Author: Opus

  • Wilt the Stilt on VQ

    15 PAX members showed up to take on a Wilt and Opus designed beat down.

    Black Snake Weave around big Field.

    COP
    SSH
    Alternating Shoulder Taps
    Scissor Kicks
    Flutter Kicks
    Smurf Jacks
    American Hammers
    Freddie Mercuries

    BUTKUS — 1 minute of toe tapping delight on the curb, 30 second breather
    1 minute of toe tapping delight on curb, 20 second breather
    1 minute of toe tapping delight on the curb, 10 second breather
    1 minute of toe tapping delight

    4 CORNERS
    #1 — 40 WW2 Situps
    #2 — 30 Mountain Climbers
    #3 — 20 Merkins
    #4 — 10 Burpees
    then, we reversed the order and did Burpees, Merkins, Mountain Climbers and Situps

    TO THE PAVILION for some AIKEN LEGS
    20 Squats
    20 Box Jumps onto picnic tables
    20 Lunges
    20 Split Jacks
    Repeato with only 15 the next go round.

    Inspired by Mudface’s slow mo workout a few weeks back at the Creek, we did 10 slow dips and 10 slow derkins off the benches.  Ouch.

    Back to flag for 5 merkins all around.

    Announcements –
    Turn clock back 1 hr Saturday night!

    Fun workout this morning.  YHC is super proud of his progeny for stepping up and helping to create the workout and helping to Q as well!  Aiken Legs are no joke.

  • triskaidekaphobia

    9 guys (hoping for 13) showed up this morning in the gloom to suffer together.

    Break up into two groups — one ran around the church clockwise, the other anticlockwise (as the brits call it)  High fives as we passed each other.  (or trying to bowl people over.  thanks to the carpenter for that)

    COP —
    polar bears around the world — 13 each way
    Helicopters
    Chinooks
    butt kickers
    high knees
    ww2 situps
    boo yah merkins 5 with 4 different people
    jumpovers with a friend 20
    Trifecta
    3 exercises 10 each, then run to the other side of parking lot and plank up till PAX is together
    #1 SSH, smurf jacks, split jacks
    #2 plank jacks, alternating shoulder taps, mountain climbers
    #3 merkins, diamond merkins, werkins
    #4 abs – flutter kicks, dollys, am hammers
    #5 dips, derkins, inclined at picnic tables
     Repeat with 15 of each the next time around. We did get to do #1 and #4 as 20 per set.  Then we moved on to Marys
    Marys
    Everyone’s favorite exercise around the circle done 13 times, some in cadence, some OYO.
    10 count windshield wipers

     

    What a great morning to workout!  Nice and cool — little breeze.  Fun times!  YHC thinks some stayed home today because it is Friday the 13th.  Best part of today — the 2.0’s after the first Trifecta thought that they had heard they were supposed to run to the back of the building and do more exercises there.  Ummm… no.  They eventually figured it out and made it back to us at some point further in the routine.
    Nice to have Abacus back in town today!!  Miss you bro!  He brought up a lot of mumblechatter about how things go down for F3 in Charlotte.  Basically the gist was their counting sucks and they have one person who is in charge of leading each AO and one has to ask permission to get to lead anywhere.  YHC thinks that is a crummy idea and likes the variety of leadership we have here in RVA!
    YHC tried to get Wilt to lead a little today, but we should have had a better plan.  Next time!
    Have a great Friday the 13th!

  • Something New

    4 Davillians plus one crazy runner (who just popped in for the COP) came out this morning for something new.

    COP — the longest COP in history

    don quixote IC
    ww1 situps IC
    figure 4 crunches each side IC — new
    bird dogs IC — new
    single leg toe touches IC — new
    arm circles all big IC
    pistol squats without, then with KB IC — new
    Renegade Rows each side IC
    straight arm sit with KB — new
    lateral swings — start across body 10 each side — new
    side stepping swings — new
    one legged clean! — new

     

    The Rest —
    Triple Check with 4 people —
    One runs loop, Second does Sit up Presses, Third Does Bob and Weave

    Semi-lazy Doras
    100 goblet squats between the two partners while partner hangs in peoples chair, switch as needed
    150 overhead presses while partner holds plank or does merkins, switch as needed
    100 (due to time) KB swings while partner does SSH, switch as needed

    NMS —
    Think about some of the best times in your life.  How many of them came because of a change that stretched you, that challenged you?  Coming to F3 was one of those things that set YHC on a course for health and wholeness.  Is F3 easy?  No, but that is the point.  The best things in life aren’t easy.  There are growing pains.  There are bumps in the road.  Is it worth it?  Can I get an Amen?
    When Carpenter challenged YHC to come out to F3 a year and several months ago, YHC knew he needed it being several pounds overweight (ok more than several) and lacking energy and not having a whole lot of direction.  530?  Are you serious?  In the morning?  YHC went for it and has never looked back.
    So, this morning was all about stretching the PAX, trying new things, new exercises — realizing that we aren’t there yet and we can be so much better.  Some of the exercises this morning were a challenge to the PAX and YHC as well.  Some we could only do about 5.  And that is just fine.  Baby steps lead to better things — greater growth and the ability to realize that there is so much further for us to progress.
    Glad for the brothers in F3 and the bond we share through shared experience and growing together.
    TClaps to Spit who showed up during the middle of the run and did COP with us!

    Later,
    Opus

     

  • Bark at the moon

    YHC was pleased to lead 5 stark raving mad men under the light of the full moon (or at least mostly) this morning.
    Here is what went down…

    COP —
    Arm circles
    WW2 situps
    Heels to Heaven
    Renegade Rows (each side)
    Inverted Tricep Presses (ouch)

    The Thang
    KB Swing and run — #1 runs the loop, the rest of the group does KB Swings — then #2 goes, then #3, etc.  YHC was #5 and was ready to run when Mudface came back.

    Odd and Even Ladder–
    Start at wall — do 1 Donkey Kick, run short distance to sidewalk, do 2 merkins, then 3 DK’s, 4 merkins, continue with odd donkeys and even merkins up to around 12, then we started back down the ladder until YHC called time.

    Tabata Sequence
    Bob and Weave with KB — 8x

    KB Thrusters — 8x

    KB Sit up presses — 8x

    KB High Pulls — 6x

    Head back to the Flag for a little Mary boat canoe style.
    1 minute Around the World with KB’s and that is all.

    What a great morning for a KB workout!  The PAX worked their butts off today between the odd and even ladder and all the Tabata madness.  Way to go gentlemen!

    Announcements —
    Keep Labrat in your prayers as he is grieving the loss of his grandmother.
    First Thursday this Thursday at Ashcreek!
    Convergence on September 30th at Gridiron

    Opus

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Are you ready for some football??

    15 surly dudes showed up this morning at The Creek (5 were 2.0’s) to tackle a football themed workout!

    Scout Run around the church 2x

    Increasing Emom
    1 minute to perform the task given.  If a PAX member finished early, it was rest time for them.
    Started with 5 SSH and 5 merkins, increased to 10 of each, then 15, then 20, then 25, then 30.
    Circle K suggested that he could do 40 of each in a minute, so we tested it.  Everyone else did AMRAP’s.
    At the end, Circle K said he did complete the task, but with not the best form on the Merkins.

    Shift over to the picnic tables to do 10 IC dips and 10 IC raised merkins to give time for more light to appear in the sky so we could do the next thang.  haha.

    Headed to the far corner of the field (where there is one lone street light) to perform a fumble drill.
    One PAX member was the fumbler at the end of the run.
    All else lined up behind the first cone and held squat position until it was their turn.
    Runner ran forward to first cone, sideways to the next, backwards to the next cone, sideways to the next one
    and finally forward to the last, where the fumbler threw the ball on the ground and the runner dove on the ball to collect the fumble.
    The runner became the next fumbler and Fumbler moved to the back of the running line.  Every once in a while, the PAX did squats or jump squats while waiting.

    Next drill:
    3 groups — one QB, one WR, one DB.
    QB hikes, WR runs a pattern, DB tries to defend
    Incompletion = 1 burpee for all
    Interception = 5 merkins for all offense
    Completion = 5 merkins for defense
    rotate stations

    Over Under Relay
    2 teams spread down the line in plank position.
    One runner from each team leaps over the first dude, goes under the second, etc. until the end where they get in plank and become part of the obstacle course.
    First team to complete everyone running through wins.

    Back to the Flag for some Mary
    Spit led the gang while YHC retrieved his phone.  10 merkins around the circle.
    Then, after YHC got back, we did X’s and O’s, then 10 Rosalitas, 10 Dories, 10 Rosalitas IC

    Numbers, Names, Announcements, Bring it In

    YHC wore his RG3 jersey this morning to commemorate the beginning of the new football season!  In the opening circle, I was explaining why I wore my RG3 jersey this morning and Carpenter chimes in with some pithy comment about us getting injured and never being the same afterwards.  He is a Giants fan, so take that for what it’s worth.
    The fumble drill was fun to do and to watch others do as well.  Highlight was Circle K receiving a fumble that was more like a bullet pass right to the upper chest/head area.

    Wish it had lighter for the passing drill bc we would have had more completions, but as it is, we had a few interceptions and completions.  Mostly bad passes and drops though.  Highlight was Wilt’s longish catch in the dark.  YHC was impressed!

    The over under relay had some funny moments, like YHC trying to go under one of the 2.0’s (possibly Recess) and lifting him off the ground in the process.  Mudface — kudos to you on the unders.  You rocked it.

    Giant props to Recess for finding YHC’s car keys after the workout was over.  Whew.  Thought Wilt and YHC were going to have to squeeze in the Mudface-mobile to head home.

    Fun times had by all this morning.  Enjoy the video — it included Leon Lett’s gaff as well as the Romo screwed up FG hold so it had to go on the BB.

    — Opus

     

     

  • American Donkey

    9 brave and fearless dudes conquered the temptation to take it easy and landed at Atlee for a beatdown.

    Mosey to Wall for Merkin Donkeys
    2x each (merkins then donkey kicks), progressing by 2’s up to 10 each, then
    AMRAP for about 45 seconds each exercise

    Progressive COP — mosey and circle up 4 different times on the way to the hill at the back of Atlee
    1st stop — Heels to Heaven
    2nd — Rollups
    3rd —  Ankle Reaches
    4th — Flutter kicks

    Finish moseying to the hill.
    11’s — striders up the hill, run down, WW2 situps at top, burpees at bottom (modified to merkins half way through)

    Mosey back to suicide courts, on the way circle up and complete several exercises waiting for the 6.

    Suicide relay —
    1) regular with the rest of the team planking
    2) reverse with the rest of the team doing SSH while waiting

    Mosey back to flag

    Time for jump squats and Freddie Mercuries before the
    Numberama and Name-o-rama

    NMS:
    It was actually not too bad of a morning to try out the American Donkey exercise, loosely based on the Guess Who song from 1970 “American Woman”.  Said song was later covered by Lenny Kravitz, but that version sucked, IMHO.
    There was a Carpenter showing this morning.  It was the first showing since he and his family cruised across the US in their mini-van.  Carpenter and 5 females in the same van for 5 weeks.  Holy (fill in the blank with whatever word comes to mind)!  He really needed some F3 time this morning!  YHC was glad to see him back and that he was keeping up with everyone pretty well despite his long absence.
    Sad to hear that Abacus will be leaving us soon, geographically at least.  He was the one who came up with my name and has been an inspiration to me to keep on keepin on!   Friday is his last Q at the Creek — would be awesome to have a record amount of people there Friday!!

    Peace out,
    Opus

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • For Whom The Kettlebell Tolls

    No man is an island,
    Entire of itself.
    Each is a piece of the continent,
    A part of the main.
    If a clod be washed away by the sea,
    Europe is the less.
    As well as if a promontory were.
    As well as if a manor of thine own
    Or of thine friend’s were.
    Each man’s death diminishes me,
    For I am involved in mankind.
    Therefore, send not to know
    For whom the (kettle)bell tolls,
    It tolls for thee. — John Donne

    5 Burly men braved the fierce humidity and themselves this morning.  None were lost.

    COP —
    helicopters
    don quixotes
    arm circles
    chinooks
    sumo squats
    SSH
    ATM’s
    KB Overhead Warmup
    KB slingshot
    KB Bottoms Up Clean

    Elevens —
    Single Leg Dead lift, run to the other side, burpees

    Long Mosey to track for 4 corners
    #1 — boat canoes
    #2 — Goblet Squats (1 minute) — side lunge to next corner
    #3 — High Pulls
    #4 — More Boat Canoes!

    Numbers, Names, etc.

    Moleskin —
    “No man is an island”.
    Let that sink in a little — what does that mean in your life?
    YHC has seen how that plays out in the F3 world — guys helping other guys pull through physical challenges, racing back to pick up the 6 to let him know that he is not on his own, lifting a brother up in prayer when cancer has crept into a loved one’s life.

    How does this play out in our daily life?  Will we be at the ready whenever some situation calls for something extraordinary from us?  Are we ready to sacrifice our time, our resources for someone we might  not even know? Are we willing to stick our necks out, lay it on the line, damn the torpedos and full speed ahead for people in this world that need a spark of light, a glimmer of hope?  It all starts when we turn away from the usual, the expected, the everyday and towards the unique, the unexpected, the original.  Every one of us has what it takes to be that change in someone else’s life.  Be there.  Keep your antenna up and your phone down.  Look around.  Act boldly.  Be that guy today!

    Thanks for letting YHC get a little deep!
    Blessings,
    Opus

  • Gimme 5… 10… 15… 20

    What a beautiful day to be in F3RVA!  6 awesome dudes showed up for a VQ at Punisher.  YHC tried not to disappoint!

    Mosey to the brick wall for a donkey kick-off.  5 donkey kicks, then hold for 5 seconds, then 10, then 15, finally 20!

    Mosey to a grassy area for COP
    Merkins
    SSH
    Side Plank Raises
    American Hammers
    Roll Ups
    Tabletops
    Smurf Jacks

    Mosey to Picnic Tables for some light refreshments and
    Skull crushers 5 each side IC, then 5 Derkins OYO
    Repeat adding 5 to the number each time until we got to twenty.

    Mosey to basketball court
    Partner Sprints —
    1) One partner does a regular wind sprint, the other does AMRAP merkins — switch up
    2) One Partner does a reverse wind sprint, the other does AMRAP freddy mercuries — switch up
    3) Wheelbarrow 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, full.  Each stop do 5 merkins.  Switch and let the other partner do their thing.

    Stay with partner, alternate 5 partner jumps over elbow planking partner– then 10, then 15
    alternate 5 leg throwdowns, then 10, then 15
    15 boo-yah merkins

    Mosey over to field
    Lunge and Runs — 5 lunges, then run to the tree designated by the Q! (Spit, come back!!!)
    5 on the way back.
    10 lunges, then run — same on the way back
    15 lunges, then run

    Forgo the Balls to the Wall exercise I had planned — opted for Marys back at the flag.
    Wave of Merkins — started at 1 merkin around the circle, then 2 — made it up to 8 before time ran out.

    NMS — Why is it that even though Lab Rat is not at a workout, that his name still is mentioned?
    When EF Hutton and YHC were teamed up for Partner Leg Throwdowns, EF asked  if he could do it LabRat style.  YHC didn’t know what that meant and wasn’t sure he really wanted to find out.

    Other observations —
    EFHutton must have done a lot of jumproping in his formative years, because he did all of those jumpovers in rhythm without stopping, one right after the other.  T-claps.

    The Wheelbarrow thing was much harder than YHC originally imagined it would be,  The PAX did amazingly well with this.

    It was good to see Conspiracy out there — he mentioned he was just getting back into the swing of things after the birth of his daughter.  Congrats!  Kids are a blessing (at least most of the time).

    Spit needs very specific directions when it comes to which tree to run to.  YHC said “Not the furthest one”  — Spit must have heard everything except for the first word.  Next time, I will go into more detail describing the bark, leaves, height, shape of the tree before proceeding.

    Had a great time branching out to VQ another AO!

    Announcements —
    First Thursdays in Mechanicsville starts NEXT Thursday the 6th.  6 PM Meet at Atlee for pickup game of Ultimate.  (30-45 minutes) — then head to COTU for a little 2nd F time.  If you can only make it for part of the time, that is totally cool.

    Going away party at the Answer BrewPub on July 12th.  See preblast for full details.

     

     

  • What’s tabata for you?

    What a beautiful day in RVA for another classic beat down.
    12 surly dudes showed up at The Creek to see what was going to happen.
    This is how the whole thing went down…

    COP —
    52 SSH
    Helicopters
    10 merkins OYO
    Arm Circles
    Chinooks (overhead arm circles)
    10 merkins OYO
    Roll-ups
    LBC’s
    side plank raises both sides
    10 merkins on own
    Gas pumps
    Freddy Mercuries

    Indian Bear Crawl up to the Field

    4 Tabata Workouts
    TABATA 1 — Plank Jacks and Mountain Climbers
    TABATA 2 — Flutter Kicks and Heels to Heaven
    TABATA 3 — Merkins and Werkins
    TABATA 4 — Jump Squats and Frog Jumps

    Back to the Flag, Numberama, Name-o-rama

    YHC is deeply indebted to Phonics for introducing the Tabata concept to the PAX a long while ago at DaVille.  Since then, YHC has wanted to incorporate Tabata into a Creek workout.  This was the perfect morning for that.  Tabata was developed by a Japanese scientist who was obviously also a sadist.  It doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult to do an exercise as hard as you can for 20 seconds, break for 10, and then do a complementary exercise, break for 10, and then alternate between the two for a grand total of 4 minutes.  The ten second breaks never seem long enough.  YHC is trying to figure out at this moment in time which muscle group hurts the most.  It seems to shift throughout the day.  At first, the legs were complaining the most.  Now it’s the arms.  It’s always a pleasure to lead this great group of guys even if they do complain from time to time.  (I won’t mention any names)  Suck it up, buttercup! 🙂
    Looking forward to the beatdown Saturday morning!

    Peace,
    Opus

  • Holy Crap — that took a long time!

    15 Native PAX members showed up for a fun and frolicking good time at Daville!

    Here is what went down:

    COP
    Hillbillies
    Arm Circles
    Flutter Kicks
    dollys
    Rock Em Sock Em Robots
    Jump Squat
    Plank Jack
    Roll Ups

    Longish Mosey to Hill near the Gate
    Doras — One partner does Broad Jump Burpees up hill, run down hill.  100 ww2 situps, 200 merkins (modified to 175), 300 SSH (1 count)

    Say good-bye to the hill by running up and down three times as fast as possible.  Wheelie did not fall down the hill for the first time ever.  Props and T-Claps.

    Indian Run back to wall for donkey kick fun

    2 donkeys, touch 1 tree
    4 donkeys, touch 2 trees
    6 donkeys, touch 3 trees
    Some of the PAX made it up to 8 before YHC realized what time it was and had to scurry the group back to the flag.

    Numberama, Nameorama, Announcements, Chowdah took us out this morning.

    YHC has not quite gotten the hang of how long something will take for a certain PAX.  Sometimes, there is not enough stuff and some scrambling occurs.  This morning, there was way too much stuff and massive cutting and splicing took place.  The original title of this Backblast was supposed to be “What the Hill?” — YHC had two more adventures with the hill planned, but realized that time was not on our side because the daggone DORA’s took much longer than I thought they would.  No worries, I will be Q’ing again at Daville soon enough!! 🙂

    Yardsale mentioned that the PAX should have a Shovel Flag making/ tasty brew drinking night at someone’s house.  YHC concurs.  Who is up for having some guys over to make that happen?

    Announcements:
    Fudd’s house this Saturday.  Not sure the time or how to get there.  Check the Pre-Blast for more info.

    Have a blessed takeover week!
    Opus