F3 Knoxville

Must be nice

THE SCENE: Temperature disputed during pre ruck, anywhere from 29-34.  Felt great though regardless
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Pro tip, going at SSH with great form moves blood into your fingers to keep them warm…
SSH
OH claps Postman style holding a squat
SSH
Hillbilly’s
Patty-cake merkins COVID style (don’t actually clap with anyone)
SSH
THA-THANG:
Quick mosey over to the coupon pile at L&N.  Three station AMRAP with station one there (AMRAP lasts duration of the workout).

Station 1 at L&N: Start with 10 reps of each exercise, then leave rock on the ground and run up the stairs between L&N and the convention center

  • Monkey humpers
  • Upright rows
  • Shoulder press
  • Tricep extensions

Station 2 the top of L&N near Henley St: Start with 7 reps of burpees for first round and increase by one rep each round, elbow plank remains the same at 30 seconds every round.  Once complete, run around to the front of L&N academy above where we park.

  • Burpees
  • Elbow planks

Station 3 in front of L&N near cars: Again start with 10 reps of every exercise and add two reps each round.  Run down the parking lot and back to station 1.

  • Never cross Dolly (4-count)
  • Imperial walkers (4-count)
  • Crab cakes (4-count)
  • Explosive merkins (push up and hands leave the ground at the top)

We ended up getting through rounds of 18 reps and 11 burpees.  Returned rocks to their homes and mosey back to the AO where time was up.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 Strong: Postman, Wedding Singer, Drive Thru, Huffy (welcome back!!), Slim Shady, Swanson, Triple A, Magic Mic, Livestrong, Amazon, G6, Bulldog, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I overheard a conversation between two friends that really got on my nerves and made me consider if I say these things or think this way.  Friend one has a college degree, has had family support his whole life, and while he all hit bumps in the road he generally has had it pretty easy.  Friend two has no degree and works tons of hours every week, has had struggles with addiction and various other things.  During this conversation, Friend one tells the struggling guy it “must be nice” when hearing about how his job was going.

And that really aggravated me, but also got me thinking about how we view our choices and try to absolve ourselves from things we deem are outside our control.  That is the cowardly way out, and I hope that I am not guilty of that very often.  Things will absolutely happen that we can’t control, its inevitable.  But our reaction to those trials determines whether they’re actually positive or negative.  We all need to be aware that we have much much more control over our lives than we want to admit.  We control it, if things are not going well then we need to look internally to fix them rather than place blame elsewhere.

Rock It

“Chocolate Milk Monday”

[ The Scene ]

  • Pre-Ruck crew: Abort, Swanson, Amazon, Drive-Thru, Steam
  • 30s = shorts weather/character-building weather

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness/Fellowship/Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’m honored to be back out here with you guys as your Q this morning
  • Couple of things before we begin:
    • Not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition and you’re also here on purpose
    • I don’t know any injuries you may or may not have so if you need to modify anything we do this morning feel free to do so – but push yourselves and the men around you. They deserve it and so do you.
  • FNGs?
  • COVID precaution

[ Warm-o-Rama ] 

  • SSH: 20×4 IC
  • Baby-Arm Circles: 10×4 F + 10×4 B – IC
  • Imperial Walker: 10×4 IC
  • Tempo-Squat: 10×4 IC

[ The Thang ]

KISS — Keep It Simple Superstar

(Mosey to Rock Pile)

(1)

  • Everything on a 1 count

— 10s

  • 2 points of contact: rock pile + bench inside the AO start point
  • Rock Pile: Chest Presses
  • Bench: Big Boy Sit-ups
    • Toes under the bench help
  • Recover back here when you’re done and start knocking out rock flutter kicks – flutter kick with your rock overhead

(All PAX execute 10×4 rock flutter kicks before next evolution)

(10 count)

— 8s

  • Rock Pile: Curls
  • Bench: Box Jumps/Step
  • Recover back here when you’re done and start knocking out rock flutter kicks – flutter kick with your rock overhead

(All PAX execute 10×4 rock flutter kicks before next evolution)

— 6s

  • Rock Pile: Skull-crushers (tricep)
  • Bench: Incline Merkins
  • Recover back here when you’re done and start knocking out rock flutter kicks – flutter kick with your rock overhead

(All PAX execute 10×4 rock flutter kicks before next evolution)

(10 count)

[ Mary ]

(Quarter Pounder)

  • LBCs (25×4)
  • American Hammers (25×4)
  • Hello Dollys (25×4)

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs
  • BOM

“What Happens Next”

  • There’s 3 things I want to read today that I hope will be something we can take back to our families and lives outside of the 1st F. All 3 will be tied together. 
  • (1st) From Crawdad’s new book that just came out – The Missionary.
    • “What happens next?” he blurted to no one in particular. Randy said, “We wait. We listen. We don’t say a word.”
  • (2nd) From The Blue Book by Jim Branch from a chapter called “Between”
    • “But there has been one particular aspect of this story (referencing Matthew 14:22-33) that has been a wonderful source of reflection for me lately. It involves that sacred space that Jesus invites Simon Peter to step out into. It is the space between: between the boat and Jesus, between letting go and being taken ahold of, between the old and familiar and the new and unknown, between control and agenda and dependence and detachment. It is a space that is both completely terrifying and unbelievably exciting. It is the space before your answer has come, or your problem has been solved. It is the space where you must trust the heard of God alone for your life. It is the space of genuine transformation.”
  • (3rd) Philippians 4:6-7
    • “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So why these 3 readings?

It can feel (and has felt) like we are very much in a “What happens next?” season this year. From the pandemic shutting everything as we knew it down to one of the most divisive elections in our nation’s history, you have to wonder – well, what happens next? So in the 1st reading we see this exchange between two of the characters in Crawdad’s book – The Missionary. Maybe you yourself have asked this question at some point in time this year – what happens next? Maybe it was to no one in particular, just yourself and your own thoughts. Even outside of this year – we have all found ourselves facing this question at some point in time. And when we do – we all need a “Randy” in our lives — someone to remind us to wait, and prioritize listening over speaking. More on this in a moment.

The 2nd reading touches on “The In-between” as Jim Branch writes in The Blue Book. This particular passage was written by him in 2005. Many if not all of us know the feeling of being in between. In between jobs, seasons of life, relationships, you name it. As JB writes “it is the space before your answer has come, or your problem has been solved.” 2020 feel like that to anyone else? Going through this election feel like that to anyone else? The in between is probably a familiar space for many of us and if not – it will be, I promise. This 2nd reading builds off and compliments the 1st — reminding us that whether we like it or choose to accept it or not – we are currently in the in between. And maybe not in your immediate life right now but as a whole, we are. As JB writes “It is a space that is completely terrifying and unbelievably exciting.” When you think about it from a 20,000+ view, haven’t we always been in an “in between” ? In between heaven and earth. We are in between our first breath on this earth to meeting our Maker in Heaven someday if you believe in Jesus.

So then the question has to be asked and built upon the first: What comes next — especially when we find ourselves in the in between? The 3rd reading ties it all together.

The 3rd reading in Philippians takes the 1st two and binds them together tightly, and then gives us the playbook for how to answer the question of: What comes next — especially when we find ourselves in the in between?

The part that really gets me from this 3rd reading is the back 9: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” When we find ourselves asking the questions “What comes next?” + “What do we do in the in between? Philippians reminds us that the peace of God transcends all understanding — meaning that we can’t out-think our way through this. We can’t man-handle our way through this. We can’t plan enough, be prepared enough, be ready enough, be smart enough, and be wise enough to out-understand our way through this. This pandemic, this year, this election turmoil we find ourselves in – God’s peace transcends anything we might muster up to get through this season. Just like the reminder we get in Isaiah 55:8 — “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” We may not understand how to answer the question of “What comes next” and “What do I do in the in between?” and fully understand the situation we find ourselves in right now — but there is someone who can and does and He intercedes on our behalf every single day so that we CAN learn how to walk through those questions better as we go along. And if we can help others walk through those questions as well – well that’s HIM stuff if I’ve ever heard of it.

Keep the Faith & Fight the Good Fight!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(1) Winter Coat Drive — We’re collecting winter coats for men/women/kids at every AO. Bring coats to your AO for your AO Q to help those in need this cold season

(2) F3 10 Year Anniversary coming up in January!

Chilly day at Big Ball

THE SCENE: 36* at the start according to Steve Jobs
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • BAC reverse then forward
  • Imperial squat walker
  • Cobra merkins
  • Tempo lunge

THA-THANG:
Quick mosey to the L&N parking lot just passed the war memorial for Kraken.  Eight cones set up around the middle parking lot island.  Split up for COVID purposes and start at different cones, perform the exercise then run a circle around the Kraken and move to next exercise.  Plank up in the middle when finished, exercises as follows:

  • 30 merkins
  • 20 jump squats
  • 25 BBSUs
  • 20 four count merkins (T-merkins)
  • 25 smurf jacks
  • 15 Freddy Mercury (four count)
  • 10 burpees
  • 15 lunges (15 each leg)

Everyone finished pretty close together, slowsey over to the coupon pile and grab a rock for a 12 minute AMRAP:

  • 10 curls
  • 10 Lion Kings
  • 10 front raises
  • Put rock on ground and spring the straight around the war memorial

Return coupons to the pile and mosey back to start point and find a bench.  OYO, two rounds through the following:

  • 10 dips
  • 10 derkins
  • 10 Bulgarian split squats (10 each leg)
  • 10 box jumps

MARY:
Laid back leg lifts
Leg scissors
20 seconds of stargazers
G6 requested some bus drivers, so we did sitting leg elevated bus drivers (a lot more difficult that way)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 strong braved the cold: Drive Thru, G6, Livestrong, Passport, Postman, Abort
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I noticed before coming out that evidently multiple countries have the US on a travel warning for at least this month, due to possible civil unrest following the election.  It is surprising and disappointing that our country has become so divided that one of the most basic things our country is founded on has caused fear of violence regardless of the outcome.  To us (myself most of all), what can we do to correct this issue?  Be understanding, be patient, and take a little extra time to react.  We owe it to our community and our neighbors to let them have their opinion (even if we disagree) and respect their choices.  Try to be conscious that we don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives, and that if we can give them just a little more patience and empathy that it could totally change a reaction.  A little bit truly can go a long way.

Prayers up for Passport with his back and also for his parents and his dad, for Swanson as he deals with some issues at his house, central Alabama from where Livestrong is from and the storm that rolled through, and for our community and nation this week.

Tower of Power

THE SCENE:

Rainy, Mid 60s

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3, I’m Half Caff & I’ll be leading us today in our workout. Welcome Brian our FNG to the workout. I am not a professional, you are here on your own accord. Now the disclaimer is done, be sure to push yourself, work on your form. Don’t worry about being last, I don’t, push yourself, keep good form, finish the reps.


WARM-O-RAMA:

Side Straddle Hops: 13, Rockettes: 12, ‘Merkans OYO: 12, lil bit of this, lil bit of that, whatever we call this, whatever we call that

THA-THANG:

Welcome to the T.O.W.E.R. O.F. P.O.W.E.R.! On each level (even numbered level) we will do an exercise. Twelves reps of each. Then we will mosey to the next level & complete the next exercise.

  • T – t-push ups
  • O – overhead claps (4count)
  • W – double V-ups (V-up w/ a pulse at the apex)
  • E – eigh count body builders
  • R – reverse lungs

Once at the top we ran into the rain & performed:

  • O – over head claps w/ a burpee
  • F – flutter kicks (count assist from Drive-Thru)

Mosey out of the rain to then start our descent, adding squats on the odd landings

  • P – push-ups
    • squats
  • O – overhead claps
    • double V-ups (by popular demand)
  • W – “wurpees” (burpees with a wide push-up)
    • squats
  • E- edward scissor legs (4count)
  • R- reverse cross lungs

Once we’ve completed we went down to the basement with an alternating lung, crab-walk, lung, bear crawl circuit. At the next level down we worked on those abs, 12 count on each:

  • ‘Merican Hammers
  • Box Cutters (by request) (count assist by Drive-Thru
  • Edward Scissor Legs (count assist by Drive-Thru)
  • Big Boy Sit Ups (by request)
  • Double V-ups
  • Flutter Kicks (by request)

Dusting off the abs we had a Burnie Suiside run up the ramp then a Slozey back to the temporary A.O.

Finishing it off with going to the ATM, at a credit union (slower but better customer service) : 15 tempo Shoulder Taps, 10 tempo ‘Merkins, 10 ‘Merkins OYO

MARY:
Drive-Thru & Swanson both assisted with keeping me on track. Thanks dudes!
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

  1. Swanson
  2. Magic Mic
  3. Drive Thru
  4. Walrus
  5. Triple A
  6. G6
  7. Half Caff
  8. FNG – Sully

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

  • Been reading screw tape letters
    • Mentor demon writing a young demon
  • God calls us, further up further in, but he doesn’t do it for us. He shows us how, he equips us, & then steps back, eagerly waiting for us to do walk our own
    • Like a father, or coach or mentor
  • This is a good thing
  • I’ve been in a desert season spiritually, sometimes calling to the Lord, sometimes not. Asking him to carry me, delivery me & other times just content with having to do anything
    • but what I am hearing from CS Lewis is that I need to walk on my own, for the Lord has equipped me to do so
  • So what is your walking on your own?
    • Is it  getting in the Word Today?
    • Is it stepping up here & leading a workout?
    • Is it going back to church?
    • Is it getting back to planning date night & pursuing your significant other
    • Is it honoring the sabbath?
    • Is it joining our 10week challenge to push yourself
    • Is it calling up your buddy, to ask for accountability with your internet browsing?
Where have you been begging to be carried, that the Lord has given you the means to walk on your own?
  • For me, it’s being in the Word daily, dwelling it for 15minutes, even if I don’t hear anything when I do

MOLESKIN:

“He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased with their stumbles.”


ANNOUNCEMENTS:
G-6 is bring a lot of high school guys on Tuesday, wants us all to show up & work em hard. Amazon’s brewery opens tomorrow (Friday) Xul Brewery. Encouraged to go. Meet up will TBD. Last day to Early Vote is today.

F3 stage show

THE SCENE: Rainy so the entire workout was performed on the stage at the Amplitheater.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER  Welcome to F3, Fitness ,Fellowship, and Faith.  I am not a professional and you are here on your own volition.  Modify if needed but push yourself and each other.
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH IC x 25, Imperial Walkers IC x 20, OH claps IC x 25, Baby Arm Circles IC x 15 each way
THA-THANG:
11’S

  • Bulgarian split squats and Plank Jacks

DORA

  • Merkin x 100, LBC x 200, SSH x 300

BOMBS

  • Burpee x 50, OH claps x 100, Merkin x 150, BBS x 200, Squats x 250

AMRAP

  • Flutter kicks x 25, Squats x 20, Merkins x 15, SSH x 10, Diamond Merkins x 5 – repeat

MARY:
In memory of an awesome friend of mine (James Ray Raines).  9 4ct American Hammers and 21 BBS OYO.  He was a good friend of our family and was with me and my grandfather when I accepted Christ.  We shared birthdays (9-21).
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“So how can you spot a wise person?  He is the meek/gentle one.  The meek person submits to God’s Word and lives for God’s glory.  Meekness is not weakness!  The meek person may well be a very strong individual, but he is humble and welcoming, under control, operating with a genuine sensitivity to the Lord.” – Christ-Centered Conflict Resolution by Tony Merida.
MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Pray for all those affected by the fires in Colorado.  Butterfly’s grandmother having surgery.  Other friends and family members dealing with health problems.