Author: Gypsy

  • A man of his word

    3rd F: There is planning for a 3rd F convergence on 12/31. A few of the regions around RVA hold small faith-based discussion groups weekly and we are looking to expand upon it a few times a year with a 3rd F convergence. More details to come in the next few weeks.

    YHC will be collecting men’s clothes and gently used shoes in the month of December.

    2nd F: Black Friday loops… See TYA for details. but it sounds like lots of running while the Ms go shopping.

    1st F: The thang… ITs a running AO… so we ran.

    We started off with a slow warm up. Knowing Handshake committed to coming out this morning and he was not around at 530, we kept the warm up close by the AO launch point. If there is one thing YHC has learned about Handshake since moving here to Richmond is that he is a man of his word…
    Sure enough… 4 mins late… but he jumps out and is ready to go… time to redirect to the main event over at the Godwin track.

    A couple of laps around the track for a warm up then we get to work.

    5 x 400 meter AYG. recovery of 30 seconds after the 6 finishes
    4 x 200 meter AYG. recovery jog 200 meter.
    4 x 100 meter sprint the straight, 100 meter walk the turn, 100 meter straight, 100 meter turn.

    a little over 3 miles of track work and a 1 mile warm up.

    Track work is not fun but it’s essential to help develop your top end race speeds. Not much mumblechatter today since we were all focused on breathing after the sprints and the recovers were just long enough to allow max effort on next interval. I appreciate my brothers in the gloom meeting me out there this morning.

    NMS: Some talk this morning about taking WhaThoHuk off the national map.. (turn it into an off the book tweet and meet.) low attendance now that the crew that started it up has moved to central Richmond and SOJ. As well as some of the former regulars cant make it to this Wednesday AO any longer. Speak up if you want to take lead of this AO before we pull the plug.

    Thank you for allowing me to lead this morning

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

    Told to Follow…. Freed to lead.
    SYITG!!!

  • Does anyone know where we are?

    3rd F (Faith)

    • Thank you Pigskin for taking us out today in prayer.
    • Starting thinking about your gently used shoes and mens business attire that you can donate in December. YHC will buy a pair of socks for each pair of shoes donated.

    2nd F (Fellowship)

    • Lots if pax in RVA are running in the Richmond half and full marathon. It will be a great opportunity to come out and cheer on your brothers of the gloom.

    1st F (Fitness)

    The Thang: Last Friday Bro-code run

    Typically this means the same 4 mile loop that we do every Friday.. but Handshake wanted to do it backwards.. no harm there lets do it. The only issue is YHC can get lost on a one way road with no turns.. i stead of right hand turns around the 4 mile block it would be left.. yup. I had no idea where the turn points would be. Sooooooooo we ran for 2 miles in the ran and turned around to head back. Route was supposed to be:

    • Right out of Godwin on to Pump
    • Left onto Church
    • Left on to Copperas
    • Left on to Ridgefied
    • Right on to Pump
    • Left into AO

    what it was

    • Right out of Godwin on to Pump
    • Pass John Rolfe turn around right on to John Rolfe because it look right.
    • Down John Rolfe until we realized we are not go to find copperas.. turn at 2 mile mark..
    • Back to AO.

    glad we didn’t get lost on this 2 road bro code route. ?

    no NMS today.. doing BB on my cell phone and wordpress is a pain enough on a computer.

    Thank you following me in the rain

    v/r

    John Gypsy Boles

  • Dancing Idiot

    DANCING IDIOT: The HIM who initiates a Movement by Influencing a First Follower. (Video)

    F3 the organization is set up using this principle.

    As a Men’s Fellowship organization with a mission to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership with 5 core principles:

    Free of Charge
    Never a charge to workout, ever.

    Open to all Men
    No matter the man, you are welcome here.

    Held Outdoors
    Rain or Shine, Heat or Chill, we are out there.

    Peer Led
    Rotating fashion of men leading each other.

    Ends with COT
    Always ends with a Circle of Trust.

    and a motto of:
    “Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you find him.”

    It all sounds easy … right? Until its time to be the dancing idiot within those standing principles and be vocal about F3 not being just another workout group. To speak to the culture of F3 nation even when there are those that intentionally want to push against it.
    WE are free to lead … so must do so and not just blindly follow because it is the way it has always been.
    WE are leaders helping leaders and should never except any member of F3 being left behind for any reason.
    Push forward men…be the Dancing idiot. If there are those that want to stop you from doing or saying what you know is right… KEEP on dancing. You chose to be part of F3 because of the core principles, whether that was 5 yrs ago or this week. Encourage growth and new ideas.. don’t stand in the way… help. Know where the 6 is and pick him up.. dont make him finish anything alone. Shield lock with your pax. and above all else.. if you know this is not happening, do something about and reach out to the impacted individuals.
    BE the Dancing Idiot.

    3rd F: (Faith)
    Thank you Roger Roger for taking us out this morning. TAP to all pax members needing support right now.
    Free to Bleed on 10/20. See Pigskin for more information

    2nd F: (Fellowship)
    Beer Mile Friday night… See Handshake for more details

    1st F: (Fitness)
    The THANG:
    1 mile run to Traget
    1 Mile of 7s in the parking lot
    1 mile run back to the AO track
    2 sets of 400M sprint x 200M recovery
    1 cool down loop

    back to the Start.. All pax accounted for.

    Time for COT.

    Done.

    Thank you for allowing me to lead WTH on this wonderful day

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

  • GridIron takes on the IPC: MaryAnne’s Mayhem

    Disclaimer was given. Instruction written on the Whiteboard. Coupons selected

    Format

    • Rep-based workout
    • Set the timer for 52 minutes 30 seconds
    • Measure out 25 yards

    Format

    • Rep-based workout
    • Set the timer for 52 minutes 30 seconds
    • Measure out 25 yards

    The Thang

    Exercises are to be done in sets of 25 reps. After completing 25 reps, run to the cone that is 25 yards away and do 3 burpees. After the 3 burpees, run back and continue with exercise.

    Exercises

    • 200 curls
    • 175 squats
    • 150 Overhead Press
    • 125 Kettlebell Swings
    • 100 Merkins
    • 75 Thrusters
    • 50 Bonnie Blairs (right leg-left leg = 1 rep)
    • 25 Blockees

    If you finish all of the exercises, repeat in reverse order from the last time you just did it.

    The burpees DO NOT count in your rep count.

    900 reps is the total if you get through all of the exercises.

    NMS: That was awful. Not much more to say than im glad IPC 2021 is over. this year’s version was full of lots of block work.

    • It was good to see Homer back out after taking a month off from some mysterious post 1/2 marathon illness.
    • Lighthouse did this work twice this week??
    • Chum was built for this beatdown format. he crushed it and left everyone in the dust.
    • Bluemoon i think like this one as much as YHC did.. we may do it again tomorrow just for fun
    • J-Ville showed me the way as he pushed through the exercises and kept me moving forward
    • Honeydo has some mystical way that he can step out exact measurements on the field.
    • Tater was back as well.. but he broke the block in two.. Modify takes on a new meaning when you break the gear in two and only use half of it. 🙂

    Check in with Tatter for next week’s post workout Coffeteria.. its moving.

  • Just a little mosey

    5 pax joined in for a little mosey around the Western West end… AKA Short Pump.

    We went with the Handshake route to give options for all to get anywhere from 4 to 5.5 miles.

    Right out of Godwin on Pump.
    Left on to Pump
    Right onto Three Chop
    Right onto John Rolfe
    left into the AO.

    YHC ran with Handshake this day. Some good Mubblechatter along the route. He just got back from his 15yr anniversary reunion of VMI. I appreciate him taking the time to find my 2.0 on campus and imparting some knowledge on him. We all know we can tell our 2.0s stuff all day long and they look at us like we have 3 heads.. but if someone else tells them the same thing its the wisest thing they have ever heard. Roger Roger, Whitesnake and Honey Do ran as pack as well.

    No new announcements mentioned this day. Check Slack or Twitter for new items.

    DM PigSkin to help with the FreeToBleed this month
    We will be starting the RVA show Drive on December 1st.. so start saving those gently used shoes now.

    Thank you for allowing me to lead the run.

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

  • Westend/Short Pump IronPax Challenge week 0

    4 completed full version and 1 modified.. we knew it would suck.. bad words were used.. and yet we did it anyway.

    THE THANG :

    IPC Week 0 – 100 Merkins, 800 meter run, 75 Merkins, 1200 meter run, 50 Merkins, 1600 meter run, 25 Merkins, 2000 meter run

    NMS: its really simple.. You know its IronPax season in Richmond when you see pax laying on a field, track, parking lot… completely exhausted but talking them self into 1 more Merkin, burpee, lap around the track. T-Clap to all the pax that challenged themselves this week to dig deep and do “just one more Merkins”

    IPC will be at Heartbreak Ridge on Tuesday. Come push yourselves.

    Told to Follow.. Free to Lead.

    SYITG!!

  • I guess it counts ?‍♂️

    When 5 pax show up for a pre-run of an AO, I guess it counts as post.
    This morning and hour before GridIron, 5 HIMs showed up to answer the call for a 10 mile prerun.
    Don Draper created a 2021 Marathon Slack Channel and for some silly reason added YHC to the channel.. I’m not running a Marathon that’s just crazy!!! I tried it once and broke both feet 4 days before the race… the great Sky Q told me right then and there that YHC is not supposed to run that far and he SMACKED me back down to reality. but i’m happy to have some buddies to run 10 to 14 miles with.

    Today BoBerry, Rosetta, Homer, BlueMoon and I set out at 6am to get a few miles at an 8:30 pace… welp… we accomplished setting out on time… but once BlueMoon got warmed up, I warned the pax keeping up with him meant a sub 8min pace… Homer took me up on it and headed out with him where the last 5 miles were sub 7:44. At some point we lost them as they went out on their own route.. (i found them later at the boot camp). Roseatta, BoBerry and YHC stayed to the plan and knocked out 10 miles at an 8:22 pace.

    BoBerry PRed his 10 miler!!! looking strong brother.

    Next weekend we are going 11 to 12 miles.. hit us up ion Slack if you want to know the launch location.

    Thats all for now… i need to go eat something… running makes me hungry..

    SYITG!!
    V/R
    Gypsy

  • Its the Bro-Code

    WAKE UP!! PEOPLE ARE RUNNING HERE!!

    Last Friday of the month at Currahee always means one thing… Bro-Code.

    That means anybody but Gomer Pyle is allowed to take the Q. cuz we all know that Gitty Up on a 4 mile run means you are getting lost in some back neighborhood as we turn 4 miles into 5.5 or 6. trying to figure out if he went left or right at that dead end road. Ha!!! jokes on you.. he also knows all the off road paths to connect roads and he went straight. 🙂 Just Kidding with you GP.. although you do know all the hidden paths around the Short Pump area for some reason???

    Bro-Code has become a regular 4 mile route that all pax can run and get anywhere between 4 and 6+ miles in 45 mins. It is basically a big square so at the turns you circle back to the 6 then continue on to the next turn. (you can do a 11:15 min mile pace to a 7:30 pace or more and all still be roughly together) once we hit the 4th corner we all return to the AO together at a Bro-Code pace.

    The route.
    Right out of Godwin HS.
    Left onto Ridgefield
    Right onto Copperas
    Right onto Church
    Right onto Pump
    one last turn back at the corner of Pump and Ridgefield for the 6.

    Great work by all … mileage ranged from 4.1 to 5.3 miles .. not bad for 145 on the wet bulb scale.

    Free to Lead men. Be a disrupter of the status quo..

    SYITG

    Gypsy

  • Common Ground in Faith

    The purpose of this AO is to push the PAX along their journey in developing the 3rd F – Faith.  We recognize that PAX are at their own place on the journey and proceed at their own pace.  PAX are encouraged to share.  It is not required to share (wise men learn by listening), but there is a requirement to allow others to share.  What is shared in this 3rd F stays with the 3rd F; it is a COT.  None of the PAX has a monopoly on the truth, though we are all truth seekers.  It is fine to disagree.  If there are not disagreements, then we are probably doing it wrong.

    This 3rd F event:

    1.       Is free of charge.
    2.       Is a discussion based on faith and open to all men.
    3.       Is peer led by volunteer Qs who may or may not be certified/ordained.

    The topic: Finding common ground in faith: Focus on Biblical and Buddhist ideology.

    Baseline for the discussion:
    Counts..
    535 Million Buddhist followers (believed to be a suppressed number by Chinese government)
    2.5 Billion Biblical followers.

    How the life stories of Buddha and Jesus are similar.

    •            Conceived in a miraculous manner
    •            Similar names of mother (Maya for Buddha, Mary for Jesus)
    •            Was a bit of a child prodigy
    •            Underwent a long period of fasting while traveling alone
    •            Tempted by, but overcame, the devil
    •            Began an itinerant ministry around the age of 30
    •            Had disciples who traveled with him.
    •            Performed miracles, such as curing blindness and walking on water
    •            Renounced worldly riches and required his disciples to do so also
    •            Rebelled against the religious elite (Brahmans for Buddha and Pharisees for Jesus)
    •            Dispatched disciples, shortly before his death, to spread his message

    While Buddhism is based primarily on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (a spiritual teacher from India who lived from approximately 563BC to 483BC and is known as the Buddha or enlightend one), Buddhism incorporates a variety of religious traditions, beliefs and practices. Like Hinduism, Buddhism provides no singular unified view about Jesus, although a number of Jesus’ characteristics are described by many Buddhists.

    Jesus Was An Enlightened Man
    Most Buddhists acknowledge and respect the fact Jesus lived a self-sacrificial life and had compassion on those who were in spiritual need. This kind of compassion is seen by Buddhists to be the key to happiness and enlightenment. For this reason, many Buddhists, including the 14th century Zen master, Gasan Jōseki, refer to Jesus as an “enlightened man”.

    Jesus Was A Wise Teacher
    Most Buddhists also respect the teaching of Jesus to a high degree, especially Jesus’ teaching related to loving one’s neighbor and the need to demonstrate kindness and forgiveness. His teaching related to compassion, for example, impressed the Dalai Lama greatly. Jesus is seen as someone who possessed the correct perspective on life and his teaching helped others to embrace the truth. Some Buddhists including the 14th Dali Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, have even recognized Jesus as a ” bodhisattva” (one who dedicates his life sacrificially to the service and betterment of others). While Jesus is seen as a wise teacher, He is not seen as divine.

    Jesus Was a Holy Man
    The current Dalai Lama often describes Jesus as a “holy man” and includes Jesus in his list of such people. In fact, the Dalai Lama does not typically elevate Buddha to a greater status than Jesus when discussing the two figures. The Dalai Lama met frequently with the Pope in the early part of the 21st century and showed great respect for the teaching and person of Jesus Christ.

    The Questions:
    Are the man Jacob wrestled with, Siddhartha Gautama, and Jesus all incarnations of the same Spirit brought forth at the exact time and place when needed?

    God did not create Religion.. Man did.  Why does man paint themself in a tiny box and label it when they all have the same desire to get to an Afterlife that is peaceful and whole?

    Is the afterlife segmented like our physical life?  Is there multiple heavens or does the division of man’s faiths disappear when we leave this current life?

    The Answers are COT… and what is said in COT stays in COT.  If you want to know more, join in on the next 3rd F on 8/3 when we continue our Faith journey.

    Thank you for letting Homer and YHC lead today.

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

  • Alphabet soup

    3rd F: (Faith)
    Thank you White Deer for taking us today.
    3rd F this Tuesday at 8pm see Slack for Zoom details: YHC and Homer Co-Qing a creative discussion of the differences/Similarities in after life and faith between Buddhism and Biblical ideology.

    2nd: (Fellowship)
    14 of 15 pax showed up for the post work out bagels and coffee. (BAMM!)
    7/17: Hitchhiker Karaoke 6pm
    7/31: BoneThugs night at the baseball park.

    1st F:  (Fitness)
    The Thang: (The GridIron:  It all happens in the confines of a football field)
    Mosey to the bottom Football field.

    Warmup:
    Side Straddle Hops, Micheal Philps, Big arm Circles (warm up the upper body.. Its a ground pound day)

    Four corner: Run the outside of the football field. At each corner perform a called exercise and return back to start. Each corner you pass you perform that exercise for that corner on the return as well.

    • Run to Corner 1: 10 Merkins and return to start.
    • Run to  Corner 1: 10 Merkins, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 1: 10 merkins and return to start.
    • Run to Corner 1: 10 Merkins, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 3: 10 jump Squats, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 1: 10 merkins and return to start.
    • Run to Corner 1: 10 Merkins, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 3: 10 jump Squats, run to corner 4: 10 Burpees, run to corner 3: 10 Jump Squats, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 1: 10 merkins and return to start

    Mosey to the center of the field

    BLIMPS:
    5 burpees, 10 lunge each leg, 15 imperial walker, 20 merkins, 25 plank jacks, 30 squat

    Mosey around both goal posts and back to the center.

    ATMs
    All done in order, with no rest, without leaving plank position. 
    Count is to 10 for each exercise

    • Alternating Shoulder Touches In Cadence (4-count)
    • Tempo Merkins (down on the 1-2-3, up on 4),
    • Merrkins.
      Run around the goal post and back to center.

    Rinse and repeat 2 more times.

    CLIMB
    5 Crab cake
    10 Lunge
    15 Imperial walker
    20 Mountain Climber
    25 Box cutters.
    LBCs to 30 and continue for the 6
    Rinse and repeat 2 more times.

    Mosey to the endzone and back

    Jack Webb:
    A merkin then 4 air press with an ascending rep count of each. 
    Ie 1 Merkin 4 Air press, 2 Merkin 8 Air Press, 3 Merkins 12 Air Press….  10 Merkins, 40 Air press.
    (Why in the heck do air presses in the Jack Webb hurt so bad.. its litterial just raising you arms)

    Mosey to the endzone and back

    Motivator:
    Full SSH, ¾ SSH ½ SSH, ¼ SSH bounce. 10 of each with out stopping, then 9, 8, 7…down to 1
    (THIS REALLLLLLLY SUCKED.. Doesnt sound bad.. But my calfs and cardio were both dying) 

    Mosey to the endzone and back
    LT Dander: 
    Lt. Dans plus a merkin.
    The sequence goes lunge-lunge-squat-merkin. (10 times)
    30 LBCs
    Rinse and repeat 3 times
    At this point Merkins were more like falling to the ground and trying to push myself back up.  

    Mosey back to AO launch site.

    MARY:
    LBCs, Reverse LBCs, WW2, American Hammer

    NMS:
    Great work by all today!! I about spilled merlot at my own Q????
    I appreciate everyone joining me for a 1hr beatdown at the park. The acceleration of the West Side pax is amazing right now. There are now a few new AOs that are really pushing the pax beyond status quo. Currahee posting double digits for pax members to push the cardio and speed training. Circus Maximus and strength conditioning with Kettle Bells, Wednesday there is WTH that is pushing the limits of the PAX with 3 plus miles of bootcamp. Tuesday the good ole Heart Break ridge that will leave you HATING grassy hills…. and if that is not enough, there is always a pax member ready to bike, ruck, run, grab a lunch, happy hour, or bible study.
    Thank you for allowing me to lead today.

    As always: Call a pax member you have not seen in a while.. it may be what he needed to get through the day.

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles