey Badger for a hero WOD in honor of my friend and classmate Capt. Mark “Pitbull” McDowell. Conditions were stellar (29 degrees and clear skies). Many of us saw multiple shooting stars this cold December morning. Here’s what we did:

The Thang

  • Run 1 Mile
  • 5 Minute Plank to honor the 5 service branches of the US Armed Forces
  • 200 Calf Raises
  • 300 LBCs
  • Run 1 Mile
  • 100 Muscle-ups on the wall behind the bleachers
  • 200 Merkins
  • 300 Squats
  • Return to COT

NMM

Monday we honored my friend Mark. Mark was a 4.25 GPA student, captain of the soccer team, and an all-around great young man. He was the guy you wanted to hate because he was good at everything. But once you got to know him, you learned that he was the type of guy you strived to be. When he graduated high school, he attended the Air Force Academy. Upon graduation in 2005, he completed Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. Captain McDowell completed the Basic Qualification Course – F-15E in May of 2008 and was assigned to the 336th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.

Mark’s plane went down in Afghanistan. He left behind a wife, loving family, and many friends. As his grandfather said at his service, “He was born to fly and he died doing what he loved.”

If Mark were here today, he would have been the guy crushing the workout from the front with a smile on his face. He would have been the guy to encourage the whole time. Remember, we GET TO do this. Some others aren’t as blessed.

Aye!

Italian Job

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Caveman skills

Five pax at Varsity on Black Friday 2021.
Started with Broga led by Sasquatch, then hand off to YHC for the bootcamp.
Thang #1
Theme was caveman skills, so started with a run (ancient man likely had to run after their prey for a long distance). Then ended up at the pull up bars:
5 pull ups followed by 10 merkins (I/C); repeat. Then a bar hang with knees-to-chest.
Thang #2
A caveman needs to drag his kill back to the family cave. Thus: sled pull from bars to stop sign and back again. Sled has four cinder blocks in it. While the one pax pulls the kill, the other pax toss a 15lb slam ball to each other. Each pax got a chance at the sled pull.
Thang #3
Run as a group down to the elementary school lot.
Spear throw. Homemade ‘spartan’ spear and capybara target. Pax started at about 40 feet from target, and we all missed. Got a little closer, and all missed. Got a little closer and Skate connected for the kill!
Celebrate being able to eat with 10 burpees.

Run up to shovel flag and do 4 mins of Mary.
Fini/COT

Materials/instructions:
Sled: plastic concrete mixing tub (large) from Lowes. A rope is wrapped around the tub’s lip.
Capybara target: foam, cardboard, googlie eye, glue; marthastewart.com for instructions.
Spear: shovel handle, lumber nail/spike, 2-part epoxy. Also marthastewart.com for instructions (jail-house lessons section).
Some workouts are best done when there is no-school…don’t need someone calling the cops on a “…bunch of guys running around with a spear…”

Skate takes the kill!

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Do not be anxious

I think we all can feel it. The holidays are upon us. The calendar is beginning to fill up. The “to-do” list is getting a little bit longer. And all the while, we’re supposed to enjoy this time of year.

Just typing that makes me feel anxious.

Personally, I will be hosting my first Thanksgiving this year. So the anxiety has been building over the last week. Over the same time period, I have felt a need to spend more time studying and praying. So when Kaiser asked me to Q, and to prepare a message if possible, I felt I should share the message I was experiencing, because often times, others are going through similar circumstances.

5 PAX plus YHC took the DRP and showed up on this frosty morning (25degrees in SC?!?). No new faces in the crowd, but disclaimed nonetheless, and added the disclaimer that I would try to delve into the topic of Prayer (Q1.10). Though I am a Christian, I reminded the PAX that F3 is open to ALL men, of ALL faiths.

We moseyed down to the Elementary school parking lot and circled up for a few warm ups:
• 10 Windmills IC
• 25 SSH IC
• 20 LSS IC

Philippians 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Then we moseyed back up the driveway to behind the stadium scoreboard and continued to warm up with:
• 10 Cherry Pickers IC
• 10 MNC IC
• Followed by some mild stretching

PAX partnered up for Chase the Bear back to the pull ups bars. Partner 1 began Bear Crawling while Partner 2 completed 10 merkins, then caught the bear and flip flopped.

The Thang
PAX all grabbed Cindy’s, and completed the following:
• Carry Cindy to stop sign at bottom of hill
• Murder Bunny with Cindy back up the hill
• Sumo Squats w/ CIndy
• Shoulder Press w/ Cindy
• Curls w/ Cindy
• Tricep Extension w/ Cindy
• Pull ups
First circuit included 10 reps, second circuit 20 reps and attempted third circuit had 30 reps. We lost a few Cindy’s along the way (but I blame the bitter cold for that).

Moseyed back to COT for Mary, but ran out of time in the first set of flutters.

Completed my sermon (aimed directly at myself) that an often neglected aspect of the Get Right is our faith. I encouraged the PAX to spend time daily studying and praying, for we never know when the anxiety will arise.

Name-O-Rama, announcements and prayers for safe travels, good times with our families, those that are experiencing the holidays without a loved ones, and for injuries.

Thanks to Kaiser for the opportunity to lead, and I hope everyone got as much out of it as I did!

Happy Thanksgiving, brothers.

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Convergence – Shop Vac

65 PAX gathered to remember Shop Vac. Probably had closer to 70 at different points during the hour. Fishsticks took the Milkshakers

Lutefish warmup:
Sean Kelley, 56, Shop Vac

There are a couple of young men I was hoping would hear this this morning. While I’m talking to them, I’m also talking to myself and all of you.

We all know that or God, SkyQ, has written our books. He went before us, He knows us by name, and He alone knows when our earthly lives begin and end. God knew our brother Sean was to come home. And it doesn’t make sense to us.

But let me ask you this. What would it be like to know that when it is our time that we would also know that we accomplished the tasks that the Lord created us to do? God knows the great plans He has for each of you. You are here for a reason.

Wouldn’t it feel comforting to know that you full executed your purpose here on earth? Today we celebrate Sean, who I believe did just that. Sean loved his sons. It’s all he talked about when we worked out together. That, and his dream to have a home in Beaufort. He lived out and executed his purpose. We now have 2 of his sons as our brothers, and how great it is that the world is better because of him. Recover on your feet.

I read a quote recently:

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced; live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.”

Sean is rejoicing and would want us to do the same. And he would want us to do 56 side straddle hops in cadence.

Split out to:

  • Kettlebells
    • Uhaul
  • Bootcamp: split PAX into two groups for 20min sessions
    • Ruby Slippers
    • Band Camp

Uhaul’s KB workout:
56 Squats
56 Curls
56 Skull Crushers
56 Calf Raises
56 Uhauls
56 Flutters w/ press (4 count)
56 Dead lifts
56 Lawn Mower Pulls R
56 Lawn Mower Pulls L
56 American Hammers
56 LBCs (4 count)

Band Camp’s portion:
EMOM
minute 1 – 20 burpees
minute 2 – 30 jumping lunges
minute 3 – 40 Freddie Mercuries
minute 4 – 50 Carolina Dry Docks
minute 5 – 60 SSH

7s w/ Mike Tysons and Squats
Mode of transportation: bear crawl/crawl bear

Some in cadence jump squats, core work,

I found a backblast from Shop Vac…It reads with a lot more significance to me now. https://f3thefort.com/2021/04/14/403656/
I may have said something asinine while holding a squat and quoting his backblast.
Something like:
Have understanding when I say 5 more squat jumps
Show tolerance when I say 6 more squat jumps
Practice patience when I call 7 more squat jumps
Take direction as we’re now hitting 8 more squat jumps

Did a little sprinting as well with the second group. (Shop Vac would not have approved, and neither did most of the PAX)

NMM: Shop Vac’s love for and pride in his sons was palpable. He made me want to be a better dad. I’m glad to be around men that make me want to be better. Shop Vac was one of those dudes.

Ruby Slippers’s portion:
I had the pleasure of working out a lot with Shop Vac. His attitude, smile, and laughter infected you immediately every time you met him.

YHC remembers a time during COT after a workout where frustrations from my work life came bubbling to the surface. After I vented to the PAX about the situation ( usual selfish rant where everyone else has a problem but me ) and the Q finished prayer, Shop Vac pulled me to the side and gently explained that it was my attitude that needed to be adjusted, not everyone else’s. He did it in a manner where I gladly and thankfully accepted his advice.

The Thang:
At every Shop Vac Q you could count on stations, simple exercises and/or routines, and minimal running. The six was never left behind at a Shop Vac workout so we are using the buddy system to make sure that does not happen at this workout.

Set-up 4 stations in the shape of a square in the middle parking lot at The Armory. 4 stations represented each member of the Kelly family, there were 4 exercises at each station, partner work to complete a cumulative total of 56 reps of each exercise:

Sean’s station:
– Merkins, Diamond Merkins, Wide Arm Merkins, CDD’s
Stacey’s station:
– Crunches in cadence, Flutters in cadence, Big Boy Sit-ups, Straight Lower Leg Lifts
Jack’s station:
– Squats, Jump Squats, Lunges, Jumping Lunges
Brian’s station
– Side Straddle Hops in cadence, Seal Jacks in cadence, Mountain Climbers in cadence, Plank Jacks in cadence.

PAX partner up – complete all 4 exercises at a station and then mosey to the center. YHC stood in the center of the square to represent Francis, Shop Vac’s faithful four-legged companion, where PAX would come to complete 56 monkey humpers.

Continued around the stations until time was called.

Video Evidence: https://twitter.com/jisenhour/status/1456967297453727750

Welcome FNGs: Bow Wow Wow, Bam!, Triple H, Dictator, Wax Off, and Pool Boy

Prayers for Sean’s family.

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VQ with The “Maupin” at the Honey Badger

It was a chilly Monday morning and halfway through “The Murph” with Maximus.  My body was hurting,  muscles wanting to shut down, my mind asking “why?, really ? On a Monday morning “?
I hear Wegmans ask “ Hey DeLorean, you want to Q next Monday ?”   Again my mind saying “ no because we aren’t going to survive  this workout, you aren’t ready,  I don’t feel comfortable doing that”     My response “SURE!”
It’s at these moments the real work and change is done…..so I’m learning.
Anyway…..let’s get on with it.

No Disclaimer 🤦🏼‍♂️

Warm up with some SSH’s, Mtn Climbers, Wind Mill’s. In something that resembles a cadence and I’m not sure what the counts were for each exercise because they were all different.  PAX were halting when I didnt want them to and it was because my tone during the cadence was very very pitchy.   I was planning on more warm up exercises but wanted this failure to end and move onto the main event.

Mosey over to the track and the whiteboard with the “Maupin” written out in detail.  Short explanation of who Army Staff Sgt Keith Mathew Maupin  was and why we are honoring this hero.   PAX held a plank position during this explanation but not because I told them to but wishing it was because I told them to.

Background: Dedicated to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Keith “Matt” Maupin, 24, of Batavia, Ohio, who disappeared on April 9, 2004, when insurgents south of Baghdad attacked his convoy with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. His remains were found on March 20, 2008. Prior to his disappearance, Maupin served as part of the 724th Transportation Company in Bartonville, Illinois.

He is survived by his mother, Carolyn; father, Keith; a brother and sister; and many other friends and family members.

4 Rounds of the following :

  • 800 meter Run
  • 49 Push-Ups
  • 49 Sit-Ups
  • 49 Air Squats

Mosey back to parking lot for COT

5 penalty burpees for Tootie being 1 minute late, which we all did together and burned up a couple minutes of time I had left because I was about to finish early.

Announcements:  Operation Love, Saturday convergence to honor Sean Kelly  “Shop Vac”

Prayers and Praises:  Wegmans- Prayers for his wife who is carrying their 2nd child.
Splinter- Prayers for him during this time of dealing with the loss of 2 of his friends and prayers for their families.

Thanks Wegmans for the invite and for good lessons learned.

#SYITG

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Trifecta of Q’s

So, I got asked to Q last minute for Wednesday at Ring of Fire (8/18) and was already scheduled to Q at Footloose for Thursday (8/19) and then NASA had to try and find a sub for Varsity on Friday (8/20), so I just said I’d do it all. I mean @HarryCarey just did it, so why couldn’t I? I’ve been chasing him for years and still have a long way to go to try and keep up/catch that HIM.

So, I planned it out. Arms Day at Ring of Fire, Legs Day at Footloose, and IronPax prep at Varsity. Here we go!

Arms day was an AMRAP with the pull-up bars, Cindy, and some core to break it up. 1 minute on 30 seconds off.
Pull-Ups
Squats with Block
Curls
Overhead Press
LBC’s
Merkins
Flutters
Burpees
Low plank
Side Straddle Hops
Repeat.

Music kept us going with mostly hard rock from the ’90s and 2000s. @Sheild thinks I’m the next Tony Robbins as I was trying to motivate and keep everyone going on our rest periods.

Thursday at Footloose we did 7’s. Launching from the AO, we went over to Minnow Pond to see if we can pick a fight, to which they just ignored us. So, we ran the hill. Monkey Humpers at the bottom near the main road, because you know, Monkey Humpers ;). Up the hill and then squats.

We then ran over to Fort Mill Chruch of God for a round of 7’s using the stairs and the parking lot. I didn’t exactly think this one all the way through before giving instructions. Run up and down the stairs, then do 6 calf raises, run back over the stairs and run a lap around the parking lot and back up over the stairs to do 1 Bobby Hurley. Complete the circuit until 7’s is completed. That ended up being 14 laps around the parking lot. We ended up with 3 miles on this day. Lots of good mumble chatter and fellowship on those laps.

Finally, @ Varsity, we did IronPax prep with the Week 0 2018 workout. 50 squats, 40 big boys, 30 merkins, 20 lunges (modified down from Bonnie Blairs as we’re old and our knees can’t take it), 10 burpees run a lap. Do this 4x for time.

@Slapshot killed it and completed the circuit in 24:39, while @HarryCarey finished in 28:10 and YHC in 30:30. The rest modified and got their own solid workout/ruck in.

Q-ing the trifecta was a great test as it made me get creative and stay engaged with the group. We’re called to be leaders and this was a good test of my abilities over a longer period, not just every once in a while. Thanks to all for the opportunity to lead. I enjoyed it!

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Sexy Derkins

Six pax for a birthday workout.  This was workout #2 of my Trifecta Q’s.
Warm Up
Mosey run (Toy soldiers, high knees)
SSH (IC 10x)
Windmill (IC 10x)
Imperial Walker (IC 10x)
Low Slow Squats (IC10x)
Mountain Climbers (IC 12X)
Plank stretches, up dog, down dog
Headed towards the benches area under the awning in front of the school.

Thang 1: HIIT Routine (the 1990’s playlist begins here)
Set A: Do the below 32 seconds on, 10 sec standing rest in between
Merkins
monkey humpers
Squats
Dips
Bobby Hurley’s

Set B: Do the below 40 seconds on, 20 sec rest in between (rest is a Low Plank)
Mountain Climbers
LBC
CDD
Amer Hammers
plank jacks

Set C: Do the below 45 seconds on, 15 sec standing rest in between
burpees
Imp Walkers
Squat Jumps
step ups
SSH
In between sets we did some bear crawls. Rinse/Repeat sets as time permitted.

Thang 2: Sexy Derkin challenge: Done to the song “I’m too Sexy”. Pax do a derkin at each “sexy”. Total of 22 derkins in 2 minutes 50 seconds.
Run to shovel flag. Some light Mary (LBC, Hello Dolly)

Fini, COT

NMM: Awesome way to start the day, my 47th birthday. Truly an honor to spend it with these pax.
Blessed with a bright shooting star before the workout began (thanks sky Q).
Lots of chatter…I think collectively we named every rock band from the 1990’s.
Treats were handed post workout: Stracciatella mini cupcakes (thanks to my M).
Playlist:

Title artist Year released length
beautiful people maryln manson 1996 3:43
everlong foo fighters 1997 4:11
I am one smashing pumpkins 1991 4:06
song 2 blur 1997 2:01
been caught stealing janes addiction 1990 3:35
flag pole sitta harvey danger 1997 3:37
more human than human white zombie 1995 4:28
seether veruca salt 1994 3:17
suicide blonde inxs 1990 3:52
Vow garbage 1995 4:30
Derkin Challenge Song:
I’m too sexy Right Said Fred 1992 2:50
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