Warmorama to “Calypso” by John Denver (song about Jacques Cousteau), but the rain caused equipment malfunction.
The Thang: Run around A.O. led by Jacques Cousteau. When wildlife is spotted, at Jacques’ discretion an exercise is assigned to said animal (and remains on that animal for duration of workout). After Jacques called exercise Jacques status transfers to next PAX in line, who leads the group until he identifies the animal/exercise of his choice.
It was a nice way to see the full AO in the rain.
Moleskin: “Of course the festival of rain cannot be stopped, even in the city. The woman from the delicatessen scampers along the sidewalk with a newspaper over her head. The streets, suddenly washed, became transparent and alive, and the noise of traffic becomes a plashing of fountains. One would think that urban man in a rainstorm would have to take account of nature in its wetness and freshness, its baptism and its renewal.” -Thomas Merton, Rain and the Rhinoceros in Raids on the Unspeakable
A rosy-fingered dawn greeted the PAX who gathered for a beatdown set to 90s music, freshly imported from actual compact discs that were listened to in the 1990s.
Warmorama: Sidestraddle hops during Live’s “I Alone” with a burpee for “I Alone.” Arm circles, Daisy pickers and calf stretches.
The Thang: PAX choose two cards from the dexicon, do the exercise (number card = 30+, royal = 50, Ace + 100). After two cards completed, sprint to goal post, job 75% to the chair placed half way, jog the rest of the way. Repeat. The 90s glory kept drawing the runners back to the deck.
The calm king sitting on his throne is the archetype of centeredness and security within himself. He is, therefore, a symbol of fertility and creativity within himself. To be in the king’s good graces is to be at the core. The king in a man is secure neough to recognize, affirm and bless goodness when he sees it inn others. he is not threatened by the growth or maturity of others, because he knows and loves who he himself is. You cannot threaten the king because he does not need you, or even need your admiration. He is the principle of healthy autonomy and very clear boundaries. the greater the king, the bigger the realm he is able to hold together. Some are kings for their own limited racial group, some hold together a “rainbow coalition,” others preside over the whole domain and hold it together in unity. Thus Christians rightly speak of Jesus as “King of kings” because his universal rain “falls on the good and bad, the just and the unjust.”
COT: Cooper, mothers, FIA sister group, Dr. Phil’s boro, Saga’s friend, Big Mac’s students.
NOR: (can anyone tell me what NOR means? I think it means people who showed): FNG: @Draper, @Banks, @SAGA, @Banks, @Beaker, @BigMac, @Katniss, @Shiplap, @Tortuga, @Panhandle, @Jolly, @DaVinci Q
Bonus: Summary of coffeteria discussion: We discussed the extreme stress of football coaching culture (and American work culture in general), the cost to families, and the sacrifices necessary for “greatness,” sacrifices that are often not worth it. Better a whole person perhaps than to give it all to exceed in one area.
The PAX emerged at AO Ground Zero for a ruck club, with a few who could not handle the intensity of rucking opting for a run. Present were @noodles, @shamu, @panhandle, @T-bone, @tortuga, @SAGA, @cookies, @banks, @shiplap, @drphil, @tortuga, @jolly, @davinci (q)
Warmorama: Tappy Taps in cadence (done correctly).
COT: Prayers for @noodles interviews and for @banks travel.
Moleskin: One of the F3 books is subtitled “the unshackling of the modern day warrior.”
This language terrifies some who think it will endorse patriarchy, the unjust rule of men over women. It certainly can. But a better word for that is actually puer-archy, the rule of boys, for real men seek the flourishing of women. The answer to the wrong kind of warrior (“toxic masculinity”) is not the SNAG (“soft New Age guy”) but the mature warrior. One book puts it this way:
“If we are accessing the Warrior appropriately, we will be energetic, decisive, courageous, enduring, persevering, and loyal to some greater god beyond our own personal gain…. If we are accessing the Warrior in the right way, we will, at the same time that we are ‘detached,’ be warm, compassionate, appreciative, and generative. We will care for ourselves and others. We will fight good fights in order to make the world a better and more fulfilling place for everyone and everything. Our war-making will be for the creation of the new, the just, and the free” (95).
One of the authors of that book’s life ended tragically, which remains an important warning. Rohr has a good Christian version of the same material that I really enjoyed, but I personally think Robert Johnson’s He (including the follow up volumes She and We) are the real classics of the genre. In any case, stay tuned for upcoming service opportunities for “the creation of the new, the just, and the free.”
Warmorama: Arm circles in cadence, Abe Vagoda in cadence, leg stretches OYO
Springsteen, “I’m going down” (Side straddle hops during song, merkens when The Boss says “I’m going down.”)
The thang: Around the school at each stairway climb 3x with a burpee at the top each time. At bottom do the listed exercise. 40 reps to signify the 40 days of Lent. (40 curls, coupon lunges, LBCs, overhead press, BBSU, derkens, tricep dips, bent rows, American haammers, crunchie frogs, thrusters, skull crushers). Reps are actually 4000 each (Christ did 3960, we do 40).
COT: Prayers for @noodles job, for our M’s
Moleskin:
“In the mysteries of Isis, the Mysteries at Samothrace, the Mysteries at Eleusis, in all of those you had the descent into the underworld. The descent was both symbolic and real. Christ descended as well. What did Christ bring into the underworld that was different than what the earlier Mysteries had been able to do? It’s really quite a central question because something changed in the very nature of the underworld. Christ’s descent was not like an Orpheus or or others who have descended and then came back – Christ overcame. That reality is often not considered at all. It wasn’t just a pivot to the underworld, it was an overcoming and a changing of its nature forever.” -Robert J. Faas
Hence, as men we need not be afraid of our depths.
@saga, @tortuga, @jolly, @cookies, @banks ,@crash, @shiplap, @bigmac, @panhandle, @DaVinci (Q) showed up for a Candlemas history lesson with a workout interspersed between speeches.
Warmorama: Arms and legs on your own during speech about the origin of Groundhog Day (Candlemas). Then Side straddle hops on the beat to Blinding Lights by The Weekend with Goofballs on the Chorus (note the theme of light).
Five stations set up with Candles around the AO (including sledding after last station, 20 burpee penalty for wipeout) where wisdom was ready by candlelight.
10 Pullups
Q Source, First Leadership Virtue: “He must have Candor, which is the Habit of graciously telling the hard truth and demanding to hear it from others.”
Desert Fathers: Abba Isidore said “Persons under instruction must love those who are their instructors like fathers and fear them like rulers, neither diminishing fear through love nor obscuring love through fear.”
20 Picnic Presses
Q Source, Second Leadership Virtue: “He must have Commitment, which is unwavering loyalty to the Group and unflinching determination to accomplish its long term (not short-term) Mission.”
Desert Fathers: Abba John said, “I never preferred my own advantage over my brother’s benefit.”
30 Derkens
Q Source, Third Leadership Virtue: “He must be Consistent, in that he is unchanging in nature, Standard or effect over time. In-Consistent Leaders cannot be fully relied upon and ultimately, they produce inconsistent results.”
Desert Fathers: Abba James said, “There is no need only of sayings, for there are many sayings… But there is need for action; that is what is sought, not sayings, which bear no fruit.”
40 Picnic Curls
Q Source, Fourth Leadership Virtue: “He must possess Contentment, which is the stability of emotion engendered by the consistent pursuit of Joy rather than happiness. Only a Contented man can abandon the pursuit of his own Personal Comfort. “
Desert Fathers: Abba Joseph said, “You cannot become a monk unless you become altogether like a flaming fire.”
50 Merkens
Q Source, Fifth Leadership Virtue: “He must be a man with Courage, which is the Habit of Setting aside fear to turn hardship into grace… The Virtuous Leader accepts fear as the natural and necessary human emotion and overcomes it thorough Preparedness and self-control.”
Desert Fathers: Abba Isaac said: “I never brought into my cell a grudge against a brother who had offended me and I endeavored not to let a brother go to his cell who had a grudge against me.”
Moleskin: At the end of the summer, John the Baptist is celebrated (“I must decrease, He must increase”) as the days decrease in length. Until, that is, the light of Christmas, when the days begin to increase. The candles, traditionally blessed at this time of year, symbolize the increasing light of Christ.
COT: Prayers for carrying other’s burdens, a podcast, decreasing ego and increasing light of Christ. During coffeeteria a man appeared to share with us that “most people go to God when they’re in the shit… thank him for beautiful days like this.”
11 PAX (@Tortuga, @T-Bone, @Beaker, @Noodles, @Big Mac, @Katniss, @Hotbox, @Shiplap, @Banks, @GummiBear, @Da Vinci Q) appeared like stars to combat the post-Christmas blues by celebrating Epiphany. We explored the magi as life exemplars. Wisdom came from splicing the sayings of the desert fathers with Q-source handbook, which helpfully modify ancient desert wisdom for our time and place:
WARMORAMA: Sidestraddle hops during Sufjan Stevens We Three Kings with arm circles during the chorus and leg stretches at the end.
Q-Source: “A man maintains Fitness for reasons outside of himself” (37)
The Thang: Coupon Hike around the lake.
LEG 1: Coupon curls as we walked. 20 burpees
John Colobos: “Humble mindedness and fear of God are superior to all virtues.”
Q Source: “Nothing good comes easily, nor should it, for it is what a man learns about himself during a difficult journey a makes him an Effective guide for those that come afterward.” (26)
LEG 2: Overhead press as we walked: 10 burpees
John Colobos: “Who is as strong as a lion? Yet a lion is falls into a snare because of its belly, and all its strength is brought low.”
Q Source: “The HIM is not an ascetic living in a monastery. He knows that while what he eats may often be outside of his control, how much he eats is always his responsibility.” (40).
LEG 3: Partner sprints for a star jump as other partner carries both: 20 burpees
Isaac of the Cells: “Do not bring children here. Four churches here have been deserted because of children.”
Q Source: “The seeds of discontent sown by the ineffective father will yield a legacy of damaged fruit” (54).
LEG 4: Walk with coupon: 10 burpees.
Repeat sequence at football field.
COT: For schools, Wheaton Bible church pastoral transition, our divided nation. Everything may be expected of us, but Christ gave everything for us. It is about more than the gifts we give to Christ (1st half of life), it is about receiving what he gives to us (second half of life).
Abba Isidore: “A life without a word is better than a word without life.”
Q Source: “A good boss will give you a clear job description so that you know what is expected of you. As a husband and father, you won’t need anything like that because everything is expected of you.” (63)
Tbone, Sparrow, Shiplap, Tortuga, Banks, Jolly, Big Mac, Noodles, Panhandle, Archive, Wet Burrito, Bloomer, Capn’ Crunch, Beaker, Cookies, TBTF, Catniss, Da Vince (Q) materialized for a December 8 ritual burial of the year 2020. Of course we dutifully split into two groups to maintain social distancing protocol.
Warm up: Arm circles and Abe Vagodas in Cadence
Newly invented exercise: Party Burpees (Side Straddle Hop during Party Rock, do a burpee every time you hear “Party Rock,” switch from Side Straddle Hops to Goofballs when you hear “hating is bad”, but keep doing the Burpees at Party Rock).
The Thang: Partner up, break up into two lines. One group runs up the hill, the other runs to the bleacher by the baseball diamond to catch a glimpse of hope for 2021. Meanwhile 2020 is put to rest. Partners perform the following sequence (while other partner runs). If you finish early, help another group finish their reps.
DIG THE GRAVE: 100 grave diggers
SAY YOUR PRAYERS: 200 curls
TEST THE TOMB: 300 derkens
PREPARE TO DIE: 400 LBCs
Conclusion: Lie in corpse pose. Slowly rise to Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve. When beat commences, partners do 20 burpees and 21 burpees to spell 2021.
COT: We are all the way to Theta as we work through the sayings of the desert fathers. This time it’s a mother named Theodora: “As trees do not bear fruit if they do not undergo winter storms and rains, so for us this age is winter. We will not be able to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven other than through many afflictions and temptations.”
DBC, Saga, Big Mac, Capn’ Crunch, Archive, Panhandle, TBTF and Da Vinci (Q) showed up for morning ruck club. Gummi Bear, after a solemn HC, was no where to be found. He didn’t even ghost us. Do we matter to him? Does he matter to himself? We laid these questions aside and proceeded with the workout with bruised hearts – bruised by neglect. This callout was uncalled for – Gummi Bear withdrew his HC!
Warm up: Danger Zone! (Side straddle hops during Kenny Loggin’s Danger Zone with squats during the words Danger Zone and merkens during the guitar solo). Batwings.
Isaiah 1: “Abbe Isaiah said, “nothing benefits a beginner as much as an insult. A beginner who is insulted like that and tolerates it is like a tree that is watered each day.:
Theodore of Pherme 13: “There is no virtue like not belittling.”
We contemplated the delicate art of landing jovial insults that don’t actually belittle (as attempted toward Gummi Bear above).
The Thang: Inspired by Banks we did went around the park as follows: RUCK for 3 lights, MOZY for 3 lights, SPRINT for 3 lights (repeat until Hoffa).
At the hill we created the Ladder of Divine Ascent icon: Groups of 2. 1 PAX did a 10 count descending Welsh dragon with ruck (see the PAX-consuming creature in the icon). The other PAX did 10 count descending Jacob’s Ladder (run up hill for 10 merkens, run up for 9, etc.). When the dragons are complete the partners switch.
QUOTE from Pilgrim’s Progress: “So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up to the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble; and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.”
So inspired we removed our rucks, and proceeded with 5 count descending Welsh Dragons and Jacob’s Ladder.
Merken Mountain up the hill (with 5 bear crawls between).
At the top, a reminder than even in the famous icon upon which this workout is based, Jesus Christ Conquers is written on the back, and the ladder itself symbolizes the 30 years of the life of Christ, meaning our effort is paradoxically not our own effort. “Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing and even on the Mountain, nothing.” -St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel
COT: Prayers for Archive’s parents hoping to see their grandchild, Noodle’s father’s funeral, Capn’ for harmony at work.
Chaser: Theodore of Enaton 3: “If God were to lay to account our lack of attention in prayers and our distractions in Psalm singing, we could not be saved.” The desert fathers struggled in prayer, and so will we.
18 PAX assembled on a downright balmy Midwestern November morning for Purple Pain, with exercises paired for the duration of a Prince classic hit (alternating when the purple pain point is achieved), with a hill run option as desired. My dinky speaker ensured we were well below Wheaton city ordinance for volume.
9 pax materialized on a star-spangled near-freezing morning at the Glen Ellyn Tar Pit AO to experience the first (I hope of many) Da Vinci Dance Parties. The generations were united through a blend of dance hits from the 1990s and 2010s.
Song: Technotronic’s Pump Up the Jam
Warmup: Motivators, Bat wings, Abe Vigodas
Song: M.C. Hammer’s You Can’t Touch This
Exercise: Try to catch fastest runner in a sprint around the track
Dance party commenced by pairing two exercises OYO (each pax can alternate as needed) during the length of the song.
Song: Haddaway’s What is Love
Dollys & Derkins
Song: LMAO’s Party Anthem
BBSU & Blockees
Song: C&C Music Factory’s Gonna Make You Sweat
Curls & LBCs
Song: Imagine Dragon’s Natural
Overhead Press & Outlaws
Song: Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock’s It Takes Two
Skullcrushers & Sweat Angels
Song: Cameo’s Word Up
Merkens & Mary of your choice
Song: Black Eyed Peas’ I’ve Got a Feeling
Burpees & Bonnie Blairs
Song: Gotye’s Somebody I Used to Know
Final run around the track
Prayers and praises abounded, and even if I got a name wrong (which I did), God hears.
F3 Wheaton 
