Author: Snuff

  • Hot Air Balloons

    As the SOJ takeover of Atlee High School commenced, hot air balloons floated up from the Hanover County Municipal Airport. And just like that , all 5 men made a pact to never go up in one of those dang things. A real bonding moment.

    Long mosey back behind the school for a warmarama. DQs, helicopters, SSHs, hand-release mirkins, and then a series of signature SOJ hits like the Apple Bottom Poppers, Imperial Squat Walkers, oblique crunches, and the big hit Rosalita Dips.

    Mosey across the fields to the football practice area where a convenient 5-man sled was there for the pushing. We pushed it in a big circle and then back again. Have to agree with Corned Beef, would not want to meet a lineman in a dark alley.

    Mosey over to the strange jungle gym thing where we did a series of jerkins and shuffling across. Then a balls to the wall 15-count and then shuffled back across again.

    Continuing with the spontaneity, we pulled out the tractor tire. One man called an exercise for everyone to do, while the person who called it out flipped the tire 5 times. All the way across the field with mirkins, squats, ball dippers, etc etc. Then back the way we came, except this time one person called out some ab exercises to get everyone laying down on the dewey grass. So then we just kept the abs going with nary a dry spot to be found.

    Mosey back to the football field for a game of Snuff’s ‘cone flip or else.’ The goal of the game is to get the cone all the way across the parking lot. One at a time each man flips the cone forward, and if it lands right side up, 5 monkey humpers. If it falls over, 1 burpee for each time it has fallen over. A few clutch upright cone flips by Bulkhead and his low to the ground technique, and YHC who just flung it like a baseball bat. We made it across with only doing 6 burpees at the final flip for a modest total of 21.

    Then some indigenous pole smokers while timer ran to the lightpost, switching up the exercises until we got all the way there, with some good squats and caroline dry docks.

    Mosey back around the front of the school to door B12 where we did extended wall sits while the each man took a turn running forwards then back.

    Mosey to the front lot for the finale – the bear crawl ascending parking space mirkins, all the way to 10, followed by some ab Mary, light stretching, finishing it off with a 1:30 elbow plank.

    All in all a beautiful morning to be out in the sunshine and enjoy the spontaneity. Great AO and I hope the rest of SOJ gets chance to get up there with the true Daville legends. As always, appreciate the hospitality and the bond of seeing old friends and making them flip cones.

    Afterwards we went for coffee at Local Cup. Great way to kick off the weekend. Peace.

  • Schoooool’s out, for-ever

    7 students at Huguenot High said their farewells to another school year to the tunes of the Dazed and Confused soundtrack. Alright alright alright.

    Mosey to the flags, warmarama at speed. SSHs, DQs, helicopters, imperial walkers, copperhead squats, mirkins, stretches, LBCs, Rosalita whips (the slightly more kinky version of Rosalita dips).

    Mosey to the amphitheater for a triple check – timer goes up and around, hand release mirkins, flutter kicks.

    Box jumps with ascending squats all the way up. Going back down the steps with ascending dips x 3 (3, 6, 9 all the way to 21). Since it wasn’t enough of a burnout according to DTH we did box jumps with ascending Lieutenant Dans. Back down the steps with descending incline mirkins x3.

    Mosey to the baseball field to see if there is a back path down to the lower cul de sac to satisfy curiousity. Nope, there’s no way around the back.

    Mosey all the way past the baseball field and up the road, around the front and back towards the flag.

    Parking space lunge walk with ascending squats. Elbow plank for the last minute.

    Thanks for coming out – prayers for all those carrying the burden of a difficult job. It is never easy to lead. To work hard and make hard decisions. To show up every day head held high and do it all over again. If F3 taught me anything, it’s that we’re all capable of doing exactly that, and it starts in the gloom.

  • Southside Complications

    YHC got the 50/50 committal from an FNG, which in F3 parlance means ‘not a chance in hell.’ Best practices according to Shakedown: ‘offer to pick him up on the way in.’ Lesson learned.

    Ruckers headed out and the warmarama commenced: SSHs, Don Quixotes, helicopters. Imperial squat walkers… what? Is that some kind of complicated southside mating dance? LBCs, then some Rosalita whips… what? It’s true what you’ve heard, the SOJ evolution has led to some exercise inbreeding.

    Mosey to the pavilion for some 5 station picnic table rotation: incline mirkins, dips, step ups, dirty hookups and WW2s.

    Mosey to the basketball courts for a mini-beast: burpees, LBCs, mirkins, jump squats, heels to heaven and Lieutenant Dans. Then we ran the loop.

    Some nice wall work: 3 rounds of wall sits, 15 donkey kicks OYO, and balls to the wall. With a bonus round of dirty hookups.

    Mosey back to the flag for some ab Mary x5 with a 1.5 minute elbow plank to finish it out.

    Ruckers came back and we took it out in the COT.

    Grateful to be out there in the gloom with the guys – way to put in the work. Won’t make the same mistake with the FNG next time.

  • The Pandaverse

    Someone’s gotta celebrate National Panda Day, and that someone was us. 5 bumbling bears jacked into their Tron headsets and entered the meatverse. Not the metaverse, because no one burns calories there, but the meatverse. You know, reality.

    Warmarama while listening to the Tron Legacy soundtrack because Daft Punk is excellent. SSHs, DQs, imperial squat walkers, etc. Of course, no one but YHC has seen the movie. Your loss.

    Mosey to the arena where we performed the Cinco de Cheqo. Timer box jumps the big stairs, up and around. Others do flutter, kicks, squats, Carolina dry docks and WW2s. The full 5 rounds.

    Lots of great mumble chatter about the good ol days of being idiot teenagers, and how technology has allowed our own teenagers to ascend to new levels of idiocy. Laughs were had by all.

    Mosey back to the flag where we did finally do some actual panda stuff. Crawl one parking space, ascending mirkins at each line, all the way up to the 10th line and 10 mirkins. Run it back with lunges and double count ball dippers up to 10 for that last burnout.

    Shoutout to Showcase for posting again on your work trip, so glad to have at least one authority figure around with these knuckleheads.

    COT and prayers for gratitude.

  • Hands on a Hardbody

    8 racers lined up on starting block for a special themed workout that YHC made up on the way over per usual.

    The PAX queued up the Drive soundtrack on the radio and channeled their inner Ryan Gosling.

    Warmarama with 40 SSHs, switching to non-cadence DQs, helicopers, cherry pickers, LBCs, mirkins and other various stretches.

    A special Traffic Cone dora with 100 cone-bell swings, 200 cone presses, and 150 kimchi twists over the cone.

    Then, back to the flag where teams of 4 pushed all 4000 lbs of the 4runner to the end of the lot and around the loop. Last Call was quite reckless when he had his turn at the wheel.

    Then, a question was asked. Could 8 men push the truck up the hill? From the bottom of the Forge all the way up to the flag? Yes. That is exactly what we did (with a small pit stop in between). Completely bonkers.

    Parked at the flag and did a quick Mary with 6-in hold and 5 WW2s around the circle.

    A short exercise based on ‘Hands on a Hardbody,’ possibly the greatest documentary of all time. Wall sits on the truck with hoedowns. Then dirty truck hookups. Then wall sit steering wheels, then another around of dirty truck hookups. Don’t take your hand off the truck!

    Last but not least, 1 minute of elbow plank.

    COT and announcements.

    The impossible task of pushing that much weight up the hill on your own is quite possible with the power of the PAX. Drive off into the sunrise.

  • Dark Side of the James

    43 minutes of Pink Floyd brought the memories rushing back. Some good times, some bad trips, some star-crossed teenage heavy petting by someone who shall remain unnamed (Last Call).

    Warmarama – lunges and broad jumps to keep pace with rucking Doublemint. Circle up for some DQs, helicopters, massive numbers of arm circles, copperhead squats, shoulder taps, mirkins, LBCs, and some others lost in the smoky haze of days gone by.

    Parking space ascending squats with broad jumps between. Back again with crab walks and ascending WW2s. By that time Doublemint was long gone so we ran the Old Glory loop to catch up. We caught him right back at the start.

    11s with pole smokers, lunges in between, Carolina dry docks. I think that’s right, but I could be hallucinating. Apologies to the lady walking her dog at 5h45 in the morning – hope you like psychedelic space rock.

    Head to the tennis courts for the Pigskin special: wall sit hoedowns, hip slap balls to the wall, 15 donkey kicks, wall sit milkers, balls to the wall toe taps, 15 donkey kicks, wall sit air press, balls to the wall Australian mountain climbers, 15 donkey kicks, then 10 dirty hookups.

    Heels to heaven until the music stopped.

    Thanks gents for coming out to enjoy a blast from the past. Can’t remember the last time YHC listened to an album all the way through with good friends in the cool outside air. Shout out to Doublemint who is on the mend and continues to show up – being there is a victory not just for him but for us all.

    “Home, home again.
    I like to be here when I can.
    When I come home cold and tired
    It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire.
    Far away across the field
    The tolling of the iron bell
    Calls the faithful to their knees
    To hear the softly spoken magic spells.”

  • Cardinal Rule

    Yesterday, F3 Knoxville tragically lost Cardinal *during* his VQ. This morning, 11 men gathered at The Forge to pay their respects in the only way they knew how: running back the same workout. Sometimes you just gotta face your own mortality – that is the gift that Cardinal offered up to us.

    Warmorama: 15 SSHs, 10 tempo mirkins, 10 Flutter Kicks, 20 arm circles, 10 Hallelujahs, 10 cherry pickers, 20 sec Samson hold in helix position, 10 Willie Mays Hayes.

    Workout: ‘Card’s Run and Repeat’ burpee ladder. (Last Call asked ‘why we couldn’t just do an LBC ladder.’ As anyone at a Snuff workout knows, that’s just foreshadowing.)

    5x of burpees, big boy situps, heels to heaven. Run to the end of the lot and back, then repeat.

    10x of burpees, LBCs, mountain climbers. Run to the end of the lot and back, then repeat.

    15x of burpees, squats, Freddie Mercury. Run to the end of the lot and back, then repeat.

    20x of burpees. Run to the end of the lot and back, then repeat.

    Quite a brutal set of reps. In true RVA style we still had 15 minutes left so we kept it going.

    Mosey to the entrance of the HS and bear crawl all the way to the stairs and down the stairs. Mosey around the lot to the base of Mt Chaplain.

    Up Mt. Chaplain with the LBC ladder Last Call asked for – 10x and adding 5 at each platform all the way to the top.

    Mosey back to the flag.

    Please listen to your body. Listen to your heart. This is the form we have been given to walk through this life, and each person has only one. Cardinal’s passing is a somber yet fortifying reminder that what we do in the gloom matters. To ourselves, to F3 RVA, to the nation, to everyone whose lives we touch throughout each day, spidering outward in a web of strength and leadership. Rest in peace brother.

  • Echo Chamber with a CTD cameo

    Welcome to The Forge Underground, RVA’s most secretive club experience. Part endorphins, part Mission-district oxygen bar post-Google IPO, this wildly exclusive workout is the talk of the Southside glitterati. With all you eat mirkins, this unique venue is hidden deep in the bowels of Hugeunot High school and jamming all morning with the sounds of Snuff’s mind conveniently collected in his Spotify top songs of 2022. “What’s the name of this band?” “The name of this band is Robot Koch.” Incredulous looks. The tunes flowed, the bass echoed off the frozen concrete walls, and the gloom reverberated with the aural manifestations of a mind unhinged.

    After warmups, the tech elite performed a spontaneous addition from DTH: Cinco de checko. Timer runs the loop, monkey humpers, WW2s, wall-sit hoedowns, and hand-release mirkins. Times five rounds. With a nice cherry on top: 11s of donkey kicks and dirty hookups. The tech team monitoring my work computer is very confused.

    Thanks for the rainy morning – post workout rush reminded me of the days of clubbing until the sun comes up. I guess this is just how F3 likes to party. So happy to see Crash Test Dummy roll up. Good man.

  • GratiQ’d

    A cold morning to give thanks to the gloom with some throwback tunes.

    45 minute playlist:

    SSHs, DQs, Mirkins, LBCs, stretching, etc etc.

    4 corners lady of the night with mirkins, American Hammers, jump squats and LBCs.

    Triple set of wall sits, balls to the wall and donkey kicks, Pigskin-style.

    Indigenous bear crawl around the court.

    11s with mirkins and WW2s.

    Basketball court suicides with 5 mirkins. Then another with 10 mirkins.

    Circle up for some Mary, 25 mirkins, then 25 more, and then because we were just going for it, 25 more after that.

    Thanks for entertaining my playlist – music makes it easy to push harder.

    Peace.

  • Sunrise contemplation

    10 men, forged in the gloom fires. YHC was yet again informed that the Q was his.

    Mosey to the circle for warmups: SSHs, DQs, dead man hangs, Imperial Walkers, mirkins, LBCs, etc.

    Flagpole dora: 100 pole smokers, 200 mirkins, 300 jump squats with timer running the short loop.

    Bear crawl to the top of the stairs.

    Breath-slowing exercises.

    Indigenous rail crawl the entire length of the ramp.

    Starting from the bottom, 11s with burpees and WW2s. Halfway through, audible to hand-release mirkins.

    At the road, mosey up to the top of Mt Chaplain for a new exercise called ‘sunrise appreciation.’ 1 full minute of quiet contemplation.

    Another day to be alive and give thanks.

    Peace.