YHC was eager to jump on the Q sheet for July 2. I was long overdue for my virgin Q and the anxiety and guilt of getting that out of the way was building. I felt the week of the Fourth of July offered many possible themes for a workout, making it easier to string some things together. Being the week of a holiday in the heat of the summer, I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as PAX turnout.
YHC wanted to be on site a little early and not already out of breath so I ditched the standing date with the Audubon Park Rucking crew and rucked over solo. On the way I was passed by my son, a lifeguard at the Parkwood pool, on the way to open the pool for the day and by Bellhop, who also bailed on rucking in order to drive his shiny new truck to the AO. Neither offered to give me a ride.
As the PAX began pouring in, it is clear that it would be a great turnout. A typical day at the Piranha has PAX arriving via bike, running, and rucking. Today was no exception. Always good to see a little EC. Even a 2.0 showed up.
16 PAX in all were on hand for YHC’s VQ, many of the Piranha regulars and several newer faces. Let’s get to it:
WARMUP
SSH x 20
Willie Mayes Hayes x10 (On this day in1962 Willie Mayes hit a 16th inning HR)
Imperial Walkers x10
Arm circles x10
Reverse Arm circles x10
Good Mornings x10
THANG
Mosey to side parking lot.
It was fitting to pay homage to Cosmo, who EHed me 9 months ago. What better way than to combine his least favorite exercise (bear-crawls) with his most performed exercise (burpees). Fortunately the F3 exicon has just the thing, since I already promised none of either: BEARPEES. This mode of travel includes a 4-count bear crawl, then a burpee. Multiple merkin variations were incorporated for the PAX eagerly waiting their turn for bearpees. Very appropriate, as merkin is a derivative of ‘Merican, and we celebrate American Independence this week.
BEARPEES
Each PAX crossed the parking lot with bearpees, NUR back while others AMRAP the following, switching exercises each time a new PAX starts his Bearpee travels:
Merkins
Air squats
Carolina Dry Docks
Bobby Hurley’s
Diamond merkin
Low Squat Hold
Hand release merkins
Sumo squat
Wide merkins
(Due to the number of PAX, we quickly modified to allow 2 PAX to Bearpee at a time. A few PAX were smart enough to incorporate a broad jump into the Burpee in order to transverse ground more quickly. I don’t think this modification detracted from this exercise at all, just sped it up.)
RICKY BOBBY the Philbert x 2 laps
50 POUND NET WORTH
On this day in 1776, The Continental Congress officially severed ties with Great Britain. It was also determined each man would be able to have his voice heard with a vote if they were able to prove they had a net worth of at least 50 English Pounds.
As luck would have it, we had four rucks and a coupon available to us of varying weights, from 20 pounds to 60 pounds. These were distributed to the PAX who were circled up. All PAX without a ruck assumed a plank hold. Everybody with a ruck performed an exercise and passed the ruck to their left. The exercises were as follows:
10 ruck curls
10 bent over rows
10 overhead press
10 upright rows
Plank holds were altered (right/left arm up, low plank hold)each time a ruck was passed. Everyone proved themselves with the 50lb ruck at least once.
MARY
American Hammers x 20
Flutter kicks x40
ROLL BACK THE PRICES(and the burpees)
We celebrate Independence Day later this week, but another very American phenomenon cannot be overlooked. On this day in 1963, the first Walmart store was opened. The PAX had just enough time remaining to celebrate this occasion with 5 OYO Walmart Burpees. For those lucky enough to never have done this exercise, it is performed as follows:
Squat as you would to start a burpee. Roll backwards onto your shoulders, roll forward back to a squat position, then proceed with a burpee. Very possibly my new least-favorite exercise.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
4th of July Convergence at Tobacco Road. Details to follow
New 2.0 and M friendly AO “Romper Room” scheduled to start in August, following TBL, Saturdays opposite Sunnyside.
COT/Name-o-rama
I want to thank not only the PAX who showed up today but also all of those that I’ve interacted with over the last nine months. My experience in F3 has been truly transformative physically, socially, and spiritually. I know I can never give back to the group what it has given me. Every workout, 2nd F, and 3rd F activity is a celebration of the collective positive influence of this group. Just like our founding fathers on July 2nd 1776, we all know we have accomplished great things, but there is still work to be done. I ask that we each continue to challenge ourselves and help make those around us better. And above all, we must never do Walmart Burpees again.