F3 Knoxville

The Skunk Biscuit

THE SCENE: Man, one day it’s chilly.  The next day it’s muggy and humid.  This was one of those days.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Yep. Did that.
WARM-O-RAMA:

So, I picked up this Q basically as I went to bed since nobody else had.  I’m off the cuff here boys.  Some side straddle hops, some cherry pickers, some imperial squat walkers.  That’s about it.  Let’s mosey.

THA-THANG:
Mosey to Circus Maximus for a Baby Sea Biscuit

  • 10 Burpees; 20 Merkins; 30 LBCs, 40 squats, run a lap;
  • Repeat above reps, run 2 laps;
  • Again, run 3 laps;
  • Ditto, run 4 laps.
  • At this point, a true Sea Biscuit requires us to move back down the ladder, but the friendly neighborhood skunk made an appearance and decided to hang out in the middle of the CM oval.  Maybe he reserved it before we did?  At any rate, we called an audible at that point and moseyed back to the foot of baby Everest.
  • With some time left, let’s sprint to the top, 5 man makers (or is it body builders?) and back down for 20 squats.  Do it again, but Bernie up the hill.  Repeat this series one more time.

MARY:
Circle drills with Ring of Fire Merkins.  Each takes a turn doing 2 merkins, but alternating holding plank and 6 inches low with each turn.  Then Howling Monkeys, then Hands of Time.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
From 2 Corinthians 12:8-10:  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Don’t be afraid to show vulnerability.  The Lord is with you and makes you stronger because of it, and that brings glory to Him.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence for 5 year anniversary. Nov. 7 – Asylum.

Give Up Your Seat

THE SCENE: Perfect! Mid 70s, slight breeze, partly cloudy, 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 50 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:

– 7 decreasing Motivators (in cadence)

– 10 Steve Earl’s

– Little bit of this and that

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4 ct, IC)

–  15 Moroccan Nightclub (4 ct, IC)

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Hill near Area 51.

  • HILL PYRAMID : Do each exercise then run to hill after each set (All are 4-ct, except plank jacks)
    • 20 Tempo Squats
    • 20 Tempo Squats, 20 Mountain Climbers
    • 20 Tempo Squats, 20 Mountain Climbers, 20 Plank Jacks
    • 20 Mountain Climbers, 20 Plank Jacks
    • 20 Plank Jacks

Mosey to parking lot near Area 51

  • DORA SUICIDES- PARTNER UP!
    • Partner does modified suicide (HOP to first cone, run back, LUNGE to second cone, run back, BEAR CRAWL to last cone, run back), while partner does the following, then switch. Cumulative reps:
      • 100 CDDs, 100 LBCs, 100 Side Straddle hops

Mosey to mowed field southeast of Admin building.

  • RECTANGLE OF DEATH
    • AT FOUR CORNERS: 20 BBS, 20 AMERICAN HAMMERS , 20 BOBBY HURLEYs, 20 BOTTLE OPENERS
    • How to get to the corners… : Short Side 1: Bear Crawl Merkins (Four Bear Crawls, then 1 merkin), Short Side 2: Burpee Broad Jumps (4 broad jumps then 1 burpee) Long Side 1: Suicides, Long Side 2: Bernie Suicides.

Mosey to stairs that lead to the Coliseum.  50 Calf Raises OYO.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Homer/Marge

Captain Thors

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 HIMs, no FNGs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-LK_MyvnLA

I recently watched the clip above, and it hit me at a time when I needed to watch something to remind me of good in the world, of true kindness.  It’s only 3 minutes long, and is worth the watch.  In summary, it portrays an elderly man walking down the aisle of a crowded train.  Most of the passengers– with one exception– avoid looking at the man, not wanting to make eye contact, out of shame… they know they should offer their seat to the old man, but are unwilling to sacrifice their own comfort for his.  The exception is a middle-aged woman who offers him her seat.  He initially refuses, as his is a standing room only seat.  She winks at him and says that hers is as well, and that she is younger and has more energy and won’t mind standing.  He finally accepts the seat, and they travel in silence for awhile.  Day turns to evening and evening to night. She has 5 more hours to go, standing the whole way.  A conductor comes down to check tickets.  When he checks her ticket, he realizes that she has a ticket for the seat where the old man is napping.  She gives the conductor a conspirational wink, indicating that she willingly gave up her seat, and that there is no need to disturb the man.  The conductor appreciates this gesture, and tells the woman there is an empty seat in another car that she can have.  She nods and thanks him.  Then she reaches up to the luggage rack and takes down crutches, which she uses to walk down the aisle.  She is handicapped. Yet she sacrificed her own comfort, standing for hours, to help a stranger in greater need than her own.

This story reminded me a bit of SANTA MOUSE, my favorite Christmas story.  Santa Mouse who was a lonely mouse in a big, empty house, who had nobody to talk to and very little food, and no name.  He has imaginary friends, has imaginary tea parties, and scrounges for scraps of food.  His greatest possession is a small hunk of cheese he has been saving.  On Christmas Eve, he carefully wraps up the cheese, his greatest treasure, to give to Santa, because he realizes that Santa gives away presents, but never receives any in return.  Santa is so grateful for the gift that he takes on the mouse as his helper, and gives him a proper name for the first time… Santa Mouse.

Real kindness is when you are willing to give up something that you very much need yourself.

LUKE 21: 1-4

1 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Guppy’s Grandmother.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence and Third F this Saturday at the Bomb Shelter, 7 am.  Bring a lawn chair and suggested $10 donation for breakfast, which will be provided.  Drifter will be the speaker.  Another convergence is planned at the Asylum on Nov. 7.

Back blast and use of worst metaphor in F3 History at BOM

THE SCENE: Low 50s, light rain, random dude sitting down with umbrella drinking coffee at top of AO…nice aroma every time we ran by.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

I am worst than a nonprofessional , follow Covid guideline
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x 20, Arm Circles, Cherrypickers, Leg over leg stretch, Butterfly stretch ( Included Coach Dunn’s advice) Couple of yoga stretches

THA-THANG:
Ran to top of AO at Parks and Rec office area and did a circuit run between the end points of the Colosseum/overlook. Did a exercise at each stop point and then ran back to start point

Start point at Haslam monument

  • Squat x 20
  • Squat Jump x 20
  • Fire Hydrant x 20 ( 10 each side )

Mid-Point at center of overlook

  • Flutter Kick 4 count x 20
  • Hello Dolly 4 count x 20
  • LBS x 20

End-Point at stop sign at bottom of hill

  • Mountain Climber 4 count x 20
  • CDD x 20
  • Merkins x 20

Slow Mosey to base of Everest

2 sets of Break dance Merkins with run half way up Everest

Then…ran to Summit of Everest and then mosey to AO.

At AO

10 Burpies followed by 20 LBS

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 Pax got better today~ Pluto, Rainbow, Archie, Gibbler, Hands, Crab-legs, Code Brown, Cat Gut, Bunny, Kentucky, Fabio, Toll Bridge, Hot Tub, Matlock
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Worst metaphor inF3 history…

Shared that as High Impact men we are often striving to be leaders in our families, church, work, and friend groups. You are working hard to both fit in AND to stand out. Working hard and stepping up to be a humble leader when called upon to do so… each of us is carrying a lot of strength as Hims, yet it may not be noticed as we live life as humble servants, yet when called to do so we step up and show our strength and stand out when called to do so.

Shared a story about how while driving home from our vacation yesterday my son had noticed and commented on seeing an El Camino driving in our neighborhood.

Shared that as HIMs sometimes we are like an El Camino… We may look simple, fit in, and appear to be a regular person or Sad Clown at first glance. Like looking at an El Camino from the front …Heck it looks like a car!

Yet each of us has strength and power that through our humility is not apparent at the first head on glance.  Our strength, power and influence as a HIM is seen after getting the full picture of each of us as a man. Much like an El Camino has the strength to haul almost 1,500 lbs in the back and in many models  a high performance engine making it a true muscle car! We each can look like an average man from the front, yet as we strive to be HIMS we have the extra strength in the back that you might not see at first.

So strive to be like an El Camino … humble, car like, and unassuming at first glance, yet strong, capable of carrying a heavy weight, and a high performance HIM who is a servant to others.

EDIT: Added this link after initial post of back blast – Today is the anniversary of the introduction of the El Camino… I had no idea this was the case when I planned the Q last night!

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chevrolet-introduces-the-el-camino

MOLESKIN:
Closed with this verse from Thessalonians 5:14

” And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Reminded everyone of the Convergence & 3rd F at Bomb Shelter tomorrow morning

Avett Brothers

THE SCENE: Great fall morning.  50’s for temps
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Start with SSH on 4ct (25), Tempo Merkins (10), Thai Fighters 4ct (10) Right and Left, Cherry Pickers (8), 2 Mosey laps around the lot then grab a CMU
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot for:

25 Curls then Right arm farmer carry length of parking lot, 25 up over cmu abs, Mosey to open chapel 30 sec wall sit, Left arm farmer carry back down…Replace curls with (OH Press, then CMU Merkin, then Rocky Balboa) performing all other exercises in first circuit.  Complete 4 Rounds

Mosey to Cloud for some ab work:

25 4ct Freddy Mercury

25 4ct Hello Dolly

25 4ct LBC

25 4ct Heel touch

 

 

MARY:
Return CMU’s and circle up.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Thought of the Avett Brother’s song “Head Full of Doubt” and the lyrics:

“When nothing is owed, deserved, or expected.  And your life doesn’t change with the man that’s elected.  If you’re loved by someone you’re never rejected, decide what to be and go be it.”

Remember that God is requiring us as men to be the change that is needed.  We can’t look to elections, or anything else.  God has equipped us to be leaders and we are to lead by example.  No outside factors can stop you from doing what God has put you here to do.  Go do it.

Believe It

THE SCENE: Sunny, temps in 60s.  We met at Parking Lot at Southern Ball Fields because the Admin Bldg Parking Lot and area has a large political rally there.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Iron Mikes each leg, 10 Cherry Pickers, 7 Twists, 10 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 10 Tempo Merkins
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking area by residential units north of the soccer fields.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to roadway that heads to Northshore Entrance of the park.  Go left on the little drive that heads south before you go to the park entrance gate.  We have dubbed it “The Road to Nowhere.”  We will have cones set up in a flag formation.  We will run to each cone and do the exercises listed.

  • Cone 1:  10 Burpees  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2
  • Cone 2:  10 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1)
  • Cone 3:  10 Hand Release Merkins
  • Cone 4:  20 Star Jumps
  • Cone 5:  20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  Bear Crawl to Cone 6
  • Cone 6:  20 Hello Dollies (4 ct)
  • Cone 7:  20 Merkins
  • Rinse and Repeat two more times

Mosey to Area 51.  We will do 20 Curb Dips in Parking Lot, then run up hill to roadway.  Those on roadway will do Baby Crunches until all men arrive.

Mosey past stop sign at Southeastern corner of Admin Bldg to hillside.  We will do Sevens off the hill toward the cone planted about 20 yards away in the grass.  At top of hill we will start with one Mountain Climber.  At bottom of hill we will start with six Burpees.

Mosey to AO.  We will do sprints between large light poles, starting with sprints at half speed, then going to 3/4 speed and ending with full speed.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Bicycle Kicks, 10 Tempo Merkins.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
19 men with one being an FNG, Hayden Corbitt, whom we dubbed “Kermit.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Let your faith roar so loud that you can’t hear what doubt is saying.” Author unknown.

During times like this coronavirus pandemic it may be more difficult to believe in God.  How can God let this terrible thing happen to us and to the whole world?  Yet, at the end of April, when the Coronavirus was hitting us hard and so many were quarantining, a Pew Research Center survey of Americans found that 24% said that as a result of the pandemic there faith was stronger.  Only 2% said their faith was weaker.

When people say they don’t believe in God, or when we ourselves express disbelief in God, our actions usually portray something different.  People may say they don’t believe but find themselves praying for something good to occur when a loved one is ill.  People who believe that this world is nothing but chaos or that creation is random still desire and strive for order in their lives.  People who say that the world is bad still hope for good things to happen to them.  People who say there is no love in this world still hope to be loved.  Unbelievers still yearn for something more in their lives, and essentially pray for their holes to be filled.

God sees our disbelief and tells us to believe.  I think of Christ coming to the disciples after breathed his last breath on the Christ and saying to Thomas, touch my, fill the wounds in my skin.  And he felt for Thomas for not believing until he did see him, did touch him.

God, help us through this difficult time.  Fill our holes.  We pray for you, even at times of disbelief.  Let our faith in you roar so loud that we can’t even hear what doubt is saying.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Knoxville area in face of Covid-19 as there has been a recent rise in hospitalizations here.  Prayers for Romeo after his very serious motorcycle accident.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence and 3rd F at Bomb Shelter this Saturday, October 17 from 7 am to 9:30 am.