Avoiding Blisters

YHC was surfing through the F3 Nation web site the other day and was reminded of the five principles that define an F3 workout. He wondered – has the pax committed this to memory? (YHC certainly had not, but then did so). YHC’s original plan was to spring a pop quiz on the unsuspecting pax in the Thursday gloom, asking them to call out each principle, with each correct answer serving to subtract 10 burpees from the 50 that YHC had in his back pocket (figuratively speaking, of course – one cannot literally pocket a burpee, though rumor has it that Snaggle has tried). But when the first answer from the befuddled pax was one of the S’s – from the speed, stamina, and strength bucket of answers – YHC’s ADD took over (“squirrel!”) and he shifted the question to, What are the Four S’s that make up a good F3 work out? The pax nailed the first three, the aforementioned speed, strength and stamina, but struggled with the fourth, that being … Slash! (YHC takes pride in his humility!) We later covered the 5 principles in the COT.

The theme for the day’s workout – the Servant Leader. YHC was introduced to this concept in 2003, when he and his colleagues had the pleasure of spending most of a day with former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. More on this, below. Special shout-out to My Boy, Seinfeld, for showing up and going solo on his bike, but rejoining us for the COT (he almost timed it perfectly to miss Guantanamo Bay, but not quite). YHC is also grateful to Bada Bing for showing up despite having to leave early for a prior commitment, and to Booshay for showing up at the end (some F3 is better than no F3!) for some burps and the COT.

Opening Ceremonies
• No FNGs!
• 5 principles pop qu – squirrel! Shift to the Four S’s!
• Disclaimer – YHC is no professional. Push yourself but do not injure yourself.

Warm-Up / Brocrastination
• SSHs IC (an undetermined number; objective was to keep going until the pax began to grumble; mission accomplished at count 25)
• Cotton Pickers IC
• Hillbilly IC
• Down Dog, shift into plank, shift into side plank, back to the dog
• Brief mosey around parking lot to the outhouse (the actThe Thang
The Thang
• Broad-jump burpees. 10 OYO at the outhouse; when done, mosey to parking lot 2.
• Suicide merkins. 1st island, 10 merkins; 2nd, 20; 3rd, 30; 2nd, 20; 1st, 10.
• Mosey to football fields, stop on the way at a curb for 20 raised lunges each leg.
• At field, pair up for farmer’s carry. P1 carries sandbags to the Wall of Misery (~ 50 yards), drops them, runs back. P2 has been doing LBCs. Switch, repeat so that both partners carry the bags 2x.
• Iron Cross
• Another farmer’s carry, same distance, with P2 this time doing squats.
• Mosey to the Wall of Misery for two rounds of balls to the wall.
• Mosey back to the flag, with a short stop to say good afternoon to Booshay, who joined us better late than never and triggered the traditional welcome of 10 burpies.

BOM / COT
The F3 theme this month – Service. We often think of this as helping others through good works, good deeds. You can also serve by being a leader, what some refer to as servant leadership. Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden defined this for me 15 years ago. Traditional leadership generally involves the exercise of power by one at the top of the pyramid. Servant leadership, by comparison, is different. It’s about serving those around you, asking yourse
lf, “How do I give others the tools they need to succeed?”
For Wooden, the secret of his remarkable success (10 national championships in 12 years, including seven in a row) was not overlooking any detail. He taught the most basic of basics to his players. For example, at the start of every season, Wooden’s first lesson was to instruct his players how to put on sweat socks. The point: avoid blisters. Basic, right? But if not done right, the consequences could be significant – a distracted mind might miss a defensive assignment, an open teammate, etc.
Quoting Wooden: “I derived great satisfaction from identifying and perfecting those ‘trivial’ and often troublesome details, because I knew, without doubt, that each one brought UCLA a bit closer to our goal: competitive greatness. If you collect enough pennies you’ll eventually be rich. Each relevant and perfected detail was another penny in our bank.”

Think about those around you, family, friends, co-workers – how can you serve them and provide them with the tools they need to avoid their own blisters, so to speak? How can you help them lay a foundation for success?

Prayers for Seinfeld’s uncle – hopefully he can make it down and join us – and those in the A1A accident.

Salute to Gravy – 35 pounds gone! Snooki shedding the LBs as well! Much respect, that is hard work and takes commitment. Very inspiring!

Hacker Open coming up! Good luck to all!

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as the Q today! YHC always gets more out of this than he gives. Was inspiring today watching Air Bags rock it on the suicide merkins, was moving to hear Seinfeld talk of his uncle, and was quite impressive to watch Squeege burst out of the gate on the Farmer’s Carry! YHC out!