Tag: The Banker

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Hot Potato!

AO: the-knoll
Q: Wolfpack
PAX: FLO, G-string, morning stār, Papa Bear, Pitmaster, Sooie, The Banker, The Merchant, Timber, Wolfpack, AAA, Cable News, Ex-Pat, Mr. Stoogie, Stubs, Link (2.0), Bumblebee (2.0), Schmoltz (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Can we just hit pause on this weather?

WARMUP: Link led us in a warmup… run to stop sign, motivators from 5, Willie mays Hayes, burpee buy ins

THE THANG:

Workout 1: Tabata 40 seconds work/20seconds rest/3 rounds

– Push ups
– Step ups
– Reverse snow angels

Game 1
Link classic… toilet tag!

Workout 2: Tabata 40 seconds work/20seconds rest/3 rounds

– Dips
– Lt. dans
– Incline pushups

Game 2
Hot potato with a 10lbs kettlebell
If it stops on you, 10 seconds of burpees while everyone else gets 10 seconds of rest

Mary
Stretches, American hammers and leg raises

MOLESKINE:
PAX went around and said what defines a leader. Patience, good listener, confident, strong, vulnerable and many other incredible words were used. So much can make up a leader, but you don’t have to be everything all at once. Sometimes you need to just be one thing at a time the best that you can.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Big September coming… keep an eye on slack!

Link VQ on Thursday at Knoll.

9Square Arena tournament happening next week (8/30) at Pain Train

COT: moment of silent reflection for all prayers both said and unsaid.

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Treasure hunt

AO: the-knoll
Q: morning stār
PAX: Grape, Tebow, Tea Party, El Capitan, Pearl (Jonathan Halter), Lady Liberty, Timber, Sooie, The Banker, Sparrow, Ex-Pat, Malibu, Evee (2.0), Bumble bee (2.0), Iowa (2.0), Samwise (2.0), Blackhawk (2.0), Noble Virus (Franklin)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
19 PAX got together to celebrate YHC’s 41st birthday. 19 and 41 are both prime numbers.

CONDITIONS: dusky and damp with a slice of invigoration

WOR: 41 SSH

THANG:
1 body builder burpee every minute (or so) for 41 total. Lots of movement in between.

As we went we reviewed the F3 mission and the-knoll’s unique expression of that:
“The Bellevue AOs are neighborhood workouts that accelerate F3 Nashville’s mission by equipping men to lead their lives and families with strength and integrity.”
We do this by creating opportunities for men to:
– get physically fit,
– choose fellowship over isolation
– engage with and live from their hearts
– and grow as virtuous leaders

YHC invited several PAX to share why they keep posting. Feeling glad and tender to hear the feedback.

MOLESKIN:
– Appreciate everyone coming to celebrate and work together. Was great to see the Franklin PAX visit.
– What I shared today would not have been possible without the COT we’ve built over the last year. Appreciate all the men (and kids) that have shared intentionally from their hearts to build this safe container.
– What I shared today I was able to articulate with greater clarity than ever thanks to the narrative focused trauma care (storywork) I’ve done with Mark H. from thesoulreserve.com/ and the work I did with Dr. Jake Smith Jr. via the goplumline.com/ heart group. It’s built on the work I’ve done through many thecrucibleproject.org/ and www.edgeventure.org/ groups before that and many conversations with my God, my wife and trusted friends and allies.
– I think there is a war being waged for the hearts of men (and women) and the assault of darkness starts in our childhood. As adults we can excavate our stories for the hidden treasure of truth and help our families do the same.

Announcements
– Gullivers travels continues
– F3 Fairview launches Sept 5th see #1stF for more details
– F3 Franklin has a family get together at Arrington Vineyards this Saturday
– Check slack for more

COT:
“”What we hunger for perhaps more than anything else is to be known in our full humanness, and yet that is often just what we also fear more than anything else. It is important to tell at least from time to time the secret of who we truly and fully are, because otherwise we run the risk of losing track of who we truly and fully are and little by little come to accept instead the highly edited version which we put forth in hope that the world will find it more acceptable than the real thing. It is important to tell our secrets too because it makes it easier, for other people to tell us a secret or two of their own.” – Frederick Buechner”
“”It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.” -Prov 25:2″
When I was 13, after my parents divorce had settled, my dad pulled me aside in the parking lot of my mom’s apartment and said to me: “Since I’m not around anymore, you are now the man of the house. It’s your responsibility to take care of your mom and sister.”

This message filled me with a sense of pride, terror and confusion. And as the years went by I was asked–and many times forced–into roles that I had no business being in as a teenager. My parents used me to communicate to each other and I became the mediator of our family. I was the “middle man” but I was still a boy … I was a “middle boy”.

What I see now is that this all led me to internalize several dark lies about myself. By living from those lies I was able to build some skills that actually made me “successful” in school, career and other ventures. I was driven from the shadows of my subconscious to prove myself to the world around me. This way of life had a deep cost though, as I’ve come to find out.

My lie is that I’m flawed and incapable. That I’m unworthy of care. When something goes wrong I think it’s my fault and I should have prevented it. And I’m alone to figure it out.

When I feel this I …
– abdicate my roles and responsibilities
– take ownership of others’ problems
– seek validation through helping others
– sedate myself with food

Then I roll over and surrender to my inner critic who points to all this as proof that I’m unworthy of living my own life, not to mention incapable. Then, I double down in my drivenness to prove that wrong and the whole process starts over again.

I’ve been doing this for 31 years and it’s costing me the joyful, adventurous experience of a life well lived. I constantly battle the effects of stress on my body and mind. I’m detached from my loved ones. and I’m missing out on moments with my wife and my boys that I will never get back.

HOWEVER, these lies are not true.

What’s true is…
– I am precious
– I’m wanted
– I’m a delight
– I am a worthy prince

I’m a devoted and faithful husband, father and friend. My companions experience kindness, wisdom and partnership that leads them to freedom and breakthrough.

I am a worthy prince, so I can…
– receive Gods love and care for me
– govern what’s been entrusted to me
– delight in and support those in my care
– love my allies and enemies alike
– mobilize and encourage groups and families to accelerate in maturity

I can embrace teamwork and find joy in fellowship. I can smile as I gaze into the mystery ahead and move into it with power and confidence. I can ask for what I want and need and allow others to do what they are going to do. I can take care of myself. I can stop assigning others the role of validating me and my existence – I am worthy and valued and I can receive God’s love and care for me. I can practice forgiveness and receive forgiveness and I can live my life to the very last drop.

YHC encouraged the PAX to take the next step in their own personal journey to living out of the “secret of who [they] fully and truly are.”

Stay curious my friends,
-m*

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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.

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Dora day

AO: the-knoll
Q: G-string
PAX: The Banker, Timber, Sooie, morning stār, Pebbles, Bumblebee, Tonks, FishBiscuit
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS:
Cool enough, misty morning, full of gnats

WARMUP:
Came in hot one minute late.
Inch worm walkouts to merkin
Daisy pickers
Don Quixote
SSH
Mosey to the stop sign and back

THE THANG:
Partner up. Dora workout
One partner bear-crawls to the cones and duck walk back
As a team
– 50 pull-ups
– 100 floor-to-ceilings
– 150 merkins
– 200 squats
All were done hero style. When the first team finished, all PAX mosey around the backstop

Mary:
Ring of fire to 5
Emperor penguins
Alternating clap v-ups
Leg raises
WWIIs
Hollow hold for 30 seconds

MOLESKINE:
Are there dreams you’ve let go of because they are “too hard” or you’re “too old”? Can some of those still be realities? If we encourage our children to work hard and follow their dreams, how much more effective will it be if they see us doing the same thing.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Gulliver’s travels is still going on
4:13 has started a new class

COT:
Prayers were offered up

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Adding new routines to the repertoire

AO: pain-train
Q: SalPal
PAX: Timber, The Banker, FLO, El Capitan, Pitmaster, G-string, Cheeks
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: Refreshingly brisk

WARMUP: mosey+ assorted routines

THE THANG: fun to fields behind middle School. Set up 9 cones in a line, ~10 yards apart.

Modified suicides: bearcrawl to 1st cone, 9 burpees, run back, 10 Lt. Dan’s. Repeat, going out an additional cone and down one burpee until you get to the last come with 1 burpee.

Killed time at the end with proper suicides, mosey, and Merkins.

MOLESKINE: Do hard things.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Night Movez, GEODIS run.

COT: This country, Ms pregnancy, gratitude for physical health.

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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

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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

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Battle

AO: the-knoll
Q: Pebbles
PAX: El Capitan, Sparrow, SalPal, Sooie, morning stār, AAA, The Banker, FLO, Tebow, Tea Party, Malibu, voucher, Bookworm
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: Perfect

WARMUP:
Bacs
Bac-Bacs
Don Quixotes
Slow Merkins
Slow Squats
Stretch On Your Own
Disclaimer Given
Mission Stated
Core Principles Recited

THE THANG:
Thang 1
DORA (modified) – partner up, one person runs 100M while the other performs reps of the following exercises. Repeat until all reps are done.
200 Dips
100 Burpees
50 Pull Ups (100 swing ups)

Thang 2
11s on the hill
Carolina Dry Docks
Lt. Dans

MOLESKINE: Our role as men is hard. For me it feels like the entire day is dealing with truckload after truckload of crap that comes my way. This is the battle, to not become discouraged or shirk my responsibilities in the face of daily struggles. Keep battling.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Welcome :party_parrot::party_parrot:Tea Party :party_parrot::party_parrot:
Brewsday TONIGHT
the-knoll will be closed on July 4th so everyone go to greenmachine for a convergence!
Gulliver’s Travel challenge all of July and August
Check slack

COT: Prayed for 2 children to find a home, 13-year wedding anniversary, and all present.

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90s Summertime

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: morning stār, Pebbles, Sooie, The Banker, AAA, El Capitan, Ex-Pat, FLO, Sparrow, Timber, Malibu, @fishbiscuit (2.0), @tonks (2.0), @bumblebee (2.0), @icebox (2.0), @nitro (2.0), @cookie (2.0), @spike (2.0), @fern (2.0)
FNGs: 4 @nitro (2.0), @cookie (2.0), @spike (2.0), @fern (2.0)
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: Humid, upper 70s

TUNES: 90s jamzz

WARMUP:

My Climb Warm-up Routine
– downward dog / cobra
– power merkins (3x per side)
– deep calf stretch
– PE back stretch
– lower back stretches

– Mosey around back stop to center of field

THE THANG:

Part 1: Duck, Duck, Goose on the Plank!

– Duck PAX are all planking in a circle. Tagger chooses a “goose!” who will sprint around the circle to return to their spot. Instead of chasing, tagger does 10x Side Straddle Hops. Whoever is last to plank is “it”. (We had several close races!)

Part 2: Water Balloon Challenge

– 16x reusable water balloons contain laminated slips of paper with various workouts & are hidden around the playground.

– All PAX will hold a squat while one looks for a water balloon. He or she may pelt the PAX with the water balloon upon returning. All PAX will perform the exercise written within. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Cool down: Mosey’d a caboose-is-loose around the-knoll, then convened at playground for three minutes of Freddy Mercuries.

MOLESKINE:

– Count Off
– Name-O-Rama
– Welcomed aboard 4 FNG’s visiting Uncle Sooie’s family from Central Florida. All had excellent F3 name choices.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Black Lung & Hair Band to Co-Q a 4th of July convergence beatdown at greenmachine :flag:

COT:

“You are as important as you make another person feel.”
-Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

I am so grateful for the men who make the-knoll such a positive, encouraging place to get stronger. I encourage y’all to be aware of the “least of these”, to see each person as a unique individual made in God’s image who is worthy of respect. Rather than seek glory for ourselves, seek the good of others in quiet service, empathy, and kindness.

Closed in prayer.

It was an honor to lead y’all this morning! :el-capitan:

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Mind Games

AO: pain-train
Q: Timber
PAX: Wolfpack, G-string, The Banker, Timber, Suspect, Half Lyfe, FLO, Airhead
FNGs: 1 Airhead
COUNT: 8
CONDITIONS: 60 degrees, pleasant

WARMUP: IC SSH, High Knees, BACs, Back BACs, overhead clap, seal clap, mosey to the Bellevue Middle track

THE THANG:
Station 1: Matching
8 pairs of workout cards (16 cardboard cards total) placed face down; PAX took turns flipping cards. If NO match, PAX completed both workouts; if match, PAX discarded the cards without having to complete the workout. BW squats when not completing card workout.
Station 2: KIMs game
~ 40 items laid out on the ground and PAX studied for 1 minute; items covered up after 1 minute. Each PAX had to answer a question about the “scene”, any question MISSED = 3 burpees/pullups. Round 1: 5/7 incorrect = 15 burpees. 30 more seconds to study and then 4 items removed. Round 2: 2/7 missed = 6 pullups. Shoulder press when not completing exercises.
Station 3: Ultimate Frisbee (4 v 4)

MOLESKINE: quick adjustment to park across the street when News 2 was in our parking lot. Welcome to Airhead! Team of The Banker, Wolfpack, G-string, and Suspect were Ultimate winners. Thank you to Wolfpack for the coffeeteria!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: may-you-pull-up final day on Saturday morning at pain-train at 6a; coworking continues to be successful

COT: It is good habit to be aware of our surroundings. This is actually something you can practice and get better at. In my time with the Scout unit in the Army we would incorporate the KIMs game in our training sometimes. One practical piece of advice: when going to and from your vehicle in parking lots, stay off your phone and look around. By doing this, you are far less likely to be attacked by any possible attacker.

Thanks for coming out in the gloom this morning!
-Timber