Author: Ridgeway Burns

4 Pax broke through the Gloom for a tough beatdown. Archive (QIC), Captain Crunch, Banks, and Chelms (nice to see him again!)

Warm-o-rama:

7x Motivators

15x Tin Soldiers

20x Carolina Dry Docks

20x Flutters

Thang 1: Squat Ladder- Descending reps of squats (20, 19, …) at top and bottom of hill.

Thang 2: 7 of Diamonds- Ran around the outside of the baseball field with reps at each corner as follows:

7x Burpees

14x Merkins

21x Flutters

28x Squats

21x LBCs

14x Shoulder Taps

7x Burpees

COR, NOR, Thanksgiving for the recent F3 trip to Peru- A visit from Chelms- Prayers for motivation, safe travels, and growth.

5 High-Impact Males posted at Mastodon this morning. They didn’t come merely to survive, but to thrive!

Warmups

Side Straddle Hops x 30

Imperial Walkers x 25

Copperhead Merkins x 15

Copperhead Squats x 15

Thang 1: “Playground Doras”

As pairs, completed:

75 Pullups

100 Carolina Dry Docks

125 Merkins

150 Dips

While performing exercises, other PAX in each pair completed loops around dip bars, alternating between:

Lunge Walks

Bear Crawls

Chinooks (overhead arm circles) and LBC’s while waiting for 6

Thang 2: “Pearls on a String: Wheaton Edition”

Mosey around the “short mile” loop, stopping to perform:

Flutterkicks x 30

Diamond Merkins x 20

Leg Lifts x 20

Divebombers x 20

Thang 3: “Coupons ‘Round the Bases”

Rounded the baseball diamond while completing, as pairs:

40 Manmakers (coupon Burpees)

60 Lion Kings at Right Field

80 Coupon Curls at Center Field

100 Coupon Overhead Presses at Left Field

Mary’s

Freddie Mercury’s x 35

ABC’s

Shoulder Taps x 20

Flutterkicks x 50

Circle of Trust

Count-o-rama / Announcements / Name-o-rama

Q’s Word of the Day:

Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith are the elements that keep me going in life.

Faith: We are made for something more, not merely to survive as biological creatures, but to thrive as humans. We have a purpose, to be good stewards of creation, to live with and for our fellow humans, to bring love, mercy and justice to the world. We are part of the Almighty’s work of redeeming and restoring creation to be what it was originally meant to be.

Fellowship: And we do that together. Henry David Thoreau said that “men lead lives of quite desperation.” He hits on a truth—that we tend to live in isolation, even when we are around others. It takes intentional interaction, like we have at F3, to thrive as men, to fulfill our purpose as humans.

Fitness: This is also about thriving, not merely existing. It is not about glorifying our bodies, but about being capable of fulfilling our respective callings. And it serves to break down barriers between men, so that we can engage in Fellowship and Faith!

Prayers:

For healing from illness among PAX and their families. For the growth and encouragement of the men of F3 Wheaton. For prayers unspoken. That we would be agents of grace and truth in our homes and communities this weekend.

Thanks for the opportunity to share the gloom with you!

-Blart

Two PAX busted through the gloom (Archive QIC, Captain Crunch).

Slaughter Starter (SURPRISE!) 10 burpees

WOR- 7x Motivators, Lunges, Backwards Run.

Thang 1- Bataan Death March: Indian run with burpees.

Thang 2- 2x Wilt Chamberlains: 100x LBCs, Flutters, Squats, Lunges

Thang3- Spartan- Run to top of the hill, 10 merkins at top. We did 5.

COR NOR- Prayers for the group, for rest, and giving thanks for a misty morning.

Two local PAX were met by one South Carolina PAX as the sun threatened to rise. The weather was already perfect, so with some brief introductions we got down to business.

The Old Fashioned:

• Motivators x7
• Abe Vigoda ICx15

Up Hill Both Ways:

• 1 mile run around the lake
• B.O.M.B.S. (x2 Hill Runs) (this is normally a partner exercise, but with our “three-legged partner system we each took turns on the exercises at the base of the hill and ran up the hill twice between rotations at the bottom)

The Slaughter Rule:

• Boat / Canoe
• American Hammers ICx15
• Flutters ICx20

COR/NOR/COT:

Gratitude for the weather, blessings on Harry Caray’s mom as life and relationships shift a bit, continued prayers for R&R at the Archive house, and for parenting that is full of love, patience, joy, kindess, and peace at the Crunch house.

Closing thoughts: It was fantastic having Harry Caray doing F3 back in his homeland, and completing his circuit to all of the Chicago AOs. We had more exercises planned to complete the theme, but doubling up the hill runs definitely fulfilled the “life was hard” and the “I’m going to complain about this now” aspects for this Q. Archive and Harry made it look easy.

After a long break in writing these- I’m back on the wagon. A very hot and sticky morning didn’t deter 4 PAX (Archive QIC, Captain Crunch, Banks, Tortuga) from working hard enough to smoke yours truly in his attempt to Q. Can the Q call his own 10-count? I did.

Warmup- 7x Motivators, 15x Imperial Walkers, 15x Windmills.

1/2 mile run.

Arrive at soccer field- Millenial: Run to opposite goal post and back (~100 yards)

PAX does AMRAP of called exercise until someone hits 100 reps.

Exercises: 1. SSH 2. Split Jack 3. Merkins 4. LBCs (This is where I smoked myself- red in the face until 30 minutes post workout) 5. Shoulders Taps 6. Flutter Kicks 7. OHCs 8. American Hammers 9. Dolly 10. Burpees (as a group)

Return to Flag- Bear Crawl Ring O’ Fire

6 MOM, COR, NOR

Thanks for a good day of work together- coffee with Captain and Tortuga was awesome. See you in the Gloom.