FEEL THE RHYTHM

AO: the-knoll
Q: The Merchant
PAX: AAA, caprate, DintyMoore, El Capitan, Ex-Pat, FLO, Malibu, morning stār, Pebbles, Sooie, Sparrow, The Banker, The Merchant, Timber, Wolfpack
FNGs: None
COUNT: 15
CONDITIONS:
Sunny, clear skies, 62F
WARMUP:
Side-straddle hops, BACs, BAC BACs, motivators, WMH
THE THANG:
Cycle between different exercises along with the playlist, at your own pace

Song intros/outros are active recovery

Round 1: (Pop/Lower Body)
Verses: Squats, Choruses: Lunges, Bridge: Hold squat
Round 2: (Folk/Core)
Verses: Sit-ups, Choruses: Baby crunches, Bridge: Freddy mercury’s
Round 3: (Rock/Upper Body)
Verses: BACs, Choruses: Merkins, Bridge: Dips
MOLESKINE:
“The most important step a man can take. It’s not the first one, is it? It’s the next one. Always the next step…” -Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
May You Pull Up ending this Saturday

I forgot to record this part so I hope I’m not forgetting anything important :joy:
COT:
Thank you to all who came out for my VQ! Hopefully this will be the first of many.

10 Stations

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: Sooie, The Banker, G-string, Malibu, Ex-Pat, AAA, El Capitan, Timber, Pebbles, Lunch Lady, Sparrow
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: 67 degrees, mostly cloudy

WARMUP: SSH, BACs, back BACs, Seal Claps, Merkins, Imperial Walkers, Don Quixotes

THE THANG:
Station Work (2 rounds): 10 stations, rotate when runner returns
Stations – pullups, merkins, side lunges, calf raises, derkins, BW squats, planks, dips, farmer carry (with coupons), ~300m run
Team Mosey: ran 1 mile together

MOLESKINE: Ex-Pat sat in valiantly as AOQ, I don’t think G-string took a break from pullups the entire time he was at that station, we thought we heard the howl of Wolfpack but it turns out it was his snoring, the music playlist was hit and miss with some of the PAX

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
-VQ ALERT: The Merchant VQ this Tuesday
-check details at coworking for those work from home folks

COT: morning stār read from/talked about a children’s book a few weeks ago. This got me thinking about my favorite kids books and perhaps my favorite is The Giving Tree. It is such a simple book, but with a profound message: give until you don’t think you can give anymore, and then give a little more. May we continue to strive to be SERVANT leaders for our families.

Enjoy the rest of your week!
-Timber

Roll the Dice!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: Sooie, morning stār, AAA, El Capitan, The Banker, Timber, Sparrow, Malibu, Étouffée, Pebbles, FLO, The Merchant, G-string, voucher, Ex-Pat, Bubblebee (2.0), Goliath (2.0), Monkey (2.0), Fish Biscuit (2.0), Tonks (2.0), Smoltz (2.0), Ace (2.0), Gipper (2.0), Dr. Kitty (2.0), Mocchi (2.0)
FNGs: 2 Dr. Kitty (2.0), Mocchi (2.0)
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: 68 degrees, dew on the grass, sun out

WARMUP: 15 SSH, 15 BACs, 15 back BACs, 10 slow squats, 5 8ct burpees

THE THANG:
Thang 1: Roll the Dice – 4 rounds, 6 exercises (merkins, iron mikes, BW squats, WWIIs, leg raises, burpees), total # on dice = total # of reps
Rd 1 – roll 1 die, Rd 2 – 2 dice, Rd 3 – 3 dice, Rd 4 – 4 dice
*thank you to G-string for being our math guy and adding up the dice!
Thang 2: Ultimate Football – like ultimate frisbee but with a football (modification: each team could select 1 “running back”), team 2 wore patriotic themed beads around their neck for identification purposes

MOLESKINE: Malibu made a glorious return and brought with him some great cosmic rays for the morning, Étouffée showed he’s a little better than Uncle Rico (Napoleon Dynomite) and can still throw the pigskin, Tonks was the best dice roller of the morning, The Banker has now introduced 6 of his 9 2.0s (where 3 away from the entire crew), Sooie brought the coffee brew, chocolate milk for the 2.0s, the patriotic beads must have weighed heavy on Team 2 as Team 1 pulled out the victory in ultimate football, RECORD # of PAX at the knoll!!!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: may-you-pull-up challenge still ongoing, coworking planned for tomorrow, The Merchant VQ next Tuesday: make plans to be there to support him!

COT: Understanding your purpose, and having a clear vision in your life/work can help you achieve greater things and help you get through difficult times. I shared the story of a wrestling match in college. The Banker and I returned to New York after attending a funeral for one of our uncles who had just passed. Emotionally exhausted from the trip home, The Banker returned to school to find out he was 12 lbs over weight. He proceeded to stay up late, wake up early, and run during any free time between classes the next day to lose that weight and make weight. During the wrestling match later that day, in heroic fashion, he pulled out a stunning and almost impossible victory, sealing the team win by pinning his opponent. He had decided to offer up the challenge for our uncle. Had he not given himself the “why” he likely wouldn’t have been able to overcome the emotional and physical exhaustion to pull off the stunning victory. This is the stuff legends are made of! May we all reflect on and remember our “why” so that when things get tough at work, or with family, we push on!!

Thanks for a great morning,
-Timber

Running Through the Wet Grass

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: Ex-Pat, G-string, Malibu, Pebbles, The Merchant, Sooie, Lunch Lady, Josh Stevenson (Sparrow)
FNGs: 1 Josh Stevenson (Sparrow)
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Perfect temperature. A bit damp.

WARMUP:
Motivators from 5
Imperial Walkers
“Keep em Up!”:
Shoulder taps
Side shoulder taps
Front shoulder taps
Scissor chops
Horizontal scissors
BAC
BBAC
Don Quixotes
OYO stretch/shakeout

Might as well knock out today’s 2 minute plank

THE THANG:
5 cones between the road and the tree line across the knoll. Began at the road. Exercise and MOT to each cone was different.
Sprint to cone 1: 20 burpees
Crab crawl to cone 2: 20 Lt. Dans
Crawl crab to cone 3: 10 breakdancer merkins
Mosey to cone 4: 30 Spicolli’s
Bear crawl to cone 5: 10 plank rotations
Mosey to tree line: 2 minute active recovery.

COMPETE FOR CONES:
first PAX to pick up the cone got a point. Sprint to cone 1 then tree line, cone 2 then tree line, cone 3 then tree line…you get the idea.

Mosey to the playground. Split into 2 groups. Group 1 dead hangs. Group 2 lunges to the road and mosey’s back. Swap.

Close out with some recovery breath work. Pebbles contributed to the air quality during this phase. :dash:

MOLESKINE:
Proverbs 24:5-6
A wise man is full of strength,
and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.

These verses have meant a lot to me and have grown more as I have spent more time in F3. Thank you men for the encouragement, support, and camaraderie!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Plankril continues
G-string will be conductor at pain-train tomorrow. Be sure to punch your ticket!
The knolliversary is coming up 5/2. More on that later

COT:
The Merchant was the 6 and shared what F3 meant to him.
Prayers requested and lifted.

Your story matters

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning star
PAX: Wolfpack, Siri, The Merchant, Ex-Pat, El Capitan, morning star, Malibu, Pebbles, Bumble bee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: delightful and the rain held off

5:30am – welcome and disclaimer

WARMUP:
YHC loves motivators so much that I asked a PAX to lead a round since I couldn’t die to my Achilles recovery. El Capitan stepped up.

Motivators followed by lazy imperial walkers, little baby arm circles, and something else I can’t remember.

THE THANG:
Part 1
30 rounds of 10 seconds of work / 20 seconds of active recovery:
1. hinge from knees / neck mobility
2. hard style plank + super slow push up / rocking
3. super slow Freddy mercuries / egg rolls

YHC demoed the excerccises and then had to pre-evac Bumble bee home.

Part 2:
Wolfpack stepped in and led the pax in:
Alternating between Low Slow Squat and Low Slow Merkin.

– 20 reps, 10 second rest of both
– 15 reps, 15 second rest of both
– 10 reps, 20 second rest of both
– 5 reps with 5 second hold, 25 second rest of both

Part 3:
YHC returned and led PAX through originally planned thang 1. Swapped recovery and work time for last round (20 seconds work / 10 seconds active recovery)

Mary:
– Max plank for those doing plankpril.
– Flow core work along with low slow squats and slow merkins, ground movement (cat crawl, baby crawl), lots of rocking

MOLESKINE:
– I find that when I do “inner work” it cones in rounds … work that is slow and methodical, then a rest, then another round of work that may vary in intensity, then rest. If I don’t take time to actively recover I sputter and burn out. This applies to all areas of life.
– I like being able to play with the creativity of these workouts to reinforced things I’m learning and practicing in my day to day. Appreciate the PAX for engaging in these mini experiment and / learning labs.
– I’ll be coming back to this topic of our stories when I Q at pain-train in a couple weeks.
– Thank you to Wolfpack and the PAX for continuing the BD while I had to leave. Am continuously encouraged by how powerful shared leadership is. Let’s keep practicing it and demonstrating it in our day to day outside the gloom.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– plankpril continues, get out in public and take some photos
– Good meat and fellowship at Chunks place, check 2ndf for details
– Drop into pain-train this Friday, Wolfpack is leading growth phase ramp up to official launch on 5/10
– Keep inviting men you know, grab a business card if it helps to leave them with something tangible

COT:
YHC reflected on the peaks and valleys of his life, shared some. Encouraged the PAX to reflect on their story and find ways to celebrate and honor it, even the touch painful scenes.

Here are some things to consider:
– What are the most beautiful moments of my life?
– What are the most broken moments of my life?
– What are the highs and what are the lows?
– Who are the people that have had the impact impact on who I am today (even those that hurt or abused me)?

Here is the why behind this (quote from the Intentional Father by Jon Tyson):

“The goal here is to begin to get a sense of your own story, have awareness of the moments that have defined you,and remember the people who have shaped you. “”It’s important to come to terms with your own story. “”[Victor] Frankl said there’s something powerful about stepping back, gaining an objective distance from your own story, and observing the things that have made you who you are.”
YHC used to avoid his story, even despise it. It’s only recently that he’s come to explore it and honor it. That work (and it’s hard work) has led to much acceleration.

We ended with a ball of man with “honor” on 3.

It takes movement … so, move!

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning star
PAX: Sooie, Wolfpack, Siri, morning star, Right Said, El Capitan, Merchant, Malibu, Ex-Pat, Pebbles, Big Red (2.0), Bumble Bee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: low 40s and not too bad

5:30 – welcome to the knoll, where 2.”a are always welcome. Took a moment to appreciate the birds.

Mosey to the flood monument bench

WARMUP:
Circle up for Lazy imperial walkers, all arm movements balanced on one leg (alternate to other leg when you lose balance): LBCs, reverse LBCs, put your glasses on, take your glasses off, jimmy goes to Egypt, slow merkins, low slow squats

THE THANG:
30 rounds of 5 seconds of work, 25 seconds of active recovery, alternating between merkins and jump squats (or modification).
– roll after merkins, before getting up
– lots of variations of active recovery and silly interactions after squats

Mosey to the playground, find a bar and do a max habg, mosey back and plank to wait for six.

YHC remembered the disclaimer…

Repeat 30 rounds.

Mary:
– Alternate crab walk and cat/baby crawl back to playground.
– Baby rocking to wrap up

MOLESKINE: I’m a leadership and personal development geek. I love thinking about it and practicing it. I enjoyed sharing some thoughts on it today. Remember that to bless simply means to find good and call it out. Don’t forget to bless yourself as you practice blessing. It’s a skill. I also enjoyed all the laughter and horse play during our active recovery. Joy is also worth practicing.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– plankril today is 1min 16 seconds
– 5 mile Saturday run to support Richland creek, meets at Richland park, see Right Said for details

COT:
– Counts, names and announcements
– The founders of F3 thought they men functioned best when they were aware of and connected to something bigger than themselves
– Took a moment of silent reflection to connect with personal SkyQ … consider someone you’re close to, picture their face, what might be one thing you could do to deepen your connection? Commit to doing that today
– YHC blessed the PAX to go forth and practice bless today
– Poured ginger tea as YHC shared on leadership (see below)

Here is a framework for personal acceleration:
– draw a y and x axis … the y axis represents your motivation: who are you serving? Bottom is you, top is others … the x axis represents type of action. The left is responding (following or participating) the right is initiating (leading)
– bottom left quadrant is participating to serve yourself
– top left is participating to serve others
– Top right is leading to serve others
– bottom right is leading to serve yourself
– growth is recognizing what quadrant you tend to be comfortable in and then considering moving to another quadrant to practice something you may not be as comfortable in
– The key to maturity is to keep moving through the quadrants to be well practiced in all, there’s no “bad” expression here

Wolfpack encouraged the PAX to make their comfort spot with an x.

YHC encouraged the PAX to consider a growth edge: challenge yourself to do something you don’t normally do. That may be initiating or participating. That maybe to shift your focus to yourself or to others. Honor to each man in his unique journey. We all bring a contribution that is valuable.

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:

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