F3 Knoxville

Another 12 Days (and a Yule Log)

THE SCENE: Unseasonably warm!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Maybe?  Code Brown was in charge of that and perhaps skipped over some of it.  No FNGs so we’d heard it all.
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH IC; practice some Manmakers and a Fireman Carry.  Wish Hot Tub and Gibbler well as they took off like scalded dogs to do a little marathon training tour of the Asylum.  Let’s move.
THA-THANG:
4 volunteers strap in the harness to pull the Yule Log to Circus Maximus.  We use a rotation of volunteers to pull the Yule Log a half lap around at a time, at each stop, we celebrate the Days of Christmas cumulatively as follows:

  • Day 1:  Manmaker;
  • Day 2: Iron Mikes, 4 count
  • Day 3: Jump Squats;
  • Day 4: Smurf Jacks;
  • Fiiiivvveee Buuurrrrpppeeeeeees!
  • Day 6:  Hello Dollys (4 ct, IC)- led by Carney;
  • Day 7:  Merkins (4 ct, IC)- Led by Code Brown;
  • Day 8: Mountain Climbers (4 ct, IC)- led by Double Wide;
  • Day 9: American Hammers (4 ct, IC)- led by Rainbow;
  • Day 10: Big Boy Sit-ups (IC)- led by Honeydew;
  • Day 11: Carolina Dry Docks (4 ct, IC) – led by Pom Pom;
  • Day 12: Partner up and Fireman Carry twelve steps each.
  • Mosey back to AO (with Yule Log in tow)

Bunny takes over and whips us like mules up Baby Everest.  Our distance runners rejoined the PAX and took a turn pulling the Yule Log up.  Manmakers at the top:  Rinse and repeat.

MARY:
Somebody put Cat Gut in charge for a brutal 5 minutes of Boat/Canoe.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Christmas isn’t about bright presents in flashy wrapping.  God’s ultimate gift of love and grace through his Son came in very humble wrapping.  With that in mind, we should be able to celebrate Christmas in any situation.  Also, this day in history:  The counter-offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge began in the Ardennes Forest.  Those involved certainly spent Christmas without anything fancy or shiny.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pinto and his family and Junk, Junk’s wife, and their family.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Second F gathering at Tank’s house on Jan 3.  M’s are invited.

Majestic Yet Close

THE SCENE: Cloudy, temp in mid-forties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Insert information about the warmup.
THA-THANG:
25 Side Straddle Hops, 31 Brady Corns, 10 Rockettes, 7 Baby Arm Circles Forward, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward, 7 Baby Arm Circles Backward, 7 Wide Arm Circles Backward, 10 Cherry Pickers.

Divide into two teams.  Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each team grabs one CMU.  Each team can divide among the men in terms of carrying the CMU through various moseys.

Mosey to the parking lot south of northern ball fields that has scenic island in middle of the lot.  There will be one cone placed on either side of the parking lot.  Each team must accomplish the exercises listed at each cone.  They can divide up the exercises among the team members in any way they chose (e.g., have one man take each exercise or divide all exercises among the men on the team).  Once the exercises are completed by the team, one man from the team runs with the CMU to the next cone while other team members race ahead of him to start the exercises at the next cone.  Once those exercises are completed by the team, a new team member takes the CMU back to the first cone.  The team does those exercises again.  This cycle continues until every man on the team has carried the cone one time.  The following are the exercises to be performed at each cone:

  • Cone 1:  30 Burpees, 50 Plank Jacks, 50 Merkins, 50 Big Boy Sit-Ups, 50 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1) 50 Overhead Presses with CMU
  • Cone 2:  30 Mountain Climbers (four count), 50 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1), 50 Jump Squats, 50 Dive Bombers, 50 Hello Dollies, 50 Curls with CMU.

Mosey to beginning of Serpentine Sidewalk where it intersects with street.  Each team will still carry their CMU.  We will do 14’s on Serpentine Sidewalk until it reaches the perimeter trail. We will lunge for one light then run for four light, repeating that sequence until we reach the perimeter trail.  We will then, as a group, do 20 Imperial Walkers (four count).

Mosey to beginning of cardiac hill, each team carrying CMU.  We will go up cardiac hill doing the following exercises at the following areas:

  • Corner 1: 20 American Hammers (four count)
  • Corner 2: 20 Leg Kicks (four count)
  • Corner 3: 20 Decline Merkins
  • Benches:  20 Bench Lifts

Mosey to CMU pile.  Drop off CMU’s.  Mosey to Pavilion.  We will do elevens starting with one Picnic Table Pull Up and ten Box Jumps.  We will then do a one minute squat with backs against wall.  Next, we will do sevens starting with one decline merkin and six bench lifts.

Mosey back to AO sprinting up mini-cardiac.

MARY:

Insert information about any additional post-THANG work (if applicable).
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

1 Chronicles 29:11  Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

I sometimes consider God’s majesty and it is awe-inspiring.  This creation of His, the expansiveness of it, the fact that our galaxy is a mere spec amidst other galaxies, the infinity of space and of time.  We look with our most powerful telescopes to incredible distances and God has created this and so much more.  When one considers God from this perspective He is certainly powerful but also may seem distance.  There’s that song by Julie Gold that Bette Midler made popular:  God is Watching Us From a Distance.  It is good to think of a God who has created this world, who sees all, who is in control of everything.

But it is also good to know that God is close.  God is not only ever powerful, He is ever present.  I can dig down into the rich, deep earth, cup it in my hands and smell God’s presence.  I can pluck a daffodil and examine it in minute detail, knowing God is present in every cell.  We have a God who is close.  We have a God who wants us to know Him.  God whispers in our ear and says, guess what, you are mine.  He whispers in your ear and says, Ratchet, I know every hair on your head.  He whispers, Abscess, talk to me, give me your heartache and give me your joy.  He whispers, Crawdad, I was there the day you were born and will be with you always.  We are each His creation and He loves each one of us.  We have an Amazing God.

Psalm 139: 1-6

Lord, you have searched me and known me!
 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pinto, for Cheatsheet’s friend, and prayer of praise for Crawdad’s son, Carson.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffeeteria!

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!