3-1-22: 3 lessons, 3 stations

YHC took a call up on the schedule to kick off March.  20 decided to converge east of the peach stand.  Three lessons were shared from Seneca and a few exercises were called.

COP – After the pledge, a mosey to Kimbrell’s for COP – squats, people’s chairs, windmills, seal jacks, and burpees sprinkled in got everyone warmed up and on to station #1.

Lesson 1 – “Train your body rigorously so it is not disobedient to your mind”

Station 1 – 10 burpees upon arrival.  7’s to follow – kraken burpees at the top of the circle with squats at the entrance of the circle.  PAX returned to the top of the circle to confirm the lesson was learned.  It was. From there, we moseyed to…….

Lesson 2 – “He who is everywhere is nowhere”

Station 2 – PAX paired up completing a 4 corner, 2 round circuit 5-10-15-20 – burpees, merkins, squats and seal jacks.  Upon completion, 5 more burpees to ensure the lesson was learned.  It was.

Lesson 3 – “Happy is he who makes others better”

Station 3 – flutters in cadence, LBC’s in cadence and a mosey back to COT.  Early arrivers did a few burpees to finish out and a few abs – geometry class brought us to 0600 and COT.

Announcements were shared, prayers were offered and praises were given.

NMM – 3 takeaways to expand on the lessons learned:

1 – Rigorous training enables us to be durable as leaders in our homes and communities.  We are better equipped to handle life’s challenges and keep a calm and clear mind when our bodies are strong.  Our mind and spirit require the same training.

2 – The person who feels busy may find themselves living the life of a hamster on a wheel – in a sense, being everywhere, but nowhere.  Are we setting routines that allow for avoiding that trap? Our world is great at distracting us.  We are equipped to mitigate that through our disciplines, our training and how we apply it daily.

3 – Helping others improve in their journey expecting nothing in return is the ultimate gift of impact.  As leaders, we are called to give away what we know in the pursuit of helping others seek advantage.  The feeling of knowing your effort inspired or encouraged someone to go further, work harder, apply themselves more, etc. brings about a joy knowing your work as a servant manifested itself positively in others.

My thanks to Kermit for the call out and the opportunity to lead a fantastic group of HIMs.  I am grateful to start the day (and in this case) month off on an advantageous foot.

Keep going!!!

Cyclops

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Coast to Coast Qs

A mid-week substi-Q request left YHC a bit concerned on how to fill an hour of pain. Fortunately, the request was picked up by an old friend of The Fort that now resides on the other coast, 88.

88 and YHC met early to get a lay of the land. He volunteered to lead us off, but needed to know where a few things were. It was a dark and chilly morning, and the wind was cutting.

14 PAX gathered just before 0630hrs, and all got to meet the brother from the Gold Rush Territory. With one fresh face in the crowd, a strong disclaimer was given, along with the 5 core principles.

The Fort broke off from Milkshake for a little mosey to the back side of the Pike Engineering.

COP
10 Merkins IC
20 SSH IC
10 Squats IC

Then we moseyed to the entrance of Pike Engineering, and did a set of Minus 2 at the masonry knee walls. Starting with 20 incline merkins and rotating with dips, we did all the reps and eventually made it to 0. The high numbers and pain cause confusion for several PAX, but we won’t name names here, will we Italian Job?

88 led us on a mosey back to WEP, where cones were laid out in 4 corners.
• First lap included 10 merkins at each cone
• Second lap included 20 squats at each cone
• Third lap included 30 Mountain Climbers at each cone
• Fourth lap included all of the reps – 10 merkins, 20 squats and 30 mountain climbers at each cone

88 handed off to YHC and we started at the front of the amphitheater.

Typically, if I have prepared a message, it’s because I need to hear it. Several things have prevented me from posting consistently over the last month, and I can feel it when I do make it out. So, in a plank position, I went over Q3.10 Consistency – “The Consistent Leader is constant and regular in everything he does. His followers are drawn to him because his steadiness provides a safe harbor from the howling winds of Chaos and Flux that blow periodically through their own lives. He is their rock.”

Recover and run one lap around WEP, performing 5 burpees at each swing. Cyclops and Italian Job led the way, with Clickbait giving chase. “5 more” burpees were continued in front of the amphitheater while waiting for the 6, or Stang to return from the woods. Stang was incredibly uncomfortable in the open area of the park, constantly gazing towards the trees. I’m not sure if the sun rising early helped either.

“Strong Routines are the framework of Consistency.” We in F3 know what to do. Wake up and exercise, everyday, We shouldn’t have to think about it, just do it. Remove unnecessary decisions, and create routines.

Next up, Dan Taylors. All the way across the WEP field. A few PAX wanted to play on the playground, and I heard rumblings of other shenanigans, but feared turning around to see what they were doing. The field was longer than I thought, but we got 55 squats and 220 lunges in.

“The Virtuous Leader focuses on bandwidth not perfection.” Reminded the PAX that consistency will help minimize the flux in our life. This isn’t about perfection, but about limiting the lows in our life. The things that keep us away from a healthy lifestyle that enables us to lead.

We moseyed back to CoT, and with a minute to spare, got 5 Mike Tysons – Bear crawl and Crawl bear in to close it out.

We welcome FNG Spit Valve, had prayers and praises for those at D2D and to those in Ukraine and affected by the conflict in Ukraine. T-claps to Clickbait who is organizing some relief efforts to that part of the world.

Thanks again to 88 for answering the call to lead! We look forward to your return.

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Back and Forth and Back…

I had 13 PAX join me for a total of 14 at Veteran’s Memorial for the launch of Block Party. We had some regulars and even a few Welcome Back’ers. With a number of headlamps and a rendition of the disclaimer, we took off for the parking lot in front of W.E.P.

Brief warm up with SSH, Mountain Climbers, Jump Squats and a few hamstring stretches…touch your toes.

Run around the WEP path with 5 Burpees and 10 Jump Squats at each swinging bench

Run back to Veterans for 10 SSH

Run to intersection of Monroe White, Academy, Williamson.

Run up Monroe White to 160, 10 Diamond Merkins & 10 Flutter Kicks then run back to starting intersection for 5 Burpees.
Run out Academy to Forrest, 10 Diamond Merkins & 10 Flutter Kicks then run back to starting intersection for 5 Burpees.
NUR up Williamson to Watson, 10 Diamond Merkins & 10 Flutter Kicks then run back to starting intersection for 5 Burpees.

Run to base of Massey hill. NUR up to the gun shop then back to COT.

2MOM.

Good to be with you.
Maximus

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Thanksgiving Convergence 2021

68 PAX in attendance for a pre-thanksgiving beatdown and some fellowship on a brisk morning Thursday 11/25/2021.

 

With the anticipation of fried turkey, oreos and coffee brought by @Change Order, @Smuggler and @RubySlippers, mumble-chatter abounded,  until @Hardwood took the center and called attention at 0600 hours. Disclaimer was disclaimed and the call for new FNG’s was made, no new FNG’s was the lone blemish on the otherwise fantastic morning in my humble opinion.

Run options led by @Gekko and a Moderate group led by @TripleLindy set off as the rest of the PAX moseyed towards back of Springfield Elementary. First Destination was in parking lot way back by the Middle School.

Circled up and @Hardwood called out the following exercises:

SSH- 40

Windmills

Downward Dogs and Honeymooners

Low & Slow Squats

Cyclops: Stay in Squat Position and complete Moroccan Nightclubs

 

The Thing

Series of Webs

Starting with Merkins and Overhead Claps

1×4 for 10 rounds of excruciating shoulder pain, mumble-chatter becoming more focused on the task at hand

more SSH 🤮

Next we completed ANOTHER WEB, worse than the last,

Shoulder Taps and Moroccan Nightclubs

1×4 for 10 more rounds that was never ever going to end

Lots of requests for Burpees strangely or anything other then arm workouts!

 

YHC began the 2nd half of the workout with more SSH

Mosey around to front of Middle School with 3 stops for 5 Burpees OYO, at the request of the PAX

Line up at bottom of small hill in front of school and explain the workout, AMRAP LEG CIRCUIT

Teams of 4 ish men cycle through three exercises at bottom of hill individually:

2 Squats

2 Split Lunges

2 Bomb Jacks

Next Broad Jump up Hill to top and complete the following:

2 V-ups

Bear Crawl to bench

2 Step Ups

Run around and down to bottom of hill stopping at cones for 2 burpees (two stops per lap)

Meet back at bottom of hill and repeat, only this time DOUBLE ALL REPS TO 4X

Goal is to complete 5 rounds or AMRAP, almost completed but just short of time before we had to get back to COT

YHC shared a article on Gratitude, and then @Shady shared the heart of the Fort, the success of @Seamstress initiative with the help of the PAX, @Seamstress shared his excitement and appreciation for the success of the event! Great job by all T-claps!

Finally we had a shovel hand-off YHC taking the Ranch from a long line of great site Q’s which I hope to make proud.

Then we were finally able to enjoy the fried delicacies and coffee! Cheers!

 

 

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Colosseum Backblast

Warmup: Shady

QIC: Zima

25 Pax showed to see if the rumors were true. Or Shady has a degree in short-term hype trains. Maybe a little of both. Humbled to see y’all out there for an out of shape Q workout.

Shady did a 5 min warmup

Station 1: Burpee Suicides 5-10-15 reps (no foreplay @Jekyll)

Merkin Suicides 5-10-15 repsMosey to another Station at entrance to school

Station 2: Quadzilla for 4 minutes (run downhill and nur back uphill). #lovelanguageOG Quadzilla (thanks @Pusher). Same as above but with 10 squats at top and 10 jumping lunges at bottom.

Mosey to Elementary School Car Loop

Station 3: Run 5 laps doing 10 hand release merkins at starting line and 10 hand release merkins at half point (5 laps=100 hand release merkins)

I had 3.0+ miles by COT. It felt good to Q again and be in the gloom with y’all. I felt the love.

Announcements: Read the Newsletter

Prayers/Praises:
-Zima praise for Let Me Run Coaching
-Prayers for those suffering from depression (when in doubt, reach out)
-Prayers for Blount daughter who has cancer
-Prayers for Cyclops M whose uncle passed away

Apologies for any errors or omissions. Thanks for the opportunity. I need a nap.

Zima Out!

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Roll The Dice

 

I had the opportunity to be joined by 13 other men this morning at Minnow Pond. It was hot and humid, but we covered 3 miles with dicey pain along the way. Here’s what we did:

Warm Up

  • 10 Ranger Merkins (IC)
  • 10 Plank Jacks (IC)
  • 10 Gorilla Humpers (IC)
  • 10 Burpees
  • 5 Y-Rises (IC) – an almost Overhead Clap

The Thang

The workout was pretty simple in concept, but not easy. Run to Fort Mill Animal Hospital, Town Hall, First Baptist, and the Improper Pig, roll the dice (color indicated exercise and number x10 represented count) and repeat. We used a 10-sided die (2 of each color on the die) and a standard 6-sided number die. There was one caveat, when it was your turn to roll, you had the option to take a chance or call 20 Burpees. The choice was up to the roller. There was a 17% chance we would do Burpees, but that could have been anywhere from 10-60 Burpees. So the chances were just as good that we would have done 10 Y-Rises as there was to do 60 Burpees. Two men chose the 20 Burpees, and to be honest, I would probably done the same. After all, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. To my best recollection, we did:

  • 10 Ranger Merkins
  • 100ish Plank Jacks
  • 150ish Gorilla Humpers
  • 50 Burpees
  • 175ish Y-Rises

NMM

In life, sometimes you have to roll the dice. If you stay stagnant, you’ll never know what might have been. Rarely do opportunities fall in the lap of the sedentary person. You have to take the risk to find the rewards. You must be willing to try, fail, and learn. Today’s workout was designed to let each man take a chance and see what was in store for the PAX. Everyone got better today because they were willing to do something…anything. Take that lesson with you throughout the week. Take a chance and roll the dice.

Aye!

Italian Job

 

 

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eating our way through the air

19 PAX Gathered and it was so humid we had to “eat our way through the air.” (-Slash)

We started with a quick warmup
SSH – 19 to the number of PAX

Mosey towards the old Church of God parking lot
IW
HW
Moroccan Night Clubs
Merkins – slow count (everybody’s favorite)

Brief mosey to the other Church of God parking lot
Burpee Square (thanks Naperville)
Start in one corner
10 Burpees – bear crawl to next corner
9 Burpees – lunge walk to next corner
8 Burpees – crawl bear to the next corner
7 Burpees – reverse lunge walk back to the first corner
6 Burpees – bear crawl to next corner
5 Burpees – lunge walk to next corner
4 Burpees – crawl bear to the next corner
3 Burpees – reverse lunge walk back to the first corner
2 Burpees – bear crawl to next corner
1 Burpee

View the retaining wall and consider how it works…not by specific acceleration, but by staying put at the ground falls around it revealing all the bricks supporting the top layer

Mosey to the old middle school (banks st. community gym)
Some Yoga for the 6
10 Squats
10 lunge steps
10 Jump Squats
10 lunge steps back
Repeat

Mosey Back – I got gassed on the mosey back. Once your belly is full, eating your way back through the air is really difficult.

Flutters to 0600

NMM:

Sometimes, as the flux hits us all, we lack the motivation to accelerate of our own accord. But if we can call on discipline to continue moving, we can see ourselves rising even though we feel like we’re staying put–just like the top level of that retaining wall. I’ve been feeling that flux for a little while leading up to the big 4-0. And honestly didn’t know how to convey that message until I looked up at the end of too many burpees and too many bear crawls and saw that wall.

Grateful for the opportunity to lead and the support of all the PAX. Y’all help hold me up whether you know it or not. Thank you.


Band Camp Dismissed

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Leg Day at Laces In

We had nine at Laces In on Thursday morning.  After a quick disclaimer, we circled up for the typical warm-up exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, Plank Stretches).  Next, we ran to the hill near the stadium.

I explained to the Pax it was “Leg day” so we partnered up for a round of Dora. The exercises:  100 Monkey Humpers, 200 Lunges, and 300 Calf Raises.  Partner 1 began the exercises while partner 2 ran backwards up the hill to the third light post.  As we started the exercises, are newest FNG pulled into the parking lot, jumped out of his car, and quickly joined into the fun.

Once we completed the Dora exercises, we shuffled up the hill using our hands to the third light post.  Next, we crawl beared down the the new parking lot, took a break by doing some Ab exercises, and bear crawled back up the hill.  We took a couple minutes to review the five core principles of F3 with King Pin before we ran to the main parking lot near the gym.

For the final ten minutes, we ran down each aisle and performed the following exercises (10 hand released merkins, 10 squats, and 10 LBCs).

Back to COT.

Great job by all!

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BlockParty: M and being the right guy

New day everyday to start new!!

19 PAX came to BlockParty to wrap up “M” month and have a slice of cake 🍰

we moseyed and did some warm up

3 corners of 5 burpees each

3 lanes of bear crawls

3 lanes of broad jump burpees

3 lanes of lunge walk Merkins

1.5mi running

As for the “M”

💥Continue to Honor her, court her and love her like it’s day 1

💥Need to stop trying to change her and be the change and right guy

💥Best thing for your kids is to love their mother more than a self

peace out ✌🏻

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Month of the M

YHC was fortunate to be called out of the bullpen by Bobber.  Prior to the workout, YHC was asked to offer a few thoughts on marriage during the beatdown.  Being a novice at that topic (but constantly trying to improve through learning and practice), it seemed appropriate to consult the Q source.

Last evening, fittingly, the M and 2.0’s came with me on a tour of downtown Fort Mill where YHC furiously scribbled out 5 stations worth of exercises designed to align with each of the 5 points of M preparedness as cited in the Q source.  YHC’s M fittingly remarked that I was getting a workout before the workout.  She was right.

Upon arrival this morning, YHC pulled in the lot at 5:08 to be greeted by numerous PAX – some of whom (Stang, cough, cough, Stang), arrived sans gloves.  All were quickly reminded to get them if they did not have them already.   After a few PAX scurried in at 5:14,. all were disclaimed and we moseyed off to Kimbrell’s after the 5 core principles of F3 workouts were voiced.

The COP – because Slapshot was present (and because YHC felt like it), 5 burpees were done in between each of the following exercises done in cadence:

Windmills – 10 D/C, Imperial Walkers – 10 D/C, Low Slow Squats – 15 then holding people’s chair while doing 10 D/C  Moroccan night clubs I/C and 10 D/C air presses I/C.  Then we moseyed off to M preparedness station #1 – Maintenance = deceleration

Station 1 – Unity Presbyterian – because status quo enables no movement, we decelerate, therefore PAX were asked to do 7’s in a jacob’s ladder format – kracken burpees at the top and squats at the bottom of the driveway.  Planking was done until the 6 arrived back at the top of the hill.  The lesson was reinforced and on we moved to station 2.

Station 2 – Fort Mill 1st Baptist Church – Culture is a Jester.  When it comes to our relationship with the M, culture denatures and softens marital relationships (we meet each other halfway, etc.).  PAX did the following circuit – an exercise for each of the light poles with some free exfoliation for those who went gloveless as there may or may not have been some bear crawling between stations.  40 squats, 30 SSH’s, 20 wide arm merkins, 10 hand release merkins, 20 regular markins, 30 SSH’s and 40 squats before returning to the parking lot entrance to re-emphasize culture’s hindrance of acceleration and moving on to station 3 – the crowd pleaser.

Station 3 – Fort Mill Church of God – There is NO 50 yard line.  The relationships with our M require more than 50% effort.  It requires our best to be aligned because we know if we aren’t aligned at home in our most important earthly relationship, it becomes next to impossible to have alignment in the other relationships within our concentrica.   Since we must operate in the red zone, PAX were instructed to bear crawl more (maybe much more) than 50 yards downhill to the red zone where 5 burpees awaited   Then PAX returned to the start via crawl bear (crowd pleaser) uphill.  The return was somewhat slower than the start…….somewhat.

Upon completion – movement to Academy street left YHC to cover the last two points – because one of  the PAX incorrectly answered that the M is our best friend (spoiler alert – point 4 – the M is NOT our best friend), YHC had to graciously call out the gaffe and assign 5 burpees for the miss.  We then proceeded to articulate the 5th and final point – Joy trumps happiness and then moseyed back Academy Street – safely crossed the railroad tracks and sauntered into COT – roughly 2 1/4 miles later.

Announcements were made, prayers were offered for Stang’s mother in law, Pusher’s Mom/Esso’s MIL, and fittingly for marriages. Stang graciously took us out in prayer.

NMM – to look around the group this morning, YHC could not help but be filled with a feeling of gratitude.  Mumble chatter, fellowship, hard work doing things together we would very likely not to do on our own and the feeling that YHC has so many other brothers beside him to do life.  It eases the feeling of burden we often face.  YHC has said before that Q-ing is an honor.  And when Bobber made the call asking YHC to stamp the passport and trek east of the Peach Stand, there was only one answer.  I am better prepared to face each day because of those who choose the hard thing and encourage YHC to the same.  For that, my thanks and gratitude go out to each of you.

Meantime, study and practice the 5 points reviewed.  Alignment at home means greater alignment and impact downstream – the call being asked of each of us.   Until next time, thank you, gentlemen.

Cyclops

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