Category: Richmond, VA

  • Welcome to Satan’s Hill in New Market – New Years Day Convergence.

    Eight strong men from all over the metro RVA area made their way to Satan’s Hill located in New Market for the New Year Convergence. YHC gets why the turnout was so low. The incredible challenge and skill level to takle Satan’s Hill isnt for everyone. Fortunately for todays PAX, we would visit the hill only once. Please come back as Satan’s Hill is used often!

    Here is how it went down.

    Short COP, make way up Satan’s Hill for the popular Cul De Sack Tour. YHC has struggled to get EVERY one covered in 45 minutes, but with an hour today, YHC took on the challenge.

    At the top of every Sack – 3 burpees then called out exercise at top and bottom. ALL twelve sacks were visited today! Each PAX called out an exercise with only a small bit of confusion when we got to the twins. Show up and you will find out what the twins are. In total ~36 burpees, ~240 exercises and 4.1 miles covered. Great job men!

    Back to the flag for some Mary and a brief explanation of what F3 has meant for you this crazy year! Was great to hear!

    YHC took us out! Special message was hold your loved ones tight. Life happens in a blink of an eye. I am truly thankful for ALL F3 PAX that I have relationships with and looking forward to building relationships with the new PAX!

    Why the video? DTH and I had a quick conversation yesterday concerning Cooper. And while I love Cooper, I imagined him meeting a few of New Markets residents. This was how i imagined the meet & greets to happen. LOL Hopefully DTH will bring Cooper out to an early morning workout when most of NM pups are still sleeping.

  • Bone Thugs: Wanted for crimes against Cadence.

    Two superheroes and a boat anchor successfully alluded the fart sack, but bore witness to the absolute murder of cadence and numbers in general. So according to Arnold’s goldfish Gilbert, it went a little something like this:

    The THANG:

    COP #1:

    Mosey to the top of Mount Forge
    Welcome & F3 Disclaimer
    To warm up we pulled a Chappy (except not as hard): run down to the ticket booth, stopping at each parking lot to perform warm ups: 3x 5’s and 10’s, DQ’s, helicopters, imperial walkers, scorpion kicks.

    Staying in the final parking lot for :
    Round 1: ThunderCats (cat crawl on a parking lot line)
    Round 2: 20 hydraulic planks
    Round 3: 20 Jerkins

    COP #2:

    Back to the top of the mount, making stops at each parking lot for:

    25 LBC’s or WWII’s
    50 V-up’s
    75 American Hammers

    COP #3:

    Mosey to the commons area for a box jumping Triple Check:

    P1 (timer) box jumps then runs around the Amplitheater
    P2 does Freddie Mercury’s
    P3 does Donkey Kicks

    25 Copperhead Squats and 3 SOJ Squats

    COP #4:

    Back to the flag for a Hot Potato: Ring of fire
    (Person randomly calls out an exercise and count, while the packs does invisible jump ropes.)

    COT:

    Number-rama #
    Namerama
    Announcerama (see Comments)
    YHC read a poem: (see the video at the top)
    We each talked about what we learned from 2020.
    YHC read another poem:

    How Did You Die?
    by: Edmund Vance Cooke

    Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
    With a resolute heart and cheerful?
    Or hide your face from the light of day
    With a craven soul and fearful?
    Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce,
    Or a trouble is what you make it,
    And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts,
    But only how did you take it?
    You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what’s that?
    Come up with a smiling face.
    It’s nothing against you to fall down flat,
    But to lie there — that’s disgrace.
    The harder you’re thrown, why the higher you bounce;
    Be proud of your blackened eye!
    It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts,
    It’s how did you fight — and why?
    And though you be done to the death, what then?
    If you battled the best you could,
    If you played your part in the world of men,
    Why, the Critic will call it good.
    Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
    And whether he’s slow or spry,
    It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,
    But only how

    Prayer Requests:

    Pray for my parents who have COVID-19.

    Comments:

    YHC seemed to have had quite a bit of difficulty counting today, and I thank DTH and Fresh Prince for their patience.

    I was asked the question: if liberty and optimism could coexist, and I say yes more strongly than Meg Ryan did in “When Harry Met Sally!” It started with a comment from Flatline, which led to a text to Hardywood, which led to an encounter and run with TYA, which led to running with Hardywood, which led back to TYA and Swirly bringing me to the point where I can catch a glimpse of my full potential — liberating me from the sad clown and presenting me with the gift of a more positive future. All I ever had to do was reach out and accept it. My life is living proof that liberty and optimism can coexist!

    As my 45th birthday approaches, for the first time in over a decade, I am off cholesterol medication. My pants size went from a size 42 to a size 38. I am happier than I have ever been, because I know that I am not alone. It was important for me to end this year by saying thanks, and I want to say it to all of you! You all have made a difference in my life, and I look forward to going bigger with you in 2021! Happy New Year!

    Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

  • One last KB in 2020

    Another Thursday, and another White Deer fartsack.  Two noble warriors go in one last workout for 2020.  Here is how it went down:

    • COP
      • Invisible jump rope
      • Russian soliders
      • DQ
      • Arm circles – forwards and backwards, big and small
      • Helicopters
      • Scorpion kicks
      • Merkins
      • LBC
      • APD
    • 12 Days of Christmas – KB style
      • 12 lawnmower pulls – 144 total
      • 11 overhead pulls – 121 total
      • 10 sit ‘n presses – 100 total
      • 9 sumo squats – 81 total
      • 8 halos – 64 total
      • 7 KB swings – 49 total
      • 6 lunges – 36 total
      • 5 high pulls – 25 total
      • 4 KB hammers – 16 total
      • 3 skull crushers – 9 total
      • 2 snatches – 4 total
      • 1 lap
    • COT with YHC taking us out

    Grateful to Lighthouse for not making me go solo in the gloom.  Prayers up for Gypsy as he had successful toe surgery today.  Happy New Years F3 RVA!  Convergence at Satan’s Hill in the AM tomorrow.

    God is good all of the time!

    Attila

  • Gambols

    Seven assembled for this week’s Punisher. Short mosey to the concrete circle near the front of the school for COP with 25 x SSHs, 15 x DQs, 15 x IWs, 15 x Helicopters, two rounds of Superman while humming The Imperial March, 10 x Suzanne Somers (each side), and 25 x Arm Circles (small only, forward then reverse).

    Resume our mosey around the school to the outdoor classroom for Dips and Bench Kicks with rounds of 20 reps of each, then 16, 12, 8, and 4. Jog to the playground and break into groups for team Suicides on the blacktop. All assume Plank. First guy starts the run and on the way to the 50% line, the second guy starts. Third guy starts when the second guy is on the way to 50%. YHC was odd man and started with the third guy in each group. Three rounds.

    Slide over to the playground area and begin Jerkin rounds. Same groups. First guy completes 10 Jerkins from beneath a playground swing, holding the final pull for a few seconds. The other guys hold straight arm Plank. Rotate through until all are done. Brief break then round two. For the third round, reduced the reps and increased the hold length between each rep.

    Mosey to the bus loop and YHC breaks out the yard dice. Same groups. First group rolls for the exercises (one die) and reps (two for up to 12 reps) to be completed by the second group. Second group does the same for the first group. Legend: 1 – Box Cutters, 2 – Hello Dollys, 3 – WWII Sit Ups, 4 – Squats, 5 – Side Lunges, and 6 – Back Lunges. Two rounds with doubles yielding double reps on the final round.

    Jog around the school for a few minutes of LBCs. COT and YHC took us out.

    Glad to see Attila, Spider, and Mariner at Punisher. Nice work all.

  • 2 for 4 on 31

    2 Davillians got in a 4+ mile run this morning to close out 2020

    Opus called the route which was a reverse Bojangles loop, over the bridge, a loop around Giles and back the same way

    Great day for a run to finish out the year

    SPIT ON THAT!!

  • F3 10-Year Anniversary Beat Down

    182.6 score days or 10.005479520548 years ago, 34 PAX brought forth a new thang, eventually called F3. Do the math, and today is the 10-year Anniversary.

    The leaders were smart enough to create a devastatingly simple (only 5 rules – no more, no less) and intentionally decentralized structure (they knew that men won’t listen to anyone from The Home Office anyway) which would grow like a starfish (that is, when a piece breaks off, that small piece grows organically and separately into an entirely new being, unique in its own right).

    Just over 6 years ago, that Thang came to Richmond, and it has developed on its own into F3RVA. Since then, the weather has been, according to Andrew Frieden, consistently sunny and 70, day and night, summer and winter. A mental and physical Climate Change, if you will. The PAX celebrated the 10-year Anniversary with the following:

    Lap around the track.

    Circle up:

    20 mercans
    20 hello dollys
    20 mountain climbers

    Lap around the track.

    Circle up:

    20 wide grip mercans
    20 little baby crunches
    20 squats

    Lap around the track.

    Circle up:

    20 diamond mercans
    20 flutter kicks
    22 side straddle hops (10% more to celebrate 10 years)

    Mosey around the perimeter of MMES to the “hill” on the Mary Munford soccer fields (it’s hard to see in the dark, but YHC assures the PAX that, as long as you believe the Earth is round, the “hill” is there).

    Jacob’s Ladder from the center of the fields to the outside of the fields, starting with one burpee and going up to 5.

    Mosey around the remaining perimeter of the school to the school wall along the track. Line up against the wall for People’s Chair. 30 seconds.

    Long speeches, confetti, balloons, ridiculing of PAX members (mostly the Q), etc. to Mark the End of the Repeat of the First Workout, all lasting approximately 10 seconds. (TYA asked YHC to note that the First Workout took place at Plymouth, Massachusetts.) Today’s rendition took 20 minutes. As OBT noted in his summary earlier this week, in retrospect, the first workout was easy. And, for the PAX today, it was.

    Yet, the PAX persisted.

    Triple Check:

    1st Man: Bear crawl the basketball courts. Run back.
    2nd Man: Flutter kicks
    3rd Man: Side-straddle hops

    Mosey to the Tennis Courts for UpChuck’s All Four Corners. (Some PAX noted that it’s just “Four Corners.” YHC disagrees. YHC has added a twist to it, named it after himself, and trademarked it. “UpChuck’s All Four Corners,” just like The Temptations or The Four Tops, the modern version has its own brand). And, in the words of Daffy Duck,”It’s mine. All mine. All mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.” Two rounds.

    Round One: Stop at each of the four corners. Do the following:

    Corner One: 10 mercans
    Corner Two: 20 WWIIs
    Corner Three: 30 Monkey Humpers
    Corner Four: 40 Flutter Kicks (in the spirit of decentralization, every PAX decided OYO whether 1, 2, or 4 count)

    Round Two: Stop at each of the four corners. Do the following:

    Corner One: 10 mercans
    Corner Two: 10 mercans AND 20 WWIIs
    Corner Three: 10 mercans AND 20 WWIIs AND 30 Monkey Humpers
    Corner Four: 10 mercans AND 20 WWIIs AND 30 Monkey Humpers AND 40 Flutter Kicks (in the spirit of decentralization, every PAX decided OYO whether 1, 2, or 4 count)

    Mosey The Long Way around the School and BTTF. Circle up for 20 of Frederick Mercury’s Bicycle Crunches.

    Number-am-a, Name-a-ram-a, YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    Two options for workouts tomorrow:

    Santa/Satan’s Hill at 7 for a beat down. Word is Wilson and Roscoe will each Q a group.

    Run at Mary Munford at 7 a.m. Old Faithful, aka Lockjaw, will have the Q. (For those newer to the group, Lockjaw once Q’d RAMM for an entire year). YHC thanks TYA for his positive encouragement of Lockjaw.

    TYA is starting treatment this week. You got this. Also, as YHC understands it, this is an experimental treatment allowing the patient to pace constantly around the treatment room while receiving radiation. Let’s hope it goes well.

    Prayers for Fudd & Family, for TYAs niece, and for Bone Thugs family, all of whom are current COVID patients.

    10 years in the books. What a great gift given to all of us. Here’s to keeping it healthy and to building our F3RVA community.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Field Trip

    Warmarama :

    10 four count SSH

    10 four count Don Quixote’s

    10 four count Russian Soldiers

    10 four count cherry pickers

    10 four count merkins

    The Thang : 

    Field Trip Run to retirement home on Brandermill Parkway (2 miles round trip according to Google maps, 1.56 miles round trip according to Tobit’s GPS)

    Return to front parking lot of school. Three locations were picked around the school to stop for exercises. Repeato in loops around school until time expires. 

    1st stop – 30 merkins

    2nd stop – 30 double count Freddie Mercury’s

    3rd stop – 30 donkey kicks on wall

    4Th stop – 30 merkins

    5th stop – 30 four count flutters 

    6th stop – 30 donkey kicks on wall

    7th stop – 30 merkins

    8th stop – 30 WWII’s

    9th stop – 30 donkey kicks on wall 

    10th stop – 30 merkins

    11th stop – 30 four count LBC’s

    12th stop – 30 donkey kicks on wall

    13th stop – 30 merkins

    14th stop – 30 four count American hammers

    15th stop – 30 donkey kicks on wall

    DONE

    COT :

    Continued prayers for Tobit’s grandmother Lilly who has had continued seizures. She’s in her late 90s. 

    Continued prayers for Bone Thugs’ parents. His Mom has COVID and had to go to the ER but is back home now. His dad doesn’t have it yet but he has a lot of co-morbidities so pray he doesn’t get it. 

    Continued prayers for Gypsy who is having surgery on his foot today. 

    Prayer:

    YHC

    Pledge of Allegiance

  • Cold but Quite Morning

    In a cold morning (~25°F), three brave men showed up for the beatdown. Here is how it went:

    Hitchhiker led warm-up and first exercise. We moseyed through the Bump House to get to  the Carillon Courtyard for some warm-ups–it was about a mile run.

    Arm circle x10 (both direction), DQ x10, Helicopters x10, LBC x 20, Merkins x10, Scorpion Kicks x10 YOY.

    First, DTH’s warm-up exercise. Circumnavigate Carillon Field, running lengths, bearcrawl far end, returning to the courtyard to complete reps IC for the SIX: Round 1: 20X Merkins, Round 2: 20X LBC, Round 3: 20X American Hammers.

    Shiplap led second exercise. We moseyed to collect coupons at the Stage and formed up backside of Carillon. Triple Check!

    P1 (timer) murder bunny to the light post and run back to the stage. P2 does WWII with the coupon. P3 does curl with the coupon.

    Lastly, Faceplant led third exercise. We moseyed back through the Bump House to get to where we started with several merkins on the way.

    Numberama, Nameorama, COT

    ANNOUNCEMENTS – Convergence Friday

    Shiplap took us out with prayer.

  • Public shaming, middle school style

    7 bucks and 1 lil’ buck descended on Heartbreak Ridge, and this is what transpired.

    COP 1 in the Parking Spaces by the front door, disclaimer was made. AUDIBLE mosey to the darkness in front of the school for COP 2

    Mosey down and around the bus loop and up to Pemberton Elementary for a Triple Check consisting of Running, Flutter Kicks?, and Monkey Humpers.

    Taking advantage of the 28 Parking Spaces, 1 Merkin for every spot, then mosey back the start. Then 3 WWII’s at every spot and staying on all four’s between spots.

    Mosey to Tennis Courts. A bit of mutiny was attempted by The Clydesdales (Honeydo and Atilla), command was forcibly retaken with 10 Burpees *Insert, “I am the Captain now” movie quote*. Miscellaneous exercises were completed.

    Mosey to random wall by the Basketball Court. Partner up, Balls to the Wall, and 20 Hand Release Merkins, twice through.

    Announcements –

    Back Bits is having a baby, strike that, from when the announcement was made Bacon Bits has HAD his baby. A little girl, Mom and baby are healthy.

    January 1st non-Convergence run at Mary at 0700 New Years Day.

    NMS – Backblack title comes thanks to Probation. He rolled into the Parking Lot at 0531 just as we had set up at our designated COP location. He was waving gingerly to make sure we saw him, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to play a joke. The Pax moseyed over to the trees in front of the school which acted as a Cloak of Invisibility. The Pax whisper counted. You could see Probations face go from excitement to a mixture between confusion and sadness as he ran around the corner, apparently shaming was something he knew well in Middle School. That being said, we didn’t make it hard for him to find us and a good laugh was had by all.

    Thanks to the Pax for the opportunity for “Hand” to lead.

  • …Too Many Publix

    3 warriors of the gloom sought to better themselves today. According to the female runner who took Shorts Only Posting to a whole new level, this is what transpired:
    YHC went solo for a pre-run through the exceptionally quiet neighborhood across the street. Made it back just before 5:30 to meet the PAX, then we were off!

    Run from school to take a right on John Rolfe. Turn left onto the trail for Short Pump Park. At small round-about do various warmerama exercises around the circle:

    • Butt Kickers
    • High-knees
    • Carioca
    • Ukrainian Soldiers
    • Imperial Walkers
    • Toes in walk
    • Toes out walk

    Mosey to the lot across the street from the Publix. Time for a Triple Check with: Merkins, Pole Smokers, and a long lap around the perimeter.

    Mosey down Pump Rd to hang a right onto Broad St. Run down til we reached the Ulta. Find a spot on the wall for 10, 15, and 20 donkey kicks with people’s chair in between.

    Mosey all the way to the Ack Ack, hang a right and head back to John Rolf and BTTF. Various cool down stretches before finishing with Rosalita and Hello Dolly.

    Numbers, names, spirited discourse, YHC took us out with thankfulness for the PAX and our many blessings.

    NMM

    The concept for this AO is very unique and one that YHC finds to be very enjoyable. Enjoyed the discussion of the similar business models of Peloton and Starbucks. Also, all the necessary ingredients for civil war etc. YHC is thankful to be able to have frank thoughtful discussion with all brothers in the PAX. Have a great one fellas!