F3 New Orleans

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  • Creating Some Steam

    After traveling for 2 weeks hitting AOs in Houston and Phoenix, I was looking forward to being back with my local brothers. After Saturday’s beat down, QIC was reviewing the sign up sheet and saw a need…..so on this balmy morning of gloom it’s time to create some steam!

    After disclaimer given – mosey off to warm up! Pax ran to the block pile each Pax grabbed two then headed to field and circled up:

    • Toe Touch and Hold 3 count x 10
    • Side lung left and right x 10
    • Peter Parkers x 10
    • Scorpion Kicks Right and Left x 10
    • With Block Overhead Press x 20
    • With Block Low Slow Toe Hoover hold 10 count x 10

    Pax separated into 4 groups then each group headed to starting point form a line; one arm bear crawl block drag across the field Left Arm Out then Right Arm Back – Aprox 4 yards each way.

    Next Same Groups lined up for relay – Pax 1 farmer carry 2 blocks across the field while Pax 2 bear crawled behind, Pax 3 farmer carry while Pax 4 bear crawled – swap rolls on the way back.

    Next relay same groups (now with penalty incurred by last place team) Pax 1&2 on one side Pax 3&4 on the other.  Pax 1 ran with block overhead to other end of field while all other Pax overhead pressed blocks, Pax 3 ran the opposite direction while others in group continued to press, then Pax 2 ran, then pax 4.  All ran with block overhead and others in group pressing.

    Next relay same run across the field – this time all in group curling

    Next relay same run across the field – this time all chest pressing

    Now groups 1&2 combined (group of 8) with 3&4 combined (group of 9) – one block each group with passed via Indian Plank across the field approx. 80 yards – team 1&2 losing team 5 burpees.

    Same teams switch sides – this time it was a photo finish – but team 1&2 redeemed themselves with 3&4 doing 7 burpees and 3 to 1&2 for the oh so close win!

    Return our blocks – Mosey back to the flag – 1 minute stretch!

    COT – F3 is a true brotherhood in that our spirit is carried over to all states and cities and I’m grateful to the ability to workout on the road.  It was nice to have Redeye from The Woodlands TX join us for the beatdown as I’ve gotten many with their group while on the road. 

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead!    

  • Pre-thang to Northshore’s first 2 a day!!

    7 PAX converged on the Scramble this Gloom preparing for their first experience with a 2 day. Cowbell will be introducing an evening Q occurring at the Mandeville Lakefront for 6 followed by some F2 at the Beach house.. YHC had considered doing some interval training, however many have come to appreciate the routine of our 5k Scramble, so no reason to break with the norm.

    Warmup

    10 IC Imperial Squats Walkers, 10 IC Toe Touches, 10 IC Windmills, 20 IC SSH, 10 IC alternating lunges..

    Thang

    Took to the streets of Mandeville with the PAX staying together for the first 1/4 mile or so till we crossed East Causeway approach. After crossing a couple of different groups formed. The “Gazelles” Steve, Garfield and Cowbell jumped out to set the pace. Followed by Zoolander and Chewy with Water Pik and the Q not far behind.. Hats off to Water Pik for pacing with the all to familiar lagging YHC, as we chattered along catching up on conversations we hadn’t shared in some time..

    PAX all finished with respectable times ranging from 8-9 mins. Finished out with a series of exercises mostly performed on our 6 or reversed.. 2 30 sec holds of mission impossibles, 2 rounds of scorpion kicks 10 IC, 10 IC Wife pleasers, 10 IC one legged wife pleasers, 20 IC Flutter kicks, 10 IC Hello Dollies, 10 IC Heels to heaven and finishing with 20 IC LBCs…

    Appreciate the post F3 brethren..

    Count, Announce, COT

    YHC closed PAX out!!

    Till our 2nd meeting of the day 👊🏻💪🏻✌🏻!!

  • It’s All Fun & Games

    Still sore from Memorial Day’s Murph and knowing that some Gipper regulars pleaded for but did not receive mercy from Chewy yesterday at Grandmother’s House, YHC planned a morning of fun and games. The aforementioned Gipper regulars must have really needed a break because the Mandeville clown car never materialized out of the Gloom. So the rest of us got on with it and after a brief disclaimer and a warmup of Seal Jacks, Windmills, Butt Kicks, Toe Touches, SSHs, and High Knees headed over to the Justice Center for the Thang.

    YHC coned off a good size square, produced a lacrosse ball, and we started a passing game with consequences. After counting off, the PAX starting moving within the square, bounce passing the lacrosse ball to one another in order. A dropped pass resulted in penalty exercises, among them Tuck Jumps, Sister Mary Katherines, Merkins, Mission Impossible, Box Cutters, Pickle Pounders, and J-Los.

    The PAX mastered the first level quickly, and it was time for YHC to add some complexity. We counted off again, changing the passing order to keep everyone mentally sharp, and added the requirement of leaving the square to round a cone after making a pass and before receiving the next pass with a prohibition against using the same cone twice. We continued in this vein for the rest of the beat down, adding levels of difficulty. Not only did we keep changing the passing order, but we required each passing PAX to leave the square and perform an exercise (2 burpees, a star jump, an 8 count body builder, 2 plank jacks, and ice skater hops) before reentering the square to receive the next pass. For one game, we even prohibited the use of your strong hand…so a right hander could only use his left hand. The ambidextrous Jose had a distinct advantage here but since we were all in it together that didn’t make much of a difference. There were lots of penalty exercises, especially as the speed of the game accelerated and fatigue set in. However, YHC is proud to report that the level of play increased significantly with each game.

    Countorama, nameorama and Cowbell prayed us out once we made it back to the Trailhead.

    Thanks for letting me lead guys. See you in the Gloom.

  • 11’s at Popeyes

    YHC was excited for his second  Q at Popeyes and had a decided to use the vast opportunities that the parks has to offer for some 11’s.  Quick disclaimer was given and we moseyed a bit for the warm up.

    Warm-Up

    SSHs x 25

    Seal Jacks x 20

    Grass Grabbers x 20

    Plank Jacks x 20

    Arm Circles x 10 forward and x 10 backwards

    Smurf Jacks x20

    Wind Mills x 10

    The Thang

    Two rounds of 11’s kicked things off using the cement wall around the lagoon.

    Round 1

    10 right leg step ups at one end run across the green space and 1 LBC on the other side. Run back to the start for 9 right leg set ups over to the other side for 2 LBC’s.  8 right leg step us/3 LBC’s and so on.

    Round 2

    10 left leg step ups at one end run across the green space and 1 dip on the other side. Run back to the start for 9 left leg set ups over to the other side for 2 dips.  8 left leg step us/3 LBC’s and so on.

    Still have some time for so more fun and YHC called out an Indian Run with no real destination in sight and the PAX naturally had some fun with no set destination. Finally we made it to the exercise equipment for two rounds of 5 pull ups as the timer with merkins and squats the exercises until the timer completed his 5 pull ups.  Thanks to Hawg for calling our various merkin and squats so not to do the same repetition twice.

    Time is running low so back to the flag for a 20 Russian Twists to close things out.

    COT

    Count O Rama, Name O Rama, announcements and intentions.  War Eagle and Kenna Brah closed out with a prayer and some reflection.  As always it is an honor to lead and workout with the F3 brotherhood.  SYITG.

  • Tank Top Tuesday

    Sun’s Out Gun’s out was the Theme for Tuesday at the Stomp. Thanks to Kuch’s idea a few weeks back we were able to get 40% participation this week. Looking forward to more next week!

    I woke up this morning sore as hell from the Murph so I decided to make the run a little easier for all. Keeping in mind our Vets I thought it would only be appropriate to honor those by running a “No Man Left Behind” route. At 5:30am I gave the disclaimer and we headed down the road towards “The Hill” (near the trails in the Park). Not sure what this place is called but Hawg took us here last week while kicking baseballs and I was excited to head back there with no baseballs in play.

    Once at the Hill we did 75 seconds of Levels and then headed back to the flag. We were able to complete 4.3 miles at a 10 min pace (nice and easy) while leaving no man behind. The Wiz and Amnesty are working there way back into the distance so they broke off the pack to complete a 1 mile out and back run.

    Once at the flag we did COT, Announcements, Intentions, and Kuch took us home with Prayer. Thanks for allowing me to lead this morning always a good time.

  • Hill repeats

    5 Pax met at Granny’s House today.

    Warm up: back lunge with reach x 10; side lunge with reach x 10; Glute bridges x 10IC; Jane Fonda x 10 IC; Hip Crossovers

    The Thang:

    Mosey to underpass: hill repeats x 10

    Plank, Single leg glute bridges x 10 IC; single leg RDL (Dippy Birds) x 10 IC

    Hill repeats x 6

    Plank

    Hill repeats x 2

    Mosey back to flag

    COM: JF, Flutter, HTH x 10 IC

    Name-o-rama, COT, prayer.

    Thanks guys!

    Chewy

  • Memorial Day Murph at the Marsh

    Fourteen men posted this morning to pay their respects to Lt. Michael Murphy and the millions of others who have sacrificed everything for our country.    To honor that sacrifice, we did The Murph.

    YHC gave a quick recap of Lt. Michael Murphy’s story – he was part of a four-man Navy Seal team that was overwhelmed by Taliban forces in Asadabad, Afghanistan.  All four men had already been wounded and, unable to radio for help from their sheltered mountainside position, it was Lt. Murphy who opened himself to more gunfire in order to successfully make the call.  In fact, after being shot in the back and dropping the radio, he picked it back up and finished the call before returning to the fight. He saved one man’s life that day.

    The crazy thing is just how many similar stories there are.  There’s PFC Ross McGinnis, 19, who deliberately threw himself onto a grenade in Iraq to save all four people in his vehicle.  Or Sergeant Henry Johnson, part of the Harlem Hellfighters, who suffered 21 wounds while rescuing a soldier and repelling a German raid in WWI. Or 1st Lt Jack Lummus who continued to give orders at Iwo Jima after losing both legs to a landmine.  The list goes on and on.  And today, we should take a minute while we are at our family BBQ’s or poolside and reconnect with that history and remember the legacy of these heroes.

    With that in mind, we began the simple benchmark workout:

    • 1 mile run
    • 100 pull-ups
    • 200 merkins
    • 300 squats
    • 1 mile run

    The PAX broke up the middle section into 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups / 10 merkins / 15 squats, then hit the final run hard, finishing right around 50 minutes.  COT and Grundy prayed us out.

    It was an impressive sight to see so many men post to the Milestone Marsh at 0500 on their Monday off.  For me, the legacy of our fallen heroes is folded into the DNA of F3.  I see the qualities of leadership and selflessness spreading across F3 nation as if they’re contagious.   And it’s not simply as a group, but the individual men of F3 all seem to embody that spirit personally.  And isn’t that the best way to remember our heroes, to try and embody their greatest qualities?  Thank you men for the remarkable effort, and enjoy your Memorial Day!

  • Luck O’ the Irish

    In YHC’s limited experience at the 10K Au Lait, today’s PAX of 9 men was, if not new, matching an AO record. That feat was thanks, in part, to 1st time attendee, Mick, who brought a little Irish luck this gloom in the form of “cooler” temps. Unfortunately, all of the Irishmen present did not have enough collective luck to ward of the misery of the soul-sucking humidity that’s only just getting started.

    So it was in jovial spirits that we began our “99%” traditional route through the quiet streets of downtown Covington…

    99% chicanery

    COT

    Mick took us out with some deeply shared sentiments of gratitude and appreciation. The invigorating run was followed up by some always enjoyable F2 coffeteria at Abita Roasting Co. Until next time, remember, all paces welcomed at the 10k Au Lait!

  • A No-Fluff Blast (it’s 5 pm on Friday)

    Warm Up:

    • SSH x 25
    • Loooow Slooows x 10
    • Peter Parkers x 25
    • Arm Circles x 10 (forward, then back)

    Mosey to the base of The Mountain

    • PAX split in two groups, each one running up the stairs to the 4th level of the garage
      • Burpees x 20
    • Back down to the base of The Mountain
      • Windshield Wipers x 20
    • Up to the 4th level again
      • Jumping Lunges x 20

    Remaining on the 4th level

    • Jack Webb – up to an 11 count Merkin

    Mosey to peak of The Mountain

    • Dora 1-2-3
      • First exercise was actually a wall sit – each PAX completed 2 rounds before moving to next round
      • 200 x LBC’s
      • 300 x Monkey Humpers

    Remaining at the peak to enjoy the view

    • Dying Cockroach x 25
    • Box Cutters x 10 – then, reverse the box x 10
    • Leg Raises x 20

    Mosey to Flag

    • Count off
    • Name-o-rama
    • Ball of man

    Thanks for a solid showing.

  • Loose as a Goose

    It’s always stimulating to start of the week with an F3 beatdown first thing Monday morning. So when 5:30am hit, I issued the disclaimer and we set off to mosey to the track Once at the track, we did a dynamic stretching warmup that consisted of:

    • High knees
    • Butt kicks
    • Open the gate
    • Close the gate
    • Karaoke (30 yards out, 30 yards back)

    Following the dynamic stretching, each PAX did some individual static stretching on their own to get loose. Once everyone was loose as a Goose (Top Gun Danger Zone reference), we began with some ladder / sprint combos:

    • 1) High knees through the ladder, then 50 meter sprint. Mosey back
    • 2) Butt kicks through the ladder, then 50 meter sprint. Mosey back
    • 3) Squat jumps through the ladder, then 50 meter sprint. Mosey back
    • 4) Sideways in & out’s through the ladder, then 50 meter sprint. Mosey back 
    • 5) Sideways in & out’s through the ladder on the other side, then 50 meter sprint. Mosey back

    We took a brief 20 count break, then we proceed to do the same thing except we did 100 meter sprints:

    • 1) High knees through the ladder, then 100 meter sprint. Mosey back
    • 2) Butt kicks through the ladder, then 100 meter sprint. Mosey back
    • 3) Squat jumps through the ladder, then 100 meter sprint. Mosey back
    • 4) Sideways in & out’s through the ladder, then 100 meter sprint. Mosey back
    • 5) Sideways in & out’s through the ladder on the other side, then 100 meter sprint. Mosey back

    After this, we mosey’d to the middle of the track for some mary. We circled up, and then each member of the PAX had to lead a mary exercise in cadence using a 15 count. Screw Top & Smooth (if my memory serves me correctly) harnessed their inner Double J & decided to have us do some merkins instead of a mary exercise. Fortunately, though, no penalty burpees were issued for not following directions.

    Once every member of the PAX had finished counting off their exercise, we did some line drills. There were 5 drains along the inside part of the track, so we partnered up and then sprinted back & forth to each of the 5 drains. The first set of sprints was from shortest to longest (we began with the closest drain & ended with the drain that was furthest away). The next set of sprints was from longest to shortest (we began with the last drain & ended with the drain that was closest).

    After this, we took a brief 20 count break & then we ended with a 100 meter sprint and then a mosey around the track. Back at that flag, High Rise led us in some static stretching & then we did the count-off & prayer. I forgot the name-o-rama (was operating on 2 hours of sleep that morning), so we did the name-o-rama after the prayer was over just & then called it a day. Thanks for the opportunity to lead, fellas, and my apologies for the terrible Top Gun Goose joke above!