F3 Knoxville

Tag: 2×2

Battle of the Big Ball Sea

THE SCENE: A chilly 32* this morning, perfect weather to set sail.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Five men showed up in the gloom of the early morning.  Standing around would have been uncomfortably cold, so we decided some calisthenics would be a great way to keep warm.  Like proper sailors, we rowed through the exercises in cadence:
Angle grinders x12
Standing shoulder taps x15
Reverse lunges x10
Imperial walkers x15
SSH x20
THA-THANG:
After getting acclimated to the morning, we set sail away from the fountains.  It was quick and short voyage, finding troubled waters just into the Big Ball Sea.  We came full stop and the captain allowed the men to pick their own way to pass the time while he climbed to look from the observation deck.  The men decided to put their heels to heaven, chanting merrily as they went.  It didn’t take long before the waters darkened and a Kraken appeared.  Being only a crew of five, we knew we were in trouble.  Our only chance was to deprive the beast of his only food source, goo.  The goo must be burned, but we had to continue moving constantly to avoid being trapped.  Each goo igniting ritual had to be followed by quick movements around a circle to keep the men out of the grasp of the tentacles.

  • Diamond merkins x25
  • Burpees x15
  • Bear crawl 15 yards and back
  • Side lunges x15 each leg
  • Carolina dry docks x30
  • Pull ups x20
  • Jane Fonda x10 each leg (4 count)
  • Side straddle hops x50 (4 count)

The Kraken finally relented, and swam away.  The men were winded, but remained in great spirits.  I returned to the observation deck to keep an eye out, and again let the men decide how to pass the time.  Like true salty sailors, they mocked the beast with flutter kicks while I scanned the horizon.  To my surprise, the Kraken was already steaming back towards us, spraying a dark ink in the water the whole way.  The ink coated the goo, and kept us from setting it ablaze.  The men jumped into quick action, and again ran the goo burning gauntlet in the waters, this time changing the rituals to finally dispel the beast once and for all.

  • Diamond merkins x25
  • Burpees x15
  • Bear crawl 15 yards and back
  • Side lunges x15 each leg
  • Carolina dry docks x30
  • Pull ups x20
  • Jane Fonda x10 each leg (4 count)
  • Side straddle hops x50 (4 count)

Without the goo, the beast was forced to finally retreat for good.  The men, proud of their actions, pointed the ship back to port.  We sailed hard and fast into port, eager to share the tale of the day.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
5 salty sailors: Huffy, G6, Swanson, 2×2, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
In keeping with the nautical theme, a quick quote: “The entire water of the sea can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.”  You can be the type of man who is constantly filing buckets and dumping them in the ship, or you can be the man plugging holes and keeping the ship afloat.  At times, we want to act like we can’t control this or that, but the truth is we all have more control over things than we want to believe.  Be the man who sees the opportunity, not the obstacle.

Special thanks to Bartman for basically planning my Q, even though he didn’t know it and to Drifter for the literary inspiration .
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for G6’s M Bev, who will be undergoing surgery today; praise and prayers for Huffy’s 2.0, as he starts his new job; Prayers for 2×2 and other students as they return to classes
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2nd F Event at Tank’s house tomorrow

Imprompt-Q

THE SCENE: 52* and clear, slightly cool start but the sweat is coming
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA: Led by Swanson
SSH x25 IC
Little of this and a little of that
Windmills x10 IC
Tempo squat x 15 IC
Tempo merkin x15 IC
8 Counts x5 IC
THA-THANG: Led by Abort
Gather keys and phones and mosey out of start point over to amphitheater.  Assemble at the stage for 11s’s big brother, 25’s.  Same concept as 11s except increase/decrease by 5 reps.  Start at the stage and do 20 feet elevated crunches (legs straight out and 6″ off the ground, hands on head and crunch), run up the stairs to the top and do 5 pull ups/inverted rows on rails.  Return to the bottom for 15 crunches/10 rows, etc. working up and down in count.

Mosey to pedestrian bridge south of amphitheater for Welsh Dragons (thanks Filter).  Take 4 bear crawl steps, do 1 merkin, 1 two-count shoulder tap.  Take 4 bear crawl steps, do 2 merkins, 2 two-count shoulder taps.  Increase reps every 4 steps, I think we got to 7 or 8 reps of each depending on how big your bear feet are.

Return to start line for Galway Hookers.  Same scenario as before but exercises are different.  Take 4 lunge steps, do 1 super-squat (deep squat, then calf raise after coming up).  Take 4 lunge steps, do 2 super-squats.  Increase reps every 4 steps.  Exercise extended further because people decided to take giant lunge steps.  Again we made it to about 8 reps.

Led by Swanson

Short mosey to round pull off near convention center. Everyone spreads out and finds a column barrier to start out with.
– First round: Pistol squats on left leg x10, bear crawl to center, pistol squats on right leg x10, then bear crawl back to outside and hold
– Second round: Incline merkins x10, bear crawl to center, decline merkins x10, bear crawl back to outside and hold
– Third round: Lunge to center, dips x20, lunge back to outside and hold

Short mosey over to the base of the Big Ball for Swanson pyramid.  Each round you multiply the exercise times the round you’re on (never math in public..).  Exercises done at Big Ball, middle landing of stairs, and top of stairs.

  • Pulls ups x1 on Big Ball
  • Big boy sit ups x3 on middle landing of stairs
  • Merkins x5 at top of stairs

So round one you do 1 pull up, 3 sit ups, 5 merkins and run back down.  Round two you do 2 pull ups, 6 sit ups, 10 merkins. Etc. etc. up to round 5.

Mosey back to start point.

MARY: Led by Abort
Flutter kicks x25 IC (mixed tempo)
Boat/canoe and variations for 90 seconds
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 Strong: G6, Cheesesteak, 2×2, Gesundheit, Swanson, Reverb, Frank, 3Peat, Singlet, Sneaky Pete, Mulligan, Steam, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Gesundheit spoke about getting out and being consistent with F3 and his physical job, and how they have helped with his overall energy level and his outlook.  I seconded that.  I’ve had issues getting up especially on Mondays.  I got up Monday and didn’t on Tuesday this week.  That extra hour or two of sleep seems like a great idea until you miss a workout.  I almost always regret sleeping in, and I never regret actually coming to F3. AYE!!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill OCR this weekend, still time to register or volunteer.

Getting to know Big Ball

THE SCENE: Beautiful weather at the Big Ball!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER administered!
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 SSH, 10 Tempo squats, 15 mountain climbers IC, 10 tempo merkins, 15 Moroccan night club
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the playground and locate a good pull-up spot.  Perform 8-count body builders with a pull-up at the top of the jump with pyramid style reps:  2, 4, 6, 8, 6, 4, 2.  Each set consisted of the stated count of each portion of the exercise, e.g. 2 merkins, 2 plank jacks, 2 pull-ups.

Mosey to the stairs beside the Big Ball.  Perform 11’s using both sets of stairs.  Start with 10 burpees at the bottom and 1 squat at the top.

Mosey back toward the fountain and stop at the closest corner of the “track” around the park.  With hard runs between, perform theses exercises at the corners (1 exercise per corner):

  • 15 merkins
  • 15 diamond merkins
  • 15 Carolina Dry Docks
  • 15 squats
  • 15 lunges each leg
  • 15 sumo squats
  • 15 Freddie Mercury IC
  • 15 Imperial walkers IC
  • 15 flutter kicks IC

MARY:
An attempt at a “square” merkin.  I am sure someone has an awesome name for these.  4 PAX form a square and put their legs on the PAX’s upper back behind them and everyone’s feet will be off the ground.  One group had to modify due to risking further back surgeries.  We definitely don’t want that to happen.  The other group of 4 successfully completed 5 or so reps.  Nice job!
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 HIMs in attendance today.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ephesians 5:22-25.  The relationship between a husband and wife should be the most important earthly relationship.  A husband should be willing to die for his wife just as Christ died for us.  The relationship we have with our children, though very important, is secondary.  Keep this in mind and make sure we are showing our love to our spouses.
MOLESKIN:
YHC snagged this Q at the last minute last night and I am glad I did.  Great group of HIMs to lead!  I look forward to other opportunities to enjoy F3 with them in the future.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
OEW fundraiser at Abridged on Thursday.  Don’t forget to sign-up for Hardship Hill coming up on May 18th.

Smokey tour around campus

THE SCENE: 52 degrees, clear skies, full hearts.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x25 IC

Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

Cherry Pickers x10

Moroccan Night Clubs x10
THA-THANG:
Smokey Tour!

Mosey to the Engineering Quad to see Smokey VIII

  • Body Builder Burpees x8

Mosey to Gate 21 at Neyland to see Smokey I

  • 21s (reduced to 11s for time)
    • 1 Smokey squat by Smokey I (hands on your ears)
    • 20 Good Boy Situps (hands on your ears)
    • reverse til time

Mosey to Ped Walkway Bridge to see Smokey X

10x of each of these 10 exercises

  • Merkins
  • Plank Jacks 4CT
  • LBCs
  • American Hammers 2CT
  • Burpees
  • Diamond Merkins
  • Wide Merkins
  • Kobra Kai Merkins
  • BBS (good boy situps – hands on ears)

Mosey to The Hill to see Smokey IX

  • Show Smokey how to cross the street….
  • Bear crawl across street, do 3 derkins
  • Crab walk back, do 3 derkins
  • Repeat 3x.

Mosey back to the AO as fast as possible b/c YHC ran over time… sorry!

MARY:
Never heard of her
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 HIMs got better together!

Operation, SiPad, Abort, Swanson, Quarantine, Petey, Stinky Pete, 2×2, The Voice, Cowbell, Singlet, G-6, Brooks, Filter
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. – Ann Landers
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill on May 18. Powell HS 5K on May 4 – hit up Herbie for more info.

eight counts with a rock

THE SCENE: 41* – a little cooler than lately but clear and no wind.  Perfect weather.  Amazon and Abort Co-Q shooting from the hip.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
BAC Forward x10 IC
BAC Reverse x10 IC
Moroccan night club x15 IC
Tempo squats x10 IC
8-ct bodybuilder x5 IC
SSH x15 IC
THA-THANG:
Mosey out of start point in the direction of the amphitheater, running through it (not uphill and around for some reason…) and across Cumberland Ave, stopping on the bridge.  Everyone down for some early ab work, flutter kicks x25 IC and American hammers x20 IC.  Back up and continue mosey to parking lot of Church Street United Methodist Church.  Everyone grab a rock and get ready to roll.

  • 8 count body builders (OH press rock going up) x10
  • Curls (for the girls) x10
  • Squat thrusters x10
  • Sit ups with rock pressed x10

After each round of PT, place rock on ground and run up the hill to the Church, high five the church, and return to rocks.  Repeat for 3 rounds total.  Quick 10 count and change up exercises, same routine.  Go through 4 exercises of PT, drop rock and run to the church and return.  Three rounds of second set as well.

  • Rock overhead squats x10
  • OH tricep extension x10
  • American hammers (left right 1) x10
  • Front lateral shoulder lift x10

Recover, replace rocks in pile and mosey in the direction of the Big Ball. Quick repeat of Dead Hang Dora.  Pair up, one man dead hangs from the beams of the Big Ball, while the other man knocks out merkins.  When the partner drops, they swap and cumulatively knock out 150 merkins.  This sucks BTW.  Recover and mosey back to start point.

MARY:
All done in succession with no rest, because Abort is a jerk:
Box cutters x10
Edward scissor legs x15
Flutter kicks x20
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 Strong, including some faces that haven’t been seen in a bit: Operation, The Voice, Cowbell, Swanson, 2×2, G6, Duggar, Petey, Rousey, Quarantine, Misfire, Amazon, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Operation and Misfire spoke about consistency.  One quote Operation shared was “Don’t choose what you do well, choose what you do consistently.”  He may correct me on that, but it was the idea.  Great word to think about.  We were also fortunate to have Misfire, Soot’s father, speak about Soot’s recent deployment and how F3 was a positive thing to give consistency outside of the military and how we as men NEED that.

Also big thanks to Petey who picked up a card for us all to sign to send to Soot, great stuff there.