I had the distinct honor to Co-Q the Deep with THE Olaf. Knowing Olaf was going to bring his normal high energy it was up to me to match it.

When everyone arrived there was total of 6 Pax ready to brave the workout to come.

After a quick disclaimer, we took a quick lap around the middle school to warm up and give Reborn a quick tour of the Deep. Ending the lap in the front parking lot, we circled up for a little COP:

Windmill IC x10
IW IC x10
Cherry Pickers IC x10

Now that we were properly warm and stretched it was time for The Thang:

To bring something I Q’ed at the Abyss awhile back, we took on the 100 Burpee challenge. It entails 10 count of 10 different types of burpees with a 25 second rest in between. The burpees were:

• X Burpees
• Split Burpees
• Thigh Slap Burpees
• Burpees w/ Parker Peter
• Squat Hold Burpees
• Burpees with SSH (3x)
• One-Legged Skier Burpees
• Heel Slap Burpees
• Frop-Hop (3x) Burpees
• Hand Release Burpees

Once finsihed and not wanting to lose momentum, we quickly moseyed over to the soccer field for the triple 7s . 3 pain stations, 1 excercise at each station for 7 reps. Completing the circuit equals one round and we would try to complete 7 rounds. We did 7 American Hammers, 7 Pull ups and 7 Mak Tar.

Running out of time for my half, we called it quits after 4 rounds.

Not wanting to give Olaf completely smoked Pax to start his portion of the workout, I gave a quick talk about balancing passion and indifference in your life. (See Below)

Now it was time for Olaf to take over. And take over he did. He blessed the Pax with the 12 days of Christmas.

Starting with the first day, a Pax would suggest an exercise. We would complete that exercise followed by the subsequent exercises until we got back to the first day (the Day would dictate the number of reps). We eventually turned this into the most painful (both because of the exercises and our singing) rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas ever heard. Below are the 12 Days:

• Day 1: Sprint length of School
• Day 2: Hand Release Merkins
• Day 3: Kraken Burpees (For REAL!!! Thx Royale)
• Day 4: LBCs
• Day 5: Single Leg Squats
• Day 6: Plank Jacks
• Day 7: Cha Cha Merkins
• Day 8: SSHs
• Day 9: Freddy Mercurys
• Day 10: Beast Crawls
• Day 11: Box Jumps
• Day 12: Standing Lunges

Pax were thoroughly smoked following this but it made for a very fun sing along.

After we were thankful for a short mosey back to COT.

Naked Moleskin

“Passion, not indifference, fuels greatness”

“It is conviction, not tranquility, that drives execution”

I spoke to the Pax about fighting the daily battle of finding Passion/Hope in your life. On a podcast I listen to frequently they talked about the dichotomy between being too emotional and not emotional enough.(Jocko Podcast Ep. 49. Just listen to the first 9 minutes. I will try to summarize but I cannot do it justice)

At a young age, we are full of passion and emotions almost to a detriment of ourselves. You hear about the angry teenager or the adolescent that throws tantrums. The constant response those youth get is “Calm Down”, “Relax” or “Get control of your emotions”. Because of this constant response we begin to react less passionately about things. Furthermore, when we get older we begin to find that not dealing with things that make us angry or sad simplifies our lives. By not dealing with anger or sadness or rage we also begin to loss touch with all the other emotions, happiness and laughter.

Up until recently, I found myself so fearful of facing the emotion of the low times that I could never enjoy the high times. I was stuck in a life of indifference and disinterest. Lately, I have tried to allow myself to react and feel whatever life throws my way. Take life as it comes and deal with the emotional reaction that it brings. By doing that it has really opened my eyes to what life has offer.

All this is not to say that we allow our emotions should dictate our decisions. We should always be in control of our emotions. However you can control your emotions, while still reveling in their glory.

So I challenged the Pax let their guard down. Expose their weaknesses. Take some risks. Open themselves to all the emotions of life. Stoke the emotional fire that is trying to burn inside you without fear or trepidation. Allow yourself to feel the pain, feel the frustration, the sadness and the anger, because in those adverse moments you also get to feel the joy, the gratitude, the passion, the HOPE.

Thanks to all the Pax that came out. And special thanks to Olaf for sharing the Q with me. Always humbling to lead.

Until next time, its back to the hunt…