Today marked nearly one year to the day YHC posted his first BC. A lot of things may have changed since then but one thing remains the same: the men of Hollow can absolutely get after it. Today was no different. Here is how it went down:
Weather: 45 and windy
Disclaimer
Prayer
The Thang
Mosey around the parking lot and to the courtyard for some COP
SSH x 45 IC (for the number of pounds YHC lost in 2018)
TTT x 10 IC
IW x 10 IC
LBAC x 10 (forward and reverse)
Mosey to the block pile, pick a good one, and off to the lower field. Lights were spaced down the field every 10yds with a total of 5 stations. The workout was as follows:
Down: Block drag bear crawl to 1st light, 10 incline merkins; block drag bear crawl to 2nd light, 10 merkins; R&R to 5th light
Back: overhead block carry to 1st light, 10 block squats; overhead block carry to 2nd light, 10 block squats; R&R to 5th light
Second set was the same but on the way down add 10 curls 4 the gurls and on the way back 10 thrusters at every light
Third set was the same but add 10 bent rows at every light (no return trip)
Mosey to the hill behind the tennis courts for 11s – exercises were LBC and BBSU
Mosey back to the blocks and return to the block pile
Find a spot on the wall for peoples chair: 30s arms to the side, 30s arms above head, 30s arms out front
Back to the shovel flag
Count-o-Rama
Name-o-Rama
Announcements: MGC long run (this weekend), Dam2Dam coming up (volunteers also needed), P200, 5 year convergence (March 2nd), HBB group order on Hollow shirts
Prayer Requests: Not Gravediggers foot, Juice FIL
Devo: Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Takeaway: Respect and Integrity are just as important when dealing with the small things as in dealing with large problems.
Moleskin:
So I struggled with whether I should take a minute and put my thoughts to paper on what this last year has meant to me personally. After really thinking on it, I came to the conclusion that even if what I say only impacts one person, the effort was worth it. With that being said…
F3: Fitness. Leading into 2018, I was in bad shape – physically and somewhat mentally. I had not been taking care of myself (worst shape of my life) as I had allowed my career to get the best of me. Now I didn’t consider myself to be a health risk but I was far from who I needed to be. So after several months of pestering, I finally committed to posting to a BC. Truth be told, I had to go out the weekend prior and buy a new pair of shoes just to be able to show up half prepared. That concern only grew when I arrived to learn a guy they called “Gravedigger” was “on the Q.” I had no idea what the ‘Q’ was but was smart enough to know the name ‘Gravedigger’ was not good. I struggled through every bit of that workout – the term modify was real….but I was hooked.
Over the past 10 months I have found my way through this First ‘F.’ I am in the best shape of my life, have done some completely stupid (and utterly pointless) events, and continue to push myself on to other things. For most, this ‘F’ is the easiest to identify and quickest to show results; if you put in the hard work you will see improvement. For those who don’t believe me, I welcome you to try to convince me otherwise. But in F3 we say “it’s more than just a workout.” It took me awhile to figure out what that meant, but fitness is only a small piece of the equation.
F3: Fellowship. When I showed up that first morning, I only knew 1 person. Since then I have seen a transformation in the group of people I associate with and created some lasting relationships. The push, the encouragement, the comradery, and yes, the mumblechatter is real. I’ve been a part of men running through the blue ridge mountains not just for the fitness, but for the fellowship spent those 30+ hours. I’ve witnessed men will people back from an injury or slump, or simply not let them quit when they were ever on the verge of doing so. I’ve listened to men open up about the difficulties in their life to not only help themselves but allow others to learn from their experiences. But most importantly, I’ve also seen grown men stop what they are doing to help out another person they barely know, to serve as a listening board to someone in a time of need, and to serve as a shoulder to lean on in a time of sorrow and loss.
F3: Faith. This 3rd ‘F’ is undoubtedly the hardest to explain. Faith isn’t something we earn, it is something we are given. A fundamental rule of a F3 workout is that it start and end with a prayer. These prayers – our faith – are the bookends of an F3 workout; it is the starting point for Fitness and Fellowship. For me personally, this is where I continue to learn and grow.
At the end of the day, F3 workouts are hard, the fellowship is real, and our faith is ever growing. To put it even simpler: being a part of this group is a damn good time. I’m better physically and have improved as a husband and a father, and nearly all of that comes from following the examples led by my F3 brothers.
To those maybe reading this who have never been to an F3, Go! It’s free, and if you don’t like it you never had to return; we will even give you a questionable nickname. To F3 pax who have faded, recommit; I guarantee you didn’t fall off because it had a bad impact on your life.
In closing, I’ll turn to an adage stated often in my profession: “it is the practice of law.” So is life. You cannot, and will not, master life on earth. All you can do is strive to make yourself better day-by-day. I promise F3 can help you in that attempt just as it has helped me.
-All 9s