F3 Knoxville

Birthday Boys Triple Q

THE SCENE:  Frigid and sunny.  Temp about 14 degrees. This was the birthday of Charmin, High-Heels and Lilydipper.  The three of us Q’d together.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Plenty of Side-Straddle Hops while Charmin gave the F3 Welcome and Disclaimer.  7 Cherry Pickers.  20 High Knees.  Squats.
THA-THANG:
We did the workouts below with Charmin starting us off at the Coliseum.  Before we got started with his exercises, good ol Charmin got us to have a snow fight with the last man hit being the first one to get a Hot Toddy after the workout.  The last man standing was Gibbler.  Here are the workouts:

Saturday, December 26, 2020
Lily’s Birthday Boy Triple Q 15 Minute Workout
To be performed at the Caribbean aka Circus Maximus.
We will go counterclockwise around the parking lot five times, using different
methods of movement which will be listed below. At each end of the parking lot
we will be doing reps of exercises which are also listed below. I will have
instructions posted on both ends of the parking lot so that people won’t have to
remember all of this.
West End
1. 20 Squat Jumps. Sprint to East End.
2. 20 Big Boy Sit-ups. High Knees to East End.
3. 15 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1). Skip to East End.
4. 20 Carolina Dry Docks. Karaoke Right to East End.
5. 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct). Bernie to East End.
East End
1. 20 Merkins. Bernie to West End.
2. 20 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1). Butt Kick to West End.
3. 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct). Half-speed Sprint to West End.
4. 10 Burpees. Karaoke left to West End.
5. 20 Plank Jacks. Sprint to West End.
I don’t know how long the above will take but it may be more than 15 minutes. If
so, end early and go to next post. If it take less than 15 minutes, have guys rinse
and repeat.

Charmin at the Colosseum
25s x 5 (That’s fifty reps of each exercise cause I’m 50) and 5 rounds of 25s for
each decade of my 50 years. In between each round, we run laps around the
Colosseum, with descending number of laps because each decade seems to go
that much faster.
So, 25s of merkins and big boys, run 4 laps
25s of Smurf jacks and mountain climbers, run 3 laps
25s of American Hammers and plank jacks, run 2 laps
25s of pickle pounders and monkey humpers, run 1 lap
25s of Bobby Hurleys and dips. The end. Mosey to the next station.
I haven’t actually run through this yet, so I don’ know if it can be done in 15
minutes or not. If not, I’ll shorten it, but the idea will be the same.

High Heels Kick’n it at the Ball Fields
I plan to do my Ab End / PT End workout.
Ab End
Exercise 1 – LBC – 15 4 count
Exercise 2 – Flutter Kick – 15 4 count
Exercise 3 – Box Cutter – 15
Exercise 4 – Holly Dolly – 15
Exercise 5 – Big Boys Sit ups – 15
PT End
Exercise 1 – SSH – 15 4 count
Exercise 2 – Hand release Merkin – 15
Exercise 3 – The Squat – 30
Exercise 4 – Carolina Dry Docks – 20
Exercise 5 – Burpee – 10
On one side of the parking lot you start the Ab exercise and do the stated reps.
After completing the reps you run to far side of parking lot and do the same Ab
exercise just completed until the six arrives. Once the six is in then you start the
next exercise from PT side and do the stated reps. Then run to other side of
parking lot and do the same PT exercise until six arrives. Do all five exercises.

MARY:
Some 25s at the Pavilion with Picnic Table Pull-ups and Bench Dips.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 men, no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Charmin, High-Heels and I now equal up to 169 years of living and I, Lilydipper, am the oldest of the “Respect”able crew.  It is nice to know that, no matter how old we get, we still have room for growth.  At 64 I hope to continue working out with F3 for quite some time to come.  And, no matter who leads the F3 workouts and no matter what their age, I feel I grow with each message I hear.  Yet, even when I can no longer run about, perhaps even walk about, there will be room for me to grow as an individual.  God wants us keep growing in Him throughout our lives.  Isn’t it nice to know that we always have more to learn?  I was listening to a radio station about a man who had injured his back and for quite some time was in pain, unable to walk about.  He decided to get on the internet and learn as much as he could about different subjects.  For example, he found spiders to be fascinating and found he could spend day after day learning more and more about them.  One subject, tons to learn.

Much of what we learn we must learn more than once.  Growth comes through hearing the same thing again and again until it finally plants itself within us.  Also, we must live with what we learned and apply it again and again.  I have found sermon lessons at church to be that way.  I will hear a sermon and think, “Wow, I need to hang on to this, use it in my life.”  Yet, I some how lose it, it drifts away.  Then, another sermon comes along with a similar message.  Some of it sticks with me.  After 10 to 15 similar sermons, maybe I finally get it.  Maybe by then I start applying it.  I grow for goodness sake!  That is how growth occurs.  What we learn comes through inculcation, a repeating of the lesson, until we get it through our thick skulls.

Lord, help me to keep growing no longer how old I get!!!
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those impacting by Covid and for this pandemic to end; for an end to racism; for Ribbed and his wife, Sarah, who is recovering from the removal of a tumor near her spine; and, for all those who have family or friends who are suffering.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hot Toddys and sausage biscuits immediately after the workout; CSAUP the last Saturday in January at the Asylum.

The Bell Lap

THE SCENE: Perfect, upper 50s, light breeze
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Done, with emphasis on CORONA guidelines.

WARM-O-RAMA:

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

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– Back stretches. Stay in down position, reach one arm up, hold for 10 s, reverse arms

– 32 Grady Corns, (4-ct), in cadence

– Go to curb, do calf stretches.

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to Serpentine Sidewalk.

2-4-6s.  Run two light poles, do 2×5 (10) of the exercise and run back to starting point.  Run 4 light poles and do 4×5 (20) of the exercise and run back.  Run 6 light poles and do 6×5 (30) of the exercise, then hold a plank. DON’T run back.  Rinse and repeat using a different exercise, continuing down path and to base of Cardiac.  Exercises:

  • Froggy Jumps
  • CDDs
  • American Flutters (Flutter kicks in the American Hammer “V” formation) (2-CT)

MOSEY to Bottom of Cardiac.  Same idea.  Run up to first turn, do 10 reps of ALL THREE EXERCISES, (FROGGY JUMPS, CDDs, AMERICAN FLUTTERS) return to start.  Run to SECOND turn and do 20 Reps of the three exercises and return to first curve.  Run to Top and do 30 reps of the three exercises and stop there.  RESPECT and DOUBLE RESPECT guys can opt out of running one return leg. (to my knowledge, no one took me up on that.  HIMs… *shoulder shrug*)

MOSEY to parking lot across from AO.  Do YULE LOG LAPS (cones laid out in a rectangular log shape):

  • Short-side 1: Bear Crawl
  • Long-side 1: 50/75/100/75/50 (% effort) sprint
  • Short-Side 2: El Capitan
  • Long-side 2: Bernie Sanders
  • 5 Merkins at each corner.
  • Rinse and Repeat until Q uses a special signal (Ringing of a bell) to indicate one more lap from where you are, AYG.  This is the Bell Lap!
  • 15 Burpees in the middle when last lap is finished. (15 days until Christmas)

MOSEY to AO.

MARY:
Static leg raises (on 6, back off ground, one leg bent, other leg held up with ankle above knee) 30 s one leg, 30 s other leg; Captain Thors; Homer/Marge

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Fourteen men and a dog. (Speed Flash, Asher, Crawdad’s 2.0, not tagged)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

In track, any race that has multiple laps has a “Bell Lap”, that alerts the runners that they are on the last lap and they need to give it all they’ve got to finish the race strong. It’s a signal to the runner to get his or her head right, bear down, and give it everything they have.  As we approach the middle of December, I feel like we are in the Bell Lap of probably the most challenging year any of us has experienced.  But there is Hope!  There is a finish line in sight! Vaccines are on the way.  Our knowledge as to how to keep ourselves safe, and treatment options are evolving and improving all the time.  But just as the last lap in a race is the most difficult, because you are exhausted physically and mentally, so too is this last push of isolation, remote schooling, unemployment, food insecurity, loneliness, etc. the most challenging to bear.

In the Christian faith, this time of year is also the Bell Lap as we anticipate the arrival of Christ.  We are in the Advent season, and “Advent” means Coming, or Arrival.  In just a few short weeks we celebrate the coming of the Lord, the birth of Jesus, who taught us, walked with us, and ultimately paid for our sins with his life.  So my message today is a simple one.  Both with the virus situation and with our Faith, We are in the Bell Lap.  Don’t give up.  Finish strong. Have Hope.  God is Coming. Hallelujah, God is Coming.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for the wives of Curveball and Ribbed as they go through surgeries and recoveries, prayers for Abacus and his family, prayers for a friend of Crawdad’s who’s relatives have had serious COVID scares.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None

No Measure

THE SCENE: Clear sky with temp at about 33 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Run around parking lot, 25 Side-Straddle Hops, 20 Plank Jacks, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Rockettes, 7 Twists, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to start of Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will do 14’s on the sidewalk until it hits the perimeter trail.  We will Bear Crawl for one light, then run for four and continue this pattern until the perimeter trail.

Next, we will do 20 American Hammers.

Then we will head south on the Perimeter Tail doing nickel, dime, quarters with the following exercises until we get to the southern ball field pavilion:

  • Jump Squats
  • Merkins
  • Smurf Jacks

Mosey to large parking lot by the southern ball fields.  We will Bernie from one end of the parking lot to the other stopping at each large lamppost to do 20 Big Boys Sit-ups.  We will Skip back stopping at each light to do 10 Hand Release Merkins

Mosey to roadway that heads back to A0.  Stop to do 20 Squats.

Mosey to Caribbean.  We will alternate between Karaoke Right and Karaoke Left stopping at every fourth island to do 10 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
25 Baby Crunches (4 ct)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 Men with no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I was listening to a sermon by Shawn Slate, the pastor at my church, and he quoted a line from a book called When God Interrupts by M. Craig James.  The line, which really struck me, is: “There is no better way to lose your life than to constantly measure it.”

We get into trouble when we start measuring our life against the successes of others or against the “shoulds” that we create for ourselves.  I do not mean that goals are unimportant.  Goals give us something to strive for.  But, they can lead to the loss of a relationship with God.  They can keep us from truly seeing the virtue, the struggle, and the stories in other people.  If we are continually measuring our own lives we are probably ignoring the lives of others.  Our lives become one more item to mark off our checklist in our path to greatness.  And we end up playing the game the world wants us to play:  to have the nicest car, to get the best job, to move into the richest neighborhood.  We climb up the latter to success and ignore God’s world around us.

In God’s kingdom, our worldly measures of success don’t matter.  Jesus said, “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.”  And what did Jesus, the messiah, the king, do before his death?  What did he do to show the disciples what it is to be great in heaven?  He got on his knees and washed the feet of each one of them.  He served them.

In the same service that my pastor preached, our congregation sang a communion hymn called Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.  One of the lines in the song is “With thy favor, loss is gain.”

Perhaps part of being a High Impact Man is giving up the ways I measure myself as successful and giving up the ways I compare myself to others.  Rather, I should focus more on serving others, on washing the feet of fellow sinners, be willing to sit at the end of the row versus the front of it.  It is there that I am apparently much more likely to find God’s favor.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Corona Weight’s brother, Jared, whose parole hearing was extended from November to March.  He remains in prison.  After having an amputated thumb replaced he must have it removed again and, hopefully, replaced later.  Prayers for Curve Ball’s wife who is having surgery in Florida; for Goober’s step-grandmother who was recently diagnosed with Covid-19; and for Ribbed’s wife who will have surgery to remove a tumor at her spine on December 14.  Prayers for the vaccines for the coronavirus, that they may be effective and that they reach the world’s population quickly.

The Hills Are Alive With The Sounds of F3

THE SCENE: Nice Day! Chilly at 7:00 am start mid 40s. Clear sky
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Follow the Covid recommendation’s …. I am worse than any amateur, modify as necessary. We are going to do some hills today.

WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH X 15 , Butterfly Stretch ( Coach Dunn’s advice always appreciated), IT Band/Hip band stretch, quad stretch, arm circles, 5 Burpees. ( Pluto has no rhythm so the counting is always off a little )

THA-THANG:

The goal for this workout was to hit each of the primary hills in the Asylum AO. While planning the workout Pluto realized that an appropriate theme was the movie the Sound of Music. At multiple points in the workout the Pax sang the “The Hills are alive with the sound of F3” The singing was high spirited, but not in tune.

  • Run from AO start to base of Everest. At Everest Base: 20 Beachball  Merkins & 20 LBCs
  • Run up Everest – Al Gore till 6 up then Mosey to Stop sign. At Stop Sign 15 Squats with 5 second hold at bottom. Mosey to bathroom building at base of Picketts Hill.
  • Run up Pickets Hill with 5 Burpees at each plateau ( 5 Plateaus & 25 burpees if the hard side was chosen) Mosey down to Picnic Tables
  • Picnic Tables – 15 Picnic Table Pull Ups, 15 Dips, 20 Merkins in parking lot. Rinse & Repeat 2x. Did a few yoga stretches and core at  flagpole then mosey between ballfields to base of Cardiac Hill.
  • Run up Cardiac Hill with 10 Imperial walkers at every second light ( We sang the Hills Are alive at Base and put a headlock on a passing walker )
  • Mosey to CMUs… 20 Curls, 20 Overheads, 20 rows with CMUs Rinse & Repeat x 2 then mosey to base of Baby Cardiac Hill.
  • Up & Down Baby Cardiac Hill 3 x with LBCs or Ankle touch core work at base x 20.
  • Finished together running up final hill to AO start point while singing “Climb Every Mountain”

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
24 Pax got better this fine morning! Pele, Drum Major, Waffle House, Lillydipper, Hot Tub, Hooker, Jumbo, Mickey, G String, Convoy, Choir Boy, Matlock, Dung Beatle, Gilligan, Abacus, Gobbler, Swimmies, High Heels, Crawldad,
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Pluto shared how one of his favorite movies to watch during the Christmas season was the Sound of Music. As we hit the four hills of the Asylum AO this morning the song the Hills are alive with the sound of F3 was an appropriate theme. It is a rare that we do all four of these hills in a workout. Only have time to do so on a 1 hour Saturday. As we finished the workout the song ” Climb Every Mountain” was a closing song and finished  the Sound of Music workout  theme nicely. Pluto then shared 10 points of Trivia related to the Sound of Music and a tie in to leadership lessons from the Sounds of Music that were in a Forbes Magazine article a few years ago.

Sound of Music Trivia:

The Von Trapps did escape Austria as the Nazis came to power, but they didn’t flee over the Alps, they got on a train to Italy and then traveled to America, where they had a concert tour scheduled. The day after they left, Hitler ordered the Austrian borders shut.

When they left Austria, Baron von Trapp and Maria had already been married for years and had two children of their own, with another on the way.

When the von Trapps came to America they settled in Stowe, Vermont. They opened the Trapp Family Lodge, which is operational to this day.

The Sound of Music was the eighth and final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, but Hammerstein never saw the movie. He died of stomach cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.

“Edelweiss” was the last song Oscar Hammerstein ever wrote, the production of the movie had to stop for two hours to teach all of the extras the words to the song for that scene.

When it came to the movie, Julie Andrews wasn’t the first choice for Maria! Producers wanted Grace Kelly or Doris Day to replace her.

Sean Connery, Richard Burton and Bing Crosby were in the running to play Captain von Trapp, before the role went to relative newcomer Christopher Plummer.

Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss also auditioned to be von Trapp children.

While filming the iconic opening scene, twirling in the hills of Austria, Andrews kept getting knocked down in the mud by the gusts from the helicopter carrying the camera.

Adjusted for inflation, it’s one of the highest grossing films ever made, right behind Gone With the Wind and Star Wars.

It had the longest first run in U.S. cinemas ever at four and a half years.

Forbes Magazine: Four Leadership Lessons from Maria Von Trapp 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffloftus/2016/05/28/four-leadership-lessons-from-maria-von-trapp-julie-andrews/?sh=3c7d0e4210c6

MOLESKIN:

As we prayed together we as HIMS so often pray for our significant others and others in the Pax undergoing spoken challenges. Please remember that each of us has our own challenges each day & that all of us are going through something. Remember to pray for all the unspoken needs of our Pax and fellow f3’ers
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The workout was followed by a well attended and enjoyed coffee time at Panera.

Giving in Thanks

THE SCENE: Beautiful and sunny day, temps in low 60s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Plank Jacks, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Gobble Trot around the parking lot, 7 Baby Arm Circles forward and backward, 5 Wide Arm Circles forward and backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey on trail toward Mt. Everest but stop halfway for 20 American Hammers.

Continue mosey to base of Mt. Everest.  We will do 10 Tempo Merkins and 10 Tempo Squats.  We will then run to top of Everest.  At top we will do 30 Baby Crunches, 20 Hello Dollies and 10 Shoulder Taps.

Mosey to Shaded Parking Lot across street from Northern Ball Park Entrance Parking Lot.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks.

Mosey to Caribbean Parking Lot.  We will run a U shape around parking lot stopping at every 3 islands to do exercises.  Those getting to end of U first will sweep men back.  Here are the exercises:

  • 20 Smurf Jacks
  • 10 Hand Release Merkins
  • 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)

Mosey go grassy area by first ballpark off of Northern Ball Fields entrance.  We will play a game of 10 second huddle football (no more than a ten second huddle between plays).  The game will be touch with one blitz allowed per four down and only mid field being a first down mark.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
29 men/boys with one FNG, 5-year-old Jack, son of Lunch Money.  Jack now has the F3 name of Turkey Gobbler!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I had the opportunity to look at some quotes from Presidents that each made on Thanksgiving Day.  I was struck by how many, in giving gratitude for the way our nation has prospered, also gave attention to the need to give to others, particularly the less fortunate.  I will quote from two of those presidents:

Calvin Coolidge 1925:

 “As we have grown and prospered in material things, so also should we progress in moral and spiritual things. We are a God-fearing people who should set ourselves against evil and strive for righteousness in living, and observing the Golden Rule we should from our abundance help and serve those less fortunately placed. We should bow in gratitude to God for His many favors.”

Ronald Reagan 1981:

“In this spirit, Thanksgiving has become a day when Americans extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. Long before there was a government welfare program, this spirit of voluntary giving was ingrained in the American character. Americans have always understood that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks.”

To give to others is an American call and certainly a call for F3.  I am proud of F3 for the principal we attempt to follow of giving to the community and those in need.  I have been struck by the way are N’antans, currently Judge Judy and formerly Abscess and Cap’n Crunch have made that a mission of F3 Knoxville.  Let us keep the spirit of giving in our hearts as we give thanks for our blessings.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pinto, for Ribbed’s wife as she goes through surgery for removal of tumor by spine on Dec 14, for Curveball and his wife as they head to Florida on Saturday for surgery she will have there early next week, for the wonderful woman that F3 helped clean shelves in her garage last week, and for the lonely and isolated in our country on this Thanksgiving Day.