Author: wstark

1 December 2025 Backblast: Colson and Southie posted. Ruck march across the Clinton Street Bridge to Pontiac Park and back. End with COT.

FFM first Monday Murph
Pax:
Mile High
Longhorn
Bourbon
Irish Hoss
Q- Spaulding

1 mile run
100 chin ups
200 merkins
300 squats
1 mile run

Huckleberry
Zimba
Staypuft
Arcy
Shepherd
Manchester
Doubtfire
Norm
Stalker

11/30/2025
Gravy Burn Ladder Beatdown

Alfonso “Ukulele” Cardoso
Mike “Photon” Bauer
Paul “Zimba” Nel
Seth “Shepherd” Metzger – Q

Equipment: Standard block

Beatdown Routine
1. Buy in: Run down steps and back up hill.
2. Descending Rep Ladder (10 → 1):
* Do Man Makers, block squats, curls
* Then 9 of each, then 8 of each, continuing down to 1 of each.
3. Buy out: 25 full extension crunch (Modified with Imperial Squat Walkers)
4. Repeato

Back last: November 29 2025
AO: The Battlefield Ruck

Pax
Ranger Rick (DR from Chicago)
Wipers
Norm
Manchester
Zimba

Q: Arcy

We kept a good pace through the woods of the battlefield loop. Made it back in time for beatdown

AO: The Wall
Perrysburg, OH

Pax:
Longhorn
Deep Impact
Tarnished
Goldstar
Doubtfire
Finkle
Whiteout (FNG-also Finkle’s dad)
Belding (downrange from Cincinnati)
Arcy
Cross tour
Ukulele – Q

Workout: DnD Beatdown

FNG’s: 1

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: IC 20SSH, 10 Chain breakers

The “Thang”:
The dice decides our fate.
Dragon has 100HP(Health Point)
Team has 60HP
2 choices: roll D20 for an attack, or a D12 for a boost which lasts a whole round
If attack roll is 10 or above, roll a D12 for the reps of exercise, if it’s 20 roll twice. If below 10 it’s a miss, 10 burpees or 20 if it’s a 1
4 groups:
1- Attack is Man-Makers; Boost is Merkins(extra damage)
2- Attack is Orbitals; Boost is Vtaps(extra armor, dragon needs a bigger roll to hit)
3- Attack is Grave-Diggers; Boost is Absolution(heals team)
4- Attack is Thrusters; Boost is Jump squats(extra accuracy, higher chance to land a hit)

After a full round the dragon attack with the D20. If he rolls 10 or above it’s a hit, we run up the ramp and then he rolls a D20 for damage, exercise is Never-Surrenders.
If he misses we run up the stairs and back down. Rolling 1 the dragon damages itself, a 20 is double damage rolls.
Proceed until time runs out or one of the parties dies. If the team dies we get a punishment.

Reflection:
The beatdown went well, it takes a while for the pax to grasp how the game works, but once they do it flows well. We got a lot of missed attacks which ment a lot of burpees, but that’s the way of things. The team and Dragon HP could be lower

Ended with:
Count-O-Rama: 11
Name-O-Rama

The Six – Belding

No music today

LDP3 – SMSK 16.2

Backblast: November 29th, 2025
AO: Armory/Grand Rapids

PAX:
Thor
Guardian
Photon
Mercy
Gulliver
Ukulele
Flo
Footloose
Iso
Lug nut
Cross Tour
Waldo
Yoshi
Sven
Fat Amy
Lonzo
Carmen Sandiego (Q)

Our mission is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
Five principles are open to all men, always free, always outdoors, always led by a member of the pax. Only you know your medical history so modify if needed. Ends in a circle of trust,

Credo is leave no man behind, but leave no man where you found him.

Workout name: November CSAUP

THE THANG: Started our CSAUP at 4:30 am at the Armory with our rucksacks on. Goal was to make it to Grand Rapids safely. First we stopped by Pray Park where we did a 2 minute plank. Next we walked to Parker Square for a beatdown lead by Thor. We split into 2 groups in which one had a block on one side and the other had to do an exercise without a block. When we met in the middle, the person that would advance would be the one to won paper, rock and scissors. First one to score with the block would win.

After we finished a couple rounds, we started our journey on the towpath. Learned a little about the local bridge. Throughout the ruck, we discussed leadership topics. We did a 10 minute EMOM at Turtle Park. Did an indigenous people run with 10 merkins. 10 minutes of bench work at another park. We rotated rucksacks with 2 sacks on one person.

We started to get short on time so we continued with discussions until we ended up making it to Miss Lily’s in Grand Rapids, OH. Total over 11 miles of rucking. We all had a blast and looking forward to our next one in December.

Count a rama: 17
Name a rama
Sixth: Ukulele

COT
Ball of man

Date: 11/29/2025
Time: 5:30 – 6:30 AM
Location: The Fortress – Grace Church Perrysburg

Leadership Ruck – The Game

Pax: 2 Total
Meatloaf
Tarnished – Q

F3 Fitness, Fellowship, Faith

Mission: To plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.

5 Core Principles:
Free of charge
Open to all men
Always held outdoors
Led in a rotating fashion by men participating in the workout
Ends in a circle of trust

Credo/Disclaimer

Thang:
Today is "The Game". A football game defined by its players and coaches that has Ohio State v Michigan one of the bitterest rivalries in all of college football starting in 1897. Players have earned their Heisman trophies because of their performances in this game, like Desmond Howard and Troy Smith. Coaches have become legendary. Today we pull some leadership lessons from the rivalry, quotes of some of these great coaches, and see how they apply leading teams.

Discussion:
Lesson 1: Rivalry as a Catalyst for Continuous Improvement
Key Insight: “The Game” forces both teams to train, prepare, and innovate all year for one test.
Leadership Application:
• Healthy competition raises standards.
• Leaders must identify external challenges that sharpen internal focus.

Bo Schembechler – “Every day you either get better or you get worse; you never stay the same.”
Story:
Bo used this in the Ten Year War era to reinforce incremental improvement. He believed that standing still meant falling behind the competition—especially Ohio State. He’d stop practice and yell this line when players got complacent, reminding them that progress is a choice, not an accident.
Leadership Lesson:
High-performing organizations treat improvement as a daily habit, not an annual initiative.

Lesson 2: Culture Drives Performance (Woody vs. Bo)
Key Insight:
• Woody Hayes built a culture of toughness, discipline, and loyalty.
• Bo Schembechler’s mantra: “The Team, The Team, The Team.”
Both used culture as the core engine of performance.
Leadership Application:
• Leaders must define, reinforce, and protect culture.
• Culture must be lived in behavior, not posters.

Bo Schembechler – “The Team, The Team, The Team.”
Story:
Bo delivered this line in his famous 1983 speech to the Michigan football team, emphasizing that individual accomplishments mean nothing without collective effort. He told players that no one, including himself, was more important than the team. This principle created a culture where five-star recruits accepted role-player responsibilities, seniors mentored freshmen, and individual accolades were secondary. That ethos became the identity of Michigan football for decades.
Leadership Lesson:
When leaders build a culture where the mission outranks egos, teams become resilient, aligned, and selfless.

Jim Tressel – “A team is something you belong to—something you feel. It’s not just something you join.”
Story:
Tressel emphasized belonging by integrating traditions like the Gold Pants award for beating Michigan, Senior Tackle, and Friday night quiet reflections. He told incoming freshmen that wearing the Buckeye uniform came with shared history, expectations, and accountability.
Leadership Lesson:
People commit more deeply when they feel part of something meaningful, not transactional.

Lesson 3: Preparation & Process Are Everything
Key Insight:
Teams prepare specifically for this game all year: film study, schemes, situational drills, rivalry-week intensity.
Leadership Application:
• Breakthrough performance comes from long-term, intentional process-building.

Jim Tressel – “Don’t just look at the scoreboard. Pay attention to the process.”
Story:
In tight games, players said Tressel never talked about points—he talked about field position, execution, and discipline. During the 2002 season, when Ohio State won several close games, this approach prevented panic. They focused on the next play, not the outcome.
Leadership Lesson:
Focusing on the outcome creates stress. Focusing on the process creates performance.

Lesson 4: Resilience and Managing Setbacks
Key Insight:
Both teams have had eras of dominance and droughts. Leaders must rally teams through adversity, scrutiny, and high expectations.
Leadership Application:
• Resilience is built through clarity, belief, and consistent leadership during tough stretches.

Woody Hayes – “There’s nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.”
Story:
After a tough loss to Michigan, Woody turned to his team and said this line in the locker room. Players expected anger—but instead got reflection.
Woody believed defeat forced leaders to confront weaknesses honestly, rebuild their systems, and recommit to fundamentals.
Leadership Lesson:
Failure, handled well, becomes a catalyst for reinvention—not shame.

Lesson 5: Identity and Purpose Create Commitment
Key Insight:
Players don’t just play a game; they carry an identity and tradition. Purpose becomes a performance multiplier.
Leadership Application:
• Teams need a purpose larger than daily tasks.
• Identity gives meaning to effort and sacrifice.

Jim Tressel – “It’s not just a game. It’s a responsibility.”
(On the Michigan Game)
Story:
At his introductory press conference in 2001, Tressel famously addressed the rivalry directly. He told fans they would be proud of their team “most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan,” referencing the upcoming game. He understood that beating Michigan wasn’t optional—it was cultural.
Leadership Lesson:
Leaders honor the traditions and expectations that define their organization.

COT
Count-O-Rama
Name-O-Rama
6: Tarnished
Announcements
LDP – SMSK16.2 Ruthless Elimination of Hurry – Silence and Solitude
Prayer

11.29.25 – The Fortress
5 Yds & a Cloud of Dust

Pax List:
Q – Gold Star
Deep Impact
Deliverance
Tarnished
Binford
Golden Gate
Meatloaf (#6)
Spaulding

>What is F3? – Fitness Fellowship & Faith
>Mission – To plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
>5 Core Principles – Free of charge / Open to all men / Held outdoors rain or shine / Led by fellow PAX (you v you) / Ends with COT
>Credo – Leave no man behind but leave no man where you found him.

Warmup – SPMICE
Chain breakers – in cadence (10 count)
Windmills – in cadence (10 count)
Motivators – Starting at 6

Beatdown = 100 yds down and back
5yd intervals for exercises, 20yd sections, repeat

5 yd line = 10 Merkins
10 yd line = 20 LBCs
15 yd line = 30 Squats
20 yd line = 5 Burpees
Repeat
MOT down = Bear Crawl
MOT back = Walking Lunges

Merkins = 10 reps x 10
>100 total reps
LBCs = 20 reps x 10
>200 total reps
Squats = 30 reps x 10
>300 total reps
Burpees = 5 reps x 10
>50 total reps

To mix it up at the end, we did a round of 11’s.
10 x Absolutions & 1 x Smurf Jack

COR / NOR / #6 / LDP3 / Announcement / Prayers / COT / Picture

Scooter
Tarnished
Iso
QuickDraw
Flo
Meatloaf
Stalker