F3 Knoxville

Tag: Drum Major

Raised Up

THE SCENE: Beautiful sunny morning, temp in low 60s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Rockettes, 10 Twisties, 10 Tempo Merkins, Michael Phelps, Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Men will divide into pairs of two. Each pair will grab a set of two bricks out the trailer parked in the parking lot across the street from the AO parking lot.  We will then go back to the AO parking lot to perform Doras.  While one partner starts exercising with the bricks, the other partner runs to the end of the parking lot, does 10 Rocky Balboas (both feet = 1) and then returns to take the bricks.  This pattern continues until all exercises are completed by the team of two.  The following are the exercises to perform with the bricks:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Punches where both hands = 1
  • 100 Wings Forward
  • 100 Wings Upward
  • 100 Wings Downward

We will then replace the bricks in the trailer.  We will mosey south on the roadway to the Lily Pad.  We will run around the parking lot stopping to do exercises at each corner of the parking lot.  But, before going to the next corner, we must run to the center of the parking lot and do three burpees there.  Rinse and repeat once exercises have been completed at all four corners.  Here are the exercises at each corner:

  • Cone 1:  20 Hello Dollies, 4 ct.
  • Cone 2:  20 Merkins
  • Cone 3:  20 Big-Boy Sit-ups
  • Cone 4:  20 Squats

Next, we will mosey to the grassy area across the main roadway at the base of Picket’s Charge.  We will do the following exercises in the grass:  20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct), 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct), and 20 Dying Bugs (4 ct).

Next, we will run up Pickett’s Charge to the Coliseum.  After each hill we will do 3 burpees.  At the Coliseum we will do the following exercises: 20 Carolina Dry Docks, 20 Moon Plunges, 10 Shoulder Taps

Next we will run counter-clockwise around the clock loop, stopping at the steps of the Admin Bldg. to do 25 Calf Raises, and stopping at the bench area of the Coliseum to do 25 Bench Dips. Rinse and repeat.

Mosey Back to AO by route of the Haslam Boulder and Dragon Tail.

Next we will do sprints from curb to curb in the parking lot.  We will sprint in the following manner from curb to other curb and back:  regular sprint, Bernie Sanders, skip, Grapevine left and right, crab walk 1/4 of the way then run there then hop 1/4 of the way and run back, and end with hard sprint there and back.

MARY:
Stretch those legs!
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
You can’t escape news of the War in Ukraine at this time.  The destruction to peoples homes and cities and the deaths of civilians has been horrible:  citizens bombed in their homes or shot with hands tied behind their backs.  It has led to some, including news people, to question the meaning of life for the Ukrainians suffering through the mess.  For what is life when your home is destroyed, your livelihood gone, family members lost? What would it be like for us if we were in those very homes, very streets, knowing that death is facing us? The news and images of the war have caused my to reflect upon it.  What if I was pigeon-holed in some building as the Russians approached me?

I would certainly be afraid.  How could one not be?  And, I would certainly fight for my life.  I may be 65-years-old but I’m not ready to die.  I wouldn’t give in without a fight.  But if the guns of the Russian army were staring me in the face, would my life be meaningless?  As I Christian, I can firmly say “no way.”

In Christ, I know that life is more than what this world presents us.  The enemy may seem stronger.  Their missiles may destroy our homes, their tanks may crush us, their guns may mow us down.  And so, if I was a Ukrainian watching the Russians coming into my city, I would have to accept the fact that I might die.  But I would not be the loser.  Those who use the weapons to kill me are the true losers.  I can trust that God guarantees their is more to this life.  And, I have a Christ who said the meek shall inherit the Earth.  Death, where is your sting?  I have a Christ who will raise me up.  So enemy, come on in with your tanks and your weapons.  Love will endure and so will I.  I believe this truth would give me the strength and courage to deal with death and destruction and to help those around me.  And, if truly strong, I might even be able to forgive the Russian soldiers invading.  Could I like Christ say, “Forgive them, God, for they know not what they are doing”?  But, whether I could or not, whether I vomited  in horror or peed in my pants in fear of the enemy coming to get me, I have a Christ who cares.  And, he will be there for me when I breathe my last breath.  He will raise me up on my last day.

MOLESKIN:

Pray for Swimmies’ grandfather who is battling cancer, for those dealing with drug addiction, and the people impacted by the War in Ukraine.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

CSAUP at Haw Ridge on Friday, May 6 from 9 pm to midnight.

Work Hard then Slow Down

THE SCENE: Sunny, not too warm but humid after rain earlier in the day
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 side straddle hops in cadence

10 windmills

10 baby arm circles each way

Little of this and that

10 rockettes

5 burpees

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Grinch’s Hill

7/1’s

7 merkins up top

1 jump squats at bottom

Until get to 1 at top and 7 at bottom

 

Mosey to parking lot for Doras (battle buddy up)

100 bird dogs (5 each leg, demonstrate touch opposite leg and knee from on ground – switch side every 10)

100 squats

60 hand release merkins

 

Mosey to the Coliseum – Takeoff on baseball

Have to go 1st, do exercise come back home, go to 2nd…etc.

1st base – 20 flutter kicks

2nd base – 20 major merkins? (almost like diver bombers, but back over knees then out over hands)

3rd base – 20 Bobby Hurleys

Circle all the way around to home and do 5 burpees and then LBCs until the 6 comes in.

 

Mosey to top of Pickett’s Charge/Coliseum

Reverse Pickett’s Charge suicide

Run down to 1st tier – 10 imperial walkers – each leg is 1

Run down to 2nd tier – 5 prisoner getups

MARY:
Came back to AO right on time
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:
Spoke on not rushing and taking time and slowing down to do things right and stress out less. Shared the following quote:

“Sometimes I think there are only two instructions we need to follow to develop and deepen our spiritual life: slow down and let go.” – Oriah Mountain Dreamer

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Thunderstrucks Mom. She has chosen to stop with blood transfusions. Prayers for him and his whole family as they face the possible loss.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Superficial Cracks

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, low 60s, beautiful, but breezy as heck!!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check
WARM-O-RAMA:

-SSH x 20 (4-ct, IC)

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

– Hamstring stretches, sky reaches

– 20 Grady Corns (4-ct), in cadence

– Little of this and that

– Tempo Squats, 4-ct, IC

THA-THANG:
MOSEY to Amphitheater.

  • JINXY’S FOUR AND A QUARTER. Start at bottom of hill, run to top of slope and do 25 reps of an exercise, return to starting position.  R&R 4 times, totaling 100 of the exercise.
    • Round 1: Carolina Dry Docks
    • Round 2: Lunges (single count)
    • Round 3: Imperial Walkers (single count)

MOSEY to FIELD Below Colosseum.

RECTANGLE of DEATH!!

Blue cones on Corners, Orange Cones on sides (one side has blue cone in middle).  Sheets will tell you what to do and how to get to next Blue Cone.  Rinse and Repeat.  First one done yell RECOVER.

Corner 1: Do 20 Iron Mikes (10 each leg). Suicide using orange cones to next blue cone.

Corner 2: Do 20 Plank Jacks, Bear Crawl to next Blue Cone

Corner 3: Do 20 Big Boy Situps, Bernie to Blue Cone ½ way down.

½ Way Cone: Do 10 Burpees, Bernie to next Blue cone

Corner 4: 20 Dive Bombers , EL CAPITAN to next Blue Cone

RINSE AND REPEAT (didn’t quite get 2x around)

Mosey to Area 51. Check for cars with undressed people inside.

Totem Pole.  Start at 10, do all the exercises, then run to CONE, do 10 SSH, and return. Then start at 9, etc.  Only got about 1/2 way done with this.

  • 10 Burpees
  • 9 Mountain Climbers (4-ct)
  • 8 Diamond Merkins
  • 7 Box Cutters
  • 6 American Hammers (4-ct)
  • 5 Imperial Squat Walkers (4-ct)
  • 4 Hand Release Merkins
  • 3 Bobby Hurleys
  • 2 Squats
  • 1 Star Gazers (10 seconds).  Rabbits R&R

RUN UP HILL.  WATCH FOR BEES. Mosey to AO

MARY:
Steam led the PAX in some ab work while the QIC picked up the Six.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 strong.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I hope you all read Judge Judy’s newsletter that came out this week.  Its title was Cracks in the Foundation, and alluded to some situations both in F3 and outside of it that have resulted in fractures within groups and between individuals.  We recently experienced a little bit of that here, at our very own AO.  So for my Word, I just wanted to reiterate what I feel is F3’s absolutely greatest attribute: it’s ability to inspire us all to be better men through SHARING.  Sharing of the Suck from the workout, Sharing in the responsibilities of being Q, etc., and Sharing of life experiences in the Circle that others may learn from or be inspired by.

We often use the term “Lock Shields” in F3.  Think about that for a second.  What does that look like, literally?  I have this image from Lord of the Rings of a bunch of warriors facing a common enemy, and each one of them standing shoulder to shoulder with their shields up.  If it was just one dude, he’d get surrounded, overwhelmed.  But it’s a bunch of bad hombres that are aligned in a common purpose, that being to protect each other and protect what’s behind them by being an integral part of that wall.  If there’s a crack, if there’s a gap in the wall, then everyone is in deep doo doo.  So we have our differences.  We have our differences in Faith, Politics, what kind of workouts we want to do out here, and maybe even differences in how we think F3 should operate.  That’s fine!  If everyone agreed on everything, life would be boring.  And probably those guys in the days of the Roman Empire standing next to each other didn’t see eye to eye during the course of their daily lives.  But the 45 minutes we have out here are not for solving all our differences about those things.  It’s about working hard physically, improving ourselves, supporting our brothers, and being inspired to bring positivity, leadership, and GOODNESS, dagnappit, outside of the Circle.  When we’re out here, we lay our differences aside.  When we’re out here, I’m continually trying to figure out ways to better serve you so that you can serve others.  And I hope that’s all of our mindsets.  But whatever cracks in our foundation we have are superficial, and can be overcome with Grace and empathy and understanding.  And Boys, from the bottom of my heart, it’s an honor and a privilege to come out here and lock shields with each and every one of you.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Steam and his fiancee and their venture down a new path, prayers of thanks that Lillydipper’s daughter got a job that she really wanted, prayers for Pusher and his family as his daughter deals with heartbreak.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Escape from Haw Ridge coming up!

Tears of Joy

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Motivators, starting with seven.  10 Tempo Merkins.  10 Cherry Pickers. 10 Windmills.  Ten Twisties.  Ten Baby Arm Circles forward and backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the stop sign by the main park road and the road that goes to Admin Bldg.  We will do 10 Imperial Walkers and 10 Lunges with each foot.

Mosey to the bottom of Mt. Everest.  We will do Ten Speed Skaters, then run up Mt. Everest.  Those reaching the top can do invisible skip ropes until everyone arrives.

Mosey to the steps at the front of the admin bldg.  We will go around the loop that goes from the Admin Bldg to the Coliseum.  We will stop at the following spots to do the following exercises:

  • On porch of Admin bldg:  20 Merkins
  • At south curve of loop:  20 Squat Jumps
  • At benches of Coliseum:  20 Bench Dips
  • At north curve of loop:  20 Squats
  • Rinse and repeat above two times.

Next, we will have a snowball fight in the grassy area in the middle of the loop.  Last man hit by a snowball gets a free breakfast from your Q.

Mosey to Pavilion that is close to AO.  We will do 20 Bench Dips then run to AO parking lot to do 20 Iron Mikes (one leg = 1).  Rinse and repeat but with 20 Decline Merkins at the Pavilion.  Rinse and repeat one more time but with 20 Picnic Table Pull-ups at the Pavilion.  (Note:  we will do 20 Iron Mikes in the parking lot with each rinse and repeat).

Mosey to the baseball field directly behind AO parking lot.  We will go to grassy area.  We will have a game of Ultimate Frisbee Football.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eleven men, no FNGs.  Great to have La-Z Boy visit our AO this Saturday morning.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Feeling The Tears of God Brings Joy

I heard in interesting story on NPR this past Monday.  It was about a man named Brandon Jackson who was recently released from prison after being convicted of armed robbery 25 years ago.  The conviction was based on a 10-2 split jury decision in the State of Louisiana.  Louisiana courts began to allow 10-2 decisions on such felony cases during the Jim Crow era.  The purpose was to be able to dismiss the votes of the occasional black juror that might make up a jury and vote someone innocent.  No one actually witnessed Brandon Jackson commit the alleged robbery.  His conviction was based on the testimony of a witness who had changed his story a number of times and got off on a lighter sentence based on his testimony.  The Louisiana Supreme Court in 2020 declared a split-jury conviction on such a felony case to be unconstitutional.  However, the ruling was not considered to be retroactive.

Brandon Jackson spent his time in Angola prison, a notoriously violent prison.  After an altercation with correctional officers, five of his years was spent in solitary confinement.  He got out on parole one month ago.  He has always maintained that he is innocent.  I don’t know whether he was innocent or guilty of the crime but I liked his interview.  Imagine your own reactions to our world today if you had spent 25 years behind bars.  He told the interviewer about how he waited at the counter of a grocery store for a long time waiting for someone to check him out.  Finally, an employee showed him how to scan his own items.  He was baffled and amazed.

I also liked some of the things that Brandon Jackson had to say about happiness and joy.  He said happiness is fleeting but that joy is something different.  He said that he doesn’t hold any grudges or regrets about what happened to him in the past.  Now that he is out of prison, he wants to help those in his community who may also have been in trouble.  He commented that, perhaps God had allowed his imprisonment to happen to prepare him for some purpose he needs to fulfill. As for joy, he finds it in small things.  He finds joy in sipping coffee with his mother each morning and reading the bible with her.  He finds joy in simply going outside.  This man, who had spent so much time behind bars, remarked, “We had a little rain one day, so I just went outside and stood in the middle of the backyard.  I wanted to feel God’s tears pour on me, so I just stayed there.”

The great Christian theologian, C.S. Lewis, also talked about the difference between happiness and joy.  He also said happiness is fleeting.  Joy is different.  It is a walk, a journey, a state of being.  C.S. Lewis indicated that people long for joy but do not find it in riches, fame, or power.  He said that when we finally discover joy, we find that joy itself is not what we are really seeking.  It is the Source of Joy that we seek.  That source, Lewis says, is God and Jesus Christ.

Brothers, may each of us find the source of Joy in our life journey.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Crawdad’s friends in the Ukraine.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brolympics on November 5 this year!

Life is an Adventure

THE SCENE: Perfect.  Low 60s and plenty o’ sun!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check
WARM-O-RAMA:

– 20 SSH (4ct, IC)

– 20 Moroccan Nightclubs (4 ct, IC)

– 10 Windmills (4 ct, IC)

– 10 Tempo squats

– 10 Grady Corns (4 ct, IC)

-Leg Stretches

THA-THANG:
We repeated some of the exercise stations from CSAUP so that the guys who missed could experience it a bit, and to recreate the nightmare for those that did attend. 🙂

MOSEY to Area 51

PRISON YARD (AREA 51)

OBJECTIVE: Your adventures have gotten off to an inauspicious beginning.  You have been charged with a crime! You must serve your punishment by doing hard labor.

  • Do 10 PRISONER GET UPS in the parking lot

 

  • BEAR CRAWL to Wall of building, do 10 PRISONER CELL MERKIN BURPEES (PCMBs).

 

  • EL CAPITAN back to parking lot. RINSE AND REPEAT.

 

MOSEY to Gravel Parking Lot

ENDURANCE TRAINING

OBJECTIVE: After that short little mosey, I can hear you panting like a She-Dragon in Labor! You are already out of breath, and you call yourself a HIM?? To achieve ultimate HIM-dom, you must train to IMPROVE YOUR ENDURANCE!

Do a SEABISCUIT! Run one lap around the parking lot (staying outside of the cones) and then do:

  • 10 Merkins
  • 20 Big Boy Situps
  • 30 Squats

Run TWO laps, Repeat the exercises

Run THREE laps, Repeat the exercises

Mosey to AO, stopping twice to do some American Hammers and LBCs.

PRINCESS’S TOWER (SPACE NEEDLE)

OBJECTIVE: You must rescue the princess trapped in the Tower, but first you must slay the dragon that guards her!

EXERCISES:

  • Do a WELSH DRAGON*

SAVE the Princess! RUN to top of tower (Space Needle), do 20 SQUATS at each turn of the stairs. Touch the picture of the princess and return to bottom.

MARY:
No time for good ol’ Mary.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 plus two dogs plus one 2.0, plus one ex Nan’taan
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Life is not a problem to be solved, but an adventure to be lived!

  • John Eldredge, Wild at Heart.

When I was young I read every Choose Your Own Adventure book I could get my hands on.  For a kid who had a very active imagination, but was also constrained by little things like school, chores, going to Grandma’s house every Sunday, “rules”, avoiding getting beat up by a big brother, and on and on…. I usually didn’t get to live out those wild dreams that were always in my head.  And being a scrawny little runt who was always the smallest kid in class and in our neighborhood gang, I was far from looking the part of the noble hero or the brave adventurer.  The books were a wonderful diversion.  You could pretend you were a swashbuckling pirate on the high seas, an astronaut on a far-away planet, a wizard infiltrating the castle of frost giants, or a treasure hunter looking for a lost artifact in a distant land. And the books made you feel like you had a little bit of control, but in the end, you usually died anyway. Kind of like what happened in CSAUP. 😉  But then as you grow up, you gradually start to lose a bit of that magic.  Life gets in the way.  Bills, jobs, responsibilities.  Like little Jackie Paper, painted wings and giants rings make way for other toys.  And one day it happens… and you stop frolicking with a magic dragon in a land called Honnalee.

But every once in awhile, it’s great to revisit those places of imagination and dreams.  And that’s why I loved helping to create the CSAUP story line.  Yeah, I got to torture all of you guys who participated… but it was fun to bring just a little bit of magic and adventure to a morning that was completely stupid and utterly pointless.  I hope you all enjoyed it too.  And if you missed it… Take a visit back to Honnalee.  pick up one of your old Choose Your Own Adventure books and go through it again.  But every time you slay the dragon of save the princess, or find the treasure… you owe me 20 burpees!

MOLESKIN:

Prayers for Ukraine, CRISPR’s work environment, Pusher’s daughter’s band trip to Florida

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None