Author: Chaplain

  • Hall and Oates

    2 men broke out the air guitars and posted at Rockwood Park for another epic beatdown. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure.

    Mosey to the large parking lot for Warm ups:

    Walking Russian Soldiers, Walking Arm Circles, Walking Helicopters, Hoppin’ Hillbillies, Hoppin’ Cherry Pickers, Lunge Walk, Freddy Mercury’s.

    Exercise One: Tour de Rock N Roll. We ran around the perimeter of the park, stopping periodically for: 20 HR Merkins, 20 WWII sit-ups, 20 Lt. Dans.

    Exercise Two: At the Nature Center. One man Crab Walks down the hill and Bear Crawls back. Other man does Jump Squats then switch.
    Round 2: Crab Walk/Bear Crawl with Pole Smokers.

    Mosey back to the Flag for Striders.

    Numbers/Names/Announcements.

    YHC took us out.

    Final Thoughts: Really enjoyed talking to Florence this morning and learning more about his background and family. As for the backblast title – Hall and Oates was the first rock duo that popped into my mind. I am sure there are many others who are worthy.

  • Seeking Shelter

    When YHC heard the rain pounding at 4:30 am, the urge to remain in the fartsack was strong. Unfortunately, I had signed up to Q last night, so the show must go on. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Started in the covered area in front of Bettie Weaver Elementary:

    Warm up: Don Quixotes, Arm Circles, Helicopters, Russian Soldiers, Arm Circles, Cherry Pickers. Freddie Mercuries.

    Exercise One:

    25 reps: Merkins, Heels to Heaven, Jump Squats
    50 reps: Hold Elbow Plank, Flutter Kicks, Squats
    75 reps: Alabama Prom Dates, Bruce Lee punches (??), Calf Raises
    100 reps: LBC’s, Side Straddle Hops, Butt Kicks.

    Mosey to James River HS for Exercise Two:

    Perform exercises down the length of the covered side walk, jog back and do 25 Hello Dollies.

    Bear Crawl, WWII Crawl Bears, Plank Walk (x2), Crab Walk, Broad Jumps, Lt. Dan’s, Hurdle Drills………… I might have missed a couple.

    Back to the flag for Numbers/Names/Announcements

    YCH took us out.

    Final thoughts:

    Enjoyed catching up with Doozy and talking about our families and other topics. This would NOT have been an ideal solo endeavor. After initially ignoring the weather report, I had an elaborate workout planned that spanned the entire property – will have to save that for another day.


  • Mon Nom Souffre

    7 Strong converged at Huguenot High to hammer each other into shape and enjoy some Forge style fellowship. YHC had the honor of leading this fine group of Southside stalwarts. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Massacre Start – Murder Gorillas along the length of the upper hill.

    Warm ups: Walking Russian Soldiers, Walking Helicopters, Walking Arm Circles, Hopping Hillbillies, Lunge walks.

    Mosey to the bottom of the big hill for Exercise One:

    Incline curb crawl to the upper parking lot.
    Down the hill – WWII Crawl Bears.

    To the Top of Mt. Chaplain for Exercise Two:
    On the descent, perform exercises at the 4 parking lots: 25 Squats, 50 Monkey Humpers, 75 Squats, 100 Monkey Humpers. Run back to the top.

    Mosey to the side of the school for Exercise Three:
    Triple Check: Dips, Hand Clap Incline Merkins (cant remember the proper name), crab walk to the fence and run back. It was good working with Tobit and Singer on this one!

    Exercise 4: Victory Hill x 7

    Back to the flag for Numbers/Names/Announcements

    YHC took us out.

    Final thoughts: Strong work by all of the PAX today. With the murder gorillas and curb crawl, we thoroughly worked the right side of our bodies. Will try to hit the left side during my next Q. Not sure why we were talking about speaking French, but apparently Snuff is semi-fluent; and this has been highly advantageous in life. Props to Doublemint who was hot-steppin’ with a weighted vest as he recovers from injury.

    We had a good discussion about reaching out to PAX who have not posted in awhile.

  • Just a Big Ole X

    11 men came to Midlothian Middle School in search of some truth. What they got instead was a Q who managed to butcher the FIRST exercise in the warm-up. Luckily we all made through alive. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to the lower parking for warm-ups:
    Imperial Walkers, Don Quixotes, Russian Soldiers, Dean Man Hang, Cherry Pickers, Freddie Mercuries.

    Exercise One: The Big X
    Starting in the middle of the track run to each point of the X, which covered most of the school property, and complete the called exercise. Run back to the middle, do five burpees. Wait for the PAX, then repeat.

    Rd 1: 25 hand release merkins, 50 squats, 75 alabama prom dates, 100 SSH’s – 20 total Burpees
    Rd 2: 25 heels to heaven, 50 jump squats, 75 monkey humpers, 100 LBC’s – 20 total Burpees

    Tried to sneak in some Victory Hill, but we ran out of time. Everyone sprinted up and headed back to the flag.

    Numbers/Names/Announcements

    YHC took us out.

    Final Thoughts:
    Strong work by all the PAX today! Did not realize that the X would pretty much take up the whole workout. I think we got our steps in for the day.

    Heard that the runners hit 6.1 miles. Those guys are looking strong leading up to the marathon.

    Appreciate the opportunity to lead.

  • Using Some New Muscles

    4 bootcamp/running hybrids braved the mean streets of Short Pump for another round of WTH. Despite my rookie status, YHC decided to creep up from Southside and grab the Q. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Warm ups: Walking Russian Soldiers, Walking Arm Circles, Walking Helicopters, Walking Hillbillies, Lunge Walks, Dead Man Hang.

    Exercise One: Two mile out and back run through the Whole Foods/ACAC shopping area. We stopped periodically and completed 20 merkins, 20 heels to heaven, 20 squats, 20 lunges. I believe we ended doing 5 sets. Finish at the track.

    Exercise Two: Track Drills

    100 meters of the following: High knees, Butt Kicks, Carioke x 2, Power Skips, Hurdle Drills, Striders x 2.

    Finished with a lap around the perimeter of the school to clock in at 3.16 miles (per my watch).

    Numbers/Names/Announcements

    Pigskin took us out.

    Final Thoughts: Thoroughly enjoyed leading at WTH for the first time. It’s definitely a workout you have to plan, to some degree, in order to get the mileage in. Although I tend to avoid Short Pump, have to say – they have some damn fine sidewalks. Makes for easy running. Great work by all the Pax and thanks for coming out in the rain.

  • They Never Made it Past the 50

    At 5:30 am, 5 SOJ studs converged at The Swamp for another round of Twin Team action. Humid conditions and extra abrasive asphalt could not diminish our enthusiasm. Here is brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to JRHS parking lot for warm ups: Russian Soldiers, Don Quixotes, Imperial Walkers, Helicopters, Arm Circles, Dead Man Hang, Cherry Pickers.

    Exercise 1: Tour de Twin Team. We ran around the perimeter of both schools, stopping periodically to do 20 Merkins, 20 WWII sit-ups, 20 squats. Completed 5 sets.

    Mosey to the track/football field for Exercise Two

    Rd 1: lunge walk to 10 yard line, run back to end zone, bear crawl to 20 yard line, run back to end zone, lunge walk to 30 yard line, run back to end zone, bear crawl to 40 yard line, run back to end zone, lunge walk to 50 yard line, run back to end zone.

    Rd 2: Same pattern, but run to yard markers and alternative between 20 flutter kicks and 5 burpees.
    Rd. 3 – Same pattern, but alternate between butt kicks and high knees.

    *Completed an additional round of 20 Merkins, 20 WWII’s, and 20 squats on the track.

    Mosey back to BWES – On the grass hill near the baseball field – hill repeats until YHC calls time.

    Walk back to the flag for Numbers/Names/Announcements.

    Gumbo took us out.

    Final Thoughts: It was great to see Gumbo and Limehouse return to Twin Team. Props to them for also running to and from the workout. Lots of strong mumble chatter about kid’s sports and the WFT’s thrilling win last night (maybe that was just me). As always, it was honor to lead.

  • What’s that Called Again?

    YHC was excited to see a full parking lot in the early morning gloom of Rockwood Park. My dreams were quickly shattered as I realized everyone was a senior citizen getting ready to hot step around the perimeter of the facility. Luckily Doozy rolled in and saved the day. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure.

    Mosey to the big parking lot for Warm Ups: Russian Soldiers, Imperial Walkers, Helicopters, Arm Circles, Dead Man Hang, Cherry Pickers, Don Quixotes.

    Mosey to the back lot for a 4 Corner Prostitute featuring the following exercises:

    Hand release Merkins x 10, Flutter Kicks x 20, Plank Jacks x 30, Jump Squats x 40.

    Mosey to the Nature Center:

    One man lunge walks to the grass and back, while the other does exercise for the duration: Heels to Heaven, Carolina Dry Docks, LBC’s

    Mosey to the Baseball Field:

    Got a little lazy and repeated my segment from The Forge Last week: Lt. Dan Walks to the Plank, Crab Rolls, WWII Crawl Bears, Jumping HRpees. Jog back in between each segment.

    Back to the Flag for Numbers/Names/Announcements.

    YHC took us out.

    Final Thoughts: Enjoyed catching up with Doozy and hearing about the 911 convergence in DC. Sounded like a great time and tough workout. SOJ PAX definitely need to come and check out Rock N Roll. Lots of open spaces and people meandering about. Doublemint – if you are going to break out the all white New Balance, this is the spot.

  • Celebrating Bryan Adams………………….Forge Style

    6 Forge All-Stars ignored the weather report and showed up ready to put in some work. Don’t tell us its not worth tryin’ for – you would be wrong. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to the elementary school for Warm Up:
    Russian Soldiers, Imperial Walkers, Helicopters, Cherry Pickers, Dead Man Hang, Don Quixotes.

    Mosey to the lower parking lot for Exercise One:

    We tried out some potentially off-the-Exicon moves – basically just making crap up.

    Rd 1: Lt. Dan Walks the Plank aka “Angry Lt. Dans”
    Lunge walk, squat, fall forward for 5 plank plank jacks. Move across the parking lot, then jog back.

    Rd. 2 Crab Rolls
    Crab Walk 5 steps, roll over for 5 Merkins, repeat. Jog back

    Rd. 3: WWII Crawl Bears
    Crawl Bear for 5 steps, fall back and do 5 WWII sit ups, then switch back. jog back

    Rd. 4: Jumping Herpees
    Hand release broad jump burpees across the parking lot. Jog back.

    Mosey to the Ampitheater for Exercise 2:

    Triple Check – runner box jumps up the stage, 10 dips, run back down.
    Other 2: Heels to Heaven, Incline Merkins

    Mosey to the side of Huguenot High for Exercise 3:

    Another Triple Check! Runner does Broke Back Railing to light, jogs back.
    Other 2: Hold Plank, LBC’s

    Mosey the flag for numbers/names/announcements

    YHC took us out.

    Final thoughts: A lot to unpack from this workout. Appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm in trying out some new combinations. I think Jumping Herpees are here to stay. For me, the Crab Rolls proved the most challenging. Might have to work on some of the names.

    Not exactly sure what happened, but somehow Garbage Plate getting confused between Incline Merkins and Decline Merkins devolved into various takes on the Bryan Adams classic (Everything I Do) I Do it For You. For example, “every Merkin I do, I do it for you………….” There were many combinations.

    Hot take: Bryan Adams is solid, but this single from the Robin Hood Soundtrack has to be one of the worst and douchiest songs ever recorded. Am I the only one?

  • Source of Leg Discomfort

    Eight denizens of the greater SOJ geographic area linked up once again for another round of fun that we call Source of Truth. We were evenly divided between bootcampers and runners. The high humidity and illuminated football field left little doubt that a good time would be had by all. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to the lower parking lot for warmups:
    walking Russian Soldiers, walking Helicopters, walking Big Arm Circles, Forward Straddle Hops, Hillbillies, Lunge Walk, LBC’s, Hand Release Merkins.

    Mosey to the track area for Exercise One:
    3 rounds of the following:
    50 jump squats, 20 pole smokers, Bear Crawl up the big staircase with a merkin every other stair. Run around to the grass hill and Crab Walk down. The Pax split up and did these OYO.

    Mosey to the upper football practice field for Exercise Two:
    Divide the field into 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and full. Run and do 10 exercises at each interval:
    WWII sit ups, Heels to Heaven, American Hammers, Hello Dolly’s, Alabama Prom Dates, Freddie Mercuries.

    Mosey to Victory Hill – 7 times run up and down, alternating PAX

    Exercise 4: Battan Death March – line up and Bear Crawl down the field – man in the back does 5 burpees, then run to the front.
    *mercifully called due to time constraints.

    Back to the flag for numbers/names/announcements.

    YHC took us out.

    Final thoughts: Outstanding effort by all today. For unknown reasons, that upper football field was absolutely soaked; despite a lack of rain or any visible sprinkler system. Defied the laws of nature! We were all drenched and covered in grass and mud.

    Runners were looking strong! I heard they completed 5.5 miles or so. Those guys have been getting after it preparing for the marathon. Well done.

  • And the Cradle Will Rock

    High humidity and 100’s of senior citizen walkers welcomed 4 PAX to the latest edition of Rock N Roll. We were all eager to put in some work and explore the grounds of this new F3RVA outpost. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to the large parking lot for warmups consisting of:
    Walking Russian Soldiers, Walking Helicopters, Walking Arm Circles, Walking Drunken Hillbillies, Lunges, LBC’s, Dead Man Hang.

    Mosey to the baseball field for exercise one:
    10 rounds of Burpees w/approximately 30 seconds rest in between. PAX either did 7 or 8 per round, dependent on age. Offshore recommended Van Halen Burpees for the final round, which was an added challenge.

    Mosey to the Nature Center area for Exercise Two:

    All together Triple Check with Pole Smokers (20 count), Murder Gorillas across the face of the hill, run to the Nature Center and back.

    Back to the Flag for Numbers/Names/Announcements

    YHC took us out.

    Final thoughts:

    If you haven’t had a chance to check out Rock N Roll, I would highly recommend it. Park is huge with many different areas to utilize. No diddlers in sight!

    Shout out to Florence for getting this thing organized.

    Very impressed with Nike this morning – dude was pushing himself and showed a lot of determination. Keep posting!

    To tie everything together on the backblast, I was trying to think of a Van Halen song with the word “rock” in it. I am sure there are many others. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves and/or comment below.