Author: L WOODS

  • Welcome to Club L Woods

    On a frigid, blustery Veterans Day, YHC kicked things off with a simple prompt: name someone, military or not, who has made sacrifices in your life.

    Before the beat even dropped, Scram, hearing the low hum of YHC’s generator, asked the question of the morning: “What’s that sound?” Moments later, the PAX would learn exactly what it was as the playground at NoToll transformed into Club L Woods, complete with a generator-powered karaoke speaker and flashing lights.

    After a friendly reprimand from Rosie to not disturb the neighbors, YHC introduced Scram to his playlist, including some Rage Against the Machine. With power cords, flashing LEDs, and guitar riffs echoing through the cold, the PAX pushed through four-minute stations with 20-second breaks.

    It all wrapped with a final sprint from the playground to the basketball court. As the music faded, each man called out the name of his one, someone who had sacrificed for him.

    WARM-O-RAMA (10 MIN)

    • SSH, Don Quixotes × 10 IC, imperial squat walkers, mummy kicks, merkins, lbcs, alabama prom dates

    THE THANG

    Split into 4 groups- pax count out by 4. rotate every 4 minutes. Timer was used to rotate stations.

    Station 1: One pax Bear crawls up / crawl-bear down  large green hill in playground, 1remaining pax jump squats, rotate.

    Station 2: merry-go-round: 1 pax holds “air plank” while 2 pax member holds their legs, rotate around three times. Remaining pax plank jacking until rotations are done.

    Station 3: Rope climb, one pax member climbs rope, goes over and down and returns. Remaining pax are doing burpees while they wait their turn.

    Station 4: One pax runs around playground loop while remaining do step-ups on bench.

    Finale: Wind-sprint from Playground to end of basketball court.

    Announcements: Convergence Thanksgiving Day, Chili Cook-Off at the Alamo November 23, Daddy-Daughter Dance, 12 days of Christmas December 23. Two New AOs have recently been launched: Bon Iron (Saturdays 6 am) and Huge Bells ( Monday 530 am). Please come out to support them.

    Prayer Requests: Wildcat lung cancer scan.

    Thank you all of our service-members, active and non-active, and for the sacrifices you have made.

  • Bon Iron- L Woods Time Warp

    This morning 5 HIMs entered the L Woods Time Zone—where a minute late somehow becomes right on time. Strong effort all around, and proof that time really does fly when you’re grinding with good men.

    The Thang:

    Warmarama:
    Side Straddle Hops, Cherry Pickers, Arm Circles, Imperial Walkers, Don Quixotes, LBCs, Alabama Prom Dates, Flutter Kicks.

    COP 1 – Modified Laredo:
    Two laps around the playground track, then 24 Merkins, 24 Squats, 24 Lunges.
    Repeat 4 rounds.

    COP 2 – Dora
    100 Step-Ups
    200 WWII Sit-Ups
    300 Double-Count American Hammers
    Runner travels to the chain-link fence at the end of the baseball field.

    Announcements:
    Coffeeteria launching at Bon Iron.
    Zombie Run – October 25.

    Prayer Requests:
    L Woods’ dad recovering from lung surgery.

  • Back on Track

    Fresh off GTE #59, L Woods took the Q and challenged the PAX to reflect on one question before the beatdown began:
    “What’s one thing you need to get back on track in your life?”

    We then proceeded to work the track for the entirety of the post.

    Warm-a-Rama

    • Side Straddle Hops
    • Imperial Walkers
    • Don Quixotes
    • LBCs
    • Alabama Prom Dates
    • Freddie Mercuries

    The Thang

    1. Indian Run 11s
    Cones marked each quarter of the track. Start with 1 burpee and 10 butterfly sit-ups, increasing reps with each lap.

    2. Four Corners — Round 1 (on track)

    • Cone 1 – 10 Merkins
    • Cone 2 – 20 Jump Squats
    • Cone 3 – 30 Side Straddle Hops
    • Cone 4 – 40-count Mountain Climbers

    Four Corners — Round 2 ( on track)

    • Cone 1 – 10 Pickle Pounders
    • Cone 2 – 20 LBCs
    • Cone 3 – 30 American Hammers
    • Cone 4 – 40 WWII Sit-ups

    3. Quarter Grinder

    • Cone 1 – Bear Crawl
    • Cone 2 – Lunge Walk
    • Cone 3 – Broad Jump
    • Cone 4 – Sprint
      (2 rounds total)

    Mosey Back to the Flag
    Closed with a Circle of Pain, each man calling out and leading his favorite push-up variation to finish the morning strong.

    Announcements: New AO- Bon Air- be there Saturday!, Zombie Run October 25 Smoketree, SOS chili Cook-off mid-late November, Father-Daughter Dance December 6

    Prayer Requests: Each PAX shared one item in their life they needed to get back on track.

  • GTE #59

    “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Sir Edmund Hillary

    Three PAX from F3RVA, NTB, Pad Thai, and L Woods, traveled to Cary, North Carolina for GTE 59, led by Cadres PowerClean and Uncle Rico.

    For NTB and Pad Thai, this was their second GrowRuck after Richmond’s event last year. For L Woods, it was a first—completely new territory. After Friday night’s rally, the group started off with the KingBuilder at Carpex AO Shaken Not Stirred in Bond Park.

    At 6:00 PM, the adventure began. L Woods was immediately thrown into the fire as Platoon Leader, learning how to form up, march two by two, and lead a unit on the move. After a few rough starts, the group found rhythm and launched into the darkness.

    The first stop was a gym, where the PAX rotated through stations: tire flips, sled pulls, box step-ups, air bike, medicine ball slams, and dead hangs.

    Stopping at an elementary school 5 hours into the event- we did the PT test. A minimum of 40 hand release merkins and 50 butterfly situps, along with a two mile run to boot.

    After rucking back to Bond Park, the Cadres had us link arms and crawl into one of the nastiest ponds in the area. Pad Thai took over as Platoon Leader and led a brutal overnight grind through downtown Cary, which included a three-man sandbag “snake,” a two-man 120-pound carry, and a mix of 60–80 pound bags that made everyone dig deep.

    At Cary High School, we dropped the sandbags—only to pick up something worse: a 500-600 pound log that had to travel a quarter mile. Every man took a turn. After it was finally cast into the woods, we picked the sandbags back up and moved on toward the Cary War Memorial.

    There, PowerClean gave a powerful talk before calling for a Laredo: two laps, 24 merkins, 24 squats, 24 lunges, repeated until it hurt.

    As the sun rose, we rucked back to Bond Park, rotating sand bags. The Cadres had one last test—two simulated casualties that had to be carried across the soccer fields. NTB took one of the larger PAX over his shoulder. Once we arrived at the evac point, the rest formed a protective circle on the ground.

  • What happens when you put a crab, a bear and a gorilla in the same workout?

    13 men gathered at No Toll for an animal-themed workout, courtesy of L. Woods with inspiration from the F3 Nation Exicon. It began with a “crab vs. bear” soccer match, which resulted in the Q getting beamed in the head and side. From there, the PAX suffered through duck & weave, gorilla crawl stations, and a Tunnel of Love. Lesson learned: sometimes the Exicon should stay in the Exicon.

    Warmerama: Side straddle hops, ukranian soldiers, imperial walkers, cherry pickers, LBCs, freddie mercuries, alabama prom dates

    Pay the toll- 20 incline merkins, 20 dips

    COP 1: Warmup: side straddle hops, Ukrainian soldiers, imperial squat walkers, arm circles, lbcs, Alabama prom dates, Freddie mercuries

    COP 1: bear vs Crab soccer: Divide into two teams – one team has to crab walk while the other has to bear crawl. Once someone scores a goal switch. Team that gets scored on – 10 burpees

    COP 2:duck and weave: Pax line up as if doing an Indigenous People’s Run. Pax duck walks and six runs to front by weaving in and out of pax.

    COP 3: gorilla crawl stations: 4 cones 10 yards apart. Gorilla crawl to cone 1- 10 merkins. Gorilla crawl to cone 2- 20 lbcs. Gorilla crawl to cone 3 – 30 squats. Gorilla crawl to cone – 40 side straddle hops. repeat circuit three times.

    COP 4:tunnel of love Pax line up shoulder to shoulder in high plank, six crawls army style underneath to far side.

    Announcements: Nancy Lopez will be collecting running gear for F3 Kenya; September 20- 11 year F3 convergence; ALAMO CSAUP Friday September 26, Grow Ruck first weekend of October, Social at L. Woods this Saturday at 3 pm.

  • Like A Rolling Stone

    After a brisk jog around the bus circle, at the foot of Mount Chaplain, a surprise awaited — a stash of pavers hidden behind a bush, courtesy of DTH, who apparently moonlights as the Easter Bunny of concrete. From that moment on, the stones became our best friends. They got lifted, rolled, dragged, pressed, and cursed at. If you were here, you carried rocks. If you weren’t here, your shoulders thank you.

    Warmerama: side straddle hops, don quixotes, Ukrainian soldiers, imperial walkers. lbcs, merkins, roscoe’s mom, Fudds wife, Wilson’s wife

    The Thang:

    COP 1: DORA- partner one Bernie’s up the hill, partner 2 with coupon does 100 swings, 200 squats, 300 overhead press

    COP 2: run to second parking lot partner work.
    Dung Beetle: Bear crawl and roll a concrete block in front. Finish at median 30 curls

    COP 3:
    Round: Partner weight work: Wheel barrow to median, switch partners, 25 partner world war twos. Hold at one end. If odd number- odd person lunges with paver

    Round 2: Rescue Carry
    Partner 1 places arms under Partner 2’s armpits, partner two walks. At median 10 burpees, switch 10 burpees when return to starting point.

    COP 4: 11s back at the first parking lot, merkins and world war 2s

    announcment: Labor day convergence at Dog Pile at 7 am, ALAMO CSAUP September 26; GORUCK first weekend of October

    Prayer requests: kids going back to school, Castallana 6 weeks of eating clean, L Woods’ dad biopsy.

  • 25 to 4: No Mercy, No Math

    Still feeling the sting from the 25–4 loss on July 22 in ultimate, we opened with 100 Side Straddle Hops—25 for every point allowed, descending in height until the silent count, where the Q misfired and dropped arms early. The penalty: 10 burpees for all. From there, we pushed through a soaked U-shaped grinder of merkins, jump squats, and monkey humpers, followed by a brutal fence-line rotation on the tennis courts—core, legs, lungs all tested while one ran. A hill-triple-check brought the grind home, capped by a plank hold with each man choosing his own flavor of merkin.

    Warmarama:

    • Don Quixotes
    • Ukrainian Soldiers
    • Imperial Squat Walkers
    • Merkins
    • Fudd’s Wife
    • Wilson’s Wife
    • Roscoe’s Mom
    • LBCs

    COP 1: Calf-Killers

    • 25 Side Straddle Hops (full)
    • 25 SSH (half-reps)
    • 25 SSH (quarter-reps)
    • 25 SSH (silent count)
    • Pax dropped arms early = 10 burpee penalty for all

    COP 2: Parking Lot Grinder

    • PAX starts with 10 merkins, mario jumps to end of first leg of parking lot, increase to 15 merkins, sprint second let, 20 merkins, bernie sandals last leg, 25 merkins Round 2: jump squats starting with 10 and adding 10 each time. Round 3: Monkey humpers starting at 20 and adding 10 each time.

    COP 3: Tennis Court Fence Rotation

    PAX lined up on chain-link fence while pax at back of line runs to front. Each leg is a different exercise consisting of :pole smokers, no surrenders, shoulder taps, flutter kicks, mountain climbers, burpees, LBCs.

    COP 4: Triple Check

    • Partner 1: American Hammers
    • Partner 2: Freddie Mercuries
    • Partner 3: Sprint hill

    COP5: Merkin Gauntlet

    • Plank hold
    • rotate pax doing merkin (x 10) f their choice.

    Announcements: Homegrown half August 16, Overnight Ruck at Rountrey September 26.

    Prayer Requests: L. Woods’ wife going through IVF Thursday.

  • The Forge Bowl

    The Forge hosted its first-ever F3 Flag Football Showdown, and the gloom was lit not by the sun, but by pure testosterone, terrible QB reads, and the sound of men arguing about Mississippi counts.

    We split into two squads, each powered by caffeine, pride, and increasingly creaky hamstrings.

    The Rules:

    No kickoffs or punts

    Start every possession at the 30.

    TD = 30 side straddle hops by the defense.

    INT or fumble = 10 burpees by the team that turned the ball over

    1st Down = 10 merkins by the defense

    4th down stop = 10 WWII sit-ups for the offense

    QB swaps every 2 plays

    Rush only after “10 Mississippi”

    Announcements: Upcoming convergence on July 4th, Ruck at Rock N’ Roll led by DTH, ab-cathalon led by Chaplain.

    Prayer Requests: Pad Thai’s moving issues

  • We rolled the dice- and it called for burpees

    The Forge turned into a full-blown casino of pain this morning—except the house always wins, and the house wanted burpees. We started with a dice-rolling gauntlet where every number brought a new flavor of exercise, followed by sprint ladders that made sure no muscle was left behind. Just when PAX thought it was winding down, we hit the hills for bear crawls and heels to heaven.

    The Thang:

    Warmerama: side straddle hops, ukranian soldiers, imperial squat walkers, cherry pickers, lbcs, alabama prom dates, roscoe’s mom

    COP 1: Roll the dice: One PAX rolls oversized dice and runs a lap around bus loop carrying a cinder block. while first PAX runs, rest perform exercise that matched the number rolled. 1- merkins, 2- squats, 3- mountain climbers, 4- lbcs, 5- side straddle hops, 6 burpees. Repeat until all Pax rolled and run

    COP 2: Sprint Ladders: (football field): Sprint 25 yards- 10 merkins and jog back. Sprint 50 yards- 15 squats jog back. sprint 75 yards, 20 lbcs, jog back, sprint 100 yards, 10 burpees jog back. Round 2 reverse- sprint 100 yards- 10 jump squats, sprint 75 yards 20 flutter kicks double count. Sprint 50 yards, 30 wide arm merkins. sprint 25 yards, 40 mountain climbers double count.

    Count 3: Parking lot and hills: bear crawl up each hill segment. at each parking lot checking, starting with first one, 10 heels to heaven, increase each time by 5.

    Announcements: Father’s day event hosted by DTH at the Forge; Thursday nights kids and fathers sports/activities at Machismo’s

    Prayer requests: Prayer for L. Woods’ friend going through lung cancer.

  • I Like Big Jugs and I Cannot Lie

    12 Pax posted for a morning of sweat, suffering and surplus hydration. L. Woods showed up with a truckload of coupons/water jugs courtesy of L. Woods Water- because when life gives you hydration, you use it as a coupon and make everyone run with it.

    The Thang:

    Warmup: Side straddle hops, Don quixotes, Cherry pickers, Merkins, Alabama prom dates, Wilson’s Wife, Fudd’s wife, Roscoe mom

    COP 1: Suicide Series at Basketball Court

      Round 1: sprint each quarter mark and back- at each quarter mark- 10 lbcs, 10 merkins

      Round2: Bernie sanders to each quarter line mark, at each quarter mark- 15 flutter kicks, 15 widearm merkins

      Round 3: shuffle step to each quarter line mark, 20 jump squat 20 American hammer,

      COP 2:triple check, partner one grabs a jug of water runs to end of bridge and back, partner two Carolina dry docks; partner 3 pole smokers

        Pay toll: 20 step ups, 20 incline merkins

        COP 3: Four Corners, Prostitute Style

          Corner 1- 20 world war 2s

          Corner 2- 30 squats

          Corner 3- 40 side straddle hops

          Corner 4- 30 mountain climbers

          Announcements: Memorial Day Convergence on Monday

          Pray Requests: Recovery for Belay’s back.