F3 Knoxville

Tag: Switchgrass

The Gift of Today

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THE SCENE: Beautiful, sunny, low 60s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check.
WARM-O-RAMA:

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

– 10 Imperial Squat Walkers (4-ct), in cadence

-Bolt 45s

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

– 10 Windmills (4-ct), in cadence

– Little of This and then That

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Area 51.

DORA!  PARTNER UP! One partner runs to fire hydrant near the Area 51 Loading Dock (this was modified to the big tree half way down… the fire hydrant was a bridge too far…) and does 5 squat jumps and runs back while the other starts the exercises.  Each pair shall complete the following:

  • 100 Big Boy sit-ups
  • 100 Lunges (doing both legs counts as 1)
  • 100 Merkins
  • 100 Smurf Jacks

Mosey to Grassy Field southwest of Admin Building.

RECTANGLE CONE WORKOUT:

  • Run around cones in rectangle.  On the long side, do Bernie Sanders, on the short side do Bear Crawls.  Stop at midpoints and corners for exercises:
    • At midpoints (long side only), do 20 Carolina Dry Docks
    • At each corner, do 20 mountain climbers (2-ct)

Rinse and repeat, but replace the exercises with the following:

  • At midpoints (long side), do 20 Bobby Hurleys
  • At each corner, do 20 Plank Jacks

Mosey to Intersection of Circle Drive.

  • 25 American Hammers, 20 Flutter Kicks, 20 E2Ks left side/right side.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Ring of Fire, Captain Thors, and we ended with 31 Candy Corn

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We did the 31 Candy Corn in honor of Quikrete, aka Grady Pitstick, who joined our PM PAX last year and passed away last November.  He would have been 31 today.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone. Take advantage of today.  Always take the opportunity to reach out to someone who might need a little support, a little encouragement, or just a smile and a friendly greeting. It may mean more than you think.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers to Sparkler and his family on this day.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Goliath at the Gorge this week-end. Good luck, brothers!

Durn Curmudgeons

THE SCENE: Sunny, temps in low 70s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Plank raises, 20 Plank Jacks, 10 Rockettes, 10 Cherry Pickers, 8 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign on northeast corner of Admin Bldg.  We will go back on the road that semi-circles around the Admin Bldg stopping at various cones to do exercises.  The exercises at each cone are as follows:

  • Cone 1:  10 Burpees.  Then, Barry Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 Big Boys.  Then Bear Crawl to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3.  20 Squat Jumps.  Then Mosey past parking lot to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Imperial Walkers (both legs = 1).  Then Sprint to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5.  20 Squats.  Then Hop to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6.  20 Merkins.  Then Mosey to Cone 7
  • Cone 7:  20 Hello Dollies (4 count), 20 Iron Mikes, 20 American Hammers, 20 Dying Bugs, 20 Flutter Kicks

Mosey to Shaded Area near Park Entryway off of Northshore.

40 Baby Crunches

Mosey to Bottom of Mt. Everest.  40 Baby Crunches.  Then run up to top of Mt. Everest.

Rinse and Repeat on the 7 cone run on the road that semicircles around the Admin Bldg.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Ten men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Helping the Curmudgeons of the World

As HIMs we try to help others in our community.  Some folks take our help graciously.  Others do not.  Some people are mighty difficult to help.  I have been giving a number of messages about helping such “hard to help” people.  Helping difficult people, the curmudgeons of the world, is hard.  If we can trust that God is also working with them, it might make it easier for us.  Our efforts may not reap rewards quickly.  Rather, we might be planting a seed that will lead to blossoming that is very slow to come.

Furthermore, we must remember that we are sinners ourselves.  The curmudgeon’s pride, disrespect, and lack of kindness may be sinful but that does not make us somehow superior to the curmudgeon.  In fact, the curmudgeon might be able to offer us something that helps us to grow as humans.

A wonderful illustration of how Curmudgeons can involuntarily be helped by others and help others as well is the book A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.  Ove is a true curmudgeon.  He can be downright rude and cruel to others.  He is 59 years old, has been forced to take retirement, and is pissed about it.  He hates life and wants out of it.  We find out, in the book, that the one person whom he did allow to get close to him was Sonja, his wonderful wife.  She saw beneath his outward stiffness.  But we also learn that Sonja has died of medical causes.

Ove contemplates and tries various ways to kill himself in the book.  But they are foiled by heaven, fate, or crazy people in his life that he just can’t get away from.  Two of those people are Patrick and Parvaneh, new neighbors who back up their U-Hual right over Ove’s mailbox.  Others are an overweight neighbor named Jimmy, a diffident mailman named Adrian, a flamboyantly gay young man named Mirsad, and a crazy cat that keeps on coming around Ove’s house when Ove would like it to go the hell away.  Ove begrudgingly helps each one of these characters (or animals in the book).  He feeds the cat and finally allows it to come into his home.  He helps Jimmy get a job.  He teaches Parvaneh to drive and takes her to the hospital to deliver her baby.  And, these people, also help Ove.  Although he wants out of life, they give him a reason to live.

It isn’t that any of these characters made the choice to help this curmudgeon called Ove or that he sought them out.  Rather, it is through their sloppy, confounding, odd, and downright hilarious interactions and relationships that each character grows – and takes Ove away from the incredible depression that was leading him to try suicide.

So, our interactions with others need not be smooth and on target to derive benefit.  Your attempt to help curmudgeons will be downright difficult and sometimes seem impossible.  But if you can be patient, who knows how God will work in your relationship with the curmudgeon.  You may plant a seed that brings about change.  And, God may work with your relationship in such a way that the doggone curmudgeon actually helps you!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Iceman gets married Saturday and Hooker’s wife, Carly, is due with baby in April!  Prayers for the aforementioned.

Mogadishu Mile

THE SCENE: Partly Cloudy, 63°F, Feels like 63°F, Humidity 62%, Wind 2mph from NNW
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • 19x SSH IC
  • 19x LBAC Forward & Backwards IC
  • 19x Squats
  • Little of This, Little of That

THA-THANG:

Mogadishu Mile
4 rounds
19 CMU swings
19 CMU squats
19 CMU push-ups (one hand on CMU)
400 meter CMU carry

Always keep a hand on CMU, if you remove your hand from the CMU restart the round.

Descending bear crawls (start at 13 push-ups and reduce by one on each curb)

Elevens – flutter kicks to hammers to completion

MARY:

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The symbolism of the “Mogadishu Mile”
  • You cover a total distance of one mile. Even though the soldiers actually walked between 2.5 and 3 miles depending on their starting point, it has become known as a “mile”. You carry your CMU during the run to symbolize the gear the soldiers carried.
  • 19 reps – one honoring each soldier of Task Force Ranger killed during the battle and the day after.
  • CMU Swings – as the soldiers held up their rifles the entire time
  • CMU Squats – as they sought cover behind anything available
  • CMU Push-ups – as they fell to the ground and had to get back up
  • Don’t let the CMU go – symbolic for the dedication the soldiers showed towards their creed to ‘not leave a man behind
On October 3rd, 1993, members of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force), supported by pilots from the 160th Aviation Regiment (Nightstalkers) and other SF units, went into the city of Mogadishu, Somalia to execute Operation ‘Gothic Serpent’, an attempt to apprehend key players in Mohammed Farrah Aidid’s dictatorship. While the initial mission went smoothly, things took a turn for the worse when two aircraft were shot down, forever coining the phrase ‘Blackhawk Down’. Determined to not leave a man behind, and also facing the task of securing the crash sites, Rangers and Deltas, scattered at several locations throughout the city, under heavy fire, most of them wounded, and low on supplies held their positions until the morning hours of October 4th.
As help from the 10th Mountain Division finally arrived, the armored vehicles could not accommodate all of the soldiers. At this point, some of them began their exit to a rally point on foot, under heavy fire, dehydrated and sleep deprived, all of them wounded in one way or another. This has become known as the “Mogadishu Mile”.

As men we don’t always rely on our brothers we have a need. We try to do things on our own. These men show us that when we let our brothers have our backs we can accomplish many things.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Second Harvest Food Collection – Fia and F3
Brolympics II – Nov 9

Hidden Figures and a Farewell to 90!

THE SCENE: Hot as heck… again… temps in the mid-90s and a blazing sun overhead.  This is OCTOBER??!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Check.

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • 10 SSH (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward/ Backward (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Moroccan Nightclub (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Tempo Squats (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct, IC)
  • 10 sec high knees/ 10 sec butt kickers
  • 10 merkins (OYO)

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to shady grass field by closest parking lot to Lyons View entrance.   Partner 1 Hops to first cone, Bear Crawl to second Cone, then Duck Walks to third cone and sprints back, and trades off with partner 2, who is working on the following exercises (cumulative reps):
    • 90 BBS
    • 90 LBCs
    • 90 American Hammers (2-ct)
  • Mosey to CMU pile
    • 30 Curls/30 Overhead Presses/30 Rows.  Try to complete in 90 seconds.  Rinse and Repeat x3.
  • Mosey to Cardiac:
    • MODIFIED DORAS:
      • Partner 1 run to first corner do 30 reps, Partner 2 do 30 reps, then run to catch up with Partner. Then do the last 30 together (15 each) “Patty-cake” style. Exercises:
        • 90 Merkins
        • 90 Shoulder Taps (each shoulder = 1)
        • 90 Bottle openers (?) (each arm = 1)

MOSEY TO grassy area at the road intersection: 30 BBS

MOSEY TO shady northeast corner of perimeter drive around admin building: 30 LBCs

MOSEY TO AO: 30 American Hammers (2-ct)

MARY:
90 squats

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
9 strong! 0 FNGs!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM

I recently watched the movie Hidden Figures, which is about three young women who worked “behind the scenes” at NASA in the early 1960s and did the calculations that enabled John Glenn to launch into space.  It’s pretty obvious that we did a lot of exercises totaling 90 reps. This was to celebrate the last afternoon workout in the 90s. But did you realize:

    • We did 9 exercises and 10 reps per exercise in the Warmup?
    • We did 9 different exercises during Tha Thang?
    • I’ve spoken 90 words so far?

So we had some Hidden Figures in our Workout, and we also have Hidden Figures in our lives. These might be co-workers who do tasks that “keep everything moving”, which for me would be the data analysts that crunch the numbers so I can perform my modeling and write my reports. Maybe it’s a secretary, or dispatcher, or just someone who brings a positive and enthusiastic attitude to work every day. Maybe it’s someone at church who does a lot of unnoticed things that make events special… At my church up in Chicago there’s a woman, Fern, who washes and irons the tablecloths for special events and organizes cabinets, and there’s Anne, who stitches hats out of leftover yarn to pass out to homeless shelters.  Maybe it’s a Friend that you don’t see very often, but is always there when you need them, to offer words of encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, or a hand to help you up. And then there’s our relationship with God, who is Hidden from our earthly eyes, but is always with us in our time of need.

Seek out those Hidden Figures in your lives and thank them.

MOLESKIN:
Thankful that Jinxy’s heart procedure and diagnosis were favorable! Thanks to Sparkler for taking the lead on the Asylum PM obstacle construction for HH.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Have a Naturday (Don’t Mind if I do)

THE SCENE: Sticky, Muggy, and Warm for a beautiful Naturday
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
5 Good Morning Abbey’s, 11 T-Plank Arm Circles each direction IC (B), Cherry Pickers x 10 IC, Happy Jacks 5 sets IC, Tempo Squats x 10 IC
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the Rock Pile, Perform 5 Burpees then pick up a coupon

  • Indian Run w/ coupon to 1st TN Lot
  • Pick a partner and wheelbarrow the lot, then swap places & repeat
  • Bear Crawl the lot and return with crab walks, when complete Al Gore with coupon out in front until last HIM done
  • Mosey to Lifehouse lot w/ coupon and perform 20 Flutter kicks
  • Mosey to Norm Hill with a partner
  • P1 runs to top of hill and performs 3 8CT Manmakers while P2 does 100 BBS, 200 MKNS, 300 OH Press Squats w/ coupon, 400 Tricep raises with Coupon, 250 OH Arm SWING w/ Coupon while holding a squat
  • Run all the way back to rockpile to discard coupon
  • Run back to AO

MARY:
Gas Pumps x 10 IC, Flutters x 25 IC, Never Cross Dollies x 10 IC, Freddy Mercury x 20 IC.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 HIMS, some of which chose the wrong size coupon/rock and lived to regret it
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
A little message about being true to yourself.  Why would you want to be anyone else, just be a better you.  You know yourself better than anyone.  Pick the parts you want to change or improve and share it with those around you who you love and trust.
MOLESKIN:
Word of Advice, always watch the Q before selecting your rock size
ANNOUNCEMENTS:Get ready for Wk 1 of the Iron Pax Challenge!