The Hub

15 pax, including one who left after the pre-ruck, parked in appropriate spots and gathered on a nice 78-degree Saturday morning at Sauerman Woods, which Facebook errantly calls Saverman Woods, to celebrate my NINTH Manniversary with a Back to (Square) Roots celebration of the numbers nine and three and NOT an Odyssey-themed beatdown. Just Fun With Threesomes. The concept obviously stems first from tongue-in-cheek, pent-up innuendo, but the idea was to take some partner exercises and add a third element to them that’s sort of in between the hardest parts and easiest parts so like a middle recovery collaboration crossed with many hands making light work, adding fellowship but allowing for modifications for those who still aren’t quite back to their prime, including myself. I thought it worked well, but see for yourself. 

PAX: Editor (QIC), Mufasa, PacRat, Atticus, Campbells, O.G., Heisenberg, 2005, Trader Joe, Al Gore, Lights Out, The Mick, Boo Boo, Fat Tire, Mongoose.

WARM-UP

Motivator 1-to-9

Bean Pickers x9 IC

Good Morning x5ic

3 burpees OYO

Walk the trail CCW in two lines as we do these — Arm Circle Complex x10ic all four, Mammogram x10ic, Wayne’s World x10ic, Moroccan Night Club x20ic, Walking 8-count IST x9ic, Walking 8-count Hillbilly x9ic

At the four short light poles – Dash, butt-kickers, Bernie Sanders, High Knees – Four Rounds

3 burpees OYO

Daft Punk Lunge x3 IC

Mosey to high circle on pond

Windmill x9 IC

3 burpees OYO

Daft Punk Lunge x3 IC

Mosey to Playground

FIRST THREESOME

At the Park, on anything resembling pull-up bars – Man 1 and 2 – Wilson’s Wife x10 while third man does Reverse Push-Up or Dead Hang. Rotate 1 to 2 to 3 to 1 for 3 Rounds

Buddy Carries in groups of 2-3 back to pavilion 

SECOND THREESOME

Peter Pans, man 1 holds man 2 while man 2 does merkins with hands on picnic benches x9 ic while 3rd man skull-crushers — Repeato Three Rounds

THIRD THREESOME

Captain Hooks (same as Peter Pan but with dips) x6 IC while 3rd man OH presses – Repeato Two Rounds

FOURTH THREESOME

Buckin Bronco, first man leg presses picnic table from beneath while second man does Mt. Climbers ON the picnic table while 3rd man does 10 Jump Squats

10 4-ct Step-Ups IC, 10 Calf Raises CC, 10 4-ct Step-Ups IC, 10 Calf Raises CC, 5 4-ct Step-Ups IC, 5 Calf Raises CC

To Sand Volleyball Court

OYBOYBOYF (On Your Belly, On Your Back, On Your Feet song, one round)

5 burpees (in sand)

On Your Belly – 10 merkins OYO (in sand)

On Your Back – 4-ct Flutter x25 ic, LBCs x25 ic (all in sand)

Neck Work w/legs raised – 10 Yeses IC, 10 Nos IC, and and as it often is in life – NO TIME FOR MAYBES

COT

Words of Wisdom – I’ll reiterate the crux of it and shill for the next CSAUP I’m doing (GORUCK 9/11 25th anniversary challenges in Naperville). Gents, part of the reason I credit this group and these processes with saving my life is that being a grown man is a series of creating challenges and crushing challenges. If you know me at all beyond a surface level, you know about the GORUCK successes that I don’t need to repeat. IYKYK. Many are gone who know about some of the spiritual renewals or the mental health (self-control in many areas) challenges and struggles I’ve been able to tackle with the help of this group. Work is hard. Parenting is hard. Marriage is hard. Faith is challenging. Good living is challenings. Eating right is EXCRUCIATING. God gives us obstacles, which are also opportunities. Be a man; challenge yourself. Do SOMETHING. Success always feels right because it is. 

MOLESKIN

Sorry for the late backblast. It took me 16 months to Q before my last one in June, and it’s still not enough of a routine for me to come home and backblast. Not when there are more sandbags to move at home, grass to cut, and – bless the Lord, seriously – finally plenty of time off to have family visiting from multiple points on the globe while I participate in seemingly nonstop activity to drain every last drop of the abbreviated “Summer Break” that shrinks to 3 weeks when you opt to fund it all with Summer School. The latter just ended Thursday, and I’ve been super busy but never busy enough to shout out all my F3 brothers who posted or even sent a message. Love you all. 

I think the sand was fun, and it could have been WAY worse. I had planned to tackle everything from the 1776 Challenge that we hadn’t done yet on the day at a clip of 25% (25 reps of everything instead of 100). The Peter Pans and Captain Hooks were present at my first post on July 20, 2017. They were on cinder blocks; they were difficult and still are. TheBucking Bronco was something I read about years ago and never got to implement. Those long tables are perfect for it, and it got a good burn for the legs. The sand was fun, and I was waiting to get in there one day with all of you. Classic GORUCK mindf**k stuff but also a great way to end what I thought was a cool but different full body workout from head to toe. 

If you’ve read anything I’ve written in the last 13 months you know I’m much happier now than I was at this time last year. That tone has seeped into much of my writing across various platforms and challenge sites and chats, so I’ll spare some of the redundancy here. I’ll distill it down to what I posted on social media for insiders and outsiders alike: 

Nine years ago today I attended my first F3 – North Wind workout. Being part of this group has done a ton for me and my up-and-down health and fitness, like anything working best when you apply it fully, introduced me to so much cool stuff but mostly to really great people. I don’t ever look like an athlete, but this group provides accountability and challenges and welcomes a range of men to “Leave no man behind and also leave no man where you found him.” 

That’ll do for now. 

SYITG