F3 New Orleans

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  • The Inaugural Wally Run (aka 31 Gaser)

    After much discussion, the decision was made that Metairie needed a Thursday run-focused workout. It was unclear if the AO arose from a need for more running, a need for another beatdown in Metairie, or a pure hatred for Okwata. Nonetheless, six men appeared in the gloom at Pontiff playground for this inaugural beatdown.

    Pai Gow, Mambi, and Hobbs arrived early to complete their first PT test introduced by Boo Boo at Popeyes. Hokey Pokey assisted them in completing their merkins and situps and clocked their times for a two-mile run. Rev Sox and YHC began the work of mapping out a “traditional route” for this workout.

    After the two-mile run, four of the men continued running around the clay track. Rev Sox and YHC completed a three-mile run through the neighborhood before joining the remaining pax on the track. We all concluded with a five minute round of Mary and naming of the new AO.

    Mambi suggested something with 31 in honor of Wally Pontiff. 31 Gaser was suggested considering Mambi farted in Pai Gow’s face during situps. YHC concluded that 3 Gaser would require too much explanation and was too wordy therefore the Wally Run claimed the official name.

    Join us next Thursday at Pontiff Playground for the second installment of the Wally Run.

  • F3 Renaissance with a 610 Feel

    F3 Renaissance with a 610 Feel

    Short and sweet…. we met in front of NOMA and proceeded to the practice track stopping every 6 minutes for 10 Merkins. 60 Merkins later we were at the back of NOMA for Sunday Mornings (chair position with 10 air presses, 5 mule kicks, 1 balls to the wall with a Derkin/hand press…. repeat for 5 minutes). Close with COT lifting up Da Parish & Bellhop’s family and onto Coffeeteria at Café Navarre

  • Ant Hills, Ant Hills Everywhere! Red (Ant) Alert! Hide your kids! Hide your dogs! Hide your ankles?

    So YHC showed up bright eyed and bushy tailed at the Fly in the gloomy, gloom (when is daylight savings time ending again?) wondering if it was going to be a Beatdown of 1.  Lots of PAX out for Fall Break (is that really a thing???). 

    I was pleasantly surprised to see Sweaty Bells stalwart, Douille waiting with bated breath.  Soon Jingle Vader pulled up and the group was complete!  Let’s get this party started…but wait a PSA from our resident pest control engineer, Douille.  Apparently while coaching his 2.0’s soccer game on Saturday at the Fly, Douille noticed an unusual abundance of ant hills dotting our AO.  An invasion of pesky critters taking over our workout location, who do they think they are?  What to do???  Knowing the ruggedness and fleet of footness of the PAX, YHC knew we could overcome any obstacle including these minute munchers.  Onward and upward to:   

    Warm Up on Soccer Fields:

    • Toy Soldiers
    • Windmills
    • Alternating Open Gates
    • Reach arounds IC X 10 each way
    • Self-Love

    Thing 1

    Mosey to Base of Hill for Three Rounds of 10’s:

    • Squat to Upright Row X10 Over the Hill
    • Single Arm Kettlebell Swings 5 each arm (10 total) Over the Hill
    • Back Lunge to Row X10 each Leg  Over the Hill
    • Mountain Climbers X20 (10 each leg) Over the Hill

    Thing 2

    Circle up for:

    • Curl with Alternating Leg lift X20
    • Curl with Right Knee Raised IC X10
    • Curl with Left Knee Raised IC X10
    • Tricep Extension with Alternating Knee lift X20
    • Tricep Extension with Right Knee Raised IC X10
    • Tricep Extension with Left Knee Raised IC X10

    Thing 3

    Mosey to Shelter for:

    • RL Step Ups with KB X10
    • LL Step Ups with KB X10
    • Dips with KB X10

    Thing 4

    Mosey back to Soccer Fields for:

    Kettle Bell Webb IC X7 Rounds

    Stay in circle for some Core work:

    • Skull crushers w/wife pleasers on upstroke
    • Flutter Kicks with Bell
    • Russian Twists with Bell

    We are done!  Count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, prayer.

    Thanks for letting me lead!

  • The other anniversary

    A disclaimer and we were off. I intentionally signed up for this Q so that I could mark my 5th year.

    Mosey’d to the field by the WW1 Memorial. SSHx 20, Imp Walker x 10, Imp Walker Squats x 10, Squats x 15, Mtn Climbers x 15, Dying Roaches x 20

    Mosey’d to the ROW STATION. 20 Rows was the count. Plank Jacks, Shoulder Taps, Squats.

    Then we long mosey’d to the FOUNTAIN. We did an INDIAN RUN to the FOUNTAIN.

    At the FOUNTAIN we tried a few new ones…SIDE CRUNCHES On the benches, walking toe taps, then L/R Step Ups, and we finished with some 10 declined merks.

    Prisoner run to patch of grass by the golf course. At the golf course – we did dying bugs, low country crabs, american hammers, lbts,.

    Ran to the PIMP station. At each running man do 2,4,6,8, 10 merks then decrease back to 2. Than back up to 10. At the PIMP Station we set up with 10 pull ups , while you wait — plank jacks, shoulder taps, and squats.

    FInished with HORSES TO THE STABLE.

    COT – Being appreciative for F3 NOLA.

  • 5 year CONVERGENCE!

    Well – 5 years later we are still going STRONG! I remember when we started thinking I don’t have time in my life for this group. After a week of beatdowns I knew that we had to commit to growing this group – it had already begun to change my life and they way I interact with people everyday. I know after a nasty 530am beatdown – that I can handle anything the day throws at me. Thanks to all the guys here in NOLA that keep things running so that we can continue to be a group. Thanks to OBT for taking time out of his life to get us going in the GLOOM! Looking forward to 5 more years of F3 in NOLA.

    Today the pre-run started with about 20 PAX for a run down BAYOU ST JOHN. Beautiful weather, cool air and a crisp breeze. We ran 12 min out and 12 min back so that we could arrive in time for the fun.

    KUCH – has a been a great EH’er and a nice addition to F3 NOLA. Kuch started the party off with a WARM UP circle. SSH, Imp Walkers, Arm Circles, Peter Parkers, Merks.

    Then we divided up by 5 count into teams. We did 5 burpees, 5 Lunges, 5 Merkins, 5 Squats, 5 Plank Jacks. Bear Crawl across the lawn. Run back. KUCH did an excellent job getting the teams set quickly

    5 reps. We ran out of time and had to call it after 3 reps. No team won due to the shortened KUCH set. Kuch represented NOLA well – with a pretty gnarly start to a celebratory event.

    2nd set with DURACELL – FROM BATON ROUGE

    Duracell brought out 2 coupons. 40lb cinderblocks. 2 PAX ran to the center and did 3 thrusters. We went two different directions. A slow starter but once the PAX got the hang out this one – this was a solid beatdown. Duracell had to do about 15 exercises in cadence to 20. Exercises ranged from a regular plank, to shoulder taps, to merk variations to squat/lunge variations. The highlight of this section was Mathlete’s 2.0-Bear getting that cinderblock in the right position and up. Duracell represented the RED STICK well.

    THIGHS FROM THE WANK- 3rd quarter. We started with a solid mosey over the to the lawn in by the museum. Upon arrival we see that Thighs has organized with some printed out signs a 15 min beatdown that is going to suck. At each sign there was an exercise- PAX had to complete 20 reps the first time through, 15 reps the 2nd time through. (Possible 3rd time for the fastest pax members). Exercises were:

    1. Bonnie Blaires
    2. Diamond Merks
    3. Reverse Crunches aka Gaspumps
    4. Bobby Hurleys
    5. Merkin Toe Touches (need to incorporate this more in my Qs)
    6. Freddie Mercs

    RUN back to the start line and do this again. Thighs had the teams organized in a way by street names. Due to 75 PAX that didn’t quite workout but Thighs quickly modified and let the teams fall where they were. A good quick call. Thighs demonstrated that there is nothing easy about the WANK. Those guys are tough! Great turnout by the WB.

    STEVE FROM THE NORTHSHORE- FINISHED OFF The PAX back on the great lawn. Each pax got a partner.

    You had to do your partners age in burpees, your partners weight in LBCS, and your partners months in F3 in Freddies.

    Steve had a few minutes left so he finished with some Peter parkers, and some American Hammer.

    After a 75 PAX NAME O RAMA, NUMBERRAMA – Hokey POkey finished us off with an awesome prayer!

    After the whole beatdown we gathered at Cafe Du Monde for a 5 year celebration party. Tclaps to Rudy, Tool and Gabrielle for making that happen. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, biscuits, beignets and plenty of coffee!

    Thanks to our awesome Qs! IT is NOT easy to Q 75 PAX!

    So blessed to be a part of this group- cheers to 5 more years of F3 NOLA!

  • Wait…You Were Serious?! Tales From The Tabata Trio

    So, YHC thought it would be a brilliant idea to run 5 miles to the Marsh this gloom (yes I was serious), which it was. Except for the tragic water bottle to the knee injury, almost being run off the trace by the brightest bicycle light in the world, and the cramping caused by running the entire way with a shovel flag that kept trying to fall apart. All of which became the final nail leading today’s beat down going from an intense feat of athletic stoicism featuring the Marsh’s newest mega coupon, an outrageously enormous tire (which has already been stolen after only 2 weeks and no opportunities to use it) to a casual, mumble-chatter filled , Shooter-less tabata session in which YHC’s perfectly apropos Halloween costume ideas for Akbar and Steve were blown apart by the awesomely anticipated Obi Wan Kenobi and Fat Sweat-Pants-wearing Spiderman costumes, featuing family coordination.

    ANYway…

    WARM O RAMA

    Steve covered the warm up while Q…uh…took care of some… business – returning in time to rock out some Imperial Walkers.

    THANG

    Tabata cycles of 4 sets of 20 seconds of reps with 10 seconds rest in between each set. Exercises included Merkins, LBCs, Lunges, Reverse Lunges, Reverse Crunches, Freddy Mercurys, Scorpion Kicks ans more Imperial Walkers.

    COT

    Count, Name, Akbar prayed us out, and we are certainly blessed. This Halloween be sure to be on the lookout for Akbar and his light saber and Steve with his slice of pizza!

    Gentlemen, thanks for posting and playing a few rounds of “Bushwacker says”. And Steve, thanks for the ride home…looks like I won’t need a knee replacement after all! (yet)

  • ARMY PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST; 9 October 2019

    Ten men of F3 NOLA showed up at Popeyes for the inaugural Army Physical Fitness Test, which will be administered during the first month of each quarter at Popeyes. Three additional PAX (Hobbs, Mambi, and Pai Gow) completed the test on 10/10/19, at the inaugural Pontiff Run-Focused AO.

    WARM-UP

    After the traditional disclaimer, quick warm-up of Arm Circles, Grass Grabbers, and Imperial Walkers (all x10) was completed.

    DA THANG

    PAX paired-off to count for each other and ensure proper form. The results are scored on an age-based standard set by the U.S. Army. The only modification to the test was the requisite ten-minute rest time between events because the men of F3 NOLA are better than that, so we rested for the two minutes between events (while counting for our brothers). The test is completed in the order of push-ups, sit-ups, and 2-mile run.

    Push-ups: Complete as many as possible in two minutes. A push-up is not complete unless the arms are at 90 degree angles or less, legs no more than shoulder width apart, and the participant returns to the high plank position. Rest can be taken in the high plank position (with or without an upward or downward arch at the waist). If any part of the legs or torso touch the ground the exercise is over.

    Sit-ups: Complete as many as possible in two minutes. A sit-up is not complete unless fingers remain interlocked behind the head, legs at 90 degree angles, shoulders come off the ground, elbows extend past the knees, and shoulders return to the ground. Rest can be taken only in the upright position.

    2-mile Run: If you need explanation then you failed!

    Attached are the results. Green= good Pink= below standard. A score is assess to the each entry and totaled for a final score.

    Thank you for the opportunity to lead and try something new. It’s always an honor.

  • Embrace the Suck

    A great turnout at the Uptowner as we had 21 pax come out to enjoy another warm and humid October morning.  

    When I think back to what initially led me to F3, it was being able to have a great workout that always had a different twist; stepping out of our comfort zone to continually push ourselves to get better, and improve in areas that we may struggle or be uncomfortable with.   As I thought about how to lead this workout, I wanted to incorporate some atypical aspects into the traditional “no running” workout and challenge everyone to “embrace the suck”.  

    With that said the standard disclaimer was given and we moseyed from the flag to the football field in the middle of the track.  The warmup consisted of:

    • SSH x 20 IC
    • Arm circles (10 front and 10 back) IC
    • Windmills x 10 IC
    • Mountain Climbers x 15 IC
    • Hold the plank position after mountain climbers for 1 minute
    • Indian run around the track for 1 lap (4 groups of 5-6)

    The thang-

    All pax lined up in one end zone.  There were 3 cones spaced out (20, 40, 60 yards). 

    • Sprint to first cone and do 15 Burpees then sprint back to start line and do 20 merkins 
    • Sprint to second cone and do 10 Burpees then back to starting line for 15 merkins 
    • Sprint to third cone and do five Burpees and then back to start for 10 merkins 

    As pax finished they did some Mary waiting for the six and then did 20 LBC IC as a group.  

    Next was a crab walk from the end zone to midfield.  

    Once all pax arrived we lined up for an all-out,  everything -you- have sprint to the opposite end zone.  In the end zone we did a quick set of 20 flutter kicks IC.   

    From here the group moseyed to the playground and got back into groups of 4.  Groups 1 and 2 lined up at the “ring pull-up station” and did 1 round of AMRAP of pull-ups.  Groups 3 and 4 did 25 merkins on own, and when finished while waiting for the other pax to finish their pull-ups did squats.  Once done the groups flip-flopped

    Once everyone finished we moseyed over to the hill on the other side of Pontiff where we bear crawled over the hill and did 15 Carolina dry docks followed by a bear crawl back over the hill.  

    Moving on we moseyed to the shelter nearby where we completed the following:

    • 15 power ups each leg IC
    • 15 SLOW deep dips IC
    • 15 diamond merkins IC

    With about 5 minutes remaining we headed back for the flag for some more Mary called out by different pax.  

    Ended the workout with the COT, announcements and intentions.  Special intentions for family members battling cancer and age-related struggles and illnesses.  

    I hope everyone enjoyed this beatdown as much as I did leading it.   Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to lead as always!

  • The O.K.W.A.T.A. 66

    Gentlemen, i just realized that i haven’t posted the backblast from my Okwata Q back on 8/8/19. To quote Brad Gluckman from Malibu’s Most Wanted, “My Bad!” I don’t remember the Pax members, but here’s a summary of the workout:

    Warmup:

    • can’t remember what we did, but we definitely warmed up

    The Thang:

    The gist of The OKWATA 66 is that the Pax members would run a lap up the concrete levee, cut across the middle,  come back down the other side and then stop at the bottom. After each lap, the Pax members would do 66 reps of each of the exercises i had personally hand selected for the occasion. The routine is called the OKWATA 66 because each exercise would begin with one of the letters from the word Okwata and we would be doing 6 laps & 6 different exercises; thus the 66.  Who doesn’t enjoy a good acronym routine, am i right?! But i digress. Anyway, here’s how it went:

    O – Outlaws: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 Outlaws

    K – Kettle Squats: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 Kettle Squats

    W – WWII Sit Ups: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 WWII Sit Ups

    A – Angle Grinders: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 Angle Grinders

    T – Travoltas: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 Travoltas

    A – American Hammers: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 American Hammers

    After all of the Pax finished the routine, we were out of time. So we headed back to the flag for the count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and the prayer

  • Ain’t Skeered

    ‘Twas my turn to Q The Foundry this Wednesday, but I was having some trouble thinking about what to do. So I did what any reasonable PAX member would do in this situation: I read a backblast from a workout that i liked, and pretty much copied it on Wednesday morning. Shout out to my man, High Rise, as he was the Q on Monday at The Chamber, and it’s his exercises that I used for most of the workout on Wednesday

    Warmup:

    • Side Straddle Hops – 15
    • Grass Grabbers – 15
    • Arm Circles – 8 forward, 8 backward
    • high knees – 15 cadence count
    • butt kicks – 15 cadence count
    • self love – 15 cadence count

    The Thang: Gross 1

    • Floyd Mayweathers – 12
    • Low Slow Squats – 12
    • Flutter Kicks – 12
    • Carolina Dry Docks – 12
    • Calf Raises – 12
    • Hello Dollies – 12
    • Right Side Lunges – 12
    • Box Cutters – 12
    • Diamond Merkins – 12
    • Left Side Lunges – 12
    • Nola Claps – 12

    The Next Thang:

    • Partner Up and then:
    • Partner 1 does a lap around Noma
    • Partner 2 does Rocky Balboas on Noma Steps
    • ROTATE
    • Partner 1 does a lap around Noma
    • Partner 2 does dying cockroaches
    • SWITCH
    • Partner 1 does a lap around Noma
    • Partner 2 does hand release merkins
    • SWITCH

    The Next Thang: Gross 2

    • left leg step ups on fountain – 12
    • derkins on fountain – 12
    • LBC’s – 12
    • Irkins on fountain – 12
    • Calf raises on fountain – 12
    • Box jumps on fountain – 12
    • Mountain climbers – 12
    • decline Floyd Mayweathers on fountain – 12

    We ran out of time, so we weren’t able to finish all 12 exercises for the last Gross. After the DFFM’s (decline fountain Floyd Mayweathers), we mosey’d back to the flag for the COT. Also, i couldn’t think up a good title for the workout, so i just named it “Ain’t Skeered” because I saw one of those bumper stickers on a truck the other day, and they’re still timeless