February 14, 2026
PAX (13): Fish Oil, Grease Fire, Scandal, Barbwire, Rate Lock, Switchfoot, Mismatch, Unicycle, Shag, House Arrest, Obi-Wan, Hashtag, Hard Hat
Q: Hard Hat
Weather: 40 degrees, clear skies, no wind
Welcome: At 6AM, the group was gathered in the parking lot. The intro was given, and the crew was informed that they would finish with so much love, they’ll want to give each other hugs. In lieu of a warm a rama, we just frolicked to the baseball field to the East.
The Thang: The Valentine’s Box – As we frolicked to the field, a large light was turned on, and we made our way towards a large dark object at the base of the outfield berm. The large object is the valentine’s box. The speaker was turned on, and the music unleashed. The PAX were informed of what was in store. The large box is a standard size for adjustable height box jumps, and has two handle slots cut in the ends. The PAX circle around the box and do an exercise AMRAP while one guy bear crawls down the field to the light (approximately 30 yards). That guys finds a valentine on the ground around the light, then bear crawls back. He jumps or steps up on the box to inform the group of the next exercise (written on the valentine), then another guy bear crawls down, etc. until we run out of time.
Exercises completed include, but were not limited to: Side Straddle Hop, Diamond Merkins, Pickle Pointers, Imperial Walkers, Hillbillies, Sumo Squats, Makhtar N’Diayes, Heart Shaped Box Cutters, Alternating Booty Taps, Rosalitas, Low Dollys, Ass to Grass Squats, and Clap Merkins, Flutter Kicks, Pickle Pushers, Oh Yeahs, Horn Dogs aka Dive Bombers, Cherry Pickers, Crab Cakes, and Workin’ It Merkins. We ran out of valentines, but still had time to keep rolling, so guys were able to call out whatever exercise they wanted until Omaha was called.
We had quite the load to bring back to the parking lot, but the PAX divided and conquered that task. We met back up at the flags and completed 6 minutes of Mary. A few guys were called on to lead a core exercise, then we completed 3 rounds of Rancid style American Hammers.
We completed our Name-a-rama, got some announcements out about the scholarship event and an upcoming VQ. We then had prayer requests for Rick and Kick. The COT is about making little sacrifices for others. This is the 3rd time in 4 years I’ve led a beatdown on Valentine’s day, and each time, I’ve basically done this same workout with the same COT. The Valentine’s box is a box that I wanted to build over 4 years ago. My kids had also asked me to help them make Valentine’s boxes for the school parties. My daughter wanted a flamingo box, and the way my brain works when building things, I don’t necessarily have a set plan, just somewhat of a vision, and what I’m building usually evolves as it’s being constructed. Her flamingo box, was a huge pain in the ass to make. It took a long time, wasn’t working out the way I envisioned, but finally came out looking halfway decent. I was annoyed during the process of making it, and really wanted to make my box for working out. The morning after completing my daughter’s box, she rolled out of bed, came and gave me a big hug and thanked me for helping make her Valentine’s box. It was heartwarming, and made me realize the importance of me sacrificing my wants in that short term period, and helping her out. I’m reminded every year since of making those little sacrifices to lend a hand, or help clean up or whatever around the house. You might not get recognition for it, or it might not be immediate, but either way, it’s still worth it. Those little sacrifices can add up.
Love you guys!
Aye!
Hard Hat