I love the House of Pain. It is the House Tuco built, the house Misery owns (and he loves company). You get poems written in your honor if you Q or fartsack (the bards quill isn’t so soft, at times), there are railroad ties available to dole out pain, and it has been the home of many F3 memories (some fond, most of them not-so-fond) for YHC.

I was reminded of some of those memories upon seeing Assisi, who brought up a long-lost memory of extreme crab walk races in which we almost killed ourselves. I was immediately reminded of some of the dumber things I’ve done as a proud card carrying member of F3: 12 workouts in 6 days, racing pretty much anyone who wanted to race me in any workout on any rep until my head spun or my hamstring ripped, sprinting 5Ks without training at all, running >10 miles without any training, competing to do over 3000 push ups in a month, competing to do over 500 workouts in a year, sprinting up a hill while carrying 250lb+ PAX, farmer carrying 60lb KBs for miles. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

As I reflect on the energy I expended on those activities, I arrive at two conclusions. First, it’s good to have some intensity about you. It shows people you care. It shows them you have some rough edges. And it shows them you’re willing to let it rip from time to time. Aside from what it shows others, it keeps a competitive fire burning inside you. We each need that, whether we want to admit it or not. Moments of intensity teach us about ourselves and enable growth in different ways. The issue with intensity is that it is often done for intensity’s sake, thus reducing it to some meatheaded fool’s errand to see who can piss farther. You’ll fly too close to the sun at times, and you’ll learn from it. It isn’t sustainable, nor is it salubrious in great quantities. You just need a pinch of it from time to time. I remember in my college wrestling days, I would start matches going hard, believing I could outlast anyone and could withstand the intensity of an all-out blitz in the beginning. I was wrong. You can’t just go balls out and expect good things to automatically happen. There has to be a method to the madness, and that’s where my next point comes into play.

My second conclusion is that you need to cut the intensity with something, and that is consistency. Showing up to F3, moving your body, opening up yourself to others and doing the work. That’s sustainable. Consistency allows us to take a more measured approach to push others to find those moments of intensity. It empowers us to lace the intensity with strategy, and imbue it with wisdom that comes from experience. Consistency creates tiny windows of opportunity where one can realize a new gear, a new mentality, and perhaps a new and higher mental operating level which could enable a better, well, existence in general. Balancing intensity with consistency is not easy, but it is key. You can’t just show up every day and be Mr. Consistent and not take risks – I just don’t think you’ll get as far and won’t enjoy life as much. And you can’t show up every day like the Ultimate Warrior, either, because that intensity invariably sparkles and fades.

I don’t have the key to knowing when and how to balance the two, but I say just follow your heart. That’s what I always do.

The Thang: Warm up and lap around parking lot. Grab steel.

Overhead lockout to each island, 20 curls as a group at each island. Upon reaching the top of the parking lot, one lap as fast as you can with steel.

Overhead lockout down the hill to each island, 20 overhead press as a group at each island. Upon reaching the bottom of the parking lot, one lap as fast as you can with steel.

Broken partner wheelbarrow to the top of the parking lot, switching with your partner as often as necessary. 10 burpees OYO. Lap around parking lot to bottom.

Grab steel. Overhead lockout while lunge pulsing. Q’s discretion on how long each leg.

Suicides to each island and end of parking lot (4 points) while partner executes burpees and merkins, as many as necessary until partner finishes.

Grab steel. Overhead lockout while lunge pulsing. 10/8/6/4/2 count pulse each leg.

Ark loader: Bear crawl to next island, followed by crab walk to next island. Return steel.
Mary: 25 Russian Hammers; 25 Flutter Kicks.

CoT: Support The Wolf, Hillsborough CSAUP on 2/29, 7-9am, Weaver St. Market Parking Deck.

Chatham County Habitat for Humanity, this Saturday. See Slack Channel for details.