Utah – Page 10 – F3 Knoxville

The Essential Isn’t Imposed

August 14, 2020 Lillydipper

THE SCENE: Misty and humid, temps is 80s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 10 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 10 Toes Reaches, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward, 7 Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign at northeastern corner of Admin Bldg. 20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to perimeter trail and head west. We will follow the perimeter trail north to the shaded tree by Lyons Bend. 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Mt. Everest. We will do 40 Baby Crunches, then run up to large tree, circle around it and return.

Mosey to shaded area by water bldg. 20 Flutter Kicks.

Mosey to North Shore gate and head east on trail. There will be cones in flat grassy area to the right. We will divide up men to start at different cones. We will go counter-clockwise to each cone. The cones will list exercises. We will do circle the cones three times doing the first exercise listed the first time there and continue in sequence the next time there. However, before starting into the next sequence of cone exercises we will make a full circle around the cones. Here are the exercises for each cone:

Cone 1: 1. 20 Bobby Hurleys. 2. 20 Smurf Jacks. 3. 20 Star Jumps.
Cone 2: 1. 20 Big Boy Sit-ups. 2. 20 Squats. 3. 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)
Cone 3: 1. 20 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1). 2. 20 Mountain Climbers (both legs = 1). 3. 20 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1)
Cone 4: 1. 20 Merkins. 2. 20 Carolina Dry Docks 3. 20 Diamond Merkins

Mosey to beginning of parking lot at Area 51. We will Bernie Sanders to the curb by the grass, then run back to the starting point of the parking lot, then Bernie Sanders back to the curb again. Next, at curb we will do 20 Toe Taps (4 ct). Then we will run to the road up top where there is a shaded tree. There, we will do 30 Second Leg Lift.

Mosey to bat cave. From the bat cave we will sprint to the administration parking lot. Each man walks back to bat cave after the sprint, then sprints to parking lot again.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Hello Dollies, 20 Tempo Merkins.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Quote from James Finley, a theologian and former monk who studied under Thomas Merton: “That which is essential never imposes itself for love is always offered, it’s never imposed, and that which in unessential is constantly imposing itself.”

God created us in His image. He made us for communication with Him. We fall short in life if not with Him. We are in need of Him. Without Him we are thirsty. Without Him there is something wrong in our lives. His love is Essential. And, as James Finley says, his love is offered freely to us. It is not imposed, it is not forced upon us. It comes to us in so many ways: the playfulness of a child, the chance for rest or Sabbath, the words of the Bible, the laughter among friends, intimacy with a partner, the love shared by a neighbor, the smile of a stranger, the songs of the birds, the beauty of the mountains, the plains, the wind, the sky, God’s creation. Notice how these Essential things hang back, they do not force their will on us, they do not impose themselves. Notice how we have to truly look, to truly listen, to truly observe in order to appreciate them. It is like pulling over to the side of the road to really enjoy a sunset. You sit there in your car and our blown away by the beauty. And then, after you start the car up and drive on home, you think to yourself, I need to do this more often, I need to truly take this beauty in each day. It is like when you hear a great song that makes the hair rise on your skin and you think, how beautiful, how powerful, this song makes me want to be more than what I have been. Or, it is like when you are at worship and hear a particular sermon that makes you almost want to cry and you think, man, I need to remember this, I need to take this into the fiber of my being . . . and, a few days later you kind of forget what the sermon was all about.

A problem we humans face is that, like Finley claims, “the unessential is constantly imposing itself” on us. What are some of these unessential things? Wealth, power, fame, success, popularity are examples. Think about our daily lives. Think about what the world says we should be. We are constantly bombarded by shoulds in our lives. “I should do more to rise to the top at work.” “I should work more hours so that I can make more money.” “I should get a bigger home.” “I should get a nicer car.” “I need to participate in more organizations so that I am doing more with my life.” “I gotta make that deadline.” “I should be slimmer and more fit.” “I should spend more of my time working for charities so that people see how much I am giving to others.” “I need to be the top salesman in my region this year”. “I need to belong to that country club because it is populated by some of the most notable people in Knoxville.” I am not saying that any of the above things are unworthy. But, they are unessential. These shoulds are often what we pay the most attention to. And by doing that, we lose sight of God’s creation, God’s love. We miss out on what God has made essential for us.

Lord, help us to spend more time focusing on the essential. You have given these essential things to us because you love us. You don’t impose them on us. You give us free will to accept them because you know that true love cannot be forced upon us. Help take our eyes away from what is unessential and keep our eyes on you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Prayers for Title -9 as he adjusts to living in Oregon, for Lily’s wife who will have double mastectomy surgery on Wednesday, Augut 19, for Thunderstruck’s mother as she faces chemotherapy and blood transfusions, for safety of the F3 dads and kids at camp this weekend, for the AO in Morristown that we helped start. Steam will be going to the Morristown AO workout to support them this Saturday and welcomes anyone who would like to go with him.

Wanna Bet?

July 28, 2020 Crispr

THE SCENE:

The epitome of fake gloom muggy, humid nastiness.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Welcome to F3. Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. I am CRISPR, your Q for today. This is a free workout and you’re here on your own volition. I am NOT a professional. I do not know your injuries or capabilities, so feel free to modify as necessary. Safety is the #1 priority. Remember we are under social distancing rules, so keep your distance from others.

WARM-O-RAMA:

15x Side Straddle Hops, 10x Windmills, 10x Imperial Walkers, 7x Cherry Pickers, A little bit of this, little bit of that, 10x Rockettes

THA-THANG:

Mosey to The Bowl. Black Jack (Round 1): Do 1 Hill Run, then 20 Gas Pumps, then 2 Hill Runs, then 19 Gas Pumps, and so on.

Mosey to steps of Admin Building. Deck of Death (4x): When a “Flipper” gets to a station, they flip to the next card, and do the exercise (2-Ace, where J=11, Q=12, K=13, A=14). If you’re not a “Flipper”, just do the card facing up when you arrive. If a deck has been finished, keep going until all are finished.

Mosey to field by AO. Black Jack (Round 2): Alternate between Jump Squats and Plank Jacks. Do 1 Squat, then 20 Plank Jacks, then 2 Squats, then 19 Plank Jacks, and so on.

Black Jack (Round 3): Alternate between American Hammers and LBCs. Do 1 American Hammer, then 20 LBCs, then 2 American Hammers, then LBCs, and so on.

Finish up with some Catalina Wine Mixers and a Wave of Merkins. Do an “Obama” (4 count bear crawl with 4 merkins) back to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

25 HIMs including one FNG – Furby

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Something that’s been on my heart lately Is whether or not to keep my kids home this fall or to send them back to school. I know this has been on a lot of people’s mind and we’re all wondering if we’re making the “right” decision. As I’ve been wrestling with this decision I’m trying really hard to remember the lesson I learned from a book called “Thinking in Bets” by former World Series of Poker Champion Annie Dukes.

Essentially, we all confuse DECISIONS with OUTCOMES. For example, many of us know a guy who always buys his wife flowers remembers every birthday and anniversary shows up for all their kids’ events and provides financially and emotionally for his family, but ultimately winds up in a divorce. Does the outcome of a divorce mean that his behaviors bad decisions just because they resulted in a bad outcome?

In her book, Annie Dukes describes the difference between, decisions and outcomes in a poker example. Imagine going all in because you’re holding 4 Kings, but then on the River card the guy across from you backs his way into a Straight Flush and wins the pot. Was going all in with 4 Kings a bad decision just because it ended with a bad outcome?

I’ve used the phrase “make good decisions”, but how do you do that? Annie Dukes suggests one way to make better decisions is simply to ask, “Wanna bet?”

Consider this… Every F3 workout ends in a “Name-o-Rama” where we give our birth name, age, and F3 name. At the end of every workout I say my birth name is “David”. But, if I said, right now, “Wanna bet $100 my birth name is David?” How does that change what you previously knew to be absolutely true? I guarantee you’ve already started questioning yourself. Maybe my name is Andrew David Smelser, III and I just go by David as not to be confused with other family members?

By just asking that simple question “Wanna bet?” You’ve gone from knowing something with 100% certainty to something less than 100%. And, now that you’re less than 100% certain your brain can accept new information, options, and possibilities to come in which allows you to make better decisions.

I encourage us all to ask ourselves, “Wanna bet?” and to know things with less than 100% certainty so we can make better decisions for ourselves and for those around us.

Q101 in the Scorching Fake Gloom

July 17, 2020 Pele

THE SCENE: Hot enough to melt your face off… think of that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the bad guy sees the ark’s contents. 97 degrees at LEAST with probably a 110 degree heat index. It sucked.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Introduced myself as Q and Lilydipper as Co-Q for a Q101 beatdown that will include some commentary during the workout to reinforce the F3 standards of what we do and why we do it.

Done, with explanations as to what the components are and why we do it, including:

– Call out TIME WARNING (2 mins, 1 min) and START ON TIME.

– Carry a WATCH and PHONE!

– WELCOME to F3! FITNESS, FELLOWSHIP, AND FAITH!!

INTRODUCE yourself! You will be leading these men for the next 45 minutes to an hour, establish yourself as their Q!

– IDENTIFY ANY FNGs

Make sure they understand the disclaimer (get a nod of understanding)
Make sure you demonstrate exercises that may be unfamiliar to them.
Make them feel welcome! Pay special attention to their status during the workout.

– Include LEGAL DISCLAIMERS:

I am not a professional
You are here on your own volition, and participating at your own risk
F3 is a free program open to all men
Know your limits, and modify if you need to, but do the best you can! ALWAYS GIVE 100%… UNLESS YOU’RE DONATING BLOOD! Ha Ha Ha.
Additional COVID-related disclaimers. 1. Limit of 50 PAX, 2. No sharing of equipment; gloves recommended, 3. If you’ve been sick, or around someone who’s sick, please stay home. 4. Maintain social distancing.

WARM-O-RAMA:
Performed exercises that would demonstrate various counts and focused on 1.) getting the heart rate up, 2.) stretching the legs, and 3.) stretching the arms.

– TAKE CHARGE!

Make eye contact
Use your “outside voice”
Use GOOD FORM
Bring great ENERGY and ENCOURAGE!

– The Warm up usually consists of 4 to 5 exercises designed to get the heart rate going and provide some stretching of the arms and legs. Call out:

The NAME of the exercise
Whether it’s single count or in cadence
“Ready position”… “Exercise!”
Change cadence on the final rep.

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

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

– 10 Steve Earls (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 calf raises, SINGLE COUNT

– Little of this and that

THA-THANG:

THA THANG is the main part of the workout, and usually consist of 3 to 5 “stations”, where you mosey to and then do an exercise (“String of Pearls”). Keeps the PAX together and provides some variation.

– PLAN OUT the workout ahead of time!

– Keep an eye on your TIME

– EXPLAIN CLEARLY and ENCOURAGE

– If you can’t Q it, don’t do it! Not a “clipboard” program where the Q sits out

– Be FLEXIBLE!

– Make sure everyone is always ACTIVE! Give the rabbits something to do if they finish first.

– Situational awareness! Pay attention to the PAX. Sweep back to get the 6. NO man left behind!!

MOSEY to the parking lot below the Coliseum.

DORAS: These are a common type of exercise used in F3 where you pick a battle buddy and work towards a cumulative goal, like reps of an exercise. RABBITS, Help out with the reps of others!

One partner runs a loop up the stairs and around while the other starts the exercises. Each pair shall complete the total number:

100 Carolina Dry Docks
100 Big Boy Situps
100 Lunges (2-count; only count the left leg)

** Turned the beatdown over to the great and powerful Lilydipper!!**

Mosey to the shaded parking lot across the street from the Northern Ball Fields Entryway parking lot.

We will do four corners with the following exercises:

Corner 1: 20 Star Jumps. Then Bear Crawl to Corner 2.

Corner 2: 20 Big Boy Sit-Ups. Then Bernie Sanders to Corner 3.

Corner 3: 20 Merkins. Then Lunge to Corner 4.

Corner 4: 20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct). Then Sprint to Corner 1.

Rinse and Repeat.

Next we will take a short mosey to beginning of the Dragon Tail. We will do Route 66 up the Dragon Tail with the following exercises. (Note: Those finishing the last light of the Dragon Tail will sweep men back to start the Dragon Tail again with the next exercise.)

Squat Jumps
Dive Bombers
Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)

(We only finished the first one due to time). Mosey to Shady Tree area by stoplight at northeastern corner of Admin Bldg. 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to AO.
MARY:
20 Hello Dollies

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 thing that many of us worry about in regarding to Q’ing a workout is giving the message, the BOM, at the end of the workout. We might think “I can’t speak the way that some people can.” “I don’t have anything wise or good to say.” “I’m not religious enough.” “I will screw it up.”

You don’t have to deliver a long speech for the BOM. Also, you need not know the bible well or deliver a message that must pass religious muster. Just speak about something you have learned, something important to you, something that might help others. Not everyone will respond the same way but I can almost guarantee that some of your brothers will get something out of your message. I personally love hearing what different brothers have to say, the little pearls of life wisdom they can share with me. And, as for your ability to speak well, thing about Moses, the great leader of the Israelites that led them from Egypt to Isreal:

^{From Exodus 4: 10-12}

¹⁰But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹²Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

As to worrying about screwing up, your brothers are on your side no matter what. And, screwing up is what we do. Think of Abraham Lincoln. The following list is from an article by Ron Kurtus:

A common list of the failures of Abraham Lincoln (along with a few successes) is:

1831 – Lost his job
1832 – Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature
1833 – Failed in business
1834 – Elected to Illinois State Legislature (success)
1835 – Sweetheart died
1836 – Had nervous breakdown
1838 – Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker
1843 – Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress
1846 – Elected to Congress (success)
1848 – Lost re-nomination
1849 – Rejected for land officer position
1854 – Defeated in run for U.S. Senate
1856 – Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President
1858 – Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate
1860 – Elected President (success)

The fact is that we are supposed to screw up as leaders. That is how we learn and how we grow.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
GrowSchool to immediately follow the workout. CSAUP this week-end at the Dog Pound, 6:30 am Saturday. Asylum PM is trying to break the attendance record on Tuesday to send Title IX out in style!

Leaders Eat Last

July 14, 2020 Crispr

THE SCENE: 92 and full of sunshine
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
15x Side Straddle Hops, 10x Imperial Walkers, 5x Cherry Pickers, A little bit of this, little bit of that, 10x Rockettes

THA-THANG:

Four Corners

CORNER ONE: Round 1: 25X CMU Curls, Round 2: 25X CMU Bench Press, Round 3: 20x of Both

CORNER TWO: Round 1: 20X Freddy Mercury’s (4-count), Round 2: 20X Rocky Balboas, Round 3: 10x of Both

CORNER THREE: Round 1: 25X CMU Good Mornings, Round 2: 25X CMU Rows, Round 3: 20x of Both

CORNER FOUR: Round 1: 20X Box Cutters, Round 2: 20X LBCs, Round 3: 10x of Both

With COVID rules, we can’t share CMUs. So…you get to take it with you.

Mosey to the winding hill. At light pole #1, 10x incline Big Boys, at light pole #2, 10x decline Merkins, alternate to the top, rinse and repeat

Mosey towards the AO. 10x bear crawl, 10x lunges, rise and repeat, empty the tank sprint to the bat box.

MARY:

Freddy Mercury’s,H ello Dollies, American Hammers, Plank

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Obviously the world has a lot of things going on these days. A lot of bad things. A lot of the things people want to see changed. But, a lot of people want to just snap their fingers and have it all fixed. They want to go to bed one night in a world full of problems, then wake up the next morning with all those problems solved.

This got me thinking about leading during troubled times and one of my favorite books, “Leaders Eat Last”, by Simon Sinek. In his book he writes:

“Good leadership is like exercise. We do not see any improvement to our bodies with day-to-day comparisons. In fact, if we only compare the way our bodies look on a given day to how it looked on the previous day we would think our efforts had been wasted. It’s only when we compare pictures of ourselves over a period of weeks or months that we can see a stark difference. The impact of leadership is best judged over time.”

This resonates with me right now. Because right now the world needs SUSTAINED leadership. Not quick fix leadership. Not a few leaders focusing on the next news cycle. Not a few leaders saying, “Look what I did” Right now we need millions of leaders. Leaders who are more concerned with making an impact than they are with making headlines. Leaders who are focused on making a difference and improving the lives of our fellow human beings.

Sometimes we all want to see a more immediate impact from our efforts. But, sometimes that’s just not the timeline the world is on. More often than not we’re part of the timeline where we’re pushing a giant boulder up a mountain. It’s actually rare to be the one who pushes it over the top. With it being unlikely that we will get any recognition for our efforts it becomes imperative to remember why we are pushing that boulder up that mountain.

And, to remember that when results come slowly that we cannot give up. That our efforts have not been wasted. And, that our leadership is best judged over time. We have to remember why we are serving as leaders. We have to remember it’s all to make the world a better place for our fellow human beings.

“Leadership is not a license to do less. It’s a responsibility to do more. Leadership takes work. It takes time and energy. The effects are not always easily measured and they are not always immediate. But, leadership is always a commitment to human beings.” ~ Simon Sinek

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
GROW School / Q101 at AsylumPM Thursday. CSAUP on Saturday. Title9’s last post before leaving to Oregon will be July 21st. We plan to set an AsylumPM attendance record for him.

Slow to Judge, Quick to Listen

June 16, 2020 Lillydipper

THE SCENE: Windy, temp about 70 degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops. 10 Pinto Twists. 40 Grady Corns. 10 Windmills. 10 Tempo Squats. Little of This and That.

THA-THANG:
Mosey to northeast corner of Admin Bldg. From Cone 1 we will run to Cone 2 atend of sidewalk. From Cone 2, bear crawl to the Cone 3 positioned at sidewalk going to steps of admin bldg. At Cone 4, on steps do 40 Shin Lifts and 40 Bench Dips. Then run back on sidewalk to Cone 5 on street. At Cone 5 do 20 Merkins. Then Bernie to Cone 6 by stop sign. At that cone, do 20 Big Boys. Then go back to Cone 1. Rinse and repeat two more times.

Mosey on roadway and through parking lot to CMU pile. Each man takes CMU. Do 25 each of the following exercises but also sprint to end of parking lot and back after each exercise. Here are the exercises:

Overhead presses
Curls
Squats
Rows

Mosey on grass past dugouts to bottom of Cardiac Hill. We will go up hill stopping at corners and benches to do exercises. Here are the exercises:

Corner 1: 20 American Hammers (four count)
Corner 2: 20 Hello Dollies (four count)
Corner 3: 20 Decline Merkins
Benches: 20 Bench Dips

Mosey to shady area by northeastern corner of Admin Bldg. We will do 20 Flutter Kicks and 20 Bicycle Kicks.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
26 men that included four FNGs: Sparty (Tony Burkhart), Hermes (Mason Burkhart), Orphan Annie (Dylan Berry) and a Flying EH, Couch Potato (Reginald Williams).
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Slow to Judge and Quick to Listen

Our current society is very quick to judge. A politician makes a statement and the other party immediately attacks it, often taking the statement completely out of context. Even news stations, which are supposed to give us the truth, are quick to judge. CNN quickly pounces upon anything Trump says. Fox News is sure to badmouth Biden. It is difficult for any public figure to say anything without being judged. Athletes are considered anti-American for taking the knee during the Pledge of Allegiance or racist for saying they will not join others in taking the knee. We ourselves tend to blame the “other side” for the “state of affairs” whether that state be the declining economy, the coronavirus numbers, or good ol traffic on the way to our jobs. We join with friends who are similar in opinion to us so that we can find support and comfort in our criticism of the other side.

The problem is, where does this get us? How do parties resolve anything when they are so sure to attack and so unlikely to listen? We cannot give an inch to reasonable comments from the other side because we feel that, in doing so, we would somehow admit that we are wrong. Well, maybe WE are a little wrong. Maybe THEY are a little right. But we refuse to even look to see. And we lose love and grace in the process.

Doubtfire gave a great message several weeks ago about Forgiveness. He said we need to learn to forgive even if we dislike what the other person has done. Jesus talked about turning the other cheek to our enemies. I get the idea that Jesus would also say we should be willing to listen to our enemies. What do they have to say? Is there anything reasonable in what they are saying. And, if it doesn’t seem reasonable, what has happened in that person’s life that leads to their perspective?

Maybe it is too personal to look at the behavior of another human. Let’s look at the behavior of an animal, a dog. Some of you may have read the book “White Fang” by Jack London. In the book, a man meets up with a dog that is vicious toward humans. People have used and abused the dog. The dog, indeed, is mean. The man finds the dog when it has been so badly mistreated that it is near to death. He feeds the dog, talks kindly to it. He cannot initially get close to the dog because the dog would attack him. But he slowly, after many weeks, gets closer and finally, touches the dog. The dog initially reacts with a biting move. The man is patient. Many days later he tries again. The dog growls a low growl while the man keeps his hand there. The dog both dislikes the touch but also thinks it good. And as he learns to love the man, he learns to cherish the touch. The dog gradually changes. And, because of the love that the man shows him, he finally sees the man as his “Love God.” An incredible bond forms between the man and this dog that once hated humans. And, toward the end of the book, the dog saves the lives of the man and his family.

We must learn to listen to others, even our enemies. We must learn to be quick to listen and slow to judge. We must hold our tongue with others. Try to see the perspective of the other. Maybe there is some truth in what they say, particularly if you see things from their perspective. You don’t have to fully agree. But you may find some commonality. You may find that the “enemy” has hopes, hurts, and dreams just like you. As Sting once said in a song he wrote, “Maybe the Russians love their children too.”

MOLESKIN:

Prayers for Crispr’s coworker and her husband. Her husband has a terminal illness and will likely die soon. Prayer of praise for the birth of Crispr’s niece. Prayers for family member of Swimmies and Octomom as she has been in labor for over 24 hours and their is concern for the baby. Prayers for David, a friend of Brick, Sparty and Hermes. David’s son has been diagnosed with Melanoma. Prayers for Pusher and his family, particularly his father as the one year anniversary of the death of Pusher’s mother will be this Friday. Prayer of praise for Title 9 who has been coping with angst regarding an upcoming move to Oregon. After reporting this last week he has had a sense of calm come over him.