F3 New Orleans

Tag: Belloq

  • Nothing Gold Can Stay…

    So the time had finally come. The great scepter of Q had been passed to YHC, for the first time ever – with wise words from the Q’s before, and much great advice, pomp and circumstance; I had been called to lead and could not refuse. Humbly, I accepted.

    And while some historians may have differing stories… about how the burden of Q leadership was thrust hastily upon the first available, unsuspecting, member of that weeks coffeteria; or how there were no wise words, or any advice, or how the pomp mostly came from the circumstance of bad jokes and poor planning… YHC chose to see the bigger picture, to take away the more important lesson: Historians are dumb, and only believe what they read in books, or on Backblasts. So there is really no way way of knowing exactly what happened on that day except that the result was, I was an HC to Q the #Renaissance for my VQ.

    In the darkness of a sultry morning, while the rest of the city slept, like so many sheep, YHC went to the AO early to scope out a few areas for our challenge – only to find a wiley Catfish who apparently had run to the site to warm up for the beatdown. Tclaps! (and consequently ran to coffeteria and then home…)

    As a small digression, YHC had just spent the week in Austin on a work trip and was able to commune with the NATX AOs to stay sharp. It is a powerful and reassuring feeling to stumble in to another F3 group (in another city, in another state) and see them keeping the same commitment, the same standard, to the F3 code. Our brothers are out there just as we are here, every day.

    So as we waited for the remainder of the Renaissance crew to materialize in the gloom, YHC had the eerie feeling of waiting on all the other good men, materializing in the gloom of cities all across the nation. All, ready for a new day and a new beat down.

    THE THANG

    The rabble gathered and YHC gave a short disclaimer sure to let all know he was not the professional he appeared to be, and a circle was made.

    All IC:
    x10 Grass Grabbers
    x10 Toe touches
    x15 Windmill
    x20 Peter-Parker
    x20 Parker-Peter

    A quick turn around in the grass, facing up Lelong Dr, with Trees to our left, noting them as markers for first exercise (as measured on gmaps, Trees are 50ft apart):
    OYO, in succession no break-
    5 Burpees
    Bear Crawl to next tree
    5 Burpees
    Crawl-Bear to next tree
    5 Burpees
    Crab Walk to next tree
    5 Burpees
    Walk-Crab to next tree
    5 Burpees
    Sprint distance back to start
    Plank for 6

    Next a mosey up Roosevelt Mall to Track, plank for 6
    Partner up

    Next Ex:
    Catch Me if You Can – One man starts with 3 Burpees while partner runs/sprints backwards around track. When Burpees complete, sprint normal to catch partner; alternate. Tagged man goes down for Burpees while other switches to backwards run… Until tagged… Continue all around track. – 1 lap. Plank for 6

    Next Ex: Move to open area of track
    Keep your partner
    100 Merkins/Plank combined. Alternate in intervals of 10. While partner completes merkin set, you hold plank, back and forth… hold plank for 6

    Next:
    200 Squats/Al Gore combined. Alternate intervals of 20 squats. While partner completes set, you hold (a tree) Al Gore, back and forth…

    Next:
    300 LBCs/Leg Raise combined. Alternate intervals of 30 LBCs. While partner completes set, you hold 6in leg left (or modify with legs kept in LBC position…. either way, no touching the ground till complete), back and forth.

    Might have had a 20 count in here for recovery, but I’m no historian…

    Mosey back to flag, stop at rear of NOMA to post up against the wall for a rest… sort of.

    Next Ex:
    x3 sets of following, OYO
    1 set =
    Peoples chair timed by completing x10 Jack Reachers
    x5 Donkey Kicks (half plank type position, kicking both feet up and back against wall)
    Straight in to Balls to the Wall, or Reverse Wall Stand (Kick feet all the way up, walk back if need be, doing hand stand). Do 1 hand stand press, or hold count 10. (YHC open to better name for this maneuver, or maybe one already exists).

    Complete mosey back to Flag
    Approx 4-5m easy stretches

    All above written upon memory of YHC, the quality of which cannot be accounted for or verified. As a reminder, YHC is NOT a historian. So while no one really knows what happened on this day, or others before it, the sound of trumpets were heard in the distance at one point, and it has been said that a bevy of doves was seen above, as this VQ came to a close (whether or not those trumpets were the screeching brakes of local dump trucks and the doves were pigeons is not for us to debate).  But one thing is for sure, no more Gold of showing up to another man’s Q, just to make it through. It’all Iron now.

    Jokes aside – I am thankful for the opportunity to Q, had a lot of fun doing it, and I hope I presented a challenge to those who showed. Tclaps to FracSac for nudging me in and putting me on rotation. I am appreciative of the F3 brotherhood and have seen huge strides in health, fitness, and energy in just the few months I’ve been committed. Thanks to all who continue to show up daily so that we can all hold each other accountable, to be just a little better, every day. Thank you, F3 NOLA.

  • A bit of Notre Dame, and a bit of YIPPEE!

    19 PAX (incluing Rewatch, downriver from Houston) in the morning gloom to help YHC celebrate the end of his 51st year. Yippee!

    Started out with a disclaimer, trying to be more thoughtful than normal with thoughts of Holy Grove in mind. Everyone: be mindful of your health. Hydrate. Modify. Its Hot and Humid. Most important – remain healthy. All this, while continuing to push yourselves. So with thoughts and prayers for Holy Grove in mind, lets get started.

    YHC brought along a YIPPEE! bag full of birthday gifts. The idea: all PAX feel free – at any point in the workout – come pick a gift from the YIPPEE! bag. What’s in the bag? A collection of goodies – exercises for the Q, exercises for the PAX, a few special gotchas. Each piece of paper is something new and different.

    Mosey over to the Great Lawn.

    Warmup with some stretching and SSH (x51). First dip into the YIPPEE bag produces 20 Dips for everyone at the benches! Its going to be a fun hour.

    7 Heisman Trophy Winners

    7 of Diamonds, in honor of the ND 7 heisman trophy winners (Bertelli, Hart, Lattner, Lujack, Hornung, Huarte and Brown). Yes, Douille is correct in noting that Hornung is the only Heisman winner from a losing team. Douile was incorrect in thinking Hornung lost to Tulane.

    PAX split into 4 groups. 4 cones set up in a diamond shape.

    Round 1: 7 Bobby Hurleys at a cone, Bear Crawl to the next. Repeat all the way around

    Round 2: 14 Merkins, Lunge Walks

    Round 3: 21 Squats, Crab Walks

    Round 4: 28 Flutter Kicks, Lunge Walks

    War Eagle and Catfish seem to be greatly enjoying the YIPPEE bag – produce burpees, merkins, squat jumps for the PAX, for themselves, for the Q. “10 Burpees for Me”. “20 Merkins for PAX of choice” (tough break, Angie’s List). “15 Squat Jumps for the Q”. “10 Genuflects for the PAX”. The cards are flying faster.

    YHC also especially enjoyed War Eagle’s “Sing Happy Birthday to the Q”. Thank you.

    11 National Championships

    Yes, YHC is aware that our glory days are old. No, YHC does not care. Yes, YHC always believes that next year represents our return to glory.

    11s with Burpees and Catalina Wine Mixers. Go. PAX now are running past the YIPPEE bag with more frequency, resulting in more draws.

    Pop Tart pulls a “Sprint vs the Q”, and pays dearly for his arrogance – slipping and falling as he turns to mock the slower Q. The Tortoise revels in his glorious victory. Rewatch and Catfish both draw Laps around the park.

    Triple Shift adamantly refuses to approach the Yippee bag. He must not like birthdays. Or presents.

    5 Pillars

    YHC has to call off the 11s somewhere around half-way point due to time constraints. 5 Pillars of Holy Cross Education: Mind, Heart, Zeal, Family, Hope. For each one, PAX will do 5 Rise Ups (squat for a 5 count, then jump up, return to squat position). Even while explaining the exercise, Hokie is standing at the bag waiting to draw. And of course, he pulls “10 Burpees for the Q”. Everyone else gets a 10 count while YHC gets 10 burpees in.

    At Zeal, Rev Sox pulls “20 Merkins for the Q”. Thanks. Rev Sox leads PAX in 5 Rise Ups while YHC knocks out 20 Merkins.

    Mary

    Circle up for last 5 minutes of Mary. But we never get to Mary. More cards are drawn – “10 Burpees for everyone”. Seems there were more Burpee cards than YHC remembers putting in the bag.

    Alas, we never got to the Duck Duck Goose game that YHC was really hoping for. Next time… But for now, return to the flag.

    COT

    Count-off: 19 PAX (including 2 FNGs). Thank you all for celebrating my birthday with me! First, from Atlanta, still a dirty bird fan, so the PAX were unanimous in welcoming “28-3” to the tribe. Then – deep voice, handsome beard, claims he might kinda sing a bit: Pavarotti, glad to have you with us!

    Close up with announcements, intentions and prayers to remember each day granted to us is a gift. May we treasure it, and use it wisely.

    Thank you all for the opportunity to lead. I welcome your patience with me as I try new and potentially stupid things at workouts.

  • Wisner Bridge, with a side of Burpees

    Good morning, rise and shine! YHC usually opens the Stomp with a Disclaimer and “The Usual”. But with lots of creativity at 610 Stomp of late (#TClaps to Kuch, FracSac and others who find new ways to liven up our early morning run!), YHC needed to try and think of something at least a wee bit different…

    Right, right. The Wisner Bridge. Our city’s version of “Hill Workout”. Yup, lets do it.

    So – after the disclaimer, and a reminder to everyone of directions to the bridge (go Left, not Right) – we were off. Run to the bridge (about a mile), then back and forth over it (each pass is just under half mile) until its time to come home (another mile). And just for fun – lets throw in 5 burpees after each pass.

    Shuffles (missing his running pal Smooth already) tried to stay back with the pack, but couldn’t help himself. Jumping to the front with Swiss Miss, they proceeded to go right (not left), disappearing in the gloom – only to reappear much later at the bridge.

    At the bridge, Dirty Dell and Briefs set the pace. Back and forth they went. Several “Good Mornings” – to dog walkers, other runners, other PAX. This would be a dangerous way for the Frac GM run. YHC was blinded on each pass by the approaching glow of the Surge Special outfit. That’s a lot of day-glo yellow.

    Nearing 6am, time to get the PAX together again at the foot of the bridge. YHC makes it to the bottom to find Ya Mom’n’dem and Pop Tart sitting around, apparently looking for some donuts and a cigarette or something to pass the time. More Burpees for them, YHC calls out. So PAX start burpeeing. And burpeeing. And burpeeing. While Hawg and Rev-Sox (closely watching their heart rate, apparently) saunter down the final hill.

    Mosey back to the flag for a round of Mary, before closing with our count-off, Name-o-rama, and send everyone off to start the day with St. Ignatius Prayer for Generosity.

  • Adios para ahora

    It was a typical summer Sunday morning in front of NOMA. We had our biggest showing yet at the Renaissance and it was the first time I q’d that wasn’t the stomp. All in all it went really well…even a little tougher than I originally thought. Started off with the disclaimer in Spanish and translated to English for those that took Latin in school.

    Warmup with a lap around noma and circled up for TARRAGONA (where I’ll be living)

    Tin snips, air squats, Russian twists, ranger merkins, Abe vigoda, gas pumps, intended to do one armed pickle pounders but turned into the normal ones, Nolan Ryan’s, and finished with angle grinders

    Then we partnered up and did bear crawl 1,2,3 (cumulative 100 merkins, 200 lbc, and 300 air squats while other person bear crawls to second tree and back). My neck is still a little sore.

    Lastly, everyone completed two rounds of what I call 3 x 5’s. Kept your same partner…one is running up and back lelong drive while the other goes through 5 smurf jacks, 5 merkins, and 5 crunchy frogs). Continue with that pattern until partner gets back.

    I’m very grateful to belong to such an awesome group. Best wishes to everyone! I look forward to seeing you all in the gloom 🇺🇸🇪🇸💪🏻👊🏻🏃‍♂️

  • Stomp #207 – Good Morning Burpees

    The Tuesday crowd at the Stomp has exploded recently. YHC saw an opportunity to take the Q and bring a little something extra to the AO. Since everyone loves Burpees, YHC knew that incorporating them in a way not done before would be received with joy! YHC was not disappointed!

    24 Pax posted to improve their running ability, and their endurance. But first a brief disclaimer, and a very quick warmup:

    Grass Grabbers IC x 10 followed by Arm Circles IC x 20

    Instructions were simple. Run as a group down the traditional Bayou St John route. Every time the Pax came across a person or group of people, we would call out “Good Morning!” If we received a “Good Morning” back, all did 5 Burpees. If no “Good Morning” was received, then 10 Burpees was coming our way. If the Pax attempted to prod for them to say it, the penalty was 15 Burpees.

    How many Burpees completed? There were approximately 10 stops for 5 Burpees and only 1 stop for 10 Burpees. The Pax covered around 4 miles, and many folks on the streets of NOLA were greeted with a kind gesture.

    Good Times had by all.

    COT for Count off, name-o-rama, announcements and intentions.

    Thanks for posting with me today, and for allowing me to be a part of such a great organization!

    SYITG!

  • Emergency Free Renaissance

    YHC arrived at the Renaissance AO a solid 2 minutes before kickoff with 4 other Pax eagerly awaiting my arrival. Each Pax was a HIM looking to kick off their Sunday right. As War Eagle pointed out at the Mothership on Saturday, the Q should always carry a phone in case of an emergency. So, YHC zipped the phone in his FlipBelt, gave a brief disclaimer and got right to the warmup:
    SSH IC x 31
    Hillbilly’s IC x 15
    Abe Vigodas IC x around 8 or 9 – Remember that reference to the phone in the FlipBelt? Somehow, Siri thought we had an emergency, and she called 911. YHC heard her speak around #4, but what she said didn’t sink in until around #8. Upon pulling out the phone, YHC saw the 911 call had gone through and hung up. YHC was apparently no match for NO emergency services, as a call came right back. A sincere apology followed, and the call was disregarded. Let’s move on….
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    Peter Parkers IC x 20
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20
    Arm Circles IC x 20

    First up, help a brother out. Tanner that is. Line up on tree #1 and do the following, all while looking for the infamous lost Fob lost at the Muscleship:
    Tree #1 to Tree #2 – Bearcrawl followed by 5 Burpees
    Tree #2 to Tree #3 – Lungewalk followed by 5 Burpees
    Tree #3 to Tree #4 – Bearcrawl followed by 5 Burpees
    Tree #4 to Tree #5 – Lungewalk followed by 5 Burpees
    Sprint back to Tree #1
    Spoiler Alert – No luck on the Fob……

    Mosey to the Foundry for Station Set #1
    Split up in two groups, a group of 3 and a group of 2.
    Group 1 – Merkins IC x 20 (timer)
    Group 2 – 90 degrees flexed arm hang
    Flapjack for 3 full sets.

    Mosey to the bike trail for Bataan Death March. An Indian Run where the last man drops for 3 Burpees and then sprints to the front of the column. As the sprinter is passing the new last runner, the new last man drops for 3 Burpees. Continue for a full lap, or about a mile.

    Return to the Foundry for Station Set #2
    Station 1 – Run to Bike Trail, complete 5 Burpees and run back (Timer)
    Station 2 – Dips – AMRAP
    Station 3 – Squats – AMRAP
    Station 4 – 90 Degrees Flex Hang
    Station 5 – Big Boi Situps – AMRAP

    Mosey back to the Flag. With 1:30 remaining, fill it with ISI challenge. Each Pax completed 1:30 of the mobility challenge, the other 2:10 are on you!

    COT
    Count off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions, closed with a prayer to the Sky Q.

    NMM

    If ever there was an emergency, YHC proved today that he stands at the ready. The summer heat and humidity is really on us, even at 0600 to 0645!

    Coffeteria was great as always. Glad to see the Renaissance AO is getting some love! Thanks for posting with me today, and thanks for allowing me to be a part of F3!

    SYITG


  • Typical, Humid, Summer 610 Stomp Morning

    What is also becoming typical on Tuesdays is the large PAX and participation we continue to see and grow through F3.  This is despite even adding a Monday morning running workout.  This is a good thing.

    The workout was very simple:

    15 minutes out and back,  traditional route via Bayou St John.

    Then directly to the track for 10 minutes of running the straights,  jog

    curves.

    Then some stretching exercises, LBCs,  and a “slant” hold for that last 5 minutes.  Some folks haven’t stretched since high school.

    Count off, Nam-a-rama, Announcements, COT.

    Always a privilege to lead with such a great large group of like minded individuals.

    From San Jose, CA see you in the gloom and on the radio,

    Bongo

     

  • Backblast – Mothership 2019-07-27

    Another lovely (if slightly rainy) day onboard the Mothership at City Park.  Attendance stood at 15 total, with 13 existing members and 2 FNGs.

    The following members were in attendance: Catfish (Q), Two Yutes, Heisenberg, Fracsac, Thumb, Beloch, Reluctant Yankee, Gideon, Angie’s List, Medulla Oblongata, Angel Dust, Gumby, Pop Tart

    Our FNGs were Uncut and Tabloid. Welcome Dudes

    Today’s activites started with a mosey out to the Peristyle for a little Side Straddle Hop, Hillbillies, Overhead Claps and Imperial Squat Walkers. PAX then moved to their faces for Peter Parkers, Catalina Wine Mixers, and Plank Jacks. On to our sixes for LBCs, Flutter Kicks, and Tin Snips.

    PAX then took a quick run to Marconi, then back to the benches in front of the Peristyle for 50 Box Jumps OYO, Smurf Jacks, and Jump Lunges. With legs burning, PAX lined up for an Indian Run to the Foundry.

    Since Muscleship occupied the Foudry, PAX moved to the grass beside the Foundry for Jack Webb (counted up the FIFTEEN, way to push guys!). PAX then did five minutes of ten burpees per minute (i.e. 50 burpees total).

    PAX then moseyed to the mini-foundry (a.k.a. The Refinery). Pax split into groups of 2-3 for pull ups, Merkins, Squats, Snake Jump, Dips, and Burpees.

    PAX then moseyed back to the Great Lawn, and then to the flag for count-off, naming, and COT.

    Thanks to all who participated, it turned out to be a great workout!

  • Sweep the 2

    22 Men gathered on a wet, dark morning to catch a quick run. The usual disclaimer was given, and to the best of my recollection, it was eloquent and concise this time. A first perhaps. Aside: Are you supposed to say “my name is so and so” in the disclaimer? Maybe I’ve just never gotten comfortable announcing “My name is Kuch”. I didn’t say it.

    I’ve spent many paragraphs already on why the Stomp is great: great F2, generally a bit lower intensity than Monday and Wednesday, and great for runners of all speeds. So on the one hand, you don’t want to fix something that aint broken. On the other hand, we’ve had some great variations at the Stomp lately, including Rev Sox’s 13 colonies workout/football game, El Guapo’s light post runs, Smooth’s Jazzfest themed beatdown, and VQ’s for Shuffles and Briefs, who both added their own touches.

    What I’m getting at is: come Q the Stomp. Bring a slight (or significant) variation, or just tell everyone to run 20 out and 20 back and do some Mary. It doesn’t matter. It will be great. Your contribution will be appreciated no matter how much or little you deviate from the norm.

    Anyway, back to the actual workout. We moseyed 20 minutes out at about a 10:30 pace as a group, all staying together. When he hit 20 minutes, the instructions were simple. Run back to the flag as fast as you can. Don’t leave anything in the tank.

    When you get to the flag, you mosey to the guy behind you, and run hard back with him. And then the 2 of you sweep the next guy and run back hard with him and so on until 20 or so guys are running down Roosevelt Mall together to sweep the 6. It worked well, and you will see it again.

    To mentally prepare myself for this one, I told myself that I would run as hard as I could back to the flag, and I wouldn’t save anything for the sweep. If I had to walk, I would, but I would not mosey. I surprised myself and ran a lot faster than usual. Didn’t know I had it in me. That will be the instruction to all the PAX next time: save nothing. Go as hard as you can. Walk, if you must, but don’t cruise. (and of course, modify if you need to)

    The usual formalities, and a prayer that we carry the goodwill and decency shown everyday at F3 workouts with us through all our interactions. Thanks for having me. – Kuch

  • The Wrath of Barry

    Jim Cantore scared all of New Orleans when he unexpectedly showed up at the New Orleans Lakefront this week. The F3 Nola Pax were confused, as his appearance at Okwata was on Friday, which was a day late, Okwata workout is Thursday. So several Pax reached out to him on Da Twitter to see if he would join us in City Park for the Mothership, but it wasn’t meant to be.

    7 pax defied the media sensationalism of a hurricane doomsday scenario and showed up expecting a Catfish style beat down, which always leaves us nothing short of spent. But Catfish had to head out of town, and passed the Q to YHC. So, as the clock struck 0630, time for a brief disclaimer, in the cool breezy dry conditions, and mosey to the Great Lawn. During the warmup, the 3 pax from the Muscleship joined us for a United City Park beat down, bringing us to 10. Jim Cantore wishes he had shown up!

    Warmup
    SSH IC x 31
    Imperial Walkers IC x 20
    grass grabbers IC x 10
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Arm Circles IC x 20
    Peter Parker IC x 20
    mountain climber IC x 20
    Parker Peter IC x 20

    Mosey to the first tree on the great lawn for a Catfish classic.
    But first, 10 Burpees OYO just to get the attention of the pax.
    Starting at first tree, bear crawl two trees, complete 10 merkins.
    Crabwalk two trees and complete 10 merkins.
    Bear crawl two trees and complete 10 merkins, followed by 10 burpees.
    Mosey back to street in front of the peristyle.

    Indian run to the Foundry.

    Stations at the Foundry
    5 Stations, 2 pax per station.
    Station 1 – Big Boi Sit-ups AMRAP
    Station 2 – Pull-ups AMRAP
    Station 3 – Ski jump the snake AMRAP
    Station 4 – Merkins AMRAP
    Station 5 – Run to the Bike Track, complete 12 Burpees and run back – Timer

    Divide Pax in two squads, 5 in each squad. Squad 1 completes 20 Merkins IC while Squad 2 holds a 90 degrees flexed arm hang. Flap Jack.
    Rinse and Repeat for a total of 2 full rounds.

    Mosey to the bike track and count off 1,2,1,2 etc. Line up in two columns for Bataan Death March. YHC indicated this was a race. Last man in the column drops off for 3 Burpees and sprints to the front. Continue for a full mile around the bike trail.
    YHC isn’t sure which column finished first, as all gave their best. With that said, we’re all winners for being there! #HIMS

    Complete 2 more rounds of 10 merkins and 90 degrees flexed arm hangs.

    Mosey to the fountain/pond in front of NOMA and hand off the Q to Bongo for a Muscleship finale.

    Dips IC x 20
    Low slow squats IC x 20
    Right leg step ups IC x 15
    Left Leg Step ups IC x 15
    Incline merkins IC x 20
    Low plank for 1 minute
    Decline merkins IC x 20
    LBC’s IC x 30
    *Note – YHC May have it a bit out of order, but that’s pretty much what happened, leaving us all spent.

    COT
    Count off, name-o-Rama, announcements, intentions, and closed with a prayer. During the COT is when Barry decided to show, which drenched the Pax.

    Good times followed the beat down with Coffeteria at Cafe Navarre. Jim Cantore would be jealous if he knew…..his loss!

    Thanks for posting with me today and for allowing me to be a part of such a great group.

    SYITG