Category: Uncategorized

Thanks to all the HIMs who came out to celebrate my first year of F3 life. The day was full of baptisms in the gloom due to the plentiful rain, fun will balloons, and a beatdown on Hoffa.

WOR: to the tune of “Don’t Worry Be Happy”

Birthbees / Mt. Climbers / Abe Vigodas / Arm Circles

The rest of the beatdown was completed to the childhood songs of Harry Connick Jr.

THANG 1: SAGA’s Balloon Extravaganza

What is a birthday party without balloons? Thus the requirement for the PAX to entertain SAGA while he watched with glee. Four groups of four lined up behind the pull-up bar. First PAX does three pull-ups with a balloon between his knees (other PAX are in a row doing squats, merkins and side straddle hops). The balloon was to be passed without using hands and if it fell to the ground penalties in the shape of burpees were completed.

As a final party trick, SAGA had two contestants from each row positioned with a balloon between their F3 chests and the race was on to see which pair could pop their balloons first. Let me just say, there are many things that are more fun without alcohol and this is one of them. Brother’s got to hug!

THANG 2: 45 to 1

Honoring both SAGA’s hospital age and his F3 age the following were completed:

1. 45 squats / 45 sit-ups / 45 merkins : 1 redrum
2. 45 coupon curls / 45 coupon kettle swings / 45 skull crushers : 1 redrum
3. 45 coupon rows / 45 overhead press / 45 goblet squats : 1 redrum
4. 45 burpees : 1 redrum

CoR/NoR/Cot: 17 PAX in attendance: @Aloha @Banks @Beaker @Cookies @Da Vinci @Hotbox @Jolly @Panda Express @Panhandle @SAGA (Q) @Shiplap @Sparrow @Squatty @TBTF @T-Bone (respect) @Tortuga (respect) @Whittler

Prayers for Cuba & Haiti, @Whittler’s coming move, @Banks’ house selling, @Archive’s job interview, @Hotbox future opportunities

Bananas were awarded and the ways of the force that I first learned from @Sparrow’s “Choose Your Own Adventure” continue for another year to come…

MOLESKIN: Be content: what if you already have what to want?

BACKBLAST, 7/14/21, AO Tar Pit, 5:30AM

WOR: motivators, copperhead merkins, squats, and coupon squats, arm circles on one leg, short mosey with some skipping and Bernie.

Thang:

Carried coupons to the top of the front driveway. One HIM shared a truth and an exercise. If it was also true for you you stayed and did the reps. If not, you ran down the driveway and then up one of four staircases leading back up. Flapjack. Everyone does reps and runs for each truth.

IF you are the only one it is true for, you must do five penalty burpees while the rest recover. If it is true of everyone, we all have five penalty burpees.

Exercises included: merkins, curls, skull crushers, plank, overhead press, LBC, BBSU, squats.

Truths included:

• I have jumped out of a plane.
• I have travelled to Europe.
• I played high school baseball.
• I have sported a mullet.
• I own a gun.
• I went to college out of state.
• I have bungee jumped.
• I have flown an airplane solo. (5 burpees for Banks)

Final round: everyone tried to share a truth that no one else had. If anyone else shared it, we all did five burpees. Eleven truths resulted in just 15 penalty burpees for all.

Mosey back to flag.

NOR: Banks, Panhandle, TBTF, Drum Line, T-bone (respect), Sparrow, Jolly, Shiplap, Milk Duds (respect), Noodles, Katniss, Tortuga (respect, Q)

COT: Prayers for wisdom in parenting, Noodles’ being at F3 more, Sparrow’s house hunting and decision, T-bone’s 2nd oldest 2.0 turns 18 today.

After a week of hot, humid weather, the chill of the gloom was a welcome change. 10 PAX plus our four-legged buddy posted for run club this morning, some nursing the after-effects of what sounded like a fun 2nd F evening at T-Bone’s last night.

The Thang: Run
We headed north by northwest on the prairie path, starting all together and slowly splitting into 4 groups based on speed. At the halfway point (~5:55am) we turned around and headed back. The fast group ended up with 5mi, and the slowest group with 4.5mi.

NoR: Tortuga (respect), Dr. Phil, Cheeese (respect), Da Vinci, Whittler, Babysitter, T-Bone (respect), Jolly, Katniss, Crack, Dooley Dog (Q)

Backblast, 7/7/21, Wednesday, Tar Pit

Ten HIM posted on a sweet day for a beatdown.

WOR: motivators, cherry pickers, short mosey around the parking lot with some skipping and Michael Phelps, copperhead merkins

The Thang: Poison Pill

Partners hoisted their coupons, grabbed some chalk, and headed to the south side of the school to do battle on the legendary staircases of the Dump on the Hump (as my Wheaton North 2.0’s call it).

Teams lugged their coupons up a set of stairs. At the top they wrote an exercise. They then completed 10 of the first one written. If they were the second team there, they also did 20 of the second. Third team up: all that and 30 of the third. The third set, and only the third set, had to involve a coupon. All sets could be spit up. I might do all 20 of the first while my partner gets started on the 60 of the third.

If you arrived to find three sets already written, you had two choices: do them, cross them out and earn a point, or don’t do them, circle the whole thing and leave with no point scored. This is the poison pill. The next group up has to do double the reps and doesn’t score any points for their efforts.

If you arrive and the reps are crossed off, you restart with ten of the new exercise you write.

The time flew by, and the strategizing by Sparrow and I netted us just two points for the morning. This was enough to beat T-bone and Noodles who made themselves do Bonnie Hurleys (twice) while no one else did. They were always the bridesmaid, but never the bride. Zero points (but stronger legs!). Three of the five teams scored two. Two teams scored zero. With no time left for a tie breaker, the QIC was left to ponder future adjustments needed to the Poison Pill to speed up the scoring. Stay tuned.

NOR: Banks, Shiplap, DaVinci, BOGO, Milk Duds (respect), Noodles, T-bone (respect), Whittler, Sparrow, Tortuga (respect) (QIC)

COT: Praise for T-bone’s new job, Tortuga’s M is fully out of her deep depression and anxiety – the EMDR has been amazingly effective, Noodles has a nagging injury in a leg.

Moleskin: James 1:19 “Know this,my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”

This verse was helpful during our three week road trip out west.

Present: Jolly, Tortuga, Aloha, Archive, Sparrow, Panda Express, Noodles, Bogo, Speedo, Drumline (FNG), Crack, Achtung, Beaker, Shiplap, Ranger Rick (FNG), Bloomer, Banks, Whittler, TBone, Babysitter.

Warmorama: Motivators, Abe Vigodas, Arm Circles (all in cadence)

The Thang: AMRAPs with 4 stations, equalling 45 reps at each station:

20 merkens, 5 pullups, 20 BBSU

15 swerkens, 20 dips, 10 Bonnie Hurleys

10 picnic press, 35 LBCs (in retrospect, 2 should have been one)

Hillruns

COT: As we have passed the summer solstice, we contemplated that as the days get shorter, this converges with John the Baptist’s signature saying, “I must decrease, He must increase.” In the second half of life it is less about us and more about others and God.

Prayers for Chicago, Haiti, Noodle’s M, Traveling PAX, and others.

We have drone coverage today courtesy of Sauron/Big Brother.

2 PAX in attendance – Cookies, TBTF (QIC)

We started off with a quick warm up consisting of SSH, Abe Vegoda’s, Picking Daisies, and Arm Circles.

We then took turns alternating a Farmer’s Carry of 2 coupons from the flag to the basketball courts.

Once we made it to the basketball courts we built our routine based on whether we made or missed various shots:
– Shot/Make/Miss
– Layup/25 Merkins/50 curls
– Free Throw/25 Merkins/25 Curls
– 3-Pointer/Mosey/25 Skull Crushers
– Half Court/10 count Jolly/Suicides

We did 4 rounds or 2 shots each PAX. In total we did 50 merkins, 275 curls, 100 skull crushers, 3 rounds of suicides, and 1 mosey

We then carried our coupons back to the flag

COT – Prayers to Cookies as he continues to prepare and pursue his calling, traveling PAX, and general good health

7 PAX posted on a beautiful Saturday morning at AO Tar Pit. The “Arms Race” got YHC in the mood for a beach muscle workout. This prompted me to steam @banks Q from February of 2020.

The Thang:

We completed circuits having one person be the pacer and all other PAX completed the exercises until the pacer was completed. The whole time, music was playing and when special songs came on, we stopped and completed the required exercise.

Circuit #1: We completed 1 time

• 25 Merkins w/ Sandbag – This was the pacer
• Table squat to overhead press
• Abyss Merkins
• Hodor’s w/ coupon
• Squats w/Sandbag

Circuit #2: We completed 1 time

• 10 Burpees w/Sandbag – Named Sandy’s
• Derkins
• Reverse Lunges off the picnic table
• Curls
• Alternating sandbag lifts to shoulder

The Songs:

• Cupid Shuffle (Cupid) Complete a Merkin every time it says “Down” Plank all other times and move right left as directed
• Flower (Moby) Squat down and hold when it says”Bring Sally Down” stand when it says “Bring Sally Up”
• Tubthumping (Chumbawamba) Complete a Burpee when it says,”I get Knocked Down”, complete Side Straddle Hops all other times
• Thunderstruck (ACDC) Hold plank and complete merkins everytime you hear “Thunder”

NOR: Shiplap, Katniss, Draper, Archive, Beaker, Cheese, Cookies

13 PAX gathered at AO Mastodon on a warm and beautiful July morning for a leg themed beatdown. QIC Beaker.
WAR

Motivators (x7, ic)
Tappy taps (x8 ic)
Quad stretch (oyo)
Derricks (x5 each leg, ic)
Tie fighters (20, ic)

Thang 1
do-ah-diddy to Dan Taylor alley for ultimate frisbee. The front runner did two mucho leg-os while the PAX passed them.

Thang 2
Couldn’t find the frisbee, so we Dan Taylor-ed to the baseball diamond. Not sure how many Dan Taylor it was for everyone, but YHC finished an 8 count.

Thang 3
Still in search of the frisbee, we did a Dora. Partner 1 travelled via bear crawl from fence to fence on the grass just outside of the baseball diamond (to protect Jolly’s soft hands) while partner one performed an exercise. Then partners switched. Rinse, lather, repeat until all exercises were completed. Total reps: 100 Bonnie Blairs, 200 dips, 300 spiced rum squats.

Mosey back to the flags.

NOR: Babe, Babysitter, Banks, Beaker (QIC), Cheese, Crack, Heist, Jolly, Katniss, Panda Express, Sparrow, T-Bone, Tortuga

Moleskin: Being a gracious father is one way for use to be little Christs in this world. In the midst of all of the other roles of a father, remember to be gracious and love your kids with the freedom you have been granted through Christ’s love for you.