Author: Johnsonville

  • PREBLAST – Meeting re GridIron Upgrades

    We are very excited that Henrico Recreation & Parks (HR&P) has, at our request, graciously agreed to install pull up bars and dip bars at Pouncy Tract Park to replace (and substantially improve) those that were removed some time ago.

    HR&P has asked for our input on placement. My thought is that we provide 2-3 optional suggestions. If you are interested in weighing in on that, then please meet at Pouncy Tract Park at 8A next Saturday (11/ 23) to walk the site and weigh options. The meeting will commence right after COT. It will be followed by the usual Coffeeteria.

    Don’t forget that GridIron will be held at Libbie Mill Library tomorrow to support Blue Moon and other marathon runners. Jville

  • Coupon Day at GridIron

    This falls under the category of “better late than never.” Nine of the faithful posted last Saturday at GridIron.

    Light warmup with the usual stuff. Grab coupons. Mosey to field and do 2 laps around 1/2 perimeter. At corners do 1 coupon burpee, then 2, 3, 4 .. 8. Ark loader along length of field with coupons. Death crawl/lunge; then Death crab/lunge. Jack webb with coupons to 10. Native American run to front of shool. Exit Attila for little league, leaving 8, a perfect number for a quad check with coupon wall sits, sit and presses, lawn mower, and run bus loop. I am sure I forgot some shi**. It was all done on the fly. Feel free to add exercises by comments below.

    Moleskin: We would love to claim Opus as a GridIron regular, but he admitted that he just came because he slept late. Either way, he is a welcome addition. All others came up through the GridIron academy system. Earthworm is regaining form after long medical leave. White Deer exhibited extreme gas (nothing new there). Tater led most exercises that involved mobility. We need to pair him with Rosie so those two can (almost) kill one another. Pinto seems to be getting faster each week. Attilla is a rock solid leader across the board, but had to do a legit LIFO due to little league. Byproduct may have gotten (re)married in Amsterdam. My coupon workout helped Blue Moon with his MTT 20 miler on Sunday.

  • Lucky 13 post @ SOT for War Daddy Q

    Thirteen of the finest F3 veterans posted on a pleasantly cool (finally!) late-summer morning. Here is what went down, more or less:

    COP warmup with Merkins, LBCs, Susanne Sommers, Arm Circles, and Don Quiotes.

    Short mosey to long curb in front of Midlo Middle. Chiabatta plank walks on curb. 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. 8 rounds alternating direction.

    Mosey to the west side of the school beside the bread factory. Mmmm, gluten. Chiabatta donkey kicks and chicken peckers against brick wall. 8 rounds alternating exercises.

    Short mosey to the courtyard area that runs up the middle of the school. Doras with 100x hand release merkins, 200x crabcakes, and 300x hillbillies. Runner ran the length of the courtyard (maybe 77 yards), touched the wall, did a merkin, and returned.

    Mosey, continuing around Midlo Middle counterclockwise. Stop at grassy area at the top of the grass slope down to the field. Jack Webbs from 1 to 10.

    Mosey back to VSF. COT with YHC taking us out.

    Moleskin: Orange Crush had a plan to Q and brought a bucket of baseballs. YHC had signed up in advance. Both offered to yield. YHC ended up leading. For the donkey kicks/chicken peckers, I asked Rosie to pick one of those exercises. He asked for both. That was the right call because each got brutal fast. During the Dora, the crabcakes started out as double count, but YHC shortened to single count by audible. The hillbillies were single count. I considered getting us into a bit of track work, but 45 minutes filed by. We will look forward to another OC Q next week.

    Announcements: Camp out this weekend. Dogpile is celebrating F3RVAs 5th year this Saturday at 0600. Tater’s virgin Q is at GridIron this Saturday at 0700. It would be a great weenend for double dippers.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead! Jville

  • Finding Good Uses for Pickleball Courts

    Ten of the faithful posted on a lovely late-summer morning at GridIron. Johnsonville (YHC) took the Q, and this is what went down, more or less:

    COP warmup — Don Quiotes, Imperial Walkers, 50x arm circles (front) + 10 big, merkins, LBCs, 50x arm circles (back) + 10 big.

    Mosey over to the grassy knoll past the dozen or so pickleball courts that Henrico county is building on the site that formerly housed the sand volleyball courts.

    10 minutes of burpees — no explanation need.

    Mosey to original pickleball courts. 10 rounds of suicides divided by various plank and wall-sit exercises. After round 6, we took a break by moseying to the nearby pavilion and doing 10 rounds of ciabatta merkins. We rotated through 2 stations of abyss merkins. After round 8 we took a break with an ark loader across the courts (bear crawls, bunny hops, backward runs, back bunny hops).

    Mosey back to the pavilion for 4 rounds of ciabatta dips.

    COT with Earthworm taking us out. Coffeeteria (although many, YHC included, had to skip due to family obligations).

    Lots of running at this one, which is not typical for GridIron. Way to step up! Jville

  • Bombs Away Redux

    1 of the Faithful posted at Punisher today, the usual being scattered around the coastal areas on summer holiday. It was really fu*** hot out there this afternoon, and YHC really needed a few liters of water.

    YHC had to leave Hoedown early this morning due to illness, so I decided to repeat Hoedown at Punisher, with just a few variations. This is what went down:

    No Welcome, F3 Mantras, or F3 Disclaimers necessary.

    Warmup with lap around the extreme perimeter of the school.

    The Thang

    Exercise 1- Big 11s

    Mosey to oak tree-covered field in the front of the school. Run long ways across the field. backward run the last 15 yads. 10 Merkins., run back, 1 WWII Sit Ups. Rinse and repeat to 1 / 10. No need to Al Gore for the Six.

    Exercise 2 – B.O.M.B.S.

    Mosey up to the blacktop. Don’t Partner Up Dora-esque.

    • 25 Burpees, running the loop 1/2 way and at end.
    • Move to big wall at front of school where we do lots of donkey kicks.
    • 50 Overhead Claps in the Peoples Chair (4 count), running the field to near the road and back.
    • 75 Merkins, running field 2x and at end.
    • 100 Big Boy Sit Ups, running field 1x and at end.
    • 125 Squats, running flield 2x and at end.

    PAX wrapped up just as the horn sounded. Back to the flag.

    Numberama, Namerama, YNC too us out.

    Annoucements

    • Puppy Pile on Saturday
    • Convergence on Labor Day 0700 at Timberwolf
    • See Shakedown if you are interested in one of the Summer Tour patches he ordered – first come first served, $5 a piece.
    • Conspiracy’s Sister in Jersey struggling with the death of her fiance’. This was their wedding week.
    • YHC Lil sis and the meal train to Charlotte — See Vinny or Gumbo (if you’re in the 21st century)
    • Orange Crush’s 2.0 is recovering and a meal train is set up. https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/m13gn3

    Today’s another blessing. Jville

  • A Walkabout at GridIron

    Twelve of the faithful posted at GridIron last Saturday at 0700. Johnsonville was the self-appointed leader for the morning, and decided to give the PAX a mosey-tour around the AO to reminisce through some of the pain induced over the last 5 years. YHC invited the PAX to make suggestions as memories came to them. Here is a summary of what went down (as best as I can recall):

    Mosey through the parking lot and across the footbridge. COP near the sand volleyball court. SSH in cadence.

    Mosey around back of the sand volleyball court. Per a suggestion from White Deer, we recreated last summer’s bear crawl race through sand and back.

    Mosey to the nearby pavilion for several rounds of dips and step ups (harkening back to many many Saturday workouts).

    Mosey through the narrow tree line onto the Striker Park parking lot. Unfortunately, we found that the gravel parking lot formerly littered with splintering railroad ties had been newly paved with lush blacktop and striping. We manage to find an original gravel patch off to the edge between the asphalt and a chain link fence, and that is where we did a number of round of merkins and WWII situps in gravel. That was a call back to Chum Bucket’s infamous day in the gravel 2-3 summers ago.

    Mosey back through the tree line to the grassy knoll. Ten burpees OYO.

    Mosey along the path by Pouncy Tract Road to the high grassy area above the track. COP Alabama prom dates.

    Mosey down to the GridIron in the center of the track. 1/6 of a beast with hand release merkins.

    Mosey back up to track. Line up on the track. Bernie Sanders up the hill and across the grassy area to the roadway. Do 10 Lt. Dans. Run back and do 5 merkins. Repeat, descending Lt. Dans to 5.

    Indigenous People Run counterclockwise around perimeter of AO, turning left in the front of the school and ending at the entrance. 10 Chicken Peckers each in succession while holding balls to wall.

    Mosey around back of the school counterclockwise. Go under pillars and handoff Q to Earthworm. Several rounds of PLTs and Alphabets.

    Mosey to courtyard area in back of school. COP American Hammers.

    Mosey counterclockwise to grassy area of school at the end of the pillars (south side). COP Flutter Kicks.

    Mosey to the front left (when facing school) side of school in the grassy center of the car loop. COP ring of fire.

    Mosey back to SF for some concluding Mary. COT with Earthworm bringing on some strong 3rd F.

    Coffeeteria by all or nearly all.

    There was a lot packed into Saturday’s workout, and I probably missed a few things. It was great having strong numbers and several summer tourists. You all are always welcome.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead. Jville

  • Lazy-ish Dora with Kettlebells

    Seven of the faithful, including one newcomer to Circus, met early morning last Thursday with kettlebells in hand. White deer entered the school parking lot, located very close to many residences, leaning on the car horn. Soooo, we may be looking for a new AO soon. In any case, this is what went down (more or less) after YHC Johnsonville took the Q:

    Standard rounds of warmups, including SSH (of course), Don Quiotes, Cherry Pickers, Merkins, LBCs, Arm Circles, etc.

    Run the loop.

    Mosey with KBs over near bus pickup/dropoff area by school. Jack Webbish COP, except 1 burpee, 4 KB snatches, 2 burpees, 8 KB snatches … continue to 5/20.

    KB carry around the front of the school. Pair up for Lazy-ish Dora. 100 sit and press with partner running about 100m and back; 200 goblet squats with partner bear crawling about 50m and moseying back; 300 lawnmower pulls with partner doing 20 shoulder taps.

    KB carry back to VSF for some Mary. Announcements & COT.

    Great work, men! It was good to have Mousetrap join us for the first time and good to have Loose Goose back. Johnsonville.

  • Revisiting the Pillars of Pain

    Nine of the faithful posted at GridIron last Saturday. Yes, it is horrible how untimely this post is. But, sh** has been crazy. In any case, YHC (Johnsonville) took the Q that morning, and this is sort-of kind-of what went down —

    COP Warmup with SSH, DQ, Imperial Walkers, merkins, LBCs, etc.

    Mosey toward pillars stopping at the bus road for traditional curb crawls up to 6 and back down. Standing mountain climbers.

    Continue mosey to pillars. Line up against pillars. AMRAP rounds for 45 seconds, with 15 seconds rest. Last 4 move to next available pillars between AMRAPs. Rotate through the following list, repeating until we reached the school’s rear courtyard:

    • Boxing cockroaches
    • scissor lunges
    • burpees
    • plank jacks
    • squats

    Mosey to the brick wall within the school’s rear courtyard. Standard 11s rotating between donkey kicks and derkins. This is the point where TP exited to earn his name. See below.

    Mosey back toward the VSF, stopping in the main GridIron field for a round of Jack Webbs.

    COT with YHC taking us out. Coffeeteria for most.

    Blue Moon brought his 20 year-old son, FNG TP, home from Hampden-Sydney College for the summer. Welcome TP. Admittedly, we struggled with a name for TP. But, he helped us out by taking an emergency bathroom break 2/3 of the way through the hour.

    Great work, men!

  • Tunnel of Love, Coupons, and Ciabattas all for one Low Low Price of Free

    It was 70 and wet wet wet at GridIron. Eight redwoods posted for one-hour of hard work. YHC (Johnsonville) took the Q, starting with COP warmups in the northeast corner of the parking lot. 30x ssh, 25x imperial walkers, 25x cherry pickers.

    Mosey to opposite corner. Arm sequence cycle without rest. 10x merkins, 30x LBCs, 15x scorpion kicks.

    Pair up and grab 1 coupon per pair.

    Ciabattas near restroom building, alternating between standing mountain climbers, and weighted standing mountain climbers (coupon overhead). Flip flop among pairs for standard 8 rounds.

    Take a few steps onto sidewalk by restroom building. Ciabattas, alternating between wall planks (rotating) and diamond merkins on coupons. Flip flop among pairs for standard 8 rounds.

    Mosey down to lower field in the back of the park. One round of Coupon Jack Webbs to 10. Each partner did 1/2 of his arm raises under weight.

    Elevens running between the end zones, with A-Rods on one side and J Lo’s on the other side, crawling through a sea of muck in the middle of the field to get under a face down kiddie soccer goal.

    Mosey to circle near the front of the school. Ciabattas, alternating between coupon snatches and burpees. Flip flop among pairs for standard 8 rounds.

    Mosey back to VSF. COT with Attila taking us out.

    Welcome Iron Giant. We are glad you were able to post. Welcome back Quest. White Deer was AWOL due to rain. Nightcrawler remains AWOL.

    Due to summer vacations, we need Qs for Circus Maximus (kettlebell workout) on June 20 and 27. Please sign up.

    Thanks for permitting me to lead. Jville

  • Partner Coupons at GridIron

    Eight of the faithful posted at GridIron on a comfortable spring morning. There was much yammering initially, and YHC had to threaten punitive burpees to get things moving.

    We started with a longer-than-usual COP to get warmed up. The COP included SSH, Don Quiotes, Cherry Pickers, sm. arm circles to helicopters to lg. arm circles, merkins, Susanne Sommers, side planks, and LBCs.

    Mosey to the bleachers for forties (derkins/bench kicks).

    Pair up into teams and grab one coupon per team. Mosey to end zone of nearest Girdiron. Line up on sideline. One partner runs across field and back while the other does 2-arm cleans and presses with coupons. flip-flop. Repeat for a total of 4 sets.

    Mosey down to the center of the lower field. Coupon/partner Jack Webbs. All PAX does 1 merkin, followed by each partner doing 2 air presses and 2 coupon presses. Then all PAX does 2 merkins, followed by each partner doing 4 air presses and 4 coupon presses. Continue “up the ladder” concluding with the PAX doing 10 merkins, followed by each partner doing 20 air presses and 20 coupon presses.

    Mosey around to the near baseball field in the rear of the school. We usually refer to this field as the “cricket field,” but the cricketeers were using the back field. Line up on foul line along right field. 1 partner runs near 2nd base and does 10 burpees. The other repeats the appointed coupon exercise until the 1st partner returns. Continue “down the ladder” of burpees. Appointed exercises included inclined merkins on coupon, skull crushers, pullovers, weighted APDs, etc.

    Mosey back to VSF. COT with Cecil taking us out. Coffeeteria.

    Welcome back PigSkin and Cecil! Great job men! Johnsonville