F3 Knoxville

Friends of God

THE SCENE: Windy, temp in high sixties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 8 Twisties, 5 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward.

THA-THANG:

Mosey to beginning of the Dragon Tail.  We will do Route 66 up the Dragon Tail with Squat Jumps as the exercise.  Those getting to the top first circle back to the six and go up with them.

Mosey on perimeter trail to the stop sign by the road that goes to Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies and 15 Merkins.

Mosey on perimeter trail until it gets close to Lyons Bend.  We will do 20 American Hammers and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to bottom of Mt Everest.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to the Utility Bldg.  We will do 20 Bicycle Kicks and 15 Merkins.

Mosey up the road from Northshore Gate until we hit parking lot on left.  We will do 20 Box Cutters and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to Parking Lot by Apartments.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to roadway that goes by Outdoor Chapel.  We will do 20 Bench Dips at curb and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to parking lot that goes by new restrooms.  We will do 20 American Hammers and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to parking lot by entrance to ball parks.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks and 15 Merkins.

Next, we will sprint from one curb in the parking lot to the other and back, doing 3 burpees at each curb.  We will Bernie Sanders from one curb to the other and back, doing 3 burpees at each curb.  We will rinse and repeat above.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Some of you may have heard of a signer called Nightbirde.  Her actual name is Jane Marczewski.  At age 30 she has survived very difficult stints of cancer.  The first time she was diagnosed in 2017, she was told she would live for only 3 to 6 months.  She was cancer free after treatment but the cancer came back in 2018.  At that time, her husband of five years left her.  Through painful treatment she became cancer free again in July of 2020.  She went on to perform her own song, “It’s OK” in the 16th Season of America’s Got Talent in 2021.  Her song, “It’s OK” went to number one on I Tunes and number two on You Tube. Before the quarterfinals of American’s Got Talent, she announced she had cancer again and had to withdrawal.

Something that has been both surprising and inspirational about this 30-year-old woman is her faith in God through the torment and continuing battles with cancer.  Her relationship with God is certainly not a simple and sweet one.  But it has been very personal, and God wants us to have that same personal relationship with him.  She says:

“I am God’s downstairs neighbor, banging on the ceiling with a broomstick. I show up at His door every day. Sometimes with songs, sometimes with curses. Sometimes apologies, gifts, questions, demands. Sometimes I use my key under the mat to let myself in. Other times, I sulk outside until He opens the door to me Himself,” she continued. “I have called Him a cheat and a liar, and I meant it. I have told Him I wanted to die, and I meant it. Tears have become the only prayer I know. Prayers roll over my nostrils and drip down my forearms. They fall to the ground as I reach for Him. These are the prayers I repeat night and day; sunrise, sunset.”

Nightbirde proclaims that her relationship with God has grown through the process. She states:

“Call me bitter if you want to—that’s fair. Count me among the angry, the cynical, the offended, the hardened. But count me also among the friends of God. For I have seen Him in rare form. I have felt His exhale, laid in His shadow, squinted to read the message He wrote for me in the grout {of the bathroom floor}.

As for the name she chose to go by as a singer, Jane Marczewski says, “I want to be the bird that sings in anticipation of the good things that I trust are coming.”

Gents, let us take courage from the words of this small 30-year-old woman who weighs less than 100 pounds.  Let us count ourselves among the friends of God.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for safe travels for Pusher and family to San Francisco on Thursday; for Corona Weight and his family as he will have over 180 days of travel with his job in 2022; for Rooney’s church family; for Swimmies and his family as they move to new home this week; and, for Jinxy and his family as his daughter, Carli, and his son-in-law, Hooker, are going to have another baby.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Asylum workout on Saturday will be at 8:30 am instead of 7:00 am.  Polar Bear Plunge will be at noon at fork in river near Townsend.

Festivus Reindeer Games

THE SCENE:

Clear Temperature Humidity Feels like Wind Speed Wind Direction
52 ℉ 46% 52 ℉ 5.8 mi/h WSW

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER.
I am not a professional.  I have a phone.  Workout as injuries allow.

WARM-O-RAMA:

Warm-up consisted of a mosey up hill out of parking lot.  Stop and Baby Arm Circles (10 each direction). Bernie and then Mosey along walking path a bit.  Stop and 10 Tempo Squats.  Mosey to top of ‘S’ turns.  Stop and Cherry Pickers on your own.  Mosey down bottom of hill.  Imperial Walkers (11).

THA-THANG:
Slow mosey to the first of eight picnic tables.  Tables are about 25 yrds apart.  So, eight different stations.  Each table assigned nickname of one of Santa’s reindeer.  Each reindeer game is an exercise.  At each reindeer, do 5 reps of exercise.  Do all eight reindeer stations then reverse back down the reindeer and adding 5 more reps.  So, 10 each.  Then back up and 5 more (15).  Back down 20.  Back up 25.  So, PAC can push themselves to their pace and they will spread out a bit.  Reindeer exercises are:
Dasher. Decline Merkins
Dancer. Box Jumps/Step Ups
Prancer. Dips
Vixen. Bicep Merkins
Comet. LBCs
Cupid. Calf Raises
Donner. Incline Merkins
Blitzen. Heels to Heaven

Back on Greenway. Rudolf Route 78. Using 12 lamp posts instead of 11, route 66 type activity doing Merkins.

Quick mosey across street along path to park Christmas decorations. Wheel of Exercises. App on my phone that randomly picks an exercise and rep count. At each clump of decorated trees/bushes, spin the wheel. Exercises were random but included Diamond Merkins, Lunges, Carolina Dry Docks, Calf Raises and others.

Mary:
BBS (20)
Flutter Kicks (15)
ATM Cash Out.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
7 came out and bettered themselves.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

 

MOLESKIN:
For those traveling this holiday season. For those suffering from covid. For the unsaid prayers in our hearts.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Opposite

THE SCENE: Nice evening, temps in 60s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

10 Burpees, 20 Side Straddle Hops, 8 Pinto Twists, 8 Twisties, 5 Taradactials forward and backward, 10 Windmills.
THA-THANG:

Mosey to the large southern parking lot just east of the outdoor chapel.

We will run four corners, doing the following exercises in each corner:  20 Hello Dollies, 20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Bicycle Kicks, 20 Box Cutters.  Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to the perimeter trail that is close to the pavilion.  We will head east and then north on the perimeter trail, doing Run-Ten-Tens.  In honor of Rin-Tin-Tin we will bark three times before we get started.  We will do ten Big-Boys and ten Merkins, then run for 10 lights and repeat the exercises.  After doing the sets of exercises three times, the leaders circle back to the six.  We then start the pattern again.  We will stop once we reach the benches at the top of Cardiac.

At the benches we will rotate between 20 bench dips and 20 Jump Squats, repeating the pattern two times.

Mosey to parking lot opposite of the AO.  We will run from one curb down the long side of the parking lot to the other curb.  At the far curb we will do 10 incline merkins.  At the near curb we will do 10 decline merkins.  Rinse and repeat.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
50 Baby Crunches (4 ct).
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The Opposite of What We Expect

As Christmas approaches, I think of the Christ that I worship, the man that Christians call God, King of Kings and Savior – and, I am amazed at how this Christ is so much the opposite of what the World expects a God to be.

  1. We would expect the King of Kings to be born in a castle.  Jesus was born in a trough for cattle.
  2. We would expect this Prince of Peace to surround himself with the religious leaders of his time, well-known men, wise men.  Jesus takes on fishermen, unknown men with little wealth as his disciples.
  3. We would expect the savior of the world to live and minister there for a long time.  Jesus dies at age 33 having only ministered for three years.
  4. We would the Holy of Holies to speak to the leaders and most respected.  Jesus ministered to all who had ears to hear and that included prostitutes, the blind, and the disrespected.
  5. In a world that looks on the rich and famous as lucky, Jesus said “Blessed are the meek, the poor in spirit and persecuted.”
  6. We would expect a King to slay his enemies or at least beat them down.  Jesus says to turn the other cheek.
  7. We would expect a King to have his servants to bow down before him and adorn him with the best of clothing.  Jesus, instead, acts like a servant, washing the feet of his disciples.
  8. We would expect our God to demand respect.  Jesus dies on a cross, allowing others to taunt, beat and spit on him.
  9. And, after such a death, we can expect to lose hope.  Jesus rises from the grave, allows us to touch his wounds, and says He is life everlasting.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Rooney’s mother who is having surgery this upcoming Monday.

Choose Your Words

THE SCENE: 50 and amazing in the fake gloom
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  did it
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, cherry pickers, rockettes, and a little this and that
THA-THANG:
Insert information about the workout.

  • Burpees up the Dragon, one per lap, then wagon wheel back to the 6
  • Battle Buddy with bench dips and calf raises
  • Mary work, 10 flutter kicks, 10 box cutters, 10 hello dollys at every other light pole
  • Coming back, 10 jump squats, 10 plank jacks, 10 merkins at alternating poles
  • Battle Buddy plank and calf raises
  • Bear crawl to the Dragon
  • Big Boys down the Dragon back to the AO

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 PAX in the fake gloom
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I’ve been struggling a little lately with folks complaining about how tough things have been for the past 2 years.  Sometimes I think “It’s be 2 years.  Time to move on.”  I admit my life hasn’t been impacted by COVID nearly the extent others have been.  I catch myself judging others who aren’t sucking it up and pressing forward with their lives, but I’m also trying remember I don’t know everything about everyone’s circumstances.  Ironically, two COTs in the last two weeks have been about judging others.  As I sit and struggle with judging, I can reflect back to the words a HIM said just last week to help me.

The message you deliver in the COT is meaningful.  Don’t take the message part of Q’ing lightly and give thought. You never know who might need to hear it in that moment.  It’s an opportunity to impact men in your community.

These Are the Days

THE SCENE: Windy, windy, windy, temp about 66 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 second squat, 10 Mountain Climbers, 20 second squat, 10 Cherry Pickers, 30 second squat, 5 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward as well as 5 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 60 second squat.
THA-THANG:
We will split into two groups.  Group 1 start in the pavilion while Group 2 will start on the Playground.  We will do 10 Picnic Table Pullups and 10 Incline Merkins at the picnic tables.  We will do 10 Bench Jumps and 10 Decline Merkins on the benches.  After each man does the exercises he should run to his right side of the pavilion do the next set of exercises at the next spot.  Rinse and repeat 3 times.

Mosey to the bottom of mini cardiac.  We will Bernie Sanders to Park Sign then run to the crosswalk.

Mosey to the stop sign where the road goes to the admin bldg.  We will circle up to do 20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to the parking lot that is below the Coliseum.  Men will split into teams of two and will do Doras.  While partner one runs up stairs, across the coliseum area to the end of the parking lot, and back to the spot we are gathered at, partner two does the exercises.  Partners then switch.  Here are the exercises:

  • 150 Jump Squats
  • 150 Iron Mikes (both feet = 1)
  • 150 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)
  • 150 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)

Mosey to roadway that semicircles by the soccer fields.  We will run around the semi-circle doing two burpees after every ten stakes in the grass.  Men finishing first will alternate between Merkins and Big-Boy Sit-ups.

Mosey to the large parking lot is near what used to be the southern ball fields.

We will do suicides to each light post and then the end of the parking lot.  Each time a man comes back to the curb he should do 20 Baby Crunches.

Mosey to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 men with one FNG, Darrell Roberts, whom we dubbed “Hochuli.”  We were also blessed to have Trunk and Submarine visit us as they are usually at the Truck Stop on Saturday mornings.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ask guys who are in their 60s like me.  Life is short.  We need to accept the glory and beauty of what God has given us here.  Man, we need to savor these days, bless them, hold them in our hearts.  The time is now.  Why wait until we are in retirement or on our deathbeds to enjoy God’s gift to us.  The other day, I was listening to one of my favorite songs by Van Morrison, one that you might not have heard as it isn’t as famous as some of his others.  It captures the idea of our needing to cherish our time here on earth while thinking of our savior who has blessed us with the gift of life.

“These Are The Days” by Van Morrison

These are the days of the endless summer
These are the days, the time is now
There is no past, there’s only future
There’s only here, there’s only now
Oh your smiling face, your gracious presence
The fires of spring are kindling bright
Oh the radiant heart and the song of glory
Crying freedom in the night
These are the days by the sparkling river
His timely grace and our treasured find
This is the love of the one magician
Turned the water into wine
These are days of the endless dancing and the
Long walks on the summer night
These are the days of the true romancing
When I’m holding you oh, so tight
These are the days by the sparkling river
His timely grace and our treasured find
This is the love of the one great magician
Turned water into wine
These are the days now that we must savor
And we must enjoy as we can
These are the days that will last forever
You’ve got to hold them in your heart.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Cheatsheet as the new parenting plan that will be made for he and the mother of Cheatsheet’s daughter, Willow.  Prayers for all those impacted by the tornados that swept through Kentucky last night.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas Party!  Also, great job by F3 men in helping with Christmas projects to help others in our community.