8/7/18 @F3Carpenter Backblast – Leaders Gonna Lead

Q:  Captain Insane-o

Pax (8, 2 tanked):  Red Roof, Zartan, Tron, Chestnut, Kilo, Snowman, Flounder, CI

Conditions:  Dark.  77*.  80% humidity.  Concrete was hard.  Grass was wet.

Gearlander:  Suns Out Guns Out Tank Top (screw the Conditions), Merrell trail shoes, Features socks, Hurley shorts (used to be swim trucks), folded Buff to contain my growing locks, gloves.

Preface (note:  I refuse to edit this, so it’s basically stream of consciousness)

We had 90 Pax post today.  For some regions that’s a yawn, but for us it’s a new record.  Hopefully for those of you reading this, you realize this is a big achievement.

You may be asking, “OK, but how?”

The answer is Leaders.

F3 Louisville is a Leader factory, and not the kind of factory Upton Sinclair wrote about.  More like a metaphorical factory.  No one is being turned into glue in our factory; no one has lost a finger (yet).  No, it’s a factory making Leaders, but not really a factory.  Crap.  Anyway, you get the picture.

It wasn’t long ago that we had one workout on a Tuesday.  Bag of Wrenches.  The original Tuesday workout.  Now, we have six.  And it’s not because one guy said, “We’re going to have six workouts on Tuesday.”  It’s because a group of like-minded people saw an opportunity for something great, made a plan and executed.  So, Glauc started a site and Tuesday AO in Shelby County (roughly 25 miles from the Bag of Wrenches at Seneca Park (the O)).  Leader.  Guys have helped him and grown it.  Leaders.  Zartan and Mad Cow established the Rooster as one of our most popular AOs at the Mutt.  Leaders.  And the Mutt Pax is a whole bunch of leadership rolled into a ball of laughs.  Abacus, Airplane and Valdez started the Loco at St. Als.  Those leaders were rewarded with 32 Pax today, and have the fastest growing site we’ve ever seen.  The reason it’s growing?  Leaders.  Guys are EH’ing guys and leading by example.  “Hey, I can do that”  “I want to do that.” McAfee decided the Posh Pax needed a Tuesday, so he started the Crucible at the Poshlands.  Leader.  You get the picture.

This is incredible.

But there’s more.  F3 – this odd cultish workout group that’s really a way to help you become a better person with better friends and a better community – offers loosely formalized (contradiction in terms, but it fits) leadership roles that guide the whole ball of wax toward the right direction.  Roles like Nant’an, Weasel Shaker, 1st F Q, 2nd F Q, 3rd F Q, Comz Q and Site Qs.  And roles we’ve made up here at F3 Louisville.  Finance Q.  Grow Q.  Q Q (making sure you’re paying attention; but seriously, we’ve made up a bunch of stuff).  In no way more important than the daily leadership roles our Pax fill everyday, these roles do offer a little more.  Maybe a little extra effort (for which you’ll receive total consciousness).  Maybe a little extra involvement.  Maybe a few more friends.  Maybe better leadership training.  Maybe a little more fulfillment in your life.

So for today’s workout, I talked about these roles.  In fact, I talked more than I usually do in workouts, even when I’m Q’ing.  Bussssccchhh knows; I’m not much of a talker.  I won’t bore you with what I said.  But as a group we talked about these roles, and what they mean and how we’ve spun them, and how they can improve as the next wave of Leaders move this thing forward.

I also did something similar to what I often do for my workouts.  I stole a bunch of sets I like from guys that are way smarter than me.  But this time, I tried to mash/change them up as an homage to some of our Leaders that got us here.

The Workout

Short disclaimer to a Pax of regulars.  Notably missing [insert names here].

I grabbed some cones and we moseyed across the way to the Zoo [notably missing] parking lot.

COP

100/2 SSHs IC (couldn’t force myself to do a hundo)
15 Grassgrabbers

Thang 1:  Burpee Bearcrawl Starfish

Partner up.  Center cone: 1 Burpee.  Bear Crawl to one of four corners for 2 of either Merkins or Squats.  Jog back for 3 Burpees.  Bear Crawl to one of 4 corners for 4 of either Merkins or Squats (depending on what you did at the last station).  So on and so on.  Odds in the middle.  Evens at the corners.  Stack the numbers on top and keep working. We ended at 17 Burpees in the Center for a total of 81 burpees and 72 Merkins/Squats.  Chestnut killed it.

Thang 1:  Steinl (modified) 3X

Hold plank for 30 secs (allowing 3 members of PAX to provide 10 counts).

10 Merkins

Lower to Chilcutt (forearm) plank for 3 more 10 counts.

10 Merkins

10 Peter Parkers IC

10 Merkins

Repeato 2 more times.  This was a crowd pleaser.  Red Roof just texted me to tell me he can’t lift his arms, “Hey Siri, tell CI, ‘F*ck you'”.

Mosey back to the main park for Thang 3:  Mary Tabata

40 seconds on, 20 seconds off.

Right side Oblique V ups, Left side Oblique V ups 2X each side

2 rounds of Big Boi Situps.

Moseyed back to the flag for COR, NOR and BOM.  Before we brought it in, we announced the August Ruck led by Star Child and Methane.  We also announced that our Ruck Q, Kilo, would be featured on this week’s Roundtable Call.  He’s had head shots made already, and will be bringing a table and Sharpie to his next Q.  Sigs only cost $5.  I kid, I kid.

BOM/NM:  Thanks, in part, to the 43 Feet Podcast, I’ve been giving a lot of thought on what I can steal from F3 to improve my leadership outside of F3.  Today I mentioned the 10 count.  Leaders are tasked with tough situations or people.  My reactions have ranged from cool/calm to raging/anger.  But I’m always trying to get better.  Enter the 10 count.  I used to hate the 10 count during workouts.  I counted it really fast to get it over with.  But it’s useful.  These days, the Pax is so strong, selfishly, I need a 10 count to catch up most of the time.  And the 10 count gives you a dividing point between sets.  It’s a nice marker during a workout.  Apply it to your life outside of F3 and it’s the same.  Imagine dealing with a real dick in a meeting.  Instead of reacting or responding, call an internal 10 count.  Organize your thoughts, calm your breathing, place a marker.  Then, get ready for the next set.  It works.  No one has lost a finger yet in the meetings I’ve attended.

CI out.  (sorry not sorry for all the typos; and the image has nothing to do with this.  I find it humorous.)