Category: Richmond, VA

  • Every Day Pain

    The pre-dawn gloom of Forrest Hill Park welcomed 11 GrowRuck warriors to an epic beatdown. With only 47 days left to train for GTE #47, today’s challenge was a taste of the real deal, but only 1/6th the duration. Here’s how these HIM’s turned green to celebrate the holiday and conquer the flesh:

    ROSIE’s “WARM-UP”: 

    • Warm up on the tennis court – SSH, Ukrainian Soldiers, Helicopter, Imperial Walkers.
    • PT test prep with 30 HRM and 35 WWII’s.
    • Over to the hill for 11’s – Squats at the top, Mtn Climbers at the bottom. 
    • Finish at the bottom and bear crawl up half the hill and lunge the rest. 
    • Circle up for some weighted OH press, cleans and squats.

    THE RUCK LOOPS:

    • DTH directs the PAX to the coupon trailer to collect x3 Logs (8’ segments of telephone pole), and x3 Sandbags (weights of 25#, 50#, 60#)
    • PAX rotate Implements of Woe as needed
    • Ruck down the paved path alongside Forrest Hill Ave
    • Once pond is reached, PAX un-shoulder burdens and Speed Ruck Loop #1
    • Plank it up – Mission Challenge, x5 Merkins awarded each time a PAX member messes up stating the F3 mission …20 merkins completed
    • Loop #2 carrying the logs&bags
    • Plank it up, merkins awarded for messing up the Credo …15 merkins completed
    • Loop #3 another speed ruck
    • Plank it up, merkins awarded for messing up the 5 Core Principles…5 merkins
    • Final Loop #4 carrying logs/bags, stop at the long paved road up to the parking lot
    • Plank it up, hold plank while all together reciting the F3 Mission, Credo, and 5 Core Principles 
    • Re-shoulder Implements of Woe and Ruck them aaaaaalllllll the way up the hill and back to the trailer. 

    GRAND FINALE:

    • Each PAX collect a cinderblock from the coupon trailer
    • Circle up near the stone House to complete IC reps of Overhead Presses, Straight arm lifts, Pulls, Skull Crushers
    • TUG OF WAR – split pax 5v6 with House Party and Mudslide as anchors on each end. HP’s team of six easily yanked the other team over the line. x10 Burpees for the losers while the winners do Squats.
    • Round 2, the extra man goes to Mudslide’s team… but then the House Party team of 5 still yank us over the line easily… HMMM. Burpees again (vomit a little in mouth)…
    • Round 3, Dealer is called to join the losing side. House Party doesn’t look worried as his team of 4 takes on 7. Finally, Mudslide’s team gains a win. Everyone does 5 burpees.
    • Pick up the cindies and ruck across the field to the far hill – MURDER BUNNIES to the top of the hill. 
    • Carrying cindies overhead, run back down the hill and up the other side, then return cindies back to the coupon trailer.
    • Mosey BTTF for COT

    COT:

    • Counterama # 11
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Below)
    • BIODOME took the PAX out in Prayer

    NMS:  Well, that was hard – like, harder than The Hardest Mile level of hard. Definitely wouldn’t have done it without you HIM’s, and only bummed we didn’t get the whole lot of the GTE-Registered PAX out there to experience it. Good number of guys out of town or sick/recuperating, but we’ll do this again in a couple weeks. SUPER stoked to have SABLE’s HC on Registering today, and BIODOME is a SC that’s steadily getting hard. Proud of you men! SYITG, DTH

    “Do something every day that you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.” Mark Twain

    Announcements (SEE SLACK!)

  • We don’t giggle

    Eight men emerged from the gloom converging at the appointed place and time to have their limits pushed and see what the QIC had in store for them on this beautiful spring morning. According to the runners surprised to find the creatures moving on Love Hill were not deer, this is how it what took place.

    Mosey to the Nickel Bridge toll booth parking lot for COP: SSH, Helicopters, DQ, IW, DMH, Copperhead Squats, Merkins, LBC’s, APD’s

    From the toll both, cross the Nickel Bridge alternating 5 merkins and 5 WWII’s at each lamp post. Return doing 2 burpees at each light post. Convene at the toll booth and proceed as a group to the base of Love Hill.

    On Love Hill, pair up and cycle through bear crawls, lunges, and broad jump burpees while the timer runs to the curve at the garden and back. Runner turns when they meet the runner ahead of them. At this point in the workout the ninth member of the PAX joined us claiming to have found us by identifying giggling in the dark. The PAX doesn’t giggle. We chuckle. We guffaw. We have been known to split a side, but we don’t giggle. He must of have been mistaken.

    Slow mosey to the amphitheater – 5 incline merkins on each step to the top, 5 dips on each back to the bottom to pickup Hitchhiker’s top layer which he discarded on the lower step.

    Return to the flag for Mary: AH’s, Freddie’s, APD’s, 4 minutes of savasana.

    Numbers and Names.

    Announcements: Training for grow ruck continues and a reminder to look for opportunities to support Breaking Bread.

    YHC took us out and we convened for 2nd F at Libbie Market. It was great to see Swirly at Dogpile and in some backblasts this week. Congrats on 1 Year, Senor Frog. Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Fast-N-Hard

    Nine speed-ruck studs looped Rockwood a few times this morning, stopping a couple times for variable squats, and also completed 50 yards of Polar Bears up a hill. GTE training continues – some will be ready when the day comes. Keep posting fellas! 💪🫵🔥~DTH

  • Pre St. Patrick’s Day F3 (and a Pop Quiz)

    Beautiful day for 10 of us at Grid Iron. After a warm up, we went to the Grid Iron for:

    Arms/Chest: Merkin-Beast for 216 (Merkins, Diamonds Chuck Norris, Staggered Armed, Wide Grip, and Carolina)

    Legs: Elven’s with 2count step ups and Squats

    Abs: 200 abs broken down with 8 reps of 25 of WW I’s, WW II’s, Flutters, Heals to Heaven, Side Crunch L and R, Crunchy Frogs, and Knee ups

    Arms: 100 Dips broken down in 4 reps of 25

    Cardio: 10 minutes of Burpees was called, but after round 5 the St. Patrick’s Day Quiz was “While St. Patrick tried to convert the Irish to Christianity, what did he call the three leaves of the shamrock?” If anybody got it correct, we’d stop the 10 minutes of Burpees and end on 5 rounds. Congrats to Seymour who knew that it was “Faith, Hope, and Love”…and saved the day. (4th leaf is Luck if anybody wanted to know).

  • Crazy M’fers out there training

    After the ruck this morning, I did not have much time for the transition to the workout. Luckily my warped mind had things where I was able to go from one to another. 15 of us asked “Mudslide, what do you have for us today”? Let’s find out….

    Started out with the warm up(SSH, Arm Circles, Don Quixotes, Copperhead Squats, Merkins, LBCs, Freddie Mercury) a little lower body stretch then time to take off. I brought a couple of sandbags with us knowing that I will probably use them later.

    First stop: mini Dora(25/side reverse crunches, 50 jump squats, 75/side flutters). The thing you want to see if you can hold your arms in an L shape while doing them, core is in good shape

    Next up: triple check(spot where Posh did not know it was there): Step ups, tricep dips and a run down the steps or side hill, to the big tree and back up.

    A little run out the pavilion, over to the grass hill for another triple check: bear crawl up, if a sand bag or wood was available pick it up, take it back off not bear crawl back. This I shorted the gear plus three pieces really the one I found was probably the lightest. I will do this again but bring an extra sand bag or a bucket full of tiny rocks for more gear

    Getting near the end, classic Dora(100 Merkins, 200 LBCs, 300 squats). I am sure we made a little impression on the parents and kids that arrived for baseball seeing us going DAMN!!!

    One final thing: a little prison burpee workout start 1 minute 1 burpee/10 SSH. The SSH number stayed the same, burpee reps increase(we got to 5, a final 10 burpee blitz) back to the flag for numbers, names and prayer led by YHC to finish

    2 hour ruck session tomorrow 6-8 steering at the Forest Hill Park stone house. Grow Ruck weekend 5/3-5/5, a big sign at the front of the park the Latin market will start 4/6 so we have a few weeks then we need to park on the other side. One year anniversary the Alamo 3/18. Welcome GoDaddy and Captain Insano to the group came out hung in there for the full 60

    Sorry I can’t get out there much as I used to before. It is a little tough with the schedule plus trying to rest after that get up, train and go back home to sleep more. Some nights it’s insane and I am mentally fried. I still get anywhere from 7 to some nights 10 or a little less miles of movement so do not think I am slacking in anyway. Oh, final thing I did get a new smartwatch(Garmin Instinct 2x Solar). So far with everything very happy the stats and data I get is eyes opening. See you next time out

  • The hottest club in Short Pump is back!

    The hottest club in Short Pump is back!

    Buckle up and put on your avocado toast helmets because I’ve got the hottest insider scoop on the reopening of the 2023 sensation hitting the 2024 nightlife scene: Brunch Club!

    Picture this: a kaleidoscope of mimosa fountains, DJ Bootylicious Bagel spinning beats that make your pancakes flip, and a dance floor where every move is an ode to the sacred art of brunching. It’s like if Coachella and a pancake house had a love child, and that child grew up to be the reigning monarch of morning revelry. This place has everything, brunch-goers in onesies, drag queens in pancake makeup, and even a group of seniors breakdancing like it’s their last hurrah. Need atmosphere? Picture this: a DJ booth made out of smashed avocado and a dance floor that’s funkier than day-old hollandaise sauce. And the crowd? Oh, honey, it’s a mix of brunch aficionados and breakfast rebels, sipping cocktails with names you can’t pronounce and wearing sunglasses indoors like it’s a fashion statement.


    Now, let’s talk about the fabulous trio that’s been causing a stir at Brunch Club. First up, we’ve got Gypsy. Gypsy is like the human embodiment of a sunrise over the city skyline, with a side of extra crispy bacon. His moves on the dance floor are like poetry in motion, effortlessly blending yoga poses with disco fever. Then there’s Whitesnake, who pretends his hair is as wild as his spirit. Picture a cross between a breakdancing unicorn, an a 80s rockstar, and a former child actor who still regrets going to the ALF auditions drunk. And last but certainly not least, we have Lighthouse. Lighthouse is the guiding beacon of the Brunch Club scene, always shining bright with his infectious energy and killer dance moves that could rival the sunrise itself.


    Oh, but wait, the drama at Brunch Club doesn’t stop at the dance floor. No, no, no. Gypsy, the enigmatic trailblazer of the trio, recently led us on a wild adventure that left our brunch boots shaking and our mimosa glasses empty. Yes, Gypsy made us run, and run far beyond the city limits and into the sunrise, chasing some elusive brunch nirvana. But fear not, because out of that epic journey emerged something truly spectacular: the Gypsy Road. Let’s just say it’s like trying to twerk with a stack of pancakes on your head—absurd, absurdly messy, and definitely not FDA-approved. Some call it a cross between the Running Man and a conga line, performed on a floor made of waffles. Not the good kind of waffles, but the ones I like to find in the dumpster behind a Waffle House at 3AM. But hey, that’s the beauty of Brunch Club: where the mimosas flow freely, the bacon sizzles, and the dance moves leave you questioning your life choices and your dignity in equal measure.


    And as the hangovers loom larger than yesterday’s omelette, we bid adieu to another wild morning at Brunch Club. Remember, as you stumble out the door with a belly full of regret and a murse full of leftover bacon, brunch isn’t just a meal—it’s a way of life. So until next time, keep your mimosas bottomless, your pancakes fluffy, and your dance moves questionable.

  • Is Skateboarding the Next Rucking?

    One 2-legged traveler strapped on the blue (not the purple) New Balances for another rendition of The Clinic. Temperatures were 70 and sunny. According to the Brother adding Skateboarding to the F3 repertoire, the following might have happened.

    Hotel, cross Broward, Fudd (office continues to pay off), north to Broward, reverso, and BTTVSF.

    Number, name, and YHC took both he and Omar out (can you just show up for the COT? YHC says no).

    NMS: it’s hard to define the AO for a run, but at The Clinic we take all comers. Homeless men, workmen, HoneyDo, and, now, skateboarders. On the reverse run, there he was flying through the AO, a Garbage Plate-esque man (6’1’-6’3, but that includes the four wheels and the wooden board), moving at high speed. Probably a battery assist. He did a few laps of the parking lot (AO), and then off to the next parking lot before YHC lost sight of him. Does that count as posting? Do we have dueling Clinics? Unfortunately, YHC has a few weeks of alternative travel, so we’ll see if this is a one-off or a trend.

    Note: he did have a backpack, so Ruck-boarding might be a thing.

  • Tesla is Too Complicated

    1 early riser launched hard and fast. Temperatures were actually 70 and sunny. According to the Tesla YHC had rented, the following bodies of mass circled the car.

    Route – wanderlust. 45 minutes. Roam the hotel campus and surrounding neighborhood.

    BTTVSF. Number, name, and YHC took himself out.

    NMS: YHC learned three things:

    1. Renting a Tesla should require a 5 minute lesson on how to operate the car.
    2. Yes, you can lock yourself out of a Tesla.
    3. It takes about 20 seconds to break into a Tesla without damaging it. YHC estimates $8 as the cost of the tools. DM me if you want a lesson.

  • Make it work.

    With the new addition to my family, sometimes you just have to go off the books.

    Three hard chargers gather in the early mornings to get some work in

    The warm up: Mosey to the tennis courts, Slide Straddle Hops, Cherry pickers, Imperial Walker, Arm circles.

    Mosey to the basketball court.

    NASCAR (Indigenous circle run) Round 1 Merkins, WWII, Lunges once all three hard chargers completed a lap, repeat, x4 rounds

    Mosey back to parking lot

    Blue Falcon Merkins, top secret merkin workout. Want in? Stop over.

    10 minutes left, Strong finish

    Triple Check: Heals to Heave, Squat Jumps, Run around the parking lot

    No announcements, No prayer requests.

    It was great to get a chance to Q again at what I consider my home post. Due to work scheduling around my daughter, it isn’t possible for me to workout on Tuesdays. Hope to get a Saturday off one of the weekends, and get some sweat and pain in at Rock n’ Roll, also. Miss you guys.

  • The Three Kettle Bell Amigos

    YHC arrived to find Last Call and Doozy already conversing in the parking lot. We were joined shortly thereafter by Rosie for a literal 70 and not-quite sunny Betty Weaver kettle bell beatdown.

    At 05:30 we launched for a mosey lap around the school but Doozy bolted the opposite direction on a solo mission up Twin Team to put in some fast laps around Salisbury. Alas, the three amigos continued on with kettle bells in tow. Several of the world’s problems were solved, but because our hands were full we weren’t able to write down any of the solutions.

    WARMARAMA: Various OYO stretches in the parking lot. Mosey to the paved courts behind the school for the main event.

    COP: Kettle-Bell-Palooza

    1. Four Rounds of KB carries across the school. Right arm extended, left arm extended, and goblet lunges x2. At each end of the pavement perform 10 merkins, 20 WWIIs, and 30 LBCs before traveling back. Loooots of lunges…woof!
    2. Four Rounds of KB Four Square. The non-KB square was always 20 jump squats and then we came up with various KB movements for each square for each round, including chest press, rows, American hammers, etc.
    3. Triple Check. The timer farmer carries two KBs across the school and back while partner 1 performs KB chest press and partner 2 performs Rosalita dips.

    NUMBERAMA/NAMEARAMA/ANNOUNCEMENTS/PRAYER REQUESTS

    • GROWRUCK #47 – Only 24 RVA PAX have signed up?? I was shocked to learn that today. LETS GO! Your brothers will need you under those logs in the middle of the night.
    • Breaking Bread – Sign-up on the Q sheet with a fellow F3 brother. We also discussed finding more 3rd F opportunities around the city.
    • Prayers for Last Call working on finalizing a stressful deal at work.
    • Prayers would be appreciated for the NTBs as we’ve learned that we are pregnant once again. God is good, but the risks and brokeness of a fallen world cause us to be anxious as we’ve walked through the valleys of loss before and as recently as January of this year.

    NMS: YHC was stoked to see in the backblasts that FNG Justin was welcomed by the Satan’s Hill PAX this morning and named HUD. HUD is currently a client of mine and we had talked F3 on several occasions. Glad to see he was EH’d by the RounTrey/New Market mafia!