F3 New Orleans

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  • Getting back to Skinny

    This morning we pushed ourselves for a long lap around Audubon and The Fly – almost 3.5 miles.  Nice work, men.

    We started out with some warmups in place:

    • 20 x SSH
    • 10 seconds of left-leg-over-right followed by 10 of right-over-left
    • 10 x windmills

    We then did single line Indian Run to the benches in the front of the park for some more exercises:

    • 20 x step ups per leg
    • 20 x power ups per leg

    We then jogged 3 x running men and sprinted 1 x running men until we got to the pull up bars.  We split up into four groups for the following:

    • Group 1: 15 seconds of flexed hang from the pull up bars (this was the count)
    • Group 2: high plank
    • Group 3: mission impossible plank
    • Group 4: pickle pounders

    We then double line Indian ran across Magazine Street and into The Fly.  We stopped a few times for sets of 5 x burpees then circled up opposite the fields outside Children’s Hospital for one more round of exercise/Mary:

    • Ring of fire building up to 5 x merkins
    • 10 x LBCs
    • 10 x LBTs

    That got us to about 0611, so we moseyed on back to the flag, arriving just in time.  A solid 3.37 miles was completed by all PAX – a great start to Thanksgiving week. We crossed paths with the imminently well mannered Tulane Army ROTC a few times this morning.  Had me wondering how interactions will go with them following this weekend’s Tulane-Navy game…

    Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

  • This Looks Familiar

    Ideal weather conditions for a Saturday morning beatdown at the Lakefront. YHC was looking to repeat the soreness experienced after Turbo’s Cinder Block beatdown the Saturday before.

     Pre-thang warmorama

    11 x Toe Touches                            16 x Scorpions

    12 x Smurf Jacks                            17 x Monkey Humpers

    13 x Twist & Pivot                         18 x Arm Circles

    14 x Goofballs                                19 x Air Presses

    15 x Imperial Squat Walkers      20 x Windmills

    Mosey

    The Thang – This is about where Grundy pointed out that “This looks familiar”, as Q obviously incorporated some P90X exercises into the routine.

    10 x Spiderman Merkins

    10 x Dive Bombers

    2 x Plank Compass w/ Merkin

    10 x Burpie Scrambles

    10 x Patty Cake Merkins

    —Bear Crawl to the Lake Wall—

    20 x Heel to Toes (on Wall)

    20 x Box Jumps

    20 x One Legged Squats (on Wall)

    20 x Snowboard Hops – Thanks to Coconuts for leading the cadence…because every day is leg day.

    20 x One Legged Cross Hops…or Tony Horton’s Hot Foot

    —Bear crawl back to the field—

    10 x Depth Charges

    10 x Bushwacker Burpees

    20 x Mother Superiors – slightly intensified version of Sister Mary Katherines…too intense for YHC who took an obvious extended break half way through

    —Mosey—

    11s: Freak Nasties and Donkey Kicks with Carioca in between

    Clarence Carter Squat Hops – 2 lines of Pax do 3 squat hops to the right, 3 to the left, 1 forward, 1 backward, 180 deg around. Rinse and Repeat.  Looks like Strokin…we even squeezed in some “Sassified” Wife Pleasers as Bushwacker serenaded with the lyrics.

    Mosey to shovel flag for Counterama, Nameorama, and many thanks to Barely Legal for praying us out.

     

  • Wolf Pack MNT TGIF – Student wake up call!

    After a week of on the rode for work – 2 Texas workouts (The Woodlands and Katy) I was ready to hit the Mountain running!

    26 men showed up ( one out of town guest Pipeline from Charlotte) to what has become a legend in NOLA area AO status – Wolf Pack Mountain!  After a quick disclaimer we moseyed towards the campus.  As we entered the grounds of the area between the buildings and circled up, Triple Shift commented – we’re going to wake up some students!  Oh how their lives would change if they decided to make the commitment to roll out the rack for a regular 5:30 beatdown…..but we’ve all been there – some in the PAX aren’t long from leaving a dorm room!

    Warm Up – all 4 count

    SSH x 26

    Grass Grabbers x 15

    Parker Peters x 15

    Shoulder Taps x 15

    Push Ups x 10

    Count off 1 – 4 repeat – FracSac time warped to COT “5” – but we reeled him –

    Mosey to garage – group 1 & 4 and 2 & 3 squared up on opposite sides of the stairs – PAX from the groups then paired up to complete a DORA

    100 alternating merkins

    200 jump squats

    300 shoulder presses

    PAX 1 from each group climbed the stairs to 3rd floor then ran down the ramp while PAX 2 started the DORA – swapping efforts until completed.

    Then

    Groups 4&2 and 1&3  lined up for a “Working” Indian run up to the top of WPM – Once to the front of the line – PAX would call out an exercise for the line to complete x 3 – all men stopped completed then started the run – both lines kept good pace finishing strong at the top.

    Dilemma  QIC had additional work with only 6 minutes to go – do we turn and had back or push forward?

    We stayed in groups – splitting the upper parking area in 2 – PAX from each of the combined groups paired up.

    Sprint to the wall on opposite ends of the parking lot – perform 5 Merkins then run back to the middle PAX 1 does 3 Burpees PAX 2 8 LBC

    Run back to the opposite end perform 4 Merkins now back to the center where PAX swapped effort above – REPEAT this 3, 2, 1.

    NOW back to the flag – QIC was still convinced that the PAX had more to give so we started to run down but bailed at 4th floor to the stairs – quick pace back to the flag!

    All said we were only about 5 minutes over – SOLID work!

    COT – Name O Rama – Announcements – Intentions

    Holding each other accountable – Giving thanks to God and not taking anything for granted – accepting challenges while leading through character – OPEN our hearts to forgiving!

    God Bless – It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to lead!

     

  • Okwata – Physical Fury

    Okwata – there is no AO more unpredictable!  This time of year is a crapshoot as to weather but when you sign up to Q you get rolling either way!

    11 men showed up to the lakefront to work.  After a short disclaimer Triple Shift and his buddy (one day to join the pax, Adam) decided to skip the work out and take a walk along the lake.

     

    The rest of us took a short mosey to warm up:

    Short run with high knees and carioca around the fountain then circle up

    SSH x 25

    Side lunges x 25

    Head to the levee – line up for India Run – Pax the takes the lead and instructs the group what exercise shouts disperse – all PAX runs down the levee performs a 3 count then runs back to the top and the run continues until all have had a chance to lead.     JV decided that the PAX had not embraced the suck of the wet ground and had us perform superman roll to back cross – this got the group fired up.

    Now time to work:

    1-5 levee work

    Start with

    1 Burpee – run up levee perform 5 Merkin Jacks on top run down perform a Burpee run back up 5 Merkin Jacks run down

    Now 2, then 3, then 4, then 5 – Performing the 5 Merkin Jacks each time you hit the top of the levee

    1 minute plank recovery

    Partner Up – Wheel Barrel to the top (NOTE we did move down to a lower section)

    Pax 1 and 2 perform plank high fives – up to 10 by 2’s (right hand then left hand = 1)

    Then Pax 1 holds Pax 2’s feet as he upper body bear crawls up the levee

    Rinse and repeat 4 times so each PAX got 2 shots at climbing the levee!

    1 minute plank recovery

    Mosey back to the flag – apology to Abacus – he was tying his shoes and we took off not realizing he was pulling a hard 6!  He caught up and we started some Mary!

    Combo x 20 2 count – Dying Cockroach into Penguins

    Combo x 20 2 count – In and Out to flutter kicks

    High Plank J – Lo’s x 15 2 count

    COT

    Give thanks and take nothing for granted – carry forgiveness in our hearts!

    Let’s do this again some time!

     

  • What Some Men Will Do for Alfajores

    I’ve heard an alfajor described as an Argentine moon pie.  Which sort of seems insulting to something as tasty as an alfajor.  It’s like saying Messi is an Argentine Landon Donovan.  Sure there may be some basic similarities, but the analogy is lacking.  It’s like saying Jadaveon is an Uptown Rudy.  Anyway, the point is alfajores are delicious and I used them to get Yankee to post at Fight Club.

    Conditions:  40 degrees and blustery

    Warmup: SSH (IC) x 40*; IW (IC) x 20; Merkins x 15; Calf Raises (IC) x 15; Burpees x 15; But Kicks (IC) x 15; Low Country Crab (IC) x 15; Freddie Mercuries (IC) x 15; X Jumps x 15; Jump Lunges (10 each leg); Bobby Hurley x 10

    *Yankee showed up about half way through the warm-up so it was just me and Rev for the SSH.  I must say these were the most perfectly in sync and crisp SSH’s I’ve ever been a part of.  I only went to 40 because I didn’t want them to end.  It was magical.

    The Thang 

    Hit the ledge for an all leg chili pepper:

    • Round 1:  16 Channing Tatums; 8 box jumps aka Bongos; 16 Tatum Channings; 8 Low Slow Squats
    • Round 2:  12 Channing Tatums; 6 Bongos; 12 Tatum Channings; 6 Low Slow Squats
    • Round 3:  8 Channing Tatums; 4 Bongos; 8 Tatum Channings; 4 Low Slow Squats
    • Round 1:  5 Channing Tatums; 20 Bongos; 5 Tatum Channings; 20 Low Slow Squats

    Break out the Destrahan Dodecahedron (a 12 sided die with various exercises, many inlcuded in the warm-up, that I obtained at a Destrahan workout…those were the good ‘ol days.)  We cast the D&D Die to chose the exercises for the Fight Club Special

    Fight Club Special – run to the top of the levee and perform exercise #1 then run back down to the bottom to perform exercise #2.  Do this 5 times and that is 1 round.

    • Round 1:  Calf Raises x 30 and Peter Parkers x 30
    • Round 2:  Freddie Mercs x 50 and Peter Parker x 30
    • Round 3:  Jump Lunges x 10 each leg and Calf Raises x 30

    That was it.  We prayed and then I gave Yankee a box of alfajores for his troubles.  To my surprise he shared with Rev Sox.

    Thoughts

    • Fight Club needs your support.  Think about making the trip out there.  Rev Sox is working hard to EH locals, but the struggle is real.  Gremlin is a regular and we should work to keep this thing alive, if just for him and Rev.
    •  FYI – this AO is treacherous in flip-flops.  I recommend shoes.

     

  • Shuttle runs in the park

    Shuttle runs in the park


    After breaking the seal of their warm car, 4 brave men set out to conquer today’s set of exercises.  The weather man said it was 36 degrees, but that didn’t stop FroZone, T-Square, ShortBus, and Thighs from adding a few layers of clothing and getting after it.

    Cold Weather WarmUp

    To warm up, we did a quick lap around the track and then 20 jumpin jacks and 20 mountain climbers.

    Dynamic WarmUp

    The blood started pumping, so we did some dynamic warm ups from one telephone pole to the next and back.

    Karaokes

    Butt Kickers

    Zombie Walking

    Backwards Run

    High Knees

    Karaokes

    First Exercise

    Then we started the workout.  We split into teams of 2.  As one did the exercise, the other partner did shoulder taps until the partner returned from their shuttle run.

    We did Shuttle Runs from telephone pole to telephone pole.

    Lunges to the first pole.

    5 – Bobby Hurleys

    Sprint to the next pole.

    10 – Diamond Merkins

    Sprint back to the first pole.

    5 – Bobby Hurleys

    Lunges back to the beginning.

    We accomplished 8 runs, or 4 rounds per man.

    Then we did a 20 count rest.

    Second Exercise

    We did shuttle runs to the same telephone poles but in the format of BLIMPS.

    B-urpees – 5

    L-unges – 10 per leg

    I-mperial Walkers – 15 per leg

    M-erkins – 20

    P-lank Jumps – 25

    S-quats – 30

    Sprint from the far telephone pole back to the start.

    We did 3 rounds with a 20 second count down in between.

    Final Exercise

    45 elbow plank

    We circled up, counted off, name-a-rama, and a prayer for the week.

    By the end, the cold weather didn’t have an affect on our motivation or spirits.  The 4 brave men that took a deep sigh when they had to open their warm car doors, had found that after a few minutes of F3 exercising they can accomplish even the coldest day in NOLA!

    Great job, guys!  Can’t wait for our next time at the Master Melvin.

  • Doracidal Tendencies

    The day to tackle the one remaining AO I had never Q’d was upon me. QIC felt the strong  need to conquer The Gipper in a most unforgettable manner, though only the astoundingly hardcore Wednesday PAX could tell you whether or not my mission was indeed accomplished. I consider it a show of respect to my fellow F3 warriors to come with an overstuffed beatdown itinerary. Such was the case on this gloom, and I was so excited about my bag O tricks that, upon Grundy’s traditional 11th hour arrival, we began in earnest.

    WARM UP (Not Warm at All)

    Toes Touches 10x IC

    Arm Circles -> x10

    <- x10

    Cherry Pickers x10

    Hi Knees x10

    Scorpion Kicks x10

    THIS HERE THANG

    Towels were kindly distributed to the PAX in consideration of posterior comfort, as we mosied to the parking garage. Up the 1st ramp we ran backwards for the 1st half and forwards for the 2nd half. On the 2nd level we partnered up for Doracides! (the next level of Dora 1,2,3) P1 runs a 3 point suicide, doing 1, 2, and 3 burpees at each respective point. Meanwhile, P2 is working on a cumulative 100 LBCs, 200 Putins, 300 Freddy Flutters, and 400 Crunchy Frogs. Ok, QIC will be the first to admit that there was a risk of catching several murder charges, assuming I myself survived such shenanigans. In truth, though, the selection of core exercises was a great mix, but would be most appropriately be performed in the opposite order than was precribed on this day.

    After a double (or was it triple) 10 count, the PAX overtook the next ramp by skipping up the 1st half, running up the 2nd half, and, without stopping, mosying down the stairs and to the steps in BACK of the court house. Running woefully short on time, we did some mercifully abbreviated Irky Drks (a Bushwacker exercise still in the test phase), which consisted of a incline merkin on the bottom step, then next step, then next, before heading back down with decline merkins on each step.

    The mosey continues back to the trailhead for a quick round of 1 minute yoga, which consisted of table top, right balanced table top, left balanced table top, cat/cow, and child’s pose.

    COT

    Einstein (aka Cuz) prayed us out as we each embarked upon a new day and a new adventure!

    Thanks, brothers, for following my lead without giving in to the overwhelming urge to mutiny, and for being a source of inspiration in my universe.

  • The 4 Frozen Horsemen

    Winter is here.  But that didn’t stop 4 hardy PAX from appearing on the angry shores of Okwata, where the winds were howling.  YHC’s car said 37 degrees.  Alas, YHC’s car does not have a wind-chill measurement; perhaps that is for the best.  Somethings are best left unknown.  5:30 arrives, so the 4 frozen horsemen from setting off.

    The Thang

    YHC abandoned the planned Q in order to seek shelter behind the levee.  Lets mosey!  10 seconds later, time for a quick return to the sidewalk to find an alternate path.  Thank you, trailblazing Abacus, for alerting us to the puddles of mud and water!  Sorry you had to step in it to discover for us…

    Instead: Mosey down to Canal St, up and over the levee, seek shelter and dry ground on the City side of the levee.

    Warmup with SSH, IW, then plank-o-rama.  Cold seems to mess with Frac’s counting abilities.  But we persevere…

    Dora 1-2-3

    Burpees x100, Merkins x200, Squats x300.

    While Pax 1 reps, Pax 2 Lunge Walks up and down the levee – feel that howing, freezing wind hit your face at the top!  The walk down added the extra “don’t slip and slide” risk.  Frac and JV got the benefit of extra reps waiting on YHC and Abacus.

    Head to the top for a 20 count (and grumbling about why we didn’t do the 20 count in the shelter at the bottom.  Because we’re tough, that’s why)

    HOP

    Mosey to HOP for 4 stations: Bear crawl Up/Down the levee (the timer), Dips, Pull-Ups, LBCs.  2 rounds.  I’m not exactly sure what JV does on the bear crawl down, but I think it involved frequent stops to smell the flowers.  We don’t have all day, here….

    Mosey back through the mud and puddles to the flag.  Dang, that water is C.O.L.D. on the feets.

    Time for Flutter Kicks x25.

    Then close up with the faster countoff, name-o-rama, intentions and prayers that I’ve ever been a part of.  “Nice seeing you gents, gotta run….” says everyone as they hustle back to their cars to try and restore feeling to extremeties.

  • Saturday night social pays off at the Scramble!!

    4 PAX decided to post at the Scramble with moderate temperatures in the 30s and wind chill factor making it feel like the high 20s.. 👏🏻 Welcome to FNG “OD” for posting his first AO. With multiple EHs coming from all directions, Water Pik put the close on our new brotha at a Saturday night social that sealed the deal.. Knowing the crowd would be a little lighter as hibernation season approaches YHC started right in not expecting any late arrivals..

    Warmup

    10 IC Good mornings

    10IC Windmills

    20 IC Butt kicks

    20 IC Imperial Walkers

    20 IC High knees

    thang

    Moseyed the course splitting into pairs and striking conversation along the way.. Learning more about your brethren as you go through a beatdown is one of the things this YHC enjoys the most about F3.. Remembering where we came from and the joys of life we have experienced as we continue the journey of life.. Appreciate the conversation Garfield..

    Upon return, we hop over to the new fitness section of the park to get some use out of  the new equipment our tax dollars recently purchased. First up we did 20 IC Freak nasties, 3 pax then took to their 6 for LBCs as each man cycled through 5 pull-ups returning and then a round of Flutter kicks with another 5 pull-ups. As promised to a few at the Marsh on Monday the PAX closed out with some Yoga stretch. Down dog alternating calf stretch, inner lizard 🦎 stretch and outer 🦎 stretch closing with 🦂 kicks IC 20 and reach backs for the Hammies..

    COT, naming of “OD”, announcements

    Q prayed us out into the day!!

    Appreciate the lead men, until the next Gloom!!

    👍🏻👊🏻💪🏻✌🏻

  • 90% Chance of Rain?

    As the title implies,  the area’s first major cold front was scheduled for Tuesday and 90% chance of rain predicted at 6:00 am…..  Needless to say, the night before I questioned showing up in the gloom and perhaps no one would notice if I took my name off Q listing?

    But what’s a bit of cold rain going to hurt?  Pax all showed up on time with just a minor drizzle to start.  After Rudy finished taking a leak,  the disclaimer and simple instructions given potential rain:

    Run 17:00 Minutes out and back,  then do ~ 3 laps on the track for speed workout,  run straights, jog curves.

    Upon running down Roosevelt Mall then came in a long hair person wearing flop flops to run a steady pace,  Hawg.

    Apparently Smooth misunderstood the instructions and thought the speed work was for entire initial run and not on the track.  All the rest kept a good steady pace and still saved room for speed work.

    We were dry the entire run with barely no rain,  glad I didn’t miss.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    Bongo