Central PA
For New Guys
New to F3?
Every guy who shows up was once an FNG (Friendly New Guy) standing in the parking lot wondering what he signed up for. Here is everything you need before your first post, plus where to look things up once you are hooked.
Getting StartedStart Here
If you haven't already, check out our home page to learn who we are and what we do. Next, check out F3 Nation's list of common excuses for not showing up to your first workout — and why you shouldn't fall for them.
Getting ready for your first workout
- Pick a time and place. Use our Locations page to find the workout closest to you, or that interests you most, and check when it meets.
- Let us know you're coming. You'll find a contact email for every AO on the Locations page — a quick note lets us expect you, answer any questions, and check in on you if needed.
- Set an alarm (or three). That first workout comes early. Don't let it slip through the cracks.
- Read the disclaimer. In short: everyone is out there of their own free will, doing their best, and no one is liable for injury.
- Consider a pair of work or mechanic gloves. Not required, but handy since a lot of the workout happens on concrete or asphalt.
- Bonus points: F3 has its own language. Get a head start with our Lexicon below.
Morning of and during the workout
- Dress for the weather — layers are key, especially when it's cold.
- Grab some light fuel. A banana before you head out does the trick.
- Bring a water bottle. Workouts are short, but you never want to be without water.
- Show up a couple minutes early, introduce yourself, and ask if there are any special instructions for the day.
- Everyone will call you FNG — Friendly New Guy. You don't get your own F3 name until after your first workout.
- Modify as needed. No one judges your fitness level — fewer reps, knee push-ups, a breather, whatever it takes. We leave no man behind, but we also leave no man where we found him.
- Get your F3 name. At the end of the workout everyone circles up, you'll say a little about yourself, and the PAX will hand you a name on the spot — always PG, always safe to say in front of family.
- Stick around for Coffeeteria. After Saturday workouts the group usually grabs coffee together — one of the best parts of F3.
After your first workout
- Join the Slack. It's how the region communicates during the week — events, check-ins, and keeping up with the guys.
- Show up again. A standing weekly workout is the benchmark. Check Locations for more AOs near you.
- Bonus points: bring someone new next time. The more the merrier.
F3 GlossaryLexicon
F3 Nation keeps a global Lexicon of terms used across the whole organization — but a lot of it you won't actually hear at our AOs. Here are the terms you'll hear around Central PA. If something isn't listed here, the F3 Nation Lexicon almost certainly has it.
- AO — Area of Operation. The location where we meet to work out. "I post at the Reservoir AO."
- Backblast — The workout recap the Q posts in Slack afterward: the 4 W's, plus any announcements or prayer requests.
- Beatdown — A workout. Just another name for it.
- Coffeeteria — Sticking around after the workout for coffee and fellowship, usually after Saturday or holiday beatdowns.
- Circle of Trust (COT) — How every workout ends: a headcount, naming any FNGs, announcements, shout-outs, and a word of wisdom.
- Coupon — A weighted object brought to enhance a workout — a cinderblock ("Cindy"), or anything heavy you have lying around.
- Downrange — Working out with an F3 group outside your home region. Same basic elements everywhere, so it feels familiar.
- EH — Emotional Headlock. Talking a guy into coming to his first workout.
- FNG — Friendly New Guy. What everyone calls you at your first workout, before you've earned your F3 name.
- Gloom — Pre-dawn. Most people are asleep; we're not. "See you in the Gloom" (SYITG).
- HC — Hard Commit. Committing to show up, usually by reacting to a pre-blast with the HC emoji.
- HIM — High Impact Man. A man living out the F3 pillars and making a difference in his community.
- OTB — Off the Books. A workout not officially listed on our Locations page or the F3 Nation map — informal, last-minute, or not yet a standing AO.
- PAX — An F3 participant. Anyone with an F3 name.
- Post — To show up for a workout. "I posted at The Reservoir last week."
- Q — The guy leading the workout — plans it, keeps everyone together, and brings it in on time.
- Ruck — A workout done carrying a weighted backpack or other weight.
Workout MovesExicon
If you've been around F3 for more than a minute, you know we have a name for everything — and it can feel like a lot at first. F3 Nation's Exicon documents the exercises behind those names: descriptions, proper form, and video links, so any Q — first-timer or veteran — can plan a workout with confidence.
Leading a WorkoutQ-ing 101
So it's time for you to Q a workout. Below is the region's guide to planning and leading one — everything from your very first VQ to your hundredth Q.
Purpose
This outline is meant to teach every PAX the proper way to lead an F3 workout — Disclaimer, workout structure, position assignments (Point man, Sweeper, Mumble Chatter), how to count, COT (Name-o-Rama), and Ball of Man.
The First F
The First F in F3 stands for Fitness — the workout we suffer through together in the Gloom. Traditionally the First F is the bootcamp, and that's the focus of this guide.
- It's not about you. Everything a Q does should be with the PAX in mind — don't open with a hundred-yard dash from a dead start or 25 max-effort burpees just because you can.
- Actually plan it. Write it down, think about what's worked before, and if it's your VQ, run your plan past someone who's Q'd before.
- If you can't do it, you can't Q it. We don't "clipboard" in F3 — you need to be able and willing to do anything you call, with proper form, even if you're not always first.
- Better too much than not enough. Plan 55 minutes of material for a 45 minute workout. Running out of ideas mid-beatdown is harder than trimming a few things.
- Always wear a watch. Bootcamps run on a schedule, and it's not fair to the PAX to run long. No watch — bring your phone, or hand timekeeping duty to someone who has one.
- Never leave a man behind. We start together and finish together. The classic "String of Pearls" structure — move a short distance, circle back up — keeps the back of the pack from getting dropped.
- Safety first. Take a headcount before starting and confirm it throughout. Carry a phone (or make sure someone does), know the AO's address for emergency vehicles, know who in the PAX has medical training, and know whether an AED is nearby.
- Show up early and energized. Confirm the AO is set up how you expect, and let your energy set the tone — welcome everyone, especially any FNGs.
- Start with the Disclaimer. Every workout opens with it: you're not a professional, PAX are participating at their own risk and responsible for their own well-being, they're here voluntarily and not paying to be here, and everyone should know their limits and modify as necessary.
- Call a one-minute warning before The Thang starts, then lead with a command voice — projected, not soft or tired — and good form, since the PAX take their cues from you. Push every man to give 100% effort: encourage individuals, critique the group as a whole. Assign help if you want it — a Point man out front, a Sweeper watching the back, a Mumble Chatterer keeping morale up.
- Calling an exercise: name it ("The next exercise is ___"), have the PAX repeat it back, give the starting position, then the command "Move." For cadence work, call "In cadence," have the PAX repeat it, then "Exercise" to begin — counting "1, 2, 3" with the PAX calling the rep number. Change your inflection on the last rep, then call "Recover."
- Pay attention to the PAX. Watch for confusion or PAX falling behind — slow down, demonstrate, and don't be afraid to adjust the workout on the fly. You're the only one who knows the plan, so nobody will notice if you change it.
- Close with COT and Ball of Man. No one sits outside the circle, and FNGs are welcomed immediately. Run a Count-o-Rama (count off around the circle), then Name-o-Rama (name, age, nickname — FNGs say "FNG"), with "Respect" called for anyone over 50 (and again each decade after). As the Q, you're responsible for recording names, assigning any FNG's new nickname, collecting their contact info, and posting the Backblast within 24 hours.
Podcasts
Worth a listen before your first Q (VQ) — the F3 Nation Primer series, hosted by co-founders Dredd and OBT.
- F3 Nation Primer: What is F3? — Dredd and OBT explain F3's mission, origin, and principles.
- Ep. 2 — Those Early Questions — the questions every guy has when he's new to F3.
- Ep. 3 — All About the Q — the history of Q-ing and what it means to lead.
- Ep. 4 — Faith, the 3rd F — what a new guy can expect from F3's third F.
Videos
Two short F3 Nation videos that help put the language above into practice.
- F3 TV: How to Count — calling cadence the way PAX expect to hear it.
- F3 SSH Merkin — proper form for one of the most common F3 exercises.
Final Notes
If this is your VQ, keep it simple — and don't hesitate to lean on your fellow PAX for pointers or a second set of eyes on your plan. Once you have a structure in mind, the Exicon is your source for exercises to fill it. Have fun, and SYITG.