The Fortress (Grace Church)

Backblast: March 23rd, 2024

AO: The Fortress – Grace Church – Perrysburg, OH

PAX:
Photon – Q
Air Supply
Binford
Coconut
Chopstick
Echo
Hannibal
Isosceles
Phat Thor
Spaulding
Tarnished
Van Wilder

Workout: Beat Down That Jetlag

FNG’s: Air Supply

Mission and Principles:
F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith
Mission: To plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
The core principles of F3 are that it is always:
1. Free of charge
2. Open to all men
3. Held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
4. Led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary. You versus you. Modify or stop an exercise if you need to. The most important thing is that nobody gets hurt.
5. Ends with a Circle of Trust
Credo: Leave no man behind but leave no man where you find him

Warm-up:

PAX grabbed extra blocks out of the woods.

The “Thang”:

This beatdown was Jetlag themed (to match Binford’s VQ Leadership Ruck topic) and it chronicled the process of becoming so. Because why not. Were there some pivotal steps missing in the jetlag process? Yes. Hannibal was kind enough to point out at least one of them. That said, there’s only so much that YHC can pack into an hour beatdown, even with a truncated warmup.

Pack Your Bags – PAX did their best to take their pre-packed bags and throw them into the car via a nice round of Squat Potato. 10, 20, 20, 30, 40, 40lb sandbags were passed around the outside of the circle of PAX all in a squat position for several full rotations.

Chauffer – PAX paired off for a partner carry. One PAX chaufferred the other from the end of the parking lot to the end cone and back in order to make it to the airport. The tandem of Phat Thor and Chopstick somehow managed to avoid a speeding ticket during the trip.

Through The Terminal – We were able to skip security and go straight to the terminal, but we didn’t check any bags and needed to take them with us. PAX performed a single cinder-block farmer carry from the end of the parking lot to the far streetlight and back in order to reach the terminal.

Boarding The Plane – We weren’t VIP this morning, so boarding the 12 of us into coach was a real challenge. PAX lined up shoulder to shoulder in a high plank position before starting an “Indian Run” via bearcrawl until all 12 PAX had crawled form the end of the line to the front. Fantastic form was on full display by many as a courtesy to their fellow passengers.

Takeoff – There were some engine troubles on the flight that required a couple of attempts for takeoff. All PAX circled up and performed Failure to Launch from a starting count of 10 down to 1 that ultimately resulted in a 55s Al Gore hold and 10 jump squats.

Picking Up Speed – Once we were in the air, it was time to accelerate and pick up some speed. PAX performed two sets of back and forth sprints in an effort to reach cruising altitude. First down and back sprint was from the end of the parking lot to the far street light. After a 10-count, the second sprint went to and from the short cone. It appeared as though Air Supply may have reached terminal velocity during the first sprint.

Cruising Altitude – After the hustle and bustle of getting to/through the airport and into our cabin, we finally had an opportunity to rest as we moseyed from the parking lot over to the Pavilion at Woodlands Park.

Descent – The flight was short today, and before we knew it the descent had begun. PAX performed a descending burpee ladder starting at 6 reps, with a decreasing rest count between each round. Only 21 burpees overall, but many PAX were still running on fumes after expending so much gas during the acceleration phase of the flight.

Landing – Who doesn’t like a perfect landing at the end of their flight? In order to practice sticking the landing, PAX performed 32 box jumps onto the picnic benches under the pavilion in order to accumulate 380 total reps, representing the A380 that Binford flew during his most recent work trip.

Destination – Since Binford was the only one who knew what work was performed during his recent work trip, Q responsibility was momentarily transferred to him for the destination portion of the beatdown. He was tasked to come up with 2 exercises and corresponding rep counts that the PAX would then perform OYO under the Pavilion. 32 (2is1) flutter kicks were chosen first to represent the alternating bottles being filled on the production line during his work visit. He followed them up with 25 merkins for good measure. Shout out to Binford for a fantastic response when put on the spot without prior knowledge.

JETLAG – On his return flight to the Black Swamp, Binford traveled West a sizeable distance. So not only was he exhausted from the time difference/travel, he basically went back in time as he was flying. For the remainder of the beatdown the PAX went back in time and performed the workout up this point IN REVERSE.

Landing – Instead of jumping up and stepping down through box-jumps, the PAX did the reverse and performed 32 Step-Ups

Descent – Ascending burpee ladder from 1 to 6 reps with increasing rest counts between rounds.

Cruising Altitude – Moseyed from the pavilion back to the parking lot, jogging backwards.

Picking Up Speed – Performed the short sprint first, followed by the long sprint (with 10-count in between). Thanks to Coconut for recommending to NOT perform the sprints in running backwards for safety reasons.

Takeoff – Performed out of order AFTER Boarding the Plane. Likely due to the fact that the Q almost passed out due to an issue with the cabin pressure after the sprints. In this round, the PAX performed Failure to Launch from a starting count of 1 up to 10.

Boarding the Plane – Instead of a high plank to bear crawl Indian run of 1 full rotation, the PAX maintained the crab (bridge) to crab walk Indian run of 1 full rotation. YHC got in on the action late due to fatigue and a couple other PAX were able to lead this one in his absence.

Through the Terminal – Farmer carry just as before as walking backwards seemed too unsafe to attempt.

Chauffer – Flapjacking partners was an option, but some performed the partner carry the same way as the intial carry. Partner carry going backwards seemed too unsafe to attempt. Phat Thor and Chopstick continue to break speed records.

Pack Your Bags – Passed the bags the opposite direction as the first time.

Ended with:
Count-O-Rama: 12
Name-O-Rama

The Six – Tarnished

LDP3

Ball of Man

Spreadsheets from the Gloom: Cold and dry. This might go down as one of my favorite BDs. If Air Supply never comes back, it sure wasn’t because of a lack of effort on our end. The theme worked out even better than I had imagined, the timing lined up perfectly, and everyone seemed to enjoy the spirit of the beatdown. The partner carry was a nice change as I have yet to encounter one in a beatdown in my first 7 months. The fact that Phat Thor and Chopstick ended up partners just added to it.

I’d like to thank the PAX for continuing on the beatdown without me as I struggled with extreme fatigue and dizziness after the JETLAG sprints. They seemed genuinely concerned with my well-being and kept the workout going during my brief absence. Fortunately, “Merloton” will have to wait for another day to be introduced to the swamp.

Per usual, the playlist attempted to chronicle the entire journey of the beatdown.

“Fly Away” – Lenny Kravitz
“Given to Fly” – Pearl Jam
“Jet Airliner” – Steve Miller Band
“Airplane” – Widespread Panic
“Aeroplane” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Time Machine” – Grand Funk Railroad
“Time Becomes” – Orbital
“Warped” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Pushin Forward Back” – Temple of the Dog
“Time” – Hootie & The Blowfish
“Time” – Blind Melon
“Time” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

It was more of a pleasure to lead this one than normal for many reasons. Thanks to everyone for making it so memorable, and thanks Binford for the VQ leadership ruck and the theme inspiration.

One thought on “The Fortress (Grace Church)”

Mike "Photon" Bauer says:

March 25, 2024 at 12:50 pm

Backblast: March 23rd, 2024

AO: The Fortress – Grace Church – Perrysburg, OH

PAX:
Photon – Q
Air Supply
Binford
Coconut
Chopstick
Echo
Hannibal
Isosceles
Phat Thor
Spaulding
Tarnished
Van Wilder

Workout: Beat Down That Jetlag

FNG’s: Air Supply

Mission and Principles:
F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith
Mission: To plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
The core principles of F3 are that it is always:
1. Free of charge
2. Open to all men
3. Held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
4. Led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary. You versus you. Modify or stop an exercise if you need to. The most important thing is that nobody gets hurt.
5. Ends with a Circle of Trust
Credo: Leave no man behind but leave no man where you find him

Warm-up:

PAX grabbed extra blocks out of the woods.

The “Thang”:

This beatdown was Jetlag themed (to match Binford’s VQ Leadership Ruck topic) and it chronicled the process of becoming so. Because why not. Were there some pivotal steps missing in the jetlag process? Yes. Hannibal was kind enough to point out at least one of them. That said, there’s only so much that YHC can pack into an hour beatdown, even with a truncated warmup.

Pack Your Bags – PAX did their best to take their pre-packed bags and throw them into the car via a nice round of Squat Potato. 10, 20, 20, 30, 40, 40lb sandbags were passed around the outside of the circle of PAX all in a squat position for several full rotations.

Chauffer – PAX paired off for a partner carry. One PAX chaufferred the other from the end of the parking lot to the end cone and back in order to make it to the airport. The tandem of Phat Thor and Chopstick somehow managed to avoid a speeding ticket during the trip.

Through The Terminal – We were able to skip security and go straight to the terminal, but we didn’t check any bags and needed to take them with us. PAX performed a single cinder-block farmer carry from the end of the parking lot to the far streetlight and back in order to reach the terminal.

Boarding The Plane – We weren’t VIP this morning, so boarding the 12 of us into coach was a real challenge. PAX lined up shoulder to shoulder in a high plank position before starting an “Indian Run” via bearcrawl until all 12 PAX had crawled form the end of the line to the front. Fantastic form was on full display by many as a courtesy to their fellow passengers.

Takeoff – There were some engine troubles on the flight that required a couple of attempts for takeoff. All PAX circled up and performed Failure to Launch from a starting count of 10 down to 1 that ultimately resulted in a 55s Al Gore hold and 10 jump squats.

Picking Up Speed – Once we were in the air, it was time to accelerate and pick up some speed. PAX performed two sets of back and forth sprints in an effort to reach cruising altitude. First down and back sprint was from the end of the parking lot to the far street light. After a 10-count, the second sprint went to and from the short cone. It appeared as though Air Supply may have reached terminal velocity during the first sprint.

Cruising Altitude – After the hustle and bustle of getting to/through the airport and into our cabin, we finally had an opportunity to rest as we moseyed from the parking lot over to the Pavilion at Woodlands Park.

Descent – The flight was short today, and before we knew it the descent had begun. PAX performed a descending burpee ladder starting at 6 reps, with a decreasing rest count between each round. Only 21 burpees overall, but many PAX were still running on fumes after expending so much gas during the acceleration phase of the flight.

Landing – Who doesn’t like a perfect landing at the end of their flight? In order to practice sticking the landing, PAX performed 32 box jumps onto the picnic benches under the pavilion in order to accumulate 380 total reps, representing the A380 that Binford flew during his most recent work trip.

Destination – Since Binford was the only one who knew what work was performed during his recent work trip, Q responsibility was momentarily transferred to him for the destination portion of the beatdown. He was tasked to come up with 2 exercises and corresponding rep counts that the PAX would then perform OYO under the Pavilion. 32 (2is1) flutter kicks were chosen first to represent the alternating bottles being filled on the production line during his work visit. He followed them up with 25 merkins for good measure. Shout out to Binford for a fantastic response when put on the spot without prior knowledge.

JETLAG – On his return flight to the Black Swamp, Binford traveled West a sizeable distance. So not only was he exhausted from the time difference/travel, he basically went back in time as he was flying. For the remainder of the beatdown the PAX went back in time and performed the workout up this point IN REVERSE.

Landing – Instead of jumping up and stepping down through box-jumps, the PAX did the reverse and performed 32 Step-Ups

Descent – Ascending burpee ladder from 1 to 6 reps with increasing rest counts between rounds.

Cruising Altitude – Moseyed from the pavilion back to the parking lot, jogging backwards.

Picking Up Speed – Performed the short sprint first, followed by the long sprint (with 10-count in between). Thanks to Coconut for recommending to NOT perform the sprints in running backwards for safety reasons.

Takeoff – Performed out of order AFTER Boarding the Plane. Likely due to the fact that the Q almost passed out due to an issue with the cabin pressure after the sprints. In this round, the PAX performed Failure to Launch from a starting count of 1 up to 10.

Boarding the Plane – Instead of a high plank to bear crawl Indian run of 1 full rotation, the PAX maintained the crab (bridge) to crab walk Indian run of 1 full rotation. YHC got in on the action late due to fatigue and a couple other PAX were able to lead this one in his absence.

Through the Terminal – Farmer carry just as before as walking backwards seemed too unsafe to attempt.

Chauffer – Flapjacking partners was an option, but some performed the partner carry the same way as the intial carry. Partner carry going backwards seemed too unsafe to attempt. Phat Thor and Chopstick continue to break speed records.

Pack Your Bags – Passed the bags the opposite direction as the first time.

Ended with:
Count-O-Rama: 12
Name-O-Rama

The Six – Tarnished

LDP3

Ball of Man

Spreadsheets from the Gloom: Cold and dry. This might go down as one of my favorite BDs. If Air Supply never comes back, it sure wasn’t because of a lack of effort on our end. The theme worked out even better than I had imagined, the timing lined up perfectly, and everyone seemed to enjoy the spirit of the beatdown. The partner carry was a nice change as I have yet to encounter one in a beatdown in my first 7 months. The fact that Phat Thor and Chopstick ended up partners just added to it.

I’d like to thank the PAX for continuing on the beatdown without me as I struggled with extreme fatigue and dizziness after the JETLAG sprints. They seemed genuinely concerned with my well-being and kept the workout going during my brief absence. Fortunately, “Merloton” will have to wait for another day to be introduced to the swamp.

Per usual, the playlist attempted to chronicle the entire journey of the beatdown.

“Fly Away” – Lenny Kravitz
“Given to Fly” – Pearl Jam
“Jet Airliner” – Steve Miller Band
“Airplane” – Widespread Panic
“Aeroplane” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Time Machine” – Grand Funk Railroad
“Time Becomes” – Orbital
“Warped” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Pushin Forward Back” – Temple of the Dog
“Time” – Hootie & The Blowfish
“Time” – Blind Melon
“Time” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

It was more of a pleasure to lead this one than normal for many reasons. Thanks to everyone for making it so memorable, and thanks Binford for the VQ leadership ruck and the theme inspiration.

One thought on “The Fortress (Grace Church)”

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