F3 Knoxville

Tag: Drum Major

Back in the Saddle

THE SCENE
28 and Clear

COP
Run to lower front parking lot
SSH x35 IC
Merkins (4ct) x10 IC
Imperial Squat Walkers x10 IC
Baby Arm Circles Fwd x12 IC
Baby Arm Circles Bkwd x12 IC
Run to HGTV Area

THA-THANG
Tree Trunks
– Squats x10
– Fwd & Bkwd lunges (same leg then switch) x10 each leg
– Side Lunges x10 each leg
– Jump Squats x10

Rinse and repeat

Run to parking area under the HGTV Area

Countdown
Partner up. One person performs the routine while the other jump ropes.

Routine:
One man runs to far cone perform x20 reps, run back to first cone perform x15 reps, run to the second farthest cone and perform x10 reps, run back to first cone perform x5 reps. Partners does jump rope while waiting.

Exercises:
1. Diamond Merkins
2. Dry Docks
3. BBS
4. Squats
5. Wide Merkins

Mosey to playground (The Cloud)
* Stop on the way at the parking lot, do 5 Wolverines

Bench 11’s
11’s on benches: Bench Squats and Dips

Run to end of parking lot, do 5 Wolverines, run back to the playground and do LBCs while waiting in the six.

Run to lower parking lot at far entrance to the trail. Take the trail to the SP, do Route 66 along the way.

Route 66
Run the trail stopping at each light pole to do merkins. Start with one rep and add step at each light pole until you get to the end.

At the SP, circle up for MARY

MARY
American Hammers (4ct) – x20 IC
Superman Swims (4ct) – x12 IC
Box Cutters (4ct) – x15IC
Superman Swims (4ct) – x12 IC
Flutter Kicks (4ct) – x15 IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
23 PAX

COT/BOM

“For this is the will of God,
that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Live as people who are free,
not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil,
but living as servants of God.”

1 Peter‬ ‭2:15-16 ESV

Honor – Adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct

“Honorable men refuse to wallow in the small and the bitter.
Honorable men refuse to hate life because something once went wrong.
Honorable men don’t build monuments to their disappointments, nor do they let others brand them and curse them to their destruction.
Honorable men seek out the highest definition of their lives, the nobler meaning granted by heritage, by their ancestors’ dreams and their parents’ hopes.
Honorable men cry out to God until curses are broken and a grander purpose is achieved.
Honorable men don’t settle for lives of regret.”

Stephen Mansfield, Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men

As we push ourselves physically each week it is important to remember that we must also be pushing ourselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually…to grow as HIMs. Physical fitness is important, but character, virtue, integrity and leadership are paramount. Our world is starving for men with these characteristics. Men of honor who live beyond themselves. Men who are life-givers, not life-takers. I believe there is a direct correlation between strenuous physical exercise and the strenuous pursuit to live a life of honor, integrity and impact. Both take effort and focus. Both take intentionality, consistency and daily commitment. Both are met with resistance from the status quo and our own passivity. Both can’t be pursued alone and require me to surround myself with like-minded men who inspire, encourage and challenge me along the
journey.

Each morning in the gloom we have an opportunity to experience AND be these things for the men on our left and right. Iron sharpen iron. This is what it means to wear the “F3”.

 

When in Need

THE SCENE: Cloudy, temp about 70.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, Plank Stretches, 10 Iron Mikes, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, Michael Phelps
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Cone 1 at Stop Sign at Southeastern Corner of Admin Bldg.  We will run back up the semi-circle road toward Stop Sign at Northeastern Corner.  We stop[ at cones to do exercises.  There will be 8 cones with the last cone at the stop sign at the Northeastern Corner.  We go forth by method depicted on the cone.  Then we run back.  However, with each run back and forth we lose the end cone.  In other word we run cone 1 to 8, then 8 to 2, then 2 to 7, etc.  The cones and methods of running are shown.

  • Cone 1:  20 American Hammers (regular count).  Sprint to next cone.
  • Cone 2:  20 Side Straddle Hops (normal count).  Bernie to next cone.
  • Cone 3:  20 Merkins.  Skip to next cone.
  • Cone 4:  20 Big Boys. Sprint to next cone.
  • Cone 5:  20 Hello Dollies (normal count).  Sprint to next cone.
  • Cone 6:  20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Skip to next cone.
  • Cone 7:  20 Squat Jumps.  Bernie to next cone.
  • Cone 8:  20 Bicycle Kicks (regular count).  Sprint to next cone.

Go to Roadshow Run.  We will run to trail at end of the run.  We will do 40 Baby Crunches and 20 Squats.  Then we run back up but at each set of stairs we do 20 Calf Raises before running on up the stairs.  At bat cave we do more Baby Crunches until six arrives.

Run to AO.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Hello Dollies, Stretches.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 men with no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
When In Need

All of us have faced time of great distress that can lead to significant anxiety or depression.  We are encouraged, in F3, to reach out to our brothers when in need.  We may be quite depressed when a brother turns to help us.  Often, those who are depressed are not good at accepting help.  When brothers reach out to us, there are some things we need to remember:

  • Be gracious to those who come to you.  This may be difficult to do because we are so down and out.  However much we are hurting, we need to show appreciation to the brother who took his time to come to us.
  • Accept what is given.  Some people are better at giving advice or listening to us than others.  Some people may give advice that you already have tried or that you don’t think is that wise.  That’s ok.  Search for the pools of wisdom in what they say and remember that your brother has come to you out of love, no matter what the advice.  His coming to you is gift enough.
  • Use what is given to build yourself back up.  Unfortunately, when we are hurt and down we sometimes get stuck in the role of a victim.  We can’t believe our fate and we are angry about where we are.  As Christ said to the invalid, “Pick up your mat and walk.”  Take strength and assistance from your brothers and use it for change.
  • Don’t expect people to come to you if you aren’t calling on them to.  When we have something happen to us, people will come for a while.  They care.  But people may stop coming to you after a period of time.  You may feel forgotten and get angry, thinking people don’t care.  Remember that people get busy with their own lives and problems. Don’t expect them to keep coming if you aren’t asking them to.
  • Leave people feeling glad they visited.  You need encouragement in your time of need but our visitors need encouragement as well.  It isn’t easy to take time out of one’s day to visit a person who is ungracious.  If you continually depict a picture of misery, it is the rare person who will continue to visit you again and again.  Thank the visitor for coming and let them know that you care for them too.

If we can do these things when in need we will find that are wounds are healed more easily.  We are accepting the gifts God places before us and we can regain our strength again

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those in the Philippines where the Covid rate has risen significantly; prayers for other countries where Covid is on the rise; prayers for Mr. Jinxy who is recovering from injuries after his automobile accident.

The Value of Giving

THE SCENE: Just about perfect. Partly cloudy, slight breeze, high 60s.
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 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 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 BACs forward/10 BACs backward (4-ct), in cadence (1/2 were wide-arm circles)

– 10 Tempo Squats (4-ct), in cadence

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to front of Admin Bldg.

  • Count off by 4s. 1’s and 2’s do 50 CALF RAISES, 3’s and 4’s do 50 AMERICAN HAMMERS. Run to the corner of the loop and back, then do the other exercise, then run again.  Alternate 20 SQUATS/10 MERKINS until 6 catches up.
  • RINSE AND REPEAT. But this time do 50 CDDs and 50 GRADY CORNS (single count)

MOSEY to stop sign at southeast corner of the circle drive.

– UPHILL SPRINTS.  Four sets of cones will be laid out up the road, about 40 yards apart.  Sprint from one cone to the next in same groups of 4.  One of the sprints will be a BERNIE SANDERS.

MOSEY to Bowl Area south of Admin Bldg.

TRAINING FOR MARCH MADNESS!:

Start at the base of the hill.  Defensive basketball stance. Backpedal left shoulder x 4, Right Shoulder x 4, RINSE AND REPEAT, Charge up the hill, 5 Bobby Hurleys.

Wait until 6 catches up, and rinse and repeat x4 (1st half/2nd half/overtime/double OT*). *We didn’t get to Double OT due to a wedding engagement situation.  Q considered calling an audible to Pickle Pounders, but resisted.

MOSEY to Bat house.

– GRINDERS! 4 STATIONS:

  1. BAT HOUSE: 25 SMURF JACKS
  2. BOTTOM OF STAIRS: 25 BBS
  3. BOTTOM OF SUMMIT: 10 Burpees
  4. TOP OF SUMMIT: 25 LBCs.

Do two rounds, then meet at Base of Summit for one last charge up to the top, staggered (1s, 2s, 3s, 4s). PAX had option of doing Burpees at the top or cheering on their fellow PAX as they ran up.  Good participation on the latter option.  Didn’t see one burpee being performed…

MARY:

  • 20 American Hammers (4-ct), in cadence
  • 20 Box Cutters (4-ct), in cadence
  • Xs and Os
  • 10 Leg Lifts

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 strong!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Katharine Hepburn, in her own words [paraphrased]:

“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.  Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter.  There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn’t have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.

The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were so excited, jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before.

The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. They were smiling and enjoying seeing their family happy.

The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, “I’d like to buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.” The ticket lady stated the price.

The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man’s jaw fell open. Then he leaned a little closer to the ticket lady and asked, “How much did you say?” She again stated the price.

The man didn’t have enough money. How was he supposed to tell his eight kids that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”

The man understood what was going on. He wasn’t begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.

He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; “Thank you, thank you, sir. This means so much to me and my family.”

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.

Although we didn’t get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.”

That day I learned the value to give.

~ Katharine Hepburn*

(from Everything Good in the World)

(* Online research showed that this is actually a narrative that was published in the 1995 book “A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul,” part of the popular Chicken Soup collections of inspirational tales.  It illustrates a powerful lesson, regardless of its actual source. But I hate Fake News, so I just wanted to point this out…)

 We have an opportunity to give as a group to this month’s fund drive, which benefits STREET HOPE, an organization that assists victims of human trafficking. They still need 55 gallon trash bags, napkins, and/or copy paper.  Bring those items to a workout and we will get them delivered.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers of thanks that Dungbeetle’s situation at work is resolving itself, prayers of healing for Jinxy and for Abacus’s mother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None

Through Imperfection

THE SCENE: Clear skies, about 60 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, Plank Stretches, 10 Windmills, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backwards
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign at southeastern corner of Admin Bldg.  20 American Hammers.

Mosey to shaded area that is on other side of road from Area 51.  There will be four cones set up.  We will go counter-clockwise to each cone.  We will do so four times and do one exercise at each in sequence.  We go to the next cone by the method listed.  Here are the exercises and way to get to the next cone.

  • Cone 1:  1. 20 Star Jumps  2.  10 Burpees  3. 20 Plank Jacks  4. 20 Smurf Jacks  (Sprint to Cone 2)
  • Cone 2:  1. 20 Merkins 2.  15 Hand Release Merkins  3.  20 Dive Bombers  4. 20 Diamond Merkins  (Bear Crawl to Cone 3)
  • Cone 3:  1. 20 Jump Squats  2.  20 Mountain Climbers  (both feet = 1) 3. 20 Iron Mikes (both feet = 1)  4. 20 Side Straddle Hops  (Bernie to Cone 4)
  • Cone 4:  1.  20 Big-Boy Sit-ups  2.  20 Hello Dollies (4 ct)  3.  20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)  4. 20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)  (Lunge to Cone 1)

Mosey to grassy area by Northshore Entrance to Park.  20 Imperial Walkers.

Mosey on perimeter trail south and then east on Perimeter Trail to benches at south end.  Alternate between 20 Bench Dips and 30 Baby Crunches.

Mosey to Soccer Fields and then to grassy area past roadway.  We will then do sevens going from grassy area to tree in a field that is about 40 yards away.  We will start with 1 set of Shoulder Taps at the roadway and 6 Pinto Twists at the tree.

Mosey to stop sign at southeastern corner of Admin Bldg.  20 American Hammers

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
1 minute run in place and 30 seconds of stretching.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
18 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Imperfect Leaders and Servants

From 2 Corinthians 12:  9-10:

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I consider the brothers of F3, the men I see each week at workouts and through fellowship, and I see so many of you having the true desire to serve others and be leaders among our community.  Yet, we sometimes hesitate for fear of failure.  We fear that we will fall short of our goals, not live up to the people we serve, not speak well enough or act well enough, or just be overwhelmed by the time and nature of the task.  We think we have to be a Captain Crunch, an Abscess or a Judge Judy to lead and serve the way we should.

We need to remember a wonderful truth when our fears and concerns keep us from taking the chance to lead and serve.  God works through our imperfections.  Consider every person besides Christ that is in the Bible.  They were all imperfect but God used them to serve His purpose.  Consider Moses:  a man afraid to speak to others, God used him to lead the Jews out of Egypt and to the promised land.  Consider David:  a man who lusted after Bathsheba and had to be brought to shame to see his sin. God found favor on David and he was a great leader. Consider Peter:  a disciple of Christ who boasted he would never betray Him, yet who betrayed Him three times after Jesus was arrested.  And, Peter became one of the greatest disciples of Christ, spreading the works of Christ after his death.

God will use our imperfections to serve his people.  Why worry then about how imperfect we are.  Like Paul says in Corinthians, for the sake of Christ we can be boast in our weaknesses.  For He will use our weaknesses to make his power perfect.  Go forth, therefore, with confidence.  When you screw up, when you stumble, when you say the idiotic thing, if your intentions are loving, if your intentions are to do good for others, Christ will use you despite your mistakes.  The message:  Get out there and fail because through your failures you will succeed.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Speed Flash on his test tomorrow, for Hand’s friend who passed away and the family of that friend, and for Abscess’ friend who has triple-bypass heart surgery upcoming.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
AO Launch this weekend in Maryville.  Get copy paper, napkins and 55 Gallon Trash Bags in for service project.

TRIP TO COLOMBIA

THE SCENE: 40s and damp
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER👌
WARM-O-RAMA:
OHC, LBAC(f), LBAC(b), Cherry Pickers, Windmills, Temp Merkins, Mountain Climbers, Tempo Squats, SSH
THA-THANG:
Mosey to small Hill on the East side of the Park:

  • COLOMBIAN NECK-TIE: PAX do varying distance runs and back with increasing colombian neck-ties upon each return to start. Each did about 13 rounds on avg.
  • Mosey to Playground for Aiken Legs: 20 Box Jumps, 20 Lunges, 20 Iron Mikes, 20 Squats
  • Mosey to CMU Parking Lot.  4 Corners: sets of 10,15,20,25 of the following exercises with CMU:
    • Merkin Overs
    • Curls
  • Line up on curb and Battle Buddy Up for DORA: 50 Burpees, 100 Flutters (4ct)

MARY:
No time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
26 Strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Proverbs 1: The beginning of wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord.  Do you fear the Lord, or man?
MOLESKIN:
N/A
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Arsenal Launch.