Tag: The Creek

15 gentlemen showed up to celebrate YHC and his birthday eve. It truly was 70 and sunny this morning when we started.

Slaughter Starter — 20 Burpees
Mosey to field
ww2 situps 1 minute
SSH
arm circles
gas pumps
Sumo Squats in cadence — wide stance, touch ground
Jump Squats in cadence — take it slow
Rockem Sockem Robots — squat kicks with a punch

ww2 situps 1 minute

mosey to pavilion
skull crushers in cadence — 5, 10, 15 per side and derkins on own 5,10,15

triple check from middle of field
bear crawl and flutterkicks start in same spot, dips at bench
bear crawl relieves dipper who relieves american hammer
each exercise 3 times

ww2 situps 1 minute
dan taylor across width of field
1 squat, 4 lunges
2 squat, 8 lunges

Native American run

Weasel Crawl — YHC sings “Pop Goes the Weasel” on the word “Pop” PAX goes down into a merkin, on “Weasel”, PAX does alternating shoulder taps

Merkin Ring of Fire — 5 each

NMS —
Today was the last day YHC will ever get to say 47 during the name-o-rama.  Another year gone, lots of great memories, including meeting a bunch of you blokes.  Where has the time gone?  My eldest is going to high school, my youngest to elementary school.  My head is spinning.
Enough of that — workout was fun — Thanks Circle K for the great mumblechatter this morning — made the workout less painful.
Not sure who had the really awkward form on the bear crawls, but it was great entertainment observing it and pointing it out to other PAX members.
Weasel Crawl didn’t work as well as it should have.  Live and learn.
Looking forward to another year in F3!

12 overcame their fartsack to better themselves, their PAX and community this morning.  (Chowdah, LP, (FNG) Wilt, Opus, Mud Face, Chewey, Byproduct,(FNG) Jiff, Bucket Mouth, Macro, Wheelie, Yard Sale). It was great to have 2 FNG’s this morning. We were without a SF but the PAX got to work. Looks like I may need to step up and make one.

This is how it went to down

Mosey around the church building and back to the front lot so any LIFO’s can catch up.

COP (All in IC)

• SSH
• Hillbilly’s
• Arm Circles
• LBC’s
• Heals to Heaven
• Merkins

11’s including WWII Sit Ups (that’s the challenge this month) and Surfer Merkins

Wander Bra – PAX completed several reps holdings bricks in both hands.

PAX partnered up – 1 performed dips on the picnic tables while the other ran across the field to the light pole. When they returned, the partners switched. Repeat 2 times.

Wilt Chamberlains – Only 50 each but with bricks around the 4 corners of the field

• LBC’s
• Flutter Kicks
• Copperhead Squats
• Lunge to the end

Tunnel of Love

Black Snake Run

Time flew by and it was time to head back to where the flag should be.

Numberama, Namerama, Chowdah took us out.

Macro will be heading off to the National Guard for most of the summer. I think he may have had an unfair advantage in the Tunnel of Love.

Surfer Merkins and the Wonder Bras were new for this PAX. Surfer Merkins are harder than I thought and probably shouldn’t be included in 11’s next time. Wonder Bra’s were easier than I expected. Probably should hold them a little longer next time but it’s hard to be patient when you’re leading.

Bucket Mouth had great lateral movement during the Snake Run. To be 19 again….

Announcements:

• Ashcreek 5k May 20th.
• Byproduct is moving tomorrow. Several PAX members will be helping. Byproduct will send out details in Messenger. Mud Face let Byproduct know if he doesn’t show up next Friday for the workout, the PAX will move his stuff back.

8 men braved the weather and beat the fartsacks this morning to witness the VQ of Chowdah. The SF was planted and the PAX got to work.

Mosey around the church building

COP

– SSH

– Arm circles

– Don Quixotes

– Freddie Mercuries

– Cotton Pickers

Mosey to the building corner

Cinco de F3

The PAX paired up and proceeded to do a four corner workout with sets of 5.

Wheelbarrow with partner halfway along length of building

5 two count mountain climbers

5 burpees

5 wide stance merkins

5 WWII situps

5 boxcutters

Plank when finished last lap around the building

PAX completed 3 times around the building and the Q realized we were going to run out of time if we didn’t move on.

Mosey to field

Indian run around the field

Mosey to flag

Ring of fire – 10 merkins

Numberama, Namerama, Abacus took us out.

Moleskin

YHC was up before his alarm as it was his VQ this morning. Like a kid on Christmas Eve, sleep was elusive

Waiting for the rain to subside, the YHC and LP took bets on who would show up first. By-Product was the winner followed close behind by Wheelie. Out of the blue, The Carpenter (although he told YHC he wouldn’t be there) showed up after a long drive home from Queens to surprise YHC on this momentous day

It being Cinco de Mayo, YHC had full intention of making it around the building 5 times, but just like so many things in life, what looked good on paper doesn’t always transfer well to real life. We stuck with our five sets and made it through

From the beginning, Abacus lived up to his name, counting forwards, backwards, skipping numbers, and doing everything he could do confound the PAX. There was not a dry spot on the ground and not one member of the PAX made it out without being totally and completely drenched. Thankfully, the temperature was high enough to keep it comfortable.

Thanks to everyone who came out for this day. It was a privilege and a pleasure to be beat down with this crew. Looking forward to the next time.

Announcements

By-Product will be moving from the 23116 to the 23111 and will need some strong arms and hands next week. Contact him if you can give him a hand.

8 Northerners overcame their fartsack to catch up for lost time in this month plank challenge. The SF was planted and the PAX got to work

This is how it went to down!!

Mosey around the parking to allow for any LIFO’s to join

COP (All in IC)

• Invisible Jump Rope
• SSH
• Merkins
• LBC’s
• Dolly’s
• Arm Circles

Plank-A-Rama

Partner up. First partner runs around the church while second partner complete a plank exercise, then switch. Rinse and Repeat if necessary to pick up the six. Plank exercises were as follows:

• Straight Arm Plank
• Forearm Plank
• Plank Jacks
• Side Plank Crunch
• Push-up Side Plank
• One-legged Plank (Right Leg)
• One-legged Plank (Left Leg)

Plank the Night Away

The PAX completed the following dancing plank exercise for 2 to 3 minutes each:

• The Cupid Shuffle Plank
• Cha Cha Slide Plank

Mosey to the SF for 2 minutes of Mary’s

• Up and Down Planks IC
• Forearm Plank (1 min)
• Dolphin Plank (30 secs)

Numberama, Namerama, Emoji took us out.

MOLESKIN

ts near the end of the month and YHC had made a observation that no one had made planks a priority during their Q’s this month. Well time to change that!!

YHC got there early with LP to find Emoji already waiting in the parking lot. 2nd F time was had while the rest of the PAX arrived.

During the COP our LIFO’s Mudface and Chewy decided to join us. Glad they could make it! Afterwards YHC made the PAX aware the theme of the day would be all about planks. Not sure the PAX embraced this announcements the same way YHC did.

During the Plank-A-Rama the mumble chatter was focused around next month’s challenge, Abucus’ upcoming bike race, and Chewy’s dislike of planking.

While planning his Q, YHC was using YouTube to look up the best form for some of the plank exercises. He stumbled across the The Cupid Shuffle and Cha Cha Slide and knew he couldn’t resist adding them to the workout

During the plank the night away the PAX demand that the Q demonstrate the dancing plank before hand. I’m sure it would have be a sight to see this PAX dancing during the AO this morning.

In the spirit of the F3RVA Podcast giving out weekly awards, the Mechanicsville PAX has decided to award a new one! We will be naming a 2.0 of the month. This month’s 2.0 is LP!! Not only his he the youngest PAX member in Mechanicsville week and week out, but also for a 8 year to get up 1 to 2 times a week (Sometimes without his dad Chowdah) is awesome. TClaps LP!!

Announcements

• Ashcreek 5k May 20th. Sign up at Ashcreek5k.com and use promo code EARTHDAY for $5 off before the 29th. Use team name “F3RVA” when signing up. 5k is a 8am and Kid’s Fun Run is at 9am. F3 will have a booth. Come out and help spread the word in the community!
• Circle K shared with the weather getting warm it’s great to remind some PAX’s members about coming out
• Next month’s challenge will be WWII Sit-Up’s look for the Preblast later today!
• Good Luck to those running in the Ragnar Richmond, Colonial 70 this weekend!
• Here are links to the Dancing planks this morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6pkTkunq9s   &  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7VkHk8F-v0

SPIT ON THAT!!

10 men (Opus, Byproduct, Phonics, Bucket Mouth, Mud Face, Chewy, LP, Chowder, Spit, Yard Sale)  climbed out of the fartsack to greet a very humid morning this spring for a beatdown.  This is what we did:

Mosey to parking lot near pavilion for COP.  Exercises included : SSH x 50 IC , Invisible Jump Rope x 40 IC, LBCs x 40 IC, Hillbilly’s x 20 IC, Freddie Mercury’s x 20 IC, 4 count Copper Head Squats x  20, Arm Circles 10 small, 5 large and reverse.

Pick a partner.  One partner runs around the building, one starts the exercise.  When the partner gets back, they trade places running and exercising.  Between exercises the exercising partner runs to the next corner.  Exercises were 50 burpees, 100 merkins, 150 squats and 200 LBC’s. Earlier finishers circled back to help and encourage the others.

Mosey to the open field for black snake.  Mud Face was first and made many positive comments about the experience.  Spit was definitely the most agile weaving in and out with ease. 2 laps around the field and everyone had made it from front to back.

We stayed in the field for a little Wilt Chamberlain.  Several comments were made about what exactly Wilt was famous for and what the 100 pertained to.  In honor of Wilt’s 100 we performed the following exercises at the 4 corners of the field:

100 LBC’s

100 Copper Head Squats

100 Flutter Kicks (I thought this would be restful but after about 40 we were definitely feeling it)

100 Lunges (50 each leg).

We were quickly running out of time but needed some arm work.  Mosey to picnic shelter for dips.  10 slow four count dips to feel a little burn in the arms to match the wobbly legs.

Mosey back to Shovel Flag for ring of fire.  We only had 2 minutes so everyone got in the plank position and went around the ring doing 5 merkins.  Spit finished his up with a clap which Yard Sales tried to match, but poorly.

Numberama, Namearama, Opus took us out with quick prayer.

Announcements

Ashcreek 5K, May 20, 2017

CVille expansion. Send LabRat names, emails.

New Mechanicsville AO at Pole Green Park in planning stages.  First workout tentatively planned for May 11, 2017.  See Phonics.

It was my honor to lead this group of men today.  These clowns are truly making a difference in my life and for that I thank all of them.

In honor of every smurf everywhere, this workout is for you

13 smurfed up PAX members showed up on a beautiful morning to show they had what it takes to beat the gloom!

Hallelujah run around the church

COP

American Hammers, LBC’s, Don Quixotes, Invisible Jump Ropes, Arm Circles, Diamond Merkins, Roll-ups (20 OYO)
Table tops,

shoulder taps
Plank Toe taps to the side (repeated these two)

CURB STEP UPS — 1 minute

The Thang
SMURF Trivia —
7 questions about the Smurfs, answer incorrectly — 10 Smurf jacks in cadence
answer correctly, only 5 Smurf jacks in cadence
YHC will post questions at the end if you want to see how well you would have done.

SMURF Run —
Like the Native American run except we all skipped — last person skipped faster to get to the head of the PAX.  Some of us even sang the theme song as we skipped.  Yippee.

SMURF Chase Scene —
5 lunges keeping an eye out for Gargamel, Sprint like mad across the rest of the field, immediately drop and give as many merkins as possible waiting for the rest of the PAX to finish (2x)

10 lunges, sprint, and as many LBC’s as possible till the PAX caught up (2x)

15 lunges, sprint and as many Burpees as possible until the PAX finished. (2x)

SMURF TRIVIA (part deux)
same as before — we all love smurf jacks now.

CIRCLE UP for ascending ring of fire merkins — we got to the number 6

Numberama, Name-o-rama, Bring it in

Naked Smurfskin —

YHC has had a love affair with the Smurf Jack since his first Q a few months back.  Hence, this workout came together after Spit gave it up to hit the smurfing #TwinTeam AO today.
YHC wanted to incorporate as many smurf jacks as possible into the Q today, so we did the smurfing Trivia contest as a way of keeping it fun.  Smurf it, the PAX only got 5 and a half questions correct out of the 14 smurfing questions.  The last one was half correct, so we did 7 and a half smurf jacks for that one.    Total = 107.5 SmurfJacks for the day, well done!!

Some other notes — Lunging and Sprinting across the field was the favorite of many a PAX member today.  I heard lots of “What the Smurf?”  and “Smurf it to Smurf!” while completing the exercise.  Will do this exercise again at the next Opus Q.  Be Ready.

Circle K informed YHC that he was doing the arm circles backwards when YHC said forwards.  Good catch Circle K (just seeing who was paying attention and you were.  Kudos.)

Here are the Smurfy Questions if you are interested… (answers can be found on the interwebs)

1)What is the country of origin of the Smurfs?
2) Which Smurf always carries a package?
3) Name Gargamel’s cat.
4) How tall are the smurfs?
5) Which famous VP’s daughter had the code name Smurfette?
6) What project were the smurfs working on in every episode?
7) When baby smurf got sick, what flower did they bring back to cure him?

8) Which smurf carried a pencil?
9) Who was always trying to steal the smurfs food?
10)What smurf was Brainy’s sidekick?
11) What is the new movie called?
12) What was Smurfette’s original hair color?
13) How old is Papa Smurf?
14) What color were Papa Smurf’s clothes?

Announcements — Charlottesville Launch May 20th.  Contact LabRat with names or any other items related to new AO

Ashcreek 5K — also May 20th.  Use code HAPPYEASTER to save $5 this week!

15 men (including an all-star team of LIFOs) rolled into the parking lot at The Creek for a fun fest that went something like this…

Mosey around the church building and to the fan-favorite location for the COP.

21 mountain climbers IC, 20 imperial walkers IC, 21 (not 100) SSHs IC, 10 merkins IC, 10 don quixotes IC, arm circles, 41 freddy mercuries

Mosey to the front corner of the church building for a “41 Special.” Run around the church building with the following stops:

• Front corner – 41 two count mountain climbers
• Back corner – 21 WWII sit-ups, 20 two count mountain climbers
• Front corner – 20 WWII sit-ups, 21 two count mountain climbers
• Back corner – 41 WWII sit-ups

10 count and then repeat with a small twist

• Front corner – 41 two count mountain climbers
• Back corner – 21 LBCs, 20 two count mountain climbers
• Front corner – 20 LBCs, 21 two count mountain climbers
• Back corner – 41 LBCs

Mosey to the field for an “egg hunt”

Bear crawl out into the dark field. Find an egg and shout “EGG” to trigger 5 burpees. Repeat until all 8 eggs were located.

Mosey to the far corner of the field and do a RING OF FIRE (hold plank while PAX member does 10 merkins).

Mosey back to the front corner of the church building

Sprint around the church with the following two stops

• Back corner – 41 two count mountain climbers
• Front corner – 41 LBCs

Finish with 21 american hammers IC, 20 freddy mercuries IC, 10 burpees on your own

Mosey to the flag for COT – Numberama, Namerama, Announcements

Announcements:

Spit shared passionately about the Ashcreek 5K on Saturday, May 20th as a way to reach out into the Ashcreek community and EH some Sad Clowns.

Sign up at http://www.ashcreek5k.com/ . This is a family event so invite your M’s, 2.0’s, and friends to sign up. We will have booth during the event. They are currently running a promo for $5 off if you register before this Sunday. Use code CELEBRATESPRING and register under “F3RVA”.

NMS:

YHC barely remembers a year ago when he was still below 40 and received some HATE in the COT during namerama. Today is one day short of his 41st birthday so he decided (with Spit’s prompting the night before at Greenleaf’s Pool Room) to roll with that theme a bit. YHC didn’t go for 41 of everything directly but worked it some combinations.

The initial mosey around the church building left room for LIFOs to join the party and we had some noteworthy ones this morning. Abacus rolled up just as the PAX came around the corner and stormed right into YHC like a football player celebrating a game-winning touchdown. What did Abacus win? A LIFO designation. A few more LIFOs (Pincher, Front Porch) entered the COP in stealth during some of the initial exercises. YHC doesn’t recall how they slipped into the circle.

The “41 Special” lived up to its name because it provided some special moments AND some uncomfortable moments of gravel/stones digging into the backs of the PAX during the WWII sit-ups and LBCs. The mumble chatter started to fire up as the stones cut into the backs and spurred on some pain and conversation. Spit stormed ahead of the PAX and was closely followed by Spike, Abacus, Pincher and Tea Party. The last two need to step out of the DaVille area and bring their A-game to some other AOs. They are fighters who bring a F3 fighting spirit every week.

The “egg hunt” seemed like a good idea until the bear crawls commenced into the cold, wet field. Do bears hunt and eat eggs? YHC doesn’t think so but they did this morning. YHC admittedly did a poor job of “hiding” the eggs. They were too close to the start and the PAX found them too quickly. It ended up being 40 straight burpees instead of staggering them out. Spit and a few others took off bear crawling deep into the field when most of the eggs were closer to the starting line. The enthusiasm was appreciated however!

This morning was yet another glorious F3 morning. YHC still wonders if F3 will ever get old but how can it get old when it gives us a chance to fight through a challenge together and grow in our strength, friendship and sense of purpose in this Sad Clown world. We all need help and motivation. We all need strength (inner and outer). We all need to know that we are not alone. F3 is part of the solution and it is a ridiculously fun, crazy and awesome one at that!

YHC couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate his 41st birthday one day in advance at The Creek with these men!

7 Merry Gentlemen arrived on time and in good spirits at The Creek. To start we mosey around and ended up in the parking lot by the pavilion.

COP

19 fighters parachuted into the parking lot this morning in order to engage in a beatdown together. The side bumps & laughter were interrupted by the call to arms and then into the workout that went something like this…

Mosey to across the field to the far corner and back.

COP (all IC) – 50 SSHs, 5 merkins, 20 imperial walkers, 5 werkins, 20 LBCs, 65 SSHs, 5 merkins, 10 don quixotes, 5 werkins, 20 copperhead squats, 5 merkins, arm circles, 50 SSHs

Mosey to the pavilion and find a table.

Crush It!

• 5 Skullcrushers one way / Turn / 5 Skullcrushers looking the other way
• 5 Derkins IC
• 10 Skullcrushers one way / Turn / 10 Skullcrushers looking the other way
• 5 Dips IC
• 15 Skullcrushers one way / Turn / 15 Skullcrushers looking the other way
• 5 Incline Merkins IC
• Run around the edge of the field

Repeat… then bear crawl around the pavilion

Repeat… then 50 SSHs

Mosey to the front corner of the church building.

Four corners. 5 burpees and then run around the building while stopping at each corner and do 5 burpees.

50 SSHs to finish.

Numberama, Namerama, Tea Party took us out.

NMS:

The one-year anniversary party continued this morning as YHC took the Q at The Creek with the intention of dishing out 365 SSHs (one for every day of the year). Some of the PAX had egged him on via text the night before so he came ready to make them work.

The theme of the workout came from our brothers in Houston when I posted there a few weeks ago. Cruiser (61 years young) crushed us with a ton of skullcrushers in the Texas humidity that morning. I thought that I could bring a gift from Texas to Virginia this morning.

The PAX was lively and ready with a few minutes before launching in. A rousing ovation exploded when Erwin Padilla (FNG – Dory) stepped out of his car. Dory had posted to the Third F at The Shining the day earlier and took the challenge of rejecting isolation to heart.

The COP started with the predictable SSHs. The first set went well but the subsequent sets were not welcomed with enthusiasm. YHC heard more groans than ever this morning.

The skullcrushers on the table benches under the pavilion provided a new challenge. YHC had some counting issues and feared being renamed Abacus the Second. Wheelie’s face broke into widespread confusion when he went beyond the stated 5 at the start. YHC corrected the problem.

The bear crawl around the pavilion was a lot shorter than going around the entire church building. YHC kept everyone moving and the PAX demonstrated a fighting spirit throughout. The workout ended with 50 SSHs and we finished with 265 total (100 short of the 365 goal). There will be another time for the full 365…

YHC is constantly in awe of looking around the circle at The Creek and seeing multiple eight-year olds, a twelve year old, high school students, college students and then men from every decade up to the 60s. Every age is teaming together to get stronger and attack the Sad Clown Syndrome that wars against our hearts and seeks to pull us toward mediocrity. I know for certain that I am a different man because of the disciplined step of denying myself to join up with this F3 band of brothers in the gloom.

I can’t wait to roll into Dogpile and Q there for the first time tomorrow…

The Carpenter

Several late PAX members rolled in right at 5:30a. HPC started the workout as the last door opened.

Mosey around the church. STOP! Pirates! – 6 Burpees on the way commemorating the 6 years Patrick spent in slavery after being captured by YHCrish pirates. Continue to parking lot near pavilion.

COP

St Pat’s day is always the 17, so:

• 17x SSH
• 17x LBC
• 17x Copperhead Squats
• 17x Hillbillies
• 17x Leprechaun Jacks! (crowd favorite)

Due to the fact that Patrick lived 1600 years ago, some of the facts may be lore or symbolic.  There is a legend that he chased all the snakes from YHCreland.  This may have been an allegorical reference to the Pagan culture that he drove from the island.  To celebrate this we did a Bear Crawl Snake from the COP to the Thang.

The Thang

Four corners were our lucky four-leaf clover today.  Exercises were 16 merkin, 30 LBC, 16 Mt. Climbers (2 count), 30 Freddy Mercury’s (2 count).  Numerical significance? He was captured at age 16.  After returning to YHCreland he served there for 30 years.  3 circuits for the 3 times Patrick was captured.  Not a very lucky guy!

Mosey back to the parking lot near pavilion for Burpee Suicides.  Link to St. Patrick fail!  2 Burpees on each of 4 lines out and back.

Still some time remaining. Mosey to the pavilion for Lindsays with Dips and Step Ups.

Mosey back to shovel flag spot for Ring of Fire of WW2 KB Presses while PAX does Leg Lift Holds (6 inches).  Another bit of St. Patrick lore is that

Numberama, Namorama

Opus took us out.

Moleskin

This was YHC’s VQ and was definitely EH’d into doing one before April (personal goal).  YHC spent much of his prep time wading through the interwebs for the most accurate/dependable/consistent information about St. Patrick’s life.  YHC probably will be less committed to a theme next time.

Spit posting for Wheelie