Tag: Heartbreak Ridge

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

Two SOPers joined YHC in the rain, then freezing rain, then snow for something like this:

Lap around the track to the concession stand for COP: Dirty Birds, Carolina Dry Docks, Imperial Walkers, Mountain Climbers, Freddie Mercurys IC.

Mosey to the east bleachers and partner up for partner 11s:  Dips at the bleachers and pull-ups at the pull-up bars, with a run in between.

Mosey to the blacktop for Donkey Kicks at the wall x20, run to the other end, Lt. Dans x20; repeato 3x.

Descending Derkins: Mosey back to the track and around, performing Derkins at each bench/bleacher starting with 10 reps and working down to 1 at the bench behind the VSF.

COT

NMM: YHC and Attila watched Honeydo roll in at 5:27 with blue flashing lights trailing.  He talked his way out of a speeding ticket and was ready to roll at 5:29:30.  The story was that the officer agreed that an Offshore Q is more punishment than a ticket…

YHC didn’t get a chance to Q the Dirty Birds before the Falcons lost in the playoffs.  Since Burger King is sticking with 2 Legit 2 Quit in their commercials, it seemed okay to work them in.  Honeydo noted an NFC South theme for the other COP exercises – what to do for the Bucs, though?

Attila thanked the Q for staying out of the freezing water on the ground, but truth be told, the Q’s fingers were numb after grabbing the pull-up bar.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Link for Healing Place 10K training info and signup: https://backblasts.f3rva.org/2018/01/28/pre-blast-healing-place-10k-training-team-signup/.

Or is it Small Data?  It was 70 and sunny at Heartbreak Ridge, so YHC expects to see record numbers at the other AOs.

The THANG: Post next week, and YHC will be happy to Q it again.

Announcements: Solid VQ by Bootleg yesterday.  Was that computer code in the BB (“++”, “-=”)?

Four formidable fellows found their way to Heartbreak Ridge on a cloudy morning. We covered most of the AO:

Msey to field between track and road. COP- Imperial Walkers, Don Qs, Flutterkicks, Merkins. Head to Honeysuckle Hill for Burpees and Hill Run.  Start at 5 Burpees, run up Honeysuckle hill then repeato all the way to 10 Burpees. Head to tennis courts.   Bear Crawl width of 2 courts, 10 Merkins at start, 20 halfway then 30 at end. 2nd round decrease merkins by 5 each stop.

Head to track- bench fun. Alternate 20 Benchkicks, 20 Flutterkicks up bench. Repeato. Then carefully run on track over to Jerkin Gym. 3 sets of 8 each man. Run around track and finish with 3 Bernie Sanders and back to flag.

NMS – pax were dressed for cold weather, with Atilla donning a ski mask out of the car. Humidity made it feel downright warm once we got moving, or maybe the Burpees helped with that.

YHC had to move the COP location as Offshore was getting ahead of the Q. All 4 pax brought it this morning and YHC had to keep adding things.

Once we got to the track it got fun as the pebble track was frozen and patches of ice had to be dodged. Mr Holland lamented the Merkin count on the tennis courts and Offshore wondered aloud whether we went a full hour in the gloom, always a good sign.

Silent Assassin signing off.

A pax of 3 enjoyed the warmest day in YHC’s recent memory – 33 degrees and dry! Here’s what went down:

COP:

SSH, arm circles (reverso), imperial walkers and merkins.

Mosey to the track.  We completed a lap while YHC called out the number of burpees to perform every few feet.

Next to the concession stand where we did 4 sets of 25 LBCs, 20 dips and wall sits (plus one round of balls to the wall).

Then to the back side of the school for polesmokers down the row.  First guy does 5 with the other PAX holding 6 inches and so on.

After hitting all the poles, it was back to the track for a triple check: LBCs, derkins and running one side of the track.

Next we set off on a leisurely pace around the track with stops for LBCs (25×2), jerkins (10×2), and an attempt at infinity merkins on the bleachers (not too successful)

Then, back to the flag for numberama, nameorama, and YHC took us out (in probably the least coherent manner yet seen in F3RVA).

NMS:

YHC expected a large group would share in this wonderfully balmy weather.  Not realizing the effects of many cold days and then a little rain, the roads were fun.  YHC may or may not have played in the parking lot with his VW until common sense, and the memory that a police substation was across the street, kicked in.

Instead of a big group, he sat alone in said VW at 5:30.  After contemplating the options, he set off for a run around the track.  Within minutes, Mr. Holland and then Flipper arrived.

Great work gentlemen.  Always a pleasure.  See you in the gloom.

Ronnie.

Five PAX, mirroring the five Platonic solids, emerged in the gloom at Heartbreak Ridge.  An exercise die in the shape of a regular dodecahedron (the fifth Platonic solid) was back in play after its introduction at Heartbreak Ridge last week:

COP: 10 burpees for the temp + 1 burpee for the wind chill, Hammer Dance, Don Quixote, Mountain Climber, Hello Dolly, Elf/Russian Hammer Dance

Mosey to the end of the upper field to use the exercise die.  PAX take turns tossing the die, the tosser calls how to get there (bear crawl, crab walk, etc.) , then PAX complete the exercise on the top face.  The number of reps on the die was multiplied by 1 on the first toss, 2 on the second, 3 on the third, then repeato.  Each PAX tossed 2-3 times as we traversed both softball fields.

Mosey to pull up bars for 20 pull-ups each.  Mosey to the hill next to the football field for 5 runs up the hill, clearing each of the benches along the way.  Then 3 more runs.  Complete 1 revolution of Macarena merkins on the hill, and mosey back to the VSF for COT.

NMM:  Plato supposedly thought God used the dodecahedron to arrange the constellations in the sky.  PAX could have verified this as the sky was clear, but spent most of their time staring at the ground in plank position.  Unlike last week, the die repeatedly rolled to a 1-minute plank (which was sometimes multiplied by 2 or 3).

YHC introduced himself to Loose Goose and welcomed him to F3, as he did not recognize him bundled up in the gloom.  Kudos to Honeydo who posted again in shorts – perhaps a personal challenge?  One of the benches rose  up and checked Pucker on the sprints uphill as if he were planning to take a slapshot – YHC hopes you heal quickly.  Mr. Holland noted that Macarena merkins seem incomplete without Fudd’s singing.

YHC was reminded again (by himself) that he should really get around to making a shovel flag.  Anyone up for a shovel flag workshop?

Three 40 Year Old Pax came out to Heartbreak Ridge to begin to shed off the gluttonous excess of Christmas day.

COP – SSH, Don Qs, LBCs, Merkins, Arm Circles

Head to Benches for – Boxing Day Sets.  5 Box Jumps & 10 Box Cutters. Increase by 5 & 10 up to 20 & 40.  Mosey to parking lot. People’s Chair for 2 min.

Line up for Bear Crawl across parking spaces. 2 Merkins each space. Head down to Pull-up bars. 6 Pull-ups then lap around track. Then more Pull-ups. Swing by benches for Bench Kicks- 40 & 50.

Jerkin Triple check. 1 PAX runs up and down Heartbreak Hill while other 2 tradeoff on Jerkins. 1 more set of Benchkicks.

Back to parking lot and try out Offshore’s new present- Exercise dye. Exercises rolled were: Jump Squats, plank, Burpees, Freddy Mercurys.

NMS- According to Offshore there were 2 statistical anomalies in the Gloom this am: all 3 Pax were 40 yrs old and also we never repeated an exercise in the 10 or so throws of his handy new dye. Math is everywhere apparently.

Offshore was prepared for the Boxing day sets. The benches were a few inches higher than the normal ones at NoToll which slowed the pax down. Kubota put in solid work as usual, glad to have him out at Heartbreak Ridge.

The exercises dye definitely has 15 Burpees on it. Pretty sure this will make an appearance at a future Offshore Q. Happy Boxing Day Pax.