COP:
20 IW’s
Touch your toes, stretch those legs out…
20 Peter Parkers
The Thang:
2 laps around the church, approx. 1.2 miles
settle at the Scout House for circuits
25 Dips, 25 merkins, 25 stepups
rinse and repeat
mosey to the hill
11’s with merkins and Freddie Mercury’s
mosey to the pavillion
3 rounds of 25 decline merkins (feet on bench), and 25 flutter kicks
Jailbreak back to the parking lot
LBC’s x 15
Protractor
Rosalita x 21
COT
Moleskin:
Great group out there today. The pax are getting strong, Pre KBers outnumbered the Semi-SACKERS 12 to 9 today. I imagine this number shoots through the roof when our fair weather brethren return this Spring. No fair weather fans today, 17 degrees this morning and a warm 17 as it actually felt like 17 according to weather.com. The workout looked more do-able on paper. The plan was to finish with 2 more laps (1.2 miles) but we ran out of time. That ice on the backstretch didn’t speed us up much. Recon(TR) notified me as we headed into the gloom that we were in for some skating, and we dodged injuries not once but twice! I didn’t even preblast the workout and somehow managed to get a very fast group of fast twitchers that made quick work of the laps. Nothing too inventive or exciting today, just plain old fashioned work, which led to Cottontail calling me Mr. Busywork or something to that effect. #grinders Great Compass at Chickfila to finish off the morning. If you haven’t had the opportunity to triple down with KB’s, Kevlar, and Compass do it once, it will fire you into the weekend like a cannon. Best morning of the week. Thanks for the opportunity to lead and have a great weekend.
13 men gathered at Joust for a workout modeled after the “Navy SEAL Fitness Test”… shown in quotes for a number of reasons… the most important of which is that we aren’t actually in the Navy; and we also didn’t do the swim component of the fitness test [which I imagine to be a pretty important part for an actual SEAL… they do a little swimming, right?]. So while we weren’t real Navy men, we disembarked from our military vehicles [well… minivan for me, if truth be told], and got after it.
The Thang
Little Baby Jog to the football field
Quick warm up… you know the drill… SSH, IW and Squats
Navy SEAL Fitness Test
– Merkins – AMRAP with 2 minute time limit [threshold requirement of at least 42]
-Sit Ups – AMRAP with 2 minute time limit [threshold requirement of at least 52]
-1.5 mile run – complete in less than 11 min and 30 seconds
– Pull ups – complete at least 8 [no time limit] with full arm extension
Little Baby Jog up to parking lot
Close out with plank-o-rama, merkins and CDDs
Moleskin
Sorry I didn’t list the full PAX in the backblast [I left my Weinke back at the house].
Good times out there this morning. I think the last fitness test workout I led was something modeled after the Stanford Woment’s soccer team, so today’s workout ranked much higher on the manliness scale. We are just a bunch of 40-something suburban dads for the most part, but we gave it our all out there in the gloom today. Lab Rat looked great on the track. Lobster Roll had a strong performance in all elements of the fitness test; he already had the haircut of a military man, so we may want to just swing him by to see a local Navy recruiter. Great way to start a Friday.
8 men (most fresh off Jamboree’s #F3Centurion soul-crushing but a few guilty fartsackers) gathered in the Carmel/51 Panera for the weekly rendition of #F3TheStand. Today’s topic was Chapter 5 of “The Masculine Mandate” entitled Man as Shepherd-Lord. To focus on our roles as shepherd-leaders, we took a closer look at Psalms 23…from the perspective of the shepherd. Here’s a look at some points we discussed.
The Thang
The Three Main Tasks of the Shepherd-Lord
Shepherd-Leadership in Psalms 23
Guiding –> Verses 1-3: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
Protecting –> Verses 4-5a: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
Caring –> Verses 5b-6: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Summary
________
“Christian leaders must likewise learn to measure our success in the security and inspiration of those who follow us, in their growing confidence and ability, and in the achievements of others rather than our own.” – The Masculine Mandate
2 Samuel 23: 3-4: “When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.” – King David
In other words, shepherd-lords are third.
Moleskin
Such a good discussion this morning on our role as shepherd-lords, as servant-leaders.
Even had a very applicable illustration on guiding, protecting and caring that Wing_Man gained from watching Wile E. Coyote and the Sheep Dog on @Boomerang with his kids.
Great group of men at #F3TheStand…but always room for you.
14 pax turned up at Chic Fil A this morning to discuss section 5 or the book “Fight” by Craig Groeschel. The book has been a close look at the life of Samson and the potential he had been given by God and yet how his incredibly week will caused him all kinds of trouble.
Stone Cold opened us up by discussing “The Rising Cost of Regret” and how Samson must have looked back at his life and wished he would have made different choices. Horsehead made a great point in that regret is a dangerous place to live and that we should really focus on the repentance factor and that should spur as forward rather than being stuck in the past. YHC mentioned that sometimes looking back at our past is ok if we are doing so with a grateful heart and understanding the extent of the forgiveness that has been given to us through Christ. Busch then added that at no point should our past cause us shame if we have laid it out there to be forgiven as it has been cast “as far as the east is to the west” and it is the enemy’s tactic to bring things back to condemn us. The discussion then moved to the fact that so often we are reminded of our past and our mistakes and how these things can haunt us. Lab Rat asked a question: are we able to come to repentance without first going through regret and remorse? Minimum then brought to light a great verse in 2 Corinthians 7:10 which states “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” Two very different outcomes…
Cottontail then read Ephesians 2:1-10 where Paul writes about how we are made alive in Christ after once being dead in our sins and gratifying the cravings of our flesh. Our F3 Bible scholar (!) then gave us a great visual: are we, as men, either a faucet or a drain? Are we a faucet connected to the source by having a relationship with our Savior and having the Word as our filter? Or are we a drain with our thoughts in the gutter and allowing the mess of life overwhelm us?
Stone Cold then brought it back to Samson and the fact that even though he had screwed up so many times he asked God for strength one more time. Despite the dire circumstances he had now found himself in God was able to use him because he cried out. “With one last push, he (Samson) fulfilled his purpose: taking the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines. So no matter what you have done, God is not finished with you yet. Ask him for one more chance. And God might do more through the next chapter of your life than in all of the previous ones combined.”
Amen
We are about to start a new book and we are open to suggestions. Also we would love for any new guys to come and join our study whether you can make it once a month or every time. All are welcome. I wanted to write this back blast to let you know what we are doing and the topics we discuss. The books are used as a vehicle to talk about life and faith and to ultimately strengthen us as we band together. Come one come all and if we need to split up the group because we have too many we will.
Cheers,
BD
Checkpoint and Donkey Kong posted early this morning to complete their SPEARHEAD Challenge Of The Month and test for the Selection Standard 55 minimum push-ups in 2 minutes. Strong work, men. On to sit-ups!
The rest showed up shortly thereafter because it was time to…
#dowork
Mosey down the the 50 yard-line with rucks. This is your warm up.
Line up, single rank, double-arm distance and commence the following series of exercises. All reps must be completed before moving on to the next exercise. Work solo and see how far you can get in 45 minutes. Rucks used only where indicated.
COT
AAR/NMMS
Strong work, men, making your way through another Dora Grinder workout.
Thanks to both Byron, who ran me through this workout the night before, and to The Day Zero Challenge for this workout inspiration. The goal is to get as far as you can through the workout, mark your progress, and repeat the workout weekly for four weeks to measure your progress. If you want to post your progress publicly feel free to do so in the comments.
Congratulations to Mighty Mite, Donkey Kong, and Clueless who all earned their SPEARHEAD Morale Patch today, after posting to SPEARHEAD workouts and events at least nine times through the month. Wear it with pride, men!
ALCON
The time is now to HC for the F3 Spring Custom GORUCK Challenge! Spots are still available but time is running out! Don’t be left on the sidelines while the rest of us roll on towards #CSAUP domination! Register and pay today here.
8 PAX including 1 FNG entered the frigid morning gloom with traces of snow and ice still on the sidewalks and roads. The plan for Devil’s Turn this AM was a straightforward 6 mile tempo run through Piper Glen. In practice, it was a little more complex.
After entering Piper Glen, we briefly lost Strange Brew but found him after scrambling the search party. He must have gotten excited having some snow and ice around. #feelslikehome
Once the PAX was complete again, we headed off to a new loop no one had experienced before. This is where a few words of direction to the speed demons (Fletch, FNG – Sharpie, & Long Haul) as they sped off could have been a little more descriptive. The rest of the PAX reached the end of the loop in time to see the speed demons heading around again. Apparently, when at the corner of Seton House Ln and Seton House Ln, turn right, not left. #strangeintersection
When we regrouped again, it was time to head back to COT. After all the circling back and search parties, the mileage came in right at 6 miles. Almost like it was planned that way. #betterluckythangood
Even though the run could have gone more smoothly, everyone seemed to enjoy the hills and the 2ndF. Rock Thrill invited a running buddy Frank (FNG – Sharpie). That man’s a strong runner. Now that he has an F3 name, hopefully he will join us again. Good luck in your upcoming marathon brother!
See you all in the gloom!
9 Pax posted for a mixture of Heavy, speed and a little practice for those in the GRC on Feb. 7th and the recipe called for “More Fireman’s Carry”!
The Thang:
4.4 Miles total
Telephone Pole
65lbs sand bag
Log
3 miles of Heavy Ruck
1/2 Mile of Farmer Carries
1 mile Speed Time Hack – Made it in 13 minutes
We headed out Carmel Middle this morning and it was a challenging Ruck. The team had to be mindful of the terrain which was, in some areas, still covered in Ice. So for the guys on the telephone pole, it added a new element to the ruck – intensely watching one’s footsteps while carrying a lot of weight.
Time: 4.4 Miles
COT
Moleskine:
Sorry for the late post, it’s the end of the month and YCH was covered up at work. Couldn’t do anything accept work…strange huh?
– Great team work today! YHC was asked by the Pax to discuss what to expect in the challenge and it didn’t dawn on me that we needed to do a better job of this. To summarize”
– It’s going to suck
– You will have to carry a lot of weight for a long period of time
– Make it through the Welcome Party no matter what – Cheat when you can!
– Find the one thing you do really well, find a partner that can do the same (i.e. carrying ammo can, water jug, human, sandbags, Pole…whatever the Cadre throws at us) and OWN it
– Stay hydrated. Bring protein bars, snacks and electrolyte tablets
– Don’t complain at all.
– Help your brothers and they will help you
– Finish as a TEAM in everything you do
– Don’t be afraid to take a leadership role
-There will be times when EVERYONE is carrying something, so suck it up and keep moving
– You will have to carry another person so study up on technique; also if you are carried it is uncomfortable, so use the other guy’s pack as support
– Embrace the suck. It is only temporary but when you finish it will all make sense
T-Claps to the Pax during the partner carries. That to me is the single hardest part of the challenge and you embraced it! Nice work.
Please sound off with comments below.
As always, it was an honor to lead this group of men today
Respectfully, The Hoff
Posted for Soft Pretzel:
7 PAX stepped onto the rink this morning at The Maul. Seriously this place was a skating rink and YHC was a little nervous running the show. It limited what all we could do but the guys kept a great attitude and got their beatdown in. And we only had one fall!
The Thang:
Mosey (carefully!) to center lot for warm-up: IW x 25, Merkins x 15 + six inches + 5 more merkins, Slow Squats x 20.
Mosey on for Burpees X Monkey Humpers. Do in Jack Webb count (1 burpee, 4 monkey humpers, etc. up to 5 and back down)
Head to the fountains (with a lunge walk intermission): Partner up. P1 run to Chicos and back, P2 alternate dips (15) and squats (10). Repeato with derkins instead of dips.
Back to parking lot – Bear crawling merkins on Q’s count.
Mary: Dolly x 20, Flutter x 20, Heels to Heaven x 15, LBC x 20. Bridge Pose in between each set.
Go to sidewalk under cover for some dry ground. Relay sprints while PAX in line do Jack Webb. Each guy runs twice to finish.
Monster lap around the Target building to get some running in. Go as fast as you can without falling!
Mosey back and finish with plank-o-rama (including J-Los!)
Moleskin:
Not much in the way of announcements.
Really appreciate everybody that came out this morning. Schools were closed… roads sucked… venue was iced over… but we got the job done. Always an honor to Q at The Maul!
Five pax: One ski mask, one hoodie, a frozen goatee, a frozen beard and a #FrogFace took to the gloom for a math lesson form the substitute Q. After a quick check to make sure our ski masked pax wasn’t indeed pulling a #Mulan (turns out it was Tumbleweed), five steam engines lurched out of the station.
As we mosey we learn that Turkey Leg and Splinter were still suffering the effects of hill sprints at Tuesday’s Fast Twitch. With additional hill work on tap at Devil’s Turn (doesn’t HB read backblasts?), they opted for Rebel Yell. Which featured hills and running. Still preferable to that SnoRuck business over at Hydra, though.
The Weinke had only two items: Get Warm. Stay Warm.
At our first stop, we reviewed exponents: see how this hill next to Wendy’s resembles an exponential curve (for business majors, that’s kind of like compound interest; for liberal arts majors, that means it’s, like, really hard and stuff). Old school Jocob’s Ladder on the hill–Burpees 1 to 7. It’s quite a view from the top, despite that it overlooks an empty parking lot. The red lighting from the Target sign at the top gave it that little special something. With the Get Warm portion of the Weinke thus completed, we moseyed to the business side of the shopping center for the Stay Warm portion. Strikeout led the requisite, though not entirely necessary “warm up” with SSH, IW and Squats.
Modified Beast at the Speed Bumps:
For each of the rounds, the first pax starts called exercise upon arrival, for bonus work. The last pax to the speed bump starts the official count. Thus, the fast guys get more work but we all get to stay together. Two miles total. This was sort of the other math part due to all the addition. Just humor me.
Parking lot weave in front of the theater (stole that from someone at Hydra from a few weeks ago) and back to the station for three minutes of Strikeout-led Mary. Turns out moist fleece caps freeze to the pavement.
COT
MOLESKIN
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
7 men gathered in the frosty gloom to do some work. The snow was used as a workout implement in its own right.
The Thang:
Warmup run around school – Long way via sidewalk.
Side-Straddle Hops x 60
Imperial Walkers x 60
20 Burpees on your own.
Mountain climbers x 30 (?)
Mosey to track for:
Bear-crawl for 10-count (each hand placement is 1), 5 merkins x 1/8 mile lap around track.
Plank/Right hand high/Regular/Left hand high/Regular/Elbows
Crab-crawl for 10-count (each hand placement is 1), 5 flutter kicks x 1/8 mile lap around track.
LBC’s x 60
Line up on snow-covered field inside track:
On your belly/On your back/On your feet x Plenty (How does one count these?)
8-count Bodybuilders x 10
Line up on edge of snowy field:
Low crawl across field x 25 yards
Plank-Flip Merkins across field x 25 yards
Snow-Angels x 20 (Yeah, I went there.)
Flutter kicks x 30
20 Burbees on your own.
COT
Moleskin:
Lots of chatter heard today regarding the somewhat atypical choice of exercises selected by YHC. This is what you get when it’s 12 degrees out and the Q’s brain is fuzzy. Feel free to add commentary below, my brain wasn’t retaining much during the workout. Oh, and don’t worry, we’ll catch up on burpees in the spring, promise.
Announcements:
Be there for Chico’s virgin Q at Governator next week, come out and support a brother.
Signups for the BRR are ongoing currently, check with Baracus for more information.
Anytime is a good time to start training for a Goruck, just do it. Sign up. Get bricks. Train hard. That is all.
-DK