5 brave men came out to the Deep for a sub 20 degree workout.  Was just about to get started when Whopper came sailing in 20 seconds late, hopped out of his car w/ a pair of shorts on and one glove (hey 1’s better than none).  Got right to it:

The Thang:  quick warm-up as I knew we’d be pressing for time even w/ the extra 15 minutes.  Did a quick lap around the parking lot followed by side straddle hops x30, merkins x10, Moroccan night club x20, low slow squats x10 and windmill stretch x10.  From there we took it across the street to the 400m track for some Hope Laps of Pain.  Before we got there the PAX were introduced to some of our props for today’s festivities – 4 large truck tires and a few cinder blocks.

At this point, we had 50 minutes to complete the following:  4 laps with 4 pain stations per lap (stations include chest, legs, core and then a plain old suck station).  First lap you do the first exercise of each station, second lap you do the first exercise from the previous lap and then a second exercise.  Third, Fourth you get the point.  My only twist on this semi traditional workout was that we’d have a Hope Theme per lap which would dictate how we got from station to station within that lap.  When I heard one of the Q’s from this past week in COT randomly ask a few PAX what they think of when they think of hope, 4 things immediately popped into my head.  Went something like this:

Lap 1 – Hope inspired by F3 – coming together in the early morning, sharing pain, hearing each others stories, our trials, our praise reports, prayers for one another, many of whom we barely know.  But to know these guys have your back when the going gets tough is the encouragement much of us need.  F3 Hope Lap means we run (like we always do) for two of the 100m stretches between stations and backpedal for the other two 100 meters.
– Station 1 – Spider-Man Merkins (knee to elbow) in cadence x5
– Station 2 – Narrow stance squats in cadence x10
– Station 3 – Freddie Mercury slow then fast then slow in cadence x5 slow / x5 fast / x5 slow
– Station 4 – Single Leg Burpees OYO x 5 each leg (10 total)

Lap 2 – Hope inspired by our community – since moving to this area, I’ve seen signs of how truly good most of the people in this community are.  Regardless of our elected officials locally or at the federal level, it’s on us to drive incremental change.  The “light the world” campaign is a great example of this, or the progress our church families are making in reaching the community / those in need.  It starts right here – be that encouragement and hope for those around you.  Community Hope Lap initially was going to be centered around “one brick at a time” but I couldn’t find any bricks in time.  Instead we ran our laps w/ 50 lb truck tires – since we were one tire short, Andretti took one for the team and ran 400m w/ a cinder block on his shoulder (ouchie).
– Station 1 – Spider-Man Merkins in cadence x5, Diamond Merkins in cadence x5
– Station 2 – Narrow stance squats in cadence x10, Wide stance low slow squat in cadence x5
– Station 3 – Freddie Mercury in cadence x5 slow / x5 fast / x5 slow, Flutter Kicks on Elbows in cadence x10
– Station 4 – Single Leg Burpees OYO x 5 each leg (10 total), Plank Rows 10 per arm

Lap 3 – Hope inspired by my kids – whether it be their endless curiosity, their unfailing love for us, they are the light to so many around them.  They provide hope to me every day.  Our Children Hope Lap required us to carry or push one another – literally.  First two 100m transitions were partner carries (carry and carried) w/ the last two 100m stretches requiring you to push your partner as they resisted and then vice versa (since we’d were an odd numbered group, Witch Hunt took one for the team and ran w/ two truck tires).
– Station 1 – Spider-Man Merkins in cadence x5, Diamond Merkins in cadence x5, Hand Release Merkins x5
– Station 2 – Narrow stance squats in cadence x10, Wide stance low slow squat in cadence x5, 30 seconds jump squats
– Station 3 – Freddie Mercury in cadence x5 slow / x5 fast / x5 slow, Flutter Kicks on Elbows in cadence x10, American Hammers in cadence x10
– Station 4 – Single Leg Burpees OYO x 5 each leg (10 total), Plank Rows 10 per arm, 10 burpees with thigh slaps (forces you to get off the ground – appreciate the inspiration Witch Hunt).

Lap 4 – Last, but certainly not leastt was the Hope inspired by the One – who no matter what happens in our lives, he will be there for us and will guide us through the hardest of hardships.  I’ve always struggled w/ talking to him about everyday things (it’s always been about bigger “more important things”) but if you take the time to engage and pray for the little things in life, it’ll help you through the bumps / roadblocks of every day living, work, family and financial struggles – you just have to ask for it.  Took the following quote out of the monthly theme document – “This hope is given not by what we do, but what has been done for us – Everlasting Hope.”  Three 100m runs were done w/ our arms raised in surrender to him; with one of the 100m done as power skips (intended for 2 of those but we were gassed).
– Station 1 – Spider-Man Merkins in cadence x5, Diamond Merkins in cadence x5, Hand Release Merkins x5, Nose Grinders (start w/ hands close, walk out your arms as wide as you can and then do a push up – it’s an 8 count by the way) x5 – don’t smoke your face, it’s highly likely
– Station 2 – Narrow stance squats in cadence x10, Wide stance low slow squat in cadence x5, 30 seconds jump squats, Single Leg Squat Basketball Jumps (w/ shot) x5 per leg
– Station 3 – Freddie Mercury in cadence x5 slow / x5 fast / x5 slow, Flutter Kicks on Elbows in cadence x10, American Hammers in cadence x10, Single Leg Mountain Climbers x5 per leg
– Station 4 – Single Leg Burpees OYO x 5 each leg (10 total), Plank Rows 10 per arm, 10 burpees with thigh slaps (forces you to get off the ground – appreciate the inspiration Witch Hunt), Burpee Plank Jumps (burpee down to push-up and then explode forward landing back in the push up position.  Each burpee requires 3 of those push-ups and then you can jump back up) x5 (major suckiness))

From there, we headed back to COT to close it out – prayers included:
– Witch Hunt’s wife’s fathers health
– Royale’s father feelings of hopelessness
– Andretti’s kids
– Whopper and his buddies safety today while shooting guns
– Safe travels for my wife and I this week
– Olaf’s wife and baby as always

Was a pleasure to lead you guys today.  Had a great time.  Appreciate the fellowship afterwards and the coffee Andretti.  See ya next weekend.  Later

Cha Ching