An honor to lead at HOP today for #F3MentalBattle. Actually got today’s Q in a swap with Soybean, which feels like fate in hindsight, as YHC has some experience with the topic of depression.

Kicked things off with a nice EC run with Misery and Elf. Say run instead of 5K because YHC eschewed the last church lap. Sloth! They probably got the full 5K in.

After brief announcement that we’d be ending a bit early for extra COT time, we got down to it.

WARM-UP

-SSH X 10 IC
-Seal Jack X 10 IC
-Smurf Jack X 10 IC
-Plank Jack X 10 IC
-Mountain Climber X 10 IC
-Slow merkin X 10 IC
-Willie Mays Hayes X 10 IC
-Good morning X 10 IC

Mosey to Steel

THANG

Three sets of exercises with little rest in between. The Exicon refers to these as Rapid Fire Rock Sets. But of course they’re Rapid Fire Steel Sets at HOP

-Ginuwine X 15 IC
-Bent Over Rows X 15 IC
-Overhead Press X 15 IC

Rinse Repeat but with 10 reps IC

Drop steel and mosey to top corner for 5 burpees OYO, squat hold when done

Mosey to very far corner for 10 burpees OYO, squat hold when done

Mosey to bottom of far parking lot for 15 burpees OYO, squat hold when done

Mosey to bottom of the hill for 10 burpees oyo and squat hold

Mosey to steel for 5 burpees oyo

10 count, then another RFSS

-Curls X 15 IC
-Johnny Drama combined with Front Raise X 20 SC (anyone want to come up with a name for these? How about Mellow Dramas?)
-Tricep Extension X 15 IC

Rinse Repeat with 10 reps IC

Mosey to top corner for 10 diamond merkins oyo – plank hold when done

Mosey to far corner for 15 T merkins oyo – plank hold when done

Mosey to bottom of far parking lot for 20 derkins oyo – plank hold when done

Mosey to bottom of hill for 15 T merkins oyo – plank hold when done

Mosey to steel for 10 diamond merkins oyo – plank hold when done

10 count

One last round of RFSS

-Squat press X 20 SC
-Rows X 15 IC
-Overhead press X 15 IC
-Curls X 12 IC
-Tricep Extension X 15 IC
-Ginuwine X 5 IC as the Q was smoked 🙁

MARY

ABC (from six, six-inch hold then spell out each letter of alphabet with legs. Next time won’t you sing with me?)
5 burpee / plank ROF

COT

A number of PAX took the opportunity to share their experiences with depression, either their own or that of a loved one. Some takeaways:
-Look out for each other. Keep your eyes peeled for signs that someone may need an EH. Maybe they haven’t posted in a while, or just seem kinda down when they do. Check in, listen, let them know you’re there.
-Community is important. A running theme was how F3 has gotten many of us out of dark places and kept us there. (The exercise part helps too.)
-Seek professional help if you need it. No shame.
-If at first you don’t succeed on that front, keep trying. One PAX mentioned going through six therapists before finding the person to truly help his teenager who was struggling. In other words, don’t give up on professional help just because your first attempts don’t seem to do much. Depression and other mental illnesses can be tricky to diagnose and treat, at least initially.
-Reach out to your brothers for continuous support. One PAX mentioned “gray days” which can plague you even once your depression is managed and less acute. Today was a great reminder that this thing is about being present and supportive of one other. Don’t hesitate to let people know when you’re struggling.

Again, always an honor to lead. That went double today. T-claps to Knope for reaching out to YHC and all of today’s Qs to ensure full Churham participation in #F3MentalBattle