F3 Knoxville

Tag: Pusher

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

Being Neighborly with a Jelly Legged Welsh Dragon

THE SCENE: It’s August.  In Knoxville.  So, you know, warm.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 15 (4ct IC); 2 burpees; Imperial Walkers x 15 (4ct IC); 4 burpees; Cherry Pickers x 10ish (IC); 6 burpees; Tie Fighters, forward and back x 12ish; 8 burpees.
THA-THANG:
Jelly Legs.  Line up on the baseline.

  • Round 1: 10 second squat hold; 10 squats, run to other side for 2 burpees, and then back;
  • Round 2:  20 second squat hold; 20 squats, run, 2 burpees.
  • Round 3, 30 second squat hold; 30 squats, run, 2 burpees (see the pattern?)
  • Rounds 4 and 5

Welsh Dragon

  • Bear crawl x 4; 1 4 ct shoulder tap (tapping each shoulder once); 1 merkin
  • Continue with 4 step bear crawl and add a 4 ct shoulder tap and additional merkin each time up to 10;
  • Turn around and work back to the beginning, going down in reps, starting from 10, back to 1.

Cardiac

  • Mosey from AO up Baby Everest, to Cardiac, down to Cardiac, wagon wheeling for the 6;
  • 10 burpees at the bottom; Bernie to the first turn for 10 burpees; mosey to the next turn for 10 burpees, sprint to the top as hard as you can.
  • 25 dips

Some flutters waiting on the 6.  Mosey back to the AO

MARY:
High Heels led something (flutters? Hello Dollies?); then 25 tempo LBCs.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
 

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Here’s the full post of my friend, which I stole for the BOM:  “In the gospel of Luke, a dude skilled in the day’s cultural/religious law approached Jesus to “test him” asking, basically, ‘What do I need to do to be considered right before God?” And Jesus turns it around and asks, ‘Well, what’s written in the law about this topic?’ Dude repeats the Golden Rule, which says, in part: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Jesus says, ‘Looks like you got it. Do that and you’re cool’  But dude pushes for clarification: ‘Okay, but who exactly is my neighbor?’  Then, Jesus answers the very precise question by telling a story that most everyone on the planet now knows well – the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Story goes, in a nutshell: “Guy traveling was jumped by robbers who stripped and beat him and left him to die. Two dudes who were socially privileged (a priest and Levite) came along, noticed the guy, but peaced-out.  Then, a Samaritan (not considered to fully belong to the dominant culture), noticed the guy lying there and decided to stop and interrupt what he was doing. The Samaritan then spent his time and his money making sure the guy was going to be alright.”

Then, this is the epiphany moment: Jesus didn’t ask, “Which of these three would you consider to be your neighbor?” Instead, he asked: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the guy who nearly got waxed?” Dude responds: “The one who showed mercy.” (i.e., the Samaritan).  Jesus: “Go and do likewise.”

In other words, Jesus was saying: “You’re asking the wrong question – ‘who is my neighbor?’ The question itself  isses the point and implies a primary concern with exclusivity and tribalism. – instead, you should be asking, ‘What should I do to be a neighbor?’” So, instead of asking, “Whose life in particular should matter to me?”

Go and observe who is truly in need and show those persons mercy. A human in need.

 

A human who has been treated unjustly.

 

In order to be a neighbor, you should concern yourself with *that individual* or *those individuals* regardless of attributes such as color, beliefs, religion, political affiliation, occupation, or social standing.

 

Indeed, Jesus assigned no other attribute to the person other than that he was in need.

 

Look for needs and heal them – even and especially if you’re a Samaritan.

 

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Doubtfire and his family with his mom’s passing.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Essential Isn’t Imposed

THE SCENE: Misty and humid, temps is 80s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 10 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 10 Toes Reaches, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward, 7 Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign at northeastern corner of Admin Bldg.  20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to perimeter trail and head west.  We will follow the perimeter trail north to the shaded tree by Lyons Bend.  20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Mt. Everest.  We will do 40 Baby Crunches, then run up to large tree, circle around it and return.

Mosey to shaded area by water bldg.  20 Flutter Kicks.

Mosey to North Shore gate and head east on trail.  There will be cones in flat grassy area to the right.  We will divide up men to start at different cones.  We will go counter-clockwise to each cone. The cones will list exercises.  We will do circle the cones three times doing the first exercise listed the first time there and continue in sequence the next time there.  However, before starting into the next sequence of cone exercises we will make a full circle around the cones.  Here are the exercises for each cone:

  • Cone 1:  1. 20 Bobby Hurleys.  2. 20 Smurf Jacks.  3. 20 Star Jumps.
  • Cone 2:  1. 20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  2. 20 Squats.  3. 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)
  • Cone 3:  1. 20 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1).  2. 20 Mountain Climbers (both legs = 1).  3. 20 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1)
  • Cone 4:  1. 20 Merkins.  2. 20 Carolina Dry Docks  3.  20 Diamond Merkins

Mosey to beginning of parking lot at Area 51.  We will Bernie Sanders to the curb by the grass, then run back to the starting point of the parking lot, then Bernie Sanders back to the curb again.  Next, at curb we will do 20 Toe Taps (4 ct).  Then we will run to the road up top where there is a shaded tree.  There, we will do 30 Second Leg Lift.

Mosey to bat cave.  From the bat cave we will sprint to the administration parking lot.  Each man walks back to bat cave after the sprint, then sprints to parking lot again.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Hello Dollies, 20 Tempo Merkins.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Quote from James Finley, a theologian and former monk who studied under Thomas Merton: “That which is essential never imposes itself for love is always offered, it’s never imposed, and that which in unessential is constantly imposing itself.”

God created us in His image.  He made us for communication with Him.  We fall short in life if not with Him.  We are in need of Him.  Without Him we are thirsty.  Without Him there is something wrong in our lives.  His love is Essential.  And, as James Finley says, his love is offered freely to us.  It is not imposed, it is not forced upon us. It comes to us in so many ways: the playfulness of a child, the chance for rest or Sabbath, the words of the Bible, the laughter among friends, intimacy with a partner, the love shared by a neighbor, the smile of a stranger, the songs of the birds, the beauty of the mountains, the plains, the wind, the sky, God’s creation.  Notice how these Essential things hang back, they do not force their will on us, they do not impose themselves.  Notice how we have to truly look, to truly listen, to truly observe in order to appreciate them.  It is like pulling over to the side of the road to really enjoy a sunset.  You sit there in your car and our blown away by the beauty.  And then, after you start the car up and drive on home, you think to yourself, I need to do this more often, I need to truly take this beauty in each day.  It is like when you hear a great song that makes the hair rise on your skin and you think, how beautiful, how powerful, this song makes me want to be more than what I have been.  Or, it is like when you are at worship and hear a particular sermon that makes you almost want to cry and you think, man, I need to remember this, I need to take this into the fiber of my being . . . and, a few days later you kind of forget what the sermon was all about.

A problem we humans face is that, like Finley claims, “the unessential is constantly imposing itself” on us.  What are some of these unessential things?  Wealth, power, fame, success, popularity are examples.  Think about our daily lives.  Think about what the world says we should be.  We are constantly bombarded by shoulds in our lives. “I should do more to rise to the top at work.”  “I should work more hours so that I can make more money.”  “I should get a bigger home.”  “I should get a nicer car.”  “I need to participate in more organizations so that I am doing more with my life.”  “I gotta make that deadline.” “I should be slimmer and more fit.”  “I should spend more of my time working for charities so that people see how much I am giving to others.”  “I need to be the top salesman in my region this year”.  “I need to belong to that country club because it is populated by some of the most notable people in Knoxville.”  I am not saying that any of the above things are unworthy.  But, they are unessential.  These shoulds are often what we pay the most attention to.  And by doing that, we lose sight of God’s creation, God’s love.  We miss out on what God has made essential for us.

Lord, help us to spend more time focusing on the essential.  You have given these essential things to us because you love us.  You don’t impose them on us.  You give us free will to accept them because you know that true love cannot be forced upon us.  Help take our eyes away from what is unessential and keep our eyes on you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Prayers for Title -9 as he adjusts to living in Oregon, for Lily’s wife who will have double mastectomy surgery on Wednesday, Augut 19, for Thunderstruck’s mother as she faces chemotherapy and blood transfusions, for safety of the F3 dads and kids at camp this weekend, for the AO in Morristown that we helped start.  Steam will be going to the Morristown AO workout to support them this Saturday and welcomes anyone who would like to go with him.

Always searching

THE SCENE: Full moon, no wind
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH (4ct IC) x20
Windmills (4ct IC) x10
Baby arm circles (4ct IC) x10 and reverse
Tempo squat (4ct IC) x10
5 Navy seal burpees

Mosey to flag pole

THA-THANG:
(Where in the world is Doubtfire?)
America
25 merkins

Run to tennis courts
Russia
50 (4ct) Russian twists

Run to round basketball court
India
10 Hindu/Judo push ups

Run to splash pad
Bulgaria
10 each leg Bulgarian split squats

Run long cut to boat docs
Romania
Grab Coupon
20 (4ct down) Romanian dead lift

Run back to flagpole
America
10 Navy Seal Burpees

Repeat until we find Doubtfire or 6:05

MARY:
Abs until 6:15

Flutter kicks
Alt dead bugs
Plank (30 sec on/10 sec off)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Matthew 18:12-13
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

Be appreciative of those who stick around you. I’m not saying the one that goes astray isn’t worth going after, but to understand what grounds you is important. I’ve heard this from another Q, but I feel that it is fitting. I am not original, I am a by-product of the people I surround myself with.

When you leave today, let someone who grounds you know they are appreciated.
MOLESKIN:
Welcome FNG Air Ball
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Press On

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Wide Arm Circles forward and 10 Wide Arm Circles backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the stop sign at the Northeastern Corner of the Admin. Bldg.  We will be moving to different cones on a counterclockwise route past the admin bldg and back to where we start.  The cones will tell us the exercise and how to move to the next cone.

  • Cone 1:  20 Hello Dollies (4 ct).  Sprint to Cone 2
  • Cone 2:  20 Big Boy Sit-Ups.  Bear Crawl to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Jump Squats.  Run to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  40 Shin Lifts on steps.  Run to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct).  Run to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  20 Dive Bombers.  Run to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  20 Merkins.  Hop to Cone 8.
  • Cone 8:  20 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)  Bernie Sanders to Cone 9.
  • Cone 9:  20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct).  Run back to Cone 1 to rinse and repeat.

Mosey to plaza at Outdoor Colosseum area to gander at East Tennessee.

Mosey to semi-circle area close to soccer fields and housing area.  We will do following along each small fence pole along the semi-circle:  Bear Crawl for 3 poles and do 3 hand-release merkins, lunge for 3 poles and do 3 squats, run for 10 poles.  Then start again until semi-circle is finished.  When semi-circle is finished, complete a full circle by going to street and going back to starting spot to Rinse and Repeat.

Mosey to Playground. We will do elevens at benches, starting with 1 Bench Jump and 10 Bench Dips.

Mosey to Pavilion.  We will do 20 Picnic Table Pull-ups, 20 Decline Merkins and 20 seconds of regular Pull-ups at the Baseball Dugouts.

Mosey to CMU pile.  Each man grabs CMU.  We will do 20 Overhead Presses, 20 Curls, 20 Squats, and 20 Rows with the CMUs.  Replace CMUs.

Mosey to start of Mini Cardiac.  Bernie to Park Sign, Sprint to top crosswalk, then walk to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
19 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
J.K. Rowling’s book, Harry Potter, was rejected by 12 different publishers before being accepted by Bloomsbury Publishing.  Can you imagine being one of the reviewers who rejected Harry Potter?  Talk about regretting a decision!  John Grisham’s first novel, a Time to Kill, was rejected 30 times before it was published.  Still, it wasn’t widely read.  After he published hits like The Firm and The Pelican Brief people finally read Grisham’s first book, A Time to Kill, and people ended up loving it.  Stephen King’s first published novel, Carrie, was also rejected 30 times.  Nobel Prize winning author William Faulkner was famously rejected by many publishers.  He kept every rejection he ever got.  Now he is considered one of the greatest authors of all time

The message we can learn from so many authors is this:  Don’t Give Up.  Keep pursuing your vision.  Our brother, Crawdad, has already received praise for what he has recently written.  I hope he keeps on writing.  For those of you who have important goals ahead, whatever the task, don’t let falling short get you down.  Maybe that is what it takes to finally get to your goal.  Myself, at age 62:  I have never mastered the pull-up!!  I am pretty good at push-ups but, perhaps because my arms are so darn long, I can’t do a pull-up.  I recently bought a pull-up bar that I have wedged between two slats in my basement.  I figure that doggone bar may reject me 100, 200, maybe 1000 times but one of these days I am going to do a pull-up!!

When times get tough we sometimes can lose faith in ourselves and faith in God.  As a Christian, I love these words from Paul in the bible.  From Philippians 3: 13-14:

Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t lose faith.  Press on toward your goal men!

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Choir Boy’s wife and Lillydipper’s wife, prayers to end racism and dissension in our country, prayers for Mermaid’s friend who hurt his back.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Workday at 8:45 am, August 8 at Mooreland Heights Elementary School.