F3 New Orleans

Tag: Akbar

  • Return to the Marsh – from Akbar

    YHC was excited to return to the Marsh after missing a couple of weeks due to travel. Looking forward to seeing everyone and the traditional catch up on the weekend mosey to the Lakefront. At 5:13, looked like I would be talking to myself this gloom. At the last minute, Pik came running up and we got to work.

    Warm Up
    SSH, Self-Love, Butt kicks, Imperial Walkers, High Knees, and some other stuff

    Short Mosey to the playground for 3 sets of 10: Australian Pullups and Mountain Climbers

    Mosey to Rips, stopping at each intersection for Merkins and Sumo Squats, tempo style. 12 IC, 8 IC, 5 IC

    11’s at Rips. Plank Jacks and Bobby Hurley’s with a run up the stairs + 20 calf raises each round. Calf raises were cut out halfway to save time and make sure we could walk the rest of the day. Quick Hello from Pik’s M on her morning walk, asking if we were trespassing and we finished up at 5:50

    Mosey back to center court stopping a few times for Merkins and Sumo Squats. Mary was Heels to Heaven and LBC’s.

    Count, Name, and YHC prayed us out.

    Till next Gloom 👊 – Akbar

  • The Incredible Weight of Zero* – from Steve

    Week 0. Meaningless. Inconsequential. Akin to a preseason Saints game with Ian Book in for all four quarters. A mere hors d’oevres for the real deal, which starts next week. A warm up, really.

    I’m sure the seven pax that posted – most of them blithely unaware of what was to go down this morning (despite the leak on slack) – would agree with this. I am sure they would not have preferred to do the simple four corners mosey down to the lakefront and back that YHC had originally planned. I mean, these Greenwood guys gently ramp up the Iron Pax challenges each week anyway, right?

    Ugggghhh… let’s hope not. The Fat Coe Sandwich, as this beatdown is called, is a brutal joke for a week zero beatdown. It consisted of:

    – 20x Squat Thrusters w/ coupon, 20x merkins. Rinse and repeat 5x.

    – Bear crawl 100 feet, burpee broad jump back (3x burpees, 5x jumps). Rinse and repeat 3x.

    – 20x Squat Thrusters w/ coupon, 20x merkins. Rinse and repeat 5x.

    Woof. That’s rough. For a Monday morning, that’s real rough. And for a Monday morning where you ran a few miles from your home to the Marsh, well, that’s just plain mean. (As always, t-claps to Hammer and Waterpik.)

    Luckily we had Bacchus, a Southshore transplant that Quarterpipe EH’d the night before, post and inspire us with his incredible athleticism. For a guy that hadn’t posted in two years (I believe?), this guy was unbelievable. I mean, if I hadn’t proctored the event myself, I probably wouldn’t have believed it.

    To see him go toe to toe with Bushwacker, the man whose bear crawl is as fast as my running, was just incredible. While Bush still had the edge on the crawls, Bacchus’ broad jumps were something to behold. Eventually he just outpaced us all, by a long shot. And it wasn’t just the endurance and speed, he was slinging those cinderblocks like they were nothing. It’s like Grundy, Tank, and Cowbell somehow had an incredibly tall child together.

    YHC cannot recall the times – I know Bacchus was in the 18 min range (almost 19 mins) and Bush was in the 21 min range, and everyone else was 25 mins and beyond.

    Incredible job, everyone. To get out there on a Monday morning and complete this challenge – or even attempt it – is incredibly inspiring. T-claps to Akbar, who prodded me to run with this instead of something easy. And t-claps to Bacchus, of course, for his first Northshore post and a memorable one at that.

    And hey, as it sounds like Week Zero could ultimately provide an edge in the case of a tie breaker, well, this month’s contest – on the Northshore at least – could conceivably already be in the books.

  • Kickball Redeaux – from Akbar

    21 strong at the Lakefront for a redeaux of Kickball. This time, it was simple.

    Conditions
    Wet, muggy, just another day in SE Louisiana.

    Warm Up
    SSH x20 IC, Grass Grabbers, Butt Kicks, Self Love, High Knees, Imperial Walkers, Mountain Climbers, Merkins – x15 -10 IC

    Thang
    Mosey to the baseball field, count off 1’s and 2’s and teams were made. Regular rules apply this go round, with exercises called by QIC at random of Merkins and Sister Mary Catherines. Team 2 came out strong with a big lead, while Team 1 went 3 and out pretty quickly. A modification was made to not let all the kids kick first, and it was better. After a couple of innings, we were getting stomped. At this point, Mathlete had a suggestion that YHC implemented- Team 2 would have to Bear Crawl the bases to give us a chance. We made a short rally, but still got squashed by double digits.

    We headed back to the flag a little early since we didn’t really exercise that much and YHC implemented the Red Hot Chili Pepper. A standard of Hogcycle, we did Merkins and Squats to finish out in 3 rounds. Merkins and Squats x20 IC, Merkins and Squats x15 IC, Merkins and Squats x 10IC

    Count, Name
    Announcements

    Sept 10 5k/5mile at Covington trailhead

    Iron Pax is coming in September

    Hammers bible study Wednesday at 8:30 at the Crisi Pregnancy Center

    Bubba prayed us out with special prayers for JV’s Grandma who passed this morning at 98.

    Head to Coffeeteria and called it a day

    Thanks for following my lead – Akbar

  • What the Ruck is happening here!! – from Shooter

    Well what used to be known as a running AO has quickly changed to a 50/50 mix of Ruckers and runners.. However, the Ruckers today joined by Zoolander outnumbered the stallion’s with a 5/3 advantage, only as the unusually late Cowbell arrived so late that he had to sprint to catch the Ruckers.. Believe he shortened his run as Waterpik and Hammer were just about out of sight by the time we hit Messina.. YHC is still not actually sure why Cowbell is not resting in preparation for Rudy’s 55 on Saturday.. Only thought can be is that he knows Tanked up is losing sleep, still working out in some capacity and putting in 8 hour days in the brutal heat while endlessly planning to conquer and destroy yet another CSAUP… Anyways the PAX did a brief warmup of 20IC SSH, 10IC Windmills, 20IC Toe Touches, 10IC self love and 10 OYO Merkins and squats.. Gave instructions of a route that produced 4.6 miles for Hammer and Waterpik which even though it’s dark outside the heat is still relentless but those guys constantly crush it by running to the AOs and putting in the extra work.. Big T👏🏼 to their discipline and leadership in that way.. As for the Ruckers YHC knew he had to add a little intensity to impress Zoolander, so we stopped 4x for 10 squats and 10 Merkins of course with the Ruck sack..
    Lots of great chatter about high school football games quickly approaching, to insurance coverage, etc.. We chose to not actually solve the worlds problems on this Gloom but who knows what next week will bring..

    Appreciate the following and 👍🏼💪🏼✌🏼 till the next Gloom!!

    Thanks to Akbar for the closing in prayer!!

  • The St. Vincent 500 – from Paradox

    Our tale begins in the spring of 2022 in a small bayou town where a community pharmacy, after taking losses from storm and plague, had great need. After decades of providing vital prescription medicine for those in need, this team of volunteers now searched for the same helping hand. The Pax of F3 Thibodaux heard the call, and a plan was devised. We consulted our sage leader for advice. This HIM had carried the torch of 3Fs from the Mandevillage many moons ago. He knew the way of the pax and was skilled in the smithing of a fine beatdown. He peered into the gloom with a thousand-mile stare and the fate of the fundraiser hung in the balance. “if you build it..they will come” Goose said with a nod and then promptly vanished into a flurry of burpees. With a team formed and a grant secured we dove into the work.
    An event was needed and a place to rally the pax. A race, but not just any race. A challenge of physical and mental strength that would call to the hearts of the Louisiana PAX. A series of pain and cardiovascular torture so intense that no self-respecting HIM of F3 Nola could resist. It was forged in the caves of .word files and hammered through the gmail circuit boards. Welded to perfection one station at a time. A burpee here, a bonnie blair there. Precious metals adorned it at every corner to award prepared pax but many traps lay waiting for poor form. It was written, and it was done and it was beautiful.

    The beacons of aid were lit! Thibodaux called for aid…and our brothers answered.
    39 PAX (including 6 FNGs!) assembled at the stage on a gorgeous bayou morning! They came from northern shores and from western banks. From uptowns and motherships. From Grannies and Lakefronts. They came in calf sleeves, mudgears and some even bare of foot! Namesakes that struck fear like Shooter and Tanked. Some that drew intrigue like Hokie and Hawg. Famed backblasters we had read for years like Steve and Akbar. Even legends of the gloom like Frac and the Reluctant Yankee, who were there when the deep magic was gifted to us from the eastern coast. They followed a lonesome bayou road and mumbled Deliverance jokes along the way. They came as one to help a great cause and lock shields with their brothers in the bayou. The course was set, pleasantries exchanged, and the only thing left to do was make a run at 500. Let’s get to it…

    Warmup

    Goose gave the disclaimer and race details, and pointed out key safety and strategy reminders. Each two-person pax team would start at a numbered station along the course. Once the horn was blown, they would begin at their station and advance. Each station had 3 options: bronze, silver or gold. (Worth 10, 15 and 25 points respectively. So, a perfect score of gold at all 20 stations would reach the mythical 500 points. These corresponded to the number of reps completed by a team combined. They then would grab the token and secure it in an advanced technology carrying case (Ziploc bag). Head for the next station and rinse and repeat until you have finished 20 stations or ran out of time.
    After this was explained he led a thunderous cadence of our usuals stage warmups. This was YHCs first experience with a >20 pax group and the big group energy was powerful

    THE THANG

    Pair up, line up and we were numbered off 1-19 (one team of 3). Each team headed for their station and when GI Joe hit the airhorn it was geaux time. The stations were as follows:

    STATIONS:
    1. Merkins- 40, 80, 120
    2. Bobby Hurleys—30, 60, 90
    3. Freddy Mercuries—50, 100, 200
    4. Coupon Curls—40, 60, 100
    5. SSH: 50, 100, 150
    6. Carolina Dry Docks- 40, 60, 100
    7. Big Boy Sit Ups- Partner does big boys, one partner sprints to next station and back. 100, 150, 200 situps
    8. Side lunges (2 is 1)- 40, 80, 120
    9. Coupon OHP- 40, 60, 100
    10. Burpees- 30, 50, 100
    11. LBC’s- 50, 100, 200
    12. Peter Parker Merkins- 30, 60, 90
    13. Bonnie Blair (2 is 1) 40, 60, 100
    14. Brick Back Flys- 50, 100, 200
    15. Leg Raise Dora – One partner Leg raises, one partner bear crawl to next station and run back. 50, 100 or 200
    16. Mission Impossible Plank- combined time: 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes
    17. Coupon Swings- 40, 60, 100
    18. Prisoner Squats – 50, 100, 150
    19. Mountain Climber (2:1) 50, 100, 200
    20. Arm Circles while partner crabwalks to next station and runs back. Complete 100, 200, or 400

    After 1 hour of “Pax vs St. Vincent course” the dust settled and everyone returned to the flag. Chatter was high about the difficulty of the layout, the supreme fun had traversing the course and low rumblings of scores north of 400 permeated the air. A few teams completed counting up their coins while we began the count off, and name off. YHC was impressed with the veteran naming experience of NOLA and northshore pax. Their FNG naming skills were unparalled and we left with six newly minted local PAX: Welcome Sir Lawrence, Kodiak (CodyYak), MeatSweats, One Call, Wallflower and Lambchops. Looking forward to getting yall in the mix.

    Now down to serious business. YHC and Goose dramatically unveiled the official St. Vincent 500 dual trophies for the final presentation. Imagine a 12-inch manifestation of the love child between Hulk and Stretch Armstrong, in a full rage pose. Victory is all he has ever known. After appropriate oooohhhhs and ahhhhsss Goose led a suspenseful point count-off to see who the last team was standing. In the end, the combination of Tanked Up and Speedy Gonzalez tallied 470 points and took home the first annual St. Vincent 500 trophy! T- Claps on those numbers gentlemen. Phenomenal effort. We’ll all be gunning for you next year.

    Coffeeteria after provided by our St. Vincent de Paul board and it was great to get a chance to talk shop with all the pax and compare notes on course strategy.

    YHC could not have envisioned the tremendous amount of support we would receive from both our local community and our F3 community for this cause.
    So grateful for each one of you who spent your weekend time and energy for this event.

    At the time of writing this backblast we have raised $10, 451. 51!! This goes directly to purchase of prescription medicine for those individuals in need. Praise God!

    Thank you for the oppurtunity to lead.

    SYITG,
    Paradox

  • Redeaux – from Akbar

    QIC arrived to 5 at the Marsh this morning, still in recovery from the St. Vincent 500. Made worse by the air going out last night and camping on the floor with Wicket and Grover. Realizing there was no plan late Sunday evening, Even though the soreness was still harsh, there’s that inward force that says go get it today. And we did.

    YHC pulled the old Redeaux from a Gipper workout a few months back. The difference was no bricks. A late Sunday trip to Ace Hardware came up empty handed – so it was modified to blocks. After some chatter Jose ran up and Fletch arrived later to make 7.

    Mumblechatter was high as usual: ISI, St. Vincent 500, JV’s double Q, somehow Bushwhacker always comes up regardless of where we are. Since Hammer and Jose were there – lots of movie quotes today: Over the Top was a main focus. There may be a remake of Roadhouse – which will likely fail without Patrick and Sam.

    Jose had the tunes, and Cry Little Sister came on. This brings flashbacks for YHC in high school from Jamie Gertz’s cave scene – which made the rest of the workout that much better. We didn’t even get to Less Than Zero – maybe another day.

    Warm Up
    SSH, toe touches, self-love, arm circles, imperial walkers, high knees, butt kicks

    Thang
    5 on blocks for a Tabata of 30s on and 15s rest, full body blocks. 2 men did LBC’s and we rotated each round. Warm up run before down to the stop sign and back, and again after legs/back/bi’s.

    Legs
    Block holds for each exercise: squat, alternating side lunge, sumo deadlift, staggered squat right, staggered squat left, side lunge right, side lunge left.

    Back
    Curls, block swing, bent row, inward curls, good mornings, supine row, curls again, merkin row.

    Shoulders
    Manmakers, upright row, shoulder press, alpo’s, 45 degree shoulder press

    Chest/Tri
    Skull crushers, chest press, merkin, chest press w/ inward block, diamond merkin, block merkin, overhead extensions

    Circle at center court for 4 exercises x10 IC. Chest press, curls, shoulder press, goblet squat.

    Mary
    Rosalilta, Down Dog, Low Lunge right with arm cross body stretch 0 then left. Up dog, child’s pose.

    Name, Count, and Waterpik prayed us out.

    Announcements: Double Nickel on Southshore Saturday, Dangerfield VQ Saturday, Bible Study starts this week 8:30 at Crisis Pregnancy Center.

    Thanks for following my lead – Akbar

    Akbar, Hammer, Waterpik, Shooter, Quarterpipe, Fletch, Jose10k, F3 Norsthore, Milestone Marsh

  • Dirty 30 – from Akbar

    6 strong at the Gipper this morning. YHC arrived early to Jose running up from working on the ISI already. Chatter was so strong it continued through the warm up. Shooters 21 beatdown yesterday, continuing tomorrow at the A1C, getting old, different workouts, Fletch’s hot sauce, and when will the heat stop, and strength in people you would not normally recognize. A large lady walking up stairs in high heeled shoes is stronger than you think.

    Warm Up

    SSH, High Knees, Butt Kicks, Arm Circles, Toe Touches, Self-Love 15 IC

    Thang

    Mosey to the Justice Center stairs, stopping by the Rock Garden for a small/medium sized rock.

    6 men, 6 exercises for 3 rounds total.

    x30 OYO

    Merkins, Australian Mountain Climbers, Bulgarian Split Squats, Rock Curls, Sister Mary Catherines, Triceps Rock Press

    Run around the perimeter, up the stairs for 30 Calf raises, and return. Rinse and repeat x 3. Last round, no run, carry rock up the stairs for 30 calf raises.

    Mary
    LBC and Rosalita’s x15 IC

    Announcements: See Slack for details.

    Hammer’s leading F3 Bible Study starting Wednesday Aug 17th at the Crisis Pregnancy Center, 830-930pm

    St Vincent 500 – August 13th Thibodaux. Goose’s CSAUP to support St. Vincent Pharmacy, 2 man teams for a beatdown style race for points. 3-4 teams from the Northshore already signed up.

    September 10th, Coving Trailhead. 911 run to remember 5k or 5 miles. Good representation for our group participating.

    Count, Name, and Einstein prayed us out.

    Thanks for following my lead – SYITG – Akbar.

  • Feel the Burn – from Akbar

    QIC arrived in the gloom to see JV planting a flag with Jose 10k by his side, already in deep mumblechatter. The plan for today was a no run burn, which made it even harder due to the fact that Akbars family baked in the sun all day yesterday. After a grueling week of hard beatdowns, YHC was ready to take a walk around the Marsh for the workout, maybe even search for Garfield’s group and join them. But there is something down inside all of us that says, let’s get it. So we did – but without running.

    Warm up: SSH, arm circles, self-love, high knees, but kicks, down dog.

    Thang: Tried and true ascending ladder, after each progression a mosey to the playground for 5 pull ups and 5 hanging knee raises

    5 Plank Jacks

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos, 15 LBC’s

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos, 15 LBC’s, 20 block chest presses

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos, 15 LBC’s, 20 block chest presses, 25 Mountain Climbers

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos, 15 LBC’s, 20 block chest presses, 25 Mountain Climbers, 30
    Shoulder Thrusts

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos, 15 LBC’s, 20 block chest presses, 25 Mountain Climbers, 30 Shoulder Thrusts, 35 SSH, 40 Al Gore Presses

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos, 15 LBC’s, 20 block chest presses, 25 Mountain Climbers, 30 Shoulder Thrusts, 35 SSH, 40 Al Gore Presses

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos, 15 LBC’s, 20 block chest presses, 25 Mountain Climbers, 30 Shoulder Thrusts, 35 SSH, 40 Al Gore Presses, 45 Block Rows

    5 Plank Jacks, 10 Alpos, 15 LBC’s, 20 block chest presses, 25 Mountain Climbers, 30 Shoulder Thrusts, 35 SSH, 40 Al Gore Presses, 45 Block Rows

    Time ran out before the 50 Bouncy Squats. Circle up, no Mary, and JV prayed us out.

    Annoucements:
    St. Vincent 500 August 13th in Thibodaux. Around 5 teams from the Northshore already signed up.

    August ISI from Zoolander. Each day – 100 Merkins, 200 Squats, 300 LBC’s, 1 mile run.

    Never Forget 911 5k in Covington, Sept. 11th 8am at the Trailhead. 5k walk, run, stairclimb. HC is around 5 so far. wwwrunsignup.com

    Hammer has the Q Saturday

    Thanks for following my lead, always a pleasure to start my week with you guys.

    SYITG – Akbar

  • 2 year anniversary of the A1C – from Jose10k

    Nice humid morning, YHC arrived extra early to apply the finishing touches to the 2nd anniversary beatdown of the A1C. I love when the lights of the parking garage turn on at 5:00, it helps turn on my switch to get ready for the beatdown. An unusual truck appeared first, it took awhile to determine who it was…JV showed up for his first A1C. The numbers showed up, and I was very humbled by the support of my brothers.
    Warm-up: ssh, grass grabbers, self love, torso twists, imperial walkers all ic. Then the cupid shuffle: everyone in plank position, the music starts, shoulder taps until the chorus, right steps, left steps, butt kicks, mountain climbers, then back to shoulder taps.
    The thang: Mosey to the side of the parking garage for some dora. Partner one runs a loops while partner two performs the exercise, then switch up. 100 lunges (2 is 1), 200 squats, 300 merkins. After that fun, mosey back up to the top, where we broke up into 3 groups of 4 for some burpee ball. Every time you hit the ball in the air, you drop and do a burpee. The beach ball is allowed to touch the ground only one time. Penalty exercise is 25 squats. Went all the way to 6, then COT. Welcome back Einstein. Shooter prayed us out, BBQ busted out the celebratory brownies, and we huddle up for a quick picture.
    This was the 106th A1C, and I appreciate all those the help create this AO. The ones who helped me create it, the ones who showed up each week to keep it going, the Mandevillians who came out to support this Covington AO, and my brothers who are always there no matter what is going on. When people ask my about F3, I always tell them that the F2 is the most important aspect of F3. The exercises is just the lagniappe. Thank you for letting me lead today, thank you for giving me the courage to step out of my comfort zone, two years ago, to create this AO. Thank you to Moby, BBQ, and Einstein (my Covington Crew) for making it out each week. Thank you my brothers!! SYITG

  • Ruckin Ramble at the Scramble – from Shooter

    With not much chatter of the Gnarly Nutria swirling around the northern parts YHC anticipated more PAX posting on this Gloom.. In previous years the Scramble following the Gnarly was always a ghost town.. Many of the regulars would post the night before at the Gnarly and take a rest the following Gloom.. The Scramble appears to be reaching a different PAX lately. With the introduction of Rucking the past few months we have seen the likes of Akbar and JV posting more often and this morning we were privileged to have Russo in attendance as well.. Until Cowbells 0515:59 arrival it was looking as though Waterpik would be the only stallion on the streets with his reigns pulled tight.. Thankfully though he and Cowbell have similarities in run speeds and it worked out perfectly… After 5 mins of warmup 10IC Toe Touches, Imperial walkers, Hillbillies, Cherry pickers, Torso twists and Grass grabbers. YHC instructed the Ruckers we would go out 20 mins and return. Offered an idea of directions to the stallion’s and for the most part I believe they charted that very course giving the 2 a 4.8 mile distance at a nice 8:26 pace, which in these summer conditions most certainly deserves a T👏🏼 for sure… We all arrived back at the AO right on time to count, announce and COT before parting ways for the rest of the day..

    Appreciate you men posting and until the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!!