F3 New Orleans

Tag: Bushwacker

  • A Hose By Any Other Name – from Steve

    35º temps may have kept a bunch of the regulars away, but it brought in an old (in all senses of the word, especially compared to his firehouse brethren) regular who was… still on the clock! This meant my original trip down to the tunnel would be off the table – gotta stay in radio distance – but you know what they say: one door opens, and out through the other door comes Wacker with a 100 feet of bundled hose. That’s right, he came bearing coupons this morning.

    And to be honest, YHC was thankful it wasn’t the 130 lbs dummy that has been oft teased, as fun as it sound picking that thing up with frozen fingers. Also, the buried memory of carrying Frank through a path of slop during a Tough Mudder would’ve no doubt resurfaced, and sometimes it’s best to keep those things buried.

    And of course, Granny’s favorite grandson, the ever present Russo, was also there. So after some chatter, we got down to it: SSH, GMs, ACs, HBs, IWs, GGs, and a quick lap around the trailhead to finish warming up (and also give me time to come up with a plan!).

    Thang:

    First up, 1 guy would carry the coiled hose up the stairs and back, while the other 2 would be performing steps ups. Rotate until everyone’s carried said hose. (There’s a joke in here that I’m missing – where’s Zoolander when you need him?)

    Next up, same thing but instead of step ups, we did freak nasties and derkins.

    Time to give the hose a rest and get started on legs. Lunge walk the small field along the corridor, stopping at each tree (there were 5) for a set of: x5 squats, x5 jump squats, x5 monkey humpers, and x5 Apollo Ohno’s. The original plan was to head back bear crawling and doing 4 different type of merkins x5 at each tree, but that sounded terrible, so instead we did some Rochamburpees.

    Now, while you may see YHC at 0515, I don’t actually become a functioning human until around 0800. So while this seemed like good idea with three people (“hey, there’ll just be two losers or two winners”), the actuality is that it doesn’t really work if each of the pax chooses a different shape. That’s just a tie. So we modified and when that happened we simply split the number of burpees/merkins.

    Nearing the home stretch, we finished up with a sprint down the corridor, quick trip up the stairs and back, sprinting back down the corridor to the start.

    Mary consisted of quick rounds of leg raises, heels to heaven, lbcs, Freddie’s, Dolly’s, Rosalita’s, and 10x merkins.

    Countdown, nameorama, announcements (remember to send in your RCR team members, shirt sizes, and payments ASAP!) and Russo offered a thoughtful prayer of thanks. Which I second – thank you guys for posting on such a chilly morning, offering me the opportunity to lead, and just generally pushing me to be better in so many ways. Appreciate it.

  • No Shoe Left Untied…No Cowbell Either? – from Bushwacker

    It was great to be back out at the Scramble, especially on a crisp clear morning with Christmas carols in the air! As we began the warm up, a bright pair of head lights made the corner and what to our wondering eyes did appear but Zoolander arriving to spread Christmas cheer…but no Cowbell.

    WARMORAMA

    x10 IC:
    SSH, High Knees, Imperial Walkers, Slow Squats, Windmills, Toe Touches

    THANG

    It seems since Ida took out out the pier, there is no more “Regular” route, and Qs have been trying to be clever with various trajectories and tribulations for the PAX to suffer through. QIC was similarly inspired last night, but that inspiration was dashed by a wave of life and the Scramble was all the better for it. We went something like this: Messina to Monroe to W Beach to Lakshore to Coffee to Villere (through Pik Pass) back to Messina and returning to city hall. Along the way YHC had to stop to retie his shoe, it’s always this pair, always the right one. So I chose to keep a brisker pace in order to catch back up the the pack O’ scramblers each of the 5000 times it happened!

    MARY

    7 minutes more, the better to kill the core! 100x OYO:
    LBCs, 100s, Freddy Mercurys, Flutter Kicks, Roslitas

    COT
    Count/name (still no Cowbell). Requesting special intentions for a friend, Bird reminded us that the holidays can be a hard time for some people. YHC took us out with a focus on the value we bring to each other, and the urging to share that value, in whatever form, to others we encounter.

    As were were concluding our activities, Waterpick’s Dick Tracy watch went off alerting us all that Cowbell had gone straight to Liz’s Where Ya At to reserve a table for a lil coffeteria . What do ya know, Cowbell showed up after all!

  • Inaugural Fire Fighter Challenge – from Bushwacker

    Since April 27 of this year YHC has been, for better or worse, persona non grata around the F3 northshore. I’ve done my best to show my face at least enough so that yous guys don’t forget what I look like. The Wacker of bushes has been on a journey to become a community servant as a Wacker of Fires. And thus, the long awaited, highly anticipated Fire Fighter Challenge has arrived!

    During academy, and from time to time on shift, we don our turnout gear – boots, pants jacket, hood, helmet, and mask – and go “on air” slinging a self-contained breathing apparatus and 4000 PSI air tank onto our backs – up to 80lbs! We then perform a series of strenuous activities which test our strength, stamina and endurance. And so it was with great preparation and only last minute planning that YHC brought to the men of the Lakefront a facsimile thereof as well as could be expected in the gloom. And, perhaps, a tradition was born?

    WARMORAMA

    In increasing reps starting with 12 (excepting for supersticious 13):
    SSH,
    High Knees
    Butt Kicks
    Cherry Pickers
    Windmills
    Fire Hydrants

    THANG

    We mossied to the gazebo for a few quick rounds of Merkin Waves and Squat Waves. This allowed for 2 things: QIC’s opportunity to count PAX for teams, and one of our resident byciclists, Turbo, to catch up to the crew.

    We then mossied to the shaft where, thanks to help from early birds Steve, Shooter, and Waterpik, the field was set! Breaking up into teams of appx. 3 the PAX lined up, each at a station including the Tire Toss, the Ax Chop, the Tire Flip, the Tire Drag, the Tire Pull, and Moby Chain Drag. While P1 was tackling the task, P2 & P3 was doing a specified exercise, including LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Mnt Climbers, High Knees, Leg Lifts and Gas Pumpers.Somewhere along the way, Waterpick split the massive log, and in a temper tantrum over having not been he who split the mighty oak, the lugubrious Shooter shattered the hickory handle of the ax! There was continuous conversation as men of all ages and capabilities gave it their all battling amongst a sea of black rubber with shimmerings of silver links, all covered in the grassy morning dew. After a couple of rounds, proving to edict that many a hands make light a work, the PAX loaded all the coupons back on the trailer from whence it came, and back to the flag we mosied.

    MARY

    With 3 minutes to spare, it was on your 6 for 20 Putins IC, 20 Flutter Kicks IC, and 100 100s OYO.

    COT

    Count and name-o-rama before naming FNG Dangerfield. Turbo prayed us out. (and Cowbell made it just in time for “Amen”)

    Gentlemen, it was a pleasure that I’ve missed, being back in the main event, and I want to thank ll of you for making F3 Northshore what it is, and allowing me the humble honor of leading you bunch of yahoos through a taste of a new chapter of my life.

    SYITG

  • Ladders and Stars – from Akbar

    4 at the Marsh today for some ladders. An unusually quiet Bushwacker shuffled up to center court looking half asleep and frozen. Conditions were clear, cold, and delightful.

    Warm Up: SSH IC 20, Grass Grabbers, Self-Love, Imperial Walkers, Butt Kicks, Arm Circles F/B IC x10. 5 & 10 Merkins, 5 Air Squat Presses OYO

    Thang:
    Mosey the big block to the Lakefront for stargazing, then to the Wall, Rips, and back up Noah’s Ark. Climbing the ladder along the way from 5 reps to 25 reps in 5’s. Merkin/Air Squat Press to the Lakefront Wall. Irkins/LBC’s at the wall. Calf Raises/ Supermans at Rips.

    Descending Merkin/Air Squat Press in reps of 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 on the mosey up Noah’s Ark to the Marsh. Irkins IC x20 on the picnic tables.

    Mary: LBC IC x20, Leg Raises IC x10

    Announcements: Firefighter challenge Dec 11; Nightmare before Christmas Dec 12. Braveheart screening at Whackers 12/16 5:30

    COT: YHC prayed us with thoughts of Hope for the week.

    Thanks for letting me lead guys! Akbar

  • 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)!

  • Day of remembrance – from Shooter

    6 PAX converge on this Veterans Day to get some before the daylight breaks the horizon..
    Brief warmup all to 11 SSH, Toe Touches, Butt kicks, Windmills, Squats and Merkins..

    Different route through Mandeville stopping along the way for reps of 11 Merkins, Squats, Crunchy frogs, Burpees..

    Returned back to use the barricades at the Scramble for curls, presses and shrugs…

    Appreciate you men posting and allowing me to lead!!

    Till the next Gloom 👊🏼👍🏼✌🏼!!!

  • These go to 11…or 9…or 11 – from Russo

    A brisk temperature of 48 degrees (still not cold enough for sleeves) and a clear sky greeted a pax of 5 this morning for an organized, balanced, and repetitive beatdown that of course incorporated number patterns because that is how YHC maintains a small measure of control in an otherwise chaotic world.

    Warmup (believed to be all IC, 10x, but that’s difficult to confirm when Bushwhacker gets to talking about rookie hazing and toilet scrubbing at the firehouse)

    – Grass grabbers
    – Torso twists
    – Cherry pickers
    – Toe touches
    – Arm circles
    – Good mornings

    Thang before the Thang

    A two block mosey down Girod to the Rusty P and their outside benches to get us started, where YHC wondered how long it would take before someone figured out the secret repetition code. Answer: not long, even in the early morning hours, not with a sharp as a tack Chewy on the case.

    11 step ups were followed by 9 freak nastys, then 9 step ups followed by 11 freak nastys.

    The gig was up, but the question remained: Why 9 and 11? Despite thoughts of September 11, January 19th, calling 9-1-1 hoping Bushwhacker makes house calls, and something or other about 91, the clue of today’s date finally allowed YHC to see the bright light bulbs going off among the Pax: November 9, which is either brilliant or incredibly lazy in its simplicity. It was probably the latter.

    As we moseyed closer to Granny’s (with either 9 or 11 diamond merkins, jump squats, big boy sit-ups interspersed) the pax was briefly stopped by some “traffic”. Prayers up to that mailbox.

    Pax made it to the bus stop, where the sequence was 11 Bulgarian split squats, 9 durkins, 9 BSSs, and 11 durkins before a short mosey to begin the Thang:

    With only 2 minutes or 25 minutes left (depending on whether you were using Bushwacker’s timekeeping or YHC’s), we worked 6 rounds of alternating reps of 11 and 9 at each column, followed by a trip up and back down the pilot house:

    – 11 SSH and 9 squats
    – 11 seal jacks 9 merkins
    – 11 high knees 9 LBCs
    – 11 Apollo Ohnos 9 plank jacks
    – 11 mummy kicks 9 lunges
    – Butt kicks, hello dollys, and merkins in a 9-11-9 sequence

    Just enough time remained for a 90 second plank, and then we closed with a COT, name-o-rama, announcements, and prayer.

    As always, I’m appreciative of the opportunity to lead such a fine group of men.

    SYITG

  • Old faces, new faces – from Waterpik

    Brisk 45 degree temps greeted the Pax at the milestone marsh. Speaking of pax there was a mix of old faces (Bushwacker) and new faces (fletch) who showed up for the beatdown. It was good to see fletch out there making his first post to the marsh. And Bushwacker’s return visit reminded us how much we miss his constant chatter throughout the entirety of the
    Workout. His stories and commentary were out in full force as were his wardrobe (beanie hat, his trusty sweatshirt and I think he even dragged his bed comforter out there to keep warm. All joking aside , please grace us with your presence more, mr fire fighter.

    Thang was 4 corners, then mary.

    Men, have a great week! Let’s all try to be the best version of ourselves this week.

    Pik

  • Streaking – from Russo

    YHC believes streaks were meant to be broken, and then celebrated. Cal Ripken wasn’t penciled in for game number 2,633. DiMaggio went 0-fer in game 57. The Patriots couldn’t overcome a miracle play from David Tyree and Ei Manning and finished the season 18-1. YHC can only eat the same lunch for 5 or 6 days in a row.

    So hearing that Steve had Q’ed Granny’s for 4 or so straight weeks, I thought he might need a break and let someone else count cadence for once.

    Pretty decent weather on Tuesday morning for a Pax of 7, including a returning Bushwhacker, with temps topping out at 77 degrees, plenty warm enough to sweat profusely.

    Working in a profession that requires balance, order, and consistency, YHC carried that over to rep count.

    Warmup (all IC 15x)
    Seal jacks
    Imperial walkers
    Toe touches
    Cherry pickers
    Mummy kicks

    Thang
    With Granny’s still feeling the effects of a spruce up, remodel, and/or renovation, her benches were not available behind fence, so Pax moseyed over to the Rusty P for some work:

    At benches:
    15 freak nastys
    15 step ups
    15 derkins
    15 more freak nastys

    Some more moseying took us to the bus stop, where 15 box jumps were in order, and then more mosey to the tunnel, where we knocked out the main portion of the beat down:

    5 merkins, a mosey through the tunnel, where it was 5 more merkins in the center, and then a reverse mosey and 5 more merkins at the top, repeated 5 times.

    Heading back home, we knocked out 15 squats IC around coffee st., and then wrapped it up with some Mary:

    15 plank jacks IC
    15 LMCs IC
    15 six inch drill IC

    COT, name-o-Rama, announcements (F3 and FIA game night 10/21 at what’s left of the Mandeville Gazebo at 6:15, NOLA convergence on Saturday), and prayer closed us out.

    Thank you gents for joining and making it another good one.

    And If you’ve read this far because of the title and hoping to hear about us going streaking through the quad Old School Will Farrell style, I hate to disappoint you. But there’s always next week!

    SYITG

  • The Young and the Restless: IPC week 1.2 – from Akbar

    15 braved the Lakefront on a beautiful day for a beatdown, 1 in a stroller. No, it was not Bushwacker. The 2nd day of IPC week 1 was upon us, and the plan was to have 2 Q’s. Jose 10k took the 2nd Q with a plan for football, but with only 3 PAX not doing IPC, it was a bust. So – Jose10k and Barely Legal did it again. T Claps guys.

    After an elongated explanation and several questions, the playlist started and we got to work. Speedy and Tank were out of the gate hot with Hammer not far behind. Great work again guys, everyone finished. Here are the results from the score sheet – missing a few times.

    Speedy 26.24

    Tank 27.16

    Hammer 29.56

    Zoolander 30.0

    Steve 32.30

    Chainsaw 32.28

    Akbar 36.15

    Jose 10k 37:33

    Slider 38.15

    Enter your times here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdesBJtTGntJx9e2UfhmmcMyZ_UGEy6TtFk50Mz-W4DHHcN-w/viewform

    Bushwacker arrived at 0700 after his shift and Moby came strolling up in his convertible just in time for COT.

    And yes, Speedy beat Tanked UP! Impressive, a 17 year old and a 62 year old take the top 2 times. Tank may not be that restless – he went to cut a yard right after COT.

    YHC had trouble lifting the phone for a picture after this beatdown, great work by all.

    Jose10k prayed us out with thoughts and prayers, remembering 911.

    Coffeeteria at Book and the Bean.