F3 Knoxville

Author: Sparky

Knockin’ the Cobwebs Off

THE SCENE: Upper 40’s & frickin’ gorgeous
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Little bit o’ this
  • Little bit o’ that
  • High Knees
  • Butt kickers
  • Broad Jumps
  • Inchworm merkins

THA-THANG:

We moseyed to the roughly 1/2 mile to the PAVILON and then performed a long, grinding CINDY. For those not familiar, CINDY is an AMRAP of 5 pull-ups, 10 merkins, & 15 squats for 20 minutes.

After our 20 minutes was completed, we eased back to the AO by way of the Pee Rock pile. We used some nice, heavy pee rocks to get a set of 7-ups in.

MARY:

  • Freddie Mercury x 30 IC
  • Flutter Kick x 20 IC
  • Mountain Climber x 25 IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We discussed the giving of yourself to help others. It’s an incredibly hard habit to make and can be exhausting, but the results are a legacy that will far outlast your lifetime.
MOLESKIN:
Thanks for the grind today, PAX – I needed it!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Anniversary weekend is on the horizon.

Old Fashioned Family Beatdown

THE SCENE: 68 Degrees and oddly pleasant
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Little o’ this
  • Little o’ that
  • Little o’ Michael Phelps (exc. Ratchet who hates that stretch)
  • Cherry Picker x 10 IC
  • Imperial Squat Walker x 10 IC

THA-THANG:
I had the PAX count off into three equal groups; one lucky group got to run over and pick up CMUs from the pile.

Group 1 stood shoulder-to-shoulder at Cone A and Group 3 stood should-to-shoulder at Cone B. Groups 1 and 3 began an exercise while Group 2 traveled between them as instructed. When Group 2 reached Group 3, the PAX rotated and ran back to Group 1, where the rotation continued. Exercises are below:

Set 1: World’s Greatest Merkin/CMU Run/Freddie Mercury

Set 2: Squats/Sprints/CMU Curls

Set 3: Burpees/Bernie Sanders/CMU Press

Each set lasted approximately 10 minutes with minimal rest between sets.

MARY:

  • Plank Jacks x 25 IC (4 ct.)
  • LBCs x 25 IC (4 ct.)
  • Mountain Climbers x 25 IC (4 ct.)
  • Oblique crunches x 15 IC (single ct., each side)
  • Flutter Kicks x 25 IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
22 PAX including 1 FNG – strong showing!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Gerald Swindle is a professional bass angler that has been on the circuit for quite a while. He competes at the highest level in a stressful sport and yet he almost always seems collected, deliberate, and positive. I shared with PAX a quote that Swindle wrote regarding his personal slogan of “Positive Mental Attitude”:

“That’s the way my personal slogan of PMA (positive mental attitude) works in life. One of the PMA principles is that today’s bad news leads to tomorrow’s good news. You have to believe that today’s bad unexpected will lead you to tomorrow’s good unexpected.”

I really like what he’s getting at here. We will constantly have entropy in our lives, and we have to be intentional about embracing that and moving forward as HIMs.

MOLESKIN:
Felt good to be back with the PAX after several tumultuous weeks off-kilter schedules!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Don’t forget about kickball, Truckin’ to the Pound, and several F3 events coming up in October & November!

Konquer the Kranky Kraken

THE SCENE: 35 degrees with a slight breeze
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH x 17 IC
  • Cherry Pickers x 10 IC
  • Mosey to CMU Pile and take it to the center of Kraken

THA-THANG:
While running in place, the PAX was instructed to keep moving for the entire workout. Running in place, moseying, and SSH were the only acceptable forms of rest. If you were called out by another PAX for being stationary, a 10 burpee penalty was assessed. (Side note: no burpee penalties were needed. Well done, gents!)

The Kraken consists of 8 cones in a circle. Each cone had an exercise & number of reps on it. The PAX was instructed to complete the exercise, run to center for 20 CMU overhead presses, Bernie Sanders back to the cone and perform the exercise a second time. Each PAX then completes a lap around the circle to proceed to the next cone. Lap 2 was performed in reverse order.

Exercises were as follows:

  • Smurf Jacks x 30
  • Star Jacks x 30
  • Reverse Lunges x 30
  • Dry Docks x 30
  • Flutter Kicks x 20 (4 ct.)
  • Hello Dolly x 20 (4 ct.)
  • Alternating Shoulder Taps x 20 (4 ct.)
  • Narrow Squats x 30

Return CMU to pile and circle up for MARY.

MARY:

  • Plank Jacks x 30 IC
  • Mountain Climbers x 30 IC
  • Ring of Fire (Merkins) until time expires

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Be intentional with every action you make.  

Recently my M and I were rushing to get out of the house on time for Easter Sunday with her parents. The added 1 hour commute to their church adds some extra effort towards an already busy morning with a 2 year old that really doesn’t understand the concept of “hustle”. We were already 15 minutes late and still not on the road when my increasing frustration boiled over. My patience was shot and I let her know it using a tone that, quite frankly, I wouldn’t like if someone else used towards my M.

What did I accomplish with that action?

My goal that morning was to help her, yet my actions didn’t reflect that. I reacted to a situation (poorly) rather than making an intentional effort towards getting us out of the house. What difference did I make by showing my frustration? If anything, it slowed our departure rather than speed it up. It certainly didn’t set a good example for daughter and it did not show my wife that I loved her. Even if I was right to be frustrated, my actions weren’t intentional. The only thing I accomplished was hurting her feelings and that was definitely not on list of goals for the day.

What should I have done instead?

Take a second before you act and make sure those actions are an intentional step towards your goals. Hasty reactions rarely yield the intended results, and if you aren’t moving forward towards your goals you probably aren’t being a good leader.

Be intentional with every action you make.  It sounds simple. We probably learned it in kindergarten, but we have to apply the lesson.

MOLESKIN:
I’m really glad 10 other knuckleheads showed up to work out this morning because the fartsack was tough to climb out of this morning. Thanks, PAX!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Sign up for Hardship Hill if you’re able to participate and/or volunteer!

Planksgiving Feast

THE SCENE: 32 degrees with starry skies
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Little Bit o’ This

Little Bit o’ That

Michael Phelps

5 burpees OYO

Smurf Jacks x 10 IC

Smurf Jacks at rapid cadence x 10 IC

Smurf Jacks at rapid cadence x 10 IC (again)
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the tennis courts to visit Crazy Aunt Sandy who likes to discuss politics at Thanksgiving lunch

Hold Al Gore for 10 ct. along base line, Bernie Sanders to opposite base line.

2 diamond merkins, Bernie Sanders back to original base line.

Rinse and repeat with 10, 20, 40, & 60 ct. Al Gore. Add 2 diamond merkins each time.

Break the PAX into three groups and head to the main course for Elevens at each of the following stations:

ABB-ETIZERS:

4ct LBCs at the bottom, single count Oblique Merkins at the top.

PLANKSGIVING LUNCH:

Round the Clock Merkins (12,3,6, &9 only) at the bottom, Carolina Dry Docks at the top

DESSERT KICK-ASS-EROLE:

Narrow squats at the bottom, goblet squats w/ CMU at the top

If you finish early, get a second helping of your favorite portion!

MARY:
Lean back in your recliner for 30 seconds. Change channels with right hand and then left hand.

Pickle Pounders x 15 IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The following was paraphrased from this article:

“https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/14/dining/elliot-ackerman-thanksgiving.html”

Unlike most national holidays, Thanksgiving must be proclaimed each year by the President. George Washington made the first proclamation in 1789. He asked that Americans unite in thanks for “the peaceful and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government”.  Lincoln revived the tradition during the civil war when he asked Americans to give thanks “with one heart and one voice”.

President JFK wrote Proclamation 3560 which begins “Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and Massachusetts, far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving”. He continues to indicate that they gave thanks for their safety, their fields, their children and “the love which bound them together”.

It is important to note that JFK wrote this to a divided nation. This was after the Bay of Pigs invasion, the first “military advisers” arriving in Vietnam, and only two months after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, AL where the KKK murdered several African-American girls.

These transgressions largely parallel the atrocities that we see in the news today. Let’s try our best to step back from the trees and take a look around the forest. We have a democratic government that, despite its faults, ensures us incredible freedoms. We have running, potable water. A reliable power grid. Food to eat. A place to lay our head at nights that is warm and dry. There’s a lot to be thankful for, and we tend to overlook the most important ones.

It also worth nothing that Proclamation 3561 was written 19 days after JFK’s Thanksgiving proclamation. It was written by LBJ, denoting a day of mourning for JFK’s assassination. Take a break from your divisions today and be a strong leader, a good friend, and a warm light in a world that can often be dark and cold.

Step it UP!

THE SCENE: A very sticky 72 degrees, cloudy, with insufficient breeze.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
The PAX moseyed in place throughout the Welcome & Disclaimer. After the W&D, the QIC joined in the circle for a quick circle drill. While all members moseyed in place, a number of steps and direction of travel were shouted and the PAX followed suit. (i.e., “2, left” indicates two steps left). When “center” was shouted, all members ran to the center of the circle & then Bernie Sanders back to their original position. This continued for several minutes to get the blood flowing. We then performed the following exercises:

  • Tempo Squats x 10 IC
  • Baby Arm Circles FWD x 12 IC
  • Baby Arm Circles BWD x 12 IC
  • Little o’ This
  • Little o’ That
  • Michael Phelps

THA-THANG:
The PAX split into two even lines for an Indian-run style mosey. Instead of Indian runs, the PAX executed commands directed by the QIC. “Left” and “Right” required reaching down to touch the ground on the respective side. “UP!” required jumping into the air and clapping twice before hitting the ground. Commands continued until the fork in the parking lot.

Completed one round of Circle Burp using Kraken Burpees.

Continued mosey to the stairs. Split the PAX into two groups, one on either side of the stairs. The first member of each group sprints up the stairs, touching every step. Once they summit, they alternate (10x) LBCs and (10x) merkins while they await the rest of their group. All members at the bottom alternate (10x) SSH and (10x) tempo squats until their turn to summit.

Rinse and repeat, with accelerated hustle on the second attempt.

Slow mosey back to first light pole for Route 66. We called an audible due to time, but completed the following exercises:

  • Merkins
  • Squats
  • Lunges

Mosey back to the AO with a hard sprint on the homestretch.

MARY:

  • Hello Dolly x 25 IC
  • Flutter Kick x 10 IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 PAX today with 0 FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“There are 3 kinds of men when it comes to work. Some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their nose, and some just don’t turn up at all”. As HIMs we are called to be leaders, and part of being a leader means jumping in to do work even we may not be best suited to the task. All of us need to step up at times, turn up our sleeves, and DO WORK that needs doing.
MOLESKIN:
Tell your Ms that you’re welcome for that stair work today.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  1. Maryville/Alcoa launch Oct. 14
  2. Truckin’ to the Pound Oct. 28
  3. Please note the new Q calendar. If you haven’t Q’d before and you’re skeered, grab a co-Q or ask a veteran some questions. You’ll be glad you jumped in!