F3 Knoxville

Tag: Rooney

The Dark Night Rises

THE SCENE: Blustery, 40s and dark as a closet. Perfect night for a beatdown.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:

I informed the PAX that we would be having fun tonight, completing the five F’s (Fitness, Faith, Fellowship, Free-99, and Fun). Disclaimer, no lawsuit required from the mothership for branding infringements.

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSHs x 25 (4-count)
  • Imperial Walkers x 10 (4-count)
  • Tempo Squats
  • Tempo Merkins x 10

THA-THANG:

Pickett’s Charge

  • Run to the Asylum, touch the building and back to the Coliseum for box cutters.
  • Mosey down to the stop sign for Tempo Squats and Air Squats x 10.

Everest / Space Station in The Pitch Dark

  • 2 Trips down Everest: Merkins x 20, LBCs x 20, and Jump Squats x 20 during each trip to the bottom. First trip to the top of the Space Station and the second rendezvous at the top of Everest for Transition box cutters/star gazers.

Stop Sign Non-sense 

  • If my memory serves me correctly, we focused on form and did additional merkins and LBCs.

Parking Lot Suicides

  • Self-explanatory, but at the end we sprinted up Baby Everest.

MARY:
Hello Dollies x 100. Kudos to Brick who never slowed up for a second.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Yeah, so…
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
That was four days ago, but I bet it was compelling.
MOLESKIN:
Head lamp was helpful for the hills in the dark. I should have posted earlier in the day for other people to bring a few.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Bell Lap

THE SCENE: Perfect, upper 50s, light breeze
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Done, with emphasis on CORONA guidelines.

WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 SSH, (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– Back stretches. Stay in down position, reach one arm up, hold for 10 s, reverse arms

– 32 Grady Corns, (4-ct), in cadence

– Go to curb, do calf stretches.

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to Serpentine Sidewalk.

2-4-6s.  Run two light poles, do 2×5 (10) of the exercise and run back to starting point.  Run 4 light poles and do 4×5 (20) of the exercise and run back.  Run 6 light poles and do 6×5 (30) of the exercise, then hold a plank. DON’T run back.  Rinse and repeat using a different exercise, continuing down path and to base of Cardiac.  Exercises:

  • Froggy Jumps
  • CDDs
  • American Flutters (Flutter kicks in the American Hammer “V” formation) (2-CT)

MOSEY to Bottom of Cardiac.  Same idea.  Run up to first turn, do 10 reps of ALL THREE EXERCISES, (FROGGY JUMPS, CDDs, AMERICAN FLUTTERS) return to start.  Run to SECOND turn and do 20 Reps of the three exercises and return to first curve.  Run to Top and do 30 reps of the three exercises and stop there.  RESPECT and DOUBLE RESPECT guys can opt out of running one return leg. (to my knowledge, no one took me up on that.  HIMs… *shoulder shrug*)

MOSEY to parking lot across from AO.  Do YULE LOG LAPS (cones laid out in a rectangular log shape):

  • Short-side 1: Bear Crawl
  • Long-side 1: 50/75/100/75/50 (% effort) sprint
  • Short-Side 2: El Capitan
  • Long-side 2: Bernie Sanders
  • 5 Merkins at each corner.
  • Rinse and Repeat until Q uses a special signal (Ringing of a bell) to indicate one more lap from where you are, AYG.  This is the Bell Lap!
  • 15 Burpees in the middle when last lap is finished. (15 days until Christmas)

MOSEY to AO.

MARY:
Static leg raises (on 6, back off ground, one leg bent, other leg held up with ankle above knee) 30 s one leg, 30 s other leg; Captain Thors; Homer/Marge

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Fourteen men and a dog. (Speed Flash, Asher, Crawdad’s 2.0, not tagged)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

In track, any race that has multiple laps has a “Bell Lap”, that alerts the runners that they are on the last lap and they need to give it all they’ve got to finish the race strong. It’s a signal to the runner to get his or her head right, bear down, and give it everything they have.  As we approach the middle of December, I feel like we are in the Bell Lap of probably the most challenging year any of us has experienced.  But there is Hope!  There is a finish line in sight! Vaccines are on the way.  Our knowledge as to how to keep ourselves safe, and treatment options are evolving and improving all the time.  But just as the last lap in a race is the most difficult, because you are exhausted physically and mentally, so too is this last push of isolation, remote schooling, unemployment, food insecurity, loneliness, etc. the most challenging to bear.

In the Christian faith, this time of year is also the Bell Lap as we anticipate the arrival of Christ.  We are in the Advent season, and “Advent” means Coming, or Arrival.  In just a few short weeks we celebrate the coming of the Lord, the birth of Jesus, who taught us, walked with us, and ultimately paid for our sins with his life.  So my message today is a simple one.  Both with the virus situation and with our Faith, We are in the Bell Lap.  Don’t give up.  Finish strong. Have Hope.  God is Coming. Hallelujah, God is Coming.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for the wives of Curveball and Ribbed as they go through surgeries and recoveries, prayers for Abacus and his family, prayers for a friend of Crawdad’s who’s relatives have had serious COVID scares.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None

No Measure

THE SCENE: Clear sky with temp at about 33 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Run around parking lot, 25 Side-Straddle Hops, 20 Plank Jacks, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Rockettes, 7 Twists, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to start of Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will do 14’s on the sidewalk until it hits the perimeter trail.  We will Bear Crawl for one light, then run for four and continue this pattern until the perimeter trail.

Next, we will do 20 American Hammers.

Then we will head south on the Perimeter Tail doing nickel, dime, quarters with the following exercises until we get to the southern ball field pavilion:

  • Jump Squats
  • Merkins
  • Smurf Jacks

Mosey to large parking lot by the southern ball fields.  We will Bernie from one end of the parking lot to the other stopping at each large lamppost to do 20 Big Boys Sit-ups.  We will Skip back stopping at each light to do 10 Hand Release Merkins

Mosey to roadway that heads back to A0.  Stop to do 20 Squats.

Mosey to Caribbean.  We will alternate between Karaoke Right and Karaoke Left stopping at every fourth island to do 10 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
25 Baby Crunches (4 ct)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 Men with no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I was listening to a sermon by Shawn Slate, the pastor at my church, and he quoted a line from a book called When God Interrupts by M. Craig James.  The line, which really struck me, is: “There is no better way to lose your life than to constantly measure it.”

We get into trouble when we start measuring our life against the successes of others or against the “shoulds” that we create for ourselves.  I do not mean that goals are unimportant.  Goals give us something to strive for.  But, they can lead to the loss of a relationship with God.  They can keep us from truly seeing the virtue, the struggle, and the stories in other people.  If we are continually measuring our own lives we are probably ignoring the lives of others.  Our lives become one more item to mark off our checklist in our path to greatness.  And we end up playing the game the world wants us to play:  to have the nicest car, to get the best job, to move into the richest neighborhood.  We climb up the latter to success and ignore God’s world around us.

In God’s kingdom, our worldly measures of success don’t matter.  Jesus said, “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.”  And what did Jesus, the messiah, the king, do before his death?  What did he do to show the disciples what it is to be great in heaven?  He got on his knees and washed the feet of each one of them.  He served them.

In the same service that my pastor preached, our congregation sang a communion hymn called Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.  One of the lines in the song is “With thy favor, loss is gain.”

Perhaps part of being a High Impact Man is giving up the ways I measure myself as successful and giving up the ways I compare myself to others.  Rather, I should focus more on serving others, on washing the feet of fellow sinners, be willing to sit at the end of the row versus the front of it.  It is there that I am apparently much more likely to find God’s favor.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Corona Weight’s brother, Jared, whose parole hearing was extended from November to March.  He remains in prison.  After having an amputated thumb replaced he must have it removed again and, hopefully, replaced later.  Prayers for Curve Ball’s wife who is having surgery in Florida; for Goober’s step-grandmother who was recently diagnosed with Covid-19; and for Ribbed’s wife who will have surgery to remove a tumor at her spine on December 14.  Prayers for the vaccines for the coronavirus, that they may be effective and that they reach the world’s population quickly.

[ The Scene ]

– Apparently this whole “board meeting” idea has caught on with “The Others” = people that don’t do F3. So tonight, The Others were having a board meeting (sort of – sitting around in camp chairs in a circle and talking with/without drinks in hand) – so PAX moved to the Asylum AM spot to circle up

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness/Fellowship/Faith
  • My name is Steam and I am not Thunderstruck unfortunately but he had a previous engagement so I will be your Q tonight!
  • Couple things:
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • If you need to modify anything that we do tonight – you know your body better than anyone – so feel free to do so.

[ Warm 0 Rama ]

  • SSH: 30 x 4 IC
  • Rockette: 25 x 4 IC
  • Squat: 20 x 4 IC
  • Merkin: 15 x 4 IC
  • Imperial Walker: 15 x 4 IC
  • Motivators: 4

[ The Thang ]

(mosey to the CMU pile)

25s

  • 5 rounds
    • Round 1: 5 CMU curls —> run to playground: 5 dips
    • Round 2: 5 CMU curls + 5 chest presses: run to playground: 10 dips
    • Round 3: 5 CMU curls + 5 CMU chest presses + 5 CMU rows: run to playground: 15 dips
    • Round 4: 5 CMU curls + 5 CMU chest presses + 5 CMU rows + 5 CMU sit-ups —> run to playground: 20 dips
    • Round 5: 5 CMU sit-ups + 5 CMU rows + 5 CMU chest presses + 5 CMU curls
  • 2 POCs (Points of Contact)
    • CMU pile
    • Playground down from AO
  • 5 Xs
    • @ CMU pile: curls, chest presses, rows, sit-ups
    • @ playground: 5 dips —> +5 —> +5 every round

(Return CMUs and mosey to Pavilion)

All My Benches

  • 4 sides of the bench
    • Short Sides: 25 pull-ups/chin-ups
    • Long Side 1: 25 Incline Merkins
    • Long Side 2: 25 Decline Merkins
  • Wall-Sit when done

(Mosey to playground)

The Final 15

  • 10 at the playground
    • 5 minutes of bench work
      • Alternate between box jumps/step ups + dips
    • 5 minutes of core work (these were some LONG minutes). Have you ever had 5 minutes last 3 hours? Because now we all have.
      • Alternate between flutter kicks and big boy sit-ups
  • 5 back at the AO
    • Mosey back to the AO
    • Light stretching with Steam (not Pusher approved OR denied. OR denied, that’s important)
      • Stretching back and lower legs
      • Borderline yoga stretching legs an chest

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • BOM

”When I”

When I wandered, He led.

When I was thirsty, He supplied water.

When I hungered, He provided nourishment.

When I strayed, He called me back.

When I let my thoughts wander, He re-focused me.

When I was weary, He provided a place to sit and rest.

Think about your own “When I” statements from this year. In addition to the ones I’ve experienced above, some of mine have been “When I wondered if I was going to have a job” or “When I was isolated in my home for days on end during the original quarantine” or “When I didn’t know how this would end” or “When I questioned why all of this is happening” and so on and so forth. So what are your “When I(s)” ?

But the thing about a “When I”statement is just that, the but. But God. So if and when you find yourself wandering – let Him lead. If and when you find yourself thirsting for something (literal liquid or not) – let Him supply it. If and when you hunger (physical hunger or soulful hunger) – let him provide nourishment. If and when you feel yourself straying – let Him call you back gently (or strongly sometimes). If and when you feel your thoughts begin to wander and take control – let Him refocus you. And when and if you find yourself weary – let Him provide you a place to sit and find rest in Him.

Mercy Now

THE SCENE: Clear evening, temps in 50s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Windmills, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey on dragon tail and up past Haslam Boulder to street nearby.  We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey on trail toward Lyons Bend and stop as it intersects with other trail.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies and 20 Merkins.

Mosey west on trail and then south on trail to foot of Summit.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks and 10 Hand Release Merkins.

Mosey to grassy area by Utilities Bldg.  We will do 20 Bicycle Kicks and 15 Shoulder Taps.

Mosey to Lane that Semi-Circles by soccer fields.  We will do 20 Box Cutters and 20 Carolina Drydocks.

Mosey on Semi-Circle Lane to Southern Ball Field Parking Lot.  We will bear crawl 10 parking lane lengths, lunge 10 lengths and Bernie the remainder.  We will do the same thing going back to where we started.

Mosey to curbside by street leading back to A0.  We will do 20 Curbside Bench Dips.

Mosey to AO area.  We will do 10 Hand Release Merkins, then Bernie halfway up mini cardiac and run rest of the way up.  Run back down to AO.

MARY:
At AO we will finish with Ring of Fire doing merkins.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
18 men including one FNG, Crawdad’s 11-year-old son, Asher, whom we dubbed Speed Flash.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Hebrews 4:16:   Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I was listening to Spotify and heard a song with words that made me think of Corona Weight’s brother who is currently in prison.  Corona Weight has asked for prayers for his brother a number of times at our Asylum PM BOM. Corona Weight obviously loves his brother and prays not only for his brother’s health, but his salvation.

The song I was listening to is called Mercy Now and is sung and written by Mary Gauthier (pronounced GOH-shay).  Here are the lines that made me think of Corona Weight and his brother:

My brother could use a little mercy now
He’s a stranger to freedom, he’s shackled to his fear and his doubt
The pain that he lives in it’s almost more than living will allow
I love my brother, he could use some mercy now.

This “brother” in the song may not even be in prison but is a stranger to freedom.  And, from what Corona Weight has told us about his brother, that he loves so much, even out of prison he will be “shackled” unless he can turn his life around.  His brother needs mercy.

Yet, as I listened more to Gauthier’s song, I realized that she was talking about more people than her brother (and her father, whom she described in the first lines of the song).  Our country and even our churches need God’s mercy:

My church and my country could use a little mercy now
As they sink into a poisoned pit it’s going to take forever to climb out
They carry the weight of the faithful who follow them down
I love my church and country, they could use some mercy now.

The true Christian knows that Gauthier is right.  We realize that we, too, are sinners who wear our sin as much as anyone else.  And, we trust in God’s mercy to save us.  For the fact is that we all, no matter how rich or poor, no matter where we live, no matter what church we attend or people we associate with, need mercy.

Some of the last lines of Gauthier’s song read that every living thing could use some mercy now:

Only the hand of grace can end the race towards another mushroom cloud…
I know we don’t deserve it but we need it anyhow
We hang in the balance dangle ‘tween hell and hallowed ground

And every single one of us could use some mercy now.

Lord, have mercy on every single one of us.  We can use it and we need it now.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Corona Weight’s brother, Jared.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bring coats by next Tuesday for charity drive.