Author: Fireman Ed

  • Head Treatments and a Dead Body

    11 muscled warriors including a Circus Maximus first timer showed up for a kettlebell workout. It was reported that a dead body was found the previous morning at the workout site. Whether such report is true may be a mystery. Given that the first timer at Circus was Handshake, the amount of mumble chatter went up. The chatter included a discussion about a PAX who shall remain nameless getting a treatment on his head. Well anyways here is the workout:

    COP: DQs, CPs, merkins, FMs and LBCs Mosey to Pump road side of school.

    E1: Death crawls which are bear crawls with coupon and at the curbs do 1 sit and press, crawl do 2 sit and presses up to 5 and back down to 1. Mosey slightly down the curb.

    E2: Triple check with bench press, overhead pulls and run to small tree left of the curb and back. Mosey to front parking lot.

    E3: Four corners with 10 burpees, 20 coupon squats, 30 high pulls and 40 curls for the ladies. mosey back to home base.

    e4: Sets of lawnmower pulls and calf raises. First set 5 each (per arm on lawnmower pulls), then 10 each, then 15 each. Mosey to home base.

    Finished with American hammers, coupon flutter kicks, heels to heaven, mountain climbers and some stretching.

    Announcements: Join gypsy and be part of the F3 team doing the Allianz Richmond Marathon next year. I swear there were other announcements but I forgot them. Prayers for Fudd’s sister Mary, Roger Roger’s wife and me (Fireman Ed). Thanks for letting me lead! What is wrong with the da$n Jets?

  • Gridiron – the Movie

    11 PAX showed up to play parts in the greatest movie filming of all time, or at least the best one filled at Short Pump middle school, at 7 in the morning.

    COP: DQs (with an abundance of mumble chatter), helicopters, HRMs, Freddie Mercuries (in honor of Tater Mercury who is growing a mustache for a good cause), LBCs and arm circles. Mosey to track.

    4 corners on track 1/4 of the track, 10 merkins, 1/4 track, 20 merkins, 1/4 track 30 merkins and 1/4 track 40 merkins. 100 merkins – not shabby at all my friends. Mosey to nearby soccer field which looked like a swamp so audible to nearby asphalt.

    Bear crawl as far as you can or to the stop sign. When you can bear crawl no further, lunge.

    Lindseys: Lindsey 1: Carolina Dry docks and monkey humpers. Lindsey 2: plank jacks and squats, Lindsey 3: APDs and pickle pounders. Mosey to front of school.

    Triple check with wall sits, dips and run around the road in front of the school. Mosey to bus loop.

    Burpee for each two posts. ~15 burpees total, Burpee per two post on way back. Mosey to home base.

    Ab mary with each PAX calling out an ab exercise for all PAX. Finished with a stretch.

    Prayers for Fudd’s sister Mary (and Fudd/family too), Fireman Ed and Roger Roger (wife). A lot of this workout was being filmed with Attila and Mariner for PE class. I bet the film will be rousing and entertaining for all. And the Emmy goes to…..

    Have a great rest of your weekend.

    Fireman Ed

  • Girly Exercises can be tough

    9 middle aged plus men descended on the cool confines of the land of the Mills Godwin Eagle.

    I decided since we are in the 2020s to make the workout based mainly on female exercises. I got my inspiration from an attendee from the folk festival which said, “In the future the world will be ruled by females.” I thought it already was.

    COP: Helicopters, DQs, Merkins, mountain climbers, heels to heaven and ACs. Mosey to side of school.

    Dora #1: 75 Sit and Press, 150 Bench Press and 300 LBCs. Pacer runs down parking lot to next lamp post (one that goes on and off) and Bernies back. Mosey to home base parking lot.

    Dora #2: 75 Coupon Squats, 150 calf raises and 225 SSHs. Partner lunges to top of parking lot and runs back. Mosey to loop.

    Lindsey with bicep curls and triceps. Mosey to wall of school.

    Wall sit with coupon, 15 donkey kicks, wall sit with coupon – 5 presses (this hurt my back – I guess my form was bad) and 20 donkey kicks. Mosey to home base and stretch.

    Announcement: Whitesnake’s band (not called Whitesnake) will be playing at Kindred Spirits satellite location next to Hardywood location this Saturday. Prayers for Fudd’s sister Mary and for Fireman Ed’s M’s family (father n’ law passed away early Monday).

    Hopefully all of the shakeup with the Jets will actually help them against the Bills.

    Fireman Ed

  • Musical Circle of Prayer

    10 mature warriors showed up in Northern Short Pump and dodged pickleballers for a Fireman Ed beatdown. Mosey to the football field that is the inspiration for Gridiron.

    COP: DMH, DQ, merkins, HRMs, FMs, Phelps the arms out to get them ready.

    Line up at goal line for a Triple Check.

    Pacer bear crawls to 20 and crawl bears back. Others do Carolina Dry docks and APDs. Three sets of bear crawls and crawl bears are tough especially when you are next to energetic Tater. Line up at 50.

    Pacer lunges to 25 and bernies back. Others do squats and jump squats. Mosey to little hill next to parking lot.

    Burpee time with first set 30 seconds of burpees with 30 seconds rest, then 35 and 25, 40 and 20, 45 and 15, 50 and 10, and finally 55 and 5. This one was a crowd pleaser. Mosey to the Gator bars.

    First set 10 chinups/jerkins and 20 dips, then 7 chin ups/jerkins and 30 dips, then 5 chin ups and 40 dips. Mosey to Marcy’s playground.

    Doras with 100 derkins, 200 2 count flutter kicks and 300 LBCs. Other partner runs a half loop around the parking lot.

    Finished with APDs, American hammers, diamond merkins and stretching exercises (I am allowed to lead those since I am an AARP member).

    Firehouse subs on Tuesday. Pray for Fudd’s sister, Fireman Ed’s father and law, Fireman Ed’s medical test on 10/14 and those recovering from Helene’s aftermath. While Attila graciously took us out in prayer, a parent of one of the young football players decided to come in with 90 decibel modern rap music. Hence the title of the backblast.

    Let’s go Mets!

    Fireman Ed

  • Happy Belated Birthday

    The Circus was strong this morning with 11 PAX prowling the confines of our favorite bomb shelter school, Mills Godwin. After getting my bearings together and with the lights of the bus loop shining, we started some KB work.

    COP: DQs, arm circles, HRMs, MCs, plank jacks, Freddies. With a strong trumpet blast from White Deer, I ended the COP. Mosey to Pump Road side.

    I was planning to do Triple Checks around the indented area between the school and Pump Road. Given the area would have taken a couple PAX several minutes to navigate, I changed it. Pacer runs around 50 yards and back, partner 1 does sit and press, partner 2 bicep curls.

    Lindseys with high pulls and lawnmower pulls are next. We would mosey toward the bus loop after each set. The set of 30 high pulls proved to be a pain inducer.

    Next is the Fireman Ed loop. Line up on the curb. Pacer runs around bus loop. pacer finishes and the PAX rotate. Exercises included Bench Press, squats, Triceps, Coupon flutters, american hammers, tricep pull downs, sumo squats, lawnmower pulls and I forget the last one.

    Finished with coupon wall sits and some stretching.

    Big 10th anniversary at Dogpile. See slack for details. Please attend the next Firehouse subs gathering (me included since I work 1/2 mile from there) on the second Tuesday. Prayers for my father n law battling liver cancer.

    The reason for the title of the backblast was during namerama, White Deer mentioned his age and I said “Happy Birthday White Deer.” He then said, “my birthday was in July”. So most of the PAX decided to tell me when their birthdays were so I could wish them belated happy birthdays. So if I forgot your birthday, happy belated birthday to you.

    Enjoy the rest of your week and hopefully I will see you soon.

    Fireman Ed

  • Quintiple checks and Pearl Jam

    10 – 12 mountains of muscle showed up on College Football day to embark on a cardio coupon workout.

    Fireman Ed realized he forgot his watch but the PAX stepped up to give him time updates.

    COP: DQs, ACs, HRMs, MCs, Plank jacks, etc. Go to coupons.

    I was hoping for a multiplier of 4 but we had 10 at this point. I had the brilliant idea of doing a quintiple check with bench presses, WW2s, merkins, coupon flutter kicks and a bear crawl run/bernie pacer. The PAX were getting restless as they were forgetting the exercise order and the routine dragged on a bit. I stopped it after 4 rounds; I will put in on the “Do not do again” list. Mosey to other portion of field.

    Triple check with bicep curls, coupon squats and a 50 yard and back pacer run. This was more efficient. Mosey to other part of field.

    Dora with 100 coupon rows, 200 jump squats and 300 LBCs. Mosey to home base.

    Pass the coupon wall sits both directions and finished with American hammers, heels to heaven and DQs. I was told I finished a little early; my bad.

    Finished with prayers for healing for Gomer and for me to have a good specialist check up this Thursday.

    Convergence Labor Day is west Short Pump at Nuckols elementary. 10 year anniversary at Dogpile later in September with a 7 a.m. main event and some pre events for go getters (including happy hour at Snuff’s in Bon Air). See backblast for further details.

    I enjoyed coffeeteria including the debate on whether Pearl Jam sucks. I for one think Pearl Jam is a great band but there are those who think otherwise.

    Fireman Ed

  • Is it multitasking when you are lifting kettlebells while swatting at bugs?

    6 men braved the threat of elements and the invasion of new animals to the circus. It started to come down pretty good for COP (thanks Debby) but then stopped for most of the workout. I guess the humidity and our studliness led some bugs to go attacking during the workout.

    COP: Normal stuff: DQs, helicopters, HRMs, MCs, FMs, ACs.

    Four different exercises rotate the amount of each. Start with 5 sit and press, then 10 bench press, 15 coupon flutters – 2 count and tricep pull downs. Totals are 50 each, not too shabby. the bench presses after the sit and presses got me pretty good. After two sets of the four, we would mosey around the circle for a little cardio.

    Next set was squats, triceps, bicep curls for the ladies and halos. Same type of rotation as before. Halos proved to be difficult. Honestly when you take two weeks off of the circus, a lot proves to be difficult.

    Elevens with high pulls and lawnmower pulls. By the last few sets, I was doing electric lawnmower pulls. Another thing I can work on. Mosey near home base.

    Finished with calf raises – 3 sets.

    Prayers for a successful birth for byproduct’s first 3.0 (grandchild). Enjoyed the talk of the Olympics and the coffeeteria afterwards. It is almost fantasy football time. Is it worth drafting Rogers?

    Fireman Ed

  • Need to work on our biceps

    6 men decided not to fart sack with the excitement of a coupon (no disc golf) workout.

    COP: Mosey to typical COP spot next to church. DQs, helicopters, HRMs, FMs and arm circles.

    Mosey with coupon to back parking lot.

    4 Corners: 10 Sit and Press, 20 rows, 30 2 count Mountain climbers, 40 Side straddle hops Mosey to covered area so we can enjoy some smooth concrete.

    Dora with 100 derkins, 150 coupon squats and 200 2 count flutter kicks (coupon up for first 100 although Senor Frog did not want to let that coupon go). Mosey across front lawn, avoid the sprinklers and go to end of Henrico’s smallest park.

    Triple check with run to River, bench press and bicep curls. For some reason curling the block was a challenge for some of us, myself included. Perhaps I have soccer arms. Mosey to home base.

    End with American hammers and some stretching.

    For those in West hoe, there are a few spots left for Tuckahoe takeover next week. It was an unusually quiet group even with Handshake. Perhaps the heat is getting to all of us.

    Thanks for letting me lead.

    Fireman Ed

  • Cadence was a bit off this morning

    A surprising # of PAX – 14 with Polly were present for a warm weather beatdown. Polly gets half credit as he was there with his FND on a shaded speed walk. The workout was theme for my dad who turned 85 today.

    COP: 8 DQs, 5 cherry pickers, 8 helicopters, 5 merkins, 8 and 5 or so of MCs, ACs, FMs. The whole cadence was a mess because I usually count 10, 15 or 20 and Pigskin was loudly counting in another language, and I am like “where are we”. I should have added Blue Moon’s favorite SSHs.

    Mosey around school to tennis courts stopping for 5 burpees at a time. 8 sets of these and everyone finally arrived ready to go.

    Modified Dora: 85 Diamond Merkins, 150 jump squats, 250 LBCs. There was shaded side to the tennis courts which was oh so nice. Mosey around school.

    Oh crud someone has the field in front of the school. off to football field. 3 sets of dips and step ups. 20 and 10 then 30 and 8 and finally 35 and 5. Mosey to home base.

    Triple check with wall sits, heels to heaven and run around parking lot. Offshore was running away from something as he was a lot faster than the rest of us. Off to comfy playground area.

    Mary with ab exercises. I learned about JLos and no one repeated. Finished with prayer and some needed hydration.

    Prayers for Offshore’s dad who fell and has a fracture in his neck. Praise for my father n law’s attitude toward his cancer. Firehouse Subs lunch at Innsbrook this Tuesday. Stay cool.

    Thanks for letting me lead and giving me feedback on my off cadence this morning.

    Fireman Ed

  • A Wee Bit Humid at the Circus

    9 Creatures gathered in the 70s, somewhat sunny and balmy confines of the Cold War era complex otherwise known as Mills Godwin High School.

    After seeing the bus loop lights go on, the COP started.

    Helicopters, DQs, DMH, HRMs, FMs, Arm circles. Mosey to benches

    Elevens with 2 count step ups and lawnmower pulls. Mosey to other side of bus loop.

    Modified Doras with 75 combined sit and presses, 150 coupon squats, and 225 coupon calf raises. There was some slight mumbling about the calf raises. If I want Saquan Barkley calves, I need to start now even though genetics and lack of muscle mass are going against me.

    Stay where you are and do a Lindsey with bench presses and coupon flutter kicks. Mosey to home base.

    Finished with American Hammers, Curls, Triceps, LBCs and some stretching. Humidity seemed to hit hard at this point.

    Good showing for the Circus even with the mini convergence happening in the fashionable near West End. Praise for healing/stable situations for Wildcat and my father n’ law and for other PAX that have improved from earlier diagnoses. Mumble chatter was on the lighter side with Attila quieter than usual and White Deer critiquing his partner’s contribution to the Dora. Convergence at Batteau on 7/4 and 7 a.m. at the Stone house I believe. Slack would have better details than I can provide.

    Fireman Ed