#the-knoll’s 1st Annual (B)easter Egg Hunt!

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: Aflac, Wolfpack, morning star, El Capitan, Ex-Pat, Sooie, Link (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: frosty & starlit

TUNES: Americana / Alt-country

WARMUP:

1. downward dog
2. Viper
3. 3x power push-ups (both sides)
4. Deep Calf stretch
5. Back twist
6. BACs & BackBACs 15x each
7. Motivators to 5

THE THANG:

All PAX circle up in grass beside picnic table.

One PAX will don headlamp & bring back one (B)easter egg – eggs are hidden around playground, underneath trees, etc.

Waiting PAX will perform a plank until seeker returns.

All PAX will perform whatever exercise is written on the slip of paper in the (B)easter eggs.

Rotate until all eggs have been opened (25 eggs total – we did 24!)

MOLESKINE:

I encouraged the PAX to find ways to include joy in the hum-drum and routine moments of life.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

– Plankril starts Monday!

– BYO2.0 workout on Tuesday, April 2nd.

COT:

– Countorama
– Nameorama
– Sooie on the 6
– Prayer requests shared & lifted up to the Lord
– Sooie Brewie

So thankful for y’all!

:mountain:

Endless Reps, Together

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: morning star, El Capitan, Wolfpack, Sooie, Malibu, Merchant, Right Said, Link (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Decent weather for ducks, but at least we had 70s Rock to listen to. :the_horns:

WARMUP: Caboose-is-loose run to the top of Harpeth Knoll hill. At top of hill, all PAX will do together:

-10x 3-count merkins
-10x 3-count squats

Turn around & return to playground. Split up into two teams & line up at playground.

THE THANG:

Phase 1:

Each PAX team will perform the following “endless” exercises …
– Lunges
– Leg Raises on back
– Carolina Dry Docks
– Freddy Mercuries

One PAX will long jump to opposite end zone lamp, high knees back. Rotate until all PAX have completed the mosey, then move on to the next exercise. Rinse, repeat.

Phase 2:

Mosey to flood table.

All PAX perform “endless” dips while one PAX runs to backstop & back. Exercise is complete when all PAX have completed backstop mosey.

Phase 3:

A Cool Down Stretch!

– Butterflies with deep breathing sequence
– Straight-leg stretch
– Child’s pose (my favorite)
– Downward dog / arch
– Viper
– Power Push-up Stretch
– Deep calf stretch
– Back twist

MOLESKINE:

I struggle with anxiety, especially when it comes to finances. Recently, we’ve had several (expensive) things hit my family at once which has caused me to reflect… do I trust that God will take care of us? As a Christian, do I believe Jesus’ words when He tells His disciples to “consider the birds of the air & the flowers of the field” and “does not Your Father provide for them”? I challenged the PAX to consider their personal anxieties, and to give them up to the Lord who knows & cares for them.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

– #PreHab will continue each morning at 5:15 unless otherwise notified by morning star
– That Mile :grimacing: is happening at greenmachine Thursday. I will be offering a slightly (but only just) less difficult workout at the-knoll.
– Plankril is less than a week away… One minute plank on April 1st (no fooling), add 6 seconds each day after that.

COT:

Prayer requests were shared amongst the PAX. We closed in a moment of silent reflection & prayer, followed by Sooie Brewie.

I’m so thankful for y’all.

:mountain:

Put your back into it!

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string (Eli Kresta)
PAX: morning star, Pebbles, Siri, The Banker, Sooie, El Capitan, Wolfpack, Ex-Pat, @Link, @Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS:
Warmer than Tuesday but still brisk.

WARMUP:
– windmills, imperial walkers, wmh, gm
– Indigenous People’s run with football around the field
– Shoulder warmup

THE THANG:
Two people per station. Three rounds.
– Station 1: sandbag swings
– Station 2: pull-ups jump up and 3-count down
– Station 3: log floor to ceilings
– Station 4: lunges to the street and back
– Station 5: plank hold

MOLESKINE:
On Tuesday we talked about the GK Chesterton quote. Today I wanted to talk about our specific role as fathers. Whenever God the Father called someone in the OT, it led to an adventure. Moses brought his people out of Egypt, Abraham left his country and his family, David went up against Goliath, etc.
Part of our role as fathers is to provide our children with adventure in the context of safety. Even if you don’t believe in God or the bible, this is a biological fact. The role of fathers in hormonal development of their children is different than that of mothers and cannot be easily replaced. Fathers who engage in rough and tumble play in a adventurous (but controlled) manner have children who are better able to stand up to challenges and face adversity. Fathers are more influential on early language development because we often use higher level language with our children. Fathers even have an epigenetic effect on protein synthesis and gene expression. What we do matters.
In light of that, I am looking for ways to provide adventure and new challenges for my family. Introducing my daughter to the world one experience at a time.

If you want to read a little more on the science behind the unique role of fathers, this is a good article to start with and its references.
www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-anthro-091908-164334

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– That mile is coming next week at Green Machine. The knoll will continue as regularly scheduled
– Plankril is coming. One minute plank on the first and add 6 seconds every day.

COT:
Intentions were offered and prayers were said.

Sawing Logs

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string (Eli Kresta)
PAX: Malibu, morning star, Pebbles, El Capitan, Aflac, Sooie, @Bumblebee, @Iowa
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS:
Cold. Where did the Spring go???

WARMUP:
(bonus warmup of unloading the logs from my truck)
– Good mornings and WMH
– Inchworm to merkin
– BAC
– Back-BAC
– Modified Welsh Dragons

THE THANG:
THANG 1
Pair up. Grab a log. 3 Rounds of the following
X20 broad jump burpees
X20 shoulder presses
X20 squats
Lap to Backstop and back

Thang 2
Two Rounds of the following
X20 Derkins
X20 Bulgarian Split Squats

Mary
American hammers with ball
WW1s
Hollow hold

MOLESKINE:
“The most extraordinary thing is the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.” – GK Chesterton
In a world full of chaos, broken families, and almost no respect for life, holding your family close really is becoming uncommon. We are not the norm, but, in all honesty, we should be. How often do I see the little moments with my wife and daughter as extraordinary. Are those moments where I’m tired and grumpy turned heroic when I can be a good father? For those of us who are Christians, we believe in a God who called people on epic adventures. But if you read closely, every epic story is centered around families, and the ones that end best, involve families that stick together and love each other well.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
THAT mile is coming soon
April marks the beginning of Pre-Hab at the Knoll. Come 15 minutes early for extra stretching and warming up.

COT:
Intentions were mentioned and prayers were said.

Heavy Surd

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: Aflac, G-string (Eli Kresta), Malibu, Merchant, morning star, Wolfpack, Bumble Bee, Iowa, Samwise
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Warm- mid 50’s. Very nice.

WARMUP:
Mosey to stop sign and back,
Pickup weights and farmers carry to Baseball backstop.
15x SSH, 15xBAC and 15 x BBAC. 10 slow squats, 5x slow mericans.

THE THANG:
Four rounds each of 60sec of work, followed by 60sec rest:
(1) 10x Scottie Bobs, 3x American Twists (2=1); then farmers carry weight to the west across the park.
(2) 3x Walking lunges, 10 count of plank; then farmers carry weight back to park.
(3) Mary: WWIs, Slow Count Superman, then Mary-o-Rama: alternating V Ups, ABCs, box cutters, flutter kicks, Superman again, and leg raises.

MOLESKINE:
I’ve been listening to the OptimalWork podcast a lot this year, and one question about growth the hosts ask is: Am I growing in an intellectual understanding of my profession? That might be a professional occuption, but also a self, son, father, husband, or worker. The normal mode of growth requires intentionality, and I’ve received a great deal from these morning workouts together in growing to be a better man. Know that each man here encourages each other, even when you don’t always see it. Keep showing up, doing the work, and growing together. Cheers,

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Difficult, I mean Murder Mile is coming up on the 28th.

COT:
Prayers for those who have passed away, for the health of our members and community, and those silent intentions in our hearts.

Creating a 4F AO

AO: the-knoll
Q: Hair Band
PAX: Sooie, morning star, Wolfpack, Siri, Malibu, Ex-Pat, Pebbles, Merchant, Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: hummid

WARMUP:
50 SSHs
Arm circles
Air press
Michael phelps

THE THANG:
Spread out into Teams & stations

Push station
Skull crushers 20
Carolina dry docks 20
Elbow tap push ups 10
Rotate

Pull station
Pullups 10
Rows 15
Rotate

Core station
Supermans 20
V-ups 20
Ukrainian hanmers 20
Rotate

Burpee freeze tag

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Plankpril coming up soon, check 1st F channel
– Murder mile coming, check green machine

COT:
– everyone shared a prayer request, work, families, deaths, travels

Thanks y’all! So happy to have lead this morning, it was an honor and privilege!

Rock on,

Hair Band

Bring Your Own Kid Workout at The Knoll

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack , morning star, Sooie
PAX: Ex-Pat, El Capitan, AAA, Three Stooges, Merchant, DB, Pebbles, Firefox, 2.0’s:  Big Red, Link, Bumblebee, Tonks, FishBiscuit, AwesomeAxolotl, Birdman (2.0), Wildflower (2.0)
FNGs: 2 Birdman (2.0), Wildflower (2.0)
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: Warm with a sprinkle

WARMUP: stretching and motivators led by Bumblebee and Morningstar

THE THANG:
Thang1: 11’s
Burpees on one side, Big boy sit-ups on the other
Bunny hops one direction, Bear crawl the other

Thang 2: Old school movie time
Split up in pairs (Dads and 2.0)
One pax is the VCR
One pax is the Remote
Start opposite of one another. The VCR is doing the exercise while the Remote controls the speed. If the remote is running forward, VCR goes fast. If remote is running backwards, VCR goes slow. If remote pauses, the VCR holds the current position. Switch places for 60 seconds on/60 seconds rest.

Movies watched:
– Merkins
– Squats
– Big boy sit-ups

Thang 3: Infection!
2.0s were the infected and ran around tagging PAX to infect them. Three rounds with alternating movement types each round.
R1: Pax has to run backwards
R2: Pax has to run sideways
R3: Pax has to skip

Thang 3: Bear Tag Royal
All pax in Bear crawl. If you get your hand slapped your out and have to stand on the side and do your exercise of choice until the end (didn’t see any burpees?)

I believe FishBiscuit and AwesomeAxolotl were our champions!

MOLESKINE: Criss-cross-applesauce!

Thank you Morningstar for sharing a delightful message. A reminder to all 2.0s to encourage and share delight in every action. And a reminder to us dads to seek out and nourish that delight in our 2.0s.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT: 1-2-3 Delight!

SLAMBALLY’ALL

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, DB, morning star, Pebbles, Sooie, Wolfpack, Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: old man winter not dead yet

WARMUP:
Motivators from 5
Yes/No/maybes 5
BAC 15
BBAC 15
Don Quixote 10
WMH OYO
Good Morning OYO
Caboose is loose with the slam ball around the knoll. Slamball gets fumbled, 5 slow merkins ended up doing 20 all together

THE THANG:
THANG 1:
Iron Mikes 10x
Side lunges 10x
Shoulder taps 10x
Climber taps 10x
Derkins MAX
Single Leg Bridges 10x
Side Bridges 10x
Squat hold for the 6’s the mosey around the backstop.
REPEAT 3x

THANG 2:
Hangs: 1 minute on 30 seconds off (3x)

THANG 3:
Ultimate Capture the Slamball
Get tagged, turnover possession.
Slamball hits the deck/fumbled, 5 burpees

MOLESKINE:
Faithfulness in the mundane will echo forward for centuries. Recounted a small excerpt from the autobiography of John G. Patton (1824-1907) about his relationship with his father and when he left home for seminary. His father was a sock maker and they lived in a small village in Scotland:

My dear father walked with me the first six miles of the way. His counsels and tears and heavenly conversation on that parting journey are fresh in my heart as if it had been but yesterday; and tears are on my cheeks as freely now as then, whenever memory steals me away to the scene…His lips kept moving in silent prayers for me; and his tears fell fast when our eyes met each other in looks for which all speech was vain! We halted on reaching the appointed parting place; he grasped my hand firmly for a minute in silence, and then solemnly and affectionately said :
“God bless you, my son! Your father’s God prosper you, and keep you from all evil !”
Unable to say more, his lips kept moving in silent prayer: in tears we embraced, and parted.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– biscuit run Saturday, March 2
– Bring Your Kid to Workout day at #the-knoll Tuesday, March 5
– Terrible mile: Thursday, March 28

COT:
Closed with prayer.

Ten Trees!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: AAA, The Banker, G-string (Eli Kresta), Pebbles, morning star, El Capitan, Sooie, Bumblebee (2.0), Big Red (2.0), Link (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: Cold enough for gloves, yet warm enough for short sleeves… very confusing times we live in…

WARMUP: Mosey to stop sign then a series of stretching exercises led by Link.

THE THANG:
Thang 1
Huddle around the River Table to complete a series of exercises done in reps of 10. After each set of 10 you must run and touch a tree.

Round 1: Squats (5reps) Merkins (5reps) x10 sets
Round 2: Iron Mikes (5reps) Dips (5reps) x10 sets

Partnered up for the next two rounds:
Round 3: Picolis until partner returns from touching a tree x10 sets
Round 4: Shoulder taps until partner returns from touch a tree x10 sets

Thang 2
6 rounds of 1 minute freeze tag.
If you get tagged you must stand with legs apart performing Overhead claps until someone crawls between your legs to unfreeze you. All Pax got a chance to be “it”

Mary
LBCs and Flutter kicks

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Lots coming up! I encourage everyone to check out Toothless’s latest post in General for everything.

Tuesday 3/5 – Take Your Kid to Workout Day here at The Knoll… great chance to share our passion for the three Fs with your family, friends, Pax who haven’t come out in a while, and PAX who haven’t experienced the beatdown that is a 2.0 workout.

COT:
Sometimes showing up is enough.

AMMAP

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Sooie, El Capitan, Pebbles, Malibu, morning star, Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: B-E-A-uuuutiful

WARMUP: Mosey around. Open up them hips. Stretch those shoulders.

THE THANG:

As Many Merkins As Possible!
90seconds work/60seconds rest

Merkins
Dips
Run to backstop
Diamond Merkins
Carolina Dry Docks
Run to table
Incline Merkins
Squats
Run to the big tree
Flux Capacitor Merkins
Iron Mikes
Run to playground
Ring of Fire Merkins
Lazy Imperial Walkers

Mary: WW1, Box Cutters, LBCs with stretch’s in between

MOLESKINE: prayers for PAX health.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Just a Mile at Greenmachine March 28th. Biscuit run coming up.

COT: It’s possible to take responsibility to lead while also asking for help. Each of the none Merkin workouts were called out by the PAX who came out. There’s no reason so go at it alone fellas!