F3 Knoxville

Tag: Flashback

Giving in Thanks

THE SCENE: Beautiful and sunny day, temps in low 60s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Gobble Trot around the parking lot, 7 Baby Arm Circles forward and backward, 5 Wide Arm Circles forward and backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey on trail toward Mt. Everest but stop halfway for 20 American Hammers.

Continue mosey to base of Mt. Everest.  We will do 10 Tempo Merkins and 10 Tempo Squats.  We will then run to top of Everest.  At top we will do 30 Baby Crunches, 20 Hello Dollies and 10 Shoulder Taps.

Mosey to Shaded Parking Lot across street from Northern Ball Park Entrance Parking Lot.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks.

Mosey to Caribbean Parking Lot.  We will run a U shape around parking lot stopping at every 3 islands to do exercises.  Those getting to end of U first will sweep men back.  Here are the exercises:

  • 20 Smurf Jacks
  • 10 Hand Release Merkins
  • 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)

Mosey go grassy area by first ballpark off of Northern Ball Fields entrance.  We will play a game of 10 second huddle football (no more than a ten second huddle between plays).  The game will be touch with one blitz allowed per four down and only mid field being a first down mark.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
29 men/boys with one FNG, 5-year-old Jack, son of Lunch Money.  Jack now has the F3 name of Turkey Gobbler!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I had the opportunity to look at some quotes from Presidents that each made on Thanksgiving Day.  I was struck by how many, in giving gratitude for the way our nation has prospered, also gave attention to the need to give to others, particularly the less fortunate.  I will quote from two of those presidents:

Calvin Coolidge 1925:

 “As we have grown and prospered in material things, so also should we progress in moral and spiritual things. We are a God-fearing people who should set ourselves against evil and strive for righteousness in living, and observing the Golden Rule we should from our abundance help and serve those less fortunately placed. We should bow in gratitude to God for His many favors.”

Ronald Reagan 1981:

“In this spirit, Thanksgiving has become a day when Americans extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. Long before there was a government welfare program, this spirit of voluntary giving was ingrained in the American character. Americans have always understood that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks.”

To give to others is an American call and certainly a call for F3.  I am proud of F3 for the principal we attempt to follow of giving to the community and those in need.  I have been struck by the way are N’antans, currently Judge Judy and formerly Abscess and Cap’n Crunch have made that a mission of F3 Knoxville.  Let us keep the spirit of giving in our hearts as we give thanks for our blessings.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pinto, for Ribbed’s wife as she goes through surgery for removal of tumor by spine on Dec 14, for Curveball and his wife as they head to Florida on Saturday for surgery she will have there early next week, for the wonderful woman that F3 helped clean shelves in her garage last week, and for the lonely and isolated in our country on this Thanksgiving Day.

[ The Scene ]

– Apparently this whole “board meeting” idea has caught on with “The Others” = people that don’t do F3. So tonight, The Others were having a board meeting (sort of – sitting around in camp chairs in a circle and talking with/without drinks in hand) – so PAX moved to the Asylum AM spot to circle up

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness/Fellowship/Faith
  • My name is Steam and I am not Thunderstruck unfortunately but he had a previous engagement so I will be your Q tonight!
  • Couple things:
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • If you need to modify anything that we do tonight – you know your body better than anyone – so feel free to do so.

[ Warm 0 Rama ]

  • SSH: 30 x 4 IC
  • Rockette: 25 x 4 IC
  • Squat: 20 x 4 IC
  • Merkin: 15 x 4 IC
  • Imperial Walker: 15 x 4 IC
  • Motivators: 4

[ The Thang ]

(mosey to the CMU pile)

25s

  • 5 rounds
    • Round 1: 5 CMU curls —> run to playground: 5 dips
    • Round 2: 5 CMU curls + 5 chest presses: run to playground: 10 dips
    • Round 3: 5 CMU curls + 5 CMU chest presses + 5 CMU rows: run to playground: 15 dips
    • Round 4: 5 CMU curls + 5 CMU chest presses + 5 CMU rows + 5 CMU sit-ups —> run to playground: 20 dips
    • Round 5: 5 CMU sit-ups + 5 CMU rows + 5 CMU chest presses + 5 CMU curls
  • 2 POCs (Points of Contact)
    • CMU pile
    • Playground down from AO
  • 5 Xs
    • @ CMU pile: curls, chest presses, rows, sit-ups
    • @ playground: 5 dips —> +5 —> +5 every round

(Return CMUs and mosey to Pavilion)

All My Benches

  • 4 sides of the bench
    • Short Sides: 25 pull-ups/chin-ups
    • Long Side 1: 25 Incline Merkins
    • Long Side 2: 25 Decline Merkins
  • Wall-Sit when done

(Mosey to playground)

The Final 15

  • 10 at the playground
    • 5 minutes of bench work
      • Alternate between box jumps/step ups + dips
    • 5 minutes of core work (these were some LONG minutes). Have you ever had 5 minutes last 3 hours? Because now we all have.
      • Alternate between flutter kicks and big boy sit-ups
  • 5 back at the AO
    • Mosey back to the AO
    • Light stretching with Steam (not Pusher approved OR denied. OR denied, that’s important)
      • Stretching back and lower legs
      • Borderline yoga stretching legs an chest

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • BOM

”When I”

When I wandered, He led.

When I was thirsty, He supplied water.

When I hungered, He provided nourishment.

When I strayed, He called me back.

When I let my thoughts wander, He re-focused me.

When I was weary, He provided a place to sit and rest.

Think about your own “When I” statements from this year. In addition to the ones I’ve experienced above, some of mine have been “When I wondered if I was going to have a job” or “When I was isolated in my home for days on end during the original quarantine” or “When I didn’t know how this would end” or “When I questioned why all of this is happening” and so on and so forth. So what are your “When I(s)” ?

But the thing about a “When I”statement is just that, the but. But God. So if and when you find yourself wandering – let Him lead. If and when you find yourself thirsting for something (literal liquid or not) – let Him supply it. If and when you hunger (physical hunger or soulful hunger) – let him provide nourishment. If and when you feel yourself straying – let Him call you back gently (or strongly sometimes). If and when you feel your thoughts begin to wander and take control – let Him refocus you. And when and if you find yourself weary – let Him provide you a place to sit and find rest in Him.

Mercy Now

THE SCENE: Clear evening, temps in 50s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Windmills, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey on dragon tail and up past Haslam Boulder to street nearby.  We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey on trail toward Lyons Bend and stop as it intersects with other trail.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies and 20 Merkins.

Mosey west on trail and then south on trail to foot of Summit.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks and 10 Hand Release Merkins.

Mosey to grassy area by Utilities Bldg.  We will do 20 Bicycle Kicks and 15 Shoulder Taps.

Mosey to Lane that Semi-Circles by soccer fields.  We will do 20 Box Cutters and 20 Carolina Drydocks.

Mosey on Semi-Circle Lane to Southern Ball Field Parking Lot.  We will bear crawl 10 parking lane lengths, lunge 10 lengths and Bernie the remainder.  We will do the same thing going back to where we started.

Mosey to curbside by street leading back to A0.  We will do 20 Curbside Bench Dips.

Mosey to AO area.  We will do 10 Hand Release Merkins, then Bernie halfway up mini cardiac and run rest of the way up.  Run back down to AO.

MARY:
At AO we will finish with Ring of Fire doing merkins.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
18 men including one FNG, Crawdad’s 11-year-old son, Asher, whom we dubbed Speed Flash.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Hebrews 4:16:   Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I was listening to Spotify and heard a song with words that made me think of Corona Weight’s brother who is currently in prison.  Corona Weight has asked for prayers for his brother a number of times at our Asylum PM BOM. Corona Weight obviously loves his brother and prays not only for his brother’s health, but his salvation.

The song I was listening to is called Mercy Now and is sung and written by Mary Gauthier (pronounced GOH-shay).  Here are the lines that made me think of Corona Weight and his brother:

My brother could use a little mercy now
He’s a stranger to freedom, he’s shackled to his fear and his doubt
The pain that he lives in it’s almost more than living will allow
I love my brother, he could use some mercy now.

This “brother” in the song may not even be in prison but is a stranger to freedom.  And, from what Corona Weight has told us about his brother, that he loves so much, even out of prison he will be “shackled” unless he can turn his life around.  His brother needs mercy.

Yet, as I listened more to Gauthier’s song, I realized that she was talking about more people than her brother (and her father, whom she described in the first lines of the song).  Our country and even our churches need God’s mercy:

My church and my country could use a little mercy now
As they sink into a poisoned pit it’s going to take forever to climb out
They carry the weight of the faithful who follow them down
I love my church and country, they could use some mercy now.

The true Christian knows that Gauthier is right.  We realize that we, too, are sinners who wear our sin as much as anyone else.  And, we trust in God’s mercy to save us.  For the fact is that we all, no matter how rich or poor, no matter where we live, no matter what church we attend or people we associate with, need mercy.

Some of the last lines of Gauthier’s song read that every living thing could use some mercy now:

Only the hand of grace can end the race towards another mushroom cloud…
I know we don’t deserve it but we need it anyhow
We hang in the balance dangle ‘tween hell and hallowed ground

And every single one of us could use some mercy now.

Lord, have mercy on every single one of us.  We can use it and we need it now.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Corona Weight’s brother, Jared.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bring coats by next Tuesday for charity drive.

Crabs & Stargazers

THE SCENE: Cold. Dark. 

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Cherry Pickers IC | Grady Corns IC
  • Baby Arm Circles IC | Rockettes IC

THA-THANG:

Broken Elevator: 5 Pull-ups at Starting Line

Run to Farthest Cone (#5) and perform 25 each Squat Jumps, Merkins, and BBS

Back to Start Line: 5 pull-ups, Cone #4 (20 reps)

Rinse & repeat | Al Gore to wait for the six

Lunge Parking Lot | Squat each line

Bear Crawl Lot | Diamond meek each line

Single leg pickle pointers IC

Stargazers x10 OYO

11s with Dips & Step-ups w/ Leg Raise

MARY:

  • LBCs IC | Fkutter kicks IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA: 8pax

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Prov12:15 – “A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.”

Omaha to Paris

THE SCENE: Couldn’t be a nicer morning
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Lots of on-time pax this morning! Stalled with some Michael Phelps or something while we waited on the stragglers, and did burpees in honor of Swimmies’ on-time (for him) arrival. Then it was time to get going. I read an article on the op-ed page of the New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/opinion/memories-from-normandy.html ) that got me thinking I’d like to meet the author, who lived in Sweetwater.
THA-THANG:
Down to the CMUs. 5 rounds of Keepaway, or whatever that game is called. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot in between rounds. Team 1 won, although numerous lawsuits have been filed and the outcome will be contested until the recounts are over and the results have been certified.

Clint’s mom thought she outsmarted the US Army by sending Clint to typists school to keep him out of the draft. He was sent instead to the 82nd Airborne, 512th Glider Infantry.

There was work to do at the Cloud. Stepdowns, LBCs, Box cutters.

Jack Webb showed up…easily the least welcome guest at any workout.

Clint trained in Africa and was dropped into Italy. Fought his way past Mt Vesuvius, which he sketched in his secret and illegal diary.

Moseyed to the dock, practiced some Junk Science – like 90% of us are statistically entitled to 10 more years.

Clint Riddle got into a glider again and landed somewhere near Sainte Mere Eglise, and they fought their way into France.

Operation Overlord, our tribute to those guys. Omaha (Beach) to Paris. It’s almost a half a mile, and it’s all uphill. It is not easy.

Back to back Have a Nice Days, mosey home, ATM.

MARY:
Ain’t nobody got time for that

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Clinton Riddle stayed a Private until the war was over and he was finally discharged. He came home to Sweetwater, married, had kids, became a bi-vocational pastor, and started talking about his experience of war in his 90s, when he was one of the few people left to talk about them. He spent 3 hours one morning with me and my sons, telling us about every part of his time in battle. Pvt Riddle died last December. He was 98 years old.
MOLESKIN:
With gratitude to Clinton Riddle and everyone who serves selflessly. With gratitude to the men of F3.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
I owe Jumbo breakfast – INCREDIBLE Omaha-to-Paris sprint.