F3 Knoxville

Something completely different

AO: juco
Q: Wanderer
PAX: Lt. Dan, Stye (Hal Phillips), Booster, Love Shaq, Fetch, Butterknife, Guardrail, 5K, MessyHobbs, Survivor, Dart Gun, Trash Panda (JUCO)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
WARMUP:
– tempo merkins
– tempo squats
– cherry pickers
– SSH
– BAC forward/back
– downward dog

THE THANG:
AB day! pyramid style.
Big parking lot has exercises at each line:
– 20 BBS
– 40 Box cutters
– 60 Pickle Pounders
– 80 Hello Dolly
– 100 LBC
– 80 Freddy Mercury
– 60 Pickle Pointers
– 40 flutter kicks
– 20 Rainbow drops

Run to the first line and complete the exercise. Run back and do 5 hand release merkins. Rinse and repeat going to a further line each time and completing merkins when returning home.

:boom: a new man is born.

Finished with 3 rounds of 20 box jumps and 20 dips and then 3 rounds of 20 dirkins and 20 step ups.

MARY:
Some imperial walkers, squats, planks and side plank things that butterknife makes us do. :watch: done, times up!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:

Prov 3:5-6

Shag Carpet Crawl

AO: shamrock
Q: Stitch
PAX: KickFlip, Curveball, Commission, Anchorman, Base Salary, Survivor, Guardrail, Wanderer, LeBling, Baby Boomer, The Situation, Swifty, Free Fall (Justin Whitaker), Honeydew, Mermaid, Eliza, Dumpster Dive (Brad Burnette), Stiff Arm (Devin Ware), Fab Five (Mark Tichon)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
WARMUP:
SSH
Tie Fighters
Tempo Squats
Imperial Walkers
Mountain Climbers

THE THANG:
Mosey w football to the Coupon pile
25 Merkins
25 OHP
25 Curls
25 Tricep Dips

Football mosey to football field

>From the endzone corner we will Lunge Walk to the Goal post and do 5 Burpees. Mosey to the far end (middle of the field) and then Bear Crawl to the next endzone corner. Will then do 5 Burpees, 25 Squats. Mosey back to the 1st corner endzone and then Lunge Walk to the next corner. 5 Burpees, 25 Squats, 20 Shoulder Taps, etc. Mosey, repeat…

After each lunge/crawl we add a set:
(5) Burpees,
(25) Squats,
(20) Shoulder Taps,
(15) SSH,
(10) Flutter Kicks – 4 ct.
(5) more Burpees to end.

Run the stairs on the last lap.

MARY:
Circle up for Mary (PAX callout):
Jane Fondas
Freddy Mercuries
Supermans
Hello Dolly

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sign up for Haw Ridge (April 5)

COT:
50 Years!! – 1974 Fun Facts:

-Richard Nixon was president but resigned because of the Watergate scandal, and Gerald Ford became the 38th president.
-Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s HR record with #715.
– Speed limit was set to 55 MPH to help save on gas, which averaged $.53 per gallon.
– The average home price was $35,000 and rent was $150.
– Blazing Saddles was the top grossing movie, by Mel Brooks and Happy Days was new to TV.
– The Rubik’s Cube was introduced.
– You likely heard the phrase “Tastes great, Less filling!” – Miller Lite
– UPC barcodes were created and first used at supermarkets in Ohio.

If you were here at my last Q, about 3 weeks ago, you’ll remember that I talked about truth and the importance of grounding your life in objective, not subjective truth. Truth tells us something about the nature of reality, whether we believe that or not. Jesus was an example of truth, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. Truth guides us in our faith. Not blind faith, but good reasons to know what to put our faith in.

It was a little more than 10 years ago that I began to reengage my faith. My Christian faith. I had been wandering away from God for some time. I was struggling as a young father, was in a difficult marriage, and in a challenging retail career. I needed some answers. I needed some direction. I needed some real brothers. And, I needed truth to be at the center of it all. I needed God.

So, I returned to church and I got plugged into a men’s group. It wasn’t just a “How was the game?” group, or “What kind of car do you drive?” group. It was real. It was connecting. It was hard. It made men open up and be vulnerable. It was life. It was true! It really saved me at a dark time in my life. Those men and that community.

Fast forward to 2021. My Christian faith had strengthened. My community life was also much stronger. But I was still a Sad Clown, in a few ways. My physical condition was not so great. I needed growth and strengthening in that area, as well. I had a close friend at church. Many of you know him as Guardrail and I’m thankful he’s here today. He was the one that first told me about F3. He told me about the nicknames, the 5:30 meetings (which I thought was crazy), and the community and leading that was taking place at F3. Often, when we were together, he would casually throw out a “you should come by F3 in the morning. Check it out”. It took awhile, but I finally showed up one morning. It just happened to be Booster’s 50th Birthday Respect Q. Guys showed up on a chilly April morning wearing button up shirts and ties to workout in the gloom. It was fun, and a bit festive… until we started the workout. And then I nearly died! KickFlip was there and he remembers how I struggled just to make it to from station to station of our 4 corner workout.

That brings me to today. I’m 50!

Have I finally figured out life? Nope.

Is life still hard and with struggles? Yep.

Do I still struggle with things I feel like I shouldn’t still struggle with? Yes, but fewer.

Do I have God back in my life? Yes!

Is goodness and truth present in my life? Yes!

Am I more physically fit and stronger today? Yes! In the best shape of my life and about 20 lbs lighter than I was when I showed up.

Do I have more than 10 men that I can call on when I am in those struggles and need someone to lean on? Yes! (By the way, there are very few men in our world who can say that).

Is my life more meaningful and richer today than it was when I was 40? Absolutely, 100%, without a doubt!
God, Truth, and F3 (Fitness, Fellowship, & Faith), are all a part of my life today and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

If you know someone that needs F3, give them a friendly nudge. We all know what this group means to us and what it can do for someone else. Thank you, ALL! I love you!

Our Blessing

AO: juco
Q: Erector
PAX: Butterknife, Lil’ Spice, Guardrail, Dart Gun, 5K, Trash Panda (JUCO), Pinky, Survivor, Erector
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
WARMUP: 15 SSH, 15 Mountain climbers, 15 Moroccan Night Club, 10 tempo squats, 5 cherry pickers.
THE THANG: Mosey to the coupon pile. After each exercise, run to the top of the stairs and alternate between 5 pull-ups and 5 toes-to-bar.
-25 curls
-25 OHPs
-25 goblet squats
-15 thrusters
-15 blockees
Mosey to the Sophomore. Do 25 2-ct flutter kicks at the first corner. Bernie up the hill and run the loop. Do 25 more 2-ct flutter kicks at the first corner and Bernie back up the hill. Do 25 merkins and run the rest of the loop. Continue this trend picking up an additional exercise for the next two laps: 25 LBCs and 15 burpees. We ran out of time to do the burpees. Mosey back to the flag.
MARY: 20 big boys OYO.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Escape from Haw Ridge on April 5th.
COT: We are, in general, a very blessed nation. Oftentimes, we do not count our blessings from God, and we take them for granted. At church, we sing a song “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” We need to remember to be grateful for all of our blessings, but this morning, I want to mention one blessing in particular that we especially shouldn’t take for granted: our wives. Proverbs 31 contains a description of a wife’s worthiness. In particular, verse 10 tells of her worth. “Her worth is far above jewels.” Our wives are a treasure that is far above value. If you are anything like me, you probably don’t tell her this often enough. She needs to know! There are far too many marriages that end for many reasons. Don’t let lack of appreciation for all she does be a reason for strife in your marriages.

Mr Serve On

AO: juco
Q: Butterknife
PAX: Butterknife, Noodles, Booster, Stye (Hal Phillips), Dart Gun, Wanderer, Love Shaq, Windex, Mailbox, Guardrail, Survivor, Fetch, Data, Erector
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
WARMUP:
Side straddle hop in cadence 20
Tempo squats
Cherry Pickers
Grady Corns
Arm rotations thumbs up in cadence
Reverse thumbs down in cadence
10 tempo merkins
30 seconds oyo

THE THANG:
Mosey with the leader falling off for two burpees to the big lot for
Drills:
Side shuffles, high knees & butt kickers, walking planks, and sprints.

Line up on the curb
Bear crawl, lunge, burpee leapfrogs, lunge w/ twist

Core:
Hello Dolly’s and BBS

Snake mosey to sophomore hill with the 6 snaking their way to the front of the line.

Partner up
Wheel barrow up switching halfway

Mosey to coupon pile
Dora partner runs stairs and does 5 pull ups
100 curls

Mosey around to the duck 🦆 pond stopping for flutter kicks and 8 ct Merkins.

Mosey to the Haslam Center for 20 dips.

Then back to the flag.

MARY:
No time
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence coming up.
Look for ways to serve!
COT:
Look for ways to serve:
Sign up for a Q, give blood, volunteer at the shelter, look for opportunities in and outside the community, serve at church. In fact, Mailbox has an opportunity this afternoon.

You will not regret it. It’s rewarding not only to those you’re helping but also to yourself.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭28‬ ‭

GPS Art F3 Juco take 1

THE SCENE: 70° and comfortable
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Get ups, tai chi warriors, Reach for the stars, Let it hang, Butt kicks, SSH, High Knees, Mountain climbers
THA-THANG:
A campus tour spelling “F3 Juco” as GPS ‘art’. At each turn there were excercises.
Starting with 10 SSH, then introducing some new excercises
Flip flop merkins, Shuttle run the lower bar of F
Bernie up to the top of the F twice, then 10 Gorilla Humpers (wide monkey)
Finish the F with a shuttle run to flutter till the 6 arrives.
Straight to the Railings for 20 underdogs
Draw the “3” with Hello Dolly, kick throughs and monkey humpers along the way.
Then to the top of the J to carry some of each others weight on a pole.
One legged SSH and “James Bond” made the U, the C was hand stand merkins (or burpees) and dips.
We finished the O with a rope run around a tree.

MARY:
LBC is about all we had time for
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Hebrews 12:1
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 let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

I want to focus on the word endurance. On a Wed, we have runners who know about endurance. I used to think of Endurance as just working hard and harder. But it is a lot more about pace than it is any one hard step.
Ask yourself, are you making forward progress?
Do you have a plan? Do you know where you are going?
Have you removed the sin in your life that weighs you down?

Your race is your race. Your journey to become more like Jesus is not identical to anyone else, but it is not meant to be done alone.
Get into a community of believers, find a Church home, F3 is great, but it is not a church.
A church needs all ages, men and women, worship, communion, baptism, giving, accountability and all the pains and joys that come along with all that.
Then make sure Jesus is your motivation, source of energy and Goal.
And consider your pace. Yes, take breaks but ensure forward progress. Guys who get up before 5 to work out tend to want to push hard, but don’t burn out.
And God gave us the gift of (warning, unpopular word) the Sabbath. It got abused in Jesus’ time, it gets forgotten entirely now, but Sabbath was made for man.
That weekly day of rest, change of pace and focus on worship and serving will allow you to Run the race.
Maybe you step back from formal serving for a season, but you still run the race – stay involved, make others a priority, show up, care , pray
Endure to the end.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 In the nude coming up July 29.