F3 Knoxville

Tag: Pele

Truck Stop Convergence

THE SCENE: 40 and clear….perfect

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER


WARM-O-RAMA:  (Waxjob)

  • Side Straddle Hop x 25
  • Tempo Merkins x 15
  • Tempo Squats x 15
  • Grady Corns x 31
  • Crabettes x 10

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to the concrete bleachers (Bartman)
    • 11’s on the hill – squat jumps at the bottom / carolina dry docks at the top
  • Mosey to the end of the soccer field (Waxjob)
    • 50% run across the field
    • 75% run back the other direction across the field
    • 100% run across the field 25 v-ups at the other end
    • 100% run back – 25 big boy situps at the other end
    • Tunnel of love
  • Mosey to the bottom soccer field (Bartman)
    • Kraken style run around 6 cones.  Start with 5 burpees, 5 merkins, 5 squats at the first cone, then increase by 5 reps after each lap around the cones.  When you get to the last cone you’ll be doing 30 burpees, 30 merkins, 30 squats.  Time ran out, had to cut this short.
  • String of pearls mosey back to the AO (Waxjob)
    • Monkey humpers facing the road
    • Freddie Mercury by the outhouse
    • Pledge of Allegiance by the flagpole

MARY:  (Waxjob)

  • Boat/canoe while singing row, row, row your boat

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
41 strong!   Snorkel, Waxjob, Brick, Mr. Jinxy, Driftwood, Woodshack, Kickflip, Drive Thru, Curveball, Herbie, Bagman, Mustard, Snitch, Swimmies, Full House, Choir Boy, Gibbler, Tweet-E, Swanson, Cosmo, MC Hammer, Tank, Face Plant, Manilow, Abscess, Cavalier, Poyo, Mermaid, Mailbox, Slag (FNG), Guardrail, Lillydipper, Pele, Butters, Frosty, Sparkler, Moses, Steam, Rosetta, Hammy, Bartman

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:  (Bartman)
2019 has been a tough year among our F3 brotherhood – we have dealt with illness, injury, death.  In light of that and also in light of the Christmas season I decided to share several scriptures of encouragement to remind us that GOD is ultimately in control and we can find our rest in him.

MOLESKIN:
It’s always fun to have a big group together for a convergence workout – today was not different.   It was great to see many faces I hadn’t seen in a long time.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
3rd F immediately after the workout at Two Rivers church

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love

THE SCENE: Cool but nice, clear, upper 40s.  Beautiful evening sky observed and appreciated at the top of Cardiac…

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check, but with egregious Q errors. F3: Fitness. Fellowship.  AND FAITH!

WARM-O-RAMA:

-34 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence (#34, WALTER PAYTON) (big Bears/Dallas game tonight, so the rep numbers honored the ’85-’86 Bears, perhaps the GREATEST TEAM IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS!)

– 9 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence (#9, JIM MCMAHON)

– 22 Tempo Squats (4-ct), in Cadence (#22 DALE DUERSON)

– 21 Moroccan Nightclub (4-Ct) in cadence (#21 LESLIE FRAZIER, but Q and PAX messed up the count and we went to #23)

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to Serpentine sidewalk.  LIGHT POLE ESCALATORS
    • Start at first light pole. Do exercise then run to second light pole, do exercise, run back, etc.  Go to 8 light poles. Exercises are:
      • Light Pole 1: 5 Burpees
      • Light Pole 2: 10 Bobby Hurleys
      • Light Pole 3: 15 Carolina Dry Docks
      • Light Pole 4: 20 BBSs
      • Light Pole 5: 25 LBCs
      • Light Pole 6: 30 iron mikes (single count)
      • Light Pole 7: 35 Hello dollies (single count)
      • Light Pole 8 : 40 Imperial Walkers (single count).
  • Mosey to Cardiac Hill.  Do the following exercises at the bottom then run up to first turn and back. Do 5x reps the first time, then 10x, then 15x.
    • Smurf Jacks
    • Mountain Climbers (2-ct)
    • Froggie Jumps
    • Run back up the entire hill, doing 10 merkins at each turn.
  • Mosey to Parking Lot next to ball fields in a representation of what is sure to come in an incredible victory of the Bears over the Cowboys.
    • At the near end we will be the BEARS, so we will BEAR CRAWL 10 parking lines, do one Burpee to celebrate a First Down, and continue marching down the field (parking lot) at every line until the end. TOUCHDOWN! Do 7 Merkins.
    • Now we’re the COWBOYS!  BOO! HISS!!!!  Turn around and do the COWBOY WAHOO dance just less than 1 parking line. But the fearsome Bears D is TOO STRONG! NO FIRST DOWN! PUNT! Sprint to the end of the parking lot and we’re the BEARS again, marching down the field.  Rinse and Repeat from there.

MARY:
– Box Cutters (20, IC), E2K (20 each side, OYO), American Hammers (20, IC), X’s and O’s, BBSs (20, OYO… these are surprisingly hard after the X’s and O’s!!), Ring of Fire

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 strong, with Hooker also joining us at the end for a much-appreciated summary and update of Pinto’s condition.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“Advent” is Latin for “coming”, and this is a special time of year when we wait in anticipation to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  I always looked forward to the Advent Wreath tradition at church when I was growing up.  Our family would always volunteer to light one of the four candles at church, and each week, as we lit one more candle, the anticipation of the birth of Christ would increase, until Christmas Eve, when the Christmas candle would be lit in the middle, representing the light of God coming into the world.  The four candles represented:

  1. HOPE
  2. PEACE
  3. JOY
  4. LOVE

I feel we individually and as a Nation need these in our hearts now more than ever.  Hope. Peace. Joy. Love.

HOPE: Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the Darkness.

PEACE: Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

JOY: It is the experiences, the great Triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which the real meaning of being alive is found.  And it is great to be alive!

LOVE: I fell in love with you because you loved me when I couldn’t love myself.

Finally, the Christ Candle.  Candles cast no shadow.   “God is Light.  In Him there is no Darkness at all.” John 1:5

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler and his family as they approach the anniversary of their son’s passing.  In his honor, the Fake Gloom brothers submitted a new exercise, “Grady Corn”, to the nation F3, which was accepted.  Grady Corn is the “Candy Corn” exercise that Grady Pitstick, aka “Quikrete” brought to our workouts.

Prayers to Pinto for healing and comfort as he continues to courageously battle health issues. It’s been a tough year for our brother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
3rd F, 7 am this Saturday at the Truck Stop, with Fellowship and Faith gathering immediately after.  Please bring donations for the Veteran’s Wish List (see Mayberry’s post in Group Me) and a nominal monetary donation ($10 recommended) to cover the cost of breakfast, which will be provided.

God Hears our Laments

THE SCENE: Nice evening, temps in 50’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, 10 Shin Lifts on Curb of parking lot.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Southern Ball Fields Parking Lot.  We will do suicides running to each of five cones in parking lot.  At end of suicide run each man will do following exercises:

  • 15 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1)
  • 20 Big Boy Sit Ups
  • 15 Hand Release Merkins
  • 20 Hello Dollies (four count)
  • Rinse and Repeat exercises only.

Mosey to perimeter trail just past Southern Ball Fields Pavilion.  We will run for ten lights and stop to do the following exercises after each ten lights:

  • 5 Hand Release Merkins
  • 10 Squat Jumps
  • 20 Big Boys
  • 30 Squats

When we reach Serpentine Sidewalk we will stop.  We then will do 14’s on Serpentine Sidewalk, bear crawling one light and running for four, repeating that pattern until we get to roadway.

Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs CMU.  We will do 20 Overhead Presses, 20 Curls and 20 Rows in Cadence.

Mosey to AO.

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

Psalm 142:  1-2
1 With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. 
2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 

In our lives we need to guard against being overly negative.  We should have grateful hearts and be thankful for what God has given us.  But that does not mean that God doesn’t want us to complain to him.  He is our loving father.  Just as each of us who are fathers want to hear from our children if they are troubled, God wants to hear from us when we are sad, angry, confused, bitter, disappointed, overwhelmed, or desolated.  Go ahead and complain to God.  For goodness sake, about a third of the Psalms in the bible are laments!  In fact, just go to the Psalms if you want to learn how to complain.  Life presents us with challenges that are difficult to overcome.  God gives us life. Go ahead and complain to the Big Guy when you are upset with him and want to complain about the doggone life he has created.  I think of that great scene from Forest Gump when Lieutenant Dan, who lost his legs in the war of Vietnam, curses and screams at God, facing the storm on Forest’s boat, Bubba Gump.  Here are some of Lieutenant Dan’s words to God: “You think this is a storm!  C’mon you Son of a Bitch.  It’s time for a show down.  You and me.  Come and get me!”  Lieutenant Dan was certainly being open with God in that scene.  He was angry, bitter, desolated.  But Lieutenant Dan changes after that incredible scene.  He is kinder, tender even.  We see him thank Forest for hanging in there with him and ask for his forgiveness.  We see the lieutenant jump with joy into the same ocean that had presented the terrible storm only days before.  In Forrest Gump’s words, “He never said so.  But, I think Lieutenant Dan made his peace with God.”

If you want to see how to complain to God, look at the Psalms.  You will see complaints about being forsaken, about feeling abandoned, about feeling destitute.  You will also see recognition that God is there through it all, to protect, comfort and assist.  And so, David, who in various Psalms complains of the Lord forsaking him can also say in Psalm 22:

2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 
4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; 
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 
When in trouble, when overwhelmed, look to the Psalms.  Read them while you talk to the Lord of your own tribulations.  Go ahead and complain to Him.  But also listen closely for His answer.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler’s friend, Randy, who died on Sunday, and for his family.  Prayers for Butter’s sister.  Prayers for Pinto who will have back surgery in early December.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence at Truck Stop and 3rd F at Two Rivers Church on December 7.

First Last and Last First

THE SCENE: Beautiful chilly morning, temps in low 30’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Plank Stretches, Michael Phelps.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by Southern Ball Fields.  There will be eight cones set up in the parking lot.  Cone 1 and 8 will be on one side of the parking lot.  Cones 2 through 7 are on the other side of the parking lot.  We will circle clockwise around the cones.  The following will be the exercises at and from each cone:

  • Cone 1:  20 Squat Jumps.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 American Hammers (four count).  Crab Walk to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Star Jumps.  Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Hello Dollies.  Broad Jump to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  10 Shoulder Taps (each shoulder).  Gorilla Hop to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  10 Hand Release Merkins.  Sprint to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  15 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)  Bernie Sanders to Cone 8.
  • Come 8:  15 Dive Bombers.  Sprint all the way back to Cone 1.
  • Those finishing first rinse and repeat cycle until last man finishes first cycle.

Mosey to perimeter trail just past the pavilion at the southern ball fields.  We will do the following (what I call the 10 light nerve-wrecker) heading east and then north on the perimeter trail until we go on the boardwalk by the water and finally reach the serpentine sidewalk.  We will continue the 10 light nerve-wrecker on the serpentine sidewalk until we reach the roadway that is east of Pickett’s Charge.  With the 10 light nerve-wrecker, we run the length of 10 lights.  We then stop and do the following exercises in order:

  • 10 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 20 Merkins
  • 30 Squats
  • 40 Baby Crunches.
  • Rinse and repeat until every man has gone through the cycle of exercises.  Then run another 10 lights and do it again.

Once at the roadway, we will mosey to the playground.  We will do elevens at the benches, starting with one bench dip and 10 bench jumps.

Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises:

  • 20 Overhead Presses
  • 50 Bench Presses
  • 20 Curls
  • 25 Rows

Put CMU’s back in pile.  Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Box Cutters
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 men, no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Welcome Is Our Greeting

Matthew 20:  26- 28.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,c 27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,d 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

At the Broylmpics last Saturday, I was one of the brothers who ran in the long distance run.  I started with the group and very quickly saw the group dash on ahead of me.  After about 1/4 of the race, Mandolin and I were consigned to last place.  We had already competed in all of the prior events.  Our bodies were aching and Mandolin was nursing a problematic leg.  We suffered onward.  About halfway through the race we see the brother who ended up being the overall Brolympics Champ, Woodshack, running towards us.  He joins us, at a pace that was much slower than his typical mosey, and encourages us throughout the remainder of the race.  He didn’t belittle us, didn’t ingratiate us, he just ran by us, commenting on the great effort he was seeing and inspiring us in a thoughtful and brotherly manner.  We finally get to the final stretch of the race along the Serpentine Sidewalk.  By this time, all others in the race had already finished it.  As I am running ahead, what do I see?  A whole line of bros coming towards us, giving us high fives and finishing the race with us.  I can’t tell you how good that made me feel.  These were my brothers.  I might have been the slowest on the distance run but I was one of them.  Something pushed me a little faster as I crossed that finish line.  And on past the finish line were the other bros, smiling at me, Hey Lillying me, and getting me in the breakfast line for some of Junk’s famous cooking.  A slice of heaven with my brothers.

This kind of fellowship is what we all need.  In F3, all are welcome, no matter what the age or what the athletic condition.  “No Man Left Behind” is our philosophy.  As Q leaders, we need to design our workouts to make sure that happens.  Those men who get to a particular destination first can keep on working on exercises, whether Burpees, Side Straddle Hops, Running in Place, or Big-Boy Sit-ups as they wait for the remaining men to catch up.  Sometimes, we even Wagon Wheel back to join our brothers at the six.

Here’s another thing that we need to remember in F3.  Those of us who are less athletic or less fit should not pridefully shun the efforts of the more athletic who come to meet us.  We should not be embarrassed or angry because we are slower.  We should greet those circling back with glee, accept their gift of encouragement.  We should also remember that we too, even though we may be less athletic, have so much to offer the brotherhood – whether it be our mumble-chatter, our humor, our smiles, our social leadership, our aged wisdom, or plain old humility.  We all are living examples to one another, to the community around us, and to the FNG’s we welcome to our PAX.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk and his wife, for Messi and his wife, and for Cheatsheet’s friend who died at the age of 49.  Be with the friend’s family at this difficult time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
On December 7 at 7 am in the morning we will have a Convergence at the Truck Stop.  We will then go to Two Rivers Church nearby for a 3rd F Gathering with Manilow as our speaker.  Food from Einsteins Bagels will be provided.

Hey, guess what?  Today is Crawdad’s birthday.  The man is now 40.

Bare November Days

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, cool but not cold, mid 40s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check. Still not a professional.
WARM-O-RAMA:

Motivators (7 reps/level)

– Yoga stretches: legs spread, hang straight down, reach to right and left ankle, touch the ground and reach one arm up twisting torso, reverse hands.  There was much inappropriate mumblechatter about bending over and grabbing ankles at this point.

– 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward/ Backward (4-ct, IC), making them wide arm circles half way through.

– 10 Tempo Merkins

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Chapel parking log, stopping to do a WELSH DRAGON along the way.

In parking lot, cones will be laid out in a rectangle, short/medium/long distance on each side. Pair up.  One partner will get to the cone using various means, does 3 burpees, and returns while partner performs maintenance exercises. Switch.  Do each cone for two minutes. Cones are, counter-clockwise order:

    • Cone 1 (Long): Bear Crawl, partner does Bobby Hurleys
    • Cone 2 (Medium): Broad Jumps, partner does Iron Mikes
    • Cone 3 (Short): Crab Walk, partner does Burpees
    • Cone 4 (Long): Bear Crawl, partner does BBS
    • Cone 5 (Medium): Broad Jump, partner does American Hammers
    • Cone 6 (Short): Crab Walk, partner does Gas Pumps

Mosey to playground, do 7s with dips and bench jumps

Mosey to Baby Cardiac: Bernie to the top.

Mosey to the monument, do a few minutes of BOAT/CANOE.

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
Out of time.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 strong.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

My November Guest by Robert Frost is a poem that on its surface is about a person embracing the melancholy feeling that comes with the passing of summer and the beginning of the long winter, with “Sorrow” personified as a woman.  For some, the onset of winter is ominous and unsettling, but there is a different kind of beauty in these shortening days.  But there is more to this poem… it’s about more than just natural beauty the author is referring to.  It’s about opening yourself up and embracing your own personal grief and sorrow, and accepting it as an important and enriching facet of the human condition.

My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted grey
Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.

Many times we feel ashamed of our grief and sadness, we try to bury it, and pretend it doesn’t exist. The author is encouraging us to look at that part of us not with shame or trepidation, but to embrace it as part of our humanity, and to appreciate that part of our emotional spectrum.  For me, this time of year brings back memories of my mother’s illness and passing, and for years I dreaded the onset of November.  But I read this poem and it encourages me to use this time as a period of reflecting on her love and the wonderful times we had while she was on this earth.  “Not yesterday I learned to know the love of bare November days”. Try to learn to know the value of your own sources of sadness and grief.  And know that there’s a God in your life that will never be far from your heart, and seek comfort and refuge in the love of our Almighty Father.

PSALM 34:18: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Third F December 7, with Convergence at the Truck Stop!