Snowmagedditon Pt. I

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: Sooie, Pebbles, morning star, Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
CONDITIONS:
🥶❄️🥶

WARMUP:
Joint mobility special led by Morning Star

THE THANG:
Mosey through the snow around the knoll to the flood table.

ELEVEN’s
Dips at the table
Sled down the hill
Floor to ceilings with sled full of snow at the bottom.
Jog up.

Mosey back to the playground
Big boys
Flutter kicked
Sled planks

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None. Expect more of the same Thursday for Snowmageddon Pt. II

El Cap’s Indie Rock Block

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: morning star, G-string (Eli Kresta), Pebbles, Sooie, Wolfpack, El Capitan, AAA, @BigRed (2.0), @Link (2.0), @Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS: Starlit, upper 30s

TUNES: Indie / Alternative Jams

WARMUP:  

– Climb stretch routine
– Willie Mays Hayes (3x each side)
– Don Quixotes (in cadence)
– Cherry pickers (in cadence)
– On your own stretch

THE THANG:

ROUND 1:

Caboose-is-loose up Harpeth knoll hill, right at Harpeth Bend, back up to the coupon tree.

ROUND 2:

Four light cones. PAX will team up in pairs of two, choose a coupon, & line up at starting line.

With coupon in tow, Player 1 will LUNGE to each cone.

First cone: 15x goblin squats

Second cone: 15x overhead presses

Third cone: 15x curls

Leave coupon at third cone & bear crawl to backstop benches for 15 step ups

Bear crawl back to third cone & pick up coupon to mosey to starting line.

Player 2 will do the following exercise, then rest (one exercise per round):

– 100x American hammers (2 is 1) with coupon
– 50x big boy sit-ups with coupon at chest or in lap
– Hold plank until Player 1 begins step ups.

Rotate & repeat (3x Rounds)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  Convergence in Brentwood on 01/12 in honor of a Knoxville-based PAX that passed away one year ago.

Moleskin: Read a poem titled “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden. Encouraged the PAX to continue to serve their families well (even when it feels thankless & nobody sees).

Prayer requests:

– for @Sooie to get back into the mental groove at work
– for @ElCapitan ’s home recently invaded by ants (#stressful)
– for @Timber as he leads his wrestling team

Thank you @morningstar for the ginger tea!

One for Twenty Twenty-Four

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, G-string (Eli Kresta), morning star, Pebbles, Sooie, @Bumblebee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: Cold and frosty morning…not a lot to say

WARMUP:
Hill Mosey, light sprint, high knees, butt kickers.
BAC
BBAC
Imperial Walkers
Don Quixote
WMH

THE THANG:
Partner Tabata.
1 partner works for 1 minute while the other partner recovers. Focused on form and power

Lunges into leg lifts
Jump Squats
Plank jacks
Power merkins (try to get hands and feet off the deck)
Mtn. Climbers
Rinse, repeat 3x

MARY:
PAX led round-robin:
Merican Hammers
Emperor penguins
Freddie Mercs
Dead Bugs
Big Boys
Jane Fonda’s

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Lean PAX
Plan to schedule a single PAX to lead both Tuesday and Thursday workouts at The Knoll on a given week.

COT:
Expressed gratitude for the men who post at The Knoll. Looking forward to facing 2024 together. Prayer requests mentioned. Prayers offered.

12 Days of PAXMas

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, morning star, Sooie
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
CONDITIONS:
34 degrees. Clear skies. Spotted a shooting star đź’«

WARMUP:
Yes/No/Maybes
BAC
BBAC
Don Quixote
WMH
Loose caboose mosey

THE THANG:
Sang 12 days of Christmas with the following lyrics: (Totals in parentheses )
12 jacks a jumping (12)
11 dry docks docking (22)
10 Merkins merikin (30)
9 dips a dipping (36)
8 rows a rowing (40)
7 crunchy frogs (42)
6 Mtn Climbers (42)
5 Spoccoli’s (40)
4 Jump Squats (36)
3 Big Boys (30)
2 Iron Mikes (22)
1 Solitary Burpee (12) 🎶

Human ornament (hangs for 1:30 minutes)
2v2 chaos cone competition

MARY:
12 Superman’s
30 flutter kicks
20 crunches
20 slow dead bugs

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mew years day convergence at #greenmachine
COT:
Start thinking now about how you want to grow and improve in 2024. Nobody drifts towards improving. It takes effort, discipline, and community.

AXE Jumps

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning star
PAX: Sooie, El Capitan, Timber, AAA, Malibu, Bumble Bee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
CONDITIONS: 20’s, frosty

WARMUP: Mosey to the tree line while passing tennis ball around. Bear crawl, crab walk mixed in.

SSH, IW, BACs, Back BACs

Mosey to the back stop + give a light to Malibu to join us.

THE THANG:
10 seconds of squat jumps (each PAX found his number during a time trial) on the minute.

If you lose power or you can’t talk before the next round, transition to SSH.

10 rounds, then mosey to the road and politician back.

Another 10 rounds and mosey to the road.

Made our way to the playground with some ground movements, side movements, etc. Pausing for some core work.

30 second hang then a few rounds of core work movements and a mosey around the backstop.

MARY: core movements in the last 15 min

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– NYD convergence at Green Machine, 6 to 7am

COT: YHC reflected on how embracing sadness is a pathway to joy. I didn’t grow up being taught this and push disappointment and loss away most of the time. I used to think I have to move past it quickly and ignore it but now I’m realizing the the best antidote to self pity after a set back is to name it, let myself feel the feelings that come up and then move to a place of remembering key truths about myself and God.

YHC encouraged the PAX to make space for the more challenging feelings this holiday season.

Prayed us out remembering especially those kids this holiday season that will feel disappointed and lonely.

Credo with a Rock

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning star
PAX: Sooie, Wolfpack, El Capitan, AAA, Bumble Bee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
CONDITIONS: Frosty, mid 30’s

WARMUP: Mosie to the tree line while passing a soccer ball around, pausing for bear crawls, crab walks, shoulder taps, etc.

SSH, IW, Low Slow Squats with Soviet Sprinter Shakes (fast and loose drills) in between.

THE THANG:
PAX picked up rocks at our favorite tree.

Part 1 was so confusing I won’t mention it here.
Part 2 was jump lunges with rocks, then without, then carry your rock to the tree
Part 3 was alternating rock presses and jump lunges

Soviet Sprinter Shakes in between sets with plenty of memory practice with the credo. We personalized it and repeated it to one another.

“I won’t leave you behind, but I won’t leave you where I find you.”

Part 4: keep away with the soccer ball with hand release merkins if your team loses the ball.

MARY: not today

ANNOUNCEMENTS: skipped those in the gloom … check slack

COT: YHC reflected on what it means for us to apply the credo to ourselves, our Ms, our 2.0s.

Partner Tabata

AO: the-knoll
Q: AAA
PAX: AAA, Timber, G-string (Eli Kresta), DB, morning star, Pebbles, Wolfpack, Ex-Pat, Sooie, El Capitan, Bumble Bee, Big Red
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: mid 30s, foggy

WARMUP: mosey to tree line and back, 15 -4 count jumping jacks, 15 – 4 count lungs, 15 – BACs, 15- back BACs, 10 – slow squat, stretch out on your own.

THE THANG: 6 rounds of 2 sets of exercises with each set consisting of a tabata minute (20 seconds on and 10 seconds rest for a full minute). Partners alternated between a work set and a rest set. Exercises performed were:
-one legged step ups
-merkins
-one legged split squats
-dips
-jump squats
-swing rows

Finished with 4 minutes of alternating hill sprints between partners.

MARY: 20 American hammers, 20 4-count flutter kicks, 20 leg raises

ANNOUNCEMENTS: New Year’s Day convergence and ruck coming up

COT: Gratitude. Even though Thanksgiving has come and gone. The challenge is to keep the sentiment of gratitude through out the holiday season. Holidays bring up many different emotions, and sometimes this season makes can get stressful and consumeristic. It is easy to take people, events, and needs for granted, but try to always remember to be grateful for the things around you, especially in difficult or stressful times.

Sidekicks (Keep Fighting)

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, DB, G-string (Eli Kresta), morning star, Pebbles, Sooie, The Banker, Timber, Wolfpack, VMax (recently moved from Katy TX), Smotz (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS:
Cold and clear. 🌕

WARMUP:
Mosey to stop sign and back.
15 SSH
15 Imperial walkers
10 low slow squats
10 slow merkins
10 Willie Mays Hays
OYO stretches 1 minute

THE THANG:
5 cones, each 10 paces apart.

Return trips from cone 5 to cone 1 were alternating sprints, slip-line uppercut drills.
Plank for the 6’s

4 double-sidekicks low/high at each cone.
Return
4 squat punches at each cone.
Return
4 tuck jumps at each cone.
Return
4 more squat punches at each cone.
Return
4 burpee, jab, cross combos at each cone.
Return
Repeated the full sequence 2x

10 minutes of single-flag Capture the Flag. If you get tagged, 5 burpees or sprint to your base to return to the game. If anyone dropped the flag, everyone does 5 burpees.

MARY:
None

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
New years Day convergence.

COT:
When I was a kid, Sidekicks (Chuck Norris, Jonathan Brandis) was one of my favorite movies. Since my brother passed away last week, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the past and how we grew up. Still processing through all of it but a couple things stand out. Community is vital. Inevitably we’ll each face a moment when we’re tempted to give up. When that happens, we need the strength of those around to help carry us through it.

Failure is a good thing!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Timber
PAX: Pebbles, The Banker, El Capitan, Sooie, AAA, G-string (Eli Kresta), Malibu, morning star, Timber, Smoltz (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0), Iowa (2.0)
FNGs: 1 Iowa (2.0)
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: 58 degrees, and raining!

WARMUP: Mosey to stop sign, 10 pull-ups (OYO), 10 merkins (IC 4 ct), 10 jump squats (OYO), hip flexor stretch and hamstring stretch (10 ct)

THE THANG:
1. Hill sprints (8 min): Sprint uphill, recovery jog down (50 yards)
2. Leg burnout (3 sets): Bulgarian squats (10 each leg), jump squats (10), “shadow wrestling” movements (~30 seconds)
3. Upper body burnout (2 sets – 1 min, 40 sec): towel curls, towel tricep extensions, shoulder raises
4. The finisher: towel hang for as long as you can hold

MARY: None

ANNOUNCEMENTS: polar lunge this Thursday, hosted by @morning_star. Reminder/encouragement about No Noise November.

COT: Growth is experienced in challenges. Don’t fear failure! As the Governator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) once said, go to failure and then do a few more reps!

Thanks for coming out in the gloom. There was something oddly satisfying about working out in the cold rain with you men (and the brave 2.0s)!
– Timber

If you can do 1, you can do 10…

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: Sooie, morning star, Wolfpack, Pebbles, El Capitan, AAA, G-string (Eli Kresta), Timber, Link, Bumblebee, Big Red, Tonks, Fishbiscuit
FNGs: 1 Fishbiscuit
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: Could it get any nicer!?

WARMUP:
Mosey to stop sign
BACs
BAC BACs
Imperial Walkers
Don Quixote’s
Willie May Hayes

THE THANG:
Partnered up… leave no man behind, but leave no man where you found him!

All exercises were performed in alternating reps with the partner. You do 1, partner does 1.  You do 2, partner does 2.  You do 3, partner does 3. All the way up to 10. That’s 55 reps per exercise. Holding a plank for the 6 until everyone gets to each location.

Overhead Claps
Run to Backstop
Iron Mikes
Run to River Table
Dips
Run to Backstop

Pause to play a quick game of freeze tag. If tagged must stand with legs wide to allow PAX to bear crawl beneath you to unfreeze. Switch up partners and back at it…

Carolina Dry Docks
Run to big tree
Jump Squats  
Run to other big tree
Merkins
Run to Backstop

Played a game of Bear Tag. All PAX in Bear crawl position. Everyone tries to slap the hand of another while not getting slapped yourself. If you get slapped, you must step out and do 5 burpees.

Mosey to the playground

MARY:
Mary go round for the final 5 minutes
– Scissor kicks
– High plank to low plank Merkins
– Write the ABCs with your legs outstretched
– Bicycles

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hobble Gobble run on Thanksgiving morning
Cold Plunge at Morningstars after Knoll Thanksgiving workout (Congratulations Banker on the Q!)
January convergence… details coming soon!

COT:
Read an excerpt from the book Into The Clouds. There’s a term called “crumping” in mountaineering that is used when the desire to climb is all but lost. We may not be climbing K2, but we all have our own daily mountains to summit. When the hard times come up remember… if I can do 1, I can do 2. If I can do 2, I can do 3 and keep pushing forward my brothers!  

Sending good vibes to everyone who is sick or injured on a quick recovery.