F3 Knoxville

No Denial

THE SCENE: Sunny and hot, 95 degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, Plank Lifts, 10 Rockettes, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and 10 Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot that is across the street from Northern Ball field Entrance Parking Lot.  We will be going to the four corners of each parking lot by the following methods and doing the following exercises

  • Corner 1:  20 Squat Jumps (Round 1), 20 Star Jumps (Round 2) then Bernie Sanders to Corner 2
  • Corner 2:  20 American Hammers four count (Round 1), 20 Bicycle Kicks four count (Round 2) then bear crawl to Corner 3
  • Corner 3:  20 Plank Jacks (Round 1), 20 Iron Mikes four count (Round 2) then sprint to Corner 4.
  • Corner 4:  20 Merkins (Round 1), 20 Carolina Dry Docks (Round 2) then lunge to Corner 1

Mosey to Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will do nickel, dime, quarters to the bottom of Cardiac Hill (run one light and do five of exercise, run two lights and do ten of exercise, run five lights and do 25 of exercise) with the following exercises:

  • Big Boy Sit Ups
  • Diamond Merkins
  • Imperial Walkers

At Cardiac Hill:  We will run up the hill, stopping to do the following exercises at the following locations:

  • Turn 1:  20 Hello Dollies (four count)
  • Turn 2:  20 Flutter Kicks (four count)
  • Turn 3:  20 Decline Merkins
  • Benches:  20 Bench Dips

Mosey on perimeter trail then go south at road that heads towards Admin Bldg.  Stop by stop sign at northeast corner of Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Behind Back Scissor Kicks

Mosey to AO.

MARY:

Rocky Balboas

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eight men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Take The Time to Process Pain

As a psychologist, I see many people refuse to examine painful events in their lives.  Something painful has occurred in their lives that created trauma for them.  They try to AVOID thinking of the situation at all costs.  For example, the person may have lost a loved one and they try not to think of the death of that loved one or even the life of the loved one because it leads to sorrow and tears.  A person may avoid thinking of a past dangerous situation (e.g, surviving an automobile or plane accident) because it brings up fear, worry, or pain in terms of seeing someone injured or killed).  A person may avoid thinking of past abuse because to think of it is so painful and they rather put the abuse off in a closet.  For a little while, the strategy may work.  But for most of us, the painfulness of the past event seeps through the cracks and continues to impact us.  We want to hide from the pain but the pain comes back to haunt us in nightmares, flashbacks, nervousness, jumpiness, and general unrest.  This is why a major strategy of working with someone who has suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is to get the person to share their past traumatic experience.  The person may feel worse at first but by continuing to talk about the event, by continuing to process it (in psychology we call this working through), the person finally gains some control over the pain.  They realize that life can hand us some terrible stuff but that the terrible stuff we experienced is over and it probably won’t occur again, especially if we take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen.  The abused child is no longer a child, the auto accident victim realizes he can drive his car with a pretty high degree of safety, the war veteran is no longer at war.

Life is not a fully rosy picture.  Bad things happen.  Some people want to look at the world through rose colored glasses.  They may not see the pain going on around them until it hits them straight in the face.  But life also has much to offer and be awed by, much beauty, despite the ugliness.  If we see and process both, we are generally going to be better off for it.  And, we are in a better position to help our fellow human beings.  We can laugh with them but can also cry with them, join them when they are hurting, and give them a loving hand to reach out to.

Peter Gabriel wrote a beautiful song (called “Red Rain”) that deals with the issue of pain.  At the start of this largely metaphysical and symbolic song, the protagonist can’t see or hear the pain that others experience and denies the pain.  It is later, when he lets his defenses down, that the “Red Rain” surrounds him.  Putting his trust in something higher than himself, he can no longer deny the pain around him.  And through this, as if in an epiphany, he is bathed by the rain as if in a pool or red wine, as if in a red sea.

Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
 
I am standing up at the water's edge in my dream
I cannot make a single sound as you scream
It can't be that cold, the ground is still warm to touch
We touch, this place is so quiet, sensing that storm
 
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
 
Well I've seen them buried in a sheltered place in this town
They tell you that this rain can sting, and look down
There is no blood around, see no sign of pain
Hay ay ay no pain
Seeing no red at all, see no rain
 
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
 
Red rain
Ohhhh
Putting the pressure on much harder now
To return again and again
Just let the red rain splash you
Let the rain fall on your skin
I come to you defenses down
With the trust of a child
 
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me

And I can't watch any more
No more denial
It's so hard to lay down in all of this

Red rain coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
I'm bathing in
Red rain coming down
Red rain is falling down
Red rain is coming down all over me
I'm begging you

Red rain coming down
Red rain coming down
Red rain coming down
Red rain coming down

Over me in the red red sea
Over me
Over me
Red rain

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk’s mother, for Crawdad’s wife, for Thunderstruck’s mother and for High-Heel’s mother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
3rd F upcoming on August 10.

Amazon Abort co-Q

THE SCENE: Forgot to look, felt like about 75* and humidity wasn’t yet too bad
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Led by Amazon:
BAC forward x20 IC (evidently at Brickyard these are know as manly arm rotations)
BAC backwards x20 IC
Moroccan night clubs x20 IC
OH claps x20 IC
Led by Abort:
Pulse squats x15 IC
Tempo lunge x10 IC
Cobras x10 IC
Amazon:
Sumo squat x10 IC
THA-THANG:
Mosey across Emory Road to the First Tennessee bank parking lot and pair up.  Dora style work, one partner does Galway Hookers across parking lot (4 lunge steps, 1 supersquat, 4 lunge steps, 2 supersquats, continue) to cone and the run back.  The other partner works through:

  • Burps x100
  • Calf raises x100 (on 4-ct)
  • 200 high knees (left/right 1)

Once the partner returns, swap and continue through the exercises.  All groups ended about the same time, so a quick mosey through the parking lots, and back across Emory Road right in front of splash pad.  Quick round of ATM’s to even out the leg work we just did, then continue mosey to pick up a pet rock at the lot just beyond the park.  Grab your rock and mosey with it across Emory to the Health and Wellness parking lot (fitting right?).

Four corners routine, sort of.  Each exercise set with rocks, then run carrying rock overhead to the next corner.

  • Front rock raises x20
  • Eight count bodybuilders x10
  • Rock OH squats x20
  • Brickyard manmakers x10

Finish the four corners, then rinse and repeat for a second round.  After a quick joke about a third round, its time for the shoulder shredder.  Overhead claps on a 4 count, stopping every quarter to pick some cherries.  TAKE US TO 100!

Get rock overhead and mosey back across Emory Road for the last time and take the rock back and return it.  Mosey back toward start point for a little cardio.

Sprints are around 30 yards, all done together.

  • 80% sprint, immediately followed by 10 merkins on 4-ct IC
  • 80% sprint, immediately followed by 10 cobras on 4-ct IC
  • 100% sprint, AYG, immediately followed by 20 SSH IC

MARY:
Flutter kicks x20 IC
BBSUs x20 OYO
Flutter kicks x20 IC
BBSUs x20 OYO
Boat/canoe cash out – in canoe doing flutters, Moroccan night clubs, OH claps
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 strong with plenty of visitors: Herbie, Biohazard, Fob, Manilow, Pele, Lilydipper, Fast N Easy, Amazon, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Amazon spoke about the importance of focusing on others who might be struggling.  Lessons he has learned in GORUCK events, specifically his most recent HTL.  During those events, and in life in general, we find ourselves struggling and contemplating giving up.  But if you look around, there is generally someone worse off than we are.  If you focus your energy on them and helping them keep moving, its funny how you forget the pain you’re in or how tired you are.  Focus on helping someone else, and you’ll be amazed how far that takes you as well.  AYE!!

Give In To God

THE SCENE:  Sunny and humid, temps in 80’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side-straddle hops, 10 Iron Mikes (four count), 10 Windmills, 10 Twists, 10 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign at southeast corner of the Admin Bldg.  20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to parking lot near Area 54.  20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Cones that will be in grass on others side of the street from parking lot near Area 54.  The cones will be set up in four corners.  We will be going to each cone by the following methods and doing the following exercises:

  • Cone 1:  20 Merkins.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 Big Boy Sit Ups.  Grapevine, right foot in lead, to Cone 3
  • Cone 3:  20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Sprint to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4.  40 Baby Crunches.  Grapevine, left foot in lead, to Cone 1.+
  • Rinse and repeat two more times.

Mosey to shaded area on perimeter trail that is near the North Shore Gate Entrance to park.  20 Buzz Saws.

Mosey down perimeter trail to bottom of Mt. Everest.  20 Hello Dollies. 20 Merkins.  20 Big Boy Sit Ups.

Run up Mt. Everest to street in front of Admin Bldg.

We will run in a counter-clockwise square doing the following exercises at the following locations:

At Bat House:  Do 20 Star Jumps then run down steps.

At grassy area at bottom of steps:  20 Carolina Dry Docks then run to tree grove below summit of Mt. Everest.

At tree grove:  10 Burpees then run to top of Mt. Everest.

At top of Mt. Everest:  20 Big Boy Situps

Mosey to wall on other side of street from Admin Bldg parking lot.  We will pair up into two man teams.  While one partner does 20 dips at wall the other partner does merkins.  Then partners trade places.  Rinse and repeat.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Buzz Saws, 20 Pickle Pounders, 15 Shoulder Taps, 20 Merkins
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eleven men, one FNG, Robert Land whom we dubbed “Hot Lips.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Give In To God

“Never give up.”  “When the going get’s tough, the tough get going.”  ” Go the extra mile.”  “Give 110%.” “When you think you have had enough, find that extra in reserve.”

These are phrases we can relate to in F3.  We are a group of men who encourage each other to push ourselves to our limits so that we can better ourselves in health and as members of society.  These are good phrases and they ring with truth.  To succeed in life we must push ourselves, even when the chips are down. To be true HIM’s we must also sometimes carry others with us along the way.

But as HIM’s who live in a world that has tainted views of what true success is, we must also think on these phrases with discernment.  We must realize that their are exceptions to every rule.  We must learn that it is important to have balance in our lives.  We must see that even Jesus took time to rest and pray.  And, in F3, we must remember that one of our often used phrases is, “Modify!”

As a psychologist, I see people who definitely need to listen to the “don’t give up” types of statements.  I see people quitting jobs just because they had a bad day at work, because a co-worker or boss said something negative to them, because they don’t like getting up on dark and cold mornings.”  This type of attitude leads to defeat, to failure, to depression.

But I have also seen people who are anxious, depressed and miserable because they think they have to hold everything together or else they are failures.  These people are not the “I give up types.”  But they are burning the candle at both ends, failing to “sharpen the saw”, and failing to turn to God and trust in Him at their greatest time of need.  I was watching a television show on Netflix with my wife on Saturday night.  Part of the show focused on an attorney who had been very successful at her job.  She also wanted to be a good mother.  She and her stay-at-home husband were doing the best they could to raise their young daughter and they had also recently adopted a nine-year-old boy who came from a very difficult background and had some behavioral issues because of it.  The attorney was trying to meet the needs of her family and the needs of the job.  She was getting further and further behind because of the many demands facing her.  She had her daughter getting angry at her for missing one of her school musicals (due to job necessities) and she had her employer and clients getting upset at her for making mistakes on the job that she had not made in the past.  She was reaching the breaking point.  In one scene, she has a panic attack in front of her husband, almost fainting, something that had never happened to her before.  Finally, in a critical scene of the show, leaders of the law firm let her know that she has been on track to become a partner in this highly successful firm.  Noting her recent mistakes, they ask her if she is willing to give 100% to the law firm.  She makes an important decision, one that the society she runs with would see as a mistake, as a sign of failure.  She decides to quit the firm.

I bring this up because there will be times in each of our lives when we must choose to give things up.  A great way to recognize this is when we see that we are taking on too much, when our life feels out of balance.  We are not failing when we make the decision to give up in such a case.  We are, rather, choosing something greater.  In the case of the female attorney in the show I mentioned, she chose to spend more time with family.  She could take on a job with less pay so that she could have a better relationship with her daughter and adopted son.

What can we do when we experience ourselves off kilter?  We can pray to God.  Too many times we try to handle things on our own without asking God for direction.  We can also talk to our friends.  God often speaks to us through friends.  In our prayers we may hear that we need to hang in their for a while, that things will slow down, that life will get back to balance.  But we may also hear that it is time to give something up.  We may also see that we have been trying to manage things without God without giving in to Him, allowing him to guide us, freeing ourselves up to give Him control.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Whiskey, Soft Beds, and Buttermilk

THE SCENE: Perfect. Low 70s, nice breeze, sunny

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check


WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH, 20 IC
  • Bolt 45s (15 top ½ squats, 15 bottom ½ squats, 15 full squats)
  • 5 PCMBs OYO
  • 10 Plank Jacks (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Windmills (4-ct, IC)
  • Baby Arm Circles Forward (x10, 4 Ct, IC) and backward (x10, 4 Ct, IC)

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to grassy field below Admin building.
  • RECTANGLE OF DEATH!!!! (Q was not too original with the name…) Cones set up in rectangle.
    • Run suicides on long sides, but Bernie Sanders back to baseline instead of turning around. Run to ¼, ½, ¾, and full length.
    • Short sides, Burpee Broad Jumps (3 jumps then a Burpee)
    • Do exercise listed at the corner. Do 5 reps of each exercise the first lap, then 10, then 15
      • Corner 1: Mountain Climbers (2-ct), Tempo Squats, Iron Mikes (both legs =1) (5x/10x/15x)
      • Corner 2: Hand Release Merkins, Carolina Dry Docks, and Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1) (5x/10x/15x)
      • Corner 3: Star Jumps, Smurf Jacks, Bobby Hurleys (5x/10x/15x)
      • Corner 4: Big Boy Situps, American Hammers (2-ct), and box cutters (4-ct) (5x/10x/15x)

Only did two laps… too many other fun things to do.  Plus these were hard as heck and Q was out of breath.

  • Mosey to CMU pile.
    • CMU Farmer Carries!
      • Line up on Curb. Take turns lugging two CMUs around perimeter of parking lot.  Rest of PAX will be running back and forth across parking lot doing merkins at one end and squats at the other.  5x/10x/15x, rinse and repeat.  Keep repeating until everyone has carried the CMUs.  Tank, Lillydipper, and maybe one other PAX I’m forgetting volunteered to team up and do an extra lap to keep company with the last person to carry the CMUs, exmplifying the sacrifice and No Man Left Behind philosophy of F3.  Tank did it while battling calf cramps.  Beast.
      • Hat tip to Judge Judy!
  • Get a partner. One partner runs straight normal, the other Bernie Sanders up Baby Cardiac.  Switch half way up.  At top do 10 patty-cake merkins.
  • Mosey to AO.

MARY:
No time.  Barely made it back to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 strong! (J-Lo and Thunderstruck not tagged)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I recently revisited the book Lonesome Dove, which truly is a Great American Novel, and has countless memorable quotes and words of wisdom in it. It’s a tale of an ambitious (but tragic) cattle drive undertaken by two ex-Rangers-turned-cattle-ranchers, Gus and Call, from Texas to Montana.  During the drive, a woman companion on the trip, Lorie, a gentle soul who has led a difficult life surrounded by men who take advantage of her, is abducted by Comanches and is treated brutally while she is prisoner.  She survives and is rescued, but has many scars, both physically and psychologically.  She decides she needs to strike out on her own and finally realize a dream of hers to travel to California and start a new life.  In a letter that Gus writes to Lorie when she sets off, he says: “You see, life in San Francisco is still just life. If you want any one thing too badly, it’s likely to turn out to be a disappointment. The only healthy way to live life is to learn to like all the little everyday things – like a sip of good whiskey in the evening, a soft bed, a glass of buttermilk, or a feisty gentleman like myself.”

The message is pretty clear… The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. If you’re always looking ahead, you will miss the enjoyment of the present.  If you are always chasing a dream, you will not realize the simple pleasures of the present that are Gifts from God.

    • Take pleasure in the simple things.  Life is what you make of it.
    • The trap we often fall into is looking at someone else’s situation and thinking that I wish I had what they have.  The reality is what they have may not be as good as it appears as we stand in our field looking across at theirs.
    • Phillipians 4:11-12 And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.

MOLESKIN:
Several members of the PAX have friends and family members battling serious illnesses.  We are thinking of them and keeping them in our prayers.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Nope.

2 For Tuesday: Character-Building Festivities

THE SCENE: SUPER cool, like 70s cool. Breezy baby.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith! My name is Steam & I’ll be your Q this evening. I am stoked to be back here Qing with you guys. I am not a professional and you are here on your own volition – which means that you chose to be here this evening, just like everyone else. Let’s rock!

WARM-O-RAMA:

Side-Straddle Hop (SSH): 11×4 in cadence

Steam: “We will be celebrating 2 For Tuesday this evening gents”

Side-Straddle Hop (SSH): 11×4 in cadence

Baby Arm Circles: 11×4 (forward) in cadence // 11×4 (backwards) in cadence

Baby Arm Circles: 11×4 (forward) in cadence // 11×4 (backwards) in cadence)

Cherry- Picker: 11×4 in cadence

Cherry-Picker: 11×4 in cadence

Imperial Walker: 11×4 in cadence

Imperial Walker: 11×4 in cadence

Let’s get on the mosey!
THA-THANG:
[The 2nd part of any 2 For Tuesday exercise can be substituted w/5 burpees if PAX chooses]

  • Mosey towards Cardiac Hill

 

  • Every stop sign PAX passes = 8 merkins (1-count)
    • 3 stop signs = 24 merkins

 

  • “Cardiac Hill 100”
    • 4 points of contact going down Cardiac Hill
    • (1) Top of Cardiac Hill (2) curve 1 on Cardiac (3) curve 2 on Cardiac (4) bottom of Cardiac
    • At all points of contact
      • 10 squats
      • 10 big boy sit-ups
      • 5 incline merkins (facing up Cardiac)
    • PAX holds the plank at the bottom of Cardiac

 

  • PAX American Indian runs to boarded walkway by the river
  • PAX forms battle buddies

 

  • 11s
    • Boardwalk overlooking the river: LBCs (4-count)
    • Left Down the boardwalk 20ish yards: Merkins (4-count)
      • 10 + 1
      • 9 + 2 and so on
    • High-Heels leads PAX in core work exercises until 6 recovers on the boardwalk overlooking the river

 

  • PAX duck-walks up a little hill into the grass about a football field away from the Lakeshore Chapel

 

  • The Slinky
    • PAX gets into 2-man battle buddy (BB) teams
    • Q gives command to run – stop (hold plank)
    • (1) 1st BB team runs until the command “down” is given
    • (2) 1st BB team drops down into a plank
    • (3) 2nd BB team sprints past 1st BB team until the command “down” is given
    • (4) 2nd BB team drops down past the 1st BB team in the plank position
    • (5) 3rd BB team sprints past the 1st and 2nd BB teams, until the command “down” is given
    • (6) 3rd BB team drops down past the 1st and 2nd BB teams, holding the plank position
    • Rinse & Repeat – starting with the 1st BB team – until all PAX reach the edge of the Lakeshore Chapel

 

  • Doubtfire verbalizes the fuel on the fire and PAX rushes through the field in back of the chapel, across the street under a tree
  • Q leads PAX in Monkey-Humpers, in front of soccer moms, kids, and God himself
    • 11×4 in cadence
    • [2 For Tuesday]
    • 11×4 in cadence
  • Q points to an object 40-50 yards away – PAX charges at it full-speed

 

  • PAX are facing a hill
  • Q instructs PAX to get in a decline big boy setup position on the hill
  • 11 1-count big boy sit-ups
  • [2 For Tuesday]
  • 11 1-count big boy sit-ups

 

  • PAX runs up the hill and recovers by two trees close to the road leading to the Asylum PM road
  • Q leads PAX in 11 1-count Pinto Squat-Jump Twists(?) (Jury is still out on the official name)
    • Starting position: PAX facing 1 direction
    • PAX squat –> jump up and twist –> landing facing the other direction = 1
  • [2 For Tuesday]
  • 11 1-count Pinto Squat-Jump Twists

 

  • Pax charges towards the final stop sign
  • PAX charges the final road/hill back up to the AO

 

  • handy.

MARY:

Total Time: 45:20

Distance: 2.2miles

Elevation Gain: 128ft.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Giving Credit/Being Your Own God

I just got a new job, am moving into a new house, have a new relationship with a great girl – things are going great in my life right now. And I feel like I need to hear this more than anyone: I need to realize that my pride is a very dangerous thing and that I am blessed with these things because there is a God above who is working in my life and putting breath in my lungs – to serve Him. None of the seeming success in life that I seem to be a part of has anything to do with “me being the man” or “me crushing it” lately. It’s so easy for me to pat myself on the back and develop a false sense of “look what you did man, you’re doing great.” Sometimes as men I think it’s easy for us to fall prey to our own pride in our work or successes in life, etc, and not remember who woke us up this morning and spoke life into the blessings we enjoy. We were created for so much more than ourselves men! Our story is just a small small part in the great HIStory He’s telling through us.

Keep the Faith & Fight the Good Fight!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Prayer Requests (PRs): Steam’s new dating relationship – struggling/wanting to keep the Lord at the center and working on being a HIM in it.