Category: Richmond, VA

  • Somebody nose

    I need to write a backblast for yesterday’s workout.

    At 5:30, somebody nose what we are going to do today. It turned out to be YHC. We decided to follow our knows to the Dave & Buster parking deck for stairclimbing. I sniffed out a shorter distance so that I would get there about the same time as Lighthouse, Pinto and Whitesnake. Actually, I got there slightly before they did and kept running in their direction. Right at the corner of the parking deck, we bumped noses. I no, running that close to the corner was poor judgement on my part.

    The gameplan; start at the bottom of one stairwell, run to the top level, run across the top level over to the other stairwell, run to the bottom, turn around and run back to the top level, return across the top level to the first stairwell, run to the bottom and do 20 merkins. Now that everyone nose what to do, we repeated this evolution. I did 6 times and the others did 1 more than I did. I think I did 6 times, but nobody nose for sure.

    From here, Whitesnake and I followed our knows back to Pocahontas parking lot the most direct way. Pinto and Lighthouse no a longer way and so met us about 1 minute after we got back.

    Nosearama

    Namearama

    Announcements:

    2nd F at noon on the 2nd Tuesday at Firehouse Subs in Innsbrook (January 9).

    If you are wearing gloves and want to unlock your phone, there is a way to do so without taking off your gloves. Use your nose.

    Takeout: Life doesn’t allow us to go back and fix what we have done wrong in the past, but it does allow us to liver each day better than our last.

  • Habits, Not Resolutions

    9 Friends of the Gloom converged at Mary for the 11th day of Christmas. No pipers piping were in sight. Instead, here’s what happened:

    COP on the blacktop. Stretching stuff

    Ye Old 100: perform a set of exercises, then run the 1/4 track.

    • 100 SSHs, run a lap
    • 90 2x Flutter Kicks, run a lap
    • 80 Squats, run a lap
    • 70 LBS. Run a lap
    • 60 2x Mtn Climbers, run a lap.
    • 50 WW2s, run a lap.
    • 40 Merkins, run a lap.
    • 30 2x American Hammers, run a lap.
    • 20 Jump Squats, NOJ style. run a lap.
    • 10 Burpees. run a lap.

    Upchuck was penalized 3 additional burpees for starting before the Q said go.

    Back to the flag: 3 additional burpees. Namerama, Numberama, YHC took us out.

    NMS: Great to welcome Silver Centrum from Roanoke today. Hope to see you more often now that you are up here for work. Great mumblechatter despite the running, including the usage of the phrase “scrotum juice.” Ask Upchuck for context.

    Lots of people make resolutions, but they really translate into change. Real personal change comes through tiny habits, the daily committment to life-giving routines that end up in change for the long haul. As Neitzsche wrote, it’s “The Long Obedience in the Same Direction” that counts. This is what F3 is about.

    SYITG.

  • I’m a Man, My KB is 40

    A glorious gloom awaited a fantastic four.  Armed with KBs, here is how it went down:

    • COP
      • SSH
      • IW
      • DQ
      • Helicopters
      • Arm circles
      • Jazzercize
      • HRM
      • LBC
      • APD
    • KB 12 days of Christmas, just a little late since Festivus took precedent
      • 12 – 144 lawnmower pulls each arm
      • 11 – 121 overhead pulls
      • 10 – 100 sit ‘n presses
      • 9 – 81 sumo squats
      • 8 – 64 KB curls
      • 7 – 49 swings
      • 6 – 64 KB lunges
      • 5 – 25 golden burpees
      • 4 – 16 high pulls
      • 3 – 9 tricep presses
      • 2 – 4 overhead presses
      • 1 – 1 lap
    • COT with YHC taking us out

    YHC did not get a chance to do the 12 days of Christmas KB edition, so since we are still in the 12-day window, here you go.  Also, YHC felt like this was an ideal workout to move up to his 40 lb KB.  “I’m a man.  My KB is 40!”  It was a Mike Gundy special!

    Great work by the PAX.  Good to be with my brothers!

    God is good all of the time!

    Attila

  • First Forge of 24

    The fiery Forge welcomed 8 blades ready for hammering, including 7 SOJ regulars and 1 WestHo escapee. It seems a hostage exchange with FW may be in order to get NTB back to home turf… JK, we’ll keep Lockjaw and ya’ll can have that bum NTB. Here’s how these 8 HIM’s got after it:

    The THANG: 

    LOVE HILL WARMERAMA: 

    • Mosey to the bottom of Love Hill and circle up
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • Variable IC Reps with a run up and down the hill between sets

    COP #1: 

    • BATTAN DEATH MARCH 
    • Line up at bottom of handicap ramp, Lunge walk length of ramp with last man doing x5 Burpees then running to front

    COP #2:

    • BAR BUDDY
    • Partner up and complete x3 Rounds of:
    • x10 Jerkins each
    • x10 Cliffhanger Mericans
    • x10 Dips

    COP #3:

    • Mosey up to the school awning
    • SIX MINUTES OF MARY
    • Circle up for IC Core reps

    COP #4:

    • Mosey around to the Amphitheater
    • BOX JUMP LINDSEY
    • Mericans on the bottom 30-25-20-15-10
    • Groiners at the top 10-15-20-25-30
    • Box Jump steps between

    COP #5:

    • ECHO CHAMBER
    • People’s Chair
    • Hoedowns IC
    • BTTW, Hip Slappers IC if you’ve got it
    • Milkers IC

    Mosey BTTF for COT:

    • Counterama # 8
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • DEALER took the PAX out in Prayer

    NMS:  Balmy with a light breeze the hardened Forge PAX crushed this workout with ease. Lockjaw crossed the river headlocking ruckers like no other. Dealer’s moving like the devil, maybe dry January will set him at another level. Missed some regulars – Last Call, Snuff, NTB, Thugs – will have to check in with those bums. Coming up (April 4th) on The Forge 5 year anniversary, YHC couldn’t be more proud of what this AO’s come to be. That’s a wrap on this rap, SYITG, boom! ~YHC, DTH

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

    • 8pm TONIGHT, 2nd F at Stumpy’s Hatchet House in Stony Point FP 
    • Sign up for GROWRUCK! https://growruck.com/event/gte-47/
    • Sat 6-7am Ruck at Rockwood before R&R
    • Sun 7-8am Ruck at Forrest Hill Park, Coffee at Crossroads afterwards
    • DRY JANUARY – please join us to give up alcohol for the month of January – give your system a healthy reset for 2024, and seek God’s guidance for the new year

    Prayer Requests:

    • Machismo’s M getting surgery today
    • Singer’s Finger healing

  • Cold Steel

    3 men posted on a cold January morning to throw for KBs around.

    COP – bunch of stuff

    Thang

    Triple check – P1 squats, P2 curls, P3 lap around parking lot

    Parking lot circuit – Stop at each light pole for 20x of an exercise, around the world in between: halos, lunges, sit-up presses, ssh, demon crushers, kb swings, flutter kicks w/ presses, mountain climbers

    11s – calf raises, deadlifts

    Names, numbers, Corned Beef took us out.

  • Miles of Merkins

    4 men braved the cold weather and go after it in the gloom this morning at SOT bootcamp. Here’s what went down:

    Mosey to Track

    Warm up — @ Track

    • Circle up
      • Side Straddle hop — 20x
      • Dead man hang. C, L, R 
      • Copperhead Squats — 20x
      • On your six,
        • LBCs — 20x
        • Heels to Heaven — 20x
        • Alabama Prom Date — 20x

    Thing 1 — Mile of Merkins @ Track

    • Group Run
    • 1 lap — 15 hand release merkins 
    • 2 lap — 15 hand release merkins
    • 3 lap — 15 hand release merkins
    • 4 lap — 15 hand release merkins

    Plank for the 6, mosey to base of hill by buses

    Thing 2 — DORA @ Base of Uphill

    • Runner up the hill and back 
    • 100 — WWII
    • 200 — Mountain Climbers
    • 300 — LBCs

    Mosey to Football Field

    Thing 3 — Sprint/Suicides @ Football Field 

    • 25 yards — Bernie back
    • 50 yards — Bernie back
    • 75 yards — Bernie back
    • 100 yards — Bernie back 

    Mosey back to school

    Ring of Fire: PAX Choice of Merkin

    • Hand Clap
    • Wide Grip
    • Triangle

    Plank, hold regular, left hand/right hand high, drop to lowest point possible and hold. Recover

    Thing 4 — School Doors

    • Ran length of school stopping at random doors and PAX calling various exercises, set of 5 each time 

    Mosey to Flag

    Thing 5 — Stretching

    • Closing stretches
      • L/R knee to chest 
      • L/R leg over body
      • Dead Man Hang

    COT — @ Flag

    • Numbers & Names
    • Announcements
      • Grow Rick, sign up!
      • Blue Ridge Half Marathon at the end of April. Small group of F3 committed, DM Yeehaw if you’re interested. 
    • Prayer requests
      • Prayers for Wildcat’s sons procedure and upcoming Wildcat scan. 
    • Bring it in


  • Moon a Ring

    10 studs set forth earlier than you to scout the contours of sleepy Westham. Conditions remained sunny and 70. According to the Ring doorbell footage from Lockjaw’s house, the following might have happened:

    Mosey east on River, then north on Ridge, then into the parking lot, then out of the parking lot, and then back into the parking lot before circling up in the rear parking lot.

    COP:

    Scorpion kicks
    Reverse snow angels
    Hand release merkins
    WWIIs
    Flutter kicks
    SSHs
    Some other stuff

    Mosey to Pinetree for Touch-a-(Not Tree)

    Round 1: Eastbound, Touch a Car
    1st partner touches one car. Second partner, burpees. Flapjack.
    1st partner touches two cars. Second partner, merkins. Flapjack.
    1st partner touches three cars. Second partner, Virginia dry docks. Flapjack.

    Mosey to the other end of Pinetree.

    Round 2: Westbound, Touch a Recycling Can

    1st partner touches one can. Second partner, WWIIs. Flapjack.
    1st partner touches two cans. Second partner, snow angels. Flapjack.
    1st partner touches three cans. Second partner, hello dollies. Flapjack.

    Traveling COP, Past the Sell-By-Date. Westham, Lakewood, Hillsdale, Westham, and River.

    Houses with a coach light on: 3 merkins
    Houses with Christmas lights (still) on: 3 burpees
    Houses with sleeping PAX members: 10-15 SSHs, in cadence. Good morning to the Puckers and the Lockjaws

    Circle up, quick round of flutter kicks.

    Numbers, Names, and Kubota took us out.

    Announcements:

    Ruck-tastic training has started. Add to your holiday 15 with a backpack 30. Walk-a-thon with your mates. Sign up information all over Slack.

    BRR…never too early to create a personal a challenge for 2024.

    HoneyDo Challenge underway. Current stats posted on Big Data. HoneyDo in first; lots of guys tied for second. Handshake in last.

  • Naked knees and elbows

    It was a blistering 26 and dark, but that didn’t stop Rosie from his uncovered knees and elbows uniform. 

    With no one on the Q sheet and all route creativity left in 2023, we kicked off the MOT new year with an out and back on Coalfield. The pack broke into groups and got 4.5, 5, and Doozy distances. 

    Bullseye also ran but we have no idea where. 

    We all made it back in time to COT with SOT and we’re all better for it.

    Announcements – Sign up for GrowRuck or The Blue Ridge Half, or both. Prayers for WildThing and his family.

  • My Shoulders are TOAST

    9 Inglorious SOJ Repeat offenders join YHC in the Gloom for, take one of three, from my final week as an RVA native. There was immediate mumblechatter regarding my legendary “bell”. No surprise or concern as jealousy tends come out in these forms. The mighty bell and rock jams had to wait just a few minutes before they got things underway as we kicked things off with a lap around the school to warm us up a bit.

    Warmarama –

    Lap around Old Hundred, SSHs, DQs, Jazzercise for Nancy, Imp Walkers, Dead man hang C/L/R, Merkins, LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Windshield Wipers, Scorpion Kicks. I tried to keep a good cadence, but the Rock tunes were hitting so hard and so loud I couldn’t even here myself counting. Hope everyone kept up.

    COP1 –

    A lap around the speedway. Farmers carry with right arm to turn one. 10 KB Jump Squats. Farmers Carry with the left arm to turn two. 10 KB Jump Squats, 20 Thrusters. Alleluia carry down the straight away (Follow that Glorious Bell the Pax all screamed, and that they did to turn three. 10 KB jump squats, 20 thrusters, 30 overhead press. Farmers carry back to right to turn four. 10 KB jump squats, 20 thrusters, 30 overhead press, 40 around the world. Alleluia carry to the finish line, and FIVE burpees. At this point the mumblechatter turned from the love language regarding my KB to the pain in our shoulders. We just started fellas, let’s get it!!!

    COP2 –

    Triple Check. P1 runs to the donation box as timer. P2 KB American Hammers, P3 does KB overhead extension to crunch

    COP3 –

    Another lap around the speedway. Same principle as above 10/20/30/40 compounding with different exercises. This time it was 10 high KB swings, 20 sumo squats, 30 tea cups, 40 bent over rows. 5 burpees at the line.

    COP4 –

    Triple check. Same box for runner, but a new exercise I have donned as the VAJ-A-BOND. P2 and P3 doing the same exercise, but different sides. Principle is that Pax lays on the ground and bends one leg, other leg straight. With back flat on the ground, hold KB straight arm above your head. Raise head until sitting up, then thrust through the bent leg keeping alternate leg straight and blast those Vajabonds to the sky like a one legged prom date. Do one side, do the other at switch. This one burns so good and now I am forever with you guys. Use at your own risk.

     

    Numberama/Namerama/Accouncements/COT–

    Grow Ruck training underway, go get some! A brief thank you to all that came and those that didn’t. I appreciate you fellas more than you know and you all have changed me in a way that I not only needed, but made me so much better. It was also great to see House Party out with us this morning. I joke about my glorious KB, but this guy was man handling an absolute boulder. Strong work brother! McGruff took us out and everyone signed the legendary kettlebell as a going away surprise. Come join YHC at Timberwolf and Satan’s Hill this week before I bid you all farewell. Thank you all fellas and let’s make this week great!

    Iron sharpens Iron

    -Vagabond

     

  • True North

    Twelve stallions of the new year started their running resolutions on the right foot. After Fudd recalibrated his internal compass based on the local beer shop as a reference point, off we went.

    Along the lake, across the parking lot and up Boatwright. Take Edgehill to Three Chopt and continue North. A left on Horsepen and a right on Normandy put us in new territory to be boldly explored.

    Upon Normandy’s intersection with Patterson, cross and veer right onto Sweetbriar. 4s take a left on Woodberry to Horsepen and through the fraternity gate to return to the lake.

    5s and 6s continue down Sweetbriar to Rock Creek, a left on Baldwin and a right on Westham Pkwy. 5s turn on Lakewood and 6s on club Vista both leveraging College to return to the baseball field entrance. A quick route around the lake and the course was covered.

    Announcements:

    • Sign up for GrowRuck. Do it. It’s going to be transformational!
    • If you want to borrow rucking gear, see Rosie by COB Tuesday before he places the order.
    • Happy Hour on Thursday – See Slack.
    • HDHH on 1/17 – More info to come.

    Fudd took us out.