F3 Knoxville

Circumspect Circumferences on Pi Day

THE SCENE: It was a snowless and SSH-less morning… (unless you count snow angels, thanks Mermaid!/s)
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

10 x Overhead Clap IC
9 x Squat IC
8 x BBS IC
7 x LBACF & LBACR IC
6 x Lunges Fwd/Back OYO
5 x Flutter kicks IC
4 x Tempo Merkins IC
3 x Squat Jumps OYO
2 x V-ups OYO
1 x Burpee OYO

THA-THANG:
Falling Indian run to pull-up bars – squats to the 6.

At the pull-up bars: 5 pull-ups each x 3 rounds. Between pull-up reps:
5 Burpees
10 Merkins
20 Flutter Kicks
30 LBC’s
If you finish these / we have enough PAX to finish, you get to rest!

Mosey to the CMU pile.

CMU workout: 3.1415 not repeating
Round 1
3 Blockees
14 Goblet Squats
15 Presses
Leg Lefts til the 6

Round 2
3 Thrusters
14 Incline Merkins
15 Skull Crushers
V-ups til the 6

Round 3
3 CMU Squat Jumps
14 Swings
15 CMU Pickle Pointers (Glute Bridges)
Box cutters til the 6
Put your blocks away

Route 66
Burpees + lunge between parking spaces
BBS til the six (this didn’t happen but YHC did finish all 66 burpees!)

Mosey to the #shovelflag – Stop at the Rock to do Monkey Humpers then Fellowship Mosey (S/O to Ribbed) the rest of the way there.

MARY: (I’ll fill these in as I remember – but basically lots of core work was done at the end)
Dealer’s Choice (core only).
Mermaid – Snow Angels
Honeydew –
Curveball –
Dumpster Dive – Eye contact alternating pickle pounders & pickle pointers 10 ea
Baby Boomer – Leg Lifts
Pool Boy – Freddie Mercury x 15 IC
Mermaid –
Honeydew – Hello Dolly x 15 IC
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 for Dumpster Dive’s birthday! (oh and Pi day too)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Pie, who doesn’t like it?! Well some people. But today’s more of a pun than anything else.

Pi & Circumferences have to do with circles. I want to talk about another word today:
Circumspect – watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent
Think about what is happening around you. A classic example of this is from “The Bourne Identity” (released almost 20 years ago!)
Jason Bourne: Who has a safety deposit box full of money and six passports and a gun? Who has a bank account number in their hip? I come in here, and the first thing I’m doing is I’m catching the sightlines and looking for an exit.

Marie: I see the exit sign, too. I’m not worried. I mean, you were shot. People do all kinds of weird and amazing stuff when they are scared.

Jason Bourne: I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab or the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that? How can I know that and not know who I am?”

Properly assessing where we are in life can help us move forward. Jason Bourne was completely disoriented in not knowing who he was and yet he was very circumspect about what was happening around him.

We all can be like this too. We don’t acknowledge who we are, where we are, etc. and we end up wanting to go into fantasy land. Me too. I’ve had lots of desires that are now kind of starting to be fulfilled lately- and a new (to me) house is a big one. There are other things, things I have to work for and may receive from God’s good hand, but for me to walk circumspectly, that takes more than just guys at F3 watching my 6. It means putting to death the temptation to do xyz (insert your temptations here).

The Bible gives us a warning to consider today as Pi-day to walk circumspectly- from Ephesians 5:15-20 (KJV):
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Consider these things- how are you walking circumspectly? Are you just going in circle after circle, or are you casting a vision for what things are to come as you think about the world going on around you? When you walk circumspectly, you’ll enjoy some pie. or pi!

MOLESKIN:
First time ‘bringing it in’ in a looong time today. Good stuff. Prayed for Steve, Grayson, & Bruce.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence at JUCO July 2!

Starving for Rain: Habitually Feed Yourself & then Others

THE SCENE: ~48F, wet but somehow not very rainy.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Not a pro.
WARM-O-RAMA:

10 x Overhead Clap
9 x Squats
8 x BBS
7 x LBACF & LBACR
6 x Lunges Fwd/Back
5 x Flutter kicks
4 x Merkins
3 x Squat Jumps
2 x V-ups
1 x Burpee

THA-THANG:
Mosey to the overhang. Do a core exercise (YHC forgot what was called – maybe flutter kicks?)

Mosey to the courtyard.

Decision time- PAX got to choose 11’s or 21’s. They chose 21’s back and forth across  the courtyard:
Squats – Bicycles (2-count)
Pax did well, we stopped at YHC’s 7-count for Squats (so ~210 squats for me)

Decision time– again. PAX got to choose Freshman Hill or Sophomore Hill. They chose Sophomore Hill.

Simplicity at Sophomore Hill – Bernie up the pavement, lunge all the way down, bear crawl up the grassy area. come back to the stop sign. YHC decided once was enough.

Mosey to CMU Pile for 7’s: Pull-ups (at the top) and Thrusters at the bottom. We got about 1/2-way through and ran out of time.

Mosey back to the Shovel Flag. Stop at the Stop sign to do 10 Monkey Humpers OYO. Jog back to the overhang, wagon wheel, jailbreak at the stop sign to the shovel flag.

Back 15 seconds early… nice.

MARY:
Mary didn’t know… because she wasn’t pre-sent.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
4 RUSHers and 10 PAX!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
This week Butterknife, myself, and then Lil’ Spice (VQ on Friday) are covering habits! Today was my JUCO Farewell Q, if you will. Since July 31, 2019, JUCO has been my home AO. But I’ve purchased a house that is closer to Shamrock, so I wanted to Q on my last time out and share something that’s been meaningful over the long haul for me in relation to habits.

Habits are important – one day at a time we meet the demands that come along. But whether good or bad, we’re becoming something. Below is the story of “the Starving Baker”, something I learned about years ago in a series of books called “Habitudes” when I lived in Japan. Take it in and hear the message it communicates:

Imagine if you will. You visit a bakery not far from your home. It’s new. You know you’re going to love this place because they’ve hired a new baker who has recipes for breads, pastries, donuts, cakes and cinnamon rolls that are to die for.

Word has gotten out about this bakery. Crowds start forming lines each day, waiting for the new confections to come from this baker’s marvelous kitchen. After you purchase your cinnamon roll, you sit down to watch this baker in action—and you notice something right away. The baker doesn’t seem to have enough help. Everyday, he ends up trying to serve all the customers himself. He is scurrying back and forth, busy with all the requests of the people—but oblivious to what’s happening to him. His exhaustion is quickly becoming burn out. What’s worse, as you watch him for a few weeks, you see a change. This man is getting thin. Very thin. It almost seems like he is shriveling up. What’s the deal?

Suddenly, the problem becomes obvious to you. This man never stops to eat. The irony is, he is so busy serving bread to everyone else, he never stops to eat anything he serves. With food all around him, he is starving. Hmmm. Sound familiar?

So, are you the Starving Baker? Are you neglecting yourself so that you can feed others, only to become more and more emaciated and at your wits end that it seems no one is helping you? Maybe it’s time to step back and ask “am I doing what God has called me to do or what I want to do?” He will bless what He calls you to, but remember that daily habits can feed your soul or they can starve your spirit. Choose wisely this day whom you will serve.

MOLESKIN:
Prayed for Survivor, Cosmo’s mom, Data’s marriage, and Booster’s recovery. Also both decisions were made to avoid 11’s with Burpees and Merkins, so I guess the PAX had good intuition if they wanted to avoid those exercises (mainly the Burpees)
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
See the recent posts about the Blade/Whetstone. Convergence July 2 at JUCO too!

Maracan Chaos and Food

THE SCENE: 36, dry and wonderful
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Maracan Night clubs, Maracan Rockets (i used the wrong name so we stuck with all things Maracan), Maracan Cherry Pickers, Ladder Tyson merkin up to 5, Mountain climbers

THA-THANG:
This workout followed Guardrail’s attention span, so a little of everything:

  • Racoon crawl the perimeter of an island in the parking lot
  • 15 Guardrail Dips, because
  • Green light length Plank
  • 15 Monkey Humpers at the intersection of HV & Bryant
  • Crazy Apple double apple sauce Indian run in the dark, glad no one collided, but at least we didn’t notice the hill was huge.
  • Found 5 abandoned CMUs that we returned to their proper home
    • 10 Merkins & CMU Rifle Carry
    • 10 Thruster & Lunge Walk
    • 10 Heavy American Hammer & Bear Crawl
    • 20 Triceps curls & Bernie loop
  • 5 Pull ups while others held a canoe & boat
  • Returned the CMU and did a wall sit
  • 11’s on the hill behind the railing with Smurf Jax at the bottom, Plank Jax at top
  • Ladder sprint in the biggest parking lot
    • 10 Burpee, Sprint to 1st line
    • 20 Maracan LBC, Sprint to 2nd line
    • 30 Maracan Squats, Sprint to the 3rd line

MARY:
Plenty of time for Core: Flutter kicks, Box cutter, Super rows, Heels to heaven, LBC, Freddie Mercury
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Be like Jesus – Eat with someone

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking” Luke 7:34a

While not the main point of the verse, the fact is Jesus connected with people over food.  We should do the same.  The challenge is simple.  Before this time next week, take someone to a meal or coffee or better yet have them in your home.

invite someone from work, someone here (or who hasn’t been here in a while) or someone you don’t know

Bananas distributed as a reminder to share food.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP event at Asylum next weekend!  Register

T-shirt order deadline is upon us.  Just need 1 or 2 more I think.

Wesley House donations still open!

Dying to Love Others

THE SCENE: Cold. Hopefully not like our hearts.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Overhead clap
Seal Clap Squat
Tennessee rocking chair
Tempo Merkin
Mountain Climbers
20 Calf Raises OYO
50% 60 70 80 90 100

THA-THANG:
Falling Indian run to parking lot next to pond – count to 5 and then do squats til the end of the line reaches you and fall back in.

11’s – this is definitely becoming a favorite routine of mine!
10 merkins-> bear crawl across 2 parking spaces
1 squat-> lunge across 2 parking spaces
9 merkins… etc.

20 flutter kicks, 10 second rest if you finish before the 6 does & repeat.

Burpee Mile (this is like ^4? Here’s ^2 wait no I did it once before)

After completing your 3rd lap, don’t do more burpees but pick up the 6 but actually keep running back the whole lap and then everyone does 12 burpees at the end together. (This took longer than I’d remembered because it’s like 0.4 miles for a “lap” so even 3 basically got us to 1.77 miles for the whole Q)

Mosey to the coupon pile. Stop at the stop sign with Heels to Heaven x 15 IC lead by Erector.

Mosey some more all the way to the coupon pile. Do 10 reps of: CMU Thrusters, CMU Swings, CMU Skull Crushers. Repeat once and put your CMU away, doing a wall sit while waiting for the 6.

Mosey back to the #ShovelFlag and barely make it back in time for the 6:15am alarm to go off on YHC’s watch

MARY:
Ain’t nobody got time for that
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
SEVEN! PAX at JUCO
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Today is… Guardrail’s birthday!

But seriously, today is Valentine’s Day but I want to tell you about the things over the past 2.5 years I’ve seen lots of examples of love & what it is & what it means. My F3 brothers have been such a source of brotherly love I really don’t know what I’d do without it.

If you’re new or old, here are a few examples:

Guardrail reached out to me in September 2019:

@poolboy didn’t know we were neighbors, if only for a season- but love that we are. let’s catch up soon I’m at 2528 and work from home so I’m here all the time.

This was right before my divorce. And Guardrail has been a faithful and loving friend for over 2.5 years now.

I’ve seen friends reach out & look to bring men back from their wandering / not coming.

I’ve seen this group pray for men in various circumstances- mentors dying, children sick, even guys in this group personally ministered to by the hands that lift CMUs and pound the pavement from burpee to burpee.

I’ve seen love displayed in so many ways like stepping up for Q’s, sacrificing times, & even helping out guys when the do their VQs & something doesn’t work out.

Today’s message is simple. A few verses that communicate one clear message: LOVE

““This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:12-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.””
‭‭John‬ ‭14:21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Love others because Jesus has laid down his life for you. This shows you have His love in you & are Jesus’ friend & disciple.

MOLESKIN:
It’d been too long since I Q’d not OTB. Good to be back in the saddle.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Order those JUCO shirts! See Slack for details.

Sacrifice Needs To Become A Habit

THE SCENE: 27 and great in the gloomn!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Side Straddle Hops (IC) X 10
  • Cherry Pickers (IC) 4 CT X 10
  • Overhead Claps X 10 (IC)
  • Seal Claps X 10 (IC)
  • Tempo Squats (IC) 4 CT
  • Mountain Climbers (IC) X 10
  • Hand Release Merkins X 10
  • Mosey to Sophomore Hill

THA-THANG:

Dora The Explorer – Partner Workout (One Runs While One Exercises)

  • 50 Diamond Merkins
  • 100 Lunges
  • 150 Merkins
  • 200 Squats
  • Mosey to Junkyard

Coupon Work

  • 10 CMU Overhead Press
  • 10 CMU Tricep Extension
  • 10 CMU Swings
  • 10 CMU Bentover Rows
  • 10 CMU Curls
  • Run, Rinse, Repeat
  • Mosey to the Flag

Mary:

  • Hello Dollies X 20
  • BBS X 20

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA  9 men in attendance

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Sacrifice – Do we sacrifice for our families, friends and God all of the time?  Of course not.  We’re human. We sin.  We think of ourselves too much.

However, sacrifice can become a habit like prayer, exercise, etc. so let’s all strive to make sacrifice for God and others a part of our every day life.

1 John 3:16  By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Ephesians 5:25   Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

John 13:34   A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Galatians 6:9   And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Hebrews 13:15-16    Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

John 15:13    Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Philippians 2:3-4     Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • Sign Up To Q/VQ
  • CSAUP on February 26th at the Asylum
  • JUCO Shirt Order