Author: Billy Madison (Page 1 of 2)

Sorry for the delay – we literally moved for 2 straight days after I finished this Q and I was without internet (or home) until this week. Sidenote: back to back Qs after a month off from workouts was a VERY BAD idea before moving. My M (Veronica Vaughn) laughed at me when my legs were so shaky while carrying furniture. I cried.

The Thang:

Side Stradle Hops x 10 IC

Pledge

Farewell Q was a recreation of the movie (my namesake) Billy Madison! Cinematic beauty ensued (there was sweat and tears everywhere) and it went like this….

• As the movie begins with an aimless Billy (sad clown syndrome) in a drunken stupor, eagerly awaiting “nudey magazine day” he spots a Penguin walking around….
  • Exercise = Penguin Walks (Duckwalks, but with arms at side) to end of parking lot and back
• Just like many PAX when we join F3, Billy accepts the challenge to become a better man and encounters obstacles when he returns to school…
  • Exercise = O’Doyle-Rules-Inspired, Banana Peels (ab workout – full situp, lift leg and touch toes) x 25
• Time for a spelling bee! “R…..you going to the mall later?” We must help Billy spell the word “Couch”…
  • Exercise = 
    • C = Captain Thors x 10 situps x 40 American Hammers
    • O = Outlaws x 10 each direction
    • U = Up Downs x 10 pushups on Q’s count, fast chop feet in between
    • C = CDDs x 25
    • H = Hail Marys x 25 each partner 
• Just like Billy, it’s time to find out what these PAX are really made of….time for the Academic Decathlon!
  • Exercise =
    • 100 meter sprint
    • Merkins – 1 minute of AMRAP (in place of shotput)
    • 200 meter sprint
    • Situps – 1 minute of AMRAP (in place of discus throw)
    • 400 meter sprint
    •  Pullups – 1 minute of AMRAP (in place of javelin)
    • 1500 meter run
    • LBCS – 1 minute of AMRAP (in place of hurdles)
    • Jump ups x 20 (in place of high jump)
    • Squats x 20 (in place of long jump)
• Think we’re done? Wrong! “Now you’re all in big, big trouble!”
  • Exercise = DODGEBALL! (F3 Style – plank/LBC while you’re out. Losing team has to run laps. Winning team laughs!)
    • As an aside, being a true HIM and demonstrating humble leadership, I gracefully allowed the other team to win – as a way of saying goodbye and picking up Gastone’s confidence. He had a sad look in his eye and I didn’t want him crying on my last Q.

COT:

Thanks for the chance to share our story (His story)…

Remember that you never know which fellow PAX you are ministering to just by locking shields and pushing one another in these workouts….

3 years ago, my wife was given a terminal cancer diagnosis. She had stage 4 ovarian cancer that spread to her heart. 2 days later, the company I worked for, was sold and I was laid off. With 2 toddlers at home and no insurance, and the prospect of losing my wife – our world was collapsing.

We left our dream home in Florida, broken (I remember being unemployed for the first time since I was 12 years old, and pushing my wife in a wheel chair with my 4 & 5 year old dragging bags behind us through the airport) to seek help….after a year of countless chemo sessions and nights sleeping in a bedside cot in the hospital, and 4 high-risk surgeries my wife defeated cancer!

After her battle, we moved across the country to NC and our biggest fear came true – my wife’s cancer returned. We had purchased a new home in a new state where I knew no one, but I started attending workouts at F3. I found the PERFECT support that I needed. In my darkest, most depressing time, I found a group of men to lift me up and make me better. F3 gave me something to look forward to and gave me the fellowship that the male soul needs. This group of crazy dudes with weird names would place hands on me in prayer after kicking my butt working out. My wife had a much easier battle that 2nd go around and she is now 2 years, cancer free!

We are moving back to Florida, with our health and a new perspective and an appreciation for life, love and joy that we never would have had before.

You are all so much more than just a PAX to me, you are my friends and you were there for me when I needed it most. Remember the power of this ministry as you raise men up for the betterment of the community and future generations of men to lead others.

I’m excited to keep posting with the F3-Jacksonville crew – who I will undoubtedly shame by comparing them to the “men of Gashouse” and I’m happy that I can reuse some of my jokes and workout ideas for some new laughs. 🙂

Thank you all, and please stay in touch!

“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.”
– Henry David Thoreau

Your friend,

Tully (Billy Madison)

The High Intensity Interval Training wasn’t the only treat in store for the pax this Valentine’s morning…..I serenaded them with a “today’s top 40 hits station” via Youtube.

The mumble chatter ensued immediately because what group enjoys top 40 hits more than a bunch of middle-aged, Caucasian, white-collar men from the south???

Warm-Up:

• SSH
• Don Quixotes
• Cherry Pickers (the ones that fell on the ground Stroganoff)
• and Q definitely, knowledgeably picked Jumping Jacks….errrrr, SSH 1 more time. Totally on purpose.
• MOSEY to Martha Rivers fields

The Thang:

Interval Abs Circuit x 2:

• LBCs x 50 OYO
• WWI Sit-Ups x AMRAP, 30 seconds
• Freddy Mercurys x AMRAP, 60, 30 seconds
• Flutter Kicks x AMRAP, 30 seconds

Speed Circuit x 2:

• Sprint 1/4 of soccer field then back to line for 10 Merkins
• Sprint 1/2 of soccer field then back to line for 10 Merkins
• Sprint 3/4 of soccer field then back to line for 10 Merkins
• Sprint full soccer field then back to line for 10 Merkins

(Insert more mumble chatter about bad Q idea…)

Hey, my pudgy grandma jogs a few marathons every year, but what do you see Usain Bolt or Lebron James running?  Who’s body would you rather have? Sprints accelerate fat burn and build muscle. (Annnnnnnd Q’s back won’t allow me to “pound the pavement” for over an hour anymore so this is my tantrum towards all the long distance runners that surround me in F3.) Jealous tantrum over. Back to the workout…

Lat builder Circuit x 2:

• Pull-ups, AMRAP 30 seconds
• SSH x 60
• Burpees x 10
• Final burn out on Pull-ups, AMRAP

Mosey back to Sno-Balls – stopped for 6 and did LBCs

Pledge, announcements and COT.

Hope no one is too tired to take care of the Ms tonight on Valentines Day! May have seen a few panic-stricken eyes when I announced the date and mad dash to florist as pax exited parking lot!

Thanks for the push brothers! Aye!

I love to Q. I get excited the night before and usually spend way too much time trying to get creative and/or make the theme something timely and relevant….then I’m looking forward to the workout all day and I feel a buzz afterwords if I see HIMs smiling.

If my workout fire is dieing down, leading seems to be the gasoline that reignites. (For some of our not so new Friendly New Guys – time to lead. I hope you find it makes you better too.)

Today’s workout was the first time I wrote down the “message” first, then the workout 2nd.

I asked the pax Who, What, and How but more on that…

Warm-Up:

SSH, Don Qs, Imperial Walkers, Hillbillies

Pledge

The THANG:

Mosey to the soccer fields.

CORE TIME, round 1: (50 reps of each)

• LBCs
• WWI Situps
• 60-sec plank
• 25 Merkins
• Flutter Kicks
• Freddy Mercurys
• Penguin slaps
• American Hammers
• 60-sec plank

Deck of Death/4 corners combo: (around 2 soccer fields)

Split into 6 teams…

• Deck of cards were separated by suit and placed in all 4 corners of the field.
• AS A TEAM, sprint around the field to see who can create the best 5 card poker hand. The faster you go the more cards you can get.
• When you draw your card do the # of reps on that card… Jacks=11, Queens = 12, Kings = 13 before running to the next corner.
• Hearts = Merkins, Diamonds = Diamond Merkins, Spades = Flutter kicks, Clubs = Situps
• Jokers = WILD CARD and you can assign 5 Burpees to another team of your choosing.

The winning team got to sit in my truck that was conveniently waiting down there while the rest of us losers had to take turns pushing the truck back to the flag and alternating turns after 5 burpees were completed.

(Lost count of # of burpees, couldn’t hear the count over Freight’s maniacal laughter from the backseat! Swimmer for some reason felt obligated to keep checking my brakes and Slaw was blasting country music from my speakers!) Note to future self: find new friends to road trip with…

Back at the flag:

CORE TIME, round 2: (50 reps of each)

• LBCs
• WWI Situps
• 60-sec plank
• 25 Merkins
• Flutter Kicks
• Freddy Mercurys
• Penguin slaps
• American Hammers
• 60-sec plank

3 minutes of Marythen 22 Merkins for the Vets to end the workout.

Moleskin:

Shared a word that had been on my heart with the pax…

WHO is looking up to you, and at the example you set? Madoff brought 2 of his sons to today’s workout and I’m very proud to bring my son to learn “how to be a man” from this group of men. We support each other. We work hard to get better. We pray for each other, and yes we even make the occasional raunchy joke and belch and fart but in the end, he sees men who love God and love eachother (2 greatest commandments) and are a part of something bigger than themselves.

WHAT example are you setting? Are you known for sitting on the couch with a beer and a clicker in each hand? Are you known for being gone at work all the time? Or are you working hard to be a better father, husband, community leader?

HOW are you going to handle difficulties? It’s not a matter of “if” but “when” life throws a difficult situation at you, how will you handle it? Who are you surrounded by that will help you and that you can lean on and ultimately where do you put your faith?

Thanks for the push today and always. Proud to call you all friends.

Name-aroma, announcements, prayer requests and COT to close.

Aye!

Men of F3 Gastonia,

Think you know your NCAA basketball? Do you bleed royal or sky blue? If so, please join the 1st annual F3 March Madness Bracket Pool, because you know that the guy who knows NOTHING will end up winning it all! 🙂

Join the F3 Bracket Pool by clicking the following link and when prompted, enter the password: gashouse

Entree is $10 with a winner-take-all payout at the end. Entree fees must be paid to Billy Madison before games begin to have your bracket submission eligible.

Collecting $ will provide me extra motivation to post as much as possible over the next week so you can pay in person otherwise you can send via Venmo to @tara-lale or drop off or mail to 2452 Glyncastle Way, Gastonia, NC 28056.

Here is the link to join:

https://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/33994/invitation?key=ef4b1a3c5c4869ae&soc_trk=lnk

Good luck!