MABA: 1,528,418 burpees

And every single one of them will be meaningless if all they were was exercise

Final burpee count: 1,528,418.
We’re already talking about ways to make MABA 2023 better. Email me suggestions.

This newsletter will continue as a way for me to share my adventure writing and other stories/experiences/etc. I hope you’ll keep reading until we fall down, get back up, together, again.

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A few years ago I went for a hike in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. A good chunk of the hike took me through a lava field. I followed the crowd from one end to the other over no obvious trail; as I walked, I wondered how everyone knew where to go. I mean, I suppose it was obvious that we wanted to get from one end of the field to the other. But why, I wondered, are we walking right here, and not 10 feet or 100 feet to the right or the left?Why are we going to the right side of this boulder and not the left, and so on?

Only when I climbed the mountain that overlooks that path and looked down could I see the path that I had just been on. It was obvious—a gray stripe worn by thousands of feet, as if God had taken a Sharpie to the ground. How I could miss it when I was standing on top of it? I have no idea.

That’s what MABA was like last year. We followed a path we didn’t know we were on whose ending—deeper relationships—was obvious only when we got to it. Only when we looked back could we see how we had gotten there.

I think about that volcano path often as a metaphor for life, my life. How much of my life is like that, following a route I don’t even really know is there, which is to say, just wandering aimlessly? Far more than I care to admit.

I know I’m not in control, and I don’t mean to say that I am or ever will be (or even want to be). I do mean to say I need to be more intentional as opposed to letting stuff happen to me. I’m not normally a one-word guy, but “intentional” wouldn’t be a bad one for me this year.

That’s one reason we tried to make MABA more intentional in fighting loneliness this year. I wanted to choose to do burpees for a reason, as opposed to just doing them. I think, I hope, that the result (deeper relationships) continued this year, not just for us here in F3 St. Charles, or just for you wherever you are, but for all the people around us, too. 

I’m split down the middle about the end. I’m glad it’s over, but I want to keep going. My body is broken, but my heart is full. I simply can’t keep doing 100 (or more) burpees every day … as I learned by jacking my back all to hell during the Finale on Monday. (Seriously, I ask my back, you give out on the last day? Screw you.)

But still, I want to keep going because it’s the going alongside other men on the same journey that inspires me, makes me change. As Robert Pirsig writes: “It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow.”

As I said during the Finale, all 1,528,418 of these burpees will be meaningless if all we get out of them was exercise. This is where I’m trying to be intentional, and I encourage you to be, too.

Who helped you grow this month?

Tell them.

Who encouraged you when you needed it?

Thank them.

Who did you encourage when they needed it?

Check in on them.

Who inspired you?

Tell them you followed their path because you could see where it led.

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After working out with Steve Koskela (Soap) only a time or two, I thought, I want what he’s got. He has an astounding ability to encourage, inspire and lift up the men around him. I thought, at first, that it came naturally to him. And maybe it does to some degree. But now I know he also earned that ability the hard way.

Your was/now photos and story are incredible. You’ve lost 134 pounds. Please tell us about your transformation.

I have always struggled with weight. I was always the biggest kid in my grade, the biggest kid on my sports teams, etc. I was pretty active, but I couldn't control my diet. In January of 2020, I went to my 6-month check-up with my physician. She informed me that in the last six months, I had gained about 20 pounds, had terrible cholesterol, and was at risk of becoming diabetic. 

We spoke about my struggles with weight, and the impact, heaven forbid, me not being around would have on my wife and kids if I didn't make changes, FAST. 

I left there in tears. 

I talked to my wife (Jenni) for days about the decisions. She has been so supportive, so passionate about my journey, and such a big help in getting my mind in the right place to gain control. I didn’t realize until these moments I had let this get that far out of control. 

My physician, my wife and I spoke about options, including medication and the failures I have gone through with yo-yo dieting. So we came up with a plan—a plan that would change my life. 

I started a 6-month medically supervised diet, with monthly checkups. This was a prerequisite for bariatric surgery. I opted to do the vertical sleeve gastrectomy over the gastric bypass or lap-band procedure. This was the best option for me since it did not have the malnourishment of bypass, and the repeated weight-gain failures present in many patients of the lap-band. 

I started the journey at 417 pounds. During the 6-month diet, I managed to lose 27 pounds, bringing me down to 390. This was a successful amount to qualify me for the procedure. June 8, 2020 was my surgery date. After that, I had six weeks of liquid diet, and a very small one at that. I dropped another 20 pounds. 

I was able to introduce food again in Week 7. Imagine going from two, sometimes three full plates of food to less than my (at the time) 5 year old ate. It was rough. My weight loss continued … until it didn't. 

I plateaued right around the 8-month mark at 335 pounds. An incredible loss, but not my goal, or my physician's goal. In March, 2021 I decided to start exercising. I had lost a ton of muscle mass, didn't have a lot of energy, and wasn't happy with my results. 

A lot of people think weight-loss surgery is magic. IT IS NOT. It is merely a tool. Walking on my own, watching what I ate for the next six or seven months worked, but I needed more. I got my weight down to about 300, but I was missing something, well, two somethings: accountability and fellowship. 

My friend Jim Ottomeyer (F3 Cyclone) asked me to come work out with him at F3. I had heard about it before from Adam Hopper (F3 DD), but didn’t think I was “fit enough,” or wouldn't be able to hack it. Jim encouraged me (in about 5 minutes) to come on a Tuesday and try it out. 

I woke up and got there not knowing what to expect, not knowing the impact this group would have on me. About the only thing I expected was to get my ass handed to me. It certainly was handed to me … in pieces. 

I am now four months into F3. I rarely miss, push as hard as I can, and am suffering with others—others who encourage me, push me, pick me up when I am down, and remind me why I am here: To become better, and to HELP others become better. 

Today I weight 283 pounds, but that is not the end of the F3 transformation. While losing an additional 15ish pounds, I have increased my muscle mass by 16 pounds, and lost almost 12 percent body fat in 4 months!

The vast majority of people who lose weight put it back on. What have been the biggest challenge(s) of keeping the weight off? What guard rails do you have to continue to keep it off?

The biggest challenge for me is grazing. I just have to make sure I am eating the right foods. We have removed (most) junk food from our home. It is amazing that once you remove junk, and begin eating healthier options, just how bad tasting the junk food really is.

While the surgery has made my meal sizes much smaller, I still love food. We have fruits, vegetables, protein bars, lean meats at home all the time. Snacking is OK, as long as it’s not a bag of chips and candy bars. I eat candy in moderation.

I rely on planning my meals ahead of time. I try to eat five small meals a day, mostly lean protein, with a carb and vegetables. Snacks are always pre-planned and fruit, deli meat, protein shakes, baked crackers like Wheat Thins and Triscuits. Replacing your normal cravings for something salty and/or sweet with a tasty, healthy alternative is easier than you might think.

You’ve taken MMCR and made it your own. What is MMCR and how has it helped accelerate the men of Braveheart in fitness and fellowship?

MMCR—MABA Mumble Chatter Ruck—came organically to my home AO, Braveheart. I knew I would need help doing 3,100 burpees in a month, so I set up a blackops beatdown the day after launch to see if I could get a few guys to join me in doing some EMOM (every minute on the minute) burpees. 

I knew I wanted to do the burpees with others. After all, we are supposed to do this together. To my surprise four others guys came with me—DD, Goolash, Tin Man, and Brick. 

We set the timer to ring every minute. When it did, we did five burpees. Then we rucked until it rang again. The mumble chatter was so good. We knew we were on to something here, and we talked about it by text the rest of the day. We got 100 burpees done in 20 minutes and had an absolute blast doing it. 

We continued to set these up every off day for Braveheart. We had the “regulars” from the AO hooked right away. We were surprised to see others, including guys not even doing MABA, join us. The workouts evolved—different times between buzzers, different number of reps, different routes—but one thing stayed consistent: Everyone had a great time, laughed, bonded, and ultimately completed our goals together. So many men completed their 3,100th burpee out there on these MMCR rucks. 

Interestingly, this thing didn't get its name until about half way through the month, and even that came from someone (Daisy) not technically doing MABA (I’m sure he still did 3,100 burpees, even though he never signed up).

The conversations and bonding amongst the men became the important part. And it needed a name that represented what it really was. MMCR truly is a 2nd F event, that features a stupid exercise, repeatedly. I fully intend to continue this, throughout the year. MMCR has filled a void most of us never knew we had. 

What do you know about yourself now that you didn't before your transformation started?

I know now that I was not being the role model for my girls that I always should have been. This transformation has helped me in so many ways, with my marriage, and my girls.

Having the energy, and mobility to play, and give them the time the need/desire with their husband/dad … I wish I had done it 10 years earlier. I am so much stronger than I ever knew.

There are so many people struggling with the same thing I am. Weight will always be a problem. Being strong enough mentally to control it is hard. I have learned to lean on the support. Take the help! There are men that will help you, if you let them!

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That photo at the top is Farah and Farah doing burpees at the Grand Canyon. He’s in his 60s. I don’t know if he’s the oldest MABA maniac, but he’s among them.

That photo below is Spotlight and his family; each of them completed at least 3,100 burpees. That’s more than 21,700 burpees just in one family. The youngest is 7; I don’t know if she’s the youngest MABA maniac, but she’s among them.