F3 Knoxville

Tag: Guppy

Searching for Bilbo

THE SCENE: Beautiful, around 70, low humidity.
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 will be splitting up into groups smaller than 10 if necessary.  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 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 BAC forward and backward

– Little of this and that

– get in a line, high knees 20 yards, butt kickers 20 yards, Karaoke left 20 yards, Karaoke right 20 yards

THA-THANG:

Today is September 22, which is Bilbo Baggins’ birthday, also known as HOBBIT’S DAY! But (as you may know from reading or watching the Fellowship of the Ring) at his 111th birthday party, he vanished into thin air! One second he was standing there giving an overblown birthday speech, and then poof! He was gone!  We need to go find him.  Hobbits like being around hills, so we need to search the hills around here to see where he’s gone off to.  Ready??  .

Mosey to shallow amphitheater area. CONES at top and bottom

  • At Top cones do an AROUND THE WORLD (plank position, rotate around 360 degrees to look around) both directions.  Run down and circle bottom cones and go back to top cones.

Mosey to Area 51 Hills. Follow the cones down and read the instructions. COUNT OFF by 2’s.

  • FIRST CONE: No Bilbo. Start the search. 1’s do Jump Squats, 2’s lunge to the right for 20 sec, then back 20 sec, then Reverse.
  • SECOND CONE: No Bilbo. Start the search. 1’s do Iron Mikes, 2’s Bear Crawl 5/ do 5 Reps of CDDs for 20 sec, then back 20 sec, then reverse.
  • THIRD CONE: GOBLINS! We’ve been captured. BATAAN DEATH MARCH back to road and down to Area 51 parking lot. 1’s and 2’s in two lines, last 2 PAX in each line do 5 Prisoner Squats then race to catch up to the front of the line.

PRISONER CAMP (Parking Lot).  After that we are put into Hard Labor, forced to build one of their forts for the upcoming war. 10 Prisoner Get ups, BEAR CRAWL to wall (because we’re being whipped), 10 Prisoner Cell Merkin Burpees (PCMBs), BEAR CRAWL back.  Rinse and repeat, but only 5 reps of the exercise, and El Capitan back and forth instead of bear crawl.  Q’s note: This was harder than it sounded on paper!!

Mosey to TREES to the west.  ELVES appear! A BATTLE ensues!

  • 1s are Elves, 2s are Goblins. Pair off and face each other.  BURPEE BATTLE! Elves are better trained, quicker. They only need to do 8 burpees, the Goblins need to do 10.  Whoever wins each pair wins the battle. If more elves win than goblins, we are free.  Otherwise we continue the death march.  Elves do two more burpees at the end to make it fair.

Mosey to bottom of Everest.  One last big Hill to search…

  • Run up Everest to Base of Summit, using the secondary path by the big cedar tree.
  • Mosey to Roadshow Run stairway. Run up to top.
    • THERE’S BILBO, RIGHT BACK AT HOME WHERE WE STARTED!
    • A celebration is in order! 111 SIDE STRADDLE HOPS WITH OVERHEAD CLAPS!

MARY:
20 Hello Dollies (4-ct, IC)

20 BBS

ATMs

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 strong, including one FNG, FiliBilly!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Today’s workout had a Lord of the Rings theme, obviously.  LotR is one of my favorite set of books and movies, yes, because of all the magic and dragons, and elves with pointy ears, but also because of some of the wonderful lessons that it contains.

  • Perseverance
  • Hope
  • Fighting for what’s good in the world
  • Resourcefulness

But I want to focus on two lessons in particular.  One is the concept of the FELLOWSHIP itself.  The FELLOWSHIP consisted of Nine individuals who were given an incredibly difficult task.  They were:

  1. A wizard (Gandalf)
  2. A King who was sort of a refugee and had not ascended to his throne. (Aragorn)
  3. An elf prince (Legolas)
  4. A Dwarf (Gimli)
  5. A Human prince (Baromir)
  6. And four hobbits (Frodo, Samwise, Pippen, Merry).

All of the members of this party were battle hardened and powerful representatives of their races.  They also had strong prejudices they had to overcome.  Elves and dwarves were sworn enemies.  The humans were subject to the temptations of the One ring.  No one trusted wizards.  Hobbits were just small and simple folk that can’t find their butt with two hands and aspire to nothing more than to grow a good pumpkin in their gardens.  And yet these 9 individuals bonded together, died for each other, and even the elf and dwarf became inseparable friends.  It kind of reminds me of our F3 Fellowship.  Heck, fellowship is the second “F” in our name!

The other lesson I wanted to bring up involved who stepped up and carried the Ring, which was an evil artifact that took a physical and mental toll on the bearer.  The Ring bearer was also the instant target of all the Evil minions in the land.  And yet it was not the wizard, the noble elf, the strong dwarf, the human royals that carried the ring.  It was the smallest among them, a simple hobbit who had never left his home that volunteered to carry the burden.  As the Elf Queen Galadriel tells Frodo, “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”  Sometimes today’s problems seem insurmountable.  No matter how helpless or insignificant you feel in such a troubled world, take comfort in the fact that God has a plan and purpose for your life, and all people, large or small, can be used for His Glory.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers of thanks for the successful surgery on Jinxy’s wife, and that our brother Pinto is gaining strength in his battle with multiple myeloma. Welcome to FNG Filibilly!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2nd F opportunity at Abridged Wed 9/23 7 pm!

Double Ring of Fire and some hard work and sweat at the Asylum

THE SCENE: Slightly overcast, temps in the mid-80s and a bit muggy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH 20 IC
Cherry Pickers 15 IC
Windmills 15 IC
Grady Corns 31 IC
Merkins 10 IC

THA-THANG:
I

Mosey to Hill west of stop sign
1. 15 Merkins – Bernie to next station
2.  15 BBS-   Run to next station
3.  20 Squats Bear Crawl to next station
 4.  20 American Hammers (4 ct) –Run

Rinse n repeat

Mosey to Tree at bottom of hill – divide across each cone
Cone 1 – 20 Hello Dollys (4ct) , Cone 2 – 20 Imperial Walkers (4ct), Cone 3 – 20 shoulder taps (4 ct)

Rinse and repeat
I minute Plank
Quick Ring of Fire – 1 merkin each
Mosey to Island
Partner up
Run Opposite direction.  When you meet within 6 feet, 5 Merkins , run again, 10 Merkins, run again – 15 merkins
Rinse and repeat – 5 Bobby Hurleys, 10 Bobby Hurleys, 15 Bobby Hurleys
Mosey to halfway up hill towards AO – One more Ring of Fire

MARY:

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Wayne Dyer- Power of Intention.
Need to separate from Ego.Move away from Ego dominance. Your free will can either move with universal spirit and its unfolding or away from it toward ego dominance. We do not create anything alone, we are all creatures with God. Our free will combines and redistributes whats already created
1. I am what I have. My possesions define me
1. I am what I do. My achievements define me
3. I am what others think of me. My reputation defines me
4. I am separate from everyone. My body defines me as alone
5. I am separate from all that is missing in my life. My life space is disconnected from my desires
6. I am separate from God. My life depends on God’s assessment of my worthiness

MOLESKIN:
Pray for @Jinxy’s wife who is having surgery
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill Obstacle build- supply pick up at Christmas Lumber on Kingston Pike ~ 3 pm friday and build at HHOR site in Kingston on Saturday starting at 9 am, need able bodies, skil saws, cordless drills and impact drivers. Let Sparkler know if you can come

God Is God

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Windmills, 7 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Northeast Corner of Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies.  Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs CMU and places it on east side of Parking Lot.  Cone 1 is at that side of parking lot.  Cone 2 is on opposite west side.  We will do one of the listed exercises at Cone 1 with CMU.  We then
Bernie Sanders (without CMU) to Cone 2 and do one of the listed exercises.  We then run up mini cardiac to crosswalk and run back to Cone 1.  We will repeat this sequence with the next set of exercises.  We will have run up and down mini cardiac three times by the time we are finished. Here are the exercises at each cone:

  • Cone 1:  1. 25 Overhead Presses.  2. 25 Curls.  3. 25 Rows.
  • Cone 2:  1. 20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct).  2. 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 cts).  3. 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct.)

Replace CMUs.

Mosey to parking lot that has islands on the other side of ball fields.  We will run around the parking lot stopping at each island to do 10 Merkins.  At island that semi-circle that we semi-circle around we will bear crawl instead of run.  Once around the parking lot, we will do the same thing but do 10 Big Boys at each island.

Mosey to beginning of Pickett’s Charge.  We will Pickett’s Charge to Northeastern Corner of Parking Lot.  We will stop at each hill of Pickett’s Charge to do 5 Hand Release Merkins.  We will also bear crawl up each hill.  After finishing Pickett’s charge we will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Bat House.  We will sprint from Bat House to Parking Lot.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
23 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The Kingdom grows, because the kingdom is already planted.  It grows of itself and in its own good time.  Above all, it grows we know not how.

–Robert Farrar Capon

Difficult times, like those we are facing with the coronavirus, racial protests, and our very heated political situation, test our beliefs and faith.  Our faith in our government, in other people, in ourselves, and even in God is being put to the test.  At a time like this we may be asking questions such as:

  • God, how can you let this happen?
  • God, where are you in all of this?
  • God, do you have any power to stop this?
  • God, what is your purpose?

We look to solutions to this world problem as if we know the answer, as if we know how the world should be run.  We do that individually and corporately, blaming the whole state affairs on others or claiming that surely us Democrats or us Republicans are in “the right.”

At such times of angst, of confusion, of bewilderment, it is reassuring to know that, as Robert Farrar Capon proclaims, the kingdom is already planted and it grows of itself in its own good time.  It is good to know that God is in control and that is the truth whether we like it or not.  Look at history, at humankind’s treatment of one another, at the devastation of war, of slavery, of corruption, of pollution, and we can see how we botch things when we play God.

One of my favorite songs is “God is God” by Steve Earle.   In discussing fate, uncertainty, miracles, and life he proclaims both that “God ain’t me” and “God ain’t us.”  But through the mystery and uncertainty he believes in God:

Every day that passes I’m sure about a little bit less.
(But) even my money keeps telling me it’s God I need to trust.
And I believe in God, but God ain’t us.

If we believe in God then we must accept that he has a plan that goes beyond our understanding.  His plan is a mystery but one that we must trust.  God is God.  And that is certainly reassuring in difficult times like these.  Personally, it gives me hope.  And, it gives me comfort to know that neither I nor the rulers of this world have the final say.

I will close with the last stanza of Steve Earle’s song which puts in better words than what I can say this mystery, this miracle, and our need to accept it.

God, of my little understanding, don’t care what name I call.
Whether or not I believe doesn’t matter at all.
I receive the blessin’s.
And every day on Earth’s another chance to get it right.
Let this little light of mine shine and rage against the night.
Just another lesson
Maybe someone’s watching and wondering what I got.
Maybe this is why I’m here on Earth, and maybe not.
But I believe in God, and God is God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler’s son and daughter-in-law, whose son, who died last Christmas Holidays, would have been two today.  Prayers for Jinxy’s wife who has surgery on September 17, for Lilydipper’s wife, and for Thunderstruck’s mother.  Prayer’s for Lulu and Doubtfire whose mothers died this summer.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Fake Gloomers will be building two obstacles for Hardship Hill.  We will get started the weekend of September 19-20.  Talk to Sparkler for details.  Be at Asylum PM this Thursday because Pusher will be on Q and is bringing Filipino noodles (made by his mother-in-law) for our board meeting!

The Amazing Race: Big Ball Edition (Soot Co-Q)

THE SCENE: Lower to Mid 60’s, partly cloudy. Couldn’t ask for better weather!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, Arm Circles, Imperial Walkers, This and That, Tempo Squats
THA-THANG:
We divided everyone into two teams for an Amazing Race style workout. Each team was given a clue, then had to decide what landmark that clue was hinting at. If the team went to the right location, Soot or I would tell them the workout for that spot. The first team to hit each location and finish each workout won. A few bonus rules: bear crawl every bridge, 1 burpee at each landing or top of each staircase, and bernie up every hill. Each team went in opposite orders, I led one clockwise while Soot led the other counter-clockwise. Here are the clues, locations, and exercises:

  • “It rises in the morning, but never gets out of bed” – The Sunsphere – Here we did 7’s between the edge of the water and the base of the sunsphere with Smurf Jacks and Star Jacks
  • “Here you might enjoy a nice view of the river, but you won’t enjoy the dense new additions to your team” – The Rockpile – Here we did 30 reps of Thrusters, Tricep Extensions, Curls and Front Raises
  • “The crown jewel of UT’s campus. The hallowed high ground” – The Hill – Here we lined up at the flag pole and did flutterkicks while one at a time each of us bear crawled around the flag pole
  • “Floors of empty spaces” – 11th Street Garage – Here we did the following in all 4 corners of the garage: 15 reps of Merkins, Squats, LBCs, Mountain Climbers (2ct)
  • “It’s almost time for our show to end, so be sure to grab your seats” – The Amphitheater – Here we just did 50 inverted rows
  • “End our race with a world tour and a splash” – The AO – Here we did a kind of inverted Indian Run. While running in line around the fountain, the person in front would do burpees until the rest of the team caught up, then the next person would pick up where they left off and the first person would go to the end of the line. The first team to a total of 200 burpees won.

The race ended just before 8am with our team reaching 200 burpees while Soot’s team was only 3 burpees behind

MARY:
Abort led us in an ATM cash out
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Soot led the word talking about how he and I met his junior year of college when he went to visit a campus ministry that I work for called the Navigators. After meeting we got lunch a couple times and eventually started meeting on a weekly basis for discipleship. After graduating, Soot and I have maintained that relationship, although we no longer meet as often, and Soot has gone on to lead his own Bible study and invest in guys the same way I invested in him. Also, Soot was the guy who first got me to come out to F3. After a lot of tip toeing in the shallow end, I eventually became more involved with F3 here and have also brought a few other FNG’s in along the way.

We shared all this for a few reasons. One being the importance of relationships and community. Soot and I have maintained our relationship with one another even in busy seasons, when he was deployed in Kuwait, and now as he moves from CO to NC. The second being you never realize how far a simple invitation will go. I invited Soot to grab lunch, which led to a mentoring relationship, which led to Soot mentoring others as well. Soot invited me to a workout, which led to me being more involved here with Big Ball and the Quacken, which also led to me inviting others to workouts. These relationships we have and the invitations we extend to others are important, and we never know how far they’ll end up going.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill is coming up

CMU Trail of Fears (Being Conquered)

[ The Scene ]

  • It’s hot with a capital h o t
  • PAX circle up in the bat cave where some shade is afforded

[ Warm-o-Rama ]

  • Windmill: 10 x 4 IC
    • 1 burpee
  • Rockette: 10 x 4 IC
    • 2 burpee
  • Baby Arm Circles
    • F: 10 x 4 IC
    • B: 10 x 4 IC
    • 3 Burpee
  • Seal-Clap Squats: 5
    • Down —> 1 4-count seal clap
    • Up = 1
    • 4 burpees
  • SSH: 10 x 4 IC
    • 1 burpee

[ The Thang ]

—mosey to CMU pile by bat cave—

(1) CMU Warm-Up

  • 5 CMU Getups
    • Deadlift up CMU
    • Squat w/CMU
    • Up + chest-press CMU
    • Deadlift down CMU on ground
  • 10 Cross-Overs
    • CMU on ground
    • Burpee on 1 side
    • “Jump” on the burpee is over the CMU
    • Burpee on the other side
  • 15 CMU Curl Presses
    • Curl + press – back down
  • 20 CMU Flutter Kick Presses
    • Execute flutter kicks while doing 20 CMU presses above
  • 25 CMU Drags
    • Bear Crawl formation
    • Take 1 hand – pull CMU through your legs to your other hand
    • Bear crawl up until the CMU is in the same start position as before
    • R & R
    • Every CMU pull = 1

(10 count)

—walkdown the stairs from the bat cave—

—mosey with CMUs to the beginning of lighted path leading up to Saturday morning AO—

(2) CMU Trail of Reps

  • CMU Curls
  • CMU Presses
  • CMU Squats
  • Nickel – Dime – Quarter
  • Light 1 = 5 CMU Curls
  • Light 2 = 10 CMU Presses
  • Light 3 = 25 CMU squats
  • Rinse & Repeat until we get to the small parking lot right over there
  • However – switch the order of the Xs once you get done with the first 3 lights
    • 4th light = 5 CMU Presses
    • 5th light = 10 CMU squats
    • 6th light = 25 CMU Curls

***Disclaimer: this sucked***

There was a teaching moment in this evolution of the beatdown however

Teaching Moment/Q Tip #1: Sweep/Pickup the 6/Wagon-Wheel/No Man Left Behind

The command of “Sweep/Wagon Wheel” was given 3x by the QIC

Pele was the singular HIM that responded and came back initially – the rest of the PAX followed suit after some prompting.

Why do we circle back/wagon wheel/pickup the 6/sweep if the QIC gives the command? (1) Not because the Q is in charge or commands it, but because any one of us could be the 6 on any given day. All of at some point in time have been the 6, you know what it’s like. (2) Circling back/wagon wheel/pickup the 6/sweep isn’t just a physical thing – it’s also mental as well. Sometimes all people need is a little encouragement and if you’re the 6 I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you probably needed some encouragement. Think about what circling back/wagon wheeling/picking up the 6/sweeping does for the 6 – not only does it reaffirm physically “No man left behind” but it also affirms mentally for the 6 and the PAX “No man left behind.”

We circle back. We Wagon Wheel. We pickup the 6. We sweep. No man left behind. That is a non-negotiable of F3. Period.

(Teaching Moment/Q Tip #1 was sunk in with 5 burpees by all PAX – we grow and move together – no man left behind)

Teaching Moment/Q Tip #2: It’s just a piece of rock

We have this thing at Asylum PM – if you break a CMU, 100 burpees or something crazy (stupid) like that. I’ll tell ya, people are generally pretty safe with their CMUs then, right?

However, it happens.

Dewey broke his CMU. Two pieces, on the ground. Disclaimer: Dewey is a tough hombre. Dewey is also the youngest PAX out there and he’s holding his own with the rest of us. Dude is straight crushing it in arguable one of the hardest CMU workouts to hit Asylum PM in a while.

Sometimes all people need a little encouragement. So you broke your CMU? Guess what? It’s a piece of rock – it’s okay. You’re crushing it man, keep your head up.

The bigger of the 2 broken CMU pieces is then shared by the PAX all the way back to the CMU pile. That’s what we do. CMUs are gonna get broken. It’s okay.

However, Teaching Moment/Q Tip #2 was sunk in with 5 burpees as well by all PAX – we share each other’s burdens)

Ah, I digress. Back to the hellish workout.

(Recover by parking lot)

(10 count)

Time to deliver these from whence they came – if you get down to the CMU pile first – come help someone else out with theirs that might be struggling (20/80 success on this).

(3) Pickett’s Charge to the Bat Cave

  • From the Asylum weekday morning AO car parking lot to the top of the overlook to the bat cave

Q lines up PAX in 2 lines – with Lilydipper and Pusher out front

The standard is as such —> run up Pickett’s Charge led by Lilydipper and Pusher —> no one passes them on the way up.

Teaching Moment/Q Tip #3: No one is above the standard, not even the Q.

Q stops PAX after first small hill on Picket’s Charge – reminds men of the standard set – PAX get in merkin plank position – 5 up/down merkins are executed.

Why? You are not above a standard – set by a Q or not. I am not above a standard – set by a Q or not. No one is above a standard – set by a Q or not. I don’t care how fast you are. No one cares how fast you are. There is a standard (set by the Q or not) for a reason. And a Q (and HIM) should expect and accept it to be followed. It’s not about you. It’s about the PAX. Challenge me on this. All feedback is encouraged and welcomed.

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs
  • BOM

“Learn how to discern a win” – Jerry Flowers

    • Sometimes all people need is encouragement
    • When you can’t discern a win you’ll begin to mislabel victories
    • Identify a win – examples:
        • Lost something but gained something else
        • Lost something but gained a prayer life
        • Didn’t get the position or promotion but got character development and discipline along the way – that’s a win
        • I wanted to give you 5 examples of what I’ve identified as a few wins/victories for me so far this year:
          • Told to work from home indefinitely and feeling trapped inside all day —> freedom to be more intentional with my prayer life and pour more into things I love like F3 and walking outside – that’s a victory and a win.
          • A couple “failed” relationships —> intentional experiences and I’m being protected – given insight. That’s a victory and a win.
          • Started leading a small group of men – who are all married and in their 40s and up – I don’t say that to boast, I say that because for me this is a win for me because I didn’t see that modeled well a lot when I was growing up and now the Lord’s placed me there so I can actually see it modeled well while I learn how to lead – irrespective of my age or life experience – that’s a blessing and a win.
          • A few different opportunities have come and knocked on my door professionally and personally and instead of just flinging open the door – I’m learning to exercise judgement and wisdom in my decisions – for me that’s a victory and win.
          • We all have that one friend – and if you don’t that’s okay too – that has always been a little crazy right?
            • Well my dad has that one friend too. Great guy, snuck pre-21 years old Steam  a 6 pack at my dad’s wedding a while ago. We all get together for a guys weekend this weekend and play golf, shoot, wet our whistles probably a little more than we should, especially this particular guy and a bi-product of that led to him just opening up and saying “I remember having nowhere to turn, and just crying out to God for help.” Getting to recognize the weight of what was actually happening when he was verbally processing this was a huge win and victory. God’s on the move. 

So, what did we learn?

(1) No Man Left Behind. Period. Circling Back/Wagon Wheeling/Picking Up the 6/Sweeping is more than just a physical action.

(2) Stuff happens. Things break. There are consequences. But we share each other’s burdens. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Keep your head up.

(3) There’s a standard for a reason. No one is above the standard. Not even the Q.

(4) Learn how to discern a win so you don’t mislabel victories in your life.

(5) Sometimes all someone needs is just a little encouragement.

Iron. Sharpens. Iron.

-Steam