AO: The Shadows

When: 10/09/2021

PAX:

Number of Pax: 10

Pax Names: Black Diamond, Domo, Frostbyte, Kingpin, Knope, Raging Cheetah, Thighmaster,

Number of FNGS: 0

FNG Names:

QIC: Frostbyte


The BackBlast:

As is the case with all Q school workouts, the point of today was a reminder of the why and how of leading F3 workouts. We had two relatively new PAX in Step Stool and Mud Hut, so it was worth our time to review. Over the course of the workout, we reviewed the 3 Fs, the F3 creedo, F3 mission, 5 Core Principals, and general tips for Q’ing.

For the entire workout, any time the phrase “Q School” was mentioned it was an automatic 3 burpees for all, just to prevent excessive standing-around during explanations.

The Warmup

YHC started us off with the traditional SSH, then we moved on to all PAX taking a turn at a warm-up exercise. Over the course of this, we covered the usual structure:

  • [Name the workout move] (hey you PAX, pay attention we’re about to do something
  • “Starting position” (okay PAX, if you weren’t paying attention before, start now)
  • “Move” (assume the position of whatever the next workout will be, e.g. on the ground)
  • “In cadence”/”Single count”/”On your own”/etc (this is the way it will be counted)
  • “Exercise” (we’re starting now)
  • Changes inflection (signals that it is the last one)
  • “Recover” (communicates that the PAX can return to a resting position)

The Thang

To practice the typical Q situation of being winded while leading exercises, we mixed in some RYAOs (Run Your Ass Off) across the field, then regrouped to practice our Q schools. To guide as through exercises, we used the Deck of Death. While YHC was accused of stacking the deck, PAX were assured that no such thing happened (the truth is YHC has no time for such frivolous things anyways).

All PAX had at least 2, if not more, opportunities to lead an exercise, with many learning opportunities interspersed. Discussions included how to use cadence not just for quick moves but also to segment more involved exercises, how to use voice inflections etc to signal nearing the end of a particular exercise, etc.

6 Minutes of Mary

After an explanation of the origins of this name, we only had 1 minute of mary, for which we repped out American Hammers with increasing speed.

Post Workout

A deeper discussion ensued on the overarching mission of F3 and the meaning of the 3rd F. Raging Cheetah shared some great examples of this in action, and an upcoming opportunity.

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