Category: Richmond, VA

  • Kicked in the Donkey BELLS!

    6 fighters looked at the rain forecast and saw it as an opportunity instead of a barrier for a beatdown in the gloom. The shovel flag was planted and the kettle bell smack down went something like this…

    Mosey around bus loop with kettle bells held high and move toward the school entrance…

    COP – 50 SSHs, 20 sit up presses, arm circles (10 / 5 – reverse), 20 copperhead squats with kettle bells, 20 don quixotes, 20 figure eights, 50 SSHs

    Mosey to the wall to get kicked in the donkey bells…

    10 donkey kicks against the wall, lunge across the parking lot to exercise on the grass, exercise and side lunge back to the wall, repeat four times with these exercises

    • 15 halos each way
    • 30 double hand swings
    • 30 sit up presses
    • 30 overhead presses

    Run it back with some variety – 20 donkey kicks against the wall, walk across the parking lot with kettle bell held high to exercise on the grass, exercise and walk back to the wall with kettle bell held high, repeat four times with these exercises

    • 15 halos each way
    • 30 double hand swings
    • 30 sit up presses
    • 30 overhead presses

    Mosey back to the school entrance, circle up with kettle bells on the ground. Bear crawl around the circle until YHC called out to stop. Pick up the kettle bell and exercise. We did the following:

    • Stop 1 – 10 arm presses for each arm
    • Stop 2 – 15 double hand swings
    • Stop 3 – 15 double hand swings
    • Stop 4 – 10 double hand swings

    Bear crawl back to the original kettle bell.

    Mosey back to the Flag

    Numberama, Namerama, Announcements, YHC took us out

    Announcements – Ashcreek 5K (http://www.ashcreek5k.com) on May 20th, 3rd F spiritual workout (The Shining) at Rise & Shine Diner on Thursday mornings at 6:30 am.

    NMS

    YHC arrived first to review the terrain and Spit showed up next. Spit commented that he wasn’t happy about the fact that YHC was inspecting the wall. YHC’s response? “Get ready to get kicked in the donkey BELLS…” The rest of the troops rolled into the parking lot and looked like they were ready for a fight.

    The mumble chatter was light as we circled up. The first set of SSHs got the heart pumping. Then the rain started pouring down and it elicited a cheer from the PAX. The rain drops seemed to get thicker by the second and matched the enthusiasm of the circle.

    YHC admittedly adopted and adapted HoneyDo’s Groundhog Day beatdown and added some twists to keep the PAX guessing. Mudface was the only other person who had experienced that glorious morning at Circus Maximus a short month and few days ago. YHC thought that he was giving the PAX a break by switching out the lunges for walking with the kettle bells held high in between the donkey kicks and exercises. He was wrong! It increased the wear and tear on the muscles and forced the PAX to truly engage in the “you vs. you” mindset.

    There is something special about donkey kicks. They mess up the body (and mind) and that is a glorious thing!

    We all got kicked in the donkey BELLS this morning!

    Spit shared that his Q on Saturday at Dogpile will be in honor of his grandmother who passed away this week. She was almost 98 and she lived a life that was marked by loving and serving others. Faye Beach helped to inspire Spit’s faith in God and he is carrying on her legacy through his life and faith. We can all salute that and support our brother as he remembers a life lived well.

    Let’s keep pressing on together!

    The Carpenter

  • The Phil Collins (No Jacket Required)

    16 souls gathered this morning for another performance of DaVille.  Weather was 70 and dark, but only for a minute.

    COP

    • SSH
    • Copperhead Squats
    • Don Quixote (crowd pleaser style)
    • Imperial Walker- steam engine style
    • Arm Circles
    • Crab Cakes
    • LBC’s?

    THANG

    • Sitting on a park bench-  11’s using the bleachers on both ends of the Cool Springs field.  10 dips flapjack to 1 incline APD.  Subtract then add a rep to each and keep going until you hit 1 and 10 reps.  You know the drill
    • Lindsays-  Pax choice of exercises…but not burpees, you nutjobs!  Pax settled in to merkins and Freddie Mercury’s.  FM’s were mutated from 2 count up to 4 count to appease the beasts (mainly Spit).
    • Indiginous peoples run-  two lines, “The Blue Angels” and “Group B”.  Blue Angels did an extra lap around the parking lot.  Group B worked hard on not puking.  As always, burpees optional.
    • Mary-  LBC’s, flutter kicks, American hammers, heels to heaven

    Announcements

    • Happy Birthday to wild and whacky Emoji!
    • Ashcreek 5K has an F3 team!  Rumor has it The Carpenter is working on getting us a booth hook up as well, but he has not finalized the deal with YHC yet.  http://www.ashcreek5k.com/
    • HDHH for March here:  http://f3nation.com/2017/02/27/preblast-march-hdhh/
    • Thoughts and Prayers for Spit and family as they say goodbye to his Grandmother. She was 98 years young.

    NMS

    A blank space for DaVille on a Monday morning…..really?  OK, if Lab Rat is nothing else, he’s a gamer and will gladly take two DaVille Q’s in a row.  He really thought long and hard on really punishing the pax for not signing up, but he also knew that what would most likely happen is that he would punish himself more than the beasty pax that frequent the Atlee parking lot…..and that they would probably actually enjoy it.  YHC did however take away the carrot of a Lab Rat Q….no parking lot tracers for you!

    We stopped in a new spot in front of the school for the COP…right next to a drain ditch.  The Q had loads of fun yelling down into the hole and hearing his voice echo back.  It doesn’t take much to distract Lab Rat as he missed several of his stopping points on the cadence calling while enjoying his new found toy.  Lab Rat can take a hint though, so when Wheelie started yawning, he figured it was time to move on.

    The 11’s took place in an inky black area of the AO, running across a field with no lights and most of the pax wearing black.  More than a few face to face collision close calls kept the pax on their toes.  Although not up to No Toll standards, the field is in great shape, and was a pleasure to run on.  Beats the heck out of the rocky trails for once.  No noggins were harmed during the running of this exercise.

    Lindsay’s needed WAY too much explanation.  Obviously, the pax needs more practice counting by 5.  The exercises were left up to the pax to choose.  Yard Sale yelled out BURPEES!  Remind me to never attend a Yard Sale Q, he is sadistic.  Spit demanded 4 count Freddies, which is also pretty wicked, but doable.  The Q was feeling it towards the end, and really struggled to keep his feet off the ground during the American Hammers.  Check off abs for the week.

    Awesome to see a couple new’ish faces this morning.  Freezer Burn continues his freshman tear through the Mechanicsville AO’s.  Hopefully he will make it to some downtown locales soon and get to know the rest of the pax.  Also, a tip of the cap to Gum Band for posting up this morning.  YHC has met him before, but it’s been a bit.

    Well done this morning, gentlemen!  Make this day yours!

     

    Lab Rat apologizes.

  • Gumbo Week – Part DEUX — Adding the Spices – Nicole Style

    9 stalwarts, including a NoToll reunion for Swirly, broke the hold of fartsack and posted at NoToll for a beautiful Tuesday morning with a bit of a deceptive chill in the air.  Gumbo planted the flag, pronounced this his 365th day with F3 and off we moseyed to tackle the day:

    Mosey to the back parking lot for COP, all IC including:

    • SSHs x25
    • DQ x10
    • Copperhead Squats x12
    • Arm Circles x10 small and x5 big – forward and backwards
    • LBCx x25
    • Merkins x10

    Mosey to the pavilion for the main event — The Nicole as a reprise of YHC’s first ever F3 workout.  Put 20 minutes on the clock and begin with 1 lap around the field, then Derkins, 1 lap, then Dips, 1 lap, then Ball Dippers, repeat until the buzzer sounds.  Instead of doing the exercises AMRAP today, YHC wanted to keep everybody moving and PAX members were encouraged to pick a goal of 20-25 reps for each exercise and see how many laps they could complete.

    Plank-o-rama for the six, then mosey to the basketball courts for Triple Check – 3 rounds of box cutters, jump squats and bear crawl to half-court and back.

    Circle up for Ring of Fire – PAX began in Touchdown Al Gore and each dropped for 10 merkins then held plank until the rotation came around again, then 10 more merkins and return to Al Gore.

    Mosey back to the flag for COT, number-rama, name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements –

    • HDHH at Casa de Splinter – fill out the RSVP spreadsheet and figure out directions but keep it on the DL.
    • May 19 – Fore the Cause golf tournament for Galactosemia Foundation — see Wilson

    NMS:

    So, we build the roux yesterday at River Run with the suck, so it was time to add some spices to the Gumbo in day two of Gumbo-Week.  Nicole was just the spice we needed.  YHC has been waiting to rekindle Nicole from his first workout.  Even though Rosie was on a plane to the DR for some QT with M, his presence was felt in the form of one of his fickle mistresses.

    It was great to see the Swirly-mobile and know the AO was secure when YHC pulled into NoToll.  Way to be smart but still push it today Swirly.

    HoneyDo ate his Wheaties this morning.  This man was on a mission to destroy Nicole and he did.  Way to roll HD.

    Strong work men.  It was a pleasure to lead.

    No more Gumbo for you…until tomorrow!

  • The Great Migration North

    Nine runners strong, not quite a flock of seagulls, including 2 Spider Run Kotters convened at the base of artificial lake Westham for this week’s iteration of Spider Run.  Having signed up prior to Saab’s bedtime, YHC took the reins and dusted off one of our more well established runs for a mosey up Mount Henrico.  Some slight alterations were made to facilitate fewer instructions:

    – Mosey around the lake and up by the baseball field, across the parking lot
    – Pass through fraternity row and take a left on Hampshire
    – Hampshire turns to Baldwin.  Stay on Baldwin through various jogs until you hit Rock Creek.
    – Left on Rock Creek
    – Slight left on Forest, immediate right on University
    – 6 milers add the Arlington circle loop both directions
    – Right on Glendale, left on Julian
    – To the top of the mountain and back
    – Lap around the lake for those who wanted more

    YHC took us out, battling through various distractions from our sea-faring mammal relatives.

    Moleskin

    YHC waiting until about 7:30 last night to sign up as Q was still open.  Saab was just settling down for a long winter’s nap and YHC knew he needed to sign up before bedtime to avoid any confusion.  Thanks for the mumblechatter on the run today, YHC enjoyed every bit of it.

    After our route, upon returning to our lair, spring was clearly evident.  Birds chirping, sun rising and the rare sighting of the great migration of the Atlantic seal, back to it’s warmer weather fishing grounds.  The seal, surprisingly absent this winter, has begun it’s re-emergence.

    Speaking of fishing, two of Fudd’s favorite indulgences were spotlighted on the cover of this month’s iteration of Blue Ridge Outdoor.  Fly fishing and tomatoes can result in very compelling journalism.  Clearly transforming the sport.

    Speaking of tomatoes, TYA clearly has a way with the fairer sex.  A warm exchange of pleasantries was attempted post COT.  Unfortunately for TYA, the pleasantries were only exchanged one way.  Couldn’t blame it on the tights this week and no audible ‘F’ bombs were witnessed.  Still ISO the cause of the aforementioned one-way exchanges.

    Glad to hear Sippy did his research and found that YHCs claim that Patterson/Parham is the highest point in Henrico is not false.  There may be other contending high points but this is one of them.  Hopefully we can work in Mount Richmond one of these days.

    Annoucements

    – Toga is still searching for a volunteer to sleep in his tent with him for the Ragnar.  You may even get your own tent.  See him for details.
    – Still need a few folks that want to gather in the great smokey mountains to inhale some spring pollen and run a little race.  See Swirly or TYA if interested
    – HDHH next Wednesday snow or shine.  http://f3nation.com/2017/02/27/preblast-march-hdhh/

    Splinter out.

  • Minimize the running

    Six strong posted to Batteau on another brisk Monday morning.  Here is what went down

    COP- SSH, Merkins, Flutterkicks, Imperial Walkers, Don Qs

    THE THANG –

    Lindsays – Derkins & Jump Squats. 3 box Jumps on top of Tables. Mosey to tennis court.

    Partner Wheelbarrow from end line to net 3 xs. Bunny hops back. Then grab spot in grass for PLTs- 3 sets 25 each man.

    Modified Triple check – Bear Crawl median, American Hammers, Mtn Climbers.

    Mosey to front of Stone House – Partner shoulder presses- 3 sets 15 each. Finish up with some Mary and Ring Of Fire.

    NMS – Strong PAX this am. YHC had a plan to keep the running to a minimum even before Swirly came running in to the AO on his bum ankle.  With no Sippy or Hardywood, we instead stayed close and did some ground and pound which Bleeder and Wedding Singer love.

    The PAX took on the Box Jumps to the top of the picnic tables like it was nothing. Wheelbarrow loves it when we Wheelbarrow and Bodos is already in strong form besides the need to learn the Lexicon. Keep posting and you’ll figure it out.

    It is sad to see Swirly not jumping during the SSH, keep nursing that ankle to get back to healthy, even Corporate can excuse some rest for an injury!

    Announcements – Splinter HDHH next Wed, be sure to RSVP on the link.

     

  • Second Q, but looked like his first.

    7 enthusiastic souls posted on a somewhat brisk day at the Punisher.  Here’s what went down:

    COP: 25 SSH; 15 Don Quixotes (these were supposed to be Saab style – my fault for going too fast); arm circles -10 small, 5 big, reverso, 15 American hammers; 20 APDs and 35 LBCs.

    Mosey to the basketball court for 3 rounds of suicide doublers.  Reps of 1-2-4-8-16 while running suicides with the following exercises: burpees, jump squats and merkins.

    Then mosey to the side of the school where we partnered up and took turns running the lap while your partner did 100 reps of the following exercises: copperhead squats (not cobras – thanks Toga), flutter kicks, WWII sit ups and dips.

    Next to the school wall for alternating chair sits and balls to the wall.

    Followed by some quick sprints on the bus loop, 50/75/100%.

    Then back to the flag for rings of fire with merkins and burpees followed by 30 LBCs.  At the COT, I concluded with some inspirational words from the great orator, Sir Winston Churchill.

    Moleskin:

    This was my second Q, though it could easily have been mistaken for my first.  Thanks for putting up with me boys.  Counting off during the exercises is still a work in progress.

  • Tramp stamp, sore coccyx only at the Gridiron

    Five of the strong and faithful posted on a cold but beautiful sunny morning at the Gridiron. Attila and White deer shared the command and this is how the thang began.

    COP Attila warmed us up… and of course, he always includes a beastly moment.

    25 SSH

    10 merkins

    10 burpees

    25 DQ

    10 Freddy Mercurys

    25 IW

    25 picnic table dips

    25 single leg step ups

    25 picnic table dips

    25 single leg step ups

    30 second hollow hold

    100 yards – alternating 15 yard Bear Crawl & kareokes
    Beast – merkins, LBC, deep squats, Carolina drydocks, monkey jumpers, APD
    100 yards – alternating 15 yards Bear Crawl & kareokes

    Then the Q was passed to Whitedeer for some Olympic rowing and Kettle bell(ing) on the tarmac.

    Boat-Canoe w/ KB
    Boat – Canoe Press with KB
    25 KB curb behind the head sit ups

    25 KB sitting push press
    25 KB behind the head pole smokers
    25 Two arm swings
    25 Push- Press each hand
    25- Lawn mower pulls each hand
    25 Goblet Squats to push press
    25 KB Pull overs
    25 KB Pull overs to Press

    10 Donkey Kicks against Restroom wall

    10 Donkey Kick position feet against the wall push ups

    Farmer carry to internal parking lot island. Crab crawl around island curb (CW&CCW)

    25- Lawn mower pulls each hand
    Farmers carry to restroom curb for 25 kb rows each arm
    25 KB curb Pull overs to press
    30 yard sprint to west side of parking lot, sprint back.

    30 yard sprint to west side of parking lot, sprint back.

     

    Announcements:

    Johnsonville stressed the importance of the newer F3 members to sign up on line and get involved in the Q leadership. Which always includes following up with a back blast. HINT White Deer.

    COT (Cecil tok us out with a heartfelt prayer)

    Moleskin:

    Yep a pick on Night Crawler morning  – We missed you… welcome back

    We have all missed Night Crawler’s presence at the Gridiron, he just got back from a California work boondoggle. There should be a F3 term for one who is late to a Saturday day morning workout after attending a week long boondoggle.

    Night Crawler. JVille and Cecil kept making reference to wearing the tramp stamp off during any KB exercise on their six. Cecil was more concerned about the condition of his Coccyx.

    Night Crawlers oldest daughter F3 Emmy Lou Hoo, her two twin sisters and wife met us for breakfast. Emmy Lou Hoo was presented with a free Bagel breakfast award for winning a reading contest at her school. Congrats ELH… We all enjoyed Night Crawlers beautiful family for breakfast.

    Beware when you shake the hand of a F3 member’s wife when she’s been working out with his kettle bell. After our workout I told Night Crawler that I was proud of him wearing the paint off of his 25# kettle bell. He replied, “his wife had been using it’. She’s got one hell of a hand shake.

    Also Night Crawler was trying to convince Cecil and WD during breakfast that his lack of weight loss was due to his job… entertaining clients. He was wine(ing) about “I don’t drink a lot, just constantly”.  Cecil and WD just couldn’t stop chuckling. You know Night crawlers are so named because they are usually seen feeding above ground at night.

    Everyone hates a dentist but loves a magician. Cecil was showing off his magician skills to Emmy Lou Hoo. The disappearing golden key… where did it go? … You could see the excitement in both their eyes. Cecil then preceded to tell us his daughter was expecting a baby girl and he would be a grandfather. Congrats to grandpa Cecil and gramma!  You Can’t hate this dentist.

    Probably one of the longest gatherings at breakfast to date.. A great F3 family get together of friends and family. Missed you Earthworm!

  • The Week of Gumbo – Part I: The Suck at the Swamp

    6 regulars and 1 Kotters broke the seal for the week and started it off right with a posting at River Run and to see what the hell Gumbo could have in store to begin a string of 5 straight Qs.  With no McRib coming in hot at 5:29, YHC almost didn’t know when to start, but we managed and it went something like this:

    Mosey behind the elementary school to the blacktop for COP:

    • SSHs x25IC
    • DQs x10 IC (super slow)
    • Imperial Walkers x15 IC
    • LBCs x25 IC
    • Flutter Kicks x25 IC

    Mosey to the monkey bars for a quick lazy triple check with only 2 rounds (HUH?), consisting of 5 Burp-Ups, AMRAP Monkey Humpers and AMRAP Merkins.  For the Burp-Ups you perform a burpee and at the end with the jump, instead of clapping you jump up to the monkey bars and perform a pull-up.  The PAX member performing the Burp-Ups was the trigger for switching.

    Mosey to the hill by the dugout for a modified Jacob’s Ladder – run down the hill and do 1 donkey kick on the dugout wall, run back up the hill and do 1 jump squat.  Repeato up to 5.

    Mosey to the track for the main event – the SUCK.  Six cones were spaced out along the track straight away about 10 yards apart.  Each PAX member picked a cone and the odd man out became the 1st rabbit.  PAX members perform a specific exercise at their cone until the rabbit completes a lap around the track, then bear crawl forward to the next cone (new exercise) and the PAX member at the first cone takes off running.  Exercises included, SSHs, box cutters, werkins, mountain climbers, flutter kicks and squats.  For the second round, instead of running a lap, the rabbit sprinted to the end of the straight away and back to the first cone.

    Mosey to poles at the base of the hill for another modified Jacob’s Ladder with pole smokers, run up the hill and merkins, 1-1, 2-2, 3-3…. up to 7.

    Mosey back to the Flag for Mary – American Hammers and Freddy Mercuries

    COT, number-rama, name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • HDHH at casa de Splinter.  see the pre-blast and RSVP per the spreadsheet.
    • Wilson’s charity golf outing (Fore the Cause – Galactosemia Foundation) is coming up on May 19.  See Wilson for details

    NMS:

    Welcome back to Monkey Wrench (that man and fly) and welcome to River Run to Monkey Wrench and Loose Goose.  Great to have some new blood at RR.  It is a fine AO with lots of possibilities.  Mumblechatter was moderate today with the PAX talking about hitting the hills surrounding RR in the coming weeks to catch a sunrise.  Ask and you shall receive!

    Great work today fellas.  We packed a lot in and everyone pushed hard.  It was a pleasure to lead.

    No more Gumbo for you…for today…but I’ll be here all week, so don’t forget to tip your waitress!

  • Back to Winter

    4 running studs and YHC posted for a Sunday morning walk in the woods.  Weather was high twenties and a bit windy, but 70 and sunny in our minds….

    The Thang:

    Northbank to pipeline, cross the potterfield bridge to buttermilk and back to the pump house parking lot.  8.3 miles, 1.5 hours total…

    NMM

    The group stayed pretty close together today.  Not sure if the running studs slowed down or I sped up because of the cold.  Either way, it was good to stay in contact the whole way.  I enjoyed spending some time chatting to Phonics today.  We touched on Big Data, zip codes (if you ever need to know and RVA zip code, just ask Phonics, I think he knows them all), neighborhood strip clubs and a variety of other topics.  Helix and Lab Rat were at the lead of the group for most of the morning.  Not sure how the two of them got along…my guess, lots of talking from Lab Rat and an EF Hutton like performance from Helix.

    Two or three PAX members declared they would participate this morning, but were no where to be found.  No names.

  • Sad Clown

    I wrote a song to say adios to my sad clown.  I didn’t even know I was a sad clown before coming to F3, almost dying at several workouts, meeting new friends, and reading the book.  I knew there was something not quite right in my life but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

    Anyways, I used to write songs all the time, but I hadn’t written one in several years until this one popped in my head.  I already shared this link with a few Mechanicsville peeps, but I decided to jump in headfirst and put it out there for the rest of you all.  Hope you enjoy!

    Thanks for helping me be a better man,

    Opus

    PS The picture is of three of my kids, none of which is a sad clown, but Daniel does look a wee bit creepy…