Warm-a-Rama All i/c 21 seal jacks 21 Windmills 21 seal waves 21 Cherry pickers 21 plank Jacks
Capri lap through parking lot Side shuffle, nur, side shuffle, mosey
The Thang
1 pax pushes sled across parking lot as timer
Rest of pax do the following exercises during sled push
Round 1 Navy Seal Burpee Coupon row Gas pumpers Coupon curl Bear crawl coupon drag
3rd F Rest your Body There is a classic video in which a brother and his younger sister are having a snack. The sister is irrationally crying. The brother quickly asks, “Did you have a nap today?” The sister responds, “I didn’t.” The brother cutely follows with, “You need one.” In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to overlook the importance of physical rest. We often push ourselves to the limit, believing constant activity equates to productivity and success. However, the Bible reminds us of the necessity of rest and its role in our spiritual and physical well-being. In Matthew 11: 28-29, we read, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus invites us to come to Him when we are weary and burdened. This invitation is not just for spiritual rest but also physical rest. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and caring for them is a form of worship. When we neglect rest, we can become physically and spiritually depleted, making it harder to serve God and others effectively. Here are a few practical applications to think about. First, prioritize sleep. Ensure you get adequate sleep each night. Aim for 7-9 hours to allow your body to repair and rejuvenate. Second, think about a Sabbath rest each week. Set aside one day a week to rest from your usual work and activities. Use this time to focus on God, family, and activities that refresh your spirit. Third, listen to your body. Pay attention to signs of fatigue and take breaks when needed. It’s okay to rest and recharge. Remember, taking time to rest is not a sign of weakness but a recognition of our need for God’s sustaining grace. Embrace rest as a divine gift and a necessary part of your spiritual journey.
Matthew 11:28-29 ESV [28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.11.28-29.ESV
Round 2 Abyss merkins Blockee Plank Overhead press with coupon Man makers
Round 3 was timer call out Navy seal burpee Gas pump Bear crawl coupon drag Curls Coupon row
Round of Mary Hello dolly E2K Big boys 4 count Freddie Hip stars? Ask Shutter
5 HIM showed – Semi, Ruxpin, Shutter, Boxcar, Woodstock
Bolt 45’s – IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Jiminy Crickets – 10 OYO
Merkin Mile – each ¼ mile Pax stopped and completed 25 merkins. Pax completed two sets on the way to the site of the “Thang”. Pax completed the second half of the merkin mile with two sets of merkins in returning to the Aegis.
The Thang
From the Exicon – Doracides – Two Pax worked together to reach exercise reps of 100, 200, 300, & 400 of 4 different exercises EACH. One Pax worked on the exercises while the second Pax completed suicides to three designated waypoints. The extra twist is at the waypoint of each suicide run; the Pax completed 1 burpee, then 2 burpees, and finally 3 burpees before returning to the starting point. Once all three suicide sprints were completed, the Pax switched stations until all reps of each exercise were completed. The exercises completed are as follows: 100 Merkins, 200 American Hammers, 300 LBC’s, & 400 squats.
There’s bad plaque and there’s good plaque. The bad kind is that substance that builds up on your teeth that you see in all the toothpaste commercials. They’re going to help you get rid of that. Oh, and then there’s good plaque; that’s the kind we have hanging on walls all over our house.
They’re good plaques because they have different promises on them from God’s Word. Right as you come into our house there’s been a plaque on the wall that says, “All your children will be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children.” That’s Isaiah 54:13. And most homes have God’s promises on plaques on the wall, or churches do. But plaques like that are meant to do more than hang on walls; they’re actually meant to float.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “When God’s Promises Turn Into Life Preservers.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 119. I’m going to read verse 50. David says, “My comfort in my suffering is this: ‘Your promise preserves my life.'” I love that. “Your promise preserves my life.”
Not long ago I was talking to some friends of ours who had lost a relative in a tragic auto accident. I said to them, “Was His grace enough?” You know, one of the great promises of God in 2 Corinthians 12:9 is, “His grace is sufficient.” There’ll always be enough grace.
And they said, “Oh yeah, it sure was.” And then together we began to remember some of those promises that make good wall plaques, like “Underneath are the everlasting arms.” And then it dawned on me, those promises of God are nice words, but when a storm hits and you’re sinking – like when a loved one dies for example – the promise of God becomes a lot more than a plaque. It becomes your life preserver, like someone drowning in the ocean, hanging on for dear life, and the promise is all you’ve got to hang onto.
David said, “My comfort in suffering is this, ‘Your promise preserves my life.'” All you’ve got to hang on to. And the more you hold on to that promise, the more you live as if the promise is true and the more you can handle. We’ve got to have those promises in our heart so we can rip them off the wall and hang onto them when that sudden storm hits.
I talked not long ago to a burned out Christian leader. He’s hanging on to a promise from the 23rd Psalm, “He restores my soul.” I talked to a family who was recently hit by five medical blows within as many weeks. They’re hanging on to Deuteronomy 33:25, “Your strength will equal your days.” When my wife got ill and was sick with hepatitis, in bed for nine months, I wondered, “How in the world am I going to do it without my partner?” I hung on to that verse. Every day I said, “Your strength will equal your days, Ron. Your strength will equal your days.” It did! It got me through.
So, learn those promises. They’re your source of strength. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” That means you’ll have everything you need. Maybe you need Philippians 4:19, “My God will supply all your needs.” Or maybe that plaque that becomes a life preserver is 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you are able.” Or are you hanging onto Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” How many times have I hung onto Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you do not know.”
Learn those promises, and then learn to lean on those promises. When your feelings are lying to you, when your world is upside down, grab a promise off the wall of your heart and rest all your weight on it. The promises of God are life preservers.
Bolt 45’s – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats
Windmills – 15 IC
Cherry Pickers – 15 IC
The Thang
We completed a Modified Burp Back Mountain at “Oh Hill No”….Pax completed 50 Burpees each. 10 Burpees, then NUR up the hill to the first light pole and run down. 10 More Burpees, then NUR up the hill and run back down. Each Pax completed 5 rounds for 50 Burpees. We took a break for the 3rd F message that referenced slowing down. We completed 5 more burpees and a final NUR up the hill and a run down before moving on to the next pain station. At the Bank parking lot, we completed a 10:40 Captain Therkin set which is 1 big boy to 4 American hammers then 5 merkins. 2 big boys to 8 American hammers then 5 merkins. 3 big boys to 12 American hammers then 5 merkins. We completed the set up to 10 big boys, 40 American hammers and 5 merkins.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
I hear a lot of wives complain about communication being a problem in their marriage. It sure was for my wife and me on a trip we took one summer. We had a lot of miles to cover in our van in one day – one very hot day. The day the air conditioner decided not to work, which meant we had to travel with all the windows down or have a sauna on wheels for the next 12 hours. I had a lot of work to do on this trip, and my wife enjoyed driving, so she was in front where it’s really good for the driver to be, and I was in the back of the van with my computer. Now, about communication? No way. No matter how important the information was, we couldn’t possibly yell loud enough to overcome the wind. All you could see was lips moving; it was like a silent movie. So, we had to save up anything we wanted to say for toll booths, traffic jams, and any place where we had to slow down. Those were the only times we could hear anything!
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Slowing Down So You Can Hear.”
Our word for today from the Word of God, we’re in 1 Kings 19:11-13. God’s prophet Elijah has been on a fast track of activity and now he’s hit this time of deep emotional turbulence. He really needs to hear from the Lord. He does, but not in the form he might have expected.
Here’s what the Bible says, “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” That day, in a quiet whisper from heaven, God’s servant received just the word he needed from God.
God often whispers. And you’ve got to be quiet to hear what He has for your heart. We like the dramatic spiritual experiences – the winds and the quakes and the fire. And sometimes God does speak to us through the high-octane spiritual moments. But often what our heart most needs to hear comes in His gentle whisper. And like that day of the roaring wind in our van, you can only hear what He’s trying to say when you slow down.
Which you may not have done much lately. Which may explain why your soul is getting so dry and brittle and why there’s confusion instead of direction, why there’s weakness instead of power, more frustration than peace. You’ve been traveling too fast to hear the whisper of God.
God’s message to you is, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps.46:10). You’ve just got to find some time when you and the Lord can have some quality time. You’ve got to get back your daily quiet time with Him. You’ve got to get those Sabbaths that you’ve been losing or neglecting.
And it may be that God has brought some of the difficulty of recent days into your life for the express purpose of slowing you down so you can hear Him. God uses a lot of instruments as brakes on our overheated lives like an illness, an injury, the loss of your job, a financial crisis, a crisis in your family. When we won’t put on the brakes, the Father who loves us will. If He has you in a slow down zone right now, don’t fight it. Don’t just endure it. Open up your heart to your Lord to hear what you might never have been able to hear at 70 MPH.
In our high speed lives, the times to slow down become very important. They might be the only times you can really hear what God and others who love you have to say.
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Windmills – 15 IC
Imperial Walkers – 15 IC
The Thang
Super 21 Routine – 21 Merkin & 21 Big Boys, 20 Merkins & 20 Big Boys, 19 Merkins & 19 Big Boy’s, repeat until completing 1 of both. Equals 231 of each exercise.
Spartan Run Routine – Run/sprint 100 yards (modified to 50 yards) and drop and do 15 merkins. Plank until all PAX are complete. Wosey back to the start. Run/sprint 100 yards (modified to 50 yards) and drop and do 15 merkins. 10 reps for 150 merkins for the exercise (Totals 150 if 10 reps of 15 are complete).
A total of 401 merkins for the beat down includes the 20 completed on the warm-up.
As an airline passenger, those video images from the Los Angeles airport that day were just plain disturbing: a human stampede, terrified passengers, fleeing from a gunman on the loose in the terminal.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Anger Monster.”
These explosions of violence have happened in a theater, a mall, a school, an office, a church. The bullets may start flying any place, leaving behind lost and shattered lives. And you can be pretty sure the person pulling the trigger is an angry man. Whose anger – often hidden from those who know him, one day erupts like a volcano, destroying whatever is in its path.
My sense is that there are a lot of angry people around us these days, seething inside, sinking into a darker and more dangerous place each day. You see it surface as road rage, angry parents at their kids’ games, frustrated shoppers, bullies at school and on the Internet creating anger in their victims.
Usually, behind anger is pain. Angry people feel wounded, wronged, unheard, victimized, and taking it out on whoever inadvertently pushes their buttons. Many times there are, in fact, things in their past that have left them broken inside, but never with an excuse to wound or do violence to someone else because of it.
I suppose, at one time or another, each of us is the angry person. Not on a rampage to end lives, but angry enough to inflict some serious damage on people around us. Most often the people we love the most.
Mount St. Helens in Washington used to be considerably higher until she literally blew her top in an eruption one day. The eruption didn’t last long. The damage? That’s there forever. Underlying a lot of our explosive moments is this full glass thing. If I pour water into a half-empty glass, it will take quite a bit to make it spill, right? But if I’m going through life with a glass that’s already full, it only takes a drop to make it spill. And there are plenty of “drops” in a day’s time; aggravations, conflict, and difficulties.
And with the spill comes the lashing out. Usually the violence is the verbal kind. The world’s best-selling book, the Bible, describes it as “reckless words (that) pierce like a sword.” See, long after the wounder has forgotten, the wounded carries the scars of that anger.
Part of the problem is that some of us were raised to stuff our emotions. We don’t deal with them. That’s what fills up the glass. The time bomb’s going to keep ticking until we make room in that glass, which means taking a bold healing step; facing that pain that we’ve stuffed in our closet. It’s the match that keeps lighting the fuse of the anger and leaving a trail of burn victims in our wake.
It may mean walking through the pain with a counselor. Or digging deep into spiritual resources for the most liberating step a wounded person can take – forgiving. Even seeking forgiveness from those who’ve been the victim of my anger.
Maybe the kids are right. There actually is a monster in the closet, a wounded monster, who needs to be dragged out into the light so the healing can begin. Ironically, it is often the “monsters” that we can’t control that drive us to a greater power; someone who has repeatedly proven He can subdue the dark forces that control us. The dark side is what drives me to Jesus Christ.
When He was on earth, He encountered a man in the grip of forces so dark no one could control him. And it says, “He tore the chains apart… No one was strong enough to subdue him.” No one except Jesus. He expelled the “evil spirit.” And the man ended up “sitting at Jesus’ feet… in his right mind” (Luke 8). Jesus is still doing miracles like that, fixing what’s broken inside us, transforming the evil inside us. That victory over our darkness cost Him his life at the cross.
Our word for today from the Word of God, Revelation 1:5 says, “He loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.” Today He wants to bring peace into the angry storm in your life if you’ll open the door of your heart to Him. How to do that? Go to our website. You’ll find it there – ANewStory.com – and let Him begin the transforming relationship that tames the monster inside.
20 seal jacks i/c 20 seal waves i/c 20 plank jacks i/c Side shuffle around circle, switch facing direction halfway 10 hip circles each direction oyo 15 Michael Phelps i/c 15 mountain man pooper i/c Toy Soldier halfway around circle, lt dan the other half
The Thang
Patriot run to Ruxpin’s distillery by the way by the railroad tracks
15 hanging knees raises oyo
Mosey to field by church
Ultimate frisbee – 2 teams of 5 Turn overs – 5 merkins. Total – a lot! Touch downs – 5 burpees. Total – 30, 35
3rd F
WHY DOGS LIVE LESS THAN HUMAN
Here’s the surprising answer of a 6 year old child.
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker‘s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that dogs’ lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ”I know why.”
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.
He said, ”People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The six-year-old continued,
”Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.”
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
• When your loved ones come home, always run to greet them. • Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. • Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy. • Take naps. • Stretch before rising. • Run, romp, and play daily. • Thrive on attention and let people touch you. • Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. • On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass. • On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree. • When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body. • Delight in the simple joy of a long walk. • Be faithful. • Never pretend to be something you’re not. • If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it. • When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
That’s the secret of happiness that we can learn from a good dog.
YHC took the Q today on the 248th birthday of the United States Army and the day we honor the flag of this great nation. The warm up consisted of 6 exercises for 14 repetitions since today is 6/14. The beatdown consisted of 8 exercises for 31 repetitions each for a total of 248 repetitions to honor the 248th birthday of the US Army. After completion of all 8 exercises we did a short lap in the parking lot. After the last round of exercises we completed a long lap and ended the beatdown with a Sherlock Shuffle. We completed 3 rounds of the 8 exercises. Upon completion of the COT all HIM present lined up and recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
WARM-O-RAMA:
Hip Circles – 7 each direction
Moroccan Night Club – 14 IC
Turn & Bounce – 14 IC
Cherry Pickers – 14 IC
Windmill – 14 IC
SSH – 14 IC
THE THANG:
MERKINS – 31
SQUATS – 31
LBCs – 31
DIPs – 31
CALF RAISES – 31
FLUTTER KICKS – 31 IC
WIDE ARM MERKINS – 31
PLANK JACKS – 31
LAP
3 RD F:
The U.S. ARMY BIRTHDAY
America’s Revolutionary War began on 19 April 1775 with exchanges of musketry between British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen at Lexington and Concord. As their fellow citizen soldiers from New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island responded to the alarm, a state of war existed between the four colonies and the British government. Called the Army of Observation, a force of New Englanders surrounded Boston and had the British troops who occupied it under siege, but they needed help. They appealed to delegates who represented all thirteen colonies to join them in the struggle for American liberty.
When the delegates to the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on 10 May, they soon learned that armed men commanded by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had captured the British forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain in New York. The constitutional crisis, in which Americans sought a redress of grievances from the British king and Parliament, had become open hostilities. The delegates realized that even though many desired reconciliation, they would now have to address the new military situation. The Congress took the next step that eventually transformed a local rebellion into a war for independence when it established the Continental Army: the force we know today as the U.S. Army.
On 14 June 1775, Congress “Resolved, That six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia… [and] as soon as completed, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army.”
The delegates then prescribed an oath of enlistment that required the soldiers to swear:
“I have, this day, voluntarily enlisted myself, as a soldier, in the American continental army, for one year, unless sooner discharged: And I do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to such rules and regulations, as are, or shall be, established for the government of the said. Army.”
The next day Congress voted to appoint George Washington “to command all the Continental forces” and began laying the foundation for “the American army.”
The Origins of Flag Day
That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation.
This was the resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The resolution was made following the report of a special committee which had been assigned to suggest the flag’s design. A flag of this design was first carried into battle on September 11, 1777, in the Battle of the Brandywine. The American flag was first saluted by foreign naval vessels on February 14, 1778, when the Ranger, bearing the Stars and Stripes and under the command of Captain Paul Jones, arrived in a French port. The flag first flew over a foreign territory in early 1778 at Nassau, Bahama Islands, where Americans captured a British fort.
Both President Wilson, in 1916, and President Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. But it wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law.
NUMBER-RAMA:
NAME-O-RAMA:
COT / BOM:
Announcements: Labor Day beatdown at the boardwalk on Labor Day. Sherlock will post more about kickball tournament. Prayer requests: Quattros father-in-law and family, Ruxpins M and family, my son and his upcoming surgery. All the unspoken needs and intentions of all HIM present and the HIM in our group.
Warm-a-Rama 20 seal jacks i/c 15 seal waves i/c 10 mountain man pooper i/c 30 marrocan nightclub i/c 10 Imperial walkers i/c
The Thang
Mosey to back parking lot of Milton elementary Split into teams Kick with non dominant foot Throw with non dominant hand Pitcher rolls ball with dominant hand Mosey back to CHOP
Warm-a-Rama 20 Seal Jack i/c 20 plank jack i/c 10 hip circles each direction oyo Side shuffle around circle switching facing direction halfway 20 seal waves i/c 20 Imperial walkers i/c 10 screaming lunges per side oyo
Hydraulic Bolt 45’s – 15 squats full up to half-way down, 15 squats half-way down to full down, & 15 hydraulic squats full motion (6 Count). All completed IC.
Windmills – 15 IC
The Thang
Mosey to “Oh Hill No” and complete a round of Merkin Jax. Merkin Jax are a 1:4 ratio of I merkin to 4 plank jacks followed by 2 merkins to 8 plank jacks continuing until reaching the 10:40 ratio. Next all Pax lined up for a modified Spartan Run Routine – Nur up the hill and run down and drop and do 15 merkins. Nur up the hill and run down and drop and do 15 merkins. All Pax completed the evolution as many reps as possible (AMRAP) with the remainder of the time available before moseying back to CHOP.
F3 Message
Mosey back to CHOP
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Prayers were offered for multiple needs within the attending PAX, but please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
The book is called Good to Great. It’s a thought-provoking book on management written by Jim Collins and a research team that he headed. They identified eleven of the most effective companies in the United States, and then they pursued this question: “What specifically makes these companies so different?” This research actually challenged many of the author’s preconceptions. There were actually lots of surprises. Interestingly, the first thing Collins and his team point to as common to every one of these consistently successful companies is this, and it is a surprise – the modesty of the various CEOs who led them. They suggest that the starting point of a great company is a humble leader – highly focused, sometimes driven people – but known for being gracious, self-effacing, understated. I guess in a word, humble.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Surprising Secret of Greatness.”
If you’ve listened much to what Jesus says about leadership, those recent “discoveries” shouldn’t be a great surprise to you. In Mark 10, beginning with verse 42, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus presents what most people believe about being a leader – and then the truth according to Jesus.
He says: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them…not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Then Jesus backs it up with the way He lived His own life: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus believes that you can earn your authority in people’s lives by serving them, by putting them first, by helping them succeed. And, sure enough, the most contemporary research only reinforces the importance of humility in leadership. The Good to Great authors illustrate their conclusions in this area with what they call windows and mirrors. When these successful CEOs do something right, they walk over to a window and point to all the reasons out there (especially all the other people) that are the reasons for their success. When they do something wrong, they walk to a mirror and they assume the blame themselves. Less effective leaders? Well, the authors say they do it just the other way around – when things go wrong they point out the window and point to excuses and explanations. When things are going right, they go to the mirror to admire the one who deserves the credit they think.
Whether you’re in a position to lead your children, or lead a business, or a staff, or a church, a class, a project, a ministry, don’t fall for the popular lies about leading people – that success means being pushy or punishing, pulling rank, playing politics, manipulating, promoting yourself. No, it’s humble servanthood that is the surprising secret of success. That’s humility as in always being teachable, and courteous, vulnerable, willing to accept responsibility rather than place blame; caring about the person, not just the project.
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s godly father tried to prepare him for life in the nation’s Capitol after his son had gotten elected to the United States Senate. Listen to what he said, “John, the culture of Washington is a culture of arrogance.” (By the way, most power-centers are.) He said, ” But the culture of Jesus is a culture of humility. Don’t get sucked into the culture of arrogance.”
That’s good advice for any of us who have someone to lead. Remember, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
YHC took his Q today on day 65 of his 75 Hard and his 50th workout of the year. Being that it is March Merkin Madness in the F3 First State my workout was focused on merkins and leg work. A daily principle of 75 Hard is reading 10 pages of a self help book and I chose to share from a book I’ve been reading titled ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear for the focus of my 3rd F.
WARM-O-RAMA:
X15 IC SSH
x15 IC Imperial Walkers
x10 Fwd Arm Circles
x10 Bwd Arm Circles
x10 Hip Circles each direction
x10 Knee Circles each direction
x15 IC Seal Claps
THE THANG:
x10 OYO Merkins
x10 OYO Diamond Merkins
— x15 IC SSH —
x10 OYO HR Merkins
x10 OYO Wide Merkins
— x15 IC Imperial Walkers —
x10 OYO Ranger Merkins
x10 OYO Crucible Merkins
— x15 IC Squats —
x10 OYO R Stagger Merkins
x10 OYO L Stagger Merkins
x15 each OYO:
Chinook Squats (3 overhead arm circles then squat)
Alt. Lunges
Jump Squats
Dead Lifts
Repeat all of the above x3 Total 240 Merkins, x225 Leg Exercises
3 RD F:
5 Life-Changing Lessons From Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits by James Clear is an excellent resource when it comes to guides on habit and behavior change.
In this book, Clear provides a highly effective, practical, and step-by-step framework to how to start good habits and how to end bad habits. This framework is based on the best techniques from behavioral science.
The purpose of the book is to help you achieve remarkable results more efficiently and methodically. It is filled with countless examples from smoking, reading, meditating, exercising, writing, biting nails, drinking more water, managing social media, sleep, and more.
If you’re looking to upgrade yourself and move towards becoming the best version of yourself, then Atomic Habits is a read for you.
1 — The Power of Compounding
“1% better every day for a year will compound to nearly 38 times better”.
1% really does matters over time. Clear begins the book with a very compelling story of a cycling coach who helped the British cycling team make lots of very small improvements which added up to big results.
Tiny changes in our habits can change the trajectory of our lives in ways that we can’t even notice until many years into the future looking back. In both good ways and bad. You are your habits. Far too often, we convince ourselves of one-night miracles or that massive success is only possible through massive actions. However, it is the tiny improvements, that aren’t even noticeable at first, that create incredible change.
If you make a very small 1% improvement in your health, your time management, or your relationships and keep that improvement over the next year or 365 days, that 1% improvement can really pay off. This can take off exponentially if you make a 1% improvement today, and then make another additional 1% improvement tomorrow, and repeat making these small improvements over the next year.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous.
2 — Goals vs Systems
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of the systems”.
The way we generally think about goals is slightly flawed. We want to achieve something and hence go ahead and set a goal for ourselves, but we don’t think beyond. Often, we are so tunnel-visioned that we forget how to set up steps to achieve our goals and sometimes when we do reach our goals we don’t know what to do next.
Both successful and unsuccessful people have the same goals but only a select few achieve them. So then the question is what’s the difference between them and how important is setting up the right goals?
Fundamentally goals are about the results you want but systems are about the process that leads to it. Our systems can replace motivation with routine. For example, instead of telling yourself “I should do some exercise to get fit”, you’re saying “It’s Monday — time to exercise”.
3 — Change Your Identity
The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.
The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. True behavior change is identity change. The ultimate aim for any habit is to change your identity into something you want to become. So instead of an outcome-driven habit or action, you need to shift towards an identity-driven habit system
The Three Layers of Behavior Change:
Outcomes: changing your results, e.g. losing weight. Most of the goals you set are at this level
Process: changing your habits and systems, e.g. developing a meditation practice. Most of the habits you build live at this level
Identity: changing your beliefs, e.g. your worldview or self-image. Most of the beliefs, assumptions, and biases you hold are associated with this level
4 — The Habit Loop
A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic. Their ultimate purpose is to solve problems on an auto-pilot mode (with as little energy and thought as possible).
Any habit is essentially a feedback loop of four phases:
1 — Cue (Make it obvious): The starting point or simply, what triggers your brain to initiate a behavior. The bit of information that predicts a reward.
2 — Craving (Make it attractive): the motivational force behind every habit. You don’t crave the habit itself, but the change in state it leads to or the pleasure associated with it (e.g. you do not crave smoking a cigarette, you crave the feeling of relief it provides).
3 — Response (Make it easy): the actual habit/action you perform, as a thought or action. Whether a response occurs depends on how motivated you are and the amount of friction associated with the behavior. If the motivation is greater than the friction you need to overcome to perform the action this phase will be initiated.
4 — Reward (Make it satisfying): the end goal of every habit. We chase rewards because they satisfy our cravings and teach us which actions are worth remembering in the future.
Let’s apply these practical tips to someone who is looking to work out consistently.
Set your athletic clothes, shoes, water bottle and bag somewhere they are clearly visible in your room (cue). Follow a simple workout routine that’s fun and efficient that fits within your schedule (craving). Train at home, or choose a gym that is as close to home as possible (response). Log the workout in your journal or calendar. Progress makes you feel good (Reward).
5 — The Goldilocks Rule
“Start small, be consistent and keep moving”
It is important for us to not get carried away when setting goals and targets. Human motivation peaks right at the edge of comfort, just slightly challenging from their present abilities, neither too hard nor too easy. Therefore, it is important that whenever you are starting a new habit, the set expectations are not too insane. Build up slowly so that these new challenges keep you engaged and motivated.
Atomic Habits is useful to you if you want to develop better habits, quit bad ones or find ways to increase your motivation.
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Announcements included: RovingRuckFest in The Boro tomorrow, Memorial Day is coming up, and the F3 Family ShamRuck on Friday March 17th in Lewes, meeting at the Library with a ruck to Dairy Queen. See Deez’ post on group me for further details.
Prayers were lifted up for our brother T-Rex and his father, Sherlock and his father, Fireplex and his father. Additional grace and strength was requested for all the unspoken needs for all HIM of F3 First State to continue to be men of leadership in their homes and communities.
