Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.
YHC was cooking dinner last night (Crispy Parmesan Chicken, for those of you at home wondering) with an NCAA basketball game turned on. Turns out that this week is the start of the 9th annual “Jimmy V Week” on ESPN. And I turned on the tube just in time to catch a replay of Jimmy Valvano’s stirring speech from the inaugural ESPY awards on March 3rd, 1993. And just like that, I had a theme for this mornings Okwata work out – words of wisdom and numbers from the life of Jimmy V.
The Wind: A PAX of 9 held their ground against the blowing east wind. Belloq had planted the lost shovel flag deep in the ground, so it held firm against the gale. After a disclaimer, and brief F3 intro for our FNG from Champaign, IL, we were off.
The Fountain: Mosey around the fountain with the usual butt kicks, karaoke and high knees before settling into the marsh grass.
Be enthusiastic every day, and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm,” to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have
Jimmy Valvano died on April 28th, 1993 at age of 47. So we opened with SSH x47. Then plank position for MC x47 and PJ x47.
The Levee: Mosey to the Levee.
Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.
Words to live by as we stare at the Levee. Variation on traditional 11s – we are going to do 12s. Start with 10 burpees (other side of the levee) and 2 Dr. Ws this side. Back over for 9/3. 8/4. Each pair adds up to 12. (And yes – Dr. W because JIMMY V IS A WINNER).
OYO. Go. PAX starts grumbling and questioning. “Why 12s?” YHC challenges them to figure it out. Shortly, JV observes “Well, that’s a total of 54 reps – that’s my age.” Then Hawg gets it – “Wait, that’s how many points NC State had when they won the NCAA in 1983.” Bingo.
(YHC had a plan to do 13s as well – 10/3, 9/4, …. The rep total for that? 52 – how many points Houston scored. But time prevented….)
The Shack: Mosey to the shack. Actually, YHC tried to turn it into a hands-in-the-air Sprint to the shack, to mimic Jimmy V’s wild run around the court. Didn’t go over well.
Partner up in 4 groups. We’ll have 4 stations: Pull Ups (AMRAP), Dips (AMRAP), Murcans (AMRAP) and Legs (the counters)
What’s the count? 25 – Dereck Whittenburg who heaved the wild airball at the end of the game wore number 25.
There are three things we all should do every day. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think and you cry, that’s a full day.
We’ll do 3 full rotations (each pax hitting each station is 1 rotation).
Rotation 1: Laughter. Our count is 25x Squats
Rotation 2: Think. Our count is 25x Lunge
Rotation 3: Moved to Tears. Our count is 25x Monkey Humpers
The Flag: Return to the flag for a round of Mary.
I will thank God for the day and the moment I have
Who reeled in Dereck’s errant shot (or on-the-money pass)? Lorenzo Charles, wearing number 43. So we finish with Sweat Angels x43, LBC x43, and Putins x20 (YHC is not JV. I totally ran out of steam….)
(Sweat Angels are from the F3 site: think making a snow angel, but keeping legs, arms up off the ground. Hello Dolly with arm motions)
The Finish: Finish with count-off, name-o-rama (dubbing FNG “Axe Man” after a game of word association starting with Cheap Trick, his hometown band), and prayers. Prayer for people in Tennessee and Ohio State University. Please remember all people through the holiday season: travellers, family, people struggling with depression. YHC finished by asking for strength and comfort for those who have lost loved ones to cancer, and for guidance and wisdom for those looking to find a cure and providing care to those suffering.
Thank you, gentleman, for giving me the opportunity to lead.
