Tabata to Johnny Cash

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: Pebbles, The Merchant, morning stār, The Banker, Sparrow, El Capitan, AAA, FLO, Timber, Eric Phillips Snapshot (Suncoast), Tea Party, Smoltz (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: mid 70s, no dew on the grass

WARMUP: 3 sets of 50 yard jogs, SSH, merkins, squats, mountain climbers, lunge streches (covered F3 mission, principles, credo here)

THE THANG: played to the tunes of Johnny Cash hits
Station 1 (Tabata): 30 seconds on/15 sec recover, 6 exercises, 5 rounds; Exercises: merkins, squats, dips, burpees, split squats, LBCs
Station 2 (Pull-up challenge): 6 minutes (I said 5, but we ended doing 6 minutes), set of 10 pullups followed by ~100 yard run, 9 pullups/run, 8….Challenge was to see if you could finish before time was up.
Station 3 (Marys): American hammers, Big Boy SUs, flutter kicks, pickle something (Eric Phillips Snapshot (Suncoast) you’ll have to remind me of the name – we’ll do them again for sure!)

MOLESKINE: it was great to have our guest from Florida stop by (Eric Phillips Snapshot (Suncoast)), El Capitan came through again with some ever delicious Mtn Mojo, The Banker and Pebbles were closest to finishing the pullup challenge (I think they got to 2 pullups); Smoltz says he finished, but I’m not sure I can believe him.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: check F3 channel for details!

COT: Don’t be afraid to seek challenges. Putting ourselves in front of something we fear (even if small) can help us develop courage we’ll need in bigger moments. Also, a reminder to continue practicing gratitude – a pillar of happiness!

Thanks for coming together with me in the gloom boys!
-Timber

Pyramid of Pain

AO: the-knoll
Q: The Merchant
PAX: morning stār, Pebbles, AAA, Sooie, Malibu, Timber, Fish Biscuit (2.0), Tonks (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0), Iowa (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
See you all at Sooie’s birthday bash tonight and at my Pain Train Q and Hunger Games tomorrow!

The Deck of Many Workout Things

AO: the-knoll
Q: SalPal
PAX: Sooie, Pebbles, G-string, The Merchant, El Capitan, Timber, Wolfpack, Sparrow, morning stār, Tea Party, Tebow, a number of 2.0s, please add in comments!
FNGs: None
COUNT: a lot
CONDITIONS: Feelin’ lucky

WARMUP: Quick mosey + burpees. Stretching is for the birds.

THE THANG: A modified deck of death. Merkins, squats, BB situps, and mountain Climbers were default routines, spiced things up by changing 2,3,4 to special rules.

MOLESKINE: El Capitan nearly got us to do 40 burpees, we modified as necessary. It got out of hand real fast.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Sooie Party, Hunger Games, Night Movez, GEODIS run, Gulliver’s Travels.

COT: Those affected by Beryl, Peace for families, busy season at work, unspoken intentions.

Battle

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles
PAX: El Capitan, Sparrow, SalPal, Sooie, morning stār, AAA, The Banker, FLO, Tebow, Tea Party, Malibu, voucher, Bookworm
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: Perfect

WARMUP:
Bacs
Bac-Bacs
Don Quixotes
Slow Merkins
Slow Squats
Stretch On Your Own
Disclaimer Given
Mission Stated
Core Principles Recited

THE THANG:
Thang 1
DORA (modified) – partner up, one person runs 100M while the other performs reps of the following exercises. Repeat until all reps are done.
200 Dips
100 Burpees
50 Pull Ups (100 swing ups)

Thang 2
11s on the hill
Carolina Dry Docks
Lt. Dans

MOLESKINE: Our role as men is hard. For me it feels like the entire day is dealing with truckload after truckload of crap that comes my way. This is the battle, to not become discouraged or shirk my responsibilities in the face of daily struggles. Keep battling.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Welcome :party_parrot::party_parrot:Tea Party :party_parrot::party_parrot:
Brewsday TONIGHT
the-knoll will be closed on July 4th so everyone go to greenmachine for a convergence!
Gulliver’s Travel challenge all of July and August
Check slack

COT: Prayed for 2 children to find a home, 13-year wedding anniversary, and all present.

What is F3?

AO: offthebooks
Q: morning stār
PAX: morning stār, Dorothy, Flux Capacitor, Almanac, Mr. Clean, Pushkin, Strudel, Mr. Mom, the Pro
FNGs: 4 Pushkin, Strudel, Mr. Mom, the Pro
COUNT: 9
5:30: disclaimer given in Broadneck high school track parking lot.

CONDITIONS: 68; pleasant reprieve from the heat

WARMUP:
Mosey to the picnic tables outside the track for SSH, baby arm circles and motivators (7 to 1).

Briefly cover history of F3. (Check out more at www.f3nation.com).

Mosey to corner of track for 11s while covering the core principles. F3 workouts are
– always free
– Open to all men
– Held outdoors rain or shine
– Led in a rotating fashion by those who attend
– End in a circle of trust

THE THANG:
11s … lazy imperial walkers (2 is 1) and jump lunges. Mode of transportion: bear crawls or lunges. Finished hero style.

Talked about F3 credo: “Leave no man behind; leave no man where you find him.”

Recovery jog with some motivators and covering F3 mission to plant, grow and serve small group workouts for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.

Partnered up and headed to bleachers:
– partner one lunges or jogs up the stairs
– Partner two does exercise

Air presses then merkins

Back to the corner for some Mary.

Mosey back to picnic tables for COT and Coffeeteria. Thank you Pushkin for the cold brew.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– beast gate tomorrow 5:15am at west gate mall
– Check out other spots at www.f3annapolis.com or f3near.me/nearby

COT:
– count-o-roma and name-o-roma
– PAX shared what F3 meant to them
– Here’s my share: F3 has been a place for me to get back in shape with encouragement from other men, meet others in the neighborhood and most importantly have a place where I can practice living from the heart. I grew up stiffing my emotions and it’s refreshing to have a place where I can practice learning to share my heart with other men. F3 has also been a leadership lab for me to practice my skill of leadership.

MOLESKIN:
– Honor to Pushkin for inviting some of his friends to give this a try.
– Thanks to the Annapolis PAX that came.
– Was great to be with you men this morning!
– Thank you Mr Clean for trusting us with part of your story. Hope you saw that you’re not alone.
– I am grateful of the constant reminder that I am not alone in my pain and trauma. Onward toward healing and maturity for all of us!
– The spot definitely has potential for an official AO one day.

War!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, Ex-Pat, FLO, morning stār, Pebbles, Sooie, Sparrow, Bumblebee (2.0), Barfly, WordPress
FNGs: 2 Barfly, WordPress
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: Cool, Humid, mist on the knoll. Perfect way to kick off the longest day of the year!

WARMUP:
top to bottom
Yes/No/Maybe’s in cadence
BAC
BBAC
Overhead claps
Don Quixote’s
Low slow squats
Slow merkins
Scorpion stretches

20 yard sprints between cones at 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100% speed.
Team competition to pick up the most cones on the 120 yard sprint back.

THE THANG:
War! Broke out the ol’ Deck O’ Cards, maintained the 2 teams from the cone competition. Proceeded to play war. Winning team did 1 of 3 exercises based on the color of the face up suits. Losing team did combination of exercises based on the suit.
J = 11
Q = 12
K = 13
A = 14
Winning team exercises:
:large_red_square: = air presses x total
:black_large_square: = Spicolli’s (calf raises) x total
:large_red_square: :black_square: = Imperial walkers x total
Losing team exercises:
:heart: = burpees
:diamonds:= WW2’s
:clubs: = dips
:spades: = squats

MOLESKINE: Had fun playing the game yet it reminded us of tensions, struggle, uncertainty, and injustice around the world. Shared Psalm 46 as a reminder of something more secure and more foundational than what we can see in the world around us.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
:alert: VQ’s Next Week! :alert:
Sparrow Tuesday 6/25
FLO Thursday 6/27
Come out and show support!
Convergence at greenmachine 7/4

COT:
Prayers offered and lifted.

90s Summertime

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: morning stār, Pebbles, Sooie, The Banker, AAA, El Capitan, Ex-Pat, FLO, Sparrow, Timber, Malibu, @fishbiscuit (2.0), @tonks (2.0), @bumblebee (2.0), @icebox (2.0), @nitro (2.0), @cookie (2.0), @spike (2.0), @fern (2.0)
FNGs: 4 @nitro (2.0), @cookie (2.0), @spike (2.0), @fern (2.0)
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: Humid, upper 70s

TUNES: 90s jamzz

WARMUP:

My Climb Warm-up Routine
– downward dog / cobra
– power merkins (3x per side)
– deep calf stretch
– PE back stretch
– lower back stretches

– Mosey around back stop to center of field

THE THANG:

Part 1: Duck, Duck, Goose on the Plank!

– Duck PAX are all planking in a circle. Tagger chooses a “goose!” who will sprint around the circle to return to their spot. Instead of chasing, tagger does 10x Side Straddle Hops. Whoever is last to plank is “it”. (We had several close races!)

Part 2: Water Balloon Challenge

– 16x reusable water balloons contain laminated slips of paper with various workouts & are hidden around the playground.

– All PAX will hold a squat while one looks for a water balloon. He or she may pelt the PAX with the water balloon upon returning. All PAX will perform the exercise written within. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Cool down: Mosey’d a caboose-is-loose around the-knoll, then convened at playground for three minutes of Freddy Mercuries.

MOLESKINE:

– Count Off
– Name-O-Rama
– Welcomed aboard 4 FNG’s visiting Uncle Sooie’s family from Central Florida. All had excellent F3 name choices.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Black Lung & Hair Band to Co-Q a 4th of July convergence beatdown at greenmachine :flag:

COT:

“You are as important as you make another person feel.”
-Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

I am so grateful for the men who make the-knoll such a positive, encouraging place to get stronger. I encourage y’all to be aware of the “least of these”, to see each person as a unique individual made in God’s image who is worthy of respect. Rather than seek glory for ourselves, seek the good of others in quiet service, empathy, and kindness.

Closed in prayer.

It was an honor to lead y’all this morning! :el-capitan:

Packing and Slacking

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles , Sooie
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, Ex-Pat, Malibu, morning stār, Pebbles, Sooie, Sparrow, The Merchant, Timber, Wolfpack, Bumblebee (2.0), Link (2.0), Smoltz (2.0), Mucchi (2.0), Fish Biscuit (2.0), Tonks (2.0), Gabby Cat (2.0), Foxy (2.0), Big Red (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
CONDITIONS: perfect late spring morning

WARMUP:
mosey around the backstop.
Motivators from 7
BAC’s
BBAC’s
Slow Merkins
Slow Squats
Mosey to the flood table

THE THANG:
Pack Your Bags
2.0’s shared their ideal vacation spot and the 1 exercise they’d pack with them.
Total of 16 rounds of the exercises. 30 seconds on 30 seconds off. Had to run to catch our flight after we packed 9 bags.

Thang 2: Slacking
We setup a slack line and traversed it in various ways performing various exercises while waiting for to cross.

Thang 3: Game time
Infection
Toilet tag

MOLESKINE:
Reminder that unstructured time is great and sometimes it’s good to just do nothing together.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
El Capitan AOQ FOR THURSDAY’S AT THE KNOLL! El Cap has been at the knoll since the beginning and always brings joy, encouragement, hardwork, and dedication! Looking forward to all that he’ll bring as AOQ! Baby G-string born last week!

COT:
Prayers lifted and offered!

Coffeeteria with bananas for all from Pebbles ! Chocolate Milk for the 2.0’s. :boar: :coffee: :tm: for the adults!

May your pull up final test, pain train edition

AO: offthebooks
Q: morning stār , Wolfpack
PAX: morning stār, Wolfpack, Half Lyfe, Bumble bee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
CONDITIONS: rainy

0600 – got going with no disclaimer, oops

WARMUP:
mosey to the 9 square bars and warm up the arm and shoulders then some stretching OYO

THE THANG:
may-you-pull-up final test

Met Charlie from the Exchange Club who was setting up for the Bellevue Clean Up day. Helped him set up and had a nice chat.
– The Bellevue Exchange Club works to support causes like ending child abuse, Americanism/Patriotism (they are the ones that set up all the flags during memorial holidays), community engagement.
– Charlie invited us to a meeting to share about F3. Said some members could use what we’re doing.

Finished our mosey back to the park.

YHC was thinking we’d be done but Wolfpack wouldn’t have it. Took turns picking an exercise for the group to do:
– bumble bee – motivators from 1 to as fast as you can go (stopped at 8)
– Half Lyfe – 10 push ups with one arm on a step
– Wolfpack – 20 mountain climbers
– YHC – carry the 20 coupons from the car to the back of the stage

Wrapped up with cafeteria, thank you Wolfpack for the brew!

MOLESKINE:
– was really cool to meet Charlie, a Bellevue statesman; excited to follow up and see where the relationship might go
– was great to slow down the pace and enjoy some extra mumble chatter

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– taco ruck in Franklin today at 4pm at Mojos at the factory; kids welcome
– bring your kids to workout day next Tuesday at the-knoll
– f3dads workout next Saturday at 9am at green hills park

COT: YHC reflected on the power of daily focus towards one goal and how it compounds towards growth and acceleration. Invited all PAX to consider 1 thing to direct focus towards in June. Ended with a toast to the PAX present and not present and the FNGs that are to come : that we would continue to grow as men (and kids).

Moseys and Musings

AO: the-knoll
Q: DintyMoore
PAX: AAA, morning stār, Siri, FLO, Wolfpack, El Capitan, Timber, Ex-Pat, Sparrow, Pebbles, Sooie, Bumblebee, Tonks, Fish Biscuit, Smoltz, Gabby Cat, Foxy, Bookworm (2.0)
FNGs: 1 Bookworm (2.0)
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: idyllic

WARMUP:
Arm circles – 10 rep
Back backs – 10 rep
Good Mornings – 5 rep
Motivators – 5 count
Willy Mays Hays – 5 count
Hip Swings – 5 count

THE THANG:
Thing 1 – HIIT x 2
Playground
30 sec work / 15 sec rest
High Knees – 30 sec
Drop Squats – 30 sec
Romanian Split Squat Left – 30 sec
Romanian Split Squat Right – 30 sec
Left Leg Negative Squat -30 sec
Right Leg Negative Squat – 30 sec
Iron Mikes – 30 sec
Squat Jumps – 30 sec

Thing 2 – Running bases
Backstop – 4 groups, 30 second reps
Super Mario’s, Bernie, Mosey, Skip between
Merkins – Home
Shoulder Taps – 1st
Carolina Dry Docks – 2nd
Plank Toe Touches – 3rd

2nd lap turned into tag game, picking up any members of group in front of you that you catch after 50 total reps

Mary to finish – 2.0 Dealers Choice

MOLESKINE:
It’s what you learn after you know it all, that counts. John wooden to Bill Walton upon graduating from UCLA. Walton passed away this week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence events for end of May U Pull Up Challenge – pain-train and greenmachine on Saturday.

2.0 friendly workouts Saturday afternoon in Franklin – Taco Ruck, next Tuesday at The Knoll, and next Saturday at Middle Tooth.

coworking next Wednesday.

COT:
Wrapped in prayer for various stages of life. G-string 2.0 due any moment, shooting at pain-train, fatherhood and husbandry encouragement.