F3 Knoxville

Your Dolphin?

THE SCENE:  So nice.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

Seal clap
Overhead clap
Reachforthesky
Let it hang
Cherry pickers
Tempo Squats
Down/up dog
Tempo merkins
Mountain climbers

THA THANG:

Mosey to Jucomanjaro, where there are 8 cones spaced 50’ from each other.

At the base of the hill do 15 squats, 15 merkins, 15 mountain climbers (2 count).  Run to the cone, do exercise on the cone, run back down.  Each time at the base, do the 15 squats, 15 merkins, 15 mountain climbers (4 count).  Repeat for all cones.

Cone 1: 10 Burpees
Cone 2: 20 Carolina dry docks
Cone 3: 30 Bobby Hurleys
Cone 4: 40 side crunches (20 each side)
Cone 5: 50 Pickle pounders
Cone 6: 60 Hello Dolly (single count)
Cone 7: 70 flutter kicks (2 count)
Cone 8: 80 SSH

Mosey to the Hardin Valley house.  Grab a block.  50’s.

40 curls + 10 presses
30 curls + 20 presses
20 curls + 30 presses
10 curls + 40 presses

In between each set, Everest up the hill, run down the steps.

MARY:

Heavy LBCs
Heavy Flutter kicks
Heavy BBS
Mosey to the flag
Freddy Mercury
LBC
Side plank E2K

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

14

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I have bad news and good news.  The bad news is, by itself this message is not going to make much sense.  Because…it is only Part 1 of a 3-part message that you will get this week.  The good news is 5k is going to give you Part 2 on Wednesday, and Booster will really bring it all together on Friday.  You won’t want to miss it – be back out here on Wednesday and Friday!

Part I:

Mt Everest – 29,000 ft.  The highest point on earth.  Captivating and deadly.  In the 1920’s to conquer this mountain was the greatest challenge remaining in the Golden Age of Adventure.  Everest was the edge of heaven, where many believed no human could survive.  But not George Mallory….

Mallory was part of three expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920’s.  As an admired climber in Europe, he was a likely candidate for these trips.  He wanted to be part of climbing the highest peak in the world and, for Mallory, climbing was about much more than just the physical challenge.  Like others who were involved, he felt that climbing Everest was a step in the progress of humankind toward achieving its full potential – he felt as though he were in the service of something greater than himself.

The first trip was for reconnaissance. There was much mapping, charting, and getting to know the area to scope out a possible route to the top.  The second effort included several attempts to get to the summit with no success.  When asked to participate in the third expedition, Mallory at 37 years old, knew it would be his last chance.  So, once again he went to the mountain… On June 7, 1924, he made a bid for the top and was never seen alive again.  We don’t know if Mallory made the summit.  Some believe that he did – and was, therefore, the first man in history to do so.  Others think he could not have made it.  What we do know is that 97 years ago, George Mallory died doing what he was born to do.

In the F3 Q Source, 2.3 is about serving in the high impact zone.  In that chapter, we are introduced to the concept of your DolphinYour Dolphin is your unique gift, the thing you do better than anything else and the thing you do better than most other people can do it. (From the Q Source) “F3 chose the dolphin to symbolize man’s unique gift because the dolphin is a mammal that was born to swim but cannot do most of the other things that mammals do.  The dolphin’s Dolphin is swimming. It does that better than anything else it can do, and better than most any other mammal can.”

1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another…”

George Mallory’s Dolphin was climbing mountains.  It was the thing he did best – and he was better at it than most any man alive.  He gave the best of himself – his skill and talent for mountaineering – to what he considered to be the betterment of humanity.

Today and tomorrow, be thinking about, “What is your Dolphin?”  What is it that you do best – and do better than most other people you know?

Come back on Wednesday for Part 2 of this message!

MOLESKIN:

The opening lines of this Word are the opening lines of a documentary called “The Wildest Dream” narrated by Liam Neeson.  Go ahead and read it again…this time in Neeson’s voice.  So much cooler, am I right?!

Nice to have Gump back out with us!

PRAYERS / ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Prayer of thanks for Pool Boy’s mother

CMU Yoga

The Scene

Beautifully Humid

F3 Welcome and Disclaimer

Fitness, Fellowship, Faith, Free, Modify, Not Professional, Own Volition, Social Distance, Phone

Warm-O-Rama

Motivators

Cherry Pickers

Redneck Rockettes

Mountain Climbers

Squats

Merkins

Tha-Thang

Mosey to CMU pile and grab 1

Swings and Yoga-ish

1st station

10 Swings

Down Dog on block (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

5 Swings

Standard plank on block (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

2nd station

10 Swings

Lizard Pose Left (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

Lizard Pose Right (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

5 Swings

Upward Facing Dog (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

3rd Station

10 swings

Hollow body hold (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

5 Swings

Clinched Pickle Pointers (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

4th Station

10 Swings

Split Squat Hold Left (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

Split Squat Hold Right (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

5 Swings

Straight arm CMU hold (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

 

5th Station

10 Swings

Calf Raise Hold (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

5 Swings

T Plank Hold Left (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

T Plank Hold Right (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

6th station

10 Swing

CMU Squeeze hold (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

5 Swings

Superman hold (45 seconds, 15 seconds)

 

Mary

 

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

13 HIM’s

COT/BOM

 

Isaiah 40:28-31

28Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

29He gives power to the faint,

and to him who has no might he increases strength.

30Even youths shall faint and be weary,

and young men shall fall exhausted;

31but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

https://youtu.be/K3TYG7Q_fj4 

MOLESKIN:

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Endeavor Exicon

THE SCENE: High 50’s/Low 60″s, comfortable
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, Rockette’s, Deep squats, Mountain climbers, Alternating mountain climbers, Plank jax, Baby arm circles, Reverse baby arm circles, Slow neck rolls
THA-THANG:
Diving into the rolodex of the F3 Exicon.  Q named off a “deep cut” exercise found in the F3 exicon and called out a PAX to demonstrate the exercise.  If the PAX performed it correctly, they took the Q for that exercise and called out the number of reps.  If performed incorrectly, the original Q led the correct iteration of said exercise for a certain number of reps.  Fun was had by most!

The following exercises were attempted w/ a side of laughter (in no particular order, see Exicon for descriptions):

  • Air Drama 
  • Apple Turnover (YUM!)
  • Alphabet (or ABCs)
  • Australian Snow Angels
  • Bobby Hurley
  • Booyah! Merkin (air fist pound, instead of shoulder tap)
  • Captain Morgan
  • Escalator (did not perform, time constraint)
  • Goofball
  • Hatching Butterfly
  • Howling Monkeys (a favorite)
  • Little Mermaid
  • Merkin Jax
  • Jumping Bean Squats
  • Pretzel Stick
  • Prime Time Merkin
  • Protractor
  • Rockette Hillbillies
  • Vacuum Cleaners (DNP, time constraint)
  • Welsh Dragons (DNP, time constraint)
  • Zebra Butt-Kicks

MARY:
DNP
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 PAX + 1 FNG (name TBD, previously Captain Obvious but need to re-name due to duplicate in F3 Knoxville)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Please check out WiRE Strength in Numbers: Men Are Waiting Devotional series through the Bible app.

With Whom Do You Gather?  If we are followers of Jesus, we must take the time to gather with other brothers in Christ.  God designed the Church this way for the Holy Spirit to flow from one to another in these instances.  Isolation is not the answer.  “For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:10  “You see, God the Holy Spirit dwells within each follower of Jesus.” John 14:17

Take the time to connect with a FNG.  The brotherhood of Christ is a powerful force.  We never know how a kind word, working out with someone for the first time in a long time, battling through sweat in the gloom etc. can inspire and affect a fellow brother in Christ!

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for F3 Nation, Cheatsheet’s family, racism/division, Jinxy’s family, Pom-pom’s marriage/honeymoon, all our F3 brother’s!

Searching for Home – Waiting for Heaven!

THE SCENE: I thought it was going to be rainy but no just cool great weather for a beatdown
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Administered (oops I forgot to mention COVID. Does that mean it’s over?? I sure hope so!)
WARM-O-RAMA:

IC Moroccan Night Club x 10
IC Crabby Pickle Pointer (in Crab position do a Pickle Pointer) x 10
IC (SLOOOOW) Cherry Picker x 5
OYO Standing T-spine rotation x 5 each
IC Tennessee Rocking Chair x 10
IC Calf Raises x 20 led by Booster
OYO Hand Release Merkins x 5
OYO Superman x 10
IC Tempo Squat x 10
OYO Reach for the sky // Let it hang / additional warmup as necessary

THA-THANG:
Falling Indian Run to the Pond – Alternating Lunges
“Burpee Mile” (modified from 4x to 3x)
12 burpees 1 lap x 3
Finish waiting for the 6 with alternating:
10 x Pickle Pounders
10 x Pickle Pointers

Falling Indian Run to CMU Pile
CMU DORA
Partner does exercises at the bottom, other runs to the top and touches the brick wall. Flapjack. Go to next exercise and repeat after both partners do both exercises and run twice (I even got a partner right after I asked for one when Archie showed up!)
Kettle Bell Swing
Clock Pendulum

Put up blocks after ~3 rounds (“when you see Dart Gun” come back down is the cue we used to finish)
20 count (probably more like 40 seconds) wall sit for all PAX counted by Archie.

Walk to stop sign and we were just going to fix the cone I’d moved since we didn’t really have time for the last part but the PAX gave some mumblechatter so I went ahead and had us do 1 round of it:

At Sophomore Hill (Quick up and down)
10 x Crabby Pickle Pointer
Bernie Up
10 x Squats at the top
Lunges to the cone back down (Dart Gun beat me to cone after I called recover)

Falling Indian Run with Pickle Pounders back to the #ShovelFlag (“I see a pattern” was overheard by the Q from the PAX)
We arrived about 30 seconds later but we still finished the COT/BOM easily before 6:30.

MARY:
Ain’t nobody got time for that (such a classic meme and S/O to the EPS line workers at DMTN who let me put that as our “NG Condition” all the way back in 2013…)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 PAX and a beautiful sunrise! (no, not 5k’s 2.0 he wasn’t there today – we miss you if you read this!)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Waiting! Who likes it! But we’re told over and over and over in the Bible to wait. Waiting takes various aspects – waiting on ‘normalcy’ to return, waiting on God to answer our prayers, waiting on a future day of hope and joy that want to experience. And yet, God is the one in all of these that we must look to in order that our waiting would be to draw us to Him and not have us satisfied with our ‘current living conditions‘.

This is especially true for me. I’m waiting to find a house (hoepfully to buy). I’m not dissatisfied per say with where I’m living, but there is a sense that ‘a space of my own’ is what I long for and what is good and right. And yet I have to be patient. There are so many verses in the Bible about waiting for a home – God tells us to “seek first His kingdom” and “all these things will be added unto you.” God knows what we long for & in very good and healthy ways- but He commends those who looked to Heaven, Where Christ Is in order to show us where our ultimate and best home is:

Hebrews 11:13-16 talks about this – 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them & greeted them from afar, & having acknowledged that they were strangers & exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Reflection questions for you today:
1. How much stock are you putting in where you live? (both on earth and the physical house you have)
2. Is your earthly home where you’re storing up treasures (see my BB from Shamrock)?
3. Are you pointing others to your heavenly dwelling?

CS Lewis “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

MOLESKIN:
Lots of prayer requests & praises. Butter Knife got to see some extended family for the first time in a long time. Mailbox’s mom doesn’t have a torn achilles so that’s another praise. Spotter’s M is recovering but still be in prayer for her and Spotter. . Prayed for Booster’s M’s mother who cannot care for herself but may need a house on her own (see my above mention about searching for a home). Guardrail mentioned some situations to pray for regarding the PAX who weren’t present today.

I thoroughly enjoy leading this group of men. The mumble chatter is just right, the fitness and fellowship challenge me to be a better leader when I Q and better follower when I’m not. JUCO is base AO and if I had a home in F3 it would be just that.

Also had to update this a couple of times due to my rushed job to get it posted (mostly proofreading errors).

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Upcoming Convergence on June 12th is now canceled. See updates in Slack for options to reschedule / serve in other ways.

Hills and Valleys

THE SCENE:  So nice.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

Cherry pickers
Al Gore
Squats
Michael Phelps
Down/up dog
Mountain climber
Projectivator

Mosey to the big lot.  Run across.  At each line, turn 90 degrees (i.e., sprint, side shuffle, bernie, side shuffle, etc.)

Dolly
Flutter kicks

THA THANG:

Mosey to the coupons.  Grab a block.  Walking 20 curls, 20 overhead presses, 20 tricep extensions

Line up at the cones in a low plank.  At “3-2-1, Go!”, get up and sprint to the top of the hill.  First person to touch leaves on a tree wins and gets to watch while everyone else does burpees at the top.

Back down the hill.  Winner starts 50’ further back.  Do one block exercise then hill sprint again.
Repeat the sequence – each time adding one more block exercise.

  • 5 plyo merkins
  • 10 block pullovers
  • 15 heavy LBCs
  • 20 lunges (10 each side)
  • 20 single arm thrusters (10 each side)
  • 10 CMU swings
  • 6 uneven merkin T planks (3 each side)

Murder bunny thrusters up the hill.

Walking 20 curls, 20 overhead presses, 20 tricep extensions

Twenty-ones on the steps.  CMU exercise (your choice) + pull ups.

Rack ‘em.

MARY:

Indian run in two lines.  PAX call out 3-2-1-Go!, last man in each line races up the middle of the lines.  Repeat until we are close to the flag.

Mountain climbers

Jailbreak!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

15 for bootcamp, 3 for rush

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

It was common in ancient pagan nations to perceive each god or goddess as having a particular domain or sphere of power on earth.  A goddess of fertility…  A god of the forests, or the river… Monotheism was unique and the idea that any god was supreme in all areas was unheard of.

In 1 Kings Chapter 20, we read about the Israelite city of Samaria under attack by the Syrians, a rival nation.  The Syrian king gathered 32 other kings – and brought a massive army to besiege the city.  Against all odds, and with their God’s intervention, the Israelites repel the attack.  The Syrians retreat and regroup to strategize.  Since the city of Samaria is in the hill country of Israel, they mistakenly think that the God of the Israelites must be a god of the hills.  So, they make a new plan, assemble another massive army, and attack Israel again – this time in the plains (where, presumably, the Israelite God does not dwell and has no authority).  Speaking on behalf of God, a prophet tells the Israelite king, “Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand…” – and He does.  The Israelites rout their enemy in the valley, just as they did in the hills.  The one true God is sovereign over all – He is a God of both the hills and the valleys. 

For me, May 20 is a date unlike any other.

Five years ago, May 20th, my son Caleb was born.  He is a beautiful kid – he is everything that you would want in a son; wicked smart, good natured, daring, funny, creative, kind, loving – he is a great kid.  The day he was born into this world was joyful and exciting and amazing – it was heaven!  May 20th is the anniversary of one of the best days of my life!

But…

One year ago, May 20th, I was heartbroken.  My wife was pregnant again, but this time the pregnancy was not going well.  Several days before, we had been told that the baby had no heartbeat, and we would very likely have a miscarriage in the coming weeks.  We prayed that God would reveal his strength in a miraculous way and the baby would live…But short of that, if we had to walk that terrible road in the next few weeks, we prayed that the miscarriage would not happen on Caleb’s fourth birthday.  But it did.  The day we lost that baby was devastating and painful and raw – it was hell. May 20th is the anniversary of one of the worst days of my life. 

Life’s hills and valleys – the one true God is sovereign over them all.  Life is full of both wonder and wounds.  How does our faith stand up to them?  The “hills” of life can draw us closer to Him in joy and with grateful hearts – or they can arouse in us an arrogance which causes us to forget His presence.  The “valleys” of life can drive us into His arms and onto our knees – or can drive us to curse and blame our Creator with misplaced resentment.

We need to keep working toward having a faith that thrives in both the hills and valleys of life.

Closed with a pair of Pslams.

For when you go through a valley –

Psalm 4: God, you are my righteousness, my Champion Defender. Answer me when I cry for help! Whenever I was in distress, you enlarged me. I’m being squeezed again—I need your kindness right away! Grant me your grace, hear my prayer, and set me free!

For when you are on a hilltop –

Psalm 100: Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

MOLESKIN:

This workout and word was inspired by Monday’s great workout and word – offered up by the true HIM, Mailbox.

PRAYERS / ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Prayers for our good friend, Spotter, and for his family

Prayers for Stitch’s family relationships

Prayers for Jordon