Author: Dr Tryhard

  • If you’re happy and you know it…

    10 SOJ studs, including two FNG’s and one repatriated missionary, stepped up the beatdown game with a DTH homecoming celebration. Here’s how the PAX recalled what a real bootcamp feels like:

    The THANG:

    WARMERAMA:

    • Mosey onto the BBall Court and circle up
    • F3 Welcome, Review of the Core Principles for our FNG’s, and a standard you-VS-you Disclaimer
    • Variable IC exercises with a MUCH-appreciated early dive into 8-count reps …you’re welcome. 🙂
    • Warm? Let’s wreck the shoulders…

    COP #1:

    • Mosey to the next BBall court
    • 4-CORNER SHOULDERAMA
    • x10 Diamond Merkins
    • x20 No Cheat Merkins
    • x30 Werkins
    • x40 CDD’s
    • Bear Crawl between Corners

    COP #2:

    • Mosey around the perimeter road
    • Stop on a grassy area for PLT’s
    • Complete x3 sets of x25 each

    COP #3:

    • Mosey to the gravel road hill
    • LINDSEY
    • Top of the hill – Ball Dippers 30–>10
    • Bottom of the hill – LBC’s 10–>30

    COP #4:

    • Mosey to the Bath House Wall
    • IC Reps: Hoedowns, Dirty Hookups, BTTW, Donkey Kick-Off’s to 15
    • Back to People’s chair – in super spontaneous style OC took us out with hand claps and feet stomps to his hearty singing of “If you’re happy and you know it” …THIS…WAS…AWESOME!!! (#NewOneForLexicon)

    COP #5: 

    • Bernie Sanders down the Lot
    • Other variable movements to slowly move the PAX to the Pickleball Courts
    • PICKLEBALL 50’s
    • At each of the individual Pickleball court the PAX is given an exercise to complete – first man to x50 calls out, and PAX moves on to the next court (front runner calls the next exercise)
    • x8 courts completed with variable exercises called: Heels to Heaven, Merkins, Flutter Kicks (2-ct), Monkey Humpers, Shoulder Taps (2-ct), LBC’s, Calf Raises, SSH’s

    COT:

    • Counterama # 10
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • YHC took the PAX out in Prayer

    NMS:

    Ain’t nothin like F3RVA mumble chatter in the whole dang world! Man it feels GREAT to be among the SOJ brotherhood again. Awesome to have a couple baller FNG’s as part of the welcome party – welcome CHA CHA (heard about us from Florence’s church blast, and is a VCU interventional radiology guru who does Salsa with his M), and welcome TUG (Rosie’s slow-burn neighbor, about 20 steps from where we started with his nickname, but we love it!) And how about Orange Crush spontaneously busting into song during our Wallerama…AWESOME – pretty sure “If you’re happy and you know it…” will be now making a regular appearance on every wall around SOJ. Thanks to our FMG’s, Hardywood, rosie and OC for quality coffeerama time after. SO GOOD to connect and catch up. YHC is on the Q sheet a few more times coming up – come find me to hang out! SYITG, DTH

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

    • MAY – FNG CHALLENGE!!! Bring out as many FNG’s in May as you can, then get them to come out again for Memorial Day convergence! 
    • 5/3 – Volunteer to Build a play area at Dogwood
    • 5/6 – Currahee CSAUP
    • 5/12 – SOJ Happy Hour and Leadership Chat
    • 5/21 – SOJ Family BBQ at BWE
    • 5/29 – Memorial Day Convergence at Tredagger 
    • 5/30 – Rosie hosting the 1st SOJ Summer Coffee Tour following NoToll
    • COMING SOON – School of Rock workout for our kids that will follow R&R monthly through the summer
    • COMING SOON – Ultimate Frisbee at the Forge – dates TBD
  • The Triple Crown

    #1 – Tuesday 4/18/23 0600 – DTH, The Quadfather, C30, and Boardwalk – and the Thang is the one and only appearance of the F3 beatdown deck. The Quadfather was dry heaving within the first 5 minutes but rallied and the PAX completed nearly the entire deck in 45 minutes. Boom!

    #2 – Thursday 4/20/23 0600 – DTH & Boardwalk spend 45 minutes of quality sweatfest time hitting all the usual highlights and digging deep into some truth bombs to gird up Boardwalk for a lifetime of living third.

    #3 – Saturday 4/22/23 0600 & 10AM – Not everyone got the memo that our VQ Mojang had requested the bootcamp get pushed back to 10am, so a bomb squad of Mountain Oyster, C30, Messi, and Boardwalk posted at 0600 and whooped a prostitute 4-corners among other badassery. There’s hope this thing might actually continue beyond the departure of DTH! At 10am a 2.0-heavy PAX assembled on the soccer field for Mojang’s VQ. After a brief warmerama, he revealed the Death Dice – a large 12-sided foam dice with a huge variety of pain. A 20-strong PAX circled up and each had a turn tossing the Death Dice, with a run after every 3rd throw. The triceps dips, ball dippers, and wall-sit were rolled the most frequently, but x20 burpees made a painful appearance on two occasions. What a beatdown! With a ton of FNG’s the COT was entertaining, and we closed with a powerful word of prayer from NoGrass (Mojang’s dad, fellow Doc, and YHC’s BFF on Station). What a way to end our time in Papua New Guinea! SYITG next week SOJ! ~DTH

  • 2 for 1 Deals, and all the Feels

    Welp, YHC forgot to post a BB from Tuesday’s bootcamp, so here’s a 2 for 1 deal on backblasts.

    TUE 4.13.23 – PAX of 3 with Boardwalk, Messi, and DTH – 45 minutes riding the Tryhard pain train, featuring an introduction to a Prostitute 4-corners on the soccer field, though the word prostitute was never used amid juvenile company. The PAX completed a horrific number of reps in best bro-code style, so it took up most of the workout.

    THUR 4.15.23 – PAX of 3 with NoGrass, Mojang, and DTH – 45 minutes of “fun”, including variable reps on the wall, attempting dirty hookups on the swinging chain-link railing, introducing 11’s between light poles on the steep part of the hill, and a TON of core exercises once our legs were spent on the hill.

    Coming up on YHC’s last week at Kudjip there are a lot of feels brimming …gonna miss these people, gonna miss this extremely challenging, rewarding, and impactful medical work, gonna miss the jungle highlands bright sunshine, thin cool air, misty mountain vistas, and birdsong …how can we make the most of the time we have left here? …has God been calling us to return here for longer/more time than currently planned? (3mo every other year) …all clashing with the: man, I can’t wait to be home, to see my church/F3/work families, to sleep in my own bed, to plug back into so many ongoing projects and ministries…

    Good thing we can enjoy the peace that comes in trusting the Spirit each day to show us the way forward. Be back in the gloom with ya’ll before you know it. ~DTH

  • Just Try Hard

    No literally, it was just Tryhard this morning. But without tiny humans slowing things down the Q absolutely smashed the PAX today, and it was soooooo good. An hour later and YHC is still feeling the lactic acid shakes! With just a couple weeks left here in PNG, and attendance still being completely variable, it’s unlikely Ground Zero will continue beyond our departure, but YHC is confident in the positive impact on those who have attended. God is good all the time! SYITG, DTH

  • First time cruising the Boardwalk

    YHC awoke early to the sound of raindrops on the tin roof. Exhaustion after taking hospital call last night was screaming to go back to sleep, but was properly ignored in anticipation of a VQ by Boardwalk, who has been a loyal attendee this last month of Ground Zero. At the age of 10, and still carrying a bit of childhood weight, Boardwalk is on the cusp of leaving childhood behind, and it can be seen in the way he carries himself, all the more since joining F3 Ground Zero. He’s gone from being the six to being the servant leader going back for the six, and YHC was super proud on Thursday to hear him volunteer for the Q today. What a stud! YHC left the headlocking and Q-planning up to him, and he delivered an awesome beatdown! This kid LOVES merkins. He also learned a hard lesson today that what folks say is not always what they mean, and with just his brother and YHC in attendance, he’s already re-strategizing his headlocking for next time. From the rainy Easter-weekend gloom of PNG’s Western Highlands, Yours Always, DTH

  • Sunrise Sweatfest, Party of 12

    F3 PNG’s one and only and still unofficial AO “Ground Zero” is rapidly accumulating FNG’s of the 2.0 variety. Unlike other 3rd world sweatshops utilizing child manual labor, this one is voluntary and free and ends with a COT. A few adults corralled the gaggle of a 9 umpa lumpas into completing a variety of warm-up exercises, running down and up the gravel hill with various movements, plenty of mary, running around the nursing college, carousel plank walking, a mini-Dora on the field, a solid dose of wall-work, and variable chain reps. We welcomed an Australian friend nicknamed “Kanga”, a shirtless little brother of Mojang nicknamed “Sixpack”, and the Stewardson girls nicknamed “Narwhal” and “Athena”. A great time was had by all and we closed with a solid word of prayer for the mission work ahead of us for the day. Interesting to see how this thing is growing, and always happy for the company – no matter who it is. 🙂 Yours in the Field, DTH

  • Back on the Horse

    After getting knocked down with a nasty cold last week and missing two bootcamps (many thanks to Mountain Oyster for covering the Q!), YHC got back on the horse this morning with a slightly lighter-than-usual recovery Q. Joined by Messi and Boardwalk, then later Tiny TRex, the PAX did a fair number of core exercises, hit the hill once with variable movement exercises, completed a triple check, and also some other fun things under the big tent where they’ve set up a stage in preparation for Holy Week services that will go every night Wed-Sat. God is good all the time, and YHC is so thankful to be nearly done with the viral crud. Make it a good one brothers! ~DTH

  • Two Tickets to Paradise

    Eddie Money hailed the dawn light with a solo tribute of this classic ballad, and 10 minutes into a torturous beatdown loop, a second ticket was punched as Mountain Oyster joined in on harmony. The PAX stomped the usual chain railing upper body work and gravel hill leg work, but a Lindsay on the field took the main stage, with LBC’s and Merkins on either side and a unique movement exercise in between. Mosey for Hoedowns (and other wall work) on the concrete block, and then more Mary than Mtn Oyster could manage to close out the 45min set. Victorious start to a beautiful day in the Western Highlands of PNG, and just the kind of full body stretch this old man needed after pulling the ol’ low back in volleyball over the weekend. Two is better than one, so many thanks to MO for harmonizing. On repeat, DTH

  • Rain? What rain?

    Heavy rain pelting the tin roof of our missions house suggested I might be heading into a wet solo workout, but a few headlocks yesterday did the trick and five PAX (including one FNG) beat the temptation of the fartsack to take on a rainy beatdown. There were lots of core exercises under the awning, and variable lunging and running loops, all the while explaining the history/principles/credo/etc of F3 to our FNG, Dr Mel, who’s another doc here at Kudjip Station. Most significantly, Imelda is our first female PAX to join Ground Zero and she kicked the workout in the teeth! Her background is Melanesian and her name in the old language means garden-sun, so the PAX nicknamed her “Sunflower.” Welcome!!! Here’s to the PAX continuing to grow, and God being here with us in big ways. All for Him, DTH

  • Helix rips the seam

    0600 found YHC starting a veeeery slow solo warmerama having stayed up too late last night. There was at least one HC, so nothing exciting happened until Mountain Oyster arrived a few minutes later. It rained hard last night and the misty sunrise was a beautiful rosy orange glow as we ran down the gravel road hill, and went a little further than usual to a playground in Jordan Valley. A few rounds of upper body reps completed – pullups, derkins, dips – then variable movements and sprint back to the top where the small soccer field is. Polesmokers and oblique LBC burnout, then mosey to the gym’s concrete stoop for dirty hookups, donkey kicks, and wall sits + hoedowns. 0615, mosey back to the start point, to find NoGrass and Mojang waiting. Welcome!!! Back down the hill to the playground, stopping for a x10 burpee “breather” halfway there. Upon completion, hold Al Gore, and when we dropped to Helix there was quite a loud rip as Mountain Oyster’s shorts inseam chose the perfect moment to permit his mountain oysters some breathing room. The beatdown almost ended there with the amount of laughter and mumble chatter than ensued, but YHC prevailed and we continued to the playground for a quadruple check. Pullups, derkins, dips, and the moving partner runs across to the far end for x3 burpees before retuning to switch. x4 round completed. Variable movement back to the top, some preferring to run in FRONT of Mtn Oyster so as to avoid the “view”. ? Then 5 minutes of Mary to go: pole-smokers, kimchi twists, LBC’s, and partnered up for dying-boxing cockroaches… 0645 hits, that’s TIME! COT: numbers, names, NoGrass took us out in prayer. Solid beatdown today – WAY harder with good company to spur the imagination. Still waiting for one of these warriors to take the Q, but all good things with time. Yours, DTH