F3 Knoxville

Author: Abort

Rockstar!

Never been in the Big Ball

THE SCENE: 45* and despite the forecast, no rain.  Not sure if I was actually awake or if it was all a dream…
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH
Iron squats
Seal claps
Merkins
Imperial walkers
THA-THANG:
Collect everyone’s keys/phones and mosey out of the start point along the sidewalk adjacent to the convention center, until reaching the Big Ball.  Pause in the shadow of the Big Ball for a set of leg blasters, where Swanson and myself surprise a few by saying we’ve never been in the Big Ball.  To recover from the shock, we blast our legs.  No rest in between: 10 tempo squats in cadence, 10 lunges on four count in cadence, 10 jump squats OYO.

Continue mosey up the stairs beside the Big Ball for descending ladder routine.  I’d planned for rain but was sick of the garage and amphitheater so we moseyed to the overhang on the corner of Clinch Ave and Henley St.  Work your way down the list until you complete the last exercise, then run up the stairs, across the pedestrian bridge across Henley St, and return.  Rinse and repeat removing the lowest number exercise each time through.  Oh yea and touch every stair up and down the stairs.

  • 10 merkins
  • 9 squats
  • 8 sit ups
  • 7 OH claps (4 count)
  • 6 jump lunges (left right = 1)
  • 5 burpees
  • 4 V ups
  • 3 side lunges (each leg)
  • 2 tuck jumps
  • 1 SSH

After about five iterations for the jack rabbits and four iterations for the Clydesdales I polled the audience: Continue through the list until we all complete the ladder, or move on to something else fun.  A reluctant few finally spoke up and said move on, so we did.  Everyone grabbed their laundry and we moseyed back down the stairs beside the Big Ball and underneath where we’d done leg blasters.  I am trying to get some guys to VQ soon, so I took the opportunity to let them lead.  We all did 5 pull ups on the beams, then met out front.  I’d call out someone and ask them to pick an exercise, and lead us in 10 reps of it.  Went something like:

  • 5 pull ups
  • Swanson – led 8 count bodybuilders
  • 5 pull ups
  • Postman – led plank jacks
  • 5 pull ups
  • Walrus – led SSH
  • 5 pull ups
  • Huffy – led V ups

After Huffy finished everyone just assumed 5 pull ups, but I told them to grab their laundry and mosey as we were getting short on time.  Once we crossed WFP Drive onto the sidewalk, told everyone to give it all they had on the sprint back.

MARY:
10 sit ups OYO
Flutters
10 sit ups OYO
American hammers
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 including 1 FNG: Swanson, Postman, Huffy, Walrus, Jenner, Half Caff, Bubble Wrap (FNG), Dovetail, Passport, G6, Backdraft, Abort (QiC)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Victor Frankl quote from Man’s Search for Meaning: “Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality.  No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized.”

Amazon spoke on Saturday about focusing on helping someone else when you’re struggling and in doing so you tend to forget your own pain.  This quote takes that a step further and says that by learning to love our brothers, we truly find and can admire their gifts.  And by realizing those traits in others, we also discover our own potential.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Q101 this Saturday, possibly cancelling Big Ball workout to join.  Half Caff has another shirt design which is nearly ready, look for shirt order link soon.

No fear of the forecast

THE SCENE: 45* and despite the 80% chance of rain from Steve, relatively dry after the warmup
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Static stretches L R M
  • Prisoner squats
  • Windmills
  • Moroccan night clubs
  • Tempo merkins

THA-THANG:

Mosey to amphitheater for Octagon of Pain. Cones set up on stage and ground with an exercise at each.
  • Lion Kings with Ruck plates
  • Wide merkins
  • Squat jumps
  • American hammers on 4 count
  • Cobras
  • Lunges each leg
  • 8 count bodybuilders
  • Heels to heaven
16 reps of each exercise, bear crawl to next exercise. Once back to start cone, bear crawl to middle and plank. I asked one member of the PAX to admit a fear of his. He said he feared to let people down, or disappoint others.
Quick mosey to bridge underpass for elevens with WWII sit ups at the bridge and rows on handrails at the top of the amphitheater.
Asked anyone else if they wanted to admit a fear. Fear of relapsing and putting a strain on his marriage; fear of finding the right person to spend his life with; fear of falling back into compulsive actions and habits.

MARY:

  • Flutters x10
  • Hammers x 11
  • Flutters x12
  • Dolly x13
  • Flutters x14

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
5 strong: Huffy, Walrus, Postman, Amazon, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
My fear is that of failure. I can recall the feeling in college of being so afraid of doing poorly on an exam that I wouldn’t even go take it. By doing so, I guaranteed failure, but somehow in my head that disconnect was there of not being present meant not failing. I have this fear also of letting people down with my failures. But to not show up is no longer acceptable, I have to be present and if I fail, I will at the very minimum feel that sting and learn from it.

I also stole a little wisdom from the 43 Feet podcast about the subject: “Fear.  We all have fears, and we have to deal with fear every day.  Fear isn’t necessarily bad, as fears of things have helped keep us alive up to this point in our lives.  However, constantly giving into fears makes us cowards.  Constantly ignoring fears would make us insane.  The key is to listen to our fears and decide whether to give into them or stand up and turn that fear or hardship into grace.”

sweating it out in the garage

THE SCENE: Phone said 59* and lots of rain, definitely warm for January
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Warm up started in 11th Street Parking Garage, which is where we stayed for duration.  Lots of rain, plenty of lightning too…
Merkins
Squat and reach
Grady corns
Imperial Walkers
SSH
THA-THANG:
Mosey up the ramp to the fourth level of the parking garage (the bottom floor is 3? Haven’t figured that out yet).  Routine is the BOMBS Escalator, the Bombscelator? Anyhow, BOMBS done escalator style.  Start with B, run the length of the garage and back.  B O, run.  So on and so on.

  • Burpees x10
  • OH Claps x20
  • Merkins x20
  • BBSUs x20
  • Squats x40

Quick 10 count and mosey on, up another level to the fifth level of the parking garage.  More chalk on the ground, this time just straight through the list for two rounds:

  • Monkey humpers x10
  • Squats x10
  • J-Los x10
  • Burps x10 (not burpees, just the foot thruster part)
  • Run a lap of the garage

Again rinse and repeat for two rounds.  Another quick 10 count, then run a half lap of the garage to get to the north stairwell.  There we did three sets of calf raises on the stairs, 15 reps per set.  First set regular, second set toes in, third set toes out for calf raises.  Then Oompa Loompa down the stairs to the bottom (squat each step taken).

MARY:
Flutter kicks
Hello Dolly
Flutter kicks
(There was a lot more in this same sequence but ran out of time, thank goodness)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
5 Strong: Walrus, Cornhole, Huffy, Swanson, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I’ve just struggled this week in getting out in the gloom.  My M has been struggling with fear at night.  Her grandmother’s apartment burned on Saturday (she made it out, but lost everything) and now she is terrified that our house will burn down while we sleep.  We’ve been unplugging almost everything we can before going to bed.  This is something that I really struggle with.  My reaction is to want to “fix” a problem, but this is not something I can really fix.  I just have to be supportive and help her move past her fears.  Huffy really brought it home, giving us Psalm 56:3 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” and added that every day our Lord challenges us to allow our faith to overcome.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Huffy, who had a skiing accident that has his shoulder in bad shape (yet he still makes it out to workouts, like a beast), prayers for Walrus who is trying to improve his marriage and working on things with his M, praise and prayers that Swanson had great news at the doctor

garage workout

THE SCENE: 40* and spotty rain
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Even/odd static stretch left/middle/right
Hillbillies
Little orphan Annie
SSH
Four count merkins after running under bridge for a dry spot
THA-THANG:
Mosey south towards amphitheater, pausing for last warm up of four count merkins under the bridge.  Hop up and continue moseying up the hill towards 11th Street, then into the parking garage. At the north end up of each floor of the parking garage, there are two exercises.  One for going up the garage, the other for coming back down.  Pretty simple:

Up Exercises

  • Burpees x10
  • Carolina dry docks x20
  • Ranger merkins x20
  • Staggered hand merkins x20
  • Wall worm between large columns on the wall

Down Exercises

  • Burps (leg thrusters) x20
  • Jump squats x20
  • Plank jacks x20 (four count)
  • Jump lunges x20 (four count, ouch)
  • Burpees x10

Two 10-counts and mosey back the way we came, out to 11th Street and back down World’s Fair Park drive.  Once we get under the bridge, partner up.  Partners run in opposite directions around the outside of the two bridge supports, each time they meet do a set of partner exercises.

  • Patty-cake merkins x10 (Three rounds)
  • High five Big Boy sits x10 (Three rounds)
  • Jump squat high fives x5 (Two rounds)

Mary under the bridge where it’s dry, because why not.
MARY:
Box Cutters
American hammers
LBCs
Boat/canoe
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
7 Strong including 1 FNG: Walrus, Swanson, Passport, G-6, Homewrecker (FNG), Postman, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Really just spoke about the events that occurred yesterday, and how no day is promised to us.  Try to treat every situation with love and be a positive force to everyone you meet.  Leave no doubt.

pavilion hot potato

THE SCENE: Low 40s and light (to moderate) rain
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH
Angle grinders
Moroccan night clubs
Grady Corns
Imperial walkers
Prisoner squats
THA-THANG:
Mosey out of the start pavilion and around the sidewalk to the next pavilion.  The ground had been turned into a mudhole between the sidewalk, so we moseyed past to the next pavilion (not the only audible this morning).  I told the PAX that we have four pavilion stations, each with three exercises of the same structure (initially 20 reps first exercise, 15 reps of the second exercise, 10 reps of the third exercise).  They got to pick how many rounds of each we did, without knowing the exercises.  The fun part is they could choose 3,4,5 or 6 rounds but once you use a number, you can no longer use it.  So they are choosing blindly on how many rounds we do.

Pavilion 1 (PAX chose 6 rounds):

  • Dips x20
  • Decline merkins x15
  • Four count (HR) merkins x10

This proved to be a huge mistake on my part, so after three rounds of that, Q called an audible.  10 reps of each exercise to finish the final three rounds.  Finish and mosey around the sidewalk to the pavilion beside the Lion’s Club building.

Pavilion 2 (PAX chose four rounds):

  • Calf raises x10
  • Lunges x10 (each leg)
  • Bulgarian split squats x10 (each leg)

Mosey out of the pavilion onto the sidewalk and back (tables were set up differently at each pavilion and this one was better).

Pavilion 3 (PAX chose 5 rounds):

  • Carolina dry docks x10
  • Table rows x10
  • Single arm pulls on the poles x10 (each arm)

No time to mosey, just stayed put for round four.

Pavilion 4 (PAX were left with 3 rounds):

  • Smurf jacks x10
  • Plank jacks x10
  • Burpees x5

That was enough to use up the time, no Mary today.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
5 ducks on the pond: Herbie, Toucan, Wilson, Swanson, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Reused my word from yesterday, a C.S. Lewis quote:
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

Again, just shows how much people tend to worry about the truths in their lives.  Just stress to live by your word, be true to each other and maybe even more importantly be true to yourself.