F3 Knoxville

Tag: Pele (Jon Lindberg)

100 Years of Virtue

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Lizzy, Title IX (Christian Prescott), Pusher, Glamper, SlideRule (Stephen Sloan), Sparkler, Curveball, MD Hammer, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Rooney(Carl Whipple), Tenderfoot, Crash Dummy, CRISPR, Unibráu (Nick Robinson), Duggar, Brick
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
WARMUP: 1 All-Important Burpee, 10 Imperial Walkers, 10 Iron Mikes, 20 Plank Jacks, On back leg and arm stretches, 10 Tennessee Rocking Chairs, 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward and 10 Backward

THE THANG: Mosey to end on parking lot with nice restrooms. We will do 20 American Hammers.
Mosey to the Amphitheatre. We will bear crawl on grass, step up to next level and continue to the top. Run back down through parking lot below and rinse and repeat.
Mosey to Haslam Sign at Ball Fields. We will do 20 Hello Dollies.
Mosey to nice pavilion past ball fields. We will do Doras. While one partner runs around the pavilion, the other does exercises. Then partners switch. Here are the exercises:
100 Picnic Table Pull-ups.
–
100 Incline Merkins
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100 Bench Dips
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100 Decline Merkins
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Mosey to ball field with artificial turf. Then run past the ball field and up the hill to the street.
Mosey east on road to the encircled garden by roadway circle. We will do 20 Rocky Balboas on curb surrounding garden.
Mosey to the Coliseum. Next, we will run counterclockwise ¾ of the way around the loop, stopping at each ¼ to do 15 Carolina Dry Docks. Those finishing the third ¼ first sweep everyone back.
Mosey to Haslam’s Rock. Here we will have a 20 Second Sky Gazer.
Mosey to AO.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Smokies Convergence this Saturday in Seymour. Hot Toddy Triple Q at Asylum on January 11.

COT:
Message
On December 29, Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100 years old, the longest living president in the United States. He served one term as president, losing the race for president to Ronald Reagan the next election. Losing the race for presidency hurt. But, Carter continued to serve our nation and the world in many different and powerful ways after he lost the election. He established the Carter Center to expand human rights and promote health around the world. Through the Carter Center he helped to practically Guinea Worm Disease, a disease that haunted Africa for centuries and affected 3.5 million people. He monitored more than100 elections around the world. Through Habitat for Humanity, he helped build over 1000 homes in over a dozen countries. He had many other accomplishments as well and because of the accomplishments, became the only president of the United States to earn the Nobel Peace Prize.

While achieving all this, he continued to preach Sunday School at his Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. He taught his church members but also had many visitors for his class. Some would come because he was president or because of his post-presidency accomplishments. But, as President Barack Obama noted, “I’m willing to bet that many . . . were there, at least in part, because of something more fundamental: President Carter’s decency.”

The following words are directly from President Obama about Jimmy Carter:

Elected in the shadow of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised voters that he would always tell the truth. And he did – advocating for the public good, consequences be damned. He believed some things were more important than reelection – things like integrity, respect, and compassion. Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image.
Whenever I had a chance to spend time with President Carter, it was clear that he didn’t just profess these values. He embodied them. And in doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service. In his Nobel acceptance speech, President Carter said, “God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace.” He made that choice again and again over the course of his 100 years, and the world is better for it.

So brothers, we have lost a good man. Let his legend live on and inspire us. May we each yearn for and learn to live the life God created us to live: one of grace, dignity, justice and service.

Prayers
Prayers for our brother, Sparkler, as he makes decisions regarding his upcoming treatment for Prostate Cancer. Prayers for Brick’s children after the divorce this past year. Prayers for all suffering mental or physical pain, including those who suffered injuries or the loss of loved ones in the recent incident in New Orleans. Prayers for those who work for the City of New Orleans.

The Twelve Beat Downs of Christmas

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Kodak (Charlotte Metro (S) Weasel Shaker)
PAX: F3 Pluto ( Hugh Nystrom), Unibráu (Nick Robinson), Pele (Jon Lindberg), High Heels, CRISPR, Steam, Choir Boy, Hands, SlideRule (Stephen Sloan), Brick, Pusher, Honeydew, Cart Girl (John Sadler) (Chatt, TN), Lilydipper, Suds, Backdraw, Protractor (Drew Sloan)
FNGs: 1 Protractor (Drew Sloan)
COUNT: 18
WARMUP: Run around the AO Parking Lot, Side Straddle Hops

THE THANG: Very quick warmup (side straddle hops, some quick stretching).

1. In COT parking lot – Day 1 – 1 Manmaker
Day 2 – 2 Burpees, 1 suicide (half way and back, all the way and back) w/ 5 squats

2. At Amplitheater
Day 3 – 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 short lap
Day 4 – 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 long lap

3. At nearby Playground
Day 5 – 5 ‘Mericans, 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 Manmaker
Day 6 – 6 Side Straddle Hops, 5 ‘Mericans, 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 minute hang on bar (or plank if prefer)

4. At soccer field
Day 7 – 7 LBCs, 6 Side Straddle Hops, 5 ‘Mericans, 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 Manmaker
Day 8 – 8 Imperial Walkers, 7 LBCs, 6 Side Straddle Hops, 5 ‘Mericans, 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 Suicide (just running)

5. At Pickett’s
Day 9 – 9 Down Dog Push Ups, 8 Imperial Walkers, 7 LBCs, 6 Side Straddle Hops, 5 ‘Mericans, 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 Manmaker
Day 10 – 10 Russian Twists, 9 Down Dog Push Ups, 8 Imperial Walkers, 7 LBCs, 6 Side Straddle Hops, 5 ‘Mericans, 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 Run and Bear Crawl up to the Overlook

6. Back at COT
Day 11 – 11 Squats, 10 Russian Twists, 9 Down Dog Push Ups, 8 Imperial Walkers, 7 LBCs, 6 Side Straddle Hops, 5 ‘Mericans, 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 Manmaker
Day 12 – 12 Big Boy Sit-ups, 11 Squats, 10 Russian Twists, 9 Down Dog Push Ups, 8 Imperial Walkers, 7 LBCs, 6 Side Straddle Hops, 5 ‘Mericans, 4 Jump Squats, 3 Heels to Heaven, 2 Burpees, 1 sprint up that damn hill.

MARY: We were done, baby!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Polar Bear Plunge on January 1, Smokies Convergence on January 4, Hot Toddy Triple Q on January 11

COT: We get caught up in “the things” of Christmas and focus on those things we want in our lives. Remember that “the thing” we really need to focus on is our relationship with God.

Prayers for all during this Holiday Season.

You Can’t Take That Away From Me

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Lulu (Greg Huddy), F3 Pluto ( Hugh Nystrom), Crawdad (Robbi Dickens), Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Pele (Jon Lindberg), Cart Girl (John Sadler) (Chatt, TN), Brick, Veggie (Rylen Huddy), Jumbo(Carter Dickens), Choir Boy, Pusher, Mr Jinxy, Snap Glove (Sean Selos), Beaker (Manny Selos)
FNGs: 2 Snap Glove (Sean Selos), Beaker (Manny Selos)
COUNT: 15
WARMUP: Run Around the Parking Lot, 20 Side-Straddle Hops, Curly Stomps, 10 Imperial Walkers, 10 Windmills, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Tempo Squats, 5 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 5 Pterodactyls Forward and Backward.

THE THANG: Mosey up Mini Cardiac and to the benches by the trail before going downhill. From this point we will do the following: Do 20 Bench Lifts, run to first curve, do 20 Hello Dollies and run back; Do 20 Bench Lifts, run to second curve, do 20 Hello Dollies and run back; Do 20 Bench Lifts, run to 3rd curve, do 20 Hello Dollies and run back. The Clydesdales will sweep rabbits to 3rd curve after they finish the 3rd set of Bench Lifts.
Next, we will continue south on trail and do Nickel, Dime, Quarters. We will do these past the dock area. Once past the dock area we will mosey on the trail until it curves west. We will then resume with the nickel dime quarters until we reach pavilion that is near muscle beach. Here are the exercises:
Merkins
–
Jump Squats
–
Freddie Mercuries
–
Mosey to Muscle Beach. Each man chooses two different exercise machines to do 25 reps with. After finishing, do Baby Crunches until all men have finished.
Mosey to parking lot by the soccer fields. We will go clockwise around the parking lot twice. The first time around we will sprint to one crosswalk, then walk to the next, continuing that pattern around the circle. The second time around we will Bernie Sanders to one crosswalk, then walk to the next, continuing the pattern around the circle.
Mosey to the Bidet. We will run clockwise around the inner circle, stopping at the benches to do 20 Decline Merkins. After arriving back down, those finishing first do Baby Crunches until the six arrives.
Mosey to the Caribean. We will go to the west end. From there we will sprint to the east end but stop at every island to do 2 Burpees.
Mosey toward AO parking lot but stop to get CMU weight rock by the entryway. We will do 25 Overhead Presses.
Mosey to AO.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Polar Bear Plunge on January 1, Smokies Convergence on January 4, Hot Toddy Triple Q at Asylum on January 11.

COT:
Prayers
Prayers for our brother, Sparkler, as he will be getting treatment for Prostate Cancer. Prayers for people traveling at Christmas like Crawdad and Jumbo who head toward Texas today. Prayers for those who are lamenting or suffering this Christmas. Prayers for us that we may be HIMs, keep an eye out for those who are suffering, and be an encouraging spirit for them.
Message

They Can’t Take That Away from Me
2024 was a year of loss and destruction for many people out in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina due to the almost unimaginable flooding and disaster caused by Hurricane Helene. It was horrific to see people losing their homes, their cars, their furnishings, and much of the belongings that they had saved for a lifetime.
As I approach retirement, I couldn’t help but think, “What if that was me?” Jan and I have saved part of our earnings each year through our working years, putting it in good ol IRAs. As we approach retirement we feel that we have enough savings to get by on. But what if that savings were to go away? What if our economy goes downhill and our stock market plummets? What if we lose our assets and home through some unforeseen disaster? Events like Hurricane Helene show us just how possible that can be.
There is a song that has come to my mind quite a few times related to all this. Some of you guys may know that song by Ira and George Gershwin called “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”
Some of the lines go like this”
The way you wear your hat
The way you sip your tea
The memory of all that
No, no, they can’t take that away from me
The way your smile just beams
The way you sing off-key
The way you haunt my dreams
No, no, they can’t take that away from me.

Those are all things that money can’t buy. I guess that’s why the song has stuck in my mind. If I lost all my assets, what would I have? How about you guys? If you lost your possessions, what would you have? For me, I would still have the love of my wife and children. I would still be able go to my church and see my church family. As for tithing’s, 10% of nothing is nothing, so that would be fine! I would still get to see you brothers in F3. This incredible bond and experience we have is Free 99, baby! And, I would still have my Lord above. In fact, if they were to take everything I have and lay my head down in a guillotine, I might be shaking in my boots and crying my eyes out but I would still have my Lord above.

I encourage you to think about and ponder what “THEY”, that ubiquitous word for disaster in scenarios like we are talking about, can’t take away from you. As for me, I would hope I could survive disasters knowing that there are some things that money can’t buy, some things worth so much more than money or even earthly existence, some things they cannot take away from me.

Wave

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Glamper, Crash Dummy, Tenderfoot, CRISPR, Pusher, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Brick, Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Cheetah Boy, Heart Stop
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: 20 Side-Straddle-Hops, Run Around Parking Lot, 10 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, 10 Tennessee Rocking Chairs, 6 Baby Arm Circles Forward and 4 Pterodactyls Forward, 6 Baby Arm Circles Backward and 4 Pterodactyls Backward.

THE THANG: Mosey up Mini Cardiac and stop at left of crosswalk. We will do 10 Imperial Walkers.
Mosey on trail and part of Dragon Tail then on grass up to Haslam’s Rock. We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.
Mosey to Coliseum. We will stop to do 20 Flutter Kicks
Mosey to Circle where main road converges with main park roadway. We will stop to do 20 Rocky Balboas.
Mosey to parking lot at entry of park at Northshore. We will stop to 20 Hello Dollies
Mosey to the large pavilion and go to section with picnic tables. We will divide into teams of two for Doras. While one partner runs completely around the pavilion, the other will do exercises at the picnic tables. Partners then switch. Here are the exercises that each team does at the picnic tables:
100 Picnic Table Pull-ups
–
100 Incline Merkins
–
100 Bench Dips
–
Mosey past playground area to soccer fields’ parking lot. We will do suicide run to end of parking lot, stopping at each crosswalk to come back and do 15 Baby Crunches before running to the next crosswalk.
Mosey to Muscle Beach. Each man will do 25 reps on two exercises of choice.
Mosey to the Bros Bowl. We will stop to do 10 Tempo Squats.
Mosey to the west end of the Caribbean parking lot. We will run to the east end of the parking lot stopping at every island to do 5 Big Boy Sit-Ups
Mosey back to the AO.

MARY: Stretches

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Convergence at Roco this Saturday. Polar Bear Plunge on January 1.

COT: Waving Goodbye

Deanna Dikeman is a photographer who lives in Columbia, Missouri. Her parents lived in Sioux City, Iowa and Dikeman visited her parents every year, frequently more than once each year. What do loved ones do when you leave their home after a visit? They often stand outside the house and wave good bye. In 1991, Dikeman decided she would take a photograph of her parents each time they waved good bye. Her father died in 2009 at the age of 91. Her mother continued to wave goodbye until she passed in 2017. What remains are beautiful memories and a very moving series of photographs that were featured in an article in The New Yorker in March of 2020. I encourage you to look it up. If you don’t remember Deanne Dikeman, just Google “woman who took pictures of parents waving goodbye.”

If you had photographs of your loved ones waving goodbye to you each time you left then, what would that look like? I think of those waves goodbye from my parents and grandparents as well as my wife’s parents. I don’t have a history of photographs but I do have a history of wonderful and touching memories. I hope that those of you who are fathers will create such memories for your own children when they are old enough to live away from you.

I like how, in F3, we spend some time after a workout chatting with our brothers and then telling them goodbye when they leave from the workout or leave from our Board Meeting. I couldn’t help but think of Colonel’s young son, Fist Bump, when I thought of waving goodbye . . . all of us waving good bye and him enjoying that so much and waving back to us. Gents, there is something special in knowing, whether it be family or brothers in F3, that we mean something to someone, that they are sad to see us go if it is going to be a while before they come back (like when Switchgrass has had to leave us for months to go off for service in the National Guard), and that they look forward to seeing us again. So . . . thank you, Lord, for good byes.

Rucksgiving ‘24

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Steam , Mermaid
PAX: Jumbo(Carter Dickens), Unibráu (Nick Robinson), Snitch (Cory Beilharz ), Lulu (Greg Huddy), Pusher, FixerUpper, Otis, Honeydew, Veggie (Rylen Huddy), The Situation, Spellcheck, Pele (Jon Lindberg), High Heels, F3 Pluto ( Hugh Nystrom), Crawdad (Robbi Dickens), Choir Boy, 1 downrange PAX from GA
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
WARMUP
– SSH: 20×4
– Airplane Merkin: 10×4
– Rockette: 10×4
– Baby Arm Circles: 10×4 F
– Baby Arm Circles: 10×4 B
– Willie Mays Hayes: 6

THE THANG
Head to the BP

—BP (Big Pavilion) PT—
– 10×4 stair case incline merkins
– 1/2 — hands down to the lower level
– 3 — incline merkin down position
– 4 — incline merkin up position
– Next rep starts – going up instead
– 20×4 squat bench touches
– 20 step-ups

Head to the base of Cardiac Hill

—Man-Maker Pyramid—
– All together in cadence
– 2 man-makers at the base
– 4 man-makers at the 1st turn
– 6 man-makers at the 2nd turn
– 8 man-makers at the top

Mosey/walk back down to the base of Cardiac + come back up
– 10 merkins and LBCs

Turn it over to Mermaid at 7:30 at the top of Cardiac

Up/downs on Baby Cardiac
– Plank + Bear Crawl American Indian run style
– Al Gore + Lunge

Dora’s
– 100 squats
– 50 merkins
– 25 burpees
– Battle Buddy runs down Baby Cardiac and back

Ruck/Rock Xs in the Big Pavilion
– 12 curls + 1 burpee
– 12 chest presses + burpee
– 12 bent over rows + 1 burpee
– 12 chin-ups + 1 burpee

MARY
– Stretching w/Mermaid
– Race up Baby Cardiac
– Down + backs in the parking lot

ANNOUNCEMENTS
– Check the announcements channel for the weekly Send Me newsletter and all upcoming events

COT
Give It Away

One of the first things you see on the f3nation.com website right at the very top are the words “GIVE IT AWAY.”
– Clicking or tapping on it takes you to F3 Nation’s 2024 Year End Giving campaign, where you can see the F3 Cardinal video – which is incredibly moving.
– You’ll also see sections underneath it titled “The Why” and “The How”

“The Why”
– 66 million obese men in the USA
– 39,000 male suicides annually
– Infinite Sad Clowns

“The How”
– Numbers and info on current and new investments into F3 around the globe

And then it says this:

“F3 NATION’S MISSION AND IMPACT THROUGH GENEROSITY. WHEN YOU GIVE you are giving it away IN HONOR OF THE BROTHER who gave it to you and IN HONOR OF THE BROTHER who’ll you’ll likely never meet. DO IT FOR YOUR BROTHERS!!”
And that brings me to Rucksgiving
– This GORUCK challenge that, in my mind, incorporates all 3 Fs – Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith.
– We just worked hard – thanks for pushing yourself and the men around you
– We spent time in fellowship together, with people we care about and are part of our sphere of influence
– To whatever level of faith you may or may not have – when you were reading through the Rucksgiving event info I shared, something inside you clicked off and said subconsciously said “it’s not about me.” Faith and belief that you’re not just living for yourself and you felt led and guided to give it away.

Why? That’s what High Impact Men do.

Just like on the F3 Nation website where it says “in honor of the brother who you’ll likely never meet,” — we will likely never meet the children who our generosity is going towards from this event.

But they will feel our generosity and willingness to live out of the “it’s not about me” mindset because we had the courage to act out in faith and believe that a fun and challenging ruck event on a ridiculously cold morning could potentially make a difference in their life.

God is a generous and good God, and any and all outpouring of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control from us is because of the work He is continually doing within us.

“Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭16‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬
bible.com/bible/59/deu.16.17.ESV

Thank you for participating in this year’s Rucksgiving! Because of this, we will get to bless multiple kids on Christmas through Angel Tree this year.