F3 Knoxville

Tag: Sparkler

I did not die

THE SCENE: Clear and cold, high twenties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle-Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Windmills, 10 Tempo Squats, Michael Phelps, Little of This and That

THA-THANG:

Mosey to flat field area where we have Brolympics.  We will do a Pyramid with the following exercises.  We will do each exercise for 30 seconds:

  • Burpees
  • Jump Squats
  • Imperial Walkers

We then run to the Caribbean.  We will run past four islands and lunge to one island, then repeat that sequence until we have circled the Caribbean.  We will rinse and repeat but Bernie instead of run and backward lunge instead of lunge.

Mosey to parking lot with CMUs.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do a Pyramid with 25 each of the following exercises:

  • Overhead Presses
  • Curls
  • Plank Jacks with hands on CMU

Mosey to Caribbean again.  We will rinse and repeat what we previously did but with running, bear crawls, Bernies, and backwards lunges.

Return to parking lot and grab same CMU.  We will do 25 each of the following exercises

  • Rows
  • Chest Pushes

Put up CMUs.  Mosey back to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
18 men with one of them a Flying EH FNG whom we named Black Box.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The following poem was written by Mary Elizabeth Frye, a housewife who lived in Baltimore, Maryland.  In a moment of inspiration, she wrote it on the back of a brown paper bag.  She wrote it for a friend who had lost her mother.  The religious significance of the poem will be obvious.  Word spread about the poem and it was later published in newspapers.  It became a famous poem but for many years, people didn’t even know who the author was.  Mary Elizabeth Frye was not a poet in the vocational sense of the word.  She never published any poetry.  Yet, her poem has been read at countless funerals and public ceremonies throughout the years.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
by Mary Elizabeth Frye in 1932

Do not stand at my grave and weep:
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starshine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry:
I am not there; I did not die.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for:  two of Rooney’s students who lost a father to Covid; for those who have no homes/residences that are in the path of the cold wave that has run through the United States; for a friend of Swimmies who has Stage IV cancer and a tumor near his spine that has led to paralysis from the waist down; for a person in California that Drum Major has worked with who lost his life – for that man’s family; and, a prayer of praise for Ice Man who has found out he will have a baby boy.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Launch of AO in Maryville on Saturday, March 6 at 7 am.  See Slack for details.

The Light and the Dark

THE SCENE: Pleasant but cool, upper 40s, partly cloudy, persistent chilly breeze

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check, with an extra emphasis on COVID

WARM-O-RAMA:

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

– 10 Rockettes (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– 5 baby/5 big arm circles forward, and backward (4-ct), in cadence

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to Bathrooms, DO PICKETTS CHARGE.

  • Do 25 MERKINS, 25 BBS, and 25 BURPEES on the way up, whenever you want and in whatever order you want.

MOSEY to stop sign on northwest side of Admin circle road.  Get a Battle Buddy.

  • Partner 1 will run up to big tree and back. Once he reaches the tree, Partner 2 will run up to join him, give him a COVID high 5 (no touching), and Partner 1 will return to the bottom. Rinse and repeat three times. The method of running will vary:
    • Lap 1: run
    • Lap 2: Bernie
    • Lap 3: Karaoke left/right (switch halfway)
  • When not running, do the following exercises for all three laps:
    • TOP: 20 APOLO OHNOS, 20 TEMPO SQUATS, R&R until partner arrives
    • BOTTOM: 20 CDDS, 20 MTN CLIMBERS R&R until partner arrives

MOSEY To little hill north of northern parking lots:

  • 7s with BOTTLE OPENERS (2-CT) and FROGGY JUMPS

MOSEY to CMU Parking Lot, grab a CMU, line up young to old (old closest to Pavilion)

  1. Slow LUNGE to far end.
  2. Run to Pavilion, do 10 bench pullups, 10 decline merkins, 10 Bench Dips
  3. Run back to CMU
  4. Rinse and Repeat so CMUs are back at start point. When done, put up the CMUs and go to the middle of parking lot and do Imperial Squat Walkers until 6 catches up.

MOSEY to AO Four corners Abs.  Sprint the long sides, Bear Crawl the short side.  At the four corners do 10 V-UPS, adding 10 more reps at each corner. (we only got to two corners before time was up.)

MARY:
No time.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
26 strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

New Year’s resolutions…  I’m not big on them myself; they are usually unrealistic and just set me up for feelings of failure or disappointment when I slack off of them after a few weeks.  But I do try to “recalibrate” at the start of a new year, and just focus on improving a few things that need tweaking in my life.  For me, one of those things involves improving my relationship with God.  As many of you have probably been doing, I’ve been watching streaming services on Sunday morning.  While I love the convenience of doing that, I’ve also found—stop me if this sounds familiar—that it’s easy to be distracted, to not be all “there”, to not be intentionally present.  In F3 workout terms, I wasn’t using GOOD FORM during my time in worship.  I was modifying.  During one recent service, I realized after the service had ended that I couldn’t remember anything in it.  I had been checking my phone for some “important” emails that I was waiting for, making (and then eating) breakfast, and even playing with my cats while the service played on my computer screen.  I realized right then that that just wasn’t good enough.  That’s just not respectful.  Can you imagine having a deep conversation with your friend, spouse, child, or colleague and having them act like that?  I sat back down, turned off my phone and the tv, and watched the service again.  By limiting distractions, putting my mind in a place where I’m more “present” and committed to spending that time with God, and focusing more on the messages of the church I can improve my relationship with God.

If you’re looking for a worthwhile goal for the new year, then I encourage you to do the same.  To tie in with a message that Pusher gave during his BOM recently, sometimes it’s a little difficult to figure out how best to communicate with God and to show him your love, voice your worries and concerns, and thank him for his Blessings. I loved Pusher’s suggestion to talk to God like you would talk to someone sitting next to you in a car. Just have a conversation with him.  And Pusher’s concern that he voiced to his pastor that he didn’t know how best to pray reminded me of these lyrics from a great Singer/Songwriter:

I went to see a preacher, to teach me how to pray. He looked at me and smiled, then that preacher turned away. He said if you want to tell Him something, you ain’t gotta fold your hands. Say it with your heart, your soul, and believe it, and I’d say Amen.

  • Jon Bon Jovi, “Bang a Drum”

So if you find yourself struggling with how best to pray, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid).  Say it with your heart, your soul, and believe it.  God will hear you.

In closing, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, I would like to close with these words from the great man himself:

“Returning Hate for Hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.  Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” (hat tip to Title 9)

MOLESKIN:
Praying for some brothers who were assigned to protect national and state capitols; congrats to J-Lo for completing the Highway Patrol program.  Prayers for Lilydipper’s barber who passed away from COVID and his family.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP at the Asylum Jan 30, 6:30 am, show up at 6:15 to register.  Ends at 9 am sharp.  Sign up with a battle buddy or solo.  Breakfast included.

It all started with a BLIMP… Part deux

THE SCENE: Couldn’t ask for better winter weather…
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

4 sure


WARM-O-RAMA:

20 SSH 4ct

2 Burpees

20 Imperial Walkers 4ct

4 Burpees

20 Tempo Squats 4ct

6 Burpees

THA-THANG:

B – Moseyed over to the Dragon and knocked out 10 Burpees

L – Moseyed over to Death Valley or Super Bowl and broke up into team 1 & team 2.  Team 1 sprinted to the other side of the bowl and touched a tree then sprinted back while team 2 lunged in place.  Then team 2 did the sprint while Team 1 lunged in place. We did 2 rounds.  Already started to hear some groaning!  Lol

I – The Bowl was such a hit we stayed and around to do Imperial Walkers & Sprints. (2 Rounds)  More Groaning!  Lol

M – Continued in the Bowl since no one had spilled Merlot yet…  This time with Merkins and Sprints(2 Rounds)

P – The Bowl was getting too easy so we shipped out to the base of Everest.  We knocked out 20 Plank Jacks 4ct.  Then Team 1 lined up for an All You Got(AYG) up Everest,  Team 2 gave them a 10 second head start and was challenged to catch Team 1!  As if Everest didn’t suck without someone chasing you…

We knocked out some exercises at the top of Everest then proceeded back to the AO.

MARY:
Team 1 LBC’s while Team 2 ran up Baby Cardiac then swapped

Team 1 kept feet and head 6 inches while laying on their 6 while Team 2 ran up Baby Cardiac then swapped

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE
MOLESKIN:
Welcome FNG Stucco!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Blood Drive & CSAUP

Cooperation

THE SCENE: Cloudy and Chilly, low 40s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.
WARM-O-RAMA:

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

– 10 Cherry Pickers, 4-ct, IC

– Little of this and that/ Michael Phelps/ Arm Circles

– Bolt 45s

THA-THANG:

MOSEY up Serpentine sidewalk and back down Baby Cardiac to CMU parking lot.  For a warmup.  Battle Buddy up, and each pair gets a piece of chalk.

COLLECTIVE EFFORT

We will work together to accomplish a difficult task in the CMU parking lot/Pavilion area, which will be completing a high number of reps of various exercises, all together, as a PAX.  As we complete the reps, we will cross off the markers to track progress.  If we do not complete all reps with 5 minutes left, we end with 20 Burpees, otherwise, we will do Stargazers.

The Tasks will be broken out as follows:

CMU Pile:

– 500 Curls (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  500 Overhead Presses (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

– 500 Squats (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

BABY CARDIAC:

  • 50 Sprints up Baby Cardiac (Marker indicators 2 trips each, 50/5 = 25 markers)

SUICIDES:

  • 50 Suicides (Marker indicators 2 suicides each, 50/5 = 25 markers)

CORE WORK:

– 500 LBCs (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  200 Big Boy Situps (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

– 200 American Hammers (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

PAVILION:

– 500 Jump or Step Ups (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  200 Decline Merkins (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

– 200 Bench Pullups (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

We ended up with more guys than expected, so we easily finished all the reps, and rinsed and repeated quite a few of them.  Ended with a final sprint up Baby Cardiac.

MARY:
Flutter Hammers, E2Ks, Box Cutters (all 20 reps, 4-ct IC)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 strong. Jetlag not tagged.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Quite frankly, I considered dropping my Q today, after witnessing the disgusting, inexcusable acts against our Capital building, the house of the people yesterday.  I was so disheartened, so sad, so ANGRY that I thought it beyond me to lead a Q after that.  But then I reconsidered.  If I just dropped the Q, that would be an abrogation of my responsibility. I would be putting the burden on someone else.  I would be turning away instead of being out front during a conflict.  Part of F3 is to foster leadership.  I don’t consider myself the world’s greatest leader, to be honest.  I’ve always been more of a Doer than a Leader.  But I’m trying to improve myself in that regard, and turning away is not what leaders do.

So, I Q’d today, but I scrapped my original workout and my BOM.  I’ll save it for next time.  I wanted to focus on doing something together.  Something collaborative, where we work towards a common goal.  We need more of that as a nation, because right now, guys, we are a broken and lost community.

One of the things I really appreciate about F3 is that it is apolitical. It has some pretty clearly stated goals, is very inclusive, and refrains from taking political stances.  I loved the National F3 response in the wake of the racial protests this past summer.  Their response was, “We have no response.  Our ethos speaks for itself, and we will continue on that mission.”  So I will honor that approach, and won’t go down a rabbit hole today voicing my opinions about what happened yesterday. With one exception…

One of the things that angered me the most of what I saw yesterday was the carrying of flags that invoked the name of Jesus, our lord and savior.  I’m not a biblical scholar, and I don’t pretend to be able to channel what Jesus would do or say in witnessing the ugliness of the mob yesterday, but I feel pretty confident that He would be sad, disgusted, even angry.

In the Sermon on the Mount (found in the Book of Matthew) Jesus Christ laid out the central facets of the way of life He taught His followers. One of the central themes of the Sermon on the Mount is Christ’s expectation that His followers be characterized by peace—not violence or war.  Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Christ’s followers should be characterized by living a way that leads to peace, not by violence and strife.  The apostle Paul wrote that Christians are to do whatever possible to “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18), and many scriptures support the basic truth that Christians are to “pursue peace with all people” (Hebrews 12:14; see also 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 5:22; James 3:17).  And with regards to hatred of fellow human beings, Jesus likens hating another man with breaking the 6th Commandment (Thou Shalt Not Kill) and says, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5:21-22).

I saw a lot of hatred in the faces of the mob yesterday.  I felt more than a little of it creeping into my own heart.  Hatred for our fellow humans, especially for our fellow Americans, is not the path of a Christian.

In closing, just some humble words of advice… I’ve heard it said recently that the biggest threat to our democracy and to peace between us isn’t Russia, Iran, the Corona virus, Republicans, Democrats, etc.  It’s the spread of disinformation on the internet and social media.  I tend to agree with this statement.  Please… before you form a definitive opinion on something, before you pass judgment on someone or something, and before you forward something on, share, post, like, whatever… just do a little research on it.  Take a look at multiple sources of information that are neutral, that are reliable, that can be substantiated, that don’t have an agenda.  Falsehoods, exaggerations, and us-vs-them mob mentality largely fueled what happened yesterday.  We need to start respecting and working cohesively with each other, like we did in the workout today, or we are lost.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for friends and families of the PAX that are healing from injuries, or dealing with deaths and sickness from COVID.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Asylum CSAUP Jan 30, 6:30-9:00 am. Asylum shirts are now available on Mudgear!

Hey, Let’s Move Swimmies’ Car!

THE SCENE: Unusually Warm, upper 70s, partly sunny but getting dark earlier and earlier…
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 SSH, 4-ct IC, 10 Cherry Pickers, 4-ct, IC, Twist stretches…

Then Jinxy told us Swimmies (who we thought was just typically late) was actually stuck on the entrance road with a blown clutch.  So… forget the rest of the warmup… MOSEY RUN TO THE RESCUE!

Followed Swimmies to his car, which was on the entrance road from Lyons View, dead in the water, smelling very unpleasantly of fried clutch.  It was HIM’s to the rescue! Pushed it up to a pull off area, then proceeded with warmup.

10 Hillbillies, 4-ct, IC, Little of this and that.

THA-THANG:

[Q crumples up his Weinke and starts just making stuff up, since the original workout was supposed to be on the opposite side of the park from where we moved the car… Crawdad appears out of nowhere.  So does Brick.]

Moseyed to terraced hill on side of Everest.  Start at the bottom, do 5 reps of three exercises , then run up to first terrace and return, do 10 reps of each exercise and run up second terrace and return, then do 15 reps of each exercise and go all the way to the treeline.  EXERCISES: Merkins, Squats, American Hammers (2-ct)

MOSEY to perimeter trail and over to edge of park that looks out at the Veterans Cemetery.  Pause, take a moment to pay respects to the Veterans buried at the cemetery.

NICKEL/DIME/QUARTERS along perimeter trail to top of the Tail of the Dragon.  Run 1 light post, do 5x exercise, run 2 light posts do 10x exercise, run 5 light posts do 25x exercise.

  1. [Can’t remember the first exercise… something awesome]
  2. CDDs
  3. Mountain Climbers (2-ct)

MOSEY to the hill along the Tail of the Dragon that leads up to the monument.  Do 7’s Top: Prisoner Get Ups, Bottom: Prisoner Cell Merkin Burpees.  These were brutal.

MOSEY to AO. DORAS.  Partner 1 works on exercise, Partner 2 runs about 2/3 up Baby Cardiac.  Exercises are 100 Merkins and 100 BBS.  Final Sprint up Baby Cardiac with everyone.

MARY:
Hamstring stretches, 20 American Hammers, 4-ct, IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 strong. No FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Veteran’s Day is tomorrow, and it’s had me thinking about those who have served our country, the men and women that have been a part of the armed forces, as well as their families.  We took a moment earlier to pause and remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  What does sacrifice entail?

One of the defining traits of human beings is altruism. Altruism is the practice of doing things that benefit others even at the cost of your own happiness, welfare, or (to use a biological term) “fitness”.  It is unusual in the Animal Kingdom because of the principle of “Survival of the Fittest”… if an action benefits someone else rather than you, you might be the one eaten by a cheetah on the Serengeti, or fail to make sweet love with that attractive she-moose over there, or die of thirst in a desert with a limited number of watering holes

What force is it that allows men and women to sacrifice their comfort, families, even their lives in service to others?  To me, it is the gift of Grace from God.

St Francis of Assisi articulated this when he said “Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

But there’s more to it than that. Even though we have the ABILITY to sacrifice and be altruistic doesn’t necessarily mean we will USE that gift.  What inspires us to use it?

Bob Hope, who entertained troops overseas for decades, once said, “I saw more courage, more good humor in the face of discomfort, more love in an era of hate, and more devotion to duty than could exist under tyranny.”

And as Ernest Hemmingway said in a FAREWELL TO ARMS, “When you love, you wish to do things for that which you love. You wish to sacrifice. You wish to serve.”

Another saying about veterans is that they don’t fight for what’s in front of them, they fight for what’s behind them.  We are fortunate to live in a country that is free from tyranny, where military service is voluntary, where autocrats and dictators do not hold sway over our democracy.  The veterans that paid the ultimate price didn’t fight for themselves, they fought for what they loved.  America the Beautiful.  The Land of the Free.

The veterans who have served and died for this country overcame self, and is so doing, in my opinion, became one with the Grace of God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for several PAX and their relatives.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: