F3 New Orleans

Category: Northshore

  • 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

  • Pacing partners!

    With this week ending the impressive 57 consecutive days of Jose10k posting, YHC had concerns he would be running alone on this Gloom. Especially after the arrival of all the sub 7s started showing up. Great news is Chewy decided to show up but quickly stated as we began to run he would run out a mile and back. Luckily the YHC started chattering and before you know it Chewy paced with me and we finished with 3.96 miles right on time. Out front were Bushwacker and Waterpik leading the charge and returning to the AO with an unfortunate situation of a morning commuter ending up in a ditch as she left her neighborhood, so the lead horses confirmed no injuries and returned to the flag as Zoolander and Hammer awaited and Chewy and YHC came in to close..

    Brief warmup of 10 and 15 IC Toe touches, Torso twists, Butt kicks, High knees and Lunge Twist 25 yards..

    Appreciate you men following my lead and Till the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!

  • Grumble Grumble No Mas!

    Feels like 76 degrees? Yes please! Like a water-less version of adult Marco Polo, YHC called out upon arrival, “Grumble…. ?Grumble…?” Alas, with the 1st day of St. Tammany school upon us, Jose’s streak had come to an end, and he was a fish out of water. But still the Cowley Cones were back for another appearance, Debo was creepin’ down the dimly lit trace on his bike, and making certain the sweaty coast was clear, Zoolander popped up with hopeful talk of a potential stay of execution via a “double down” popostion. Hmmmm???

    WARMORAMA

    x10 IC:

    Torso Twist, Windmills, Fire Hydrants, Scorpion Kicks

    THANG

    They say three’s company, and so it made for good rounds of convo when 2 men did LBC’s, Freddy Mercury’s, or any other core exercise that came to mind while the third man bear crawled along the columns doing 5 (then 4,3,2,1) merkins at each of 5 cones placed along the way and ran back.

    Rotate each man for each round until complete.

    Then, with another set of 6 or so cones set up along the trace, thePAX lined up at the Lafitte end and ran some extended suicdes to let the lungs in on the action.

    COT

    Ending at 6:00, there was enough time for a short and sharp count and name off before YHC took us out with some short n sweet sentiments.

    Thanks for coming out, guys. See y’all in the gloom!

    T claps to Jose 10K aka The Shadow, aka Grumble Grumble, aka A1C, aka, Soundtrack, aka Early Bird, aka Sweat Jug, aka The Streak for 57 (I hope I’ve got that number right) consecutive beatdowns, showing his love for F3 and men we call brothers, his tenacity, dedication and incredible good fortune at having not injured himself! Well done sir.

    And lest we forget that this Saturday is sure to provide the dramatic culmination of the funky accrual of Anderson DNA in the acidic, ordoriferous swill that may (or may NOT be) poured all over Zoo’s head.

    You may have to turn away, but it’s not to be missed!

  • What Does the Fox Say…BURPEE SUICIDES!!!

    In preparation, YHC arrived early (though never as early as “Early Bird” 10K) and began walking down Livingston towards Marigny laying out strategically placed Cowley Cones along the way. Trotting along obliviously without a care in the world came a shaddowy pointy-eard poofy-tailed pedestrian. So what does the fox say? I don’t know, but when YHC said hello it took off faster than greased lightening! I guess the world may never know.

    WARMOAMA

    x10 IC:

    Apple Grabbers, Cherry Pickers, Imperial Walkers, Torso Twists, Fire Hydrants, Mountain Climbers, Scorpion Kicks

    THANG

    6 sets of cones were placed every 2/100 of a mile between Lamarque and Marigny. Each PAX was to run suicides doing 5 burpees at each set of cones. After completing all 6 sets, 4 burpees at each sets of cones and so on until 1 burpee and completion.

    This was one of those where you say “Go” and it’s non stop for the rest of the beatdown. Heart rates remained elevated and sweat was dripping (much to Jose’s delight and we imagine Zoolander’s chagrin). Speaking of which, from the looks of things one more sweaty event ought to seal the deal on that funky foul sweat jug. If you come on out saturday, be sure that it’s on an empty stomach because…yeeeah-no.

    COT

    YHC finished up with traditional words of appreciation and awareness on the Labor Day.

    Thank you gentlemen, and remember to tip your waiter by signing up to Q!

  • The Cave of Time

    Back in the day, YHC was really into the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books.  One of the few I remember was called The Cave of Time, where you enter this cave and, depending on the path you choose, you might find yourself stuck in an Ice Age, or in the Jurassic Era, or in a never-ending time loop.  The great thing about these books is that there were many, many bad endings.  If the series was written today, every ending would probably be a happy one.  But no, in the 80’s, death awaited at every turn!  

    So much like The Cave of Time, the 28 pax who posted were faced with a similar “choose your own adventure”™: take the path to the left, and follow Bushwacker into the world of pain known as The Iron Pax Challenge; or take the path to the right, and follow YHC into a potentially less painful but hopefully equally rewarding beatdown.  As in the books, misery awaited the pax in both paths!  (Obviously, YHC is a sucker for bad endings.)

    A couple of new faces, so a hastily given disclaimer was issued, before launching into:

    Warmorama: Good mornings, arm circles, torso twists, IW’s, Seal Jacks, mountain climbers, plank jacks, and SSHs.

    The Iron Paxers took off with Bush to begin their timed misery, while the rest of us moseyed to the splash pad, stopping at each intersection for a quick round of exercises:

    @ Marigny:

    • 20 Wide armed merkins
    • 20 Jump squats IC
    • 20 LBCs IC

    @ Lamarque:

    • 20 Diamond merkins
    • 20 Sister Mary’s IC
    • 20 Leg raises IC

    @ Foy:

    • 20 T-merkins
    • 20 Monkey humpers IC
    • 20 V-ups OYO

    Finally at the playground, time for a quick COP:

    • Circle Burp!  (high knees while each of the pax drop for 3 burpees)
    • Then, Al Gore while each of the pax knock out 3 jump squats

    Over to the curb for a set of 11’s:

    • 1 Mike Tyson, bear crawl to opposite curb, 10 star jumps, continue until numbers are reversed.

    Here’s where things got brutal.  YHC had heard of Mike Tysons (which involve planking with your feet on the curb, doing a horizontal squat, then back out to plank for a merkin – that’s one), but never actually tried them.  Combining those with bear crawls for a set of 11’s was one of those “it looked good on paper!” moments.  Nevertheless, the pax pushed on, unaware that YHC would call it about 3/4ths of the way in.  T-claps to the younger men in our group who put in a heroic effort here. 

    And finally, one more routine just for Jose 10k (only two more days to fill that jug!): Sprints! P1 sprints, while P2 does: Peter Parkers, then rinse and repeat with plank jacks.

    With time running short, time for a Bataan Death March back to the flag (t-claps to Shooter for picking up the six).

    The Iron Pax men were still wandering around looking like someone hit them with a hammer, but YHC was able to convince a few to drop to their six for an abbreviated Mary of Dollies and Rosalitas. T-claps to all the men who attempted the challenge this week, regardless of times. It was a tough one.

    Countdown, nameorama, and naming of FNGs.  YHC is very bad at naming FNG’s, so apologies to the new guys.  Welcome Cucumber, Squid, and… TruCoat!  (That’s right, there was a post-coffeteria renaming of our final FNG.)  It was determined by the two co-Q’s that Woodchuck was just too lame.  So in a nod to the movie Fargo, he was renamed for the following scene:

    Mathlete prayed us out, with intentions for Legal’s friend, and everyone made their way over for some coffee… some even got a lift in Amnesia’s sweet new ride!

    Thank you men for the tremendous push this morning!

  • Jose’s Pride and Joy

    Yep, you guessed it! It’s his sweat jug! (Zoo is starting to get nervous, folks). It’s not that he has his very own AO, the prized, smartly named, A1C (reminds me of Vanilla Ice). Nor is it his nickname, which he re-branded himself from Jose Mourinho to Jose 10k, more recently to Grumble Grumble (and who knows what else).

    We came here to exercise didnt we, Pik? Oh, yeah, here we go…

    YHC broke out and old standby today at the A1C, the Tabata workout. Every 30 seconds, the PAX did an AMRAP exercise with 30 seconds of rest in between. The exercises were: big boy sit-ups, merkins, derkins, flutter kicks, Hello dollies, more merkins, jump squats, bobby hurleys, apollo ohnos, leg raises, stone mountains.

    Thanks for hard work this gloom my brothers! Until next time, SYITG

    Pik

  • Wackerless Wednesday and Thursday?

    YHC cannot remember the last time he has gone Wackerless for so many post!! 😳 Not the same without your mumble chatter in the Gloom sir Bushwacker.. Eight PAX posted on this humid Gloom including the ever reliable Jose10k/A1C/Grumble/Grumble/Sweat Jug contestant.. Boy is that Jug looking nasty 🤢🤮 as Cowbell illustrated in our announcements.. Zoolander, the sights to be seen if this challenge is met will go down in the history books my friend.. Not sure I would want to be on the receiving end of this one though.

    warmup

    10IC Torso twist, Toe touches, Superman’s, Scorpion kicks, down Dawg stretch with left and right lizard poses finished with Copperhead squats..

    thang

    PAX journeyed the standard route with Cowbell scaling back to the Qs pace. Appreciate the chatter and pacing Cowbell. Rest of the PAX ran a moderate 8:50 pace as we returned with 8 mins to spare for some ISI. Alternating 30 seconds of pull-ups as each PAX proceeded through the routine with some added plank holds. Once through the PAX finished with 20IC Hello Dollys and YHC showed admiration to Cowbell with the close of 10IC Crunchy frogs..

    YHC prayed us out and till the next Gloom 👊🏼💪🏼✌🏼!

  • Full Moon Lunacy

    As YHC stood alone pacing our Tuesday AO, a bright full moon briefly escaped the dense clouds. It was that gloomy view that made sense of the haphazardly written weinke in my pocket. I thought the arduous exercises came out of frustration with a lack of names on the sign up sheet, while all along it was simple lunacy!

    WARM O RAMA

    IC x10: Toe touches, Cherry pickers, torso twists, Imperial walkers, fire hydrants, scorpion kicks

    THANG

    lining up at the end of the columns opposite of the stairs, the four packs partnered up for:

    Bear Crawl 1-2-3 – team combines for 100 Merkins, 200 LBC ‘s, and 300 squats. Meanwhile, the other partner is bear crawling to the sixth column and back.

    Burpee Mile – The PAX lined up at the Lafitte and of the trace where OYO 12 Burpee‘s before running to the Girod end of the trace and back. R\R 4X.

    If Time had not been dwindling, there would’ve been other greats such as the Clowny and the Dirty MacDeuce!

    As it was, the remained enough time for:

    MARY

    Down dog, R lizard, down dog, L lizard, down dog warrior 1.

    COT

    And sign up on that sheet before names start being added by site Q’s like the southshore does;)

    Chewy prayed us out with rapidity after, of course, Jose filled his sweat jug to the halfway point.

    Thanks for following where it sometimes seems we should not go, gentlemen.

  • Walking on Sunshine

    To commerorate the 15th anniversary of Katrina, as well as the recent tragedy of Hurricane Laura, YHC crafted a beatdown that was not designed to be finished within the allotted time. The indomitable human spirit, however, persevered, and several beasts completed the task.

    We began by saying the Pledge of Allegiance, which will always begin any beatdown Q’d by YHC, and I would encourage all of us to, when Q’ing, take the 30 seconds to unite our hearts as Americans. Regardless of our views, when we can unite as Americans, we can overcome anything.

    Warm-o-rama:

    SSH x 20

    IW x 20

    Windmills x 10

    Way Backs x 10 (Intensified versions of toe touches, with a fully extended reach back upon returning to an upright position — suggested by none other than our newest PAX, my beloved son Pickaxe.

    We then moseyed to Noah’s Ark (a fitting venue for the date). Upon arrival, we paired up, with one partner running approximately halfway down Noah’s Ark while the other did burpees. Each partner took a turn, and once Partner 2 returned, they each completed 50 burpees, starting from the lowest number completed by a partner (i.e. Partner 1 does 15, and Partner 2 does 13, then they each do 37 more to get to 50 apiece. Thus Partner 1 does a little bit more). This initial exercise was designed not to be fair, but to emphasize we give our best even when things are not, and we always pick up our brothers.

    We then broke into a series of high repetition exercises with our partners:

    Cumulative:

    250 Bulgarian Split Squats

    Partner 1: BSS on the seawall

    Partner 2: Run Noah’s Ark

    500 Shoulder Taps

    Partner 1: STs

    Partner 2: Lunge Walk to/from street

    750 LBCs

    Partner 1: LBC

    Partner 2: Crab Walk to street ( I meant Bear Walk, but was told I said Crab Walk –subconciously wanting to intensify), run backwards from street

    1000 SSHs

    Partner 1: SSH

    Partner 2: Run around Noah’s Ark

    A couple of things: ANY exercise, no matter how simple, is HARD after 400 reps. Two, I’m so proud of our young PAX, ranging in age from 9-16 for hanging w/ the old folks. They manifest far greater maturity and composure than I did at that age (or now). One of the great things about F3 is that, when you show up, you are treated as an equal, regardless of age or ability. No one is above, and no one is beneath. We require not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice. Keep up the great work, gentleman, you inspire YHC!

    As stated earlier, a couple of teams finished the beatdown as Rx’d. Amazing.

    We moseyed back to the flag for COT, and welcomed 9 year old Pickaxe to the group. I have on good sourcing that as soon as he got home, he jumped into his parents’ bed and started telling his mother all about the “beatdown”. When Mrs. Hammer asked if he liked it, he responded, “Mom, nobody likes a beatdown, but you push through it.” Pickaxe also wants to make every beatdown every day of the week, even before school, and he is ready for next Saturday. I am so proud of him for coming, and I am humbled by the way each of you inspired him.

    Lastly, as I was running on the lakefront Friday evening, after the rain (intentional nod to the Nelson song), I saw a beautiful rainbow in its full arch. Such ugly weather produced something so profoundly beautiful. I was reminded that is also true in our own lives. In Katrina, we saw the worst of nature, but after, we also saw and experienced some of the best of humanity. People serving other people. We will see that with Laura as well. I am seeing that in my own life, and I hope, when the storms come, you all see it in yours as well. You just have to look.

    Except Jose’s Gallon Sweat Jug. There’s nothing beautiful about that.

  • One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

    One is the loneliest number. I knew some of the usual group was off running a completely stupid and utterly pointless race, so I was expecting a smaller than usual showing. But just me, who was I going to grumble to? At 5:15, I was pondering that idea. It was lonely, but then a pair on headlights came up the ramp. BBQ joined me at the A1C for this morning’s beatdown. I didn’t have to do it alone.

    Warm-ups: All IC to 10

    Windmills, Good mornings, Torso Twists, Cherry Pickers, Toe Touches

    The Thang: We moseyed over to Stone Hedge. Each of us picked up a cinder block. 42 Curls for the girls. Followed by Colt 45’s. 24 down and halfway up, followed by 24 halfway to up. Then 15 slow count WaterPick squats, 42 shoulder presses, 15 slow squats, 24 kettlebell swings, 15 slow squats. Moseyed back to the A1C for a mini dora. 100 mericans, 200 squats, 300 lbcs. Partner 1 held plank while partner 2 did 10 pushups. Then partner 1 performed what BBQ coined an Al Gore meets George Thorogood while parter 2 did 20 squats. (An Al Gore while doing alternating calf raises). Did I mention I was blasting classic rock during the beatdown, and one bourbon, one scotch, one beer was blasting during this section? Then lbcs while the other partner held 6 inches. We finished with plank rock paper scissors. Loser did 1 burpee, winner 1 push-up. Round 2, winner 2 push-ups, loser 2 burpees. Due to BBQ being a professional rock, paper, scissor champion, I did alot of burpees this morning.

    Small COT, prayers to those in the path of the hurricane, our foolish f3 brothers running the coast, Goose and his family.

    And then the joke of the day from BBQ

    A guy walks into a bar, bartender askes “What will you have today”

    The guys asks for a corona and two hurricanes. The bartender respondes ” That will be $20.20.