F3 Knoxville

Category: Asylum AM

Founding AO

We all worship

THE SCENE: Beautiful morning

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • 20 SSH IC
  • 12 Tempo Squats IC
  • 10 Merkins IC
  • 10 Cherry Pickers IC
  • 12 Baby Arm Circles (Forward & Reverse) IC

THA-THANG:

Escalator style workout: Each light pole has an exercise with an assigned number of reps. Go to Light Pole 1, complete the exercise, and run back to the start line. Run back to Light Pole 1, do the exercise, run to Light Pole 2, do the exercise, and run back to the start line. Light Pole 1, then 2, then 3, and back to the start line. Rinse and repeat until you make it to the last light pole (total of 8 light poles). The exercises/reps were as follows:

  • Light Pole 1 = 5 Hand-release Merkins
  • Light Pole 2 = 10 Jump Squats
  • Light Pole 3 = 15 Carolina Dry Docks
  • Light Pole 4 = 20 Lungs (10 each leg)
  • Light Pole 5 = 25 LBC’s
  • Light Pole 6 = 30 Iron Mikes (15 each leg)
  • Light Pole 7 = 35 Hello Dollies (single count)
  • Light Pole 8 = 40 SSH (single count)

Followed that with a little Indian run action – traditional and then with lunges and then with bear crawls. Mosey over to the cloud for the following:

  • 10 Burpee Box Jumps
  • 10 Tricep Dips IC
  • 10 Derkins
  • 10 Tricep Dips IC

MARY:

  • 20 Flutter Kicks IC
  • Plank hold into Mountain Climbers
  • 20 American Hammers IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

24 HIM’s got better today. Sharky & Potter came out as well (no tag)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

One of our pastors shared the following quote with us a couple Sundays back. The message is that we all worship something. If we’re not finding our identity in Christ, then we’re finding it somewhere else. Because of sin, we are all broken cisterns. If we find our worth in money, power, the approval of others, fame, glory, etc., we will never have enough. Those worldly idols were never meant to fill the void in our hearts caused by sin – no matter how much we have, we will always want more because our souls will never be satisfied with worldly possessions. A relationship, through faith, with our Father is the only sustainable source of life.

While David Foster Wallace (the man who coined this quote) wasn’t a Christian, his message regarding worldly idols is relevant to our daily struggles.

“In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for choosing some sort of god or spiritual being to worship – be it Jesus Christ or Allah, Yahweh or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or some inviolable set of ethical principles – is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness. Worship power – you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need even more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart – you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on.”

The last shall be first

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy with nice breeze, low eighties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 15 Bottle Caps, 10 Plank Jacks, 10 Windmills, 10 Cherry Pickers, Little of This and Little of That
THA-THANG:

Mosey down Roadshow Run and go to trail near Lyons Bend Entrance.  20 Hello Dollies.  After that we will do 14’s on trail as it goes east and then south.  We will stop when it curves by parking lot.  We will bear crawl to first light and sprint next four all the way on the trail, bear crawl one light, sprint four lights.

Mosey on roadway until we get to playground.  We will do elevens starting with one bench lift and ten bench jumps.  20 American Hammers in Cadence afterward.

Mosey to grassy area close to Pickett’s Charge.  There will be cones on he grassy area.  We will do suicides running to each cone and back to start.  Rest to do 40 Baby Crunches.  Do suicides one more time but this time do 10 Merkins each time we get back to start.  Those who finish first do Big Boy Sit-ups.

Mosey to front of Admin Bldg.  Stop to do 20 Box Cutters in Cadence.

Mosey to rock pile near Admin Bldg Parking Lot.  20 Bench Presses, 20 Curls, 20 Rows, 20 Squats.

Mosey to AO.
MARY:
Plank with lifts of each hand and each leg.  Leg stretches from plank position.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Nine men including a Flying EH who was our FNG.  His hospital name is Tony Guidera and we dubbed him “Bojangles.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Matthew 19:30

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 20:16
So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Mark 9:35
And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
In all these sayings, Jesus is indicating that God does not give great importance to ability, success, wealth or fame in His Kingdom.  Jesus also indicates that God places importance on us serving others.  As leaders we should think of ourselves as servants, not head of the pack.
One of the reasons that I have loved the F3 Brotherhood and F3 Philosophy so much is that I feel we follow this philosophy that Jesus speaks of.  When I came to F3, I heard that military men had started it and I was worried that it was going to be a “get your A _ _ in gear boy” type of mentality where guys are pushed and made fun of when they failed.  Instead, I found a group of men who do push THEMSELVES but who encourage the newcomers and circle back for them when they cannot keep up with those ahead of them.  I found a group who gives RESPECT to the older, slower guys.  The philosophy of F3 is to encourage EVERY MAN.  We respect each man for what he offers, for his unique set of gifts.  We admire the fastest and we admire the strongest.  We admire the slowest who is giving it all to get better.  We admire those who are great speakers, who know about our community, who are good teachers, who are awesome mumble-chatterers, who are willing to do something that they are uncomfortable with doing, who are willing to wake up early morning to get better, who are willing to come out on an afternoon of excessive heat and humidity to get better.  Who is first and who is last in F3?  Who knows?  I guess we are all first and all last.  And I get the feeling that God smiles on F3 Knoxville because we do live out the philosophy that God has asked us to live by.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hike this weekend on Andrews Bald.  Those going will meet at Food City at 8:30 am and head out together.  Mud run in Atlanta following weekend.

4 The Love of 6!

THE SCENE: It was a dark and stormy night… but actually pretty pleasant! The rain was considerate enough to hold off until the very moment we finished the workout.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH (4 x 6 = 24, IC), Cherry Pickers (4 + 6 = 10, IC), Tempo Merkins (4 + 6 = 10, IC), Bolt 45s, with a bonus squat to make them Bolt 46s (IC) — YES, there’s a pattern.  One guess as to how old the Q turned today…
THA-THANG:
Mosey to drive/parking area southwest of admin building.

BEARWAY TO HEAVEN: three cones set up at approximately 15 yard intervals. Bear crawl suicides to each cone, doing 4, 6, then (4 + 6 =) 10 merkins at each cone.  Run back to start after last cone.

4/6/(4+6) 10s Part 1: Mosey to parking inlet southwest of admin building.  Battle buddy up.  One person runs the loop up the stairs and around back into the parking area while the other person does Imperial Squats, then the other partner runs the lap.  Half way through the loop, do the following three exercises.  Do three loops doing 4x, 6x, and 10x reps:

  • LBCs
  • BBSs
  • American Hammers

4/6/(4+6) 10s Part Deux: Mosey to rock pile by the AO.  One person grabs a rock, runs to the tree down the driveway, and does the three exercises below, and runs back, switching with partner after each lap.  Everyone does this three times, doing 4x, 6x, and 10x reps on the exercises.  While one partner is running, the other is doing maintenance exercise of merkins (first lap) and running in place (second and third laps).

  • jump squats
  • lunges (doing both legs count as 1)
  • Iron Mikes (4-ct)

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
Homer/Marge until the grunts were getting a bit embarrassing, modified table saw x20 (4-ct), Tempo Merkins

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 men strong!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Don’t Make It About You, Make it About the Team.

The people you have known who are great leaders, that you admired, that you would run through a brick wall for… did they tend to compliment and encourage others, or did they brag about their own accomplishments and take credit for themselves?  Strong leaders are those who have the confidence in themselves to give praise to others, thereby instilling pride in them and encouraging them to continue to put forth their best efforts.  During the retirement ceremony tight end Jason Witten, Coach Jason Garrett of the Dallas Cowboys described one of the things that made the future hall of famer so special, which was his humility and praise for his teammates.  He recalls in the clip below how Witten– when discussing one of the greatest plays of his career– gave praise to everyone else on the team for being an integral part to its success.  Witten wasn’t a rah rah guy, but he was universally respected for not only his talent as a player, but because of his team-first mentality.  We can all take a lesson from this, and take the time to lift someone else up, give them thanks and praise for being a part of your “team”, whether it’s your family, a sports team, your church group, your PAX.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Final Thursday of the month beer rendezvous at Union Jacks! The birthday boy paid the tab.  In the spirit of the Word above, I wanted to show my appreciation to the team at the Asylum that has meant so much to me.  Cheers, fellas!

Dirty Dozen Dropping Sweat

THE SCENE: Sunny and humid, temps in 70’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 5 Burpees, 10 Cherry Pickers, Michael Phelps, Little of This and Little of That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the driveway that heads to the northern wall of the admin bldg.  There will be bricks by a large tree near he drive way.  We will pair up in teams of two and do Doras.  While one partner works on the following exercises, the other partner will run with a set of bricks to the curb, do ten mini man makers, then run back and exchange the bricks with his partner who will do the same.  Here are the exercises each team will do:

  • 100 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 100 Merkins
  • 200 Baby Crunches

Mosey to gate at the Lyons Bend entrance.  Take perimeter trail east.  Stop once at first light.  We will do 20 American Hammers in cadence.

Mosey east on perimeter trail to cone that will be located close to a large Mimosa tree.  We will do a Route 66 going eleven lights, stopping at each one.  We will do each of the following exercises starting with the first and doing it once at first light, twice at second, etc. until we do 11 of that exercise at 11th light.  Those who get there first will sweep others back to start and we will begin the next exercise.  Here are the exercises:

  • Squat jumps
  • Dive bombers
  • Imperial Walkers (four count)
  • Shoulder taps (tapping each shoulder counts as one)

Mosey to Playground

We will do bench jumps.  We will do ten, then rest for 20 seconds.  We will do five sets of ten with the 20 second break.

Mosey to Pavilion.  We will do 25 Picnic Table Pull-ups.  We will then do squat by wall for one minute.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Plank Stretches.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The following message is not fully from me.  Rather, it stems from a conversation with a friend of mine named Tony Kuykendall.  Tony observed that in our age of social media, whether on Facebook, Group Me, Twitter, or whatever, we wonder how many people are following our messages.  We follow other’s messages by giving them the Like signal, coloring in a heart, showing a happy face, a thumbs up, or some other sign saying we listened and took notice.  We may follow peoples’ messages on social media each day.  My friend Tony observed that the Bible is certainly a form of social media.  It has been written and distributed socially so that people may read it and follow God.  Tony wondered how many times we actually follow God’s word each day.  Certainly, God wants us to “follow’ Him.

John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

God wants us to follow Him because he knows that we need Him to live within the light.  When we follow Him, good things happen.  We move along in our lives and often miss out on the light.  We seek the light through our own means and often fail to listen to that higher power calling us.  Where is God calling you to follow?  What path does he want for you?  Where does God want to take you.  We can sense that there is something missing in our lives if we do it alone, something greater we need to fulfill us.  We get glimpses of something greater by showing up in the gloom each day to work out with our brothers in F3.   We didn’t want to listen to our crazy friends that rooked us into coming out here.  Yet, by coming we have found something special, something invigorating, something good for us.  In our busy lives we often don’t want to take the time to listen to God.  But if we do so, we find something special, something invigorating, something good for us.  It is that which we need.  So, listen, take time to focus on Him and what he is calling you to do.  Follow Him.

MOLESKIN:
Hotspur and his family needs a prayer as his mother-in-law died recently.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Knoxville Anniversary and Olympics on November 3.  Launching of F3 in Cleveland, TN on November 10.

Later Q

THE SCENE: Steamy 70 degree morning
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Quick: Side straddle hops, tempo squats, tempo merkins and  baby arm circles front then back with some overhead claps…to tha thang
THA-THANG:

It was a Hilly Dora Day

  • Everest
    • 150 Rear Lunges
    • 100 Carolina Dry Docks
    • 50 Big Boys
  • Follow the Guard Rail up to Asylum
    • 150 Squats
    • 100 Merkins
    • 50 4 Count Flutters
  • Hill by the AO
    • 150 Lunges–modified to until battle buddy gets down
    • 150 Tri-cep Dips—modified to battle buddy gets down
    • 50 LBC- didnt make it the 6:15 arrived

MARY:
no time to much Thang
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

7 HIMS

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We took a moment to check out the stars, BOM was to take a moment to see God’s wonder in your day. There is always something that is amazing. Slow down and appreciate it!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hurricane survivors, Prayers for Lazarus mom’s boyfriend, Archie’s mother in law, fundraising for non profits and safety for our families as we are away!