F3 Knoxville

Shag Carpet Crawl

AO: shamrock
Q: Stitch
PAX: KickFlip, Curveball, Commission, Anchorman, Base Salary, Survivor, Guardrail, Wanderer, LeBling, Baby Boomer, The Situation, Swifty, Free Fall (Justin Whitaker), Honeydew, Mermaid, Eliza, Dumpster Dive (Brad Burnette), Stiff Arm (Devin Ware), Fab Five (Mark Tichon)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
WARMUP:
SSH
Tie Fighters
Tempo Squats
Imperial Walkers
Mountain Climbers

THE THANG:
Mosey w football to the Coupon pile
25 Merkins
25 OHP
25 Curls
25 Tricep Dips

Football mosey to football field

>From the endzone corner we will Lunge Walk to the Goal post and do 5 Burpees. Mosey to the far end (middle of the field) and then Bear Crawl to the next endzone corner. Will then do 5 Burpees, 25 Squats. Mosey back to the 1st corner endzone and then Lunge Walk to the next corner. 5 Burpees, 25 Squats, 20 Shoulder Taps, etc. Mosey, repeat…

After each lunge/crawl we add a set:
(5) Burpees,
(25) Squats,
(20) Shoulder Taps,
(15) SSH,
(10) Flutter Kicks – 4 ct.
(5) more Burpees to end.

Run the stairs on the last lap.

MARY:
Circle up for Mary (PAX callout):
Jane Fondas
Freddy Mercuries
Supermans
Hello Dolly

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sign up for Haw Ridge (April 5)

COT:
50 Years!! – 1974 Fun Facts:

-Richard Nixon was president but resigned because of the Watergate scandal, and Gerald Ford became the 38th president.
-Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s HR record with #715.
– Speed limit was set to 55 MPH to help save on gas, which averaged $.53 per gallon.
– The average home price was $35,000 and rent was $150.
– Blazing Saddles was the top grossing movie, by Mel Brooks and Happy Days was new to TV.
– The Rubik’s Cube was introduced.
– You likely heard the phrase “Tastes great, Less filling!” – Miller Lite
– UPC barcodes were created and first used at supermarkets in Ohio.

If you were here at my last Q, about 3 weeks ago, you’ll remember that I talked about truth and the importance of grounding your life in objective, not subjective truth. Truth tells us something about the nature of reality, whether we believe that or not. Jesus was an example of truth, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. Truth guides us in our faith. Not blind faith, but good reasons to know what to put our faith in.

It was a little more than 10 years ago that I began to reengage my faith. My Christian faith. I had been wandering away from God for some time. I was struggling as a young father, was in a difficult marriage, and in a challenging retail career. I needed some answers. I needed some direction. I needed some real brothers. And, I needed truth to be at the center of it all. I needed God.

So, I returned to church and I got plugged into a men’s group. It wasn’t just a “How was the game?” group, or “What kind of car do you drive?” group. It was real. It was connecting. It was hard. It made men open up and be vulnerable. It was life. It was true! It really saved me at a dark time in my life. Those men and that community.

Fast forward to 2021. My Christian faith had strengthened. My community life was also much stronger. But I was still a Sad Clown, in a few ways. My physical condition was not so great. I needed growth and strengthening in that area, as well. I had a close friend at church. Many of you know him as Guardrail and I’m thankful he’s here today. He was the one that first told me about F3. He told me about the nicknames, the 5:30 meetings (which I thought was crazy), and the community and leading that was taking place at F3. Often, when we were together, he would casually throw out a “you should come by F3 in the morning. Check it out”. It took awhile, but I finally showed up one morning. It just happened to be Booster’s 50th Birthday Respect Q. Guys showed up on a chilly April morning wearing button up shirts and ties to workout in the gloom. It was fun, and a bit festive… until we started the workout. And then I nearly died! KickFlip was there and he remembers how I struggled just to make it to from station to station of our 4 corner workout.

That brings me to today. I’m 50!

Have I finally figured out life? Nope.

Is life still hard and with struggles? Yep.

Do I still struggle with things I feel like I shouldn’t still struggle with? Yes, but fewer.

Do I have God back in my life? Yes!

Is goodness and truth present in my life? Yes!

Am I more physically fit and stronger today? Yes! In the best shape of my life and about 20 lbs lighter than I was when I showed up.

Do I have more than 10 men that I can call on when I am in those struggles and need someone to lean on? Yes! (By the way, there are very few men in our world who can say that).

Is my life more meaningful and richer today than it was when I was 40? Absolutely, 100%, without a doubt!
God, Truth, and F3 (Fitness, Fellowship, & Faith), are all a part of my life today and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

If you know someone that needs F3, give them a friendly nudge. We all know what this group means to us and what it can do for someone else. Thank you, ALL! I love you!

We Found A Barrel

AO: the-equalizer
Q: Bookman
PAX: Snowbird, Glamper, Lizzy, Ribbed, Utah, Madoff
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
WARMUP: SSHs, Tie Fighters, Gradycorns, Cherry Pickers

THE THANG: Ruck around to various Equalizer Landmarks. Some carrying extra weight. Do some exercises at the landmarks.

Blindside we found a barrel at the dock. Think it’s a good idea for a Tetanus Challenge for a ruck event.

MARY: None

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Haw Ridge, Smokies Convergence, GTE

COT: Stay Positive!

[running] New Greenways

AO: running
Q: Butterknife
PAX: Shrubbery, Trash Panda (JUCO), Erector, Butterknife, Nadia
FNGs: None
COUNT: 5
WARMUP: 1 upish

THE THANG:
30/60/90
Fartlek style workout with
30 seconds sprint and 30 seconds recovery
60 seconds sprint and 60 seconds recovery
90 seconds sprint and 90 seconds recovery

MARY: 1 downish (almost at jailbreak pace)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:

Fun with Friends

AO: thequacken
Q: FixerUpper
PAX: Z-Pack, Evan Wilson, Spellcheck
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
WARMUP: Warmup stuff

THE THANG:
Moseyed up Panda Express to the base of the Gresham Middle School stairs. Noted that we need a name for the stairs. The Jade Palace, maybe.

1 PAX ran up steps to top of hill and did 10 merkins, while 3 remaining PAX did AMRAP exercises with coupons. Once running PAX returned, we rotated through the exercises / run.

Round 1
60# sandbag – clean and squat
40# sandbag – overhead press
CMU – curls

Round 2
60# sandbag – rows
40# sandbag – squats
CMU – side bends*

Round 1
60# sandbag – lying down press
40# sandbag – sandbag burpees
CMU – WW3 situps

*Spellcheck noted that we should not lose our butts at this point

MARY:
Actually did this today!
High plank position – 20 plank jacks, four count in cadence
Low plank position – 20 plank jacks, four count in cadence
High plank position – 20 plank jacks, four count in cadence

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Check Slack and F3 Newsletter

COT:
In Psalm 18 David went through a trial. He wrote of how God helped him and delivered him from death. Also, David had kept his hands clean as he went through the trial. He “kept himself from sin” in verse 23. I reflected on a recent difficult situation and this part of PS 18 came to mind. I know that I am not perfect, but I didn’t have anything that I needed to reconcile, make up for, apologize for, etc. It doesn’t always happen like that for me, but in this case, I was glad that I could say that.

Still in need of sharpening – YHC, FixerUpper

[mountainbiking] I.C. King Wednesday Night Ride

AO: mountainbiking
Q: Imaginary
PAX: Billy Goat, Sambo, Abscess, Repeat (Todd Reynolds), Frosty, Tank (Chris DeFranco), Collarbone
FNGs: 1 Collarbone
COUNT: 8
Just over 8 miles around I.C. King in beautiful weather. Trails were in great condition except a little mud on Rock City. Group rode most of the trails including all 3 hills on the south side and got in a good workout. Flashback came for COT and fellowship to discuss AL trip.

Welcome FNG Collarbone (Clarke Wilson). I’ve been good friends with Collarbone for over 25 years and we really enjoy biking together.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Alabama trip is a go

COT:
Rejoicing in God’s Love
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
John 3:16
What a gift: God sent to us his own Son to share in our humanity and deliver us from the consequences of our sins and save us. This isn’t a gift granted to us as anonymous persons. God knows each of us individually, by name, and sent Jesus for us.
We should live as though that were true. I recently heard a podcast talking about how often we compare ourselves to someone doing better (looking up), but we should be grateful for what we have and look at the vast majority of mankind that doesn’t have it as well as we do in lovely East TN. Let’s live and lead as if that were true.