F3 Knoxville

Tag: Gridiron

The Value of Giving

THE SCENE: Just about perfect. Partly cloudy, slight breeze, high 60s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3, Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. F3 is a free workout program designed to improve fitness, share some camaraderie, and foster male leadership in the community.  I’m Pele and I will be your Q today.  I am not a professional, and I do not know your fitness level or injury history.  Please push yourself, but modify the workout as necessary to avoid making any existing injuries worse.  The goal is to get better together!  Some additional COVID-19 considerations: keep your distance between you and other members of the PAX and any other folks that we pass during moseys, etc. to 6-10 feet.  We need to set good examples and be good neighbors out here at this public park, especially with so many folks out and about.

WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 BACs forward/10 BACs backward (4-ct), in cadence (1/2 were wide-arm circles)

– 10 Tempo Squats (4-ct), in cadence

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to front of Admin Bldg.

  • Count off by 4s. 1’s and 2’s do 50 CALF RAISES, 3’s and 4’s do 50 AMERICAN HAMMERS. Run to the corner of the loop and back, then do the other exercise, then run again.  Alternate 20 SQUATS/10 MERKINS until 6 catches up.
  • RINSE AND REPEAT. But this time do 50 CDDs and 50 GRADY CORNS (single count)

MOSEY to stop sign at southeast corner of the circle drive.

– UPHILL SPRINTS.  Four sets of cones will be laid out up the road, about 40 yards apart.  Sprint from one cone to the next in same groups of 4.  One of the sprints will be a BERNIE SANDERS.

MOSEY to Bowl Area south of Admin Bldg.

TRAINING FOR MARCH MADNESS!:

Start at the base of the hill.  Defensive basketball stance. Backpedal left shoulder x 4, Right Shoulder x 4, RINSE AND REPEAT, Charge up the hill, 5 Bobby Hurleys.

Wait until 6 catches up, and rinse and repeat x4 (1st half/2nd half/overtime/double OT*). *We didn’t get to Double OT due to a wedding engagement situation.  Q considered calling an audible to Pickle Pounders, but resisted.

MOSEY to Bat house.

– GRINDERS! 4 STATIONS:

  1. BAT HOUSE: 25 SMURF JACKS
  2. BOTTOM OF STAIRS: 25 BBS
  3. BOTTOM OF SUMMIT: 10 Burpees
  4. TOP OF SUMMIT: 25 LBCs.

Do two rounds, then meet at Base of Summit for one last charge up to the top, staggered (1s, 2s, 3s, 4s). PAX had option of doing Burpees at the top or cheering on their fellow PAX as they ran up.  Good participation on the latter option.  Didn’t see one burpee being performed…

MARY:

  • 20 American Hammers (4-ct), in cadence
  • 20 Box Cutters (4-ct), in cadence
  • Xs and Os
  • 10 Leg Lifts

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 strong!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Katharine Hepburn, in her own words [paraphrased]:

“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.  Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter.  There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn’t have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.

The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were so excited, jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before.

The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. They were smiling and enjoying seeing their family happy.

The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, “I’d like to buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.” The ticket lady stated the price.

The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man’s jaw fell open. Then he leaned a little closer to the ticket lady and asked, “How much did you say?” She again stated the price.

The man didn’t have enough money. How was he supposed to tell his eight kids that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”

The man understood what was going on. He wasn’t begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.

He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; “Thank you, thank you, sir. This means so much to me and my family.”

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.

Although we didn’t get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.”

That day I learned the value to give.

~ Katharine Hepburn*

(from Everything Good in the World)

(* Online research showed that this is actually a narrative that was published in the 1995 book “A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul,” part of the popular Chicken Soup collections of inspirational tales.  It illustrates a powerful lesson, regardless of its actual source. But I hate Fake News, so I just wanted to point this out…)

 We have an opportunity to give as a group to this month’s fund drive, which benefits STREET HOPE, an organization that assists victims of human trafficking. They still need 55 gallon trash bags, napkins, and/or copy paper.  Bring those items to a workout and we will get them delivered.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers of thanks that Dungbeetle’s situation at work is resolving itself, prayers of healing for Jinxy and for Abacus’s mother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None

Back On Top

[ The Scene ]

HOT – 60s and feeling good, PAX met up top (top of Asylum) because apparently people like to frequent public parks when the weather is nice outside.

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3! Fitness-Fellowship-Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’ll be your Q tonight
  • Few things before we begin:
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • If you need to modify anything feel free to do so but push yourself and the men around you – they deserve it and so do you!
  • FNGs? — 1 (with Snag – well done!)

[ Warm o Rama ]

  • SSH: 25×4 IC
  • Rockette: 10×4 IC
  • Cherry Picker: 10×4 IC
  • Baby Arm Circles: 20×4 (10 F and 10 B)
  • Apollo Onos: 10×4 IC

[ The Thang ]

(Mosey over to the right of the asylum building)

(1) The Hill and Back — 10s

  • The Tree on top of the hill (Imperial Walkers)
  • Curb on the other side of the street (Rocky Balboas)
  • Everything on a 4 count
  • 9 and 1
  • 8 and 2

Recover with flutter kicks in the grass

(Mosey to log pile – lower parking lot)

(2) Core 4 + Push

  • 4 corners of the lower parking lot (10 – 1 ct)
    • C1: LBCs
    • C2: BBS
    • C3: Cockroaches
    • C4: Boat/Canoes
  • Run to the top of the drive (Street)
  • 10 merkins
  • Rinse & Repeat — once

__________________________

*Q Teaching Moment*

Pick up the 6 and Wagon Wheel mean Pick up the 6 and wagon wheel. Gridiron, who’s 12, led the charge on this. So I called all PAX back up to the street where the merkins were being done and specifically called out Gridiron for doing this — leading from the front. i put Gridiron in a place of leadership – instructing him to lead all PAX in 30 down/up merkins, which he did exceptionally.

QTip: You’re never too young/old/seasoned to never leave a man behind, and never leave a man the same.

We could all learn a lot from Gridiron and the way he consistently picks up the 6, wagon wheels, and lives out “No Man Left Behind, No Man Left The Same.”

This goes into my BOM a little bit too – but on the mosey to Everest pre-Mary, I had told Gridiron I was proud of him for leading from the front and setting the example and standard. His response was the following:

”Well I have 2 of the best role models that teach me that, my dad and mom. Basically Mr F3 and Mrs FIA”

Doubtfire (and your M) — well done. That’s HIM stuff right there.

___________________________________________

(PAX mosey to the base of Everest and form battle buddy teams)

PAX take Everest by force, going all the way to the top and over the highest point back to the AO

[ Mary ]

Core 4

  • Flutter Kicks: 25×4
  • American Hammers: 25×4
  • Little LBCs: 25×4
  • Penguins: 25×4

[ COT ]

  • # off — 23
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs — 1
  • BOM

From the movie “Courageous”

“As a law enforcement officer, I’ve seen firsthand the deep hurt and devastation that fatherless brings in a child’s life. Our prisons are full of men and women who have lived recklessly after being abandoned by their fathers, wounded by the men who should have loved them the most. Many of these children now follow the same pattern of irresponsibility that their fathers did. While so many mothers have sacrificed much so that their children could survive, they were never intended to carry the weight alone. We thank God for them.

But research is proving that a child also desperately needs a daddy. There’s no way around this fact. I now believe that God desires for every father to courageously step up and do whatever it takes to be involved in the lives of his children. But more than just being there and providing for them, he’s to walk with them through their lives and be a visual representation of the character of God, their father in Heaven. A father should love his children and seek to win their hearts. He should protect them, discipline them, and teach the, about God. He should model how to walk with integrity and how to treat others with respect. He should call out his children to become responsible men and women, who live their lives for what matters in eternity.

Some men will hear this and mock it, or ignore it. But I tell you that as a father you are accountable to God for the position of influence He has given you. You can’t fall asleep at the wheel only to wake up one day and realize that your job or your hobbies have no eternal value. But the should of your children do.

Some men will hear this and agree with it, but have no resolve to live it out. Instead they will live for themselves and waste an opportunity to lease a Godly legacy for the next generation.

But there are some men, who, regardless of the mistakes we’ve made in the past, regardless of what our fathers did not do for us, will give the strength of our arms and the rest of our days to loving God with all that we are, and to teach our children to do the same, and whenever possible, to love and mentor others who have no fathers in their lives, but who desperately need help and direction.

We are inviting any man who’s heart is willing and courageous to join us in this revolution. In my home the decision has already been made: you don’t have to ask who will guide my family, because by God’s grace, I will. You don’t have to ask who will teach my son to follow Christ, because I will. Who will accept the responsibility for providing and protecting my family? I will. Who will ask God to break the chain of dysfunctional patterns in my family’s history? I will. Who will pray for, and bless my children to boldly pursue whatever God calls them to do? I am their farther. I will. I accept this responsibility and it is my privilege to embrace it. I want the favor of God and His blessing on my home. Any good man does.

So where are you men’s of courage? Where are you fathers who fear the Lord? It’s time to rise up and answer the call that God has given you. And to say I will, I will, I will.”

Two For Tuesday: Buy One Get One Half Off

[ The Scene ]

  • 60s?! 60s.

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness-Fellowship-Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’m honored to be your Q this evening
  • Couple of things before we kickoff
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • You know your body better than anyone else so if you need to modify anything we do this evening feel free to do so but push yourselves and the men around you!
      • They deserve it and so do you
  • FNGs?
    • Trent Keeler

Two For Tuesday: Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off

[ Warm o Rama ]

  • SSH: 20×4
    • SSH: 10×4
  • Baby Arm Circles: 10×4 (F)
    • Baby Arm Circles: 5×4 (B)
  • Shoulder Tap: 10×4 (F)
    • Shoulder Tap: 5×4 (B)
  • Merkin: 10×4
    • Opened-Arm Merkin: 5×4
  • Squat: 10×4
    • Squat: 5×4

[ The Thang ]

(American Indian Run with 🇺🇸 out front to parking lot next to small playground)

(1) The Mini-Pav Shuffle (Sprint)

  • Toe the line on the curb
  • 2 Main POCs: Curb and Pavilion on opposite end
  • Rinse and Repeat this 3x — each time with a different theme
    • 1 = Upper
    • 2 = Core
    • 3 = Lower
  • Between each round we will regroup here BUT if you get done with your round and there are others still out there – go finish with them
  • Everything on a 1 count
  • 1 = Each light post on the way: 20 merkins
    • Pav: 20 incline/decline merkins
      • On the way back: 10 merkins
  • 2 = Each light post on the way: 20 90 degree leg ups
    • Pav: 20 BBSs
      • On the way back: 10 90 degree leg ups
  • 3 = Each light post on the way: 20 squats
    • Pav: 20 squats (led by SpeedFlash!)
      • On the way back: 10squats

(Mosey up Picket’s charge — past Hallam Rock — to AO – American Indian Style 🇺🇸 out front)

[ Mary ]

ATMs

Light stretching

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs
  • BOM

“Memento Mori” = Remember that you must die.

It’s how we live that defines us as men.

The legacy we leave is based on how we lived, not how we died.

So then the question must be asked “How are you living (and impacting) while there’s still God-given breath in your lungs?”

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” (Colossians‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

The Light and the Dark

THE SCENE: Pleasant but cool, upper 40s, partly cloudy, persistent chilly breeze

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check, with an extra emphasis on COVID

WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 SSH, (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Rockettes (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– 5 baby/5 big arm circles forward, and backward (4-ct), in cadence

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to Bathrooms, DO PICKETTS CHARGE.

  • Do 25 MERKINS, 25 BBS, and 25 BURPEES on the way up, whenever you want and in whatever order you want.

MOSEY to stop sign on northwest side of Admin circle road.  Get a Battle Buddy.

  • Partner 1 will run up to big tree and back. Once he reaches the tree, Partner 2 will run up to join him, give him a COVID high 5 (no touching), and Partner 1 will return to the bottom. Rinse and repeat three times. The method of running will vary:
    • Lap 1: run
    • Lap 2: Bernie
    • Lap 3: Karaoke left/right (switch halfway)
  • When not running, do the following exercises for all three laps:
    • TOP: 20 APOLO OHNOS, 20 TEMPO SQUATS, R&R until partner arrives
    • BOTTOM: 20 CDDS, 20 MTN CLIMBERS R&R until partner arrives

MOSEY To little hill north of northern parking lots:

  • 7s with BOTTLE OPENERS (2-CT) and FROGGY JUMPS

MOSEY to CMU Parking Lot, grab a CMU, line up young to old (old closest to Pavilion)

  1. Slow LUNGE to far end.
  2. Run to Pavilion, do 10 bench pullups, 10 decline merkins, 10 Bench Dips
  3. Run back to CMU
  4. Rinse and Repeat so CMUs are back at start point. When done, put up the CMUs and go to the middle of parking lot and do Imperial Squat Walkers until 6 catches up.

MOSEY to AO Four corners Abs.  Sprint the long sides, Bear Crawl the short side.  At the four corners do 10 V-UPS, adding 10 more reps at each corner. (we only got to two corners before time was up.)

MARY:
No time.

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

New Year’s resolutions…  I’m not big on them myself; they are usually unrealistic and just set me up for feelings of failure or disappointment when I slack off of them after a few weeks.  But I do try to “recalibrate” at the start of a new year, and just focus on improving a few things that need tweaking in my life.  For me, one of those things involves improving my relationship with God.  As many of you have probably been doing, I’ve been watching streaming services on Sunday morning.  While I love the convenience of doing that, I’ve also found—stop me if this sounds familiar—that it’s easy to be distracted, to not be all “there”, to not be intentionally present.  In F3 workout terms, I wasn’t using GOOD FORM during my time in worship.  I was modifying.  During one recent service, I realized after the service had ended that I couldn’t remember anything in it.  I had been checking my phone for some “important” emails that I was waiting for, making (and then eating) breakfast, and even playing with my cats while the service played on my computer screen.  I realized right then that that just wasn’t good enough.  That’s just not respectful.  Can you imagine having a deep conversation with your friend, spouse, child, or colleague and having them act like that?  I sat back down, turned off my phone and the tv, and watched the service again.  By limiting distractions, putting my mind in a place where I’m more “present” and committed to spending that time with God, and focusing more on the messages of the church I can improve my relationship with God.

If you’re looking for a worthwhile goal for the new year, then I encourage you to do the same.  To tie in with a message that Pusher gave during his BOM recently, sometimes it’s a little difficult to figure out how best to communicate with God and to show him your love, voice your worries and concerns, and thank him for his Blessings. I loved Pusher’s suggestion to talk to God like you would talk to someone sitting next to you in a car. Just have a conversation with him.  And Pusher’s concern that he voiced to his pastor that he didn’t know how best to pray reminded me of these lyrics from a great Singer/Songwriter:

I went to see a preacher, to teach me how to pray. He looked at me and smiled, then that preacher turned away. He said if you want to tell Him something, you ain’t gotta fold your hands. Say it with your heart, your soul, and believe it, and I’d say Amen.

  • Jon Bon Jovi, “Bang a Drum”

So if you find yourself struggling with how best to pray, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid).  Say it with your heart, your soul, and believe it.  God will hear you.

In closing, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, I would like to close with these words from the great man himself:

“Returning Hate for Hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.  Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” (hat tip to Title 9)

MOLESKIN:
Praying for some brothers who were assigned to protect national and state capitols; congrats to J-Lo for completing the Highway Patrol program.  Prayers for Lilydipper’s barber who passed away from COVID and his family.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP at the Asylum Jan 30, 6:30 am, show up at 6:15 to register.  Ends at 9 am sharp.  Sign up with a battle buddy or solo.  Breakfast included.

It all started with a BLIMP… Part deux

THE SCENE: Couldn’t ask for better winter weather…
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

4 sure


WARM-O-RAMA:

20 SSH 4ct

2 Burpees

20 Imperial Walkers 4ct

4 Burpees

20 Tempo Squats 4ct

6 Burpees

THA-THANG:

B – Moseyed over to the Dragon and knocked out 10 Burpees

L – Moseyed over to Death Valley or Super Bowl and broke up into team 1 & team 2.  Team 1 sprinted to the other side of the bowl and touched a tree then sprinted back while team 2 lunged in place.  Then team 2 did the sprint while Team 1 lunged in place. We did 2 rounds.  Already started to hear some groaning!  Lol

I – The Bowl was such a hit we stayed and around to do Imperial Walkers & Sprints. (2 Rounds)  More Groaning!  Lol

M – Continued in the Bowl since no one had spilled Merlot yet…  This time with Merkins and Sprints(2 Rounds)

P – The Bowl was getting too easy so we shipped out to the base of Everest.  We knocked out 20 Plank Jacks 4ct.  Then Team 1 lined up for an All You Got(AYG) up Everest,  Team 2 gave them a 10 second head start and was challenged to catch Team 1!  As if Everest didn’t suck without someone chasing you…

We knocked out some exercises at the top of Everest then proceeded back to the AO.

MARY:
Team 1 LBC’s while Team 2 ran up Baby Cardiac then swapped

Team 1 kept feet and head 6 inches while laying on their 6 while Team 2 ran up Baby Cardiac then swapped

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE
MOLESKIN:
Welcome FNG Stucco!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Blood Drive & CSAUP