F3 Knoxville

Wave

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Glamper, Crash Dummy, Tenderfoot, CRISPR, Pusher, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Brick, Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Cheetah Boy, Heart Stop
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: 20 Side-Straddle-Hops, Run Around Parking Lot, 10 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, 10 Tennessee Rocking Chairs, 6 Baby Arm Circles Forward and 4 Pterodactyls Forward, 6 Baby Arm Circles Backward and 4 Pterodactyls Backward.

THE THANG: Mosey up Mini Cardiac and stop at left of crosswalk. We will do 10 Imperial Walkers.
Mosey on trail and part of Dragon Tail then on grass up to Haslam’s Rock. We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.
Mosey to Coliseum. We will stop to do 20 Flutter Kicks
Mosey to Circle where main road converges with main park roadway. We will stop to do 20 Rocky Balboas.
Mosey to parking lot at entry of park at Northshore. We will stop to 20 Hello Dollies
Mosey to the large pavilion and go to section with picnic tables. We will divide into teams of two for Doras. While one partner runs completely around the pavilion, the other will do exercises at the picnic tables. Partners then switch. Here are the exercises that each team does at the picnic tables:
100 Picnic Table Pull-ups

100 Incline Merkins

100 Bench Dips

Mosey past playground area to soccer fields’ parking lot. We will do suicide run to end of parking lot, stopping at each crosswalk to come back and do 15 Baby Crunches before running to the next crosswalk.
Mosey to Muscle Beach. Each man will do 25 reps on two exercises of choice.
Mosey to the Bros Bowl. We will stop to do 10 Tempo Squats.
Mosey to the west end of the Caribbean parking lot. We will run to the east end of the parking lot stopping at every island to do 5 Big Boy Sit-Ups
Mosey back to the AO.

MARY: Stretches

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Convergence at Roco this Saturday. Polar Bear Plunge on January 1.

COT: Waving Goodbye

Deanna Dikeman is a photographer who lives in Columbia, Missouri. Her parents lived in Sioux City, Iowa and Dikeman visited her parents every year, frequently more than once each year. What do loved ones do when you leave their home after a visit? They often stand outside the house and wave good bye. In 1991, Dikeman decided she would take a photograph of her parents each time they waved good bye. Her father died in 2009 at the age of 91. Her mother continued to wave goodbye until she passed in 2017. What remains are beautiful memories and a very moving series of photographs that were featured in an article in The New Yorker in March of 2020. I encourage you to look it up. If you don’t remember Deanne Dikeman, just Google “woman who took pictures of parents waving goodbye.”

If you had photographs of your loved ones waving goodbye to you each time you left then, what would that look like? I think of those waves goodbye from my parents and grandparents as well as my wife’s parents. I don’t have a history of photographs but I do have a history of wonderful and touching memories. I hope that those of you who are fathers will create such memories for your own children when they are old enough to live away from you.

I like how, in F3, we spend some time after a workout chatting with our brothers and then telling them goodbye when they leave from the workout or leave from our Board Meeting. I couldn’t help but think of Colonel’s young son, Fist Bump, when I thought of waving goodbye . . . all of us waving good bye and him enjoying that so much and waving back to us. Gents, there is something special in knowing, whether it be family or brothers in F3, that we mean something to someone, that they are sad to see us go if it is going to be a while before they come back (like when Switchgrass has had to leave us for months to go off for service in the National Guard), and that they look forward to seeing us again. So . . . thank you, Lord, for good byes.

Putting THANKS into ACTION

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Pele (Jon Lindberg) , Brick, Pusher
PAX: Pele (Jon Lindberg), Pusher, Brick, Steam, Tropicana, Drum Major, Rooney (Carl Whipple), MD Hammer, Doubtfire (Nick Bond), Choir Boy, Gus and Hot Wire (DR)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
WARMUP:
Triple Thanksgiving Q, baby! Brick got us warmed up quick… mixture of SSH, Burpees (done under protest because they are not a warmup), Baby Arm Circles small and large, and other means of torture disguised as warmup exercises.
THE THANG:
Indian Run to the Bros’ Bowl! Keep going right up to the top. Did some dips up there. Ran back down. Battle Buddy up, run around again, doing 80 squats each somewhere along the way.
(seems like we did incline merkins at the top benches at some point too…)

Hand the Q over to PUSHER. Mosey over to Muscle Beach! Do 20 reps of an exercise at the playground (choose your own adventure). Mosey over to the new parking lot. Do 10x Merkins, Wide Merkins, and CDDs at each of 4 islands and run back. R&R but with Squats, Jump Squats, and Calf raises. Then Pusher led us on a mosey of death, up to the roundabout. Steam picked his own route, which took him past the ballfields and stranded at the base of a very overgrown and steep hill. Which he climbed like a beast and joined us. Slow mosey to the small parking lot south of the overlook. Run around the loop, doing 20 SSH at the beginning, then 10 SSH at base of stairs and top.
Turn the Q over to PELE. Short mosey to garbage cans, where a frisbee and cones were waiting. Pele congratulated his co-Qs on their well prepared portions of the workout, and said enough of that, it’s time to have some fun. Played ultimate frisbee, warm colored clothing against darker. 3 modified burpees if your team drops the frisbee. 5 modified burpees if your team gets scored on, plus a Turkey Run of Shame back to your end zone. Warm colors lost, rather badly, forcing us to do a Turkey Run of Shame back to the AO as well.

MARY:
A few ab exercises to finish off.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Tons. See the Announcement channel/main channel/newsletter.
COT:
Putting THANKS Into ACTION
Today is obviously Thanksgiving, and the purpose of the holiday is in the name. Give Thanks. I’m very fortunate, and have a pretty long list of things I want to give thanks for today…
1. My family, including those that are no longer with us, who gave me nothing but love and support as a child and young man.
2. My friends, past and present, who have been a source of companionship, flat out fun (sometimes too much fun…), and emotional support.
3. My career. It frustrates the heck out of me sometimes, but I have a good job, which is nothing to sniff at.
4. The basics: the food on my plate, the drink in my glass, the roof over my head, my health
5. F3: you brothers mean more to me than I can articulate. You inspire me, give me hope for our communities and lift my spirits on a constant basis
6. Last but not least, a Heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally, in spite of my many flaws, and who is always there as a constant presence of Peace and Good. A compass that always points me in the right direction, if I have but the patience to listen and the wisdom to follow.
So I encourage you all to take a moment to go through your own lists of what you are thankful for. BUT THAT’S THE EASY PART! HIMs are men of ACTION, not just words. So I want to challenge you to put your THANKS into ACTION! How will you show or demonstrate your love and appreciation for the blessings in your life? Here’s what I’m going to do…
1. (FAMILY) Call my brother and his family, who are on vacation in Arizona, and tell them how much they mean to me and how much I miss being with them on Thanksgiving
2. (FRIENDS) Send intentional messages to special friends in my life letting them know their value to me.
3. (CAREER) Give back to those who aren’t as fortunate by participating in the RUCKSGIVING Event, my office Angel Tree event, my church.
4. (BASICS) Take time to fully appreciate and be grateful for the fact that I am one of the lucky few in the world that doesn’t have to struggle for food, clean water, a shelter to sleep in, or a health care system that can keep me safe from disease.
5. (F3) Continue to pour in my time and energy into this fantastic organization, and to take a moment to turn and look at each and every one of you here today, and thank you for your presence, your support, and the inspiration you provide to me that I so very much need.
6. (God) All God wants, all he asks from us, is our love. I intend to spend some time today in deep consideration of appreciation of his love and presence in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Shorts Weather

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Steam
PAX: Switchhitter (Tony), MD Hammer, Pusher, Lilydipper, Tenderfoot, High Heels, Brick, Glamper, Drum Major, Rooney (Carl Whipple), Pele (Jon Lindberg), CRISPR, Crash Dummy, Hard Stop (Jake), Doubtfire (Nick Bond), Cheetah Boy, Whitey Titey
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
WARMUP
– Merkin: 12×4
– Mountain Climber: 12×4
– Willie Mays Hayes: 6×4
– Rockette: 12×4
– Man-Maker: 10×4

THE THANG
(Mosey around to the NP)

New Pavilion
10s
– Benches: Dips
– Curb: Decline Merkins
– 1:1, 2:2. 3:3

(Mosey to Muscle Beach)

Muscle Beach
Quarter Pounder Pyramid
– 5 rounds
– 5 Xs each round
– Chin-up/pull-up
– Incline merkins
– Man-maker
– Bulgarian Split Squat
– Decline rows
– R1 = 1 rep / R2 = 2 reps

(Mosey to the amphitheater)

Amphitheater
Leg Day
– 5 box jumps
– After the 5th box jump: 10 squats
– Rinse and repeat until the top

(Mosey back to the parking lot – via way of the Bros Bowl)
– Around the right and down the left

ANNOUNCEMENTS
– Forg3 – Forg3 is a reinvigorating leadership weekend retreat that is purposefully focused on challenging and encouraging men in their fitness, fellowship, and faith.
– Kick off the year by investing in your leadership development as a HIM.
forg3-25.my.canva.site
– $100/person (covers all food and lodging)
– Gatlinburg, TN

COT
Get Right (Q1)
f3nation.com/get-right

Spur:
– A man must Get Right before he can do anything else
– An unfit man is a slave to his lack of self-control
– To be able to help others, a man must first help himself

Read more about Get Right (Q1) by clicking or tapping the link above. At Forg3 in January – we’re going to dive into the 4 foundational quadrants of leadership and preparedness as men: Get Right, Live Right, Lead Right, and Leave Right. Join us as we purposefully create space at the beginning of the year to grow in these areas together.

Buscuit

AO: asylum-pm
Q: High Heels (Henry Ritchie)
PAX: Hard Stop (Jake), Pusher, Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Doubtfire (Nick Bond), Crash Dummy, Lilydipper, Rooney (Carl Whipple), Tenderfoot, Drum Major, Pele (Jon Lindberg)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
WARMUP: Burpees, SSH, IW, Tempo Squat

THE THANG: The Buscuit requested by Pele

MARY: Not much

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Look on the announcement page in Slack.

COT: It’s great to have been part of F3 for nine years. There have been many ups and downs, and there are more to come, but having the back of the pack sure makes all the difference. Here’s to many more posts.

Just. Be. Kind.

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Tenderfoot , Brick
PAX: Crash Dummy, Title IX (Christian Prescott), Brick, Steam, Dain Bramage (Will Olson), Pusher, Curveball, Rooney (Carl Whipple), Lilydipper, Drum Major, Lizzy
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
WARMUP: Brick covered for me while I finished setup. Not sure about the full list of warmups. I think I heard:
SSH
Cherry Pickers
Manmakers
??

THE THANG:
Mosey along the south end of Lakeshore, stopping for various exercises along the way, including:
Burpees
More burpees
Bernie up hill
Squats
SSH
Arrive at base of Everest
LBC
Run up Everest
Squat Jumps
Hello Dollies
Mosey…
Butt-kicks
Imperial Walkers

Grab rocks:
50 bicep curls
Lunges to end of parking lot (w/ rocks)
50 shoulder press

Full-length parking lot drills:
Carioca/Karaoke out-and-and back
Bernie sprint to end
Grab partner: sprint out-and-back, then other partner sprints out-and-back
High knees back to our rocks, return rocks to pile

MARY:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brolympics
Beer ruck canceled

COT: Just. Be. Kind.
I know politics is off-limits, but I just had to address the elephant in the room. I am raw, and my heart is breaking as I bear witness to the vile behavior following last week’s election results. Tribalism and mean-spirited divisiveness is at an all-time-high. All around us, in every sphere of our lives. And it’s coming from BOTH “sides.” Please don’t contribute to this hatred and disunion. It is our job to bridge and heal gaps between each other, to facilitate understanding and love. We are all brothers and sisters created by the same God. The same Spirit animates our Souls. The affairs of governments do not supersede this truth. I know we all make mistakes on this front. I certainly have. But the key is to learn from these mistakes, to make amends, and to commit to a path of reconciliation, unconditional dialogue, and intentional relationship.