F3 Knoxville

Tag: Abscess

Gladiator Bear

THE SCENE: Beautiful morning with the BSIA.  60 degrees, sunny, low humidity.  Aahhhhh….
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Performed adequately.
WARM-O-RAMA:

-Motivators (5-count, descending)

– 10 Rockettes (4-ct, IC)

– 10 Tempo Merkins (4-ct, IC)

– BAC forward and backward (4-ct, IC)

– Bolt 45s

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct, IC)

– Little of this and that

THA-THANG:

MOSEY up Baby Everest to trail that leads to Lyons View entrance

Nickel/Dime Quarters!

Run 1 light do 5 reps, run 2 lights do 10 reps, run 5 lights do 25 reps.  Stop at base of Everest.  Exercises:

  1. MTN CLIMBERS (4-ct)     2. MERKINS  3.  FROGGY JUMPS

BASE OF EVEREST:

BERNIE up Everest until you hit failure.  When you do, do the Failure Ritual of Shame: 20 Merkins/20 Big Boys/20 Squats.  Run up the Summit to the road.  LBCs until the 6 catches up.

MOSEY to Small “Dora” parking lot.

5/10/15s: Get a battle buddy, while one BB jogs back and forth in the bullpen, the other runs up to the stop sign to do two exercises 5x.  Switch off.  Next time 10x, then 15x.   3 Rounds:

ROUND 1:  PETER PARKERS/BOTTLE OPENERS (both 2-ct)

ROUND 2: BIG BOY SITUPS/GAS PUMPS

ROUND 3: BOBBY HURLEYS/IMPERIAL WALKERS (2-ct) (We didn’t finish the “15” round of this last one)

MOSEY TO FIELD BELOW:

ULTIMATE FRISBEE! Divide into two teams.  Rules:

  • Frisbee hits the ground, team that drops it does 2 Deconstructed Burpees. The other team CANNOT START until those are done.
  • Score a touchdown, Scoring team does 5 CHEERLEADERS while losing team does 5 DECONSTRUCTED BURPEES and runs to the other side to receive kickoff
  • WINNER of contest gets a 20 second WALK MOSEY Head start back to the AO. When losers catch them, AYG back to the AO.

MARY:
American Hammers, Hommer/Marge
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 Strong + a poochie (Tank)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I’ve watched two very different shows recently that highlighted some of the same key attributes of leadership that I’d like to talk about today a little bit.  I’ve never considered myself a particularly strong leader, more of a leader by example, but I’ve been trying to improve my leadership skills here and there, and by seeing examples of how it can be done helps give me some pointers.

The first example is a show called BEAR, about a chef who has absolutely climbed the ladder globally, and was working at one of the best restaurants in the world when his brother dies, leaving him a run down Italian beef joint in downtown Chicago that is nearly bankrupt.  All the other workers there are blue-collar types who have worked there for years, and even though he’s “family”, they think of him as a snob, an outsider, and a disruptor.  The way he leads the group to try to get the restaurant back on its feet is impressive, and I wanted to mention a few things specifically.

  • Right off the bat he calls everyone “Chef” as a sign of respect. Everyone is in the same boat, everyone equal.
  • He observes and sees each worker’s strengths and gives them the freedom to pursue their passions within the confines of the restaurant. One guy really loves baking and making desserts, and he allows him to pursue that passion.
  • He does the dirty work. Literally. He’s on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor after everyone else has gone home.

Then there’s a scene in the movie Gladiator, when Russell Crowe’s character, who is an ex-commander of the Roman army that has been wrongfully imprisoned and trapped in the world of the gladiators, is released into the Colosseum in Rome with other criminals to be slaughtered for entertainment by a much better-armed group of gladiators.  His leadership qualities immediately kick in.

  • Before the battle begins, he asks who else has served in the military. A few nod, and he asks for their help.  Makes them feel important.
  • Right before combat, he tells his group to stick together and cooperate. It will give them a better chance to survive.
  • He is one of the first to engage the enemy group. He organizes and inspires his fellow gladiators and they end up winning the battle.

Some commonalities between the two scenarios.

  1. Give others belief in themselves and their unique abilities. Find out what makes them tick, what their skills and passions are, and recognize and encourage them.
  2. Lead from the front. When it’s time to get your hands dirty, be the first to stick them deep in the mud.
  3. When it’s crunch time, whether during a crisis in the kitchen or if you find yourself in a life and death battle in a gladiator arena, step up. Give others confidence.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Asylum cleanup next Saturday 9 am!

Snow-No

THE SCENE: Cloudy, right at freezing, was supposed to be snowing, but just a light drizzle/sleet/winter mix that did change to snow during the last 15 minutes of the workout.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER  Check.

WARM-O-RAMA:

-15 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence – Run across parking lot and back

– 8 Abe Vigodas (4-ct), in cadence – Bernie across and back

– 15 Grady Corns (4-ct), in cadence – Super Mario across and back

– 15 Tempo Squats (4-ct), in cadence

THA-THANG:

MOSEY up the Dragon’s tail to stop sign past the Rock.

  • 20 Imperial Squat walkers, 4-ct, IC

Partner UP!

  • Partner 1 Bernie’s to guard rail, runs to tree, 5 Jump Squats, run back
  • Partner 2 Alternates between 10 Deconstructed Burpees (doing all components of the Burpee separately) and 10 Froggy Jumps
  • R&R

Snowgazers: Catch 5 SNOWFLAKES ON YOUR TONGUE!  (this didn’t work out, seeing as there was no snow…)

MOSEY to Overlook/Coliseum:

  • SMEAR THE Q!
    • Get in a line, take a shot at hitting the Q with a Snowball. Everyone gets three tries.  Hit = 10 ct stargazer.  Miss = 5 Deconstructed burpees.  A hit to the face or groin = 10 Real burpees for all of us.  Do SSH while you wait your turn.  (again, had to modify this since there was no snow.  PAX picked 3 numbers between 1 and 10, another PAX secretly selected the number, if the number was picked, it was a HIT, otherwise a miss.)

Mosey to Roundabout. (RIGHT when we got here it started to snow… Arrrgh)

5/10/15s.  Partner 1 runs to curb and does 5x of 2 exercises, trades off with partner.  R&R with 10 x.  R&R with 15 x.  Partner not doing exercises is doing a slow mosey in the bullpen.

ROUND 1 Exercises: PLANK JACKS AND PETER PARKERS

ROUND 2 Exercises:  SMURF JACKS AND BOBBY HURLEYS

Mosey to AO.
MARY:
No time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Aristotle had a theory that men take on a particular quality by engaging in a particular behavior.  You’ve probably all heard the expression “You are what you eat.”  This might be altered to “You are what you do… over and over and over again.”

Aristotle: Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way… you become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions.  First of all, they set you up for failure, and then comes the wave of guilt if you don’t reach that goal.  Second, they’re temporary.  You may achieve whatever goal you set out to do, whether it’s to lose 10 pounds, abstain from alcohol for a month, save enough money to purchase a new couch, or whatever, but then what happens?  You go right back to your old ways.

A better approach might be to take a page out of Aristotle’s book and focus on Behavior rather than Goals.  By changing Behavior, you establish patterns that pay off with results and are more long term.  You become what you do.  Instead of setting a goal of losing 10 pounds, try to reduce your sugar and carb intake.  Instead of stopping alcohol cold turkey, use the “I’ll have one later” approach to delay the number of drinks you have.  Instead of saving for a new TV or couch, which, once paid off, may result in you going back to spending more than you need to, set up small automatic transfers of your pay check into a savings account.  And as HIMs, don’t think to yourself, “Gee, I’ll try to be more of a HIM this month”.  Instead, integrate acts of character, leadership, and positive encouragement to those around you on a regular basis.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Jetlag’s family and Jinxy’s family as they go through some health issues, prayers for Curveball’s parents who were not answering the phone recently, prayers for Abacus’ mom
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Triple birthday Hot Toddy Q this Saturday!

These Are the Days

THE SCENE: Windy, windy, windy, temp about 66 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 second squat, 10 Mountain Climbers, 20 second squat, 10 Cherry Pickers, 30 second squat, 5 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward as well as 5 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 60 second squat.
THA-THANG:
We will split into two groups.  Group 1 start in the pavilion while Group 2 will start on the Playground.  We will do 10 Picnic Table Pullups and 10 Incline Merkins at the picnic tables.  We will do 10 Bench Jumps and 10 Decline Merkins on the benches.  After each man does the exercises he should run to his right side of the pavilion do the next set of exercises at the next spot.  Rinse and repeat 3 times.

Mosey to the bottom of mini cardiac.  We will Bernie Sanders to Park Sign then run to the crosswalk.

Mosey to the stop sign where the road goes to the admin bldg.  We will circle up to do 20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to the parking lot that is below the Coliseum.  Men will split into teams of two and will do Doras.  While partner one runs up stairs, across the coliseum area to the end of the parking lot, and back to the spot we are gathered at, partner two does the exercises.  Partners then switch.  Here are the exercises:

  • 150 Jump Squats
  • 150 Iron Mikes (both feet = 1)
  • 150 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)
  • 150 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)

Mosey to roadway that semicircles by the soccer fields.  We will run around the semi-circle doing two burpees after every ten stakes in the grass.  Men finishing first will alternate between Merkins and Big-Boy Sit-ups.

Mosey to the large parking lot is near what used to be the southern ball fields.

We will do suicides to each light post and then the end of the parking lot.  Each time a man comes back to the curb he should do 20 Baby Crunches.

Mosey to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 men with one FNG, Darrell Roberts, whom we dubbed “Hochuli.”  We were also blessed to have Trunk and Submarine visit us as they are usually at the Truck Stop on Saturday mornings.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ask guys who are in their 60s like me.  Life is short.  We need to accept the glory and beauty of what God has given us here.  Man, we need to savor these days, bless them, hold them in our hearts.  The time is now.  Why wait until we are in retirement or on our deathbeds to enjoy God’s gift to us.  The other day, I was listening to one of my favorite songs by Van Morrison, one that you might not have heard as it isn’t as famous as some of his others.  It captures the idea of our needing to cherish our time here on earth while thinking of our savior who has blessed us with the gift of life.

“These Are The Days” by Van Morrison

These are the days of the endless summer
These are the days, the time is now
There is no past, there’s only future
There’s only here, there’s only now
Oh your smiling face, your gracious presence
The fires of spring are kindling bright
Oh the radiant heart and the song of glory
Crying freedom in the night
These are the days by the sparkling river
His timely grace and our treasured find
This is the love of the one magician
Turned the water into wine
These are days of the endless dancing and the
Long walks on the summer night
These are the days of the true romancing
When I’m holding you oh, so tight
These are the days by the sparkling river
His timely grace and our treasured find
This is the love of the one great magician
Turned water into wine
These are the days now that we must savor
And we must enjoy as we can
These are the days that will last forever
You’ve got to hold them in your heart.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Cheatsheet as the new parenting plan that will be made for he and the mother of Cheatsheet’s daughter, Willow.  Prayers for all those impacted by the tornados that swept through Kentucky last night.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas Party!  Also, great job by F3 men in helping with Christmas projects to help others in our community.

Heat Wave

THE SCENE: Sunny, HOTt, humid… typical E TN summer day.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check
WARM-O-RAMA:

-Motivators (5 count, descending)

– 10 Plank  Jacks (4-ct, IC)

– 15 Moroccan Night Clubs (4-ct, IC)

– 15 Overhead Seal Claps (4-ct, IC)

– 10 Steve Earls (4-ct, IC)

– Little of this and that

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to the Bowl area by the Bermuda Triangle.

  • JINXY’S FOUR AND A QUARTER. Start at bottom of hill, run to top of slope 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: LBCs (single count)
    • Round 3: Lunges (single count)

MOSEY to Grassy Area by Base of Everest.

Totem Pole.  Start at 10, do all the exercises, then run to the bench by the road (or to Summit, dealer’s choice), do 10 SSH, and return. Then start at 9, etc.

  • 10 Burpees
  • 9 Mountain Climbers (4-ct)
  • 8 Diamond Merkins
  • 7 Box Cutters
  • 6 American Hammers (4-ct)
  • 5 Imperial Squat Walkers (4-ct)
  • 4 Hand Release Merkins
  • 3 Prisoner Get Ups
  • 2 Squats
  • 1 Star Gazers (10 seconds).  Rabbits R&R

We got about 75% of the way through this.

Go up Summit twice, once must be Bernie.  Do 25 MERKINS, 25 BBS, 25 SQUATS, and 25 IMPERIAL WALKERS somewhere along the way.  Rabbits rinse and repeat the exercises until 6 catches up.

MOSEY TO AO.

MARY:
Ran out of time.  Did some light stretching.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
22 Strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Special WORD by Lilydipper, who has been out with an injury for a few months.  Thought it would be great to have him address the PAX as he recovers from hip surgery.  Here are his words:

Gents, I haven’t been able to work out with you guys since mid-March.  Here we are in August, 5 months later.  Your fellowship lifts me up.  Thank goodness I have been able to come to board meetings.  I get to share a beer with you, see my brothers, commune with you.  Man, I need that fellowship.  I know Jinxy has needed it as well and that is why he was hobbling on crutches to the board meetings before he healed enough to join you guys in workouts.  The well-wishes you shared with us and the prayers you prayed for us have meant more that I think either one of us can say.

But what I want to share with you today is the importance of the workout.  I have been thankful to have fellowship with you brothers at board meetings and Coffeeteria.  Yet, I can’t wait to get back to the workouts.  Of course the workout makes us more physically fit.  I must admit that I have gained about ten pounds since mid-March.  But it is not physical fitness that I want to talk about.  It’s the bond created by going through the gloom, the heat, the sweat, the grime, the gasps for breath, the spilling or merlot, the dizziness, the pain, the questioning of self, the suffering through hell with one’s brothers – that is what I want to talk about.

Jetlag and I were conversing about Coffeeteria the other day.  Both of us agreed that part of what makes it so special is the suffering that precedes it.  Somehow that coffee and bagel just tastes better when you have made it through the torture with your brothers. As Crawdad says, “It’s the reward, baby!”   And, believe me, an ice cold beer at the Board Meeting certainly tastes better after suffering through the heat of the Fake Gloom.

Still, what makes the workout even more special is being able to look at your brother and think, “man we have been through this together.”  Each man in F3 has a respect for the other because we know what the suffering is like.  Yeah, Swimmies may run around the Caribbean three times faster than me.  He respects that pain and he knows I am feeling it too.  We each know that we are pushing to get better.  He respects this old man because I am willing to go through the same ring of pain that he is.  I love that about F3.  I also love how we encourage each other.  Doubtfire is one of the best at doing this. “Hang in there, Lily, you got this.  I’ll run with you, c’mon, let’s get over that hill.”  We cheer for each other, pull each other through.  “Leave No Man Behind.”

Bros, I appreciate you allowing me to join you for fellowship after the workouts.  I see you guys drenched and grass-stained after a difficult beat-down and I almost feel guilty for showing up in my dry clothes.  Just know that when I am fully healed (which the surgeon says should be about mid-October) I will be glad to hook shields with you and battle beside you once more.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Guppy’s sister, who is expecting.  UPDATE, shortly after the workout, she delivered a healthy baby daughter!  Prayers for those affected by the flooding in Tennessee.  Also, we presented Lilydipper with a ruck sack/plate/patch gift to help him with his recovery.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Iron Pax coming up, food drive continuing for a few weeks, Hardship Hill obstacle construction help needed (contact Sparkler).

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.