F3 Knoxville

Tag: Crawdad

Cogs in the Wheel

THE SCENE: Misty, in 40’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 15 Plank Jacks, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, 10 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot near entry to northern ball fields.  We will split into partners of two men each to do Doras.  One partner will Bernie Sanders to cone, then sprint to end of parking lot.  At end of parking lot he does two burpees.  He then does Bernie Sanders to cone and sprints back.  Meanwhile, the other partner is working on exercises with CMU’s.  The exercises are the following

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Squats with CMU at chest area

Mosey to beginning of Serpentine Sidewalk located between north ball fields and outdoor chapel.  We will do 14’s (do listed exercise for one light then run for four lights) to where sidewalk hits perimeter trail or from perimeter trail back to roadway if it is next exercise on list).  We will do three exercises and, therefore, will end at perimeter trail.  All men who finish first on any exercise and run will do baby crunches until last man arrives.  Here are the exercises:

  • Bear Crawl
  • Hops
  • Lunges

When we are through with above we will do 20 Hello Dollies (four count) as a group.

Mosey on perimeter trail to cardiac hill.  At cardiac hill we will run up hill doing the following exercises at each turn:

  • Turn 1:  20 American Hammer
  • Turn 2:  20 Big Boy Sit Ups
  • Turn 3:  20 Decline Merkins
  • Turn 4:  20 Bench Raises

Rinse and Repeat

Mosey to bottom of mini-cardiac.

We will do 20 Merkins at bottom of mini-cardiac, then run up and do 20 Carolina Dry Docks by gate.  Rinse and repeat.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks (four count); 15 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1); stretch of each leg and slow toe touches, slow back bends.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 Men, no FNG’s.  Finger Paint was with us but has yet to be tagged for the post.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM

God had created each one of us as special, unique individuals.  As the apostle Paul claims, we each have individual gifts.  But he also remarks that these individual gifts we have serve the whole community.  In this way, we are all part of the body of Christ.

From 1 Corinthians 12:

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[d] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,[e] yet one body.

There is a song by the group Fleet Foxes that I particularly enjoy.  It is called Helplessness Blues.  Here are the lyrics in the beginning of the song:

I was raised up believing I was somehow unique
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see
And now after some thinking, I’d say I’d rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me.

We are each of us unique.  Each one of us is different – in body size, strength and endurance levels; in age; in the backgrounds we come from; in the types of jobs we have; in our politics; in our dreams for the future.  But as the great poet John Donne proclaimed, “No man is an island unto himself.”  We have a need for our fellow man.  And when united together, we give service to something that is greater than ourselves.  I often feel that with the men of F3.  It is sometimes difficult to put into words.  But by getting up in the morning to be here with my friends, my brothers, I am not only serving myself but something beyond myself – something that brings me, brings each of us, closer to what God created us for – and, therefore, closer to God.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill in May!

Convergence

THE SCENE: Sunny and nice, temps in 50’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 15 second squat, 15 Mountain Climbers, 30 second squat, 10 Windmills, 45 second squat, 10 Cherry Pickers, 60 second squat, Little of This and Little of That.  Split into three groups and Mosey to workout stations.  In each station we will work out for 15 minutes.  After workout out at the three stations we will meet back at AO.
THA-THANG:

STATION 1 (at parking lot near entrance of northern ball fields)
There will be bricks on ground at Corner 1 and CMU’s on ground at Corner 3.
We will circle the parking lot counter clockwise, stopping at each corner to do the listed exercises.  We will circle the lot three times, doing the series of exercises as we go.
  • Corner 1:  With brick in each hand do:  1. 25 Wings Out  2.  25 Wings Up  3.  25 Wings down.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2 after each listed exercise.
  • Corner 2:  1.  20 Merkins  2.  20 Dive Bombers 3.  20 Carolina Drydocks.  Bear Crawl to Corner 3 after each exercise.
  • Corner 3:  With CMU do:  1.  25 Overhead Presses  2.  25 Curls  3.  25 Rows.  Sprint to Corner 4 after each exercise.
  • Corner 4:  1.  20 American Hammers (4 count)  2.  20 Box Cutters   3.  20 Flutter Kicks (4 count).  Lunge to Corner 1 after each exercise.

STATION 2 (on north side of parking lot with nice restroom and across street from northern ballfields)

Picket’s charge w 3 Burpees at every cone
Circle Burp: grab a baby and take turns leading cadence with curls until saying “Go” and do two Burpees all around circle, repeat w Triceps
Give and Take: choose a battle buddy, plank across from each other. Take turns taking bricks off CMU and replace until time is up bout 1-2 minutes.
Merkin Suicides: run to cone do 10 merkins suicide style

Station 3 (in parking lot by southern ball fields)

On one end you will do an exercise than run to the other end and continue that exercise until the Six arrives.  Modification is leave early on the run.

Strength and Conditioning Side:

Exercise 1     20 – Merkins

Exercise 2     20 – 4 Count Side Straddle Hop

Exercise 3     20 – Squats

Exercise 4     20 – Carolina Dry Docks

Exercise 5     5 – Burpees

Exercise 6     3 – Yoga – Plank – Downward Dog – Upward Dog You will need to call it out.

Ab Side:

Exercise 1     20 – IC 4 Count LBCs

Exercise 2     20 – IC Holly Dolly

Exercise 3     20 – IC Plank Jacks

Exercise 4     20 – On your own Shoulder taps  shoulder

Exercise 5     20 – On my Up – Big Boy Sit Ups

Exercise 6     20 – IC 4 Count – American Hammers IC

MARY:
50 Baby Crunches, 25 Sit-ups
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
43 men with one FNG, Jeremy Cameron whom we dubbed “MIB”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We all must suffer.  That will be the theme of today’s 3rd F.  It helps to remain optimistic in the face of suffering.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Pfeiffer is gonna be a daddy this week!

3rd F at Outlook immediately following this workout!

Sun Rise Saturday

THE SCENE:  Chilly but it didn’t take long to warm up.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 25, BACF x 15, BACB x 15, SSH x 15, Imperial Squat walker x 15, Cherry picker x 10, Hand release merkins x8

THA-THANG:
It only 3.  Start at the top of the serpentine path and runs down. 3 reps at every light pole and lung after the last pole to the end.

  • Merkins
    • Run back to the top of the hill stopping every 4th light pole to complete 2 burpees
  • Big Boy Sit-Ups
    • Run back to the top of the hill stopping every 4th light pole to complete 2 burpees
  • Froggy Squats
    • Run back to the top of the hill stopping every 4th light pole to complete 2 burpees

Pickets Charge – Run to the top and touch the Asylum.

10 Burpees on your own

She Hate Me Escalator – increasing Burps and Merkins each set by 5 up to 20

  • 20 Lunges
  • 10 Burps
  • 10 Merkins

11’s

Dips and Burpees

Take the hill, Mosey back
MARY:
50 Flutter Kicks

Successful Outing

THE SCENE: Cloudy with temps in 40’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops; 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Windmills, 10 Plank Leg Stretches, 10 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:

Mosey to parking lot across street.  Split into teams of two.  There will be sets of bricks at one end of the parking lot.  We will do Doras with the following activities.

Activity one:  Team member bear crawls to first cone, hops to second cone and then does Bernie Sanders to other end of parking lot.  Then sprint back across parking lot to tag partner and take over on Activity Two exercises.

Activity two:  teams will do 100 each of the following exercises with a set of bricks:

  • Overhead presses
  • Curls
  • Rows with bricks at sides
  • Wings out
  • Wings up
  • Wings down

Mosey on roadway and go to large parking lot that is south of the northern ballpark.  We will run in a counterclockwise circle around the parking lot stopping at each cone to do the following exercises:

  • Cone 1:  Ten Burpees
  • Cone 2:  20 Merkins
  • Cone 3:  20 Big-Boy Sit-ups
  • Cone 4:  20 Squat Jumps
  • Cone 5:  20 Buzz Saws (four count)
  • Cone 6:  20 Dive Bombers
  • Cone 7:  20 Smurf Jacks
  • Cone 8:  20 Shoulder taps (each shoulder = 1)
  • Rinse and Repeat

Mosey to Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will do 14’s all the way to Cardiac Hill.  We will lunge for one light and then sprint four lights, repeating that until we get to Cardiac Hill.

At Cardiac Hill, we will run up hill doing the following exercises at the following locations:

  • Turn 1:  20 American Hammers (four count)
  • Turn 2:  20 Hello Dollies (four count)
  • Turn 3:  20 Decline Merkins
  • Turn 4:  20 Bench Dips
  • Rinse and Repeat Twice

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Bicycle Kicks
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 men, no FNG’s
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

In his book, Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller has one chapter entitled The Seduction of Success.  In it, he quotes from an interview with the pop star Madonna in Vanity Fair.  “I have an iron will, and all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy . . . My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre.  And that’s always pushing me, pushing me.  Because even though I’ve become Somebody, I still have to prove that I’m Somebody.  My struggle has never ended and it probably never will.

Keller also quotes Mary Bell, a counselor who works with high level executives.  She commented that many executives don’t abuse alcohol – they abuse their own lives.  They complete a project, then look to the next one but must do better to reach that certain level of satisfaction.  They are always pushing for that better high.  They are achievement addicts.

We may achieve success in our jobs but then we look for better jobs, more income.  We often measure ourselves by how high up the company ladder we have climbed or how much money we make.  We look at our possessions or homes and compare ourselves to others in that way.  The trouble is, we may get a nicer home in a newer neighborhood but up our standard, now comparing ourselves to the richer and “more successful” people in the new neighborhood.  We envy the people with the nicest cars and newest homes.

We must give up this seduction of success.  It can lead us away from ourselves, from time spent in enjoyment with our family and friends, in time spent with God.  I am fortunate to have met some people in my life who have moved to break themselves from the success game.  I remember working as a jury consultant in Dallas, TX.  I lived in an area where I was comparing myself to others who were driving nicer cars, living in nicer homes.  I remember talking to a husband and wife at my church who were both attorneys.  They talked to me about how they had each made a decision to get out of the fast-paced law firms they had been in and work for lesser pay.  They sold their home in a rich area of Dallas and moved to a nice but less expensive home in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas.  They spent more time going to church, involving themselves with their children.  Their example helped me in my own struggle with the seduction of success.

I remember moving to Knoxville and feeling the burden lessening just because of the environment.  The brand and looks of your automobile are not as big a deal here in Knoxville.  I like that.  I also like how we in F3 accept all as brothers.  Who cares or even knows what our economic backgrounds are.

I don’t want success to be my counterfeit God.  God loves each of you for who you are.  God’s version of “be all that you can be” is much different than our commercialized view of looking at that phrase.  Our culture makes that phrase sound like, “to be all we can be” that we must achieve at the very highest level.  God wants us to do well but also wants us to rest in him.  He sees success much differently than we do.  So ask yourself, what does success look like for God?  Is it about relationship, about honor, about love, about trusting in Him, about serving others?  I think those things come much closer to what God wants for us than our cultural way of seeing success, where we are inadequate unless who keep achieving more and more.

MOLESKIN:
Safe travels for Waffle House on his trip out of county.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

No False Idols Here

THE SCENE: Sunny, temp in low 40’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 20 second knee stretches each side, 5 Burpees, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to New Parking Lot that Is Across Street from North Ball Fields.  20 Hello Dollies (four count).

Mosey to south end of parking lot by Southern Ball Fields.  We will be running doing modified suicides.  Instead of running to each cone and back, we will do the following exercises to each cone and then sprint back.  We will add one cone each time we come back.  Also, each time back we do 10 Big Boy Sit-ups.  Those finishing first alternate do imitation jump ropes until everyone is back.  Then we will repeat step 5 where we go to all cones.

  • Bear Crawl to First Cone
  • Hop to Second Cone
  • Lunge to Third Cone
  • Bernie Sanders to Fourth Cone
  • Sprint to Fifth Cone

Mosey to Perimeter Trail that is just south of the south ball field pavilion.  We will be going east then north on the perimeter trail.  We will do nickel, dime, quarters along the trail.  Each light pole along the trail equals 5 cents or 5 reps of an exercise.  We will run the distance of one light (nickel) and do 5 reps of the exercise.  We will then run two lights (dime) and do 10 reps of the exercise.  Finally, we will run give lights and (quarter) and do 25 reps of the exercise.  One done with the 25 reps, do baby crunches until all other brothers arrive.  We will do these until we reach cardiac hill.  These are the exercises:

  • Merkins
  • Squat Jumps
  • Flutter Kicks (each leg = 1)
  • Dive Bombers
  • High Knees (each leg = 1)
  • Carolina Dry Docks

At cardiac hill we will run uphill, doing the following exercises at each turn:

  • First turn.  20 Diamond Merkins
  • Second turn.  20 Hello Dollies
  • Third turn.  20 Decline Merkins
  • Fourth turn.  20 Bench Dips

Mosey to Flag Pole at North Ball Park Entrance.  We will circle around the pavilion in a counter-clockwise rotation doing the following exercises at the following stops:

  • 20 Star Jumps at Flag Pole
  • 20 Bench Jumps at Playground
  • 20 Seconds of Pull-ups at Ball Field Dugouts
  • 20 Picnic Table Pull-ups under Pavilion
  • Rinse and Repeat

Mosey back to AO. 

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks (four count).  ATM’s.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
We had fifteen men show including Spicoli from F3 Hilton Head and an FNG, Thomas Keaton, whom we named “Trippin.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Exodus 20:3 – You shall have no other gods before me.

Isaiah 44:9 – All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit.

The bible speaks often of the dangers of worshiping false idols.  When we read about worshiping false idols or gods, we often think of human made images (such as Aaron’s Golden Calf) of biblical times or the multiple gods worshiped by pagans in those days.  But the bible actually refers to all kinds of things that we deify or make our ultimate goals as being idols:  for example, money, sex, power and fame.  The idols of biblical times remain our idols today.

When I first read of God, saying in the Ten Commandments, that we shall have no gods other than Him, I thought He was saying this out of jealousy.  Indeed, God is jealous for us but in further study of the commandment, I feel he actually says this out of love and concern for us.  Because, when we worship idols, when we make anything other that Him the ultimate thing we live for, we get into trouble – the false idol, indeed, may destroy us.

The things that people make the mistake of placing ahead of God need not be bad things.  Money, sex, fame, power – these are not bad things.  Money helps feed us and provides us shelter and comfort; sex is beautiful and leads to our continuing humanity; fame often occurs in the face of great things achieved by the one who becomes famous; and power can lead to great changes for our human race.  Yet, these things are not what lead to our ultimate joy.  What happened in the stock market crash of 1929 and the more recent economic and stock crisis of 2008?  We saw many of those who placed their hopes in wealth come to emotional devastation – a good number of people committed suicide.  We often are jealous of wealthy people, of movie stars, of famous individuals, of those with great power.  But if you google famous people who committed suicide (examples include Marilyn Monroe, Robin Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Cobain, Freddie Prince, Cleopatra) the lists are long and full of people that others admired and wanted to be like.  God knows that when we place all of our hopes onto that which is not him, we will be hurt and even destroyed.

Anything can be grouped into the false deity category.  Even our wives or children.  When we deify our spouse we make them responsible for our redemption.  That is unfair to the spouse and will lead to us being upset with, angry at, or turned off by our spouse because our spouse cannot be God.

Even parenting children can be turned into idolatry.  There are parents who expect too much for their children or place too much importance on their schooling, friendships, or success.  I have recently got into trouble regarding this “idol.”  I indeed love my children as I should as their father.  I have been quite proud of my daughter who graduated from Asbury University in May and was one of the top students in her graduating class.  I have quietly patted myself on the back, perhaps unconsciously bragging about my parenting skills.  My daughter is currently going through a vocational life crisis.  She was accepted into a masters program at an excellent university but then decided not to go.  She then took an one year internship with Americorp, hated it, and quit.  She is now working for a little more than minimum wage and struggling with what to do with her life.  I have wanted to step in and lead the way, provide all the answers, kick her own butt by exclaiming “how could you do this” or command others to give her the exact job she needs.  I cannot do this for her.  She must face her own struggles.  If I turn parenting into idolatry, I do not let her be herself.  I do not allow her to face pain and overcome it.  I do not allow her to reach out to God, as we all must, to find our path, find our way in life.  And so, I must turn to God, pray for my daughter, and have faith that she is precious, that God is loving, and that through God she will find her own way.

What idols are you struggling with at this time?  Are you making something more important than your relationship with God?  God loves you and that is why He wants you to place him first.  He knows that your placing anything above Him will only hurt you in the long run.

MOLESKIN:
We need to pray for G-6’s son who is in the hospital.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffeeteria!