F3 Knoxville

Tag: Valentine

Fight the Good Fight

THE SCENE: 52 degrees and a bit cloudy. Perfect February weather.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Start with 25 SSH on 4ct

12 Seal Claps on 4ct, 10 Cherry Pickers on 4ct, 10 Tempo Squat, 10 Monkey Humpers on 4ct
THA-THANG:
Grab a battle buddy and a CMU, head to baby hill by AO

Bottom of hill is 200 CMU curls, 150 CMU chest press, 100 CMU squats. While one partner does reps the other runs to top of hill (4 burpees) then back down to relieve buddy.

 

When done, mosey to top of dragon tail hill and preform 2 reps at every light pole to cross walk then run back to top.  Exercises consisted of Bobby Hurley’s, Big Boys, and Plank Jacks

MARY:
Put the CMU’s back where they belong and finish up with 20 R and 20 L side planks
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ready 1 Timothy 6:11-12

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith.

What does it look like to fight the good fight?  We are either fully devoted soldiers for Christ or we are choosing the things of this world.
MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Successful Outing

THE SCENE: Cloudy with temps in 40’s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops; 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Windmills, 10 Plank Leg Stretches, 10 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:

Mosey to parking lot across street.  Split into teams of two.  There will be sets of bricks at one end of the parking lot.  We will do Doras with the following activities.

Activity one:  Team member bear crawls to first cone, hops to second cone and then does Bernie Sanders to other end of parking lot.  Then sprint back across parking lot to tag partner and take over on Activity Two exercises.

Activity two:  teams will do 100 each of the following exercises with a set of bricks:

  • Overhead presses
  • Curls
  • Rows with bricks at sides
  • Wings out
  • Wings up
  • Wings down

Mosey on roadway and go to large parking lot that is south of the northern ballpark.  We will run in a counterclockwise circle around the parking lot stopping at each cone to do the following exercises:

  • Cone 1:  Ten Burpees
  • Cone 2:  20 Merkins
  • Cone 3:  20 Big-Boy Sit-ups
  • Cone 4:  20 Squat Jumps
  • Cone 5:  20 Buzz Saws (four count)
  • Cone 6:  20 Dive Bombers
  • Cone 7:  20 Smurf Jacks
  • Cone 8:  20 Shoulder taps (each shoulder = 1)
  • Rinse and Repeat

Mosey to Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will do 14’s all the way to Cardiac Hill.  We will lunge for one light and then sprint four lights, repeating that until we get to Cardiac Hill.

At Cardiac Hill, we will run up hill doing the following exercises at the following locations:

  • Turn 1:  20 American Hammers (four count)
  • Turn 2:  20 Hello Dollies (four count)
  • Turn 3:  20 Decline Merkins
  • Turn 4:  20 Bench Dips
  • Rinse and Repeat Twice

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Bicycle Kicks
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
14 men, no FNG’s
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

In his book, Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller has one chapter entitled The Seduction of Success.  In it, he quotes from an interview with the pop star Madonna in Vanity Fair.  “I have an iron will, and all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy . . . My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre.  And that’s always pushing me, pushing me.  Because even though I’ve become Somebody, I still have to prove that I’m Somebody.  My struggle has never ended and it probably never will.

Keller also quotes Mary Bell, a counselor who works with high level executives.  She commented that many executives don’t abuse alcohol – they abuse their own lives.  They complete a project, then look to the next one but must do better to reach that certain level of satisfaction.  They are always pushing for that better high.  They are achievement addicts.

We may achieve success in our jobs but then we look for better jobs, more income.  We often measure ourselves by how high up the company ladder we have climbed or how much money we make.  We look at our possessions or homes and compare ourselves to others in that way.  The trouble is, we may get a nicer home in a newer neighborhood but up our standard, now comparing ourselves to the richer and “more successful” people in the new neighborhood.  We envy the people with the nicest cars and newest homes.

We must give up this seduction of success.  It can lead us away from ourselves, from time spent in enjoyment with our family and friends, in time spent with God.  I am fortunate to have met some people in my life who have moved to break themselves from the success game.  I remember working as a jury consultant in Dallas, TX.  I lived in an area where I was comparing myself to others who were driving nicer cars, living in nicer homes.  I remember talking to a husband and wife at my church who were both attorneys.  They talked to me about how they had each made a decision to get out of the fast-paced law firms they had been in and work for lesser pay.  They sold their home in a rich area of Dallas and moved to a nice but less expensive home in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas.  They spent more time going to church, involving themselves with their children.  Their example helped me in my own struggle with the seduction of success.

I remember moving to Knoxville and feeling the burden lessening just because of the environment.  The brand and looks of your automobile are not as big a deal here in Knoxville.  I like that.  I also like how we in F3 accept all as brothers.  Who cares or even knows what our economic backgrounds are.

I don’t want success to be my counterfeit God.  God loves each of you for who you are.  God’s version of “be all that you can be” is much different than our commercialized view of looking at that phrase.  Our culture makes that phrase sound like, “to be all we can be” that we must achieve at the very highest level.  God wants us to do well but also wants us to rest in him.  He sees success much differently than we do.  So ask yourself, what does success look like for God?  Is it about relationship, about honor, about love, about trusting in Him, about serving others?  I think those things come much closer to what God wants for us than our cultural way of seeing success, where we are inadequate unless who keep achieving more and more.

MOLESKIN:
Safe travels for Waffle House on his trip out of county.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Power of Friends

THE SCENE: Temps in high 50’s, clear, breezy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
10 Pinto About-Face Twists each way, 20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Plank Jacks, 5 Baby Arm Circles forward and backward, 5 Wide Arm Circles forward and backward, 10 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:
Mosey to northern parking lot of park.  We will do Route 66 along the sidewalk that heads to park entrance at Lyon’s Bend.  We will run back to the start after each exercise.  These will be the exercises:

  • Plank Jacks
  • Dive Bombers
  • Jump Squats

After these exercises we will alternate between Bernies, Lunges and Sprints along each light until we get to street that extends from entrance gate.

Mosey up street towards AO but stop at stop sign at intersection of road coming from Admin Bldg.  On grassy area near stop sign we will do 20 Hello Dollies and 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Northern Ball Field Entrance Parking Lot.  We will do the following from one end of parking lot to other and then do ten merkins after each run there and back:

  • Sideways runs with feet crossing.
  • Hops for four parking spaces then sprint to curb and back.
  • Bernies to curb and back.
  • Bear crawl for four parking space then sprint to curb and back.
  • Lunge for four parking spaces then sprint to curb and back.
  • Sprint to curb and back.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Box cutters and planks.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Proverbs 18: 24.  A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Sometimes our self-doubts, our shame, our anxiety, or even our pride can keep us from turning to friends when we are hurt or in trouble.  As a psychologist, I often see individuals coping with hurtful issues that they are too embarrassed to speak to their friends about.  A young man in his twenties recently lost a job that he had out of state.  He has friends who are smart, energetic, and growth-pursuing and who appear to be going places with their lives.  He has come back to his home town and has a few of those “successful” friends who still live here in Knoxville.  He hasn’t even contacted them, too embarrassed to tell them about his loss of job.

If these guys are true friends, they are the very ones he should turn to at this difficult time.  If they are true friends, they will care for him and hold him up.  His true friends won’t begrudge him for losing a job. They like him for who he is, not the type of job he has.  Yes, back when he got the job they may have praised, pat him on the back, wished him well, told him he was going to “kick ass” at it.  They were saying that because they care for him and want the best for him.  They won’t turn their backs on him because he has stumbled.  They are going to want to pick him up, carry him.  If they don’t do that, what kind of friends are they?

I remember a troubled time I had in my early 20’s.  I was lost in terms of what I wanted to do with my life.  I had fumbled around in a few jobs and was working as a forklift driver at a warehouse just to earn enough money to buy groceries while I lived with my uncle who put me up.  I was depressed and certainly not my usual self.  I remember my friends hanging in there with me at that difficult time.  They would take me to rec centers to play basketball, take me out for meals, call me to shoot the breeze, – not necessarily ask about my job search or career struggles but just be there for me and certainly lend an ear if I needed to talk.  They didn’t have the “sage” advice that I needed from older men, sometimes even offered stupid advice to me.  But they cared and I knew it.  They were going to be my friend through thick and thin.  They were there for me at a most important time and I made it through that time because of them.

We need our friends.  Don’t shy away from telling them about your troubles when you hit a low spot.  Turn to them for strength.  It may not be their words of wisdom that push you through – leave that to the shrinks, philosophers, and preachers.  But your friends will give you that powerful something that is hard to put into words – unless you call it love and that love will raise you up.

 

Pyramids, Laps and Q101

THE SCENE
37 and clear

Welcome, disclaimer and explanation of day (workout + Q insights)

 

THE THANG
COP

  • SSH x25 4ctIC
  • Tempo Squats x15 4ct IC
  • Tempo Merkins x15 4ct IC
  • Line up on curb and then run to far curb and back, stopping in the middle for three Burpees
  • Reverse Lunges x12 4ct IC
  • Run to far curb and back, stopping in the middle for three Burpees
  • BAC Fwd x10 4ct IC
  • BAC Bkwd x10 4ct IC
  • Run to far curb and back, stopping in the middle for three Burpees

Mosey to the parking lot next to the playground partner up with Battle Buddy

 

Pyramid of Pain
Each man will complete the following:

  • Complete exercise 1 then run around the parking lot
  • Complete exercise 1 and 2 then run around the parking lot. Continue until you get to 4 exercises
  • Upon completion of all 4 exercises continue but take on exercise off each round starting with 1 (then 2, 3 and so on).

Exercises (x20 of each):

  1. Narrow Squats
  2. Diamond Merkins
  3. 4ct Flutter Kicks
  4. Tuck Jumps

Mosey to SP

 

Merkin Hill
Run up and down hill doing 3 times performing 5 burpees at the top each time

 

ABS
Box Cutters 20x 4ct IC
Side Crunches 20x each side IC
American Hammers 15x 4ct IC
ATMs

 

COT
Number off and Name-O-Rama – 26 PAX, 2 FNGs – Big Apple, The Dab

 

BOM
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:3-4

Leading a F3 Workout

  • KEY: Most important thing: It’s Not About You!
    • Your #1 job as Q is the safety of the PAX.
    • Men have shown up early and are trusting you to challenge them and keep them reasonably safe.
  • PLANNING: Plan the work then work the plan
    • Not just the exercise, but the explanations, transitions and your BOM
      • Explanations and transitions can make or break a workout!
    • Think through the following when planning your exercises:
      • Weather (not just the day of, but the days before)
      • Amount of daylight
      • Size of the PAX (make thing scalable)
      • Fitness levels in the PAX
    • Equipment needs
      • Cones, light sticks, CMUs, etc.
  • ELEMENTS: Basic ingredients of a well-balanced workout
    • Strength
      • Push, pull, core and leg
      • Goal: tax each of the four major muscle groups
    • Cardio
      • Sprints and distance
      • Goal: elevate the heart rate and maintain the elevated state with periodic rests
  • PRACTICE: You play like you practice
    • Make sure YOU can do the exercises properly
    • If you can, walk through the workout at the AO
    • PRACTICE, OUT LOUD, IN CADENCE
  • EXECUTION: Get after it and have some fun!
    • Talk up the morning on GroupMe. Let the PAX know you are excited to lead them.
    • Show up early!
    • Be energetic (you don’t have to be Richard Simmons, but be vocal and upbeat)
    • Always wear a watch
    • USE PROPER CADENCE
      • This seems small…it isn’t. The cadence creates a very real synergy for the group.
      • Proper cadence is:
        • “The Next Exercise is ______________________”
          • Clear and concise command
          • PAX repeat exercise name to demonstrate understanding
        • “Starting Position … Move”
          • “Starting Position” is the information
          • “Move” is the command
          • Pause between info and command, to assist with understanding
        • “In Cadence … Exercise”
          • “In cadence” is the information
            • Not all exercises are in cadence
            • PAX repeat back “in cadence” to demonstrate understanding
        • “Exercise” is the command
          • Signals PAX it is time to begin
          • Pause between info and command, to assist with understanding
        • “1, 2, 3” then PAX calls rep
          • Your cadence MUST match the called exercise
          • Not all exercises are performed at the same cadence
          • Your count matches the body movement
          • PAX call the rep number in place of “4”
        • Change your voice inflexion on last rep
          • Signals to the PAX that we are ending
          • Important to keeping morale and order
        • “Recover”
          • At the end of the called exercise you call “Recover”
          • Important command to let everyone know we are finished
  • INTANGIBLES: The secret sauce
    • During the workout, engage the PAX
      • Have PAX count off for rest times
      • Use men’s F3 names
      • Laugh, remember…this is supposed to be hard, but it’s also supposed to be fun.
    • If you can’t do it, don’t Q it.
      • This doesn’t mean you have to be the strongest and fastest, just that you can execute the exercise properly
    • Lead from the front with an eye on the back
      • The PAX come expecting to be led. There should be no doubt that you are leading.  You should be visible and vocal, but that DOES NOT mean everything revolves around you or that you need to the all-star of the morning.
        • Have others do 10 counts for breathers
        • Tell someone where you’re heading and have them lead the PAX
        • Have someone else lead the PAX to Cash Out
    • NEVER leave a man behind
      • This is important when moving around the AO. If the PAX gets stretched out we lose cohesion.
      • When on a mosey, if you feel the PAX stretching out, circle back (i.e. wagon wheel) or stop and do a few reps of an exercise (i.e. SSH, Merkins, etc.)

A neat workout at Asylum

THE SCENE: Low 40’s at the Asylum and no rain!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
15 SSH, 15 Moroccan night club, 15 mountain climbers, 10 tempo merkins, 10 tempo squats, 10 windmill
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the parking lots south of the where the shovel flag is supposed to be and gather in the southeast corner.  Start with 20 merkins, run to the next corner, 10 burpees, run to the next corner, 20 diamond merkins, run to the next corner, and 10 burpees.  Repeat once.

Mosey on the greenway toward Cardiac hill.  Stop about 5 lights shy of the intersection.  Bear crawl between each light and do 10 leg lifts at each light.  Continue mosey to Cardiac hill.  Run up the hill stopping at the corners for 20 squats and then 20 lunges.  Run to the top and do 20 flutter kicks on a four count.  Repeat once.

Mosey to the playground.  Do 3 rounds of 15 box jumps at the playground and 15 supine pull-ups on the park benches under the pavilion.

MARY:
Apollo Creed style one arm push-ups in a circle.  One arm on your brother’s shoulder and one on the ground.  5 each arm.  After completion, YHC said “that was neat”.  Not sure where that came from, but a good finish to the workout none the less.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
18 PAX today
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ephesians 6:1. “Children, obey your parents…”.  That one is easy for the parents, but here is the tough one.  Verse 4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  YHC constantly struggles with this one.  Sometimes the kiddos don’t think I love them when I discipline them.  Make sure you are not disciplining your children when angry. Cool off for a minute first.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Cleveland launch Saturday. Upcoming canned food drive for Second Harvest with FIA.