1st light pole 25 monkey jumpers, lt xan to 2nd pole for 20 squats toy soldier to 3rd pole for 15 Bobby Hurley’s, butt kickers to 4th pole for just 10 burpees
Mosey around parking lot and picked a nice spot for ascending curb crawls bear crawl to opposite curb 1 derkin, bear crawl back for 2 derkins rinse and repeat until 10 deakins, a short break for a little message on leadership from former navy seal commander Leif Babin followed by 25 flutter kicks IC and a super toy soldier set 40 LBC, 30 E2K, 20 big boys.
Mosey on back to the AO it pays to be up front the first 4 HIM stopped at back lot on mulberry and picked up Chappie s sandbags and returned to his shed with the other coupons finished up with Count-0-rama, Name-0-rama and COT
This Backblast is so titled because as YHC was preparing his Weinke, he discovered it had been nearly a month since he Q’d a workout. Whaaat! GRIEF? Yeah, maybe a little grief because Q’ing is awesome fun and we all look forward to bringing the heat. There’s nothing like bringing a well-appreciated (chatter-filled/good grief) beatdown, and so when you don’t get to pull out the Weinke for a while…well, you COULD get a case of butt hurt (grief). GOOD? You betcha! The reason YHC hasn’t Q’d for nearly a month is because we’ve got a good flow of Q’s in the pipeline and the Q Schedule is packed. That is awesome, good grief! Fact is, Ruxpinhas already gotten in his warmup VQ and tomorrow (Sat. 10/27) at the Aegis (potentially in a Nor’easter) he’ll be getting in a full VQ, thereby putting him in rotation on the Q list. Calling all PAX – if you can make it in the Gloom, POST!
In the meantime, here’s YHC’s catchup from Tuesday’s workout: YHC went back to what has become a bit of a standard of measure for workouts at CHOP: The 4×4 – we keep going back to this one because it does show a measure of advancement. PAX can look back and [hopefully] say, “This time it wasn’t as bad as last time!” You against you! It doesn’t get easier, you get stronger. This workout is made up of 4 COP’s on 4 corners around the block. Here’s an image of the block…
Warm-O-Rama:
Disclaimer claimed
SSH – 18 IC
Windmill (Windsock if you’re watching Chairman!) – 10 IC
Low/Slow Squat – 18 IC
Cherry Picker/Crab Flipper – 18 IC
Shoulder Tap – 10 OYO
4×4 Introduced – Mosey to corner #1
The Thang:
Merkins Corner — Tobin & Union Streets:
Wide-Arm – 5 OYO
Diamond – 10 OYO
Regular – 15 OYO
Erkins (chest to curb) – 20 OYO
*All Merkins done continuously
Transition to next corner: Lt. Dans to light post (approx. 40 yds.), mosey to next corner.
Abs Corner – Mulberry & Tobin Streets:
X & O’s – 20 OYO
E2K’s – 20 each leg OYO
Dying Cockroaches – 60 OYO
4-Count Freddies – 35 IC
Transition to next corner: Bearcrawl to 1st Pole, Dragoncrawl to 2nd Pole
10 Count. Wosey to hidden pile of sandbags – a special stash for Leatherman! Partner up and share coupon for rest of 4×4 workout. Mosey to next corner…
Legs Corner – Willow & Mulberry Streets:
Smurf Jacks – 18 IC
Calf Raises – 30, toes in w/ Sandbag; 30 toes out w/o Sandbag OYO
Coupon Squats – 15 w/ Sandbag; 15 w/o Sandbag OYO
MJB’s – 30 OYO
3rd F Message:
Recently YHC was sharing with someone about doing some of the longer distance rucks (not to mention the usual 5k Rucks on Fridays) and the times we start, and their response was, “WHY?”
YHC has gotten the same response to EH’ing during my few years of doing F3 workouts, and you have too, when you tell someone the time we meet. It’s all good, their interest is peaked, they express interest, and may even say, “It sounds like just what I need.” Then the inevitable happens: You tell them the time and often even their countenance changes, right before they ask the same question: “WHY?”
There are practical reasons for why. The most obvious being the fact that we all have busy lives with family, church, work, school, hobbies, etc. The time we meet, 05:15 (a.k.a. O-Gawd-Thirty), is about the only time any of us have available to break free to get in what we enjoy here: some Fitness, Fellowship, & Faith. That’s probably THE practical reason.
One of the other reasons we meet at this time is simply because it is tough. It is hard to get up and out of the fartsack. That’s the reason WHY we do this thing…WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR COMFORT!! Actually, we might be, but as I mentioned a while back, we make decisions against ourselves. Playing the part of King David in A Tale of Three Kings, Gene Edwards says nearly the same thing: “I judge my heart first and rule against its interests.” That’s because we’ve set our minds to do the hard thing, to “embrace the suck,” and it IS in fact the hard thing that most others simply will not do.
The whole concept translates easily to other areas of leadership in our lives, whether at home, the workplace, or where we’re serving in our communities. That’s why Paul compared self-discipline in ministry to the self-discipline an athlete must have to compete well and to win. In 1 Cor. 9:27 he said, “but I buffet (discipline) my body and make it my slave…” Also, what we do is comparable to the narrow gate Christ spoke of in Matt. 7:13, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.” Of course, He was talking about entering real life, eternal life. But it also applies in the sense that we’ve essentially decided against taking the broad or easy way.
YHC’ll wrap with a quote he recently wrote down because it aligns with all we do in F3: “If you want to build mental toughness you have to inconvenience yourself. …the early morning workouts; if you hate early morning, …the late night workouts; …the snowy, the cold (F3 principle: rain of shine, hot or cold)…the worst conditions you can get, put yourself in them, and make it really inconvenient. And then you start to get a genuine expectation of winning/overcoming in relation to the price you had to pay.” ~Chael Sonnen
(Btw, this is ALL long term stuff!) Think about one final thought when you face that daily battle, that first battle…and think about it every time you EH yet one more guy: “Do not regret the fight, pity those that never knew the privilege of it.” (The warrior Oath)
Aye?
Back to work. Transition to final corner: Mosey 50%, 75%, 100%
Full Body Corner – Union & Willow Streets:
Burpees – 10 OYO
Plank Jacks – 10 OYO
Flying Squirrel – 10 OYO
Mule Kicks – 10 OYO
*This last corner of the 4×4 always brings YHC near Splash mode
4×4 Complete, mosey back to the AO
COT:
Number-Rama: 11 PAX
Name-O-Rama
BOM: Announcements/Prayers
There you have it! Good chatter throughout and at the end. YHC will take that as a compliment. Thanks to Site Q, Chattahoochee for putting YHC on the Q Schedule! Yet, its never a problem to pass it on to the new guys to make sure they get regular experience. YHC loves that we keep building a strong list of Q’s — that’s leadership. Leaders leading leaders. Yet, YHC is always happy and humbled to Q an awesome group of HIM. Thanks for posting men!
Bolt 45’s – 15 squats full up to half way down, 15 squats half way down to full down, & 15 squats full motion. All completed IC as a 4 count.
The Thang
As a first pain station, all PAX completed a round of Captain Thor – 1 Big Boy sit up to 4 American hammers in ratio up to 10:40 before leaving the CHOP to complete three additional pain stations.
Mosey to Georgetown Public Library where we Bear Crawled for 8 parking spaces (@80 ft.) and completed ATM’s – 15 alternating shoulder taps (4 count), 10 tempo Merkins, and 10 fast merkins. Crawl Bear back (@80ft.) and completed another evolution of said ATM’s.
Mosey to the front steps of the Georgetown Elementary School and completed a toy soldier set that included 50 LBC’s, 30 E2K’s each side, and 20 big boys.
F3 message before leaving second pain station.
Mosey to old NAPA store where we completed a descending round of Super 21 without any recovery exercises between the rounds. 21 merkin, 21 big boy. 20 merkins, 20 big boys, etc. descending to the round of 10. Time was a factor and Q challenged each HIM to complete the descending rounds to 1 merkin, 1 big boy OYO at home.
Mosey back to CHOP. Total – 1.0 mile overall mosey
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Prayers were offered for multiple needs within the attending PAX, but please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
F3 Message
Q shared a message in regards to Fellowship. The online definition of fellowship is a “friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interest.” Q went on to describe Christian fellowship as found on Bible.org. Q shared excerpts from that teaching as part of the F3 Message as posted below.
Lesson 4: True Christian Fellowship (Philippians 1:3-8)
True Christian Fellowship means sharing together in the things of God
There are five strands of true fellowship in the verses of Philippians 1:3-8.
1. True fellowship means praying for one another (Philippians 1:3-4). In Ephesians 6:18 we’re told to “pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we’re told to “pray without ceasing.” Romans 12:12 tells us to “be devoted to prayer.” These verses do not mean that we are to quit our jobs and spend all day every day in prayer. But the prayers of the saints are part of God’s method for accomplishing His sovereign will. And He uses prayer to change the heart of the one doing the praying, as well as to work in the hearts of others. If you’re having trouble with another believer, even if it’s your mate or a family member, pray often for that person. It’s hard to stay angry at someone you’re praying for daily! James Boice states, “I think that ninety percent of all the divisions between true believers in this world would disappear entirely if Christians would learn to pray specifically and constantly for one another” (Philippians, An Expositional Commentary [Zondervan], p. 49).
2. True fellowship means serving God together (Philippians 1:5 & 7). The church is a fellowship of those who serve Jesus because He bought them with His blood. Every Christian has a role to fulfill by serving in Christ’s army. The Lord saved you to serve, and serving Him isn’t always easy or free from strife and conflict. But it knits us together in fellowship when we join in serving Him. True fellowship means praying and serving Christ together.
3. True fellowship means trusting in God’s sovereign working in one another (Philippians 1:6). Verse 6 means that I’m not responsible to change others. I am responsible to minister God’s love and truth to others in a sensitive manner. If a brother is clearly wrong about a major truth or in sin or immature in the way he’s living, I am responsible to come alongside and do all I can to help him change and grow. If it’s a serious heresy or sin that he’s involved in, I may eventually need to separate from him. But at the same time, I can trust that it’s God’s job to change that brother. If God has truly saved him, God will finish the job. So I can relax, accept him where he’s at with the Lord, encourage him in areas of weakness, but also learn from him in areas where I need to grow.
4. True fellowship means partaking together of God’s grace (Philippians 1:7). Grace doesn’t mean that we tolerate sin and shrug off sloppy living. We sometimes need to confront; we need to help one another face and overcome faults. But if we remember that we’re all partakers of God’s undeserved favor, we’ll give one another more room to grow. We’ll be more patient and forbearing with one another. True Christian fellowship is a sharing together in God’s abundant grace. Thus true fellowship means praying and serving together; it means trusting in God’s faithfulness and grace.
5. True fellowship means heartfelt affection for one another (Philippians 1:8). Sin divides us from those who are different from us racially, culturally, or in other ways. But the love of Christ unites us, not just intellectually, but with heartfelt love. Such love isn’t manipulative, trying to use the other person for our own advantage. It truly seeks God’s best for the other person, even at personal inconvenience or sacrifice.
Philippians 1:3-8 New International Version (NIV) 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
The cold hit us hard for a chilly game of Captain Thor poker. We warmed up with a mosey around the block, some cherry pickers, and windmills.
Next was The Thang. Here are the rules. We divided into 4 teams. Each team started with 3 cards. The goal is to get the best poker hand. There were 2 decks of cards to draw from. We did a modified Captain Thor while working our hands in between. We started with 15 big boys and ran to the center of the parking lot. In order to draw a card, you have to roll the ball of suck (a dice with a bunch of exercises on it). After doing the exercise you rolled, you can draw a card for your hand. Next you run to the other end of the parking lot for 60 American hammers single count. You run back and forth doing the captain Thor descending while rolling the ball of suck and working our hands. Vanilla and summit won the game and the losers had to do 20 jump lunges. The fastest team got down to 4 big boys and 16 American hammers.
The F3 message was about parenting. Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Warm up. 20 each. SSH. Plank jack. Cherry picker. Windmill. Tempo merkins. Tempo squats. Tempo big boys. (Kinda).
Ultimate football! Like ultimate frisbee. Can only take two steps once caught. If team with possession drops they have to do 2 burpees while opposing team can move down field. When team scores they call out exercise all PAX do BUT the team that got scored on does double the reps! Play for 30 minutes! 3rd F. On the platform we have and I used the Eagles as an example for when they won the Super Bowl and glorified all the glory to God rather than beating their chest.
Once again a “dirty dozen” HIM posted in the Gloom, even with the threat of rain. That shouldn’t be surprising. After all we post rain or shine, hot or cold. That’s a great lesson for life in and of itself–i.e. circumstances and conditions should not be given a whole lot of power over us.
The Backblast title says “0.0”—this was as a result of a request by one of the PAX who injured an ankle and needed a low-run to no-run workout. Well, there you have it. But it was a workout nonetheless! Here’s how it went down:
Warm-O-Rama:
SSH – 18 IC
Parker Peter – 10 IC
Crazy SH (CSH) – 18 IC (Thanks Mr. Swartz, YHC’s elementary school gym teacher. He always taught is SSH’s this way! Addition to the Exicon? Who knows.)
Plank Jacks – 18 IC
Calf Raises – 30 OYO (toes in)
Calf Raises – 30 OYO (toes out)
The Thang:
PAX paired up after counting off by 2’s as instructed by YHC for some unknown reason. Duh, huh, huh! Anyway, after a brief intro to the workout stations around the AO parking lot, PAX commenced to the no “mike, mikes” (slang for miles) beatdown.
Here’s the list of stations:
*Timer: Box Jump Squat – 10, Curb Steps – 10, Flying Squirrel – 10, Side-to-Side Line Touch – 10 (*This station was used in lieu of a timer, upon completion, PAX rotated to next station–approximately 2 mins. per round)
Ruck – OH Presses/Ruck – Curls, AMRAP
Ruck – OH extended while woseying around lot
Bearcrawl/Crawlbear – Around parking space, AMRAP
Log Press/Log Upright Row – AMRAP
Sandbag Sit-ups – AMRAP
Parking Line Burpees – AMRAP
Single Leg Hip Thrusters – AMRAP (on park bench…this was punishing)
Paver Drive – AMRAP (Also punishing, they burn! PAX held pavers straight out and turned left/right, like driving, for the duration of the round. YHC hopes the messages motivated some push.) Here’s an image of the infamous pavers…
3rd F Message shared a couple of rounds in:
As much as those in the military experience that in training and in battle conditions, and as much as athletes experience it while training and more so in competition, and as much as we experience here in the Gloom, those thoughts are made real as we experience them day-in and day-out—they’re lived out by us all.
In fact, I would even add that it is those real-life experiences of suffering and hardship that are really training us to be faithful.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:3-9, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.”
I love that, Paul, here in Scripture, speaks in terms that we can understand. Here’s the takeaways on this one. Paul was talking about Kingdom values vs. World’s values. He said,
▪Suffering/hardship is normative, not just in training, but in everyday life (in ministry!). Can you imagine that? Well, it’s the rule rather than the exception! ▪ We endure it, however, because we understand there’s a greater purpose behind ALL suffering. So wherever it’s taken you, focus on the bigger purpose, the eternal—do your job in order to please the ONE who is carrying you through it. ▪It’s meant to sharpen and purify you. To strengthen you. It’s meant, in the context of this passage, to make you a greater witness to Jesus Christ. “No guts, no story!” Right? ▪After all, if you won’t quit and walk away when things get tough, others are gonna want exactly what you have. Add to that, no cheating! No short-cuts! ▪Pain IS only temporary—that’s a reality taught us EVERY TIME we show up in the gloom and workout. Here it’s only 45 mike, mikes. In life it may be a day, a week, a year, etc. Enduring it builds muscle, but in greater ways than just physically. It builds muscle emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and in return WE BECOME BETTER LEADERS AT HOME, AT CHURCH, IN THE WORKPLACE, AND IN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE SERVE.
That’s why we use slogans like: ▪DFQ – “Don’t Freakin’ Quit!” ▪”Embrace the suck” (Embrace it because it is normative! Paul: “Suffer hardship with me”) ▪”Find an Excuse to Win!” ▪And, yes, “No guts, no story.”
That’s about it. The pain actually was temporary—it only lasted 45 mins! Well, actually, post-workout chatter implies that it’s lasting throughout the day. Yep! YHC will take that as a compliment! It was great to see everyone pushing hard today, even as we partnered up it was still a “you against you” kind of day.
COT/BOM:
~Announcements: Get your flyers for the Grace Church Father/Son Campout ~Prayers: Lifted up Chris and Lifted up Bethany, along with other young people trying to figure out life.
Bolt 45’s – IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats. Actually this was BOLT 46’s as Q lost count…:)…
Mosey Indian Run Style .14 miles to the Wesleyan Church Parking Lot to complete Happy Jacks which were completed as 5 SSH IC followed by 2 Bomb Jacks. Pax completed 4 evolutions completed in succession.
Bataan Death March – Indian run with a twist to the hill by the water tower around .4 miles. The last person in line drops and completes five Burpees, then runs to catch up to the front of the line tapping the last person in line on his way by. The last person drops and completes five Burpees, etc. etc. until reaching the hill by the water tower.
The Thang
At the base of “Oh, Hill No”, PAX teamed up to complete 100 merkins, 200 LBC’s & 300 squats. One team member will crawl bear up the hill and bear crawl down while the other works on the exercises. The hill is approx. .02 miles up and .02 miles down. Here is the twist, each PAX must complete half of the designated exercises. Once you have reached 50 merkins, 100 LBC’s and 150 squat’s, you will plank until your partner has completed his ascent and descent of the hill. Continue the rotation until your team has completed the full amount of exercises.
Mosey .5 miles back to the AO for the Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please continue to keep Chairman’s Mom in your thoughts and prayers and all those affected by Hurricane Florence. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
F3 Message
We don’t always understand why God allows things to happen a certain way, or why our prayers are not always answered in a manner that is the most convenient for our earthly lifestyle. We must always trust that God’s plan for our lives far exceeds anything that we could ever begin to imagine. I found this poem by an unknown author that speaks to the fact that in all things God gives us everything that we actually need.
I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity and God gave me a brain and brawn to work.
I asked for courage and God gave me danger to overcome.
I asked for love and God gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favors and God gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted and I received everything I needed.
Proverbs 3:5-6 New King James version (NKJV) – 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall [a]direct your paths.
Philippians 4:19 New King James version (NKJV) – 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
10 HIM posted at the CHOP in the misty gloom for the dirty dozen circuit course
Date: 9/13/18
QIC: Chattahoochee
WARM UP– 20 SSH, 20 Windmills, 20 Cherrypickers all in cadence followed by 10 arm circles forward 10 backwards OYO
THE THANG– 12 stations set up in the parking lot at the AO
1) weighted run 20 lb weight vest run the back entrance to the street and back the runner was the timer for the other stations.
2) Dips on the bench
3) Box jumps
4) Slosh pipe lunges
5) Flutter kicks
6) Rowing Merkins with 15 lb dumbells
7) Squats
8) Bearcrawl
9) Abyss Merkins
10) WWII situps
11) Burpee
12) Tire flip
We completed 2 complete rounds
Message for the day was a poem by
Robert J. Robicheau titled the Eleventh of September.
COT: Prayers for Chairmans mother, All of the people in the path of Florence, Waterfall and family , Leatherman and Ruxpins Ms in their upcoming women’s retreat
Waterfall Brings the Little Baby Beatdown (His 2.2 to be born soon)
August 18, 2018 at The Aegis
QIC: Waterfall
The warmup: 37 SSH IC (37 because we are at 37 weeks) Diaper pickers (formerly shell pickers, formerly cherry pickers) 21 little BABY crunches (because she will be born on the 21st) and windmills
The THANG: Mosey to a little field next to the little league fields. At this point Leatherman joined us because he was rolling in way past hot. LOL I am calling this the LITTLE BABY BEATDOWN. We started with three exercises: Little baby crunches, little baby arm circles, and little baby merkins.
OK, I made up the little baby merkins “LBMs”. You take the plank on your elbows position and do merkins on your elbows.
After the 3 exercises you push your partner across the field and they push you back. Because you have to push the baby out! This beatdown is descending. I think we got down to about 31 LBCs, LBACs, and LBMs.
We mosied back to the AO and used the ball of suck a couple of times along the way. More merkins and mexican jumping beans!
Countarama, Namarama, and COT
We had the ceremonial passing of the shovel flag to Summit. Way to step up Summit!!
