F3 Knoxville

Category: Rampart

Armor Bears

THE SCENE: 67 degrees and cool as a cucumber.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Dutifully Executed
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH x15
  • Knoxville Cherry Pickers x5
  • Abe Vigoda x5
  • Willie Mays Hayes x6
  • Tempo Merks x10
  • Tempo Squats x10
  • FLBAC x10
  • RLBAC x10
  • Seal Claps x10
  • OH Claps x10
  • Moroccan Night Clubs x10
  • Chattanooga Cherry Pickers x11
  • SSH x10

Mosey a lap in the lot.

THA-THANG:
Perform 10 LL Cool J’s – Lunge each leg, burpee, then squat jump (the cool part is the burpee). Hold plank for 6.

Grab a battle buddy for Dora. Pax one performs exercises below. Pax two bear crawls to the cone.

  • 100 Monkey humpers
  • 200 Merkins
  • 300 SSH
  • 400 LBCs
  • 500 squats

LL Cool J came back for an encore at halftime. Thanks, LL!

MARY:

Please don’t tell Mary we didn’t have time for her this morning. She doesn’t exactly like hearing that.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

There’s a really cool story in the Old Testament of Jonathan (Saul’s son) and his armor bearer when they sneak out away from the troops to see if God might hand the enemy over to them. They were at

In 1 Sam 14 it says,

6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will act for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” 7 His armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that your mind inclines to.[b] I am with you; as your mind is, so is mine.”[c] 8 Then Jonathan said, “Now we will cross over to those men and will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. That will be the sign for us.”

Jonathan and his armor bearer wound up taking down 20 guys. Then God caused a panic in the enemy camp. The lookouts wound up seeing what was going on and brought it to Saul’s attention who was resting under a tree. Instead of rallying the men, Saul winds up calling roll, calling for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought up, discussing what to do with the priests, and finally rallies the troops to join the battle.

What we have here are two examples; one of initiative and the other of hesitation. While Jonathan was taking the initiative to see if God might hand the enemy over to them, Saul was frustrated with the stalemate and taking a nap.

YHC recently read a quote that said,

“Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist – while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!” – Lori Griner

Often we think we are being productive by discussing, analyzing, strategizing when it is often time to act. Action is way more effective than talk.

Theodore Roosevelt once said,

“Get action; do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create; act; take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action.”

2 Challenges for Today:
1. Talk Less – Act More
2. Surround yourself with people of action.

MOLESKIN:
Everyone is probably going to need new gloves after that many bear crawls. Binks makes bear crawls look so natural, we’re worried he might have been raised by bears. YHC knows what it feels like to miss a week and #thatsucked. Glad to be suffering in the gloom with you HIMs again.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • T-Shirts hit the store very soon! Need to have 12 purchased within the two week window in order to go to print.
  • Look for first Saturday, 2nd F fellowships coming up! We’re making these regular.
  • Wingman has the Q Wednesday.
  • Prayers for our DLs, DRs, and MiAs!

Gratitude BOMBS

THE SCENE: 67 and delightfully gloomy.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Expertly Executed
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH x15
  • Knox Cherry pickers x5
  • Willy Mays Hayes x8
  • Tempo Squats x10
  • Tempo Merkins x10
  • FLBAC x10
  • RLBAC x10
  • Seal Claps x10
  • OH Claps x10
  • Moroccan Night Clubs x10 (commence agony!)
  • Chattanooga Cherry Pickers x11
  • SSH x15

Mosey to the track!

THA-THANG:

PAX partnered up for Dora Bombs. Pax 1 moseyed sideline to sideline, Pax 2 did the following until they return then flapjack. Numbers are cumulative.

  • Burpees x50
  • OH Claps x100
  • Merkins x150
  • Big Boys x200
  • Squats x250

All groups finished and took a lap around the track, hold plank for 6.

RTB.

MARY:

  • Flutter Kicks 4c IC x15
  • Hello Dollies 4c IC x15

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

YHC got a fancy new watch that measures stress using heart rate variability (HRV). It’s been a challenge trying to figure out how to lower stress throughout the day. Breathing exercises, meditation and prayer, naps have all been moderately effective.

YHC discovered something that brought it down 30 points or more several times; gratitude.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says…

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

In his book “Gratitude Works,” Robert Emmons says the following.

“…groundbreaking research has shown that when people regularly cultivate gratitude, they experience a multitude of psychological, physical, interpersonal, and spiritual benefits. Gratitude has one of the strongest links to mental health and satisfaction with life of any personality trait—more so than even optimism, hope, or compassion. Grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness, and optimism, and gratitude as a discipline protects us from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed, and bitterness. People who experience gratitude can cope more effectively with everyday stress, show increased resilience in the face of trauma-induced stress, recover more quickly from illness, and enjoy more robust physical health. Many of these effects are quantifiable.”

YHC finds it interesting and hilarious that science is just now catching up with what the Bible said 2,000 years ago! These effects ARE quantifiable in YHC’s own experience!

YHC has started a Gratitude Journal to record 5 things to be grateful for that have regularly lowered stress. This is a good practice for everyone to realize how bless we really are.

On that note: YHC is incredibly grateful for all of you F3 brothers. A tooth ache and little sleep is a great reason to fartsack. Some might even call it a smartsack. YHC would rather suffer with you dudes (and actually felt better!). We have something unique in F3 and are very blessed.

MOLESKIN:

  • Welcome FNG-Gizmo!
  • Still heard lingering aches and pains from Monday’s #thatsucked. Great Q Piston!
  • Prayers for our MIAs, DLs, Wingman’s family, Angel Softs M and 2.0, and Feeny’s track team in the heat.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Kickflip has gifted some fancy printed publicity materials to Rampart to share around and EH some sad clowns. See Bobbitt for more if you need them. Let’s get some more Kingston, Rockwood, Harriman guys out with us!

Heavy circle of pain

THE SCENE: Perfect for a beat down, gloomy and cool
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

As always ✅
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Willie mays Hayes
  • SSH: 15 x 4 IC
  • Tempo Merkin: 10 x 4 IC
  • Toe Merkin: 25 x 4 IC
  • 4 count cherry pickers
  • Tempo Squat: 5 x 4 IC
  • Little baby arm circles 10 x 4 F & 10 x 4 B
  • Chattanooga cherry picker
  • Seal claps
  • Overhead claps
  • SSH: 15 x 4 IC double time 

THA-THANG:

Mosey over to the circle

Round 1

Each man at one station. 60 seconds of work. Once finished move to the next station. Repeat until each man has completed every station. No breaks 

60# sandbag deadlift

Plank 

40# sandbag curl

Burpee 

40# sandbag get up’s

Al Gore

30# ruck plate kettle bell swings

Plank 

20# ruck sack tricep extension

Burpee 

10# ruck plate extension hold

Al Gore

5# sand disc plank slides

Big Boys

CMU Rifle carry

60 seconds of rest while we mosey to start line. Mosey to FSWP sign and back. Record time we. Ame in at 1:45. Challenge men to cut the time by 15 seconds. Go again, came in at 1:20. If we successfully make time then no punishment. If we fail, we get 10 burpees per man. No extra burpees

Round 2

Mosey back to the circle

same plan, but we cut the time to 30 seconds per station to finish on time

60# sandbag bent row

Plank 

40# sandbag squat

LBC 

40# sandbag overhead switch shoulder to shoulder

Al Gore

30# ruck plate overhead press

Plank

20# ruck sack merkin

LBC

10# ruck plate extension hold

Al Gore

plank shoulder touches

Big Boys

CMU Farmer carry

Finish at 6:00

Mosey to start line

Run to the sign and back. If we beat our best time, we’re finished. If we don’t, 30 merkins per man.

MARY:
Did I not have time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Water.

Adult men are approximately 60% water. We can live for bout three days without drinking water. Water is the source of our life. If we don’t have access to clean drinking water, we die.

I want to draw your attention to spiritual water.

Joh 4:7  A woman of Samaria *came to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

Joh 4:8  For His disciples had gone away to the city to buy food.

Joh 4:9  So the Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, though You are a Jew, are asking me for a drink, though I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Joh 4:10  Jesus replied to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Joh 4:11  She *said to Him, “Sir, You have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do You get thisliving water?

Joh 4:12  “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well and drank of it himself, and his sons and his cattle?”

Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again;

Joh 4:14  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”

In Psalm 1 we read,

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

A tree planted by streams of water prospers. Not because of the view, or it’s individual position. It prospers because it’s roots, the foundation of the tree have access to the source of life. The tree has an endless supply of water.

Brothers, I call you to follow this Psalm. Watch who you run with, watch what they say, delight in the Lord, and spend time with Jesus. Be plugged into Him. He is living water. He is the source of life. Drink of the well, and look to Christ.

Prayer requests

BOM

MOLESKIN:
Super proud of the pax at Rampart today. You guys carried my heavy day without grumbling. Maybe it should get harder. 😉
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bobbitt on Iron Pax at Project

Flag and Q change at project coming soon. Let’s go support our family in Oak Ridge.

Meekness = Controlled Strength

THE SCENE: A cool, breezy 69 degreezy.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: But of course!

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH x15
  • Knoxville Cherry Pickers x5
  • Willie Mays Hayes x5 (Stretch that other leg on your own time, fellas!)
  • Tempo Squats x10
  • Tempo Merks x10
  • LBACF x10
  • LBACR x10
  • OH Claps x10
  • Seal Claps x10
  • Moroccan Night Clubs x10
  • Chattanooga Cherry Pickers xTWELVE!!!

Mosey to the track!

THA-THANG:
Today, Rampart performed their first physical fitness test as a baseline measurement for the incredible physical feats that will be accomplished at this fine AO. We used the Air Force Fitness Assessment. Exercises were as follows. See Slack channel for results.

PAX partnered up. One administered while the other performed the exercise. Then flapjack.

  • One Minute Merkin Max Reps
  • One Minute Big Boy Max Reps
  • Pax took a lap before the run.
    • (Air Force standards require ten minutes between each exercise. Pshhh! This is F3!!)
  • Timed 1.5 Mile Run

MARY:
Guantanamo!!

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM: “Strength Under Control”

Matthew 5:5 says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Other translations use the word “gentle” or “humble” for meek. Although these are accurate, the Greek understanding of that word comes with a little more luggage. The Greek word for “meek” is “praus”. The background for how that word became used for humility and meekness is that it was understood as “strength under control” similar to the way a powerful horse needs to be harnessed and tamed.

As Jesus is riding into Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entry, Matthew 21:5 says, “Look, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey.” Same word here. Jesus Himself carried this quality of “strength under control”. Of course He did! He’s the Son of God! The whole nature of God becoming a human, the incarnation, is strength under control.

Meekness in the Bible really refers to the one who is able to tame their behavior, thinking, bodies, spirits, temper, ego, sexual desires, worldly desires. How do you bring strength under control? Discipline.

There are 3 types.

  1. Reactive Discipline – when you’re tempted or drawn into something

2. Structural Discipline – routines and habits that make you better

3. Expansive Discipline – opportunities for growth, “doing it anyway” in the face of fear, hesitation, difficulty, etc.

Structural Discipline actually makes room in your life by conserving energy for Reactive and Expansive Discipline. Order your life! Create good habits!

Finally, Desmond Tutu once said to Richard Rohr, “We are only lightbulbs, Richard. Our job is to remain screwed in.” The more you exercise discipline, the more you remain screwed in to your REAL source of strength and discipline, and the brighter your witness!

MOLESKIN:

Welcome FNG-Angel Soft!! Great work today, dude!

Feeny (still waiting on a tag) mentioned that “discipline begets discipline” and told us how creating discipline in one area of his life led to more in other areas. FOR SURE! Good thoughts!

Props to the Clydesdales that CRUSHED their reservation about a mile and a half run! Expansive Discipline at work!! I’m inspired by your efforts today, gentlemen!

Prayers for our HIM brothers on the DL: Olive Oyl and Doppler! Miss you guys! Hope to see you soon!

Prayers for our guys out traveling!


ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Airborne is working on a Saturday, August 20 2nd F BBQ! More details for time and location soon! Be prepared to bring a side or something!

Bobbitt is considering a Saturday morning OTB makeup test for your DLs, DRs, and Fartsackers! 🙂

Double Quarter Pounder with Bacon Please!

THE SCENE: 72 degrees with 940% Humidity. Porta-potties onsite just incase we have any more “Bobby Hurleys”
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:Checkity, check check
WARM-O-RAMA:
15 SSH

10 Tempo Merkins

10 Tempo Squats

10 LBAC (Forward and Backward)

10 Moroccan Night Clubs

10 Chattanooga Cherry Pickers

5 Knoxville Cherry Pickers

Stretch-’em if ya got ’em.
THA-THANG:

Everyone looked hungry this morning luckily brought some Quarter Pounders with me this morning. Markers set up at 25, 50, 75, and 100 Yards. Sprint to marker and do certain exercise, then Bernie back.

  • 25-Merkins at the 25
  • 50 Big Boys at the 50
  • 75 Squats at the 75
  • 100 SSH at the 100

Quick 10 count, but boys still look a little hungry so we decided to supersize and turn our Quarter Pounder into a Double with Bacon.

  • 25 Baby Burpees at the 25
  • 50 2 Count American Hammers at the 50
  • 75 Jump Squats at the 75
  • 100 SSH at the 100

Everyone looked pretty full so we circled up for a game of Rochamburpee. Wingman/Swapmeet tied with Bobbit/Foghorn Leghorn for the Win.

MARY:
Mary go round of Dealers Choice

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 Awesome Men (2 FNG’s Feeny & Fertilizer!!)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Little devotional about praying I’ve jumped back into because I have definitely been lacking or missing something from it. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us The spirit God gives us does not make us timid but gives us power, love and self-discipline. I know I tend to keep my prayer request “safe” or easy in a sense. I don’t really ask God to do “Godly” things cause I’m afraid to ask to much or seem needy. But the pastor that introduced this devotional put it this way. If you had kids and they came up to you in absolute fear and timidness just to ask you something, it would break your heart how scared they are of you or how lacking of self respect they have to ask that way. Hebrews 4:16 says Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. So keep that in mind when you talk to god, that you are to come to him in confidence, in self-discipline and with power, love and respect.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for all the kids starting school; all our HIMs out with injuries or traveling, or just fartsacking.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill is creeping up on us. They’re looking for help with sponsorship and other things. If you’d like to Volunteer or help out hit Bobbitt up he’ll get you connected.

2nd F gathering coming up this month sometime details coming soon from Mr. Airborne.