09/01/2020 - The Colosseum - Something Gross
AO: The Colosseum
When: 09/01/2020
PAX:
Number of Pax: 14
Pax Names: Happy Camper, pi 3.14, Shooter McGavin, Wannstedt,
DR Names:
Number of FNGS: 1
FNG Names: The Couch (Also in attendance Bob Villa, Biscuit Joiner, Jellystone, Squirts, Linsanity, Yanni, Ron Swanson, and Toby
QIC: Ozark
Introduction
For my AOVQ YHC helped 13 other pax start the month of September off with a satisfying 
in the 
. We enjoyed variations on a couple of my favorite thangs, and I’m pretty sure the assembled pax now hate them as much as I do. Instructions were to bring your gloves (though YHC forgot his at home in his ruck) your coupon and some grit.
It was advised that past victims have put a little tape around the middle internal piece of their coupon–supposedly it makes this hurt less (not that any of them made the mistake of showing up for more of my madness this time around… Maybe I shouldn’t have warned them?)
Warm-O-Rama
We kept warm-o-rama short and sweet with some:
- Abe Vigodas
- Tappy Taps
- SSH
The Thang
Thang 1 – The Gross
3 Rounds of 12 reps each
- Bonnie Blairs (each leg ½)
- Thrusters
- Burpees
- Turkish Get ups (6 each arm)
The demo on the get ups inspired some good mumble chatter, we threw out some good mods (put the coupon on your shoulder, deconstruct it into lunges and big boys etc.) and away we went. By the end of the getups YHC was regretting some of the previous evenings beverage decisions, and was thankful for a circle of brothers holding him accountable for doing the hard thing.
Get-ups take time to do right, and 36 total is a pretty good chunk of work, so we went straight to something simple and relentless for the remainder of our time…
21’s (if you could get that far in time) ascending rounds of merkins and BBSU starting with one each, then two, then three until 21 assuming you’re a beast and made it before….
MARY!
We started with some coupon overhead flutter kicks (gives those arms something to do and gives some extra weight for the core to pull against to get those legs up). Followed that up with some Freddie Mercury, and then YHC called some Captain Thor for the pax to race through before 0600 rolled around to grant sweet mercy.
Circle of Trust
I had some notes and some stuff written out, but I decided in my post workout haze to try and sum up–with middling results. Here are the fuller thoughts, because I only vaguely recollect how much of this I actually shared ITG…
A concept that I’ve kept coming back to that has helped me refocus when I’m feeling overcome by events is the stoic precept of Amor Fati, the love of fate. There is so much wrapped up here but a couple ways to look at this that have helped me are that:
- Don’t merely accept your fate. We were not made to lay down and let events roll over us. Rather, take things as they are and take them into your own hands. Work with what is in front of you. Our fate doesn’t just happen to us, we happen to it as well.
- Be content. By doing what we can with what we have where we are, we fulfill our purpose. By serving others, we bring joy to them and ourselves as well.
- We must surrender to the life that God has prepared for us like Jonah we may resist, but we only make things worse by not accepting what is in store for us. Embrace the events and facts of your life. To live life fully you cannot run from what is put in front of you. Say “Yes” to the hard things in your life as well as the easy and happy ones.
We gain more from what is hard in our lives than what is easy. Eating cake is easy. Getting back up off the ground with that coupon over your head is hard. One makes you better than before one doesn’t. Acting out what we feel, lashing out at those who disagree or do things that contradict our beliefs is easy, taking a step back from our emotions to try and see and grapple with the realities around and move everyone forward is hard. Kvetching and critiquing on the couch is easy, leading in the field to gain advantage for those in your concentrica is hard—but necessary. We must choose whether we will do the easy things or the hard things every moment of every day, but only one option will leave you on your deathbed knowing you did what you could. Amor Fati, love your fate. Don’t accept it, love it with the intensity of a burning fire, for your fate provides the opportunities to step into the fire that will forge you into something better than you were.
“Good”
-Jocko Willink
Naked Man Moleskin
Thanks to everyone who endured my moth-to-a-candle love of the get-up. I may retire them after this (lest Pi be forced to shiv me on my next Q). They may sneak back in at some point in a new form anyway–I have some ideas on variations that might make them more of a crowd pleaser.
It was great to welcome another FNG and see so many new faces–evidence of the amazing growth we’re seeing in the Crossroads.
Hope those merkins and BBSUs left everyone with a sense of excitement for this weeks Iron Pax.
Special thanks to Jellystone for bringing a slug of extra coupons!