Category: Richmond, VA

  • Mr Holland’s Last Clap

    YHC showed up to meet Opus, planted the flag and Mr. Holland showed up so we had three for this morning’s beatdown so here is what went down.

    COP

    We mosey to the tennis courts and circle up for 20 SSH, 10 Imperial Walkers, 10 DQs, 20 lunges (10 each leg).

    Thang

    With three here this am a triple check is in order. WE had Partner 1 (P1)jump with a weighted handle jumprope 100 reps as the timer, P2 – Walking lunges, P3-Kettle Bat (10# each bat)swing to upright, then proceed to behind the head and repeat. We rotated for 1 set, then repeat 2 more sets for a triple check.

    4 Corner Escalator – Corner 1 – 10 merkins, lunge to corner 2 20- flutter kicks, lunge to corner 3 – 30 imperial walkers then to corner 4 20 smurf Jacks. Lunge to start.

    Triple check number 2 – P1 – 75 reps with jumprope as the timer, P2- LBC’s, P3- Around the world alternating right bat then left bat while holding opposite bat upright.

    COT

    Mosey back to flag to stretch for 1 minute. Numberama, Namerama , Opus took us out in Prayer.

    Moleskin

    Mr. Holland will celebrate his birthday next week and will no longer receive a single clap for the under 40 here in DaVille. To celebrate his birthday he will be traveling to Spain later this month with his dad to see the Solar Eclipse. We also met up with TrailMix at Local Cup for our traditional 2nd F on Saturday morning starting at 7:40am. Great conversations all around celebrating dad challenges and personal growth experiences.

    What a great way to start the day – HAve a great weekend everyone….See you in the gloom soon…Cheers…CB!

  • Superman & Who?

    Back with a vengeance, YHC took the unfilled Q with a previously “beloved” ground and pounder.  Here is how it went down:

    • COP
      • SSH
      • IW
      • DQ
      • Helicopters
      • Arm circles
      • DMH
      • Suzanne Somers
      • Merkins
      • LBC
      • Penguins
      • APD
    • Superman meets a prostitute – figure S with escalating exercise reps and always retracing steps and exercises
      • 10 Mike Tysons – 110 total
      • 20 WWII sit-ups – 100 total
      • 30 CDD – 120 total
      • 40 monkey humpers – 120 total
      • 50 LBC – 150 total
      • 60 APD
    • 3x check with run, step-ups and dips
    • Stretching followed by COT with YHC taking us out

    Good to be back.  Not so good to make Roger Roger have to explain to Monster Truck who Superman was having a rendezvous with during this workout. 

    Gridiron at Lake Anna on 8/15.  See Tater for details. 

    God is good all of the time!

    Attila

  • Odyssey of Bon Air

    The Scene

    Five HIMs gathered in the Gloom ready to take on a classic tour of the neighborhood—specifically, two churches and a bank. Legend has it if you hit enough holy ground and financial institutions in one beatdown, you either find salvation or a siren.

    Warmerama

    Location: Stony Point Parking Lot

    We got the blood flowing with a quick-progression warm-up:

    • Side Straddle Hops
    • WWII Sit-ups
    • Ukrainian Soldiers
    • Arm Circles
    • Raise the Roofs

    The Thang

    Stop 1: Stony Point — Four Corners

    We hit the corners for a classic circuit:

    • Corner 1: Merkins
    • Corner 2: Lt. Dan’s
    • Corner 3: LBCs
    • Corner 4: Side Straddle Hops

    Stop 2: Bon Air Baptist Church — Dora

    Partnered up to grind through the reps while the partner ran:

    • 100 Merkins
    • 200 Squats
    • 300 Freddie Mercurys

    Stop 3: Wells Fargo Bank — Parking Lot Pain

    • Cocaine Bears: Bear crawls across 12 parking spaces.
    • Squat Escalator: Worked our way through a painful progression before heading back on the run toward the flag.

    COT / Devotional

    Mumblechatter & Reflection

    During the beatdown, chatter turned toward the movie The Odyssey and how its timeless themes strike a surprising parallel with Hebrews 13.

    ‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ‘

    Hebrews 13:2-5
    https://www.bible.com/bible/111/HEB.13.2-5.NIV

    We reflected on the virtue of hospitality—how ancient Greek culture (and Zeus’s laws of xenia) stressed the importance of entertaining strangers and keeping the marital bed pure, ideas echoed directly in scripture. We talked about the call in Hebrews to commiserate with those in captivity as if we were alongside them, cultivating true empathy and open doors for those around us.

    Prayers & Intentions

    • Trojan’s Dad: Prayers for continued healing and full recovery following his recent heart attack.
    • Tin-Man’s Son (Brandon): Prayers for wisdom and guidance as he considers joining his dad at the roofing company.

    Solid work by all five men today. If Wells Fargo didn’t appreciate us doing Cocaine Bears in their lot, no worries—they’re closing down anyway!

  • Where’s Attila?

    A bunch of us showed up expecting Attila to jump in at the last minute and take the Q since no one had signed up. Did he ask us for permission to be out of town? Apparently not. However, fortunately, Fudd came early and agreed to start off the ‘hot tater’.

    I agreed to write it up so the following is approximately correct.

    Standard disclaimer (slightly mangled). Fortunately, no one got hurt. Followed by

    • SSHs
    • Ukrainian Soldiers
    • Merkins
    • IWs
    • Right Foot/Right hand; Left Foot/Left hand

    Hand off to Lighthouse

    • 4 corners in the parking lot;10, 15, 20 and 25 KB curls; Lunges on two sides and Waiter’s carry on the other side
    • Repeat with Lawnmowers; 10, 15, 20 and 25 Lawnmowers (split between each arm, e.g. 5 left and 5 right)
    • I think we ran around the Circus Maximus next

    Hand off to White Deer

    • Sit and Press
    • Overhead pull
    • Bench Press
    • Combination overhead pull and Sit and Press
    • Reverse Crunch (Hold the bell and pull your straight legs from horizontal to vertical

    Hand off to Pinto

    • Triple check; timer does waiter’s carry to the propane tank while the other two partners do step-ups and lawnmowers

    Hand off to Chicharon

    • Repeat triple check with curls and bench press.

    Back to the flag for a stretch and time’s up!

    COT

    • Prayers for Charlotte’s family after her recent death.
    • Prayers for Gypsy for his recovery
    • Prayers for Chicharon’s father-in-law who has heart issues

  • Running Back the Classics

    It was a classic group for a classic RAMM route. Felt like YHC was back in 2018 for a brief minute when big blue and all the usual suspects rolled into RAMM. Since there were so many out that Friday morning it took YHC a full week to tally up all the names 🙂

    The route was the original, head out down Groveeeeee, but with a twist – go out in 23 minutes and come back in 22 minutes. That’s a negative split if you are keeping track. So however you want to do it, you cand sandbag the first half and run your regular pace back, or you can run regular pace out then drop the hammer and race back.

    Everyone shows up at the same time, in theory.

    Announcements:

    Good luck to all the folks for the Homegrown Half on August 1st

    Praises:

    Great to hear that Splinter’s mom is making a great recovery from her hand injury

    Great to hear about Gumbo’s daughter powering through and feeling good on her recent family trip.

    Prayers:

    For Circle K’s Wife’s Uncle

  • Just along for the ride

    5 Twin Team regulars enjoyed the ideal conditions for an open Q at the Lounge. All arrived in their fashionable best, one topless. Here is how things occurred.

    OC got things started with an epic warmarama. Intense exercises were only matched by tales of vacation topics. 4 corners of various routines were then called.

    Rosie took over the Q with an emphasis on upper body.

    Rodeo Clown put in the cardio with track work.

    YHC finished off with a 4 corner repeat followed by a wosey to inspect Rodeo Clowns ride.

    Numbers, Names, Prayers and Announcements. Coffee was served and comradery followed.

    Homegrown Half Marathon tomorrow at Robious Landing 6 am start. See slack for other events.

    NMS: Good times were enjoyed by all. Highlight was Rodeo Clowns 64 1/2 restored Mustang. Nice looking whip. Well done today fellas.

  • Missing person Report

    As the time clicked forward to the bottom of the hour, our Q was missing? God knows he has fartsacked before, but this was different. Without crabgrass, YHC grabbed the reigns. According to Marmaduke who drove past us during warm up, here is what transpired.

    Mosey down the hill and back. 20 each SSH, LBC; Willy Mays Hayes, 10 Each, Jim Duggan’s,  Jazzercise, Helicopters, Imperials Walkers, , Copper head squat, Cherry pickers, Merkins, Dollies, Flutters.

    COP 1- 4 corners (The BIG 4 corners). 25 Merkins, 50 WWII’s, 75 Squats, 100 Dollies.

    COP 2 -6 corners adding 2 stops on long straight-away. Exercises were multiple of 10.

    Various runs, then mosey BTTF. Ring of fire. Time was called.

    YHC took us out in prayer. Prayers to Taziki’s father!

    Announcements- Homegrown half and see slack.

  • Counting Knuckles

    6 runners, 2 walkers, and a flurry of cyclists met up early this morning for some cardio. Running routes below. Various suggestions were made for how the Q can better remember the number of days in each month. Stories of heartbreak and triumph were shared over post COT coffee. SYITG!

    All runners run east on Groooooove, take a left on North Shepherd right before the VMFA. Turn right into the VMFA grounds and run through the VMFA campus, across Boulevard and continue running East on Stuart Ave.

    4 milers: from Stuart Ave, take a left on North Stafford, then a left on Park Ave. Stay on Park all the way to Thompson. Take a Left on Thompson, right on Patterson. Cross 195 then take a left on North Hamilton. Right on Grove, back to the start.

    5 milers: from Stuart Ave, run to Meadow Park (a public park). Once you pass the little park take a sharp left onto Park Ave. Stay on Park all the way to Thompson, take a Left on Thompson, right on Patterson. Cross 195 and stay on Patterson. Take a left on Westmoreland to Grove, back to the start.

    6 milers: same as 5 milers, except keep going on Patterson and take a left on Lexington into Stonewall Court. Then take a left on Grove and back to the start.

  • I never had a lentil on my face…

    Some in attendance still appeared to be chewing on remnants of last weekend’s sand-infused beatdown and were understandably reluctant to sign up for another ByProduct birthday Q. Nevertheless, four brave stallions, displaying either admirable courage or questionable judgment, arrived to see whether BP had any creativity left in the tank for 2026.

    After the mandatory disclaimers, legal notifications, and other corporate governance requirements, we got warmed up:

    • SSH x 57 IC (one rep for every year BP claims not to feel)
    • DQ x 15 IC
    • Arm Circles (front, back, small, large) x 15 IC
    • APDs x 15 IC (for Gomer, because traditions matter)
    • Merkins x 15

    We then moseyed to the tunnel and bear crawled through to the other side. A lifetime achievement award and immediate exemption from the remainder of the workout were offered to anyone who could catch Tater.

    As expected, Tater remained several tax brackets ahead of the field.

    Next, we made our way to the overflow seating area by the tennis courts and each selected a lane. At every retaining wall, we completed five double-count step-ups, gradually accumulating enough reps to qualify as a lower-body investment portfolio.

    The stops included:

    • 1st landing: 15 LBCs
    • 2nd landing: 15 Squats
    • 3rd landing: 10 Merkins
    • 4th landing: 15 Crunchy Frogs

    After working our way through the circuit, we returned to the tunnel and bear crawled through once again because apparently one bear crawl wasn’t sufficiently character-building.

    Tater remained uncaught and largely unbothered by the pursuit.

    From there, we headed to the octagon bench area for a Jack Webb featuring Dips and Air Presses. Participants were reminded that there is no upper limit to air presses, only varying degrees of regret.

    Next stop was the waterfront for a Triple Check:

    • Runner: Up the hill and back, including at least one Burpee at the top
    • Station 1: Freddie Mercuries
    • Station 2: Derkins on the boat ramp

    While enjoying the scenic views and elevated heart rates, ByProduct remembered a joke recently shared by SAAB concerning the difference between a chickpea and a lentil. Ever the seasoned entertainer, BP waited until all participants were lying flat on their backs and an attractive jogger happened to pass by before unveiling the punchline.

    Coincidentally, this timing also prevented anyone from escaping.

    We then ran back up the hill for two rounds of PLTs (20-count), because nothing says “recovery” quite like additional abdominal suffering.

    Returning to the invisible flag, we received an educational seminar on T-Burpees.

    Special thanks to Whitesnake for the demonstration. His performance was equal parts inspirational and cautionary tale. After careful review, the group agreed that traditional Burpees remain more than adequate for our fitness needs and emotional well-being.

    To finish:

    • 5 Burpees
    • 7 Burpees

    Because ending on an even number would have demonstrated weakness.

    Numberama

    Namerama

    Prayers

    Whitesnake took us out. Thanks for letting me lead. As always, it was an honor to guide four men through a carefully curated series of poor life choices before 7 a.m.

  • Penultimate Football

    As the morning sun fades away each week, the PAX vocabulary begins to increase and we say things like penultimate and connoisseur. By the exercise of our conjoined faculties, we did devise and promulgate certain rules, which are hereby elevated and enshrined as binding law, of formidable force and effect, henceforth and in perpetuity.

    Said rules:
    Tightened up the field based on 8 players.
    Wide end zones
    Touchback and kick off markers (10 paces from endzone)
    Established a permanent FG kick attempt area
    Interception runner rule
    QB lateral and reversal movements
    10 Mississippi

    Using skills-based matchmaking, YHC put everyone in pairs and had Pad Thai and Festivus flip for first pick, then went through each pairing and selected them for each team. Teams felt balanced, may do this again.

    Team 1 – Festivus, Rudy, Matlock, Squash

    Team 2 – Crabby, Pad Thai, Hei Hei, Cookie

    Sluggish start as we found our sea legs and got used to the wet ball. Despite the larger end zone, Festivus still managed to go outside the end line, and T2 held a 1-0 lead. T1 tied it up, then T2 scored back to back to go up 3-1, but quickly relinquished the lead to a 3-3 tie.

    T1 then began to build some cushion, I believe being up 6-4. T2 tried to take advantage a poor kick off and declared a kick. Cookie stepped up to the plate and hit a boomer, but just like a Jake Elliott extra point attempt, it missed just right. T2 did rally and come back to tie the game. No time left on the clock, next team wins.

    T2 eventually pushed towards the goal line, with the ball in Cookie’s hands at the 2 yard line – one play to win it all. Like a classic 90’s movie, time slowed down, the roar of the crowd was drawn out, defense was smothering and had us on lock down and was aggressively counting Mississippi’s. None of that fazed Cookster, standing tall and poised, he kept his eyes locked and his arm loaded, waiting for the defenders to slip up. Crabby made a break to the back corner and just like Kelce and Mahomes, the connection was automatic and Cookie hit Kelce…err..Crabby in stride, who dunked the ball on the goal post in celebration.

    7-6, but we were all winners today, great game and everyone was making plays all over the field today.