Some great HIMs showed up for my 40th Birthday Beatdown on a humid and great morning at TRB and here’s what we did…

Warm-up

• SSH x10
• Imperial Walkers x10
• Gravel Pickers x10
• Burpees x9

Mosey to the back lot for some Rack n Stack

• 5 Mike Tysons
• 10 Monkey Humpers
• 15 Mountain Climbers
• 20 Merkins
• 25 ‘Merican Hammers
• 30 (mm) LBCs
• 35 (mm) Squats
• 39 (mm) Flutters

Mosey around front of the school all the way to the bleachers

• 8 Derkins, 17 Dips
• Across the Field and back
• 17 Derkins, 8 Dips

Head back to the flag pole where YHC did 39 burpees while the other PAX  planked or did a wall sit. Thankfully, Gator is a good friend.

COT

An honor to be a part of this group.

Buckshot

I signed up for Bulldog last night cause it was open. My man Orangeman shows up for the Gloom! It only takes two, lets do this.
We start with warmups for a few minutes, crank up some Van Halen and get to work.

50/10 set 1: crunches, flutters, crunches, flutters, American hammers, big boys, American hammers, big boys. Mosey around the parking lot. R&R

50/10 set 2: reverse crunches, heals to Heaven, reverse crunches, heals to Heaven, grab your kettle,  overhead press, curls, squats, triceps, overhead press, curls, squats, triceps. Mosey around the lot. R&R

Mary for 6 minutes

Christmastown 5K on 11/26 and Christmas party on 12/3 @ Lewis Farm

Prayer request: My M has laser lithotripsy tomorrow morning to remove kidney stones, Orangeman’s M not well, Orangeman’s Boston friend traveling, Tesla, Gilligan, Sargento’s recovery. Turtleman’s recovery

Disclaimer
Flagpole for Pledge
Principles of F3:

1. Free of charge (zero cost, never charge for a workout)
2. Open to all men (no matter the man, you are welcome)
3. Held outdoors (rain or shine, heat or cold we are out there)
4. Peer led (led in a rotating fashion by the men who attend)
5. End with a Circle of Trust (always ends with a COT)

Mission of F3:  Plant, Grow and Serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.

Motto:  We welcome men of all fitness levels and all physical abilities to our workouts. We have no requirement for membership other than you show up on time to the location and follow what the workout leader has planned. We will not leave any man behind!

Warmup:  SSHx15 IC, Gravel Pickers x10IC, ROL/LOR, MNC x10IC, Arm circles

The Thang:

Mosey to front

• Slaughter Starter
• Partner DORA (merkins, squats, flutter kicks (right leg only) while partner runs.

Mosey to bench area for wall sits

• Change partners for more DORA: CDDs, lunges and leg raises while partner bear crawls to light pole and back.  Burpees were sprinkled in throughout.

Time check for Mary.  Some challenged the Q so an emotional hijacking took place and more burpees were called.

Circle up for Guantanamo’s (Pax circle up and hold 45 degrees while one member runs around the circle and pushes the legs down).  One minute left so we finish with more burpees.

Announcements:  No Q November (get on the list), Christmas Party, Track commanders and HC for Christmastown 5K

Prayers/Praise: Sarlacc (Praise for new job), Tooth Fairy (Praise for Daughter), Sargentos recovery, Huckleberry, Pallbearers son,

Name-O-Rama:

COT: Whoopee took us out.

I got the call I’ve been waiting on. I knew it was coming. Flintstone started the “Redwood” Q series and I knew my number was coming up soon. Although I expected it, I don’t think I was quite ready but I’m not sure I would have been more ready if I had another month.

What can I say about F3 GasHouse? It has been a great experience being part of F3 GasHouse, and I was fortunate to be around when we crawled thru the birth canal back in 2015 thanks to some good guys. It has taken a lot of really good men to keep me here and I am grateful for that. The men that I call brothers more often in my head than out loud have shepherded me thru some rough times, helped me avoid a lot of potholes, and pulled me out of some of each before they got to be too much of a problem. I have enjoyed a bunch of CSAUPs with stories than range from something like “I need something warm in me” to running the BRR. We have rucked the BRR (and dodged some dogs and gun-toting hillbillies) as well and created the Moron with a Part Deux not too far off I am sure. I have met some great men that have taught me how to be a better man. I have become a more patriotic American and grown closer to God as a result of a lot of this. Praying out loud in a group of men was new for me, and now seems pretty simple and honestly pretty natural.

When I get asked about F3, it’s hard to describe effectively. I can (pretty much) recite the mission. I can tell you about the workouts. I can even tell you why you should be there and counter most every excuse why you don’t want to be there. What’s harder to put into words is the effect that you (as a group and as individuals) have had on my life. Any of you that know me for more than a few workouts know I run my mouth (a little?) more than I should. I speak more often than I listen, but I am working on that thanks to feedback from many of you. I’ve read more books in the last 5 years than in the previous 20, no probably 30 years combined. Contrary to some opinions, I have gotten better at listening (which is not really necessarily saying much). I have taken criticism without taking it personal, although it often takes me longer than I would like to admit to get past the personal part but I eventually do get there. I have made my share of mistakes and then some. I’ve splashed in more puddles as an adult than I ever did as a child. I’ve stolen the dish soap from home to slide around on a slip n slide with a bunch of grown ass men and loved it. I’ve been to funerals with shovel flags. I’ve celebrated cancer milestones (mine and others) with shovel flags. I’ve run more hills in the middle of the night and gotten lost with a smile on my face because I knew my brothers would eventually find me during a really stupid race called the Mortimer. I’ve said the Pledge of Allegiance more often than probably any non-F3 person ever will. I have also been more open with a small group of men I call my Shieldlock than I have probably been with anyone else in my life other than my wife. I have been sharpened by some guy that calls me his Stone more times and in more ways than he will ever know.

I guess if I had to sum it up in a word, F3 has been TRANSFORMATIONAL for me. It has changed me and continues to change me. It has refined me as a leader and has helped me realize I have a lot to grow in that area still. It’s this ripple effect than I have been thinking about since reaching out to Dredd to Q at GasHouse a few weeks ago. The effect that so many of you have had on me can’t be understated in my opinion. I can’t imagine how different I would be without F3. Thankfully I won’t have to worry about that. Being thankful for the couple of HIMs that started F3 more than 10 years ago followed by the group of HIMs that helped us get off the ground here in GasHouse and then the literally dozens of HIMs that keep us going every day is something I hope I never get tired of or take for granted. Thank you for being part of this and keeping me on track. Thank you for being my guardrails.

This morning we did some exercises then ended with a COT. It was a normal Monday for me for the most part. If you were there, you know the general theme of what I wrote above. I added a few details that I have thought about during the day. Thanks for keeping this thing going. There is someone out there who doesn’t know it yet, but you just might save his life by continuing to post. Think about that tomorrow when your alarm goes off and you are considering fartsacking…..

SYITG-Whoopee

I’ve wanted to get a little stronger in my understanding of the Bible so I reached out to Roundup a couple of weeks ago asking him where to start if I wanted to read the Bible. He asked me if I’d like him to do a daily Bible study and guide me through it. It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done. We started in the book of John. A couple verses that really stood out to me was John 3:16-17.

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him

I told Roundup that this reminds me of something I heard Chad Wright saying in a podcast that people ask him where he finds the strength to keep going and to push through in his Ultra Marathons. When people ask he says “How can you stop a man that can’t die?”, because he believes that Jesus died for our sins and because of that sacrifice those of us that believe in him will have eternal life.  Roundup pointed out that knowing that we have eternal life with Jesus should give us all the joy and strength we need for any circumstance we come across.

Not everyone is going to have that same drive till you die mentality, and I’m not gonna come out here and run or do burpees till I croak, but it reminds me we all have a little more in the tank and can go a little harder and farther when it comes to all three aspects of F3.

Announcement

-MORONS4BEER November 12 in Columbia SC Clown car from Ingles 

-Christmas town 5k still need track commanders.

Prayer requests

Praise for Sarlacc

Sargento

Huck

Stripers brother

The Hayes family

The F3 babies coming

Saw a few Kotters today, I won’t name names. Welcome back!

Lets meet up in our circle and start with some warm ups for 5 minutes. I started the mumble chatter by sharing with the HIMs what the Nantan has in store for Q’ing in November. All I could hear was crickets. That’s ok, I have confidence someone will step up before it’s over.

We did each exercise for 50 seconds then transitioned  to the next one. Burpees, CDD’s, OH press, triceps extensions, chest press, decline chest presses. R&R 

We moseyed around the parking lot, stopping at the picnic tables where we did triceps dips, step-ups, incline push ups then moseyed back to our circle.

Next up we did crunches, rev crunches, American hammers, big boys, curls, shadow boxing, OH press, heels to Heaven, single arm rows and a couple other ones I can’t remember. R&R

I had one too many margaritas last night or was it this morning.?

At the end of our beatdown, everyone came up to me for Q sign-up in November. Great work men!