F3 Knoxville

Majestic Yet Close

THE SCENE: Cloudy, temp in mid-forties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Insert information about the warmup.
THA-THANG:
25 Side Straddle Hops, 31 Brady Corns, 10 Rockettes, 7 Baby Arm Circles Forward, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward, 7 Baby Arm Circles Backward, 7 Wide Arm Circles Backward, 10 Cherry Pickers.

Divide into two teams.  Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each team grabs one CMU.  Each team can divide among the men in terms of carrying the CMU through various moseys.

Mosey to the parking lot south of northern ball fields that has scenic island in middle of the lot.  There will be one cone placed on either side of the parking lot.  Each team must accomplish the exercises listed at each cone.  They can divide up the exercises among the team members in any way they chose (e.g., have one man take each exercise or divide all exercises among the men on the team).  Once the exercises are completed by the team, one man from the team runs with the CMU to the next cone while other team members race ahead of him to start the exercises at the next cone.  Once those exercises are completed by the team, a new team member takes the CMU back to the first cone.  The team does those exercises again.  This cycle continues until every man on the team has carried the cone one time.  The following are the exercises to be performed at each cone:

  • Cone 1:  30 Burpees, 50 Plank Jacks, 50 Merkins, 50 Big Boy Sit-Ups, 50 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1) 50 Overhead Presses with CMU
  • Cone 2:  30 Mountain Climbers (four count), 50 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1), 50 Jump Squats, 50 Dive Bombers, 50 Hello Dollies, 50 Curls with CMU.

Mosey to beginning of Serpentine Sidewalk where it intersects with street.  Each team will still carry their CMU.  We will do 14’s on Serpentine Sidewalk until it reaches the perimeter trail. We will lunge for one light then run for four light, repeating that sequence until we reach the perimeter trail.  We will then, as a group, do 20 Imperial Walkers (four count).

Mosey to beginning of cardiac hill, each team carrying CMU.  We will go up cardiac hill doing the following exercises at the following areas:

  • Corner 1: 20 American Hammers (four count)
  • Corner 2: 20 Leg Kicks (four count)
  • Corner 3: 20 Decline Merkins
  • Benches:  20 Bench Lifts

Mosey to CMU pile.  Drop off CMU’s.  Mosey to Pavilion.  We will do elevens starting with one Picnic Table Pull Up and ten Box Jumps.  We will then do a one minute squat with backs against wall.  Next, we will do sevens starting with one decline merkin and six bench lifts.

Mosey back to AO sprinting up mini-cardiac.

MARY:

Insert information about any additional post-THANG work (if applicable).
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

1 Chronicles 29:11  Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

I sometimes consider God’s majesty and it is awe-inspiring.  This creation of His, the expansiveness of it, the fact that our galaxy is a mere spec amidst other galaxies, the infinity of space and of time.  We look with our most powerful telescopes to incredible distances and God has created this and so much more.  When one considers God from this perspective He is certainly powerful but also may seem distance.  There’s that song by Julie Gold that Bette Midler made popular:  God is Watching Us From a Distance.  It is good to think of a God who has created this world, who sees all, who is in control of everything.

But it is also good to know that God is close.  God is not only ever powerful, He is ever present.  I can dig down into the rich, deep earth, cup it in my hands and smell God’s presence.  I can pluck a daffodil and examine it in minute detail, knowing God is present in every cell.  We have a God who is close.  We have a God who wants us to know Him.  God whispers in our ear and says, guess what, you are mine.  He whispers in your ear and says, Ratchet, I know every hair on your head.  He whispers, Abscess, talk to me, give me your heartache and give me your joy.  He whispers, Crawdad, I was there the day you were born and will be with you always.  We are each His creation and He loves each one of us.  We have an Amazing God.

Psalm 139: 1-6

Lord, you have searched me and known me!
 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pinto, for Cheatsheet’s friend, and prayer of praise for Crawdad’s son, Carson.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffeeteria!

The test of suffering

THE SCENE: chilly w/ some wet ground
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH (x20); Windmills (x10); Rockettes (x10); BAC (x10 both directions); Tempo Merkins (x10); Little bit of this and a little bit of that.
THA-THANG:

Mosey to playground:

  • Pull-ups to failure
  • Merkins to failure

Lap around track.

Four corners around track:

  • 10 merkins; 20 BBS; 30 squats at each corner.

Mosey to waterpark.

  • 20 dips + 20 box jumps, then make a lap around the outhouse (x5)

Mosey back to playground

  • 15 pull-ups in cadence.  Up and then slowly went down to 5-count.

Mosey back to AO for 10 tempo merkins.

MARY:
no time fo dat
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Talked about suffering.  I’ve had several people I’ve been walking with who are going thru some serious suffering.  Seems like we all know people in our life who are in the midst of it.  You just have to live long enough and you will suffer.

I’ve been reading thru Job.  Reminded the guys about Satan coming to God, God pointing out Job, and Satan’s accusation that Job is ONLY worshipping God because of how much God has blessed him.  So, God allows Satan to take away those blessings and Job enters probably the most extreme suffering known on earth.  Job’s faith was being tested to see if it was genuine.  Was he worshipping God for the gifts God had given him or because God was God?

Job said — “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

The test of suffering is coming to each one of us, and we probably have friends walking thru it right now.  Let’s come alongside them, pray and encourage them, and bless the name of the Lord.

Working(out) Through Genesis

THE SCENE: In the beginning, it was 45 degrees and slightly raining. And it was good.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x 25, Baby Arm Circles x 20 forwards and 20 backwards, Shoulder Taps x 20, Cherry Pickers x 10, Mosey to Amphitheater
THA-THANG:
This whole workout revolved around the story of the book of Genesis

  • In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. Then He made man in is own image. So we did 25 man makers
  • Then after Creation, the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, leading to the fall of man. So we did Cobra merkins in a Ring of Fire (each person did 5 reps while everyone else held a plank. we did 3 rounds around the circle)
  • After the Fall, mankind continued on its downward spiral of sin, eventually leading to God seeing that the intentions of their hearts were always evil and leading to the flood. God preserves life through Noah and his family and by gathering 2 of every animal to stay on the ark. We didn’t have an ark so we settled for Boat Canoes. Similar to the Cobras, we did this by going around the circle and each of us took a turn calling out Boat and Canoe
  • After the flood, several generations later, God calls Abraham and tells him that he will be father to a great nation that will bless all other nations. God also tells Abraham to go and leave his father’s homeland and go to the land He has promised for his descendants. So we moseyed to Ayres Hall aka the Promised Land
  • After much travel and even more waiting, Abraham finally has a son named Isaac. Years later, God calls Abraham to climb a mountain and sacrifice his only son Isaac at the top, but then provides a ram to take Isaac’s place. So at the bottom of The Hill we did 25 4-count Mountain Climbers and then sprinted up the stairs to the top of The Hill
  • After this Isaac has two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob tricks Isaac into giving him Esau’s blessing, leading to Esau threatening to kill Jacob and to Jacob fleeing into exile. While in exile, Jacob marries Leah and Rachel, and has a literal metric ton of children. So we did Pickle Pounders, also in a Ring of Fire. Each person did 10 reps while everyone else held a plank, we did 3 rounds total
  • After years in exile and building up his own family, God tells Jacob to return to his family and his father’s land, so we began to Mosey back to World’s Fair Park
  • Along the way back to Esau, Jacob has an encounter with God where the wrestle through the night and he is renamed to Israel, meaning “wrestles with God”. So we did Sumo Wrestler Squats in a Ring of Fire at the bottom of The Hill. Each person did 5 reps while everyone else held an Al Gore. We did 3 rounds
  • Esau and Jacob reconcile with one another, rebuilding the bridges Jacob burnt. Then years later his sons sell their brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt. Joseph ends up through circumstances as Pharoah’s right hand man after years in slavery and prison. Years later famine brings Jacob’s sons to Egypt to ask for aid from none other than Joseph. Joseph and his brothers are also reconciled, rebuilding the bridges they burnt years ago. So we did American Hammers and Bear Crawls on the bridge in front of the Hill. We partnered up, one partner Bear Crawled across the bridge and ran back while the other partner did American Hammers, then switched. We did 3 rounds of this
  • After reconciliation with his brothers, Joseph invites his family to live together in Egypt to endure the famine. Genesis then ends on a happy high note of encouragement with the eventual death of Jacob, Joseph and his brothers. So at the parking lot across from campus we did suicides. Each run had an exercise at the far end of the lot and at the beginning when we ran back, and each set was a shorter run and different exercises. Set 1: 10 merkins out and 10 Big Boy Sit ups back, Set 2: 10 Carolina Dry Docks out and 10 American Hammers back, Set 3: 15 Cobras out and 15 squats back, Set 4: 15 Wide Out merkins out and 15 Smurf Jacks back, Set 5: 15 Man Makers out and 15 BBS back
  • Then we moseyed back to the fountains

MARY:
Did some Ring of Fire with merkins and squats to kill some left over time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The reason I thought to revolve our workout around Genesis was for 2 things: 1. We just finished studying it in the ministry I work for and 2. Someone at my church while preaching about Advent said the Church Calendar was originally designed to help us orient our lives around the story of Scripture. I think we have a tendency to do just the opposite, we’d rather try to take Scripture and God and try to orient them around our story. So just as we oriented our workout around the story of Genesis, during this Advent season let’s think of ways in which we can place ourselves into the story of God rather than try to put Him into our own stories
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None

Away in a Manger

THE SCENE: Overcast and cool, low 40s.  Nice sunset beyond the clouds, but quickly got dark.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Got it right this time! 🙂
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Lunges (lungeus interruptus halfway through due to PAX losing count, resulting in 5 Burpees)

-20 Grady Corns (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 BACs forward and backward

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to Big Parking Lot for CANDY CANES! (Hat tip to Cap’n Crunch!). Run to each station, do the exercise, and run back. The six stations are:
    • 20 Dive Bombers
    • 20 Iron Mikes (2-ct)
    • 20 BBS
    • 20 Star Jumps
    • 20 Squat Jumps
    • 20 LBCs
  • Mosey to Cardiac:
    • Cardiac Suicides. Run to first bend, 5 BODY BUILDERS, run back. Run to second bend, 10 BODY BUILDERS, run back.  Run to top, 15 BODY BUILDERS.
  • Mosey to CMU pile
    • DORAs 100 of each exercise while partner runs with CMU over his head to the end of parking lot and back.
      • Overhead Presses
      • Curls
      • Squats
      • Rows
      • Triceps (didn’t finish these…)
    • Mosey to AO

MARY:
20 Hello Dollies, + 5 punishment burpees for messing up the count… again…

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 Strong, no FNGs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

(From Luke 2) So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

One of things that I love about the Christmas story and the life of Jesus is the circumstances under which he was brought into this world, and how he left it.  He came into it in the most humble conditions, and placed in a manger.

Definition of a MANGER: a long open box or trough for horses or cattle to eat from. The son of God came into this world basically in a soup bowl for livestock, and left this world on a cross, after being betrayed, humiliated and tortured.

This was not some gilded king, born in wealth and comfort, and who died gloriously.  This was a child born to a poor family who was sent by God to live among us and who died for our sins.

John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

If we had the CEO for Crossfit or some other exercise program show up out of the blue in a limo, dressed in a fur coat, with leather gloves and wing-tipped shoes tell us to do 100 burpees, crawl in the mud, and run up and down a huge hill a few times, we’d probably tell him to stick it where the sun don’t shine.  But when it’s an idiot like me, who is out here doing it with you, with snot running down my face and bloody shins and freezing cold hands, you nod, get your mind right, and get it done.  I love that Jesus was one of US, not one of THEM.  I love that the life he lead and the teachings he passed on came from a place of humanity and poverty, not power and wealth.  I think of the billionaire politicians that are supposed to be our leaders and it’s hard sometimes to relate to them and to accept what they say and how they want us to act.  But I will follow Jesus as my Q any day of the week.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for several members of the PAX who are suffering this holiday season due to the death of loved ones or illness. We pray for comfort and recovery.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Polar Bear Plunge on Jan. 1, New Year’s party at Tank’s house Jan. 3, Ski Trip Feb 7-9.