Blog

  • F3 Quantum Physics

    Eighteen PAX posted this Wednesday to get their F3 fix at The Foundry. Lots of usual pleasantries exchanged as well as some chirping from the peanut gallery as the troops assembled. Nothing fancy in store, just some old and new variations of the tried and true stuff that would hopefully have everyone leaving high as a kite.

    Warmup – mosey down RM with some backpedaling and high knees to get the juices flowing. Peeled off into a field that according to Rudy was mowed, it was not, so we shifted over to some good grass for a COP including IW x20, WM x10, AC x20, LS Squat x20, Goofballs x25, Burpees x5 x5 x5. Then a mosey to….

    Thang #1 – Foundry circuit that was sure to include the original theme of The Foundry workout, improving on pullups. So we broke up into six stations, alternating upper body and lower body, with the following exercises: Pullups, Squats, Body Rows, Burpees x8 (timer), Bench Dips, Big Boy Situps. Two rounds then…

    Thang #2 – After a mosey to the backside of the track, we made our way to the open rubberized area that has seen many a F3 sweatdrops. We lined up by age and split in half, old vs young to see if millineal-ish PAX have what it takes to overtake the more experienced and seasoned PAX. This was a competitive circuit but note the scoring system was far from perfect, due to YHC’s quick and possibly vague instructions.
    Round One – Bear Crawls in one min (line to line):  Old Bucks 89, Young Bucks 60 (numbers may be skewed due to YHC’s quick explanation). Crossfit Merkins in one min: Young Bucks 261, Old Bucks 240. Backpedal/Sprint Relay: Youngs Bucks edged out the Old Bucks.

    Next we did a little test to see if time spent in F3 has a direct correlation to superior speed and strength so we split into two groups, those who have been in F3 more than a year and those less than a year.
    Round Two – Bear Crawls in one min (line to line):  F3 Veterans 94, F3 Rookies 60 (numbers skewed?…each way was one).  Crossfit Merkins in one min:  F3 Veterans 207 (w/one man down), F3 Rookies 192. Backpedal/Sprint Relay:  F3 Veterans edged out the F3 Rookies in a photo finish. 


    Was hoping to do a third round based on height to answer the age old question, does size really matter?   

    It was hard to base an outcome on this and it was mentioned we may have to do this again in the future with more time and a tweaked scoring system.

    Back to the flag for a COT to cap off a another fine morning in the gloom.

    Moleskin/Observations:

    1. Working in pullups in large groups is taking more creativity as the PAX grows….which seems like a good problem to have.
    2. When we lined up by age, it was good to see a healthy mix.
    3. When we lined up by time spent in F3, it was cool to see lots of newer guys, all of which seem to have a gung-ho level that meets or exceeds that of the veterans.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead and try a few new things.

    Tool

  • Lake Pontchatrain like a champion

    It’s always nice to start the day off with a beatdown on the lakefront. So i issued the disclaimer & we mosey’d to the corner of canal / lakeshore drive to warm up

    WARM UP

    • Side straddle hop – 15 in cadence
    • Mountain climbers – 15 in cadence
    • Arm circles – 10 forward, 10 backwards
    • Concrete grabbers – 15 in cadence

    Next we mosey’d to the concrete planters along the lakefront and we did 11’s with derkins & dips. We started with one dip and 10 derkins, and then worked our way down to 10 dips and 1 derkin. Screw Top & Mahatma were leading the charge.

    Once the 11’s were completed, we mosey’d back to the corner of canal / lakeshore drive and did 2 laps of the following:

    • Run backwards up the concrete part of the levee
    • sprint across the center
    • run down the other side of the concrete levee
    • then when you reached the starting point, you would then do 25 LBC’s

    Next we mosey’d across the street by the lake. We partnered up and then we did 3 sets of sprints:

    • Sprint 1 – sprint to the first light pole and back (about 20 yards) while the other partner planks and waits. When partner one gets back, partner two then sprints to the first light pole & back while partner one planks and waits
    • Sprint 2 – sprint to the second light pole and back (about 40 yards) using same plank & wait technique as first sprint
    • Sprint 3 – sprint to the third light pole and back (about 60 yards) using the same plank and wait technique as the previous 2 sprints

    After the sprints were done, we mosey’d back to the flag for the count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions & prayer. Thanks, as always, for the opportunity to lead, fellas. I enjoy it more each time!

  • Who signed up the Q and didn’t tell him?

    Okwata was missing it’s Q this AM

    We showed up in the gloom but were missing our Q who never attends Okwata and has never Q’d but was signed up for his VQ

    This group of gentleman stepped right up starting with @High Rise leading the warm up and stretches.

    Thanks to all who jumped in to lead when called upon.

    The mini H8 included running backwards up the hill, bear crawl across at the top, run down the hill with burpees, dying cockroaches, Freddie Mercuries & LBC’s at the four corners.

    Bread Sticks then lead us on levie runs with burpees & Merkins.

    We then were lead in the Motivator, aka the dance 😉 by our Birmingham guest, Ethanol. The Motivator is a deconstructed side straddle hop into 4 parts. A hop, separated legs, arms 1/2 way up, arms overhead. One of each, two of each, three of each … up to 10 of each… I imagine you will see the Motivator again.

    During The Motivator by Ethanol from Birmingham, there was a siting of Rudy & Hawg on their mosey heckling us for being a new dance Krewe.

    We then closed the exercise portion of our morning with Mary.

    Announcements included Gnarley Nutria, Summer Race Series, our Family F2 event & RED shirt pre-orders.

    We closed with our COT with intentions & gratitude!

    Thank you for allowing me to step in and step up

  • Gnarly Tune Up

    I figured I would try something a little different. I’m pretty sure this could be the longest partner run in F3 Nola history. We need the reps though and no place like the home field to start working on some race day prep. As fortune had it all in attendance were from Team Uptown! Sorry world!

    Disclaimer and let’s stay here for a warm up.

    • SSH IC x 25
    • Windmills IC x 20
    • Forward arm circle IC x 15
    • Classic Seaman IC x 15

    Divide into two groups. 5k pace less than 9:00 and greater than 9:00. Grab a partner form the other group. You’ll see little of this guy today!

    Partner run with the running partner doing a loop around the park, approximately 1.8 miles. The at home partner will repeat BLIMPS plus 35 LBC plus 5 pull ups until their partner returns.

    Not to divulge their identity but a couple of pax killed their loop! All did well. As the groups finished there was time to catch some voluntary Mary plus some merkin ring of fire. Times up!

    Count off, namorama, FNG naming, COT. Welcome Sediment, environmental engineering, and Guts who hails from F3 Winston Salem and now calls NOLA home.

  • The Owl and the Dragonflies: Core Life Lessons

    Another glorious gloom at the Milestone Marsh shows us that valuable lessons in life can be garnered from even the most unexpected places….

    QIC decided that today would be a great time to test out some (in his limited experience) never before tried- by-F3Northshore exercises (save for 1 or 2). The Marsh regulars are always down for a challenge, and as they gathered at center court, the formerly ubiquitous Weinke emerged to once again shine a magnificent light of recall upon the Q in his quest to drop the beat…doooooooown!

    WARMORAMA

    Nancy Kerrigans – on 1 foot, with the other extended behind, bent at the waist, and arms extended outward…arm circles x10f, x10b

    Hairy Rockettes – x20 straight leg kick, touch right hand to left foot and vice versa

    Sprinkler – x20 with arms out in front, torso twist to the right with right knee up to the left and vice versa

    Failure to Launch – x6 hold Al Gore while Q counts down from 10 the tuck jump

    THANG

    With a robust selection from the Core category of the Exicon, the PAX proceeded thusly…

    XYs – x25 Rosalita and Flutter Kick done together in a 4 count. Trickier than it sounds

    Cross-Elbow LBCs – x25 self-explanatory nod to the obliques

    Inch Worm – x25 plank position with feet on a swing, bring knees to chest

    Swerkins – (count MAY have been abbreviated???) again in plank position with feet on a swing, merkin followed by knees to chest

    *while at the swings, a barn owl swooped down near by to see what we were up to*

    Weezy Jefferson – x25 (done in reverse from stated direction) from 10 degrees to 90, legs up on 3 count, down on 1

    Van Goghda – x25 on your 6 with legs spread, sit up r hand to left foot, and flip flop (YHC’s poor brush-burned coccyx is still regretting doing this on concrete)

    Protractor – on your 6 with legs extended straight, raise or lower to Q’s called-out angle from10 degress to 90

    J Lo’s – x25 in chill cut plank, pivot hips to the ground side to side

    Panseys – x5 pull up and hold, then raise straightened legs to 90 degrees (or at least attempt to) then lower legs and back down

    Never Cross Dolleys – x25 Hello Dolleys with arms out in Iron Cross position

    T-Bombs – x25 (look for these very soon at a Saturday beat down near you!) start in crab position, 1 kick legs straight out, 2spread legs aprt, 3 bring them back together, 4 back to crab position

    And Finally…

    Steinls – 2 sets, 30 second plank, 30 second chill cut plank, 10 merkins, 5 IC r leg peter parker, mountain climber, parker peter, followed by l leg, 10 more merkins, then return to plank, rinse and repeat.

    COT

    Waterpik did us the honor of leading us out in prayer

    As we were spending so much time facing up, the PAX observed our visitor the barn owl stealthily perched on a rafter, hunting dragonflies that had trapped themselves under the ceiling thinking they’re freedom awaited them at the source of the daylight now streaming through the translucent skylights. She would swoop up and abscond with a crunchy morsel to devour in a near by tree. Repeatedly, she kept coming back to the buffet.

    2 lessons dawned on YHC watching this play out:

    1, Don’t necessarily follow the light, it can sometimes be an illusion (all that glitters is not gold)

    2, If you want to catch fish, go where the fish are.

  • Wash Wednesday! Too be continued….

    3 PAX converged at the car pool spot to travel slightly further North to the Gipper on this pleasant non humid Gloom.. Bushwacker and Steve already positioned and ready to roll as the YHC rolled up at 0535.. Arrived at the Trailhead with greetings from Turbo, fresh off a recent visit much further North where the mild 60s we were experiencing was an all day affair.. PAX swelled to 8 quickly as 10k Jose also stopped in to give a good morning after finishing up a 10k to start his Gloom. Had he not been assigned to summer school I am sure he would have stayed and enjoyed the lesson plan of the day… 0600 so it was time to get started.

    Warmup was short to spare time for the beatdown and consisted of 10IC Windmills, Seal Jacks, SSH and Butt Kicks..

    Moseyed to the rock pile to pickup moderate coupons to be used later in the workout. Dropped them off by the courthouse and then across to the parking garage to get things going. With an odd number of 7 we split into three groups.. Exercise was the William Wallace.. Each group placed at a corner P1 held plank while P2 ran to the center of the square to perform a series of exercises called by the Q. Flap jacked till everyone completed 10 Burpees, 10 (8) count body builders, 20 Merkins and 20 Squats… Once completed we returned to the courthouse for an extended W.A.S.H better known as the WASHATERIA!! Still in pairs with P1 doing the exercise while P2 moseyed up and back down the stairs picking up the count..

    Werkins (50)

    American Hammers (100)

    Step ups (150)

    Hip Thrusts (200)

    Alternating Shoulder taps (250)

    Toe Touches (300) with time running short and wanting to use the coupons we had delivered modified to (250)

    Elf on the shelf (350) intended but with time expiring (Most teams reached 50)

    Reverse Crunches (400) to be continued…

    Imperial Walkers (450) to be continued…

    Arm circles (500) to be continued…

    Moseyed back to the flag with one min over.

    Count off, announcements, COT

    Appreciate Barely Legal praying us out!!

    Thanks for following my lead and next time the Q will be better prepared with his timing and change so we can complete our day at the WASHATERIA!!!

    👊🏻💪🏻✌🏻 Till the next Gloom!

  • 610 Stomp #198 – Year 3

    YHC signed up for the Q at the stomp a few weeks ago for his 3 year anniversary of F3. However, said Q forgot what day it was, until he was rolling in hot. One would think a 3 year milestone would warrant a unique beat down, but nay, it was the Stomp.

    Brief disclaimer, then instructions to run 20 minutes out and back, meet back at the flag for a little extra.

    Upon returning to the flag, we completed:

    Merkins IC x 10 (20 total)

    Seal the deal with 10 Burpees OYO

    COT

    Count off, name-o-rama, intentions, closed with a prayer

    NMM
    Welcome Oops! and Nexium. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of F3 for the last 3 years, it is truly an awesome thing!

    SYITG

  • My cadence is pure

    I missed F3 last week while I was out of town – in Puerto Rico. I enjoyed the break but F3 buckteeth worked me pretty hard in the Isla de Encanto.

    Saw Tube Steak first thing and I offered him a high five and he gave me knuckles – so that started off the 10th of June in an awkward manner. It was a breezy and cool AM. Gave a serious disclaimer then we started our beatdown.

    Mosey to the Oak Alley for some hand release merks 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 for a complete 30 hand release merks. Back to the track and a decent paced mosey to the row bars. At the rows we did Rows, Hand Release Merks, SSH, Imp Walker Squats (12 is the count), and Mtn Climbers. 5 stations.

    Then we did a long run to the fountain. Run a running man, then jog one. Ping Pong to the 6 until all the PAX are at the fountain. Funny some of the fast guys went to sweep the 6 but it wasn’t one of our guys.

    At the fountain we did right leg step ups, left leg step ups, decline merks, incline merks and dips. Had to stop the PAX for not being in sync. #mycadenceispure

    Back to the track – Hallelujah run to the golf green.

    At the green we did dying bug x 25, low country crab x 20, o mary x 12, russian twist x 15, and jingle vader led us in 26 flutter kicks.

    Back to the track – we ran to the pull ups – monkey bars. Here we did XYZ while some pax did pull ups. Ran out of time here – so we cleaned up with horses to the stable. Plank and wait at the flag. Got to the flag at 614am so we did squats until 615.

    Lots of good times in the GLOOM. Closed with a prayer for my friend with cancer, for the people still recovering in Puerto Rico.

  • The 10 Gassers Challenge

    YHC was happy to return from his week long absence due to a family trip to Disney World. While it may be the happiest place on Earth, I feel that everyone with small kids who takes them there will agree that it’s not a vacation, it’s a trip. I’ll leave it at that.

    With that said 11 men met in the gloom on a warm, humid, yet mildly breezy morning at our usual spot. We were blocked from parking in our normal spots due to some cones and a cop car but otherwise everything seemed like a typical morning. Disclaimer was given and off we went to the track.

    Warm up:

    • Frankenstein kicks
    • Butt kicks
    • Carioca
    • Straight leg shuffle (Kuch thought this had a different name but his argument was weak so it was overruled. I thought he was a lawyer?)
    • Closed the gate
    • Open the gate
    • Super Mario punch
    • 400m jog

    Tha Thang – The 10 Gassers Challenge:

    • Round 1: 50m at half speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 2: 50m at half speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 3: 50m at three-quarters speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 4: 50m at three-quarters speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 5: 50m at full speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 6: 100m at half speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 7: 100m at half speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 8: 100m at three-quarters speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 9: 100m at three-quarters speed, backpedal to return
    • Round 10: 100m at full speed, backpedal to return

    Static stretching (each done for 15 count):

    • Seated Hamstring stretch
    • Figure-4 piriformis stretch
    • Kneeling hip flexer stretch
    • Stand quad stretch (done with partner for balance)

    Lagniappe:

    • Mountain climbers x 10 IC into 100m full speed sprint
    • Merkins x 10 IC into 100m full speed sprint

    Mary/Plankorama:

    • Forearm planks x 30 sec
    • Side planks x 30 sec each arm
    • Single leg planks x 30 each leg
    • Alternate arm/leg forearm planks x 15 sec each

    Mosey back to the shovelflag, countorama, nameorama, announcements, intentions, and sweaty ball of man.

    Glad to be back and thankful for a safe trip. Look forward to leading the PAX for my next Q.

  • Birthday Kettlebell Extravaganza

    warm muggy morning in the fly. six people joined me on my 46th birthday.

    started out with light warm up leg stretches and windmills.

    then 4 rounds of the following:

    round 1

    kettlebell windmills 6 ea side

    goblet squats x23

    rows 46 ea side

    bear crawl over the hill and back

    round 2

    kb swing x46

    chest press 46 ea side

    figure 8 9 ea direction

    lunge walked over hill

    round 3

    merkin with kb in one hand 9 ea side

    side lunge 23 ea side

    thrusters 9 ea side

    walked over hill with kb held in one hand over head

    round 4

    renagade rows 9 ea side

    deadlifts x46

    plank pass 9 ea side

    farmers carry around the hill with 4 sets of 5 burpees

    next ring of fire 9 right shoulder presses as group planked then reversed and did 9 left shoulder presses as group planked

    ring of fire again 9 right wood choppers as group al gored it up then reversed 9 left wood choppers with more al gore.

    farmers carry around the hill with 4 sets of sit up to kb presses

    23 flutter kicks then farmers carry over the hill then 23 more flutter kicks over head carry back over the hill

    9 (2 as 1) kb russian twists farmers carry over the hill then 9 more russian twists

    then 2 rounds of 23 curls and 23 merkins

    2 more farmers carry laps around the hill

    46 count mission impossible

    started making up stuff toward the end thinking it was a 45 minute workout, so my apologizes for the off the cuff ending.

    count off, name-o-rama, and prayer

    thank you for letting me lead and joining me on my 46th birthday

    86