F3 Knoxville

Grok’in Around the Farm

AO: the-farm
Q: Choir Boy
PAX: Lightweight, Pew-pew, Einstein, Aladdin, Choir Boy, Works-for-a-Guy from Nashville
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
WARMUP: Run two light poles, walk two light poles around the Big Loop up to the split; high knees for one minute; little baby arm circles forward on a 4 count x 10; little baby arm circles backward on a 4 count x 10

THE THANG:

Round 1
30 mountain climbers (2 count)
20 squats
15 merkins
Rinse and repeat for 4 total sets

Round 2
16 lunges each leg
One-minute plank
30 American hammers (2 count)
Rinse and repeat for 4 total sets

Round 3
Sprint for 3 light poles, walk 1 light pole x 4
12 merkins
10 burpees
Rinse and repeat for 4 total sets

MARY: No time

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Escape from Haw Ridge

COT: I am seeing more references to God and Jesus in society – from athletes in the NFL and college football to people serving in the government. I hope that it is all sincere (we can’t judge what is in another’s heart) and a sign that society is embracing God again and moving closer to his teachings and will. Time will tell but take hope and solace in these little things and be part of a larger revival in your homes and communities where and how you can.

Cooperation and Accountability

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Pele (Jon Lindberg)
PAX: Mr Jinxy, Veggie (Rylen Huddy), High Heels (Henry Ritchie), Pele (Jon Lindberg), Choir Boy, Waffle House (Brady Greene), Lulu (Greg Huddy), Snitch (Cory Beilharz ), lebowski, Honeydew, CRISPR
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: SSH x20 4 ct IC, Windmills x10 4ct IC, BAC forward and backward x10, Grady Corns x20 4ct IC, Bolt 45s, short mosey to show pain stations, Cherry Pickers x10 4-ct IC

THE THANG:
We will work together to accomplish a difficult task, which will be completing a high number of reps of various exercises, all together, as a PAX. As we complete the reps, we will cross off the markers to track progress. If we do not complete all reps with 5 minutes left, we end with 30 Deconstructed Burpees, otherwise, we will do Stargazers. I RECOMMEND GETTING IN LOOSE GROUPS OF 3-4. Tasks:
CMU Pile:
– 700 Curls (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 700/20 = 35 markers)
– 700 Overhead Presses (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 700/20 = 35 markers)
– 700 Rows (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 700/20 = 35 markers)
BABY CARDIAC:
– 30 Sprints up Baby Cardiac (Marker indicators 1 trip each, 30/1 = 30 markers)
SUICIDES:
– 30 Suicides (Marker indicators 1 suicides each, 30/1 = 30 markers)
CORE WORK:
– 700 LBCs (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 35 markers)
– 300 Big Boy Situps (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 300/20 = 15 markers)
– 300 American Hammers (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 300/20 = 15 markers)
PAVILION:
– 700 Jump or Step Ups (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 700/20 = 35 markers)
– 200 Decline Merkins (Marker indicators 10 reps each, 200/10 = 20 markers)
– 400 Bench Pullups (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 300/20 = 15 markers)

We actually got through TWO ROUNDs of this! Nice work!

MARY:
Not this time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hot Toddy Quadruple Q (Quoddy Toddy) next Saturday!!
COT:
So I used this same Q on the evening of the January 6 riot at the Capitol in 2020 because I wanted to do something collaborative, where we work towards a common goal. And I’m doing it again today because we need more of that as a nation, because right now, guys, we are still a broken and lost community.

COOPERATION: I find that activities like what we did today, where guys of different perspectives on life collaborate and cooperate and work together, are very important these days. As the saying goes, Team Work Makes the Dream Work. I didn’t always get to do the exercise I wanted at several points in the workout, but my group did, or it needed to be done reach our goal. I’m sure the same goes for all of you. But there’s something satisfying and dare I say FUN in doing a task together and accomplishing something. If more HIMs around this country would embrace that mentality, I think we would be a much stronger nation.

ACCOUNTABILITY: The second concept that I think this workout exemplifies is accountability. If we didn’t reach our goal, we held ourselves accountable and did the punishment exercise. We talk about accountability a lot in F3, and I think that’s a real strength of this group. Whether it’s giving a shout out to a Brother who hasn’t posted in a while, or hasn’t Q’d recently (Thanks for the call-out, Crawdad!), or guys that participate in Shield Locks, or do a weight loss challenge, or whatever, we hold each other and ourselves accountable. Because without holding each other and our colleagues and fellow citizens accountable for their actions, it is much easier to slack off, break the rules, not make those hard decisions and take those difficult actions that help everyone, including yourself.

SO COOPERATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY. Those are the two concepts I wanted to focus on in the workout and my Word. Those are two things that I think are important to being a HIM and an effective Leader, and two things that are sadly lacking in today’s society.

Elevens Plus

AO: the-farm
Q: Einstein
PAX: Bartman, Lightweight, Choir Boy
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
WARMUP:
Side straddle hops
Arm Circles
Cherry Pickers
Tempo Squats

THE THANG:
11s
CDDS and Bobby Hurleys in the lot, with a bear crawl around the parking block between each set

Merkins and squats at the stairs, stopping for a 5x calf raise in between each set

Head to the pavilions for Bench Dips and Box Jumps, doing 3x pull ups between each set. Made it half way through.

MARY:
10x Suitcase in cadence

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Forge coming up

COT:
Competence is how good you are when there is something to gain. Character is how good you are when there is nothing to gain. People will reward you for competence. But people will only love you for your character.”

Lose Yourself

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Pusher, Brick, Backflow (Wesley Hunt), High Heels, Steam, Honeydew, Choir Boy, Drum Major, lebowski, Pele (Jon Lindberg)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: 25 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Tempo Merkins, Curly Stomps, 10 Tennessee Rocking Chairs, 8 Twistees, More Curly Stomps, 10 Tempo Jumps Squats, 8 Windmills, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and 10 Backward, Little of This and That.

THE THANG: Mosey to the Pavilion. We will start with a totem pole where we will do five exercises. We start with the first for 30 seconds. We then add the second exercise and do 30 seconds each. We then do three exercises for 30 seconds each, etc. until we have done five exercises for 30 seconds each. We then cut off the first exercise in the totem pole so that we do only four exercises for 30 seconds each. We continue this process until we only have the last exercise to do for 30 seconds. By the time we are done we will have performed each exercise five times. Here are the exercises:
Mountain Climbers

Picnic Table Pull-Ups

Decline Merkins

Iron Mikes

Bench Dips

Mosey to the Caribbean Parking Lot. From the East End of the parking lot we will run around the parking lot stopping at every other island to do one of the following exercises. After doing the exercise at the eighth island, rabbits will sweep other men back to the start. We will then do the next listed exercise and repeat the process. Note: We will do each of the exercises at the beginning before starting the running. Here are the exercises:
– 20 Merkins
– 20 Imperial Walkers (2 Count)
– 5 Hand Release Merkins

Mosey to the entryway near the AO. We will each pick up a CMU size rock by the entryway and bring it back to the pavilion. We will do the following exercises in sequence but run around the pavilion twice before doing the next exercise.
20 Overhead Press

20 Overhead Bench Press

20 Curls

20 Rows

20 Tricepts

20 Squats with CMU at chest

Mosey to the AO.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Forg 3 will be next Saturday. The Hot Toddy Quadruple Birthday Q (Snitch has joined Charmin, High-Heels and Lilydipper will be the following Saturday on February 1

COT:
Message: Lose Yourself

Some of you know that my mother-in-law, Ruby Grimes, who had coped with significant dementia for the past year, died on Tuesday, January 14. The week I spent in Kentucky after her death and my involvement in her visitation, funeral, and burial, was powerful for me.

When, in preparation for the funeral, we met with Reverend Bill Fort, who had been Ruby’s minister and known her for 25 years, he commented that in the days when he was a young man in seminary, he and many of his fellow students dreamed and talked about what they would like to achieve as ministers. One of Bill’s favorite professors didn’t admonish the students for desiring “big things” as ministers but also told them this: in true ministry, we don’t grow larger in serving God but actually grow smaller.” Bill Fort then told our family that Ruby Grimes exemplified that statement. And, Bill was correct. At Ruby’s visitation before her funeral we met an incredible number of people who told us about how much Ruby had impacted their lives. She did that in ways that didn’t make newspaper headlines – rather, Ruby’s ministry was about loving others in small but consistent ways that grew on those she was around and made them better for it.

My wife, Jan, spoke at her mother’s funeral and, in her reflections, informed us that we can all learn lessons from Ruby Grimes. One lesson is that as a servant of God we should Lose Ourselves. You see, Ruby was not about taking the limelight. She shined the spotlight on you. If you visited her house she made sure you were comfortable, that you felt special, that you deserved the best. And you felt her love and interest as genuine.

Ruby Grimes didn’t have a college degree. She went to college for one year and then gave up the college dream after marrying her husband, Dorlan Grimes, when he was training to serve in the military. She was not some high ranking official in a company. She was not the president of a social club. She was a mother of two children who later worked as a kindergarten teacher, a phone operator, and in administration for local schools.

What Ruby did best was smile at others, truly get to know them, and love them truly. She was the adoptive grandmother for all kinds of kids on her block in her neighborhood. I remember spending Christmases at Ruby’s and Dorlan’s home when, on Christmas day, there would be neighborhood children coming by to give a card or gift to Ruby because they loved her so much. At the visitation before Ruby’s funeral we met children from four different families (some of these children were now middle age) that informed us how much Ruby had meant to them as children and impacted them in their lives. By the way, Ruby’s refrigerator was always lined with pictures those “adoptive grandchildren” would send her throughout their lives.

So, the message for today is Lose Yourself. Guys, it’s not about us if we are to be true HIMs. It’s about others. Where is your focus? When we over-focus on ourselves we get in trouble. Of course, all of us tend to do that and we all get in trouble. But if we do over-focus on ourselves, Ruby’s message to you would be, “Oh, that’s ok. You are a good person and I see that goodness in you. You are going to be just fine. You just go on being you. Now, can I get you another slice of pie?”

Prayer Requests

Prayers for the brothers going to Forg 3 in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area and for Steam and Brick who have been so busy planning it. Prayers for Backflow with the upcoming birth of his fourth child. Prayers for his family as well. Prayers for three of our brothers coping with health issues: Sparkler, Jenner and Eliza. Prayers for Dorlan Grimes, husband of Ruby Grimes (discussed in message above).

Double nickels

AO: the-farm
Q: Bartman
PAX: Aladdin, Choir Boy, Lightweight, Einstein, Pew-pew, Mahoney
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
WARMUP:
Yes

THE THANG:
Rounds of 55. Do exercise x 10, then run to end destination, do same exercise x9, then back to start, x8……continue until you’ve worked down to 1.

R1. parking curb merkins
R2. American hammers 4-ct
R3. Step ups
R4. Easy ups / rail rows
R5. Jump squats

MARY:
LBC cash out

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬