F3 Knoxville

No Glove Monday

THE SCENE: Cool and a slight rain
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Two laps around the parking lot, one running, one Bernie.

cherry pickers, windmills, & quad stretching
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the posts near the church

20 lunges & a 30 second wall squat
19 lunges & a 30 second wall squat
repeat to 1/30

Bernie to the curb and repeat by 5
20 elevated heel squats with a Bernie back and forth in between

Mosey to the circle where St. Patrick used to reside.
repeat by 3
10 each leg Bulgarian split squats
10 step ups
20 calf raises

Mosey through the parking lot
at the covered area of the school do the Mary
10 LBC’s in cadence
40 Flutter kicks in cadence
15 Big Boys
15 hello Dolly’s

mosey back to the flag and perform calf raises until time expires

MARY:
See above
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Do you ever have an experience where you are seeking an answer to a problem and you discover the answer is right in front of you?
I was tired of being “overweight”, i ballooned up to 210 and knew what to do, but despite working out and running 5-6 days a week I was making no progress.  I knew I needed to make better eating decisions but didn’t want to commit.  The answer was in front of me in plain sight, but I was intentionally blind to it.
it’s been a 90 day journey, but with moderation to my eating habits I have been able to drop my weight into the mid 180’s.  This has increased my ability to “push it” during the workouts.  The answer was there all along.

In Luke 24, on the rod to Emmaus, 2 men had a similar experience they met a “stranger” and explained their sorrow that Jesus was dead.  The stranger was actually Jesus, but they were blind to that.  Jessie eventually reveals himself and they found the answer they were seeking.  (This is a massive paraphrase, lol).

This revelation was life altering.  What exists in your life that you are missing that is hiding in plain sight?  Are you burying your head and being ignorant, are you seeking the answer?  Sometimes what you seek, like my weight, is obvious, and owning up to your shortcomings will reveal the answer.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Passing the flag to Betty on 5/25

A “Blessed” Sweat Fest

THE SCENE: Not too hot, but incredibly HUMID
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

No Side Straddle Hops, those are only done when Pool Boy is in attendance.
Baby Arm Circles
Windmills
Cherry Pickers
mosey
THA-THANG:
Pick up CMU’s, and jump into a circuit style workout.
6 stations, workout for 50 seconds, with 10 seconds to rotate.  Hit each station 6 times or until we run out of time.  Push your heart rate knowing you have a built in break.  You can tailor this to any skill level, no counting, and very social.
The stations are as follows:
Merkins
Thrusters
Bench Press
Curls
Burpees
rest
that is it, rinse and repeat 6 times for a total of 36 minutes

MARY:
We had time for a short round of LBC’s
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
What do you think of when someone says “have a blessed day”???  What does that mean?  I struggle with that because of what we consider a blessing might be.  Is a blessing being healthy, wealthy, and wise?  It could be, but in Matthew 5, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes.  Some of these statements run counter to culture.  They don’t once reference health, wealth, or wisdom.  You could translate Blessed to mean Happy, and if you read these in that manner, it flips the notion of a blessing on its head.

1.“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
[MEANING]
It means that the people who are “poor in spirit,” or humble, can be with God in Heaven.
2.“Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
[MEANING]
It means that people who are suffering will be taken care of by The Lord.
3.“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
[MEANING]
It means that the ones who are humble are going to be the “heirs of the earth,” or in other words, leaders.
4.“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
[MEANING]
It means that the ones who are after what is right will get what they want.
5.“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
[MEANING]
It means that the ones who have mercy on the less fortunate will get mercy from them.
6.“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
[MEANING]
It means that the ones who do not sin and keep their hearts pure are the ones who will go to Heaven.
7.“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
[MEANING]
It means that if you bring peace into the world, God will call you His son.
8.“Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
[MEANING]
It means that if you do what is right and you know that it is right but people believe it to be wrong, you will go to Heaven.

To be “blessed” isn’t always happy in the moment, but these blessing truly bring you closer to Jesus.  So when someone tells you to “have a blessed day”, take a moment to ponder that meaning, and use it to check yourself to see how you are “blessed” form the list above.  If you tell someone to have a blessed day, are you telling them (#2) that you are wishing suffering upon them?  Are you wishing (#8) persecution upon them?  I do not have the correct answer here, and I am not trying to discourage anyone from using that phrase, but I think that phrase carries a significant amount of weight that is often lost in the moment.  So use this to reflect on your own blessings when you hear this phrase.  Consider how you can draw nearer to Jesus, and the model that it takes to follow him, because it certainly isn’t about health, wealth, and wisdom.

MOLESKIN:
Mandolin has the Rona.
Pray for an F3 Brother at Juco who has been served with divorce papers.
Pringle will be having hip replacement surgery on 6/6.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
5/25 we will celebrate the 2 year anniversary of Shamrock, and we will pass the flag to Betty and crown him the new AOQ of Shamrock.

Shamrock – Ring of Fire Roller Coaster

THE SCENE: 68F
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

10 – 4 ct SSH, 10 Merkins, 10 Tie Fighters, 15-4 count flutter kicks.

THA-THANG:

To celebrate our 2 year anniversary we did Jumping Spiders at every shamrock on the road. This was a terrible idea, but according to the internet Plymetric pushups are really good for burning goo and building muscle. I think we had 34 shamrock stops, so 68 of these.

After recovering with a short walk the crew did not kill me, so we moved on to get a tour of the ring of fire roller coaster.

#1 pick your poison and make you way around the round brick enclosure with dips, incline merkins, decline wall crawl or box jumps.

Bunny Hop to #2

#2 Basketball Merkins – 10 alternating, roll ball to opposite hand and do an offset merkin, then roll it back.

Bear crawl to #3 “What’s up Doc” (TM by Baby Boomer)

#3 Grab a CMU, toss it up to the landing, hoist your sack of meat up, grab the CMU, run down the steps, and repeat for 3 times total.

Run to the covered walkway.

#4 Grab a CMU – 25 curls + 25

Run to #5

#5 Small weights / rocks (pink weights for Jenner) – 50 behind the back tricep flutters

Run to #6

#6 CMU drag from curb to curb, then back to curb.

Start over at the ring of fire.

11 men somehow managed to wrangle up all 18 CMUs to return to the pile.

MARY:
10 buns of steel each side, 20 – 4 count flutter kicks, 15-4 count LBCs
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11- Jitters, Curveball, Voo Doo, Mandolin, Honeydew, Long Noodle, Dumpster Dive, Jenner, Baby Boomer, Commission, Anchorman
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
2 years at Shamrock has been a huge blessing to me. I look forward to showing up in the gloom everyday. We have a strong band of brothers and I hope we continue to reach out to friends, family and strangers to invite them in to this group.

Psalms 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

MOLESKIN:
Baby Boomer’s friend Brad who is recovering from a heart attack. Pom pom to stay safe during his competition. Jenner for health and MCAT prep stress.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Flag handoff on May 25th!

Ouch my BACK

THE SCENE: Perfect weather, low 60’s and low humidity
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH X 20
Tempo Merkins X 10
Tempo Squats X 10
Baby arm circles forwards & backwards X 10
Cherry Pickers X 4
Quad Stretching
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the CMU pile and everybody gets one block.  Take half the blocks to the swings and half to the pull up bars.  Divide into two groups (6 people each) at the swings (using the swing as a pull up bar) do pull ups with your feet on the ground and your back parallel to the ground.  3 can go at a time, the other three do rows with the CMU until 20 are complete.  Rotate in and out until the second group tags you out.  The second group is at the pull up bars.  They are jumping into a pull up position and slowly lowering them selves down, then repeating X 10.  After you do 10, rotate to the CMU’s and perform lawn mowers with the CMU.  Once all 6 have had their turn on the pull up bars, mosey over to the other group.  Repeat entire sequence three times.

MARY:
Anchor Man handled the Mary.
Slow Dead Bugs
Snow Angels
LBC’s
Flutter Kicks
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I lost a dear friend over the weekend.  He was a longtime employee and coworker.  We talked about the impact of culture.  He embodied our work culture and he will be missed.  F3 has a strong culture as well, and it allows us to hold each other accountable and make each other better.  Culture eats strategy for breakfast, embrace it, make it your own, and use it as the great tool that it is to impact lives.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP coming up 5/6 at Haw Ridge 9-12 PM.

Raised Up

THE SCENE: Beautiful sunny morning, temp in low 60s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Rockettes, 10 Twisties, 10 Tempo Merkins, Michael Phelps, Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Men will divide into pairs of two. Each pair will grab a set of two bricks out the trailer parked in the parking lot across the street from the AO parking lot.  We will then go back to the AO parking lot to perform Doras.  While one partner starts exercising with the bricks, the other partner runs to the end of the parking lot, does 10 Rocky Balboas (both feet = 1) and then returns to take the bricks.  This pattern continues until all exercises are completed by the team of two.  The following are the exercises to perform with the bricks:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Punches where both hands = 1
  • 100 Wings Forward
  • 100 Wings Upward
  • 100 Wings Downward

We will then replace the bricks in the trailer.  We will mosey south on the roadway to the Lily Pad.  We will run around the parking lot stopping to do exercises at each corner of the parking lot.  But, before going to the next corner, we must run to the center of the parking lot and do three burpees there.  Rinse and repeat once exercises have been completed at all four corners.  Here are the exercises at each corner:

  • Cone 1:  20 Hello Dollies, 4 ct.
  • Cone 2:  20 Merkins
  • Cone 3:  20 Big-Boy Sit-ups
  • Cone 4:  20 Squats

Next, we will mosey to the grassy area across the main roadway at the base of Picket’s Charge.  We will do the following exercises in the grass:  20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct), 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct), and 20 Dying Bugs (4 ct).

Next, we will run up Pickett’s Charge to the Coliseum.  After each hill we will do 3 burpees.  At the Coliseum we will do the following exercises: 20 Carolina Dry Docks, 20 Moon Plunges, 10 Shoulder Taps

Next we will run counter-clockwise around the clock loop, stopping at the steps of the Admin Bldg. to do 25 Calf Raises, and stopping at the bench area of the Coliseum to do 25 Bench Dips. Rinse and repeat.

Mosey Back to AO by route of the Haslam Boulder and Dragon Tail.

Next we will do sprints from curb to curb in the parking lot.  We will sprint in the following manner from curb to other curb and back:  regular sprint, Bernie Sanders, skip, Grapevine left and right, crab walk 1/4 of the way then run there then hop 1/4 of the way and run back, and end with hard sprint there and back.

MARY:
Stretch those legs!
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
You can’t escape news of the War in Ukraine at this time.  The destruction to peoples homes and cities and the deaths of civilians has been horrible:  citizens bombed in their homes or shot with hands tied behind their backs.  It has led to some, including news people, to question the meaning of life for the Ukrainians suffering through the mess.  For what is life when your home is destroyed, your livelihood gone, family members lost? What would it be like for us if we were in those very homes, very streets, knowing that death is facing us? The news and images of the war have caused my to reflect upon it.  What if I was pigeon-holed in some building as the Russians approached me?

I would certainly be afraid.  How could one not be?  And, I would certainly fight for my life.  I may be 65-years-old but I’m not ready to die.  I wouldn’t give in without a fight.  But if the guns of the Russian army were staring me in the face, would my life be meaningless?  As I Christian, I can firmly say “no way.”

In Christ, I know that life is more than what this world presents us.  The enemy may seem stronger.  Their missiles may destroy our homes, their tanks may crush us, their guns may mow us down.  And so, if I was a Ukrainian watching the Russians coming into my city, I would have to accept the fact that I might die.  But I would not be the loser.  Those who use the weapons to kill me are the true losers.  I can trust that God guarantees their is more to this life.  And, I have a Christ who said the meek shall inherit the Earth.  Death, where is your sting?  I have a Christ who will raise me up.  So enemy, come on in with your tanks and your weapons.  Love will endure and so will I.  I believe this truth would give me the strength and courage to deal with death and destruction and to help those around me.  And, if truly strong, I might even be able to forgive the Russian soldiers invading.  Could I like Christ say, “Forgive them, God, for they know not what they are doing”?  But, whether I could or not, whether I vomited  in horror or peed in my pants in fear of the enemy coming to get me, I have a Christ who cares.  And, he will be there for me when I breathe my last breath.  He will raise me up on my last day.

MOLESKIN:

Pray for Swimmies’ grandfather who is battling cancer, for those dealing with drug addiction, and the people impacted by the War in Ukraine.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

CSAUP at Haw Ridge on Friday, May 6 from 9 pm to midnight.