Handbell – F3 Knoxville

Cold weather prep

October 3, 2025 BackBlasts

AO: thequacken
Q: FixerUpper
PAX: Z-Pack, Mountain Ice, DoorKicker (Jud), Chinstrap, Shotgun, Mr.May, Recoil (Blake Conley), Handbell
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
WARMUP:
Ruckaloop

THE THANG:
Ruck thisa way and that and whatnot dontcha know?

MARY:
Ope! Maybe next time, deary.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Oofta! Better ask Zpack.

COT:
Just a little something bout how you can prep for cold weather workouts, written by this really nice man, Ralph from St. Louis. On that Slack channel…kids are using that these days. :hugging_face:

Heavy Metal Monday: Full Frontal Assault

September 15, 2025 BackBlasts

AO: thequacken
Q: Mountain Ice
PAX: CrossPuke, DoorKicker (Jud), Z-Pack, FixerUpper, Shotgun, Backflow, Chinstrap, Tokyo Drift, Mr.May, Handbell
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP:
SSH
Tie Fighters (10 FWD, 11 REV)
TN Rocking Chairs
Downward Dog
Cobra hold
Runners stretch L/R
Overhead Clap
Seal Clap

THE THANG:
Tabata station work

45 secs on
30 sec rest
45 sec on
30 sec transition time (bear crawl rnd 1/ gentlemens’ mosey rnd 2)

Stations
1.) Ohead press (25lbs ruck plate)/LBCs
2.) CMU reverse Curls/Am hams
3.) Squats (50lbs sand bag)/Carolina Dry Docks
4.) Thrusters (25lbs bag)/Bobby Hurleys
5.) Laying Chest Press (35lbs kettelbell)/WW3 sit-ups
6.) 25lbs dumbbell bent over rows/flutter kicks
7.) Overhead Tri Extensions (15 lbs dumbbell)/overhead claps
8.) renegade rows (20lbs dumbbell)/heels to heaven
9.) Sumo squats (50lbs kettlebell)/outlaws clockwise

Run a parking lot tour loop at the start of a new round

MARY:
Alabama Prom Dates
Pickle Pounders
Dead bugs
Mr. Phelps
V UPS

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
A lot.
– Street Hope in Oct
– Goruck in November
– OTB @ Clayton park
– Convergence 10 year in Nov
– Quacken T-shirt order (get in on it now!)

COT:
Recently, I have found myself saying, “after this tough time is over, things will get better.” Unfortunately for most of us, before that time can end, another thing arises. We don’t need to be in the habit of wishing time away. They don’t say “Embrace the suck” without reason. Live life to the fullest and don’t get in the habit of putting off living with false promises to yourself.

See You In The Gloom

August 29, 2025 BackBlasts

AO: thequacken
Q: FixerUpper
PAX: Backflow, Recoil (Blake Conley), Natty, Gmail, Z-Pack, Mountain Ice, Chinstrap, Handbell, Shotgun, Frizzles, Floppy Disc, Tokyo Drift, Mr. May, Tokyo Drift
FNGs: 2 Mr. May, Tokyo Drift
COUNT: 14
WARMUP:
Ruck a loop

THE THANG:
Cross Broadway. Everyone made it.
Ruck in hopes to Central HS.
Discover Central HS track locked down. Hopes diminish a little.
Pivot.
Ruck back to the AO.
Ring of Fire Merkins with rucks on to 4.

MARY:
Groan after ROF

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
T shirt orders and patches are still in the works.
9/1 Monday – 1 Hour Labor Day Beatdown at the Quacken courtesy of our own Icy Mountain man, Mountain Ice
9/2 Tuesday – Recoil (Blake Conley) VQ at the Brickyard, gloom o’clock
9/3 Wednesday – Iron PAX, Week 0
9/5 Friday – need a ruck Q, sign up!

COT:
While working on the t shirt orders, I thought it would be good to include the F3 saying “See you in the gloom.” Its something that wierdos like us say to mean “I will see you tomorrow morning when its dark, and we’ll do some burpees in a random parking lot.” But as I was writing and thinking about this phrase, I realized there can be a deeper meaning to it.

More often than we would like, we are in the metaphorical “gloom.” Job struggles, health scares or injury, broken relationships, disappointments, money problems, fatigue, burnout, depression, despair. To see another man, and meet him in this sort of gloom is a common thing in F3. How many times have I come to a workout with my mind weighed down, and then had my burdens lifted by you all? Many times, and I am thankful for that.

Early this morning, I realized there is an even deeper meaning. Jesus chooses to see us in this gloomy world. The world is broken and cursed and dark because of sin, and he chose to enter into it as the light. Matthew 4:16 describes the beginning of his ministry as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy :
“…the people living in darkness have see a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a great light has dawned.”

He says to you, “I’ll see you in the gloom.”

SYITG next time. :v::fixer-upper:

Ruck Down Garden

August 15, 2025 BackBlasts

AO: thequacken
Q: Mountain Ice
PAX: Z-Pack, Recoil (Blake Conley), Shotgun, FixerUpper, Backflow (Wesley Hunt), DoorKicker (Jud), Wedding Singer, Spellcheck, Handbell, Flathead
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP:
Ruck-a-loop, as dictated by tradition

THE THANG:
Walk down Garden Dr, loop through Central High’s parking lot and head home

MARY:
No time
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Same old, same old
OTB Ruck tomorrow morning, see DoorKicker (Jud)
OTB Goruck training at Asylum, 0600 ruck, 0700 PT
COT:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

— Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

A lot of people read the final stanza of this poem and assume it’s about taking the road less traveled, when earlier in the poem, it states that both paths are about the same. I believe it’s about standing strong in your decisions and forging ahead regardless of what lies down the path. I encourage each of you to stand at the precipice of a decision (path) look down both ways as far as you can see and stop to ponder each one. Make your decision with intention, and don’t look back as you head off towards the next intersection.

Burpee Attack

August 5, 2017 Mayberry

THE SCENE: 61 degrees and PERFECT

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA

SSH X20

Baby arm circles x20

Mosey around the parking lot

SSH burpees x5

Karate kid burpees x 5

Plank jack burpees x5

Inch worm burpees x5

LBC burpees x5 (5 LBCs in between)

THA-THANG:

Mosey to soccer field

Diamond burpee x5 (5 diamond merks inbetween)

Donkey kick burpee x5

Superman burpee x5 (5 sec hold)

Rocketts burpee x5 (touch each toe 5 times)

Mosey to the dugout stands

Decline burpee x5

Ratchet squat burpee x5

Box jump burpee x5

Fence cling “30” count

Fence sit “30” count

Balls to the wall “30” count w/ 4 merkins

Bear crawl up hill and mosey to Turf field #1

Candlestick burpee x5

Domo burpee x5

Long jump burpee x5

(Run 10 yards and jump as far as you can, do burpee)

Competition 2 teams of 10;

Two men bear crawl to midline while team high knees with them. Switch every 50 yards until all have crawled.

Then burpees x5

Roll burpees x10 across the field

Competition same teams:

All members Bernie sanders to midline, sprint back, Bernie sanders to other goalline then sprint back (2 burpees on the way)

All do burpee x5

Ring o burpees:

Circle up. While pax member runs around outside we hold al gore and then do burpee on return. Burpee count 20

MARY:

Reps of 5 three count inbetween

Flutter burpees x5

(122 burpees total + -)

CIRCLE OF TRUST:

Doing more than what’s required.

One of the things that my wife and her father has taught me is to do things better than needed. It use to drive me crazy that they would be so intense on perfection and doing things exactly right or better than what was asked of them. My thought process was just get it done, get it done right, but just get it done and do it quick.

She has taught me to take my time at things when I can and really look at details and how it can be done the best way not just “done”.

Challenge: the next thing you are tasked to do, do it one to two steps better.

BOM

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
October 6, Trail run with Moses

October 28, Truckin to the Pound

November 4, 2year anniversary of F3 Knoxville