Category: Uncategorized

Backblast: What Do You Want to Know?
Date: Thursday, 2/3/2022
AO: #ao_mastodon
Pax: @TBTF@Panda Express@SAGA@Jolly@Archive@Captain Crunch (AJ)@8-Track@Panhandle@Sparrow@Hancock@pillow mint@Tortuga
FNGS: 0
Q: @Tortuga
Total: 12

Conditions: Overcast and cold.  Strong breeze knocked down one of the flags.  Twice.

WOR: Random numbers of SSH, Seal Claps, Copperhead squats with raised hands (cult-like), mountain climbers, all IC.  Arm circles OYO.  Short mosey around the obelisk.

Thang: one HIM makes a statement about another HIM.  If you think it is true, you do overhead claps.  If you think it is false, you do scissor claps.  The HIM that the statement is about holds a squat until all have made their true or false choice.  He then reveals the truth or falsehood of the statement by overhead clapping or scissor clapping.  Those who guessed incorrectly run a lap of the parking lot while the rest do the assigned exercise.  Groups switch so everyone runs and exercises.  Repeato.

Exercises: standing side leg raises, merkins, side-to-side lunges, shoulder-thigh-toe taps in plank position, jump squats, raised leg merkins, squat hops, calf raises, plank crunches.

Some things we learned:
@Sparrow has never punched a man in the face.
@SAGA has been punched in the face.
@Panhandle did have top secret security clearance.
@pillow mint does have exactly two kids.
@Jolly has never intentionally killed a man.
@Panda Express has indeed dunked on a regulation rim.
@Captain Crunch (AJ) was not voted “Most Popular” in his high school yearbook.
@Sparrow would have gladly stayed another hour.  He was just getting warmed up with his fact finding.
More than half of the PAX present have spent time in a jail cell.

Moleskin: It was a repeated call for men to be in accountability. King David was a man after God’s own heart.  Yet he had an affair and had the husband killed so he could take the woman for himself.  We can’t do this on our own.  We all stumble and fall into sin.  Accountability is no guarantee you won’t stumble and do things you regret, but it does help you to keep on the path you want for your life.  Having a man who will ask you tough questions on a regular basis helps to keep small things from growing into big things.
If you aren’t in an accountability group, seek one out.  If you have an accountability partner already, reach out and invite someone to join the two of you.

COT: @Archive is under a lot of stress at work and has had a stomach ache for a month, @Hancock has a phone interview today (how’d it go?), Baby Tobias (?) was super premie – 1.5 lbs. and not expected to make it.  He is miraculously getting better!

Backblast: Smells Like F3 Spirit
Date: Monday, 1/31/2022
AO: #ao_mastodon
Pax: @Panhandle@Jolly@TBTF @8-Track @SAGA @Sparrow @Jailbreak @Panda Express @Tortuga @Cookies @Ranger Rick
FNGS: 0
Q: @Ranger Rick
Total Pax: 11Warm-up:
SSH
Merkins
Squats
SSHThang: Run/Ruck in WheatonMoleskin:
Invictus (William Ernest Henley)
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soulCOT: Thoughts of support for Cookies’ family as they navigate the process to begin their mission in Thailand.

Date: Saturday, 1/29/2022

AO: #ao_mastodon

PAX: @Cookies, @crack, @crash, @TBTF, @Captain Crunch, @Knuckleball, @Waffles

FNGs: 0

Q: @Cookies

Total: 7

Conditions: Clear and cold (7⁰). Pretty fresh snow everywhere. Thanks to two F3 graduations (2.0s attending their first Big Boy Beatdown) we made it a clusterfreeze.

WOR

Motivators

Mountain Man Poopers

THANG 1

Safe Ice racing

2 teams with sandbags on a rope and pulled them around the ice. Walking was quite slippery. We tried crawling, which didn’t work well at all. We made it one lap around the ice before moving on to the next thang.

THANG 2

Not a DORA, but a SLORA

Coupons at the base of Hoffa, one partner works while the other runs to the top and sleds back down

S-quat x 300

L-unge x 100

O-utlaw x 100

R-ow x 200

A-curl x 300

THANG 3

PAX choice until time

• Flutter kicks

• BBSUs

• Derkins

• Overhead press

• Fox Holes

Date: Tuesday, 1/25/22
AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Hancock @Tortuga @Bloomer @Sparrow @Jolly @Da Vinci @TBTF @bumble @Panhandle @SAGA @Cookies @Pink Drink @Crack
FNGs: 0
Q: @Hancock
Total: 13

Conditions: 1 ºF and perfect amount of snow on the ground.

Warm-O-Rama:
7x Motivators IC
10x Abe Vigodas IC
Picking daisies OYO

Thang 1:
We mosied towards the poolhouse. As each PAX mosied back to the parking lot, at each light pole, did 10 merkins. 10 light poles in total.

Thang 2: Bucket Brigade
We carried our coupons to the base of Hoffa and made two piles of coupons. PAX split into two even-ish lines. Once started, the first PAX picks up a coupon, performs two curls, and hands off to the next PAX in line. Repeat until the pile of coupons is empty, then run to the front of the line and start the process again. All PAX follow suit, moving the line one PAX at a time. We raced from the base of Hoffa to a lightpole. Winners won bragging rights.

Thang 3: Hoffa Work
1x redrum
1x Dora – partner at bottom did BBSU’s, other partner grabbed a sled, ran to the top of Hoffa, performed 10 burpees, and rode the sled to the bottom. Switch.
1x Dora – same, except bottom work was T-bone burpees.
All PAX ran up Hoffa, performed 10 burpees, and sledded/mosied down the hill.

COR/NOR/COT:
Prayers for @Beaker, @Jäzz Händz, and all of us going through Covid right now. And @Hancock expressed thanks and gratitude to God and fellow PAX for the blessing F3 has been.

Moleskin: It is easy to overestimate the power of a "defining moment" in one’s life, and easy to underestimate the power of small, incremental changes and improvements in one’s life. Embrace the incremental changes. This is where real, lasting change happens.

Tunes:
Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N’ Roses
Jump – Van Halen
Breaking the Law – Judas Priest
We’re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister
Danger Zone – Kenny Loggins
Thunderstruck – AC/DC
Black Betty – Ram Jam
Panama – Van Halen
You’ve Got Another Thing Coming – Judas Priest
Another One Bites the Dust – Queen

Backblast: It’s Cold Outside
Date: 1/26/22
AO: #ao_tar_pit
@PAX: @Tortuga @Banks @Cookies @Bloomer
FNGs: 0
Q: @Banks
Total: 4
Conditions: Very Cold – 7 degrees at the start with a feels like temperature of -22The goal of the day was to keep moving and stay warm and I think we accomplished that!Warm-O-Rama:

• 7x Motivators
• 16x Mountain Man Poopers
• Stretch OYO

Thang 1: Bataan Death March
We moseyed around the lake dropping to do 5 burpees and then run to the front. Each PAX did 4 sets of burpeesThang 2: Dora
We partnered up at the top of the ramp and completed a traditional Dora. One PAX would run the ramp down and up while the other completed reps.

• 100 Merkins
• 200 BBS
• 300 Squats

10 MOM: We circled up in the spa and took turns leading Mary for the group

• 25x Flutter Kicks IC
• 20x American Hammers IC
• 20x BBS
• 15x Glute Bridge with legs marching IC
• 20x Each Side Oblique Crunches IC
• 15x Shoulder, Thigh & Foot Taps IC
• 20x Crunchy Frog IC
• 20x Leg Raises

COR/NOR/COT:
Prayers for Tortuga’s Cousin who is in a coma and for my wife as she heads out of town for the next week.Moleskin:
Get up and do the hard things, they are never as bad as you think they will be!

Date: Monday, 1/24/22
AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Tortuga @Da Vinci @Panhandle @Ranger Rick @Shiplap @Banks @8-Track @Archive @Jolly @Sparrow @Buster @SAGA
FNGs: 1, @Buster
Q: @SAGA
Total: 13

Conditions: A cold and snowy wonderland
Warm-Up: A bit of stretching to the soundtrack of CATS
The Thang: 10 of us rucked and shared what we were learning while three of us took to Hoffa for a run/sled excursion! We all gathered at Hoffa at the end for an 8min sledding blitz.
COT: prayers for @Katniss & @Beaker in quarantine-land, prayed for Ms and family/friendships
Moleskin: Ask for help! You get something you need and so does the one serving. Everyone wins: ask for help.

Date: Tuesday, 1/20/2022
AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Cookies @Da Vinci @Giggles @pillow mint @Tortuga @Jolly @Katniss THE @wet burrito @Bloomer @Archive @Sparrow @Woodrider (Justin Lacy) @Banks @8-Track @Hancock @Captain Crunch (AJ) @Crack @SAGA
FNGs: 0
Q: @Cookies
Total: 18
Conditions: 5 degrees and clear, light breezeYHC was excited to be back with the PAX, I brought my Christmas present full of 80lbs of Florida sand back with me and several others showed up with some serious weight to lug around. There were also some sleds…..At start time we had 15 for a triple clusterfreeze! If we used the ending PAX and temp the decrease in temp by 1 and increase in PAX by 3 would have given us a quadruple, but it was not meant to be that it should go in the record books that way.Unfortunately there had been warm days recently so the lake was off limits. Instead we did our WOR at the base of Hoffa. Though YHC was tempted to call it, we did not do motivators to 11, instead the PAX were regaled with a story of downrange PAX doing just that 3 days in a row because they thought I was demonstrating “a normal amount of motivators” when I introduced them to the exercise. Instead we did SSHs, imperial walkers, and calf raises.Explaining the THANG was a bit of a cluster as YHC had not anticipated 18 PAX and had to adapt a bit, once it got started it took on its own character and had plenty of momentum.There were 2 work stations, top and bottom of Hoffa. Pairs started at the top and one worked while the other went down, did 10 reps of work and came back up. Then they switched.Work at the top could be any of these:

• Burpees/Blockees/Sandies
• Flutter Kicks
• Block swings
• Sandbag flips
• BBSUs

Work at the bottom could be:

• 10 Curls
• 10 Rows
• 10 Chest Press
• 10 High Pulls

There were some suggested ways to go up and down including:

• Murder Bunnies
• Sandbag drag
• Bernies
• Komodo Dragons
• Crawl Bear
• Coupon Carries

PAX were also encouraged to modify, YHC witnessed:

• Flying Nuns
• Rolling
• Sledding
• Tandem Sledding
• Body Sledding
• Sliding on knees
• Curling position sliding with a block

Moleskin: Take your life to 11, not just physical pursuits but also the delicate parts of life. A while back I realized that when my 2.0 gives me a hug that I would always pull away first, I started making a conscious effort to always hold him until he let go and it has changed our relationship in a great way. Always look for ways to lean into your relationships and responsibilities in life, take them to 11.

Backblast: Bag Relay
Date: 1/18/22
AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Banks @Hancock @dude @Shiplap @Captain Crunch (AJ) @Cookies @Woodrider (Justin Lacy) (downrange) @8-Track
FNGs: 0
Q: @Shiplap
Total: 8
Conditions: Mild and delightful for a January morning

Warm-O-Rama:
Motivators x 7, mosey, Mountain man poopers x 15, mosey, merkins IC x 10, mosey, squat IC x 10, mosey

The Thang: Bag Relay
Starting at the flag each group had to clean, press and throw their sandbag to the pool house.
PAX 1: would throw the sandbag
PAX 2: Complete B.O.M.B.S x 20 reps – run to partner throwing the sandbag and switch. Every team made it to the pool house and started back towards the flag.

COR/NOR/COT:
@Woodrider (Justin Lacy)’s MIL as she recovers from Covid
Give @Cookies and his M the power to reach their goal fo raising funds to help spread his word
To help guide @Hancock to find the right job

Moleskin: Sometimes the most simple things make the biggest impact. This "simple but hard" beatdown showed just this. Take the time to impact people around you by doing the simple things

Backblast: Run Club
Date: Friday, 1/14/2022

AO: #ao_ground_zero

PAX:  @T-bone@Panhandle@Beaker@Da Vinci@Toto@pillow mint@Hancock@Banks@Shiplap@Sparrow@Tortuga@Crack (and Dooley Dog)
FNGs: 0
Q: @Tortuga
Total: 12

WOR: Stretch on your own.

Thang: Ran south, under Roosevelt and around the neighborhood there.

Moleskin: All speeds welcome. 

Sometimes you invite a guy to F3 and they tell you, “I shouldn’t come, I’m not in good enough shape yet.”  It’s kind of like inviting a guy to go out to a bar and they say, “I shouldn’t come.  I’m not drunk enough yet.”
You come to F3 to get in shape, not once you are already in shape.  That said, we should keep an eye out for new (an old) HIM and encourage all speeds.

It’s also like coming to Jesus.  If you’re thinking, “I’m not good enough yet,” you’re right.  No one is.  That’s why God sent Jesus.  He calls us to follow him even as we are rejecting him and are in completely lousy shape.  As Jesus was being nailed to the cross he called out, “Father , forgive them.”  Jesus says, “All speeds welcome.”  In the book of Matthew, He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

COT:

• @pillow mint expressed his gratitude for F3 and this group of men.  He received many a hearty, “AYE!” in response.
• @T-bone’s M’s good friend, Candace, just lost her mom to COVID.
• @K-pop is home from college due to a close contact and is quarantining for 7 days.
• Prayers for @Hotbox and family as they settle in to their new home.
• @Noodles and family are going through COVID.

Backblast: 2 Year Maniversary
Date: 1/04/22
AO: #ao_mastodon
PAX: @Shiplap @Jolly @Beaker @Spokes @Da Vinci @Gummi Bear @Sparrow @Tortuga @Hancock @Panhandle @8-Track @T-bone @Giggles @Captain Crunch (AJ) @Katniss
FNGs: 0
Q: @Shiplap
Total: 15
Conditions: unusually warm 34 degree dayWarm-O-Rama:

• 7x Motivators
• 15x Tin Soldiers IC
• 15x Mountain Man Poopers IC

The Thang: Dora B.O.M.B.S.
PAX partnered up.
PAX 1 did 22 Thrusters then ran to second entrance of first parkin lot and back
PAX 2 worked the 4 corners of the WOR parking lot and completes 22 Overhead claps IC, 22 Merkins, 22 BBSU, 22 SquatsEach round the PAX decreased the reps x 2COR/NOR/COT: I should have done this BB within 24 hours so I would have remembered the COT. – note to selfMoleskin: Life is all about consistency. You will have good days and bad, but over the course of time being consistent will help you reach your goals.