Getting Ripped at Qschool101

Qschool101 at The Flood Zone, focusing on the WHY! First exercise was The Plank so we could talk while we warmed up our bodies. Reviewed the importance of proper exercise form, before repeating the F3Mission and F3’s 5 Core Values. Discussed the importance of clearly articulated welcome, disclaimer, exercise instructions, and cadence so that there is consistency across the entire F3 Nation. Also discussed that Q’ing a workout is perhaps the safest and best place for a man to PRACTICE his leadership skills. It’s Okay to make mistakes in this setting, just learn from them and get better!

After the 4 minutes of planking – The PAX didn’t even realize what they had accomplished because their minds were on something more significant!

12 SSH in disappearing cadence so the Q could learn to find the rhythm of the PAX while the PAX learned to observe and become better followers (A Man must become a good follower/observer before he can be an effective leader!) – first try we didn’t finish cleanly together, so the Q had a penalty burpee (leaders pass the praise along to those who are getting it done, but accept the blame for mistakes. He may work with the guilty parties privately to help them improve, but in public, he accepts the blame squarely on his own shoulder- no excuses!)

12 SSH in disappearing cadence – SUCCESS! – This group of HIM’s is trainable!

The Build-up – Each PAX led an exercise, focusing on proper announcing of the upcoming exercise – “Next Exercise Is (pause) _name it____”……….”Starting Position (pause) Move!”…… “In Cadence/or Civilian/or On my Down-Up-etc.”……”EXERCISE”……”Recover (upon completion)”——  Penalty burpees for even the slightest mistake, and it didn’t take long to master this leadership skill! Here are the exercises we used for this:

Round 1 – 5 reps each of KB Curls for the Girls, KB Tricep Extensions, KB Rows, Russian KB Swings, KB Pullovers

Round 2 – 10 reps each of the same

Round 3 – 15 reps each of the same

The Thang!…… The Small Wheel of Misfortune….5 stations positioned on a 10 yard radius from the Shovel Flag. Travel to and from each station with Overhead KB Carry, then 10 reps of the stated exercise at each station and 5 KB Thrusters each visit to the Shovel Flag. AMRAP on a 13 minute timer while Stevie Ray Vaughn played Texas Flood!

Station 1 – KB Man Makers

Station 2 – KB Russian Twists

Station 3 – Alternating KB Cleans

Station 4 – KB Vertical Presses

Station 5 – American KB Swings

Circled up at the Shovelflag for the final exercise of the day – The Q asked the PAX for feedback to help him become a better leader, asking for at least one specific item he did well that can/should be continued during future Q opportunities, and at least one specific item he needs to change or improve upon. Noted that Q’s are not required to do this at workouts, but I wanted both to learn by it and to model it as a leadership-self-development tool for any who want to employ it.

C.O.T. started with explaining each section of today’s workout – warmup (getting ready, the Q assessing the group and making any needed adjustments to his plan), buildup (Q learning to control the rhythm of the PAX while the PAX learn to observe and follow), and the thang (where the mustangs get all the workout they need while the 6’s do likewise without getting clobbered or hurt, al while keeping the PAX together).

Then proceeded with counterama and namerama. Prayer requests included kids returning to school, our community & nation especially during this election season, Watch Dog recovering from shoulder surgery. Announcements included Freed to Bleed blood drive, the Give-2-Give campaign for the F3 Foundation, and reminders of available workouts for the upcoming week.

Great work, Men!!! I’m proud to be among you!