F3 New Orleans

Category: Northshore

  • No Burpees Were Performed At This Beatdown

    YHC issued a GroupMe message last night in an attempt to lure a few more bodies over to The A1C: no gloves required. That’s right, no coupons. No bear crawls. Hell, I’d even drop burpees from the menu! (This, of course, was more of a technicality, as you’ll see below.) Unfortunately, the bait didn’t quite work. Maybe everyone’s resting in preparation for the Butt Splice beatdown tomorrow (which is probably wise).

    One of the things I’ve enjoyed about The A1C is the traveling jukebox that accompanies the pax to each station. When YHC showed up early, Jose had the tunes blaring, and was running all-out sprints. We’re talking Cowbell/In Time speeds here. The man was moving. I had planned to join him on a light jog, but when he barreled past I was having second thoughts. Luckily, 10k slowed it down for me and soon after, Akbar and BBQ pulled in so we began.

    Warmorama: Self love, arm circles, air presses, SSH’s, slow squats, IW’s, windmills, seal jacks, all IC at or around 15x.

    Thang: First up, a trip to the back of the courtyard for a partner routine. P1 grabs a bench and does 2x irkins, walks hands down to ground, 2x merkins, walks back up and repeats until P2 relieves him. P2, meanwhile, bunny hops down the corridor and up the stairs, does 15x smurf jacks and runs back. Flapjack.

    Continued this idea with P1 switching to horizontal squats (x5, feet on bench) followed by shoulder taps (x5, feet still on bench), repeated until P2 returns from lunging corridor and doing 15x star jumps at top of stairs. Final one was irkins then flip over for freak nasties repeated, with P2 bunny hopping and doing 15x Sister Mary’s up top.

    Once completed, we headed back to the parking garage for a series of deconstructed burpees: 12x squats, 12x merkins, 12x groiners, 12x jump squats. Run the ramp up to the top, then perform the same series, decreasing by x2. Back down and up the ramp until we reached 2x everything. Unfortunately we lost Jose (and thus our traveling jukebox) around this time, but the pax powered through the final minutes.

    Circle up for a COP: plank and chat about Akbar’s relentless set of interviews, mountain climbers IC x20, rotate circle clockwise, plank a bit more, right arm high, left arm high, plank jacks IC x20, rotate circle counter-clockwise, plank a bit more, then knock out 10x merkins on your own.

    It was safe to do a quick set of sprints now that Jose had left (mixed in with some Peter Parkers and shoulder taps), before finally settling down for some scorpion kicks followed by Mary: heel pulses, leg raises, LBC’s, and hello Dolly’s, x12 IC.

    COT with BBQ praying us out. Thank you men for the opportunity to lead, for posting early on a Friday morning and pushing me to get better, and thanks to Jose for taking the initiative to get this Friday beatdown going. What better way to kick off a Friday than with you guys?

  • 28’s

    What beautiful weather we had this gloom! Mid 50’s with a nice cool breeze. Seems Bean was the only one prepared, adding long sleeves and high socks to his standard outfit.

    On the agenda was 28’s, a variation of the 21’s biceps exercise made popular by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the early 80’s. 

    Warm up: SSH, Torso Twist, Arm Circles (front, back), Self Love, Imperial Walkers x 10

    Thang

    Mosey to pick up cinder blocks and 2 bricks. Full body exercises divided into 4 parts with 7 reps each. Bottom half to middle, middle to top half, full rep, back to middle of exercise and hold for 7 seconds. 28 reps per exercise

    YHC was a little nervous on the cadence count, but hammered through with only a few mess ups. Enough to decide going forward with round 2 would be OYO.

    5 minutes through the first round, we had a walk up EH who seemingly came out of nowhere, but we could not take credit. As we later found out that Goose and Bubba were responsible for the EH.

    Round 1

    Berkin, wide bent row, closed grip wide bench press, goblet squat, wide grip curls, shoulder press

    Round 2

    Dirkin, narrow grip bent row, narrow closed grip bench, prisoner squat, narrow grip bicep curls, stone mountain

    Round 3

    Wide berkin, supine grip row, tricep extensions, calf raise with block above head, curls, shoulder raises

    Round 4: Last round, we mixed it up a bit by combining two exercises into 1 x 10 each

    Birkin | block row, closed grip bench press | goblet squat; coupon curl | shoulder press

    One last chance to reminisce for IPC – Murder Bunnies across the parking lot to put up coupons, head back to circle. 

    Mary
    Leg raises x 10, LBC’s * 30ish

    Count, nameorama

    COT – prayers for YHC’s interview Thursday, glad to have Turbo and Moby back in action

    Welcome back Turbo!

    Welcome to F3 Big Cat! (Scott Samford)

    Thanks for bearing with me this morning, an honor as always to lead.

    Till next gloom – 

    Akbar

  • Hammer Time

    I arrived at 4:30 to the A1C ready to work. Knocked out the ISI, then started running laps. I was pleasantly surprised when Hammer showed up at 5 to run with me. He ran at my much slower pace, and the conversations were great. BBQ was the next to arrive, then Cowbell. A much needed smile came to my face. I am loving the A1C, and I am glad my brother are showing up for the beatdowns. Well, a little confusion in our conversation, I thought Hammer volunteered to take the Q, so on the spot, he began this semi-intense workout with the IPC due in the morning.

    Warm-up: SSH, imperial walkers, toe touches, cherry pickers. We had a bit of everything this morning: a smorgasbord if you will.

    We ran up and down the garage stopping a specific points doing freak nastys, merkins, jump squats, sister mary’s, lbcs, and other various exercises including bear crawls somewhere in there. And Cowbell’s favorite: crunchy frogs. Then a long sprint at the end with Cowbell pushing me to go faster with his squeeky voice lol.

    Then suicides, the length of the parking garage, going every 2 lines. Unfortunately, my alarm went off at 5:46, so I had to leave. It was a great beatdown, with great friends.

    Prayers to all us teachers. Y’all we don’t make the rules or the schedules. It’s crazy for us. We plan for one thing, and then bam: They change it up on us, yet again. We want the best for our students. We will get them where they need to be.

  • The WWII Fitness Test

    This September is the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII. We set out to accomplish the original GI test in honor of our forefathers who fought for our freedom. This is the original test from Fort Bragg in 1946. What stood out most to me is the insane attention to detail and form – the focus on quality instead of quantity.

    Take 5 minutes to read the entire article which goes into more detail on form and scoring, also gives a history of the test and how it has changed in since the new one was introduced in the 80’s. https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/are-you-as-fit-as-a-world-war-ii-gi/

    Why another test? Tests motivate us to improve our physical condition. We may not realize when we are in poor condition. When tests reveal our deficiencies, we are much more receptive to intensive physical training in order to remedy our shortcomings. And, because its fun.

    Warm Up: SSH, Toe Touches, Torso Twist x 10-12

    Thang Pullups, Squat Jumps, Merkins, Situps, Shuttle Run

    TEST 1: PULL UPS. Start in dead hang position, chin above bar, all the way down until elbows are straight. Kicking, raising the legs, or jerking motions are not permissible and will only count for 1/2 rep. AMRAP

    SCORING: 13-20 Excellent; 10-12 Good; 7-9 Fair; 1-6 Poor

    How to perform pull ups illustration military manual.

    TEST 2: SQUAT JUMPS. Coming soon to a beatdown near you, the best I can describe this is a prisoner squat jump Sister Mary Catherine. It was brutal. Spring upward until both knees are straight and both feet clear the ground. While off the ground, reverse the position of the feet bringing the right foot in front. Spring up again and continue AMRAP. The performer is credited with 1 squat jump each time he springs up from the squat to the erect position and returns. The movement is not scored if he fails to descend to a complete squat. If the performer falls but immediately recovers and continues, he shall not be penalized.

    SCORING: 39-54 Excellent; 31-38 Good; 26-30 Fair; 13-25 Poor

    How to do squat jumps illustration military manual.

    TEST 3: MERKINS. Arms straight starting position, hands facing forward directly under shoulders, chest touches the ground and back up to straight arm position = 1 rep. Stomach, thighs, or legs must not touch the floor and whole body must remain straight. Performer is credited for 1 push-up each time arms are completely straightened. When performer can no longer hold correct form, the test is terminated.

    SCORING: 51-75 Excellent; 39-50 Good; 31-38 Fair; 16-30 Poor

    How to do a proper push up illustration military manual.

    TEST 4: SIT-UP. Can anyone say coccyx? I’m getting really tired of the brush strokes. Performer lies on back with knees straight, fingers laced behind head, elbows on the ground. With feet held, raise upper body and rotate right elbow to left knee – keeping knee’s as straight as possible. 2 minutes AMRAP

    SCORING: 62-79 Excellent; 52-61 Good; 42-51 Fair; 22-41 Poor

    How to do sit-ups illustration military manual.

    TEST 5: 300 YD SHUTTLE RUN: On the basketball court, we ran 12 lengths of 25 yards each for a total of 300. The numbers were a little off since a basketball court is 28 yards in length, and the shuttle run should have been 250 yards to allow for extra turn time vs the 5 * 60 yard straight run.

    SCORING (seconds): 44-47 Excellent; 47-50 Good; 50.5-52.5 Fair; 53-56.5 Poor

    The results!

    NamePull UpsSquat JumpsPushupsSitups300 Yd. Run
    Akbar519264054.5
    Grover3.51427454.5
    Hammer641356253.5
    Steve1550394553.5
    Shooter536193450
    Pixie Stick4.530666053
    Waterpik9.535426057.5
    Cowbell1560355051

    Mary 100 SSH. Crunchy Frogs, Gas Pumps, Rosalita, Staggered Merkins, American Hammers, Mountain Climbers, Dying Cockroach x20

    COT Shooter prayed us out, thoughts and prayers for those to the east and west of us dealing with the after affects of the hurricanes and for my job interview (which went great!)

    If you see or know a WW2 Vet, tell them thank you. And ask them to tell you a story or two.

    Thanks for letting me lead,

    SYITG – Akbar

  • Present, but not all there

    With a crazy week of hybrid teaching with a two day break from hurricane Sally, YHC mind was elsewhere this morning. But you can’t start an AO and not show up, right? I dang near did just that. I arrived at 4:20 to do my extra workout as usual. I knocked out my ISI, then started a merican/squat laps around the parking garage. No running, just a nice walk. Maybe I was just saving up my energy for IPC tomorrow.

    The thing: Warm-up: SSH, Toe Touches, Arm Circles

    Moseyed to Stonehedge . Grabbed two coupons for shoulder shrugs, mericans, incline rows, curls for the girls, and squats. Moseyed to the courthouse were I graciously handed the q over to hammer. 5 burpees, followed by a bear crawl, then sprint up to the stairs, up the stairs, and sprint back, then 4, 3, 2, and 1. Moseyed back to the top of the garage for some core. Then 7’s. 6 dirkens, run across to do Nolan Ryans (1 each arm), 5 then 2 etc… As the usual, I had to leave early to take temperatures of students. Thanks to hammer and zoolander for showing up, and taking over some of my responsibilities. Next time my head will be clear, and my body will be ready for more intensity. SYITG…Jose 10K

  • Cool Runnings

    With a majority of the PAX still reeling from Week 3 of the IPC, YHC knew the turnout would be relatively light for today’s Scramble. With a light breeze making for some “relatively cool temperatures”, the minor break from the heat and humidity gave the PAX a September reprieve.

    The Rules of the Gloom were each PAX had to do 100 merkins and 100 squats along the traditional Scramble route. The only other wrinkle was that each man was to pick up the pace along the long straight road to Sunset Point, both coming and going.

    Five minutes of Mary and thanks to Bushwacker for praying us out.

  • IPC Week 3/Gipper

    11 Pax arrived on a cloudy and not so windy morning for week 3 of the IronPax Challenge. We met at the courthouse to get started in the interest of time.

    YHC chose to forgo the pain until Saturday, and proctered the event.

    Warm up: Instructions and focus on form

    Thang

    300 Merkins, 250 squats, 3 mile run for time

    T claps and Mucho Respect for strong finishes from BBQ(62), Einstein(64), Fletch (57), and Legal(54)

    Cowbell34.25
    Bean36
    Steve36.28
    Einstein37.49
    Legal39.34
    BBQ40.12
    Smokey40.22
    Grover41.44
    Russo43.32
    Fletch46.36

    Who’s ready to take on Cowbell, Bean, and Steve Saturday?

    Prayers of safety for those in Sally’s path

    SYTIG – Akbar

  • Bear Crawl Inch Worm & the Cicada Scare

    With TS/Hurricane Sally on its way, there was no time to waste!

    WARMORAMA

    x10 IC:

    Apple Grabbers, T Stretches, Toe Touches, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, High Knees

    THANG

    Starting at Lamarque/Livingston headed west down Livingston, the Pax lined up in plank position head to foot. Man at the 6 would bear crawl to the front of the line and so on until we reached the light post around mid-block. At home with bear crawls, QIC didn’t really consider how taxing this mission would be on the shoulders on account of all dat plankin’! Almost at the finish, as Pixie was bear crawling along, his hand came too close to an unseen cicada and it cried out in alarm with the loud noise that cicadas make, scaring the bajeezus out of Pixie ( and bringing about a round of belly chuckles from the crowd).

    At the light, we proceeded to indian run the rest of the way around the block, back to the bb court. There we retrieved Steve’s newly deposited cinderblocks (let’s see how long this batch lasts), and lined up at one ended of the court.

    The PAX did suicides where upon each return to the base line we did 1 block burpee/squat thruster. Next round was goblet squat/kettle bell swing. We continued between the 2 increasing by 1 rep each round up to three reps.

    MARY

    x20 IC:

    Little Manny Wife Pleasers, Flutter Kicks, Leg Raises, Heel Pulses, Putins

    COT

    After count and name off, Pixie Stix prayed us out.

    Thanks for coming out and following this fool. Stay safe out there guys!

  • Main Event Was Not a Work Out

    Yes, you guessed it! The main event surrounded Jose’s pride and joy–his sweat jug! You remember… the one that some of his teacher friends reportedly spotted in the back seat of his car during a recent, quick trip for lunch. Mickey D’s, anyone? Just imagine the ‘splainin that must have taken place on that ride. Oh, to have been a fly on the windshield that day. To the amazement of the Northshore PAX, Jose 10k, in typical F3 fashion, rose to the, ahem, “challenge” and filled his sweat jug in a measley 16 DAYS! I’m sure in Zoo’s wildest dreams he did not figure he’d be getting doused on the Lakefront on September 12th. If I were a betting man, Halloween would be where I placed my moolah. And I’d imagine that’s what Zoo was counting on, too. But, not Jose. He “squeezed” in about 4 T-shirts a day! Let’s count em. 1) The beatdown in the gloom. 57 straight, but who’s counting? 2) ISI 3) mowing the lawn (everyday???) 4) moving Goose out of his house (lagniappe). 5) Who knows what else? It’s Jose. The man never stops!

    So there we were. Zoolander. Jose 10k. The entire F3 Northshore PAX. And the Smelly Bucket of Sweat with that BROWN STUFF at the bottom. Does anyone know what that stuff was? I was afraid to ask. Anyway, back to the moment. It was time for Jose to do the honors. And that he did, launching the Lowe’s bucket full of brown, rancid, baked / aged sweat at Zoolander, blasting him squarely in the chest. Zoo, then did the best thing he could to quickly cleanse the body, jumped in the Lake. But, hey, I give Zoolander credit; he took it like a man. The anticipation was palpable, Jose was giddy, and Zoo, a man of his word, was brave. And the PAX? We were nauseated, looking at the rife liquid in the bucket. The Hammer said he turned around so he didn’t barf. And poor Zoo, I don’t think he would have ever heard the end of it if he tried to get out of it. So T-Claps to him, for coming up with the challenge and taking it like and man, and to Jose, for filling the bucket so quickly, so we all could get a good laugh.

    Did I mention there were 2 beatdowns today?

    Well, there was, and the toughest one is part of a nationwide F3 challenge sponsored by F3 Greenwood, South Carolina. It’s called the Iron Pax Challenge, and it’s not for the faint of heart. After a brief warmup of Seal Jacks, Arm Circles, Cherry Pickers, Mountain Climbers, and Imperial Walkers, Steve led the Iron Paxers to the west on the Lakefront for a grueling 43 minute circuit beatdown, where the PAX moves from one station to the next, carrying a cinder block coupon, doing exercises along the way try in AMRAP fashion.

    Of course, it should come as no surprise that the Iron PAXers acquitted themselves admirably with the following rep counts:

    TankedUp – 651

    The Hammer – 545

    Butt Splice – 528

    Zoolander – 490

    Jose 10k – 486

    Toto – 450

    T-Claps to all PAX willing to endure Iron PAX. It definitely is a DOWNPAINMENT!

    Meanwhile, YHC led the rest of the PAX Eastward for a series of Tabata sets. Clock set for 30 second sets, with 30 secs of rest between. Exercises were merkins, plank Jacks, jump squats, smurf jacks, flutter kicks, Apollo Ono’s, monkey humpers, and leg raises.

    Mosey to playground equipment at East end of Lakefront for 4 rounds of the following exercise:

    19 Merkins (commemoration of 19 yr anny of 9-11-01)

    Bear Crawl 20 yards

    Pop up and Run around perimeter of entire fence at east end of lakefront, back to starting line.

    Rinse and Repeat 4 times.

    Mosey back to Flag.

    Thanks for the entertainment today, Zoolander and Jose 10k! We enjoyed it!

    Prayers for our nation and for those families affected by the 9-11 Terrorist Attacks. May we always REMEMBER. STAY VIGILANT. STAY STRONG

    Thanks for following my lead today, guys.

    COT and thanks to Russo for praying us out!

  • Back to Action at the A1C

    After 57 beatdowns, yhc had to take a break. Not because I wanted to, but work schedule forced me. That being said, it was nice to have a couple days off. With the hectic school schedule, I was ready for a beatdown. I arrived at the A1C at 4:40 ready to sweat (no, I didn’t need to add any to the jug). I got my ISI out the way, and decided to put in about 1.5 miles extra. Due to the Covid-19, I have to leave the last 5-10 minutes of the beatdown, so I made sure to add some extra time in the morning. That’s when I realized I hadn’t planned the beatdown. Oops, time to make it up on the fly. I had to pull a bushwacker. Enough of my journaling…

    Warm-up

    SSH, toe touches, torso twists, cherry pickers

    The thang: 4 corners: 7 burpees at each, 14 Mericans, 21 squats, 28 lbcs

    Then a Lt. Steve: 2 lunges followed by 1 squat, then 4 lunges followed by 2 squats etc… Hammer pointed out that it was a 2 to 1 ratio. The math teacher in me was so proud. Anyways, we did it the length of the parking garage. Hammer with his enormous stride finished well ahead of the pack.

    With 6 minutes left before I had to leave, we had enough time for burpee ball. I had to leave with Hammer finishing up.

    It was an honor to lead y’all. It was great to see Moby come out. I couldn’t have gone 57 straight if it wasn’t for y’all. Honestly, I did it because I love my F3 brothers. I’ve grown so much since joining the F3 northshore family, and I know you will continue to push me to be even better. God Bless and SYITG