Emd of summer 9Square Arena Challenge!

AO: pain-train
Q: Wolfpack , Sooie, Siri
PAX: Bean Burger (Fairview, TN), Timber, Cable News, Cheeks, Siri, Sooie, Stu Cook, Wolfpack, Rosie
FNGs: 1 Rosie
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Warm enough to sweat easily and cool enough to be comfortable.

WARMUP: SSHs waiting for Cheeks annnndddd mosey to the 9Square Arena. Shoulder-rama then stretches while 9Square rules explained

THE THANG:
9Square!
– King (center square) gets 1 point for each round they stay in the center.
– Two 15 minutes halves were played with a 1/4 mile Loose Caboose run at halftime
– Whomever has the most cumulative points gains title as International F3 9Square Champion of the Universe
– In between rounds…
– King does a burpee equal to amount of points won
– Corner squares do 5 Merkins
– Middle squares do 5 air squats
– If King is kicked out has to do a slalom cone run and sprint back (75-100ish yards)

MOLESKINE:
By our expert math skills at least 250 reps of squats/merkins were performed and over 1500 yards were sprinted.

G-string was not in attendance and has forfeited his opportunity to defend his title. We missed ya buddy! Next time!

Sooie may or may not have been asleep and was heavily targeted by PAX. Made an epic run there at the end, but it just wasn’t enough…

FNG @Rosie made his mark at pain-train, but again… just not enough for the title…

All PAX gave it their all and all was given and in the end… our new… undisputed… INTERNATIONAL… F3 9SQUARE… CHAMPIOONNNN OF THE UUNNIIVEERRSEEEE….

Cable News!!!!

He has the height. He has the Burpee stamina. It was all CableNews on the morning show in the gloom this AM. Well done! Your name will live on forever on the PainTrain shovel flag!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Convergences coming… check the Slack.

F3 Fairview launching next Thursday!

COT: Find the fun in the hard stuff and make sure to bring a friend along when it gets real tough!

Hearts are for leg days

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, G-string, Malibu, morning stār, Pitmaster, Sparrow, Stu Cook, The Banker, Timber, Stubs, Sooie, The Judge, BumbleBee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: another spectacular 72*

WARMUP:
Malibu Special:
Mosey to the stop sign, circle up in the field, SSH, slow steady squats & Mericans, BAC+BBAC, stretching (dealers choice).

THE THANG:
Deck of cards:
:heart: Step Ups
:diamonds: North, South, or Sweet) Carolina Dry Dockers
:spades: Twists, 2=1
:clubs: Sit-up variation, dealers choice

The constant shuffling kept us guessing and played some mind games in the gloom.

MOLESKINE:
A quote board in my son’s classroom this year quotes an anonymous speaker: Everything is difficult, until it becomes easy.

Not because easy just happens, but through hard work. Facing difficulties head on and grinding through the hard work applies to faith as much it does fitness. In our fellowship at The Knoll, I experience how good and true this to come together, put in shared, hard work and leave a better man.

As we head into Labor Day, I reflect at the end of the day today on my gratitude for this group and the work we do together. Appreciate the chance to Q this week and see you all Tuesday. Have a great, holiday weekend!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Statistically impossible to get 80% of AO’s for Guliver’s travels. But you could try, it’s worth it.
9/11 convergence 0530 @ TN Capital steps.
Nashville F3 10th Anniversary coming up also.

El Cap needs help moving a couple of items. DM him for deets.

COT:
Prayers for the Judge’s brother, El Capitan in his move, and those intentions in the silence of our hearts.

100 8 Count Body Builder Finale

AO: thestronghold
Q: Natural Ice
PAX: Young and Restless, Ripcord, Dan and Dave, Dan Tanna, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Chunks, toga, Red Skull, Natural Ice, Longway, Fivepoints, Speedwalker, Skidmark, Baby Boy, Trajectory, Tempertantrum, Lightweight
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: Perfect

WARMUP: SSH, Merkins, Squats, Imperial Walkers, Arm Circles, WHaze, and a nice Mosey

THE THANG: Each of the men from 413 Strong, took turns sharing lessons learned over the last 7 weeks in the program and then lead the group in a set of five 8 count Body Builders. Red Skull kick us off and I closed out the set for a solid 50.

Pax took a mosey toward the startdex and repeated the format, this time the men shared Goals for the future with Red Skull closing out with a challenge to push through the next stage of the program.

MOLESKINE: Trust the Process, Set Realistic and Attainable Goals. Do not sell yourself short and Do Not Give Up

COT: Prayers for Health, Future Jobs, and Perseverance

I am thankful to have gotten to know this group of men and I am looking forward to catching up and hearing about their progress.

-Natty

Second chances

AO: greenmachine
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: t-cell, Triple Pane, moneyshot, Wolfpack, Topanga, Works for a Guy, Legal Eagle, Hanes, Michelin Man
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Real nice.

WARMUP: Mosey to the football field and stretch.

THE THANG:

Five rounds of…
– Run 200 yards
– 30 Air Squats
– Run 200 yards
– 30 Merkins

PAX had a certain amount to complete the exercises each round…
R1: 6 minutes
R2: 5:30 minutes
R3: 5 minutes
R4: 4:30 minutes
R5: 4 minutes

Mosey back to flag (Sprint up hill)

Squats Ring of Fire to 5
Merkins Ring of Fire to 5

Mary
4 rounds of 30 seconds work, 15 seconds rest of…
– American Hammers
– Straight leg raises

MOLESKINE:
Michelin Man and Legal Eagle got scared and decided to do their own thing following a ChatGPT half marathon training plan that Legal Eagle has deemed “The best training plan I have ever, in my life, ever, come across. It was amazing!”

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Convergences are coming. Prepare!

COT: Messed up last time I was invited to Q here and had to back out night before… grateful to Focker for giving me a second chance. Reminder to PAX to take second chances when they’re given, be open to handing them out when you can and perhaps take the time to seek them out for yourself as well.

Ultimate!

AO: atlantis
Q: Grape , Oatmeal, sooner, Tea Party, Pole Dancer
PAX: Oatmeal, sooner, Tea Party, Pole Dancer
FNGs: None
COUNT: 5
CONDITIONS: perfect

WARMUP: Indigenous peoples run with a disc

THE THANG: Ultimate, 3v2, Pole Dancer and Tea Party traded off being full time offense

MOLESKINE: there were some amazing catches, lots of diving, some questionable rules (always), and tons of fun. Oatmeal and sooner won, and they both had Pole Dancer and Tea Party on their team at some point, so I was the only true loser. To add insult to injury, YHC lost his car keys in the big field, and is typing this BB from the back of an Uber. Live and learn.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 9/11 and 9/14

COT: prayers for God to be in control

Just What The Doctor Ordered

AO: devilsden
Q: Flash
PAX: Woodchuck, Skeet, Linus, McAfee, @Meatsweats
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
CONDITIONS: Almost but not quite Fall

WARMUP: OYO Stretching

THE THANG: KB Routine:
6 Overhead Presses per Arm
6 Pause Squats per Arm
8 Bent over Rows per Arm
12 KB Swings per Arm
12 sit-outs per side

MOLESKINE: Robert has a Chrysler not a Subaru, robots don’t lift the boxes, Saturn has 2 moons, world history has a bunch of dudes with weird names, insurance companies – are they actually the bad guys?, the American medical system is a racket, Ozempic 4 lyfe

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Need to find a KB workout for September

COT:

SUMMERISOVR

AO: the-discipline
Q: Grape
PAX: Dilbert, hambone
FNGs: None
COUNT: 3
CONDITIONS: warm

WARMUP: 12 x SSH, LBAC F, LBAC R, Michael Phelps

THE THANG:
1st grade- Step Ups
2nd grade- Ukrainian Hammers
3rd grade- Merkins
4th grade- Mountain Climbers
5th grade- E2K- LBC
6th grade- Reverse lunges
7th grade- IYT
8th grade- Squats
9th grade- Original burpees
10th grade- V ups
11th grade- skipped
12th grade- Reverse burpees

MOLESKINE: took me an hour to get home due to a wreck on 65. Still worth it to be with you all this morning

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 9/11 and 9/14 convergences

COT: prayers for patience, discipline, and diligence

:grapes:

RS-PC-T

AO: bomber
Q: sooner , Oatmeal
PAX: Papa Bear, Pep, Vector, Schnauzer, Grape, Tim the Toolman, Firefox, CubCadet, Cream Cheese, Hedwig, Wet Wipes
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: respectable

WARMUP: mozy and a respectable amount of stretching

THE THANG:

Sooner begins we’ll choreographed routine

Thang 1: Ab circuit
– 50 crunches
– 50 heel taps
– 50 leg extensions
– 50 Freddie mercs
– 50 crunchy frogs
– 50 hammers
– 50 big boys

Oatmeal gets tired of ab work, throws sooners plan to the winds and takes over

Battle for the most respect (aka f3 bocce)
Split the pax in 2 groups… Sooner gets stuck doing 11s (burpees+star jumps) whilst oatmeal has fun and games getting his friends to play with his ‘bocce’ balls

There was a winner. They are now respected.

MOLESKINE: endeavor to follow in the footsteps of your respected forebearers

ANNOUNCEMENTS: September stuff

COT: healing and gratitude from oatmeal

The Final Tortoise & Hare

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Crawlspace, Right Said, Chunks, Michelin Man, Focker, tampalibra, hambone, Judy, Young and Restless, Skechers, Speed Walker, Baby Boy, Light Weight, Five Points, Temper Tantrum, Skid Mark, Long Way, Trajectory
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: 72 degrees – perfect running weather!

WARMUP: Standard T&H warmup routine – SSH, IWs Squats, Leg Stretches

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!! Five PRs this morning and two others beat their six week average time. Overall a great effort by this group of determined men.

MOLESKINE: It is always easier to do hard things when you are doing it with someone else. Thank you for the consistency in coming out to run with this class. It made a huge difference. I think this is the fastest class we have ever had, and a lot of that credit goes to the running partners that encouraged the 4:13 Strong men to keep going.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day is this Friday, 8/30 at 11:30am. All are welcome. It is a fun way to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of these 8 men.

Reminder – No Tortoise & Hare for the next 3 weeks. We will have our first run with a brand new class on Tuesday, 9/24

COT: Skid Mark closed us out in prayer this morning.

It’s All in the Grind

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, Ex-Pat, Malibu, morning stār, Papa Bear, Sooie, Stu Cook, The Banker, Timber, Wolfpack, BumbleBee, Smoltz, Samwise, Iowa
FNGs: None
COUNT: 15
CONDITIONS:
Spectacular morning- clear skies, full of hearts, can’t lose.

WARMUP:
Mosey to stop sign, circle up in field.
SSHx 20 with one amazing silent count of unified side straddle hopping in silent cadence.
Slow squat and push-ups, BAC and BBAC.
Mental prep for the Thang.

THE THANG:
An old coach taught me that professionals grind out the work. For today’s grinds, work steadily but not frantically:
(1) 20 minute grind: 6x hand release push ups, 1 or 2 pull ups/reverse pull ups, 6x Lt. Dans
(2) 15 minute grind: 30 seconds of WWI/WWII (user choice), 30 seconds of twists, 30 seconds of standing founders up and down.
(3) Final Grind: SooieBrew

MOLESKINE:
We need our bodies for life, work, and our vocations and men and fathers. Drawing from knowledge and training from a S&C coach Rob Shaul, that means we are professional athletes with particular, specific fitness demands. Our demands as- in my case a suburban dad- are perhaps different than other professional athletes but still there. We can best fulfill our individual callings in life when our bodies are capable of the mission before us.
Professionals are also willing to do the work when the tough gets going and relish the grind when it comes. Today’s workout gave us a time to set about our hard work steadily, not frantically but working through a long 20minutes and another 15minutes.
Being a professional athlete also demands a burden of constant fitnes. In my F3 journey I have found that this burden is best carried in the encouragement and presence of others, especially in The Gloom. Some days feel great, other days feel like a grind. Relish the grind! Put one foot in front of the other, and Just Keep Swimming! Cheers,

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Gallivants Travels ends this week.
September 11 Convergence at 0530 at TN Capitol Steps, plan for an hour.
F3 Nash decade anniversary coming up too.

COT
Prayers for presence, and peace amidst returning to school and work routines.