F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • The One Ring (ok, possibly 2)

    YHC was coming in as hot as Cowbell, and proceeding to send forth one more text to the missing Steve, when he was suddenly knocking on my window *HOLY CRAP HEART ATTACK*

    After laying out some “preemptive” cones, we commenced to warmin’ up…

    WARM UP

    Some high knees got us started before tribute to most of the PAX had us doing Pik’s “hop twist”, some of Cowebell’s leg swings and 4 corner hops, and Shooter’s head rolls.

    THANG

    Steve, who had the wherewithal to look up, pointed out a far out phenomenon: Surrounding the bright moon was an enormous ring of light. I’m not talking a ring of light like that depicted over a saint’s head, I’m talking like the rings of Saturn! It’s called a 22 degree Halo (or a moon ring or winter halo) and is formed when direct moonlight is refracted in millions of hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere!

    And so with this heavenly halo overhead the PAX scrambled down massena, took the loop, and headed towards the lake for a better look. It was along the way that it seemed there could possibly be a double halo? Anyway, we continued back along Pik pass and arrived to put those cones to use.

    MARY

    One man ran a 3 cone suicide while the PAX ere doing core. Upon completion the runner chose the next exercise. LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Crunchy Frogs, V Ups, Putins, and not to leave Steve out of the fun…well it escapes me at the moment, sorry!

    COT

    YHC prayed us out plus special intentions for Cowbell, finally getting to memorialize his grandmother who passed in April.

    Go forth and make a difference in someone else’s life gentlemen!

  • Dabbin’ With the Homies

    James, Stanley, and Benjamin walk into a bar….

    OK, it was actually a darkened, trash-strewn basketball court and playground we, on the north shore fondly call The Milestone Marsh. And the PAX was there to do business, so to business they got.

    WARM UP

    It was an imperative to get the heart rate rolling quickly so QIC started with some quick rounds of High Knees, Butt Kicks, and SSHs. We slowed the tempo and turned the focus elsewhere on the anatomy before heading out to the intersection.

    THANG

    The Marsh was where YHC was introduced to the Dab by our gone-but-not-forgotten comrade Coconuts, and is the sole location where it has been unleashed in my experience. And so it was that we three ventured forth and completed 10 Burpees EMOM for 5 minutes then running 400 meters, and repeating 4 times.

    MARY

    To be perfectly honest, procrastination on this back blast has directly lead to a constipation of the brain. There may or may not have been a slight bit of wrap-up.

    COT

    I believe Pik prayed us out and there was a great deal of appreciation for my fellow F3 brothers!

    Thanks for Dabbin’ with your homey!

  • As one PAX noted “It must be an election night hangover!”

    Arrived at the Gipper in the low 50s ready to throw the PAX a day of strength training and speed intervals. With numbers posting in the mid to upper double digits these last few months YHC anticipated no difference. However, as stated by Turbo upon his return with the prethang milers “It must be an election night hangover!” Well gentlemen his statement proved true as the PAX only swelled to 9 after late arrivals BBQ and Bean jumped into the warmup.. These numbers held true and no recounts will be required after this submission..

    Warmarama

    20 IC Imperial walkers, Hillbillies, Toe touches, Grass grabbers, Cherry pickers, Self love and Arm circles.

    thang

    Retrieved cylinder block coupons and carried around the corner to our gated area with tractor tires. Split into a group of 4 and group of 5 at a distance of 20-25 yards. Each group had named exercise to continuously perform with the cylinder block while another team member took 2 flips alternating from the large tire and medium tire then returning to pick up their reps with the block as each completed. T👏🏼 to Grover and all the other buck 40 to buck 60 men who tackled that monster tire. Proper form included on this one and these men performed well. Exercises included chest press, squat thrusters, kettle thrust, tri extensions, blocks on the shelf, burpee block jumps, curls and overhead presses.. After all PAX cycled through we returned the tires to there resting place then assembled on the side street for the next pearl. R1 first stop sign and sprinted midway which happened to be the parking lot entrance where we paused and completed 5 squat thrusters then back pedaled the other half. R2 and R3 sprinted halfway with Caricoa and 5 kettle swing thrusters. R4 sprint halfway and could be wrong on this one but I believe we overhead pressed then sprinted again.. YHC gassed and needing air recovery walked the cylinder blocks back to their resting place. With 4 mins to spare hit some core 20IC LBCs, Flutter kicks and Freddie Mercurys. PURPOSELY left off Cowbells favorite the Crunchy frog since he destroyed the Q on the previous day although he jockeyed for a round but my clock on this day would be the digital read at the trailhead and NOT your more accurate 30 second remaining Garmin Mr. Cowbell..

    Hope you Gippers feel the results in a few days!

    Appreciate Grover closing the PAX in COT after the count and announce!!

    Till the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!

  • Happy Halloween

    It was just a suggestion, an idea. Wear costumes for Halloween, simple, right. Lesson learned, never give Bushwacker a heads up. For him, nothing can ever be simple. The costumes were great. Water pick as Street Fighter/karate kid , Zoolander as Johnny from cobra kai, bushwackers ridiculously tight minion pants, baby yoda as baby yoda, and of course Steve as Spider-Man. A costume he purchased in the children’s section.

    Warm-up: ssh, toe touches, torso twists, self love, cherry pickers

    Moseyed to the gazebo for a little trick or treating. You reached in for a candy and on the back we’re var ridiculous exercises. Unless you’re speedy, who apparently still can’t read. Yhc was surprised how much of Bushwackers exercise choices were similar to my upcoming Tobata. Anyways we moseyed down a little further to where I had planned for my tobata, only to find more pumpkins set up by Bush. Great communication between us. 45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest. Burpees, hand release merkans, shoulder taps, jump squats, monkey bumpers, wife pleasers, kneel diamonds, and I forget the rest. I learned rather quickly that a mask wasn’t the smartest costume to wear. Another round of trick or treating, then finished up with core tobata at the flag. Cot and hammer prayed us out. Great seeing Ringo and Grundy again. Thanks for coming out, thanks for dressing up, and thanks for celebrating my birthday gentleman.

  • Toil before The Tempest

    I had a new routine ready for the Pax this morning, but it being wet and humid, and me not wanting to get my Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit smudged, I decided to go with some old stuff.

    Warmup IC: Side Straddle Hops, Good Mornings, Smurf Jacks, Toe Touches, High Knees, Arm Circles

    Mosey to Bedrock Garden, with everyone grabbing a boulder for: curls, elf on the shelfs, squats, and overhead presses.

    Mosey to the Taj Mahal parking lot for some leg swings, then a ladder shuffle to and fro

    Mosey to the front of the Taj Mahal, circling up around the sans flag flagpole. Ring-of-Fire routine with push-ups and bear-crawl aplenty.

    Mosey to the Grassy Knoll for 10 quick sprawls

    Mosey to the Justice Center Parking Garage ramps – heading up the ramps backward lunging, then sprinting.

    Mosey back to the flag via Indian run.

    Circle up for count-o-rama and FNG naming- welcome Slowpoke Rodriguez!

    Akbar prays us out

    Thank you wee bastards for letting me lead.

  • Pumpkin Party

    Pumpkin Party

    Seven pax rallied on NOMA apron for warmup. Two were wearing sandals. Frac was missed.

    Moseyed the tree line to/fro Carollton/Wisner doing 6×5 8-counts

    Tabata –  12 exercises 50 sec / 20 sec recover – using cinder blocks or pumpkins as coupons (not in order)

    • Situps with coupon raised over-head
    • Triceps
    • Curls
    • Thrusters
    • Flutters with rock
    • Al Gore with rock in rifle carry – hold entire time
    • Hand-walk around coupon in plank
    • Alternating toe taps
    • Bench press
    • Jump rope
    • Side squats with coupon
    • Kettle bells

    Mosey to rear for 6x Sunday Mornings

    Mosey to front for Mary

    COT, Prayer, Share

  • Get Up, Stand Up, Jump Up

    Five pax warmed up on the Pontiff football field to usual exercises:  SSH, grass grabbers, windmill, peter parker, mountain climbers, arm circles, personal favorite single leg balance knee thrusts R/L

    Moseyed two laps on track with sprints on the straights.

    Grabbed one-handed rocks and proceeded to north field.

    7’s

    • Turkish Get Ups – flat on back, rise to standing straight, then sit/lay back down, with rock held outstretched straight throughout all reps
    • John Travolta’s in middle x 7 to and fro (raise rock and cross diagonal to opposite foot and back again R/L, L/R)
    • 8-counts at other end

    Jumped rope 30 secs, 45 secs, 60 secs intervals

    Back to flag for COT, prayer, etc.

  • Paying tribute to a fallen officer!

    Hightower

    YHC has been pulling workouts from the Exicon for the last few Qs. This particular routine caught my attention and I felt the need to bring attention too it at Granny’s House on this beautifully mild Gloom. With tensions on all fronts and from both sides as the media focuses on separating us as a Human race with the election drawing to a close. YHC figured it fitting to remember one of the many fallen hero’s around our communities, which seem to draw less attention in our times of division. This young officer with a calling of service as illustrated in the above clipping shows what so many men and women in Blue face on every routine call. It’s the unknown as he/she responds to a scene from a call to dispatch that could very well be their last. As stated in the beatdown “The Hightower” Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers as they shall be called sons of God.”

    warmup

    10IC

    Grass grabbers, Self-love, Arm circles, Cherry pickers.

    15IC

    SSH, Imperial walkers, Hillbilly’s

    thang

    Upon completion we returned back to the AO for 20IC Freddie Mercury’s and Little Manny crunches..

    Great to see Ringo making the post again through his recovery and t-👏🏼 to Hogsbreath for his commitment to post having to leave early from Slidell to meet our 0515 start time..

    YHC prayed us out reflecting on Matthew 5:9 and how we as men need to be those Peacemakers in our homes, communities and workplaces..

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

  • Pull-Ups Can Be Swole Too

    The first disclaimer this morning, as I turned on my speaker and it immediately died, was that I forgot to charge may speaker last night. Swole Fest just ain’t as swole without some good 90’s tunes. So we had to make due with the iPhone speaker. Just not the same. Apologies to the Swole Fest Pax for letting you down so early on a Monday. Ashamed, I stumbled through the rest of the disclaimer and we got to work.

    Warm-up COP: SSH x 20 IC, Windmills x 10 IC, IW x 20 IC, Grass Grabbers x 10 IC, Arm Circles 10 Forwards 10 Backwards IC, Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    We started with a Swole Fest cinderblock reverse pyramid. Time to get swole. 5 exercises, 3 rounds, decreasing reps.

    Shoulder press x 20 IC, Curls x 20 IC, Goblet Squats x 20 IC, Rows x 20 IC, Chest Press x 20 IC

    Shoulder press x 15 IC, Curls x 15 IC, Goblet Squats x 15 IC, Rows x 15 IC, Chest Press x 15 IC

    Shoulder press x 10 IC, Curls x 10 IC, Goblet Squats x 10 IC, Rows x 10 IC, Chest Press x 10 IC

    Next we moseyed to the Foundry. We worked the front, now time to work the back. And what better way to get Swole than to bring back Pull-Ups. Pull-Ups have always been a staple of the Foundry and City Park, but we had to abandon them for while during Covid when the exercise equipment was off-limits. Now that the equipment is back open, the Pull-Ups are back on. 3 stations, 2 rounds:

    Pull-Ups x 10 (the count), Rows, Super-Mans, Dips

    We moseyed back to the front of the Children’s Museum, grabbing our blocks on the way, for 11’s.

    Deep Squats on one side, Jump Lunges on the other side.

    Cinderblock in the middle.

    When crossing to one side, 10 Curls in the middle.

    When crossing to the other side, 10 Shoulder Press in the middle.

    We moseyed back to the flag for count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and prayer. Thank you for the privilege to lead.

    Walleye

  • The Cards were Aces

    A PAX of 24, including visiting Duracell from BR and Trojan from Houston (awkward thumbs up!), helped celebrate YHC’s two year anniversary with some extended card play.

    Warmups (All in Cadence)

    Seal jacks

    Air presses

    Toe touches

    Imperial Walkers

    High Knees

    Windmills

    Cherry Pickers

    The Main Event

    Pax moseyed over to Noah’s Ark for a celebratory Deck of Death/Decadence, breaking up into 4 groups who (mostly) managed to avoid well-placed landmines. Each group completed reps based on the card value (Aces up to 15) and suit, with two wild cards (a rock around Noah’s Ark) thrown in for good measure.

    Merkins

    Burpees

    Plank Jacks

    Shoulder Taps

    Deep Squats

    Jump Squats

    Lunges

    Box Jumps

    Crunchy Frogs

    Big Boy Situps

    Flutter Kicks

    Gas Pumps

    Donkey Kicks

    Freak Nastys

    Durkins

    Makhtar N’Diaye’s

    After completing 420 total reps, the card were not done with the Pax. There was just enough time for one more party game: Card Sharks!

    PickAx started us off by drawing an ACE to start, sending the Pax into a flurry of 15 8 count bodybuilders. A game of “higher or lower” followed, with a correct guess yielding the next card value multiplied by 2, an incorrect guess yielding the next card value multiplied by 3. Not one to selfishly keep all the cards, YHC offered a choice to multiple Pax on what torture was in store. After the final round of 24 T merkins, the cards were put away until the next time we were feeling lucky.

    A mosey back to the flag, a COT, and Name-O-Rama wrapped us up. Welcome to the newest FNGs, Sex Panther, who correctly noted that 50% of the time, it works every time, and Lollipop, a big Kojack fan, but an even bigger fan of sucking on sweet, sticky, candy treats.

    A prayer closed us out until next time.

    A final word from YHC: I huge thank you to Toto for throwing an EH my way two years ago. That small gesture has made a positive impact in not only my life, but I hope the lives of all those I come in contact with. It’s not often you get the full satisfaction of knowing you absolutely made the right decision. Saying “Yes, I’m in next week” was one of those decisions for me.

    Even after showing up late to my first post (sorry Splice!), and absolutely taking the “6” position and having to be picked up by Tanked Up, I worked up the courage to keep posting, in no small part because of Manny’s sage advice to “just keep coming, it may not every be easy, but it gets easier.”

    Thank you to all of you that keep pushing me, putting up with me, and driving me to be a better human being, whether you know it or not. The fitness is important, but the fellowship with a faith community is probably the most valuable to me.

    SYITG