F3 Knoxville

Author: Baby Boomer

Wise men still seek Him

THE SCENE:

A perfectly chilly mid-40s morning
WARM-O-RAMA:
Some SSHs, Tai Fighters, Merkins, and Tempo Squat Jumps to get us warm.
THA-THANG:
Mosey over to the CMU pile with a brief stop for some Rocky Balboas.

12 pains of Christmas… just like the song start at exercise 1 (which is also the number of reps for that exercise) and then run over there and back… now do exercise 2 plus 1 and then run… rinse and repeat until you get all 12 in… bonus fun for those who finish – start at 12 and do 12 reps of each exercise one more time (only a few had bonus time).

Exercises: 1-4ct SSH, 2-Hand-release Merkins, 3-Plank Jacks, 4-BBS, 5-CMU Squat Thrusters, 6-CMU Curls, 7-Jump Squats, 8-CMU American Hammers, 9-Alternating CMU Merkins, 10-CMU Goblet Squats, 11-CMU Military Press, and 12-CMU Deadlifts

Mosey back to AO after restocking the CMUs
MARY:

Howler Monkey circle where one HIM runs a lap around the circle while the rest of the PAX does Monkey Humpers… finished with motivators starting at 5.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 HIMs no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Talked about the origin and tradition related to the familiar song about 12 days of Christmas – historically referred to as the time between Christmas and Epiphany (where the Magi came to worship the Christ in Bethlehem).  The star and the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy culminating in an expense journey that disrupted the local region.  Christ is still interrupting culture today as wise men continue to seek Him!  Remember that Jesus, our Savior, is the reason for this season of celebration.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2:1-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

45 Minute Warm Up

THE SCENE:

Mid 30’s with a slight breeze

WARM-O-RAMA:

4ct SSH x 20; Tai Fighters x 10 (forward and backward); Cherry Pickers x 5; Plank Jacks x 10; Failure-to-launch x 7; mosey up and around to CMU pile (stopped for some Rocky Balboa’s and Derkins on the way)

THA-THANG:

Carried CMU’s over by the church parking lot for some group therapy (and to continue warming up!).

Simple format… perform exercise listed at first cone, run to next cone across park lot and do same, continue and do same at cone 3 and 4, then run all the way back to cone 1 for round 2.

Exercises by rounds and cones:

1) CMU Thrusters x 5; Hand-Release Merkins x 10; Big Boy Sit-ups x 15; and 4ct SSH x 20

2) CMU Hammers x 10; Carolina Dry Docks x 15; Flutter Kicks x 20; Squat Jumps x 25

3) CMU Squats x 15; Wide Grip Merkins x 20; Freddie Mercurys x 25; Lunges x 30

4) Lightening Round – perform all 3 exercises at each cone… CMU Thrusters x 5 + CMU Hammers x 10 + CMU Squats x 15… then move to the next cone… so on and so forth

Restocked the CMUs and did high knees, rockettes, karaoke (both sides), and jogged back to AO

MARY:

Time for modified Howler Circle (PAX does non-stop monkey humpers while we rotate one at a time taking a lap around the circle – friendly “pats” on rears may have occurred)

Finished with Hello Dollies, Pickle Pounders, and Dead Bugs.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA:

6 well seasoned HIMs present – no FNGs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Reflected a bit on my up and down year of leading well at times and failing other times (more lazy than missing while trying).  Many opportunities to lead in our homes, work, church, and community.  Sometimes we pull back for fear of failure or the sting of memories from recent failures.  2 Peter 1 we read that the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness – for His glory and excellence – and therefore we have no excuse to “not try”.  We need to pursue the model of Jesus described in Philippians 2 where His attitude was right before any actions took place.  With humility we should try and try again and trust the Lord for the results.  Read an excerpt from Q source 4.5 talking about the tool of failure in carving out Virtuous Leaders.  Failure will happen… especially if we try to do difficult things… but we should not give up and we should get up and try again.

Spooky Tabata Skeletons

THE SCENE: Wet but no rain; a perfect 50’s kind of fall morning; a few puddles to play in (at your own volition)
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH (IC) x 20; Frankenstein-in-place (OYO) x 10; Werewolves (OYO) x 10; Shoulder Smash = 4ct Seal, Overhead, BAC-F, and BAC-R without rest x 10 each; Michael Phelps
THA-THANG:

Mosey to lot by CMU pile; 11’s warmup between two parking spots; Merkins – Lunge to other side – Squats – Bear Crawl back

Grab a CMU and head to lower lot corner by chains for some Tabata-inspired pain loops; Perform selected exercise for 45 seconds, Run a lap, rest for 15 seconds, rinse and repeat; Exercises by round = 1) CMU Curls, 2) Modified Creapees on CMU or curb, 3) Frankenstein-in-place hold CMU like a Zombie, 4) Monkey Humpers, 5) Kraken Burpees, and 6) Mother Earth Merkins

Stash those CMU’s and fellowship mosey back to AO – talk to a HIM you don’t know as well, ask their hospital name, where they are from originally, and how many years in F3.

MARY:

Bloody Mary Circle of Fun: 10 of each – 4ct Box Cutters, Merkins, SSH (led by @pool boy), Howler Circle (Monkey Humpers for a bit), 4ct Hello Dollies

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 experienced HIMs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
From Q Source:

“The Pursuit Of Proper Personal Alignment – A man must Get Right before he can do anything else

To understand the Get Right, picture a man vigorously rowing a boat across a fast moving stream. If it suddenly capsizes so that the keel is skyward, the man would have to right it–return it to its upright position–before he could continue rowing. Until he did that he could not make headway against the current and get his boat to the far bank. At best, he would be simply trying to survive, clinging to his capsized boat as it was pushed by the current to points unknown downstream.

Now apply this image to the life of a man. If he has become (or always was) un-Right, he cannot make headway in any aspect of his life. The fast moving current of his surrounding circumstances will sweep him yon while he clings desperately to the hull of his overturned boat. Worse, his Concentrica –the passengers that he is charged to bring safely to the far bank–will be right there in the water with him, helpless because their husband, father and boss can do little more than focus on his own survival. Before he can help them, or himself, he has to Right his boat.”

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12

  • A man must Get Right before he can do anything else
  • An unfit man is a slave to his lack of self-control
  • To be able to help others, a man must first help himself

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2nd F Coffeteria after workout at Dunkin (every Friday)

Infinite Competition – Everybody Wins

THE SCENE: Perfect fall gloom; 45 degrees with fog
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 20 (IC); T-Merkins (aka Mother Earth) x 5 (OYO); Snow Angels x 5 (OYO); 4ct Starfish Crunches x 5 (OYO); 2 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:
Mosey over to lower baseball parking lot; divide into two teams; Q picks first exercise for infinite pain stations; six cones placed along 1/4 mile figure eight route; at “go” PAX sprints to first cone and performs 1 rep of the chosen exercise – at each additional cone an additional rep is added (total of 21 reps per round); first team member back to start picks the next round exercise (rotated through whole, upper, and lower body, and core); arriving PAX holds plank until 6 arrives; rinse and repeat for as many rounds as possible. Finished nine rounds.

MARY:
Plank to downward dog to cobra to child’s pose… slowly over 1 minute to cool down and stretch.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”  After missing several weeks recovering from Covid, I was amazed how weak and undisciplined I became in just a few short weeks.  Thankfully many HIMs continued to encourage me and call me to come back out in the gloom.  Reminded of the Lord’s grace to continue to call us back to Him each day with new mercy in spite of our weakness or undisciplined lives.  Paul says in Philippians 1 that to “die is gain”, so he clearly understood the treasure that awaited him in Christ.  For those outside of faith in Christ, this broken world is as close to the Lord and His kingdom you will get.  It’s like the reality that William Shatner just experienced with a ten minute ride in “almost space”… paling in comparison to the many universes he saw on Star Trek.

Survive the Kraken

THE SCENE: Perfectly cool summer morning

WARM-O-RAMA:
Went through exercises for the day:

K-nerkins, R-eaching crunches, A-merican hammers, K-neel downs (prison getups), E-lbow to full plank (Catalina wine mixers), N-ewton’s cradle, and Kraken Burpees

THA-THANG:
Mosey up to football field

Starting on sideline work through 5 reps of each of the KRAKEN exercises; run to 1st hash marks and do 1 Kraken Burpee; run to 2nd hash marks and do 2 Kraken Burpees; run to far sideline and do 3 Kraken Burpees; run back to original sideline

Repeat multiple times adding 5 reps to KRAKEN exercises (@Trolley was working on 25 reps when we stopped)

MARY:
Mosey back to AO (stopped for 1minute of Rocky Balboas); Howling Monkey circle with added twist of running lap around circle when it was your turn to count; 1 more Kraken Burpee; and finished with 25 4-ct Flutter Kicks.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 HIMs and 2 with respect

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Read lyrics from Casting Crowns song “Who am I”; Read from Psalm 8 & John 10; Reminded PAX of the Good Shepherd and those who know Him – He cares for you and is in pursuit of you.