Author: Michael Cannon

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DevilsDen is On the Books!

Backblast: 2/8/23

Conditions: 50ish, clear, and perfect for the kickoff

Q: Reveille

Pax: Skeet, McAfee, Linus, Coxswain, Toothless, Detective Pikachu, Rev

Disclaimer was given before a short mosey to the light post followed by Warm-O-Rama

Warm-O-Rama:

    • x15 LBC each way
    • x15 T-Claps
    • OYO Good Mornings
    • x15 Imperial Walkers
    • x25 SSH

The Thang: F3 Lebanon 2.0

YHC decided to rehash the first Lebanon workout from a few years ago. What followed was a version of DORA:

    • Swerkins x50
    • Caroling Dry Docks x100
    • Rows x150
    • Air Squats x 200
    • Partner runs to the parking lot fence and back

Once the first round was finished, we condensed to a second round

    • Incline Merkins x 30
    • x60
    • Lt. Dans x120 (I think the most we got to was ~65)
    • Partner lunges halfway across the painground and back.

Mosey back to startex for some cool-down stretches

    • Tricep pulls
    • Cross-body arm stretch
    • Runners Stretch
    • Up Dog
    • Down Dog

COT: Appreciation was shown for Coxswain (Murfreesboro), Toothless (Nashville), and Detective Pikachu (Nashville) for making the trek to celebrate the official opening of Devils Den.

F3 2.0 workout this Saturday, Feb. 11 (details from Skeet on Slack).

Brewsday is on Monday of next week at 12 South. Open Tab that following Friday.

Misty Mountain OTB Friday mornings at Charlie Daniels park. QSource to follow.

It was an honor to lead you HIM this morning!

SYITG

Rev

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Deck of Many Tears

Backblast: 11/16/22

Conditions: Cold, dark, gloomy…perfect for the Devil’s Den

Q: Reveille

Pax: Skeet, Mcafee, Rev

Disclaimer given after a short mosey to the light post followed by a quick warmup of Windmills, LBAC, T-Claps, Imperial Walkers, and SSH.

The Thang: Deck of Many Tears:

YHC has been dying to use his official F3 card deck for a while, and this was a perfect opportunity. We cut the deck into thirds and made 3 stations. Each Pax drew a card and completed the exercise indicated with the value shown (base value + 10, face cards = 25, Ace = 100). After all Pax complete their card, rotate stations. Rotate until all 3 stations are completed then follow up with a short recovery mosey. Rinse and Repeat until 6:10.

Recovery consisted of active stretching from the bottom up until time.

COT: No major announcements made. Focusing on EH-ing men here on the Far East side. Debating on whether or not we should hit up Pop’s for coffeeteria or begin providing our own.

SYITG

Rev

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2nd F Backblast – Inaugural Gentlemen’s Dinner

On January 16th, 18 PAX gathered at Jimmy Kelly’s steakhouse in Nashville for the Inaugural Gentlemen’s Dinner. The turnout was a mixture of Nashville region guys and The Strenuous Life men (from the Art of Manliness platform). Pax in attendance were Toothless, Bareback, Laff Track, Princess Aurora,  Hipster, Blue Mule, Cub Cadet, Vector, Hambone, Pop-A-Lock, Crawlspace, Hi-Viz, Harvey Updyke, and Reveille.

We kicked it off with a few drinks and brief introductions, then opened up with a toast before sitting down for some appetizers. We then went around the room to make introductions and tell how we each received our names. Scott wowed us all with his gift of custom-made poker chips with his TSL class logo and motto (The Black Jacks) represented.

Steaks were then presented in exemplary fashion, and another toast was given by Pop-a-Lock to recognize Hambone for his work as Comz director. The evening was so much more than we could have anticipated. The meal was exquisite, but it paled in comparison to the camaraderie and fellowship felt by all.

Thanks to all of you for making this happen!

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The Citadel – 11/2/19 Elsa’s Ice Castle

5 HIM (including 2 FNGs) came out this morning for some fun and games in the frosty air. The whole Citadel looked more like Elsa’s ice castle than the Red Keep. 6:00 came with a surprise from Laff Track (who did a pre-hustle), a disclaimer, and a 10 Burpee buy-in. Then a quick mosey for WOR.

Warm-O-Rama

  • X10 Windmills
  • x10 Good Mornings
  • x10 Baby Arm Circles front
  • x10 Baby Arm Circles back
  • x10 Seal Claps
  • x10 Overhead Claps
  • x10 Willie Mays Hays
  • x10 Imperial Walkers
  • x10 Tempo Merkins
  • x40 SSH

Thang
Started off with a mosey behind the playground to chill out in the icy grass to play 10 rounds of Rochamburpees. Only made it through 5 before needing to relocate due to a plethora of little critter nuggets.

Mosey to the little playground for some clean wood chips and the last 5 rounds of Rochamburpees.

Teams then kicked off a “friendly” version of Dora 1-2-3. 1 Pax runs to the big playground and back while the other racks up a tally.

  • X50 pullups
  • X100 Incline Merkinds
  • X150 Squats

This was followed by a round of Swerkin Swaps. Teams accumulate x75 Swerkins while one Pax Bearcrawls to the benches and back.

Mosey to the parking lot for some Parking Space Tracers.

Closed out with a round of Mary

  • X15 Flutter Kicks
  • X15 American Hammers
  • X15 Crunchy Abby Frogs
  • X15 LBCs
  • X15 Box Cutters
  • X10 J-Lo’s
  • X10 Alabama Prom Dates
  • X10 One-Legged Prom Dates (5 each leg)

15 Burpee buy out to finish it all up.

Mosey back to the shovel flags for COT. J-Mac was all too excited to make that last-minute dash to close it out.

COT:
Welcome to our newest FNGs: Lawnmower Man and Sugar Cookie

Lebanon’s first VQ will be next week with Laff Track on tap.
It’s always incredible seeing men accept the challenge of fighting the fartsack and embracing the challenge of an early morning beat down. I’m constantly in awe to see men who will push through their limits, modified or not. The fact you all are out there growing and getting faster and stronger is amazing.

It was an honor to lead you all!

SYITG
Reveille

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The Citadel – 10/26/19 A Sloppy, Swampy, Slosh

3 HIM came out in a warm drizzle to get after it this morning in the puddles and mud of The Citadel.

PAX: Reveille (QIC), Laff Track, and the newest Lebanon FNG – the Jedi MacGyver (J-Mac)
Shovel flag meet up and disclaimer with a very short mosey to the shed for WOR.

Warm-O-Rama
• X30 SSH
• x15 Baby Arm Circles front
• x15 Baby Arm Circles back
• x10 Willie Mays Hays
• x10 Slow/low Squats
• x10 Merkins

Thang
Started off with a mosey to various benches around the track for DIDs.
• X20 Dips
• x15 Incline Merkins
• x10 Decline Merkins
Total of 3 benchmarks. Then we reversed it, but with the following:
• X20 Lunges
• x15 Air Squats
• x10 Bulgarian Splits

After that, a short mosey to the parking lot for a circuit. 2 minutes at each station.
• Station 1 – LBCs
• Station 2 – Jump Squats
• Station 3 – Merkins
• Station 4 – Burpees

Short break with an Indian Run across the entirety of the parking lot, then back for another round of the circuit.

Closed out with a round of Mary
• X20 Flutter Kicks
• X10 Big Boy Situps
• X10 Freddie Mercuries
• X10 Hello Dollys
• X10 Alabama Prom Dates
• These were negated by Laff Track and instead turned into a solid minute of planking to close out. (careful what you ask for)

Mosey back to the shovel flags for COT.

COT:
Welcome to our FNG now named J-Mac.
2 for coffeeteria at Split Bean after wrapup.
It was an honor to lead you all!

SYITG
Reveille

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The Citadel – 10/19/19: The Doors are Open

7 HIM came to open the doors to the Citadel in Lebanon on Saturday. 

PAX: Reveille (QIC), Vector, Red Skull, Princess Aurora, Cunning Linguist, T-Cell, and Lebanon’s first FNG – Laff Track.

Double shovel flag meet up and disclaimer with a very short mosey to the grass for WOR.

Warm-O-Rama

  • x10 Windmills
  • x10 Baby Arm Circles front
  • x10 Baby Arm Circles back
  • x10 Seal Claps
  • x10 Imperial Walkers
  • x10 Hillbilly Walkers
  • x10 Merkins
  • x30 SSH

Thang

Q started off with a very non-descript piece of paper with the words Wheelbarrows to ATMs to BOMBS WOKE. This paper got left at the park so my only assumption is the cops were called after we left.

Pax split into partner teams for a Wheelbarrow Derkin walk to a pavilion about 50 yards away. Once there we shifted some tables for two rounds of table dancing at Coyote Ugly. This was followed by ATMs.

  • 15 Alternating Shoulder Taps
  • 10 Tempo Merkins
  • 10 Merkins (patty-cake style)

Setup for 11s with Manmakers and Burpees. After 1 round these changed to Squats and Lunges because of my own injuries. Once finished, our teams got WOKE.

  • 50 Werkins
  • 100 OH Press
  • 150 Flutter Kicks
  • 200 Alabama Prom DatE
  • Partner runs to the track and back while the other works

 Finish up with a round of BOMBS

  • 50 Baby Arm Circles
  • 100 OH Claps
  • 150 Merkins
  • 200 Big Boy Sit-up (easily confused with WWIs)
  • 250 Squats
  • Partner runs to the track and back while the other works

Mosey back to the shovel flags for COT.

COT:

Libeery on the 29th. Details on Slack.

Welcome to our FNG now named Laff Track.

100% coffeeteria at Split Bean after wrapup.

Thank you to the Nashville Pax for coming out to support the launch! It’s humbling to see myself surrounded by men willing to take on challenges and wake up earlier than they should to come along beside me while this new region gets off the ground.

It was an honor to lead you all!

 

SYITG

Reveille

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Blue Falcons Fly

7 HIM posted this morning for a bit of fun and games.
Black Lung, Bicentennial Man, Defrost, Florida Man, Right Said, Drago, and yours truly.

WOR:
10x Windmills
10x Good Mornings
10x Imperial Walkers
10x Hillbillies
10x Little Baby Arm Circles Front
10x Little Baby Arm Circles Back
10x T Claps
10x Merkins

Thang:
Mosey up to the Parthenon for a game of Leapfrog all the way down one side of the temple and Buddy Box Jumps on the way back. Then mosey to the broken hill for a round of Blue Falcon.

Team 1 gave Team 2 a workout of 7s with Burpees at the top of the hill and Atomic Merkins at the bottom. Team 2 handed Team 1 a pyramid up to 10x and back of Merkins, OH Presses, and Big Boy Situps. Team 1 completed their given routine the quickest, but all HIM offered to do the 5 penalty Burpees.

Then, for a game I’m calling the Jerk-off (for being a jerk of a Blue Falcon), each team had to do the routine they created with an upgraded penalty if you didn’t complete your own plan the quickest. But again, each HIM offered to take the 10 penalty Burpees after Team 2’s victory.

Ended with something I’m calling In-n-Outs (plank to floating table pose) and called it a day.

QSource afterward consisted of Right Said and myself discussing Consistency, routines, and leading by example.

Thanks for the privilege of leading today!

-Reveille

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A Little Fellow Follows Me

Gentlemen,

I came across this poem a few years ago and it has stuck with me ever since. I’d like to share it with you all now:

A careful man I want to be — 
a little fellow follows me. 
I do not dare to go astray, 
for fear he’ll go the self-same way. 
I cannot once escape his eyes. 
Whatever he sees me do he tries. 
Like me he says he’s going to be — 
that little chap who follows me… 
He knows that I am big and fine —
And believes in every word of mine. 
The base in me he must not see — 
that little chap who follows me… 
But after all it’s easier,
that brighter road to climb, 
With little hands behind me — 
to push me all the time. 
And I reckon I’m a better man 
than what I used to be… 
Because I have this lad at home 
who thinks the world of me. 
-Rev. Claude Wisdom White

As the father of a young boy, this sentiment hit hard. A tiny human full of life and curiosity looks to me to discover how the world works and how we should conduct ourselves in it. He watches and mirrors every move I make, learns from every personal interaction I have, and (scariest of all) listens to every word I speak. He is there all the time measuring the statements I make against the actions I take and that scares the daylights out of me.

Gentlemen, this sentiment leads me to my leadership theme for this month: Lead by Example. Those of us who are fathers know this idea very well. Our children will see us as the paragon of humanity and work their whole young lives to imitate us both consciously and subconsciously. Those of us who have yet to become fathers see this at work in the lives of those who have led us well and in the reflections of those whom we are tasked to lead. It’s an idea echoed in one of F3’s Q-ing standards: “If you can’t do it, don’t Q it”. Leading by example is the single most important characteristic of any leader. It should always be kept top of mind for us as we train our leadership abilities.

My son has watched my evolution from the sad clown state to that of one who actually cares about what he does with his life and his body. He has seen me go from a guy who wakes up late, rushes into work at the last minute, and spends his life drowning in a mixture of video games and self-pity to a man who is up before the sun, pushing his body to grow, and training both my mind and the minds of my family. He has come to admire this transformation and desired to push himself to do the same. The most exciting evidence of this exampled leadership is in his most recent request: “Dad, if I wake up early can I work out with you too?” It’s been 2 months now and this tiny human of 10 years has woken up (on his own) at 4:30 every morning to hit the ground outside in the cold, wet, dark of the morning by 5 to warm up. Some days he loves it and can’t get enough. Others, like this icy, rainy morning, he grimaces and forces himself through it. But the most amazing thing I’ve witnessed is the fact I have not had to push him once. He has seen my constant example and has begun holding himself to the same standard. This is a reflections of Plato’s insight, “The best way of training the young is to train yourself at the same time; not to admonish them, but to be seen never doing that of which you would admonish them”.

This is the core of being a leader. Lead yourself first. Build yourself in all facets through unmitigated daily discipline. Spend every day holding yourself to the highest standard at work, around friends, and with your family. Those who lead you will take note and push themselves to be greater because of it. Those who follow you will admire this discipline and be mentored by your actions. Take that brighter road to climb. Do not dare to go astray. Develop unmitigated daily discipline in all things. And always remember, somewhere, there is a little fellow who follows you.

-Reveille

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Jazz in Music City

PAX:

Making progress! I recorded the CoR this time….but it  didn’t save to my stupid phone, so let’s see how well I do.

Blue Mule, Princess Aurora, Crab Legs, B&B, Porcelain, Vector, Hi-Viz, Right Said, Bad Boy, Trapper Keeper, Studio 42, Harvey Updyke, and Voucher. (Thanks for the assist Vector!) I swear, one day I will get the HC right.

QIC:
Reveille

I figured it was time for the guys to get a taste of what I do for the army, so it was all about the Jazz this morning. Crab Legs brought out an FNG (B&B), so disclaimer happened as soon as we started a mosey at 5:30. After that, we circled up for:

WOR:
Windmills x10, LBAC x 10, Seal Claps x10, OH claps x10, RLBAC x10, Willy Mays Hayes x10, Good Mornings x10 OYO, then mosey on to the soccer field

THANG:

Lined up on the outside of the field to learn a couple musical terms:

Jump squats x10

Alligator Merkins x10

Zombie Crawls x10

Zombie Walks x10

2 rounds total to make sure they fully grasp the wonder of Jazz. Now that we’ve got the main genre down, let’s learn about some subsets of jazz:

Body Builders x10

Lt Dans x10

Up Straddle Hop x10

E2K x10

Stagger Merkin x10

Ipod got stuck on repeat, so we got to listen to a round of blues twice. Then studied a bit of:

Sumo Squats x10

Werkins x10

Imperial Squat Walkers x10

Non-Alternating Shoulder Taps x10

Gorilla Humpers x10

Of course, you can’t talk about jazz without studying one of the greats:

Merkins x10

Iron Mike x10

LBC x10

Elevated Merkins x10

Smurf Jack x10

Little to no mumble chatter, so the students must have been captivated by the music.

Now the interesting part: a little friendly competition with 1 round of Blue Falcon. 2 teams each have 3 minutes to come up with a workout for the other team. The team finishing last had a penalty of 15 burpees.

Team 1 created: Burpee Broadjumps x10, Manmakers x10, Hydraulic Squats x10, and Monkey Humpers x10

Team 2 put together: Burpees x10, Sprint to the end of the field, rinse and repeat 4 times with 1 final set of Burpees x10 at the end.

It was a close race, but Team 2 scraped by with a victory. They got to “rest” and do field sprints while Team 1 cranked out their 15 Burpee penalty.

Good workout today gents, and a hearty welcome to B&B! Vector asked to keep his family in our prayers as their son goes off by himself for a few weeks to camp. Also, please keep my cousin in your thoughts as she’s recovering, as well as my brother since he left yesterday on his second deployment.

BH:

  1. Stonewall is still happening Saturday even though there are a couple of other events going on the same day.
  2. TN CAN RUCK Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Touch base with Princess Aurora if you’re interested and haven’t signed up yet.
  3. Warpath takes place down in Franklin Saturday too. Feel free to double up if you’re feeling manly.

-Reveille

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Poor Planning but Fun Times

  1. Nice sticky warm morning

PAX: 21 Pax: Nightcrawler, Sinestro, Kilmonger, Princess Aurora, Cowboy, Casual Friday, Blacklung, Donuts, Porcelain, Hambone, Bagger Vance, Brother-at-Law, Toga, Hot N Ready, Red Skull, Skid Mark, Pop-a-Lock, Dilly Dilly, Dr SmartT, Big Stick, and myself.

5:30 kickoff

Disclaimer given en route with a light mosey to some soft, padded, dewy grass.

WOR:
Windmill x10, Good Morning x10, Imperial Walker x10, Willy Mays Hayes x10, LBAC x 10 each way, Merkins x10

Get After It:

Indian Run around the main building. PAX do 5 Merkins prior to beating feet to the front. Then stopped at the Ball Field for some Front, Back Go’s (Merkins, Flutter Kicks, Sprints on command), Tunnel of Love (low crawl under PAX), and Crowd Surfing. It was at this point Q realized he did not pace his exercises well enough and had 15 minutes to fill. Resorted to Plan B and pulled out the playing cards. Diamonds – Squats, Spades – Hillbilly Walkers, Hearts – Crab Legs, Clubs – Merkins, Ace – x35 dealer’s choice. Due to consistent shuffling of the deck, many many Merkins were performed.

BH:

413 last day. Wolverine and (Kingpin? Snoopy?) are already hard at work. Our remaining Marvel heroes begin work soon. Our pride, encouragement, and prayers will follow them. AO will be closed for a month. See Q signup sheet for future dates.

July 4th pig roast and fund raiser for Team Job on Smartt in The Shire…hit up slack for RSVPing

TN Can Ruck on 21 July