F3 Knoxville

Opposite

THE SCENE: Nice evening, temps in 60s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

10 Burpees, 20 Side Straddle Hops, 8 Pinto Twists, 8 Twisties, 5 Taradactials forward and backward, 10 Windmills.
THA-THANG:

Mosey to the large southern parking lot just east of the outdoor chapel.

We will run four corners, doing the following exercises in each corner:  20 Hello Dollies, 20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Bicycle Kicks, 20 Box Cutters.  Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to the perimeter trail that is close to the pavilion.  We will head east and then north on the perimeter trail, doing Run-Ten-Tens.  In honor of Rin-Tin-Tin we will bark three times before we get started.  We will do ten Big-Boys and ten Merkins, then run for 10 lights and repeat the exercises.  After doing the sets of exercises three times, the leaders circle back to the six.  We then start the pattern again.  We will stop once we reach the benches at the top of Cardiac.

At the benches we will rotate between 20 bench dips and 20 Jump Squats, repeating the pattern two times.

Mosey to parking lot opposite of the AO.  We will run from one curb down the long side of the parking lot to the other curb.  At the far curb we will do 10 incline merkins.  At the near curb we will do 10 decline merkins.  Rinse and repeat.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
50 Baby Crunches (4 ct).
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The Opposite of What We Expect

As Christmas approaches, I think of the Christ that I worship, the man that Christians call God, King of Kings and Savior – and, I am amazed at how this Christ is so much the opposite of what the World expects a God to be.

  1. We would expect the King of Kings to be born in a castle.  Jesus was born in a trough for cattle.
  2. We would expect this Prince of Peace to surround himself with the religious leaders of his time, well-known men, wise men.  Jesus takes on fishermen, unknown men with little wealth as his disciples.
  3. We would expect the savior of the world to live and minister there for a long time.  Jesus dies at age 33 having only ministered for three years.
  4. We would the Holy of Holies to speak to the leaders and most respected.  Jesus ministered to all who had ears to hear and that included prostitutes, the blind, and the disrespected.
  5. In a world that looks on the rich and famous as lucky, Jesus said “Blessed are the meek, the poor in spirit and persecuted.”
  6. We would expect a King to slay his enemies or at least beat them down.  Jesus says to turn the other cheek.
  7. We would expect a King to have his servants to bow down before him and adorn him with the best of clothing.  Jesus, instead, acts like a servant, washing the feet of his disciples.
  8. We would expect our God to demand respect.  Jesus dies on a cross, allowing others to taunt, beat and spit on him.
  9. And, after such a death, we can expect to lose hope.  Jesus rises from the grave, allows us to touch his wounds, and says He is life everlasting.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Rooney’s mother who is having surgery this upcoming Monday.

Choose Your Words

THE SCENE: 50 and amazing in the fake gloom
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  did it
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, cherry pickers, rockettes, and a little this and that
THA-THANG:
Insert information about the workout.

  • Burpees up the Dragon, one per lap, then wagon wheel back to the 6
  • Battle Buddy with bench dips and calf raises
  • Mary work, 10 flutter kicks, 10 box cutters, 10 hello dollys at every other light pole
  • Coming back, 10 jump squats, 10 plank jacks, 10 merkins at alternating poles
  • Battle Buddy plank and calf raises
  • Bear crawl to the Dragon
  • Big Boys down the Dragon back to the AO

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 PAX in the fake gloom
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I’ve been struggling a little lately with folks complaining about how tough things have been for the past 2 years.  Sometimes I think “It’s be 2 years.  Time to move on.”  I admit my life hasn’t been impacted by COVID nearly the extent others have been.  I catch myself judging others who aren’t sucking it up and pressing forward with their lives, but I’m also trying remember I don’t know everything about everyone’s circumstances.  Ironically, two COTs in the last two weeks have been about judging others.  As I sit and struggle with judging, I can reflect back to the words a HIM said just last week to help me.

The message you deliver in the COT is meaningful.  Don’t take the message part of Q’ing lightly and give thought. You never know who might need to hear it in that moment.  It’s an opportunity to impact men in your community.

Common Ground

THE SCENE: 60 degrees and perfect weather
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER done
WARM-O-RAMA:

Some SSH, imperial walks, cherry pickers, and this and that
THA-THANG:
Insert information about the workout.

  • Burpees up a hill, rabbits find the 6 and start from there, mosey
  • Battle buddy bench dips and then some more bench dips, mosey
  • Picnic table step ups, rabbits find the 6 and start from there, mosey
  • Suicide runs with Big Boys at home base, rabbits find the 6 and start from there, mosey
  • Battle buddy incline and then decline merkins, mosey to the AO

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:
It seems every day there are more topics people take a stance on and feel others are either entirely on their side or entirely not.  If someone doesn’t agree with them on a topic, the person makes sweeping judgement that everything about that other person is bad or wrong.  Most conversations start with the discussing those polar opposite opinions, which sets the conversation up for failure, and generally leads nowhere.  In Adam Grant’s book “Think Again” he talks about starting conversations by identifying the things the people agree on.  It often turns out there is a lot of common ground between the two individuals, and it creates a much better jumping and opens the door for a more productive conversation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Party at Judge Judy’s on the 11th

Giving Thanks… and no Beaver Moon!

THE SCENE: Cold, low 40s, fairly calm and clear, but the hallowed Beaver Moon didn’t make an appearance, to everyone’s disappointment.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.


WARM-O-RAMA:

– Motivators 7 count decreasing

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence (aborted this exercise due to mumblechatter around 6 or so…)

– 10 Rockettes (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Grady Corns  (4-ct), in cadence

– Calf stretches

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Caribbean Parking Lot

  • NO MERCY MILE (really more like a half mile)
    • Near end: Bear Crawl around turn
    • Run to ½ way point. 25 Merkins. Run to curve
    • Far End: Lunges around turn
    • Sprint to ½ way point. 25 Squats. Run to Curve.
    • Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to open air Chapel

  • AMRAPS
    • 30 sec dips, rest 10 sec. R&R x4
    • 30 sec incline merkins, rest 10 sec R&R x4
    • 30 sec isometric squats (alternating), rest 10 sec R&R x4

Mosey to east down path towards the bottom of Cardiac.  At intersection, 20 American Hammers (4-ct)

Mosey to bottom of Cardiac.  20 Imperial Walkers (4-ct)

  • Cardiac Crusher
    • Run to first curve and back, 20 flutter kicks (2-ct)
    • Run to second curve and back, 20 flutter kicks (2-ct)
    • Run to top, stop at each turn to do 10 merkins, 10 squats, and 10 BBS

Mosey to AO

MARY:
Homer/Marge leg raises

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Thanksgiving:

Back in 1620, 102 separatists Christians left Europe and came to America via a little boat called the Mayflower.  The first years in America were very hard, and about half the population died within the first several months.  They likely all would have died without the help of the Native Americans, who provided food and taught them how to grow crops.  They celebrated the harvest the following year, in 1621, with Thanksgiving. The celebration lasted 3 days. Thanksgiving was only sporadically celebrated until 1789 when George Washington called for it to be a recurring celebration.  Even then, it still didn’t totally catch on until 1941, when FDR and Congress declared it a national holiday.  Why is it so tough to celebrate Thanksgiving?  We seem to want to skip over it it and move right from Halloween to Christmas.  If you’re cynical, maybe it’s because there’s no money in Thanksgiving?  Not as many cards, gifts, and promotional events…Except for the Macy’s parade, and for that everyone is just waiting for Santa at the end.

But there is a human need to give Thanks.  One of the first things parents teach their children is to say Thank You (when handing a young child something…: “What do you say? What do you SAY??”).  Giving Thanks is important because it interrupts the Self, recognizes the Other in our life.  We value that other.  We have an imperative and a need to give Thanks to those we have relationships with.  And who or what is the primary relationship in our life?  It’s God, and we need to give Thanks to God.  Giving Thanks reminds us that we are recipients, not creators.  It allows us a moment to pause and count our blessings.  STEAM recently posted a message in Sticky Notes Channel: “GAS PRICES ARE HIGH, THIS SUCKS” VS “I WAS ABLE TO FILL UP MY CAR WITH GAS. THANK YOU JESUS.” What a great perspective for the week of Thanksgiving.

I love the line from the song Signs that was sung by Tesla and written by Five Man Electrical Band… “Thank you Lord, for thinking about me, I’m alive and doing fine.”

Here’s what I think.  I think we need to build a world that strips out the biases and fear of other religions, other cultures, other world views and focuses on the basics.  Love God, Love your Neighbor.  Easy Peasy.  Right?  Wrong.  It’s simple, but it’s not easy.  How do we do that? Giving Thanks can be a great place to start and get beyond the differences.  Seek first the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God is love, generosity, thankfulness, and justice.  That is how we live in that Kingdom.  This is what was in the heart of the Pilgrim’s journey. To be a loving, generous, and thankful community.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Steam’s mom who has COVID, for other friends and family members going through illness or trials.  Prayers for the victims of the Waukesha driving calamity.  Prayers for our nation as tensions rise and the Enemy tries to divide and discourage us.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas party Dec. 11!

Lifetime Brotherhood

THE SCENE: Sunny with a weather of 85F and a little breeze.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3, Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. F3 is a free workout program designed to improve fitness, share some camaraderie, and foster male leadership in the community. I’m Jetlag and I will be your Q today.  I am not a professional, and I do not know your fitness level or injury history.  Please push yourself, but modify the workout as necessary to avoid making any existing injuries worse.  The goal is to get better together!

WARM-O-RAMA

  1. Brady corns
  2. Windmill
  3. Plank jacks 4ct
  4. Mountain climbers 4ct
  5. CMU – Increment: 5x squat – curl – overhead – tricep

THA-THANG:

Workout 1: CMU
Murder Bunny or bear crawl

Each cone: 10 merkins x 10 frog jumps
Then run to playground: 10 box jumps x 10 tricep dips

Workout 2: CMU 2x

Per corner:
Back: 20rows x 20deadlifts
Chest: 20merkins x 20shoulder taps
Shoulder: 20shoulder press x 20sumo squats (wide squats)
Arms: 20biceps x 20triceps

Mosey to Picketts Charge

Workout 3: 1st hill 4
1. Mountain climbers 4ct in cadence
2. Shoulder tapos 4ct on top

2nd hill 4x bearcrawl up
1. Prisoner getups 4ct
2. Toe taps 4ct

Workout 4: Colosseum 3 base

1st base: 10 side straddle hops – run around. 2nd base: 10 side straddle hops – run around 3rd base: 10 ssh – run around

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
Wagon wheel the six

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
26 HIMs in attendance. Mickey not tagged.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
As may not all of you know, Me and my family are only visiting the US, supposedly for a few weeks for the holiday last year until Philippines declared another hard lockdown in January. Ever since then, we thought of staying here for a bit longer until we get the vaccine, and until the covid cases subside – which did not up until now. The past 8 months has been nothing short of amazing not just for me, but for my family as well. I get to spend a lot of time with parents again, them spending time with their grandchild and it feels so great to be home again with them.

Back tracking, when we first got here, my wife and I were really paranoid because of the pandemic, because of how bad the situation is where we came from. We’re scared for our child of getting sick so we always had our guards up against the virus. I met a bunch of guys working out at 5:30am under a drizzling, 35F weather. It was dark, winter, cold and awfully at the peak of the pandemic. It was my second day here in Knoxville and rest assured still jet-lag from our 27-hour flight (thus, the name, Jetlag). We worked out and it felt horrible, I’m not going to lie. But it amazes me how everyone stays for a while after the workout to say a few words, to say a little prayer for the others and for the community. Every workout is different, and I get to learn more about the community, more about what F3 means and how they make their impact in the society. And of course, these men became my brothers. These men lift each other up; cheer and pray for each other when one is down.

I have never seen anything like it. They welcomed me, a visitor, from a foreign country, in the middle of the pandemic, like I’m one of their own.

I absolutely love them, my brothers for life. And I will be forever grateful to them, for making me a better man, better partner, better son, better father – a HIM. And I’m truly honored to be part of this lifetime brotherhood.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Drum Major’s daughter, Hunter, who tore her acl; for Lily’s recovery from the hip surgery; Doubtfire’s grandmother-in-law’s recovery, who recently suffered a heart attack;

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP at Dog Pound is moved to August 21.