Survive and Advance

Lutefisk was put on the IR this week and YHC felt called to respond to his call for a substitute Q at Golden Corral. Disclaimers were delivered to a crowd of 14 HIMs – Gekko took a 5-mile ish mosey in preparation for this weekend’s long training run (aka P200). The remaining PAX moseyed off for a March Madness themed workout with many reps.

COT – all I/C (note the counts and their march madness like numbers)
Moroccan Night clubs x Sweet 16
Arm circles forward and backward x Sweet 16
SSH x 32 (just because…..)
Windmills x Sweet 16
Mountain Climbers X Sweet 16
Merkins D/C X Elite 8
Honeymooners, planks, salutations to the right and left with a few 6-inch holds dome for 10 counts of varying length

Mosey to the Brackets. Disclaimer – Like the NCAA’s – some brackets are more difficult than others. Regardless of the challenge, the mission is the same – survive and advance. All exercises were completed twice (or until YHC called time)- the first round was descending down the list and the second was ascending up the list – 64-32-16-8-4-2-2-4-8-16-32-64.

Bracket #1 – East region
64- Squats
32 – Shoulder taps
16- Dips
8- Burpees
4 – Hello Dollys
2 – Dying Cockroach

Bracket #2 – West region
64- Squats
32 – Clave raises – 32 inner, 32 outer and 32 middle: 96 total – just because………
16- Burpees
8- Lunge walks (per leg)
4 – Dying Cockraoch
2 – LBC’s

Bracket #3 – Midwest region
64- Flutters (single count)
32 – Merkins (single count)
16- Burpees
8- Boxcutters
4 – Flying squirrels (just for C-SPAN)
2 – Burpees

Bracket #4 – South region
64 – LBC’s
32 – Dying Cockroaches (Single count)
16- Walking Lunges (per leg)
8- Burpees
12 – Clave Raises – 4 inner, 4 outer and 4 middle
2 – LBC’s

The last round finished at 5:58 – just in time to hustle back to COT, but jailbreak did not need to be called.

Announcements:

Operation Sweettooth 8k in Huntersville 3-30-19.  Support Olive.  VIrtual run from Alcatraz at 6:30 AM the same day.   Questions – Change Order

Paradise Reading Center Monday & Wednesdays – Bethlehem Baptist Church 4:00 PM – great way to fill the 3rd F – Questions – Crabcakes and Copay

Read your newsletter

Prayers:   One year to the week of Badger’s diagnosis and 10 months this Thursday since he went to be with Sky Q.  Lift up his M and 2.0’s

It is an honor to be a part of such a terrific group of HIMs who are committed to accelerating.  I was glad to come out of the bullpen for this Q.  And to those considering stepping up to Q for the first time (or not), to steal a phrase from Nike – just do it.  In the COT, thanks was given for our group of F3.  Our ability to push one another past our comfort zones and get comfortable with discomfort is a privilege that should be treated as a blessing – let’s accept it as such and see it for the springboard of growth it is meant to serve.

SYITG

Cyclops

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Do you need a bell? VQ at Armory

So I was nervous about my first Kettlebell Q.  Sure, I’ve been to The Hive and The Armory a few times but never Q’d.  Honestly, YHC had to pour over backblasts to get some exercises to call.  Then Youtube to see how to do them.  But hey, the theme of the month is Growth so let’s do this!

To make my Q a bit easier, I got to the AO early to literally chalk out the Main Event.  I start seeing the cars roll in as I’m finishing up then I head over to the gathered circle of men, excited to see some familiar and newer faces.  Good crowd I’m thinking.  I set my Kettlebell down and proceed to great the PAX.  I get to Peabody as he’s rolling up and he and asks me if I need a Kettlebell.  Man, I guess it’s obvious I don’t know what I’m doing!  A quick disclaimer was given, we left the bells, and took off.

The Thang

After a mosey around the back of the church, we circled up in the front parking lot for some warm-up exercises.  All IC in no particular order:

  • SSH
  • Imperial walker
  • Windmill
  • Merkins
  • Dips
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Moroccan Night Club
  • Low slow squats

Mosey backs to the start spot and grab your bell.  In cadence for a round of squat curls.

Mosey back to the front parking lot with kettlebell.  Partner up for some Dora.  One partner ran a lap around the lot while the other lifted.  As a group, complete  100 squats, 150 curls, 200 lbc’s.   Special shout out to Fish Sticks who would not let me take it easy on the run and ran me down each lap.  Well done Sir!

Main Event

Mosey over to the far lot where 5 parking spots at the top and 5 spots at the bottom had exercises posted.  With your partner, pick a parking space.  Both would do 10 reps of the exercises listed.  When complete, rotate over one spot to the right, leaving your kettlebell behind for the next group.  When you get done with the 5th station, rotate to other end of the lot.

Everyone got through one complete rotation, some made a few more before time was up.  Here’s what we did at each station:

  • goblin squat / calf raises
  • tricep extention / curl
  • shoulder press / single arm swing with pass through
  • figure 8’s / halos
  • LBC / merkins
  • lawn mower pulls, each arm
  • squats / lunge with pass through
  • skull crushers / big boy sit-ups
  • American hammers / merkins
  • swings / curls

Mosey to COT

Announcements – Sign up for Operation Sweet Tooth 8K, Huntersville, NC on 3/20.  Virtual Option available

Prayers – David Chadwick resigned as Sr. Pastor at Forest Hill Church after 39 years.  Prayers for church body and Elder leadership in this time of transition.  Peabody is on the Council of Elders so we prayed for him, our families, children, & injured PAX.

Thanks JWOW for the chance to Q!  Thanks also for the encouraging word from the PAX.  I encourage anyone out there to attend kettlebell workouts and Q!  If you need a bell, just ask Peabody.

Flat Tire

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Armory

11 men showed up this morning at the Armory for my second Kettle Bell Q.  It was good to see Trucker in the crowd.  I made sure to emphasize “Modify if necessary” since he is recovering from an injury.

Warm-up:

Leg stretch (Butt kickers, knees to chest)

Plank stretch (Honeymooner, downward dog)

SSH x 15

Merkin x 10

Windmill x 10

Next, we moseyed to the main parking lot near the light post for some partner exercises. Partner #1 would perform a stationary exercise while Partner #2 would be in motion.  Once Partner #2 completed the exercise, he would flipflop with Partner #1. Below are the exercises:

Round                    Stationary                      Motion  

1                                KB swing                          Jog around the parking lot

2                               Squat                                  KB carry between light poles

3                               Figure 8s                            Bear crawl

4                              Upright row                      Burpee broad Jump

5                               Curl                                      Lunge walk

6                               Shoulder press               Jog around the parking lot

7                               Skull crushers                  Inch worm merkins

8                               Tri-extensions                  Squat walk

 

Great job this morning! Lots of good chatter and encouragement.

 

Prayers:

Families in Alabama impacted by the Tornado

Comfort for families grieving a loved one

Healing and comfort for families dealing with illness

Healing and speedy recover for injured Pax

 

 

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We’re going “Jack Webb” today…

Started out a bit chilly so YHC jumped in with the disclaimer and we took off for a mosey…that was about maybe 100 yards in change.  This workout had been predetermined to be “leg friendly and minimal running” and that bar was set immediately.

In the warmup, we did the “Shady” home warmup with incorporated getting the body stretched and blood pumping.  Warmup included: SSH, Mary Catherine of some sorts (no name for what looks like an elliptical movement), stretch of shoulders and arms, cherry pickers, windmill, squats, Moroccan night clubs, low slow squats, merkins, and finally some runner stretches.

After the warmup, we got into the Thang.  Immediate partnering up ensued, size didn’t matter, but picking someone you didn’t know very well did.  Incorporated into the Thang was going to be encouraged mumble chatter with your partner to get to know them – how’d they get their name, what’s their hospital name (not the name of the hospital), where they grew up, work, etc.  Kind of like a COT naming 101 session.  As my word of the year is “listen”, part of the message today was getting to know your fellow PAX.

Here’ the gauntlet that was laid down using “Jack Webb” as the theme:

  • Classic Jack Webb – 1 merkin, 4 overhead claps; 2 merkins, 8 overhead, etc. up to 10 merkins and 40 overhead
  • With your partner – 1 mak-tar-jai, 4 plank hand slaps; 2 MTJ, 8 hand slaps…all the way up to 10 and 40
  • Also together with your partner – 1 crab foot slap (don’t recall the actual name but get in crab position and lift left leg up and slap with right hand, alternate feet and hand = 1 rep), 4 LBCs…this up to 10 crabs and 40 LBC
  • Last together with your partner – 1 burpee, 4 squats.  This was get as many as you can b/c of time which I believe partners were in the 8 burpee, 32 squat range
  • In the last few min we did some MARY and called it a morning

As we wrapped up, getting to know the PAX 1 person at a time is important as that accountability and personal level of basic “I know where you’re from and I’m listening to who you are” helps develop and enrich your shieldlock.

It took zero movement to get to COT where we did name-o-rama, announcements and a quick roundtable of prayers and praises.  Enjoyed the push this am and especially the welcomed mumble chatter.  Looking forward to next time!

Shady

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Jammin’ at The Hive

You know how I roll…there will always be music! 17 guys came to The Hive to jam with me. 90’s Alternative all the way! I pulled up at 5:10 and saw 3 cars in the parking lot, told my co-pilot Dangerfield that we had at least 6 guys working out this morning and was excited about that number. By the time I finished setting up my circuit, 6 more cars had driven in to the Fort Mill High Schools parking lot. At 5:15, I was talking to 16 HIM about how important it is to modify if something I suggest/do sounds crazy. We moseyed with our bells over to my setup where we immediately got into some…

Warmup
25 SSH
15 Hillbilly Walkers
15 Merkins
1 Round of Name Shoutouts while we Planked (I always like to know who I’m working out with in the dark!)
1 Lap around the the parking lot ending back at the bells for…

The Thang
I had 10 parking spaces setup with cards calling out an exercise. We doubled up in most of these spaces and did AMRAP for 1 minute in each space. The exercises were:
Big Boy Swings (regular swings with a 40-50lb bell)
Plank Pull Thrus
Slam Ball (this seemed to be liked and most said they had never used a slam ball. Holler if you Q a gear workout and would like to borrow it.)
Half Kneeling Cleans
Half Kneeling Shoulder Presses
Man Makers
Lunge Pass Thrus
Tall Kneeling Curls
Big Boy Situps – Partner Bell Pass

After we each hit every space we took another lap around the lot. When we arrived back at the bells we flipped over the notecards to find a few new exercises on the backside and completed Round 2. Those exercises were:
Big Boy Swings
Slam Ball
Jump Rope
Turkish Getups
Calf Raises w/ Bell
Half Kneeling Halos
Box Cutters with Press
American Hammers
Goblet Squats
Big Boy Situps – Partner Bell Pass

After Round 2 we took another lap around the lot. Total running was about .75 miles. We finished with a set of SSH, 1 for each Pax, and then moseyed back to cars for COT.

Announcements:
Yeti
Joe Davis Run
Sweet Tooth Run

Prayers & Praises:
YHC is officially down 30lbs since joining F3 – Thank you Brothers!
An F3 brother helped his son enter rehab – praise for his son’s open heart and ears, prayers for strength to finish
Drug epidemic in York County
Health – Flu is still spreading like crazy
I always ask our Lord to open our eyes and hearts to help us see what he puts in front of us. We are given opportunities everyday to be HIS hands and feet. Do we see those opportunities?

Thank you to Band Camp for the opportunity to Q at The Hive. It will forever be my pleasure.

IF YOU Q A WORKOUT…GET YOUR BACKBLAST UP!

~Polaroid

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The Armory – Viking Metal is always better in the rain

YHC arrived and wanted to do some sidewalk chalk writing but the rain threw a wrench in that plan so had to use the phone as my weinke while also playing the traditional Viking Metal for kettle-bell workout.

After 1 1/2 rounds the cold weather shut my Apple 6plus down. My son would be throwing a fit and saying we need a new phone as this is junk……however just plug it in and it works nicely. Plus saves you $500+ dollars.

So the PAX arrived and we had a kotter, Gridlock come home to the Armory. It was some years ago that I was Q for Gridlock’s FNG appearance. Was great having him and the others there this morning. Nice work men!!

The Thang:

  • SSHs
  • 5burpees
  • squats
  • 4burpees
  • merkins
  • 3 burpees
  • Imperial Walkers
  • 2 burpees
  • Moracan Night clubs (half while holding squat)
  • 1 burpee

Mosey across front of FHC looking for cover, but the rain had stopped so it wasn’t needed.

3 sets of exercises, run lap between them, until time runs out or phone dies….whichever

  • Kettlebell swing
    5 Single hands each & 10 double
    10 Two arm bent row
    10 Figure eight
    10 Goblet squats
    10 Upright row
    10 Dips

    • RUN LAP
  • 10 Lunge press
    10 Sumo upright row
    10 Curls L/R
    10 American Hammer
    10 Bench press L/R
    10 Plank Rows L/R
    10 Tri Extension

    • RUN LAP
  • 10 Flutters
    10 Hello dolly’s
    10 Freddy’s
    10 Deadlift
    10 Sidestep upright row
    10 Kettlebell Merkins

    • RUN LAP

We made it through about 2 rounds of these.

Fun times by all!!

YHC talked about life expectancy  and that wherever we are on the timeline, we should start living intentional. I only have 40% of my life expectancy  left and so there is no wasting the days or hours on silly stuff. GET SOME!!! 2 guys decided to GET RIGHT while in COT and make choice to get better alignment. Well done gents!! We are here to support and encourage you!

Thanks JWOW for the opportunity to lead.

 

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SlowBurn – Wegman’s Send off to Chimbote

Today at SlowBurn it was about Wegmans and his choice to say YES to a calling to serve. He heard this calling and it spoke to his heart and he accepted the opportunity to be vulnerable, uncomfortable and go into the world for his creator Sky Q. The cool thing about mission trips is we think its about serving others, but in reality its about Sky Q working on us.

38 PAX came to show Wegmans support. They were running, rucking, boot-camp and even Broga was represented. for 45 mins everyone got better in some fashion, but for YHC I felt led to honor Wegmans by pulling some of his work from previous workouts. I felt the best way to respect a man is to use his material. So away we went.

The Thang:

Warm Up mosey to lower lot

  • Typical COP stuff 5-7 exercise moves
  • Line up at end of lot for some others
    • High Knees
    • Butt Kickers
    • Karaoke
    • Shuffles
    • sprints

Mosey to far side of Indian Restaurant

DMB from Wegmans Ranch workout

  • Duckwalk – 20 yards
  • Merkins – 10
  • Bearcrawl back – 20 yards
  • 3 rounds

Mosey to Far side of Lowes

From the Wegninator’s Coop workout

  • Partner up
    • #1 = Wall Sit
    • #2 =
      • 10 Broadjump Burpees
      • 10 Powerskips
      • 10 Plankwalks (right and then left)
    • Flap jack
    • 3 rounds

Mosey to opposite side of Lowes

From Wegmans’ Slow Burn workout – The Triple Check

Groups of 3

  1. Al Gore
  2. Plank
  3. Run Lap around parking lot
  • 3 rounds, with each person rotating position

Mosey back to COT

Wegmans’s shared his WHY during the workout and serving others and his willingness to be vulnerable in a strange place and open to see what Sky Q will do.

Many in the group have been on mission trips before and I believe that we all have intentions of serving and helping others, however these trips are about what Sky Q teaches us about ourselves. Gives us perspective and understanding that everyone around the globe are all children of HIS and we should love each other.

Best to you Wegmans and look forward to hearing the lesson’s learned.

Cake Boss

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4 Quarters plus some Overtime at the Hive

12 Pax arrived at the Hive for a kettle bell beatdown by YHC and a VQ from Cyclops. Funny how this happened…Cyclops has been a The Fort regular for some time most notably at the running AOs. In the last year, he has been posting to more of the bootcamps and KB workouts as well. YHC has noticed and voluntold him to join for a VQ at the Hive.

Planning the Hive with Cyclops brought back so many great memories from when I first posted at The Fort back in 2012. When given my first opportunity to Q a workout, I honestly could not sleep the night before. I actually still have that problem today. It is honor to lead the men of The Fort and I am humbled by the opportunity. YHC could feel that same vibe from Cyclops and he did not disappoint.

The Thang

Mosey to FMHS football parking lot (YHC on Q)

Toy Soldiers followed by lunges followed by karaoke followed by Wojos

COP

Windmills

SSH
Merkins

CDD (Cyclops favorite)

Mtn Climbers

Squats

Mosey back to the KBs

A brief story about leadership and what it means to lead (I suggest tuning into the 43 Feet podcast for further guidance)

Handoff to Cyclops

4 Quarters each round of KBs including 4/8/12/16/20 reps

1st Quarter

Hammer Curls and Skull Crushers

Extra Credit – 50 LBCs

2nd Quarter

Bent Rows and Chest Presses

EC – 30 Shoulder Taps

3rd Quarter

KB swings and shoulder presses

EC – 30 Box cutters

Clean/Presses and Goblet Squats

EC – 30 Hello Dollies

Overtime!!!

5 Cone Suicides

 

Moleskin

  • Read the newsletter
  • Congrats to those who completed the Sweati
  • Prayers for BTB

Cyclops and Pusher were here 7/16/18

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Kicking Off ’18 Nantan Summer Tour at Block Party

On an unseasonably cool June morning, 41 #HIMs met to get an attitude adjustment and start the day out right.

Mosey to the big parking lot on 160.

WARMUP:

  • 20 4-count side straddle hops
  • Five Burpees OYO
  • 10 4-count Windmills
  • Five Burpees OYO
  • 20 Low slow squats
  • Five Burpees OYO
  • 15 4-count Merkens
  • Five Burpees OYO
  • 20 Mountain climbers
  • Five Burpees OYO
  • 20 Moroccan night clubs
  • Five Burpees OYO

The THANG

Four corners in the big parking lot. Count off into groups of 4s and rotate through the stations.

  • Corner 1: Mosey to the bottom of the hill (160) and sprint back to the top, rinse and repeat. LBCs when done.
  • Corner 2: 30 Hand release Merkens. LBCs when done.
  • Corner 3:  40 Monkey Humpers. LBCs when done.
  • Corner 4: 20 Burpees. LBCs when done.
  • Rinse & Repeat

Mosey to the wall for 20 4-count wall mountain climbers.

Mosey back to COT….NOT DONE YET!

Captain Thors in cadence to 8 x 32.

COT

1 Corinthians 9:24 reads “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!” Give everything you do your best effort. Sometimes, however, this requires an attitude adjustment. Be grateful for how God has blessed you and honor HIM by giving it your all. After all, the only difference between a chAmp and a chUmp is YOU!

Announcements: Hog & Coyote, Nantan Summer Tour, #218in18, Read your newsletter

Thanks for the opportunity, Shady!

– Ginsu

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A Respectable Day at WEP

June 2 marked the official start to summer at The Fort, and 13 men met at WEP to get after it.  The mumble chatter started early and continued through the workout (well most of it, anyway).  Here is what happened:

The Thang:

Mosey from the parking lot, through the wooded trail,  and out to the main road.  Head to the Springs lot for COP:

All in Cadence:

SSH x40, Windmill x 15, CDD x 20, Squat x 20, Mountain Climber x20/hold/Peter Parker Peter x 15/hold/mountain climber x 20, Boat and canoe x 4, Monkey humper x 15

Mosey to the narrow parking lot by the Springs building and pair up.

  1.  Partner 1 does Freddie Merc’s while partner 2 runs the full length of the lot and back.  Flapjack
  2. Partner 2 does Sumo squats while partner 2 runs the full length of the lot and back.  Flap jack

Take a short mosey to the  awning over the sidewalk

3.  Partner 1 does wall pull ups while partner 2 crabwalks the width of the parking lot and back.  Flapjack.

Since this was the first week that The Fort started at the earlier time of 6:30, we moseyed back to the park thinking there might be some Pax who didn’t get the message.  Sure enough, Weezer and Drop Thrill were in the parking lot waiting for the workout to start.  We picked them up, did a short mosey to the field and I handed off to Walker

Line up for 11’s:  10 burpees at the start, run about 20 yards, do 1 LBC, run back.  Continue decreasing the bupees by 1, while increasing the LBC’s by 1 until you complete 1 burpee and 10 LBC’s.  Plank for the 6.

Walker then led the group through a series of upper body and ab exercises:

20 merkins (double count in cadence)

20 diamond merkins – oyo

10 plyometric merkins (hand clamp or full body jump) – oyo

10 prison cell merkins – oyo

50 flutters in cadence (crowd pleaser)

40 Freddie Mercs in cadence

20 regular merkins in cadence

10 merkins with left palm facing the sky, right regular, 10 opposite (impossible, except for the Q!)

Hold feet 6″ off the ground for 90 secs

30 flutter kicks in cadence (ugh!)

COT

Moleskin:

Walker and I had a Q planned for Alcatraz about a year ago, but a scheduling conflict prevented it from happening.  So, I was pretty psyched when Bonsai told me I was paired with Walker for today.    Walker is all business and always pushes the Pax.   I like that.

There was plenty of mumble chatter from the get go.  I called out the 60 sec warning before the start of the workout, but I don’t think anyone noticed as everyone continued to talk.  I had to yell slightly to get everyone’s attention when we were starting the workout.    The chatter continued on the trek through the woods and during COP.   People just wouldn’t shut up this morning – it was great.     It’s good to be the Q when that is happening.

Walker took some time to remind the Pax about good form on merkins (to prevent shoulder injuries) and LBC’s (for better results).    Slow down the pace and do the exercises properly.   It’s good advice for guys who workout several days a week.  He called out some pretty tough merkins (plyometric) and some done on the  back of your hand (try that sometime).

We had a lively group today and it was truly a pleasure and a privilege to lead them with my friend and co-respect, Walker.

Announcements:  F3 Dads starts today and goes throughout the summer.  Contact Change Order for more details or if you’d like to Q.

Read your newsletter for everything else!

Prayers/Praises

Continued prayers for the Giesler family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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