The Bunky

In the gloom this morning, YHC Q’ed the “Bunky” WOD. In honor of my recently passed paternal grandfather, William “Bunky” Williams, IV. He led a good life with three children, five grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. He lived to be 94 years. Below is the WOD that YHC wrote up to show him respect. He was an avid water sportsman, a fisherman, a merchant marine, and a baseball fanatic. Among other things, he taught YHC how to throw a knuckleball, took myself and my cousins crabbing on his pontoon boat, and taught me many things about the water.

Beyond what he did and didn’t do, and for aside from the obvious reason he is passing, YHC is feeling sad. I miss him, and will miss him for a long time. I also know that a window of mine into the past has closed. Grandparents span at least six generations. They are literally a time machine of knowledge of 100 + years. His grandfather, and potential great grandfather were alive when he was a child. My great, great, great grandfather and I could be connected via his memories. Take advantage if you still have those family members in your life. Their memories die with them if not shared with us.

During the WOD YHC would take short breaks and tell stories of his life – good and not so good. 

 

WEINKE

Lead off with 94 4-count Ruck SSH IC. 

Born 06/27/1927 – Died 02/06/2021

Rep Count of 6-27-19-27

Sandbag OH Press

Sandbag Squats

Sandbag Good Mornings

Crab Walk w/Ruck out and back

 

Midway Point

94 Single Count Flutter Kicks

3 children, 5 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren

3 sandbag get ups

5 Manmakers w/SB

6 sandbag over the shoulder

 

Second Half

Rep Count of 2-6-20-22

Sandbag Bent Over Row

Sandbag Clean and Toss

Sandbag Side Bends

Ruck Duck Walk out and ruck back

We made it to 20, and then hit 0600.

 

NMM

I mentioned my grandfathers’ struggle with alcohol and other things throughout the weinke. Divac mentioned in COT something very profound and true. Too often we spend our time thinking about what our fathers owe us, or what they did wrong. We are not perfect, and we know it. Neither were they. They have a story just like us and have reasons for why they did what they did – right or wrong. They don’t owe us anything – let’s flip the script here. We owe our fathers and grandfathers way more for giving us life, providing for us, loving us (to whatever degree), and creating opportunity. As long as we take what was given us and take it one step further for our children – that’s forward progress.

 

Solid showing today by some solid men. All of which I am glad to have in my corner.

 

Punch List out.

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Today’s Workout Brought to You by the #12 & Alan Magee

It was a chilly morning at Honey Badger, but 8 showed up to honor a WWII hero, Alan Magee

January 3rd is the anniversary of one of the most amazing tales of survival from WWII. It was #OTD in 1943 that the B-17F Flying Fortress, “snap! crackle! pop!”, of the 360th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, was lost on a daylight raid over Saint-Nazaire, France. Aboard was ball turret gunner Alan Magee.
Despite 28 shrapnel wounds, Magee had left his ball turret when it was damaged by German flak. He discovered his parachute had been shredded by the same flak and was useless. Just then, another flak hit then blew off a section of the right wing, causing the aircraft to enter an unrecoverable spin. Magee blacked out from lack of oxygen because of the high altitude and was thrown clear of the aircraft. He fell over four miles without a chute before crashing through the glass roof of the St. Nazaire railroad station. Rescuers found him on the floor of the station severely injured but alive.
Magee was taken as a prisoner of war and given medical treatment by the Germans. He recovered and was liberated in May 1945. He received the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. He passed away in 2003 at the age of 84.
We warmed up with 12 reps of SSH, Mountain Climbers, Merkins, and Windmills.
The Thang:
Buy in 17 burpees
Run 1200m
43 Merkins
43 LBC’s
43 Plank Jacks
Run 800m
21 Merkins
21 LBC’s
21 Plank Jacks
Run 400
11 Merkins
11 LBC’s
11 Plank Jacks
Buy out 17 burpees
After everyone completed the WOD, we moved on to the bars and blocks
12 pull-ups
Wall sit for 45 seconds
6 pull-up
Wall sits for 24 seconds
3 pull-ups
Wall sits for  12 seconds
We picked up the blocks.
12 reps of OHP, curls, squats, big boys, and chest press
Overhead carry the block down the hill to the stop sign.
6 reps of the aforementioned set
Overhead carry the block back up the hill.
Set of 3 reps
Finished with some Mary.
The number 12 had special meaning today as tomorrow (1/25) marks 1 year since I donated my kidney.  It’s been quite the year and I’m thrilled to report that Petra, my recipient, it doing great!  I learned about Alan Magee from Facebook and I also learned of Petra’s need from FB.  Yes, there are a lot of terrible things on social media, but there are some pretty awesome things out there too.  As @DarkHelment mentioned, it’s all about how you use it.
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Thankful for Block Party

A nice brisk morning in the gloom to spend some time with the PAX of F3 The Fort. We are super blessed, gentlemen, to have such an amazing thing in our lives. YHC met with WWL and Wegmans to run hill repeats 30 minutes before the boot camp. It was good.

As we approached 0515, Band Camp came flying in out of nowhere. Love that guy. Always a good time when he shows up. Tesh was sitting in his truck surely contemplating his shirtless decisions before he stepped into the gloom. 0515 struck. Time to work.

 

In no specific order, YHC discussed at length the below items for which I am thankful.

  • My life which has been blessed beyond belief (3B) by the Lord
  • My M who loves and pursues the Lord
  • My (many) 2.0’s who embody the best and worst within me. 
  • Good group of dudes to do life with (SL, Whetstone, etc).
  • Health – a year ago YHC was in the hospital and unable to workout alongside the men.
  • F3, of course. Life has changed in many ways for the better. 

Then we got to the 1st F.

COP

SSH

Wind Mills

Tappy Taps

Merkins

LSS

 

Weinke

Iteration 1 – Thankful for SL 

Mosey to Sisk Parking Lot, Partner Up – Do the DORA together.

10 Merkins

20 Squats

30 LBCs

Mosey down to Massey Stop sign and back

Rinse and Repeat for 15 minutes

 

Iteration 2 – Thankful for my 2.0’s

Mosey to Ampitheater

Balls to the Wall – 30 second hold

Bear Crawl to edge of stage

10 CDD’s

Crawl bear back to wall

Repeat four times (for my four 2.0’s)

 

Iteration 3 – Thankful for My M

Mary in the Amphitheater

Protractor

Hello Dollies IC

Protactor

Box Cutters

Protractor

Rosalitas

Protractor

 

Mosey back to COT.

 

YHC had a great time leading the PAX today. We discussed many topics for which to be thankful. It’s amazing how taking the time to think about gratitude really shifts the mood from the usual grey cloud of unquenchable desire… If only we did it more.

 

Think about what you have in life that is good. Think more about it.

Think less about what you think you need. You likely don’t need it.

 

Punch List out.

 

 

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Pyramid attempt at Fire Ant

On Christmas Eve, Divac introduced us to the way he was going to run The Fire Ant AO now that he is in charge. And guess what, it’s not for the faint of heart. That said, I had to live up to the billing.
In recent months, I’ve noticed a great way to challenge the PAX is to post the Weinke on the socials ahead of time. It also holds me accountable to planning the proper beatdown. So here goes:

Ruck 1 mile at a sub 14min/mi pace to TCES. Full disclosure, Punch List led us at a 13:37 pace…giraffe.

10 Man Makers
20 Lunges (ea leg)
30 Merkins (single ct)
40 Real Squats (you know what this means)
50 Mountain Climbers (left/right = 1)
60 LBC’s (single ct)
70 Curls
80 Peter Parkers (40 I/C) – I believe this is where the leaders ran out of time.
90 Bent Over Rows (45 I/C) – I was really looking forward to these!
100 Flutters w/ Press (50 I/C) – Surprise, Surprise. I was really, really looking forward to these.

Ruck 1 mile back to the Start Ex at a sub 14min/mi pace. We made it about .25mi and I abruptly stopped everyone for a Switzer. The new instructions were to Jail Break back to the Start Ex to complete as many Flutters/Press as you can until 0600. The leaders arrived at a 10:05 pace and a heart rate that neared, “explosive.”

COT practices with the Golden Corral bootcampers.

SYITG,
Maximus

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Simple inconveniences

18 PAX gathered in for The Bubble amidst humid conditions outside a mushroom pool.

Warm-up:
SSH x51
1 Burpee
Windmill x10
2 Burpees
Merkin x10
3 Burpees
Lap
Karaoke
Some yoga
4 Burpees

The Thang:
Run 1 mile to Alison Park
Al Gore to Monkey Humpers facing Sutton Rd multiple times to keep together-ish

6 Exercises for 12-reps (all in cadence):
Merkin
Low Slow Squat
Alternating Lunge
Mountain Climber
Peter Parker
Burpee

Rinse and repeat total of 144 (a gross) of reps

Run 1 mile back.
Stopping for some monkey humpers along the way to keep the group together-ish.

NMM:

There’s a lot of turmoil going on in the world. Americans (in general) have largely been spared inconveniences since WWII (maybe gas shortages in the 1970s?). In many cities, we’re being asked or required to wear masks to quell the rampant spread of COVID-19. For almost all of us, this is an inconvenience. But luckily it is only an inconvenience.

Today’s workout was certainly not convenient, with the exception of the location for some PAX. We recognize how simple workouts in the humidity makes us better. YHC is officially exhorting us to be leaders and do the inconvenient things like wearing a mask for our community’s health.

Side note:

As an FM local, I remember when Baxter was a cow pasture. Traffic is worse in town, but so much about Fort Mill is better because of the folks who moved here. I appreciate what y’all bring to our town. It is great to post with PAX from all over who are working to make themselves and our shared community better. T-Claps to y’all.

What I learned:

At The Bubble, 10 PAX doubled down posting twice today. YHC tried to keep the warm-up close for those PAX arriving late. My advice to future Qs is: DO NOT plank up in the parking lot until 6:20 or so. Unless you want to raise your heart rate from fear rather than mountain climbers as a vehicle whips into the parking lot you’re lying down in…. My mistake. Won’t happen again.

COT

Prayers:
Bonsai
Cash


Band Camp dismissed

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3rd

It was blessing to post with 13 #HIMs today.  We were sweating like crazy 15 minutes into the workout.  YHC has not seen WWL in months. Stang surprised us by posting at today’s boot camp instead of running the trails.  It was great to see all of the Pax in the gloom.  

The Thang:

Mosey to the curved parking lot on 160 

COP: SSH (30x), IW (20x), WM (15x), Sumo Squats (15x), MC (20x), MCs (15x), LBCs (15x) 

Mosey to the parking lot on top of the hill 

Pain Stations:

Circle up, count by 4, each group goes to a corner

Pyramid Drill: At each station/corner, do Flying Squirrels, Reverse Crunches and Donkey Kicks in increments of 5 until we hit 15 repetitions then countdown to 5 as a group. Jog to each station.

Mosey to the curved parking lot on 160

Partner up. Partner Big Boy Sit Ups (15x for 2 rounds), Partner Ski Jumps (15x), Partner Leg Lifts (15x for 2 rounds), Partner Squats (15x for 2 rounds), Pepper Grinders (15x), Scorpions(15x)

Mosey to COT

Moleskin: 

In order to have significant impact on others you must put others first. Put God first, others second and yourself third. 

We say “I am third” and even wear that saying on our clothing. How do we put ourselves third?

There are daily opportunities to be third, like opening the door for someone. Be there when someone is struggling. Serve the poor. Listen to others perspective and value it.

Peace,

Deacon 

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Early Risers at the Swamp

When I pulled into the parking lot near Best Buy, there were several cars already parked near the AO.  Based on the mumble chatter on social media, several of the PAX were getting in some early training for upcoming events.  There were 23 men at the work out, 13 for ruck, 8 for BC, and 2 runners.

After the disclaimer, we jogged to the front of Best Buy.  We started with a few warm up exercises (Butt Kickers, Toy Solders) before we moseyed over to the back of Just Fresh.

COP

SSH  x 20

Imperial Walker x 20

Windmill x 10

Plank Stretches

 

Next, we moseyed to the front of Home Depot for a round of Dora 1-2-3

100 Lat Pull-ups on the bicycle rack

200 Squats

300 LBCs

Next, we moseyed back to Just Fresh near the staircase for a round of Arod 3-2-1 (reverse Dora). Instead of running around the parking lot, we ran up and down the stairs.

300 Calf Raises

200 Lunges

100 Jump Squats

Next, we headed back to COT for one last exercise, the Merkin Gauntlet.  The Pax lined up in a plank position.  Each person performed 4 merkins in front of each person.

COT

Special prayers for Twister as he recovers from his eye surgery

 

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Running, Hills, Sand Bags…Complete

No glitz, just guts. (Similar to the writing of this BB.) That’s all we needed today to get some mileage, some drill bits, some hills and a couple of sand bag exercises. Now for the evidence it actually happened this morning at Block Party:

Long mosey to the Massey St hill and back to the upper corner of WEP.

Warm Up exercises consisting of things like Wind Mills, Squats, Merkins and Mountain Climbers

Explanation of the Drill Bit Tour: The path around WEP has these white posts. In our world, we call them Drill Bits and at each of of these Drill Bits, you’ll perform the following exercises:

20 American Hammers (20 ea side)

10 Lunges (10 ea side)

20 Dips

We then made our way to the base of the big grass hill for an explanation of the first sand bag exercise:

With your partner, you will suitcase carry either the 80lb or 60lb sand bag up to the top of the hill and back down. While the partner teams are waiting for their turn on the bag, the PAX did:

10 Burpees, 20 Jump Squats, 30 4-ct Flutters

The next sand bag exercise was for you and your partner to bear crawl-drag the bag out to a tree about 20yds away. Meanwhile, the PAX did the following:

10 Flying Squirrels, 10 Peter Parkers, 10 Parker Peters

Then, as a group, we NUR’d up the hill and Jogged down the hill for 4mins.

COT.

Maximus

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Sweati or Not, #CSAUP is Saturday

0515 on a crisp…wait! This is not the Yeti preview!

0515 on a gloom-filled morning, moisture in the air, 22 Pax rolled in to get a little preview of #TheSweati. A lot of familiar faces. Nantan, Lakeridge Clowncars, Dirty, WWL, Senator, Double D…even the Weginator was there. There were more. I’ll tag them in the BB. Several came to get a little peek of the Sweati. I gave some “details”. Some true. Some false. All will be revealed this Saturday. Get your head right. Hydrate! Be Safe! Don’t Die! We did some exercises that may or may not happen this Saturday. They probably will…over a 3 hour period, not 45 minutes. So here we go:

THANG
Mosey around the parking lot and circle up for an abbreviated COP
-SSH
-10 Burpees OYO
-Imperial Walkers
-10 Bombjacks
-Mountain Climbers

Head to the curb for a short circuit (Part 1)
-25 Dips / Run across parking lot and back
-50 Merkins / Run across parking lot and back
-75 Squats / Run across parking lot and back

Mosey to the freshly repaved and striped Hive Parking Lot (Part 2)
-Burpee Broad Jump the entire length of the parking lot*
-Run Back
-Lunge Walk the entire length of the parking lot
-Run Back
*This is starting to become a thing. It should be stopped!

Mosey Back to Laces In parking lot for Reverse Pyramid (Part 3)
(Run across the parking lot and back between sets)
-40 LBCs
-30 Mtn Climbers
-20 Peter Parkers
-10 Burpees
-20 Parker Peters
-30 4-Ct Flutter Kicks
-40 Side Straddle Hops**
**Tclaps to Maximus for leading the pax in some Mary while waiting for the 6

In the interest of time, we stayed put and completed the next series of exercises in the LI parking lot versus the Hive (about 1/2 the distance planned) #yourwelcome
Bear Time (Part 4)
-Bear Crawl Across the parking lot
-NUR back
-Crawl Bear across the parking lot
-RUN back

I blew off Part 5, which would have been a repeat of Part 1, for some Mary. Thanks to the PAX that lead the last few sets of core.

0600 Arrived and YHC was #smoked

Appreciate all the PAX that came out to one of my quarterly Qs. I hope you gained some insight on what is to come this Saturday morning at the #Sweati

No NMM means no more details for the PAX. See you Sat.

Announcements
-Sweati this Saturday at the Armory (Forest Hill Church): 0530 Ruckers/0600 Runners, Q-Source to follow at Forest Hill (Charis Room)
-Stuff the Bus at Tega Cay Walmart (Look for details from Wegmans)
-A couple of 2ndF options at Carolina Beer Temple and Amor Artis
-Read your Newsletter

Prayers & Praises
-Prayers for Rock Thrill’s Father-in-Law who is having several medical issues
-Prayers for a friend of the Pax who’s marriage is struggling
-Prayers for Nasa’s wife who is struggling with some severe headaches
-Prayers for Repeat’s mom who is fighting cancer
-Prayers for discipline in the 3 F’s and to continually make sure our Concentrica is in order (something I struggle with)

Gentlemen, it’s been a lot of fun and an honor to serve you. Hope to see you at the Sweati!

Aye!
Zima

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Big B, little b, what begins with B?

Buddies, Burpees, Bearcrawls, Bodybuilders, Booyah! Merkins and B.O.M.B.S. all start with that letter B, that’s what.

18 attended the Swamp today, half rucked, the other have joined YHC for a little schooling on the letter B.

I decided a couple weeks ago that I was going to work my way through the Exicon one letter at a time.  This was my 2nd Q since making that decision so the 8 unlucky PAX that got stuck with me and B today were thoroughly beat-down.

I gave the quick usual disclaimer an off we went.  I immediately heard grumbling about the speed so I slowed it down a bit and we did some karaoke’s and toy soldiers before circling up for a quick warm-up, which consisted of 9 Windmills and 15 Merkins (IC) followed by a couple 10 counts holding a 6″ plank.  A quick stretch and off to the 1st routine.

Routine 1:

Burpee, Bearcrawl, Booyah! Merkin…Chase

Buddy up and partner 1 does 5 burpees and then chases down his partner who is bearcrawling around the 2 roundabouts (about .25 miles).  Tags his partner and then they each do 5 Booyah! Merkins and switch/repeat until getting back to the starting point.  A real shoulder burner!

Routine 2:

For routine 2 we moseyed to the parking lot next to the fountain and did some B.O.M.B.S.  This is basically a DORA with more exercises and the suggestion to pick an exercise that matches each letter in BOMBS.

  • 50 Bodybuilders
  • 100 Overhead presses (with cinderblocks)
  • 150 Monkey Humpers
  • 200 Big-Boy sit-ups
  • 250 Smurf Jacks (suuuuuucked)

In typical DORA fashion, 1 partner does the exercise while the other (in this case) sprints to the 2nd island, bear crawls around the island, and then sprints back and picks up where his partner left off while his partner does the sprinting.

I think only  Cha-Ching, Duck Dynasty, and I finished, but that was probably because we were the odd group and we took the higher of the 2 reps.  I’m not sure if we would have made it otherwise since it came down to the last few seconds before heading back to CoP.

Everyone did awesome and pushed for the entire 45 minutes.

We made it back to CoP at exactly 6:00AM with the Ruckers about a minute behind.

Maximus announced a couple of new AO’s coming to Fort Mill, including a “Bruisers” workout for injured PAX, what a great idea.  As well as a bootcamp AO with a mandatory pre-run, sounds harsh!  In any case, not a lot of PAX spoke up with Prayers except for Maximus again so we prayed for family and everything that was on our hearts.

Thank you for the Q Cha-Ching it was a pleasure to lead these men today.  Nice work everyone!

Until next time,

-FLUX-

 

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