Who’s on Deck?

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, Sooie, Phillip Lee, Pitmaster, Stubs, Half Lyfe, Gold Digger, Eagle (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Perfect, slight spot of rain at the beginning.

WARMUP:
Woke up. Wanted to go back to sleep. Checked slack. morning stār and Bumblebee have to be DR! I’ll Q. Get the trusty deck of cards. Go to the knoll. Greet PAX.
– loosen up the neck
– (Rain…let’s get that heart rate up)
– Motivators from 5 (hat tip to Bumblebee)
– (Mean streak)
– Baby arm Circles (keep ’em up)
– Back BAC (keep ’em up)
– shoulder taps via bicep curl (keep ’em up)
– Shoulder press (keep ’em up)
– Seal claps (end scene)
– Hip gyrations (don’t make eye contact)
– Walk out merkins
– WMH (review F3 Mission, Core Principles, Credo)

Speaking of “Credo”, *cranks up Creed “Human Clay” (the whole album)

THE THANG:
Hit the Deck
R1:
♣️ = pull-up
♠️ = squat
♦️ = WW2
♥️ = (I know what I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it) burpees
🃏 = mosey around back stop.
R2: “y’all wanna switch up the exercises or keep em?” 4 hands go up (YHC first). 4 hands stay down. AAA does the “right” thing and raises his hand. (Relief)
R2:
♣️ = merkins
♠️ = lunges (none this round)
♦️ = American hammers
♥️ = SSH in cadence
🃏 = mosey around back stop.
(No drama)
R3:
♣️ = dips
♠️ = lunges (frfr)
♦️ = flutter kicks
♥️ = Mtn climbers

Finished the deck at 0612. Time for Mary.
– hollow hold (hat tip to G-string)
– Low plank (thanks Stubs)

MOLESKINE:
Creed got me nostalgic. Shared a conversation I had with my daughters about the importance of cultivating friendships at an early age (Listening to “Old Friends” by Ben Rector as I’m typing this. [I’m not crying, you’re crying]). Encouraged PAX to reach out to an old friend and be aware of opportunities for new friendships.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SPRING FLING THIS SUNDAY!!! Signup if you haven’t.

COT:
Prayers offered. Half Lyfe homebrew thoroughly enjoyed!

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

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