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.

Joy Sustains Power

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning star
PAX: Sooie, Wolfpack, Timber, AAA, G-string (Eli Kresta), Pebbles, Ex-Pat, Malibu, Bumble Bee (2.0), Smoltz (2.0). Big Red (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS:
Pleasantly chilly.

WARMUP:
Split into two teams to mosey around field, playing catch with football. Once everyone touched the ball once do a 10 count ground movement.

Circle up for little baby arm circles (balancing on one leg), soviet sprinter shakes, imperial walkers, plank jacks, shoulder taps.

THE THANG: Power + Joy
Round 1:
Two power exercises in 5, 3, 1 descending ladder: squat jumps and elevating merkins. One partner does reps, the other does soviet sprinter shakes. Mosey to the backstop after each ladder and do 3 star jumps together in celebration of something.

Plank / bridge to finish round 1 while sharing what we celebrated.

Round 2: game of infection.

Round 3: human knot.

MARY: follow the leader back through the playground.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Thanksgiving run next Thursday
– Cold plunge at the knoll next week
– New year convergence, more details to come
– Keep up with #no-noise-november

COT: YHC shared about healthy power and the practice of joy. Many times in my life I’ve burned out and wasn’t able to sustain pursuits. I’m now learning about submitted power and how joy brings endurance. Encouraged everyone to consider a need and a desire they have and how they might apply their power to it + how they might connect with joy around it.

Appreciate this space and you PAX … it’s been a great place for me to practice submitted power and joy.

Hey Gravity!

AO: westeros
Q: Sooie
PAX: Salpal, Chunks, Siri, Grape, Red Skull, Michelin Man, Wolfpack, Tim the Toolman, Natural Ice, Right Said, Spinal Tap, Sherlock, Black Lung, Solo Cup, Sooie, Cashcab
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS:
It’s been colder.

WARMUP:
Breathwerkins
BAC 15
BBAC 15
Don Quixote 10
Imperial walkers 15
SSH 15

THE THANG:
Pull-ups 30 sets of 1 EMOM. Between pull-ups AMRAPs of the following
Spicolli’s 3x
Squats 3x
Low plank 3x
Spicolli jumps 3x
Jump squat 3x
Plank thigh tap 3x
Leg raises 3x
Big boy sit-ups 3x
Mtn climbers 3x
Iron Mikes 1x
Burpees 1x
High/low planks 1x

MARY:
Big boys from 0614-0615

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mosey from Dose (Murphy road) 0530 tomorrow. See @chunks.
@Grape on Q at #iiipillars tomorrow
#no-noise-november in full swing. Never too late to get in on it.
COT:
YHC shared how No Noise November is already having a positive impact on my habits. Offered up prayer for prayer requests mentioned. Enjoyed some Sooie Brewie™️ and maybe…just maybe we witnessed what will be known as The Westeros Miracle: my thermos is 64 oz yet all 16 PAX enjoyed the Sooie Brewie and there was enough left over for a full cup when I returned home. So take a moment to day to recognize the miraculous in the mundane.

AMRAP of AMRAPS

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: Wolfpack, Sooie, Pebbles, El Capitan, Timber, G-string (Eli Kresta), AAA, morning star, Big Red, Bumblebee, Tonks
FNGs: 1 Tonks
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS: Glorious 68 autumn morning, overcast.

WARMUP:
Mosey to the stop sign
20 Side straddle hops
20 Baby arm circles
20 Backwards baby arm circles
10 slow squats
10 slow Mericans
Individual stretching and F3 mission, credo, and 5 principles.

THE THANG:
AMRAP in 90s followed by 60s of rest, with two rounds per exercise:
Mericans
Iron Mikes
Flutter kicks
Dips on the stone table

Single round of politicians and bear crawls down+up to hill.

Mr. Spectaculars from the Stone Table back to the playground.

MARY:
20 Sit-ups
20 leg lifts

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
No noise November.
@Sooie is Q’ing on Monday at Ellingson Park.

Prayer requests: for strength amidst the work of fatherhood, especially at the close of a demanding day. For the best possible outcome of a difficult work day ahead amidst injustice. For perseverance as we gird for the cold winter workouts ahead.

COT:
I want to express my gratitude for this opportunity to work with the men in the Knoll these past few months, and VQ today.

Tomorrow we celebrate the Marine Corps birthday, one of my favorite traditions as a Marine. This tradition of coming together includes a birthday ceremony, cutting of the cake, and celebration of our storied past that is very near to me. Today it is a reminder to me to recall where we have come from and adversities overcome so as to prepare ourselves to fulfill the work before us. IWhat Marines celebrate today is an image of that remembrance, and how that call to excellence calls me to become a better man, every day.

And life is always a little brighter with some birthday cake! 😉  🇺🇸  🦅🌎⚓️ 🎂

Mighty Ducks/Flying V

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles
PAX: Sooie, Malibu, morning star, Ex-Pat, Wolfpack, Siri, El Capitan, G-string (Eli Kresta), AAA, Timber, Smoltz 2.0, Bumble Bee 2.0, Big Red 2.0
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS:
No complaints

WARMUP:
1. Mosey to stop sign and back
2. Arm Circles
3. Don Quixotes
4. Slow Merkins
5. Slow Pushups

THE THANG:
Triple Deke!
Partner up to complete 100 Merkins, 200 big boys, 300 squats. 1 partner runs to backstop and back while the other is doing reps.

Triple Deke (Part Deux)
Partner up to complete 25 Pull Ups, 50 American Hammers, 75 step ups. 1 partner “Apollo Ono’s” around the playground (ice skating)

Blowout:
3 reps of run down the hill, politician back up

MARY:
15 Supermans with 3 count hold called out by @malibu

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
No Noise November
Hoblin Gobbler Run on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Cold Plunge with @Morning_star

COT:
Prayers for those men who could not make it this morning and those on the fence about coming.

My college coach ended every workout by saying, “Take care of yourself, then if you can, take care of someone else.” For a long time I thought this was selfish. Aren’t we called to be men for others?

As I age, I realize it is impossible to take care of others unless I’m fundamentally fit – mentally, physically, and spiritually. Thankful to this group of men who are helping me in all three areas.

Lights Out

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, G-string (Eli Kresta), Malibu, Pebbles, Sooie, Timber, Wolfpack
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS:
27 degrees 🥶, starry ✨

WARMUP:
Breathwerkins:
30 breaths at a tempo of 66bpm. 2 count inhale, 2 count exhale. Breath hold and merkins until failure or Needtobreathe
20 SSH
15 BAC
15 BBAC
10 Don Quixote
Stretch/shakeout OYO

THE THANG:
3 cones scattered throughout the knoll. Mosey to each cone and perform the following plank exercises:
20 thigh taps
20 shoulder taps
20 rotating planks
20 leg raises
20 arm raises

LIGHTS OUT
2 teams, 3 cones per team. Each team sets their illuminated cones in the “end zone”. Teams send a runner sprinting to the end zone, perform an exercise 5x, then either turn the light out on the opposing team’s cone, or return to re-light an extinguished cone. 1 point awarded when a team extinguishes all 3 cones of the opposing team. Change exercise with each point. First to 5 wins.
Merkins
Iron mikes
Dry docks
Big boy sit-ups
Jump squats
…it was a shutout 5-0 ☹️

MARY:
15 leg lifts
15 emperor penguins
Flutter kicks for 1 minute

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
#no-noise-november
Hobblin’ Gobbler
Polar plunge

COT:
YHC shared 5 things I’m hoping to get out of No Noise November. Reflected on quote from Blaise Pascal: “The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.”
Prayer requests.
Prayed and 15 seconds of silence.
Enjoyed good mymblechatter over some Sooie Brewie ™️