Author: Mr Holland

  • A Bit Loopy

    A PAX of three shook off the cobwebs, put out that smoldering sparkler from the night before, and laced up for YHC’s first F3 run in two months! The route was simple: do laps around the school complex. Speakeasy & Marco Polo got in three (plus some bus loop action) to round out to five miles. YHC is fantastically out of shape and out of practice, and settled for one lap running and one lap walking.

    Great to be back out with you, gentlemen. Looking forward to getting back up to speed and distance that we were all used to!

    YNWA

  • Shut up and swing your bell.

    Four upstanding gentlemen arrived in the gloom, hunks of iron in tow, eager to start the day off right. Unfortunately for the rest of them, YHC was in charge, so “right” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in the previous sentence. Here’s what happened in this Birthday Q:

    COP – side straddle hops, Don Quixote, helicopters, Russian soldiers (with some mumblechatter about whether one is meant to use arm/leg from the same side or opposite sides), LBCs, merkins

    Triple Check #1:

    Carry the bell in a lap of the parking lot
    Old Man Test – sit down and stand back up again without hands or knees touching the ground (basically a squat that sucks more)
    “Strong & Accomplished” – combo of bicep curl, overhead press, then tricep curl behind the head, then reverse (if there’s already a name drop it in the comments)

    Triple Check #2:

    20 kettlebell swings (timer)
    WWII w/bell press
    Goblet Squats

    Finale: The Bell Toss. Does what it says on the tin – you throw the bell over your head, man with the furthest-away impact crater wins. YHC absolutely crushed the competition. And yes, I realize that “humble” is part of that acronym, and it, too, is doing a bit of heavy lifting in that previous statement. I said what I said.

    35 trips around the sun have brought about new pops and aches in the joints, joys and tragedies, hopefully a bit of wit and wisdom, and good people to share all of it with. Glad that you lot are a part of it! I appreciate the motivation, the new ideas, (most of) the chatter, and the fellowship of good dudes. Apologies to Oyster for the reminder of why he only comes to MANNdate once a year. We collectively blame Mud Face.

    YNWA,
    -Mr. Holland

  • Beastly, Dark, and Full of Merkins

    Thomas Hobbes once described the natural state of man to be one of “continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Pulling into an empty Anvil parking lot, YHC couldn’t help but contemplate those words. As 5:30 ticked away into 5:31, a hand reached up to put the car in gear and dejectedly return to the ooze from whence I’d emerged, when like a knight in a shining Highlander, Yard Sale arrived and saved the day. Neither of us having a plan, here’s what we ended up on:

    COP: cotton pickers, arm circles, Freddie Mercury, and possibly something else.

    Mosey to the track for a Track Beast, consisting of merkins, monkey humpers, mountain climbers, American Hammers, WWIIs, and burpees.

    On the blacktop for Four Corners, with weird counting. Exercises were merkins, squats, flutter kicks, and side straddle hops. 10, 20, 30, 40, but then keep the exercises in the same place but rotate the numbers. Over four rounds, each corner got each number of reps. 40 merkins is hard when it comes after 10, 20, and 30 of them. YHC was briefly reminded once again of Hobbes, but was saved by the running chatter from Yard Sale.

    A couple suicides for good measure, and then it was back to the flag.

    Anvil has been a small gathering of 2-3 for several weeks now. While I’d enjoy seeing some more faces in the gloom, it’s been a good time to connect with the Anvil faithful, as well. Maybe Hobbes didn’t have it quite right, after all.

  • Crabwalking is Child’s Play…

    …as in, it was fun as a child when you were playing, but it’s definitely no longer fun. Just like mixing all of the sodas at the self-serve fountain, or asking the same question every 8 seconds. More on that later, but YHC just wanted to get that out there from the start.

    Nine of the hottest potatoes this side of the City Limits gathered in the gloom with no idea what was coming. Here’s how it went:

    Mr. Holland took the PAX around to the bus loop for a COP that couldn’t be beat: SSH, Don Quixote, Helicopters, Russian Soldiers, LBCs, hand-release merkins, and a pass off to Helix.

    Mosey to a basketball court for Doracides: partner 1 runs a suicide, while partner two works on the exercises: 100 merkins, 200 squats, 300 invisible jump ropes. Pass to Carpenter.

    Mosey to the tennis court for the Four Ab Corners: WWIIs, flutter kicks, LBCs, and American Hammers @ x 20 each. Crab walk the short sides of the rectangle, and bear crawl the long sides. Here YHC must reiterate that crab walking is garbage. After some ceremonial side straddle hops in honor of Carpenter taking the reins, the potato was passed to Bulkhead for “Shoot – it’s a Ladder!”

    On the tennis court, next up was a squat ladder. 1 squat, two sumo squats; 2 squats, 2 sumo squats, etc – up to 10 squats/2 sumo. Mosey to the playground for another ladder. 1 pull-up/2 merkins, 2 pull ups/4 merkins, up to 5 pull ups/10 merkins.

    Mosey back to the flag, and Spike gets his name on the Q potato, initiating a Ring of Fire before time was called. Numbers, Names, and No ‘Nouncements.

    YNWA (unless you are a crab),

    -Mr. Holland

  • Uh…let’s go over here, I guess…

    FNG in tow, YHC arrived to a near-empty Anvil parking lot. Luckily, Scrum was there to fill the void in our lives, and a hot potato ensued. Mr. Holland got it going:

    COP: SSH, Don Quixote, Russian Soldiers, merkins, elbow plank, LBCs

    1/2 Track Beast, The Hard Way: 3 rounds vs 6 – merkins, merkins/WWIIs, merkins/WWIIs/burpees

    Pass off to Scrum for some form running on the blacktop: high knees, butt kickers, karaoke, shuffle, slow shuffle. Mosey to the parking lot for 30 second intervals: high knee jumps, plankjack merkins, elbow plank Peter Parkers, and at least two others that YHC can’t remember. Must’ve been awful.

    Welcome FNG Captain Bacon! Recent VMI grad, Coast Guard reservist. Just moved into Mr. Holland’s guest room, complete with captain’s license. Put this man on a boat!

    YNWA

  • #AloneTogether

    After not feeling well for a while, it was finally time to get back into the gloom on the regular for Mr. Holland! Considerably less exciting, when it turned out to be a PAX of one. Unfazed (well, somewhat fazed), YHC launched into a one-man hot potato.

    Mosey around the school, land at the blacktop for COP: SSH, Don Q, Imperial Walkers, Russian Soldiers, LBCs.

    To the parking lot for Extended Range 11s: Merkins & WWIIs, running the length of the parking lot between them.

    Mosey to the hill for a One Man Triple Check: bear crawl up the hill, 20 WWIIs, run down to the school, 20-count balls to the wall. (3X)

    Into the courtyard for a Lunge Lap. Intersperse 20x bench dips and flutter kicks along the way.

    Back to the flag for number, name, and I skipped the announcements since I had nothing to tell myself.

    YNWA (but sometimes you might exercise alone),

    -Mr. Holland

  • Forgot the gloves anyway

    All was quiet at The Last Resort when YHC arrived. 5:30 rolled around, and it stayed that way. Since YHC forgot his gloves, today’s beatdown turned into a run, with a couple of merkins in there for good measure.

    Notes:
    It’s really pleasant to hear the birds waking up while running around in a gentle rain.

  • All In The FNG Family

    Six socially-distanced strongmen appeared out of the gloom for a beatdown at The Last Resort. Churchill had such a good time in his FNG personal training session from last week that he brought his little brother along for the fun. Here’s how it went down:

    Mosey down the street for our contractually-obligated continuous mile for starters. Return to school, head to the back porch for COP. SSH, Imperial Walkers, Don Quixote, LBCs, 6 inches.

    Return of the AquaBear: bearcrawl the length of the bus ramp, punctuated by a burpee at each set of columns.

    Kickin’ Triple Check: donkey kicks, flutter kicks, run to the street & back

    Four Corners: 10 jump squats, 20 WWIIs, 30 mountain climbers, 40 American Hammers, lunges between each corner.

    Mosey back to the flag for a Ring of Fire. Numbers, Names, ‘Nouncements.

    Welcome FNG JulieYard! The 16 year-old brother of Churchill, JulieYard plays lacrosse for his high school, and plays guitar in a band “with a bunch of old guys in their 40s,” as well as numerous other instruments. That, combined with a story about nature calling as a little kid, yielded a brilliant portmanteau of references for his name. Glad JulieYard is already well-acquainted with old guys in their 40s, because this PAX will be a great place to fill that gap while lacrosse season has been scrapped.

    YNWA,
    -Mr. Holland

  • “Are you here for that workout thing?”

    Two men arrived at The Last Resort…one of them not sure what to think of the flyer that appeared in his mailbox over the weekend. YHC didn’t scare him off, and so it was on:

    Take a lap around the parking lot, then COP: SSH, Don Quixote, Russian Soldiers, American Hammers, copperhead squats, merkins.

    Mosey to the bus ramp for a return of last week’s AquaBear (bear crawl the length of the bus ramp, with a burpee at each column).

    Mosey to the playground for a modified triple check: one man completes a bouldering lap around the climbing wall while the other performs stationary exercise – LBCs, squats, flutter kicks.

    Mosey to the blacktop for Four Corners: 10 burpees, 20 merkins, 30 mt. climbers, 40 WWIIs, with lunges in between.

    Mosey to the jerkin gym: 3 sets of 8.

    Mosey back to the parking lot for a quick 11’s, featuring monkey humpers and merkins. Back to the “flag” for FNG’s name.

    FNG Winston is finishing his final semester at Randolph Macon, while working for a conservative political campaign consulting group. “Churchill” really wrote itself. YHC did not ask him whether he was prepared to fight them on the beaches.

    The Last Resort has had a slow launch thus far. It was great to see seasoned PAX come out for its opening day, but the rain kept any potential FNGs away. This week, more flyers went around the neighborhood, but only one answered the call, and no veterans. This part of town has been lacking an AO, but YHC can’t do it alone! Who do you know in the Glen Allen area? This week, reach out to that guy and bring him with you to The Last Resort next Monday!

    YNWA,
    -Mr. Holland

  • The First Last Resort

    Six dedicated stalwarts woke up to the soothing sound of rain, thermometers that read 42, and said, “Ahhh, just right.”

    While the rain surely kept any and all FNGs away from this brand new AO, the PAX made the most of our new surroundings, particularly the generous amount of covered space surrounding the building. Here’s what went down:

    Mosey to the Back Porch for COP: SSH, Don Quixote, helicopters, Russian soldiers, Freddie Mercury, LBCs, hand-release merkins.

    Part 1: The AquaBear
    On a variation from the Polar Bear, PAX AquaBear the length of the bus ramp (AquaBear = bear crawl with a burpee at regular intervals, in this case, each of the 13 pairs of columns along the bus ramp).

    Part 2: A Pair of 11s
    Greatest Generation: in deference to the sacrifices and hardships our grandparents endured, a set of 11s featuring WWIIs and squats (since they invented the nuclear bomb drill). Run length of bus ramp in between.
    All-American: switch the exercises to Merkins & American Hammers

    Part 3: It Looked Good On Paper
    What was supposed to happen:
    There are 15 doors set into alcoves around the school. Each PAX member goes into a consecutive doorway and performs his exercise until passed, Indian Run style, by the last man. Switch to the next exercise until you’re the last man. Run to the front and continue until PAX has completed a lap around the school.

    What happened:
    YHC hastily explained the general idea, left PAX members in their alcoves, and hoped for the best. Two successful men passed by, then…nothing. After a pause and some discussion, a rescue mission was staged to collect the rest of the PAX, and this experiment was put on hold.

    Part 4: Improvise
    The rain had mostly quit, and we had a few minutes still. Mosey to the parking lot and do a Lt. Dan in each parking space around the center island.

    YHC is immensely grateful for the PAX that showed up today. 42 and rainy will drive away any potential FNG. We will try again next week!

    YNWA,
    -Mr. Holland