Category: Richmond, VA

  • Saab@60

    An elite eleven plus one sexagenarian graced the grounds of Mary to experience a true geriatric beatdown.  A variation of Old Hundred was administered along with a series of Court Crawls.  Along the way the PAX was treated to several jokes ranging from Dad Approved, to NSFW, to SO OFFENSIVE you would never share it with anyone – other than your grandmother….

    Thanks to the PAX for joining me in today’s workout and putting up with my nonsense.  As I advance in age I’m reminded that it is not so much about our personal milestones, but more about celebrating the milestones of our friends and loved ones that surround our lives.

    Kudos to Lab Rat for his move to the Meta death star next month…It was great to see you again buddy

    Saab abides (when able)

  • Pac Man

    YHC was supposed to be on a flight to INDY at 6am, but client cancelled last night so I took advantage of an empty Q sheet! Rolled up to 3 familiar faces and 4 unexpected ones – I’ll let them sort of who’s in what group – but great to see everyone! Let’s mosey

    Since I had numbers this week, we went back over to Thales and introduced folks to a fresh take on Timberwolf. Warmup included reminding Flyboy of the F3 mission and Rudy of his name…

    Thang 1 – Pac man
    Hermey was picked to be PacMan. There are 8 intersections, he started at one, we started at the opposite side. Rules are simple:
    – Each time you get to an intersection, do 20x of exercise (rotate through merkins, squats, WW2, LBCs).
    – Must stop at every intersection you come to
    – Goal is to hit all 8 intersections (yes, you may have to repeat some)
    – If PAC MAN crosses your path, you add 20 reps at each intersection (compounding)

    Why was Hermey picked to be pacman? Because Hermey = chaos and he didn’t disappoint. Corners were cut, intersections were ignored, but he had a mission and he intended to carry it out. PAX did great maneuvering through the parking lot and avoiding. Rosie and Wildcat finished first, so YHC made a rule on the “fly” that they too are now Pac Man. Off you go! “Fly”boy was noticeably upset by this impromptu rule, this brought joy to YHC.

    Thang 2 – 11’s
    Firecrackers + Squats. Picked a section of the parking lot that met the required length. Small oversight on the grade of the slope, but whatevs…Note: Firecrackers hurt Rudy’s back

    This was followed by some Dips > Incline Merkins > Dips > Incline Merkins to get a pump going for our chest. Pax was looking beefy after this.

    Run over to a wall and did some OYO 10x donkey kicks followed by a 20 second hold. Wildcat and McGruff gave proper 20 counts, Rudy almost passed out.

    Thang 3

    Mosey BTTF, did a mini lightpole alley along the way and ended with a supreme ring of fire with some work-van dodging included. Note: Burpees do not hurt Rudy’s back.

    Announcement – Bridge 11/15 ping Hutton, Chili Cook Off 11/23 ping Crabgrass, Thanksgiving workout @ Mary ping Handshake, 12/6 Daddy Daughter dance ping Meatball or Rudy

    Prayers – Wildcat has the support of this brotherhood, those running in the race this weekend, continued blessings as we approach holidays.

    Good work fellas, get some rest we have Mudslide at Satan’s Hill tomorrow.

  • Story Time at the Forge

    A dozen of F3’s finest from various corners of RVA descended onto the plush turf of Huguenot High School in their winter finest for an unexpected beatdown. At the stroke of 5.30 we wandered down the hill stopping at the lower parking lot for introductions, disclaimers and a warm up that included the following: Invisible Jump Rope, Helis, Jazzercise with top taps, Mountain Climbers, LBC’s and some light stretching with some tales of past beatdowns from Heist.

    All seemed warm so we mozyied thru Machismo Gate and onto the plush synthetic turf fields. The main course today was the MICHIGAN, to warm up the cooler temps. Moans of disappointment were audible but did not deter the mission at hand. Line up at the goal line. 10 rounds of 100 yard sprints, 8 rounds of 80, 6 rounds of 60, 4 rounds of 40, 3 rounds of 30, 2 rounds of 20 and 1 round of 10. Stretching was encouraged between each round and well received.

    Still time left so we leave the cozy confines of the field for some lunge walking up the ramp, bear crawls up the hill, 20 Freddies at the parking lot while finishing up with some plank mary at the flag.

    Numbers, Names, Announcements, Prayers. YHC took us out.

    Announcements/Prayers: EF Hutton is leading the Bridge this weekend, see slack if interested in going. Thanksgiving convergence occuring in 2 weeks. Need a Northern Q to debate Handshake on the true beginnings of Turkey Day. Chili Cookoff next Sunday. $100 to anyone that makes Nancy Lopez puke through natural flatulence. Prayers to Wildcat and his family as they go thru ongoing health concerns.

    NMS: After listening to the origin of renaming inverted scorpion kicks to Roscoes’ Mom, thank you Heist; YHC dug through the deep annals of F3 Folklore to dust off some classic routines that may be new to some of the younger PAX members. Everyone knows Mankillers, so lets go with the Michigan. There are no good experiences from participating in this beatdown but the lined turf field was an outstanding host for this event. Never again will YHC Q the Michigan at the Forge but other PAX members may now add it to their arsenal of exercises. Times were had by all, some good and some not so much. YHC is probably going to be on Handshakes unfriendly list soon after unexpected beatdowns. Well done fellas. Great to warm up on a cool morning with you.

  • Reacher VQ + x2 FNG’s

    Exciting times at The Crossing with our very own State Trooper REACHER stepping up to Q and both Chaplain and Birdman stepping up to bring an FNG. YHC was asked to write up a brief BB for Reacher, so here’s an effort to recall his completely random and made-up-as-he-went beatdown:

    The THANG: 

    WARMERAMA: 

    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • Various stretches, a handful of merkins, and a run around the parking lot

    COP #1:

    • Collection of reps including but not limited to squats, merkins, holding elbow plank, and partnered up for PLT’s

    COP #2:

    • Triple up for a few cycles of derkins with feet resting on planking partner’s back and timer running a big loop

    COP #3:

    • Run down the hill and partner up for a few rounds of wind sprints up the hill, walking down, then a few rounds of bear crawls up the hill and walking down

    COP #4: 

    • Calf raises to exhaustion on a curb (Chaplain for the win), while those tapping early plank for the SIX

    COP #5: 

    • Mosey up to a grassy area for carious reps including WWII’s, LBC’s, and others – sometimes called IN CADENCE
    • F3 REVIEW BY DTH – PAX hold squat while we review the Mission, Credo, and 5 Core Principles

    COP #6: 

    • Back to the hill for lunges up and walk down, then backward lunges up, and probably other stuff I’m forgetting

    BTTF:

    • A few minutes of stretching

    COT:

    • Counterama # 7
    • Namerama – Welcome GRIDLOCK and DU HAST
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • BOM Prayer

    NMS:  Reacher says he was glad for the opportunity to lead, and enjoyed flying by the seat of his pants to come up with a decent whooping for our two FNG’s. Chaplain’s FNG David works in engineering for traffic control – welcome GRIDLOCK! Birdman’s FNG is a young man working in politics and loves history and philosophy and speaks fluent German – welcome DU HAST! (some of you may remember this famous song by Rammstein). Way to put in the work fellas! Keep posting! 

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

    • Monthly: Breaking Bread, Bridge
    • 11/23 Alamo Chili Cookoff
    • Thanksgiving Convergence 0700 at Mary
    • 12/6 Father Daughter Dance

  • Roll the dice – see what hill you get

    When Splinter put out the bat signal that he wouldn’t be able to Q Spider Run, YHC knew it was time to shake things up (pun intended). Typical routes? Not today. YHC is always up for a little game of chance, and what better way to start the day than with some Dice Roll Hills?

    Pre blast went out on Slack, but no routes were posted, just a promise of surprises. We gathered in the gloom, divided into two groups, walkers and runners, and the runners each grabbed a die from the bin before heading off toward the Hills.

    Here’s how it works:
    At the base of the hill, six chalk lines are marked at different distances. Each pair rolls their die, runs to the line matching their roll, then heads back down to roll again. Repeat for 45 minutes.

    Pairs:

    • Anthrax & Shakedown
    • Sippy Cup, Marv & YHC

    Next time you see Marv, ask him what his favorite number is, he’ll give you a great story!

    Announcements:
    See EF Hutton for the Bridge this coming Saturday.

    Keep our veterans in your thoughts on this special day.

  • Did Recruit Yardsale go AWOL?

    3 men posted today to swing some bells on a chilly morning.

    Mosey with kb to bus loop for some COP.

    Pyramid workout

    Stopping at each light pole the PAX would do an exercise starting at 1 rep each and increasing reps each round up to 5 and then back down to 1. The exercises were: squats, lawnmowers, WW2s, calf raises, clean and jerks, American hammers.

    The went all the way up 5 reps and back down to 4 before time was up.

    Numbers, names, Surf n Turf took us out.

  • Veterans Day = Weights Day!

    3 joined up for a Veterans Day Q Potato beatdown!
    Warmarama at the helipad with Choo Choo Q for a mosey and stretching and mosey back to the weights.

    “Attack The Legs!” – Choo Choo had us begin by firing up the legs, All PAX performs 10 air squats while 1 PAX squats 10 with weighted sack, continue until the sack makes a full rotation, break, and repeat.

    Beaver Q

    Start with 20 Merkins on the pavement and take weights to the Bermuda fb field. All PAX travel sideline to sideline, P1 – medicine ball toss, P2- lunge walk with KB, P3 – Bear Crawl pull through with weighted sack. Every body takes a turn per weight.

    Commando Q

    Playing centerfield and corners for 6 stops – perform 25 Merkins at 3 of 6 stops separated by 50 LBCs / 50 MTN Climbers / 25 Burpees.

    Gather around for some ring of fire with weights.

    Numbers and Names

    Announcements/ Prayer Requests:

    Thanksgiving Day Convergence at 45MOM: see slack for details. Prayers for Beavers M and Baby 2.0 as they fight colds.

    Commando took us out in prayer.

  • Welcome to BRURUCK!

    05:00 on this chilly Wednesday, 5 HIMs gathered for the BRU VQ. Since it was still pitch dark and relatively unfamiliar territory, YHC decided to keep things close to base so we wouldn’t get lost in the woods.

    Warmerama – Getting the blood flowing with a brisk hike around the strip mall. When rounding the corner, the PAX were thinking they were in for a walk down monotony-lane, but leave it to YHC to get things complicated quickly.

    The BRURUCK: With a bit of imagination and concentration, the BRURUCK started to take shape. On Each letter the PAX did a fitting exercise using their rucks:
    – B: 5 x Burpees
    – R: 10 x Rows / arm
    – U: 15 x Up-and-downs (Calve raises)
    – R: 15 x Squats (Because YHC didn’t want to take off his pack for Rows again)
    – U: Same as above
    – C: 15 x Crunches
    – K: 10 x King Merkins (Like normal Merkins, but with a “K”)

    We finished off with a Quick “RVA” and then set out to explore the lake. On return the PAX completed two rings of fire and closed off with a COT.

    Announcements: Chili Cook off, Daddy Daughter Dance.
    Coffee and Chapter 9 of Atomic Habits.

  • Finally Race Prep Run

    3 Davillians including a FNG arrived in Ashland on Saturday morning to help YHC get in one last long run before the Half this weekend.

    We ran on the newly completed 5 mile straight of the Fall Line Trail going from Carter Park on Ashcake run in Ashland down to Woodmen Rd in Henrico.

    BAM and our FNG got in a 10k while YHC got in 10 miles

    Great morning for a run

    SPIT ON THAT!!

  • Sausage casing weather at FW

    Eight PAX answered the early call to First Watch and started a few seconds early. We did:

    COP: SSH, Don Qs, Imperial Walkers, Helicopters, Merkins, Flutterkicks.

    Mosey to back lot of RRbC for a “basic 4 corners” as Handshake called it: 10 Burpees, 20 HRMs, 30 Jump Squats, 40 SSH. Go over to front of church and find some grass for PLTs: 3 rounds of 20.

    Over back to parking lot to retrieve some coupons, then over to HCSP for a Dora: 100 Block Thrusters, 200 Block presses, 300 Squats. Keep same partner and add 4 rounds: Swings, Skull crushers, SitnPresses, more block presses. Mosey back to flag, drop off coupons, finish up with few seconds of Mary. YHC took us out.

    NMS: Solid PAX this morning and great to see Lockjaw back out in the Gloom. With Kubota and Gomer with us YHC chose to not venture out too far from the AO center. Not a ton of mumblechatter this morning besides the PAX being supportive of YHC taking the Q.

    Just like all things Christmas encroaches earlier in to November the SZN of GVN at First Watch kicks off next week.