MOT CIRCUIT

AO: the-knoll
Q: El Capitan
PAX: Timber, Ex-Pat, The Banker, AAA, El Capitan, morning stār, Sooie, Stubs, Pitmaster, Pebbles, Papa Bear, The Merchant, Bumblebee (2.0), Schmoltz (2.0), Eagle (2.0), TheJudge (2.0), TopGun (2.0)
FNGs: 1 TopGun (2.0)
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: mid-60s & blustery

WARMUP:
– Stretches (down dog, cobra, sprinter stretch, BACs & BacBACs x10
– Motivators 5x, run to backstop & back to playground

THE THANG:
PART 1: MOT CIRCUIT
– count off into two teams

Round #1:
– team 1 BEAR CRAWLS around perimeter of playground
– team 2 SKY THRUSTS until team 1 returns, then SWITCH

Round #2:
– team 1 LIZARD CRAWLS around perimeter of playground
– Team 2 FREDDY MERCURY’S until team 1 returns, then SWITCH

Round #3:
– team 1 GORILLA HOPS around perimeter of playground
– Team 2 “REVERSE” BURPEE (WW2 to jump) until team 1 returns, then SWITCH

Round #4:
– team 1 CRAB WALK around perimeter of playground
– Team 2 IMPERIAL WALKERS until team 1 returns, then SWITCH

Part 2: MYSTERY MARY

Two sets of cardboard cards
One set has times (:45-2 min)
One set has CORE workouts
Lie cards face down in two groups, memory game style.
Pax circle up- 2.0s choose a time card + workout card.

Wash, rinse, repeat

Ended with a 1:45 round of Ring of Fire.

MOLESKINE:
“Love is a long road.” Our culture tends to view love as a feeling, something you fall into, experience passionately, etc. But real love is indeed a long road – one that is often defined much more by commitment & faithfulness than feeling. I encouraged the PAX to consider this viewpoint & look around their circle of influence to see who God has placed in their lives to serve for the long haul.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Check Slack for October updates coming soon!

COT: Lifted up G-string & his family at the passing of his great-grandmother, friends of the The Banker dealing with a cancer diagnose, and The Merchant’s purchase of his first home.

A prayer was lifted & coffee + chocolate milk enjoyed.

So grateful for y’all!
:el-capitan:

There and Back again

AO: pain-train
Q: G-string
PAX: Cheeks, FLO, Timber, Wolfpack, Siri, Pitmaster, AAA, @Stubbs
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS:
Balmy and beautiful

WARMUP:
– Good mornings
– Slow Squats
– Seal Claps
– BACs
– BackBACs
– Shoulder Press
– Michael Phelps
– Mosey to the Coupons then complete the lap

THE THANG:
Cones spaced out about 15 yards
Start on one end.
– 40 Merkins
– Lt. Dan’s Magic Legs (coupon) to cone
– 20 Monkey Humpers
– Lt. Dan’s Magic Legs (coupon) back to start
– 40 Coupon Rows
– Bearcrawl to cone
– 20 Monkey Humpers
– Bearcrawl to start
Rinse and repeat for 30, 20, and 10 reps.

Thang 2:
Teams of three
– Dora for the team
– 150 merkins
– 150 rows
– Then the three coupons must be moved to the far cones. One pax carries one coupon while the other two wheelbarrow.

Finished with four minutes of Mary.

MOLESKINE:
I am anticipating the loss of my great-grandmother any minute. She was given two days to live four days ago, and every time my phone buzzes, I tense up. I am dreading a call that I know will come which is stealing my joy and wearing me out.
Grani would never stand for this. She used to say “Live for the punchline.” By that, she meant find the joy and the story in everything that happens. I shouldn’t allow this fear of pain cause me to suffer more. It can’t cripple me.
Instead, I suggest we should look to the past with gratitude and toward the future with hope. It isn’t criminal to mourn, but we have to remember joy.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
There will be a chili cookoff some time in October

COT:
It was a heavy morning. Prayers were offered up and we grew in fellowship.

Thank you for the honor of leading you gentlemen this morning.

9.10 Mystery Workout

AO: the-knoll
Q: AAA
PAX: Sooie, El Capitan, Stubs, Sparrow, The Banker, Timber, G-string, morning stār, Malibu, Papa Bear, Bumblebee, Iowa, The Judge
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: mid 50s, damp grass.

WARMUP: -5 motivators
-10 lunges
-Baby arm circles and back BACs
-10 slow squats
-10 slow push ups
-mosey down to tree line and back

THE THANG: 8 rounds of a 2 minute AMRAP start with a 20 yard sprint/run, and then do 11 reps of designated exercise and then run back 20 yards and do another 11 reps until 2 minutes are up.
Round 1- 11 burpees
Round 2- 11 pushups
Round 3 – 11 air squat
Round 4- 11 mountain climbers
Round 5- 11 jumping jacks
Round 6- 11 jumping lunges
Round 7 – 11 Carolina dry dock
Round 8 – 11 tuck jumps

Finished with some Ultimate Frisbee

MOLESKINE: John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

In remembering 9/11 tomorrow, let’s take a moment to think about and remember the ultimate acts of love shown by many on 9/11, and the many years after 9/11.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 9/11 workout at capital steps 5:30 am, Brig workout at 5:30 am

COT:

Phat Cinderblock Workout

AO: pain-train
Q: Siri
PAX: The Banker, Timber, G-string, FLO, Pitmaster, Wolfpack, Sooie, Cheeks
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS:
Phat

WARMUP:
stretching + shouldermania + mosey to stage to pick cinderblocks

THE THANG:
EMOM UNTIL FAILURE
3 Burpees + 3 cinderblock Front Squats with Overhead Press*

*On the minute, perform 3 Burpees + 3 Front Squats with Overhead Press. Burpees stay at 3-Reps every minute. The Front Squats increase by 1-Rep every minute (ex: 3 Burpees +1 FS, 3+2, 3+3, 3+4…and so on). Continue climbing the ladder of Front Squats until you can not complete the reps in that minute.

-Active Rest b/t Sets-
– mosey one lap followed by alternating sets of 15 (2-count) imperial walkers and 15 (4-count) SSH. 3 sets of each.

MOLESKINE:
T-claps to G-string for making it to 28 reps with a 54 lb cinderblock, and to The Banker and Timber for getting to 31 reps with standard cinderblocks :clap: :clap:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
9/11 and 9/14 convergences. Some convo about the possibility of a Bellevue edition of Hunger Games Pitmaster Wolfpack :eyes:

COT:
Prayers lifted up. Thank you for letting me lead!

Sometimes the workout you end up doing isn’t the workout you planned but that’s okay because your intentions for the planned workout weren’t where they should’ve been.

AO: the-knoll
Q: Sooie
PAX: AAA, G-string, Lady Liberty, morning stār, Sooie, Sparrow, Timber, Dr Stogie, Bumblebee (2.0)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: :stars: 😎

WARMUP:
Good Mornings OYO
Imperial Walkers
BAC
BBAC
T-Ups
WMH (review mission/core principles/credo)
Loose caboose mosey

THE THANG:
Tabata! 21 rounds.
12 seconds work
48 seconds active recovery/planks
Cycle through Merkins, Jump Squats, Plank toe touches. (20:23 total time)

Ultimate Frisbee ~10 minutes. Epic plays were made by all the PAX.

Recovery breathwork

MOLESKINE:
This week the-knoll celebrates 1 year of being in the books. To commemorate it we did Tabata with 12 seconds on and a total workout time of 20:23 to commemorate the year we launched. I had planned a different beatdown, one that would’ve been harder and more self serving but ultimately felt it wasn’t the right time and my intentions weren’t in the right place. Instead we did a challenging workout that allowed some time for conversation as well. Reminded me that no matter what we do, let’s check our intentions and be mindful of why we do what we do.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
9/11 convergence at the Capitol Steps.
9/11 convergence at The Brig (F3 Franklin) grassland park if the Capitol Steps is too far a drive.
9/14 F3 Nashville 10 year anniversary Sevier Park.

COT:
Prayers lifted. Sooie Brewie enjoyed.

Emd of summer 9Square Arena Challenge!

AO: pain-train
Q: Wolfpack , Sooie, Siri
PAX: Bean Burger (Fairview, TN), Timber, Cable News, Cheeks, Siri, Sooie, Stu Cook, Wolfpack, Rosie
FNGs: 1 Rosie
COUNT: 9
CONDITIONS: Warm enough to sweat easily and cool enough to be comfortable.

WARMUP: SSHs waiting for Cheeks annnndddd mosey to the 9Square Arena. Shoulder-rama then stretches while 9Square rules explained

THE THANG:
9Square!
– King (center square) gets 1 point for each round they stay in the center.
– Two 15 minutes halves were played with a 1/4 mile Loose Caboose run at halftime
– Whomever has the most cumulative points gains title as International F3 9Square Champion of the Universe
– In between rounds…
– King does a burpee equal to amount of points won
– Corner squares do 5 Merkins
– Middle squares do 5 air squats
– If King is kicked out has to do a slalom cone run and sprint back (75-100ish yards)

MOLESKINE:
By our expert math skills at least 250 reps of squats/merkins were performed and over 1500 yards were sprinted.

G-string was not in attendance and has forfeited his opportunity to defend his title. We missed ya buddy! Next time!

Sooie may or may not have been asleep and was heavily targeted by PAX. Made an epic run there at the end, but it just wasn’t enough…

FNG @Rosie made his mark at pain-train, but again… just not enough for the title…

All PAX gave it their all and all was given and in the end… our new… undisputed… INTERNATIONAL… F3 9SQUARE… CHAMPIOONNNN OF THE UUNNIIVEERRSEEEE….

Cable News!!!!

He has the height. He has the Burpee stamina. It was all CableNews on the morning show in the gloom this AM. Well done! Your name will live on forever on the PainTrain shovel flag!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Convergences coming… check the Slack.

F3 Fairview launching next Thursday!

COT: Find the fun in the hard stuff and make sure to bring a friend along when it gets real tough!

Hearts are for leg days

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, G-string, Malibu, morning stār, Pitmaster, Sparrow, Stu Cook, The Banker, Timber, Stubs, Sooie, The Judge, BumbleBee
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
CONDITIONS: another spectacular 72*

WARMUP:
Malibu Special:
Mosey to the stop sign, circle up in the field, SSH, slow steady squats & Mericans, BAC+BBAC, stretching (dealers choice).

THE THANG:
Deck of cards:
:heart: Step Ups
:diamonds: North, South, or Sweet) Carolina Dry Dockers
:spades: Twists, 2=1
:clubs: Sit-up variation, dealers choice

The constant shuffling kept us guessing and played some mind games in the gloom.

MOLESKINE:
A quote board in my son’s classroom this year quotes an anonymous speaker: Everything is difficult, until it becomes easy.

Not because easy just happens, but through hard work. Facing difficulties head on and grinding through the hard work applies to faith as much it does fitness. In our fellowship at The Knoll, I experience how good and true this to come together, put in shared, hard work and leave a better man.

As we head into Labor Day, I reflect at the end of the day today on my gratitude for this group and the work we do together. Appreciate the chance to Q this week and see you all Tuesday. Have a great, holiday weekend!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Statistically impossible to get 80% of AO’s for Guliver’s travels. But you could try, it’s worth it.
9/11 convergence 0530 @ TN Capital steps.
Nashville F3 10th Anniversary coming up also.

El Cap needs help moving a couple of items. DM him for deets.

COT:
Prayers for the Judge’s brother, El Capitan in his move, and those intentions in the silence of our hearts.

It’s All in the Grind

AO: the-knoll
Q: Malibu
PAX: AAA, El Capitan, Ex-Pat, Malibu, morning stār, Papa Bear, Sooie, Stu Cook, The Banker, Timber, Wolfpack, BumbleBee, Smoltz, Samwise, Iowa
FNGs: None
COUNT: 15
CONDITIONS:
Spectacular morning- clear skies, full of hearts, can’t lose.

WARMUP:
Mosey to stop sign, circle up in field.
SSHx 20 with one amazing silent count of unified side straddle hopping in silent cadence.
Slow squat and push-ups, BAC and BBAC.
Mental prep for the Thang.

THE THANG:
An old coach taught me that professionals grind out the work. For today’s grinds, work steadily but not frantically:
(1) 20 minute grind: 6x hand release push ups, 1 or 2 pull ups/reverse pull ups, 6x Lt. Dans
(2) 15 minute grind: 30 seconds of WWI/WWII (user choice), 30 seconds of twists, 30 seconds of standing founders up and down.
(3) Final Grind: SooieBrew

MOLESKINE:
We need our bodies for life, work, and our vocations and men and fathers. Drawing from knowledge and training from a S&C coach Rob Shaul, that means we are professional athletes with particular, specific fitness demands. Our demands as- in my case a suburban dad- are perhaps different than other professional athletes but still there. We can best fulfill our individual callings in life when our bodies are capable of the mission before us.
Professionals are also willing to do the work when the tough gets going and relish the grind when it comes. Today’s workout gave us a time to set about our hard work steadily, not frantically but working through a long 20minutes and another 15minutes.
Being a professional athlete also demands a burden of constant fitnes. In my F3 journey I have found that this burden is best carried in the encouragement and presence of others, especially in The Gloom. Some days feel great, other days feel like a grind. Relish the grind! Put one foot in front of the other, and Just Keep Swimming! Cheers,

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Gallivants Travels ends this week.
September 11 Convergence at 0530 at TN Capitol Steps, plan for an hour.
F3 Nash decade anniversary coming up too.

COT
Prayers for presence, and peace amidst returning to school and work routines.

ThunderBunny Beatdown (aka LrThe’s Awakening)

AO: pain-train
Q: El Capitan
PAX: Wolfpack, The Banker, G-string, Sooie, Bean Burger (Fairview, TN), Cheeks, Timber, Siri, Pitmaster, FLO, El Capitan
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
CONDITIONS:
clear skies, low 60s, almost Yosemite

WARMUP:
– Downward dog + cobra + sprinter-stretch merkins 3x both sides, PE stretch
– BAC + BacBACs + Turkish Moroccan Night Clubs: 12x
– Willie Mays Hays OYO
– PAX collected coupons (one each) and returned to sidewalk

THE THANG:

Part 1: ThunderBurpees

– All PAX circle up, play song “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC.
– SSH throughout – burpee every time you hear the word “Thunder”. :skull_and_crossbones:

Part 2: Sudoku Murder Bunny Special

SOUNDTRACK: Weezer Blue Album

Downloaded two easy sudoku puzzles from internet, printed on 11×14″ sheets, laminated, supplied dry erase markers + paper towels

Split up into two teams.

Six stations. One PAX from each team per station, lined up along sidewalk.

Station #1: Plank, work on a sudoku puzzle

Station #2: Murder bunny to cone with coupon, carry on shoulder back. (All PAX rotate to next station when he returns.)

Station #3: floor-to-ceilings with coupon

Station #4: straight-arm squats with coupon

Station #5: sky thrusters on back with coupon

Station #6*: wild card! options include…

1. 6x hops + elevated elbow-to-knees over coupon (3x per side)
2. bench press on back with coupon
3. American hammers with coupon
4. Speed step-ups on coupon
5. Curls with coupon

Rotated until PAX (almost?) solved the puzzles.

Bonus Round at 6:10 AM: in lieu of sudoku, each team tried to name all 25 AO’s in F3 Nashville while rotating through the reps.

MOLESKINE:

Shared how grateful I am for the fellowship of the PAX and encouraged those who may be nervous about Q’ing to reach out for help/advice – it is worth it. Such a joy to lead y’all this morning!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Check Slack for September updates (including 9/11 and 9/14 anniversary convergences) coming soon!

COT:

Countorama, Nameorama, shared requests, and closed in prayer.

Special shout-out to Wolfpack for the delicious & courageous LupusBrewpus rebound this morning!

We are grateful for you & hope that your kitchen counters recover from any & all coffee-related trauma.

:el-capitan:

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.