It was curtains up at Hollywood this morning for YHC's 2 year anniversary premiere. 17 of Isotope's strongest enthusiastically walked the red carpet with VIP tickets to the show. Here's how the script read:
TRAILERS
SSH x 30 IC
Cotton Pickers x 20 IC
IST x 20 IC
Windmill x 15 IC
Mountain Climbers x 25 IC
FEATURE PRESENTATION
Mosey to the corner in front of EEZ to begin the 4 corners, All exercises OYO:
Corner #1: Merkins x 5
Run to next corner in front of Brixx
Corner #2: Quarter-Turn Jump Squats x 5
Bear Crawl to corner in front of Corkscrew
Corner #3: WWII Situps x 5
Quadrephelia to corner in front of Qdoba
Corner #4: CDD x 5
Crab Walk back to Corner #1
Repeato 4 corners increasing by 5 reps each new set. 5 sets total = 75 total reps each exercise
Mosey to south wall of Movie Theater
People's Chair x 1 min – Air press x 20 IC
People's Chair x 1 min – Touch dem heels x 10 IC
CLOSING CREDITS
Homer to Marge x 3
Low flutter x 20 IC
Rosalita x 20 IC
Low dolly x 20 IC
Box cutters x 10 IC
Shoulder touch merkins x 10 IC
LBCs x 30 IC
Elbow plank x 1 min
CRITICAL REVIEW
This one sucked. It didn't really hit me until we got to the last set, and I hit that brick wall face first. TClaps to everyone, as I didn't see a single Pax out there that wasn't giving it their all. Excellent work.
Shamrock, you're not registered on the website so I'm unable to tag you. But your presence has been duly noted.
Great job to Jedi and the others who helped push the six, and racked up even more reps. Way to lead by example as always.
Thank you Hippie for the opportunity to lead. And thank you to all Pax who posted this morning and helped celebrate my 2 year anniversary in F3. It's always an honor to be able to lead, and this morning was especially humbling. I'm grateful to all of you, as everyone has made a contribution, no matter how small, to making me a better man. Many times we don't even realize the impact we have on the man beside us, and I can say honestly that I would not be who I am today without those influences.
2 years ago, I found myself reading an article in the Herald about a men's outdoor bootcamp called F3. It was an editorial piece, and being newly moved to North Carolina from my native New York, I was particuarly interested in how the author kept talking about how the group helped him get back to the best shape of his life, and form such a bond with the guys he worked out with that he likened it to a brotherhood. Best of all, it was all totally free, just show up and do your best. I was going to Gold's Gym at the time, and was not satisfied at all with my results (or lack therof) for the price I was paying. i was the true definition of a sad clown, in more ways than one. The author went on to give info about the Saturday workout at Grace Covenant Church, and of workouts being run there by some strange fellow named Springfield. I figured, what do I have to lose?
The author's name was George Bell, affectionately known as Scrappy. I wondered about that name for awhile, until I met him. It all made sense immediately.
That first post to GCC, coincidentally under the Q of Springy that day (I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out "I read all about you!"), kicked my ass in one of the hardest workouts I had up until that point in years. It was terrible, horrible, and absolutely wonderful. I had never done anything like it before, and at the end we all grouped in a circle and prayed. I was totally taken aback by it, who prays publically in a group like this? Sadly, up until then it was totally alien to me, but I went along with it, grateful for the moment to thank God for helping me survive the beating I just endured.
And then came my second post the following week. I found myself counting the days until then, I was really looking forward to it. As if fate was asking me, "do you really want to do this?", this Q was lead by Bogey. Oh. My. God. It's still to this day one of the top 3 hardest workouts I've ever endured in my life, and the benchmark I have in my mind that I measure all other workouts by. Springfield told me something during that workout that I will never forget: "It's You Against You." Not a day goes by when I don't think about that phrase. It's helped push me through the darkest moments I've had, and get through what I thought were my limits and beyond. I was given my F3 name that day, and was warmly welcomed and congratulated. Then I guess I can say the rest is history….
Thank you. Just thank you. That sums up everything I'm feeling as I sit here reflecting back on the past 2 years. I've been truly blessed to be led to F3, and everything that has resulted from it has had a massive impact on my life. I've lost nearly 30 lbs since then, met some outstanding friends, and my wife says I smile alot more than I used to. I look forward to the future, knowing that it will only get better from here, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to pass this on to other men. I can only hope that I can help contribute to similar positive impacts in the men around me.
See you all in the gloom. AYE!