Category: Uncategorized

It’s been a bittersweet few weeks at YHC’s house, as my 2.0 Thomas has picked his college destination (Boiler Up!) and last Saturday graduated from high school.  As our relationship hits an important transition, YHC wanted to celebrate graduation and provide some life lessons. As an added bonus, my 2.O as well as Cub Cadet’s 2.0 Edward came out for their first F3 workouts.

PAX:  23 (to celebrate the Class of ’23?)  Chunks, Cream Cheese, Cub Cadet, Dinty Moore, Firefox, Focker, Hambone, Legal Eagle, Kat Scan, Princess Aurora, Ranch Hand, Shockdoc (FNG),  Siri, Solocup, Spinal Tap, Steampunk (FNG), Supernova, T-cell,  The Flop (FNG), Toolman, Topps (FNG), Vector (QIC), Wet Wipes 

Conditions:   60 degrees and perfect

Disclaimer given and then start the playlist:  
Pomp & Circumstance to start the day, but sometimes graduation means learning hard lessons . . . cue

Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Tears for Fears
(“Welcome to your life. There’s no turning back.”)

Everyone does SSH until the song title is sung –> 3 burpees.  Song timed at 4 minutes to reflect 4 years of high school.

Graduate – Third Eye Blind
(“Do you live the days you go through?”)
Unwritten – Natasha Bedingfield
(“Live  your life with arms wide open.”)
Life’s What You Make It – Talk Talk
(“Baby, life’s what you make it. Celebrate it. Anticipate it.”)
Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
(“Don’t stop believin’. Hold on to that feeling.”)
Breakaway – Kelly Clarkson
(“But take a risk, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway.”)
Wide Open Spaces – The Chicks
(“Room to make her big mistakes.”)
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day
(“I hope you have the time of your life.”)
You Get What You Give – New Radicals
(“You’ll be okay, follow your heart.”)
Hey Look Ma, I Made It – Panic at the Disco
(“Think I must be dreamin’, wide awake and dreamin'”)
Celebration – Kool and the Gang
(“So bring your good times and your laughter too. We gonna celebrate your party with you.”)

• Warm-o-rama:    WMH, Good mornings, LBAC x 15, RLBAC x 15, Imperial Walkers x 20

• Thang 1:  GRADUATE

G:  Gorilla humpers x 50
R: Raises of calves x 50 (each leg)
A: American Hammers x 50 a side
D: DIPS x 50
U: Underdogs x 50
A: Air Presses x 50
T:  Tunnel of Love x 2 teams
E: Erkins x 50

• Thang 2:  Partner UP – DORA

50 Pull-ups
150 Squats
250 LBCs

Partner runs around Rec Center

• MARY:

Flutter kicks, Hello Dollys, Boxcutters

• COT

Thanks, HIM for helping Cub Cadet and me celebrate Thomas and Edward and reflect on their graduation.  Those with little ones, realize their graduation day will be here much faster than you want (the days are long but the years are short). While, yes, I did make my 2.0 splash (sorry T!), later that day he said, “Dad, I think I will come out again. When I was doing it, it was no fun, but you feel so much better if you start your day that way.”  Perhaps we have a new convert? We’ll see.  Remember, we all have our graduations, big and small.  Cherish those around you and make in impact in their lives.  You all do that for me and hopefully I return the favor.

SYITG,

Vector

A shy over 5 years ago, I finally relented to Ebola’s prodding and came out to meet a bunch of men, working out, in the dark cold gloom. Led by Hambone, I thought I would (but proudly did not) splash merlot after the WOR.  Flash forward to 2022, and the positive impact of F3 on my life, especially the past 3 years, has been huge (if my biceps are not quite so).  Thus, this morning, I wanted to celebrate all things 5.

PAX:  Black Lung, Focker, Legal Eagle, Michelin Man, Porcelain, Salpal, Supernova, T-cell, Tim the Toolman, Vector (QIC) and Wet Wipes with the dedicated wounded but healing walkers Cub Cadet and Firefox

Conditions:   Pelting sloppy rain, 60s – truly in the words of many PAX “beautiful”

Playlist:  Bands and songs with “5” in the name — a lot of bands with a lot of not so good songs:

I Want You Back – Jackson 5 (inadvertently deleted from playlist at the start by the soggy Q)
Wake Up Call – Maroon 5
Mambo No. 5 – Lou Bega
White Lines – Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
9 to 5 – Dolly Parton
Video Killed the Radio Star – Ben Folds Five
She Looks So Perfect – 5 Seconds of Summer
5-1-5-0 – Dierks Bentley
Worth It – Fifth Harmony
Go Where You Want to Go – The 5th Dimension
Bad Company – Five Finger Death Punch
When the Lights Go Out – Five
Kick Out the Jams – MC5
Glad All Over – The Dave Clark Five (cut for time)
Superman (It’s Not Easy) – Five for Fighting (cut for time)

Disclaimer given and then mosey in the beautiful pelting rain to the McCabe Rec Center for the Sloppy Warm-o-rama (as Q tried to get music started):  

Squats, LBAC, Reverse LBAC, WMH, Good Mornings

The Thang:  5 Exercises, 5(0) Reps, 5 Sets

5 exercises: Merkins, squats, big boy sit ups, DIPs, pull ups

Do 50 reps of each, run around the Rec Center, repeat for 5 sets. Q, in the interest of time, Q reduced reps of a selected exercise to 5 with each set.

Mary:  Flutter Kicks, Ankle Lifts, 10 Burpees, and a few SSH to close us out.

COT:

• Open Tab (or Maybe Tap Out, Tap In – we were confused) tonight — check Slack for deets and come for the beers and more importantly the discussion.
• 30 seconds to listen to the world (and our walkers returning to the COT)
• Sincere thanks to the HIM and F3.  This morning, being grown up dudes basically splashing in the rain, illustrates why F3 is so special.  Reach out to those we encounter who would benefit from F3 as I have — I am stronger physically, emotionally, mentally thanks to all of the HIM who I’ve encountered along this journey.  Keep pushing and inspiring me and each other. #ISI
• Also, I unfortunately failed to send thanks for our veterans on 11/11 — appreciate all of you (including Porcelain and Cub Cadet who were with us this morning).
• Cafe Dose followed and was awesome (complete with Focker looking like he walked out of the sauna at the Y)

SYITG,

Vector