F3 Knoxville

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!! (Music Included)

THE SCENE: Balmy, Humid, 26 degrees for “The Best Sunrise in America”.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Don’t cheat yourself, treat yourself. 

WARM-O-RAMA: 

100 SSHs in cadence. Is there another way to warmup??

THA-THANG:

Chest Station To the Pavilion (pronounced “pav-i-lahn”)  

  • Regular Merkins x 12
  • Wide Merkins x 12
  • Ranger Merkins x 12
  • Bench Dips x 12
  • Bird Dogs x 12 (with each leg)
  • Run to the ticket house and back.

Do this complete cycle three times…Mosey time.

All My Benches

  • Three sets of box jumps x 45 seconds per sesh

Abs Station under the Church/Gazebo Looking Thing 

  • Two sets of 25 box cutters
  • One set of flutter kicks 4-count (20)
  • One set of hello dollies x 25
  • Planks (60 seconds)
  • Elbow planks (30 seconds)
  • Elbow planks with left leg out (30 seconds)
  • Elbow plants with right leg out (30 seconds)
  • Planks (60 seconds)

***Pickett’s Charge*** followed by star gazers at the Coliseum 

Grinch’s Hill – 7s 

  • Lunges at the top, Carolina Dry Docks at the Bottom. Mosey up Area 51, with Box Cutters in transition.
  • Squat Station by the Asylum Building. 10 Tempo and 10 OYO (4-count)
  • Mosey back to PM AO Parking Lot..

Fat Burner Station

  • Happy feet (45 seconds)
  • Mountain Climbers (45 seconds)
  • Jump Squats (45 seconds)
  • High Knees (45 seconds)

Everything you got up Baby Everest to the AO!!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Yep. 19 including one FNG (Spinal Tap).

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
After the Pandemic “normalizes”, we will never be the same. That may be a good thing in some areas. What things do we have in our lives that never need to be the same? That we need to peal away and keep that way. Spend time alone in the coming days identifying what has changed (or needs to change) during this year that is a good thing (or will be).

MOLESKIN:
The Saturday before Christmas is by far the funnest Q of the year. The Christmas music (wireless speaker) throughout the workout was clutch.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Triple Birthday Q next weekend at the Asylum!! AYOOOOOOOOO….

Rainy Days & Mondays at the Equalizer

THE SCENE: Rainy. Windy. Fantastic.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Cherry Pickers IC | Baby Arm Circles IC
  • SSH IC | Rockettes IC

THA-THANG:

10,20,30,40 of these exercises:

  • Pull-up, Single leg Bridge, BBS, SSH
  • Burpees, VUps, Squats
  • Step ups, Mtn Climbers, Dips, LBCs
  • American Hammer, Incline Merks, SSH, Lunges
  • Table row, Signle leg dead, BBS, SSH

Rinse & repeat

MARY:

  • Flutter Kicks IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Prayers for our brother, his wife, and the medical staff taking care of them.

MOLESKIN & ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Hardship

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side-Straddle-Hops.  5 Burpees.  10 Windmills.  4 Burpees.  10 Rockettes.  3 Burpees.  10 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward.  2 Burpees.  10 Little Baby Arm Circles Backwards.  1 Burpee.  Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Caribbean.  We will run around Caribbean stopping at cones to do the exercises listed.  We will then Bernie around and do the same exercises.  Next we will Butt Kick around with the exercises.  Next, we will High Knees around with the exercises.  Finally we will run around again with the exercises.  Here are the exercises:

  • 20 Merkins
  • 20 Jump Squats
  • 20 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 20 Star Jumps
  • 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct).

Pickets Charge to Coliseum.

We will stop to do 20 American Hammers and 20 Flutter Kicks.  Next, we will do two loops around sidewalk that goes by admin bldg.  At Coliseum area we do 20 Bench Dips.  At steps of Admin Bldg we do 20 Calve Raises.

Gander from the Coliseum at Beautiful Water and Mountains in the distance.

Mosey to parking lot with CMUs.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises:

  • 30 Overhead Presses
  • 30 Curls
  • 30 Rows

Next we will split into two teams.  There will be two CMUs set up at western end of parking lot.  Team members line up.  The first member of Team One and Team Two throw frisbees at their particular CMU on the other side of the parking lot.  Whoever has the frisbee farthest from their CMU must run with their team to end of parking lot and back, grabbing both frisbees.  Then the next team members do the same thing.  If Team One always wins they will always be watching while Team 2 is running and vice versa.  Hopefully, it will be a fairly even split.

Replace CMUs.  Sprint back to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
19 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Seeing the Opportunity in Hardship

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

We read in Self-Help Books, learn from experts, and hear from the wise among us that hardships help us to grow.  And, if we look back on difficulties we have faced in our own lives when we were younger, we can see how life challenges have helped us to grow stronger.  If we can remember this principle, “that hardship helps us grow”, we may be able to face our current challenges in a more optimistic way and forego much of the anxiety and angst that can sometimes bewilder us.

So often in the midst of challenges, anxiety can get the best of us.  We face fear and may think things like:  Why is this happening to me?  I don’t have what it takes to do this.  I am not strong enough.  I wish this would just go away.

I have a patient who is a female in her senior year of high school.  She copes with social anxiety, a condition where she gets very anxious in public situations.  Yet, she got a job as a hostess at an Aubrey Restaurant.  She has liked the job and has found that she has been able to interact well with the customers who come in to eat at the restaurant.  I have been so proud of her.  Here is a young person who has social anxiety, yet is working in a very public setting where she is seeing new people constantly.

Although she likes the job, she is facing hardships there.  The job can be very stressful when the restaurant gets crowded and busy.  The waiters and waitresses, who are friendly to my client, can still get harried when too many customers are seated in their area.  Also, my patient must face the ire and wrath of customers who have been waiting for a table and get impatient.  Who is the frontline person that these impatient customers see?  The hostess.  So it is my patient who receives their angry comments and complaints.  That is difficult for a young teenager to take, especially when she has an anxiety disorder.

But think about what my patient is learning in the face of these challenges.  If she can handle these hardships now, think about how much better she will be prepared for challenges she will face in college and as an adult in a profession.  Life isn’t always going to be cozy.  If she can handle these early challenges then she will be better able to handle the disappointment of customers she serves at future jobs whatever jobs those might be. She will be able to tolerate negative comments of bosses or supervisors and handle the mistakes she will inevitably make as an employee or young professional in the future.  The hardship she is facing now, with the corresponding discomfort in the pit of her stomach, is actually building strength in her, making her a higher impact woman.  It certainly helped my patient to be able to see this – to think that what is leading to anxiety within her is also helping her to grow.

In the face of hardship, the lesson that the hardship is helping us to grow can be difficult to remember.  But, if we can remember that principal, it will help us to face the challenge better.  The next time you experience anxiety, think about that.  Maybe anxiety isn’t a totally bad thing.  Maybe it is a natural response to a challenge that we can learn from.  And maybe that anxiety in hardship that we are feeling now will be replaced by the growth we experience from it.  As our brother, Tank, would say:  Hardship Hill is a mighty fine thing!!

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those coping with coronavirus; for those dealing with solitude or illness where they don’t have the opportunity to gather with friends like we do in F3; for our country do end racism; praise for Curveball’s wife doing well with her surgery; prayers for Ribbed and his wife as she has surgery this Monday to remove a tumor by her spine – we pray the surgery goes well and that the tumor is benign.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Birthday Triple Q on Saturday, December 26 where the three Q leaders will provide Hot Toddy drinks after the workout!

Infamy and Unity

THE SCENE: 40s and damp but no rain
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

79 years ago (12/7/41), Pearl Harbor was bombed.  The attack began at 7:55 a.m. and lasted for almost 2 hours.

12 SSH (4 ct)

7 Burpees

41 Squats

THA-THANG:

Mosey to the flag pole

19 American ships were destroyed or damaged.

19 boat/canoes

188 American aircraft were destroyed or damaged.

188 tie fighters (single count)

2,403 American lives were lost – 2,008 from the Navy, 218 from the Army, 109 Marines, and 68 civilians.

2,403 merkins as a group in honor of everyone who died at Pearl Harbor (regular, inclined, declined, hand-release, WWII, etc., or a combination – PAX choice – but try to mix it up).  There were 12 PAX, so each PAX did 200 merkins.  After the first 100, we all ran a lap around the track.  After the next 50, we ran another lap.  After the final 50, we ran another lap.  We did the last 3 merkins together, in cadence, in the form of WWII merkins.  After completing the 2,403 merkins as a group, we ran a fourth lap to complete the mile.

Back at the flag pole, we honored the 15 members of the Navy who received the Medal of Honor for their actions at Pearl Harbor by doing 15 American Hammers (4 ct).

Minute of silence under the flag for everyone who has fought and died for our country followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, which broke out spontaneously from one of the PAX.

We had some extra time and hadn’t done enough merkins, so we cashed out with some ATMs (15 shoulder taps (4 ct), 10 tempo merkins, and 10 merkins (OYO)).

Mosey back to the AO

MARY:

Hello Dollys x 20 (4 ct)

Flutter Kicks x 20 (4 ct)

Hold plank for about a minute until time

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 HIMs, including FNG Floater and last week’s FNG Jetlag whose tag is not in the system.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Our workout lasted 45 minutes.  79 years ago, Pearl Harbor had another hour or so of hell to fight through by the time that we were done.  What we did was nothing compared to what the people at Pearl Harbor did and went through.

The USS Arizona still rests under the water at Pearl Harbor.  Its fallen crew members still rest there, too.  Among them, 23 sets of brothers died on that ship on that day.  Former crew members who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor can have their ashes placed under one of the sunken gun turrets.  44 have done so with the last one occurring in 2019.  Former crew members from other ships who survived can have their ashes scattered where their ship was located during the attack.

There are lots of interesting stats and facts about Pearl Harbor.  Here is one that jumped out to me – after Pearl Harbor, 97% of Americans approved of entering WWII.  Sadly, it is hard to think of the last time 97% of Americans agreed on anything.

FDR said that 12/7/41 was a day that would live in infamy, which means being well known for some bad quality or deed.  He was right.  It was, and it has.

It also led to unity.

Let’s pray for the same bravery and unity that defined the Greatest Generation.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for unity (hopefully without the infamy).  Prayers for everyone struggling with addiction (spoiler alert: we all do over something to some degree) and praises for those who overcome addiction and find better ways and better days.  Prayers for Ribbed’s wife.  Prayers for Curveball’s wife.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Polar plunge coming soon

The Hills Are Alive With The Sounds of F3

THE SCENE: Nice Day! Chilly at 7:00 am start mid 40s. Clear sky
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Follow the Covid recommendation’s …. I am worse than any amateur, modify as necessary. We are going to do some hills today.

WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH X 15 , Butterfly Stretch ( Coach Dunn’s advice always appreciated), IT Band/Hip band stretch, quad stretch, arm circles, 5 Burpees. ( Pluto has no rhythm so the counting is always off a little )

THA-THANG:

The goal for this workout was to hit each of the primary hills in the Asylum AO. While planning the workout Pluto realized that an appropriate theme was the movie the Sound of Music. At multiple points in the workout the Pax sang the “The Hills are alive with the sound of F3” The singing was high spirited, but not in tune.

  • Run from AO start to base of Everest. At Everest Base: 20 Beachball  Merkins & 20 LBCs
  • Run up Everest – Al Gore till 6 up then Mosey to Stop sign. At Stop Sign 15 Squats with 5 second hold at bottom. Mosey to bathroom building at base of Picketts Hill.
  • Run up Pickets Hill with 5 Burpees at each plateau ( 5 Plateaus & 25 burpees if the hard side was chosen) Mosey down to Picnic Tables
  • Picnic Tables – 15 Picnic Table Pull Ups, 15 Dips, 20 Merkins in parking lot. Rinse & Repeat 2x. Did a few yoga stretches and core at  flagpole then mosey between ballfields to base of Cardiac Hill.
  • Run up Cardiac Hill with 10 Imperial walkers at every second light ( We sang the Hills Are alive at Base and put a headlock on a passing walker )
  • Mosey to CMUs… 20 Curls, 20 Overheads, 20 rows with CMUs Rinse & Repeat x 2 then mosey to base of Baby Cardiac Hill.
  • Up & Down Baby Cardiac Hill 3 x with LBCs or Ankle touch core work at base x 20.
  • Finished together running up final hill to AO start point while singing “Climb Every Mountain”

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
24 Pax got better this fine morning! Pele, Drum Major, Waffle House, Lillydipper, Hot Tub, Hooker, Jumbo, Mickey, G String, Convoy, Choir Boy, Matlock, Dung Beatle, Gilligan, Abacus, Gobbler, Swimmies, High Heels, Crawldad,
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Pluto shared how one of his favorite movies to watch during the Christmas season was the Sound of Music. As we hit the four hills of the Asylum AO this morning the song the Hills are alive with the sound of F3 was an appropriate theme. It is a rare that we do all four of these hills in a workout. Only have time to do so on a 1 hour Saturday. As we finished the workout the song ” Climb Every Mountain” was a closing song and finished  the Sound of Music workout  theme nicely. Pluto then shared 10 points of Trivia related to the Sound of Music and a tie in to leadership lessons from the Sounds of Music that were in a Forbes Magazine article a few years ago.

Sound of Music Trivia:

The Von Trapps did escape Austria as the Nazis came to power, but they didn’t flee over the Alps, they got on a train to Italy and then traveled to America, where they had a concert tour scheduled. The day after they left, Hitler ordered the Austrian borders shut.

When they left Austria, Baron von Trapp and Maria had already been married for years and had two children of their own, with another on the way.

When the von Trapps came to America they settled in Stowe, Vermont. They opened the Trapp Family Lodge, which is operational to this day.

The Sound of Music was the eighth and final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, but Hammerstein never saw the movie. He died of stomach cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.

“Edelweiss” was the last song Oscar Hammerstein ever wrote, the production of the movie had to stop for two hours to teach all of the extras the words to the song for that scene.

When it came to the movie, Julie Andrews wasn’t the first choice for Maria! Producers wanted Grace Kelly or Doris Day to replace her.

Sean Connery, Richard Burton and Bing Crosby were in the running to play Captain von Trapp, before the role went to relative newcomer Christopher Plummer.

Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss also auditioned to be von Trapp children.

While filming the iconic opening scene, twirling in the hills of Austria, Andrews kept getting knocked down in the mud by the gusts from the helicopter carrying the camera.

Adjusted for inflation, it’s one of the highest grossing films ever made, right behind Gone With the Wind and Star Wars.

It had the longest first run in U.S. cinemas ever at four and a half years.

Forbes Magazine: Four Leadership Lessons from Maria Von Trapp 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffloftus/2016/05/28/four-leadership-lessons-from-maria-von-trapp-julie-andrews/?sh=3c7d0e4210c6

MOLESKIN:

As we prayed together we as HIMS so often pray for our significant others and others in the Pax undergoing spoken challenges. Please remember that each of us has our own challenges each day & that all of us are going through something. Remember to pray for all the unspoken needs of our Pax and fellow f3’ers
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The workout was followed by a well attended and enjoyed coffee time at Panera.