F3 Knoxville

RAMPART: Stations and Laps

THE SCENE: Humid, with some lake mist for mood
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Side Straddle Hops – 15 in cadence

LBAC – forward and reverse, 10 each in cadence

Moroccan Night Clubs – 10 in cadence

Tempo Merkin – 7 in cadence

Tempo Squats – 7 in cadence

  • THA-THANG:
    Short mosey to track
  • Station 1 – partner up each take turns for: 10 CMU Blockees, 20 Jump Squats, 15 CMU Shoulder Press, 25 Monkey Humpers, 15 CMU Curls, and 15 CMU Rows – Run one full lap +100M to next station
  • Station 2 – 15 Shoulder Tap Merkins, 30 LBCs, Run full lap +100M to next station
  • Station 3 – 25 Merkins, 25 Mountain Climbers, Run full lap +100M to next station
  • Station 4 – 20 Carolina Dry Docks, 20 Flutter Kicks, Run full lap +100M back to start
  • RTB

MARY:
Flutter Kicks, Box Cutters, LBCs 1:30 total
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Shared Q-Source article talking Sad Clowns, Mascots, and the High Impact Man
MOLESKIN:
Good effort, much sweat from all PAX
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Skeletor on Q next Wed, Rampart Motto: 1 Cor 16:13-14

Top Gun Exercises at Rampart

THE SCENE: The gloomiest of glooms…just the way we like it.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Dutifully executed.
WARM-O-RAMA:

We started with some Projectivators (x11) to get the Pax good and disoriented to start things off.
Tempo Squats x7
Tempo Merkins x10
Mtn Climbers x10 two count
FLBAC x10
RLBAC x10
Grady Corn x10
Moroccan Night Clubs x10
Chattanooga Cherry Pickers ® x10
SSH x16 or 17 …QIC got distracted thinking about the amazing playlist he made.

Mosey a lap around the lot.

THA-THANG:
Pax performed a modified version of the “Danger Zone” routine. 10 minute exercise cycling through 10 reps of the following exercises (Merkins, Freddy Mercury, Big Boys, Bobby Hurley, Monkey Humpers, repeat). Every 2 minutes, the timer goes of to perform 4 burpees (hence, the Danger Zone). All performed to the glorious sweaty passion of of Kenny Loggins.

As “Playing with the Boys” played, PAX moseyed a lap then went to the “volleyball court”. There they split into teams of 3. Each team had notecards with the following exercises: Carolina Dry Docks (which apparently, can be modified into Pickle Pounders merely by preference), Monkey Humpers, Big Boys, Toe Merkins, and Mtn Climbers. Teams will flip a card, perform 20 reps of the exercise and either flip a cone up or down depending on their team. At the end, the team with the most cones facing in their direction wins. PAX played two rounds. It was almost as dazzling as the movie. Next time Creeper promises to bring the baby oil (although we had plenty of Olive Oil).

PAX then moseyed to the end of the parking lot for Dog Fight exercises (or basically that rabbit hunt thing Kickflip did reinterpreted for our purposes). A single PAX would volunteer to be the hunted rabbit while the rest were the wolves. The rabbit got extra reps and a head start. Wolves worked to catch up to the rabbit. Exercises were Burpees (Olive Oil), Bobby Hurleys (Wing Man), Merkins (Piston), aaaaaaand those delightfully memorable Pickle Pounders (QIC – thanks Skeletor!).

PAX moseyed for Mary.

MARY:
Flutter Kicks (x10)
Box Cutters (x10)
Freddy Mercury (x10)
LBC (The little boys!) (x10)
Hello Dollies (x10)
10 Second Hold (x10)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Casting Your Shadow
Acts 5:5-16 says “People brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”

Psalm 17:8 – “Hide me in the shadow of your wings.”

In Jewish culture, Your shadow is your realm of influence. The idea was that, we can no more detach ourselves from our influence on others than our bodies can get rid of their own shadows. Peter, through the work of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, had gone from being a brash loudmouth with little action to back it up into a bold and influential man of God. While healing might have occurred through his shadow (hard to tell in the text), it is clear that his influence was widely known.

Are we casting a shadow of influence or “throwing shade” as the kids used to say?
A HIM understands the influence he has on other people.
A HIM uses influence intentionally to make an impact.
A HIM’s focus is always for the sake of others, not himself.

Are you intentionally using your influence FOR people?
I used to work in a grocery store at a meaningless job. The more the Lord began to change my life, the more I began to be available for people that I worked with. Eventually, I noticed that people would come to me saying something like, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but…”. I was slowly becoming someone known for helping people and giving wisdom.

In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie says “The world is full of people who are grabbing and self-seeking. So the rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve others has an enormous advantage. He has little competition.”

What are those areas you could be intentionally casting your shadow to influence people?
Why aren’t you?
Lack of Energy?
Lack of attention?
Lack of confidence?

How do you cast a shadow? You stand in the light.

MOLESKIN:
YHC apologizes for reliving the volleyball scene three times with “Playing with the Boys”. There were many, MANY more great songs to the soundtrack though we only heard 3 on repeat. We’ll do this again in three months with the whole soundtrack, aviators, and Creeper will remember the baby oil.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

RAMPART OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES MONDAY! 7am hour-long beatdown. Bring those FNGs!
July 2nd Convergence at JUCO!

Rabbit Hunt

THE SCENE:  Mid 60s and calm.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  All veterans – skipped.  
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Phelps
  • The Real Cherry picker
  • Willy Mays Hays
  • Down/Up dog
  • Thread the needle
  • Quick mosey to the recruiting center

THA THANG:

At the recruiting center.  Nine cones.  Tabata – do 20 seconds exercise, 5 seconds rest.  Rotate one cone each rest.  Merkins, squats, LBCs.  Each round, one man cycles out to do pull-ups.

Mosey to the cinema parking lot that is divided by 7 parking lanes.  PAX start on one end of the lot – we’re the Wolves.  One PAX is our Rabbit – he gets a head start and goes to line 3.

When the wolves howl, we all go.  The Rabbit does 12 Merkins then advances to the next line….12 merkins – advance again…  Repeat, working toward the end of the lot.  He’s trying to make it to safety.  The Wolves do 8 Merkins and advance – we’re trying to catch the rabbit.  (he gets a head start but does more Merkins).  Rabbits win if they make it to the other side.  Wolves win if all Rabbits are caught by the last Wolf.

Repeat the game a few times with a new Rabbit each round.  Perform with;

  • 4 / 6 Iron Mikes (both legs)
  • 8 Flutter Kicks (4-count) / 10 Flutter Kicks
  • 6 / 8 bobby hurley
  • 6 / 8 Mountain Climbers (4-count)
  • 1 / 2 burpees

15 BBS + Bear crawl: Repeat x3

Repeat the tabata circle again.

Mosey home.

MARY:

30 merkins to finish off our 210 for the day.

HD until time is up.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

Me and 8 of the best men I know.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

We say this in F3 – leave no man behind – but leave no man where you found him.  If you are striving to be a HIM, you will not be the same man next year that you were this year – because you are always growing, always be getting better.

This morning, we each thought about one thing that we want to be better at by the end of summer…

Anders Ericsson is regarded as the godfather of the science of excellence.  He is the world’s foremost expert on studying expertise – what makes one man so much better at something than nearly all of his peers.  This morning, we borrowed a couple of his ideas – these come from a book called “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise”.

Becoming excellent at something takes a lot of ….practice!  But just doing something over and over in the same way as a routine what Ericsson calls “naïve practice” – it might make you a little better but will never lead you to excellence.  To become truly excellent, you have to practice in a certain kind of way – what he calls purposeful practice.

Purposeful practice – practice that will lead you toward excellence – involves;

  1. Practicing with focus
  2. Setting improvement goals for each individual practice
  3. Feedback. You need to be another man to know your plan, to see your work, and to provide you with feedback on your performance.
  4. Working outside of your comfort zone. Anders tells us this may be the most essential aspect of purposeful practice. He puts it directly: “If you never push yourself beyond your comfort zone, you will never improve.

We shared some of our goals/commitments and how we will incorporate purposeful practice in working toward them.

MOLESKIN:

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Tomorrow – AOQ Change at Shamrock

May 30 – Rampart AO Launch, 7:00 AM Fort Southwest Point

June 4 – Speedway Launch

June 11 – Family Workout at The Project.  9:00 AM

July 2 – Convergence at JUCO

HEAVY Q @ THE PROJECT

THE SCENE: 66 and gloomy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – DONE.
WARM-O-RAMA:

2. Projectivator x7
3. Tempo Squat x7
4. Tempo Merk x5
5. Mtn Climber x10
6. LBAC F/B X7
7. Moroccan x7
8. Grady Corns x7
9. Chattanooga Cherry Pickers x7
10. Burpees 5 OYO
11. Knoxville Cherry Pickers 5-IC
12. Stretch OYO
13. Mosey to Playground

THA-THANG:

• Playground: 5 pull-ups/20 merkins (2X)
• MUCHO CHESTO @ Amphitheater: 10 – merkins, 10 – wide merkins, 10 – diamond merkins, 10 – stagger right, 10 – stagger left (hold plank – someone lead until 6) (rinse/repeat)
• Mosey to RC
• FLORA 1-2-3 (partner up, 1CMU/PAX)
o Upper: P1 – 100 Diamond Merk (switch every 10)
 P2 – Plank on CMU
 P1+P2 Lap around Parking Lot with CMU
o CORE: P1 – 200 LBC (switch every 20)
 P2 – Hold legs 6” w/ CMU above head
 P1+P2 Lap around Parking Lot with CMU
o LOWER: P1 – 300 Squats w/ CMU (switch every 25)
 P2 – Al Gore with CMU
 P1+P2 Lap around Parking Lot with CMU

Mosey to Playground – 5 pull-ups+20 BBS+5 pull-ups

MARY:

PAX Choice: Hello Dolly, Side crunches (both sides, obviously), Flutterkicks, Mountain Climbers, Freddy Mercury, Heals-to-heaven

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6STRONG: Kick, Rocket, Biohack, Bobbit, Mathlete, and Snaggletooth

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I shared about a personal family issue that we had prayed about last week. And it necessitates the urgency of speaking to our children about things we may not feel ready to put on them. These are things that I am needing to teach to my children now:

  1. Life is hard. We are born into a world at war. We have an enemy of our souls that is ultimately behind the evil, brokenness, and tragedy in our fallen world.
  2. You are not the center of the universe – God is. And life in/with HIM is truly life – an adventure and a romance.
  3. You are not in control – but you have a role to play in how things unfold and how His Kingdom advances. Everything about who you are is created by purposeful design for such a time and place as this.

MOLESKIN:
The above COT/BOM is not original to me. I learned it from John Eldredge, author of Wild at Heart and several other books. 

Thank you for your friendship and prayers, brothers.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
FIRST EVER VQ at Rampart tomorrow!

Family Q coming up – see Slack.

Other stuff too.

Holding on to what you have

THE SCENE: Crisp, cool May Morning with a full moon overhead
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Hairy Rockettes
  • Windmills
  • Tempo squats
  • SSH
  • Moroccan Night Clubs
  • Cherry Pickers for Three-peat

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to the pool wall
    • 5 wall-ups
    • 4 reps of 8-ct pulse merkins
  • Mosey to the playground
    • 5 pull ups
    • 10 box cutters
    • 10 heels to heaven
  • Mosey to the Amphitheater
    • 10 box jumps
    • 30 merkins
  • Mosey to the Library
    • 5 Decline Dry-docks
    • 10 bobby hurleys
    • 10 Iron mikes
  • Hold plank for the 6, repeat 3 more times
  • Unwind going backwards through
    • Amphitheater – 10 merkins, 5 box jumps
    • playground – 5 heels to heaven, 5 box cutters, 2 pull ups
    • Pool wall – 2 8-ct pulse merkins, 2 wall ups
  • RTF

MARY:
A few sets with some PAX leading
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

In an essay titled “Membership,” which is an excellent read or listen, C.S. Lewis begins by discussing (in context I won’t attempt to replicate) the “modern” tendency to eliminate solitude. He sees it everywhere, even in the University, where he experienced an undergraduate college of 12 men who knew each other intimately. Even “before the war,” he says, “the typical undergraduate society had come to be a mixed audience of one or two hundred students assembled in a public hall to hear a lecture from some visiting celebrity.” He laments “the crowd of busybodies, self-appointed masters of ceremony, whose life is devoted to destroying solitude wherever solitude still exists.” If one of the great minds of the past were to be born “today”, he would quickly be “cured”. “And even where the planners fail and someone is left physically by himself, the wireless has seen to it that he will be–in a sense not intended by Scipio–never less alone than when alone. We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and privacy: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.”

This line struck me. It’s something that I have been struggling with lately. The family is busy busy busy, and I am adding stuff on top, so I am tired. And in my weariness, I have sacrificed the one time of solitude left to me, the early morning, in the name of an extra half hour of sleep. If, at the outset, I had seen this as the cost of all the activities, I might have been more discerning, but rarely are we granted such insight. So now, I stand to rebuild a habit I once had, to take time each day in solitude to spend time in reading, contemplation, and prayer.

I bring it to you today so that each man might reflect on his own trajectory. I hope this anecdote might grant you time to guard yourself from losing a hard won habit that is on the wane. Remember that nothing in this world is lasting, but if we invest in maintaining something, it lasts a heck of a lot longer.

Matthew 6:19-20

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where  moth and rust  destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

MOLESKIN:
By my count, you ought to have more than 200 merkins and 20 pull ups. Finish up the plank and you’ll have a trident.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Shamrock AOQ change on May 25, Rampart Skeletor VQ on May 23rd, Rampart launch May 30th.