Author: Jim Huddle

  • He ain’t heavy

    He’s just got a heavy kettlebell. Part way thru the 2nd set of 11s, various members of the Pax traded off and used Offshore’s kettlebell. A 45-pound kettlebell really does feel a lot heavier! Atilla gets to loaf some next time at Circus Maximus because he worked out the most with Offshore’s kettlebell (after Offshore).

    Due to a mix-up in the weather, it rained (a little) today. Normally, if it rains, Fireman Ed is the Q. We need to change the Q forecast to “if it rains, a 90% chance that Fireman Ed is the Q”.

    We need to improve the colors of our group. We had 2 white animals today (Snake and Deer); no Green Hornet, no Blue Moon. Maybe we need to name someone Purple Rain. I guess we could rename Lighthouse or Byproduct.

    And today, I am the proud father of a 33-year-old daughter. I know she doesn’t read these writeups, but “Happy Birthday Johanna!”

    So here’s how it went down.

    Warmup

    SSHs, IWs, Ukrainian Soldiers, Don Quixote, stretch arms, stretch hamstrings.

    20 High Pulls (single count): 20 Deep Mountain Climbers (Single count); 18 of each, 16 of each, etc.

    11s: Curls, Rifle carry, Swings

    Run around island

    11s: Overhead presses, Farmer’s carry, Goblet Squats

    Run around island

    Stretch

    Heels to Heaven in cadence

    60-count 6-inch leg lift

    Announcements:

    Oct 29 Beer Mile

    Oct 29 Blacksburg launch

  • Pickleball

    Pre-workout discussion of changes to Pouncey Track Park. Additional Pickleball courts are proposed, along with additional parking and moving the pull-up bars. There’s also the Tuckahoe Tomahawks playing today.

    Mosey to near the pull-up bars.

    It’s great to have a workout to go to on Saturday mornings (and the rest of the week for that matter.) One thing I do miss is the 2nd F after the workout on Saturday. Between Vacations, childcare and in the next two weeks, Cub Scouts, I’ve missed a lot of 2nd F on Saturday. I’m hoping to get back to showing up starting in three weeks.

    Disclaimer

    20 SSHs, 10 MM Merkins, 15 Knee-ups, (all in cadence), stretch

    Mosey to Burpee Hill

    7 minutes of Burpees

    Using Pull-up bars:

    11s with Hanging Knee-ups and Bulgarian Split Squats using the picnic benches

    Back to football field near fence

    10 Romanian Leg Lift (in cadence) Left leg then right leg

    Soccer(?) field below the football field

    11s with get ups and Ukrainian Hammers

    Mosey to far end of the soccer field

    Run/belly touch each red line to the other end

    Mosey to Wall in front of school

    15 People’s Chair air press, 10 BTTW Hip slaps, (all in cadence), 15 donkey kix

    15 People’s Chair milkers, 10 BTTW Australian Mountain Climbers (all in cadence), 15 donkey kix

    15 People’s Chair la-lanes, 10 BTTW toe taps (all in cadence), 15 donkey kix

    Stretching exercise

    Mosey to the loading dock

    Behind the loading dock 10 Squats, climb wall and fence to loading dock, cross loading dock, climb down loading dock, mosey to asphalt for 10 HRMs. 3X

    Mosey back to soccer field

    Bear crawl/Crab walk about 2/3s of the field changing at each red line

    Mosey to parking lot

    20 Heels to Heaven, 20 Rosalitas 6-inch leg left to count of 60

     

    Announcements
    Oct 11: 2nd F, Tuesday Lunch Innsbrook Firehouse Subs: show up sometime between say 11:30 and 1:00.

    Oct 29: 2nd F, Beer Mile. Also, F3 Launch in Blacksburg

  • Russian Army Recruiters

    F3 has recently been on the front page of the NY Times! I’ve seen several back-and-forth comments on Twitter between F3 supporters and those who think of us as some kind of weirdo cult. The F3 supporters have explained why we do F3. I thought I would add my own thoughts, which I have not seen previously expressed.

    We practice essential life skills. Skills you never know when you’ll need, and therefore, must be ready to carry out at any time. Suppose for example, Russian army recruiters are trying to draft you into the Russian Army. You can successfully evade them if you can execute a Jacob’s ladder. Or, you can lose them by climbing over and under railings on sidewalks. Throw in a little Karioke and you’ll be free from those pesky Ruskies. Today at Heartbreak, we practiced these essential life skills.

    Mosey forward, Karioke left, Mosey backwards, Karioke right back to start

    Disclaimer

    Warmup: in cadence

    20 SSHs

    10 Shoulder slap Merkins

    15 Knee-ups

    Stretch

    Mosey to Heartbreak Hill

    Jacob’s ladder with 5 dollies at bottom each time: up the Heartbreak hill 7 times with 1, 2, 3, etc. to 7 Burpees at the top

    Mosey to one side of the Railings on the sidewalk

    11s with Hand Release Merkins on one side of sidewalk and WWIIs on the other side. In between each exercise, climb over one railing and then under the second railing to reach the other side.

    Mosey to outdoor basketball Court

    4 Corner Blimps with alternating Bear Crawl or Crab Walk in between each corner:

    5 Burpees

    10 Lunges

    15 IWs

    20 Merkins

    25 Plank Jacks

    30 Squats

    Mosey to benches in front of Quioccasin;

    10 Dips

    10 Bulgarian Split Squats right leg

    10 Bulgarian Split Squats left leg

    3x in cadence with some Derkins thrown in between the 3rd Dips and Bulgarians

    Mosey to shovel flag for

    20 Heels to Heaven in cadence

    60-count 6-inch leg lift

     

    No Announcements

    Takeout by YHC

  • Be the Light

    For those who have been to Hoedown, it is a dark place. So, unlike the rest of the group, I wear a headlamp. Before we got started, I walked over to Faceplant who was tying his shoes. ‘Don’t move, I can finally see what I’m doing.’ It’s taken 69 years, but I have found my purpose in life.

     

    Warmup:

    Short jog ending up in the front corner lot.

    Disclaimer

    20 SSHs

    20 IWs

    10 Don Quixote: (FYI, back in Charlotte, we call these Sharon Towers, after the name of a retirement home.)

    Mosey to the asphalt playground for:

    7 minutes of Burpees

    Stretch

    Mosey to the field in the back of the school, everybody counts off by 3s.

    3x 10 Pullups, 20 Merkins, 30 Squats

    Mosey over to the Wall. (We should give this a name: Something like the Berlin Mauer.)

    15 People’s chair airpress

    10 BTTW hip slaps in cadence

    15 Donkey Kix

    15 People’s chair Milkers

    10 BTTW Australian Mountain Climbers

    15 Donkey Kix

    15 People’s chair LaLannes

    10 BTTW toe taps

    15 Donkey Kix

    15 People’s chair Muhammad Ali

    10 Dirty Hookups

    Stretch

    11s in upper parking lot: Mike Tyson and Knee-ups

    Mosey to the shovel flag

    20 Dollies

    20 Heels to Heaven

    60-count 6-inch leg lift

    I got back last week from a two-week trip to Germany, plus an overnight trip to DC. This is my second workout since returning from Germany. It’s good to be back.

     

    Announcements:

    THIS SATURDAY: Gridiron 8-year anniversary convergence: I understand this was the first F3 workout in Richmond. We’re starting at 7:30 instead of 7:00 to give the Crucible folks the opportunity to be here. Parking may be an issue so park at Short Pump Middle School and come over to the football field.

    Use this as an opportunity to call up folks you haven’t seen post in a while. There will be refreshments afterwards.

    Saturday afternoon: Sit and Sip: Contact Gomer Pyle with questions. Cornhole tournament. Bonfire, Overnight camping trip.

  • First day of school

    Upchuck found a new way to skip out on doing exercises; he helped the teachers arriving at Hoedown carrying their supplies.

    Mosey to the Corner Parking Lot

    Begin with Disclaimer:

    I am not a professional

    You’re undertaking this at your own risk.

    There are hazards and it’s dark so be careful.

    The idea is to get better, not to get hurt, so feel free to modify called exercises.

    20 SSHs

    10 Arm Slap Merkins

    20 Deep Mountain Climbers

    Stretch

    20 IWs

    10 Diamond Merkins

    15 Gorilla Jacks

    10 Helicopters

    Move to other parking lot

    20 Squats

    10 Peter Parker

    20 Heels to Heaven

    stretch

    15 Lunges

    10 Garden Variety Merkins

    15 Crunchy Frogs

    Stretch

    To the upper Parking Lot

    Burpee Bear Crawl from mid court to edge

    Crab Walk back

    To the grassy area in back

    Divide into three groups; Circuit with 20 Hanging Knee-ups at pull-up bars, at the benches for 20 Dips, 20 Ukrainian Hammers close to the swings; 3X Cycle clockwise.

    To the wall for Angry Donkeys (11s with People’s Chair air press and Donkey Kix)

    To the rails for 10 Bulgarian Split squats each leg (single Count), 10 derkins, 9 and 9, 8 and 8 etc.

    To the wall for

    15 People’s chair airpress

    10 BTTW hip slaps in cadence

    15 Donkey Kix

    15 People’s chair Milkers

    10 BTTW Australian Mountain Climbers

    Stretch

    60 count 6-inch leg lift

    Announcements:

    Labor Day: Convergence at DogPile at 7:00

    Takeout by YHC

    First day of school. Our oldest grandson begins 1st grade today. Please remember there’s a change in the traffic patterns and there are school buses. Drive carefully!

  • Be safe

    9 for Heartbreak today. I went light on the Merkins today because Kubota celebrated his 45th birthday yesterday with 180 merkins, plus some bear crawls and Carolina dry docks. Unfortunately, no one else here today was at Hoedown yesterday. That’s life.

    Disclaimer:

    The following were done in cadence unless otherwise stated.

    Mosey to Parking lot by benches: 20 SSHs, 10 Man-maker Merkins, 15 knee-ups, stretching exercise

    Mosey to covered walkway at Quioccasin: 20 IWs, 10 Diamond Merkins, 15 American Hammers, stretching exercise

    Mosey to Pemberton Parking lot: 20 Squats, 10 Stagger arm Merkins, 15 Crunchy Frogs, stretching exercise

    Mosey to other end of Parking lot and watch out for the goose poop: 20 Ukrainian Soldiers, 10 Stagger arm Merkins, 15 Dollies, 15 Helicopters

    Mosey to the pull-up bars behind Pemberton: 10 Pull-ups OYO, 20 Squats OYO and 30 LBCs: 3X

    Mosey back to Pemberton parking lot: BLIMPS in parking lot, single count: 5 Burpees, 10 Lunges, 15 Imperial Walkers, 20 Merkins, 25 Plank Jacks and 30 Squats

    Mosey to covered walkway at Quioccasin:

    People’s Chair 15 Air Press, 10 BTTW Hip Slaps, 15 Donkey Kix OYO

    People’s Chair 15 Muhammad Ali, 10 BTTW Australian Mountain Climbers, 15 Donkey Kix OYO

    People’s Chair 15 Milkers, 10 BTTW Toe Taps, 15 Donkey Kix OYO

    Mosey to the benches in front of Quioccasin: 10 Dips, 10 bulgarian split squats each leg: 3X

    10 Mike Tyson in cadence

    Back to the flag for Mary.

    Time’s up.

    Announcements: in 10 days, we will have a Convergence at Dogpile (Labor Day)

    Commentary: Be safe out there. All, or perhaps virtually all of us, drive a car routinely. You have to be careful of pedestrians who aren’t paying attention. Maybe they are listening to music instead of paying attention to the traffic when they cross a road. Or maybe they even walk in the road when they shouldn’t. This is especially an issue early in the morning when it is dark and we are coming or going to a workout.

  • Darth Tater

    8 for Circus Maximus today. Three days in a row for our recent FNG, Lasso. Lasso is Lighthouse’s niece’s husband. Great to have him! Great to have Fireman Ed back from vacation. The highlight from his vacation was without a doubt, the visit to the Potato Museum in Idaho. Maybe followed by the 40-degree nights. However, lately temperature wise in Richmond, I can’t complain, especially for August.

     

    I forgot my kettlebell. Byproduct offered me his and was going to take the 20-pound KB I use to anchor the flag. But fortunately, Whitedeer had an extra 25-pound KB. The great thing about kettlebells is that it’s like a handicap with golf. You can compensate with the weight of the KB so everyone is equal. Sometimes, I feel guilty only handling a 25-pound bell when Offshore has a 45-pound bell. But I am able to get over it.?

     

    We started with a warmup:

     

    SSHs, Ukrainian Soldiers, Don Quixote, stretch arms, stretch hamstrings.

    20 High Pulls (single count): 20 Deep Mountain Climbers (in cadence); 18 of each, 16 of each, etc.

    Stretch and catch breath

    Slingshot 10 each direction (around body)
    Halo 10 each direction (handle points up in front, upside down in back)
    Single Arm Deadlift (Keep back and legs straight, bend at waist, KB on ground to KB at waist) 10 each side
    Single Leg Deadlift 10 each leg (Same leg goes up as the arm with the kettlebell, try to maintain balance)
    Turkish Getup 5 each side (leg bent at knee is the same side as upraised arm)
    Run around Island Oyster backed off at the last letting me have first place. What a pearl of guy!
    Goblet Squat 20 in total (handles pointing down, deep squat)
    Racked squat 10 each side
    Racked lunge 10 each side
    Alternating Single arm swing 20 in total
    Clean and Press 10 each side (start with KB on ground, bend knees, keep KB close to body)
    Run around island
    Squat and Press
    Bottom up Clean 10 each side (KB upside down at rack, hold 5 seconds)
    Overhead squat 10 each side (KB held with arm straight above head)
    Curls 20 each
    Snatch 10 each side (Start with KB between legs, End with KB above head.)

     

    Waiter’s carry to the flag. 20 flutters in cadence, 60 second leg raise. Finish

     

    Numberama, namerama, announcements

    Announcements:

    The Crucible this Saturday at 7:30. Offshore has the Q. Blackwell Elementary, south of the James. Byproduct reported that Labrat rode 18 miles on his bicycle recently. How wonderful!

     

    Takeout by YHC.

  • Warmup

    only 2 of us for WaThoHuk Wednesday. We ran a big square from the school, to around the lake, around the new condominiums, to Broad Street to Pump Road to Three Chopt and back to the school. We still had time left, so we did 20 Merkins, 20 Dollies, 20 Merkins and 20 Dollies. Then to the track. I managed 3 laps and a little more. Lighthouse did more of course, including merkins and dollies. Back to the flag.

  • Es ist heiss

    Probation pulled up as we were circling up for the first COP in the parking lot. We added Homer and Gypsy, having done a pre-run, after the 5 minutes of Burpees and Blue Moon came towards the end to make sure standards were being maintained while he’s recovering from knee surgery.

    Fireman Ed called the next exercise as he has memorized my routine. (I have certain ‘sets’ I do so I don’t have to carry a weinke around.) For that matter, Whitesnake also predicted the BTTW routine. Mariner dragged the average age down considerably. All in all, a total of 13 today.

    It went like this.

    20 SSHs, 10 MM Merkins, 15 Knee-ups, (all in cadence), stretch

    Mosey to nearby pull-up bars

    20 IWs, 10 diamond Merkins, 15 Crunchy Frogs (all in cadence), stretch

    5 minutes of Burpees, stretching exercise

    Using Pull-up bars:

    11s with Pull-ups and Bulgarian Split Squats at picnic tables, stretching exercise

    Back to football field near fence

    10 Romanian Leg Lift (in cadence) Left leg then right leg

    Football field

    Burpee/Broad Jump to 30-yard line, stretching exercise

    Jog to end

    11s with get ups and Ukrainian HRMs, stretching exercise

    Jog to Wall in front of school

    15 People’s Chair air press, 10 BTTW Hip slaps, (all in cadence), 15 donkey kix

    15 People’s Chair milkers, 10 BTTW Australian Mountain Climbers (all in cadence), 15 donkey kix

    15 People’s Chair la-lanes, 10 BTTW toe taps (all in cadence), 15 donkey kix

    Stretching exercise

    Mosey back to football field

    Bear crawl/Crab walk to Midfield alternating every 10 yards

    Mosey to parking lot

    20 Flutters, 20 Rosalitas (all in cadence), 6-inch leg lift to count of 60.

    Announcements

    August 6 at 7:30, SOJ, The Crucible, supporting Healing Hands. More information on Slack

    10-year anniversary of Gridiron coming up. More information to come on this. Please invite those who have dropped off.

    The heat made it a tough day today.

    You don’t always know what those around you are going thru. If you are struggling physically, from an injury, it’s fairly obvious. But if your situation at work or at home is bad, it’s not so obvious. So please reach out to a brother and provide support. You might be making a difference to someone.

     

     

  • Purgatory

    At Hoedown today, we had 15. Someone said today was like purgatory. I took that as a compliment because there is a worse place than purgatory. It started like this.

    Mosey to the Corner Parking Lot

    20 SSHs

    10 Man Maker Merkins

    15 Knee-ups

    20 IWs

    10 Diamond Merkins

    15 Gorilla Jacks

    20 Ukrainian Soldiers

    10 Stagger Arm Merkins

    15 Crunchy Frogs

    I detected an increase in the level of complaining. Perhaps a change of scenery would help. And so we moved to the asphalt playground.

    10 Don Quixote

    10 Stagger Arm Merkins

    15 Flutters

    Stretching

    Line up about 2/3s from the end of the asphalt playground.

    Burpee/Broadjump to the first white line and then Bear Crawl to end

    Crab Walk back 2/3s of the way and Burpee/Broadjump to the starting line.

    Stretching

    To the grassy area in back

    Count off in 3s; Circuit with 20 Hanging Knee-ups at pull-up bars, at the benches for 20 Dips, 20 Ukrainian Hammers close to the swings; 3X Counter-clockwise.

    To the wall for Angry Donkeys (11s with People’s Chair air press and Donkey Kix)

    To the rails for 10 Bulgarian Split squats each leg (single count), 10 derkins (single count), 9 and 9, 8 and 8 etc.

    Wall Courtyard: 15 air-press (People’s chair) in cadence, 10 BTTW hip slaps in cadence, 15 Donkey Kix OYO

    Wall Courtyard: 15 milkers (People’s chair) in cadence, 10 BTTW Australian Mountain Climbers in cadence, 15 Donkey Kix OYO

    Wall Courtyard: 15 Lalannes (People’s chair) in cadence, 12 BTTW ToeTaps in cadence, 15 Donkey Kix OYO

    Stretching and time’s up.

    It was great to have this group to lead today! If you haven’t already, I encourage you to be the Q. You get an additional amount of adrenaline so you’re able to do more. You’re in control. You can back off when you get sufficiently tired. And it’s always amazing knowing that the pax will actually follow your lead!
    One standard I’ve been a slack about is the disclaimer at the beginning of the workout. We should always do this.

    Below is what I found on F3nation.com. I think I need to work up a shorter version.

    Disclaimer and Notice

    F3 Nation, Inc. (“F3”) is a peer-led, zero-cost non-profit workout group. F3 makes no representations with regard to the skill level of workout leaders, the safety of the exercises performed during workouts or the hazardousness of the premises upon which workouts are conducted. The men who lead F3 workouts are not paid to do so and no representations of any kind are made by F3 about their skill level. The premises upon which F3 workouts are conducted are not owned or maintained by F3. F3 makes no representations of any kind regarding their safety. Although F3 workouts vary widely in intensity, all F3 workouts tend to be rigorous and are undertaken upon uneven ground during periods of limited visibility. Therefore, there are certain dangers inherent in participating in an F3 workout. Participants must be 18 or older and are assumed to have made their own reasonable decision as to whether they should so participate. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by a father or male legal guardian. F3 disclaims any and all responsibility for any individual’s decision to participate in an F3 workout. By participating in an F3 workout, an individual assumes the risks inherent in doing so. This Disclaimer and Notice is made by F3 on its own behalf and on the behalf and for the benefit of any person leading an F3 workout and/or otherwise acting for the benefit of F3.

     

    Announcements:

    • Update your contact information in Slack. I had to do this on my computer. I could not get it to work on my cell phone. I clicked on my picture in the top right corner. Selected ‘profile’ in the drop down and scrolled down to see the emergency contacts.
    • Gomer Pyle is looking into getting ‘dog-tags’ we can wear with contact information.
    • At Robious Elementary Homerun derby tomorrow.
    • HumpDay Happy Hour at 6:00 at Snuff’s. Bring swimsuit, beer. Details on Slack, #2nd F Fellowship
    • Leadership call tomorrow at 5:00. Details on Slack. See #Leadership.
    • At least one person in every group should carry a phone in case it is needed. If someone has a heart attack, you don’t want to have to run back to get a cell phone.

    Takeout by YHC