F3 Knoxville

Spring to Action

THE SCENE: Perfect 67 degree morning, clear and dry
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

High Knees, Mtn Climbers, Shoulder Tap Merkins, Moroccan Night club, Side straddle hops
THA-THANG:
Fun-dian run through courtyard. – A chaotic scramble of two lines running through the courtyard.  Each leader gave up the lead by introducing an obstacle.  (Jumping over benches, bear crawling, snaking through trees).  Then planking till the back of the line made it through his obstacle.

Took a nice mosey of tour of 6 stations

  • Tricep Dips in courtyard
  • Burpee in parking lot (one we seem to never use)
  • Merkins at the stop sign
  • Squat Thrusters by CMU pile
  • Pull Ups at the pull up bars
  • Leg raises on the loading doc

Got into team of 4.  Each team could earn points (Springs) at each station.  The more of an exercise cumulative points, the more springs the team brought back.  Teams would then do core exercises till “released” by the next team to arrive. (this only sort of worked)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Welcome 2 FNGs!    5K’s 2.0 Sunrise

Welcome Buttons – glad you made it out to clown around with us.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
You all inspire me. I push way harder out here than when I work out on my own.
There is a risk we only push on the physical things and we have to have the humility to express that we don’t see our own blind spots in other areas of our lives.
In prepping for this morning I discovered I was treating the spiritual discipline of reading as a chore. I’m not much of a reader. I was afraid of the length of Psalm 119. But just as you may dread 100 burpees, doing it is live giving, full of awesome verses like:

Give me a helping hand, for I have chosen to follow your commandments.  Psalms 119:173

Jesus faithful provided his promised helper.

John 16:8 Nevertheless, I tel you the truth; it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.

The Holy Spirit is that helper and will talk to you through His word (and other ways)
If you don’t know that Helper talk to me about it in person, online -anywhere.
Challenge to you is to Read Psalm 119; it is life giving.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for 2 Moms with major medical needs (Heart Surgery coming Friday and broken hip from a fall last week)  Prayer for our nation and the protection of those keeping peace

JUCOnapolis 500

THE SCENE:  Perfect Morning
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith, Free, Modify, Not Professional, Own Volition, Social Distance, Phone

WARM-O-RAMA:
Cherry Pickers IC, Harry Rockettes IC; Grady Corns in Squat IC, Projectivator IC
THA-THANG:

Indianapolis 500 may have been cancelled this week but the JUCOnaplis 500 was a GO!

Quick mosey to Coupon Pile – stopping for 20 Merkins halfway.   Grabbed a coupon and started tabata timer – 10 AMRAP exercises for 50 seconds each with 10 second recovery between exercises for a nice 500 second push.  Did Walkover Merkins, Swings, Curls, Goblet Squats, Tricep Extensions, Heavy Freddy Mercuries, Overhead Press, Rocky Balboas, Bench Press and Squat Thrusters.   Dropped the coupons and headed over to the parking lot for our time trials.

Lined up on the curb across the parking lot.   Ready / Set / Go!   5 Burpees – Sprint to other side of Parking Lot; 5 Burpees; Bernie Back; 5 Burpees; and line up in the order you finish.

Now that we had our pole positions set it was time for the race.   Everyone ran the first lap (0.4 mi) without stopping at the pit (pain) stops.   At the start of the the second lap the pit (pain) were now open.  When you came to an open cone with no one at it you would stop and do the exercise on the ground then get up and start running again.  Ended up modifying to have two at each cone to make sure we didn’t run too much.  There were 10 cones with 50 reps at each cone.  10 exercises were Merkins, SSH, Flutter Kicks, Iron Mikes, Box Cutters, Single Leg Calf raises, Plank Jacks, Hello Dolly, Overhead Claps in Squat, and Mountain Climbers.

Mosey back to the AO; with a tire squealing JAILBREAK at the end.

MARY:
No time for Mary
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 HIMS in attendance
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Here is my best effort to put several rambling thoughts into one message for the day.   We talk about it often in F3 that we are all called to be HIMs (High Impact Men).    While we all got the Man part down…even clean shaven.   I know for me personally I can struggle with the first part – HIGH IMPACT.    When I reflect on my life, I often question am I making the high impact I am called to.   While I know I am far from perfect, I can make myself feel pretty good when I think about serving and impact those closest to me.  My family, my friends, co-workers, church community and next door neighbors (or at least those I know and like).     Where I have struggled in being a HIM is serving those that have nothing to give me in return.

You read from Matthew 5 and 6 – Jesus sermon on the mount and in Matthew 5:46-47 – Jesus says….If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?   Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even pagans do that?

Those are hard words to speak, to hear, to digest.  Because I know if I am honest with myself they expose the realities of my sinful nature.   But they are in red letters, Jesus is calling us to be different, to be set apart.   Mark 10:45   For even the Son of Man came to serve, not be served and to give his life as a ransom for many.   Jesus during his entire life was serving and ultimately gave his life to people who had nothing to give in return.

I can click on the link to donate money or hand out a $20 dollar bill here and there to the cause of the day and try to convince myself I am doing my part to help those in need but I know that in that moment that small token of generosity, while the right thing to do isn’t really a sacrifice.    Once again if I am honest how often am I willing to sacrifice myself, my time, my comfort, my needs, for those in true need, the orphans, widows, foreigners, poor.   That is the part of my life where I have been feeling God pull at me to make a change.   I am far from a finished product but want to be a doer of the Word, not just one who hears (James 1:22).  One who without hesitation knows the right thing to do and does it.   (James 4:17)

I stand here today thankful for many things.   Thankful for men around this circle who are constantly speaking truth and challenging one other to be the men God called us to be.   Men who are challenging each other to spend more time in scripture and prayer.   Men who are encouraging self reflection and repentance.  Men who are challenging one another to step up and help those in need.   Men who are living on mission day in and day out in the forgotten places and looking for others to join them.   I know I wouldn’t have done it on my own, I am too selfish.   But luckily, I have found you all and I have chosen to not do life alone.   

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffeeteria at DD still on even if GUMP isn’t here.

Run with Wisdom

THE SCENE: 56 degrees, no humidity, quite nice
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH
Tempo Squat
Windmill
Merkins

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Large Parking Lot Adjacent to the Pond
50 1-count Flutter Kicks
Run 75% to the other end, about 250 meters
50 Merkins
Run back to the beginning, that’s 1 set
Perform 4 sets
Mosey to Duck Pond
Burpee Mile
15 at the beginning of the loop
15 half-way through the loop
Tried to get 4 laps in; decreasing 5 burpees per round with each lap
Mosey back to AO

MARY:
A bit of time left for Hello Dolly

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Seeking and exercising Wisdom in light of today’s uncertainty
1 Kings 3
Desire Wisdom
Discover Wisdom
Demonstrate Wisdom

 

Fibonacci Unity

THE SCENE: Upper 60s. Dew on the ground. Fibonacci about to happen
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Administered + cell phone check
WARM-O-RAMA:

IC Moroccan Night Club x 10
IC Imperial Squat Walker x 10
IC Hillbillies (thanks to Kick-Flip for introducing me to this one!)
OYO Lunges in Place x 5 each leg
IC Tempo Merkin x 7
IC Tennessee Rocking Chair x 10
OYO Flying Squirrel x 5
IC Dancing Bear x 10

THA-THANG: Fibonacci time!

Mosey toward coupon pile. Stop along the way to do some exercises and build up the current Fibonacci number (start with 0 and add the previous two numbers together to get the current one)

  • 0 Star Gazers, 0 Fartsacks
  • 1 ea x Burpee, Donkey Kick
  • 1 ea x Squat Jump, Jumping Spider (0 + 1 = 1)
  • 2 ea x Burpees, Donkey Kicks (1 + 1 = 2)
  • 3 ea x BBS, Flutter Kicks (IC) (1 + 2 = 3)

Upon arrival at the CMU pile, each PAX grabbed a CMU and did:

  • 5’s Heavy American Hammers (bottom of the steps), Pull-ups at the top

Mary at the end fro PAX who finish before the 6.
After 5’s, mosey to Freshman Hill

  • 8’s with CMU’s: Monkey-humping goblet squat (leave CMU at bottom of the hill), Bobby Hurley’s (at the top of the hill)

Q cut this short as it was brutal and we returned the CMU’s to their home. Mosey to the newer back parking lot beside Sophomore Hill

  • 13’s next: (Air) Thrusters (originally planned to be at Freshman Hill with CMU’s), LBC’s

Mosey to other parking lot.

  • 21 each: Single count dancing bears, single count merkins

Mosey to other half of parking lot.

  • 34 each: Merkins, single leg calf raises

MARY:
Mosey to AO with just enough time for 30 seconds of pickle pounders (and even invented a new exercise – the pickle jumper where forearms stay on the ground but toes come off the ground when hips are elevated)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 men at the beatdown but 9 men built up.

COT also added 10 yes TEN guys for JUCO Rush).

All HIMs. Not a Fibonacci number but maybe next time we can get to 55 (the next Fibonacci number)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Guardrail sent me a text ~2 months ago asking me what I’d been working to memorize lately. I’d been slacking on Romans 15:1-7 but I determined that week I’d memorize it. It’s been an encouragement to me since then:

15 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

We live in such a time of division. There’s so much information out there. But we can be unified in bearing with the failings of the weak (and admitting when we are weak so our brothers can do this for us). We can choose to bear with those failings (meaning it will be harder for us) and letting whatever scorn and reproach fall on us, remembering that Jesus did it for us. Then as we spend time in the Word, the things that were written in former days, we will endure and be encouraged from those and THAT will give us to glorify God with one voice as a barbershop quartet or a magnificent choir ends on the same note and you get goosebumps from the sound. That is how God will work in and through us as we do these things.

MOLESKIN:
Praise for Guardrail’s daughter’s stomach issues being able to be treated with medication. Continued prayer for Jitters Dad (Stem Cell treatment begins this week) and Spotter & Gump’s mom (doing well but still undergoing chemo). Pray for Butterknife’s vasectomy on Friday.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Sign up for a Q or ask me or another PAX to co-Q with you. F3 is about ISI (Proverbs 27:17) and as HIM’s we are called to humbly lead.

BIG 3 BEATDOWN FRIDAY

THE SCENE: 60s and misty

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Complete + COVID

WARM-O-RAMA:
Cherry Pickers x7 (IC), Windmills x7 (IC), Tempo Squats x7 (IC), Tempo Merkins x7(IC)
THA-THANG:
Divide PAX  (24) into 3 teams.  Mosey to bottom of Mt. Juconte.  Three stations separated by a comfortable distance.  Each team starts at a different station.  Teams rotate stations (1-2-3) every time station 1 is completed.  Stations:

  • Station 1 (cardio) – Mosey up Juconte, 3 Burpees at every tree (21 Burpees total). When complete, mosey to Station 2 and bump that team to Station 3.
  • Station 2 (core) – At one cone perform 100 LBCs, Frog Jump to next cone and perform 100 Flutters. Repeat until Station 1 team is done. When “bumped” by Station 1 team, mosey to Station 3 and bump that team to Station 1.
  • Station 3 (strength) – 6 trees in the median.  Teams work their way up one side performing 10 merkins at every tree, then back down the other side performing 10 squats at every tree. Repeat until bumped to Station 1.

Each team got to do each Station twice.  Mosey back to shovel flag parking lot.

JELLY ARMS/JELLY LEGS – (ARMS) PAX hold six inches for time, then perform reps of merkins as called by the Q (three rounds), PAX hold an Al Gore for time, then perform reps of squats as called by the Q (three rounds).

MARY:  Freddy Mercury (assist from Erector – thanks, dude!), Flutter Kicks

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
24 HIM

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Words are powerful.  God says so.  Throughout the Bible we see a constant theme where gossiping, talking too much, and careless mouths are warned against.  This is something that I struggle with.  It is very easy to get sucked into gossip, especially if it’s true.  But does truth matter when we are using our words to tear someone down? Let’s look at Scripture:

Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death”

Ephesians 4:29 “Let no unwholesome talk come our of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their deeds, that it may benefit those who listen”

Exodus 23:1 “Do not spread false reports”

James 1:26 “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves”

Proverbs 10:19 “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues”

Proverbs 11:9 “With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors”

Proverbs 16:28 “A perverse person stirs up conflict”

Psalm 141:3 “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips”

As you can see, the Lord treats our words and the intent behind them very seriously, even if what we are saying is true.  I would encourage each of you to consider your words wisely, use them to build others up (even if we “feel” they deserve to be torn down).  There is a lot of wisdom in keeping our mouths shut, living a quiet existence and letting our actions speak for us.  There have been so many times in my 39 years I’ve wished I could take something I said back.  Be mindful of what you speak and learn to tame the tongue.

ISI……….

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Kick-Flip and his family.  We are with you, brother.  Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Sign-up for meal train for Farragut mother and son.