Today was my first Q since my dad passed away two weeks ago.  I wanted to plan the workout to celebrate his life and accomplishments, but I had a hard time putting it on paper.  We had some late arrivals so the disclaimer was brief.  We moseyed to the elementary school parking lot for warm-ups (SSHs, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, Plank Stretches, Mountain Climbers, Peter Parkers, and Parker Peter).

After warm-ups, I spoke about my dad’s adventure climbing the pyramids in Egypt.  I remember reading about the pyramids as a kid and my dad telling me, “I’ve been there.”  Since there are no pyramids in the area (although there is a building that looks like one in Regent Park), we ran up Dave Gibson Blvd to the bank parking lot to simulate the climbing of the pyramid.  Next, we ran over to the Cycle Bar.  I mentioned that my dad was a builder.  He started at a very young age, became a foreman for the building of several skyscrapers in Boston.  He wanted his family to grow up outside the city so we moved to Martha’s Vineyard.  He started his construction business during a tough economic cycle. He pushed through and built many houses on the island.  Back to the workout, I called this segment, “The Builder”.  Starting at the Cycle Bar, we started with 5 merkins, ran to the other end, and 5 squats.  We continued to weave back and forth through the parking lot adding 5 reps at each pass.  At the last row, we work finished with 30 reps.

My dad enjoyed exercising, especially running.  He did not start actively running until his mid 40s.  He coordinated several road races to raise money for different causes.  He also enjoyed the competition of running with his friends and racing to the finish line..Sound familiar?  As a group, we ran around the parking lot, it was good to see the Pax racing each other to the finish line.  Next, we moseyed back to the bank parking lot for some Ab exercises.  Later in life, my dad attended Jujutsu classes and use to talk to me about how important it is to exercise your core.

Finishing up the workout, we ran back down to the school and did a burpee builder at each light pole (28 in Total). My dad was a tough guy.  Forearms like Popeye and swung a hammer like John Henry.  In January, my sister and I came across a Christmas card from one of my dad’s running buddies.  Inside the card it said “You’re my best friend.”  We both laughed at it thinking it was funny for a grown man to write this, but they had developed a bond over the years to be best friends.  I can speak from experience that it is easy to not to talk about your “feelings” and “problems” and chalk it up to being tough and your ability to handle things yourself.   Having a group of men you can count on, to be there when you need them just as important as physical exercise.