Author: Rudy

  • The Merkin Trap, Episode 4: The Search for Plutonium – from Akbar

    Admiral Gail Akbar of the Mon Calamari returns to the Northshore Mothership once again, to fight another battle against Darth Fartsack and the Sad Clown Empire. His secret mission this trip is to investigate the galactical mystery of Plutonium, reportedly found in the NOLA area by some beast named Hawgcycle. The commander of the Rebel forces knew this human was clever and dangerous – using words like isotopes, casualties, retrospect, and defecate in past correspondence about this discovery. He was at this beatdown before, maybe he would return. Key reinforcements – Baby Yoda, Bushwacker, Pickaxe, Chainsaw, and Shooter were missing. But we had new blood to make up the difference – a burly man named Cathe, with medical-surgical powers specializing in catheters, and a visiting pirate from Cape Fear named Teach. We were pleased with our chances.

    The Admiral received this note before his journey:

    Before night falls on this long winter day,
    A shining sword must find its way
    Into your hands and out of the gloom—
    Or Admiral Akbar shall meet his doom.
    To begin your quest for the Sword of Light,
    Call for the help of another to get right.
    You can always depend on an F3 brother,
    As Iron Sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another.

    PAX

    Waterpik, Dangerfield, Freon, Bubba, Moby Dick, Bean, Russo, Jose 10k, Barely Legal, Speedy, Grundy, Bird, Zoolander, Maverick, Akbar, Hammer, Junior Varsity, Cathe (FNG), Teach

    Conditions – 40ish, no wind, a little foggy

    Warm Up – Arm Circles (F/B), Self-Love, Imperial Walkers, Grass Grabbers

    Thang

    Mosey up and down the Lakefront stopping for 2 exercises in each set, one of which would always be Merkins. 12, 8, 5 IC or 24,16,10 OYO. Each set = 50 Merkins, and most were 50 of another exercise except for a couple done Copperhead style.

    1 – Flag SSH, Merkins
    2 – Rips Calf Raises, Wide Merkin
    3 – Parking stripes Lunge walk, 5 Merkins every 2nd stripe
    4 – Noah Wall Tempo Freak Nasties, Dirkin
    5 – Grass Circle Al Gore/Shoulder raise, Wide Merkin
    6 – Wall Copperhead Squats, Irkin
    7 – Grass Circle Scuba Steve, Stone Mountain
    8 – Grass Circle Al Gore/Shoulder raise, Merkin
    9 – Noah Wall Scuba Steve, Diamond Irkin
    10 – Rips Twinkle Toes, Prime Time Merkin
    11 – Flag Little Manny Crunches, Merkin

    Total 550 Merkins

    Mary – x10 IC

    Fire Hydrants, Leg Raises, Hello Dolly, LBC’s, Lay flat on your back for 1 minute, time called

    Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama. Welcome FNG Cathe! Pronounced Cathy

    Announcements

    – Run Cajun Run, log your mileage
    – Hammer, Grundy, Steve, and Tanked Up! have put together a team to support The
    Nehemiah Project. They will run 48 miles over 48 hours on March 18th at Fontainebleau
    State Park. Check Slack for more.
    – Bird has the Q next Saturday

    COT

    YHC prayed us out with thoughts of words like man, father, husband, brother, friend – all verbs – and to take action this week remembering to flex our heart muscle. Don’t forget tomorrow is Valentine’s Day

    Alas, the Admiral did not find Plutonium, or Hawcycle, or the Sword of Light. But what he did find was a group of men who sharpened each other – enjoying camaraderie, food, and a hot cup of coffee for their efforts. Sad, but undaunted, he shall return next year.

    Thanks for letting me lead, and for following.

    SYITG – Admiral Akbar

    NMM

    Of all days to be late, YHC misplaced the keys and had to hall butt to make it there just in time to start.

    Great to have Teach from F3 Cape Fear make the drive from Gulfport while working out of town for a while.

    Bird brought Ian, a FNG who we named Cathe, pronounced Cathy, he works in med devices sales with vascular catheters.

    YHC had to modify pretty quickly after the Dirkins in the 4th set – in which QIC almost face planted from exhaustion. The plan was to go all the way to the playground and work my way back, but time forced a modification. We still got in around 550 Merkins in an hour

    Grundy showed up late, half way through, and owes 250 Merkins.

    I’ve been reading a lot of Jack and Annie books with the kids, and the poem came from a Merlin Mystery novel. I have to admit, these books are great – historical fiction and mystery combined. Kids and adults alike will love them. Sometimes, the book titles become backblast titles.

    The Plutonium reference came from the master backblast writer himself, Hawcycle. Look back and read it, it’s good stuff.

    Coffeeteria was great, this time including more King Cake, breakfast bowls, and my 2.0’s showed up for sugar and hot chocolate.

  • Mining for Gold – from Fracsac

    The Goldmine is rich with options, so YHC committed to planting the shovel flag and explore what the AO has hidden. With my imaginary pick axe in hand, a disclaimer was given, and the mining for non crypto began. 
    YHC was joined by two other Pax, Triple Shift and BayWatch. We grabbed a jump rope and 60 lb sandbag and did a short mosey next to the outdoor equipment recently completed by JP recreation folks:

    Warmup was the usual stuff.

    First up – Stations
    Sandbag Clean to Overhead press – AMRAP
    Jump rope – AMRAP
    Burpees x 10 – timer

    Rinse and repeat

    Next up – a short mosey to Arts building for Dirty Mac Deuce
    4 rounds of 3 x 12 count exercises – one arm, one leg, one core. Lap between each round is up the Performing Arts steps and down the ramp.

    Off to bleachers for step ups and dips

    Continue the mosey to other side of park for a look at the other outdoor gym recently completed. Stations again with dips, big boi sit ups on the decline bench, and burpees as the timer.

    Mosey back to the flag for a minute of stretching and CoT.

    NMM

    -Apparently the pax at the Uptowner were confused that YHC didn’t show with a promise of burpees. They’ll need a bigger carrot than that.
    -Bolt was so amazed by the presence of Hawg’s wood that he had to show his own to Rudy, which he supposedly asked Mambi to carry. At Coffeteria we were told that Hawg was so distraught by Bolts wood that he ran away before the beat down was complete.
    -Rudy seems to have trouble counting, especially when it comes to Burpees. The whole concept of the EMOM is probably beyond his comprehension, or maybe he was just preoccupied with trying to choose between which Pax wood he wants more. Don’t worry, YHC won’t judge.

    SYITG

  • Code of Ethics – 5 Principles for Auditors – from King Kong

    Today is the 2nd Friday of Accountability. 23 Pax showed up on a beautiful morning in the upper 40’s with no wind. Perfect condition to add on miles for RCR. At the same time, the PAX had no idea they will get something educational out of this workout. We started off with some stretches.

    1) to the first stop (PJ’s on Tulane Campus) – once we got there, we did some arm circles and self love. When people say “accounting,” most think of tax returns, financial accounting…. but many never thought about auditing. And this is our focus today – Audit.

    Why is auditing important? If Sandbar asks you to invest in his Left Bank company, the first thing you would ask for… his financial statements so that you can make a wise decision whether or not to invest in his delicious company. Sandbar seems like a nice guy, but how do I know his financials are accurate? How do we know he’s not inflating his revenue and net profit? If his financial statements were audited by an independent firm or accountant, you have more confident that his financial statements are free from material misstatements.

    2.) 2nd stop (field by UC) – There are 5 Code of Ethics Principles for auditors. First one is Integrity.

    Integrity – Audits are performed with diligence, honesty, and responsibility. Keeping yourself honest so that you can provide quality work for your clients and peers.

    We kept ourselves honest by doing 10 perfect form inclined merkins in cadence.

    3.) 3rd Stop (Turf Field by Tulane Garage) – While we were doing LBTs, we were discussing the 2nd principle, which is Objectivity.

    Objectivity – Auditors remain unbiased or fair in all their dealings.

    Like Angie’s said – “have to see both sides.”

    4.) 4th stop (Indian run to the top of Tulane garage) – at the top, we talked about the 3rd principle, which is Professional Competence and Due Care, while we were doing shoulder taps.

    Competence – keep up your knowledge and skill while providing service to your client. Apply due care based on the importance of tasks and on the confidence given to you by a client.

    5.) 5th stop (Indian run to the top of Loyola “mini” garage) – at the top, we brought up the 4th principle, which is Confidentiality, while we were in people’s chair position with overhead presses.

    Confidentiality – Practice discretion and protection of information when auditing. Never use audit information for personal gain or in harmful way to legitimize the interests of an audit.

    6.) 6th stop (Indian run to the top of WPM)

    7.) final stop – back to the flag to finish off with the final principle, which is Professional Behavior.

    Professional Behavior – follow the law and regulations.

    At the COT, I quizzed the PAX and see if they were paying attention on the 5 principles. Angie’s List was dialed in and aced the quiz.

    Thanks for allowing me to lead and lets keep each other accountable!!!

    SYITG

    King Kong

  • The Inaugural Burpee C-Note Uptowner – from Rudy

    Our illustrious (or infamous?) site Q, Bolt, advised YHC that starting this week there is a new plan for The Uptowner. This new plan involved “Get Down, Get Up” and “Make Frac really happy!”. Yup, we all guessed it. Burpees. The BC Uptowner. Burpee C-Note. 100 Burpees need to get folded into the workout. So YHC thought and thought and thought. How could we possibly get 100 burpees in over 45 minutes? HOW?

    PAX (some who knew of this new plan, and some that were blissfully ignorant – Pai Gow asking whether it was too late to go to The Goldmine) appeared in the gloom around Vagabond’s 14 foot flag. Welcome back Charmin – great to see you becoming a regular! Scantron shows up with The Wood. Seriously, this time. Not Hawgcycle’s “toothpick”. But a real log. 9 PAX heard the disclaimer (including post-hate Disclaimer, arriving “on-time, millenial style”, but NOT including the aforementioned Frac). And we were off.

    Circle up for warmup. Some stretching. Welcome Mambi! 10 PAX.

    SSH x42: 42nd day of 2022. On this Day – 42:1 longshot Buster Douglas KOs Mike Tyson in 1992.

    Elbow Plank for 2 minutes, as PAX discuss whether Charmin (27 yo) or Disclaimer (30 yo) even know who “Mike Tyson” was (besides being a movie star). Bolt produces wildly funny and 100% inappropriate joke that will not be repeated here.

    Thing 1: Lucky 7s. Alas, the morning temperature was 44 degrees. So the Lucky Bear outfit stayed home (only appears at 40 degrees and under), much to Hokie Pokey’s disappointment. But we’ll repeat the drill. 7 minutes of 7 burpees on the minute, complete the minute with an exercise that YHC calls out. The resting is at the end. Half-way through, Macgyver appears – 11 PAX! Last round includes 8 burpees, so we get an even 50. Halfway home.

    Mosey to the gym. Mambi and Macgyver nominated to haul the log. Mambi unceremoniously throws it at YHC’s feet upon arrival. Grab some wall. Donkey Kicks and Shoulder Taps (with feet up on the wall). 3 rounds of 10 x 10 each. Shoulders are burning. Lets keep that going.

    Mosey to the gym steps. YHC has called this “The Italians scaling the Alps”. Up the stairs, 5 merkins at the top, then job to the bottom and plank. How do we go up the stairs? Bear Crawl, Crab Walk, Crawl Bear, Walk Crab. Then we gotta go down the Alps. So do the same, only in reverse order. YHC thanks Hawgcycle for the inspiration of doing something as dumb as Walk Crab up a hill. Other pax do not thank Hawg, but instead throw verbal insults at him.

    Back to the Field. Repeat Lucky 7s to get the rest of the way to 100 burpees. Halfway through, Hawg decides to quit and head home. Sorry if this was too hard for you. The other 10 PAX slog through to the finish line.

    28 J Los and 25 Penguins round out the day. Mosey back to the flag for our COT.

  • Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today To get through this thing called life Electric word life, it means forever and that’s a mighty long time But I’m here to tell you, there’s something else The afterworld, a world of never ending happiness You can always see the sun, day or night So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills You know the one, Dr. Everything’ll Be Alright Instead of asking him how much of your time is left? Ask him how much of your mind, baby ‘Cause in this life things are much harder than in the afterworld This life you’re on your own And if de-elevator tries to bring you down Go crazy, punch a higher floor – from Jose10k

    I showed up early to put a mile in for RCR, which I always listen to music. Our resident pop culture expert, Hammer, inquired what I was listening to. I told him Prince’s Let’s go crazy. To which he just belted out the lyrics as if he wrote them. Most impressive.
    Warm-ups: ssh, grass grabbers, torso twists, cherry pickers all in cadence
    The thang: Mosey to the courthouse for some 11’s. Merkins and jump squats with running the length and up the courthouse steps. Once finished, on lap around the courthouse, then a quick trip to the rock garden. Picked up a good rock for some curls for the girls, rows for the bros, and overhead presses (all in cadence). Back to the A1C for round robin core. Hammer prayed us out. As always, thanks for letting me lead. Still waiting for cowbell to show up on Friday, maybe even Q.

  • Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today To get through this thing called life Electric word life, it means forever and that’s a mighty long time But I’m here to tell you, there’s something else The afterworld, a world of never ending happiness You can always see the sun, day or night So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills You know the one, Dr. Everything’ll Be Alright Instead of asking him how much of your time is left? Ask him how much of your mind, baby ‘Cause in this life things are much harder than in the afterworld This life you’re on your own And if de-elevator tries to bring you down Go crazy, punch a higher floor – from Jose10k

    I showed up early to put a mile in for RCR, which I always listen to music. Our resident pop culture expert, Hammer, inquired what I was listening to. I told him Prince’s Let’s go crazy. To which he just belted out the lyrics as if he wrote them. Most impressive.
    Warm-ups: ssh, grass grabbers, torso twists, cherry pickers all in cadence
    The thang: Mosey to the courthouse for some 11’s. Merkins and jump squats with running the length and up the courthouse steps. Once finished, on lap around the courthouse, then a quick trip to the rock garden. Picked up a good rock for some curls for the girls, rows for the bros, and overhead presses (all in cadence). Back to the A1C for round robin core. Hammer prayed us out. As always, thanks for letting me lead. Still waiting for cowbell to show up on Friday, maybe even Q.

  • Some Ruck & some ladder – from Hokie

    Boo Boo and I tucked down the levee and back 2.28 miles while TSquare, Slinger & Firefox did ladder drills

  • Run Cajun Run day 9 – mini loops with a COP – from Reluctant Yankee

    Morning started off right – with a pre run to the AO with Popalock. I appreciate the push from POP the COP. Ran to the AO Set up a simple loop to help get mileage but I was surprisingly gassed on the shoulders too!
    We did a warmup COP SSH, Lunge around the clock, Roaches, and Jlos
    Then went to the shelter
    In chalk- 10 Hand release merks, 20 shoulder taps, 30 dips and 40 russian twist
    The loop went from shelter to rows (x 20) then around the track to the pull ups (amrap)
    then back to shelter. I completed 4 full loops – many pax completed 5.
    Then back to the flag for a 3 min of Mary sesh. LBT, penguins, freddies, plank jack, dying bug.

    Just want to get some mileage in and something for the body – focused on shoulders and core.

    Always a please to lead!
    We closed our COT with a prayer to accelerate our relationships.

  • The Track Can Be Fun Too – from Mama’s Pride

    With RCR in full swing, a few pax arrived early and ready to hit the ground running, pun intended.

    The group started out with a typical warm up of some SSH, Grass Grabbers, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, and Arm Circles. To keep gaining miles, we added 2 “Forks” to the warmup, which includes a run around the track where each pax sprints for the 100 m stretches and slowly jogs the turns.

    After the warm up, the group engaged in a crowd favorite – Mama’s Pride’s Ladder consisting of Merkins, Jump Squats, BBSUs, Commando Planks, and Kick Throughs. After each cycle, Pax rand 400m and performed 5 burpees. The workouts started with 15 reps of each exercise and added 5 reps after each run around the track.

    After 20 minutes, the group ran another lap and performed another Fork before finishing up with a friendly game of Ultimate Football.

    The pre-run group hit just at 4 miles, except for Saban, who decided he needed to run more because he’s Saban. Overall, it was as pleasant as it sounds.