Category: The Knoll

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Partner Tabata

AO: the-knoll
Q: AAA
PAX: AAA, Timber, G-string (Eli Kresta), DB, morning star, Pebbles, Wolfpack, Ex-Pat, Sooie, El Capitan, Bumble Bee, Big Red
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: mid 30s, foggy

WARMUP: mosey to tree line and back, 15 -4 count jumping jacks, 15 – 4 count lungs, 15 – BACs, 15- back BACs, 10 – slow squat, stretch out on your own.

THE THANG: 6 rounds of 2 sets of exercises with each set consisting of a tabata minute (20 seconds on and 10 seconds rest for a full minute). Partners alternated between a work set and a rest set. Exercises performed were:
-one legged step ups
-merkins
-one legged split squats
-dips
-jump squats
-swing rows

Finished with 4 minutes of alternating hill sprints between partners.

MARY: 20 American hammers, 20 4-count flutter kicks, 20 leg raises

ANNOUNCEMENTS: New Year’s Day convergence and ruck coming up

COT: Gratitude. Even though Thanksgiving has come and gone. The challenge is to keep the sentiment of gratitude through out the holiday season. Holidays bring up many different emotions, and sometimes this season makes can get stressful and consumeristic. It is easy to take people, events, and needs for granted, but try to always remember to be grateful for the things around you, especially in difficult or stressful times.

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Gorilla Strength

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string (Eli Kresta)
PAX: morning star, AAA, The Banker, Pebbles, DB, Wolfpack, Timber, G-string (Eli Kresta), V-Max
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS:
Crisp and clear

WARMUP:
Jog to @g-string truck since I pulled up late. Mosey to the Stop sign and back to the truck where we unloaded coupons. Suicides with alligator crawl to the first light and back, Murder Bunny to the second light and back, Gorilla run to the third light and mosey back.

THE THANG:
First three exercises were “Hero Style” (first team to finish, ended the exercise for all)
Three rounds:
-Teammate 1, run to first light then 5 burpees, proceed to second light and repeat, then third and repeat.
-Teammate A, 25 Floor-to-ceilings with coupon
(@g-string and @AAA were the heroes)

Two Rounds
-Teammate 1, Gorilla Run Suicides to all three lanterns
-Teammate A, Coupon overhead presses until teammate 1 returns.
(@Timber and @The_Banker were our heroes)

Mosey to the playground
Three rounds
-Teammate 1, 10 pull-ups
-Teammate A, Shoulder taps until Teammate 1 is finished
(@AAA and @g-string were heroes again)

Slowsey back to the lanterns and back to the playground
Two rounds of pull-ups to failure
Circle of pain: All PAX hold high plank while first PAX does 10 merkins. Then the next PAX does 10, and so on until all have done merkins while the rest plank.

MARY:
Two rounds of 15 4-count LBCs in cadence.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Holiday Brew Ruck
New Year’s Day Convergence

COT:
Prayers of thanksgiving but also healing memories for @pebbles youngest child’s 1st birthday.

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Sidekicks (Keep Fighting)

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, DB, G-string (Eli Kresta), morning star, Pebbles, Sooie, The Banker, Timber, Wolfpack, VMax (recently moved from Katy TX), Smotz (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS:
Cold and clear. 🌕

WARMUP:
Mosey to stop sign and back.
15 SSH
15 Imperial walkers
10 low slow squats
10 slow merkins
10 Willie Mays Hays
OYO stretches 1 minute

THE THANG:
5 cones, each 10 paces apart.

Return trips from cone 5 to cone 1 were alternating sprints, slip-line uppercut drills.
Plank for the 6’s

4 double-sidekicks low/high at each cone.
Return
4 squat punches at each cone.
Return
4 tuck jumps at each cone.
Return
4 more squat punches at each cone.
Return
4 burpee, jab, cross combos at each cone.
Return
Repeated the full sequence 2x

10 minutes of single-flag Capture the Flag. If you get tagged, 5 burpees or sprint to your base to return to the game. If anyone dropped the flag, everyone does 5 burpees.

MARY:
None

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
New years Day convergence.

COT:
When I was a kid, Sidekicks (Chuck Norris, Jonathan Brandis) was one of my favorite movies. Since my brother passed away last week, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the past and how we grew up. Still processing through all of it but a couple things stand out. Community is vital. Inevitably we’ll each face a moment when we’re tempted to give up. When that happens, we need the strength of those around to help carry us through it.

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The Thanksgiving Special

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: El Capitan, Timber, AAA, Malibu, morning star, Smoltz (2.0), Icebox (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0), Iowa (2.0), Curbside Pickup
FNGs: 1 Curbside Pickup
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: A chilly 30 degrees

WARMUP: The Motivator, Merkins (10 ct IC), Slow squats (10 ct IC), stretches: hip flexor, hamstring, anything you need (covered F3 mission, 5 core principles, credo here)

THE THANG: 3 groupings of workouts, 3 sets per grouping
Group 1: body weight squats, merkins, side straddle hops (15 reps each)
Group 2: single leg balance touches, pull-ups, squat jumps (10 reps each)
Group 3: bear crawl (10 yards), crab walk (10 yards), burpee w/out merkin at bottom (10 reps)
run the hill after each grouping when waiting for the 6 to finish

Gratitude Run: ran 1 mile together with 3 stops to hear gratitude callouts (all 9 PAX had a call out)

MARY: None

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Cold plunge following workout at @Morning_star ‘s house!

COT: 1 year ago my Dad had quadruple bypass surgery. For much of my life I’ve viewed him as an unstoppable force, but he has become a fragile human. In reflecting on his situation, I understand we are all fragile, and to not take anyone for granted. Let’s make showing gratitude to others a part of our daily lives.

Thanks for coming out in the gloom this morning! @Malibu, thanks for bringing your brother – it was a pleasure for us all to meet him. @El_Capitan, thanks for your contagious joy. Seeing you race the kids across the field to end the run was awesome! @Morning_star, thank you for the cold plunge special! It broke me! Happy thanksgiving to all of you!
– Timber

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Failure is a good thing!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: Pebbles, The Banker, El Capitan, Sooie, AAA, G-string (Eli Kresta), Malibu, morning star, Timber, Smoltz (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0), Iowa (2.0)
FNGs: 1 Iowa (2.0)
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: 58 degrees, and raining!

WARMUP: Mosey to stop sign, 10 pull-ups (OYO), 10 merkins (IC 4 ct), 10 jump squats (OYO), hip flexor stretch and hamstring stretch (10 ct)

THE THANG:
1. Hill sprints (8 min): Sprint uphill, recovery jog down (50 yards)
2. Leg burnout (3 sets): Bulgarian squats (10 each leg), jump squats (10), “shadow wrestling” movements (~30 seconds)
3. Upper body burnout (2 sets – 1 min, 40 sec): towel curls, towel tricep extensions, shoulder raises
4. The finisher: towel hang for as long as you can hold

MARY: None

ANNOUNCEMENTS: polar lunge this Thursday, hosted by @morning_star. Reminder/encouragement about No Noise November.

COT: Growth is experienced in challenges. Don’t fear failure! As the Governator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) once said, go to failure and then do a few more reps!

Thanks for coming out in the gloom. There was something oddly satisfying about working out in the cold rain with you men (and the brave 2.0s)!
– Timber

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If you can do 1, you can do 10…

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Sooie, morning star, Wolfpack, Pebbles, El Capitan, AAA, G-string (Eli Kresta), Timber, Link, Bumblebee, Big Red, Tonks, Fishbiscuit
FNGs: 1 Fishbiscuit
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: Could it get any nicer!?

WARMUP:
Mosey to stop sign
BACs
BAC BACs
Imperial Walkers
Don Quixote’s
Willie May Hayes

THE THANG:
Partnered up… leave no man behind, but leave no man where you found him!

All exercises were performed in alternating reps with the partner. You do 1, partner does 1.  You do 2, partner does 2.  You do 3, partner does 3. All the way up to 10. That’s 55 reps per exercise. Holding a plank for the 6 until everyone gets to each location.

Overhead Claps
Run to Backstop
Iron Mikes
Run to River Table
Dips
Run to Backstop

Pause to play a quick game of freeze tag. If tagged must stand with legs wide to allow PAX to bear crawl beneath you to unfreeze. Switch up partners and back at it…

Carolina Dry Docks
Run to big tree
Jump Squats  
Run to other big tree
Merkins
Run to Backstop

Played a game of Bear Tag. All PAX in Bear crawl position. Everyone tries to slap the hand of another while not getting slapped yourself. If you get slapped, you must step out and do 5 burpees.

Mosey to the playground

MARY:
Mary go round for the final 5 minutes
– Scissor kicks
– High plank to low plank Merkins
– Write the ABCs with your legs outstretched
– Bicycles

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hobble Gobble run on Thanksgiving morning
Cold Plunge at Morningstars after Knoll Thanksgiving workout (Congratulations Banker on the Q!)
January convergence… details coming soon!

COT:
Read an excerpt from the book Into The Clouds. There’s a term called “crumping” in mountaineering that is used when the desire to climb is all but lost. We may not be climbing K2, but we all have our own daily mountains to summit. When the hard times come up remember… if I can do 1, I can do 2. If I can do 2, I can do 3 and keep pushing forward my brothers!  

Sending good vibes to everyone who is sick or injured on a quick recovery.

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Joy Sustains Power

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning star
PAX: Sooie, Wolfpack, Timber, AAA, G-string (Eli Kresta), Pebbles, Ex-Pat, Malibu, Bumble Bee (2.0), Smoltz (2.0). Big Red (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS:
Pleasantly chilly.

WARMUP:
Split into two teams to mosey around field, playing catch with football. Once everyone touched the ball once do a 10 count ground movement.

Circle up for little baby arm circles (balancing on one leg), soviet sprinter shakes, imperial walkers, plank jacks, shoulder taps.

THE THANG: Power + Joy
Round 1:
Two power exercises in 5, 3, 1 descending ladder: squat jumps and elevating merkins. One partner does reps, the other does soviet sprinter shakes. Mosey to the backstop after each ladder and do 3 star jumps together in celebration of something.

Plank / bridge to finish round 1 while sharing what we celebrated.

Round 2: game of infection.

Round 3: human knot.

MARY: follow the leader back through the playground.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Thanksgiving run next Thursday
– Cold plunge at the knoll next week
– New year convergence, more details to come
– Keep up with #no-noise-november

COT: YHC shared about healthy power and the practice of joy. Many times in my life I’ve burned out and wasn’t able to sustain pursuits. I’m now learning about submitted power and how joy brings endurance. Encouraged everyone to consider a need and a desire they have and how they might apply their power to it + how they might connect with joy around it.

Appreciate this space and you PAX … it’s been a great place for me to practice submitted power and joy.

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AMRAP of AMRAPS

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: Wolfpack, Sooie, Pebbles, El Capitan, Timber, G-string (Eli Kresta), AAA, morning star, Big Red, Bumblebee, Tonks
FNGs: 1 Tonks
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: Glorious 68 autumn morning, overcast.

WARMUP:
Mosey to the stop sign
20 Side straddle hops
20 Baby arm circles
20 Backwards baby arm circles
10 slow squats
10 slow Mericans
Individual stretching and F3 mission, credo, and 5 principles.

THE THANG:
AMRAP in 90s followed by 60s of rest, with two rounds per exercise:
Mericans
Iron Mikes
Flutter kicks
Dips on the stone table

Single round of politicians and bear crawls down+up to hill.

Mr. Spectaculars from the Stone Table back to the playground.

MARY:
20 Sit-ups
20 leg lifts

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
No noise November.
@Sooie is Q’ing on Monday at Ellingson Park.

Prayer requests: for strength amidst the work of fatherhood, especially at the close of a demanding day. For the best possible outcome of a difficult work day ahead amidst injustice. For perseverance as we gird for the cold winter workouts ahead.

COT:
I want to express my gratitude for this opportunity to work with the men in the Knoll these past few months, and VQ today.

Tomorrow we celebrate the Marine Corps birthday, one of my favorite traditions as a Marine. This tradition of coming together includes a birthday ceremony, cutting of the cake, and celebration of our storied past that is very near to me. Today it is a reminder to me to recall where we have come from and adversities overcome so as to prepare ourselves to fulfill the work before us. IWhat Marines celebrate today is an image of that remembrance, and how that call to excellence calls me to become a better man, every day.

And life is always a little brighter with some birthday cake! 😉  🇺🇸  🦅🌎⚓️ 🎂

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Mighty Ducks/Flying V

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles
PAX: Sooie, Malibu, morning star, Ex-Pat, Wolfpack, Siri, El Capitan, G-string (Eli Kresta), AAA, Timber, Smoltz 2.0, Bumble Bee 2.0, Big Red 2.0
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS:
No complaints

WARMUP:
1. Mosey to stop sign and back
2. Arm Circles
3. Don Quixotes
4. Slow Merkins
5. Slow Pushups

THE THANG:
Triple Deke!
Partner up to complete 100 Merkins, 200 big boys, 300 squats. 1 partner runs to backstop and back while the other is doing reps.

Triple Deke (Part Deux)
Partner up to complete 25 Pull Ups, 50 American Hammers, 75 step ups. 1 partner “Apollo Ono’s” around the playground (ice skating)

Blowout:
3 reps of run down the hill, politician back up

MARY:
15 Supermans with 3 count hold called out by @malibu

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
No Noise November
Hoblin Gobbler Run on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Cold Plunge with @Morning_star

COT:
Prayers for those men who could not make it this morning and those on the fence about coming.

My college coach ended every workout by saying, “Take care of yourself, then if you can, take care of someone else.” For a long time I thought this was selfish. Aren’t we called to be men for others?

As I age, I realize it is impossible to take care of others unless I’m fundamentally fit – mentally, physically, and spiritually. Thankful to this group of men who are helping me in all three areas.

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Lights Out

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, G-string (Eli Kresta), Malibu, Pebbles, Sooie, Timber, Wolfpack
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS:
27 degrees 🥶, starry ✨

WARMUP:
Breathwerkins:
30 breaths at a tempo of 66bpm. 2 count inhale, 2 count exhale. Breath hold and merkins until failure or Needtobreathe
20 SSH
15 BAC
15 BBAC
10 Don Quixote
Stretch/shakeout OYO

THE THANG:
3 cones scattered throughout the knoll. Mosey to each cone and perform the following plank exercises:
20 thigh taps
20 shoulder taps
20 rotating planks
20 leg raises
20 arm raises

LIGHTS OUT
2 teams, 3 cones per team. Each team sets their illuminated cones in the “end zone”. Teams send a runner sprinting to the end zone, perform an exercise 5x, then either turn the light out on the opposing team’s cone, or return to re-light an extinguished cone. 1 point awarded when a team extinguishes all 3 cones of the opposing team. Change exercise with each point. First to 5 wins.
Merkins
Iron mikes
Dry docks
Big boy sit-ups
Jump squats
…it was a shutout 5-0 ☹️

MARY:
15 leg lifts
15 emperor penguins
Flutter kicks for 1 minute

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
#no-noise-november
Hobblin’ Gobbler
Polar plunge

COT:
YHC shared 5 things I’m hoping to get out of No Noise November. Reflected on quote from Blaise Pascal: “The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.”
Prayer requests.
Prayed and 15 seconds of silence.
Enjoyed good mymblechatter over some Sooie Brewie ™️