F3 Knoxville

Left vs Right

THE SCENE: Just like the perfect date. Not too hot, not too cold.  All you need is a light jacket!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Left and right theme today.  All excercises have delayed symmetry…
15x Left Straddle Hops IC
15x Right Straddle Hops IC
10x Travoltas (right side)
10x Travoltas (left side)
10x Buddy the Elf (left side)
10x Buddy the Elf (right side)
15x Sundials (left side)
15x Sundials (right side)

THA-THANG:
Mosey up to the Forbidden Parking Lot, line up on the curb…
10x single-leg calf raise
Mosey to other curb
10x calf raise on the other leg
Mosey back
R&R 3x, getting a bit faster each time.

Mosey on up the Matterhorn.
Stop halfway up and BooBoo Bear Crawl (bear crawl with one leg) for 25yd
Switch legs and continue BooBoo Bear Crawl for another 25yd
Mosey to the Pavalon

Perform the following exercises all on one side, run up the hill and back, then repeat with other side
10x Hanging Knee Tucks
15x Merkins – one hand and one foot on the bench
20x Step-ups (same leg)
15x One-sided LBC
10x One-handed Dips

Everyone made it through the list at least 4x (twice on each side)

Mosey back to the cones on the Matterhorn and BooBoo Bear Crawl back down.

Mosey on to the boats for 5x One-Handed 6-Count Body Builders (same as 8-Count but skip the Merkin) with each arm, then head back to the AO

MARY:
15x Side Crunches each side.
15x (or so) 4-ct Freddy Mercury
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 HIMs this morning.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
This politics season we have left and right duking it out as usual, which was what prompted this Left and Right Q, but as I worked on the details, God brought to mind a totally different left and right context in Matthew 6:

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Two points from the above… The first is the obvious one – Don’t do good stuff for recognition from man. Second is just one word – “When”, not “If”. It should be the default that we are going to help others – Be on the lookout for opportunities to practice “When”.

MOLESKIN:
Lovely concert during the beatdown from trumpet virtuoso Sparky!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 anniversary 11/3-4 – Sign up for picnic! Service ruck 11/17. Sign up online (links for both on GroupMe)

Knockin’ the Cobwebs Off

THE SCENE: Upper 40’s & frickin’ gorgeous
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Little bit o’ this
  • Little bit o’ that
  • High Knees
  • Butt kickers
  • Broad Jumps
  • Inchworm merkins

THA-THANG:

We moseyed to the roughly 1/2 mile to the PAVILON and then performed a long, grinding CINDY. For those not familiar, CINDY is an AMRAP of 5 pull-ups, 10 merkins, & 15 squats for 20 minutes.

After our 20 minutes was completed, we eased back to the AO by way of the Pee Rock pile. We used some nice, heavy pee rocks to get a set of 7-ups in.

MARY:

  • Freddie Mercury x 30 IC
  • Flutter Kick x 20 IC
  • Mountain Climber x 25 IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We discussed the giving of yourself to help others. It’s an incredibly hard habit to make and can be exhausting, but the results are a legacy that will far outlast your lifetime.
MOLESKIN:
Thanks for the grind today, PAX – I needed it!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Anniversary weekend is on the horizon.

Bend into the wave

THE SCENE: In 60’s, cloudy with some drizzle.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Plank Lifts, 15 Plank Jacks, 20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Stretchers, 10 Windmills
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Boulder Pile.  Grab appropriate size boulder.  25 Overhead Presses, 25 Curls, 25 Rows, 25 Squats with Boulder at Chest.

Mosey on roadways to Outdoor Chapel.  20 Hello Dollies.  Sevens starting with six Burpees at one end of chapel and one Decline Merkin at stage end of chapel.  Elevens starting with ten Big Boy Sit-ups at one end of chapel and one Bench Dip at stage end of chapel.

Mosey north on roadway to parking lot that is just below Pickett’s Charge.  Do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Dragon Tail.  We will do Route 66 up Dragon Tail with the following exercises (doing exercise at each light):

  • Squat Jumps
  • Dive Bombers

Mosey to sidewalk that is at front of Admin Bldg.  Do Bernie Sanders to steps of Admin Bldg.  Then do 20 Shin Lifts on a step of the bldg.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eleven men.  No FNG’s.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

In a book I am reading called Tears of an Innocent God, the author, Elias Marechal, talks about a Rabbi that was the only survivor in a shipwreck at sea.  When asked how he survived, the Rabbi recalled, “Whenever a wave arose, I bent into it.”  In our lives we cannot expect all to go smoothly for us.  There are going to be calm and glorious times.  At such times it may be easy to love life, to love our families, to love God.  But there are going to be difficult times as well.  At such times the problems in our life may come like giant ocean waves in what seems like a shipwrecked existence.  The waves appear ready to knock us down and drown us.  At these times it may be very difficult to love our lives, love our families, love God or even believe there is a God.    We must expect the good and the bad.  We must learn to lean into the the waves.  As Elias Marechal states, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are both days to experience God.  We can do so in both good and bad times.  At Steve Earl implies in his awesome song, God is God, God is there and God has the power whether we like what is there for us are not.  Face the hard times.  Trust God and even appreciate Him in those hard times.  Lean into the waves and perhaps, if you can trust God enough, you may even find yourself, as Peter did with Jesus, walking on water, if only for a moment.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brewski at Union Jacks immediately after workout.

The Peace of Wild Things

THE SCENE: Pleasant temperatures in the upper 70s, but still dang humid
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Boom. Nailed it.

WARM-O-RAMA:
20 SSH IC, 20 Imperial Squat Walkers IC, 20 Windmills IC (PAX really needs to work on getting the coordination and count down on these… 😉 ), 20 baby-to-big arm circles IC, front/reverse

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Area 51.

We will do Partner DORAs starting at the parking sign off of the perimeter road just south of the Admin building.. While one partner runs to Area 51 parking lot/loading Dock and does 5 squat jumps and runs back, the other starts the exercises.  Each pair shall complete the following, cumulatively:

  • 100 Big Boy sit-ups
  • 200 Lunges (doing both legs counts as 1)
  • 100 Merkins

Mosey around perimeter road to grassy field between Admin Building and main park road. Cones will be laid out in a large rectangle.  Move around the cones, doing Bernie Sanders on the long sides and bear crawls on the short sides.  Stop at midpoints and corners for exercises.

  • At midpoints (long side only), do 15 Carolina Dry Docks
  • At each corner, do 10 mountain climbers (4-ct)

Rinse and repeat, but replace the exercises with the following:

  • At midpoints (long side), do 15 Bobby Hurleys
  • At each corner, do 10 Plank Jacks

Mosey to path leading to Admin building.

Bernie Sanders up the sidewalk to the stairs, and do 50 calf raises on the stairs.

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
Captain Thors, 20 Hello Dollies (IC), 15 tempo merkins (IC), 40 E2Ks (10 each leg, rinse and repeat), 20 modified table saws (IC), 20 froggie/heel touches (IC)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 fine men, all tagged except for Foff (sp?) who is still not registered.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The Peace of Wild Things

Outside of church, I have always felt closest to God while immersed in the beauty of nature, surrounded by a world so achingly beautiful that it makes me so grateful and humbled that we have been placed in such surroundings.  Whether it is standing on a ledge looking at a spectacular waterfall, gazing out across a valley tinted with fall colors from a peak, or simply looking at the contours and pigments of a simple, perfect flower, I feel the work of God in my heart.  I wanted to read this poem, which I stole-borrowed from a fellow F3er’s Facebook page (Thanks Lillydipper!)

“The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Barry

When Despair for the World grows in me

And I wake in the night at the least sound

In fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

Rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds

I come into the peace of wild things

Who do not tax their lives with forethought

Of grief.  I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

Waiting with their light.  For a time

I rest in the grace of the world. And am free.”

Prayers that we pause and truly appreciate the beauty of our world whenever possible, and that we are wise and responsible stewards of our wondrous planet so that it is preserved for generations to come.

MOLESKIN:
Congrats to Mr. Jinxy and best wishes on the marriage of his daughter this week-end!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Lots of stuff coming up… Atlanta Mud Run, F3 Olympics, Cleveland, TN F3 kickoff all in the next month.  Stay tuned…

Practicing Mental Toughness

THE SCENE:
Low 20s C.  We were tough enough to handle the humidity.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
Mosey to the flag & Good Mornings
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • 20 SSH
  • 20 Rockettes
  • 20 Squats
  • 20 Plank Jacks
  • 10 + 10 Super Baby Arm Circles
  • 5 Cherry Pickers

3/4 lap with some High Knees, Butt Kickers, Skips ending at the playground

THA-THANG:

30:4:30’s (5 here, 25 there; then back for 10, 20; etc…  For a total of 30 each time.)

  • Exercise 1 – Swtichfoot/Toe Tap 4ct @ playground kerb.
  • Bernie up the slope to the lil path.
  • Bear crawl to splash pad
  • Exercise 2 – Flutters 4-ct @Splash pad
  • Mosey out the back of the pad, round and back down.
  • Hold plank for the 6.

Mosey back to flag.  Rainbow gave us a 10 count while we paired up.

  • 10 Hand Release Merkins – high 5 buddy
  • 20 Big Boys – high 5 buddy
  • 30 Dolly Partners – Hello Dolly tapping feet with Buddy
  • 20 Squats
  • 10 Dips
  • 1 lap (sprint up the hill to flag for extra credit)
  • Rinse and Repeat.

We managed four laps before we decided to hit Mary a little early.
MARY:

  • 20 Freddie Mercury
  • 20 LBC Chasers
  • 20 Superman
  • Bunny lead us in some Captain Thor’s up to 6
  • 10 BBQ squats (Low and Slow)
  • 20 Plank Jacks
  • 40 SSH to take us to the hour

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Seven strong today.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I saw a video on Social Media featuring Nick Saban talking about Mental Toughness.  He defined Mental Toughness as “What does it take to break you?”  Are you frustrated, what does it take to make you give in? Is it too hot.  Do you have a little knock?  Does that break you?  Does it make you lose focus?

The video made me think about other areas of my life.  What is it that the kids can do to break you?  (“Just get in the CAR!”)  What does it take to make you give in on being a Dad for a minute/hour/rest of the day?  Make you check out mentally? What makes you frustrated at work, makes you lose focus and take it out on someone else?

I don’t have any quick fixes – no medicine that can give you more Mental Toughness.  It’s all about self-discipline.  That thing that makes you come out early and do first F.  I think that F3 can help you to exercise your mental toughness muscle so that when the time comes you have the discipline to do what you need to do, when you’re supposed to do it, the way it’s supposed to get done.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: