I started getting ready Thursday afternoon to Q at Varsity. I’d been thinking about this a lot this week (more about that at the end) and I had come up with some cool routines that would really bring it, that would push my limits, and be a serious challenge to the PAX that regularly post at Varsity on Friday. Not that I needed to (home field), but I made a drive through of the whole AO looking for some further inspiration. What I came home with ended up going a different direction entirely. Finally, 15 minutes before start time, I had several different plans that I could have used, the weather was a bit unclear and my plans kind of depended if it was going to be in pouring rain or not. Rain stopped, so I moved forward with the “no pouring rain” option. Of course some of these things might require some explanation to be clear in writing. In the gloom, it was more like “nevermind the explanation, just follow me!”.

Here goes.

The Thang

Typical Geronimo style disclaimer (sort of rambling, a bit weird, if you die, we’ll drop you off in front of the hospital, but only after the workout is over).

Mosey on over to the hill to Sugar Creek ES.

Played pinball off the curbs

Started at the bottom of the hill at one curb, side shuffle at an angle across the street to the other curb heading up hill. Ricochet off the curb and continue at an angle up the hill back across the street. Continue zig-zagging up the hill changing directions at each curb, progressively up the hill. Mosey to the stop sign, u-turn and back to the bottom of the hill.
Repeat with karoke. Then repeat again with side shuffle.

Mosey to the parking lot for a short COP.
Little arm circles to the front
Big arm circles to the front
Big arm circles to the back
Windmills
Merkins
-NO Goofballs, ‘cause this isn’t the Coop and Kielbasa is out of town anyway (polish dance club eets, eets, eets).
Where is Chicken Wing anyway?

Mosey to the pull up bars.

Each evolution consisted of a bar exercise followed by a ground exercise until the 6 was done (plus a few more, don’t want to leave the 6 guy out). Minimal time between sets.

5 x toes to the bar
Squats
Repeat 4 times

5 x burpee pull-ups (instead of jump at the end, jump and do a pull-up)
Alternating back lunges
Repeat 3 times (burpee pull-ups really suck!)

5 x Knee raises
Flutter kicks
Repeat 3 times

Mosey to the road in front of the JROTC building.

I decided to call this one, High Speed Masonry
Open the back of Geronimo’s Turbo-Stank-Wagon(TSW) to see the pile of mini bricks.
The street had many cones down the middle (too many, so a few intermediate ones had to be taken out)

Break into two teams. 7 PAX, so the executive decision was made to run 4 against 3, with YHC and Senator as team leaders. Senator’s team got four PAX, but YHC’s team got Skate-or-Die (he’s fast). This is a relay race with approximately 10-ish yards between legs. The team leader takes a brick from the TSW, runs as fast as possible to the next cone and PAX waiting there, hands it off and then returns for another brick. The second runs as fast as possible to the next cone/PAX, passing the brick down the line, until the last, who runs to the last cone and stacks the bricks up. YHC realized his team was in trouble when Senator started lapping him about halfway in. By the end of 6 minutes, team Senator was up by 2 bricks. Turns out YHC was the rate limiter on his team. Next time there will be Burpee pull-ups for the losing team, maybe that will make YHC dig a little deeper.

Mosey to the awning by NAFO

Run as fast as possible (maybe not so fast by this point) forward 2 posts, then do a lateral lunge to the side to the other side of the posts, alternating sides every 2 posts to the other end of the awning. Circle back to the start. Repeat 4-ish times.

Circle back up for 4 minutes of group led Mary.
Hello Dollies
X’s & O’s
American Hammers
LBC alternating ankle touches
V-ups

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

I’ve been posting for about 18 months now. In that time I’ve posted LOTS, participated in many CSAUPs, gone out to many 2nd F activities, and even some 3rd F’s. I’ve done MANY things that pushed me physically, but I think more importantly, socially. I’ve developed an appreciation for what the mission of F3 means and seen first-hand some of the differences it’s had in other men’s lives and in my own. This week I (finally) decided I’d go ahead and get a copy of Freed to Lead, which if you Kindle you can have it about 30 seconds after you decide to get it. I read it this week, and it brought to home many of the things we talk about every morning. I got Fern before, but now I really get Fern (it’s a plant).

About 4 months or so before my first post, Dark Helmet mentioned that he liked working out with this group (F3). He knew that I like dragging unknowing co-workers and associated family members along for mud runs or road races or what have you. He also knew that I liked to go out on Saturday mornings and throw down 10 miles or so because that was my thing. I wasn’t really out of shape. The US Army taught me pretty well how to take care of that part. I’m pretty active with my church. Guess what though, the only person that I could call a new friend since I left undergrad almost 15 years ago, was a guy that at first I mentored at work, then started having him over for holidays and stuff, then his family. Then he took a transfer and moved to Cali. We’re still friends, but proximity counts for a heck of a lot. I said, “Hey, this ain’t my first rodeo”, I’ve still got my wife (best friend) and family. I kept on trucking for a while then something made me ask DH if it would be OK if I came along with him some morning. That’s when I found out that just because you’re an old guy like me, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have (positive) male friends. It’s crazy, but yes I did make new friends that I can talk to about man stuff and not get eye-rolls in response, that understand and share many of the life things that I go through, and more importantly, have got my back when maybe things aren’t so good. That wasn’t really what I was expecting when I first posted to this “work-out group”.

Now to the part that really came home this week. I’m reading FTL and it dawns on me that I’ve been posting for these 18 months and I didn’t totally get it. I can roll out there and bring it every morning of the week (well, most mornings). I can pick up the six and do my best imitation of a 5 YO with Tourette’s and try to keep the guy next to me talking about his kids baseball game instead of thinking how much his thighs are burning. I can feel like I’m doing awesome as a site Q, because we consistently get 12-18 PAX at NAFO every Wednesday. What I didn’t realize is that it’s not turning into a Problematic Workout. I didn’t even think about this until this week. It didn’t occur to me that this is an aspect that I had missed. I enjoy the daily fellowship. I enjoy pushing myself. I like the fact that I’ve had to take my belt up a couple notches. However, in that 18 months I’ve EH’d maybe 1 or 2 guys (that I can take credit for). That said, I took to heart the idea that while this F3 thing really isn’t for everyone, if I don’t EH the SadClowns in my sphere, they won’t even know what they’re missing. If I’m not trying be a source of accountability, those guys that I did EH might turn into permanent Kotters. This week I figured out that I have a mission to grow and serve the groups I Q. In particular the Grow part by the serve part.

At this point you may be saying “Gee whiz Geronimo, it took you this long to realize this?”. If that’s you, then I ask you to hold me accountable, because a bonfire can’t burn all the time unless someone else throws more fuel on. I don’t think I can handle being a bonfire all the time, but it wouldn’t be bad if someone were to kick the embers and throw some pine logs on every now and then. Might just take the kicking part.

If that’s not you and you’ve read this far, then I’m going to ask you a couple things. Have you ever read Freed to Lead? It’s a super easy read. Dredd and OBT are laying things out there, all you have to do is pick them up and run. Who do you know that may be a SadClown? When was the last time you EH’d a guy? How about for a 2nd F get together? 3rd F? I think you see where I’m going. How are you making your group into a Problematic Workout? I know that the asking part is difficult for some people. Let Dark Helmet know and he’ll ask them. On second thought, maybe someone else would be a better choice. Maybe they post once and it’s not for them. Maybe they do and it makes a world of difference.

I’m not usually one to write a huge long thing like this, and it took me a couple extra days to make it happen. I don’t think I’ve conveyed anything that you probably haven’t already heard, but perhaps my strange way of putting things down in writing will inspire you to take action where you hesitated before. If so, then I think it was worth it.

Geronimo!