Part 2 of my one year anniversary Q absolutely HAD to take place at the AO where I first posted in the gloom.  One year and 38 pounds ago, I said yes to the EH from my brother Koi and nearly splashed merlot on multiple occasions.  Wasn’t sure if I still liked him or hated him after those first couple of Beatdowns.  But I knew pretty quickly I had found something I desperately needed (though I couldn’t have told you I needed it a year ago).

Warm-a-Rama:

Mosey over to the middle school parking lot for some SSHs, Weedpickers, Sungods (not in cadence, sorry Doughboy), and Michael Phelps.

The Thang:

Mosey over to the half-wall in front of the middle school also known as “the dip station”

• 1 set of 25 dips
• 1 set or 20 step ups (right leg)
• 1 set of 25 dips
• 1 set of 20 step ups (left leg)

Mosey down the stairs to a ~100 yard track that YHC had marked out.  Basic structure was to find a fun way to get down the 100 yard track to one end, knock out 25 Merkins and 25 Big Boys, find a fun way to get back down the 100 yard track to the starting point and do another 25 Merkins and 25 Big Boys.

• Round 1: sprint down, 25 Merkins and Big Boys, burpee Broad jump back (this was VERY popular with the PAX and had everyone’s shorts bulging before we even began), 25 Merkins and Big Boys
• In true Apex style and in honor of the men who picked me up as the six during my first post, those who finished first doubled back to pick up the six and get a bonus round of Merkins and Big Boys
• Round 2: bear crawl down, bear crawl back (25 Merkins and Big Boys at each end)
• Pick up the six as we did in round 1.  At this point, PAX were heaping on the praise for how well thought out and structured this Q was.  Everyone especially liked that we had warmed our arms and shoulders up so thoroughly with dips to prepare for the burpees and Merkins.
• Round 3: MIX IT UP WITH SOME BURPEES! (This announcement was met with moans of pleasure and delight).  Lunge walk down, 10 burpees, lunge walk back, 10 more burpees.

YHC called it towards the end of round 3 and we headed back to the flag for Mary, where we all learned that Soorie has a colorful lexicon of praise for exercises as fine as the T Bomb.

COT:  This world is crazy, crazier everyday.  The only thing that will change that is HIMs leading their families and their communities to serve and glorify the Lord.

Naked Moleskine:  No one models “leave no man behind, and leave no man where you found him” better than the men of The Apex.  At my very first post, Rubberneck Q’d a beat down that I thought was going to kill me at the time.  But as I look back on it, it was the perfect F3 beat down.  I was partnered up with my brother Koi who kept pushing me through the whole thing, and just when I thought I was going to collapse a group of men came over and asked how many reps we had left.  To my surprise, they didn’t laugh or bust my balls when I answered – they said, “I got 20 of those back fly’s for you”.  They didn’t have to tell me I was the six, and they didn’t have to explain what picking up the six meant.  I didn’t leave knowing the term; but I left knowing that I was coming back because of that.