F3 Knoxville

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.

God Has Our Six

THE SCENE: Cloudy with temps in 60’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Plank Jacks, 15 Squat Jumps, 10 Rockettes, Plank Stretches, 10 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:
Mosey northeast to perimeter trail near intersection of primary park roadway and roadway going to admin bldg.  We will be doing nickel, dime, quarters (running one light to stop and do 5 of exercise, running two lights to do 10 of exercise and running five more lights to do 25 of the exercise.  We will initially head west on perimeter trail, following it all the way to southern ball field area.  Here are the exercises we will be doing

  • Big Boy Sit-ups
  • Merkins
  • Star Jumps
  • Hello Dollies
  • Diamond Merkins
  • Smurf Jacks
  • American Hammers
  • Carolina Drydocks
  • Iron Mikes
  • Flutter Kicks (four count)
  • Dive Bombers
  • Plank Jacks

Mosey to Outdoor Chapel.  We will do sevens starting with one Decline Merkin at stage area and six Mountain Climbers at other end of chapel.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
One psychological definition of anxiety states that it is 1. the overestimation of threat and 2. the underestimation of competency to handle the threat.  It is not uncommon for us to experience anxiety, particularly when we take on new things.  For example, when taking on a new challenge (such as starting a new job) we tend to worry about the many things that could go wrong – in so doing we exaggerate the likelihood of bad things occurring.  Those of you who have never taken the Q at an F3 workout may worry that the guys would not like what you have put together, that what you planned will not be hard enough or that it would be too hard, that you will plan too much or too little, or that you will screw up when leading the exercises. You may not think about it being common to make mistakes when you do your first Q and that the other guys will understand that and accept you.  When taking on new challenges we also tend to underestimate our competency.  When taking on a new job you may forget that you were hired because of abilities and skills that the employer saw in you and that you can learn and adapt to new situations.  When thinking of leading a Q you may underestimate how much you have learned from being involved in F3 workouts, how even though you have never led a Q your ability to do so will be just as good as other guys who have never led a Q, how you can write out a good outline for a workout, how you can adapt your workout as you move along, how you can be inventive and come up with new ways of doing things, how when delivering the message guys will be interested in your experiences and what you have learned in life.

Take on new challenges.  Remember it is common to feel some anxiety when you do so.  But remember that you are probably overestimating the threats of the new challenge as well as the negative reactions to your making mistakes.  Remember your abilities, your ability to adapt, your ability to get up when you have been knocked down, and that God and friends are there to turn to when mistakes are made because in taking on new challenges you are supposed to make mistakes.

Remembering these words from Christ in Matthew, Chapter 6, may also help:

25 eTherefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life?7 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 

Dog Day Sun and Run at Asylum

THE SCENE: Sunny, Slight Breeze – Temp in the 50’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH – IC 20

Candy Corns – 4CT IC – 24

Windmills – IC 12

Cherry Pickers – IC 15

Merkins (slow) IC – 10

THA-THANG:
Mosey Down Stairs to West Pathway- turn right

  • RTE 66 Round 1
    • BBS at each light post – starting with 1, increase by 1 to 11 (Rabbits sweep back)
    • Alternate Bearcrawl and Bernie between posts
  • RTE 66 Round 2
    • Diver Bomber at each light post – starting with 1, increase by 1 to 11 (Rabbits sweep back)
    • Alternate Lunge and Run between posts
  • Long Mosey to CMU pile by baseball fields – each grab CMU
    • 25 curls IC
    • 25 Rows IC
    • 25 Press IC
    • R n R
  • Mosey to Picnic Shelter
    • 11’s – Alternate bench dips with Squat Jumps
  • Mosey up winding path to Monument – wait for 10 ct
  • Slow Mosey back to AO
  • Hello Dolly – IC 25
  • Ring of Fire Planks – one round of 4 Merkins while rest of Ring holds plank, second round of just one Plank

MARY:

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 HIMs + Dog. Welcome FNG @ Chapter 11 (Patrick Woodside)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
In our personal circles, in our families and at work we have certain “go to” people we count on for support all the time – like our spouses or certain team members. We delegate tasks many times at the last minute and many times without asking and/or maybe they just know what to do and do it- alot.  We count on them and we wouldn’t be able to do what we need to do without them. We need to take the time to recognize their constant support and give something back- maybe pick up some of their tasks unannounced. Reach out, acknowledge their constant efforts and let them know our appreciation.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
See Jinxy for Heatbreak Hill Team – Asylum Team name is “Boardroom”

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!

The Last Shall Be First and First Shall Be Last

THE SCENE: Sunny, clear, temps in 50’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 15 Mountain Climbers, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Windmills, Michael Phelps, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by entry to northern ball fields.  Line up on curb of parking lot closest to street.  There will be two cones in middle of parking lot.  On some of the following exercises we will ignore the cones while on some we will use the cones. These are the exercises:

  • Side twister run to other curb and back, facing south as we run.
  • Bernie Sanders to curb and back
  • High Knees run to curb and back
  • Bear crawl to first cone, hop to second cone and lunge to curb.  Do same thing going back.
  • Sprint to curb and back.

Next we go to CMU pile.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises:

  • 25 Overhead Presses
  • 25 Curls
  • 25 Rows
  • 25 Squats
  • 25 Bench Presses

Mosey to Serpentine Sidewalk (between northern ball fields and outdoor chapel).  We will do 14’s (run one light with listed exercise and sprint four lights, continuing pattern with that exercise until done) all the way to perimeter trail.  First men getting to perimeter trail sweep other men back. The following are the exercises for the 14’s:

  • Duck walk one light, sprint four
  • Hop one light, sprint four
  • Bernie one light, sprint four

Mosey to Playground at northern ball fields.

We will do elevens, starting with one Bench Dip and ten Bench Jumps.  We will repeat elevens with one Decline Merkin and Ten Legs Up Sit Ups.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eight men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Insert the WORD here.
MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
God uses all people, whether big or small, powerful or lowly, famous or unknown, rich or poor, for his purposes.  We are all important to God – His Kingdom is quite different than that of what we see in our world.  We may feel sometimes that we don’t count.  We believe there are others out there who have much more “say” than we do.  But each one of us, each one of you, count just as much to God as do presidents and rulers.  Who did Jesus go to for his disciples?  Was it the rulers of Isreal, the rabbis or scholars?  He chose “common” men.  And he said to them, that in God’s Kingdom “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.”

In his book, The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis, a group of tourists are visiting heaven.  They see a great parade held in honor of someone who had recently died on Earth.  They wonder who the parade is for.  Surely, it was for someone special on Earth, an inventor whose invention changed the course of the world, a dignitary, a ruler, a great athlete.  They find the parade is for Mary Smith, an unknown woman who loved God and lived out that love toward others.

If my mother-in-law, Ruby Grimes, were to have a resume, it wouldn’t stack up very well with most people.  She had one job in her life, as a bookkeeper for a local school in Kentucky.  But, as David Brooks would say, her Eulogy Virtues will far outweigh her Resume Virtues.  And, I believe, there will be a great parade in heaven for her when she arrives there.  She is the type of person that you just feel good being around.  I truly love visiting her.  One problem though, is that when you go her church with Ruby it seems you can never get away after the service is over.  Everyone wants to talk to her and you find yourself standing around, waiting to get to the car and get home.  When we visit my wife’s parents for Christmas, you can count on people coming and knocking on the door on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  Who are these people?  Relatives?  No, the relatives are probably already in the house.  The people who come by are just folks who Ruby has somehow touched in their lives.  Often it is former neighbors who knew Ruby when they were kids.  They probably got cookies from her, came on in the house when they were little, knowing the home was a place where they were always welcome.  They still want to see her as adults, just to let her know they still love her.  Ruby’s refrigerator door is constantly littered with cards from folks who she has known.  They may now live in other cities or states but they still want to keep in touch with her.  She has touched others with a love that is difficult to put into words.  But God surely sees it.

Each one of us may not be the top dogs in our jobs, the best on the sports teams we play for, the best known in our communities.  But we are important to God.  And, we can serve God’s purposes in ways that the world may not see as incredible but in which God surely sees as incredible.  The last shall be first and the first shall be last.  Remember that as you go out and live for God’s purposes.