Control

19 High Impact Men posted for a moderate workout in the misty gloom today. Smuggler made a strong come back, kotter style. Stang lead the second stretch-o-rama which made the Pax grunt like they were in a birthing center. Asphalt came to  COT and blessed us with his powerful testimony.

The Thang:

Strech-o-rama for warm-up

COP: SSH (10x), IW (10x), HBW (20x), Sumo Squats (15x), MC (20x), Jumping Lunges (10x), Swimmers (10x) Freddie Mercuries (15x),

Toy Soldiers, Shuffle Left, Shuffle Right, Back Pedals, Karaoke Left, Karaoke Right, Power Skips

Dips (15x), Extreme CCDs (10x) and LBCs (20x)

Decline Merkins (15x), Extreme CCDs (10x), and Flutters(20x)

Incline Merkins (15x), Extreme CCDs (10x), Heels to Heaven (20x)

Wall Merkins, People’s Chair (3x)

Partner Drills: One partner runs to the light post and back while the other does the following until the team does a total of 100 Merkins, 200 Monkey Humpers, 300 Flutters.

Strech-o-rama for cool down

Moleskin:

God is in control. Type A people, like myself, struggle to understand that reality. Reality became very clear when the Colombia Mission Team and I were stranded in Miami right before Irma hit.

I brainstormed solutions to “control” the situation like:

– Get another flight to escape the hurricane (reality check: the airport was closing).

– Take a train (reality check: the train station was closed).

– Find a hotel for shelter (reality check: all local hotels were closed).

We prayed and then escaped the storm by driving in what the media claimed would be 15 mile/hour traffic.

God was in control and His plan was far greater than ours. Instead of 12 men going to Colombia, he sent 17 of us to Florida to help hurricane survivors. Instead of serving 1 organization in Columbia, we served 5 organizations in Florida. Instead of engaging a few donors to raise money for the mission trip, He engaged over 1K people in our church/community to collect supplies for the hurricane survivors in Florida. Instead bringing a few supplies to Colombia (less than the 50 lbs limit), He had us bring over 10K lbs of supplies to  people who needed it in Florida.

I’m glad that God is in control. His plans are far greater than what we can imagine.

Peace,

Deacon

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22 PAX braved the Clydesdale pace, some went their own way rather than face the excruciating hills of the Pineapple Loop, some, faced their fear.

The thang:

I run along the avenue
I never thought I’d meet a PAX as slow as you
Meet a PAX like you

With messy hair and sleepy eyes
The least you could do is keep up with the 6
Keep up with the 6

And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran from 515 to 600ish
I couldn’t get away

A street lamp above your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
Shining down on you

The street lamp is moving nearer still
A hole in the sidewalk comes in view
Hole comes in view

And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran from 515 to 600ish
I couldn’t get away

 

Looks like we made it,

Barry Manilow

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I call this one the rope a dope…

Ok so right off the gate I have to say tagging 30 people is a chore, but I love all of you so I did it anyway. I dont get the opportunity to Q Slow Burn a lot so I am always grateful when the chance arises. One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the amount of folks that go to the Burn. I wanted to bring some things to those folks they may not have been exposed to before. We started as any other day with the disclaimer and identifying the FNG in the crowd EHed by Smithers. Off we went…

The thang

Slow mosey down to the parking lot in front of the old Baxter Fun house. We kicked butts and high knees along the way. Dark Helmet got a little handsy. Circle up for some windmills, merkins, and Moroccan night clubs. The counts ranges from 15-3 depending on my vibe in the air. Mainly I just get tired of the same old 10 or 20 counts. Q tip #1- DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY once in a while

Mosey over to the road leading back towards Armory. Next we were going to work on pacing. The object is to run the same distance over the same time repeatedly. First was a 1 minute run toward Forest Hill church at whatever pace you need to hold to get to 1 mile. So if you are a 5 minute mile guy, then run fast. If you are a 20 minute mile guy, then basically walk. This was a true UVU. We ran for 1 minute out then had a 1 minute rest. Then 1 minute back. Most ended right were we started. Next series was 2 minutes out, 1 minute rest, 2 minutes back. Again, other than Long Shanks, everyone ended close to where they started. This is a great training exercise for anyone trying to figure or work on pacing.

Next we went over to the Lowes sitting wall (or we sit on Lowes, idk). Count off by 1 and 2. Team 1 inch wormed out to a line in the parking lot then mosey back. 2s keep sitting on the wall. Once back switch. We did 2 rotations of this. We then did 2 seriees of bear crawls in this same manor. To cap it off was a series of slow merkins. 3 count down… to 10 I think.

Next we meandered over to another area where to everyone’s surprise we found a kettle bell coarse laid out. Everyone had their opportunity for rows, presses, swings, hay bailers, and curls. Whilst others waiting we did squats and merkins.

For my final trick we moseyed over to the gravelish lot next to Empire pizza. Here we partook in some HIIT style training. 1 minutes ARMAP burpees , rest, then 1 minute AMRAP merkins. COT

Prayers for Spitz to be the sounding board for a youth. Prayers for that boys family. Invergence on the 29th and convergence on the 30th where YHC has part of the call so I hope to see you all there.

Moleskin

So here is where things twisted everyone’s mind. I explained that we had actually performed workouts from 5 different style AO’s in a single Q. The warm ups with low counts and less impact-full exercises is something that can be found at a moderate style workout( Slow Burn/ Footloose). The running where we worked on pace setting is something you can find at Laces out or Clydesdales. The wall sits, inch worm, bear crawl combo was a stereotypical boot camp like Laces in, The Coop, or The Ranch (Constance motion with an elevated degree of difficulty). The KB portion was exactly what you can expect at Armory or Tomahawk. Last but not least the HIIT ARMAP is your Varsity style.

Moderate is a steeping stone on your fitness journey. Be careful not to get complacent and stop challenging yourself. We proved today that 30 men can do 5 styles of workout. Go at your own pace. Just because you “aren’t a runner” doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try a running AO. Just because you dont own a kettle bell doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try a KB AO (there are always extras). Just because you aren’t Pin Up doesn’t mean you should skip a HIIT workout. Push yourself men. The greatest growth comes from the most discomfort.

Challenge was issued of try a new AO this week. Who’s up for a change? I believe in you guys. Ill meet anyone anywhere if they want to try a new AO. Open invitation…

Thanks Barry,

Cage out

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Children’s Attention Home Workday

PAX of Rock Hill, York, Gastonia, The Fort Regions and beyond,

The overwhelming success of the CAH Burpee Challenge that we worked our tails off in June is coming to fruition on 9/30 at 10:30AM at CAH. We will be getting rental gear for post hole diggers, concrete mixers, supplies are being worked on for lumber and hardware (hoping to get confirmation this week from Home Depot) and our very own Iron Horse is making the bars himself!! We have collected in cash, check, and through the website $2,508.24!!! That speaks to the HIMs that you all are.

We are going to install 6 pull up bars with step assists, 2 parallel bars, and 6 dip stations.

Iron Horse’s handy work. All bars are being sent off for powder coating as well!!

Date: 9/30/17 at 10:30AM

Who: All PAX, please sound off in comments if you are able to come. If we get 12 guys, I see this as a few hour project at most.

Location: CAH in Rock Hill

Duration: Until we are done

What to bring: Gloves, water, work boots, and dress is old work clothes.

If you have: Post hole diggers, cordless drill, large drill bits, bring them, I have some, but more is better. Let me know if comments what you plan to bring.

What is provided: Plans, materials, lunch (pizza will be delivered)

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Colombia Mission Trip Sendoff @ The Ranch 9-7-17

On a cool morning in early September, the men of The Fort gathered together to support the group of 12 men that answered the call to serve those in need in Colombia.

Mosey to the soccer field

The Warm-up (VQ led by Skinny Jeans)

  • 20 4-count side straddle hops 
  • 15 4-count windmills
  • 10 4-count Merkens
  • 15 4-count mountain climbers
  • 20 low slow squats
  • 8 burpees OYO

Mosey to the football field

The Thang

Markers set up every 25 yards on the football field from endzone to endzone. PAX will start from one endzone and run from marker to marker and do the following exercises (below) at each. They will then run on the track back to the starting point.

  • 10 merkins, 2 burpees
  • back to start – LBCs for six
  • 10 Carolina DD, 2 burpees
  • back to start – flutter for six
  • 10 squats, 2 burpees
  • back to start – American Hammer for six
  • 10 bomb jacks, 2 burpees
  • back to start – freddy mercury for six
  • 10 dips, 2 burpees
  • back to start – heels to heaven for six
  • 10 lunges (5 per leg), 2 burpees
  • back to start -diamond LBCs for six
  • 2 burpees per marker

Mosey to COT

Today we focused on the 12 men that are leaving tomorrow to serve in Colombia. We had the privilege of hearing the reasons why each of them have been called to serve during todays workout and then pray over them at the close. We are all lucky to have these men as our brothers and will continue to pray for them as they make their way abroad.

As mentioned in COT, each of us were blessed with passion for certain causes and influence to impact them. Find your passion and your calling and answer that call, whatever it may be.

Ginsu

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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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Coliseum Shift Change

18 Gladiators showed up to the #sweathole known as The Colloseum.  It had been rumored there would be changing of the guard.  Most folks were in the dark on who the new Q would be until we started.  Seacrest had the Q and in fairness, I should have let him have it, but chomping at the bit, I was ready to hit it hard and so were 17 of the toughest.

The  Thang:

  • Pearls on a String: mosey following the Q to random parts unknown.  Exercises spread across 3 pearls were SSH, IW, Merkins, Squats, and a decending amount of OYO Burpees
  • Triple Nickel: At the bottom of the hill: 5 squats, Top of the Hill: 5 squats.  Run circuit 5 times.
  • Fishsticks espezial: An awful exercise within an equally awful exercise.  Here we counted to 10 cadence on Ex1 and then to 5 on Ex2.  Rinse/repeat until the distance is covered.  #AskFishsticks  Favorite Choice here, men
    • Bearcrawl/Merkin.  After every ten bearcrawl movements, 5 merkins
    • Lunge/Squat: See Above
    • Backward Bearcrawl/CDD: See Above
    • Crabwalk/LBC: 10 LBCs here.
  • 6MOM: Flutter, Freddie, Rosy, Dolly, H2H, Superman
  • 10 burpee OYO

Naked Man Moleskin-

YHC kept pace with some rabbits today.  First time in a while not being mid PAX.  I credit #Q-drenaline.  DH, Seacrest, Tesh, and Nomad I think won the Royalty Race #King.  I comment on Tesh’s 6 pack , Guns and V-Shape everytime I see him.  Its uncomfortable.   Cornerstone lights my fire at every workout I attend with him.  His #wasnow story is darn good and his humilty is grounding. #FightEmmaFight.

Taking over this Ark of Roman fortitude and strength has me invigorated.  I looking forward to this being my regular Tuesday post and keeping the tradition going of tough #smokefests.  Going to keep the Qlist fluid with an array of leaders.  Make sure you have attended Q school and are fluent in dishing out pain.  A reminder that PAX will follow the Q until they have reason not to.  Unsafe doesnt fortify toughness.  Q’s for Colloseum (and all AOs) need to be prepared to engage #kings and #rabbits as well as mid Pax and #6fortheday Pax.  Using 10 counts, plankoramas or having #kings and #rabbits do extra reps at end are good techniques then move forward to the next as a group.  #shieldlock No man left behind.

Read your newsletter.  CAH Friday, Some sort of Mastodon absurdity and F3 Dads all happening.  Prayers for Emma for her next Chemo treatment, Last Call’s Coworker that was killed in an apartment fire and her family, and Nomad’s leadership and relationships with the youth of the church retreat/camp.

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