Category: Richmond, VA

  • Dude, Where’s My Flag?

    Seven strong for a warm, clear Monday morning that went like so:

    Mosey from front parking lot around to the bus circle for the COP – 15x Ball Dippers,15x Hello Dollys, 15x Carolina Dry Docks, 15x Don Quixotes, and 15x Imperial Walkers

    Jog to front field for running warm-up including 30 yards (the width of the school building) x 2 High Knees, 30 yards x 2 Butt Kickers, 30 yards x 2 at 60%, 30 yards x 2 at 70%, and 30 yards full go.

    Jog to front parking lot for Clock workout – 12 stations along the parking lot with 60 of each of the following:  Prisoner Squats, LBCs, Merkins, Wide Leg Squats, Flutter Kicks, Windmills, Alabama Prom Dates, Lateral Hops, Walking Lunges, Reverse Curls, Single Leg Deadlifts, and 60 plus paces around the traffic circle.

    Finish with a Burp Circle – circle up in COP with one member of the PAX completes 5 Burpees while the other members plank walk back and forth.  Following Burpees, jog around the circle and return to your spot – next member completes same exercise until done.  Finish with 60 LBCs and 30 seconds of elbow Plank.

    Moleskin:

    YHC used a Weinke today and proud of it.

    Fudd returned to the U.S. of A. from Greece – Fudd needs to return a mini-flag to Wedding Singer, so Singer can take it to France and complete Merkins with the locals whilst wearing a black beret.

    Good start to the week.  Missed an opportunity to geek out with it being May the 4th Be With You today.  We did complete some Imperial Walkers.

    Thanks,

    Chum Bucket

  • Ladies, Welcome to the PAX

    A PAX of 11 strong posted in the gloom to meet their match:  the ladies.  Probably the most hyped workout ever at F3 RVA, the ladies were hand-picked and harvested specifically to throw down a challenging 60-minute workout.  8 feet in length, and ranging from 3 inches to 8 inches in diameter, these were not your average ladies.  Inspired by Chum Bucket at the F2 a few weeks back, YHC decided to bring every gimmick possible to get the PAX out this AM.

    THE THANG

    Mosey over to the far circle, navigating around the dell and through tents set up for Arts in the Park

    25x SSH
    25x IW
    10x Push-up to Planks

    Mosey over to the near circle.  Waiting for the PAX was Chuck, YHC’s faithful truck.  Plank up on the circle as YHC introduced the PAX’s 7 ladies:  Wilma, Betty, Bertha, Edith, Agnes, Matilda, and Harriet.

    The PENTAGON:  5 stations, 8 rounds.  15 seconds of work with 8 seconds of transition to the next.  In pairs

    1 – Rock Dance
    2 – Push-pull w/ ladies
    3 – Sit-ups w/ ladies
    4 – Derkin w/ feet on ladies
    5 – Truck push

    Mosey over to the Dell.  PAX split in half.  Once the groups were done, they switched.

    Group A (no ladies) – All exercises ran the width of the Dell and back to start
    – Bear crawl, 20 crunches
    – Crab walk , 20 flutter kicks
    – Sideways bear crawl, 20 Freddie Mercuries
    – Lunges, 20 rosalitas

    Group B (with the ladies) – All exercises ran the width of the Dell and back to start
    – Lady flips end over end , 10 squats
    – Lady rolls, 10 merkins
    – Lady on shoulder, 10 star jumps
    – Sprint (no lady), 10 zippers

    Log PT – pair up by height and line up at the edge of the Dell.  With your partner:
    – Lady on right shoulder.  Up, over head, down to shoulder, and back x 10
    – 10 steps forward
    – Lady curls x 10
    – 10 steps forward
    – Lady shoulder press x 10
    – 10 steps forward
    – Lady chest press (on the ground) x 10
    – 10 steps forward
    – Lady sit-ups (on the ground) x 10
    – 10 steps forward

    Rinse and repeat

    THE MOLESKIN

    There certainly was some hype over the workout.  YHC started by running the shovel flag in to the AO so the PAX couldn’t get a sneak peak at the ladies.  And the PAX stepped up to the challenge.  Great output by all!

    The chatter was fairly low today…guess the ladies just took the breath away.  Wilson confessed that he was pushed by pairing up with Garbage Plate on the Log PT.  Great job!  Seek out those who are better.  It’s the only way we get stronger.

    Among several new exercises to the workout, the rock dance got some extra TClaps.  PAX paired up, held on to partner’s shoulder and back (like a dance) and had to move them off of the X.  Lots of abs and core involved.  And a couple of stalemates.  Heck of a job today!

    Welcome two FNGs to the pack:  Hardywood and Crumpet.  Hardywood was EH’ed by Bleeder at the Hardywood 4-miler, hence his name.  He’s a member of Richmond Multisports and will raise the level of the PAX.  Crumpet is Loose Goose’s father-in-law.  He earned the PAX’s respect with his determination through the workout.  Crumpet teaches English (not American) overseas and hails from TX and AR.

    While YHC is generally meticulous about form, there were a few deviations today as there were too many moving parts for him to spot and correct.  No fear.  YHC’s will make up for it next time.

    TClaps to Bleeder for being the truck driver and photographer during today’s workout.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    – Mon, #Punisher, Holton Elementary
    – Tues, #NoToll, Hugeonot Park
    – Wed, #SourceOfTruth, Swift Creek Middle
    – Thur, #MOM, Mary Mumford Elementary
    – Fri, #RAMM, Mary Mumford Elementary
    – Sat, #DogPile, Dogwood Dell, 6:00am, #GridIron, Pouncy Tract, 7:00, (#PreGame at 6:40)

    We’re looking to build #GridIron back up.  Know anyone in the Short Pump, Windham, or Twin Hickory areas?  bring them out!

    Looking to get Backblasts via email?  Here’s a step-by-step on how to setup IFTTT to send you a email with the backblasts.

  • Standing Firm

    Three of the PAX #PreGamed at 0640, a fourth joined us at 0700, and two #Double-Dippers (one with the #Ladies) sped over from the #DogPile for some #GridIron action on another beautiful morning in the West End.

    The Thang

    COP – 25x SSH, 25x Don Quioxtes, 25x Deep Slow Squats, 25x imperial Walkers, and 25x Standing Side Crunches (“Bobbleheads”)

    Mosey to the #Mound for 10 minutes of Burpees

    Mosey to the pavilion at the parking lot for Dips Tabata

    Mosey to field events venue inside track for 25x LBCs, 25x Rosalitas, 25x Dollys, and 25x Alabama Prom Dates

    Mosey to track for 880 – high skips, lunge walks, 220 sprint, lunge walks, and 220 sprint

    Mosey back to field events venue for 3 sets of 20x PLTs with mixture of obliques

    Mosey to parking lot pavilion for 4 sets of 25x dips

    COT

    Groh pushed hard with a first-class posting.  He then took out the BOM with an inspired prayer or thanksgiving and supplication.  Great way to start the day – TClaps!

    Moleskin

    Wilson kept his solid #Double-Dip streak intact with his 5th consecutive posting – TClaps!  Conspiracy kindly revealed the #Ladies to the #GridIroners and the PAX duly noted that the logs appeared freshly cut (and likely thoroughly doused by Conspiracy) to increase the weight load on the #DogPilers.  Discussion digressed and it was agreed that Sammy Sosa would have corked his log.

    Johnsonville is back on the DL after losing his #DIY battle with a recalcitrant washing machine.  Nonetheless, J’ville faithfully posted and assumed command of the clock on the Burpees and DIP Tabatas.  More importantly, J’ville led the #Pre-Game with a look at leadership under the example of Daniel (part 2) – Daniel’s strong, trustworthy, faithful, and focused leadership engendered the envy and insubordination of other leaders under Darius; those insecure leaders, instead of seeking that which set Daniel apart as a secure leader, tricked Darius into proclaiming an unjust law but the ever faithful Daniel stood firm and survived the lions’ den. The takeway: Daniel was an effective leader because he was incorruptible; Darius’s leadership floundered because he failed to be on guard against the scheming of his subordinates.

    Solid 2nd F at the Daily Grind this morning.

    Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. – 1 Corinthians 16:13

  • Peppermint anyone?

    10 dedicated strong runners showed up to RAMM this morning for a quick morning stroll.  Weather was 70 and Sunny (or maybe 50 and raining).

    The Thang:

    PAX run from shovel flag to Grove Avenue. All take a right on Grove, three routes, 4, 5 and 6 miles, dealers choice.  4 mile loop turn around at Sauer, 5 mile loop turn around at Thompson, 6 mile loop turnaround at Belmont.  All run to intersection of Three Chopt and Grove, turnaround and run back to the shovel flag.

    Moleskin

    The PAX continues to complain that the mileage that the Q is reporting is not accurate, despite the fact that YHC has verified the mileage several times.  Because of his irreverance towards the Q, Bleeder was asked to drop and give me 10 burpees.  He gave me ten…but it was the middle finger, not burpees.

    Sippy reported that my 6 mile loop last week was only 5.5.  So I made sure this week that the loop was indeed 6.  Upon hearing the turnaround point sippy let out an audible “Damn”.  I could not have been happier.  Despite his longer route, Sippy Cup did pick about half of the pax on his way back to the shovel flag.  Sippy’s got wheels.

    Loose Goose set out to do 3.5 today (which was not an option) and ended up running 4.75 (also not one of the options).  Not sure how he accomplished this, but he did somehow.

    The PAX were all treated to peppermint lifesavers at the beginning of the run.  Although YHC is not a big fan of most of the “herbal” remedies, elixirs, and supplements out there, he did find a compelling article on the benefits of peppermint oil to running.  For a look at the article click here http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/the-surprising-and-substantial-effects-of-peppermint-on-exercise.

    Finally, there was a City of Richmond radar speed monitor on Grove Avenue, right in front of the school.  It did a great job of tracking the speed of the cars on the road.  When Swirly, TYA and Conspiracy were heading back to the shovel flag, Conspiracy, unsuccessfully, tried to have the speed monitor pick him up on a sprint.  Maybe next time if we run in a PAX (or if bleeder sprints), the monitor will pick us up.

    See you in the gloom next week.

  • Who doesn’t love a block party?

    12 posted for a truly beautiful morning just to lift cinder blocks.  Fun was had by all, and here’s how it went down:

    Blocks held overhead for mosey to center of soccer field for COP:

    20 SSH, 20 split jumps, 20 Don Quixote, 20 Rosalitas, 10 merkins

    Mosey to soccer field end line and partner up for blockfest:

    One partner curls while the other runs half field and back.  Flapjack with each partner doing 3 sets.  Repeato for military press, tricep extensions, block burpees, sumo squats, and a new exercise where you pass the block between your legs, switch legs, and repeat (like a basketball switch but with more ramifications if you miss).

    Block Minutes or Mary: 15 sit-ups with block on chest OYO, 10 Rocky Balboa passes with your partner IC, 15 sit-ups with block over head, 10 Rocky Balboa opposite direction IC

    Bonus 10 Block Burpees in cadence (yeah, we actually pulled that off) because the PAX was ahead of schedule

    Mosey to flag for COT

    Moleskin:  The last time YHC led a block party there was a significant amount of mumble chatter.  I theorized this was due to a lack of running.., problem solved.  There were some impressive performances today as several of the PAX found some wheels during the run portion (Bleeder, LockJaw, Swirly).  Now, was this because they were working to improve their speed, were they trying to save their partners from lifting too much, or did they want more time with the block to achieve beach body goals?  It should also be noted that Swirly appeared to be running laps when I arrived to plant the flag.  After establishing an understanding that the workout had not started yet, Swirly continued to run while waiting on the PAX to arrive.  FEBA!

  • Burpees, Beast, and a Reggie

     The Pax was 5 strong venturing into the gloom on a beautiful morning

    The Thang

    Mosey down the bus stop lane

    COP

    25x SSH

    25x imperial Walkers

    25x Crab Cakes

    30x Little Baby Crunches

    Mosey to middle field

    10 minutes of burpees

    Yep 10 min of burpees

    Mosey to the football field

    Beast

    Merkins

    Monkey Humpers

    Don Quixote’s

    Hillbillies

    Weezy Jefferson

    Deep Knee Bends

    Mosey to corner of track

    Lunge 100 m

    Jog corner

    Sprint 100 m

    COT

    Moleskin

    Great to see Earthworm at SOT.  He’s always bringing the max.  Somehow he survived an automotive tussell with Bleeder on the way down Old Hundred.  Not many survive those Earthworm, Well done.

    Fertilizer, small fibia’s, and 6 women discussions were heard in the mumble chatter during the lunges.  Not sure how the convo got started but it did make the next 5 minutes of lunges bearable.  It was also nice to help out Conspiracy and pick up his jacket all the way on the other side of the field.  He must have been pretty gassed to be walking so leisurely.

    Bleeder’s apparel store was open in the trunk of his car.  Not 100% sure what he was selling but it looked like some were buying.

    YHC and DK discussed the trials and tribulations of installing ceiling fans.  While YHC’s color blindness is an issue DK was able to repair manufacturing defects.  If the F3 Nation needs assistance, DK is the man to go to.

    Afterwards Bleeder and YHC ventured out to meet our man in the press box.  Turns out his name is Reggie and he’s been living there for about a month. Reggie gave us a brief spiritual lesson and was off onto his daily adventure via Old Hundred Road.  We wish him the best.

    See you next time!

     

  • Merkinfest 2015

    A strong and dedicated PAX of 18 showed up at NoToll on this beautiful morning for a little modified push-a-rama.

    THE THANG:

    COP

    SSH x 21

    Don Quixote x 25

    LBC x 30

    Merkins x 10

    Copperhead Squat x 20

     

    Mosey to parking lot for 4 Corners (x2).  The pace was determined by the lead group doing Squerkins.

    Squerkins x 10 (alternate positions during second loop)

    Squats AMRAP

    Military Merkins x 10 (alternate exercise on second loop)

    LBC AMRAP

    Mosey to soccer field for the Merkin Ladder.  Start at x 20 and descend to x1 with 50 yd sprints between Launch and Target Points.

     

    Congregate in the middle of the soccer field for 7MOM:

    Box Cutters x 20

    Freddy Mercury x 25 alternating pace

    LBC x 30

     

    Ring of Fire:

    One round of 7 merkins

    COT

    MOLESKIN:

    It was good to Q for you men this morning, although I almost smoked myself demonstrating the Side Straddle Stork Hop at the start, which is a near impossible exercise;)  TYA is truly a beast!  The PAX had lots of energy this morning, no doubt empowered by a strong turnout that included some familiar faces (good to see you Iron Curtain!) and an eager FNG.  Welcome, Quickdraw!

    YHC tried to get his creative juices flowing with some new exercises.  I think the squerkins went well, although we could have definitely done more for more PAIN.  The military merkins were a bit of a clown show at the start, but I think they have potential.  We may have to try an entire workout of sparingly used obscure exercises to test our collective mettle.

    Admittedly, YHC almost thought he bit off more than he could chew with the Merkin Ladder, but the PAX performed so well and was so eager for more that it was fitting to finish with merkins again in the Ring of Fire.  Much mumblechatter could be heard, most in the form of verbal appreciation from the PAX for the gift of merkins.  “Thank you sir, may I have another!”  One can only wonder how excited Don Draper, er Fudd, would have been.  Hopefully, he is giving those Greeks all they can handle.  On a final note, JVille turned on the jets and sprinted to the COT.  YHC and Toga gave chase to no avail.  Deceptively fast and a strong runner, good to have him on the BRR team.

    Upcoming events:

    Workouts at SOT tomorrow, 45MOM on Thursday and Friday, Dogpile and Gridiron on Saturday.

    The Rugged Maniac is this Saturday, May 2.  Today is the last day to register, and the team is mostly filled.  However, if you are feeling it, contact JVille immediately.

    Until next time, AYE!

     

     

     

     

     

  • Time Check

    PAX of six this morning for The Punisher workout.  It went like so:

    Mosey to initial COP for 15 each of SSHs, Forward Arm Circles, Backward Arm Circles, and Standing Mountain Climbers.

    Deployment of 13 Acres Baker’s Dozen – designed for 13 exercises at 13 stops on the Linwood Holton Elementary School grounds.  Exercises included Squats, Merkins, Hello Dollys, Alternating Lunges, Wide-Grip Merkins, Rosalitas, Squat Jumps, Close-Grip Merkins, Alabama Prom Dates (thanks BT), Standing Donkey Kicks, Carolina Dry Docks, Flutter Kicks, and Mountain Climbers.

    Complete 13 of the first exercise and 7 of the others (baker’s half dozen) – move to the next station and complete 7 of the first exercise, 13 of the second exercise, and 7 of the remaining exercises – and so on until done.

    Return to the Shovel Flag for the COT.

    Moleskin:

    YHC planned a workout lighter on running following yesterday’s Hardywood 4 Miler.  The PAX worked hard to complete the Baker’s Dozen.  We ran out of time at the end of the workout and YHC had to audible.  Apparently my 1990s era IronMan watch is set a little fast – we may have ended a couple of minutes early.  TYA swore his clock was correct and that the workout started a little early.  Thanks to TYA and Wedding Singer for tallying the target rep total for the workout – had to adjust math from Rosalita position following the audible.

     

     

  • F3 Arrives in Greece

    Pretty sure this is the first F3 workout that has taken place in Athens, Greece but I might be mistaken on that.

    1 LIFO (Fudd) and 4 FNG’s posted to the site of the first modern Olympic games in Athens, Greece.  This is where the first marathon was run way back when people were still wearing Toga’s (shout out to the mayor of Grumpsville).  For those of you that don’t know your ancient Greek history, the first marathon took place after the battle of……bet you can’t guess……. Marathon!…… that took place 26.2 miles northeast in 490 BC.  One badass warrior named Pheidippides fought a full pitched battle and sent some Ottomans to their 72 virgins, and then ran 26.2 miles to tell the Athenians that they won the battle and to man up, grap some sack, and go down to the Aegean with their short swords in case the Ottomans decided they wanted round 2 as they sailed down the coast.  So he arrived, said “We won”, and dropped dead.  Badass…….

    So here’s how it went down….The Thang:

    Mosey from the Electra Palace hotel to the Olympic track (Panathenaic stadium) which was the site of the first modern Olympic games (built in 1896 or something like that).  About 1/2 a mile.

    COP

    SSH x 20

    Merkins x 15

    LBC’s x 20

    Mosey to the side of the track for stair runs up and down.  When you get to the bottom, do 10 Merkins and then run back up the next set and back down….10 more merkins……all the way to the end.

    Mosey to the statues of Homer and Plato (other end of the picture).  Split into one team of 2 and one team of 3.  One dude (or set of dudes) does the people’s chair against the base of the statue, while the other does a bolt to the middle of the stadium (about 100 yards) and back.  Once the runner reaches the middle of the stadium, the guy doing the people’s chair switches to burpees until the runner makes it back to the statues.  Repeat 3 times.

    9 Minutes of Mary on the infield:

    Flutter Kicks x 20

    Rosalitas x 20

    WWII situps x 30

    Ring of Fire x 3…..each dude does 10 merkins while the others hold the plank.  Go around the circle 3 times with no rest.

    And yes…..I sang Johnny Cash.  There were tourists taking pictures at that point

    Superman’s x 2…..and yes, I sang the song……”Believe it or not, I’m walking on air……”   The tourists were giving each other strange looks……

    Mosey to the tunnel entrance (where all of the athletes entered the stadium dung the opening ceremony of the games).  Bolt up the tunnel to the top, then back down and out for one lap around the stadium (400 meters) as fast as we could go.

    Mosey to the podium for the attached picture, numberama, namerama, and a quick prayer before we ran the 1/2 mile back to the hotel as fast a we could go because Fudd was late for a dinner reservation with his wife. 😉

     

    These guys were all runners and 2 of them smoked me on the lap run.  I know you RVA guys will be shocked by that, but as a disclaimer, I did have about 9 doubles of Glenlivet last night and smoked about half a pack of American Spirits.  Definitely wasn’t at 100%.  All of these dudes are good guys and said they plan on joining us for beat downs once we are back in RVA.

     

    Hope you guys in the states are having fun, cause I sure as hell am.  😉

     

  • Johnsonville’s Return to Q

    Four posted to the #Gridiron, F3Richmond’s later Saturday bootcamp. Lugnut planted a shovel flag, and Johnsonville took the Q after a very long “vacation” to allow broken ribs to heal.

    THE THANG:

    COP
    SSH x 35
    Merkin x 15
    Slow Squats x 15
    Partner Leg Pushdowns x 25

    Mosey to grassy knoll near Striker fields
    10 minutes of burpees

    Mosey back near SF
    2 sets of Partner Leg Pushdowns x 25

    Mosey to football field
    4 additional minutes of burpees

    Mosey to entrance of school
    Modified Triple Play — Pair up.  On partner does people’s chair while the other bear crawls about 20m and then sprints out and back about 200m.  Switch with partner.  Rinse and repeat for 3 sets in all.

    Mosey behind school to bleachers
    11s consisting of Dips on Bleachers (4 count), run to pull up bars (about 125m), Pull Ups or Chin Ups, run back to Bleachers.  Rinse and repeat in 11s fashion.

    COT

    MOLESKIN

    Wilson doubled up from #Dogpile, and the small PAX was encouraged by his arrival after the initial burpee-fest.  We understand that the remainder of the #Dogpile PAX elected to partake in a doughnut-fest instead.  The word on the street was that #Dogpile was extra gloomy that morning, but Wilson seemed very relaxed and well-rested.

    Earthworm led an inspiring 3rd F starting 20 minutes prior to #Gridiron. Participants focused on leadership qualities of Daniel, noting in particular how Daniel overlooked personal slights against himself, while pushing back against things he viewed as slights against God.

    Schedule:
    4/26 — Hardywood Twilight 4 Miler (F3Richmond is Sponsor and Has Tent)
    4/27 — the #Punisher 0530
    4/28 — the #noToll 0530
    4/29 — the #SourceOfTruth 0530
    4/30 — #45MinutesOfMary
    5/1 — #RAMM (run starting at Mary Munford ES)
    5/2 — RUGGED MANIAC + normal bootcamps