“Oh, the humanity!”

Preamble:

On the 25-minute drive from YHC’s house to The Gladiator, it was unclear what the weather was going to be. The temperatures varied from just above freezing to just below, and the snow flurries went from heavy to light. It was looking like it could be the type of weather that could make even the most dedicated succumb to the fartsack. However, that was not to be the case! Pulling in to the parking lot at 5:15, there was already evidence of pre-runners (3 in fact), and shortly thereafter, more cars began filing in.

Warm-O-Rama:

We departed the flag with 9 PAX, and a little mumble chatter from YHC about how great it would be to have double digit PAX on a day with pretty crummy weather. Speedo assured me that we’d likely see a few folks coming in hot, and he turned out to be 100% accurate.

We made our way to the soccer field, and circled up at midfield for some SSH and weedpickers, while 2 more PAX rolled up and moseyed over to join for the remainder, Imperial Walkers and Moroccan Night Clubs.

The Thang:

YHC had been eyeing the Hindenburg BLIMPS routine for a while, and today seemed like as good of an opportunity to unleash it as any. BLIMPS is a routine involving the following:

• Burpees
• Lunges
• Imperial walkers
• Merkins
• Plank jacks
• Squats

Hindenburg BLIMPS combine the standard BLIMPS routine with 4-corners. There are 6 total rounds, with each round consisting of a single BLIMPS exercise done at all 4 corners. Rep counts start at 10 for the 1st round (burpees), increasing by 10 each round (end with 60 squats). At the conclusion of each round, the PAX return to the starting point and hold a plank until the entire group has finished.

The PAX were split in to 2 groups, with each group starting at opposite corners on opposite ends of the field. From one end of the field, PAX would run diagonally across the field to the opposite corner, while at the other end, PAX would run the sideline to the opposite corner. This ensured that we would never run a short field  (the backline) between corners, maximizing our mileage. This was also done for traffic control. If anyone was going to crash and burn like the Hindenburg, it was not going to be from a collision with another PAX!

After 2 rounds, consisting of 10 burpees and 20 lunges (alpha-count) at each corner, we took a brief intermission from the Hindenburg BLIMPS for a merkin Doomsday Clock.

A Doomsday Clock starts by circling up and having all PAX drop to a plank position. Everyone holds a plank as the group makes it’s way around the circle, with each PAX doing a merkin when it’s their turn, and continuing to count up. The goal is to keep your knees off the ground as long as possible. Once your knees touch, you are “out” and hold an air-chair while the remaining PAX continue, until there is only 1 man left planking. On this day, 11 PAX made it to 290 merkins, with Brownie being the last man planking (to the surprise of none)!

After the interlude, we picked up where we left off with the Hindenburg BLIMPS with 30 alpha-count imperial walkers. At this point, mostly due to time, but also a small amount of mercy, it was decided to drop the merkin and plank jack rep counts to 20. Following the plank jack round, due to time constraints, Brownie smartly called out squats, while waiting for the six, to round out the BLIMPS.

The PAX showed today that “Hindenburg” might be a poor name for the routine, because they certainly did not crash and burn.

We took a short mosey back to the flag for some Mary:

• American Hammers
• Protractor

COT:

Prayers were offered for Speedo’s sister, Viking’s family, and Dreamer’s co-worker.

Naked-Man Moleskin:

It’s always an honor and a privilege to lead an F3 workout. Although Q’ing a workout seems to get less nerve-wracking the more you do it, I certainly still find it to be a challenge. We have so many great leaders in our Alpha region who have set such a high bar, it can be easy to feel pressure to meet the standard. However, I have also found that the PAX always step up and ease the pressure. The pervasive attitude in F3 that everyone is a leader, all the time, is never more evident to me than on days when you Q, and you see the other PAX step up to take the lead at some point during a workout. There’s no need to ask for permission, it’s not ego driven. It’s simply the result of the “everyone is a leader” attitude, and it’s an amazing thing to experience.