Passing of the Flag

AO: pain-train
Q: Wolfpack , Siri
PAX: Pebbles, Timber, Half Lyfe, voucher, El Capitan, Cheeks, Derby
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Perfection.

WARMUP: Mosey to stage

THE THANG:
Wolfpack’s Thang
Loose Caboose Pain Train Style
Each PAX took a coupon or two from the stack and lined up on the track. We completed a lap around the track and stopped ten times to do ten burpees. The last PAX moves to the front at each stop to add variation in the farmer’s carry. 100 Burpees total and lots of weight moved 1/5 of a mile.

Mosey back to startex with a brief detour for some uphill walking lunges.

Siri’s Thang
PAX picked a coupon and lined up at the stage for two rounds of the following circuit:
– Deadlifts
– Curtsie Squats
– Merkins
– Rows
– Curls
– Skullcrushers
– Mountain Climbers with Leg Lifts

Then we all lined up for a whole lot of sprints across the field. Classic Siri.

MOLESKINE: Greatest AO in the land!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Make sure to updated your ICE in Slack.

COT: What an absolute honor it has been to lead this AO over the past year. Definitely leaving before I’m ready, but there is no better PAX to pass the flag over to than Siri. Thank you Siri for EHing me and for the incredible amount of support and motivation you have given me the past couple of years. Just went through my pictures and we first started the Off The Books workout at Red Caboose Park on October 11th, 2023. So to see it come to full fruition in May 10, 2024 and then to pass the leadership to Siri on May 2nd, 2025 is truly incredible. Excited to see how this group continues to grow and lead in the coming year. Thank you again to all the PAX who show up every Friday morning to fuel the Pain Train. SYITG!!

Enter a workout title…

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Pebbles, Sparrow, Malibu, AAA, Half Lyfe, Timber, Ex-Pat, Derby, Samwise (2.0), Rubix (2.0), Icebox (2.0), Iowa (2.0), All-Star (2.0)
FNGs: 1 All-Star (2.0)
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: Perfecto Mundo.

WARMUP: BAC, BACBAC, LSMerkin, LSSquat

THE THANG:
Partner up
One partner works while the other performs a 10 yard out and back movement for 4 sets.
Round 1: Merkins and Walking Lunges
2 minute Ab Workout
Round 2: Squats and Bear Crawls
4 minute Toilet Tag

And again!

Round 3: Pullups and Walking Lunges
2 minute Ab Workout
Round 4: Stepups and Bearcrawls
4 minute Toilet Tag

MOLESKINE: Fun to have your 2.0 out HalfLyfe!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: PainTrain shovel flag hand off and 1 year anniversary tomorrow… Check the pain-train channel and get your HC in!

COT: I needed the well to drink from today. Thank you guys for filling it with meaning and purpose. Sometimes you come to drink, sometimes you come to pour.

The Pack and the Long Wolf

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Pebbles, Siri, morning stār, Stubs, Timber, El Capitan, Derby, Half Lyfe, Bumblebee(2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: Perfection.

WARMUP: We don’t do warmups.

THE THANG:
The Pack and the Lone Wolf.

A tight circle of 15 cones were presented to the PAX.
Cones alternated between: Merkin, Squat, Alternating Exercises of: Bent Over Rows, Curls, Kettlebell Swings, Dips, and a Ruck.
Exercises preformed Tabata style 60 second work/20 second rest and then transition one cone to the right for next exercise.
Exercises performed slowly with a 4 count down and 4 count up.
When completing the ruck… PAX were asked two questions and asked to respond with a one word answer upon returning: What brings you back to the Pack between F3 workouts? What do you bring to the Pack each workout?
We completed the full circuit twice and ended precisely at 6:15:07.

MOLESKINE:
Bumble Bee was an absolute beast today!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Come join our Monday Morning Edwin Warner Rucks!

COT: Come to the well and drink long and often, but never wait for it to fill itself, come bringing gifts of your own accord to fill it for others.

(B)Easter Egg Hunt 2025

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: Wolfpack, Derby, Papa Bear, AAA, Sooie, El Capitan, Ex-Pat, morning stār, Pebbles, Timber, Half Lyfe, G-string, Pitmaster, Étouffée, @GoldDigger, @Rubix (2.0), @Schmaltz (2.0), @Bumblebee (2.0), @Grizzly (TBD)
FNGs: 1 @Grizzly (TBD)
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS:

Mid-50s, lovely sunlit clouds at 6:15

TUNES:

Young & Heavy

WARMUP:

Climb routine
Back stretches
Willie mays hays
Good mornings!

THE THANG:

– Circle up around the lamp in field
– 22 eggs to find in playground, each with an exercise & follow-up hold exercise
– Each PAX will search for an egg with the lamp, all PAX will perform the exercise upon opening & perform hold exercise while next PAX searches.
– Wash, rinse, repeat

Ended with MARY: a 3-round Ring of Fire & American Hammers

MOLESKINE:

Life is constantly changing & you change and grow as a man each passing year. I asked the PAX to take some time to reflect, with a moment of silence, on one aspect of change in their lives and one aspect that has stayed constant. I then asked everyone to think of one person (spouse, mentor, friend) who has been a source of strength & stability in their lives. Ended with a prayer of thanksgiving for these individuals.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

– Tax Day got moved to November 3rd(?!)
– Check slack for upcoming Night Moves & extra free workouts!

COT:

Countorama, Nameorama, coffeteria.

It was a pleasure leading y’all this morning, men!

I’m ready for a nap. :yawning_face: :el-capitan:

Good Grief

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning stār
PAX: Pebbles, Sooie, Stubs, AAA, Pitmaster, Half Lyfe, El Capitan, morning stār, Papa Bear, Derby, Malibu, clay hoover, Phillip Lee, Gold Digger, She told me, Sardine
FNGs: 2 She told me, Sardine
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: Chilly yet spring-like.

WARMUP: Mosey to tree line and back. Ground movements on the way. Avoid the puddle (YHC wasn’t in the mood to get wet this am), avoid posts. Circle up for low slow squats and SSH.

Mosey to 2010 flood memorial bench.

THE THANG:
31 rounds of 15 seconds of work, 45 seconds of active recovery.
Exercise one: 3-2-1 ladder of power erkins and dips
Exercise two: 3-2-1 ladder of jump squats and squats

Modify up option: finish the ladder instead of stopping at the timer.

Each PAX took turns walking around the back stop with a 30# ruck and 30# kettle bell while considering a loss they have not grieved.

Mosey back to the startex for an extended COT.

MOLESKINE:
If we keep the momentum up we the knoll may be ready to spin off another AO … which on one hand, I don’t look forward to because of the great connections we have growing here. And yet, this is how we grow and provide more opportunities for men to accelerate.

Welcome to She told me (formerly “My wife told me”) and Sardine!

Well done welcoming the new men, PAX! Hospitality is one of my favorite things about F3 and we excel at it.

I used to try to come up with a new, creative BD every time I Q’ed. I’m enjoying not having to think much about it and intending to run the “power rounds” for the rest of my days. Let’s see how long that lasts.

Here’s a quote on the danger of not facing our sadness that I didn’t share:
“”Sadness does not sink a person; it is the energy a person spends trying to avoid sadness that does that.” “- Barbara Brown Taylor, From theplacewefindourselves.libsyn.com/17-what-it-looks-like-to-actually-grieve-your-wounds of Adam Young’s “The Place We Find Ourselves” Podcast: “What it looks like to actually grieve your wounds”.

I pray we all find the courage and space to face the losses of our past and present.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: skipped them; check slack or come back Thursday.

COT:
YHC shared that learning to grieve what is, what was not (or what has not come to be) has been the most effective way to grow as a man.

Shared about the 4 achetypes of masculinity: Warrior, Lover, King and Sage. Each has an entry emotion … anger for warrior, sadness for lover, joy for king and fear for sage. In YHC’s experience growing as a lover has helped mature as a King.

YHC read the an account of the passing of Eric Liddel’s life from For the Glory (by Duncan Hamilton). This is a gut wrenching account as Lidell died withough meeting his youngest child.

When I was growing up, I chased after many things. Now, at 41, I am to live in the moment and pour out as much delight on my family and those close to me as I can.

Stay curious my brothers,
-m*

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