Author: Handshake

  • The hottest of potatoes

    7 of RVA’s most coolest cats attended a Q-less Hoedown and this is what transpired:

    Upchuck – kicked it off by a wrong-way mosey around the loop and moved into the COP

    Gomer Pyle – finished off the COP and moved to the Loop to Bear Crawl between arrows and 10 Merkins at each arrow for the first half, then Crabwalks with WWII’s for the second half

    Garbage Plate – Lungs across the Parking Lot a then another wrong-way run around the loop (thanks Upchuck) followed by a People’s Chair. Lastly a Crawl Bear up the ramp to the Door.

    Hitchhiker – Partner up on Recess Blacktop – first partner runs to opposite fence and back (that Blacktop is a Slipping Slide when wet) second partner completes Kimchi Twist ***new exercise brought to us by Hitchiker borrowed from his military service time*** Rinse and repeat 3 times

    Handshake – Partner Wheelbarrow from steps up to the Ramp and then to the Door, switch when needed.

    BoBerry – excellent 10 count, best. one. ever.

    Handshake – Triple Check – Partner 1 Runs and 5 pull ups, Partner 2 WWII’s, Partner 3 Donkey Kicks

    Time ended.

    Announcements:

    Convergence at The Forge at 7:00 on January 1st (Huguenot High School) brought to you by Dr. Tryhard. Coffeteria to follow at the Einstein’s Bagels at Stony Point (shopping center, not the mall).

    Gomer Pyle is looking to start a West End run on Friday’s. At this moment Deep Run Park is being thrown around, but during the winter (at least) the Gates would not be open in time. It would be a great way to bring more West Enders into the F3 fold.

    NMS – Hot Potatoes are rare at Hoedown, but they are always fun. It was nice to see Boberry come from the Brandermill/Woodlake area. Also it appears Hitchhiker is becoming a regular at Hoedown. Splinter was saddened by not having enough time for him. He said he was planning on completing 1 minute of Burpees if time had allotted.

    We finished with Coffee at Starbucks. Everyone but Splinter was in attendance, YHC thinks his feelings were still hurt even though he said something about needing to go home so his M going could exercise.

    YHC has enjoyed his time with the men of Hoedown. YHC looks forward to 2020 with you men.

  • No backblast for 9 days, did it really happen?

    0530 Handshake is all-alone in the parking lot. On a rare day that YHC didn’t have to launch early to get home early so The M could run, YHC was solo. YHC thought about giving it 2 minutes before setting off on a solo Q/Pax workout when out of the gloom two cars came screeching in, Loose Goose (the actual Q) and Lighthouse. Upon his fashionable entrance and fresh-from-the Rolodex reason for his tardiness Loose Goose asked if the Pax wanted to run the originally planned Lucky Horseshoe as The Three Amigos. YHC can’t remember what Lighthouse said, but YHC promptly replied “no”. The Loosest of Goose’s called and audible and exercises were completed and a beatdown ensued.

    The Pax was very light this day, especially for beautifully mild weather. Even one of the Quioc Middle maintenance men remarked how light a crew it was #whereweretheHeatbreakers?

    YHC apologizes for the super tardy backblast, but after Honeydo remarked about not seeing a backblast YHC realized it was never posted. A text was sent, the text was replied, but 2 days later still no backblast. So YHC is glad to provide.

  • Swirly never loses

    12 of Richmond’s finest met Mary to dust off the cobwebs and start the day

    COP: SSH’s, Don Quixote’s, Merkins, LBC’s, Scorpion Kicks

    Mosey to back parking lot at Reveille

    Triple Check: Partner 1 does Dips on the Picnic Tables, Partner 2 Flutter Kicks, Partner 3 Run to down the parking lot to the wall and Bernie Sanders back.

    Four Corner, ascending: Corner 1: Hand Release Merkins, Corner 2 Merkins + Flutter Kids, Corner 3: Merkins, Flutter, and Mountain Climbers, Corner 4: Merkins, Flutter, Mountain Climbers, and SSH’s. Rinse and Repeat starting from the top and descending.

    Mosey back to Mary

    Pull Up Bars: everybody circles up. Man # 1 Does a form of 10 pull ups while everyone else does WWII’s. Rotate until everyone has completed their 10 pull ups.

    Announcements: Puppy Pile this week at 7:05 at Dogpile

    NMS: it was a nice morning today, smaller crew than normal at Mary. Today is Mr. Holland’s 2 year anniversary with F3. He texted YHC yesterday to say he had tweaked his back and needed some coverage. YHC was honored to take the Q since YHC doesn’t lead enough and needs his hand forced at times. There wasn’t much mumble chatter except Saab and TYA. Drew (FNG) is a buddy of YHC’s and today he accepted an open invitation from a few months ago. Todays’ backblast pile comes from a conversation overheard from Swirly. For those of you that don’t know, Swirly is competitive, very competitive. YHC overheard Swirly saying something about never losing at exercising, and then the conversation went downhill from there to non-publishable levels, it was funny. SYITG

  • Men, grab your Longboards

    YHC is on vacation this week in Sandbridge beach, just south of Virginia Beach. The M and I are staying with her parents at their condo just north of False Cape State Park. YHC and The M set off to run from the Condo down into the park. Various distances were run between us, but YHC logged in his 45 minutes and just over 5 miles. Weather was nice, lots of people enjoy the scenic route. Have a great week men, YHC looks forward to seeing y’all at Hoedown on Monday.

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s4slliAtQU

  • Summer’s here y’all!

    12 studs evaded the Fartsack for a early morning jaunt from ET’s to Dogpile and back. Pretty uneventful run but full of good conversation. YHC enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Don Draper better.

    Kudos to Kubota, Spit, and Swirly for having to early morning commitments but modifying and meeting at Dogpile to run from Dogpile to ET’s and back with the Breakfest Club group. Congratulations to Swirly for his daughters’ graduation. Poor guy had to skip Dogpile to wear a wool suit and sit in a field for 4 hours. YHC knows Swirly is proud of his daughter but not thrilled about skipping Dogpile.

    Memorial Day is a sacred holiday to the United States, we have our freedoms because of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Running with the flag meant a little more today. Enjoy the time with family this weekend and honor the fallen.

  • Dude, you need to work on your routes…

    A mighty crew of amateur backyard Football players descended upon Heartbreak and this is how things went

    COP
    – Don Quixote’s – Side Straddle Hops – Merkins – Russian Soldiers

    Indigenous Peoples run over to the Elementary School parking lot for a Triple Check. First partner runs the Parking Lot, second Partner does Hand Release Merkins, third partner does Flutter Kicks. Three people, three rounds, three exercises.

    Mosey over to the Elementary School Bus Loop for a Crabwalk/Burpee Ladder. First man does 10 Burpees while the other men do Pole Smokers OYO. When the first man is done he runs back tot he bottom of the loop to get in the back of the line and the rest of the men Crabwalk up to the starting point. Repeat until all 8 men have gone once.

    Mosey over to the big field behind Pemberton Elementary for some Football Passing Drills. We had 8 men so we had 3 pairs of guys running passing routes/defense and a quarterback. Quarterback calls “hike” and the Wide Receivers run out. If offense catches the pass then they call a exercise and we completed 5 reps, if not, then defense call the exercise.

    Announcements:
    Vinny’s Second Annual Field Day is this Saturday at Dogpile. Tuckahoe/Western Henrico (Loose Goose you have been defined) to wear Khaki Shorts and a Polo, Visor is optional. BoDo’s VQ is tomorrow at W-Dog. Come one, come all.

    NMS: It was a beautiful morning out today. A little bit a dew on the grass, a slight coolness in the air. Spring is 100% here to stay. YHC is happy the sun is starting to come up earlier now, it opens up a whole other realm of activities that are possible. Today’s Football was an ode to Lab Rat’s traveling summer Frisbee games. It was great to see Mr. Holland who Vinny has re-classified as City-Proper even though he’s 5 minutes from Hanover. Thanks for letting YHC take the reigns today. Goose has the Q next week, something tells me he’s going to “one up” today’s festivities, YHC can’t wait…..

  • Living mid hate

    29 of Richmond’s finest braved the soaking fields of Dogpile for some light exercise

    COP:

    Don Quioxtes, Merkins, LBC’s, SSH’s, Russian Soldiers, etc

    The Thang:

    Four Corners – Ascending 4 corners, first corner 10 Merkins, second corner 10 Merkins + 20 Squats, third corner 10 Merkins + 20 Squats + 30 WWII’s, fourth corner 10 Merkins + 20 Squats + 30 WWII’s + 40 SSH’s then descending back through the exercises

    Triple Check – Partner 1 Runs the Triangle Loop, Partner 2 completes Lt. Dan’s, Partner 3 completes Flutter Kicks.

    Jerkin Gym – Partner Up – Each Partner does 5 Pull Ups then together they run to the Fire Hydrant and complete 10 boo-yeah Merkins, cycle through 5 times.

    Merkin Ring of Fire: At the Flag’s two people on opposite sides of the circle picked their favorite flavor of Merkins and completed 10 individually and rotated clockwise until everyone had completed one set

    Burpees: At to start of the workout and the top of every 10 minutes we completed 5 Burpees and a bonus 5 at the end of the workout to celebrate YHC’s 35th birthday

    Numberama, Namerama, COT

    Announcements: Greenbow’s M is due with baby number 3 tomorrow, he’s been getting his posts in before the baby comes. Slurpee has Breaking Bread tomorrow and would love some help, he’s currently signed up by himself.

    Moleskin – YHC enjoyed celebrating his 35th birthday leading the men of Dogpile, numbers were a little lighter than normal, most likely because of the less than stellar weather. YHC even heard a few groans from Hardywood about being over the rain. New Market Rucking Crew + Spit caught up with us on the way back to the flags, they put in two hour Ruck to make 8 miles (great job, men). YHC was also glad to see Flipper, welcome back Flip Dog!

  • Making Zinfandel

    9 Heartbreak regulars and 1 out of town guest emerged on a frosty morning to dust off the cobwebs

    COP:

    SSH, Merkins, Don Quioxtes, LBC’s, Arm Circles.  Followed up by 13 Burpees to honor Hoedown’s tradition of Burpees for however many points the Redskins scored the night before

    The Thang:

    Triple Check – Partner 1 – Run the Bus Loop, Partner 2 – WWII’s, Partner 3 – Balls to the Wall.  Three Rounds

    Four Corners – First Corner 10 Hand Release Merkins, Second Corner 20 WWII’s, Third Corner 30 Monkey Humpers, Fourth Corner 40 SSH’s, reverse – 40 Flutter Kicks (2 count), 30 Monkey Humpers, 20 WWII’s, 10 Hand Release Merks

    Mosey to Side Entrance – Pick a Flavor Exercise for 60 seconds – First Round – Merkins (Regular, Wide, Diamond, Hand Release, Decline, etc) for 60 seconds, rest for 20 count, Second Round – Abs (LBC’s, WWII’s, Freddie Mercuries, etc) for 60 seconds, rest for 20 count, Third Round – Legs (Squats, Jump Squats, Monkey Humpers, etc) for 60 seconds.

    Mosey to Jerkin Gym – Partner Up – each Partner does 10 Jerkins and switch for a total of 3 sets

    Numberama, Namerama, COT

    Moleskin – 

    YHC checked the Q sheet late yesterday and didn’t see a Q listed, a quick text to Mr. Holland to see if he was going to jump on the Q (Mr. Holland is always good for a last minute Q), but YHC quickly found out he would be Rucking with Honeydo and Crew.  A text was sent to Loose Goose but I think it was lost in Cyber Space because no response was received.  Finally YHC thought it must be a sign for a VQ+1, and around 10:00 last night YHC signed up and started planning.  YHC has always done best when his hand is forced. After it was all said and done it was a great morning to be out with the guys.  Zinfandel was in town for work, he is with F3 Western Union County in the Charlotte area, we were glad to have him out.  He’s been with F3 for 4 month’s and he’s all-in, he even posted in Chicago last week in the snow (I think he said he was the Q too).  His name is Zinfandel because he is a big beer lover and in true F3 fashion was given a nickname the opposite of his passion.

    Today’s title is in honor of the grape stomping we did in the mud pit by the Jerkin Bars.  YHC thinks there will always be Jerkins when he is Q-ing.  He thinks it’s time to get Muck Boots on order, its always a swamp over there.

    No announcements today, everyone was a little quiet, it must be a busy week for everyone.  Keep up the great work and finish the day strong.

    See y’all in The Gloom!

     

  • And then there was light….

    18 men from various parts of the RVA lept out of their fartsack to take part in a Handshake VQ.

    COP:

    SSH, Don Quioxte’s, Merkins, Freddie Mercuries

    The Thang:

    Curb Crawls – Bear Crawl 10 ascending Merkins, Crawl Bear 1 descending Merkin, Bear Crawl 9 Merkins, Crawl Bear 2 Merkins all the back to 1 and 10

    Mosey to the lit upper field – Four Corners (escalating) – First Corner 10 WWII’s, Second Corner 10 WWII’s, 15 Merkins, Third Corner 10 WWII’s, 15 Merkins, 20 Jump Squats, Fourth Corner 10 WWII’s, 15 Merkins, 20 Jump Squats, 25 SSH’s.  Rinse and repeat in reverse (deescalating)

    Mosey to the Jerkin Gym – Partner Up – Round (1) 10 Jerkins and switch with Partner, Round (2) 9 Jerkins and switch with Partner down to 1 Jerkin.

    Indigenous Peoples run: – 2 laps around track and back to flag

    Ring of Fire – Guys on opposite side of circle pick a Merkin and complete (1) set of 10.

    Wilson’ Dying Cockroaches – a single set of 25 Dying Cockroaches to finish up

    Numberama, Namerama, COT

    Moleskin – 

    It was a beautiful morning for a VQ with weather warmer than we will probably see for a few month’s.  The lights were left on the baseball field and when YHC arrived early he scouted the space and decided to call an audible from original plans and move the four corners to the upper field (the non swamped section).  It was great to see so many people come out to Heartbreak Ridge and we even had an FNG (Roger Roger) who is an airline pilot and friend of Dr. Try Hard’s.  We hope to see you back at Heartbreak again soon.

    By YHC’s count we did 230 Merkin’s today, from the COP, Curb Crawls, Four Corners, and Ring of Fire.  We also completed 55 Jerkin’s.

    A couple of announcements: Kubota texted YHC to lend his support and let him know that his daughter is having surgery this morning (prayers for them) and Seymore announced that his brother, Malpractice, is doing his Medical Board re-certification today as well (we wish him success).

    Thank you all for your support of YHC’s VQ, it was an honor to lead today.  This group means a great deal to me. I had a hole in my life and was off-center and I needed something positive to help balance me out and I found it in F3.  I have made a bunch of new friends and rekindled old friendships.  The members of the PAX are inspiring and positive role models for this 34 year old. Thank you all for your kindness and support, see y’all in The Gloom!

     

  • Canary in a Coalmine

    2 new-ish F3’ers made their way to Midlo to explore the Coalmines with an early morning jaunt.  The Pax was a couple of guys from the Northsiders stamping their Passports.

    Handshake and Vinny stepped off at 0730 hours looking from the no-so-Urban Farmhouse.  Made our way up Woolridge to Midlothian Mines park and around the lake while Handshake gave a history lesson of the Midlothian Coalmines and influence in early Virginia industry.  We made our way up through the American Family Fitness parking lot and there was Flashdance going in for a climate-controlled Yoga class, we chatted briefly and back to the grind.  Down Midlothian Turnpike to Coalfield and hung a left.  We continued down and across Woolridge to the back entrance of The Grove and through the neighboorhood back to Woolridge.  We took a left on Woolridge and finished back at the Urban Farmhouse.  5 miles completed in a not-so-record time.

    It was a good time and we finished with breakfest and coffee at Urban Farmhouse.