In This Economy, Who Wouldn’t Want a Coupon?

Preamble:

Answer: PAX who have to wrestle with a 22.4 lb Coupon for 45 minutes.

We had a brief circle of instruction.  My message, after explaining that the entire BD was song-based, and that they would have to actively listen for my voice over the music and their continual, unabating mumblechatter for the next exercise being called (even mid-song), and that – unless informed otherwise in the moment – all exercises would be no count, no cadence, OYO & AMRAP… that it was my expectation that in this freedom they would choose to Push themselves, but Pace themselves but ultimately Persevere: don’t STOP and don’t give up.

[Music selections in brackets]  Anyone familiar with the lyrics would get some sense of how each song spoke to the name of each exercise, or that point in the BD routine, or some aspect of what it means to be a HIM.  Alas, this was all lost on most the PAX.

Warm-O-Rama:

[Boston: The Launch]
We Moseyed to my Shuttle Craft and each PAX picked a 22.4 lb pavestone of their choosing (all the same) and Rifle Carried to the lit grassy area just beyond the pavilion… where we formed a circle and slowly ramped it up:

[Jars of Clay: He]
20 seconds of Deep Breathing
10 Sun Gods AC IC
10 Seal Claps AC IC
10 Chinooks AC IC
2 rounds of Willie Mays Hayes – all 3 positions
THEN WE PICKED UP THE COUPONS
Colt 45 Curls (to 45 degrees, to face, to above head); REPEATO for a while
2 rounds of Alternating Lunges (with Coupon going down to inside of leg being extended)

The Thang:

[Jars of Clay: Flood] – with Coupons
5 minutes alternating between Thrusters and Squat Thusters

[Jars of Clay: Liquid] – with Coupons
3:30 alternating between Skull Crushers and Grave Diggers

[Jars of Clay: Like a Child] – without Coupons
4:30 of Mountain Climber Merkins (3 Mtn Climbers AC + 1 Merkin)

[Boston: I Think I Like It] – with Coupons
4 minutes of Murder Bunnies down grassy field between soccer field and baseball field; Rifle Carry back to our Circle

[Boston: To Be a Man] – with Coupons
3:30 of Heavy Freddies (props to Lightweight for calling out to raise the Coupons up high and back over head to fully engage the abs)

[Fleming & John: I’m Not Afraid] – with Coupons
3:15 of War Hammers (1 BBSU + 4 AC American Hammers) ad nauseum

[Fleming & John: Delusions of Grandeur] – with Coupons
3:45 of Roundabout Grip, Rip & Rolls (on Six, lift Coupon from right side and place on left side, place hands on Coupon, roll up to Plank and hold, roll down to opposite side of coupon so it is on your right again; REPEATO and do this in a circular motion so we essentially are rotating around the clock as a group.  All I’m going to say is that our group is geometrically challenged, and we ended up looking more like the Pleaides Star Cluster at the end, and nothing like a circle.  So I called everyone from the far flung sectors they ended up in (did someone almost make it into the parking lot?) and re-grouped us into a Circle.

[Fleming & John: Break the Circles] – with Coupons
3 minutes of Ring of Fire: Everyone hold High Plank with hands on Coupon as we went around the Circle and each PAX completed 3 Incline Merkins; then we moved Coupon to feet and continued the Ring of Fire with each PAX completing 3 Derkins.  Plenty of time, so we did both rounds again for more fun.

[Fleming & John: A Place Called Love] – with Coupons
1 minute of rest followed by:
3 minutes of Blockees (Burpees with the Coupon, just thrust Coupon over head, no jumping)

[Boston: We’re Ready] – without Coupons (time to dial down a bit)
4 minutes alternating between Imperial Walkers, Windmills / Don Quixotes & SSHs
Rifle Carry coupon to Shuttle Craft loading bay
and Circle the Big Flag.

COT:

The MOC was brought by Toadstool, who candidly shared how the dip in the temps just makes everything a little bit harder… but his desire to want to push through.  I piggybacked on that and reminded us of our opening word: Push ourselves, Pace ourselves, and Persevere.

There was a consistent thread of PAX sharing about personal, family, friends & pets whose Jars of Clay are in various significant states of illness, malaise, or brokenness.  While I usually try to dig down deep in prayer during the Ball of Man for individual needs, the theme of the physical brokeness were so pervasive, I chose instead to pray more broadly but still dig deep and call for Sky-Q to stir human gifts and exercise His supernatural power to bring healing to these many beloved beings.  I ended my own prayer with The Lord’s Prayer.

Naked-Man Moleskin: