The morning chill may have diminished numbers, but it did not damper enthusiasm for the 8 brave PAX that made their way to the Eagle this morning. YHC has been bitten by the Spartan bug and decided to share his CSAUP training with the group.
For warm-up, we practiced how’d we play:
20 x SSH (IC)
20 x AS (IC)
20 x OHC (IC)
10 x Merkin (IC)
10 x WWII (OYO)
10 x Burpees (OYO)
We mosey’d to the track where YHC had four 5-gallon Spartan/Rock buckets waiting. We split up into two groups of four and YHC gave out instructions (though admittedly not with great clarity). Two buckets and 4 PAX started from the middle of the straight-away closest to the school. Two buckets and 4 PAX started from the middle of the straight-away farthest from the school. Two PAX then carried buckets 1/2 a lap to other side and passed them to the other two waiting PAX. Waiting PAX completed pre-assigned exercises until the next bucket arrived. So, at all times we had 4 PAX carrying buckets and 4 PAX doing stationary exercises. We continued this until each individual PAX had tallied the following totals:
150 SSH
125 Air Squats
100 Overhead Claps
75 Merkins
50 WWII
25 Burpees
PAX were allowed to choose your own adventure and complete the aggregate totals in any sequence/sets they chose.
All told, each PAX completed exercises and carried a bucket somewhere between 5-7 laps. YHC had planned to count specifically, but the lower oxygen level of the brisk morning air prevented full brain function. Regardless, we all carried an ~80 lb bucket of rocks close to a mile. At some point about halfway in Heisenberg and YHC were lugging buckets side by side and he asked “You doing some landscaping at your house or something?” Sheepishly, I had to acknowledge that I am not. “So, then how’d you come up with this?” he asked. So, I then told him about my Spartan experiences and how the bucket carry always categorically sucks and how I started wondering how I could master it and that then leading to designing a whole workout specifically around it. Again the lack of oxygen to the brain made my exact verbiage less intelligent with a higher volume of grunts and a lower volume of adjectives.
Sitting down to write this and reflecting on Heisenberg’s completely logical questions, it made me realize just how profound of an impact F3 has had on me. In the past 2.5 years, I’ve gone from a guy that went to the gym a couple times a week and went through the motions because that’s what I was supposed to do, to a guy that makes late night trips to Lowe’s to buy 5 gallon buckets to carry around a track before the sun comes up, because that’s what I WANT to do. Sure it’s dumb. You might even call it Completely Stupid And Utterly Pointless, but it fulfills me in a way that I never knew I was missing. It’s a great feeling and I’m truly thankful for the way this group constantly challenges me. It energizes me to push myself in all facets of life. Anyway, we’re all part of a pretty cool thing here and just wanted you guys to know that YHC appreciates it. Deep thoughts over.
Bucket-brigade-palooza took about 30 minutes, so we had some more work to before Mary.
Mosey to the playground and divide up for alternating dips and pull-ups.
Round 1: Group 1 – 10 pull-ups, Group 2 – 20 dips (switch)
Round 2: Group 1 – 10 pull-ups, Group 2 – 15 dips (switch)
Round 3: Group 1 – 5 pull-ups, Group 2 – 10 dips (switch)
Back to the parking lot for Mary. YHC had planned to bring the car back post workout to retrieve the buckets, but the PAX volunteered for another carry back to parking lot – can’t get enough of those sweet, sweet rocks.
Circle-up for:
20 x Russian Hammer (IC)
30 x Flutter Kicks (IC)
Ring of Fire: Alternative Plank & Low Plank Hold 10 count from each PAX
Announcements:
Spooky’s Halloween Invite – check slack for details
No Prayer Requests