F3 Knoxville

steadfastness at the Dogpound

THE SCENE:32 and cold
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

1 10x count squat

1 burpee

5 Cherry pickers

50 SSH
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the base of Matterhorn and partner up. We will do a DORA excursive at the base while the partner runs up to the top of Matterhorn and does 10 merkins

  • 100 Squats
  • 200 SSH 4x
  • 300 Man makers

we got about 15 minutes into man makers, and I audibled.

 

Fellowship mosey back to the AO

MARY:

  • 32 hello dollys
  • 13 box cutters
  • 5 cobra-kis
  • 5 burpees
  • 20 V-ups

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Insert the WORD here.
MOLESKIN:
remember when we don’t want to keep on being steadfast remember our savior was steadfast in our place all the way to death.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas party tomorrow is the deadline

You Are Already There

THE SCENE: You Are Already There
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Jog around the lot, 20 Side-Straddle Hops, 15 Shoulder Taps, 10 Rockettes, 5 Cherry Pickers, 5 Windmills, Michael Phelps, A Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Men split up into teams of two.  We will go to parking lot across the street.  Each team gets two bricks.  Mosey with bricks to the Caribbean parking lot.

Team runs together around parking lot stopping at every two islands.  At each island each partner does five mini-man-makers with bricks.  While one partner does the five mini-man-makers the other partner does five shoulder taps (both shoulders = 1).

Next, we will do Doras with the bricks.  While one partner runs to the cone which is about 40 yards away, the other does the exercises with the bricks.  Then partners switch.  Each team does the following exercises:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Punches with each hand
  • 100 Wings Up
  • 100 Wings Out
  • 100 Winds Down

Mosey back to the shaded parking lot to drop off the bricks.

Mosey up Mini-Cardiac and then go on perimeter trail to the stop sign at road that lead to Admin Bldg. We will do 20 American Hammers in cadence.

Mosey to bottom of Mt. Everest.  We will do the following exercises before running to the top of the Space Needle, then back to the portion of the road in front of the Admin Bldg Parking Lot.

  • 20 Hello Dollies
  • 20 Flutter Kicks
  • 40 Little Baby Crunches

Mosey from Admin Parking Lot to Front Porch of Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Calf Raises on steps then run counter-clockwise on loop that goes through Coliseum Area.  On the benches in that area we will do 20 Bench Lifts.  Then we will continue to run counter-clockwise around the loop and go back to porch.  Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to AO

MARY:
Bernie and Skip Around the Parking Lot.  Ten Jump Squats.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 Men with one FNG whom we dubbed, “Britches.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
You Are Already There

“Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. … He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.”
― Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Life is a journey.  In that journey, men tend to live it like a quest.  The quest is the prize and we are always yearning for something more.  And, we tend to tie our self-concept into it.  That quest can be a good thing.  We tend to grow along the way.  But if that quest is not for God, we fall short.  We get that worldly thing but will always yearn for something more.  More money, a better job, a bigger home, a faster car.  Further, if we tie our self-concepts into that quest, we are deceived.  Are egos grow too big if we attain the worldly goal or we look at ourselves as failures if we don’t attain it.

Stop to think about life’s purpose.  What are we living for?  What is it that we are supposed to attain in this life.  Brothers, what if we are already there?  What if God loves us completely, just as we are.  What if we don’t have to win the prize, set the high mark, achieve some kind of standard to have God love us to the very depth of our being?  God loves us despite our flaws.  God keeps no record of being wronged by us.  God is patient, is kind, and never gives up in us, is always hopeful for us, enduring every one of our circumstances and human failures.

If we have that kind of love, we can be satisfied with what we have and who we are.  I don’t need the fast car, the mansion on the hill, to eat at the best restaurants.

Having that kind of love, knowing that whatever I do, that I am always favored by God and I am never seen as a failure in his eyes – that gives me the confidence to go out and take risks.  Knowing that should give us brothers the confidence to try, fail, and try again.  For we may fail, but we are not failures.  God is with us.  He loves us to the end.  We may never achieve our worldly quests.  We may fall short of getting that job we want, buying the house we hope for, earning the type of money to give our wives and children the things we long to give them.  But we have already attained our heavenly quest.  God is there with us already.  And if we trust in that, even if we die tomorrow, we have achieved our prize.

MOLESKIN:
Praise for Swimmies who has a daughter due to be born and house about to be closed on for the same day.  Prayers for those who are ill or shut in, including Steam’s mother who recently contracted Covid.  Fortunately, she is doing well.  Prayers for all those who are traveling at Thanksgiving.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas Party at Judge Judy’s home on December 11.  Thanksgiving workout at Asylum will be at 7 am this Thursday.  Asylum and Asylum PM will combine for that workout.

The DogPound Becomes the Real ‘Man Park’

THE SCENE: Cool, but nice. INCREDIBLE moon set over the trees during the PreRuck. Probably the last not-super-cold day for a while. 

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Did this. Everyone welcomed and disclaimed. 

WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH IC x20 — 1 Burpee — Tie Fighters IC x10 each way — 2 Burpees — Cherry Pickers I(DogPound)C x4 — 3 Burpees 

THA-THANG:

Blindside’s Fellowship SeaBiscuit w/ CMU: 

4 Rounds; Subject 5 reps from each exercise each round; Add a lap to each round. Selected ab work OYO until the 6 arrives. Finish with 10 reps IC and start the next round together 

  • 10 Blockees
  • 15 OH Press 
  • 20 Curls
  • 25 Rows 
  • 30 Up & Over Merkins (each Merkin counts as “1”)

Ab Work: 

  • Round 1: Hello Dolly
  • Round 2: Flutter Kicks 
  • Round 3: Freddie Mercury
  • Round 4: Box Cutters 

Return to AO for a Ring of Fire of Merkins starting with 5. 

 

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

13 HIMs including 1 FNG. Welcome Salad Spinner! 

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I am reading a book called Behold the Man which is a deep dive into the spirituality and faithfulness of Catholic men in today’s culture. The author references Pope St. John Paul II when he wrote that we are currently living in a “Culture of Death.” We are in spiritual warfare. Saying that Satan and evil don’t exist is foolish. The Evil One may not walk around as a red-horned devil, but he absolutely is present. Over the past few decades, men have become marginalized in society. Our culture puts such low expectations on men that it has left many men wondering how to navigate our world. 

In last weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, there was a fake commercial for “Man Park.” This was a park similar to a Dog Park where men can meet and make friends, alleviating their wives and girlfriends from being the only person their husbands and boyfriends talk to. While many aspects of the skit were funny if you really look at what the writers had the men and women saying, it was incredibly sad and should be a big eye-opener for our society. A 2019 Harper’s Bazaar article wrote about how men no longer know how to form emotional bonds with each other. The tagline from the skit said, “It’s not their fault masculinity makes intimacy so hard.” F3 is the real ‘Man Park,’ and I am thankful that we are able to grow physically, mentally, spiritual, and with meaningful male friendships. 

This was so sad for me because it shows just how real male loneliness is, I absolutely experienced it before starting in the Gloom. 

I think it is that our masculinity is just what CAN make emotional intimacy possible, both here in the Gloom as well as the spiritual heads of our households. We must continue to lead, throw off spiritual laziness & timidness and become a strong witness to the Truth of our Faith with passion and conviction. When enough of us do this in our society, the stereotype of the lazy, buffoon of a father in our culture/society will change. 

MOLESKIN:

Behold the Man 

Man Park SNL skit

Men’s Health Article on ‘Man Park’

F3 Twitter mentions of ‘Man Park’

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Christmas Party. RSVP by December 1st. #annual-christmas-party channel on Slack 

Brovember: With the introduction of Weekly Winners, there is still time to compete! #brovember2021 on Slack! 

Lock Shields with Minivan Centurions

THE SCENE: Warmer than anticipated. Less Wind. Wonderful pre-ruck.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Done. Q took about 15 mins for questions. 

WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH IC x15; LBAC each way IC x10; Little of This, Little of that; Tempo Squats IC x10; Cherry Pickers IC x5 … Grab a CMU and mosey to Thunderdome

THA-THANG:

Tabata+ workout: eight 25-second rounds of an exercise with a 10-second rest between rounds. Field Trip in between rounds.

Exercises:

  • OH Press
    • Field Trip to SkateTown, up & over the wall and back
  • Goblet Squats
    • Field Trip to the entrance to track Burpees x5  
  • Curls
    • Field Trip to SkateTown, up & over the wall and back 
  • Up & Over Merkins
    • Field Trip to the entrance to track Imperial Squat Walkers x5
  • Flutters x2; Hello Dolly x2; Freddie Mercury x2; Georgia Cheerleaders x2
    • Field Trip to SkateTown, up & over the wall and back

MARY:

Mosey back to AO and put up CMUs 

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

11 HIMs; 0 FNGs; Welcome Backfire from F3 Chattanooga!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

When making my Birthday/Christmas list recently for my family, I was browsing the F3 Gear site and noticed a patch with a minivan that said “Minivan Centurion” on it. I thought this was a funny thing that connected that a lot of F3 guys are dads who have to haul their kids around and added it to my list. I also have been getting into the F3 Nation podcasts recently (start listening if you can!). One of the shows mentioned the “Minivan Centurions” and I actually understood where it came from and what it actually means. 

Excerpt from “The Locked Shields of the Minivan Centurions” on the F3Nation website

“I have had the opportunity to workout at a lot of great parks and schools in F3Nation, but I have to admit to being partial to Freedom Park in Charlotte because that is where it all started. Not only is it a great workout location, but it serves the community in a thousand different ways. I probably spend an average of 7 hours a week there in one capacity or another. Go there on a Saturday morning in the Spring or Fall and you will see the parking lots stuffed full of minivans and the fields overrun with kids playing soccer and baseball.

There is so much sweet America there it will make your teeth hurt. When the World is running particularly amuck, a day in Freedom is all I need to keep focused on what we have here, what is worth protecting. The World may be afire, but we have Freedom Brothers. We have Freedom. Is it likewise in every park that is part of F3Nation? I imagine so. That is really why we do this, isn’t it?

One day after soccer, I walked towards the minivan with my daughters when the youngest one asked me why there were never any police officers at Freedom Park. I had never thought about it until that moment, but she was right. I had never seen a police officer patrolling the park. So I answered, “they are probably at other places in Charlotte where they are needed.”

Which prompted her older sister to say, “yeah Sarah, we don’t need them here because we have the daddies.”

Little Sister: “rigggght, we have the daddies to keep us safe at Freedom. The police are at the parks without the daddies.” At that, I kind of looked away so my daughters wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes, and I noticed that I could see about five other F3 guys within nine-iron distance, coaching soccer or cheering their kids on. And I knew there were another 20 F3 men that I couldn’t see from where I was standing. But they were there. It occurred to me that if the bad guys came to Freedom they might have thought it easy pickings because they would see no police on duty. But they would be mistaken. If Evil comes to Freedom it will have the daddies to contend with, and it will not stand a chance. While we might be outnumbered Brothers, we have locked our shields and will keep them locked in the heat of battle.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Coats for the Cold, donate to AOs now through Nov. 13th

Brovember Challenge. Link to track your progress in the #brovember2021 Slack channel. 

Jetlag Comes Full Circle

THE SCENE: Pretty chilly. However, the lack of Doubtfire’s Action Slacks and Trunk’s Equalizer Tank suggest otherwise.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Did this. It went well

WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH IC x15; LBAC each way IC x10; Windmills IC x10; Tempo Squats IC x10; Mosey to Splash Pad

THA-THANG:

Tabata workout: eight 20-second rounds of an exercise with a 10-second rest between rounds. Short mosey between exercises as rain allows.

Exercises:

  • Step-ups/Box Jumps
    • To the Bathhouse for Pull-ups x5
  • LBCs
    • To the Dock for CCD x15 
  • Squats
    • To the Stonehenge for Burpees x5 
  • BBS
    • To the Playground for BodyBuilders+ x5
  • Dips
    • A short lap around Splash Pad to start of parking spaces for Bear Crawls the length of the spaces 
  • What started out as a Fellowship Mosey ended up being a lap around The Equalizer track the long way

MARY:

Fire of Ring → Starting with 1 merkin around, up to three 

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

15 HIMs; 0 FNGs … With the exception of the flag handoff in April, this is the most posting at the Equalizer in recent memory. 

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

1Pet1:13-16 – So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

This BOM and (most of) the workout was from Jetlag’s first post back in November of 2020. I wanted to honor his time here with us by going back to where F3 started for him. It is appropriate that this passage from 1st Peter was chosen by Stripped for Jetlag’s first posting, and even more appropriate as he returns to the Philippines. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Coats for the Cold, donate to AOs now through Nov. 13th

Brovember Challenge starts today. Look for a link to track your progress in the #brovember2021 Slack channel around Wednesday.