Six pax came out to celebrate the birthday of Fury, F3Greenwood’s most glorious AO. It’s hard to believe that is has been an entire year since that first blustery workout. YHC has a soft spot for Fury for two main reasons. First, there is an expectation there that, no matter what, you WILL exhaust everything you have inside you for the entire workout. The men who post there hold YHC accountable to the highest standards all the time, not just in the workout, but in life. Second, Fury has taught me more about myself than any other singular thing on this planet. It never disappoints.

YHC had planned a grand tour of the area, but we were having too much fun doing lots of burpees in creative ways. Here’s how it went down.

THE THANG

Mosey over to the pull-up bars and partner up.

• Station 1 – 50 burpee pull-ups
• Station 2 – 25 burpee tire flip jump-throughs
• Station 3 – 100 burpees
• Station 4 – 50 Toe to bar (or knees to elbow)

This took a lot longer than YHC anticipated. Still, it was time to embark on the Bataan Death March. Same principle as the merkin Indian run, but with burpees at the back instead of merkins.

Bataan Death March over to Emerald Baptist Church.

One pax does crawl bear up the staircase while others do max effort dips on the wall. That’s a lot of dips so we moved through several different movements. It was here that Inspector asked for a modification due to a bum shoulder. Somehow during that conversation and the ensuing conversation with Duggar about what we were actually doing, the reverse cowgirl came up. Not exactly pleasant thoughts when you’re doing dips next to five other sweaty dudes. As Flossy would say, you had to be there.

The Bataan Death March continued down Laurel Avenue untilmeveryone had gone twice.

Circle up and hit 20 squats OYO.

Bataan Death March back toward the AO. Once everyone hit a third round we pulled over for 20 more squats OYO.

One last round of Bataan Death March got us back to the flag.

• 50 big boy sit-ups OYO
• 10 burpees OYO
• 50 big boy sit-ups facing uphill OYO

Count, name, pray

Prayer requests mentioned were Inspector’s dad going through some issues. We are here for you brother. I can’t imagine having to deal with something like that. Posh is in a very similar situation with his mother in England. Rocky is still fighting cancer. Many other men connected to this group are facing trials. The beauty is that they are not facing them alone. That’s what the ShieldLock is all about.

We also learned today that a good lay in can sometimes result in some unexpected consequences – like a child. #TheMoreYouKnow

It was nice celebrating the first birthday of Fury with some great guys. The AO has seen some ebb and flow, from the highest highs (20 pax posted one time!) to the lowest lows (I’ve posted there alone), but has settled into a great group of guys who post there regularly.

Many have balked at some things I have said about F3, its mission and where the focus lies. That’s fine and what makes America great (still, no need to make it that way again). What I have seen transpiring more and more over the past few weeks is exactly what has been needed for some time. There are core groups of guys posting to a certain AO all the time. This is what creates the deep, authentic bonds needed to truly free a #SadClown. Hopping from place to place or getting in large crowds only serves to keep those relationships shallow and on the surface. This is where the true 2ndF is forged. You can’t have that level of openness between men without making the full investment in the 1stF. It is when the magnet of the 2ndF gets really strong that you will really start to see the dynamite of the 3rdF go BOOM! This is where men start to lead out in the open, but the truth is they have been sharpening that skill for some time in the gloom.

Huge #TClaps to Sour for switching Qs with me so that I could Q the birthday party. I am still very emotional about it. I have planted several flags here and elsewhere and none mean more to me than REDFriday and Fury.