Bounty posted that he needed some men to Q at School of Ruck. I raised my hand. This was before I knew how far it was from me… and that it started at 0500 rather than 0515…

As I drove under the light of a half-moon down 77… then down Celanese Rd… then down past anything that resembled civilization… (where the hell am I, anyway?) I remember thinking,
“it’s no joke to get out to “The School”, but once you are there, the possibilities abound.

The day before the Q, I had tweeted Winston Churchill’s quote, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” (Or for my trip out to Q, if you are going to York… Keep going…) I thought it would be fun to resurrect a ruck workout I had led a couple weeks ago that I called “Dante’s Inferno” where we traveled through the 9 “circles of Hell”. It looks something like this:

9 circles of Hell
Partner up, size matters…
Circle 1: Walk around the bus loop at the Elementary School

• 5 curls
• 5 overhead press
• 5 flutter presses (double count)
• 5 dips
• 5 sumo squats

Circle 2: Double time around the building

• 10 of each exercise

Circle 3: Overhead hold around the building

• 15 of each exercise

Circle 4: Catch me if you can around the building

• 20 of each

Circle 5: Lunge Walk around the building

• 25 of each

Circle 6: Crab walk around the building

• 30 of each

Circle 7: Bear crawl around the building

• 35 of each

Circle 8: Partner 1 Fireman’s Carry around the building

• 40 of each

Circle 9: Partner 2 Fireman’s Carry around the building

• 45 of each

Sadly, for time’s sake, we had to cut a little bit short and ended up skipping from Circle 7 directly to Circle 9. Needless to say, I am sore today…

NMM:
Each of us at different times faces difficulty. Our jobs, our families, our fitness, our faith, any number of things can be strained or challenged. Sometimes, you’ll want to quit. Sometimes, you’ll feel alone and like you are going through hell. Whether it’s a ridiculous workout, or whether it’s a personal challenge, the best thing to do when you feel like you have no more left, is to just keep going. If you quit and stop moving, you have guaranteed failure. If you keep moving, you may still fail, but then at least you can be taught what it was you were put through the test for in the first place. That’s not an option if you quit. The goal is not always to achieve some amazing thing. Sometimes, the goal is to learn on the way… through hell…

Helmet, out.