Brothers, SOJ is proud to announce the inaugural “School of Rock” 2.0-friendly workout on May 28th. This bootcamp is for YOU AND YOUR KIDS, and will happen monthly May-Sept kicking off at the conclusion of Rock&Roll’s COT, or about 8AM. We’ll keep it to ~30min of exercise then enjoy 2nd F + snacks on the Playground. Please save the date! YHC, DTH
Leaving the darkness of sloth in the dust, ten mighty warriors embraced the misty gloom of Rockwood Park to join the heavenly song of triumph over the flesh. With two awesome FNG’s swelling the ranks, DTH provided a nice tour-de-AO with a bit of F3 theology thrown in the mix.
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
COP #1:
COP #2:
COP #3:
COP #4:
COP #5:
COP #6:
COP #7:
Mosey BTTF:
COT:
NMS: This Rock&Roll AO is on FIRE with all the FNG’s coming out – big kudos to Florence igniting the AO. Was really enjoyable introducing F3 to Heartburn (works in endoscopy) and Van Damme (enjoys Muay Thai). These guys brought some AWESOME energy to the PAX this morning and look forward to seeing them back out more! Also super encouraging to see House Party, Floppy Disc, Rev and Ponch diving into the F3 deep end with regular posts – keep it up fellas!!! We are stronger together, and this AO has so much more growth to come! It was a pleasure to lead and serve you guys. SYITG, DTG
15 of SOJ’s unquestionable He/HIM’s worked up a sweat hammering a few more nails in the coffins of their old sad clown selves. To everyone’s delight, Wilson provides a personal “touch” to the experience…
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
COP #1:
COP #2:
COP #3:
Mosey BTTF for COT:
NMS: Ain’t no PAX like the SOJ PAX, as poor absentee Gumbo will soon find out. Awesome weather to hit those lush NoToll fields, and the PAX crushed the Dime Pounder with ease. After Wilson provided his own special touch on 2nd F, a few of the PAX lost momentum on completing the Over-Unders but heroically planked for the last man to reach the end line. Thanks for sharing your sweat and humor this morning gentlemen. SYITG, DTH
The 10 best PAX brothers a guy could ask for posted to the Forge for a 3 year anniversary Q. With no rain and warm breezy temps, these HIM’s set new records in the Forge-specific NEW GLORY challenge. Here’s how Hardywood led the way!
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
!!! NEW GLORY !!!
NEW GLORY completion points have been posted on the F3RVA Challenge Spreadsheet, where PAX can review progress over the years! Link HERE: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-L8e9W24ygnU0suaGyKxzi1PgPqY1CBd57hLrKTZI-g/edit#gid=116147269
TIME CALLED! Mosey BTTF to Cool Down & COT:
NMS: Brothers, you know how much YHC loves the spirit of F3 – what it stands for and why it works to save men’s lives. What YHC loves even more is the brotherhood we have, and it has been an incredible honor to be a part of so many amazing relationships with you all. YHC absorbs wisdom and character from each of you, and it has absolutely improved YHC’s quality of life and impact on those YHC loves and serves. Thank you SO MUCH for your faithfulness to The Forge and following YHC through some ridiculous physical challenges over the years – the New Glory today perhaps being one of the hardest! We have only begun to scratch the surface of what we are capable of as a tight community of faithful brothers – and my prayer is that God gives us the time and wisdom to take hard steps in serving our community and bringing in FNG’s – and so fulfill the purpose He has created us for. Yours Truly, DTH
For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
A dozen SOJ HIM’s escaped the fartsack’s warm embrace to laugh it up with Hardywood in the chilly gloom of NoToll. With visions of Tryhard’s warm sugarplums dancing in their heads, the PAX heroically stomped the following beatdown:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
MOSEY TOLL:
SEVEN OF DIAMONDS:
MOSEY TOLL:
FIVE MIN OF CORE-BUSTIN’ MARY
COT:
NMS: Solid numbers for a cold Spring morning, and YHC had just the routine to keep the blood warm. Always amazing how long it takes to rock a Seven of Diamonds, but there was also a definitive slowing with the midway 112 merkins. The PAX crushed it all the same, and still had time for showing Mary a good time at the end. Wonderful as always to have Hardywood back out in the gloom. In his prayer, he reminded the PAX to be EXCEPTIONAL instead of settling to be the exception. We all have the risk of taking short cuts, which only limit our own potential. Let’s lead by example to not only adhere to the rules but also serve others along the way. An honor to lead as always, YHC, DTH
The hottest 7 man boy band in Metro RVA took the Forge stage for some good vibrations. With temps a balmy 68, and not a raindrop in sight, here’s what aired this morning on MTV:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
COP #1:
COP #2:
COP #3:
COP #4:
Mosey BTTF:
COT:
NMS: Beautiful spring morning to welcome another FNG to the SOJ fold. Pat is a good friend from YHC’s church and he and his wife attend our Bible Study. Pat loves the Eagles, and he earned the nickname Marky Mark when nickname banter took us to remembering Mark Wahlberg’s role playing Vince Papale in the movie “Invincible”. Welcome bro!!! Appreciate you guys permitting me to lead. Yours, DTH
After a swarthy six paid homage to the Morning Wood, a PAX of nine HIM’s embarked on the latest version of DTH’s Spontaneous Pain Train – ie, do whatever crazy stuff Tryhard randomly calls next. Here’s how the ladies saw it happen:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
COP #1:
COP #2:
COP #3:
COP #4:
COP #4:
COP #5:
Mosey BTTF for COT:
NMS: We’ll start with a praise report. After working with a great PT, and with wearing an ankle brace, YHC ran the 2.5 mile Morning Wood pre-run without the IT Band pain that’s been keeping YHC from long distance running for the last 15+ years! Lord willing, running groups and BRR can be in my future. Was great to have such a solid group at R&R this morning. Bone Thugs’ arrival was a surprise since he’d planned on Dogpile, but his presence was as fine and humorous as always. The PAX was about to kick-off at 0700 and we were passed by a geriatric group of walkers heckling us to try and keep up – hilarious – YHC thought about calling monkey humpers after we passed them, but thought better of it. With no specific plan in place apart from “trying hard”, a fairly challenging routine followed, and the mumble chatter was fairly limited. Doing 3 sets of dying boxing cockroaches reminded YHC we should implement these more often. On the BLIMPS circuit the PAX was passed twice by a group of ladies, and the PAX planked in neat formation along the side of the trail to perform excellent merkins IC, by which the ladies were duly impressed. Overall a very successful morning, and YHC was reminded of a quote which I’ve shared below. May we all be mindful of the power we give away to lesser things. For HIM, DTH
“We gain the strength of the temptation we resist.” R.W.Emerson
An intimate foursome gathered in the forge gloom and each was asked “what do you need this morning?” Without a specific plan in mind, YHC gathered the PAX was interested in stretching, running DTH’s neighborhood hills, getting warm, and exercising the core. Service with a smile, here’s what we did:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
COP #1:
COP #2:
Mosey BTTF:
YHC apologizes – there was no formalized COT… but we had four Forge Vets who share life and love, and we ended our time with Namaste and Tailgate Coffeerama.
NMS: After leading some painful routines at Dogpile and NoToll, YHC was ready for something a little lighter today. The week has been extremely busy, and no plan was made, except to serve the PAX whatever they needed. We left no man behind, and we found each other stronger together at the end. God is good all the time, and giving Him our burdens, relinquishing control of our lives to His perfect Love, is where we can find a peace that surpasses understanding. Love and Grace, DTH
The NoToll PAX cheered with excitement (or maybe it was nervous laughter) to each collect two bricks from YHC’s truck. With the consensus of watches suggesting 0530, the newest members of the Olympic SOJ bricklaying team moseyed to the basketball court for a hot date with Sally…
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
COP #1:
Brief intermission sans-bricks to mosey back and close the back of YHC’s truck
COP #2:
Mosey BTTF:
COT:
NMS: In reviewing the madness we had endured, the consensus is thus: PAX will always modify, but they are more likely to modify a really hard workout to be more manageable, than they would ever modify a easy workout to be harder. For YHC, digging deep to lead by example without modification and in best possible form, this was a REALLY challenging workout. But MAN it felt good! YHC’s bricks ended up in an old laundry basket for transport today, but still not optimal – gonna have track down some sturdy milk crates and make the Bricks&Beats routine a regular showcase. SYITG! ~DTH
A remnant of 18 faithful brothers posted to Dogpile knowing full well what a Tryhard Q would entail. With a chorus of birdsong regaling the forecast of sunny and 70, the PAX dug deep to hammer out this beatdown:
The THANG:
COP #1:
COP #2:
COP #3:
COP #4:
Mosey BTTF & 2MOM
COT:
NMS: Gorgeous Spring morning at Dogpile with a great big beautiful PAX hungry for a challenge. YHC has been attending the new SOJ Sat workout “Rock-N-Roll” which is a GREAT AO, but there’s something special about Dogpile – was great to be back! The Rusty Cage Triple Check proved more of a challenge than most of us could handle, but the PAX put out hard this morning and did a great job with the COP’s. BB title stemmed from Mumble Chatter about “floaters in the eye”, and Gomer Pyle’s question of whether ejaculate in the eye is harmful – to which the Doctor replied no, and in fact it may well be a healthy form of lubricant. The chatter digressed from there… Always a pleasure to lead gentlemen, THANK YOU for the honor! SYITG, DTH