Author: crabgrass

  • Labor Day Convergence

    On this Labor Day morning, while the rest of RVA snoozed away in holiday slumber, 48 HIMs of F3RVA laced up, rose to the challenge, and clocked in for a true labor of love. Under the glow of the dawn, YHC had crafted a beatdown worthy of the day—a gritty, sweat-soaked symphony of effort and determination. Because what better way to honor Labor Day than by putting in some serious work?

    Mosey to the Carillon basin. A few SOJers know my style and were on the lookout for a pile of coupons stashed away somewhere for us to “find”. When we arrived at our AO for the day, “There it is” could be heard…Circle up, F3 mission and creedo, and a light warmup to get the heart going.

    Everyone grab a coupon of choice. The veteran move today was to grab the smaller of the blocks. Circle up and get ready for Kool-Aid (Extra Sugar). According to the Carillon’s security cameras, here’s what took place.

    800 meter run around the devil’s triangle
    20 Flutter Kicks holding the coupon
    20 WWIII’s
    20 Squat Thrusters

    400 meter run through the field
    20 Manmakers
    20 Bicep Curls
    20 Bent Over Rows

    400 meter run up Carillon steps and around a random light post
    20 Kettlebell Swings
    20 Squats
    20 Calf Raises

    Series of exercises performed by those opting out of the runs. I don’t know what they were doing, but it had to be excellent as they were poaching runners throughout the workout.

    60 second rest (must be an SOJ thing…)

    Same workout, but now in reverse! Mumble chatter called for creativity and LBCs(!?) but when we got to Manmakers all mumble chatter ceased and there was peace in the kingdom…Another veteran move was deployed and a block was broken – no extras = savvy!

    BTTF

    Announcements:
    9/20 7AM DOGPILE – F3RVA 11 Year
    9/26 8PM ALAMO – Ruck CSAUP (details coming this week)
    12/6 Daddy Daughter Dance, details to come

    Prayers: Thankful for the day and all the blessings we have in our lives, lifting up each man’s silent prayers.

    Thank you for the opportunity to lead you men today! Apologies to Rosie’s golf game today 🙂 See you in the Gloom!

  • This is how legends are made

    The brightest lights and the biggest stages are where icons are born. Today, a new one cemented their legacy. Today was the Grand Finale of our first annual Boys of Summer event at Timberwolf. After weeks of ultimate football, frisbee, disc golf, knockout, dodgeball, and variety games…One rose to the top and two came to challenge for the title. We settled it on the field.

    First up was Team Warby (Warby, Matlock, Festivus, Woodsman, Shiver) vs Team Flyboy (Flyboy, Rudy, The Duke, FNG, Crabgrass)

    Competition 1: 2v2 Dodgeball. First matchup went to Festivus after a stellar 1v1 with The Duke. Second matchup went to Crabgrass and Flyboy as YHC snagged two catches in the dark. Third matchup went to Warby after Rudy dropped what was the first of many balls on the day. Team Warby 3-1

    Competition 2: Knockout. Went through a couple of rotations before we started to fall. FNG deployed an interesting tactic of missiling the ball through the hoop to deter his opponent. Flyboy sent Woodsman into the abyss to search for his ball, but eventually Team Warby members fell one by one. Points to Team Flyboy, up 6-3.

    Competition 3: Par 5 disc golf with defender. Team Warby played the hook a little too much and got in trouble early. Team Flyboy used precision strikes to advance quickly. Rudy (5) and YHC (6) were the low scores and put points in the Flyboy basket to secure the win!

    Flyboy and his sidekick Rudy challenged Fandango for the title! Down to the field for Ultimate Football

    Team Fandango – Fandango, Crabgrass, The Duke, Matlock, FNG, Warby
    Team Flyboy – Flyboy, Rudy, Woodsman, Festivus, Shiver

    To make it interesting, we played Ultimate rules except Flyboy, Fandango and anyone who got an interception could be a free runner until tagged. Also, only Fandango and Flyboy could score touchdowns.

    It started off as a tight, contentious match. Each team bending but not breaking. Different strategies were deployed to take advantage of the free run rule, but the tides turned when The Duke said “F*** it, Fandango’s down there somewhere!” and launched a missile to the deep middle of the field with Fandango catching it in stride and taking off for the first score of the game. A mere prelude to the greatness still to come.

    If you remember the Randy Moss in-his-prime Patriots days when he would throw a hand up signaling to the world that he was going to be open, that’s what happened today. Fandango next caught a TD from Warby despite triple coverage in the end zone, followed by two bombs from YHC. The man couldn’t be stopped today. His stat line was 7 receptions, 350 yards, and 5 touchdowns. For Team Flyboy, as Mudslide would say, they had the YIPS. There were some chances to put points on the board, but fell short on execution. Final Score: 5-0

    Congratulations Fandango on being crowned the CHAMPION! your trophy is bigger than Flyboys!

  • VO2 Max

    Today 8 HIMs came out to help Heist reach his pre-COVID VO2 max levels. According to the speed walker, here’s what went down.

    Mosey around the parking lot to get a sense of what was to come. Quick warmup Nancy-style. To honor the love shared between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, we partnered up, grabbed a cinder block and headed to the far end of the parking lot.

    P1 runs around the clubhouse the other day end of the parking lot, P2 performs exercise until they get back. Move up one parking lot space, P2 runs. Rinse and repeat until we get through every parking space. Exercises were curls, skullcrushers, squats, swings, merkins.

    Feeling dangerous, YHC mixed it up for the last 10 parking spaces. P1 sprints while P2 SSH. Returned the blocks and did some jazzercise to take us out!

    prayers for Wildcats brother in law as he recovers from a scare. He was out running and collapsed due to a heart issue but the grace of God was present as a nurse witnessed him pass out and was able to perform CPR until medics arrived. Woodsman brought up a good point, for $100 you can get a calcium scan to see how your heart is doing, talk to your doctor. Good reminder of why we’re out here!

  • Bottom or Top? (Pyramid)

    Hot muggy day which was perfect for kettlebells! YHC started with a warmup that had some abbreviated cadences to keep the PAX guessing, a great way to unlock the mind in the morning!

    Pyramid 1

    Set 1: 10 skullcrushers, run to cone and back. Set 2: 10 skull crushers, 10 high pulls, run to cone and back. Set 3: 10 skull crushers, 10 high pulls, 10 squat curl press, run to cone and back. Set 4 10 skull crushers, 10 high pulls, 10 squat curl press, 10 goblet squats, run to cone and back. Set 5 10 skull crushers, 10 high pulls, 10 squat curl press, 10 goblet squats, 10 bent over rows, run to cone and back.

    Then we took one exercise off of each set and worked our way through until none remained. Light mumble chatter on what was considered the top and the bottom…

    mosey to benches for next one.

    same as before but exercises were 10 rage pulls, 10 reaper twists, 10 bicep curls, 10 step ups, 10 wrist curls.

    mosey to side of school, squat against wall and do 10x front lateral raises. Did 10x-15x and then BTTF

    Homegrown Half, Kool Aid Convergence, Ruck CSAUP, Chili cook off hopefully in OctoberTBD

    Great push everyone, that was a grind today!

  • Goodnight, Construction Site

    It’s often mentioned that Alamo and surrounding AOs are just pavement, and we like it that way! There’s a new neighborhood opening by Satans Hill and the smell of new pavement got us from six to midnight and we had to go explore. Nancy brought the ghost flag as a reminder of the power he possesses, but he held onto the flag for another day.

    YHC announced we had a long mosey, and away we went. Up the main road and hang a right at the construction zone. Warm up included standard items, but we added a new one, the Merman, known for loosening up your back.

    Partner up. There are 4 workout stations spaced out along the road. Each team ran to a different one to start, but it would go 1-2-3-4 then back to 1.

    1 – 8 KB squat curl press, 8 upright rows, 8 skullcrushers

    2 – 8 cinder managers, 8 curls, 8 overhead press

    3 – 8 sandbag squats, 8 thrusters, 8 plank pull throughs

    4 – 8 banded merkins, 8 deadlifts, 8 overhead press

    Nancy and YHC completed two full circuits then made the mile long run from station 4 BTTF, grabbing PAX members as we went.

    numbers names announcements prayers calories burned

  • And-1 Tour

    7 HIMs put on some baggy shorts and high tops and hit the blacktop for some knockout and 3v4. According to the shirtless and chiseled man running the track at 5am, here’s what happened…

    Mosey around the school and back to the courts, circled up gave F3 message and did a series of stretches to stretch the ligaments.

    started off with a game of knockout. If knocked out go do a suicide on other court, 5 SSH each time you reach the baseline. If game is still going when finished, hop back in. After a series of returning players, we upped it to 20 SSH. Classic game, Swoop prevailed.

    next 3v4 half court. 3 man team held their own but fell 5-3. Round of merkins for everyone.

    next mixed up teams and did 3v4 full court. Skip to my Lou Swoop had a bunch of fast break points. Hot Sauce Rudy hit some big shots out there. Professor Warby put that low center of gravity to work with some nice handles. Escalade Matlock showed how performance enhancing drugs can improve a mid range jumper. Helicopter Flyboy had a memorable 3 that’s still in the air somewhere. Bone Collector Teddy KGB owned the paint on both sides of the court. Main Event Crabgrass needs some chicken to go with his Shake N’ Bake. Team with 4 prevailed but everyone was a winner today as we had a great time and shared some laughs along the way.

    Battlers Rudy and Warby. Fandango has relinquished his 4 point lead and it’s any man’s game for Boys of Summer trophy!

    Announcements – Homegrown Half 8/16. CSAUP Ruck 9/26 8pm-12am. Details to be announced closer to September

  • Best 43 minutes of your life

    After the beatdown that occurred at No Toll yesterday, YHC’s Garmin watch said he needed a few extra minutes of sleep to recover, and who am I to argue!? Hopped in my car, passed some ruckers in the gloom and made my way to The Woodshed! Futon got the boys warmed up, no clue what he did because I wasn’t there…

    I will say, it’s nice to show up to a workout and have the squad already circled up and ready to go! jumped right into some SSH and extra curricular activities to get the blood flowing. Verified that Teddy still had some blocks on site, he confirmed so we moseyed over to grab them and headed to the field.

    Line up for EMOM.

    Round 1
    Curls, overhead press, merkins. Run to the first bench and back.
    Observations: Futon is still the king of EMOM, dude can’t be beat. Dr Scholls and Spud Webb gave it a good run, but Futon capped out at 19 reps when others couldn’t. YHC’s chest was on fire at 16 and let out a soft whimper as he conceded.

    Sprint to other end of the field, mosey back

    Round 2
    SSH, squats, block curls. Run to first bench and back
    Observations: The key is to get the rotation correct. Curls into squats into SSH was the key, but our natural tendency is to do SSH first unless you’re a weirdo like Warby. F3 veterans are some sneaky dudes! Futon said “these are hard exercises to cheat on” but yet somehow, some way, Dumar puts on a masterclass in corner cutting. Not to be outdone, Hermey did his best Andy Dufrain impression and managed to get his block 10 yards in front of everyone else and cut his run distance by 20%. Age isn’t just a number they say…

    Circle up, announcements, prayers – Rock N Roll family event, homegrown half, CSAUP 9/26
    Lobstah’s friends child age 7 recently diagnosed with cancer, Excel travelling to Clarksville

    FNG! TIMMY
    Known for following Teddy KGB everywhere he goes, TIMMY lives in Harpers Mill and is a veteran, works for a consulting firm where he consults with other consultants to give consulting advice to clients; has 3 boys (5,7,9? don’t quote me) and roots for the Yankees and NY Jets and loves the movie Inception, the guy can’t shut up about it! Last name Timmons, so TIMMY was a natural choice. Welcome to the PAX my man

  • Ode to Blacktop

    Q sheet was open as of Sunday so YHC grabbed it but wondered what to do. Relive Iron Pax? Boberry just dropped that hammer. EMOMs? No doing that Wednesday. What about….redoing Blacktops Q!? Haven’t done that in a minute! YHC texted Blacktop and he was excited and said he’d join, so that’s what we did!

    Today was the definition of muggy but we got after it. Run down and around the corner then circle up for mission and warmups. Then run to Matlock house. Two teams, each team runs to next intersection and does 5 WW2. Run back and do 5 WW2, 10 Dry Docks. Then run back to intersection and repeat until 5 WW2, 10 Dry Docks, 15 squats, 20 donkey clappers, 25 merkins, 30 Lt Dans.

    Quick 30 count then do the same thing but in reverse order, so remove an exercise after each run.

    Mosey to Rudy’s house for monkey humpers and the Ohio St fight song.

    Run/walk/run/walk BTTF. Ring of Squat fire to take us out

    announcements Ultimate battle tomorrow, kid friendly workout at rock n roll, homegrown half. Congratulations to the Duke and his wife on their baby girl

  • TWOLF Dodgeball

    10 HIMs wanted to throw some s*** at each other, a healthy way to release some energy. What’s in the bag was up for debate – wrenches, dodgeballs…who knows! 5:30, let’s mosey.

    Halfway around the track YHC stopped for some stretching. Rudy pondered why we only ran half the track. Arm circles, middle school stretches, and Roscoe’s mom got us ready for the event ahead. YHC decided to do a schoolyard pick, first two to sprint across the field were captains.

    YHC got off the line clean and was a powerhouse flying down the field. I could hear Rudy’s teeth chattering as he declared he was going to catch me, but there were no footsteps to be heard today folks. Topping out at a blistering 17.4 MPH, YHC left Rudy and Tzatziki in the dust and earned first pick.

    Team 1 – Crabgrass, Wildcat, Cookie, Matlock, Rosie
    Team 2 – Rudy, Festivus, EF Hutton, Fandango, Tzatziki

    Rules are simple – get hit, run to other side of tennis courts and do 5 burpees to earn your way back in the game. Get hit a 2nd time, 10 burpees. Get hit a 3rd time, lap around the track. 4th time, go have a seat.

    Game 1 was a back and forth seesaw. Team 2 had the advantage until Wildcat pulled off a back-to-back catch. What was a 3-v-1 became a 1-v-3 as two of Wildcat’s teammates returned from burpees. Last man standing was cornered eventually fell. Team 2 lap around the track.

    Game 2 was even more contentious. Nobody wanted to give in, risks were taken only with cautious consideration and the teams went back and forth. Many players hit their 3rd time out and were able to make it around the track and get back in the game, a true battle of wills! With 4 minutes left YHC called an audible. Players who were out could now throw dodgeballs from the second tennis court. This created a unique crossfire, if your head wasn’t on a swivel you were done for. Festivus fought valiantly until the end, squatting in the corner ready to take on any balls coming his way. But alas, even the mighty fall at times…Team 2, 5 burpees and BTTF.

    Glad to have some summer tourists stop by for our Boys of Summer fun we have at Timberwolf! My watch says I only ran 1.25 miles today, but I was GASSED out there today. Ton of fun, hope to do it again sometime soon.

    Announcements – Bridge Saturday; Family Fun @ Rock n Roll 7/27, Homegrown half 8/16, RUCK CSAUP 9/26 @ 8pm (save the date). Prayers for Fandango’s friend who recently lost a mother and wife.

  • High Stakes Kettlebell

    8 HIMs woke up to no more lightning, so we grabbed large iron orbs and went outside to toss them around. According to the bullfrogs (or cheeks clapping, hard to tell) here’s what took place…

    Under promise and over deliver, no running today, let’s just circle up, stretch it out, and get to work.

    Kettlebell Poker
    – Each round, YHC calls out an exercise and we do 10x
    – Then one-by-one, each PAX draws a card and we perform that many reps: 2-10, J 11, Q 12, K 13, A 14
    – Spades – Single Arm Clean + Press
    – Clubs – Skullcrushers
    – Diamonds – Romanian Deadlifts
    – Hearts – KB Swings
    Rinse and repeat until each PAX member has 5 cards

    Spades were heavily favored, but clubs came out 4 times in a row to really hit the triceps. YHC turned it into 5 card draw, at the cost of 10 halos you could trade in 2 cards for a better hand.

    How good of a hand you had determined final workout. High card = 20x, Pair = 18x, 2 Pair = 16x, 3 of a kind = 14x, Straight or Flush = 12x, Full House = 10x, Royal/Straight Flush/4x = 5x

    Based on your hand, do X for each of the suits.

    To finish the day off, squatted against the wall and did 3 sets of 10x front raises. Wildcat had some gas escape the trap door which led to many PAX going around the corner to a different wall.

    Numbers, Announcements, Prayers – Wildcat scans & the family of the boy who drowned in the reservoir