Tag: Heartbreak Ridge

Five strong redwoods fought off the fartsack and journeyed to the Heartbreak Ridge for a journey into unknown hate given the expansive options, and here is how it went down.

• COP
  • 25 SSH
  • 25 IW
  • 15 DQ
  • 10 2x merkins
  • 25 FM
  • 15 Pickle Pounders
  • 15 American hammers
  • 25 helicopters
• Mosey to the tennis courts for a bearimeter
  • 30 LBC at each corner
  • Rinse and repeat with elbow planks at each corner
• Mosey to adjoining hard surface for modified 4 corners (10, 15, 20, 25 reps at each corner)
  • Crab cakes
  • Deep squats
  • Merkins
  • Monkey Humpers
  • WWII sit-ups
  • Carolina Dry Docks
  • Flutter Kicks
• Mosey to the Jerkin Gym for 4x 8 reps
• Mosey to the hill to the parking lot – 5x Bernies
• Ring of fire with 10 merkins
• COT with YHC taking us out

Solid day of work by the PAX.  Good to see Vinny and Handshake becoming regulars.  Welcome back Gomer Pyle!  He had a morning flight to boot.

God speed to all those doing the CUSAP this weekend.

God is good all the time!

Attila

Those iconic words of Douglas MacArthur as he famously left The Philippines were ringing heavily in the ears of seven brave men as they entered the gloom this morning. Of course, this day in 1942 marked one of the darkest points in the Pacific Theatre of WWII, culminating in the devastating retreat known as the Bataan Death March.

After a brief COP (SSH, DQ, WWIIs, Dive Bombers), PAX did their own Bataan Death March around the HBR campus: Indian Run, with the 6 completing five burpees before coming up front. Multiple stops along the way included dips on the bleachers, balls to the wall, copperhead squats, and a sidebar into pole smokers along the bus loop.

Upon completion, YHC felt that we hadn’t each done nearly enough burpees, and set out to right that wrong. Mosey over to Heartbreak Ridge proper. One partner runs backwards up HBR 2X while the other does burpees, switch until the pair reaches 100. With a trio we hit 150, and quickly called an audible to be able to choose the direction one faced as they ran the ridge.

After PAX questioning whether it was leg day, we finished at the Rusty Cage. 11s with jerkins & WWIIs. So there.

MOLESKIN:

YHC hasn’t Q’d in a while, and in the midst of a really busy work season, has been happy to let others do his work for him. Upon realizing that the Q was unspoken for as of 10pm last night, the realization that this is important to many of us and the need to step up inspired this morning’s beatdown.

Grateful for a PAX who gets me out of the fartsack day after day, and love how a good beatdown sets my day up for success. Onward and upward.

Winter must end soon.  One what is hopefully the last day of really cold temps 7 noble warriors fought through the chilly conditions.  Here is how it went down.

• COP
  • 25 SSH
  • 25 IW
  • 15 DQ
  • 12 2x merkins
  • 20 FM
  • 15 2x pickle pounders
  • 25 Helicopters
• 10 minutes of burpees
• 40 APD
• Mosey to the jerkin gym for an 11 with jerkins/WWII sit-ups
• Mosey to the parking lot for a triple check – wall sit, LBC, run
• Lunge walk to the invisible shovel flag
• COT with YHC taking us out

Great work by the PAX today.  It was good to see some familiar faces resurface.  YHC was reminded that this was not a FNG friendly Q, but if I am correct, no FNGs were present today.  Just an opportunity to recycle some Gridiron favorites today for some old friends.

The WWII sit-ups definitely left the PAX with frozen backsides.  Spring cannot come soon enough. I think we can all agree on that.

It was a privilege to lead these men.

God is good all the time!

Attila

3 trusted stalwarts came out to conquer this morning. The rain beat us to the start line but didn’t keep us from our goal.

THE THANG
Mosey to the southeast corner of the parking lot to get legs warmed up.

Disclaimer. Warmup COP (all in cadence):
-16 jump shots
-20 IW
-16 DQ
-20 LBCs
-16 CDD

Mosey to the south The Lucky Horseshoe – Challenge extended to the PAX to do full motion/good form exercises. Do a lap of the track and do 20 of the marked exercises on laminated card corresponding to that lap number. Complete everything you can in 33 minutes.
Lap 1 – Merkins
Lap 2 – Merkins, Storm Squats (to clear up any ongoing confusion, each storm squat rep = [1st leg -> squat -> 2nd leg -> squat])
Lap 3 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks
Lap 4 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps
Lap 5 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges (to clear up any ongoing confusion, 20 each leg)
Lap 6 – Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
Lap 7 – Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
Lap 8 – WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
Lap 9 – In-place Lunges
Lap 10 – Victory Lap

Mosey back to the parking lot, 16 Freddie Mercuries IC + 20 APDs IC

COT – Loose Goose uttered a short prayer of thanks for brothers to do this with and to our great God for giving us life.

MOLESKIN
Kudos to Attila and Offshore for posting this morning in the pleasant cold rain. YHC was appreciative of the text from Attila this morning at 5:08am that said “Will be there to support Q but this is stupid” and confirmed the Q would not be working alone this morning.

Not much mumblechatter this morning, likely indicative of the hard work and hard rain.

At the risk (certainty?) of sounding like a broken record, the Lucky Horseshoe is YHC’s favorite way to gauge on a regular basis the progress of the hard work we do in getting out of the fartsack, posting, and pushing ourselves to improve.

And of course… the repetitive 16 reps/20 reps were in honor of the first ever 16 seed to lose in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament and the 20 point spread of UMBC’s win in the first round. All in jest, my UVA brothers, that Hoos squad was a legit championship contender who had a horrible game, and was much better than my Hokies will ever have.

A frosty five fought through the snow and ice to post in mid March. We safely and slowly took on the gloom with:

COP – SSH, Don Qs, Merkins, Flutterkicks. Mosey to back field. 20 Donkey Kicks, Bear Crawl. Then Chicken Peckers, fail!.

Over to Basketball hoops. 5 Hand-release Merkins on 1 side, 10 HR Merkins other side. Repeato but replace Merkins with 10 WWII situps.

Down to the track . 3 sets of: 10 Derkins & 20 Benchkicks. Then introduce Tuco to Jerkin Gym. 3 sets of AMRAP Jerkins. 2 trips up Heartbreak hill, Bernie Sanders style.

Back to flag finish with Burpee Escalator- 8 up to 11 and then some Mary to close it out. Loose Goose took us out.

NMS – Tuco shared on twitter he wanted to hit the best AO in F3RVA this morning so naturally made the right choice of Heartbreak Ridge.  Nice work this morning and best of luck in your meeting here in RVA. Also great to have Angus back out after his Hibernation.

YHC was unsure what sections of the AO would not have ice, turns out nowhere was safe. Several pax enjoyed their hands slipping  during the bear crawls so that was quickly nixed. The track was a good mix of ice as well.

The only plus of the poor weather was no school buses were started with the 2 hour delay, keeping the normal diesel fumes away while we knocked out the Burpee Escalator. Loose Goose said he felt like president Skroob with the clean Virgin air. Always good to have a Spaceballs reference in the Gloom.

Atilla supported YHC by going SOP as well, aye!

Silent Assassin signing off.

5 of the West End (and F3 RVA’s) finest gathered in the gloom today to better themselves. Here’s what went down:

THE THANG:
Mosey to the grassy area in front of the school

Warmup COP (all in cadence) – Invisible Jump Rope x25, IW x20ish, DQ slowly x 10, Merkins x10, Freddie Mercury x20

Mosey to the bottom of the hill between football & baseball fields.

Partner hills/Lieutenant Dans – One partner runs up the hill while other does LDs at the bottom. Switch and repeat 3x each, plank-o-rama, then do 3x each again, and plank-o-rama again.

Mosey to the forbidden field before the rain makes it soggy again.

The Beast – Merkins, Flutter Kicks, Burpees, Box Cutters, Squats x3 stops/Squat jumps x3 stops, Pickle Pounders

Mosey back to shovel flag for quick COP/Mary (all IC) – LBCs x20, Attila/Offshore Prom date x20, American Hammers x20

MOLESKIN:
As always, it was my pleasure to lead this excellent group of men. I’ve enjoyed getting to know each of you better in the year(ish?) that we’ve been working out together on Tuesdays at Heartbreak Ridge. It’s also a great AO, lots to do.

Knowing we hadn’t had rain in awhile, YHC was dead set on spending some time on that nice football field that we so rarely use. It was just as nice as imagined. So nice, in fact, that the Q thought it must have sprinklers… the piston noise coming from the bus in the lot nearby sounded an awful lot like a sprinkler sputtering as it started and came very close to a Q audible to have the Pax exit a frosty wet field. Of course this fits with the several-years-old (correct) narrative that this particular RVA Pax member avoids cold/wet weather combinations for the most part.

Looking forward to a Seymour Q next week. Have a superb day and week gentlemen.

Loose Goose out.

Six strong came out to Heartbreak Ridge despite the frost. We did:

COP of SSH, Don Qs, Hillbillies, Merkins, Flutterkicks, Scorpion Kicks. Mosey to Honeysuckle Hill.

Bear crawl up, 3 Burpees at top, run back and B2W. Next run up hill, 5 Burpees at top, then back. 30 Jump Squats. Lunge rest of fence then 3 burpees. Head to tennis courts.

Partner up- Wheelbarrow to net then 10 Derkins. Switch partner. Repeato x3.  Then 3 sets of 20 PLTs. Head to Basketball court- 5 Hand-release Merkins at each hoop, then 10 on hoops on other side. Off to Jerkin Gym – 3 sets of 8. Finish up with 2 sets of- 40 Bench kicks and 30 Jump Squats. Brief bit of Mary back at flag to get us to 6:15.

NMS – Great to see Plush out for 2nd day after inaugural post at Hoedown yesterday. Nice work in opting for the jump right in the deep end of the gloom option.

We had 4 pax with 30 seconds to start when Offshore made it an uneven 5. On the initial mosey Loose Goose presciently said Mr Holland would arrive during the COP to make it an even 6 and true to form he did.

Loose Goose apparently had never seen Scorpion Kicks and had some choice words about the Qs choice of exercise in the frosty grass. YHC almost opted to follow that with Superman.

We covered most of the AO and the PAX could sense YHC’s desire to stop at the Donkey Kick Wall but the Jerkin Gym called us down. What can make Jerkins worse? How about the bar covered in ice so you can barely grip the bar and if you slip off you land in the freezing mud below. That will test your grip strength, aye!

Mr Holland is on the fence about being forcibly signed up for the CSAUP in April. Maybe putting it in writing will seal the deal.

Silent Assassin signing off.

7 champions, none of which signed up to Q, arrived at Heartbreak Ridge in today’s gloom ready to tackle the day. YHC, fresh off

of ending the battle against the mouse in the attic, decided on the spot that everyone should have the opportunity to try for a victory lap. The Shovel Flag was planted, and the first 6 took off to begin the journey.

THE THANG

Mosey around the north half of the parking lot to get legs warmed up, and land back next to the shovel flag

Warmup COP:

• Hammer time x20 IC (Offshore style)
• Merkins x20 IC (form demo/practice)
• Storm Squats x10 OYO
• Scorpion Dry Docks x12 OYO
• WWII situps x20 IC
• In-place lunges 2-count x10 IC

Mosey to the track

The Lucky Horseshoe – Challenge extended to the PAX to do full motion/good form exercises. Do a lap of the track and do 20 of the marked exercises on laminated card corresponding to that lap number.
Lap 1 – Merkins
Lap 2 – Merkins, Storm Squats
Lap 3 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks
Lap 4 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps
Lap 5 – Merkins, Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
Lap 6 – Storm Squats, Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
Lap 7 – Scorpion Dry Docks, WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
Lap 8 – WWII Situps, In-place Lunges
Lap 9 – In-place Lunges
Lap 10 – Victory Lap!

MOLESKEEEEEIN

GREAT work this morning, fellas. YHC had been waiting to bring out the Lucky Horseshoe for way too long. This is a workout that indeed makes for a love/hate feeling towards it. But it really is a great you vs. you workout that gives objective proof of whether you’ve improved since the last time you did it.

As Offshore commented, the Heartbreak Ridge “true ¼ mile” track is clearly longer than the one at 45MoM. Couple that with the full motion & good form pushups and lunges, and the RVA Pax has its work cut out to find someone who can complete the Victory Lap of this newer & better Lucky Horseshoe. Consider this the gauntlet being thrown toward anyone who believes they are up for the challenge when we do this again on March 20.

And finally, the answer to the title question… Per Live Science “It was believed that the primitive goblins feared the metal weapons of their enemies, and were therefore afraid of iron. To ward off goblins and evil spirits from their homes, the people hung iron horseshoes over their front doors.”

The Q arrived with cobwebs and yawns.  The PAX quickly learned not to let that deceive them.  The short BB does not give this beatdown justice.  Here is how it went down.

• COP
  • 25 SSH
  • 25 IW
  • Unknown number of DQ as the mumblechatter overtook counting
  • 25 helicopters (at least that was the goal in the midst of continued mumblechatter)
  • 10 2x merkins
  • 20 2x LBC
• Burpee march in the parking lot, total of 60 burpees, 60 WWII sit-up and 60 2x flutter kicks
• Mosey to Heartbreak Hill – 10 sprints up the hill
• Mosey to the playground on the corner of the track for 11s with pull-ups and Lt Dan
• Mosey back to the parking lot with a Bernie up the hill to the parking lot
• COT with YHC taking us out

Today’s burpee march was a celebration of YHC’s beloved UVA hoops team.  We did 4 sets of 15 burpees.  15 celebrates the recent winning streak, while 4 is the ultimate goal, as in a Final Four.  Usually I mix in APDs with a burpee march, and today I celebrated VT with my APD count.  There were 0 APDs, as in 0 national championships at VT.

There was much mumblechatter and a loss of count during the COP.  It continued through burpees, but for some reason ceased when we hit Heartbreak Hill.  In light of the dissipated mumberchatter, YHC showed mercy on the PAX.  There was no tunnel of love (looking at you Viral) at the bottom to Heartbreak Hill.  Recent rains have not been kind to the AO.

I do want to salute Offshore.  He required very little assistance on the pull-ups.  That was impressive as the 11s were a solid beatdown.  Finally, good to have Loose Goose back in the saddle.  I was growing worried that he was abandoning us and joining the legions of Short Pump farksackers after he started the workouts at this fine AO.  Do not be a stranger brother!

God is good all the time!

Attila

YHC showed up extra early this am to get a lay of the land. First Q for Heartbreak Ridge. Big AO so with time to spare, YHC formulated his workout for a West End PAX inbound. YHC parked near the buses and waited to see the appropriate place to park…..ah, Offshore was first and YHC moved accordingly. Closer to the track, mid parking lot. 6 regular West End gents and 1 SOJ regular posted and this is how it went down. 0530…Time to Mosey. One warm up lap around the parking lot.

COP- Invisible Jump Rope x 15, Copperhead Squats x 15, Don Quixote x 10, Imperial Walker x 15, Flutter Kicks x 15, LBC x 15, Merkin x 10. Time to Mosey..

YHC forgot how big Quicassin Middle School parking lot is. So….Ascending Four Corners followed by Descending Four Corners. First corner, x 10 merkins, mosey to second corner x 20 squats, x10 merkins and mosey to third Corner x 30 mountain climbers, x 20 squats, x 10 merkins and mosey to the fourth Corner x 40 SSH, x 30 mountain climbers, x 20 squats, x 10 merkins. Repeat fourth corner workout and time to descend. Third Corner x 30 mountain climbers, x 20 squats, x 10 merkins and mosey to second corner, x 20 squats, x 10 merkins. Mosey back to first corner, x 10 merkins.

Mosey to the track. Burpee Mile. 12 burpees and run one lap. Repeat 4 times. 48 burpees and one mile, done!

YHC actually listened to the PAX this am when all 6 appeared hesitant to step onto the football field. YHC wanted to show West End PAX, The Lawn Service. So quick silent audible….triple check. YHC was solo but 2 groups. Run 100 yards, derkins, and dips. Quick work, gents. And with time to spare…..what to do?

Mosey to the concession stand…..BTW. Approx 2 minutes…BTW for as long as possible. One small break. All PAX members crushed a 30 second count down! Time expired. Mosey back to the parking lot.

Number-ama, Name-r-ama, Announcements: BRR group is forming. CSAUP for appropriate Nano Region. Honeydo and Upchuck are assisting The Healing Place and their Monument 10k training team. 0730 on Saturday, close to Dogpile. This Saturday, 2 mile run.

Honeydo took us out!

NMS- Not that far a drive from SOJ and awesome AO. Ronnie asked the Q if he was wearing brass balls? Ronnie kept hearing metal clacking sound from YHC. YHC told Ronnie the clacking sound was from YHC gloves-clasp to attach together and hook on a ruck-YHC gloves issued fall of 1994 by Army ROTC department at The Institute! Who would have thought 20 years later, still in use! YHC told Ronnie, yea right now I have tiny brass balls!  Mumblechatter kinda light but YHC did hear about Offshore being a character witness. God Bless all educators in this world! Good to see Garbage Plate and Ronnie this am……miss seeing them at Dogpile! Honeydo, Thank you for shovel flag!! Attila-nice to finally meet you! Offshore-pleasure as always! Mr. Holland-solid workout and thanks for AO name explanation!

Thank you for following almost all of the workout!! Great to start the am at Heartbreak Ridge. Only those who show up understand! Have a super day!

Loud and Proud!

Flatline