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.

[coworking] 2ndFing while coworking in public, Bellevue Edition

AO: coworking
Q: morning stār
PAX: Ex-Pat, Sparrow, FLO, Wolfpack, The Merchant, morning stār, Three Stooges, EH (yet to be named)
FNGs: 1 EH (yet to be named)
COUNT: 8
WARMUP: get oriented and order a drink

THE THANG:
5 rounds of 25 min work session followed by 5 min walk

Found a pull up “bar” on one walk but were asked by DeSano’s not to use it again.

Lunch at Honey Fire.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– looking at Monday afternoon and Friday morning for next week

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

20.5 cinder blocks for $10

AO: offthebooks
Q: morning stār
PAX: Wolfpack, morning stār
FNGs: None
COUNT: 2
CONDITIONS: damp

WARMUP: catch up on the drive to the Easter sale

THE THANG:
Farmer and suitcase carry cinder blocks to the car (up a hill).

Drive to YHCs house and unload.

MOLESKINE:
– got 3 halves and an extra large one!
– #f3-lyfe-foreva :joy:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– will be pressure washed and ready for release into pain-train circulation by 6/7

Toilet Tag!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: morning stār, Sooie, Timber, The Banker, El Capitan, Lunch Lady, G-string, Link, Fish Biscuit, Tonks, Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: No Lightning

WARMUP: Mosey around the Knoll mimicking silly movements from the 2.0.

Link gave us cadence for SSH, BAC, BAC BAC, IW, WMH

THE THANG:
Tabata 25 seconds work/15 seconds rest

Pull ups x2
Mountain Climbers x2
Merkins x2
Jump Squats x2
Dips x2
Step Ups x2

2 Rounds of Toilet Tag
Links take on Freeze Tag. Two PAX are it. If you get tagged you hold a low squat and put your arm up to “get flushed” to unfreeze.

Repeat Tabata Above

Two more rounds of Toilet Tag

Tabata Core
LBC X2
WWII x2
WWI x2
Revolutionary Rotations x2
Leg Raises x2

One final round of Toilet Tag!

MOLESKINE: “If you find yourself alone, you’ve gone to far.” Bit of organic COT that came from the workout… thanks to Lunch Lady for sharing some good vibes and thoughts on this statement.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: May You Pull Up challenge ongoing. Invitation to meet June 1st 6am at Pain Train to test your improvement. 2.0s welcome and we’ll have some coffee and doughnut holes.

Bellevue Community Festival this Saturday. Check out Sooies post.

COT: Reminder that you’ve earned the things you’ve got. Enjoy them. Cherish them. Share them. And then a reminder to put in the hard work. Cheers to yall brothers!

Safety First!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: morning stār, Sooie, g-string, Timber, El Capitan, Sparrow, Fish Biscuit, Tonks, Bumblebee, Timber 2.0
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: Nice at start

WARMUP: SSH, BACs, BAC BACs, WMH

THE THANG: LIGHTNING!

MOLESKINE: We had a doughnut for the winner of Bear tag.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: didn’t get there

COT: Lightning rolled in during warmups. We made the smart choice and called it off instead of pushing through and risking the safety of the PAX and most importantly the 2.0s that were present. Makes me think a lot about modeling the right behavior for our kids and setting good examples. None of us wanted to leave today, but we showed the 2.0s present what responsible decision making looks like and that’s just as important as a few merkins in the rain in the gloom. Tclaps to you guys!

Tribute to Tamara, my step mom

AO: offthebooks
Q: morning stār
PAX: morning stār
FNGs: None
COUNT: 1

YHC got out way early to show solidarity to #pain-train official launch. This BD is dedicated to Tamara, my step mom who passed last week. She was 82.

CONDITIONS: 55F a few degrees colder than #pain-train right now ; sprinklers gong in the park

3:30 local time / 5:30 central time – YHC gave himself the disclaimer.

WOR
– 5! Motivators
– 1 lap around the park green (about .15 miles according to Strava)
– 10 rotation as of each joint
– 1 lap around
– OS resets (rocking, cross crawl, segmental rolls, baby crawl)

THE THANG
Today’s #may-you-pull-up ladder is 5,5,4,3,2. With the intent to build more “rest” time between sets YHC came up with:
5 rounds of … take the ladder number (x) and do:
– x pull ups
– x laps around green with x Lt.dans at the start and x! Motivators at the half way point
– rinse and repeat till done with pull up ladder

This ended up being:
– 19 pull ups
– 19 laps
– 79 Lt dans
– 79! Motivators

(If YHC had added this up ahead of the he would have put another 3 Lt dans and motivators in there for a total of 82.)

Mary
Ukrainian hammers till the end.

COT
Practiced coming back to joy with GAMES, focused around my step mom, her passing and tantrum. Did this through our the BD.

Gratitude
Appreciation
Memories
Experiences
Singing

MOLESKIN
– I didn’t want to get up and out, the fart sack was nice and warm. My desire to workout at the same time as #pain-train was what got me out there.
– Had to work through fears of perceived danger as I walked to the park. 3am is early.
– I didn’t want to get to get we and then I realized that my step mom didn’t want to get Parkinson’s. There’s lots of things I may not want in life and learning to work thekfubthen is a good life skill. Thankfully one only gets wet once.
– 82 minutes for 82 years of life. Life is precious.
– some ducks were out which was comforting even though every odd noise (from the sprinklers) kept triggering my horror movie fears that some one was about to jump out and chase me
– had a profound revelation about “modify as necessary” … that removes the excuse that x is injured and so I’ll stay home. I still show up and do something different. A commitment to BE there with the PAX is power. It also takes intention to decide how to modify and fortitude to do it.
– Didn’t think I could do pull-ups due to a twinge in my left shoulder, but it felt much better after warmup!

keep moving my friends,
m*

Illegal Takeover

AO: the-knoll
Q: The Banker
PAX: Sooie, Pebbles, Parka-Eh, Wolfpack, Timber, morning stār, G-string, Ex-Pat, Rubix, Bumblebee, Pele
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: Pristine

WARMUP: Mosey to baseball park with a few stops to do BAC’s and Good mornings.

THE THANG: 11’s Burpees one end, squat jumps/lunges MOT, Donkey Kicks on other end

2 each Wall sits and rotating one leg extension (one min total)

Mosey back and took a pit stop in front of El Cap’s home to do some big boys in his honor.

MOLESKINE: Talked about Pele and his ability when things got hard or pressure was intense to remember his Why. He’d think back to when he was a boy and playing barefoot. That joy allowed him to play free. May we always build our foundation on that joy that allows you to love freely!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: May push-up challenge

COT: prayers for all!

2ndFing while co-working in public, Bellevue Edition

AO: 2ndf
Q: morning stār
PAX: Wolfpack, FLO, Ex-Pat, morning stār
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
4 PAX enjoyed a meal, focused productivity and intentional conversation on a fine Tuesday afternoon in Bellevue, TN.

CONDITIONS: the pizza was good, the space was spacious and the Italian music was loud

WARMUP: YHC and FLO chatted about life and work as we enjoyed our pizzas. Ex-Pat joined for the remainder of lunch. Wolfpack came later after a work call.

THE THANG: several rounds rounds of 25 min focus work time followed by 5 to 10 min walk around One Bellevue from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Modify as necessary.

MOLESKINE:
– This was a good second iteration for those of us that work from home (alone). We intend to do this weekly, likely on Weds am.
– YHC found a coupon in an alley way to add to the pain-train inventory!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– We’ll do this again next week on Wed from 8am to 11am at the well, then lunch at 11.

Sometimes hugs say more than words / 1 year knollaversary!

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning stār , El Capitan
PAX: Ex-Pat, Wolfpack, The Merchant, El Capitan, FLO, The Banker, Timber, Lunch Lady, Ranger, morning stār, Pebbles, Parka-Eh, Birdman (2.0), Rubiks (2.0), Smoltz (2.0), Mozart (2.0), Bumble bee (2.0), Link (2.0), Retro (2.0), 2 fun new kids yet to be named
FNGs: 2 Retro (2.0), 2 fun new kids yet to be named
COUNT: 21
CONDITIONS: delightful

WARMUP:
– mosey around the backstop as a group while signing “happy anniversary to the knoll”
– SSH x12, joint warmups x 12 (neck, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles)

THE THANG:
Split into 2 teams, then again to get 4 teams.

Part 1: minute to win it
Each team performed given exercises at own pace for 1 min. Add up team total at the end.
Exercises: merkins, squats, lt. dans

Timber’s team won the first two. Lots of fun mumble chatter about legitimacy of this.

Mosey around the backstop and sing “happy anniversary to the knoll” again.

Hand off Q to El Capitan.

Part 2: Fun and Games
Form back into original 2 teams.

Round 1: frisbee
Round 2: soccer
Round 3: Calvin ball … 2 adults and 2 kids from each team split off to do human wheelbarrow to the tree and back while the rest played soccer and frisbee (all at once)

Stopped Calvin ball early to bring in the six because “we leave no man behind”.

COT:
– count-o-roma and name-o-roma
– YHC read “The Rabbit Listened” and talked about how this kids book gives him a wonderful example of how to BE with those around him that are hurting or upset.
– We poured drinks and YCH toasted (with a shot of olive oil).

“May we all continue to learn to live from our hearts.
May we all continue to get physically fit.
May we all continue to choose fellowship over isolation.
May we all continue to give this away and invite others into this space.
Blessing to all of you present, and all of those that will join us in the next year!”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Lunch Lady and YHC informal fasting club, reach out to one of us if you’re interested. It’s for those that want to explore fasting (from physical health or spiritual perspective) or those that are already fasting and could use encouragement/mutual edification.
– may-you-pull-up challenge starting next Monday. Goal is to see how much you can improve your pull up max over 4 weeks. Most improved gets a beer or coffee on Hair Band.
– pain-train official launch next week! Bring your coupons (cinder blocks so they can get branded).
– Ex-Pat is leading a book study on Falling Upward by Richard Rohr starting May 14th. This is especially for men in their late 30s or 40s and feeling a shift in their outlook on life; open to all though. Reach out to him directly if interested.
– Check slack for others …

MOLESKINE:
– Great to see new and old friends today!
– Backstory on the Rabbit Listened: we got this book via Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (free books for kids though age 5). When I first read it I was deeply moved. My typical reaction to something going wrong around me is to find blame (who did it?) and then to fix it. This reaction has done a lot of harm to my relationships, especially with my M (wife) and 2.0s (kids). The Rabbit listened gave such a clear picture of how I could BE with those around me that are hurting or upset.
– I choke up and tear up each time I read it. I want to be the rabbit and I also am grateful for all those in my life that have chosen to BE with me in the beautiful mess of my broken humanity.
– About 6 months ago I traveled to California to spend with with my dad, step mom and my sister. They were all going through really hard times. When I prayed and considered how to BE on that trip, I realized that God was inviting me to sit and listen like the Rabbit. I took that book on my trip and it helped me recenter and practice this skill.
– Here’s the book being read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBjAWkog9n0&ab_channel=BuddySonStorytime

Continue to practice BEING with others my brothers,
-m*