F3 Knoxville

Tag: Abscess

AMRAP-O-RAMA

THE SCENE: Warm, but beautiful, low 80s, partly sunny, less humidity than normal
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check!
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Reverse tempo squats (all the way down, then stopping at intervals on the way up)

– 40 Moroccan Nightclubs

– 10 Plank Jacks (4-ct), in Cadence

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Stop Sign to northeast of admin building.  Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises, AMRAP.  (and yes, a car drove by RIGHT when we were doing the pickle pounders!)

  1. Plank Jacks
  2. Pickle Pounders
  3. Mountain Climbers
  4. Shoulder Taps

Mosey to CMU pile.  Get a CMU.  Do 30 seconds of the following exercises. AMRAP.  Rinse and Repeat.

  1. Overhead Press
  2. Curls
  3. Rows
  4. Squats

Mosey to Bathrooms.  Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises, AMRAP

  1. Froggie Jumps
  2. Lunges
  3. Bobby Hurleys
  4. Smurf Jacks

Mosey to Open Field.

RING OF FIRE!

  • 8 cones are placed in a big circle in the shade of a tree down by the outdoor chapel. Divide up among the cones. Bear Crawl or Lunge between stations. Do 60 seconds of the listed exercise at each cone, then rotate counterclockwise
    • LBCs
    • Squat Jumps
    • Run to the tree about 70 yards away and back.
    • Flutter kicks
    • Carolina Dry Docks
    • Half Burpees (stay in plank, no jump).
    • Hello Dollies
    • Iron Mikes

 

  • Mosey to the new cul-de-sac by the Coliseum. Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises.  (we ran out of time before the E2Ks).
  1. Big Boy Situps
  2. American Hammers
  3. E2K Left Side
  4. E2K Right Side

Jail break to the AO.

MARY:
No Time.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 HIMs present and accounted for, including two FNGs, C-6 and Octomom. Virginia Slims needs a tag. Plus two doggies.  They were nice and didn’t bite anyone.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter from the Birmingham jail on June 12, 1963. His closing remarks are worth remembering today, almost exactly 57 years later.

“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”

As HIMs, I feel we need to be an active part of making the “deep fog of misunderstanding” disperse from the general conversations about the virus, race, and other challenging issues that our society is currently facing.  How can we do that?  I’ve been trying to work on these suggestions.

  1. Hit the mental pause button. The easiest way to fall into a web of misunderstanding is to let emotions get the best of you.  Try to relax, calm down, and really listen.
  2. Use your head. Put yourself into the other’s person’s shoes.  If you’re not sure how to do that, ask them questions that get to the root of why they feel the way they do.
  3. Use your heart. Try to tap into the emotions underlying their point of view.  And be patient when discussing volatile topics.  Really trying to understand where someone is coming from is a unique form of love and caring.  It means that you value them as individuals and aren’t just dismissing their viewpoints, but are rather seeking a depth of understanding that is really connecting with them.

This has to be a two way street.  Try to encourage the other person to meet you in the middle. Otherwise, you’ll just become frustrated that the efforts you are going through aren’t being reciprocated.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Lillydipper’s wife as she continues to go through chemo treatments, and praise that they’ve found a surgeon that they both like.  Prayers for Title IX as he prepares for a bit life-changing trip to Oregon to continue schooling in the coming months.  Happy birthday Hooker!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Morristown clown car leaving Sat. morning at 5:30 am from the REI off of Papermill.

Patience of Unanswered Prayer

THE SCENE: Sunny, temp about 90 degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, Plank Stretches, 10 Rockettes, 10 Windmills, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Stop Sign at Southeastern Corner of Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to grassy area that is south of Area 51.  There will be four cones set up in a square pattern.  We will be going in a counter-clockwise route around the square four times, stopping to do an exercise at each cone.  By the end we will have done four exercises at each cone.  Following are the exercises at each cone and the method by which to get to the next cone:

  • Cone 1:  1. 20 Side Straddle Hops (4 ct)  2. 15 Mountain Climbers (4 ct)  3. 20 Star Jumps  4.  20 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)  (After exercise, Sprint to Cone 2)
  • Cone 2:  1. 20 Merkins  2. 15 Shoulder Taps  3. 10 Hand Release Merkins  4. 20 Carolina Dry Docks  (After exercise, Skip to Cone 3)
  • Cone 3.  1. 20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  2. 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct).  3.  20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct.)  4. 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)  (After exercise, Bernie Sanders to Cone 4)
  • Cone 4.  1. 10 Burpees  2. 15 Imperial Walkers (both legs = 1)  3. 20 Bobby Hurleys  4. 20 Squat Jumps  (High Knees to Cone 1).

Mosey to Northshore Entrance to Park.  We will go south then east on the perimeter trail, doing Nickel Dime Quarters with the following exercises:

  • Squats
  • Dead Bugs
  • Diamond Merkins
  • Dive Bombers

We will be near the Southern Ball Fields when we have done the above.  Mosey to the parking lot at the Southern Ball Fields.  We will do 8 count Bear Crawls then 8 Count Lunges, repeating this pattern from one end of the parking lot to the other.  

Mosey to Outdoor Chapel.  Take 15 second breather.  Then mosey up hill all the way to the new built area near the Admin Bldg.  Take 30 second breather.  Mosey to AO.

MARY:
25 Hello Dollies
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
22 men with two FNGs whom we named Whistler (Brett Marshman) and Leo Turcas (Nadia).  Nadia was a Flying EH victim!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Asking with Patience

Matthew 7: 7-8

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Romans 8:25

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

2 Peter 3:8

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

At last week’s internet streamed worship service at my church, a line struck me from one of the songs we sang.  The song is “Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart” by Croly and Digerness.  The line that struck me is “Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.”  That is certainly a line I need to hear during the time of this coronavirus and national unrest after the death of George Floyd.  I read the bible verse that says, “everyone who asks receives.”  I know that people all over Earth are asking that this coronavirus would end.  I ask, “God, when will you answer our prayer?”  Yet, I need to also ask, “God, teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.”

When I was a boy, my best friend, Neil, who lived next door, was the first family on our block to get a Color TV set.  Seven years later, most people had Color TV sets but I was still praying for our first one.  My mother was a single parent and a teacher – and, just like today, teachers don’t make enough money for all the work they do.  I remember getting excited when we went to a big store that had a television promo.  As part of the promo, people could bring in advertisements they received in the mail.  If your code number on the advertisement was one of the winning code numbers, you could get a free TV set.  My mother, of course, told me the odds were minuscule for us to have a winning number.  We went to the store and there were all these magnificent color television sets, sitting there for a kid like me to gawk at.  Needless to say we didn’t win a set.  “But, mom, can’t we even buy one of the smaller sets?”  I know my mother felt bad for me but with her lack of funds she was also teaching my about life – about limiting oneself to a budget; about not coveting; about appreciating what we have; about patience.

About six or seven months later I came home to find a portable television set sitting on a cabinet in our living room.  It was on, it was playing a television show, and the show was in living color!!!  My mother had saved for quite some time to get that portable but color TV set.  I was so happy!  It may have been small but it was a COLOR SET!

God, teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.  I think of people who have endured wars that last for many years.  Teach me to be grateful for what I do have.  I think of people who endured plagues like the Black Plague where cities of people were wiped out by the disease or indian tribes in America who were practically wiped out by diseases that Europeans brought from another continent.  God, teach me to have trust that you are there for me, for us, no matter what difficulties and even tragedies beset us.  For in You we have something that hardship, suffering, even death cannot take away.  As the famous poet, John Donne, said, in you Death Shall Die.

MOLESKIN:

Prayers for our nation at this time of unrest, prayers for Iceman’s father who will need surgery for his heart again, prayers for Thunderstruck’s mother and grandfather, prayers for Lillydipper’s wife.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Launch at Morristown this weekend.

Grateful

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Motivators starting with seven, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Rockettes, 10 Windmills, 5 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 5 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the South Ball Fields Parking Lot.  We will be running from one end of the parking lot to the other.  There will be four cones set up along the run.  At each cone, stop to do ten of the first exercise listed.  Keep going in order from each end of the parking lot.  Here are the exercises:

Running south to north:

  1. Squat Jumps
  2. Merkins
  3. Big Boy Sit-ups
  4. Hello Dollies (4 ct.)

Running north to south:

  1. Flutter Kicks (4 ct)
  2. Plank Jacks
  3. Carolina Dry Docks
  4. Shoulder Taps (each shoulder)

Once done with all exercises, jog around the parking lot.

Next, starting from Cone 1 we will do a five parking lane bear crawl to 5 lane lunge all the way to Cone 4.

Next, we will mosey to soccer field.  We will do suicides on field going to first, second, and third cone and back.  Each time coming back men will do 20 Baby Crunches.  We will do a different type of run on each suicide.  They will be as follows:

  • Bernie Sanders.
  • Grapevine Left
  • Grapevine Right
  • Skip
  • High knees

Mosey to perimeter trail at the end of the parking lot.  We will head east and north on the trail doing Nickel Dime Quarters.  Here are the exercises for each stop.

  • Bobby Hurleys
  • Diamond Merkins
  • Bicycle Kicks
  • Iron Mikes (each leg = 1)
  • Dive Bombers
  • Box Cutters
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Squats

We will turn west at the Serpentine Sidewalk and continue to the Island Parking Lot.  At the parking lot we will have the Relay Race Around the Island.  Men divide up into teams with each team stationing men at an island.  The race starts with the first man running to second man, second to third, etc. until last man meets first man again (no touching, keep social distance).  The first man starts again.  The race isn’t over until the last man gets back to where he started.

Mosey to base of Mini Cardiac.  Do 20 Buzz Saws.  Next we will Bernie Sanders up Mini Cardiac to Park Sign, then sprint the rest of the way to the AO.

MARY:
Boat Canoe and ATMS
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:

From John 15: 12-15.
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 
During this coronavirus epidemic I had to lay out from F3 as did you.  When F3 started meeting again, it hurt me not to be able to join with you brothers.  I was concerned about working out with you because, as you know, my wife, Jan, was diagnosed with breast cancer at about the same time the coronavirus epidemic was beginning to spread in the United States.  We hear that we can carry the coronavirus without even knowing it. I didn’t want to catch the virus by getting close to others, then unknowingly spread it to my wife.
I realized during the months away from you guys how much strength I get from just meeting with you.  I did work out alone and with my son, Bennett (aka Puddle in F3).  So, I kept in ok shape.  What I missed was the strength of the fellowship, of the encouragement we get from one another as men, of the message shared at the end of each workout, of the commitment to lock shields through the struggle, of the way we push each other forward not only in workouts but as HIMs, of the way we pray for each other, reach out to each other, hold each other in our hearts.  Man, I missed you guys.
On Thursday, May 21, Jan and I had a serious talk with her oncologist.  Jan has an aggressive breast cancer.  The chemotherapy weakens her immune system.  She can’t fight off Covid-19 the way you and I might be able to.  She was understandably scared about having me go to F3 workouts.  She doesn’t want to die and the odds would be significantly higher of that happening to her than to most if she did get Covid-19.  But, God bless her, she also saw how much as was missing F3.  On the way to chemotherapy, she said that we should talk to the oncologist about the safety of my working out with you guys.  The oncologist told me that she felt pretty good about the low risks of outdoor workouts, particularly if a social distance is kept from others.  She gave me the green light to come to F3 and so did Jan.  Sweat release!!  I can’t tell you how that felt to me.  I couldn’t believe it. With the news about the coronavirus sticking around all year long, I was wondering if I would ever to get to see you again.  And now, if I keep a distance from you, forgive me, it isn’t that I don’t want to be near you.  Heck, I want to give each of you a big ol bear hug.
Anyway, what I am saying is thank you.  Thank you for praying for me and for Jan.  Thank you for the encouraging words you have sent me. Thank you for praying for Jan and me.  And, thank you for being a greater source of strength than I even realized.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Who needs a spartan race when you have a couple of cones

THE SCENE: The Equalizer, 5:30am, Late May. Rain, clear, spotty showers…who knows
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA: 

some stretching of the legs and getting the body warmed up
THA-THANG:
“Virtual Spartan 5k”

5K run while stopping to do the following 20 obstacles:

    • 10 Merkins
    • 10 burpees
    • 10 mountain climbers 4ct
    • 10 SSH 4ct
    • 10 squats
    • 10 forward lunges
    • 10 hand-release Merkins
    • 10 tuck jumps
    • 10 Inch worms
    • 10 shoulder taps (per side)

Run four cones -walk fast two x3

Sprint two cones-walk two x4

mosey back to AO for dealers choice and

10 single leg squats (per side)

“10-second” 6” planks

ring of fire with jump overs and merkins

MARY:
side crunches, box cutters
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 pax
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Stealing a page from G-6 and doing some star gazing while reflecting on Gods wonderful creation and blessings. Take time to concentrate on God‘s word and his blessings
MOLESKIN:
Good work from the PAX today. Saw some good hustle on the sprints
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP

The Return of the Big Dipper!

THE SCENE: Awesome evening.  Partly sunny, low 70s, not much 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 Pele 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!  Some additional COVID-19 considerations: keep your distance between you and other members of the PAX and any other folks that we pass during moseys, etc. to 6-10 feet.  We will be splitting up into groups smaller than 10 if necessary.  We need to set good examples and be good neighbors out here at this public park, especially with so many folks out and about.

WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), IC, 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), IC, 10 Steve Earles (4-ct), IC, 10 Grady Corns (4-ct), IC.  We also scattered in 30 “Marine Burpees” (burpee minus the Merkin at the bottom) in honor of Mandolin’s 35th b-day.  The Q was getting tired during the dang warmup, so we stopped there but added 5 more during the workout to make 35.

THA-THANG:

We split into two groups to be in compliance with local health guidelines.  Mr. Jinxy was Q2.

  • Mosey to the Grinch’s Hill. Do 3 sets of 7s, going up the hill a different way for each (always run down the hill):
    • First 7s. BERNIE SANDERS up the hill
      • Mountain Climbers (4-ct)
      • Burpees
    • Second 7s. EL CAPITAN up the hill
      • Star Jumps
      • Smurf Jacks
    • Third 7s. BEAR CRAWL up the hill
      • BBS
      • American Hammer (4-ct)
  • Mosey to Perimeter Trail near Area 51. Nickel-dime-quarters (run 1 light, do 5 of the exercise, run 2 lights do 10, run 5 lights do 25), with Carolina Dry Docks as the exercise.
  • Mosey a little ways up the base of EVEREST to get off the trail and out of people’s way. Do 10 of each exercise, run up 1/3 of hill and back down, then 20 of each exercise, run up 2/3 of hill, then 30 of each exercise, then run to base of summit.
    • Exercises: Big Boy Situps, LBCs, Flutter Kicks (4-ct; switched to 2-ct for the last set)
  • At BASE OF SUMMIT do 10 of each exercise, and then TAKE THE HILL!
    • 10 x Burpees, Bobby Hurleys, and SSH

MARY:
Q1 did X’s and O’s and Homer/Marge until Q2 finally decided to show up at the shovel flag.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
18 HIMs, including Clooney (couldn’t tag) and FNG Duck Hunt, who is Mandolin’s 2.0.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Jesus said that following his death, “You will know the Holy Spirit. It will be in you, and I will be in you, and you will never be alone.”  The Bible also says that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve wondered what the Holy Spirit looks like, and I’m still not 100% sure.  I thought it might look like a benevolent ghost, or a sparkling cloud with rainbows and unicorns or something that would fill you with wonder if you were to look upon it.

But these days, when it may appear that God is keeping His distance from us, I think the Holy Spirit looks a whole lot like the doctors that hold the hands of patients dying from the COVID-19 virus, who can’t have family members be with them during their final hours.  I think it looks like volunteers and loved ones who drive by and wave and hold pictures up at the windows to cheer up the residents of nursing homes.  Or parents who tirelessly help their children learn at home. Or people who contribute money or time to food pantries.  Or communities who gather outside and bang on pots at a certain time to congratulate the graduating high school class, like they did in my home town.  Or the local baker who baked a thousand cookies for the first responders at Beth Israel hospital in NYC.  At first glance, God and the Holy Spirit may seem to be distant from us these days.  But in truth, I think they are closer than ever.

“God will be with us, if we follow his commandment to love each other as Jesus loved us.” (John 13:34).

MOLESKIN:
It was just awesome to have our fearless leader Lilydipper join us again.  We prayed for him and his wife, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.  Prayers also for 3 classmates of Abscess who passed away last week.  Prayers of thanks for Pusher’s anniversary, and Thunderstruck’s mother, who is ill but felt well enough to do a short hike to a waterfall on Mother’s Day. And Happy 35th, Manilow!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Some PAX are going to Morristown to assist with their launch on Saturday.  They will be leaving around 5:30 am. Contact Abscess or Steam for more details.