Tag: Circus Maximus

Forty-eight years ago football fans on the east coast were abruptly deprived from seeing two fourth quarter touchdowns scored in nine seconds to lift the Raiders over the Jets – NBC programmers decided the public’s entertainment thirst was best quenched with a Heidi showing. No such disruption at Circus Maximus this morning where five grunting gladiators hoisted the iron to welcome the rising sun.

Thang:

X25 SSHs
X25 Low Deep Squats
X25 Curtsy Lunges (R&L)

1st Quarter – 10 Minute EMOM:

Odd Minutes:
X8 KB American Swings
X8 KB Squat and High Pulls
X8 KB Squat and Presses

Even Minutes:
X8 KB Right Arm Rack Left Lunge
X8 KB Left Arm Rack Right Lunge
X8 KB Triceps Presses

2d and 3d Quarters – the “300”:

X25 APDs
X25 KB Right Snatches
X25 Merkins
X25 KB Left Snatches
X25 APDs
X25 KB Right Swings
X25 Merkins
X25 KB Left Swings
X25 APDs
X25 KB Right Clean and Presses
X25 Merkins
X25 KB Left Clean and Presses

4th Quarter – 10 Minute EMOM:

Odd Minutes:
X10 KB Halos Clockwise
X10 KB Halos Counter-Clockwise

Even Minutes:
X10 KB Pull Overs
X10 KB Tricep Presses

COT:

Counterama and Namearama

Announcements #1: Pre-Game 0645 at GridIron – part 6 of Armor of God – Cecil will Q and add the Helmet of Salvation to our growing spiritual armament. Not necessary to have attended previous sessions – we welcome those who want to give it a try. 2.0 friendly workout to follow under Honey Do’s Q.

Announcement #2: Join a clown car to F3 Hampton Road’s AO at Mount Trashmore; weekday workout has started at F3 Hampton Roads – see DreamLiner or F3 Richmond’s own NightCrawler for details.

Attila closed us with prayer of supplication – that we yearn to be the instrument of God’s great love.

Moleskin:

A number of the PAX channeled their best Monica Seles as grunting was aplenty in the CM house this morning. And White Deer, egged on by Johnsonville, added the chorus by sticking with his Blazing Saddles repetoire.

Nice to have Toga with us whose prescience led him to a CM that involved absolutely zero ambulation.

GridIron will miss J’Ville and Attila this Saturday. Safe travel blessings to both. Attila celebrates Thanksgiving with his annual Bear Bryant pilgrimage. With rain in the forecast for Saturday, is it any wonder that J’Ville has an overnight trek planned with son somewhere in SNP?

Stand Firm.

He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.

Proverbs 28:25 (NKJV)

Three of the faithful gathered on a cool fall morning with kettlebells in hand. Johnsonville plated a VSF and took Q. This is how it went down, more or less:

warmup with ssh, merkins, don quiotes, arm circles, and imperial walkers

Mosey to back of parking lot.

Kettlebell Escalator set #1 (all exercises OYO):
10x American Hammers
20x sit & press
30x merkins
40x clean & jerk (20x each arm)
50 LBCX

Mosey to north side of bus loop (all exercises OYO).

Kettlebell Escalator set #2:
10x squat & press
20x curls (10x each arm)
30x rows (15x each arm)
40x single arm swings (20x each arm)
50x mountain climbers

Mosey to around bus loop in grassy area by VSF (all exercises OYO).

10x burpees
20x wall thrusts
30x merkins
40x figure 8s (switching direction after 20x)
50x halos (switching direction after 25x)

Mosey under lighted bus loading area.

Two arm swings in cadence
6 minutes of Mary

COT with YHC taking us out.

Moleskin — A number of our regulars were out today, but we had a strong showing by those who attended. We have come a long with kettlebell strength of the past 6 months or so. Many of us are ready for an upgrade. Great job, men!

Jville

Six of the faithful gathered at #CircusMaximus, all (eventually) having kettlebells in hand. Parking lot lights were shining bright this morning. There were some yawns in the PAX a the outset due to the exquisite late-night World Series finale. We quickly got down to business with Johnsonville (YHC) at Q, and this is how things went down, more or less:

COP warmups (SSH, merkins, arm circles, don quiotes, waiter carry across parking lot and back)
Ciabatta single arm swings. Waiter carry across parking lot and back.
Ciabatta merkin rows. Waiter carry part way ’round CM.
Ciabatta clean and jerk. Plank series. Waiter carry to top of CM near Pump Rd.
Ciabatta goblet squats. Plank series. Waiter carry around front of school.
Ciabatta halos. Waiter carry to sidewalk by top of CM.
Ciabatta sit and press.

Plank in a line, heads near feet.
Variation of native American run along sidewalk toward VSF, except last member of PAX does death crawl with kettlebell to front of plank line. Rinse and repeat until Q says otherwise.

MOLESKIN:

Many are taking on the merkin challenge. We did 30x in warmup. We also did merkins rows, but since they were OYO, counts varied.

Atilla texted YHC after the World Series game expressing regrets that he could not function on only 4 hours sleep. Atilla is carrying Q at #GridIron on Saturday plus leading our 3rd F pre-game beforehand. Atilla rarely misses a #CM or a #GridIron. He gets a pass this time, and probably next.

FlipPhone has not yet invested in a kettlebell of his own. He has been borrowing one from WhiteDeer and DonerKebab, as needed. Several weeks ago, neither WhiteDeer or DonerKebab posted, and FlipPhone was relegated to body weight exercises while the PAX slogged through kettlebell sequences. FlipPhone phoned YHC at about 4am this morning (no doubt using his actual flip phone) to see if a loaner kettlebell would be available. Luckily, YHC silenced his bedside mobile phone in a flash before Mrs. Johnsonville could devolve into Joseph Stalin mode. FlipPhone has now been given a kettlebell for keeps, and all is well.

COT with YHC taking us out.

It was a pleasure to lead this morning. No one who bothered to post slacked off in the least.

Announcements:
— Team Toga is headed to VA Beach this Saturday. We have good numbers for the ride down, but we also have room if you want to take a field trip. Consider joining Team Swirly and/or Team Hardywood in the weeks to come. We need to make sure each workout is fully supported.
— PLEASE CONTINUE TO HEADLOCK IN VA BEACH / HAMPTON / NORFOLK IF THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF.
— Many races are coming up, and there is plenty of time to train. See TYA if you want to be involved in another team race. See TYA or Chum Bucket if you want to do the Bel Monte endurance race (50m/50k/25k options).

A fearsome four posted to Circus Maximus on a beautiful fall morning. Temperature was 48, in between short sleeve and long sleeve temps.

COP:  SSH, Merkins, Flutterkicks, Hillbillys (w/Jville flair optional)

THE Thang-  Mosey to back of school. attempt Merkin Rows into Side plank, audible to side palank with KB. then 5 sets of: Donkey kicks, 20 Swings, lunge, KB Hops, and Halos. 30 seconds of plank with KB drags.

MOSEY to field- Triple check. Run, Situp press, Cleans. alter to Dora- 50 Situp presses, 100 Swings, 150 Tricep presses.

Mosey back to parking lot for Chiabattas- Rows and Alabama Honeymoons. Finish up with American Hammers. Atilla took us out.

NMS- It was a PAX of 3 until 5:30 when Chum arrived to make us an even four. mumblechatter broke out immediately from the Gloucester gang during the COP, but subsided when Jville had to make a facility run 5 min in. Apparently he had Salmon last night and that did not go well with tossing around a kettlebell in the gloom. YHC thinks this after Wilson’s digestive issues at Dogpile last week means PAX should avoid Salmon before posting. Stick to Ribs and burritos, but I digress.

The side plank with KB high might be a keeper although getting it up repeatedly is unwise. YHC felt at liberty to tinker with KB variations with a small and veteran KB PAX.

Jville arrived back refreshed during the Triple  Check, moving us into a Dora.

Mumblechatter at the end was about how Atilla has a future in radio with his gruff and low voice. If we ever have a F3RVA event to broadcast a pairing of Marv and Atilla would be gold over  the airwaves.

The Circus Maximus regulars were missed today, even Toga.

 

7 men showed up ready to throw some iron around at Circus Maximus.  Two of our F3 brothers were named to Style weekly top 40 under 40 this week so YHC set up a small tribute to them.  The article said something about Hardywood running a business and being connected to the Richmond community but F3 knows he was named to the list for his ability to slay burpees.  Gumbo on the other hand apparently does some pro bono work but the writeup failed to mention his fondness for Lindseys and merkins.

Thang

COP

SSHx20, IWx20, scapula merkins x10, Arm circles x15 forward and backward

40 under 40 – each exercise for time under 40 seconds with each arm or clockwise/counterclockwise, Q calls time, exercises as follow:

Around the world, Halo, Swing, Curl, Lunge, American Hammer, Waiter Carry, Clean to Rack, Figure 8, Merkin Row, High Pull, Tricep Extension, Goblet Squat, WWII and Press, Millineum Falcon hold, Suitcase Carry, Snatch, Row, Clean and Press, Flutter Kick, Alabama Honeymoon, Press, Squat Press, Deadlift, Death Crawl

Slide over in the parking lot for some partner exercises. P1 around the island in the parking lot, P2 does exercise, flapjack.  Goblet Squats, Alabama Honeymoons, Merkin Row, WWII Press

1 round Pan-PAX 8 count burpee.

COT

NM

Flip Phone has been showing up to CM and relying on someone in the PAX bringing an extra KB but this week there was not one to be found.  Unfortunately the themed workout did not lend itself to not having a KB.  He stayed near the PAX and crushed some burpees, merkins, WWII, FK, wall planks and plenty of others while the rest of us rolled through the 40.  Respect to him for sticking it out and I think a plan has been hatched to get him a KB or he will now go get his own before he posts again.

Anyone looking for ideas for an exercise to Q a CM workout need not look any further than this BB.  Listed above is 20+ of the favorites, switching hands and directions counted as separate for this total.  Discussion at the end centered around PAX that don’t post to CM.  Sure you guys can do bodyweight exercises but can you do it with a KB, we’re not sure you can?  You know who you are…

YHC was compiling a list of the KB exercises for a 30×30 type workout but the 40 under 40 thing was just too hard to pass up.  I all seriousness, I believe I speak for at least a few of the F3 faithful when I say that we are proud to be associated with this group and the fact that these 2 have been singled out as leaders in the community is part of the reason.

Announcements

EH those Tidewater men.  Toga and crew head down in a few weeks to kick it off.

Eight of the faithful posted to #CircusMaximus on a damp, cool autumn morning. Rosie planted DonerKebab’s shovel flag, and YHC (Johnsonville) took Q just minutes after arriving, Weinke in hand (but only faint light to read by). This is how the thang when down, more or less:

COP warmups including SSH, DonQuiote, Plank Series, and ScapMerkins ….

Mosey behind school under the single orange flood light for COP:
6 Merkin Row Body Builders OYO
Forties (Sit up KB presses / Flutter Kicks)

Mosey south behind school to the wet field hockey field for COP:
6 Merkin Row Body Builders OYO
Forties (Goblet Squats / Freddie Mercs)

Mosey around north side of school to staff parking lot at front entrance:
3 Merkin Row Body Builders OYO
Forties (Russian KB Twists / Pole Smokers)

Mosey back to SF.

COT (Atilla taking us out with heartfelt prayers)

Moleskin:

There was not a lot mumble chatter this morning, but we worked through some deep gloom. Doing 10 sit-ups with KB presses at the top is not that bad. Doing 30, followed by multiple sets of more, is just plain hard. But, F3 is about sharpening steel, not about comfort.

After last week’s soaking at the convergence, some of the PAX seemed a bit reluctant to get down in the wet grass. We pushed through that.

The remainder of the workout was not easy either. During the COT, YHC found himself in a “flat-line” state of consciousness. Thank you, Atilla, for taking us out with spiritual leadership (and saving me from having to struggle to form words)!

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7

Have a great day! Johnsonville

Announcements —
—> 2.0 friendly workout at #GridIron this week
—> 6 part (weekly) 3rd F bible devotional series starts at 0645 at #GridIron. Earthworm leading this week. Need other leaders. Topic/materials have been prepared.
—> Tidewater Expansion starts 11/5 and continues into Dec. Toga is the team leader on 11/5. I am part of his crew and plan to drive a 2nd car, if needed. If you want to road trip that day, talk to Toga or me. This is a worthy project. It is a great way to give something back to the F3 community and should, if successful, contribute to F3Richmond’s continued growth.
—> Please remember that the #SundayTrail run remains open to F3 Friends, whether male or female. I will continue to offer a short option for those who are not ready to take on the full 7ish miles. That short option can be as short as needed to accommodate anyone.

Five brave souls took to the parking lot of Godwin High School for a Thursday morning beat down.  Here’s how it went down:

Warmup COP: Imperial Walkers, Don Quixote, Scorpions, Clerkins

Time Bomb of Doom:  Circle up for 6 exercises to be done for 30 secs each.  First round had 30 secs rest between each set, second round was 25… down to no rest between each exercise.  Exercises: KB swings, blast off pushups (cross between merkin and dry dock), goblet squats, death crawl (plank up, keep legs straight and pickup kb with one hand to advance forward to center of circle and then back), kb press, hollow hold

Mary: 10 OYO Alabama Honeymoons (hips up, kb press, kb extend to the deck above your head, kb back overhead then back to chest, lower hips, and that’s 1 rep), 4 Turkish getups on ea side

Attila took us out.

NMM:  This was the second time around for the Time Bomb of Doom with some slightly different exercises put into the mix.  It’s deceptive the first couple of rounds with 30 and 25 secs of rest between each exercise, but things pretty much go to hell once you get to 15 secs.  The death crawls alone were a game changer.  Once we got to the 15 secs rest the mumble chatter was over except for a certain body noise contest that erupted between JVille and White Deer.  White Deer seemed to be skidding into an easy victory with a few of us making feeble attempts at keeping up.  That was all well and good until JVille decided he wanted to win!  With a furious effort, JVille nearly lost his pants and settled the contest.  It must be all the sausage he packs in.

Strong work by all, and special thanks to Rosie for naming his signature core exercise= Alabama Honeymoons.., Roll Tide!

Stay Classy,

Toga

 

Three of the faithful, including YHC, posted at Mills Godwin High School, also known as F3Richmond’s #CircusMaxims AO, with kettlebells in hand. The rain had been falling by the bucket-full and lightning periodically streaked across the pre-dawn sky. Johnsonville (YHC) planted a virtual shovel flag in the soggy soil, and this is how the beatdown progressed, more or less:

Mosey beneath the flat metal roof in the school’s bus loading area. No more mosies.

Warmup including ssh, helicopter, merkins, don quiotes, arm circles.

Elevens consisting of single arm kettlebell swings (1/2 count per arm) and crabcakes

plank-o-rama

Elevens consisting of cleans & presses (1/2 count per arm) and pole smokers

protractor

Elevens consisting of electric slide and (1/2 count per side lunge) and wall planks

plank-o-rama

COP with sit & presses in cadence

COT with Atilla taking us out.

Moleskin: It was a mess out there this morning, and YHC has been under the weather this week. YHC thus had a very hard time getting out of bed. But, once the gloom began, and once I became completely wet from laying in standing water, and once White Deer starting getting competitive, things became down-right fun. It felt to me like this workout was over in 20 minutes.

We have a number of regulars out for health reason, and we pray for their speedy recovery.

Great job, men! Jville

7 Circus Maximus stalwarts and 1 FNG fought the urge to hit the snooze on another dense, drizzly morning and escaped the fartsack to swing some bells and start their day off right, this is how it went down more or less:

COP – SSH ICx20; Helicopter ICx10; Don Quixotes ICx11; Arm Circles ICx15 (10 small, 5 large) forward and then backward

Swing & Push – 10 2-arm swings then 10 merkins — repeato reducing the number of the merkins each round down to 1.

Partner chase around the circus loop – first loop Partner 1 carries both bells; Partner 2 performs 5 Burpees then sprints to catch Partner 1 and flapjack.  Second loop, same concept but exercise was WWII situps instead of Burpees.

Conveyor Belt – PAX split into 2 groups of 4 and formed two conveyor belts with 4 stations each 2 parking space lines apart.  Exercises included Squat, Bob & Weave, Upright Rows and Clean & Press. Perform designated exercise at conveyor stop then bear crawl north to the next stop.  Sprint from northernmost station to back of the line. Complete 2 runs through the conveyor belt

Form line along the school wall for a some Wall/Kettlebell Combos:

• Swings and wall plank – each x10 – 2 rounds
• Lunges and donkey kicks – each x10 – 2 rounds
• Squat and press and balls to the wall merkins  – each x10 – 2 rounds
• Squats and wall plants – each x10 – 2 rounds

Discount Double Check on the sidewalk under cover.  Partner 1 carries bell to end of the sidewalk and back.  Partner 2 performs prom-date-bridge-press-reach (I’m with Toga we need a name for these).  Flapjack.  For second round the exercise changed to WWII situp and press.

Time expired.

COT – name-a-rama, number-rama and YHC took us out.

Announcements:

• HDHH – next Wednesday 6:00 p.m. workout (Batteau) and 6:45 happy hour (Crossroads) – see Hardywood’s pre-blast.
• Good luck to Toga and BT this Saturday at Spartan Race – we know you guys will represent us well.
• Bike ride 9/24 – see offshore?
• Sign up for Rugged Maniac 10/1 – see EF Hutton or Flipper for details
• Bearcreek 10 miler 12/4 – sign fast
• New AO (the Creek) kicking off in DaVille tomorrow (at New Highland Baptist Church at 0530) – Abacus has the Q.

Great work today gents.  Lots of swings and leg work.  Way to push through.

Welcome Rosco.  A great friend who I knew would love F3 and who I have been EH’ing since I started.  Thankfully he is on the mend from a nasty ankle injury suffered while laying the law (literally) on somebody.  Great to have you out there Rosco. I know you will be a great addition to the F3RVA PAX.

Thanks for letting me lead and bring back some of my favorite exercises that we have done at the Circus.

Lots of new and great AOs out there folks.  No excuses – let’s turnout with FNGs in tow.

Gumbo

A Magnificent 7 (note: I didn’t say “The Magnificent 7” due to naming rights owned by MGM.., props to my bald homie Yul Brynner) posted for a classic kettlebell workout.

Thang:

Warmup COP: Mtn Climbers, scapula merkins, scorpions (hug mother earth while laying facedown and try to reach the back of your right foot to left hand.., you just gotta see it), supermans, windmills, unweighted goblet squats

COP with 15 count rest between all:  kb swing x15, 1 arm kb swing x10 ea arm, 1 arm kb clean x10 ea arm, kb push press x10 ea arm, kb bottoms-up clean x10 ea arm, kb windmill (more on that later), goblet squat 3×10, hand 2 hand kb swing x40, unweighted (for most of us) Turkish get-up x5 ea leg, alt shoulder press x10, kb snatch x10 ea arm

Mosey to columns by school for: partner 1 farmer carries 2 kbs down and back while partner 2 executes wall planks (start in plank 2 ft from wall then move both hands to wall) till partner 1’s return, repeato x3

Mary:  Rosie’s infamous prom date to kb press to kb over and back x15 (what the hell do we call these?), weighted sit-ups till time expired

NMM:  In full disclosure, YHC was in a fog for the first 15 minutes.  In my defense, while reviewing the Facebook post of BRR pics this morning, YHC was greeted with way too many pics of shirtless Lab Rat.  Really!?  Bleeder has a stash of shirts in his car.  Should we start a clothing drive?  The F3 term for this = Chippendale.

Re the title of the BB, YHC tried to add some new items to the workout and thought the kb windmill looked great.  That said, YHC did not test this maneuver and nearly crippled myself during the demo.    If anyone can learn from this, make sure to test any special moves before expecting the PAX to take them on.  Speaking of taking on a little extra work, the Turkish Get-up (Capt Oveur, “Joey, have you ever been in a… in a Turkish prison?”), is a messy/complicated move without weight.  YHC encouraged everyone to continue to work on form without weight, but did that stop the Mighty JVille?  Of course not, it can’t be done.  JVille proceeded to eschew the Q’s advice and tackle the weighted version.  He can report on the result.

Strong work from the PAX on a workout that seemed to fly by unless you were doing wall planks.

Stay Classy,

Toga