F3 Knoxville

Tag: Biohack

The Great Siege of 1565

THE SCENE: Cool and muggy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  1. Projectivator
  2. Tempo squats
  3. Tempo merkins
  4. Cherry pickers
  5. Run to the track
  6. Run 3/4 lap w/ high knees, butt kicks, and karaoke

THA-THANG:

Our theme is assaulting a fort.

  • 100m + 50 merkins to assault the front gate.
  • Mosey 100m
  • The frontal assault failed. 200m sprint to retreat and 50 big boys to reinvigorate your manhood.
  • Mosey 300m to find another assault position.
  • Sprint 300m to assault the wall again.  Circle back for the 6.
  • Ouch! We got shot in the leg.  50m lunges
  • Mosey 150m to the field hospital.
  • We got patched up, but now we have to carry a dispatch to an allied commander. Sprint 400m
  • We made it inside the fort now! Run up and down the steps of the grandstands.
  • Mosey back to the flag. Small detour to see the tennis courts and do some dips.

MARY:
Ocho: LBCs – Papa Lock: Grady Corns

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The year is 1565 and the Ottoman Empire dominates the middle east, attacks ships in the Mediterranean, and makes slaves of their captives.  An ancient order of knights that dates back 500 years will break the back of this force of evil and save Europe from a Muslim invasion.

The Knights of the order of Saint John, also known as the Knights Hospitaller, were a group of Christian European knights who originally ran a hospital in Jerusalem. Their 2nd leader organized a militia and this began their military operations.  During the Crusades, they along with the Knights Templar (who you may have heard about from Nicholas Cage), became the 2 most formidable military orders in the Holy Land.

After the Muslims retook Jerusalem, the Knights Hospitaller took to island living.  Moving to Cyprus, Rhodes, and eventually Malta.  While on Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean west of Sicily, they launched naval raids on the Ottoman Empire and their vasal Barbary Pirates.

The Ottoman Empire decided the Knights Hospitaller needed to go to the hospital themselves and launched a huge siege on the Isle of Malta bringing 40,000 men.  This was one of the largest armies assembled since antiquity.  The Knights of the Order of Saint John had only 6,100 men to defend their home and the good people of Malta.

The Ottomans arrived on May 18, 1565 and took the interior of the island quickly.  There were three strategic forts on the east coast of the island that the Knights defended valiantly along with the capital city.  Despite many cannon bombardments from land and sea, and many assaults on the forts, the defenders held the island until September 7th – 4 months later when a relief force of 8,000 Spanish and Italian troops arrived.

These fresh troops made quick work of the demoralized Ottomans forcing them to retreat from the island by September 13th having lost between 25-35,000 men.  The Knights Hospitaller lost 2,000.

This example had a major impact, bringing together the kings of Europe in an alliance against the previously seemingly invincible Ottomans; the result was the vast union of forces against the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto six years later.  Who will you inspire with your bravery and resolve?

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill is on Monday, May 29. Register or sign up to volunteer. Rampart Flag handoff on Saturday.

Lords of the Rings

THE SCENE: 66 degrees and a calm and beautiful morning
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Karate Jacks, Imperial Squawkers, Tempo Merkins, Bird Dogs, Knoxville Cherry-Pickers, Moroccan Night Clubs, Stretch on your own

THA-THANG:

Ruggers Run: modified Indian run with a rugby ball – pass it back, last man sprints it back to the front of the line.

The mission: Gather the required hash (tally) marks for each exercise group.  Most hash marks required multiple reps to count, and approved modifications to earn a tally were included.

  • Karate Jacks (4 count)
    1 hash = 20 KJ’s
    40 hash marks required
  • Rings Pull-ups
    2 Inverted Rows : 1 PU
    1 hash = 5 PU*, 10 IR
    40 hash marks required
  • Running Laps
    1 hash = 1 lap**
    30 hash marks required
  • Imperial Squawkers (4 count)
    1.5 squats : 1 IS
    1 hash = 20 IS, 30 squats
    40 hash marks required
  • Bird Dogs (4 count)
    1 Big Boy : 1 BD
    3 LBC : 1 BD
    1 hash = 20 BD, 20 BB, 60 LBC
    40 hash marks required
  • Derkins
    1 merkins : 1 Dk
    3 incline merkins : 1 Dk
    1 hash = 15 Dk, 30 Mk, 45 IM
    40 hash marks required

* A rather heavy towing chain was present.  Any that did pull-ups wearing the chain got to put a bonus hash mark in any category.

** A 45 lb weight vest was present.  Any that ran the lap wearing the vest got to put a bonus hash mark anywhere they wanted.

Mission was accomplished with time to spare.  Outstanding effort, HIMs!

Mosey back to the flag.

MARY:
Shoulder burn to finish out the day!  Grady Corns into Moroccan Night Clubs into Little Baby Arm Circles (both ways) – high reps with no breaks in between!.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

Four Approaches to Salvation.  What saves us?  How is salvation accomplished?  Some people believe that you are saved by subtraction.  You just need to stop doing certain bad things and you will be right with God.  Others believe that you are saved by service.  If you just do enough good things, go to church, be nice, get baptized, and give enough, you will qualify for salvation.  Still others believe in salvation by comparison.  In comparison to really bad people, they are justified before God.  None of those options work.  None of those will make you “righteous” or right with God.  You can’t earn it, and you’ll never deserve it.  We are saved by grace – God’s grace!  Salvation has nothing to do with what we can do.  It’s all about what Jesus has already done!

MOLESKIN:
A record turnout for me and a huge welcome to Rocket’s father and triple respect: “Keating”!  We hope to see you come out again soon!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill is almost here!  Flag handoff this Friday at Rampart.

5/11 Moving Weight

THE SCENE: 61 F, Cloudy and Dry
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Projectivator, Tempo Squats, Tempo Merkins, Arm Circles (forward and backwards)
THA-THANG:
Divided into groups of 3 with 4 stations.  Each station had 3 exercises, but only one had a count.  Each person takes an exercise.  When the guy with the exercise with the count finishes, then the station rotates around the exercises.  About every five minutes call for the groups to rotate stations.

Station 1 – Deadlifts x 12, Figure 8 (Hold a weight at full arm extension and move it in a figure 8), Curls

Station 2 – Suitcase Squat (Hold a weight in one arm to make you off balance and squat) x 10, Fly, Dips

Station 3 – Heavy Lunge x 10 ea., Row, Derkin

Station 4 – Single Leg Pickle Pointer x 12 ea., Weighted Arm Circles, Overhead Press

MARY:
Got back in time for some Mary, including Basilisks, Boxcutters, Hello Dollys, Imperial Squawkers.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Had a guest Peffercorn from F3 Spring Hill who was coming through town for work
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Recounted a conversation with my sister on my 40th birthday.  We talked about the story of the Vinegar Tasters from the Tao of Pooh.  Three figure represent Buddha, Confucius and Laozi.  Each are drinking from a pot that is understood to be life.  Confucius finds it bitter, because in Confucianism life is not understandable and all you can do is follow tradition.  Buddha is indifferent since Buddhism teaches non-attachment, so you are not supposed to care about how it is.  Laozi looks to be enjoying it since life is sweet.

As we grow older, we are often told that it gets worse from here.  Things hurt more.  You can’t do the things you once could. The point from the story is that this is perspective.  The same circumstance can be viewed from a positive or negative light.  If you hurt more after exercise, you can also be happy that you CAN exercise.  If you are struggling with your family, then you can be grateful you have family you like enough to worry over.
MOLESKIN:
If I did a similar workout again, I would probably try to switch around the groups some to allow people to interact with different people throughout the work out.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Talked about upcoming Hardship Hill

Improv Rain Murph Prep

THE SCENE: Raging storm at the beginning, tapering into drippy wet, 60s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Projectivator, TN Rocking Chairs, Tempo Merkins, Grady Corn, Newton’s cradle
THA-THANG:
Sometimes

  • Mosey to the back porch and do 3 sets of modified Murph reps
    • 15 pole rows
    • 10 merkins
    • 15 squats
  • Then 2 sets of another pair, followed by 2 sets of Murph reps then a lap around the building
    • 10 Iron Mikes and 10 BttW shoulder taps
    • 10 Hand Release Merkins and 10 Flutter-Dollys
    • 10 Derkins and 10 Box cutters
  • By this point, rain had pretty much cleared, so we moseyd to the pool wall
    • 2 sets of 10 Wall-ups and 10 Bobby Hurleys
  • Mosey to playground and do 1 true Murph rep set including pull ups
  • RTF

MARY:
I think we did some…
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“The Big Lie in the church today is that you are nothing more than ‘a sinner saved by grace’. – John Eldredge

C.S. Lewis cautions us against the words “just” or “merely”, because they serve to exclude other possibility. To be ‘just’ saved by grace is to remain a helpless infant. You are purposed to be much more. Humanity was created in the image of God so that we would become rulers of creation. To be saved is to gain access to the energizing Spirit of the Creator of heaven and earth, but it does you no good if you don’t choose to draw from it. And the Lord delights when you rely on Him for your power.

If I fail to use my chance to grow strong from the Source, I am the least of those who suffer because of it. There is no one to fill your place in the battle line. Every man who chooses comfort or apathy or fear is a gap in the bulwark. Will the enemy win because of my lack? We are certain the answer is a resounding “NO”. But the Lord does not coddle us with irresponsibility. He respects our agency by allowing real consequences. So be assured that your choice will be respected, and all that comes with it.
MOLESKIN:
Not a huge divergence from my original plan, but definitely a little tricky to adapt to the weather, which totally surprised me.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill, Dragon Boat, Flag handoff at Juco May 19th, Rampart May 27th.

Han Solo

THE SCENE: Very cold for May.  Clear skies. Full moon
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  1. B wings (projectivator)
  2. Imperial walkers
  3. Tie fighters
  4. X wings (overhead claps)
  5. Spice miners (cherry pickers)

THA-THANG:

Mosey to ORAU. Read the quote and complete the exercise then run up and down the hill.  Hold a podracer (Al Gore) for the six.

Scenes:

  1. “I have a bad feeling about this” – 10 thrusters
  2. “Then I’ll see you in Hell!” – 10 Blockees
  3. “Boring conversation anyway” – 50 curls
  4. “I thought they smelled bad on the outside!” – 30 heavy squats
  5. “Never tell me the odds” – 30 overhead press
  6. “You like me because I’m a scoundrel. There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.” – 30 heavy freddy’s
  7. “No reward is worth this.” – 10 Urkey Durkery’s
  8. “One thing’s for sure, we’re all gonna be a lot thinner.” – 100 LBCs
  9. “What an incredible smell you’ve discovered!” – 20 heavy lunges
  10. “Great, kid. Don’t get cocky.” – 20 heavy pickle pointers
  11. “I know.” – 30 tricep extensions

MARY:
Imperial Walkers and AT-ATs (bear crawl)
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:

Star Wars is the classic melodrama: Good guys wear white and bad guys wear black.  You know who’s who from the start of a scene.  Han Solo is the one exception:  he wears black over white.  He starts out as a bad guy:  selfish, obsessed with money, and only looks out for number one.  However, he undergoes a change during the movie; the classic protagonist.  At the end of Episode IV A New Hope, after fleeing with his reward, he returns dramatically to save Luke and help destroy the Death Star cementing his place in the Rebel Alliance.

The journey of Han is an example of coming of age.  Look back at yourself as a child and a youth.  Were you selfish, obsessed with money, and only looking out for number one?  At what point did this start to change for you?  When did you start to love sacrificially? Look at your children.  Do you see Han Solo in them?  Teach them diligently and with patience.  With God’ grace, they too may return to dramatically save the day and cement their place in the Rebel Alliance of life.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Flag handoffs for JUCO (May 19) and Rampart (May 27)