F3 Knoxville

F3 Knoxville State of the Region: Part 1

Beyond The COT Podcast – SOTR Part 1


Publish Date: Monday, June 26th

Season: 4

Episode: 2

➡️ Listen to the full episode on Spotify here ⬅️


Overview

Kickflip, Blindside, Steam, Waxjob, and Onstar discuss the 1st 6 months of 2023 for F3 Knoxville – progress, events, lessons learned, and growth. Here is the full list of what’s covered in the F3 Knoxville State of the Region Part I: 

Fitness

  • MABA in January
  • Monthly Metric Challenges
  • Monthly Slack Challenges
  • Hardship Hill
  • Ruck BFF

Fellowship

  • Thirsty Third Thursdays
  • Escape From Haw Ridge
  • Monthly Family Workouts at The Project
  • 2nd F Lunches
  • Open House In North Hills

Faith

  • Monthly Challenges
  • Prayer Channel in Slack
  • 100 Swords
  • Jester Resources
  • Wild At Heart Retreat

Leadership / Other

  • Starfish efforts across Knoxville and beyond – F3 Smokies Launch!
  • Two new AOs
    • Asylum Daybreak
    • Quicken PM
  • Four new AOQs
    • Gmail
    • Fixer Upper
    • Guardrail
    • Skeletor
  • 1st, 2nd, and 3rd F Q Changes
    • 1st F Q: Onstar
    • 2nd F Q: Mermaid
    • 3rd F Q: Ocho
  • New Weasel Shaker: Blindside
  • New Comz Q: Steam
  • New Veteran’s Outreach Q: Soot
  • Weekly Newsletter
    • News + announcements
    • QSource Q Points
  • Shield Lock Groups
  • New Leadership Channel in Slack
  • Q-Signups
  • Asylum Daybreak Launch
  • Quicken PM Launch
  • AGOGE w/Cap’n Crunch
  • Q101 at The Project
  • VQ Week – 9 VQs!
  • AOQ Guideline
  • Leadership Survey
  • Cardinal

Be on the lookout for Part 2 coming soon, as we look into the next 6 months of 2023!

#IronSharpensIron

Forg3 2023 Tour: Brickyard

The Scene 

  • Brickyard AO
  • 5:30am – 6:15am
  • 50s, nice


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 volition
    • 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. 
  • FNGs?

Warm-o-Rama

  • SSH: 10×4
  • Rockette: 10×4
  • TN Rocking Chair: 10×4
  • Imperial Walker: 10×4

The Thang (What went down during the workout)

(Mosey to the track)

1 — Look Up Brock You’re in the Endzone

  • Start at one endzone
  • Bear crawl 10 yards 
  • 10 squats 
  • Rinse and repeat until you get to the 50
  • @ the 50 — 25×4 SSH
  • Bear crawl 10 yards 
  • 10 imperial walkers 
  • Rinse and repeat until you get to the endzone 

2 — Battle Buddy Catch Me If You Can

  • Get with a battle buddy 
  • All start together 
  • 1 BB takes off running, while the other knocks our 2 man-makers / 8 count body builders here 
  • When you catch your BB, switch roles
  • Rinse and repeat until you’re all the way back to right here where we started 

3 — The Long CON

  • Battle buddy up 
  • Here: 1 BB will execute the COM
    • Carolina Dry Docks
    • Overhead Claps 
    • Merkins 
  • 25 reps each X
  • Rinse and repeat until your BB gets back 
  • 1 BB will take a lap

(Mosey back to the 🇺🇸)



Mary 
(Insert information about any additional post-Thang work)

29 Man Makers were done throughout The Thang – to honor the Brickyard tradition of doing the # of man makers  for the # of years someone with a birthday is (mine was on 6/14 – 29 years old)



COT (Circle of Trust)

  • Count Off
    • 10

Name o Rama

Word – Regarding the Powell HS Track + Forg3 2023 Invitation

I’ve wanted to come to the Brickyard for a while, and I’m glad I finally made it. I’ve also wanted to come to the Powell HS track for a while, ever since I heard a story about it shared by the name of Jim Branch, when I was in college. Here’s how it goes.

Jim was sitting at a track meet at Powell High School one day, waiting for his son’s race to start. He was watching the other parents cheer on their kids as the races went on, and there was the one mom, that was just going after her kid verbally, as he or she was running around the track. Things like “run faster!” “You can do better than that!” and “is that all you got?!” rang through the stadium. Jim was kind of taken back by this. Not necessarily because of how loud or obnoxious this particular parent was being, but because of what this high school kid was potentially really hearing from the stands above:

  • You’re not good enough 
  • You don’t have what it takes
  • Do better

Regardless if you’re in high school or not, these are tough things to hear, especially from a parent or someone you look to for guidance and affirmation.

Jim then went on to share that his son’s race started, as like any good and supportive parent, he would cheer on the kids that came before his son, because his son had the last part of the 400m relay. The anticipation kept building as Jim waited for his son to come around the track, and when the time finally came, Jim swelled up with pride as he saw his son come around the track. It was different than the other times he had watched the racers come around the track – he didn’t have the same feelings for them as he did his own son, although he was supportive. He saw his son coming around the bend from a ways off, and out of all the other runners, this was his son, of whom he was very well pleased. He watched his son run around the track and it wasn’t out of performance he felt pride and love for his son, it was out of identity – his identity as a son. Out of all the other runners, he saw his son and said in his head “this one’s mine.”

This is how God, our Heavenly Father, sees us. Hebrews 12:1 says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and les us run with endurance the race that is set before us..” If you think about your life as a race around a track, we run (hopefully) many laps. We go through different seasons of life as we run around the track, some easier than others, some harder than others. And chances are you’ve experienced at least one of the two parents (metaphorically) as you’ve gone through life:

  1. You’re not good enough, you don’t have what it takes, do better, are you kidding me, etc.
  2. There he is, that’s my son! I see you son! I’m proud of you! Keep running, you got this, keep going!

As you run the race of life and go through different seasons and go lap after lap, God looks down and sees you running and does exactly what Jim did when he saw his son: “That one, right there, that one’s mine, of whom I am well pleased. Keep running son! Keep going, you can do it! Don’y quit, I see you!”

I’ve wanted to step foot on the Powell HS track ever since I heard Jim tell that story in college. I relate to it, as many of you probably do. Thank you for letting me come experience this track with you this morning!


I also want to share some exciting news about Forg3 — F3 Knoxville’s 1st regional retreat!

  • Forge (v.) – to shape and mold into a new condition, by heating in a fire / to move forward gradually and steadily.
  • Forg3 is a weekend retreat created for F3 men, by F3 men. 
  • Forg3 (n.) – an invigorating 40-hour weekend retreat to challenge and encourage F3 men in their pursuit of high impact manhood. You can expect to engage with other men in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd F sessions, to better understand who you are, whose you are, and the High Impact Man God has called you to be. You’ll have opportunities throughout the weekend to seek adventure, to rest, and to sharpen iron with other F3 men physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.

We want to engage together for a purposeful and relationally-driven weekend to step further into the men God has called us to be. And I want to invite you into this experience with us.  

A free nugget of wisdom Herbie shared on the pre-ruck: ALR – Ask / Listen / Remember

Forg3 2023 Tour: Shamrock

The Scene 

  • Shamrock AO
  • 5:30am – 6:15am
  • Weather, etc


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 volition
    • 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. 
  • FNGs?

Warm-o-Rama

  • SSH: 10×4 
  • Squat: 10×4 
  • Merkin: 10×4
  • Plank Jack: 10×4
  • Cherry Picker: 5×4


The Thang 

(What went down during the workout)

(Mosey to the CMU pile)

1 — Quarter Pounder 

  • Grab a CMU
  • 2 POC: Here and the road 
  • 4 Xs total / 2 at each POC
  • Here
    • Curls
    • Presses
  • Road
    • Rows
    • Triceps 
  • Everything is 25 reps on a 1 count
  • Traveling between POC: Murder Bunny Merkins
    • Murder Bunny + a Merkin 

(Finished: Put CMUs back down in the pile)

(Mosey around the building to the big parking lot)

2 — Battle Buddy Core 4 Dora 

  • Battle Buddy up
  • There and back again core 4
    • C1: Flutter Kicks 
    • C2: LBCs
    • C3: American Hammers
    • C4: Cockroaches / Dead Bugs
  • All Xs are to be continued until your BB gets back 
  • The BB that is not at one of the 4 corners, will run to to the other side of the parking lot
  • Execute 1 burpee
  • Come back and recover his BB 
  • Rinse and repeat until you and your battle buddy have completed 1 full circuit of the core 4 corners 

(Mosey back to the CMU pile)

3 — The FP: The Final Push

  • Get a CMU
  • Rifle carry for 10 paces
  • 10 curls
  • All the way across the street to the other side of the parking lot

A CMU broke into two pieces – 20 burpees

Mary 

(Insert information about any additional post-Thang work)

  • Mosey back to the 🇺🇸
  • SWS


COT (Circle of Trust)

Count Off

  • 13

Name o Rama

Word — Forg3 Invitation 

  • Forge (v.) – to shape and mold into a new condition, by heating in a fire / to move forward gradually and steadily.
  • Forg3 is a weekend retreat created for F3 men, by F3 men. 
  • Forg3 (n.) – an invigorating 40-hour weekend retreat to challenge and encourage F3 men in their pursuit of high impact manhood. You can expect to engage with other men in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd F sessions, to better understand who you are, whose you are, and the High Impact Man God has called you to be. You’ll have opportunities throughout the weekend to seek adventure, to rest, and to sharpen iron with other F3 men physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.

We want to engage together for a purposeful and relationally-driven weekend to step further into the men God has called us to be. And I want to invite you into this experience with us.  

2 For Tuesday / End of Chapter 28

The Scene 

  • Asylum PM
  • 5:45pm – 6:30pm
  • Weather, etc
  • Pre-Ruck: 5:10pm

F3 Welcome + Disclaimer

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith 
  • My name is Steam and I’ll be your Q this evening 
  • A few things before we begin: 
    • I’m not a professional 
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • 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. 
  • FNGs?

💪 Pre-Blast for Tonight 💪 

– 70s

– Sunny 

– Shield Lock ruck/walk: 5:10pm

– 2 For Tuesday 

– AGNB = All Gas No Brakes 

– IP, PF, + FP = Initial Push, Push Forward, Final Push 

– ISI 

SYITFG! 💪 

Welcome to THE last 2 For Tuesday of my 28th year of life. Tomorrow I turn 29, and I can’t think of a more perfect way to ring year 29 in than with a strong 2 For Tuesday.



Warm-o-Rama

[ IP = Initial Push ]

  • Rockette: 10×4
  • Motivator: 5
  • Cherry Picker: 10×4
  • Cherry Picker: OYO for 10 seconds
  • Rockette: 5
  • Motivator: 5
  • Cherry Picker: 5×4

The Thang 

(What went down during the workout)

(Mosey to the roundabout on the right of the Coliseum)

1 — Cone’n Around 

  • 3 cones @ the roundabout 
  • 3 cones @ the wall below
  • 3 rounds total
    • 2 cones per round / 1 up top + 1 below
    • Pick a cone you want to do at each location and crush it 
  • 25 reps / cone
  • Everything on a 1 count

(10 count or so)

2 — Cone’n Around Part II – 2 For Tuesday

  • Same thing as the 1st round – but all Xs are 25 reps on a 4 count / 50 reps total

(10 count or so)

(Mosey to the bottom of the wall, where the 3 cones below are)

[ PF = Push Forward ]

3 — Up and Over 

  • 3 lanes, each with 2 cones (exercises), at the bottom of a wall, all the way up to the top to the Coliseum roundabout
  • Complete one workout at the bottom of the wall
  • Scale the wall
  • Complete the 2nd workout
  • Run up the hill to the top, then back around down the stairs to the bottom
  • Complete all 3 lanes
  • 50 reps (1 count) each exercise

(10 count or so)

4 — Up and Over Part II – 2 For Tuesday

(Mosey to the Admin Building stairs)

[ Fp = Final Push ]

  • Core 4
    • American Hammer: 25
    • LBC: 25
    • Penguin: 25
    • Dead Bug: 25
  • BTTW to the 🇺🇸)

Mary 

(Insert information about any additional post-Thang work)

  • SWS for the last 60 seconds

COT (Circle of Trust)

Count Off

  • 13

Name o Rama

  • Pele, Title9, Glamper, OnStar, Pusher, Duggar, Squirtle, Abacus, Scrubs, Sparkler, Tenderfoot, Drum Major, Steam

Word 

  • “I don’t feel brave right now”
  • “That doesn’t mean you aren’t brave”
    • From a show my wife and I watch on Netflix called SWAT

Hear some things I’ve said, either verbally or mentally, over the past year, that go along with this. 

  • I don’t know if can do this
    • That doesn’t mean I can’t do this 
  • I don’t feel like I have what it takes 
    • That doesn’t mean I don’t have what it takes 
  • I don’t feel good enough 
    • That doesn’t mean I’m not good enough 
  • I don’t feel like I’m leading or serving well 
    • That doesn’t mean I’m not leading or serving well 

So I encourage you to think about the statements you say to yourself, either out loud or in the deepest parts of mind, and flip the script. 

Just because you feel a certain way, doesn’t mean you are a certain way. 

Feelings don’t always reflect reality. 

Miracles

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Motivators starting with 7, 10 Mountain Climbers, 7 Windmills, 7 Rockettes, 7 Twistees, 7 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to dirt path south of the Admin Bldg Road and then go to the Cul de Sac at the southeastern corner of the Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to the Coliseum. Then mosey downhill downhill to the main park roadway.  Stop at the top of each of the three hills on the way down to do 4 burpees.

Mosey to the Caribbean Parking Lot.  We will run East on the South side of the parking lot stopping at the 2nd and 4th island to to the first of the listed exercises below.  We will then Bernie back on the West side of the parking lot stopping at the 2nd and 4th island to do the second exercise listed below.  We will repeat the above pattern with the 3rd through 6th listed exercises.  Here are the exercises:

  • Bear Crawl 10 Lengths
  • Backwards Lunge 10 Lengths
  • Standing Broad Jump 5 times
  • 20 Baby Crunches
  • Lunge Forward 10 Lengths
  • Backward Standing Broad Jump 5 times

Mosey back toward the roadway.  Next, we will run the Pickett’s Charge up to the Coliseum.

Mosey to the small parking lot down the stairs and to the south of the Coliseum.  In the parking lot we will do the first of the listed exercises below. We will then run up the parking lot, up toward the cul-de-sac, then toward the stairs that go back to the parking lot.  Those getting to the stairs first will sweep everyone back to the starting point.  We will then do the 2nd exercise but go the opposite direction with the rabbits sweeping us back when they reach the upper part of the parking lot.  We will repeat the above pattern for the 3rd and 4th exercises.  Here are the exercises:

  • 15 Imperial Walkers
  • 15 4 ct. Flutter Kicks
  • 10 Hand Release Merkins
  • 10 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1)

Mosey to the steps of the Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 4 ct Calve Raises.

Mosey to the AO

MARY:
Abdominals
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Miracles

If only you believe like I believe baby in miracles – we’d get by.  – Jefferson Starship.

Surely the lord is in this place and I did not know it.  Jacob speaking in Genesis 28:16

Many of you may have heard of Salmon Rushdie’s book, The Satanic Verses.  It is a famous book because after it was published, in 1989 the country of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa against Rushdie, proclaiming that the novel was blasphemous to Islam and calling for his death.  Rushdie has received protection in both Great Britain and the United States since that fatwa.

I have read the book and it really is a great book.  I don’t think Rushdie meant it to be a blasphemy of Islam although he does make some criticisms of Islam writings.

I bring the book up because there is an amazing passage in it where humans fall from a hijacked Jumbo Airliner to the earth below.  By miracle, two of the passengers survive.  One of those is the main character in the novel.  He knows it is a miracle.  After all, how could a person survive such a fall?  Yet, over time, he forgets the miracle.

How often do we do the same in our own lives?  We have a miraculous experience, so thankful at the time for what we have experienced . . . and yet, over the years, we forget about it.

I personally need to hang on to those miracles, pin them to my chest.  I know that miracles have happened in my past that I have simply forgotten.  I do remember some.  One example:  I didn’t think it would be possible for me to get into a doctoral psychology program after I had spent years studying law and floundering in that profession.  It would take too much time and money and it would be crazy to make such a change in careers.  On a day when I was ready to quit the law practice my boss convinced me to take undergrad courses in psychology and, afterwards, apply to doctoral psychology programs.  I did so but didn’t get into the program in Dallas I was hoping for.  Instead, I was accepted by a program in Aggieland – Texas A&M.  Through loans, stipends, and very cheap housing, I was able to get my doctorate.  What I had only dreamed of actually happened.  And, another miracle:  I met this woman from Kentucky who just happened to apply there as well – that woman became my wife.

I never want to forget that miracle.  I still thank God for it.  There are others I remember but some that I unfortunately have forgotten.

What miracles have happened to you in your lives?  Are there places where God is working in your life but, like Jacob, you don’t know it?  Search for the miracles that God has presented to you.  Write them down and remember them.  Finally, wait for more miracles to occur.  They will happen. God remains with you and will continue to perform them for you.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for On Star regarding his citizenship status.  Prayers for those impacted by the fires and smoke from coming from Canada, including the wildlife impacted.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
This Saturday we will gather at 9 am to help work on and beautify the Asylum. On Saturday, June 17 we will have a F3/Fia team for the KARM Dragon Boat Race. Through the following 1 1/2 weeks, F6 and the Tennessee Valley Players will be performing Beauty and the Best at the Auditorium of Catholic High School.  The website for tickets is posted on Slack.  Our own F6 will be in the performance.