Pop-A-Top – F3 Knoxville

Seven Generations

November 25, 2022 Pele

THE SCENE: Started off cool, around 40 degrees, but when the sun came out became fairly balmy.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Performed adequately.
WARM-O-RAMA:

Motivators (5-ct, descending)
Plank jacks (x10, 4-ct, IC)
Mountain Climbers (x10 4-ct) IC
Windmills (x10, 4-ct, IC)
Grady Corns (x10, 4-ct, IC)

THA-THANG:

Mosey up the Dragon’s Tail to Haslem’s Rock. 20 American Hammers (4-ct, IC)

Mosey to Bottom of Everest. Nothing says “We shall earn our pumpkin pie” like Everest.

Run to stump and back, 10x Merkins
Run to stump and back, 20 x Squats
Run to stump and back, 30x LBCs, SSH until the 6 gets there.
Run all the way up via the Summit, doing the same reps of Merkins, Squats, and LBCs at some point along the way. Al Gore at the top.
FOOD COMA: (30 second Star Gazer)

Mosey to Front of Admin bldg. We’re gonna CARVE THE TURKEY. Left side: LIGHT MEAT (LUNGES). Right Side: DARK MEAT (DIVE BOMBERS). 12 O’Clock position, JUMP FOR JOY! (JUMP SQUATS)

Go down 1/4 of the way to the left, 10 LUNGES (2-ct)
Run back to Middle, 10 JUMP SQUATS
Go down 1/4 of the way to the right, 10 DIVE BOMBERS (2-ct)
Run back to Middle, 10 JUMP SQUATS
Go down 1/2 of the way to the left, 10 LUNGES (2-ct)
Run back to Middle, 10 JUMP SQUATS
Go down 1/2 of the way to the right, 10 DIVE BOMBERS (2-ct)
Run back to Middle, 10 JUMP SQUATS

Didn’t do #8, instead moseyed over to the benches on the small hill south of the Colosseum and took a gander at the construction and beautiful weather.

Mosey to small parking lot by Colosseum.

BATTLE BUDDY UP.

5/10/15s
There will be two exercises for each round. Each round = 3 trips. One partner will Turkey Run (kind of a Duck Walk with arms flapping) up to the street and do 5 reps of both exercises, then switch out with the partner, who is doing a slow mosey in the bull pen. The next time up do 10x both exercises. Third time up 15x. YOU CAN TAKE ONE REP OFF CUMULATIVELY PER TRIP IF YOU CLUCK LIKE A TURKEY while running up to the street, so take one rep off the first trip, two reps off the second trip, and three reps off the third trip.
- ROUND 1: PETER PARKERS (2-Count) / PLANK JACKS
- ROUND 2: BIG BOY SITUPS / FLUTTER KICKS (2-count)
- ROUND 3: DIAMOND MERKINS / CAROLINA DRY DOCKS

Only did Round 1 due to time, but did all of the Round 2 and 3 exercises at the top of the rise x15 (x13 due to the clucking extra credit)

Mosey to Field below.

BACKYARD FOOTBALL!

STATIONS (Rotate from 1 to 6. PAX not in rotation are alternating between 5 Merkins and 10 SSH)
- STATION 1: Kicker (throws the ball deep to Returner, becomes an extra defender. Ball must be catchable.)
- STATIONS 2-5: Defenders (chase Returner and tackle him , 2-hand touch)
- STATION 6: Returner (gets as far upfield as he can)
Field will be divided into quadrants. 4 Burpees will be divided by Returner and Defenders as follows (R / D):
- Last Quarter: 3 / 1
- Next Quarter: 2 / 2
- Third Quarter: 1/ 3
- TOUCHDOWN by Returner: 0 / 4

MARY:
American Hammers, Hello Dollies each x20 (4-ct, IC)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 HIMs (Cheetah Boy not tagged)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The Iroquois have a philosophy or outlook on life called the SEVEN GENERATIONS PRINCIPLE

Any important action should take into account all of the history and wisdom from seven generations prior. Also, how will your actions impact people seven generations in the future? It embodies an idea of connectedness to a community that transcends time. How our actions affect not just those here now, but those that have passed, and those that will walk the earth when we are no longer here.

Connection to Thanksgiving: How can we learn from the wisdom of past generations? Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a National Holiday in 1863, shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg that killed 50,000 Americans. It was a time of division, bitterness, hatred. The first few paragraphs of Lincoln’s announcement addressed put a hopeful spin on the state of the union (debatable..), but then he said this:

It has seemed to me fit and proper that [God’s Gifts] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In the midst of a Civil war that was tearing this county apart, Lincoln was talking about charity, harmony, and Love of God. Did NOT point fingers, dwell on the negatives, or complain about the state of the country. Instead, he encouraged the people to celebrate as a single country and nation. Despite differences that ended in 50,000 dead in a single battle just a few months prior, his hope was to create a holiday that would unify the country. Bring us together. One Nation, under God. Today, the state of our country is divided once more, but nothing like it was at the time of the first Thanksgiving. We should take a page from the Iroquois and use the wisdom of past generations to guide our ways today. So as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we are charged to look back so that WE can be the ones to bring unity in today’s world when there is bitter division, so future generations don’t look back on our time here now and judge us for our divisiveness. Here is to a peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those traveling
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Happy Thanksgiving!

React + Adapt

November 8, 2022 Steam

THE SCENE: Sun getting ready to set, parking lots are PACKED down by the playground. However, adapt and overcome.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith
My name is Steam and I’ll be your Q this morning
A few things before we begin:
- I’m not a professional
- You’re here on your own belief
- You know your injuries if you have any so if you need to modify anything we do today feel free to do so, but push yourselves and the men around you. They deserve it and so do you.

WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH: 20×4

Squat: 10×4

Imperial Walker: 10×4

Cherry-Picker: 10×4

Rockette: 10×4

Cash-In: ATMs

THA-THANG:

Because people decided to park their cars in the parking lot we were going to work out in, the Q reacted and adapted, taking into account the darkness and limited lighting in the park at 6pm.

(1) Another One (25s)

1 cone with an exercise every 3 lights – total of 5
All exercises are 25 reps on a 1 count
After completing the exercise on the cone, carry it to the next light and complete all exercises up to that point
The exercises
- Side Straddle Hops (SSH)
- Imperial Walkers
- Flutter Kicks
- Merkins
- LBCs

(2) 2 For Tuesday

An Asylum PM tradition – 2 For Tuesday aka back to back rinse and repeats
Repeat the previous route and exercises done above, but reverse it
- Take one exercise off every 3 lights, until we finish with the first exercise at the shovel flag – SSH

(Mosey to the top of Cardiac Hill)

(3) 8s

2 points of contact: top of cardiac + 1st curve of cardiac
Exercises: incline merkins + squats

MARY:

Cash-in with ATMs before moseying back to the shovel flag

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

14 total
No FNGs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

This is an excerpt from an article I wrote last week.

Confidence In The Cartographer

Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised. (From Joshua 14:10-12) I think that as Caleb was saying this to Joshua and the surrounding people, he had a slight grin on his face, with a chuckle at the end. Think about your race. Have you been able to see every turn, twist, bend, reroute, detour, traffic stop, warning sign, or stoplight? I haven’t. A cartographer is someone who draws or produces maps. And if we look at our lives like a race we’ve been called to run, there is only one ultimate cartographer that has mapped out every single thing that we are going to encounter during our race. I think Caleb knew this as he said this to Joshua. As if to say, “God has only fulfilled his promises 10/10 times, so perhaps He will still be with me during this next part of my race.” Caleb knew the Lord’s promises were good! So as I was reading this I thought: Do I have more confidence in the runner or the cartographer in my race? More times than not unfortunately, I can be more confident in the runner (me) than the one who designed the entire race in the first place! We’re called to run a race and run it in such a way that the surrounding witnesses can look on and only attribute the harmonic and unique journey to God. So wherever you find yourself in your race this weekend + new week, put more confidence in the cartographer vs. the runner. You’ve got this, because He’s got you.

17 Humble HIMs at Asylum

November 7, 2022 Sparkler

THE SCENE: Sunny about 65 F
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Normal disclaimers. No fngs tonight
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 20 IC

Arm circles – 10 thumbs up, 10 thumbs down

Michael Phelps arm warm ups

Cherry Pickers – 10 IC

Slow Mosey to Tree and back

Grady Corns – 34 IC

THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign – 11’s – LBC 2ct at bottom, run to cone up and do Reverse Lunges

Run down road to lower- lower stairs directly below bat cave:

Blimps (progressive)- do exercise, run to base of bat caves stairs, run back down stairs and repeat adding 1 exercise each time until all are done

Bobby Hurley- 5, Lunge – 10 sc, Imp Walker- 15 2 CT, Merkins-20, Plank Jacks- 25 sc, Squats – 30

Mosey to front of Admin Building. Progressive. 1 Squat, then run 1/4 around circle to left, do 5x squat count star jumps, run back, then 2 squats and run to do 10 star jumps, then back. 3 squats, 15 start jumps, etc until about 30 or we cant do anymore

Mosey to AO. Plank for 2 minutes

MARY:
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I

13 Habits Of Humble People

Sections cut from March 1, 2015 Forbes Magazine article by Jeff Boss

They’re Situationally Aware

Situational awareness is a function of emotional intelligence as it is being aware of oneself, the group, the actions of each and the social dynamics therein. As such, situationally aware people aim their focus outward as they try to absorb (i.e. learn) more about the situation

They Retain Relationships

Studies have shown that humble people are more likely to help friends than their prideful counterparts.

They Make Difficult Decisions With Ease

Since humble people put others’ needs before their own, when faced with difficult decisions they respect the moral and ethical boundaries that govern the decision and base their decision-making criteria off a sense of shared purpose rather than self-interest.

They Put Others First

Humble people know their self-worth. As a result, they don’t feel the need to cast themselves before others just to show them how much they know. Instead, humble people realize that nobody cares how much they know until those people know how much they’re cared for.

They Listen

There’s nothing more annoying that being in a conversation with somebody who you can just tell is dying to get his or her words in. When you see their mental gears spinning, it’s a sign they’re not listening but rather waiting to speak. Why? Because they believe that what they have to say is more valuable than listening to you. In other words, they’re placing their self-interest first.

Humble people, however, actively listen to others before summarizing the conversation. Moreover, humble people don’t try to dominate a conversation or talk over people. They’re eager to understand others because they’re curious.

They’re Curious

Humble people seek knowledge because they are perpetual learners and realize that they don’t have all the answers. They glean knowledge from the experiences of others and crave more opportunities to learn.

They Speak Their Minds

While active listening is certainly important, humble people aren’t afraid to speak their minds because being wrong is not a fear they have. They know that to bridge the gap between unwillingness and willingness there must be action; they summon the courage to face difficulty as they graciously accept to sacrifice themselves.

They Take Time To Say “Thank You”

They Have An Abundance Mentality

Humble people don’t believe that one person’s “win” necessarily mean another person’s “loss.”

They Start Sentences With “You” Rather Than “I”

Humble people put others at the forefront of their thoughts. Humble people brag about others, while the prideful people brag about themselves.

They Accept Feedback

Humble people are not only receptive to constructive criticism but actively seek it because they know that feedback is a pathway to improvement.

They Assume Responsibility

Rather than eschewing blame on “the system” or the behaviors of others, humble people assume responsibility by speaking up and owning their part.

They Ask For Help

Part of being humble means realizing that you don’t have all the answers. No one does. Humble people acknowledge what they do and do not know and enlist help for the latter.

Humility displays a willingness to learn and become better–two things that everybody should cultivate.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
brolympics Nov 5

Circuit of Pain

October 26, 2022 Pele

THE SCENE: Beautiful! Mid 70s, slight breeze, awesome fall colrs
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, Star Fighters, Air Squared, Tempo Squats, Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:
Mosey down Roadshow Run and take a tour of the circuit. Five stations, decreasing reps, most of us got in three laps (full disclosure, I signed up to Q a few hours before the workout and flat out stole this from a recent backblast. Can’t remember whose it was, but thank you!):

Station 1

Carolina Dry Docks

Bottle Openers (2 count)

Pickle Pounders

Round 1 = 20

Round 2 = 15

Round 3 = 10

Station 2

Merkins,

Off-set Merkins LEFT (left hand forward)

Off-set Merkins RIGHT

Round 1 = 15

Round 2 = 12

Round 3 = 9

Station 3

Big Boy Situps

Flutter Kicks (2 Count),

American Hammers (2 Count)

Round 1 = 15

Round 2 = 12

Round 3 = 9

Station 4

Side Straddle Hops

High Knees

Butt Kickers (Reps = Seconds for these last two)

Round 1 = 20

Round 2 = 16

Round 3 = 12

Station 5

Froggy Jumps

Bobby Hurleys

Iron Mikes (2 Count)

Round 1 = 15

Round 2 = 12

Round 3 = 9

Mosey back to top of Summit. Do a TOTEM POLE, running to the Road Closed barricade to do 10x SSH, and return to continue the pole. We only got about 1/3 of the way through.

Totem Pole

(knock the top one off after each cycle)

10 Burpees

9 Mountain Climbers (4-ct)

8 Diamond Merkins

7 Box Cutters

6 American Hammers (4-ct)

5 Imperial Squat Walkers (4-ct)

4 Hand Release Merkins

3 Bobby Hurleys

2 Squats

1 Star Gazers (10 seconds). Pause. Look around. Embrace the Suck. Encourage the closest PAX. Let’s GO!!

MARY:
Leg lifts (Homer/Marge)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 and 2.0 Cheetah Boy
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Talked about the recent school shooting and how the shooter was depressed, isolated, etc. Severe Sad Clown syndrome… reach out to anyone who know who seems withdrawn, lonely, etc. A little kindness can go a long way.
MOLESKIN:
Congrats to Cheetah Boy on his Cross country successes!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Food drive, clothing drive, Brolympics Nov 5!

Passing of the Flag

September 28, 2022 Pele

THE SCENE: Ummm… perfect? low 70s, sunny, awesome.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Done satisfactorily. Announced that this would be a CO-Q with the one and only STEAM!

WARM-O-RAMA:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

– REVERSE Tempo Squats x10, 4-CT, IC

– EL Capitan Lunges x10, 4-CT, IC

– SSH x10, 4-CT, IC

– PRISONER Cell Merkin Burpees x5, OYO

– E2Ks x 10 Left Side, x 10 right side 4-CT, IC

– CHERRY Pickers x5, 4-CT, IC

– TIE FIGHTERS x5, Forward, x5 Backward 4-CT, IC

THA-THANG:

Bring CMUs down to bottom of the Summit. Battle buddy up.

Partner 1 runs the mini-loop. Partner 2 starts the DORAs. Switch off.

Exercises, 50x each:

CURLS (4-ct)
OVERHEAD PRESS (4-ct)
GOBLET SQUATS (single count)
BIG BOY SITUPS (single count)
OFF SET MERKINS (Both sides =1)

BIRTHDAY CAKE RING OF FIRE

Get in a circle. Battle buddies without CMUs hold a plank. Those with CMUs will hold them above their heads, like candles. These are those annoying fake candles that don’t blow out, though. Sort of a Birthday cake ring of fire… One PAX will lunge around the inside of the circle, and “blow out” the candles as they pass. PAX holding CMUs will go down and do one Blockee, PAX doing a plank will do 3 merkins. PAX switch off holding the CMU and planking every round.

MOSEY up the summit. One PAX rifle carries CMU, other Bernies next to him. Switch half way. Return to AO. HAND OFF TO STEAM, who lead us on the TOWER of POWER

MARY:
Motivators x 5

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

When I took over as AOQ on May 25 2021, I wanted us to focus on a few aspects of F3.

Community Service: Coat Drive, Food drive, Cerebral Palsy center
Cheerleaders for each other: Inside and outside the workouts
Re-commitment to the values of F3. Effort, Form, Accountability

I’m really proud of the effort we’ve given to these points of emphasis over the past 16 months. It has taken a commitment to these values, and we have risen to the occasion. Well done, men!

But now it’s time to LOOK FORWARD To a new chapter, both in my life personally as I move on the next half-century, and for the AO. Today, I couldn’t be more proud to hand the flag over to Steam.

To me, Steam is F3 in a bottle.

He approaches everything with a positive attitude. There is no “can’t” in his vocabulary.
From constantly picking up Q’s, to taking on numerous leadership positions in F3… Social Media coordinator, Weasel Shaker, Troubadour leader and now AOQ… He leads by example, and it is infectious.
How often do you see him circling back to pick up the six? Say “you’re doing great, bro!” or complimenting someone on Slack? Pretty much all the time…

I’ve never told him this, but working out with him at F3 was one of the things that helped encourage me to fully commit to the organization. I had been coming sporadically, trying to figure out how much time and effort to put into it… I was cautiously invested in it, you could say. After a few months, Steam showed up to the Fake Gloom (I think he had been in school for much of the previous few months?) and after working out with him a few times and getting to know him a little better, and seeing what he gave to F3 and what he said F3 gave back to him, well, it was really an inspiration to me that this organization was thought of so highly by a guy who had so many impressive leadership skills and positive outlook at such a young age. So, thank you, Steam, for being such a force of positive inertia for myself, and I’m sure many others.

The pastor at my church recently talked about 1 Timothy verses 2-7, which describes part of the conversations in letters that Paul had with Timothy. Timothy was a very close pupil of Paul’s, many years his junior, and extremely competent and knowledgeable about the Scriptures, but preaching to his own congregation far from Paul. The lessons Paul gave weren’t about how to give a great sermon, or what hymns to sing, etc. No. They emphasized that the number 1 thing to do during your service is to PRAY FOR PEACE. Big picture stuff, right? So with Steam, in terms of teaching him how to Q, how to lead, how to inspire, I might as well save my breath. He doesn’t need to hear one thing to me about any of that. Rather, similar to Paul’s words to Timothy, I would encourage him to maintain the Big Picture stuff. What is F3 all about? What makes it so great? Steam already has everything he needs and more to step into this role, and I have no doubt he will keep the F3 flame at our AO brightly lit.

And as for RESPECT, which we spelled out using the first letter of each of the Warmup exercises (for those paying attention), I guess I get it now according to F3 tradition. But I don’t want it from you just because it’s a number. I want to earn it through my effort out here, my support of my brothers, and my commitment to the fundamental principles of F3. Aye!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Prayers for several members of our PAX, who are recovering from injury or loss.
MOLESKIN:
Let’s Go STEAM!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
BROLYMPICS Nov. 5!!