F3 Knoxville

Atomic Habits

THE SCENE: Starting to get gloomy in the fake gloom
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Did it
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH, this & that, Imperial Walkers, arm circles foward/backward, Rockettes
THA-THANG:

  • In memory of Grady Pitstick, a Dora with a total of 34 (would have been his 34th bday) deconstructed burpess while Battle Buddy did countless Grady Corns
  • Dora with LBCs and Bring Backs
  • Steps Up and Calf Raises
  • CMU Doras with Curls, Presses, Squats, and Big Boys

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Dozen
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
A review of “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. A book about habit formations, how and why they form, and how to created new or change old habits.  A few key takeaways for me:

  1. Habits are like compound interest.  Saving $1 isn’t going to change your life, but saving $1 every day over time will.  Same for certain habits.  Smoking today isn’t going to kill you, but smoking everyday for years might.  Eating healthy today isn’t going to make you lose weight, but eating healthy every day will lose weight over time.
  2. To change your habits, you must change your identity.  Your mind believes you are what the evidence says you are.  You cannot claim your identity to be a fit man if you sit on the couch and eat junk food.  The evidence doesn’t support the identity.  You must give yourself evidence of the identity overtime, and habits are they way to do that.
  3. “You do not rise to the levels of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems”.  A lot of people focus on goals, which are good, but goals alone won’t help you achieve a goal.  I want to be a more fit man for my health and my kids, but if I only have a goal, I’ll never get there.  I need systems in place, like habits, to be the focus on my attention.  You have to focus on the actions that build up overtime to reach the outcome you want.  Create habits that will support the goal, and focus on those habits. The goals will take care of themselves.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

MOLESKIN:
Steam and his new bride.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Clothing drive, canned food drive, Brolympics 11/5 at Lakeshore.

Fun With Pumpkins!

THE SCENE: Perfect fall day! low 70s, sunny, a bit of a light breeze
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Performed adequately.
WARM-O-RAMA:

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

– Air Squared (Squat chair while forward extended arm claps) 10 Overhead/ 10 sideways (seal claps)

– 10 Windmills (4-ct, in cadence)

– 10 LBACs Forward/backward (half small, half big)  (4-ct, in cadence)

THA-THANG:

Mosey to the north perimeter trail past the small parking lot. Get the Pumpkin that the Pumpkin Fairy left in the culvert.  Indian Run around northern trail loop and then over 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.  If we drop the pumpkin, we all do 10 BURPEES. (thankfully, this didn’t happen in spite of several PAX recklessly throwing the pumpkin around when they were passing it.  Scoundrels!)

  • The Pumpkin Says (Done at three stopping points on the Indian Run)
    • Get in a line. Do the following exercises, doing a special Pumpkin exercise when it gets to you (in parentheses).
      1. Big Boy Situps (10 American Hammers w/ pumpkin) 2-ct
      2. Hold Plank (5 Pumpkin Press Burpees)
      3. Tempo Squats (10 Squat Thrusts with Pumpkin)

BURPEE BROAD JUMP INDIAN RUN up Everest to base of summit.  Get in a vertical line, do BURPEE BROAD JUMPS (1 Burpee, 3 broad jumps) up Everest.  Person in the back with Pumpkin runs to front of line and hands it off. Pass pumpkin to the back, rinse and repeat until we reach the base of the summit.

  • Push the Pumpkin to the Pumpkin Patch!
    • PAX running back and forth between cones, doing 5 Merkins at one end and 5 BBS or 10 LBCs at the other. One at a time, BEAR CRAWL to the pumpkin and do 3 LUNGES with the pumpkin.  BEAR CRAWL to pumpkin patch and run back. Leave it and return to PAX.  Next man up.  Keep doing it until we get the pumpkin where it needs to be.
  • Grinder!
    • Base of Summit: 5 Burpees
    • Top of Summit: 20 Big Boy Situps
    • Bat House: 20 Smurf Jacks
    • Bottom of Stairs: 20 Merkins

We got through 2 rounds of grinders

MARY:
Finished off with some flutter kicks.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 HIMs!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

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.

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.

There are always tradeoffs when you “improve”.  Time away from family, money, etc.  Life is not a checklist.  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:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
Announcements

Brolympics Nov. 5!

Passing of the Flag

THE SCENE: Ummm… perfect? low 70s, sunny, awesome.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Done satisfactorily.  Announced that this would be a CO-Q with the one and only STEAM!

WARM-O-RAMA:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

– REVERSE Tempo Squats x10, 4-CT, IC

– EL Capitan Lunges x10, 4-CT, IC

– SSH x10, 4-CT, IC

– PRISONER Cell Merkin Burpees x5, OYO

– E2Ks x 10 Left Side, x 10 right side 4-CT, IC

– CHERRY Pickers x5, 4-CT, IC

– TIE FIGHTERS  x5, Forward, x5 Backward 4-CT, IC

THA-THANG:

Bring CMUs down to bottom of the Summit.  Battle buddy up.

Partner 1 runs the mini-loop.  Partner 2 starts the DORAs.  Switch off.

Exercises, 50x each:

  • CURLS (4-ct)
  • OVERHEAD PRESS (4-ct)
  • GOBLET SQUATS (single count)
  • BIG BOY SITUPS (single count)
  • OFF SET MERKINS (Both sides =1)

BIRTHDAY CAKE RING OF FIRE

Get in a circle.  Battle buddies without CMUs hold a plank.  Those with CMUs will hold them above their heads, like candles.  These are those annoying fake candles that don’t blow out, though.  Sort of a Birthday cake ring of fire… One PAX will lunge around the inside of the circle, and “blow out” the candles as they pass.  PAX holding CMUs will go down and do one Blockee, PAX doing a plank will do 3 merkins.  PAX switch off holding the CMU and planking every round.

MOSEY up the summit.  One PAX rifle carries CMU, other Bernies next to him.  Switch half way. Return to AO.  HAND OFF TO STEAM, who lead us on the TOWER of POWER

MARY:
Motivators x 5

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

When I took over as AOQ on May 25 2021, I wanted us to focus on a few aspects of F3.

  1. Community Service: Coat Drive, Food drive, Cerebral Palsy center
  2. Cheerleaders for each other: Inside and outside the workouts
  3. Re-commitment to the values of F3. Effort, Form, Accountability

I’m really proud of the effort we’ve given to these points of emphasis over the past 16 months.  It has taken a commitment to these values, and we have risen to the occasion.  Well done, men!

But now it’s time to LOOK FORWARD  To a new chapter, both in my life personally as I move on the next half-century, and for the AO. Today, I couldn’t be more proud to hand the flag over to Steam.

To me, Steam is F3 in a bottle.

  • He approaches everything with a positive attitude.  There is no “can’t” in his vocabulary.
  • From constantly picking up Q’s, to taking on numerous leadership positions in F3… Social Media coordinator, Weasel Shaker, Troubadour leader and now AOQ… He leads by example, and it is infectious.
  • How often do you see him circling back to pick up the six? Say “you’re doing great, bro!” or complimenting someone on Slack?  Pretty much all the time…

I’ve never told him this, but working out with him at F3 was one of the things that helped encourage me to fully commit to the organization.  I had been coming sporadically, trying to figure out how much time and effort to put into it… I was cautiously invested in it, you could say.  After a few months, Steam showed up to the Fake Gloom (I think he had been in school for much of the previous few months?) and after working out with him a few times and getting to know him a little better, and seeing what he gave to F3 and what he said F3 gave back to him, well, it was really an inspiration to me that this organization was thought of so highly by a guy who had so many impressive leadership skills and positive outlook at such a young age. So, thank you, Steam, for being such a force of positive inertia for myself, and I’m sure many others.

The pastor at my church recently talked about 1 Timothy verses 2-7, which describes part of the conversations in letters that Paul had with Timothy.  Timothy was a very close pupil of Paul’s, many years his junior, and extremely competent and knowledgeable about the Scriptures, but preaching to his own congregation far from Paul.  The lessons Paul gave weren’t about how to give a great sermon, or what hymns to sing, etc. No.  They emphasized that the number 1 thing to do during your service is to PRAY FOR PEACE.  Big picture stuff, right?  So with Steam, in terms of teaching him how to Q, how to lead, how to inspire, I might as well save my breath.  He doesn’t need to hear one thing to me about any of that. Rather, similar to Paul’s words to Timothy, I would encourage him to maintain the Big Picture stuff.  What is F3 all about?  What makes it so great?  Steam already has everything he needs and more to step into this role, and I have no doubt he will keep the F3 flame at our AO brightly lit.

And as for RESPECT, which we spelled out using the first letter of each of the Warmup exercises (for those paying attention), I guess I get it now according to F3 tradition.  But I don’t want it from you just because it’s a number.  I want to earn it through my effort out here, my support of my brothers, and my commitment to the fundamental principles of F3.  Aye!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Prayers for several members of our PAX, who are recovering from injury or loss.
MOLESKIN:
Let’s Go STEAM!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
BROLYMPICS Nov. 5!!

The Tale of Two Balls

THE SCENE: Upper 50s, cloudy, some drizzle at times
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Some stuff and some stretching were done until Crawdad pulled up, which was even later for him than usual.
THA-THANG:

Mosey to the restrooms at the base of the dragon’s tail.

Pickett’s charge up to the Collesseum

Battle buddy up for Ghostman Baseball

One team rolls the workout ball to determine the exercise and reps for 1st base and runs there, does the exercise, and runs back.

The other team rolls a different workout ball to determine the exercises and reps to do at home while the first team is running the bases.

The teams switch.

Repeat for 1st and 2nd (doing the exercises and reps from the roll on the way out and running back the same path back to home without doing the workout at the bases going back.

Repeat for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

Repeat for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and home.

Mosey to the AO for a four-spoked wheel

First corner – 40 merkins

Run to the center of the parking lot for 3 burpees

Second corner – 40 curls with the rocks nearby

Run to the center for 3 burpees

Third corner – 40 squats

Run to the center for 3 burpees

Fourth corner – 40 LBCs

Run to the center for 3 burpees

MARY:
No time for Mary.  We held a plank for about 15 seconds until time

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 PAX, including Lillydipper and Pele who walked to nurse injuries (Pele still sweated like he had ran a marathon though – the circle of integrity was intact). Q-Bert doesn’t have a tag apparently because he was there but is not in the system.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Life is hard.  Regrets happen.  Strive for consistency, not perfection.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for all those who have parents who have passed or who are battling health issues.  It gets easier, but it never gets better.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brolympics coming in November

Giving Back

THE SCENE: Sunny, temp in high 80s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, 8 Cherry Pickers, 8 Twisties, 7 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 5 Paradactyls Forward and Backward, Stretches
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the stop sign at the Southeastern Corner of the Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks.

Mosey to the parking lot that is to the east side of the Utilities Bldg.  We will stop to do 20 Hello Dollies.  We will then Bear Crawl across half the parking lot and Lunge across the other half.

Mosey to the shaded area the the southwestern corner of the Utilities Bldg.  We will do 10 Tempo Squats.

Next, we will go along the perimeter trail as it heads south and then east toward the water area where there are benches overlooking the water.  We will run for six lights and walk for two lights until we get to our destination.  Then, each man will grab a boulder from the boulder pile near the water’s edge.  We will do the following exercises with the boulders:

  • 25 Shoulder Presses
  • 25 Curls
  • 25 Rows
  • 25 Squats

After putting the boulders back we will go west and south along the perimeter trail until we reach the pavilion that is close to the Lily Pad.  We will get there by running for six lights and walking for two lights until we reach our destination.

Mosey to the Outdoor Chapel.  We will do 20 Baby Crunches then run on the sidewalk as it circles the chapel.  We will rinse and repeat twice.

Mosey up the grass that is south of Pickett’s Charge.  We will be running up to the stairs that goes up from the small parking lot left of the coliseum.  There will be three hills to climb.  We will stop to do two burpees af the top of each hill.

Mosey to the end of the gravel parking lot for the Admin Bldg.  We will sprint about 50 yards north on the roadway.  We will take a brief rest and sprint back to the parking lot.  Then, we will sprint back to the AO flag.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks and 20 Bicycle Kicks
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
During my first number of years working as a psychologist at Cherokee Health Systems (where I still work), I spent about 6 hours per week consulting on the Oncology/Hematology Unit at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH).  I saw many many kids with cancer.  I loved the staff members, including doctors Ray Pais and Shahid Malik, on the unit because they were mighty special people. The staff had such a heart for the patients and the families of the patients who came there.  I also loved the kids on the unit.  Some had bald heads due to chemotherapy, some may have had trouble walking, some were sickly, some may not have had much longer to live.  But they still loved to play, they still loved to laugh, they still were affectionate, and they still had a zest for life. You might think that a cancer ward would be a sad place to work.  Certainly, there was sadness.  But I found it to be a joyful place to work.  Love abounded there.

My wife, Jan, a psychologist who works on all floors at ETCH, recently sent me an inspiring story about a former patient on the Oncology/Hematology Unit.  Hannah Lawson was diagnosed with a cancerous stage three brain tumor at the age of 7.  Her dog, Frenchy, was the first to notice something wrong with her.  Frenchy pawed at her pillow, knowing Hannah just wasn’t right. Her parents came in and found her disoriented and non-responsive.  Two days later, on Valentines Day in 2007, surgeons removed the brain tumor.

The journey was not over for Hannah.  She had to go through radiation treatment at the Thompson Cancer Survival Center.  During her months of treatment, she would sometimes get letters from U.S Soldiers overseas.  U.S. Soldiers often write to kids who have cancer and some become pen pals with kids. Hannah’s pen pal was a soldier named David Creech.  Hannah admired what these soldiers like David Creech did.  During her treatment and recovery, Hannah began to think of how she, also, might help others.  She created Hannah’s Army Angels which raised money for the pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.  Hannah’s Army Angels also collected supplies to send to soldiers overseas.  Because of what she had accomplished through her Hannah’s Army Angels, the Tennessee legislature recognized her bravery and compassion with a proclamation and special metal coin on the senate floor in Nashville.

After graduation from high school, Hannah went on to study nursing at East Tennessee State University (ETSU).  Now age 22, she still has some remnants of the cancer and brain tumor, including left-sided weakness and permanent baldness on the right side of her head.  Guess where she is now working?  At ETCH on the same ward where she received treatment all those years ago.  Pediatric oncology was always her passion in college. And, her prior treatment is one of her greatest connections to the young patients she is caring for ETCH.

Two other things to mention in this happy story.  Hannah is getting married in October.  And, her dog Frenchy, who found her that day back in 2007 and helped to save her life – she is still alive and will walk down the aisle as the flower dog on Hannah’s wedding day.

God, thank you for warriors like Hannah Lawson.  May they be an inspiration to us and reminder how, we too, can give back to our communities.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Crispr’s friend, Chris, whose mother recently had a massive aneurysm in her brain.  She is currently at the hospital.  Prayers for Mr. Jinxy’s father who has a heart condition that is worsening.  His father was recently released from the hospital.  Prayers of praise that the brain tumor of Swimmies’ sister was found to be benign.  Prayers for Lillydipper who has total shoulder replacement surgery this Thursday.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mt. Everest public run on September 10 at 10 am.  F3 family picnic on September 11 from 4 pm to 8 pm at Victor Ashe Park.