F3 Knoxville

Author: Pele

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love

THE SCENE: Cool but nice, clear, upper 40s.  Beautiful evening sky observed and appreciated at the top of Cardiac…

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check, but with egregious Q errors. F3: Fitness. Fellowship.  AND FAITH!

WARM-O-RAMA:

-34 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence (#34, WALTER PAYTON) (big Bears/Dallas game tonight, so the rep numbers honored the ’85-’86 Bears, perhaps the GREATEST TEAM IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS!)

– 9 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence (#9, JIM MCMAHON)

– 22 Tempo Squats (4-ct), in Cadence (#22 DALE DUERSON)

– 21 Moroccan Nightclub (4-Ct) in cadence (#21 LESLIE FRAZIER, but Q and PAX messed up the count and we went to #23)

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to Serpentine sidewalk.  LIGHT POLE ESCALATORS
    • Start at first light pole. Do exercise then run to second light pole, do exercise, run back, etc.  Go to 8 light poles. Exercises are:
      • Light Pole 1: 5 Burpees
      • Light Pole 2: 10 Bobby Hurleys
      • Light Pole 3: 15 Carolina Dry Docks
      • Light Pole 4: 20 BBSs
      • Light Pole 5: 25 LBCs
      • Light Pole 6: 30 iron mikes (single count)
      • Light Pole 7: 35 Hello dollies (single count)
      • Light Pole 8 : 40 Imperial Walkers (single count).
  • Mosey to Cardiac Hill.  Do the following exercises at the bottom then run up to first turn and back. Do 5x reps the first time, then 10x, then 15x.
    • Smurf Jacks
    • Mountain Climbers (2-ct)
    • Froggie Jumps
    • Run back up the entire hill, doing 10 merkins at each turn.
  • Mosey to Parking Lot next to ball fields in a representation of what is sure to come in an incredible victory of the Bears over the Cowboys.
    • At the near end we will be the BEARS, so we will BEAR CRAWL 10 parking lines, do one Burpee to celebrate a First Down, and continue marching down the field (parking lot) at every line until the end. TOUCHDOWN! Do 7 Merkins.
    • Now we’re the COWBOYS!  BOO! HISS!!!!  Turn around and do the COWBOY WAHOO dance just less than 1 parking line. But the fearsome Bears D is TOO STRONG! NO FIRST DOWN! PUNT! Sprint to the end of the parking lot and we’re the BEARS again, marching down the field.  Rinse and Repeat from there.

MARY:
– Box Cutters (20, IC), E2K (20 each side, OYO), American Hammers (20, IC), X’s and O’s, BBSs (20, OYO… these are surprisingly hard after the X’s and O’s!!), Ring of Fire

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 strong, with Hooker also joining us at the end for a much-appreciated summary and update of Pinto’s condition.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“Advent” is Latin for “coming”, and this is a special time of year when we wait in anticipation to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  I always looked forward to the Advent Wreath tradition at church when I was growing up.  Our family would always volunteer to light one of the four candles at church, and each week, as we lit one more candle, the anticipation of the birth of Christ would increase, until Christmas Eve, when the Christmas candle would be lit in the middle, representing the light of God coming into the world.  The four candles represented:

  1. HOPE
  2. PEACE
  3. JOY
  4. LOVE

I feel we individually and as a Nation need these in our hearts now more than ever.  Hope. Peace. Joy. Love.

HOPE: Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the Darkness.

PEACE: Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

JOY: It is the experiences, the great Triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which the real meaning of being alive is found.  And it is great to be alive!

LOVE: I fell in love with you because you loved me when I couldn’t love myself.

Finally, the Christ Candle.  Candles cast no shadow.   “God is Light.  In Him there is no Darkness at all.” John 1:5

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler and his family as they approach the anniversary of their son’s passing.  In his honor, the Fake Gloom brothers submitted a new exercise, “Grady Corn”, to the nation F3, which was accepted.  Grady Corn is the “Candy Corn” exercise that Grady Pitstick, aka “Quikrete” brought to our workouts.

Prayers to Pinto for healing and comfort as he continues to courageously battle health issues. It’s been a tough year for our brother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
3rd F, 7 am this Saturday at the Truck Stop, with Fellowship and Faith gathering immediately after.  Please bring donations for the Veteran’s Wish List (see Mayberry’s post in Group Me) and a nominal monetary donation ($10 recommended) to cover the cost of breakfast, which will be provided.

Bare November Days

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, cool but not cold, mid 40s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check. Still not a professional.
WARM-O-RAMA:

Motivators (7 reps/level)

– Yoga stretches: legs spread, hang straight down, reach to right and left ankle, touch the ground and reach one arm up twisting torso, reverse hands.  There was much inappropriate mumblechatter about bending over and grabbing ankles at this point.

– 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward/ Backward (4-ct, IC), making them wide arm circles half way through.

– 10 Tempo Merkins

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Chapel parking log, stopping to do a WELSH DRAGON along the way.

In parking lot, cones will be laid out in a rectangle, short/medium/long distance on each side. Pair up.  One partner will get to the cone using various means, does 3 burpees, and returns while partner performs maintenance exercises. Switch.  Do each cone for two minutes. Cones are, counter-clockwise order:

    • Cone 1 (Long): Bear Crawl, partner does Bobby Hurleys
    • Cone 2 (Medium): Broad Jumps, partner does Iron Mikes
    • Cone 3 (Short): Crab Walk, partner does Burpees
    • Cone 4 (Long): Bear Crawl, partner does BBS
    • Cone 5 (Medium): Broad Jump, partner does American Hammers
    • Cone 6 (Short): Crab Walk, partner does Gas Pumps

Mosey to playground, do 7s with dips and bench jumps

Mosey to Baby Cardiac: Bernie to the top.

Mosey to the monument, do a few minutes of BOAT/CANOE.

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
Out of time.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 strong.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

My November Guest by Robert Frost is a poem that on its surface is about a person embracing the melancholy feeling that comes with the passing of summer and the beginning of the long winter, with “Sorrow” personified as a woman.  For some, the onset of winter is ominous and unsettling, but there is a different kind of beauty in these shortening days.  But there is more to this poem… it’s about more than just natural beauty the author is referring to.  It’s about opening yourself up and embracing your own personal grief and sorrow, and accepting it as an important and enriching facet of the human condition.

My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted grey
Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.

Many times we feel ashamed of our grief and sadness, we try to bury it, and pretend it doesn’t exist. The author is encouraging us to look at that part of us not with shame or trepidation, but to embrace it as part of our humanity, and to appreciate that part of our emotional spectrum.  For me, this time of year brings back memories of my mother’s illness and passing, and for years I dreaded the onset of November.  But I read this poem and it encourages me to use this time as a period of reflecting on her love and the wonderful times we had while she was on this earth.  “Not yesterday I learned to know the love of bare November days”. Try to learn to know the value of your own sources of sadness and grief.  And know that there’s a God in your life that will never be far from your heart, and seek comfort and refuge in the love of our Almighty Father.

PSALM 34:18: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Third F December 7, with Convergence at the Truck Stop!

Pumpkin Run!

THE SCENE: Perfect.  Near 70 and sunny, with the leaves just starting to change
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check.
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– Air Squared w/10 Overhead/ 10 sideways (seal claps)

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct, in cadence)

– 10 BAC Forward, Backward

-5 Body builders

THA-THANG:

Mosey to corner of circle drive South of the Admin Building at the stop sign.

Mucho Chesto: 10 x Merkin / 10 x Wide Merkin / 10 x Diamonds / 10 Stagger Merkin Left / 10 Stagger Merkin Right

Hey! What’s That??? A pumpkin is just sitting there.  Now THAT’S weird.  Let’s do F3 things with it!

Indian Run to bottom of Everest.  Pass the Pumpkin to the back of the line.  When it gets there, that person runs to front, carrying it over his head, then passes it backwards.

  • The Pumpkin Says
    • Get in a line. Each member of the PAX does the following exercises, passing the pumpkin along the row, doing a special Pumpkin exercise when it gets to them (in parentheses).
      • Big Boy Situps (10 American Hammers w/ pumpkin)
      • Hold Plank (10 Pumpkin Press Burpees)
      • Tempo Squats (10 Squat Thrusts with Pumpkin)

Indian Run up Everest to base of summit.

  • Push the Pumpkin to the Pumpkin Patch!
    • Bear Crawl to the pumpkin and do 3 standing broad jumps (or three lunges) with the pumpkin. Leave it and bear crawl back to PAX.  Next man up.  Keep doing it until we get the pumpkin where it needs to be.  PAX is doing:
      • 10 LBCs/10 American Hammers/10 Hello Dollies, until it gets to one side
      • 10 Bobby Hurleys/10 mountain climbers/10 Iron Mikes until it returns.
    • Pumpkin Roll!  Each member runs to the summit, then rolls it back down for the next member to carry up.  Other PAX are doing burpees until all have completed the final summit.  (This is where the Q almost got decapitated by the pumpkin, which was traveling WAY faster than he expected).

MARY:
Captain Thors.  X’s and O’s

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Three amigos.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

THE DISEASE OF MORE

I recently read an article about the drive to improve for the sake of improvement. Success is often the first step toward disaster.

The Disease of More is a phrase coined by Pat Riley to describe why championship teams often get dethroned due to internal strife.  The players want more… and when they have the championship, it turns to other things.  Money, endorsements, accolades, attention, etc. They stop paying attention to the details that got them where they are and it becomes more about egos.

Psychologists didn’t used to focus on happiness.  Usually the opposite, they focus on why you are depressed, angry, etc.  But in the 1980s there was a bit of a shift in this pattern. There was a study where they gave everyone buzzers, and they were to write down how happy they were and what they were doing when the buzzer went off randomly, on a scale of 1 to 10.  Everyone always wrote down a 7, no matter what they were doing.  At the grocery store, at a child’s sporting event, making a big sale, etc.  During really bad times, it would dip to 2-5, but quickly go back to 7. And during GREAT times (marriages, dream vacation, lottery winner!) would shoot up for a bit, then dip back to 7 again.  Things always pretty much seem to be fine… but they could always be better.  People thought they could always be “more” happy. Hence, the 7.  The trick is the brain always telling you, if I could just have X, Y, or Z, then I’d be happier and finally reach a 9 or 10.

Hedonic Treadmill: We are always striving for a better life and end up expending a ton of effort just to wind up in the same place. Just because something can be improved doesn’t mean it should be improved.  But it’s not the improvement that’s the problem. It’s the WHY that’s motivating the improvement that’s the problem.  Becomes compulsive and narcissistic, always focusing on yourself.

The idea of progress can become the enemy of actual progress.

What if there is no “next level” to achieve?  By constantly trying to reach that “next level”, maybe it’s keeping you from appreciating where you are now.  Feeling like you always need to improve yourself may actually be a problem.

There are always tradeoffs when you “improve”.  Time away from family, money, etc.  Life is not a checklist, it’s more like an economy.  There are tradeoffs.  If you sacrifice too much on your way to seeking your perfect 10, you might end up sacrificing the happiness equity you already own.

So what’s the solution?  The solution is to be motivated in life by something other than our own happiness, something greater than ourselves.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart

Luke 9:25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
New Hardship Hill Date set for May 2!!!

The Gift of Today

One comment

THE SCENE: Beautiful, sunny, low 60s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check.
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Imperial Squat Walkers (4-ct), in cadence

-Bolt 45s

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– Little of This and then That

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Area 51.

DORA!  PARTNER UP! One partner runs to fire hydrant near the Area 51 Loading Dock (this was modified to the big tree half way down… the fire hydrant was a bridge too far…) and does 5 squat jumps and runs back while the other starts the exercises.  Each pair shall complete the following:

  • 100 Big Boy sit-ups
  • 100 Lunges (doing both legs counts as 1)
  • 100 Merkins
  • 100 Smurf Jacks

Mosey to Grassy Field southwest of Admin Building.

RECTANGLE CONE WORKOUT:

  • Run around cones in rectangle.  On the long side, do Bernie Sanders, on the short side do Bear Crawls.  Stop at midpoints and corners for exercises:
    • At midpoints (long side only), do 20 Carolina Dry Docks
    • At each corner, do 20 mountain climbers (2-ct)

Rinse and repeat, but replace the exercises with the following:

  • At midpoints (long side), do 20 Bobby Hurleys
  • At each corner, do 20 Plank Jacks

Mosey to Intersection of Circle Drive.

  • 25 American Hammers, 20 Flutter Kicks, 20 E2Ks left side/right side.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Ring of Fire, Captain Thors, and we ended with 31 Candy Corn

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We did the 31 Candy Corn in honor of Quikrete, aka Grady Pitstick, who joined our PM PAX last year and passed away last November.  He would have been 31 today.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone. Take advantage of today.  Always take the opportunity to reach out to someone who might need a little support, a little encouragement, or just a smile and a friendly greeting. It may mean more than you think.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers to Sparkler and his family on this day.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Goliath at the Gorge this week-end. Good luck, brothers!

Hidden Figures and a Farewell to 90!

THE SCENE: Hot as heck… again… temps in the mid-90s and a blazing sun overhead.  This is OCTOBER??!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • 10 SSH (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward/ Backward (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Moroccan Nightclub (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Tempo Squats (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 sec high knees/ 10 sec butt kickers
  • 10 merkins (OYO)

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to shady grass field by closest parking lot to Lyons View entrance.   Partner 1 Hops to first cone, Bear Crawl to second Cone, then Duck Walks to third cone and sprints back, and trades off with partner 2, who is working on the following exercises (cumulative reps):
    • 90 BBS
    • 90 LBCs
    • 90 American Hammers (2-ct)
  • Mosey to CMU pile
    • 30 Curls/30 Overhead Presses/30 Rows.  Try to complete in 90 seconds.  Rinse and Repeat x3.
  • Mosey to Cardiac:
    • MODIFIED DORAS:
      • Partner 1 run to first corner do 30 reps, Partner 2 do 30 reps, then run to catch up with Partner. Then do the last 30 together (15 each) “Patty-cake” style. Exercises:
        • 90 Merkins
        • 90 Shoulder Taps (each shoulder = 1)
        • 90 Bottle openers (?) (each arm = 1)

MOSEY TO grassy area at the road intersection: 30 BBS

MOSEY TO shady northeast corner of perimeter drive around admin building: 30 LBCs

MOSEY TO AO: 30 American Hammers (2-ct)

MARY:
90 squats

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 strong! 0 FNGs!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM

I recently watched the movie Hidden Figures, which is about three young women who worked “behind the scenes” at NASA in the early 1960s and did the calculations that enabled John Glenn to launch into space.  It’s pretty obvious that we did a lot of exercises totaling 90 reps. This was to celebrate the last afternoon workout in the 90s. But did you realize:

    • We did 9 exercises and 10 reps per exercise in the Warmup?
    • We did 9 different exercises during Tha Thang?
    • I’ve spoken 90 words so far?

So we had some Hidden Figures in our Workout, and we also have Hidden Figures in our lives. These might be co-workers who do tasks that “keep everything moving”, which for me would be the data analysts that crunch the numbers so I can perform my modeling and write my reports. Maybe it’s a secretary, or dispatcher, or just someone who brings a positive and enthusiastic attitude to work every day. Maybe it’s someone at church who does a lot of unnoticed things that make events special… At my church up in Chicago there’s a woman, Fern, who washes and irons the tablecloths for special events and organizes cabinets, and there’s Anne, who stitches hats out of leftover yarn to pass out to homeless shelters.  Maybe it’s a Friend that you don’t see very often, but is always there when you need them, to offer words of encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, or a hand to help you up. And then there’s our relationship with God, who is Hidden from our earthly eyes, but is always with us in our time of need.

Seek out those Hidden Figures in your lives and thank them.

MOLESKIN:
Thankful that Jinxy’s heart procedure and diagnosis were favorable! Thanks to Sparkler for taking the lead on the Asylum PM obstacle construction for HH.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: