F3 Knoxville

Tag: Hooker

Encouragement

THE SCENE: Beautiful day, temp hovering under 70 degrees, blue sky with a few white clouds
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, 10 Cherry Pickers, 7 Baby Arm Circles Forward and 7 Backward, 5 Wide Arm Circles Forward and 5 Backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign at northeastern corner of Admin Bldg.  We will do Twenty American Hammers.  Then we will do the following cone exercises around the roadway that semi-circles the Admin Bldg.  We will sprint to Cone 1 and follow instructions from there.

  • Cone 1:  Ten Burpees.  Then Bernie Sanders to Cone 2
  • Cone 2:  20 Hello Dollies (four count).  Then Hop to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Imperial Walkers (both legs = 1).  Then Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Smurf Jacks.  Then Lunge to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  20 Squats.  Then Bernie Sanders to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  20 Squat Jumps.  Then Grapevine Right to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Then Grapevine Left to Cone 8.
  • Cone 8:  40 Baby Crunches, 20 Merkins, 20 Box Cutters, 20 Diamond Merkins, 10 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1).

Mosey down hill by roadway that heads to main roadway coming from entrance gate at Lyons Bend.  We will do elevens starting with 1 Big Boy Sit Up at bottom of hill and 10 Iron Mikes (each leg = 1) at top of hill.

Mosey to Area 51.  We will do 20 Hands Wide Merkins.  Then we will run up the hill to roadway that semicircles the Admin Bldg.  We will go back to Cone 8 and repeat the exercises there.

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Bicycle Kicks, 30 Side Heel Touches while on Six, 25 Buzz Saws
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Seven men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV /

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

One thing I appreciate about our F3 brotherhood is how we encourage one another.  I always hear brothers exhorting one another to keep up the good work, to keep pushing.  I never hear brothers criticize other brothers for being too slow, for not keeping up.  We work hard but we do so with a great deal of support.  It works the same way with the time we share from our hearts.  We praise one another when the news is good and are ready to console and wrap our arms around anyone who shares something painful or difficult.  Keep up the good work.  Keep striving to be excellent but keep encouraging one another to reach for excellence.  Men need encouragement and it is the iron sharpening iron aspect of F3 which is one of the truly magical things about our group.  We take that creed seriously and in so doing, we reach out to our fellow man.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for J-Lo’s recovery from torn meniscus and prayers for co-worker of Sparkler and her husband who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Board meeting to prepare for Hardship Hill.  Hardship Hill will be this Saturday.

Taking Time to Reflect

THE SCENE: Sunny, temps in eighties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 10 Iron Mikes, 10 Windmills, 10 Cherry Pickers, Michael Phelps
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign on northeastern corner of Admin Bldg.  There will be sets of bricks.  We will be doing Doras with the brick.  While one partner runs to cone, does 10 merkins, and comes back the other partner will be doing exercises with the bricks.  The partners switch off when one partner comes back from the run.  The partner teams will do 100 of each of the following exercises with the bricks:

  • Overhead Presses
  • Curls
  • Rows with brick at each side
  • Punches from chest out (punch with each hand = 1)
  • Wings out
  • Wings up
  • Wings down

Mosey north to perimeter trail and head west on perimeter trail to area below Roadshow Run.  Each man will do 20 Big Boys, then run to top of Roadshow Run by the bat house.  There, each man does 40 Baby Crunches.  We will rinse and repeat.  The first man who finishes then runs back up Roadshow Run sweeping all men upward.

Mosey to grassy area in shade and by small wall on west side of road.  We will do elevens starting with 10 Jump Squats and 1 Incline Merkin with hands on wall.  We will do another eleven with 10 Mountain Climbers (four count) and one bench raise off of wall.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Ten men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I read this week about something that the comedian Louie C.K. said when he was being interviewed by Conan one time.  He commented that he doesn’t want his kids to have cell phones because he wants them to be sad.  He was being funny with this comment but he was also being serious.  Sadness can come when we are forced to be alone with our thoughts.  The comedian noted, “That’s what the phones are taking away, the ability to just sit there.  That’s being a person.”

He also talked about a time when he was driving and listening to a Bruce Springsteen song on the radio.  He was feeling a melancholy come over him and his immediate response was to grab the phone and text somebody.  Instead, he let the sadness grow and pulled over to the side of the road to weep.  Afterwards, came another strong feeling, one of joy and thankfulness for his life.

Technology and cell phones are not bad things.  They are useful things.  But we can get too absorbed in it.  In so doing, we may find that we are avoiding true alone time, true thinking time.  We may be be pushing aside time to reflect over the events of the day, good and bad, that impact us cognitively and emotionally.  We may be merely numbing our minds.  We are not struggling but sometimes struggle is important.  And as Louie C.K. implies, sometimes sadness is good.  We don’t like seeing our loved ones, our children, or ourselves feeling sad.  But sadness is an important emotion – one that can inspire us to change or one that puts us more in touch with humanity.  Life is about loss as well as gain.  Sadness comes with loss and it is important to reckon with it.

The bible gives us plenty of images of Christ weeping – whether over the death of Lazurus, for the fate of Jerusalem, in compassion for others, or in anger over the tyranny of death over mankind.  Christ does not keep us from experiencing sadness.  But, in living in a relationship with Him, with God, he also shows us what true joy is.

Louie C.K., explaining his resistance to cell phones and technology, stated “you don’t ever feel really sad or really happy, you just feel. . . kinda satisfied with your products.  And then you die.”

I hope that we, as HIMs, are striving for more.  That striving for more may take the form of welcoming the Gloom when it meets us in the cold of a 5:30 am workout or heat of a 5:45 pm beat down.  It may also come in the form of welcoming the sadness that sometimes comes about in living a meaningful life.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler’s stepdad, Shooter’s friend, and Iceman’s brother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Neyland run on Saturday, May 11.  Hardship Hill on Saturday, May 18.

Q has no rhythm and Bearmuda Triangle Survival

THE SCENE: Overcast, Mid 70s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 20 IC

Candy corns – 30 IC (kind of)

Windmills 15 IC

Arm Stretches

Imp Walkers (20) IC

THA-THANG:
Mosey Down Steps – all the way to the path way at base of Everest

  • Bernie up back of Everest to Plateau
  • Bearmuda Triangle – 3 rounds-bearcrawlbetweeneachcone
    • 1st Round – 1 burpee at 1st cone, 2 burpee at 2nd cone, 3 burpee at 3rd cone
    • 2nd round – 4 strides, 4 merkins til 2nd cone, last cone 8 strides, 4 merkins
    • 3rd round – 8 bbs at first, 16 bbs at 2nd, 24 bbs at 3rd
  • Mosey back down to path at bottom of hill – 3 rounds with “Peoples Wall” at end of each (sit against fence for 1 minute) for a total of 3
    • station 1 – pulse squat x5 + squat jump x 5, station 2- 20 American Hammers, station 3 – 20 plank jacks, station 4- 20 lbc (4 ct)
    • station 1- 25 bbs, station 2- 20 bobby hurleys, station 3 20 decline merkins, station 4 – 20 imp walkers (4 ct)
    • station 1- 20 hello dolly, station 2- flutter kicks (4 ct), station 3- 20 bbs, station 4- 20 slow squats
  • mosey back up stairs to top stairs with hand rail- 20 heal dips heals parallel, 20 head dips, heal inward, toes outward
  • mosey to AO

MARY:
none.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We all go through seasons of change, God decides when we will have each season, it is out of our control. Sometimes we may initiate a change of seasons, but God controls the pace. Some season changes come fast and completely upset your universe. This is God’s way and we cannot change it. We often question these changes, but it is futile to try and understand the reasons. No one is spared from these season changes – some will get alot, others more gradual, but no one is immune. We need to understand this is God’s way and we need to accept it. Psalm 104:19 “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows his going down.”
MOLESKIN:
Pray for Sharpie and his wife Kerri
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
none

Pain is Gain

THE SCENE: Beautiful day, temps in high 70’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-straddle-hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Plank stretches, 10 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign on southeast corner of Admin Bldg.  20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to Area 51.  We will run up hill stopping three times to do decline merkins.  Rinse and repeat.

Mosey to bat house above Roadshow Run.  We will do the Pinto Grinder.  We will start with 20 Star Jumps by bat house.  Then run down stairs and do 20 Diamond Merkins.  Run to grove of trees just below peak of Mt. Everest.  Do 10 Burpees.  Run up to peak of Mt. Everest and do 20 Big Boys.  Rinse and repeat.

Do 20 American Hammers in Shade.

Mosey to stop sign at northeast corner of Admin Bldg.  20 Hello Dollies.  We will head back on road toward AO but stop at each cone along the way.  The cones will instruct us what to do next.  The instructions at each cone are as follows:

  • Cone 1:  10 Shoulder Taps (both arms = 1).  Bear Crawl to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  25 Baby Crunches.  Lunge to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Flutter Kicks (four count).  Bernie Sanders to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Buzz saws (four count).  Grapevine with face away from Admin Bldg to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Grapevine with face toward Admin Bldg to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6.  Go back to Cone 1 to rinse and repeat.

MARY:

10 Bottle Caps, 20 Box Cutters, Stretches.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eight men, no FNGs.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 That’s why we are not discouraged. No, even if outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are being renewed each and every day. This light, temporary nature of our suffering is producing for us an everlasting weight of glory, far beyond any comparison, because we do not look for things that can be seen but for things that cannot be seen. For things that can be seen are temporary, but things that cannot be seen are eternal.

It can be human nature to desire the easy way out.  But the fact is that truly good things generally involve toil, effort and pain.  I often times witness people wanting to move forward but unwilling to accept anxiety, stress or pain in order to get there.  As a psychologist I see people wanting to take narcotics or avoid challenges to that they don’t have to experience anxiety.  I am not belittling the anxiety that those with Anxiety Disorders must battle.  But some people actually think humans aren’t supposed to experience anxiety.  They want to avoid anxiety at all costs.  The fact is that anytime we take on new challenges, we are going to experience anxiety.

I see some people wanting to improve physically without experiencing pain.  I know that doctors and physical therapists see this all the time.  Someone gets total knee replacement and then is sent to see a physical therapist.  They stop going saying the physical therapy only made them feel worse.  Of course it made them feel worse – it is supposed to make them feel worse – so that through work, pain and effort they will improve and eventually feel much, much better.

We in F3 get up early mornings to face the gloom and experience the pain and thrashing of an F3 workout.  It is supposed to be painful.  Without the pain we don’t receive the gang.  We could wimp out and make it easy for everyone.  But as Cheatsheet proclaims, “Treat yourself, don’t cheat yourself!”

We often think relationships are supposed to be free from pain and turmoil.  Nothing goes wrong in our relationships in the Honey Moon stage.  Your lover can do no wrong.  It is later that we wake up to the reality that this lover is a real person – with her own strange idiosyncrasies and opinions that don’t,God forbid, always coincide with ours.  We begin to think, what’s wrong with this person – maybe she isn’t right for me.  But maybe, just maybe, that person is right for you.  To find true love is to work through differences with another that can sometimes be painful.  But in working through these differences we see we can learn and live with them.  We find something richer and greater – not a person who will agree with us about everything – but someone who will love us, no matter how hard that task can be (look at yourself, that can be pretty doggone difficult) and will help us to grow stronger and better for it in the process.

Finally, with God it is not always rosy and wonderful.  We sometimes want to turn from Him when things aren’t wonderful and going our way.  We may blame Him for it, say “Where the hell are you God?”  Or, we may not want to follow Him when He wants us to do something we don’t like to do.”  But God’s way is the best way, not the easy, rosy way.  We don’t just follow God when it feels good.  We follow God when it is difficult, when it is not all fun and games, when we doubt, when we hurt, when we are ready to give up, when we are angry and pissed at Him.  In so doing, we find faith, we find hope, and we have a true relationship with a God who desires relationship and desires to make us better men.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for five of Abscess’ friends who have had heart attacks.  Continuing prayers for Pinto who is recovering from his heart attack and heart surgery.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill!

One Shining Moment

THE SCENE: Beautiful, mid 70s, sunny… almost a tad HOT!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check

WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 20 (IC), Cherry pickers x 10, Steve Earles x 20 (IC), Baby Arm Circles forward (x10) and backward (x10), little of this and that, Vertical leaps x 10 w/ increasing intensity.

THA-THANG:
Moseyed to little-used field over by Area 51.  16 cones set up for March Madness.

Sweet 16 Suicides: run to each cone and back, 8 on each side.  Remove the “losing teams” from field.

Elite 8’s: Do four sets of 8’s (same as Sevens but with one added rep, so 1/7, 2/6, etc.) between the cones, which represent the teams in the Elite 8 of the NCAA basketball tournament, as follows:

  • DUKE Blue Devil Bobby Hurleys (of course…!) / MICHIGAN STATE Mountain Climbers (4-Ct). Sometimes you have to crawl before you walk… BEAR CRAWL between cones
  • GONZAGA BULLDOG Burpees / TEXAS TECH Tempo Squats.  Sometimes you have to backpedal to get back on defense! Bernie Sanders between cones!
  • VIRGINIA CAVALIER Carolina Dry Docks / PURDUE Plank Jacks Two of the best defenses in the tournament… Defensive position and shuffle between cones!
  • KENTUCKY WILDCAT Werkins / AUBURN American Hammers (4-ct). Sometimes you have to just run normally.

Continue on to the ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR!

Things get harder in the Final Four…  Run up and down the hill to the road, doing the following exercises:

  1. MICHIGAN STATE Mountain Climbers at base (x10, 4-Ct), TEXAS TECH Tempo Squats (x10) at Top (because TT came out on top!)
  2. AUBURN American Hammers (x10, 4-ct) at base, VIRGINIA CAVALIER Carolina Dry Docks (x10) at top.  Still need to get to the top of the mountain baby!

Mosey to stop sign at corner of circle drive.

CHAMPIONSHIP: TEXAS TECH Tempo Squats (x10) at sign, then sprint to first No Parking Sign and VIRGINIA CAVALIER Carolina Dry Docks (x10) at for the win, baby!

3 BURPEES to simulate the jumping and excitement of the victory, then…

30-count stargazers to soak it all in.

MARY:

Basketball is all about the… X’s and O’s!! (on 6, X position, 6 inches off ground, then V with arms and legs together in the air.)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Six strong. (J-Lo not tagged)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
At the end of the NCAA tournament, CBS always shows an awesome montage called One Shining Moment that documents the incredible highs, and the crushing lows of the past few weeks’ action-packed games.  I recently read an article about an athlete who created a shining moment for a special fan.

Alex Bregman, 25-year old infielder for the Houston Astros, has a group of friends that he hangs out and lives with (The Boys) and they do a lot of things on social media, like random acts of kindness, practical jokes, etc. Late last year, a relative of a young fan messaged Bregman on Instagram to say that the fan was dying of Stage 4 brain cancer and that he’d asked to be buried in Bregman’s jersey. “A signed note or jersey would make his entire life”, the relative wrote. Bregman asked for his address. That week-end, Bregman and the Boys, leaving their cameras behind, drove up to the young man’s house and spent an hour at his bedside. Two days later, Bregman received another message from the relative. “He died this morning.  We are so grateful you saw him and made him laugh before he made his way home.”

Bregman took the time to give this young man One Shining Moment. An act of kindness can make the difference in someone’s life.  Reach out to say hello to an old friend.  Be Present (per Crawdad at our last Third F) when someone is going through a tough time.  Do whatever you can to give a fellow human being One Shining Moment in their day, or week, or life.  It will mean all the difference in the world to them.

2 CORINTHIANS 1: 3-4

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles that we may be able to comfort others with troubles, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Pass it on.  Be someone’s shining light in their times of trouble, just as God is your shining light, your beacon, your hope when you are faced with your personal tribulations.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Be aware that some workout groups (not ours… yet) have been approached by city officials and it has been suggested that they should pay for their workout time/space.  Let’s hope this is not a glimpse into the future… Also, be on the lookout for an announcement in May to help our brother Pinto out by doing some yardwork as he continues to recover from his heart attack.