9/11 NaFo Tower Climb

Today on the 19th Anniversary of September 11th I had the privilege and honor to lead the men of The Fort in my version of the Tower Climb.

We honored my friends who gave it all to make sure the citizens of NY would be safe.

POLICE OFFICER RAMON SUAREZ TD-04 NYPD

POLICE OFFICER MARK ELLIS TD-04 NYPD

POLICE OFFICER ANTONIO RODRIGUES PAPD

We started with a two lap ruck walk around the track and then jumped right into the climb.

The goal was at least 30 times up and down with 9 inclined merkins and 11 squats at the bottom. There was some mumblechatter, it was hot and humid but the men of the Fort did not disappoint….if you completed 27.5 times you climbed the equivalent of the Towers.

I was proud to lead and share my experiences from that fateful morning that changed the world as we knew it.

It was also great seeing DIRTY HARRY return to the gloom

We end with COT and prayers for all the people lost and the people affected still.

FIDELIS AD MORTEM…..ALWAYS FAITHFUL

TClap |
5

Honoring Schmalstieg at The Fire Ant

Taking a page out of the Honey Badger book by using a page out of the Hero Workout book. This day at the Fire Ant, we’d honor Gunnery Sergeant Justin Schmalstieg (December 15, 2010).

First, disclaimer.
Second, minor warmup.
Third, drop to the plank and listen:

Justin grew up in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and graduated high school in 2000. He spent a semester at Penn State before enlisting in the Marine Corps, where he initially trained as a bulk fuel specialist. After serving overseas in Kuwait, Justin was stationed in Okinawa, Japan and was accepted into the Explosive Ordnance Disposal program. He finished the demanding training required to become an EOD technician and completed two deployments in the Middle East.

In 2008, Justin received orders to Camp Pendleton in California to serve with the 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group. He deployed twice more, first to Iraq in February 2009 and then to the Helmand province of Afghanistan in September 2010. During a night mission, Justin’s unit was in danger of being ambushed – it was his job to clear the way back to base. Staff Sergeant Justin Schmalstieg, 28, gave his life on December 15 while working to render safe an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his widow, Ann Schneider; his parents, John and Deborah Gilkey; and his brother, John Gilkey Jr. For his service and sacrifice, Justin was posthumously decorated with the Purple Heart and promoted to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant.

The EOD WArrior Foundation is dedicated to supporting EOD service members and their families through a number of assistance programs. Please consider making a donation in Justin’s name at www.EODWarriorFoundation.org/Memorial/Warrior/Justin-E-Schmalstieg.

So, the WOD would be slightly modified for our Ruck AO to the following:

For Time:
Run 800M Slick (without Ruck)

2 rounds of the following:
50 Burpees (slick)
40 Pull-Ups would be substituted with 80 Upright Rows
30 One-Legged Pistol Squats
20 Ruck Swings
10 Hand Stand Push Ups would be substituted with 10 Carolina Dry Docks & 10 Merkins

Run another 800M Slick (without Ruck)

Once we completed this, we did a few core exercises.

Until next time, SYITG.
Maximus

TClap |
2

Fire Ant – A First for Cake

5 showed including YHC for Fore Ant Ruck workout. Ballroom had solid 41 or something of a mini convergence but we still got the work in and took our DRP

💥Quick Mosey around the property with a few warm up exercises

then to Walgreens for 4 corners

we made two rounds before fastest 45 mins was up

first round of 50 and second of 40 reps
💥90 Curls
💥90 Squats
💥90 Swings
💥90 Flutter Presses

Mode of transportation :
🔥bear crawls on the shorts
🔥Ruck overhead on the longs

VQ complete 💪🏻thx @F3_Mainframe

TClap |
1

Honor CMPD’s Fallen

Police Officer Clark and Police Officer Jeffrey Shelton were shot and killed after responding to a disturbance call.

At approximately 11:30 pm, the two officers responded to a disturbance call in an east Charlotte housing complex on Barrington Drive. They had resolved the disturbance and were walking away when they engaged in a conversation with a man who had nothing to do with the call. As they turned to walk away from the man, he produced a gun and shot both officers in the back.

Both officers were transported to the Carolinas Medical Center where they died from their injuries.

The shooter fled the scene, but was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The suspect has five prior convictions for resisting arrest and assaulting a government official. On September 30, 2010, he was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

 

Police Officer Sean Robert Clark

Officer Clark was a U.S Air Force veteran and had served with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for one year and was assigned to the North Tryon Division. He is survived by his expectant wife and 2-year-old son.

DOB:  11/22/1972 (run to the bottom of the hill after each exercise)

11 pull ups
22 burpees
19 hand release merkins
72 single count flutters


Badge #:  3769

37 pull ups
69 shoulder taps

Police Officer Jeff Shelton

Officer Shelton had served with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for six years and was assigned to the North Tryon Division. He is survived by his wife.

DOB:  9/9/1971 (football field)

Jacob’s Ladder:  9 wide arm merkins, run across field 1 Bobby Hurley
19 – Diamond Merkins
71 – Mountain Climbers

 

Badge #:  2884

28Big Boy Sit-ups
84 – Heel touches

 

4/1/2007

4 laps for 1 mile
20 reps – 7 exercises
o Bomb jacks
o CDD
o Donkey Kicks
o Mak Tar Jai
o Dying Cockroach
o Lunge
o 8ct Body Builder

Sean Clark – age = 34 Yard Bear Crawl

Jeff Shelton – age = 35 Yard Crawl Bear

 

Strong work by everyone that attended today. Thank you Dirty Harry for the opportunity.

Heavy encouragement to attend the Mike Doty run this Saturday!!

TClap |
3

Snake Pit – The Best Mumblechatter Ever

IMG_0005

10 men showed up at the Snake Pit for a VQ by YHC. I’ve been to DBES many times but a first for CRHS. Gorgeous campus with lots of fun to explore.

we kept it simple for our Metallic Kettle Bell workout but I’m looking forward to coming back for another round in The Snake 🐍 Pit

Pleasantries were had and away we went …

mosey around the lot for dynamic warm up

  • SSHs
  • Imperial Walkers
  • merkins
  • sumo squats
  • 2 rounds of calf raises
  • mountain climbers

back to the Bells

mini board of pain

only 5 exercises 1 lap 5 rounds

Reps of 50, 40, 30, 20, 10

  • Curls
  • Goblet Squat
  • Overhead Presses
  • Kettlebell Swings
  •  Flutters w/press
  • run a lap

good times by all. Solid tunes by UHaul but once REM came on I had to get the Viking Metal playing. Only downside were the commercials on my cheap Pandora 🤷🏻‍♂️

thx 3D for a great time with great PAX.
peace ✌🏻

Cake Boss Out

TClap |
1

Just Enough to Hurt

Planned this Q while sitting at Copper Premium Pub in LW enjoying a nice after dinner  Bulleit bourbon.  I always wonder when planning a WO , will this be enough? As I scrawled out the idea on a bar napkin I tossed the first go out to my Sheildlock for input.  Silence then ??? came the reply.  Who knew the CPP was in a hole and pics wouldn’t send. Then I changed it and sent it back out.  Again it didnt send.  SO I finished up all headed to the house. Then came the reply- Looks great!! Only probelm was I didnt know which version of the workout it was.  So I made the call.

Upon arrival Cyclopes requested the brand of bourbon from the night before since the hype tweet was nondescript. He had his ruck in the car and depending on my answer which way he would go BC or Ruck.  As soon as Bulleit came out his decision was made and he rucked up. #DRP

Circled up w/ our Friends the Golden Corral Bootcampers for a Dark Helmet Disclaimer and we were off.

14 min time hack mile to Tega Cay Elementary School.  The pace was brisk and the 2nd F Was flowing as we cruised up the road.

Took us down the hill to the concrete pad and circled up.

The Thang- Just Enough to Hurt

25 Ruck Squats  IC

5 Man Makers OYO

25 Ruck Hammers IC- Heard some mumbling start

5 Man Makers OYO

25 Thrusters IC

5 Merkins OYO

25 Flutters w/ Ruck Press IC

5 Merkins OYO

25 Curls OYO

5 Merkins OYO

25 Ruck Swings OYO

With right at 15 minutes left me rucked back to COT. 2.39 miles covered right at 14ish minutes per. #Cyclopeshaslonglegs

Arrival with 1ish Minute to spare.

Hit the 6 for Ruck LBCs till the B/c returned.

In COT DH talked about the importance of the #SheildLock in out lives.  I have been blessed with a Sheildlock  that has been expanding from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 guys.  I challenge all Pax to find that guy or group that we can lean on and be vulnerable with.  It is worth your time.

LOCK SHIELDS AND HOLD THE LINE!

Thanks for the opportunity to lead Mainframe.

Duck Out🦆

P.S. Bar Napkins Weinkies don’t do well on wet pavement.

 

TClap |
1

Guinea Pigs in The Swamp

What does that title even mean? Well, it means that I stole a workout plan from the boys in F3 Lexington as we put a twist on the customary deck of cards. And since I wasn’t sure how much time this would take or how difficult it would be, we’d test this, Round 1, on 10 of The Fort’s faithful this Friday morning at The Swamp.

After the disclaimer, we took a mosey over to the Depot lot for some SSH & Windmills & a few stretches. We then moseyed over to the water fountain to read through the exercises and attempt to explain how this would be different from previous versions. And this is what it looked like:

We made it through about 85% of the deck and I think there is room to modify these exercises next time, too. Soooo, until that next time…

Read ya d*mn Newsletter.

Maximus

TClap |
5

Split Q / Shovel Flag Handoff at the Coop

Lots of fun at the Coop on Wednesday. After a quick warm up which included 56 side straddle hops (representing 56 weeks of Punchlist’s leadership at the Coop) Punchlist delivered the first blow to the PAX.

Each Partner Wheelbarrows every other 10 yards for the length of the football field. At each 10 yard marker PAX performed that number of reps for each workout.

Endzone – Burpee Broad Jumps x 7
10 – Donkey Kicks
20 – Hand release Merkins
30 – Jump lunges
40 – Air Squats
50 – LBCs
40 – Air Squats
30 – Jump lunges
20 – Hand Release Merkins
10 – Donkey Kicks
Endzone – Burpee Broad Jumps X 7
Reverse Direction – All Together Now
Bear Crawls every 25 yards
15 Bomb Jacks at every 25 yard interval

2nd Round of Pain delivered by Kaiser

At the endzone performed a combination of exercises in cadence with the PAX
20 – Mock Tar Jays
20 seconds – Wide Arm Merkin – 6″ Hold Plank
10 – Burpees in cadence
5 sets of 10 push ups each
Run to the 50 yard line each set
Backpedal to the goal line each set

Group mozy over to the pull up bars. The bars were calling us and we answered. The pull up challenge was then initiated.

Started out with a group wall sit. Then 2 PAX would come off the line and challenge each other by doing 5 pull ups. Lots of mumble chatter erupted as each individual would get critiqued on their form. At the end of the workout New Site Q called out Old Site Q for a healthy & fun QVQ pull up contest. Group then ran back to COT to finish with very strong dose of Mary as the mumble chatter intensified.

Punchlist was honored for his leadership during the 56 weeks leading the COOP. He has truly been a strong leader to many including myself and I am honored to take the shovel flag from such a HIM!

TClap |
5

Bright Colors for #F3forFaye

Yesterday Spiderman & YHC had the realization that we were Qing at the same site today…I had the Golden Corral bootcamp which means he had the Fire Ant Ruck beat down. It’s always good to shake things up so we decided to do just that for this mornings edition.

As can be the case with our own lives, we sometimes over-complicate a workout and stray from the simple but effective model. I’ll go ahead and cut to the chase, I think this was certainly effective but it overshot simple pretty quickly. But hey, we were just looking to give the other 17 PAX that joined us an opportunity to chatter at our expense.

Enough rambling, here it is. We combined Ruckers & Boot Campers (wait, you can’t do that…oh yes we can) and split the combined group in half. We had 4 corners established covering most of the parking lot (corner of Harris Teeter to Red Bowl to the insurance office to the dog wash place). It was a large square-ish figure. Half went with Spider Man and half came with me.

Each corner had a sheet with exercises written on it but here’s the kicker, don’t just jog from one corner to another. Get on it. The ground is wet but “well lit” so you do you but GET IT.
For those present, you can remember all the fond times you had of poking the Q’s about how “things look better on paper” or “I bet these seemed easier in your head” or any number of other completely appropriate jabs that were thrown while trying to figure out the Ruck logistics but none of that matters ’cause you loved it and this is peer led (remember…we’re not professionals).

Corner 1 (with Rucks):
(5) 8-count Body Builders
(10) Squats
(15) Bent over rows

When your group is done, sprint

Corner 2 (w/o rucks):
(5) 8-count Body Builders
(10) Box Cutters
(15) Diamond Merkins
(20) Butt Kickers

When your group is done, sprint

Corner 3 (with Rucks):
(5) 8-count Body Builders
(10) Squats
(15) Bent over rows

When your group is done, sprint

Corner 4 (with Rucks):
(5) 8-count Body Builders
(10) Heels to Heavan
(15) Hand-Release Merkins
(20) Butt Kickers

Sprint back to Corner 1.

We did this full evolution about 3 times then brought the group back together for something we unknowingly stole from Tinsel (plagiarism is the finest form  of flattery, right?).
1 Merkin : 4 Shoulder Taps and we made it to 8:32 before having to cut it short for COT.

Important to remember today why we wore the bright colors. Remembering a little girl, Faye, whose life was too short but her impact will be far-reaching; to families and communities her or her family never knew.

Announcements: In the words of the eloquent Mainframe, “Read your da*n NEWSLETTER.” Hey, he’s right.

Prayers: Family members in battles for their lives. Communication in marriages. Cash’s recovery. Kids healing from broken bones.

Until Next Time.
Spiderman & Maximus

TClap |
5

Warm and Wild

A few Ruckers and a few Bootcampers for a nice one

Warm-up included a short run about .3 of a mile

COP

SSH

Diamond Merkins

Seal Jacks

MC

PP

Slow Squats

Mosey around back and partner up

One man BTTW while the other runs and does 1 Burpee, Flapjack. all the way up to 10. on even numbers it was wall sits, odd numbers it was BTTW

Keep your partner and mosey to the cones

at each cone do 10 partner hand slap merkins fo 3 cones and return doing 10 big boy situps partner hand slap

Repeat this time do 5 Diamond Merkins hand slap and 10 Squats on the way back hand slaps

Mosey to a curb and do 15 Dips, 15Derkins, 15 LBC’s 15 Mac Tar Djai (Excuse the spelling error) Repeat 3 times

Mosey to COT area for a little Mary then COT

Great workout and glad to be back! Hopefully everyone got their money’s worth!!

TClap |
2