Category: Richmond, VA

  • Bald Eagle wearing shades

    Bald Eagle wearing shades

    Five River Rats hit the currents of the James River for a HDHH paddle-extravaganza. After a couple of the boats were weighted down with coolers, the trek began. Upriver to the Bosher Dam, hang out at the island near the dam for a few. Try to figure out how the Willey Bridge was built and whether or not the pilings were leaning to the North. Search around for Gomer’s sunglasses, which were not to be found. Circle the island and head back downriver, while watching an eagle swoop down and grab a meal out of the water. Could it be that the eagle found Gomer’s shades? A couple of the PAX think they saw the eagle wearing them after he started flying back up. We will never know.

    Great evening for a paddle. No one flipped over on this trip. The PAX is getting the hang of it.

    We will be doing this often this summer, stay tuned!

    Kubota

  • Lady Gaga and the Gang

    Nine of RVA’s finest gentlemen converged in the dark lot of Mary for a Thursday morning beatdown. Seeing that YHC drove past the PAX at 5:25 to make a drop off on the blacktop, Pucker asked if there was a “surprise” waiting for later in the workout. Indeed there was…

    COP on the blacktop. Normal COP stuff today

    Chutes and Ladders at the Treeline: Run two trees, Bernie Sanders back one tree, 5 merkins. Then run two more trees, back one tree, 5 more merkins. Rinse and repeat to the last tree.
    Round 2: Same program with WW2s.
    Round 3: Same program with 3 Burpees at each tree

    GAGA BALL: The pax moseyed back to the Gaga Pit, at which point the SURPRISE Q emerged in the person of 10 year old Franny Widmer, aka Lady Gaga, aka Poker face ,aka Gagaball champion of Mary Munford school. Franny instructed the Pax on the rules of Gagaball, although she suspiciously continued to update us on the rules through the play. The pax played several rousing games of Gagaball, the twist being that when eliminated you step out of the pit and perform the exercises directed by the Q. Franny won most of the games but the grown men won a couple too.

    TRIPLE CHECK: P1: Wall sit, P2: American Hammers, P3: run to the benches at the front of the school, 5 dips, run back.

    COP, COT, Numberama, Namerama. YHC took us out

    NMS: Thanks for welcoming the surprise Q today. Last night when talking to Franny about my ideas for the workout this morning, Franny suggested Gagaball , and suggested that she herself could come and teach us how to play. Kudos to the kid who was willing to wake up at 5am on summer vacation and show us the ropes!

  • Breaking in the Turf

    A pair of trios fought through the fartsack to descend onto the humid air encompassing South Richmond. According to the security cameras following our hooligan activities, this is what was rumored to have occurred.

    Short mosey to the front of Huguenot High School for disclaimer and warm ups that included SSH’s, Helicopters, Dead Man Hang, Jazzercise, Suzanne Summers, Hand Release Merkins and possibly others. No Prince so lets continue to mosey..

    Long mosey around the school and thru Snuff Gate, past the tackling rack, oversized tires and onto the plush turf football field. Line up at the goal line, lets get this Beast started..

    Stopping at the 25, 50 and opposite 25 for 6 reps each. 6 rounds total. Exercises included merkins, jump squats, WWII’s, hand release merkins, heels to heaven, and burpees. Quick recovery so lets hit the bleachers.

    Short mosey for a triple check that included dips and elevated merkins. Timer ran up the bleachers around the block house and back down.

    Time running low so make our way back to the flag. On the way back quick stop on the hill, with the freshly cut grass, for some clockwork merkins. Continue on back to the flag.

    1 minute of mary to include arm circles and Michael Phelps to loosen up the shoulders.

    Numbers, Names, Announcements (4th of July Convergence at Batteau (Forest Hill Park) at 7 am. YHC took us out.

    NMS: YHC has been wanting to get back on the football field since we located Snuff Gate. Incorporating the bleachers found significant space at the top for future enjoyment. Beast does not promote significant mumble chatter but the plush turf is always appreciated for a future Hardywood shoeless Q. Way to work those shoulders today boys. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

  • Hoops part 4

    Yes we played hoops, ran 2.3 miles by my garmin, LBCs, SSHs, lunges, squats, and even burpees!

    Have a great 4th gents!

    Duke

  • Preblast – Throwback to Batteau

    Preblast – Throwback to Batteau

    Gents, after asking around it seems many PAX are out of town to celebrate the 4th, but I plan to work out.  Call it a Convergence if you want, OTB, or simply a blast from the past, but 6 years ago our old friend Hardywood dropped a bomb that nearly killed half the PAX in attendance, YHC included.  Let’s do it again.  We’re throwing it back to Batteau.  For those who don’t know, that is a now retired AO at Forest Hill Park.  Meet up spot is the Stone House on 41st Street and Forest Hill Avenue.  We’ll start at 0700 and go for an hour.  I’ll have a cooler with water and some other things after the workout.  There’s a Blanchard’s nearby for coffeteria afterward. https://backblasts.f3rva.org/2016/07/04/batteau-beatdow-july-4th-spectacular/

  • Discs with a coupon

    9 merry Pax including myself descended upon the outskirts of arguably the top university in greater Henrico County to embark on some disc golf with the help of a coupon and some exercise add-ons. According to the nine of us it went like this:

    COP: DQs, CPs, HRMs, FMs, ACs. Mosey with a couple of stops to the disc golf course – half mile trek. 2 carry the coupon while the others run. 25 2 count flutter kicks at the first stop with a switcheroo on the coupon. Then next stop is 25 heels to heaven. Switcheroo number two. Then 30 LBCs and on to hole 18.

    Hole 18 is a straightaway 220 foot uphill hole. 10 merkins per shot. The PAX did a decent job as no one appeared to shoot worse than 4 or 5. The Q had to get help in order to find his disc. Vamos to hole #1. this is a downhill 165 foot throw around a couple of trees. This hole requires 3 burpees per shot. The Q proceeded to throw a little bit to the right but we had a mix or pars, bogeys and perhaps even a birdie. Bear crawl ~100 foot to tee 2. Same process but with 10 jump squats per shot. This hole is a bit harder so mostly bogeys and doubles. Lunge ~150 feet to hole 3. Dogleg left about 200 feet with 10 Carolina Dry Docks per shot. Much to the chagrin of Handshake, we finished after that hole since we were 10 minutes from finish time.

    Mosey back with coupon and mountain climbers and plank jacks. At home base, do a burpee for total combined points on the 4 holes (I had 15). Finish with a long set of American Hammers and then a little DQ for stretching.

    I was impressed with the ease of moving the coupon around. Perhaps I need to add more coupons. The PAX did better overall than December. Prayers for continued recovery for Gypsy, Lab Rat, Pinto and Blue Moon. Do great things men!

    Fireman Ed

  • We Earned that Coffee

    YHC left the jorts on the shelf and headed north to WDog for the first time. 3 proverbial F3 all-stars were waiting and ready to put in some work. Here is a brief summary for your viewing pleasure:

    Mosey to the Carillion field, stopping along the way for 20 pole smokers.

    Warm-Up: Walking Ukranian Soldiers, Walking Arm Circles, Walking Helicopters, Hoppin’ Hillbillies, Butt Kicks, High Knees, Karaoke (x2), Merkins, Alabama Prom Dates.

    Mosey towards Love Hill – on the way, Exercise One: Lt. Dan’s – extended version.

    At bottom of the Hill, Exercise Two: Indigenous People’s style Bear Crawl. Man in back does 10 WWII sit-ups, then runs to the front.

    Back towards the amphitheater, stopping for Exercise Three: Curb plank walk up the hill.

    At the Amphitheater, Exercise Four: OYO – Box jump up, 20 dips at top, run down, 20 hand release Merkins. Repeat until Q calls time.

    Mosey back to the parking lot for Exercise Five: Man Harmers. 10 side straddle hops, forward straddle hop to the road, 20 side straddle hops, forward straddle hop back. Repeat up to 70.

    Striders x 4, then back to the flag.

    Names/Numbers/Announcements

    Oyster took us out.

    Final Thoughts: Not sure if this is a normal thing, but WDog offers some great hospitality. Hitchhiker broke out a propane stove and made us some Korean coffee post-workout. Thoroughly enjoyed getting out here for the first time and having the opportunity to lead. Special shoutout to Shiplap for his gloveless bear crawl. Great work today, fellas!

  • Not in the Face

    A quartet of limber fellows arrived in the early morning hours looking to work out the muscle kinks and aches. Targeted areas included hamstrings, hips, back, quads, some shoulders and neck. The stretchy bands were not a favorite for some of the PAX, while others will be on the hunt for thicker mats to improve comfort. Good times were had by all. Namaste fellas.

  • Easy Like Wednesday Morning

    A faithful few posted to The Source, and it would have been an even split of runners and Tryhard enthusiasts, but Florence (a true Tryhard diehard) made a last minute switch to bootcamp it with the crazies. While the runners spent half the time walking the track, the good Doctor went easy on the faithful few with the following:

    The THANG:

    WARMERAMA:

    • Mosey down to the lower lot and circle up
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom

    COP #1:

    • Mosey over to the field & Circle up
    • Review BLIMPS:  x5 reps each exercise
    • Beast-mode BLIMPS completed across the extremely wet field and back
    • Audibled to the next Beast round on the track
    • Consensus achieved that was quite enough BLIMPS for the morning

    COP #2:

    • Mosey over to the stairs
    • TRIPLE CHECK LOOP:
    • x100 HRM’s
    • x200 Squats
    • x300 LBC’s
    • Runner box jumps up the steps then runs around to the other stairs and back

    COP #3:

    • Couple of sprints up the grass hill
    • Wall work with a couple rounds of Hoedowns IC
    • Plankorama with a few iterations of holding it low

    Mosey BTTF for COT:

    • Counterama # 8
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Comments)
    • DRAPER took the PAX out in Prayer

    NMS:  Always a great time with the SOT brethren, and this morning felt particularly intimate and relaxed with fewer PAX. Prayers for all our brothers downrange with work and vaca’s. Pretty sure OC is hosting a Spirits&Sprints Convergence on the Fourth – you just have to do a shot of bourbon between each 100 meter sprint…. and he’s got some Salisbury cougars lined up to give chase… oof!  SYITG, DTH

  • 2022 WTH Accounting and Economics Conference

    Three esteemed colleagues gathered at the 2022 WTH Accounting and Economics conference to debate the recession, housing market and burpees.

    Required Session 1: Are we in a Recession? We ran West on Three Chopt and determined the answer. It is only available to paying attendees.

    Required Session 2: Icebreaker/Parking lot warm-up. Speakers included Side Straddle Hops, Hillbillies, Imperial Walkers & Ukrainian Soldiers. Ended with everyone’s favorite speaker, 10 burpees OYO.

    Required Session 11’s: Counted the 10 burpees as the beginning and then ran up the lot to meet the engaging presenter, Jump Squats and then back and forth doing 11’s. Pigskin maintained the T-account to keep track of how many were left.

    Break: Run up Westgate behind Panera and then behind Dunkin, up to Broad, down Pump to SPES and down to the football field. Discussions may have included new Rev Rec rules and Deferred Taxes.

    Required Session 4: “How has Accounting and Economics changed since WWII?” To find the answer we ran back and forth behind the goalposts, doing ten incline WWIIs 6 times. The main lesson was that it was really wet. This session will not be available for replay on youtube.

    Final Session: Back to the Flag.

    Ended up with 3.5 miles running and some other exercises. CPE Certificates will be mailed shortly.