F3 Knoxville

Category: Big Ball

Reindeer Games

THE SCENE: A very warm December morning, right before the storm. Thankfully the rain held off

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, Baby Arm Circles, This and That, Michael Phelps, Tempo Squats, Tempo Merkins, Hill Billies
THA-THANG:
Today we played reindeer games. Each workout was either a solo or team competition. Losers of each workout owed the winner 10 Burpees. The games were:

  • Bring Sally Up Pushup Challenge: Up and down in cadence with the song, last man “standing” wins
  • Murder Bunny Relay Race: Divided into 2 teams. Each team lined up at the edge of the lawn. From end to end were 5 cones. First person in line Murder Bunnied to the first cone, sprinted back, and led their team in 5 merkins. Next man up ran to the block, murder bunnied to the next cone, ran back, led push ups, and so on until the first team got their block across the field and back (total of 12 segments). Everyone held a plank while waiting to run
  • Hammer Relay: We worked together on this one. In a big circle everyone held an American Hammer position while a 8lb medicine ball was tossed from person to person, making its way around the circle. When you had the ball you owed 5 American Hammers then tossed it to your neighbor. If any feet or the ball hit the ground everyone owed 10 Big Boy Situps
  • Bear Crawl Relay: Divided into 2 teams again. Lined up again on one end of the fountain pavilion, with a cone on the other. Everyone held a plank while one person from each team bear crawled to the cone. Once there, that man called out the next person from their team by name to crawl to the cone. Once an entire team had crossed, together as a team they crawled back to the start point. First team out and back won
  • Beep Test: Just like middle school gym class, run to the cone before the beep, run back before the beep. 2 failures in a row = elimination. Last man standing wins
  • Ultimate Frisbee: Ran a quick game of Box Ultimate to run out the clock. Any dropped disc meant 5 squats for everyone

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Continued to share from my routine of developing the habit championed by Jerry Bridges of preaching the Gospel to yourself daily. I’ve also been doing a Biblical Worldview training program called the Colson Fellows that has a ton of assigned readings and daily devotionals. A devotional from a few days ago said “God loved us enough to die for us. But since God can’t die He became a man in order to do so”. I felt like this quote did a good job of stating the Gospel as well as the reason for Advent and Christmas. Part of the Gospel is that we know celebrate the incarnation of God through Christ, and in this season of Advent we wait in hopeful expectation of this, knowing that it also means Christ’s death on our behalf

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Welcome to Man in the Mirror

Circles (and squares) of Pain

THE SCENE: A balmy 50 degrees. The ground was wet but no rain was spotted.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Cherry pickers, calf stretches, baby arm circles, hillbillies, SSH
THA-THANG:
Mosey past the amphitheater down to the Cumberland ave. pedestrian bridge. Huddle up for a round of circle of pain merkins (10 each). Recover. Lung walk across the bridge. Huddle up again for a circle of pain squats. Groucho walk back across the bridge. Mosey to the amphitheater.

4 Corners (of pain):

Round 1 (complete 2x):

  • Corner 1: merkins x 20
  • Corner 2: BBSU x 20
  • Corner 3: Squats x 20
  • Corner 4: Flutter kicks x 20 (4 count)

Round 2 (complete 2x):

  • Corner 1: Burpees x 10
  • Corner 2: Single leg squat x 10 each leg
  • Corner 3: LBC x 20
  • Corner 4: Diamond merkins x 20

Round 3: complete round 1 again but stick together and exercises in cadence.

MARY:
Made it back to the flag in time for a quick Mary:

Freddie mercury, American Hammer, stargazer
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Frizzles (QIC), G-6 (respect, respect, respect), Postman (respect), Huffy (respect), FNG- Costanza
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Just a reminder to take some time to be moved by the truth of the gospel. If you are feeling heavy/shameful, open your hands and stop trying to do better. All your mistakes have already been forgiven and you are counted as a son of God!
MOLESKIN:
Lots of respect going around this morning. Outside of the QIC and FNG we had 5 respects across 3 Pax!

BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO SCHOOL

THE SCENE: A very brisk, 46 degree morning with the fog rolling in heavy.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
A quick stretch to loosen up in the cold followed by an Indian Run past the amphitheater, across the bridge and back down to the big ball.

Circle of pain: Monkey Humpers

Circle of pain: BBSU

Circle of pain: Merkins
THA-THANG:
We grabbed some of the classic Big Ball specialty coupons and made our way across the parking lot to a waiting whiteboard that laid out what was ahead of us: The Billy Madison. Pax were told that we were going back to school to try to prove once and for all that we are not so foolish. Each exercise represented the final exam to pass a specific grade- and each exam (much to our disappointment) was completely cumulative for all of the prior years. The final exams were as follows:

  • 1st grade: Merkins x 10
  • 2nd grade: Squats x 10
  • 3rd grade: LBC x 10
  • 4th grade: Coupon curls x 20
  • 5th grade: Plank jacks x 10 (4 ct)
  • 6th grade: Coupon squat press x 10
  • 7th grade: Iron Mike x 10 (2 ct)
  • 8th grade: Mountain climber x 10 (4 ct)
  • 9th grade: Coupon rows x 10
  • 10th grade: American hammer x 10 (4 ct)
  • 11th grade: Side straddle hop x 10
  • 12th grade: Burpee x 10

Though there were many valiant efforts made- least of which from YHC – none of the Big Ball participants had what it took to graduate and move on. Unfortunately in this reenactment of the story, O’Doyle continued to rule.

MARY:
Working as hard as we could to graduate on time left us no room for Mary today. She wil
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
G-6 (respect, respect, respect), Wedding Singer, Magic Mic, Frizzles

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Today was some encouragement towards EHing those around us. F3 is too good of a thing to keep to ourselves and we should continue to keep eachother accountable in inviting others in. A quick example of the way that F3 can be used in a man’s life was seen at the F3 10 year convergence a couple of weeks ago when F3 Nation leadership was naming FNGs on the beach:

“Our newest FNG was named ‘Rojas’ at the 10 year convergence. Olaf from F3 The Fort gave him an EH as we ran to the workout. He joined us for the full beatdown. After a couple of minutes of throwing out ideas in the Name-a-Rama, we settled on ‘Rojas’ after a character on the show ‘Ted Lasso’. We didn’t know until afterward, but he was honored to get the nickname. Unbeknownst to any of the 355 men there, Rojas was his mother’s maiden name. She passed away three months ago and on the morning we ran by him, he was thinking about her. If you do not believe in a higher power, perhaps this story will remind you that there are no coincidences. Leave space for the miraculous.”
MOLESKIN:
It is unfortunate that the exams were timed as I believe all Pax would have successfully graduated if they had been allowed all the time they needed. Perhaps next time we will move quicker in to the exam time and see what kind of performance is achieved. Maybe we can even see what some of these guy get up to after graduation! It was also a disappointment when everyone realized there would be no recess included in the studies. Perhaps including a quick recess in future attempts would improve morale and allow for some graduates to shine.

CMU Dice Game

THE SCENE: Wet Tuesday morning with light rain
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Side Straddle Hops
Imperial Walkers
Overhead Claps
Cherry Pickers
Mosey to TN Amphitheater

THA-THANG:
Legs, Abs and Upper Body Dice Game with CMU’s

Total of White Dice = number of reps, then one set for each colored die as shown below on TN Amphitheater stage.

  Blue (Legs) Green (Abs on 4 count) Red (Upper Body)
1 180 Squat Jumps Mountain Climbers Merkins
2 Box Jumps Freddie Mercuries CMU Curls
3 Reverse Lunges (2 count) Penguins CMU Shoulder Presses
4 Dead Lift Heels to Heaven Carolina Dry Docks
5 Elevated Side Lunge Squat  (both legs = 1) Flutter Kicks Shoulder Tap Merkins
6 Bulgarian Split Squats          (both legs = 1) LBC’s Dips
  • After completing each set, run a lap.
  • Stop at top of Amphitheater for 10 Rows
  • After completing the lap hold Al Gore until all have finished lap one
  • Rinse, Repeat with until all have rolled the dice
  • No Exercise may be repeated more than 3 times.
  • After everyone rolled and with time permitting, the elder PAX will give the white dice a final roll and we’ll do that number of any exercises we’ve not done yet.

THA-THANG (Part Deux):

Sevens with CMU Curls and Shoulder Press at bottom of stairs and Burpees at the top.

MARY:
We ran out of time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I was telling a friend about Steam’s Q and how he honored the 13 soldiers killed in the bomb blast in Kabul. I told him that I wasn’t feeling very inspired and didn’t have much of a word to share during my Q. My friend has been fighting cancer for two years. When I told him about my lack of inspiration, he told me that what inspired him was that he knows he has 10 months to live if he can’t beat cancer. He told me about his bucket list and how many rounds of chemo he’s been through. And so….. he inspired me. I thought about how none of us are promised tomorrow: not those men and women who died in Kabul, not my friend who is fight cancer, not any of us. So, if today turned out to be your last day, how would you want to interact with your co-workers? How would you approach your job? How would you talk to your wife, or kids, or roommates or parents?  Would you make a phone call you’ve been putting off? Would you say hello to a person in line or take time to notice how the clerk at the cash register is doing?
MOLESKIN:

From Luke Chapter 12, (Jesus speaking) “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” 

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Wedding Singer’s Summary: We aren’t promised tomorrow. make today count.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Wesley House Snack Drive is on going. Hardship Hill is the first Saturday of October

The Fallen 13

[ The Scene ] 

Ruckers just getting in from a pre-ruck sesh. The quiet before the storm looked like light stretching and mumble chatter.

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’m honored to be your Q this morning 
  • Few things before we begin: 
    • I’m not a professional 
    • You’re here on your own volition 
    • If you need to modify anything we do this morning, feel free to do so, but push yourself and the men around you, they deserve it and so do you! Hang in there with me and them for a solid 45 minutes.
  • FNGs?

[ Warm o Rama ] 

  • SSH: 30 (1ct)
  • Mountain Climber: 30 (2ct)
  • Baby Arm Circles: 20 (F – 1ct)
  • Baby Arm Circles: 20 (B – 1ct) 
  • Rockette: 10 (4ct)
  • Windmill: 10 (4ct)

[ The Thang ] 

(Mosey to the track) 

  1. Honor the 13
    • 13 fallen heroes in Afghanistan
      • David L. Espinoza
      • Nicole L. Gee
      • Darin T. Hoover
      • Ryan C. Knauss
      • Hunter Lopez
      • Rylee J. McCollum
      • Kareem M. Nikoui
      • Johanny Rosariopichardo
      • Humberto A. Sanchez
      • Jared M. Schmitz
      • Maxton W. Soviak
      • Daegan W. Page
    • 13 laps with an exercise in between
    • Each lap will be dedicated to one of the slain heroes 
    • Laps will be ran in silence
    • Lap 1 — Marine Corps Lance Corporal David L. Espinoza
      • “David Espinoza, a Laredo native Marine killed in Afghanistan, embodied the values of America: grit, dedication, service, and valor,” Cuellar wrote. “When he joined the military after high school, he did so with the intention of protecting our nation and demonstrating his selfless acts of service. I mourn him and all the fallen heroes in Afghanistan.” We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: 13 merkins (up/down)
      • Run the lap
    • Lap 2 —  Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee
      • Just days before her death, Sgt. Nicole Gee posted a photo on Instagram of herself in uniform while holding a baby in Afghanistan with the caption, “I love my job.” We owe her our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: 13 big boy situps (up/down)
      • Run the lap 
    • Lap 3 — Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover
      • “Staff Sgt. Hoover served valiantly as a Marine and died serving his fellow countrymen as well as America’s allies in Afghanistan,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. “We honor his tremendous bravery and commitment to his country, even as we condemn the senseless violence that resulted in his death.” We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: SSH: 13 (4ct)
      • Run the lap 
    • Lap 4 — Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss
      • Ryan was a fellow Knoxvillian and Tennessean, and we own him our gratitude for his sacrifice. We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: The Bend and Reach: 13 (4ct)
      • Run the lap 
    • Lap 5 — Marine Corps Corporal Hunter Lopez
      • Lopez is the son of two Riverside County Sheriff’s Department officers, Captain Herman Lopez and Deputy Alicia Lopez. The department announced Lopez’s death on Friday. Sheriff Chad Bianco said on Facebook that Lopez planned on following in his parents’ footsteps and joining the department as a deputy when he got home from his deployment. We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: Squat: 13 (4ct)
      • Run the lap 
    • Lap 6 — Marine Corps Lance Corporal Rylee J. McCollum 
      • McCollum’s father, Jim, told The New York Times that McCollum was helping with evacuations and guarding a checkpoint when the attack at the airport happened. His father said this was McCollum’s first deployment and that he had gotten married recently. His wife is expecting with their first child. McCollum’s sister Cheyenne told East Idaho News that her brother was “going to be the best dad.” Cheyenne said her brother was the youngest of four siblings, her single father’s only son, and that he knew he wanted to be a Marine from a young age. We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: Imperial Walker: 13 (4ct) 
      • Run the lap 
    • Lap 7 — Marine Corps Lance Corporal Dylan R. Merola 
      • Cpl. Dylan Merola was a graduate of Los Osos High School, according to ABC 7 of Los Angeles. Students honored him at a football game on Friday night by wearing red, white and blue, the TV station reported. He was only 20 years old. We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: Mountain Climber: 13 (4ct)
      • Run the lap
    • Lap 8 — Marine Corps Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui
      • “My understanding is that he rescued – per a sergeant that wrote the family – he rescued three families,” Bash told the TV station. “And he was in the process of saving children, translators that had worked for the U.S. government. He passed off a child and went back into the crowd and that’s when the bomb went off.” “He really loved that [Marine Corps] family,” Steve told The Daily Beast. “He was devoted—he was going to make a career out of this, and he wanted to go. No hesitation for him to be called to duty.” We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: LBC: 13 (4ct) 
    • Lap 9 — Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo
      • Johanny was 25 years old and from Lawrence, Massachusetts. We owe her our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice. 
      • The X: The cherry picker: 13 (4ct) 
      • Run the lap 
    • Lap 10 — Marine Corps Corporal Humberto A. Sanchez
      • Humberto was only 22 years old and from Logansport, Indiana. We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice. 
      • The X: The Iron Mike: 13 (1ct) 
      • Run the lap 
    • Lap 11 — Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jared M. Schmitz
      • His father told the St. Louis radio station KMOX that his son had always wanted to be a Marine and that he had “never seen a young man train as hard as he did to be the best soldier he could be.” We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice.
      • The X: Flutter Kick: 13 (4ct) 
      • Run the lap 
    • Lap 12 — Navy Hospitalman Maxton Sonika
      • His family says that Max was most proud of being a Navy Corpsman and “devil doc” for the Marines. The statement said Max leaves behind a big family of 12 brothers and sisters. “Our nation mourns the loss of Navy Corpsman Max Soviak, whose uncommon courage in the face of unfathomable danger ensured the safe passage of countless civilians,” Kaptur said in her statement. “We will never be able to repay the debt we owe him, but we will be forever grateful for his willingness to serve when America needed him most. Our hearts go out to his family during this time, and we lift them up in prayer that they may find comfort in his memory.” We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice. 
      • The X: Plank Jack: 13 (4ct) 
    • Lap 13 — Marine Corps Corporal Daegan W. Page
      • Daegan was 23 years old and from Omaha, Nebraska. We owe him our gratitude for paying the ultimate sacrifice. 
    • Run one more lap together in silence in honor of them all

(Mosey back to the AO)

[ Mary ]

Moment of silence for the fallen.

[ COT ]

  • # off — 12
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs? — No
  • BOM
    • Everything in life will fail you at some point in time. The tragic loss of life that was seen last week in Afghanistan was an incredibly visible failure of leadership and ownership. Your government will fail you, your president will fail you, your country will fail you, your friends will fail you, your family will fail you — at some point in time everything will fail you to some degree.
    • But God.
    • But God are probably two of the most powerful words in the world. But God will not fail you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6 — Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you).

Remember and Honor the fallen.