Pushing Rocks – A New Year’s 1st F Challenge

2022 is winding down, and we’re in the season to celebrate our victories, learn from our mistakes, and turn our attention to 2023.

We’re all going to have our individual goals, and a well thought out 8-block can help us all figure out what those are.  But as PAX in F3 Nation, we all have a 1st F focus.  We all aim to “Get Right” which often starts with fitness.  Those who are already “Living Right” will aim in 2023 to keep up and maintain the work they’ve put in.  Regardless of where we are individually, what matters is that we are accelerating our fitness.  There is no stasis.  We’re either accelerating or decelerating.

One of the most important things I’ve learned as a PAX in F3 Gastonia is the importance of consistency.  Dirt & Watts Up’s EC runs before bootcamps and Roscoe’s November Challenge to put in 25 workouts showed me how to push rocks, and I learned that the best things worth achieving don’t come quickly, but by being persistent and watching the transformation happen over time.

So here’s a 3 month Challenge.  It’s simple.

• For every post, you get 1 point
• For every pound you lose, you get 1 point
• For every time you attend Q-Source, you get 1 bonus point
• Get a minimum of 20 points each month, January through March

Those who complete the Pushing Rocks Challenge and get a minimum of 20 points every month will receive a patch commemorating their consistency.

If you post 4 times a week and attend Q-Source 3 of 4 weeks, and your weight stays the same, you should be fine to get your 20 points.  If you post twice a week and lose 12 pounds, you should be fine for one month.  Just don’t find those pounds the next month, or you’ll be in trouble, because

• For every pound you gain, you LOSE 1/2 a point

So there are many ways to get it done.  With some planning, you can find out what works best for you, and do it.

But you don’t have to stop at 20 points.  We know Seuss and Gearwrench won’t.  As men who are fitness focused, we can get a little competitive, so we will keep a leaderboard of who accumulates the most points for the month.  If you post a lot, cut a bunch of weight, and come to all 4 Q-Sources, you can put up a lot of points, and bragging rights in the region.

Speaking of our region and competition, one of the major things that makes our region unique is our territorial size and the subregions that exist within F3 Gastonia.  We’ve got Folsom guys and PainLabbers, Pub Runners and guys who only ever go to Mt. Hollywood.  And we know that as hard as we work for ourselves, we work that much harder for the man working next to us.  So we’re going to turn this into a team competition.

When you sign up for the challenge, you’ll be asked to choose an AO to represent.  Your options will be:

• Folsom
• Midoriyama
• Gashouse/PainLab
• The Fighting Yank
• Mt. Hollywood

Once we have the full list of PAX who are up for the challenge, we will form teams of 4-10 PAX who will compete against one another.  As part of the team competition, we will be tracking:

• Total Points (per PAX if teams are uneven)
• Percentage of PAX who reach 20 points for the month

If your team accumulates a lot of points AND everyone hits their 20 points, you will have a good chance at winning.

The team prize will be the honor and privilege to lead the 2nd Quarter Convergence at your chosen site.

So while we will have Folsom competing against Mt. Hollywood, we will also have Folsom competing against Folsom, as there will be AOs with enough participating PAX that they will have more than 1 team.

So what will you need to do to be part of the challenge?

• Sign-up – Please sign up by Christmas Day so I can make teams the following week and have things ready to go on New Years Day. (Sign-up Form on Google coming soon)
• Send me your weight on December 31st.  This is on the honor system, and will be entered on a spreadsheet that all participants in the challenge can see.  If you lie about your weight, prepare to be called out.
• Commit to getting 20 points per month, however you’ve got to do it.
• Commit to supporting your teammates and really all the PAX in the region.
• Spread the word, and EH your fellow PAX to join in.  The goal is to encourage acceleration across the region.

There will be other details that need to be figured out (weekly weigh-ins for more immediate accountability and leaderboard updates?, how do we get guys involved who join in late?, and other things I’m sure I haven’t thought of), so be patient as we figure things out.  That said, if you foresee any issues or see a way to troubleshoot a problem, please send it along.

Keep on Pushing the Rock.

Yabba Dabba Doo