F3 Knoxville

Alphabet Soup

THE SCENE: Cool morning. Ice and snow still lingering about
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Did a nice thorough warm-up to include lots of little baby knee circles.
THA-THANG:
Due to slippery conditions, we decided it best to not run at all.

Alternated between lunges and bear crawls to the amphitheater. Played a little frog get across the street.

Alphabet Soup to Heaven

PAX split into 2 teams of four. We bunny-hopped up the stairs to various letters to spell the words “food,” “coffee,” and “oneness.” This was conducted relay style.

7s

Did these with box jumps and derkins with rapid-succession alternating single leg stair hops (aka ran up the stairs) in between sets).

Found our way back to the AO through a variety of bear crawls and lunges.

Ring-of-Fire Merkins x8

Ring-of-Fire Squats x4

MARY:
Put the Cherry on top with a set of flutter kicks and hello dolly’s.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 PAX

Soot, AAA, G-6, Trowel, Drive-Thru, Amazon, Swanson, Postman

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
In the darkest, coldest days of the year, we need to double down on the 2nd F. Pay attention to the men in our lives that may be isolating or withdrawing from fellowship. Find creative ways to reach out and be a light in the cold dark winter.

Must be nice

THE SCENE: Temperature disputed during pre ruck, anywhere from 29-34.  Felt great though regardless
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Pro tip, going at SSH with great form moves blood into your fingers to keep them warm…
SSH
OH claps Postman style holding a squat
SSH
Hillbilly’s
Patty-cake merkins COVID style (don’t actually clap with anyone)
SSH
THA-THANG:
Quick mosey over to the coupon pile at L&N.  Three station AMRAP with station one there (AMRAP lasts duration of the workout).

Station 1 at L&N: Start with 10 reps of each exercise, then leave rock on the ground and run up the stairs between L&N and the convention center

  • Monkey humpers
  • Upright rows
  • Shoulder press
  • Tricep extensions

Station 2 the top of L&N near Henley St: Start with 7 reps of burpees for first round and increase by one rep each round, elbow plank remains the same at 30 seconds every round.  Once complete, run around to the front of L&N academy above where we park.

  • Burpees
  • Elbow planks

Station 3 in front of L&N near cars: Again start with 10 reps of every exercise and add two reps each round.  Run down the parking lot and back to station 1.

  • Never cross Dolly (4-count)
  • Imperial walkers (4-count)
  • Crab cakes (4-count)
  • Explosive merkins (push up and hands leave the ground at the top)

We ended up getting through rounds of 18 reps and 11 burpees.  Returned rocks to their homes and mosey back to the AO where time was up.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 Strong: Postman, Wedding Singer, Drive Thru, Huffy (welcome back!!), Slim Shady, Swanson, Triple A, Magic Mic, Livestrong, Amazon, G6, Bulldog, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I overheard a conversation between two friends that really got on my nerves and made me consider if I say these things or think this way.  Friend one has a college degree, has had family support his whole life, and while he all hit bumps in the road he generally has had it pretty easy.  Friend two has no degree and works tons of hours every week, has had struggles with addiction and various other things.  During this conversation, Friend one tells the struggling guy it “must be nice” when hearing about how his job was going.

And that really aggravated me, but also got me thinking about how we view our choices and try to absolve ourselves from things we deem are outside our control.  That is the cowardly way out, and I hope that I am not guilty of that very often.  Things will absolutely happen that we can’t control, its inevitable.  But our reaction to those trials determines whether they’re actually positive or negative.  We all need to be aware that we have much much more control over our lives than we want to admit.  We control it, if things are not going well then we need to look internally to fix them rather than place blame elsewhere.

Rock It

“Chocolate Milk Monday”

[ The Scene ]

  • Pre-Ruck crew: Abort, Swanson, Amazon, Drive-Thru, Steam
  • 30s = shorts weather/character-building weather

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness/Fellowship/Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’m honored to be back out here with you guys as your Q this morning
  • Couple of things before we begin:
    • Not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition and you’re also here on purpose
    • I don’t know any injuries you may or may not have so if you need to modify anything we do this morning feel free to do so – but push yourselves and the men around you. They deserve it and so do you.
  • FNGs?
  • COVID precaution

[ Warm-o-Rama ] 

  • SSH: 20×4 IC
  • Baby-Arm Circles: 10×4 F + 10×4 B – IC
  • Imperial Walker: 10×4 IC
  • Tempo-Squat: 10×4 IC

[ The Thang ]

KISS — Keep It Simple Superstar

(Mosey to Rock Pile)

(1)

  • Everything on a 1 count

— 10s

  • 2 points of contact: rock pile + bench inside the AO start point
  • Rock Pile: Chest Presses
  • Bench: Big Boy Sit-ups
    • Toes under the bench help
  • Recover back here when you’re done and start knocking out rock flutter kicks – flutter kick with your rock overhead

(All PAX execute 10×4 rock flutter kicks before next evolution)

(10 count)

— 8s

  • Rock Pile: Curls
  • Bench: Box Jumps/Step
  • Recover back here when you’re done and start knocking out rock flutter kicks – flutter kick with your rock overhead

(All PAX execute 10×4 rock flutter kicks before next evolution)

— 6s

  • Rock Pile: Skull-crushers (tricep)
  • Bench: Incline Merkins
  • Recover back here when you’re done and start knocking out rock flutter kicks – flutter kick with your rock overhead

(All PAX execute 10×4 rock flutter kicks before next evolution)

(10 count)

[ Mary ]

(Quarter Pounder)

  • LBCs (25×4)
  • American Hammers (25×4)
  • Hello Dollys (25×4)

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs
  • BOM

“What Happens Next”

  • There’s 3 things I want to read today that I hope will be something we can take back to our families and lives outside of the 1st F. All 3 will be tied together. 
  • (1st) From Crawdad’s new book that just came out – The Missionary.
    • “What happens next?” he blurted to no one in particular. Randy said, “We wait. We listen. We don’t say a word.”
  • (2nd) From The Blue Book by Jim Branch from a chapter called “Between”
    • “But there has been one particular aspect of this story (referencing Matthew 14:22-33) that has been a wonderful source of reflection for me lately. It involves that sacred space that Jesus invites Simon Peter to step out into. It is the space between: between the boat and Jesus, between letting go and being taken ahold of, between the old and familiar and the new and unknown, between control and agenda and dependence and detachment. It is a space that is both completely terrifying and unbelievably exciting. It is the space before your answer has come, or your problem has been solved. It is the space where you must trust the heard of God alone for your life. It is the space of genuine transformation.”
  • (3rd) Philippians 4:6-7
    • “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So why these 3 readings?

It can feel (and has felt) like we are very much in a “What happens next?” season this year. From the pandemic shutting everything as we knew it down to one of the most divisive elections in our nation’s history, you have to wonder – well, what happens next? So in the 1st reading we see this exchange between two of the characters in Crawdad’s book – The Missionary. Maybe you yourself have asked this question at some point in time this year – what happens next? Maybe it was to no one in particular, just yourself and your own thoughts. Even outside of this year – we have all found ourselves facing this question at some point in time. And when we do – we all need a “Randy” in our lives — someone to remind us to wait, and prioritize listening over speaking. More on this in a moment.

The 2nd reading touches on “The In-between” as Jim Branch writes in The Blue Book. This particular passage was written by him in 2005. Many if not all of us know the feeling of being in between. In between jobs, seasons of life, relationships, you name it. As JB writes “it is the space before your answer has come, or your problem has been solved.” 2020 feel like that to anyone else? Going through this election feel like that to anyone else? The in between is probably a familiar space for many of us and if not – it will be, I promise. This 2nd reading builds off and compliments the 1st — reminding us that whether we like it or choose to accept it or not – we are currently in the in between. And maybe not in your immediate life right now but as a whole, we are. As JB writes “It is a space that is completely terrifying and unbelievably exciting.” When you think about it from a 20,000+ view, haven’t we always been in an “in between” ? In between heaven and earth. We are in between our first breath on this earth to meeting our Maker in Heaven someday if you believe in Jesus.

So then the question has to be asked and built upon the first: What comes next — especially when we find ourselves in the in between? The 3rd reading ties it all together.

The 3rd reading in Philippians takes the 1st two and binds them together tightly, and then gives us the playbook for how to answer the question of: What comes next — especially when we find ourselves in the in between?

The part that really gets me from this 3rd reading is the back 9: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” When we find ourselves asking the questions “What comes next?” + “What do we do in the in between? Philippians reminds us that the peace of God transcends all understanding — meaning that we can’t out-think our way through this. We can’t man-handle our way through this. We can’t plan enough, be prepared enough, be ready enough, be smart enough, and be wise enough to out-understand our way through this. This pandemic, this year, this election turmoil we find ourselves in – God’s peace transcends anything we might muster up to get through this season. Just like the reminder we get in Isaiah 55:8 — “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” We may not understand how to answer the question of “What comes next” and “What do I do in the in between?” and fully understand the situation we find ourselves in right now — but there is someone who can and does and He intercedes on our behalf every single day so that we CAN learn how to walk through those questions better as we go along. And if we can help others walk through those questions as well – well that’s HIM stuff if I’ve ever heard of it.

Keep the Faith & Fight the Good Fight!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(1) Winter Coat Drive — We’re collecting winter coats for men/women/kids at every AO. Bring coats to your AO for your AO Q to help those in need this cold season

(2) F3 10 Year Anniversary coming up in January!

There and Back Again – and then Again too.

[ The Scene ]

  • 60s
  • Slight chill to the air

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness-Fellowship-Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’ll be your Q this morning
  • Couple of things before we begin
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • And I don’t know any injuries you may or may not have so if you do need to modify anything this morning feel free to do so but push yourself and the men around you
  • FNGs? – None

[ Warm o Rama ]

  • Cherry- Pickers: 10 x 4 IC
    • Run to the rock pile and back
  • Rockette: 10 x 4 IC
    • Run to the rock pile and back
  • Imperial Walker: 10 x 4 IC
    • Run to the rock pile and back
  • Baby Arm Circles: 10 x 4 IC
    • Run to the rock pile and back
  • Baby Arm Circles: 10 x 4 IC
    • Run to the rock pile and back
  • Squat: 10 x 4 IC
    • Run to the rock pile and back

[ The Thang ]

(Mosey to big field)

(1) 4 Corner Scramble (200 total reps)

  • 25 reps each corner (1 count)

(Counter clockwise)

  • C1: Squats
  • C2: Merkins
  • C3: V-Ups
  • C4: Lunges
  • R & R once for a total of 2 laps
  • Done? — Flutter kicks right back here

(Mosey to WFP track)

(2) Battle Buddy 50

  • Battle-Buddy Up
  • HQ (bottom of the track)
    • 10 merkins – 1 count
      • Hold plank when done
    • 10 squats – 1 count
      • Hold al gore when done
    • 10 flutter kicks – 1 count
      • Hold legs 6inches when done
    • 10 Carolina dry docks – 1 count
      • Hold starting position when done
    • 10 American hammers – 1 count
      • Hold Iron cross when done
  • Each BB will complete all 5 exercises
  • When 1 BB is completing 1 X, the other will take a lap – and vice verse until all each BB has completed all 

(Mosey back to the AO American Indian Style)

[ Mary ]

—Core 4 (5 in reality)

  • 25 American Hammers (4 count)
  • 25 LBCs (4 count)
  • 25 Hello dolly’s (4 count)
  • 25 Freddie mercury’s (4 count)
  • 10 Bus Drivers (4 count)

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs
  • BOM

When you hear your own name // The Importance of hearing your own name 

I want to dive into hearing our true name this morning. I was reading in Isaiah 43 yesterday and it reminded me of this, and how much we all need to remember who gives us our true name.

Isaiah 43: 1-2 — “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

Right off the bat, when you first come into the world, you’re given a name. You’re known and called by that name (or some abbreviation of that name sometimes) for all the days you walk this Earth. Likewise in F3, you’re given a name after you complete your first workout as an FNG. From then on out – that’s your F3 name and what you’re known and called by inside F3 and sometimes outside of F3 in public too (I do that for sure).

Now somewhere along the way through life, you’ve also probably been given a name or names that you don’t like or don’t want to be associated with. There could be deep wounds associated with this name, deep cuts and memories that you remember. These can be names that are spoken audibly, or names that the enemy plants in our minds. Here are some of mine I’ve wrestled with and fought with: Dumbass, retarded, not enough, failure, unworthy, regret, and not worth it. I’m sure you have your own as well. They can be hard to shake and it can be hard to live life authentically with these names rolling around in the back of your mind.

Until you start to hear whispers of your true name. Your new name. Your real name. In the book “Wild at Heart” John Eldridge covers this beautifully — “Who can give a man his name? George MacDonald asks. God alone. For no one but God sees what the man is. He reflects  upon the white stone that Revelation includes among the rewards God will give to those who overcome. On that white stone there is a new name. It is “new” only in the sense that it is not the same name the world gave to us, certainly not the one delivered with the wound. No man will find on that stone “mama’s boy” or “fatty” or “seagull.” But the new name is really not new at all when you understand that it is your true name, the one that belongs to you, that being whom he had in his thought when he began to make the child, and whom he kept in his thought throughout the long process of creation and redemption. Psalm 139 makes it clear that we are personally, uniquely planned and created, knit together in our mother’s womb by God himself. He had someone in mind and that someone has a name. That someone has also undergone a terrible assault. Yet God remains committed to the realization of that same someone.

We need to hear our true name! We need to remember that we are sons of the most high God and that he has called us by our name. We also need to do that for each other as well. Maybe it’s not an actual name the way we would think of it such as “Hey Jeremy!” But maybe it’s more of affirming and calling out the champion in our brothers and sisters around us, so that we can help remind them of their true name in Christ as well.

 

The Not-So-Merry-Go-Round

THE SCENE: 60’s, clear skies, a little damp from yesterdays rain
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Static stretching, Tempo Squats, Hill Billies
THA-THANG:
Moseyed over to the field behind the amphitheater with the paved walkway around it, then got into partners with someone who would push you but not lap you or be lapped. Here we had 8 stations, 4 corners and 4 cones (1 between each corner). Each had a different workout assigned to it. Pairs rotated around the stations by completing the exercises, running a lap around the field, and then moving on to the next. Here are the exercises at each station:

  • Toe-Tap-Merkin Bearcrawls forward and backwards across the large paved section
  • Monkey Jumpers across the field then duck walk back
  • 50 x Cobras, 25 x Carolina Dry Docks, 10 x Walkout merkins
  • 100 x BBS
  • 25 x Hand-Release-Release Merkins, 25 x standard Merkins
  • Murder Bunnies across the field and Overhead Carries back
  • 25 x Standing Shoulder Taps, 25 x Plank Shoulder Taps
  • 20 x American Hammers, 20 x Flutterkicks, 20 x Freddie Mercurys, 20 x LBCs

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Shared the story of Robert McCherye, who was a 19th century minister who was just as well known for his faith as he was for being a workaholic. He died of cardiac arrest at 29 and on his death bed wrote “God gave me a message to deliver and a horse to ride on. Alas, I have killed the horse and now I cannot deliver the message.” I think we tend to acknowledge that rest is worthwhile but are still reluctant to take the time needed for it. Sometimes it makes us feel weak or like we’re wasting our time. When Jesus was confronted about working on the Sabbath He said that man was not made for the Sabbath but the Sabbath for man. It’s easy to walk away from that saying “OK, Jesus said its fine for me not to rest”, but rather we should hear that and acknowledge that if the Sabbath was made specifically for us then it must be worthwhile. So let’s seek out rest wherever we need it, whether that be physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill next weekend