9 strong at Gashouse to look at some photographs, low plank in a poorly maintained parking lot, and discover the modern luxury of the lawn at First Presbyterian Church. Here’s what I remember:
In preparing for the Amoeba Ruck, YHC began to wonder how the points were going to be communicated. “What if they just gave us a picture and said, ‘Go find it.’?” YHC wondered aloud to no one in particular. Regardless of how they do the Amoeba Ruck, that sounded like fun, so YHC went and took pictures at 7 sites and planned some stuff at each one. YHC also threw out a little teaser on Slack with the first picture for the workout.
The Thang:
- 10 x SSH (IC)
- 10 x Side-to-side Lunges (IC)
- 10 x Mountain Climbers (IC)
- 10 x Mike Tysons (IC)
- 10 x Low Slow Squats (IC)
After a short discussion on where the FNG would end up, we split from Pain Lab and moseyed to the end of the driveway at the Schiele to explain my dumb idea. First picture was shown and we were headed to:
Grier Middle School:
- 5 x Burpees (OYO)
Some rumblings about how this was stupid and complicated and were we sure Short Sale wasn’t in on this. Next some Frogger on the way to:
Parkwood Baptist Church:
- 5 x Burpees (OYO)
- 10 x Bobby Hurleys (OYO)
YHC introduced the days ab circuit which would go like this: Partner up. One partner does a hold while the other does an exercise. Switch after 30 seconds. Holds/Exercises were:
- V-sit Hold / Double Crunches
- Low Side Plank / Oblique Crunches (One side only)
- 6 Inches / Flutter Kicks
First time through the circuit at Parkwood, we repeated the whole circuit and switched sides for the Low Side Plank / Oblique Crunches for the second side.
Lots of grumblings about picking a better lot for the Low Side Plank with the PAX’s elbows feeling a bit ouchy. Sargento was a hero for pointing out that gloves could be removed and used as padding. Buckeye pushed the FNG with a little friendly form criticism. FNG gave it right back. Our next photo featured an inverted Flintstone at what appeared to be a car wash at:
7 Eleven:
- 5 x Burpees (OYO)
- 10 x Bobby Hurleys (OYO)
- 15 x Hip Slappers (OYO – Count Left Side Only)
Following this round, we had a quick discussion about mastery, acceleration, and patience from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. A quick recap: Improvement doesn’t come as quickly as you’d expect. Just because you did 50 merkins yesterday, it doesn’t mean you’ll do 51 tomorrow. If you run at a 9-minute/mile pace, your next run won’t necessarily be 8:59. The truth is, it takes a long time seeing little to no progress to actually see results. It’s frustrating, but if you have the patience to wait it out, the growth when you start seeing results will be way more than you’ve expected, and your 50 merkins become 100 or your 9 minute pace can drop into the lower 8’s or even the 7’s. A quick quote:
“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it–but all that had gone before.”
Bottom line – If you start something new, especially something hard, don’t give up before you get to the point where you’re seeing results. Stick to the plan, even if it’s frustrating and even if you can’t see the progress you want to see. If you’re doing things the right way, it’s only a matter of time before you see results.
Anyways, YHC didn’t talk that long, but there’s more room in print, so I’ll take advantage of it. Hopefully none of you have anywhere to be, or if so, you probably stopped reading already. Regardless, time to move on to:
Sherwood Elementary:
- 5 x Burpees (OYO)
- 10 x Bobby Hurleys (OYO)
- 15 x Hip Slappers (OYO)
- 20 x Pull Ups (or something that resembles a pull up – OYO)
When finished, another ab circuit of:
- V-sit Hold / Double Crunches
- Low Side Plank / Oblique Crunches (One side only)
- 6 Inches / Flutter Kicks
No time for two though, gotta go to
The Pad @ FPC:
- 5 x Burpees (OYO)
- 10 x Bobby Hurleys (OYO)
- 15 x Hip Slappers (OYO)
More “Storytime with Flintstone” (“Can we do wall sits or something?” – “Sure, it’s you v. you”)
Mastery also requires practice. Lots of boring practice. What’s the difference between the best athletes and everyone else? Well there’s a lot of things that you can’t change (like genetics), but “at some point it comes down to who can handle the boredom of training every day, doing the same lifts over and over.” Successful people FEEL the same lack of motivation as everyone else. The difference is that they keep showing up in spite of their feelings of boredom.
This is something to remember when workouts or work or life get to be a grind. It’s easy to do it when it’s new and fun. How you react when you’re bored and over it is what makes the difference. Whether you’re finding a way to keep things fresh by changing up your routine or trying to Q every AO in the month of April, or you lean into good habits and and a strong sense of personal integrity and responsibility, the key is to keep showing up, even when you don’t feel like it.
Next picture is from:
FPC Front Driveway:
- 5 x Burpees (OYO)
- 10 x Bobby Hurleys (OYO)
Time’s running out, but last Ab Circuit (cut a little short)
- V-sit Hold / Double Crunches
- Low Side Plank / Oblique Crunches (Other Side)
- 6 Inches OR Flutter Kicks
Lying in the grass for this last round was quite a luxury. Sargento was quick to point out the support the FPC front lawn provided to his back. You just kind of sank into it like a memory foam mattress or a Sleep Number bed. It was almost as good as the Fartsack.
With time running out, we skipped the last photo (The Library) and went back to the entrance of the Schiele for
- 5 x Burpees (OYO)
and we came in right on time as Bandit wrapped up some Dying Cockroaches to the ringing of the FPC church bells.
Announcements:
- New Gear workout at The Fighting Yank, PainLab style, starting May 15th
- Amoeba Ruck – May 22nd (linked above)
Prayer Requests:
- Ava Gaddis
- Turtleman
Moleskin:
Nope, this is long enough. See above. You’re welcome.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
Yabba Dabba Doo