New Beginnings, Building Bridges at The Ballroom

Preamble – New Beginnings

When The Ballroom moved from its founding location behind The Mirror Room on Gold Hill Rd to Pleasant Knoll Elementary School down the road, then to PKMS, it was both exciting and sad for many. A shiny new pair of shoes is always nice, but sometimes those old ones fit just right. The spirit of F3 was cultivated and spread in the grounds there. Many a PAX laid alot of sweat marks all around the old locale, some not as much as others but enough to leave a mark. Some merlot was donated to the groundwater supply as well. There were alot of painful and fun 1st F beatdowns, moderate or not, administered there. We celebrated there. We consoled there. We held each other up in times of need there. We supported and pushed each other there. We made each other better there. We converged there and sent a much loved young man away to serve his country abroad there. We welcomed many new faces there. There were alot of great 2nd and 3rd Fs forged there. Iron was sharpened there. Leaders were invigorated there.  Part of the fabric of F3 nation was woven there. The old locale will always have a special place for those who were there.

As is the same with Fort Mill itself, F3 is always expanding. Always improving. Always evolving. You will never reach new grounds until you commit to pushing off of the dock. Too much traffic and congestion, it was becoming dangerous for the PAX. It was time to find a new AO locale for The Ballroom. First it was Pleasant Knoll Elementary School (PKES). A few workouts were held there, led by some great Qs. But for anyone who has driven by the sparkling new Pleasant Knoll Middle School (PKMS) from its initial ground clearing through construction to completion, it was obvious this was going to be the crown jewel of middle schools (for now) in Fort Mill’s outstanding school system. Make no doubts about it, we were all hoping this would become an AO.  It was reconned one morning. The new site is incredible – HUGE, brand new still with that new construction smell, and FULL of options to challenge the PAX in many ways. The decision was made. This was it. PKMS was to be the new AO for The Ballroom – and it may get a new name as well. New site, new F3 memories to come. New Beginnings.

Time to Git ‘Er Dun

When Cake Boss asked me to Q a WO at The Ballroom, I could not say Aye quick enough. I showed up at a little after 5, and there were quite a few folks already there, ready to get after it. A great turnout of great PAX. Alot of good conversation building up to the start. It is a great group of PAX here. A few late stragglers came in right at the buzzer. Time to git ‘er dun!

No FNGs, disclaimer was made, and off we went….

Mosey from the main parking lot meandering around the long, curving driveway. Slow a bit for some toy soldiers, then gather at an intersection near the new football field. COP:

  • SSH x 20
  • WM x 20
  • Imperial-Hillbilly Walker – start w IW w one leg, plant leg back down then do HW w same leg – right leg up to left elbow, back down, right leg up to right elbow, back down counts as one rep. Did 10 or so reps .
  • MNC x 20
  • Peter Parker x 10
  • Parker Peter x 10

Quick discussion on on discipline (see NMM). Mosey over to the football field. Vernon’s playground. Blows my mind that this is a middle school field!! Incredible. Vernon made sure to keep us off the new track and not mess up the turf too bad. It was clear, dark, and the stars were out. It was amazing. This is part of the reason why many of us love the early morning routines.

Main Event

On the artificial turf football field. It sets goals and boundaries. Starting right at the 0 yd goal line at one corner post, do an exercise OYO, transition to another exercise. Total of 5 exercises at 20yds apart, moderate HIIT style. Aim is to get to the other goal line 100yds away. Exercises and transitions:

  1. 100 yds – Merkins
  2. Lunge walk transition
  3. 80 yds – LBCs
  4. Bear crawl transition
  5. 60 yds – LSS
  6. Crab walk transition
  7. 40 yds – CDDs
  8. Lunge walk
  9. 20 yds – AHs
  10. Sprint AYG to goal

> Start at 20 reps of each exercise OYO. No stopping until you get to the end. 10 second breather then mosey over in various ways to other side of field. Repeat cycle in decreasing reps 15, then 10, then 5. In the end the PAX did 50 of each exercise and transitioned 400 yds.

The PAX did great! Alot of mumblechatter, laughter, and pushing and encouraging each other on. This is what it is all about. Thank you all for starting each other’s day off right.

After we brushed off the little black rubber pellets that seemed to get all over us (which Old Bay did not seem too fond of),  we moseyed back towards the school. Up and around to the back of the school where there is a long, tall, well-lit wall that is just PERFECT for wall work.

  • People’s chair to slow 10 count, 3 reps
  • BTTW  to slow 10 count, 3 reps

Behind the school next to where we did the wall work is something quite unique for this school…..a long steel and concrete foot bridge from the school proper to the athletic fields that crosses a large, deep ravine. This is quite symbolic for the theme of the month in my opinion. We stopped in the middle of the bridge to drive home my point on discipline. See NMM. We then moseyed back in a two line slow Indian run back to the COT. After AP&P, Cake Boss led us out with an amazing prayer as is usual for him.

Announcements, Prayers, and Praises:.
* Read your newsletter!
* CAH Guidance back to Saturdays starting on 9/2 at 4pm
* CAH Burpee Challenge – almost $3K collected!! Still some outstanding commitments. Please pay what you’ve pledged.
* Nun Run coming up – if you are not aware of Speed for Need, please read up. An AMAZING initiative. Vuvuzela’s son, among others, will experience the pure joy it brings. An incredible thing. Consider participating, or at the least donating to this worthy cause.
* Prayers for Cornerstone’s Emma as well as his M.
* Prayers for other M’s going through various struggles
* Prayers for injured and struggling PAX
* Prayers for kids going back to school
* Praises for PAX pushing themselves to get better in whatever way

NMM – Building Bridges

The theme of this dwindling month is discipline. It’s a strong word that affects many aspects of our lives. There is discipline of guidance, teaching, or mentoring others in order to attain desired behavior or help foster positive growth in others. There is also the idea of having discipline or self-discipline and holding yourself accountable to an established standard, doctrine or expectation. To me, it is how you structure your mind, heart, and soul. Discipline gives you the boundaries in which you operate, much like the gridiron football field we were on for this workout. It provides the structure through which you build upon in order to achieve. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.

Keep in mind the ‘goals’ and ‘accomplishments’ are not just worldly pursuits such as winning a game, getting a degree, completing a marathon, making more money, or getting a promotion at work. Yes, greater applied discipline will definitely help in those pursuits. But they could be more inter/intra-personal, spiritual goals of:

  • Having a better relationship with God
  • Living the word of The Gospel more
  • Having a better relationship with your parents, M,  2.0’s, family, and/or friends
  • Becoming more reliable, accountable for others in your life
  • Having a better control over your ‘demons’ so to speak, however you may define that word
  • Overcoming personal obstacles towards improvement of your mind, body, heart, soul

As we stood on that bridge at the school, I again mentioned to the PAX that discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. I challenged the PAX to examine their lives, think of any goal(s) of where they want to be, and see what bridges they need to build, what structure do they need in order to get there. In the past I have been told I have good self discipline, but I know I have some bridges that people don’t see that need to be built. I have self confidence issues, I can be socially insecure, I do not have as good of a relationship with God as I would like, I am not as open and available to family and friends as I used to be, I could be a better husband to my M, I still have some anger issues that arise every now and then, and I could be a better disciplinarian to my own kids. The introduction of F3 in my life has helped me immensely in those areas, but there is still work to do. If you look deep and get past the wall of denial, we all have bridges to build or restore.

If you set a goal, no matter how lofty it may seem, it will be the bridge of discipline that will help get you there. Plus, those accomplishments are easier to attain when you have help, and you will never be alone if you have Sky Q in your heart and soul. Having the self-restraint, courage and perseverance which comes from the pursuit and strength provided by God is true, everlasting discipline. The bridges you will build will last forever.

Let’s build some bridges.

Thank you Cake Boss for the opportunity to lead.
God bless,
– NASA

TClap |
9

Round Robin

IMG_1093

Sasquatch led us through his standard warm up. Then mosey to the parking lot right in front of the church for the main thing.

Complete an exercise from the Weinke and then run a lap around the parking lot. Exercises as follows:

25 Kettlebell Swings

20 Merkins

20 Squats

20 Hillbilly Press (10/ side) (press the kettle bell up and on the way down, lift leg on that side up like hillbilly walker)

20 LBCs

30 Curls (15/arm)

20 Skull Crushers

20 Calf Raises

20 American Hammers

After we wrapped up all these exercises we did 10 minutes of Pax-led Mary. This was a good workout and I was grateful for the opportunity.

TClap |
7

This Just In: Injured PAX deliver Epic Beatdown (at The Fort)

It’s exciting!  Something about Qing The Fort is just exciting. It was YHC’s (Zima) first post almost 4 years ago. It was my first VQ warmup (w/ CSPAN and Audit..no pressure). And it’s the perfect location to bring guys from all sides of town together..to sweat…to sharpen…to get better.

Disclaimer: Sasquatch has been on the IR with an achilles injury. Zima has been on the IR with a rotator cuff injury. Chances are you might not get your money’s worth. If you wanted to get a good beatdown go to Alcatraz. If you wanted to play soccer go to the Deep.

However, Sasquatch and YHC don’t let something like this get in the way. We embrace it and work around it. We conspired to deliver a beatdown that ensured afternoon naps.

THANG

Sasquatch on Q

Mosey to Anchorman’s Cones (Thanks Anchorman)

Dynamic Warmup (from one side of cones to the other)

  • Knees to chest
  • Heel to Waist
  • Heels to Butt
  • Inch-worm
  • Side Shuffle (fwd and back)
  • Low side shuffle (fwd and back)

Circle Up for COP

  • SSH IC X15
  • Moroccan Night Club in static lunge IC X10 (each leg)
  • Plank Series
    • Peter Parkers IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Parker Peters IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Mtn Climbers IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Ski Jumps IC X10
    • Upward Dog/Downward Dog
    • Plank, Left High, Right High

Mosey to Playground

  • Sasquatch THANG (Groups of 3) – Rotate when Position 1 completes – 4 Rounds
    • Position 1 – Toes to Bar (or knees to chest) X8
    • Position 2 – Freddy Mercury’s
    • Position 3 – Merkins

Zima on Q

Mosey to the base of the cones for some Dora 3-2-1 (Reverse Dora). Partner Up! One partner runs (50 yds out and back) while the other completes the exercise.

  • 300 Flutters (2-Count)
  • 200 Mtn Climbers (2-Count)
  • 100 Bombjacks (say what?)

Mosey to statue hill for Quadzilla (see: Quadraphilia in the #lexicon). YHC sets timer for 4 (actually 5) minutes and PAX run uphill backwards and downhill forwards until time called. It’s a quad killer.

Mosey back to the cones for…

Suicides; however you need to do the following exercise at the beginning and then every time you reach the “baseline”.

  • Series 1 – 5 Flying Squirrels
  • Series 2 – 5 Tuck Jumps
  • Series 3 – 10 Monkey Humpers

With just a few minutes left we finished with SSH IC X25 and then American Hammers IC X20 or 25 (Can’t remember). Clean up the cones and mosey to the parking lot for COT.

Moleskin

It’s frustrating having an injury. We should do well to lift up the many PAX dealing with injuries, because it can drive a #HIM crazy.  Fortunately for Sasquatch and YHC, we can modify and work around what ails us. For others it might not be as easy or the injury may be too severe. All this to say if you know a PAX in this predicament, shoot them an uplifting text, give them a call or meet them for lunch.

Tclaps to all the PAX who put in the work this AM. There was a lot of meat in today’s workout and we tried to keep things moving at all times (see: move with a purpose). It seemed we needed to push a little harder this AM to let the other (Paid) workout folks (about 20 of them) at WEP know this wasn’t your ordinary workout. These were guys getting after it and leaving it all out on the field. That and it’s always fun to chase Longshanks. One day man…one day.  Here are the rest of my notes.

  • Thanks to Anchorman for the cones
  • It’s amazing that Crabcakes can pull an Elvis without anyone knowing #promove
  • Tclaps to Spiderman for running 8 miles and then joining the workout
  • It’s always fun to workout with Longshanks and Dark Helmet. Uncomfortable, but fun!
  • Wegmans really needs to share his shaving technique with his brother (Sasquatch), nah we probably wouldn’t recognize him then.
  • Great to see so many familiar faces and some new ones. I need to get over here more often.
  • Quadzilla is still a favorite of mine and the PAX still hate it. Yay!
  • Thanks for putting up with us and allowing us to lead

Prayers and Praises

  • Lots of prayers for injured PAX
  • Prayers for families experiencing strife
  • Praise and prayers for several 2.0s on the way
  • Prayers and for teachers
  • Praise and Prayers for 2.0s and families back to school

Announcements

  • Lot of marketing for Qs next week
  • Nun Run – get it on the calendar (see newsletter) and run with SPEED FOR NEED
  • Read your newsletter

Always an Honor!

Zima & Sasquatch

 

TClap |
5

Block Party Mix bag of tricks

Mosey to parking lot across the street from bank
20 SSH
20 Morracain Night Club
10 small forward arm circles
10 small backward arm circles
10 big forward arm circles
10 big backward arm circles
20 Morracain Night Club
Feet together bend over with arms folded to stretch out the back and hamstrings
Honeymooner
Walk hands out to plank and do 10 peter parkers
Walk hands to feet and stretch again
Since it rained quite a bit last night YHC decided to modify the location of
what I had planned.
Originally I had planned to do this part of the workout on the hill right by COT
with the lights going up, but had to
modify and move it over by Hobo’s due to the mud on the hill.
At each light pole do the following exercises
Burpees – bear crawl to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8, P5 – 10)
Total of 30
Pulse squat jumps – run backwards to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8,
P5 – 10) Total of 30
LBCs – run to next pole (P1 – 4, P2 – 8, P3 – 12, P4 – 16, P5 – 20) Total of 60
Dips – lunge to next pole (P1 – 2, P2 – 4, P3 – 6, P4 – 8, P5 – 10) Total of 30
Next we moved across the street to enjoy a nice round of Pink Floyd the Wall. I
don’t know why it is, but I for some crazy
reason enjoy this exercise. I think it mainly has to do with how silly we look
to poeple driving by as we are in BTW position.
For those who are not familar with Pink Floyd the Wall here it is:
BTW for 30 secs
1 merkin in BTW position
2 merkins at 45 degrees
3 merkins at 15 degrees
Then move into the people’s chair for 30 seconds.
Repeat 3 times – however I decided to through in 5 flying squirels in between
rounds.
Then we moseyed back down the hill to the stairs and did merkin stair climb
working our way up the two flights of stairs
and did squats until the six was in.
Good work today gentlemen.
Double D thanks for allowing me to come out and lead the pax this am.
TClap |
0

A Res-Q for Birdcage, at the Coop.

Res-Q: When a Pax is down (IR, or emergency DR trip, or whatever) and another Pax meets the call for help and jumps in last minute to Q for him.

Birdcage thought it would be a great idea to play soccer (futból) on Saturday with his co-workers. Soccer is a smaller, more nimble man’s game as it turns out, and he jacked up his knee/ankle, so he reached out and I took the Q. It’s been a while, but it’s like riding a bike… a painful, burpee and pull-up filled bike… That’s a terrible bike. You shouldn’t buy it. It’s probably very expensive for one thing, and why would you want a bike that caused you that much pain? Plus, no WAY are you winning that sprint triathlon you signed up for with a bike like that… It’s basically useless… you’re an idiot.

0515, disclaimer, then off we go…
Warm it up Kris… I’m about to…
Circle around the main lot to the Band Practice Field
– Windmills x 10
– IW x 10
Cross the band practice field and weave around the drop off lane to the roundabout
– Richard Simmons x 15
– Moroccan Nightclubs x 15
Mosey to back parking lot
– Merkins x 20
– CDD x 20
Mosey to behind dumpsters
– Squats x 25
– SSH x 25
Mosey to pull-up bars, and now the fun begins… (that was a mile, btw)
Partner up, size always matters.
There will be an exercise at the top and at the bottom of the hill. There will be a different method of travel up the hill each time.

ROUND 1:
– Each partner does 15 pull-ups (if one is waiting, it’s people’s chair)
– Run down the hill
– 30 Flutters (partner cadence)
– Wheelbarrow back up the hill (switch as needed)
ROUND 2:
– Each partner does 15 idiot partner pull-ups*
– Run down the hill
– Rosalita x 20 (partner cadence)
– Wheelbarrow up (switch as needed)
ROUND 3:
– Each partner does 10 burpee pull-ups (if one is waiting, it’s people’s chair)
– Run down the hill
– LBCs x 20 (partner cadence)
– Bear crawl up the hill
ROUND 4:
– Each partner does 15 idiot partner pull-ups or 10 negative pull-ups
– Run down the hill
– Dying Cockroach x 15 (partner cadence)
– Backwards bear crawl up the hill (or just run if we are too smoked)

Then we did a little Mary by the pull-up bars until it was time for an all-out sprint back to COT.

NMM:
As always, it was a pleasure to lead. I’ve started ending all my Q’s with an AYG back to COT. Bones (Tunis Hunt from LKW) quoted someone as saying, “When your mind thinks you are done, you have 40% left (or you are only 40% done, or something like that). The point is, all of the times that you think that you just can’t hold on anymore, you can’t push any further, you can’t withstand any longer, the fact of the matter is, there is more in the tank. Make it happen out there, men…

Helmet, out.

TClap |
8

CSPAN visits Quagmire

Conditions were pouring rain…and sort of raining like you might not want to get out of the car kind of rain…

Disclaimer

Spent the morning running and rotating the Q in reverse age order as it was miserable out (shared misery)

we got in about 3 miles, and plenty of exercises to 15 reps

Lots of laughs and #mumblechatter…exactly what I needed…thank you for the invite to Q

Sermon was on APE – A=Attitude, P=Performance, and E=Effort and how APE is our input into every situation. It is our responsability to maintain our APE and make a difference in our lives, our faith, our family life, our work, our church, etc…

COT/ prayer or praise/ BOM

 

 

TClap |
2

#HypeTrain Coming in HOT!

13 HIMs bought a ticket for a runaway train at #LacesIn on a beautiful Thursday morning at Fort Mill High.  What train you ask?!?  Well none other than the #HypeTrain itself.  After getting tasked with the Q for #LacesIn over 6 weeks ago YHC went on a all out #Hype Campaign to get as many Pax to #LacesIn as possible.  Did it work?  Meh.  But it was a fun ride.  Worked out for the best – less people to be disappointed by the over#hyped and under delivered beat down from YHC.  Oh yeah – before I forget – 5 other HIMs decided to go yogging (soft “J”) which is apparently running for an extended period of time.  #LacesOut

The Thang:

Static Warmup (apparently the Pax had a real problem with this one – apparently if you do not do SSH, IW, WM, Merks, Low Slow Squats (IN THAT ORDER) you will never hear the end of it)

1 min Squat Sit  (some *ahem* CSPAN *ahem* were not able to accomplish this task)

Deep Squat x 10  (no like….ALL the way down)

Warm-up Merkin (like it came from an alien planet)

On-all-fours Shoulder Stretch (yes – YHC did not pick the best patch of asphalt)

On-all-fours Bad Dog Hip Stretch (see above)

On-your-back Hip Thrusters

 

Whew!  So sorry to try something new.  It will not happened again.  Warmup over.  Pax happy.

Partner Up (size does not matter)

Partner 1 to run to end of parking lot and back (no YHC did not realize how long that really was)

Partner 2 to do perfect form merkins (no count total – just AMRAP with perfect form)

Flap Jack

Next round Deep Squats (no like….ALL the way down)

Final round LBCs with your feet on the ground (just humor the Q please)

Run it back again except partner run shortened to 3/4 but 3 froggers added at each light pole

Run it back a final time – partner run shortened to 1/2 but 5 froggers added at each light pole

CAN I GET A TEN COUNT!?!?!

Moving on to Rugby Sprints x 5 with LBCs with feet on the ground, Flutters, Mountain Climbers, Flutters, and LBCs with your feet on the ground

Next we move to the dreaded Partner Push/Sprint/Push (size kinda matters this time)

Flap Jack then Rinse and Repeat

Little baby jog back to a much better patch of asphalt for 6MOM with “the new one” added in there but apparently not appreciated.

COT

Great work men!  Welcome FNG – Deflategate!  Thank you all for posting to the #HypeTrain.  Very much appreciated.  YHC has been away from F3 for a month for vacations and business travel and got a taste of what life without F3 was like…..not good.  Old habits began to emerge around intake of food and drink so it was great to get back out and see each and every one of you waiting there for me to try and make myself a better man.  Asked the Pax what they saw in the mirror – did they see successes and strengths or failures and weaknesses?  What impact could you make with those around you if you saw the former (as the Sky Q sees you)?  Taking it a step further – what do you see when you look at those around you?  Do you see their strengths or their weaknesses?  Do you see their past sins against you or do you see what they have done for you?  Have you really forgiven them or do you see how they wronged or disappointed you in the past?  It’s hard to do but think about how your relationship would change for the better if you could really give grace to those around you as the Sky Q has given to you.  Thanks for the opportunity to lead gentlemen!  Always an honor.  Be a better man today then you were yesterday.  Aye!

TClap |
9

You Can Blame Dark Helmet

The past few weeks have been anything but typical for me. Laid off from my job and then I planned to do a road trip which turned into the road trip from hell in many ways. But God was and is faithful and I made it back home safely and was able to get some drugs in that helped start the recovery process. That being said, I wasn’t sure about my q coming up for the first time at The Fort. But I had just qed at Laces In with the same illness, but didn’t know it. So I figured let’s go for it. About five minutes into COP I thought I might have made a serious mistake, but thanks to the many mercies of God I made it through.

COP was a bit of a blur but it included your typical:
SSH
Imperial Walkers
Hillbilly Walkers
Merkins
Windmills (slowly)
Moroccan Nightclub

After COP we made our way up the parking lot Springs Industries to find a nice flat spot where we could hang out for a while.

The next thing that followed was my theft of Union County (NC)’s Mindcrime’s invention. At center do five burpees, run, to one end and do ten merkins, come back to center, five burpees, run to the other end and do ten LBCs. Repeato until you’ve done ten rounds of ten merkins and ten LBCs. This quickly started to suck in the soup that is South Carolina in August. There was much hatechatter against the q, which makes me very happy and I know you’re working.

After much hate mumblechatter we stopped for a breather to talk about discipline and got a good word about how that ties into being a disciple both of our Lord and of life and making a difference in our own lives so we can make a difference in our families and our world. Aye!

Next up Cindy showed her ugly face and we made our way to the wall where much standing around was seen and some work was put in. Cindy went like this: ten merkins, ten dips and ten squats (or at least I think it was squats. Haven’t gotten my nap in yet). Go until q calls time!

Jekyll was threatening a coup so I wrapped up the sweat fest and we went into some stretching, weird yoga moves and other things to distract you from the fact that I just made you burn off a lot of calories.

Welcome Iron Man to F3 Nation! Thank you sir for your service to our country and for checking out F3 one day while at the park. Great first post!

Be sure to read the newsletter and keep up with all that’s going on at The Fort.

Thank you Bonsai for the chance to lead and I hope I gave you your money’s worth. As in time is money and I hope it was well worth your time.

DT out.

TClap |
2

Doing more of the things I (don’t) Love

Today I figured out a cool way to make cones really light up in the dark. Just thought I’d put that up front.

It’s been a little while since Qing at the Coop, so this was a good time. I was a little punchy after working a swing the night before, so I’m glad that all the PAX had patience with me this fine morning.

The Thang

Warm up Phase
Line up and the following for 20 or so yards
1. High knees/mosey back
2. High skips/mosey back
3. Butt kicks/mosey back
4. Toy soldiers/back mosey back
5. Power skips/back mosey back

COP
Goofballs 20xIC
Squat Imperial Walkers 10xIC
Merkin-crab dips-Merkin-crab cakes
Howling monkey ring of fire x10 each

Pull Yourself Phase
Partner up- Pull up/merkin- rotate- then Flutter kick for the six
4 Regulation Corps Pull ups/ 8 regulation merkins
4 Switch grip Pull ups/4 offset merkins 2 sets of each to get both sides
4 Close hands chin ups/8 close hands merkins (diamonds)
4 Regulation Corps Pull ups/ 8 regulation merkins

Pull Bricks Phase
Circle up at the Sugar Creek ES parking lot.
2 sets of cinderblocks attached to the big ropes
2 PAX hand over hand drag the bricks the length of the lot then backpedal pulling the bricks back to the start- hand off to the next 2 PAX
All other PAX are rotating through the following, changing whenever brick dragging PAX exchange change direction.
1. Tuck jumps-Modify to alternating lunges sometimes(SOOO many tuck jumps)
2. Tempo merkins IC
3. Hip slappers (on the curb if you are awesome, on the wall if you are crazy like Geronimo!)
4. Front- back -go Overlooked this on the Winke

NMM
I wanted to try out an idea I had this week. In my head I have a list of exercises that I like least. Today I tried to incorporate many of them (missed partner carries and backwards bearcrawl uphill, ugh!). It may or may not be surprising, I really don’t like doing pull-ups. 2 1/2 years ago, I could maybe strain out 5 in a row, followed by a good break. I don’t like slow cadence merkins. I REALLY don’t like flutter kicks. Tuck jumps and monkey humpers make my legs burn, as does the back pedal brick pull. I was introduced to the inclined hip slappers by the SOB boys, and quickly added that to my list.

All that said, I will be the first to goad the Q into calling any number of the aforementioned activities. “Why do you do this insanity?” Is probably flying through your head right now. I know if I do more pull-ups, I get better at pull ups. The same goes for all of those things things that are difficult for us. Extrapolate that a bit and apply the same idea to work. I don’t expect that I’ll ever enjoy performing ISO audits, but the more I do them, the less it sucks to do them.

Now, if we could just stop doing partner carries altogether…

Geronimo!

TClap |
1

Summer Q School – Shooting Stars and Counting to 3

Senator Tressel and YHC headed up the final installation of the summer Q school.  8 PAX joined in for some instruction, antidotes, and how to count to 3.  Brief introduction in lot, totally forgot to make the disclaimer, and we were off.  YHC at the helm.

The Thang

1/2 lap around WEP and circle up for the COP

Each exercise had some instruction of counts, cadence, form, etc.  It was awesome, I guess you had to be there.

SSH X 25 (Hey I saw a shooting star!)

Imperial Walkers X 25

Merkins X 10

Windmill X 15

Mountain Climbers X 25

Disclaimer X 1

Mak Tar Jai X 15

Burpees X10 OYO

Hand Over to Senator who then took us to the hill.

Jacob’s Ladder to 7 with Burpees at top. Senator explained more about what the main workout is about and how to prepare, audible, and listen for mumble chatter.  Kielbasa helped out with the suggestion to do burpees for this ladder.  No one was pleased, except for Seantor.

After ladder we moseyed over to the playground for some pull ups and ab lab.  Senator made it a point to tell the Q School that we do not do enough pull ups/chin ups and that he ALWAYS adds these in at an AO with bars.  I think Senator’s agenda was accepted under duress and the PAX pushed through with 2 sets of 10 pull ups/chin ups and then slow count LBC’s followed by a slower count of Freddy Mercury.

Final thoughts from Seantor about safety, serving the PAX when Q and how he doesn’t ever need a Wienke (memorizes before he gets there) but FunHouse always does (can’t even remember his kids’ names). And do the damn BackBlast!

COT – Always end with Circle of Trust – Prayers for kids to college, parents transitioning to new home and Seantor’s brother in law. 5 years of The Fort in September!

It was an honor to work with Senator to get the new Q’s on track to lead the PAX.  I am looking forward to see what this group of men will bring to the Gloom.  Double D is the man to hit up if you haven’t Q’d and want to get on the list for Block Party!

TClap |
3