F3 New Orleans

Tag: Bubba

  • The Merkin Trap, Episode 4: The Search for Plutonium – from Akbar

    Admiral Gail Akbar of the Mon Calamari returns to the Northshore Mothership once again, to fight another battle against Darth Fartsack and the Sad Clown Empire. His secret mission this trip is to investigate the galactical mystery of Plutonium, reportedly found in the NOLA area by some beast named Hawgcycle. The commander of the Rebel forces knew this human was clever and dangerous – using words like isotopes, casualties, retrospect, and defecate in past correspondence about this discovery. He was at this beatdown before, maybe he would return. Key reinforcements – Baby Yoda, Bushwacker, Pickaxe, Chainsaw, and Shooter were missing. But we had new blood to make up the difference – a burly man named Cathe, with medical-surgical powers specializing in catheters, and a visiting pirate from Cape Fear named Teach. We were pleased with our chances.

    The Admiral received this note before his journey:

    Before night falls on this long winter day,
    A shining sword must find its way
    Into your hands and out of the gloom—
    Or Admiral Akbar shall meet his doom.
    To begin your quest for the Sword of Light,
    Call for the help of another to get right.
    You can always depend on an F3 brother,
    As Iron Sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another.

    PAX

    Waterpik, Dangerfield, Freon, Bubba, Moby Dick, Bean, Russo, Jose 10k, Barely Legal, Speedy, Grundy, Bird, Zoolander, Maverick, Akbar, Hammer, Junior Varsity, Cathe (FNG), Teach

    Conditions – 40ish, no wind, a little foggy

    Warm Up – Arm Circles (F/B), Self-Love, Imperial Walkers, Grass Grabbers

    Thang

    Mosey up and down the Lakefront stopping for 2 exercises in each set, one of which would always be Merkins. 12, 8, 5 IC or 24,16,10 OYO. Each set = 50 Merkins, and most were 50 of another exercise except for a couple done Copperhead style.

    1 – Flag SSH, Merkins
    2 – Rips Calf Raises, Wide Merkin
    3 – Parking stripes Lunge walk, 5 Merkins every 2nd stripe
    4 – Noah Wall Tempo Freak Nasties, Dirkin
    5 – Grass Circle Al Gore/Shoulder raise, Wide Merkin
    6 – Wall Copperhead Squats, Irkin
    7 – Grass Circle Scuba Steve, Stone Mountain
    8 – Grass Circle Al Gore/Shoulder raise, Merkin
    9 – Noah Wall Scuba Steve, Diamond Irkin
    10 – Rips Twinkle Toes, Prime Time Merkin
    11 – Flag Little Manny Crunches, Merkin

    Total 550 Merkins

    Mary – x10 IC

    Fire Hydrants, Leg Raises, Hello Dolly, LBC’s, Lay flat on your back for 1 minute, time called

    Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama. Welcome FNG Cathe! Pronounced Cathy

    Announcements

    – Run Cajun Run, log your mileage
    – Hammer, Grundy, Steve, and Tanked Up! have put together a team to support The
    Nehemiah Project. They will run 48 miles over 48 hours on March 18th at Fontainebleau
    State Park. Check Slack for more.
    – Bird has the Q next Saturday

    COT

    YHC prayed us out with thoughts of words like man, father, husband, brother, friend – all verbs – and to take action this week remembering to flex our heart muscle. Don’t forget tomorrow is Valentine’s Day

    Alas, the Admiral did not find Plutonium, or Hawcycle, or the Sword of Light. But what he did find was a group of men who sharpened each other – enjoying camaraderie, food, and a hot cup of coffee for their efforts. Sad, but undaunted, he shall return next year.

    Thanks for letting me lead, and for following.

    SYITG – Admiral Akbar

    NMM

    Of all days to be late, YHC misplaced the keys and had to hall butt to make it there just in time to start.

    Great to have Teach from F3 Cape Fear make the drive from Gulfport while working out of town for a while.

    Bird brought Ian, a FNG who we named Cathe, pronounced Cathy, he works in med devices sales with vascular catheters.

    YHC had to modify pretty quickly after the Dirkins in the 4th set – in which QIC almost face planted from exhaustion. The plan was to go all the way to the playground and work my way back, but time forced a modification. We still got in around 550 Merkins in an hour

    Grundy showed up late, half way through, and owes 250 Merkins.

    I’ve been reading a lot of Jack and Annie books with the kids, and the poem came from a Merlin Mystery novel. I have to admit, these books are great – historical fiction and mystery combined. Kids and adults alike will love them. Sometimes, the book titles become backblast titles.

    The Plutonium reference came from the master backblast writer himself, Hawcycle. Look back and read it, it’s good stuff.

    Coffeeteria was great, this time including more King Cake, breakfast bowls, and my 2.0’s showed up for sugar and hot chocolate.

  • Never have I ever (Yes I have!) – from Russo

    Disclaimer: yes, most of this was written well ahead of time, Zoolander, and copied and pasted, edited, and spellchecked (I think).

    30 degrees greeted a Pax of 13 this morning, perfect sunrise, a little chilly from the remnants of rain.

    Too cold to be called a Warmup (all IC, between 10 and 25x)
    – Sealjacks
    – Good mornings
    – High knees
    – Cherry pickers
    – Grass grabbers
    – Self love
    – Imperial walkers

    Thangs before the Thang
    (1) Mosey down Girod, stopping every block or so for some Ro-Cham-Burpee (10 rounds of rock, paper, scissors, the winner performs merkins, the loser burpees)

    Things we learned:
    – Zoolander and Jose were “pretty even” through 2 rounds
    – Guinea Pig had incredible fortune until he ran into the buzzsaw of YHC’s scissors
    – The ground is cold without gloves

    (2) Card sharks (Complete exercises based on card count, next round guess higher or lower, a correct guess multiplies the rep 2x, incorrect 3x)
    – Crab cakes
    – Scissor kicks
    – Peter Parker’s
    – Big boi situps
    – Plank jacks
    – American hammers
    – Murder bunnies
    – Monkey humpers

    Things we learned:
    – Murder bunnies are a favorite of YHC
    – The deck was most certainly not stacked to finish on an Ace (with a 3x multiplier)
    – Guinea Pig played great strategy on the 10
    – Jose redeemed himself with higher/lower

    Thang

    YHC is not what one would call creative. Completely left-brained, my world revolves around number and order and sequence. I struggle to keep beatdowns fresh. Most of my planning is either “that’s a good idea, let’s modify that” or “what’s a game I’ve played that can be transformed into a beatdown?” The latter held true for a spirited and, at times, confusing, game of:

    Never have I ever (Q calls out an action, If you’ve done said action, move to one side. If not, move to the other. Exercise and rep count will vary based on what side you’re on)

    Actions (“Yes” first exercise listed, “No”second one listed, most of them look right, there was some modification)

    (1) Q’ed the Mothership – 10 merkins, 5 burpees

    (2) Fartsacked a Q – 10 burpees, 10 merkins

    (3) Intentionally run a red light – 10 burpees, 15 squats

    (4) Picked up the 6 – 3 calf raises, 15 SMCs

    (5) Fallen asleep at work – 25 hallelujah squats, 5 Peter Parker’s

    (6) Called a partner the wrong name – 10 donkey kicks, 5 arm circles

    (7) Cut my own or someone else’s hair – 10 merkins, 20 SSH

    (8) Dated a friend’s ex – lap around Granny’s, 5 merkins

    (9) Stopped to help some with roadside car trouble – 5 jump squats, 25 Apollo Ohnos

    (10) Let someone cut in line in front of me – 10 mountain climbers, 10 burpees

    (11) Played wordle – bear crawl, mosey

    (12) Slept in my car – 20 star jumps, 10 arm circles

    (13) Hit a parked car – 20 groiners, 5 merkins

    (14) Sent an inappropriate text or message to the wrong person – 5 burpees, 5 merkins

    (15) Been frisked or in a police car – 30 squats, 10 cherry pickers

    (16) Removed an inappropriate amount of clothes in public – 10 burpees, 1 burpee

    Things we learned:
    – Too many lawyers in the Pax. We had to define “partner”, “hit”, “date”, “mothership”, “intentional”, as well as clarify what is meant by “inappropriate” and “slept”
    – Even after 16 rounds, some of us aren’t really sure which side to go to
    – There were at least two people who found themselves on the side I didn’t expect them to be on (Names redacted, let the speculation commence)
    – Other things that should not be broadcast here to protect the innocent
    – Best line of the Thang (paraphrased): I paid for that 20 years ago and now Russo is making me pay for it again.

    After enough absolution, Pax moseyed back to the flag in a modified Indian run where the lead runner peels off and heads to the back.

    COT, Name-o-Rama, announcements, and prayer closed us out.

    Announcements
    – HogsBreath and Pass Interference are planting the Slidell flag on Monday at 5:30!
    – Hammer is pulling together a fundraiser for the Nehemiah Project in mid-March. I’ll let him provide more details on this worthy cause.
    – There were multiple prayer requests, including friends and family of Akbar, Bubba, Bird, and Jose, so a focus of our prayer was on mental/physical health and God’s gifts of healing, comfort, mercy, and peace.

    One final word on something Bubba brought up:

    There is an awful lot we shoulder every day: work, family, commitments, temptation, life’s difficulties, you name it. We may tend to bottle up stress or pressure until we just can’t take it anymore.

    Most of us have found F3 to be a release of some of that pressure. We’ve stumbled upon a group that, despite our imperfections, will absolutely stand tall in the face of adversity and stand with our brothers. I thank God every day for this group, and each of the men that have helped to shape me into a better human being. You are all leading by example and my prayer is that we do that for everyone around us.

    Maybe you pick up the 6 more, or reach out to ask how something went for someone this week. Maybe you share your Q source, and then make sure it gets read. Maybe you spend a couple hours to drop everything and help someone move. There are countless other examples that I hope we have and can point to when things get tough. There are too many other examples for me to list.

    If anyone is struggling, reach out. My ear is always ready to be bent. SYITG 🤛🏼

  • Panxsutawney Phil and The Gipper – from TurboTax

    Panxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning which implies some sunlight which, in turn, confirms that he was nowhere near The Gipper. Conditions for our beatdown were Gloomy to say the least.

    Plenty of shelter at The Gipper. After a warmup featuring lots of dynamic stretching, skipping, bear crawling, lunging, squatting, crab walking and running, the PAX made our way to the crescent for a EMOM extravaganza. Burpees, merkins, mountain climbers, Sister Mary Katherines, Apollo Onos, Bobby Hurleys, and a few different plank variations filled the rest of our time…roughly 30 minutes of increasing intensity. But the PAX weathered the EMOM storm just fine and made a solid downpainment on the day.

    Thanks for letting me lead guys. Hope to see you all out there for the Krazy Ivan Thursday night.

  • LUNGES & LUNGS REDUX – from Einstein

    a light group at the Gipper this morning – missing a few regulars

    after some chit-chat and a short disclaimer, we got to it…

    Warmup:
    all 20xIC: Toe Touch, Side Straddle Hops, Hillbillies, Shoulder Shruggs/Rolls, Imperial Walkers,
    Swimmers, Butt Kicks, Grass Grabbers, Neck Rolls, Seal Jacks, maybe some more…

    mosey to the stair case leading up to the Upper Deck of the Justice Center Parking Garage
    heals over hands climb up the stairs, one at a time, while the pax does side staddle hops fore and aft, before regouping

    Thang: (a repeat from the A1C workout a few weeks back – hence the REDUX)
    reverse lunge walk half way down the down ramp, back peddle back up
    reverse lunge walk all the way down the down ramp, back peddle back up
    forward lunge walk half way down the down ramp, sprint back up
    forward lunge walk all the way down the down ramp, sprint back up
    lateral lunge walk – North facing, half the way down the down ramp, sprint back up
    lateral lunge walk – North facing, all the way down the down ramp, sprint back up
    lateral lunge walk – South facing, half the way down the down ramp, sprint back up
    lateral lunge walk – South facing, all the way down the down ramp, sprint back up
    deep squat at every parking space, half way down the down ramp, sprint back up
    deep squat at every parking space, all the way down the down ramp, sprint back up

    mosey back to the flag

    Count-o-rama

    Bubba led us out with a prayer.

    Thanks guys. Always extremely decent of you letting me lead.

  • A Bonnie Blair By Any Other Name Still Sucks – from Zoolander

    I know it says Zoolander was the Q for this one, but that’s only because YHC’s name isn’t on the dropdown menu yet. And, it was ultimately Zoo’s idea to get the fellas from down the bayou to Q a November Lakefront beatdown, and we couldn’t be more grateful!

    YHC showed up in the Goosemobile with four men and two boys who’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. It’s become very clear to me over the years that God has wired men in such a way that the more we suffer together, the more we come to care deeply about each other’s well being, regardless of differences in background, lifestyle, (number of kids), etc. So, it was easy to jump at the opportunity to travel north and lead a beatdown out of gratitude for the men who have allowed me to suffer with them and who first shared the gift of F3 with me. Now, the cycle is continuing down in Thibodaux with a growing PAX!

    Disclaimer was stated for the benefit of an FNG (Welcome, Crock Pot!). Warmups consisted of IC: SSH, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, Arm Circles, Cherry Pickers, Self Love, High Knees, and Butt Kicks, followed by a mosey to Noah’s Ark.

    YHC revealed an F3 Workout Deck, and three cards were pulled and listed exercises completed with a promise of more random suffering to come. This was followed by partner BLIMPS, but with a bit of a twist. Grundy’s late arrival provided an opportunity to reminisce back to YHC’s first beatown, whcih was Q’d by Grundy. It included Sister Mary Catherine’s in the warmup, which totally burned out my legs before we even got to Noah’s Ark. A fitting memory to share before introducing these BLIMPS:

    Thang 1:
    Partner 1 ran around Noah’s Ark, while Partner 2 huffed and puffed his way through their shared total of:
    50 Bonnie Blairs (another name for SMC’s),
    50 Lunge Jumps (another name for SMC’s),
    50 Iron Mikes (another name for SMC’s),
    50 Merkins,
    50 Plank Jacks,
    50 Sister Mary Catherine’s (SMC’s)

    Thang 2:
    Moseyed once again, stopping to complete exercises from three more cards from the deck, then lining up along the wall for two version of a newly minted “Indian Inchworm Wall Crawl”. The first version consisted of all PAX in dip position on the wall moving to the right and completing a dip with every “step” while the man in the rear of the line crab walked to the front. After a number of traffic jams and Bushwacker grumbles, the last of the PAX had crabbed their way to the front, so it was time to turn around and go the other way. Pax assumed the irkin position on the wall and moved to the right, completing an irkin with every “step”. The rearmost PAX bear crawled their way to the front of the line this time, so things moved a little more quickly.

    Thang 3:
    Another short mosey brought us to a grassy area big enough for the highly anticipated Tunnel of Love. Ironically, Zoolander had just shared his gratitude that YHC hadn’t included this exercise since it was a memorable highlight from my VQ a few years back. So, it was with a special joy that I announced that all PAX would be snuggling up shoulder to shoulder in plank position while the rearmost PAX in the line army crawled through Tunnel of Love. Bushwacker’s encouraging “love whacks” kept the line moving while the plankers’ shoulders burned and threatened to give out.

    Hope then rose in the hearts of many as we lined up for what would be a wildly chaotic Indian run back to the flag with many PAX digging deep, knowing that this would ultimately be the last time they’d have to push. But, YHC knew what lurked amongst the cards in the deck, and after two relatively harmless pulls to fill the small amount of time left before 7:30, a third and final pull was offered to the FNG. It was the new guy, at 7:29, who managed to pull the 400 meter sprint card, arguably the worst card in the deck. So, despite the shared astonishment and disbelief, the beatdown ended with 25 men sprinting toward an inhabited car and then back to the flag, all residual energy and will to live good and drained.

    COT, announcements, and prayer by Enron of F3 Thibodaux.

    Coffeeteria offered time to catch up and enjoy the beautiful weather before the long ride home to Thibodaux. All PAX in the Goosemobile shared their gratitude for the opportunity to experience F3 on that level and for the men who were willing to suffer with us as we continue to strive to get better at doing hard things. It was a great gift to get to spend such high quality time with you guys this morning, and I very much look forward to seeing you in the gloom (wherever that gloom might be)!

  • Q Source – Grover’s Graduation – from Akbar

    It was a rainy, gloomy morn with what looked like 5-6 PAX for the beatdown. But out of the
    gloom came more Pax to help celebrate Grovers graduation. After Pixie Stix woke up from his nap, the count was 16 HIM. Great to have Hawgcycle and Carpool join us as well.

    QIC was ready with the biggest Wiki ever, laminated for the rain, and reading glasses to boot. We went through the first half of the Q-Source, including Foundations, Q1, and Q2 – with beatdowns in between readings.

    YHC will summarize and post the full content at the very end of the backblast if you want to read through it.

    The Q Source is F3’s Leadership Philosophy and leadership manual, which supports the mission to invigorate male leadership in our communities.

    WARM UP x 15-16 SSH, Hillbillies, Imperial Walkers, Self-Love, Mountain Climbers

    FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES:

    Disruption, disturbance of the status quo.
    Language, the Lexicon of Virtuous Leadership
    Group, a voluntary combination of two or more people.
    Leadership Development Process (LDP), great leaders develop new leaders
    Preparedness, get ready for the expected while being ready for the unexpected.

    Mosey to the Gazebo wall

    PDerkin IC x 12 (8 count Derkin with Peter Parkers) OYO 50 Dirkin, 50 Freak Nasties

    Q1: Get Right – the pursuit of proper alignment.
    DRP – Daily Red Pill. The daily commitment to accelerate Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith.
    King. The daily discipline of training the physical body.
    Queen. The daily discipline over what is put into the Body
    Jester. The temptation of the flesh that hinders acceleration

    Wall – X10 IC Tempo Stone Mountain & Shoulder taps in Derkin position
    Circle up. X20 IC -arm circles – front, back, overhead and reverse, cherry pickers, Moroccan night clubs, overhead press, Randy, 20 count lateral hold
    OYO X20 Stone Mountain & shoulder taps

    FELLOWSHIP – a man’s healthy relationship with the people in his Concentrica, or closest circle.
    M – The transformational relationship between a man and his wife.
    Shorties – the Sacrificial relationship between a man and his kids.
    Shield Lock – the horizontal relationship between men
    Whetstone – The vertical relationship between Men.
    Mammon – The sustaining relationship between a man and His work..

    Wall. OYO – 50 step ups, 25 each leg. IC x 10 Bulgarian Split Squats each leg.
    Line up at the wall. 10 x Twinkle Toes, lunge walk to the sidewalk, 10x Monkey Humpers, run back. Rinse and repeat x9, x8, x7 – and Q said that was enough.

    FAITH is a man’s right relationship with his Creator.
    Prayer – The daily discipline of talking with the creator to build faith.
    Study – Faith is a practice that requires study to accelerate.
    Meeting – Public manifestation of Faith

    CIRCLE UP OYO X10 Superman (regular, feet and arms up) ; Y Superman, W Superman, T Superman (arms straight out), Superman Row, Superman Merkin, Renegade Row

    Q2 LIVE RIGHT – THE DEDICATION TO PURPOSEFULNESS. To live right, a man must have an ultimate purpose in mind, which requires self-sacrifice & helps a man to stay right
    Impact – Forcible contact to strong effect.
    Influence – igniting a strong desire for movement.
    Missionality – Service in the High Impact Zone.
    Positive Habit Transfer – ingraining advantageous tendencies in others.
    Accountability – submission to a standard through enforcement and consequence.
    Correction – zealously advocating for shared virtue.
    Targeting – initiating Missionality in others.

    Mosey Back to the Flag.

    Mary- IC x 15ish. Heels to Heaven, Hands to Heels (Penguins), Leg Raises, Crunchy Frogs, American Hammers, LBC’s, Hello Dolly

    Grover was then presented with a Q Source inspired shovel flag, which was his grandfather’s shovel, and contained the 4 Quadrants of Preparedness. Get Right, Live Right, Lead Right, and Live Right. ISI on the back right of the shovel and a F3 and Super Grover sticker on the front. A copy of the Q Source was given to him also on the way to Coffeeteria. Great fellowship and conversation as usual at the Book and the Bean with surprise arrivals of Amnesia and Slots.

    Many thanks to Zoolander who had the shovel flag idea; for Shooter helping me put it together; and for the M who painted the flag.

    Count, Name and Shooter prayed us out.

    Thanks for letting me lead!
    Til next gloom, Akbar

    —————————————————————————————————-
    FULL CONTENT

    FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
    Disruption: Disturbance of the Status Quo. A leader is a person who can influence people to do things that they would not have done otherwise. Leaders influence movement to advantage which causes disruption

    Language: The Lexicon of Virtuous Leadership. Leadership is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Effective groups have a unique language

    Group: A voluntary combination of two or more people. Man is by nature a Group-forming animal. 3 group types that must be led to advantage are Community, Organization, and Team. Dynamic teams are the heart of healthy communities and effective organizations

    In the Leadership Development Process (LDP), great leaders develop new leaders. There are 4 steps: schooling, apprenticeship, opportunity, and failure

    Preparedness: Get ready for the expected while being ready for the unexpected. The process of preparedness is deliberate and sequential. 4 quadrants: Get right, live right, lead right, and leave right

    Q1: GET RIGHT is the Pursuit of Proper Alignment. There are 3 components – Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. FITNESS is a man’s right relationship with himself through physical fitness. Fitness is inward seeking. A man must get right before he can do anything else. To be able to help others, a man must first help himself.

    DRP – Daily Red Pill – the daily commitment to accelerate Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. A man needs help to get right – to turn from amateur to pro.
    To do that, we must master 3 things

    King – Daily discipline of training the physical body. Fitness begins with the body and is maintained for reasons outside of ourselves. Fitness is best accelerated by running with faster men.

    Queen – Daily discipline over what is put into the Body. Man does not stay fit through exercise alone. Weight control requires accountability. You cannot out King your Queen

    Jester – The temptation of the flesh that hinders acceleration. Every man has his own personal Jester. The jester is a master liar – the jester and Virtue can coexist. Preparedness keeps the Jester at bay

    FELLOWSHIP – a man’s healthy relationship with the people in his Concentrica, or closest circle. Fellowship is the outward seeking act of relational rhythm – and takes as much discipline and attention as it does to maintain physical fitness – if not more.

    M – The transformational relationship between a man and his wife. The M is the most important relationship. Accelerating the M requires both skill and love

    Shorties – the Sacrificial relationship between a man and his kids. A man gives everything he has for his kids. The IMPACT that a man has on his kids cannot be underestimated

    Shield Lock – the horizontal relationship between men. Men Hunt best in a pack because we need someone to watch our six. Men recognize the advantage of mutual defense and lock shields together into a defensive wall to repel the invader. The shield lock must come together periodically to be effective.

    Whetstone – The vertical relationship between Men. It’s man’s natural desire to pass on what we have learned to a younger man. A man must be sharpened like a knife blade. The HIM acts as the Stone to the younger man’s Blade – providing the hard surface against which he becomes sharper. The Whetstone is necessary for both the blade and the stone to get right.

    Mammon – The sustaining relationship between a man and His work. Work is a virtue – Mammon is a relationship, not a pursuit. Mammon is a man’s least important relationship.

    FAITH is a man’s right relationship with his Creator. A man cannot live, lead, or leave right unless this spiritual relationship is accelerating along with Fitness and Fellowship. This is done in 3 ways:

    Prayer – The daily discipline of talking with the creator to build faith. A virtuous leader must have Faith. Prayer provides answers and is the antidote to worry.

    Study – Faith is a practice that requires study to accelerate. The acceleration of Faith requires a belief system. Study puts a leaders belief system to the test. If you stop studying, you decelerate.

    Meeting – Public manifestation of Faith. Faith is best accelerated in the company of others. To be competent in your Faith requires Skill, which results from practice. To leave a legacy, a man must be competent in the practice of his belief system – turning head knowledge into heart knowledge

    Q2 LIVE RIGHT – THE DEDICATION TO PURPOSEFULNESS. To live right, a man must have an ultimate purpose in mind, which requires self-sacrifice & helps a man to stay right

    Impact – Forcible contact to strong effect. Some movement – action taken in furtherance of Purpose – is required by at least 1 person. The proximity we create results in changes in the lives of the people that we meet. Sad Clown’s need help to Get Right, this can only be done in context of a relationship

    Influence – igniting a strong desire for movement. Persuasion is the initiation of first movement, using influence to convince a man to want to move. Movement must be voluntary and is influenced through word and deed.

    Missionality – Service in the High Impact Zone. The course of action taken to achieve an articulated purpose, which is made up of the tasks we undertake to bring our purpose to fruition. The comfort zone is a cultural myth that encourages men to be in-Effective. A HIM’s mission marks the boundaries of his high impact zone – his place of highest productivity, where he is the most effective. And preparedness helps resist straying from his mission

    Positive Habit Transfer – ingraining advantageous tendencies in others. 3 types of habits – negative, neutral, positive. A Positive habit is advantageous to the individual or others. We should help others minimize neutral habits and discontinue negative habits.

    Accountability – submission to a standard through enforcement and consequence. The HIM seeks accountability because his life is not his own. Accountability shines the light of Hope into a man’s blind spots. An effective shield lock provides mutual accountability.

    Correction – zealously advocating for shared virtue. The HIM preaches what he practices. Correction requires courage and love.

    Targeting – initiating Missionality in others. Missionality is an essential virtue. Targeting moves a man beyond himself. A man’s life is a single thing comprised of many components that must all work together in rhythm.

  • Marsh Madness 2021 – from Zoolander

    Welcome to Marsh Madness 2021. Twenty-four Pax converged upon the Milestone Marsh for this second-time event1

    In the presence of the Pick Axe-entrusted Freedom Hammer, we started with a quick disclaimer, Warmorama, Bushwacker-style2 instructions, and then the THANG.

    The Pax counted off in 4’s and formed 4 x 6ish-man teams at each corner of the court with a basketball. While 1 member of each team backpedaled with their ball to half court, performed a Bobby Hurley, and drove to goal for a shot of his choosing:

    – Layup (1 point),
    – Free Throw (2 points), or
    – Three point shot (3 points)
    Zero points for missed shots

    the rest of each team completed the following series of exercises in cadence led by a rotating corner Q.
    • Burpees
    • Air Presses
    • Shoulder Tap Merkins
    • Copperhead Jump Squats
    • LBCs
    • Plank Jacks
    • Monkey Humpers
    • Flutter Kicks
    Each man – including FNGs, 2nd timers, and celebrity guests – had multiple chances to lead the cadence.

    Shooters marked their points with sidewalk chalk and fell in line to call the cadence for the next exercise. It took a few rounds before each team found its own rhythm, but after that it was like watching a philharmonic orchestra playing Mary had a little lamb.
    After “40 minutes of hell,” team member points were tallied, and the highest scoring individual from each of the 4 teams were down-bracketed to a 5-shot “Around-the-World” shoot out on their respective side of the court. The rest of the Pax performed Goofballs and Side Straddle Hops to distract the Final Four shooters.
    Grundy, with accountant like focus, out-calculated Speedy;
    Ocho outdanced Whip.

    Grundy and Ocho were then down-bracketed to compete in a best-of-10 shootout from the free throw line. As luck would have it, they tied, and we went to Sudden Death from the Three Point line. Despite Ocho’s shenanigans, Grundy stomped the Stomper and emerged as the 2021 Marsh Madness champion!

    – Trophy
    – Count-orama
    – Name-orama – Welcome FNGs Sonar (EH’d by Turbo Tax) and Gomer Pyle (EH’d by Sparky).
    – Announcements
    o Northshore 5-year convergence led by Waterpik at the Lakefront on April 10.
    o Next F3/FiA mixer is 4/29. Thank you Jose10k, some of us do have to plan ahead for weeknight workouts.
    o ZOORICH CLASSIC at the Lakefront on April 24. (See how I slipped that in there Cowbell?…never too early!)

    QIC prayed us out and group photo followed. Great job by all. We’ll see if Grundy can defend his title in 2022. Thanks for playing along men. See you in the next Gloom.

    Footnotes:
    1Seriously, footnotes in a Backblast? Why not? The first Marsh Madness was in 2019 with a small, dare I say Elite, group of 8. Bird was an FNG and drained 16 x 3-point shots. The B-ball gods did not favor him today though. And well, Corona (as it was called back then) had other plans in ‘20.

    2Bushwacker-style instructions typically include circumlocutory, sesquipedalian musings about man’s ultimate life purpose with some semblance of what the Pax should be doing for the next 40-50 minutes. They are often accompanied by Mumble Chatter and confusion by all within earshot. Bushwacker-style instructions are the exact opposite of Turbo-style instructions, which are direct, concise, and never to be interrupted without penalty.

  • We’re Caught in a Trap, and Can’t Walk Out… – from Akbar

    Because I love y’all too much baby.

    And so it began, the 2nd annual Merkin Trap on the lakefront. Last year around this time we did 400 Merkins, could it be topped? I think so.

    18 PAX converged at the Lakefront today (without Gnats!) to make ourselves better. It could have been an even 20 if TankedUp didn’t steel Bush and Steve for a OYO Marathon.

    Gloom Factor – overcast, chilly 47 degrees

    Warm up – Nada. It’s time to get to business

    THANG – multiple exercises, mosey’s, and a lot of Merkins with a surprise thrown in mid-way. Exercises were done IC, 12,8,5 (50 reps) and some OYO.

    Starting out at the shovel flag: SSH | Merkins IC 12,8,5

    Mosey to Rips for Calf Raises on the stairs | Dirkins on the curb. 12,8,5 IC

    Mosey to the wall: Step Ups OYO in sets of 12/8/5 | Irkins OYO 24, 16, 10

    Run 2 blocks to Jefferson, stop for 10 Merkins at Claiborne. Monkey Humpers |Stone Mountain 12/8/5 IC

    Run 2 blocks to Monroe stop at Madison for 10 Merkins. Squats | Leg-up Merkins 12,8,5 IC

    Run to the Marsh, stop at Livingston for 10 Merkins

    Milestone Marsh: 50 pull ups, 50 Freak Nasties OYO – modification was supine or negative pullups

    Cowbell gave me a time check before we hit the Marsh, and after 100 reps YHC had to modify to make it back in time.

    Run back to the flag, stopping at each street for 15 Merkins.

    On the way, some father son intensification took place with Hammer and Pickaxe. Hammer carried Pickaxe most of the way piggyback style, and I took a turn for 1 leg. While Hammer and I did Merkins, Pickaxe did a Luigi (I think) – or pretty much a Merkin with no arms. At least he didn’t have to carry Shooter for 6 blocks.

    Back to the shovel flag for the wrap up.

    · Crunchy Frogs for Cowbell | Merkins 12,8,5 IC
    · LBC’s IC 12,8,5 24 Irkins OYO 8,5 FIA Merkins IC
    · Hello Dolly | Merkins IC 12,8

    500 Merkins in an hour, Advil post beatdown OYO

    Count, Name – Welcome FNG Binky!

    Announcements:

    1. F2 with FIA Thursday March 25th, 6pm at the Lakefront Gazebo and Barley Oak afterwards. Bring your wife, girlfriend, your female children, and their friends. Who wouldn’t want to attend that!

    2. Zoolander Q next week at the Milestone Marsh – NOT THE LAKEFRONT

    Thanks for following my lead,

    Till Next Gloom – Akbar

    Moleskin

    I first did this workout in Atlanta and loved the cadence. Last year we did it with 400 Merkins and hit 500 this year. 600 in 2022?

    Great to see Blaze back at the Mothership again.

    Zoolander had a 3 man EH. T claps for What’s That making the trip all the way from Kenner.

    T Claps to Pickaxe who hung in there, that’s a long way to run for a young man.

    Great to see Steve again at coffee and glad he’s back in the workforce.

    TankedUp is either crazy, a beast, or both. He just decided to run a marathon in Covington on his own. Maybe because Hammer called him Geriatric. T Claps brother.

  • Up and down, to a factor of 11 – from Russo

    Admittedly a little sad that this might be the last beatdown with temps that could reasonably be considered “cold” by anyone’s standards (excluding Toto), YHC’s mood was immediately improved when seeing a sight for sore eyes: making his long awaited return from a brief hiatus? BUBBA!

    A pax of 3 visited Granny, showing her our favorite moves as follows:
    Warm-up
    Seal jacks
    Cherry pickers
    Toe touches
    Imperial walkers

    Thang
    Mosey to the bus stop, where pax completed 15 reps of freak nastys, derkins, step ups

    Pax then moseyed in the dark, managing to avoid lane separators on the trail, to the tunnel (of love?).

    There began the factor of 11: Merkins on one side, mosey the tunnel (yes, braving the altitude to mosey back up after the deep dark recesses of the down), crunchy cowbells, errr, frogs on the other side.

    After reminding ourselves how many ways there are to count to 11 with only 2 digits, pax moseyed back to start to wrap up with a little Mary, but not before another 15 freak nastys, step ups, and derkins.

    Mary included a visit from Dr. W, some leg raises, and a minute or so of plank.

    COT and prayer closed us out until next time.

    As always, YHC is humbled to have led such a fine group, and even more humbled to count myself among an even larger, finer group that was not able to join us.

    SYITG

  • The Lord of the Thangs

    Huge thanks to the 20 men who posted this morning for Pope’s VQ! He’s been chomping at the bit to lead, and we greatly appreciate you guys making it so special for him, especially with our planning to move soon to an area where we’ll be starting F3 from scratch. Glad to know I can lean on him to Q every now and then!

    Excitement was in the air as more and more men made their way to the flag (Turbo Dog couldn’t hold it in.) The 11-year-old Pope had shown signs of natural leadership at previous beatdowns, so expectations were high, and he did not disappoint.

    The routine was centered around his new favorite topic, The Lord of the Rings. After having recently finished reading the books, a good percentage of his thought time these days is spent somewhere in Middle Earth, so the landmarks around The Gipper were quickly transformed into battlefields, fortresses, and volcanoes.

    Warmup: 20 Side Straddle Hops, 15 Windmills, 15 Merkins, 15 Cherry Pickers, 15 Butt Kicks, 15 High Knees

    Then, PAX grabbed age-appropriate coupons and mosey to the courthouse for the first stage of the Thangs:

    1st Stage–Battle at Helms Deep:

    Start as Legolas (fleet-footed elf) at the benches with 10 bench hops (hands on a bench and jump back and forth over), carioca run to the stairs, and run up to the top where each then becomes Gimli (short dwarf) and completes 15 dwarf jacks (smurf jacks). Then, down the ramp and back to the coupons where each becomes Aragorn (warrior king) and performs 12 sword unsheathings (overhead tricep presses).

    Three rounds of this, then haul the coupons up the stairs of the parking garage to the top ramp for…

    2nd Stage–Mount Doom:

    Hobbits Frodo and Sam teamed up to get the ring to the top of the mountain to destroy it in the flaming lava.

    PAX partnered up with partner 1 (Frodo) starting the beloved “Bear and Block” up the ramp: bear crawl a few steps, then drag/pull the cinder block forward from between your feet, then a few more steps, then drag, etc.

    Partner 2 (Sam) battled Gollum (coupon) at the bottom: 10 Man Makers for first round, 15 curls for second round, and 15 goblet squats for third. Once a set was complete, partner 2 ran up to Frodo to replace him dragging the block up the ramp, and partner 1 runs down to be Sam for a set at the bottom.

    Each time the block made it all the way to the top and was run back down, partners moved on to the next round’s exercise. After the third round, all PAX ran backwards with their coupons to the top (in the style of Gollum, dancing his way over the edge of the cliff).

    About half of the PAX found a way to destroy their rings/coupons early (a little too much “man” in the “Man Makers”) making their task a bit easier and making a Home Depot run necessary for YHC before next Wednesday.

    Moseyed back to the flag to replace the coupon fragments. COT with some great opportunities provided for giving back to the community, and Turbo Tax prayed us out.

    Thanks, again, for all the support for the young Q, and for allowing us to be a part of the F3 family! We’ll be taking full advantage of it until the day we’re moved out, and then we’ll be counting on your wisdom and support for getting F3 started in the Houma-Thibodaux area.

    God will provide!

    Goose