QIC: No-See-Um
Pax: Smokey, Dillio, Cougar, Haka, Cheesehead, Grouper, Urkel, Endo, Vanellope, Apnea, Flat Tire, No-See-Um
A somewhat cool (for October), mid 60’s Florida morning greeted 11 pax on a Thursday gloom. Light mumble chatter was around as YHC called out the two minute warning. F3 Lutz has seen 10 FNG’s since the end of August and the F’iNG EH Challenge started. Six of them have been multiple times and it looks like they are going to be sticking around 🙂 Therefore, YHC thought it would be a great day to have a mini Q-School for the new guys and to remind the veterans all the basics of a Q.
Q School 101
F3 stands for Fitness, Fellowship, Faith.
The Fitness aspect is, for all intents and purposes, the workout that we suffer through together In The Gloom.
- Show up EARLY and ENERGIZED.
Leadership starts with showing up, and good leadership starts with showing up prepared and ready to go to work. If you are energetic it will energize the PAX. Get there early and make sure the AO is all set-up for your Q. Set the tone; welcome guys and allow your presence to establish you are in command.
- Always call out a 2 minute or 1 minute warning!!!
- Use your Command Voice:
Comes from the gut * Weak voice signals weakness * Slow, soft, tired voice hurts morale
- You must use good form:
Lead by example * PAX looking to you and taking their lead from you * U use lousy form, so will they.
If you do not pay attention to details, neither will they.
Disclaimer. Every workout must start with the Disclaimer. Oftentimes it gets taken for granted but it is more than just a formality for several reasons. It does have legal significance…….F3 has standards to uphold, and the Disclaimer is one of them. It helps set the tone of the workout from the very beginning. The Disclaimer does not have to be elaborate, but it needs to include the following:
I am not a professional * You are participating at your own risk/out here on your own accord * You are responsible for your own well being / Modify any exercises as needed * You are here voluntarily, and you are not paying to be here * Know your limits and do the best you can
After the disclaimer, time to mosey to West roundabout for the warm-up. This is where the men saw our 12th pax (Apnea) cutting doughnuts around the roundabout in a haste to beat his normal arrival time of 5:35……he failed.
How to Call an Exercise and How to Count. In order to get the PAX to perform an exercise, you have to call it out, and in F3 we have a very specific way for calling exercises. It is borrowed from the way the U.S. Army does it, and there is plenty of research and experience that proves this method creates order in the group and builds morale.
- “The Next Exercise is ___________” -> Clear and concise command -> PAX repeat exercise name to demonstrate understanding!
- “Starting Position ..… Move” -> “Starting Position” is the information “Move” is the “Command”
Pause between info and command, to assist with understanding
- “In Cadence … Exercise” -> “In cadence” is the information “Exercise” is the “Command” Signals PAX it is time to begin -> Pause between info and command, to assist with understanding
PAX repeat back “in cadence” to demonstrate Understanding
***Not all exercises are in cadence…and those are just called OYO (On Your Own)
- “1, 2, 3” then PAX calls rep….Your cadence MUST match the called exercise….Not all exercises are performed at the same cadence….Your count matches the body movement….PAX call the rep number in place of “4”. Be sure to change the inflexion of your voice on last rep as that signals to the PAX that you’re ending that exercise.
- Lastly, you will say “Recover” at the end of the exercise (or at the end of the full round of exercises for warm-up for example….that’s at least how we do it here) 🙂
- How To Count by Dredd….important to watch this video as it is quick and sums up the proper way to call an exercise and proper way to count 🙂
Warm-Up:
(All IC unless noted) Imp. Walkers, SSH, Frankensteins, Merkin, Mtn Climber, Donkey Kicks (OYO)
The Thang:
To the FOP for the BIG BANG: 10 steps out (10 Burpees), 20 steps (20 Monkey Humpers), 30 Werkins, 40 SSH, 50 Flutters
Some men ran out of real estate for their 30, 40 and 50 steps away from the circle while others had lots of room to venture out into the gloom of the LLR playground……
Four Corners w/ Escalator 10 Bonnie Blairs (sprint), 20 Donkey Kicks (bear crawl), 30 Shoulder Taps (Lunges), 40 LBC’s (duck walk). Counted off by 2’s so two groups went in opposite directions for the Four Corners.
Mosey back to courts for Rochamburpees. Partner up for Rock, Paper, Scissors action with Burpee/Merkin penalties. The pax did 10 total rounds.
If there is time at the end of any workout, a lot of Q’s simply fill it with Mary (typically exercises geared towards strengthening the core).
3 MOM (Minutes of Mary): Sweat Angels, Flutters, Boxcutters
A few other items YHC hit on regarding a Q’s workout are below in more detail:
If you can’t DO IT, Don’t Q IT* No “clipboards” in F3. You, as the Q, will need to be able and willing to do anything you call for the PAX to do. That doesn’t mean you have to be “first,” although you should lead from the front, but if you cannot do 20 Merkins, with proper form, in cadence, then you cannot call it and ask the PAX to do it. So, plan your Workout accordingly. Know your limitations.
It’s not about YOU. The Workout is not about the Q, it is about the PAX, and everything a Q does during the workout should be with the PAX in mind. What does that mean? It means you should try to avoid starting off the workout with a hundred yard dash from a dead start, or 25 burpees as fast as you can. Not saying you can’t do that…..however, if you do you’re probably not putting the pax first.
Better to have too MUCH than not ENOUGH. It is always a better idea to have too much planned for the workout than not enough. When you are tired, especially if this is one of your first Q’s, it may be difficult to come up with ideas to fill the workout.
Always wear a WATCH. As the Q you must be able to keep up with the time. We have a set 45 minutes or 1 hour for each workout…..If you forget your watch then carry your phone with you, or at least have a pax with a watch be the official time keeper.
NEVER Leave a Man Behind. This is one of the bedrock principles of F3. We start together and finish together. It is how we make a man feel included, and how we keep people coming back. You have to keep this in mind when you are planning the workout. Traditionally a bootcamp uses the “String of Pearls” structure. You move the PAX a short distance, then circle back up, which allows slower PAX to catch up.
Backblast. As the Q you are responsible for doing the Backblasts. BBs are important; You owe it to the PAX. The standard is that the Backblast is posted within 24 Hours.
Countorama & Nameorama – part of the workout where the pax count off to know how many pax were posted and also every man says Hospital Name, Age, Nickname (in that order).
COT: Circle Of Trust – the part of the workout where men lift up prayers/praises or anything on their mind. The Q (or someone) typically closes with a prayer or quote or just words of encouragement……whatever he (the Q) feels like doing that day.
- Powerful thoughts shared by Cougar about the leadership in our country and how it can be better. Prayers for his family as well as during this time of heightened awareness/frustrations over the election and politics in general.
- Prayers for YHC’s aunt who underwent surgery to remove cancer spot on nose.
- Continued prayers for Vanellope’s father-in-law as he goes through chemo treatments. May you be with Vanellope’s M and comfort her and the entire family during this difficult time.
- Prayers for our 2.0’s and all they have going on in life today with COVID, schooling/virtual learning, as well as all the other distractions in the world.
- Also, prayers for YHC and Sloppy Joe as we embark on our GORUCK Heavy – Mogadishu Mile starting Friday at 6 pm!
Moleskin: This is where some Q’s like to put down any funny/wierd/unexpected things happened during a beatdown……or if one just wants to throw some shout-outs to pax doing awesome things. YHC has begun to look forward to Endo’s “Quote of the Day” personally…….. 🙂
- Lighter than usual mumble chatter today as YHC was unfortunately doing most of the talking since it was Q-School. Although, Flat Tire managed to get going sometime during the Four Corners and keep Haka in line with the exercises.
- Rucking was a topic today as Cheesehead is jumping into the action and looks to be the next regular for the Friday Ruck session following Urkel & Smokey’s lead. Haka did have some thoughts on Cheesehead needing to really Dive In Headfirst and go visit the GORUCK site for a Real Ruck Sack 🙂
- Great to see Cougar out and always love when he shares what is on his heart…..powerful words on leadership and how we as fathers should lead our children.
- Great to be a part of this amazing group of #HIM that is growing and working to be better leaders in all that we do!!!