Q: Captain Insane-o
Pax (10): Star Child, Launch Pad, Viking, Nino, Airplane, Steerage (LI), Big Bird, Zartan, Double Down, CI. Zeus, the Greek God of Thunder and Lightning, was there but did not workout. He’s a wimp.
Conditions: 71*, steady rain, nearby sky show (which resulted in my plan being scrapped), greasy
Gearlander: Hurley shorts (no longer swim trunks), tank top, Buff, Merrel trail shoes, some old socks from target
Zartan and I decided to clown car to the County today to hold each other accountable. I’m glad we did. I’ve never missed a Q, but today could have been the day. The weather was shi-tay. So bad that the whole way there, I knew I’d have to change the workout because I planned to use an area that’s all metal and in an exposed playground.
Hence my title.
Hey, Star Child, Mike Tyson said this. Although I’m not a big Tyson fan for a host of reasons, the quote fit today. In fact, I’m pretty sure someone bit off an ear at the workout. Still here? Good.
F3 continues to evolve for me. At first, it was a good workout. Then, that stacked on great friends. That stacked on great things for our community. That stacked on feeling good all the time. That stacked on me consistently trying to pull from F3 things that can help me be a better husband, father, friend, employee, boss, community member.
What did I pull from F3 today? Again, back to the title.
If I really reflect on myself, one of my issues is I that I like to be in control. But F3 is not really controlled. First, if you show up for a workout, you have no idea what’s going to happen. For any control freak this is likely at first terrifying, but thereafter liberating AF. Even being a Q doesn’t mean you’re in control. Sure, you’re responsible for the outcome, but what if you’re pretty little plan goes astray? As today proves, even if you have a perfectly coordinated mental weinke (meinke; this will become a thing), it’s only as good as the conditions – which you can’t control – and the Pax – which you also can’t control – will allow.
So what, right? Well, the “what” is what you do with that situation. Do you shut down and mope? Do you wring your hands and worry? Or do you buckle down, rely on your experience, your ingenuity and your friends/resources to reassess, develop a new plan and execute? I’d like to think for those of you reading this, it’s going to always now be the latter. And this is what I’m pulling from F3. If I can lead 10 idio….er HIM through a 45 minute workout that’s completely different from my original plan, I can probably handle an impromptu conference call, or really bad news, or the carpool change, or the M heading out of town suddenly. And handle it well; not a moping, pouting, hand wringing version of myself. But someone who can confidently navigate a directional change after getting punched right in the mouth.
Here’s what we did.
Exceptionally long and detailed disclaimer, noting that it would be OK if anyone left right then and there. No one left. Peachy.
Big Bird, my guy, pointed over yonder to a small portico where he often fries fish for the parish, and suggested we mosey over there. Rely on your friends and resources: check. We moseyed and arrived. It was smaller and much greasier than I expected. A perfect spot for this stuff….
Modified Steinl
This has become one of my new favorites, and it’s great for a small space. Here’s the way we did it; knees should never touch the ground.
Hold plank for 3 ten counts.
10 Merkins.
Down to elbow plank for 3 ten counts.
10 Merkins.
Back to plank for 10 count IC Peter Parkers
10 Merkins
Repeato 3x
Yoga
We ran through 4 sets of sun salutations that included: 1. plank; 2. Downward dog; 3. Runners’s pose; 4. Warrior pose.
Yoga is great, but if you’ve never done it, it can be challenging because the poses are foreign. I couldn’t tell for sure, but from the faces, I don’t know that this was well-received. Maybe more practice is in order.
Merkin Max/400 Meter Run
I was feeling claustrophobic and the rain and sky show as letting up, so the Pax did max merkins, then ran around the school back to the portico (about 400 meters).
Jack Webb Squats/Lunges
1:4 ratio up to 10:40. This was really hard. At this point the portico was heating up, the grease was loosening up and our legs were on fire. I did switch up 9:36 to Lunges/Squats.
Build a Bears
This is the only exercise I think I’ve made up. Each Pax starts at the end of a parking lot line and bearcrawls down and around the horseshoe of the space to the next end point. At that spot, each Pax does a body builder, which is an isolated burpee that includes a plank jack after the merkin (and a clap at the apex of the jump). We did this for quite a while. Out and back. This is a mumblechatter killer, but Airplane said he loved it.
Mary
Finished with some flutterkicks and Da Vincents.
COR, NOR, COT. A few announcements. Steerage Qs Norton Commons tomorrow. Something else I forgot. BOM. I took us out encouraging us to use the things we’re learning in F3 to make our daily lives better because it works. The beach muscles and jokes are great, but so is getting better at life.
CI out.
F3 Louisville 