Category: Backblast (Page 356 of 904)

Him’s gathered on a cold Monday morning at Mt Hollywood, we were able to welcome Pillager back to gloom following his surgery, great to have you back brother!

Began with the mission of F3, good to start with a reminder that we do these workouts for more reasons than to only exercise our body.  Warm up of SSH, IW, burpees, grass pickers, merkins and some stretching.

Mosey to BBT.  Good spot for walls of Jericho, do 7 repos of 7 exercises and take a lap around bank.  Repeat 7 times.  Hand release merkins, cruchy frog, burpee, diamond merkin, lil baby flutter crunch, flying squirrels, LBC,

After each lap we discussed some tools available to help achieve the mission.  YHC was about three years in before really learning what was available and how to utilize them.  I had heard terms, but did not really know what they all meant, so I thought others may not know as well.

We discussed concentrica, 8 block as defined by CSPAN and Whoppee from the past Saturday, Freed to Lead, Shieldlock, Whetstone, CSAUPs and GrowRuck.

Three of five  present at workout did not know many of the tools.

Mosey back to flag and pledge.

Announcements – Rice n Beans next week, Saturday AO on Christmas will only be The Yank

Prayer requests: Bubba traveling, Pillager dad with Cancer, Tiger M and stepsons, Dark Helment, people of Kentucky

YHC took us out

Always an honor

Tiger

In the darkness and heavy rain, a group of about 80-90 PAX, M’s, and a couple 3.0’s descended upon Lewis Farms to celebrate Christmas, and another successful, productive, and fun year for F3 Gastonia.

Here’s how it all went down:

The crowd had some drinks, bumped fists, hugged, hi-five’d, and introduced their M’s to the strange PAX from the Gloom.

Santa Claus and his Pink Bunny sidekick grabbed the mic and started the party off.

Dinner was served at 7PM!  Broke, Huckleberry, and Allan Tate smoked butts from early on in the morning.  Itwas tasty.    PAX and M’s showed up with a plethora of mac’n’cheese, green beans, enchiladas, potatoes, ravioli, and too many more items to list.   Another table was full of desserts!

After everyone had their fill:

Broke, the current Nan’tan,  took center stage and reminded us all of the many successful events, community service efforts, and significant accomplishments that the PAX of F3 Gastonia achieved over the past year.  These included:

• Highest number of posts ever in a month this March:  1,173 posts and also had 154 distinct PAX post in that same month.
• 4 new AO’s, up to 26 total workouts each week
• Multiple CSAUP’s this year:
  • 2 Extinction runs
  • PT test
  • Strides of March
  • Starfish Ruck event
  • Grow Ruck, P200, P70, Ville 2 Ville, Dam 2 Dam, Mortimer, Bourbon Chase
• Added over 10 Whetstone pairings this year
• Multiple Service projects
  • Year long collection of items for bags for the needy. Handed out at Salvation Army.
  • Raised money and did yard work at Holy Angels
  • Breakfast for GSM
  • Rice and Beans volunteers
  • Service project for a lady in Dallas
  • Water at Downtown Alive
  • Salvation Army ringers

Next, Shot Sale announced the PAX who posted more than 200 times this year.  These HIMs joined the “Top of the Rock” club.

Next, the 2021 PAX Award Winners were announced:   (1st Place, 2nd Place, and 3rd Place)

Mumble Chatter Award

• • 1st –  Freight
  • 2nd – Purple Haze
  • 3rd – Sargento

Form Police Award

• • 1st – Sister Act
  • 2nd – Roscoe
  • 3rd – Mayor

Fartsacker of the Year

• • 1st – Sparky
  • 2nd – Huck
  • 3rd – Allen Tate

Best EH’er

• • 1st – Sargento
  • 2nd – Ball Joint
  • 3rd – Spackle

Most Supportive 

• • 1st – Sarlaac
  • 2nd – Dr. Seuss
  • 3rd – Def Leppard / Purple Haze (tie)

Most Improved

• • 1st – Ball Joint
  • 2nd – Wichita
  • 3rd – Bubba Sparxxx

Rookie of the Year

• • 1st – Bubba Sparxxx
  • 2nd – Ball Joint
  • 3rd – Spackle

Site Q of the Year

• • 1st – Wichita
  • 2nd – Slaw
  • 3rd – BOS / Flintstone (tie)

Best Q

• • 1st – Big Pappy
  • 2nd – Short Sale
  • 3rd – Round Up / Sister Act (tie)

1st F MVP

• • 1st – Dr. Seuss
  • 2nd – Flintstone
  • 3rd – Ball Joint

2nd F MVP

• • 1st – BOS
  • 2nd – Bubba Sparxxx
  • 3rd – Mayor

3rd F MVP

• • 1st – Sarlaac
  • 2nd – Tiger
  • 3rd – Big Pappy

PAX of the Year

• • 1st – Freight
  • 2nd – Ball Joint
  • 3rd – Whoopee

The Nan’tan then announced the new Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

Senior Leadership Team (SLT)

• NAN’TAN – Sargento
• 1st F – Roscoe
• 2nd F – BOS
• 3rd F – Breaker Breaker doing a 2nd term
• WHETSTONE – Dr. Seuss
• F3 DADS – Mayor continuing
• WEASEL SHAKER – Flintstone
• COMZ Q – Bedpan
• QSOURCE Q – Bubba Sparxxx

Broke got some special gifts or being an awesome Nan’tan.

Party Time:

Microphones were grabbed.   Karaoke ensued.   There was Guns’n’Roses, there was Elvis, there was Vanilla Ice, among other selections that night.  Lots of people sang.  Results varied.

Dancing took place.

The Folsom crew shut the party down.  At the time that YHC left, there was some 1990’s rapping going on on the Karoake microphone.

Fun was had by all.

Thanks for all those who organized & prepared for the event, spent their day smoking butts, provided DJ equipment, smokers, brought food, and donated.

Merry Christmas to the PAX and their families!

—-Bubba Sparxxx

No FNG’s. No disclaimer. Go straight to work.

Warm up

• 25 SSH – 1 Burpee
• 20 SSH – 2 Burpees
• 15 SSH – 3 Burpees
• 10 SSH – 4 Burpees
•    5 SSH – 5 Burpees

Catch the Pledge

22 For the Vets

Head up Route 66 with some Squats at each stop

Dora at the horse track

•    50 Tiger Squats
• 100 Reverse Incline Mericans
• 150 LBC’s
• 200 Dips
• 250 Flutters

Head back down Route 66 with Chuck Norris to do some Mericans his way

Cool Down

• 25 LBC’s (IC) – 5 Big Boys
• 20 LBC’s (IC) – 4 Big Boys
• 15 LBC’s (IC) – 3 Big Boys
• 10 LBC’s (IC) – 2 Big Boys
•    5 LBC’s (IC) – 1 Big Boy

COT
Prayers

Done

This is late. No wait a minute this very late just as I was that cool crisp morning but I did make it. Told Haze a few weeks prior that I would take this one not realizing that I was on call. Not an excuse just an explanation for the severity of my tardiness. Don’t really know anything about routes taken other than I bout hit a few the PAX running on Philadelphia Church Rd. on my way in. Slam in my beats and get at it. Finish up a quick 5k quick for me anyway and hear ol’ Canoe over behind his door beating his gums about Q Failure and how it’s good that today’s Q Source is on Failure and I guess he’s right saying I did fail I failed miserably. But without the pain and defeat of failure there can be no growth. This means 0 growth of the mind, of the body, or of the spirit. It also means 0 growth as a man, as a father, as a leader in the household or in the community. See where I’m going with this. If we all own and learn from our failures we’ll all be better stronger men for it and that’s what this world truly needs right now isn’t it.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead, fail, but most importantly learn and grow with and from you guys.

One of my personal goals is to reduce my waist line and keep the clothes that I have. And the M said something about 6 pack abs.

I rolled in a little earlier than usual in hopes for a little extra mumble chatter.  Low and behold and who do I see? Voodoo. After a a few words, we both seem to be on the same page. Our abs have been forgotten about and need some attention. Well that was my goal for the morning, to remind us that abs day is just as important as leg day. 

Whoopee planned an awesome workout called 8 Block. Had I been paying attention to  SLACK, then I would have picked up on it before hand. I’m still reading his book/backblast on it now. He makes it very clear as to why ever Him should take on this structured assessment before 2022. Good work Whoopee!

We split to the circle to begin our Painlab focus on Abs day!

Set 1: 50/10 R&R

Crunches, flutters, R&R, American hammers, Big Boys, R&R, Mosey around the parking lot

Set 2:

Reverse crunches, Heels to Heaven, R&R, Freddy Mercuries, Star crunches, R&R, Mosey around the parking lot

Set 3: 

Crucifix, laying windshield wipers, R&R

Mary for 6 minutes

I for one know that I am definitely not where I want to be, so I will be looking in to the CSPAN 8 Block.

What you can’t tell from the exercises below, is the lasting effect this workout had on all attending PAX.  The day was better, energy strong, confidence high and all those lucky enough to be in the presence of those PAX, were also better for it.  It’s one of the reasons to commit to not fart sacking. With frosted heavy bells, away we went.

Warm UP
20 SSH IC
Imperial Walkers
Don Quixote
Squats
LBCs

1 minute on, 10 second break
Kettle Bell Swings
Tricep Extensions
Goblet Squats
Curls
Around the World
– 3 sets

20 seconds on, 5 second break
Derkins
Shoulder Press
Curls
Merkins
– 3 sets

Dips
40 Calf Raises
Gorilla Humpers
Goblet Squats
Squat Curl Press
– 3 sets

Bunch o Calf Raises

3 minutes of Mary

Warm Up

Seal Jacks 15

Heals to Heaven 15

Wide Outs 15

Cross Railroad Bridge. Bear Crawl and Lunges

DORA

100 Merkins

200 Heals to Heaven

300 Squats

50 calf raises X 3 sets

11s

Merkins-Am Hammers

Announcements

Christmas Party-F3

Prayers- Family Members & Neighbors

The sound of rain drops hitting the roof is definitely not my favorite sound when I wake up in the morning and have the Q. Fortunately, the rain was pretty light and all but quit by 5:30 am.

A few guys got in some mall walking and a few got in some running. We all did more than the guys who fartsacked.

After a night of revelry at the annual F3 Christmas Party I had some concern about posting this morning. I did have a few libations but thankfully not nearly enough for me to grab the microphone so I could underwhelm the audience with a voice only cut-out for a solo car ride. If we’re being honest, I hum along in church and really don’t enjoy singing Happy Birthday. I love music which is why I appreciate those talented to play and sing. Thanks to Huck, Allen Tate, Bubba Sparxx and Broke for putting on a great event.

My alarm went off at 0600 as today is the first day of adding miles preparing for my next half in January. I was one of several runners scattered about the course this morning. There were three Ruckers and Roscoe shared this:

Three PAX answered the call to ruck at 0600 am where we celebrated an early Festivus by airing our grievances during the ruck. Whoopee started out airing his grievances in mile one and then Flintstone aired his in mile two. By mile three, Roscoe was bursting with grievances. By mile four there were no more grievances and we finished our last mile with a renewed positivity. We basically took the Whoopee Sandy-V Slack Channel and brought it to life.

COT: no announcements; Prayers: Roscoe’s friend Tim fighting cancer, his M, and his Father-In-Law; Purple Haze and Bedpan fighting COVID. I prayed us out.

Moleskin – We’re wrapping up 2021 Q-Source with Dealer’s Choice. During Whoopee’s GasHouse Q, he brought the 8-block exercise to life all the while teaching it’s meaningful purpose to guide men through the year. Something about writing down your goals after thinking through them can set you on a course for success. During the teaching, “blind spots” were brought up several times. With a new 16-year old driving in my family, blind spots have been covered. But this morning I thought it would be worthy of discussion among our PAX.

Weaknesses are aspects we can overcome with practice, time or desire. The key thing is we can be made aware of weaknesses. But when it comes to blind spots -they are hidden and can significantly derail a leader if they are not prepared.  So we discussed 10 core blind spots that should create some awareness to detect.

1. Going it alone (being afraid to ask for help)
2. Being insensitive of your behavior on others (being unaware of how you show up)
3. Having an “I know” attitude (valuing being right above everything else)
4. Avoiding the difficult conversations (conflict avoidance)
5. Blaming others or circumstances (playing the victim; refusing responsibility)
6. Treating commitments casually (not honoring the other person’s time, energy, resources)
7. Conspiring against others (driven by a personal agenda)
8. Withholding emotional commitment (emotional blackmail)
9. Not taking a stand (lack of commitment to a position)
10. Tolerating “good enough” (low standards for performance)

Among our group, we discussed addressing difficult conversations and conflicts quickly is very helpful to mitigate issues. #1 – being afraid to ask for help will cause blind spots to impact a man. Accountability via a Whetstone or Shieldlock are good ways to gain sight to the issues you don’t see. What else can help? Here are some additional tools you can use:

Curing Your Blind Spots

Follow these steps to gain clarity around your blind spots, which will open the door for growth, learning, and performance improvement.

1. Solicit feedback in the right way.
   Ask for 1 piece of feedback at a time. Communications expert Carole Stizza suggests these 2 options:
   “What is the one blind spot you think I have that I should be more aware of?” OR
   “An assessment identified some unique blind spots. Do you feel there is one area this particular blind spot of _______ shows up in how I approach things?”
2. Surround yourself with diverse thinkers with the intention of learning from them.
   Your communities of learning should reflect a variety of perspectives, experiences, and approaches to problem solving that you can adapt.
3. Examine your past to identify patterns.
   How have you succeeded as a leader? How have you struggled? What situations have led to both desirable and undesirable outcomes? What feedback have you received from mentors, coaches or advisors regarding decisions you’ve made that indicates a pattern of questionable choices?
4. Identify triggers.
   We all have triggers – situations that cause us to impulsively or instinctively react without thinking. In his bestselling book, “Triggers,” leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith explains that every waking moment is filled with either people, events, or circumstances that have the power to shape how we act or react. When we master our triggers, we master our responses and make them work for us, rather than against us.
5. Seek out a blind-spot buddy.
   Once you’ve received feedback on your blind spot, enlist someone you trust to hold you accountable to behavioral change.

This material was in this post by Maissa Levin in Inc.  If you would like to read more about it.

As you begin to think about 2022, I hope you’ll consider doing the 8-block exercise. I did it last year and upon review I have a lot of work. I compare it to running this morning. I was able to push the pace for the first few miles and felt really good. But once I hit the “gut check” (the elevation gain up Robinwood) I slowed considerably. I finished the run and the goal, but knowing there is a lot of work to prepare for the 13.1 miles in Biloxi on January 30th. There are blinds spots we all have – make sure you’re looking for those along your daily course.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

Short Sale

It was raining, and lots of PAX fartsacked.

YHC was all alone under the canopy of New Hope Elem.  Then, at the last possible minute, Tesla rolled in.

We got started on the warm-up, and then Dr. Seuss showed up.

The workout was a DoD (Deck-of-Death) type, with runs in-between exercises.  YHC decided to do the DoD where you pick two cards:  one card to tell the exercise, then the second card to tell you the # of reps to do.

Even with lots of shuffling of this brand-new deck the night before, the deck was somehow sequenced so that some type of Merkin was slotted in-between every other card.  Merkins came up nearly every time we drew cards.   We did a LOT of Merkins of all types.

We stayed dry under that canopy.   (The PAX should know that most AO’s have a canopy or roof of some sort, and that rain is not really a good reason to miss out on a solid workout.

Announcements

Christmas Party

PAX Awards

Prayer Request

Tesla’s business partner’ situation

YHC’s brother’s eye injury

Pledge

Name-O-Rama

Dr. Seuss took us out.

—-Bubba Sparxxx