22 PAX (1 FNG) came to Iron Horse on this 29-30ish degree, snowy morning to help YHC get an early start on celebrating his 47th birthday (12/10/70). Those numbers will play a part in today’s workout. The AO was covered in snow (and mud), with some randomly located lakes just waiting to be stepped in. There may, or may not, have been a variety of snowballs thrown during the course of today’s workout.
DISCLAIMER
PRAYER
COP (47 total reps)
SSH x 10 IC
Windmill x 10 IC;
LBAC forward x10 IC
LBAC reverse x10 IC
Hillbilly Walkers x7 IC
The Thang
The plan for today’s Q came from 2 different thoughts. 1st, It was going to be cold, so we would need to keep moving to stay warm. I didn’t want to risk standing around getting cold. We needed to make sure the snow wouldn’t stick to us. 2nd, and more importantly, after running a little short of exercises on my VQ, I decided that today’s workout would look to provide a high volume of reps that hit all parts of the body (over and over). I used a little creative math, by combining my birth date (12/10/70) and the age I will turn tomorrow (47), to arrive at our number of reps to be completed for each exercise: 12+10+70+47=139. After some initial confusion, and a 2nd explanation of the plan, the PAX paired off for a Dora-style workout on the main field at Iron Horse. 2 cones were set up approximately 47 yards apart. One partner would run to the far cone and back while the other performed the appropriate exercise. Flapjack and continue working toward the 139 rep count. Once 139 is reached, move on to the next exercise. The planned exercises were:
- Modified Dora standard exercises: 139 Merkins, 139 LBC, 139 Squats (417 total reps)
- Modified B.O.M.B.S.: 139 Burpees (yes, 139,), 139 Overhead Claps, 139 (more) Merkins, 139 BBSU, 139 (more) Squats (695 total reps)
- After Ponzi said “130 burpees? Do you want us to get to anything else?”, I called an audible and cut the burpee count in half to 70. This was a plan I had considered prior to the workout anyway, and it seemed like a good idea. No complaints from anyone when the number was reduced.
- Plus some more: 139 Overhead press with block, 139 Boat ßàCanoe, 139 Lateral hops (over/back=1 rep) (417 total reps)
- Keep Going: 139 Upright rows with block, 139 dying cockroaches (R arm/L legx1, L arm/R legx1=1rep), 139 Side lunges (Rx1, Lx1= 1 rep) (417 total reps)
- Last thing just to round it out: 24 Mountain climbers (Rx1, Lx1= 1 rep)
IF ALL EXERCISES WERE COMPLETED, WITH ORIGINAL REPS, THAT WOULD BE 1970 REPS. To be honest, even with an audible, I did not expect groups to finish. Doing the math, you would have to average 44 reps per minute for 45 minutes to complete everything. Burpees alone cut in to that average. Then, the snow and mud just added another factor to slow down the progress, and freeze many backsides. I was mainly wanting to see how far everyone could push through such a large number of reps. I believe everyone was at least on the lateral hops, and 3 or 4 groups were doing the upright rows with blocks when time was called. Solid work from everyone!!
What is a birthday without presents? I decided to give presents to others. The furthest group along (Minimus/Honcho), with “about 70” rows, got Koozies courtesy of my friend at PT Solutions. They say “Excuses don’t make you faster”. A sentiment that makes good sense and you could also add “or stronger” to that statement.
Mary
By this point, there was much discussion about the level of frostbite on the backsides of the Pax. The general sentiment was “please stay off the ground.” – except for one person who I did hear suggest “Doc I Hate Yous” – any guesses on who that was? I made a slight change to the original plan and went with: Bear crawl to 2nd light, which was near the cones. Once everyone was there, walking lunges back to start line.
CIRCLE OF TRUST
Welcome FNG Russell — had an “eyebrow issue” in his past– was given the name “Maybelline”.
PRAYER
Moleskin: The koozies I handed out had the phrase “Excuses don’t make you faster.” You could put a lot of words/phrases in place of “faster” in that statement. For the purposes of our physical workouts, you could use “stronger”. One thing that is accomplished by coming to F3 workouts, is actually doing something to better ourselves. For many people I encounter in my personal and professional life, there always seems to be a whole slew of reasons NOT to exercise or try to be healthier. Once someone does that a few times, it becomes easier and easier to just keep on that path. That is where I challenge them, instead, to try to find ways that they CAN get more active or be healthier. That change in focus can work wonders.
As there has been much discussion recently about finishing the year strong, being more intentional in what we do, etc., I think that same principle of shifting focus can be applied to more areas of our lives. While there are circumstances that are truly beyond our control, there are others where it is often just easier to come up with a reason NOT to do something than it is to do it. If there is something in your life where that is the case, I challenge you to shift the focus from why you can’t do something to why you CAN do it. That shift just might lead to a more productive existence. It can start small and grow into something bigger.
I feel like I had more when I was thinking about this earlier, but the mental well has run dry for now. Once again, great work from everyone who came out today!!
Announcements —
- Prayers requested for the guys who will be preparing for the next GoRuck event next year.
- Want to do some good this Christmas season?? Donate a toy, or toys, to the Toys for Tots collection drive.
- Jiu jitsu demo/workout at Olson’s Martial Arts in January. Wear shorts and t-shirt (and underwear- no commando). Honcho and Donatello will provide more details
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