Category: Richmond, VA

  • What Good Is a Watch that Can’t Talk or Listen?

    Five strong posted to the Circus for rings of pain, AMRAP, and trust.

    The THANG:

    COP IC: Hammer Dance, Storm Squats, Hardwood-inspired Macho Man Merkins, Helicopters, Don Quixotes, Freddie Mercuries, Scorpion Kicks, Back Lifts

    1-Minute AMRAP sets, cycling through arms, abs, and legs including (not necessarily in order): Curls, Curls Curls, American Hammers, American Hammers, American Hammers, Rows, Upright Rows, Lawnmower Pulls Left, Lawnmowers Pull Right, Sit and Presses, Squat and Presses, KB Squats, KB Swings, KB Swings, Boat/Canoe, Overhead Pulls, Lunges. One exercise at each pillar along the bus loop. Break it up a bit with some Helicopters, Arm Circles, Mosey/Backwards Run.

    COT: What is Slack? Spoken and unspoken prayers.

    NMS: YHC got a fancy new Casio for Christmas and was anxious to try out the timer feature with AMRAPs. Since no counting is involved, mumble chatter flows a bit more freely. White Deer provided YHC with tips on how to bring more enthusiasm to a Q. The PAX marveled at Lighthouse’s ability to complete every minute without appearing tired. Jville mused about beatdowns for those with ambulatory challenges including him and Fireman Ed. YHC was glad to be able to give Attila a day off from Qing.

  • Crisp Coaster

    YHC made a winter tour stop at the Roller Coaster for a Wednesday evening hill run. I caught the hot potato Q and made the call to alternate clockwise and counterclockwise for a total of 6 loops on Hillcrest. Cool, crisp moonlit evening run with little neighborhood traffic and even less mumble chatter. No announcements!

  • Watch out for the bus, Smart Ass

    YHC came in hot…with only enough time to tie his shoes, and it was time to set off.

    Rumor is that the beatdown went something like this.

    THANG

    Mosey to front of school for COP: SSHs, DQs, Imperial Walkers, Copperhead Squats, Merkins, LBCs

    Mosey down to track, plank for the 6

    Run a lap around the icy track and back to the field house

    Form groups of 3 for Triple Check: Walk walkers, Box Cutters, Run up hill and back down

    Plank-o-rama once complete.

    Mosey back to bleachers for Chiabattas: 8x 20s on, 10s off – Step Ups then repeato w/ Dips

    Mosey back to field house for Jacobs Ladder: Run up hill, 1 burpee, run down hill, 2 burpees – up to 7 the back down. YHC audible at 6

    Additional audible to assemble at bottom of hill with 3 minutes left. Bear Crawl up hill for 90-120s.

    Time called to mosey back to VSF.

    COT – Marmaduke took us out

    Naked Moleskin:

    Rosie was not amused by YHC’s predictable COP…minus the Bob & Weaves.

    The lap around the track was particularly challenging this morning. Has winter actually arrived?

    At some point around the field house, Mr. Roper made YHC laugh and caused him to swallow his gum. Not fun.

    POG flew up the hill while Bear Crawling, a bus pulled out towards his path, and Marmaduke yelled out the title of this Back Blast.

    Great to see big numbers at SOT this moring. Great to lead you boys in the cold 70 & sunny weather!

  • You Will Eat My Rear Rockets

    15 warriors entered the ring armed with nothing but a chair and reckless abandon. Local news outlets reports frost on the ground, but it was 70 and sunny at WDog. According to Mean Gene it went a little something like this.

    Mosey to stage.

    COP: SSH X 20, IW X 20, FC X 20, WWII X 20, Macho Man Merkins X 10 (ooooo yeah), Arm Circles X 1

    Pickup cinder block coupons and mosey to circle

    7 MINUTE ABS: Partner up. One partner runs to the Carillon Seal with coupon and completes 3 burpees. The other partner is waiting and dreaming for their arrival. To pass the time they are in elbow plank position with a cinder block on their back. Three rounds!

    PADDY CAKE: Switch partners. Complete three rounds of the following:

    • 20 American Hammers with coupon
    • Mosey to opposite grass circle
    • 10 Boo Ya Decline Merkins, using the coupon to keep feet elevated

    Mosey to return coupons and mosey to the stage at the amphitheater

    ELEVATION GERMINATION: Three rounds of exercises. All starting at one end of the stage, working across to the other side and up the hill to the road.

    • Round #1 – Polar Bear
    • Round #2 – Crawl Bear
    • Round #3 – Polar bear across stage, at the base of the hill switch to Polar Crawl Bear. Ouch.

    Mosey back to flag.

    10 Should Tap Merkins IC

    Numberama, namerama and the Sandra Bullock of F3RVA, our very own Dr. Try Hard led us out.

    NEWS

    GORDON GARTRELL: Theo, The Olsen Twins and Dr. Try Hard….besides amazing bow hunting skills, do you know what they all have in common? They are all really into fashion. After popular demand DTH is sharing his fashion acumen and helping YOU get your very own customized F3RVA shirt.

    WINTER TOUR WITH SUZY CHAPSTICK: Oyster has organized the Winter Tour of 2020. According to his Instagram feed, he’s really into ski ballet and Mechanicsville history. The 2020 F3RVA Winter Tour was simply his was to combine his two great loves. Support Oyster and join the tour.

    F3 RVA SLACK CHANNEL: Honey Do has set up an F3RVA Slack channel . Topics include; Who is the hottest Golden Girl and the establishment of the Seal Team prevention hotline.

    MOLESKIN: Thanks for coming out and making it happen to day fellas. You guys absolutely crushed it. YHC had been germinating on the possibilities of the steep hill by the stage for a few weeks. As DTH says, it looked good on paper. Expect the uphill crawl bears to make another appearance very soon.

    BONUS BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Per previous posts, YHC had a book that found me at the right time. I couldn’t recommend Second Mountain by David Brooks enough. If you are just crazy enough to show up to these workouts, read these posts and do the hard work of growing yourself, then it’s for you. YHC found this passage relevant in my current mental state:

    “It’s one of the inescapable truisms of life: You have to lose yourself to find yourself, give yourself away to get everything back.”

    Make it a great one fellas. Only those who post know. Dig a little deeper and get it all out.

    Your pal,

    Hardywood

  • River Road Gas Leak

    Three strong hit the Early Bird workout this morning in order to go on a recon mission. We also did some exercises.

    COP:

    SSH’s x 20

    Helicopters x 15

    Hillbillies x 15

    Copperhead Squats x 15

    LBC’s x 20

    Scorpion Kicks x 15

    Mosey down River Road and pause at Saab’s driveway for 30 Monkey Humpers.

    Mosey a little further and find the entrance between the bushes to the UR Football practice fields.

    Watch out for the ice on the practice track strip and hop onto the frozen tundra field that has the whitest frost on it that YHC had ever seen.

    Complete a Beast:

    Round 1: Merkins

    Round 2: WWII’s

    Round 3: Lt. Dans

    Round 4: Crunchy Frogs

    Round 5: Jump Squats

    Round 6: 2-ct Mt. Climbers

    Head over to the hill in between the football fields and the field hockey fields for:

    Triple Check:

    Partner 1 bear crawls up hill and runs back down

    Partner 2 does Flutter Kicks

    Partner 3 does Squats

    Mosey back over to River Road and head back to Saab’s driveway for 20 Pickle Pounders and 20 Alabama Prom Dates.

    Mosey back to VSF and rotate between PLT’s and Kettle Bell Chest Pulls until time runs out.

    Numberama, Namearama, and YHC took us out!

    Announcements:

    Slack, Slack and more Slack! Get on it!

    NMS:

    YHC wanted to check out a couple nearby places to the AO in order to have more future options. Running is required to get there and we logged a good couple of miles. There was a really dense smell of natural gas on the football field and we think we found the source on the way back down River Road. Looks like it is coming from a faulty shut-off valve on the side of the road. Anyway, the PAX fought through it and worked hard on the frozen field. YHC wanted to swing by the UR amphitheater, but time would not allow. Next week, maybe. Handshake complete his second beast in as many days. We did not disturb Saab or his M during their long winter’s nap.

    Way to work men!

    SYITG!

    Kubota

  • Dirty McDeuce x 2

    YHC was excited about getting back into the Daville swing of things and we had 2 guests from SOJ so here is how it went down.

    We moseyed to the Sheltered area by the bus loop for warm ups in the COP

    COP

    20 SSH, 10 DQ (slow), 15 arm circles 10 small 5 big, Reverso, 10 Helicopters, 20 LBC’s, 10 Scorpions and 15 4ct merkins.

    THANG

    We moseyed to the track and partnered up for the phase one of the Dirty McDeuce Partner 1 performed 12 4 ct Merkins, 12 copperhead squats and 12 4ct LBC’s Partner 2 ran a lap as the timer. When Partner 2 came around we switched and Partner 2 did the exercises while Partner 1 ran the bus loop. We repeated 3 more times for a total of 4 rounds. (Scrum and I discussed the finer points of mathematics and was assured we were on the right rep count, engineer, math teacher with Emoji Chatter for consultation…had to be there).

    Phase 2 of the DM consisted of the following exercises. Step ups on the bench 12 reps, 12 dips and 12 (2ct) seated twists (American hammers). Partner 2 ran a lap on the bus loop. We switched each lap with a total of 4 rounds.

    We then did a Native American run to rally point in front of the High school parking lot.

    Mary

    We each held plank in a ring of fire while each member of the Pax did 5 Merkins of their choice (diamond, hand release, normal…)

    Namerama, Numberama

    YHC welcomed our guests and was glad to see some of the old Daville Pax back in action(Carpenter).

    YHC then discussed a book that was given to him for Christmas by David Brooks … The Road to Character. This discusses the contrast between our resume virtues (Achieving, Wealth, Fame and Status) and our Eulogy virtues (these exist at the core of our being: Kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed). YHC has recently returned from vacation where I was able to spend time being thankful for my family, the ability to visit with my sister, going skiing and celebrating Christmas with my brother and his family, visiting the in-laws and mom and dad, swim with the manatees and just reflect on 2019. I really appreciate F3 and the brotherhood.

    YHC took us out.

    Make it a great week gents….Cheers, CB

  • No Toll Exodus

    “Exodus is not just describing a ragtag group of people wandering around in the desert. It is describing how resilient people are made. It’s an eternal story of spiritual and moral formation that happens again and again and again.” – David Brooks, Second Mountain

    24 studs wandered together in the most manicured desert that Chesterfield County has to offer. Despite freezing temps in The Piedmont, it was 70 and sunny at No Toll. According to local legend it went a little something like this.

    Mosey to parking lot.

    COP: SSH X 20, IW X 20, Lunge X 20, WWII X 20, FC X 20, HRM X 20, Arm Circle X 1

    Mosey to the Stepford fields.

    RECTANGLE OF SUCCESS: Dividing the field into six stopping points including the four corners, two midway points and another back at the start. Pyramid merkins were on the agenda.

    • #1 10 Merkins
    • #2 20 Merkins
    • #3 30 Merkins
    • #4 40 Merkins
    • #5 30 Merkins
    • #6 20 Merkins
    • #7 10 Merkins

    BUSHWACKERS: Partner up. One partner begins lunging the long way across the field. The other partner completes 10 Captain Thors. Once exercises are done, run to the lunging partner and switch. Lunges are to take place all the way to the end and back.

    GRANDMAS SHAKEWEIGHT: Partner up. One partner begins to Crawl Bear long ways on the field. The other partner completes 8 Shoulder Tap Merkins. Once exercise is complete run to Crawl Bear partner and switch.

    11s PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION: Elevens made themselves known. The exercises were burpees and copper head squats.

    Mosey back to the flag. Numberma, namerma and the smooth and sultry voice that is Marmaduke led us out.

    NEWS:

    DTH SHIRTS: Let’s be honest, we all wanna be Dr. Try Hard. Now imagine you can do that without having to go to medical school, VMI or kill a deer. Now you can look the part! In three easy payments of $19.99 you can get with your own DTH Shirt, which you can buy here. It’s extra to get your own name on it. https://backblasts.f3rva.org/2019/12/20/your-f3-name-shirt/

    WINTER TOUR: The Grateful Dead, your weed smoking college roommate and F3RVA….do you know what they have in common? It’s not only a sweet hemp necklace or the ability to survive for days on acid and falafel. All of the above love a good tour. Oyster has organized the Winter Tour of 2020. Rumor has it he will be running the merch tent and an interactive sound forest.

    OK BOOMER, I’M A SLACKER: Honey Do has set up an F3RVA Slack channel . He also sent out and email with some ground rules; the most important of which is no pics of TYA in his courtesy shorts. I don’t know who was taking those at BRR or how he got his ankle behind his head but the sharing of those and making memes about chicken legs and gonads has to stop. Excellent boundaries Honey Do.

    MOLESKIN: Way to work today fellas! That many merkins and burpees would leave the wells of most men dry. Way to keep digging.

    Your pal,

    Hardywood

  • Chinese Moon Pie

    Fourteen able bodied gentlemen gathered just in time for instructions to today’s edition of Spider Run. Moon Pie appeared just in time to hear instructions that made no sense. Regardless, off we went for a relatively error-free route that included:

    The Route
    4 milers – Head west towards the baseball field, up in front of the Robins Center and left on College. Right on Lakewood. Right on Wood. Left on Beechwood. Left on Westham. Cross River and head down South Ridge. Left on Westham Station and work your way back to the commons via the main entrance on River Road.

    5 milers – same as 4s except add the down and back Ross after you cross over River.

    6 milers – same as 4s except add the Cameron to Culpeper jug handle before heading down and back Ross. Also add Old Bridge to Highland on Westham Station.

    Very few announcements then YHC took us out while making sure the seals heard our prayer.

    Moleskin
    Relatively uneventful Spider Run today. Very methodical execution from the PAX. Hitchhiker is building towards something as he ran from his house to Spider Run and then back. TClaps for seriously putting in the miles these days.

    Six mile chatter centered around snow sports and the desire (or lack thereof) to participate. The steeds lost me on Highland and YHC was left with his thoughts the rest of the way.

    Lug keeps pushing it too. He added Ross but didn’t quite see the bottom.

    Swirly wore his favorite shirt but that didn’t keep him from getting temporarily misguided on Ross.

    Welcome Moon Pie to his first Spider Run (YHC believes). Upon declaring his name during pre-run introductions, Hitchhiker came out of the blue and asked if Moon Pie had ever been to China. Stealing a line from the #daville regulars, “As usual, I have no idea what that means.”

    Have a blessed day gentlemen. See you on Slack.

    Splinter

  • What is Miserable Jumprope?

    6 PAX came out wondering if Q sheet was in fact open. With no official Q at 5:30 we set off to end of track for COP and a Hot potato Q:

    COP (Honeydo): Miserable Jumprope (aka Invisible Jumprope), Miserable Burpees, Don Qs, Helicopters, Merkins, Flutterkicks. Pass Q to Lighthouse, which turned out to be big mistake:

    Lighthouse Beast – Mini beast with way worse numbers: Round 1- Merkins 20 per stop. Round 2- LBCs 20. Round 3 – 5 Burpees. Pass Q to Handshake, off to Jerkin Gym: 3 sets of 10 Jerkins. Then over to Heartbreak Hill:

    Run up, 15 WWIIs, back down then 1 Burpee. Repeat 5 times. Pass Q to Atilla – Over to bleachers for 3 rounds of: 25 Dips & 25 Benchkicks. Then up to parking lot for Triple check of: People’s chair, American Hammers & run.

    Atilla took us out.

    NMS – Nothing like creating new exercises when PAX mishears the Qs instructions. Now YHC has to think of what miserable Jumprope would really entail. Some confusion at the start as Wojo was on the Q sheet yesterday at some point but it was blank at 5:15 so technically not a no-show. PAX did learn a lesson as Lighthouse is NOT messing around. A modified beast with 120 merkins in round 1 then burpees. ouch.

    Jerkin Gym was the iciest YHC can remember and the benchkicks on the frozen bleachers almost led to a case of frostbitten ass cheeks. Great to have P-Trap back out at HBR, and on his birthday, aye! Great way to start off your 35th year.

  • 4 at Tomato Run

    4 Davillians posted for the morning run this morning. Mudface and No Idea did their route around the schools and YHC and Trout ran the Kings Charter Farmhouse loop (4.1 miles).

    It was a nice cool morning for a run and having not worked out for over a week, this was a great way to get back in the F3 swing in Daville.

    Great to work out with the Monday regulars and no tourist this morning.

    We will see you in the gloom…CB