Great job – you’ve been posting regularly and now you’re ready to take the next step in your F3 journey and lead a workout. Here are a few tips to help you plan your first time leading a workout.

First step, put your name on the Q sheet (sign up here). Pick an AO that you’ve posted at a few times. Talk to the site Q’s or other regulars for ideas and support.

Now you’re ready to plan your workout. Definitely have some kind of a plan for the exercise routines. You are freed to lead however you want to do it, but for a standard boot camp, the normal sequence would go something like this. Things in bold text are non-negotiable, but everything else totally up to you.

  1. Start On Time. Welcome pax, start with the pledge if you’d like, and then tell the pax to follow you.
    • It’s good to know the Mission and Core Principles. Lots of times you’ll hear the Q recite these as part of their welcome. This is really good if there’s an FNG present, but sometimes the pax like to quiz first-time Q’s as well.
  2. Jog a bit (usually 1/2 a mile or less)
  3. Stop, tell the pax to “circle up” and then lead them in some warm up exercises
  4. After the warm ups, lead the pax in the first “thang” (an exercise routine that should last about 15 minutes)
  5. When thang 1 is over, lead the pax is another thang. Sometimes Q’s will run the pax to another location for the 2nd thang.
  6. Keep an eye on the time and make sure you leave enough time to jog back to the flag
  7. Back at the flag, use the remaining time for some ab exercises (aka “Mary”)
  8. Tell pax it’s over (“have a nice day”) then start the Circle of Trust (“COT”):
    • Count-o-Rama (everyone counts off to get the head count) — remember the count for your backblast
    • Name-o-Rama (the pax all say their birth name / age / F3 name) — remember the names for your backblast (if you’re worried about forgetting, grab your phone and take a video)
    • Announcements (just say “Announcements” and the pax will speak up with reminders about upcoming events)
    • Prayers and Praises (just say “Prayers and Praises” and the pax that have something will speak up)
    • Typically the Q will lead the end of COT with a prayer, a meaningful quote, or a moment of silence.

Take a look at some recent backblasts for inspiration and the Exicon for hundreds of exercises and “thangs” you can do.

Thank You For Your Leadership (TYFYL)