F3 Knoxville

Tag: Flash

Ring Around The Mosey

THE SCENE: Nice and Warm in the Upper 40s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 15 IC

Cherry Pickers x 10 IC

Frankenstein Walk through parking lot

Walking Quad Stretch through parking lot

Walking side to side groin stretch through parking lot

THA-THANG:
We began with a mosey through the park.  We made sure to stay at a pace where everyone could stay relatively close together.

Stop 1 was at the Fountain and we did 10 Burpees OYO and held Al Gore until 6 up.

Continue the Mosey up the hill.

Stop 2 was at the top of the big hill at the back of the park and we did 20 merkins and 20 squats OYO.  Held Al Gore until 6 up.

Continue Mosey back down to Mt. Crumpet, which just so happened to be our 3rd stop.

At Mt. Crumpet, we did 5 ascents up the hill.

  • Ascent 1 was a bear crawl
  • Ascent 2 was a sprint
  • Ascent 3 was a bear crawl
  • Ascent 4 was a sprint
  • Ascent 5 was a bear crawl

Burpees OYO until 6 up.  Continued our ring around the mosey all the way around the park to the base of the hill that climbs to the grinder.  This was Stop #4.

We circled up and did a burpee circle of pain.  The circle held an Al Gore and we took turns doing a burpee until we reach 52 burpees, which was 4 rounds.  We sprinted the hill to the grinder and back.

Circle of pain merkins for same number as the burpees followed by a sprint to the burpees.

At this point, we had 7 minutes before I wanted to start Mary, so we just cashed out the beat down portion by doing an AMRAP of 5 Pull-Ups, 10 Merkins, 15 Squats.

MARY:
Flutter Kicks x 30 IC

Slutter Kicks x 20 IC

Hello Dollys x 15 IC

Cash Out last minute with LBCs.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 HIMs showed up to do some serious work.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
In Romans 12, the Bible tells us to strip off every weight that so easily entangles us and run with endurance.  That really gets me thinking about Jesus telling his disciples that they and we would face trials and tribulations, but to take heart because he overcame the world.

A lot of times, we get caught wanting life to be a nice, easy mosey through to the end, but that will NEVER be the case.  We serve a very real God, but we also fight a very real enemy who seeks to destroy us and our families.  Life is going to be hard and it will throw curve balls at you.  How you respond to the difficult times and the mentality with which you attack those difficult times can and will make or break you.

Jesus telling his disciples to take heart in today’s terms is him telling his disciples to keep a positive mindset.  Don’t ever let negativity creep in or come out of your mouth because it is like a cancer that will infect those around you as well.  I apologized to the group for any times that I let negativity come out of my mouth during beat downs and vowed to try not to do that anymore.  It may suck, but we are fighting and winning the battle to be our best self.

Run the race of life with endurance and always keep a positive mindset.
MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Gimme Shelter

THE SCENE: 55 degrees with a light rain to wash the sweat away
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Checked off.

WARM-O-RAMA:
To the music of Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones, circa 1969:

SSH – x20; Little Baby Arm Circles (forward and reverse) – x15; Cherry Pickers – x10; Imperial Squat Walkers – x15

Jog; Skip; Bear Crawl/Jog; Bear Crawl/Jog length of the grinder.

THA-THANG:

“A” Leg Exercises

Under the Pavilion:

Bench Step Ups x12; Dry Docks x12; Squat Jumps x12; Merkins x12; SSH (single count) x12; BBS x12

Intermission

Run from the Pavilion to the Road:

Merkins x6; BBS x6; Drydocks x6

Run back to the Pavilion.

“B” Leg Exercises

Under the Pavilion (Using CMU’s)

Kettlebell Swings x12; On the Shelf x6/side; Bent Rows x12; Curls x12; Squats x12; Deadlift x6/arm

Intermission

Run from the Pavilion to the Road:

Merkins x6; BBS x6; Drydocks x6

Run back to the pavilion

Repeat Above as Time Allows

MARY:
Leg Lifts, Box Cutters, Hello Dolly’s, and then cashed out with 1 minute of Little Baby Crunches.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 faithful, 0 FNG’s

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We started the workout to the song Gimme Shelter, the opening track from the Rolling Stones 1969 album, Let It Bleed.  When asked who sang the song most will generically say the Rolling Stones or specifically, Mick Jagger.  When I listen to the song, I hear Merry Clayton.  She is the background vocalist and the one who puts her heart and soul in the song.  Merry was born on Christmas Day, 1948, and was the daughter of a Baptist minister in the New Orleans area.  She began singing gospel music in church before she was tagged as a background singer for Ray Charles and others at the ripe age of 14.

In 1969 she was pregnant and living with her husband in Los Angeles.  The phone rang around midnight and an agent said this British rock group needed a background vocalist for a track to complete a soon to be released album.  They needed her to come to the recording studio right away.  At first she said no, she was tired and she wasn’t feeling too well.  Her husband said she needed to go; that it might be good for her singing career.  Merry shows up at the studio and talks to Keith Richards about the song, the significance of the words written by Jagger, and the way they wanted it sung.

She sang one take, got some feedback from Richards and Jagger, and then said she would give it one more try.  After the second take she offered a third and then said goodnight.  The rest is history for the Stones.

Merry is always the singer I hear in the song.  She was the one that gave it everything she had and she blows it away – as a backup singer.  The Rolling Stones almost always gets the credit for this hit from almost 50 years ago.

There are many times that our roll in life is like Merry’s was that night.  We are not the one to make the decisions, we are not THE face in the crowd, we are not the leader, we may not get the recognition we deserve.  We are the backup, the support member of the team, the one given a specific task in the big picture, the one that will be an integral part of future success.  Regardless, our job is to push ourselves, attain the objective, and move on to the next.  Always remember that there is no limit to what can be attained if no one cares who gets the credit.

So where is Merry?  She went home after the Stones session and had a miscarriage late that morning.  She believes the stress she put herself in earlier was a factor and she could barely bring herself to sing the song for a few years afterwards.  She continued mostly in a backup singer roll and was highlighted in a 2012 documentary about others in similar rolls that made many of the legendary songs of the past.  Finally some well deserved recognition has come to her.  In 2014 a car accident left her without legs.  Her faith in God and the inner strength and determination derived from that faith is keeping her on her feet and her music alive.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Don’t forget Hardship Hill at Fort Southwest Point Park in Kingston, TN.  Can’t or won’t participate?  Volunteers are needed and welcomed for setup and event day.

Fireteam Drills and Running in Squares

THE SCENE: 34 Chilly spring degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Windmills IC x 10, LBAC IC Thumbs Up x 10, Thumbs Down x 10, Tempo Squats IC x 10, SSH IC x 10

THA-THANG:
Mosey to One Tree Hill and assemble PAX at the bottom.  Q explained fireteam movement (stand, run to the cadence of “I’m up they see me I’m down, get on the ground).  PAX took the hill using that cadence and performing 3 rounds of exercises while down.  Round 1: 5 Merkins, Round 2: 5 BBS, Round 3: Carolina Dry Docks.  At the end of R3, stay at the top of the hill.  Each PAX grabbed a CMU and moseyed to the baseball field where 4 cones were set up in a square.  PAX divided into groups of 3 (or 4 where appropriate) and began with the first exercise on the list.  They then ran clockwise to the next cone and repeated the exercise, continuing to each cone until they reached their starting point.  Once back at the starting point, they moved to the next exercise on the list and proceeded clockwise until returning to their original spot.  If all of the exercises were completed, they started again at the top.  The exercises were as follows:

Merkins x 10

Overhead CMU press x 10

Burpees x 10

Squat Jumps x 10

Iron Mikes x 10

SSH x 10

Goblet Squat x 10

Clean and Press x 10

MARY:
With 3 minutes of work time left, PAX went all in with Absolution OYO until time expired.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
One of the techniques that Marines are taught in basic training is counterintuitive to human nature.  That technique is to run toward the threat rather than away from it, thereby lessening our exposure to risk.  If we are ambushed and turn to run, we increase the amount of time the enemy has to get us sighted in.  Often times in life we face challenges that we want to run from, to avoid or to ignore.  We see many examples in the Bible where God calls his people to face the enemy and know that He is in control.  My challenge to the PAX (and myself) is to be strong and present in the face of attack and know that God has my six.  It can be really difficult for me to see how my suffering is for the greater good, especially at that moment, but I know that God is good and I can trust Him to provide the strength I need to face adversity head-on.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill is coming up in about a month.  Opportunities are out there to join a team or volunteer.

Mountain Man Memorial March

THE SCENE: 75-80* nice and warm, clear for the most of the day, cloudy (thankfully toward the end of the day)
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
None.
THA-THANG:
Insert 35 pounds in ruck (not including water), mosey for about 26.5 miles.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 brave souls
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Got a good 8 hours of remembering why we were there.  Marched to honor all of the men and women who have fallen for their country, and specifically for 2nd Lt. Justin Sisson and his family.

Aye!!

Bring It On Down to Burpee Town

THE SCENE: 40’s and clear

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH x 15 IC
  • Tempo Squats x 10 IC
  • Cherry Pickers x 10 IC

THA-THANG:
Mosey over to The Educator, quick stop for 10 warmup burpees

  • At bottom of the Educator – 10 burpees
  • Bernie up hill
  • Lunge from cone to cone, bear crawl back, sprint it out to end of parking lot
  • 10 BBS, 10 Merkins, 10 Squats
  • Head back down to bottom of hill – increase burpee count by 2 each lap
  • Mosey back to AO, quick stop for 5 cool down burpees

MARY:

  • Protractors
  • LBC’s until time

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 PAX
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We all have our bad days, but at the end of the day we get to come home to our families and friends and sleep in our beds. We have men and women fighting for us overseas right now who don’t get that same privilege. They’re mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters who don’t know what the next day holds for them. Comfort is not a thing they get to experience. Some are missing the births of their children, deaths in the family, and other important moments so that they can serve our country. Some don’t ever return home at all. Be thankful that our lives as civilians are protected by them. Remember what some others are going through when you’ve had a rough day at work. Next time you see a solider in uniform, thank them for all they have done for us and make us proud to be Americans.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill approaching

Park at church for beatdown Saturday 4/14 due to event in Springbrook