F3 New Orleans

Blog

  • Global Warming at the Gipper

    Could not ask for a better morning with 9 bad ..ss F3 Warriors. Cold stopped no one this morning. Simply made for a great experience with the friendship thanks to F3.

     

    Warmup–we shot through 13 exercises with highlighted Side Straddle Hops where as 1 man at a time bounced to the center and back like a one man show during a wedding reception party. I think Bushwacker took that one as the best SSH dancer!  Other exercises included high knees, butt kicks, lunges, Merkins, side lunges, sumo squats-that was fun too, especially with the added arm gestures. Some of the exercises were repeated for a total of 13.

    The Thang–mosey to the courthouse (and a cyclist) for a little fun with merkins and Derkins… 5/20 rotation till it was 20/5 for a total of 100 merk/derks!

    Mosey to the parking lot for 3 more activities. 1- Four laps of a combination of lunges, bear hops, and bunny hops 2- circle around the imaginary flag pole. To the center and back with 12/3/6/9 rotation followed by crab crawl… Oh, when we got to the center it required a hand slap or twinkle toe touches.. Have to have been there to get the picture.3–Fifteen merkins with 2 runs blended in. Great for the cardio.

    Mosey back to the Gipper for some warm down exercises. Some discussion about the race this Saturday at 9 pm.. Be there, we are ready! And don’t forget Tough Mudder on the horizon.

    Hero of the day–Shooter–why you ask– no gloves!

    Closeout prayer by Bushwacker..reminded us how blessed we are.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Grandmas house has a new norm when it comes to attire!!

    Grandmas house has been changed by the appearance of leggings, beanies, gloves, sweatshirts, jogging pants, etc. in recent weeks.. The harsh winter weather on the Northshore has also hampered the turnouts to many locations, which in the past has seen upwards of 10 plus men on a weekday Gloom…. In past experience of being locked into a contract of the cosmetic facilities, I would always notice the high turnout for the New Years. However, with F3 I have seen a decline at most AOs with the exception of the Gipper. So I pose a question or two for my past and future F3 brothers.. Is it the weather? If so, then purchase some beanies, gloves, leggings, etc. and show up. Is it the price we pay? Doubtful, because as we all know it’s FREE and only requires 45 min of our day (much cheaper and less time consuming than the cosmetic facilities). So if your still reading this and haven’t posted in awhile let’s start packing the AOs once again and keep the commitment into the New year.. Statistics show 12% of all memberships for any given facility come in Jan. but it actually represents a 35-50% increase in volume and by the second week in Feb. only 20% of that increase remain committed. Also the cosmetics sell memberships with the intention of only 18% actually using them. Meaning there is a 1 in 5 chance you will actually use it consistently for longer than a month… Let’s not be a statistic my F3 brothers… Get out there beanies and all. No matter what the conditions, know that your body and mind will thank you.. And the F2 and chatter will be lagniappe as we like to say..

    warmarama

    25 IC SSH, IW, WM, BK

    15 IC GM, Arm Circles

    the thang

    Walkway for a set of 11s with Burpees on the bottom and squats at the top of the flag pole. Moseyed to the stage for some core work. Hit the 6 for some FK IC 30 followed by leg raises IC 15. Then LBCs IC 30 including left/right IC 15 side crunch’s rounding out with Superman’s IC 15. Moseyed to the bench’s by the trace for 15 Box jumps oyo then 25 Merkins, 15 oyo left to right side jump overs then 25 Merkins R/R. Moseyed back to the walkway for 1 min front, left and right plank and then to the benches under the flag pole for 15 IC Freak nasties and then 10IC Derkins. To the steps for completion, 5 calf raises 2 steps R/R up to the top. Descended the steps with 5 squats and 2 steps R/R back to the bottom.

    Count off, Announcements, COT

    Appreciate the Gloom with you two F3 brothers…

    Thanks to Bubba for praying us out!!

  • Crochet Visor, Sans Gloves

    There are many reasons Hawgcycle is one of my heroes. He leads by example, he pushes himself and everyone around him to be better, Iron Sharpens Iron, he provides words of inspiration, he is a literary genius (just read the Tough Mudder backblast), and so on. Today, it is because he showed up in the gloom with a Crochet Visor and no gloves in 33 degree coldness to hoist some rocks. Gotta love the guy.

     

    View image on Twitter

    6 men braved the cold temperatures today to get stronger. As we discussed the heart-breaking ending to the Saints season, the men trickled in. The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    Warm-Up COP:

    SSH x 30 IC
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Mountain Climbers x 20 IC
    Arm Circles x 10 Forward, 10 Backward IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Plank Jacks x 20 IC

    Grab a Rock! We each grabbed a rock of our own choosing. And once again, Triple Shift grabbed the ol’ 51 pounder. #Respect #WayToLead

    We moseyed over to the field between the 2 tree lines for our entire workout. As the temperature was 33 degrees, YHC did not feel like running too far.

    Exercise 1: quick fire rock circuits, run-to-rest in between. Let it be noted, Hawg hoisted a frozen rock for all of these exercises without gloves, and never once dropped the rock early. Respect.

    Rock Shoulder Press x 10 IC
    Rock Biceps Curls x 10 IC
    Rock Rows x 10 IC
    Rock Squats x 10 IC
    Rock Chest Press x 10 IC

    Run to the parking lot (50 yards) and back

    Rock Shoulder Press x 10 IC
    Rock Biceps Curls x 10 IC
    Rock Rows x 10 IC
    Rock Squats x 10 IC
    Rock Chest Press x 10 IC

    Run to the parking lot (50 yards) and back

    Rock Shoulder Press x 10 IC
    Rock Biceps Curls x 10 IC
    Rock Rows x 10 IC
    Rock Squats x 10 IC
    Rock Chest Press x 10 IC

    Run to the parking lot (50 yards) and back

    Rock Shoulder Press x 10 IC
    Rock Biceps Curls x 10 IC
    Rock Rows x 10 IC
    Rock Squats x 10 IC
    Rock Chest Press x 10 IC

    Run to the parking lot (50 yards) and back

    Exercise 2:
    Rock lunges across the field, 50 yards, to the groans and huffs of the PAX.

    Exercise 3:
    8-count body builders x 10 IC
    8-count rock press x 10 IC
    Left side lunge with rock chest press x 10 IC
    Right side lunge with rock chest press x 10 IC

    Exercise 4:
    Rock lunges across the field, 50 yards, to the music of more groans.

    Mary COP:
    Flutter Kicks x 20 IC
    LBC’s x 20 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC
    American Hammer x 20 IC

    We returned our beloved rocks to the rock pile, and ran back to the flag to finish just in the nick of time. Count off, Name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. Special shout out to Abacus for killing it since he joined F3. Thank you for allowing me to lead. Stay warm out there this week!

    Walleye

  • On Holiday At The Marsh

    Dashing out the door this morning in an effort not to be late to my own Q, I neglected to bring my gloves or even a sweatshirt.  As soon as the wipers hit a massive sheet of unyielding ice on my windshield, I realized I was woefully underdressed for the 29° weather.  Too late, no time.  And so, pulling up to the Marsh right at 0500, I sat in the car and began that inner monologue that has become too familiar over the past few cold weeks: Maybe no one will show today…  Maybe I can turn this car back around… Maybe I can get right back in bed… This mantra never really works, and post-beatdown, I’ve always been happy for that.  Which is why it was so shocking that today, for the first time in a long, long time, no one posted.

    I suspect that was partly due to the cold, and mostly due to the fact that it was MLK Day, and many were off work and could sleep in for a change (ahem…especially those returning from a big hunting trip).  Well, I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t a little bit excited by the prospect of a no-show.  But, in honor of King and his famous speech (which will have it’s 55th anniversary this year), YHC knocked out 55 pull-ups, followed by 55 merkins as quickly as humanly possible.  Then I drove back home (I’m not a total idiot), got my sweatshirt and gloves, and went for a short mosey.  And then… I got back into bed.

    It certainly wasn’t the caliber of a true F3 beatdown, but it was just enough to get out of bed for.  And it was a good reminder of why I need the F3 brothers in my life.  King’s notion that we are all brothers and sisters, despite our many differences, is a powerful one, and one that I see at work in the F3 nation every week.  So thanks to my brothers, enjoy your holiday, and YHC expects to see you men back out there tomorrow at Grandmother’s House.

  • Backblast, Baton Rouge, Dec. 23, 2017

    12-23-17
    Josh Black Fastball
    Rocket. Dirk Higginbotham, Rocket
    Devon Lajaunie, Propeller head
    Kevin McCarty, Wizard
    Darin-Hoosier-Daddy Travis

    Mosey to central brick circle
    Shoulder tap. Get in Plank position. Rest on left hand only. Touch rt shoulder with right hand. Do left side.

    Squats
    Ballerinas – Toe Squats
    Mary
    Al Gore
    Alabama butt kickers
    Mosey around the track from circle to building clockwise

    Crab walk
    Merkin
    Derkin
    Flutter kicks
    Tin snips (touch feet together)
    Scissor kicks

  • F3 BatonRouge laughs at the cold 30F

    • Coffeeteria & Bear crawl tunnel

      7 locals whip the ice, and the cinder block COUPONS!

    Pax

    CAT5
    Megadad
    Worms
    Rocket
    Fastball
    Propeller Head
    Workhorse

    Co-Qed by Fastball and Rocket.  They took the lead today and ran with it to the touchdown.

    Cool.

    Round 1. Arm Circle Forward.

    Arm Circle Backward.

    Side straddle hop.

    Forward lunge.

    Side straddle hop.

    Reverse lunge.

    Round 2. Overhead lunge with rock.

    (Rock=Block= Coupon!)

    Merkin feet on block.

    Row right with block.

    Row left with block.

    LBC with block.

    Overhead tricep with block.

    High knee with block overhead.

    Round 3 mosey.

    Squats LBC Burpee mountain climbers flutter kicks.

    Round 4 mosey.

    Burpee cotton picker Merkin ssh.

    Superman.

    Round 5 mosey to hill.

    20 Burpee total sets of 5.

    Up and down hill between sets.

    Round 6 LBC with block flutter kick with block.

    Russian twist with block.

    Tunnel of love.

    circle of trust.  All experienced Pax today

    advanced to Cofeeteria Starbucks Highland at I-10.   Fantastic events today

     

  • Winter Soldiers

    Knowing that it was going to be cold on the Mandeville Lakefront this morning, YHC cast about late Friday for an appropriate pearl of wisdom to drop on the PAX.  Almost instantly, Thomas Paine’s immortal words from the American Revolution came mind:

    These are the times that try men’s souls.  The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.  Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.  What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.

    The parallels to a beat down in the Gloom on a cold, windy and kind of wet morning in South Louisiana are too obvious to require explanation.  Let’s just say that eight winter soldiers and stout patriots assembled in a brotherly manner to make themselves better this morning.

    The Warmup

    Steve has the Bulgarian squat, Butt Splice owns the longest block, EiEi is best friends with Jane Fonda, Einstein likes to lunge backwards, and Shooter frequently employs the front plank to adjust the PAX’s attitude.  For YHC, it’s the stairs at Rips Restaurant and so that’s where we headed for this morning’s warmup:

    Partner up, one partner does SSHs while the other heads up and over the Rips’ stairs, switch up, rinse and repeat for 10 minutes alternating SSHs with IWs and the straight runs up and over the stairs with crossover runs.

    The Thang

    Short 10 count then short mosey to the East for the first COP:

    Round 1:  Merkin Wave to 80; then on our Sixes holding feet at 6 inches for an Up and Out Circle Leg Raise Wave to 80; back on our feet holding the People’s Chair while executing a Vertical Jump Wave to 80.

    Round 2:  Another Merkin Wave to 80; then on our Sixes holding feet at 6 inches for a Out and Up Circle Leg Raise Wave to 80; back on our feel holding People’s Chair while executing a Knees to Chest Vertical Jump Wave to 80.

    Recovery walk morphing into a mosey to the Harbor Playground, spicing up the mosey with random short accelerations, Merkins, and soccer style headers.  Formed up for the next COP on arrival:

    Isometric lunge hold left leg forward to a count of 30 followed immediately by 30 lunges pulses; switch legs and repeat; then Mission Impossible hold for 30 seconds followed by 30 Merkin pulses.

    Mosey to the Harbor Pavilion where we spread out among the benches for a few rounds of box jumps. Every 30 seconds, the PAX was asked to perform a set of three jumps, a straight jump, a lateral jump to the right and a lateral jump to the left.  We then picked up the pace for the second round, executing four box jumps every 30 seconds.  Round 3 called for six jumps and then the 4th and final round called for eight jumps.

    Mosey to the baseball field where we partnered up once again for two rounds of pull ups, Northshore Merkins (OK we officially claim the name of Northshore Merkins for plyo pushups), Tonya Hardings, and lateral squat jumps.

    Indian Run back to the Shovel Flag for a round of Mary:  back plank bicycles IC 20x, side plank dips IC 20x each side, and J Lo’s IC 20x.

    Countorama, nameorama, and Tanked Up prayed us out on the way to THE Manny funded Coffeeteria.

    Moleskin

    CRAZY IVAN.  It’s on next Saturday, January 20th at 2100.  Mandeville Lakefront AO.  EiEi scientifically has designed this CSAUP event to be .001% better than the Southshore’s Gnarly Nutria.  We’ll see if the Southshore PAX forgo their regularly scheduled Saturday evening bubble baths in order to cross the Causeway for some Cold War games.  Bragging rights for the next six months are on the line.  The Northshore Cold Warriors are ready.

    Chewy is off IR and how appropriate to have one of our Founding Father’s Kotter on a Thomas Paine themed beatdown.

    YHC learned at the Coffeeteria that Carpool’s employer has traded him to the Houston AO.  We’ll miss him here on the Northshore but of course are proud of him for his promotion and know that he’ll represent us well at the Houston AO.

    Captain Sparkles and Turtle are hunting with Shooter this weekend.  Will Shooter make it home alive?

     

  • Superfecta at The Uptowner

    YHC committed to Q four days in a row this week, and the fourth day, or the Superfecta as we’ll call it, had me up earlier than usual. 45 minutes before the alarm sounded kind of earlier. One would think that would indicate an early arrival at the AO, but nay! Pulling into the dead end parking lot at Pontiff Playground with three minutes to spare, following JV’s ride is what happened. Maybe it was too much time thinking about what the weather was going to do. 70 degree weather yesterday, but promises of weather in the 40’s today with the passing of the front had YHC a bit confused. YHC planted the shovel flag, and Tool walked up. YHC had some cones to set out, but the grounds were wet enough to be confused with a lake. Tool suggested the tennis courts, which was an outstanding idea! Setting the cones up for a circuit station beatdown, YHC noticed the wind moving the cones all over the court. Time to improvise. Return to the flag, give the disclaimer as the train passes….and then

    Warmup

    SSH IC x 31
    Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 15

    Grab a rock, one that can be used for OH press and Curls, and slow mosey to the tennis courts. YHC had planned on doing Uptowner Stink BOMBS, but it would require cones. With the wind not cooperating, YHC opted for circuits:

    Circuit One

    Double Merkin Burpees x 10 OYO
    OH Rock Press x 10 IC (4 count)
    Merkins x 10 IC (4 count)
    WW 2 Situps IC x 10 (4 count)
    Rock Curls x 10 IC (4 count)
    Rinse and Repeat x 5 (#Crowd Pleaser)

    Circuit Two (all 4 count)

    Rock Rows x 10 IC
    Rock Bench Presses x 10 IC
    Rock Squats x 10 IC
    Rinse and Repeat x 3

    Partner up for abs

    Leg throws x 15, flap jack
    Regular situps with parter holding feet. Do as many as possible in one minute, flap jack

    Mary with a rock (all 4 count)

    Flutter Kicks x 15 IC
    Hello Dolly x 15 IC
    Tin Snips x 15 IC
    LBC’s (no rock) x 15 IC
    Freddy Mercury (no rock) x 15 IC

    Times up, DownPainment made!

    COT

    Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, closing prayer

    NMM

    Thanks for posting with me today. With 4 back to back Q’s this week, YHC hopes this will challenge others to step up and Q where you can. If you don’t feel ready, ask someone that has Q’d to help, and share the Q. I had butterflies the night before my first Q, afraid it would be a disaster! Trust me, it never is, even though some of mine have had moments! Please refrain from taking this this opportunity to point out those moments…..

    T-Claps to Tool for bringing in Smooth and Abacus into the F3 fold. You’re nowhere near Triple Shift, but it still deserves recognition! Always be EH’ing!

    Crazy Ivan coming up next weekend. Looking at the weather forecast, it looks like the weather will be great! Good thing it wasn’t this weekend!

    Don’t forget tomorrow is Mahatma’s VQ at the Mothership! I have no doubt it’s going to be epic. Following the beat down, we get to witness him take a pie in the face from Rudy! This you can’t miss! Bring some cash for coffeteria…….

    SYITG!

  • Rolling Fog at Okwata

    YHC received the bad news from Surge that he was ill, and would not be posting. This was surely a sign of that dreaded day, the day where YHC would be a Pax of one. SPOILER ALERT: He wasn’t! YHC woke up to an annoying rain, one that would obviously keep others away from posting to one of the greatest AO’s of the region, so no need to even head out the door. But wait, what is that? Ah, it’s the DRP, the same one that JV chose last week when he headed to the Uptowner. YHC arrived at the AO with 3 minutes to spare, and who was waiting? None other than JV, or so it seemed. We’ll get to that in a bit. YHC planted the Shovel Flag and it was on! Walleye pulls up just before the clock struck 0530, just in time to hear the Disclaimer. Lucky for us, the rain stopped, but the heavy fog rolled in. As we moseyed toward the mardi gras fountain, we could see an image in the gloom. Abacus! His first post to Okwata, and he was waiting at the mardi gras fountain, as he could not see the other Pax through the fog. That makes three men joining YHC to celebrate this day with a solid beat down. Three men of F3 joined YHC to celebrate his Trifecta Q! It was going to be a good day!

    Mosey around the fountain, carioca left, then right. Circle up in front of the fountain.

    Warmup

    SSH IC x 31
    Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 15
    Sun Gods IC x 20 (10 FWD, 10 BWD)

    Double Shots with Jack Webb at the Barre (an Okwata favorite)

    1 merkin followed by 2 air presses in the peoples chair against the barre
    2 merkins…..4 air presses…..
    3 merkins…..6 air presses….
    so forth and so on….
    10 merkins…..20 air presses in the peoples chair against the barre

    Mosey to the intersection of Canal and Lakeshore Drive for:

    Four Corners

    Corner #1 – 10 Burpees OYO
    Mosey south on Canal across the levee to the corner of Canal and Amethyst St
    Amethyst is a variety of quartz, is a semiprecious stone, and is the birthstone for February. Now you know…..
    Corner #2 – Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10
    A short mosey west to the other corner of Amethyst and Canal.
    Corner #3 – To emphasize the merkin during the burpee, YHC decided to add the double merkin burpee. 5 Double merkin burpees OYO! That went so well that YHC added 5 more! For those of you that struggle with arithmetic, that would be 10 total double merkin burpees!
    Mosey north to Canal and Lakeshore Drive
    Corner #4 – 8 Count Body Builders IC x 10
    Since we need to complete the box, return to start point.
    Back at Corner #1 – merkins IC x 10 (4 count)

    Mosey to Stonehenge, aka the circle of benches.

    Grab a bench

    LL step ups IC x 10
    Jump Squats IC x 10
    RL step ups IC x 10
    Copperhead Squats IC x 10 (Low slow squat)
    YHC needed one more leg exercise, and had a mental block. Calling out for ideas, Walleye suggested alternating lunge jumps. Yes, that would finish off this evolution nicely!
    Alternating Lunge Jumps IC x 10

    Mosey back to Canal St and to the top of the levee.

    OYO evolution

    5 double merkin burpees, bear crawl across the median, finish with 5 double merkin burpees.

    Mosey back to the flag for:

    Mary
    Flutter Kicks IC x 15
    Hello Dolly IC x 15
    Tin Snips IC x 15
    Russian Twist (Putin) IC x 15

    0615, time called, DownPainment complete!

    COT

    Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, end with a prayer to the Sky Q. We still kept Shorty’s M in our thoughts.

    Read the emails to see what’s going on. Lots of good stuff. What does this weeks Stomp, Foundry, Okwata, and Uptowner AO’s all have in common? Join me tomorrow for the Superfecta!

    NMM

    Want to see a Q take a pie in the face? Not this guy, but join us for the Mothership when Mahatma makes his VQ and gets a pie in the face from his LSU/Notre Dame bet lost to Rudy!

  • Rock City Trifecta

    Solid showing on Monday at Pontiff, despite the rain.  Eight men braved the iffy forecast to get the usual fix of F3 at Rock City.  The scheduled Q was out with the flu (or maybe Saints game hangover???) so a few of us stepped in to sub.  Here’s what went down:

    Mosey to the rock pile, grab a rock, and head to the pavilion for cover.

    Round 1, courtesy of Tool:

    Warm-up consisting of IPW x25, Peter Parker x25, Arm Circles x20, Windmill x15, Hacky Sack x15, LS Squat x15

    Rock Curl x20, RLSU x20, Rock Curl x20, LLSU x20

    Then, a round of the yet to be named “sucky” circuit previously done a few times, but we altered it a bit.  Three minutes of as many rounds of the following exercises OYO:  SSH x6, Squat Rock Press x6, Bench Dips x6.  Call out your count after each round.  I think a few guys made it to 6 or 7.  Rest with a countdown, then rinse and repeat.  YHC forgot his watch and was fumbling with Marlin space-age apparatus so the timing may have been off.  Either way it was good stuff.  I’m thinking original mix of SSH, Squat Jumps, and Merkins is the way to go on that circuit.

    Round 2, courtesy of Triple Shift:

    Pair up for PAX #1 to knock out Back Extensions x20 hanging off of table while PAX #2 holds #1’s feet and Flutter Kicks.  Flip Flop, then rinse and repeat with Hello Dollies on the second round.  This seemed to use muscles that YHC didn’t know he had.

    Rock Web – ascending reps of Merkin x1 and Rock Press x2, increasing the count by 1/2 each time until x10/x20 is reached.  This was a doozy and proved to be a challenge to all.  T-claps to Rudy and other PAX for finishing strong and doing full reps.

    Round 3, courtesy of JV, who was eager to share some new exercises picked up at during his recent post at a F3 AO in North Carolina.

    Monkey Humper x20?

    “Go at it” with Hindu Planks(??) x20

    Wife Pleaser x20

    Good thing no one else was around to witness 8 grown men in these motions, in particular the second one.

    Time was up so back to the flag.

    COT to seal the deal.  T-claps to Abacus on his second post and his quest to get back in shape after a 10yr hiatus from physical activity.  YHC can’t recall much else other than the fact that he was the youngest PAX there.  Not a bad morning for a bunch of almost old dudes.

    Tool