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*

Spring 2025 9-Square Tournament

AO: pain-train
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Timber, Cheeks, Stubs, Siri, Pitmaster, G-string, The Merchant, Sooie
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Cool and calm

WARMUP: SSH, Merkins, Squats, WMH, Mosey

THE THANG:
Bearcrawl Battle for starting King

9Square
– Two 15 minute halves
– Halftime run around the track
– Corners did 10 merkins between rounds
– Middles did 10 squats between rounds
– King does burpees equal to amount of points between rounds
– If King gets out he has to run to the buses and back

Congratulations to THE Timber who has been crowned our new Universal 9-Square F3 Champion of the Woooorrrlllddddd! And also now owns the record of 15 points!

MOLESKINE: Mumblechatter was consistent and glorious throughout.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Spring Fling April 6th, Merchant Hot Wings April 26th, PainTrain Merkins Madness March 31st

COT: Moment of silence and reflection, especially for those prayers unsaid we keep close to our hearts. Give us the strength and courage to bring those up with honesty to ourselves so we can bring them to others when help is needed.

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

Predictable as Sunshine: Cosmic rays and work

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: Sooie, Half Lyfe, Étouffée, AAA, Malibu, Parka-Eh, Pebbles
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: 57*F and gloriously warm for this dark.

WARMUP:
Mosey to pickup coupons, BAC/BBAC, slow squats, Freddie mercury, and stretching.

THE THANG:
(1) 15’ amrap: 5x ground to overhead with coupon, sprint to pavement.

Rest and stretch.

(2) 12’ amrap: 6x step ups, 4x half moons with coupon, ~10sec plank.

MOLESKINE:
One way I’ve recently been thinking about Integrity is: thoughts/words/actions all directed and ordered to the deepest good things. When I first listened to Papa Roach many moons ago, my bad choices left some Scars. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to grow in the habit of Integrity by being more aware and intentional about the choices in life, and selective in making the right ones. Learning to Rise Again- like the Mary Ellen Carter- isn’t always the easy road but it’s one worth choosing.
My gratitude today for this group of men, who have helped me to live a life of greater integrity. Cheers!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
BBQ on 4/6 @warner parks. See slack for more details.

COT:
Prayers for Josh, who has a long road of recovery ahead; a safe arrival of my folks today for a family visit; and those intentions in our hearts.

Deconstructed Burpees

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string
PAX: AAA, Sooie, Half Lyfe, Stubs, Lady Liberty
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
CONDITIONS: Perfect! And luckily the grass was soft.

WARMUP:
– SSH
– Slow Squats
– Inch Worms
– Shoulder Warmup

THE THANG:
5 Rounds
– 15 Floor to ceilings
– 15 Groiners
– 15 Merkins
– 25 Yard Bearcrawl/Crawlbear back

4 rounds of Double EMOM
– 40 yard sprint
– 5-10 pull-ups

MARY
– Leg Raises
– Heel Taps
– Hollow Hold

MOLESKINE:
Talked about two questions from “Intentional Fathers”
What do you want your son to know how to do before he leaves home?
What do you want him to have experienced?

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
March Merkin Madness
Game Night
Night Moves
See the Nashville general channel for these.

COT:
Prayers were offered up.

Thank you gentlemen for letting me lead you this week! It has been and honor and a privilege.

Dealing it out

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string
PAX: Pebbles, morning stār, El Capitan, Half Lyfe, Wolfpack, Stubs, Sooie, Papa Bear, Sparrow, Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: Dark with a sliver of crescent moon. Brisk but warmer than than it has been.

WARMUP:
SSH and something else before I got there. Sorry guys!
– Slow Squats
– Mike Tysons
– Willie Mayes Hayes while we went over the mission and core principles

THE THANG:
Deck of cards work out. Reps match the card. Aces are 15
:hearts: – Decline Merkins
:spades: – Pulse Squats
:diamonds: – Pullups
:clubs: – Reverse Lunges
:black_joker: – 10 Burpees
Twos: Mosey to the backstop and sprint back
Threes: 15 reps of the exercise chosen by the person who drew the card.

MOLESKINE:
We discussed two questions.
1. What are some things you want your son (or daughter) to know before they leave home?
2. Who do you want them to be?
We then left with a challenge to think about how to communicate those things.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Biscuit run this weekend
March Merkin Madness starts on Saturday
Night Moves happening

COT:
Prayers were offered up.

A Walk

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles
PAX: morning stār, Malibu, Étouffée, Stubs, Half Lyfe, Sooie
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: 13 degrees

WARMUP: Ruck to pick up Malibu

THE THANG: Ruck for 2.5 miles while passing around 60lb sandbags.

MOLESKINE: YHC was smoked from late nights and sick kids. Great to enjoy a challenging ruck and good conversations. Loved seeing everyone want to take on extra weight.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:

Movie Night

AO: pain-train
Q: The Merchant
PAX: FLO, Half Lyfe, Lady Liberty, Sooie, Wolfpack
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
CONDITIONS:
A little chilly but clear skies

WARMUP:
BACs, BAC BACs, Motivators (5)

THE THANG:
HIIT Workout set to a playlist of songs from movie soundtracks

30 sec. of lunges
10 sec. rest
30 sec. of push-ups
10 sec. rest
30 sec. of mountain climbers
10 sec. rest
30 sec. of imperial walkers
10 sec. rest
30 sec. of low plank
90 sec. rest

If someone guessed song and movie it’s from, do 10 reps of whatever exercise they recommend during rest. If nobody guessed, do 10 burpees during rest.

MOLESKINE:
Make an effort to be fully present in daily life. Try to find time to be alone with your thoughts and not in front of a screen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Biscuit run and board game night coming up. Also keep an eye on the petition regarding Percy Warner park.

COT:

4 corners and tumbling dice

AO: the-knoll
Q: Stubs
PAX: Wolfpack, Half Lyfe, El Capitan, Sooie, Stubs
FNGs: None
COUNT: 5
CONDITIONS: Raining cats and dogs

WARMUP:
SSH x 20
BACS x10
BACBAC x 10
Moroccan Night Clubs x 10
Stated mission
Slow squats x 5 – 1 for each principle
Willie Mays Hays OYO

THE THANG:
Thang 1
Mosey to all 4 corners of the park
At each corner
25x mercans
25x shoulder taps (2 is 1)
25x squats

Thang 2
Roll of the dice
2 large dice – six sided die determine the exercise – 20 sided die determines reps
1 = incline mercs
2= ww2s
3 = dips
4 = step ups or iron mikes
5 = jump squats
6 = swimmers

Doubles = Burpees

Did about five rounds of this

Mary
Each Pax picked 1 exercise
Imperial walkers x10
Pull-ups x5
Shoulder presses x 15
Mountain climbers x15
Motivators x 5

Ended with ring of pull-ups – 2 rounds

MOLESKINE:

Briefly touched on the Importance of relationships and the 2nd F especially when the conditions are this poor outside

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Game Night 2/28
Biscuit Run 3/1
Petition to stop road thru Percy Warner park. All can be found in slack.

COT: prayers were offered up and coffee was had before we headed to dryer ground