Fitness, Fellowship, Faith

Day: November 24, 2016

Let Your Light Shine….

In preparation to Q the workout before Thanksgiving, I read the average American consumes 4,500 calories at the traditional Thanksgiving feast. That doesn’t include the snacking and round II that comes a few hours later. To burn that off, you would have to do burpees for nearly 8 hours. That’s a lot of damn burpees – even for Dolph. Maybe I could build a Weinke that can at least allow a few extra bites of tasty food. After all, this only comes once a year.

I missed my 4:50 am wake-up call. I could blame technology or the programmer of said alarm clock. Many thanks to my lovely M for the wake-up call at 5:07 am when she nudged me (no, not in the good way) to say “aren’t you leading that work-out thing this morning?” Faster than Clark Kent could enter a phone booth, I began to add the layers necessary for the 31 degree temperature that awaited outside my door. Thankfully I had enough sense to load the coupons into my car the night before. Up, up and away, I went, arriving hot to see five other idiots leapt from their fart-sacks for a three course meal of calorie burn – as had been advertised in the pre-tweet. No FNG’s but the quick disclaimer was stated – you’re an idiot for being here, let’s all be idiots together…

Warm-up

  • Toy Soldier IC x 10
  • Don Quixote IC x 10
  • Grass Picker IC x 10 (Whoopee gets an F for not participating)
  • Merkin IC x 10

 Pledge

Thang

                 Taking a right out of the parking lot, we lined up for an Indian Run. You might think that theme links in with Thanksgiving but there was another attempted symbolism that you can read below. So, the Indian Run instructions were “line up behind me and as you arrive at the front of the line, take the flashlight from the leader. Various forms of ‘leadership’ were observed. Stroganoff got all “Whoopee-like”, in my face, Gastone quickened the pace, and Whoopee ran in unique patterns, daring us to chase him. We lasted a few rounds before we took a break of “7’s” using the curb for Derkins and Dips. Plank for the 6…start Indian Run up the hill to arrive at the Dollar Store parking lot. Need to complete another round of 7’s sticking with Derkins and Dips.

Once complete – group mosey toward our vacant grocery store for the Second Course. Tucked within the old shopping cart vestibule, the coupon fairy had made a few deposits among four stations.

 

  • Station A:

 

  • High Plank – rotate lifting water jugs to a bench (20 total)
  • Rocky Balboa – extend arms and hold sand filled pvc pipe (20 each leg)
  • Plank to Squat (15)
  • Bobby Hurley – with 10 lb medicine ball (15)
  • Run 50 yards to end of parking lot and return to station B
  • Station B
  • Block Webbs – Merkin, then press a half block (10)
  • Squats – hold half block (20)
  • Curls -big boy cinder block (20)
  • Moroccan Night Clubs – hold 10 lb dumbbell (20)
  • Run 50 yards to end of parking lot and return to station C
  • Station C
  • Hip Slappers (10 each side)
  • Blockies – big boy block (5)
  • Lunge – hold water jugs (20 each side)
  • Merkins (20)
  • Run 50 yards to end of parking lot and return to station D
  • Station D
  • Flutter Kicks – hold sand filled pvc pipe to keep the arms engaged (20 each leg)
  • Donkey Kicks (20)
  • Dying Cockroach – with bricks (20)
  • Crunchy Frog – with bricks (20)
  • Run 50 yards to end of parking lot and return to station A

During one of the first stations, Whoopee injured his calf muscle. I thought he was going to head home, I believe he was headed that way too. But after a few stretches and walking off the pain, he was back in the ring – to fight through the end. Those are the kind of nagging things that would have a single man workout hitting the power button and turning the lights off. We would have understood had that been the case, but I believe the effort of the group caused another swell for Whoopee to ride out the wave. Everyone was giving their best effort. Great job by all the PAX.

The third course was going to be a fun task of suicides and side-straddle-hops but to avoid further injury and with less than 10 minutes to go, YHC decided to save that for a future Q. With the time, I dug back to a work-out from a few months ago led by CSPAN where he said “go pick your least favorite exercise and give it your best effort to conquer it…” or something like that. The six of us spread among the various exercises and went after it getting a few more rounds and one more run before it was time to return to the AO. Where we had a little more than a minute. I could see Mary’s fat ass standing at the sno-cone counter with her arms folded. I shut her up with LBC’s and Freddie Mercury.

Moleskin

As the PAX heart rate’s cooled down I shared a mini Third-F which had been jingling in my mind after Monk’s lesson Saturday where he was reading from the book of 1st John. One of the verses we discussed stated “God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” As I wrestled with the message, something sparked for the Indian Run to begin our workout. As each leader of the line held the flashlight, handing it off to the next man, the symbolism is sometimes we carry the light – God’s light – to shine it before others and to lead them. But then quickly we are out of control and we are in the middle of the pack, sometimes falling to the back, but in this instance, we are always following the light (even when Whoopee is running in circles). The run from the back to the front is the most challenging task and takes the most effort to become the leader, even for a short time. The hope is we all stick with the task to follow the light, weather out in front or trying to get there.

With that said, I shared more of God’s word. 2 Corinthians 4:6 – ‘For God who said “Let your light shine out of darkness,” he made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ And another passage from Matthew 5:16 – ‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.’

We lifted prayers for Dr. Feelgood’s mother and some friends of Easy Rider as well as the little girl that lost her young life, giving in to the grips of suicide. At a time where we are thankful for many blessings that we have families and friends within warm places and tables of food. We can also be thankful for the gloom where F3 brothers gather to push the rock another day. Fortunate to lead and be with a fun group of men.

Nothing really planned

Had a pretty good turnout in the Folsom gloom for a Tuesday beat down. It’s only about 29 degrees, I’m guessing that’s the reason for all the farsacking going on. I really dropped the ball on preparation, but at Folsom, it’s easy to wing it. 5:30 hits, so let’s do it!

warmarama

SSH x15 IC

Don Quiote x15 Ic

hillbillies x15 IC

pledge

tha thang

mosey to the horse arena. Box jump up the 5 levels for 5 burpees, back down for 15 dips IC, followed by 15 squats IC, and LBCs x 15 YHC IC. Rinse and repeat x4. Then a good long mosey the long way towards the amphitheater. Find a spot on he wall for 20 donkey kicks OYO, 20 rocky balboas OYO, then I was kinda pondering another exercise when Hank said burpee. Welp, follow the balboas with 20 burpees OYO. Mumble chatter pretty heavy, but I still had one more exercise to add, yes, crunch position leg extensions x 20 Iac on YHC count. Rinse repeat 4 times. I check our distance and we’re short of 2 miles by 4 tenths and time is getting slim, so let’s mosey around the lower parking lot the long way back up to the flag. My watch says 1.9 miles. I’ll go with 2 just cause I want to hit that mark every time I Q.

No new announcements

prayer lead out by QIC

thankful for this movement and especially the Folsom guys and the accountability.

Thanksgiving Day Agitation & Proclamation

Warmup: SSH, Imp W, Toy Soldiers, Moroccans, M humpers, … 3 corners (5 burpees, 15 lbc, 25 squats oyo) mosey to parking lot

The Thang!
Train rule in effect. Lots of abs b/c that’s where the Tgiving dinner goes & core so you stay on balance: We started with a (Modified) Captain Thor (1 WWII sit up to 4 American Hammers for ten reps), and while performing Captain Thor a (very loud) train arrived and required 5 burpees oyo. I had planned several ab exercises in cadence but the train whistle made it impossible to hear anything from anyone. So I screamed  “25 LBC’s” until the PAX understood. The train had passed by the end of the LBC’s so we continued ab/core exercises in cadence: Flutter kicks, The Bruce, up/down planks, Outlaws, Protractor, Sweat Angels. Up/down planks produced mumble chatter from PAX in short sleeves, and NO sympathy was offered!

Mosey to ball court down the street for Thanksgiving dinner: Triple Check 4X
Then Bearpees across the parking lot.

Mosey back to the gazebo in Cramerton for a quick Dora 1-2-3 with 20 Merkins, 40 LBCs, and 60 squats.

Brought it home with American hammer, backstroke (ht Roscoe), Flutter kicks (ht Tool Time), and Dying Cockroaches (ht Madoff)

Madoff brought Messy and 1 FNG, a swimmer who we named Phelps.

Announcements: Convergence 12/17 at the Schiele. Look for Operation Sweet Tooth Pre-Blast soon from Roscoe. Consider leading a 3rd F (Saturdays post-beatdown at Panera); plan is to read I John together.

Prayer requests: Families of PAX, esp. Feelgood, T Square, and Bandit. Monk’s mentor recuperating from surgery.

Coffeteria at Floyd & Blackies and 3rd F post-beatdown. We read George Washington’s first Thanksgiving Day Proclamation and noticed the strong, clear acknowledgement of and gratitude for what Divine Providence has given to our nation. Also discussed giving to others in a way that develops self-reliance rather than learned helplessness. Then read Pres. Obama’s 2014 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation and found something for everyone: lots about friendship, family, and community, a bit about religion there too.

Thanx PAX. A pleasure to be with you this AM. Happy Thanksgiving. Safe travels.

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