Category: Richmond, VA

  • Tour De Twin Team with your Host, Gumbo

    11 intrepid dwellers of the GLOOM, including 1 FNG and 1 Downrange Double RESPECTer posted in the beautiful Gloom of BWES this morning. Even Don Draper and Boberry donned gloves for a bootcamp because YHC promised some miles. As the clock struck 0530, the tour began and off to the namesake we go…

    Mosey across Robious to the base of Twin Team and circle up for the disclaimer and COP, including DQs performed at the impeccable speed.

    We were all limbered up so time to climb – mosey up Twin Team to the top stopping at each drive way (and any offset mailboxes) for 10 merkins each. YHC thought that would lessen the pain of the climb but it only added to it…oh well, what doesn’t kill you…

    Collected the SIX at the top and moseyed down and continued down the pathway to the back entrance to JRHS and over to the “murph” area for a triple check including pull-ups, squats and a choose-your-own-timer of run a lap OR 20 WWIIs. The Tour can’t be late, so an audible was called and the triple check was truncated…

    Mosey down past the SWAMP and stop for a quick couple minutes of rapid fire Mary, then over to the outdoor basketball courts for some Donkey Kicks on the wall.

    BBTVF via the parking lot and across BWES field. 30 seconds left so 2 Burpees to get your money’s worth.

    COT, Numbers, Names and YHC prayed us out.

    NMS:

    Great to have 4 folks who have never been to TT before, including an FNG (Chubbs bro) and a down-ranger from St. Charles Missouri (THE CHUCK). Other than the climb up TT, not a ball-buster today but we kept moving and we got to show off most of the AO. Gumbo will provide another 3.3 mile tour that was planned another time soon.

    Happy Hour SOJ tonight at Diamond Billiards

    SOJ Takeover coming soon to AOs all over

    May 21 is a family BBQ at BWES – see OC for more details

    Summer Tour details and conditions are on Slack – see HoneyDo if you got questions

    A pleasure as always to lead. No More Gumbo For You!

  • Little Horseshoe

    Great morning with a little triple check followed up with some time on the good old Horseshoe track.

    Have great day and strong work.

  • Two Warriors on a 61 Degree Low Humidity Morning

    Two guys posted on a beautiful Friday morning. In my mind, it was the nicest of the year so far.

    Started off with a lap around the parking lot followed by some warmup exercises and stretching.

    Started off with 4 corners of the parking lot (10-20-30-20-10) LBC’s, Monkey Humpers, Merkins and Calf Raises.

    11’s with Bear or Crab Walks between – Heals to Heaven and WWII Situps

    We teamed up for 100 – 200 – 300 of Calf Raises, Helix Squats, LBC’s. One member ran a lap while the other exercised. We only got through calf raises before we were out of time.

    Numberama, Namarama a couple quick words and we were out. Lots of talk about everything in the world. If Bulkhead ever wants to run for office, I’d vote for him.

    Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for posting Bulkhead.

  • Virgin Q at WaThoHuk

    Thanks to the Pax for bearing with me as I tried to Q a running boot camp.

    On our jog to the parking deck, we stopped for some stretching. Then at the parking deck it was increasing 5 Merkins for every level, alternating a mosey or a Bernie Sanders between parking levels. When we go to 30 Merkins it was time to come down, so we did 20 Ab exercises at each of the 6 stops, alternating a mosey or Bernie Sanders between levels.

    Jogged to pavilion for a mini Lindsey of Dips and Derkins. Another jog around the lake with some stretching along the way. Back to school for 20 Pole Smokers, 20 Boxing Cockroaches, and a long Bear Crawl. Ended with 10 Burpees…just because.

    Overall, 3 total miles and a bunch of arms and abs wasn’t too bad.

  • Back in the Day

    It was throwback Thursday at the Forge this morning. 9 of SOJ’s finest joined the festivities. The following is a brief summary for your view pleasure:

    Massacre Start on the knolls – Big Rig Jig up the hills, Lunge Walk Across the tops, Crab Walk down

    To the parking lot for Warm-Up:

    SSH’s, Clapping Ukranian Soldiers, Jazzercise, Mummy Kicks, Apple Bottom Poppers, Hand Release Merkins, LBC’s.

    Through the parking lots: Mario Jumps, Bernie Sanders, Side Shuffles, High Knees.

    Exercise One: Mt. Chaplain
    On the ascent: Parking lot 1 – 2 burpees, 10 Mountain Climbers. Parking Lot 2 – 3 burpees, 10 Mountain Climbers. Follow pattern for all parking lots. On the descent, start with 2 burpees, 10 mountain climbers and work your way up. 2 rounds total.

    Mosey towards the back of the high school stopping for a CHALLENGE: 100 jump squats.

    Exercise Two: Murder Gorilla Zig Zags:
    5 count Bear Crawl, 5 murder gorillas to the side, repeat across the field.

    On the way back to the flag: Tooth Fairies up the double staircase.

    Walking Arm Circles, Walking Lt. Dans, then mosey back to the flag.

    2 minutes of Monkey Humpers to wrap things up.

    Numbers/Names/Announcements/Prayer Requests

    YHC took us out

    Final thoughts: I was celebrating 4 years in F3 RVA today! It’s been an amazing time with many great memories and friendships. Broke out some exercises from the Q’s of Chaplains past. The best “back in the day” reference was definitely hearing about Dealer circa 1999.

  • Chicanery

    Mr. Holland correctly interpreted the strange, short route as a sign of impending chicanery in the form of 400m repeats on Chickahominy Middle School’s cinder track. In my defense, the route was not so subtly entitled, “Clubhouse to track” on the map. With a 1.3 mile warmup/cool down to and from the track, the PAX all completed 4-5 repeats with some additional jogging or walking mixed in. It was especially impressive to watch two respectful members of the running Pax dusting two of in our 30s on the final 400. I appreciate all of you for following me and pushing me through this workout, which I dislike and rarely do on my own. The ruckers rucked their way through Cool Springs West. Numbers, names, discussion of the Memorial Day Convergence, and then Opus took us out.

  • Unit weight

    7 Regulars and 2 of Woodfin’s finest gathered for some KB work. As we waited for the lights to signal 5:30 Offshore was coming in lukewarm at 15 mph (have to obey the speed limit no matter what). At 5:30 we went like this:

    COP: DQs, helicopters, merkins, mountain climbers, LBCs, Mikey Phelps. Mosey to Pump Road side of school.

    Elevens with sit and press and rows. Mosey to main parking lot at MG.

    Lindseys with bench press and bicep curls for the middle-aged girls. The curls get pretty da%n hard. Stay in parking lot.

    Doras with 100 overhead press, 200 squats and 300 2 count flutter kicks. Back to home base.

    1 burpee followed by 2 overhead triceps, followed by 2, 4 and 3,6. Then Attila said “time’s up”.

    It was good to see Handshake and Senor Frog. Handshake was given a light weight that had a slight manhood shape resemblance. Handshake did not partake in using such weight and used a real KB.

    Convergence is scheduled for 5/29 at Tredegar. Be prepared to sweat going up the hills.

    God is good. All of the time. Thanks for letting me lead.

    Fireman Ed

  • Thank You, Big Data.

    10 sleek chargers bounded out of the Fart Sack to the latest edition of First Watch. Conditions held steady at 70 and sunny. According to the sports car driver slinking his car through the Pax, the following might have happened:

    04:28 YHC arrived to secure the AO.

    04:30 Broga start time (Lockjaw had the Q)

    04:55 Broga end time

    05:00 Mosey around the River Road Church, Baptist (RRCB) Auxiliary Parking lot.

    Circle up for the COP.

    100 SSHs (x10 men = 1,000 SSHs)

    Reach for the sky

    Shoulder rolls

    WWIIs

    Plank up, drop to 6 inches, and hoooollllld it.

    Jazzercise

    Imperial walkers

    Scorpion Kicks

    Flutter kicks with hands over head

    Slow mosey, then super, super slow mosey, then “I want to run by myself” slow. Like, so slow, several PAX walked past YHC.

    Stop at Kubota’s truck. Pick a partner. One partner picks up a block.

    05:15 Senor Frog coughs.

    05:16 Senor Frog still coughing.

    Mosey to the end of the parking lot. 5 overhead presses with the block. Partner performs squats. Swap the block. Mosey to the triangle / stop sign. Repeato 5 overhead presses or squats.

    Triangle Loop:

    (Note: YHC called directions for an exercise that made complete sense in YHC’s head. It made less sense to the PAX.)

    Partner 1: Carry the block counter-clockwise around the Triangle. At each corner of the Triangle, do 5 reps with the block.

    Partner 2: Run the Triangle clock-wise. When meeting Partner 1, swap the block, and do 5 reps of the exercise. The block continues going counter-clockwise with 5 reps at each corner of the Triangle.

    Round 1: Overhead presses

    Round 2: bench press

    Modification: During Round 1, it became clear quickly that running on River with the blocks was a poor leadership suggestion. On their own, the PAX modified to run on the grass. Smart PAX. Good suggestion. A smart Q listens to the PAX, discards his ego, learns on his feet, and adapts. (Lesson: learning is critical to leadership.)

    Mosey to Culpeper and Cameron. 

    Hill Work:

    Pax 1: Carry block to top of hill on Culpeper and return to the bottom.

    Pax 2: Bernie Sanders to top of hill on Cameron and return to the bottom.

    Swap and repeato.

    One Fast Guy Runs Alone:

    Split into 3 groups:

    Group 1: one super-fast guy. He runs the neighborhood solo. Thank you, Flo!

    Group 2: people with a block carry it up the hill on Culpeper.

    Group 3: people without a block bear crawl up Culpeper.

    When the runner meets the group, circle up. 

    People with blocks form single-file line. Slow mosey back to Cameron, then up the hill to Ridge. While block group runs single-file, remaining PAX runs in a circle around the PAX, Heartbreak Ridge-style. (Some PAX tried to give up by slowing down, attempting to anticipate the Q calling for a swap. The Q softly whispered, “Don’t give the prick the satisfaction.”)

    At Ridge and Cameron, circle up. YHC joking called for AYG to the traffic light, then backed off. But, the PAX insisted. AYG it is! 

    BTTVSF:

    American hammers
    Hello Dolly
    Rosalitas
    Reverse crunches
    Ball dipper (1, and only 1)

    Announcements: 

    Convergence on Memorial Day at Tredegar. YHC believes 7 a.m., but let’s get the Convergence Q to check on that. 

    Breaking Bread – sign up!

    Summer Tour. Check Slack for the routes / requirements. HoneyDo posted them today. As F3RVA’s resident concert touring expert, Shakedown, once noted, few attend every concert on a tour. “You don’t have to complete the Tour to have been on Tour.” Go out there and hit the road!

    (Suggestion: Before showing up to Q at an AO, take a few minutes to scout the place.)

    NMS:

    And, just like that, Big Data has YHC checked in for 1,000 posts. Boom. Hard to believe YHC has been at this for 7+ years since HoneyDo dragged YHC to WDog, where Bleeder dragged YHC back and forth on the tennis courts. Someone asked today how many total workouts YHC has as Big Data did not start until 2017. YHC guesses somewhere around 1,100. Whatever the number, it’s been fun, and YHC appreciates being a part of this place.

    Many thanks to the men who act as leaders everyday for F3RVA. YHC read the list of names ahead of him on the 1K Club, and it is a Who’s Who of role models. No prima donnas at the top, just men setting a solid example for others to follow, both at workouts and in life. It occurred to YHC that not one of those guys is afraid to listen, take suggestions, explore ideas, and improve. Learning is the essence of being a good leader. Today’s workout had a series of exercises to thank them. Most are a staple of their Q’s or personalities. See if you can figure out who is referenced and where.

    One Big Data Thank You…the 1K Club exists because of one person. Splinter. Without him, there is no 1K Club, and in many ways, there would not be the community that is F3RVA. Thank you, my friend, for putting forward your time and resources to help this group, completely without compensation. Your contribution is very much appreciated. We owe you a debt of gratitude.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Bleeder’s Revenge

    An intrepid six convened for 45MOM. After some COP stretching, we jumped right in.

    OLD 100. Perform a set of exercises, run the track, wait for the six

    • Round 1: 100 Squats. 
    • Round 2: 90 2x Flutter Kicks. 
    • Round 3: 80 2x Mountain Climbers. 
    • Round 4: 70 LBCs. 
    • Round 5: 60 Carolina Drydocks. 
    • Round 6: 50 WW2s. 
    • Round 7: 40 Merkins. 
    • Round 8: 30 Plank Jacks. 
    • Round 9: 20 Jump Squats
    • Round 10: 10 Burpees. Sprint back to the flag.

    Numberama, Namerama, YHC took us out.

    NMS: Is the track at MM really .25 miles as claimed? Lots of mumblechatter and testing of distances to determine the answer. Bleeder saved all his energy for the very last sprint back to the flag- the man’s still got it.

  • Goggins On The Track

    4 track stars met at Midlo Middle knowing something different was in store for the day. According to the teachers snagging their parking spots, this is more or less how it went down.

    Warmup with a mosey lap around the school doing some Carioca, high knees, and butt kickers.

    Mosey down to the track to get the run down on the days plan: as many miles as we can get on the track in the time remaining. With two small caveats…. 1. Each mile is ran faster than the one before it. 2. Complete 25 Merkins every half mile. Tunes were set on some old school Metallica (Ride The Lightening era) for while the merkins are done, and we were off!

    got in about 4.5 miles, 200ish merkins, and pretty close to all negative splits. Awesome work by all PAX today.

    NMM

    Been wanting to break out this workout for a while now. The Wednesday MOT training day was finally the perfect opportunity. Enjoyed the challenge today. Good to catch up with everyone. Reach out to someone. You never know the difference you can make!