Month: February 2022 (Page 4 of 12)

The date is 2/22/22. Gotta do something with 2’s or 22’s but nothing really exciting came to me so we just did some stuff. Started with Disclaimer and Pledge then during WU had some chatter that I may have shut down too aggressively with some burpees because it got kinda quiet after that…..oh well. We quickly reviewed the 5 core principles then took off with a mosey to the circle for some Dealer’s Choice. We all spread out around the circle and started with Tiger who called the exercise while he HASTILY moseyed around the circle while we did AMRAP of that exercise. Once he got back to original position (he may or may not have paused a few times on the way), the next person picked an exercise and moseyed around the circle while we did AMRAP of that exercise. This continued until all got their exercises in. We did a lot of stuff with no duplications…..FYI, Serina pulled the BURPEE card and then proceeded to mosey to South Carolina before coming back. Good for him-bring the heat and dish it out as often as possible. I thought that was outstanding. I don’t really know him well so seeing him get a little aggressive was nice. We talked about  stepping up and Q’ing a workout if you have not done recently-F3 is (supposed to be) a group composed of LEADERS so make sure you venture out and get some time as the Q soon if you have not done so recently. Those who Q a lot, offer to co-Q with an inexperienced PAX too.

Next, mosey up the hill dodging cars to the top (I was motoring along at my top speed when someone flew by me-? Bouquet, they went by so fast I don’t know if I saw exactly who it was…..) At the top we did 22 Merkins for the Vets then some squats called by Serina. We then moseyed down the hill in front of the school to the other entrance for some (help me out with those young eyes Serina, what does my weinke say) BURPEES. We moseyed to the parking lot and did some 22’s with (BOS sponsored) Monkey Humpers and (Seuss sponsored) Def Leppards (get your butt down). Finally, on to my favorite exercise, find a wall or a fence and let’s get some hip slappers done X 2 sets of 11. We moseyed back to the site of the 22’s and I realized I forgot to say to do 5 squats each time we crossed center so we did a few trips back and forth then moseyed back to start for a few rounds of Mary.

Great group out this am. A few of us got some EC. We finished with COT-special prayers for Tiger and family, Breaker Breaker and family, Tooltime and family, and Roundup and family. If you are in a good place, enjoy it and be thankful while lifting the guy to your left and right-we all need it.

thanks for the opportunity this am-Whoopee

I have been running mostly as of late so that I can get ready for the Smokey Mountain Relay.  But today I took the Q for a break in the running. The only problem is that I couldn’t make up my mind on what to do. So I combined ideas from previous workouts and winged it! I don’t remember what we did, so it must’ve not been to much!!

thanks men  for the opportunity!

Pockets.

It was a 55 degree morning with just a touch of sprinkles in the area.  Nothing to note really.

When YHC showed the guys were gathering and eagerly awaiting this morning’s Thang.

The Thang involved SSH’s,  squats, toy soldiers, merkins, mountain climbers, lbc’s, and some lite moseying.

Great group of guys and an excellent way to start the day.

AYE!!!!

Timeframe

Somehow I was lucky enough to get all 4 Canoes to show up for my Tuesday Q,  Sister Act, Slaw, Ball Joint and Wichita 😂

Warmup

Arm circles forward

Arm Circles backwards  “Curves Workout” according to SA

Gravel pickers

20 SSH in cadence

20 merkins

15 SSH in cadence

15 merkins

10 SSH in cadence

10 merkins

5 SSH

5 Merkins

Mosey to picnic shelter

20 squats

20 lunges

20 step ups

40 calf raises

X2

Bearmuda Triangle

Three cones forming a circle 20 yards apart (roughly lol) One burpee at first cone, bear crawl to second cone and do two burpees, bear crawl to 3rd cone and do 3, made two laps ending in 7 burpees

Bruce Lee

1. American hammers
2. Leg raises
3. LBC’s
4. Penguins
5. Crunchy frogs
6. 100’s

20 reps each, 3 sets

Bruce Lee did 7 sets escalating the reps to 90 by the end.

Too much time left so we made another lap in the Bearmuda triangle

Dirty 11’s CDD’s on one side, burpee in the middle each way and  big boys on the other side  

Pledge of Allegiance

Sarlacc took us out in prayer.

Prayer Requests

Roundup and The Parker family

Wichita’s mom

Gumby

Def leopard

Goudelocks

As most pax know YHC has been under some very trying times of late. I have got through it by prayer, pax, and an army of support that has humbled me beyond belief! As such I have found out that my life is abundant and am getting my “true north” now, making ambitious future plans and trying to be an example to those who have helped me and those I intend to help.

With that said my first Q of the year went like this:

COP

5 SSH – burpees

20 gravel pickers

Grapevine stretches

Nolan Ryans 10X each side.

Off to the back courts and some Blimps with partner.

P1 – do the work.

P2 – run the lot to the end, do 10X of the work and return and pickup where P1 was.

B- Burpees

L- Lunges

I- Imperial walkers

M- Merkins

P- Plank jacks

S- Squats

Bench work – 10 dips, 10 step ups, 10 dirkins, 10 inverted big boys, run basketball suicides on the court. Rinse an repeat for 15, 20 reps.

Time for Bear crawl slalom!

Circle up for ab work and burpee broad jump @ the circle!

Done. Pledge.

NMM: Great group, perfect morning. A lot of pax headed to the F3 retreat which was well worth the effort for all who could make it. For YHC, it was a relief to get back in the saddle. Things are getting better! And we just got to keep it moving.  Guys, there is NO OYO out there! We rise and stay upright as the warriors we are because of each other. And just so you know, real warriors love peace and hate war. But we are committed to fighting war when we have to. and that will be our example to this world.

Tesla

small group at painlab this am.  Good work for 70 second intervals even for an old Q. Bear Crawl, pul ups with coupons, nut crackers,  on  6 chest press, over head pulls, dips, weighted MNC, squats., and Flintstone’s inspired double crunches with kettlel. Great work and thanks for letting me be older than Dirt.

A handful got up and put a little work in while others slept, cleaned, packed, drank coffee and socialized on a beautiful crisp morning.

Freight ran and the rest did some pain lab style work after Saturdays efforts.

DDPY

The first installment of the F3 Gastonia HIM Retreat had been brewing for a long time in YHCs mind. Planning comes second nature for YHC and getting to do fun stuff with the guys is always…fun. That said, the plan was to head to Bonclarken, the conference center for the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church in Flat Rock, NC. It’s an easy 1 1/2 hour drive up the mountain to the beautiful grounds where 1st ARP Gastonia’s house named Carroll Cottage waited for the PAX to arrive. This is what happened…

Boudin, CPAP and YHC left home just after 2 on Friday and arrived at the cottage right at 4 to find two guys wandering around the back of the house like they were casing the joint. Good thing it was just Oompa and Montross! A grocery list was made and we headed off to the mega-Ingles to get in several thousand steps while we stocked up for the weekend. Upon arriving back, a couple other dudes showed up and we messed around for a while. YHC broke out one of the best games ever to learn the PAX something new, Farkle! Its a dice game where you total up points based on different combinations and the first to 10,000 wins. It was fun.

At the appointed time, we headed to Pi Squared Pizza to have some authentic Detroit style pizza. Our tabel was waiting for us and they had already gotten a jump on cooking the “pi’s” when we arrived thanks to calling ahead. It seemed to be a hit as there was nothing left when the dust settled. From there we went to Triskaleon Brewing for some live music and good beer. Shirts were shed. There may be photographic evidence.

Back at the house we ate some food, played some games and generally messed around but hit the hay at a reasonable hour in preparation for the big day that lay ahead.

The alarm sounded at different times for the PAX and we gathered out front of the house for a countoff. 19 PAX were ready for the beatdown YHC had planned out. A disclaimer was given and we headed out for a mosey.

Down the hill and around the bend we found a flag flying where we stopped for the Pledge of Allegiance. Moseying on down to the pond we stopped for a warmup of Don Quixotes and Goofballs. More moseying happened and the we gathered at the gazebo over the water. YHC asked for the mission of F3, which Tesla recited verbatim flawlessly. AYE! 5 burpees, or at least as many as the PAX could manage given limited space. Moseying back on the trail led us to the hill on the lower side of the dam pond.

Elevens were called. Crab Cakes at the bottom, crab walk up the dam hill and V-Ups at the top were the command. The PAX handled this well. We tried EHing a couple of what looked like college age dudes who were running laps around the lake but the laughed and just kept going.

The PAX moseyed over to the YAB (Youth Activity Building) for the next part of the beatdown.

Dora 123 was on the list. Partner up and do 100 Def Leppard Merkins (aka CDDs), 200 Monkey Humpers and 300 Goofballs, counting the right leg only. While the exercises were done, partner 2 would run around the bath house about 50 yards away for some cardio.

A fellowship mosey past the Gaga Ball court and the Paintball woods led us to a soccer field where the PAX sprinted from one end to the other. Pretty sure YHC won this race.

More moseying took us to the cool enclosed, articifial turf Soccer Pit. This was a perfect place with even ground the next round of pain.

Luckily, the JBL Flip was toted around and the enclosed area had perfect accoustics for back and forth exercises. YHC called the exercise at each end with varied duration, however we lunge walked from side to side after each one. There were lots of Donkey Kicks, Australian Mountain Climbers, Merkins, Wall Sits and of course Lunges.

A short mosey over to the Camp Bunk House area took the PAX to the steep, frosty hill that many worried was too slippery for use. Not so! It was perfect for BOMBS. It went like this. Partner up for 50 Burpees, 100 Overhead Claps, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Situps and 250 Squats. Partner 2 would bear crawl up the hill and walk down the stairs to switch off. Some of the PAX took a faster, more unsafe path by running down the hill instead of the stairs. As far as YHC knows, only Oompa slipped on the frosty surfaces and he is tough enough that he wasn’t fazed.

When we were done, we fellowhip moseyed back to the yard at Carroll Cottage for namorama, prayer requests and announcements.

Breakfast! We cooked bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits and even livermush (but it was still disgusting) and ate our fill. God is good! Just a little rest and time to let the food settle and we were ready to go on our extendo-ruck.

Look up Freights backblast for details on the ruck. It was fun.

We got back in time to cook dinner or hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. Before that though, we played some more Farkle and other games. Then dinner, digestion and relaxing. It was a full day to say the least! Bedtime came pretty early for some much needed sleep.

Sunday morning, some PAX got in a run or yoga but most caught up on sleep. All were happy with their choices, although some weren’t happy with the choices others made. Go figure! Next Breaker Breaker led us on a devotion about having a servant’s heart and leading by serving. Great discussion ensued. Bubba Sparxxx led a Q Source discussion based on the DRP and how that is the daily decision to make ourselves better and also those around us we may not even realize we’re impacting by taking the DRP. More discussion happened and we enjoyed it.

The last mission of the weekend, other than cleaning up the house, was to march over to the Flat Rock Village Bakery. There isn’t much room in the cozy little restuarant but they had a nice enclosed porch with a heater. The selection wowed the PAX and we chowed down. Some questioned whether they actually make their own product and it was confirmed that there is a guy at the bakery who begins baking the stuff each morning at 2am! That’s dedication to your craft!!!

We headed back to the house, finished cleaning up after BOS, Pigrim’s Progress and Kaepernick did the heavy lifting and then we hit the road. We’ll definitely do this again, at least annually, maybe more than that.

Until next time, keep taking the DRP and ALWAYS BE EHing!!!

27 degrees at the Horse this morning. Whoopee ventured over to Belmont for a Q at Members Only, Stroganoff was out of town and Roscoe’s 2.0 was not feeling well. We had EH’ed yesterday’s FNG Cholula to make it two in a row but no such luck this morning. At 0630, Flintstone, JJ, and I talked a bit waiting to see if anyone was coming in hot – not uncommon at the Horse, but we new Sargento was on the retreat. After a minute, Flintstone said he’d hang a bit more in case anyone posted late. JJ and I took off for the loop. Even after the 10 mile CSAUP from yesterday, JJ could have pushed the pace but was kind enough to stick w/ me and pull me along, especially the gut check where Strava said I turned one of my better times. Around 7:15 we reconvened in the parking lot for the COT. Same announcements and prayer requests as yesterday. I took us out. We forgot the pledge. JJ had to leave for church. Flintstone and I ventured into the Teeter for Q-Source.

I asked Flintstone if he wanted to postpone a week but he said “no way – this is a great topic.” So we pressed on to have a conversation about what it takes to pursue “Getting Right.” I say “pursue” because getting right is a daily practice to continually sharpen. As we’ve learned, there is not plateau, you’re either accelerating or decelerating. I compared this effort to my running. I’d love to be better at it – to run along in the low 8’s at a conversational pace. Running with JJ this morning at a little more than 9 minutes, we talked the entire route, but there were times I had to catch my breath to complete the sentence. Even when training for relays or half marathons, I’m amazed at how quickly any comfortable running pace or stamina I earn during “training” can dissipate. For me to put in more running in the off time comes at the cost of missing bootcamps. Some wise person among our brotherhood may say that is what EC is for and I should give that a try. The point is I need to bite the Daily Red Pill to move from an amateur toward a professional.

I wish Cholula would have posted this morning. After yesterday’s workout, some of his thoughts about needing F3 are the definitions DREDD uses to describe being a Sad Clown or a Mascot. Going through the motions,  putting on a good show but being miserable on the inside. This year’s theme to “always be EH’ing” has multi-tenants. Sure we want to grow but there are men in our community that are dying on the inside. An aging male traveling through life with family and work needs an outlet. All of us that have grabbed hold of the F3 principals know this to be true.

The Christian faith offers the hope for those that choose to follow Jesus can reach the kingdom. This can happen at any point of a person’s life as Jesus offered grace to the men he shared the cross. So to is the ability of a man to Get Right. We can find the prescription of the Red Pill bottle but if it sits in the medicine cabinet unopened, we can slowly slink back to the Sad Clown couch. Each day we face the task to take the DRP. DREDD shares the first one is the toughest to swallow because the Disruption that can occur in the form of Movement. A man now has the decision to continue taking the pill. However, DREDD also points out the second dose can be as challenging as the 100th or the 500th. The way things become easier is to continue pushing to Get Right. The more fit you become, the faster you can go because you build guardrails to keep you on the road.

College and Pro Football begin training camps in the late summer to prepare for the upcoming season. I often hear Head Coaches talk about the installation of their plays and philosophies and the reason they drill over and over is to get the players to “play fast” or “play downhill.” Ideally the coaches want the players to know their assignments so well they react and execute without thinking. Yet another visual to think about as you pursue Getting Right.

Here is to keeping the Daily Red Pill bottle close by and take it as often as you can.