F3 Knoxville

Tag: Pacman

Up 2, Back 1

THE SCENE: Mid 30s, nice and moony.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x25 IC
Cherry Pickers x5 IC
Cobra burpees x5 OYO
Standard burpees x5 OYO
Crabettes x15 IC
TN Rocking Chairs x15 IC
LBAC x15 each way IC
Alternate cherry pickers for a while
Shake it out
“Warmed up yet?” (no answer from the PAX)
10 burpees OYO
Don’t have time for the PAX to get the question wrong again…

THA-THANG:
Mosey to the light pole by the restrooms. There are cards set up along the path with exercises.
Start with the first card, mosey past the next card and do the third.
Then mosey back to the second card, and so on. 2 forward, 1 back.
So here’s what we ended up doing:

15 Embrace the Earth Burpees (Hand release out to the side)
Run a bit
5 hill sprints
Run a bit less
25 CDD
Run a bit
35 Box Jumps
Run a bit less
5 hill sprints
Run a bit
Bear crawl the parking lot, bernie back
Run a bit less
35 Box Jumps
Run a bit
30 BBS
Run a bit less
Bear crawl the parking lot, bernie back
Run a bit
25 Merkins
Time’s up, run back to the AO!
Got in about 2 miles.

MARY:
15x Seated Heel Taps IC
15x Curious Dollys IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 today. Just the right amount of crowded on the running path.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.”
The way is the thing. Of course, the destination is good, but the way is how we get to know Him. Sometimes it seems the way sucks. Sometimes we won’t get to understand, sometimes we won’t get to see why. Sometimes it seems we’re moving backward. But that’s OK, because the one who is ordering our steps knows best.
MOLESKIN:
I’m not sure which is worse: Hill sprints, or moseying back to the hill knowing you’re going to have to do them again.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Arsenal launch! Sandy Springs park in Maryville, this weekend @ 0700!

Light Pole Leapfrog

THE SCENE: 35ish, calm, and clear. Nice morning to sweat.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Promised on Slack to do zero burpees, so:

Zero burpees OYO
25 SSH IC
2 Burpees OYO
5 Cherry Pickers IC
4 Cobra Burpees OYO
10 Tempo Merkins IC
6 Burpees OYO
20 LBAC fwd/backward, OHC IC
8 Burpees OYO
15 4-ct Monkey Humpers IC
“Warmed up yet?” (No answer from the PAX)
10 Burpees OYO
“Warmed up yet?” (Still no answer from the PAX)
12 Burpees OYO
“Warmed up yet?” “YES!”
“OK, grab a CMU and head for the first light pole by the restrooms.”

THA-THANG:
Split into 2 groups.
One group starts at first light pole, other group at the second light pole.
While second group does reps at light pole, first group runs past them to the 3rd pole and begins reps.
Once the last man has started doing reps at the 3rd pole, first group stops reps and leapfrogs to 4th pole.
Each exercise was performed at 3 poles by both groups:

Curls
Squat Thrusts
Up/Over Merkins
BBS with CMU on chest
Alpos
Wood Choppers
Overhead Press
V-ups with CMU
(Lawn Mowers and Squats would have been next, but ran out of time)

Mosey on back to the pile and put away CMUs

MARY:
No time today, although V-Ups were the last item on THA-THANG.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 strong for CMUesday. Good to see Showcase back out in the gloom, also graced by the presence of Francios, downrange from the Carolinas.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Repeat from a week ago Saturday, but none of these guys were there and I still need to hear it myself… We have a dog. She’s pretty smart. Knows what we want her to do. But when she’s in her bed, she doesn’t want to get up. Just looks at you like, “Nah.” “Time to go upstairs!” “Nah.” “Let’s go outside!” “Nah.” So I have to physically dump her out of her bed onto the floor. Can’t be pleasant. She knows what she should do. It would be better if she would just get up. I’m sure she knows the dump is coming. Wouldn’t happen if she would just get up. But she still doesn’t obey. Message received, God.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Cooperation

THE SCENE: Cloudy and Chilly, low 40s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 SSH, (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Cherry Pickers, 4-ct, IC

– Little of this and that/ Michael Phelps/ Arm Circles

– Bolt 45s

THA-THANG:

MOSEY up Serpentine sidewalk and back down Baby Cardiac to CMU parking lot.  For a warmup.  Battle Buddy up, and each pair gets a piece of chalk.

COLLECTIVE EFFORT

We will work together to accomplish a difficult task in the CMU parking lot/Pavilion area, which will be completing a high number of reps of various exercises, all together, as a PAX.  As we complete the reps, we will cross off the markers to track progress.  If we do not complete all reps with 5 minutes left, we end with 20 Burpees, otherwise, we will do Stargazers.

The Tasks will be broken out as follows:

CMU Pile:

– 500 Curls (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  500 Overhead Presses (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

– 500 Squats (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

BABY CARDIAC:

  • 50 Sprints up Baby Cardiac (Marker indicators 2 trips each, 50/5 = 25 markers)

SUICIDES:

  • 50 Suicides (Marker indicators 2 suicides each, 50/5 = 25 markers)

CORE WORK:

– 500 LBCs (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  200 Big Boy Situps (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

– 200 American Hammers (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

PAVILION:

– 500 Jump or Step Ups (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  200 Decline Merkins (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

– 200 Bench Pullups (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

We ended up with more guys than expected, so we easily finished all the reps, and rinsed and repeated quite a few of them.  Ended with a final sprint up Baby Cardiac.

MARY:
Flutter Hammers, E2Ks, Box Cutters (all 20 reps, 4-ct IC)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 strong. Jetlag not tagged.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Quite frankly, I considered dropping my Q today, after witnessing the disgusting, inexcusable acts against our Capital building, the house of the people yesterday.  I was so disheartened, so sad, so ANGRY that I thought it beyond me to lead a Q after that.  But then I reconsidered.  If I just dropped the Q, that would be an abrogation of my responsibility. I would be putting the burden on someone else.  I would be turning away instead of being out front during a conflict.  Part of F3 is to foster leadership.  I don’t consider myself the world’s greatest leader, to be honest.  I’ve always been more of a Doer than a Leader.  But I’m trying to improve myself in that regard, and turning away is not what leaders do.

So, I Q’d today, but I scrapped my original workout and my BOM.  I’ll save it for next time.  I wanted to focus on doing something together.  Something collaborative, where we work towards a common goal.  We need more of that as a nation, because right now, guys, we are a broken and lost community.

One of the things I really appreciate about F3 is that it is apolitical. It has some pretty clearly stated goals, is very inclusive, and refrains from taking political stances.  I loved the National F3 response in the wake of the racial protests this past summer.  Their response was, “We have no response.  Our ethos speaks for itself, and we will continue on that mission.”  So I will honor that approach, and won’t go down a rabbit hole today voicing my opinions about what happened yesterday. With one exception…

One of the things that angered me the most of what I saw yesterday was the carrying of flags that invoked the name of Jesus, our lord and savior.  I’m not a biblical scholar, and I don’t pretend to be able to channel what Jesus would do or say in witnessing the ugliness of the mob yesterday, but I feel pretty confident that He would be sad, disgusted, even angry.

In the Sermon on the Mount (found in the Book of Matthew) Jesus Christ laid out the central facets of the way of life He taught His followers. One of the central themes of the Sermon on the Mount is Christ’s expectation that His followers be characterized by peace—not violence or war.  Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Christ’s followers should be characterized by living a way that leads to peace, not by violence and strife.  The apostle Paul wrote that Christians are to do whatever possible to “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18), and many scriptures support the basic truth that Christians are to “pursue peace with all people” (Hebrews 12:14; see also 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 5:22; James 3:17).  And with regards to hatred of fellow human beings, Jesus likens hating another man with breaking the 6th Commandment (Thou Shalt Not Kill) and says, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5:21-22).

I saw a lot of hatred in the faces of the mob yesterday.  I felt more than a little of it creeping into my own heart.  Hatred for our fellow humans, especially for our fellow Americans, is not the path of a Christian.

In closing, just some humble words of advice… I’ve heard it said recently that the biggest threat to our democracy and to peace between us isn’t Russia, Iran, the Corona virus, Republicans, Democrats, etc.  It’s the spread of disinformation on the internet and social media.  I tend to agree with this statement.  Please… before you form a definitive opinion on something, before you pass judgment on someone or something, and before you forward something on, share, post, like, whatever… just do a little research on it.  Take a look at multiple sources of information that are neutral, that are reliable, that can be substantiated, that don’t have an agenda.  Falsehoods, exaggerations, and us-vs-them mob mentality largely fueled what happened yesterday.  We need to start respecting and working cohesively with each other, like we did in the workout today, or we are lost.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for friends and families of the PAX that are healing from injuries, or dealing with deaths and sickness from COVID.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Asylum CSAUP Jan 30, 6:30-9:00 am. Asylum shirts are now available on Mudgear!

Festivus

THE SCENE: 32 degrees clear skies cool and miraculous
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-Rama

arm circles 10x

reverse arm circles 10x

Cherry pickers 10x

Tempo squats 10x

Tempo Merkins 10x

imperial walkers 10x

side straddle hops 10x

high knees 1/2 cross lot butt kicks other half and jog back

THA-THANG:

Feats of Strength:

6 per side mountain climbers

Bear crawl to festivus pole

6 merkins

Crab walk to other side

6 lunges (6 per side)

Crab walk back to pole

6 dry docks

Bear crawl to curb

6 Big Boys

Bear crawl to pole

6 LBCs

Crab walk to curb

6 squats

Crab walk back to pole

6 shoulder taps (6 per side)

Bear crawl to curb

6 hello dolly

Bear crawl to pole

6 burpees

Crab walk to curb

6 overhead claps

Crab walk to pole

6 star jacks

Bear crawl to curb

Plank until everyone is done

Grab a CMU

1 min plank hold on CMU->1 min squat holding CMU->1 min overhead hold

Airing of grievances

1 man carries Santa’s bag up mini cardiac

PAX choice of exercise until man comes back

Next man up Rinse and repeat

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 pax including 1 from Chattanooga see tags below
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Festivus was created to battle the over-commercialization of Christmas. We are asked to remember the only gift worth celebrating and that’s the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Don’t Look Back

THE SCENE: Sunny, temps in low 40s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Y 20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Cherry Pickers , 32 Grady Corns, Left Leaner (Liberal), Right Leaner (Conservative), Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Coliseum. We will do 20 American Hammers and 10 Tempo Merkins.  Mosey to parking lot below Coliseum.  Each man gets a partner for Doras.  While partner runs up stairs and to driveway coming back to parking lot the other partner does exercises.  Here are the exercises that each two-man team completes:

  • 100 Squat Jumps
  • 100 Iron Mikes (both feet = 1)
  • 100 Hello Dollies (4 ct)
  • 100 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)
  • 200 Baby Crunches

Mosey to stop sign at southeastern corner of Admin Bldg.  There will be cones planted along the roadway.  Men will stop at each cone to do exercise listed.

  • Cone 1:  10 Hand Release Merkins.  Sprint to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  Ten Burpees.  Bernie to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Big Boy Sit-Ups.  Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  Run to front of Admin Bldg to do 25 Calf Raises at Steps.  Then run back to Cone 5 which is on roadway at other end of parking lot.
  • Cone 5:  Hop to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  Run down stairs by bat cave, head left to grove and run up top of summit to come back to this cone.  Then Bernie to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  20 Dive Bombers.  Butt Kick to Cone 8.
  • Cone 8:  20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct.)  Sprint to Stop Sign.  Alternate between Big Boys and Merkins until rest of PAX arrives.

Mosey to Haslam Boulder.  30 Second Gander at River Area below.

Mosey to Parking Lot with CMUs.

Each man grabs CMU.  We will do the following exercises then run to Pavilion to do 15 Picnic Table Pull-ups between each exercise:

  • 20 Overhead Presses
  • 20 Bell Ringers
  • 20 Curls
  • 20 Rows
  • Note:  We just happened to team up and play a little game called “Encore” while in the midst of the CMU exercises.  Losers had to do some Burpees.

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

Philippians 3:13:  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. . .

From Lyrics to “Don’t Look Back” by Boston:

Don’t look back
A new day is breakin’
It’s been too long since I felt this way
I don’t mind where I get taken
The road is callin’
Today is the day.

A patient of mine told me of a quote he heard that he wanted to apply to his own life.  The quote is, “There is a good reason why the front window of a car is bigger than the rear view mirror.”  I love that quote.  If we spend too much time looking at the rear view mirror what happens?  We crash.  We are injured.  We are not dealing with what lies ahead.

I see another patient who is frankly stuck in the past.  It keeps him from moving on in the present.  He made a decision to leave a job he hated, retire early, leave the expensive city he lived in up north, and move to the mountains of East Tennessee.  His life has not been what he had dreamed about when he made the decision.  He has struggled financially and doesn’t have as many friends here as he would hope to have.  He now regrets the decision he made to quit the job he had and move here.  He keeps thinking of how much more money he would have if he had stayed with the job.  Trouble is, he was miserable at that job and treated unfairly in it.  He had good reasons for making the decision he did.  And, he could make his life better here.  He has opportunities to meet new people, meet friends.  He could get a part-time job to bring in a little extra income besides his retirement income.  But he lives in regret, looking at the past through that rearview mirror.

Even if we do make mistakes in life, we cannot go back and fix it.  We can only learn from our mistakes and move on.  That is the key to finding what we need.  I think this is what Jesus meant when he said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) He means that if we keep looking back we will miss out on God’s heavenly blessings, on the opportunity He gives us to live in Him.

Gents, don’t look back.  We all make mistakes.  Put your hand to the plow and move forward, trusting in God to be with you along the way.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers that racism would end in our country, our melting pot; for the victims of Covid-19 around the world; of praise for Lily’s wife, Jan, being cancer free; for Abscess’ sister who will be getting a biopsy to see if she does have breast cancer; and for Ribbed’s wife who has surgery near the cervical area of her spine to remove a tumor.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bring coats for the collection we are gathering for charity.  Come on out to Panera this morning for the book signing by a fellow named Robertson Dickens (aka Crawdad).