Author: Gumbo

  • Freddie Mercury was alive and well at NoToll this morning

    19 strong and faithful F3 beasts posted in crisp October morning air for a beatdown that went a little something like this:

    Mosey to fields and 2 laps around the fields to take care of the daily mile for those participating in the challenge.

    Circle up in the parking lot for COP:

    • SSH x25 IC
    • Don Quixote x10 IC
    • Imperial Walkers x15 IC
    • Hillbillies (Jville hop optional, except for Jville) x15 IC
    • Copperhead squats x15 IC
    • Merkins x10 IC
    • LBCx x25 IC
    • Flutter Kicks x25 IC
    • 10 8-count body builders OYO

    Mosey to the pavilion for dip and derkin Lindsays.

    Partner up along the sideline of the field for a little partner chase. Partner 1 lunges across the field while Partner 2 performs 3 Burpees and then sprints to tag Partner 1 and flapjack.  On the way back across the field switch to bearcrawls and 5 merkins.

    Mosey to basketball courts for partner suicides – Round 1 – straight suicides while partner does box cutters.  Round 2 side-shuffle suicides while partner does Freddie Mercuries.

    Finish with a merkin/plank Ring of Fire – 5 merkins then pass and 5 merkins at the end together in cadence.

    Back to the flag for COT, number-rama and name-a-rama, then YHC took us out.

    NMS:  The Fall air was in full effect this morning and it was glorious.  Wilson felt right at home with most of us joining him and wearing long sleeves.  The PAX worked hard today with a fair amount of running and a focus on the arms after Rosie’s No Glam workout put a hurting on YHC’s legs yesterday.  The best part was the Freddie Mercury salute kicked off by Toga and joined in at random times by many of the PAX – nobody here is winning the Voice anytime soon, but that shouldn’t stop us from belting it out.

    Strong work this morning gentleman, it was fun.  Thanks for letting me lead.

    No more Gumbo for you!

     

  • Stadium stairs are tricky in the dark…

    4 strong rolled started the week off right at River Run, including one Kotters – welcome back Salad Cream.  This is what transpired (more or less):

    COP – all IC

    • SSH x25
    • Don Quixotes x10
    • Helicopter x12
    • Imperial Walkers x15
    • Merkins x10
    • LBCx x20
    • Box Cutters x15

    Mosey to the monkey bars (i.e., River Run’s rusty cage) for a quick pull-up warmup.  5 pull-ups – 5 Derkins, 5 pull-ups – 10 dips.

    Line up on sideline of field for 11s – jump squats and 4-count mountain climbers.

    Mosey to the football stadium for Doras – 100 merkins, 200 2-count flutter kicks and 300 SSHs.  Exercises completed while your partner runs the home bleachers.  As noted by Jville, coming down the stairs was tricky.  No accidents (that I know of), but let’s just say the lack of light made discerning the depth perception of the steps difficult, so an audible was called and the run was shifted to a lap around the track.

    Mosey to base of the field where poles are for a quick ladder – grab a pole and perform 5 pole smokers, then bear-crawl up the hill and do  5 werkins at the top.  Run back to pole and repeat counting down to 1.

    Mosey toward the light of the parking lot at Bettie Weaver for Mary – Dolly, Freddie Mercuriies and American Hammers – all IC x20.  Finish with 1 minute of Superman.

    COT and YHC took us out.

    NMS:

    Great second bootcamp at River Run.  Nice to have Salad Cream back out and hope to see him out again soon.  Strong work today keeping up with the PAX.  Way to push it.

    As the PAX discussed, the River Run AO has lots of possibilities, especially when we get some more light and can explore the park area behind the high school.  Even with out that, there is lots of space, some hills, various obstacles and apparatuses to work with.  YHC was there on Saturday throwing BP to my kids in the batting cage, and I noticed the football lineman sled.  I had all intentions of finishing up with some line drills and pushing the sled but, as usual,  the clock got the best of me.  Next time gentlemen – so be ready, I will want to see some solid 3-point stances.

    Have a great day and a great week men!  Thanks for letting me lead – a pleasure, as always.

    Gumbo

  • Fun with Bells and the Wall

    7 Circus Maximus stalwarts and 1 FNG fought the urge to hit the snooze on another dense, drizzly morning and escaped the fartsack to swing some bells and start their day off right, this is how it went down more or less:

    COP – SSH ICx20; Helicopter ICx10; Don Quixotes ICx11; Arm Circles ICx15 (10 small, 5 large) forward and then backward

    Swing & Push – 10 2-arm swings then 10 merkins — repeato reducing the number of the merkins each round down to 1.

    Partner chase around the circus loop – first loop Partner 1 carries both bells; Partner 2 performs 5 Burpees then sprints to catch Partner 1 and flapjack.  Second loop, same concept but exercise was WWII situps instead of Burpees.

    Conveyor Belt – PAX split into 2 groups of 4 and formed two conveyor belts with 4 stations each 2 parking space lines apart.  Exercises included Squat, Bob & Weave, Upright Rows and Clean & Press. Perform designated exercise at conveyor stop then bear crawl north to the next stop.  Sprint from northernmost station to back of the line. Complete 2 runs through the conveyor belt

    Form line along the school wall for a some Wall/Kettlebell Combos:

    • Swings and wall plank – each x10 – 2 rounds
    • Lunges and donkey kicks – each x10 – 2 rounds
    • Squat and press and balls to the wall merkins  – each x10 – 2 rounds
    • Squats and wall plants – each x10 – 2 rounds

    Discount Double Check on the sidewalk under cover.  Partner 1 carries bell to end of the sidewalk and back.  Partner 2 performs prom-date-bridge-press-reach (I’m with Toga we need a name for these).  Flapjack.  For second round the exercise changed to WWII situp and press.

    Time expired.

    COT – name-a-rama, number-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • HDHH – next Wednesday 6:00 p.m. workout (Batteau) and 6:45 happy hour (Crossroads) – see Hardywood’s pre-blast.
    • Good luck to Toga and BT this Saturday at Spartan Race – we know you guys will represent us well.
    • Bike ride 9/24 – see offshore?
    • Sign up for Rugged Maniac 10/1 – see EF Hutton or Flipper for details
    • Bearcreek 10 miler 12/4 – sign fast
    • New AO (the Creek) kicking off in DaVille tomorrow (at New Highland Baptist Church at 0530) – Abacus has the Q.

    Great work today gents.  Lots of swings and leg work.  Way to push through.

    Welcome Rosco.  A great friend who I knew would love F3 and who I have been EH’ing since I started.  Thankfully he is on the mend from a nasty ankle injury suffered while laying the law (literally) on somebody.  Great to have you out there Rosco. I know you will be a great addition to the F3RVA PAX.

    Thanks for letting me lead and bring back some of my favorite exercises that we have done at the Circus.

    Lots of new and great AOs out there folks.  No excuses – let’s turnout with FNGs in tow.

    Gumbo

  • I Brought a Friend…Her Name is Lindsay

    4 SOT regulars, including 3 recovering BRR beasts, gathered in the gloom and darkness at SOT.  This time there was no solitude.  This foursome got after the morning and this is how it went down:

    Mosey 1 lap around the track and circle up in paved area behind the end-zone for COP

    COP – all IC

    • SSH x20
    • DQs (Abe Vigoda style) x10
    • Hill Billies X10 (Jville hop optional)
    • Arm Circles x15 (10 small, 5 large) – forward then backward
    • Merkins x10
    • LBCs x20

    Mosey half-way around track to bleachers for first Lindsay – dips and muscle-ups

    Mosey half-way around track to the other bleachers for second Lindsay – incline merkins and 2-count Freddie Mercuries

    Mosey half-way around track to the bleachers for third Lindsay – box jumps (squats and step-ups used as alternative for sore BRR guys) and plank jacks.

    Mosey back to COP area for extended Mary, including APDs, Flutter Kicks, Dolly, Rosalita, WWII situps, LBCs, Crunches with legs extended.

    ROF x2 – first with merkins and second with werkins

    Mosey back to the flag for COT and YHC took us out.

    Moleskin:

    As promised, YHC brought a friend to SOT this week.  Her name was Lindsay.  YHC wanted to keep the running and movement to a minimum and give the arms, shoulders and abs a good workout.  YHC wanted to give the PAX its money’s worth, and I think everyone got what they paid for today.

    The PAX pushed hard through the Lindsays.  Sorry to Wilson for the plank jacks – I’m sure that didn’t feel good on the toe.  Way to push through.

    Also, a movement began this morning to identify curbs in the darkness by shouting “Goldberg”.  It remains to be seen if this sticks.

    Thanks for letting me lead this morning gentlemen.  Always a pleasure

    Gumbo

  • Source of Truth, Darkness and Solitude…

    Hello….anyone out there?

    As YHC approached the stop sign at Robious Road this morning faced with the decision to turn right and head to Swirly’s birthday bash or turn left and head to SOT to support the south-side crew, YHC’s brain was still catching up and the wrong decision was made.  It all became clear at 0530 when YHC stood in the SOT parking lot surrounded only by groggy bus drivers and noxious bus fumes…

    Undeterred, YHC moseyed to track for an extended disclaimer and COP, followed by 4 1-mile intervals.  Run a mile as fast as possible (or at least as fast as the last one). At the conclusion, perform 5 COP exercises, each x20 and, of course, each In Cadence!  Repeato 4 times.

    COP exercises included: merkins, derkins, dips, box jumps (of course), muscle ups, squats, LBCs, Freddie Mercuries, flutter kicks, scissors, hello dolly.

    Numberama…1…Name-a-rama…Gumbo and YHC took himself out!

    At least that is how I think it went down.

    Good luck to all the BRR participants.  One foot in front of the other and I know you guys will kill it.  Raise a few glasses in celebration for those of us sticking around and holding the fort down!  Can’t wait to hear all about it.

  • F3 First Day of School

    8 NoToll regulars escaped the fartsack on this beautiful Fall morning to start their day right.  YHC took the Q and we celebrated an F3-style first day of school.  It went something like this:

    COP (all IC):

    • Arm circles 10 small; 5 big – forward then reverse
    • Slow Don Quixotes x10
    • Copperhead Squats x10
    • Imperial Walkers x10
    • Cotton/Cherry Pickers x10
    • LBCx x10
    • Flutter Kicks x10

    Mosey to the Pavillion for school activities:

    Make a Friend — Partner Leg Toss x60 (2 rounds of 30 switching partners in between)

    Addition/Subtraction – Modified Lindsays with combinations of 60 — Box Jumps on the benches and Dips; starting with 50 Box Jumps and 10 Dips and counting by tens until we get to 10 Box Jumps and 50 Dips.

    Multiplication – 4 Corners together as a PAX – 10 Merkins IC; 20 Donkey Kicks OYO; 30 Mountain Climbers IC; 40 LBCs OYO

    Newton’s Law of Gravity Ladder – Line up on the sideline near the Pavillion and perform 1 Burpee, run across the filed and perform 2 Burpees — work up to 5, repeat 5 and then, what goes up must back come down to 1.

    Mosey to basketball court for a few minutes of Biology with the Honeymoon suite — APDs, Dollies, Rosalitas.

    Short Mosey to the flag for Name-a-rama, number-rama and COT.  YHC took us out.

    NMS:

    With today being the official first day of school for the public schools, YHC wanted to build off that theme for today’s workout.  Turns out F3 school is heavy on math, loose on science and completely ambivalent to the liberal arts.

    Not a lot of mumble-chatter today.  I think the 50 box jumps knocked that out from the start.  Although YHC declared NoToll a SSH holiday after Wilson’s SSH-fest at Dogpile, YHC may have preferred some SSHs instead of all the box jumps.   The Pax pushed through the modified Lindsays and finished the school day hard with the burpee ladder.

    The reason for the use of the number 60 for the PLTs and the Lindsays was because today was roughly YHC’s 6-month F3 anniversary.  It has been a great six months.  I have been pushed, beat down, built up and strengthened beyond anything I could have expected, and most of all I have rediscovered the energy and excitement of being part of a brotherhood that I have been missing since leaving VMI and playing my last baseball game.  Thank you all for playing your part in this group and for leading, following, inspiring and strengthening me.

    To all the BRR participants – stay strong, stay healthy and make us proud.  We know you will!

    Now go out there and kick this short-week in the pants.

    Gumbo

  • F3 Decathlon

    15 faithful emerged from the fartsack and decided instead to attack this beautiful morning at Dogpile to get their day started off right.  After possibly the shortest mosey in Dogpile history and figuring time would be of the essence today to complete the planned decathalon, YHC dispensed with a quick disclaimer seeing no FNGs and got right into a short COP that went something like this:

    • SSH x20 IC
    • DQ x10 IC
    • IW x15 IC
    • Merkins x10 IC
    • LBC x20 IC

    In the spirit of the Olympics and after watching American Ashton Eaton successfully defend his Decathlon title this week, YHC wanted to take a shot at completing our own F3 Decathlon, it went something like this:

    1. One-mile run on the VITA trail, followed by some plank-o-rama in our usual COP location while we waited for the six;
    2. Mosey to the pull-up bars for AMRAP in 2 minutes;
    3. Touch-a-Tree x3 with 1 burpee at the first tree, 2 at the second and 3 at the third, then run back to the start and plank;
    4. Mosey to the amphitheater and spread around the top step for dips corresponding to the step number starting with 18 on the top step and working our way down to 1 on the bottom step, then bunny-hop/box jump (1 per step) back up to the top;
    5. Mosey to carillon steps for triple check consisting of (a) run up the steps, lunge across, run down, (b) people’s chair and (c) derkins.  The lunges were scrapped in the final round;
    6. Mosey to field for 40-yard sprint relay;
    7. 20-yard bear-crawl (I couldn’t resist) relay x2;
    8. 40-yard relay – back pedal 20-yards then sprint back 20-yards;
    9. Football/Frisbee Toss – 1 PAX member throws the football or Frisbee (his choice) and the PAX runs to it – first PAX member there calls the exercise then gets  to throw – which included merkins; burpees; WWII situps; LBCs; clerkins and crab-walk (forward and back); and finally
    10. Native American Run back to the shovelflag

    We finished with a couple minutes of Mary, including APDs, Freddie Mercuries, Dolly (with 60-second hold of 6 inches), Flutter kicks (all IC) and then 10 merkins OYO to finish.

    Announcements – per Phonics, the F3 team is the 4th largest for the Reesestrong 5K.  Lets move up the leaderboard gentlemen.  All those interested in a pre-race workout at Dogpile to warm-up, there will be some clown cars heading to DaVille from Dogpile.

    COT, number-rama, name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    NMM:

    Great work today guys.  No 10-counts because we had to keep moving, but all PAX members kept the intensity high throughout and dominated the decathlon.  And a special thanks to Sippy Cup for setting YHC straight (total brain-fart or lack of oxygen) so that we could correctly number off into 5 teams of 3 for the triple checks and relays.

    Today was a special day for YHC to step out front and lead for the first time at Dogpile.  As I mentioned in the prayer, today would have been my father’s 79th birthday.  We lost him a few years ago to pancreatic cancer and it of course hasn’t been the same since.  But, the ability to participate with, and occasionally lead, such a fine group of men and having such a great group of men to lean on and push forward with is going a long way to filling that void, and for that I truly appreciate each and every one of you and thank you for inspiring me, leading me, pushing me and letting me do the same for you.  It’s an honor.

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I’ll see you in the gloom… Gumbo

  • A whole lotta swings & lunges at the Circus…

    8 strong, including 2 CM newbies, posted to Circus Maximus in the gloom to swing some bells and get the blood flowing on this glorious morning, and it went a little something like this…

    COP:

    • SSH x20 IC
    • DQ x12 IC
    • Helicopter x10 IC
    • Halo x10 IC clockwise and x10 IC counter-clockwise
    • Figure 8s x20 OYO

    Partner up at top of the parking lot.  Partner 1 takes both KBs and lunges about 15-20 yards to light-post and back while Partner 2 does plank-o-rama, then Flapjack.  Repeato x2.

    Farmer carry mosey around the CM loop and back to the sidewalk in front of the school for a 5-exercise circuit.  Two rounds – x20 reps in round 1 and x10 reps in round 2.  Exercises:

    • Goblet squats
    • Snatches – each arm
    • Reverse Lunges – each leg
    • Double-arm swings
    • Squat & Press

    Swing & Push — perform 20 double-arm swings then 10 merkins and repeat counting down the number of merkins to 1.  Audible called to reduce swings from 20 to 10 after completing 5 merkins.  That is a lot of swings.  Plank-o-rama until the six finishes.

    Mary – pass the KBs around a close circle while trying to keep feet off the ground (American Hammer style) and Bridge x10 OYO.

    COT – Number-rama, name-arama and YHC took us out.

    Moleskin:

    Great work today fellas.  Mumbechatter was low, so I’m hoping that means the work was hard.  Those lunges and swings are going to haunt me all day, no doubt.

    It was great to break out the KB and get back out to CM.  It is always a great change of pace from the other AOs in town.  I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn’t yet tried it.  Bring a dumbbell to try it out or give a shout to some of the regulars and we will try to have an extra KB out there for you.

    Always a pleasure to step out front and lead such a fine group.  Thanks.

    Announcements:

    • 2nd F happy hour tomorrow, 1730 at The Answer
    • Convergence at 0700 Saturday at Dogpile with GROW school and coffeeteria afterwards at ET – no workout at 0600, but I’m sure Swirly will be there to secure the perimeter.
    • Reese Strong 5k in Da Ville 9/17 – great cause, so lets have a strong F3 showing.  See Lab Rat or Phonics for information
    • See Toga about Spartan Race 9/24

    Have a great Thursday!

  • River Downs Roller Coaster Part Deux

    5 stalwarts escaped the fart sack this Monday morning and attacked the day with a roller coaster of a run.  It was great to get Aisle 5 out to River Run for the first time – we hope to see him back again soon as he continues to log the miles.

    YHC has been fartsacking and basking in the rays of the sun for the last two weeks on vacation – with a few workouts mixed in but certainly not maintaining my pre-vacation routine, so what better way to jump back into the saddle then to sign up to Q the first day back.  It was great to be back with the F3 brothers and enjoy a run in the August humidity.

    The route was an out and back of about 4.86 miles with two significant hills to provide the ups and downs of the roller coaster ride.  Per onthegomap.com, 440ft of gain and 437 feet of loss along the way — http://goo.gl/7aYd0y

    Though, I think Rosie probably got closer to 6 as he smoked the PAX out and doubled back a couple times.  And, Aisle 5 nearly took flight coming down the Queens Grant hill on the way back to the flag.

    COT and YHC took us out.

    Way to work this morning fellas.  Those hills aren’t easy and hitting the reverse button at the halfway point and attacking the steep hill is always difficult.  It was a pleasure to be back in the fold and an honor as always to lead such a fine group.

    No more Gumbo for you!

  • HR…err…Burpee Derby

    7 regulars posted for what was supposed to be a celebration of the mid-summer classic and a show of slugging power, well that is not exactly what transpired.  Instead:

    Short mosey around the parking lot in case and LIFOs got lost with the AO change.

    Initial COP in the parking lot:

    • SSH x25 IC
    • Arm Circles x15 (10 small, 5 large) IC forward and then reverse
    • Imperial Walkers x10 IC

    Seeing no LIFOs (and hoping there were not folks at NoToll wondering where the PAX was) – mosey to field and circle up in right field grass for additional COP:

    • Flutter kicks x20 IC
    • Freddie Mercuries x15 IC
    • Baseball-style warm-ups from foul line:
      • High Knees to centerfield and then back
      • Butt-kickers to centerfield and then back
      • Karaoke
      • Skip-jumps
      • Sprints

    Partner up for 61 Burpees in honor of Giancarlo Stanton’s record night last night in the MLB HR Derby.  Partner 1 performs Burpees while Partner 2 runs from foul pole to foul pole and back – flapjack and keep counting Burpees until you reach 61 – what a number by the way, with all its history in the HR record books by Roger Maris and all.  YHC initially thought we would do a second round of partner work with 497 squat jumps (in honor of Stanton’s longest shot last night) but YHC quickly audibled out of that so we would have time to show off our hitting prowess (or lack thereof).

    HR (Burpee) Derby:

    • First Round – Each PAX gets 3 swings.  A HR means the PAX must complete a lap around the field and 10 2-count flutter kicks (later audibled to just 20 2-count flutter kicks and no lap).  An out (anything other than a HR) means the PAX must complete 5 Burpees.  Results:
      • Buzzkill – 3 outs = PAX does 15 burpees
      • Hardywood – 2 outs, 1 HR = PAX does 10 burpees and 1 lap and 10 2-count FKs
      • DK – 3 outs
      • Buzzkill – 3 outs
      • Shawshank – 3 outs
      • Kevin Bacon – 2 outs, 1HR
      • Wedding Singer (F3 HR Derby champ!) = 2HRs, 1 out
      • Gumbo – 3 outs —in fact, YHC almost through the bat farther than I hit the ball.
    • Second Round – Each PAX gets 1 swing – HR = 10 2-count SSHs; Out = 10 merkins.  Result — 0 HRs, 7 outs and the PAX had to complete 70 Merkins.

    For those of you counting at home, the scorecard for today looks like this:

    • 4 HRs
    • 20 Outs
    • Approximately 115 Burpees performed by each PAX member
    • Addition of insult to injury closing with 70 Merkins

    COT and YHC took us out.

    Moleskin:  Not much to say here other than that is not how this played out in my head last night.   The PAX worked hard knocking out the Burpees and, in Buzzkill’s case, jumping the fence to retrieve the few HRs the PAX did hit.  Way to push through it gentlemen.  YHC for one will be hitting the cages so that the 2nd annual F3 HR Derby will feature many fewer Burpees.

    Thanks for letting me lead today and for indulging my idea.  Always a pleasure.

    Gumbo