F3 Knoxville

Category: Asylum AM

Founding AO

First Last and Last First

THE SCENE: Beautiful chilly morning, temps in low 30’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Plank Stretches, Michael Phelps.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by Southern Ball Fields.  There will be eight cones set up in the parking lot.  Cone 1 and 8 will be on one side of the parking lot.  Cones 2 through 7 are on the other side of the parking lot.  We will circle clockwise around the cones.  The following will be the exercises at and from each cone:

  • Cone 1:  20 Squat Jumps.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 American Hammers (four count).  Crab Walk to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Star Jumps.  Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Hello Dollies.  Broad Jump to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  10 Shoulder Taps (each shoulder).  Gorilla Hop to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  10 Hand Release Merkins.  Sprint to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  15 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)  Bernie Sanders to Cone 8.
  • Come 8:  15 Dive Bombers.  Sprint all the way back to Cone 1.
  • Those finishing first rinse and repeat cycle until last man finishes first cycle.

Mosey to perimeter trail just past the pavilion at the southern ball fields.  We will do the following (what I call the 10 light nerve-wrecker) heading east and then north on the perimeter trail until we go on the boardwalk by the water and finally reach the serpentine sidewalk.  We will continue the 10 light nerve-wrecker on the serpentine sidewalk until we reach the roadway that is east of Pickett’s Charge.  With the 10 light nerve-wrecker, we run the length of 10 lights.  We then stop and do the following exercises in order:

  • 10 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 20 Merkins
  • 30 Squats
  • 40 Baby Crunches.
  • Rinse and repeat until every man has gone through the cycle of exercises.  Then run another 10 lights and do it again.

Once at the roadway, we will mosey to the playground.  We will do elevens at the benches, starting with one bench dip and 10 bench jumps.

Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises:

  • 20 Overhead Presses
  • 50 Bench Presses
  • 20 Curls
  • 25 Rows

Put CMU’s back in pile.  Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Box Cutters
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 men, no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Welcome Is Our Greeting

Matthew 20:  26- 28.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,c 27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,d 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

At the Broylmpics last Saturday, I was one of the brothers who ran in the long distance run.  I started with the group and very quickly saw the group dash on ahead of me.  After about 1/4 of the race, Mandolin and I were consigned to last place.  We had already competed in all of the prior events.  Our bodies were aching and Mandolin was nursing a problematic leg.  We suffered onward.  About halfway through the race we see the brother who ended up being the overall Brolympics Champ, Woodshack, running towards us.  He joins us, at a pace that was much slower than his typical mosey, and encourages us throughout the remainder of the race.  He didn’t belittle us, didn’t ingratiate us, he just ran by us, commenting on the great effort he was seeing and inspiring us in a thoughtful and brotherly manner.  We finally get to the final stretch of the race along the Serpentine Sidewalk.  By this time, all others in the race had already finished it.  As I am running ahead, what do I see?  A whole line of bros coming towards us, giving us high fives and finishing the race with us.  I can’t tell you how good that made me feel.  These were my brothers.  I might have been the slowest on the distance run but I was one of them.  Something pushed me a little faster as I crossed that finish line.  And on past the finish line were the other bros, smiling at me, Hey Lillying me, and getting me in the breakfast line for some of Junk’s famous cooking.  A slice of heaven with my brothers.

This kind of fellowship is what we all need.  In F3, all are welcome, no matter what the age or what the athletic condition.  “No Man Left Behind” is our philosophy.  As Q leaders, we need to design our workouts to make sure that happens.  Those men who get to a particular destination first can keep on working on exercises, whether Burpees, Side Straddle Hops, Running in Place, or Big-Boy Sit-ups as they wait for the remaining men to catch up.  Sometimes, we even Wagon Wheel back to join our brothers at the six.

Here’s another thing that we need to remember in F3.  Those of us who are less athletic or less fit should not pridefully shun the efforts of the more athletic who come to meet us.  We should not be embarrassed or angry because we are slower.  We should greet those circling back with glee, accept their gift of encouragement.  We should also remember that we too, even though we may be less athletic, have so much to offer the brotherhood – whether it be our mumble-chatter, our humor, our smiles, our social leadership, our aged wisdom, or plain old humility.  We all are living examples to one another, to the community around us, and to the FNG’s we welcome to our PAX.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk and his wife, for Messi and his wife, and for Cheatsheet’s friend who died at the age of 49.  Be with the friend’s family at this difficult time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
On December 7 at 7 am in the morning we will have a Convergence at the Truck Stop.  We will then go to Two Rivers Church nearby for a 3rd F Gathering with Manilow as our speaker.  Food from Einsteins Bagels will be provided.

Hey, guess what?  Today is Crawdad’s birthday.  The man is now 40.

Cherry on top

THE SCENE: Just below freezing, so Wax Job could claim Polar Bare Club
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x20, Cherry Picker x4 (b/c 5 is just too much), Rockettes x10, Tempo Squats x10, BAC x 10

THA-THANG:
Partnered up, grabbed CMU’s and headed to outhouse.

DORA — Completed 100 reps of each of the first exercise.  While one partner was working on that, other partner ran to fence at tennis court and completed 5 reps of the other exercise.

  • CMU Squat — Merkins
  • Bench Press — Flutter-kicks
  • Curls — BBS
  • Lunges — Burpees
  • Shoulder Press — Iron Mikes
  • Box Jumps — Monkey-humpers
  • CMU Swings — Box cutters

After completing this, mosey up the hill for a Route 66 of Merkins (the cherry on top).

Indian Run back to AO.

MARY:
Australian Snow Angels x 20, Box cutters x 15.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Colossians 1:9-10 — 9 And so, rfrom the day we heard, swe have not ceased to pray for you, asking that tyou may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all uspiritual wisdom and understanding,10 so as vto walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, wfully pleasing to him: xbearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

We need deep roots to bear more fruit.  Just as we discipline ourselves in exercise, let’s discipline ourselves to study God’s word, to know Him, and to bear fruit in every good work.

Bare November Days

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, cool but not cold, mid 40s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check. Still not a professional.
WARM-O-RAMA:

Motivators (7 reps/level)

– Yoga stretches: legs spread, hang straight down, reach to right and left ankle, touch the ground and reach one arm up twisting torso, reverse hands.  There was much inappropriate mumblechatter about bending over and grabbing ankles at this point.

– 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward/ Backward (4-ct, IC), making them wide arm circles half way through.

– 10 Tempo Merkins

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Chapel parking log, stopping to do a WELSH DRAGON along the way.

In parking lot, cones will be laid out in a rectangle, short/medium/long distance on each side. Pair up.  One partner will get to the cone using various means, does 3 burpees, and returns while partner performs maintenance exercises. Switch.  Do each cone for two minutes. Cones are, counter-clockwise order:

    • Cone 1 (Long): Bear Crawl, partner does Bobby Hurleys
    • Cone 2 (Medium): Broad Jumps, partner does Iron Mikes
    • Cone 3 (Short): Crab Walk, partner does Burpees
    • Cone 4 (Long): Bear Crawl, partner does BBS
    • Cone 5 (Medium): Broad Jump, partner does American Hammers
    • Cone 6 (Short): Crab Walk, partner does Gas Pumps

Mosey to playground, do 7s with dips and bench jumps

Mosey to Baby Cardiac: Bernie to the top.

Mosey to the monument, do a few minutes of BOAT/CANOE.

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
Out of time.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 strong.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

My November Guest by Robert Frost is a poem that on its surface is about a person embracing the melancholy feeling that comes with the passing of summer and the beginning of the long winter, with “Sorrow” personified as a woman.  For some, the onset of winter is ominous and unsettling, but there is a different kind of beauty in these shortening days.  But there is more to this poem… it’s about more than just natural beauty the author is referring to.  It’s about opening yourself up and embracing your own personal grief and sorrow, and accepting it as an important and enriching facet of the human condition.

My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted grey
Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.

Many times we feel ashamed of our grief and sadness, we try to bury it, and pretend it doesn’t exist. The author is encouraging us to look at that part of us not with shame or trepidation, but to embrace it as part of our humanity, and to appreciate that part of our emotional spectrum.  For me, this time of year brings back memories of my mother’s illness and passing, and for years I dreaded the onset of November.  But I read this poem and it encourages me to use this time as a period of reflecting on her love and the wonderful times we had while she was on this earth.  “Not yesterday I learned to know the love of bare November days”. Try to learn to know the value of your own sources of sadness and grief.  And know that there’s a God in your life that will never be far from your heart, and seek comfort and refuge in the love of our Almighty Father.

PSALM 34:18: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Third F December 7, with Convergence at the Truck Stop!

“It Takes 2” feat. CheatSheet & Steam

THE SCENE: Dark on the outside, sunny on the inside. 35-40 degrees. Character-building weather.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith
  • My name is Steam and I will be one of your Qs this morning
  • A couple of things:
    • 1) I am not a professional
    • 2) You are here on your own volition – you made a choice to be here this morning
      • Mumblechatter: Was it the right choice?
      • Q: Time will tell. You did make a choice to be here this morning and so did they – make it count!
    • 3) You know your body better than anyone else: if you need to modify anything we do this morning – feel free to do it. But push yourselves and the men around you.


WARM-O-RAMA:

1. SSH (Side-Straddle-Hop): 15×4 in cadence

2. Rockette: 15×4 in cadence

[ 1 burpee on your own ]

3. Windmill: 15×4 in cadence

[ 2 burpees on your own ]

4. Merkin: 15×4 in cadence

[ 3 burpees on your own ]

5. Flutter Kicks: 15×4 in cadence

[ 4 burpees on your own ]

THA-THANG:

[ PAX moseys to playground next to AO ]

  1. 15s (Not what you think)
    • 5, 5, 5
    • 5 dips on a bench
    • Sprint to covered pavilion
    • 5 box jumps
    • Sprint back to playground
    • 5 man-makers/8-count body buolders
    • R&R (Rinse and Repeat) 3x

[ 15-count // walk and talk ]

  • Q instructs to battle-buddy up
  • Parking lot outside of playground:
    • Pavement (parking spaces) = sprint
    • Grassy medians = bear crawl
    • Why battle buddies for this? Push your battle buddy and don’t let him slack off
    • Iron. Sharpens. Iron. 

[ Q asks for No BS Assessments from several of the PAX – QTIP: Whether you are leading a Q, walking through something hard with a loved one, or just in everyday encounters, don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions – such as “Give me a no BS Assessment of how you are/how’s your heart.” ]

[ PAX moseys to pavilion before the Chapel ]

  • 2 columns (battle buddies side by side)
  • Q instructs that the right column = casualties/dead
  • Remaining battle buddy must carry their casualty battle buddy across the field separating the small pavilion to the chapel
  • Walk into chapel

[ 10 count ]

[ Steam turns on AC/DC because obviously it’s about to go down ]

25s (once again, not what you think)

  • IN CADENCE: PAX executes 5 burpees – takes a lap around the perimeter of the chapel
  • R&R 4 more times
  • PAX is LOUD. FIA probably what in the heck was going on.
  • CheatSheet leads PAX in a 25 motivated SSHs
  • Time is 0600
  • The date is November 15th
  • 15 minutes to get better – let’s rock.

[ PAX mosey’s back to playground ]

  • Parking lot in front of playground
    • Karaoke – switch halfway down
  • Playground
    • PAX on their 6
    • 15s
      • 15×4 Flutter Kicks in cadence
      • 15×4 Big Boy Situps in cadence
      • 15×4 Penguins/cockroaches in cadence

[ Mosey to Flag below AO lot ]

  • Bear crawl up the pavement to the AO gates
  • Sprint into the AO

[ Toe the Line ]

    • “Do as I do”
    • Arm/leg skips across lot – jog back
    • Bernie Sanders across lot – jog back

[ Circle it Up ]

  • CheatSheet and Steam lead PAX in ATMs to close out

MARY:

Breathe is heavy, arms are sweaty.

You all chose the harder thing this morning. Well done. Well. Done.

If CheatSheet and I can do this, you can too. I know you can. You have what it takes to step-up and lead. Co-Q with me, I’ll co-Q with anyone. We need you, the guys need you.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

19 PAX – No FNGs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Stand. Remember. Proclaim. Fight.

Take this to heart men.

Stand – STAND UP. The world needs High Impact Men to stand up. Stand Up for yourself, stand up for your family, stand up for your friends, stand up for your loved ones, stand up for what you believe in. You have a voice and you have a story. Stand Up and own it. He calls us to stand up as High Impact Men.

Remember: REMEMBER who you are and WHOSE you are. The enemy is cunning in the ways he tries to make us forget who we are and whose we are. Remember when the Lord showed up in your life. Remember why you do what you do. Remember why you go to your job during the week. Remember why you come out here in the morning. Remember who He calls you to be and live out of that. Lest we forget that we were created in HIS image.

Proclaim: PROCLAIM as High Impact Men. This bonfire that we gather around called F3 in the mornings needs to be shared and multiplied with guys just like you and me before we came into F3. You have a voice and a story to tell. Tell it courageously and proclaim as a High Impact Man. Whether that’s here in F3 or in your own family or relationship or at work – as High Impact Men – proclaim boldly.

Fight: We are not all called to pick up a gun and fight. God bless those that are. However, as men, as High Impact Men – we are called to stand up and fight. Fight for yourself, fight for your wife, your girlfriend, your family, your friends. Fight because there is some good left in this world and it is worth fighting for. Cary the fight wherever you go. Weapons come in many different shapes and forms. Your story and your voice and your heart can be weapons of mass life-giving that the enemy hates and wants to destroy. Fight spiritually, fight emotionally, fight prayerfully.

It is nothing short of an HONOR to be out here with you all in the mornings and lead. If you’ve led before you know what it’s like, if you haven’t – come on. It’s time for you to find your voice and lead. We need to hear it.

MOLESKIN:

PRs:

  • CheatSheet’s Friend who died suddenly. Funeral is this afternoon in Farragut.
  • Children/Schools in CA – fires in CA – pray for safety.
  • Spoken and unspoken prayers – He knows the cries and whispers of our hearts.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

!!!Last 3rd F Convergence of 2019!!!

When: Saturday, December 7th (7am – 9:30am)

Where: TruckStop AO (7am)

    • Post-Workout Convergence at Two Rivers Church (275 Harrison Lane, Lenoir City, TN 37772)
  • For more info – check the event on the F3 Knoxville GroupMe 
  • Grab a battle-buddy you haven’t seen post in a while!

Veteran’s Day Tribute

THE SCENE: Clear and cool (42f) – Beautiful morning
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Side straddle hops (I.C.) 25
  • Michael Phelps
  • Arm Bars
  • Baby Arm Circles (forward & back) from TIE fighter position

THA-THANG:

Props to CODE BROWN for  carrying The Colors for us throughout the Q!!

Mosey from AO to skunk hill – Honoring the U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima:

  • Up skunk hill – 11 Merkins – back down
  • Up skunk hill – 11 Merkins – back down
  • Up skunk hill – 19 Merkins – back down

Mosey from Skunk Hill to river walk – Honoring the U.S. Navy:
• Row Boat (I.C.) 11
• Drydock (I.C.) 11
• Hello Dolly (I.C.) 19

Mosey from boardwalk to chapel – Honoring U.S. Coast Guard:
• Captain Morgan (I.C.) 11 (Each side)
• Flounder Pounder (I.C.) 11
• Doggie Paddle (I.C.) 19

Mosey from chapel to cloud – Honoring U.S. Air Force:

  • Triceps dip (I.C.) 19
  • Dive bomber 11
  • Wind Mill (I.C.) 19

Bernie from cloud to AO / CMU pile – Honoring U.S. Army:
• CMU Curl (I.C.) 11
• CMU Squat (I.C.) 11
• CMU Bench Press (I.C.) 19

*Threw in 19 CMU overhead presses for good measure

MARY:

  • Box cutters (IC 20)
  • Mtn Climbers (IC 20)
  • Flutter kicks (IC 20)
  • Old Man Stretch

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
24 HIMS shared in a tribute to our armed forces by working our way around various Asylum landmarks and honoring our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Special shout out to the veterans in our group as well.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
History lesson – 100th anniversary of Armistice day:
November 11th, 1918 marked the end of WWI – One year later on the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 1919, (11/11/1919) the first National Holiday known then as Armistice Day was celebrated to commemorate the end of the first world war. Armistice Day remained so until 1954 when the name was changed to Veterans Day to be inclusive of all veterans who had come before and after WWI. That makes today, November 11th of 2019 the 100th anniversary of this national day of recognition of the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces. Over the course of that 100 years, millions of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have served and sacrificed for our freedom and to ensure the greater safety and wellbeing of the world as a whole. Today is a day to say thank you.

MOLESKIN:
CHALLENGE: At some point today, reach out to a friend, a colleague or even a stranger and simply thank them for their service. To keep it top of mind throughout the day, post an American Flag on the group me once you’ve done it.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: