“Wait . . . there is a third part to F3 Q School? I knew about part one, where we discuss the history, structure and reasoning behind the three Fs over a beer or sweet tea. And, of course, the beatdown portion was a no brainer; I knew that was coming. But what is this third part?”
F3 Q School, Part One– Six pax met at Granite Falls Brewery to discuss all things F3 and share some fellowship. KLEENEX, in his usual passionate manor, quickly derailed YHCs well laid plans, but Pergo and Udder Butter jumped in to help respond the deluge of questions and dreams of grandeur while I focused on steering us back on course. #F3Morgantonwillexist. Paula Dean made a surprise and welcomed appearance and kept it quiet on his end of the table. Goldberg held the center of the table and drew many analogies to his military experience to help our understanding of just where Dredd was coming from when he and OBT pulled this thing called F3 together. Two hours later, we had discussed all the major parts of F3 and agreed we need a monthly Happy Hour at GFB.
F3 Q School, Part Two– Fifteen pax, including one FNG, suffered through the full official F3 disclaimer and my few introductory instructions regarding how to Q a workout. Then it was time to learn How to Count (HTC). Every pax took a turn leading group in an exercise as we made our way around the campus, String of Pearls style. The more veteran Pax helped YHC call out additional tips and suggestions as we went. After all pax had Q’d an exercise, YHC took over and showed the pax some other ways to lead a workout without using the cadence counting method. We completed a circuit of sevens with Burpees and Merkins, then moseyed around to the front of the school to use props and terrain to our advantage. We finished with some Mary and COT. (YHC had to bug out quickly to get to a Scout event so I missed the picture.)
F3 Q School, Part Three– This is it! The Backblast. Apparently in the Hickory Region (and others), the Backblast has become somewhat of a lost art. YHC has heard several reasons (excuses?) why it has fallen off, but here are some reasons to keep it going/revitalize it:
- Backblasts are a good way to share ideas and exercises with other Qs. Virgin Qs, especially, will find reading backblasts helpful when planning their first workout.
- Backblasts provide a way for men who are on the DL (injured or ill) or DR (downrange/out of town) to stay connected and read announcements.
- Backblast can be fun to read. #nakedmolskine #truthnuggets
- Backblasts provide a forum to call out a pax who hasn’t posted in a while . . . or even just one workout if the Q is a stickler. #accountability. Here’s an example from Bull in F3 MeCa: https://f3-meca.com/2015/11/06/harrisburg-voters-had-a-better-turnout/
- Backblasts are used by traveling pax and new pax as a barometer of the health of a workout. Is the posted schedule on the website up to date, how many pax normally post, will I be posting alone if I choose this workout versus one that is a bit further away but still within range and has an active backblast record? FNGs especially want to see that a group is active before posting.
How do I post a backblast?
- Go to f3hickory.com, pull down the login menu and choose register. Fill in the requested information and wait for a confirmation email.
- Once you log in, choose New Backblast on the upper left hand corner.
- Make up a Title.
- Write about what happened in the workout. Use your imagination. Have fun. There are no rules to writing a backblast, but many use this format to guide them:
- Warmup.
- The Thang: What happened during the meat of the workout.
- Mary, assuming you finish with a short session of ab exercises.
- The NakedMan Moleskine: Where the Q records notable observations from the workout, adding heavily breaded TruthNuggets wherever possible.
- Announcements.
- Prayer Requests.
- Sign off.
- Scroll down and add the date of the workout, the names of the pax and your name as Q.
- On the right hand sub-windows, choose your workout area under Categories, and type in the workout name under Tags.
- Scroll up to the top sub-window and click on the blue publish button.
- You can always go back and edit, or look at a preview if you need to.
- You can also add in media: pictures, video, and audio, but they need to be your own. No media under copywrite from an outside source. Link to it, if it is an outside source.
Best Practices:
- Publish your backblast ASAP the same day. (YHC failed this time around.)
- Put a link to the backblast on Slack, Twitter and/or Facebook and tell everyone how awesome the workout was.
- Add a comment to your own backblast encouraging others to comment, then you’ll be notified if anyone adds a comment.
I hope this has been helpful. Now let’s see some fun-to-read backblasts to follow up your awesome Qs!
If you haven’t attended Q school, sign up for the next one that is offered, or you could go right to the source and pick up Dredd and OBT’s guide to F3- Freed to Lead: F3 and the Unshackling of the Modern Day Warrior.
Peace,
Deuce
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