11 blockheads posted at The Gipper this morning for an Ackbar inspired beat down. After a warmup of Imperial Walkers, Toe Touches, OH Hand Claps, Windmills, Merkins and Squats, all 10x and IC, the PAX recovery walked over to the Brickyard to secure coupons and brace themselves for The Thang.
8 sets of 4 minute blocks: 10 coupon swings every minute on the minute for 2 minutes, another exercise for a full minute, and then a minute rest. When the dust settled, the PAX had performed 160 coupon swings and 1 full minute each of Coupon Merkins, Bulgarian Split Squats each leg, Manmakers, Around the Worlds each direction, RDLs, and coupon Al Gores.
Countorama, nameorama and a Jadeveon inspired prayer. If you haven’t read Jadeveon’s recent BB, Leave No Man Behind, it’s worth your time.
The Mascot of Pontiff Playground is the Blue Devil, or El Diablo Azul as Yankee would say. The Blue Devil is an evil being. He desires our sadness. He uses his weapons to isolate us. He wants us to be lonely. Then he uses deception to create mistrust. His latest ploy of using a global pandemic that isolates us in the name of protecting others is quite genius. To then use a senseless act of violence to further drive us apart was diabolical, but then again, he is El Diablo.
But we have the weapons to defeat him. The three Fs are his kryptonite. El Diablo Azul is the Lord of Inaction. Tomorrow morning, he will tell you stay in bed when that alarm goes off. “You need the rest,” he will say. He will tell you to stay physically and socially distant from others. He will tell you to group others into easily dismissible stereotypes and that there is no need to hear their side. He will tell you that there is no hope and there is nothing you can do. He will coerce you into inaction.
So when that alarm goes off in the morning – Be a man of action. Join us in the gloom as we conquer El Diablo.
7 PAX for the Tsunami. 6:00 am rolled in and we were off. Quick stretch about .5 mile into the jaunt then we split in to two groups. One continued on for a 5k plus some Mary, the other for a 5 mile output. The effort was great and the finishing kicks were strong. Glad to have had the chance to lead this morning.
After not posting for over a week because of vacation, YHC was mentally ready to post, but knew he was not physically ready. Because YHC did a Lot of eating, A LOT of 12oz curls, and too much enjoying doing nothing. With a final hurrah yesterday, YHC was for sure hurting physically when the alarm went off. As YHC walked up the top of the Levee, he didn’t spot any parked cars or any PAX waiting for his arrival. YHC however, noticed one of the most amazing sunrises he’s ever seen. YHC told himself even if no one else post he was happy to be up to witness this amazing View.
YHC looked around, he looked across the way, to his back, to his right, then to his left. To his surprise he saw a dark figure walking toward him. A few steps closer he could see the dark figure was none other than Hawg. YHC and Hawg had a quick greeting but stopped to take in god’s beauty. We both took a few pics, waited for that time in the morning and moseyed down the levee to get started. YHC modified the workout slightly to accommodate 2 PAX. YHC also gave a disclaimer but this disclaimer wasn’t the usual disclaimer, it was the hungover, disclaimer.
BEAT DOWN for YHC – Not so much for the other PAX:
Warm-ups:
SSH x 30
Grass Grabbers x 20
Imperial Walkers x 20
Peter Parkers x 20
Mountain Climbers x 20
Arm Circles Forward x 10
Arm Circles Backward x 10
The Thang:
‘mericans x 20
Mosey to the bench and picnic table
Dips x 20
Left leg step ups x 20
Incline ‘mericans x 20
Right leg step ups x 20
Mosey back to start, there and back 1/3 Mile
‘mericans x 15
Mosey to the bench and picnic table
Dips x 15
Left leg step ups x 15
Incline ‘mericans x 15
Right leg step ups x 15
Mosey back to start, there and back 1/3 Mile
‘mericans x 10
Mosey to the bench and picnic table
Dips x 10
Left leg step ups x 10
Incline ‘mericans x 10
Right leg step ups x 10
Mosey back to start, there and back 1/3 Mile
Mosey to concrete levee area
Quadraphillia up the levee
At top Air Squats x 5
Run to 2nd bottom platform
LBC x10
Bear crawl up from bottom to top
At top Air Squats x 5
Run to the bottom
Rinse and Repeat x3
With 10 minutes left YHC was feeling rough but knew we had 10 more minutes.
Hawg asked YHC if he was ready for real Quadraphillia workout. YHC agreed but knew this might be bad.
Mosey on top of the levee to our meeting spot. Hawg turned to the southside of the levee and set his watch to 4 minutes, said, AMRAP always facing south up and down. To YHCs disappointment Hawg lapped him 3 or 4 times. Time was called, YHC did one last lap just to try and regain any respect possible for his low performance.
Mary
Got on our sixes and did Dying cockroach x 20
Time was called
The End
COT Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions and closing prayer.
Thanks for posting with me Hawg and pushing me. I hope the workout was worth the 16-mile bike ride.
The MISSION of F3 is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
F3’s Credo is: Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you find him.
I have to admit, I have NOT been the leader in my community I could have been. I HAVE left men behind and I HAVE left men where I’ve found them. As a greater community and a country, we’ve all been guilty of the same.
Let me be clear. I love our country and we’re beyond lucky to call it home. Nevertheless, it’s far from perfect. A horrific injustice has existed since its foundation. Despite what we might like to think, it hasn’t gone away. It’s only taken on different forms. And now it’s simply become far more visible to us all than in recent years.
The fact is… when we stay silent, we leave our black/brown brothers and sisters behind. When we remain ignorant to the reality of their struggles, we leave them right where they are.
Men, I sure as hell hope you’re invigorated. We must be leaders. We are being called to action by those who cannot protect themselves or have their voices be heard. Regardless of our individual stories, we all have a level of privilege we can leverage. In our families, businesses, places of worship, and neighborhoods… there is so much we can do. We must listen, educate ourselves/others, show compassion, organize, set an example… be a spoke in the wheel of positive change.
…
The Beat Down:
I woke up in a cozy, yet comfortable Air Bnb in a small town called Metairie, LA. Still tired from a long drive in to this distant destination the day before, I wondered how I would lead a workout in such a strange place. Nonetheless, I ventured to a spot they call “Rock City” to see what I could make of such an exciting adventure. Upon arriving, it was quite clear. I wasn’t in Uptown anymore.
As if planned out by the Phase 1 Committee an exact 10 Pax showed up. Unfortunately, I hadn’t adjusted my watch for the change in time zones and we kicked off a tad behind schedule after the usual disclaimer. With our starting mosey, they were quick to let me know I was going the wrong way with their screaming from behind. Eventually we came across the mystical rocks I’d heard so much about from tales of travelers at WPM.
Warm-Up
SSH x 20
Peter Parkers x 20
Merkins x 10
Arm Circles Forward x 10
Arm Circles Backward x 10
The Thang
A rotary phone style workout with 5 stations. I think there may have been a slight language barrier here as my instructions weren’t interpreted entirely.
Station 1 = Burpees x 10
Station 2 = Squat with coupon x 20
Station 3 = Flutter kicks x 30 (2 is 1)
Station 4 = Merkins x 40
Station 5 = LBCs x 50
The motion… Start at Station 1 and then proceed immediately to Station 2 upon completion. After Station 2, return to Station 1. Then, proceed directly (in a clockwise fashion) to Station 3. After Station 3, stop at Station 2 on way back to Station 1. And so on from there. See… extremely simple, right?
Next, we returned the rocks to their homes and paused there for some Mary.
Leg Raises x 20
Dying Cockroach x 20
Real Freddie Mercs x 20
From there, we Bear Crawled about 25 yards toward the flag, stopping for some LBCs.
With a few minutes remaining, we closed it out with 3 100 yard sprints on the football field.
Count-off… Name-or-ama… Distanced COT.
Thank you to the men of Rock City for having me out there and allowing me to Q this am. I [potentially] will return!
Blame Akbar. This was his doing, really. His “block party,” (henceforth known as ‘Akbar’s Abomination’) – which was preceded by Tank’s Murph – pretty much guaranteed that Saturday’s beatdown would focus on legs and core.
But first, the pre-thang : the usual 2 miles out and back with the usual suspects. Now, YHC was definitely not looking at Bushwacker’s butt. And neither was Tank. But I mean, really, when the guy’s shorts are that tight and he’s running in front of you, it’s hard not to take note. Looked like he had those things painted on. Tank was comfortable enough in his masculinity to throw out a few catcalls. Though, judging by Wacker’s mustache (which was recently tamed from a Guy Fawkes-type stache to a more respectable – and less anarchistic – Tom Selleck-type), it is possible that he is more in tune with the modern trends of the day and hey, what do I know, maybe the short shorts are making a comeback this year?
Yes, this was created with MS Paint.
Back at the flag, there was a surprisingly large group milling about. Most noticeable were all the 2.0’s. It was great to see the Baby Yoda, Pope, and Pixie Stick (along with Grover, who is now a fixture at most beatdowns) posting alongside their fathers. Also of note, the (second) return of Backdraft, who’s already committed to leading in the near future.
Warmorama: Good mornings, torso twists, IWs, toe touches, SSHs, merkins, shoulder taps, high knees, all at or around 15x IC.
Somewhere around the SSH’s, Sparky shows up. Turns out Bushwacker does not stand alone in his love of Magnum P.I.
The Thang:
Simple enough opening routine: Lt. Dan’s to the gazebo. Which, okay, yes, is about 400 yards. And felt longer. But at least the guys had some time to catch up.
Next, Core COP: The Bruce Lee. We’d do all six exercises, x20 IC, then take a 30 second break:
Hammers
Leg Raises
LBCs
Heel Touches
Crunchy Frogs
100’s
Rinse & Repeat. Initially we were going to do three rounds, but honestly, YHC can’t multitask – I can either call out cadence for 6 routines or I can suffer through them properly, but doing both proved too much for a third round. So onward to the bridge!
Partner up for a Dora:
P1 runs up and over the bridge and back to swap with P2, who begins knocking out the cumulative reps of:
100 Merkin Toe Touches
200 Freak Nasties
300 Squats
Nearly out of time, YHC called it so we could make it back to the flag promptly. Double lined Indian Run back to the flag, where we closed it out with a quick set of Jane Fonda’s.
Countdown, namerama, and welcoming of FNG Pixie Stick!
Grover closed us out in a prayer of thanks and everyone set out to coffeteria. YHC feels blessed to have this group of men pushing me to be a better version of myself. It felt good to be back out there with such a large group (25 men!), and to see the gift of F3 passed on to so many 2.0’s. Thank you men for the opportunity to lead!
Looking at the F3 Nation list of exercises Friday night, Bear Mountain Merkins and Burpee Mile looked like good ideas. The next morning, in the heat and humidity, with the steep hills and many stickers of the Knoll, the degree of difficulty exceeded expectations and “good” may not apply.
Introductions and Disclaimer
Warm O Rama
20 Abe Vigodas, 20 Hairy Rockets, 20 SSH
The Thang
Bad Idea #1: Bear Mountain Merkins – Partnered up, one man runs down the hill, performs 5 merkins and Bear Crawls back up whilst partner does Mountain Climber Merkins (or squats if merkin quota has been exceeded) 10 reps seemed like a good idea but 5 reps turned out to be a better idea.
Bad Idea #2: Burpee Mile – With total disregard for Pax’s aversion to running any significant distance, on 1/4 mile flat open course either side of creek, start with 5 burpees, run the 1/4, do 5 burpees, cross creek for 5 more burpees and run back to start for 5 more burpees. Rinse and Repeat once more for one mile and 35 burpees
Marys
With YHC recovering from bad idea #2, SideFX took over for side planks – done for an eternity on left arm , then right. Excessive reps of heel touches crunched up on six and, finally Freddie Mercury’s until we cried.
COT
Name O Rama with initiation of FNGs Oscar and Holiday. Benediction and intentions then Pax sat for portrait painted by Money Cat
Ten PAX posted in City Park to get their Wednesday off to a good start. On the heels of Memorial Day, YHC thought it would be fitting to incorporate a Hero WOD, especially for those of us that missed The Murph days before. Here’s what went down:
Mosey to the practice track for a quick warmup consisting of SSH, IPW, WM, and AC. Then YHC filled the crew in on who Loredo was:
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Edwardo Loredo, 34, of Houston, Texas, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was killed on June 24, 2010 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his wife, First Sergeant Jennifer Loredo; his daughter, Laura Isabelle; his stepdaughter, Alexis; and his son, Eduardo Enrique.
The Thang: Loredo WOD, push hard, AYG, check your time at the end, boomer friendly tunes played for added motivation.
6 Rounds For Time
24 Air Squats
24 Push-Ups
24 Walking Lunges
400 meter Run
All PAX finished in the 20-something minute range, a few times were estimated:
Saban 21:00, Walleye, 23:08, Tool 26:29, Bogey 24:05, Kuch 24:44, Beignet 25-ish, Full Nelson 25-ish, High Rise 23:35, The Undertaker 25:30, Belloq 22:50
We did some round robin Mary until all PAX finished, then a few more rounds for the female onlookers, who mumbled something along the lines of “where’s that handsome guy named Sheetrock?”
Capped things off with 4 minutes of Plankorama, with first 2 min in silence to pay a little more homage to Staff Sargent Loredo and our fallen soldiers.
The View (not YHC’s favorite name) is a great AO with lots of potential. YHC aimed to change things up a bit, and actually planned a beat down the night before. 4 eager men awaited the Q to begin, so with 5 of us ready, a disclaimer was given, and we moseyed to a warmup spot doing high knees, butt kicks and Carioca. Warmup:
SSH IC x 31
IW IC x 15
Abe Vigodas IC x 10
GG IC x 10
AC IC x 20
PP IC x 20
MC IC x 20
MP IC x 10
Jack Webb
‘merican x 1 followed by 2 air presses
’merican x 2 followed by 4 air presses
.......
’merican x 10 followed by 20 air presses
Mosey to the bench and picnic table for Stations
Station 1 - ‘mericans
Station 2 - squats
Station 3 - derkins on picnic table
Station 4 - step ups on bench
Station 5 - Run to levee, bear crawl up, 5 burpees, run back down (timer)
Rinse and Repeat
Head to the shore to grab a rock.
Curls x 10
Rows x 10
Elf on the shelf x 10 Right
Elf on the shelf x 10 Left
Squat thrust OH press x 10
OH x 10
Return the rocks
Circle up for Mary:
Flutter kicks x 20
LBC x 20
Tin Snips x 10
Freddie Mercury x 20
Crunchy Frog x 10
Mosey back to VSF for 1 minute plank.
COT
Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions and closing prayer.
Thanks for posting with me today and pushing me to be better.
With beatdowns returning to normal operation, Q decided to incorporate a different route picked up from the underground post of weeks past. Generally PAX would run the loop and back out down to the point, but this Gloom instruction was given to head up Monroe to West Beach then take to the lakefront down to Girord up to Florida instead (alternate called by the Thoroughbreds Cowbell, Zoolander, Steve) left on Livingston which proved to be a good choice considering we would have less traffic while sticking to the back roads.. With the Q bending Waterpik’s ear the entire run time passed quickly although we added 1.2 extra miles from the regular route. Total 4.37 at 8:55 pace. Goose and Akbar could be heard pulling the 6 with some chatter as well..
Prior to the run PAX completed a warmup consisting of 10IC Toe touches, Torso twist, Scorpion kicks, 20IC SSH, Butt kicks and Lunge walk 20 yards.
Finished with 1 min and completed 20IC Little Manny crunches..
