Swimmies (Nathan Chesney) – Page 2

Dad took the T-bird away

February 13, 2026 BackBlasts

AO: the-equalizer
Q: Bookman
PAX: Smithers, Ribbed (Joshua Sagraves), FixerUpper, Bookman, Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Shotgun, Mouthwash, @spellcheck
FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
WARMUP: SSHs, lbacs, Moroccan night clubs

THE THANG:
Mosey around track
Stretching
Lines
Merkins, LBCs, Squats (15,30,15)
Lines Bernies
CDDs, Dead Bugs, Flamingos (15,10,10)
Gassers (5 laps)
Hand Release Merkins, Imperial Walkers, Side Squats (15,10,10)
Mosey around Track
Super Marios (2x)
Merkins, LBCs, Squats (15,30,15)
Bear Crawl/Crawl Bear half court (2x)
Wide-arm merkins, suitcase crunches, lunges (10,15,10)
Side shuffle full court (2x)
Wall sit, wall sit, wall sit

MARY: stretching

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Rocky top rambler, haw ridge!

COT: improve on improving

Best Naturday Ever!

January 17, 2026 BackBlasts

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Natty
PAX: FixerUpper, Lilydipper, Brick, Natty, Crawdad (Robbi Dickens), Kung Blue, Casey Kasem, Doubtfire (Nick Bond), Crash Dummy, Waffle House (Brady Greene), Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Dain Bramage, High Heels
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
WARMUP: SSH, Toy Soldiers, Thai Fighters, Grady Corns, Shoulder Press, Chinooks (B), Moroccan night clubs, Army Cherry Pickers, seal claps, tempo mkns

THE THANG: Mosey to the Restroom walls to perform some Australian Nut Knockers, then 20 Bobby Hurleys, all out run up the grassy knoll to the level spot for 20 mkns then continue on up to top of hill, squats until 6 was up. Next were three rounds of 10 BBS followed by 5 mucho leggos running down the strip and back in between rounds. Dips until the 6 was up. ID a partner then mosey down to the level field High Heels mentioned was the wettest part of the park. All good for some wheelbarrows to tackle the length of the field with your partna. Mosey / Jog to the bowl performing some (B) side shuffles and Bernie’s along the way and hold a low plank til 6 up at base of bowl. Proceed with 3 laps fast as ya can around the bowl and doing 5 burpees at base and 5 at top each lap. Flutters and Big Boys until 6 was up. Indian run to the back beast hill, rear man performs 5 HR mkns and sprints to front of line. Quick pace up the hill to level spot to perform Apollo Ohno’s and Bonnie Blair’s. Quick pace mosey and return to AO

MARY: crab reachers, hello Dollie’s, Freddie mercuries Superman’s and gas pumps

ANNOUNCEMENTS: convergence starfish here 1/31

COT:Best Day Ever

Last year I travelled to Steamboat Springs, CO 3x, as many of you know to visit my sister Beverly, and brother-in-law Gary who is facing Stage IV Lymphoma. As an added bonus, Steamboat is quite a paradise all year long. Each time while on these trips I’d see stickers that said, “Best Day Ever.” I heard it was coined by a local guy revered by others for his positivity and efforts to get youth active in their community and enjoying all the activities Steamboat has to offer.

I didn’t really investigate it more, but still liked the phrase, so it always sat in the back of my mind. On this last visit I spent almost 2 weeks in CO and always when I go in the winter, I’m eager to hit the slopes. Unfortunately, there was very little snow when I arrived and so for more than a week, I just looked up at the mountain, hoping for some big dump to arrive and let me miraculously ski all the runs I could. Well, that did not happen, but we did get some snow for a few days in a row after Thanksgiving, enough to take a chance and hit the slopes. They basically had one run open the 1st day I went (they called it 2) and the 2nd day they had 2.5 runs (they called 5). For reference, when fully open, they have 184 runs, not to mention the ones you can make on your own through the trees or going out of bounds.

I generally try to strike up a conversation with folks when I ride up the chair lift. One guy asked me where I was from and when I said Knoxville, TN, he lit up & said he owes Knoxville and the 82’ World’s Fair for his career choice b/c it was when and where the Apple McIntosh was introduced and he spent his earnings from working the fair that year on purchasing one which launched his path into IT. But on another run up the lift I sat with an old man and a young lady who had never been there before. She asked about the conditions, and I said, well, considering there were basically two runs, we had very little snow and the visibility sucked, it could be better. But the old man said, “Best Day Ever!” I immediately responded, ya know, you are totally right. Without knowing all the back story on the phrase, I knew right then what it meant to that community. Savor every moment you have in nature, savor the days, months, years you have left to enjoy God’s creation and all the possibilities that lie in it. Just because there was only a couple runs open, it was still awesome, still wonderful, and I luckily had not paid the standard $289.00 lift ticket price, because I learned last season how to save. Point being, no matter what the conditions are, or what your favorite activity is, cherish the ability to do it, to live it, to share it with others and if you have a crazy or unfortunate event or story to tell, it at least makes you interesting at parties.

My trip home gave me that story…I booked a Lyft ride the night before for a 5 AM p/u and flight at 7 AM. Woke up, got ready, carried luggage downstairs and looked at my phone…no driver. Scrambled, freaked a bit because I wanted home bad. Then finally got an Uber p/u at 5:40 for what’s normally a 30 min ride to the airport, was much longer due to the blizzard that arrived for my departure. A nice Jamaican guy in an SUV picked me up and we got going only to get in a convoy of cars behind the snowplow which we followed slowly all the way to the airport. I arrived with no time to spare, got lectured by airport staff, but allowed to load my luggage, get through security and right on board only to wait 2 hrs. to leave (after watching an entire movie on the tarmac). De-icer broke and so once finally off, I knew I was going to miss my connection. I booked another flight while in the air (direct from Denver to Knox). I arrived thinking I had plenty of time, but taxiing was almost 30 min which left me 5 min to go 0.7 miles from gate B8-B58. In my skill set, ok I got this…but with wearing all the winter clothes, jacket, and backpack, it was not easy…I felt my chest pounding and eventually was out of breath. I even had to stop once to take a breather. Made it to the gate, the attendant cheered me on as she was about to close the door. Last one on the plane…I coughed for over an hour. But I made it home 4 hrs. early and grateful to be there. As many of you know, I went through a lot last year, but each day I wake up now I’ve thought about the term, “Best Day Ever.” Stay positive, even through the rut. It’s infectious. Make each day better than the one before it. It’s a state of mind in many ways, but who and what you surround yourself with makes the opportunity for an even better day possible. God has given us all this gift of life, use it wisely.

Whoops

January 9, 2026 BackBlasts

AO: the-equalizer
Q: Bookman
PAX: Smithers, Cheney, Stripped, Bookman, Madoff, Snowbird, Swimmies (Nathan Chesney)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
WARMUP: SSHs, mosey to smokehouse

THE THANG: ladderball, miss a throw you do either 5 burpees, 10 lunges, or 5 thrusters depending on the rung

10 curls, 50 ft rifle carry, or 10 OH presses by each team member to take a throw depending on the rung.

We suck at ladder ball

MARY:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: toddy quad Q, convergence on the 31st

COT: adjust and go

trip into a deck of cards…. & a lil Reformation history

November 1, 2025 BackBlasts

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Dung Beetle
PAX: Crawdad (Robbi Dickens), Mr Jinxy, Crash Dummy, Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Lizzy, Pac-man, Dain Bramage, @oatmeal (downrange from Dallas) OU fan we welcomed him in spite of this
FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
WARMUP: Crawdad said take us to 100 so we did 100 SSHs, that was followed by some barbecue squats, some imperial walkers until I could not keep the proper count, some Grady corns that’s the best I can remember

THE THANG: we used the card workout app on my phone and took a little trip into a deck of cards we did diamonds were dips, clubs were crunches, hearts were mercans, spades were squats

MARY: there was a bit of hello Dolly and scissor kicks at the end

ANNOUNCEMENTS: convergence next week

COT: Romans 12:11 till the end a picture of what real love looks like! With a different take of the heaping burning coals onto someone’s head.

God is Good All of the Time

October 25, 2025 BackBlasts

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), High Heels, Crawdad (Robbi Dickens), bfarthur, Brick, Natty, Dung Beetle, Crash Dummy, Drum Major, Lizzy
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: 20 Side-Straddle-Hops, Curly Stomps, 10 Rockettes, 10 Windmills, 10 Dive Bombers, 6 Twistees, 7 Pterodactyls Forward and 7 Backward.

THE THANG: Mosey up Mini-Cardiac and stop at grassy area to left of crosswalk. We will stop to do 10 Tempo Merkins.
Mosey to the top of the dragon tail. We will run down, stopping at every other light to do 5 Bobby Hurleys. We will stop when we get to the nice restrooms.
Mosey to the parking lot across the street that is close to the playground. We will stop to do 20 Hello Dollies. Mosey to the pavilion that is just east of the playground. Do 20 picnic table pull-ups, then run clockwise on sidewalk that goes toward the Caribbean parking lot but turn on sidewalk that leads to the playground. Go into playground and 20 Bench Jumps at bench. Then run back to the pavilion to repeat the process. We will do this for 10 minutes.
Mosey to the Caribbean parking lot. We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.
Mosey to serpentine sidewalk and then head east until we converge with the main trail. We will stop to do 10 Tempo Merkins.
Mosey to skunk hill. We were going to do sevens, starting with six burpees up top and one Carolina Dry Dock at the bottom of the hill. However, it was so wet that we stopped after the second run up the hill.
Mosey back to the pavilion and then to the AO Parking lot. Divide into two teams. Each team will have a Pickle Ball. This will be a relay. A man from each team runs clockwise around the parking lot but stops at buckets that will be placed on the south and north end of the parking lot. At the buckets, each man must throw the pickle ball into the bucket before he can keep running. The first shot must come from the cone that is farthest away from the bucket. If missed, the player must retrieves the ball and then shoots from the cone that is closer to the bucket. If he misses that shot he must retrieve the ball and then dunk it into the bucket. After a shot is made, the player picks the ball out of the bucket and continues running around the perimeter of the parking lot to the next bucket where he goes through the same process as with the first bucket. After making the shot at the second bucket, the player continues running around the perimeter and brings the ball back to the next man on his team for the relay. Those team members not running and shooting will run in place where the teams are gathered. The team that finishes first in the relay is the winner.
Next, we will go to the western curb of the parking lot. We will sprint to the other end of the parking lot and then Bernie Sanders back to the western curb.
Next, we will run up mini-cardiac to the cross walk, then do 20 Imperial Walkers. From there we will go again on the dragon tail, running four lights, walking two lights, and running another four lights before moseying back to the AO parking lot.
We will gather again at the western curb of the parking lot where we will sprint at 60 % pace to the other curb and back, then spring at an 80% pace to the other curb and back, and finally finish by sprinting a 100% pace there and back.

MARY: Stretches.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Ten Year Anniversary will be at the Asylum, 7 am on Saturday, November 8. We will also have a social from 6 to 9 pm at Xul downtown on Friday, November 7.

COT:

Message: Good is Good All of the Time
Gents, Hurricane Helene hit Tennessee and North Carolina over a year ago on September 24, 2024. Over 100 people were killed by the storm in the two states. Many had homes and property devastated. I was listening to our local public broadcasting radio station several weeks ago to an interview with a man who lives in Greene County, Tennessee. His name is Frank Brough. He is 76 years old. He and his wife restored and moved into a home about 30 years ago that was built by the Sevier family in the mid-nineteenth century and which fronts the Nolichucky River. On September 24 they watched from their home as the river appeared to rise about 6 feet per hour. They made the wise decision to vacate. Friends of theirs had a home and a small church chapel in Cocke County up on a mountaintop. Frank and his wife spent the next three months at the chapel, living on air mattresses in the back of the chapel where they had a small kitchenette and the ability to cook and take care of themselves. On September 29 of 2024 they were able to see the damage to their own home. Waters had engulfed the home and risen approximately 12 ½ feet to the joists of their second floor.
What I liked so much about this public radio story was how Frank and his wife never lost faith in God through their ordeal. I also loved how the community responded to help Frank and his wife restore the home.
There is a Christian Ministry Retreat in Greene County called Longview Ranch. It is a retreat center for people of all ages but primarily children and youth. Volunteers from Longview Ranch and others in the community helped clear mud and rock out of the Frank’s house that in some areas was up to 30 inches deep. Frank is a well-spoken and educated man but he sometimes tripped up and broke into tears when he spoke of how the community responded to help him. Frank and his wife should be able to move into their home within a few months. That would be a nice Christmas gift!
I loved Frank’s answer when the interviewer, Pierce Gentry of WUOT, asked him: “What does healing after Helene mean to you?” Here is Frank’s answer:

The after Hurricane Helene thoughts are summed up essentially in the fact that God is good all of the time and all of the time God is good. He is in control. He knows our past, He knows our present, He knows our future. My wife and I live in faith, believing all things work together for good for those that love the Lord. And we will survive.
We chose to go on living, loving God, rebuilding and making it happen all over again. Trying to wear smiles when we can, and sometimes sitting in the living room crying. But it’s going to happen. It’s going to be a real home again, thanks to all of the efforts of people like Longview. And we are so thankful.
Gents, I love how we in F3 serve our community just like those volunteers from Longview Ranch served their community after Helene. I am glad the guys with the Asylum PM were able to respond to the request from the Lakeshore Conservancy to collect and remove the large amount of rocks and stones from the fields above Cardiac and Mini-Cardiac so that the Conservancy can continue their beautification efforts. Thanks to Pele for talking to the Conservancy personnel to get this coordinated and to all the F3 brothers who have helped.

Prayers:

Prayers for those impacted by Hurricane Helene and prayers of praise for those who have helped people who were impacted. Prayers for colleague of Crawdad who is coping with cancer. Prayers for mother of Dung Beetle who, after living in her home for so many years, is moving to Asheville to live with Dung Beetle’s sister. Prayers for our brother, Brick, who is dealing with many stressors at this time, including a divorce last year, a move to a new household to be closer to his children, and a new job.