Community
Wise Guys
Fitness, Fellowship and Faith—all before sunrise by Elizabeth Donehue
It’s 5 a.m. The alarm sounds, and they are up and out the door. Rain or shine, heat or cold, men throughout Summerville gather outdoors for a bootcamp workout with bricks and cinder blocks. This is F3. F3 (Fitness, Fellowship, Faith) traces its roots to Charlotte, NC, where leaders launched their first workout in January 2011. Summerville F3 began in January 2015, and in just four short months, has already welcomed nearly 200 participants.
Lifting Them High Praying after a workout
Fellowship
The best part – it’s absolutely free.
While it’s fairly easy to get someone out for a free workout, for the majority of F3 participants, it’s the friendships they form that keep them coming back. Accountability and positive peer pressure keep the majority showing up day after day.
Fitness
Faith
F3 is open to men of all fitness levels. In Summerville, the youngest is 17, and the oldest is 69. Peer-led workouts vary from day to day and week to week. They take place outside at public places like parks and schools – even the downtown parking deck. No equipment is required, but gloves are suggested.
F3 is open to men of all faiths and no faith. Workouts close with a brief “shout-out” led by one of the participants. Men are free to pray to God or to speak from a secular perspective. Interested? Find more at F3Summerville.com.
Summer 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 23