F3 Knoxville

Locking Shields

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Pele (Jon Lindberg)
PAX: Drum Major, Lilydipper, Abacus, Lizzy, Mr Jinxy, Pusher, Crash Dummy, Curveball, Welch’s, Brick, MD Hammer, Pele (Jon Lindberg)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
WARMUP: 20 SSH, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Tennessee Rocking Chairs, 10 Grady Corns, Yoga Stretches, 10 Hand Release Merkins

THE THANG:
MOSEY to Slope on Picketts Charge.
HILL PYRAMID!:
Run up the slope and back down. Every time you get back down do the exercises (10 REPS EACH):
– JUMP SQUATS
– JUMP SQUATS / BOTTLE OPENERS (2-count)
– JUMP SQUATS/ BOTTLE OPENERS / BIG BOY SITUPS
– BOTTLE OPENERS / BIG BOY SITUPS
– BIG BOY SITUPS

Mosey to Center of Colosseum.
JINXY’S FOUR AND A QUARTER. Start at bottom of hill, run to tree about 2/3 to Admin Bldg, and do 25 reps of an exercise, return to starting position. R&R 4 times, totaling 100 of the exercise.
Round 1: Carolina Dry Docks
Round 2: Imperial Walkers (single count)
Round 3: Lunges (single count)

Mosey to Stop sign on circle drive.
MODIFIED WELSH DRAGON (4-ct Bear Crawl, 1 Merkin, R&R up to 10 Merkins… always only 4-ct Bear Crawl). Run to where the railing begins and do the 1st rep, run back to do the 2nd rep, etc.
AYG to Flag.

MARY: A little light stretching.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hardship Hill, Ascent Leadership School at Frozen Head

COT: NO GAPS IN THE WALL!
Three years ago Judge Judy, who was our Nantaan at the time, wrote an article in the weekly newsletter called Cracks in the Foundation, which alluded to some situations surrounding F3 that resulted in fractures within groups and between individuals. That message was very timely back then, and as some of you are aware, there’s a little bit of that going on right now. Nothing that I don’t think we can fix, but some things that if we don’t address could just continue to fester. So for my Word, I just wanted to reiterate what I feel is F3’s absolutely greatest attribute: it’s ability to inspire us all to be better men through SHARING. Sharing of the Suck from the workout, Sharing in the responsibilities of being Q, Sharing of life experiences in the Circle that others may learn from or be inspired by, etc.

We often use the term “Lock Shields” in F3. Think about that for a second. What comes to mind? I have this image from Lord of the Rings or a movie about the Roman Empire of a bunch of warriors facing a common enemy, and each one of them standing shoulder to shoulder with their shields up. If it was just one dude, he’d get surrounded, overwhelmed. But it’s a bunch of warriors that are aligned in a common purpose: PROTECT EACH OTHER’S SIX. If there’s a crack or a gap in the wall, then everyone is in deep doo doo.

To no one’s surprise, the guys in F3 have differences. We have our differences in Faith, Politics, what kind of workouts we want to do out here, and maybe even differences in how we think F3 should operate. That’s fine! But how do we keep locking shields if the guy next to us is of a different political party? Religion? If he has way more hair and is better looking than the rest of us (thanks guys… you know who you are…)? It comes down to RESPECT for your brother, who’s out here trying to get 1% better, just like you are. When we’re out here, we lay our differences aside. When we’re out here, I’m continually trying to figure out ways to better serve you so that you can serve others. This requires that we keep that wall tight. NO GAPS IN THAT WALL. And I hope we all have that mindset. But whatever differences we have can be overcome with Grace and empathy and understanding

Go for 30 seconds…

AO: brickyard
Q: Spellcheck
PAX: Biohazard (Jay Shepherd), Natty, Herbie, Otis, Spellcheck, Gmail, Bail Bonds, Chuck
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
WARMUP: Yep

THE THANG:
1. CMU Pull Throughs
2. 10 lbs MB – BBS / Am. Ham.
3. 15 lbs MB – Slams
4. 20 lbs MB – Sqt.. Throws
5. 20 lbs SB – Curls / Triceps Ex.
6. 2×18 lbs KB – Swing to Squat Thruster
7. 40 lbs SB – Rows / Lunges
8. CMU (2xWall) – Shoulder Shrugs
9. 60 lbs SB – Squats
10. PVC – Deadlifts to High Pulls
• 30 sec mosey after each set.

MARY:
1. Flutter Kicks
2. Freddie Mercury’s
3. Australian snow angels
4. BBS
5. J Lo‘s

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:
As humans, we will do some crazy things to save our own life or try to sustain it.
As Christians, we do some crazy things to try to save this life we are supposed to be dying too.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

‬‬“As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Please help me, my Lord the king!” He answered, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.” But then the king asked, “What is the matter?” She replied, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let’s eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Kill your son so we can eat him,’ but she has hidden her son.””
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬-‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

1000 Reps

AO: asylum-am
Q: Cat Gut (Mike Davis)
PAX: Matlock (Bill Maddox), Double Wide, Cinco (Scott McGuire), Gibbler, Waffle House (Brady Greene), Cosmo 2, Kentucky, Hands, P3, Bunny, Cat Gut (Mike Davis), F3 Pluto ( Hugh Nystrom), Pac-man, Archie, Hot Tub, Techmo
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
WARMUP:

THE THANG:

MARY:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:

[the-pulpit] Come & See the Stations of the Cross

AO: the-pulpit
Q: Sawdust
PAX: Betty, Rougarou, Voodoo, Ike, Kevin (Miss Piggie), Smoked Pickle, Jim Norris, Leland Robbins (Geiger)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
WARMUP:
– SSH (32 in memory of those lost at VT on this date in 2007)
– Stretch
– Tempo Merkins
– Tie-Fighters

THE THANG: This workout was a tour of the grounds with the 14 Stations of the Cross with Scripture, an AMRAP exercise, and taking turns carrying an 80-lb sand bag (in lieu of a cross)
1. Jesus is condemned to death – Peter Parkers
2. Jesus carries the cross – Merkins
3. Jesus falls for the first time – Burpees
4. Jesus meets his Mother – Big Boy Sit-Ups
5. Simon helps Jesus carry his cross – Sumo Squats
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus – V-Ups
7. Jesus falls a second time – Burpees
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem – Hello Dolly
9. Jesus falls a third time – Burpees
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments – Froggy Squats
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross – T-Merkins
12. Jesus dies on the cross – Star Gazers
13. Jesus’ body is removed from the cross – Dips
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb – Low Plank

MARY: N/A

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Reviewed the worship calendar for this weekend at Grace
– Frozen Head CSAUSP 26-Apr-25
– Hardship Hill 17-May-25

COT: Essentially the whole workout was a BOM, but the final note to reflect on is that it is finished, but the story has not ended. Matthew 28:5-6 And the angel sed to the women, “Do not be afraid: for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come [and], see the place where he was lying.”

Goth Equalizer

AO: the-equalizer
Q: Bookman
PAX: Blindside, Cheney, Mouthwash, Madoff, Snowbird, Ribbed (Joshua Sagraves), Stripped, Bookman
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
WARMUP:
SSHs, Rockettes, LBACs, Cherry Pickers
THE THANG: 20 reps each station
4 stations on 1 half of the tennis courts
2 CMUs -> Deadlifts and Squats
2 sandbags -> Floor Presses and B.O.Rs.
2 CMUS -> Core choices of Leg Lifts holding the CMU, American Hammers, BBS, or Oklahoma Cheerleaders
2 Resistance Bands -> OH Presses or Curls. Mainly avoid getting snapped in the face
Movement between stations is either lunges or bear crawls

MARY: Stretching

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hardship hill on 5/17

COT: “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence”. Vince Lombardi

…Not only is that from Blindside’s favorite team’s coach, it’s a great way to frame expectations. We need to always get better, no matter what we’re doing, but it gives us something to strive for with realistic goals in the end.

I’m always glad to get out in the gloom. This morning felt lackluster for me. I’m tired, couldn’t get the music to work, and the workout didn’t feel fluid or fulfilling to me. For those that felt the same, I’m sorry. I tried something different today so it was a mental win. Those count just the same. Glad I had some guys out there that were encouraging and we could have some good conversations and jokes.

No one got hurt by the bands either. That’s a bigger win.

Come on out for a Good Friday Mouthwash Q. Been looking forward to it since I saw it on the calendar. You should as well.