F3 Knoxville

Perspective

THE SCENE: Foggy, temps in high 60’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Jump Squats, Around the World Each Hand, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Windmills, Michael Phelps

THA-THANG:
Mosey to Southern Ball Fields Parking Lot.  We will circle the parking lot twice, stopping at each cone to perform exercise and moving to the next cone by the method designated on the cone:

  • Cone 1:  20 Bobby Hurleys.  Butt Kick to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 Hello Dollies (4 ct). Sprint to Cone 3
  • Cone 3:  20 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1).  Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Merkins.  Bernie to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  High Knees to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  20 Star Jumps.  Grapevine Left to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct).  Hop to Cone 8.
  • Cone 8:  20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Grapevine Right to Cone 1.

Mosey toward the Northshore Entrance to park.  We will stop at shaded area by apt buildings.  20 American Hammers.  10 Tempo Merkins.

Mosey to stop sign at southeastern corner of Admin Bldg.  30 second gander at scenery.  Mosey to Bat House.  We will do High Mountain Roundabout which will be the following:

  • 10 Hand Release Merkins by Bat House.  Then run down initial steps of Roadshow Run to grassy field below.
  • 20 Diamond Merkins.  Then run to grove of trees just below summit of Mt. Everest.
  • 10 Burpees.  Then run uphill to summit of Mt. Everest.
  • 20 Boy Boy Sit-ups.
  • Rinse and Repeat above.

Next, we will run down Roadshow Run to Perimeter Trail. From there we will head on trail toward Lyons Bend.  At perimeter trail we will head east and across road that goes to entrance way at Lyons Bend.  We will cross the roadway and stop to do 20 American Hammers.

We will then head on trail east and south to lower area parking lot.  We will head that way by doing 14’s, lunging for one light and then sprinting for four until we reach parking lot.

Next, head back to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
2020 has certainly been a difficult year and citizens in our country are a bit on edge right now.  You see it in the arguments between citizens on how serious a threat the Coronavirus truly is and whether we should be opening businesses at this time.  You see it in the protests going on related to the recent killings of black men by police.  Whether you support or are against opening up during the Coronavirus, whether you tend to look favorably upon the protests or are more prone to see the destruction caused by rioters, it is easy to judge that “other side”.  In some of our BOMs, however, we have been asking ourselves whether this is what God wants us to do.  Should we angrily judge someone whose ideas are different than ours or should we try to love them and make the attempt to understand their perspective?

We can learn to love even our worst enemies if we can learn to truly put ourselves in their shoes, openly hear their stories, and do so in a non-judging way.  And I think that is what we are needing more of at this time when politicians and even newspapers and news stations make quick judgments and fail to view the perspective of the other side.

When I spoke in my last BOM, I did not have time to talk about a story that I had actually included in the written Back Blast. The story is about White Fang.  White Fang is the name of a novel written by Jack London.  Some of you may have read it.  In the novel, White Fang is a vicious dog, one that will strike you and tear you apart.  He is a dog to avoid because his look and actions spell D-A-N-G-E-R and H-A-R-M.  Why is he like this?  Part of the reason is his genetics.  He is part wolf and wolves can certainly be savage.  The bigger reason, however, it that he has been taken advantage of by humans his entire life.  He has been beaten by others for use as a work and sled dog and has been unfairly used by men in betting games where White Fang fights with other dogs.  A guy named Weedon Scott meets White Fang for the first time after one of these fights where White Fang is almost killed.  He takes pity on the dog and takes him away from it’s current owner who has used him in the dog fights.  He feeds the dog and nurtures him back to life.  The dog doesn’t trust him but Weedon certainly can understand why, given what the dog has gone through.  Weedon slowly, slowly gets closer to the dog, trying to develop a bond with him.  At one point he goes too quickly and is viciously bitten.  But, Weedon doesn’t give up on the dog.  He takes the dogs perspective, realizing that he had tried to quickly to pet the dog when the dog feared him and didn’t trust him.  He continues to feed the dog, continues to use cooing language and weeks later touches the dog again.  White Fang growls a low growl.  He both doesn’t like the touch but also likes it.  This touch thing is different and for some reason it feels good.  Over time the man and dog form a wonderful bond. Those of you who love dogs know what that bond can be like.  Weedon Scott is long longer seen as a threat – he is seen as a Love God by White Fang.  This once vicious dog is so strongly bonded to Weedon that he will do anything for him.  And, at the end of the book he saves both Weedon Scott and his family from their own harm and possible deaths.

As HIMs, we can learn to patient and loving.  We can learn to take the perspective of others, even when we don’t agree with their opinions.  We can learn to love our enemy as Jesus would want us to do.  In so doing, we may form bonds we never thought we could have and even change the lives of those former enemies for the better.

MOLESKIN:

Praise for Choir Boy’s wife that, although she is having lymph node issues, her Ultra Sound looked good.  Prayers for the wife of Rainbow’s wive’s grandmother who is at her last days of life.  Prayers for Rainbow’s friend whose wife died.  Prayers for Lillydipper’s wife, Jan, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment at this time for breast cancer.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Q101 is occurring this morning at Bomb Shelter

Learning From Others

THE SCENE: Perfect: lower 60’s, started off a bit foggy then ended up clear and sunny
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 20, Arm Circles x 15 forwards and backwards, Tempo Squats x 5 slowly, Tempo Merkins x 5 slowly
THA-THANG:
Numbered off into two teams, each of the following exercises was treated as a team competition

  • Round 1: Each team raced across the event lawn, but our mode of transportation was Monkey Jumpers (3 Monkey Humpers followed by a Broad Jump). First team fully across would have won, but we got kicked off the grass so we called it a tie.
  • Round 2: moseyed over to the other event lawn with the new patio. This time we did 11’s as teams, but with a few twists. Between each exercise was 11 steps of Bear Crawl Toe Taps going forward or Crawl Bear Toe Taps going backward. The exercises were Burpees and Single Leg Merkins. So the first set was 1 Burpee, 11 steps of Bear Crawls with toe taps each step, 10 Single Leg Merkins, then 11 steps of Crawl Bears with toe taps each step. Team One won this one.
  • Round 3: Still at the other event field, we paired off within our teams for Doras, first team for all pairs to finish wins. Exercises were 100 x Single Leg Burpees, 200 x Star Jumps, and 300 x Big Boy Sit Ups while one partner runs up the pathway and touches the far light post and runs back. We had to call it for time, but Team One was the closest to finishing and won on a technicality.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I mentioned at the start of the workout that I didn’t come up with this, and that it was actually a workout I hopped in on with one of the AO’s in Nashville a few weeks ago while visiting family. Building off of Swanson’s encouragement to seek out and be willing to receive accountability, I encouraged us to couple that with seeking to also learn from others, both here and from outside sources or people outside of our normal circles. Like I had mentioned, I learned this workout from another AO and would never have thought of it on my own, and I tend to pay attention to others’ Q’s and take note of what I like and incorporate them into my own workouts. Supposedly Einstein is quoted saying that when we stop learning is when we start dying, so let’s go out of our way to learn from one another and not become complacent with what we know

tightrope walking

THE SCENE: 66* and a little muggy, perfect sweat angel weather
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Shoulder taps x15
OH Claps x15
Merkins x10
Hillbilly’s x12
Tempo squats x12
SSH x15
THA-THANG:
Mosey out of the start point towards parking lot, make a left and head towards Broadway.  Didn’t have to wait long at the light, crossed over Broadway and through the Commercial Bank parking lot over to the back parking lot of Regions Bank.

Four cones spaced out in the parking lot, paying homage to Magic Mic’s beatdown at BB from last week.

Round 1: Lunge walk between cones, perform jump squats at cones increasing reps 4, 6, 8, 10.  Mosey back
Round 2: Crawl bear between cones, perform merkins at cones increasing reps 5, 10, 15, 20. Mosey back
Round 3: Frog jump (hands must touch ground) between cones, perform (someone said you like) burpees at cones increasing reps 2, 4, 6, 8.  Mosey back.

10 count breath snagger and then mosey up Lynnwood Drive a few buildings until we reach the parking lot with the coupons.  Everyone grab a rock, start the music up and run through as many rounds as you can in 10 minutes.

  • Boulder squats x15
  • Curls x20
  • OH Press x20
  • Rock swap merkins x10
  • Run at 80% pace to the brick wall and return.  Lather rinse repeat until timer goes off.

Quick mosey back down Lynnwood to the Regions parking lot again and circle up.  Amazon style swapper, two exercises back and forth with no rest between, decreasing reps each round.  Also, a different PAX leads the round each time.  Rep counts were 10, 7, 5 for each exercise.

  • Four count merkins
  • Tempo squats

Mosey back the way we came, through the bank parking lot and back across Broadway to the church parking lot to finish up.

MARY:
CASH OUT WITH ATMS!!!
American hammers x15
Flutters x10
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 Strong: Duggar, Swanson, PDA, Filter, SpaceX, Magic Mic, Walrus, Herbie, Puck, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I asked if anyone knew who Karl Wallenda or Nik Wallenda are, which Filter did (I forgot your Applebee’s trivia gift card).  Karl Wallenda was a pretty famous tightrope walker who began his career in the 20s.  The Ringling Brothers added him to their circus, and he helped create some crazy stunts including the pyramid of people walking on a tightrope (which did kill a few members of his team in one accident).  Karl was killed as well while attempting to walk between two hotels in Puerto Rico.

Later on, his great grandson went back to the same spot and accomplished the walk.  Funny enough, earlier this year he walked 1800′ across an open volcano that took him over 31 minutes to cross.  Why would someone go back to the spot that killed their ancestor and attempt the same thing?  Legacy.  He wanted to keep the family legacy alive.  I hope that I am capable of something that will inspire someone else to come behind me and repeat, or even elevate to another level.  And I sincerely hope if I can that its something worthy of being referred to as legacy.

Belated D-Day WOD

THE SCENE
65 and Clear

THE THANG
This workout is a memorial to the men who gave their all on June 6, 1944…

To get this invasion started: Ruck to Bearden Middle School Track, approximately 1.5+ miles

Evolution UTAH
25 (4ct) Flutter Kicks
15 Ruck Thrusters

5 rounds:
10 Ruck Curls
10 Ruck Swings

Farmer’s carry ruck one lap around the track

Evolution OMAHA
25 (4ct) Flutter Kicks
15 Ruck Thrusters

5 rounds:
10 Push-Ups
10 4ct Shoulder Taps

Farmer’s carry ruck one lap around the track

Evolution JUNO
25 (4ct) Flutter Kicks
15 Ruck Thrusters

5 rounds:
10 Sit-Ups w/Ruck
10 4ct American Hammers

Farmer’s carry ruck one lap around the track

Evolution GOLD
25 (4ct) Flutter Kicks
15 Ruck Thrusters

5 rounds:
10 Upright Rows
10 Ruck-on-Front Squats

Farmer’s carry ruck one lap around the track

Evolution SWORD
25 (4ct) Flutter Kicks
15 Ruck Thrusters

5 rounds:
10 Lunge w/Ruck Overhead
10 Overhead Ruck Press

Farmer’s carry ruck one lap around the track

To finish this invasion, ruck back to start point, 1.5+ miles

 

The Project: HEAVY 7s

THE SCENE: cool and gloomy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Regular + COVID
WARM-O-RAMA:
A little bit of this and a little bit of that
THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to Parallel Bars/Pool Wall for 7s: Dips + Muscle Ups
  • Mosey to Recruiting Center
  • Heavy 7s:
    • BIG TIRE: Derkins + Box Jumps
    • BIG TIRE: Tire Flips + Tire BBS
    • Cut Telephone Poles: Squats + Overhead Press
    • Cut Telephone Poles: Curls + BBS
    • CMU: Blockees + Kettle Swing
    • CMU: Thrusters + Squats
    • Double Stack CMU: Incline Merkins + Jump Over
    • Double Stack CMU: Side Step + Derkins
    • Dumbbells (35s): Curls + Tri Ext
    • Dumbbells: (40s): Rows + Overhead Press

MARY: NO TIME

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
5STRONG: Erector – Chaco – Pi – Nuclear Ninja – Snaggletooth

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM: (In light of Father’s Day, I wanted to share a devotional about the kind of Dad our God is to us.)

How Much God Wants to Bless You (from Solid Joys by John Piper)
“The Lord will again take delight in prospering you.” (Deuteronomy 30:9)

God does not bless us begrudgingly. There is a kind of eagerness about the beneficence of God. He does not wait for us to come to him. He seeks us out, because it is his pleasure to do us good. God is not waiting for us; he is pursuing us. That, in fact, is the literal translation of Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.”

God loves to show mercy. Let me say it again. God loves to show mercy. He is not hesitant or indecisive or tentative in his desires to do good to his people. His anger must be released by a stiff safety lock, but his mercy has a hair trigger. That’s what he meant when he came down on Mount Sinai and said to Moses, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Exodus 34:6). It’s what he meant when he said in Jeremiah 9:24, “I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

God is never irritable or edgy. His anger never has a short fuse. Instead he is infinitely energetic with absolutely unbounded and unending enthusiasm for the fulfillment of his delights.

This is hard for us to comprehend, because we have to sleep every day just to cope, not to mention thrive. Our emotions go up and down. We get bored and discouraged one day and feel hopeful and excited another.

We are like little geysers that gurgle and sputter and pop erratically. But God is like a great Niagara Falls — you look at 186,000 tons of water crashing over the precipice every minute, and think: Surely this can’t keep going at this force year after year after year. Yet it does.

That’s the way God is about doing us good. He never grows weary of it. It never gets boring to him. The Niagara of his grace has no end.

MOLESKIN:
HEAVY THURSDAYS are a great workout at The Project but because of COVID precautions we wanted to create enough stations with multiple movements at each station so PAX can get a diverse workout without sharing equipment. Also challenged PAX to try something new (BIG TIRE, Telephone pole, etc) in addition to CMUs. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Encouraged new guys to Q or Co-Q with any of us.