F3 Knoxville

Groundhog Day at The Dog Pound

The Scene:  50 and cloudy
F3 Welcome and Disclaimer
THE THANG
COP – 
Introduce the Merdipkin
(Also known as Mr Dipkin, or Dipkin for short)
Partner A in plank, Partner B places his feet on A’s back of his hands behind himself on the ground in dip position perpendicular to A. A does a Merkin, then B does a dip. Repeat, alternating in a seesaw pattern until the reps are complete.
Mosey to the trail of tears
Partner up
SSH x20 IC
Cherry Pickers x5
Dipkins 20 each way
Run a lap
Repeat the exercises, run a lap, repeat, repeat, repeat
Circle up
50x LBC IC
30x Tempo squats IC
50x LBC IC
20x reverse crunches
30x Tempo squats IC
50x LBC IC
10x more Dipkins each
 
Mosey back y’all
Circle of abs – 5 min
 
BOM/WORD:
 
We joked around some today and had fun with the idea of the movie “Groundhog Day – the day that keeps repeating it self. In real life, we often can fall into the same type of issue. We will do the same things with the same people and it becomes monotonous. It can leave us with the sensation of wanting more. It’s not wrong to want more, it’s not wrong to want to be successful and it’s not wrong to want new experiences. However, we can be left frustrated and that frustration from creep interactions with her coworkers, spouses and families. As I consider this I was reminded of a scripture I recently read through with my children.
 
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬
When we don’t get what we want we get frustrated. It doesn’t take a lot of introspection to be able to see that in our own lives. When we strive for things we want because we think it will make us happy, or fulfilled we miss the target and the frustration does not lift. Instead we should focus on those around us. We ought to ask the question, “Lord, is this something I should desire? Is it something you intend for me to have?”
When we ask for things, not to spend on our own quest for personal enjoyment, but rather to pour into others, the frustration is replaced by joy and contentment when the gift is bestowed. I encourage you to ask the question (above) before you ask for the gift.
Moleskin
I hate running. Running sucks. But, I got talked into this #CSAUP Tennessee Ragnar Relay and have to train…so today we ran more than my usual workouts. The men fussed a little. My legs tried to quit on me. But we pushed through the repetitive workout together. Good job men.

Sharpening

The Scene: 35 and clear

F3 Welcome and Disclaimer

THE THANG
COP –
SSH 15 IC
Tempo Squats 15 IC
LBAC IC – 10 forward, 10 reverse
Little “Some of this/that”
Calf raises 20/stretch/20/stretch

Mosey to the boats and back to the coupon pile
Count off by 3’s
Alternate groups running to the boats and back, the rest cycled reps over, and over, and over

Merkins 10
Dips 10
SSH 10
Curls 10
Overhead 10
Crunches 20

Rinse and repeat for 37 glorious minutes

BOM:
IRON SHARPENS IRON
We hear this phrase used frequently, particularly in Christian circles and almost always in relation to men. As I ponder this concept, several things occur to me. The first is about how iron sharpens iron. While it sounds cool to visualize, iron does not sharpen iron by smashing against it. Two swords clashed against each other over and over again will not sharpen each other. Much the opposite, they both will become dull, and in fact quite jagged.

Iron sharpens iron in much the same way that anything else sharpens. That is, through precise, purposeful and repetitive motion in close proximity to one another. I don’t know that there could be a better description of the concept of F3. Purposeful repetitive interaction in close proximity. Today we all ran at our doable pace and not one of us took the identical footsteps to someone else. However at the top and back of each loop we regrouped and worked together. That way none of us felt as if we were truly running alone, even slow guys like me were still running near a brother. Add to that the hundreds of repetitions of exercise that we did together, all in cadence, so that no one fell off the beat, was tempted to quit or needed to show off by doing more faster. We worked hard together and we got better together. This is a great model of how we need to handle ourselves spiritually and emotionally together as well. We need to place ourselves in close proximity to each other at regular intervals, and not just when we are working out, but also in down times. That’s why we have 2nd F. We also need to sharpen each other as we draw closer to the Lord. 3rd F. I encourage you men to practice this during your time together and your work time – see it as sharpening. Recall that no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on however it produces a rich harvest. Let’s keep working toward that rich harvest of sharp iron.

Moleskin:
It was cold today and the men worked very hard. We had a great time working in tandem and the reps were brutal for the arms while the running was solid for the legs. We benefited from excellent team leadership as we handed off the responsibility for calling the cadence every few minutes.

Shake n’ Bake

The Scene: 30 and clear

F3 Welcome and Disclaimer

THE THANG:
COP – LBAC IC – 10 forward, 10 reverse

Run to the coupon pile and grab a pair
Coupon SSH x 10 IC
Buddha Tempo Squats (arms outstretched holding rocks) x10 IC
Cherry Pickers x10 IC

Mosey to the race track (hockey rink)

SHAKE N’ BAKE
Battle buddy up
– 4 stations at the corners
– partner A does reps while B runs the loop, shoots past A and slingshots B out of the station and into his own loop. A stops at the next station to do reps
Station 1) coupon curl-press-tri-reverse
Station 2) 50 Merkins, 100 LBCs, 150 Squats

When the numbered reps are done, to the center for family dinner

FAMILY DINNER: first man there starts the cycle and everyone else joins as they arrive
30 Mountain Climbers
30 SSH
Repeat

Time trials – do it again, faster!

Back to the AO – 8 minutes of abs
– superman
– ab cycle
– boat canoe

BOM
The Least of These
– yesterday I was meeting someone for breakfast and as I walked in the Cracker Barrel there was a man who was obviously homeless wandering around looking for a place to be seated. He looked at me as if to approach me and then turned away. A few minutes later a waitress had him seated, she was very frustrated, and he began to look at the menu. Without thinking much I asked my waitress if they would feed him and let me pay for it.

Later I was reflecting on how simply and easily that came to do a good work in chair for someone who is destitute. As I was in the middle of patting myself on the back, I recalled the scripture Jesus talking about doing things for “the least of these.”

The next moment feel the Lord saying to me “Good job. That came very naturally and it should. But why is it so hard for you to care for people that you know?”

Your little brother who can’t seem to figure out life. Your boss or coworker who drives you insane. That life-sucking remora that you always seem to run into after church. Your spouse when they are getting on your nerves.

Can you show as much compassion and grace to them that you would show to a homeless man you’ll never see again?

The least of these isn’t just the destitute, it’s also those not experiencing the love of Jesus. Show them that love

Moleskin:

It was downright cold today. The men pushed hard and pushed each other and got better together. We stayed in a fairly tight pack today which was great. With a really broad range of fitness levels and everyone got a good beat down. Nice work gentlemen

The Prison Yard

The Scene: 52 and constant rain

F3 Welcome and Disclaimer

THE THANG:
SSH x 20 IC
Michael Phelps x5
Cherry Pickers x10 IC

Mosey to the prison circuit (tennis court)

PRISON BREAK CIRCLE RUN
– line up, Indian run around the court
– first guy sprints to the net and to the end of the line

Mosey to the rock pile

PRISON YARD BEAT DOWN

Battle buddy up
– one guy with a big rock and the other with two mediums.
– run to the grass
– Dora to the pile and back as many times as it takes

BIG ROCK SQUATS
Small Rock Curls
Small rock Merkins
Small rock overhead press
BIG ROCK LBCs
Small rock tricep extensions
Small rock hops

MOVE THE PILE BACK!

PRISON BREAK – relay sprint races

Back to the AO – 8 minutes of abs
– superman
– ab cycle
– boat canoe

BOM:
American prisons, as of 2013 held over 2.2M people. The largest prison population in the world.

We as men have the opportunity to live free lives, and yet so often we opt for prison.

Sometimes we live in prisons for our bodies. We we work out trying to reach a body image at the expense of our families. We enslave our bodies to food, alcohol or drugs.

Far more often we live in a prison of our minds. We enslave ourselves to greed, and success believing somehow that “just a little more” will make us happy. We live under the burden of guilt and shame for any one of a million failures, constantly hearing the lies of our adversary but not calling them out. We bury ourselves in images and fantasies of women who are not our M and then we see them everywhere we go and cannot stop the flood of images. We live lives plagued by fear of failure, insignificance or disaster.

The truth is found in 2 Tim 1:7. That God has given us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self control.

Many of us live in a prison for our souls. For those who believe in the existence, life and sacrifice of Jesus we are made free. The prison cell door has been thrown open, and yet so often we opt to stay in the cell.

You have to make the HC to step out every day. As HIMs we need to look at the men around us and extend a hand to help pull them out.

Moleskin

Great work by the men today. Rainy and cold, you busted it pretty good. Way to get better!

ELEVENSIES

THE SCENE 66 and clear

F3 Welcome and Disclaimer

THE THANG
COP
SSH x 11 IC
Power T toe touches x11 IC
Sumo Squats x11 IC
Oblique Claps x 11 IC
LBACs x11 IC

Mosey to the trail of tears

ELEVENSIES
11 circuits
Power T LBCs
Run the field
Dry docks
Run Back

Mosey to the coupon pile

11 curls
11 presses
11 dips
11 times

COT
Count-a-rama and Name-a-rama

BOM
I was in the stadium two years ago that the first checkerboard game one Florida looks so awful against Tennessee. I was into thousands and thousands of fans screen their lungs out for 3 1/2 quarters. It was deafening and, frankly, impressive. Even as a Gator fan I was proud of these fans pouring their hearts out for their team. I wanted so desperately for their team to win and were excited to the point of near madness at the possibility of winning after losing 9 straight.

Then, the fourth quarter came and Jalon Tabor had a strip sack, recovered the fumble and a touchdown was scored by a back up quarterback in the ensuing drive.

The place went silent as the grave. All of those screaming fans didn’t make a sound. I was stunned. How can so many people, so excited and so sold out, have lost faith so quickly. I realized later in that stadium there were many, many fans but very few believers. Everyone hoped they would win, but they truly believed they could not. Even though we were still losing my relaxed. I knew that the fans didn’t believe they could win and therefore the boys on the field would believe the same. It actually saddened me.

This morning, I talked to the man about not being fans but rather being believers. In family, as we lead our teams at work, and most importantly with God. Belief is not simply hoping. Belief = faith + action. Be a believer, not just a fan

MOLESKIN
I laid the gator talk on the thick today…trying to get a rise out of the PAX. The men handled it well, there was good mumble chatter and excellent intensity. They worked their tails off and we had a great time together. Looking forward to the game this weekend.