Tag: NoToll

This backblast is very late. Four weeks late to be exact.

The Warm-O-Rama

​We kicked things off with a mosey around the back right soccer field to get the blood flowing, eventually circling back to the parking lot for:

• ​Side Straddle Hops
• ​Don Quixotes
• ​Cherry Pickers

​The Groundwork (Shoulder Burn):

Before leaving the pavement, we dropped down for some intensive shoulder and chest work:

• ​Macho Diaz
• ​Around the World
• ​Merkins
• ​Bear Crawls
• ​World’s Greatest Stretch (Much needed after that smoke session)

​The Thang: The Circuit

​The PAX moseyed over to the playground for a high-intensity circuit. We stayed in the “grinder” for roughly 25 minutes, conquering the following:

1. ​The Birthing Canal: A tactical crawl through the tunnel.
2. ​The Hill: Bear crawl up and over the center mound.
3. ​The Descent: Rope climb down.
4. ​The Spider Web: A full traversal around the rope-climbing equipment.
5. ​Jerkings: Pull-ups/Rows performed on the hanging rope swing.
6. ​The Bridge: Wheelbarrow walks across the play equipment.
7. ​The Reset: Renegade Rows with cinder blocks before starting the lap again.

​6 Minutes of Mary

​We circled up in the middle for a round-robin style Mary. Each member of the PAX called out an ab exercise of their choice to finish off the core.

​COT (Circle of Trust)

• ​Count-o-rama
• ​Name-o-rama
• ​Announcements
• ​Prayer

A solid dozen waited at No Toll for someone to plant a flag, Machismo being the hero he is made that happen.

5:30 lets mosey, pay your toll 25 dips, 25 Incline merkins

Mosey to the parking lot 25 merkins OYO, it is YHC’s 25 wedding anniversary and despite OC’s suggestion YHC will not be making diner in nothing but an apron. Our anniversary evening will be spent at the JRHS baseball field where we will have hotdogs and chips for dinner.

COP various warm ups

Mosey to the corner for four corners prostitute of 10, 20, 30 and 40 American hammers, Scrunchy frogs, Plank jacks and Mountain climbers

stay in the corner for another prostitute 10,20,30 and 40 Merkins, Wide grip merkins, Shoulder taps and squats

Mosey walk to the lot lines for Parking lot crawls Bear crawl to the first line and do 1 LBC, second line do 2 LBC’s to 10. What goes up must come down crab walk to the first line and do 1 crab cake, second line do 2 crab cakes to 10

Mosey to the center of the lot for Last calls favorite which we all know as man killers only we are starting at 25

Just kidding BTTF but pay your toll on the way through 25 Dips, 25 Incline merkins

Numbers / Names Machismo took us out

NMS: YHC’s M (April) turned 50 this year, today is our 25th wedding anniversary so she has been married to me for half her life. YHC does not take that for granted, there are times when I would have left me if I could but we have hung together by the Grace of God not by works. As I look at my 2.0’s and think about their lives 22,20and 17, they are so young yet almost as old as my bride was when we got married.

The Mission

To celebrate the grit of the recent Ragnar runners and push the upper body to its absolute limit with a “300” themed beatdown.

Warm-A-Rama

We began with a mosey through the dark, winding trails. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the Ragnar overnight legs—quiet, focused, and slightly damp. We kept the heart rate up with:

• High Knees (in stride)
• Butt Kickers (in stride)
• Side Straddle Hops
• 10-Down DQs (Extremely slow count) shall we continue for 45minutes?
• Imperial Squat Walkers
• Ukrainian Soldiers
• Ww2s

The Thang: Operation 300

I. The Primary Ladder

The goal was to hit the magic 300 number right out of the gate. We performed a descending ladder of Merkins.

• Count: 24, 23, 22… down to 1.
• Cumulative Total: 300 Merkins.

II. Eye of the Mericane

We moseyed to the pavilion to utilize the structure for the next phase.

• Descending Ladder: Starting at 22 reps and working down. PAX went to each of the four corners to do:
• – 25 WW2s
• – 50 Alabama prom dates
• – 75 LBCs
• – 100 flutters

Return to the pavilion for a descending count of merkins 

III. The Dan-Merkin Hybrid

Combining the burn of the chest with the fire of the quads.

• 18 Merkins / 2 Lieutenant Dans (1 Squat + 4 Lunges)
• 17 Merkins / 3 Lieutenant Dans
• Continuing the pattern until reaching 10 Merkins.

IV. Paying the Toll

A quick transition to hit different muscle heads before heading to the courts.

• 10 Incline Merkins
• 9 Decline Merkins
• This is where I snuck in an extra ten merkins on the pax

V. Suicide Burpees

We took to the basketball courts for high-intensity sprints paired with descending Burpees.

• Set 1: Suicides with Burpees at each of the three lines and the end line.
• Reps: 8, 7, 6, 5.
• Set 2: Final Suicides to empty the tank.
• Reps: 4, 3, 2, 1.

Mary

We gathered for a final round of core work to stabilize after the heavy upper-body load.

• [Insert specific Mary exercises if applicable, e.g., LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Plank]

Moleskin

Sixteen men showed up in the gloom today and absolutely crushed a high-volume Merkin workout. The trails provided the perfect backdrop, especially for those still feeling the Ragnar high. Taking the Merkin count from 24 down to 1 is a mental battle as much as a physical one, and no man was left behind.

COT / BOM: prayers out for Flatty and his trip to Germany for a year’s deployment. Also, coming up is NTBs departure party at DTH’s house 

Aye! Aye!

That’s a long time since YHC’s last Q, but so it was…and so it went:

Slaughter Start: 1 3 Burpees (I thought it had been 13 months…)

Mosey to Toll: 22 Dips

Circle up in Parking Lot for COP: SSHs, DQs, Ukranian Soldiers, Copperhead Squats, Bob & Weaves, LBCs, Box Cutters, X’s & O’s

Mosey around parking lot to Field for Triple Check: Dips, Sugar Sticks, run width of field

Lunge to center of field, space out for Circle of Moans: Bear Crawl, Crawl Bear, Forward Lunge, Backward Lunge

Mosey to other Soccer Field for The Beast: Monkey Humpers, Merkins, WW2s, and 2 others I can’t remember. Audible called at 6:13

Mosey back to VSF for COT. BoBerry took us out

Announcements: May 16 – Flatline Q at DogPile + NTB Send Off Potluck

Naked Moleskin:

It was good to be back at it on the Q sheet. TClaps to Snuff for signing me up when I alluded to possibly leading the week before. It’s definitely harder to socialize when leading. Somebody should buy Belay some gloves.

A dozen of the RVA’s finest enjoyed the lush and tepid temperatures for a fine spring morning in the gloom. YHC clock strikes 5.30 so off we go to some of the PAX complaints. Nonetheless, the Q has control and is not afraid to abuse it.

Mosey to the the plush fields to find sprinklers in full force on the 1st field, no worries there, we just continue onto the next field to enjoy the dry but pristine conditions. Introductions and Salutations were held including recognizing the return of Tin Man himself to the gloom. Warmups included Invisible Jump Rope, DQ’s, Helicopters, Jazzercise, Dead Man Hang, LBC’s, Suzanne Summers along with some stretching those areas that ailed you. All seem loose and in good spirits, let us begin.

Line up for a Quarter Pounder across the field.

Round 1 25 yards – 25 Merkins, return to the line for a burpee. Round 2 – 25 yards- 25 HR merkins, 50 yards – 50 LBC’s return to the line for a burpee

Round 3 – 25 yds – 25 Diamond Merkings, 50 yds – 50 WWII’s, 75 yds – 75 monkey humpers. Return to the line for a burpee

Round 4 – 25 yds. – 25 Carolina DryDocks, 50 ydss – 50 APD’s, 75 yds – 75 squats, 100 yds – 100 SSH’s. Return to the line for a burpee.

Triple Check with Chainsmokers, shoulder taps with timer running around the pavilion and back.

Mosey to the basketball courts in conversation with lunges, high knees and Ukrainian Soldiers. Stop off that No Toll courts for a quick suicide. Circle up for 2 minutes of Mary.

Numbers, Names, Prayers, Announcements. Good luck to Family L. Woods on their upcoming arrival. NTB potluck send off in a few weeks. May your nails and screws in your house be secure. YHC took us out. Wonderful coffee afterwards provided by your favorite F3 barista – Snuff. Please contribute to the coffee stash if you can.

NMS: Great group enjoyed the pristine conditions in the gloom today. Good tales covering a variety topics were enjoyed throughout the beatdown. Counting was optional but encouraged. Great to have Squiggy up from Raleigh for work. Always good to have Gumbo return to his childhood stomping grounds for some quality tales. Thank you boys for the opportunity to enjoy the morning with everyone. Rumor has it DK is taking the Q for an upcoming episode or 2.

Horngrabler by Alphorn-Grossformation on the radio. Because nothing resonates across the mountainous region of NoToll like traditional Swiss wind instruments. The fields are alive with the sounds of grunting.

7 alpinists enjoyed a Warmarama while musing ‘it’s not not a cult.’ Because the last 2 Tuesdays in a row, anyone walking through Huguenot Park at 5:30a would be very confused.

Mosey around all the fields and returning for our Cindys. Because Last Call loves a good Cindy, you could hear it in his voice. “What the heck?” It was time for some playground beatdown.

Partner 1 with block step ups on the bench while timer ran the playground loop. At least 4 or 5 times each.

Triple check: timer runs the loop while 2nd man hangs from the bars, 3rd man does block curls. DK managed to insult the playlist because it was ‘very mainstream.’ Dagger through the heart.

At the mountain of madness: 11s, 10 mountain climbers at the base, bear crawl up the play hill, calf raises at the top. Every dead body on Everest was once a very motivated person. Then we held canoe with feet hanging out into thin air.

Some block thrusters and squats in the parking lot and it was time.

And yes, L Woods, there was a shovel flag. Gotchu.

COT – prayers for Tin Man and for health and for strength.

And before we all left – a bonus track – DK’s 2.0 with some epic metal screaming on YouTube. The kids are alright.

A smooth bakers dozen of SOJ finest leprechauns embraced the cooler temps for a joyous St Pattys Day Beatdown. Here is how things went down in our search for the elusive pot of gold.

Mosey to the large parking lot paying the toll along the way 20 dips and 20 incline merkins at the bridge. Continue the mosey with eventful mumble chatter persisting along the way.

Circle up for introductions and salutations. Rule of the day for anyone not wearing green, a burpee is required following each exercise. Warmarama included the following: SSH’s, DQ’s, Helis, Jazzercise (with toe taps), Merkins, LBC’s, DeadBugs, a bit of Broga. Burpees were appropriately allocated along the way.

The Thang:

Wosey to the corner for 4 Corners, Lady of the Night Style: 10 HR Merkins, 20 WWII’s, 30 2-count Shoulder Taps, 40 Monkey Humpers. Brocode style.

Brief Wosey to the drive aisle for 11’s. Lunge across the road for 10 American Hammers, Bear Crawl Back for 1 merkin. Repeato.

Wosey to the Gate for a quick triple check. Timer runs to the water tower and back, LT. Danny’s and Monkey Humpers. 1 round completed for time.

BTTF for 1 burpee as time was called.

Numbers, Names, Announcements and Prayers. Oyster looking for Breaking Bread volunteer for Sunday March 29th. Good time and great way to include your family in this awesome cause. Sweet talk a few Kotters and missed faces into emerging from their winter stables to embrace the gloom.

YHC took us out followed by coffee (thank you Snuff) and appropriate Irish beverages provided for celebration by the Pax.

NMS: Good to get back on the Q sheet after a long hiatus. Typically St. Pattys is a good start to the spring like temps, however seems like the 4th winter is still upon us. Good to see some new faces out and coffee is always enjoyed. Green is not a popular color for F3RVA clan so burpees were properly distributed instead of pinching. Always a fun time at the top of the morning. Thank you boys for the opportunity to lead.

Neither the Old Glory nor 35 degrees and raining (though Sunny and 70 in our minds) could deter 8 gloom warriors from posting to NoToll. Rosie immediately asked YHC if we really had to do the OG, and YHC admitted that he had a modification in mind. With that tease, the clock struck 0530 and off we went OG in hand for two laps.

The flag was planted in the familiar corner and YHC began by saying that anyone who was there to set an OG PR – have at it. The rest of us, in honor of YHC’s 10-year F3 anniversary (actually Sunday but I will be out of town), will do the OG bro-code style or no man left behind. We stick together but the goal is not to go easy. The goal is to push each other and complete at least 3 laps. With that, the 20-minute timer was set and off we went.

3.25 laps completed

Back to the flag for 2 more laps native american style – with some farlek-esque runaways.

Return to the basketball courts for 4 minutes of plank-o-rama and American Hammers

COT with numbers, names, announcements and prayers

The one announcement was an upcoming evening off the books ruck this Saturday launching from Einstein’s (Ruckhenge) heading down the train tracks (Stand By Me style) and ending at Galley with some food. 3:00 – 7:00. See DTH or slack for details.

NMS:

It has been 10 adventurous years since YHC finally gave in to Rosie’s headlocks and left the warm comforts (and better scenery) of the mornings at ACAC for the gloom, and it has been a great trade in so many respects (other than the scenery). I appreciate you all and the inspiration and motivation you have shared with me. I love the new blood and the old blood and everything in between in this group. We are all working our way through this journey with our own triumphs and failures and unique adventures and hurdles, but there is strength in knowing that there are so many brothers there for strength, support, laughter, guidance, and shit-talking. Here’s to many more years with you all. Thank you!

No More Gumbo For You!