F3 Knoxville

Listen for the Whisper

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Pele (Jon Lindberg)
PAX: Pele (Jon Lindberg), Mr Jinxy, Rooney(Carl Whipple), Drum Major, Abacus, Crash Dummy, Pusher, Lilydipper, Tenderfoot, Curveball, Brick, Lizzy
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
WARMUP: 20 SSH (4 ct IC), 10 Cherry Pickers (4 ct IC), 10 Pterodactyles (complete with mating calls) forward/backward (4 ct IC), 10 Plank Jacks (4 ct IC)

THE THANG:
Met at the New Pavilion, aka Food Court, and started off doing a Dora exercise but quickly switched to a workout under cover when the death thunder started. Moved under the Pavilion, played some music, tried not to bother other rain-shelterers, and did the following circuit workout:
STATION
1:
ROUND 1: CMU ROWS / CMU CHEST PRESS
ROUND 2: TRICEP PRESSES / CMU OVERHEAD PRESSES
ROUND 3: AROUND THE WORLDS / CMU CURLS
STATION 2:
RUN TWO LAPS AFTER EACH ROUND!
ROUND 1: AMERICAN HAMMERS / FLUTTER KICKS
ROUND 2: V-UPS / GAS PUMPS
ROUND 3: LBCs / BOX CUTTERS
STATION 3:
ROUND 1: STEP UPS / SQUATS
ROUND 2: ISOMETRIC SQUAT LEFT / ISOMETRIC SQUAT RIGHT
ROUND 3: BUTT TOUCHES / LUNGES
STATION 4:
RUN TWO LAPS AFTER EACH ROUND!
ROUND 1: SIDE STRADDLE HOPS / PLANK JACKS
ROUND 2: HIGH KNEES IN PLACE / IMPERIAL SQUAT WALKERS
ROUND 3: BUTT KICKERS IN PLACE / WALL SIT
STATION 5:
ROUND 1: PERIMETER BEAR CRAWL / PERIMETER LUNGE
ROUND 2: PERIMETER EL CAPITAN / PERIMETER INCH WORM MERKINS
ROUND 3: PERIMETER SIDE CRAWL LEFT / PERIMETER SIDE CRAWL LEFT
STATION 6:
RUN TWO LAPS AFTER EACH ROUND!
ROUND 1: MERKINS / CAROLINA DRY DOCKS
ROUND 2: HAND RELEASE MERKINS / SHOULDER TAPS
ROUND 3: OFF SET MERKINS LEFT / OFF SET MERKINS RIGHT
MARY: Nope. Ran out of time.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hardship Hill this Saturday!

COT: Quote from RALPH FIENNES as the Cardinal LAWRENCE in the movie CONCLAVE (Part Two from Daybreak’s COT Word):
“Over the course of many years in the service of the church, there’s one sin that I come to fear above all others. Certainty. Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. Even Christ was not certain at the end, in his agony, on the ninth hour on the cross, crying out MY FATHER, MY FATHER, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty, and no doubt, there would be no mystery and therefore no need for faith. Let us pray that God grants us a Pope who doubts.”

Indeed, the newly elected Pope, Pope Leo XIV is a man who has felt abandoned by God, who has had doubts. Recently he said the following: I speak to you, especially to those who no longer believe, no longer hope, no longer pray, because they think God has left.
To those who are fed up with scandals, with misused power, with the silence of a Church that sometimes seems more like a palace than a home.
I, too, was angry with God. I, too, saw good people die, children suffer, grandparents cry without medicine.
And yes… there were days when I prayed and only felt an echo. But then I discovered something: God doesn’t shout. God whispers.
And sometimes He whispers from the mud and from the pain. Faith is a walk with stones, puddles, and unexpected hugs.

I remember Lilydipper saying in one of his Words years ago, “Nothing ticks me off quite like someone who acts like they have all the answers with Faith.” Even the Pope has felt the silence at times, and that he doesn’t present faith as a perfect journey. My own faith was challenged when I lost my mom and dad relatively young, two years apart. Where was God then? But then I saw…. Neighbors bringing over dinner, tributes from former students and colleagues, funerals that brought long lost companions together, friends that drove hundreds of miles to say goodbye and to give me an unexpected hug. God was there in those moments, He was whispering to me from the mud and from the pain. He was always there. And He will always be there for you. Just look. Just listen. For the whisper.

[banjo-pm] Suicides and AMRAPs

AO: banjo-pm
Q: Pele (Jon Lindberg)
PAX: Pele (Jon Lindberg), Pusher, Abacus, Down Under
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
WARMUP:-20 SSH (4-ct), in cadence
– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence
-10 Moroccan night clubs/ Tempo seal claps/ Tempo Overhead claps
– Little of this and that

THE THANG:
MOSEY to road to north by houses.
SUICIDES w/cones. 5 CDDs increasing at each cone, 20 LBCs each time at the starting line.
– RINSE AND REPEAT with JUMP SQIATS and IMPERIAL WALKERS
MOSEY along Ebenezer south to other exit.
– DORAS: Partner 1 Bernie Sanders to line then run to next line, 10 SSH, runs back. Partner does the following: 100 Gas Pumps / 100 Merkins / 100 Imperial Squat Walkers
MOSEY to ROCK pile. Get a ROCK. AMRAP. Do 30 seconds of the following exercises. Rinse and repeat. Run 2 laps and DO AGAIN if time with (different exercises). For Round 2 we ran 1/2 way around the track and back)
– Overhead Press (TRICEPS)
– Curls (AROUND THE WORLDS… didn’t get any farther in round 2)
– Rows
– Squats

MARY: No time for her

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hardship Hill Saturday

COT: Talked about giving people the benefit of the doubt when they disappoint you or screw up. There might be a good reason for it, and it’s not easy to take back any harsh words you might say before you find out what the reason is.

[banjo-pm] Banjo-PM Re launch

AO: banjo-pm
Q: Pusher
PAX: Lightweight, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Abacus, Bookman, Curveball, Doubtfire (Nick Bond), Down Under, Lizzy, No FNG
FNGs: 1 No FNG
COUNT: 9
WARMUP: Motivator, Arm Blasters x20, Michael Phelps, Slow tempo Squats, Merkins, stretching trunk rotation, Butterlfy stretch, sitting and reaching for toes.

THE THANG: Pyramid and run to corner 5 exercises and cut down to one, Mosey to the corner and Side straddle hops and go to another corner Merkins x 10. And Mosey to Amphitheater and 3 exercises and run to playground for pull-ups.

MARY: Flutter kicks, Bigboy, hello dollies run and comeback to do another exercises
Mosey to AO and Mountain climbers, Dry Docks rinse and repeat.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hardship Hill

COT: Pray for our brother who passed away last week Chiclets (Ryan McElveen)

Locking Shields

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Pele (Jon Lindberg)
PAX: Drum Major, Lilydipper, Abacus, Lizzy, Mr Jinxy, Pusher, Crash Dummy, Curveball, Welch’s, Brick, MD Hammer, Pele (Jon Lindberg)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
WARMUP: 20 SSH, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Tennessee Rocking Chairs, 10 Grady Corns, Yoga Stretches, 10 Hand Release Merkins

THE THANG:
MOSEY to Slope on Picketts Charge.
HILL PYRAMID!:
Run up the slope and back down. Every time you get back down do the exercises (10 REPS EACH):
– JUMP SQUATS
– JUMP SQUATS / BOTTLE OPENERS (2-count)
– JUMP SQUATS/ BOTTLE OPENERS / BIG BOY SITUPS
– BOTTLE OPENERS / BIG BOY SITUPS
– BIG BOY SITUPS

Mosey to Center of Colosseum.
JINXY’S FOUR AND A QUARTER. Start at bottom of hill, run to tree about 2/3 to Admin Bldg, and do 25 reps of an exercise, return to starting position. R&R 4 times, totaling 100 of the exercise.
Round 1: Carolina Dry Docks
Round 2: Imperial Walkers (single count)
Round 3: Lunges (single count)

Mosey to Stop sign on circle drive.
MODIFIED WELSH DRAGON (4-ct Bear Crawl, 1 Merkin, R&R up to 10 Merkins… always only 4-ct Bear Crawl). Run to where the railing begins and do the 1st rep, run back to do the 2nd rep, etc.
AYG to Flag.

MARY: A little light stretching.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hardship Hill, Ascent Leadership School at Frozen Head

COT: NO GAPS IN THE WALL!
Three years ago Judge Judy, who was our Nantaan at the time, wrote an article in the weekly newsletter called Cracks in the Foundation, which alluded to some situations surrounding F3 that resulted in fractures within groups and between individuals. That message was very timely back then, and as some of you are aware, there’s a little bit of that going on right now. Nothing that I don’t think we can fix, but some things that if we don’t address could just continue to fester. So for my Word, I just wanted to reiterate what I feel is F3’s absolutely greatest attribute: it’s ability to inspire us all to be better men through SHARING. Sharing of the Suck from the workout, Sharing in the responsibilities of being Q, Sharing of life experiences in the Circle that others may learn from or be inspired by, etc.

We often use the term “Lock Shields” in F3. Think about that for a second. What comes to mind? I have this image from Lord of the Rings or a movie about the Roman Empire of a bunch of warriors facing a common enemy, and each one of them standing shoulder to shoulder with their shields up. If it was just one dude, he’d get surrounded, overwhelmed. But it’s a bunch of warriors that are aligned in a common purpose: PROTECT EACH OTHER’S SIX. If there’s a crack or a gap in the wall, then everyone is in deep doo doo.

To no one’s surprise, the guys in F3 have differences. We have our differences in Faith, Politics, what kind of workouts we want to do out here, and maybe even differences in how we think F3 should operate. That’s fine! But how do we keep locking shields if the guy next to us is of a different political party? Religion? If he has way more hair and is better looking than the rest of us (thanks guys… you know who you are…)? It comes down to RESPECT for your brother, who’s out here trying to get 1% better, just like you are. When we’re out here, we lay our differences aside. When we’re out here, I’m continually trying to figure out ways to better serve you so that you can serve others. This requires that we keep that wall tight. NO GAPS IN THAT WALL. And I hope we all have that mindset. But whatever differences we have can be overcome with Grace and empathy and understanding

LT. Dan ain’t got no legs!

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Rap Sheet (Lucas Johnson)
PAX: Piston, Route 44 (Aaron Childs), Abacus, Brick, Curveball, Drum Major, Lilydipper, Lizzy, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Rap Sheet (Lucas Johnson), Title IX (Christian Prescott), Captain aka Tim Burnett
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
WARMUP:
SSH
Merkins
Mountain climbers
Willie Mayes Hayes
Toe merkins
Squats

THE THANG:
Had to improvise due to the weather and head to the pavilion

– 4 lap @ mosey pace
– 1 lap lunges
– 2 laps @ 60% max pace
– Burpee broad jumps length of pavilion and back
– 4 laps @ slowsy pace
– 35 cactus squats on picnic tables
– Sprint past ball fields and back
– 2 minute wall sit

MARY:
1 full round of Round Robbin which included a lot of abs. And of course MORE RUNNING. (Thanks Piston..)

COT:

Galatians 6:9
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

There are times when doing the right thing feels hard. Leading our families with patience, showing up consistently, working with integrity, being present for others is a grind. And if I’m being completely honest, it’s extremely exhausting.

Paul writes this to remind us: DONT QUIT. DONT GIVE UP. Even when no one notices. Even when it feels like it’s not making a difference. Because in God’s time – not always our time – we will reap a harvest. The seeds you’re planting through your effort, your words, your presence – THEY MATTER

Things why as men we keep showing up. Why we push through workouts like this. Why we keep being intentional husbands, fathers, friends, and brothers in F3. Because we are trusting in something bigger than we can see or even comprehend.

So as we go: You’re not alone. It IS worth it. Keep going. Keep being HIMs.

Good work tonight men! It was a pleasure to be able to come be apart of your beatdown and we are looking forward to seeing you guys in the future when you infiltrate RoCo! Until then, we will see you men in the gloom :punch: