F3 Knoxville

People’s Choice

THE SCENE: Balmy!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, Tie Fighters, claps, squats
THA-THANG:

As Kasey Kasem used to say “The numbers keep getting smaller, and the hits keep getting bigger.”

So we did Kasey’s Kloud Kountdown: Box/Baby/Box + Table Rows, 20-15-10-5

I wasn’t going to bring Jack Webb into this, but Hands insisted, so we did.

After carefully scrutinizing the results of the F3 People’s Choice Poll, it was obvious that we haven’t visited Cardiac nearly enough, and so our duty to each other was clear.

All the way up Cardiac, dips at the top, merkins at the cone, squats at the bend, and flutters at the bottom. 20-15-10.

The results of Q’s attempt to comply with the Q/phone mandate were mixed: I brought it with me to the cloud, but I left it there. So we moseyed back to get it, then arrived at AO with juuuust enough time to finish off whatever we had left in our shoulders with some ATM.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“Jesus’ entire work proceeds as does the work of a seed: it takes place in a mystery, in secret – in a way that can neither be known nor felt, but only believed, trusted.” Robert Farrar Capon
MOLESKIN:
Praying for Patty and family.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The owner of the maroon F150 who had lunch at Gus’ yesterday refused to identify himself on Slack; Matlock wants a word with you

Grainger County Christmas Story

THE SCENE: Clear skies, temps in high 20’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Run around the parking lot to get warm; 20 Side-Straddle Hops; 10 Burpees; 10 Cherry Pickers; 10 Rockettes; 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to start of the Dragon Tail.  We will run up dragon tail stopping at every other light to do 10 of the following exercises (one exercise for each run up).  After reaching the top, run on trail to road, back down to lower parking lot, and back to the start of the Dragon Tail to do the next exercise.  Here are the exercises:

  • Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)
  • Big Boy Sit-ups
  • Jump Squats
  • Merkins

Mosey to stop sign that is on the northeastern corner of the admin bldg.  We will be moving in a route with signs giving the directions for exercises along the way and where we go next.  The signs will be numbered and by cones.

  • Cone 1:  Do 10 Burpees.  Then bear crawl on sidewalk heading south to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  Do 15 Dive Bombers.  Then lunge on sidewalk south to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  Do 10 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1).  Then run to Cone 4 at porch of Admin Bldg.
  • Cone 4:  Do 20 Calf Raises on stairs and 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct.) on porch. Then run south on trail and back north on trail to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  Run down steps to parking lot below Coliseum.  Then run south up parking lot, around to southern end of Coliseum and north to Cone 6 which is by marble bench area of Coliseum.
  • Cone 6:  Do 20 Bench Dips.  Then run to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  Do 40 Baby Crunches.  Then run to Cone 8 which is on street near to the admin stop sign where we started.
  • Cone 8:  Do 20 Carolina Dry Docks.
  • Rinse and Repeat.

As a group we will take a 30 second gander at Beautiful Eastern TN below us.  Then we will mosey to parking lot with CMUs.

Each man grabs a CMU and teams up with a brother.  We will do Doras. While one man runs to pavilion and does 10 Picnic Table Pull-ups, the other does the exercises with the CMU.  Then partners switch. Each team will do the following exercises:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Squats

Put CMUs back and mosey to start of mini-cardiac.  Bernie up mini-cardiac to park sign, then sprint the rest of the way to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
28 men with one FNG:  John Case.  He is now named Lamont.  He is the father of member Mickey.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
In my work as a therapist I heard a mighty fine Christmas story from one of my patients and decided to share it to you here in February.  My patient lives in a mountainous area in Grainger County, Tennessee.  Some of you may have heard of Grainger County tomatoes.  Most are grown in the valley of the county but some areas of the county can be pretty rugged.  Here’s a little demographic news for you in regards to Grainger County.  It is 94% white, 3.3% Hispanic, and probably less than 1% Black.  If you are a black man, you may not want to get stuck alone in Grainger County.  The patient I am talking about is a middle-aged white woman and she would tell you that.

She also told me about an African-American truck driver who was driving on a winding highway through the area she lived in on Christmas Eve.  As you may recall, Christmas Eve is the day we got that snow that gave us all a White Christmas.  The highway the man was driving on was curvy and slick.  Unfortunately, his 18 wheeler went off the side of the road and landed in a deep ditch.  There was no way to get that truck out easily.  It was going to take more than one large wrecker truck to get the truck out.  It being Christmas, that would take well over 24 hours.

The truck had valuable cargo and the driver was required to stay with his truck until it could be towed.  So this African-American truck driver was stuck on Christmas Eve miles from his home – in one of the most rugged areas of “redneck country”.  In Grainger County, if you aren’t driving a pickup truck with a gun rack inside your back window, “you probably ain’t from around these parts.”  The necessary clothing for a man is a pair of jeans with a can of snuff in your back pocket.

News can spread pretty fast in a rural county and the news of the sidelined truck came to my patient quickly.  She was frankly worried about this African-American truckdriver stuck in her neck of the woods.  She was concerned someone might try to start some trouble with him.  She wanted to go out to his truck to check on him but was worried about doing so until her husband got home.  He did later that day and they went out to the area where the truck was located.

What they found was a number of “neighbors” already congregated by the truck.  They also found these same “redneck” neighbors had brought the African-American truckdriver some hot dinner, hot coffee, and baked goods to snack on through the evening.  People from all over were coming to make the driver feel as comfortable as he could.  They even brought blankets but he had those in his cabin which he was able to keep warm through keeping the engine on.  They offered for him to come to their homes but he had to stay with his truck.  By the next morning the driver had hot breakfast and gifts of goodies and Christmas cards.  When the truck was finally pulled out of the ditch, the driver went home with more hot food and goodies that were brought to him at lunch and dinner time on Christmas Day.

My patient went to sleep on Christmas night feeling wonderful about the residents of Grainger County.  Whatever their beliefs and prejudices’, they had made an African-American stranger feel blessed and welcome.  It was a Christmas that I am sure he will never forget.  And, my patient, who has had a difficult year, sang “Joy to the World” a little louder on Christmas day.  The air smelled mighty fresh in Grainger County and the stars shone brighter for the rest of 2020.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for the disenfranchised; for caregivers who are taking care of others and that they would have patience in that difficult task; for Ribbed and his wife, Sarah, after the surgery to remove the tumor by her spine; for Abacus’ mother who will need surgery on her leg; for those in F3 who have lost loved ones this year.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Reward at Coffeeteria!

Punxsutawney Skunk

THE SCENE: Chilly with a touch of ice.  Around 30 degrees at circle up
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:

20 SSH on 4ct, 10 Plank Jacks on 4ct, 10 Tempo Merkins, A little this and that, Jog the lot, Rocky B’s x20, Mosey back and Grab a CMU

THA-THANG:
Mosey with CMU to pavilion for 20 table rows and 20 dips.  Pick up the CMU and mosey to Circus Maximus.  There perform 5 rounds of 2 sets of exercises (50 reps each) then take a lap.

Round 1: 50 OH PRESS, 50 LBC, 1 LAP

Round 2: 50 CURLS, 50 JUMP SQUATS, 1 LAP

Round 3: 50 MERKINS, 50 SQUATS, 1 LAP

Round 4: 50 ROWS (25 EACH ARM), 50 HEEL TOUCH, 1 LAP

Round 5: 50 DRY DOCKS, 50 SKATERS, 1 LAP

With time left just pick a round or mix and match

Mosey back to pavilion for 20 table rows and 20 dips

Put back the CMU’s and mosey to Little Everest for 2 rounds of 20 4ct Flutter kicks then run to top (Rinse and Repeat)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
My bom was interrupted by two skunks doing what two skunks do when they are married and love each other very much.  Basically, the BOM was that we all have a purpose that God has laid out for us.  So live with purpose and pursue your creator.

Go Ugly Early and Own It

[ The Scene ]

  • 40s
  • Rainy
  • Literally amazing/character-building weather

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • add in moto for rainy day suck

[ Warm o Rama ]

  • SSH: 25 (1ct)
  • Imperial Walker: 10 (1ct)
  • Rockette: 10 (1ct)
  • Merkin: 10 (4ct Army style)
  • Flutter Kicks: 10 (4ct)
  • Squat: 10 (1ct)
  • Baby Arm Circles: 10 (4ct back)

[ The Thang ]

( Mosey to the Coliseum overlook)

(1) The Trek

  • Hill up to Saturday AO — around the curve  and Haslam Rock — up and in
  • Stop signs = 5 – 8-count ManMakers

(2) ColIseum Run

  • Entry, Middle, Exit
  • ***Entry —> Exit***
  • Entry
    • 25 Army merkins (4ct)
    • 25 Carolina Dry Docks (4ct)
  • Middle
    • 25 Rocky Balboas (1ct)
    • 25 Calf-Raises (1ct)
  • Exit
    • 25 squats (4ct)
    • 25 mountain climbers (4ct)
  • ***Exit —> Entry***
  • Side-shuffle back

Everyone makes the Coliseum Run (Entry to Exit and back) twice

(3) Coliseum Run Exodus

  • all together

(4) Back to the AO Trek

  • Stop signs = 25s (5 LBCs, 5BBSs, 5 American Hammers, 5 Flutter Kicks, 5 V-Ups)
  • There are a lot of stop signs

[ Mary ]

PAX do down & backs across parking lot and light stretching to end

[ COT ]

  • # off — 20
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs — 0
  • BOM

“Own It”

  • started reading “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink
  • Own where you’re at — even if it’s not where you want to be
  • This is where I’m at, but this is not my final resting place — own it
  • Own the places that you’ve been uniquely called to be in (think job/family/organizations – spheres of influence)

Beatdown by Committee

THE SCENE: Mid 30s and quite pleasant.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x25 IC
Windmills x10 IC
Cobra burpees x5 OYO
Tempo merkins x10 IC
Travoltas x10 each side IC
LBAC x15 fwd and back

5 rounds of 20 calf raises and 20 sissy squats, broken up by runs across the parking lot at 25%, 50%, 75%, and AYG

THA-THANG:
CMUs all around, circle up for some Beatdown by Committee.
Each PAX around the circle picks an exercise to do 20 reps, followed by a lap.
Waxjob: CMU BBS
Standard lap around the parking log
Lebowski: Tricep Extensions
Standard lap
Otis: Kettlebell Swings
Rifle carry the diagonal and back
Snitch: Lawn Mowers
Standard Lap
Rainbow: Squat thrusters
Standard Lap
Moneypenney: OHP
Blocks and Bears across the width and back
Matlock: Curls
Standard Lap
Rousey: Sissy Squats
Pregnant Crab across the breadth and back
Waxjob: Up & Over Merkins
Standard lap
Lebowski: Calf Raises
Rifle Carry

MARY:
LBC x25 IC
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Great 8 FTW
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The word that stuck with me here is reasonableness. Today it seems like that’s getting more and more rare. Whether it’s COVID-related stuff or the political climate, it’s becoming more and more common that people’s responses are simply unreasonable. There are ways of expressing convictions reasonably while at the same time not compromising. That’s what we’re called to do – As much as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
MOLESKIN:
No cardboard Weinke today… No lack of cardboard at the Waxjob house though. Sometimes it’s inspiration that’s a bit lacking. Thanks everyone for stepping up and filling in the Q gaps!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Give blood at the Asylum on the 29th! Sign up for the CSAUP on the 30th!