F3 Knoxville

Tag: Convoy

Obstacles to Joy

THE SCENE: A beautiful 80 degree fall evening
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER done
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, cherry pickers, this and that, Rockettes, and some leg stretching
THA-THANG:
Insert information about the workout.

  • Battle Buddy (4 Rounds):  cacoons, pike ups, starfish, squats
  • Battle Buddy (4 Rounds): supermans, mountain climbers, LBCs, squats
  • Battle Buddy (around the Admin/Overlook):  10x merkins, squats, SSH

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 HIMs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

When I get in a funk, I read “The Book of Joy” by Douglas Abrams.  It documents a meeting between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama where they discuss “lasting happiness in a changing world”.  The book is separated in two sections, 1) Obstacles to Joy & 2) the Eight Pillars of Joy.

A quote that resonates with me: “Too much self-centered thinking is the source of suffering.  With a self-centered attitude, you become distanced from others, then distrust, then feel insecure, then fear, then anxiety, then frustration, then anger, then violence.”  It reminds me that, when I start focusing on myself, and forget to focus on others, things start going off track.  Like the F3 concept of “Living Third”.

The Obstacles to Joy

Fear, stress, & anxiety:  Stress & anxiety often come from too much expectation & too much ambition.  When we don’t fulfill that expectation or achieve that ambition, we experience frustration.  Often, we are not being realistic about our ability.  When we have a clear picture about our own capacity, we can be realistic about our effort. Then there is a greater chance of achieving our goals. But, unrealistic effort brings disaster. So, in many cases, our stress is caused by our expectations and ambition.

Frustration and anger: “A moment of patience in a moment of anger will save a thousand moments of regret.”  When anger develops, ask what is the cause? Then ask what will be the result of that anger? You will realize anger is of no use in solving problems. It just creates more problems.

Loneliness:  We are social animals & cooperation is necessary for survival, but cooperation is based on trust. When there is trust, people are brought together. When you have a compassionate mind, the atmosphere around you is positive.  If you feel fear & distrust, then others will distance themselves from you. They will feel cautious, suspicious, & distrustful.  And that brings about the feeling of loneliness.  Although the drive behind excessive self-focus is to seek greater happiness for yourself, it ends up doing the opposite. When you focus too much on yourself, you become disconnected from others. You also become alienated from yourself, since the need for connection with others is a fundamental part of who we are as human beings.

Envy:  What causes suffering in life is a general pattern of how we relate to others: 1) Envy toward the above, 2) competitiveness toward the equal, & 3) contempt toward the lower.  Often envy comes because we are too focused on material possessions and not on our inner values. When we focus on experience or knowledge, there is less envy.

Suffering & adversity:  Suffering can either embitter or ennoble us.  The difference lies in whether we can find meaning in our suffering. Without meaning, we can become embittered. But, when we can find meaning in our suffering, it can ennoble us.  The depth of our suffering can also result in the height of our joy.

Amazon book: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Joy-Lasting-Happiness-Changing/dp/1524708631/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1662562715&sr=8-1

Audible audio book:  https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Book-of-Joy-Audiobook/B01IQ15URC?qid=1662562762&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=4JBQYWP0YQ9EQ71QS9JS

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sept 10th, 9/11 Stair Climb, 10a Asylum

Sept 11th, Picnic, 4p Victor Ashe (check Slack for details)

Be a Leader, not a Boss

THE SCENE: A bit toasty, but not too bad.  The breeze made it tolerable
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check
WARM-O-RAMA:

-SSH x 10 (4-ct, IC)

-Plank Jacks (4-ct, IC)

  • Rockettes (4-ct, IC)

– 10 Windmills (4-ct, IC)

– 20 Moroccan Night Clubs (4-ct, IC)

– 10 Grady Corns (4-ct, IC)

– Little of this and that

THA-THANG:

MOSEY down Roadshow Run.  Head north on the path doing Nickel/Dime/Quarters (run 1 light do 5 reps, run 2 lights do 10 reps, run 5 lights do 25 reps) Go all the way to the small parking lot near where the main drive goes down to the ball fields.  Exercises are:

  • Merkins
  • Froggy Jumps
  • Imperial Walkers (2-count). NOT walking forward.

MOSEY to the hill south of the Bermuda Triangle

  • JINXY’S FOUR AND A QUARTER. Start at bottom of hill, run to top of slope and do 25 reps of an exercise, return to starting position.  R&R 4 times, totaling 100 of the exercise.  Do Flutter kicks or LBCs until the 6 catches up.
    • Round 1: Carolina Dry Docks
    • Round 2: Lunges (single count)
    • Round 3: LBCs (single count)

MOSEY to the Colosseum.  Stop at stop sign to do 20 Flutter kicks (4-ct, IC)

  • RUN to 3 o’clock position, do 20 SSH, run back down and then over to 9 o’clock position, 20 SSH, then meet back at center by Overlook.
  • Run to stairs. 10  SSH, run to the right about 50 feet, 10 SSH, run back to stairs and to the other side (left) 50 feet, 10 SSH, back to center. (NOTE: This was supposed to make a “UT” on our Garmin maps, but it ended up looking more like an anchor…)

MOSEY to AO

MARY:
20 American Hammers, 20 Dead Bugs (both 4-ct, IC)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 sweaty dudes.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Be a LEADER, not a BOSS.  Leaders join the team, get their hands dirty, lead by example.  Bosses sit up in their executive chairs and tell others what to do.  F3 is not a “clipboard workout”.  Whoever leads, also embraces the suck along with the PAX.
MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

9/11 Remembrance Hill Climb Sept. 10 10 am at the Asylum, BBQ at Victor Ashe park Sept. 11 4 pm

Thank You Frederick Buechner

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, temp about 70 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Motivators starting with seven, 5 Burpees, 10 Cherry Pickers, 4 Burpees, 10 Rockettes, 3 Burpees, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Burpees (thanks to wisecracks about the Q!), 10 Windmills, 1 Burpee, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Split into teams of two men each.  Mosey to the shady parking lot across the street from the AO to get bricks out my vehicle. Each team of two gets one set of bricks (two bricks per team).  We will then mosey back to the AO parking lot and go to the curb on the east end of the parking lot.  We will do Doras.  While one partner runs to the opposite curb and does 10 Rocky Balboas (both legs = 1), the other partner works on the exercises with the bricks.  Partners switch off after the running partner comes back.  These are the exercises that the team of partners completes with the bricks:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Wings Down
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Wings Out
  • 100 Triceps
  • 100 Wings Up
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Punches (where punches from both hands = 1)
  • 40 Mini Man-makers

Mosey to end of parking lot with the nice bathrooms.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to the Lily Pad parking lot.  There will be four cones spread out in a very large rectangle around the parking lot.  We will be going around the parking lot to each of the cones three different times.  We will Bernie Sanders when going either east or west and will run when going north or south.  The exercise will be displayed near the cones.  We will do the first exercises the first time around the parking lot, etc.  Here are the exercises performed at each cone:

  • Cone 1:  20 Squat Jumps, 20 Merkins, 20 Dead Bugs (4 count)
  • Cone 2:  20 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1), 20 Carolina Dry Docks, 20 Hello Dollies (4 count).
  • Cone 3:  20 Smurf Jacks, 20 Diamond Merkins, 20 Flutter Kicks (4 count).
  • Cone 4:  20 Star Jumps, 20 Shoulder Taps, 20 Freddie Mercury’s (4 count)

Mosey to the parking lot with the nice bathrooms.  We will do 20 more American Hammers.  Then Butt Kick run halfway across the parking lot and High Knees run the other half to the curb.

Mosey to the playground.  We will do three sets of 10 Bench Jumps

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Abdominals

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O–RAMA
18 men with one FNG, Bob Fautnouh (sp?) whom we dubbed “Beignet.”  We were also honored to have three visitors from other AOs:  Gipper from Omaha, Graham Cracker from Florida, and Rogue from Davidson.  Graham Cracker and Rogue have moved to Knoxville so we definitely hope to see them again soon.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

One of America’s greatest theologians died this week.  Frederick Buechner died on Monday, August 15.  He was 96.  Buechner was an ordained Presbyterian minister, essayist, novelist, poet, and autobiographer.  He was the author of 39 published books.  His writings have had a profound influence on many, including me.  One of my favorite novels by him was Brendan, but he wrote many others that were highly acclaimed.  He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.
I am going to give you just a few quotes from his writings.
For those of you who have pondered on your vocation in life, Buechner wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
For those of you who have ever struggled with the idea of the existence of God, Buechner wrote, “It is as impossible for man to demonstrate the existence of God as it would be for even Sherlock Holmes to demonstrate the existence of Arthur Conan Doyle.”
Some of my favorite lines from Buechner are the following from his book, The Faces of Jesus.
“If the world is sane, then Jesus is mad as a hatter and the Last Supper is the Mad Tea Party. The world says, Mind your own business, and Jesus says, There is no such thing as your own business. The world says, Follow the wisest course and be a success, and Jesus says, Follow me and be crucified. The world says, Drive carefully—the life you save may be your own—and Jesus says, Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The world says, Law and order, and Jesus says, Love. The world says, Get, and Jesus says, Give. In terms of the world’s sanity, Jesus is crazy as a coot, and anybody who thinks we can follow him without being a little crazy too is laboring less under a cross than under a delusion.”
My last lines from Buechner are ones that are certainly true for me. He said, “When you remember me, it means you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are.  It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us.  It means that if we meet again, you will know me.  It means that even if I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart.”
Frederick Buechner, speaking from my heart, I remember you and I say “thank you.”

 MOLESKIN:

Prayers for Cheatsheet’s daughter, Willow, who was recently baptized and who also recently joined a volleyball team.  Prayers for the father-daughter relationship.  Prayers for Gipper as he heads back to Omaha tomorrow.  We are thankful he visited us.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mt. Everest Run on September 10.  2nd F Picnic on Sunday, September 11.

Not Hidden

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, hot but the wind began to cool things off as rainclouds moved by to the west of us.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Gas Pumps, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Tempo Merkins, 33 Grady Corns.
THA-THANG:
Mosey toward the stop sign located at the Northeastern Corner of the Admin Bldg.  We will stop to do 20 Hello Dollies.  Next we will run on shaded sidewalk toward the Admin Bldg loop.  We will stop in the grass be the shade.  We will split into teams to do Doras.  While one partner does listed exercise, the other partner runs to steps of Admin Bldg, does 15 Calf Raises, and runs back to take over on the exercises his partner was doing.  Here are the exercises that each team of partners will do as a team:

  • 100 Star Jumps
  • 200 Baby Crunches
  • 100 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)
  • 200 Squats
  • 100 Merkins

Mosey to the shaded area south of the sidewalk loop at the Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Box Cutters.  Mosey to the stop sign on the Southeastern Corner of the Admin Bldg. Then mosey to the shade of the first tree on the road that semicircles around the Admin Bldg.  We will do 10 Lunges, each leg = 1.

We will so a Bernie/Run combo to the next two shaded areas.  At the first shaded area we will do 20 American Hammers.  At the next shaded area we will do 25 bench dips off the ledge and 25 incline merkin.

Next will will do a combination Bernie and Sprint to the AO.  We will pause two minutes for a water break.

Mosey down Roadshow Run but veer right to the perimeter trail after the second set of steps.  Mosey up the perimeter trail to the shaded area by the large evergreen tree.  We will do 20 Merkins.

Mosey to shaded area near the stop sign at the Northeastern Corner of the Admin Bldg.  From there we will Bernie toward the large tree further up the semi-circle road but run the rest of the way to the tree once we get to the rail on the side of the road.  We will do 20 Diamond Merkins.  Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
Abdominal exercises.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

My wife, Jan, is a psychologist who works at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital here in Knoxville.  She has been meeting for about three weeks now with an 8-year-old boy who was in a severe car accident.  The boy suffered extensive damage to his body in the accident and currently cannot walk.  He also lost his mother in the accident.  Jan had to be the person to tell him his mother died.

The boy, initially, didn’t want to talk much about the accident.  But, he has been opening up more to Jan recently.  He told her that he doesn’t feel whole.  He misses his mother so much.  He also feels guilty toward her.  He told Jan that he feels horrible because there were times he lied to his mother or hid matters from her.  He told Jan he felt like he doesn’t deserve his mother’s love.  After saying that, He burst into uncontrollable sobs. Think of that boy, not only losing his mother but thinking he didn’t deserve her love.

Jan gave him time to cry.  Then, calling him by name, she said to him, “Look at me.”  Saying his name again, Jan said, “Your mother knew you lied to her and hid things from her.”  The boy looked shocked but doubtful and asked, “How can you know that?”  Jan said, “Because I am a mother.  All parents know that their children lie and hide things from them. That’s part of being a parent.  Rest assured your mother knew you hid things, but she loved you anyway.”

Those of us who are fathers know that our children sometimes have lied or hid things from us.  It may upset us, but we love them anyway.  That is a special love – the love of parent for child.  And is so good to know that God is our father.  As 1 John 1 proclaims, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.”  God knows we hide things from him.  And like we parents desire our children to be truthful to us, God wants us to be truthful to Him.  Go ahead and confess to him.  He knows what you have done anyway.  You can’t hide from God.  Like Jonah in the mouth of the whale, God sees us.  How good it is to know that He loves us anyway.  He wants what is best for us.  As the great song, “In Christ Alone” states, “For I am His and He is Mine.”  We have an amazing father who is all virtuous, all knowing, and all loving.  Take that in, and freely know that you are loved by your creator.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Steam’s fiancé, Megan, and for Brick’s friend, Jason.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Q101 workout this upcoming Thursday at Asylum PM, led by our AO captain, Pele.

Rivers Do Not Drink Their Own Water

THE SCENE: Temps in 70’s, partly cloudy and muggy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Motivators starting with 7, 15 second squat, 10 Twisties, 30 second squat, 10 Cherry Pickers, 45 second squat, 10 Rockettes, 60 second squat, Stretches, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:

Mosey to the Caribbean.  We will run on a candy cane route, stopping at every other island to do the following exercises.  The end of the candy cane will be the island in the middle of the north side of the Caribbean.

  • 10 Merkins
  • 10 Star Jumps
  • 10 Big Boys
  • 10 Plank Jacks

Mosey to the Lily Pad.  We will do suicides running to each of five cones and back to curb.  At curb we will do 20 Baby Crunches each time we come back.  Next, we all run back the last cone. We will sprint back.  The man in the lead picks up cone that is one his way back to the curb.

Mosey past the Pavilion by the Lily Pad to the perimeter trail.  We will run east then south on the perimeter trail to the Serpentine Sidewalk and then head on the Serpentine Sidewalk toward the Caribbean Parking Lot.  Men will run for ten light posts.  Those getting to the tenth light post first circle back to the six.  We will then walk for two light posts as a group.  We will repeat this process all the way to the Caribbean.   At the Caribbean we will slow mosey back to the AO.

At the AO parking lot we will partner up in teams of two.  Each team will see how far one can throw a frisbee while the other partner runs forward to catch the frisbee.  Whichever team gets the farthest is the winner.

MARY:
Stretches
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 men, no FNGs.  We had Hammy from Birmingham (not our own Hammy here at F3 Knoxville) join us today.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Rivers Don’t Drink Their Own Water

I found this message from Pope Francis and I thought I would pass it along to you:

“Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.

Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other.

No matter how difficult it is…Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.”

To me, that is a beautiful message.  I don’t even need to expand on it.  I love it as it is.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those coping with drug abuse or living out on the streets.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Service opportunity at the Cerebral Palsy Foundation this Saturday.