F3 Knoxville

Tag: Rocket

Egypt Coming and Going

THE SCENE: Wet and still a bit windy, perfect 60s gloom.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Running warm-up – lap around the lot
    • High knees, butt kicks
    • Shuffle
    • Karaoke
  • Tempo squats
  • Moroccan night club
  • Tempo squats, I mean merkins
  • Right arm up/ left arm up

THA-THANG:

I suppose you could think of this as a string of pearls.

  • Mosey to pool wall, 5 wall-pees
  • Mosey to playground, 5-7 pull-ups
  • Mosey to amphitheater, 10 box jumps
  • Up past the police station to badger, sprint up 12-day hill
  • At the top, 30 merkins
  • Mosey to the bottom, 30 merkins
  • Mosey to ORAU loop
    • Quick DORA – 150 squats, 100 heels to heaven, partner runs the loop
  • Mosey to the old peace bell, 30 merkins
  • Mosey to the new peace bell, 35 merkins, 10 box jumps
  • Mosey to the parallel bars
    • 20 inverse rows
    • 20 2-ct flutter kicks
    • Repeat
  • Dash to the pool wall, 5 wall-ups
  • Mosey to playground, 5-7 pull ups
  • Mosey to amphitheater, 2:10 plank
  • Quick back to the flag

MARY:
No time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Genesis 47:5-6

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

Genesis 47:27 – Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

Exodus 1:7-12

But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.

When we have a good experience, it’s easy to associate that with a place or person or activity, etc. Then I have a tendency to expect that good experience to be a fixed reality, and I keep coming back to recreate the magic. But this is a trick. This is shown in the early narratives of the Torah. When Joseph finds himself in Egypt, God turns that place into a refuge from death and famine. Through Joseph’s obedience, God leads his chosen family out of the land where they will die, down into a land of blessing, where they can be fruitful and multiply, just as he promised Abraham they would. But time goes on and things change. Under Joseph’s guidance, the famine works to concentrate all the wealth of Egypt with the Pharaoh until all the people of Egypt sell themselves into servitude (see Genesis 47:13-25). It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this concentration of power eventually produces in Egypt rulers who are fearful and jealous. Soon the environment in Egypt is distinctly oppressive for the Israelites, and God, hearing them cry out, leads them out.

But for the remainder of the Torah, there is this recurring theme of the Israelites looking back at how good things used to be in Egypt. We’re thirsty, we always had water to drink in Egypt. We’re hungry, we always had meat in our pots in Egypt. The worst form of nostalgia.

Things change. The place/practice/work/whatever that worked last year or last week might not be what works today. We have to resist the desire to constantly seek novelty, but we must also avoid clinging to the past, dreaming of how things “used to be”. This has been beaten into my awareness by raising kids. No year is ever the same. This three-year-old is not the same as the last three-year-old and the fourth three-year-old is still, somehow, different from all three of her predecessors. The best I can do is to keep my eyes open, pay attention to the real situation, and use my past experiences as a source of ideas, not solutions.

What are you holding on to that you need to let go? What is the Egypt that you need to Exodus?

MOLESKIN:
I thought since Booster gave us a legit heavy beatdown Tuesday, I would circle back and do a proper boot camp. Plus, you should have checked all three boxes of the Kickflip challenge.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Camping tomorrow, hiking Saturday, Rampart next Saturday, Family Q the next Saturday, CSAUP coming up May 6. Also, Equalizer on April 15th.

Danger Zone at the Project

THE SCENE: A blisteringly hot day with scorching sand, glistening tans, and government issued Ray-Bans…perfect for beach volleyball “with the boys”! …or it was just dark and 42 degrees. You pick.

F3 WELCOME & DISLCLAIMER: Roger that, Ghost Rider.

WARM-O-RAMA:
An assortment of Project classics that included the following:

  • SSH x 15
  • Willy Mays Hays x10
  • Tempo Squat x5
  • Knoxville Cherry Pickers x5
  • Forward LBACs x10
  • Reverse LBACs x10
  • Moroccan Night Clubs to the beat of 10
  • Chattanooga Cherry Pickers® x10
  • Up-tempo SSH x15
  • 25 Merkins OYO (for KickFlip Stuff™)
  • Mosey for touch and go at the fountain for 25 more Merkins – OYO
  • Mosey to the Thang!

“Let’s turn and burn!”

THA-THANG:
Pax formed a circle with CMUs around the speaker blaring the Top Gun Soundtrack.

Pax performed a slightly modified “Top Gun” routine – 10 reps each of 5 coupon exercises for 10 minutes. The 5 coupon exercises are repeated for the entire 10 minutes. The Danger Zone happens every 2 minutes when PAX drops coupon and perform 3 Burpees, then pick up where they left off on the coupon exercises. The “Top Gun Motion Picture Soundtrack” only moderately numbed the pain.

    • Round One: Curls, Rows, CMU Swings, OH Press, Squats, rinse and repeat for 10 minutes with 3 burpees every 2 minutes
      • Mosey a lap around the lot
    • Heavy Hammers, Heavy Freddies, Heavy Crunches, Heavy Dollies, Heavy Flutters, rinse and repeat for another 10 minutes with 3 burpees every 2 minutes
      • Mosey a lap around the lot

Pax then performed 25 more merkins and a 2 minute plank

RTB
KickFlip had “a need….for speed!” and called jailbreak when “Danger Zone” played. No one could resist.

Total for Push, Pull, Plank Challange:

  • 75 merkins + 30 burpees = 105
  • 2 minute plank complete
  • 0 pullups

MARY:
Pax arrived at base at exactly 06:15. We fly by the seat of our pants. No time for Mary.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The Real Danger Zone is not getting enough rest.

YHC recently took a test for a couaching group and found out he is high on “restlessness.” I realized how much I struggled on vacation; always looking to the next thing, irritable when we’re not accomplishing something. I have a hard time actually resting.

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, in his book Rest says, “I argue that we misunderstand the relationship between work and rest. Work and rest are not polar opposites. Rest is not work’s adversary. Rest is work’s partner. They complement and complete each other.”

When we work out, we’re not building muscle. It’s the rest and sleep that are VERY important to the process. This is where the building of muscle actually happens. 

Pang continues, “Further, you cannot work well without resting well. Some of history’s most creative people, people whose achievements in art and science and literature are legendary, took rest very seriously. They found that in order to realize their ambitions, to do the kind of work they wanted to, they needed rest. The right kinds of rest would restore their energy while allowing their muse, that mysterious part of their minds that helps drive the creative process, to keep going.”

  • Albert Einstein’s day dreaming and mind experiments led to the Theory of Relativity. They came when he stopped overworking the math.
  • Winston Churchill took naps every day – pajamas and all.
  • In seminary, I would work hard on gathering information and forming the structure of my paper. I would then take a nap and wake up with how it all ties togetyer. This is very often true for my sermons each week as well.

Psalm 127:1-2
Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
the Lord guards the city,
    the guard keeps watch in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
    for he gives sleep to his beloved.

It takes a certain amount of FAITH to REST.
Are you trusting the Lord enough to rest?
Are you caring for your work and family with rest?
Are you caring for your mind, body, spirit with rest?

MOLESKIN:

  • YHC: “If you’re going to watch Top Gun, you have to endure the volleyball scene.” Mathlete: “What do you mean ‘ENDURE’?!”
  • Three-Peet momentarily saw his spirit leaving him during heavy crunches and “Memories”. (Goooose!)
  • Extra Top Gun points to Tuba for pulling out the aviators for COT

Workout Soundtrack:

  • “Top Gun Anthem” by Harold Faltermeyer
  • “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins
  • “Playing with the Boys” by Kenny Loggins (sufficiently endured)
  • “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” by The Righteous Brothers
  • “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis (“Hey Goose, you big stuuuud!”)
  • “Mighty Wings” by Cheap Trick
  • “Memories” by Harold Faltermeyer (Goooooooose!!!)
  • “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding
  • “Lead Me On” by Teena Marie (I admit… this was a bad choice. My bad, guys.)
  • “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  1. New AO “Rampart” (Kingston) OTBs THIS Saturday as well as 4/9 & 4/23 at 7AM
  2. No Family Workout Sat Apr 2
  3. Check Slack channel @TheProject for details on Family Camping April 1-3 (1 more camp site available – BEST ONE!) OR hiking Devil’s Racetrack on Sat, Apr 2
  4. Planning for 1st Project CSAUP May 6 – see Slack channel for signup and details on Google Doc

12s at The Project

THE SCENE: 49
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

 Lap around Parking Lot
 Projectivator x7

 Squat (tempo+4-ct) x6+6
 Tempo Merk x10
 Mtn Climber x10

 LBAC F/B X6+6
 Moroccan x6
 Grady Corns x6
 Chatt Cherry Pickers x6
 6 Burpees OYO
 Stretch OYO
 Mosey to Playground

THA-THANG:
12s@Playground+Amphitheater
1. Playground: 6 Burpees+6 Pull-ups+lap around playground
2. Amphitheater: Merkins – BBS (11+hill+1, 10+hill+2, etc)
3. Step-ups/box jumps – Squats (CUT FOR TIME)
4. LBC – Merkins
5. Lunges – Bonnie Blairs
6. 120 second Plank
7. Playground: 6 Burpees+6 Pull-ups

MARY:
PAX CHOICE: Freddie Mercury x10, Squeaky Dolly x10, X-Men Crunch x10

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

9STRONG

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
It has been 3 weeks since my last day at work. What has it been for? What is God saying to me? What is God doing in me? What am I learning about God, myself, marriage/family, work/responsibility/calling, others/service, etc?

What am I struggling with/working through this week?
 order/rhythm, productivity/sense of accomplishment,
 leading my family rhythms while I am failing to lead myself,
 serious time to be with and talk with God,
 understanding this season of in-between

I’m going to submit myself to a process called the Daily Office. It’s a rhythm of prayer throughout the day that gives space for quiet before God that allows the doubts, thoughts, and the movements of my heart and soul (that are most often ignored or overlooked) to rise to the surface. The practice of daily silence/prayer/journaling will help (force) me to articulate those thoughts and feelings.

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

MOLESKIN:
Good hustle today – We completed this Week 12’s challenge for today: 12 pull-ups, 120 push-ups, and 120 seconds of plank. Praying for Kick’s bro-in-law David with possible MS symptoms/work stress/effect on family; Bambi’s Baby Alina recovering from heart surgery at Vandy; Tuba and family’s custody of son and stepson

  1. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
    New AO Rampart (Kingston) Kickoff! Sat 3/26 7AM
  2. No Family Workout Sat Apr 2
  3. Check Slack channel @TheProject for details on Family Camping April 1-3 (1 more camp site available – BEST ONE!) OR hiking Devil’s Racetrack on Sat, Apr 2
  4. Planning for 1st Project CSAUP May 6 – see Slack channel for details on Google Doc

Good example

THE SCENE: a little windy, around 40 degrees at the Project
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
15 SSH, 15 Mountain climbers, 10 tempo merkins, 10 tempo squats, 15 Imperial walkers
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the recruitment center and grab a block. Head to the theater stairs. Perform each exercise twice, running up the stairs after each set.

  • 25 merkins
  • 25 over head presses
  • 25 curls
  • 25 rows
  • 25 squats
  • 25 lunges
  • 25 heavy flutter kicks
  • 25 heavy LBCs

Bonus merkins at the end. Head back to the storage area and knock out 10 blockees. Head back to the flag.

MARY:
15 Freddie Mercury, 15 heels to Heaven, 15 flutter kicks, 15 prone rows
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 crushed that workout this morning!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.-John 13:12‭-‬16 NASB1995

Jesus’ example here shows us the importance of humility and serving others. Despite Jesus being God in the flesh, He still served others, showing us the true love we should have for our fellow man. We are to lead by serving just as Jesus did.

MOLESKIN:
Always a pleasure to lead at the Project. Nice prerunning this morning too!

Identidem Essentitas

THE SCENE:   39 and clear
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH
Seal squats
Phelps
Cherry pickers

THA THANG:

  • Mosey to the tennis courts.  Partner up.  P1 does split squats while P2 does a lap around the three courts, sprint, side shuffle, bernie, side shuffle.  Switchero.  Repeat, with P1 doing a decline plank.
  • Sprints across the parking lot.  First pole, second pole, all the way.
  • Mosey to the chamber of commerce.  Partner up.  100 hanging leg lifts between the pair. P2 runs to the sidewalk, 2 burpees, back.
  • North side of the COC – 3 jump squat 180s, crawl bear 2 parking spaces, 6 imperial walkers, repeat to the end of the parking lot.
  • Tricep extensions on the bridge, bob and weave, wall sit for time.
  • High school entrance.  25 LBCs, broad jump up the steps, 15 dips.  Repeat x 3
  • 10 No Chance, Bobbitts (NCBs)*
  • Mosey to the wall – 15 wall-ups
  • Race around 4 light poles – 15 squats at each.
  • 100 merkins scattered throughout

MARY:

100 seconds of plank
Dolly until time

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

Me and 6 of the best men that I know

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Last Thursday, Mathlete talked about decision making and the concept of bricklaying.  “Find one thing at a time, make a decision, and then start living that decision out. This will train you to make that decision regularly.”  This morning, I tagged on to that and talked about habits.

The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identify associated with that behavior.  In fact, the word “identity” is derived from the Latin identidem, which means repeatedly, and essentitas, which means “being”.  Your identity is quite literally your “repeated beingness”.  William James said, “All our life…is but a mass of habits”.  You are what you repeatedly do.

It is, therefore, so important to establish and cultivate healthy habits, and to starve unhealthy habits.

How?  Author James Clear agrees with Mathlete – you do it by one little piece at a time.  He wrote in his book Atomic Habits, “it is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis.”  We convince ourselves that success requires some massive dramatic action – but Clear says that small increments is the way to go.  If you established a tiny habit that improves you just 1% improvement per week – you would be 166% better in a year.  You’d be 276% better in 2 years.  There was a study performed in 2009 that determined on average it takes 66 days for a habit to form.  Tiny changes consistently applied over the course of 2 months – bam! – you’ve got a new habit.

One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior (welcome to F3!).  If you are working to remove an unhealthy habit – you need accountability (Shield Locks).  Join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.

Why do we quit?

  • Boredom? “The greatest threat to success is not failure, but boredom” (Clear).
  • Short-term perspective?  “It is only when looking back two, five, or ten years later that the value of good habits and the cost of bad ones becomes strikingly apparent” (Clear).  When we don’t see progress fast enough, we draw wrong conclusions.  We wrongly conclude that small wise decisions do not matter that much.  They DO.  We’re trying to stop something that is unhealthy – we don’t see results quickly – we wrongly conclude that small unwise decisions do not matter that much.  They DO.  (Hat tip, Craig Groeschel)

Identidem essentitas, your “repeated beingness”.  Every action you take is a vote for the type of man you want to become.  With that in mind…

  • What good habit do you need to start?
  • What unhealthy habit do you need to stop?

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

MOLESKIN:

Man…I LOVE running around in the dark with this band of crazies!

Prayers for Guardrail and his family

Prayers for Bambi’s daughter

* No Chance, Bobbitt (NCB) – An ab tuck while balancing your six on the edge of a bench.  Hold the bench right by your butt and it’ll be no problemo.  Apparently balancing on his rear is Bobbitt’s Achilles heel.  Who knew?

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Join a Shield Lock!  Two groups have formed at The Proj. – see Mathlete to jump into one or to start a third!