F3 Knoxville

Tag: Swimmies

The Last Shall Be First and First Shall Be Last

THE SCENE: Sunny, clear, temps in 50’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 15 Mountain Climbers, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Windmills, Michael Phelps, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by entry to northern ball fields.  Line up on curb of parking lot closest to street.  There will be two cones in middle of parking lot.  On some of the following exercises we will ignore the cones while on some we will use the cones. These are the exercises:

  • Side twister run to other curb and back, facing south as we run.
  • Bernie Sanders to curb and back
  • High Knees run to curb and back
  • Bear crawl to first cone, hop to second cone and lunge to curb.  Do same thing going back.
  • Sprint to curb and back.

Next we go to CMU pile.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises:

  • 25 Overhead Presses
  • 25 Curls
  • 25 Rows
  • 25 Squats
  • 25 Bench Presses

Mosey to Serpentine Sidewalk (between northern ball fields and outdoor chapel).  We will do 14’s (run one light with listed exercise and sprint four lights, continuing pattern with that exercise until done) all the way to perimeter trail.  First men getting to perimeter trail sweep other men back. The following are the exercises for the 14’s:

  • Duck walk one light, sprint four
  • Hop one light, sprint four
  • Bernie one light, sprint four

Mosey to Playground at northern ball fields.

We will do elevens, starting with one Bench Dip and ten Bench Jumps.  We will repeat elevens with one Decline Merkin and Ten Legs Up Sit Ups.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eight men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Insert the WORD here.
MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
God uses all people, whether big or small, powerful or lowly, famous or unknown, rich or poor, for his purposes.  We are all important to God – His Kingdom is quite different than that of what we see in our world.  We may feel sometimes that we don’t count.  We believe there are others out there who have much more “say” than we do.  But each one of us, each one of you, count just as much to God as do presidents and rulers.  Who did Jesus go to for his disciples?  Was it the rulers of Isreal, the rabbis or scholars?  He chose “common” men.  And he said to them, that in God’s Kingdom “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.”

In his book, The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis, a group of tourists are visiting heaven.  They see a great parade held in honor of someone who had recently died on Earth.  They wonder who the parade is for.  Surely, it was for someone special on Earth, an inventor whose invention changed the course of the world, a dignitary, a ruler, a great athlete.  They find the parade is for Mary Smith, an unknown woman who loved God and lived out that love toward others.

If my mother-in-law, Ruby Grimes, were to have a resume, it wouldn’t stack up very well with most people.  She had one job in her life, as a bookkeeper for a local school in Kentucky.  But, as David Brooks would say, her Eulogy Virtues will far outweigh her Resume Virtues.  And, I believe, there will be a great parade in heaven for her when she arrives there.  She is the type of person that you just feel good being around.  I truly love visiting her.  One problem though, is that when you go her church with Ruby it seems you can never get away after the service is over.  Everyone wants to talk to her and you find yourself standing around, waiting to get to the car and get home.  When we visit my wife’s parents for Christmas, you can count on people coming and knocking on the door on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  Who are these people?  Relatives?  No, the relatives are probably already in the house.  The people who come by are just folks who Ruby has somehow touched in their lives.  Often it is former neighbors who knew Ruby when they were kids.  They probably got cookies from her, came on in the house when they were little, knowing the home was a place where they were always welcome.  They still want to see her as adults, just to let her know they still love her.  Ruby’s refrigerator door is constantly littered with cards from folks who she has known.  They may now live in other cities or states but they still want to keep in touch with her.  She has touched others with a love that is difficult to put into words.  But God surely sees it.

Each one of us may not be the top dogs in our jobs, the best on the sports teams we play for, the best known in our communities.  But we are important to God.  And, we can serve God’s purposes in ways that the world may not see as incredible but in which God surely sees as incredible.  The last shall be first and the first shall be last.  Remember that as you go out and live for God’s purposes.

ShamPain Toast at the Asylum

THE SCENE: Mid to upper 50s, sunny, beautiful
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check. 
WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence

– 20 Imperial Walkers (4-ct), in Cadence

– Bolt 45s

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to open, low-lying field near north entrance.

SHAMROCK of PAIN!! FOUR (THREE) CORNERS : There will be three sets of cones set up in diamond formations, somewhat reminiscent of a shamrock…  Hmm.  Imagine that.

We will split up and move through the Shamrock of Pain and do the exercises on each cone. Rinse and repeat each leaf.  We did 1/2 the number of reps about 3/4 of the way through to save time.

First “leaf” (Bear Crawl between posts)

    • 10 Burpees
    • 20 Merkins,
    • 20 Carolina Dry Docks

Second “leaf” (Hop between posts)

  • 20 Big Boy Situps
  • 20 American Hammers (4-ct)
  • 20 Hello dollies (4-ct)

Third “leaf” (Lunge between posts)

    • 20 Smurf Jacks
    • 20 Iron Mikes (each pair of legs = 1)
    • 20 Tempo Squats

MOSEY along path adjacent to Northshore to EVEREST

  • EVEREST PYRAMID :
    1. Run 3/4 way up Everest to big tree, at the bottom do the following:
      • 10 Tempo Squats
      • 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Mountain Climbers (each pair of legs = 1)
      • 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Diamond Merkins
      • 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Diamond Merkins.
      • 10 Diamond Merkins

Go over Everest and Mosey to AO

MARY:

  • Flutter kicks
  • Boat/canoe
  • Ring of Fire Merkins (had to stop after 4 reps because we were out of time)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 Men, including one FNG, Shane (forgot his last name, sorry!) who we named Shakespeare.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Leadership Shamrock .  I read an article in the Harvard Business Review recently about Leadership.  Creating Trust is a critical component of being a leader. The level of trust is the #1 factor for how people rate the effectiveness of a leader.  How can you follow or take direction from someone you can’t trust?  A huge study was performed that looked at data from 360 assessments of 87,000 leaders. The objective was to identify “clusters” of traits that are most often the foundation of trust.  The researchers performed correlations and factor analysis statistical tests on the data to “group” the characteristics that most strongly influence the level of trust in a leader.  There were three primary factors (kind of a “Leadership Shamrock” that can be used to reinforce trust principles similar to how St. Patrick used the shamrock to describe the Holy Trinity) that were commonly grouped as most important for engendering trust among others.

  1. POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS
  • Stays in touch on the issues and concerns of others.
  • Balances results with concern for others.
  • Generates cooperation between others.
  • Resolves conflict with others.
  • Gives honest feedback in a helpful way.
  1. GOOD JUDGMENT/EXPERTISE (how well informed and knowledgeable you are)
  • They use good judgement when making decisions.
  • Others trust their ideas and opinions.
  • Others seek after their opinions.
  • Their knowledge and expertise make an important contribution to achieving results.
  • Can anticipate and respond quickly to problems.
  1. CONSISTENCY (do they walk their talk and do what they say they will do)
  • Are a role model and set a good example.
  • Honor commitments and keep promises.
  • Follow through on commitments.
  • Are willing to go above and beyond what needs to be done.

Additional take-home messages of the study:

  • You don’t have to be outstanding at all these to be an effective leader, just strong/above average. Being below average in any can destroy trust.
  • RELATIONSHIPS the most important of the three.  Perhaps people understand that leaders can’t know EVERYTHING, and that some inconsistency is to be expected.  But once Positive Relationships are damaged, every other aspect of trust suffers.
  • Think about which of these three you are weakest at, and then work to improve that area.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Pusher’s mother, who is very ill.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Convergence is the last Saturday of the month.  Sign up on the Calendar!

Busy Bees at the Asylum

THE SCENE: Cloudy and a bit cooler than expected, high 40s

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER 

Check.

WARM-O-RAMA:

Squat hold – 15 seconds

– Motivators (5 count, decreasing)

– Squat hold – 30 seconds

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence

– Squat hold – 45 seconds

– Little of this, little of that (arm stretches) + Michael Phelps

– Squat hold- 60 seconds

THA-THANG:

Mosey to edge of field by the new bathrooms.

  • Catch Me If You Can!
    • Partner #1 Bernie Sanders, Partner #2 does the exercise then sprints to catch Partner #1. When he does, they reverse rolls.  Go the width of field and back.  Exercises:
  1. 5 hand-release merkins
  2. 5 Burpees
  3. 5 Carolina Dry Docks
  4. 5 Bobby Hurleys

MOSEY to bottom of the first hill that comprises Pickett’s charge.

  • Hill runs . One partner will do slow shuttle runs in the holding pen while the other partner does the hill run and exercises at the top. Then he will run back down and switch off with partner.
    • Do both exercises @ 5x/10x/15x during the three reps per Round  Do planks after each round until 6 catches up.
      • Round 1: Big Boy Sit-ups/American Hammers (4-ct)
      • Round 2: Smurf Jacks/Iron Mikes (4-ct)
      • Round 3: Carolina Dry Docks/Burpees

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Hello Dollies, 25, 4-ct IC, Flutter kicks, 25, 4-ct, IC, Homer/Marge, 4-ct up and down

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
5 Strong.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I just came off the busiest 2 months of my professional life. Late nights, early mornings, so many things to do that you can’t sleep, late-hour frustrations and challenges, getting so lost in spreadsheets that your head spins.  A week or so ago my brother sent me a joke when I blew off talking to him for the millionth time. He was being a sarcastic smart-#@!, but the words hit home: “Maybe One Day, I’ll be what you need. But don’t wait too long… because the day you want me, may be the day I’ve finally given up…”.  I was also reminded of the song Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin, which is a cautionary tale about a father who is too busy to hang out with his son, and then later in life, realizes that his son has “grown up just like him” and doesn’t have the time or inclination to spend precious moments with his aging dad.

We all go through periods of our life when we are strung out, busy, have too many responsibilities, etc. But take 10 minutes to call someone you love, talk to them, ask them how THEY’RE doing, connect with the people you care for.  Don’t give them a reason or an excuse to give up on you.  Sometimes they’re gone for good.  And above all, don’t forget God during times of stress and fatigue. Take the time to say a prayer, thank Him for the blessings in your life, and ask for strength to finish the task at hand. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We must be intentional about making time to rest in Jesus. Take a few moments when life starts to feel overwhelming and take solace in God’s everlasting love.  Deadlines at work will come and go. God is eternal.

MOLESKIN:
Continued best wishes for Pinto’s and Jinxy’s dad’s continued recuperation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Nippy Evening at the Asylum

THE SCENE: 32 F, partly cloudy, breezy – “nippy”.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH  IC 20
Arm Circles -forward  thumbs up – IC 12
Arm Circles -forward  thumbs down – IC 12
Windmills 20
Cherry Pickers IC 12
Merkins 15

THA-THANG:
I

Bataan Death March – (3 SSH) to end of West Lot
15 Burpees
Mosey East to Big Lot across from AO
Partner Up, each team grabs a CMU
One on CMU(A) repeats the “A” exercise while  the other Moves to the opposite side of lot (B) and completes the B exercise. B returns and the A person moves to the B exercise
Part 1:
 (A) CMU Merkins (move from one side of CMU to the other- Merkin on each side)
(B) Bernie Sanders – then 10 Jump Squats 10, then sprint back
then 20, then 30
Part 2:
 (A) CMU Curls
(B) Bear Crawl – then Imperial Walkers (each leg)  (10), then sprint back, then 20, then 30
Part 3:
 (A) CMU Presses
(B) Sprint – then BBS (10), then sprint back, then 20, then 30
Rinse and Repeat with just 20 each Part (1, 2, 3)
Rinse and Repeat with just 10 each Part (1, 2, 3)

MARY:
None
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Sometimes as leaders, we need to hand off a task or assignment instead of doing it ourselves. We may have done this task many times and are good at it and have been previously recognized as a job well done, but, we should know when its time to step aside and give the ball to someone (who is ready) to take the lead and take the subsequent recognition/glory and lessons. This is how we teach and build others. God will find something else for us to do in time.
MOLESKIN:
We are praying for a fast recovery for Pinto
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
none

Card Games

THE SCENE: Rainy Thursday Evening around 40 degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side straddle hops
10 Cherry Pickers
10 Figure 4’s each leg
10 Curtsy Lunges each leg

THA-THANG:

Played with a deck of cards

  • 2-5 Face Value 4 count MTN Climbers
  • 6-10 Face Value, J-A 15 reps
    • Clubs = LBC’s & Big Boys
    • Spades = Flutter Kicks & Hello Dollys
    • Hearts = Box Jumps & Smurf Jacks
    • Diamonds = Tempo Merkins & Regular Merkins
  • Joker = 10 burpees

Ran one lap around parking lot the started Pancakes and Lunges

Bear Crawl across outdoor chapel, 20 bobby hurleys, crab walk back
Lunge across outdoor chapel, 15 squats, lunge back

One more lap around parking lot

MARY:
2 Minute Planks
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Also had J Lo with us as #8 but didn’t see his tag
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
quoted Warren Buffet about reaction. ” you will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing things with logic. True power is restraint. If words control you that means everyone else can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass.”

Cited this to make the point that in a world where everyone seems to have a negative reaction to everything done or said, be a positive one if you have to react at all.  If we start at home and lift one another up, who knows how that will translate in life for the person who is being negative.  People don’t always remember what you do but they do remember how you made them feel.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.