It was a cold December day, just above freezing, when I pulled into the parking lot of Cornerstone Fellowship Church in Apex. A few PAX were in their vehicles keeping warm, a few out moving around the parking lot doing I know not what.
The kettle bells were not out of their container yet, so with TrackStar’s help we pulled more than enough bells out for the 11 PAX that came out to join me in the gloom.
Crimson brought out FNG Anthony (soon to be given the F3 name Paperback) – a 60-year old cancer survivor who has a goal of doing 60 pushups every day. Little did he know that I planned 60 merkins as part of the warmup.
F3 has a tradition of calling men in their 50’s “Respects” and those that are in their 60’s “Double Respects”. Carpex believes that those that are in their 60’s should be called “Honors”. Since this was my 60th birthday I pre-blasted that I’d be HONORed for PAX to join me… ha ha.
We started with F3 disclaimers for the FNG (thanks for the assists WWW and Earhart), then
Pledge to the Flag
followed by a mozy to the side of the church for
Warmups
GM – slow with r/l stretch
SSH x 16
Sir Fazio arm circles forward low to high
Sir Fazio arm circles backward high to low
Merkins x5: 10 reps each:
- diamond merkins
- wide merkins
- spiderman merkins
- hand release merkins
- shoulder tap merkins
dang, I meant to do 6 sets of merkins but lost count – I’ll have to make these up later.
Extended Warmup / Thang 1:
Follow me as I hit 3 different places and do 10 burpees at each place
Repeato for a total of 60 burpees in and around the entire parking lot
Thang 2:
Tabata 6 station kettle bells w/ 45 seconds on/15 seconds off at each station. Rotate thru:
- triceps
- lbc w/kb
- figure 8
- goblet squat
- curls
- lawn mowers
Mary w/bell:
- American Hammers x16
- Standard Merkin x10 – to get to 60 merkins for the day for our FNG and to keep the 60 theme.
- Freddie Mercs x16
- WWW called figure 8’s w/legs
sets of 16 done because if you don’t hear it right, sixteen can sound like sixty.
NMS:
I am blessed to be part of Carpex. It has changed my life in almost every way. Obviously phsically – I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m pushed every time that I post to go farther and faster than I would if I was by myself. Socially – I know I have friends that I can reach out to anytime about any topic. And if I approach someone that can’t help me they will help me find someone who can help. This also helps my mental health.
Leadership: I can lead a Q by signing up anytime. I have read Freed to Lead and QSource books to grow in my leadership capabilities. If I want to start something – almost anything – I have people I can ask for advice, encouragement, and support.
I started the #QSource channel on Carpex slack to ask leadership questions and for all of Carpex to share their knowledge and wisdom.
Son / Father / Husband: I’ve accelerated in my relationship with my mother, my children, and my wife by applying what I’ve learned from F3 and advice shared by Carpex HIM.
If I ask for something on my bucket list, like wanting to be a bestselling author, I just ask and I have HIM that will help me get there. [This actually happened. I wrote a short book and put it up for sale on Amazon. I asked the PAX to buy a copy. Enough did for the book to reach #1 in an Amazon category].
Needless to say, F3 Carpex is an integral part of my life. I don’t know what I’d do or where I’d be without y’all. What a gift! Thanks.
Word of Wisdom
“God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.”1 Peter 4:10
Playlist:
As Good As I Once Was – Toby Keith
Touch of Grey – Grateful Dead
My Next Thirty Years – Tim McGraw
Only the Good Die Young – Billy Joel
Glory Days – Bruce Springsteen
My Generation – The Who
I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair – George Jones
When I’m Sixty Four – The Beatles
Changes – David Bowie
Cherry Bomb – John Mellencamp
Forever Young – Rod Stewart
(Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult