Category: Richmond, VA

  • “If you don’t like what is being said, then change the conversation” – Don Draper

    A quiet group of 7 gathered for this weeks Heartbreak Ridge and this is what transpired

    Mosey around the front of the school and back around to the Bus Gas loop area for a COP which included various exercises

    Mosey to the Bus Loop, and line up along the 7 Poles. Everyone does Pole Smokers but P1 does 10 and runs down 7 poles. P2 repeats until the end. Exercises to swapped at exhaustion to LBC’s and HRM’s

    Mosey up to the loop in front of Pemberton Elementary School for a Triple Check. P1 does Wall Sits, P2 does WWII’s, P3 runs the loop.

    Mosey over to the Playground on Pemberton Elementary School and partner up. P1 does 5 Pullups, P2 does Flutter Kicks (round 1), Freddie Mercuries (round 2). Repeat for 6 rounds.

    Mosey to the field and do a Four Corners, Corner 1: 10 Burpess, Corner 2: 20 HRM’s, Corner 3: 30 Jump Squats, Corner 4: SSH’s

    Mosey back to the Flag for 4 Minutes of Mary with various Ab exercises.

    Announcements – The Bridge this weekend, Honeydo is the Q but if you’d like to Clown Car reach out to him

    Prayer Requests – Johnsonville and Chum Bucket as they get through Covid

    NMS – After a long 10 days of no F3 it’s always hard to get back. Easiest 2 ways to come back after a break is to: 1) Sign up to be Q: you have no made yourself responsible and expected to be there, no excuses 2) You choose the workout, so you can ease yourself back in or “pull off the Band Aid” your choice. The Backblast title comes from #2 “if you don’t like what is being said, then change the conversation” meaning if you don’t want to get your butt kicked by someone else’s workout, then sign up to lead.

    YHC has enjoyed his 4+ years in F3. It’s allowed YHC to see what and how other people lead/are inspired to lead/lead in their own way. Also, it’s allowed YHC to see and recognize his own personal limitations and struggles. While vacation and sleeping in was really nice, it’s not sustainable for YHC’s mental and physical health.

  • Some wine with that

    YHC was ready to start the week this cool morning and touched base with a new F3 dad who wanted to bring his 20 year old son, ran into Labrat this weekend and he was in, Hash was coming with me and we had two more show up, flag planted and we are ready to roll.

    COP

    We mosey to the newly paved and striped basketball courts next to the bus loop and circle up for 20 SSH, 10 DQ, 10 Helicopters, 20 LBC’s, 10 Scorpions and 20 merkins.

    THANG

    So YHC set up a new play list for the gang to enjoy this morning while we formed up in each corner, YHC was alone everyone else was paired up in the other corners which allowed some great mumblechatter! We had jump ropes in Corner 1(C1) this was the timer and one of the 2 PAX had to complete 25 jumps in a row. Then would rotate to Corner 2(C2) – this was hand release merkins. C3 – lunges and C4 – LBC’s. Once everyone rotated through each corner this was one set. For the following sets we increased the number of jumps in a row by 5 and we went up to 55! Have some Rocky Balboa’s in the house!

    We then mosey to the tennis courts and do multiple exercises accoss the court, starting with bear crawls then crawl bear back, forward lunges then bernie saunders back and we did this with 2 and 3 courts. About that time our FNG spilled some merlot…he recovered and was back in the saddle for the final routine.

    4 corners – we bro-coded with 10 merkins in corner 1, 20 LBC’s in corner 2, 30 squats in corner 2 and 4 SSH in corner 4.

    Back to the flag for numberama and namerama. YHC took us out in prayer.

    Moleskin

    So we had 2 father son combos today and was special to welcome BoJangles to the F3 RVA fold! he is the 2.0 to Macho, who 1st posted on July 4th convergence with Helix! I was great to see Lab Rat back and he was super helpful in developing the BoJangles name and keeping the mumblechatter, healthy and exciting this morning. He has recovered from his first cancer treatment; however, they have noticed another lump in his throat. So we have a prayer request for him, a speedy recovery and to hopefully have good news from his future check ups.

    It was an honor to lead this morning, have a great day and fantastic week.

    See you in the gloom soon….Cheers…CB!

  • Wait its not Friday, why we flexing

    7 Beasts showed up to a Monday workout but Duke said we were flexing today!

    COP – SSHs, DQs, Helicopters, Merkins, Squats, LBCs and Flutters

    Mosey to coupons and carry to top of lot.

    25 Curls, 10 Presses, 10 Tri Extensions, 15 Squats, run hill and back

    50 Bench Presses, 25 Pulls, 10 WWIIs, 60 Second extension hold, run bottom of hill and back

    Repeat!

    Ring of fire, Runner calls exercise while they run and do 10 Jerkins.

    Repeato

    BTF, 3 burpees OYO

    Numbers, Names, YHC took us out!

    Prayers as Shiplap’s wife is due any moment now!

    Duke

  • Are You Going to Paint the Front Door?

    17 – yeah, 17 – men of action tossed the Fart Sack to the side in favor of a seasonally pleasant morning workout. Temperatures remained constant at 70 and sunny. According to the F3 mobile app, the following may have occurred:

    Mosey to the 3rd (but 1st in YHC’s heart) Church parking lot for the COP. Intro, disclaimer, etc.

    SSHs, LBCs, Ukrainian Soldiers, Hillbillies, Hand Release Merkins, WWIIs, Dead Man Hang, Some Other Things That are Like a Dead Man Hang, Some Yoga Stretches

    Mosey to the back parking lot. Partner up.

    Round 1: Man 1 runs the length of the lot and back to the Church. Man 2 bear crawls the length of the lot and, if you are EF Hutton, starts bear crawling back. After Man 1 completes at least one full loop, swap positions and continue.

    Wallsit for the six.

    Round 2: Shorten the distance to half the parking lot. Change to crab walk. Same rules.

    BTTW for the Six. Wrap up with alternating shoulder taps.

    Round 3: Shorten the distance to 1/4 of the lot. Change to broad jump (or, if you are EF Hutton, Triple Jump) burpees.

    Mosey to the 2nd Church Lot at Third Church. Grab the coupons. Mosey to the Third Church lot at Third Church, and partner up.

    One man has a block. One man does not.

    The person with the block (Partner 1) has a choice – give the block to Partner 2 to carry on a run around the Third Church Office Metroplex. If Partner 1 selects this, Partner 1 will do SSHs while Partner 2 runs with the block.

    Or, Partner 1 can selfishly keep the block for himself while Partner 2 runs the loop block-free. In this case, Partner 1 will do block burpees. Something like 3 rounds, but it was not a triple check.

    Mosey nowhere. Line up in the parking spaces, alternating with a block in every other space. Think of this as “Around the World,” only every other station has a block. Any man who has a block does 10 squat thrusters. Any man without a block does the called exercise. Rotate one space clockwise after each round. YHC thinks we did WWIIs, snow angels, HRMs, and heels to heaven.

    Put the blocks back, and mosey BTTVSF.

    Numbers, names, and YHC took us out with a reminder that our group is all-volunteer. Take the time to thank the man next to you for his dedication and leadership. New ideas are always welcome. YHC also encourages guys to take the time to research and learn before coming to a conclusion / suggestion.

    Announcements:

    Welcome, Flo (Jack). Name comes from Jack’s work as an underwriter at Kinsale Insurance. Great to have you.

    Punisher Q is open this evening – jump on it. Let’s hope Chum heals quickly.

    Second Tuesday lunch at Firehouse Subs in Innsbrook tomorrow at lunch time (YHC doesn’t know the exact time). Check with Gypsy (YHC thinks).

    Monday evening with the Nantan will be on Tuesday evening this week. Gomer posted this to Slack, so that’s where the information about this is posted.

    HDHH is sometime. Usually on a Wednesday. If there isn’t one scheduled, ask Doozy where he wants to have a beer as he usually has some good suggestions for new places. Then, plan to go there with him. Advertise this plan on Slack.

    Prayers for YHC’s employee / buddy JB. Radiation last week and starting chemo today for 5 days. He has an uphill challenge after a botched diagnosis.

    NMS:

    YHC pulled in late to see an over-flowing parking lot. Awesome.

    Great to meet Flo, nice to have several guys (Pigskin, House Party, Last Call, etc) make the trip over the river, and fantastic to have Wojo back. Great to partner with EF Hutton, House Party, and Splinter.

    Solid work from the PAX.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Just YHC and Andy Stanley

    YHC landed at River Run this morning knowing that Doublemint would not be making an appearance but hoping to see Chef Boyardee (DR from CA).

    At 5:30 and without a soul in sight YHC grabbed the earpods and weight vest and set out on the Roller Coaster. An Andy Stanley pod cast was found and gave YHC much to ponder along the way. The discussion this morning was on the political divide in this country and how if we could move from the far Right or far Left more to the middle (not to move our political views) but to hear and reason with those of the opposite view we would be far better off as a country and things might actually get done. He sited a ton of scripture (more than YHC can recall) but some of the main points were Loving your neighbor, serving not being served and having ears to hear truth.

  • Economics 101

    Four runners, two walkers, and one dumb rucker, took to the streets for various mileages between 3 and 7. Aisle 5 gave Wilson and YHC a lesson in what not to do when buying real estate. Also concur with your M before hiring an attractive realtor.

  • The Dirty Dozen (and hot and soaked)

    12 heroes gathered in the gloom for a humid start to see how messy they would get before getting back in their cars. Unlike the movie, we all made it back.

    5 Burpee start

    Mosey to pick up blocks, disclaimer, and COP all IC. Deadman hang, SSH, DQ, 20x small arm circles, 20x reverse small arm circles, 20x big arm circles, 20x reverse big arm circles, palms up, palms down, 5x Overhead clap, 5x Seal claps, 16x big arm circles, 25x LBC, 20x Freddie, 10x Bohemian Rhapsody, 10x Dollies, 10x grass angel, 10x Australian grass angel, 10x merkin, 10x wide merkin, 10x shoulder tap, 10x HRM, 10x Shazzam + 1 for the Ranger in the sky.

    Mosey with block to the rusty cage for a triple check. Timer runs to the hydrant and does a burpee. P1 Jerkins. P2 medley of 5 pullups, 20 squat, 10 WW2.

    Mosey with block to the amphitheater for a little creativity & audible. Since the stage was painted for the artist formerly known as Prince we did a 1999 theme running up / down all 19 steps (plus the floor) and 99 exercises: 20x WW2, 20xseated overhead press, 20x Wipers over the block, 20x flutter kicks, and 19x heels to heaven holding the block. Thanks to the Sky Q for the rain to break the humidity.

    COP for 10x block WW2, 10x block Freddy Mercury, 10x block Dollies, 10x block Rosalitas.

    Mosey to the stage but before putting blocks up 20 curls + 10 squats; 15 curls + 10 squats; 10 curls + 10 squats. Audible.

    Mosey BTTF.

    YHC took us out.

    NMS. Thanks for letting me lead and your patience with some new things. The Dirty Dozen is among the favorite movies.

    Get some.

  • An act of defiance

    Four hoss’s of the apocalypse gathered in the super humid gloom. After working a bit to find parking we got to it. Todays route included the secluded Addison street footbridge across the downtown expressway and a loop around the lake. 2.5 miles out, 1 mile back making the total mileage for today’s work 5.3mi.

    EF Hutton took us out.

    NMS – today was tough. 77F and 90% humidity with a storm on the horizon made for a unique day from a weather perspective. As tough as that is, training in those conditions has lasting benefit when it it cooler.

    After the hubub over the last few weeks and years, and reading about last weeks updated Fourth of July feelings toward the flag, it occurs to YHC that running with a shovel flag might be viewed by some as an act of defiance and an attempt to trigger. That flag oversaw more than a few atrocities to be sure, but is also the beacon of light for so many, for so many things the nation gets right and where we cant be right at least far better than the worst alternatives. To YHC it is an example of what we want to be.

    The windshield is far more important than the rearview mirror.

    Get some!

  • Pouring Perspiration, Parched for Precipitation 

    Departing the deluge of Bon Air and other points North, a strong PAX of 9 HIM’s gathering in the stifling humidity of Rock&Roll without a drop of refreshing rain in sight. No problem, we’ll bring our own sweaty rainfall to the AO. 

    The THANG:

    WARMERAMA:

    • Mosey loop around the lot & circle up on the basketball court
    • Welcome & Disclaimer
    • Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom (heaps of 8-counts)

    COP #1:

    • Ind.People’s Run to the Tennis Courts
    • LINDSEY:
    • Donkey Kicks 10-15-20-25-30
    • Chain Smokers 30-25-20-15-10
    • Run across x3 courts between sets

    COP #2:

    • Mosey via GRABASS back around the park loop – Q calls a PAX name, he takes off like a bat out of hell, first PAX to catch him calls x20 reps of their choosing. The Catch – front runners mosey back to the Six to perform the reps. 

    COP #3:

    • Mosey to the Picnic Pavilion for BODOS’ TABLE MADNESS:
    • #1: WINGNUTS – Sitting on picnic table, feet under bench, lean back to approx. 15 degrees with back and neck straight, fists touching in front of chest so that elbows point parallel with shoulders, rotate waist so that each elbow touches the table top. 4-Count IC, x10 completed. 
    • #2: COYOTE UGLY’S – Partner Up – Starting in a wheel barrow position with partner, P1 starts on the ground and steps up to picnic table ‘seat’ with his hands, completes 1 Merkin, steps up to top of the table top , 1 Merkin, steps back down to the ‘seat’, 1 Merkin, steps back down to the ground, 1 Merkin. That’s one rep. Each Partner completes x5 reps.
    • #3: HAIL MARY’S – P1 elbow planks on ground, P2 places his legs on P1’s back and performs 20 dips with his hands on table bench. Each partner completes x3 sets of 20.
    • #4: WINGNUTS for another x10 IC

    COP #4:

    • MOSEYRAMA around park loop to the grassy hill
    • TRIPLE CHECK: 
    • P1 – Nancy Kerrigans (1-leg SSH)
    • P2 – Mtn Climbers
    • P3 – Convert from Mtn Climbers to Bear Crawl up the grassy hill, run down stairs to switch

    COP #4:

    • Mosey back to the large middle lot
    • Circle up for PLANK COMPASS – each PAX’ feet remain fixed in place, while hands plank walk X degrees in whichever direction Q calls, with x5 merkins between each new direction

    Mosey BTTF:

    • En Route, Lunge Walk x50 yards

    COT:

    • Counterama # 9
    • Namerama
    • Announcerama (see Comments)
    • MICKEY took the PAX out in Prayer

    NMS:  Well, YHC lost about 5 pounds in sweat, and you know it’s a good one when Six-Pack Jack is about ready to spill merlot towards the end. Granted, Mickey also puts in 110% for the entire 60min, which if any of the PAX attempted a bootcamp at his level, they’d be spilling within the first ten min – respect to you good sir! YHC was really looking forward to a beatdown in the pouring rain, but seems the rain was bent on staying north of Midlothian. Appreciated seeing Doublemint’s twins making a reentry to F3 after their recent first beatdown at Batteau. And if you have not yet seen Florence with a mustache, it is GLORIOUS! I swear he wears it better than most I’ve ever seen. Love pushing past the limit with you guys! SYITG, DTH

  • Did it rain?

    Six gathered on the grounds of Atlee High School with 3 different plans. Two rucked, 2 ran, and 2 did a running bootcamp. All were beatdown and extremely wet. This is what occurred.

    Yardsale and No Idea rucked through the campus of Atlee High School for about 3.5 miles.

    Corned Beef and Mr. Holland ran along roads and trails on the campus of Atlee High School and surrounding neighborhoods for about 5 miles.

    Helix and YHC did a running bootcamp for about 5 miles. This is what the the bootcampers did.

    Run 1.5 miles with Corned Beef and Mr. Holland.

    COP – SSH, 1 burpee and 2 merkins.

    For the rest of the workout, run approximately 3 minutes, circle up, and do an exercise. This is the order of exercises.

    • 15 Arm Circles IC, 15 Reverso IC, 2 burpees and 4 merkins
    • 10 Helicopters IC, 3 burpees and 6 merkins
    • 10 Don Quixotes IC, 4 burpees and 8 merkins
    • 10 One leg lunges IC, 10 other leg IC, 5 burpees and 10 merkins
    • 10 Angled Knee Jumps IC, 6 burpees and 12 merkins
    • 10 APB Dips IC, 7 burpees and 14 merkins
    • 10 Foot to Hand Mountain Climbers IC, 8 burpees and 16 merkins
    • 20 Don Quixotes IC, 9 burpees and 18 merkins
    • 10 Heels to Heaven IC, 10 burpees and 20 merkins

    Mosey back to VSF to join ruckers and runners.

    COT – Numberarama, Name-O-Rama, Announcements, YHC took us out.

    NMS

    It was great to see everybody this morning. Before we started, YHC said that the forecast looked like most of the rain was going to stay north of us. Wrong! We experienced a hard rain for 2/3 of the workout. As YHC ran up to the COT, it was observed that YHC had a wet soapy substance running down the outside of both legs. Very strange but did lead to much speculation and laughter. After the workout, we all met for coffee/fellowship at The Local Cup where Opus joined us. As YHC greeted Opus, a very dry Opus asked “Did it rain?” Ah Yeah.

    As we left, it was discussed how F3 can be a great time to have people of different political leanings to have productive, positive discussion. Yardsale said we often end up agreeing on 90% of the topics. It just reminds YHC how with all of the political disfunction and social media arguing, we are more alike than we are different.

    Announcement

    DaVille Friday Takeover – July 15

    Outstanding job today everybody!

    Gotta Run!

    Phonics