Ring of Fire: Carrying Burdens

WARMUP: 5 pull-ups 5knee ups 5 flying squirrels 2 rounds
THE THANG: pick a block walk the campus 4 exercises 4 times
MARY: n/a
ANNOUNCEMENTS: newsletter
COT: share your burden as we can do it alone!!!

TClap |
1

Day 29. AKA3. DORA from Hell

WARMUP: 15 minutes from f Broga led by Sassiest of all Quaches. Mosey to band practice field: SSH, Imperial Walker, Merkins, Squats, Mountain Climbers, Lunges, Peter Parker, SSH
THE THANG: DORA from Hell. Get a partner in crime. Do these things as your PIC runs the length of the field and back.
50 Burpees
100 merkins
150 monkey humpers
200 Squats
250 Plank Jacks
300 LBC
350 SSH

MARY: Plank and plank
ANNOUNCEMENTS: AKA Convergence and Shieldlock Invergence. No other announcements needed.
COT: prayers for Aquaman and CableGuy. Also Repeats mom and Kermit’s friend.

TClap |
2

Hard things make better men

6 faithful tackled the Tellier Hero WOD at Honey Badger this morning. After a quick warmup, we mosied to the field where we did the following:

The Thang

  • 10 Burpees
  • 200 yard run
  • 10 Burpees
  • 25 Push-Ups
  • 200 yard run
  • 10 Burpees
  • 25 Push-Ups
  • 50 Lunges
  • 200 yard run
  • 10 Burpees
  • 25 Push-Ups
  • 50 Lunges
  • 100 Sit-Ups
  • 200 yard run
  • 10 Burpees
  • 25 Push-Ups
  • 50 Lunges
  • 100 Sit-Ups
  • 150 Air Squats
  • 200 yard run
  • 1 lap

Totals:

  • 50 Burpees
  • 100 Merkins
  • 150 Lunges
  • 200 Sit-ups
  • 150 Squats
  • 1.6 Miles

NMM

Background: Dedicated to U.S. Sgt. Zachary D. Tellier, 31, of Charlotte, NC (USA) a combat infantryman with the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, at Fort Bragg. He died Sept. 29, 2007, of wounds sustained while on a ground patrol in Afghanistan.

The previous April, Tellier’s unit was conducting a mounted patrol when one of its vehicles drove over and detonated a bomb, which set the vehicle on fire, according to a statement from the 82nd Airborne. Tellier pulled two paratroopers out of the vehicle to safety, suffering severe burns to his hands. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with valor for his actions.

After he was burned, Tellier jumped up in the turret to return fire, said Sgt. Michael Layton, a member of Tellier’s unit. A lieutenant made Tellier get out of the vehicle because of his injuries, Layton said. “Zachary Tellier has to be the biggest hero I’ve ever known or heard of, not just because of what he did, but because of his personality,” Layton said. “He came in the Army because he wanted to be around soldiers and serve his country, and he paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Tellier is survived by his wife, Sara Tellier of Atlanta, Ga.; his father, David W. Tellier of Groton, Mass.; and his mother, Pamela Rodriguez, of Falmouth, Mass.

A few of us just returned from a weekend as part of Sandlot JAX. The weekend included difficult rucking events, obstacle courses, strength training, and Fit talks by war heroes, world-renowned authors, and fitness experts. One speaker talked about mindset. The easiest mindset to take is the victim mindset. Next is the pessimist, followed by the optimist and realist. But the highest level we should strive to achieve is the curious competitor. The curious competitor actively seeks out difficulties and challenges. There are two rules: find something hard and don’t die doing it. We are made to do hard things. But, because of comfort, we avoid those challenges. But how are we to get better if we never step out of our comfort zone? I encourage you to do something hard every day. You will either succeed or learn what doesn’t work. The key point is to try. When you do the hard thing now, you are preparing yourself for the future hard thing. You have been gifted this life. Don’t waste it on Easy Street.

Aye!

Italian Job

TClap |
1

Chest, Core, and Broga

8 total (3 runners and 5 broga booters) ascended on Varsity for a chest and core smokefest followed by flipping dogs broga at the hands of Sasquatch. Here’s what we did:

The Thang

  • 10 SSHs (IC)
  • 10 Seal Jacks (IC)
  • 10 Low Slow Squats (IC)

Mosey around the lot to the breezeway

  • 10 Merkins (IC)
  • 10 LBCs (IC)
  • 10 Wide Arm Merkins (IC)
  • 10 American Hammers (IC)
  • 10 Scorpion Merkins (IC)
  • 10 Freddies (IC)

Mosey around the lot and back to the breezeway

  • 10 Staggered Merkins (IC)
  • 10 Hello Dollies
  • 5 Diamond Merkins (IC)
  • 10 Rosalitas
  • 5 Windmills (IC)
  • 60 second plank

Mosey around the lot and back to the breezeway

  • 10 Carolina Dry Docks (IC)
  • 10 Boxcutters (IC)
  • 10 Dive Bombers
  • 10 Butterfly LBCs
  • 10 Burpees

Mosey around the lot and back to the breezeway

  • 12 Derkins
  • Transition to Sasquatch for Broga

NMM

Today’s workout was not easy, but I’m reminded that we “get to” do this. We are privileged to have the freedoms and abilities to assemble at our leisure to workout and talk about anything and everything on our minds. In the current state of affairs, today was a reminder of how blessed we are.

Yesterday I watched a video of a father saying goodbye to his 6-ish year-old daughter as she and her mom evacuated their town mere the hours before being attacked. I cried at the thought he may never see his family again as a foreign country invades his homeland. It really put things in perspective. These atrocities are happening while I continue to live life with minor inconveniences. I was able to wake up this morning, drive to a workout, spend time with friends, and come home to a warm shower, in my home, and have breakfast with my family. It breaks my heart that we live in a world where there is utter disregard for the wellbeing of others. In times like these, it’s imperative that we hug our families tighter, show grace and compassion to others, and be the steadfast beacon of light in a dark world. We must stand firm in our convictions and quell the fears of our families. Join me in praying for the people of Ukraine. Ask for protection of the innocent and vulnerable and give wisdom to global leaders. Pray for our service men and women as they prepare for potential deployment. Ask for humility for the proud and pray for peace in the face of fears and adversity.

Aye!

Italian Job

TClap |
5

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

TClap |
1

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.
TClap |
13

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.
TClap |
3

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

TClap |
4

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!

TClap |
5

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.

TClap |
10