Monday, June 6 | Ironwood | Memorial Park | 63 degrees & foggy
PAX (10): U-Haul, Hipster (Respect-Respect), Spaghetti-O’s (Hate), Ditty, Joe Buck (Hate), Rooster, Doll Face (Respect), The Animal (Respect), Sweet Sweet, Sparty
QIC: Sparty
SMurphers: Stitches & U-Haul
Oh man it was an exciting morning. I have Q’d a lot in my day, but this was set to be my first Q-School. I was anxious as I knew what I wanted to help teach, but didn’t know how it would land or if it would be beneficial for the men. I didn’t have trouble going to sleep, but continually woke up throughout the morning in anticipation. I finally rolled out of my fartsack at 4:15am and got moving. Before I left the house, I had to got find my cones in the backyard as they had turned into bases for my kids’ wiffle ball games lately. As I arrived down in the area, I had planned on setting up shop at SMM and I was very encouraged when I pulled up to see 2 outstanding High Impact Men getting after a SMurph. I made some calculated decisions and then got my cones and Weinki’s set out before returning to the shovel flags. I parked about 5 minutes after 5am and didn’t think much of it. The shadow of a man stepped out of his vehicle I think planning to pre-run with someone, and discovered it was Ditty looking for a buddy. I was jotting down notes for my COT and decided to stay in the car and rest my legs and focus my mind. Quickly, men started to arrive and we had a nice little group. Our man Sweet Sweet made it in all the way from West Omaha today as well, which was awesome.
The clock struck 5:30am and I got started. I had planned on explaining and walking through as much as I could today so the men knew why we do/say certain things. “Welcome to F3! Today will be a little different as this will be Q-School. We will not be doing the Murph and I will try to walk you through things. First, we always start with our Mission Statement. There are 2 parts to this, the first being the how and the 2nd being the why. It’s important to know the distinction because guys often get caught up in the “How” and lose sight of the “Why.” The How – we exist to plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for men. The Why – we are here to invigorate or reinvigorate Male Community Leadership. We are a men’s leadership group, not a men’s fitness group. We operate on 5 core principles and its important that you know these and recite them: 1. We are free 2. We are open to all men 3. We are always outside (Always Outside), we are led in a rotating fashion, and 5. We always end in a circle of trust. Its good to always give the necessary disclaimer that you are not a professional. That way new guys know that they are free to modify as necessary. And share any other disclaimers you may have for the day. My additional one today is that the grass is really wet. I hate starting my day off with wet socks, so I will do my best to help avoid the grass. With that, lets mosey!”
We then took off west and turned south once we exited the park and we made our way towards SMM. When we arrived to the school, we circled up for Wamr-a-rama. I then laid it out and explained to the PAX that it is not the Q’s responsibility to get the group stretched out. If someone needs extra time to get their body ready, they need to get there early and stretch on their own. I then went into the WAR:
- SSH 5 IC – I shared with the men that a traditional Sparty beatdown would end there. But I was going to keep going today.
- Sun-Gods: 10 F/10 R IC
- Cherry Pickers 20 IC
- Big One’s 20 IC
- Tappy Taps 20 IC
- High Knees 20 IC
I shared with the men that when I do go through a whole warm-up, I am intentional with trying to focus on getting certain body parts moving that I know will be used for the beatdown that day. As we concluded WAR, I explained what comes next: “If you want, you can jump right into The Thang/your beatdown at this time. But maybe 30+ minutes is too long for that, so you can introduce a Pre-Thang to break things up. Both work. We are going to do a Pre-Thang today so lets mosey over to the steps.” As we arrived, I shared that this usually is done in about 5-8 minutes, unless you’re Slow Pitch it could be upwards to 20 minutes (Love you SP). What I like to do is keep the body moving and do something that gets the heart rate up. A tabata works really well for this. We will exercise for 20 seconds, then take a 10 second break, and continue this for 5 minutes.
Pre-Thang (AMRAP):
- Toe Taps
- Squats
- Big Boi’s
- Toe Taps
- Monkey Humpers
- LBCs
- Toe Taps
- Bonnie Blairs
- American Hammers
- Toe Taps
The mumblechatter was good this morning and it kept the men engaged. As the timer went off, I informed the group that we would be making our way to The Thang and we took a short mosey to the upper parking lot. My advice for the Thang – make sure that it’s simple enough that you can explain it quickly with everyone being able to understand what the plan is. Guys don’t like standing around, and they want to be led. An easy workout that allows for the PAX to make the workout as challenging as possible is one that is an AMRAP as they can do the reps at the speed they wish to go. It also allows for mumblechatter as they won’t need to count. Lastly, the men want to be pushed so give them something that will push them and get their heart rate going. Here is the easiest workout you could always do if you don’t have a creative idea:
- 2 Man-Grinder – exercises were all AMRAP. Partner 1 mosey’d down the ramp and performed 3 burpees at the bottom, then made their way to the steps to run up and replace partner 2 that is completing exercises
- Merkins
- Plank Jacks
- Werkins
- Mountain Climbers
- Ranger Merkins
- Bobby Hurley’s
- Chuck Norris Merkins
- SSH
Mumblechatter continued to be solid. There was a lot of concern by the men without gloves (me included) when it came to the Chuck Norris Merkins. I reminded the men to modify as needed. As the clock struck 6:05am, “OMAHA” was announced. We had a decent mosey back to the flags so we picked up and took off.
Name-o-rama: Lot of Respect, and some Hate today.
Announcements: There is an opportunity to volunteer at Abide this Saturday. Reach out to Wentworth if you are interested. Several pop-ups and new AOs opening up over the next few weeks.
Prayers: Joe Buck’s friend (Connor) lost his father, Hipster’s sister Marilynn, recovery for B.O.S. and Chernobyl’s M, and for E85 & Bovine!
COT: My COT is 2 parts today – First, I just want to share some insight/opinions on your VQ and just Q’ing in general for newer leaders. Over Prepare – do research, explore the AO, print out your workout, do everything you can ahead of time to nail your VQ. Post your Pre-Blast the day before and tag F3 Omaha and the AO site. Arrive early to give yourself more than enough time to set up and make sure everything is in good order the day of. Always start right on time, and be strategic about when you call “Omaha.” Consider how far you are from the shovel flags, if you have FNGs, if you have a long COT, and if you have a small or big group. The expectation is you will finish by or as close to 6:15am as you can. Practice the mission statement so you nail it at your VQ. Your 1st COT, share your story. The best VQs aren’t because of a great beatdown, they are because someone is sharing their story and opening up to the PAX for the first time. Let us in and get to know you. Your back blast, put time and effort into it. It’s your opportunity to thank those that came out and supported you, and to use your creativity in sharing your experience that day. Lastly, wear a watch or carry your phone with you.
The 2nd part of my COT today is about F3. The sticker on your car or the logo on your shirt represent something incredible and far bigger than just yourself. Keep that in mind as it relates to your behavior. Meaning, if you have an F3 sticker on your car, what does it say about you if you’re driving down the road flipping people off and cussing at them? If you wear an F3 shirt in public, be aware that people are going to be noticing you and how your treat others, or the way you act. You are a representation for the whole nation.
YHC took us out in Prayer.
Sparty,
Aye!