Wally World

WARMUP: Few PAX rubbed their shins and scratched this or that
THE THANG: The PAX ran west on 160 to approximately Wal-Mart and back
MARY: none
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Bourbon 🥃 Tasting and Clay Shoot
COT: Praise for 10th anniversary, paise to Eddie, prayers for our schools and our administrative teams at our schools

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The Goggins Challenge (with a few friends)

My recap of the weekend we did the Goggins 4 x 4 x 48 Challenge…

GOGGINS 4x4x48 (Sept 17-19, 2021)

In anticipation of this past weekend’s event, I was filled with the desire to be “prepared.” Sure, there are good aspects of preparedness but I tried to keep from being sucked into my trap of idolizing the preparation. I didn’t want my preparation and training to be the focus of my life and therefore, a distraction or problem for my family. I’d say I was able to accomplish that.

I took off work on day 1 of this challenge, Friday, September 17 so I could focus and be present throughout, minimizing distractions. I wanted to be present for my Shieldlock meeting in the morning, for the morning conversation with my wife, for the process to get ready for my first run and every run thereafter and finally, be present for the run itself. Whether the plan was to run by myself, with one other person or a group, I wanted to be present.

When the time came to lace up the trail shoes for the first run, I was excited. No nerves or anxiety, just joy. I shared with Fishsticks how surprised I still was that a few guys wanted to do this with me when I mentioned it a few months ago. It’s less the question of “why” we would do this. It’s more the question of “why not” do this. It’s something to challenge us physically, mentally and frankly, emotionally. Lastly, it’s an activity that goes in the category of “GET TO” rather than “HAVE TO.”

Run #1 was a trail run, 4mi long with Gears, World Wide Leader (I’ll abbreviate to WWL), Fishsticks and Rock Thrill. No, they weren’t born with these names, their parents surely loved them more than that. These are their given F3 names. We took off from Allison Park in Fort Mill’s Baxter neighborhood and the run was an out and back on a trail a few of us have become accustomed to. We chatted, complained, laughed and made the obligatory comments about how we were only finished with 1/12th of this effort, once completed. We remained safe, under control and present.

We all parted ways to either get back to work for some or enjoy the day off for me. I drove the road route in our neighborhood to finalize run #2 then took lunch to my wife at her office, without showering. We chatted for a few minutes then I made my way back home for some food, a shower, reading, stretching, utilizing a foam roller and a little rest. Bring on run #2.

2pm was upon us and Fishsticks and WWL were standing in my driveway ready to roll, anticipating popsicles at the conclusion, as promised. After a brief overview of the route, minimizing the neighborhood hills, we were off. We dipped in and out of most of the cul-de-sacs, received a ringing of the cowbell from Grinder and a few walk-by’s from Bonsai. We discussed personal memories from 9/11, documentaries of the time, Disney vacations and first jobs. All watches clocked 4mi and we finished at the driveway to have popsicles with a few of my kids after school. Not a bad Friday afternoon.

Eat, shower, laundry, watch a show with the kids, now time to hang with them for a bit. So far, no pain.

Run #3. 5:30pm rolls around and the process begins again, back on the trails but this time at the Springs Greenway. A few families saw us off as Rock Thrill, Reborn, Walker, WWL (and friend Justin) and I for what we expected to be a 4.25mi run along these beautiful trails. After a few correct turns, a missed turn and a couple of stops to get reoriented, we eventually got back on track. Back on track meant we rolled into the end point after tracking 5.25mi which unfortunately, doesn’t mean we get to take mileage off the next run.

Fortunately for me, my family had some leftover food and I essentially licked the containers clean. It didn’t matter what was in there, I was taking all of it. We all parted ways and we made our way back home. Only about 2 short hours later and we’re taking off again for what will be no more than 4mi back on the road from my house. We filled this 2hrs with a daddy/daughters movie and just some good hangout time on the couch. It was what was needed, mentally and especially, physically.

Run #4. The time is around 9:40 pm, I’m getting the girls to bed and I get a text from Reborn. It reads, “Bill Nye and I are here.” Here? As in waiting outside my house? Seems like I need to get my butt in gear. Dressed, shoes on and out the door to meet them outside and begin the last minute attempt to stretch. But it wasn’t just the three of us. We had us plus, WWL, Justin and Fish Sticks to go on a 4mi jaunt through the neighborhood I’ve run so much over the years. We ran a different route than we did on Run #2 and tried really hard to keep the pace in check. We finished, fist bumped, briefly discussed the 2am plan from WWL’s house and parted ways.

For me, 2 slices of cold pizza, salt water, quick shower and bed. 2 hours later, at 1:27am, the alarm goes off to get ready for run #5 and jump on the struggle bus. Some more salt water, a light snack, I jumped in the truck to go pick up Olaf as he joined WWL, Rock Thrill, Justin and myself. It was a unanimous feeling that this is the segment where the soreness and tightness started to become apparent. It didn’t help we were running in Fort Mill’s Baxter neighborhood again, which isn’t known for flat terrain. Such a great idea for a 2am run. But as the saying goes, no one cares what you can do when you’re fresh. That’s good because we were anything but.

We did our thing but for the first 2mi, Olaf serenaded us with dad jokes he was reading from his phone. As if running in the dark at 2am isn’t enough of a challenge, do it while looking down at your phone. I’d love to tell you about the rest of the conversation we had but honestly, I can’t begin to remember. I was securely sitting in my pain cave. The calves and quads were talking to me but I just kept telling myself, “I GET TO” do this. We finished at 2:39am, said a few words to each other, said goodbye via the fist bump and quietly looked forward to the 6am run when we knew we’d be joined by a few more guys.

I dropped Olaf off, had a snack, salt water, shower and got to sleep in the guest bedroom. Oh wait, head fake…no sheets on the bed so let’s try that sequence again. I drop Olaf off, had a snack, salt water, shower, made the bed, salt water, lay down on a tightly made bed. I caught a few Z’s and the alarm started talking at 5:30am, giving my body 2 additional hours of sleep! Fortunately, this prep time felt more like getting ready for a normal post so I chose not to take the struggle bus and settled for the drive filled with anticipation of seeing a few more friendly faces.

Run #6 and I was right. Pusher, Flat Tire, Italian Job, Tinker Toy, Spiderman, Shady, Vuvuzela and Gekko joined WWL, Reborn, Fish Sticks and I on the friendly grounds of Walter Elisha Park in Fort Mill. This was such a welcome change. We took off toward the Fort Mill Golf Club, made our way back with a brief tour of Whiteville Park, avoiding the “zipper” so many of us have become accustomed to (nice try Spidey) and rolled back in right as the watches clocked 4.02mi. Why 4.02? If you’re a runner, you’re likely familiar with the .01mi that can get cut off in the transfer of information from your watch to your tracking app. We weren’t about to have that occur now.

We got some good stretching in as the sun started to rise and the Boot Camp boys were getting after it for The Fort’s 9th Anniversary Convergence. We discussed soreness and solar panels. What, is that pairing not normal? Hmm, it was today. Back home for some Tailwind, a shower, a real breakfast and some coffee. The house is now alive and I’m choosing to treat this segment like a normal day…until 9:30am rolls around.

Run #7. And then it happens. It’s 9:30am, we now have kids in different directions and it’s time to get ready for the 7th of our 12 runs. This time, another trip to Allison Park but now, on the roads for our 10am mosey. We learned our lesson on the first trail run at this park and we weren’t going to repeat that. With heavy legs, Justin, WWL and I were off. It was a clean, uneventful 4mi. We did notice however, the heat was starting to climb and our 2pm run was going to be “special.”

Back to the house for the same recovery routine. Hydration and food, followed by a shower and rest. The temperatures are steadily climbing and it gets to 89 degrees quickly, which is less than ideal. The 8th run takes us to Cherry Park in Rock Hill where Reborn was leading an F3 Dads workout. You know, since running this much isn’t enough, he should definitely Q a workout. He never misses an opportunity to give back so it wasn’t a complete surprise. As for the rest of us, Justin, WWL, Fishsticks, Walker, Gekko and I took 3 laps around the mostly-shaded path at Cherry Park and that was that. 4 up, 4 down. This time however, I tried something for the first time during this run. After commenting about the tightness of my lower calves, WWL suggested I go buy myself some calf sleeves. If you’re not familiar with these, think of long, tight socks without the foot portion. The idea is that they help blood flow throughout your lower leg in order to minimize soreness and cramping. I bought a pair prior to this run and whether it was the placebo effect or not, my legs didn’t hurt as much as earlier runs.

As we were parting ways, this is where the conversation about the Springs Market pumpkin pie soft serve ice cream began. You see, WWL shared with us that his afternoon plan included just that, a trip to Springs Market for their new seasonal flavor. We all began to drool but let’s be honest, something far less tasty could have induced a similar response. My afternoon included a 1hr nap so call it a draw. Fast forward a few hours and we reconvened at the Greenway again for run #9 and what was to be no more than 4mi. After talking with Topham for a few, Justin, WWL and I embarked on what was assuredly going to be a quicker experience than before. The chatter was minimal, the scenery was nice and after 4mi, we were finished with our 9th run. Back to the house for PORK CARNITAS, a much-needed recovery meal followed by a movie (or most of it) with the family.

Overall, I was feeling ok. My lower calves were still sore but manageable. My ankles and smaller muscles in my feet were tight and my hips, man, my hips; they were making themselves known. That last part was what surprised me the most. I wonder if as my legs started feeling heavier, I was engaging my hips more, or, it’s just a lot of miles so of course it’s going to be sore. Regardless, I had to make sure I was taking care of them. I used the foam roller for a bit, got dressed, loaded up and made my way to pick up WWL. This time, we were heading down into Rock Hill to run with Reborn and Ponytail for the 10th run of 12. It was a 10pm run in Reborn’s neighborhood which consisted of blue driveway lights used to land planes, pitbulls that sounded like chihuahuas, pitbulls that actually sound like pitbulls, construction, coconut ice cream and world peace. All in all, it was typical conversation at 10pm on a Saturday night while trying to complete more physical shenanigans.

The run ended in his driveway and we celebrated by eating freezer pops, some even injected with Pedialyte…who knew? We stretched, shared discomforts and parted ways. WWL and I were on the way back home and he pulled out a sunbutter and homemade strawberry jam sandwich on Dave’s Killer Bread® and it was perfect. As he said, if we eat before getting home, it allows sleep to come faster. Brilliant!

With 1hr 45mins more sleep on the body, the alarm goes off while sleeping in the guestroom, which has become my dorm for the night runs. Fast forward through the typical pre-run routine, go pick up Olaf as he is our 2am running wingman and arrive at WWL’s house for the 11th run of 12, another Baxter tour with he and Justin. We made our way through an uneventful run discussing things like first concerts, being dropped while crowd surfing, first cars, jobs, high school sports and I don’t remember what else. Again we finished, bent over with hands on knees, and started to feel a little joyous at the idea of only having 1 run remaining. The tightness had set in but we knew the drill, stay focused with one foot in front of the other, walk some hills and keep moving. When our momentum stops, it’s twice as hard to get it started again. We parted ways again and began to look forward to putting a bow on this endeavor.

I arrived home to a still-quiet house, ate a little, rinsed off and raced to bed. 2 hours later, the iPhone reintroduced me to the 5 o’clock hour. Our 12th and final run was to begin at 6am at the Riverwalk in Rock Hill and I was quickly motivated, knowing we’d have more guys running (jogging really) with us for the final 4mi. I tried to stretch again, roll again and drink more salt water, again. I made my way out the door, into the truck and on the road to head to our final launch point and be greeted by some of the best guys you’d meet. In our circles, 4mi isn’t much but as we all know, they weren’t really there to log 4mi. These men were there to be a motivation by purely being physically present. They wanted us to know they cared and supported us in our effort to complete this challenge.

Rock Thrill, Winchester, Car Boy, Vuvuzela, Walker, Cobra Kai, Gekko and Topham joined Fishsticks, Reborn, Justin, WWL and I for the final trek. It was a 2mi out and back along the paved path running parallel to the Catawba River. It was dark at 6am for run #12 but it was so cool to hear the river flow over the rocks and all the sneakers hitting the pavement. This was a great reminder for me that no matter how alone I feel, whether running or otherwise, I’ve got men of high character, and many more outside those with me this morning, who have got my six. Men who care if I show up or if I don’t. Men who care about the choices I make and the words I speak. They didn’t have to say anything, I knew they cared simply by being there. I hope you too, have people in your life like that.

We got two miles out, the turnaround for this final run, then turned back. This is when I looked to my left, saw WWL and commented, “last 2mi here, brother.” He looked at me and said, “let’s get it done.” At the time, I didn’t understand the magnitude of that exchange and frankly, I’m fairly certain it didn’t sit with him as much as it did me. I was about to run the final 2mi of our 48mi challenge with the same man I ran the previous 46mi alongside. No matter the darkness of the night, or the heat of the day, if I followed WWL’s lead, I just knew things were going to be alright. He was a calming presence during a time I could easily spin myself into a ball of nerves. Thanks to him, I never had to run alone and deal with those nerves.

We made our way back, came across the “line” and I did as I typically do after long events. I dropped to the ground. In the distance, I heard, “Max are you ok.” In this group of men, I’m known as Maximus thanks to my high school mascot being a gladiator, so my name often gets shortened to “Max.” I responded, “Yeah, I’m good, just taking it in.” I was laying flat on my back looking up at the combination of a starry sky with a hint of sunshine and the men that encircled me talking and sharing memories. At that moment, I was present. I was present in the discomfort and in the accomplishment.

Several months ago, I had this feeling. This feeling that now was the time to complete this David Goggins challenge I’d thought about for a few years. Fortunately, I had a few other guys who were willing to do this with me. We started at 10am Friday morning and proceeded to run 4mi every 4hrs for 48 hours. This meant we ran 48mi over 48hrs. And as I lay on the ground having just completed what we set out to complete, I felt joy. It was now about 7am on Sunday morning and the event was in the rearview mirror but not without the memories and the soreness.

I hope there is a challenge out there that you’ve been thinking about. I hope you think about why you’ve put it off and what it would take to give it a try. Whether there is a medal and a finish line or “just” the knowledge of completing something you had to train for, there is a discovery in the training process. Don’t become so focused on the finished product that you neglect the steps along the way. Steps are where true growth happens and those same steps could include sharing dreams of pumpkin pie soft serve ice cream. Don’t miss the teaching that pain can provide and please, don’t miss opportunities to be present with those around you.

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Log PT

Disclaimer was spoken and we opened up the truck to grab some logs. These logs are pretty sizable, and range from 100-200 pounds. Two PAX per log.

Move the logs to the grass lot/field behind the church. Set logs down on one end of field. While P1 does circuit below, P2 either shoulder carries log out and back to set point or does end over end log flips. Flap Jack until each partner completes entire circuit. Not a DORA – each PAX does 20 of each movement. 

Circuit 1

20 Ruck Thrusters

20 Push ups with side ruck pulls (Ruck at your right side…do a push up and then pull your ruck to the other side with your left arm, push up, then pull it back with your right arm)

20 Ruck Burpees

Breathing intensifies…

Circuit 2

20 OH Squats

20 Squats Ruck up front

20 Ruck Swings

 

LOG PT

Partner up by height to make the log carry more… fair.

5 Ground to Shoulder each side

10 OH press w/log (alternating shoulders)

10 big boy sit ups w/log

10 log press while on back

Carry/Ruck logs back to COT… toss them into the truck.

Last Minute Mary

25 4 ct flutters w/ruck press

11 4 ct Dollies w/ruck pressed

5 big boy sit ups w/ruck on front

 

COT. Nice work, men.

Announcements

Dam to Damn Bar is almost full!

F3 10 Year Convergence taking place

1/1/2021 where it all began.

Prayers/Praises

Prayers for marriages. This past year has been good and bad with regard to time spent with spouses. Pray we take advantage of those added moments with our wives.

Prayers for my mother in law who is down and out with arthritis and sciatica.

 

Thanks to Divac for letting YHC pick up the Substi-Q from Spiderman at the last minute.

Punch List out.

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Shield Lock 2020.1

Bobber and YHC were tossing around an idea of doing a Shield Lock focused month at his AO over the Summer – and we were finally able to land on the month of November. Today was part one of YHC’s shield lock taking over Block Party for the month to discuss the SL and inflict pain.

So, what is a Shield Lock (SL)? 

If you click the link above, you’ll read about it in a manner much better articulated than YHC could. A Shield Lock is a metaphor of men who “lock shields” together to form a stronger barrier against those powers actively trying to bring us back to sad clown status. If you’ve seen the movie 300, you’ve seen a Shield Lock (Phalanx) in action and how effective it can be against an attacking force.

YHC led with a quick message about the SL being a group of 3-5 men with a common goal of getting better. YHC highlighted the three P’s (3P) of the SL being Proximate, Purposeful, and Periodic. Two of YHC’s SL were in attendance this morning, World Wide Leader (WWL) and Wegmans.

With that, we moseyed to the spot of our first iteration. Today’s Weinke was designed to focus on the ups/downs and how the men to your left and right can motivate you through the differing paces of life.

 

Proximate

“Proximity requires physical nearness. The Shield Lock will not function if its Members are geographically disparate. While men no longer literally interlock their shields to fight, the metaphorical battle still requires physical contact. Teams are founded upon Trust , and Trust waxes and wanes in direct proportion to physical distance. Trust is hard to build and maintain, and the farther away another man is the harder it is to Trust him.”

 

Slow/Pulse Circuit

Low Slow Squats x 20

Hold 60 Seconds at end of last squat

Pulse 20 times

Recover

Forward Lunges x 15 (one side at a time)

Hold 60 Seconds at end of last lunge 

Pulse 20 times

Flap Jack

Recover

PAX get into Forward Leaning Rest Position – 

Merkins x 10 IC

Plank Hold – 30 Seconds

Lift one leg at a time, pulse 20 times up and down

Recover

Mosey to Upper Pike Lot

 

Purposeful

“By locking shields with other men, the HIM hedges his brother’s peak against his own valley, and vice-versa. He knows that his valleys will tempt him to the Flux, and that he will need the strength of his brother’s peak to maintain Acceleration. Likewise, he knows that it will be his peak that provides his brother the bulwark he will need when a valley draws him toward the Flux. This, not companionship, is the ultimate Purpose of the Shield Lock and its primary distinction from a Club.”

WWL is a man of discipline. So much so that every evening at promptly 8:34 a text comes through from him highlighting four items, as a daily AAR.

  1. Daily Weight
  2. Daily Red Pill (DRP)
  3. Completion of our SL Bible Plan
  4. One extracurricular activity to better one’s self (reading a book, spending time with M/2.0, community service, etc).

This purposeful communication allows YHC to better fight the Flux and stay out of the valleys that are inevitable, and to return the favor to WWL and other members of the SL when they are down in valleys.

 

Build Up/Bearpee Circuit 

1:4-10:40

8 CT Body Builders:Bear Crawls

Many breaks were taken during this iteration, as it sucked terribly. During one of said breaks, YHC took time to talk about a hero (or anti hero, if you so perceive it) in the Bible – Samson. He was a man of great strength but he had many weaknesses. Instead of surrounding himself with strong, like minded men, he decided to take the solo path and “do it himself.” On many occasions, he made decisions that were unbecoming of his path as a Nazarite, and it led to his ultimate destruction. Ultimately Samson came back to God and was given strength to perform one more time for God’s glory – but YHC regularly wonders how Samson would have ended up if he had solid counsel and strong men to his left and right.

 

Now, my man Wegmans has it all going on in the SL. He uses a perfect combination of sass and positive language to really drive home a point of when YHC is veering off the Path. A true linguistic HIM that doesn’t let you give a BS answer when push comes to shove. He is not bashful in his correction of YHC and others in the SL. Every man needs someone to speak to them like this from time to time – especially in a horizontal relationship such as the SL.

 

Periodic

“Periodic is the final element of the 3P. The Shield Lock must come together periodically to be Effective. For the HIM, this is a form of preventive maintenance. The Amateur waits until the needle is on empty before he stops for gas, but the Pro fills his tank periodically–regardless of where his needle is pointing at any given moment. By meeting periodically, the Members of the Shield Lock recognize each other’s incipient valleys and proactively initiate the fight against the Flux as a Team. In this way, the Shield Lock parcels out the pain felt by the man in the valley and bears it together as a team.”

Every Tuesday at 0445, YHC’s SL comes together for an hour ruck followed by an additional DRP to strengthen one another. We takes turns switching out who Q’s.

 

Fast/Hill DORA Circuit

Because what good is a message about the Shield Lock without some DORA?

Partner up, P1 runs down Massey St Hill and back while P2 works on reps of:

100/200/300

CDD’s/Curb Dips/Seal Jacks

Head back to COT.

 

What has my SL done for me?

It has kept me away from bad habits, kept my head up in challenging times, it has allowed me to tap into wisdom that I would have otherwise been blind to if I were doing this thing alone. It has stretched and challenged me to be a better man. It has given me life long friends. 

At the end of the work out, YHC asked by show of hands who was in a Shield Lock. About 75% of the PAX raised their hands. Good.

If you’re not in a SL, look to your left and your right. Who do you post with regularly? Who’s in a similar stage of life? It doesn’t have to be some magical connection reminiscent of a Hallmark movie. We are men who (for the most part) all have the same struggles. This is important. Take the step!

 

Dirty Harry and Repeat are the other two in YHC’s shield lock. They could not be in attendance due to illness today, but they have impacted YHC in many ways.

DH is the kind of friend who will do dumb things with you because you want to do them. By dumb, YHC means ridiculous GORUCK training and marathon rucks – for fun. He has impacted YHC in many ways beyond taking a DRP, as he has served our country and he proudly serves his M and 2.0’s above all others.

Repeat is the quiet one in the group, but he has stepped up when hitting the peaks to pull YHC out of the valleys. He is a solid member of the group and has walked alongside YHC recently in life challenges that we both are facing. YHC is happy to have him in the group.

 

Announcements

FiA LKW Marathon this weekend – hit up Slow Jamz for more info!

Fort Mill Golf Tournament Dec 12 – hit up Stang for more info.

Christmas Party up and coming. 

Read your newsletter.

Prayers/Praise

Rebel’s 2.0 is 23 today! 

Praise for YHC’s Shield Lock

Prayers for our country.

Prayers for One Niner looking for a job. 

 

Bobber – thank you for tapping our SL to lead on such an important topic. We men cannot do this alone.

Punch List out.

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The Buble’

The temps were steamy. The Bubble was bubbling. The disclaimer was disclaimed. Eighteen HIM decided to get better.

Warm Up

  • 15 Side Straddle Hops
  • 10 Windmills
  • 10 Low Slow Squats
  • 10 Flutters
  • 10 Dying Cockroaches
  • 10 Big Boy Sit ups
  • 10 Mountain Climbers
  • Down/Up Dog
  • Static Stretch

Round 1

Indian Run around the block as the caboose did 2 burpess and sprinted to the front.

As the PAX gathered after the run I spoke on the importance of serving. The Bible tells us so.

Luke 22: 27 – 28

Jesus “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you the one who serves.”

There is so much opportunity to serve the community. If the Son of God can serve us, we can certainly find ways to serve each other. Don’t be the guy that reclines at the table. Be the guys that serves.

Round 2

Indian Plank while the PAX in the back bear crawls to the front. We continued out of the parking lot down the alley and back. This was a crowd pleaser.

Round 3

Indian Peoples Chair while the PAX in the back lunge walked to the front. We continued out of the parking lot down the alley and back.

Time flies when you are in pain (or something like that). We circled up for COT.

Announcements/Prayers/Praises

-JWOW

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Negative Splits

23 was the number to launch The Fort’s newest AO: Sweep The Leg.  The goal of any AO should be acceleration of overall fitness of the Pax, and I believe we delivered this morning.

The workout was simple.  3 miles, half mile segments with pain stations.  The goal was negative splits with 3 minute pain stations between segments.  Something like the following:

  • .5 miles at 8:15 pace, 3 min pain station
  • .5 miles at 8:00 pace, 3 min pain station
  • .5 miles at 7:45 pace, 3 min pain station
  • .5 miles at 7:30 pace, 3 min pain station
  • .5 miles at 7:15 pace, 3 min pain station
  • .5 miles at 7:00 pace, 3 min pain station

Pain stations included crowd favorites such as:

  • Burpees
  • Bombjacks
  • Squats
  • Hillybilly Squats
  • Flutter
  • Freddy Mercury’s
  • Merkins
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Peter Parker
  • Parker Peter
  • Monkey Humpers

The leaders of the pack did the full pain station, those bringing up the six may or may not get to do the exercises at the pain station, but it kept the pax mostly together and pushed guys to keep up since the overall pace continued to speed up.

Hit this link for the route and some deets.

The #Kings this week were Pointer, Maximus, and Shady, who will be added to the Q list for an upcoming workout.

Ready your newsletter and pray for our country and the unrest going on right now due to racial injustice.

Honor to Serve.

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23

NYE at the “Ant”- BB 2wks late

Link to the Pre-Blast: https://f3thefort.com/2019/12/18/the-force-to-bring-us-back-in/

The script changed but we discussed burnout and the challenges associated with getting burned out. Nevertheless, we did some work with heavy sand bags and rucks. The legs were put to the test and teamwork was present.

A lot remains on the written weinke which should see the light of day or the darkness of the gloom…some day.

Until next time.

Maximus

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Wegmans and Repeat at the Coop

Since this was Repeat’s 2nd VQ, YHC led the warmup. Nothing fancy. Nothing special.

Partnered up near JROTC building. P1 runs to the top of the loop, 25 Merkins whiles P2 is doing LBCs. Switch once P1 returns. Next is 25 bomb jacks and flutters. Last is 25 monkey humpers and Rosalitas. Hand off to Repeat.

Repeat ran us up near the band field. There is a covered walkway with lights. At the first light we did 5 Merkins and 5 LBCs. At the next light we added 5 to each exercise so 10 and so on and so forth. Repeat estimates we did roughly 280 reps of each exercise.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead Punchlist.

Wegmans

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Swamp Pain

17 HIM pushed through a nasty beatdown by YHC today at the Swamp.  YHC got to the AO about 15 mins early to check out the Broga dudes… no wait it was to prep the winkie.  Anyway, I ran the hidden greenway trail behind best buy to home depot (not target) and wrote 5 pain stations.  3 for the starting line and 2 halfway through the loop.

Started on time (barely) with a windmill warmup and that was it.   Mosey to the start.  The trail is about 0.65 miles with the loop back around a half mile.  We did it twice with the 5 plank position pain stations (ending with 25 burpees of course). Moseyed to COT area for COP burpees or flying squirrels, diamond merkins or merkins (all dependent upon how far you got on the loop). Hold  Did right arm and leg and left arm and leg for a while and ended with worst merkin ever x 5.  Recover for some painful Moroccan night clubs.  Next hold Al Gore and went around the circle naming some positive things going on in each PAX life.  Way to lift each other up!

Lastly we did some random parking lot drills in time for COT.  In COT we had a couple of guys get out of their shells and open up.  What a great thing!  Shield Lock!!!

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7th Year Convergence for The Fort

The 7th Year Convergence for The Fort followed an exhilarating Invergence from the night before.  Hoping to continue that acceleration, the 4 Q’s had a plan to talk about the 4 Skills needed for Virtuous Leadership: Vision, Articulation, Persuasion, Exhortation.

CakeBoss to start us out with Vision: Recognizing advantage and the movement required to achieve it.

Disclaimer and welcome
“Go Hard or Go Home!”

Take off for 100 yard mosey up path, Get in 3 lines – Indian Run across WEP

Break into 4 lines, 2 groups of seal teams -20 seal team sit ups in cadence

Back into 2 lines , Everyone plank – Tunnel of Love (25 guys per line) – Plank series while guys army crawling under

Crowd pleaser for sure!

7 Burpees for 7 Years!

Vision is what I spoke about and the men that saw the advantage of F3 and planted it (moved towards it) in Charlotte, the The Fort and we continued to give it away in Rock Hill & Lake Wylie.

Hand off to Maximus

Articulation: Describing vision to others in a clear manner. Being able to tell others where we’re going and being able to describe that vision to others.

So, with that said, we’re going over to the top of the big hill to start with drill bits:

½ the group goes one direction while the other goes the opposite way

At each white post (drill bit), 10 Jumping Lunges (10 each leg)

10 Jump Squats

Mosey to the base of the other hill, the one with the statue on it:

NUR (backwards run) up the hill

3 Burpees at the top

Bear Crawl down

5 Burpees at the bottom

Hand off to Fun House for the “P”.

Persuasion – The initiation of first Movement.  Convincing people to move in the direction of advantage, abandoning their Status Quo,

YHC gave an awesome yet forgettable speech about Persuasion.  Then the Thang:

Circle Up – Duck, Duck, Goose – One guy runs around the circle the rest of us plank, the next guy goes when the running guy finishes.  Planking excercises were called out: High Plank, Low plank, Mountain Climbers….. Audible called to get the next guy running after 1/2 a lap around the circle of Pax….. Peter Parker, Parker Peters….. Audible called to get the next guy running after 1/3 lap around….. Mak-Tar-Jai, Left Hand High, Right hand high…..Done.  That took 10 minutes!  60 guys is a lot of guys to be running around in circles.

Stay in circle, 5 minutes left, Jack Webb: 1 Merkin to 4 Overhead hand claps.  We got to 8!

Hand off to Pusher for Exhortation!

Exhortation – Incentivizing The Breach Of Obstacles.

Burpees x 10 OYO
Flutters IC x 10
Mosey to a corner of WEP
Burpees x 9 OYO
Flutters IC x 10
LBCs IC x 10
Mosey to another corner
Burpees x 8 OYO
Flutters IC x 10
LBCs IC x 10
Rosalita IC x 10
Mosey to another corner
Burpees x 7 OYO
Flutters IC x 10
LBCs IC x 10
Rosalitas IC x 10
Hello Dollies IC x 10
Mosey to another corner
Burpees x 6 OYO
LBCs IC x 10
Flutters IC x 10
COT
Naked Moleskin – The name-o-rama took forever.  That is a good thing. When 60+ PAX post to celebrate something that has obviously changed their lives, then change is happening!  Thanks to Maximus who put this awesome weekend celebration together!  His leadership is not only Effective (Using VAPE) but he is a Virtuous Leader! (Check out the Q Source for the 5 C’s Virtues of Virtuous Leadership) Can’t wait to see what year 8 brings to The Fort!  More importantly, who it brings!  Time to go EH someone.  See you in the gloom.
TClap |
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