November 4th, 2020 By Talladega

YHC hadn’t been able to lead a workout in months due to my work schedule but low and behold, the day finally came when I could step up and Q again!  Yes, I was actually a little excited to do it and see who would show up for the ‘this is going to be fun’ claim I’d made earlier.

5:30 on the watch so off we went with 6 guys joining me plus another wheeling into the parking lot, running to catch up fast- an even 8 for the day isn’t too bad.

Warmups

• mosey around the parking lot with some side steps, high knees, trash pickup (literally) thrown in
• Hillbillies x10 IC
• Penny pickers x10 IC
• Mountain climbers x10 OYO
• Plank jacks x10 IC

Let the fun begin….

Motivator from 10 down to 1

• Full SSH, 10 down to 1
• SSH with arms raised up to horizontal only, 10 down to 1
• Leg spreads only, 10 down to 1
• 10 hops only, 10 down to 1
• Repeat all four motions but reduce the starting count by 1 each round: 9 down to 1; 8 down to 1; continue until the last round is 1 of each motion

Get the cinder blocks and head to the bottom of the parking lot for block suicides but first….

• 1 to 10 Deconstructed Burpees

Block suicides from the bottom of the parking lot

• carry block to first parking lot line, run back to start
• run back to block, advance it to the second parking lot line, run back to start
• continue the cycle until the block is at the top of the parking lot, run back to start
• bear crawl from bottom to top of parking lot (~250ft)

Blocks up, Indian run w/ no penalty to the lower parking lot

• 10 lunges (each leg = 1), 1 merkin
• 10 more lunges, 2 merkins
• Continue the pattern for 10 sets total

Unwind what you just did…

• 10 back lunges, 10 CCD
• 10 more back lunges, 9 CCD
• Continue the pattern for 10 sets total

Mosey to Mary

• Inclined position like you’re going to do a Crunchy Frog but do Low Flutters instead, x15 IC
• LBCs, x15 IC
• Dying cockroach, x15 IC
• Side leg lifts, x15 IC; flap jack (eye contact with your neighbor is optional)
• stretch it out with Loveboat leading to finish

Recover, Recover– man, only 44:59.8 on the watch!  Sorry guys for cheating you on the time, out of practice I guess.

 

Announcements/Prayer Requests

• Mount Afton Challenge 1/9/21, check Afton Slack channel for details or Hop Hunter
• Overdrive’s wife- jury duty
• Yellowcake, wife, daughter- another try for counseling today
• Loveboat’s wife’s cousin- 20 yrs old with Neuroblastoma

 

Today was supposed to be a focus on Mental Health during our COT.  YHC looked for some statistics and info but to be honest, it was all depressing so I stopped.  Here’s the deal though for me personally- mental health is just not something I talk much about nor have I sought out help when I struggled.  I am a suppressor, I am good at putting on my mask, I feel like I am able to get through the crap and try to solve the problems on my own.  BUT that is so counterproductive and the battle sucks!  One of the reasons I came to F3 in the beginning is because I knew I needed to do something for myself physically, I needed to work on my physical health and not just turn into an aging couch potato.  I sought out a solution.  One reason I stayed with F3 is because of the men who encouraged me, pushed me, held me accountable.  They knew from experience that ‘the workouts don’t get easier but you get stronger’.  They shared stories of improvement and showed me by example that I too could improve.

Mental health can be no different if we just drop the stigma of not being strong enough, capable enough, whatever.  For me, I reached a point where it just didn’t matter what it took to feel better, to figure out how to deal with the battle in my head (call it depression, anxiety, frustration, etc) and deal with the changes a guy experiences when his kids are growing up, his job is just a job, and his marriage is cruising along.  I’m not saying you have to air out your dirty laundry and have a pity party but I’m not ashamed to say I’ve tried to better myself mentally.  Be it medication or counseling, I just decided to seek help for some things I no longer wanted to mask, no longer wanted to suppress.  I say all this in hopes that someone else sees that it’s ok to talk about and admit.  The mind is a powerful tool and I’m willing to do what is necessary to keep it healthy.  If this revelation surprises you, oh well, it is who I am and I’m ok with that.

As Yellowcake said in closing, maybe you admitting that you aren’t OK when someone asks the simple question “how are you doing?” will be more helpful for them than for you.  Maybe someone else needs to see you are willing to be honest that you don’t have it all figured out, that you are struggling.  The challenge is to drop the mask, be real, take care of yourself mentally just like you do physically.  You deserve it, your family deserves it, your friends, and on and on…..

Pray it out

 

Peace out homeys!

The Dawg House

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