F3 Knoxville

Tag: Eliza

We’ll see what happens!

AO: shamruck
Q: Eliza
PAX: Dumpster Dive, Glamper, Tonka, Betty, Brick, Commission, Eliza, KickFlip, Lizzy, Mermaid, The Situation, Steam, Free Fall (Justin Whitaker)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
WARMUP: 4 corners around the Dutchtown Loop starting with Weigels Hill. We travelled various sandbags and Jerry cans stopping to do 10 squats and 10 merkins at each corner.

THE THANG: Ruck retention pond loop down the hill from the fire hydrant across and up the other side. At the top do one 40lb sandbag burpee. Repeat adding an extra burpee til you get to 5.

Finished with another heavy mile.

MARY: Flutters with Ruck, Ruck sit-up and press, LBCs, Rows, OH press, curls.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: GTE in April

COT: sometimes we can be stubborn and resistant to change. Be open to trying to new things and going along with change. I made an open invitation to the PAX to grab a Q and let’s do more of this heavy stuff/PT as they wish at Shamruck.

Shag Carpet Crawl

AO: shamrock
Q: Stitch
PAX: KickFlip, Curveball, Commission, Anchorman, Base Salary, Survivor, Guardrail, Wanderer, LeBling, Baby Boomer, The Situation, Swifty, Free Fall (Justin Whitaker), Honeydew, Mermaid, Eliza, Dumpster Dive (Brad Burnette), Stiff Arm (Devin Ware), Fab Five (Mark Tichon)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
WARMUP:
SSH
Tie Fighters
Tempo Squats
Imperial Walkers
Mountain Climbers

THE THANG:
Mosey w football to the Coupon pile
25 Merkins
25 OHP
25 Curls
25 Tricep Dips

Football mosey to football field

>From the endzone corner we will Lunge Walk to the Goal post and do 5 Burpees. Mosey to the far end (middle of the field) and then Bear Crawl to the next endzone corner. Will then do 5 Burpees, 25 Squats. Mosey back to the 1st corner endzone and then Lunge Walk to the next corner. 5 Burpees, 25 Squats, 20 Shoulder Taps, etc. Mosey, repeat…

After each lunge/crawl we add a set:
(5) Burpees,
(25) Squats,
(20) Shoulder Taps,
(15) SSH,
(10) Flutter Kicks – 4 ct.
(5) more Burpees to end.

Run the stairs on the last lap.

MARY:
Circle up for Mary (PAX callout):
Jane Fondas
Freddy Mercuries
Supermans
Hello Dolly

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sign up for Haw Ridge (April 5)

COT:
50 Years!! – 1974 Fun Facts:

-Richard Nixon was president but resigned because of the Watergate scandal, and Gerald Ford became the 38th president.
-Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s HR record with #715.
– Speed limit was set to 55 MPH to help save on gas, which averaged $.53 per gallon.
– The average home price was $35,000 and rent was $150.
– Blazing Saddles was the top grossing movie, by Mel Brooks and Happy Days was new to TV.
– The Rubik’s Cube was introduced.
– You likely heard the phrase “Tastes great, Less filling!” – Miller Lite
– UPC barcodes were created and first used at supermarkets in Ohio.

If you were here at my last Q, about 3 weeks ago, you’ll remember that I talked about truth and the importance of grounding your life in objective, not subjective truth. Truth tells us something about the nature of reality, whether we believe that or not. Jesus was an example of truth, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. Truth guides us in our faith. Not blind faith, but good reasons to know what to put our faith in.

It was a little more than 10 years ago that I began to reengage my faith. My Christian faith. I had been wandering away from God for some time. I was struggling as a young father, was in a difficult marriage, and in a challenging retail career. I needed some answers. I needed some direction. I needed some real brothers. And, I needed truth to be at the center of it all. I needed God.

So, I returned to church and I got plugged into a men’s group. It wasn’t just a “How was the game?” group, or “What kind of car do you drive?” group. It was real. It was connecting. It was hard. It made men open up and be vulnerable. It was life. It was true! It really saved me at a dark time in my life. Those men and that community.

Fast forward to 2021. My Christian faith had strengthened. My community life was also much stronger. But I was still a Sad Clown, in a few ways. My physical condition was not so great. I needed growth and strengthening in that area, as well. I had a close friend at church. Many of you know him as Guardrail and I’m thankful he’s here today. He was the one that first told me about F3. He told me about the nicknames, the 5:30 meetings (which I thought was crazy), and the community and leading that was taking place at F3. Often, when we were together, he would casually throw out a “you should come by F3 in the morning. Check it out”. It took awhile, but I finally showed up one morning. It just happened to be Booster’s 50th Birthday Respect Q. Guys showed up on a chilly April morning wearing button up shirts and ties to workout in the gloom. It was fun, and a bit festive… until we started the workout. And then I nearly died! KickFlip was there and he remembers how I struggled just to make it to from station to station of our 4 corner workout.

That brings me to today. I’m 50!

Have I finally figured out life? Nope.

Is life still hard and with struggles? Yep.

Do I still struggle with things I feel like I shouldn’t still struggle with? Yes, but fewer.

Do I have God back in my life? Yes!

Is goodness and truth present in my life? Yes!

Am I more physically fit and stronger today? Yes! In the best shape of my life and about 20 lbs lighter than I was when I showed up.

Do I have more than 10 men that I can call on when I am in those struggles and need someone to lean on? Yes! (By the way, there are very few men in our world who can say that).

Is my life more meaningful and richer today than it was when I was 40? Absolutely, 100%, without a doubt!
God, Truth, and F3 (Fitness, Fellowship, & Faith), are all a part of my life today and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

If you know someone that needs F3, give them a friendly nudge. We all know what this group means to us and what it can do for someone else. Thank you, ALL! I love you!

Mile Repeats

AO: shamruck
Q: Mermaid
PAX: Fabio (Joe Hamilton), Glamper, KickFlip, Honeydew, Eliza, Mermaid
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
Mile repeats sounds worse than it was, but we tackled weigels hill 3 times and had good conversation along the way.

Be grateful and express gratitude both in your prayer life and to others.

Everyday Heroes

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Brick, High Heels (Henry Ritchie), Tenderfoot, Down Under, P3, Lizzy, Crash Dummy, Pac-man, Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Glamper, Eliza, Dain Bramage (Will Olson), Pusher, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Curveball, Steam, Lilydipper, Whitey Tightey, Renaissance
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
WARMUP: 20 Side Straddle Hops, 5 Burpees, 10 Iron Mikes, 4 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 3 Burpees, 5 Pterodactyls Forward and 5 Backwards, 2 Burpees, 10 Tempo Squats, 1 Burpee, Little of This and That

THE THANG: Mosey to Northeast side of Admin Bldg. We will do 20 Rocky Balboas on curb.
Mosey to Rock Pile past northern parking lot. Each man will do the first of the following exercises with CMU Size Boulder then run to cone west of rock pile, do 10 Merkins, and run back. Repeat that sequence with the next exercise, etc. until all exercises are done. Rinse and repeat until the six finishes the last exercise. Here are the exercises with boulders:
20 Overhead Presses
–
20 Curls
–
20 Tricepts
–
20 Rows
–
20 Squats while thrusting boulder straight from chest
–
Next, we will do Run Ten Tens on the perimeter trail until we get to the bottom of Mt. Everest. We run ten lights, do an exercise 10 times, then run 10 more lights and repeat the exercise 10 times. Those finishing first run back to the six so that we can do the second set of exercises together. Here are the exercises we will do until we reach the bottom of Mt. Everest:
Plank Jacks
–
Big Boys
–
At the Bottom of Cardiac we will do 20 Grady Corns and then 40 Baby Crunches in cadence. Next, all men run to the top of Mt. Everest going to the summit or left side of the way up. Those reaching the roadway first can jump rope in place until the six arrives.
Next, we will do sprints and walks. We will from one cone on the roadside close to the parking lot to the other cone on the roadside that will be past the bat cave. Sprint in groups of three. Then walk back to the starting cone. Winners face off against each other. Those losing should still race each other. We sprint until we have a Sprint Master
Next, we will Bernie Race until we have a Grand Bernie Master.
Finally, we will Skip Race until we have a Skip Master.
Mosey to AO.

MARY: No time for it, baby!
ANNOUNCEMENTS: F3 Smokies Convergence, SoKno AO, March 23, 7 to 8:30 am with Nant’an handoff from Smuggler to Rep Sleepy. Escape from Haw Ridge on April 5 from 9 pm to 1 am. April 27, GTE King Builder will get kicked off with a Convergence at Asylum Daybreak at 7 am. All can come to the Convergence, not just those registered for the GTE.

COT: Prayers for the patient Lily talked about as an Everyday Hero (see below). Prayers for Crash Dummy’s brother and sister-in-law who will have a baby any day now.

Message: We have everyday heroes all around us. They may not make the news but they are “in the trenches” and doing great things. One such hero is a therapy patient of mine that for privacy purposes I will just call “Emily.” She is age 35 and a mother of three children. She has been very involved in their lives, often coaching their sports team. Emily worked almost full time while recently attending college for four years in order to get a degree in Education and become a teacher. She finished her classes but did not pass two of the final examinations required for certification. She feels like a failure. She will get an opportunity to take those exams again this summer. Meanwhile she is working two jobs to help pay off her school loans. She is also feeling guilty because one of the jobs at a bank requires her to work until 6 pm and, therefore, has less time to spend with her children although she still coaches the basketball team of two children because they don’t play until 7 pm. This mother may feel guilty and sometimes feel like a failure but to me she is a hero. She sacrifices herself for the good of her children. She is in the trenches, a real warrior. She is an inspiration. It’s too bad that stories like hers cannot be heard more on news channels. God bless everyday heroes like Emily!

Go you Chicken Fat, Go!

AO: shamrock
Q: Eliza
PAX: Dumpster Dive, Base Salary, Curveball, Eliza, LeBling, Lizzy, Mermaid, Waxjob, Stitch
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
WARMUP: “Go you Chicken Fat Go!”- Robert Preston complete with exercises

THE THANG: Part I: Mosey to the Pavillion. Complete sets of 12,10,8,6,4,2 of Step Ups, Derkins, Dips

Part II: Grab 2 CMUs. Murder bunny Merkin 6 parking spaces. 25 bench press, 25 curls. Lunge walk back to first CMU. 25 American Hammers, 25 Flutters. Lunge walk back and repeat exercises. Farmer carry back and rack em.

Part III: Elevens- squats and iron mikes OR rocky balboas

MARY: hello dolly’s, snow angels, captain thors

ANNOUNCEMENTS: respect q Wednesday with Stitch

COT: Post downrange even if it’s locally.