F3 Knoxville

Choose Your Words

THE SCENE: 50 and amazing in the fake gloom
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  did it
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, cherry pickers, rockettes, and a little this and that
THA-THANG:
Insert information about the workout.

  • Burpees up the Dragon, one per lap, then wagon wheel back to the 6
  • Battle Buddy with bench dips and calf raises
  • Mary work, 10 flutter kicks, 10 box cutters, 10 hello dollys at every other light pole
  • Coming back, 10 jump squats, 10 plank jacks, 10 merkins at alternating poles
  • Battle Buddy plank and calf raises
  • Bear crawl to the Dragon
  • Big Boys down the Dragon back to the AO

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 PAX in the fake gloom
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I’ve been struggling a little lately with folks complaining about how tough things have been for the past 2 years.  Sometimes I think “It’s be 2 years.  Time to move on.”  I admit my life hasn’t been impacted by COVID nearly the extent others have been.  I catch myself judging others who aren’t sucking it up and pressing forward with their lives, but I’m also trying remember I don’t know everything about everyone’s circumstances.  Ironically, two COTs in the last two weeks have been about judging others.  As I sit and struggle with judging, I can reflect back to the words a HIM said just last week to help me.

The message you deliver in the COT is meaningful.  Don’t take the message part of Q’ing lightly and give thought. You never know who might need to hear it in that moment.  It’s an opportunity to impact men in your community.

12 “Showed Up” at Asylum

THE SCENE: About 48 F, with no breeze
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH 20 IC
Cherry Picker 10 IC
Michael Phelps
Grady Corns 33 IC
Peter Parkers 10 IC (4 ct)

THA-THANG:

Mosey Down road to large soccer parking lot below the chapel
There are 3 cones placed around the perimeter of the lot #1, #2, #3
Complete each exercise at each cone during each lap
Merkins 10, 15, 20
Squats 10, 15, 20
Merkins 20, 15, 10
Squats 20, 15, 10
Brief Rest – 20 Ct
Hello Dolly 10, 15, 20 (1ct)
BBS 10, 15, 20
Hello Dolly 20, 15, 10 (1ct)
BBS 20, 15, 10
Brief Rest 15 ct
Ring of Fire – 2 rounds of merkins 1x, 2x
Mosey up road to crosswalk near restrooms – 20 ct rest
Run up path, complete 10 2 ct American Hammers every third light
Meet back at AO
Peter parkers – 10 IC (4 ct)

MARY:

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:

As you may know, Dec 13, will be the third anniversary of my son Grady’s death, he was also an F3 Brother – Quikcrete. I thought about the grieving process, which is a process that never ends, it changes, it comes in waves, it change in intensity, but never goes away. I realized that many of the brothers have realized some sort of loss and are also going through this process. And I reflect on how much support the brothers gave me and still are, as I go through this process and as I go through other life challenges. The kind words, the support, the fact that they are there when you need them. F3 brothers “show up”. Followers of Jesus “show up”. We shouldn’t underestimate the power of the F3 brotherhood, you can make a difference. Just be there, some kind words, just listening can have a big impact. I often struggle to say the right words, usually overthinking it, but I think we don’t have to be perfect, just being present to listen and be there and provide support is enough, it can make a difference. So think about this and continue to grow our F3 brotherhood by bringing others in and also make an effort to “show up” in your community as well.

MOLESKIN:

Welcome FNG @Cheat-ah Boy (Will Smelser) !

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas Party Sat night at Judge Judy’s

Absolutely

THE SCENE: Nice evening, temps in 50s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Plank Stretches, 20 Plank Jacks, 10 Rockettes, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Windmills, 7 Full Body Twists, Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:

Mosey to the Caribbean parking lot.  We will run around the Caribbean stopping at cones to do the exercises listed.  Instructions on how to get to the next cone will also be listed.

  • Cone 1:  20 Squat Jumps then Bernie to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 Big Boys then Hop to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Iron Mikes (2 count) then Lunge to Cone 4
  • Cone 4:  20 Diamond Merkins then Grapevine with right foot leading to Cone 5
  • Cone 5:  20 Star Jumps then Bernie to Cone 6
  • Cone 6:  20 Bicycle Kicks (2 count) then Hop to Cone 7
  • Cone 7:  20 Side Straddle Hops (2 count) then Lunge to Cone 8
  • Cone 8:  20 Shoulder Taps (2 count) then Grapevine with left foot leading to Cone 1.
  • Rinse and Repeat

Mosey to the street-side end of the Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will go on the Serpentine Sidewalk doing patterns of 1 and 4, where we will bear crawl to one light then run four more lights and repeat that pattern until we get to the perimeter trail.  We will then go back on the Serpentine Sidewalk but lunge for one light and run for four light, repeating that pattern until we hit the street.  The first brother to get to the street will sweep everyone back to the perimeter trail.

Mosey to Cardiac.   We will run up Cardiac stopping at the following spots to do the following exercises:

  • Turn 1:  20 American Hammers (four count)
  • Turn 2:  20 Hello Dollies
  • Turn 3:  20 Decline Merkins
  • Benches:  20 Bench Dips

Mosey to the bottom of mini-cardiac.  We will Bernie up mini-cardiac to the Park Sign then sprint the rest of the way up to the crosswalk. Then we will sprint back to the AO.

MARY:  Stretches .

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA 
15 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Shaun Slate, the preacher at my church, said something recently that really got me to thinking.  He said, “We can be absolutely right.  But, if we do not love we are absolutely wrong.”

Think about that the next time you are debating with someone about an issue you feel strongly about.  “We can be absolutely right but if we don’t love we are absolutely wrong.”  Think about that when your child doesn’t live up to your standards.  Think about that when someone doesn’t worship the way you do.  Think about that the next time you argue with your wife.

I might get angry with someone for a stance they take.  I might think, why won’t that person get vaccinated.  Or why can’t he see how electing that money-spending candidate will effect the economy.  I can question their stance.  But, I shouldn’t let my questioning stand in the way of loving that person.
Too often we got on our high horse and fail to see the viewpoint of the other, thinking they are ridiculous.  If we do that, we are not loving them. 

As a therapist, I see this issue come up many time in marriages.  In the therapy session, each spouse wants to make their own point.  By golly, their spouse is wrong and they need to set things straight with the spouse.  But, focusing on the wrong and trying to set things straight is damaging the marriage.  In marriage, we need to love our spouses even when they are wrong.  And in life, we need to love other people, even when they are wrong.  

Thank you Lord that you are that way.  You continue to love us humans no matter how often we are wrong.  Lord, forgive me for getting on my high horse and sometimes thinking I am better than someone else because “I have it right.”  Firstly, I probably don’t have it right.  And secondly, if I am not hearing and loving that person, than I am absolutely wrong.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for mother of Steam’s girlfriend as the mother is currently starting chemotherapy for cancer.  Prayers for Pusher as tomorrow is the anniversary of his widow’s death.  Prayers for religious mentoring for The King James.  Prayers for wife of Juke Box.  Prayers for Sparkler’s mother who lost her husband (Sparkler’s stepfather) about one year ago.  Prayers for Mr. Jinxy’s small grandchild who has a problem with her foot and for Hooker and his wife, Carli, who are the parents of the child.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Toy collection by F3 for charity.  Remember Judge Judy’s Christmas Party on Saturday, December 11.  You need to sign up for it on Slack.

Three Strands Ain’t Easily Broken

F3 Q — 11/27/21

AO: Asylum (Saturday)

0700 – 0800

[ The Scene ]

  • 40s
  • Sunrise at 7:10am
  • Cold, but character building

[ 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
    • If you need to modify anything that we do this morning feel free to do so! But push yourself and the men around you, they deserve it and so do you!
  • FNGs?

[ Warm o Rama ]

  • SSH — 20×4 IC
  • Rockette: 10×4 IC
  • SSH: 20×4 IC
  • Imperial Walker: 10×4 IC
  • SSH: 20×4 IC
  • Merkin: 10×4 IC
  • SSH: 20×4 IC
  • Squat: 10×4 IC
  • SSH: 20×4 IC

[ The Thang ]

(Mosey to the playground)

(1) 13s

  • Playground: 12 box jumps/step-ups
  • Pavilion: 1 incline merkin
  • Rinse and Repeat (11+2, 10+3, etc)
  • When you’re done — flutter kicks right here in the center

(10 count or so)

(Mosey to The Island)

(2) Island Hopping

  • Battle Buddy Up
  • 4 stopping points around the island
    • (1) Top and Bottom
      • Battle Buddy BBS – 10 each
    • (2) Sides
      • 4 count Merkins — 10 together
  • Rinse and repeat for a total of 2x around the island
  • When your BB team gets done, pickup with another BB team as they finish

(10 count or so)

(Mosey to The 3 Strands)

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(3) The 3 Strands

  • Break into teams of 2 or 3
  • Each of the 3 strands has a start (L) and finish (R) point (where the trail starts and where the trail ends)
  • Each team will do all 3 of the strands, 1 at a time.
  • When you’re done with 1 strand, execute 1 burpee before moving on to the next one
  • Strand 1 (Grassy)
    • Start: 25 Carolina Dry Docks (1ct)
    • Finish: 25 merkins
  • Strand 2 (Mulchy)
    • Start: 25 LBCs (1ct)
    • Finish: 25: Reverse crunches (1ct)
  • Strand 3 (Woodsy)
    • Start: 25 Squats (1ct)
    • Finish: 25 Iron Mikes (1ct)

(Mosey to the AO lot)

[ Mary ]

(4) ATM Withdrawal + Deposit

  • We’re doing a regular ATM — CASH OUT
  • 15×4 shoulder taps
  • 10×4 slow merkins
  • 10 fast merkins

SWS (Stretching With Steam)

  • Light stretching infused with motivational insights, with Steam

[ COT ]

  • # off — 15
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs
  • BOM

“Training For Battle & Maintaining Defense Systems”

“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”

  • ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭144:1‬-2 ‭ESV‬

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A chord of three strands is not easily broken.”

  • Ecclesiastes 4:12

“We ought not to receive so great a boon as strength to resist evil, to defend truth, and to conquer error, without knowing who gave it to us, and rendering to him the glory of it. Not only does Jehovah give strength to his saints, but he is their strength. The strength is made theirs because God is theirs. God is full of power, and he becomes the power of those who trust him. In him our great strength lieth, and to him be blessings more than we are able to utter. It may be read, “My Rock;” but this hardly so well consorts with the following words: “Which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” The word rock is the Hebrew way of expressing strength: the grand old language is full of such suggestive symbols. The Psalmist in the second part of the verse sets forth the Lord as teacher in the arts of war.

If we have strength we are not much the better unless we have skill also. Untrained force is often an injury to the man who possesses it, and it even becomes a danger to those who are round about him; and therefore the Psalmist blesses the Lord as much for teaching as for strength.

Let us also bless Jehovah if he has in anything made us efficient. The tuition mentioned was very practical, it was not so much of the brain as of the hands and fingers; for these were the members most needful for conflict. Men with little scholastic education should be grateful for deftness and skill in their handicrafts.

To a fighting man the education of the hands is of far more value than mere book learning could ever be; he who has to use a sling or a bow needs suitable training, quite as much as a scientific man or a classical professor.

Men are too apt to fancy that an artisan’s efficiency is to be ascribed to himself; but this is a popular fallacy. A clergyman may be supposed to be taught of God, but people do not allow this to be true of weavers or workers in brass; yet these callings are specially mentioned in the Bible as having been taught to holy women and earnest men when the tabernacle was set up at the first. All wisdom and skill are from the Lord, and for them he deserves to be gratefully extolled.

This teaching extends to the smallest members of our frame; the Lord teaches fingers as well as hands; indeed, it sometimes happens that if the finger is not well trained the whole hand is incapable.”

  • Charles Spurgeon

“Such strange creatures are human beings, that if a number of them are kept in peaceful association under the leadership of any one of the Lord’s servants, he is bound to bless God every day for the wonderful fact. The victories of peace are as much worthy of joyful gratitude as the victories of war. Leaders in the Christian church cannot maintain their position except as the Lord preserves to them the mighty influence which ensures obedience and evokes enthusiastic loyalty. For every particle of influence for good which we may possess let us magnify the name of the Lord.”

  • Charles Spurgeon

Giving Thanks… and no Beaver Moon!

THE SCENE: Cold, low 40s, fairly calm and clear, but the hallowed Beaver Moon didn’t make an appearance, to everyone’s disappointment.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.


WARM-O-RAMA:

– Motivators 7 count decreasing

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence (aborted this exercise due to mumblechatter around 6 or so…)

– 10 Rockettes (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Grady Corns  (4-ct), in cadence

– Calf stretches

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Caribbean Parking Lot

  • NO MERCY MILE (really more like a half mile)
    • Near end: Bear Crawl around turn
    • Run to ½ way point. 25 Merkins. Run to curve
    • Far End: Lunges around turn
    • Sprint to ½ way point. 25 Squats. Run to Curve.
    • Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to open air Chapel

  • AMRAPS
    • 30 sec dips, rest 10 sec. R&R x4
    • 30 sec incline merkins, rest 10 sec R&R x4
    • 30 sec isometric squats (alternating), rest 10 sec R&R x4

Mosey to east down path towards the bottom of Cardiac.  At intersection, 20 American Hammers (4-ct)

Mosey to bottom of Cardiac.  20 Imperial Walkers (4-ct)

  • Cardiac Crusher
    • Run to first curve and back, 20 flutter kicks (2-ct)
    • Run to second curve and back, 20 flutter kicks (2-ct)
    • Run to top, stop at each turn to do 10 merkins, 10 squats, and 10 BBS

Mosey to AO

MARY:
Homer/Marge leg raises

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Thanksgiving:

Back in 1620, 102 separatists Christians left Europe and came to America via a little boat called the Mayflower.  The first years in America were very hard, and about half the population died within the first several months.  They likely all would have died without the help of the Native Americans, who provided food and taught them how to grow crops.  They celebrated the harvest the following year, in 1621, with Thanksgiving. The celebration lasted 3 days. Thanksgiving was only sporadically celebrated until 1789 when George Washington called for it to be a recurring celebration.  Even then, it still didn’t totally catch on until 1941, when FDR and Congress declared it a national holiday.  Why is it so tough to celebrate Thanksgiving?  We seem to want to skip over it it and move right from Halloween to Christmas.  If you’re cynical, maybe it’s because there’s no money in Thanksgiving?  Not as many cards, gifts, and promotional events…Except for the Macy’s parade, and for that everyone is just waiting for Santa at the end.

But there is a human need to give Thanks.  One of the first things parents teach their children is to say Thank You (when handing a young child something…: “What do you say? What do you SAY??”).  Giving Thanks is important because it interrupts the Self, recognizes the Other in our life.  We value that other.  We have an imperative and a need to give Thanks to those we have relationships with.  And who or what is the primary relationship in our life?  It’s God, and we need to give Thanks to God.  Giving Thanks reminds us that we are recipients, not creators.  It allows us a moment to pause and count our blessings.  STEAM recently posted a message in Sticky Notes Channel: “GAS PRICES ARE HIGH, THIS SUCKS” VS “I WAS ABLE TO FILL UP MY CAR WITH GAS. THANK YOU JESUS.” What a great perspective for the week of Thanksgiving.

I love the line from the song Signs that was sung by Tesla and written by Five Man Electrical Band… “Thank you Lord, for thinking about me, I’m alive and doing fine.”

Here’s what I think.  I think we need to build a world that strips out the biases and fear of other religions, other cultures, other world views and focuses on the basics.  Love God, Love your Neighbor.  Easy Peasy.  Right?  Wrong.  It’s simple, but it’s not easy.  How do we do that? Giving Thanks can be a great place to start and get beyond the differences.  Seek first the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God is love, generosity, thankfulness, and justice.  That is how we live in that Kingdom.  This is what was in the heart of the Pilgrim’s journey. To be a loving, generous, and thankful community.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Steam’s mom who has COVID, for other friends and family members going through illness or trials.  Prayers for the victims of the Waukesha driving calamity.  Prayers for our nation as tensions rise and the Enemy tries to divide and discourage us.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas party Dec. 11!