F3 Knoxville

Tag: Abscess

All Hail the GOATS!

THE SCENE: Perfect! Sunny, mid 60s, slight breeze… we will miss this when it’s 95 and humid.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.


WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 SSH (4-ct, IC)

– 10 Windmills (4-ct, IC)

– 10 Plank Jacks (4-ct, IC)

– 20 Moroccan Nightclubs (4-ct, IC)

– Little of this and that

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to Amphitheater.

  • 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: Imperial Walkers (single count)
    • Round 3: Lunges (single count)

MOSEY to field across from Area 51.

  • LILYDIPPER’S FOUR CORNERS. Cones will be laid out in a square.  Move around the square 3 times, doing the exercises listed, in order.  Move to the next corner by the method indicated.
    • CORNER 1: 20 Merkins/ 20 Shoulder Taps (4-ct) / 20 Bottle Openers (4-ct). Sprint to Corner 2.
    • CORNER 2: 20 Box Cutters / 20 BBS / 20 Gas Pumps. Bernie to Corner 3.
    • CORNER 3: 20 Star Jumps / 20 Bobby Hurleys / 20 Tempo Squats. Bear Crawl to Corner 4.
    • CORNER 4: 20 Mountain Climbers (4-ct) / 20 Hurpees (Burpee without the Merkin) / 20 Plank Jacks. Skip to Corner 1.

MOSEY to Area 51

– 20 American Hammers, Run up slope to tree stump…

– 20 Pinto Twists, Run up to Street…

– 20 Rocky Balboas

MOSEY TO TOP OF SUMMIT

– PINTO’S GRINDERS! 4 STATIONS:

  1. BAT HOUSE: 25 SMURF JACKS
  2. BOTTOM OF STAIRS: 25 BBS
  3. BOTTOM OF SUMMIT: 10 Burpees
  4. TOP OF SUMMIT: 25 LBCs.

We didn’t have time to do the whole Grinder, so we did the top exercises (Smurf Jacks and LBCs) at the top of the summit, ran down, did the Burpees and BBS, then charged back up.

MARY:
No time for the old gal…

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 strong!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
This workout honored some of the Goats, which is the name we gave ourselves sitting around at the Board Meeting a few years ago when we were by far the oldest AO.  In particular, I wanted to pay tribute to some of the guys in the DOUBLE RESPECT categories who were not able to join us this afternoon because of various ailments and injuries, namely PINTO, JINXY, and LILLYDIPPER.  There are several reasons we use the term DOUBLE RESPECT title, and sometimes we tend to gloss over it, or simply yell it out automatically in the BOM.  But these workouts are damn hard, and age makes them even more challenging, as I’ll be the first to tell you.  So there’s respect for the fact that the older guys are getting out there and busting their rear ends side by side with the younger crowd.  But also, these are the elders of our F3 community, and these three have been with the program longer than almost everyone else out here.  They set the example of how it should be done, and they may not be able to keep up with the rabbits in the group in terms of pure speed, but after being in F3 for 3 years I can tell you that no one does it better.  Their dedication to the tenets of F3 and in encouraging the next generation never flags.  It’s important to them to pass that torch on to the younger guys.  I remember Pinto getting on me for resting instead of keeping moving when I was standing in line to go down the stairs on the Grinder Circuit (“There’s no standing around! Keep moving!”).  I remember Lillydipper telling me how great I was doing and encouraging me when we I was absolutely dying going up Cardiac for the first time.  (And by the way… just watch Lilly when he moseys… he keeps running all the way to the stopping point, when 99% of the rest of us pull up 20 feet short and walk. ) And I remember Jinxy refusing to quit after pulling a leg muscle mid-way through his second lap on Hardship Hill a few years ago when I was running with him as a partner.  Dude had one leg, but he kept on going.  So thank you to our Double Respect warriors.   Their age may be pretty high, but you know what?  So is the dang bar that they set for the rest of us as F3 brothers. LONG LIVE THE GOATS!

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Lilly, Pinto, and Jinxy.  Prayers for the Austin East Community as they try to heal following the shootings and violence they’ve experienced the past year.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Don’t forget to pick up something for the Safe Haven and World United Ministries charity drive!

With One Eye Squinted…

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, very pretty clouds, low 70s, quite breezy.  Good kite-flying weather.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.

WARM-O-RAMA:

-Motivators (7-ct)

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence, maintain position…

– Hamstring stretches, sky reaches

– 20 Grady Corns (4-ct), in cadence

– Little of this and that

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to stop sign at northeast corner of circle drive.

  • ARM STATION: MUCHO CHESTO
    • 10x Merkin
    • 10x Wide Merkin
    • 10x Stagger Left Merkin
    • 10x Stagger Right Merkin
    • RINSE AND REPEAT

MOSEY to Center of Coliseum.

  • LEG STATION: AIKEN LEGS
    • 20 squats
    • 20 Box Jumps (on wall)
    • 20 Lunges (10 each leg… but we did 20 each leg for extra credit)
    • 20 Split Jacks (10 each leg forward… but we did 20 each leg forward for extra credit)
    • RINSE AND REPEAT

MOSEY to lower parking lot under Coliseum

  • 5/10/15s. Get a Battle Buddy.  Partner 1 runs up to stop sign and does 5x reps of two exercises, then comes down and switches with Partner 2, who is running in place or doing SSH.  R&R with 10x, then 15x exercises.  The exercises are:
    • Round 1: Mountain Climbers and Peter Parkers (both 2-ct)
    • Round 2: Smurf Jacks and Froggy Jumps

Mosey to stop sign at southern corner of circle drive.  20 American hammers (4-ct, IC), 10 BBS.

Bernie Sanders to no parking sign.  20 American hammers (4-ct, IC), 10 BBS.

MOSEY TO AO.

CMU Catch Me If You Can!

  • Partner 1 Lunges away, Partner 2 does 20x of an exercise, then runs with CMU (overhead carry) to catch Partner 1.   Keep going, changing the exercises.  Partners must agree on exercise.
    • OPTIONS: Overhead Press, Curls, CMU Press, Situps, Rows, Triceps, Squats

MARY:
LBCs until 6 caught up.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
19 strong!  Plus one doggy.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Those of us in the Christian faith have just emerged from a special part of year, the Easter season.  Part of what makes Easter so extraordinary is that it is about moving on, emerging from the darkness, and having faith that God will make all things new again.  As the seasons change, winter turns to spring, and the Easter season arrives, we move ahead slowly, deliberately, with great love, and great hope.  But the true meaning of Easter is not without some darker elements as well.  Before we reach the time of great renewal and hope there can be much fear, hesitation, and confusion, similar to what Mary Magdalene felt initially when she saw the empty tomb.

(Mary) Flannery O’Connor is a well-known southern author who wrote strange and often violent short stories.  She was diagnosed with Lupus at a relatively young age.  Her stories were often influenced by her struggles with her disease, and were often sardonic and dark, but she was a devout Christian that also incorporated messages of faith in her writings.  Her faith-based outlook on life are on full display in a book called THE HABIT OF BEING, which is a collection of letters she wrote in the latter half of her life. And she writes that being a person of faith is not all sunshine and rainbows….

She writes, “All Human Nature rigorously resists grace. Grace changes us, and change is painful.  We don’t run towards Grace, sometimes we are dragged fighting it all the way.”  Faith calls us out of complacency, and into places of uncertainty. It’s risky. Uncomfortable.  It’s transformative.  She writes, “What people don’t realize is how much religion costs…” “It seems to be a fact that you have to suffer as much from the Church as for it, but if you believe in the divinity of Christ, you have to cherish the world at the same time that you struggle to endure it.”  Fear. Uncertainty. Transformation. And only then, Exultation! That’s Easter in a nutshell.

Flannery O’Connor died of her illness at age 39.  Despite the struggles and challenges, she wrote of her life, “I can, with one eye squinted, take it all as a blessing.”  As we move through the darkness of the past year, hopefully we can acknowledge our blessings and faith in the journey, and, with one eye squinted, find some grace, some miracles in the year behind us, and recognize and act on the ways we were all called to be changed.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for the return home of Corona Weight’s brother, prayers for Ribbed, Jinxy, La-Z-Boy and Lillydipper, as they recover from injury and illness, prayers for Steam’s friend Shawn.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
April service challenge! Details TBA.

Passing the Torch!

THE SCENE:  A couple of degrees below freezing…

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:

Forgot to mention that I am not a professional…  However I am sure the PAX is aware of that by now!

WARM-O-RAMA:
30 SSH

10 Tempo Merkins

10 Tempo Squats

Baby Arm Circles Forward/Reverse

THA-THANG:

Drawed the number 2 with GPS with 3 stations located in the park.

Station 1 – Bear Crawl around the tennis court with 5 Burpees at each corner.  Run and touch gate then proceed to Station 2.

Station 2 – at the back parking lot I placed some modified CMU’s in the grass next to the trail entrance.  We used these CMU’s for 20 Curls and 20 Overhead Presses.  Then run over to the boat ramp.

Station 3 –  We did 20 Dry Docks facing downhill on the ramp.  Then starting at the water, 20 Squat Jumps up the ramp.  Then we ran back to the Tennis Court.

Rinse and Repeat as many times as you could.

MARY:
ATM closeout led by Cap’n Crunch

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Passed the Flag over to Stripped, he is a wonderful asset to the Equalizer.  Not only is he accountable at the workouts, he is also accountable to reach out to brothers that are needing help outside of the workouts.  I am grateful that the Equalizer is in good hands!

“Leadership is not about a title or a designation.  It’s about impact, influence,  and inspiration.”

MOLESKIN:
Was one of the most boring workouts I have put together but drawing the 2 for our 2 year anniversary was very important for me.  However it did turn into a pretty good beatdown, so I plan to use it again soon!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill 10/2!!!

When in Need

THE SCENE: Cloudy, temp about 70.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, Plank Stretches, 10 Iron Mikes, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, Michael Phelps
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Cone 1 at Stop Sign at Southeastern Corner of Admin Bldg.  We will run back up the semi-circle road toward Stop Sign at Northeastern Corner.  We stop[ at cones to do exercises.  There will be 8 cones with the last cone at the stop sign at the Northeastern Corner.  We go forth by method depicted on the cone.  Then we run back.  However, with each run back and forth we lose the end cone.  In other word we run cone 1 to 8, then 8 to 2, then 2 to 7, etc.  The cones and methods of running are shown.

  • Cone 1:  20 American Hammers (regular count).  Sprint to next cone.
  • Cone 2:  20 Side Straddle Hops (normal count).  Bernie to next cone.
  • Cone 3:  20 Merkins.  Skip to next cone.
  • Cone 4:  20 Big Boys. Sprint to next cone.
  • Cone 5:  20 Hello Dollies (normal count).  Sprint to next cone.
  • Cone 6:  20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Skip to next cone.
  • Cone 7:  20 Squat Jumps.  Bernie to next cone.
  • Cone 8:  20 Bicycle Kicks (regular count).  Sprint to next cone.

Go to Roadshow Run.  We will run to trail at end of the run.  We will do 40 Baby Crunches and 20 Squats.  Then we run back up but at each set of stairs we do 20 Calf Raises before running on up the stairs.  At bat cave we do more Baby Crunches until six arrives.

Run to AO.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Hello Dollies, Stretches.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 men with no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
When In Need

All of us have faced time of great distress that can lead to significant anxiety or depression.  We are encouraged, in F3, to reach out to our brothers when in need.  We may be quite depressed when a brother turns to help us.  Often, those who are depressed are not good at accepting help.  When brothers reach out to us, there are some things we need to remember:

  • Be gracious to those who come to you.  This may be difficult to do because we are so down and out.  However much we are hurting, we need to show appreciation to the brother who took his time to come to us.
  • Accept what is given.  Some people are better at giving advice or listening to us than others.  Some people may give advice that you already have tried or that you don’t think is that wise.  That’s ok.  Search for the pools of wisdom in what they say and remember that your brother has come to you out of love, no matter what the advice.  His coming to you is gift enough.
  • Use what is given to build yourself back up.  Unfortunately, when we are hurt and down we sometimes get stuck in the role of a victim.  We can’t believe our fate and we are angry about where we are.  As Christ said to the invalid, “Pick up your mat and walk.”  Take strength and assistance from your brothers and use it for change.
  • Don’t expect people to come to you if you aren’t calling on them to.  When we have something happen to us, people will come for a while.  They care.  But people may stop coming to you after a period of time.  You may feel forgotten and get angry, thinking people don’t care.  Remember that people get busy with their own lives and problems. Don’t expect them to keep coming if you aren’t asking them to.
  • Leave people feeling glad they visited.  You need encouragement in your time of need but our visitors need encouragement as well.  It isn’t easy to take time out of one’s day to visit a person who is ungracious.  If you continually depict a picture of misery, it is the rare person who will continue to visit you again and again.  Thank the visitor for coming and let them know that you care for them too.

If we can do these things when in need we will find that are wounds are healed more easily.  We are accepting the gifts God places before us and we can regain our strength again

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those in the Philippines where the Covid rate has risen significantly; prayers for other countries where Covid is on the rise; prayers for Mr. Jinxy who is recovering from injuries after his automobile accident.

Lighting the Arsenal’s Cannons

THE SCENE: Low/Mid 30’s with some sunshine
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
This is F3, Stands for Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith
It is a FREE workout
I am not a professional
You are here on your own volition
I have no knowledge of any injuries or your fitness considerations
It is your individual responsibility to be safe and to modify exercises if you need to, we all do it
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH – 15 (IC)
  • LBAC – F/B – 10 (IC)
  • Air Squat – 10 (IC)
  • Merkin – 10 (IC)
  • BBS – 10 (IC)

Active Warm-O-Rama – Ring of Fire:

  • While Pax are still in circle have everyone alternating between plank and Al-Gore. 1 Pax will run to the center of the circle and burnie back. Once they return to the plank position the next Pax member goes. Rinse and repeat until all Pax have run to the center and back.

** Have Pax number off by 1s and 2s. 1s will go with Drifter to the Baseball Field and 2s will go with Moses to the Football Field.

THA-THANG:

Baseball Field: Bleacher Work
5 Minute AMRAP:

  • Step-ups – 10 each leg
  • Incline Merkins – 10 (4ct)
  • Dips – 10 (4ct)
  • Step-ups – 10 each leg
  • Decline Merkins – 10 (4ct)
  • Dips – 10 (4ct)

Mosey to Outfield:

  • Suicides – 30 seconds
  • LBC – 20 (4ct)
  • Suicides – 30 Seconds
  • BBS – 10 (4ct)

Rinse & repeat until other group is done

Football Field Work

Place cones at 10, 20, 30, and 40 yards. Pax will run to first cone, complete the exercise and run back. Then run to the 2nd cone complete the exercise, run back. 3rd cone exercise, run back. 4th cone exercise, run back. Rinse and repeat.
5 Minute AMRAP

Circuit 1: Legs

  • 1st cone 10 lunges in place
  • 2nd cone 5 burpees
  • 3rd cone 10 squats
  • 4th cone 5 burpees

Circuit 2: Abs

  • 1st cone 10 BBS
  • 2nd cone 10 American Hammers (count only one side)
  • 3rd cone 10 Hello Dolly (single count)
  • 4th cone 30 LBC

Suicides on cones 1-4 until 15 minutes is up.

Q2 and Q1 Groups flap jack and repeat circuits.

Merge Groups and mosey to Shovel Flag and present the flag

The shovel flag is one of the classic symbols of F3. No matter where you are within F3 Nation, the Shovel Flag is the one true physical link that connects us all. Just like we leave no man where we find them, the Shovel Flag is portable so that it can be carried forward and shared with others.

This shovel flag represents Respect: respect for country, respect for those who hae served and currently serve to protect our freedoms, and respect for the other AO’s across F3 Nation where similar flags are planted ever week

It represents Hard Work: it bears witness to the blood, sweat, and tears of the men of F3 who gather together at some obscene early hour to get better physically while finding new mental limits. Men getting stronger, fit, and conditioned to handle life’s challenges – most of which are not physical at all – Hard Work

This flag also represents the lives of men being changed. Men are moving from being passive participants in life, to being present. Present in our families, present in our places of work and worship, and present in our communities.

Mosey to SP (Smuggler leading the way carrying the flag)

MARY:

We returned with a little extra time to spare so we decided to push through a few more variations of Merkins!

  • Regular Merkin 10(IC)
  • Wide Merkin 10(IC)
  • Dimond Merkin 5(IC)
  • 6” Crunch 10(IC)
  • Gas Pumps 15(OYO)
  • Ankle Touches 20(IC)
  • LBC for time!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
48 Pax! Included (2) 2.0s and (1) FNG – Welcome ‘That Guy’
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

F3 has always been and will always be more than a workout.  We definitely want to push ourselves and each other physically, but we also want to grow relationally and spiritually.  The PAX is unique in many ways, But the one that is most important to remember is that we are not out here to compete against each other, but collaborate together to grow as husbands, fathers, sons, employees, employers, friends, and neighbors.  We are bound together under a high power for a greater purpose. And I pray that this group of men will continue to lead they way in setting the example for others.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: