We Workout in the Darkness

by | May 6, 2021 | Katy

Introduction

The Spigot has hit its stride with consistent PAX counts since the launch. It has been awesome seeing the new guys work, challenge themselves, and build the fire.

However, they had not experienced a beatdown lead by YHC. They can no longer claim that innocence.

YHC loves pushing the Pax beyond what they think is possible. It is easy to listen to the voice in our head that says it is OK to stop. It has all the best excuses: we didn’t sleep well last night, we didn’t get breakfast, our shoulder hurts. We call that voice The Darkness. Today was a hard lesson in denying that voice its only goal.

YHC started off the beatdown with a story that he read on Facebook. A rat was placed in a vessel of water and left to tread water until it had no more energy. The rat lasted about 15 minutes before it inevitably sank. It was plucked out, dried off, and gave a short break before being put back in the water. How long did the Pax think that rat tread water the second time? The guesses came in. 5 minutes. 20 minutes. 2 minutes.

The real answer: 60 hours!

You see, the rat kept pushing with the hopes it would get plucked out. It literally succumbed to the inevitability of death after only 15 minutes, but pushed to 60 hours when there was the hope of someone saving it. This is a testimonial to the capabilities of the human will to push through anything that stands in our way and survive.

YHC hopes the Pax takes this lesson to heart. YHC hopes that the Pax continues to find that Darkness and smile when it whispers in our ear. Because we train hard so that we are ready for when the hardships come. And we know the Darkness has no power over us.

  • AO: The Spigot
  • Date: 05062021
  • PAX Count: 22 (including QIC)
  • PAX: Waterboy, Beetlejuice, Reload, VIBRAM, Vertigo, Binkie, Ransom, Tostada, Pumpkin, Lasagna, Waldo, Slide Rule, Borat, Birdie, Madrid, Dr Strange, Saltine, Guppy, Vaccine, Placebo, Blinker Fluid
  • QIC: KY
  • Conditions: 64F and breezy

The Thang

  • Warm Up
    • High pistol stretch 10x IC
    • Sprinter Rock – 10x IC Each Side
    • Twisted Merkins – 10x IC
    • Down Dog to Plank – 10x IC
  • The Work
    • Squat – 50x On Q
    • Burpees – 10x on Q
    • BBSU – 40x On Q
    • Burpees – 10x On Q
    • Lunges – 30x IC
    • Burpees – 10x On Q
    • Ruck Plate/Block Swings – 20x On Q
    • Burpees – 10x On Q
    • Knob Creek Recovery Mosey
    • Burpees – 10x on Q
    • Ruck Plate/Block Swings – 20x On Q
    • Burpees – 10x on Q
    • Lunges – 30x IC
    • Burpees – 10x On Q
    • BBSUs – 40x On Q
    • Burpees – 10x On Q
    • Squats – 50x on Q
  • Recovery
    • Broga

Naked Man Moleskin

This Weinkie was tough. YHC ground the Pax through it with little reprieve aside from a couple story times to let them catch their breath just to reward them with more burpees. As YHC mentioned earlier, the Pax is relatively new and are just starting their Get Right journey. Taking a page out of LIftkit’s playbook, YHC drove this unrelenting Weinkie for the hard chargers but proactively handed out modifications as the six started to fall off.

YHC heard the pleas of the pax to slow down, but deliberately kept the tempo moving quickly. As the Q, YHC is charged with delivering the outcome. The mission comes first. Setting the battle rhythm was a shock to some, but they quickly realized they had to keep up.

Two leadership lessons here. As leaders, we are charged with extracting the most value out of the resources available (as in, Pax continues working with modifications instead of sitting on the sidelines). The second: as leaders we have to firmly set the expectations to meet that mission and challenge the team to meet those expectations.

This is how high performance is achieved.

Your BOTG on the Warpath

– KY