short disclaimer …
warm up: We did a lot.
moseyed to the Taj-Mahal: We did some more.
moseyed to the St.Tammany Parish Courthouse Parking Garage: We did some more stuff.
We sweated a lot.
Maverick never arrived.
count-o-rama, Shooter did the prayer.
Everyone who missed it, should have been there.
We learned two new technical terms; fire hose and fire extinguisher.
I’ll pay someone to write my black blasts, if anyone’s interested.
It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done.
-Nelson Mandella
It was this sentiment that was permeating the air like vapors of a scent distinctly from times gone by, whilst I was pondering the unlimited possibilities for Saturday at the Lakefront. It had YHC reminiscing about slightly less than a year ago when a freshly minted Bushwacker spent almost the entirety of the weekend beatdowns feeling pure misery and little faith in his ability to see the thing through to completion. It was only the strength that he absorbed from his F3 brothers, as if by osmosis, that allowed him to finish, realizing that impossible really was possible! The pain and misery faded and was quickly replaced by feelings of exuberance and satisfaction.
In an attempt to reignite and recapture that feeling, as well as spread it amongst the PAX, it was high time we returned to Animal Planet. In homage to our esteemed brother Butt Splice, who by sheer coincidence happened to grace us with his presence, our tickets were purchased, our bags were packed, and we prepared to go on a safari of sorts.
WARM-O-RAMA
21s – SSH in cadence with reps 1-5 out loud and 6-21 in silence. After a failed 1st attempt, we hit 10 burpees. After a 2nd failed attempt, 50 LBCs
High knees/Air presses – simultaneously, IC x20
Annie – in plank, alternate “scrubbing the floor” with right or left hand
Abe Vigodas – x10 IC
THANG
QIC passed the baton to Barely Legal
After a brief westward mosey PAX circled up for…
x20 IC:
Putins, LBCs, Freddy Mercurys, mountain climbers & very slow flutter kicks ( hence for to be known as Sputter Kicks)
Back to Bushwacker with a mosey to the nearest corner (perhaps LafayetteSt)
Welcome to ANIMAL PLANET!
For the 1st block we bear crawled and finished with 10 burpees
2nd block we crab walked followed by 20 merkins
(returning to lakefront)
3rd block was duck walk and 5 burpees
Last block was bunny hop with 10 merkins
More from Barely Legal
The PAX headed back towards the shovel flag, but pulled up to the sea wall slightly short of said destination.
Aiken Legs was on BL’s agenda:
R1 20 squats, 20 box jumps, 20 lunges
R2 5 derkins, 20 squats, 20 box jumps, 5 derkins
MARY
To be perfectly honest, YHC was so worn out and oxygen deprived at this point that I can only summon vague recollections of Peter Parkers before the golden dawning of glorious 7:30!
COT, FNGx2, Ocho closed out our sacramental sacrifice of blood and sweat with a prayer of appreciation for all that we are blessed with.
Many thanks to Barely Legal for bringing the pain, and to all the PAX for following our lead and embracing the suck!
Arrived at the Gipper with Moby wearing his 4 ounce gloves looking as though he were ready to step into the Octagon for 5 rounds of a championship fight. The YHC would need to bring the heat to TKO this opponent.. Joining the PAX would include the Barely legal Brawler and the Relentless Einstein who would surly take any of us to a hard fought decision of sorts ultimately going the distance to claim the title… With borrowed Dice of Doom from the Wacker we begin round 1.
warmup
PAX take turns rolling out the die with just the number as the Q selects the exercise after the number is determined.
Each PAX rolls twice as we put in some SSH, IW, Hill Billies, Good mornings, Toe touches and Windmills with variations of counts. Some done in cadence and others straight count..
Thang
Moseyed to the parking garage for the Triple Threat (modification), as you read in the Exercise list on F3 nation this requires groups of 3. Round 2 consists of partner 1 doing plank jacks as partner 2 runs up the first ramp dropping at the top to complete plank jacks as partner 2 runs up to relieve. Upon arrival partner 1 drops for some peter Parker’s and partner 2 releases and run across the next parking level repeating. Partner 1 arrives and drops for Parker Peters and then the PAX recovery walks down the stairs to the starting point for Round 3. This series included Mountain climbers, Flutter kicks and Hello Dollies. Round 4 Merkins, Squats and lunges.. Caution was needed mid way through as a group from the top of the garage began their descent exiting through the turns to the sights of the PAX on their sixes… This was a first at the Gipper as the only activity we usually encounter is the same 2 hour early over achieveing worker who can be seen in her illuminating car scrolling Facebook or making her daily Twitter post.. After we Mosey to the Northside of the justice center for round 5. The WASH is the exercise which consisted of partnering once again completing 50 arm release Merkins, 100 American Hammers, 150 Step ups on the benches and 200 Alternating hip thrust.. One partner would be doing exercise while the other went up the handicap ramp and backdown the stairs picking up the count from the other to continue with the exercises..
Final bell
Moseyed back to the flag right on time..
Count, announcements, COT
Barely legal closed in prayer with intentions of peace and reverence to others…
Appreciate the lead Gipper Group!!
Making ourselves better is in many ways a critical first step towards making a positive impact on our friends, families and communities. This simple statement is a core tenant and one of the things YHC loves most about F3. Making ourselves better requires discipline and hard work. No one can make you better except for yourself. You must answer the call of duty if you want to project positive force in the world. Teddy Roosevelt had this figured out. He observed “the things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living, and the get rich quick theory of life.” Amen.
In this spirit, five patriots gathered under The Gipper’s gaze to celebrate their 4th of July with some hard work. Mosey to the St. Tammany Parish Justice Center for a warmup of SSHs, Windmills, Seal Jacks, and Overhead Hand Claps, all IC 10 to 15 reps with trips up and down the Justice Center stairs between exercises. Then it was off to the animal races with:
30 yard Ostrich walk, 70 yard strides, and repeat in the opposite direction. Rinse and repeat with Crabwalks, Bear Crawls, Lizard Walks, and Duck Walks.
Mosey to the Veterans Memorial at the front of the Justice Center for 30 seconds each of front to back jumps and lateral jumps with a short pause to reflect that we as Americans may be blessed with freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but the duty is ours to manifest and maximize those gifts through our actions and words.
Mosey to the top of the Parking Garage where we performed a 7 minute AMRAP of sprints down the ramp, climbs up the stairs, and short run back to the starting point complete the loop.
Mosey to the back of the Justice Center for 30 seconds each of lateral box jumps.
Then back to The Gipper for our ISI challenge of the day (30 rower situps IC), countorama, nameorama, and prayer.
Thanks for letting me lead guys.
God Bless America!
…like last Wednesday
Four pax posted at the Gipper early this past Wednesday. And a fifth pax posted, shortly thereafter, for his 35 minute workout.
While waiting for the six a.m.start bell, we wondered about California Steve. “It’s 4 a.m. out there”, Shooter remarked, “Steve is probably doing some pushups.”
Or maybe fartsacking and dreaming about riding his bike past the moon, or dreaming of running for Govenor of California…then on to the Presidency.
We’ll all vote for you Steve!
Anyways…here is how it went
Short disclaimer …
warmup
all 20xIC; side straddle hops, windmills, imperial walkers, hillbillys, arm circles, lunges, squats, mummy kicks
mosey to Bedrock Quarry; pick up a 10 pounder or so
about this time Maverick sidles-up, saying something about “my bus transfer expired and I had to jog the last five blocks.”
after admonishing, we continue…
all 15xIC; curls, overhead presses, rows, outward presses, elf on the shelf
mosey to the back of the Taj-Mahal for a stop-start ladder; run up, backpedal back, repeat
mosey to the front of the Taj-Mahal for the MERKIN MEMORIAL
here we have lots of brick pavers, each with a name and date,
one pax, at a time, bearcrawls in toward the flagpole to a brick, reads the name and the date, choose a number and that’s how many merkins we did.
mosey to the St.Tammany Parish Courthouse parking garage for sprints up the ramps with a merkin stop at each level
once at the top level, break up into two groups. One group holds Al-Gore postion, while the other group sprints down the ramp and backpedals back. Repeat
back to the Gipper statue as time expires.
count-o-rama, Shooter lead us out with a prayer.
It’s always fun running around dowtown Covington, and thanks guys for letting me lead today.
And I apolgize for the late posting of the BackBlast. I’ve been busy sitting on the couch in my boxers eating a block of cheese and watching Netflix.
“Don’t expect to be motivated every day to get out there and make things happen. You won’t be. Don’t count on motivation. Count on discipline.” – Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual
“The test is not a complex one: when the alarm goes off, do you get up out of bed, or do you lie there in comfort and fall back to sleep? If you have the discipline to get out of bet, you win-you pass the test. If you are mentally weak for that moment and you let that weakness keep you in bed, you fail. Though it seems small, that weakness translates to more significant decisions. But if you exercise discipline, that too translates to more substantial elements of your life.” Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win.
“Our freedom to operate and maneuver had increased substantially through disciplined procedures. Discipline equals freedom.” Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win.
YHC sprinkled words of wisdom from his favorite U.S. Navy SEAL throughout this morning’s beatdown. He was preaching to the choir, of course, because all seven PAX standing around the shovel flag on the Mandeville Lakefront at 0630 already had passed their first test of the day. Their alarms sounded and they posted, ready to get some.
Barely Legal assisted YHC with this morning’s Warmup, a Q school of sorts. YHC led the PAX in Seal Jacks, lunges, Merkins, Copperhead Squats, windmills, and OH Hand Claps. Barely Legal followed suit and, being a quick study, had mastered several counting styles in no time at all. When all was said and done, the PAX had a solid 20 reps IC for each exercise and was ready to mosey down the Lakefront for a
Ring of Fire
Forming a ring around YHC’s backpack, the PAX bear crawled around the ring to the left, then the right, forward to the backpack and back, performing Merkins, Parker Peters, and plank variations along the way. Then we recovered for a standing Ring of Fire, shuffling with thighs parallel to the ground around the ring to the left, then the right, duck walk forward to the backpack and back, with Copperhead Squats and some Al Gore mixed in. Brief recovery then a mosey further down the Lakefront for
3×30
YHC placed two cones about 100 yards apart, sweeping the lane of travel for land mines as an early morning gift to the PAX. The next bit went like this:
10 regular Merkins, stride it out to the far cone, backpedal to the near cone; 10 right hand forward Merkins, stride/backpedal again, then 10 left hand forward Merkins, final stride/backpedal
10 Good Mornings, prime time to the far cone and back; rinse and repeat two times
10 hand release Merkins, lateral bounce extend to the far cone and back; 10 hand release T Merkins, lateral bounce extend again; 5 regular hand release Merkins and 5 hand release T Merkins; later bounce extend for the final trip
Another pause to catch our breath and then time for the main event.
Flying Sprints
Starting at the near cone, the PAX ran at 50% for the first 75 yards and then executed an all out sprint the remaining 25 yards to the far cone. Instructions were to give it everything for those final 25 yards, run ugly if necessary to close the distance as fast as possible. Recovery walk back to the start. Rinse and repeat twice for 3 high quality sprints.
Of note, Moby surprised us all, and himself as well, with Bo Jacksonesque sprints. If anyone personifies our “discipline equals freedom” mantra for the day, it’s Moby. When was the last time you saw a 67 year old run like a Heisman trophy winner?
Back to the shovel flag for
Mary
70 second front plank, Jane Fonda left then right 20x IC each, single leg lifts 10x IC each leg, and finally a set of scorpions 10x IC.
Countorama, nameorama and then off to the Beach House for our coffeeteria with a few wins under our collective belts to start our weekends.
Thanks for letting me lead this morning, guys, and for always pushing me to be better.
It was just another lazy morning for the six PAX that showed up to the Gipper this morning (7 if you count our Honorary Member for the day Moby). Because it was a nice and cool morning I thought it fitting to add an exercise that has “lazy” in the title. How hard can something with “lazy” in the title really be? Well, as the PAX soon discovered, there was nothing lazy about it.
Warmup
SSH 25 IC (In Cadence)
Windmills 15 IC
High Knees 20 IC
Butt Kicks 20 IC
Arm Circles (forward, backwards, and backwards larger circles) 15 IC
Let’s get this party started!
The Thang’
Mosey to the Taj Mahal.
Today I focused on one of the elements of F3 that sets it apart in my mind, and that is the area of togetherness. No man left behind and we are all in this together! So all of the exercises today were done with a partner or as a team.
First we partnered up and had one partner get in a wall sqauat. The other partner would do 2 burpees and run a lap around the building (stopping to do 2 more burpees on the opposite side). When partner 2 returns they replace partner 1 on the wall and reverse roles. 3 total laps were done for today.
After a brief 10-count we split up into groups of three and got about 75 feet apart or so facing each other. Group 1 held an Al Gore while group 2 lung walked to group 1’s location. Once there they switched and group 1 lunge walked back to group 2’s original location while group 2 held an Al Gore. Rinse and repeat!
After that everyone was acting really lazy so I decided to bring in the aforementioned “lazy” exercise. The exercise is called Lazy Doras.
The objective is similar to Dora 1-2-3 in that as a group you are to accomplish 100-200-and 300 reps of an exercise. The difference is that rather than having one partner run off and return to replace the partner at where they left off, both partners never separate. Instead, while one partner does the reps of the merkin portion , for example, the other partner is in a plank. Along those lines, when one partner does squats the other holds an Al Gore, and while one does lbc’s the other does a six inch dead man’s hold.
The format of accomplishing the objective was split up into 10-20-and 30 reps for each corresponding exercise session. When one partner does 10 merkins, the other partner continues immediately with the next 10 and so it ping pongs until completion. We did 100 merkins, 200 squats, and 300 lbc’s with that pattern.
It was so hard, that even Einstein’s legs were sweating (his words on the measure of the intensity of a workout…).
After everyone was done being lazy, we moved into our final event called Blue Falcon. Splitting into teams of three the objective was to create a workout that your group tries to finish in three minutes (with some adjustments to the plan during the 3 minutes granted). Simultaneously both groups attempt their workout and do as much as they can. Once done, the workouts are attempted by the other team. Whoever finishes the other team’s workout first is declared the winner. The loser has some penalty exercise to do.
The winning team (Maverick, In-Time, and Einstein) were gracious enough to join the losers club (Turbo, Barely Legal, and YHC) in the penalty of 20 Russian Twists IC.
Slow mosey back to the Flag and lo and behold, there she blows! Moby Dick in the flesh doing some core work! Way to be committed even when most would have just called it a lost day. Nicely done man.
Circled up and counted off.
C.O.T. to close with Maverick praying us out.
Great job everyone!!! It really is such an honor to be a part of this group let alone being allowed to lead some. It’s awesome!
Have a great day men!!!
Summer is upon us and a number of Gipper regulars are enjoying themselves on vacation. Expecting a light turnout, YHC was pleasantly surprised when two FNGs rolled in this morning to round off our crew for the day at 5. Brief disclaimer and explanation of what we are all about in the F3 Nation before getting underway with a mosey to the Justice Center.
Warmup of SSHs, plank jacks, windmills, Merkins, Imperial Walkers, Peter Parkers and finally some shoulder circles with overhead hand claps. Mostly in cadence with 10-20 reps for each exercise.
Mosey to the top of the Justice Center Parking Garage for some Merkin/Squat mountain. Partner up and execute first 100 Merkins and then 200 Squats while your partner first sprints down/backpedals up the ramp and then lateral shuffles down and then back up the ramp.
Mosey to the front of the Justice Center for fun and games. Four cones delineated a rough circle, and the PAX counted off to establish an order and got to work passing a tennis ball around in that order. Every dropped pass earned an OYO exercise. While we had it going smoothly for a while, perfection can only last so long and so we ended up doing a fair number of jump squats, Merkins, Sister Mary Katherines, and Seal Jacks. YHC also increased the level of difficultly as soon as the PAX kinda mastered things and so we switched up the passing order, had to leave the circle after each pass to do a burpee before coming back in to receive the next pass, etc.
Mosey back to the Trailhead for some abbreviated Mary, a set of flutter kicks 20x IC, and then it was time for closing ceremonies.
Welcome Bean and Buzz to the PAX!
Arrived to the Gipper with mild 70s and a hint of fog. This Gloom certainly lacked previous post of suffocating humidity, which helps with perspiration even when the beatdown may not start as intense and require a sweat towel of sorts. To keep the beatdown as masculine as one may, minus the chatter of “Zoolander” and ballerina spins performed by Maverick during the Qs exercises. The beatdown would soon dampen the chatter and there would be no more ballerina turning when all was said and done.
warmup
20 IC Imperial walkers
10 IC Good mornings
20 IC Mountain climbers
10 IC Wind mills
20 IC Butt kicks
thang
Moseyed to the Taj around the flag pole for the “San Antonio Shuffle” which consists of left/right leg lunge, into a Burpee and wrapped up with a Plank jack. We separated into 2 teams and one team held Al Gores while team two completed the shuffle. This is where we were gifted with the talents of Maverick and the Ballerina swirl. R/R till each PAX reached 10 total. Short Moseyed to the top of the parking garage for the completion of the Qs previous deck of death at another post. With half the deck remaining the suits went this way. ♥ SSH, ♠ Merkins, ♣ Flutter kicks and ♦ Jump squats. With cards representing face value and the lone Joker left equaling 25 with the exercise chosen by the man who flipped it at which Einstein calls Burpees. Huh? Exercises are 
sir and that was not an option, so with reluctance he calls the next best to count toward the ISI of this month the Merkin.. Once we completed the deck Moseyed to the back side of the courthouse for another workout grabbed from the Lexicon “Stairway to Seven” which is 1 Burpee 1 Incline Merkin up the stairs 1 squat and backdown R/R till everyone completes to 7. Moseyed to the front of the courthouse and split back into teams. Team 1 did sleeping Hillibilles while team 2 journeyed up the steps for 10 Merkins. Teams swapped positions till each PAX did left/right side then we changed to E2Ks and ended with Peter Parker’s. Total in all was 51 additional Merkins rounding out the ISI counters at 200 on the morning. Moseyed back to the flag for count off, announcements and COT.. Turbo mentioned the CSAUP of the Narley approaching July 19th and Bubba prayed us out.. Welcome to the Gipper Barely legal, glad to see you post..
Thank you Brothers for the lead!!
Till the next Gloom!!
To recognize JR Smith’s collapse during the first game of the NBA Finals, I decided to work a basketball theme into the beatdown this past Saturday morning. Before we get that started, let’s get warmed up.
Warmarama: Happy Jacks- 5 SS IC- 2 Squat Jumps: Rinse and Repeat 5 times, IWs- 20IC, Seal Jacks – 21 Style: Complete 21 Seal Jacks IC- First 5 are counted out loud, the next 16 are done in silence. All pacs have to finish at the same time in order to avoid penalty exercise. We were close, but no cigar. All pacs had to do 10 burpees. High Kness – 20IC, Butt Kicks – 20IC…….Mosey to Lamarque
BLIMPS: 5 Burpess, 10 Lunges (each leg), 15 IWs, 20 Merkins, 25 Plank Jacks, 30 Squats- Rinse and Repeat Twice
Mosey to the Milestone Marsh – Roughy a 1/2 mile run. Goal was for all pacs to get there in 5 minutes. Goal accomplished.
JR Smtih VS The World
Pacs divide into two teams and line up on opposite ends of the court facing midcourt. All pacs assume the Al Gore position. On Go, first pac of each group runs to mid court and grabs one of two basketballs and attempts free throw shot on their goal. If you make it, put ball back in basket and tag next partner. If you miss it, complete 5 burpees before tagging next partner. The team that finishes first wins, and avoids the penalty exercise of a suicide.
Rinse and repeat this game two more times, but with different shots and different exericses while shots are being taken. Second shot was a NBA three, measured out before hand at 23.75 feet. It’s a lot further than it looks on TV. All pacs held plank position during this shot. Third shot was in honor of our former Pelican, JR Smith, a layup. Everyone did flutter kicks.
Barely legal’s team one the competition once. THE Manny’s team brought it home twice. Good job guys.
Mary: Circled up around half court for some Mary. 25 LBC’s-IC, 25 Freddie Mercuries-IC, 25 Russian Twists – IC, 25 Straight Leg Lifts – IC
Circle of Merk: All Pacs stay circled up around mid-court. We assume the plank position. Going clockwise, each pac does one merkin while the other hold the planc position. We rinse and repeat this until we get to 100 merkins.
Long mosey back to the flag. Goal was to get back to flag in 7 minutes. I think everyone but yours truly made it back that in that time.
T-claps to Butt Splice for praying us out. A-wall not only made it back to the Mother Ship, but he brought a FNG with him. Welcome abourd Half Pipe
