Category: New Orleans

  • 1776 Merkins and a tour of Okwata

    Well, that’s what 1776 Merkins feels like! I’m glad we decided to share them as a group…

    This was my first Q and we had an amazing attendance with very special guests from uptown. The idea was to get a little tour of Okwata and also celebrate America by doing Merkins and planking after each quick run.

    We started at the flag, moseyed to the “round thing with water in it” for 20 merkins, arm circles, Side straddle hops

    We then ran on top of the levy to canal for: 20 Merkins, bear crawl across canal on top of Levy, Then 20 Merkins

    Next, we ran down the levy to the “circle of benches” for an assortment of excercises including 20 Merkins, American hammers (thanks for reminding me how to do them! Lol), dips, derkins, low slow squats.

    Next, we ran to the parking lot by the “family reunion center” and did 20 Merkins, side straddle hops, imperial walkers,  Peter Parker’s, dying cockroaches.

    We then ran back to the “circle of benches” and did 20 Derkins, low slow squats, grass grabbers, box jumps, dips, each of these separated with a 180 degree rotation (jog) around around the circle.

    The group agreed to a “one minute of standing at attention” (maybe we can make a name for this) to honor our military.

    Back to the flag for20
    More merkins and cot.

    At some point we did some burpees for good measure. Can’t remember when though…

    Special thanks to all For putting up with my lack of consistency in beginning the exercises and to Sogo for remaining me the names of exercises. Also thanks to Screwtop for signing me up for this Q! He missed a good one!

    Pax:

    King Kong, Angie’s list, Breadsticks, Catfish, Hockie pokey, Shuffle, Dirty dell, Triple shift, Tanner, Surge, High rise, Ya mama and them, Walleye, Frack sack, Bongo, Willy , So go , Jingle vador, Smooth, Tool, Shuffles, Undertaker 

  • An Extra 5 seconds of Fun

    • Temperature: bad
    • Humidity: bad

    21 men gathered this morning for a Foundry workout. Like the Stomp, this workout – led by Amnesty since the olden days – has continued to grow, and the new faces are welcome additions. In fact, we had a late addition today from Butter, bringing the total to 22. He joined us for the COT, and plans to make some workouts soon.

    Quick Warmup (we’ve got work to do)

    • Mosey to the track
    • ISWx10
    • SSHx20 (some complaints from Amnesty and Bogey about YHC’s failure to instruct the already standing PAX to get in “position” before this one. Leaving this here for their next Q’s, where I’m sure their instructions and cadence will be perfect)
    • Peter Parker Peter x20 each
    • Arm Circles x10 each way
    • Line up in 2 lines and Indian Run to the Foundry

    The Thang: 8 Stations, 4 rounds on a Tabata timer of

    • Derkins
    • Jumping Rope
    • seated dips
    • Burpees
    • Pull-ups
    • Jump Squats
    • Bird Dogs
    • Side to side jumps over the snake

    We’ve done something like this workout a few times, so YHC decided to up the difficulty a bit by changing the timer from 20 seconds on, 10 off, to 25 seconds on, 10 off. That extra 5 seconds took a toll, but everyone persevered thanks to the rocking tunes.

    Quick mosey back to the track for some static stretching led by High Rise because why would I lead stretching when there is an actual physical therapist there who went to school for this sort of thing? T-claps to High Rise for always being up to the task.

    Mosey to the flag, little planking for the ISI challenge this month, and COT and a prayer. Thanks for having me.

  • Celebrating the Real Independence Day

    Celebrating the Real Independence Day

    On July 2, 1776, 13 hardheaded colonies stomped all over their British lords by approving a resolution of independence from Great Britain. YHC’s ancestor John Adams predicted that on July 2nd every year, America would forever celebrate the anniversary of that day with great festivals of pomp and parade, shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illumination from one end of the continent to the other.

    Alas, Americans now celebrate July 4th when the declaration was signed not voted on. As a descendant of the Adams, YHC led the 610 Stomp in a festive July 2nd celebration this morning.

    The 21 men of the Stomp took place in the first ever July 2nd Independence Day Race. A 13 lap race on the City Park Practice Track in honor of the 13 original colonies. The race of 3.25 miles was won by Smooth with a second place finish by Screw Top. May their names be forever remembered in F3NOLA lore. Once 13 men finished the 13 laps, the race was called so the Pax could play one more game in celebration of the Nation’s independence.

    The Pax ran over to the football field for a good old fashioned game of American football. Smooth and Screw Top served as our captains for a school yard pick. Following sloppy play by the QBs, two interceptions and a turnover on downs, team Smooth scored the only touchdown of the game to seal the victory 6-0 in celebration of America!

    The Pax ran back to the flag for the Count Off, Name-O-Rama, Announcements, and Intentions. Welcome to F3NOLA to our FNG, Uncle Si!

    Happy Birthday America! May you have 243 more!

    – Rev Sox

  • Not Spartacus

    For those who expected Spartacus, they were disappointed……at first.  After the DISCLAIMER, let’s mosey and take a left out the gage.  In life you have to expect the unexpected.  We circled up in a parking lot by the backside outdoor gym.

    -SSH X 30 IC

    -IW X 30 IC

    -Mt Climbers X 30 IC

    -Arm Circles X 30 IC (15 ea dir)

    -LSS X 20 IC (hold at the bottom)

    Count off “1”, “2”, “1”, “2”…etc…  Form up in two columns, “1”s on left and “2”s on the  right.  Let’s Indian Run to the Rock Pile.  Grab your friend and head to the ball field.  Make two piles, “1”s and “2”s, then line up.  It’s time to move Boss Kean’s Rock Pile.  The pile was moved across the field.  When last rock left the pile, the pax moved to the end to keep going.  Time to move them back.  T-Claps to Mahatma challenging group “1” to see who would finish first….Group “2” did their 10 burpees.  YHC correspondent had the winners, Group “1” do 5 Manmakers…..they’re still trying to figure it out….

    Let’s head to the Spartacus Arena (the shelter). 

    -Shoulder Press X 20 IC

    -Squats X 20 IC

    -Curls X 20 IC

    -Step-Ups Right Leg X 20 IC

    -Step-Ups Left Leg X 20 IC

    -Chest Press X 20 IC

    -Shoulder Press X15 IC

    -Squats X 10 IC

    -Curls X 15 IC

    -Step-Ups Alternating Legs X 15 IC

    -Chest Press X 20 IC

    Times Up!  Take your friends home and mosey to the SF.  Plank and wait.  Countoff, namerama, announcements, shoutouts and a prayer. 

    WELCOME FNG-Coin Star

    Q: Amnesty

    PAX:  Boo-Boo, FNG-Coin Star, War Eagle, Hokie Pokie, Tanner, Dark Wing Duck, High Rise, Billy Goat, Left Eye, Marlin, Kuch, Bogey, Mahatma, Jingle Vader, Reluctant Yankee, Jesus Juice, Rugaroux, Smooth, Scantron, Madulaoblongata, M-Bop, Screw Top, Handgrenada, Amnesty-YHC

  • Disobeying the Book of Revit

    Rule #1: No burpees on Mondays

    Over 20 PAX gathered on a not-so-gloomy morning to hear a half-assed disclaimer by the Q. With a mosey over to the bandstand, a brief warm-up COP:

    SSH x20, Seal-Jacks X20, Arm circles forward X12, backwards X only 10, moroccan dance clubs x10, IW x10, HB x10

    On the the track for a double-time indian run to the rows. At the rows: 12 Burpees are the count for the rotation: Burpees, Peter Parkers, Jump Squats, Parker Peters & Rows

    Back to track for another Indian Run – stopping halfway to the benches for another 12 Burpees

    Prisoner run to the benches: RLSU x20, Dips X20, LLSU x20, Derkins x10

    Another Prisoner Run to the green: Russian Twists x20, Flutter Kicks x15, Penguins x20 & Real FMs x15

    Last Indian Run to the monkey bars: OYO – 10 pull-ups, 20 Burpees & 30 running men

    Back to the flag for plank-o-rama & 20 seconds of MI

    Count off, name-o-rama & a prayer of thanks, health and safe travels

  • Competing in the only race that matters

    “Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.” – Frank Herbert

    Saturday the Mothership and the Muscleship competed. A workout was drawn up, and the groups pushed themselves and their teammates to finish. It was like any other day. All paid the same price, and all got the same result: sleep, sweat, comfort were offered in return for change, improvement, fulfillment. This workout was different, but exactly the same; all competed, and all reaped the rewards.

    In this era of participation trophies and certificates of completion, it may sound trite to say there were no losers. You might even shake your head reading that sentence. In any competition, someone must win, and someone must lose.

    Everyday we compete against the forces that would detract from who and what we are: complacency, laziness, disengagement. Everyday, we take a step toward winning that battle when we rise early and trade in our warm comfortable bed for a chance to change, be better, seek fulfillment. Everyday is another step in winning the only race that matters. Everyday we take that step, we’ve taken a step toward victory.

    For one year now, minus some time on the shelf here and there, I’ve been taking that step. It starts off small enough – show up for some kind of workout out on a Saturday morning and be absolutely destroyed by Disclaimer. That’s how it started for me at least. It felt like the only thing I did right that day, one year ago, was show up. It definitely did not feel like a victory. But urged on by others, I showed up for a few more. And then a few more. And all of a sudden, I was showing up all the time. And things got a little clearer. And the fight became a bit easier. And I began to feel like I was winning it.

    And I’m not the only one. I watch you all improve daily. You inspire me. I watched Angie’s List crank out 25 pull-ups without stopping Saturday. While an accomplishment on its own, that’s not the crazy part. By his own admission, he could not do 1 when he started F3. How’s that for change?

    On Saturday I watched guys do extra to help those around them, not to win a competition. I watched slower guys move faster and faster guys push harder to help the slower guys. At any given workout, I’m the slow guy, the fast guy, or sometimes both at the same workout. But I’m not racing Douille (who I believe was first to finish in our group) or Catfish or Screwtop or any of the other guys who probably ran a faster mile than I could have while fresh. I’m racing against complacency, laziness, and comfort. We all are, and it’s the only race that matters. On Saturday, that battle was won by all.

    Thanks for a great year of helping me fight that battle daily. – Kuch

  • Renaissance Five & 100% Coffeteria… and a burpee complaint???

    Renaissance Five & 100% Coffeteria… and a burpee complaint???

    What Warmup

    After watching FracSac come in hot at 05:59:59 yours truly greeted the group/disclaimer and invited them to mosey to The Foundry

    The Thang ~ Parts 1-3 and then Part 4

    Upon arriving at The Foundry, I informed our guests that Sunday Renaissance visits typically involve two stops… The Foundry and The Track

    At the 1st stop we would end up doing three rounds with 5 stations

    Round 1 ~ Station 1 is the timer. The 1st Pax will run from the Foundry to the paved path (1 mile loop) do 10 burpees and return. Stations 2 – 5, Hanging from Monkey Bars, Dips at parallel bars, box jumps over under the covered area (3 heights to choose from), and big boy sit ups

    Round 2 ~ Station 1 is the timer and like round 1 and 3 will run from the Foundry to the paved path (1 mile loop) do 10 burpees and return. Stations 2 – 5 were, Merkins, Al Gore Tree huggers, dips from bench and 180* squat jumps.

    Round 3 ~ Station 1 is the timer and like rounds 1 and 2 will run from the Foundry to the paved path (1 mile loop) do 10 burpees and return. Stations 2-5 were row ups (pulling one’s self up to parallel bars), Burpees (there “may” have been some grousing heard insinuating Q did not realize he duplicated burpee stations), snake jumps (lateral ski jumping over the snake like balance beam), and planks.

    Part 4 ~ We Moseyed to the Practice track where we started with 10 more burpees and then ran backwards 100 meters and enjoyed more burpees (just 10). Yours truly then got arguably over zealous with a 100 meter lunge segment…. we aborted around 50 – 60 meters to Mosey back to the Flag with a “Circle the Six at the Bridge” and then continue on to the flag.

    COT

    We lifted up Bell Hop, as is the custom at almost every AO, along with all others dealing with medical struggles and Cancer (Rudy’s Dad, Angie’s lists Mom).

    Coffeteria

    100% attendance where two breakfast “bowls” were ordered by Catfish & Da Parish (one in the know with a. grilled biscuit and a “new visitor” to Cafe Navarre who ordered toast).

    Nutrition plans & diets and IF discussions were enjoyed by all

    Thank you all for who you are and how you motivate me on a daily basis to become a better man, husband, father, brother, son, friend and work!

  • Co-Q 12

    Earlier in the week Mahatma asked if we could swap Muscleship Q’s. Once I got the clearance from my M on our schedule I gladly swapped. I was then quickly contacted by this week’s Mothership Q and resident LVCC member Kuch. He proposed for a portion of the beatdown we perform some type of competition between PAX. After some back-and-forth on the details, the trash talking began on mumblechatter.

    Saturday morning came and 11 men gathered with me at our usual spot, including 1 FNG who came in town from Lake Charles. The resistance bands that would be used were distributed to everyone, the disclaimer was given, and off we ran for a lap around NOMA.

    Warm-up:

    • SSH IC x 20
    • Windmills IC x 10
    • Self love IC x 10
    • Arm circles x 10 fwd, x 10 reverse
    • Imperial squats walkers IC x 15

    Tha Thang #1:

    During my last Muscleship Q I had the PAX perform a Tabata routine of shoulder exercises with resistance bands. So back by popular demand we busted out the Tabata with a playlist hand-picked by the Q to avoid any recurrence of DMB or Goo Goo Dolls finding its way in. All exercises performed for 20 sec with 10 sec rest.

    • Single arm shoulder flexion, R then L
    • Airplanes/T’s
    • Bilateral shoulder external rotation
    • Single arm shoulder lateral raises, R then L
    • Biceps curls, R then L
    • Triceps extension, R then L

    Tha Thang #2

    After everyone’s shoulders were burning we walked about 5 ft into the grass surrounding the fountain outside NOMA and spread out for planks. Each plank held for 30 seconds.

    • Plank on elbows
    • L side plank
    • R side plank
    • Reverse plank

    Unfortunately while we were planking Pearl Jam was almost done playing “Alive” when my bluetooth speaker proved to be dead. So we only made it through 2 of the songs on the playlist. Oh well. Next time I’ll be better prepared.

    Next we moved back to the cement and grabbed our bands again.

    • Lateral step with squat IC x 10 reps each leg, band tied around ankles
    • Plank clocks performed in 6-count cadence x 10 reps each arm, band tied around wrists
    • Crunchy planks IC x 10 reps each way; exercise is performed in plank position when you bring your L elbow to your R knee then repeat with R elbow to L knee (exercise inspired by local musician Master P’s hip hop classic “Freak Hoes”)

    Tha Thang #3:

    At that point it was time to toss bands in Screw Top’s truck and mosey over to the Foundry for the meet up with the Mothership. Instructions were given, including written instructions courtesy of Kuch. Mothership won the coin toss and chose to run first while Mothership performed the group of exercises.

    While Mothership ran 1 loop around the Festival Grounds, each Muscleship PAX performed 25 pulls ups, 50 burpees, and 100 jump lunges (1 is 1). All members of the PAX had to complete said exercises before leaving to run. Once all members completed the routine we proceeded with our run arounf the Festival Grounds. As we ran, Mothership stayed at the Foundry and completed said group of exercises. Sadly Mothership prevailed as they were able to have all members complete the run and exercises before Muscleship. I smell a re-match in the future.

    Mosey back to the flag for some static hamstring, figure-4 piriformis, and quad stretching x 15 sec each leg. Count-off, name-o-rama, annoucements, intentions, sweaty ball of man. Welcome FNG Madoff from Lake Charles! As usual it was a pleasure to lead everyone and will look forward to my next Q.

  • Focus and Embrace the Suck on the Mountain

    YHC saw an opening to take the Q at WPM and jumped on it. Arriving early enough to welcome the Pax, the disclaimer was given, then mosey away from the Mountain so a U-turn could be made to the open grass in front of Tulane for the warmup.

    First count off, which always throws the men of WPM for a loop, especially when they have to remember the number. 34 men were ready to get sweaty.

    SSH IC x 31
    Imperial Walkers IC x 15
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    Arm Circles IC x 20
    Peter Parker IC x 20
    Mountain Climber IC x 20
    Parker Peter IC x 20

    Mosey toward the Mountain. Stop for a 20 yard Bear Crawl and Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10.

    Mosey to the Mountain and partner up for a little “Catch Me if You Can” up the Mountain. Pax 1 runs backwards up the Mountain while Pax 2 completes 3 Burpees and runs to catch Pax 1. Flapjack all the way to the top. Once on top, do shoulder taps waiting for the six.

    Time to test the Focus of the Pax. Circle up for Fracsac Focus Fun! Asked a Pax for their number, which was maybe 19? The rules are simple, the Pax completes a total of 19 SSH’s IC. However, only 10 are counted out loud. For the final 9, all Pax must stop on time counting internally only. Counting out loud beyond 10 incurs a penalty. Not stopping at 19 incurs a penalty. The Q is the perfect count, aka “my cadence is pure.”

    Round 1 – The Pax incurred a 10 Burpee penalty

    Embrace the Suck
    7 – SSH
    7- Merkins
    7 – jumpsquats
    Continue over and over for 3 minutes, yelling out rounds completed.
    1 minute rest
    Rinse and Repeat for 3 minutes, trying to improve upon total rounds completed.

    Try the Fracsac Focus Fun again. Ask for a number, maybe 23? SSH IC x 15 followed by the other 8 in silence. While calling out instructions, YHC looks over at some commotion and finds Mahatma penalizing 2 Pax for not knowing what the number of SSH’s to do would be! With the Pax on high alert, this one was for sure going to be a success!

    Spoiler Alert – Fail! YHC announces the penalty will be at the base of the Mountain. Take the stairs down and complete Shoulder Taps while waiting for the six. Mosey to the grassy area by the benches for redemption!

    10 SSH’s IC x 10 followed by 3 in silence. Oh Pax of WPM…how you must love burpees! With another failure in hand, time was running out. Mosey to the Touchdown Jesus grass for the 10 penalty Burpees OYO. Mosey back to the flag.

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

    NMM

    We had 2 FNG’s today, welcome Bubble Wrap and Butter! Keep posting! YHC enjoys WPM and always has a good time as Q. There was mumblechatter about how the Burpees were coming regardless of how well the Focus went. With multiple failures, one will never know….

    Coffeteria at PJ’s was excellent as always. F3 has made me a better person, and I thank all my F3 brothers for continuing to guide and support me. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this and for posting with me!

    SYITG

  • Rev Sox is not winning immunity

    Called to fill in for Darkwing Duck (YHC continues to anxiously awaits his VQ when F3NOLA will truly get dangerous for the first time), YHC set out to lead a traditional slow-paced no running workout for the Pax at the Uptowner. Disclaimer was given and we were off.

    Warm-Up

    SSH – 27

    Hillbillies – 20

    Inchworms – 10

    Side lunges – 15

    LSS – 20

    The Thang

    Purgatory

    The Pax grabbed our rocks for the morning and walked past the first baseball field to spend a little time in purgatory. This is YHC’s new name for a workout created by Triple Shift. While holding your coupon drop to one knee, then down on both knees, get back up one foot at a time. Once up, take one lunge step with each leg. Repeat until the Pax crosses the field to the tree line.

    Pull-ups

    The Pax took our rocks to the playground for two pull-up races. We split into two teams of 3. Starting with the largest team member and ending with the smallest, each person did 3 pull-ups, went to the back of the line, then each did 2 and finished with each doing a single pull-up. The first team to finish wins.

    Team awesome (Gatsby, Boo Boo, and Rev Sox) narrowly beat team not awesome (Rougarou, Hand Grenada, Vanilla) in the race.

    The second race was dead man hangs. This competition was based on which team could hang the longest. The team members not hanging did rows and curls with their rocks while waiting. YHC learned that he would never win immunity challenges in Survivor this morning. Boo Boo hung a long time allowing YHC to have a massive time advantage against Vanilla as the last person on each team to hang. This should have been a second easy win for team awesome against team not awesome. YHC just didn’t have the strength of will to hang longer than Vanilla giving team not awesome the win. (YHC has yet another reason to never apply to be on Survivor.)

    Partner Work

    The Pax partnered up for some Partner Shrugs (20 count) and Partner Curls (20 count). Then as partners the Pax went for 20 underdogs underneath the swings.

    People’s Chair

    The Pax took our rocks and sat down on the tennis court fences for 3 sitting session. Each sit came with curls in cadence (15, 10, 6).

    Mary

    Wife Pleasers – 20

    O Dolly – 15

    Penguins – 15

    LBC – 20

    Hello Dolly – 15

    COT

    Count off, Name-O-Rama, announcements, intentions, and prayer

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead, it’s been a while since YHC had the opportunity at the Uptowner.

    Rev Sox