Abscess – Page 8 – F3 Knoxville

With One Eye Squinted…

April 8, 2021 Pele

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!

April 4, 2021 Doubtfire

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

March 23, 2021 Lillydipper

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

March 6, 2021 Moses

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 2^nd cone complete the exercise, run back. 3^rd cone exercise, run back. 4^th 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:

Through Imperfection

March 4, 2021 Lillydipper

THE SCENE: Clear skies, about 60 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, Plank Stretches, 10 Windmills, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backwards
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign at southeastern corner of Admin Bldg. 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to shaded area that is on other side of road from Area 51. There will be four cones set up. We will go counter-clockwise to each cone. We will do so four times and do one exercise at each in sequence. We go to the next cone by the method listed. Here are the exercises and way to get to the next cone.

Cone 1: 1. 20 Star Jumps 2. 10 Burpees 3. 20 Plank Jacks 4. 20 Smurf Jacks (Sprint to Cone 2)
Cone 2: 1. 20 Merkins 2. 15 Hand Release Merkins 3. 20 Dive Bombers 4. 20 Diamond Merkins (Bear Crawl to Cone 3)
Cone 3: 1. 20 Jump Squats 2. 20 Mountain Climbers (both feet = 1) 3. 20 Iron Mikes (both feet = 1) 4. 20 Side Straddle Hops (Bernie to Cone 4)
Cone 4: 1. 20 Big-Boy Sit-ups 2. 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct) 3. 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct) 4. 20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct) (Lunge to Cone 1)

Mosey to grassy area by Northshore Entrance to Park. 20 Imperial Walkers.

Mosey on perimeter trail south and then east on Perimeter Trail to benches at south end. Alternate between 20 Bench Dips and 30 Baby Crunches.

Mosey to Soccer Fields and then to grassy area past roadway. We will then do sevens going from grassy area to tree in a field that is about 40 yards away. We will start with 1 set of Shoulder Taps at the roadway and 6 Pinto Twists at the tree.

Mosey to stop sign at southeastern corner of Admin Bldg. 20 American Hammers

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
1 minute run in place and 30 seconds of stretching.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
18 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Imperfect Leaders and Servants

From 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10:

⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I consider the brothers of F3, the men I see each week at workouts and through fellowship, and I see so many of you having the true desire to serve others and be leaders among our community. Yet, we sometimes hesitate for fear of failure. We fear that we will fall short of our goals, not live up to the people we serve, not speak well enough or act well enough, or just be overwhelmed by the time and nature of the task. We think we have to be a Captain Crunch, an Abscess or a Judge Judy to lead and serve the way we should.

We need to remember a wonderful truth when our fears and concerns keep us from taking the chance to lead and serve. God works through our imperfections. Consider every person besides Christ that is in the Bible. They were all imperfect but God used them to serve His purpose. Consider Moses: a man afraid to speak to others, God used him to lead the Jews out of Egypt and to the promised land. Consider David: a man who lusted after Bathsheba and had to be brought to shame to see his sin. God found favor on David and he was a great leader. Consider Peter: a disciple of Christ who boasted he would never betray Him, yet who betrayed Him three times after Jesus was arrested. And, Peter became one of the greatest disciples of Christ, spreading the works of Christ after his death.

God will use our imperfections to serve his people. Why worry then about how imperfect we are. Like Paul says in Corinthians, for the sake of Christ we can be boast in our weaknesses. For He will use our weaknesses to make his power perfect. Go forth, therefore, with confidence. When you screw up, when you stumble, when you say the idiotic thing, if your intentions are loving, if your intentions are to do good for others, Christ will use you despite your mistakes. The message: Get out there and fail because through your failures you will succeed.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Speed Flash on his test tomorrow, for Hand’s friend who passed away and the family of that friend, and for Abscess’ friend who has triple-bypass heart surgery upcoming.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
AO Launch this weekend in Maryville. Get copy paper, napkins and 55 Gallon Trash Bags in for service project.