F3 Knoxville

Sowing Seeds

THE SCENE: Beautiful sunshine and cold, temp in 20’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side-Straddle Hops.  10 Burpees.  Ten Cherry Pickers.  8 Burpees.  Ten Windmills.  6 Burpees.  Seven Baby Arm Circles Forwards then Backwards.  4 Burpees.  Seven Wide Arm Circles Forwards then Backwards.  2 Burpees.  Little of this and that.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to trail way that is east of parking lot and which meanders towards the Lyons Bend Gate entrance of the park.  We will do 14’s on the trail until it reaches the roadway that goes to the Lyons Bend Gate.  With the 14’s we will bear crawl one light, then run for four lights, then repeat the pattern until we get to the roadway.

On grass by the roadway we will do 20 Hello Dollies in cadence.  Next we will run and do nickel, dime, quarters (run 1 light, do 5 of exercise, then 2 lights and do 10 of exercise, then 5 lights and do 25 of exercise) with the following exercises:

  • Dive Bombers
  • Big Boy Sit-Ups
  • Merkins

We will stop at the bottom of Mt. Everest.  Here, all men will do 10 Hand Release Merkins, then 40 Baby Crunches, then run up Everest and go all the way to the top of the Space Needle.  Men then run back down the stairs to the Space Needle and meet in parking lot.

Mosey to Area 51 at southeastern side of Admin Bldg.

We will be doing sevens on the starting from the bottom of driveway of area 51 and heading south a distance of about 20 yards.  We will start with 1 Squat Jump and go the 20 yards to do 6 Burpees, then continue with the “sevens” sequence.

Mosey onto roadway and head to parking area by apartments. We will do 20 American Hammers in Cadence

Mosey on roadway to parking lot with nice restrooms.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks in Cadence.

Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs CMU.  We will do the following exercises.  Between the exercises we will sprint to the end of the parking lot and back.

  • 25 Overhead Presses
  • 25 Curls
  • 25 Rows
  • 20 Bell Ringers
  • 20 Sit Ups with CMU at chest
  • 20 Decline Merkins with feet on CMU

Mosey to bottom of Mini Cardiac.  We will go uphill to AO.  We will start with Bernie Sanders until we get to green sign, then sprint the rest of the way.

MARY:

10 Sideways Shoulder to Knee Bends on Right Side and 10 Shoulder to Knee Bends on Left Side (Four Count)

.COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eight Men, No FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

2 Corinthians 9:10

Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;

Zechariah 8:12

‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.

As a very young boy I can remember planting seeds with my mother in a flower bed before the season of Spring came around.  I was very anxious to see when the flowers would grow.  My mother told me it would take some time but I would go out to the garden each day to look, only to see the same old flower bed with no growth. I forgot about it all after a while.  Then one day, the flowers actually sprouted.  I was filled with excitement and wonder.  Those flowers actually came from the tiny little seeds I had planted!!

We as humans can also plant seeds and watch righteousness spread through what we have planted.  A visit to a person in need, an opening the door for a person at a store, a letter to an old friend, listening intently to someone who has something on their heart to say, paying attention to youth as they approach adulthood, an anonymous gift to another, a compliment given a few times a week to others – these are ways we can plant seeds of righteousness.  And as 2 Corinthians 9:10 indicates, God will multiply and harvest the seeds we have planted.

Sometimes we may plant a seed without even knowing it.  For example, an airlines ticket agent planted a seed for me one time when I was flying from Dallas to Jackson, Mississippi back when I was working as a trial consultant.  I was not really looking forward to the trip and was feeling a little sorry for myself that morning.  I heard the ticket agent talking to a fellow ticket agent at the counter about the movie Patch Adams starring Robin Williams.  Patch Adams was a medical doctor who made it his mission to help others, whether he healed them medically or made them smile and even laugh in the face of their serious illnesses.  I left that ticket counter thinking, you know, I can try to be like that this very day.  I have a difficult job ahead of me but I can choose to be kind to those I meet, to carry a face of strength in grace, to plant a few good seeds here and there.  I felt good for the rest of the trip and was even more confident in my work.  In the way I was choosing to act, I felt like God was behind me.  And, who knows, I may have spread some good seeds along the way.

As HIM’s, we make the choice to do good.  And, we can to that daily.  Keep the idea of planting seeds in your mind today and this week.  And remember that God will harvest your seeds of righteousness.

 

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Hand’s wife and her friends on the trip they are taking to Florida for the week. Prayers for Hands as he parents his sons on his own with the hope they don’t burn the house down!  Prayers for our brothers Messi and Pinto.

The Man in the Middle

THE SCENE: Cool. low 40s, cloudy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), IC

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), IC

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), IC

– 20 Tempo Squats (4-ct) IC

– 10 Rockettes (4-ct) IC

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to pavilion by northern ballfields:

  • AIKEN LEGS! 20 Squats, 20 Box Jumps, 20 Lunges (10 each leg), 20 Split Jacks (10 each leg forward)

MOSEY to Big loop parking lot south of ballfields:

  • Catch Me If You Can!
    • Partner #1 Bernie Sanders, Partner #2 does 5 of the exercise then sprints to catch Partner #1. When he does, they reverse rolls.  We will run around the parking lot 4 times doing the following exercises:
  1. 5 American Hammers (2-ct)
  2. 5 Burpees
  3. 5 Gas pumps
  4. 5 Bobby Hurleys

MOSEY to where the path intersects the perimeter trail.

  • 20 American Hammers 4-ct, IC

MOSEY to base of Cardiac:

  • Cardiac 25’s:
    • Run to first turn and back. At bottom do 5/20, 10/15, 15/10, 20/5 of:
      • Mountain climber (2-ct) and LBCs

MOSEY to top of the hill by benches.

    • 20 American Hammers 4-ct, IC

MOSEY to parking lot across from AO

  • Need to get warmed up for Valentine’s day, so… BUCK 25’s!
    • Start at the X.  Karaoke to curb to the left. 10 Pickle Pounders/10 Pickle Pointers
    • Run back to X, Karaoke to right curb. 10 Pickle Pounders/10 Pickle Pointers
    • Run back to X, Bernie Sanders backwards to the curb. 5 Pickle Pounders/5 Pickle Pointers
    • Sprint forward to far curb. 100 Side Straddle Hops (single count). Yell out victoriously and with passion:  “BUCK 25!!”

MARY:
1.5 minutes of heart-shaped leg lifts.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The Man in the Middle

During the last workout, Lillydipper and Steam were co-Qs, and gave their perspectives of F3 coming from a guy in his 20s, who was just starting out on his post-college life and correcting the course a little bit from some challenging times, and a guy in his 60s who has found renewed vigor in the workouts and benefits of male companionship.  So I thought I’d add to that and share a bit about what F3 has meant to me, a guy of 47 years, whose age is about in the middle of those two HIMs.

My first F3 workout was in late January, 2018, but F3 for me actually started January 1, 2017.  I’m not big into New Year’s resolutions, but I always start the New Year off with prayer and meditation about what I would like to get better at or improve in my life in the coming year.  That year, I identified two things that were of importance to me: 1) achieve a higher level of physical fitness, and 2) develop a closer and more meaningful relationship with God.

I felt #1 was necessary because I was at that age when some of your physical abilities start to wane.  Hey, it happens.  The sports that had always provided me with such joy and pride, as well as being an outlet for my competitive nature and keeping me fit, were becoming more and more frustrating for me, and injuries were becoming more common; thus, I stopped participating in them as much as I used to.  Consequently, my fitness and strength started to diminish.  I freaking HATE running (unless it’s up and down a basketball court, soccer field, etc.), and although I went to the gym somewhat regularly, I no longer had that avenue for fitness that playing sports 4-5 days a week had provided.

#2 was important to me because I just felt that I didn’t have as intimate a relationship with God as I would like.  I had grown up in a wonderful church, and I enjoyed attending either my home church or my brother’s church up in Chicago when I visited, but I hadn’t landed in a church here.  I had visited or checked out a few with friends who had invited me to service at their places of worship, but none of them felt like the right match.  As a single guy, and a bit of an introvert, I found it awkward to seek out more options on my own, so I had sensed my bond with God becoming a little weaker than I would like, and I resolved to actively seek out ways to strengthen that bond.

Later that same year, I met Lillydipper at a party hosted by a mutual friend.  We started talking, found we had many shared interests, and we struck up a friendship.  He invited me to the Polar Bear Plunge Jan 1, 2018.  There I met Abscess and Jinxy.  They gave me the ol’ EH, and after making excuses a few times, I finally showed up to F3 a few weeks later.  I thought I was going to be a one and done.  I hated it.  I was embarrassed by how slow I was (I was frantically searching for escape routes shortly after just doing the WARMUP left me breathless), the lactic acid or something made me nauseous for days (I remember the guys went out for a beer and some food afterwards… I could barely walk into the restaurant, let alone summon the strength to do more than sip pitifully on my water bottle), it was miserable, dark, and cold during the workout, I hardly knew any of the guys… I clearly remember thinking, just get through this stupid thing without throwing up, and you will never have to do it again. Check. Done.  Soyonara.  Tried it.  It sucked.  Later guys.  Thanks but no thanks.

And yet… and yet…!!

Once the pain and embarrassment faded, I was able to see that F3 offered a unique answer to my prayers. Here was an avenue to better physical Fitness for sure, and the BOM at the end really struck a chord of Faith.  How could I turn my back on this gift, this opportunity?  How could I quit??  I stuck with it, and grew both physically and spiritually.  I started reading backblasts, especially the Word at the end.  Someone once mentioned to me that sometimes they get more out of the BOM than sitting in a pew at church, and I couldn’t agree more.  I love bonding and learning from guys out here who are more conversant with the Bible than I am, or hearing the non-religious messages about improvement and leadership, or just being a good person.  What I DIDN’T pray for back on that New Year’s Day, or count on with my involvement with F3, is the Fellowship.  I had had a pretty good group of friends before, but I was caught by surprise at how strong the bonds of friendship are between the brothers that meet together for F3 workouts.  There is a unique and unexpected melding of spirits that occurs when you lock shields to get through brutally challenging physical hardship together through cooperation and encouragement of your fellow brother.  Through F3, I’ve met men who I not only enjoy having a beer with, but respect immensely and seek to emulate.  I didn’t realize I was missing that in my life.  And so F3 has literally been an answer to my prayers– both spoken aloud, and in my heart but not on my lips– from that day on January 1, 2017.  I am very grateful to the men of F3, and proud of the friendship, commitment to service, philanthropy, and open and accepting community that it provides.  I am especially grateful to, and humbled by, the men of the Fake Gloom, who I have the privilege to call brothers and friends.  I look forward to the challenges, rewards, and shared times that lie ahead.  Let’s GO!!

-Pele

MOLESKIN:
Continuing prayers for Pinto, who is battling a severe illness, and for Thunderstruck and his family.  Prayers for Switchgrass, who is dealing with issues at his work.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

God In All Things

THE SCENE: Cloudy after rain showers, temps in upper 50s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Cherry Pickers.  Leg Stretch Right and Left.  10 Michael Phelps.

THE THANG:

Mosey to Parking Lot that is south of the northern ball fields.  There will be 8 cones set up around the parking lot.  We will take two trips around the parking lot.  Exercises will be listed and the method of getting to the next cone will also be listed.  The following are the exercises and means by which to get to the next cone.

  • Cone 1:  1. 10 Burpees.  2.  10 Shoulder Taps.  Sprint to next Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  1. 20 Merkins.  2.  20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  1. 20 Smurf Jacks.  2.  20 Star Jumps.  Grapevine Right to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4.  1. 20 Plank Jacks.  2. 20 Mountain Climbers (both legs = 1).  Bear Crawl to Cone 5
  • Cone 5.  1. 20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  2. 40 Baby Crunches.  Sprint to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6.  1. 20 Squat Jumps.  2. 20 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1). Bernie Sanders to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7.  1. 20 Hello Dollies (four count).  2. 20 Flutter Kicks (four count).  Grapevine Left to Cone 8
  • Cone 8.  1. 20 Imperial Walkers (both legs = 1).  2.  20 Squats.  Lunge to Cone 1.

Mosey to Pavilion.  We will do 20 Picnic Table Pull-ups, 20 Decline Merkins and 20 Bench Dips.  Then we will do 15 of each, then 10 of each and end with 5 of each.

Mosey to CMU pile.  We will mosey with CMU above head to one corner of parking lot.  After placing CMU down, we will run a lap around the parking lot.  We will then do 15 Overhead Presses with the CMUs.  Next, we mosey with CMU over head to second corner.  We put CMUs down and run another lap around parking lot.  We will then do 15 Curls with CMUs.  We will repeat the above pattern to 3rd and 4th corner, doing 15 Rows at Corner 3 and 15 Squats with CMUs at chest at Corner 4.   We will then put CMUs back.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
In plank position we will do reach each hand and each leg up to sky.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Ten men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Colossians 1:16-17 ESV 

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Job 12:10 ESV 

In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.

What a world God has given us.  He is the creator of all things and he is in all things.  All things are a manifestation of Him.  Sometimes we may feel distant from God.  He is up in heaven, over there, away, too big, too distant.  We feel as if He is not close and does not hear us.  At such times, remember that God is in all things.  Many of us go into the mountains to get closer to God.  There we can better see the heavens and feel his majesty.  But remember that God is in everything.  You can pick up a leaf and look at it closely.  Notice the veins in the leaf, the multi colors, the structure that is similar to other leaves that have fallen from the same tree – yet the leaf is unique.  And, it come from our creator.  Every little cell in that leaf comes from the Maker.  God is in that leaf.  The bugs that have nibbled on the leaf are also from God and are a manifestation of His creation.  Look closely and see God.  Know that His hand is in it.  Look at a stranger.  God created that person.  God is manifested in that person because that human is a part of God’s creation.  Every hair on that stranger’s head come from the Creator.

Christ wants us to see God in all things.  The next time God seems distant to you, just look at a leaf, a piece of grass, pick up a rock.  All of them are from God and God works in each and everything on earth. Our Creator is also in You.  Look close by, look within and see God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for our brother, Pinto, and the Gentry and Buchanan families.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Ski trip for some of the F3 guys this weekend.

PM Asylum — Surprise Birthday Q

THE SCENE: Perfect for a beatdown.  50 Degrees

WARM-O-RAMA:

47 4cnt SSH,  Cherry Pickers, Arm Circles, Seal Claps

Baseline:  Apolo OhNo’s, Snowboarders, Rocky Balboa’s, Karaoke, Skips, Bear Crawls

THA-THANG:
Battle Buddy Up, Slingshot up Cardiac.  1 partner does 100 yard dash, while other does Blockees.  Then, slingshot back.

Mosey to the do Pyramid Scheme

Battle Buddy, run opposite laps, and do exercises when you meet :  Merkins, Squats, Burpees, LBC’s

MARY:
Freddie Mercury’s, Superman’s, Planks

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Surprise 47 Birthday Q.  Read a study last week that figured out statistically 47 was the most unhappy year of someone’s life in the developed world.  You are most happy at 18.  The good news is that it is a Bell Curve and when you hit 67 you are once again as happy as you were at 18 years old.  I for one am going to give a middle finger to this idea and encourage all to make right now the best year of your life.  Love your kids more, Love your spouse more, Find Someone without friends and Love on them.  I have never heard of someone on their deathbed saying I should have loved less or volunteered less.  We all know that makes our heart full so encourage you to start now.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pinto and his continued Fight.  Prayers for Tony Williams and his family who passed away last week.

Motivators Doing Motivators is Motivating

THE SCENE: 50s, sun was setting, Lakeshore Park = empty

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

– Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith

– Name is Steam and I’ll be your QIC this evening

– Couple of things before we begin

– I’m not a professional

– You’re here on your own volition

– Modify as you need to but push yourself and those around you

WARM-O-RAMA:

THA-THANG:
[ Q has ruck with phone, med kit, and CPR kit. Too prepared? Who knows – better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it ]

(PAX mosey right outside Asylum PM parking lot)

[ Light It Up ]

  • PAX mosey towards Haslam rock overlooking Lakeshore park/river
    • Every light post (that was on) – 5 single leg merkins
      • One leg on top of the other
      • 5 reps/light together
      • switch legs each light
  • Sprint up the mini hill to Haslam rock
  • PAX executes 10 x 4 IC V-Ups
  • PAX Rinses & Repeats back down the way they came
    • Every light = 5 reps of a squat + merkin (basically a burpee but with no jump so……..basically a burpee.)
    • Last 2 lights = eeprub = 5 reps of a merkin + squat

(PAX moseys towards chapel(s))

[ Chapel 1 – Level 1 ]

  • 5 pillars in the outdoor pavilion (small chapel)
  • Each set of pillars = 5 Motivators together
  • After 5 motivators are executed:
    • Sprint to a tree 25m to the right = 1 fast burpee
  • Sprint back to outdoor pavilion (small chapel)
  • After 5 motivators are executed at 2nd set of pillars:
    • Sprint to small knoll to the left about 25m away = 1 slow burpee (form is key here)
  • Rinse & Repeat until PAX cleared the other side of the outdoor pavilion (small chapel)

(PAX mosey towards the big outdoor chapel —> occupied —> head to the parking lot to the left of it facing the soccer fields)

[Level 2 – Team on your back suicides]

  • PAX executing various exercises led by Q while 1 by 1, PAX sprint a zig-zagged course between lights the distance of the parking lot and back.
    • Exercises included but where not limited to:
      • SSHs
      • Merkins
      • Cherry-Pickers
      • Shoulder Taps
      • Flutter Kicks
      • Hello Dollys
      • Rockettes
      • LBCs
      • Line jumps
      • Motivators
      • + more but I forgot

(PAX moseys back towards AO parking lot)

Once PAX hits the street —> backwards American Indian Run until the playground next to morning AO —> sprint it out to the PM AO parking lot

[Finish How We Started]

  • 5 Motivators

MARY:
Heavy breathing, peeing behind dumpsters in the dark, normal F3 stuff.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 PAX – no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“You Have to Improve”
MOLESKIN:
From “Free to Lead: F3 and the Unshackling of the Modern Day Warrior” by Dredd and OBT (Founders of F3) —> If you haven’t read this, DO IT. Seriously. Worth the couple bucks on Amazon – lotta good stuff packed in here. Check it out here —> https://www.amazon.com/Freed-Lead-Unshackling-Modern-day-Warrior/dp/0991238109/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Free+to+LEad&qid=1579834505&sr=8-3

”The Practical Exercise (even if done well) will leave each student with only a working knowledge of the skill being taught. In other words, he will not be an expert but he will be able to get it done. That is how the Army transfers skills from the more experienced soldier to the inexperienced soldier. It provides formal training to get the basic skills across. After that, it’s up to each soldier to improve toward mastery as he performs the skill on the job, and as he seeks to meet the increasingly high standards set for him by his leaders. Thus, an Infantryman with some experience who is performing a task at minimal skill level might hear from his sergeant that he “isn’t in basic training anymore.” In other words, more is expected of you now. You have to improve. It’s an individual soldier’s responsibility to seek constant improvement. It’s the leader’s responsibility to demand that he do so.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • April 4th, 2020 – Morristown.
    • F3 Morristown is LAUNCHING and it’s going to be epic. We need all the HIM we can muster to go help support this new region because remember, that was once us. More info to come with this, but go ahead and put it on your cal for April. If you know any potential sad clowns and/or HIM that would benefit from F3 (just like you), E.H. MAN, E.H.

 

  • Saturday, February 29th: 1st ever Truebadours Q101/GrowSchool Convergence.
    • AO: Asylum
    • More info to come.
    • Hit up Abscess or Steam for more info

 

Keep the Faith & Fight the Good Fight!