F3 New Orleans

Tag: Bongo

  • Us Against H8!

    Conditions: Humid, 74 degrees, Humidity 95%, Wind 8mph from ENE

    Warm-up:  Mosey from the flag to the start.  Warm-up on your own.  No time for SSH or Grass Grabbers or J-Los, we’ve got work to do.

    The Thang:  The H8!  F3 NOLA’s overly complicated, semi-annual, feat of strength.  The stick by which our fitness is measured.    

    Each lap consists of running south to the top of the levee, crossing canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running south to the bottom of the levee, cross canal and run north to the top of the levee, cross canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running north down the levee and back across canal to the starting point.  At the starting point you do a descending burp and merk pyramid starting at 8 (burpee with 8 hand release merkins, burpee with 7 hand release merkins, …, burpee with 1 hand release merkin)

    At the end of the 2nd lap the burp and merk pyramid starts at 7, etc.

    The goal is to complete 8 laps in 40 minutes.  According to MapMyRun, each loop is approximately 0.4 miles.  Therefore, to conquer the H8! you will have to do the following in 40 minutes:

    • Run over 3 Miles of Hills
    • 550 Yards of Bear Crawls
    • 36 Burpees
    • 120 Merkins

    NMM

    • The construction at the south base of the levee caused for a slight re-route.  The H8! Committee did a good job of ensuring that the change was slight and the overall distance was not affected so that this fall’s running of the H8! Is considered official. 
    • T-claps to all of the guys coming out for the first time.  I think Heart-A-Quake, Mama’s Pride, Undertaker, Disclaimer, Bieber, Bartman, Catfish, Big Easy, Snooze were all first timers. 
    • I didn’t keep a record of who made it and who didn’t.  I am pretty sure the success rate was just north of 50%.  That’s really good, especially for having so many new guys.  Our fitness continues to accelerate.

    One of the core principles of F3 is that it is open to all men.  But just proclaiming that you are open to all men doesn’t cut it.  We have to be intentional about making sure that we are welcoming to all men and that we are not unintentionally excluding anyone.  There are lots of things that can make men different from one another, but most of them have nothing to do with what F3 is about.  I just mean to say that participating in an F3 workout has nothing to do with what race you are, or what your financial situation is, or what religion you are, etc.  (Side note:  I do think it’s important to think about those things and make sure that we are not being unintentionally exclusive because of the make-up of our Pax.  My point is just that the core principles of F3 workouts could apply to anyone, anywhere).  One thing that does have a lot to do with F3 is fitness level.  That’s why diverse fitness levels have to be considered when planning every workout.  It is important that the guys that have a high level of fitness are getting smoked and it is important the that guys on the lower end of the fitness spectrum are staying with the group and are not being left behind on their own.  I would like to think that we are pretty good across F3 NOLA at making sure that each work out feels like a team event, that we all have a goal of getting better and that we are supporting each other to reach that goal, no matter what our current fitness level is. 

    One of the complaints that I have heard about the Iron Pax Challenge is that it is not consistent with F3 in that way; that it puts the focus on the individual and even worse, ranks the individuals.  Some men  that aren’t at the top feel a sense of embarrassment or shame that they aren’t comparable to the guys at the top. You could make the same argument about the H8!  There’s certainly a sense of completing it and not completing it. 

    Personally I think competition like this is really important.  If you want to run faster, you have to run with faster guys.  In order to accelerate our fitness, we need to be in the back of the pack striving to get to the front.  I enjoy competition and I think it plays an important role in growth.  But I also think that it is important that we work hard to keep the sense of comradery and teamwork that all F3 workouts have.  The H8! Is something we all want to conquer and that we want to help each man conquer. 

    There are a couple of quotes that have stuck with me from the book “Run the Mile You are In:  Finding God in Every Step” by Ryan Hall, the American Record Holder in the half-marathon and the fastest American to ever run the Boston Marathon (2:04).  He said “Competition can be a beautiful thing if we are focused on making ourselves and others better and are not concerned about how we stack up with everyone else…..this is why comparisons in athletics and in life are so fruitless.  When we compare, we miss the joy of the journey as well as the joy of the achievement.”     

    Let’s make sure we keep pushing ourselves and each other, without compromising the joy of the journey.  A common motto at an F3 work out is that it’s “You against You”, and that is very true.  But it is also true that it is “Us against H8!”

  • Celebrating the Six

    Conditions:  Humid and Partly Cloudy.  73 degrees, 100% humidity.  Wind 4 mph from the NW

    The Thang

    We divided up into nine teams to play some Rarájipari.  Teams of 4 or 5 kick a baseball as they run.  No real rules other than you have to kick it everywhere you go.  Today each team had to visit four landmarks to collect a playing card.  They could collect the cards in any order. First team to make it back with all four cards and the ball was the winner.  The landmarks were the Peristyle, The Dueling Oak, The Singing Oak, and the Rugby Pitch.  Overall mileage was roughly 3 miles for the efficient teams, over 3.5 for some of the more directionally challenged teams. 

    Cool Down

    As teams arrived back to the start High-Rise led as he took stretch requests and YHC closed us out with a little Mary before we sealed the deal.

    NMM

    • Chaos ensued at the start.  A couple of Pax went down with turned ankles and balls were lost.
    • We started with nine balls.  We ended with five.  Not sure of the specifics, but one team was rumored to have lost two balls somehow.
    • One team lost a ball off the Wisner Bridge.  That leads to a number of questions.
    • The teams that went to the Peristyle first had to weave their way through a Zumba class to get to the flag. 
    • This workout was much more compliant with Corona restrictions than what Papa Smurf did on Monday.  Although our pods were sharing the same ball, YHC was the only one without shoes.  CDC guidelines limit shoeless Rarájipari players to one per team.  In an abundance of caution, other teams shod all of their players.    
    • Some teams were looking for Dueling Oaks.  Just to clarify, the Oaks themselves have no beef with one another.  The Dueling Oak, singular, was the location of many a human duel back in the day. 
    • T-claps to Rudy, Boo-Boo, and Kuch for helping YHC put the flags out this morning. 
    • T-claps to Bushwhacker and Cowbell for making the trek from the frigid North.  Cowbell was showing off a strong sock game today.
    • Every Rarájipari team has a 6.  And depending on what group we are in, that could, for the most part, be any one of us.  The fast guys are usually controlling the ball up front and the 6 is keeping a consistent pace trying to keep up.  You may be falling farther and farther behind, but you keep running.  You keep plugging away.  Inevitably someone kicks the ball into the shrubs, or into a giant mud hole, or off the Wisner Bridge and you catch up.  It’s hard to overstate the importance of consistency in every aspect of our lives.  Keep plugging away – you’ll get there.      

  • Trail Run #2

    Tclaps to Amnesty for getting this trail run idea started back during the beginning of Covid. Here we go for round #2!

    Stayed up late trying to plan a workout in a space with a lot of unknowns. Then, naturally, my youngest woke up at 2:30. The fear of oversleeping kept me mostly awake until 4:30 when I popped out of bed. I thought I would get out there early to scope things out again to make sure we didn’t get too lost. I arrived at about 10 after five, strapped on my headlamp, and mosey my way over to forest. I wasn’t even a few steps in when I saw a possum crawling towards me, a turtle to my right, and what looked like multiple sets of eyes starring back at me! I decided it was probably best to just trust my instincts wait for my brothers to join me on this adventure!


    Fifteen brave souls showed up for the adventure. There was lots of stretching going on pre-workout and not much talking, except when Ya Mom n Dem tried to give away his hat lamp! It was only a minor crisis when High Rise decided to wake up some peacefully sleeping ants. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Sandbar had gotten his passport just in time to attend the work out. Also, good to see Screwtop out for the second day in a row! 5:30 struck and with the normal disclaimer we were off. Started off in the open field to get things warmed up.


    SSH x 20

    Imperial Walker x 20

    Mountain Climbers x 20

    Left leg hip stretch

    Right leg hip stretch

    Peter Parker x 20


    Moseyed into the forest with an army of 14 behind me to the big open area by the swing. Split up into five groups of three. The count was 10 pull ups on the tree branch while one of the other PAX did dips on the fallen tree and the other did full body ab extensions on the swing. The other four groups were:


    Low slow squats

    Decline merkins

    Flutter kicks

    Decline merkins


    After everyone got their turn on pull ups we went into the thick of the forest! The tree branches were low so we decided to bear crawl through the narrow pass. When the trail opened back up we mosey through the forest and found our way to the gravel path. Headed down the path to the big open field. I had noticed when planning the work out that in this open field they had what looked like two big cement circles that resembled a figure 8. With the HATE8 on the horizon I thought it was a good opportunity to get some work in. Exercise was for 10 minutes:


    Bear crawl The stretch of grass between the two circles, run around to the top of the circle, five Burpee‘s, run down to the bottom of the circle, bear crawl across the grass, run to the top of the other circle, five burpees, run to the bottom of the circle. Rinse and repeat for 10 minutes while listening to Van Halen‘s greatest hits!


    Next, we moseyed to a separate gate back to the forest. This led us to the hill which is apparently the highest point in New Orleans. I thought Monkey Hill in Audubon Zoo was the highest point in New Orleans but I guess it’s for debate! At the top of the hill we squeezed in on the concrete pad and did some Mary:


    Pickle pounders x 20

    Freddy Mercury x 20

    Dying Cockroach x 20

    Reverse Crunch x 15


    Moseyed down the hill and headed to what I thought was the way out. We weaved back-and-forth through a very narrow trail head and ended up all the way in the back of the forest! We eventually found water and knew that we could follow the water back to the bridge that would get us out of the forest. There were several wrong turns and a couple of dead ends but we made it out and back with all 15 PAX! The unexpected detour caused us to be three minutes late. We got together in the open field for COT. Count off, Namorama, and a prayer for the upcoming hurricane with the sounds of what we think was ol’ Puke Dick in the background! This was a fun one. Thankful for the opportunity to lead!

  • Okwata 2020-09-03

    Lovely morning on the lake with 8 PAX: Quiche, Jingle Vader, Da Parish, Bongo, Surge, High Rise, Abacus, Catfish (Q).

    Started with a mosey over to the base of Canal. Warmed up with SSH, 8-counts, Peter Parker Peters, Shoulder Taps, 100s, Slow V-Ups, Catalinas, Floyds, SSH, and Imperial Squat Walkers.

    Moved to a Dora with 100 burpees, 200 merkins, and 300 flutter kicks (1 is 1). Runner ran backwards up canal to the top, duck walked across the median, then ran back. As people finished, did LBCs and dying cockraches waiting for the six.

    Moseyed back to flag zone for some monkey humpers and COT.

  • The Bridge Run

    YHC signed up for the Ocean Springs Bridge Run on September 12th in Mississippi, so he wanted to practice running some bridges. The best place to practice bridge running is the Wisner Bridge. Therefore, this morning’s 610 Stomp was off to the bridge!

    New Route

    Down past the Museum of Art and take a hard left right before the park exit to run alongside the Big Lake and toward the festival grounds trail. Once the Pax arrives at De Saix Blvd, sweep the six, so we can all arrive at the base of the Wisner Bridge together. (At least this is a new route for me)

    The Thang

    Run over the bridge and back, repeat

    Run one lap around the Festival Grounds Trail

    Back to the bridge for two more trips over

    Run back to the flag for the COT

    YHC greatly underestimated the distance to go over the Wisner Bridge and back. Most of the Pax completed the two trips over the bridge and the lap around the old festival grounds, but only Shuffles and Bongo made it back up to the bridge following the mile lap. We will try it again this fall and hope to find a higher percentage of runners make it back up the bridge.

    Closing

    Count-off, Name-O-Rama, Intentions, and Prayer

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead

    Rev Sox

  • 4 Years of F3 and You Could Look Like Me

    4 Years of F3 and You Could Look Like Me

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

    W/U

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

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

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

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

    Counterama, Namerama

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

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

  • Stomp #260 – Barefoot and Barechested

    Another 610 Stomp in the books…the 260th one to be exact-ish.  Strong showing with 14 PAX ready to run and test the limits of our middle-ages chassis.  This was the 3rd Summer Series 2-mile time trial, with several of us gunning to break our previous times, and perhaps set a new PAX record.     
    Started with a warmup mosey on a Palm Dr with a pitstop COP to make sure all cylinders were firing, then moseyed to the Festival Grounds track for a 2-mile timed run/race.  Times were as follows:


    High Rise 17:23

    Einstein 16:07

    Rudy 16:15

    Bongo 16:37

    Boo Boo 18:08

    Belloq 18:34 *ran barefoot! 

    Catfish 13:20 

    Kuch 16:00

    Snooze 18:54

    Screwtop 15:10

    Breadsticks 15:15

    Tool 16:44

    Sheetrock 13:45

    Saban 17:00-ish *modified/planked


    Mosey back to base via the “short route” after zero enthusiasm was directed towards the long route option.  Capped things off with LBC, Flutter Kicks, Dying Cockroach, followed by a minute of stretching and COT.   

     
    NMM:

    Good to see Sheetrock back in the gloom, running shirtless in case the ladies were out.  


    Very little traction could be gained for the rename of Catfish to Barracuda or some other fast swimming fish.   

    Saban ran, likely to defend his first-place title, even if it meant he could blow his third knee out. 


    Belloq continues to be a beast.  He ran barefoot again as he deals with an injury…most would take a few weeks off from running, but not this guy.  

    A new 2-mile record was set today, by over 1 minute.  T-claps to Catfish and Sheetrock for being the first to run sub-14:00 times! 


    T-claps to Kuch for the mid-workout EH on a fellow runner at the track.

       
    Einstein posted 2 days in a row!  Welcome and glad to have you in the mix.  


    Boo Boo posted despite an iffy knee.  Way to stay committed and always good to see some PAX from the western parts pop in from time to time. 

     
    Rudy implied that 20 flutter kicks were sufficient, no need to do 25 like everyone else.  YHC was glad to see the quarantine has not affected the rudyisms that we’ve all grown to enjoy.  

    Good stuff, great way to start the day. 
    -Tool 

  • Pull ups? Oh yeah, pull ups!

    It had been a while since I had done a beatdown involving pull ups. The more I thought about it I had not done a pull up since the Murph Memorial Day Beatdown. And prior to that it had been since the Covid shutdowns began. So I really felt like doing some pull ups. Well it just so happened I was the Q. So guess what exercise I included today?

    Warm up

    Mosey over to the parking lot adjacent to the track and circle up.

    • SSH x 20 IC
    • Windmills x 10 IC
    • Grass grabbers x 15 IC
    • Arm circle x 10 Fwd/rev each IC
    • Self love x 15 IC
    • Hillbillies x 15 IC
    • Mountain climbers x 20 IC

    Next up we performed an Indian Run down the street to the foundry. Sweep the 6. Leave no man behind.

    Tha Thang:

    It’s Tabata time! I wanted to incorporate a beatdown that addressed all major muscle groups. With a little help from some Youtube workouts I found 10 exercises I wanted to complete. 25/10 Tabata timer was set for 5 stations.

    Round 1:

    • Pull ups
    • Dips
    • Rotational merkins
    • Bulgarian split squat
    • Hamstring RDL

    Rinse and repeat

    Round 2:

    • Human pullovers
    • Inverted chin curl
    • Long leg bridge
    • Derkins
    • W’s

    Rinse and repeat

    Mosey back to the virtual flag. Sweep the 6. Plank for over 1 minute until 6:15.

    Countoff, name-o-rama, annoucements, intentions, physically distanced COT.

  • 2 Mile Time Trial #2 @The Stomp

    This week’s Stomp was another 2 mile time trial.  Back in June, we mixed up things a bit by centering the workout around a timed 2 mile run/race in lieu of the NOTC 2 Mile Summer Series races that have been a no go so far this year.  Lots of us enjoy those, and enjoy striving for faster times, racing against ourselves, and perhaps racing against each other.  

    Started off with a warmup mosey at a conversational pace to the Festival Grounds track near The Foundry.  Next a quick COP with IP, WM, and and a few other things to make sure everyone was good and loose.  Then on to the track for 2+ loops, giving it AYG, stopping when at 2 miles.  

    The PAX finished with the following times, several with improved times from the first TT:

    Bongo 15:39 (15:52 TT#1)

    High Rise 17:07 (17:12 TT#1)

    Colonel Mustard 15:45 (15:02 TT#1)

    Snooze 17:25 (18:00 TT#1)

    Rev Sox 14:37 

    Saban 14:30

    Tool 16:45 (16:58 TT#1)

    From here we moseyed the scenic route around the Big Lake to the front of NOMA where we reconvened for an Indian Run back to base, followed by a few minutes of stretching.

    T-claps to the PAX that improved their times, which was no easy feat given the temp and humidity.

    T-claps to Snooze for shaving 35 seconds off! 

    T-claps to Saban for breaking the top time from TT#1…hopefully that didn’t blow his knee out.

    T-claps to Rev Sox for setting his 2 mile PR.

    The 3rd (and last?) 2 mile time trial will be on Aug 18th.  Hope to SYITG. 

    Tool 

  • Summer Cold Front?

    A bit late on the back blast, but better late than never to keep up the habit.

    Good crowd on this mid-June morning, most likely due to cooler than normal June temperatures with minimal humidity, enjoy while you can….

    Overall, this was a running running work out with a bit of boot camp breaks. Overall we tracked over 3.5 miles, didn’t really intend for that but alway more comfortable using my legs more than anything.

    Warm up

    5 Peter Parkers

    20 Windmills

    25 IW

    31 SSH

    20 Mountain Climbers

    First an 11 using canal street OOC lane/levee, sit ups at bottom, squats up top

    Then across the street to the Lakefront for say a suicide Route 66  Burpee exercise?

    Start at light pole 0,  run to light pole 1,  then 1 burpee

    Return to light pole 0 and go to lightpole 2 and do 2 corresponding burpees

    Repeat to 10

    Planned for Mary at the flag but time was out….

    Normal closing ceremonies.

    Many thanks for the opportunity to lead and putting up with he cardio, definitely need to Q more.

    See you on the radio.

    Dave Dauterive