Krazy Kickball & Our New AOQ!

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan , Half Lyfe
PAX: Half Lyfe, morning stār, Derby, Sooie, Timber, El Capitan, Tebow, The Banker, @Golddigger, @Ninja (2.0), @AllStar (2.0), @Bumblebee (2.0), @Smoltz (2.0), @Biscuit (2.0), @JohnnyAppleseed (2.0), @GabbyCat (2.0), @Foxy (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: Low 70s & not raining!

WARMUP:

The El Cap Special w/ a dash of BACs + BacBACs (15x each), Willie Mays Hays, and a mosey to the treeline.

THE THANG:

Krazy Kickball!

Three thrilling innings of sweaty kickball shenanigans.

Rules for offense:
– base running is a MOT depending on inning & base (bear crawls, Imperial Walkers, lunges, politicians, somersaults cartwheels, etc.)
– PAX on bench perform exercise while waiting to kick (dips, step-ups, etc.)

Rules for defense:
– PAX in the field must perform an exercise while waiting (SSHs, squats, etc.)
– kicked ball cannot be fielded until defending PAX perform a set of exercises (7x WW2s, 5x Iron Mikes, etc.)

Team 2 had a walk-off single to win 5-4!

MOLESKINE:

It has been my joy to serve the-knoll as AOQ for the past year. I am thrilled to now pass the flag to a HIM who has shown strong leadership, creativity, and a quiet devotion to the Bellevue community.

Mazel tov & congratulations, Half Lyfe! We are so grateful for you & your willingness to lead our rowdy crew. :muscle:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

4th of July convergence at handsomizer Friday!

COT:

– Countorama
– Nameorama,
– Named our fearless FNG @JohnnyAppleseed
– Closed in a prayer of blessing & thanksgiving for this new era at the-knoll
– enjoyed olive oil shots, cupcakes, chocolate milk, and coffee

:el-capitan:

ISO Crazy

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: Sooie, Half Lyfe, morning stār, Pebbles, El Capitan, Derby, Tebow, The Banker, Timber, Papa Bear, Bumblebee (2.0), Tonks (2.0), Fish Biscuit (2.0), Smoltz (2.0), Mushi (2.0), Gabby Cat (2.0), Foxy (2.0), Shakira
FNGs: 1 Shakira
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: 74 degrees sounds pleasant right? Wrong! Gills were required to breathe the 2:1 water/ air mixture.

WARMUP:
Head to toe mobility
BAC
BBAC
Low slow squats
Slow merkins
SSH (23 :goat:)

THE THANG:
Timber brings 0530 with him as he comes running onto the playground. I abdicate responsibility for any injuries one might endure over the coming 45 minutes by stating the non-professional capacity in which I will be leading, thusly shielding myself from a potential torrent of litigation.
We warm up.
Spoiler alert: it’s quite hot already. Nonetheless, we awaken our muscles from head to toe with Yes/No/Maybes, Baby Arm Circles, Back BACS, Low slow squats, low slow merkins, and SSH.

Now onto the thang: “ISO Crazy”
We partner up and establish four stations of isometric exercises. Between the stations the PAX perform:
– 10 planche merkins,
– 10 groiners,
– 10 jump squats.
The isometric exercises:
1. dead hangs,
2. fingertip plank,
3. tree/pole/wall sit,
4. hollow hold
are held until failure of one of the partners. The pairs are numbered off 1-4 and begin their respective isometric according to their number. 25 minutes of growling, grunting, grueling agony ensue. My plan, on paper, seemed to be but a gentle tempering of the mortal frame. The reality though was a gauntlet of pain.
The clock strikes 0600 and we’ve had enough. Time for games! Capture the flag! The 2.0’s demand that they take on the adults and we capitulate to this request. However, the first round the adults can only move by hopping on one foot. The 2.0’s score. Second round the adults must move by hopping on both feet. Half Lyfe leaps a flying tackle toward a 2.0 but misses his target and the 2.0’s score yet again. Chafed and chastened, the adults cast off all encumbrances and unleash their full footed fury. A wall of men prevent the 2.0’s from reaching the flag. Midfield, I reach the flag. Wheeling around with it firmly in my clutches, I let loose all reserves of energy and sprint toward our goal line! The adults score and 0614 strikes indicating the end of regulation gameplay. 2.0’s are victorious 2 to 1.

MOLESKINE:
I reflected on Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 and the importance of sharing our burdens. Coffee and fellowship is thoroughly enjoyed

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Knoll closed this Thursday (6/26) to participate in the convergence at greenmachine.
Special beatdown on July 1st at the knoll. You wont want to miss it!
4th of July convergence at handsomizer…on July 4th
Check slack for all other announcements.

COT:
Prayers offered. Coffee and chocolate milk enjoyed. Thanks El Capitan !

Buddy EMOM

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: Half Lyfe, morning stār, Sparrow, Timber, El Capitan, Smoltz (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: low 60s & dry :pinched_fingers:

WARMUP:

– Downdog – Cobra – Sprinters Stretch w/ slow-mo merkins
– Back stretches
– Baby arm circles / BacBacs 10x in cadence
– Cherry Pickers 10x in cadence
– Motivators to 5

THE THANG:

Buddy EMOM

Partner up & choose a station. You & your partner will be performing 10 rounds (5 rounds per person) of each exercise, beginning every minute 45 seconds

Rest / soviet shakes with any extra time you have left.

After 10 rounds are complete, you will mosey with your buddy to the stop sign & back.

Rotate to next station & begin new set when all PAX are ready.

Stations are:

Arms
Superman merkins x10
Hangs until partner finishes

Legs
Monkey Humpers x20
Spiccolis until partner finishes

Core
V-Ups x15
Plank until partner finishes

Took a final mosey down Goodpasture & returned by 6:15

MOLESKINE:

In the season of Father’s Day, I encouraged the PAX to seek to draw near to their kids & not let the mistakes of their own dads control them. We have a choice to draw near or keep away. Draw near & reach out to other men for encouragement & fellowship.

Closed out with the Lord’s Prayer.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Check 2ndf on Slack for details on Nerf Night w/ Wolfpack & co. Looks like another game night with Firefox is coming up too!

Keep an eye on the Slack for special announcements coming soon as well.

COT:

Countorama, Nameorama, coffeteria enjoyed.

It was a pleasure leading y’all this morning!

:el-capitan:

mini-Murph and more

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: The Banker, Pebbles, El Capitan, G-string, AAA, Étouffée, Sooie, Stubs, Malibu, Derby, Sparrow, Papa Bear, Siri, Pitmaster, Half Lyfe, Smoltz (2.0), Fish Biscuit (2.0), Tonks (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: Perfect, 60 degrees

WARMUP: mosey, SSH, slow merkins, slow squats, good mornings, leg stretches (covered F3 mission, 5 core principles, credo here)

THE THANG:
1.Mini-Murph: 15 squats, 10 merkins, 5 pullups X 10 sets (run ~300m after 5th and 10th sets)
2. Stations x 2 (40 sec on 20 off while rotating): fast feet, carolina dry docks, standups/sitdowns without using hands
3. Agility work: ~30 yard uphill distance on road, single leg hops, backwards run, side shuffle, bear crawl, frog jumps, sprint

MOLESKINE: played some tunes, good encouragement on the murph station, coffee by El Capitan, good effort by Smoltz leading the way

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Pebbles out on Thursday and needs a coffee guy

COT: I shared the Parable of the Oranges: be intentional in our roles as fathers, husbands, workers. Smoltz shared a personal reflection about why he likes coming to F3 (fuels his competitive drive, feels a sense of accomplishment doing something in the morning, likes to work out).

Prayer intentions were shared and prayed for.

Thanks for letting Smoltz and I lead you this morning!
-Timber

Joy center

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning stār
PAX: Parka-Eh, Timber, Pebbles, morning stār, Bumble bee (2.0), Pele (2.0), Smoltz (2.0), Mona Lisa (2.0)
FNGs: 1 Mona Lisa (2.0)
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: chilly

WARMUP: SSH, arm circles, mosey.

THE THANG:
5 burpees and run up hill. Pair up at top of hill.

Each pair completes a hill run and then walk backwards together while practicing appreciation using GAMES:
– gratitude for something in the present
– anticipation for something in the future
– memory from past that brings you joy
– experience: somethong you can do to bring a smile to someone’s face
– singing (Timber Lee us in Lean on me)

COT:
– the joy center of our brain is the only part of our brain that can keep growing our whole life
– Cold plunge face off … props to all the PAX that embraced the suck. Parka-Eh reigns as this years champ!

4 Minutes Ain’t Nothin’

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: El Capitan, Ex-Pat, Sooie, G-string, Sparrow, Pebbles, Papa Bear, Wolfpack, Stubs, Timber, Smoltz (2.0), Rubiks (2.0), Link (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: Chilly (43 degrees), damp, dark

WARMUP: SSH, Slow Merkins, Slow Squats, Don Quixotes, High Knees (talked about F3 mission, 5 core principles, credo between exercises)

THE THANG: AMRAP; 6 exercises, 4 minutes each, 1 minute rest in between
Exercises:
1. Burpees,
2. LT Dans (10, 15 yard murder bunny w/coupon, 9, murder bunny, etc.)
3. Perfect Merkins
4. Squats (level up option w/coupon)
5. Floor to Ceiling (coupon)
6. WWIIs
*option to jog 50 yrds and back for a break at any point during the 4 minutes

MOLESKINE: Hoping for dry grass, we got wet grass. No worries, the men of the knoll executed instructions with minimal mumble chatter. Everyone layered up nicely, and quickly began to shed layers. El Capitan provided some warm coffee afterwards to warm up the bones. Good push by all.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Chiliteria this Sunday @ Shelby Park from 12:30p-2:30p. Sign up docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17_9407aYu87ZAMPuzUaCmJ3WaD7bwOyDyOxLUXz_BP8/edit?gid=0#gid=0!

COT: My youngest’s 4th birthday is today (where is time going??) which has caused me to reflect on slowing down time and reflecting on each day I have. God has gifted us so much, including each day. Whenever I’ve given a gift to someone, I’ve wanted them to cherish it and use it. May we do the same with God’s gifts – show gratitude for our lives, pour into those around us, and not take our gifts and challenges for granted.

Thanks for putting in the work with me this morning, men!
-Timber

Sandlot to celebrate Bumble bees 9th birthday

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning stār
PAX: AAA, Timber, The Banker, Malibu, Sooie, El Capitan, morning stār, Buble bee (2.0; Q), Iowa (2.0), Samwise (2.0), Tonks (2.0), Fish buscuit (2.0), Smoltz (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: starting to get dark and cool

WARMUP: motivators from 9 down

THE THANG:
Split into teams and play baseball.
– strike out = 3 pushups
– bench warmers alternate between step ups and erkins
– modify up as desired

MOLESKINE:
– Appreciare the PAX encouragement of Bumble bee in his first Q and his 9th birthday.
– Really cool to see how much he’s picked up from participating and watching us do this every week for a year.
– The “task master” part of me wanted to put more pressure on him to make the BD a certain way … thankfully I was able to be aware of that and ease back and let him make it his own and adjust as needed.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– round 2 of birthday Q on Thursday
– 1 year anniversary of the brig in Franklin tomorrow
– See slack for the rest

COT:
– Bumble bee shared that he’s noticed that because he sees myself and his mom taking care of our bodies in how we move/exercise and how we eat it inspires him to do the same. Message to the dads: your actions have a deep impact on how your kids grow and how they see what could be done.
– Ended in personal reflection on a gratitude and a need followed by a prayer.

Childish Play

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: The Banker, Malibu, morning stār, El Capitan, Pebbles, G-string, Timber, Smoltz (2.0), Mucchi (2.0), Iowa (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0), Butter
FNGs: 1 Butter
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: 73 degrees, light rain for the first 20 minutes

WARMUP: SSH, Squats, Overhead arm clap, variety of stretches for legs (covered F3 mission, principles, credo here)

THE THANG:
Station 1: Item Toss
-divided into 2 teams, each PAX selected an item to throw to a target 25 yards away (items: football, tennis ball, frisbee, dodgeball)
-total # of steps from the target that items landed = total # of reps of exercises
-exercises: pullups, burpees, merkins (Round 1); squat jumps, Apollo Ohnos, spicollis (Round 2)
Station 2: Obstacle Course Run
-1 PAX from each team ran the playground obstacle course while other PAX completed a dealer’s choice of shoulder/core exercise (2 rounds)
Station 3: Matching
-8 pairs of workout cards (16 cardboard cards total) placed face down; PAX took turns flipping the cards. If NO match, PAX completed both workouts; if match, PAX discarded the cards without having to complete the workout. Cards: Carolina Dry Docks, Burpees, Merkins, 4ct flutter kicks, WWIIs, LT Dans, Jump Squats, Pullups

MOLESKINE: for the item toss, # of reps ranged in the 20-28 reps range for teams. The rain added in some challenges (like making the obstacle course a tad slick) – good work by PAX to err on the side of going slower to stay safe. El Capitan proved his tremendous servant leadership by showing up at the end with Mtn Mojo for the group. We expressed gratitude for a successful court date for Sparrow in their adoption process.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: check slack channel!

COT: emphasis on the power of AFFIRMATION. When genuine, affirmation has the ability to install confidence and a feeling of security in our kids, and it has the ability to break down barriers with others we might have conflict with in our lives.

Great work this morning!
-Timber

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

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!