12 Days of Christmas Cheer!

Brisk 39 degrees at Midoriyama for 10 strong Midoriyama men! Two new guys to our AO today, welcome Chum and Pockets. Let’s get to it!

The Warmup

SSH x 12 IC

Imperial Walkers x 12 IC

Hillbillies x 12 IC

Box Cutters x 12 IC

Mosey to the playground

5 pullups then 5 derkins x 3 sets (I don’t like pullups but I think they are helpful so I always try to work just a few in, no bear crawling though)

Mosey around the big soccer field to the big hill near the dog park. While everyone is catching their breath from the blistering pace set by our runner Freight. Did you know he finished 2nd in his age group at the Christmastown 5K? I think he was wearing his medal. YHC starts a little Charlie Brown Christmas music to distract from the pain about to start. Sprint up the big hill, touch the fence, run back down the hill for 5 crunches and repeat this 3 times. This is where I told the story from Christmas 1974 and my favorite gift of all time, the Thundershift 500 Hot Wheels race track. (There was a lot of discussion about how old most of the Pax were in 1974. Slaw was 1 but most were not even born yet. They do love to remind YHC of his age!) I ask the Pax to think of a special toy they remember as a child to tell us about it later in the workout. Now, mosey to the small soccer field bleachers with Trans Siberian Orchestra playing us in because I know Slaw loves that.

At the soccer field we got through the 12 Days of Christmas, with a few Omahas because of time and sometimes there was singing for effect. It went something like this (try singing it):

12 Mountain Climbers IC

11 Sandy V’s IC (called by As(h) Pond just because)

10 Curls with Blocks IC

9 Little Baby Flutter Crunches IC (called by Freight like by half counts or something, seems like we did around 40 each time)

8 Dying Cockroaches IC

7 Merkins IC

6 Copperhead Squats IC

5 Burpees OYO

4 Step Ups each leg (on bleachers)

3 Dips IC (called by Slaw to allow Q to breathe)

2 Incline Merkins IC

1 lap around the soccer field (this could be called the Huckleberry mumblechatter lap)

We started on Day 6 and got all the way to Day 12 with lots of mumblechatter along the way.

After each lap a different Pax told about their memories of Christmas toys and most guys had a nice story about the good times they remembered as a kid at Christmas. Freight still believes he saw Santa delivering his bicycle. Pockets got an Optimus Prime transformer, Slaw got a Simon Says game. Ash Pond and Blart fought over a Casio watch… that’s about right for those two. I can’t remember the others but each guy had a story.

Mosey back to the flag for the pledge.

The lesson of today’s workout was try to keep the Joy of Christmas alive throughout the season and help make lasting memories in our families. Strong work!

Prayer requests: You never know what guys are carrying around with them. Pockets family recently lost an aunt. Chum asked for prayers to help him find the direction he needs. Slaw and Ash Pond have been sick. Floppy Disk and Billy Madison have health issues in their families. Lil’ Sweet told the good news of a man who was an alcoholic celebrating 6 years of being sober and allowing God to use him. Pizza Man and Tool Time as they prepare for their marathon. Oompa Loompa as he travels for work. Holidays can be a tough time for many people.

COT

Moleskin – Great to have Chum and Pockets with us at Midoriyama. They fit right in. I have to say what a great group we have and I always look forward to seeing them. F3 is about making each of us better men and it really does! Keep EHing and Merry Christmas!