The PAX are all painfully aware of YHC’s deep love affair with the Irish, and all things related to Notre Dame. The PAX are also fond of pointing out the flaws in my beloved Irish – “What a cupcake schedule”, and “You should join a conference”. This year’s CFB Playoff offered the Irish another chance to silence the doubting PAX.
Returning from Dallas angry and a wee bit humbled, YHC asked the scheduled Rock City Q if he would be willing to give up his Q so the PAX could share in my pain. “Manbun” Hawg willingly agreed. So the PAX got to ring out 2018 with the Notre Dame Ladder of Despair.
Warm Up
Perhaps you are not already aware, but Clemson drummed the Irish in the Cotton Bowl by the score of 30-3. (YHC will happily discuss how the game was closer than that – but you’d have a hard time hearing him over the howls of outraged PAX).
Burpees, of course. 10x OYO. Repeat. Repeat. That’s 30 (for Clemson). 3 more (poor lonely 3 for ND).
SSH x30. 3 more burpees.
IW x30. 3 more burpees.
PP x30. 3 more burpees.
The Thang – The Ladder of Despair
Most PAX know that this was not ND’s first time getting blown out on the big New Year’s Day stage. But they may not understand the full depths of my despair. This morning, they will learn just how many consecutive times ND has gotten embarrassed this way. With a ladder. A ladder that calls out each of these games. How long will it take? How far back in time? Only YHC knows.
Game 1: 2018 Cotton Bowl. Clemson romps. 5 Burpees
Game 2: 2015 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State destroys. add 10 Shoulder Presses
Game 3: 2012 National Championship. Alabama cruises. add 15 Curls
Game 4: 2006 Sugar Bowl. LSU crushes. add 20 Merkins
Game 5: 2002 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State pancakes. add 25 Squats
Game 6: 2000 Fiesta Bowl. Oregon State thwacks. add 30 Rows
Game 7: 1995 Orange Bowl. Florida State trucks. add 35 Chest Presses
Game 8: 1994 Fiesta Bowl. Colorado routs. add 40 LBT
Fortunately for the PAX – the clock ran out, coinciding with the end of the streak. 1993 Cotton Bowl, ND romped over the Texas A&M Aggies. But now it was time to return the rocks. Final Tallies: 40 Burpees, 70 Presses, 90 Curls, 100 Merkins, 100 Squats, 90 Rows, 70 Chest Presses, 40 LBT. And worst of all – the cumulative scores of those 8 games? Foes: 304, Irish: 138. Average defeat of 38 – 17. Yikes.
Return to the flag for our COT. Count-off for 20 PAX. Nice showing, gang! (Even if the uptown members were too scared to show). Lots of upcoming stuff (Krazy Ivan, BR convergence, Mobile Spartan, Jackson Day race). Always exciting to hear all of the opportunities that PAX are pursuing. Remember – if you hear something you want to do, DO IT. Q IT. Talk it up with the PAX, you will almost certainly find someone to do it with you!
Thank you Rev, for taking us home with a thoughtful prayer, challenging us to be better men, better leaders, better followers into the New Year.
Thank you, as always, for the chance to lead you all.
28 PAX ignored the threat of rain and made it out The Mothership this Sat. We lucked out with a “calm before the storm” as the the guys assmebled and prepared for takeoff. YHC wanted to mix things up with an old school City Park history tour as part of the workout, similar to a few beatbowns circa 2015. The night before had the forecast looking nasty, so the plan was to stay close to cover and hone in on a few of the iconic landmarks right there in the original part of the park. The 1300 acre park was established in 1854 and has lots of history, great architecture, nature, wildlife, and of course trees….home to one of the largest collection of live oaks in the world. Generations of New Orleans residents and visitors alike have enjoyed the park so it only seemed fitting to pay homage to a few things that make it a great place. As the clock struck 5:30 we discussed the plan for the day, followed by the disclaimer, then off to….
First stop, The Peristyle, built in 1907 to have outdoor dances and concerts for the “well heeled” New Orleanians….some chatter from Rudy about Jingle Vader being in that category. Using the year as the rep count, we started with Imperial Walkers x19 and Windmills x7.
Then an ugly mosey around The Casino Building with some doubt from the PAX before going up and over Popp Bandstand for Stop #2 on the nearby grass.
With 12 granite columns and topped with a bronze dome, Popp Bandstand was named for is benefactor, John F. Popp, and is a replica of the Temple of Love in Versailles. In 1916, Popp made a donation to the park to build the Popp Bandstand which was completed in 1917. The Spanish Mission Revival-style “Casino” building opened in 1913 as a place that sold refreshments. Because of that, the City Park legend says that the building originally was called a cantina, using the Spanish word for a place where food and drinks are served. In a 2008 Times-Picayune story, City Park Executive Director Beau Bassich said he believed the New Orleans dialect colloquialized the word into “casina.” However, 1913 newspaper articles do use the word “casino” to describe the new building, explaining it will be “the amusement center of the park,” though there is no mention of gambling.
Here we circled up using 1917 and 1913 to inspire the rep count for Peter Parkers x19, Low Slow Squats x17, Mountain Climbers x19 and Arm Circles x13.
Then we recaped the age of the park, 164 years, with a Plank Merkin circle where all PAX held a high plank while merkins were cranked out individually in a clockwise manner up to 164 total.
Then a mosey over the stone bridge towards City Park Ave for a meandering jog through the oldest grove of mature live oak tress the world. We made sure to recognize the two oldest ones by looping around McDonough Oak and then, after some doubt from the PAX about my navagation ability, made our way to the Ansmen Oak, both of which are approx 800 years old. Here we circled up for an 8 round burpee countdown, one round for each century…Burpees x8,x7,x6,x5,x4,x3,x2,…x8 for the crowdpleaser! More about City Park trees here: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/trees-in-city-park
Then a mosey over the Ansmen Bridge, one of 9 built by the WPA, and back to The Peristyle where we lined up on one side for a partner circuit. This included 8 rounds of PAX #1 performing the specified exercise across the Peristyle and back (timer) while PAX #2 stayed put with a stationary exercise.
1)Inchworm & Wall Sit
2) Bearcrawl fwd/bwd & Balls to the Wall
3) Duck Walk & Declined Plank
4) Crab Walk fwd/bwd & Wall Sit
5) Lunge Walk & LBC
6) Kong & Balls to the Wall
7) Fiddler Crab & Flutter Kicks
8) Lateral Lunge & Wall Sit
Next up, we couldn’t leave out the adjacent Great Lawn that has hosted countless hours of F3 beatdowns. Built in 2010, the Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn is enjoyed by many and has seen a slew of picnics, concerts, yoga classes, and side straddle hops over the past 8 years. So we moseyed a quick loop to the Great Lawn and back to the nearby benches for a partner circuit of: PAX #1 Dips x20 OYO while PAX#2 runs to GL for Merkins x10 and back. Rinse and repeat for 3 rounds total follwed by a “victory lap” around the GL topped off with planking to wait for the six.
Still some time left for a few more history lessons so over to the rear of The Peristyle to gaze upon the banks of Bayou Metairie. Although it is now a landlocked lagoon, Bayou Metairie was originally a natural waterway spanning from Bayou St. John to the swampy area near what is now Old Metairie, essentially following the path of current day Metairie Rd. Once used by the Native Americans and early settlers, the banks of the bayou gradually formed the Metairie Ridge which provided high ground for ground transportation and later development of homes.
Since we didn’t have a year to use for rep count, we shifted our focus to 1946, the year of the first City Park Big Bass Rodeo, which is the oldest freshwater fishing rodeo in the country. At this point YHC had to alter the planned exercises and went with the first thing that came to mind, burpees, which really seemed to excite the PAX and peanut gallery, given the initial silence of disbelief followed by some grumbling and the “we already did enough burpees” comments. So PAX#1 knocked out Burpees x19 while PAX #2 held a wall sit on the ledge along Bayou Metairie, which had an awkward slope not conducive to said exercise. Then partner plank slaps, aka patty cake, holding a high plank and alternating hand slaps up to 46.
Nearing the end of our hour, we had just enough time remaining to circle up under The Persistyle for some themed Mary. YHC breifly talked about the various projects completed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930’s throughout City Park, including Tad Gormley Stadium, nine concrete bridges, a golf course, several art deco conrete benches, and Roosevelt Mall. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt came in town for the dedication ceremony. Pics below and more info at: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/works-progress-administration-in-new-orleans-city-park
In this undated archival photo, President Roosevelt chats with New Orleanian Paul Alfred Montreuil, 7, at the dedication of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mall in City Park. Also pictured: Marcel G. Montreuil, park superintendent; George Grundmann, chairman of the dedication committee and vice president of the park board; and James H. Crutcher, administrator of the WPA in Louisiana.
Our WPA and FDR themed Mary consisted of:
W – Weezey Jeffersons x10IC
P – Pickle Pounders x15IC
A – American Hammer x20IC
F – Flutter Kicks x20IC
D – Dying Cockroach x15IC
R – name??? exotic exercise led by Triple Shift x25IC
Moseyed back to the flag with some rain for added bonus. Capped things off with a COT and announcements. T-claps to War Eagle for stepping up to lead the prayer. He’s a pro at that stuff and much more eloquent in that field than YHC.
NMM – Thanks to the PAX for bearing with my non-professional tour guide ability and abbreviated history tidbits throughout the morning. As always, the peanut gallery led by Rudy and others kept it entertaining. T-claps to Mahatma and others for the occasional motivational cheers and USMC grunts to keep the PAX in high gear. Several guys asked for links (http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park) to some of the City Park history in so I included several in this backblast, which may be one of the longest in F3 history….sorry for the long read, if you made it this far. My wife asked if I was writing a book.
On the tail end of a surprisingly cold November week, four men proved their manhood by posting in the 45-ish degree gloom at Pontiff Park for The Uptowner. The scheduled Q requested a sub days prior so YHC hopped on it as to commit to posting and help ensure the frigid-fartsack would not prevail yet again. As the PAX trickled in, one could only notice some crazy dude walking up in beach-like attire….sleeveless, in shorts, no gloves, no hat….wait, that’s the one and only Jingle Vader! YHC is always in awe of his tolerance to cold weather. After exchanging a few stories to recap the frigid workouts throughout the week, the clock struck 5:30 and we kicked things off with a disclaimer followed by a quick warmup:
Hillbillies x20, WM x10, AC x20, ISWx10, Plank Roll x15
Circuit #1: Next up, grab a small “good form” rock to work with before moving on to a larger one. In an effort to avoid wet rocks and wet feet, we opted to stay on the pavement for:
Tricep Ext x10
Rock Overhead/Side Press to Opposite Knee x10 (Imperial Rock Press?)
One Hand Rock Curl x10 (use other had to balance/assist)
Squat x10
Rinse and repeat (all IC)
Circuit #2: Set small rock down, grab a larger “man maker” rock and return to the circle. JV once again declined an offer of the extra pair of gloves YHC had five feet away….must be immune to the numbness that the rest of the PAX encounters with chilly boulders. I’m envious. This circuit would be w/partners doing the following:
Gabrielle originally had the Q for this Mothership. He had asked if YHC could take the Q. Although YHC has another Mothership Q scheduled on Dec 1st, YHC was more than happy to help a F3 brother out and lead another workout. 22 PAX managed to meet up on a beautiful, dry, cool Saturday morning. At 6:30, YHC gave his standard disclaimer and off went the PAX.
Warm-ups
Short mosey to the Peristyle and did the following in cadence:
SSHs x 20
Windmills x 10
Seal Claps x 15
Hill Billies x 20
Imperial Walkers x 20
MC x 20
Peter Parkers x 20
Then picked a partner and jogged across the street to the Great Lawn. Side hopped while facing the partner from one end of the field to the other. 5 burpees. Then side hopped back to the other direction facing the partner. 4 burpees. Rinse and repeat side hopped from one end to the other with decreasing count on burpees from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. When finished, moseyed with the partner to the fountain in front of NOMA and performed 10 box jumps. Planked and waited for the six.
The Thang (Chipper Workout)
Because YHC doesn’t see much of the PAX from Metairie and MidCity at Uptown AOs, YHC decided to bring a typical Birdcage / Skinny workout to the Metairie and MidCity folks. Starting off by the steps in front of NOMA, each Pax had to do the following:
Round 1
50 Rocky Balboa (2 steps count as 1) in front of NOMA,
to the fountain with 50 dips
to the first light post with 5 burpees
to the 2nd light post with 50 Hello Dollies
to the 3rd light post with 5 Burpees
to the 4th light post with 50 squats
to the 5th light post with 5 burpees
to the 6th light post with 50 leg raises
to the 7th light post with 5 burpees
to the 8th light post with 50 King Kong shoulder taps.
Then moseyed back about a quarter mile to the steps in front of NOMA. Rinse and repeat.
Round 2 – rinse and repeat but shaved off the reps for all exercises to 40 count and all burpees to 4 count.
Round 3 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 30 count and all burpees to 3count.
Round 4 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 20 count and all burpees to 2 count.
Round 5 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 10 count and all burpees to 1 count.
Each lap is approximately 0.5 mile. In total, the PAX toughed out 60 burpees and 150 reps on each exercise and little less than 2.5 miles.
While YHC was giving the instruction for the Thang, a lot of mumblechatter. Triple Shift informed YHC with “that’s a lot of leg raises.” The time was approximately 6:53 when the PAX started. The goal was to finish all 5 rounds before 7:30. YHC knew this would not be an easy challenge.
Respect to Jingle Vader setting the tone early and starting at a very fast pace. Not sure what happened, but Triple Shift was screaming at JV telling him to come back during the first round. The PAX finished strong. T-Claps to Triple Shift, Tinkles, Rudy, JV, and Two Yutes for finishing the beatdown before 7:30. YHC had to call off the challenge right at 7:30, but much respect to few PAX (Mambi, Walleye, Fracsac – I may be missing few names here) ignoring the Q’s request and finishing all 5 rounds regardless of the time. YHC loved it because he would do the same. Needless to say, moseyed back to the flags few minutes late at about 7:35. YHC got a sense that everyone really enjoyed the challenge. This was YHC’s most satisfying Q when he saw the PAX not giving up and giving every thing they had. The PAX who gave YHC a hard time about the leg raises finished first. 3 PAX finishing within the time were over 50. Everyone who came out today got stronger. Mad respect. YHC has a feeling the PAX will see this challenge again.
COT
Count-O-Rama 22PAX, Name-O-Rama, announcements, intentions. 2 FNGs (Flo and Gasper Goo) Our thoughts and prayers for I Love You Man’s niece, Hawgcycle’s mother and family, Two Yutes’ brother, Fracsac’s family, and safe travels for all family and friends during the Thanksgiving week. Thank You all again for the opportunity to lead. SYITG
Okwata – there is no AO more unpredictable! This time of year is a crapshoot as to weather but when you sign up to Q you get rolling either way!
11 men showed up to the lakefront to work. After a short disclaimer Triple Shift and his buddy (one day to join the pax, Adam) decided to skip the work out and take a walk along the lake.
The rest of us took a short mosey to warm up:
Short run with high knees and carioca around the fountain then circle up
SSH x 25
Side lunges x 25
Head to the levee – line up for India Run – Pax the takes the lead and instructs the group what exercise shouts disperse – all PAX runs down the levee performs a 3 count then runs back to the top and the run continues until all have had a chance to lead. JV decided that the PAX had not embraced the suck of the wet ground and had us perform superman roll to back cross – this got the group fired up.
Now time to work:
1-5 levee work
Start with
1 Burpee – run up levee perform 5 Merkin Jacks on top run down perform a Burpee run back up 5 Merkin Jacks run down
Now 2, then 3, then 4, then 5 – Performing the 5 Merkin Jacks each time you hit the top of the levee
1 minute plank recovery
Partner Up – Wheel Barrel to the top (NOTE we did move down to a lower section)
Pax 1 and 2 perform plank high fives – up to 10 by 2’s (right hand then left hand = 1)
Then Pax 1 holds Pax 2’s feet as he upper body bear crawls up the levee
Rinse and repeat 4 times so each PAX got 2 shots at climbing the levee!
1 minute plank recovery
Mosey back to the flag – apology to Abacus – he was tying his shoes and we took off not realizing he was pulling a hard 6! He caught up and we started some Mary!
Combo x 20 2 count – Dying Cockroach into Penguins
Combo x 20 2 count – In and Out to flutter kicks
High Plank J – Lo’s x 15 2 count
COT
Give thanks and take nothing for granted – carry forgiveness in our hearts!
Winter is here. But that didn’t stop 4 hardy PAX from appearing on the angry shores of Okwata, where the winds were howling. YHC’s car said 37 degrees. Alas, YHC’s car does not have a wind-chill measurement; perhaps that is for the best. Somethings are best left unknown. 5:30 arrives, so the 4 frozen horsemen from setting off.
The Thang
YHC abandoned the planned Q in order to seek shelter behind the levee. Lets mosey! 10 seconds later, time for a quick return to the sidewalk to find an alternate path. Thank you, trailblazing Abacus, for alerting us to the puddles of mud and water! Sorry you had to step in it to discover for us…
Instead: Mosey down to Canal St, up and over the levee, seek shelter and dry ground on the City side of the levee.
Warmup with SSH, IW, then plank-o-rama. Cold seems to mess with Frac’s counting abilities. But we persevere…
Dora 1-2-3
Burpees x100, Merkins x200, Squats x300.
While Pax 1 reps, Pax 2 Lunge Walks up and down the levee – feel that howing, freezing wind hit your face at the top! The walk down added the extra “don’t slip and slide” risk. Frac and JV got the benefit of extra reps waiting on YHC and Abacus.
Head to the top for a 20 count (and grumbling about why we didn’t do the 20 count in the shelter at the bottom. Because we’re tough, that’s why)
HOP
Mosey to HOP for 4 stations: Bear crawl Up/Down the levee (the timer), Dips, Pull-Ups, LBCs. 2 rounds. I’m not exactly sure what JV does on the bear crawl down, but I think it involved frequent stops to smell the flowers. We don’t have all day, here….
Mosey back through the mud and puddles to the flag. Dang, that water is C.O.L.D. on the feets.
Time for Flutter Kicks x25.
Then close up with the faster countoff, name-o-rama, intentions and prayers that I’ve ever been a part of. “Nice seeing you gents, gotta run….” says everyone as they hustle back to their cars to try and restore feeling to extremeties.
Another beautiful (albeit slightly chilly) day on board the Mothership at City Park. Attendance stood at 16 total, with 13 existing members and 3 FNGs.
The following members were in attendance: Two Yutes, Triple Shift, Pie Gow, Rudy, Gabrielle, Mahatma Ice, Willie, King Kong, Jingle Vader, Abacus, Tool, Justice, Catfish, Front Line (FNG), Ya Mama ‘nem (FNG), Centerfold (FNG)
Today’s activites started with a mosey out to the grass next to the Museum for…
Side Straddle Hop
Arm Circles (Forward)
Arm Circles (Backward)
Peter Parkers
Catalina Wine Mixers
Parker Peters
Windmills
From here we moseyed to the fountain for a Dora featuring…
100 box jumps, 200 dips, and 300 mountain climbers, while partners did the bunny hop up the museum steps.
This was followed by two laps of Indian run around the main drag in front of the museum.
From here we moved to the trees in the adjacent grassy area. Here we did two series of bear crawls, duck walk, lunges, and burpee broad jumps, each for a distance of two trees and followed by 5 burpees between exercises.
From here we moseyed back to the great lawn for Jack Webb up to 13, and then finished the workout with some Dying Cockraoches, Box Cutters, and Penguin Toe Touches.
Thanks to everyone for coming out and participating! Should be a great start to a gorgeous weekend!
Over the last three months, YHC has quietly sat back an observed all that is F3. Trying to explain F3 to family and friends makes YHC sound like he joined a cult. “Yea, so me and a bunch of random guys I don’t know show up early in the morning for a workout. We have code names and end each workout by getting in a big circle and praying.” Regardless, YHC has discovered that F3 is the real deal. Physically, I am in the best shape of my life, and mentally you have all stretched me further than I could on my own. For that, I say thank you to all.
YHC was volunteered for this workout (thanks, Rev Sox), but I have discovered the best workouts are planned, and the PAX ends sweaty…
Welcome, Disclaimer, Mosey.
Warm-Up:
SSH X 29 (Random number stuck n my head from this past weekend :))
Mountain Climbers X 25
Imperial Walkers X 20
Windmills X 10
Arm Circles X 10
Peter Parkers X 20
Hillbillies X 20
The Thang:
Mosey to the Hill for 11’s…
First side – burpees
Bear crawl uphill
Crab walk downhill
Second side – jump squats
Mosey to the field and partner up…
200 LBCs as a pair. The first partner does LBCs while the second partner lays down and holds legs 6 inches off the ground. Rotate every 20.
200 squats as a pair. The first partner squats while the second partner does a sitting squat, Rotate every 20.
12 PAX met this morning in the gloom of City Park @ the Foundry. I was expecting to see a few Pax in costume, but only saw a group of men, many in F3 shirts/gear. We certainly were a scary looking group. With Voodoo fest still having an impact in the Park, we were somewhat limited in where we could workout this morning. We moseyed to the lawn in front of the new Children’s Museum for our warm-up as follows:
SSH x 31
Imperial Walkers x 31 (in honor of my youngest son (Tiny 2000 or Deduction) who was a storm trooper this evening.
Arm Circles – 10 forward and 10 backward
Windmills x 20
We moseyed back to the neutral ground area near the flag at the entrance to Roosevelt Mall for the following Halloween themed/superhero/scary workout. YHC had four pumpkins in a square about 20 paces apart.
Corner 1 – Peter Parkers (spiderman/superhero) x 31, bear crawl (spider crawl) to Corner 2
Corner 2 – Big Boy Situps (Mummy sit-ups) x31, crab walk/crawl to Corner 3
Corner 4 – Skeleton Jacks (modified SSH squat thrust) x31, crab walk/crawl back to Corner 1
Then run (from the Zombies) the loop of Roosevelt Mall and meet back at the cones/pumpkins. We were able to finish two complete sets of the exercises above. With the remaining few minutes we finished with some plank exercise, flutter kicks and some Halloween Burpees.
Announcements, Intentions, and Ball of Man. Thank you all for the opportunity to lead. Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween.
