It was a calm cool morning and 5 brave PAX (Tortuga, Katniss, Shiplap, Hotbox, Banks) showed up for what was promised to be an intense beatdown. YHC promised the PAX they wouldn’t be cold for long and from the looks of it, the beatdown lived up to that promise.

Warm-O-Rama:

• 7x Motivators
• 15x Windmills IC
• 10x Merkins IC
• Short Jog around the parking lot to warm up

Thang 1: Burpees

YHC has been keeping track of my PR for 100 burpees, so I figured I would challenge all the PAX to see what they could do. So we completed 100 burpees for time. Tortuga showed us all up finishing around 7:30, and YHC brought in the 6 at 10:30, but everyone was warmed up after that!

Thang 2: Bataan Death March

One PAX would drop and complete 3 burpees and then move to the front of the line, we completed 5 rounds of all PAX as we jogged around the lake.

Thang 3: Lifting Heavy Things

We would complete a circuit of various exercises while the person with the sandbag would complete a set number of reps and then we would rotate.

Round 1:

• 25x Merkins with Sandbag on your back
• Bent Over Rows
• Overhead Press
• Curls with 1 coupon in each hand
• Goblet Squats

Round 2:

• 12x Burpees with the Sandbag (Sandees)
• Tricep Extensions
• Derkins
• Star Jumps
• Lunges

Round 3:

• 12x Ground to shoulder with Sandbag
• Skull Crushers
• Big Boi Situps
• Chest Press
• Hodors

At this point, we took a quick break for some squats to the song “Flower” by Moby.

3 MOM:

• 20x crunches elbow to knee each side
• 15x Crunchy Frog IC
• 4x Delayed Leg lowers

COR/NOR/COT:

Praise for Greta and her new heart, and prayers to take advantage of the time with families this weekend and make the most of it.

MOLESKIN:

I am really thankful for this group of HIM. I never would have been able to complete this workout on my own and they pushed me to go farther than I would on my own.

17 PAX showed up on a balmy January morning to learn some chemistry at my VQ.

Warm-O-Rama

Motivators – IC 7

Tappy taps – IC 15

Michael Phelps – OYO

Arm circles – OYO

The Thang:

It is a reasonable thing to say that reactions in chemistry occur due to two reasons, Coulomb’s law and the second law of thermodynamics. We explored these law’s today.

We explored Coulomb’s Law by seeing how opposites attract. We performed three sets of exercises. Each exercise was as many as you can in 1 minute, followed by 10 burpees. The sets were repeated 2 times each.

Set 1: Overhead press, goblet squats, 10 burpees

Set 2: Merkins, Bonnie Blairs, 10 burpees

Set 3: Coupon curls, no surrenders, 10 burpees

The second law of thermodynamics say that during any process, the entropy of the universe increases. In plain language, chemical reactions happen because they increase the randomness and disorder in the universe. You can also say that entropy is the tendency for things to mix. I cannot think of a more random, disordered mix of exercises than the birthbee.

In between sets 2 and 3 (above) we explored the second law by doing and Indian run around the AO, stopping to perform 5 birthbees in the ice at 3 bridges, for a total of 15 birthbees.

Those working on the MABA challenge completed 75 burpees (60 standard burpees and 15 birthbees) during this exercise.

Name-O-Rama: Tortuga, DBC, Archive, Cap’n Crunch, Panhandle, Jolly, Picasso, Crack, Cookies, Bic Mac, T-Bone, Sparrow, Banks, Shiplap, DaVinci, Beaker, Katniss.

Announcement: We will be having coffeeteria in the parking lot after weekday workouts for those who can make it. BYOC.

COT: Prayers of praise for T-bone’s neighbor who received a heart transplant, prayers for the state of our nation, thanks for the PAX for friendship and support during times of upheaval and unrest.

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)

Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi (1423)

15 PAX showed up on a beautiful winter morning to work out.

WARM O RAMA
Goofballs – IC 20
Side-Straddle Hops – OYO 15
Tappy Taps – IC 15
Arm Circles – OYO
Michael Phelps- OYO

THE THANG
Part 1:
Grave Diggers- 30
Blockees- 15
Overhead Press- 30
Run Up Hoffa and do 10 burpees

Part 2:
Goblet Squats – 40
Lunges With Coupon – 40
Flutter kicks – 20 (two legs equal one rep)
Run up Hoffa and do 30 squats

Part 3:
Merkins – 20
Derkins – 15
Yul Brynners – 2
Run up Hoffa and do 10 burpees

Rinse and repeat. PAX got through a second round of parts 1 and 2 before time was up. Hoffa was extra slippery this morning, which meant the PAX were sledding or sliding down rather than moseying.

CIRCLE OF TRUST
Shiplap, Banks, Archive, Tortuga, Jolly, Cap’n Crunch, TBTF, Picasso (DR), Crack, T-Bone, Gummi Bear, Da Vinci, Panhandle, Sparrow, Crash(VQ)
Prayers for: Jolly’s Mother in law (broken wrist that will need surgery), Tortuga’s friend who was in an ATV accident, and for T-Bone’s neighbor who is waiting for a heart transplant.

Urkel Guest Q:

THE SCENE: 18 STUPID degrees and with the wind chill, felt like 12! Stupid Winter.
New year, new HIM. What a way to start the week then by Rucking a few miles with a
whole lotta Burpees (Thanks St. Louis!) and other pain mixed in? Great mix of
Naperville and Wheaton PAX. Lots of 2nd F happened as well!

F3 WELCOME AND DISCLAIMER:
-Welcome to F3
-I am not a professional
-You are participating at your own risk
-You are responsible for your own well-being
-You are here voluntarily, and you are not paying to be here
-Know your limits and do the best you can, all exercises can be modified and are
only suggestions.

WARM-O-RAMA: (warm up)

• -Good Mornings (ICx10)
• -Deep Lunge stretch both legs (Countdown from 10)
• -Hammy stretch both legs (Countdown from 10)
• -SSH (ICx25)
  
• THE THANG 1: Indian Ruck with Burpees for the First Mile
  HIM got in a straight line and Indian Ricked the first mile (stole this from @Pi, thanks for
  the idea). During this we stopped twice to get 20 Burpees in (Thanks St. Louis!)

• THE THANG 2: Man, That’s a Long 100yds!
  PAX lined up and did a series of hard moseys and exercises for the length of about
  100yds.
  -Walking Lunges, Hard mosey back to start
  -Broad Jumps, Hard mosey back to start
  -Traveling Peter Parkers, Hard mosey back to start
• Squat Lunge Walk, Hard mosey back to start
  PAX finished off with 20 more Burpees. (Thanks St. Louis)
  
• (6MoM)
  Weighted BigBoi’s (IC 15x)
  Heel Touches (IC 20x)
  Plank Static Hold until done
  

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA:
25 Rucking Champions! (Setting records for Wheaton)- Pi (RESPECT), Webelos, Flush,
Mayhem, Wine in a Box, Elway (RESPECT), Banks, Shiplap, Beaker, Da Vinci, Jolly, Crack,
Sparrow, Picasso (DR), Cookies, Panhandle, Captain Crunch, Hotbox, Wet Burrito, Big Mac,
TBTF, Archive, Katniss, Noodles, Urkel (QIC)

CIRCLE OF TRUST:
● Today, we prayed for this new strand of Covid to die out, for everyone going back to
work or school, and for everyone fighting the pandemic.

MOLESKIN:
I recently heard a good sermon that made me think. I’m not normally a heavenly man, but I did want to have you ponder on this. Our bodies are vessels, containers, literally of organs and bones, but on a deeper level, we are vessels of hope and light. Times have been dark for too long now and we carry with us, wherever we go, this precious treasure of the good that we have inside of us all. God has chosen us, just earthen vessels of human frailty, to be filled with Himself—the very essence of who He is, so that we are His vessels of light, hope and love to the world around us.

We can take this everywhere into our everyday lives: our workplaces, schools, sporting events, social media. We should bring Hope, love, and light into the places of hurt, anger, bitterness, hate, and selfishness—shining the light into those dark places of depression, fear, torment and anxiety.

We are just ordinary people, just ‘jars of clay’, whom God has deposited a priceless, precious
treasure to take to the world around us.

From (John 15:5). “He has chosen us to be His vessel so that His power and greatness will be
seen through us—clearly revealing that it is from God, not from ourselves. Apart from Christ, we
can do nothing, but united with Him, we can do extraordinary things.”

We are strong, We grow, We build, We succeed! Here’s to the men of F3 Naperville & F3 Wheaton!

Did I do that?!
Yes, yes I did!
-Urkel

13 PAX showed up on a brisk, icy morning to commemorate the close of 2020 and look ahead towards the new year.

Warm-O-Rama:
Motivators – IC 7, Tappy Taps – IC 19, Abe Vigodas – IC 20, Arm Circles – IC 21 (10 forward, 11 reverse)

The Thang:
The PAX counted off and formed 3 groups. Each group moved to one of 3 stations.
Station 1: Pull-ups (19 reps)
Station 2: Atomic Merkins (20 reps) – feet on a swing, perform standard merkin. When arms are at full extension, pull knees to chest then extend again.
Station 3: Bonnie Blairs (21 reps, 1 leg = 1 rep)

After all reps were completed, PAX moved to the next station. When all 3 stations were complete, the PAX moseyed (shuffled) up snowy, icy Hoffa and performed 10 burpees before returning to their first station.
As there were remnants of sleds at the base of Hoffa, several of the PAX decided that it would be better (easier? more enjoyable?) to attempt to sled down the hill rather than mosey. Hilarity ensued, but all PAX survived the return trip.

Each group completed 4 rounds, totaling (hopefully) 76 pull-ups, 80 atomic merkins, 84 Bonnie Blairs, and 40 burpees.

Name-O-Rama: Double Beef & Cheddar, Crash, Sparrow, T-Bone, Tortuga, Jolly, Da Vinci, Hot Box, SAGA, Beaker, Cap’n Crunch, Katniss, Crack (Q).

COT: Praise for making it through 2020, prayers for the coming year.

Today, we celebrated my (Panhandle’s) 25th wedding anniversary with 12 PAX (Panhandle, Shiplap, Big Mac, DaVinci, Jolly, Sparrow, Archive, SAGA, Beaker, Crack, Tortuga, T-Bone) doing a workout on a nice, crisp, 15-degree morning at AO Mastodon. After a quick warm-up (Goofballs, leg stretches, arm circles, and Michael Phelps), we jumped into the THANG:

In honor of the 54 months Panhandle and M dated before being engaged, we did 54 bear crawls. We then paired up and shared the load with the following

In honor of the 3 years we were in Augusta, GA, we each did three trips up Hoffa while the other did LBCs and BBSs.

In honor of the 5 years we were in Providence, RI, we each did 5 trips up Hoffa while the other did derkins, chest presses, and overhead presses.

In honor of the 5 years we spent in Athens, GA, we each did 5 trips up Hoffa while the other did squats, lunges, and no-surrenders.

And in honor of the 12 years we’ve been in Wheaton, we as pairs were scheduled for 12 trips up Hoffa while the other did curls, rows, and kettlebells. (This last one got curtailed because of time).

COT: thanks for marriages, prayer for Noodles’ safe travels.

5 PAX for a Boxing Day Beatdown w/ presents from Archive (QIC).

WOR- 7x Motivators, Lap around Glenbard hitting every set of stairs. Gummi Bear rolled up mid lap…

The Thang: Archive had collected a variety of “gifts” (2 logs, 2 sandbags, and 5 coupons). The gifts and PAX had to get the gifts and themselves to various objectives under a time limit. Penalty reps (per weight) would be added for every 10 seconds elapsed above the time limit. Objectives:

Top of the Wheel- 2 minutes. Made it with time to spare. 10 Squats with each weight.

Center of the drop of circle- 3 minutes. Did not make it, added 50 penalty reps. 60 OH presses with each weight.

Down the stairs/10 curls per weight/back to the top- 5 minutes. Made it. 20 rows.

10 curls/ From the circle all the way bottom of the Wheel- 8 minutes. Made it with 10 seconds to spare. 10 squats/ 10 rows/ 10 squats.

COR NOR- Archive (QIC), Captain Crunch, Gummi Bear, Tortuga, Shiplap.

Moleskine- Giving thanks for F3, the community and the accountability to keep pushing myself. Love you gents! COT- Gave thanks for Tortuga’s daughter’s wisdom teeth healing up.