F3 Knoxville

Tag: Fins

F3CFTPFT

THE SCENE: Dry and about 37 degrees outside
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • 30x Side-straddle Hops

THA-THANG:
We attempted a modified version of the Army’s new CFT (Combat Fitness Test). We partnered up and split between the 5 stations. Each station we had 2 minutes to complete as many reps as possible then ~1 minute to reset the station and get to the next station. The Stations are in order below.

  1. Throwing Balls (Throw a 10lb medicine ball backwards over your head as far as you can then sprint to it and throw it back. There were 2 medicine balls, 1 per partner)
  2. Sprint, Drag, and Carry (Sprint 25 yards down and back, then drag 2 CMUs with a ratchet strap backwards 25 yards down and back, then farmer carry 2 CMUs 25 yards down and back)
  3. Leg Tucks (Hang from the pull up bars with an alternate hand grip and tuck your knees to your elbows)
  4. Hand-Release Merkins – Arm Extends (A normal Hand Release Merkin but with a twist. When you release your hands, extend them out sideways without them touching the ground until your elbows lock then bring them back in and complete the Merkin)
  5. Deadlifts ( A normal deadlift with a CMU in each hand)

 

We then went for a Indian Run for about 1.5ish miles around the park with a small 45 sec pit stop to hold an Al Gore. At the end, we Jailbroke the last hill to the Grinder

 

We then attempted the PFT (Physical Fitness Test) which was the following

  1. 2 Minutes of Big Boy Sit-ups
  2. 2 Minutes of normal Merkins

We then finished the work out with a 30 count of Tempo Squats

MARY:

  • 25x Box cutters
  • 25x Fast Tempo Side-Straddle Hops

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
In the military, they are like brothers. Before I started coming to F3, I was going to try out for the Knoxville Rugby team. I played Rugby in college and was really looking forward to playing again. When I went to the first summer practice several months ago, the guys there were not very welcoming. I was the last one picked for the pickup game and no one even tried to introduce themselves. I knew no one and no one knew me. They all had their own little cliques. By the end of the second practice I was so discouraged because I was not having fun and pretty much just standing by myself.

When I came to F3, I was very skeptical because of my experience with the Rugby team. I was very happily surprised that the F3 Brotherhood was so welcoming. My first day at the Bomb Shelter was amazing! Very Difficult, but amazing. Everyone was so friendly and genuinely wanted to get to know me and any new person than came out. It was like being welcomed into a new family of brothers that always have each other’s back. I am so thankful to have found a brotherhood like this and I hope everyone else can appreciate it as much as I do!

 

Checking In

THE SCENE: 33 degrees F, Partly Cloudy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, Cherry Pickers, Inchworm Merkins, Little Baby Arm Circles

Jog across grinder, skip across grinder, bear crawl to CMU storage and claim one.

THA-THANG:

Mosey with your CMU on the Block Party circuit while stopping at the following 20 stations:

    • Bent rows x24
    • On the shelf x6 each side
    • CMU toe tap x67
    • Squats x24

    Road Block merkins, x18

    • Clean and press x12
    • Roll over merkins x6 each of 4 CMU ends

    Run to Springbrook fountain w/o CMU and then return to retreive CMU

    • Dead lift x6 per arm
    • Triceps extensions x12
    • Dips x24
    • Straight arm overhead lift x12
    • Upright rows x24
    • Burpee press x12

    Interlude: Mt Crumpet count off by 2’s.

    #1 run up, #2 farmer hold – switch.

    #1 Bernie up, #2 farmer hold – switch.

    #1 bear crawl up, #2 farmer hold – switch

    • Curls x24
    • CMU swing x12
    • Overhead press x12
    • Lawn mowers x12 per side
    • Squat press x12
    • Lunge to grinder with CMU

MARY:
Box Cutters, Floor Wipers, Flutter Kicks, LBCs to cash out.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Total of 15 HIMs including Knoxville visitor Umbro.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
When I first started with Alcoa, Inc in 1974 the Engineering and Maintenance Manager was Dick Taylor.  In his late 40’s, Dick was three levels of management above me and reported to the Operations Manager.  Dick was sharp, energetic, smart, confident, experienced, driven, and demanding.  He was also introverted.  Like many of us, we are often required to function out of our personality comfort zone.  Dick did and he did it well.

Dick had the habit of touring around the plants to maintain a pulse on things.  Often he would show up in an engineer’s office, say hello, and take a seat.  And he would be quite.  We have heard of the pregnant pause.  This seemed longer.  When it happened to me the first time, I was taken off guard.  What did he want?  Why was he in my office?  What should I do or say?

In short order I started telling Dick what I was into from a work perspective.  I talked about the projects that were consuming my time.  I asked for any advice he might have.  After that we might get into a little conversation about life things outside of Alcoa, Inc.  Dick used these impromptu meetings to touch base, to learn some details, to connect with his entire staff.  Over a period of 5 years, Dick probably stopped in 3 or 4 times.  Each one got easier and more beneficial to me.  Perhaps for Dick also.

Years later I looked back at the time spent with Dick and it hit me that this is a good way for me to spend time with God.  Instead of Dick sitting across the room from me, what if it was God that just came in and sat down.  I know, He was there all the time, just like He is here as I type this.  But the difference is that I act like He is in front of me.  There are certainly things I need to tell Him; not for His sake since He already knows it, but for my sake.  By telling Him, I can bounce things off of Him, ask Him for advice, and understand His will for me.  I need that kind of relationship with God and I know He wants that from me.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Packing parachutes

THE SCENE: Upper 40s a slight drizzle but mostly overcast
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

squats x10 Ic , ssh x 20 ic , merkins x10 ic  , flutter kicks x 20 ic , monkey humpers x20 ic , imperial walkers x 20 ic , merkins x 10 ic , dollys x 10 ic , squeaky dollys x 10 ic
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the summit of kiddie slope . On the way , possum cross the road , monkey humpers at the fountain x 10 ic , lunge a to a light pole , 10 merkins , lunge a light to the next light pole , 10 more merkins (Moses requested lunges so I obliged to his request 😈) continue a slow mosey to summit of kiddie slope

  • 11s (longest ever) w big boys and gas pumps (working that turkey belly)
  • At summit do 1 big boy
  • Run half way , stopping at the plateau of pain( said in a French accent)  do 10 burpees
  • Run to the base and do 10 gas pumps
  • run all the way back up and do 2 big boys …
  • every time you run DOWN, stop at PoP and do 10 burpees (rest stop)
  • rinse n repeat until 11s are done
  • ended up being about 2.5 miles of 11s , 100 burpees , 55 big boys, 55 gas pumps

MARY:
Mosey back to AO
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 pax giving me sarcastic laughs , evil looks , hands in the knees …. I knew they loved me !
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Story and credit the Q source ;

Leading Leaders

Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!” “How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb. “I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said ‘Good morning,’ ‘how are you?’ or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.” Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?” Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachute.

MOLESKIN:
F3 packs one of my parachutes everyday ! And That’s just one . My wife packs my parachute in a big way!! My kids pack another, the people I work with pack one.  Don’t take for granted those around you that make you who you are or if you are in a leadership role , be thankful for those that you lead . Often times , we do what we are supposed to do and those around us work just as hard . That’s to be expected right ? Sure , but we can still show love and appreciation. It can go a long way just to acknowledge someone’s hard work even though it’s what they are supposed to do anyway.  As move past thanksgiving, giving thanks shouldn’t t stop through out the year.
thank you !
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

BS Thanksgiving Beatdown

THE SCENE: About 38 degrees but beautiful
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 SSHs IC
8 Cherry Pickers IC
Run to the end of the grinder, do 5 Merkins
Run back, do 5 squats
Run back again, do 5 Dry Docks
Run back one last time, do 5 Lunges

THA-THANG:

Starting at the first light pole, do 5 reps of each of the first two exercises below. Do 5 reps of those exercises at each light pole around the loop, then bear crawl from the last path back to the starting point. Go to the next set of exercises and do 5 of each around again. I called an audible when we got the bridge and decided to do exercises at every other light pole since there are about 33 of them around the loop.

  • Merkins and BBS
  • Squats and Flutter Kicks (4 count)
  • Dry Docks and Side Crunches
  • Lunges and SSHs (4 count) (nobody made it to this lap)

Towards the end we ran the loop in reverse to pick everyone up and get back to the grinder.

MARY:
20 boxcutters IC before it was time.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 men for the turkey day beatdown
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I catch myself wanting to move up at work, wanting to make more money, wanting to be in better shape, etc. Not only today, but year round we need to take the time to be thankful for the things that we have. I am thankful that I have a job, I’m thankful that I am able to get up and be in the gloom with you men, I am thankful for my F3 brothers. While we can always strive to be better, we should never stop being thankful for our blessings.
MOLESKIN:
Happy Thanksgiving!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The 1 Hour Card Deck

THE SCENE: Wet… very wet. One of the wettest.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 SSH IC 4ct, 10 Merkin IC 4ct, arm circle forward and back, little stretch
THA-THANG:
Grab a cmu and back to the pavilion.

Deck of cards split 9-A and 2-8. Complete one from each deck then rinse and repeat.

9-A deck is number of reps for face value (A=20)

  • Clubs=Dips
  • Spades=cmu swings
  • Hearts=boxer jaxs 4ct (high knees with a clap under the knee)
  • Dimonds=merkins

2-8 Deck are the number of lines to reach for a movement (19 feet per line on the grinder)

  • Clubs=crab walk
  • Spades=bear crawl
  • Hearts=Sprint
  • Dimonds=cmu overhead carry

30 min in, pax given choice to swap out 2 exercises and/or movements. Diamonds then were BBS for first deck and spades were lunges for second deck.

When first deck runs out, second deck has 4 more cards. Pax picks 4 exercises. Flip cards one at a time. 10 times the number on card is number of reps for that exercise. Repeat for all 4 cards.

MARY:
20 Flutterkicks IC 4ct, 20 lbc IC 4ct, 20 Side crunch IC 4ct (and other side), 20 Superman SSH IC 4ct.
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:
Like we all waited in the rain for everyone to cross the line, so too in life we need to keep our heads up to be there with other people in the middle of sucky times. Know that there are other people struggling like you. Help them when you can. Be helped by them when you can.
MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Breakfast at Drifter’s on 23rd to adjust for Thanksgiving.