F3 New Orleans

Tag: Bricks

  • Wolf-Brick Mountain

    It had been 365 days since YHC’s last Q at WPM.  I rang in my 50th with a Q at WPM, and today I would end my 50th with a bookend Q at WPM.  In between, I’ve been a stranger to the Friday morning beatdowns.  So YHC was greeted by lots of puzzled looks from the gathering PAX in the morning Gloom.  Who is this stranger?  He’s from The World? And he’s Q’ing?  What’s going on here???

    YHC started the disclaimer a minute early in order to get the party started.  He had a surprise waiting for the PAX, and needed to get everyone organized.  So stroll over to the car, pop open the trunk to reveal….  Bricks. Everyone grab 2.  What a stroke of luck: Trunk had 40 bricks, and there were 20 PAX.

    Mosey across the Avenue and circle up on the Tulane Lawn.

    But wait – 2 more PAX!!  YHC had spare bricks in the backseat – so he yelled across the Avenue “THE KEY IS ON THE BACK LEFT WHEEL.”  Yankee managed to find the key and the bricks for the latecomers – while the rest of the PAX politely reminded the YHC that we aren’t in Metry no more, and maybe yelling the location of the car key isn’t the best idea….

    But I digress.

    Warm Up

    Brickpees OYO x10.  Sigh.  YHC needed to explain to the Uptowners that a “Brickpee” was a Burpee with Bricks.

    Arm Circles, Both ways X10:  Not normally a fan of the Sun Gods, YHC definitely included them with the Bricks.

    SSH x40: Meant to go to x50 but accidentally ended at 40.  Oh well.

    Plank Position:

    • Peter Parker x20
    • Floyd Mayweather x20
    • Parker Peter x20
    • Newtons Cradle x10

    Mosey to the Mountain

    Indian Run to the top.  With your bricks.  Go.

    The Thang

    At the top of WPM, partner up for Dora 1-2-3

    • 100 Brick X-Fit Merkins.  Thanks Mariah for showing us that it was, in fact, plausible
    • 200 Dying Cockroaches (tough your toe with your bricks)
    • 300 Goblet Squats (with your bricks)

    PAX 1 exercises, PAX 2 runs down the ramp then back up.  Flapjack.

    In the interest of time, YHC modified the counts to 100-150-200

    Rest Time

    Find some wall space to take a seat for People’s Chair

    • Wonderbra (with bricks) x20 (Up/Down/Out/In)

    Shake out the legs.  Rinse and Repeat.  Throw in some Brick Curls just because.

    Mosey down the stairwell to the Loyola Lawn (nicest turf in town, according to El Wire)

    PAX Choice

    Running short of time, YHC decided to let the PAX choose the finishing exercise.  By a slight majority, Option A won: Jack Webbs.  (Option B was Bear Crawl/Tunnel of Love, with Bricks).

    • 1:2 Merkin/Brick Press
    • 2:4 …
    • 3:6 …
    • ….

    Go as far as you can.  YHC called it at 6:13, leaving PAX time to return bricks to the trunk and circle up at the Flag

    COT

    Count-off (22 PAX), Name-o-Rama.

    Announcements: “Read Your Email” says Yankee.  God Bless to Pony Boy as he’s off to Atlanta.  Thanks for working out with us, take your enthusiasm to the Atlanta PAX!  Come back and join us again soon!

    Prayers: YHC grateful for the ongoing treatment for his sister.  All early signs are positive.  Prayers for Flaming Lips nephew, having finished rounds of Chemo prepping for Radiation next.  May caregivers be blessed with wisdom and compassion.  Finishe with prayer to use the gift of today wisely, and close with St. Ignatius Loyola Prayer for Generosity.

    Thank you all for letting a foreigner Q your beloved AO!

  • Happy ANZAC Day. With Bricks.

    ANZAC Day

    A day of remembrance for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who landed on Gallipoli in World War 1.  Depending on your point of view, this was perhaps the most devious but poorly executed plan, or the most ill-begotten idea ever devised by humans.  Regardless, the actual outcome was a far cry from the hopes originally envisioned by one Winston Churchill when he devised the plan as a way to break the Western Front stalemate in 1915.  After the failed seaborne invasion, the military commanders arrived on a plan to land troops and take the peninsula.  Alas, they probably couldn’t have picked worst landing points – and the Australian/New Zealand troops landed on a small beachhead, surrounded by high ground and entrenched Turkish troops.  The troops never came close to a breakthrough, and instead took 8 months of astounding losses – but refused to retreat from their position.

    Please take some time today to offer a prayer for military troops everywhere who have suffered and died in their missions.

    Brick Day: YHC woke to a beautiful crisp morning at the Foundry.  The lights are still out, so I struggled to identify the shadows milling about the flag.  “Is that you Milkman?”  Yes, it was.  “I hear singing!”  Yup, there was Bogey.  Smooth and Tool snuck in quietly, forgoing their cars to mosey to the AO.  Mambi, Abacus and Mahatma rounded out the morning crew.

    5:30 – disclaimer (especially watch footing because its so darn dark…)  Stop by YHC’s car for a morning surprise.  Bricks.  I like to keep bricks in the car just in case something like this (a morning Q for F3).  Everyone grab 2 bricks and lets go.

    Stop #1: ANZAC Day remembrance

    • A: Abe Vigodas x15.  Slow cadence, no bricks
    • N: Newton’s Cradle x20.  With bricks.  Good times
    • Z: Zig Zag Hops.  10x Out and Back
    • A: Absolution x20.  Look it up in the lexicon.  8 count plank exercise.
    • C: Crunches x25

    Stop #2: Brick-BLIMPS on the track.  Partner Up.  Each partner runs opposite ways on the track.  Whenever they meet, do the next exercise.  Then back to the track to run opposite ways.  All exercises with bricks.  Total of 3+ laps on the track plus the assorted exercises.  Plank, then throw in another set of 10 Newton’s Cradles.

    Stop #3: Off to the baby Foundry.

    Quick Change of Pace: Brick Bear Crawl across the field (maybe 50 yards?).  Bricks slide, but then get harder to hold as they get slick….

    At the Foundry, leave the bricks in a pile and partner up for 4 stations

    • Box Jumps x20 (the timer)
    • Pull Ups
    • Hanging Knee Lifts
    • Jumping over the Green Snake

    Repeat x2

    Stop #4: Not a complete Rudy workout without a plank-o-rama.  Since its 4/25, we’ll do 4 sets of 25.  I guess we do 4 sets of 25 every time.  But whatever.  It was special today anyway.

    • Peter Parker x25
    • Shoulder Taps x25 (with or without brick at your choice)
    • Parker Peter x25
    • Floyd Mayweather x25 (with or without bricks – though it was MUCH HARDER with the bricks)

    Back to the flag (stopping to carefully put the bricks back in YHC’s car).  We had a minute to spare, so close up with 15 Burpees OYO.

    Did you know – today (4/25) is also the day that Admiral Farragut demanded the surrender of New Orleans in the Civil War (1862), and the day that US and Russian troops met at the Elbe river in German in World War II (1945).

    Close with Announcements – 5/18 Barathon, 6/2 Summer Series race.  COT to remember all of our intentions, and ask for blessings to use the gift of today wisely, and grace to be better leaders and servants.

    Thanks for letting me (the Foundry Foreigner, I suppose) Q today.

  • And Then There Were Three

    One of YHC’s favorite songs: from Genesis’ 1978 album And Then There Were Three.  Sure enough, as 5:30 arrived on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain – 3 PAX gathered for a workout.

    But today’s theme was not Genesis.  No, not today (but maybe a future workout).  Today YHC had something else in mind.  Technically, YHC had something else in the trunk.

    The Thang: Mosey to the trunk of YHC’s car and each PAX grab a pair of bricks.  Get to know your bricks, they will be your friends for the next 45 minutes.

    Mosey over towards, and around, the fountain.  Mix in some High Knee, Karaoke, and Butt Kicks before settling in on the grass.

    COP #1: Usual Rudy Warmup

    • SSH x25
    • IW x25
    • Plank-o-Rama: PP x25, FM (with Bricks) x20, PP x25, PJ x30

    COP #2: 2 Pax exercise while 1 Pax runs a lap.  All exercises and laps done with bricks.  Repeat each exercise until each PAX has taken advantage of the opportunity to run laps twice.

    • 8 Count Body Builders.  (JV turned them into 10 count, adding a brick-press).
    • Lunges
    • Dying Cockroaches

    YHC noticed quickly that just holding the bricks throughout was, in itself, a good grip workout.  YHC also noticed that each lap JV ran seemed to be different – different direction, different distance.  Some around the fountain, some around 1 quad, some around both quads, some around the fountain and one quad.  While lunging, YHC wondered what the inside of JV’s head must be like.

    COP #3: October ISI Challenge continuing, so YHC needed more pullups.  With our brick friends, mosey to the top of the levee and over to the HOP.

    • Down the levee to the HOP.  Pull-ups x5
    • Up the levee.  Brick Murican x5
    • Still on the levee.  Squats x5
    • Repeat x5

    Triple Shift crushed us.  Impressive watching the machine knock out the Pull Ups then sprint back up the levee.  Nice work!

    COP #4: Mosey back to the VSF to finish with some Brick-Mary

    • Putin x20
    • Flutter x20
    • Rosalita x20
    • Crunch x20

    COT: Countoff and Name-o-rama (both of which go pretty quickly when there are only 3).  Finish with a prayer, asking for God’s providence to help us use the gift of today wisely.  YHC asks for blessings on a long time friend of the family who passed away last night.  Close with St. Ignatius’ Prayer for Generosity.

    JV, Triple Shift: Thank you for humoring me as I decided to try something different today with the bricks.  I think it went well enough that I’ll give it a shot again one day soon.