Author: Big Tennessee

  • Getting Stronger

    3 less-broken grinders and one Downranger showed up at WDog for a beautiful morning of continued recovery and improvement. Here’s the gist:

    COP: no pain, just a walk to the Vita Trail

    Thang: 2 laps (2 miles-ish) stopping at each station for alternating merkins and squats. 220 of each total again. Finished where we started, and back to the VSF.

    COT: Friendly banter about the challenge of working back to the “way we were.” Proof of Life pic taken, BT took us out.

    NMS: Always good to see a DownRanger and Elmer (Chicago area) fit the bill perfectly. The advantage of a brisk walk with exercises is you get to have better conversation engagement. Was good to hear about the strong presence of F3 in the Great White North, and also good to reminisce about the beginnings of F3RVA. Thugs continues to get stronger, and BT and Swirly are about ready for real bootcamps again. Would add the pic but don’t know how. Explanation welcome. Stay strong!

    BT out.

  • No Fools at WDog, just old dudes

    2 well-seasoned, creaky-jointed old dudes descended upon WDog on a Beautiful April Fools Day in a quest back to full F3 glory. Here’s the simple but exciting recap.

    COP:

    Simple stretching to keep the pain away.

    Thang:

    Vita Trail loops with stops at each station for alternating exercises. AMLapsAP.

    • 10 merks
    • 10 squats

    Total of 120 merkins, 120 squats and 2.5 miles covered. BTVSF.

    COT:

    Thankful for the beautiful day and excited for the journey back to bootcamping with the boys.

    NMS:

    BT has gradually been getting back into the mix and after posting last week after a long hiatus for Senor Frog’s squat-fest was looking forward to catching up with Swirly and doing something more than walking. Both initiatives achieved. Even got some sweat going with the warm temps.

    – BT

  • 2-step, 8 legs

    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!

  • W-alkDog

    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!

  • Readers Club

    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!

  • How ’bout Another Anniversary?

    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

  • Just Beat It

    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!

  • Land Lubbers

    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

  • Feels like the first time, or the wrong place?

    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.

  • Spring has Sprung

    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!