Five men decided it makes perfect sense to wake up at 0430 and get in a full workout before some men even begin their CoP and the rest of the sad clowns are still hitting the snooze alarm. Fortunately, it wasn’t too cold (not that you would know it by looking at Jazzhand’s attire) and Birkdale took my multi-million dollar idea by putting down articifial turf on the islands. So we stayed right where we were to begin the workout.
The Workout
We started with some SSH and I went a little long to give Magnus time to park his car. It may not be fair that he didn’t have to do SSH, but that played in to the theme of the morning. Next, we moseyed to Pier One where we did some mountain climbers. Afterwards, I said to stay in position but half the group thought they knew better and began to stand up. So we did merkins — 10 single count if you obeyed; 10 IC if you did not. Whoa! That’s not fair. Get over it.
Next, we moseyed to Which Wich for some slow squats then we crossed the bridge to the Irwin parking lot where we did some slow windmills. The next exercises would prove to be crowd pleasers (if you can call 5 a crowd). With men spread outward-stretched hands apart along the curb, each would do AMRAP incline merkins on curb while one man raccoon-crawled past them on the brick wall. PRoD gets credit for this one — think bear crawl on a 4-foot high, 8-inch wide wall. If you’re like me, it adds in an element of balance to an already difficult bear crawl. We each crawled 3x while others alternated merkins and dips on the curb.
Next up was WWII situps only each guy was to take the difference between his age and the number 40 to determine how many sit ups he had to do. Most of us did 7-10 situps but Turbo, at 56, was tasked with an “unfair” 16. Jazzhands was only obligated to do 8, but joined his elder for the latter’s entire lot.
From there it was a short jaunt and six bunny hops up some stairs to the far lot where we did one round of the Sharknado — 15 burpees and 20 each diamond merkins, WWII situps, merkins and scorpion dry docks with a lap around the parking lot after each exercise. Turbo once again proved his nick was not ironic as he lapped YHC who was at the six the entire time. That’s OK — he would be rewarded for his fitness later.
Following some LBCs, we did 40-yard sprints. Turbo, who finished first on the preceding circuit had to do 5 laps while YHC did just one. Everyone else did some amount in between; inversely propotional to the place they finished. One gent did more than necessary — can you guess who it was?
From there, it was back to the wall for decline merkins and step-ups. Dingo made a correct observation in that the wall at Irwin is the perfect height for many exercises — taller on one side than the other, depending on the fitness level of each man and the set being called. We moseyed back to the bridge to Birkdale where we lunge walked across, and then bear crawled back to Which Wich. A mosey from there to Pier One for some monkey humpers facing the early commuters, and then a people’s chair held while each man took his turn doing 15 air presses. I for one, was not happy when Turbo and Jazzhands felt called to do them IC rather than single count!
We moseyed back to the eternally green turf outside Starbucks where we had just enough time for some low flutters while deciding whether the smell around us was fecal matter or fresh mulch. We wrapped up with about 30 seconds of airborne mind-benders. No one felt cheated on that one.
The Discussion
After the unfair (for some) workout, we went inside for coffee (ah, bitter caffeine, how I missed thee throughout Lent!) where Earl Grey joined us for a discussion of Matthew 20:1-16 which is the parable of the workers in the vineyard. YHC asked the men to decide which of the characters they identified with, but to also consider relationships they might have where they might be in the role of each of the people in the story. We discussed whether we should be envious of those who appear to have more, whether we should feel guilty for those who may have less, and whether we should strive for all to be equal or embrace a life that isn’t always fair. We wrapped up the morning speed-reading Psalm 73 which speaks of a person who almost gave up on their faith because the wicked seemed to have a good life with no penalties for not following God. But the speaker finished the psalm by realizing that if the ultimate reward is to be with God in heaven, than it does not matter what others have here on earth now. We should be focused on having here what we will one day have there — something the wicked will not enjoy.
Much thanks to all who came out to support me today. 0445 is early for a workout and makes 0530 seem like sleeping in. I had a plan over the weekend to make the entire workout inequal but could not bring myself to do it and opted for a few key examples instead. I thought it was interesting to see how each man reacted to the inequality which I thought played well into the discussion later. Speaking of discussion, I’d be remiss if I did not point out that there were some ideas shared which I had not considered, but that is a good thing! I enjoyed hearing a perspective I had not considered, and whether or not I agree, I believe God offers these instances as opportunities to grow — either in a new direction, or further strengthened in our original belief. Surrounding oneself with people of all backgrounds is a perfect way for each man’s iron to be sharpened. And for that, I am thankful for F3. I believe I am better physically, mentally and spiritually as a result of being welcomed by this group of HIMs. Many thanks to Dingo for the personal request to Q at Berean this morning.
The Prayer
On a more somber note, please keep Turbo’s niece, Elizabeth, in your prayers today. She is undergoing a high-risk surgery to remove a rod from her spine which is causing more harm than good. The desire is that the doctor’s involved are sharp of mind and steady of hand as they proceed, and that the family remain in good spirits rather than introduce any doubt or negativity. Faith can move mountains — there’s no reason it can’t produce a good outcome in the operating room too. God bless.