F3 New Orleans

Category: New Orleans

  • Welcome to 2018 and an ND victory

    2018 arrived at 5:30 am with a brisk wind and below freezing temps.  Lovely start to the new year.  YHC arrived early to make sure his Notre Dame banners were hung with bride, to welcome the LSU faithful to the new year.  First hulking shadow figure to appear, dressed in full Marlin-cold-weather gear was Kim Chi sporting an outer layer LSU sweatshirt.  Then Triple Shift, wearing neutral colors.  Finally 2 more LSU fans showed up – welcome Amnesty and Heisenberg.  Everyone decked in the finest winder wonderland gear.  A disclaimer, then lets get started.

    Burpees and Body Builders

    Notre Dame has won 6, LSU has won 5.  Start by going through each of the 11 games, with a ladder: adding 1 burpee for each ND victory (1970, 1981, 1984, 1997, 1998, 2013) and 1 8-count-body-builder for each LSU victory (1971, 1985, 1986, 1997, 2007).  The 6 Burpee vs 5 8-Count will show up again….

    Warm Up

    Mosey to the normal spot by the rocks for our warm-up

    • SSH x25
    • Windmill x15
    • IW x25
    • 6 Burpees, 5 8-Count

    Then plank-time:

    • PP x25
    • FM x25
    • PP x25
    • ST x25

    Go find a rock, and mosey to the football field.  YHC noted that Triple Shift seems to look for a larger rock each Monday.

    BLIMPS

    Start at the goal line for BLIMPS.  Since its a Burpee exercise, lets stick with the “6 Burpees for Notre Dame Victory” theme:

    • 6 Burpees, 12 Lunges, 18 IW, 24 Merkins, 30 PlankJacks, 36 Squats (all con-rocca), advancing 20 yards for each exercise

    Al Gore for the 6 (unnamed PAX who chose to carry Gibraltar)

    Now we’re at the far end of the field.  Lets BLIMPS back, using the “5 8-Counts for LSU Victory” theme:

    • 5 8-Count, 10 Lunges, 15 IW, 20 Merkins, 25 PJs, 30 Squats (all con-rocca)

    Plan for the 6 (left to the reader to ponder which PAX was the 6)

    Playground

    Head to the playground where all PAX got to enjoy YHC’s new Christmas present, courtesy of the in-laws: Battle Rope.  5 Stations, 1 for each PAX

    • Burpees (15 of ’em, the count)
    • Toss-the-rocks over the fence
    • Crunches
    • Pull Ups
    • Battle Ropes!!!

    Time to get through one complete round.  Mosey back to the rock pile to dispose of our friends.  Then Mosey back to the flag for a quick round of Mary:

    • FK x25
    • Penguin x25
    • Cockroach x25

    Close with 6 Burpees and 5 8-Count (for a total of 54 burpees and 30 8-Count).  Heisenberg chose to close with 6 8-Counts presuming a victory later today.  YHC chose to close with a 7th burpee.

    Close with Countoff (5 brave PAX standing strong against the wind and cold), Name-o-rama (Amnesty and Heisenberg gunning for the big Respect in 2018), and close with prayers.

    Yesterday, the homily at mass was about family: celebrate the importance of it, and remind us all to respect, love and cherish our family.  YHC is thankful for the many families he is a part of: his own, his Ms, the F3 family, and others.

    Finished off with coffee at Morning Call with Mike – and some very enjoyable conversation and F2 with the PAX.  Thanks for a great start to 2018!

     

  • The Top 10 of 2017

    As 2017 comes to a close, 10 men came (eventually) to the Mothership to better themselves in preparation for the new year. It was a fitting gloomy morning, 40 degrees and overcast with a little fog, perfect for a December work-out. As Hawg likes to say, iron sharpens iron. So I decided to lean on the Iron Men of F3 NOLA to plan for the gloomy beat-down today. I reviewed back-blasts from the last year to come up with a Top 10 Work-Outs of 2017. Apologies if I left your favorite work-out off the list, or if I over-looked a particularly good beating you personally delivered. This Top 10 list is not all-inclusive, but a smathering of good work-outs from 2017. Credit was given to the men who delivered the original beat-down. The usual disclaimer was provided, and off we go.

    We moseyed to the Great Lawn for the Warm-Up COP. Five men started the work-out as the original crew, 3 more joined half-way through.

    Exercise #10: the SNOWFLAKE

    On one particular chilly Saturday morning in January, Shorty delivered the SNOWFLAKE, in honor of the cold weather, and maybe Rudy’s up-coming ski trip. No better way to warm-up than a Shorty warm-up, incorporating arms, legs, core, and yoga!

    S   SSH x 17 IC. Everything will be 17 reps today, in honor of closing out 2017
    N   Nipple scrapers x 17 IC: high plank, under the fence, back under to starting position
    O   Oblique planks, 30 seconds left arm, 30 seconds right arm
    W  Imperial Walkers x 17 IC
    F   Floyd Mayweathers x 17 IC
    L   Lunges x 17 IC, alternating legs
    A   Alternating Shoulder Taps x 17 IC
    K   Knee Tucks: Squat jumps (tucking the knees) x 17 OYO
    E   BurpEEs, 10 OYO. (Originally Shorty did Eleven’s here, but YHC modified for time)

    Kim Chi arrives! After getting stood up at Troubled Waters, Kim Chi high-tailed it to the Mothership. I think it took him 12 minutes, obeying all speed limits and traffic laws, of course.

    Exercise #9: Frac Dora

    Dora 1-2-3 is an F3 staple. Frac Sac modified Dora 1-2-3 to make the runner work harder. Split into pairs, and each pair completes 100 Merkins, 200 LBC’s, and 300 squats. Each man runs across the Great Lawn and completes:
    Round 1: 5 Burpees
    Round 2: 10 Imperial Walkers
    Round 3: 15 Monkey Humpers
    Round 4: 20 Squats
    Frac Sac made each man run AROUND the Great Lawn and stop in the corners for the above exercises. YHC modified to run ACROSS the Great Lawn for time.

    Exercise #8: Plank-o-rama

    We moseyed over to NOMA and stopped by the train tracks. Rudy is legendary for his ability to hold a plank for an eternity, and torture the rest of the PAX. On one particular Saturday in 2017, during his many trips to OKC, he dedicated a Plank-o-rama to the 5 civilized Indian Tribes of Oklahoma, each representing one point on the 5-point star on the Oklahoma State flag. We did the same today. (Sadly, Rudy had not yet joined us at this point, so he will only read about the glory.) Plank-o-rama with no recovery in-between:

    Tribe 1: Chickasaw Peter Parkers x 17 IC
    Tribe 2: Chocktaw Parker Peters x 17 IC
    Tribe 3: Creek Plank Jacks x 17 IC
    Tribe 4: Seminole Floyd Mayweathers x 17 IC
    Tribe 5: Cherokee Shoulder Taps x 17 IC

    Exercise #7: Tree BLIMPS

    After only 3 exercises, we were 30 minutes into our beat-down! Time to pick up the pace! We strolled over to the tree line on Lelong Drive in front of NOMA. “Not running the Trees…” murmured Kim Chi. Something like that! Tree BLIMPS have always been a favorite of mine. I have seen Yankee, Hawg, and Rudy lead these, so they get the credit.

    5 Burpees, run to the next tree
    10 Lunges each leg, run to the next tree
    15 Imperial Walkers, run to the next tree
    20 Merkins, run to the next tree
    25 Plank Jacks, run to the next tree
    30 Squats, run to the next tree

    Exercise #6: Animals on Parade

    Also an exercise used by many, Animals on Parade have been lead by Mr. Awesome and Shorty on Saturdays in 2017. However, Shorty wanted no credit for it today… Animal walk to the next tree, heading back towards NOMA.

    Bear Crawl to the next tree
    Crab Walk to the next tree
    Duck Walk to the next tree
    Frog Jump to the next tree
    Human Walk to the next tree

    Exercise #5: Merkin Ladder

    After a water break, we moseyed to the steps in front of NOMA. The Merkin Ladder is a real crowd-pleaser, and has been lead by Frac Sac and Da Parish. We performed a Merkin Ladder up the steps in front of NOMA.
    Step 1: 1 Merkin, Step 2: 2 Merkins, Step 3: 3 Merkins, all the way to the top.

    Exercise #4: Foundry Circuit

    Another staple of any City Park beat-down, the Foundry Circuit is good to incorporate upper body, lower body, core, and kill time. We decided to give credit for this one to Amnesty. After all, Da Parish informed me that Amnesty Q’ed the most work-outs in 2017! Way to Lead, Amnesty!!!

    We moseyed to the Baby Foundry, aka the Refinery, for this one. Four stations. Running short on time now, we only completed 1 round.
    10 Pull-Ups (for Amnesty) had the count
    Body Dips
    Hanging Knee Ups
    Step Ups

    Exercise #3: Calf Raises

    Always a favorite of Jingle Vader. JV can do calf raises until the cows come home. I guess that’s what gives him his shapely legs… We moseyed to the back gates of Tad Gormley field and each grabbed some iron for calf raises:
    Standard calf raises x 17 IC
    Toes-out calf raises x 17 IC
    Toes-in calf raises x 17 IC

    Exercise #2: The Hotel Trifecta, aka the Suck-It, aka the Suck-A$$

    We moseyed back to the Great Lawn for this exercise, introduced by Tool in early December. Tool found this exercise in Men’s Health, where it was suggested this exercise may be good to perform in one’s hotel room while traveling. After completing this exercise a few weeks ago, the ensuing mumble chatter suggested we should change the name to the Suck-It, or maybe the Suck-A$$. Back then, we completed three 3-minute rounds. Today YHC modified to 1 round for time.

    3 minutes: 6 SSH, 6 squat jumps, 6 Merkins
    Complete as many rounds as possible, OYO, in 3 minutes. Shout out number as each round is completed.
    Triple Shift won with 9.5 rounds. Not an easy task, I remind you. RESPECT!

    Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Rudy strolled up after his run to join the COT. Little did he know, he arrived just in time for the #1 work-out of 2017!

    And, drum roll please…
    the #1 exercise of 2017…

    Exercise #1: Tabata!

    Nothing sharpens Iron like the Tabata. 20 seconds as hard as you can push, 10 second rest. This one always kick my butt. I credit Amnesty and Hawg with the Tabata. Both have beat me down with this.
    Round 1: Jump Squats
    Round 2: High Knees
    Round 3: Jump Lunges
    Round 4: Merkins
    Round 5: Super Mans
    Round 6: Dips
    Round 7: Side Lunges Left
    Round 8: Side Lunges Right
    Round 9: V-Ups
    Round 10: Rest

    That completed the Top 10 of 2017. We moseyed back to the flag for the COT.

    Count 0ff, Name-o-rama, announcements, and special intentions. Remember the North Shore 10K in January, and don’t forget to wear you tank-top! Safe wishes to all travelers and party-goers on New Year’s Eve. Be strong in sticking to New Year’s resolutions. Shorty will be a Daddy in 2 weeks! Wish him luck, but he won’t need it. He’ll be a great dad.

    Thank you for letting me lead. This one was fun to plan, and a fun review of the last year. F3 has helped me to have a great 2017. I appreciate all of you for the friendship, comaraderie, and pushing me to be a better man. Happy New Year!

  • Unusual conditions with the usual F3 Brothers at the Scramble!!

    QIC arrived on this cold and wet Gloom at the Scramble to the usual Thursday crew awaiting at the AO. After some brief chatter we jumped into the warmup.

    20SSH IC, 10 Merkin plank twist, 20WM IC Staggered Merkins 5 each side, 20BK IC T-Merkin (possible new military push-up), 20GM IC 20 Regular Merkins IC.

    The thang

    3.2 on the standard route with some nice chatter about Santa 🎅 and the joy he brought to some little ones..

    Returned with 6 min and hit the pavement for some wet Mary. 20 LBCs IC, 20FK IC, 20 Left crunch IC, 20 Right crunch IC, 20FC IC, 20LBCs IC and closed with Putin’s or American Hammers 20 IC.

    Much appreciation to the Pelican and Waterpic for posting on such an unusual Gloom, but usual  F3 brothers always post in unusual conditions…👍👊

    count off, announcements, COT

    QIC closed in prayer!!

    Thanks again for the opportunity to lead.

  • Wait is that who I think it is….?

    So, on a cold, wet Wednesday morning YHC was ready for his second Q.  Wondering how many pax would be up for a beat-down in this Post-Christmas, chilly weather, you can imagine my astonishment when a surprise guest decided to join us fresh off his Respect Q.  None other than Triple Shift!  It’s been three long years (by his count) since he joined his brothers Uptown.  Welcome, my friend, welcome.  Five more pax joined for a respectable 7-man group including a FNG.  After pleasantries all around and standard disclaimer, we moseyed to grassy space for:

    Warm-Up

    • SSH X 20 IC
    • Arm circles Forward X 20 IC
    • Arm circles Reverse X 20 IC (Yes, I get it, 3,2,1 not 1,2,3)
    • IW X 20 IC

    Moseyed to Levee for Thang 1

    • 11’s alternating Burpees at the bottom with Squat Jumps at the top. With an extra run up to the top for Seaman who “mis-heard” that we were starting with 1 Burpee at the bottom. Nice try Seaman, nice try

    Moseyed to Pull-Up Bars for 1 round of Thang 2

    • Station 1 Catalina Wine-Mixers X 15 (Timer/Count)
    • Station 2 Pull-Ups AMRAP (Please hurry Catalina Wine-Mixer group)
    • Station 3 Alternating Lunges AMRAP

    Indian Run to Shelter for Thang 3

    • Grab some wall pax for Jack Webb X 10 with air presses in peoples chair OYO
    • RL Power Ups X 15 IC
    • LL Power Ups X 15 IC
    • Dips X 15 IC

    Stay for some Mary

    • 10 each side Nolan Ryans OYO
    • Flutter Kicks X 15 IC
    • 10 each side Side-Plank Pendulums OYO
    • Hello Dolly X 15 IC
    • 10 4-Point Plan OYO

    Mosey to where Flag used to be for Count-off, Name-o-rama (FNG was duly anointed as Monument as he went to school at Washington and Lee or as one pax pointed out Washington and _____ as Lee has been duly removed), announcements, intentions and prayer.  Feeling blessed to be part of this group.  Thanks to all who came out in challenging conditions.

  • It’s Cold, Wet, and I Didn’t Sign Up for This!

    The Foundry is one of F3 NOLA’s most underrated AO’s.   The perfect mix of strength & cardio makes for an ideal hump day beat down.  Not to mention that there is never an empty QIC on the schedule because whether you like it or not, someone will sign you up.  Today was such a day.

    “Let’s mosey to the track”  *mumblechatter “WHERE’S THE DISCLAIMER!?!”

    Disclaimer

    W/U – IC

    • SSH x 30
    • IW x 30
    • AC x 15 F&B
    • MC x 30

    The Thang

    • B.L.I.M.P.S
      • 10 Burpees in the javelin area
      • 20 Lunges (each leg) in the entrance corner
      • 30 Imperial Squat Walkers in the Falcon Field Corner
      • 40 Merkins in the exit corner
      • 50 Squats in the City Park office corner
    • Planking Counterama to 100
    • Rinse & Repeat
    • Mosey to the Foundry

    YHC asked the PAX “who can do 10 pull-ups?”  Amnesty boastfully answered that he could, thus he became the count.

    • Do the max pull-ups you can while the count does 10.
    • Repeat while the count does 8.

    Due to the wet, cold ground YHC utilized the actual Gym area near the Foundry for some Mary.

    • WWII Sit Ups IC x 10
    • American Hammer IC x 12
    • Flutter Kicks IC x 15
    • Hello Dolly IC x 20

    Back to the VF for Counterama, Namerama, & COT

    Announcements

    TYFTOTL

  • Post Christmas Stomp

    Still a bit cold and dark, but 4 was enough to kick off a holiday work out and make out way towards a new year.

    Off a minute or so late,  and so we go on the main run towards the bayou as a pax.  After getting back tiny he track,  we took in about 3.2 miles per rudy’s watch.

    Then back to track to squeeze in a modified Red Barchetta before time on the unmarked football field.

    25 yards out and 10 burpees and back

    50 yards out and 20 merkins (not Berkins in the cold)

    75 yards out and 30 ssh and back

    100 yards and 40 squats and back

     

    A bit more time for ab work…

    20 LBCs

    hold plank

    back to cot for names, announcements, intentions and prayer.

     

    thanks for the opportunity to lead.  ♦

     

  • Burpee Palooza

    It was Friday at Pontiff Park and YHC was hoping that I wouldn’t be a PAX of one, like Woz was the previous Friday for a rainy, chilly morning at The Uptowner.  Upon walking up, it was good to see several regulars in position and other trickling in, including an exchange student, Crayfish, from F3 Memphis.  Here’s what we did:

    Quick Warmup:

    SSH x20

    Arm Circle x20

    Windmills x10

    Low Country Crab x10

    Then to our goal for the day, 200 Burpees.  Why 200 you ask?  Well, our buddy Babyface had been whittling away at a 1000 Burpee Challenge all week (200 per day) to raise money for a non-profit that he works with, Next Generation.  So as to pay homage to his efforts, YHC thought it would be fitting to rally the PAX to see exactly how enjoyable 200 burpees would be.  After refreshing everyone on proper Burpee form (w/ push up and jump), we started off with 2 minute rounds, descending count:

    20 Burpees + rest in a 2 minute period.  Then, 19 Burpess…..18 Burpees…all the way down to 6 Burpees, making for a total of 200.  After getting to around 14, we shortened the time on each round.  All together, this took us about 25 minutes.  YHC did his best to keep the crew motivated and engaged.  T-claps to those providing the jokes and motivational quotes.  It was not the most pleasant way to spend a Friday morning but was rewarding once complete.  There was some mumble chatter about getting the count up to 250 but cooler heads prevailed and we kept it consistent with Babyface’s 200 per day totals.  Most of the PAX were feeling a Burpee buzz at this point, with a few nearing the stage of being Burpee drunk.

    Sober up with a countdown and still plenty time left to work in some Mary, DJ style:

    The Kimchi Special x15

    American Hammer (HVAC) x20

    Big Boy Wife Pleasers (Triple Shift) x20

    Hello Dolly (Crayfish) x25

    Dying Cockroach (JV) x20?

    Tin Snips (Fracsac) x20

    YHC then called for a Bear Crawl back to the flag (40yds?) to seal the deal.

    Closed out with a COT.  T-claps to Crayfish for finding us in the gloom.  T-claps to Rudy on his marathon training and heckling us as he ran countless loops around the track.  Double T-claps to Babyface for his burpees for a cause throughout the week.

    Moleskin:  I would have never done 200 Burpees on my own.  Thanks to F3 for the continued push.  I am confident that we can do 300 in a workout.  Maybe more???

    Tool

     

     

  • Thankful for the Respect!

    I signed up to Q the Mothership workout today a few months ago as a celebration of my upcoming 50th birthday.  Although I don’t turn 50 until tomorrow (December 24th), I was inspired to share the love with the PAX of New Orleans today.  I had a coupon themed workout in store and major t-claps to Tool for his provision of cinder blocks (Full – 28 lbs and Half – 19 lbs) and gloves.

    As the PAX started to show up for the start of the Mothership workout, the group of men swelled way beyond what I had expected.  Did they all come out to celebrate with me or did they imbibe and consume too much during the Christmas season and felt the need for a beatdown?  I’ll never know.  It’s 5:30 am and I give my disclaimer and off we go.

     

    WARMUP

    We mosey toward the Great Lawn and go right past it toward Delgado.  Ahhh…the mumble chatter starts to fly.  As we head away from the Great Lawn, we take a right through a parking lot and proceed toward Story Land.  More mumble chatter ensues.  We take a right and then head toward the Great Lawn and circle up.

    Side Straddle Hop x 50 IC

    Imperial Squat Walkers x 25 IC

    Mountain Climbers x 25 IC

     

    THE THANG

    Lieutenant Dan’s, Deadlifts, Side Lunges, Curls and Block Webbs with coupons…OH MY!

    As we finish our warmup, we mosey down the road and pass Morning Call and go over to the field to the right of NOMA.  Stopping at Tool’s sleigh loaded with concrete gifts, the PAX pick out their “present” and head out to the field.  I instruct the PAX to line up on the first tree to do a modified Lt. Dan with our “presents”.  At the first tree, we will perform one (1) burpee with an overhead press with our coupon.  After we finish the first burpee, we will lunge walk with our coupon to the second tree and perform two (2) burpees overhead presses with our coupon.  As we proceed to the third tree, we will bear crawl while dragging our coupon until we get to the third tree and then perform 3 burpee overhead presses with our coupon.  We continue this alternating pattern until we reach 10 burpees.   Not much mumble chatter on this one but I appreciate the Christmas carol serenade by Bogey.  After the Lt. Dans, we headed back to the first tree and circled up and proceed to do the 20 IC x Straight Leg Deadlifts and 10 IC x Side Lunges with Curls.  My hamstrings and glutes were cramping up on the side lunges with curls so I had to cut it short.  Next up was the Block Webb all the way up to 10 Irkins and 20 overhead presses with our coupons.

    After the THANG, we take a break and get some water and finish up our COP with 20 Supermans x IC (not a good idea of lying on our coupon), 25 LBC x IC while holding our coupons over our chests, 20 World War 2 Situps with Glute Bridge x IC and finally we finish it off with 50 Copperhead Squats x IC.   Time is running short so we put out presents back in Tool’s sleigh and mosey back to the flag.

     

    CIRCLE OF TRUST

    Countoff, Namerama, Thoughts, and Prayers.

    I can’t say enough how thankful I am for the true honor and privilege of being your Q today.  In a world of cynicism, divisiveness, and disappointment, F3 has been a constant refuge of camaraderie, accountability, encouragement, inspiration and friendship.   During this Christmas season, please set aside some time to reflect and ponder the purpose and identity of Christ (The Appointed One).  May God Bless you and your family.  Merry Christmas!

     

     

  • Two’s Company Three is a Crowd

    Well thanks to Steve I had some really good F2 and got in my 10K this morning. After pondering the thought of only running a 5K using the Foggy morning as my excuse. Knowing the causeway would be convoyed or one lane. But the chatter was nice and it may the run short. Thanks again Steve for being a part of F3 Seal Team! Enjoyed our conversation!

  • Christmas Party – 12 Days of Christmas @ Urban South Brewery

    I am sure that I am missing someone on our PAX list but thanks to everyone who posted for our end of the year Christmas Party.  The gifts are certainly appreciated by Operation Sweet Tooth.  I am on my way to drop off the physical gifts that the PAX brought to Urban South after I post this backblast.  If you noticed that I missed someone put it in the comments and I will add them in the PAX.

    A nice sized crowd of 31 participated in the 12 days of Christmas beatdown.

    We mosey’d over to the park on Orange Street and St Nick was in a giving mood – because he left the lights on for us.

    After we circled up – we started right into the 12 days of Christmas.

    1 burpee

    then…2 squat jumps, 1 burpee

    then 3 lunge jumps, 2 squats jumps, and 1 burpee

    then 4 monkey humpers, 3 lunge jumpers, 2 squat jumpers and 1 burpee

    5 golden burpees, 4 – you get the picture

    6 low country crabs, 5 burpees, …

    7 Russian Twists, 6 ….

    8 Peter Parkers

    9 Cross Fit Merks

    10 Dyin’ Roaches

    11 Plank Jacks

    and on 12 I let cashbar decide if we would do 12 burpees first or 12 SSH so we did 12 SSH in cadence….then 11 PJs, etc.

    Then we did the ball of people…in the circle we named new participants, and closed with a prayer.

    It was a fun mini-beatdown — then we mosey’d back to the brewery for libations and vietnamese food!

    Tclaps to Brown Bag for facilitating our evening.

    Tclaps to Bogey and Wheezie for posting on their 25 wedding anniversary.  Tclaps to 86 for hooking them up earlier!

    Tclaps to Tool for bringing a FNG

    Double Tclaps to Seaman for bringing 2 FNGs

    Merry Christmas!