MABA: Searing away the angry fog of excuses

Three F3 HIMs share the details behind their burpee-fueled acceleration

In this issue: Three HIMs from The Last Stop in STL go deep on MABA, pondering the age range of those who completed the challenge, and a winner in the photo contest.

I’m done drinking poison and calling it good

Red Turtle: This month has been one of resetting the reality that my mind had settled into.

I said it at the MABA send-off celebration Sunday, and I will echo it here: The Sad Turtle Clown at the beginning of December would have laughed in derision at the thought of what the Red Turtle of today has embraced.

MABA has been a period of cleansing fire burning through the dross. It has been a catalyst in the process that F3 has spearheaded to sear away the angry, petulant fog of excuses that I have been nestled in for so long.

The Sad Turtle Clown was comfortable with his body and mind being slowly atrophying husks. He mistook a lack of discomfort as an indicator of health. He is part of me who mistakenly identifies the isolated, bone-chattering chill of loneliness in his soul as some sort of peace. He is too numb to feel the tortuous step-by-step rotting at the core of his life. He is a part of me that is content not to be ALIVE but merely to exist.

MABA and the beginning of my F3 journey flipped that narrative on its head.

MABA’s strongest influence on me was not what I did on my own, but what the men of The Last Stop disrupted me toward. Wanting to stand tall next to them and watching my loneliness scuttle into the darkness was a wake-up call that I had allowed myself to drink poison and call it good.

MABA has been about each of you. The physical benefits have been a joyous side benefit, but the re-discovery of how to be AWAKE and ALIVE is the real joy that I have found.

I rediscovered that joy when I staggered into the gloom alone, overwhelmed, uncomfortable, and afraid. I found it in a band of warriors who were waiting to lift me up in the dark of the morning. I love you all.

MABA was worth it for the look my wife gives me

Heisenberg: I started the MABA challenge on my 3rd beatdown ever and only my fifth workout of any sort in two years. Needless to say, I ached. Here I am, 3,400-plus burpees later and some of my clothes actually fit again, I can move more freely without feeling like it took effort, and most important, my M is giving me that eye that every guy knows.

Sacrificing who I am to become who I want to be

Pillsbury: I have noticed a tremendous difference post MABA, and not just physically.

I find myself tearing up as I write this. I was in a sad state of affairs before joining you gentlemen at The Last Stop in December and before MABA. COVID had left me feeling weak and alone. But then I found strength in all of you. Not just physical strength to push through the pain and injuries, but in your vulnerability and willingness to let me be a part of your group.

I learned a lot about myself, my capabilities, and my shortcomings. As my boy Red Turtle stated so eloquently in the middle of a beatdown: You have to be willing to sacrifice who you are in order to become who you want to be.

I am down 7 pounds. I feel stronger and definitely feel like my cardio endurance is much better. However, my M says my huge triceps have been the most noticeable difference this past month.

The face of a current and future leader

I didn’t think to ask about the age range of MABA participants. Then I got the email below from Stu in Phoenix. Until I am corrected otherwise, I’ll say Panther is the youngest person to complete all 3,100 burpees. I have no idea who the oldest is. My great good friend Honey Pot is 61, and he crushed it. I profiled him here.

Stu: As we start February I wanted to share with you a very cool accomplishment from F3 Phoenix. Panther completed the January F3 MABA. I know many PAX across the country (not me) can claim this; however, Panther is 12 years old.

I have had the pleasure of going to beatdowns with Panther for the last year and a half. He posts at around 25 workouts a month and has Q’d on a number of occasions. The collective Pax are watching Panther turn into a great athlete but even more significantly the Pax are watching him turn into an amazing young man. 

He is caring, super-smart, respectful, challenging, and always has a great attitude. He models the F3 values as well as anyone and is going to be a leader in this world.

Hats off to Panther’s parents. (Focker and Christina). They are doing an incredible job.  

And the winner is …

Beaker from F3 Wheaton is the winner of the “few burpees short of 400 contest,” in which we solicited burpee photos from weird places. He will receive a MABA shirt. The consensus of the judges was that curling was weird all on its own, so a burpee photo there was a clear winner.

Many thanks to the participants. I’ve already had one PAX offer to buy a shirt for Goose, who did burpees while making waffles for his eight kids.

Patch nerds of MABA nation, rejoice!

The patches are available here. It appears from this link that you have to buy them in groups of five. So get with your friends and buy them together. Iron it onto your jean jacket, you big dork. #teamidontunderstandwhyyoulovepatches

A non-MABA note: Come GrowRuck with us!

You should come to St. Louis and GrowRuck with us. July 16-18, sign up details coming soon. I’ll be there with bells on. But hopefully not a blindfold.

Now what?

Good question. The individual MABA goal was 3,100 burpees in the 31 days of January. The collective MABA goal was 1 million burpees. As of 6:25 p.m. last night, we were at 924,770. We’re going to keep going until we hit it. Keep logging your burpees, with one caveat: From now until we reach 1 million, burpees only count if they are done with at least one other person—either at a regularly scheduled beatdown, a lack ops or some other weird way you yahoos come up with to do burpees with somebody else (Ms and 2.0s count!) Fall down. Get back up. Together.

Thank you for coming along on this crazy ride with us. The newsletter frequency will taper off, and it will end when we hit 1 million. I will update you on the progress as we approach that goal. I’d love for you to update me on your progress, too. Are you still doing burpees? How long will you continue? What’s your new goal?

Log your burpees here.

MABA 2022

Of course it’s happening. Send us thoughts on what we did well, what we could improve, what we could add or subtract. I wish we had figured out a way to make this a fund-raiser. It was too last-minute for that; we’ll be more prepared next year. F3 The Capital suggested donating a penny per burpee to a charity of your choice. I’d encourage you all to do that.