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Back to School

QIC:  Tatonka

Date: 01/28/2022

PAX: [List PAX only] Abercrombie, Blackout, Cavity Search, Free Bird, Pocket Taco, Shawshank, Sniffer, Woodrider, Wuzn’tMe

AO: Parliament

Conditions

Mid 30’s with no wind. The perfect weather for staying put and generating exceptional mumble chatter

COP

Mosey 1 lap
Side Straddle Hop x 10 IC
Little Baby Arm Circles x 10 IC
Reverse Little Baby Arm Circles x 10 IC
Seal Claps x 10 IC
Cherry Pickers x 10 IC
Morrccan Night Clubs x 10 IC
Willie Mays Hayes x 10 IC

The Thang


Back to School
This was inspired by and a variation of the Billy Madison from the F3 Exicon. PAX worked their way through each year of school by completing a Mid Term exercise for 1 minute followed by a Final Exam exercise for 1 mintue.

Elementary School Years
1st grade
Mid Term: LBC
Final Exam: Merkins

2nd grade
Mid Term: Side Crunch
Final Exam: Hand Release Merkins

3rd grade
Mid Term: Pretzel Crunch
Final Exam: Spider Pushups

4th grade
Mid Term: BBSU
Final Exam: Alligator Pushups

5th grade
Mid Term: American Hammers
Final Exam: Close Merkins

Indigenous People Run x 400m

Middle School Years
6th grade
Mid Term: Flutter Kicks
Final Exam: Diamond Merkins

7th grade
Mid Term: Freddie Mercuries
Final Exam: Wide Merkins

8th grade
Mid Term: Box Cutters
Final Exam: Archer Merkins

Indigenous People Run x 400m

High School Years
9th grade
Mid Term: Crunchy Frogs
Final Exam: Burpees

10th grade
Mid Term: V-Ups
Final Exam: 8 Count Body Builders

11th grade
Mid Term: Plan
Final Exam: Kraken Burpees

12th grade
Mid Term: Iron Cross
Final Exam: Navy Seal Burpees Sadly, PAX ran out of time to complete the 12th grade final exam and had to drop out of school with the finish line in sight

COT

I shared the passages below from a devotional book I was gifted recently.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing o fyour faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” – James 1:2-4

”Kids need to see faith on display. If they see doubt, fear, and negativity in our lives, they will model that – and likely suffer some unhapy days as a result. But if we hold our heads high during adversity, we teach our children how to respond rightly when adversity comes their way – as it surely will.”

The above passage applies to us as fathers but also still holds true to us as husbands, friends, and coworkers. If we act negatively, whether consciously or subconsciosly, we will feed others with negativity. If we approach life and all its trials and tribulations with a positive mindset, others will feed off of that and be more inclined to respond with a similar attitude. Our children are sponges and soak up every ounce of what we present to them. They will be representations of how we act and hold ourselves. So too are those we hang around and choose to associate with. If we choose to hang around those that approach life with a doubtful and fearful mindset, we will most likely find ourselves emulating these feelings. I challenged the PAX to surround themselves with those that promote a healthy, happy, positive approach to life (such as that which can be found at any F3 beatdown) and continue to spread that throughout their days.

Moleskin

Sniffer needs to replace just about every part of his body. ”It’s supposed to click and pop everytime, right?”

Square pizza, chicken nuggets, corn, and apple sauce is the meal of champions

Wuzn’tMe’s PE teach in elementary school, Ms. Baker, constantly yelled and never enjoyed the touch of a man.

Strategically placed trapper keepers, flip up buckle tucks, braid belts. Middle school is awkward. If you know, you know.

We fell slightly short of completing our senior year. Wuzn’tMe reminded us that G.E.D. translates to Just As Good.

Shawshank is launching an AO in Ringgold.

News

Tuff Muff is Feb 19th. 3 AO’s, 3 beatdowns, 2 runs/ruck/bike rides in between AOs.

4th F Weekend in May. Please talk to Wuzn’tMe if you’d like to sign up. He’d like to have a final headcount and close off sign ups by the end of February so he can get everything in place for the event in May.

Cavity Search is rally the troops to go to the TN-AR basketball game in Knoxville.

There is an event at Silverdale Baptist Church coming up that involves cooking wild game and gun raffles. Talk to Sniffer for more details.

Gretel has put together a signup for super bowl squares. $5/square, $125 payout each quarter to the winner.

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    Doracides – Spooky Halloween Edition

    QIC:  Tatonka

    Date: 10/29/2021

    PAX: Cavity Search, Face Plant, Jaws, Peetuhson, Second Base

    AO: Parliament

    Conditions

    Low 50’s and some dampness in the air from recent rains. Additional rain was kind enough to hold off until after the beatdown concluded.

    COP

    SSH x 20
    Little Baby Arm circles x 11 (because Q can’t count)
    Reverse Little Baby Arm Circles x 9 (because Q wanted total arm circles to be 20)
    Seal Claps x 10
    Raise the roofs x 10
    Moroccan Night Clubs x10
    Fat Joes / La-Z-Boys OYO
    Forward Fold OYO

    The Thang

    Q set up 3 cones on straightaway of track.
    Cone 1: 50 meters out
    Cone 2: 75 meters out
    Cone 3: 100 meters out

    Doracides
    Partner 1: Begin performing exercise and continue until Partner 2 finishes circuit below
    Partner 2: Run to cone 1, perform 1 burpee
    Run back to Partner 1
    Partner 2: Run to cone 2, perform 2 burpees
    Run back to Partner 1
    Partner 2: Run to cone 3, perform 3 burpees
    Run back to Partner 1
    Partners switch places. Partner 2 picks up running total exercise count where Partner 1 left off. Example: Partner 1 completed 25 merkins, Partner 2’s merkin count would begin at rep number 26.

    Rinse and repeat for time making way through the following exercises:

    100 Cobras – John McCains but since this is a spooky themed Q we changed the name. The PAX hands behind the back of their heads mimic a cobra’s hood

    150 Spider Merkins – A merkin where you bring the knee to the outside of the elbow on the way down (basically a Merkin + Peter Parker)

    200 Wolf Mans – Air Squats with both hands up imitating a wear wolf

    250 BBSU – Big Boy Boo Sit Ups

    300 Frankensteins – Straight Leg Alternating Toe Touches


    With 5 minutes left, Q called for Pax to gather round and perform some Mary Scary

    COT

    Q spoke on recent idea that was shared via a friend from church life group. The 10-10-10 rule in life can help us be better leaders, better friends, and better community members in generally. Most of our excuses from why we can’t/don’t/won’t do something fall into similar categories: we don’t have time, we don’t have money, we don’t know what to say

    The 10-10-10 rules aims to challenge those excuses and break bad habits.

    Rule 1: Leave 10 minutes earlier
    If you leave 10 minutes earlier you likely won’t have an excuse for not having time to do things. If you end up getting held up (in traffic, getting out the door, etc.) you might still arrive on time and not be further stressed.

    Rule 2: Carve out $10 extra dollars in your wallet/pocket
    When you see an opportunity to help someone who could truly use the money more than you, you won’t have an excuse that you don’t have any money on you to help them.

    Rule 3: Say at least 10 words to everyone you converse with throughout the day
    The following dialogue probably sounds familiar:

    Me: Hi, how are you?
    Them: I’m good, how are you doing?
    Me: I’m fine. Thanks for asking!

    It’s almost as autonomous a response as breathing it. Little thought or effort goes into the above conversation and I’m just as guilty of it as the next person. Those 9 words above add absolutely zero impact to your day or anyone else’s. Furthermore, they are generally a big lie. I’ll often tell someone I’m fine when I have a million things on my mind that are stressing me out. If you challenge yourself to say 10 words to every person you speak to, you just might uncover a way to minister, support, or help yourself or someone you come across during you day.

    Q challenged PAX to try to incorporate the 10-10-10 rule into their lives and see what kind of positive impact it could have on them throughout their day.

    Moleskin

    Q thought he was going to have his first ever merlot splashing from a PAX, but alas it did not occur. Beatdown could have been tougher I suppose.

    Second Base may or may not have been practicing his one armed Merkins on his own time just waiting to bust out impeccable and impressive form during his turn on Mary.

    News

    Chubbies on Mondays (except the first of the month, for now). Reach out to Mayhem to get on the serve schedule.

    Thanksgiving day convergence at Hill City. Beatdown in the morning followed by Grateful Gobbler 5k / Mega EH event. Please sign up for the Grateful Gobbler if you plan to participate in that portion.

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      Decomposing Burpees

      QIC:  Tatonka

      Date: 07/12/2021

      PAX: Oui Oui, AOL, WEBLOW, WuzntMe, M.I.A., Tube Squeeze, SeaGull, Uncle Joe, Toe Tag

      AO: Hacksaw

      Conditions

      70’s with some wet ground from the night’s rain. No rain during the beatdown though so we had that going on for us!

      COP

      SSH x 15 IC

      Forward Fold OYO

      Willie Mays Hayes x 16 IC

      Quad Stretch

      LBAC x 10 IC

      Reverse LBAC x 10 IC

      Chinooks x 10 IC

      Seal Claps x 10 IC

      Moroccan Night Clubs x 10 IC

      Cherry Pickers x 10 IC

      Calf Stretches OYO

      The Thang

      Decomposing Burpees

      1. Navy SEAL Burpees x 2 min

      200m run

      1. Mountain Climber Burpee x 2 min

      200m run

      1. 8 count body builders x 2 min

      200m run

      1. Burpees x 2 min

      200m run

      1. Royal Jumping Burpee (a merkin-less burpee with a jump and clap at the end) x 2 min

      200m run

      1. Royal Burpee (apparently the OG traditional burpee; no merkin, no jump, no clap) x 2 min

      200m run

      1. Air Squats x 2 min

      200m run

      1. Plank x 2 min


      Circle up for some Mary for time

      Scissor kicks (Oui Oui)

      Pickle Pointers (AOL)

      Little Baby Crunches (WEBLOW)

      Boat Canoes (WuzntMe)

      Run a lap (M.I.A.)

      COT

      The Father’s Day sermon at my church was all about lawns and weeds. It’s not enough to just kill the weeds and hope the lawn will look better and prosper. You must reseed the lawn in order to get newer healthier grass to grow in place where the weeds once were. If you don’t reseed the bare spot, the weeds will just come back. Furthermore, a small weed doesn’t stay a small weed for very long. Very quickly it will multiple into numerous bigger weeds if not addressed soon enough. The spiritual metaphor is that it’s not enough to just remove weeds (sin) from our lives, we must replace it with better and healthier actions to live a more Christ like life.

      The exercises we completed “got easier” as we removed a component from the prior exercise. For example, the Navy SEAL burpee consists of three merkins and a mountain climber movement on each leg. The following exercise, the mountain climber burpee, removed two of the three merkins from the prior exercise. Likewise, the eight count body builder that followed removed and replaced the mountain climber leg movement with a plank jack. This pattern continued with each subsequent exercise until we were just in the plank position.

      As we progressed through the exercises, we weren’t just removing a component and sitting around doing nothing. We replaced what we removed with something that still made us better and helped us improve ourselves. Likewise, this is how we should remove sin from our lives and replace with actions that continue to help us grow spiritually into healthier stronger Christian men.

      Moleskin

      At one point, Q was referred to as John Doe, Jr. because the thang seemed to focus around a single exercise. The Q is not sure if this was intended to be an insult but took it as a compliment anyway.

      Oui Oui was quick to point out that a burpee (or any variation thereof) is an excellent full body workout. The Q appreciates this open minded approach.

      “2 minutes at my house doesn’t ever last this long” – AOL

      There was some chatter about proper burpee form, whether a merkin is involved in a traditional burpee, whether there is a jump and clap at the end, etc. etc.

      It turns out the originator of the “burpee” was named Royal Burpee (I looked it up on the internet, so it’s probably true). His OG burpee consisted of no merkin and no jump or clap; just an outward thrusting of the feet into a plank position.

      News

      Fallen Five convergence at The Dame/Hot Dam/Dam straight/Frankly my dear I don’t give a Dam this Saturday 7/17/21 from 0700-0800. Fallen Five ruck to follow immediately afterwards.

      3rd F opportunity at Chubbies on Monday nights. Reach out to John Doe if interested and available to serve.

      2nd F opportunity this Friday 7/16/21 at 1600 at the Fountainhead taproom. Out of town PAX that are in town for the Fallen Five event will also be invited and encouraged to attend for some 2nd F.

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        From Dad Bods to Father Figures

        QIC:  Tatonka

        Date: 06/18/2021

        PAX: Gretel, Wuzn’t Me, Wrecked’Em, iLean, Cavity Search, Mayhem, Happy Ending, Choo Choo, Sousa, Ramrod, 9 Volt, John Doe

        AO: Parliament

        Conditions

        Mid 60’s and low humidity – a pleasant modification position change for this time of year.

        COP

        Mosey 1 lap around the track

        SSH x 10 IC

        WMH x 10 IC

        LBAC x 9 IC (“Sorry I finished too early” – jokes were made)

        Reverse LBAC x 10 IC (“The second time is always longer”)

        Seal claps x 10 IC

        Overhead claps x 10 IC

        Chinooks x 10 IC

        The Thang
        In honor of Father’s Day weekend, we are trying to transform our dad bods into father figures

        1 min AMRAP Merkins.

        2 min. Plank

        1 min AMRAP Squats

        2 min Plank

        1 min AMRAP Mountain Climbers

        2 min Plank

        1 min AMRAP Little Baby Crunches

        Mosey 1 lap around the track

        At this point there was much complaining dialogue about the length of the plank. So, YHC being the great all around guy that he is, called an audible and provided PAX with the following position change:

        The same format as above was repeated 2 more times except we reversed the timing on the exercises and planks. We started with 1 min plank and then moved to 2 min. of the exercise. Mountain climbers were removed from the rotation.

        After 3 total sets we finished with mountain climbers for time

        COT

        Q shared the following passages from a few books he has been reading:

        “If you look at a window, you see fly-specks, dust, the crack where Junior’s frisbee hit it. If you look through a window, you see the world beyond.”

        “I believe That we all have a God-given purpose, and we won’t be fulfilled unless we’re living that purpose in a meaningful way.”

        The context of the first quote was a metaphor for how to approach reading the Bible. The second quote comes from a leadership development book I’m reading. I think they go together and shared with the PAX trying to look “through the window” of your life instead of just “at the window” of our exterior to discover your purpose. I encouraged the PAX to try to drill down to a purpose that leads to true transformation and focuses on the contents within ourselves rather than a simple “achievement” style purpose that might just focus on a label we are given.

        Moleskin

        9 volt was quick to point out that Happy Ending had red marks on his knees (from the track) after the workout

        Jokes about Sousa’s mustache never get old, especially when there is a funky bass intro to the workout music.

        Gretel has a great measurement system for determining the appropriate length of workout shorts. You should ask him sometime.

        2 mins of planks multiple times was not a crowd favorite.

        News

        Missionary Ridge ruck tomorrow. Gretel has details if you are interested.

        Fallen Five Memorial Ruck on 7/17

        Charity Dinner on 7/16 in conjunction with Fallen Five weekend. Marcus Luttrell is guest speaker.

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          F3 Power Hour

          QIC:  Tatonka

          Date: 06/05/2021

          PAX: AOL, Bung, Dundee, John Doe, M.I.A., Mr. Clean, Ramrod, Snatch, Sousa

          AO: Legacy

          Conditions

          Humid and mid 70’s

          COP

          SSH x 20 IC

          WMH x 20 IC

          LBAC x 10 IC

          Reverse LBAC x 10 IC

          Seal Claps x 10 IC

          Iraqi Tea Time OYO

          The Thang

          Q realizes that “The Thang” wasn’t a full hour but “Power 45 minutes” doesn’t have the same ring to it. Plus, the entire beatdown was an hour long so it still works.
          F3 Power Hour
          Q had a 45 song playlist and shuffled deck of flash cards with exercises written on them. Upon the start of the first song PAX would begin performing first exercise. Every minute a new song would begin playing and Q would reveal a new card with a new exercise written on it. This new exercise would be completed for one minute until the song change occurred. This pattern continued for 45 minutes.

          Exercises completed were:

          Goblet Squats, Step Ups, Toe Merkins, Heel Touches, Kettlebell Swings, Block Presses, Box Cutters, Windshield Wipers, Merkins, Burpees, Bent Over Row, Dive Bombers, Blockees, Side Plank (each side one minute), Pulse Squats, John McCains, Iron Cross, American Hammers, Low Plank, Shoulder Taps, Mountain Climbers, Flutter Kicks, Incline Merkins, Bird Dogs (each side one minute), Dips, Table Saw, Plank Jacks, Bonnie Blairs, High Plank, Squats, Big Boy Sit Ups, Lumberjacks, Decline Merkins, Lunges, Freddie Mercuries, Little Baby Crunches, 100s, Hillbillies, Imperial Walkers, Curls, V-Ups, Side Straddle Hops, Reverse Lunges

          Upon completion of 45 minutes, we closed out with a little yoga from John Doe (AKA yawn doe-ga AKA John Doe-ga

          COT

          I read the following poem by John Donne titled, No Man Is an Island.

          No man is an island entire of itself; every man
          is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
          if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
          is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
          well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
          own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
          because I am involved in mankind.
          And therefore never send to know for whom
          the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

          An island is a separate entity from the mainland, one that is self sufficient and able to support itself without outside influence. Donne speaks to the perils of isolation and the fact that mankind is not setup to be solitary. In order to thrive and survive, we need community. I read another metaphor in response to Donne’s poem further stating that mankind is also like a spider web – an influence on one portion of the web can be felt throughout the rest of the web. Like a web, as we act towards others, both positively or negatively, we send the spider web of life trembling. One act of kindness can influence and encourage another to follow it.

          I spoke to the positive impacts that F3 has had on my life and how I didn’t know I needed it until I was already a part of it. I encouraged the PAX to continue to share F3 with others and bring new people into our community of brothers. Some people need what F3 has to offer more than others, but we all benefit in some way. All it takes is a single positive experience on one person’s life to create a cascading effect that will last a lifetime.

          Moleskin

          Comments were made about the length of the Q’s shorts. In the wise words of WuzntMe the day before when similar comments were made at coffeteria, “Do you want hot pants? Because this is how you get hot pants.” Q is now in the market for even shorter shorts. You did this to yourself gentlemen.

          Sousa did not defecate in his pants, yet he still deemed it a good workout.

          The stars aligned and “Jump Around” played when side straddle hops came up in the workout. Mr. Clean showed excitement and followed the songs directions to a T.

          News

          June 12th convergence at AT&T field with game to follow that night. Families welcome to the game. $25/head for the game. Beatdown is free as always.

          July 16th – Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation Heroes Dinner; guest speaker is Marcus Luttrell (The Lone Survivor). John Doe has posted a link to register on Slack.

          July 17th Fallen 5 convergence and memorial ruck – come to the beatdown, sign up for the ruck, or do both!

          There is a current order for F3 Chattanooga shirts on the MudGear site.

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            PAX Relays

            QIC:  Tatonka

            Date: 05/18/2021

            PAX: AOL, M.I.A., Picabo, Shawshank, Noid, Toe Tag, FNG-Violet, Meow Mix, Cavity Search, Blackout

            AO: Parliament

            Conditions

            Mid 60’s. Perfect running weather.

            COP

            Mosey 1 lap of track
            SSH x 15
            WMH OYO
            Quad Stretch OYO x each leg
            Fat Joes OYO x each leg
            Calve Stretch OYO x each leg

            The Thang

            The track was locked due to graduation set up at the high school. Q and Blackout were able to speak to the security guard on duty and get permission to use the track. Blackout also EH’d the security guard who began looking into F3 and should show up at Legacy soon.


            PAX Relays

            Pax divided up into teams. There were 11 of us, so to make this thang work logistically, we had one group of five and two groups of three.

            The group of five would be running a continuous 100m relay. Pax 1 started at the common start/finish line on the track and would sprint 100m to handoff a baton to PAX 2 waiting at the relay exchange zone. PAX 2 would do the same thing and handoff to PAX 3 at the next exchange zone. PAX 3 handed off to PAX 4 who then sprinted the final 100m of the track and handed off to PAX 5 who was waiting at the start/finish line. This process continued until Q called time. While waiting for the baton, non-running PAX performed SSH or squats.

            The groups of 3 followed the same method except each PAX sprinted 200m between exchange zones.

            After several laps, Q circled everyone up for Indian runs with batons.

            FNG had to leave right at 6:15, so at the top of the hour we went ahead and named him to ensure he would leave the beatdown with an F3 name (modify May, right?)

            After naming the FNG (welcome FNG-Violet), PAX performed a continuous 100m relay exchange. Pax split into two groups and faced each other 100m apart on the home stretch of the track. One baton was used. The runner would sprint 100m and handoff baton to first PAX in line, then make his way to the back of that line. The PAX that now had the baton would run 100m the other direction to the other line of waiting PAX and handoff to the PAX at the front of that line before making his way to the back of the line. Non running PAX in line would perform various exercises as they saw fit until it was their turn with the baton. This process continued for several minutes.

            Finished with 5 minutes of Mary which included:
            Flutter kicks
            American hammers
            LBCs
            Straight leg crunches
            Pickle pounders
            Freddie Mercuries

            COT

            I played the audio from the Jocko “Good” video on YouTube. In it, Jocko recounts stories of his time in the military when a direct subordinate would approach him with a problem. Regardless of the issue, Jocko’s response would be, “Good.” He goes on to state several examples of how to use this mentality in life. “Didn’t get promoted? Good, more time to get better. Mission got canceled? Good, now we can focus on the other one. Got tapped out? Good, you learned something.” While YHC can’t do the video itself justice (hence why I played the audio) I encourage everyone to watch it. The gist at the end is that you can use this mentality to realign your thinking when things are seemingly going wrong. Use it to your advantage to refocus on how you are going to continue moving forward instead of dwelling on things that have already happened that you can’t control. I reminded PAX that you can’t change the past and you can’t predict the future with certainty. All you can do is control how you act in the present moment. I encouraged the PAX to try to use this approach to everyday life to keep making progress on life goals.

            Moleskin

            The original plan was to run the continuous relay for the entire beatdown. It was agreed that this would have been deemed a “bad idea.”

            Woodrider must have one solid EH as his FNG showed up knowing Woodrider himself wouldn’t be at the beatdown.

            In the discussion of Bernie being the voice of F3 Chattanooga at the Collegedale City Council meeting last night, we learned he also has a key to the church at the top of the not-hill at Hacksaw. Picabo may or may not have tried to use this knowledge in an attempt to take the Browns to the Super Bowl.

            Noid brought up the fact that a local Pizza Hut recently had a fire. This would seem like an innocent comment until you remember that Pizza Hut is a direct competitor of Noid’s.

            News

            Lots of convergences coming up.

            5/31 – Memorial Day Convergence at the Dame – BURPH

            6/12 – Convergence at the Lookouts Stadium – Oil Can has more details regarding the beatdown and follow up family friendly event.

            7/17 – Fallen Five Memorial Ruck and Convergence – Morning beat down, followed by rucking with more beatdowns sprinkled in. If you can’t commit to the ruck, consider showing up for the morning beatdown. Reach out to Mr. Clean for more details.

            Habitat for Humanity – July 10th – Still a spot or two available. Reach out to John Doe for more details.

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              Barometer Day of Remembrance

              QIC:  Tatonka

              Date: 04/06/2021

              PAX: Coypu, Cavity Search, Flemish, M.I.A., AOL, Mothballs, Toe Tag, Bonsai

              AO: Parliament

              Conditions

              46 degrees – cool but not too cool. Excellent weather for setting and breaking benchmarks

              COP

              Mosey 1 lap around the track

              SSH x 21 in cadence

              WMH x 21 in cadence

              Quad Stretches x 21 seconds each leg OYO

              Fat Joes x 21 seconds each leg OYO

              Little Baby Arm Circles x 21 in cadence

              Reverse Little Baby Arm Circles x 21 in cadence

              Mosey 1 lap around the track

              The Thang

              The first Tuesday of every month at Parliament is barometer day where we try to beat previous benchmarks set in prior months.
              Barometer Day

              1 mile run

              2 min AMRAP Merkins

              2 min AMRAP Big Boy Situps

              ————-

              After the conclusion of the barometer day exercises, we performed the following:

              25 x Flutter Kicks in cadence

              25 x Air Squats OYO

              25 x Imperial Walkers OYO

              Repeat 3x

              Time allowed for the workout die to be rolled several times. PAX completed various exercises based on what came up on the die including: 30 second plank, squat jumps, lunges

              COT

              Today is a meaningful day to me. I knew from my first post in September that I wanted to Q this day. I asked the AOQs weeks in advance to let me have this day. Today marked five years to the day since my father suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. I wanted to take this day to honor and remember his as I believe he embodied all the tenants that F3 encourages.

              F1 – Fitness: My father’s first career spanned 20 years as a Navy SEAL. He began his career with Underwater Demolition Team 21 and eventually SEAL Team 2. He was no stranger to being in the best shape of his life and even after his retirement he continued to push himself to become better each day. The 21 reps/seconds during the COP represented his time with UDT-21 and the 2 laps around the track represented his time with SEAL Team 2.

              F2 – Fellowship: Being a member of an elite group of warriors brings with it a type of fellowship that few others truly get to experience or understand. I shared that at my father’s funeral, numerous members of my father’s BUD/S class (075- hence the 3×25 reps of exercise after the barometer exercises) were present. Most of these individuals had not interacted with my father for well over 40 years, but you wouldn’t have known it that day. Their presence, attitudes, and conversations about my father made it seem like they had all been side by side from the time they first met on the beaches of Coronado. I also shared the story of my fathers wishes to have his ashes spread by sea, air and land, representing the three environments where a SEAL is expected to operate (this was also represented in the workout by the flutter kicks (sea), air squats (air), and imperial walkers (land). He had some ashes spread over his alma mater by his roommate who was a Navy pilot. He had some buried at a memorial wall at the church he was a long time member of. His spreading culminated at the Navy SEAL museum in Fort Pierce, FL where the modern day SEAL was born during WWII. Annually, around Veteran’s day, there is a SEAL muster there that includes demonstrations, key note speakers, a beach 5k, and a beach front memorial service for SEALs that have passed away that year. Part of the service involved active duty seals swimming out the ashes of the deceased for one final swim at sea. My father’s ashes were also swum out and spread by two members from his BUD/S class. SEALS always have a swim buddy during training and his classmates wanted to make sure he had one until the very end. I will never truly be able to understand the bonds forged by these men during their time serving, but the sensation of this moment can be described as nothing less than powerful. Quite the fellowship indeed.

              F3 – Faith: My father was an elder of Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church until the time he passed away. He was one of the most Godly and faithful men I have ever known and he continued to grow and cultivate his faith each and every year. He put his blood, sweat, and tears into serving his church in any way possible including serving as an Elder, teaching Sunday school, leading men’s groups, and serving on mission trips. He was a true HIM through and through.

              I concluded by encouraging the PAX to think of someone impactful in their lives – whether it be a family member, spouse, friend, or mentor – and reach out to them to let them know the difference they have made in the PAX’s life. It’s easy to get distracted and to say you will do something tomorrow, but sometimes the opportunity slips by and we don’t ever get another chance to do so. I challenged the PAX to reach out to someone this week and just let them know how much they have meant to the PAX’s life.

              As a final note, this just happened to be my 75th post. Seeing as how my father’s BUD/S class was 075, I couldn’t help but smile at this serendipitous moment.

              Moleskin

              Further discussion needs to be had as to whether or not warm up laps count towards the barometer day mile

              Barometer day occurs on the first Tuesday of the month – some PAX may have made a mental note to avoid showing up on the first Tuesday going forward

              Cavity Search’s VQ is this Friday at Parliament. If it rains, we aren’t sure who is going to be on Q.

              News

              Legacy clean up day is this Saturday immediately following the morning beatdown. Check Slack for waivers and information

              2nd F opportunity this Friday. Check 2nd F Slack channel for details

              Recent Backblasts

                Posted on

                The 12 Days of PAXmas

                QIC:  Tatonka

                Date: 12/9/2020

                PAX: Coldplay, Cavity Search, Crawdaddy, John Doe, Wrecked Em, Toe Jelly, Meow Mix, Blackout, Bonsai

                AO: Parliament

                Conditions

                A balmy 27 degrees Fahrenheit with clear skies.

                COP

                Mosey for a lap around the track

                SSH x 10 IC

                WMH x 10 IC

                LBAC x 10 IC

                Reverse LBAC x 10 IC

                Seal Claps x 10 IC

                Moroccan Night Clubs x 10 IC

                Forward Fold x 10 IC

                The Thang

                Q Note to Pax: There are 12 business days left until Christmas.

                Q promised anyone who showed up that they would get presents today. Q prepared 12 wooden blocks painted to look like presents with an exercise written on the bottom. Q instructed first Pax to go and select a present and then reveal to the group what exercise we would be performing. In the following rounds a different Pax would select a different present and reveal a new exercise. We would complete that exercise followed by the previous exercises from the already revealed blocks (similar to the song the 12 Day of Christmas). In between rounds, the Pax that opened their present would select an exercise to lead the group in before moving on to the next round. After all, this time of year is about giving just as much as is it about receiving.


                12 Days of PAXmas
                Round 1:

                American Hammers x 10

                Pickle Pointers x 10 IC (Toe Jelly)

                Round 2:

                Mountain Climbers x 10 IC

                American Hammers x 10

                Squats x 10 IC (Blackout)

                Round 3:

                Squats x 10

                Mountain Climbers x 10 IC

                American Hammers x 10

                Flutter kicks X 10 IC (Wrecked ‘Em)

                Round 4:

                Merkins x 10

                Squats x 10

                Mountain Climbers x 10 IC

                American Hammers x 10

                Burpees x 10 (John Doe)

                Round 5:

                Lunges x 10 each leg

                Merkins x 10

                Squats x 10

                Mountain Climbers x 10 IC

                American Hammers x 10

                Leg lifts x 10 IC (Crawdaddy)

                Round 6:

                Dive Bombers x 10

                Lunges x 10 each leg

                Merkins x 10

                Squats x 10

                Mountain Climbers x 10 IC

                American Hammers x 10

                Jane Fonda x 10 each side IC (Cavity Search)

                Round 7:

                Box Cutters x 10 IC

                Dive Bombers x 10

                Lunges x 10 each leg

                Merkins x 10

                Squats x 10

                Mountain Climbers x 10 IC

                American Hammers x 10

                Lap on the track (Coldplay)

                Round 8

                Dips x 10

                Box Cutters x 10 IC

                Dive Bombers x 10

                Lunges x 10 each leg

                Merkins x 10

                Squats x 10

                Mountain Climbers x 10 IC

                American Hammers x 10

                Diamond Merkins x 10 (Meow Mix)

                Round 9:

                Burpees x 10

                Dips x 10

                Box Cutters x 10 IC

                Dive Bombers x 10

                Lunges x 10 each leg

                Merkins x 10

                Squats x 10

                Mountain Climbers x 10 IC

                American Hammers x 10

                Imperial Walkers x 10 IC (Bonsai)

                At this point we were running short on time so Q decided to finish with a single set of the remaining 3 presents the Pax had not unwrapped yet

                10 x Big Boi Sit Ups

                10 x V-Ups

                High Knees until time was called

                COT

                I was driving down the road recently and an odd thought popped into my mind about how in a way I’m thankful for Covid. Without Covid and all the changes that stemmed from it, I would have never found F3. I shared my story of signing up for a 5k that, due to Covid, got changed to a virtual event in which I was instructed to submit a time by a certain end date. I waited until the last possible day to submit my time, so I woke up that morning and decided to head to the local high school track to run. Upon parking John Doe and Coypu were in the parking lot waiting to begin Coypu’s VQ that morning. John Doe asked me if I was here for the F3 workout. I responded with, “I have no idea what that is.” The EH occurred after that and I showed up the following Tuesday.

                In a men’s group from church, we have been studying the book of Ephesians. In the first chapter, Paul prays that the people would know great hope and have enlightened hearts. Often God doesn’t want to alter the circumstances of our lives, but to alter the way we see those circumstances by changing our hearts. Through this, setbacks become opportunities to further put our faith and trust in Christ. I challenged the Pax to try to view every situation through the lens of an enlightened heart and in doing so grow stronger in their faith.

                Moleskin

                Coldplay will do burpees for anyone… except John Doe

                More chatter about Blackout’s “White Wig” beanie that may need to become part of the Q uniform (Q-niform?) for Parliament

                Cavity Search tried to game the system by calling a 10 count for his in between round exercise – I appreciate that cleverness very much.

                News

                Toys for Tots drive still occurring, get with Coldplay or another AOQ if you want to donate anything

                Weekly 3rd F with Chubbies is still occurring on Tuesday’s through the end of the year. John Doe is flying solo as of this writing for next Tuesday.

                John Doe is looking into more 3rd F opportunities with Habitat for Humanity since there was a lot of interest

                Legacy Launch still scheduled for Christmas Eve with Sousa and Ramrod on Q. Off the books beatdowns are occurring leading up to the official launch

                F3 10 year anniversary has been postponed until October.

                Recent Backblasts

                  Posted on

                  Get to know your Q: Tatonka Edition

                  QIC:  Tatonka

                  Date: 11/2/2020

                  PAX: Bandwagon, Oui Oui, Slim Shady, Escobar, Picabo, Blackout, Bernie, Woodrider, Shawshank, 

                  AO: Hacksaw

                  Conditions

                  A brisk chill in the air of 36 degrees with the grass slightly damp from morning dew.

                  COP

                  Mosey with block to grass near big flag

                  SSH x 10 IC

                  WMH x 10 IC

                  Forward Fold x 10 IC

                  Left Over Right x 10 IC

                  Right Over Left x 10 IC

                  Forward LBAC x 10 IC

                  Backward LBAC x 10 IC

                  Seal Claps x 10 IC

                  The Thang

                  Today is my birthday so I thought I would allow the PAX to learn a bit more about me through an educational exercise routine


                  Tatonka Fact #1: Tatonka is a Financial Advisor

                  1. Bear Market – Decline Merkins x 8
                  2. Bull Market – Incline Merkins x 8
                  3. Small Dips in the Market – Dips on block x 8
                  4. Big swings in the market – Kettle bell swings with block x 8

                  Tatonka Fact #2: Tatonka likes zombie movies

                  Zombie Survival Training Plan

                  1. Find a safe room. Your buddies might be in there ready to shoot anything that comes through the door so drop to the ground quickly upon entering – Burpees x 8
                  2. Barricade the door with heavy furniture – Mountain climbers x 8
                  3. Get to the roof. Push your buddy up so he can pull you up – Block thrusters x 8
                  4. Try to wave down help while on the roof – SSH x 8
                  5. If that doesn’t work, run for it – High Knees to recover
                  6. Crawl under the fence and push your supplies through ahead of you – Hip extensions x 8 each leg
                  7. When all else fails, SHOOT THEM (don’t forget to double tap – Double shoulder taps x 8 IC

                  Tatonka Fact #3: Tatonka likes woodworking

                  1. Plank x 2 minutes
                  2. Table saw x 10 each leg (From crab walk position, touch hand to opposite foot while keeping butt off the ground)
                  3. American Hammer with block x 10
                  4. Drill and Drive with block x 10 ( With arms bent and block vertical at eye level, rotate block 90 degrees and back, then thrust straight out in front of you.)

                  Tatonka Fact #4: Tatonka used to play competitive paintball

                  1. Off the break x 10 each side (hold block at 45 degree angle to side of body near feet and swing up and across body – this mimics coming off the start station and getting your barrel up)
                  2. Snap Shooting x 10 each side (hold block straight up at eye level and lean to side while keeping feet stationary – this mimics snap shooting from behind a bunker)
                  3. Wipe a hit x 10 each way (Same as Snap Shooting but pivot with arms instead of at hips, similar to a windshield wiper motion with your arms)
                  4. One-for-One x 1 each arm – (Single arm block thruster, this mimics the penalty motion a referee would use to indicate a one-for-one penalty has occurred)

                  Tatonka Fact #5: Tatonka likes craft beer and whisky

                  1. Block curls x 8
                  2. Burpees x 8
                  3. Down the hatch x 8 (start with elbows at 90 degrees, thrust block straight out like you are giving someone cheers, bring block back to body, then curl)
                  4. Freddie Mercuries x 8 (with enough in his system, Tatonka thinks he can move, sing, and dance like Freddie Mercury)

                  Tatonka Fact #6: Tatonka ran the Steeplechase in college

                  PAX form a circle with blocks on their side in front of them. Everyone begins doing high knees. Q hurdles block and drops down to begin doing flutter kicks. Next PAX in line hurdles block and begins doing flutter kicks. This continues until last PAX in circle is doing flutter kicks. Then, Q will hop up, hurdle block and do high knees. Next PAX in line follows suit until all PAX are doing high knees. This exercise mimics the 3000m Steeplechase event in track which involves, running, hurdles, and a water pit.

                  Tatonka Fact #7: Tatonka likes the movie Top Gun

                  Q began playing the song Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. PAX performed SSH for entire 3:36 of song and performed a single squat every time the line “Danger Zone” was sung.

                  Tatonka Fact #8: Tatonka likes card games and board games

                  Q shuffled a deck of cards and flipped over a card. Each suit corresponded to a certain exercise. The value of the card indicated how many IC reps the PAX were to perform of that exercise. J= 11, Q = 12, K = 13, A = 14.

                  Spades = Squats

                  Hearts = Hips (Pickle Pointers)

                  Clubs = Crunches

                  Diamonds = Dive Bombers

                  PAX worked through cards until time was called.

                  COT

                  I shared that I am not a very political person but I do understand the importance of casting a vote. Election Day is tomorrow and I stressed the importance of casting a vote, even if you don’t care for either party running. Living in a democracy that allows us to have a say in who we want to represent and lead our country is a privilege that many in the world do not share. The military memorials behind us during our workout and the giant American flag should act as a reminder of what many have given in order for us to have the privilege today. I also shared that some of my close neighbors grew up in communist Romania. They have shared stories with me that truly paint a picture of the many things a lot of us (myself included) take for granted each and every day.

                  We concluded with prayer.

                  Moleskin

                  • In typical fashion, Picabo HC’d to the workout at 5:28 AM the morning of. He also forgot a block and scavenged a random chunk of concrete somewhere between his car and the flag pole.
                  • We all now know how to break into Slim Shady’s truck
                  • Group consensus is that the blonde instructor from Top Gun is no longer kind on the eyes
                  • PAX are quick to determine who they would sacrifice if a real zombie apocalypse occurred
                  • Patriotic Pickle Pointers looking up at a giant flag are the best kind of Pickle Pointers.
                  • Picabo has been gifted a block

                  News

                  Beer run at Abercrombie’s farm is coming up soon. Check the slack channel for information.

                  Networking event is coming up soon. Check slack for details.

                  Recent Backblasts