F3 Knoxville

Tag: Pusher

CMU Shuffle

F3 Q – 9/14/2020

Asylum AO

0530-0615

[ The Scene ]

70s and dark – groggy but alive and well

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness – Fellowship – Faith
  • My name is Steam and I’m honored to be in your company and be your Q this morning
  • FNGs?
  • Couple of things before we begin:
    • (1) I am not a professional
    • (2) You’re here on your own volition
    • (3) If you need to modify anything we do this morning – feel free to do so as you need but push yourself and those around you.

[ Warm-o-Rama ]

(1) SSH – 10 x 4 IC

(2) Baby Arm Circles – 10 x 4 each side IC

(3) Imperial Walker – 10 x 4 IC

(4) Merkin – 10 x 4 IC

(5) Windmill – 10 x 4 IC

[ The Thang ]

(1) CMU 4 Corners

—HIM get CMUs—

—Move through corners clockwise—

  • Corner 1: 25 curls (1 count)

(Run up the hill — 10 V-Ups — run back to CMU — carry to next corner)

  • Corner 2: 25 chest presses

(Run up the hill — 10 V-Ups — run back to CMU — carry to next corner)

  • Corner 3: 25X4 Rocky Balboas on CMU 

(Run up the hill — 10 V-Ups — run back to CMU — carry to next corner)

  • Corner 4: 25 CMU swings

(Run up the hill — 10 V-Ups — run back to CMU — carry to next corner)

(10 count)

(2) CMU Lunges/Pull-ups

  • Men circle up with CMUs in the middle of the parking lot
  • 5 lunges with CMU on one shoulder or above head
    • Switch shoulders every 5 lunges
  • Run to Pav — execute 10 pull-ups
  • R & R until you reach the other curb
  • Recover with 25 Big Boy Sit-ups with your CMU when you’re done
  • Men take CMUs back and Charming leads PAX in 30×4 flutter kicks

(3) Nickel/Dime/Quarter x2

  • PAX mosey to playground
  • All PAX find a bench (all my benches)
  • Round 1
    • 5 Dips
      • 10 Box Jumps/Step-Ups
        •  25 1-leg squats on bench
  • Round 2
    • 5 1-leg squats on bench
      • 10 Dips
        • 25 box jumps/step-ups

 

  • BTTW back to the AO

[ Mary ]

  • Slow 25
    • 5×4 Flutter Kicks
    • 5×4 American Hammers
    • 5×4 LBCs
    • 5×4 Cockroaches
    • 5×4 Little LBCs

PAX stretch down to the ground – raise 1 vertebrae up at a time – execute some shoulder shrugs – done. Boom.

[ COT ]

  • # off – 16 + 4 Ruckers = 20
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs – none 
  • BOM
  • I wanted to start the week off for us with a slap on the back and vote of confidence.

[ From the QSource  – by DREDD ]

  • Foundation4 (F4) — Leadership Development Process (LDP)

Here’s the chapter – worth the read.

1. Great Leaders Develop New Leaders

While leadership is critical to all groups, leaders are always in short supply in most groups because only a few groups employ a systematic Leadership Development Process (LDP = the process employed by a group to develop new leaders). What separates those few groups from the rest is simple: they are led by great leaders.

Great leaders are intent on leaving a legacy that will resound to their groups’ advantage long after they have gone. Knowing their leadership tenure is limited by human mortality, they get prepared for the expected event of their departure by developing new leaders. Because they cannot predict the precise time of their departure, they stay ready for the unexpected by ensuring that the leaders they develop are ready right now instead of sometime tomorrow. Great Leaders are constantly working themselves out of a job. 

Great Leaders develop new Leaders systematically, through an LDP that is tailored to the needs of the group they lead. They see this as a primary part of their responsibility as a leader, not something they also do if they can find the time.

For great Leaders, developing new leaders is leadership, of the highest caliber. 

2. The LDP has four steps: schooling, apprenticeship, opportunity and failure

Healthy communities, effective organizations, and dynamic teams each employ some form of an LDP that is periodically adjusted to suit their unique need for leaders and the manner by which they develop them. While every LDP reflects the purpose and character of the particular group in which it is housed, every useful process has a form of the same four components:

  • First, there is some kind of Schooling, the didactic instruction that the potential leader receives on the timeless fundamentals of leadership.
  • The second component is Apprenticeship, where the new leader is given the chance to develop the skills he learned from his Schooling  under the watchful eye of a more experienced Leader.
  • Third comes Opportunity, the chance for the growing leader to put what he has learned into practice under conditions where he is directly responsible for the outcome. While Schooling + Apprenticeship creates a Leader with the potential to be effective, Opportunity is the required element for the man’s skill to become kinetic and have actual impact on his group. 
  • The fourth component is Failure. A lizard uses its LDP to intentionally court minor disaster in order to fully develop its Leaders, because it is from Failure that Leaders learn the most. Success teaches far less because it does not isolate what works from what does not the way Failure does.

3. The LDP depends upon decentralized execution to a central purpose.

F3 is an organization whose purpose is to invigorate male community leadership. Not surprisingly, since our mission is leadership development itself, F3 needs a very deliberate LDP to be effective. However, because the organization is comprised of thousands of small teams that are not in proximity, that deliberate process cannot restrict the individual initiative and genius of its Leaders. We are absolutely dependent upon our great Leaders to be about the business of developing our new Leaders.The execution of the LDP is in their hands because it is their hands that are physically upon the new leaders. 

As  a result, we do not dictate the precise manner in which our Leaders are to execute F3’s LDP but rather encourage and focus them upon our central purpose. They must know the “why” of the LDP before they can perform it’s “what.” Also, they must be affirmed in their efforts to be incentivized to continue them. 

This model, decentralized execution toward central purpose, is not something unique to F3 or a theory that we invented. It is the LDP methodology employed by the great Leaders of healthy communities, effective organizations and dynamic teams and always have been.

4. Takeaways

  • Great Leaders develop new Leaders
  • The LDP has 4 steps: Schooling, Apprenticeship, Opportunity, and Failure
  • The LDP depends upon decentralized execution to central purpose

____________________________________________________________________________________________

  • “For great leaders, developing new leaders is leadership, of the highest caliber.”
    • And I see all of you as high caliber, high impact men that have done that for me for the past 4 years or so. You all have a power inside you to do that. Something that drives you to be the high caliber, high impact men you are.

 

  • I came to F3 as a lost college kid trying to figure it out 4 years ago. When I say F3 has been, and continues to be, a Gamechanger in my life, I mean it. I’ve experienced F3 Knoxville’s LDP in the past 4 years and am a better, more equipped and confident man thanks to YOU MEN – men of the highest caliber and quality – Great Leaders as the QSource chapter talks about. And I just want to say thank you. You all have done more for me and my journey towards being a HIM than most of you will ever know.

 

  • From a young leader to a Great Leader – thank you.

God Is God

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Windmills, 7 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Northeast Corner of Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies.  Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs CMU and places it on east side of Parking Lot.  Cone 1 is at that side of parking lot.  Cone 2 is on opposite west side.  We will do one of the listed exercises at Cone 1 with CMU.  We then
Bernie Sanders (without CMU) to Cone 2 and do one of the listed exercises.  We then run up mini cardiac to crosswalk and run back to Cone 1.  We will repeat this sequence with the next set of exercises.  We will have run up and down mini cardiac three times by the time we are finished. Here are the exercises at each cone:

  • Cone 1:  1. 25 Overhead Presses.  2. 25 Curls.  3. 25 Rows.
  • Cone 2:  1. 20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct).  2. 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 cts).  3. 20 Hello Dollies (4 ct.)

Replace CMUs.

Mosey to parking lot that has islands on the other side of ball fields.  We will run around the parking lot stopping at each island to do 10 Merkins.  At island that semi-circle that we semi-circle around we will bear crawl instead of run.  Once around the parking lot, we will do the same thing but do 10 Big Boys at each island.

Mosey to beginning of Pickett’s Charge.  We will Pickett’s Charge to Northeastern Corner of Parking Lot.  We will stop at each hill of Pickett’s Charge to do 5 Hand Release Merkins.  We will also bear crawl up each hill.  After finishing Pickett’s charge we will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Bat House.  We will sprint from Bat House to Parking Lot.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
23 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The Kingdom grows, because the kingdom is already planted.  It grows of itself and in its own good time.  Above all, it grows we know not how.

–Robert Farrar Capon

Difficult times, like those we are facing with the coronavirus, racial protests, and our very heated political situation, test our beliefs and faith.  Our faith in our government, in other people, in ourselves, and even in God is being put to the test.  At a time like this we may be asking questions such as:

  • God, how can you let this happen?
  • God, where are you in all of this?
  • God, do you have any power to stop this?
  • God, what is your purpose?

We look to solutions to this world problem as if we know the answer, as if we know how the world should be run.  We do that individually and corporately, blaming the whole state affairs on others or claiming that surely us Democrats or us Republicans are in “the right.”

At such times of angst, of confusion, of bewilderment, it is reassuring to know that, as Robert Farrar Capon proclaims, the kingdom is already planted and it grows of itself in its own good time.  It is good to know that God is in control and that is the truth whether we like it or not.  Look at history, at humankind’s treatment of one another, at the devastation of war, of slavery, of corruption, of pollution, and we can see how we botch things when we play God.

One of my favorite songs is “God is God” by Steve Earle.   In discussing fate, uncertainty, miracles, and life he proclaims both that “God ain’t me” and “God ain’t us.”  But through the mystery and uncertainty he believes in God:

Every day that passes I’m sure about a little bit less.
(But) even my money keeps telling me it’s God I need to trust.
And I believe in God, but God ain’t us.

If we believe in God then we must accept that he has a plan that goes beyond our understanding.  His plan is a mystery but one that we must trust.  God is God.  And that is certainly reassuring in difficult times like these.  Personally, it gives me hope.  And, it gives me comfort to know that neither I nor the rulers of this world have the final say.

I will close with the last stanza of Steve Earle’s song which puts in better words than what I can say this mystery, this miracle, and our need to accept it.

God, of my little understanding, don’t care what name I call.
Whether or not I believe doesn’t matter at all.
I receive the blessin’s.
And every day on Earth’s another chance to get it right.
Let this little light of mine shine and rage against the night.
Just another lesson
Maybe someone’s watching and wondering what I got.
Maybe this is why I’m here on Earth, and maybe not.
But I believe in God, and God is God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler’s son and daughter-in-law, whose son, who died last Christmas Holidays, would have been two today.  Prayers for Jinxy’s wife who has surgery on September 17, for Lilydipper’s wife, and for Thunderstruck’s mother.  Prayer’s for Lulu and Doubtfire whose mothers died this summer.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Fake Gloomers will be building two obstacles for Hardship Hill.  We will get started the weekend of September 19-20.  Talk to Sparkler for details.  Be at Asylum PM this Thursday because Pusher will be on Q and is bringing Filipino noodles (made by his mother-in-law) for our board meeting!

CMU Trail of Fears (Being Conquered)

[ The Scene ]

  • It’s hot with a capital h o t
  • PAX circle up in the bat cave where some shade is afforded

[ Warm-o-Rama ]

  • Windmill: 10 x 4 IC
    • 1 burpee
  • Rockette: 10 x 4 IC
    • 2 burpee
  • Baby Arm Circles
    • F: 10 x 4 IC
    • B: 10 x 4 IC
    • 3 Burpee
  • Seal-Clap Squats: 5
    • Down —> 1 4-count seal clap
    • Up = 1
    • 4 burpees
  • SSH: 10 x 4 IC
    • 1 burpee

[ The Thang ]

—mosey to CMU pile by bat cave—

(1) CMU Warm-Up

  • 5 CMU Getups
    • Deadlift up CMU
    • Squat w/CMU
    • Up + chest-press CMU
    • Deadlift down CMU on ground
  • 10 Cross-Overs
    • CMU on ground
    • Burpee on 1 side
    • “Jump” on the burpee is over the CMU
    • Burpee on the other side
  • 15 CMU Curl Presses
    • Curl + press – back down
  • 20 CMU Flutter Kick Presses
    • Execute flutter kicks while doing 20 CMU presses above
  • 25 CMU Drags
    • Bear Crawl formation
    • Take 1 hand – pull CMU through your legs to your other hand
    • Bear crawl up until the CMU is in the same start position as before
    • R & R
    • Every CMU pull = 1

(10 count)

—walkdown the stairs from the bat cave—

—mosey with CMUs to the beginning of lighted path leading up to Saturday morning AO—

(2) CMU Trail of Reps

  • CMU Curls
  • CMU Presses
  • CMU Squats
  • Nickel – Dime – Quarter
  • Light 1 = 5 CMU Curls
  • Light 2 = 10 CMU Presses
  • Light 3 = 25 CMU squats
  • Rinse & Repeat until we get to the small parking lot right over there
  • However – switch the order of the Xs once you get done with the first 3 lights
    • 4th light = 5 CMU Presses
    • 5th light = 10 CMU squats
    • 6th light = 25 CMU Curls

***Disclaimer: this sucked***

There was a teaching moment in this evolution of the beatdown however

Teaching Moment/Q Tip #1: Sweep/Pickup the 6/Wagon-Wheel/No Man Left Behind

The command of “Sweep/Wagon Wheel” was given 3x by the QIC

Pele was the singular HIM that responded and came back initially – the rest of the PAX followed suit after some prompting.

Why do we circle back/wagon wheel/pickup the 6/sweep if the QIC gives the command? (1) Not because the Q is in charge or commands it, but because any one of us could be the 6 on any given day. All of at some point in time have been the 6, you know what it’s like. (2) Circling back/wagon wheel/pickup the 6/sweep isn’t just a physical thing – it’s also mental as well. Sometimes all people need is a little encouragement and if you’re the 6 I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you probably needed some encouragement. Think about what circling back/wagon wheeling/picking up the 6/sweeping does for the 6 – not only does it reaffirm physically “No man left behind” but it also affirms mentally for the 6 and the PAX “No man left behind.”

We circle back. We Wagon Wheel. We pickup the 6. We sweep. No man left behind. That is a non-negotiable of F3. Period.

(Teaching Moment/Q Tip #1 was sunk in with 5 burpees by all PAX – we grow and move together – no man left behind)

Teaching Moment/Q Tip #2: It’s just a piece of rock

We have this thing at Asylum PM – if you break a CMU, 100 burpees or something crazy (stupid) like that. I’ll tell ya, people are generally pretty safe with their CMUs then, right?

However, it happens.

Dewey broke his CMU. Two pieces, on the ground. Disclaimer: Dewey is a tough hombre. Dewey is also the youngest PAX out there and he’s holding his own with the rest of us. Dude is straight crushing it in arguable one of the hardest CMU workouts to hit Asylum PM in a while.

Sometimes all people need a little encouragement. So you broke your CMU? Guess what? It’s a piece of rock – it’s okay. You’re crushing it man, keep your head up.

The bigger of the 2 broken CMU pieces is then shared by the PAX all the way back to the CMU pile. That’s what we do. CMUs are gonna get broken. It’s okay.

However, Teaching Moment/Q Tip #2 was sunk in with 5 burpees as well by all PAX – we share each other’s burdens)

Ah, I digress. Back to the hellish workout.

(Recover by parking lot)

(10 count)

Time to deliver these from whence they came – if you get down to the CMU pile first – come help someone else out with theirs that might be struggling (20/80 success on this).

(3) Pickett’s Charge to the Bat Cave

  • From the Asylum weekday morning AO car parking lot to the top of the overlook to the bat cave

Q lines up PAX in 2 lines – with Lilydipper and Pusher out front

The standard is as such —> run up Pickett’s Charge led by Lilydipper and Pusher —> no one passes them on the way up.

Teaching Moment/Q Tip #3: No one is above the standard, not even the Q.

Q stops PAX after first small hill on Picket’s Charge – reminds men of the standard set – PAX get in merkin plank position – 5 up/down merkins are executed.

Why? You are not above a standard – set by a Q or not. I am not above a standard – set by a Q or not. No one is above a standard – set by a Q or not. I don’t care how fast you are. No one cares how fast you are. There is a standard (set by the Q or not) for a reason. And a Q (and HIM) should expect and accept it to be followed. It’s not about you. It’s about the PAX. Challenge me on this. All feedback is encouraged and welcomed.

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs
  • BOM

“Learn how to discern a win” – Jerry Flowers

    • Sometimes all people need is encouragement
    • When you can’t discern a win you’ll begin to mislabel victories
    • Identify a win – examples:
        • Lost something but gained something else
        • Lost something but gained a prayer life
        • Didn’t get the position or promotion but got character development and discipline along the way – that’s a win
        • I wanted to give you 5 examples of what I’ve identified as a few wins/victories for me so far this year:
          • Told to work from home indefinitely and feeling trapped inside all day —> freedom to be more intentional with my prayer life and pour more into things I love like F3 and walking outside – that’s a victory and a win.
          • A couple “failed” relationships —> intentional experiences and I’m being protected – given insight. That’s a victory and a win.
          • Started leading a small group of men – who are all married and in their 40s and up – I don’t say that to boast, I say that because for me this is a win for me because I didn’t see that modeled well a lot when I was growing up and now the Lord’s placed me there so I can actually see it modeled well while I learn how to lead – irrespective of my age or life experience – that’s a blessing and a win.
          • A few different opportunities have come and knocked on my door professionally and personally and instead of just flinging open the door – I’m learning to exercise judgement and wisdom in my decisions – for me that’s a victory and win.
          • We all have that one friend – and if you don’t that’s okay too – that has always been a little crazy right?
            • Well my dad has that one friend too. Great guy, snuck pre-21 years old Steam  a 6 pack at my dad’s wedding a while ago. We all get together for a guys weekend this weekend and play golf, shoot, wet our whistles probably a little more than we should, especially this particular guy and a bi-product of that led to him just opening up and saying “I remember having nowhere to turn, and just crying out to God for help.” Getting to recognize the weight of what was actually happening when he was verbally processing this was a huge win and victory. God’s on the move. 

So, what did we learn?

(1) No Man Left Behind. Period. Circling Back/Wagon Wheeling/Picking Up the 6/Sweeping is more than just a physical action.

(2) Stuff happens. Things break. There are consequences. But we share each other’s burdens. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Keep your head up.

(3) There’s a standard for a reason. No one is above the standard. Not even the Q.

(4) Learn how to discern a win so you don’t mislabel victories in your life.

(5) Sometimes all someone needs is just a little encouragement.

Iron. Sharpens. Iron.

-Steam

 

Just, Kind, and Right

THE SCENE: Not too hot, cloudy, low 80s, but soooo dang humid.  Not a stirring of a breeze to be found…
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!  Some additional COVID-19 considerations: keep your distance between you and other members of the PAX and any other folks that we pass during moseys, etc. to 6-10 feet.  We will be splitting up into groups smaller than 50 if necessary.  We need to set good examples and be good neighbors out here at this public park, especially with so many folks out and about.

WARM-O-RAMA:

-25 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Abe Vigodas (4-ct), in cadence

– 25 Grady Corns (4-ct), in cadence

– 25 Tempo Squats (4-ct), in cadence

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to Area 51 parking lot.

  • 25s! 5x/20x, 10x/15x, 15x/10x, 20x/5x Reps of exercises
    • EXERCISES: Bobby Hurleys (far side) and Carolina Dry Docks (near side)
    • Do first exercise, run down to opposite side of the lot, do other exercise, BERNIE back.

MOSEY to top of sidewalk hill, going towards Everest.  20 American Hammers. 20 count.

Continue to Base of Everest. 10 American Hammers/10 Hello Dollies/10 Bicycle Kicks (4-ct), run to base of summit. Hold Plank until 6 catches up.

GRINDERS! Count off by 4s to do a staggered start.  1’s start immediately, 2’s = 5 Imperial Walkers, 3’s = 10 Imperial Walkers, 4’s = 15 Imperial Walkers then start.  When finished do Imperial Walkers until 6 catches up

  • BASE OF SUMMIT: 25 1/2 Burpees (no pushup), run up to top of summit
  • TOP OF SUMMIT: 25 LBCs, run to bat house
  • BAT HOUSE: 25 Smurf Jacks, run down stairs
  • BOTTOM OF STAIRS: 25 BBS, run back to summit

RINSE AND REPEAT (we really only did this once, but ran the summit hill twice)

.11s W/ PARTNER in grassy area with wall at top of Evereset: Exercises are DIPS and INCLINE MERKINS.  One partner does the 11, while the other partner does LBCs, then switch.  Progress through the 11s sequence until we run out of time. (most pairs got to 6/5 or 5/6).

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
25 Hello Dollies, courtesy of Lillydipper, (who was complaining about getting on our 6 in the newly cut grass, so I “volunteered” him to lead so he’d quit his yappin’ 😉 ), 10 star jacks, courtesy of Brick, who after his VQ on Tuesday is almost a professional .  All 4-ct, IC.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 HIMs, including one FNG!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

THE STORY OF JOSEPH.  The story of Joseph has been on my mind lately.  Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob, and Jacob’s favorite.  He was a Daddy’s boy.  Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful coat (coat of many colors), and Joseph had dreams showing him as superior to his brothers, which he tells them about for some reason.  Maybe not the best idea.  To no one’s surprise, all of this causes the brothers to become jealous, throw him in a pit, and sell him into slavery in Egypt.  Although they left him essentially for dead, Joseph thrives in Egypt and becomes vizier to the Pharaoh.  The brothers return to him during a famine, starving, asking for help, but they don’t recognize him.  He is in the position of evening the score.  REVENGE!! (cue Braveheart music…) Does he let bitterness take over his heart?  No.  He ultimately brings his whole family over to Egypt, saving them from the famine.

Who else has thought to themselves when they’re in a difficult situation, struggling in life, or at their wit’s end, “NOTHING GOOD CAN COME OF THIS”? But looking back, how often do you see that something good HAS come of it?  God is always there, bending our history and lives to justice and love.  As Joseph tells his brothers when they are reunited, what they had meant for evil, God had meant for good.

Even in the greatest darkness there can be something beautiful and good.  A literal example of this can be seen in some of the great paintings of the world.  There are brushstrokes of darkness and light.  The most beautiful pieces of art contain both sadness and joy.  Without those dark areas, the art would not be as beautiful.  So it is with life.  There is always a source of comfort in difficult times for those who love God.  In the story of Joseph, God was there with him, in the pit, as a slave, in prison, and in Egypt.

Instead of revenge, Jacob focuses on what is JUST, KIND, and RIGHT. He helps his brothers and brings his family to Egypt to avoid the famine.  He does not take the dangerous position of standing in for God.

I saw another example of this in Abscess’s Facebook post from Dredd who was discussing a sign that said NO BIGOTS, RACISTS OR MISOGYNISTS. His point was essentially that this is the wrong approach.  While the sentiment may be admirable, you could argue that this type of judgmental exclusion is taking the position of standing in for God.  We should actually invite factionalists to our table and sit down with them, so we can have discussions.  Who are we to judge?  The Pharisees mocked Jesus for the low company he kept and brought an adulterer to him demanding justice.  The penalty was death by stoning.  That’s when Jesus said “Let whoever is without sin cast the first stone”.  They all dropped their stones and went home.  It does us little good to judge, especially when none of us are exempt from flaws and sin.

We don’t always have to even the score.  Let go of the anger, the frustration, the desire for vengeance, like Jinxy talked about in his Word at the workout on Saturday.  Get rid of it. There is another path.  Today’s world has complex problems, and one of the difficulties I have is that I often see some value in everyone’s perspective (LIBRAs, amiright??…).  Therefore, I have trouble coming to a definitive conclusion about what the best solution is, and become frustrated that there are so many problems, and so few solutions.  The world is very confusing, and the problems we face are numerous, nuanced, and intertwined.  It can be overwhelming to try to make sense of it, try to figure out exactly how to act and fix it.  I think that if we all focused on what is JUST, what is KIND, and what is RIGHT, we can make a bit of difference in the world for the better.

MOLESKIN:
Praise for Jenner for positive developments in his pursuit of a medical degree.  Prayers for Guppy’s grandmother and for Jan, Lillydipper’s wife.

Welcome to FNG Spanky! (Raphael… sorry, I forgot his last name.  He is friends with Puddle)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None

Building Bridges

THE SCENE: Stormy, but stayed dry, cloudy, low 80s.
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!  Some additional COVID-19 considerations: keep your distance between you and other members of the PAX and any other folks that we pass during moseys, etc. to 6-10 feet.  We will be splitting up into groups smaller than 50 if necessary.  We need to set good examples and be good neighbors out here at this public park, especially with so many folks out and about.

WARM-O-RAMA:

-43 +1 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Hillbilly Squats (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Abe Vigodas (4-ct), in cadence

– Orphan Annies (Hold elbow plank, lift one hand up and do circle motions like washing the floor.  Switch after 30 seconds)

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to end of Dragon’s Tail.

Special ROUTE 66. Combination of Route 66 and 11s. At each light do both exercises, with the total equaling 11.  Exercises: MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS and PETER PARKERS (both are 2-count).

MOSEY to parking lot by baseball fields.

  • CENTURY CLUB
    • Four STATIONS, each with two exercises. Must complete 100 total of the exercises (Must be at least a 75/25 split, but otherwise can be any combination.)  Must complete the 100 before moving to next Station.  After completing the 100, Move to the next station using the method indicated.
      1. STATION 1: CMU Pile
        • Curls/Overhead Press
        • BERNIE SANDERS to Station 2.
      2. STATION 2: PAVILLION
        • Table Pull ups and Dips
        • EL CAPITAN to Station 3.
      3. STATION 3: PLAYGROUND
        • Bench Step Ups and Incline Merkins
        • SPRINT to Station 4.
      4. STATION 4: Parking Lot across from ballfields
        • BEAR CRAWL and LONG JUMPS back and forth
        • Run to BONUS BOX
  • BONUS BOX in the Middle: Rotate doing 25 of the following in the four corners until the 6 catches up:
    1. SSH x 25
    2. Overhead Claps x 25
    3. Imperial Walkers x 25
    4. Standing calf raises x 25

BERNIE up Baby Cardiac 1/2 way, then sprint.  20 American Hammers (4-ct, IC)

Mosey to monument/lookout, 10 Tempo Squats

Mosey to AO.

MARY:

  • Static leg raises. On 6, bend one knee, lift the other leg as high in the air as possible and hold. Switch after 30 seconds.
  • 43 +1 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

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

We did Four Score and Seven (i.e., 87) SSH to start and end the work out.  This refers to the opening words of the Gettysburg address, written and delivered by Abraham Lincoln, “FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAY”…  The Gettysburg battlefield has been in the news recently, and it prompted me to revisit the Gettysburg Address.  Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, and left over 40000 soldiers dead and wounded. Often seen as one of the turning points in the war, Gettysburg pointed the path to Union victory and full emancipation for enslaved Americans.  One of our favorite (insert eye roll…) exercises here, Pickett’s Charge, is named for a doomed attack on Union Forces at during the Battle of Gettysburg.

After the Battle of Gettysburg, the war turned fully in the Union’s favor, and the Civil War ended soon thereafter.  On November 19 of the same year of the battle, President Lincoln was persuaded to say a few words at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg.  It also essentially served as his re-nomination address for the election of 1864, which was not assured: The country was still in the midst of the Civil War, the Democrats were disgruntled and angry, and even Lincoln’s own party was questioning his re-nomination.  So he agreed to speak “a few appropriate remarks.”

The Gettysburg address is quite short.  It’s only 272 words long.  It wasn’t even the main speech of the day.  Lincoln was a reticent man who was not prone to long-winded speeches.  But it is widely regarded as one of the most sublime and patriotic speeches in our nation’s history, and one of the most influential statements of national purpose ever crafted. Its transcript follows, with some inserted notes:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we [Notice that he never used the first person singular in the speech. He used the first person plural] are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. [Notice that he extols the sacrifices of the soldiers who died, without calling out or casting blame on the Confederates.]

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Important Takeaways:

  • Short and Sweet! It was not a grandiose speech that was all about him.  It was also positive and inspirational. (To quote the musical Hamilton, “Talk Less, Smile More”)
  • This nation was conceived in liberty, and ALL men are created equal
  • Lincoln always uses the first person plural, not singular.  “Now WE are engaged in a great Civil War.”  “It is rather for US to be here, dedicated to the great task remaining before us”.  It was not about Lincoln, what he did, etc.  He also did not further divide the nation by calling out the Confederacy.  We’re all in this together.  The speech served to begin the process of mending bridges and put some salve on the wounds caused by the Civil War.  Lincoln took the high road, and refused to be divisive.

We still have unfinished business as a nation,or “a great task remaining before us”.  We are too quick to divide, to accuse, to attack, too slow to forgive, to compromise, to forget old grievances.  During these days of political divisiveness, it is refreshing and hopeful to look back at the words of a truly great man and President, and seek to return to those values described in the Gettysburg Address.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers of gratitude that Lilydipper’s wife, Jan, had successful surgery.  Prayers for Curveball as his family deals with a positive COVID test for one of his daughters. Prayers for Hooker as he ramps up staffing at his office.  Prayers for all involved as schools across the country reopen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None