Category: Richmond, VA

  • Hardywood’s Coffee Brings All The Boys To The Yard

    14 warriors emerged from the gloom: some, to defeat Twin Team Hill; others, following the olfactory siren song of coffee emanating from the back of Hardywood’s vehicle. One was drawn in all the way from NC.

    Either way, we got sweaty.

    Mosey across Robious to Twin Team, COP @ bottom. SSH, DQ, helo, something on the ground (YHC forgets).

    PAX ran to the top of Twin Team, marking five spots along the way. On the way down, perform 20x of prescribed exercise at each marked spot. From the top down: burpees, WWIIs, lunges, 2x flutterkicks, merkins. After PAX completed one set together, each man went at his own pace for round two, with a little extra credit thrown in at the end.

    Mosey back to Weaver for a little Man vs Bear. Groups of 3: wheelbarrow racing a bear crawler. In case you were wondering, the bear always wins. End with a quick round of Mary before moseying back to the flag.

    MOLESKIN

    YHC issued an apology to the PAX for his lack of a theme. The usual custom is, look for important events on that date and create exercises to commemorate. The perfect theme emerged: the 1977 release of Star Wars Episode IV. Unfortunately, the pressure proved too great, and YHC found himself paralyzed by his own expectations.

    I believe 14 is a Twin Team record! Huge props to Hardywood for not only bringing the boys with promise of coffee, but doing it in style. Dude pulled out a giant cooler full of piping hot water, and multiple French presses. Just because you’re in a parking lot, doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality – let it be a lesson to us all.

  • Double Deuce

    22 of RVA’s Finest Road Scholars came forward to tackle distance with speed.  Four early bird runners, and six bikers did their thing, and the remaining runners did the following routes:

    • East on Grove and North on Hamilton.
    • Hamilton to Westwood and take a left.  Westwood turns into Malvern.
      • 4s take Malvern to Grove and home.
      • 5s and 6s head west on Patterson.
        • 5s take a left on Lexington and a right on Albemarle.  Left on Grove to the VSF.
        • 6s take a left on Seneca and a left on Grove to the VSF.

    Marv took us out.

    NMS

    Perfect weather for top speeds this morning.  The 5s set a nice pace with Shakedown doing so despite this being his 4th straight day of running.  BT dropped it in low gear for the last half mile using Grove as his personal passing lane.  Offshore and Swiper make running fast look effortless.

    YHC note:  Google brings back quite a few meanings for “doubel deuce”.  YHC was referring to the quantity of Pax in attendance today, however one member may have provided an additional interpretation with two Fudd’s en route.  Nice.

    Announcements:

    • Memorial Day Convergence – Be there!
    • Summer Challenge begins tomorrow.  See Phonics backblast on the matter.
    • YHC and Shakedown are going to meet our summer challenge with an amateur bike ride RAMMS.  Dust off the Schwinn and stay tuned.

    Stay safe this weekend, have fun, and appreciate good friends and family.

    Lockjaw

  • Friday on my Mind

    7 Grown men and one feisty 2.0 showed up for a beatdown this morning.

    Here is what transpired…
    Hallelujah Run around the church

    COP–
    Hillbillies
    Helicopters
    Combos (not the snack) All IC —
    5 SSH, 5 Merkins 5x (no stopping between exercises)
    5 WW2 situps, 5 Freddies 5x
    5 flutterkicks, 5 scissors 5x
    5 copperhead squats, 5 pistol squats 4x

    1 minute toe taps on curb
    30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest
    40 seconds on, 20 seconds rest
    50 seconds on, 10 seconds rest
    1 minute full on.

    Triple Checks at the benches–
    derkins, ww2s on benches, touch a car
    dips, skullcrushers, touch a building

    Catch me if you can — 
    one partner starts bear crawling around the building, other one does 7 burpees and then runs to catch the other one.  Switch roles.  Repeato until we make it round the building.

    Thanks to all the guys and girl who showed up today for this morning’s beatdown.  It was a beautiful morning with a little less humidity than normal.  Nothing stood out this morning as far as mumblechatter is concerned, but YHC thinks everyone was having a great time with the workout.  Pick two has become a regular again and we are glad for that!  Missed regulars Carpenter and Spit this morning.  Hope you both are doing well — see you soon!
    BTW — George Young of AC/DC fame was a member of the Easybeats back in the 60’s.  This is one of the first rock songs YHC remembers from his youth and still loves it!

    Peace
    Opus

     

  • FNG Tubbs Visits Circus

    Three of the faithful and one FNG posted at CircusMaximus with kettlebells in hand. Johnsonville (YHC) took the Q, and this is what went down, more or less —

    warmup with 25x ssh, 25x imperial walkers, 25x don quiotes, 25x flutter kicks, plank sequence, long-time arm circles

    mosey to sidewalk by bus loop for ciabatta lawnmower pulls, alternating arms.

    mosey about 1/2 way down bus loop toward pump rd for ciabatta kb swings.

    mosey to end of bus loop. run a brisk lap.

    ciabatta merkins (feel the burn!) Chum would have been stronger on round 8 than round 1 (that is, had he bothered to get out of bed).

    mosey around the school to the side facing pump rd. ciabatta WWII situps with KB presses at top.

    10 burpees

    KB carry back to VSF. Mary with Alabama prom dates, box cutters, and ‘merican hammers.

    COT with Attila taking us out.

    FNG Al Lombardy, introduced himself and presented himself for naming. But without the keen wit of DK, we were unable to come up with a fitting name on the spot, YHC having summarily rejected “Big Al”, “Weird Al”, and “Hemmeroid.” Upon reflection and in a state of 80s nostalgia, YHC takes note that a particularly heinous crime boss on Miami Vice was named “Al Lombard.” YHC thus names FNG Al Lombardy, “Tubbs.”

    Good job men! Jville

  • F3 RVA Summer Tour – Starts Saturday, May 26

    F3 RVA Summer Tour – Starts Saturday, May 26

    https://youtu.be/Xf3mRZ7SHu0

    According to Phineas and Ferb, there are 104 days of summer.  What a better way to spend the summer than challenging yourself to visit all 24 F3 RVA AOs.  Although procrastinators can wait as late as August 6 to start, it would be best to spread this challenge out over the entire summer.  Once you complete the tour, you will have done the following:

    • 14 bootcamps
    • 7 runs including a trail run and evening run
    • 2 Kettle Bell workouts
    • 1 bike ride

    Don’t let not having a kettle bell or bike prevent you from participating in this challenge.  Borrow them if necessary.

    The challenge starts starts on Saturday, May 26 and ends on Labor Day.

    To sign up, click here.  

    To print the F3 RVA Summer Tour flyer, click here.

    See you all this summer!

    Phonics

  • Yes I can count past 10!!

    YHC arrived to 45MOM with Big Blue posted and 2nd to arrive with TYA following close behind…..and the PAX quickly swarmed the parking lot! 23 F3 Soldiers posted-22 RVA and 1 ATL…for what can always be an amusing yet thrilling Q by YHC. 0530…time to mosey.

    COP at the basketball courts….x10 Russian Soldiers, x 10 Don Quixote’s, x 10 Box Cutters, x 10 LBC’s, x 10 Flutter  Kicks, x 11 Copperhead Squats (for you TYA), and x 12 Imperial Walkers. Let’s go….mosey to corner of the basketball court.

    Ascending 4 Corners…….Corner 1, x 10 Freddie Mercuries and bear crawl to Corner 2 for x 10 Freddie Mercuries and  x 20 LBC’s. Bear Crawl to Corner 3. x 10 Freddie Mercuries, x 20 LBC’s, x 30 SSH and bear crawl to corner 4. Corner 4, x 10 Freddie Mercuries, x 20 LBC’s, x 30 SSH, x 40 2 count Mtn. Climbers. Plank when finished.

    What goes up must come down!!!

    Descending 4 Corners…..starting in Corner 4, x 40 2 Mtn. Climbers, x 30 SSH, x 20 LBC’s, x 10 Freddie Mercuries. Lunge to Corner 3. x 30 SSH, x 20 LBC’s, x 10 Freddie Mercuries. Lunge to Corner 2, x 20 LBC’s, x 10 Freddie Mercuries. Lunge to Corner 1, x 10 Freddie Mercuries. Plank when finished.  Mosey to the soccer field.

    10×10…..Line up to run across the soccer field. AYG across the field. Ready positions,  IC with the entire PAX, YHC initiating and PAX counting, x 10 Merkins. Repeat 10 times. 1000 meters run, AYG, and 100 Merkins. With time to spare….

    Partner Carries….partner up and carry to midfield line, stop and each PAX members perform 5 burpees and switch. Partner carry to end of soccer field and 5 burpees for each PAX member. Switch and partner carry back to midfield, 5 burpees for each PAX member. Switch and partner carry to starting point. 5 burpees for each PAX member. Mosey back to flag with 0 minutes to spare and BOOM, finished!!

    Number-ama, Name-r-ama, Announcements: Memorial Day to Labor Day Challenge to visit all the AO’s. Phonics, nice flyer!! Simple, there should not be any questions. Memorial Day Convergence-only workout in town is at Tredgar/Belle Isle, below Virginia War Memorial!

    TYA took us out! Gracias Brother!!

    NMS…Definite mumblechatter about the Caps destroying game 7 and reaching Stanley Cup Finals!! And, TYA questioned YHC ability to count past 10. Yup, I graduated from The Institute, definitely not college! YHC was out front leading so definitely missed a lot of mumblechatter and 23 PAX is superb!!

    TYA, appreciate the words brother! Lockjaw, nice to see you in the PAX! Swirly, just go see the doctor when you get injured! Hell of a way to start the morning! Cosign, nice to see you out again! Grunt, way to push this morning and thanks for partnering up!!

    45MOM is awesome. Thank you for following this morning men! The blessings we are bestowed upon us are awesome, magnificent, and humbling. Let us not take these for granted. Take the energy we showed this morning out into the world. It needs some awesomeness!!

    Only those who post understand!

    Loud and Proud!!

    Flatline

  • Red vs Gray (and one stuck in the middle)

    7 SOJ regulars posted to Timberwolf this morning.  6 got the memo and split evenly, Red Shirts vs. Gray Shirts.  1 was LIFO (and extra LIFO to swap crocs for Brooks), and he came in wearing a blue shirt…odd man out.  Nonetheless, all 7 managed to work up a sweat doing the following:

    Mosey to the front parking lot for a Gumbo-led COP, including:

    • DQs
    • Helicopters
    • Cotton Pickers
    • Copperhead Squats
    • Imperial Walkers
    • Tempo Merkins
    • Box Cutters
    • Freddie Mercuries

    THE THANG:

    Mosey to the near corner of the parking lot for 4-corners:

    • Corner 1 = 10 merkins
    • Corner 2 = 20 Jump Squats
    • Corner 3 = 30 2-count mountain climbers
    • Corner 4 = 40 SSHs
    • Run from Corner to Corner stopping at each median/island for 3 burpees along the way.  6 medians in all, so 18 burpees along the way.  Add 1 more at the end for 19 total — punishment for VMI baseball’s 19-0 loss to Mercer in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament yesterday…OUCH!

    Aforementioned, LIFO (Mr. Roper), somehow didn’t see us in the front parking lot as he drove by, so after swapping footwear and running around the school, he came in from the East and joined the PAX in Corner #2.

    Gumbo passed the Q to Wilson

    Numbered Door Variety Show

    • Mosey to Door #21 for 21 merkins OYO
    • #20 for a wall sit while Gumbo did a 20 count
    • #19 for Homer to Marger (AKA Heels to Heaven)
    • #18 for Donkey Kicks
    • #17 for something YHC can’t remember, but I’m sure it hurt
    • #16 for Hello Dollies
    • #15 for Carolina Dry Docks

    Wilson passed the baton to Rosco…off to the track (YHC thinks Rosco was looking for the wooden benches for partner overhead presses, but thank goodness (for YHC’s shoulder) they were gone).

    Rosco’s Field Games

    • 20 Dips on the bleachers OYO
    • Mosey to the long-jump pit for tire flips — 2 tires (1 large, 1 medium) = 2 teams (Red (and Blue) vs. Grays) – flip the tires the length of the runway…TIE
    • Mosey to the track for 2 laps around the track
    • Back to the tires for another tire-flip race…switch tires…TIE again
    • Back to the track for Human sled drills and then sprint relays (about 75 yards)
    • Back to tires for another race – Bobber defected from the Gray Shirts to join the 40+ crowd of 5 men on the large tire vs Rosie and YHC on the medium tire…TIE again (questionable judging).

    Rosco passed the baton to Bobber for a Mosey back toward the flag and Mary

    Bobber’s Mary

    • 15 Merkins OYO
    • Crunchy Frogs (a Balzer company favorite apparently)
    • Monkey Humpers
    • Merkin ROF

    COT, COR, NOR and YHC took us out

    Announcements:

    • Convergence on Monday for Memorial Day – 0700-0800 at Tredegar/Brown’s Island.  Meet in the parking lot.  Bring a friend.  Plan for ET’s afterwards if you can. No other AOs in action Monday.
    • Opus takes on the big stage at Dogpile for his Dogpile VQ on Saturday – come out and support Opus.
    • NEW SOT at Midlo Middle is up and running.  LugNut (the original SOT Captain) laid  his ship to rest with a solo send-off yesterday — well don, sir.

    NMS:

    A great crew today at Timberwolf.  YHC personally was hoping to see Cougar Bait post again but it sounds like us old men put a whipping on him yesterday at SOT.  We must build out Bait’s stamina before we release him to the Cougars…looking forward to seeing you post again soon.

    The color scheme and numbers were all set for some triple-check team madness until Mr. Roper sauntered in LIFO.  But, no worries, we made do.

    Man oh man, that standing water on the edge of the field and track and the smell emanating from it instantly brought YHC back to muggy/muddy football practices.  Darn that stunk.

    YHC always enjoys Rosco’s feats of strength and mano a mano combat drills.  Today, YHC, was able to establish some leverage and use it to his benefit…I’m sure a rematch is in the plans for the near future.

    Great job today guys.  Take this energy into your day and make it great.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • A year in the life

    9 manly men made the decision to let iron sharpen iron and heft the same.  Here’s how it went down.  This Q was split between YHC and Opus, with the latter taking COP and tabatas, YHC had everything else.

    COP

    Invisible jump ropes, staggered merkins, copperhead squats, arm circles (small and big), SSH and KB halos.

    Mosey to bus circle for partner work.  first partner carries KB around the loop, second partner lunges to first stopping  point for 20 KB swings, to second point for 40 lawnmowers, third point for 60 halos, and back to starting point for 80 slingshots.  When first partner catches second partner, they switch roles.

    Next was the wonderful world of tabatas.  For those not familiar, you do an exercise for 20 seconds at highest intensity, rest 10 seconds, repeat.  8 sets of each exercise with 1 minute of rest between exercises.  Exercises were squat thrusts, and bob and weave.

    Mosey to middle of bus loop, find your section of curb for 11’s.  Demon crushers and snatches, lunging from one side of the loop to another.

    Mosey to SF, numberama, namerama, Opus took us out.

    NMS

    This is YHC’s and Opus’s anniversary week, so we decided to split the MANNdate Q.  There was a lot of mumblechatter this morning, and moments of COP when the PAX looked quite certifiable.  After a long weekend out of town for my niece’s graduation (great job, Gillie!) it was good to get back with my F3 brothers.  There was some talk of how the RVA spring seems like summer, but YHC was glad to earn a good sweat this morning.  The tabatas was great for that–20 seconds has never seemed so long, and 10 so short.  Thanks for the co-Q, Opus!

    As usual, I have No Idea what I’m doing.

  • Victory Lap x2

    On this beautiful, lucky mid-May morning, 8 determined die-hards gathered at the Ridge. Here’s what went down:

    Mosey to front of parking lot for a warmup COP: Invisible Jump Rope, Russian Kickbacks, Don Quixote, Carolina Dry Docks

    Mosey to south end of track near the road. Intro the Lucky Horseshoe. Set the timer for 33 min, and PAX complete as much of the following as possible during that time:
    Do a lap of the track and do 20 of the marked exercises on laminated card corresponding to that lap number.
    Lap 1 – Merkins
    Lap 2 – Merkins, Storm Squats (to clear up any ongoing confusion, each storm squat rep = [1st leg -> squat -> 2nd leg -> squat])
    Lap 3 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks
    Lap 4 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps
    Lap 5 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges (to clear up any ongoing confusion, 20 each leg)
    Lap 6 – Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
    Lap 7 – Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
    Lap 8 – WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
    Lap 9 – In-place Lunges
    Lap 10 – Victory Lap, no exercises at the end

    Mosey to shovel flag for Ring of Fire

    COT

    MOLESKIN:
    Well done this morning, gentlemen! Kudos to Phonics and Offshore for both completing the Victory Lap! You both crushed it and it was great to see.

    Thanks Phonics for making the trek to Heartbreak, we hope to see you again.

  • Husky’s VQ!

    Kubota writing on behalf of Husky.  YHC=Husky

    Two veteran hill runners, one hill runner that needs improvement, and one rookie hill runner took on the Hillcrest loops on a gorgeous afternoon.

    Swirly and TYA completed two extra long loops for about 4.5 miles

    Kubota and YHC completed two short loops for about 1.5 miles.

    YHC took us out with a prayer that went something like this: “Dear Lord, thank you for helping us come out here and run this afternoon.  Thank you for my Daddy bringing me out here to run with him this afternoon.  Also, thank you for Swirly and thank you for TYA.  We love you God.  Amen!

    YHC thinks Kubota had a tear in his eye.

    NMS:

    YHC had his 6 year well visit with his pediatrician this afternoon and received a clean bill of health!  Afterward, YHC told Kubota that he wanted to go run the hills with the guys this afternoon.  Kubota and YHC went to Hillcrest early to wait for the guys and saw TYA’s car already parked on the side of the street and Swirly pulled in a few minutes after.  Kubota told YHC how he finally beat Swirly to an AO!  YHC was curious about TYA’s age so TYA told YHC to guess his age.  YHC guessed 70!  TYA did not get mad!  YHC came closer to guessing Swirly’s age (50’s).  YHC loved running down the hills and liked running up the hills.  Waterfalls in the creek, fast cars and trucks, and lots of squirrels were the highlights of YHC’s run.  The guys took pictures with YHC by the Shovel Flag and TYA gave YHC a Gatorade.  YHC had a lot of fun and can’t wait to do it again!  Thanks to Swirly and TYA for letting me Q Roller Coaster!

    Husky