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Whistlestop Tour

Conditions 73F and humid.

I had been planning on doing my VQ in a few weeks. However, I found myself signed up for Convergance after arriving back in Simpsonville from Tuesday’s Clinic. Only problem was fitting all my props in the Camry for the road trip back to Hartsville. It’s hard to top most Q’s done on Saturday. My first post as a FNG was probably the hardest and most memorable by Lil’ Sweet. A dual circuit was in order. Felt the need to give a little more attention to my instructions. So a whistle seemed to be appropriate for the task. I had been called “Naked and Afraid” for removing my shirt after Tuesday workout. Well it was time to see how the PAX reacted after a few beer keg slams, block sliders and merkins.

Introduction of myself to the 20 Pax who were on time. The mission of F3 is to plant,grow and serve small men’s workout groups for the invigoration of the male leadership community.

**Warmup

  • 20 SSHs
  • 15 Imperial Walkers
  • 15 Mountain Climbers
  • 15 Reach Ins
  • 10 Burpees OYO

Count off 1,2 for Dual Loop Session. Then Mosey to the Pond doing a series of exercises I often did at cross-fit. Lunges to Stop sign,then High Kicks,High Knees,Butt kicks and Cariocas to the Pond..

**The Thang

Separate in groups. 1 for Pond and 2 the Concrete pad. At the Pond for four stations for exercises with four sets After finishing set run to next station:

  • Station #1 Merkins 50,40,30,20
  • Station #2 Squats 50,40,30,20
  • Station #3 Plank Jacks 50,40,30,20
  • Station #4 Freddy Mercuries 50,40,30,20

At the Concrete Pad Six Exercises

  • Pulling chain 30 yds. Down & back
  • Bucket carry 30 yds. Down & back.
  • Sledge hammer tires 30 yds. Down & back
  • Jump rope 100 times. Run down & back
  • Beer keg slam 20 times. Run down & back
  • Block sliders 30 yards. Down and back.

Switch to next location after finishing sets of exercises or when whistle sounds. Most of us finished up two rounds on starting point and one on the alternate. Mosey back to WZ for Marys.

Marys

  • Combos 2 Flutter Kicks,4 Leg Raise, 8 LBCs
  • Combos 4 Flutter Kicks,8 Leg Raises,16 LBCs
  • Combos 8 Flutter kicks,16 Leg Raises,32 LBCs
  • Combos 16 Flutter Kicks,32 Leg Raises,64 LBCs

Completed after YHC had a little problem keeping the totals right on each round. Disclaimer came after exercise so a few threats of liability and lawsuits surfaced. #Learning from my mistakes.

**COT

Nameorama and Anouncements:Credos to Oliver Segars and F3 Hartsville for helping pay for opposing team Conway’s meal on Friday. Our team came through with the money.

Devotion: Overcoming Fear to Take Leadership

There has always been some apprehension of leading a Q. Specifically the fear of leading Hartsville F3 in physical activities and then giving a devotion that will have some meaning. Since I started F3 in July 2017 there is always something new that I take from each post both spiritually and physically.These Bible verses tie in how trusting in God’s plan for overcoming those fears:

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6.

“For God did not give us a spirit of fear,but of power,love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 With God on our side we are unstoppable. We do not have to live our lives in fear but rather,we can rest in knowing that God has a plan for us. As his people, he will allow us to prosper.

Well I had a great experience doing the Q. In order to grow in your life you must take on challenges that often cause some level of discomfort .I have been to multiple cities and AOs that have F3. F3 Hartsville has always been helpful and encouraging.Thanks for all the support.

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Blimps & Bombs

It was a typical Friday afternoon in the summertime with nobody signed up to Q  convergence.  YHC stepped up to the plate with the hopes of delivering a Muscle Melting Masterpiece.  While struggling with ideas, some the of Clinic veterans started chiming in with requests for windmills that escalated rapidly to 100 burpees.  Slightly under the influence while manning the grill the night before, the vision for Groundblinds Abundance of Apocalyptic  Acronyms unfolded.  Here is how it went down.

Warmup

It started innocently enough with some warmup exercises while the last minute stragglers showed up.

SSH IC, windmill IC (requested by Barfly who was notably absent after an HC), 20 burpees (of 100 requested by Lil Sweet…thanks)

Mosey with Dynamic running to Deloach Center (Burpees on the 6)

Main Event

BLIMPS

  • Burpees X 5
  • Lunges X 10 Each leg
  • Inchworm X 15
  • Monkey humpers X 20
  • Plank jacks X 25
  • Squats X 30

Run across to the opposite parking lot and back after completing all exercises

Rinse and repeat till time called (3-4 rounds) or until the Coker security guard starts giving mean looks.

Mosey to to Ymca brick planters. Burpees on the 6

  • Derkins & dips 3 sets each (21/15/9 reps)
  • Stepdowns IC x 10 each leg

Mosey to brick pile and grab 2 bricks per PAX

BOMBS

  • Brick burpees X 5
  • Overhead claps X 10
  • Manmakers X 15 (crowd pleaser with some discussion on how to correctly do this one)
  • Brick bear crawl (good times)
  • SSH with brick x 30

Rinse and repeat till time called (1-2 rounds)

Mary

  • 10 burpees (to get to 100)
  • Flutter kicks
  • BBS

COT, Announcements, Countorama, Nameorama

Devo

Lesson on leadership From the Book of Titus

Doing Good for the Sake of the Gospel

2 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us

Moleskin

Great work by all and great having Steel Cannon from Kannapolis.  Always a pleasure to lead.

Aye!

Groundblind

 

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French 101

The weather was nice, the asphalt was not. Great conditions for a second “Bear Hawk Down” esque attempt at GridIron. 15 PAX pushed through the “douleur”.

**warmup

15 – SSH

15 – Penningtons – 4 WAYS IC

2 Rounds of Gerkins – Groiner w/ 10 merkins between legs

**The Thang

Partner up. 6min Rounds. You’re a team, don’t let your teammate down by slacking off they’re suffering waiting for your relief. Partner 1 runs from AO to covered walkway to perform second workout. Once Partner 1 starts, Partner 2 run to relieve him with 2 burpees. Partner 2 starts that workout while partner one runs back to repeat sequence.

[JAMBES – Legs]

Lunge Pulse (20 each leg) ——> Squats

[BRAS – Arms]

Shoulder Taps ——> Merkins

[BEDON – Belly]

6 inches ——> Freddie Mercuries

Bear Crawl Plank Worm directly into the Red Man Walk. This sucked but Pax managed to stay in line this time proving there IS hope for this exercise.

**Mary

10 – Freddie Kruegers (Freddie Mercuries 3 count IC w/ 6in holds before repeating)

COT

FNG Naming: Salty Dog aka Brian Heslop

Perspective changes both our view and our attitude. Ask the Lord to help point out the things in your life that you need a different perspective on. A good place to start is looking into the things you’re most judgmental about.

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F3 Hartsville 30-Day Challenge – IMPACT

IMPACT – Forcible contact to strong effect

This is the F3 definition of IMPACT.  In essence it means taking ACTION that has effect on others or the community around you.  It is a VERB. It requires something of oneself without the promise of immediate return to oneself.

The next F3 Hartsville 30 Day Challenge is all about IMPACT.  If you accept this challenge then starting August 1stfor the next 30 days you will each day DO something that makes a positive IMPACT to someone other than yourself.  Not an absolute, but try your best to stay anonymous from the person(s) you are IMPACTING.  The range of ACTION can be anywhere from picking up trash at your AO, paying for the meal of the person behind you in the drive thru, to donating $10,000 to a local non-profit.  The size of the ACT does not matter it is the posture of our hearts we are exercising here with the giving of ourselves while getting nothing in return.

Yes…there will be a chat.  Each day you make an IMPACT you can simply comment “IMPACT” on the chat or if you wish to share what it was you did that is fine too as long as the person IMPACTED doesn’t know it was you.

So…this is truly a challenge for everyone, even you Bench Warmer!  Regardless if you’re traveling, regardless of your work schedule, regardless if you’re injured…everyone can make an IMPACT.

HC to Divac to be added to the chat.

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The Chapman

CrossFit Sacrifice Hero WOD Friday April 15, 2016

Weather around 78 and 100% humidity, BeastLite passed out knives at the beginning so we could cut our way thru the air.

 

Warm-Up
15 SSH IC
15 Reach thru IC
Groiner Stretch each side twice

The Thang
50 Squats
40 Big Boys
30 Merkins
20 Burpees
10 Pull-Ups
20 Burpees
30 Merkins
40 Big Boys
50 Squats
2 mile run
Yeah, in that order.

The GridIron workout was slightly modified due to the lack of random kettlebells and weight racks not being installed at the AO yet.

Moleskin…..

Our NanTan, GreenAcres, threatened BeastLite with Merlot more than once, but never paid off.

The LizardMan is having a press conference at Wimpy’s place today if anyone would like to see if he’s real or not. WIS-TV will be there, and Harry said he’d do anything for a free commercial.

GroundFault got an electrical lesson before the workout.

PurdyMouth asks Beast & YHC what number lap we were on and says “ok I’ll go with that too”. He didn’t, Wimpy kept him straight.

YHC was wishing he would have gone to Divac’s dancercise workout.

 

Posted for BeastLite

Dumper

 

 

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Tour de Hartsville – 30 Day Challenge

Tour de Hartsville – 30 Day Challenge

There are 13 workouts in Hartsville on any given week.  Yes Barfly, Happy Hour is a workout.  Sorry Paperboy but whatever you and Coxwain do on Sunday afternoon needs to stay in the woods.

There are 13 “registered” workouts for which each Pax has an opportunity to post on any given week. Your challenge over the next 30 days…go to all 13.  Not 12, 13. Not all but Revolution, ALL.  Not every one except Act Like Men…EVERY WORKOUT.

This means you’ve got 30 days to:

  • Tell your M you need to post at two evening workouts over the next month. I’m sure she’ll understand.
  • Sike yourself up enough to go to Currahee – rucks are suggested but NOT mandatory. He’s a man who wore a dress to his 2nd F3 workout…it aint that bad!
  • Plan your outfit and funny quips for the show that is The Clinic. The resident DOTW is sure to make you feel welcome
  • Talk yourself out of the lie that Act Like Men is not for you cause talking about something other than burpees or Stallion’s gross toe just isn’t what you signed up for!
  • Pull out your speedo and get to the YMCA one Monday morning to play marco polo with Klinger or Red
  • Drop the “I don’t run” excuse and check out Prefontaine – they don’t mind if you walk most the way. That’s what Skinny Pete does!
  • Finally hit the Temple and show Bowtie what a real merkin looks like

The point is 30 days is plenty of time to cut the excuses and get out of your comfort zone and GROW. You never know…you may just become a regular at one of these new workouts.

Rules:

  • Start date is Monday, June 18
  • If your in HC to Divac and he’ll add you to the chat
  • When you post to a new workout let the group know
  • You must go to EVERY workout at least once

“Registered” workouts below:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Brick City x
S.O.S. x
Farsight x x
War Zone x x
The Clinic x x
Gridiron x x
Revolution x x
Act Like Men x
Temple (early or late) x
Happy Hour x
Currahee x
Prefontaine x
Convergence x
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Memorial Day Murph

 

Official Murph (time limit 60 minutes) named for Lt Michael Murphy

  • 1 mile
  • 100 pullups
  • 200 merkins
  • 300 squats
  • 1 mile

With 20# weight vest

Running Options

  • 2 laps around ymca block = 1 mile
  • 6 laps around burry park field = 1 mile
  • Run to Lawton Park and use their monkey bars =1 mile each way
  • Rabbits can run to Farsight and use their monkey bars = 1.8 miles each way

Break sets/laps up any way you like.

Modify: Assisted pullups or dips on a bench

If finished early, start on the following until time is called:

  • 100 burpees
  • 100 4-count flutter kicks
  • Run laps around Burry Park

COT

  • Count-o-rama
  • Name-o-rama
  • Devo (Radar)
  • Pledge of Allegiance

 

On June 28, 2005, Lt. Murphy was the officer-in-charge of a four-man SEAL element in support of Operation Red Wing tasked with finding key anti-coalition militia commander near Asadabad, Afghanistan. Shortly after inserting into the objective area, the SEALs were spotted by three goat herders who were initially detained and then released. It is believed the goat herders immediately reported the SEALs’ presence to Taliban fighters.

A fierce gun battle ensued on the steep face of the mountain between the SEALs and a much larger enemy force. Despite the intensity of the firefight and suffering grave gunshot wounds himself, Murphy is credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. Murphy, intent on making contact with headquarters, but realizing this would be impossible in the extreme terrain where they were fighting, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own life moved into the open, where he could gain a better position to transmit a call to get help for his men.

Moving away from the protective mountain rocks, he knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire. This deliberate and heroic act deprived him of cover and made him a target for the enemy. While continuing to be fired upon, Murphy made contact with the SOF Quick Reaction Force at Bagram Air Base and requested assistance. He calmly provided his unit’s location and the size of the enemy force while requesting immediate support for his team. At one point, he was shot in the back causing him to drop the transmitter. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call and continued firing at the enemy who was closing in. Severely wounded, Lt. Murphy returned to his cover position with his men and continued the battle.

As a result of Murphy’s call, an MH-47 Chinook helicopter, with eight additional SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers aboard, was sent in as part of the QRF to extract the four embattled SEALs. As the Chinook drew nearer to the fight, a rocket-propelled grenade hit the helicopter, causing it to crash and killing all 16 men aboard.

On the ground and nearly out of ammunition, the four SEALs, continued to fight. By the end of a two-hour gunfight that careened through the hills and over cliffs, Murphy, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz and Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson had fallen. An estimated 35 Taliban were also dead. The fourth SEAL, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell, was blasted over a ridge by a rocket-propelled grenade and knocked unconscious. Though severely wounded, the fourth SEAL and sole survivor, Luttrell, was able to evade the enemy for nearly a day; after which local nationals came to his aide, carrying him to a nearby village where they kept him for three more days. Luttrell was rescued by U.S. Forces on July 2, 2005.

By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit and inspirational devotion to his men in the face of certain death, Lt. Murphy was able to relay the position of his unit, an act that ultimately led to the rescue of Luttrell and the recovery of the remains of the three who were killed in the battle.

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Christmas in April 2018 AAR

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” – Edward Everett Hale

Today F3Hartsville learned some valuable lessons:

  • We are a strong pax.
  • We can accomplish a lot in a relatively short span of time.
  • We have a variety of skills, except Skinny Pete, who doesn’t seem to know how to do anything.

What we did at 616 Howard St:

  • Replaced 6 windows
  • Insulated and sealed all the windows and added trim on the exterior
  • Installed privacy door lock on the bathroom door
  • Installed exterior door lock on the back door
  • Added a full master suite with Jacuzzi tub and Italian marble rain water shower

What we did at Marion St. Cemetery:

  • Spread mulch
  • Clear debris
  • Lean on shovels
  • Eat coffee and donuts

After a light workout Q’d by Little Jack, which basically consisted of high fives and several heated contests of Miss Mary Mack, YHC was ready to get the pax moving in the right direction.

We had a problem with Benchwarmer who viciously tried to usurp YHC’s authority and speak out nonsense. YHC quickly chastened him back into his place. (previous version used sterner language that may be inappropriate for sensitive ears)

We all met for coffeeteria at 616 Howard St. Ruth’s Drive-In provided coffee and biscuits. Miraculously Stallion showed up for food and the group pic immediately afterward. Nobody saw him after that. He mumbled something about checking out other Christmas in April sites to see what kind of food they had.

YHC wisely and shrewdly separated the intelligent pax from the grunt labor. This didn’t take long. Basically anybody that brought a tool was on the Howard St. job, while the inmates were assigned to the mulch pile chain gang.

YHC took all the skilled labor pax through a comprehensive Power Point presentation on worker safety and best practices, as well as an in-depth discussion on each step of the window replacement process. Immediately after the presentation, every single pax asked YHC the same exact questions that were discussed ad nauseum just 2 seconds before. YHC began to question the wisdom of committing to a work project that required some element of intelligence and construction acumen. Fortunately YHC has unlimited patience and endured the trial of a bunch of little kindergarten kids asking the same questions over and over again.

Soon enough, we had 4 window teams working simultaneously, just like YHC had envisioned back when he and Krispy Kreme replaced the first window as a test run. T-claps to Krispy for helping organize this whole event. He put together the shopping list and measured out the window sizes. His work behind the scenes made the job possible.

Head, LoveBug and Lee Murph took on one window. PurdyMouth and Audit tackled another. Sludge, Cowboy and Gutterball jumped on one. Twinkle Toes and Audit’s 2.0 took the hardest one of all, because it was partially behind a rickety kitchen counter.

Meanwhile, this happened at the mulch pile:

 

I was truly honored to be a part of Christmas in April with F3. We got a lot of work done and tore down some barriers along the way. My dream is to have an AO in Pride Park or somewhere in that neighborhood. Today was a step in the right direction.

All the pax worked hard and worked together. One of the town volunteers helping with the cemetery was named Willie. He is 80 years old and was slinging mulch alongside everybody else. He lamented that his community wasn’t taking care of the cemetery. What he meant was the “black community”. I cut him off and told him his community was out here right now. There can no longer be a white community and a black community. It may seem strange to say, but a cemetery is the perfect place to begin stitching our town together. The graveyard is a collection of stories. Marion St. Cemetery was lost for decades due to neglect and apathy, but these stories are emerging once again. They must be told. They must be shared. Too often we try to bury our past without acknowledging and growing from it.

The next logical step is to create a shared story among the living. Working shoulder to shoulder in the hot sun or repairing an elderly couple’s home is a powerful way to unite people. We follow the same structure in F3. Show up in the gloom and do stupid stuff, while all the sad clowns sleep. What happens in the gloom, however, is community. We have the secret sauce.

Aye!

 

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Christmas in April Pre-Blast

Here’s the details:

Date: Saturday, April 28

Time: After Convergence (coffee and biscuits will be provided)

Place: From WarZone to 616 Howard St.

Directions: Take 6th St to Marion Avenue. Right on Marion. First house on the right just after Pride Park. (This is the back of the house)

THE THANG

PROJECT PANE

We are going to be replacing 6 windows, 1 exterior door and 3 door locks for Dolly Wright and her husband. She is as sweet as a 50# bag of sugar, and I can’t wait to help her out. Their home is old and breezy. New windows will provide better insulation than the plastic she has tacked up over the original windows. Currently her back door is an interior hollow core door, which provides zero security and not much more insulation value. Her front and rear doors have no deadbolts and old handles. Her bathroom door has no handle at all. #awkward

Tools: Hammer, flat bar, screwdrivers, level, pliers, cordless drill, sawzall.

PROJECT COVERUP

Donkey Lips put us on to another project that is just down the street. There is a 100+ year old cemetery at the end of Marion Avenue that was literally covered up by trees and undergrowth. Volunteers have begun to bring it back to where it should be, but now they need some heavy lifting. F3 is tasked with laying a thick bed of mulch over the entire plot of land to kill off the vegetation. We need strong backs and weak minds.

Tools: Wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, pitchforks, pruning shears, maybe a chainsaw or two.

THE BIG PICTURE

F3’s mission is to plant, grow and serve  small workout groups to invigorate male community leadership. Service is a major component of leadership. It is one of my burning desires to build bridges. Across race, age, creed, nationality,  basically any gulf between “US” and “THEM”. Working on these projects gives “us” a huge opportunity to reach “them”. How many sad clowns live within a 1000′ radius of these two projects? How many lives can we impact by leveraging a little bit of our time to help others?

Join us. Sign up and show up.

Aye!

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Grid Iron Ball Boys II

YHC was expecting Purdy Mouth to Q, but heard Goldi and Green Acres conspiring since Purdy didn’t show.  YHC decided to take the Q since Goldilocks was such a fan of what we did last week and thought it would be good to do again.

Conditions: Clear.  50 Degrees F.

Disclaimer

The Thang:

IC Exercises:

Side-straddle-hop x 25

Penningtons x 15 each way

Reach Thrus x 20

Merkins x 10

Indian Run to the never used tennis courts for a change of scenery.  Headlamp was key since getting around the fence means you have to off-road for a bit.

Elevens

1st round:

Burpees and Big Boy Situps running the short length of the courts.  Some mumblechatter until everyone was breathless.

2nd round:

Jump Squats and Merkins running the long length of the courts.  YHC wasted energy racing GA across the court and paid for it later.

PAX made so many trips back and forth, it was like we were trying out to be ball boys since Goldi and YHC didn’t make the cut last week.

Mosey back to the fox for Mary

Mary IC:

Flutter Kicks x 30

Hartsville Hammers x 20

Leg Raises x 20

Side Oblique Leg Raises x 20 each leg

LBC x 50 OYO

Announcements:

3 Year Shindig on April, 14th

Christmas in April on April, 28th

Mud Run May, 19th

DEVO:  GA told a chicken and pig joke about commitment that went something like:  A chicken and a pig were walking down the street and saw a sign at a restaurant that read “Bacon and Egg Breakfast Special.”  The chicken said, “Do they think this is our only contribution in life?”  The pig said, “For you it might be a contribution, but for me it’s a total commitment.”

 

F3 is a total commitment.  Be committed to us and we will be committed to you.  It’s a whole lot more than just the workout.

 

YHC prayed us out.

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