F3 Knoxville

Tag: Swimmies

Where you’re supposed to be

THE SCENE: Beautiful, a tad warm, plentiful sunshine, low 80s, no breeze
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check, with special focus on our FNG, Chris, who is a mentee of Tank’s.
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Motivators (Q butchered these, so we moved on after 6)
  • 7 BAC Forward, Backward  (4 ct, IC)
  • 7 Windmills (4 ct, IC)
  • 7 Rockettes (4 ct, IC)
  • 7 Tempo Merkins
  • 7 Cherry Pickers (4 ct, IC)

We established (not easily, mind you…) that 7 squared = 49. Apropos, as this was a 49th Bday Q, no?
THA-THANG:

MOSEY down to gavel circle across from Area 51 :

  • Birthday Sea Biscuit!
    • ROUND 1: Run a lap, 49 Merkins
    • ROUND 2: Run TWO laps, 49 BBS
    • ROUND 3: Run THREE laps, 49 SSH
    • ROUND 4: Run TWO laps, 49 Squats
    • ROUND 5: Run ONE lap, 49 Seal Claps

Mosey to Big Tree near Pickett’s charge.  Here there be Dragons!!

  • Welsh Dragon (7 count ascending).  Tclaps to F6 who did it without stopping to rest! (Q rested a bunch of times…)

MOSEY to Bottom of Pickett’s Charge.  49s! Do 4 reps of the exercise at the bottom of each of the three hill tiers, and 9 at the top.  The exercises are:

  • 4 Jump Squats, Run up first level, 9 more Jump Squats
  • 4 Lunges (2-ct), Run up second level, 9 more Lunges
  • 4 Burpees, Run up to wall at Coliseum, 9 more Burpees.

MOSEY to AO

MARY:
No time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 strong.  Welcome FNG Iron Mike, real name Chris, an 11-year old mentee of Tank’s.  He wants to play middle linebacker in football, so we named him Iron Mike, with his approval.  Iron Mike and After Party not tagged.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I recently read the Language of God by Francis Collins, a physician and scientist who spearheaded the Human Genome Project.  He is currently the director of the National Institutes of Health.  The book discusses his struggles as a scientist to accept God, given his rigorous training in the Scientific Method, and his reluctance, at least early on in his life, to be able to rationalize a spiritual Father without being able to identify any actual evidence that He exists.  I’ll touch on some of the revelations and evidence that he lays out that builds his case for the existence of God in another Word, but I wanted to highlight one portion of the book today, because it seems timely.  Dr. Collins volunteered to go on a mission trip to a hospital in a small, impoverished village in Nigeria one summer, and in the book he admits that at the time he had some illusions of being sort of a Savior figure for the people there.  Here he was, a highly educated physician from America, coming to save the day for these poor villagers. But those illusions were quickly dashed.  He became frustrated that most of the illnesses he was called to treat were highly preventable with just some simple sanitary and medical standards.  The shortcomings of the facility where he worked were appalling… there weren’t enough hospital beds, X-ray and other basic hospital resources were lacking, etc.  Frustrated, disillusioned, and overwhelmed, Dr. Collins was losing faith that his efforts could ever make a difference.  And then a young farmer came in with an illness that at first appeared to be tuberculosis, but further testing revealed that he had fluid build-up in the pericardial sac around his heart.  The only cure was to draw out that fluid with a syringe.  In a modern hospital, this would be easily done by a computer guiding the needle.  But here in this hospital, Dr. Collins was forced to do it manually.  The man would die otherwise.  But it was terribly risky. Dr. Collins put the syringe into the man’s sternum, and was able to draw off the liquid without piercing the heart.  The farmer recovered, however, his long-term prognosis was still poor.  A few days later, he came across the farmer again, who said, “I get the sense you are wondering why you came here.”  Dr. Collins was shocked that the farmer had seen so clearly how he was feeling.  “You came here for one reason,” the farmer continued. “You came here for me.”  This was an epiphany for Dr. Collins.  He wasn’t there to be the great white doctor, saving an entire village.  He was there for that man.   As he puts it in his book, “We are each called to reach out to others.  On rare occasions, that can happen on a grandiose scale.  But most of the time, it happens with simple acts of kindness of one person to another.  Those are the events that really matter.”

As Steam said recently in a Word, You are exactly where you are supposed to be.

As another brother who is acting as friend and counselor to some people close to him recently said to me, “I’m exactly where I need to be”.

Maybe those simple acts of kindness will be so much more meaningful to others than you think.  Maybe your belonging to F3 is part of it.  Maybe that meal you deliver to Waxjob’s family will mean more to them than you can imagine.  Maybe the blood you donate on Friday will save someone’s life.  Maybe the Word you deliver at your Q will inspire someone to reach out to someone in need. Look for those opportunities, and then grasp them, even if they seem trivial.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for F6 and his cousin, who is expected to deliver on Wednesday (update that the delivery was successful, and Baby Jasmine and mother are doing well). Prayers for Jetlag and his family.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Blood Drive Friday at Asylum, Hardship hill this Saturday!!

Friday @ The Equalizer – 9/17/21

THE SCENE: Glorious
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Side Straddle Hops and light stretching; mosey to Top of The World
THA-THANG:

1 – Complete 2 rounds of each of the following and run between locations (“A” exercises are done at TOTW and “B” exercises are done at Stonehenge) –

  • 1a – Merkins (25)
  • 1b – Single-leg box jump (5/5)
  • 2a – Big Boy Sit Ups (25)
  • 2b – “Toe Dips” – while standing on top of a Stonehenge stone, slowly bend one knee to lower the other foot down as if dipping the toe into the water, then stand up out of it and repeat (5/5)

2 – Mosey to Splash Pad to complete 6 rounds of the following with 30 work / 10 rest / 60 interval

  • “Angry Bears” – from a bear crawl position with knees off the ground, hop to your feet and land in a squat position, then immediately move back into the bear crawl position.  These were referred to as “Dock Hoppers” during the workout, and I’m open to naming / description input from the PAX
  • Iron Mike + Squat Jump
  • Iron Cross Merkin

3 – Mosey to the Bathhouse and find a spot on the pullup bar for double time EMOM pullups

  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

4 – Crawl Bear down the hill toward the Rock Pile

  • 20 four count flutter kicks in cadence (while stargazing)

MARY:
Finished on time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Philippians 2:3-5 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

MOLESKIN:
On the way to Q this workout I realized that, although I had thoughtfully planned the exercise, I hadn’t given any thought or attention to the BOM.  I said a quick prayer to ask God for some inspiration to share something that at least one of the guys needed to hear that day, but what he gave me (the verse above) was direct shot at my own heart (and I hope someone else’s too).  The lesson here is that God speaks to us through prayer and through his word, so if you aren’t spending consistent time in the word you’re going to miss out on all that he has for you.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Please sign up for Hardship Hill and/or make yourself available to help position the obstacle some time next week.  I’ll put a word out there to coordinate a day that works.

Be 20-60-20 or be like Brick!

THE SCENE: Balmy, humid afternoon

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:  

Little baby arm circles, Side straddle hop, little this, little thay

Partner up, 4 rds of lateral jumps and jogging laps, switch off with partner.

THA-THANG:

  • 11’s with Jane Fonda’s, bear crawl up, crawl bear down
  • 20x-60x-20x running up 3 tiers of stairs. 1st group was meekins, bbs, meekins. 2nd group was A. Hammer, squat thrusts, A. Hammer. 3rd group was hello dolly, squats, hello dolly.

MARY:
Hold 30 second plank like Brick to finish out workout.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 HIMS

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Every person in an organization  or team fits somewhere it top 20%, middle 60%, or bottom 20%. The top 20% are the overachievers, who are going to succeed  most of the time. The bottom 20% are people, who put out little effort to contribute to the team’s success. That 60%, however, can be influenced the most when all remaining individuals come together contributing their 1%  When that happens that team  can ûmove in any direction to achieve great things.

#NeverForget2021

[ The Scene ] 

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness/Fellowship/Faith
  • My name is Steam and I will be your Q this morning 
  • Few things before we begin:
    • I’m not a professional 
    • You’re here on your own volition – meaning you are here on purpose 
    • I don’t know any injuries you may or may not have so feel free to modify any of the exercises we do this morning as need be. 
    • FNGs? — No
    • I’m going to go back to the modify clause for a second.
      • Just because you can modify, is not an excuse to do so
      • Today is not the day to half-ass anything we do………
      • Here’s why: 20 years ago….
        • 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights
        • 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning
        • 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift
        • 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for their morning patrol
        • 8 paramedics went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift
        • None of them saw past 10:00am on September 11th, 2001
        • #NeverForget

[ Warm o Rama ] 

SSH: 20×4 IC 

Merkin: 20×4 IC 

Squat: 20×4 IC

Imperial Walker: 20×4 IC

Mountain Climber: 20×4 IC

[ The Thang ] 

(The flag will always stay out front of us this morning)

(Mosey down to the bottom of Mini-Cardiac)

  1. Back Up Again
    • Battle Buddy teams of 4
    • 2 POCs (Points of Contact)
      • Bottom: SSHs
        • Execute 25 SSHs (1ct) and then hold the plank for 20 seconds until your team of 4 is recovered to go up top 
        • THE FLAG WILL ALWAYS GO TO THE TOP
      • Top: Merkins
    • In battle buddy teams of 4, farmers carry the 2 40lb Sandy’s up to the top — everyone executes 10 merkins (1ct)
    • Farmers carry back down to the bottom (other 2 in the battle Buddy team)
  • Rinse and repeat until every battle buddy group has gone up and executed merkins (550 —> 2 locations (275) —> 40 merkins

(Mosey to the bottom of Pickett’s Charge — WITH 2 40lb sandbags)

  1. Pre-Across and Up
  • 2 40lb sandbags 
  • 1 60lb sandbag
  • 2 120lb sandbags
  • 2 POCs
    • Sandys 
      • Rotate between 
      • Curls
      • Deadlifts 
      • Rows
      • Execute 10 reps (1ct) of one exercise and run across the field
    • Across the field 
      • Squats (10)
  • Once you complete your curls, deadlifts, and rows — pick someone who’s not done and run with them. Do not stay behind and do not hold a position here — pick up with someone 

(15 count) 

  1. Across and Up 
  • 2 40lb sandbags 
  • 1 60lb sandbag
  • 2 120lb sandbags 
  • Describe the situation 
  • Get in battle buddy teams of 2-4
  • Our mission is to get these items to safety across this field and up to the Colesium. 
  • When you can’t lift it anymore, your battle buddy should step in and help you carry it
  • Finish at the flat area of the bottom of the Coliseum
     
  • PAX say the pledge of allegiance and knock out some SSHs

(Movement to the bottom of Everest – battle buddy carries and drags the 2 120lb sandbags, 1 60lb sandbag, and 2 40lb sandbags)

  1. Up Everest 
  • with Sandys (gear) 
  • Flag up front always 
  • Plant it at the top
    • 25 SSHs
    • 25 Big Boy situps
    • 25 Merkins
    • 25 squats
  • Make our way back to the AO (flag out front)[ COT ]
    • # off 
    • Name o Rama 
    • FNGs
    • BOM

    Where was God?

Millions of people asked this question on this day 20 years ago, and years later as well. God where were you when those towers fell and these innocent people died?

He was right there with them. He was at the Pentagon, He was in those two towers, He was on Flight 93, and He was right there with them. 20 years later, as we honor the men and women and children and heroes that were killed on this day, we remember that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us. We also remember that on that day and the days afterwards as well, something changed, even for a little bit –> faith, religion, politics, credence, country affiliation aside — we were reminded of our humanity. We were reminded that no matter what we call ourselves or how, we are all humans first and foremost.

So if you remember where you were that day, don’t forget your location – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And if you don’t remember where you were that day, ask someone who does.

And yet the question remains 20 years later — “God, where are you? Do you not see what’s happening in our world and country? Where are you?” Each man must wrestle with this question, daily. We must choose to see God and seek Him out. At our coffee shops, in our conversations, in our workouts, in our places of work, in our families, in our wife and children, in our friendships and relationships — He is there. I have a hunch that if you make the ask of “God where are you,” He will reveal himself in ways that only He can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The grass is not greener

THE SCENE: Perfect weather at the Equilizer
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
warmup stuff
THA-THANG:
In honor of Bartman, who has to work mornings, I give you the Drapen Kracken.
Giant oval with exercises listed at the 8 cones. Do the exercise and qty and then run a lap around the circle (extended to Stonehenge) then moving on to next exercise. The exercises are;

  • 30 Merkins
  • 30 dry docks
  • 10 burpees
  • 10 curls,10 tris, 10 squat and press w/CMU
  • 3 round-the clock Merkins
  • 20 squat jumps
  • 15 Superman’s and 15 cobra Kais  Merkins
  • Bear crawl to center and back

about 3/4 of the way done we stopped for some sprints to break up the breathing pattern and then went back to work. Eventually stopping for everyone to do 3 round the clock Merkins and 10 burpees. Add on a few more sprints then mosey back to the AO by way of the Snake to use our tax dollar investment…

MARY:
Snitch led us in some flutters and we added on some side crunches and LBCs.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The grass is not always greener on the other side. The phrase actually originated over 2000 years ago as a poetic proverb by Publius Ovidius Naso, better known as Ovid, regarding agriculture and the harvest always looking more fruitful in another man’s field. With social media today. It’s very easy to look into other lives and think they have everything together. That their lives are perfect and ours is crap. Nothing could be further from the truth. I talked about how I literally thought my neighbors grass was greener and prettier than my lawn. But it wasn’t until I walked over to talk to him that I could see all the imperfections and bare spots in his yard once standing in it. Looking back at my yard from his, I noticed mine didn’t look that bad from his angle. In fact it looks better than his yard. So, the point of all this is that we should not look at others and try and base our lives on them. But we should look to God for guidance and try to better ourselves every day.
MOLESKIN:
It was great being back at the equalizer today. I missed the crew there very much. Last night I had a pretty good wreck on my mountain bike and it was pretty tough for me to get going this morning. Once getting in the groove and seeing everyone working hard my injuries loosened up and didn’t bother me as bad.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill, Wesley House