Category: New Orleans

  • 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

  • It Takes 2

    You know that song! It was a popular (maybe still is) play in the clubs by names I can’t remember. Upon looking it up, turns out it was Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock……….YHC would have lost that Trivial Pursuit question.

    “It takes two to make a thing go right, It takes two to make it outta sight”…..and so on

    That’s what happened at the Renaissance Sunday morning in City Park! 2 Pax showed up to make a thing go right, and it was outta sight!

    YHC has been making it a habit of rolling in hot to the new Sunday AO. This week was no exception where YHC found Hokie Pokey roaring and ready to rock it out! But first, the disclaimer…….and then

    Warm up

    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 15
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    Arm circles IC x 20
    Peter Parkers IC x 20
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20
    Shoulder Taps IC x 20

    Short Mosey to the NOMA fountain

    LL Steps ups IC x 15
    Dips IC x 15
    RL Step ups IC x 15

    Ascending merkin ladder on NOMA Steps
    Step 1 – 1 merkin
    Step 2 – 2 merkins….continue to top step which is step 8 for 8 merkins

    Mosey to the Foundry for stations. Since it takes 2 to make a thing go right, and it takes 2 to make it outta sight, here’s what we did….

    Station 1
    Pax 1 – Pullups AMRAP
    Pax 2 – Run to bike path, 5 Burpees and run back (time)
    Flapjack

    Station 2
    Pax 1 – Dips AMRAP
    Pax 2 – 10 Burpees (timer)
    Flapjack

    Station 3
    Pax 1 – Big Boi situps AMRAP
    Pax 2 – 10 Jump squats, Kuch style (timer)
    Flapjack


    Mosey to the Practice Track off Roosevelt Mall for some “Catch me if U can”
    Pax 1 – Run backwards at a healthy pace
    Pax 2 – Complete 5 Burpees and then sprint to catch Pax 1
    Flapjack around the track. Each pax enjoyed 4 sets of Burpees

    4 Corners on the practice track
    Run straightaway, stop and complete 5 Burpees at the turn
    Run the curve, stop and complete 5 Burpees at the straightaway
    Complete one lap, and 20 Burpees

    Mosey back to NOMA for some Mary
    LBC’s IC x 15
    Flutter kicks IC x 15
    Hello Dolly IC x 15
    Dying Cockroach IC x 15
    American Hammer IC x 15
    Tin Snips IC x 15

    Mosey back to VSF for COT
    Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions and closed with a prayer to the Sky Q


    NMM
    It’s not easy rolling out of the rack early on a Sunday morning, but YHC committed to making this AO work, so up and at ’em it is! T-Claps to Hokie Pokey for the continued commitment as well. For anyone interested in finding out what the new Renaissance AO is all about, get yourself to the NOMA fountain at 0630 next Sunday and YHC will give you a tour!

    Coffeteria at Cafe Navarre with some good F2 is always a good way to end a beat down.

    Thanks for letting me be part of F3.

    SYITG




  • Respect the Mountain

    I’m out of practice. Secondary to other commitments I haven’t posted at Wolfpack proper in several months. I underestimated the stairwells, especially the stairwells in June. More on that later. The red Friday workout in honor of Sgt. Joey Bovia from Metairie was planned for the Uptowner. In a clear move of imitation/flattery I wanted to incorporate the 8 exercise for 31 reps scheme into today’s beat down at Wolfpack.

    Disclaimer and brief introduction of the Angry Wave duo of Bad Moon and Roots and we are off.

    Short mosey to the bench area in front of Loyola for our 8/31 warm up:

    • SSH
    • Imperial Walker
    • Mountain Climbers
    • Peter Parker
    • RLSU
    • LLSU
    • RL Bulgarian Split Lunges
    • LL Bulgarian Split Lunges

    Mosey to the Mountain for a quick regroup and two-column Indian run to the top.

    Assemble on the peak for Dora 1-2-3. Burpees, Merkins, Russian Twists (one is one) while the partner goes down the stairs to the ground level and back up the other stairs. The stairwell loop took longer than expected and once I got started I don’t think I ever caught my breath or got my heart rate back below 130. After me and G-spot each did two laps we still in the middle of Merkins and time was getting short. Audible to staying up top and finishing your reps together. Kudos to the Pax for busting ass on this. The time passed quickly but the intensity didn’t allow for much banter which I missed.

    Mosey back to the flag. 35 pax! Had to grab my phone as my hypoxic brain wasn’t going to remember beyond the guy to my right. Two FNGs who, based on the namorama video footage, didn’t look too beat down. Welcome Creeper (a legit actor whose credits include some NCIS (he played a rapist) and Jeepers Creepers 3) who gave a nice reminder that every moment is a gift from God (paraphrase). Welcome Uncle Rico (almost ‘Precursor to the Heisman’ or similar) who has a career in football (coaching) who during his HS QB days was backed up by Baker Mayfield. I look forward to learning more about these two gents.

    COT with special intentions for BellHop and his battle with cancer and for a friend of Roots whose son was in a serious ATV accident. A prayer of thanks for great men like Joey Bovia and all the veterans who died on D-day or elsewhere to secure our freedom. A prayer of thanks for the strength we get from each other. Amen.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead!

  • Question the Q, Burpees for U!

    22 Pax gathered together at the mothership for a bootcamp style workout. Jesus Juice AKA “the best Q” began with a warmup under the Atrium. It started out stellar in my opinion but others may have had an issue with my counting! Strike 1, don’t question the Q!

    20 each of:

    Side Straddle Hops

    Hill Billy

    Grass Grabbers

    Arm Circles

    Peter Parker

    Parker Peter

    The 2pax split into 2 Pax for an Indian run around Noma, down Lelong drive to Wisner, and then to the blocks. We stayed together as 2 Pax with no man left behind!

    We each grab a block and lined up for:

    15 Overhead Squats Press

    Lunge

    15 Right hand Merkins

    Lunge

    15 Curls

    Lunge

    15 Left Hand Merkins

    Lunge

    10 Overhead Squats Press

    Lunge

    10 Right hand Merkins

    Lunge

    10 Curls

    Lunge

    10 Left hand Merkins

    Lunge

    5 Overhead Squats Press

    Lunge

    5 right hand Merkins

    Lunge

    5 Curls

    Lunge

    5 left hand Merkins

    Upon completion we then circled up for:

    20 side bends on each side

    20 triceps extensions

    During the workout there were more questioning of the Q so this was Strike 2! The new rule was about to get introduced: ’ “Question the Q, 5 Burpees for U!” (thanks #yamomandthem)

    We returned the blocked and moseyed to the Great Lawn for some Merry AND then Strike 3 occurred! #FRACSAC penalty Burpees!

    20 second levels. 3 levels

    20 Little baby crunches

    20 Dying coackaroach

    20 Penquins

    20 American Hammer

    1:30 Side Plank (Right Side)

    1:30 Side Plank (Right Side)

    We then gathered around the flag where we had 2 minutes to spare and #Hawgcycle insisted he got his monies worth so we all did 10 Merkins then #walleye lead us in some stretching.

    Thank you all for being there for my VQ and I look forward to many more penalty burpees! – Jesus Juice

  • NAME-O-RAMA

    NAME-O-RAMA

    YHC has been on the sidelines with a shoulder injury for the last couple of months, so he had plenty of time to plan for this particular workout at his beloved Popeyes. So as 10 men arrived in the sweaty, gloom it was time to roll at 5:30am. sharp. Wait….an FNG arrived at 5:31, so the Pax took off at 5:32.

    The Warm-Up

    YHC led the Pax on a short mosey to do a standard warm-up

    SSH -25

    Imperial Walkers – 20

    Shoulder Taps – 15 (should have been prepared for shoulder taps to aggravate my shoulder injury, but alas)

    Side lunges – 15 (someone needs to come up with a good F3 name for this exercise)

    Hillbillies – 20

    The Thang

    YHC saw another F3 Pax on Twitter spell their F3 names using an exercise to represent each letter. Since he had plenty of time between Qs, YHC made up his own version of the NAME-O-RAMA . Each Pax would do the exercises corresponding to the letters of his name. Once finished, the Pax with shorter names would find members with longer names and help them finish. All of the vowels were running exercises (in hindsight I should have come up with a better system to cut down on the amount of long runs. I hit 3.2 miles and I think other members ran longer than I did). It would have been nice to see the Reluctant Yankee here this morning.

    Check out the featured image of this post to see the whole alphabet and bring this to the other AOs in NOLA.

    YHC’s morning workout as an example:

    R- 20 Pull-ups E- Run to the F3 Flag and back V- 50 Big Boy Sit-ups S- 20 Burpees O – Run to the top of the bleachers X – 30 Box Jumps YHC then did another E – Run to the F3 Flag and back to hit Hokie Pokey’s last E.

    The runs were too long, so not every Pax finished and YHC committed one of the seven deadly sins of F3 by running the Pax back to the flag at 6:18am.

    The Close

    COUNTERAMA, NAME-O-RAMA, and the Pax named two FNGS. Chips’ 2.0 was named Frito Lays, and we also welcomed Voyeur into our ranks. Sweaty-Ball-O-Man lifted our prayers and thanksgiving to the King calling for mercy to our family and F3NOLA members in need and asking God to empower us to be the men He desires us to be.

  • 17 – A Shoutout to War Eagle

    Why is 17 a shoutout to War Eagle? Because that’s as high as most people from Alabama can count… Okay, had to get one Bama joke out there. It’s actually the amount of National Championships their football team claims (infinite asterisks by that number of course). But still, on a day when our boy was dealing with some issues far more serious than anything even related to football rooting interests, it seemed appropriate to let him know we were thinking of him.

    Of course, this plan would have been better executed had Ya Mom’n Dem and I shown up on time. Employing perhaps the most tortured logistics one could imagine, YHC and YMnD first made a wrong turn, then after retrieving 2 cinder blocks from the pile by the field, made a lap around the park instead of just backing up to the baby foundry. So a 2-minute job took 10 and we pulled up as the PAX were running toward the track. Luckily Frac got the warmup started and we were able to jump right in.

    • SSHx31
    • IWx17
    • Peter Parkerx17
    • Parker Peterx17
    • Arm Circlesx17 (10 forward, 7 backward)

    Workout

    When YHC volunteered the clown car to take this one, he made it clear that either one of them should take it, or it was going to be a tabata and jump ropes day. And so it was. 8 stations

    • jumping rope
    • curl and press cinder blocks
    • sweat angels
    • pull-ups
    • dips
    • Angle grinders
    • burpees
    • Jump Squats ( real ones, 180 degree turn, drop down as you land and back up)

    Tunes:

    • Round 1: Calm Like a Bomb (Rage Against the Machine)
    • Round 2: Stronger (Kanye)
    • Round 3: Welcome to the Jungle
    • Round 4: This is how we do it (where I’m From) (Big Tymers)
    • Round 5: Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen)

    Little help from Tool on selecting tracks, and I tried to offer options for the #respects and the #hates.

    Quick Mosey to the Neutral Ground for Choose your Own Adventure Mary. Everyone led an exercise. The point, possibly corny, was that when we work together, we can all take a little of the load off someone’s shoulders and offer a bit of help to those who need it. War Eagle has much bigger concerns than worrying about who is taking his Q, so we’ll all share the load a little. That’s kinda what we do here at F3.

    COT, Prayers for Jonathan Serigne, War Eaglet, War Eagle’s family, and everyone else dealing with health issues. Reminder to appreciate our health and reach out to those who are less lucky. I’m lucky to be a part of this group. – Kuch

  • First Timer at Okwata

    It wasn’t how YHC planned. It just sort of happened.  Nonetheless, YHC arrived at Okwata in the Lakeview Clown Car on a bright morning, devoid of gloom, ready to lead 16 PAX.

    Disclaimer issued and a quick mosey to warmup:

    SSH x 15 IC
    Hill Billies x 15 IC
    Arm Circles x 15 IC
    Mountain Climbers x 15 IC

    The Workout

    Run up the levee at Canal, sprint across the grass median, run back down, complete 5 burpees. Rinse and repeat with 4 burpees down to 0 burpees.

    YHC wasn’t thrilled with the sprinting effort, so penalty Bernies were issued. Two rounds of the above with Bernies up the hill, with sets of 5 and 4 burpees respectively. 

    Part 2

    Mosey to benches, 16 PAX, 2 per bench:

    Floyd Mayweather x 20 
    Low Slow Squats x 20
    LBC x 20
    Merkins x 20
    Lunges x 20
    Dips x 20
    Step ups x 20
    Derkins x 20

    Repeat for 10 each

    At 6:11 we moseyed back for the usual formalities.  Thanks to all who came out to my VQ and gave me the opportunity to lead. 

  • F3: It’s more than a workout

    YHC volunteered for the Q this morning when Angie’s List couldn’t do it. One thing I love about F3 is that every man takes responsibility for their obligations. Members take their Q’s serious and when life gets in the way of them fulfilling their responsibility they make sure that someone fills in the gap. Likewise, YHC has never seen a Q go unfilled when a PAX member asks someone to step up. F3: It’s more than a workout.

    On this morning, YHC had prepared a game plan never seen at Rock City. After taking the long way to Pontiff do to a train stuck on the track, YHC ran up at exactly 5:30 yelling the disclaimer. The PAX left the flag and took a left turn heading south. Mumblechatter of YHC trying to be like Mahatma was heard from the back, but that would not distract from the beatdown ahead.

    The PAX circled up near the swings for the warm-up:

    SSH X 20

    Peter Parker X 20

    Imperial Walkers X 20

    Concrete Grabbers X 15

    Arm Circles X 10 forwards X 10 backwards

    THE THANG

    The PAX divided up into 3 groups of 3 for circuit work using the swing set, cover, and playground.

    The first circuit included Pull-ups, Irkins, and Underdogs.

    Pull-Ups X 15, 10, 5

    Irkins X 25, 15, 5

    Underdogs X 25, 15, 5

    The second circuit included Derkins, Alternating Leg Step-Ups or Box Jumps, and Dips.

    Each exercise X 25, 15, 5

    THE THANG II

    This would not be Rock City without a some rock work. Indian Run to the rocks. Pick a rock and circle up for a circuit including Curls, Rows, and Shoulder Presses X 25, 15, 5 each.

    Drop the rocks and head back to the flag for Mary.

    LBC X 20

    Dying Cockroaches X 20

    Time-Up

    At this point, YHC grabbed my cellphone to write down the names. When YHC looked there was six missed calls from my M. My 2.0 had a fever seizure and was being transported via ambulance to the hospital. YHC left before the COT.

    When YHC posted the news on Mumblechatter my M and I were overwhelmed by the response. Prayers, personal messages, and private texts have been sent all day including a personal visit from Bones while we were in the ER. Today my m learned and YHC was reminded that F3 is more than just a workout.

    F3 is friends, family, accountability, and a brotherhood rolled into one. We demand excellence and strive for every member to obtain it. We don’t shoot the wounded. We pick up the fallen brother, and we always have each other backs. We are F3 NOLA! We are F3 NATION!

    Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this great group and thank you for letting me lead.

  • The DZ Demands a Sacrifice

    8 PAX gathered for a sprint workout at the track. YHC has been wanting to break out the jump ropes for a while, but today was the first time we had enough ropes (4) and a small enough crew to put them to use. First though, a warm-up consisting of a lap around the track with: moseying, high knees, butt kicks, Super Marios, carioca, open the gate, and of course, close the gate (this is not a barn).

    Afterwards, we circled up to complete the warm-up with

    • 20 mountain climbers IC
    • 20 scorpion kicks IC (10 each leg)
    • 1 minute of static stretching on OYO

    The workout – 1st Exercise

    Divide into 2 groups.

    We did this circuit 4 times with a very brisk 20-second count in between round 2 and 3 from Double J.

    The jump ropes will be back, guys, so I suggest a little practice. This one costs 10 bucks and we used two of them without incident today. Might wanna invest in that jump rope form before the penalty burpees begin (j/k…. or am I?) https://smile.amazon.com/Survival-Cross-Jump-Rope-International/dp/B00LGXE5NS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=speed+rope&qid=1559585099&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

    During this circuit, The Wiz injured his calf, and has been hobbling around since. Hoping that’s a short term thing – it’s been really cool having a founding member back in action with us.

    2nd Exercise

    The Danger Zone requires a bit of downtime to catch your breath with all the sprinting, so we hit the abs early with some Mary IC

    • Flutter Kicks x20
    • LBC’s x 20
    • American Hammers x 15
    • Penguins x 20
    • Hello Dolly’s x 15
    • Low Country Crabs x20

    PAX were encouraged to squeeze their abs, keep their form, make every rep count.

    3rd Exercise

    Fastest Quarter Mile – Go! I’ll add your times as you send them to me. Here is what I have for finishing place as best I can remember:

    1. Jesus Juice – 1:16
    2. Screw Top – 1:17
    3. Kuch – 1:30
    4. Shuffles
    5. The Undertaker
    6. Half Nelson – 1:55
    7. Quiche – 1:59

    (The Wiz – DNP due to injury)

    Mosey back to the flag to close with some static stretching and the usual formalities. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to be a leader today. – Kuch