F3 Knoxville

Tag: Abacus

Cooperation

THE SCENE: Cloudy and Chilly, low 40s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 SSH, (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Cherry Pickers, 4-ct, IC

– Little of this and that/ Michael Phelps/ Arm Circles

– Bolt 45s

THA-THANG:

MOSEY up Serpentine sidewalk and back down Baby Cardiac to CMU parking lot.  For a warmup.  Battle Buddy up, and each pair gets a piece of chalk.

COLLECTIVE EFFORT

We will work together to accomplish a difficult task in the CMU parking lot/Pavilion area, which will be completing a high number of reps of various exercises, all together, as a PAX.  As we complete the reps, we will cross off the markers to track progress.  If we do not complete all reps with 5 minutes left, we end with 20 Burpees, otherwise, we will do Stargazers.

The Tasks will be broken out as follows:

CMU Pile:

– 500 Curls (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  500 Overhead Presses (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

– 500 Squats (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

BABY CARDIAC:

  • 50 Sprints up Baby Cardiac (Marker indicators 2 trips each, 50/5 = 25 markers)

SUICIDES:

  • 50 Suicides (Marker indicators 2 suicides each, 50/5 = 25 markers)

CORE WORK:

– 500 LBCs (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  200 Big Boy Situps (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

– 200 American Hammers (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

PAVILION:

– 500 Jump or Step Ups (2-ct) (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 500/20 = 25 markers)

–  200 Decline Merkins (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

– 200 Bench Pullups (Marker indicators 20 reps each, 200/20 = 10 markers)

We ended up with more guys than expected, so we easily finished all the reps, and rinsed and repeated quite a few of them.  Ended with a final sprint up Baby Cardiac.

MARY:
Flutter Hammers, E2Ks, Box Cutters (all 20 reps, 4-ct IC)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 strong. Jetlag not tagged.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Quite frankly, I considered dropping my Q today, after witnessing the disgusting, inexcusable acts against our Capital building, the house of the people yesterday.  I was so disheartened, so sad, so ANGRY that I thought it beyond me to lead a Q after that.  But then I reconsidered.  If I just dropped the Q, that would be an abrogation of my responsibility. I would be putting the burden on someone else.  I would be turning away instead of being out front during a conflict.  Part of F3 is to foster leadership.  I don’t consider myself the world’s greatest leader, to be honest.  I’ve always been more of a Doer than a Leader.  But I’m trying to improve myself in that regard, and turning away is not what leaders do.

So, I Q’d today, but I scrapped my original workout and my BOM.  I’ll save it for next time.  I wanted to focus on doing something together.  Something collaborative, where we work towards a common goal.  We need more of that as a nation, because right now, guys, we are a broken and lost community.

One of the things I really appreciate about F3 is that it is apolitical. It has some pretty clearly stated goals, is very inclusive, and refrains from taking political stances.  I loved the National F3 response in the wake of the racial protests this past summer.  Their response was, “We have no response.  Our ethos speaks for itself, and we will continue on that mission.”  So I will honor that approach, and won’t go down a rabbit hole today voicing my opinions about what happened yesterday. With one exception…

One of the things that angered me the most of what I saw yesterday was the carrying of flags that invoked the name of Jesus, our lord and savior.  I’m not a biblical scholar, and I don’t pretend to be able to channel what Jesus would do or say in witnessing the ugliness of the mob yesterday, but I feel pretty confident that He would be sad, disgusted, even angry.

In the Sermon on the Mount (found in the Book of Matthew) Jesus Christ laid out the central facets of the way of life He taught His followers. One of the central themes of the Sermon on the Mount is Christ’s expectation that His followers be characterized by peace—not violence or war.  Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Christ’s followers should be characterized by living a way that leads to peace, not by violence and strife.  The apostle Paul wrote that Christians are to do whatever possible to “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18), and many scriptures support the basic truth that Christians are to “pursue peace with all people” (Hebrews 12:14; see also 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 5:22; James 3:17).  And with regards to hatred of fellow human beings, Jesus likens hating another man with breaking the 6th Commandment (Thou Shalt Not Kill) and says, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5:21-22).

I saw a lot of hatred in the faces of the mob yesterday.  I felt more than a little of it creeping into my own heart.  Hatred for our fellow humans, especially for our fellow Americans, is not the path of a Christian.

In closing, just some humble words of advice… I’ve heard it said recently that the biggest threat to our democracy and to peace between us isn’t Russia, Iran, the Corona virus, Republicans, Democrats, etc.  It’s the spread of disinformation on the internet and social media.  I tend to agree with this statement.  Please… before you form a definitive opinion on something, before you pass judgment on someone or something, and before you forward something on, share, post, like, whatever… just do a little research on it.  Take a look at multiple sources of information that are neutral, that are reliable, that can be substantiated, that don’t have an agenda.  Falsehoods, exaggerations, and us-vs-them mob mentality largely fueled what happened yesterday.  We need to start respecting and working cohesively with each other, like we did in the workout today, or we are lost.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for friends and families of the PAX that are healing from injuries, or dealing with deaths and sickness from COVID.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Asylum CSAUP Jan 30, 6:30-9:00 am. Asylum shirts are now available on Mudgear!

Success in Catastrophe

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, temp in mid-forties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Windmills, 10 Tempo Merkins, 6 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Southern Ball Fields Parking Lot.  We will run suicides to cones, always doing 15 Baby Crunches each time we come back.  Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to perimeter trail just south of the pavilion.  We will head east and then north on the trail, doing Nickel, Dime, Quarters with the following exercises:

  • Star Jumps
  • Merkins
  • Big Boy Sit-ups.
  • Squats

At the Serpentine Sidewalk we will mosey to the Caribbean Parking Lot.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Next, we will mosey to the CMU pile.  Each man grabs a CMU and takes it to the corner of the parking lot close to the Northern Ball Fields Entry Gate.  We will divide into teams of two for Doras.  While one team member runs (without CMU) to the Pavilion and does 10 Picnic Table Pull-ups, then runs back, the other team member is working on the exercises listed below.  Then partners trade places.  Each team will do the following exercises with the CMUs:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Squats
  • 100 Bench Presses (back on ground)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 present, no FNGs.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

John 16:33 ~ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

I saw a short news blurb on television the other day about Sumner Redstone, who died on August 11 of this year. He was a very successful business man.  He was chairman and majority owner of the National Amusements Theatre Chain as well as Viacom/CBS.  The news segment had an interview of Mr. Redstone.  There was something that this billionaire said in the interview that stuck to me.  He said, “Success is built on catastrophe and what you do about it.”

I want to remember that phrase.  Here was an owner of many different businesses who became a billionaire.  Yet, he was a man who didn’t expect things to go smoothly in his ventures.  In fact, he expected disaster to occur.  It is how one acts when faced with inevitable disasters that determines how successful we are.

Gents, life is going to hand us some messes in our future.  That’s just the way it is.  The question is not whether we will face catastrophe – because we will – but how we respond to the crises.  And, knowing that fact, it is also nice to know we have loved ones and a group of brothers we can talk to when we face the difficult circumstances.  We don’t have to face tribulations alone.  Those loved ones and our brothers are a gift from God, in my opinion.  Jesus said, “Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am present.”

Life is not a smooth ride.  But can turn our catastrophes into success.  Remember, God is there for you in those moments.  And, so are your brothers and the people who love you.  God and your brothers are there to strengthen you and to help you rise to the challenge.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Ribbed’s wife, Sarah, after her spinal surgery. Prayers of Doubtfire’s father who was recently diagnosed with Covid and for Mr. Jinxy’s father who was diagnosed with Covid several weeks ago.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP at the Asylum on Saturday, January 30 from 6:30 am to 9 am.  Also, we can order new Asylum Shirts, designed by Kentucky, on the F3 Mudgear website.

No Measure

THE SCENE: Clear sky with temp at about 33 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Run around parking lot, 25 Side-Straddle Hops, 20 Plank Jacks, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Rockettes, 7 Twists, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to start of Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will do 14’s on the sidewalk until it hits the perimeter trail.  We will Bear Crawl for one light, then run for four and continue this pattern until the perimeter trail.

Next, we will do 20 American Hammers.

Then we will head south on the Perimeter Tail doing nickel, dime, quarters with the following exercises until we get to the southern ball field pavilion:

  • Jump Squats
  • Merkins
  • Smurf Jacks

Mosey to large parking lot by the southern ball fields.  We will Bernie from one end of the parking lot to the other stopping at each large lamppost to do 20 Big Boys Sit-ups.  We will Skip back stopping at each light to do 10 Hand Release Merkins

Mosey to roadway that heads back to A0.  Stop to do 20 Squats.

Mosey to Caribbean.  We will alternate between Karaoke Right and Karaoke Left stopping at every fourth island to do 10 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
25 Baby Crunches (4 ct)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 Men with no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I was listening to a sermon by Shawn Slate, the pastor at my church, and he quoted a line from a book called When God Interrupts by M. Craig James.  The line, which really struck me, is: “There is no better way to lose your life than to constantly measure it.”

We get into trouble when we start measuring our life against the successes of others or against the “shoulds” that we create for ourselves.  I do not mean that goals are unimportant.  Goals give us something to strive for.  But, they can lead to the loss of a relationship with God.  They can keep us from truly seeing the virtue, the struggle, and the stories in other people.  If we are continually measuring our own lives we are probably ignoring the lives of others.  Our lives become one more item to mark off our checklist in our path to greatness.  And we end up playing the game the world wants us to play:  to have the nicest car, to get the best job, to move into the richest neighborhood.  We climb up the latter to success and ignore God’s world around us.

In God’s kingdom, our worldly measures of success don’t matter.  Jesus said, “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.”  And what did Jesus, the messiah, the king, do before his death?  What did he do to show the disciples what it is to be great in heaven?  He got on his knees and washed the feet of each one of them.  He served them.

In the same service that my pastor preached, our congregation sang a communion hymn called Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.  One of the lines in the song is “With thy favor, loss is gain.”

Perhaps part of being a High Impact Man is giving up the ways I measure myself as successful and giving up the ways I compare myself to others.  Rather, I should focus more on serving others, on washing the feet of fellow sinners, be willing to sit at the end of the row versus the front of it.  It is there that I am apparently much more likely to find God’s favor.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Corona Weight’s brother, Jared, whose parole hearing was extended from November to March.  He remains in prison.  After having an amputated thumb replaced he must have it removed again and, hopefully, replaced later.  Prayers for Curve Ball’s wife who is having surgery in Florida; for Goober’s step-grandmother who was recently diagnosed with Covid-19; and for Ribbed’s wife who will have surgery to remove a tumor at her spine on December 14.  Prayers for the vaccines for the coronavirus, that they may be effective and that they reach the world’s population quickly.

The Hills Are Alive With The Sounds of F3

THE SCENE: Nice Day! Chilly at 7:00 am start mid 40s. Clear sky
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Follow the Covid recommendation’s …. I am worse than any amateur, modify as necessary. We are going to do some hills today.

WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH X 15 , Butterfly Stretch ( Coach Dunn’s advice always appreciated), IT Band/Hip band stretch, quad stretch, arm circles, 5 Burpees. ( Pluto has no rhythm so the counting is always off a little )

THA-THANG:

The goal for this workout was to hit each of the primary hills in the Asylum AO. While planning the workout Pluto realized that an appropriate theme was the movie the Sound of Music. At multiple points in the workout the Pax sang the “The Hills are alive with the sound of F3” The singing was high spirited, but not in tune.

  • Run from AO start to base of Everest. At Everest Base: 20 Beachball  Merkins & 20 LBCs
  • Run up Everest – Al Gore till 6 up then Mosey to Stop sign. At Stop Sign 15 Squats with 5 second hold at bottom. Mosey to bathroom building at base of Picketts Hill.
  • Run up Pickets Hill with 5 Burpees at each plateau ( 5 Plateaus & 25 burpees if the hard side was chosen) Mosey down to Picnic Tables
  • Picnic Tables – 15 Picnic Table Pull Ups, 15 Dips, 20 Merkins in parking lot. Rinse & Repeat 2x. Did a few yoga stretches and core at  flagpole then mosey between ballfields to base of Cardiac Hill.
  • Run up Cardiac Hill with 10 Imperial walkers at every second light ( We sang the Hills Are alive at Base and put a headlock on a passing walker )
  • Mosey to CMUs… 20 Curls, 20 Overheads, 20 rows with CMUs Rinse & Repeat x 2 then mosey to base of Baby Cardiac Hill.
  • Up & Down Baby Cardiac Hill 3 x with LBCs or Ankle touch core work at base x 20.
  • Finished together running up final hill to AO start point while singing “Climb Every Mountain”

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
24 Pax got better this fine morning! Pele, Drum Major, Waffle House, Lillydipper, Hot Tub, Hooker, Jumbo, Mickey, G String, Convoy, Choir Boy, Matlock, Dung Beatle, Gilligan, Abacus, Gobbler, Swimmies, High Heels, Crawldad,
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Pluto shared how one of his favorite movies to watch during the Christmas season was the Sound of Music. As we hit the four hills of the Asylum AO this morning the song the Hills are alive with the sound of F3 was an appropriate theme. It is a rare that we do all four of these hills in a workout. Only have time to do so on a 1 hour Saturday. As we finished the workout the song ” Climb Every Mountain” was a closing song and finished  the Sound of Music workout  theme nicely. Pluto then shared 10 points of Trivia related to the Sound of Music and a tie in to leadership lessons from the Sounds of Music that were in a Forbes Magazine article a few years ago.

Sound of Music Trivia:

The Von Trapps did escape Austria as the Nazis came to power, but they didn’t flee over the Alps, they got on a train to Italy and then traveled to America, where they had a concert tour scheduled. The day after they left, Hitler ordered the Austrian borders shut.

When they left Austria, Baron von Trapp and Maria had already been married for years and had two children of their own, with another on the way.

When the von Trapps came to America they settled in Stowe, Vermont. They opened the Trapp Family Lodge, which is operational to this day.

The Sound of Music was the eighth and final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, but Hammerstein never saw the movie. He died of stomach cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.

“Edelweiss” was the last song Oscar Hammerstein ever wrote, the production of the movie had to stop for two hours to teach all of the extras the words to the song for that scene.

When it came to the movie, Julie Andrews wasn’t the first choice for Maria! Producers wanted Grace Kelly or Doris Day to replace her.

Sean Connery, Richard Burton and Bing Crosby were in the running to play Captain von Trapp, before the role went to relative newcomer Christopher Plummer.

Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss also auditioned to be von Trapp children.

While filming the iconic opening scene, twirling in the hills of Austria, Andrews kept getting knocked down in the mud by the gusts from the helicopter carrying the camera.

Adjusted for inflation, it’s one of the highest grossing films ever made, right behind Gone With the Wind and Star Wars.

It had the longest first run in U.S. cinemas ever at four and a half years.

Forbes Magazine: Four Leadership Lessons from Maria Von Trapp 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffloftus/2016/05/28/four-leadership-lessons-from-maria-von-trapp-julie-andrews/?sh=3c7d0e4210c6

MOLESKIN:

As we prayed together we as HIMS so often pray for our significant others and others in the Pax undergoing spoken challenges. Please remember that each of us has our own challenges each day & that all of us are going through something. Remember to pray for all the unspoken needs of our Pax and fellow f3’ers
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The workout was followed by a well attended and enjoyed coffee time at Panera.

Giving in Thanks

THE SCENE: Beautiful and sunny day, temps in low 60s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Gobble Trot around the parking lot, 7 Baby Arm Circles forward and backward, 5 Wide Arm Circles forward and backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey on trail toward Mt. Everest but stop halfway for 20 American Hammers.

Continue mosey to base of Mt. Everest.  We will do 10 Tempo Merkins and 10 Tempo Squats.  We will then run to top of Everest.  At top we will do 30 Baby Crunches, 20 Hello Dollies and 10 Shoulder Taps.

Mosey to Shaded Parking Lot across street from Northern Ball Park Entrance Parking Lot.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks.

Mosey to Caribbean Parking Lot.  We will run a U shape around parking lot stopping at every 3 islands to do exercises.  Those getting to end of U first will sweep men back.  Here are the exercises:

  • 20 Smurf Jacks
  • 10 Hand Release Merkins
  • 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)

Mosey go grassy area by first ballpark off of Northern Ball Fields entrance.  We will play a game of 10 second huddle football (no more than a ten second huddle between plays).  The game will be touch with one blitz allowed per four down and only mid field being a first down mark.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
29 men/boys with one FNG, 5-year-old Jack, son of Lunch Money.  Jack now has the F3 name of Turkey Gobbler!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I had the opportunity to look at some quotes from Presidents that each made on Thanksgiving Day.  I was struck by how many, in giving gratitude for the way our nation has prospered, also gave attention to the need to give to others, particularly the less fortunate.  I will quote from two of those presidents:

Calvin Coolidge 1925:

 “As we have grown and prospered in material things, so also should we progress in moral and spiritual things. We are a God-fearing people who should set ourselves against evil and strive for righteousness in living, and observing the Golden Rule we should from our abundance help and serve those less fortunately placed. We should bow in gratitude to God for His many favors.”

Ronald Reagan 1981:

“In this spirit, Thanksgiving has become a day when Americans extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. Long before there was a government welfare program, this spirit of voluntary giving was ingrained in the American character. Americans have always understood that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks.”

To give to others is an American call and certainly a call for F3.  I am proud of F3 for the principal we attempt to follow of giving to the community and those in need.  I have been struck by the way are N’antans, currently Judge Judy and formerly Abscess and Cap’n Crunch have made that a mission of F3 Knoxville.  Let us keep the spirit of giving in our hearts as we give thanks for our blessings.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pinto, for Ribbed’s wife as she goes through surgery for removal of tumor by spine on Dec 14, for Curveball and his wife as they head to Florida on Saturday for surgery she will have there early next week, for the wonderful woman that F3 helped clean shelves in her garage last week, and for the lonely and isolated in our country on this Thanksgiving Day.