The early bird gets the GAINZ
Date: 2026-01-19 AO: Olympus Q: Blanks , PAX: Emoji, Blanks, The Worm, Unplugged, hoover, Uncle Leo, Pepsi, flipper, Curious FNGs: None COUNT: 9 Holidays hit different. Most folks sleep in. Some take vacations (totally fine — no shade). Others mourn their team not advancing to the NFL Conference Championship. T’s & P’s to Bills and Bears fans… especially the latter, which is where YHC resides.
Then there’s a smaller, more questionable group — the men who leave the warmth of their beds, pry open frozen car doors, and go find the grind.
YHC was tasked with leading a Holiday Q, and judging by the mumblechatter the day before, getting men moving early was going to be… optimistic. Huge kudos to flipper, Uncle Leo, and Unplugged, for being early, ready, and setting the tone. I may have gifted the PAX a couple-minute delayed start, but once the playlist hit, all 9 PAX were locked in and ready to work.
WARMUP: SSH, ATW’s, Swings, High Pulls, stretching, prying squats, IW, ST.
On my VQ, YHC completely jacked up the counting, so I’ve been doing my best to avoid anything that requires math in the dark. The PAX, however, were having none of that. They wore me down, and we powered through SSH, Imperial Walkers, and Sharon Towers without a single counting catastrophe.
Appreciate the push, gentlemen — sometimes leadership is trusting the men around you to drag you back into the fire.
THE THANG:
Clean ‘em Up DCLX6 DPRX6 DSNX6 DSQX6 5 sets… Big Mac style. Complex, Chain, Complex, Chain, Complex
Single leg balance work Grab a bell, suitcase carry from 1 side of the lot to the other, stand on 1 leg for 15 seconds, then the other leg for 15 seconds. Turn around switch arms and repeat. Then repeat with a rack carry.
By now, YHC’s knee was angry, which turned my walk into more of a limp. Instead of leaving me behind, the PAX stayed right there with me — encouraging, chirping, and quickly deciding that what I had wasn’t a limp at all, but a full-on pimp walk. The grunts and yells from the PAX weren’t complaints; they were laughter and hype, the kind that makes the work easier and the bond tighter.
Upper Body Shrugs, Press, Curls, Tricep Extensions
Rack City As if the PAX hadn’t done enough work from the rack position already, YHC decided the only logical next step was more rack work. We grabbed double bells and ran a ladder of Clean → Squat → Press → Reverse Lunge (each leg), starting with 1 rep each, then 2, then 3… We made it through 4 rounds before the song ran out and the workout came to a merciful end — shoulders and arms smoked, legs cooked, and zero regrets.
MARY: Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern was full.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Brew Ruck
COT: We circled up for the COT, and YHC realized afterward that in all the energy of the morning, I didn’t explicitly reference Martin Luther King Jr. or the reason today is a holiday. But looking back, what we did out there was a reflection of the principles he stood for.
MLK believed in moving people forward together, not leaving anyone behind. It’s easy to honor someone with words, but much harder to honor them with action. MLK’s life was not about comfort — it was about sacrifice, service, and showing up when it would’ve been far easier to stay home.
To be clear, a group of men working out in a cold parking lot doesn’t compare to the courage, suffering, and sacrifice that MLK and so many others endured. But what we do here is practice — practice choosing discomfort, practice carrying one another, and practice living out those values in small, daily ways.
This morning, nine men chose discomfort. We showed up early, carried each other through the work, and left better than we arrived. My hope is that you take those principles with you today, and look for a chance to make the world around you just a little better.
Then there’s a smaller, more questionable group — the men who leave the warmth of their beds, pry open frozen car doors, and go find the grind.
YHC was tasked with leading a Holiday Q, and judging by the mumblechatter the day before, getting men moving early was going to be… optimistic. Huge kudos to flipper, Uncle Leo, and Unplugged, for being early, ready, and setting the tone. I may have gifted the PAX a couple-minute delayed start, but once the playlist hit, all 9 PAX were locked in and ready to work.
WARMUP: SSH, ATW’s, Swings, High Pulls, stretching, prying squats, IW, ST.
On my VQ, YHC completely jacked up the counting, so I’ve been doing my best to avoid anything that requires math in the dark. The PAX, however, were having none of that. They wore me down, and we powered through SSH, Imperial Walkers, and Sharon Towers without a single counting catastrophe.
Appreciate the push, gentlemen — sometimes leadership is trusting the men around you to drag you back into the fire.
THE THANG:
Clean ‘em Up DCLX6 DPRX6 DSNX6 DSQX6 5 sets… Big Mac style. Complex, Chain, Complex, Chain, Complex
Single leg balance work Grab a bell, suitcase carry from 1 side of the lot to the other, stand on 1 leg for 15 seconds, then the other leg for 15 seconds. Turn around switch arms and repeat. Then repeat with a rack carry.
By now, YHC’s knee was angry, which turned my walk into more of a limp. Instead of leaving me behind, the PAX stayed right there with me — encouraging, chirping, and quickly deciding that what I had wasn’t a limp at all, but a full-on pimp walk. The grunts and yells from the PAX weren’t complaints; they were laughter and hype, the kind that makes the work easier and the bond tighter.
Upper Body Shrugs, Press, Curls, Tricep Extensions
Rack City As if the PAX hadn’t done enough work from the rack position already, YHC decided the only logical next step was more rack work. We grabbed double bells and ran a ladder of Clean → Squat → Press → Reverse Lunge (each leg), starting with 1 rep each, then 2, then 3… We made it through 4 rounds before the song ran out and the workout came to a merciful end — shoulders and arms smoked, legs cooked, and zero regrets.
MARY: Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern was full.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Brew Ruck
COT: We circled up for the COT, and YHC realized afterward that in all the energy of the morning, I didn’t explicitly reference Martin Luther King Jr. or the reason today is a holiday. But looking back, what we did out there was a reflection of the principles he stood for.
MLK believed in moving people forward together, not leaving anyone behind. It’s easy to honor someone with words, but much harder to honor them with action. MLK’s life was not about comfort — it was about sacrifice, service, and showing up when it would’ve been far easier to stay home.
To be clear, a group of men working out in a cold parking lot doesn’t compare to the courage, suffering, and sacrifice that MLK and so many others endured. But what we do here is practice — practice choosing discomfort, practice carrying one another, and practice living out those values in small, daily ways.
This morning, nine men chose discomfort. We showed up early, carried each other through the work, and left better than we arrived. My hope is that you take those principles with you today, and look for a chance to make the world around you just a little better.
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