Tag: PuppyPile

A hearty 26 1.0s and 2.0s descended on Dogwood Dell for the WTBS SuperStation 7:05 start of Puppy Pile on the first Saturday in July, which today happened to be the last Saturday in June. Due to a team building email from Marv for his Little League All Star team, we had a good amount of FNGs that are preparing to take on the likes of Tuckahoe, Huguenot, Mechanicsville and more starting next week.

The Thang:

Mosey to the big circle west of the Carrilion. Our good friends at the City of Richmond haven’t mowed that grass for awhile…kind of reminds the QHC of his current yard status.

COP

Fifteen Side Straddle Hops. Ten Donald Quixotes. Ten Imperial Walkder. Fifteen arm circles, forward and fifteen backwards (don’t drop your arms). Ten Hillbillies. Five ‘mercans.

Mosey to the big field (called Mr. Tumnus’s field. A few years ago I was walking back to my car with some friends after a concert at Dogwood. My friend was complaining that Dogwood Dell could be better, more engaging with more things to look at…”like a statue park” he said. I replied “Like Mr. Tumnus and the animals in the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe?” Anyway…

Partner carries back and forth to the end of the field. Two sets. If a 1.0 had 2 X 2.0’s then he carried one to the end and the other back. This is not easy no matter the 2.0 size. Also, should be noted, it may be easier to carry a 170lb dude who is holding on tight than an 80lb dude who is just acting as dead weight.

Mosey to the south side of the Carrillon.

We played HTF. Or…Hide the Frisbee. 1.0s would take two frisbees and hide them behind trees while 2.0s would do LBCs. Upon the finishing of the hiding the 2.0s would go look. When they went to a tree that didn’t have the frisbee, they were required to do 5 Side Straddle Hops. They were really bad at following this particular instruction.

We then played HTD….or Hide the Dad. Dad’s would hide behind the trees and 2.0s would come find. If they came to a tree that wasn’t their 1.0, they owed 5 SSHs. Again, not all that compliant.

Fifteen monkey squats when we returned to the home base. The Q was then flipped to Sippy Cup.

Sippy Cup takes us back to Mr. Tumnus’ field and sets out four cones.

1st Cone-Crabwalk and Back

2nd Cone–Bear Crawl and back

3rd Cone–Bunny Hop and Back

4th Cone–Sprint and back

Four different legs…do whatever you didn’t do the last time so you complete all four. (Bunny hopping 30yards and back is a bit of a grind).

Break Out the Whammo. Toss the whammo and run until it hits the ground (staying in the Tumnus Field). Once it hits the ground you have to do an exercise until you get there. Exercises (in no particular order)— Skip, Frog Hop, Bunny Hop, Sprint.

Mosey to the roundabout east of the Carrilon. Circle up shoulder to shoulder in plank position. Cup, Sippy gives instructions on moving forward, right, left, back…all whilst planking.

Then the 1.0s lineup to install a 2.0 Tunnel of Love Army Crawl style. Activate that.

“The Farmer and the Dell” is playing tonight in the amphitheater…to celebrate there were random cutouts of wooden vegetables around the roundabout (and some fruit as well). 2.0s and 1.0s had to find their favorite food and take a lap around. Then had to do it again…get to their favorite food..then another lap to their least favorite food. (QHC did cucumbers and cabbage. How everyone didn’t end up on cabbage, I’m not sure).

Back to the flag for a ring of fire of 10 mercans.

As much as I love all the Qs…or at least all of the ones I’ve been to…none of them compare to the 2.0 workout. To get the kids out there having fun, exercising, pushing themselves and spending time with their 1.0 is the highlight of the week. Thanks to all the guys who showed up today, I hope your brood enjoyed it as much as mine did.

PostGame Notes–

Congrats to Splinter’s son’s Little League all star team. They won the prestigious District 5 10 year old tournament and will now advance to the state tournament in a few weeks in Norfolk.

Hahahaha, very funny on all the comments below about me writing up a backblast.

Splinter and I both enjoyed our little tour of SOJ this week…ya’ll were right nice to host us. It started off by just us wanting to get a run in and also home run derby…after Splinter’s LL team kept winning…we decided we couldn’t break the streak. Plus, we were fascinated by the rotting carcass of the deer on Huguenot road. Originally the thought was to stand it’s rigor mortis-ed body up in the median with an F3 shirt on. That plan was punted and then we just couldn’t wait to see how much it had rotted. Anyway, thanks for the SOJ hospitality.

Finally, and I can’t believe it was my Q that it happened…but was told afterwards by Fudd that “this was it.” This was truly his last F3 in Richmond, at least as someone that wasn’t truly visiting. What can we say about Fudd that hasn’t already been said? Obviously he is a terrific father and a really good friend. Considering my only interactions with Fudd, really, have been between 5:30 and 6:15 in the morning, it’s incredible how many funny memories I have of him. Fudd, may you and your family bloom where you are transplanted in Denver. Best of luck out west and don’t be a stranger.

Eight early risers (including one double dipper) and their dads rolled into Puppy Pile with visions of post workout bacon. But first they had to earn it.

Shark Bait Q: Mosey to the amphitheater stage for COP: With only ten days of school left for RCPS students, all exercises were done at 10. Helicopters / DQs / LBCs / Flutter Kicks / SSHs.

Triple Check: 2.0 does donkey kicks on stage while dads run to the top of the stairs and back. 2.0s run up the number of steps that correspond with their age while dads do donkey kicks.

Husky Q: Mosey to Carillon Field. Wheelbarrows with 2.0s on the ground. Stop and do 10 Boo Ya Merkins. Repeat to the middle of the field. Switch to partner carry halfway.

Tunnel of Love. Dads hold elbow plank while kids craw through. Dads hold regular plank while dads crawl through.

Tidwell Q: Touch-A-Tree Shuttle Run. Dad’s perform flutter kicks while 2.0s run to three different trees. Run back to dad after each tree. Reverse and repeat.

Mosey to the end of the field. Kids run. Dad’s do 10 Merkins then run backwards in a catch me if you can experiment gone awry. Audible half way through. Dad’s turned and ran to catch their kids. 10 squats when caught, then repeat to the end of the field.

Po Q: Mosey to Penny’s Stage. Touch-A-Tree. 5 trees x 3 sets. Exercises were LBCs and/or Merkins. Dealer’s choice.

Willie Q: Mosey to the Rusty Cage. Partner one does Australian Pull-ups while partner 2 runs to the fire hydrant and does 10 Monkey Squats. Triple Check.

Back to amphitheater. Kids box jump up each step while dad offers back-up.

Karaoke from gravel road in between amphitheater and shovel flag to dog park. Say hi to the puppy who had escaped, then run back to the flag.

Vinny took us out.

Announcements: Shakedown is shaving his head for a good reason, not just some weird Shakedown thing. Summer Tour is on. Sign up if that’s your thing. Get a patch for your jean jacket, if that’s your thing.

NMS: Marv announced Friday morning that he had a baseball game this morning at 8:30, so YHC agreed to lead a hot potato. These workouts never disappoint. The level of fun is just different. It’s so great to see the 2.0s being active and having a great time. And the workouts are no joke. T-Claps to Willie and Flatty for double dipping today. Solid!

This week senseless acts of violence against struck in our background and in our home state. Being out with our 2.0s carried special meaning today. A reminder that every minute counts. I for one am glad I got to spend this morning with Shark Bait, and each of you.

Welcome Bacon, Merlin and Pong.

Have a great weekend folks.

Wait… I did!

At least 6 stellar dad’s woke their kids up early for the first Puppy Pile of ’19. It went something like this:

Mosey to the far circle for COP. The Q left behind his 2.0 for a while. Survival of the fittest!

COP
COP stuff. Stretching and warming up the muscles and heart

The Thang
Skip-to-my-lou over to the field for multiple iterations of partner carries. Twice the length of the field.

Slow saunter over to the west side of the Carillon for touch a tree. Burpees, Merkins, SSH, LBCs. Many exercises were had. Wait, was it 1 tree, 1 exercise or 2 trees 1 exercise? Q can help explain. There were some monkey squats in there somewhere too.

Long shuffle circumnavigating the Carillon and head over the the amphitheater for partner exercises, dips + running, step-ups + running. Maybe some more stuff? I think we squatted over some more monkeys.

Cartwheel over to the nearest circle for Animal Instincts. Crowd favorites were seals, crabs, worms (audible to elephants). Maybe a few other exercises that the Q can fill in.

Push and shove our way over to the field for some Sharks & Minnows. Why not? Only (2) 2.0s were injured during this less than desirable exercise.

A tired stroll back to the VSF for some more squatting with monkeys.

Did YHC forget anything? Only the Q would know.

Moleskin
24 hours is well past. YHC collected as many thoughts as he recollects and captured them here. Marv has officially lost his authoring privileges on the site.

My favorite quote of the day was when my 2.0 Tidwell (as in Rod Tidwell, call my agent) walked in the door at home and what was the first thing he exclaimed to his family?

“Guys – that was the most fun I have ever had. I had a grown up knock me over in sharks and minnows!”

Sorry Sippy, he threw you under the bus.

Till next time covering for Marv’s backblast…

Big Data is watching.

A group of 5–2 dads and 3 kids gathered for the last puppy pile of the season.  It went something like this:

Marv leading.

COP–10x SSH, 10x Don Quixote, 10x Imperial Walkers,  Arm circles, 5x Merkins, 10x LBCs.  5 Burpees OYO

Mosey to amphitheater for a series of two triple checks.  The “timer” was a runner to the top of the steps.

#1.  Run, SSHs, LBCs

5 Burpees OYO

#2 Run, Jump Squats, Merkins

5 Burpees OYO.

Sippy leading.

Mosey to Rusty cage.  3x rounds of Solo Jerkins (8x) and Bar hang leg raises (5x).

5 Burpees OYO

Mosey down the pipe for a pipe loop run.  1 partner runs the loop while the other partner lunges back and forth across the street.

5 Burpees OYO

Whamo animal walks along the road and up the partner carry hill.  One PAX throws frisbee.  Sprint until disc stops, then proceed to disc using one of a variety of ways–bear crawls, crab walks, duck walks, turkey walks (duck walk with arm circles), broad jumps, partner carries, but kickers, high knees.

5 Burpees OYO (during the Whamo animal walk at some point)

Balls to the wall on a large tree near the shelter at top.

Mosey back to the flag.

1 Burpee OYO–to make a total of 31 (the number of points scored by UVA yesterday in their loss).

COT, Marv took us out.

Moleskin.

It is really fun to work out with your kids and see them pushing themselves and having other men encouraging them as well.  I’ll miss puppy pile this winter.  Today was a bit cold but everyone warmed up quickly  and were toasty by the end (I think).  We had a group of older kids so we didn’t scale back too much. We did try a few experiments–Turkey walks are a solid addition.  Double partner carries, not so much.

A hearty 8 1.0’s and 2.0’s made it out to October’s rendition of PuppyPile. After an all night Nor’easter and a legit threat of rain in the area, the normally robust group of 2.0s and 1.0s shrunk a little bit…mainly because most of us exercised the sports adage–KYP. Know Your Personnel. You see, I know my personnel (AKA, my 2.0s) and rain and low 50s wasn’t going to make anyone happy. For us, “Push Yourself, don’t hurt yourself” is a challenge, a badge of honor, a motto to get us to do one more Merican or Burpee. For 2.0s, well, it doesn’t mean the same thing.

That said, the thought of TYA or Swirly or anyone giving me a hard time for not showing up for a Q was too much to take, so I found myself 2.0-less but out there at 7:05, ready to roll with 7 others who’s personnel has no problems whatsoever with a little rain and cold weather.

The THANG

Moseyed to The Carrillon bricks and got into the COT.

15 Side Straddle Hops
11 Helicopters
8 Don Quixote’s
15 Arm Circles (forwards and reverso)
Burpees OYO (either your age or 1/4 or your age to the nearest even number)
Hillbillies

We then had a quick demonstration on how to do the following exercises…
Monkey Squatters (verbiage cleaned up for 2.0)
Polar Bears
Bear Crawl

The Pax then moseyed to the activity trail (not sure what the name of that trail is that we did the race on last month) and started at the two chin-up bars. The goal was to do exercises that got us all around the trail, one full lap.

We started by doing “Relay 11s”

Pair Up (fortunately, Sippy has two 2.0s at the Q, so I grabbed Blue Collar as my partner)

One Partner Does 11 Mericans while the other broad jumps (or bunny hops) down the trail. Once the partner catches the jumper/hopper, they switch off. 2 sets

The Combos–
Monkey Squats / Broad Jumps
Mericans / Lunges
Burpees / Polar Bears (3 sets)

The Burpee / Polar Bear combination was surprisingly brutal. Could possibly have taken it to a new level for a 2.0 workout.

From there, we did an Indigenous Person run for about an 1/8th of a mile. Following that, we did the same thing while carrying their partner. Hat tip to Tyson, our 13 year old 2.0 of Sippy, who carried Sippy for that 1/8th of a mile.

After gathering back up, we did a ‘still trying not to get really wet’ version of Touch a Tree. But this time, we used the exercise stations on the trail which included, but were not limited to…

-climbing up and over bars around 8 feet in the air
-parallel bars
-squats while holding on to a pole

More indigenous running until we happened upon monkey bars. The Q traversed those with ease.
More indigenous running until we got to a wall. We all jumped over the wall with relative ease.

Back to the flag for the Burpee Shuffle. Kudos to our FNG Gamer for calling out three burpees on a day where we did quite a few. Very much throwing down the gauntlet in his 4 1/2 year old 2.0 way.

After looking at Big Data, Vinny remarked how Puppy Pile, pound for pound, gets the most attendance each time we have it. And he’s right. We have been averaging around forty or so each Saturday that we do it. That number, with the rain and the cool climes, will take a bit of a hit after this weekend. That’s ok, however, as all of us don’t have to worry about sniffles or sick days because we followed through on “push yourself but don’t hurt yourself.”

Here’s to the weather looking good at the end of November for us to continue Puppy Piles into the winter.

Were there times over the last 47 1/2 hours that I could’ve written this PuppyPile Backblast? Absolutely? But that time would’ve taken away from weekend family time…time sitting on the couch watching football, time where the family is watching me do yardwork, time where I’m sitting on the couch watching the US get hammered in the Ryder Cup. And ultimately, wouldn’t that crush the spirit of PuppyPile? Spending quality time with our kids, not on the computer typing away like we do all day.

Which leads me to this handy new revelation–the new IOS on my phone has a “screen time” measuring app–so it tells you how long you’ve been on the screen. It’s scary! Did I really spend 4 hours on my screen? That seems a bit excessive. Maybe it counts my son’s IPad time as well? I hope so.

All that being said, a hearty crew of 34 dads and their beloved 2.0s gathered at PuppyPile 47 1/2 hours ago to grind out a 55 minute bootcamp.

The THANG

COP
Twelve Side Straddle Hops
11 Helicopters
10 Donald Quixotes
15 Arm Circles Forward
15 Arm Circles Backwards
15 Hillbillies
5 Mercans

Mosey to the large field in front of the Carrillon (which was half mowed, for those wondering)
Partner Carry (2.0s on the backs of 1.0s) to the end of the field (traversing the 2 feet of grass). Run back. Head North again on the field. Partner Carry Back. If more than 1 X 2.0, the other 2.0 does side straddle hops while the partner carry is going on.

5 X Boo-yah Mercans

Relay race–Down and Back X 2 while partner(s) are doing a mini Bernie Sanders up and down the small hill in front of the Carrillon.

5 x Boo-yah Mercans

Hot Potato to LockJaw

Partner Up someone of similar size. Wheel Barrow from west and back east on the halfway mowed field. At the far west side, 5 X Boo-yah Mercans.

Wheel barrow back east and do 20 PLTs (I think, I mean, it has been 47 1/2 hours).

Mosey to wooden stage behind the Carrillon.
At this point, Splinter does this really peculiar interpretive dance, on the stage, to a Lady Gaga song that none of us knew. It was definitely something different, and its up for debate on how it fit into the Q, but it did allow us some time of reflection and it may have brought me closer to my Veep, my 2.0. Either way, thanks Splinter for that 4 1/2 minute rest.

Touch a Tree–
Touch 5 trees while doing donkey kicks
Touch 6 trees while doing scissor kicks
Touch 7 trees while doing WW2 sit ups

Hot potato to Splinter
Did a triple check variation with only two people. So a double check
Run to the Carrillon fence while partner is on the stage doing WW2 sit ups
Run to the Carrillon fence while partner does XXXXX
Run to the Carrillon fence while partner does “Man Ups” (A Man Up is where you hoist yourself onto the stage and then jump back down. It’s like a box jump but you use your arms).

Mosey to the half mowed field.

Separate teams to 2.0s vs 1.0s. And what would a PuppyPile be without a vigorous game of sharks and minnows. This variation was that the sharks were bear crawling and the minnows were crabwalking. This made it extremely challenging for the minnows as a bear is much quicker and more agile than a shark. Splinter called an audible, extended the field and we all went back to the old school bear is the minnow and the shark is crabwalking.

Back to the flag.

Burpee Lake was pretty dry…so didn’t have a chance to use that one this time.

Sorry for the late, Q, everyone…thanks again for coming out. It’s terrific to get the kids out there in the gloom.

It is late in the month, it is 7:05am on a Saturday, and we were at Dogwood Dell…that can only mean one thing, it’s PUPPYPILE! We wake up our 2.0s a little earlier than normal (especially on a Saturday) and battle the gloom for a 55 minute beatdown, of a bunch of kids between 4 and 16. A total of 34 as it turns out.

MARV had the Q, admittedly, his first Q in a long, long time. Between LockJaw scheduling Carrillon runs on a weekly basis on Friday and just general laziness, MARV has been pretty much freeloading on the PAX over the past few, um, years. But nothing motivates MARV like youth sports, so count me in to lead PUPPYPILE when needed.

The Thang:

It was good to see the 6am DOGPILE-ers show up with cinder blocks. The Q had a thought to grab the blocks and try his luck with the 2.0s and 15lb cement blocks…but decided against it. Meanwhile, a 7:05am tip of the hat to the guys who were up at 6 on a Saturday and got to carry bricks.

Moseyed to the grass circle just east of the Carrilon.
Twelve Side Straddle Hops
Eight Donald Quixotes
Ten Helicopters
Ten Hillbillies
Three Burpees
15 arm circles forward
15 arm circles backward
Five Mercans
Ten two count LBCs

Off to a good start!

Then we all went to the outer circle for “Hot Potato Animal Walks”

Sippy–Bear Crawl to the Center
Fudd – Crabwalk to the Center
Vinnie — Lion Lunge to the Center
Rosie — Alligator Walk (no fun)
Unnamed — Snake Walk (equally no fun)

Moseyed to the stage behind the Carrillon for a game of 2.0s vs OG Hide and Seek.
2.0s do 15 Side Straddle Hops while the OGs go out and hide behind a tree. While hiding, the OGs have to do copper head squats. Shout out to Sippy…found a good spot behind a tree that eluded 2.0s Blue Collar and Tyson. We had to go as a group to find him. Switched it up to have the 2.0s go find dad.

Moseyed to the front of the Carrillon for a little triple check. Not a big triple check, mind you, but a little one. First person ran around the fencing around the Carrillon (from Hardywood: “I’m looking forward to getting the Carrillon back.” Yes you, and all of RVA, Wood). 2nd person was spelling their last school attended with straight legs (overheard “how do you spell Hard Knocks?”) 3rd person does SSHops.

Introduced our 2.0s to the Indigenous Person run around the Carrillon field.

The broke the old standby “Bearcrawl/Crabwalk Sharks and Minnows”. For those scoring at home, it has been six months since the grass has been mowed at the Carrillon. We actually lost two 2.0s in the grass over the course of the workout, including the first round of Sharks and Minnows.

Back to the flag for a three minute round of Burpee Shuffling. Shout out to The Wonderer for calling out the three burpee shuffle.

Closing word from MARV then many off to Elwood Thompsons.

It was fitting to do the 2.0 workouts as the Little League World Series is concluding this weekend. There are some fabulous sporting events throughout the year…from the Super Bowl to the Final Four to The Masters…every couple of years we get the Olympics. You can have all of those, I’ll take the Little League World Series any day. The MARVinsons are good for about 30 hours of Little League baseball watching for the 10 or so days that it is on. I can’t tell you how flat out good these 12 & 13 year olds are. Maybe it is because it comes at the end of a baseball filled summer, maybe because I have an 11 & 8yo, or maybe because there’s so much junk you have to sift through these days in the world of sports…but my eyes get consistently sweaty through the tournament in Williamsport. I encourage you to take your afternoon tomorrow to watch the final game.

We’ll pinpoint a September date for the next PUPPYPILE sometime soon. No matter when it is, count me in.

Thirty Puppy Pilers posted today with the great surprise of no rain. Off we went. Kubota and Husky started the festivities:

Helicopters / DQs / SSHs / WWIIs / Merkins – mosey to Carillon Field. Tunnel of love relay. Dads v kids (somewhat of a theme today). Dads dominated!!! Mosey further down the field for an F3 favorite – tug ‘o war. Kids v kids. Kids won!!! Repeato. Kids won again. Great effort. Dads got in on the action. Not sure which team won, but it wasn’t the team YHC was on. We got owned.

Mosey to field by amphitheater for Loose Goose, Freestyle and Solo Q: Sharks and Minnows. YHC and several other F3 dads quickly recognized this as a game that will be played during regular workouts. Tons of fun here. Pikachu hurt his wrist, but he’s a warrior, and will be back out next time. 3 rounds then mosey back over to Carillon Field.

YHC and Sharkbait brought it home. Duck, Duck, Goose F3 Style. American Hammers while we play. Tons of fun here. YHC took on Hardywood and lived to tell about it, barely. Time for crab soccer. Kids v dads. First round, kids 8 and under can stand. Everyone else, on the ground. Second round, kids 11 and under can stand. Final round, all kids can stand. Dads dominate, once again.

Back to the flag. Circle up. Merkins for your age.

NMS:

Tons of fun today guys and gals. Highlights: Kids loved tug ‘o war. Dads were right there cheering them on. Always a great event. Sharks and Minnows was an absolute blast! Hardywood is crazy, unless diving head first into 4 feet deep kudzu and poison ivy in order to avoid a tag is normal. Nancy Drew started us off with Duck, Duck, Goose and even at 5 years young, appreciates irony as she went straight for Loose Goose. Back to Hardywood who is also a crab soccer aficionado. His bicycle kick skills were too good, as he pelted his own 2.0 in the face. We named her Xena, but her nickname nickname is Spalding, in honor of today’s lasting memory. She’s a trooper and a warrior. And if you think Handshake’s cherry picking skills don’t transfer sports, you’re wrong. He cherry picked with the best of them in crab soccer. A few goals resulted.

(Kickboard wanted to be named Missy Franklin. Beans failed to explain to her the naming rules. That said, YHC wanted to find something that would play nice, so we are going with Kickboard. Life lessons can be tough some times).

Just another awesome day with friends and family. Thanks for joining us. Hope y’all had fun.