Category: Richmond, VA

  • Hydration helps.

    15 stalwarts appeared in the gloom each with their own sippy cup for YHC’s 50th birthday beatdown. Here’s how it went:

    Mosey to the circle, around the carillon and to the far circle.

    COP: 10x Don Quixote, 10x helicopters, 20x arm circles Fwd and Rev. Followed by a plank-o-rama.

    Mosey to the top of the carillon for a series of animal crawl 4 corners with: 5 burpees, 10 hand-release merkins, 20 plank jacks, and 40 LBCs at the corners. Round 1: bear crawl to the corners. Round 2. Crab walk. Round 3. Duck walk.

    Mosey to the stage and the pile of large logs behind it. Partner carry the logs about 20 yards and make a line. Then: (1) Diagonal jumps from one end to the other; (2) plank with hands on logs moving left, (3) plank with hands on logs moving right.

    Then: Touch A Tree with Logs. Partner up. Round 1 partner holds one end of the log up while other partner touches 3 trees. Round 2: crab walk and push log with your feet and 3 trees. Round 3: hold one end of log above your head and 3 trees. Partner log carry back to original location.

    Then, mosey to the field for some Whamo animal walks. Person #1 throws frisbee, everyone sprints until frisbee lands then animal walks the rest of the way (Bear Crawl, Bunny Hop, Crab walk, duck walk, wounded bear right leg, wounded bear left leg).

    And for the finisher, a little Burp Back Mountain. Mosey behind the amphitheater. Partner up. One pax Bernie Sanders up the hill to the road and runs forward down while other partner does Burpees. Proceed until 100 burpees are completed.

    Mosey back to the flag followed by 50 SSH.

    COT: YHC took us out with some words of gratefulness.

    Moleskin. The Pax learned some things today: (1) Upchuck’s super power is duck walks. Somehow he does a full body pivot with each step. (2) A Helix duck walk is more impressive than a Helix squat. (3) Logs sitting in the grass gather slugs which can be hard to avoid when planking on them. (4) Burp Back mountain may be the only exercise where one looks forward to the Burpee part. (5) YHC’s age is getting to him which may lead to fumbling some instructions. (6) Faceplant is sneaky and the PAX are good at keeping secrets. (7) Sipping water during a tough workout helps with endurance.

    Great workout today guys. Thanks for pushing hard with me. I will not forget this one. It was so cool that everyone brought their water bottles today. I felt honored–thanks for making this 50th a special one for me. It was also great to see Honey Do and Mr. Rogers for the first time in a while. My Sippy Cup is full.

  • Epic Eleven do Epic Elevens

    Eleven men showed up for a beautiful Saturday morning at Rockwood Park. Temps were cool and perfect for a beatdown to kickoff another fall football weekend.

    Promptly at 7, the Eleven PAX moseyed their way to the basketball court for the standard warmarama.

    1st COP

    Suicides Walking Lunges forward

    10 merkins

    Bernie back

    Repeat with Broad jumps

    15 werkins

    Bernie back

    2nd COP

    Indigenous People

    Lunge Walk, PAX in the back does 3 burpees and runs to the front until PAX gets to the big parking lot.

    3rd COP

    Ab 4 Corners Prostitute Style

    20 LBCs

    40 Oblique LBCs

    60 Flutter kicks single count

    80 heels to heaven

    Mosey to the snack shack for wall sits and review 5 core principles, mission, and credo.

    4th COP

    Triple Check

    Balls to the wall

    step ups

    run down the steps, around and back up

    Mosey past the flag, onto the grass for a new version of Elevens with ZERO RUNNING involved. This was a favorite of some of the PAX.

    5th COP

    Elevens without Running

    Hand Release Merkins and knee slap jumps

    Mosey back to the parking lot and do toe taps for almost 2 minutes until time.

    Great push by the PAX. Great to meet Bravo who was out for his second time after getting named at Alamo this week. Proud Q moment when I was able to slow down the front runners with the No Running Elevens.

    Fall Social at Casa de L Woods at 3 pm today!

    Lots to pray for, both at home and all over our country.

  • Curahee Out and back

    The pax showed up to do a 3, 4 , or 5 mile out and back which took us down john rolfe parkway to broad street and back.

    The 3 mile route turned back at the speed limit sign on John Rolfe. The 4 mile route turned around at three chopt and the 5 mile route turned right on broad for .2 and came back to the start.

    Roger Roger, Mr. Rogers, Hutton, bedpan, pigskin, white snake, lighthouse, full house, handshake, Gypsy, and byproduct showed up

  • 14 Holes

    11 HIM’s of God carved some pain gain out of a beautiful crisp morning on our annual mountain men’s retreat at Windy Gap YoungLife Camp near Asheville NC. Here’s how 11 conquered 14 out of 18:

    WARMERAMA: 

    • Mosey a bit to circle up at a better lit area
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • Warm-up Reps IC, slightly extended total reps for a full body warmup

    The THANG: 

    • Mosey down to the start of an epic mountain frisbee golf course
    • Outlined the plan: escalator burpees to match the hole number, with a movement exercise to complete each hole, and variable reps (mostly called IC) at the end of each hole
    • Movements included runs, Bernies, sprints, broad jumps, lunge walks, low crawls, bear crawls, and others
    • After getting up to 9 burpees completing the first 9 holes, we switched to WWII’s at each hole for the back 9
    • The reps called were highly variable and too many to list, but the PAX got their money’s worth
    • Completed 14th hole and then mosey BTTF

    COT:

    • Counterama # 11 
    • Namerama, naming 2 FNG’s
    • BOM Prayer

    NMS:  Back for YHC’s 6th time on the mountain, and this place is absolutely majestic! Such amazing mountain beauty and the company of 300-400 wonderful men celebrating Jesus. YHC has led a lot of bootcamps here over the years but this was the first time tackling a workout based on the frisbee golf course, and it turned out to be an awesome smokefest. Thankful for being here and the other 10 HIM’s who joined for this morning’s victory lap. We’ll have the pleasure of enduring a beatdown delivered by Voltage tomorrow. Yours AYE! ~DTH

  • Monday Graveyard

    zombies met up at Swift Creek Middle to go on the road for some easy miles. This week’s IPC was already a speed workout, so no speed work this week, and no need to double up on Thursday. Always great to catch up with Boberry!

  • Foggy Farms Fifty

    We gathered in the gloom on a surprisingly foggy morning to try out a new route on the roads less traveled in Windsor Farms.

    4s–South across Cross Cary onto Berkshire which turns into Sulgrave. Out and backs on Long Ln, Stockton Ln, St. Davids Ln, Marston Ln. Return on Gun Club, L on Queen Charlotte to Cary, Malvern to Grove back to flag.

    5s–Same as 4s, but add in Clovelly Rd. with a fork on Lynton Ln.

    6s–Same as 5s, but from Berkshire turn R onto Dover and then L on Lock Ln to end. R on Park which takes you to Sulgrave.

    Moleskin. YHC’s goal was to find a hill within reach of MM that we had not yet run in the 10 or so years of RAMM. After scoping out the underbelly of Windsor Farms with his dog a week ago he uncovered Lynton Ln. It is “Charmian steep” and when coupled with Clovelly gives a long burn. (Side note: the bottom of Lynton is also a great spot to catch the sunset over the river). This new route stitches together a bunch of north-south out and backs off of Sulgrave Rd so it is fairly easy to follow. It is certainly worth a second go in the coming weeks.

    Running in the fog creates a sense of timelessness, and YHC and Marv agreed the route seemed long and particularly tough (even though our watches disagreed). It is hard when you can’t anticipate what’s in front of you.

    YHC can’t think of a better start to his 50th birthday. My glass is full, and F3 has been a big part of the filling. My 40th BD was at the BRR, and it is fitting to start my 50th with the Pax this morning. I’m so grateful to have been headlocked so many years ago.

  • Mr. Worldwide

    4 lumberjacks made it to The Yard to add some sweat to the asphalt. We were pleased to see Murr made it out (as soon as I saw him I knew where the name came from, good job whoever came up with that) and he brought an FNG! The FNG works for a chemical company doing “wrench turning” as he calls it. Choo Choo was trying to think of uranium as a name, but he kept saying Uranus and that just wasn’t going to fly with the FNG. We compromised on Dexter from Dexter’s Lab. Welcome Dexter!

    Warmup:

    Mosey to the grownup playground

    -arm circles

    -roscoes wife

    -fudds wife

    -10 slow and controlled merkins IC

    4 stations, 12 reps at each station. 2 sets.

    -pullups

    -machine bench press

    -merkins

    -bench dips

    Mosey back to the front of The Yard

    Here’s where the fun starts

    4 corners prostitution style with coupon. MOT coupon overhead carries

    1. 10 incline merkins
    2. 20 front raises
    3. 30 overhead press
    4. bent over rows

    IPC tomorrow. Had good chatter with Murr and Dexter, hope to see them back soon. YHC took us out in prayer.

  • Lounge-esque

    Three regulars and one close by newbie joined up for a lounge-esque Friday morning workout at Twin Team.

    Warm up while the pax awaits OC’s arrival – Don Q, SSH

    Mosey over to JRHS track. Beast – PAX choices – merkins, squats, SSH, flutters, etc.

    one round of blimp on the track

    mosey to bleachers, one round of love hill, abort to field, complete love hill (merkins, freddies)

    mosey back to BWE, wall squats with various wall workouts, one person LARPs a basketball shot and returns.

    mosey to point of beginning, various ab exercises.

    Fun workout this morning gents. YHC tried to maintain the spirit of the lounge while covering some ground, keeping most paces at a mosey with plenty of chatter. OC arrived early to ruck off some steam. Rosie kept us in check and Pad Thai found a new workout location 10 minutes from his house.

    -Singer

  • Restaurant Parking Only

    One intrepid warrior of The Gloom threw off the pull of the Fart Sack (and last night’s tequila old fashioneds) to hit the mean (ok, the office park) streets of Plantation. Temps were 75 and sunny. According to the restaurant worker (lady) who came out of the office building at 5:20 a.m. to see YHC unexpectedly 15 feet away, the following might have happened:

    2 loops around the lake, using various routes / paths / etc. No scream (thank Heavens) when the lady came flying out of the building, never looked to her right, and then realized someone was close by. Disaster averted. All good.

    This brought to mind a question. When startling a person (but, mostly, a woman) not expecting you in the dark, what’s the etiquette? YHC chose, “Good morning. I’m back behind you. Sorry to disturb you.” (Pause for slight gasp). Then, “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Just out for a walk” (With my 35 pound massive chest weights).

    Number, name, and YHC took himself out.

    NMS: Marriott provides two coffees cups, paper. YHC now makes two cups, takes one to the car, and leaves it. The first cup goes along for the first lap. Swap for the second cup on the second lap. Suddenly, YHC does not detest rucking as much.

  • 9/11 ascension bells

    24 warriors posted at what would be a record at circus Maximus for a 9/11 remembrance kettle bell beatdown. 

    A few comments and mumble chatter to start the day and of course an expertly planned set list for our patriotic themed rendition of 2,200 stairs to ascend with your bell. Some cadence chatter got us all in the mood ( never could time it right) but we move anyway!

    History: 

    AA 11 – hit the wtc first

    UA 93 – fought back and crashed in Pennsylvania 

    AA 77 – crashed into the pentagon

    UA 175 – hit the second tower

    Theme and numbers. Fire fighters ascended 2,200 stairs so we commemorate and move in remembrance of our fallen soldiers, brothers, sisters, pilots, family members and those in service.

    Warm-a-Rama

    25 side straddle hops

    11 Don Qs

    11 merkins

    11 crunchy frogs

    Question what were the flight numbers? Silence was the answer- read above to revisit

    11 signifies the AA 11 flight that went down first

    11 burpees for wrong answer. 

    The Thang-

    Long mosey to the Godwin track with bell and we begin our ascension in style with a patriotic ensemble to push us through this beatdown .

    5 excercises 11 of each then climb with your bell to the top and back. 

    6 rounds got us the 2,200 stairs 

    Excercise 1 – 11 in swings

    Excercise 2 – 11 lawnmower pulls

    Excercise 3- 11 suitcase squat

    Excercise 4- 11 halo 😇 

    Excercise 5- 11 clean and jerk 

    Climb the stairs and rinse and repeat. 

    Once 6 rounds were accomplished the Q then asked the flight numbers again and 3/4 were answered. The penalty 77 curls on a mosey back to the flag.

    We end with God Bless the USA and a moment of silence to Never forget.

    Thanks for letting me host this commemorative beatdown.