F3 Knoxville

Tag: Waffle House

Spiritually Strong

THE SCENE: Cloudy and cool, temps in low 50’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, Plank Stretches, Cherry Pickers, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot directly across the street from Northern Ball Fields parking lot.  We will break into four groups, one in each corner of the parking lot.  We will perform each exercise listed, first doing 20 of each exercise, then follow directions to go to next corner of the parking lot.  We will rinse and repeat after going around the parking lot once.  Here are the exercises for each corner:

  • Corner 1:  20 Star Jumps.  Bernie Sanders to Corner 2.
  • Corner 2:  20 Diamond Merkins.  Bear Crawl to Corner 3.
  • Corner 3:  20 Plank Jumps.  Sprint to Corner 4.
  • Corner 4:  20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  Lunge to Corner 1.

Mosey to Alleyway that goes to northeast corner of the Admin Bldg.

We will break into teams of two and do Doras.  One teammate does exercise while the other runs to end of parking lot, does ten merkins and runs back.  Each team will do 100 of each of the following exercises with bricks that will be placed by a curb along the alleyway.

  • Overhead presses
  • Curls
  • Rows (with bricks at sides)
  • Tricepts
  • Wings forward
  • Wings up
  • Wings down
  • Wings in

Mosey to roadway in front of admin bldg.  Cones will be set up for suicide runs. We will do suicides to each of five cones laid out ahead.  Afterwards do Baby Crunches until all men finish.  Do suicides again but this time do 15 Squats after returning to start from each cone.  Get bricks that were set up for Doras.

Mosey back to AO to drop off bricks. 

Mosey to Playground.  We will do five sets of Bench Jumps with 20 second rests in between.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Hello Dollies, 20 American Hammers, 20 Pickle Pounders, ATM’s.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Fourteen men with one FNG, his hospital name is Roman Marshall and his F3 name is “Fozzie.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Psalm 46: 1.  God is our refuge and strength, our very present help in time of need.

Our F3 workouts increase our physical strength and stamina.  But in F3 we also focus on spiritual strength.  In fact, it is the Fellowship and Faith parts of F3 that give credence to the importance of increasing our spiritual strength.

Looking into the subject of “spiritual strength” I found some good advice in an article from a website called PowerofPositivity.com.  It listed seven exercises for spiritual strength.  I am listing these below, making my own comments about them, and adding one more exercise at the end of the list.

1.  Spend more time with loving/encouraging family and friends.  I agree that being with family and friends is  important but I also want to put emphasis on the word “encouraging.”  We need to surround ourselves with those who encourage us.  We get enough pessimism from watching the news and listening to people complain, gossip or argue.  We need to get near the type of people who are going to push us forwards, not backwards.  One of the things I love about F3 is being surrounded by men who encourage me to get better.

2.  Go outside as much as possible.  I like this one.  What do we do in F3?   We get outside to workout, whether rain or shine, no matter what the temperature is.  There is something about being outdoors that makes us healthier.  We connect to nature, to God’s creation.  We are in His space, free yet a part of Him.

3.  Reduce distractions (TV, Radio, Internet, Newspaper).  I agree that we tend to spend too much time absorbed with media.  In my church, on youth group trips such as church camps, we have required that students give us their cell phones for the time spent on the trip.  They get them back on the bus ride back home.  We ourselves only use our cell phones for emergency purposes on these trips.  We have found the students (and us adults) are less distracted, more connected to one another and God, and happier when we implement this policy.  We are more free to think about truly important things and to use our minds to imagine and create.

4.  Observe your thoughts about the people around you.  The website article talked about putting away judgemental thoughts and trying to have positive thoughts about others you know or encounter.  Focusing on gossip and judgement does not serve others.  I would rename this 4th exercise “praying for the people around you”.  It is amazing what happens if you start praying about your coworkers, your neighbors, even strangers you happen to meet.  You don’t have to tell them your praying.  Just do it.  You will find yourself having a better connection to those you pray for and even find your prayers coming true.

5.  Step out in faith.  This means getting bold in your faith, being willing to take on challenges and even threats from others in your faith.  You may get sneered at or criticized but push on in the face of adversity.  The website arrticle has some words that I think are powerful in regards to this exercise:  “There may be forces that have an investment in keeping you from receiving your best life, but when you decide to stand up or speak out, knowing that your faith is bigger than your fear, the illusion of fear that’s trying to hold you down will diminish and eventually disappear.”  The other words from the website I want to quote are “Know that the Divine has got your back.”

6.  Be of service to others.  Is a true HIM one that is focused on serving himself.  No, a true HIM is focused on serving others.  Do we grow spiritually strong by focusing on ourselves?  No.  We grow spiritually strong by serving others.

7.  Make prayer/meditation a habit.  Our awesome PAX leader, Cap’n Crunch, talks about making the HC, the Hard Commit to show up in the gloom for workouts in order to make ourselves better as men.  In the same way, to be spiritually strong, to get truly closer to God, to the Higher Power, to the Divine, we need to make the Hard Commit to pray.  It is through this commitment to communicate with God that we make it a habit.  And it is though this habit, this connection to God each day and at least several times a day, that we grow in spiritual strength.  And when you do it, don’t only listen to what you have to say to God. . . listen to what God has to say to you.

8.  Be grateful.  This is not an exercise that was listed in the website article but one that I have added.  We need to recognize, to truly see, and be grateful for what God has given us.  The people that I know who are spiritually strong have this strength of being grateful.  That gratefulness can get people through some mighty tough times.  Gratefulness keeps us positive, gives us hope, helps us focus on the road ahead, and leads us to glorify God.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Olympics next Saturday at Asylum.  Register online or get to Asylum at 6:30 am to register.  November 17 is launch for Cleveland, TN AO.  Let Abscess know if you can go with us to the launch.

50 Shades of F3

THE SCENE: 60 degrees.  Cool and cloudy.  And it didn’t even rain.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: I am still not a professional
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 25; Cherry Pickers x 10;Tie Fighters (BAC holding a lunge) x 10 back and forth.  Mosey to the back parking lot.

THA-THANG:
Run 1/2 lap, stop at station, and do the following exercises.  8 stops, 4 laps total. Do each pair of exercises like 11s, but 25s, counting up and down by 5.  Each exercise is done a total of 50x

  • Merkins / BBS
  • Rev. Lunges/Supermans
  • Burpees/Squats
  • Plank Jacks/LBCs
  • Smurf Jacks/American Hammers
  • Diamond Merkins/Flutter Kicks
  • CDDs/Hello Dollys
  • Iron Mikes/Squat Jumps

Run back toward AO with just enough time to Devin Hester up the hill with 10 BBS at the top

MARY:
Box cutters x25 and finish strong with ATMs
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:
A friend of mine passed away last week.  He had struggled with MS for about 20 years.  But he never complained.  He worked really hard just to be able to live independently, but he experienced joy in spending time with friends, going to church and he appreciated being able to live the life he had.  I need to think of him more when I struggle to get up for F3, when I feel burned out with work, or I feel worn out with family.  I need to embrace the blessings I’ve been given if I am to be the man God wants me to be.  In other words, quit belly aching and love more.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers sent out to QVC, his son and his family for comfort and healing.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Rockin’ Dora and Cardiac Attack

THE SCENE: Mostly cloudy, 73 degrees, 90% humidityTo
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
(25) 4 ct. SSH; Baby arm circles forward; backers; (10) 4ct. plank jacks; lunge stretch

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to base of Everest
  • (1) sprint up Everest to rock pile
  • Selected rock and partner for Rockin’ Doras
  • Partner 1: Run west along road, with rock, to first tree and back
  • Partner 2: Curls (up to 200); Squats with rock (up to 200); BBS or flutter kicks (4 ct.), rock optional (200)
  • Mosey cross country to base of Cardiac Hill
  • (5) 4 ct. American Hammers; Bernie Sanders to first bend; (5) 4 ct. Hello Dollies; bear crawl to next bend; (5) squat jumps; sprint to benches; (5) tricep dips;
  • Rinse and repeat, add (5) to each exercise

MARY:
Ab work, 2 rounds ending with 4 ct. flutter kicks.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
II Timothy 1:7 – This is my Father’s favorite verse, and I had not really connected with it. I never felt that I approached life with timidity or fear. I termed it as humility. But, there is a fine line between timidity and humility.  To my shame, I have been doing F3 for a year and a half, and this is my VQ.  To be a real HIM, we need to approach life boldly. We need to lead when we are called to lead and not be timid. We also need to remember that God gives us power, but also love and self discipline.

Dirty Dozen Dropping Sweat

THE SCENE: Sunny and humid, temps in 70’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 5 Burpees, 10 Cherry Pickers, Michael Phelps, Little of This and Little of That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the driveway that heads to the northern wall of the admin bldg.  There will be bricks by a large tree near he drive way.  We will pair up in teams of two and do Doras.  While one partner works on the following exercises, the other partner will run with a set of bricks to the curb, do ten mini man makers, then run back and exchange the bricks with his partner who will do the same.  Here are the exercises each team will do:

  • 100 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 100 Merkins
  • 200 Baby Crunches

Mosey to gate at the Lyons Bend entrance.  Take perimeter trail east.  Stop once at first light.  We will do 20 American Hammers in cadence.

Mosey east on perimeter trail to cone that will be located close to a large Mimosa tree.  We will do a Route 66 going eleven lights, stopping at each one.  We will do each of the following exercises starting with the first and doing it once at first light, twice at second, etc. until we do 11 of that exercise at 11th light.  Those who get there first will sweep others back to start and we will begin the next exercise.  Here are the exercises:

  • Squat jumps
  • Dive bombers
  • Imperial Walkers (four count)
  • Shoulder taps (tapping each shoulder counts as one)

Mosey to Playground

We will do bench jumps.  We will do ten, then rest for 20 seconds.  We will do five sets of ten with the 20 second break.

Mosey to Pavilion.  We will do 25 Picnic Table Pull-ups.  We will then do squat by wall for one minute.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
Plank Stretches.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The following message is not fully from me.  Rather, it stems from a conversation with a friend of mine named Tony Kuykendall.  Tony observed that in our age of social media, whether on Facebook, Group Me, Twitter, or whatever, we wonder how many people are following our messages.  We follow other’s messages by giving them the Like signal, coloring in a heart, showing a happy face, a thumbs up, or some other sign saying we listened and took notice.  We may follow peoples’ messages on social media each day.  My friend Tony observed that the Bible is certainly a form of social media.  It has been written and distributed socially so that people may read it and follow God.  Tony wondered how many times we actually follow God’s word each day.  Certainly, God wants us to “follow’ Him.

John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

God wants us to follow Him because he knows that we need Him to live within the light.  When we follow Him, good things happen.  We move along in our lives and often miss out on the light.  We seek the light through our own means and often fail to listen to that higher power calling us.  Where is God calling you to follow?  What path does he want for you?  Where does God want to take you.  We can sense that there is something missing in our lives if we do it alone, something greater we need to fulfill us.  We get glimpses of something greater by showing up in the gloom each day to work out with our brothers in F3.   We didn’t want to listen to our crazy friends that rooked us into coming out here.  Yet, by coming we have found something special, something invigorating, something good for us.  In our busy lives we often don’t want to take the time to listen to God.  But if we do so, we find something special, something invigorating, something good for us.  It is that which we need.  So, listen, take time to focus on Him and what he is calling you to do.  Follow Him.

MOLESKIN:
Hotspur and his family needs a prayer as his mother-in-law died recently.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Knoxville Anniversary and Olympics on November 3.  Launching of F3 in Cleveland, TN on November 10.

Later Q

THE SCENE: Steamy 70 degree morning
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Quick: Side straddle hops, tempo squats, tempo merkins and  baby arm circles front then back with some overhead claps…to tha thang
THA-THANG:

It was a Hilly Dora Day

  • Everest
    • 150 Rear Lunges
    • 100 Carolina Dry Docks
    • 50 Big Boys
  • Follow the Guard Rail up to Asylum
    • 150 Squats
    • 100 Merkins
    • 50 4 Count Flutters
  • Hill by the AO
    • 150 Lunges–modified to until battle buddy gets down
    • 150 Tri-cep Dips—modified to battle buddy gets down
    • 50 LBC- didnt make it the 6:15 arrived

MARY:
no time to much Thang
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

7 HIMS

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We took a moment to check out the stars, BOM was to take a moment to see God’s wonder in your day. There is always something that is amazing. Slow down and appreciate it!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hurricane survivors, Prayers for Lazarus mom’s boyfriend, Archie’s mother in law, fundraising for non profits and safety for our families as we are away!