F3 Knoxville

Tag: Sparkler

Bend into the wave

THE SCENE: In 60’s, cloudy with some drizzle.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Plank Lifts, 15 Plank Jacks, 20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Stretchers, 10 Windmills
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Boulder Pile.  Grab appropriate size boulder.  25 Overhead Presses, 25 Curls, 25 Rows, 25 Squats with Boulder at Chest.

Mosey on roadways to Outdoor Chapel.  20 Hello Dollies.  Sevens starting with six Burpees at one end of chapel and one Decline Merkin at stage end of chapel.  Elevens starting with ten Big Boy Sit-ups at one end of chapel and one Bench Dip at stage end of chapel.

Mosey north on roadway to parking lot that is just below Pickett’s Charge.  Do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Dragon Tail.  We will do Route 66 up Dragon Tail with the following exercises (doing exercise at each light):

  • Squat Jumps
  • Dive Bombers

Mosey to sidewalk that is at front of Admin Bldg.  Do Bernie Sanders to steps of Admin Bldg.  Then do 20 Shin Lifts on a step of the bldg.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eleven men.  No FNG’s.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

In a book I am reading called Tears of an Innocent God, the author, Elias Marechal, talks about a Rabbi that was the only survivor in a shipwreck at sea.  When asked how he survived, the Rabbi recalled, “Whenever a wave arose, I bent into it.”  In our lives we cannot expect all to go smoothly for us.  There are going to be calm and glorious times.  At such times it may be easy to love life, to love our families, to love God.  But there are going to be difficult times as well.  At such times the problems in our life may come like giant ocean waves in what seems like a shipwrecked existence.  The waves appear ready to knock us down and drown us.  At these times it may be very difficult to love our lives, love our families, love God or even believe there is a God.    We must expect the good and the bad.  We must learn to lean into the the waves.  As Elias Marechal states, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are both days to experience God.  We can do so in both good and bad times.  At Steve Earl implies in his awesome song, God is God, God is there and God has the power whether we like what is there for us are not.  Face the hard times.  Trust God and even appreciate Him in those hard times.  Lean into the waves and perhaps, if you can trust God enough, you may even find yourself, as Peter did with Jesus, walking on water, if only for a moment.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brewski at Union Jacks immediately after workout.

The last shall be first

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy with nice breeze, low eighties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 15 Bottle Caps, 10 Plank Jacks, 10 Windmills, 10 Cherry Pickers, Little of This and Little of That
THA-THANG:

Mosey down Roadshow Run and go to trail near Lyons Bend Entrance.  20 Hello Dollies.  After that we will do 14’s on trail as it goes east and then south.  We will stop when it curves by parking lot.  We will bear crawl to first light and sprint next four all the way on the trail, bear crawl one light, sprint four lights.

Mosey on roadway until we get to playground.  We will do elevens starting with one bench lift and ten bench jumps.  20 American Hammers in Cadence afterward.

Mosey to grassy area close to Pickett’s Charge.  There will be cones on he grassy area.  We will do suicides running to each cone and back to start.  Rest to do 40 Baby Crunches.  Do suicides one more time but this time do 10 Merkins each time we get back to start.  Those who finish first do Big Boy Sit-ups.

Mosey to front of Admin Bldg.  Stop to do 20 Box Cutters in Cadence.

Mosey to rock pile near Admin Bldg Parking Lot.  20 Bench Presses, 20 Curls, 20 Rows, 20 Squats.

Mosey to AO.
MARY:
Plank with lifts of each hand and each leg.  Leg stretches from plank position.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Nine men including a Flying EH who was our FNG.  His hospital name is Tony Guidera and we dubbed him “Bojangles.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Matthew 19:30

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 20:16
So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Mark 9:35
And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
In all these sayings, Jesus is indicating that God does not give great importance to ability, success, wealth or fame in His Kingdom.  Jesus also indicates that God places importance on us serving others.  As leaders we should think of ourselves as servants, not head of the pack.
One of the reasons that I have loved the F3 Brotherhood and F3 Philosophy so much is that I feel we follow this philosophy that Jesus speaks of.  When I came to F3, I heard that military men had started it and I was worried that it was going to be a “get your A _ _ in gear boy” type of mentality where guys are pushed and made fun of when they failed.  Instead, I found a group of men who do push THEMSELVES but who encourage the newcomers and circle back for them when they cannot keep up with those ahead of them.  I found a group who gives RESPECT to the older, slower guys.  The philosophy of F3 is to encourage EVERY MAN.  We respect each man for what he offers, for his unique set of gifts.  We admire the fastest and we admire the strongest.  We admire the slowest who is giving it all to get better.  We admire those who are great speakers, who know about our community, who are good teachers, who are awesome mumble-chatterers, who are willing to do something that they are uncomfortable with doing, who are willing to wake up early morning to get better, who are willing to come out on an afternoon of excessive heat and humidity to get better.  Who is first and who is last in F3?  Who knows?  I guess we are all first and all last.  And I get the feeling that God smiles on F3 Knoxville because we do live out the philosophy that God has asked us to live by.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hike this weekend on Andrews Bald.  Those going will meet at Food City at 8:30 am and head out together.  Mud run in Atlanta following weekend.

4 The Love of 6!

THE SCENE: It was a dark and stormy night… but actually pretty pleasant! The rain was considerate enough to hold off until the very moment we finished the workout.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH (4 x 6 = 24, IC), Cherry Pickers (4 + 6 = 10, IC), Tempo Merkins (4 + 6 = 10, IC), Bolt 45s, with a bonus squat to make them Bolt 46s (IC) — YES, there’s a pattern.  One guess as to how old the Q turned today…
THA-THANG:
Mosey to drive/parking area southwest of admin building.

BEARWAY TO HEAVEN: three cones set up at approximately 15 yard intervals. Bear crawl suicides to each cone, doing 4, 6, then (4 + 6 =) 10 merkins at each cone.  Run back to start after last cone.

4/6/(4+6) 10s Part 1: Mosey to parking inlet southwest of admin building.  Battle buddy up.  One person runs the loop up the stairs and around back into the parking area while the other person does Imperial Squats, then the other partner runs the lap.  Half way through the loop, do the following three exercises.  Do three loops doing 4x, 6x, and 10x reps:

  • LBCs
  • BBSs
  • American Hammers

4/6/(4+6) 10s Part Deux: Mosey to rock pile by the AO.  One person grabs a rock, runs to the tree down the driveway, and does the three exercises below, and runs back, switching with partner after each lap.  Everyone does this three times, doing 4x, 6x, and 10x reps on the exercises.  While one partner is running, the other is doing maintenance exercise of merkins (first lap) and running in place (second and third laps).

  • jump squats
  • lunges (doing both legs count as 1)
  • Iron Mikes (4-ct)

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
Homer/Marge until the grunts were getting a bit embarrassing, modified table saw x20 (4-ct), Tempo Merkins

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 men strong!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Don’t Make It About You, Make it About the Team.

The people you have known who are great leaders, that you admired, that you would run through a brick wall for… did they tend to compliment and encourage others, or did they brag about their own accomplishments and take credit for themselves?  Strong leaders are those who have the confidence in themselves to give praise to others, thereby instilling pride in them and encouraging them to continue to put forth their best efforts.  During the retirement ceremony tight end Jason Witten, Coach Jason Garrett of the Dallas Cowboys described one of the things that made the future hall of famer so special, which was his humility and praise for his teammates.  He recalls in the clip below how Witten– when discussing one of the greatest plays of his career– gave praise to everyone else on the team for being an integral part to its success.  Witten wasn’t a rah rah guy, but he was universally respected for not only his talent as a player, but because of his team-first mentality.  We can all take a lesson from this, and take the time to lift someone else up, give them thanks and praise for being a part of your “team”, whether it’s your family, a sports team, your church group, your PAX.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Final Thursday of the month beer rendezvous at Union Jacks! The birthday boy paid the tab.  In the spirit of the Word above, I wanted to show my appreciation to the team at the Asylum that has meant so much to me.  Cheers, fellas!