Loved this post, but one quick mention for F3: as a dedicated member, I can tell you most of our colleagues will beat down (work out) three or more times per week. This has a snowball effect for overall fitness as you know. In the Houston area where I live, there are places to work out every day of the week. In fact, there is a disproportionate percentage of us that use this as a jumping off point for other activities such as rucks, marathons, triathlons, you name it. Thanks again for the post!
Thanks Sammy! To make sure I'm getting it straight, is it that the 1x / week workouts are advertised for new guys, and once guys are in, more frequent workout groups begin to form?
Honestly, it may depend on the fitness level of the person joining. Some folks like myself had a baseline fitness level from jogging. It's hard to answer your question because each group is independent from each other in terms of types of workouts, scheduling, etc. We do have the standard we adhere to (free of charge, open to all men (no barriers to entry), held outdoors rain or shine, peer led in a rotating fashion, and ends in circle of trust). At F3, it's you versus you, so it's up to the individual how how often they want to post. One last note: we keep the beatdowns early in the predawn so the men have some time to meet before the start of school/work etc. I'm here for any other questions you may have!
My working theory is these symptoms are all part of a meta meaning crisis in the West.
I think all 3 of religious tenets (moral, scripture and ritual) have a role to play in addressing it but I’m personally finding ritual the most useful (perhaps a metric of growing importance as you end with).
I do appreciate your reminder that traditional monotheistic religion has to compete in a modern marketplace of alternatives including spiritual (Buddhism, yoga, meditation), secular (nature worship, secular wellness) and techno optimist (quantified self and machine worship one might call it, both very popular in the Bay Area) variants.
Loved this post, but one quick mention for F3: as a dedicated member, I can tell you most of our colleagues will beat down (work out) three or more times per week. This has a snowball effect for overall fitness as you know. In the Houston area where I live, there are places to work out every day of the week. In fact, there is a disproportionate percentage of us that use this as a jumping off point for other activities such as rucks, marathons, triathlons, you name it. Thanks again for the post!
Thanks Sammy! To make sure I'm getting it straight, is it that the 1x / week workouts are advertised for new guys, and once guys are in, more frequent workout groups begin to form?
Honestly, it may depend on the fitness level of the person joining. Some folks like myself had a baseline fitness level from jogging. It's hard to answer your question because each group is independent from each other in terms of types of workouts, scheduling, etc. We do have the standard we adhere to (free of charge, open to all men (no barriers to entry), held outdoors rain or shine, peer led in a rotating fashion, and ends in circle of trust). At F3, it's you versus you, so it's up to the individual how how often they want to post. One last note: we keep the beatdowns early in the predawn so the men have some time to meet before the start of school/work etc. I'm here for any other questions you may have!
My working theory is these symptoms are all part of a meta meaning crisis in the West.
I think all 3 of religious tenets (moral, scripture and ritual) have a role to play in addressing it but I’m personally finding ritual the most useful (perhaps a metric of growing importance as you end with).
I do appreciate your reminder that traditional monotheistic religion has to compete in a modern marketplace of alternatives including spiritual (Buddhism, yoga, meditation), secular (nature worship, secular wellness) and techno optimist (quantified self and machine worship one might call it, both very popular in the Bay Area) variants.
Agreed on the meaning crisis and i dig the categories of where people are looking for answers to the meaning crisis. You should write about it!