Following Footsteps

A few weeks ago, JJ had the Q for Annihilation and it damn near killed me. I was not mentally nor physically prepared for that assault. How do you get better? You tackle tough challenges so with today’s GasHouse Q, I focused on the second element of JJ’s Weinke and built from there. More on that in a moment. I’ve been out of town the past two weeks, so nice to be at the friendly confines of the GasHouse, only the landscape has severely changed as the reconstruction of Grier Middle School has leveled the athletic fields and old gym where back in the day as a gangly pimple faced kid in the mid 80’s, life was beginng to swirl. But I digress, there is a workout to lead.

Warm-up:

• Seal Jacks IC x 10 (except I was about to cough at 8 so the inflection changed while I tried not to barf in my mouth, so some PAX ceased fire)
• Side to Side Lunge IC x 10
• Runners Lunge Twist – Right (no cadence, just hold)
• Runners Lunge Twist – Left (here ends the YOGA portion of the workout)
• Arrows IC x 10
• Pledge

Mosey – Hushpuppy was rolling hot and asked where to meet – Garrison Boulevard Business Park – see you in a few.

We arrived at said location and I shared the plan of “The Nasty JJ”. It was not received warmly, even by JJ who created this monster. At the low point of the parking lot, 11 Mike Tysons, run up the hill, stop at the entrance for a burpee, continue to the Business Park sign, 11 Imperial Walker Squat (count the squat), run down the hill, stop again for 1 burpee. Each exercise was 11 reps each time. We did this for 11 minutes and hence the Nasty JJ will live on in lore forever.

Once complete, the next phase began for Every 2 Minutes on the Minute. The PAX would mosey to a pre-selected destination but along the way every two minutes would break for:

• 10 SSH
• 10 Tabletop Crunch (aka Turtle Crunch)
• 10 Penguin Crunch
• 10 Merkins
• 10 Squats

Now some of you are thinking, this sounds simple, how does this get all “short-saled up?” It didn’t, just stuck to the plan, weird, huh? Felt weird, but we moseyed and had 2 stops along Laurel Lane until we arrived at the intersection of Nottingham and Laurel for the 3rd installment. This is where the Watt’s Up portion of the workout kicked in. Maybe a year or two, Watt’s Up Q’ed GasHouse and we arrived at this same spot for a terrible version of 4 corners using Laurel, Woodvale, Dorset, and Nottingham as our corners and had a handful of exercises to complete. Instead of doing multiple rounds, I opted for 1 due to time. But like Watt’s Up’s version, its was a burner where we completed the same count of the aforementioned 5 exercises. Once all 4 corners were done, we then moseyed back down Nottingham to left on Dorset to right on Scotch – time for one more set (this made 8 total sets). We then continue to the end of Scotch which is a nicely elevated cul-de-sac; perfect for a quick Triple Nickle. Somehow saying Triple Nickle doesn’t sound right unless it’s Sister Act’s gravelly voice. So now repeat after me: “Triple Nickle.” There, you’ve got it. Only we’re not doing the standard SA set of burpee, IMT, IWS, HRM. No, we’re running low on time, so I opted for 5 plank jacks at the bottom and 5 shoulder taps (sgl ct) at the top, for 5 rounds. We had 7 minutes to get back to base upon which we arrived right on time.

COT – 7/4 at TFY – reading of Declaration of Independence following the workout; Seek to add Flintstone’s Thunder & Lightening challenge to your schedule. Prayers: Hunk a Junk shared about an acquaintance in Mt. Holly who’s son took his life; Hushpuppy asked for prayers as his new relationship which combines two families with 6 (?) kids of all ages.

Moleskin: 1Peter 2:21 “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” I didn’t share this verse today, but reflecting on the workout and discussion among PAX, it is fitting. I mentioned the idea of the workout came from two strong men in JJ and Watt’s Up. Both have strong discipline in visible areas of their faith and fitness. Today’s plan came together from previous workouts they had led and it was a bit daunting to see if we could tackle, but we surely did. Our group of 5 ended up with 3 miles under our belts (Stroganoff at 8 after some EC before). At various times whether in F3, our familes, our communities, churches, or workplaces, we take a leadership role. But in most instances, we followed some path set before us. Jesus did that for us. Hearing Hunk A Junk share that a young man ended his life is tragic. Life is not easy and there will always be a challenge to face. Trust in the Lord and seek a brighter path that can pull you through is a reliable source.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

Short Sale