Karen almost died. She shouldn’t have survived. But when she survived, she should have lost so much brain & motor function from being without oxygen for so long. And she certainly shouldn’t have the capacity to turn the thing that almost killed her into her cause to save others.
And yet, there we were last night, learning CPR from Karen. She pleasantly & patiently waited for Wrigley to arrive 20 minutes after 6 before beginning. I thought that was unnecessary to wait for the last guy until she lead with her story of what happened to her that day in her Champion Forest home. You NEED to hear her story in her words. But I will pull some key pieces.
Yes, both women just happened to be former nurses. And home. I’m sure it was just a coincidence.
Leading with that story set in us a mindset that I haven’t experienced in other CPR classes. I could put names & faces on the dummies. I was no longer learning it just to raise my hand during DiCCS. The infants could have been Mad Dog’s grandkids or Brutus’ kids. The child could be mine or Fusebox’s. The adult could be Grease Monkey or Chatterbox. It could be any one of us.
Performing that knowledge will take a lot of work. You can do compression-only CPR (Chapstickless CPR in BottleCap’s world; a cop-out in Damascus’ world) until help arrives, but it will be a struggle keeping a rhythm of 100 – 120 compressions per minute, going 1/3 of the way down & still allowing the chest to return to normal while keeping arms locked so that you pivot from the hips. You may break bones. You may see boobies. You still have to keep going. We only took turns for about a minute at a time, and there was already some perspiration on the brow. The 2 songs to keep in mind while compressing is “Stayin’ Alive” or “Another One Bites the Dust”. If you just reacted the same way Damascus’ daughter did to those 2 suggestions, then pick any of the songs from the American Heart Association’s Spotify playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mU2FNAhSOtQwW0hBgQMaK) or Pandora’s Health Champions Station (https://www.pandora.com/station/4569418566917432474). All songs in there have beats between 100 – 120 (I sense a Q coming out of this).
Karen’s story becomes more remarkable & inspiring the more she talks. Not only does she charge the bare minimum per person to get people trained, but she takes that money to buy AED’s to donate to organizations. Those donated AED’s are across Union, Mecklenburg & Cabarrus counties.
“How much is an AED, Karen?”
“About $1200.”
“We’ll get you one.”
Yeah, I committed us to buy her an AED so she could #GiveItAway.
We just raised $10,000. This is easy. It is tangible. It is lasting. We are men of quick impact. Why have her wait to get another AED by nickel & diming her? Let’s just get it done!
She just sent me a quote from her supplier. It’s $1,216.95. You OK making it an even $1,300?
Venmo @F3Waxhaw
Paypal @F3Waxhaw@gmail.com
Be sure to label it as “AED”.
If you are looking to have CPR training in your region, I can’t recommend Karen Ledford enough.
$15 per person
http://www.fromtheheartcpr.com/contact or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-ledford-schwabenlender-rdh-bs-692860117/
Thanks to Surge for seeing a group of men unprepared to save another man’s life and then doing something about it.
24 Pax have to read this BB to see if my written instructions were any better than the verbal ones. Press the T-claps button once for yes; twice for no.
Warmup
MASHers hung at the start with the promise that we’d be right back. Pick some partners for The Thang
At the far end of the parking lot, referred to now as Island 1, we
Moseyed to I2 for SSH
Mosey to I3 for Mountain Climbers
Mosey to I4 for Crab Cakes
Crab walk to I5 (really short distance) for Moroccan Squatclubs; Tanyatine knows the difference between a Crab Walk & a Walk Crab (Weasel Shaker Apprentice?)
Mosey to I6 for Downward Dog
We’re going to pick partners of opposite ability by the time we sprint back to I1.
The Thang
Great ideas marred by poor instructions
5 Block exercises posted on a whiteboard:
P1 has his back to I1 as he picks one of the 5 above. Some are harder than others. The exercises can be done in any order, as long as they all get done.
P2 runs around one of the 5 islands where we exercised. Each lap would be a different distance. The laps can be run in any order, as long as they all get run.
The partners can’t tell each other what they are going to do. So you take a chance that you’re doing Blockees while your partner is running the longest loop. Or you have easy curls but your partner just ran the shortest loop. Popeye clearly made some poor choices, but he blamed me as we ran past each other. Some kind of twisted mind game, he said. Yeah, that’s about right.
I had my friend, FNG Dilbert as my partner. I think he ran the longest lap EVERY TIME. It’s OK; he’s coming back tomorrow.
Finish early, flutter blocks.
Broken farmer carry to one side of the parking lot. I don’t know what makes guys want to slow down instead of speed up on this. Several urgent pleas to pick up the pace.
Brick bear walk to midline of parking lot. 20 Ax choppers (1=1). Continue to brick bear walk to the other side of the parking lot & do 20 tricep extensions.
In no way did I expect so many Pax out today! Just ran out of parking spaces to do this like I planned. #WaxhawWorldProblems
Set bricks down & suicides back to the block.
Murder bunnies to the midline. 15 military press. Continue murder bunnies to other sidewalk. Another 15 military presses.
Take just the block and run to the church side of Mt. Chiseled. Additional pleas for speed. Mostly went unheeded.
At the bottom, 20 IPC Windshield Wipers over the block (1=1). Then rifle carry around 1 of the 5 trees at the top of Mt. C. Repeat until you go around all 5 trees.
Another poor set of instructions. I was trying to pattern it after the Serpentine of Doom, where Pax would slide down the road as they go from one tree to the next. Instead, most Pax returned to their original spot & just kept crisscrossing to get to the next tree. We’ll get it right the next time.
Head back to COT. Should be easy, right? Lead feral cat Fuse Box thinks (to himself) that COT should be where the flag is instead of where we began these whole shenanigans. I thought it should end where we started. He is the OG Site Q here, so he outranks me. I was corrected in private. The other boss move he does is to critique my Q. Even doing this for over 5 years, it is absolutely the right thing to do as Site Q to provide that feedback. Unfortunately, #BroHugs are not Fuse’s love language (neither is public thanks), so all I could say was “Shut up! Nobody asked you!” It got him in all the feels.
Moleskine
Announcements
First back-to-back Q’s ever for me. Looks like I got the sites mixed up because my boot camp at The Body Shop didn’t make 1 mile, but Diesel goes almost 1.5 miles.
Having a broken pinkie toe for the last 6 weeks and rolling with the MASH crew allowed me to experience & create exercises for the non-runners. Also, in the early Covid days, Fuse & I were working out with Popeye whose knees were occasionally problematic. Creating tough workouts without running was a good challenge to keep the noggin sharp. Today’s workout was my Ted Talk.
Warmup
Swimming motion & backstroke to loosen the shoulders. I called for Michael Phelps, & Fuse immediately drops into this, which was a fair but unexpected interpretation of what I was planning.
The Thang
From here on out, we would be using either 2 bricks | 2 blocks | or 1 block.
Zombie Walk / Pull (2 bricks)
Hold brick in each hand as you walk from one end of the parking lot to the other. At each island, do 10 squats with bricks still held with arms out straight. Then flip to Zombie pull, where you lift your arms with bricks as far behind you as possible. Switch between the two at each island. Down & back.
Captain Morgans (1 block)
Stand block up on short edge so it is as tall as it can be. Put one foot on block. Do a squat. If plant foot is beside the block, you feel it most in hip flexor. If plant foot is behind the block, you feel it in the hams/glutes. Did it both ways.
Up, Over, & Out (2 bricks)
Do a military press (up), iron cross (over), & standing bench press (out) in succession.
Farmer Carriers & Fire Hydrant Foot Release Squats (2 blocks)
Farmer carry 2 blocks to an island. Place blocks together so you can do a foot release squat on them. When standing, lift one leg out to the side with a straight knee to work on hip/glutes. Repeat around the parking lot.
Tricep Extensions / Kickbacks / Halos (2 bricks)
Curls (1 block)
Bottom half of curls to 1st island; top half curls to 2nd island; full curls to 3rd island. We were hurting pretty good at the end, so I had to audible for a Bear Crawl Block Drag in the grass to take our minds off our biceps.
Get into Bear Crawl stance with block between your feet. Reach down & pull block up & in front of you. Bear crawl until you get the block between your feet again. Repeat. We went until it looked like most people got bored (Fuse) or gave up (Brutus).
Then back to the curls for the 2nd half of the parking lot.
LBC’s (1 block)
Puppeteer (2 bricks)
Flutters with a brick in each hand matching the motion of the feet. Do it yourself & you’ll get the name.
Butterfly Run (2 bricks)
Everybody gets a parking space to themselves. Pax 1 in the back is doing flys as he walks to the front of the line. Rest of the Pax are holding plank with various brick positions: out to the side, out front, out back, 6 inches (L & R). Lots of good mumblechatter for guys to walk faster. Brutus took glee in seeing me shake & sweat.
Gas Pumpers (2 blocks)
Have both blocks stacked on top of each other. Hold on to the bottom one so you feel anchored doing Gas Pumpers. You can feel a difference between this & the regular ones.
Press the Alphabet (1 block)
My crowning achievement. On your back, do one bench press. While keeping the block up, imagine you are holding a paintbrush between your feet as you “paint” a letter of the alphabet. Press, A, Press, B, Press, C… I hate the letter W. Others hate Q. Still others wrote love notes to me, starting with the letters F & U.
Moleskine
Just like yesterday, I had a 2-page weinkie, and only got through about 1/3 of it. Plenty more for next time.
What I love about Diesel is the insane amount of mumblechatter. I can’t remember what was discussed, but it was taboo subjects. And guys are hilarious. It’s the most 2nd F 1st F AO out there. Part of me wants everyone to try it, but another part of me hopes you never post so I can keep this jewel to myself.
<SOAPBOX>
MASH has become a critical piece of our region, and you need to know about it. Right now, MASH is for those experiencing an injury such that a regular Bootcamp would not be a good choice for the Pax. It COULD be used for FNG’s who don’t feel comfortable running; we just haven’t found the guy to test that theory. The longer you work out in F3, the more likely you will spend some time MASHing. It is a matter of when, not if.
Most guys will simply stop posting when they get hurt. This rings true if any of the following is also true:
– Only do workouts (no 2nd or 3rd F participation)
– Hasn’t opened himself up to create friendships with other Pax
– Has too much pride in his physical abilities (he IS his mile time; he IS his Iron Pax accomplishments)
– Doesn’t feel “seen” or “missed” when he normally misses a workout
Centerfold deserves the highest kudos for making MASH a daily thing. There’s a channel where MASHers discuss where to post the next day (https://groupme.com/join_group/59312229/ykakZLOb). With multiple AO’s every day, they work to rotate around ALL AO’s so Pax can see them still getting after it. They are also showing that when the injury comes for them, they should already know that most injuries are not an excuse to stop posting.
The first thing we as men do when tragedy strikes is to turn inward. If we’re honest, an injury is usually the least tragic thing to occur to us. When we learn to stay with our group when things turn slightly hard, we will see that they will also be there for us when things get really hard. But you’re going to need to put the time in on the slightly hard side so men can sense when things are getting more difficult for you.
Each MASH workout is built around those attending. Mayhem talked about physical therapy for his shoulder that his doctor was pushing him to do, but he wasn’t feeling it. We asked what the PT was, then incorporated those exercises when he showed up.
Legalized is coming with a foot broken in multiple places. He’s on crutches. Still coming to work out. His upper body is going to get swole while the foot heals. Still able to accelerate despite the injury.
Tell a MASHer that you are glad they made it out. Normalize that everyone is out there doing what they can. Help a man discover there is more that he can do.
</SOAPBOX>
Announcements
As part of my DiCCS, I added that I had no Plan B if the rain picked up beyond the drizzle we felt at the start.
The Warmup
None. No opening mosey. No stretching. Just getting after it (with MASHers joining in).
The Thang
We’ve all done Webbs before. Even some workouts that were just going from one station to another doing webs. I wanted to spin that one more way. I took all the Webbs I knew and combined them. All the 10 & 40 reps are done at station 1; all 9 & 36 done at station 2; and so on. In planning this, I thought I needed a plan B in case we ate through all that before 45 minutes was up. But I was wrong. We only got through 3.5 rounds. Don’t think we even clocked a full mile.
Merkins (10)
Air Presses (40)
Squats (40)
Lunges around the World (40)
Bear Crawl (40)
Dry Docks (10)
Big Boy Sit Ups (10)
American Knockouts (40)
Mike Tyson (10)
Donkey Kicks (40)
Bobby Hurleys (10)
Speed Skaters (40)
Heels to Heaven (40)
Rosalitas (10)
Burpees (10)
If there was a (10), then we took one rep off at each station; (40) had us take 4 reps off.
For merkins, I added some variety: round 1 = low slow; round 2 = T; round 3 = hand release; round 4 = wide arm
Stations 2 & 3 had rock piles (there are a bazillion rocks at The Body Shop!). So when possible, we added rocks to the above exercises.
Stations 1 & 4 were with the MASHers.
Moleskine
Virtually no chatter because practically everything was done in some kind of cadence. I was prepared to do exercises over again to ensure Pax respond to my cadence calls. Thankfully, though, Site Q’s Point Break & Das Boot were leading by example. Still, if you’ll allow me a
<SOAPBOX>
If you are not responding to the Q by not counting “1” to his “1, 2, 3”, I would encourage you to change your ways. I would also assume you don’t Q that much, either.
* This call & response is a way for the Q to hear that you are engaged and you are with him, even when he can’t see your face. If everyone starts strong & the voices fade, the Q can tell the exercise is working and he knows when to wrap it up.
* If you have a Q who’s pushing himself by pushing you, your responses give him the energy he needs to keep going. This also applies to the man next to you. If he hears you answering the Q, he is likely to have more energy to complete more reps than struggling in silence.
* Being able to speak (even if only a single syllable) while exercising will build your aerobic capacity while helping you control your own breathing.
</SOAPBOX>
Afterward, I asked DB & PB to give me some feedback on my Q. They pointed out that some of those exercises were counted out too fast, resulting in bad form. They were absolutely right. I had internally felt like some of those exercises went on too long, so I was speeding the cadence to hurry it up, thus resulting in bad form. This gave me something concrete to change for next time. When I do this again, the lunges, donkey kicks & speed skaters will start at 20 & go down by 2’s to help with form.
Giving feedback is a difficult but necessary part of the Site Q / Q relationship. We’re great with giving attaboys, but that rarely improves our Q-bility. This was difficult for Das Boot because he asked me to Q 2 days ago. Maybe he feels like he owes me, so he can’t give me full, honest feedback? This was difficult for Point Break because he came to Q School last quarter. Maybe he felt he couldn’t criticize one of the guys who taught him how to Q? Yeah, it’s difficult. And they did a good job when I put them on the spot like that. As Site Q, it doesn’t matter if the Q is way more fit than you, or has more years of F3 than you do; you owe it to him, to your site, and to your region to make him better for his next Q. Maybe he has a blind spot that no one has ever called him out on (in love)? Maybe he thinks he’s doing better than he really is because no one will give him feedback?
Giving feedback is a skill, not a talent. It can be learned & it can be improved. See Site Q School announcement for how to start or how to improve this valuable ability.
While it is still a work in progress, this weinkie will now be my Plan B whenever I need to step up to Q at the last minute. That’s gonna save me some time on the BB writing, too!
Announcements:
What does it say about me that I can be on the back of a horse in the Poconos and think, “I bet I can make this into a workout”?
Pre-Warm Up
Text from BC: “Can’t make it to Clyent Dinner because I’m stuck in traffic.” But he’s playing hoops in his driveway when I swing by?
Scout the place, even though I know I’ve seen every place there is here. Little pre-run to loosen the hips and see what events are going on at Cuthbertson that I will need to audible around. Fortunately, nothing happening at the middle school.
I return to the start to find ZERO cars. Huh. The mind and body both present their options: go home or do the work. I opt for the work.
There’s a guy in a green Blazer on the far side of the parking lot, but he’s on his phone. Not stretching or anything. Assume he’s waiting for someone. Another truck pulls up – “Great, Carb Load is here!” – nope. It’s a couple bringing their dogs to school to walk?
At 5:31, Floppy Disk pops out of the Blazer & yells, “Is this where Clyent Dinner meets?” I say yes, but think, “I’m dressed like this, stretching in front of your car like a slo-mo scene of the cheerleaders’ charity car wash, what else did you think this was?”
“Great! Come on out kids, this is the place!” I get to meet the famous Orange Justice, who had a dance named after him, and the soon to be named Backbend (a great gymnast).
The Warm Up
Since this is a Yuletide story, I had to get in the 12 Burpees of Christmas.
Mosey to the alcove that we have NEVER been to (because I’ve never seen it before [also because there’s too damn many of you at Cutty to use the alcoves; figure out where Asylum & Diesel meet, people!]) for 12 burpees at one end, 11 at the other, 10, 9…At the 6 burpee mark, we added a burpee marker in the middle of the path to speed up the burpees. The 2.0’s finished early as you’d expect. So I taught them Balls to the Wall; just didn’t teach them the name, since Backbender is a smart young lady who would ask more questions than I wanted to answer in front of her Dad.
The Thang
Mosey to the lacrosse(?) field behind the MS cafeteria. It was an absolutely perfect day to be on the grass! Pointed out the 2 giant light poles. At one pole, do 29 SSH, making sure to get the overhand clap in there; at the other pole, 23 CDD. Repeat 4 times.
While spending post-Christmas (Kwanzaa?) in NJ with in-laws, we watched the Clemson / Ohio State game. Score: 29-23; Clemson is 4-0 all-time against OSU. I wish Rubbermaid had been there, but I love Dasher too much to have done this if he had attended.
Mosey to the HS steps. Pause about halfway for some Pick Up the Squats.
Run up the steps, touch the door at the top. Where the sidewalk splits, do 10 Dolly’s. At the bottom of the sloping sidewalk, do 10 Heels to Heaven (but not before yelling “Whee!” all the way down). Run back to the steps for 10 Supermans. Repeat 3 times. We just pretended we were on a water slide!
One night the youngest & I went to the indoor water slides of the Kalahari. This was better than Great Wolf (sorry Hollywood) & Massanutten. Made even better that it was a fraction of the people I expected. The downside is that as soon as you finish your slide, you can run back up 5-7 flights of stairs to go right back down again. We did that for about 5 hours. It was brutal but fun. And great 1:1 time with my youngest, who I often feel doesn’t get the same amount of my time & attention as my oldest did at the same age.
At the beginning of the water slide night, my 2.0 was just sticking to the kiddie slides and wasn’t even considering the bigger slides. Partly out of getting him out of his comfort zone (& mostly for not feeling like I wasted cash having him go down kiddie slides for 5 hours), I was able to convince him to try a bigger ride. He loved it, and we kept trying bigger rides throughout the night. At one point, he saw a FlowRider & said he wanted to try that. We headed over to stand in line together. I’m just keeping him company in line until it’s his turn to ride. I can tell he’s a little nervous when he asks me if I’m going to ride it after him. I don’t want to. I don’t like to try new things, especially if I can’t guarantee a high probability of success (or low probability of humiliation). But I can do the #DadMath – how can I encourage him to try new things, even when you’re scared, if he never sees me do the same thing?
The boy hops on and does really well; much better than I thought he would!
My turn. I’ve seen other men bite the wall hard. They pop back up with a bruised ego (the hardest injury to overcome). I hit the wave, and it doesn’t hit back! Almost enjoying it, the instructor mimics what tricks I should do next, including merkins on the board. I do everything he asks, and still no wall! He points to his watch to signal my time is up. I’m utterly astounded. Still, just typing that, I can recall all that pride in myself and my son. I’m going to need to remember that in future days of fear.
But that is also a tribute to you, brothers. There’s a ton of really stupid stuff I have done with y’all that lowered my barriers to risk. Then there’s a ton of really smart things I have read, seen and heard from y’all that raised my necessity to be a better role model. A better dad from being around better men.
Mosey to the alcove at the front of the middle school. Again, a place many of you have never seen because there’s too many of you (not asking you to stop showing up, but to try another site). I can be a jackass on a trip, so we can do a JackAss Webb: 1 Merkin, 20 Donkey Kicks; 2 & 18; 3 & 16; 4 & 14; 5 & 12. Kudos to Floppy Disk who really found another gear to lead him & his family (& me) through that. That sucked.
Mosey back to the start with a few minutes left. The whole point in us going to the Poconos was to take the boys skiing for their first time. The lack of cars gave us plenty of room to do mogul jumps across the parking space lines. Finished with curb agilities to simulate shaking the snow off the skis after a long run.
Moleskine
Announcements
Mark This Moment – Father/Daughter dance Ballantyne Hotel – Friday, March 6 http://www.markthismoment.com/
Shop Dawg is starting up a new Q Source on Friday, May 1. For those who came to Site Q School, you received a free copy of the Q Source manual. This would be the time to either use it or give it to someone who has an interest in going. The entire manual is here, too: https://f3nation.com/q-source-index
While you can hop in at any time, some think they need to start at the beginning. OK. So it will start with the first topic at the Cuthbertson McDonald’s from 6:30 – 7:00 AM. Some can’t make it so early on a Monday, like at Asylum. OK. If you have a more casual Friday schedule, he’s built it for you. As I go through this for the 2nd time, I still learn something each time. There is always a gut punch that stays with me throughout the week. But reading the book or blog will only get you 1/3 of the way there. It is the other men who open up, and those who allow me to open up; that’s what makes this Q Source special.
It’s Speed for Need season. What’s that? Only the best thing you’ll love coming in second place for, after giving it your all. Listen to this podcast (https://soundcloud.com/f3nation/roundtable-nash-scabby-talk-speed4need), then go to the calendar (http://speedforneed.org/calendar/) to pick a date you commit to. Most of the first ones are within 30 minute drive times. Ask for a show of hands who’s done one during COT. Then talk to them.
Want to run in a cheap 5k or 10k for purely selfish reasons? Try the Laps for Lancers at USC-Lancaster. March 21. With pancakes & sausages as your reward! https://runsignup.com/Race/SC/Lancaster/LapsforLancers
How’s my job search going? Pretty good, I’d say. Several Pax have really been great, all in different ways. Bratwurst, Rudy, Delta, Fuse Box, La-Z-Boy, Damascus, Recalculating, Hooch, just to name a few. Some have been outright job leads, others helping with my resume, and others with connections. You never know which one is going to fall all the way through the search funnel, so everything is chased down as far as it can. As a reminder, I’m looking for titles like Solutions Consultant or Pre-Sales Engineer in the software industry. Think about the software you use at work (other than Microsoft, Google, or Apple), then let me know. If you haven’t connected to me on LinkedIn yet, that would be a great boost as well. www.linkedin.com/in/abrianstephenson. It’s not who I know, but who YOU know, that helps.
It wasn’t official, but some good Pax decided to kick the tires on the next AO to open in Waxhaw. I truly didn’t expect anyone to show. At most, maybe one other person, & we’d just test the limits of the campus: what’s locked, what’s muddy, what’s visible at 6:30 AM, etc. So when people started showing up, I had to start making up some stuff. I’ve never done that before. Every other Q I’ve done has been overly planned & overly fussed over. #NewSiteNewStandards, I guess?
Just barely misting rain at the start, but I wanted to show off that Homecoming has plenty of sheltered spaces to work out. Let’s go under the massive portico for
Warmup
SSH
Mountain Climbers
Squats
The Thang
Mosey to the Elementary School portico, which is a mirror image of the Middle School’s portico. Gerber was visibly impressed, “Whoa! I didn’t even know this was here!”
This is also the car rider line with numbered stops. Run to the end of the brick wall & come back to #3 sign for 3 burpees. Repeat to the 4th sign, all the way to the 8th sign.
Eh, it’s been a couple months, and this BB is for demo purposes only.
I do remember we went to the top of Deal road & ran down the road to the gate, being sure to surround Speed Bump. Went to the brick pile to do some gear work. I pick the smallest bricks, while Mad Dog & Gerber pick the biggest bricks. Hmm. So we do all shoulder work.
Morrocan Night Clubs
Side Flies
Front Flies
Triceps
Now the rain is really coming down, but I was ready to do some more work outside. Like a real man. Then Mad Dog says, “My wife is gonna kill me if I come home sick from working out in the rain!” With great admiration and respect for my fellow Weasel Shaker, we make our way back. Let’s be clear: in no way am I saying I’m tougher than a Marine. But I’m also not saying that.
Came back under the portico for Lt. Dan & Jack Webb.
Moleskine
I’m just putting words here so it looks like I had a lot to say when really, there was nothing to say. This is basically an Easter Egg in the video that if you actually pause to read it says more about you than it does about me. Really? If you have time for reading this, then come talk to me. I’ve got half a bajillion projects around the house that I need help with. Did you enjoy the video? Two thumbs up? Are you planning to stay for the end credits?
Announcements
And check out the Rooster: https://www.f3rockhill.com/2020/01/10/preblast-rooster-iii-the-rooster-crows-again/ I did it 2 years ago & had a blast!
Or, if I had gotten this BB out before our 2nd F lunch, it would’ve been “Smoked Shoulders for a Pig Pickin'”.
Warmup
Got Gloves? DiCCS?
For the S, I did make a special shoutout to the Form Police. Normally regarded as nitpicky, jealous types watching from the back, here at Diesel & Chiseled, they are protectors of backs, knees, & shoulders. I called forth the Form Police to be your Brothers’ Keeper. If you see bad form, gently, lovingly, helpfully, correct that behavior. These kinds of workouts are so great to build true functional fitness. There were no counts to any reps on purpose. Full incentive to do full extension of every exercise. Also a great mental assessment; with only one person at each station, could you push yourself to keep going the whole time?
The Thang
Stations
1 – Tire flip from light pole to light pole (timer)
2 – Moroccan Night Clubs with Bricks
3 – Dips (or bonus Crab Dips)
4 – Bench Press with Coupon
5 – Big Boy Situps with Slamball
6 – Halo’s with Rocks
7 – American Hammers with Dumbells
8 – Abyss Merkins / Dry Docks
Round 2
1 – Broken Farmer Carry from sidewalk to trees and back (what makes it broken is two different objects, of different sizes & weights, so your core has to engage) <timer>
2 – Front / Side Flys with Bricks
3 – 21’s with Coupon (7 curls halfway up; 7 curls from halfway to top; 7 curls full extension)
4 – Skullcrushers with Coupon
5 – Slamball Lunge Bucket Brigade
6 – Thrusters with Rocks
7 – Romanian Dead Lifts with Dumbells
8 – Shoulder Taps on Coupons
Round 3
1 – Tire Flip (timer)
2 – Full Extension Brick Hold from the top
3 – Bent Over Rows with Coupon
4 – Lunges Around the World (with coupon, do front, side, & back lunges)
5 – Paint the Alphabet with Slamball (on your back, holding up slamball, hold your feet together; pretend you’re holding a paintbrush between your feet & trace the alphabet)
6 – Military Press with Rock
7 – Tricep Kick Backs with Dumbells
8 – Negatives with Coupon
More important than the workout at Diesel is the playlist. As Chastain & Goodfella figured out, it was a tribute to Neil Peart, the drummer from Rush who passed away from brain cancer last Friday. It appears only Chastain & I could tolerate 45 minutes of Rush, so I dropped in a second theme. Been a tough week at work (culminating in the anger of not being able to attend 2nd F lunch today) so I threw in some passive-aggressive tunes about working for The Man.
Tom Sawyer – Rush
Couple Days Off – Huey Lewis & The News
Limelight – Rush
Takin’ Care of Business – Bachman Turner Overdrive
Driven – Rush
Bang the Drum All Day – Todd Rundgren
Freewill – Rush
Workin’ for a Livin’ – Huey Lewis & The News
Fly by Night – Rush
Working for the Weekend – Loverboy
Spirit of Radio – Rush
Workin’ Day and Night – Michael Jackson
Closer to the Heart – Rush
A Hard Day’s Night – Beatles
Rhythm Method – Rush
If you never understood how a person could be considered the greatest drummer ever, since all they do is just keep the beat, I encourage you to watch this video.
https://youtu.be/4zhFbi_t4c8
Yes, it’s an 8-minute drum solo. You’ll thank me the next time you see me. This is the final song of the playlist as we were putting all the gear away.
Moleskine
Turnbuckle’s already posted about this on his Facebook page, which has substantially more eyeballs than this will ever get.
The tire flip was a little much today for TB. That’s OK, cause I saw everyone had at least one exercise that was a little too much for them. That’s a good sign of being on the other side of your comfort zone. That’s where progress is made.
It wasn’t that long ago when he would see a similar event as a failure. Now, it’s become a new goal. He’s already learned so many of the things he thought he couldn’t do were simply lies believed for so long. A switch has flipped for him and I’m excited to see his progress. I know we all are.
Announcements
Wedding Singer’s Sayonara Saturday, Jan 25, from 3 – 5 PM at Queens South
Plant the seeds & spread the word – Site Q School Saturday Feb 1;
Q School Saturday Feb 8
Hurry up & wipe, Goodfella is on Q at Homecoming; J-Wow at Commitment; Pax are running trails at the WhiteWater Center; still more Pax heading to the Gremlin CSAUP
And check out the Rooster: https://www.f3rockhill.com/2020/01/10/preblast-rooster-iii-the-rooster-crows-again/ I did it 2 years ago & had a blast!
It was raining. I cannot see the box’s lock number. I first time felt my eyes were so bad. Glidah and Mayhem showed up to help me. Big 10 arrived early to help me set up. Fuse Box is out of the town, he plans to find some people to help me. It was cool, but that keeps me warm.
The most successful part of my plan is 20 seconds Mosey warm up. It did not break Big10’s record. The worst part is in the end when I sat down on the group. Nobody follows me, including Mayhem. He always said I am his good friend. My heart is hurt. But they are right, it was wet and cool. It is not necessary to get wet in the last 2 minutes. Sorry, my bad.
I am so happy, all Pax looks like understanding my Waxhaw-Texas-Chinese style English very well. There are many exercises need to explain. I knew Pax was confused. When Highhat did ‘Band Side Pull’ and said “If I keep the center and then pull, I felt different”. You did right!!! When Carb Load did “Stop Talking” and said the dump ball should be light. You are right!!! It is very hard to exercise. The timer “King Walk” with Band is targeted Gluteal muscle. Did you felt it? Loafer did it very professionally. “Whale Tail”, “Imperial Plank”….. Modified it.
Dougboy is a good partner. Turnbuckle did a great job, he did his best. His smile is a charm.
Thank you all support. Two years ago, in the Christmas season, my older brother took his life by himself. If he had F3, then things maybe been changed. He said to me “It is good You have Faith” and “Workout can make me happy. But I cannot do it anymore.”. He was a good judge in his city. I am lucky. We are lucky.
Warm up
Let’s Mosey! We just did a 20 second Mosey and then circle up. All Pax likes it. This is the most only successful thing this morning.
10-SSH
10-Imperial Walkers (Dougboy corrected my English. I cannot remember what I said)
5-Potato Picker
Merkins * 10 IC
10-Calf Stretch 10 seconds.
6- Power Squat (Ricky Bobby did it great.)
The thang:
Merkins over there. Merkins???? Sorry, it should be Mosey. But everybody Mosey over there. Good English understanding.
1. Flap tire;
2. Merkins + whale tail;
3. Shoulder Press + Front Squat
4. Band Slide Pull
5. Stop talking + Jump
6. Imperial Plank + Mountain Climber
Some modified option on the back ( I did not say that).
Timer: King walking.
Circle up: Sat down Balance exercise.
COT
Announcement:
1. September 5-12, 2020. Mayhem will co-lead a mission trip to Nicaragua to work on the kitchen at elementary school. Friends, family, and strangers are welcome.
2. Every Sunday morning OPEN DOOR BIBLE STUDY. 7:00-8:00 FIVE STONE office second floor.
A few months back, I came across Fishwrap’s backblast out of Metro (http://f3metro.com/2019/07/03/killing-fishwrap/) and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. If you don’t want to click on the link (not going to be on the toilet that long?), he talks about the concept that there are 2 deaths. Your first death is your physical release from this mortal coil. Your second death is when your name or memory is no longer mentioned in this world. Barring you do something really (in)famous, everyone dies twice. At some point, no one on this planet will ever know you existed. The time between the two deaths may be a good indication of what kind of legacy you leave. If that’s given you the bad kind of tinglies, might I suggest hopping into the final quarter of Q Source, beginning this week? These final months will talk about the aspects of Leaving Right (Get Right → Live Right → Lead Right → Leave Right). Mondays after Asylum or Fridays after Cerberus.
Why the heavy words today, Posse?
My Dad, Dallas, died from cancer about 9 years ago, while my wife was pregnant with our second son. Today, my Dad would have been 94. So all the reps revolved around his birthday (10/9/25) or 94. In addition, I tried to do or create exercises to memorialize him. An active eulogy, if you will. The Pax didn’t know it until now, but they have helped me push my Dad’s second death a little further down the road.
When I first came up with this workout idea, I was hesitant to follow through with it. Then, in the middle of the night last week, I was persuaded. My oldest son, also Dallas, was making some noise in his bathroom. Walking in on a teenager in those circumstances is always dangerous, but I was more angry than anything that he woke me up & was about to wake the rest of the house. I open the door, just about to whisper-yell, when I see he is sobbing. I don’t say a thing. “I was thinking about Pop Pop. With everything I’ve been doing, I just want him to be proud of me. The way that you and Mom have been comparing us, I love that I carry on his name; but sometimes I struggle to live up to that level.”
“I feel the same way, son.”
Wow. A 14-year-old is able to crystallize what I’ve been feeling for decades about my Dad. Maybe you have similar sentiments. That’s when I committed to this Q.
The Warmup
Stolen straight from The Fort’s Tesh when I was canvassing for the #Launch-vergence, this Highland Games-esqe activity lines up with the Scotch-Irish lineage on my Dad’s side.
Teams of 3 line up, picking a suitable kettlebell. Give it 5 swings and release it as far as you can. Then do 10 squats and 9 merkins. By the time you finish, it’s your turn again. Go to the end of the field. Planned on having a return trip, but the aim of these guys was already starting to worry me.
Bring the KB’s back to the start.
The Irish Walk – Teams of 3 by weight. Gotta get to Mount Chiseled, but one Pax cannot touch the ground. Everyone has to be in this no-ground position at least once. #PaxGear It is genuinely mentally uncomfortable to be carried when you feel you are perfectly capable of getting there yourself. Most men are fine carrying someone else but hate when they have to be carried. For these few seconds, reflect on what you’re thinking/feeling. Your level of discomfort is probably a good reflection of how willing you are to open up when you need help.
My Dad would have enjoyed being the carrier and being carried. He probably would have acted like a king when it would have been his turn to get carried. He always had an infectious, carefree attitude. I am a worrier and an over planner, but I’ve been getting better at tapping into that mindset.
Collapsing Bridges – On the backside of Mt. Chiseled, plank up elbow to elbow on the steep side of the hill. I start at the bottom sending sandbags under the bridge of humanity. If you’re not pulling sandbags, do shoulder taps. I’ve done the Tunnel of Love a couple of times, and certain non-Damascus Pax tend to get creeped out by it. The sandbag version seemed to accommodate the Personal Space Pax.
Once all the bags are at the top of the hill, flip on your back & flutter kick while they come down. Now face the opposite direction to use the other arm in dragging it up the hill. Repeat for the Bridge of Hate.
Back when my son, Little D, was around 4, we would play this game where one of us would be the bridge, and the other would be a bus going under the bridge. At some point, the bridge would collapse on the bus, to the delight of all. When I told Big D about this game, he said he wanted to play! So we have pictures of both D’s, at 83 & 4, playing the bridge game. My Dad never lost his playful spirit. There was always a fun way to look at any circumstance. In his final days, when I had to tell him that his cancer had returned and had it had spread throughout his major organs, he responded, “Well, I guess I’m walking the green mile…”
Subsequently, we made sure to put the fun in his funeral. Hate you missed it. You would have had a blast.
Head back to the start, but 2 Pax have to have a handle on each sandbag, lifting in cadence. If you don’t have any gear, sprint to the start and then back to the six. Take their gear.
The Thang
Station work with One Horse Open Slay or Broke Farmer Carry as the timer
Dips
American Hammer with KB
Lateral Raises
Lateral Ladder Squats
Abyss Merkins on Blocks
Snow Angels with Bricks
The 1HOS is a Christmas remembrance of my Dad starting a charity at our church. Here’s my favorite story about that.
In 1986, I was involved in a program called Salkehatchie. Salkehatchie is like a Habitat for Humanity for mostly South Carolina Methodists. He saw how I was so changed by that week in the summer that he thought those same people needed to be visited again around Christmas time. So he called it CHRISTmas HANDS. He got the church to collect up donations of food and clothing to go back to those families in Columbia who were helped during that Salkehatchie week. So here we are, a caravan of several cars filled with food & clothes. We were just about to leave the church parking lot for Columbia when a woman calls the church, asking Dallas if she could bring a kerosene heater for us to take down. Something like that was not on our list, but Dallas said: “Sure, we’ll wait for you.” When he hung up, he wasn’t too happy about having to wait or trying to figure out where he was going to put it.
We get to Columbia, and as we were unloading items for one family, a man across the street came over and asked, “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have a kerosene heater in there, would ya’? I have no heat in my house.”
Stunned by the request, my Dad reached into the back of the truck, pulled out the heater and handed it to him. He then reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a $20 bill that someone else had handed to him in the church parking lot (also at the last minute), and gave that to him so he could afford some kerosene.
My Dad must have told me that story 10 times in his last year, and we cried about it every time. When you think about how many people had to listen to God AND obey Him so that THAT man could have heat for the winter, it’s just overwhelming. It was such a wonderful illustration of being a channel for God’s love and in the process, everyone gets wet.
I’ve been shown time and again that listening to those faint nudges is God’s way of lining me up with His work. And being immediately obedient to those nudges has helped me hear those subsequent nudges easier. Positive feedback loop.
Partner up by opposite ability
94 Tricep Extensions
94 Bench Press
94 Curls
Other partner karaokes/side straddles to island and back
Frisburpee – All plank except 4, who are throwing a frisbee to each other. If it’s a bad throw or no catch, the group does a burpee. If the pair does any kind of trick shot & makes it, they are exempt from the next time a burpee is called.
Carb Load now has a standing invitation to come to my house to throw the frisbee. Gotta get you ready for CanJam season.
My Dad worked in a plastics factory for all my childhood. On his feet all day in a hot, cement warehouse. Smoking a couple packs of Camels every day. And yet, almost every day I asked (which was most days), he would throw the frisbee, football, baseball, whatever, with me after school. I was always amazed when my other friends said their dads didn’t play with them nearly the amount mine did. And most of their dads had office jobs. But I still didn’t fully appreciate that until I had kids. I vowed to play with my kids every chance I could. I know it’s had an impact on my oldest. By the time he got into 5th grade, he asked that we not throw anything in the front yard; that we should throw in the back yard. He said he was tired of his friends coming up and either asking him to go do something else or wanting to throw as well. Now that he’s in high school, our throws are getting less frequent, but I know he values them when we do. Not near as much as I do, though.
I’m not doing as well with the second child. But this new job is providing me with the afternoon time I needed to get the critical playtime we both crave. I encourage you to do the same. Taking them to a practice is not the same as playing with them. Coaching or critiquing every throw is not the same as playing with them. Talking about what’s on their minds as they throw IS playing.
I know it was not a brutal ending to a workout that you may have wanted. But I had so much fun in those last few minutes with you guys! I hope you can reflect on today’s workout not so much with sore muscles, but with a happy heart.
I took us out slightly differently than normal. Before the prayer, I asked everyone to think of 2 people who have had a major impact on their lives – one dead & one alive. They cannot be historical figures, but ones you knew personally.
For the dead one, I encouraged the Pax to memorialize that person TODAY, whether it was donating to their favorite charity, eat at their favorite restaurant, etc. For our family, we are going to McAllister’s tonight for a French dip, potato salad, & sweet tea. My Dad ordered that after church every Sunday for years.
For the living one, go tell that person TODAY what kind of impact they made in your life. Be specific. It’s a good bet they don’t even know.
Mine is going to the youth director who got our church involved in Salkehatchie. My worldview would be completely different (certainly less compassionate) without her coming along in my adolescence.
Our extended family is split between Methodists & Baptists. We would attend each other’s church, but my Dad would make sure to poke a stick as he went. The irony of having this workout at a Baptist church demands that I wrap up with his favorite Baptist joke:
How do you keep a Baptist from drinking all the liquor in your house?
Invite two of them.
Announcements:
Speed for Need needs runners for this Saturday, 10/12 at Let Them Soar in Matthews. https://letthemsoar5k.raceroster.com/ Three runners have dropped and an additional chariot rider has come forward. SFN can even cover your admission if cost is an issue. Contact Rubbermaid or Gypsy for more details & training. Rockwell did, and he’s expecting you to be there with him!
Fusebox became Soapbox for 22 seconds ala War on Christmas style. Ask him for more details, but something about patriotism & Christianity being censored in sports. So reject political correctness and be more open about your patriotism and Christianity.
Clothes folding fun at Christ Closet this Thursday 5:30 PM. Wives & kids welcome. Going to Clyent Dinner? Swing by afterward! Get with Carb Load, Dana, or Ackbar (HBD BTW) for more details. They need to be folded for…
11/9 CSAUP in West Charlotte. http://f3metro.com/2019/10/03/west-charlotte-csaup/ Shop Dawg is Q’ing the Christ Closet giveaway & needs your help. All 3 F’s, but heavier on the 2nd & 3rd F’s than the next announcement on the same day.
11/9 CSAUP in Area 51 / SOB. The Vagabond https://f3southcharlotte.com/2019/10/07/vagabond-2019-csaup-info-pre-blast-and-t-shirt-order/ 13-ish miles across 6 AO’s with 15-minute workouts at each stop. If you don’t want to do all 13 miles, the link gives arrival times at each AO so you can drop in/out for your too low choice of milage.
Q School & Site Q School 11/2 Saturday at Chick-fil-a in Blakeney. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d49afac2aa6fc1-qschool If you don’t know what this is, then you need to go. Talk to me or others who have attended. Do NOT talk to Rubbermaid or Tupperware about it!
At least 23 (probably more) Pax participated in a #CNAUI (Completely Necessary and Utterly Important) by heading to Waxhaw Elementary for some manual labor kind of 3rd F.
Warm Up
About 10 days ago, I saw a tweet from the school, asking for help to clean the areas around the school. My M works there, so I checked in with her about it. “Yeah,” she sighed, “Not expecting a lot of turnout there. I can’t get parents to show for Field Day, holiday parties, or even PTO events. And with a new principal in place, there will probably be even fewer people.”
She’s awesome at her job, and loves most every day there, but the parental involvement has always been lacking since she’s been there. With our 2.0’s having been in Marvin & Cuthbertson cluster schools, we are well aware of what a highly involved community looks like on the inside.
So it seemed like a good time to do what I could to help.
Step 1 – sign up my family to volunteer.
We have a thing in our family called Super Summer Saturday (#protip: things sound more fun when you use alliteration) where we try to create a memory. It could be putt-putt, or a museum, or anything we can find. This would be our first time making S3 a service project (S4?).
Step 2 – Throw the idea out to the Pax.
Imagine my surprise when this #DancingIdiot gets the #FirstFollower in Bottlecap (see video for leadership explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ). With the speed of joining, we quickly move to…
Step 3 – Realize your bluff has been called. Go all in.
Now begins the Weasel Shaking Marketing™. Unrelenting BoneFrog-like announcements across every media, scattered throughout the day. Attend a workout every day to talk about it more. Call out positive deviants.
Step 4 – Pax raise the ante. Realize there is a higher level of all in-ness.
Now enough Pax have hopped on AND asked good questions I didn’t even think about, so I have to start calling the school every day to figure out if WXES could handle F3. They don’t know what’s coming.
Step 5 – Understand the Last Minute Larry
While we have gotten better as a region to commit to an endeavor before the last minute, it’s still in our DNA. Don’t fight it; invite it!
Unfortunately, that means having to attend Wolverine’s Q at Commitment. Even as I see others leave early to pick up family or tools, I know I need to stay for the final announcement. But it pays off – 15 of the Commitment Pax show up (6 of which didn’t fill out the Sign Up Genius)!
The Thang
The fam pulls up on Posse/Jingles time. SO MANY Pax! Dasher is already power washing; Spike, JWow, La-Z-Boy, & Legalized are spreading mulch. I can see an immediate difference between F3 & everyone else. We’re getting after it, while others are waiting to be told what to do. For example, I hear one person say, “Well, I signed up to paint the playground equipment. I’m just waiting here for them to tell me which playground and where the paint is.” Before F3, I could have seen that as a reasonable volunteer remark. Not anymore.
As I try to thank guys for coming out, I’m dismissed with a “What’s next?”
I don’t know. I’m just volunteering like you.
<Sigh.> I’m the Q here, aren’t I?
Even though I’ve never met or spoken to the Principal, I start talking to her to get a feel for what is on the list. I’ll just get the comz going until things settle down. Then I can dig into a task.
Before I get going to the other side of the school, Mad Dog & La-Z-Boy have already assessed there’s not enough mulch and are going out to get some more. This will happen again in another 30 minutes. MD is working the free angle with Lowe’s, but they only give it to him at cost. He’s out about $125. Others contribute cash on site. I say that only if you feel led to dig in your sofa for change.
Brutus, Rockwell, Rudy and others find every shovel in a 5-mile radius to plant bushes & trees.
As I go from one station to the other, I try to walk calmly & confidently. But I can’t stop picking up the energy you people are putting down. My non-adamantium legs are shot from Wolverine’s workout, but I HAVE to run. I didn’t have my phone with me, so I’ll guess I ran 48, maybe 49, miles around the school. I know I’m not fast, but I felt great out there.
People are coming and going. Now I can’t stop finding things for people to do. But we’re getting things done so fast, and we’re running out of supplies. #GoodNewsBadNews
In between some moments, I’m able to talk with Schedule C for the semi-first time ever. Great guy; is considering helping with the MASH stuff here soon (consider / maybe = Hard Commit).
My family has hit their time limit, and most of the Pax have taken off as well. But Shop Dawg is #NextManUp on the power washer. Dude was one of the Commitment / No SUG guys, and he’s STILL here working! #HIM
Radar shows up towards the end. I shake my head at Radar. He told me at Commitment he:
1. Doesn’t know where WXES is, but will head there to work.
2. Has an appointment out by the airport, but will be back to WXES to finish up.
I said, “You weren’t called a moron growing up, were you? Cause that’s a dumb idea. There’s no reason to do that.”
Now, I’m the one who’s the dummy. There’s a second power washer that can help Shop Dawg, and Radar’s the only one with experience left to do it. Together, they finish the main entrance to the front door. And it looks amazing!
Finally, some time to EH some Waxhaw PD & the Principal’s husband. The Principal lives in Indian Trail, but I didn’t tell him there are AO’s near him. #SorryNotSorry
I saw several other Sad Clowns who could benefit from F3. Hope they got an EH, too.
Moleskine
While I’ve tried to describe the events, I’m still at a loss for describing the amount of sheer pride I felt today. The level of energy, efficiency, effort – you were all so far beyond everyone else…it was chess vs. checkers. There was a level of camaraderie where we wanted to work together, and we knew how to work together well. It was addictive, and I wish I could have been a bigger part of that with you.
Regardless if you participated, I encourage you to drive by the school. It will be readily obvious what was done, both on the front & in the back. Perhaps a Floater Q could take you on a tour? Especially if you brought a 2.0, you should absolutely go by there. Help them connect what their effort, plus the combined efforts of others, can do to make a difference.
I’ve said to some of you my wife’s feelings about F3 – likes the results, just not the process. In other words, likes the extra energy out of me to play with the kids, do more stuff, etc. But doesn’t like that means a daily 4:37 AM alarm or working out while she gets ready for work. Today, though, she realized that the results that we produced at the school could have ONLY come from putting that work in every morning (or Thursday afternoon). It was a different conversation this afternoon, thanks to all of you.
If you ask my kids, they would initially say that SSS’s are boring / no fun / waste of time. I asked their thoughts after this sprucing: “This was the best one ever!” Your kids are like my kids; they want to feel useful. To have an impact. To make a difference. They have probably absorbed so much from screens (or just forced to be passive observers in general) that they yearn to do some work that matters (but not before yelling that they don’t want to do that [that’s the mumble chatter you’ve come to expect as a Q]). Just like when you Q, focus not on what’s said, but what’s being done.
Announcements
Officer Vic said that there was going to be some backpack giveaway going on at the school soon. Yes, a large portion of the WXES population is in a financially vulnerable spot. If I hear more info, I’ll pass it along.
The F3 Union County shirts that you saw just happen to be on sale RIGHT NOW:
https://f3.mudgear.com/collections/active-preorders/products/f3-union-county-pre-order
This order closes at midnight on 8/7/19. It will be 6 -12 months before the order will open up again.
Caveat Emptor, however – WUC’s new region name & logo will be coming out soon with a very small ordering window. If cost is a factor in your decision buying process, you may want to hold off just a bit.