While many were hoping it would rain harder, the truly hard rain held off while 20 of the core team represented for f3 RVA’s 9 Year anniversary convergence.
5 Burpee start, Mosey around the school with a bonus 20 dips on the picnic benches
COT, Welcome, disclaimer. All IC: 25 SSH, 10x Don Quixote, 10x Helicopter, 10x Merican, 10x diamond, 10x Wide Arm, 10x arm circles, 10x LBC, 15x Hello Dolly, 15x Rosalita, 20x Heels to Heaven, 15x Flutter Kick, 10x Asphalt Angels, 10x Australian, 10 x Alabama Prom Date. Mosey to football field.
Bonus run across the nicest basketball courts in Richmond, 20x bonus dips.
Hardway Beast / Build a Beast / Beast Ladder. Stop at 25, exercise, 50 exercise, 75 exercise, run to end line and return at 75, 50, and 25.:
Train to standard not to time. Mosey BTTF Hitting original time hack of 60 min
Fudd took us out. 2nd F at Relay Shoes Galactic Headquarters. Thanks to Hardywood, Honeydo, Meatball, Mister Rogers, Try Hard. Venmo Honeydo for bagels / coffee – its expensive these days.
Announcements
Sit N Sip cancelled. Meet at Hardywood West Creek Oktoberfest – see slack for changes
Annual Gloomy awards – see slack for our esteemed winners.
NMS – This group means so much to all of us. Lets give it away. Recruiting FNG is a major focus for year 10. And shovel flags.
49 Redwoods met in the warming gloom for our Labor Day convergence. According to the indecisive Land Rover driver looking for the Farmer, here is how it went down more or less.
5 Burpee start, mosey to COP. Disclaimer, Mission. All IC: 10x SSH, 10x Don Quixote, 20x ‘Merican, 10x WW2, 10x Hello Dolly, 10x Rosalita. Mosey to…
Upchuck Q. Triple Check touch a tree, Runner fondles 10, 8, 6. Monkey Humpers, LBC. Mosey to
Corned Beef Q. Triple Check pipe loop. Reverse Crunch and Lunge in place. Mosey to…
Oyster Q. Triangle Triple Check. ‘Merican and American Hammers. Mosey to…
5 min of Mary. all IC. 20x Hello Dolly, 20x Rosalita, 20x Flutter Kick, 15x Freddy Mercury, 5x Bohemian Rhapsody.
Hutton took us out. Prayers for Yee Haws daughter and those suffering mental anguish.
Thanks to Hutton and Pigskin for bringing Gatorade and Water. 2F at Ellwood Thompson.
Announcements
16 Sep Workout for Liv at Rountree / Satans Hill
16 Sep West End 5k
23 Sep 9 year F3RVA Anniversary Convergence at the Crucible.
NMS – Labor day is a day off of work but we put the work in today in time for family and fun. Thanks to all the Qs for their planning and execution. And thanks to all the PAX that made it out today.
F3RVA July 4th Convergence at Dogwood Dell hosted a massive PAX of 52 studs, most of whom had no idea a DTH beatdown was about to be unleashed. Here’s how these warriors crushed the workout, celebrated their freedom, and pledged to one another their undying brotherhood:
The THANG:
WARMERAMA:
Mosey to the circle
Welcome & Disclaimer
Variable IC Reps to get the muscles warm top to bottom (no 8-count exercises were harmed in the making of this warmup)
COP #1:
Mosey down into the Amphitheater
Partner up for a DORA
x100 WWII
x200 Incline Merkins
x300 Dips
Moving partner box jumps to the top to complete x3 Burpees, then runs back down to switch off
Front-runners help the SIX complete reps
COP #2:
Mosey back up to the grass circle
Celebration of 7/4/1776
x7 Burpees
x4 Burpees
x17 Booyah Merkins
Mosey to the top of the triangle
x76 SSH
Mosey down hill to the culdesac
Circle up in plank awaiting the SIX
Elbow plank & Review the F3 Credo and 5 Core Principles
COP #3:
Partner up for LOVE HILL
One partner starts the bear crawl while the other completes x20 Jump Squats and x20 LBC’s, then runs to switch with partner.
Each man completes x3 sets with bear crawling to the top pf the hill between
Some PAX modified to lunges
Circle back for the SIX, hug a tree, stretch
COP #4:
Mosey to the Carillon Field for INTERVALS
Line up on the end
25% Mosey to the other end
American Hammers IC for the Six
50% Run back across the field
ABC’s for the Six
100% Sprint to the other end
Catch breath then Flutters IC for the Six
25% Mosey back across
Stretch and Plankorama for the Six
COP #5:
Mosey over to the starting circle
Partner up for x25 LBC’s each
Mosey BTTF for COT:
Counterama #52 (including x2 FNG’s and x2 LIFO’s)
Namerama
Announcerama (see Below)
YHC took the PAX out with the excepts below and a Prayer
Excerpts from The Declaration of Independence
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
…And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
NMS: It’s not often our Numberama ends on 50! Awesome to have so many RVA PAX choosing to start their holiday celebrations the hard way! A hearty welcome to Machismo’s nephew Josiah, nicknamed Bollywood, and to Bootleg’s young son nicknamed Luigi! Also great to host Jim Freeze, AKA Olaf, posting DR from Houston. And Happy Birthday to Chaplain!!! The beatdown was highly modified for a larger than expected PAX, but with 1000% humidity it was grueling and amply served to sharpen iron. Well done gentlemen! And thank you for your faithfulness. Our Region grows stronger every week – keep posting, Q’ing, headlocking, and serving – if you’re not sacrificing something for your brothers and neighbors, you’re not doing it right. Honored and Humbled, YHC, DTH
Announcements (SEE SLACK!)
Pickle ball Monday at Batteau
State Farm VQ this Friday at Satan’s Hill
School of Rock this Saturday following Rock&Roll – bring out your kids!
60 warriors braved the rain to enjoy our annual Memorial Day convergence. It was a little wet out. Some call it rain, SEALs call it Frogman weather, Bulkhead calls it training. This pic is sums it up because many personalities are featured including our newest FNG Gambler and also Ripcord.
According to the STPT workout group gathering in the rain and anticipating max enjoyment for their long canoe portage, this is what went down, more or less:
COP All PAX mosey to Browns Island. Greeting, disclaimer, mission. COP: 30x SSH, 10x DQ, 50x Merican, 10x LBC, 10x right leg straight LBC, 10x left leg straight LBC, 10x both legs straight LBC (Inspired by Chum Bucket!), 10x APD, 15x squats. Break into 4 groups
Rosie breakout Q: Mosey over to the stage for a triple check with monkey humpers and flutter kicks. Loop around the stage and to the bridge for a Dora 100 merkins, 200 box cutters, 300 squats, runner goes across the bridge and back. Back to the base of the hill to meet up with the rest of the PAX.
Florence breakout Q: At Bridge #1 : Triple Check – Dips, Squat Jumps, Timer runs across Bridge and back
Mosey to Fountain Line up in incline Plank position around the fountain, Curb Crawl clockwise around the fountain for a full loop Hold incline Plank on fountain, PAX at the front does 20 incline Merkins while rest of PAX hold Plank, Repeato down the line until everyone has done 20 incline Merkins
Mosey to Bridge #2 Tripe Check – Gomer’s 1 legged LBC’s, Crab Cakes, Timer runs across the bridge and back. Mosey to the War Memorial hill
Heist breakout Q: Mosey over T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge. On the way did 20x copperhead squats and 5 burpees.
Across the bridge and worked our way down to the rock climbing area: 1) Pax held wall sits. Went down the line for 10x donkey kicks 2) Pax then held plank and did 10x dirty hookups (hand wall walks) 3) Lunge walked back to the stairs.
Moseyed back across the bridge Triple check: Picnic bench dips/incline merkins and running to gate.
Gomer breakout Q: Mosey across middle bridge to Tredegar. 11s Merican + WW2.
Mosey to Belle Isle bridge. 20x WW2 at the bottom of each rainbow, 15x WW2 at the top. Return the way we came.
Convergence Q: Meet at the bottom of the War Memorial Hill. 1x burpee for each light pole for a total of 10 on the left and 10 on the right. At the top, 10x Grass angels and 10x Australian grass angels to finish the job.
Memorial Day sharing outside the Virginia War Memorial. Thanks to all who were able to share and those who remember lost ones in their hearts.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” George S. Patton
Probation took us out. Prayers for Florence Family, Gomer’s work, Hitchhiker.
2nd F in the mizzle is the best. Venmo @uberrock if you want to help. Thanks to Lighthouse for picking up the vittles, and to Heist and Florence for bringing coolers of gatorade and water.
Announcements:
Sign up for summer tour
Sign up for breaking bread
NMS – Great fun seeing everyone out there! Who doesn’t love a convergence? Really excited to see PAX we have not seen in a while. Great to see 2.0s. Welcome to Gambler, former crew chief for Kiowa scout helos.
My memorial call out today is to COL Donny Ollar. This is his bio from 2015.
Donny is a brother of mine from our pre-Ranger program for 6 months while at Engineer Officer Basic at Fort Leonard Wood, MO in 1993. He went on to serve 28 years as an officer in the Army. Donny is a West Pointer and a football player. During PT, we sometimes partnered up and carried each other up and down a hill. Pretty sure we used to trade off carrying the 240B while patrolling. He learned how to shotgun beer under arguably the best tutelage (with some other WP alum, it was oddly satisfying at the time). After EOBC he went to Ft Polk, I went to Germany. We lost touch. The last time I was at FLW in 1999 as a EOAC student, Donny was a EOAC small group instructor and we ran into each other in the hall and had lunch together. He deployed multiple times, including 2 tours in Afghanistan and 2 tours in Iraq. After leaving the Army, he committed suicide, leaving behind his wife and two daughters.
This impacts YHC tremendously two ways 1. We had a lot in common and might have had much more, but Donny made the Army a career. 2. I did not know of his passing until recently – he and I were simply not in common circles despite all our modern connectivity – I have to think how many more are out there have I lost touch with?
The cynic will say, it was a job that you got paid for and that you signed up for, but at best, that point of view is awfully short sighted. The transition from *that life* where the abnormal is normal is challenging and that we all take it on differently.
This sums it up: A war is not over until its last veteran passes on. How grateful we, that have not had to experience war, should be because of those who have.
The lesson for us is that as men we probably dont want to share inner challenges, but we must – we can get though it together. Call me anytime.
Join us at 7am on Monday 5/29 at Belle Isle for our annual Memorial day Convergence.
We will do a beatdown finishing at the War Memorial and have coffee and bagel fellowship after.
Remember that May is FNG month. Bring an FNG out this month and get him to the convergence. Special prize to the region with the most FNGs and to the top recruiter.
Thirty four truth seekers, including one aggressor from Quincy, MA, convened in the dusk for this year’s iteration of alternative history. After a few reminders of where they sold shorts in Virginia off we went.
Quick mosey to Commonwealth. Form two lines for Native American run south towards Cary then veer unexpectedly to the middle of the field.
COP
Don Quixotes
Windmills (we call them Helicopters around here)
Cherry Pickers (we called them cranberry pickers in the Qs honor)
Probably a few other exercises
The Thang
Mosey to the end of the field for a PAX accurate prediction of 11s. Merkins & WWIIs at each tree. Some may have only done 10, some 12. Either way, great fellowship with your nearby PAX.
Short mosey over to the side of the school for triple check. Peoples chair, LBCs, run to the fence and bernie sanders back.
Even shorter mosey to the west side of the tennis courts. Split up equally to four corners. 10x Lt. Dans / 20x LBCs / 30x SSHs / 40x Jump Squats. Repeat 3 times.
Collect ourselves on the eastern side of the courts for a reminder of what has been created and what is reborn in front of us every day.
Work our way back over to the bus loop, partner up. One runs 3/4 the way around then lunges the rest of the way. The other is doing merkins, LBCs, something else.
Mary for 5 minutes before TYA took us out.
Moleskin
YHC leaves this backblast here as a token to help memorialize Thanksgiving of 2022. Let us all be thanks for for those around us, our family, friends, co-workers. Regardless of who posted first, this was a Thanksgiving convergence.
White Deer agreed to lead the 2022 Thanksgiving Kettle Bell “Convergence” as long as I wrote it up. Conversations included bulging and detachable body parts, slow firing neurons, not missing Attila’s gas and Johnsonville reminiscing of the early days of this AO.
Since White Deer thinks Slack is only something he does not give to anyone, I will mostly make up the rest since he will never read this (but he will still tell me I did it wrong).
Warmups included White Deer SSH (moving one leg at a time), arm circles, APDs, DQ and probably something else.
We then did a Beast that included Curls, Overhead presses, Overhead Triceps, Sit and Presses, High Pulls and Squats (not in that order).
Runners then did 2 laps of the circle and walkers walked less.
We ended with 20 reps of Curb Pulls and then Floor Presses and then repeat.
White Deer led us in a round of thanks. I’m thankful for anyone who got his far in my write-up.
A perfect morning greeted 45 Redwoods who both caught some extra REM and showed today to celebrate our 8 year anniversary and get a little sweat on. According to the parents awaiting the Tuckahoe Tomahawks game here is what went down, more or less:
EF Hutton Q: COP In Cadence: 20x SSH, 10x Copperhead Squats, 15x Imperial Walkers, 10x Merkins, Plankorama, 10x Freddie Mercury
Johnsonville Q: 11s across the soccer pitch. Crabcakes + 8x 2count LBC (that means 80 on the first iteration)
Lockjaw Q: Triple check. BTTW, Elbow Plank, run the SPMS front loop.
Pigskin Q: Mary In Cadence 20 SSH, 10x Man Maker Merkins, 15x knee up, 20x lunges, 10x diamond merkins, 20x Hello Dolly, 10x Imperial Walker, 15 x Merkins, 60s feet held at 6 inches.
Gomer: 1 burpee for each year of F3 RVA. OYO.
Extra time at no charge.
Oyster took us out. Prayers for Gypsy’s sister, Whitesnake, Roger Rogers 2.0, Handshake’s M, healing for the broken.
NMS – Congrats to our new 1st F Q: EF Hutton! Over 300 posts in the last year and driving for more next year. Hutton is ever present and canvases the region already.
Great to see everyone out today. Thanks to all the Qs who helped out and those that helped with logistics and donations for 2nd F.
Welcome to twin FNGs Hans (Lockland) and Franz (Thatcher). Whats great about these guys is that they have never seen the SNL skits before and are soft spoken…. but thats all about to change.
As Oyster said, for many of us, F3 has changed life for the better forever. Lets share that with all we can for another solid year!
Thanks to all those pioneers that saw that this could be more than a workout and those that started F3 here in RVA in 2014. While some of those fine men were not available today be sure to thank them when you can: https://backblasts.f3rva.org/2014/09/20/
