F3 Knoxville

The Road Not Taken

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:

Mental Toughness

TTHE SCENE: Mid 60’s. Humid.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x 25 IC
OH Claps 4-ct x 25 IC
Squat x 25 IC
Dips x 25 IC
Alt Deadlift Squat x 25 IC
Calf raise x 25 out/fwd/in IC
Little this/that
Michael Phelps
THA-THANG:
Each man grab a station. AMRAP 1 minute at each station. Hit each station 4 times.
1. Shrug the twins/buckets of rocks
2. Weighted squat ruck or sandbag front load
3. Weighted dips ruck or sandbag
4. Sandbag deadlift
5. Lawnmowers with plates alt each 10
6. Weighted calf raise alt each 20 in/straight/out
MARY:
30 seconds of LBCs
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 brothers
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
6 exercises to improve mental toughness:
1. Get rid of extrinsic motivators – no music, no training partner. Suffer in silence alone
2. Develop good habits – Mentally tough people are more consistent than you. They create habits and relentlessly stick to them
3. Learn to ignore things you cannot control – Stoicism is the ability to endure pain and hardship without display of fellings and without complaint
4. Ruck – put a heavy pack on and go walk for hours.
5. Farmer carry – pick up some heavy shit and go for a mile walk.
6. Hang – grab and pullup bar, a tree branch or some playground equipment and start a timer. Work up to 60 seconds.
MOLESKIN:
No cardio but still worked up a great sweat and burned a lot of calories.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
OEW night at Abridged May 9 at 6pm.

KISS

THE SCENE: Mid 60s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x 25
Jog grinder down and back
Merkin 4-ct x 15 IC
Jog grinder down and back
Squat 4-ct x 15 IC
Jog grinder down and back
BBS 4-ct x 15 IC
THA-THANG:
ROUTE 66 by Crumpet:
Merkins
Squats
BBS
Alternate for the 6:
10 4-ct flutters
4 10-count Superman

10 rounds of sprints up Mt. Butterbilly together
Starting at 10 Burpees at the top with decreasing reps each round. We got in 3 rounds.
MARY:
CMU Thrusters x 20
CMU Flutter kicks 4-ct x 20
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 men got better.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
KISS – Keep it Simple, Stupid
Sometimes we overcomplicate our lives unneccesarily. I find when things feel out of control complicated, I just need to take it back to basics. Merkins, Squats, Big Boys. When life feels too overcomplicated and I’m stressed out, I go downstairs and hit the pull-up bar, do some merkins or big boys. All of a sudden I can see a little more clearly. Exercise sharpens the mind as well as the body.
MOLESKIN:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:OEW night at Abridged Brewery on May 9 at 6 pm. Some profits are donated. We had a good turnout last year so let’s do it again!

Humbling

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy 65 degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Over head clap x 40 IC

Imperial Squat Walker x 15 IC

SSH x 30 IC
THA-THANG:

Jelly Legs: Mosey to hill

  • R1: Hold Squat for 10 sec; 10 squats; run up hill; 2 burpees
  • R2: Hold Squat for 20 sec; 20 squats; run up hill; 4 burpees
  • R3: Hold Squat for 30 sec; 30 squats; run up hill; 6 burpees
  • R4: Hold Squat for 40 sec; 40 squats; run up hill; 8 burpees
  • R5: Hold Squat for 50 sec; 50 squats; run up hill; 10 burpees

Merkin Hill:

  1. Bottom of hill 10 merkin, top of hill 9 merkin
  2. Bottom of hill 8 merkin, top of hill 7 merkin
  3. Bottom of hill 6 merkin, top of hill 5 merkin
  4. Bottom of hill 4 merkin, top of hill 3 merkin
  5. Bottom of hill 2 merkin, top of hill 1 merkin

Mosey back to AO

MARY:
8 Count MM x 10

flutter kicks x 20 IC

8 Count MM x 10
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
My son broke a window playing baseball. I got mad about it and cleaned it up. As I was cleaning it up the thoughts of my childhood and the many things I broke, burned, blew up, destroyed, etc. came to mind. It gave me the wonderful opportunity to apologize to my son for getting mad and to remember my example to my sons. Yes, they will break things we love and can’t really afford to fix many more times, but it is always a chance to grow and to help them grow through easy lessons (broken window) to the hard ones…which I know are coming.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Powell High School 5K Saturday May 4 at 3pm

Dont Drop the CMU

THE SCENE: Cool and sunny
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Cherry Pickers x10 IC
  • Tempo Squats x10 IC
  • Merkins x10 IC

THA-THANG:
Goal of the workout – never set your CMU down. If you set it down, you’re responsible for keeping track of how many times. Total number of times it is set down by the group will result in certain punishment… see below.

  • 11’s on Crumpet – Squats at top, Blockees at bottom, Bernie up the hill each time.

CMU Kraken

  • 20 Curls, 20 Flutter Kicks, 20 OH Press, 20 Upright Rows, 10 CMU Swings, 20 Merkins, 20 Thrusters, 20 Squats

Punishment – The number of times CMU’s were set down results in that many reps of a specific exercise. Since there was only 3 of us, Hammy decided to give us a multiplier of 12 which was an unwise decision.

  • 0-30 = Burpees
  • 31-60 = Merkins
  • 61+ = Squats

We totaled only setting down the CMU’s 3 times, but since Goldfinger only had one fully functional hand, we took one of those away. So our ending was… 24 Burpees!

MARY:
LBC’s for the last minute because that’s all we had left.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Only 3 due to MMMM. FNG Goldfinger
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I’ve been hit with stress from multiple sides throughout the last few weeks. More than I usually ever have to deal with. I’ve found myself needing to turn to God a lot more and praying about it. Always remember He is one you can turn to in your time of need. He will never turn you away.
MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: