Races

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles
PAX: morning stār, Timber, AAA, Étouffée, BumbleBee, Smoltz, Gold Digger
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Warm and Humid

WARMUP:
Side straddle hops
Inch worms
Don Quixote’s
Mosey around the neighborhood with pushups and squats mixed in

THE THANG:
Relay races! Form into two teams and race to the cone and back. Those not moving held plank or squat. MOT:
Bear crawl
Crab walk
Duck walk
Burpee broad jump
Bear crawl
Run

Played a game of Irish Ball which is Ultimate Frisbee rules played with a ball instead.

MOLESKINE: Thank you Gold digger for sharing

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT: prayed us out

Mosquito!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles
PAX: Malibu, Half Lyfe, AAA, Derby, Timber, Étouffée, El Capitan, morning stār, Sparrow, Stubs, Tebow, Smoltz, Bookworm, Gabby Cat, Foxy, Bumblebee, Creek Runner
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Muggy, long grass, mosquitos

WARMUP:
Bacs
Bac Bacs
Inch Worms
Slow Squats
Mosey around backstop

THE THANG:
Partner DORA – partner runs around back stop while the other performs exercise
1. Hand release Merkins x 200
2. Iron Mike’s x 200
3. Dips x 200
4. Squats x 200

11s on the hill – Carolina Dry Docks and Lunges

Mary – flutter kicks

MOLESKINE:
I was out for two weeks in Orlando. It was hotter than the surface of the sun, carrying backpacks and kids all day. It was a great ruck workout.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The STRUGGLE is this weekend. Sign up on Slack to participate.

COT: Prayed us out

A Few Merkins More

AO: the-knoll
Q: The Merchant
PAX: Half Lyfe, Lady Liberty, Étouffée, Pebbles, Stubs, morning stār, Sooie, Gold Digger, Bumblebee, Derby
FNGs: 1 Derby
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS:
A little chillier than Tuesday, but dry and clear skies

WARMUP:
10x SSH, 20x BACs, WMHs, 5x Motivators

THE THANG:
Dora: Split up into pairs
One person ran a lap from the playground to the baseball diamond and back, while the other repeated an exercise until they returned, then the two swapped

Repeat until each duo finishes 200x each of:
Alabama prom dates
Merkins
Lunges

Everyone went in a circle and picked an exercise for the group to do 10-20 of, then we ended with a ring of fire.

MOLESKINE:
We briefly contemplated the importance of rest

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Spring Fling
The Merchant’s Hot Buns Spicy Wing Challenge

Another Round of Merkins

AO: the-knoll
Q: The Merchant
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, Sparrow, Sooie, Stubs, Pebbles, Wolfpack, Étouffée, Parka-Eh, morning stār, G-string, Half Lyfe, Timber, Papa Bear, Ex-Pat, Bumblebee, Rubiks, Gold Digger
FNGs: 1 Gold Digger
COUNT: 19
Warm-up:
SSH, BACs, WMHs, Motivators

The Thang:
HIIT Workout
20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest
6 exercises in a round, 75 seconds between rounds

Exercises:
Merkins
Sit Ups
Imperial Walkers
Merkins
Crunches
Squats

Dealing it out

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string
PAX: Pebbles, morning stār, El Capitan, Half Lyfe, Wolfpack, Stubs, Sooie, Papa Bear, Sparrow, Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: Dark with a sliver of crescent moon. Brisk but warmer than than it has been.

WARMUP:
SSH and something else before I got there. Sorry guys!
– Slow Squats
– Mike Tysons
– Willie Mayes Hayes while we went over the mission and core principles

THE THANG:
Deck of cards work out. Reps match the card. Aces are 15
:hearts: – Decline Merkins
:spades: – Pulse Squats
:diamonds: – Pullups
:clubs: – Reverse Lunges
:black_joker: – 10 Burpees
Twos: Mosey to the backstop and sprint back
Threes: 15 reps of the exercise chosen by the person who drew the card.

MOLESKINE:
We discussed two questions.
1. What are some things you want your son (or daughter) to know before they leave home?
2. Who do you want them to be?
We then left with a challenge to think about how to communicate those things.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Biscuit run this weekend
March Merkin Madness starts on Saturday
Night Moves happening

COT:
Prayers were offered up.

Hazzaah!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles
PAX: Stubs, Wolfpack, Half Lyfe, El Capitan, Malibu, Sparrow, morning stār, Pitmaster, Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS:
Cool trending toward cold

WARMUP:
Mosey to retrieve coupons
Bacs
Bac Bacs
Don Quixotes
Slow Squats
Stretch OYO – Mission stated, 5-core principles

THE THANG:
Split into two teams. One team completes 100meter MOT while the other works. 2 rounds for each exercise.

Exercises with coupon:
Deadlift
Snatch
Overhead Press
Floor to Ceiling

MOTs:
Lunges
Bear Crawls

Mosey to return coupons
3 min of Plank Ups/Ring of Wolfpack
2 min Mary

MOLESKINE:
Super impressive to watch the evolution of PAX from FNG to seasoned PAX. Everyone was bear crawling like a champ today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Lot’s of opportunities to socialize on slack

COT:
I was up most of the night worrying about things. Money, job, housework, etc. It’s been a long time since I’ve worried. I blame it on not being able to workout for a week. Working out is critical to overall wellbeing.

Prayers offered for families and those without shelter.

12 Days of Christmas

AO: the-knoll
Q: AAA
PAX: Pebbles, Timber, The Banker, morning stār, Stubs, Sparrow, G-string, Bumblebee, Smoltz, Moochi
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: a little chilly

WARMUP: -5 motivators
-Baby arm circles 8 forward 7 back
-imperial walkers
-slow squats
-slow push ups
-mosey down to bottom of hill
-5 squats : backwards up hill and jog back
-5 lunges: shuffle sideways up and down hill
-5 squats: run up hill

THE THANG: 12 days of Christmas theme workout. Each day of Christmas you do that number of reps of an exercise.
Day 1- 1 inch worm
day 2- 2 burpees
Day 3 – 3 LT Dans
Day 4- 4 side lunges (2 is 1)
Day 5- 5 hand release mercans
Day 6- 6 squat jumps
Day 7 – 7 Carolina dry docks
Day 8 – 8 mountain climbers (2 is 1)
Day 9 – 9 dips
Day 10- 10 leg lifts
Day 11- 11 dercans
Day 12- 12 step ups (2 is 1)

Once we completed the 12 days of Christmas, we did a pull up ladder with partner starting at 6 reps and working down.

We finished by one partner holding a plank while the other partner ran down to street and back. We alternated for 5 minutes. Finished the last couple of minutes with stretching.

MOLESKINE: Holiday Season can be stressful and a tough time for some, especially those who have lost loved ones or feel stress of travel, gifts, etc. Challenge this year is to first remember what you are celebrating, and then remember to till all those close to you that you love them and appreciate them.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: lean PAX starts in January, workout on the 26th is the gift exchange so bring any item or (leftover gift you don’t want) to do a gift exchange.

COT:

Short Card, Knoll Ed.

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: Pebbles, AAA, Waffle, Timber, Stubs, Sparrow, Sooie, morning stār, Malibu, Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: 27*, frosty, and motivated.

WARMUP: Mosey to stop sign, BAC+BBAC, slow squats, imperial walkers, something else I can’t remember rn, and stretching on own.

THE THANG: modified version of a workout from an earlier life: the Marine Corps Recon Short Card. The Knoll’s edition of this is: tabata (120s work, 60s rest) of each:
Squats
Mericans
Burpees
Crunches (dealers choice of WWI, WWII, baby crunches, or other)
Mountain climbers
Flutter kicks
Burpees again
Daisy pickers
Back extensions
American Hammers

MOLESKINE: sometimes life stretches you and diminishes your ability to create new things. A lesson from Marine Corps days in these situations: sometimes the value of habits isn’t in something new but in going through something that works. Grateful for this community to do the work in the dark, cold, and yet wonderful mornings together.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: lean pax coming up in January.

COT: Closing prayers for family and brothers, in the words of a great friend (Peace at Last, JH Newman).

Coffeeteria ftw, thanks to Pebbles for bringing the brew!

Keep it Simple

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Hair Band, El Capitan, Timber, Sooie, The Banker, FLO, Parka-Eh, Pitmaster, Pebbles, Papa Bear, Malibu, Half Lyfe, morning stār, Link, Bumblebee, Schmoltz, Goliath, Ace, Monkey, Dr.Kitty, Taz
FNGs: None
COUNT: 22
CONDITIONS: Little wet, but temp was right

WARMUP: Jog around the Knoll while the 2.0’s call out various movements to get those joints loose.

THE THANG:
Tabata: 30 seconds on 10 seconds rest. 4 exercises in a round. 4 rounds total:
– Merkins
– Mountain Climbers
– Squats
– High Knees

VCR
Split up into pairs. One PAX is the VHS and the other has the remote. If remote runs backwards, the VHS goes in slow motion. If remote runs forwards, the VHS goes fast. If the remote pauses, the VHS holds it’s current position in the exercise.

4 rounds of Squats
4 rounds of Merkins

5 minutes of Yoga then 10 minutes of Mary

MOLESKINE: Little bit of mumble chatter. Lots of 2.0’s today, which always makes it fun!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: morning stār on Q next week with so get ready for some cold cold ice plunges.

COT: In NoNoiseNovember I have reflected on some of the key writings I find important. I’ve found that these are broken out into three categories that really feed off of each other. So a reminder to PAX to make sure you have a FOUNDATION to build your ACTIONS off of so that you can push into the unknown and GROW. For me, I use the Tao Te Ching for my Foundation, The Four Agreements for Action and Emerson’s Self Reliance for Growth. Find what works for you and take the time to read and reflect

FREEDOM!

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string
PAX: Pebbles, Timber, Waffle, AAA, Stubs, Sooie, morning stār, Ike(William Herbert), Bumblebee, The Judge, Rubix
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: Warmer than Tuesday and wet

WARMUP:
13 of each for the colonies
– SSH
– Don Quixote
– Hill-billy
– BACs
– Merkins
– Indigenous people’s run to the stop sign and back

THE THANG:
– 56 Pull-ups for the 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence
– 65 No Surrenders for the 65 countries who have won independence from Great Britain
– 76 Merkins for 1776 signing of the Declaration and the 76th birthday of the British Monarch, King Charles
– 87 Squats for 1787 ratification of the Constitution
Each of the PAX was encouraged to modify up or down according to their ability. There were Sandbags and Coupons available.

One of the cultural phenomenon lost as the British Empire spread was stone lifting in Ireland and Scotland. There were heavy stones of cultural significance that the people lifted as rights of passage, job interviews, funeral games, etc.
I brought a large stone from home that anyone who wanted to could attempt to lift. T-Claps to Timber and Waffle for lifting the stone, to Pebbles and morning stār for working together, Sooie for getting an ghaoth faoi (the wind under it), and to the 2.0s for their heart to try!!

MARY:
– American Hammers
– WW1s
– WW2s
– Panamas

MOLESKINE:
There were blocks and sandbags to allow PAX to modify up as well as options to modify down. Know yourself and what you need. Push yourself when you can, and pull-back when you need to.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– No Noise November
– Bingro

COT:
– Prayers were offered up.