You may have seen the logo on cars around town, on your neighborhood Facebook page or on the news. This is the logo of F3, and F3 started on January 1, 2011, in Charlotte, NC. F3 is a national network of free, peer-led workouts for men. The mission of F3 is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership. F3 stand for Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. For F3, faith is not defined as one specific religion or faith system, but simply a belief in something outside your own self.
FITNESS:
There are only 5 core principles for F3 workouts which are:
Free of charge
Open to all men
Held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
Led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary
End with a Circle of Trust
F3 begins around the fitness component. For most men it’s what gets them out to begin with – they’re looking for a workout group, they have some weight they’d like to lose, they have a resolution, etc. There’s no better way to describe our workouts than going through our core principles.
Our workouts are meant to be hard. We believe that if you’re going to commit 45 minutes of your day to a workout that it should be worth your time (and the running joke is they’re worth your money – but F3 workouts are 100% free of charge as per our first core principle). However, even though they’re hard they’re always scalable and open to all men. No one is going to scream in your ear to do burpees if you have a bad back and they make it hurt. No one will expect you to run a 6-minute mile (heck most of us can’t!).
Our second core principle is that workouts are open to all men. Our workouts aren’t always beat downs. Every month we have a “2.0 workout” designed especially for the kids. It’s a great time when dads get to bring their sons & daughters out and share some time working out. There’s also a “Dad’s Camp” every summer, where several hundred F3 guys take their kids for the weekend. One of the guys said he was talking to his daughters (5 & 8) on Father’s Day (several months after the camp) and asked, “What’s your favorite thing to do with Daddy,” and their immediate answer was “Dad’s Camp!” with F3!
We also always workout outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold. In 3 years, we’ve only canceled 2 workouts – both times due to ice on the roads (we prioritize safety – we also get under shelter during lightning storms). I’ll admit that the cold sucks, but you get used to it. You learn to wear nitrile gloves under your regular gloves, and hats and buffs and everything else.
The last two core principles might be the most important. Our workouts are led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion with no training or certification. We don’t have coaches that don’t do what they’re telling you to do, and we don’t expect guys to get multi-hundred-dollar certifications before leading. We just want them to put themselves out there and make it happen. We’ll make sure nothing too dangerous happens (we won’t let you lead a group of guys down the 55 Bypass!), but beyond that it’s your show!
And lastly, our workouts end with a Circle of Trust. It’s a bit hard to explain, but it’s a chance for guys to learn each other’s names (ever had that guy at the gym that you just know as “dude”? Yeah us too – we try to avoid that) and a chance for Friendly New Guys (FNG for short – F3 lingo for your first workout) to get an F3 name – a funny “playground” name given by your peers so that we have something unique to you to know you by.
The absolute best thing about the 1st F is that we have a group of guys pushing and encouraging each other during the workouts. There is no judgement, just positive energy. It’s you against yourself during the workout and we often use accountability partners. You work at your own pace, and believe me, there are several different paces out there during every workout. We have long term veterans of over 5 years, some over 50 years young, young bucks that are absolute beasts, and guys that have never worked out a day in their life. In fact, the F3 Credo is: Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you find him. This first part of the credo is that literally, we will not leave any man behind during a workout; we support everyone until the workout is over. The second part has to do more with life in general, which leads us to the 2nd F. Fellowship.
FELLOWSHIP:
At some point after college or marriage, guys tend to be crappy at making new friends. We believe we have all the friends we need; we don’t have time for new friends, we let our wife pick our friends because her girlfriend is married to a guy so we hang out with them, etc.… and the list goes on and on. But I’ll tell you a little secret, the more workouts (1st F – Fitness) that a guy does, the more they start to see who shares their common interests. They start to understand that these guys that do F3 are guys they can trust. After all, every workout ends with a circle of it! After a while, once the guard is down you start to want to associate yourself with the guys you work out with and then get your circle of friends to work out too. These are guys that are pushing themselves to be community leaders, guys that have your back and you have theirs! Take a good look around town and more times than not, the owner of that business does or has ties to F3. Strength in numbers to achieve something more, something greater than oneself; which leads into the 3rd F. Faith.
FAITH:
Faith used in F3 terms is defined as not one specific religion or faith system, but simply a belief in something outside oneself. Because of that faith, we in SouthWake have tried to be intentional and give back. This year, we did a Completely Stupid and Utterly Pointless (CSAUP) challenge, something that’s typical of F3. We bought a 20-pound weight vest, named it “Breathtaker” and challenged guys to wear the vest to 5 workouts in a week. Whoever completed the challenge would have their name on a shirt at the end of the year created for the challenge. Every week, we’d auction off the chance to wear the vest and all the money would go to charity. Even better, whoever won the vest the first week of the month would get to pick the charity we supported that month.
Our first charity was Healing Transitions “HT”— a halfway house for men in downtown Raleigh. F3 has a longstanding relationship with HT and we have 2 workouts a week inside the complex. Several graduates of the program are extremely active members of F3, and groups have helped many guys get back on their feet after they’ve made it through and are clean. In January, we donated several car-loads of clothing, worked out with the men at HT all month, and donated over $1,000. In February, we supported ALS research. This one hits really close to home as one of our long-time members from Holly Springs, Larry Falivena (we call him Crab Legs, since he’s a Florida State fan and the whole Jameis Winston thing from forever ago), was diagnosed with ALS almost 2 years ago. Just before he was diagnosed, Larry helped pace one of our members to a half marathon PR at the Wrightsville Beach race. For the past 2 years (since his diagnosis), 50+ guys have made the trip from Holly Springs/FV to do the 5k with him. Crab Legs is exactly what an F3 brother stands for, he is such an inspiration and is currently doing an MLB tour of all 30 parks to raise awareness of ALS. Check out his stories on Facebook – Larry’s Challenge ALS MLB Tour.
Over the rest of the year, we’ve also supported Building Together of the Triangle (helping to rebuild homes in Eastern NC destroyed by the hurricanes), Testicular Cancer research (we are a men’s group after all), The Holly Springs Food Cupboard, A Cure in Sight (one of our guy’s moms has ocular melanoma) and in July we supported Meg’s Smile by donating almost $7,000!
“Freed to Lead”
If you want to know the specifics and history of F3, I highly recommend the book “Freed To Lead: F3 and the Unshackling of the Modern-day Warrior.” The book is far more than a history lesson; it’s about life, purpose and what it means to be “freed” from the same mundane day-to-day life some live each and every day.
For the F3 SouthWake morning and evening schedule and locations, visit F3 SouthWake.com
Member Testimonies:
“I decided to try F3 about a year ago to try to get back in shape, and the idea of a free workout group sounded great. After my first workout, I was immediately hooked and began working out 3 times a week. 2 years prior to starting F3, my life was turned upside down when my infant son passed away. My wife and I had just moved to NC only a few weeks before he was born. Outside of the obvious pain and grief, we had no friends, family, or support system nearby to walk with us through this painful time. It wasn’t until last year when I started F3, that I realized male fellowship was missing from my life. Thanks to F3, the next time tragedy shows up I won’t have to walk through it alone. F3 really is more than a workout! I’m not only in the best shape of my life from the workouts, but I now have men in my life who hold me accountable and are there when I need them.” — Blake Irwin, 32+, “Warbucks”
“I cannot express the gratitude I have for you men supporting me not only today but for the last year as you’ve lifted up my father and family in your prayers. I love you guys and appreciate more than you’ll ever know how much your friendships mean to me. This is truly what F3 is all about. So much more than a workout.”
— Ronnie Jones – 52 – “Double D”
“I had been hearing about F3 and was being asked to come out. For a while I had resisted as I had gotten out of shape and thought I couldn’t do it. When they were offering to donate to Meg’s Smile charity for every new 12 Oaks resident who came out, I decided to do it once so Meg’s Smile would get the money. I have to say that the statement that you can do it at your own pace is completely true. What has me going back regularly at this point, is that they are really good guys who care about each other and the community. When I fall behind, or don’t do a full exercise, they encourage and support you. You need assistance in your life, and they are there for you even when they’ve just met you. In a time when more of our focus is pointed towards how people disagree with each other, it’s great to find something that is about doing right by yourself and others.” — Dave Fuoto, 48, “Pyle”
The people we surround ourselves with either raise or lower our standards. They either help us to become the best version of ourselves or discourage us to become lesser versions of ourselves. No man becomes great on his own. No woman becomes great on her own. The people around them help to make them great. We all need people in our lives who raise our standards, remind us of our essential purpose, and challenge us to become the “best version of ourselves.”
