F3 Knoxville

Tag: Brick

Hey, Let’s Move Swimmies’ Car!

THE SCENE: Unusually Warm, upper 70s, partly sunny but getting dark earlier and earlier…
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 SSH, 4-ct IC, 10 Cherry Pickers, 4-ct, IC, Twist stretches…

Then Jinxy told us Swimmies (who we thought was just typically late) was actually stuck on the entrance road with a blown clutch.  So… forget the rest of the warmup… MOSEY RUN TO THE RESCUE!

Followed Swimmies to his car, which was on the entrance road from Lyons View, dead in the water, smelling very unpleasantly of fried clutch.  It was HIM’s to the rescue! Pushed it up to a pull off area, then proceeded with warmup.

10 Hillbillies, 4-ct, IC, Little of this and that.

THA-THANG:

[Q crumples up his Weinke and starts just making stuff up, since the original workout was supposed to be on the opposite side of the park from where we moved the car… Crawdad appears out of nowhere.  So does Brick.]

Moseyed to terraced hill on side of Everest.  Start at the bottom, do 5 reps of three exercises , then run up to first terrace and return, do 10 reps of each exercise and run up second terrace and return, then do 15 reps of each exercise and go all the way to the treeline.  EXERCISES: Merkins, Squats, American Hammers (2-ct)

MOSEY to perimeter trail and over to edge of park that looks out at the Veterans Cemetery.  Pause, take a moment to pay respects to the Veterans buried at the cemetery.

NICKEL/DIME/QUARTERS along perimeter trail to top of the Tail of the Dragon.  Run 1 light post, do 5x exercise, run 2 light posts do 10x exercise, run 5 light posts do 25x exercise.

  1. [Can’t remember the first exercise… something awesome]
  2. CDDs
  3. Mountain Climbers (2-ct)

MOSEY to the hill along the Tail of the Dragon that leads up to the monument.  Do 7’s Top: Prisoner Get Ups, Bottom: Prisoner Cell Merkin Burpees.  These were brutal.

MOSEY to AO. DORAS.  Partner 1 works on exercise, Partner 2 runs about 2/3 up Baby Cardiac.  Exercises are 100 Merkins and 100 BBS.  Final Sprint up Baby Cardiac with everyone.

MARY:
Hamstring stretches, 20 American Hammers, 4-ct, IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 strong. No FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Veteran’s Day is tomorrow, and it’s had me thinking about those who have served our country, the men and women that have been a part of the armed forces, as well as their families.  We took a moment earlier to pause and remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  What does sacrifice entail?

One of the defining traits of human beings is altruism. Altruism is the practice of doing things that benefit others even at the cost of your own happiness, welfare, or (to use a biological term) “fitness”.  It is unusual in the Animal Kingdom because of the principle of “Survival of the Fittest”… if an action benefits someone else rather than you, you might be the one eaten by a cheetah on the Serengeti, or fail to make sweet love with that attractive she-moose over there, or die of thirst in a desert with a limited number of watering holes

What force is it that allows men and women to sacrifice their comfort, families, even their lives in service to others?  To me, it is the gift of Grace from God.

St Francis of Assisi articulated this when he said “Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

But there’s more to it than that. Even though we have the ABILITY to sacrifice and be altruistic doesn’t necessarily mean we will USE that gift.  What inspires us to use it?

Bob Hope, who entertained troops overseas for decades, once said, “I saw more courage, more good humor in the face of discomfort, more love in an era of hate, and more devotion to duty than could exist under tyranny.”

And as Ernest Hemmingway said in a FAREWELL TO ARMS, “When you love, you wish to do things for that which you love. You wish to sacrifice. You wish to serve.”

Another saying about veterans is that they don’t fight for what’s in front of them, they fight for what’s behind them.  We are fortunate to live in a country that is free from tyranny, where military service is voluntary, where autocrats and dictators do not hold sway over our democracy.  The veterans that paid the ultimate price didn’t fight for themselves, they fought for what they loved.  America the Beautiful.  The Land of the Free.

The veterans who have served and died for this country overcame self, and is so doing, in my opinion, became one with the Grace of God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for several PAX and their relatives.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

100 yard Burpee Broadjump Dash

  • Scene: We thought it was gonna rain.. it was muggy damp for sure but no rain.  66 degrees felt like 77.
  • Welcome: FFF – Live it love it breath it – the only payment is in sweat 
  • Warm-up:
    • SSH
    • Slow Lunge stretch
    • Slow Cherry pickers
    • More slow lunge stretches with holds.
    • Slowsey
    • Several burpees combined with high knees on the way to Track
    • Couple random downward dogs + upward dogs
    • More high knee + burpees
    • Two Burpee broad jumps
    • Reverse Bear crawl across street
    • Two Burpee broad jumps
    • Bear crawl across street
    • Two Burpee broad jumps
    • Bernie across street
    • Two Burpee Broad jump
    • Sprint across street.
    • Slowsey to track.
  • Workout
    • In single file line progress down the football field using this pattern of exercise
      • Burpee Broad jump for 5 yards directly down the sideline
      • Reverse Bear Crawl Straight across field on the 5 yard line
      • Burpee Broad jump for 5 yards directly down the sideline to the 10 yard line
      • Bear Crawl Straight across field on the 10 yard line
      • Burpee Broad jump for 5 yards directly down the sideline to the 15 yard line
      • Bernie Straight across field on the 15 yard line
      • Burpee Broad jump for 5 yards directly down the sideline to the 20 yard line
      • Sprint Straight across the field on the 20 yard line.
    • Repeat the above pattern zig zagging across and down the field until time called. We made it to the 20 yard line.
  • Circle of Trust

    • Luke 8:15 “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”  God’s word is the surgeon we need  (Hebrews 4:12), I encouraged and exhorted the men to retain and persevere with, in and through God’s word today. You won’t regret it, it will bear fruit.

  • Announcements
    • Congratulations to Judge Judy – our new Natan – transitioned this last weekend.  Remember to lift him up in prayer.

 

 

Broken Frisbee Toss and The Vote at Asylum – 2020

THE SCENE: Slightly Overcast, mid 60’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 SSH IC

Pinto Hops – 15 IC

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

Grady Corns – 32 IC

Rocketts – 10 IC

Merkins 10 OYO
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the open field near the outdoor field just before the large chapel. Throw the frisbee (broken due to preworkout fracture). The entire group runs to the frisbee position and does the exercise, throw again, do same excercise, repeat:

    • First 15 squats oyo (run back and forth)
    • 25 American Hammers, 4 ct oyo (Bernie back and forth)
    • 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct, LT Dan back and forth (1 lunge, 1 squat, 2 lunge, 2 squat, 3 lunge, 3 squats, etc))
    • 20 LBC, 4 ct, (bear crawl back and forth)
  • Mosey further towards entrance past first stop sign to open field with cones
    • NIckel, Dime, Quarter at each end of field – Merkins 5,5, then 10, 10 then 25, 25 running in between
  • Mosey back half way to CMU parking lot, ring of fire- 1 round x 1 Merkin, 1 round x2 merkin
  • Mosey back to CMU parking lot. Partner up, each grab a CMU
    • . Electorals (aka Doras) 100 Curls, 100 BBS, 70 Overhead presses
      • Partner runs to other side of lot, 20 Sawmills (1 ct) 5 squat jacks, run back

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
October is a tough month for our family. Oct 17 is Grady’s (my son’s) birthday- he would have been 32 this year. Grady died 2 years ago this Dec 13 of an accidental overdose. Sharing the fact that your son was an addict is not an easy thing to do. You just don’t talk about it. I just wanted to share a little bit about our story. Grady was a straight A student and an outstanding athlete. He played on the top Arizona soccer teams until he was about 17. He excelled at pretty much everything he tried. He worked hard to be the best. His issues started when he was a Jr in high school. He struggled with his addiction and our family struggled along with him for the last 13 years of his life. He was clean for about a year before he moved to Knoxville in October.  I was proud of him, especially when he was able to join the Asylum PM group- we finally had something in common and it was healthy. I think he came to 4 or 5 workouts and he Q’d after about 3 or 4 I think. His life ended on Dec 13. Having gone through the addiction cycles with Grady, I can attest how devastating it is to the addict and the family. Progress and setbacks… It dominates and controls every aspect of life. It’s chemical and mental but treated as criminal in our society. Substance abuse and addition is all around us- so if you know someone (or observe it in someone you don’t know) , pray for them and reach out to help in any way you can. In Knoxville in 2017 there were 293 drug related overdoes , in 2018- 295, 2019-257 and in 2020 year to date- there were 299.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence Oct 7

Help with Faith

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 15 Iron Mikes, 10 Windmills, 10 Tempo Merkins, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey past stop sign on the southeastern side of the admin bldg.  Run down to the lower parking lot east of the admin bldg.  Divide into teams of two for Doras.  While one Teammate 1 runs up roadway and around corner to do ten merkins , Teammate 2 will start the exercises.  After doing ten merkins, Teammate 1 runs back to replace Teammate 2 on the exercises and Teammate 2 runs up the hill do to the merkins.  Here are the exercises for the Doras:

  • 100 Merkins
  • 100 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 100 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)
  • 100 Side-Straddle Hops
  • 50 Hand Release Merkins
  • 100 Hello Dollies (4 ct)
  • 200 Baby Crunches

Mosey to semi-circle lane that goes by soccer fields.  We will high-knee for 25 pole lengths then do 3 burpees and continue until done with the semi-circle.

Mosey to parking lot at southern ball fields.  There will be five cones places from one end of the parking lot to the other.  We will run to the first cone, do a listed exercise, run to the next cone, do the same exercise, and continue to the end of the parking lot.  We will run back doing the next listed exercise.  Here are the exercise:

  • 10 Dive Bombers
  • 10 Diamond Merkins

Mosey past outdoor chapel and to grassy area across the street.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey uphill to the area where we did Doras.  Stop at two inclines along the way to do 10 Wide Merkins.

Mosey to A0.

MARY:
Finish up with 10 Carolina Dry Docks.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
My wife, Jan, and I have been watching the TV mini-series The Crown on Netflix.  The shows are based on true stories involving the reign of Great Britain’s current Queen Elizabeth.  One of the recent episodes focused on Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh.  He is a man who loves adventure.  He was an officer in the Royal Navy during World War II, loves sports, and particularly loves to fly planes as a pilot.  The episode I am referring to depicted him during the time that the American Apollo Astronauts first landed on the moon.  In the episode Phillip, as a pilot, is fascinated with the mission and highly regards the astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

As a man who must take second fiddle to the Queen, Phillip questions his own life.  He certainly loves the Queen and certainly has privileges as her husband but there is a part of him that has wanted to set his own course vs. follow the traditions and duties of the Royal House.  At about this time, a minister named Robin Woods becomes the new Dean of Windsor. He heads the chapel that serves the Queen.  He asks Phillip for use of some unused Royal Buildings that he desires to be a retreat for ministers.  Prince Phillip is a man who is bored with the Royal church services but he agrees to the Dean’s request as the buildings aren’t being used anyway.

During the buzz of the future moon landing, Dean Woods catches up with Phillip and invites him to the retreat center to listen in on a group discussion of visiting ministers.  The ministers sit talking about problems, something Phillip isn’t that keen on, and discuss the decline in faith and worship service attendance among the people of England.  Phillip sees all this “talk” as nonsense, particularly when there are astronauts out there doing something great, incredible, landing on the moon of all things.  When asked by the ministers to participate in the talk, he tells them to stop bemoaning the decline in worship among the people of England and get off their butts.  What is needed is action, action such as seen by the Apollo Astronauts.

The astronauts, of course, land on the moon and are heroes. They go on a world tour and come to England, even for a short trip to Buckingham Palace.  Prince Phillip asks for and is granted a short personal meeting with the men.  He is overcome in the anticipation of meeting these men who are like Gods to him.  When he does meet the men, they are sneezing and sniffling, fighting off colds they have acquired in the exhausting schedule they have had since their return to Earth.  Phillip wants to know what they “found” on their journey, not the physical moon dust but that special “meaning” they discovered out in space.  These young astronauts have no answer for him.  They didn’t really have time to think about the meaning of the universe on their journey – the were too busy following procedures, doing the things that they had been trained to do.  These astronauts had certainly done something special and to be admired but they were also just three young guys, fighting off colds.  And frankly, what they were more interested in was hearing from Phillip what it was like to live in a place like the Buckingham Palace.

Phillip’s desire to find meaning in science, in adventure, in space, goes awry ands leave him unsatisfied.  And, in his bewilderment and dejection, he returns to the retreat center to meet once again with the Dean and visiting ministers.  He apologizes for his previous behavior.  He is now willing to participate in the “talk” that he previously thought to be nonsensical.  And, in talking to them, he asks for something.  He recognizes that what he has been lacking all along is faith.  Faith in something that goes beyond actions, science, and the privileges of Royalty that he has long known is not enough for him.  And what does he ask the ministers for?  He asks for Help. Help with his lack of faith.

I don’t know what kind of faith Prince Phillip has found in his life.  But, at the end of the episode some words were posted for the viewer.  The notes proclaimed that Prince Phillip and Dean Woods became close friends and have been personal confidants for the last 51 years.

What are you searching for?  Where do you put your energy, your interests?  If your search for meaning leads you to something other than God, it is very likely that you will not be satisfied.  As Faulkner said, it is all sound and fury leading to nothing.  Have faith in something more.  Search for God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for many.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
5th F3 Knoxville Anniversary on Nov 7.

Swimmies + 2 For Tuesday Tribute

THE SCENE:

70s, feeling good, feeling great, pre-ruckers come back around 1735

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness-Fellowship-Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’m honored to be out here as your Q tonight
  • Couple of things before we kick off
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • I don’t know any injuries you may or may not have so if you do need to modify anything we do this evening feel free to do so but push yourself and the men around you

(COVID concerns – maintain 6ft if possible)

  • FNGs — Edgar (GORUCK)


WARM-O-RAMA:

(Swimmies Birthday Warm-o-Rama)

  • 35×4 SSH
  • 35×4 SSH
  • 17×4 Rockette
  • 17×4 Rockette
  • 17×4 Baby Arm Circles Forward
  • 17×4 Baby Arm Circles Backwards
  • 17×4 shoulder taps
  • 17×4 shoulder taps

 

THA-THANG:

(Mosey to the Bat Cave)

(1) 20s

  • 2 points of contact: bottom of the stairs + up here at the Bat Cave
  • Bottom of the stairs: Imperial Walkers
  • Bat Cave: BackBelly Flops
    • 1 BBS — 1 burpee (chest on ground)
  • 5 reps each POC for a total of 20 reps
    • All on a 1 count
  • Happy 2FT
    • R&R — everything on a 4 count now

(35 count from Swimmies – first 35 count in the history of F3 probably)

Running against the remaining time, PAX mosey down the hill around the back side of the AO, stopping every so often to knock out 5 reps of an exercise either on a 4 count or 1 count (SSH, merkins, flutter kicks, wall-sit bus drivers)

(Mosey back to AO — Snowflake sprints because he’s a beast)

MARY:

Core 4 – Happy Birthday edition

– Flutter Kicks while PAX sings Happy Birthday once through

– Rinse and Repeat because 2 For Tuesday

American Hammers while PAX sings Happy birthday once through

– Rinse and Repeat because 2 For Tuesday

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

26 including 1 FNG – Goosecall

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

[ “What A Time To Be Alive” ]

The Crucible – USMC

  • The final challenge of recruit training is known as the Crucible. It is a 54-hour training exercise that validates the physical, mental and moral training they’ve endured throughout recruit training.
  • The recruits are broken down into squads to face the challenges of the Crucible. They face challenges testing their physical strength, skills and the Marine Corps values they have learned throughout training. Throughout the event, the recruits are only allowed a limited amount of food and sleep.
      • Anyone else faced challenges this year that have tested their physical strength and skills and their values?
      • Anyone else had limited sleep this year?
      • Anyone else learn anything in the past year?
  • The final stage of the Crucible is a 9-mile hike from the training grounds to the Iwo Jima flag raising statue at Peatross Parade Deck. Upon completing this challenge, the recruits are handed their Eagle, Globe and Anchors, symbolizing the completion of their arduous journey to become U.S. Marines.

                                              ___________________

  • There was a time in my life not too long ago that I wanted to make it there more than anything. I studied, I worked hard, I put in the hours, I did all of the right things – and it’s not what the Lord had for me at that time.
  • I craved it. I could see it. I wanted it so bad. And it’s not what the Lord had for me at that time. But that’s not the point.

                                              ____________________

As HIM – we’re in the crucible right now. Congratulations, you made it.

And what a time to be alive — for such a time as this.

And I can understand that it might feel like we’ve been in that final 9 mile ruck March for months now. But if you stop at mile 7 you miss it. If you stop at mile 8 you miss it. If you stop at mile 8.5 you miss it.

And unlike the Marine Core Crucible – you don’t get anything for making it through tough times. You don’t (always) get this tangible thing you can hold in the palm in your hand as a representation of how much you’ve been through. No ones going to give you anything for making it through.

But there is someone who gave up everything so that you COULD go through. So that you could go through the crucible for such a time as this. And He gives you everything you need to do so.

MOLESKIN:

Proverbs 4:25-27 (ESV & Message)

Enter the Sanctuary – Embrace the Crucible (sermon by Rick Dunn) — https://subspla.sh/c6sz9xd

– Prayer requests for loved ones that are no longer with us

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

F3’s 5 Year Anniversary Convergence

– Saturday, November 7th

– Asylum AO

– 0700 – 0800 followed by transfer of leadership of Nantann role and breakfast celebration