F3 Knoxville

Ta-Bear-Ta

THE SCENE: Mid 60s no humidity
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

10 baby arm circles in cadence

10 reverse baby arm circles in cadence

10 imperial walkers in cadence

10 cherry pickers in cadence

10 mountain climbers in cadence

10 American hammers in cadence

25 SSH in cadence

THA-THANG:
Mosey up hill by parking lot stopping at each light pole for 5 merkins. Moseying to various parking areas to do some Tabata work :20 work :10 rest 12 rounds

  • Bear crawl
  • Bilateral bear crawls
  • Reverse bear crawls
  • Gorilla hops

MARY:
Mosey back to AO along same path hitting 5 merkins at each light pole
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 pax no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“On a cold January day, a forty-three-year-old man was sworn in as the chief executive of his country. By his side stood his predecessor, a famous general who, fifteen years earlier, had commanded his nation’s armed forces in a war that resulted in the defeat of Germany. The young leader was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. He spent the next five hours watching parades in his honor and stayed up celebrating until three o’clock in the morning”

Excerpt From
Start with Why
Simon Sinek
https://books.apple.com/us/book/start-with-why/id357917413
This material may be protected by copyright

Reading this we might think the situation is referring to JFK, but in actuality it’s referring to Adolf Hitler. I encourage everyone to not make assumptions on what we think we know but make informed decisions with every possible bit of knowledge at our disposal so that we carry out our purpose of serving others and serving God!

Philippine Independence Day

THE SCENE: Gloomy with a temp of high 70s. Anticipating the rain but fortunately did not drop. Instead of the usual meetup place, gents met up in the Lakeshore Shelter which is on top of the south parking lot near the Chapel.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3, Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. F3 is a free workout program designed to improve fitness, share some camaraderie, and foster male leadership in the community.  I’m Jetlag and I will be your Q today.  I am not a professional, and I do not know your fitness level or injury history.  Please push yourself, but modify the workout as necessary to avoid making any existing injuries worse.  The goal is to get better together!

WARM-O-RAMA:

Warmup: 12reps on a 4ct

  1. Windmill
  2. Side straddle hops
  3. Baby arm circles
  4. Reverse baby arm circles
  5. Plank jacks
  6. Plank front reaches

THA-THANG:
Workout 1: 2 rounds 12s in cadence at the Lakeshore Shelter

  1. 12 pullups
  2. 12 merkins
  3. 12 rows
  4. 12 shoulder press
  5. 12 biceps curls
  6. 12 triceps extensions/dips
  7. 12 step ups

Workout 2: Basic suicides in the parking lot
4 stations: 4 burpees each x 12 squats at the baseline
Finish with 12 burpees at the other end of the parking lot

Workout 3: 4 rounds in cadence at the driveway going out the parking lot

1. Start: merkins 4ct
2. Stop sign: mountain climbers 4ct

Workout 4: Around the Chapel 12s 4ct

  1. 12 Side straddle hops
  2. 12 squat jumps
  3. 12 butt kicks
  4. 12 frog jumps
  5. 12 high knees
  6. 12 lbcs

Workout 5: Back to Lakeshore Shelter

  1. Merkin Jacks 12x
  2. Kick Squat Jumps 12x
  3. Flutter hammer pumps 12x 4ct

MARY:N/A

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
27 HIMs. No FNGs. Mickey not tagged.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Couple of days ago, I stumbled upon a viral video performance of Jane Marczweski, professionally known as “Nightbirde” from America’s Got Talent (video link here: https://youtu.be/bTJ3eeYrHI4). During the audition, however, Nightbirde shared some tough personal news — she had “some cancer” in her lungs, spine and liver. Nightbirde also later revealed that she was given a 2% chance of survival.

While singing her original song, “It’s Okay”, Nightbirde’s authenticity and ethereal vocals took center stage. The song is about getting lost, losing, or being down and it’s okay. Focusing on small wins in our daily lives makes us successful. Things may not turn out the way we want it to be, and it’s probably because God has better plans for us.

She ended her performance with a quote: “you can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy”. So gents, I hope you keep focusing on those small wins in your daily lives, keep your chin up and know that the man above has better plans for us when you’re feeling down and lost sometimes. Waking up and being there in an F3 beatdown,  smashing thru the workout is already a win for each and everyone of us and it means a lot just you being out there for your brothers.

“If you’re lost, we’re all a little lost and it’s alright. It’s okay.” – Nightbirde

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Jinxy and Lilydipper as they continue to heal. Praise for Dung Beetle who’s leading his first worship next week in their church.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Wesley House volunteers needed; CSAUP at Dog Pound end of July.

Revealing Our Brokenness

THE SCENE: Cloudy, temp about 32 degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Windmills, 15 Second Squat, 10 Rockettes, 30 Second Squat, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 60 Second Squat

THA-THANG:
Mosey to CMU parking lot.  Instead of CMUs, each man grabs a pair of bricks which will be along east curb of parking lot.  We will Dora.  While partner one does exercises listed below with the bricks, the other man runs to other curb, does 10 Rocky Balboa, and runs back to replace partner with the exercises.  Here are the exercises with the bricks:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows (brick at each side)
  • 100 Triceps (brick on either side of head)
  • 100 Punches (both hands = 1)
  • 100 Wings Up
  • 100 Wings Down
  • 100 Wings Out

Put bricks down.  Mosey to Mini Cardiac.  We will Bernie to Park Sign then sprint to crosswalk.

Mosey to Stop Sign at Northeast Corner of Admin Bldg.  We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to small parking lot below the Coliseum.  We will do Doras again.  This time, while one partner does exercises, the other runs up stairs, left on Coliseum sidewalk, and down to the driveway to small parking lot to reunite with partner who will then make the same run.  These are the exercises the partners will work on:

  • 100 Hello Dollies (4 ct)
  • 100 Squat Jumps
  • 100 Merkins (4 ct)
  • 100 Iron Mikes (both feet = 1)
  • 100 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)

Mosey to parking drive by apartments and soccer fields. We will do 20 Bicycle Kicks.

Mosey to parking lot that is south of playground.  20 Squats.

Mosey to Mini Cardiac.  We will, once again Bernie to Park Sign then sprint to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
26 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The Lord is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him in truth.  Psalm 145:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

And it’s no, nay, never
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover
No never no more.     —  Old Irish Folk Song

I used to belong to a Sunday School class in a church that I formerly went to that had nice, intelligent, and friendly people in it.  I found myself missing something in the class, however.  What it took me some time to realize was that people weren’t opening up in the class.  They freely talked about worshipping God, about helping others, about walking the right kind of life – but they weren’t revealing themselves in the process.  They talked about how “people” needed to apply the Bible’s lessons to their lives but not about how those lessons should be applied to their own lives. They weren’t talking about the true challenges they faced in their Christian journey. They weren’t talking about their BROKENNESS.  I remember wishing people would talk from their hearts.  I remember one woman in the class being more likely to do so.  I followed her example one time but no one else in the class did.  And, after a time, I figured, “heck, I’m not going to talk about my problems if no one else does.”  And so, I withdrew and finally just left the class.  Maybe I should have confronted the class.  Instead, I found a church where people do freely reveal themselves.

Men, it is important to REVEAL ourselves to God and to others we can trust.  We are broken creatures in so many ways.  As humans, we mess up!  We find ourselves making the same mistakes, sinning in the same ways, despite our promises to ourselves that we will not do the same thing again.  I certainly find myself making the same mistakes over and over.  It as if sin is inherent in my nature.  And, if we believe the Bible, SIN TRULY IS IN OUR INHERENT NATURE.  In the Old Irish Folk Song above, the singer proclaims “never no more will I play the wild rover” (i.e. drinking so much that one gets snockered).  Yet, the song is one that is sung with the comic knowledge that one absolutely will play the wild rover again, when the hangover is gone and the temptation arises. Despite our best claims to stop the sin within us, we sin again and again.  This could be in regards to many different things:  pornography, greed, animosity, overuse of power, coveting, prejudice, infidelity, or just plain worrying too much.  If we truly look at ourselves, consider every sinful part of ourselves – we are likely to feel great shame and may want to give up on ourselves.

But, we have a great and glorious God.  We have a God that actually wants us to reveal that sinful part of ourselves to Him.  He wants to know us fully.  And what happens to us when we truly reveal ourselves to Him?  LOVE happens.  Think about what happens here in F3 when a brother reveals his brokenness to the group. Do his brothers turn their backs on Him and run away?  Do they smite him?  Do they ignore him?  I think not.  They embrace him.  They let him know that they understand.  And, as his brother, they see themselves in him.  They know that they too have messed up, have been broken.  When God sees us revealing ourselves to one another, He Smiles from Above.  He celebrates.  He say, “Now that is what I want my children to do!”  Because through that revealing, we heal.  We get the feedback of love from our fellow man and from God.  And, it when we are strengthened by love, that is when we can experience True Change.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers to end racism and for our country to be more united.  Prayers for wife of Ribbed, praise for healing of Choir Boy’s wife, praise for Cap’n Crunch’s 25 wedding anniversary, prayers for Cheatsheet in the care of his mother and daughter, prayers for Veggie’s safe return back to college in the state of Michigan.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP from 6:30 am to 9 am at Asylum on Saturday, January 30.

Cooperation

THE SCENE: Cloudy and Chilly, low 40s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 SSH, (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Cherry Pickers, 4-ct, IC

– Little of this and that/ Michael Phelps/ Arm Circles

– Bolt 45s

THA-THANG:

MOSEY up Serpentine sidewalk and back down Baby Cardiac to CMU parking lot.  For a warmup.  Battle Buddy up, and each pair gets a piece of chalk.

COLLECTIVE EFFORT

We will work together to accomplish a difficult task in the CMU parking lot/Pavilion area, which will be completing a high number of reps of various exercises, all together, as a PAX.  As we complete the reps, we will cross off the markers to track progress.  If we do not complete all reps with 5 minutes left, we end with 20 Burpees, otherwise, we will do Stargazers.

The Tasks will be broken out as follows:

CMU Pile:

– 500 Curls (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  500 Overhead Presses (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

– 500 Squats (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

BABY CARDIAC:

  • 50 Sprints up Baby Cardiac (Marker indicators 2 trips each, 50/5 = 25 markers)

SUICIDES:

  • 50 Suicides (Marker indicators 2 suicides each, 50/5 = 25 markers)

CORE WORK:

– 500 LBCs (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  200 Big Boy Situps (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

– 200 American Hammers (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

PAVILION:

– 500 Jump or Step Ups (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  200 Decline Merkins (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

– 200 Bench Pullups (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

We ended up with more guys than expected, so we easily finished all the reps, and rinsed and repeated quite a few of them.  Ended with a final sprint up Baby Cardiac.

MARY:
Flutter Hammers, E2Ks, Box Cutters (all 20 reps, 4-ct IC)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 strong. Jetlag not tagged.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Quite frankly, I considered dropping my Q today, after witnessing the disgusting, inexcusable acts against our Capital building, the house of the people yesterday.  I was so disheartened, so sad, so ANGRY that I thought it beyond me to lead a Q after that.  But then I reconsidered.  If I just dropped the Q, that would be an abrogation of my responsibility. I would be putting the burden on someone else.  I would be turning away instead of being out front during a conflict.  Part of F3 is to foster leadership.  I don’t consider myself the world’s greatest leader, to be honest.  I’ve always been more of a Doer than a Leader.  But I’m trying to improve myself in that regard, and turning away is not what leaders do.

So, I Q’d today, but I scrapped my original workout and my BOM.  I’ll save it for next time.  I wanted to focus on doing something together.  Something collaborative, where we work towards a common goal.  We need more of that as a nation, because right now, guys, we are a broken and lost community.

One of the things I really appreciate about F3 is that it is apolitical. It has some pretty clearly stated goals, is very inclusive, and refrains from taking political stances.  I loved the National F3 response in the wake of the racial protests this past summer.  Their response was, “We have no response.  Our ethos speaks for itself, and we will continue on that mission.”  So I will honor that approach, and won’t go down a rabbit hole today voicing my opinions about what happened yesterday. With one exception…

One of the things that angered me the most of what I saw yesterday was the carrying of flags that invoked the name of Jesus, our lord and savior.  I’m not a biblical scholar, and I don’t pretend to be able to channel what Jesus would do or say in witnessing the ugliness of the mob yesterday, but I feel pretty confident that He would be sad, disgusted, even angry.

In the Sermon on the Mount (found in the Book of Matthew) Jesus Christ laid out the central facets of the way of life He taught His followers. One of the central themes of the Sermon on the Mount is Christ’s expectation that His followers be characterized by peace—not violence or war.  Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Christ’s followers should be characterized by living a way that leads to peace, not by violence and strife.  The apostle Paul wrote that Christians are to do whatever possible to “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18), and many scriptures support the basic truth that Christians are to “pursue peace with all people” (Hebrews 12:14; see also 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 5:22; James 3:17).  And with regards to hatred of fellow human beings, Jesus likens hating another man with breaking the 6th Commandment (Thou Shalt Not Kill) and says, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5:21-22).

I saw a lot of hatred in the faces of the mob yesterday.  I felt more than a little of it creeping into my own heart.  Hatred for our fellow humans, especially for our fellow Americans, is not the path of a Christian.

In closing, just some humble words of advice… I’ve heard it said recently that the biggest threat to our democracy and to peace between us isn’t Russia, Iran, the Corona virus, Republicans, Democrats, etc.  It’s the spread of disinformation on the internet and social media.  I tend to agree with this statement.  Please… before you form a definitive opinion on something, before you pass judgment on someone or something, and before you forward something on, share, post, like, whatever… just do a little research on it.  Take a look at multiple sources of information that are neutral, that are reliable, that can be substantiated, that don’t have an agenda.  Falsehoods, exaggerations, and us-vs-them mob mentality largely fueled what happened yesterday.  We need to start respecting and working cohesively with each other, like we did in the workout today, or we are lost.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for friends and families of the PAX that are healing from injuries, or dealing with deaths and sickness from COVID.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Asylum CSAUP Jan 30, 6:30-9:00 am. Asylum shirts are now available on Mudgear!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!! (Music Included)

THE SCENE: Balmy, Humid, 26 degrees for “The Best Sunrise in America”.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Don’t cheat yourself, treat yourself. 

WARM-O-RAMA: 

100 SSHs in cadence. Is there another way to warmup??

THA-THANG:

Chest Station To the Pavilion (pronounced “pav-i-lahn”)  

  • Regular Merkins x 12
  • Wide Merkins x 12
  • Ranger Merkins x 12
  • Bench Dips x 12
  • Bird Dogs x 12 (with each leg)
  • Run to the ticket house and back.

Do this complete cycle three times…Mosey time.

All My Benches

  • Three sets of box jumps x 45 seconds per sesh

Abs Station under the Church/Gazebo Looking Thing 

  • Two sets of 25 box cutters
  • One set of flutter kicks 4-count (20)
  • One set of hello dollies x 25
  • Planks (60 seconds)
  • Elbow planks (30 seconds)
  • Elbow planks with left leg out (30 seconds)
  • Elbow plants with right leg out (30 seconds)
  • Planks (60 seconds)

***Pickett’s Charge*** followed by star gazers at the Coliseum 

Grinch’s Hill – 7s 

  • Lunges at the top, Carolina Dry Docks at the Bottom. Mosey up Area 51, with Box Cutters in transition.
  • Squat Station by the Asylum Building. 10 Tempo and 10 OYO (4-count)
  • Mosey back to PM AO Parking Lot..

Fat Burner Station

  • Happy feet (45 seconds)
  • Mountain Climbers (45 seconds)
  • Jump Squats (45 seconds)
  • High Knees (45 seconds)

Everything you got up Baby Everest to the AO!!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Yep. 19 including one FNG (Spinal Tap).

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
After the Pandemic “normalizes”, we will never be the same. That may be a good thing in some areas. What things do we have in our lives that never need to be the same? That we need to peal away and keep that way. Spend time alone in the coming days identifying what has changed (or needs to change) during this year that is a good thing (or will be).

MOLESKIN:
The Saturday before Christmas is by far the funnest Q of the year. The Christmas music (wireless speaker) throughout the workout was clutch.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Triple Birthday Q next weekend at the Asylum!! AYOOOOOOOOO….