The beat up pair of sneakers you cut the grass in. The Dinner Party episode of the Office. The Lollapalooza ‘94 tee shirt with the hole under the arm. The first Karate Kid. 80s rock from Def Leppard. Anything by Led Zeppelin. Some things are just comfortable, reliable, and make you feel like all is right in the world.
In my corner of the F3 Northshore world, reliable means a Splashpad Q, Pelican, an ongoing “feud” with the A1C that defines ISI, and weather that is continuing to turn more humid and getting close to “hot”. The weather that turns me into Jackson Pollock, where sweat beads down almost immediately and paints a dotted abstract picture on the ground when it falls. Art!
Add in the reliable Deck of Death as a base, and one has all the makings of a classic beatdown.
Warmup
– SSHs
– Grass grabbers
– Cherry pickers
– Self love
– Arm circles
– Seal jacks
Thang
Quick mosey of the block, directly into the deck of death. Rep count and exercise was based on suit and number. Deck was split into four groups below.
Between groups we slalomed the columns or ran the block.
Hearts – wide merkins
Diamonds – Peter Parker’s
Spades – 8 count body builders
Clubs – merkins
Hearts – burpees
Diamonds – lunges (2 is 1)
Spades – Monkey humpers
Clubs – Big boy sit-ups
Hearts – ballerina squats
Diamonds – SMCs
Spades – imperial squat walkers
Clubs – Star jumps
Hearts – leg raises
Diamonds – V ups
Spades – Gas pumps
Clubs – Crunchy frogs
Mary: 15 IC freak nastys and another brief mosey.
COT, Name-o-Rama, and prayer closed us out. Reliable words that I’ve copied and pasted numerous times.
In all seriousness, one of the most reliable things for me is to know there’s a group of men that will often meet to push each other hard, grumble about it constantly, hurt or ache for a bit, and then get up early to do it all again. Unless your Steve or TruCoat, we do it without a smile on our face while we’re in the midst of it. But there are reasons we do it, and for me, one of those is so that I can be more reliable, dependable, a strength to those around me, most importantly my family. I don’t always hit that mark, but that remains the goal, and without this group, that task is more difficult.
Our church had a men’s dinner and short service after, and one of the notes our speaker reminded us of is that we are defined and shaped by the company we keep, and where we spend our time, talents, and money. Think limit the negative influences, accentuate the positive ones.
That’s why I post, to surround myself with a group of like-minded individuals who have each other’s best interests. Well, that and because I am afraid Slackbot will come after me and not open the pod-bat bay doors should I ever need it.
SYITG
