F3 Knoxville

Young and Old Unite

THE SCENE:  Temps in 70’s but very humid

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

25 Side Straddle Hops, 15 second squat, 10 Windmills, 30 second squat, 15 Iron Mikes (four count), 45 second squat, 10 Baby to Wide Arm Circles Forward and 10 Backward, 60 second squat.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Stop Sign at North East Corner of Admin Bldg.  20 American Hammers.   Next, we will head west on the road that semi-circles around the Admin Bldg, stopping at each cone to do the listed exercises by the cone.

  • Cone 1:  Ten Burpees.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 Hello Dollies (four count). Hop to Cone 3
  • Cone 3:  20 Imperial Walkers (both legs = 1).  Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Smurf Jacks.  Lunge to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  20 Merkins.  Grapevine right to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  20 Big Boys.  Grapevine left to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  20 Side Straddle Hops (four count), 20 Carolina Dry Docks, 20 Flutter Kicks (four count), 20 Squats, 20 Bicycle Kicks (four count)

Mosey back on Semi Circle to grassy area on top of Mt. Everest.  We will stop to do 20 Big Boys and 20 Merkins.  Next, we will run down summit of Mt. Everest to grove of Conifer Trees.  We will do ten Burpees then run back to top of Mt. Everest.  We will do 20 more Merkins and 20 Big Boys.

Next we will go back to Cone 6, do written exercise there and then reverse direction back to Cone 1.

Mosey to monument past stop sign at northeast corner of Admin Bldg.  Stop to take another gander at the river, doing a one minute squat while gandering.  Then mosey down hill to Dragon Tail and on to parking lot at entrance of northern ball fields.  Go to CMU pile.  Men team up in pairs of two.  We will do Dora’s.  While one partner does Bernie Sanders to other end of parking lot and sprints back, the other partner does exercise with CMU.  Then men trade places.  Each pair will do the following exercises with CMU’s:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Squats with CMU at chest

Mosey to AO

MARY:
20 Box Cutters.  20 Bicycle Kicks, 4 count.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 men with one FNG, Hunter Davidson, a friend of Goober’s who was visiting from Indiana.  We dubbed him “Bo Peep.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Our Future Is In Good Hands

My family doctor, Dan Ely, MD, and I were talking during my annual checkup with him last month.  We were talking about some of the things we are involved in.  He is pulling back his outpatient practice to part-time but still will supervise medical residents at UT Hospital.  He talked about how much he loves to supervise residents as they train and grow as doctors.  I told him about F3 and the joy I find in my relationships with men of all different ages, including men much younger than myself.  I told him about the outstanding characteristics of the men I meet who seem to be so much more astute and mature than I was when I was in my twenties.  Dan and I talked about how it is reassuring to meet such outstanding young people.  We feel like the world will be left in good hands when we pass on.

As a 62-year-old I want you to know how much I enjoy getting to know all of you men in F3.  One of the fantastic things about F3 is the opportunity for older and younger men to have relationships.  Whether the younger or the older man, we benefit from these friendships.  I am inspired by the younger men I meet in F3.  I like to see you younger men facing the challenges you face and overcoming them.  I like it when I can be of service to you in some small way.  I encourage you to seek out some of us older guys when you may need some words of wisdom from men who have struggled in the past with challenges that you may be struggling with now.

I can remember a group of men I used to meet with when I was in my late 20’s.  It was a group of about seven men from the church in Atlanta that I was a member of.  The group was comprised of two guys in their 20’s (another fellow and myself), a number in their 30’s or 40’s, and one in his 50’s.  I gained so much from that group.  We could talk about anything and the attention, respect and love that I received from those men was powerful.  And, the older men, I believe, gained just as much.  There was a bond, a sharing, and we all grew from it.

We never stop growing as men.  I encourage each of you to seek fellowship with your brothers.  A few minutes of talk after a workout can turn into something special.  A Coffeeteria with the guys can lead to discussions and sharing that can be powerful.  Our fellowship has sure been powerful for me, whether with men my age or those much younger than me.  And, observing you younger guys in F3, it is great for me to know that the future is in good hands.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Jinxy (who joined us at Circle of Trust as, due to health issues, he did not work out with us.  Fortunately, he is recovering.)  Prayers for High-Heels whose mother died this past week.  Prayers of Crawdad’s wife, Kaitlin, who had back surgery.  Prayers for Tank’s wife, Junk’s wife, and Thunderstruck’s mother.

I got 99 Problems and Sweat ain’t one

THE SCENE: Working out under water on the surface of the sun
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x20 IC

Cherry pickers x5 IC.
THA-THANG

Mosey to the Pee rocks .

99 Problems – partner DORA

  • Merkins
  • Curls
  • DOMO squats w/ rock
  • Carolina Dry Docks
  • Tricep overhead
  • Lunges
  • Stocky Balboas (rock overhead)
  • OHP
  • Burpees

99  shared reps of each exercise. One man reps it out while the other runs back to the AO and does birth month Burpee‘s. January  birthdays loved it, Decembers endured valiantly .

Half way through audibled to 5 burpees for everyone.  Once our groups had reached the Burpee‘s at the end, audible to squats on the Dora.

MARY:
Peter Parker, LBC x35, World’s greatest merkin x5, reverse crunches x20

.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Mayberry, dreadlocks, cavalier, Bartman, Sparky, snitch, Abacus, mouthwash, choirboy, shooter, LA-Z-Boy, Baloo, and Junk
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
.“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:1-2

Many of us have heard this passage a lot. Typically when I think of running a race I think of running a race together. We think of a marathon or an obstacle course race or a 5K or just a sprint across the parking lot, but we think about doing it all on the same course, at the same time and altogether. The reality is in life none of us runs the same course as eachother. We may run pieces of it together, we may have parts that look similar or even almost identical and the finish line is the same;  but we all run our own course.  Often times we find ourselves looking at other people and complaining that they’ve got it easy, like they’re just running downhill the whole time. On occasion we will look at someone else and recognize that they’ve got it harder than we do, maybe they’re running uphill and climbing over  obstacle after obstacle. The reality is we just wouldn’t choose the hard stuff that comes our way. No one got to choose what they did this morning, they did what I told him to do. What they got to choose was how hard they worked and whether they lifted up their teammate or dragged them down.  For a time, some guys had to do more Burpee‘s then others because of something as arbitrary as what month they were born in.

If you go back to that passage,  The writer of Hebrews had just gotten done laying out a litany of their historical heroes many of whom suffered unbelievable hardships (I don’t know about you but I’ve never been sawed in two). Individualize his charge – “Run with endurance the race that is set before YOU!” You have to run the course that is laid before you. You can’t run mine for me and I can’t run yours for you. Largely you do not get to choose what you have to go through in life; you just get to choose how good or bad an attitude to have and how hard you work. The good news is that we can help each other along the way, we can shoulder eachothers burdens and we can cheer each other but we each have to run the course that is laid out in front of us.

MOLESKIN:
Many of the PAX know that my wife was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma two weeks ago. It’s not something we would’ve even considered choosing, it’s going to be rough, but it could always be worse.  This is a diagnosis that comes with a cure in most situations. We are believing for and working toward that. We don’t get to choose the course we run, or the obstacles we face.  We get to choose to run it with endurance, to lift our eyes to Jesus, to support others when needed and to lean on those around us when we need it. We have felt so supported by the man of F3 Knoxville and we are grateful.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Truckin’ To The Pound in September.

Golf outing 8/3

Remember Stitches in air force boot camp

No Denial

THE SCENE: Sunny and hot, 95 degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, Plank Lifts, 10 Rockettes, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and 10 Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot that is across the street from Northern Ball field Entrance Parking Lot.  We will be going to the four corners of each parking lot by the following methods and doing the following exercises

  • Corner 1:  20 Squat Jumps (Round 1), 20 Star Jumps (Round 2) then Bernie Sanders to Corner 2
  • Corner 2:  20 American Hammers four count (Round 1), 20 Bicycle Kicks four count (Round 2) then bear crawl to Corner 3
  • Corner 3:  20 Plank Jacks (Round 1), 20 Iron Mikes four count (Round 2) then sprint to Corner 4.
  • Corner 4:  20 Merkins (Round 1), 20 Carolina Dry Docks (Round 2) then lunge to Corner 1

Mosey to Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will do nickel, dime, quarters to the bottom of Cardiac Hill (run one light and do five of exercise, run two lights and do ten of exercise, run five lights and do 25 of exercise) with the following exercises:

  • Big Boy Sit Ups
  • Diamond Merkins
  • Imperial Walkers

At Cardiac Hill:  We will run up the hill, stopping to do the following exercises at the following locations:

  • Turn 1:  20 Hello Dollies (four count)
  • Turn 2:  20 Flutter Kicks (four count)
  • Turn 3:  20 Decline Merkins
  • Benches:  20 Bench Dips

Mosey on perimeter trail then go south at road that heads towards Admin Bldg.  Stop by stop sign at northeast corner of Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Behind Back Scissor Kicks

Mosey to AO.

MARY:

Rocky Balboas

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eight men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Take The Time to Process Pain

As a psychologist, I see many people refuse to examine painful events in their lives.  Something painful has occurred in their lives that created trauma for them.  They try to AVOID thinking of the situation at all costs.  For example, the person may have lost a loved one and they try not to think of the death of that loved one or even the life of the loved one because it leads to sorrow and tears.  A person may avoid thinking of a past dangerous situation (e.g, surviving an automobile or plane accident) because it brings up fear, worry, or pain in terms of seeing someone injured or killed).  A person may avoid thinking of past abuse because to think of it is so painful and they rather put the abuse off in a closet.  For a little while, the strategy may work.  But for most of us, the painfulness of the past event seeps through the cracks and continues to impact us.  We want to hide from the pain but the pain comes back to haunt us in nightmares, flashbacks, nervousness, jumpiness, and general unrest.  This is why a major strategy of working with someone who has suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is to get the person to share their past traumatic experience.  The person may feel worse at first but by continuing to talk about the event, by continuing to process it (in psychology we call this working through), the person finally gains some control over the pain.  They realize that life can hand us some terrible stuff but that the terrible stuff we experienced is over and it probably won’t occur again, especially if we take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen.  The abused child is no longer a child, the auto accident victim realizes he can drive his car with a pretty high degree of safety, the war veteran is no longer at war.

Life is not a fully rosy picture.  Bad things happen.  Some people want to look at the world through rose colored glasses.  They may not see the pain going on around them until it hits them straight in the face.  But life also has much to offer and be awed by, much beauty, despite the ugliness.  If we see and process both, we are generally going to be better off for it.  And, we are in a better position to help our fellow human beings.  We can laugh with them but can also cry with them, join them when they are hurting, and give them a loving hand to reach out to.

Peter Gabriel wrote a beautiful song (called “Red Rain”) that deals with the issue of pain.  At the start of this largely metaphysical and symbolic song, the protagonist can’t see or hear the pain that others experience and denies the pain.  It is later, when he lets his defenses down, that the “Red Rain” surrounds him.  Putting his trust in something higher than himself, he can no longer deny the pain around him.  And through this, as if in an epiphany, he is bathed by the rain as if in a pool or red wine, as if in a red sea.

Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
 
I am standing up at the water's edge in my dream
I cannot make a single sound as you scream
It can't be that cold, the ground is still warm to touch
We touch, this place is so quiet, sensing that storm
 
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
 
Well I've seen them buried in a sheltered place in this town
They tell you that this rain can sting, and look down
There is no blood around, see no sign of pain
Hay ay ay no pain
Seeing no red at all, see no rain
 
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
 
Red rain
Ohhhh
Putting the pressure on much harder now
To return again and again
Just let the red rain splash you
Let the rain fall on your skin
I come to you defenses down
With the trust of a child
 
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me

And I can't watch any more
No more denial
It's so hard to lay down in all of this

Red rain coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
I'm bathing in
Red rain coming down
Red rain is falling down
Red rain is coming down all over me
I'm begging you

Red rain coming down
Red rain coming down
Red rain coming down
Red rain coming down

Over me in the red red sea
Over me
Over me
Red rain

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk’s mother, for Crawdad’s wife, for Thunderstruck’s mother and for High-Heel’s mother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
3rd F upcoming on August 10.

It’s always good when you make the FNG splash merlot

THE SCENE: low 70’s

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER


WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH x 20
  • Some p90x jump squat things that everyone made fun of
  • Tempo Merkins x 10

THA-THANG:

Declining ladder:

  • 10 Iron Mikes (each leg)
  • 9 Body Builders (8 count)
  • 8 American Hammers (4 count)
  • 7 Smurfjacks
  • 6 Spread Eagle Merkins
  • 5 Side Crunches (per side)
  • 4 Carolina Dry Docks
  • 3 Tuck Jumps
  • 2 Inchworm Merkins
  • 1 30 Second Wall Sit

MARY:
n/a – out of time

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Dreadlock, Junk, Tank, Mouthwash, Toebox, Shooter, Showcase, Snitch, Abacus, Flute Loop, Sticks, Tonya (visiting from NC), Frisbee(FNG), La-Z-Boy, Bowflex, Bartman

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Remember, the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.    What’s coming out of your mouth each day?

MOLESKIN:
Welcome to Frisbee, who stood strong even after blowing chunks!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Let’s Get Rocked – Recycle

THE SCENE: Gloomy & Humid with a slight drizzle to finish off the Q
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Merkins 4ct IC x 10
BA Circles IC x 5/7?
Tempo Squat IC x 10
SSH IC x 25

THA-THANG:

(Ascending Burpees – Start with 1 and add one between every exercise.
The Thang
Pick up a couple of handheld Pee Rock’s or full on boulders (Ratchet)
Indian Run to Kory Hill & Grab a Battle Buddy
Circuit 1 – 3 rounds
Partner A – High Rows
Partner B – Runs Hill and performs 10 Manmakers run back and switch w/ partner
(Continuing Ascending Burpees)
Circuit 2 – 3 rounds
Partner A – Overhead Presses
Partner B – Runs Hill & performs 15 Squats – switch w/ partner
Circuit 3 2.5 Rounds
Partner A – Squat Jumps
Partner B – Smurf Jacks x20
Indian Run to base of Matterhorn – Cont. Burpees – appreciate Matterhorn and all her majesty.
Indian Run back to AO
Mosey to Outhouse
Descending Burpees then Wall Crawl (10 Burpees – Wall Crawl, 9 Burpees – Wall Crawl, etc.)
Saved by the Bell

MARY:
No Mary, just burpees.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 Pax pushed through today.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
When we pulled up in front of Matterhorn, just the thought of what possible misery could be done on that beast was tough. Although we didn’t run up it, it was already hard. The biggest battle we fight is between our ears. We need to remember to invite God into those battles so we’re not standing alone against the enemy. Life can be relentless and if we’re not relentless, it can swallow us whole.

MOLESKIN:

PAX worked hard today, the harder the workout got, the harder I saw these men push. Please keep our PAX in your prayers. Many of us are being called to be leaders for friends, family and neighbors that are going through hardships. Special shout-out to Stitches who is going through MEPS today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Stay tuned for CSAUP info coming soon.