Q School is returning to The Cauldron on 8/24/18 at Torrence Creek Elementary starting at 5:30am. Gnarly Goat and Jedi have graciously agreed to Q this unique, insightful event. So if you're an FNG, seasoned vet or virgin Q, there is something for everyone to learn. If you're not able to attend, take a few minutes to read through the following information to gain a better perspective of how it all started, the purpose, etc. The focus will be on covering the following information while delivering a moderate workout to allow the PAX the soak in the content and actively participate with questions.
F3 LKN/Isotope Q School
F3 Mission Statement: To plant, grow and serve small men’s workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership (The Purpose of F3 is to Establish, Serve and Grow Male Workout Groups in order to Reinvigorate Male Community Leadership)
F3 Origins: How F3 started-broke off from Campos (Freedom Park group) who wanted to stay a small group and not expand. OBT/ Dredd with permission broke off to share with others because they discovered that men in their “3rd phase” of life needed this the most. They used the Starfish/Spider book to help establish an internal structure, and mobilize men to strengthen themselves in the community, fitness, and Christ. F3 started on Jan 1st of 2011 AG middle School with 35 men. They broke that group up at AG as it started to grow in August of 2011.
F3 Isotope History:
Moses had been invited to the downtown charlotte area workouts and had done it for a few months when he decided that he didn’t want to drive to downtown charlotte any longer and start the group here in Lake Norman (STARFISH).
Isotope came from the nuclear power plant on Lake Norman
In late August was the first workout at Moses house in Oakhurst. The first workouts in Oakhurst included: Moses, Primo, Bama, Ludi, Callahan, and Outlaw (the Isotope founding fathers). They also met that Thursday and the next week on Tuesday and Thursday, before the first Saturday workout at Bailey Road Park on Sept 3rd 2011. Sept 3rd 2011, is the official launch date of Isotope. Moses led the first 5 workouts, with Primo and Ludi taking over the Tuesday and Thursday workouts shortly their after. During July, August and into September, all of the founders (see above) went to workouts in Charlotte so they could experience F3 first hand from the original starting spot.
Drive Thru joined on Sept 17th. This is when the Isotope Shovel flag was officially delivered.
- FYI…Only Saturday workouts get shovel flags, this is why you may not see flags at every workout during the week.
Around May and June of 2012 is when isotope started to see a lot of the workout location we have today, like Arnie’s Army, Viking, GCC, expansion of the 131 workouts, Paininsula. It has continued to grow and expand with many other workouts. There have been multiple groups that started as a result of Isotope. Davidson, Denver, Statesville, Highlands/MECA, GCC, The Quarry, The Estate
F3 Regional Strategy
- The right leaders are the key to new workouts
- Location and Pax are not as important
- Looking to grow in concentric circles
- Growing further out needs a sponsor model
- “If you ain’t growin’ you’re dying”
Effective leadership/IATA
- Leaders are Confident, Competent, Courageous, and Committed (4 C’s of Leadership)
- Individual Initiative -I2 from Freed to Lead
- Teach what you know
- Make clear the mission
- Reward initiative, own the outcome
- Accountability – must be applied by an outside force
- Establish objective standards of performance
- Establish consequences for failure.
- Teamwork – Individual participation based on strengths
- Assemble a team BUT make adjustments when needed.
- Appoint subordinates – succession planning
- Attention to Detail
- Includes someone on the team who is detail oriented (Weasel Shaker)
- Value precision
- Rely horizontally on the team but telescope vertically for results
- Effective Leadership as a Q
- Command Voice: Comes from the gut, not the throat. Signals to the pax that you are in control, have a plan, ready to roll and take leading them seriously.
- Weak voice signals weakness. LEAD the pax.
- Slow, soft, tired voice hurts morale and makes pax think you’d rather not be there leading them.
Leadership notes from the Goat:
- A Q can help a fellow start his day in a really great way… or a really crappy way. As a Q I always want to help men start their day great. As a Q when I look out over the pax before the workout, here are some things I try to keep in mind:
- 1. There may be a guy out there who's been up all night with a sick family member, a crying baby, etc. This time at F3 may be the best part of the day. Make the day great for him.
- 2. There may be a guy out there who's really stressed about his upcoming day at work. Make the time between 0530 and 0615 a GREAT time for him.
- 3. There may be an FNG out there in the pax. It took all his courage to come out. Make F3 a great experience for him.
- No man should ever leave an F3 workout pissed off that he posted. That's a Q fail and an F3 fail.
- Q's can avoid this by great Q-manship: putting out a pre-blast, staying on time, calling a good cadence (yes, we all know this matters), planning a good workout, keeping the pax together, being enthusiastic, putting out a back blast, etc.
F3 Model: The Starfish vs Spider Model
Based on book written by Ori Brafman
- The Starfish Model
- Leadership pushed to the perimeter
- If you cut off arm, new one grows in its place AND severed arm becomes new starfish
- Examples: Wikipedia, AA, Al Qaeda (negatively)
- This is the model of F3
- The Spider Model
- Leadership concentrated in the center
- If you cut off the head, the whole spider dies
Examples: Most large corporations and government
The Third 500
Think of life much like a Crew/Rowing race which is 2,000 meters and think of this race as 4 x 500 meter sets. F3 is set up for the third 500 meter sprint.
|
Age |
Relevance to Life |
|
0 – 20 yrs: |
This is the first 500. You are feeling good just coming off the line fresh. Getting you education, chasing women having a good time. |
|
20 – 40 yrs: |
This is the second 500. Now you are really getting warmed up pulling hard and it feels good. You are out of school, have a good job, found a good wife. Some kids, however, life is still relatively simple. Still have time for weekend trips with the boys. |
|
40 – 60 yrs: |
This is the third 500. Lactate acid is building up in your muscles; you are really going have bare down to get through this set. This where most F3ers find themselves. Torn between the responsibilities of life, career, and family obligations and potentially devoid of all male fellowship and fraternity. Many of us used to be in shape, however, now finding that we do not have time due to responsibilities of life, career and family. Average age of F3er is 45 yrs. old. |
|
60+ |
If we have worked our third 500 correctly, we can have smooth sailing in the last 500 meters. |
- Fitness-constantly posting and not being a #sadclown (Where most of us were before F3 / Characterized by three main holes in our lives (Bowling Ball Grip)
- Pogo40 – Failure of Consistent Fitness
- Typical of most middle aged men, inconsistent fitness
- The inconsistent fitness leads to being fat = dull
- Creates someone who is compromising which makes someone not impactful
- Pogo40 – Failure of Consistent Fitness
- Fellowship– the stories, camaraderie, the nicknames, fun, CSAUP, Happy Hour, Socials
- The Sifter – Failure of Formative Fellowship
- Most men have three types of friends
- College/HS – Legacy friends that are maybe seen once or twice a year
- “Mandates” – Put together because spouses are friends
- Workbuddy – See this person every day, but primarily work related discussion
- None of these friends truly know you
- We bond with other men when we are working out and struggling next to each other, doing something other men don’t have it in them to do
- Opportunity to form meaningful friendships where we truly know and trust each other
- Who is going to stick with you?
- When Jesus sent the disciples out, he had a ratio of 1 disciple to 5 FNGs (12 became 72 when he sent them out). That size or smaller seems like the right size for accountability circles. No more than 6. Ideally, 4 or 5. The guys who fall away from F3 after having been in for a while, are not in a right-sized accountability circle. Oakhurst has a good one. The clown car has it working. Wynfield seems to have it working in multiple circles.
- Most men have three types of friends
- The Sifter – Failure of Formative Fellowship
- Faith– why we are here? What’s our purpose?
- F3 is non-denominational and believes that Men are free to pray to their god. F3 is open to men of all faiths and no faith, and the closing shout-out is generally the only faith-specific component of a workout.
- Many F3 workouts have spawned Bible studies, attendance at speaker series and other Third F initiatives. We encourage those efforts as supplements to the workouts and an important way for F3 participants to exercise leadership in their families and communities.
- The Reacher – Failure of an Self Centered Faith
- Based on fantasy character Jack Reacher who works alone with purpose/action
- This guy is BS
- Most men lack purpose and believe the “lone wolf” lie
- Men must come together with a common purpose and support/encourage each other
The Do’s and Dont's for Starting an F3 Workout
Do….
- Invite Everyone (don’t judge whether or not he will be a good fit)
- F3 Mentor thing – Nickname at first post (claim him as one of us)
- NOCO adopted 2nd post to allow for thought on naming
- Design too much rather than too little. Easy to cut on the fly. Harder to improvise and create on the fly at the end of a workout when fatigued.
- Do CSAUP Events
- Experiment (we have never done this before, but….)
- YouTube, P90X, any sport you ever played drills
- Read Disclaimer http://f3nation.com/disclaimer-and-notice/
- Should be a part of every workout at the beginning
- Cover your 6: no man left behind
- Good practice on longer runs are to count off and keep counting off, or assing battle buddies
- Another idea is to circle back occasionally to pick up the 6 (extra distance for faster runners)
- Good practice is to have 2 folks covering your 6
Don’t….
- Don’t do it alone
- Don’t be satisfied with size of workout (if you’re not growing you’re dying)
- Don’t hesitate to break it up (addition by division)
- Don’t violate the core principles
Aye!
The Count