F3 Knoxville

Tag: Steam

Steadfast

THE SCENE: Sunny skies, temp in 60’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle Hops; 10 Mountain Climbers; 10 Windmills; 10 Tempo Merkins; 63 Grady Corns
THA-THANG:

Mosey to large parking lot with islands and that is south of northern ball fields.  We will be going counter-clockwise around the parking lot.  There will be four cones around the parking lot.  Exercises will be displayed at each cone.  At each cone will also be instructions of how maneuver to the next cone:

  • Cone 1:  Do 20 Hello Dollies (four count).  Run to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  Do 20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  Do 20 Flutter Kicks (four count).  Run to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  Do 20 Bicycle Kicks (four count).  Bernie Sanders to Cone 1.
  • Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey on sidewalk that goes from parking lot to Pavilion at northern ball fields.  We will do 20 Picnic Table Pull-Ups, then 20 Bench Dips, then 15 of each, then ten of each, then 5 of each.  After that we will do the same pattern as above but with Bench Jumps and Decline Merkins.

Mosey to CMU Pile.  Men divide into teams of two.  Each team grabs one CMU and heads to the entrance of the parking lot.  We will be doing Doras.  One partner does exercises with CMU while the other partner Bernie’s up Cardiac Hill to the Green Park Sign.  The partner then runs back down hill.  Partners switch places.  These will be the exercises that each team does with the CMUs:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Squat Thrusts
  • 100 Decline Merkins (feet on CMU)

Return CMUs to pile.

Mosey to AO.

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

Psalm 117:1-2 ESV 

Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

God’s Love is constant.  It is steadfast.  God does not just love us now and then.  It may feel like that sometimes.  Sometimes God may seem very distant to us.  He is beyond those clouds somewhere and we may not feel his presence.  But don’t allow the way you feel at the moment obscure the truth.  His love for us is steadfast.  We may also feel God loves us less when we do wrong.  We may do something that we regret, that hurts us, hurts someone else, or which God would not like.  Certainly God does not like sin.  And, God loves it when we do good.  But God does not love us more because we do good or less because we sin.  His love is powerful and continuous.  The word “steadfast” is used 219 times in the Bible and in over 200 of those times the word is followed by “love.”  If we believe in the words of the Bible then we must believe that God’s love is steadfast.  This should give us comfort.  Because God offers His great love to us freely, even though we are unworthy.  He loves us even when it doesn’t make sense for Him to do so.  So, take that love in.  Breathe it.  That loves is always there and it ain’t going to go away from you.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for coworker of Crispr whose father is paralyzed after scuba diving in Hawaii; for Woodshack and family after death of his father-in-law; for coworker of Squirtle; for help for Steam at a difficult time; for fathers of Hooker (e.g., Pinto) and Iceman and mother of Thunderstruck; for friend of Jenner.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Board meeting!

Big Ballin’ Monday

THE SCENE:

The Big Ball Ruckers just got done, cars started pulling up, the weather was cooked to perfection.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness/Fellowship/Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’m honored to be your QIC this Monday morning
  • Any FNGs?
  • Let’s get a couple things out of the way before we jump in:
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • I don’t know what injuries you may or may not have so while this is a workout I planned – no one is going to make you do every single rep to perfection so if you need to modify anything we do this morning feel free to do so!
  • Here’s the challenge with that – push yourself and the men around you – let’s get to work this morning.

WARM-O-RAMA

 

( The 1st exercise is________ )

( Ready position: Move! )

( In Cadence: Exercise! )

  • SSH: 20 x 4 IC
  • Imperial Walker: 15 x 4 IC
  • Rockette: 10 x 4 IC
  • Merkin: 5 x 4 IC

THA-THANG:

[ Ring of Fire – Inside AO ]

  • Assemble battle buddy teams
  • As a team:
    • 50 Incline Merkins
    • 50 Dips
    • 50 pole-pulls
    • 50 box jumps
  • BB1 is executing their exercise while BB2 is taking 2 laps around this ring because we’re 2 days into March
  • If you get done: flutter kicks on the bench

(10 count please)

(Mosey to the top of Amphitheater)

[ 11s ]

  • Top: chin-ups/pull-ups
  • Bottom of your respective side: Squat (1 count)
    • Start with 1 chin-up :: 11 calf-raises
  • Recover on the stage when you’re done
  • PAX executes core work and then picks up the 6 team

(Mosey to Big Ball Stairs)

– PAX bear crawls up 2 flights of stairs and then holds the squat until everyone bear crawling is on top

*1 of the PAX goes down – breathing and conscious, but just some lightheadedness*

Everyone recovers back at the bottom of the stairs.

Q instructs Swanson to lead PAX up stairs again while Q and north provide support for downed PAX member.

Q talks and provides minimalist support while Abort sprints back to cars to get water. Q had a ruck with medical gear & CPR but made the final decision before leaving the car to not bring water in the ruck.

LESSON: You don’t need it until you do. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Downed PAX recovers, slowly, drinking water, and the rest of the PAX finish from bear crawl stairs.

Abort and Jenner provide support as Q leads PAX in 1 final bear crawl/merkin charge up the stairs and beyond and back. When they arrive back down where Abort and Jenner and downed PAX member is, the decision is made for one final exercise and to hold the COT here,  instead of moseying back to AO, taking into consideration the recovering PAX member (Great suggestion by G-6).

PAX circle it up and execute 20 down/up merkins. Done.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAM

17 PAX – No FNGs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

(1) 2 Timothy 1: 1-7 & (2) 2 Timothy 4: 6-7

(1) You then my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

(2) For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

My aunt read this to us at the dinner table this past weekend and it made the hairs on the back of my neck step up. It challenged me to ask myself a few thought-provoking questions (TPQs) such as:

  • What do I allow myself to get entangled in throughout the week that is preventing my from being who God is calling me to be?
  • Who am I aiming to please this week // Who is enlisting me?
    • Work? Circumstances? Jesus? Etc Etc Etc…

The run you race as a man is a long one. It’s one that is righteous, but it is one that is long and difficult as well sometimes. I love in 2 Timothy 4:6 that it says “I am already being poured out as a drink offering…” You are being utilized for the Kingdom and for the Lord already, in your home, in your relationships, in your work, in every sphere of influence He has uniquely placed you in. To bring glory to Him – keep running that race, keep fighting that good fight, and keep the faith, even when the race gets dark and heavy, remember to look up and realize the name of the game is one foot in front of the other.

MOLESKIN:

  • It’s okay when things don’t go to plan. You must learn to react and adapt swiftly and appropriately, especially when there is potentially a life at stake/a downed PAX member

 

  • You will never be 100% prepared for every single scenario that you might encounter. HOWEVER, it is important to be as prepared as you can. I did not put water in my ruck when I left my car and walked to the AO this morning. It was right there and I left it in my car. And a time came when one of the PAX under my command/responsibility needed it and I didn’t have it on-hand. You don’t need it until you do – and it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. This was a great example of that this morning.
  • This is what High Impact Men do – step up, react, and adapt. Special shout-out to Abort and Jenner and Clark for doing just that this morning.

 

F3 Q101 and GROW SCHOOL: MAKING AN IMPACT

THE SCENE:  A balmy and crisp 37.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER(Explained Importance of Qing, common anxieties and tips on how to overcome them, discussed mistakes Q has made and the importance of making adjustments ) Free, Voluntary, Q not a professional, here at own risk, know limitations – modify if needed.

WARM-O-RAMA: (Explained Calling Exercises and Cadence) SSH (IC)x20, Imperial Walkers (IC)x15, Tempo Squats (IC)x15, Tempo Merkins (IC)x10, Mountain Climbers (IC)x15, Flutter Kicks (IC)x25, 8ct Body Builders (IC)x7.

THA-THANG: Mosey to lower parking lot…..

4 Corners: (40,30,20,10) of Merkins, then Squats.  Mosey to Playground parking lot:

Quarter Pounder (4 cones separated by comfortable distance, Cone 1-25 Merkins, Cone 2-50 Squats, Cone 3-75 Mountain Climbers, Cone 4-100 SSH). Run back to start after each completed cone.  Mosey to bathroom parking lot….

Totem Pole: 10 Burpees, 9 OHC, 8 Merkins, 7 Mountain Climbers, 6 Squat Jumps, 5 8ct Body Builders, 4 Diamond Merkins, 3 Calve Raises, 2 SSH, 1 Good Morning – Perform all exercises then run to other side of lot and back, knocking off the top exercise each round. Mosey to Dragon’s Tail……

1 Burpee at each light pole as we mosey up the hill back to shovel flag.

MARY:
Dealer’s Choice: Had a few of the PAX who have not Q’d yet call the exercises and cadence. They did awesome!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
37 Strong to include FNG “Twilight.”


CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Talked about two actions/traits that helped early Christians overtake the Roman Empire against insurmountable odds:
1) Love – they demonstrated a type of love that had never been seen before in Roman society. They loved sacrificially. They loved the unloveable. It was strange and did not make sense to the largely unbelieving Roman populous. Unbelievers took notice and were attracted to it, adding to the numbers of believers.
2) Generosity – They gave sacrificially to the poor and outcast with joy in their hearts, people who were marginalized by Roman society. Again, unbelievers noticed, were amazed, and added to the Christian population.

How can you cultivate this type of Love and Generosity in your own life?

When we all go home today, you will be surrounded by a different “PAX”: your wife, your kids, your friends, coworkers, etc. Step up and be their “Q”, leading virtuously. Let what we learned out here today transition and have an impact in our daily lives outside of F3. That’s what F3 is about!
MOLESKIN:
There was a lot of discussion and “teaching” by the Q.  I hope the men that showed benefited from my efforts.  It was a blessing to lead today.  Grow School afterwards was awesome: Abscess talked leadership and more Q101 while Steam showed his tech skills and showed everyone how to post a BB, add FNGs, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Dog Pound Pull-Up Bar Install immediately after.

The Sea Refuses No River

THE SCENE: Windy, temps in 40s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jack, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Rockettes, Plank Reaches, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by southern ball fields.  We will suicides, running from curb on south end of parking lot to successive lights in the parking lot.  Each time we return to curb we will do 20 Baby Crunches before running to next light.

Mosey to Pavilion by Outdoor Chapel.  We will do Elevens starting with 1 Bench Dip off and 10 Squat Jumps.  After Squat Jumps, each man runs around the Pavilion and back to the bench he started with to do 2 Bench Dips and 9 Squat Jumps.  This pattern continues until each man has done 10 Bench Dips and 1 Squat Jump.

Mosey to Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will run length of sidewalk until it reaches the perimeter trail but will stop to do ten Big Boy Sit-ups every other light.  Those finishing first we sweep all men back.

Mosey to CMU pile.  Divide into teams of three.  Each team grabs three CMUs.  One man carries two CMUs across parking lot to next partner who carries them back to next partner.  On one side of the parking lot men do side-straddle hops while waiting for a partner to return.  On the other side of the parking lot men do curls while waiting for partner to return. Once all partners have carried the CMU to another side, partners will rinse and repeat but do overhead presses as the exercise with the stationary CMU.  When all partners have finished again, we will rinse and repeat one more time but do Rows with the stationary CMU.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Fifteen men and one FNG, Chip Omer, whom we dubbed “Salsa.”

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Where do rivers flow?  To the sea.  My good friend, High-Heels, taught me that our own Tennessee River flows toward Chattanooga, dips into Alabama, heads northwest to the border of Alabama and Mississippi, then, of all things, heads north through Tennessee again to reach the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky.  From there, the waters head west to the Mississippi River and south before emptying into the Gulf.  A crazy route but the waters flow to the sea.

As humans, where do our lives naturally flow?  To God.  And, no matter what crazy routes we take, our direction, if we live for what we were created for, should be toward God.  What a beautiful metaphor it is to think of our lives being the rivers that flow to God, who is the Sea.  God created us for this and expects us to journey toward Him, our creator, our Home.

There is a song written by Pete Townsend (yes, the guitar crashing band member and primary song writer for the rock group, the Who) that beautifully depicts this idea of our lives flowing toward God. It was a song written on one of his solo albums.  The song is entitled “The Sea Refuses No River.”

Just as Jesus accepted all humans, whether tax collectors, outlaws, or prostitutes, the Sea, Townsend proclaims, refuses no river.

The sea refuses no river
Whether stinking and rank
Or red from the tank
Whether pure as a spring
There's no damned thing stops this poem.
The sea refuses no river
And this river is homeward flowing.

And it is that idea of God accepting him that helps him, helps the individual human, to live:

There was a fool in a dressing robe
Riding out the twilight hour
Lonely and cold in an empty home
Trying to access his power
But now he's like a stream in flood
Swollen by the storm
He doesn't care if he sheds his blood
Let him be reborn.

The wonderful thing to know is that there is no privilege to the religiously elite here.  The front row of seats is not sealed off to those who live by some code that Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or any type of religious snob claims we must live by,  Jesus informed us of this when he said, “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.:  (Matthew 20:16)

Townsend, recognizing this in his song, is able to celebrate the reborn course of his life toward God:

The sea refuses no river
No pecking code respected for the damned
The sea refuses no river
Whether starving and ill
Or strung on some pill
Just 'cause you own the land
There's no unique hand plugs the dam
The sea refuses no river
And the river is where I am
The river is where I am.

You are on the river.  Take comfort in the direction it flows.  The sea is the end to your journey.  And, the sea will not refuse you.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Iceman’s father, for Pinto, and for Thunderstruck’s mother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Troubadour Q training at Asylum this Saturday morning, 7 am.

Sweet, Steamy 16

THE SCENE:

Colder than a polar bear’s toe-nail in the middle of winter in Antarctica – BUT GOOD TO BE ALIVE

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness/Fellowship/Faith
  • Name is Steam and I’m honored to be your QIC this morning
  • Couple things before we begin:
    • Not a pro
    • You’re here on your own volition – you made a choice to be here this morning: make it count!
    • If you need to modify anything we do this morning feel free to do so but push yourself and those around you. They deserve it and so do you.
  • I will have my phone, water, CPR and a med kit inside my ruck just so everyone is aware as well. If you got keys/wallet/whatever go ahead and throw em in there


WARM-O-RAMA:

 

  • SSHs: 12×4 IC
  • Rockette: 12×4 IC
  • Windmill: 12×4 IC 

  • Baby Arm Circles: 6×4 F & 6×4 B
  • Mountain Climbers: 12×4 IC
  • Army Standard Merkins (shoutout to Soot): 12×4 IC

THA-THANG:

 

(Mosey to new small track)

  1. The 50 Cent
  • Battle Buddy up
  • Execute 10 BB sit-ups (only 1 BB)
    • Take a lap together
  • Execute 10 BB sit-ups (other BB)
    • Take a lap
  • Rinse & Repeat until each BB has completed 50 total BB sit-ups
    • As a team y’all will switch who is executing the BB sit-ups before the lap = 10 laps total as a team

(15 count)

(Q calls on the 2 FNGs to share a fun fact about themselves as PAX are catching their breath)

(mosey to closer side of the small bridge over WFP water)

  1. 27s
    • Battle buddy up
    • 1 side of the water/abyss: merkins (1 count)
    • Roundabout (other side): lunge (1 count)
    • Start with 26 merkins here :: 1 lunge there

(Q reminds PAX that it’s okay if the plan doesn’t go exactly as planned – push hard for 10 minutes and see where we are together)

  • PAX gets down to 20 merkins together and CRUSHES 10 minutes of 27s

(PAX mosey up the stairs towards the big ball and then back down facing the greenspace)

  • 2 columns
  • BB American Indian Run back to the AO
    • BB team in the back sprints up and recovers to the front
  • A Big Ball Classic: Cadence Call on the mosey back home aka Call & Repeat
    • “F3”
    • “Good for You”
    • “Good for Me”
    • HOOAH”
    • “HA-HA”
    • “HOOAH”
    • HA-HA”
    • “1 2 3”
    • “I love F3”
    • “4 5 6”
    • “Picking Up Sticks”
    • ” 7 and 8″
    • “F3 is great”
    • “9 and 10”
    • “Let’s do it all again”
    • “HOOAH”
    • “HA-HA”

MARY:

 

(PAX circle back up in the AO with 60 seconds left in the game)

  • SSH: 20 x 4 IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

14 PAX – 2 FNGs

PAX: G-6, 8 Seconds, Clark, Swanson, Backdraft, Post Man, Half-Calf, Abort, Amazon, Dovetail, Bubblewrap, Reverb, Walrus, Steam

FNGs: Juice Box and Waco

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

 

[ The Process of Pruning ]

MOLESKIN:

 

  • John 15:1-2 = “I am the true vine and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
  • Definition = “to trim by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth”
  • Wikipedia: The practice entails targeted removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted tissue from crop and landscape plants
  • This is not an easy process or even a fun process for the tree I’m sure.
  • Thinking about the process of pruning, think about this: The pruner cares too much/loves too much to let their tree/shrub be covered with structurally unsound or diseased/damaged limbs. The Father loves us so much – that He would lead us into the fire and walk with us through it as He continually prunes us and refines us as High Impact Men for HIS glory.

Keep the Faith & Fight the Good Fight men!