Starting and finishing with Dr. Seuss

Preamble:

My pre-blast was: Oh the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!

Easily recognized from Dr. Seuss, Tebow understood my intention that we’ll be running around today. When I posted that pre-blast I didn’t think much beyond that, but it got me to look at other Dr. Seuss quotes and I realized there’s one I’ll want to finish with with.

Well, I had a weinke in my pocket and a plan in my head. Little did I know I’ll be steering the BD away from the main road.

2 for the pre-run, neither a Gladiator-native.

Warm-O-Rama:

We moseyed to the parking lot under the tennis fields for 10 IC Weed pickers, 15 IC Imperial Walkers and 20 IC SSH. YHC was waiting for a pre-runner that got delayed to catch up to us so added 10 IC Copper Head Squats.

The Thang:

We moseyed on the dark trail behind the soccer fields. After the fields there’s a small patch of grass. The plan in YHC’s pocket called for 11s but YHC really wanted to do Mucho Chesto. What to do? What to do? …We’ll do both! (first audible of several)

Mucho Chesto – single counts all, 10 merkin, 10 diamons, 10 wide, 10 stagger, 10 stagger, 10 hand release

YHC announced that now that are shoulders have warmed enough we can do Elevens – Jump Squats and… Merkins! Not sure why, but the mumble chatter wasn’t on the enthusiastic side. Oh well, can’t please everyone.

We moseyed some more, catching our breath on the uphill toward the parking lot at the entrance to the park. Next on the plan – 4 Corners. 30 BBSU, 30 Flatter Kicks, 30 Freddie Mercury, 30 Mountain Climbers. Alpha counts except the BBSU.

The plan was to continue from here but YHC called the second audible – round 2, 40 of each (same exercises). Monkey Humpers for the six was a nice touch. Until it wasn’t, which is the nature of Monkey Humpers.

Next we headed to the planters with a short Bear Crawl that, as usual, felt very long. By this time YHC realized we won’t have the time to finish the original plan, but the new one seemed fun enough so why not?

On the planters – 20 IC Captain Morgan Squats (switching legs in the middle). Seems like the PAX weren’t familiar with this variation but all appreciated the good stretch to the groin. We continued with 20 IC Dips, 20 IC Dirty Hand Shakes (switching leading hands in the middle) and 20 IC Derkins.

We moseyed the long way behind the baseball fields and run to the wall. As previously said – a Zohan staple in most beatdowns. For a bunch of bricks that just stand there doing nothing, they are quite versatile in what they allow us to do. Would we do Balls to Wall (letting them rest after the earlier stretch)? Will it be Aussie Mountain Climbers? No!

YHC mentioned that if there’s something better than Burpees it has to be Burpees with Benefits. In this case – a Burpee with a Donkey Kick (after the merkin). 10 OYO to see if PAX like it. And since you shouldn’t make up your mind after trying something only once – repeat.

With less than 5 minutes to spare we moseyed to the flag. Brownie was quick to call some Box Cutters, stopping at 22. Who does 22??? Anyway, YHC finished with American Hammers (can’t recall if 15 or 20, but either one of these are officially approved numbers of reps) and LBCs.

COT:

Next Saturday at 4pm, beatdown at NLB followed by dinner at 5pm. Cannot stress enough the benefits of working out with these men, who need to know that there’s a group outside of NLB that will provide a continued feeling of belonging and fellowship once they finish the program.

Speedo BD on Thursday.

YHC was trying to share some truth nugget and realized after a couple minutes that one of the oldest PAX members (he’s like really old and about to have a birthday) is pulling his leg by not finish talking for a moment. Or is it that with old age his hearing is getting worse too? Very sad.

Anyway, YHC quoted Dr. Seuss again –

You have brain in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

Emphasis is on the last word, and YHC shared that in the past I wasn’t really in control in my life, and one can say I was in the passenger seat. As part of the same process that led me to F3, I had to choose to take control of my life and make conscious decisions as to where I want my life to go.

Naked-Man Moleskin:

I always appreciate the opportunity to lead, and the honor I receive by being followed (and somewhat listened to).

As a Q, I have the opportunity to deviate from the plan. Sometimes it’s a privilege. Sometimes it’s a responsibility. It all begins when we decide to take control of our lives. We might take a wrong turn, we might fail. But we’ll get better at it and it sure beats drifting from here to there. There’s some freedom in ‘letting go’ and some may call it ‘trusting the universe’, but that’s fine only when you’re truly alone. When you have people trusting you (e.g. family, coworkers) they don’t expect you to drift, they expect you to lead. And if you ever feel underqualified to do so, lead a Q. It’s a great practice, and a lot of fun too.