F3 Knoxville

Tag: High-Heels

Cat’s in the Cradle

THE SCENE: Beautiful! Around 80 degrees, very low humidity. Aaaaaah!

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check

WARM-O-RAMA:

– 15 Split Jacks L, 15 Split Jacks R (4ct, IC)

– 15 Moroccan Nightclub (4 ct, IC)

–  10 Rockettes (4 ct, IC)

–  10 Cherry Pickers (4 ct, IC)

–  10 Tempo Merkins (4 ct, IC)

THA-THANG:

Mosey to bottom of Everest.  We learned, to our astonishment, that the Great Pyramids are actually not in Egypt, they’re at the bottom of the great Mount Everest!  Who knew???

  • EVEREST PYRAMID:
    • Do the exercise, then run ~1/3 way up Everest 5 times. Exercises will be the following (all single count)
      • 20 Merkins
      • 20 Merkins, 20 Iron Mikes
      • 20 Merkins, 20 Iron Mikes, 20 Bottle Openers
      • 20 Iron Mikes, 20 Bottle Openers
      • 20 Bottle Openers
  • MOSEY to Intersection of Trail and Road (all 4-ct, IC). AB BLASTER!
    • 20 flutter kicks (10 Wide)
    • 20 American Hammers
    • 15 Box Cutters
  • MOSEY to stop sign at northeast corner of Admin building drive.
  • DORAS: Partner 1 Bernie Sanders to end of Guard Rail, then runs to tree, then runs back. Each partner does 3 Burpees during the hand-off. Partner 2 does the exercises, then switch:
    • 100 Big Boy sit-ups
    • 100 Bobby Hurleys
    • 100 Merkins
    • 50 PCMBs (modified to 25 due to time)

AYG to guardrail, Bernie back to Stop Sign, then AYG to bat cave/AO.

MARY:
Homer/Marge.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 strong!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I heard the song Cat’s in the Cradle the other day.  It’s an incredible song, beautiful, yet sad.  Written by Harry Chapin in 1974, it tells the story of a young boy growing up who’s dad never seems to find the time to spend quality moments with his son.  As the son grows up, as he says in the song, “I’m going to be like you, dad.”  Which at face value sounds like a compliment, but really he’s saying that as he gets older, he will be as ambivalent about spending time with his dad as his dad was to him.  And this comes to pass.  The dad, as he gets older and more frail, wants to spend time with his son, but his son finds excuses of his own, and avoids him.

When I was young, it was actually the reverse for me.  I took my parents for granted, was caught up in my own little world with my friends and activities, and in spite of having loving, caring parents that wanted to be a part of my life, I sort of ignored them, or only interacted with them on a serious level when I wanted something… my allowance, permission to hang out with my friends, etc..  As I got older that changed, and I wanted to spend more time with them and get to know them as people.  Unfortunately, they passed away before I could fulfill that desire.

I wasn’t a great son in that regard.  I’m trying to learn from my mistakes and be a better son to our Heavenly Father.  The temptation is to run to him when we need something… protection, money, salvation, whatever.  But part of the message of the song is that relationships aren’t built on the times when you NEED each other, they’re built on the times when there’s a mutual give and take.  So I’ve tried to be conscientious about really trying to share with God, and not just run to Him when I need something. And God is not like that father in the song.  He ALWAYS has time for us, for hearing us, comforting us, and providing for us.  That’s not how it should work.  In life with kids and parents, or in your spiritual life, with you and your Heavenly Father.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for a friend of Drum Major that is struggling with addiction issues, for Corona Weight’s brother who is doing well and continues to walk the line, and for Sparkler’s friend who’s battle with ALS is coming to an end.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill Oct 2.  Join the Asylum PM team, or make your own!  It’s a great day for a great cause.  We will be needing help building the obstacles in the coming weeks.

 

A yellow jacket is predatory social wasp of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula

Four hours and seventeen minutes ago our F3 brothers brought forth upon this county park, a Saturday Q, conceived on an index card the previous night, and dedicated to the proposition that sweating ourselves down to a lower weight class is not just for high school wrestlers.

We became engaged in a great natural war, testing whether that Saturday pax, or any pax that goes to Area 51 by the back way can long endure. We were met on a great battle-field of that war. I have come to dedicate a portion of this backblast, as a final resting place for those who there gave their lower calves, and their miserable waspy stingers, that that pax might continue on to meet Jack Webb. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense, we can not kill all the wasps – we can not drink enough diphenhydramine – we can not send Abcess out there with a can of RAID like we did at the Space Ship.  The brave men and wasps, and their stingers and calves who struggled there, have consecrated it, far beyond our poor power to add or detract. Google will little note, nor long direct internet traffic to what we say here, but Scoreboard will probably never forget the new words he heard yelled by Pele. It is for us the sore and sweaty, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought there have thus far so nobly advanced. From these honored wasps and calves we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that this pax, under Lilydipper, shall drink a bunch of Benadryl. And that Saturday Nap of the pax, by the pax, and for the pax, shall happen this afternoon.

 

Seeing Beyond

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, but lots o’ sunshine, hot, 92 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3, Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. F3 is a free workout program designed to improve fitness, share some camaraderie, and foster male leadership in the community.  I’m Pele and I will be your Q today.  I am not a professional, and I do not know your fitness level or injury history.  Please push yourself, but modify the workout as necessary to avoid making any existing injuries worse.  The goal is to get better together!


WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Hillbilly Squats (4-ct), in cadence. (Q is a knucklehead, and screwed up the motion and cadence for this, resulting in a mulligan)

– 10  Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 LBCs forward and backward (4-ct), in cadence

Little of this and that

THA-THANG:

AMRAPS Galore! Mosey to Stop Sign to northeast of admin building.  Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises.  Rinse and Repeat.

  • Plank Jacks
  • Peter Parkers
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Merkins

Mosey to ROCK pile.  Get a ROCK.  Do 30 seconds of the following exercises.  Rinse and repeat.

  1. Overhead Press
  2. Curls
  3. Rows
  4. Squats

Mosey to Parking lot by Area 51.  Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises.  Rinse and Repeat.

  1. Froggie Jumps
  2. Lunges
  3. Bobby Hurleys
  4. Smurf Jacks
  5. We may have done one more leg exercise here?… Q was getting delirious from the heat

PAULA ABDULS in same parking lot.  Burpee Broad Jumps for 2 cones, then El Capitan back 1. I’m not sure High Heels ever figured this pattern out… :))

MOSEY to shaded tree by stop sign south of Admin building. Do 30 seconds of the following 4 exercises.  No Rinse and Repeat due to time.

  1. Big Boy Situps
  2. American Hammers
  3. E2K Left Side
  4. E2K Right Side

MOSEY to Stop Sign to the southwest of admin building.  Finish with CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (Partner 1: BERNIE SANDERS, Partner 2: 5 STAR JUMPS, then sprint to catch up) to AO.

MARY:
Didn’t have time for ol’ Mary.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 Strong!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

A few years ago there was a video going around the internet.  Viewers were shown a group of people on a basketball court.  Half are in black shirts, half in white shirts.  The viewers were asked to count how many times someone in a white shirt passes to another in a white shirt.  When the video is over, they threw out numbers as guesses.  Then they’re asked, “So… who saw the gorilla on the court?”  There was actually a gorilla in the video that walked into the circle, stood there for a few seconds twirled around, then walked away.  70-85% say they didn’t even see it.  We are trained to see what we are asked to see.  We are clouded by our preconceived notions, expectations, biases, etc.  We don’t see something that’s right in front of us because we aren’t EXPECTING it.  We explain it away.  This happens even more readily in today’s age of science, sophistication and knowledge we tend not to believe in magic, or miracles in the literal sense.  So how do we expand our vision, revisit and put our pre-conceived notions aside so that we can see the miracle of God?  The difference between Biblical Truth and Fact.  The Bible is the Truth.  Some people would argue that some of the FACTS described in it are a bit debatable, but in the end, the Truth is what matters.  For example, whether or not Jonah was swallowed by a great sea creature is immaterial.  But the story has TRUTH.  French have a word, BRECOLLAGE (sp?), which means seeing what is in front of you, but also seeing beyond it. We need to remind ourselves to see not only what is obvious, and also the “beyond”, the workings of God in our everyday lives.  The key to witnessing God in our daily lives is not to demand to see burning bushes or columns of fire, or water bodies dividing in two.  It is to see BEYOND the obvious.  The buddy that calls you right at the moment you need to hear a friendly voice.  The neighbor who brings you dinner when you or someone in your family is sick.  The brothers in F3 who pray for a favorable outcome, like the wonderful turnaround with Corona Weight’s brother.  Are these coincidences?  Are they just random happenings?  Look Beyond.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for those suffering from COVID, prayers for the Philippines and the people there
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP coming up a week from this Saturday, Snack Drive, Hardship Hill, Iron Pax… busy month for F3!

Do It Anyway

THE SCENE: Not too bad, all things considered… low 80s, light breeze, mostly cloudy at first, switching over to mostly sunny which made it a bit toastier.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3, Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. F3 is a free workout program designed to improve fitness, share some camaraderie, and foster male leadership in the community.  I’m Pele and I will be your Q today.  I am not a professional, and I do not know your fitness level or injury history.  Please push yourself, but modify the workout as necessary to avoid making any existing injuries worse.  The goal is to get better together!


WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 SSH, 4-ct, IC

-5 Burpees for Abscess, who has a mental derangement that causes him to actually LIKE Burpees

– 10 Windmills, 4-ct IC

– 15 Grady Corns , 4-ct IC

– Little of this, then that

– Hamstring stretches, right leg over left, touch toes, reverse

– 10 Tempo Merkins, 4-ct, IC

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to the soccer field below the Coliseum:

BATTLE BUDDY AB KRAKEN with 6 cones.  Do 20 REPS of the exercise (4-ct when applicable), then run around circle PLUS ONE cone, etc., until you reach the last cone.  When finished, go to the middle and alternate 10 merkins and 20 squats until 6 finishes.

  • EXERCISES: Flutter Dollies, LBCs, Big Boy Situps, Bicycle Kicks, American Hammers, Dead Bug

MOSEY to the little parking lot just above the soccer field.  Get a BATTLE BUDDY for THREE BY FIVES.  One partner will be in the “bullpen” slowly running back and forth, while the other partner runs to stop sign and does two exercises, then runs back.  Start with 5 reps of both exercises and increase by 5, i.e., first trip do 5x, then 10x, then 15x.  Three sets of exercises:

  1. Peter Parkers (2-ct) / Half-Burpees
  2. Star Jumps / Iron Mikes
  3. Decline Merkins / Dive Bombers

AYG back to AO, cresting at least 2 of the small hills in the amphitheater on the way back.

MARY:
Plank holds, 5 more burpees for Abscess. Uggh.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 HIMs, No FNGs, one doggy
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

One of the things I’ve been struggling with the past year or two is how to maintain my efforts to be a man of character and integrity when it seems like no one else is playing by the same rules, or setting the same standards for themselves.  There comes a point where it’s easy to shrug and say, “Why bother?” and a temptation to sacrifice your principles in any variety of situations.  I am by no means perfect, but I get frustrated when I see ignorance, or selfishness, or an acceptance and propagation of falsehoods that are passed along purely for self-gain.  I get furious when I see hypocrisy, prejudice, and self-righteousness masquerading as patriotism or religious zeal.  And sometimes when I feel like I’m at my breaking point, I remember one of favorite poems, Do It Anyway, by Mother Teresa.  It goes like this:

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pusher’s co-worker’s family, the family of Jetlag’s friend in the Philippines who died of a heart attack, and other PAX members struggling with loss or are healing from injuries.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP date change, now 3rd Sat. in August; Saturday AM will likely move to parking lot where PM group meets during winter.

Paying the Price

THE SCENE: Humid as all get out, thunderstorms in the area, low 80s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Nailed it.
WARM-O-RAMA:
A minute or two late getting started, as the Pavilion we were going to use for the workout was reserved, forcing us to switch locations at the last minute.

SSH, Cherry pickers, BAC forward and backward, Rockettes, Tempo Squats, all 10 or 20x, 4-ct, IC

THA-THANG:

DORA suicides.  Partner 1 does exercise with coupon, AMRAP, Partner 2 does the movement, then switch, as shown below [Exercise/Movement]

  1. Curls/Jacobs Ladder (4-ct Bear Crawl/4 2-Ct Mountain Climber/4 Merkins, R&R about 10 meters, return via Bear Crawl)
  2. Overhead Press/Jacobs Ladder
  3. Rows/Suicides (suicides to first three signs, then a fourth light pole, 5 Burps at light pole, return to start)
  4. Squats/Suicides

Moved into Pavilion for some AMRAP Tabata Pyramids.  30 seconds of exercise AMRAP, 10 seconds rest.

  1. Leg Burner.  Pyramid of Prisoner Get Ups, Iron Mike’s, Squats. Bobby Hurleys as 60 second bonus exercise.
  2. Ab Burner. Pyramid of BBS, Flutter Kicks, Am. Hammers.  Gas Pumps as 60 second bonus exercise
  3. Cardio Burner. Pyramid of SSH, Half Burps, Step ups.  High knees as 60 second bonus exercise

MARY:
Yoga stretches by Steam.  A young man, 10 yrs old was watching us and invited in to join in the Mary and the bomb.  We named him KTM because he likes mountain biking.  He’s from out of town, however, so we may not see him again.  Maybe a seed was planted…?  Nice young man.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 HIMs, Grid Iron not tagged
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Talked about how easy it is to have convictions when it doesn’t cost you anything. Easy to stand up for others who are week, oppressed, or marginalized when it doesn’t cost you anything.  Easy to be a good Christian when it doesn’t cost you anything.  Easy to claim that you support our country’s democratic ideals when it doesn’t cost you anything.  Who will you be when it DOES cost you something?  As HIMs, we need to make the decision now, before we’re faced with it, that when the time comes, we will pay the price, not only for ourselves, but for others as well, if we can.
MOLESKIN:
T-Claps to Doubtfire and High Heels, who were on their second work out of the day, and Guppy, who ran a few miles before the workout.  Lilydipper and Jinxy met us for the Board meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP! Get signed up! Also need Wesley House Qs.