F3 Knoxville

Searching for Bilbo

THE SCENE: Beautiful, around 70, low humidity.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3, Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. F3 is a free workout program designed to improve fitness, share some camaraderie, and foster male leadership in the community.  I’m Pele and I will be your Q today.  I am not a professional, and I do not know your fitness level or injury history.  Please push yourself, but modify the workout as necessary to avoid making any existing injuries worse.  The goal is to get better together!  Some additional COVID-19 considerations: keep your distance between you and other members of the PAX and any other folks that we pass during moseys, etc. to 6-10 feet.  We will be splitting up into groups smaller than 10 if necessary.  We need to set good examples and be good neighbors out here at this public park, especially with so many folks out and about.


WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 BAC forward and backward

– Little of this and that

– get in a line, high knees 20 yards, butt kickers 20 yards, Karaoke left 20 yards, Karaoke right 20 yards

THA-THANG:

Today is September 22, which is Bilbo Baggins’ birthday, also known as HOBBIT’S DAY! But (as you may know from reading or watching the Fellowship of the Ring) at his 111th birthday party, he vanished into thin air! One second he was standing there giving an overblown birthday speech, and then poof! He was gone!  We need to go find him.  Hobbits like being around hills, so we need to search the hills around here to see where he’s gone off to.  Ready??  .

Mosey to shallow amphitheater area. CONES at top and bottom

  • At Top cones do an AROUND THE WORLD (plank position, rotate around 360 degrees to look around) both directions.  Run down and circle bottom cones and go back to top cones.

Mosey to Area 51 Hills. Follow the cones down and read the instructions. COUNT OFF by 2’s.

  • FIRST CONE: No Bilbo. Start the search. 1’s do Jump Squats, 2’s lunge to the right for 20 sec, then back 20 sec, then Reverse.
  • SECOND CONE: No Bilbo. Start the search. 1’s do Iron Mikes, 2’s Bear Crawl 5/ do 5 Reps of CDDs for 20 sec, then back 20 sec, then reverse.
  • THIRD CONE: GOBLINS! We’ve been captured. BATAAN DEATH MARCH back to road and down to Area 51 parking lot. 1’s and 2’s in two lines, last 2 PAX in each line do 5 Prisoner Squats then race to catch up to the front of the line.

PRISONER CAMP (Parking Lot).  After that we are put into Hard Labor, forced to build one of their forts for the upcoming war. 10 Prisoner Get ups, BEAR CRAWL to wall (because we’re being whipped), 10 Prisoner Cell Merkin Burpees (PCMBs), BEAR CRAWL back.  Rinse and repeat, but only 5 reps of the exercise, and El Capitan back and forth instead of bear crawl.  Q’s note: This was harder than it sounded on paper!!

Mosey to TREES to the west.  ELVES appear! A BATTLE ensues!

  • 1s are Elves, 2s are Goblins. Pair off and face each other.  BURPEE BATTLE! Elves are better trained, quicker. They only need to do 8 burpees, the Goblins need to do 10.  Whoever wins each pair wins the battle. If more elves win than goblins, we are free.  Otherwise we continue the death march.  Elves do two more burpees at the end to make it fair.

Mosey to bottom of Everest.  One last big Hill to search…

  • Run up Everest to Base of Summit, using the secondary path by the big cedar tree.
  • Mosey to Roadshow Run stairway. Run up to top.
    • THERE’S BILBO, RIGHT BACK AT HOME WHERE WE STARTED!
    • A celebration is in order! 111 SIDE STRADDLE HOPS WITH OVERHEAD CLAPS!

MARY:
20 Hello Dollies (4-ct, IC)

20 BBS

ATMs

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 strong, including one FNG, FiliBilly!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Today’s workout had a Lord of the Rings theme, obviously.  LotR is one of my favorite set of books and movies, yes, because of all the magic and dragons, and elves with pointy ears, but also because of some of the wonderful lessons that it contains.

  • Perseverance
  • Hope
  • Fighting for what’s good in the world
  • Resourcefulness

But I want to focus on two lessons in particular.  One is the concept of the FELLOWSHIP itself.  The FELLOWSHIP consisted of Nine individuals who were given an incredibly difficult task.  They were:

  1. A wizard (Gandalf)
  2. A King who was sort of a refugee and had not ascended to his throne. (Aragorn)
  3. An elf prince (Legolas)
  4. A Dwarf (Gimli)
  5. A Human prince (Baromir)
  6. And four hobbits (Frodo, Samwise, Pippen, Merry).

All of the members of this party were battle hardened and powerful representatives of their races.  They also had strong prejudices they had to overcome.  Elves and dwarves were sworn enemies.  The humans were subject to the temptations of the One ring.  No one trusted wizardsHobbits were just small and simple folk that can’t find their butt with two hands and aspire to nothing more than to grow a good pumpkin in their gardens.  And yet these 9 individuals bonded together, died for each other, and even the elf and dwarf became inseparable friends.  It kind of reminds me of our F3 Fellowship.  Heck, fellowship is the second “F” in our name!

The other lesson I wanted to bring up involved who stepped up and carried the Ring, which was an evil artifact that took a physical and mental toll on the bearer.  The Ring bearer was also the instant target of all the Evil minions in the land.  And yet it was not the wizard, the noble elf, the strong dwarf, the human royals that carried the ring.  It was the smallest among them, a simple hobbit who had never left his home that volunteered to carry the burden.  As the Elf Queen Galadriel tells Frodo, “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”  Sometimes today’s problems seem insurmountable.  No matter how helpless or insignificant you feel in such a troubled world, take comfort in the fact that God has a plan and purpose for your life, and all people, large or small, can be used for His Glory.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers of thanks for the successful surgery on Jinxy’s wife, and that our brother Pinto is gaining strength in his battle with multiple myeloma. Welcome to FNG Filibilly!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2nd F opportunity at Abridged Wed 9/23 7 pm!

35th Birthday Tour of Mount Rushmore

THE SCENE: 50’s. Perfect weather. Even got a Happy Birthday wish and surprise visit from Ribbed before the Q started and knew it was going to be a fun, successful workout for all PAX.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Administered + Cell Phone + COVID distancing
WARM-O-RAMA:

Today I turn 35 and that means I can now be POTUS (that’s President Of The United States for those of you who don’t speak acronym. We’re going to do some themed routines and bring it all together in the BOM. So without further ado…
IC 10 x Tennessee Rocking Chair
IC 10 x Moroccan Night Club
IC 10 x El Capitan
OYO 10 x Tempo Merkin
IC 10 x Seal Clap Squat
IC 10 x Dancing Bear
IC 5 x Pickle Pounder
IC 5 x Glute Bridge (aka Pickle Pointer)
4 rounds of 10 Calf raises followed by the following sprints:
50%, 70%, 90%, 100%
THA-THANG:
Mosey to F3 parking near portable classrooms. Double check for skunk that was seen during making Weinke‘s (named for Tennessee’s current QB’s coach Chris Weinke due to his inability to remember plays) and pointed out by Dart Gun.

The first POTUS was George Washington, so we’ll do a partner routine that spells out his name:
W.A.S.H.
Find a partner. All exercises are single count. Each exercise is done only 10 at a time while your partner is doing their reps you do the iso(metric) hold for a total of the number at the end.
Werkins / Plank – 50
American Hammers / Boat or Canoe – 100
Step-ups / Al Gore – 150
Hip Thrusts (aka Pickle Pounders) / Glute Bridge Hold – 200

Call recover, get a 15 count. Mosey to Iron Pax Week 3 location (aka big parking lot – nice write-up Wanderer!).

Thomas Jefferson was the 2nd POTUS. We’ll be doing 2 minutes of the following for 3 rounds
10 Squats – 1 Burpee – 10 Merkins – 1 Burpee (okay so this is basically IPC Week 3 but only for 2 minutes) – Repeat
15-30 seconds rest, Q explain next round
10 Lunges (single count) – 1 Burpee – 10 Seal Clap Squats – 1 Burpee – Repeat
15-30 seconds rest, Q explain next round
10 Pickle Pounders – 1 Burpee – 10 Pickle Pointers – 1 Burpee – Repeat
15-30 seconds rest, mosey to next POTUS location

Call recover, get a 15 count. Q next asked: Who was the 26th President of the United States
A from Sty: Theodore Roosevelt (I was not expecting a correct answer so major points to Sty and also for making the HC to come today by taking the flag home with him and bringing it back!)

So next we’ll be doing T.E.D.D.Y. for a set time (until 6:07am so we can get back to the AO in time for our last POTUS of the day) – do 5 reps of each exercise and then do 1 extra rep on one exercise you choose for a total of 26 reps each round!
Tempo Merkin
El Capitan
Derkin
Dancing Bear
Yurpee

Call recover, get a 10 count. Last but not least mosey back to the AO and the Q asked – “who was the 5th President of the United States?” No quick answers came but that was okay because the Q messed up the question thinking about the $5 bill. The Q asked again “who was the 16th POTUS?” Several “Abraham Lincoln”‘s were stated. While moseying back to the Shovel Flag the Q then stated the following: “Abraham Lincoln once said ‘the trouble with quotes on the internet is that it’s hard to verify their authenticity'”. And since Honest Abe was the 16th POTUS, this was meant to be a funny segue on to our final routine of the day: a 5-minute song: Thunderstruck! The F3 Exicon has it slightly different but below is what we did (just like in February!)

BOLD & JUICY “Thunderstruck” modification:
Start the song with pickle pounders.
When they start saying “thunder” go into plank and do 1 merkin every time it’s said.
Hold plank until at the end of the first verse when he says “thunderstruck.”
For the rest of the song when he says “thunderstruck” do 1 burpee.
After the first thunderstruck, the Q led the following changes to exercises at certain points in the song:
BBS until the first “shaking at the knees”, doing burpees as they say “thunderstruck”
Flutter kicks until the second “shaking at the knees”, doing burpees as they say “thunderstruck”
BBS until the last round of “thunderstruck” starts and do burpees until the end of the song.

MARY:
“Does Thunderstruck Count?”
-Abraham Lincoln
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 PAX strong (Judge Judy not pictured – he had to bow out for work before Honest Abe’s rendition of AC/DC)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
What do the presidents we covered this morning have in common? They’re all on Mount Rushmore which is located in the Black Hills in Keystone , SD. Fun fact about Mount Rushmore: Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941.
So back to the Q and how this is relevant: Today I turn 35 – something I actually got wrong in the name-o-rama because I’ve said 34 for the past 100+ posts at F3 it’s second-nature. 35 means I’m “old enough” to be President of the United States. But there’s a deeper question at hand here: at its root, what is the POTUS to do? He’s a ruler and as Romans 13:3-4 tells us:
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

Rules, including the POTUS, under God’s authority. We are under God’s authority. We are under the authority of our local church. We’re all under authority and have to submit to authority. More on that later.

Next let’s read about what Jesus says about how the world views when it has authority and how we as followers of Christ should view authority when we’re the ones “in charge”.

Matthew 20:20-28
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[c] 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,[d] 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

As usual, 3 questions for us remain to ask
1. Everyone is under authority – do you recognize it? Or do you rage against it?
2. When you ask Jesus for things, are you cognizant of the cost he’s going to ask you to pay?
James paid with his life as a martyr.
John was exiled and died alone on the isle of Patmos.
And the question to ask most of all…
3. When you are in leadership, instead of like this world “lording it over others”, are you
the slave, the bondservant, of those around you?
MOLESKIN:
Q’ing on my birthday was pretty great fun. Felt great to start the week with the JUCOnian HIMs. I encourage every man to Q on or the day before/after his birthday. It’s a way to seek to serve when the day can feel all about you but Christ really does shine through when we put others first on the “day that’s supposed to be all about me”.

PS – Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest president to date at 42 due to William McKinley’s assassination.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Kenjo Q Wednesday. IPC Week 3 Friday (Open Q at the moment – SIGN UP!)

Double Ring of Fire and some hard work and sweat at the Asylum

THE SCENE: Slightly overcast, temps in the mid-80s and a bit muggy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH 20 IC
Cherry Pickers 15 IC
Windmills 15 IC
Grady Corns 31 IC
Merkins 10 IC

THA-THANG:
I

Mosey to Hill west of stop sign
1. 15 Merkins – Bernie to next station
2.  15 BBS-   Run to next station
3.  20 Squats Bear Crawl to next station
 4.  20 American Hammers (4 ct) –Run

Rinse n repeat

Mosey to Tree at bottom of hill – divide across each cone
Cone 1 – 20 Hello Dollys (4ct) , Cone 2 – 20 Imperial Walkers (4ct), Cone 3 – 20 shoulder taps (4 ct)

Rinse and repeat

I minute Plank
Quick Ring of Fire – 1 merkin each
Mosey to Island
Partner up
Run Opposite direction.  When you meet within 6 feet, 5 Merkins , run again, 10 Merkins, run again – 15 merkins
Rinse and repeat – 5 Bobby Hurleys, 10 Bobby Hurleys, 15 Bobby Hurleys
Mosey to halfway up hill towards AO – One more Ring of Fire

MARY:

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Wayne Dyer- Power of Intention.
Need to separate from Ego.Move away from Ego dominance. Your free will can either move with universal spirit and its unfolding or away from it toward ego dominance. We do not create anything alone, we are all creatures with God. Our free will combines and redistributes whats already created
1. I am what I have. My possesions define me
1. I am what I do. My achievements define me
3. I am what others think of me. My reputation defines me
4. I am separate from everyone. My body defines me as alone
5. I am separate from all that is missing in my life. My life space is disconnected from my desires
6. I am separate from God. My life depends on God’s assessment of my worthiness

MOLESKIN:
Pray for @Jinxy’s wife who is having surgery
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill Obstacle build- supply pick up at Christmas Lumber on Kingston Pike ~ 3 pm friday and build at HHOR site in Kingston on Saturday starting at 9 am, need able bodies, skil saws, cordless drills and impact drivers. Let Sparkler know if you can come

Opt-In at Shamrock

THE SCENE:

Partly Cloudy Temperature Humidity Feels like Wind Speed Wind Direction
69 ℉ 99% 71 ℉ 3.1 mi/h NNE

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER.
I am not a professional.

WARM-O-RAMA:
25 SSHs.
10 Baby Arm Circles forward.
10 backward.
10-15 Double bounce Squats.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to main parking lot.  While running laps, each lap PAX has to complete exercise from below list.  First lap, however, was 50 burpees.  So, 50 burpees while doing lap.  Then next laps were as chosen from below list.

Chest Arms
120 Merkins
75 Dive Bombers
100 Carolina Dry Docks
60 Jumping Spiders
100 Diamond Merkins
Legs
150 Squats
100 Monkey Humpers
80 Bonnie Blairs (Jumping Lunge)
150 Calf Raises
Core
75 BBS
80 LBC
100 Pickle Pounders
75 Box Cutters
80 Dolly Partons
60 War Hammers (BBSU with Amer Hammer at Top)

Mosey to coupon pile.  Grab a CMU.  Lined up on edge of parking lot. Gorilla Complex.  As many rounds as possible.  All with CMU except Merkins and Mosey.

  • 8 Curls
  • 8 High Pulls
  • 8 Overhead Press
  • 8 Tricep Extension
  • 8 Merkins – sans CMU
  • Mosey to other side of parking lot and back.

At time, recover and mosey back to AO.
MARY:
2 minutes of ab work including:
30 Flutter Kicks
15 Dolly Partons
25 or so Bicycles ending at high rep rate.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

18 HIMs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Kyle Korver is an 18 year veteran of the NBA.  He wrote an article entitled ‘Privileged’ back in April of 2019.  The article tells of his relationships with his fellow players and talks of his thoughts concerning the Privilege he has because he is white.  The privilege is described as the ability to opt-in or opt-out when it comes to things related with Black Lives Matter.  I appreciated reading it.  Kyle Korver – Privilege.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill work day this coming Saturday.  See Slack for details.

VQ for Honeydew

THE SCENE: Clear morning, low humidity, temp in the mid 60’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER 

I’m not a professional

Modify your workout for your injuries

Keep social distancing in mind during the COVID pandemic

It’s my first Q so bear with me.

WARM-O-RAMA:
20-Side-straddle-hops IC

15-Baby Arm Circles forward IC

15-Baby Arm Circles Backwards IC

5 Cherry Pickers IC

20 Merkins IC

THA-THANG:
Mosey over to the CMU pile near the buses. Each person grabbed 1 CMU and proceeded to the adjacent parking lot. 4 stations were set up and a speaker was in place to begin a time using the Tabata Timer App. 3 exercises at each station. the first exercise was done for :45 seconds with a :10 second rest x 3 sets then moved to the next station and repeated :45 seconds of work :10 second rest for 3 sets for all stations. CMU is carried to each station and.

  • Station 1
    • Decline Merkins
    • Vertical Press (From Iron PAX video)
    • Overhead Press
  • Station 2
    • Goblet Squats
    • Rocky Balboas
    • Lunges
  • Station 3
    • Curls
    • Alpos (From Iron PAX video)
    • Dips
  • Station 4
    • Big Boys
    • Plank
    • Freddie Mercury

MARY:American Hammers 4 Count x 15 back at the AO

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: Treat others with respect and lead by example. I would not be where I am today without a positive role model in my life. By being good examples and role models we can help end racism, sexism, and hate.
MOLESKIN:
Being raised in home with 2 working parents in a small town in southern West Virginia my parents didn’t have resources like a daycare, YMCA, Boys and Girls Club or anything like that.  My parents relied on a a baby sitter, a black lady named Lucille. This lady was a woman of God and very religious and treated me as one of her own children and I often referred to her as my other mother. She was a leader in her church and when I met her family everyone knew who I was because she kept up with my achievements in the paper and would continue to guide me long after being my babysitter.  When Lucille passed away I was unable to attend the funeral but discovered through her obituary that she had made me one of her God Children. My parents weren’t even aware of this fact, but we took it as an honor and privilege. For this reason I never thought someone was different because of their color, heritage, or religious belief. This role model never told me to not hate she showed my how to be good to people and how to treat people with respect. When my daughter was born I was so happy and honored to that my wife agreed and allowed my daughter to be named Lucille, because my wife could see how much love I had for this great lady. Sorry if this is too long again my first time doing this, but thanks again for giving me the opportunity to lead today and thanks for all the guys to push me to lead this workout today