Author: Dr Tryhard

  • Anniversary Wood

    13 lucky brothers accepted the DTH call to celebrate the DTH/Draper 6 year F3versary – 11 rucking, 2 running. Here’s how the 11 hefted PAIN around Rockwood:

    The THANG: 

    With final ruck lending/situating complete, Chaplain and House Party taking off for a romantic jog around campus, and rucker headlamps ON, the PAX took off at a brisk pace down the gravel road to The PIT. The PAX arrived to find the gate open and logs uncovered, they chose PAIN (14’ telephone pole size log), leaving CHAOS with the stack of 6-8’ cabers. YHC provided a brief welcome and disclaimer – plenty of guys and choosing only one log so only get under it if you feel comfortable doing so!  5 HIM’s led by Rodeo Clown shouldered the log and the PAX ventured out into the woods of Rockwood. YHC chose a smaller loop path and the PAX switch places under the log about 4 times during the 0.7 miles trek. PAIN was returned to its berth, and the PAX took off for the same loop at high speed carrying inly their rucks. Mumble chatter was plentiful and of high cheer. With time to spare the PAX continued from the woods loop to include a speedy trek around the full driveway loop of Rockwood, stopping periodically for the SIX, doing Squats or Lunges while waiting. The PAX returned in time to bid farewell to Warby leaving at 0645, and then returned to the PIT to pull out the 6-8’ cabers for the 7am Rock&Roll bootcamp. BTTF for COT, numbers, names, prayer, and group picture with an AWESOME F3 banner sported on the DTH-mobile.

    Prayer Requests:

    • The M of Katniss has been hospitalized for the last month after issues resulting from the birth of their firstborn – please lift this man up in your prayers!
    • Chaplain’s MIL 
    • Banksy’s boss lost his Mom
    • Rodeo Clown’s nephew Alex has been homeless with addiction issues
  • Sober October 2024

    Sober October 2024

    All RVA PAX are invited to join together for a month of self-denial. It doesn’t matter what you choose to give up, taking a stand against your usual desires/indulgences will bring you to new levels of self-awareness and self-discipline, and it will grow our camaraderie in accountability and encouragement with one another. Giving up alcohol is a solid step if you regularly have a drink to take the edge off your stress, but you could also choose to abandon other unhealthy habits like sweets, snacks, soda, social media, or any screen time activity you regularly indulge in. As always with F3, you versus you… but don’t let the JESTER win! (F3 Lexicon: The Jester is the temptation of the flesh which hinders acceleration). There is a Slack channel (#sober_october) you can join for mutual encouragement, and a link below where you can declare what you’ll be giving up, and keep track of your progress. Yours AYE! ~DTH

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-L8e9W24ygnU0suaGyKxzi1PgPqY1CBd57hLrKTZI-g/edit

     

  • Unquenchable Ring of Fire

    A breezy 70 degrees at NoToll with nary a rain drop in sight welcomed a 14-strong PAX of SOJ HIM’s for a ride around the Ring of Fire. Here’s what we did:

    The THANG: 

    WARMERAMA: 

    • Mosey onto the BBall court and circle up
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • RING OF FIRE #1 (Johnny Cash, 2:36) – Smurf Jacks for the duration of the song with a Burpee for every “ring of fire” lyric (x17 burpees total)
    • Other variable warm-up reps IC
    • RING OF FIRE #2 – Plank walk around circle, Merkin for every “ring of fire” lyric and change direction of plank walk

    COP #1: 

    • DORACIDE
    • x100 Merkins
    • x200 Monkey Humpers
    • x300 Oblique LBC’s
    • Moving partner does suicides, then switches

    COP #2:

    • Mosey out to the parking lot
    • Stretch
    • VARIABLE SPRINTS alternated with variable Bernie, etc
    • Plankorama Review

    COP #3:

    • CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
    • P1 – Starts lunge walking around the lot
    • P2 – x30 Flutters (2-ct) then run to switch

    Mosey BTTVSF:

    • RING OF FIRE #3 – Plank jacks for the entirety of the song with a Groiner for every “ring of fire” lyric

    The Final Ring of FIRE …AKA, COT:

    • Counterama # 13
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • BOM Prayer

    Prayer Requests:

    • Sister Maria – battle with cancer
    • Dealer’s Coworkers with struggles

    NMS:  Hey guys, does our God love us or what?! ZERO rain for the duration of the workout and COT, then literally as we’re walking to our cars it starts to downpour! What amazing timing. YHC was fully ready to do the EXACT same beatdown in the pouring rain, but it was such a blessing to stay dry. Pretty awesome numbers at NoToll given the 98% chance of rain – TClaps fellas! Sorry (not sorry) for the J.Cash ROF repeato, but it was too good not to find some other fun ways to use that song. It’s a great burner! Truly appreciate sharing the gloom with you guys. Yours AYE! ~DTH

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

    • ONGOING – Wed AM Ruckhenge QSource
    • 9/20&21 – 10 Year Anniv (multiple events)
    • 10/15-16 – CPR Classes! 
    • 10/25-27 – F3 Family Camping
    • 11/2 – F3 Daddy Daughter Dance
    • 11/3-9 – VQ Week! 
    • ONGOING – The Bridge

  • Freed To LEAD

    13 men of valor have chosen a different form of retreat this morning – retreating from the lure of the fartsack, and paying the ransom of sweat and pain owed to glorifying God with our bodies. Here’s how these HIM’s embraced the challenge to lead:

    The THANG: 

    WARMERAMA: 

    • Circle up on the basketball court
    • Invite to any other guys wanting to Q …no takers? OK, let’s GO! 
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • The usual DTH top to bottom IC Reps

    COP #1: 

    • DORA
    • x100 Merkins, x200 Squats, x300 LBC’s
    • Moving partner lunges length of basketball court, then bearcrawls back to switch with partner

    PLANKORAMA REVIEW:

    • Review the F3 Mission, Credo, 5 CP’s while holding low plank, pushing up and stretching between

    COP #2:

    • Mosey out to the lit parking area and circle up
    • FREED TO LEAD
    • The PAX was briefly directed by the Q on the simple steps to call an exercise in cadence (1. State the exercise, 2. Ready Position Move, 3. In Cadence, 4. Exercise!, 5. 1-2-3-_, 6. Change intonation in final count)
    • Each of the 12 other HIM’s in the circle then exercised their freedom to lead the PAX in 10 reps of whatever exercise they wanted in cadence
    • After Action Report was provided where needed but generally everyone did extremely well

    COP #3:

    • TRIPLE CHECK
    • P1 – Flutters
    • P2 – Wall Step-ups
    • P3 – Run up steep hill and back down

    COT:

    • Counterama # 13
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • YHC took the PAX out in Prayer

    Prayer Requests:

    • Salvation for Marshall and Christian, two brothers that FNG Hasselhoff brought here to the retreat 

    NMS:  Wonderful weather for our second mountain beatdown, and great to have another big group at the Windy Gap men’s retreat. Plenty of turnover between yesterday and today as most men chose only one of the two days to attend F3. But we still had three FNG’s to welcome, and all the PAX embraced the opportunity to lead some reps in cadence and did a GREAT job of it. YHC was hoping another HIM would accept yesterday’s invite for someone else to lead today’s beatdown, but since no takers YHC found another way to share leadership. God is moving here on the mountain top, as always best appreciated as it appears THROUGH the brothers next to you. I’m reveling in deep thanksgiving for the opportunity to be here. Yours AYE! ~DTH

  • 17 Mountain Men

    First bootcamp of Windy Gap 2024 pulled together a handsome 17-PAX (including 7 FNG’s!) to the pre-dawn Carolina mountain gloom. These men of God answered the call to do something hard, to start their day with a transformative dose of the Daily Red Pill, and draw on one another’s strength to achieve victory over the flesh. Here’s how these HIM’s honored our Creator:

    The THANG: 

    WARMERAMA:

    • Assemble on the dark Basketball Court
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • Nancy Kerrigans IC ea side
    • Copperhead Squats IC
    • x5 Burpees OYO
    • Mosey over to the road in the lamplight
    • Don Quixotes IC
    • The Opus IC
    • Werkins IC
    • Diamonds IC
    • WWII’s IC
    • Flutters High & Low IC
    • LBC’s IC
    • REVIEW THE 5 CORE PRINCIPLES 

    COP #1: 

    • FIFTIES – x50 reps of variable exercises with a 30-50 yard mosey between stops
    • Merkins, Monkey Humpers, Squats, Dips, Lunges

    COP #2:

    • THE HILL – get up the steep grassy hill in Bear Crawl, with alternate lunge if needed
    • Front runners go back for the SIX, then Elbow Plank to REVIEW THE F3 CREDO

    COP #3:

    • LIGHT POLE ALLY
    • x15 Squats at each light back down to the bridge

    COP #4:

    • CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
    • Partner up and while one partner starts BERNIE, the other completes x3 BURPEES then sprints to catch partner and switch

    COP #5:

    • WALLORAMA
    • Hoedowns IC
    • Donkey Locks IC
    • Milkers IC
    • BTTW for Hip Slappers IC

    Mosey BTTVSF:

    • Circle up for 5min of MARY
    • Am Hammers IC
    • Rosalita Dips IC
    • Boat/Canoe until time

    COT:

    • Counterama # 17
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • YHC took the PAX out in Prayer

    NMS:  This is YHC’s 4th annual meeting on the mountain with God and close to 400 brothers. This being the 49th year of the Windy Gap men’s retreat, the mountaintop weekend embraces men in a place of need for renewal. Every year the F3 workouts have attracted more brothers, and always entertains a healthy percentage of FNG’s.  With at least 5 HIM’s over 50-70 years of age, the bootcamp followed a pattern of easily modifiable reps and shorter distances while maintaining a respectable challenge for all fitness levels. It was especially awesome to celebrate the return of Liberace and a number of other men from the Recovery Program who work as wait staff at camp. TClaps to these guys for breaking away from the status quo! Round two tomorrow at 0600 and hope to see some more of our veterans out who chose to retreat in their bunks this morning!  Yours AYE! ~DTH

  • Trail Blazing the Source

    A dozen Ruckhenge enthusiasts jumped aboard the Q train for a 3 mile ruck and discussion of all things, with a focus on the 5 Foundations of the Q Source. Sounding like a gaggle of school girls the PAX followed YHC on some new paths to get us up to Stony Point Fashion Park, then the wide loop around Larus Park. Oyster, master of the orgasm lap, played Duck Duck Goose around COT to ensure he achieved the full 3.0 miles. All 12 PAX stuck around for Einstein coffeerama and phenomenal Q Source discussion. For those interested in jumping aboard the Q train, we’ll be doing this every Wed at 5am for quite a while. Next discussion will cover Q1 “Get Right” overview and Q1.1 “DRP” – links below for reading or listening. Yours AYE! ~DTH

    https://f3nation.com/q-source-index

  • DaTour Finale

    Six gloom HIM’s converged at Dapile as a hazy dawn broke over Daville. SPIT planted the flag and closed the door on a nasty coupon beatdown he’d prepared in case YHC no-showed. No chance boyz, this Summer Tour has GOT to end! Here’s how we all got a little stronger:

    The THANG: 

    WARMERAMA: 

    • Mosey loop around the big lot and circle up
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • The usual DTH top to bottom IC Reps

    GETTING THERE:

    • Mosey around the school
    • Lunge walk pole to pole 50 yards
    • Continue mosey to the tennis courts

    COP #1:

    • PLT LINDSEY
    • Partner up, PLT’s 30-25-20-15-10 completed be each partner
    • Run between sides

    PLANKORAMA REVIEW:

    • Ring of Review for the F3 Mission, Credo, and 5 CP’s …hilarity ensued
    • Waved hellooooo to a speedy Circle K passing by on 2 wheels

    COP #2:

    • Mosey around the middle school
    • Partner up for a TORA, a Dora honoring the DTH Summer Tour
    • x36 Burpees (honors 36 different AO’s attended/Q’d this summer)
    • x86 Heels to Heaven (for 86 1st F points)
    • x152.2 Nancy Kerrigans (for total ST points so far earned)
    • While one partner is doing reps, the other bear crawls 30-ish yards then runs the rest of the small parking lot loop, then switches with partner upon return

    COP #3:

    • Mosey over to the gravel track 
    • Lap 1 – x25 Merkins, run half a lap, x25 Squats, run the rest of the way around, ABC’s for the SIX
    • Headlock a future F3 Clydesdale putting in track work 
    • Lap 2 – Repeato with Flutters for the SIX

    Mosey BTTF:

    • Curb Dirty Hookups with 1 leg up, x10 IC each side
    • Hold Helix Squat, stand, repeat x10
    • Boat/Canoe x10
    • Stretch

    COT:

    • Counterama # 6
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • YHC took the PAX out in Prayer

    Prayer Requests:

    • Healing for Bulkhead
    • One other request I can’t recall

    NMS:  After a whirlwind 24-hr YHC made it back from DC after midnight in time to get a few winks before the Dapile Q. Today marked the last AO of the Summer Tour and wouldn’t have missed it for anything, especially with the AWESOME Daville gang. The PAX enjoyed a nice tour of the AO, excellent mumble chatter, and The Local Cup was brewed to perfection for a most excellent coffeerama following. Numbers bumped to 8 for coffee – Wonderful to see Bulkhead up on his feet locked and loaded with his weapon …AHEM pimpin swagger crutch. And also nice to see Surf&Turf come out. “Treat Yourself!” Really appreciated the opportunity to share about the upcoming Missions Trip at PNG. Our BLOG to read about past trips and how to support is www.hendersonsinmissions.blogspot.com Thanks again for the fine hospitality gents. Yours AYE! ~DTH

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

    • 9/2 – 7am Labor day Convergence at Nuckols Farm Elementary
    • 9/4 – Kickoff Ruckhenge QSource
    • 9/8 – F3 Family James Float
    • 9/14 – Heist Q’ing The Bridge
    • 9/20&21 – 10 Year Anniv (multiple events)
    • 10/25-27 – F3 Family Camping
    • 11/2 – F3 Daddy Daughter Dance

  • SOGA & GREMLIN

    Seven Saints of the Almighty locked shields and slayed that small but cruel beast which is fabled to prowl the grounds of The Forge. Gallons of sweat were sacrificed in the following heroic efforts:

    The THANG: 

    WARMERAMA: 

    • Moseyrama around the top loop and circle up at the flag
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • The usual DTH top to bottom IC Reps

    GETTING THERE:

    • Long mosey down to the turf field through a highly guarded many-gated secret pathway
    • Circle up in plank on the 50 yard line
    • Plankorama with review of the F3 MIssion, Credo, and 5 CP’s (with impeccable execution by the Forge PAX)
    • Mosey down to the 10 yard line

    THE GREMLIN:

    • A short-sided beast between the 10 and 50 yard lines, with exhaustingas movement activities between reps completed on the 20/30/40 yard lines (down & back for 6 total stops, 6 reps at each stop)
    • Round 1 – Bear Crawl & WWII’s
    • Round 2 – Lunges & Squats
    • BREAK FOR SPRINTS
    • Round 3 – Murder Bunnies & Merkins
    • Round 4 – Low Shuffle & SSH’s
    • Round 5 – Crab Walk & LBC’s
    • Round 6 – Broad Jumps & Line Hops

    Mosey BTTF:

    • Ensure all gates carefully closed
    • Bernie Sanders up Love Hill

    COT:

    • Counterama # 7
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • MACHISMO took the PAX out in Prayer

    Prayer Requests:

    • Bollywood starting grueling combat training
    • Machismo friend Maria cancer battle

    NMS:  YHC awoke early to secure the AO and join Last Call for Broga, only to find himself locked out of his house without keys in hand. No problem, run to AO. Sweat pouring already. AO secured and field access confirmed. No Last Call, no problem. SOGA (solo yoga) ensued, joined by REV towards the end. PAX arrived with much angst about DTH Q’ing and no truck in sight… was it hidden somehwere loaded down with cabers? Last Call broke out in a sweat even before 0530, but that may have just been the 1000% humidity. Turns out, no cabers, just a super challenging Gremlin in need of conquering on the perfectly soft turf football field. BTW, the guaranteed access to the field is through the tennis courts. Awesome effort by the PAX this morning. Always a pleasure to Q at the best AO in RVA. Yours AYE! ~DTH

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

    • ONGOING – The Bridge
    • 9/2 – 7am Labor day Convergence at Nuckols Farm Elementary
    • 9/4 – Kickoff Ruckhenge QSource
    • 9/8 – F3 Family James Float
    • 9/20&21 – 10 Year Anniv (multiple events)
    • 10/25-27 – F3 Family Camping
    • 11/2 – F3 Daddy Daughter Dance

  • OTB BranderRUCK

    Four chiseled warriors found gloom on the other end of the day rucking a little over five miles around the perfectly paved trails of Brandermill (distance and pace varied between devices). Thanks to MEATBALL for the route and leading a blistering pace! Welcome to FNG STEVE who’s from our church and lives near Bon Air – he’s looking forward to earning his nickname at a bootcamp soon! And always awesome conversing with KATNISS. Thanks for choosing the hard path fellas – we’re getting stronger together! Yours AYE! ~DTH

  • Sunday FUNday

    Welcome to F3RVA, where breaking away from the status quo serves the F3 Mission, brings families together, creates momentum and space for FNG’s, and where we get to have a whole lot of fun together in the process! 

    The usual runners took off for BRR training while 23 ruck-loving F3 Dad’s, a gaggle of awesome kids, and a couple FNG’s hit the North Bank trail towards the city. The PAX stopped to count off a few times, stopped at about the 40min mark within sight of skyscrapers, snapped a group pic, and then reverso marched BTTVSF for a total of 3.3 miles in 90 minutes. 

    COT:

    • Counterama # 30
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • YHC took the PAX out in Prayer

    Prayer Requests:

    • Pool Boy’s 15 year old cousin getting scans for Melanoma
    • Offshore’s Dad passed away a couple weeks ago

    NMS:  Awesome numbers out this morning and welcome to all our FNG dads and kids!  FNG NICK is a Poolboy’s friend and he’s gonna come out to Goyne Park soon to get nicknamed with those guys. FNG MATT is Rodeo Clown’s new neighbor and he’s excited about plugging in with the Midlo PAX. If there’s ever a question about whether changing things up at an AO might prove beneficial, remember today. Yours AYE! ~DTH

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

    • ONGOING – Summer Tour – just a few more days to go!
    • TONIGHT – 8pm Brandermill Ruck
    • 8/27 – S.Frog #50 at Heartbreak
    • 8/28 – New AO “Green Mile” at Mosely Elem
    • 9/2 – 7am Labor day Convergence at Nuckols Farm Elementary
    • 9/4 – Kickoff Ruckhenge QSource
    • ?9/8 – Rescheduled James Float
    • 9/20&21 – 10 Year Anniv (multiple events)
    • 10/25-27 – F3 Family Camping
    • 11/2 – F3 Daddy Daughter Dance