F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • 4 Years of F3 and You Could Look Like Me

    4 Years of F3 and You Could Look Like Me

    Four years ago in the gloom of the Peristyle, YHC was EHed by Heisenberg to check out this men’s only fitness group. Bubba’s Beatdown was all it took to keep YHC coming back for more. What better way to celebrate my anniversary than to recycle my first Q, which was at Okwata. Thank you to all of the PAX that posted today.

    W/U

    • SSH x 30
    • IW x 15
    • HB x 15
    • AC x 10 x 10
    • Peter Parker x 15
    • Parker Peter x 15
    • Self Love

    The Thang – Mosey to Canal blvd and partner up. PAX 1 will AMRAP while PAX 2 runs up Canal, bear crawl the median, and back down Canal. Switch.

    • Plank Jacks
    • Tempo Merkins – 2 count up, 2 count down
    • Step Ups
    • Dips

    Mosey back to the Lakefront area across from the fountain and circle up for the Lazy Q. Each PAX step into the middle and call an exercise to be performed for 22 Reps.

    Counterama, Namerama

    Announcements – Register for the IronPax Challenge. Pay attention to Mumble Chatter and emails for information regarding recovery efforts for our neighbors in Southwest Louisiana who are suffering from Hurricane Laura.

    NMM – Takeaways from today’s beatdown were not announced but included awareness or PTSD and Mission 22, a organization dedicated to Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury, substance abuse and all of the issues veterans are facing today.

  • Windows Up / Heat On

    5 strong at the Scramble this morning as Hurricane Laura pummeled Lake Charles and many of the Thursday regulars prepared for their Gulf Coast CSAUP.

    QIC checked the regular route prior to arriving at the double shovel flag. No barricades or pier closures in sight, so after a quick warmup of 10 Good Mornings, 10 Abe Vigodas, 10 Imperial Squat Walkers, and 1-legged chair stretches, the scramblers scrambled with a few stops along the way for Merkins.

    Wrapped up with 50 LBCs, 50 flutter kicks and 15 Burpees. Jose prayed us out.

    YHC was looking forward to Jose’s daily deposit into the sweat jug, but he left it in the garage! So windows up and heat on for the car ride home to squeeze out every last drop. SYITG!

  • JUST A WEE BIT COOLER

    F3 Credo: Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you find him.

    7:00am.  Gave the Disclaimer.

    Don’t you just love those customized Coupons? And those whiter than white legs! They glow in the dark.

    Probably got my events out of order but now that I’m 60! you have to forgive me!  I can play the old-man card now:)

    Everyone carries there coupon everywhere today so all moseys are coupon moseys.

    Mosey’d to the NW walking track intersection for warm ups.

    Slow, very wide, opposed Ferris wheel arm circles with arms always opposite one another. One up, one down etc.. If you aren’t feeling it you aren’t doing it right.

    Mosey’d to the center of the big green field

    Abe Vigoda A variation on the Windmill.  Plank position. Point left hand to sky. Then right hand to sky.  A variation on the Windmill, which is performed much more slowly and with more stretching (aka “Old Man Style”).

    Finger tip walkouts.  feet spread wide, touch ground in center, walk out, walk back

    TRUNK Stretch led by Twinkletoes. Went around clockwise and counterclockwise.   Stretch torso to far to left. Upright. Right upright, back upright forward upright

    Handcuffed squats (squat with hands behind back)

    toe touch stretches, feet together, touch ground in center

    toe touch stretches, feet together, touch ground to the right

    toe touch stretches, feet together, touch ground to  the left

    high knees while holding your coupon.

    Coupon Mosey to the SE intersection

    Love your coupon. On your back. Hold coupon at arms length above your face. Lower coupon to your face.

    Coupon rotating hand off. Skill, coordination, hand grip strength and several muscle groups

    Sky reach lunges.  Bring arms overhead while doing every lunge

    Coupon Merkins: Hands on coupon doing a Merkin.  Rt. Hand on ground. Left on coupon. Do Merkin.  Two hands on coupon. Then  Left hand on coupon. Right on ground. Do Merkin

    Imperial Walkers, carrying our coupon while going in a circle while

    Counter clockwise lunges walking forward and in a circle with a coupon.

    Clockwise lunges walking backward and in a circle with a coupon.

    Mosey to sundial

    Plank Jacks.  Side straddle hops but hands on ground

     Bobby Hurleys. Pat ground in front of your feet then go for a jump shot

    Circle burpees. Everyone stand at perimeter of the 25 foot Brec circle, spaced equally all the way around the circle. Goose step counterclockwise 4 steps.  There do 5 burpees.  When finished goose step back to original location and do 5 more burpees.

    Peter Parker Burpees.  Plank position and with heads all about 6 feet apart, in a circle (all feet pointed outward). Do 3 burpees.

    Mosey with our coupons to the next place.

    Side stretch walk to the right, with your coupon

    Side stretch walk to the left, with your coupon

     Merkin  “M I D” variations. Merkin. Irkin. Dirkin.  5 each, 3 times

    First Sirkins.  Using the 2 ft. wall around the sundial.  Put right hand on the wall. Chest facing to the left, not face down.  Do a merkin with one hand. To modify I offered to do this from a position with one or both knees on the ground instead of the feet.  Did about 5 and then did left arm.  Tougher than a Merkin.

    Irkins on the wall.

    Dirkins on the wall.

    Merkins

    Backwards mosey to the next location. Not too much moseying here. Most seemed to just walk backwards. Kind of a trip hazard carrying the coupon.

    Got down on our six.  10 LBCs

    Belly to the sky. On six. Feet 24” apart. Shoulders stay on ground. Lift mid section high as possible and hold.

    Jane Fonda side leg lifts left side and right side

    Fredie Mercurys very slo mo style

    Yoga Mary. Anyone remember how?

    Circle up for Count-O-Rama –  9 Pax

    Name-O-Rama. 

    FNG’s Named – New FNG today is

    COT Circle of Trust.  Bring it in tight for a sweaty  Ball of Man!!

    TAKE A PHOTO!

  • Farewell Q

    It is with great sadness and much gratitude that I write my last backblast as a regular member of the Northshore F3 family. (I trust you’ll forgive the length!) As I shared with the men this morning, F3 has been an overwhelming answer to prayer, and as Bushwacker reminded me, it’s the individuals involved who truly make it what it is, so huge thanks for all of you guys allowing me to participate. More on this toward the end.

    This morning’s beatdown was meant to be a quick rundown of a few of the life lessons that F3 has confirmed for me in very concrete ways. The first, of course, being the necessity of a good warm up when you know you’re about to get your rear end kicked:

    Warmup: IC Windmills, IW’s, Cherry Pickers, High Knees, Butt Kicks followed by the first exercise listed on the Exicon (Shooter aced the pop-quiz, like I knew he would!):

    21’s–21 side straddle hops in cadence, but only the first 5 are counted out loud with an expectation that all PAX count the rest silently and end in perfect sync after the 21st. 10 burpees and start over if anyone is anything but perfect.

    Life Lesson #1: Togetherness is more about what’s in your head than it is about the people you’re with. (I may or may not have just made that up, but I think it’s got some staying power.)

    After one penalty set of burpees and a second round of SSH, YHC decided to modify for the sake of time and get moseying to the rock garden for Colt 45’s and Bolt 45’s.

    Colt 45’s = 15 curls from halfway down to all the way up, 15 curls all the way down to halfway up, and 15 curls from all the way down to all the way up.

    Bolt 45’s = same as above, but with squats (and rocks)

    Life Lesson #2: Don’t let your ego determine the size of your rock, especially if you don’t know what’s coming. But no matter how heavy or what the task ends up being, carry the weight you’ve got with courage. Own it!

    After “gently” replacing our rocks, we moseyed to the courthouse steps for some partner work:

    Partner 1 ran up (and down) the stairs using the following pattern: 2 up, 1 down, 3 up, 2 down, 4 up, 3 down, etc. until the top was tediously reached, then ran back down to Partner 2 who did continuous flutter kicks (round 1), Freddy Merc’s (round 2) and LBC’s (round 3) while waiting. In lieu of Jose’s math teaching prowess, Whacker provided tutoring for those who struggled.

    Life Lesson #3: Real progress is usually gradual and hard earned, so be patient, stay focused, and fight discouragement.

    This, followed by a mosey to the top ramp of the parking garage for more partner work:

    Partner 1 holds plank while Partner 2 sprints up the ramp, around to the opposite stairs, down, and back to Partner 1. His job is to get there in enough time for his partner to have held his plank without modifying; if his partner modifies, the sprinter has to do 5 burpees, so the planker’s job is to hold his position for the sake of his partner.

    Life Lesson #4: We are naturally more willing to endure pain and push harder for other people than we are for ourselves, we just need to tap into that power. F3 seems to exists for this reason!

    After two rounds of losing our breath (and eventually losing Bushwhacker to the irresistible call of nature), we moseyed back to the courthouse stairs for an exercise YHC forgot: three rounds of crab walking both up and down the courthouse stairs

    Life Lesson #5: Some things are easier for tall people. (Truth be told, pretty much every other F3 exercise seems to favor the smaller guys. It was nice to finally have an advantage over Cowbell.)

    After this we moseyed back to the flag for the last exercise/lesson:

    Followed the directions given in the song Flower by Moby (“Bring Sally up, bring Sally down…”) with squats, up and down with the words “up” and “down”. Thank you’s to Cowbell, Steve, and Amnesia for modifying with merkins and mission impossible planks to save their legs for the big race tomorrow–you guys made our leg pain seem relatively minimal in comparison.

    Life Lesson #6: Pain is temporary, though the worse it is, the more we tend to fear that it will last forever.

    COT and YHC prayed us out.

    Thanks, gentlemen, for following my lead today, and for an awesome year of comradery, creativity, and the best reason to get up early and sweat that I’ve had since college. Special thanks to Maverick who got me out there, the men who reached out to me during those first few beatdowns to make sure I felt like I was part of the team, the guys who hung back so often with me and kept up conversation to get my mind off my lack of oxygen, the men who were willing to share their lives with me during the longer runs, for the guys who continually witness to the truth that the men we’re exercising with are more important than the exercises we’re doing, and to the men who continue to push beyond their comfort zone so the rest of us can follow.

    It breaks my heart to leave what has become such a central part of my (and Pope’s) life, and though I’ll be working to get F3 started in the Thibodaux/Houma region, it won’t be with you guys, so know that you’re deeply appreciated, and you’ll be greatly missed. I know that God has great things in store for my family and I down there, and I’m sure there are a lot of guys who will greatly benefit from F3, so please keep us in prayer for the transition, and that we’ll remain open to all that God has in store for us, both the blessings and the trials. You’ll certainly be in mine.

    SYITG,

    Goose

  • The DJ at El Diablo IPC

    Week 0 of the IPC continues with a demand for pain at the El Diablo AO. YHC brought the shovel flag, and Mahatma brought the DJ set up.

    Warmup

    • SSH IC x 31
    • GG IC x 10
    • IW IC x 15
    • Bat wings – AC, Chinooks, OH Claps, Seal Claps, Moroccan night club

    IPC Week 0 – OYO for time

    • Squats – 50
    • Big Boi Situps – 40
    • Merkins – 30
    • Bonnie Blairs (2 is 1) – 20
    • Burpees – 10
    • Run 400M
    • Rinse and Repeat x 4

    Once all Pax completed, fisnish with some Mary

    • Flutter Kicks IC x 20
    • Tin Snips IC x 15
    • Freddie Mercuries IC x 20
    • Crunchy Frog IC x 10

    COT – Count Off, etc, ended with prayer to Sky Q

    NMM

    The official IPC AO at Pontiff will be Fridays at the Uptowner. I think Hand-Grenada will Q Friday since he got robbed today.

    YHC was a minute slower than Monday coming in at 30:15. Ethanol killed it with a 20:25.

    SYITG

  • Sayonara Fujiwhara

    Granny’s House was supposed to be a wash out this morning.  70% when I checked last night.  And as much as YHC appreciates a good wet beatdown, after the Marsh’s Week Zero IPC beatdown yesterday, it seemed like maybe some shelter was in order.

    Of course, there was no rain. But we remained sheltered regardless!

    Warmorama: Good mornings, windmills, torso twists, seal jacks, IWs, and SSHs.

    Thang:

    Starting at the trailhead stairs, we’d bear crawl to every 4th column in the corridor and then perform an exercise.  (The guys were probably dismayed to discover these columns just kept going and going…) 

    Exercises were:

    • 60 Squats
    • 50 LBC’s
    • 40 Merkins
    • 30 Flutter Kicks IC
    • 20 Donkey Kicks
    • 10 Burpees

    And then, of course, head back to the start:

    • 60 Dollies
    • 50 Scorpion Kicks
    • 40 Staggered Merks (20 ea. side)
    • 30 Jump Squats
    • 20 Groiners

    What, no 10 burpees? Well…

    Coconuts was on the brain after talking about him at coffee Monday, so I thought we should bring back one Coconut classics, The Dab:

    10 burpees EMOM for 5 minutes, followed by a 300 yard run.  Rinse and repeat! (This seemed brutal, but then I just kept thinking about the time that Maverick began a beatdown with 100 straight burpees.)

    Normally YHC would search for a GIF to insert here and make the Coconuts tribute complete, but I gotta get to bed for Goose’s final Q tomorrow.

    Mary: Dying cockroaches, leg raises, Freddie Mercs, Rosalitas, something else? 

    Countdown, nameorama, Chewy prayed us out, and Jose filled the sweat jug.  Thank you guys for the push this morning, it was one of those mornings that I really was not feeling, I definitely needed you men out there to get ‘er done! 👊

  • Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

    Conditions:

    Clear, 73 degrees, Feels like 74, Humidity 86%, Wind 3mph from SW

    Warm-up:

    IW x 31; Grass Grabbers x 15; Low Slow Squats x 20; Merkins x 30; Peter Parkers x 25; Bat Wings (Everything x 22 except MNNs x 31)

    The Thang:

    Wall Work:  Ascending Testicles; Balls to the Wall; Plank Walk x 15; Shoulder Taps x 15; Hip Slappers x 15

    Proceed to Rock Pile for 10! (Squats, Curls, Shoulder Presses)

    Repeat Wall Work

    Proceed to the Football Field for 100 yard Bear Crawls x 4

    NMM:

    • I was not planning on doing Bat Wings during the warm-up.  Don’t want to be too predictable.  But, I couldn’t help it.
    • I was not planning on doing so many bear crawls.  Don’t want to be too predictable.  But I couldn’t help it.
    • We welcomed FNG Cake Boss.  T-Claps to Rudy for the EH.  Unfortunately Cake Boss was only visiting the area.  He headed back to Jersey after the workout.  He just graduated from American University where he ran track and Cross-Country.  His PR for the 5K is in the 15 minute range.  Rudy is working on making sure he needs to be in New Orleans for work the third Wednesday of every July.

  • Honoring the Nine Fallen

    Ten men came to Pontiff to honor nine fallen service members who perished in a training accident on July 27, 2020.

    Warmup

    After the standard F3 disclaimer, a mosey to the rock pile for a warmup all in cadence x27: SSH, IW, MC, GG, and PJ

    Thang

    After the warmup, the PAX selected a rock and moseyed to the 50-yard line of the football field for the following nine exercises x27, all in cadence, with a sprint to opposing goal lines between exercises:

    Round 1- Overhead presses 1:1

    Round 2-Jump Squats- 1:1

    Round 3- Curls 1:1

    Round 4- Dying Cockroaches 2:1

    Round 5- Squat Presses 1:1

    Round 6- Diamond Merkins 1:1

    Round 7- Chest Presses 2:1

    Round 8- Prisoner Lunges 2:1

    Round 9- Rows 2:1

    After completing the above, PAX circled for what YHC calls a RING OF NAPALM:

    PAX held Al Gore while the lead PAX began 2 is 1 Bonnie Blairs, which eventually became 4-count Bonnie Blairs.  At the fifth exercise, the next PAX in the circuit began his ten exercises.

    PAX held leg lifts, while the lead PAX began 4-count observations.  At the fifth exercise, the next PAX in the circuit began his ten exercises.

    PAX held the plank of their choice while the lead PAX began 2 is 1 T-pushups.  At the fifth exercise, the next PAX in the circuit began his ten exercises. 

    Upon completion, PAX moseyed back to the rock pile to return the rocks, then back to the flag. 

    COT: Announcements, intentions, prayer, and named the FNG (Short-n-Sweet). Mahatma led the group in the pledge of allegiance.  Thanks to Vagabond for a grand flag!

  • You Want Fun N Games, Call Turbo: Wacker’s Wild Ride!

    The Wacker writing this back blast is not the FNG that our very own Grundy named 3 years ago. The lessons learned – from leadership, kindness & generosity and compassion to grit, tenacity, and perseverance – have come from doing life with my F3 brothers. Fitness fanaticism and adventures of perilous proportions have helped make these last 3 years some of the best. Having gotten so much, giving back is now what it’s all about. And on that note…

    While the Pre-Thangers pre-thanged, YHC was out setting the scene for things to come.

    WARMORAMA

    x10 IC:

    Cherry Pickers, Imperial Walkers, Torso Twists, 30 second Plank, Mountain Climbers, 15 Second Plank, Fire Hydrants

    THANG

    Mosey to the Unit…

    BLACK/BURPEE, RED/RUN

    Split into 4 teams of 6, with each getting a completely random hand of 13 playing cards from a deck shuffled before the PAX’ very eyes.

    With 14 cones placed along the approximately 50 yards to the untit, teams were, as a group, to flip their cards one at a time. Clubs or Spades resulted in team burpees of the number on the card. Hearts and Diamonds sent the team member running to the corresponding cone and back. Out of pity and boredom from planking for so long, the entire PAX joined Manny’s team in finishing out their last 4 PURELY RANDOM cards.

    BURPEE LEAP FROG

    Ok, the wheels may have started falling off the bus around this time, but there were plenty of laughs on the way down! Teams were supposed to form a line with the continuously last man leap frogging the men ahead of him until he reached the front of the line where he did a burpee. There were to be 5 burpee hi 10s, 10 hi 5 merkins and 15 hi 10 squats along the way but that just became fodder for folly and school yard nostalgia.

    TAP BALL

    Finally, with each team grabbing a sadly deflated soccer ball or the one excitedly inflated pink bosu ball the PAX formed circles tapping the ball in the air like a volley ball drill, except after each man tapped, he had to drop for a burpee before he could touch the ball again. Play continued until he ball hit the ground, at which point teams planked until the last team standing finally dropped the ball.

    Mosey back to the flag for…

    MARY

    20-60 seconds each of:

    Freddy Mercuries, Leg Raises, Heel Pulses, 100s, LBCs, Oblique Crunches, and Supermans

    COT

    count, name, named FNG Pussy Cat (thanks Freon)

    Pussy Cat prayed us out.

    Gentlemen, I am humbled by your dedication to your fitness, your friendships and your fellow man. There is never a shortage of inspiration at an F3 Northshore beatdown. Thank you for teaching me how to lead, and for following that lead for the last 3 years, as verbose and boisterous as it may have been.

  • The DNC at the A1C, drop it likes it hot!

    https://youtu.be/T6bjORaYktk

    Well coming off of 4 nights of channel surfing and landing on the DNC, YHC figured the PAX would like to drop it likes it hot..

    Disclaimer:

    This is not any particular endorsement of any one candidate..

    With Cowbell throwing a mix of an after party for Steve and Bushwacker, Q thought he may be journeying solo to the A1C, however Cowbells consistency with late arrivals at AOs allowed for a pre-conversation car ride. Knowing there is always an adventure when you ride with the Wacker this morning’s entertainment was provided by an obviously tired or inebriated vehicle switching signals and lanes as if he was driving like the Joker.

    https://youtu.be/y_7urB6CMgk

    Arriving at the top of the parking garage Bushwacker was anxious to bare a gift he had for the Hammer, but with the mood not correctly set and the hot tub moment in the distant past the Wacker was rejected of his moments joy when the 🔨 respectfully said “No thank you!” If you would like further details Jose10k will be happy to explain at his 41st consecutive post on Saturday (Freaking animal) shirtless of course 😬…

    Enough jabbering let’s get to it.

    15IC SSH, Mountain climbers, Mummy kicks

    20IC Shoulder taps, Windmills, Imperial walkers.

    Now if my numbers are off it’s okay, remember this is the DNC!!

    Thang

    All exercises can be found in the Exicon.

    Climate change:

    Al Gore stance by the PAX as we go around counter clockwise completing 5 Burpees and returning to Al Gore. R/R 4x as we waited for Cowbell to make is entrance.

    Merkin Mania:

    Held blank as we went around completing 5 Merkins, 5 Diamonds, 5 Wide, 5 Curcin (Think that’s right), 5 staggered either side, 5 T-Merkin and Q remembered the 5 Tempo Merkin at the close of the beatdown after Mary..

    Global warming:

    PAX basically assumed the Al Gore position shuffling 360 degrees as the Q stated a called exercise to 10OYO. 8 count body builders, jump squats, wife pleasers and donkey kickoffs air style..

    Quarter pounder:

    Because real men eat Beef! Take that Burger King 👊🏼. I think it’s 100% all beef patty? Who knows? I do however know there were no animals harmed in the making of this beatdown as well as no methane released.. Then again the PAX may need to be questioned on that one.

    Actual quarter pounder, 25 Burpees sprint 25 yards return backpedaling, 50 Merkins sprint 50 yards return back pedaling, 75 Mountain climbers sprint 75 yards return back pedaling and close with 100 squats sprint 100 yards return back pedaling..

    6mins of Mary

    15IC Nolan Ryan’s each side, 15IC 100s, 15IC LBCs, 15IC flutter kicks and finished with 15IC hello dolly!!

    Count off, Announcements, COT and appreciation to Steve for closing us in prayer!!

    And that completes my trifecta Q and BB for the week gentlemen!!

    Till the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!