F3 Knoxville

Playing with the Kids

THE SCENE: A crisp 25 and clear.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • High knees
  • Projectivators
  • Moroccan nightclubs
  • Little baby arm circles
  • Tempo squats
  • Imperial squawkers
  • Tempo merkins
  • Newton’s cradle

THA-THANG:

Baby steps

  • 6 thrusters and a blockee x3
  • Buzz around the parking lot – mosey with block extended in front
  • 6 Airplane! And a blockee x3
    • Airplane = on 6, crunch up with block then extend arms and legs
  • Buzz around the parking lot
  • 6 curl-presses and a blockee x3
  • Put her to bed with some kettle bell swings

Playing in the yard

  • Farmer carry 2 cmus to the field and line up at first tree
  • Transit from tree to tree with one cmu, then do 5 merkins and go back and get the other cmu
    • Murder bunny – sprint
    • 10-15 dive bombers
    • Gorilla walk – bear crawl
    • Al Gore with both blocks til the 6 is up
    • If there’s time, floor is hot lava – stand on cmu, grab the other and move it forward and step on
  • Farmer carry 2 cmus to peace bell

Top Speed

  • 40 seconds – AMRAP – 20 seconds off
    • Curls
    • Heavy Hammers
    • Right row
    • Left row
    • Heavy Flutter Kicks
    • Double stack squats
    • Heavy LBCs

MARY:
No time.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Welcome to FNG – Borg!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Psalm 71:23,
“My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I whom you have delivered.”

Habakkuk 3:17-19,
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”

True joy is free from all but one circumstance, God’s saving grace. Play happens when joy bubbles over into action. Thus playfulness has less to do with what you are doing and everything to do with the spirit in which you do it. It can be hard to keep outside forces from pushing in and stifling joy, especially some days. But if we can see beyond the moment, focus on the wider view, then we can gain an unconquerable spirit. We could all stand to play a bit more.

MOLESKIN:
“Critics who treat ‘adult’ as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Soldiering through the Project Deck of Pain

THE SCENE: 29°F and 0% chance of water – 100% chance of PAIN!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER– Administered + Cell Phone + COVID
WARM-O-RAMA:

10 x Moroccan Night Club IC
10 x Tennessee Rocking Chair IC (increasing speed ~rep 7)
5 x Tempo Merkin IC
4 x Rainbow Drop OYO
10 x Tempo Squat IC

THA-THANG:
This workout has been months in the making! It takes its inspiration from the Deck of Pain at JUCO as administered by Trolley (many times over) – Deck of Pain /-/ Deck of Pain II /-/ Deck of Pain III /-/ Jailbreak Tour

Also checkout the “official” F3 Workout Deck (it has something like SSH‘s in it… smh but I digress)

Q asked for 4 volunteers – 1 for each suit in a standard deck of cards that I passed out baggies with the exercise cards written on them. Today we have a caveat: I want to cover all exercises today so that the next time around all of the Project PAX know what is what (and hopefully we can have more than 1 PAX per suit of cards).

I’m going to paste in the table I used to make the workout and subsequently write on the cards because trying to remember the order of 52 cards, even in groups of 13, while leading the workout and working out… not happening. Unlike this guy.

Jokers were also administered at key points because you NEVER KNOW when you’re going to get a surprise.

Big Joker: 20 burpees

Actual results of the Q today:

We got through 85% of things but left the Little Joker (the one with lots of text on it) is Dealer’s Choice at the #shovel-flag. Every PAX must name a Mary exercise. There are still some Spades to be done (in BOLD in the table below) but we got most things done.

After each suit was completed, the PAX with the baggie of cards for that suit read the following (that goes along with the BOM):

1. Compassionate (Hearts)- the best soldiers only use deadly force when they are absolutely required to. They find no joy or satisfaction in destroying carnage. They seek to defend what is worth defending. His compassion drives him.

2. Courageous (Diamonds) – Someone courageous says “Please don’t force me to show it.” It readily admits to having a warring attitude when I need to. When a battle is to be fought, I will be in the front line fighting it. I will not back down because I believe Psalm 20:7 which says “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

3. Competent (Clubs)- Without competence, courage becomes folly. The Christian soldier as he engages in war, has to be armed, prepared, and wise. He understands who the Enemy is, what the Enemy is. He does not walk in the flesh morally but physically. Thus, he wages war not in the flesh though he has flesh.

4. Calculating (Spades)- a soldier plans for war. He thinks about what needs to happen where and wisely strikes. He fights spiritual wars. He reasons the truth from Scripture. He brings the Word of God and lets it bear its truth. And, when those who have been warned, just like the apostle Paul he is ready to strike and purge out the false teachers.

 

Location Suit Card Description Card Amt Modified Amt
Shovel Flag Spades 2 1 lap entire shovel flag parking lot 1 1
Shovel Flag Spades 3 Dips on the curb 15 5
Shovel Flag Spades 4 Bear crawl in parking lot Q’s distance Q’s distance
Shovel Flag Spades 5 Moroccan night club (if Erector is present he must lead it IC) 15 15
Shovel Flag Spades 6 Tempo squats 10 10
Shovel Flag Spades 7 4x4s 10 5
Shovel Flag Spades 8 Jumping Spider 10 5
Shovel Flag Spades 9 Heels to Heaven IC 20 10
Shovel Flag Spades 10 Werkin 15 5
Shovel Flag Spades J Stationary Lunges 10 ea leg 5 each leg
Shovel Flag Spades Q Al Gore 30 sec hold x 2 30 sec hold x 1
Shovel Flag Spades K Rotational Merkin 10 5
Shovel Flag Spades A Single Leg Calf Raise 15 ea leg 7 ea leg
Pool Wall Clubs 2 Walls of Jericho See decsription 5 each exercise
Pool Wall Clubs 3 Dips on bars 15 5
Pool Wall Clubs 4 Crawl Bear up steps 1 1
Pool Wall Clubs 5 Pull-ups at the Playground 10 5
Pool Wall Clubs 6 Squats 20 10
Pool Wall Clubs 7 Burpees 10 5
Pool Wall Clubs 8 Clap Merkins 10 5
Pool Wall Clubs 9 Gas Pump IC 15 5
Pool Wall Clubs 10 Merkins IC 20 10
Pool Wall Clubs J Lunges (each leg = 1) 20 10
Pool Wall Clubs Q Michael Phelps 10 30 sec rest
Pool Wall Clubs K Pickle Pounders IC 20 10
Pool Wall Clubs A Incline Calf Raises on top of the Wall 20 10
Amphitheatre Diamonds 2 Run a lap around the theatre 1 1
Amphitheatre Diamonds 3 Dips on the theater wall 15 5
Amphitheatre Diamonds 4 Crab walk across diameter of theater 1 1
Amphitheatre Diamonds 5 Seal Clap Squats IC 20 10
Amphitheatre Diamonds 6 Box Jumps on low theatre wall 15 5
Amphitheatre Diamonds 7 Flying Squirrel 10 5
Amphitheatre Diamonds 8 Shoulder Taps IC 20 10
Amphitheatre Diamonds 9 Dolly IC 20 10
Amphitheatre Diamonds 10 Diamond Merkins 10 5
Amphitheatre Diamonds J Iron Mike / Bonnie Blair (ea leg) 7 5
Amphitheatre Diamonds Q Reach for the Sky / Let it Hang 30 sec each 30 sec total
Amphitheatre Diamonds K Pickle Pointer IC 20 10
Amphitheatre Diamonds A Decline calf raises on the curb/edge 25 10
Friendship Bell Hearts 2 Run to across bridge and back to bell 1 1
Friendship Bell Hearts 3 Dips with feet on wall/bench 15 5
Friendship Bell Hearts 4 Reverse Crab around bell 1 1
Friendship Bell Hearts 5 Raise the roof (air press) 20 10
Friendship Bell Hearts 6 Squat Jump 10 5
Friendship Bell Hearts 7 Burpee with Jump Tuck 10 5
Friendship Bell Hearts 8 Irkin/Derkin alt (each) 10 5
Friendship Bell Hearts 9 Leg Lifts 20 10
Friendship Bell Hearts 10 World’s Greatest Merkin 7 5
Friendship Bell Hearts J Reverse Lunge (each leg) 10 5
Friendship Bell Hearts Q Plank 30 sec x 2 30 sec x 1
Friendship Bell Hearts K Rainbow Drop (single count) 15 5
Friendship Bell Hearts A Alternating Leg single leg calf raises (single count) 40 20

 

MARY:
We did a lot of stuff, but no MARY today.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 Soldiers strong!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The notes and Word I shared comes from two John MacArthur sermons on 2 Corinthians 10:1-6: Winning the Spiritual War Part 1 // Winning the Spiritual War Part 2

We are soldiers in a war whether we know it or not. To wage war, we need to regularly evaluate where we are and prepare for war. Later this morning I have my yearly CPE (that’s Complete Physical Examination) scheduled. To do the blood work they required, I had to fast. Fasting can take many forms, and we’e been “deprived” of a lot this past year due to many circumstances beyond our control. There will continue to be many things that are beyond our control (like the “lot” that is cast when a card from the Deck of Pain is pulled, but we can control our reaction (this has been talked about many times before) as well as we can control how we prepare for situations going forward.

This is where being a soldier comes into play: Life is not a happenstance set of events – we can and should take stock in order to prepare for the battle – and yes, we are at war. Paul tell us this how we are to wage war in 2 Corinthians 10:1-6:

1 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Reflect on the 4 aforementioned qualities and see that you are applying them to your life:

1. Compassionate (Hearts)- are you loving those around you, truly caring for their well-being and putting yourself after them? This starts with your immediate family.

2. Courageous (Diamonds) – Are you willing to take a stand when necessary? Do you even know what you’re going to stand for?

3. Competent (Clubs)- Leroy Jenkins is a classic example of courageous but not competent. Are you wisely taking risks, or stumbling into folly?

4. Calculating (Spades)- Last but not least, when push comes to shove, are you ready to take action in specific ways? We don’t just throw away the whole thing, but having a plan that takes out the enemy without civilian casualties (if at all possible) is paramount.

MOLESKIN:
Prayed for Doodle Dandy’s wife and another wife who live in the neighborhood where I live – both were in a car wreck and in the hospital over the weekend with broken ribs, possible spinal cord injuries, and at least one had a collapsed lung. Also prayed for Trolley’s M having a hysterectomy next Tuesday.

It was VERY slippery today. But Soldiers who walk together, even physically distanced, can look out for each other. Nobody fell and we all got stronger!

Also S/O to Kick-flip, Snaggletooth, Mathlete for looking for and to Biohack for finding my keys that dropped out of my pocket by, of course, the Pool wall.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Step up and Q!

Get to work

THE SCENE: Cold with some fog.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • High knees
  • Projectivators
  • Tempo squats
  • Arm circles
  • Michael Felps
  • Tempo Merkins
  • Newton’s cradle
  • Rising Wave – Iron Mikes around the circle, add one each loop until everyone is going

THA-THANG:

On the Way

  • Pool Wall – 10 Murpees
  • Dash line – In turn, do a pushup, sprint to the east end

American Legends circuit – Picked enough stations for the group, rotate stations when the logs make a lap, switch up the stations once one full circuit is completed. We finished 2 circuits.

  • Paul bunyan – drag a couple logs around the islands, flipping flapjacks (tire)
  • John henry – sledge hammer on tire, clean and press (steel bar)
  • Pecos bill – riding (squat pulses) with cmu, Man-nor-king-nor-beast (Stand-lunge-bearcrawl-lunge-stand)
  • Johnny appleseed – bobby hurleys (picking apple’s), Tree (mountain) climbers
  • Casey junior – put your feet up (cmu heel taps), check your watch (curls)

MARY:
N/A
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Sometimes I can get too focused on ideas, like justification by faith, so that is distracts me from the mission. Johnny Appleseed was a great example of someone who lived and acted without being distracted. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” DO THAT.
MOLESKIN:
Snaggletooth on the road this weekend. Biohack looking at a business venture.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Blood drive the 29th at Lakeshore Park. CSAUP the 30th at Asylum.

The Project – a jaunt by the pond

THE SCENE: 35 F, wet ground but nice for a January day.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER 

Welcome, I’m Rocket & I’m on the Q today; I am not a professional, you are here on your own accord, F3 is free, I don’t know your injuries so work hard but modify if you need to. Be aware of social distancing for Covid
WARM-O-RAMA:

  •    Side straddle hops (IC) 4ct
    •    Little baby arm scribbles forward and reverse (IC)
    •    Hand release merkins
    •    Cherry pickers
    • Hairy rockets

THA-THANG:
Insert information about the workout.

  • Mosey to bars and do 7s with dips and derkins using the trees
  • Mosey to the pond:
    • Modified Lazy Doras: Partners perform 100 Merkins, 200 LBCs, & 300 Squats as a team. P1 starts with 10 Merkins while P2 planks, then switch. Continue switching between Merkins and plank until 100 total Merkins reached. Next, while P1 does 20 LBCs, P2 performs a 6″ leg hold until P1 is finished, then switch. Continue switching until all 200 LBCs are completed. Finally, P1 does 25 squats while P2 does squat hold, then switch. Continue switching until 300 total squats are completed.
    • Modify by running one lap around the pond after partner completion of exercise
  • Run to the bell and do 7s with gas pumps and dips.

MARY:
dealer choice
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
vision without a plan is daydream, action without vision is a nightmare.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Project: Friendship

THE SCENE: 50% chance of rain. 100% chance of pain (well, at least 100% chance of D.O.M.S.)

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Administered + COVID (hopefully we don’t have to do this soon! 2021: ROPE (Return Of Partner Exercises)

WARM-O-RAMA:
Started cold, warmed up… Actual warmup:
Moroccan Night Club x 10 IC
Newton’s Cradle, OHC x 5 each IC
SLOW Dance Tempo Squats x 5 IC
Lunges x 5 each
Tempo Hand-release Merkins x 5 IC
Donkey Kicks x 5
Tennessee Rocking Chair x 7 IC

THA-THANG:
Mosey to Amphitheater

Mary 20-21’s – Do 20 reps of the first exercise, do 21 reps of the second exercises, run a lap around the Amphitheater. First one back calls a Mary exercise max 15 reps. Single Count unless otherwise noted:
Round 1 – BBS – Flutter Kicks (4ct IC) – (Lap + Mary Exercise) “Am I really that predictable?” called by Erector. I don’t remember the exercise but I thought it was the QOTD
Round 2 – Pickle pounders – pickle pointers – (Lap + Mary Exercise)
Round 3 – LBC’s – Heels to Heaven – (Lap + Mary Exercise)

30 seconds rest

DORA 20-21’s – same as Mary 20-21’s but your battle buddy does the exercise in parentheses until you complete 20 reps of the first exercise, flapjack (swap and do what he was doing), and then go to the 21’s doing the same alternate exercise in parentheses
Round 1 – Squats (Newton’s Cradle) – Merkins (Stationary Lunges) – (Lap + Mary Exercise)
Round 2 – Burpee (Reach for the Sky / Let it Hang) – OHC (Seal Clap Squat) – (Lap + Mary Exercise)

30 seconds rest

“The Wave” – in a circle but starting with the Q doing the following in a circle – 5 rounds of each exercise then take a lap around the Amphitheater

  • 1 x Burpee (start your Burpee when the previous PAX claps his hands – you should have plenty of rest between Burpees here)
  • 2 x Squats (start your Squat when the previous PAX has completed 1 of his)
  • 2 x Iron Mikes (IC so 4 total 2 each leg, start your Iron Mikes when the previous PAX has finished his first rep on each leg)
  • 5 x BBS (start your BBS when the previous PAX has completed 1 BBS. There should be a 1 BBS break before you start again)

Final Mary / MaryHail Mary (Not sure what to call it)
American Hammer x 10 IC
Heels to Heaven x 10 IC
ABC’s (all 26 of them!)
Lap around Amphitheater
E2K(oblique crunch)

MARY:
Lots of Mary today. None at the #shovelflag so we’ll leave this blank. Aye!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA7 PAX.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM: Today’s Project: Friendship

Prov 17:17 – A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
1 John 4:21 – And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Since I started F3 a year and a half a ago, the men at F3 have provided the right kind of friendship I didn’t really have before starting F3. I’ve developed this in other areas of my life, but F3 has been so good, challenging, and refining that I wanted to focus on aspects Friendship and 3 aspects / modes it can take for us to consider:

1. Seek to reconcile strained or former friendships (I am seeking to personally apply this right now so pray for me!)
Matthew 5:23-24 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

You and I are called to go to the brother we have wronged (if possible and wise, of course) and seek reconciliation (because God has reconciled us to Himself we can be reconciled to each other – 2 Cor 5:11-21). This is hard because the we may believe that we were more wronged personally but that is not what God calls us to here. See “Seven A’s of a Biblical Confession” by Ken Sande for specifics of how to walk this out. We must seek to be the mature ones. Jesus pursues us in reconciliation and while He is perfect and we are not, the steps Ken lays out are the hard path that did not revile when reviled, that sought us when we weren’t looking for Him. This is what a man of God does when he is wrong – he seeks confession and reconciliation!

2. Maintain solid friendships through peaceful unity, keeping the Gospel at the core.
Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

F3 is a men’s leadership organization. When we come out here, we are saying we are going to challenge others and let others challenge us. It’s not easy, but the crucible is where hearts are tested say Proverbs 17:3 and 27:21. We walk in goodness with each other, seeking to help others watch their six, and working together toward common goals that we have first in Christ and then in F3 and other areas. ISI Proverbs 27:17.

3. Know the Hill you’re willing to die on.
There are some things, while few and far between, that are more important than a “friendship”. I put it in quotes because these things should be so rare and understood to be as such that when they do pop up, it is a clear boundary crossed that a friendship cannot continue without major reconciliation (and usually lots of honesty, sincerity, and humility from someone over time before trust can be rebuilt). The Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) is one of these examples. If anyone adds to or takes away from Christ-crucified with the only work we do is faith by repenting and turning from our sins, this is a hill to die on because Jesus died on that hill (Calvary).

Another example of this is when a friend goes long in unrepentant sin, we have to love that friend enough to call him back (Galatians 6:1-2). We always look to restore the friendship, but it must be in truth. Our goal should always be reconciliation when we call someone to repentance, first with God (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) and then with each other. The book of James talks about this and how wonderful it is to bring a brother back from the second death:

James 5:19-20 – 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Remember, there are not many hills to die on. You might even say the Gospel and a friend in unrepentance are one and the same hill to die on. But knowing these is a huge part of friendship because we uphold truth.

A #project of building rich, deep friendship doesn’t mean you jump off a cliff together the first time you meet a guy, but it does eventually get to taking that kind of risk. Talk about deep things along the way. Be intentional. Be men who walk steadfastly, build friendships with other men, and build those friendships on the deep, solid Rock of Jesus Christ.

MOLESKIN:
Thankful for friends, especially the PAX of JUCO and The Project (and that Ribbed guy who not only invited me to F3 but stuck with me when I didn’t deserve a chance).

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP at The Asylum 1/31/2021 0630 – 0900
You can order Asylum gear with their pre-order here (through January 18th, 2021)