F3 Knoxville

Author: Rooney

I am the principal at West Haven Elementary School. I was an instrumental music teacher for 15 years before moving over to administration, where I have worked since 2006. I have 2 sons (ages 18 & 15) and am married to my wonderful wife, Julia Claiborne Whipple.

Slushy Workout

THE SCENE: Cloudy, low 40s, slushy, snow on ground, and in parking lots.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH (20, 4ct), Windmills (10), Baby arm circles (10 fwd, 10 back) and Grady corns (10), Squats (20, 4 ct), and Jack Merkins. Moseyed, stopped for 20 4ct LBCs, moseyed, stopped for set of 11s (dips/big boys).

THA-THANG:  Stayed on the walking/running path due to snow. Start with one of the following exercises, run to every other light pole, do one more of the exercise, and the run again until you complete 10 (end of path). Loop around, 5 Burpees at the end and start the process again with the next exercise on the list:

  • Big Boys
  • Squats
  • Merkins
  • Hello Dollys

MARY:
20 4ct American Hammers

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Men (especially young men) are struggling to find their purpose in our society and F3 is playing a role in helping with this. F3 doesn’t look for scapegoats, but accepts men where they are and provides a place to grow in a positive direction.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers were raised for the names of people who were suffering through lost loved ones or illness. Many of them neighbors.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2nd F at UJs afterwards.

Suicide Hill

THE SCENE: Sunny, warm evening around 75 F. Especially warm for February.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, Slow Windmills, Imperial Walkers, Rockettes, Baby Arm circles, & Cherry Pickers.

THA-THANG:

5 stations were evenly (or not so evenly) placed along the hill at Lakeshore. Each station contained a sheet with 2 exercises on it, one for going over the hill and the other for coming back. Starting at the bottom by the stop sign, the PAX was instructed to run up 2 stations and back one and perform the “Going” exercise 10 times. Then run 2 more stations and back one, perform the Going exercise 10 times. At the 5th station, perform both exercises (Going & Back) and then do the same thing (up 2, back 1) on the way back, except perform the “Back” exercises. Once the PAX reaches the 1st station, rinse and repeat but perform 15 of each exercise, 3rd round 20 of each. Exercises were as follows:

  1. Going – Merkins, Back – American Hammers
  2. Going – Monkey Humpers, Back – TIE Fighters
  3. Going – Box Cutters, Back – Shoulder Taps
  4. Going – Carolina Dry Docks, Back – Hello Dollys
  5. Going – Big Boy Situps, Back – Squats

(After 1st Round, I called an audible and just had us run to the next station instead of up 2 and back 1)

MARY: 

Circled up and finished with LBCs, Ring of Fire, and 5 Burpees

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA – 17 HIMs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
God is Love. Love conquers hate. I know that because I know in myself that love feels better than hate. Where there is love, there is hope and peace. Finished BOM with playing of Amazing Grace on trombone.

Cards Around Asylum

THE SCENE: Hot (89F), sunny afternoon, a few clouds in the sky, slight breeze.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Side-straddle Hop (20 4 ct), 8 4 ct. windmills (slow, stretch), 10 4 ct. baby arm circles (forward & backwards each), Michael Phelps, & Merkins (10 4 ct.).

THA-THANG:

After a mosey down to the greenway, the group made their way around the park by drawing cards. Number cards indicated how many lights to run and and how many of the exercise we would do when we arrived at the light. If the card drawn is a face card, the PAX would immediately do 10 of an exercise as follows: King – Merkins, Queen – Squats, Jack – Big Boys. If the card drawn was a one eyed Jack or the Queen of Spades then everyone did 10 Burpees. Otherwise, the suit dictated what kind of exercise we would do as follows:

  • Spades – arm exercise
  • Hearts – leg exercise
  • Diamonds – Core exercise
  • Clubs – Cardio exercise

The card drawer chooses the specific exercise to do once we reached the designated light.

MARY:
Arrived to the AO with no time remaining.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Welcome to Pop-a-Top (Jeremy) who showed up looking for an evening workout!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. F3 is continues because it is a great system. Let’s all (definitely including me in this) invest to make the system work well.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
New AO starts in Seymour this Saturday.

Keep Moving, Stay Warm

THE SCENE: Cold, cloudy, and windy.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, Slow windmills (get that stretch in!), baby arm circles, burpees, & Imperial squats.

THA-THANG:

At the coliseum, 4 stations around the outside. Each station has 3 exercise options. Choose one to complete and then run to the 3rd station and pick an exercise. Rinse & repeat. Exercises were as follows:

  • Station 1 (Core)
    • HELLO DOLLYS (20, 4 CT)
    • PICKLE POUNDERS (20)
    • BIG BOYS (20)
  • Station 2 (Legs)
    • SQUATS (20, 4 CT)
    • MONKEY HUMPERS (20)
    • BOBBY HURLEYS (20)
  • Station 3 (Core)
    • BOX CUTTERS (20)
    • LBCS (20, 4 CT)
    • SCISSOR KICKS (20, 4 CT)
  • Station 4 (Arms)
    • MERKINS (20)
    • DIPS (20)
    • CAROLINA DRY DOCKS (20)

MARY:
Big Boys & American hammers.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Excerpt read from a Fresh Air interview of Laura Coates.

On what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. means to her

When I think of Dr. King, the first thing that comes to mind is going to his museum down in Atlanta and looking at the number of times he was arrested. Now that might seem an oddity to people. Mostly, we think about his speeches and the impactful words, and he was an eloquent orator, and he was obviously deserving of all the accolades as it relates to his speechwriting and his sermons. But for me, I think about the number of times he was a civil rights first responder, … the number of times he went into the battlefield, the number of times he pulled an entire race out of the wreckage, the number of times that he subjected himself to physical violence. It’s the notion that myself, as a mother, looking at my young children, when all I want to do is grow old and watch them grow even older, that he had to accept the inevitability that he would not do the very things every parent wants to do. And why? Because he was thinking not only of his own children, but my children and my children’s children. …

Every time I think about his death, I think to myself, God, was that how young he was? And every year that I live beyond that, I thank him, because the life I have is because of the choices he made, because of the discomfort he experienced. And I just love this man for making those choices and for aligning his moral compass with what he was willing to do.

Parking Lot Circuit

THE SCENE: Very Foggy morning, but cool (68 F)

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, Windmills, Tempo Merkins, Rocky Balboas, and different jogs across the parking lot (buttkickers, high knees, and Karaoke)
THA-THANG:

After moseying to the 1st of 3 parking lots, we started a circuit of the 3 parking lots. Circuit involved starting with 5 of an exercise, run to the end of the parking lot, complete 10 of the exercise, run to the next parking lot, complete 15, run to the other end complete 20, run 15, run 10, run 5, run to the starting point, and start the circuit again with a new exercise. Exercises are as follows:

  1. Burpees
  2. Bigboys
  3. Squats
  4. Merkins
  5. Hello Dollys
  6. Exercise of Choice

MARY:
Gave a HIM choice of exercise to lead before time was up.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Words taken from Adolph Brown’s Blog DocSpeaks.com:

The phrases being grateful and being thankful are often used interchangeably as a result of most dictionaries listing them as synonyms.  However, there are subtle differences between the phrases.   The word thankful is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “pleased and relieved.”  The word “grateful is defined as “showing an appreciation of kindness.”  Here is where the distinction lies; being thankful is a feeling, and being grateful is an action.

Being grateful has two parts, one part is about appreciating what one has, and the second part is about recognizing where the goodness comes from (often an altruistic act).  Being thankful implies one is acknowledging their appreciation for something that someone has given them.  Per the old adage, “action speaks louder than words,” being thankful is an expression of words we use to acknowledge a kind act, and the action of gratitude is a deliberate practice. Being grateful builds on being thankful by helping us give deeper meaning to our lives, make sense of our lives and learn to affirm those around us for their roles in our lives. One can be thankful without being grateful, but one cannot be grateful without being thankful.

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson