Author: Chaplain

  • Abcathlon 2025: Overtime Required

    9 of of SOJ’s finest took on the somewhat stupid and moderately pointless summer challenge known as the Abcathlon. It was a hot and humid morning – but luckily, no upper body muscles were required. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure.

    Mosey to the basketball court for a short Warm-up: Ukranian Soldiers, Helicopters, Cherry Pickers, various stretches, butt kicks and high knees.

    Exercise One: Abcathlon: Roughly 1.25 mile course with 10 stops. 50 count exercises at each station
    1. Grow Ruck Sit ups
    2. Pickle Pounders
    3. Incline LBC’s
    4. Hanging Knee Raises
    5. Rosalitas/Hello Dollies
    6. Crunchy Frogs
    7. WW II Sit ups
    8. Heels to Heaven
    9. Boxing Cockroaches
    10. Wallabama Prom Dates

    * Two circuits completed

    Final Thoughts: Excellent effort by all the PAX this morning. We ran out of time, but everyone wanted to complete the second circuit – ended up being about 3 minutes over. Special shout out to Deep Dish returning from the IR and looking strong. I also heard that Big Rig ran 15 miles this morning and did the Abcathlon – ridiculous. He is also a two time finisher! Somewhere in the park there is a cone with “Flutter Kicks” on it…………….until next summer!

  • Not That Bad Out Here

    The Crossing Crew was expecting another sweltering night on the blacktop………but just before the workout started, some clouds rolled in and even a nice breeze! It was time to put in some work.

    Mosey to the field for Warmup:
    Jazzercise, Don Quixotes, Imperial Walkers, House Partys, Overhead Claps, Crab Cakes, Opus Merkins, Freddy Mercuries, Alabama Prom Dates. Might have missed a couple.

    Exercise One: Swole Circuit.
    Grab a block from the fire pit and complete the following:
    40 cleans with lift
    50 Bench Press
    50 curls
    25 single arm shoulder press on each side
    30 tricep extension
    40 Upright Row
    50 forearm curls
    50 diamond press

    Mosey to the back of the church, stopped at a couple points for Monkey Humpers and LBC’s

    Exercise Two: W.O.D
    On the wall complete Donkey Kicks, Chicken Peckers, Booyah Jumps, Wallabama Prom Dates, Wall War 2 Sit-ups, then run to the side entrance and back.

    4 total rounds completed. Just enough time to run back to the Flag.

    YHC took us out

    Final Thoughts: In the summer, the pavement at the Crossing can turn into a glove melting hellscape. As the backblast title suggests, today was not that bad. Great job by House Party showing up and pushing through. Hope to see him on the mend soon. Overall, an excellent effort by the PAX.

    SYITG

  • Humid Run/Ruck

    YHC arrived at 6 am – Big Rig had already completed 3 plus miles of running. Draper and I rucked the paved trail and added a heavily spider webbed unpaved route. Finished back at the flag with a couple minutes to spare. Big Rig ran to parts unknown, but popped up a few times along the route. Overall conditions were hot and muggy – the sweat was pouring before Heist’s epic beatdown kicked off.

    SYITG

  • Unwritten Rules Violation

    At 5:30 AM we opened the velvet rope and welcomed 8 men into the latest edition of Twin Team. The following is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure.

    Mosey to the JRHS parking lot for Warm Up: don quixote’s, Helicopters, HR Merkins, Australian Snow Angels, Freddy Mercuries, Butt Kicks, Appalachian Lunge Walks, Hillbillies, Mario Jumps. Plank Walk.

    Exercise One: Off Campus Tour
    PAX ran through Robious Landing Park and JRHS, stopping at various points. Everyone got a chance to select exercises.

    10 burpees
    20 Toe Taps
    30 Wide Legged Merkins
    40 squats
    50 Freddy Mercuries
    60 Flutter Kicks
    70 Side Straddle Hops
    80 American Hammers
    90 LBCs
    100 Alabama Prom Dates

    *I may have mixed a couple of these up

    Back to the flag for 1 minute of stretching.

    Last Call took us out

    Final Thoughts: Burpees? Running? Grass? All frowned upon at the Twin Team Lounge – who knew? Hoping to get off probation status in the near future. Great work by the PAX!

  • The Crossing’s Ab Enhancement Protocol

    4 regulars gathered at WEAG for F3 RVA’s top evening workout. Here is brief summary for your view pleasure:

    Mosey to the back parking lot for Warm Up:

    Don Quixote’s, Imperial Walkers, Copperhead Squats, Australian Snow Angels, Mountain Climbers, Alabama Prom Dates, Crunchy Frogs, Mario Jumps, Karoake.

    Exercise One: Eye of the Storm: Ab edition
    5 stops, 50 count exercises: WWII Situps, Flutter Kicks, LBC’s, American Hammers, Freddy Mercuries. Start with 20 V-Ups in the “eye” and repeat after each station.

    Mosey to the side of the church for Exercise Two: 11’s between the Walls.
    Donkey Kicks, Wall Climbers. Run in between the church wall and the storage container.

    Exercise Three: Four Corners.
    50 fingertip squats, 50 squat pulses, 50 jump squats, 50 regular squats.

    Names, Numbers, Announcement, Prayer Requests
    YHC took us out

    Final Thoughts: Strong effort by the PAX! The V-up section proved very challenging and they were labeled as the Burpee of Ab exercises. Lots of great mumblechatter about Birdman’s upcoming trip to the Bahamas. Also, the question was raised – will DTH Q next week??

    SYITG

  • Just A Run

    YHC arrived early for a pre-Rock N Roll run through the park. Boberry and Big Rig were off to parts unknown – I believe they completed 7-8 miles. I did manage to high five Boberry on his way out, and chat with Big Rig for a couple minutes. YHC completed the paved nature trail plus the loop around the park. It was just enough time to plan the main workout in great detail.

    Check slack for details on a pre-convergence run from Tredegar.

  • The Wall Of Death And Other Entertainment Options

    6 of SOJ ‘s finest hit the streets of Rockwood Park for the latest edition of Rock N Roll. It was time to kick Memorial Day Weekend off in style. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to the basketball court for Warm-Up:
    Ski Jumps, Side to Sides, Ukranian Soldiers, Lazy Jazzercise (no toe tap), Hand Release Merkins, Freddy Mercuries, Knee Pulls, Open the Gate, Butt Kicks, Karoake, No Cheat Broad Jumps, Mummy Bernie’s, Lt. Dan’s.

    Mosey to the Snack Bar for Exercise One: Wall of Death
    4 rounds of Wall Cockroaches (20), Chicken Peckers (20), BooYah Wall Slaps (20), Delayed Donkey Kicks (20), Wallabama Prom Dates (40), Wall Climbers (20).
    Run to the end of the path and back in between each set.

    Mosey to the Parking Lot for Exercise Two: Four Corners with 50 Pole Smokers, 50 Merkins, 50 Jump Squats, 50 Dips.

    to the Pull Up area for Exercise Three: Grip Strength Challenge. See who can hang on the pull up bar for the longest. Mudslide took the win with Pierogi also giving an epic performance.

    Exercise 4: PAX Exercise of Choice
    Mudslide: 50 Mountain Climbers – double count
    Pierogi: 40 Spider Man’s
    Posh: 30 American Hammers (x2)
    Steamer: 40 SSH’s
    Wet Bandit: 50 Imperial Walkers
    Bonus: 100 Monkey Humpers (Chaplain)

    Back towards the flag: Finished things off with some Victory Hill. Sprint up the hill, job back down on the side and repeat. I think we got in three rounds.

    Numbers/Names/Announcements/Prayer Requests

    YHC took us out

    Final thoughts: Excellent work by all of the PAX on this cool, crisp morning! Lots of mumblechatter about the Memorial Day Convergence – Hope to see everyone there! Not a huge surprise to see Mudslide dominate the grip strength test. As always, it was a great honor to lead.

    SYITG

  • This Week’s Backblast

    While we eagerly await the 5/7 VQ Backblast from Birdman…….Another workout took place! Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure.

    Mosey a couple laps around the upper parking lot and then commence with Warm-Up:
    Don Quixote’s, Helicopters, No Tap Jazzercise, Ukranian Soldiers, Crab Cakes, LBC’s, Mario Jumps, Mummy Kicks, Hillbillies. Might have missed a couple

    Mosey to the field for Exercise One: Triple Check
    Curls with stump, One hand overhead press with block, run to the debris pile and back

    Exercise Two: Leg Blast
    100 Monkey Humpers, 75 Calf Raises, 50 Squat Pulses

    Mosey to the back of the Church for Exercise 3: 4 Corners
    10 Burpees, 25 HR Merkins, 50 Dips, 75 Shoulder Taps

    To the Portico for Exercise 4: Ab Blast
    100 oblique LBC’s, 75 Flutter kicks (double), 50 knee raises, 25 Crunch Frogs.

    Mosey to the grass hill for Exercise 5: Crab Train
    Line up for Reverse Crab Walk up the hill. Man in back does 5 merkins, then runs to the front of the line. Made our way back to the flag.

    Exercise 6: 3 minutes of Broga. Hit the hips and other major muscle groups.

    YHC took us out

    Final Thoughts: It was wet and rainy evening at the Crossing – but no shelter was offered. The PAX did a great job pushing through. Excellent to see House Party back out battling through some knee pain. As always, it was a pleasure to lead.

    SYITG

  • Paying Homage to The Murph, Harambe, and The Pope

    5 strong at the newly illuminated grounds of Bettie Weaver Elementary School. Twin Team Lounge was open for business. A brief summary for your viewing pleasure……………..

    Mosey to the basketball court for Warm-up:
    Ski Jumps, Ukranian Soldiers, Helicopters, Bruce Lee Punches, Carolina Dry Docks, Freddy Mercuries, Mario Jumps, Squatting Side Shuffles, Open the Gates, Appalachian Lunge Walks

    to the Playground for Exercise One: Modified Mini-Murph
    5 rounds of Pull Up Bar Hangs (as long as you can go), 5 burpees, 50 squat pulses, run to the end of the field and back.

    Exercise Two: Harambe Hill
    Bear Crawl up the hill, 5 murder gorillas to the side, crawl bear down. Work your way to the end of the baseball fence.

    One the way back: Bear Crawl Up, 10 side lunges, Crab Walk Down

    Mosey back to the playground for an additional Pull Up Bar Hang.

    BTTF for an Ab Circle: PAX call out 25 count ab exercises: Heels to Heaven, American Hammers, Leg Lifts, Little Baby Straight Legged Crunches (LBSLC’s), Crunchy Frogs.

    YHC took us out

    Great work by the PAX this morning! It was little wet and muddy out there – but we persevered. My forearms are cramping as a I type this backblast. Looking forward to heading out to The Bridge tomorrow. Not too late to join.

    SYITG

  • Cardio Frogs

    The Bon Air Bad Boys were at it once again at The FORGE – rolling in 10 deep including Mudslide! The following is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to the Tennis Courts for Warm-Ups:
    Jazzercise, Helicopters, Imperial Walkers, Moroccan Night Clubs, Heels to Heaven, Alabama Prom Dates, HR Merkins, Mario Jumps, Butt Kicks, Karaoke

    Mosey to the lower parking lot for Exercise One:
    Self Dora with 100 Merkins, 200 Squats, 300 flutter Kicks. Sets were broken up with hill runs – 11 total.

    Exercise Two: Ring Around the Toadie
    Snuff appeared to call for this in the Forgecast……….then no-showed for the workout. The PAX were pumped.
    Frog jump in a clockwise direction around the perimeter of the parking lot.

    Mosey to the track via Machismo’s Gate for Exercise Three: Lap around the football field – start at 25% effort, then 50, 75 and 100 for the home stretch.

    Exercise Four: 50 Hand Release Merkins on your own.

    Just enough time for Exercise Five: Run up Mt. Chaplain, 50 LBC’s at the top. Then back to the flag.

    Last Call took us out

    Final thoughts: Not exactly planned, but it kind of turned into leg/cardio day. Just in time for the Century Classic! Strong effort by the all the PAX today including ample mumblechatter. Always an honor to lead at the FORGE. Feels like yesterday that I was an FNG at this very location.