F3 Knoxville

Tag: Mandolin

What Does Frozen 2 & 100 Burpees Have in Common?

THE SCENE: 41 degrees – great weather for a day in the gloom!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Cherry Pickers (IC) 4 CT X 8
  • Side Straddle Hops (IC) X 15
  • Baby Arm Circles Forward X 10 followed by Michael Phelps
  • Baby Arm Circles Backward X 10 followed by Michael Phelps
  • Hand Release Merkins – OYO X 10
  • Tempo Squats (IC) 4 CT X 10
  • Sprints back & forth across the parking lot X 4
  • No Mosey – Stayed in the AO Lot the entire time

THA-THANG: AO Parking Lot

January Challenge – 100 burpees for time

Four corners – 10 reps of each exercise in all 4 corners.

  • 1st Lap – squats, diamond merkins, big boy situps
  • 2nd Lap – lunges, merkins, heals to heaven
  • 3rd Lap – calf raises, wide merkins, Freddie Mercury
  • Rinse and repeat

MARY: Part of the Q

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA  26 HIMs & 1 FNG – DeVito

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Back in December, I took my youngest daughter to see Frozen 2. During one scene of the movie, Anna was sad because she though Olaf and Elsa were dead. She almost gave up but sang the song “The Next Right Thing” and me and my daughter got pretty emotional. Read the words below and realize that we are faced daily to do the next right thing. The question is are we going to do it?

  • Should we WATCH basketball on TV or PLAY basketball with our kids?
  • Should we PLAY a game on our phone or PLAY a game with our kids?
  • Should we volunteer in our community or live in our own little bubble and not go out of our comfort zone?
  • Should we exercise, read the Bible, be a great employee, friend and family member or just muddle through life?

Let’s always think about what the right thing is, take a breath and then take a step in the right direction!

The Next Right Thing from Frozen 2

I’ve seen dark before, but not like this
This is cold, this is empty, this is numb
The life I knew is over, the lights are out
Hello, darkness, I’m ready to succumb
I follow you around, I always have
But you’ve gone to a place I cannot find
This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down
But a tiny voice whispers in my mind
You are lost, hope is gone
But you must go on
And do the next right thing
Can there be a day beyond this night?
I don’t know anymore what is true
I can’t find my direction, I’m all alone
The only star that guided me was you
How to rise from the floor?
But it’s not you I’m rising for
Just do the next right thing
Take a step, step again
It is all that I can to do
The next right thing
I won’t look too far ahead
It’s too much for me to take
But break it down to this next breath, this next step
This next choice is one that I can make
So I’ll walk through this night
Stumbling blindly toward the light
And do the next right thing
And, with it done, what comes then?
When it’s clear that everything will never be the same again
Then I’ll make the choice to hear that voice
And do the next right thing

MOLESKIN:  Be open to learning wherever you are…like the movies seeing Frozen 2 w/ your daughter, Strawberry Shortcake

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • Help build pullup bars on February 29 at the Dog Pound
  • Hardship Hill is on May 2

Tony Hawk

THE SCENE: A balmy 40 degrees with a light drizzle. Perfect beatdown weather!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
30x SSH IC
10x Failure to Launch
10x Hindurkins IC
20x LBAC each way
20x OHC
10x Crabettes IC
20x Cossack Squats (10 each leg)
Toady-hop across the parking lot (not Tony Hawk, although that sounds much cooler. I’ll have to work on that…)
Bear crawl across the parking lot

THA-THANG:
Mosey over to the large parking lot. Battle buddy up.
Broken Wheelbarrow (partner holds only one leg) from one line to the next, 5 merkins on arrival.
Switch places with partner.
Repeat with other leg.
Squats for the Six.

Mosey to the courtyard. Divide into groups of 3.
One PAX under one shelter, other under shelter across the courtyard. Third PAX runs between (plus 2 burpees) and switches out.
Exercise pairs:

Iron Mikes – Cossack Squats
Diamond Merks – Carolina Dry Docks
Gas Pumpers – LBCs
Superman Swim – Sundial
Ran outta time! Hustle back to the AO!

MARY:
Ruckers were doing something or other at the AO when we got there… But time was up!
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 for Motherruck’n Monday: Sergeant Slaughter, Mermaid, Mandolin, Booster, Ginger, and Judge Judy. 19 for the standard beatdown (as tagged)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Stolen from Tank’s contribution to the weekly email, because it hit home:
Close your eyes.
Imagine you have a daughter.
Now imagine she’s dating someone just like you.
Did you smile?
No?
Then change!

Some things we lack the power to change on our own. We need the help of the Holy Spirit inside us. Without Him we can do nothing!

MOLESKIN:
Never had a nosebleed before today, but it bled like a stuck pig the whole way from my house to the AO! Managed to get it stopped just in time for the beatdown… could have been a gory mess!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Pullup Bars installation at the Dog Pound next month! Feb 29!

Look A Turtle (Press On!)

THE SCENE: 42F and rainy. Things were already going swimmingly.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER– Administered and cell phone check done too. $Free.99, Q was looking like a Turtle and not a professional that’s for sure.

Gazelle Trot (aka Mosey) to overhang outside of CPAC
WARM-O-RAMA:
Donkey Kick x 5
Frog Jump in place x 5
Jumping Spider x 10
Werewolf x 5
Spider Man w/Reach x 5
Flying Squirrels x 5
Copperhead Squat x 5
Monkey Humper x 5

Black Snake 1x each PAX through the line and then continue in formation to the ERC

THA-ANIMAL-THANG:Pyramid Workout – Start with the first exercise and add an exercise each round until you get to all 5 exercises and then drop an exercise until you get to 1 exercise:
10 Monkey Humpers
10 Mountain Goats
10 Frog Jumps
10 Flying Squirrels
10 Jumping Spiders
Choose Your Own Adventure
Duck Walk or Bear Crawl up the ramps at the ERC (alternate at the end of each round) and
Back down the stairs or run 1 lap (~1/8 mile) in the courtyard in the rain

Example Animal Adventure Workout
Round 1  – 10 Monkey Humpers, Bear Crawl
Round 2  – 10 Monkey Humpers, 10 Mountain Goats, Duck Walk
Round 3  – 10 Monkey Humpers, 10 Mountain Goats, 10 Frog Jumps, Bear Crawl, 1 lap around the courtyard in the rain
Round 4  – 10 Monkey Humpers, 10 Mountain Goats, 10 Frog Jumps, 10 Flying Squirrels, Duck Walk, 1 lap around the courtyard in the rain
Round 5  – 10 Monkey Humpers, 10 Mountain Goats, 10 Frog Jumps, 10 Flying Squirrels, 10 Jumping Spiders, Bear Crawl, 1 lap around the courtyard in the rain
Round 6 (drop an exercise)  – 10 Monkey Humpers, 10 Mountain Goats, 10 Frog Jumps, 10 Flying Squirrels, Duck Walk
Round 7 (drop another exercise)  – 10 Monkey Humpers, 10 Mountain Goats, 10 Frog Jumps, Bear Crawl
Round 8 (drop another exercise)  – 10 Monkey Humpers, 10 Mountain Goats, Duck Walk, 1 lap around the courtyard in the rain
Round 9 (drop down to 1 exercise) – 10 Monkey Humpers, 1 lap around the courtyard in the rain,

If time permitted, Round 10 would add an exercise and repeat. I think we had a few PAX finish Round 6. After Round 5 the Q said no more adventures in the courtyard and after another 3 minutes the Q called recover.

MARY (Q had asked Jitters to lead):

20 American Hammers 4 ct OYO
20 LBC’s OYO
20 Flutter Kicks IC (fastest flutters ever I’m pretty sure)
10 Pickle Pounders IC

After calling recover, the Q decided our grand finale would be better done under shelter so “on your 6” was called and the Q asked Waxjob to lead “Row, row, row your boat” as he combined American Hammers + Boat / Canoe and singing all together so that “life is but a dream!”

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 PAX including 1FNG, plus 1 Wookie & and 1 Turtle on Q (here’s the ‘picture or it didn’t happen’. Dart Gun had to leave early).

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

For 23 years I thought I was a Christian. There was no fruit, confession, or repentance in my life for over two decades. I was self-absorbed, self-focused, and self-exalting. But God brought me down in my sexual idolatry and humbled me and broke me… and in the process, I believe genuinely saved me. The next steps in my journey are unsure, but the weight of my sin Christ has borne. As Philippians Philippians 3:12-16 says

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Last week my divorce became final. I have confessed, repented, prayed, and begged for the Lord to be pleased with how I walked out the end of my marriage that I destroyed. God is not mocked. But my life is not over. I am called to be a HIM in every sense of the word. Christ died on the cross so I could walk in newness of life. In short, Jesus has called me to PRESS ON. And He has called many HIMs to do the same – in (at least from our perspective) “good” and “bad” circumstances (including rainy 42F F3 workouts):

5k is waiting on Venture Capital funding for his new job.
Mandolin is considering a new job, wife’s job struggles including losing her first patient.
Trolley’s Mom in Cali is recovering from water on the lungs
Judge has a new house, his wife went through post-partum depression (and is now on the other side of it PTL), and has a new mentee who doesn’t like cops or the church.
Anchorman has many Emerald Youth kids he cares for
Guardrail has ongoing heel issues so has to take a break from F3
Snaggletooth is caring for the kids alone this weekend while his wife travels for work
Ginger is moving to Nashville
Mailbox M has heart issues

All of us are called to press on for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This earth and no one and
no thing, job, salary, pleasure are our prize. Christ is our prize. Remember God’s Word through Paul:

13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Press on!

MOLESKIN:

Prayer for:
Hideout’s church plant
Mandolin’s job opportunity
Waxjob’s mother-in-law (signs of Alzheimer’s)
Prais for Survivor (FNG Welcome) over 2 years ago getting through his battle with cancer.

The turtle onesie was harder and the workout was harder than the Q expected .
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Waxjob on Q Monday! Don’t forget to keep signing up for future Q’s as the JUCO Q-calendar fills up quickly. Also don’t hesitate to do a JUCO Bomb or a guest Q to help out and encourage other AO’s!

Lasting Invigoration

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THE SCENE:  WHAT?  I thought there was supposed to be a THUNDERSTORM!?!?!  It’s super nice!  60 and no rain!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

Abe Vigoda x 8 IC
Moroccan Nightclub x 8 IC
Mosey to the ducks, Carolina Dry Dock x 10 OYO
Mosey to the flag, Heels 2 Heaven x 15 IC
Fast mosey to the ducks (75%), Merkin x 10 OYO
Fast mosey to the flag (75%), Flutter Kick x 15 IC
Sprint to the ducks, Burpees x 5 OYO

THA THANG:

Mosey to the big parking lot.  Partner up

(Hat tip, Archie!)  Pairs spread out across 6 stations.  At each station there is a “stationary” exercise and a “move” exercise.  First partner does the “stationary” exercise until the second partner does the “move” exercise to the cone and back.

Two minutes each station.  30-second recovery and rotate.

Exercises were;

Station 1:  Bear crawl / Flutter kick
Station 2:  Sprint / Carolina Dry Dock
Station 3:  Broad Jump / Heels 2 Heaven
Station 4:  Sprint / Burpee
Station 5:  Lunge / Merkin
Station 6:  Sprint / Mountain Climber

Performed 9 sets.

Mosey back

MARY:

(Hat tip, Spotter!)  Each person names an exercise and leads 10 reps.  Rotate around x 5 exercises.

Hold plank.  I passed out 12 pieces of paper – each containing a quote from a previous Q at JUCO.  One quote is read aloud.  3 merkins.  Next quote is read…3 Merkins.  Repeat until finished.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

17 strong (+6 Rushers for the CoT)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

During Mary, I passed out pieces of paper and asked for them to be read aloud (while we plank and Merkin).  On each paper was a quote from a previous Q at JUCO.

      • “When you do wrong by someone, you HAVE TO MAKE IT RIGHT”. – Commission
      • “The process of calling people out by name is BOLD, and it’s powerful to encourage.  We have been called to boldly pray for one another”. – Guardrail
      • “Being thankful is about the mindset of being conscious of what we have and what surrounds us and giving thanks for that as opposed to comparing our lives to others and striving to acquire more and more material objects”. – Mandolin
      • “Let’s strive to be passionate about all that we do. To push ourselves to the next level physically, spiritually, and mentally”.  – Spotter
      • “I come here for the fist bumps”. – Finger Food
      • “What kind of leader are you? Do you go home after a long day and expect to be served? Or are you serving? – Judge Judy
      • “We commit time and discipline to strengthening our physical bodies. How are we strengthening our spirits for the battles we are in?” – Snaggletooth
      • “Put others before yourself and be part of the solution”. – Erector
      • “We should strive to love others like God loves us”. – Booster
      • “To be fighters, we not only have to be physically ready, but mentally as well”. – Sargent Slaughter
      • “I need to set my mind on staying faithful to God’s will and not on my own comfort”. – Archie
      • “You’re here to bear your own load and carry other HIM’s burdens when they can’t, and you let them when you can’t”. – Pool Boy

T-claps for my good friend, Archie, who nagged me about F3 until I finally showed up 8 months ago!  I loved it from Day 1 and have been to almost 100 workouts since!  I love it because it is so much more than a workout (Hat tip, Finger Food).

A few days ago, Waxjob reminded us that F3 has a mission – “to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership”.  Men, this is not just about doing merkins and burpees in the dark – it is about the invigoration of men in our area.  The pump you get from a workout doesn’t last more than a few hours.  Real, life-changing, long-lasting invigoration grows out of these last 5 minutes of our time together (CoT) – when we share wisdom and pray for one-another.

This group is about energizing and revitalizing the man to your left and right (not us, but Christ working in us).  We are about challenging each other and holding each other accountable to a very high standard.  We are about being vulnerable with our own faults and failures, in order to promote growth in others.  We are about pouring into each other’s lives – encouraging one another and allowing yourself to be encouraged, so that we all get better together.  We are about sharing wisdom, a treasure far more precious than rubies (Proverbs 3:15), with each other.

 

Two thoughts about sharing wisdom during the CoT

#1:  Scripture says if you prize wisdom, she will make you great, she will honor you (Proverbs 4:8), add years to your life (Proverbs 9:11) and will bring you strength (Ecclesiastes 7:19) and success (Ecclesiastes 10:10). I think you can expect those returns, only IF YOU ARE APPLYING WHAT YOU HEAR (James 1:22).

Men, what if you were applying the wisdom that we read during our Mary (words that YOU have spoken to this group over the past few weeks)?  What if you selflessly served your loved ones (Judge’s Word), cultivated contentment in your life (Mandolin’s Word), sincerely apologized when you wronged others (Commission’s Word), subjugated your comfort to God’s will (Archie’s Word), prayed for your F3 brothers (Guardrail’s Word), loved others like God loves us (Booster’s Word)…  OH, WHAT A MAN YOU WOULD BE!!!  You would certainly be a High-Impact Man, if you APPLIED what you hear.

#2:  If wisdom will make you great, honored, strong, successful – that sounds like the antidote to a meaningless life.  If you have wisdom to share but you’re keeping it to yourself – man, what’s up with that?  Do you have a word of encouragement for us?  SHARE IT, because we struggle against discouragement every day.  Do you have a word that will cut us deeply and expose the innermost thoughts and intentions of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12)?  If you lack the courage to speak that word of rebuke, you have stolen peace and joy from us.  If, however, you hearten yourself to speak those uncomfortable words with truth and love, Christ may just use you to rescue your brother from his life of self-centeredness and meaninglessness.  OH, WHAT A MAN YOU WOULD BE!!!

Wisdom – APPLY it, SHARE it.

MOLESKIN:

This Q was a tribute to some of my favorite men on earth.

Hat tips to Archie and Spotter for the workout ideas.

Hat tips galore to those who provided inspiration for the Word; Waxjob, 5K, Archie, Spotter, Mandolin, Finger Food, Commission, Pool Boy, Erector, Snaggletooth, Sargent Slaughter, Guardrail, Booster, Judge Judy.

A note about wisdom… Not every sweet platitude written in script on a shabby chic board in Hobby Lobby is wisdom.  Not every word spoken by someone famous is worth repeating.  “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12).  If you bring “wisdom” that you heard from Oprah to a BOM and it falls flat, don’t be surprised.  It is the Word of God which will cut like a sword (Hebrews 4:12) and which never returns void (Isaiah 55:11).  No such promises if your inspiration is another source. 

Music credits;
Rotate (Finger Food’s new favorite song), Rak-Su
Smack Down, Thousand Foot Crutch
Can’t Be Moved, Jeremy Camp
Fire it Up, Thousand Foot Crutch
Purpose for Pain, Scott Stapp
Lifeline, Thousand Foot Crutch
Feel Invincible, Skillet
Move, Thousand Foot Crutch
Move, Toby Mac
The Resistance, Skillet
Final Countdown, Europe
Freedom yell, Mel Gibson

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Prayers for Mailbox’s wife’s health, Mandolin’s wife’s job, Pool-Boy’s divorce hearing tomorrow, Fast-N-Easy’s family, Judge’s mentoring opportunity, WaxJob’s family

Slaughter tours the Asylum

THE SCENE: A crisp 65 degrees, beautiful weather for my tour of the AO
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 10; Cherry Pickers (slow) x 7; Overhead Clap x 25; Moroccan Nightclub x 25.

THA-THANG:
Inaugural “Flight of the Blue Falcon”

  • Given two 8x12x16 (XL) CMUs, two PAX held the CMUs overhead while the rest of the group ran away for a 10-count.  At the end of the counting, “drop” was called and the herd executed AMRAP of an exercise designated by a block-holder (burpees, merkins, squats, pickle pounders, smurf jacks, etc) until the blocks caught up and were passed off.  Upon exchange, the new CMU holders designated the next exercise and began 10-count while everyone else ran away.  Rinse and repeat, with a goal of showing the Q the ins and outs of the AO (Everest, Cardiac Hill, etc) until time was up.

MARY:
Arrived back at the AO with about 5 minutes to spare, completed flutter kicks x 25, tempo squats x 20, then overhead claps/moroccan nightclubs until time was up (lost count in the midst of the mumble-chatter).

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
1 Peter 5 v. 6&7 say “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  Talked about what it means to cast anxieties on Him, and that it means to cut the cord and leave it there, not reel it back in like a crank-bait.  Shared a story about a flight with my M, when she got very nervous during a turbulent flight.  Being the “good husband” that I thought I was being, I told her not to worry, that it would be ok.  Of course, that didn’t help, and she looked at me, panicked, and said “how do you know?”.  My too-quick and too-honest response was “I don’t, but I can’t fly the damn plane, so there’s nothing I can do about it…”  This is a good reminder that as men, we need to be honest, but we need to do so with love.
MOLESKIN:
The Asylum bunch was fun, but way too courteous.  I should have explained the “blue falcon” concept better at the beginning, because they were asking “who wants the block?” instead of just handing it off to the next vict.. er, uh, participant.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Keep an eye on the Q calendar, me and “my friends” as Mermaid called them, will be making appearances at more AOs to spread the love.