F3 Knoxville

Tag: High-Heels

Away in a Manger

THE SCENE: Overcast and cool, low 40s.  Nice sunset beyond the clouds, but quickly got dark.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Got it right this time! 🙂
WARM-O-RAMA:

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

– 10 Lunges (lungeus interruptus halfway through due to PAX losing count, resulting in 5 Burpees)

-20 Grady Corns (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 BACs forward and backward

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to Big Parking Lot for CANDY CANES! (Hat tip to Cap’n Crunch!). Run to each station, do the exercise, and run back. The six stations are:
    • 20 Dive Bombers
    • 20 Iron Mikes (2-ct)
    • 20 BBS
    • 20 Star Jumps
    • 20 Squat Jumps
    • 20 LBCs
  • Mosey to Cardiac:
    • Cardiac Suicides. Run to first bend, 5 BODY BUILDERS, run back. Run to second bend, 10 BODY BUILDERS, run back.  Run to top, 15 BODY BUILDERS.
  • Mosey to CMU pile
    • DORAs 100 of each exercise while partner runs with CMU over his head to the end of parking lot and back.
      • Overhead Presses
      • Curls
      • Squats
      • Rows
      • Triceps (didn’t finish these…)
    • Mosey to AO

MARY:
20 Hello Dollies, + 5 punishment burpees for messing up the count… again…

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 Strong, no FNGs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

(From Luke 2) So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

One of things that I love about the Christmas story and the life of Jesus is the circumstances under which he was brought into this world, and how he left it.  He came into it in the most humble conditions, and placed in a manger.

Definition of a MANGER: a long open box or trough for horses or cattle to eat from. The son of God came into this world basically in a soup bowl for livestock, and left this world on a cross, after being betrayed, humiliated and tortured.

This was not some gilded king, born in wealth and comfort, and who died gloriously.  This was a child born to a poor family who was sent by God to live among us and who died for our sins.

John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

If we had the CEO for Crossfit or some other exercise program show up out of the blue in a limo, dressed in a fur coat, with leather gloves and wing-tipped shoes tell us to do 100 burpees, crawl in the mud, and run up and down a huge hill a few times, we’d probably tell him to stick it where the sun don’t shine.  But when it’s an idiot like me, who is out here doing it with you, with snot running down my face and bloody shins and freezing cold hands, you nod, get your mind right, and get it done.  I love that Jesus was one of US, not one of THEM.  I love that the life he lead and the teachings he passed on came from a place of humanity and poverty, not power and wealth.  I think of the billionaire politicians that are supposed to be our leaders and it’s hard sometimes to relate to them and to accept what they say and how they want us to act.  But I will follow Jesus as my Q any day of the week.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for several members of the PAX who are suffering this holiday season due to the death of loved ones or illness. We pray for comfort and recovery.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Polar Bear Plunge on Jan. 1, New Year’s party at Tank’s house Jan. 3, Ski Trip Feb 7-9.

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love

THE SCENE: Cool but nice, clear, upper 40s.  Beautiful evening sky observed and appreciated at the top of Cardiac…

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check, but with egregious Q errors. F3: Fitness. Fellowship.  AND FAITH!

WARM-O-RAMA:

-34 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence (#34, WALTER PAYTON) (big Bears/Dallas game tonight, so the rep numbers honored the ’85-’86 Bears, perhaps the GREATEST TEAM IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS!)

– 9 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence (#9, JIM MCMAHON)

– 22 Tempo Squats (4-ct), in Cadence (#22 DALE DUERSON)

– 21 Moroccan Nightclub (4-Ct) in cadence (#21 LESLIE FRAZIER, but Q and PAX messed up the count and we went to #23)

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to Serpentine sidewalk.  LIGHT POLE ESCALATORS
    • Start at first light pole. Do exercise then run to second light pole, do exercise, run back, etc.  Go to 8 light poles. Exercises are:
      • Light Pole 1: 5 Burpees
      • Light Pole 2: 10 Bobby Hurleys
      • Light Pole 3: 15 Carolina Dry Docks
      • Light Pole 4: 20 BBSs
      • Light Pole 5: 25 LBCs
      • Light Pole 6: 30 iron mikes (single count)
      • Light Pole 7: 35 Hello dollies (single count)
      • Light Pole 8 : 40 Imperial Walkers (single count).
  • Mosey to Cardiac Hill.  Do the following exercises at the bottom then run up to first turn and back. Do 5x reps the first time, then 10x, then 15x.
    • Smurf Jacks
    • Mountain Climbers (2-ct)
    • Froggie Jumps
    • Run back up the entire hill, doing 10 merkins at each turn.
  • Mosey to Parking Lot next to ball fields in a representation of what is sure to come in an incredible victory of the Bears over the Cowboys.
    • At the near end we will be the BEARS, so we will BEAR CRAWL 10 parking lines, do one Burpee to celebrate a First Down, and continue marching down the field (parking lot) at every line until the end. TOUCHDOWN! Do 7 Merkins.
    • Now we’re the COWBOYS!  BOO! HISS!!!!  Turn around and do the COWBOY WAHOO dance just less than 1 parking line. But the fearsome Bears D is TOO STRONG! NO FIRST DOWN! PUNT! Sprint to the end of the parking lot and we’re the BEARS again, marching down the field.  Rinse and Repeat from there.

MARY:
– Box Cutters (20, IC), E2K (20 each side, OYO), American Hammers (20, IC), X’s and O’s, BBSs (20, OYO… these are surprisingly hard after the X’s and O’s!!), Ring of Fire

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 strong, with Hooker also joining us at the end for a much-appreciated summary and update of Pinto’s condition.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“Advent” is Latin for “coming”, and this is a special time of year when we wait in anticipation to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  I always looked forward to the Advent Wreath tradition at church when I was growing up.  Our family would always volunteer to light one of the four candles at church, and each week, as we lit one more candle, the anticipation of the birth of Christ would increase, until Christmas Eve, when the Christmas candle would be lit in the middle, representing the light of God coming into the world.  The four candles represented:

  1. HOPE
  2. PEACE
  3. JOY
  4. LOVE

I feel we individually and as a Nation need these in our hearts now more than ever.  Hope. Peace. Joy. Love.

HOPE: Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the Darkness.

PEACE: Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

JOY: It is the experiences, the great Triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which the real meaning of being alive is found.  And it is great to be alive!

LOVE: I fell in love with you because you loved me when I couldn’t love myself.

Finally, the Christ Candle.  Candles cast no shadow.   “God is Light.  In Him there is no Darkness at all.” John 1:5

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler and his family as they approach the anniversary of their son’s passing.  In his honor, the Fake Gloom brothers submitted a new exercise, “Grady Corn”, to the nation F3, which was accepted.  Grady Corn is the “Candy Corn” exercise that Grady Pitstick, aka “Quikrete” brought to our workouts.

Prayers to Pinto for healing and comfort as he continues to courageously battle health issues. It’s been a tough year for our brother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
3rd F, 7 am this Saturday at the Truck Stop, with Fellowship and Faith gathering immediately after.  Please bring donations for the Veteran’s Wish List (see Mayberry’s post in Group Me) and a nominal monetary donation ($10 recommended) to cover the cost of breakfast, which will be provided.

Ladders and Sh@#ts

THE SCENE: Nice and cool.  Almost spitting snow.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Warm up burpee ladder:  10 4 ct SSH, IC; 2 burpees OYO; 10 BAC forward IC; 4 burpees OYO; 10 BAC backwards; 6 burpees OYO; 10 Imperial Walkers IC; 8 burpees OYO; 10 tempo squats IC; 10 burpees OYO.
THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to Circus Maximus for Merkin Ladder.  Run (not mosey, run!) 1/4 lap at a time, add 1 merkin at each stop up the ladder till you reach 10 merkins.  Then 1/4 lap back down the ladder to 1 merkin.
  • Mosey to Cardiac for the cardiac ladder:  10 SSH at the bottom, Bernie to the first curve; 10 SSH + 20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Bernie to the 2nd curve.  Repeat SSH and CCD, add 30 4 ct Freddy Mercurys.  Sprint to the top.  Repeat SSH, CCD, Freddy Mercurys.  Add 40 squats.
  • Mosey to bottom of Baby Everest for Jimmy’s (Jacob’s big brother) Ladder.  Run Baby Everest and do a Man Maker.  Add a Man Maker each time you run to the top, topping out at 7 Man Makers.

MARY:
Hurricane Hoedown ladder.  Sitting flutters with hands over head x 7; reclining flutters x7, regular flutters x7.  Repeat x6, then x5, etc. all the way down the ladder.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Even in dark days, there are things to be thankful for.  From Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation establishing a recurrent Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, at a time when our nation was more divided than it has ever been:  They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Cheatsheet’s daughter
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Need supplies for the VA home, please!

The Burpily Feud

THE SCENE: Shorts Weather, but for real
WARM-O-RAMA: 

Those tricky SSHs where we do the last 20 in silence to see if everybody can count and stay focused. We came close, but it was 10 burpees for those of us who showed up on time (looking at you High Heels and Cheatsheet). Cherry Picker stay-downs, more baby arm circles than anybody wanted.
THA-THANG:
We moseyed low and slow, like Pele after Beaujolais. QIC stole a trick from the Lillydipper hisself and did some nickel-dime-quarters all the way to the Area 51 dropoff. Everest is for the kind of people who like wet feet and shaky legs; we were not those people.

Whatever else happens today, one thing went just right: 10 PAX came up on 10 CMUs up by the Esplanade construction. PAX choice CMU AMRAP. Question: where’s the only place Cheatsheet’s going to find singles? Answer: Wendy’s. Mans hits the double count every time. Don’t cheat yourself. Fist emoji.

Catch me if you can to the Cloud – thank you Curveball for not catching me the second time.

The Burpily Feud! No uhs, ums, pauses, or repeats.

Have a Nice Day on the 2 count.

My old college roommate Jack Webb showed up. I hate that guy.

Up the Little Hill and yours truly was shot.

MARY:
Who Mary?
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 good ones. Lillydipper, Rooney, Curveball, Choirboy, Abscess, High Heels, Mr Jinxy, Goober, and Cheatsheet, plus YHC.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Sic transit gloria mundi.
MOLESKIN:
Thanks men, for getting me out there again. I would not do any of it without you.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence next week!

First Last and Last First

THE SCENE: Beautiful chilly morning, temps in low 30’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Plank Stretches, Michael Phelps.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by Southern Ball Fields.  There will be eight cones set up in the parking lot.  Cone 1 and 8 will be on one side of the parking lot.  Cones 2 through 7 are on the other side of the parking lot.  We will circle clockwise around the cones.  The following will be the exercises at and from each cone:

  • Cone 1:  20 Squat Jumps.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 American Hammers (four count).  Crab Walk to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Star Jumps.  Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Hello Dollies.  Broad Jump to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  10 Shoulder Taps (each shoulder).  Gorilla Hop to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  10 Hand Release Merkins.  Sprint to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  15 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)  Bernie Sanders to Cone 8.
  • Come 8:  15 Dive Bombers.  Sprint all the way back to Cone 1.
  • Those finishing first rinse and repeat cycle until last man finishes first cycle.

Mosey to perimeter trail just past the pavilion at the southern ball fields.  We will do the following (what I call the 10 light nerve-wrecker) heading east and then north on the perimeter trail until we go on the boardwalk by the water and finally reach the serpentine sidewalk.  We will continue the 10 light nerve-wrecker on the serpentine sidewalk until we reach the roadway that is east of Pickett’s Charge.  With the 10 light nerve-wrecker, we run the length of 10 lights.  We then stop and do the following exercises in order:

  • 10 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 20 Merkins
  • 30 Squats
  • 40 Baby Crunches.
  • Rinse and repeat until every man has gone through the cycle of exercises.  Then run another 10 lights and do it again.

Once at the roadway, we will mosey to the playground.  We will do elevens at the benches, starting with one bench dip and 10 bench jumps.

Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises:

  • 20 Overhead Presses
  • 50 Bench Presses
  • 20 Curls
  • 25 Rows

Put CMU’s back in pile.  Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Box Cutters
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 men, no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Welcome Is Our Greeting

Matthew 20:  26- 28.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,c 27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,d 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

At the Broylmpics last Saturday, I was one of the brothers who ran in the long distance run.  I started with the group and very quickly saw the group dash on ahead of me.  After about 1/4 of the race, Mandolin and I were consigned to last place.  We had already competed in all of the prior events.  Our bodies were aching and Mandolin was nursing a problematic leg.  We suffered onward.  About halfway through the race we see the brother who ended up being the overall Brolympics Champ, Woodshack, running towards us.  He joins us, at a pace that was much slower than his typical mosey, and encourages us throughout the remainder of the race.  He didn’t belittle us, didn’t ingratiate us, he just ran by us, commenting on the great effort he was seeing and inspiring us in a thoughtful and brotherly manner.  We finally get to the final stretch of the race along the Serpentine Sidewalk.  By this time, all others in the race had already finished it.  As I am running ahead, what do I see?  A whole line of bros coming towards us, giving us high fives and finishing the race with us.  I can’t tell you how good that made me feel.  These were my brothers.  I might have been the slowest on the distance run but I was one of them.  Something pushed me a little faster as I crossed that finish line.  And on past the finish line were the other bros, smiling at me, Hey Lillying me, and getting me in the breakfast line for some of Junk’s famous cooking.  A slice of heaven with my brothers.

This kind of fellowship is what we all need.  In F3, all are welcome, no matter what the age or what the athletic condition.  “No Man Left Behind” is our philosophy.  As Q leaders, we need to design our workouts to make sure that happens.  Those men who get to a particular destination first can keep on working on exercises, whether Burpees, Side Straddle Hops, Running in Place, or Big-Boy Sit-ups as they wait for the remaining men to catch up.  Sometimes, we even Wagon Wheel back to join our brothers at the six.

Here’s another thing that we need to remember in F3.  Those of us who are less athletic or less fit should not pridefully shun the efforts of the more athletic who come to meet us.  We should not be embarrassed or angry because we are slower.  We should greet those circling back with glee, accept their gift of encouragement.  We should also remember that we too, even though we may be less athletic, have so much to offer the brotherhood – whether it be our mumble-chatter, our humor, our smiles, our social leadership, our aged wisdom, or plain old humility.  We all are living examples to one another, to the community around us, and to the FNG’s we welcome to our PAX.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk and his wife, for Messi and his wife, and for Cheatsheet’s friend who died at the age of 49.  Be with the friend’s family at this difficult time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
On December 7 at 7 am in the morning we will have a Convergence at the Truck Stop.  We will then go to Two Rivers Church nearby for a 3rd F Gathering with Manilow as our speaker.  Food from Einsteins Bagels will be provided.

Hey, guess what?  Today is Crawdad’s birthday.  The man is now 40.