F3 Knoxville

Tag: Curveball

Control the Controllables

THE SCENE: The fakest fake gloom possible
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER DONE
WARM-O-RAMA:
32 SSH to celebrate the Vols win, cherry pickers, this and that, rockettes, and stretch to get ready to run.
THA-THANG:

  • BB with crouching tiger merkins and inchworm-merkin-squat
  • BB with Apollo Onos and American Hammers / V-sit OH claps
  • Bear Crawl fun!
  • BB with Criss-Cross Squats and Lunges
  • BB with Butterfly Big Boys and Sprints
  • BB up with some Burpee action

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
A dozen HIMs getting better
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Things at work have gotten chippy.  My office works with 100+ units and we’re always the end of the line, so when others upstream don’t do their part, it’s our problem to fix.  When other’s don’t pull their weight, we have to make up the slack.  With that, resentment can build and things that shouldn’t be said get said.  It’s helpful to remember the wisdom to “control the controllables”.  Attitude.  Action.  Effort.  I can choose to let things upset me, or choose to keep a positive outlook.  I can choose to participate in the negativity, or choose more positive actions.  I can choose to lower my quality of work, or I can choose to perform at my highest level.

You can’t control much of anything that goes on around you.  But, you can control your Attitude, Action, and Effort.

Circumspect Circumferences on Pi Day

THE SCENE: It was a snowless and SSH-less morning… (unless you count snow angels, thanks Mermaid!/s)
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:
10 x Overhead Clap IC
9 x Squat IC
8 x BBS IC
7 x LBACF & LBACR IC
6 x Lunges Fwd/Back OYO
5 x Flutter kicks IC
4 x Tempo Merkins IC
3 x Squat Jumps OYO
2 x V-ups OYO
1 x Burpee OYO

THA-THANG:
Falling Indian run to pull-up bars – squats to the 6.

At the pull-up bars: 5 pull-ups each x 3 rounds. Between pull-up reps:
5 Burpees
10 Merkins
20 Flutter Kicks
30 LBC’s
If you finish these / we have enough PAX to finish, you get to rest!

Mosey to the CMU pile.

CMU workout: 3.1415 not repeating
Round 1
3 Blockees
14 Goblet Squats
15 Presses
Leg Lefts til the 6

Round 2
3 Thrusters
14 Incline Merkins
15 Skull Crushers
V-ups til the 6

Round 3
3 CMU Squat Jumps
14 Swings
15 CMU Pickle Pointers (Glute Bridges)
Box cutters til the 6
Put your blocks away

Route 66
Burpees + lunge between parking spaces
BBS til the six (this didn’t happen but YHC did finish all 66 burpees!)

Mosey to the #shovelflag – Stop at the Rock to do Monkey Humpers then Fellowship Mosey (S/O to Ribbed) the rest of the way there.

MARY: (I’ll fill these in as I remember – but basically lots of core work was done at the end)
Dealer’s Choice (core only).
Mermaid – Snow Angels
Honeydew –
Curveball –
Dumpster Dive – Eye contact alternating pickle pounders & pickle pointers 10 ea
Baby Boomer – Leg Lifts
Pool Boy – Freddie Mercury x 15 IC
Mermaid –
Honeydew – Hello Dolly x 15 IC
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 for Dumpster Dive’s birthday! (oh and Pi day too)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Pie, who doesn’t like it?! Well some people. But today’s more of a pun than anything else.

Pi & Circumferences have to do with circles. I want to talk about another word today:
Circumspect – watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent
Think about what is happening around you. A classic example of this is from “The Bourne Identity” (released almost 20 years ago!)
Jason Bourne: Who has a safety deposit box full of money and six passports and a gun? Who has a bank account number in their hip? I come in here, and the first thing I’m doing is I’m catching the sightlines and looking for an exit.

Marie: I see the exit sign, too. I’m not worried. I mean, you were shot. People do all kinds of weird and amazing stuff when they are scared.

Jason Bourne: I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab or the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that? How can I know that and not know who I am?”

Properly assessing where we are in life can help us move forward. Jason Bourne was completely disoriented in not knowing who he was and yet he was very circumspect about what was happening around him.

We all can be like this too. We don’t acknowledge who we are, where we are, etc. and we end up wanting to go into fantasy land. Me too. I’ve had lots of desires that are now kind of starting to be fulfilled lately- and a new (to me) house is a big one. There are other things, things I have to work for and may receive from God’s good hand, but for me to walk circumspectly, that takes more than just guys at F3 watching my 6. It means putting to death the temptation to do xyz (insert your temptations here).

The Bible gives us a warning to consider today as Pi-day to walk circumspectly- from Ephesians 5:15-20 (KJV):
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Consider these things- how are you walking circumspectly? Are you just going in circle after circle, or are you casting a vision for what things are to come as you think about the world going on around you? When you walk circumspectly, you’ll enjoy some pie. or pi!

MOLESKIN:
First time ‘bringing it in’ in a looong time today. Good stuff. Prayed for Steve, Grayson, & Bruce.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence at JUCO July 2!

Tears of Joy

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Motivators, starting with seven.  10 Tempo Merkins.  10 Cherry Pickers. 10 Windmills.  Ten Twisties.  Ten Baby Arm Circles forward and backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the stop sign by the main park road and the road that goes to Admin Bldg.  We will do 10 Imperial Walkers and 10 Lunges with each foot.

Mosey to the bottom of Mt. Everest.  We will do Ten Speed Skaters, then run up Mt. Everest.  Those reaching the top can do invisible skip ropes until everyone arrives.

Mosey to the steps at the front of the admin bldg.  We will go around the loop that goes from the Admin Bldg to the Coliseum.  We will stop at the following spots to do the following exercises:

  • On porch of Admin bldg:  20 Merkins
  • At south curve of loop:  20 Squat Jumps
  • At benches of Coliseum:  20 Bench Dips
  • At north curve of loop:  20 Squats
  • Rinse and repeat above two times.

Next, we will have a snowball fight in the grassy area in the middle of the loop.  Last man hit by a snowball gets a free breakfast from your Q.

Mosey to Pavilion that is close to AO.  We will do 20 Bench Dips then run to AO parking lot to do 20 Iron Mikes (one leg = 1).  Rinse and repeat but with 20 Decline Merkins at the Pavilion.  Rinse and repeat one more time but with 20 Picnic Table Pull-ups at the Pavilion.  (Note:  we will do 20 Iron Mikes in the parking lot with each rinse and repeat).

Mosey to the baseball field directly behind AO parking lot.  We will go to grassy area.  We will have a game of Ultimate Frisbee Football.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eleven men, no FNGs.  Great to have La-Z Boy visit our AO this Saturday morning.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Feeling The Tears of God Brings Joy

I heard in interesting story on NPR this past Monday.  It was about a man named Brandon Jackson who was recently released from prison after being convicted of armed robbery 25 years ago.  The conviction was based on a 10-2 split jury decision in the State of Louisiana.  Louisiana courts began to allow 10-2 decisions on such felony cases during the Jim Crow era.  The purpose was to be able to dismiss the votes of the occasional black juror that might make up a jury and vote someone innocent.  No one actually witnessed Brandon Jackson commit the alleged robbery.  His conviction was based on the testimony of a witness who had changed his story a number of times and got off on a lighter sentence based on his testimony.  The Louisiana Supreme Court in 2020 declared a split-jury conviction on such a felony case to be unconstitutional.  However, the ruling was not considered to be retroactive.

Brandon Jackson spent his time in Angola prison, a notoriously violent prison.  After an altercation with correctional officers, five of his years was spent in solitary confinement.  He got out on parole one month ago.  He has always maintained that he is innocent.  I don’t know whether he was innocent or guilty of the crime but I liked his interview.  Imagine your own reactions to our world today if you had spent 25 years behind bars.  He told the interviewer about how he waited at the counter of a grocery store for a long time waiting for someone to check him out.  Finally, an employee showed him how to scan his own items.  He was baffled and amazed.

I also liked some of the things that Brandon Jackson had to say about happiness and joy.  He said happiness is fleeting but that joy is something different.  He said that he doesn’t hold any grudges or regrets about what happened to him in the past.  Now that he is out of prison, he wants to help those in his community who may also have been in trouble.  He commented that, perhaps God had allowed his imprisonment to happen to prepare him for some purpose he needs to fulfill. As for joy, he finds it in small things.  He finds joy in sipping coffee with his mother each morning and reading the bible with her.  He finds joy in simply going outside.  This man, who had spent so much time behind bars, remarked, “We had a little rain one day, so I just went outside and stood in the middle of the backyard.  I wanted to feel God’s tears pour on me, so I just stayed there.”

The great Christian theologian, C.S. Lewis, also talked about the difference between happiness and joy.  He also said happiness is fleeting.  Joy is different.  It is a walk, a journey, a state of being.  C.S. Lewis indicated that people long for joy but do not find it in riches, fame, or power.  He said that when we finally discover joy, we find that joy itself is not what we are really seeking.  It is the Source of Joy that we seek.  That source, Lewis says, is God and Jesus Christ.

Brothers, may each of us find the source of Joy in our life journey.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Crawdad’s friends in the Ukraine.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brolympics on November 5 this year!

Shamrock – Pass it on

THE SCENE: Cold / Dark
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Run in circle

Side shuffle then reverse 

High knees

Butt kicks

Side Straddle hop (IC) 4 CT x 25

T-bombs

Buns of steel balance (lean forward balancing on 1 foot with other leg balancing you behind, then do 4-count little up and down moves with rear leg while trying to maintain balance. We did 2 sets of 10 per side.

Stretch 

THA-THANG:

Mosey to grab CMUs – carry them to the playground – 

Partner up 

Swingset – 20 – pullups / CMU rows  –  2 rounds 

Picnic shelter – 25 curls / step-ups or jump ups – 2 rounds 

Bus lot- 25 CMU Tricep extensions  / Side Straddle Hops – 2 rounds 

Return CMUs

Mosey to football field for 4 corner abs  

Corner 1 – 25 – single count hammers

Corner 2 – 25 – single count hammers / 50 single Flutter kicks

Corner 3 – 25 – single count hammers / 50 single Flutter kicks / 75 cockroaches 

Corner 4 – 25 – single count hammers / 50 single Flutter kicks / 75 cockroaches / 25 Big Boys

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA – 8
Voo Doo, Skid Mark, Honeydew, Mermaid, Curveball, Slappy, Spittoon, Anchorman,
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Booster talked about the example of sacrifice that Jesus gave us. That has stuck with me so I spent some time looking up quotes about sacrifice. 

“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.” Mitch Albom – author

Time, attention, money, love, family time. 

 

Shamrock F3 vs. FiA Workout

  • THE SCENE: Shamrock. Weather high 30’s clear morning
    F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
    WARM-O-RAMA:
  • 20 X SSH
  • 10 X Merkins
  • 15 X Forward Baby Arm Circles
  • 16 X Reverse Baby Arm Circles (apparently I lost count)
  • 10 X Tempo Squats

THA-THANG:
The workout was a Tabata Timed workout with :40 seconds of workout at :20 seconds of rest 3 sets of each exercise.  The exercises listed below were a mixture of FiA workouts “borrowed” from my wife “Rapking,” and F3 staples. I had a random list of music playing so that when a song mentions men we would do a workout from the F3 side. When the music mentions women in the song we did a FiA workout. The only exception was Aerosmiths “Dude Looks Like a Lady” this song was the wild card and you could pick any exercise to complete. Some of the songs were “Man I feel Like a Woman,” “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” and “Watta Man.”

F3 List

  • Merkins
  • Curls
  • Overhead Press
  • Big Boy Sit-up
  • Snow Angels
  • Tricep Press

FiA List

  • Goblet Squats
  • Freddy Mercury
  • Plank
  • Flutter Kicks
  • Calf Raises
  • Lunges

 

MARY:
10 X Little Baby Crunches
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The message in the workout is to not assume that a female workout is less intense or not as effective as a male workout. This message should be carried over in common life as well, and to never take for granted the importance of your partners role in a relationship. A relationship should not be dominated by one person and instead needs to be a team effort with equal input and contribution. Also today is the start of Lent for most faiths and is practiced by many. Always remember to never take the women in your life for granted and to treat them with the utmost respect just as a HIM should, but also don’t assume that the females are the weaker sex, the workout should be an indication of just how strong most women in our lives can be.

MOLESKIN:
We did say a prayer for Mermaid’s and Anchorman’s friends who are both going through major medical issues in their life. We prayed to keep them and their family strong during this very stressful time in their life.