Category: Richmond, VA

  • Lets Play a Little Ball

    9 motivated woke up in the gloom and posted at the Punisher.  Beautiful morning with a little chill in the air.  Fall has arrived in the RVA.  No more sweat towels needed after the workout.

    The Thang:

    Mosey to front right corner of the school for COP.  20x SSH, 15x Merkins, 20x Through the Tunnel, 20x Don Quixote, 33x LBC.  Mosey back to the parking lot in front of the school.  Baseball with cards.  Pick one card from the exercises deck and one card from the hits deck.  Single = 25 reps of exercise and one lap around the parking lot, Double = 20 reps of exercise and two laps around lot, Triple = 15 reps of exercise and 3 laps around the loop, HR = 10 reps of exercise and four laps around the loop.  We did Merkins, Jumps Squats, SSH, and Burpees (with a triple).  In all we made it through six innings.

    Mosey to front of school for 6 minutes of mary (dealers choice).  Promo pics russian twists (x20), Best Shot picks leg lifts (x20).  We also did Freddy Mercury and a few others.

    NMM:

    Great to be back out at the workouts after a few days away at the BRR.  Apologies for the lack of detail in the backblast.  My mind is still a little spent from a Thursday/Friday with only a few hours of sleep.

    Promo is in town for the World Championships.  He has a big job to accomplish between now and then.  Best of luck, and let us know if we can do anything to help.  He led the Pax on a lot of the runs this morning.  Great work my friend.

    BRR guys had a little jump in the step for the first several laps around the school.  After a few laps, the legs became heavy and the pace slowed down.

    Announcements

    Convergence on Saturday:  Come one and all.  Bring a friend.

  • What’s Next?

    Four showed up to tackle a trail run on a cool Sunday morning.

    The Thang: We ran!

    Moleskin: As the cars pulled up YHC quickly realized the A game needed to be present. Trophy led in the beginning, but Pommel was STRONG and kept Trophy in check. Offshore was keeping up nicely. Then there was YHC. While YHC had a personal best on the first half of the trails, they continued to double back to find me!

    During my run, I was reflecting on the challenge our BRR team faced this weekend and how proud RVA F3 is of this group! Well done fellas.

    So what’s next? Check out the video!

    Be sure to remember next Saturday is convergence! See you all there!

    Go BILLS!

  • He Ain’t Heavy…

    Seven hearty souls braved the overnight storms and emerged through the gloom for YHC’s virgin Q.

    A brief warm-up mosey brought us to the edge of the soccer fields for the COP:
    SSH x 25
    Imperial Walkers x 25
    Hillbillies x 25
    Don Quixotes x 15

    Mosey over to the east end of the fields and form two-man teams.
    Buddy Carry (Fireman or Piggy Back) to mid-field, Run to west end, 100 Flutter Kicks as a team;
    Buddy Carry to mid-field, Run to east end, 100 LBC’s;
    Run to monkey bar traverse then to the dip bars for 100 Dips as a (2 man) team.

    Run back to east end of fields and form three man teams.
    Max set of Australian Pull-Ups.
    Two-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to west end, 120 Merkins as a team.
    Two-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to east end, Max set of Australians.
    Two-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to west end, 120 Flutter Kicks as a team.

    Break into one four man team and one three man team.
    Four man team: Three-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to west end, 120 Merkins as a team. Three-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to east end, 120 LBC’s as a team.
    Three man team: Two-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to west end, 120 Merkins as a team. Two-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to east end, 120 LBC’s as a team.

    Four man team: Three-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to west end, 120 Merkins as a team. Three-man buddy carry to mid-field, Run to east end, 120 LBC’s as a team.
    Three-man team: Run to monkey bar traverse then to the dip bars for 100 Dips as a (3 man) team.
    Switch teams and repeat above.

    All return to east end of field for 10 quick Freddie Mercuries before we mosey back to the flag and COT.

    Moleskin:
    Lots of quality work this morning. I appreciate the lack of mumblechatter as we tried out a few new moves. The PAX rose to all of the challenges admirably. I briefly “lost” two
    over-achievers (Marv & Spotter?) after sending them out for an extra lap while the remainder of the teams finished up their dips. Fudd tracked them down and we were able to continue as a full team. Start with 7, finish with 7, I always say.

    Special welcome to Spotter, an experienced F3’er from Charlotte who has relocated to Richmond and will be joining up with us.

    TYA joined us for the COT. Good luck to our BRR participants this weekend. The group leaves Richmond at 11a and kicks off their first leg at midnight tonight.

    Hard workout this morning. Well done.

  • Hallelujah

    The Thang
    4 post to the Gloom on a dry but humid morning.

    Hallelujah Mosey to the grass area in front of the school
    COP
    15x Don Quioxte
    30x SSH
    30x LBC
    30 x Imperial Walkers
    15 x Jumpers
    Hallelujah Mosey to the basketball court
    Super 21
    Under each basket do 1 merkin/1 lbc increase by 1 each
    Rotate through until you reach 21 merkins/21 lbc’s.
    #1-8 merkin/ww2
    Jog down & back
    #9-16 werkin/flutter kick
    Jog down & back
    #17-21 carolina dry dock/lbc
    Hallelujah Mosey to the track
    Griff
    800 meter run
    400 meter backwards
    Hallelujah Mosey to poles
    4 minutes of pole smokers
    COT
    Moleskin
    YHC thought I might be flying solo today with the BRR athletes resting for their upcoming adventure. I could not have been more wrong.

    Wilson made a rare and early citing at SOT today, it was good to have him and his mumble chatter back.

    Toucan brought forth an excellent effort this a.m. Despite prior week consumption issues he excelled throughout, there was a little concern on the pole smokers that what goes in might come out. Fortunately, all went well.

    While doing the COP YHC must have closed my eyes doing lbc’s. When I reopened them all of a sudden Toga had appeared, it was an I Dream of Jeannie moment. I’m not sure that’s a dream? Maybe a nightmare? All good Toga rocked it in a very casual way.

    Good work men.

  • Four Squared Part II

    Eleven faithful posted on a gloom Tuesday morning on the southside.

    The Thang:

    Mosey near park gate, COP- 20 Side Straddle Hops, 20 Don Q, 20 Mountain Climbers, 25 freddie mercury.

    Mosey to left field – 8 count contra burpee, 20 count imperial squat walker

    4 squared – 4 laps, increasing sprints by 1 length each lap

    8 count contra burpee, plank dips 15 count

    mosey to parking lot, 4 squared parking lot

    mosey to left field – 3 minutes of mary – 20 count russian twist, 20 count rosalita, 25 LBCs

    11s – don quixote and body builder burpees

    mosey back to shovel flag

    Moleskin – excellent workout PAX. YHC felt compelled to complete Jville’s four squared workout from last week at NoToll. Points for originality – not really, but it’s a well balanced session- burpees and merkins, ciabattas, run – that deserved to be completed. Unfortunately YHC left his phone in the car, sot the ciabatta became an exercise in cadence. In hindsight that worked best as there probably wouldn’t have been time for the 11 at the end. Tclaps for Splinter and Fudd crushing the runs and 11.

    YHC let the PAX decide the exercises for the 11 workout. The PAX seemed to appreciate Bleeder choosing ‘windmills’ for the first part of the 11, and thus TYA felt inclined to choose body builder burpees as the other. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to finish the 11 but made it past 1/2 way or more.

    Our numbers will be declining this week as those in in the BRR drop off to save their strength. Best of luck out there guys, make us proud.

    Normal workouts continue this week – I think Grizzly is VQing Thursday’s workout at Mary Mumford.

    Other updates – Convergence on September 19th at 7:00 AM at Gridiron, grab or kidnap someone and bring them out. Bottom to Top 3 miler October 17th in Shockoe Bottom.

    Go Patriots (or football in general). That is all.

    -Singer

  • An hour of labor on Labor Day

    Moved to 7 AM from the usual 5:30 AM starting time just for the holiday and extended to an hour in length, today’s version of #ThePunisheRVA went down like so:

    Warm up jog around the school grounds to the blacktop.  The PAX circled up and, while standing atop a painted map of the US of A, finished 25 x Imperial Walkers, 25 x Russian Soldiers, 25 x Invisible Jump Ropes (jumping but no rope), and 15 each of Arm Scissors (like the gator move at a U of Florida football game)with right arm over left, left over right, and side to side.

    Combination mosey and lunge walk down the bus lane to the front school yard for the Dirty McDeuce – 12 each of Carolina Drydocks, Freddy Mercuries, and Side Lunges all in cadence.  Rinse and repeat for three other rounds for a total of twelve sets of exercises.

    Jog back around the school to the soccer field.  Line up on end line in Plank position.  While the first guy in line runs to the other end of the field, the remaining PAX members are Plank Walking back and forth.  Next guy starts running when the first guy hits the ground in Plank position again to start Plank Walk again. Continue until each guy runs down.  Repeat coming back across except guys hit the ground and start LBCs.  One more time back and forth across the field one at a time with LBCs.

    Mosey to the bus loop, lunge walk the length of it, and Bear Crawl to the first tree in the front yard.  Initiate Super 21.  Start with one Merkin and one WWI situp, do two Merkins and two WWI Situps, continue and add one to each exercise to five, take a break and do 21 Squats, continue six through ten Merkins and WWI Situps and break with 21 Step Back Lunges, continue eleven through thirteen and break with 21 Alabama Prom Dates, continue fourteen through sixteen.  Called audible to leave time for one last exercise after completing 21 Merkins and 21 WWI Situps.

    Stroll to the bus loop.  Whipped out dice – one six-sided and one twenty-sided.  Six-sided die establishes exercise and twenty-sided die establishes reps.  Each PAX member gets to roll the bones.

    Return to the ShovelFlag for the Ball of Man.

    Moleskin:

    We got a couple of ShovelFlags in the ground today.  School begins tomorrow at the site of the AO, but no signs of academic activity.  The grass had been cut, however, suggesting some level of readiness for tomorrow’s start.

    You can use a twenty-sided die for Dungeons & Dragons although no PAX member in attendance confessed to having any direct experience with the game.  Rolling a 6 on the six-sided die meant the exercise was Burpees.  We had two 6s in a row.  A roll of 5 was roller’s choice.  Wedding Singer elected Van Halen Burpees and rolled a 19.

    BRR is this week.  There are gaps in Q coverage as a result.  If you can cover a workout, please sign up.

    Honey Do is coordinating F3 Richmond participation in a GoRuck event in October.  Details to be shared around soon.

    Convergence on September 19th – 6 AM and 7 AM workouts at the GridIron AO.  EH your friends.  Overheard a post-workout discussion between Conspiracy and Johnsonville – we have a long list of guys that have posted only once or twice – these guys are EH candidates – reach out to guys on the larger F3 Richmond list.

    Happy Labor Day!

  • Back in the saddle

    Lucky eleven posted for a return to the gloom at Dogpile.  Here’s how it went down:

    Mosey to Carillon run to top and repeato x2 before mosey to the parking circle for warm-up COP:

    20 mtn climbers, 20 Don Quixote, 20 leg raises, 10 merkins (stress good form),.. some other stuff.

    Mosey to field in front of Carillon for spint fun= sprint 30 yds, 20 split jumps, sprint, 15 merkins, sprint, 10 burpees, sprint: repeato x2

    Partner up for the same with alternating fireman’s carries.

    Stay with the same partner for the “Towering Inferno”= run up Carillon steps, wheelbarrow across top, run down, and 20 leg raises.  Each partner wheelbarrow x2.

    Mosey to pull-up bars for 8 good form pull-ups, run down the pipe trail, ab fun, run back up the pipe and repeato x3.

    Mosey back to SF for more core fun and COT.

    NMM:

    It turns out that the return of the gloom means that the Q needs to think about when to run the trails or require headlights.  The original plan called for running the pipe earlier in the workout, but that may have proven tough.  YHC hadn’t been back to DogPile in some time, and it’s always a treat to be back at one of the best AOs in RVA.  The PAX needs to work on fireman’s carries as it seems we’ve become a bit too comfy with piggy backs.  The only problem with this is when your partner goes for an aggressive adjustment on the initial lift.., looking at you Garbage Plate.

    There was lots of hard work out there today with everyone pushing themselves.  Great work!

    Announcements:

    0700 Labor Day Workout at the usual AO

    Donor Kebab is coordinating our group for the Bottom to Tap 3-Miler on October 17.  see him for detail and commitments.

    GoRuck on October 23 and 24 – Honey Do is the man to speak to about this event.

    Convergence and celebration of F3 RVA One Year Anniversary on September 19 – DogPile that day will rendezvouz at Pouncey Tract at 0600 under Toga/Bleeder Q; GridIron pre-game at 0645 -0650 (after DogPile COT) under Parking Lot Pavilion; GridIron kickoff at normal time of 0700 under Johnsonville/Earthworm Q.  Great morning in store for the PAX and ideal time to introduce FNGs to F3.

  • Park Anywhere and No Noise Restrictions

    Four of the Faithful posted at the GridIron with Donor Kebab planting the ShovelFlag.  Another glorious morning in the RVA, so much so that six strong men of the DogPile crew dashed over and joined us to make us ten strong for the all important second half.  The West End WildCats youth football season is in full swing resulting in some musical accompaniment to the workout.  This is what we did – reserve made for some omissions and overstatements.

    THANG:

    Set of Jacks:
    x25 Seal Jacks
    x25 Plank Jacks
    x25 Predator Jacks
    x10 Merkin Jacks
    x25 Star Jacks

    x25 Partner Leg Toss
    x10 Burpees Regular

    Mosey to drain caldera towards school front

    Squats and Lunges:

    ISO Squat Hold – 45 seconds
    x25 Regular Squats
    x25 Curtsy Lunges – Left
    x25 Lateral Lunges – Right
    x25 Reverse Lunges w/ High Knee Finish – Right
    x25 Curtsy Lunges – Right
    x25 Lateral Lunges – Left
    x25 Reverse Lunges w/ High Knee Finish – Left
    x25 Squats with Knee Tuck Jumps

    x25 PLTs (rinse and repeat with some obliques)

    Mosey to Upper GridIron

    x10 Burpees Broad Jump
    x25 PLTs

    40s/Lindsey’s – Merkins/LBCs

    x10 Burpees Rotational Jump
    x25 PLTs

    40s/Lindsey’s – Carolina Dry Docks/Mountain Climbers

    10 Minutes of Mary:

    Downward Dog to Half Crab extensions
    x25 PLTs
    x25 Alabama Prom Dates
    Back Bridge Holds
    Superman
    x25 Rosalitas
    x25 PLTs
    Crab Twists
    x25 APDs
    Left arm and right arm Plank Dips

    ISO Squat Hold – One minute
    20 yard Lunge Walk

    Mosey to Parking Lot

    COT:

    Announcements:

    Special one hour of The Punisher this Labor Day Monday – note: 0700 start time.  Coffee afterwards.

    BRR team heading out on Thursday and returning Saturday evening – need a Q at DogPile for that Saturday (September 12) at 0600; Loose Goose on the Q for GridIron that day at 0700 with some Q assistance from Groh.

    Donor Kebab reported on Bottom to Tap 3-Miler on October 17.  DK is the czar on this – see him for detail and commitments.

    Honey Do reported on GoRuck on October 23 and 24 – Honey Do is the man to speak to about this event.

    Convergence and celebration of F3 RVA One Year Anniversary on September 19 – DogPile that day will rendezvouz at Pouncey Tract at 0600 under Toga/Bleeder Q; GridIron pre-game at 0645 -0650 (after DogPile COT) under Parking Lot Pavilion; GridIron kickoff at normal time of 0700 under Johnsonville/Earthworm Q.  Great morning in store for the PAX and ideal time to introduce FNGs to F3.  In lieu of 20 counts we’ll look forward to some testimonies about F3 impacts.

    Ashe being installed as Pastor at Cambridge Baptist Church on September 13 at 1030 service.  Stand Firm.

    Prayer requests were solicited, blessings sought for children returning to school and Ashe’s pastoral calling, and unspoken concerns acknowledged.

    BOM with strong Groh-led prayer of praise and supplication.  Where is our leadership needed this week?

    Moleskin:

    Welcome to Honey Do for his first GridIron!  And glad to have Conspiracy back out at GridIron – reaffirming that there’s a strong demand by the GridIron regulars for a Conspiracy Q with the Ladies!  Another impressive showing by the other 4 DogPile DoubleDippers – Swirly, Chum Bucket, Toga, and Bleeder.  T-Claps.  Sorry you missed the first half leg and glute burn and thanks for keeping the numbers even for PLTs.

    The PAX were in a linear arrangement for the second half – YHC, with a bad left ear, was poorly positioned on the right flank to pick up the MumbleChatter – anything good is worth a comment.

    Coffeteria at Daily Grind – good coffee and better fellowship.  Turnaround – sometimes the elusive signs we seek are at our six, not our front.

    Psalm 116:1-2

  • The Launch Window


    13 Faithful Eager Runners posted at the AO this morning. The Shovel Flag planted in the quiet garden plot nearest the Staff Parking lot.

    The THANG

    From the Parking Lot, run to Grove turn Rightish, Head to the Boulevard, turn around head back to Wisteria 4 mile loop, Tuckahoe, 5 mile Loop, Mailbox in Front of St. Catherine’s, 6 mile loop, & then back to the Shovel Flag. Those that are running the BRR were told to take it down a notch for a slow steady run today, The BRR group from RVA is in the launch window for the race.

    Moleskin
    Ah, Where to begin today’s Moleskin… first, little history… This AO has been occupied by many different groups, Radical Muslins, Native Americans, Navy Seals, Tomato Nations, Some Rogue Leagues, and most recently the Surly and Belligerent Men of F3 RVA, who had taken up the flag of working out in the gloom for almost year without incident. That is until yesterday.

    Thanks to Toga’s and TYA’s diplomatic skills (YHC is not sure where either of them received their diplomatic training or from where) for helping manage the situation yesterday in a seriously professional manner. Both with the Representative of the neighborhood Alliance, and with the Current leader of the education facility; Finding solutions that managed to make all parties satisfied except for the neighbor’s dog. ( Note to self: please get TYA and Toga to call the Diplomatic Field Office before we send in Jack Bauer again, remember to remove this from the BackBlast)

    Rolling up this morning, Swirly was sitting in his vehicle in the old Parking area for the AO, YHC explained the F3 RVA has had to take up defensive positions on the far North end of the AO in the staff parking lot closer to Grove Ave. This position has been fortified with sound canceling/noise reduction foliage from the abundance of trees and given the stealthiness of the lack of light, The PAX should be able to gather at it’s usual decibel level without further incident. The tomatoes will now have to take the brunt of neighborhoods angst against loud early morning workouts.

    Kotter’s to Abacus, He’s still in some pretty serious shape! Hope to see you at more workouts in the coming months. His new job at Richmond Multi-Sport will certainly enhance F3’s recognition in RVA!

    As YHC made his way toward the Boulevard, YHC found himself running next to Sippy Cup for a few steps, Sippy continues to nurse his hurt calf. He made an early turnaround at 195 to head back to the AO. YHC is hoping that Sippy has a speedy recovery in time for next’s week mileage Mayhem at the BRR.

    For Future Reference, Please park in the Staff Parking lot on Commonwealth close to Grove(It’s on the same road as we have always parked)

    Announcements:

    Monday’s Labor day Workout will be an Hour and the beatdown will begin at 0700 ( yes that’s 7:00 am in the morning)

  • New parking spot at Mary Munford

    Gentlemen,

    After scouting out the AO and trying to figure out where we can park and have minimum noise impact on the neighborhood, we have a new spot.  It is still on Commonwealth Avenue closer to the Grove Avenue end.  It is the staff parking lot for the school.  It is restricted from 8am to 4pm during school days, but we should be out of there long before then.  From our current parking location, travel towards Grove Avenue, take the second entrance on the school side of the street, directly across from N. Willetta.  We will plant the shovel flag there starting with tomorrow’s run.

    FEBA