F3 Knoxville

Taking Time to Reflect

THE SCENE: Sunny, temps in eighties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Plank Jacks, 10 Iron Mikes, 10 Windmills, 10 Cherry Pickers, Michael Phelps
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign on northeastern corner of Admin Bldg.  There will be sets of bricks.  We will be doing Doras with the brick.  While one partner runs to cone, does 10 merkins, and comes back the other partner will be doing exercises with the bricks.  The partners switch off when one partner comes back from the run.  The partner teams will do 100 of each of the following exercises with the bricks:

  • Overhead Presses
  • Curls
  • Rows with brick at each side
  • Punches from chest out (punch with each hand = 1)
  • Wings out
  • Wings up
  • Wings down

Mosey north to perimeter trail and head west on perimeter trail to area below Roadshow Run.  Each man will do 20 Big Boys, then run to top of Roadshow Run by the bat house.  There, each man does 40 Baby Crunches.  We will rinse and repeat.  The first man who finishes then runs back up Roadshow Run sweeping all men upward.

Mosey to grassy area in shade and by small wall on west side of road.  We will do elevens starting with 10 Jump Squats and 1 Incline Merkin with hands on wall.  We will do another eleven with 10 Mountain Climbers (four count) and one bench raise off of wall.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Ten men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I read this week about something that the comedian Louie C.K. said when he was being interviewed by Conan one time.  He commented that he doesn’t want his kids to have cell phones because he wants them to be sad.  He was being funny with this comment but he was also being serious.  Sadness can come when we are forced to be alone with our thoughts.  The comedian noted, “That’s what the phones are taking away, the ability to just sit there.  That’s being a person.”

He also talked about a time when he was driving and listening to a Bruce Springsteen song on the radio.  He was feeling a melancholy come over him and his immediate response was to grab the phone and text somebody.  Instead, he let the sadness grow and pulled over to the side of the road to weep.  Afterwards, came another strong feeling, one of joy and thankfulness for his life.

Technology and cell phones are not bad things.  They are useful things.  But we can get too absorbed in it.  In so doing, we may find that we are avoiding true alone time, true thinking time.  We may be be pushing aside time to reflect over the events of the day, good and bad, that impact us cognitively and emotionally.  We may be merely numbing our minds.  We are not struggling but sometimes struggle is important.  And as Louie C.K. implies, sometimes sadness is good.  We don’t like seeing our loved ones, our children, or ourselves feeling sad.  But sadness is an important emotion – one that can inspire us to change or one that puts us more in touch with humanity.  Life is about loss as well as gain.  Sadness comes with loss and it is important to reckon with it.

The bible gives us plenty of images of Christ weeping – whether over the death of Lazurus, for the fate of Jerusalem, in compassion for others, or in anger over the tyranny of death over mankind.  Christ does not keep us from experiencing sadness.  But, in living in a relationship with Him, with God, he also shows us what true joy is.

Louie C.K., explaining his resistance to cell phones and technology, stated “you don’t ever feel really sad or really happy, you just feel. . . kinda satisfied with your products.  And then you die.”

I hope that we, as HIMs, are striving for more.  That striving for more may take the form of welcoming the Gloom when it meets us in the cold of a 5:30 am workout or heat of a 5:45 pm beat down.  It may also come in the form of welcoming the sadness that sometimes comes about in living a meaningful life.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler’s stepdad, Shooter’s friend, and Iceman’s brother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Neyland run on Saturday, May 11.  Hardship Hill on Saturday, May 18.

Q has no rhythm and Bearmuda Triangle Survival

THE SCENE: Overcast, Mid 70s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH – 20 IC

Candy corns – 30 IC (kind of)

Windmills 15 IC

Arm Stretches

Imp Walkers (20) IC

THA-THANG:
Mosey Down Steps – all the way to the path way at base of Everest

  • Bernie up back of Everest to Plateau
  • Bearmuda Triangle – 3 rounds-bearcrawlbetweeneachcone
    • 1st Round – 1 burpee at 1st cone, 2 burpee at 2nd cone, 3 burpee at 3rd cone
    • 2nd round – 4 strides, 4 merkins til 2nd cone, last cone 8 strides, 4 merkins
    • 3rd round – 8 bbs at first, 16 bbs at 2nd, 24 bbs at 3rd
  • Mosey back down to path at bottom of hill – 3 rounds with “Peoples Wall” at end of each (sit against fence for 1 minute) for a total of 3
    • station 1 – pulse squat x5 + squat jump x 5, station 2- 20 American Hammers, station 3 – 20 plank jacks, station 4- 20 lbc (4 ct)
    • station 1- 25 bbs, station 2- 20 bobby hurleys, station 3 20 decline merkins, station 4 – 20 imp walkers (4 ct)
    • station 1- 20 hello dolly, station 2- flutter kicks (4 ct), station 3- 20 bbs, station 4- 20 slow squats
  • mosey back up stairs to top stairs with hand rail- 20 heal dips heals parallel, 20 head dips, heal inward, toes outward
  • mosey to AO

MARY:
none.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We all go through seasons of change, God decides when we will have each season, it is out of our control. Sometimes we may initiate a change of seasons, but God controls the pace. Some season changes come fast and completely upset your universe. This is God’s way and we cannot change it. We often question these changes, but it is futile to try and understand the reasons. No one is spared from these season changes – some will get alot, others more gradual, but no one is immune. We need to understand this is God’s way and we need to accept it. Psalm 104:19 “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows his going down.”
MOLESKIN:
Pray for Sharpie and his wife Kerri
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
none

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.

 

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!