F3 Knoxville

Tag: Abacus

You Are More Than Your Job

THE SCENE: Windy, temps in low 60s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 10 Cherry Pickers, 20 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Windmills, Sitting knee stretches 10 count right, forward and left.
THA-THANG:
Mosey up Dragon Tail to Haslam Rock.  Stop on roadway to do 20 Box Cutters.

Mosey to Coliseum Courtyard Area.  We will run counterclockwise around the sidewalk loop.  We will do the following exercises around the circle:

  • First loop:  20 Bench Dips at Coliseum and Admin Bldg steps and 20 Merkins at the two sides of loop.
  • Second loop:  20 Box Jumps on Steps and 20 Carolina Dry Cocks at sides of loop.
  • Third loop:  20 Calf Raises on Steps and 20 Diamond Merkins at side of loop.
  • Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to roadway area close to Haslam Rock.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey on Perimeter Trail to area at bottom of Mt. Everest.  We will split into teams of two and do Doras.  One partner runs to the construction fence going south on the perimeter trail, touches the fence and runs back.  The other partner works on the listed exercises and then partners switch.  As a team, the partners will do the following exercises:

  • 150 Freddie Mercuries (4 ct)
  • 150 Jump Squats
  • 150 Baby Crunches
  • 150 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Abdominals
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 men with one FNG:  Robert Kelly whom we dubbed Kung Blue.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I know that some men in our brotherhood and some M’s of our brothers have struggled with the jobs they are in and the vocational decisions they are attempting to make. It is difficult to have a job that just doesn’t seem right for you.  It can be bewildering to wonder what direction your professional life should take. It can feel oppressive to go to a job you just don’t like and wonder when the right job will come along.  I look back to my own vocational struggles when I was in my 20’s and early 30’s. I can say that during some of those struggles I was clinically depressed.

As a 66-year-old who has been in the job market for quite some time, let me offer some words to you that may help be of benefit to those of you who have struggled vocationally or who have loved ones who have struggled:

  1. You are more than your job.  I know of people who feel they have never found the “right job.”  But some of them are amongst the finest people I know.  Yes, at parties we may introduce ourselves to others and answer the questions about what we do for a living.  But that isn’t our identity.  There is so much more:  our worship, our families, our friends, our activities outside of work, how we listen to others, how we treat others, how we lead others.
  2. If you are dissatisfied with your job, keep looking.  That doesn’t mean quit your current job.  But network with others, talk to your brothers, let them know you are looking for something new.  Also, when you interview for jobs, that in itself can be a learning process.  I am proud of my son, Bennett, for his growth through networking and interviewing in the past year.  He had a good job but wanted something different.  He thought he wanted to get into the banking industry but he wasn’t sure in what area or what direction to take.  He gradually found out a job that is fitting his desires by networking and interviewing for jobs that weren’t quite the fit.
  3. As our brother High-Heels said in a recent Q, even if you aren’t thrilled with your job, it’s a blessing to have it.  You are getting paid.  Your job is putting food on the table.  There are many people who are jobless and hungry.  Don’t forget that.
  4. You have an opportunity to serve others, no matter what your job.  You can smile at your customers, try to make their lives better, and enhance the lives of your fellow employees with a kind and eager spirit.  And, no matter what your job, whether physician or trash collector, that work is probably contributing to what makes our world spin.

I will sum up the last point with some of the words from a song we sometimes sing at my church called “Day by Day.”

Server, you remind us of our Savior's bowl and towel.
Teacher, you are raising up a child to be kind.
Lawyer, give us hope that justice one day will surround us.
May God's kingdom come, on earth His will be done.

Farmer, you are working for a table full of bounty.
Painter, with each color you are teaching us to see.
Nurse, yours are the healing hands that touch the poor and broken.
May God's kingdom come, on earth His will be done.

Lord, be close to us.  Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, please put Your hand on us day by day.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Jinxy and his family after the death of Jinxy’s father.  The funeral was today.  Prayers of praise for Operation as his wife is over six weeks pregnant after she and Operation went through such a lengthy time with issues of infertility.  Operation is going to be a great father!!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hot Toddy Triple Q at the Asylum on Saturday morning, January 28 at the Asylum!  Pusher will have his Birthday Q with Lumpia likely in February!

Infinite Games

THE SCENE: 43 and getting colder by the minute
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, rockettes, cherry pickers, runners lunge, Michael Phelps
THA-THANG:
Insert information about the workout.

  • Round 1:  25x cacoons, dips, SSH, calf raises
  • Round 2:  20x supermans, step ups, Rocky Balboas, squats
  • Round 3:  15x LBCs, incline merkins, Bobby Hurley, Apollo Ono
  • Round 4:  10x v-Up, decline merkins, plank jacks, lunges
  • Doras:  planks + calf raises, then shoulder taps + sprints

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
From The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek.  BLUF: play the long game of life.

We can’t choose the game.  We can’t choose the rules.  We can only choose how we play.  With finite games, like football or chess, the players are known, rules are fixed, and the endpoint is clear.  The winners and losers can easily be identified.

With infinite games, like business, politics, or life itself, the players come and go, the rules are changeable, and there is no defined endpoint.  There are no winners or losers, there are only those ahead and those behind.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:Convergence at Bomb Shelter Jan 7, check out new way to sign up for Q in Slack

Remembering

THE SCENE: Slightly cool somewhere in the low 50s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

I think I covered all the points and no FNGs
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH IC – 20 /3ct
Cherry pickers IC / 10 IC
Baby Arm circles IC  /6 up, 6 down
Windmills IC/10
Grady Corns – IC /34

THA-THANG:

Quick Mosey to Rock Pile up the hill – 3 sets of Curl, Row, Press – IC/25 each set
Mosey to stop sign on north east side of admin bldg.
Lt Dans – one lunge each leg, then 1 squat, one lunge each leg, then 2 squats, keep going until 10 squats
Mosey further up road by light at overlook

Progressive up then back down as follows:
Complete each first exercise  , then run up stairs to cone by tree, return. Then add one exercise , run to cone by tree, return until all 5 are completed. Then work down to 4, then 3, then 2, then 1 ending back up at the first one

  1. Star Jump – 5 x
  2. Merkins – 10 x
  3. BBS – 15x
  4. SSH – 20 x
  5. Freddie Mercury – 25 x

Mosey back down hill to sidewalk by small parking lot, stop at wall.
7’s – dips/jump squats. Start with dips at wall and run up to first light for jump squats

Mosey to sidewalk at top of hill
Nickel dime quarter-  4 ct Hello Dolly – Every other light (per Swimmies’ request) down sidewalk, then mosey to AO.

MARY:
na
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Dec 13 is the 4th anniversary of my son Grady’s death (F3 Quickrete). I have had the discussion about the grieving process with the F3 brothers during the past anniversaries of his death and his birthday. We all have lost loved ones – that is a part of life. Let’s remember the legacies our loved ones have left us, the good times we had with them and remember the impact they have had on our lives. Last night, on the evening news, they were talking about the Lockerbie Scotland bombing 34 years ago. There was a group of US students on that flight returning home for Christmas. One of the student’s parents commented that his daughter had written in her notebook (recovered from the wreckage in Lockerbie) that “no-one dies unless they are forgotten.” (BTW- Grady was born in Oct 1988.) So, lets take a few minutes and think about the loved ones that we have lost while I play Amazing Grace played by bagpipes (Grady liked bagpipe music so I think he would like this song).

MOLESKIN:
none
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The 1st of the Last

F3 Q: 12.1.22

The 1st Q of the Last Month of 22 

[ The Scene ] 

  • 40s getting into the 30s
  • Sun goin down 

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith 
  • My name is Steam and I’ll be your Q this morning 
  • A few things before we begin: 
    • I’m not a professional 
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • You know your injuries if you have any so if you need to modify anything we do today feel free to do so, but push yourselves and the men around you. They deserve it and so do you. 
  • FNGs? – 0

[ Warm o Rama ] 

  • Rockette: 10×4
  • SSH: 10×4
  • Zombie walk from one end of the parking lot to the other
  • SSH: 10×4
  • Merkin: 10×4
  • SSH: 10×4
  • High Knees down and back 
  • SSH: 10×4

Tour de Lights

[ The Thang ] 

(Mosey to the Coliseum) 

— Stop 1: Top of the Dragon

  • 5s (1:1, 2:2. 3:3, etc)
    • POC: Top + 3rd light down 
    • Xs
      • Top: Mountain Climbers (4ct)
      • Man Makers (8 count)

— Stop 2: Roundabout before the Coliseum

  • Core 4: 25 merkins, 25 squats, 25 BBS, + 25 Carolina dry docks  
    • All on a 1 count
    • In between each X, we’re going to run to the top where the building is, and execute 10 SSH together

— Stop 3: Middle of the Coliseum

  • The Triangle Pyramid
    • 3 POC: Think of the coliseum like a triangle – 2 base points on either side of the bottom + the top point where the admin doors are)
    • Starting on the right, we’re going to run the triangle, but it’s going to be pyramid style, meaning that the Xs are going to build upon each other 
      • C1: 1 cone (SSH)
      • C2: 2 cones (Merkins + Imperial Walkers)
      • C3: 3 cones (LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Dips)
    • Everything is 20 reps, on a 1 count

— Core 4 looking over at the lights 

  • American Hammer: 25×4
  • LLBC: 25×4
  • Penguin: 25×4 
  • Dead Bug: 25×4

(Mosey back to the AO)

[ Mary ] 

  • ATMs
  • SWS

[ COT ]

  • # off – 13
  • Name o Rama: Pele, Lillydipper, Tank, Title9, Pusher, Doubtfire, Dawg Paddle, Rooney, Brick, High-Heels, Abacus, Onstar, Steam
  • FNGs – 0
  • BOM

Where Are You? 

  • Genesis 3:6-12

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

(https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.3.6-12)

3 things I want to point out as we head into the last month of this year: 

  1. “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” — What locations are you allowing yourself or the loved ones around you to be in? Mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual locations that are good and healthy or locations that may not be as conducive to how we’re called to walk as HIM. 
  2. “God called to the man and asked “Where are you?” —  God will always call Adam first. It’s not a sexist thing or misogynist thing, it’s by design. We as men are called to lead. And we will answer for how we’ve led. Why would God ask Adam “Where are you?” when he knew exactly where he was at? Now that’s a powerful question. A question we can all  intentionally ask ourselves and others as we enter into the last month of 22 and into a new year – Where am I? Or where are you? Emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually, relationally, sexually, etc. 
  3. “The man said “The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” – This is where I get it wrong so much of the time when I’m convicted – it’s not my fault, it’s her. Or it’s their fault. Or it’s the circumstances’ fault. And some of that may be true. But what would it look like to have a generation of men stand up and say “It’s not my fault, but it’s my duty. My duty as a steward of what’s been entrusted to me, my duty as a gardener, protector, and HIM.” 

Closing — It’s easy to show up to a 45 minute workout (for me at least) and not be real. “How’s it going? Good? Good!” But I want to invite myself and all of us into a very scary and eye opening endeavor over the next 30 days – check your location. Where are you? Really? Take stock on your location mentally, physically, emotionally, sexually, spiritually, relationally, professionally, etc. The greatest thing about sharing your location with someone is that it demands accountability. 

F3 never has been, and never will be a men’s ministry. However, a men’s movement? Absolutely. Why? Because men are called to MOVE. 

Seven Generations

THE SCENE: Started off cool, around 40 degrees, but when the sun came out became fairly balmy.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Performed adequately.
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Motivators (5-ct, descending)
  • Plank jacks (x10, 4-ct, IC)
  • Mountain Climbers (x10 4-ct) IC
  • Windmills (x10, 4-ct, IC)
  • Grady Corns (x10, 4-ct, IC)

THA-THANG:

Mosey up the Dragon’s Tail to Haslem’s Rock.  20 American Hammers (4-ct, IC)

Mosey to Bottom of Everest. Nothing says “We shall earn our pumpkin pie” like Everest.

  • Run to stump and back, 10x Merkins
  • Run to stump and back, 20 x Squats
  • Run to stump and back, 30x LBCs, SSH until the 6 gets there.
  • Run all the way up via the Summit, doing the same reps of Merkins, Squats, and LBCs at some point along the way.  Al Gore at the top.
  • FOOD COMA: (30 second Star Gazer)

Mosey to Front of Admin bldg.  We’re gonna CARVE THE TURKEY.  Left side: LIGHT MEAT (LUNGES).  Right Side: DARK MEAT (DIVE BOMBERS).  12 O’Clock position, JUMP FOR JOY! (JUMP SQUATS)

  1. Go down 1/4 of the way to the left, 10 LUNGES (2-ct)
  2. Run back to Middle, 10 JUMP SQUATS
  3. Go down 1/4 of the way to the right, 10 DIVE BOMBERS (2-ct)
  4. Run back to Middle, 10 JUMP SQUATS
  5. Go down 1/2 of the way to the left, 10 LUNGES (2-ct)
  6. Run back to Middle, 10 JUMP SQUATS
  7. Go down 1/2 of the way to the right, 10 DIVE BOMBERS (2-ct)
  8. Run back to Middle, 10 JUMP SQUATS

Didn’t do #8, instead moseyed over to the benches on the small hill south of the Colosseum and took a gander at the construction and beautiful weather.

Mosey to small parking lot by Colosseum.

BATTLE BUDDY UP.

  • 5/10/15s
  • There will be two exercises for each round.  Each round = 3 trips.  One partner will Turkey Run (kind of a Duck Walk with arms flapping) up to the street and do 5 reps of both exercises, then switch out with the partner, who is doing a slow mosey in the bull pen.  The next time up do 10x both exercises.  Third time up 15x.  YOU CAN TAKE ONE REP OFF CUMULATIVELY PER TRIP IF YOU CLUCK LIKE A TURKEY while running up to the street, so take one rep off the first trip, two reps off the second trip, and three reps off the third trip.
    • ROUND 1: PETER PARKERS (2-Count) / PLANK JACKS
    • ROUND 2: BIG BOY SITUPS / FLUTTER KICKS (2-count)
    • ROUND 3: DIAMOND MERKINS / CAROLINA DRY DOCKS

Only did Round 1 due to time, but did all of the Round 2 and 3 exercises at the top of the rise x15 (x13 due to the clucking extra credit)

Mosey to Field below.

BACKYARD FOOTBALL!

  • STATIONS (Rotate from 1 to 6. PAX not in rotation are alternating between 5 Merkins and 10 SSH)
    • STATION 1: Kicker (throws the ball deep to Returner, becomes an extra defender.  Ball must be catchable.)
    • STATIONS 2-5: Defenders (chase Returner and tackle him , 2-hand touch)
    • STATION 6: Returner (gets as far upfield as he can)
  • Field will be divided into quadrants. 4 Burpees will be divided by Returner and Defenders as follows (R / D):
    • Last Quarter: 3 / 1
    • Next Quarter: 2 / 2
    • Third Quarter: 1/ 3
    • TOUCHDOWN by Returner: 0 / 4

MARY:
American Hammers, Hello Dollies each x20 (4-ct, IC)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 HIMs (Cheetah Boy not tagged)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The Iroquois have a philosophy or outlook on life called the SEVEN GENERATIONS PRINCIPLE

Any important action should take into account all of the history and wisdom from seven generations prior.  Also, how will your actions impact people seven generations in the future?  It embodies an idea of connectedness to a community that transcends time. How our actions affect not just those here now, but those that have passed, and those that will walk the earth when we are no longer here.

Connection to Thanksgiving: How can we learn from the wisdom of past generations?  Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a National Holiday in 1863, shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg that killed 50,000 Americans. It was a time of division, bitterness, hatred.  The first few paragraphs of Lincoln’s announcement addressed put a hopeful spin on the state of the union (debatable..), but then he said this:

It has seemed to me fit and proper that [God’s Gifts] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In the midst of a Civil war that was tearing this county apart, Lincoln was talking about charity, harmony, and Love of God.  Did NOT point fingers, dwell on the negatives, or complain about the state of the country.  Instead, he encouraged the people to celebrate as a single country and nation.  Despite differences that ended in 50,000 dead in a single battle just a few months prior, his hope was to create a holiday that would unify the country.  Bring us together.  One Nation, under God.  Today, the state of our country is divided once more, but nothing like it was at the time of the first Thanksgiving.  We should take a page from the Iroquois and use the wisdom of past generations to guide our ways today.  So as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we are charged to look back so that WE can be the ones to bring unity in today’s world when there is bitter division, so future generations don’t look back on our time here now and judge us for our divisiveness.  Here is to a peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those traveling
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Happy Thanksgiving!