F3 Knoxville

500+ Side Straddle Hops 4 U

F3 Q: Saturday, February 4th, 2023 

0700 – 0800 

[ The Scene ] 

  • Cold as balls (23 degrees)

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith 
  • My name is Steam and I’ll be your Q this morning 
  • A few things before we begin: 
    • I’m not a professional 
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • You know your injuries if you have any so if you need to modify anything we do today feel free to do so, but push yourselves and the men around you. They deserve it and so do you. 
  • FNGs?

It’s cold but you will not regret coming out here and getting better this morning 💪

[ Warm o Rama ] 

  • SSH: 51×4 IC 

[ The Thang ] 

(Mosey to the Pav)

(1) February Metric Workout Prep 

  • 4 rounds 
  • R1
    • 5 pull-ups 
    • 5 incline merkins 
    • 5 BBS
    • Run to the rocks near the gate: 25 rock curls
  • R2
    • 10 pull-ups 
    • 10 incline merkins 
    • 10 BBS
    • Run to the rocks near the gate: 25 ruck curls 
  • R3
    • 15 pull-ups
    • 15 incline merkins 
    • 15 BBS
    • Run to the rocks near the gate: 25 rock curls 
  • R4
    • 20 pull-ups 
    • 20 incline merkins 
    • 20 BBS
    • Run to the rocks near the gate: 25 rock curls

Hold a wall sit in the Pav when done with all 4 rounds 

10-count? Nay. 52×4 SSH? Yay.

(American Indian run to the bottom of Everest – periodically stopping at stop signs for 10 push-ups and 10 squats)

(2) 5s to the stump and back 

  • pavement: man makers 
  • Stump: squats 
  • 4+1

52×4 SSH

Run to the mulch path, and then to the top of the Coliseum.

Run up the mulch path to where you can see the mountains — execute the core 4

  • 25×4 American Hammers
  • 25×4 Flutter Kicks
  • 25×4 LBCs
  • 25×4 Hello Dollys

50×4 SSH

(Mosey to the benches to the right of the Coliseum)

  • 5s (Dips + Decline Merkins)

50×4 Rocky Balboas

(Mosey to the Coliseum)

  • Ring of fire dealer’s choice – do the exercise for 10 reps on a 4-count, run to the the top of the admin building, and then back (did this 2x)

50×4 silent SSH

Mosey back to the AO (Balls To The Wall for the last light post path)

[ Mary ] 

SWS, or as it was amazingly pointed out, it is now SWMS (Stretching With Married Steam)

[ COT ]

  • # off – 15 
  • Name o Rama 
  • FNGs – 0
  • BOM

Two Words: Don’t Forget 

Megan and I went to a wedding last night, and then a few hours later went to the funeral and burial of my grandfather. The beginning of a new life and the celebrating/mourning of a life well lived. As the newly-wed couple were exchanging their vows at the wedding last night, these two powerful words popped up in my head: don’t forget. Don’t forget the vows I made to my wife 3 months back, or the man I promised her to be. Then today, we fellowshipped with a hundred or so folks, not forgetting the HIM that my grandfather was.

Because the reality is, at least for me, is that it is easy to forget. In the busyness and distractions of life, it’s easy to forget things. “Don’t forget” has been all up in my face the past week, and these two back to back events really hit home.

You Are More Than Your Job

THE SCENE: Windy, temps in low 60s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Plank Jacks, 10 Cherry Pickers, 20 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Windmills, Sitting knee stretches 10 count right, forward and left.
THA-THANG:
Mosey up Dragon Tail to Haslam Rock.  Stop on roadway to do 20 Box Cutters.

Mosey to Coliseum Courtyard Area.  We will run counterclockwise around the sidewalk loop.  We will do the following exercises around the circle:

  • First loop:  20 Bench Dips at Coliseum and Admin Bldg steps and 20 Merkins at the two sides of loop.
  • Second loop:  20 Box Jumps on Steps and 20 Carolina Dry Cocks at sides of loop.
  • Third loop:  20 Calf Raises on Steps and 20 Diamond Merkins at side of loop.
  • Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to roadway area close to Haslam Rock.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey on Perimeter Trail to area at bottom of Mt. Everest.  We will split into teams of two and do Doras.  One partner runs to the construction fence going south on the perimeter trail, touches the fence and runs back.  The other partner works on the listed exercises and then partners switch.  As a team, the partners will do the following exercises:

  • 150 Freddie Mercuries (4 ct)
  • 150 Jump Squats
  • 150 Baby Crunches
  • 150 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Abdominals
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 men with one FNG:  Robert Kelly whom we dubbed Kung Blue.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I know that some men in our brotherhood and some M’s of our brothers have struggled with the jobs they are in and the vocational decisions they are attempting to make. It is difficult to have a job that just doesn’t seem right for you.  It can be bewildering to wonder what direction your professional life should take. It can feel oppressive to go to a job you just don’t like and wonder when the right job will come along.  I look back to my own vocational struggles when I was in my 20’s and early 30’s. I can say that during some of those struggles I was clinically depressed.

As a 66-year-old who has been in the job market for quite some time, let me offer some words to you that may help be of benefit to those of you who have struggled vocationally or who have loved ones who have struggled:

  1. You are more than your job.  I know of people who feel they have never found the “right job.”  But some of them are amongst the finest people I know.  Yes, at parties we may introduce ourselves to others and answer the questions about what we do for a living.  But that isn’t our identity.  There is so much more:  our worship, our families, our friends, our activities outside of work, how we listen to others, how we treat others, how we lead others.
  2. If you are dissatisfied with your job, keep looking.  That doesn’t mean quit your current job.  But network with others, talk to your brothers, let them know you are looking for something new.  Also, when you interview for jobs, that in itself can be a learning process.  I am proud of my son, Bennett, for his growth through networking and interviewing in the past year.  He had a good job but wanted something different.  He thought he wanted to get into the banking industry but he wasn’t sure in what area or what direction to take.  He gradually found out a job that is fitting his desires by networking and interviewing for jobs that weren’t quite the fit.
  3. As our brother High-Heels said in a recent Q, even if you aren’t thrilled with your job, it’s a blessing to have it.  You are getting paid.  Your job is putting food on the table.  There are many people who are jobless and hungry.  Don’t forget that.
  4. You have an opportunity to serve others, no matter what your job.  You can smile at your customers, try to make their lives better, and enhance the lives of your fellow employees with a kind and eager spirit.  And, no matter what your job, whether physician or trash collector, that work is probably contributing to what makes our world spin.

I will sum up the last point with some of the words from a song we sometimes sing at my church called “Day by Day.”

Server, you remind us of our Savior's bowl and towel.
Teacher, you are raising up a child to be kind.
Lawyer, give us hope that justice one day will surround us.
May God's kingdom come, on earth His will be done.

Farmer, you are working for a table full of bounty.
Painter, with each color you are teaching us to see.
Nurse, yours are the healing hands that touch the poor and broken.
May God's kingdom come, on earth His will be done.

Lord, be close to us.  Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, please put Your hand on us day by day.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Jinxy and his family after the death of Jinxy’s father.  The funeral was today.  Prayers of praise for Operation as his wife is over six weeks pregnant after she and Operation went through such a lengthy time with issues of infertility.  Operation is going to be a great father!!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hot Toddy Triple Q at the Asylum on Saturday morning, January 28 at the Asylum!  Pusher will have his Birthday Q with Lumpia likely in February!

Inclusive

THE SCENE: rain, rain, go away
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER done
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, rockettes, cherry pickers, this & that, runner’s stretch, imperial walkers
THA-THANG:

Under the Pav-i-Lon

  • Dora – 250 SSH, 200 Rocky Balboa, 150 calf raise, 100 big boy, 50 burpee
  • 11’s – squat+lunges / merkin+kneel ups
  • 7’s – inclines / step ups

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 + an FNG makes 10!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Tonight we celebrated Cheat-ah Boy’s 1 year anniversary.  A 9 y/o who chooses to post in the heat, rain, snow, and gloom over eating Cheetohs on the couch playing video games.  I’m blessed that he and I are part of such an inclusive organization who’s motto is Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you find him.”  Young or old, in shape or not, believer in anything, doesn’t matter.  Doesn’t matter who you are, what you do for a living, or where you’re from…everyone is welcome.  SYITG

The 1st of the Last

F3 Q: 12.1.22

The 1st Q of the Last Month of 22 

[ The Scene ] 

  • 40s getting into the 30s
  • Sun goin down 

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith 
  • My name is Steam and I’ll be your Q this morning 
  • A few things before we begin: 
    • I’m not a professional 
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • You know your injuries if you have any so if you need to modify anything we do today feel free to do so, but push yourselves and the men around you. They deserve it and so do you. 
  • FNGs? – 0

[ Warm o Rama ] 

  • Rockette: 10×4
  • SSH: 10×4
  • Zombie walk from one end of the parking lot to the other
  • SSH: 10×4
  • Merkin: 10×4
  • SSH: 10×4
  • High Knees down and back 
  • SSH: 10×4

Tour de Lights

[ The Thang ] 

(Mosey to the Coliseum) 

— Stop 1: Top of the Dragon

  • 5s (1:1, 2:2. 3:3, etc)
    • POC: Top + 3rd light down 
    • Xs
      • Top: Mountain Climbers (4ct)
      • Man Makers (8 count)

— Stop 2: Roundabout before the Coliseum

  • Core 4: 25 merkins, 25 squats, 25 BBS, + 25 Carolina dry docks  
    • All on a 1 count
    • In between each X, we’re going to run to the top where the building is, and execute 10 SSH together

— Stop 3: Middle of the Coliseum

  • The Triangle Pyramid
    • 3 POC: Think of the coliseum like a triangle – 2 base points on either side of the bottom + the top point where the admin doors are)
    • Starting on the right, we’re going to run the triangle, but it’s going to be pyramid style, meaning that the Xs are going to build upon each other 
      • C1: 1 cone (SSH)
      • C2: 2 cones (Merkins + Imperial Walkers)
      • C3: 3 cones (LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Dips)
    • Everything is 20 reps, on a 1 count

— Core 4 looking over at the lights 

  • American Hammer: 25×4
  • LLBC: 25×4
  • Penguin: 25×4 
  • Dead Bug: 25×4

(Mosey back to the AO)

[ Mary ] 

  • ATMs
  • SWS

[ COT ]

  • # off – 13
  • Name o Rama: Pele, Lillydipper, Tank, Title9, Pusher, Doubtfire, Dawg Paddle, Rooney, Brick, High-Heels, Abacus, Onstar, Steam
  • FNGs – 0
  • BOM

Where Are You? 

  • Genesis 3:6-12

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

(https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.3.6-12)

3 things I want to point out as we head into the last month of this year: 

  1. “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” — What locations are you allowing yourself or the loved ones around you to be in? Mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual locations that are good and healthy or locations that may not be as conducive to how we’re called to walk as HIM. 
  2. “God called to the man and asked “Where are you?” —  God will always call Adam first. It’s not a sexist thing or misogynist thing, it’s by design. We as men are called to lead. And we will answer for how we’ve led. Why would God ask Adam “Where are you?” when he knew exactly where he was at? Now that’s a powerful question. A question we can all  intentionally ask ourselves and others as we enter into the last month of 22 and into a new year – Where am I? Or where are you? Emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually, relationally, sexually, etc. 
  3. “The man said “The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” – This is where I get it wrong so much of the time when I’m convicted – it’s not my fault, it’s her. Or it’s their fault. Or it’s the circumstances’ fault. And some of that may be true. But what would it look like to have a generation of men stand up and say “It’s not my fault, but it’s my duty. My duty as a steward of what’s been entrusted to me, my duty as a gardener, protector, and HIM.” 

Closing — It’s easy to show up to a 45 minute workout (for me at least) and not be real. “How’s it going? Good? Good!” But I want to invite myself and all of us into a very scary and eye opening endeavor over the next 30 days – check your location. Where are you? Really? Take stock on your location mentally, physically, emotionally, sexually, spiritually, relationally, professionally, etc. The greatest thing about sharing your location with someone is that it demands accountability. 

F3 never has been, and never will be a men’s ministry. However, a men’s movement? Absolutely. Why? Because men are called to MOVE. 

12 Pains of Christmas

THE SCENE: Cold and foggy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  1. Projectivator
  2. Cherry picker
  3. Tempo squat
  4. Tempo merkin

THA-THANG:

Death march to a hill in the ORAU parking lot

Start at 1 burpee, then run up and down the hill.  Then do 2 Imperial Squalkers + 1 burpee and run up and down the hill.  Continue in sequence.

  1. Burpee
  2. Imperial Squalkers
  3. Basilisks
  4. Merkins
  5. Big Boys
  6. Lunges
  7. Side straddle hops
  8. Prone rows
  9. Diamond merkins
  10. Heels to heaven
  11. Squats
  12. Burpees

Return to shovel flag

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Isaiah 40:27-31.  Let us remember who God is and who we are.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas parade, family workout, and Christmas party are all this Saturday.