Author: Big Tennessee

2 hobbling old-timers arrived at WDog to embrace a chilly morning and get some steps in as old-timers do.

THANG: Brisk stroll limited by limping along with a faithful 4-legged friend through the Carillon neighborhood. Logged 2.5 miles, well short of 3 mile goal.

COT

NAKED MOLESKIN: Good to catch up with Swirly and Daisy. Some day we’ll be back in bootcamp condition, but for now we’ll soldier on try to keep the joints moving and fat off. Carillon neighborhood has rehabbed a bunch of houses; perfect place to start the day and discuss the important things in life like Tennessee sports and good dogs.

BT out!

Three grizzled and slightly damaged veterans descended upon Byrd Park to reclaim the beloved AO of the city for Wednesdays. Swirly secured the spot in typical fashion and here’s what transpired.

COP:

Nothing to see here, mosey to the Vita Track

Thang:

Full-time mosey around the Vita Track, stopping at alternate stations to perform a series of exercises as called by each PAX. Exercises included merkins, Copperhead Squats, pull-ups, Carolina Drydocks, LBCs. 2 1/4 laps were completed. Mosey back to the VSF.

COT:

No announcements of note were made. Bodos took us out with a riveting message.

NMS:

Between injury and travel, YHC has not posted much in the last few weeks, and when he has he has engaged in the walking variety of exercise. Was definitely happy to have Bodos and Swirly along to fraternize with. Topics covered were mainly of focused on injury, rehab, doctor visits, whether or not the Kettle Bell facility next to Kuba Kuba Dos actually had customers and how to keep from dying. A little bit of excitement as the three amigos were met head on by a gaggle of female walkers walking in the wrong direction. Bodos took the lead, Swirly followed the block, BT was pushed out of bounds. All in all, a beautiful spring morning to spend with the fellas. We covered about 2.5 miles.

BT out!

2 regulars and a regular downranger showed up at WDog on a perfect crisp morning for some lively conversation about feeding the mind as well as the body. Here’s how it went down.

Mosey to Tennis Courts for COP:

Various Leg Stretches, Dead Man Hang, Helicopters, Copperhead Squats, SSH, LBC

THANG:

Stay at courts for BT’s series of Court Sports:

1. Tracers: Slides on sidelines of 4 courts, fwd run on baselines. Down and back.
2. Alternating groundwork: Bear Crawl across court 1, Crab Walk across court 2, Polar Bear across Court 3, Reverse Crab Walk across court 4.
3. Modified Suicide: Fwd run to end of court 4, Bernie Sanders to start, Fwd run to end of court 3, Bernie Sanders back, traditional Suicide for last two courts.

Pass Q from BT to Hitch.

Mosey to Burpee Lake for StreetLamp-a-Rama. Exercises were 3 merkins and 3 LBCs at each post. Modified due to time. Mosey towards Maymont: Run mixed with Lunges. Back to the VSFL.

COT, Announcements, Hitch took us out.

MOLESKIN:

Great to have our frequent visitor Limey in town for a beatdown. Mumble Chatter was squarely centered on spending time wisely, whether in being thoughtful about career choices or reading relevant subject matter that feeds the mind and soul. Book recommendations are forthcoming, reach out if you need some titles. All in all a great way to start the day.

BT Out!

A beautiful misty morning welcomed 4 seasoned redwoods (two extra seasoned) to Byrd Park for a dual Q at WDog on what happened to be a special day. Here’s what went down.

COP:

Mossy (see what YHC did there?) to the Carillon Square for a series of warm-ups. Exercises were:

Dead Man Hang, Stretches, Flutters, Merkins, Fudd’s Wife, Wilson’s Wife, APDs and several others.

THE THANG:

Mosey to the Amphitheatre for Descending Dips x 5 and Ascending Incline Merkins x 5. Swirly passes the Q to YHC at the circle, delayed Slaughter Starter (Burpees x 10) then off to the Carillon Field for 4 Corners:

CDD x 10, Squats x 20, SSH x 30, LBC x 40, then reverso and repeato.

Mosey around the Carillon to the Rusty Cage. Partner up and complete either Jerkins or Pullups x10 while partner Al Gore. Complete 3 rounds.

Mosey to Penny Stage for Step ups x 10 and Incline Merkins x 10; 3 rounds, then mosey back to the VSF for COT. No announcements (I think?) but thoughts and prayers for everyone affected by Helene. BT took us out.

NAKED MOLESKIN:

YHC remembered on the drive over that it was his 10-yr F3 anniversary. Man, time flies. Hard to believe that my first day was at 45MOM after 2 weeks of incessant badgering from Toga. Maybe we rename him Bald Badger since he’s not hear anymore;) Lots of great friends and experiences have resulted from giving in to that headlock. Great to hang with Beaver, Swirly and Choo Choo. Here’s to 10 more!

BT

2 WDog vets and one Daville newcomer descended upon Byrd Park on an absolutely perfect late summer morning. The air was crisp and had us dreaming of the beauty of fall in ol’ Virginny. Here’s what went down.

COP:

Swirly takes the trio on a mosey to front of the Carillon for COP:

• Dead Man Hang, Helicopters, Don Quixote, LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Merks, Leg Lifts, SSH, Copperhead Squats

THANG:

Mosey to the amphitheater for descent/ascent:

• 5 dips per step going down
• 3 Merkins per step going up

Love Hill: one PAX runs to the gate, the other two alternate lunge and bear crawl.

Pass the Q to BT, mosey to Carillon Field for modified 4 corners.

• 10 burpees
• 10 merkins
• 10 copperhead squats
• 10 WW2’s

Reverso and repeat. Mosey to the Rusty Cage for one round of pull-ups/jerkins x 10 just to say we did. Mosey back to VSF for COT.

COT:

BT took us out.

NMS:

Great to have DaVille’s own Beat It join us at WDog for a gloomy, crisp beatdown. He’s relatively new to F3 but is going to fit in just fine. Hopefully, he wasn’t intimidated by the two semi-broken old salts;) Happy to report that there was a bevy of workers at the Carillon, even if they were just standing around. Maybe we’ll get to incorporate the steps sometime in the near future. Much conversation about how Beat It got his name, you’ll have to ask him when you see him. SYITG, Aye!

BT out!

2 red oaks preferring terra firma descended upon the friendly confines of Byrd Park for a mid-week beatdown. Here is the skinny:

THANG:

Mosey to circle for warmarama:
arm circles, helicopters, Don Quixote, Merkins, Flutter Kicks, LBC

Mosey to Carillon Field for 4 corners:

Merkins, Squats, Shoulder Taps, LBCs (x10, x15, x20, x25), then Reverso

Mosey to Amphitheater for modified ladder ascension: alternate incline Merkins with step per leg on corresponding number of steps (1-18)

Mosey to Vita Trail for one loop and some monkey bars.

BTTVSF

MOLESKIN:

WDog was a lighter than usual with a few regulars opting for the cool, refreshing allure of the annual Deliverance Beatdown at 1W, but 2 makes it a party. Limey and YHC covered topics of kids, profession, career choices, schools and much more. YHC thoroughly enjoyed the banter.

No announcements except to go out and kick ass today.

-BT

One crusty, old broken-down PAX rolled into WDog with high hopes of delivering his first beatdown in a while. Was it the allure of the fartsack or the name on the Q sheet that kept the PAX away? Were more than one PAX the victim of an electric dirtbike snafu? If a tree falls in the woods and no one’s around does it make a sound? Who knows, but there was work to do so off YHC went.

WARMORAMA:

SSH, arm circles, dead man hang, Copperhead squats at the VSF.

THANG:

Mosey to the Rusty Cage for:

• Jerkins x 10
• Dips x 10
• Bar Hang x 15 count

Repeato 3x

Mosey to Penny Stage picnic table for:

• Step ups x 10
• Reverse dips x 10

Repeato 3x

Mosey to Amphitheater for:

• Flutter Kicks x 10
• Heals to Heaven x 10
• LBC x 20

Repeato 3x

Mosey towards Carillon Field for jog around the perimeter, returning back to Amphitheater for:

• Ascending Incline Merkins (start at bottom step with 1, ascend to top of steps increasing rep by 1 for x 18 at the top)

Mosey back to VSF

NMS

YHC had his first solo Q/workout in his F3 career. It was at the same time eerily lonely and rewarding.

Four semi-regulars not on Spring Break showed up ready to inhale some pollen and enjoy the warmth of the new season. YHC arrived at 5:30 on the nose and this is how it went down.

WARM-A-RAMA:

Mosey to the Amphitheater, make a half loop and square up in the grass for warm-a-rama.

Bootleg takes us through SSH, Helicopters, Don Quixote, Imperial Walkers, Copperhead Squats, LBC, APDs.

THANG:

Proceed to the bottom of the Amphitheater steps for ascending merkins back to the top (1-18 reps). Turn around and descend and perform WW2 x 5 at each step. Pass to Swirly.

Mosey to Penny Theater for Block Work. Perform exercise, run to the light near the Carillon then return to block. Exercises were:

Block Burpees x 5

Curls x 10

Squats x 10

Overhead press x 10

Block bench x 10

Return blocks to stage and pass to Slippin Jimmy.

Mosey back to the Amphitheater for stage exercises. 3 PAX perform exercise with 1 PAX running the perimeter as the timer. Exercises were boxing cockroach (2 PAX) and Carolina DD. Once complete, return to VSF for brief ab-a-rama.

BT finishes out with leg lifts x 10 (each leg) and inverted plank leg lifts x 10 (each leg).

COT:

Slippin Jimmy took us out and reminds the PAX to be present and take advantage of every moment we have with our loved ones.

NMS:

A small but determined crew showed to hold down the fort while Spring Breakers and new fathers are away. The weather is definitely getting warmer and it won’t be long until we are soaking with sweat before the post even starts. YHC is still relatively broken but happy to be able to get out and at least participate, even if it means doing ab work in the pollen-dusted weeds that will soon be a foot tall in the friendly confines of the amphitheater. Mumble chatter was relatively light and consisted mostly of talk of travel. Safe travels to Bootleg (Missouri) and Slippin Jimmy (the House of the Mouse) as they take off this weekend, and to those already on the road enjoying a respite with friends and family. Swirly and YHC will stay local and be looking for a comfy couch to watch the Masters. BT OUT!

5 guardians of Byrd Park (including an old salt revisiting his old stomping grounds) arrived to a glorious and quiet fall morning to see what the replacement Q had in store. Creativity was attempted, and it went something like this:

COP:

Mosey to the amphitheater circle for:

Imperial Walkers x 10, Helicopters x 10, Abe Vigoda’s x 10 (plus x6 for LIFO), Copperhead Squats x 10, Merkins x 10 and Flutter Kicks x 15

THANG:

Descend to the Amphitheater floor for Elevation. Each PAX starts on a step at the western end of theater. Perform Merkins x 2, Bear Crawl to other end, perform another Merkins x 2. Ascend one step and return to the other side via Crab Walk, performing 2 Merkins on either end. Ascend one more step and do the same only with Lunges. Ascend to the top of amphitheater repeating this pattern.

Mosey to Carillon Field for Eye of the Storm:

Start in the center of the field. Burpees x 5 then run to a corner, perform the following exercises, and back to the center until all 4 corners completed. Also, perform burpees x 5 upon each return to center.

Corner 1: Merkins x 20

Corner 2: Smurfjacks x 10

Corner 3: Flutter Kicks x 20

Corner 4: LBC x 20

Mosey to circle just west of the Carillon for Double Check. One PAX runs to Penny Stage while partner stays and performs exercise. Exercises were Merkins and LBCs.

On way back to flag detour to the Rusty Cage for Pull-ups x 5. Return to Flag for COT, announcements. YHC took us out.

Announcements:

Best of luck to many PAX running this weekend. Also, tons of challenges going on so check Slack (merkins, burpees). Vinny is leading the Bridge Saturday; if you can go, it’s a great experience.

NMS:

6 extra Abe Vigodas were for an almost-never Faceplant who was a slight LIFO. Lucky for him YHC is a creature of habit and doesn’t stray far from COP locales. Half-baked theme was to honor our brother Snuff who had to give up the Q and who, risking life and limb, is on his way into the eye of the storm for work in Florida. Godspeed, Snuff! Turned out to be a perfect morning weather wise. May need to tweak the Elevation portion of the workout as Crab Walks in the amphitheater are murder on shoulders. By my count, challenge credits were 45 Burpees and 120 ish merkins. Get out there and win the day, boys!

BT

6 locals and an eager Down Ranger convened at WDog on a glorious morning to load up on strength and unload some extra baggage. The stars were out in full affect (literally), and here is what transpired:

COP:

Mosey to the Amphitheater Circle, take a quick loop and knock out some warmup exercises:

• SSH x 15
• Abe Vigodas x 10
• Copper Head Squats x 10
• Merkins x 10
• a little stretching
• LBCs x 10

Thang:

Mosey to the Rusty Cage for some pull ups, chin ups, dips and Jerkins. All exercises x 5 (3 sets)

Mosey to the Penny Stage, grab a coupon, and perform the following in cadence. First 2 sets 2-count, final set single count:

• Overhead Press x 10
• Curl x 10
• Squat x 10
• Block Merkin x 10

Return the coupons and mosey to the Carillon Field for 4 corners:

• Carolina Dry Docks x 10
• Flutter Kicks x 20 (2-count)
• Monkey Humpers x 30
• LBCs x 40

Then, run it reverso.

Mosey to the Amphitheater (hitting on the hot spots for our guest) for Step-ups x 5, alternating legs with each step. BTTSF.

COT:

YHC took us out.

Announcements:

• Memorial Beer Mile Oct 29 (See Faceplant)
• Mental Health Awareness
• Thoughts for Faceplant’s co-worker, BT’s friend, Slippin Jimmy and his close friend

NMS:

What a beautiful morning for a physical beat down and mental cleansing. Just before launch it appeared that Marty from Back to the Future was going to make an appearance, but it was only another 80’s classic driven by our resident director of pastoral care (possibly on 2 wheels, even?) Great to see Buoy out there putting in the work and also to have UniBall from the Great White North PAX in Ohio. Of course the regulars are always a welcome sight. YHC should remember exactly the name of the Ohio Region as it was repeated at least 6 times, but YHC had some difficulty staying focused today. We’ll remedy that at Mary in the morning. Thankfully, and expectedly, the PAX kept me on point. An extra bonus was to have TYA show up for the COT.

I’m sure YHC’s concentration level was affected by some extra weight and a heavy heart having learned the relationship between Slippin Jimmy and a friend of mine who passed on Monday morning. It is good to lift heavy things but can be difficult to carry the weight of sorrow. Our brothers in the gloom are what we all need and the reason what we do is so important. Love your neighbor, be a rock for your family, give of yourself to others, and don’t hesitate to lean on your friends when you are in need. It may be the hardest thing to do, but the bonds of brotherhood are built for it.

Stay strong

-BT