F3 Knoxville

Getting to know Big Ball

THE SCENE: Beautiful weather at the Big Ball!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER administered!
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 SSH, 10 Tempo squats, 15 mountain climbers IC, 10 tempo merkins, 15 Moroccan night club
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the playground and locate a good pull-up spot.  Perform 8-count body builders with a pull-up at the top of the jump with pyramid style reps:  2, 4, 6, 8, 6, 4, 2.  Each set consisted of the stated count of each portion of the exercise, e.g. 2 merkins, 2 plank jacks, 2 pull-ups.

Mosey to the stairs beside the Big Ball.  Perform 11’s using both sets of stairs.  Start with 10 burpees at the bottom and 1 squat at the top.

Mosey back toward the fountain and stop at the closest corner of the “track” around the park.  With hard runs between, perform theses exercises at the corners (1 exercise per corner):

  • 15 merkins
  • 15 diamond merkins
  • 15 Carolina Dry Docks
  • 15 squats
  • 15 lunges each leg
  • 15 sumo squats
  • 15 Freddie Mercury IC
  • 15 Imperial walkers IC
  • 15 flutter kicks IC

MARY:
An attempt at a “square” merkin.  I am sure someone has an awesome name for these.  4 PAX form a square and put their legs on the PAX’s upper back behind them and everyone’s feet will be off the ground.  One group had to modify due to risking further back surgeries.  We definitely don’t want that to happen.  The other group of 4 successfully completed 5 or so reps.  Nice job!
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 HIMs in attendance today.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ephesians 5:22-25.  The relationship between a husband and wife should be the most important earthly relationship.  A husband should be willing to die for his wife just as Christ died for us.  The relationship we have with our children, though very important, is secondary.  Keep this in mind and make sure we are showing our love to our spouses.
MOLESKIN:
YHC snagged this Q at the last minute last night and I am glad I did.  Great group of HIMs to lead!  I look forward to other opportunities to enjoy F3 with them in the future.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
OEW fundraiser at Abridged on Thursday.  Don’t forget to sign-up for Hardship Hill coming up on May 18th.

Ringing the B.E.L.L.S.

THE SCENE: Nice and crisp – feelin’ like a spring day!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • 15 Baby Arm Circles – Reverse it
  • 25 SSH
  • 10 cherry pickers
  • 15 tempo squats
  • 10 tempo Merkins
  • 10 MTN climbers

THA-THANG:
Mosey on offer to the hill near the ‘ol Chocolate Factory, grab a partner and tackle the Burp Back Mountain.  100 total burpees.  While one partner does burpees the other sprints to the top of the hill, turns, and runs back.

Mosey over to the stairs beneath the glorious wig housing Big Ball and get ready for Elevens!  Start at the bottom of the stairs with 10 squats, run to the top, and perform 1 8-count bodybuilder.  Run back down the stairs for 9 squats, run up, 2 8-count bodybuilders… Keep going until 1 squat and 10 8-count bodybuilders.

Mosey over to the bridge beyond the big pond. Make your way across with Lt. Dans. Lt Dans = Lunge with right leg, lunge with left, squat… Repeat until halfway down.  Turn and mosey back towards the AO.  Stop just underneath the Big Ball and SPRINT back to the AO.

  • Burpback
  • Elevens
  • Lunge
  • Lunge
  • Sprint

= B.E.L.L.S.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Joan Cronan was the Athletic Director for the Lady Vols and worked with Pat Summit to help oversee much of the women’s athletics program’s success.  I once saw her give a talk about ensuring that every day you ring your B.E.L.L.S.  The B.E.L.L.S. are

  • Bible
  • Exercise
  • Learn
  • Letter of gratitude
  • Special project

These are daily habits that help ensure a well rounded and focused mind. Spend time in the Word, take care of your body daily, learn something new (as simple as a new word), let someone know you are grateful for them (read Ephesians 1:16 – pray for them by name), and take 5 minutes to straighten a junk drawer or toss old food out. That few minutes of chipping away at a bigger thing helps you eat the elephant one bite at a time.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP with the Bombshelter on Saturday! On a personal plug: fundraising pint night at Elkmont Exchange on Wed for Cystic Fibrosis 5-9pm

The pain train

THE SCENE: 34*, nice and clear
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

No warm up, no time. Quick gear inspection and get the show on the road
THA-THANG:
Equipment list, everyone with rucks with challenge weight, water bladders etc. Three 60 pound sandbags (Sandy, Sandra, and Irene) and one big girl 80 pound sandbag (Betty).

Move out away from start point, rotating sandbags every 0.20 miles. At the end of your rotation, you have to pay a 5 squat transfer fee before handing off the sandbag. Transition can not allow sandbag to touch the ground. Head to Tom Black Track on UT campus, hitting every scrappy hill we can.

Once at the track, ground sandbags for PT. Circuit consisted of the following:

  • Atlas lift with 60 bag
  • Lateral pull merkins with ruck
  • Bent over row with 80 bag
  • Leg levers with ruck overhead
  • Reverse lunges with 60 bag
  • Shoulder loads with 60 bag

Last man bear crawls to cone and back, taking over at Atlas lifts and bumping everyone to next exercise. Go through circuit twice.

Recover and link the sandbags together with carabiners for the pain train (aka the floppy log) back.  Carry can consist of shoulder, farmer carry, whatever. Rotate as needed like an event. Due to time left, after a few rotations the pain train is broken back into individual bags as the train moves slower. Last quarter ro third mile sandbags had to be carried off shoulders. Get back right at 6:15.

3rd F Prep Work

THE SCENE: Brisk morning, temp in the 30’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, A little of this and a little of that, Tempo Squats, Tempo Merkins
THA-THANG:

Mosey to Sunsphere to tackle the stairs.

  • Bear crawl up stairs with 5 Merkins at the middle and top
  • Lunge up stairs with 5 squats at the middle and top
  • Repeat

Mosey to parking lot S7.  Divide up into 4 teams for a relay.  One man runs the length of lot while others do flutter kicks.  Each man takes a turn running.  Recover.  Same thing with plank/Merkins.

Mosey to parking lot C15.  Everyone grabbed a coupon for the following:

  • Curls x 10 – run up stairs and back
  • Presses x 10 – run up stairs and back
  • Flutter kicks with coupon over head x 10 – run up stairs and back
  • Squats x 10 – run up stairs and back

Recover then everyone does American Hammer with coupon x 10 IC.  Also a round of circle burps without coupons.

Mosey to amplitheater for some SSH IC.  Mosey back to AO while Steam lead F3 cadence. Wrap up with a round of “leg pushes” (not sure if it has a name, everyone on their backs, legs up pointing outside circle. Each man runs around pushing everyone’s legs down.)  Over head claps x 25
MARY:

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
22 HIM’s total with 3 FNG’s
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Philippians 2:3-4  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

We can all be selfish with our time and resources.  Let’s humble ourselves and seek to serve others in a way that glorifies God.  Put others first and seek to do what we can to meet their needs and not just our own.
MOLESKIN:
Everyone keep in mind the Fountain City AO that they are trying to get started.  If anyone can attend some of those workouts it would be greatly appreciated especially to the Mend House guys who have been coming out.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

3rd F event immediately followed.  Great job to the guys who spoke!!  Very encouraging and insightful.

Sunrise at the Sunsphere

THE SCENE: Calm, cool morning
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

THA-THANG:

Kiss My Grits throughout the entire beatdown (5 8-count Merkins every time a PAX calls out another PAX with “Kiss My Grits”)

Lunges to the Big Ball

7s

  • Big Ball Pull-ups
  • Burpees at the top of the stairs

Lunges back to AO

Partner Shoulder Presses and Lat Raises

Cobras and Overhead Arms Claps

‘Round the Fountains

  • Lunges, Bear Crawls, Crab Walks, Side Lunges

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 PAX
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Thanks for letting me come back and lead a beatdown! Explore F3 outside of Knoxville if you get the chance. Learn something from other cities and try to leave some Knoxville flavor as well.