Tag: The Alamo

13 HIMs came out to shake off summer and immediately noticed a few cinder blocks lined up nicely to greet them. YHC thoughts invoked Full Metal Jacket…this block is mine, there are many like it, but this one is mine…turns out that when there are many like it, you don’t know which one is yours, so you just pick up whatever one you arrive at. Didn’t matter, we had work to do.

Quick mosey to the end of the cul-de-sac and back with a warmup brew of SSH, Deadman hangs, cherry pickers aka crabgrass grabbers, Ukrainian Soldiers, Imperial Walkers, hand release merkins, LBC, Roscoe’s mom, and some light jazzercise to loosen up

The THANG 1 – 11’s

Start at tennis court with 1 cinder block bicep curl, run to the dumpster and do 10 squats, run back to tennis court. Rinse & repeat x11.

The THANG 2 – Wishbone

5 checkpoints from one end of the parking lot to the next were established. Each HIM to carry a block via lunges to the first checkpoint, drop the weight and run to the top of the hill in front of the clubhouse, do 5 merkins and run back to your block. Lunge carry to the next checkpoint, run to the top of the hill, 5 merkins, return. Repeat until you reach the other end of the parking lot.

The THANG 3 – Triple Check @ Bunny Hop Hill

Inspired by the family of cute bunnies we often see in the morning, I thought it would only be fitting that we do Murder Bunnies as part of a triple check – Murder Bunny up the slope and walk back with coupon. Other PAX rotate between bicep curls and overhead press. Veterans quickly pointed out that this is an illegal move and reserved for Iron Pax. Noted! The HIMs were up for the challenge and we proceeded as planned.

Ended with two rounds of Ring of Fire Merkin edition, 10 of your choosing. Hermey once again demonstrated why he is the Alpha Male.

Announcements – 2 new AO’s opening up, 10 year convergence

Prayer Requests – Dumar’s father is having a serious surgery to remove nose cancer and a family friend just found out they have cancer as well. Heist’s friend Denise is battling cancer, ask for support for her. Prayers for children and teachers’ returning to school. Few PAX members are nicked up, asking for speedy recovery and look forward to seeing them soon.

Until next time!

15 grown boys got their week started off at The Alamo!

WARMARAMA – Moseyed to the other side of the horseshoe. Circled up, gave the F3 Mission and got into it…SSH’s, Dead Man Hang, Arm Circles, LBC’s, Rosco’s Mom, Merkins, Wilson’s Wife and Fudd’s Wife.

The THANG – Moseyed across the street, down the hill, through the tunnel and popped out the other side. On the way to the first site, we jazzed up the jog by rotating 90 degrees at every tree along the way. This created a mix of running, side-shuffling and bernie-ing.

COP 1: The PAX took their position around the perimeter of the newly-discovered playground. The monkey bars served as pull up bars for 2 PAX members at a time while rest of the PAX side-crawled around the perimeter with hands on the curb. Once the pull ups were complete, the PAX member would head to the back of the line and the next 2 popped up from the front for their turn on the monkey bars.

• Round 1: (5) Pull Ups while PAX moved counter-clockwise around the perimeter.
• Round 2: (5) Pull Ups while PAX moved clockwise around the perimeter.
• Round 3: (5) Pull Ups while PAX executed incline/decline Merkins.

COP 2: After a quick mosey, YHC called for a BLIMP on the way back to the clubhouse.

• B: (5) Berpies
• L: (10) Lunges, Double-Count
• I: (15) Imperial Walkers, Double-Count
• M: (20) Merkins
• P: (25) Plank Jacks

COP 3: Ring of Fire!

• Round 1: PAX hugged a tree while (10) various SQUAT exercises were completed.
• Round 2: PAX completed various AB exercises.
• Round 3: PAX completed various MERKIN’s.

Slow mosey back for numbers, names, announcements and prayers/wins.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Ultimate Frisbee Tournament – Tuesday, August 6th at No Toll. Sign up on Slack!
• NEW AO ALERT!! – Wednesday, August 28 at Magnolia Green. Show up and show out!

PRAYERS/WINS

• WIN – Blacktop’s two sons were baptized yesterday! Let’s goooo!!!!
• PRAYER – YHC’s family planning.

Thanks for letting me lead, Boys! I’m so thankful to be a part of this group of men. Stay strong!

Man. A week from the gloom is too long (was away on vacation).

Small showing by the Rountree/NM crew today. I even brought an FNG. Shame shame.

Warmorama. F3 intro statement etc etc.

Mosey to front of pool entrance for a “quintuple check”. Damn right we did. Runner goes to towards entrance at Woolridge and back. Exercises were LBCs, squats, Drydocks, and SSH. Some excellent mumble chatter (first watch level) on the possible FNG names (rhymes with beef?) inspired the sounds of a wet lower back on pavement. This took awhile btw

To the bunker! 11s starting with Merkins to Dollys. Boom. BTTF.

A few minutes of stretching and it was time

Welcome to Frank. He is a friend (met through son’s daycare) that lives in Rountree. A country boy from Prince George county who sells lumber, hence the names. Props to him for coming out first time in rain and thunder. Should make the VQ for Crabgrass

Announcements

1. Crabgrass VQ this Friday.
2. Group of Rountree boys headed to the Bridge in August.
3. New deep south AO coming. Tell your friends. Moseley elementary 8/28. Subnit your name ideas. Maybe “Magnum”. Goes with the Alamo/cowboy theme and nod to Mag Green. I dunno.
   
4. 9/21 f3 10 year
   

Took us out in short prayer.

Today’s workout was a real gasser, probably needed after all the junk food and beer consumed over the extended July 4th celebration. The workout details will follow, but first, a big thank you to all the High Impact Men (HIMs) among us. Many individuals come to mind, but you know who you are, so I won’t mention names. Seeing you grind both in and out of the gloom gives the Pax that extra boost to be better individuals, husbands, and fathers. I know I am a better man today than I was two years ago, thanks to the leaders we have within the Pax.

Nothing brings me more joy than helping to grow and introduce more guys to F3. To quote Rosie, “F3 is ours to give away.” The joy is even greater when men you invite stick with it and transform themselves (see Purple Rain and Futon). The magic happens when these guys bring other new guys (Futon/Walkie Talkie –> Yeehaw –> Crabgrass) or (Purple Rain –> Fergie).

To wrap this up, a few lessons learned/takeaways through two years of F3.

1. You get out what you put into it, but this requires digging deep and pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. A perfect example was the Richmond Grow Ruck (GTE #47). When this was first proposed, I had zero desire to participate because it sounded terrible—the idea of walking around all night with guys yelling at you didn’t sound fun. Back in late 2023, during an MOT run, I mentioned to Rosie that this didn’t seem appealing to me. Rosie listened and offered some solid advice: “These types of challenges are not about you but about pushing through with the Pax, which makes the Pax stronger.” Watching guys push through discomfort and step up to lead during GTE #47 exemplified this.
2. Leadership is not just about Q’ing a bootcamp. Some guys don’t want to lead a workout for various reasons: general lack of confidence, concern about their fitness level, or simply not wanting to write a backblast. I understand these reasons and could challenge any of them (have you seen a Hermey or POG backblast?). If Q’ing is not your thing, that’s fine, but find another way to lead. It could be stepping up when a Breaking Bread spot is open, hanging back with the six, or even kicking off an amazing fundraising event for children’s cancer. Over the last two years, I have seen some really amazing leadership outside of Q’ing (new AOs, 2nd F events, etc.). Keep it up.
3. Get to know the new guy, and if you are the new guy, get to know the OGs. Remember, the draw to F3 is the fitness. New guys come out because they may want a challenge, want to get back in shape, or maybe just want a bottle of Weller Reserve. The 2nd F (Fellowship) is what keeps them there. This doesn’t have to be anything more than a solid conversation on an MOT run or some solid mumble chatter at First Watch. Maybe even step it up with a cup of “volunteer coffee” at Great Harvest or a slightly better one at Libby Market, coupled with a funny joke or deeper topics like politics (ekk) or the challenges of raising a family. Step it up again with a post-workout breakfast with your buddies. These are my favorite moments, but this 2nd F stuff doesn’t happen unless we engage with each other. Like point #1, this is enhanced by traveling outside your normal stomping grounds (traveling across the James). Trust me on this.

Ok – back to the workout.

Watch hit 5:29 a.m….waiting on my FNG to show up…car coming…mosey to car…nope just Tzatziki. We pick him up and slow mosey to the intersection of Port Savage/Endstone trail. Warmorama designed to honor the guys at my first boot camp two years ago led by Nancy Lopez.

SSH (because you always start this way)
Nancy Lopez – Jazzercize
Body Karate – Dong Quijotes (been awhile man)
Boberry – Collared pickers
Rosetta – Reach up, left, right (snickers about where was he)
Merkins (just because)
McGruff – Downward Dog/Updog.

Start the workout with a punch in the mouth by moseying to the bottom of endstone for Jacob’s ladder. 5 dollies at bottom of hill each time. Ran up hill 7x, with ascending merkins (up to 7). I got to chase a dueling State Farm and Wildcat, who literally SPRINTED up the hill the first round.

Sweat pouring. 20 second OC countdown. Triple Check the other way up endstone trail. Runner goes three mailboxes deep and does 2 burpees. Other guys do jump squats (or regular squats) and LBCs/WWIIs.

Mosey walk back towards the flag. Enter the thunder dome (tennis courts) for four corners (prostutute style). 10 Merkins/20 SSH/30 Monkey Humpers/40 squats.

Ice cold water served to the Pax.

Numbers/Names.

Speech:

Doing this is tough, but it  nothing worth doing in life is easy. Ask any top athlete or business leader. I think back to overcoming challenges in my personal life, career, and even relationships. We all face these types of challenges…some more than others. But in the end pushing through is worth it. 

Out here – we prove something each morning. We prove we can drag our asses out of bed when  not many other men do, put in work, and do it all over again. We do it because stuff like this hardens us and sets us up for the challenges ahead. After all, to quote Mr Hardywood: Transformation does not happen in the comfortable middle, it only takes place at the hard edges. 

So – I thank each and every one of you for pushing me and making me stronger. I hope I am doing the same for you. 

Wildcat took us out in prayers.

Special shoutout to Fudd, StateFarm and OC for making the trip!

14 started their Independence week at the Alamo just to hear the confusion that goes on in my head as I took on an Alamo Q for the first time! I am not a runner but apparently like to Mosey…

Warmarama: Side Straddle Hops, Imperial Walkers, Imperial Walkers (that looked like Ukranian Soldiers), Imperial Walkers (that looked like a Dead Man Hang), Finish with 10 Peter Parkers OYO.

COP #1: Partner Up (Not a Triple Check): As Many as you can get until your partner gets back from the uphill climb; LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Toe Taps.

COP #2: New Partner Up (Still not a Triple Check): From the Tunnel up the side slope; Carolina Dry Docks, Hello Dollies, Freddie Mercurys, Peter Parkers

COP #3: Ladder in the Lot: 1 Bobby Hurley, 2 Merkins, 3 Peter Parkers, 4 Carolina Dry Docks, 5 Monkey Humpers, 6 Copperhead Squats, 7 Ukranian Soliders, 8 Side Straddle Hops

COP #4: Take Back the Tennis Courts, 4 Corners Prostitute Style. 5 Merkins, 10 LBCs, 15 Side Straddle Hops, 20 Flutter Kicks

COP #5: (Don’t go by Wilsons Watch) Yes, a Triple Check: American Hammers, LBCs, Time…

NMS (Naked Mole Skin) @purple-rain: The Alamo is where I hit my first AO last June and it was my time to jump in and lead with this great group of guys. I had an FNG attend that questioned why “Faith” was at the end of F3. Well the Faith here is a belief in something outside of oneself and although I don’t know the reason why it is last in order, I know that the Fitness at the Alamo has brought me to Fellowship at the Alamo and I am encouraged by my brothers in the Faith to pray for each other and lean on each other no matter what we are going through and I appreciate what prayer and trust in each other can do in this community.

Convergence at Stone House @ Forest Hill Park 7/4 at 7:00am!