F3 Knoxville

Saturday Ab Shredder

THE SCENE: Cold and Clear, 27*
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, Imperial Walkers, Hillbillies, Tempo Squats, Cherry Pickers, Baby Arm Circles, Hand Release Merkins
THA-THANG:

  • Rock Pile: Got rocks and went to the sidewalk alongside the convention center. Paired up for Doras: 50 American Hammers on a 4-count, 50 squats and 50 Big Boys all with the rock per pair while one partner ran to the convention center sign and back with the rock over head. Then we rinsed and repeated but without the rock carry on the run
  • Sunsphere: Put the rocks back and went to the sunsphere for 11’s: Hand Release-Release Merkins at the bottom and Flutterkicks on a 4-count at the top. Then enjoyed some stargazers in cadence
  • Bridge over Waterfall: Went to the big bridge. There we toe-tap bear crawled across, stopping at each light post for 10 Big Boys
  • Back to the AO: Circled up for Captain Therkins; 1:1 ratio of Big Boys to American Hammers (4-count) increasing reps by one each set but with 5 Hand Release Merkins between each set

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Encouraged the guys to continue thinking along the lines of what Postman brought up on Thursday with the question “What have you learned or gained from 2020 that you want to bring with you?”. Obviously all that 2020 entails doesn’t disappear on January 1st, but once everything is over, what is something the Lord has done in your life or taught you that you hope to hold on to?
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP Jan 30th

Tag Team with Drive Thru

THE SCENE: 34 and clear
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

We decided to give Swanson a Tuesday off for the first time in forever, so Drive Thru and I did Tag Team Tuesday.  Drive Thru wanted to mop everyone up with the second half, so I took the warm up and first part.
Squat and reach
Moroccan night clubs Postman style (holding squat)
BAC forward and reverse
Six count merkin (combine tempo merkin and T-merkin, didn’t go well)
SSH
THA-THANG:
Quick mosey to coupon pile at L&N and then over to TN War Memorial.  12 minute AMRAP, all with rocks except the lap.

  • Rock swap merkins x10
  • Good mornings x15
  • Lunge with OH press x20
  • Curls x25
  • Job a lap around memorial

I think everyone completed in the range of 3-4 rounds.  Return rocks to the pile and Drive Thru had us mosey over to the base of the Big Ball for some BOMBS.
Partner up and complete Dora style, 2 burpees for the B completed by the man running to the top of the Big Ball stairs.  The partner who stays at the bottom starts with 100 OH claps, then 100 merkin-T’s (T-merkins but had to fit the spelling), 100 BBSUs, and finally 100 squats.  Repeat and relieve each other until complete.

MARY:
Flutter kicks
Hello Dolly
American Hammers
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 Strong: Rousey, Postman, Swanson, Huffy, Drive Thru, Bubble Wrap, Peter Rabbit (FNG), Livestrong, Half Caff, G6, Bulldog, Bilko, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Must be nice

THE SCENE: Temperature disputed during pre ruck, anywhere from 29-34.  Felt great though regardless
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Pro tip, going at SSH with great form moves blood into your fingers to keep them warm…
SSH
OH claps Postman style holding a squat
SSH
Hillbilly’s
Patty-cake merkins COVID style (don’t actually clap with anyone)
SSH
THA-THANG:
Quick mosey over to the coupon pile at L&N.  Three station AMRAP with station one there (AMRAP lasts duration of the workout).

Station 1 at L&N: Start with 10 reps of each exercise, then leave rock on the ground and run up the stairs between L&N and the convention center

  • Monkey humpers
  • Upright rows
  • Shoulder press
  • Tricep extensions

Station 2 the top of L&N near Henley St: Start with 7 reps of burpees for first round and increase by one rep each round, elbow plank remains the same at 30 seconds every round.  Once complete, run around to the front of L&N academy above where we park.

  • Burpees
  • Elbow planks

Station 3 in front of L&N near cars: Again start with 10 reps of every exercise and add two reps each round.  Run down the parking lot and back to station 1.

  • Never cross Dolly (4-count)
  • Imperial walkers (4-count)
  • Crab cakes (4-count)
  • Explosive merkins (push up and hands leave the ground at the top)

We ended up getting through rounds of 18 reps and 11 burpees.  Returned rocks to their homes and mosey back to the AO where time was up.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 Strong: Postman, Wedding Singer, Drive Thru, Huffy (welcome back!!), Slim Shady, Swanson, Triple A, Magic Mic, Livestrong, Amazon, G6, Bulldog, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I overheard a conversation between two friends that really got on my nerves and made me consider if I say these things or think this way.  Friend one has a college degree, has had family support his whole life, and while he all hit bumps in the road he generally has had it pretty easy.  Friend two has no degree and works tons of hours every week, has had struggles with addiction and various other things.  During this conversation, Friend one tells the struggling guy it “must be nice” when hearing about how his job was going.

And that really aggravated me, but also got me thinking about how we view our choices and try to absolve ourselves from things we deem are outside our control.  That is the cowardly way out, and I hope that I am not guilty of that very often.  Things will absolutely happen that we can’t control, its inevitable.  But our reaction to those trials determines whether they’re actually positive or negative.  We all need to be aware that we have much much more control over our lives than we want to admit.  We control it, if things are not going well then we need to look internally to fix them rather than place blame elsewhere.

Where Is Your Sting?

THE SCENE: Cloudy, mid thirties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

25 Side Straddle Hops.  10 Burpees. 10 Iron Mikes.  10 Windmills.  10 Cherry Pickers.  7 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward.  7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Stop Sign at Northeastern Corner of Admin Bldg.  We will have cones posted along the road that semicircles around the Admin Bldg.  Each cone will give directions regarding exercises and how to get to the next cone.

  • Cone 1:  20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 Diamond Merkins.  Hop to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3.  20 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1).  Gravevine with left foot in lead to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Star Jumps.  Grapevine with right foot in lead to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  20 Squat Jumps.  Sprint to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  20 Flutter Kicks (four count).  Bear Crawl to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7.  20 Smurf Jacks.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 8
  • Cone 8.  20 Merkins, 40 Baby Crunches, 20 Hello Dollies (four count), 20 American Hammers (four count), 20 Bicycle Kicks (four count), 20 Bottle Openers (both hands = 1).

Mosey back to stop sign at Northeastern Corner of Admin Bldg., picking up cones and signs along the way.  We will squat for one minute to quietly contemplate the beauty of the scenery toward the lake.

Mosey to CMU pile.  Men will split into pairs.  One partner from each pair will grab a CMU.  We will do Doras with partner one sprinting to other end of parking lot, doing 10 shin lifts, and sprinting back while partner two starts working on the exercises.  Partners will then switch positions.  These are the exercises that each pair will accomplish:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Bell Ringers
  • 100 Merkins with feet on CMU

Mosey through entrance way gate to northern ball fields.  We will go the ball field that is closest to the entryway and congregate at one end of the marked soccer field in the outfield.  We will throw frisbee three times and race to the frisbee.  We will then race to end of the soccer field and back.  Those men who got the frisbee on the three prior throws will be competing to see who gets a free breakfast from the Q leader. Next, we will split into two teams.  Men will split up to play frisbee football.  Every time the frisbee hits the ground, not only does the possession of the frisbee change to the other team but all team members must do five burpees.  I must give my brother, Waffle House, credit for being the originator of this frisbee/burpee rule.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks, Boat Canoe.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Seventeen men with one FNG, a friend of Toto’s named Marty Mason.  His F3 name is now Tinder.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

Edward Abbey was a park ranger and writer.  As a park ranger for the National Park Service he worked in scarcely populated desert areas of Utah, including the Arches National Park and Canyonlands of Southeastern Utah.  In his book Desert Solitaire, he speaks in one chapter about being alone in a very rocky canyon area in Utah.  Although an experienced ranger, he got lost and was stuck on a rock precipice.  He could make a jump across the precipice to a cliff similar in height but which was in the direction he knew would get him home.  He didn’t know how to get back the way he came even though he had tried to track it.  He was running out of water.  His choice was to either die of thirst where he was or make a huge leap from the precipice to the cliff.  The fall if he failed to reach the cliff would be hundreds of feet and would certainly bring him to his death.  He made the choice to jump and, for some good minutes, started thinking about his life before he made the jump.

What would you think about if you were faced with such a situation?  You are about to make the jump that will either continue or end your life?  What thoughts run through your mind.  Would you think about family?  About things that brought you joy?  Actions or lack of action that you regretted?  Would you wish you could say or do some things you had not yet done in life?  Would you have faith that God would follow you through death if death were to occur?  And, on the chance that you might make the jump, would you see life in a different way afterwards?  Would there be things that you would want to accomplish or do that you had yet to attempt?

Abbey gave a very poignant description of his fear and grief before making the jump.  As a man who loved nature, he thought with appreciation yet longing about the beauty of the world all around him before making the death jump.  Obviously, he made it to the other side as he later wrote the book.

As a man I would have been very scared, just as Abbey was.  As a Christian, I hope I would take comfort in verses like the one in Corinthians above.  I hope I would appreciate my mortality and the gift that God has given us in our short lives here on Earth.  But, I also hope I would realize that my perishable body has been clothed with the imperishable armor of God, that my mortality has become immortality through Him.  Then, even knowing I might fall to my death, I could say, “Death, where is your victory, where is your sting?”

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pele’s shoulder as he took a mean fall and hurt it during the frisbee football game.  Pusher, a physical therapist, said he didn’t dislocate.  Prayers for our brother, Pinto, who is suffering through treatment of multiple myeloma cancer.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
New pull up bars that we raised money for will be going up.  We will have an AO launch in Morristown on April 4.

Abscess Turning 50 Makes for a Tough Q

THE SCENE: 50s, calm, cool, collected

  • No FNGs

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’ll be your Q IC this morning
  • 1) I’m not a professional (depends who you ask)
  • 2) You’re here on your own volition (unless someone is forcing you to be here – then come see me afterwards) – thank you for choosing to be here this morning
  • 3) Modify as you need BUT push yourself and the men around you – we came here to work, so let’s work.


WARM-O-RAMA:

In Honor of Abscess’s 50th:

  • SSH (Side-Straddle Hop): 50 x 4 in cadence
  • Baby Arm Circles: 25 x 4 forward & 25 x 4 backwards in cadence
  • Tempo Squat: 25 x 4 in cadence
  • Tempo Merkins: 25 x 4 in cadence

THA-THANG:

  • PAX moseys to playground outside AO
  • Battle buddies assemble

[ There & Back & Back Again ]

  • BB1: 25 incline merkins on a bench
  • BB2: run to pavilion and execute 25 step-ups/box jumps (GOOD FORM = Extending legs all the way up) + runs back to recover BB1
  • R & R – each BB executes both stations twice
  • Lady Warriors of FIA enter the playground – F3 migrates to the pavilion

[ The Power of 4 (sucks) ]

  • Each HIM finds a nice table under the pavilion
  • Short Side #1 = 25 pull-ups
  • Long Side #1 = 25 incline merkins
  • Short Side #2 = 25 pull-ups
  • Long Side #2 = 25 decline merkins
  • PAX wall-sits until 6 is up
    • From the wall-sit position: @Waxjob gives a 50 count
    • Q leads PAX in downward vertebrae stretch
      • 1 vertebrae at a time going down and touching the ground, and 1 vertebrae at a time coming back up
  • PAX moseys back to AO

[ 4 Corners // Asylum 200 ]

  • Corner 1 of AO parking lot = 25 down/up merkins as a group
    • Mosey to Corner 2
  • Corner 2 of AO parking lot = 25 down/up dry docks as a group
    • Mosey to corner 3
  • Corner 3 of AO parking lot = 25 up/down squats as a group
    • Mosey to corner 4
  • Corner 4 of AO parking lot = 25 half-burpees IC as a group
    • 4-count led by Q (no merkin)
    • 5 counts were initiated by Q after 10 reps or 15 – this was a freaking smoke session
  • PAX gets a breather
  • Rinse & Repeat 4 Corners but backwards
    • Bernie Sanders from corner to corner for 2nd round

[ PAX moseys back to playground ]

[ Quarter Pounder ]

  • 5 dips
  • 5 incline merkins on the bench
  • 5 decline merkins on the bench
  • 5 box jumps
  • 5 Big Boy Sit-Ups with legs on the bench

[ PAX moseys to curb right outside the playground ]

  • 50 Irish Tap Dancers in honor of Abscess’s 50th
    • 50 4 counts take longer than originally thought = character building fun

[ PAX moseys back to AO ]

[ Toe the Line ]

  • PAX do down & backs across AO parking lot
    • Skip-jumps down + 5 half burpees at the end – Skip-jumps back
    • Karaoke down + 5 half burpees at the end – karaoke down
    • Jog down + 25 x 4 calf raises
  • Circle it Up

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 PAX – No FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“Faith – someone who has believed in another person // fundamental believing in another person”

MOLESKIN:

(Matthew 8:5-13) – “Faith of a Centurion”

 

  • “If I believe really hard…Jesus will do this”
  • “I have to live in this moment believing in this person/people”

These are things I’ve told myself and maybe you have at some point too.

A challenge I’ve set for myself this week is what would it look like to have the faith of a muster seed // or faith like that of the centurion in Matthew 8.

Going back to “Faith – someone who has believed in another person // fundamental believing in another person” – for F3 for instance, I have faith that when I come out here, whether I’m leading or following, at least 1 HIM will be here in the gloom with me, pushing me to be a better version, and expecting me to do the same. I have faith in the Q to lead. I believe that. 

TPQs (Thought Provoking Questions)

  • Where do I lack the faith of a centurion?
  • What people/institutions/things do I fundamentally have faith in?
  • Who has faith in me?

Ties in with Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another” —> having faith in one another to Keep the Faith & Fight the Good Fight

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • Make sure Abscess knows you didn’t suffer in vain this morning. Welcome him gladly into the RESPECT club, and be sure to post THIS Saturday at the Asylum for his 50th birthday Q.

Iron. Sharpens. Iron.