F3 Knoxville

Hardship

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side-Straddle-Hops.  5 Burpees.  10 Windmills.  4 Burpees.  10 Rockettes.  3 Burpees.  10 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward.  2 Burpees.  10 Little Baby Arm Circles Backwards.  1 Burpee.  Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Caribbean.  We will run around Caribbean stopping at cones to do the exercises listed.  We will then Bernie around and do the same exercises.  Next we will Butt Kick around with the exercises.  Next, we will High Knees around with the exercises.  Finally we will run around again with the exercises.  Here are the exercises:

  • 20 Merkins
  • 20 Jump Squats
  • 20 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 20 Star Jumps
  • 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct).

Pickets Charge to Coliseum.

We will stop to do 20 American Hammers and 20 Flutter Kicks.  Next, we will do two loops around sidewalk that goes by admin bldg.  At Coliseum area we do 20 Bench Dips.  At steps of Admin Bldg we do 20 Calve Raises.

Gander from the Coliseum at Beautiful Water and Mountains in the distance.

Mosey to parking lot with CMUs.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises:

  • 30 Overhead Presses
  • 30 Curls
  • 30 Rows

Next we will split into two teams.  There will be two CMUs set up at western end of parking lot.  Team members line up.  The first member of Team One and Team Two throw frisbees at their particular CMU on the other side of the parking lot.  Whoever has the frisbee farthest from their CMU must run with their team to end of parking lot and back, grabbing both frisbees.  Then the next team members do the same thing.  If Team One always wins they will always be watching while Team 2 is running and vice versa.  Hopefully, it will be a fairly even split.

Replace CMUs.  Sprint back to AO.

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

Seeing the Opportunity in Hardship

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

We read in Self-Help Books, learn from experts, and hear from the wise among us that hardships help us to grow.  And, if we look back on difficulties we have faced in our own lives when we were younger, we can see how life challenges have helped us to grow stronger.  If we can remember this principle, “that hardship helps us grow”, we may be able to face our current challenges in a more optimistic way and forego much of the anxiety and angst that can sometimes bewilder us.

So often in the midst of challenges, anxiety can get the best of us.  We face fear and may think things like:  Why is this happening to me?  I don’t have what it takes to do this.  I am not strong enough.  I wish this would just go away.

I have a patient who is a female in her senior year of high school.  She copes with social anxiety, a condition where she gets very anxious in public situations.  Yet, she got a job as a hostess at an Aubrey Restaurant.  She has liked the job and has found that she has been able to interact well with the customers who come in to eat at the restaurant.  I have been so proud of her.  Here is a young person who has social anxiety, yet is working in a very public setting where she is seeing new people constantly.

Although she likes the job, she is facing hardships there.  The job can be very stressful when the restaurant gets crowded and busy.  The waiters and waitresses, who are friendly to my client, can still get harried when too many customers are seated in their area.  Also, my patient must face the ire and wrath of customers who have been waiting for a table and get impatient.  Who is the frontline person that these impatient customers see?  The hostess.  So it is my patient who receives their angry comments and complaints.  That is difficult for a young teenager to take, especially when she has an anxiety disorder.

But think about what my patient is learning in the face of these challenges.  If she can handle these hardships now, think about how much better she will be prepared for challenges she will face in college and as an adult in a profession.  Life isn’t always going to be cozy.  If she can handle these early challenges then she will be better able to handle the disappointment of customers she serves at future jobs whatever jobs those might be. She will be able to tolerate negative comments of bosses or supervisors and handle the mistakes she will inevitably make as an employee or young professional in the future.  The hardship she is facing now, with the corresponding discomfort in the pit of her stomach, is actually building strength in her, making her a higher impact woman.  It certainly helped my patient to be able to see this – to think that what is leading to anxiety within her is also helping her to grow.

In the face of hardship, the lesson that the hardship is helping us to grow can be difficult to remember.  But, if we can remember that principal, it will help us to face the challenge better.  The next time you experience anxiety, think about that.  Maybe anxiety isn’t a totally bad thing.  Maybe it is a natural response to a challenge that we can learn from.  And maybe that anxiety in hardship that we are feeling now will be replaced by the growth we experience from it.  As our brother, Tank, would say:  Hardship Hill is a mighty fine thing!!

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those coping with coronavirus; for those dealing with solitude or illness where they don’t have the opportunity to gather with friends like we do in F3; for our country do end racism; praise for Curveball’s wife doing well with her surgery; prayers for Ribbed and his wife as she has surgery this Monday to remove a tumor by her spine – we pray the surgery goes well and that the tumor is benign.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Birthday Triple Q on Saturday, December 26 where the three Q leaders will provide Hot Toddy drinks after the workout!

The Hills Are Alive With The Sounds of F3

THE SCENE: Nice Day! Chilly at 7:00 am start mid 40s. Clear sky
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Follow the Covid recommendation’s …. I am worse than any amateur, modify as necessary. We are going to do some hills today.

WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH X 15 , Butterfly Stretch ( Coach Dunn’s advice always appreciated), IT Band/Hip band stretch, quad stretch, arm circles, 5 Burpees. ( Pluto has no rhythm so the counting is always off a little )

THA-THANG:

The goal for this workout was to hit each of the primary hills in the Asylum AO. While planning the workout Pluto realized that an appropriate theme was the movie the Sound of Music. At multiple points in the workout the Pax sang the “The Hills are alive with the sound of F3” The singing was high spirited, but not in tune.

  • Run from AO start to base of Everest. At Everest Base: 20 Beachball  Merkins & 20 LBCs
  • Run up Everest – Al Gore till 6 up then Mosey to Stop sign. At Stop Sign 15 Squats with 5 second hold at bottom. Mosey to bathroom building at base of Picketts Hill.
  • Run up Pickets Hill with 5 Burpees at each plateau ( 5 Plateaus & 25 burpees if the hard side was chosen) Mosey down to Picnic Tables
  • Picnic Tables – 15 Picnic Table Pull Ups, 15 Dips, 20 Merkins in parking lot. Rinse & Repeat 2x. Did a few yoga stretches and core at  flagpole then mosey between ballfields to base of Cardiac Hill.
  • Run up Cardiac Hill with 10 Imperial walkers at every second light ( We sang the Hills Are alive at Base and put a headlock on a passing walker )
  • Mosey to CMUs… 20 Curls, 20 Overheads, 20 rows with CMUs Rinse & Repeat x 2 then mosey to base of Baby Cardiac Hill.
  • Up & Down Baby Cardiac Hill 3 x with LBCs or Ankle touch core work at base x 20.
  • Finished together running up final hill to AO start point while singing “Climb Every Mountain”

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
24 Pax got better this fine morning! Pele, Drum Major, Waffle House, Lillydipper, Hot Tub, Hooker, Jumbo, Mickey, G String, Convoy, Choir Boy, Matlock, Dung Beatle, Gilligan, Abacus, Gobbler, Swimmies, High Heels, Crawldad,
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Pluto shared how one of his favorite movies to watch during the Christmas season was the Sound of Music. As we hit the four hills of the Asylum AO this morning the song the Hills are alive with the sound of F3 was an appropriate theme. It is a rare that we do all four of these hills in a workout. Only have time to do so on a 1 hour Saturday. As we finished the workout the song ” Climb Every Mountain” was a closing song and finished  the Sound of Music workout  theme nicely. Pluto then shared 10 points of Trivia related to the Sound of Music and a tie in to leadership lessons from the Sounds of Music that were in a Forbes Magazine article a few years ago.

Sound of Music Trivia:

The Von Trapps did escape Austria as the Nazis came to power, but they didn’t flee over the Alps, they got on a train to Italy and then traveled to America, where they had a concert tour scheduled. The day after they left, Hitler ordered the Austrian borders shut.

When they left Austria, Baron von Trapp and Maria had already been married for years and had two children of their own, with another on the way.

When the von Trapps came to America they settled in Stowe, Vermont. They opened the Trapp Family Lodge, which is operational to this day.

The Sound of Music was the eighth and final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, but Hammerstein never saw the movie. He died of stomach cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.

“Edelweiss” was the last song Oscar Hammerstein ever wrote, the production of the movie had to stop for two hours to teach all of the extras the words to the song for that scene.

When it came to the movie, Julie Andrews wasn’t the first choice for Maria! Producers wanted Grace Kelly or Doris Day to replace her.

Sean Connery, Richard Burton and Bing Crosby were in the running to play Captain von Trapp, before the role went to relative newcomer Christopher Plummer.

Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss also auditioned to be von Trapp children.

While filming the iconic opening scene, twirling in the hills of Austria, Andrews kept getting knocked down in the mud by the gusts from the helicopter carrying the camera.

Adjusted for inflation, it’s one of the highest grossing films ever made, right behind Gone With the Wind and Star Wars.

It had the longest first run in U.S. cinemas ever at four and a half years.

Forbes Magazine: Four Leadership Lessons from Maria Von Trapp 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffloftus/2016/05/28/four-leadership-lessons-from-maria-von-trapp-julie-andrews/?sh=3c7d0e4210c6

MOLESKIN:

As we prayed together we as HIMS so often pray for our significant others and others in the Pax undergoing spoken challenges. Please remember that each of us has our own challenges each day & that all of us are going through something. Remember to pray for all the unspoken needs of our Pax and fellow f3’ers
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The workout was followed by a well attended and enjoyed coffee time at Panera.

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).

Swimmies + 2 For Tuesday Tribute

THE SCENE:

70s, feeling good, feeling great, pre-ruckers come back around 1735

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness-Fellowship-Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’m honored to be out here as your Q tonight
  • Couple of things before we kick off
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • I don’t know any injuries you may or may not have so if you do need to modify anything we do this evening feel free to do so but push yourself and the men around you

(COVID concerns – maintain 6ft if possible)

  • FNGs — Edgar (GORUCK)


WARM-O-RAMA:

(Swimmies Birthday Warm-o-Rama)

  • 35×4 SSH
  • 35×4 SSH
  • 17×4 Rockette
  • 17×4 Rockette
  • 17×4 Baby Arm Circles Forward
  • 17×4 Baby Arm Circles Backwards
  • 17×4 shoulder taps
  • 17×4 shoulder taps

 

THA-THANG:

(Mosey to the Bat Cave)

(1) 20s

  • 2 points of contact: bottom of the stairs + up here at the Bat Cave
  • Bottom of the stairs: Imperial Walkers
  • Bat Cave: BackBelly Flops
    • 1 BBS — 1 burpee (chest on ground)
  • 5 reps each POC for a total of 20 reps
    • All on a 1 count
  • Happy 2FT
    • R&R — everything on a 4 count now

(35 count from Swimmies – first 35 count in the history of F3 probably)

Running against the remaining time, PAX mosey down the hill around the back side of the AO, stopping every so often to knock out 5 reps of an exercise either on a 4 count or 1 count (SSH, merkins, flutter kicks, wall-sit bus drivers)

(Mosey back to AO — Snowflake sprints because he’s a beast)

MARY:

Core 4 – Happy Birthday edition

– Flutter Kicks while PAX sings Happy Birthday once through

– Rinse and Repeat because 2 For Tuesday

American Hammers while PAX sings Happy birthday once through

– Rinse and Repeat because 2 For Tuesday

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

26 including 1 FNG – Goosecall

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

[ “What A Time To Be Alive” ]

The Crucible – USMC

  • The final challenge of recruit training is known as the Crucible. It is a 54-hour training exercise that validates the physical, mental and moral training they’ve endured throughout recruit training.
  • The recruits are broken down into squads to face the challenges of the Crucible. They face challenges testing their physical strength, skills and the Marine Corps values they have learned throughout training. Throughout the event, the recruits are only allowed a limited amount of food and sleep.
      • Anyone else faced challenges this year that have tested their physical strength and skills and their values?
      • Anyone else had limited sleep this year?
      • Anyone else learn anything in the past year?
  • The final stage of the Crucible is a 9-mile hike from the training grounds to the Iwo Jima flag raising statue at Peatross Parade Deck. Upon completing this challenge, the recruits are handed their Eagle, Globe and Anchors, symbolizing the completion of their arduous journey to become U.S. Marines.

                                              ___________________

  • There was a time in my life not too long ago that I wanted to make it there more than anything. I studied, I worked hard, I put in the hours, I did all of the right things – and it’s not what the Lord had for me at that time.
  • I craved it. I could see it. I wanted it so bad. And it’s not what the Lord had for me at that time. But that’s not the point.

                                              ____________________

As HIM – we’re in the crucible right now. Congratulations, you made it.

And what a time to be alive — for such a time as this.

And I can understand that it might feel like we’ve been in that final 9 mile ruck March for months now. But if you stop at mile 7 you miss it. If you stop at mile 8 you miss it. If you stop at mile 8.5 you miss it.

And unlike the Marine Core Crucible – you don’t get anything for making it through tough times. You don’t (always) get this tangible thing you can hold in the palm in your hand as a representation of how much you’ve been through. No ones going to give you anything for making it through.

But there is someone who gave up everything so that you COULD go through. So that you could go through the crucible for such a time as this. And He gives you everything you need to do so.

MOLESKIN:

Proverbs 4:25-27 (ESV & Message)

Enter the Sanctuary – Embrace the Crucible (sermon by Rick Dunn) — https://subspla.sh/c6sz9xd

– Prayer requests for loved ones that are no longer with us

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

F3’s 5 Year Anniversary Convergence

– Saturday, November 7th

– Asylum AO

– 0700 – 0800 followed by transfer of leadership of Nantann role and breakfast celebration

Back blast and use of worst metaphor in F3 History at BOM

THE SCENE: Low 50s, light rain, random dude sitting down with umbrella drinking coffee at top of AO…nice aroma every time we ran by.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

I am worst than a nonprofessional , follow Covid guideline
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x 20, Arm Circles, Cherrypickers, Leg over leg stretch, Butterfly stretch ( Included Coach Dunn’s advice) Couple of yoga stretches

THA-THANG:
Ran to top of AO at Parks and Rec office area and did a circuit run between the end points of the Colosseum/overlook. Did a exercise at each stop point and then ran back to start point

Start point at Haslam monument

  • Squat x 20
  • Squat Jump x 20
  • Fire Hydrant x 20 ( 10 each side )

Mid-Point at center of overlook

  • Flutter Kick 4 count x 20
  • Hello Dolly 4 count x 20
  • LBS x 20

End-Point at stop sign at bottom of hill

  • Mountain Climber 4 count x 20
  • CDD x 20
  • Merkins x 20

Slow Mosey to base of Everest

2 sets of Break dance Merkins with run half way up Everest

Then…ran to Summit of Everest and then mosey to AO.

At AO

10 Burpies followed by 20 LBS

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 Pax got better today~ Pluto, Rainbow, Archie, Gibbler, Hands, Crab-legs, Code Brown, Cat Gut, Bunny, Kentucky, Fabio, Toll Bridge, Hot Tub, Matlock
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Worst metaphor inF3 history…

Shared that as High Impact men we are often striving to be leaders in our families, church, work, and friend groups. You are working hard to both fit in AND to stand out. Working hard and stepping up to be a humble leader when called upon to do so… each of us is carrying a lot of strength as Hims, yet it may not be noticed as we live life as humble servants, yet when called to do so we step up and show our strength and stand out when called to do so.

Shared a story about how while driving home from our vacation yesterday my son had noticed and commented on seeing an El Camino driving in our neighborhood.

Shared that as HIMs sometimes we are like an El Camino… We may look simple, fit in, and appear to be a regular person or Sad Clown at first glance. Like looking at an El Camino from the front …Heck it looks like a car!

Yet each of us has strength and power that through our humility is not apparent at the first head on glance.  Our strength, power and influence as a HIM is seen after getting the full picture of each of us as a man. Much like an El Camino has the strength to haul almost 1,500 lbs in the back and in many models  a high performance engine making it a true muscle car! We each can look like an average man from the front, yet as we strive to be HIMS we have the extra strength in the back that you might not see at first.

So strive to be like an El Camino … humble, car like, and unassuming at first glance, yet strong, capable of carrying a heavy weight, and a high performance HIM who is a servant to others.

EDIT: Added this link after initial post of back blast – Today is the anniversary of the introduction of the El Camino… I had no idea this was the case when I planned the Q last night!

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chevrolet-introduces-the-el-camino

MOLESKIN:
Closed with this verse from Thessalonians 5:14

” And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Reminded everyone of the Convergence & 3rd F at Bomb Shelter tomorrow morning