Day 25: Isometric Hell

The email:

Heres the set up. Move fast as possible and it ends sooner.

Equipment 1 brick

One guy just starts with a brick at the fence One guy holds a wall sit against your fence One guy a plank on swings One guy hangs from monkey bars One guy does walking lunges between benches

Guy starts with a brick at fence sprinting it to swings. Before he can hand the brick off he does 10 burpees. Swing man brings brick to monkey bars, 10 burpees then hand off. Bars sprints to walking lunges, 10 burpees then pass it off. Lunge man sprints to fence, 10 burpees hand it off. Finally fence man to swings, 10 burpees pass it off and then the cycle continues but this time you do 9 burpees before handing off.

Don't you dare think of stopping until you get all the way through 1 rep for each guy.

Tell everyone they're just going to keep getting worse once we introduce concrete... 

(If you haven't cringed at this workout, please re-read until that happens)

 The equipment:

Let's step back in time: 
Let's begin today responding to this weekend's posts. It seems to get busier on Friday and Saturday introducing kids and their obligations and I don't feel I properly responded to the comments left. Thank you all for the continued messaging on Facebook and here. I love reading the comments and your thoughts on both the workouts and my readings. Thank you all as well for allowing me to be inspirational and for helping me spread the word about fitness and feeling great. I asked my wife this morning if she noticed any changes yet (thinking I'd get a "yeah you look sexy as hell right now!") She told me I looked happier and more excited than I've been in a while, which actually means more to me than looking sexy (for now). It is because of all of you that I am that way, knowing that you are all talking about it, sharing it with others, helping us move people into a healthier way of life. Please continue to do just that by talking about it, sharing the posts, commenting on the readings. I'll continue to keep the content as entertaining as possible so there is something to read.

Now a story: There have been an infinite amount of things that have shaped my life. Some for good, some for bad, all for a reason. None have been more prolific than the passing of my mother after a 7 year battle with breast cancer. I bring this story up, not because of her courage, having battled stage 4 cancer for 7 years, knowing it would eventually take her life, but for just after, at her wake. I grew up in Franklin, MA and both parents grew up in Holliston, MA. 2 small towns (at the time) where it seemed everyone knew each other. I never saw it as a kid, and didn't realize it as a teenager, but by being THERE, active in everything we as kids did, my parents touched a world of people and influenced their lives in a positive way. It may have been for a moment, maybe longer, and they may not have even know it, but we were reminded of it on that evening. Normal wakes have showing hours from 3-5 and again from 7-9, something like that. OUR wake started at 3:30 and lasted straight through the evening, a line around the street corner forcing the funeral director to keep the doors open an extra 90 minutes. He later told us he had never in his professional career seen anything like it for someone not famous. It was the single most inspirational moment of my life...and today was the second time I have felt that kind of awesomeness.

After our workout (Which I will describe in a hysterical fashion, because it was just that) I dressed and got ready for work as I normally do. As I was getting into my car, A voice shouted my name. I looked up to see a family friend, Alex, with water bottle in hand walking towards me. We engaged in normal banter for a minute, "how the family, what's new, how is the job" things people do. He then told me he saw my blog and exercise posts and had to start working out too, hoping to get enough weight loss in soon to join us  for our sessions. Alex is a big kid, nice as hell and always talking about getting back into soccer and such. And I had always listened and encouraged as I should, but never really thought about it much beyond that. Today took my breath away and almost made me tear up while we talked. I did that, I pushed him into committing. I changed a life. We finished our talk with an open invite to ANY session, explaining that its not keeping up with us or anyone else, but pushing himself to do better each day. It's how I started...



I hope he comes.




The workout:

So I made that face again when I first read today's email:



ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!! I have to do what?!?!?!?!?

I sent out texts to the team, stressing the importance of getting to the house early and, well just getting there.
Aaron was the only show this morning, forcing us to alter the workout.

We did each exercise (omitting the lunges) rotating Burpees then sprinting to the next station. From time to time there are people that walk by and I often think, what do they see? Does it look like this?

 Probably. But the exercises are working. Aaron today told me he felt Jacked. And Chris was worried about bulking up, fearing he'd lose weight. Don't worry Chris, we'll get you ripped:





This round of exercises was Killer. It motivated me to move faster because my Burpees were keeping someone else in an exercise none f us wanted to be in. More importantly, it pushed each of us to our limits, again. I can only imagine what Geoff is doing while he contrives these ridiculous notions:














With some no cal no shows and Francis still sick, we started late, so I planned to get to 5, then call it because of my time constraint. At 5 the sets were getting easier which moved us through each station quicker and we were on to our last set in no time. On the last set, we "Bossed" (Please refer to day 26 for definition) it up by doing 2 air squats instead of a wall sit, 2 swing pushups instead of planks, and 2 hanging leg raises instead of a hang. I've officially died. The coroner pronounced me DOA. Arms, legs, eyelids. Even the hairs in my nose hurt from all the heavy breathing. Nothing is safe from this challenge.

But I am more happy and excited than the day before...


BOOM!