F3 Nashville
What is F3 Nation?
We plant, serve, and grow small workout groups for men that invigorate male community leadership by addressing the three Fs in our name: Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. If there was a fourth F, it would be “Free”: All F3 workouts are free of charge!
We’ve found that consistency in F3 workouts results in many guys getting in the best shape of their adult lives and, for the first time, addressing their needs for close male friendships. For many, this also leads to a renewed sense of meaning and purpose in their lives — which we’ve defined as Faith. We like to make it clear that Faith does not refer to any one specific religion or necessarily religion at all. In fact, F3 welcomes all men willing to put forth the effort to better themselves.
Challenging workouts every day of the week, authentic friendships, fellowship gatherings, OCR and running events, service projects, Bible studies, happy hours, working on teams, and a lot of fun are elements of a thriving F3 Nation region.
How did this get started?
F3 traces its roots back to a similar style boot camp that started on Saturday mornings in Charlotte, NC, in 2006. F3′s co-founders, Dave Redding and Tim Whitmire, spun off from that group and launched F3 on 1/1/11 to take that model of working out to a wider audience. From there, we’ve grown exponentially throughout Charlotte and the Carolinas to over 170 weekly workouts and 1000′s of men — and now to Nashville!
What does a workout look like?
A base F3 workout involves non-stop movement, varying body-weight exercises, and constant change. Workouts take place in the early morning hours and are always held outdoors typically at parks, schools, and church campuses. Leaders structure workouts to keep all participants together regardless of fitness level while still getting everyone a great workout. Certain routines and exercises are common across F3 Nation, however each individual workout leader has the freedom to innovate based on factors such as terrain, fitness level of participants, and the goal of that particular workout.
All workouts end with a few minutes of fellowship, at this time FNG’s (Friendly New Guys) introduce themselves and are given an F3 Name helping to cement them as part of the group.
In addition to the traditional F3 boot camp, most groups create more specialized workouts during the week including group runs, speed workouts, kettlebell sessions, cross-fit style workouts, bike rides, and many others.
When will you guys start up in Nashville?
We’re launching a weekly Saturday workout on 9/13, from 0700 to 0800 at Sevier Park!! We’ll have coffee and fellowship directly after. With the help of our F3 Nashville PAX (members), we’ll quickly expand workouts to other days of the week and locations such as Brentwood and Franklin. Contact us now to become part of the effort!
How do you become a peer leader?
Just show up — it’s that simple. Q’s (F3 workout leaders) do not need certification and/or prior experience in leading workouts. We won’t frown upon that if you do, however our Q’s participate in the workouts alongside you. Our counting system and base set of routines and exercises provide a foundation to learn from. Plus, if you attend enough of the workouts you’ll quickly get the idea of what it takes to lead. Sure, it takes practice to become an elite “Q”, but a core strength of F3 is the willingness of our more experienced leaders to bring up new leaders, showing them the way.
Leading workouts is one of many elements of the group, there is plenty of room for men of varying skill sets and your creativity is welcome! We’ll be having an F3 fundamentals course on 9/11 to 9/13 in Nashville which involves 3 lighter morning bootcamps and 2 evening sessions. Join us for an inside look of F3 and a head start on F3 Nashville!
What if I’m not in awesome shape and I can only make it twice a week?
We hear this often: “I need to get in shape to come get in shape with you!” That really doesn’t make much sense if you think about it – you’re welcome as you are whether off the couch or already in good shape. Twice a week is a great way to start out depending on where you’re at. Getting and staying physically (and mentally) fit is a constant uphill climb. Being in a group setting provides the encouragement, accountability, and consistency that you won’t find at a gym by yourself or from paying a personal trainer. It doesn’t get easier, but you get stronger.
F3 is tailor-made to help the slower men get faster and have the faster push each other to new heights! The end result physically is that F3 men have proven to become fit for endurance challenges, including OCR races, triathlons, marathons, long-distance relays, GoRuck, and a number of other adventure challenges.
I get that the workouts are free, but F3Nation has so much going on! How do you guys keep everything going?
There is a lot going on in F3! Too much to list, take a look at our site and dive right in. Leadership is a key element of our organization. Success happens when men team up together and lead initiatives, most of which are their own ideas. We believe in a leadership principle where the top of the organization exists to encourage ideas and support initiatives that fit our mission. Fortunately, we’ve had no shortage of impactful ideas coming up and of men willing to put them into action.
Our limited operating costs are covered primarily by revenue generated from F3 gear sales and some partnerships. Revenue in excess of cost goes to the F3 Foundation, a non-profit that was created to fund initiatives that further our mission.
Why is F3 just for men?
Guys interact differently in an all-male atmosphere and this has huge implications for the fellowship that is so important to F3. The reality for most men once they leave college, military, relocate, or are simply looking to be around men of similar character is that building and sustaining close male friendships is tough. Keeping F3 male-only lets “guys be guys” and helps make it that much easier.
What can women do to be a part of F3?
In Charlotte, a group of F3 wives started a women’s-only group called Females in Action. Although they are growing, there are no current plans for them to expand to Nashville — we’ll keep you posted!
What makes F3 unique as compared to other fitness groups?
There is plenty of nuances and insider-only lingo that make F3 a unique experience including a blog style rundown of the workout posted on the F3 website by the leader that morning and an F3 nickname that you will forever be known as. What makes this group special and more sustainable than most fitness trends and “workouts of the week” is that F3 can be exactly what each participant needs it to be.
For a guy who just wants to stay in shape, he’s welcome to just show up and get a great workout. For guys looking to address a lack of close male friendships, consistently working out in a group enables the formation of some authentic bonds. For guys who want to go deeper in F3 and have an appetite to lead something that is truly meaningful to them, the opportunities in F3 Nation are there to be had.
How can guys go ahead and start getting involved with the Nashville chapter?
- Plan to make your FNG post at Sevier Park on 9/13 at 0700 at our first workout in Nashville.
- Email team F3 Nashville at nashville@f3nation.com with a little about yourself and the area you live in. Tell us if your interested in learning more about F3 on 9/9 – 9/11 and being part of the launch group.
- Follow us on twitter at @F3Nashville and @F3Nation
- Take a look at a recently released book by F3′s co-founders called: “Freed to Lead: F3 and the Unshackling of the Modern-day Warrior.” This will give you an inside look at F3 Nation, how it grew, and the philosophy behind it.
Aye!
Team F3Nashville