Pele – Page 15 – F3 Knoxville

Whiskey, Soft Beds, and Buttermilk

June 14, 2019 Pele

THE SCENE: Perfect. Low 70s, nice breeze, sunny

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check

WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, 20 IC
Bolt 45s (15 top ½ squats, 15 bottom ½ squats, 15 full squats)
5 PCMBs OYO
10 Plank Jacks (4-ct, IC)
10 Windmills (4-ct, IC)
Baby Arm Circles Forward (x10, 4 Ct, IC) and backward (x10, 4 Ct, IC)

THA-THANG:

Mosey to grassy field below Admin building.
RECTANGLE OF DEATH!!!! (Q was not too original with the name…) Cones set up in rectangle.
- Run suicides on long sides, but Bernie Sanders back to baseline instead of turning around. Run to ¼, ½, ¾, and full length.
- Short sides, Burpee Broad Jumps (3 jumps then a Burpee)
- Do exercise listed at the corner. Do 5 reps of each exercise the first lap, then 10, then 15
  - Corner 1: Mountain Climbers (2-ct), Tempo Squats, Iron Mikes (both legs =1) (5x/10x/15x)
  - Corner 2: Hand Release Merkins, Carolina Dry Docks, and Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1) (5x/10x/15x)
  - Corner 3: Star Jumps, Smurf Jacks, Bobby Hurleys (5x/10x/15x)
  - Corner 4: Big Boy Situps, American Hammers (2-ct), and box cutters (4-ct) (5x/10x/15x)

Only did two laps… too many other fun things to do. Plus these were hard as heck and Q was out of breath.

Mosey to CMU pile.
- CMU Farmer Carries!
  - Line up on Curb. Take turns lugging two CMUs around perimeter of parking lot. Rest of PAX will be running back and forth across parking lot doing merkins at one end and squats at the other. 5x/10x/15x, rinse and repeat. Keep repeating until everyone has carried the CMUs. Tank, Lillydipper, and maybe one other PAX I’m forgetting volunteered to team up and do an extra lap to keep company with the last person to carry the CMUs, exmplifying the sacrifice and No Man Left Behind philosophy of F3. Tank did it while battling calf cramps. Beast.
  - Hat tip to Judge Judy!

Get a partner. One partner runs straight normal, the other Bernie Sanders up Baby Cardiac. Switch half way up. At top do 10 patty-cake merkins.
Mosey to AO.

MARY:
No time. Barely made it back to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 strong! (J-Lo and Thunderstruck not tagged)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I recently revisited the book Lonesome Dove, which truly is a Great American Novel, and has countless memorable quotes and words of wisdom in it. It’s a tale of an ambitious (but tragic) cattle drive undertaken by two ex-Rangers-turned-cattle-ranchers, Gus and Call, from Texas to Montana. During the drive, a woman companion on the trip, Lorie, a gentle soul who has led a difficult life surrounded by men who take advantage of her, is abducted by Comanches and is treated brutally while she is prisoner. She survives and is rescued, but has many scars, both physically and psychologically. She decides she needs to strike out on her own and finally realize a dream of hers to travel to California and start a new life. In a letter that Gus writes to Lorie when she sets off, he says: “You see, life in San Francisco is still just life. If you want any one thing too badly, it’s likely to turn out to be a disappointment. The only healthy way to live life is to learn to like all the little everyday things – like a sip of good whiskey in the evening, a soft bed, a glass of buttermilk, or a feisty gentleman like myself.”

The message is pretty clear… The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. If you’re always looking ahead, you will miss the enjoyment of the present. If you are always chasing a dream, you will not realize the simple pleasures of the present that are Gifts from God.

- Take pleasure in the simple things. Life is what you make of it.
- The trap we often fall into is looking at someone else’s situation and thinking that I wish I had what they have. The reality is what they have may not be as good as it appears as we stand in our field looking across at theirs.
- Phillipians 4:11-12 And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.

MOLESKIN:
Several members of the PAX have friends and family members battling serious illnesses. We are thinking of them and keeping them in our prayers.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Nope.

30 Seconds, Rinse and Repeat

May 22, 2019 Pele

THE SCENE: Sunny and warm, high 80s, thankfully not too humid
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Yep.
WARM-O-RAMA:

– 5 decreasing Motivators (in cadence), 10 Rockettes, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Imperial Squat Walkers, Little of this/that

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Stop Sign south of Admin building. Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises. Rinse and Repeat.

Plank Jacks
Pickle Pounders
Mountain Climbers
Shoulder Taps

INDIAN RUN to new bathrooms. Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises. Rinse and Repeat.

Big Boy Situps
American Hammers
Little Baby Crunches
Flutter kicks

Mosey to CMU pile. Get in a circle, every other man has CMU. Do 30 seconds of the following exercises, then pass the CMU. If not doing the exercise, then do what’s in parentheses.

Overhead Press (LBCs) (2 minutes)
Curls (Imperial Walksers) (2 minutes)
Rows (merkins) (2 minutes)
Squats (Side Straddle hops) (2 minutes)

Mosey to top of Baby Cardiac. Do 3 Burpees and sprint to the top. Then do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises.

Froggie Jumps
Lunges
Bobby Hurleys
Smurf Jacks

Mosey to road intersection up to Admin building at Stop Sign northwest of building. Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises.

Diamond Merkins
Burpees
Carolina Dry Docks
Ranger Merkins (ran out of time for these)

Mosey To AO (Bernie Sanders to tree)

MARY:
No time!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

See Tags, plus J-Lo who isn’t in the system??

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

ARTICLE: Why Highly Efficient Leaders Fail (Harvard Business Review)

One of the key attributes of leaders is the ability to execute and get things done. Whether it’s at work, at church, at home, or in your community.
Sometimes leaders who have super high productivity have sacrificed their people-based focus.
So the irony is that sometimes High Efficiency makes people less effective leaders overall.
- They tend to push others around them to the point of burnout.
- They place unrealistic demands on others, leading to stress and frustration among the team.
- Their lack of personal relationships can be an obstacle to promotions, as well as costing them in their personal lives.
Great leaders balance Task Focus (getting r done!) with People Focus (inspiring, empowering others, etc.) skills.
Not just about being efficient, it’s about being effective. Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast. Take the time to make those personal connections
- 6 out of 10 of the top differentiators of effective leaders relate to people skills (e.g., listening, developing others, and empowering team members).
- Highly task-focused leaders can display controlling or perfectionistic behaviors that can alienate others. They also fear letting go of control to others because it might reflect poorly on them if results suffer.

MOLESKIN:
Best wishes to J-Lo during his deployment to Florida.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None

The Road Not Taken

May 1, 2019 Pele

THE SCENE: Warm, mid 80s, sunny, with a slight breeze (thank goodness)
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Nailed it.

WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct) IC, 10 Cherry pickers (4-ct) IC, 20 Lateral Hops (4-ct) IC, 10 baby arm circles (small to wide) forward and backward(4-ct) IC

THA-THANG:

PE EXAM!! (Hat tip to Erector!)

Mosey to stop sign at main road for the first letter of P.E. E.X.A.M.

P – 10 Prisoner Cell Merkin Burpees aka PCMBs.

Mosey to the grassy hill partway down the Dragon’s Tail.

E – Elevens – merkins at the bottom and Bobby Hurleys at the top.

Do Escalator down Dragon’s Tail.

E – Escalator – 10 burpees, 20 squat jumps, 30 mountain climbers (2-ct), 40 iron mikes (2-ct, audibled to 1), 50 LBCs at each successive light.

Took the road less travelled. Play a bit in the sprinklers by the new bathrooms, and then Mosey cross country all the way across grassy field in front of Admin building to stop sign at junction of circle drive.

X – Xs and Os , 2 minutes

Mosey to parking sign up the road towards admin building

A – Aiken legs – Done in succession with no rest — 15 Squats, 15 Froggie Jumps, 15 Lunges (each leg), 15 star jumps.

Mosey back to AO for the…

M – Mary

MARY:

Captain Thors
20 Bottle Taps or Openers, always forget what they’re called (4-ct) IC
20 Box Cutters (4-Ct) IC
20 Pickle Pounders
20 Hello Dollies (4-Ct) IC
Ring of Fire
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 strong, including one FNG, whom we named Squirtle. J-Lo not tagged.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Recently, a friend’s blog led me to revisit one of my favorite poems, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (note the title… The Road Not Taken, NOT The Road Less Traveled):

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

A common misconception about this poem is that the road that the protagonist takes truly is less traveled, and as such has some additional inherent worth than the other road. But upon closer reading, the two paths are actually equal, the other path being “just as fair” and was worn “really about the same”. Having this pointed out to me was fascinating, as I had never noticed it before. Two key conclusions can thus be made:
1. The paths are essentially equal in worth, and therefore, picking one over the other is essentially like flipping a coin.
2. The way we perceive choices affects our decision and the ultimate outcome. The author PERCEIVES that one path seems to be less traveled, and takes it, and as he says in the last line, “that has made all the difference”.
But what affects our perception?? This is where I see a bit of a religious meaning in the poem. Two options exist. Which one to choose? I tend to agonize over big decisions, and have prayed over such choices, asking God to direct me down the best path. But there may not truly be a “best path”… each may have its own advantages and disadvantages. But for me at least, given some time, my preference of one path over the other grows stronger, and I select it. And you know what? Each big choice has worked out. That doesn’t mean that if I had picked a different path my life would be in flaming ruins. But God has gently guided me down the roads that have lead me to where I am today, and I am very grateful that He is with me to help me choose, even if the choices are relatively equal. Don’t beat yourself up over the choices you make. Sometimes we choose well, sometimes, perhaps poorly, but open your heart to God and let him help lead you down whatever path your life takes.

PROVERBS 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

ISAIAH 30:21
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to guide me
and a light for my path.

MOLESKIN:
Good luck to the Ruckers competing this week-end!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

One Shining Moment

April 10, 2019 Pele

THE SCENE: Beautiful, mid 70s, sunny… almost a tad HOT!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check

WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 20 (IC), Cherry pickers x 10, Steve Earles x 20 (IC), Baby Arm Circles forward (x10) and backward (x10), little of this and that, Vertical leaps x 10 w/ increasing intensity.

THA-THANG:
Moseyed to little-used field over by Area 51. 16 cones set up for March Madness.

Sweet 16 Suicides: run to each cone and back, 8 on each side. Remove the “losing teams” from field.

Elite 8’s: Do four sets of 8’s (same as Sevens but with one added rep, so 1/7, 2/6, etc.) between the cones, which represent the teams in the Elite 8 of the NCAA basketball tournament, as follows:

DUKE Blue Devil Bobby Hurleys (of course…!) / MICHIGAN STATE Mountain Climbers (4-Ct). Sometimes you have to crawl before you walk… BEAR CRAWL between cones
GONZAGA BULLDOG Burpees / TEXAS TECH Tempo Squats. Sometimes you have to backpedal to get back on defense! Bernie Sanders between cones!
VIRGINIA CAVALIER Carolina Dry Docks / PURDUE Plank Jacks Two of the best defenses in the tournament… Defensive position and shuffle between cones!
KENTUCKY WILDCAT Werkins / AUBURN American Hammers (4-ct). Sometimes you have to just run normally.

Continue on to the ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR!

Things get harder in the Final Four… Run up and down the hill to the road, doing the following exercises:

MICHIGAN STATE Mountain Climbers at base (x10, 4-Ct), TEXAS TECH Tempo Squats (x10) at Top (because TT came out on top!)
AUBURN American Hammers (x10, 4-ct) at base, VIRGINIA CAVALIER Carolina Dry Docks (x10) at top. Still need to get to the top of the mountain baby!

Mosey to stop sign at corner of circle drive.

CHAMPIONSHIP: TEXAS TECH Tempo Squats (x10) at sign, then sprint to first No Parking Sign and VIRGINIA CAVALIER Carolina Dry Docks (x10) at for the win, baby!

3 BURPEES to simulate the jumping and excitement of the victory, then…

30-count stargazers to soak it all in.

MARY:

Basketball is all about the… X’s and O’s!! (on 6, X position, 6 inches off ground, then V with arms and legs together in the air.)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Six strong. (J-Lo not tagged)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
At the end of the NCAA tournament, CBS always shows an awesome montage called One Shining Moment that documents the incredible highs, and the crushing lows of the past few weeks’ action-packed games. I recently read an article about an athlete who created a shining moment for a special fan.

Alex Bregman, 25-year old infielder for the Houston Astros, has a group of friends that he hangs out and lives with (The Boys) and they do a lot of things on social media, like random acts of kindness, practical jokes, etc. Late last year, a relative of a young fan messaged Bregman on Instagram to say that the fan was dying of Stage 4 brain cancer and that he’d asked to be buried in Bregman’s jersey. “A signed note or jersey would make his entire life”, the relative wrote. Bregman asked for his address. That week-end, Bregman and the Boys, leaving their cameras behind, drove up to the young man’s house and spent an hour at his bedside. Two days later, Bregman received another message from the relative. “He died this morning. We are so grateful you saw him and made him laugh before he made his way home.”

Bregman took the time to give this young man One Shining Moment. An act of kindness can make the difference in someone’s life. Reach out to say hello to an old friend. Be Present (per Crawdad at our last Third F) when someone is going through a tough time. Do whatever you can to give a fellow human being One Shining Moment in their day, or week, or life. It will mean all the difference in the world to them.

2 CORINTHIANS 1: 3-4

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles that we may be able to comfort others with troubles, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Pass it on. Be someone’s shining light in their times of trouble, just as God is your shining light, your beacon, your hope when you are faced with your personal tribulations.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Be aware that some workout groups (not ours… yet) have been approached by city officials and it has been suggested that they should pay for their workout time/space. Let’s hope this is not a glimpse into the future… Also, be on the lookout for an announcement in May to help our brother Pinto out by doing some yardwork as he continues to recover from his heart attack.

ShamPain Toast at the Asylum

March 20, 2019 Pele

THE SCENE: Mid to upper 50s, sunny, beautiful
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check.
WARM-O-RAMA:

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

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

– 20 Imperial Walkers (4-ct), in Cadence

– Bolt 45s

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to open, low-lying field near north entrance.

SHAMROCK of PAIN!! FOUR (THREE) CORNERS : There will be three sets of cones set up in diamond formations, somewhat reminiscent of a shamrock… Hmm. Imagine that.

We will split up and move through the Shamrock of Pain and do the exercises on each cone. Rinse and repeat each leaf. We did 1/2 the number of reps about 3/4 of the way through to save time.

First “leaf” (Bear Crawl between posts)

- 10 Burpees
- 20 Merkins,
- 20 Carolina Dry Docks

Second “leaf” (Hop between posts)

20 Big Boy Situps
20 American Hammers (4-ct)
20 Hello dollies (4-ct)

Third “leaf” (Lunge between posts)

- 20 Smurf Jacks
- 20 Iron Mikes (each pair of legs = 1)
- 20 Tempo Squats

MOSEY along path adjacent to Northshore to EVEREST

EVEREST PYRAMID :
1. Run 3/4 way up Everest to big tree, at the bottom do the following:
  - 10 Tempo Squats
  - 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Mountain Climbers (each pair of legs = 1)
  - 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Diamond Merkins
  - 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Diamond Merkins.
  - 10 Diamond Merkins

Go over Everest and Mosey to AO

MARY:

Flutter kicks
Boat/canoe
Ring of Fire Merkins (had to stop after 4 reps because we were out of time)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 Men, including one FNG, Shane (forgot his last name, sorry!) who we named Shakespeare.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Leadership Shamrock . I read an article in the Harvard Business Review recently about Leadership. Creating Trust is a critical component of being a leader. The level of trust is the #1 factor for how people rate the effectiveness of a leader. How can you follow or take direction from someone you can’t trust? A huge study was performed that looked at data from 360 assessments of 87,000 leaders. The objective was to identify “clusters” of traits that are most often the foundation of trust. The researchers performed correlations and factor analysis statistical tests on the data to “group” the characteristics that most strongly influence the level of trust in a leader. There were three primary factors (kind of a “Leadership Shamrock” that can be used to reinforce trust principles similar to how St. Patrick used the shamrock to describe the Holy Trinity) that were commonly grouped as most important for engendering trust among others.

POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Stays in touch on the issues and concerns of others.
Balances results with concern for others.
Generates cooperation between others.
Resolves conflict with others.
Gives honest feedback in a helpful way.

GOOD JUDGMENT/EXPERTISE (how well informed and knowledgeable you are)

They use good judgement when making decisions.
Others trust their ideas and opinions.
Others seek after their opinions.
Their knowledge and expertise make an important contribution to achieving results.
Can anticipate and respond quickly to problems.

CONSISTENCY (do they walk their talk and do what they say they will do)

Are a role model and set a good example.
Honor commitments and keep promises.
Follow through on commitments.
Are willing to go above and beyond what needs to be done.

Additional take-home messages of the study:

You don’t have to be outstanding at all these to be an effective leader, just strong/above average. Being below average in any can destroy trust.
RELATIONSHIPS the most important of the three. Perhaps people understand that leaders can’t know EVERYTHING, and that some inconsistency is to be expected. But once Positive Relationships are damaged, every other aspect of trust suffers.
Think about which of these three you are weakest at, and then work to improve that area.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pusher’s mother, who is very ill.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Convergence is the last Saturday of the month. Sign up on the Calendar!