A River Runs Through It

Preamble:

When YHC’s alarm went off at 0435, the thought of FartSacking came to mind, but only for a few seconds. What overcame that thought was the men who would be waiting for my Q. YHC was given some advice regarding this AO. Advice like, “don’t forget a headlamp” and “modify your Q down a little”. Both were intentions of YHC. Both would be unintentionally disregarded.

Starting with a headlamp, YHC had every intention of bringing one, but didn’t realize it was forgotten until 10 minutes into the drive. Frantically, I messaged Zohan and Birdie to see if there were extras on hand, but no dice. Oh well.

This being the first time YHC had Qd at the newly renamed Chain Breakers AO, I arrived early and took a few minutes to survey the land as, what I assumed to be another PAX, sat in the truck. The entire park was water logged with all the recent rain, so a modification of the plan was in order.

Coming down off the hill, YHC was met with a friendly “mornin’!” by Voltron who is DR from F3Greenville. YHC brought the Hall of Justice shovelflag, which Voltron said brought a sense of peace after seeing it planted. It goes to show you that something as simple as a shovelflag brings unity and togetherness amongst the PAX. It will be a constant effort on my part to ensure a flag is at every beatdown I attend and Q.

YHC decided to do the long disclaimer this morning, which was well received. Here it is for those that want it:

“Good morning! My name is Val and this is F3. Fitness, fellowship, and faith, which exists to plant, grow, and serve small men’s workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership. All F3 workouts are free, open to all men, always held outdoors, led by members of the group in a rotating fashion, and end in a circle of trust. I am a volunteer and I do not know your physical ability or health history. As such, you work out at your own risk. Modify as necessary, up or down, depending on your ability. Do not sue, me, this park, or F3. In F3, we leave no man behind, but leave no man where we found him. So, please remember to pick up the six.”

Warm-O-Rama:

Started with a mosey, then high knees and butt kickers and circled up. SSH, WeedPickers, and finished with tempo merkins. The NLB crew arrived right as we were starting the tempo merkins. The rain arrived right as we finished the tempo merkins.

The Thang:

YHC was in Knoxville several weeks ago and had the honor of experiencing a Grow Ruck Gus Q who introduced me to The Millennial. I thought since there were some Gazelles among the group, it would be easier for some. It was easy for none.

Thang 1:

The Millennial:

Start at one end of the parking lot. Every PAX perform called exercise until the first PAX reaches 100 and calls “Done!”

Run to the other end of the parking lot (60-70 meters), rinse and repeat.

Bonnie Blairs
Merkins
LBCs
Air Press
Star Jacks
Flutter Kicks
SSH
Burpees
Overhead Claps
Freddie Mercuries

The rain increased in volume as we progressed through this Thang. YHC completed 100 of the easiest of all the exercises, the air press. Much GrumbleChatter could be heard when YHC called burpees. YHC lost count while attempting to encourage the PAX during this exhausting exercise. With confidence, I can tell you that I came nowhere close to 100 and had to modify several times to Bobby Hurleys. TCLAPS to Feathers and LoveShack for their insane burpee performances. Feathers finished up the set first, but LoveShack was nearly there.

Thang 2:

When calling Thang 2, YHC accidently (and hilariously) called “Millennial!” An audible gasp and grumbling could be heard, until they realized I was mentally exhausted from Thang 1 and just messed up the call.

11s:

Bonnie Blairs and Merkins, because 100 of each wasn’t enough.

Usually during 11s, at least one, if not more PAX, gets lapped. That did not happen. The Gazelles who finished out front started a round of Mary, which all the PAX joined in once finished.

Mary:

LBCs, TBombs, Box Cutters, Annies, Dollys, Gas Pumpers, Boat-Canoe

COT:

Prayers for LoveShack who has been in NLB for 4 weeks and is getting to see his son this weekend. For 2 NLB guys who have left the program. For Woodpecker’s girlfriend trying to get a parole hearing. For Feathers’ brother who suffered an accident which caused paralyzation. For YHC’s family going to family camp in a week and a half.

Naked-Man Moleskin:

The most invigorating part of this workout was when we were on our backs doing LBCs, Flutter Kicks, and Freddie Mercuries. Something about the rain falling on your face and a river of water running around you made you feel alive. Like you were made for this adversity. Durability results from experienced adversity.

YHC has dealt with addiction and I am nearly 6 years sober. Qing at Chain Breakers allowed me to finally come to a realization that SkyQ has been working in me for some time. I have found my D2X. I am called to serve men who are in addiction recovery and help them accelerate into HIM who are able to give it away to other men.