The normals were missing, but that didn’t stop Jose10k and Speedy from traveling south.
During warmups Sir Wacker decided to roll in looking like he was about to T-bone speedy’s Miata exiting like it was -40 shedding clothes as he joined the PAX.
Jose10k and YHC rucked while Bushwacker and Speedy took out for an 8:17 pacing through Mandeville..
Appreciate the post 👊🏼👍🏼✌🏼!!
YHC was not surprised that Duke of Hazzard wanted to post on a Monday, but was pleasantly surprised when Baby Yoda acquiesced so easily. And so we three pulled up to The Marsh where expectant PAX were gathered in anxious anticipation. Expectations of a Wacker Q, of possible appearance by DR Ant Man, and of the nearing of Christmas day. A strange vehicle slowly approached as we began…
WARMORAMA
IC x10: SSH, High Knees, Butt Kicks, IDK…
It was Akbar
THANG
Starting at Lamarg/Livingston 5 reps, going up five at each corner around the block and finishing with 25 reps at Lamarque/Livingston. Slow Squat Jumps, Burpees
To the court baseline for suicides adding 1 burpee at each turn around, then another set adding 1 burpee upon each return to the starting point.
MARY
Bruce Lee: Superset of 20 Hammers, Crunchy Frogs, Leg Lifts, Penguins, and 100s X 3 sets
COT
COunt/Name Akbar prayed us out. Merry Christmas fellas…I got Jose a back blast – shhhh!
The morning air bit with the ferocity of a thousand tiny knives as we gathered at the trailhead. Steve, our fearless leader, had a gleam in his eye that promised pain and growth—or maybe just chaos. The big news was the triumphant return of Cowbell, whose absence had left a void only filled with awkward burpees and wistful murmurs of “I need more Cowbell?”
Enter Jose, the early bird who, instead of getting the worm, opted to destroy the trailhead and stairs with solo laps—a full 40 minutes before the rest of us even started moving. While most were still negotiating with their alarms, Jose was out there redefining what it meant to be extra.
Bushwacker rolled in on time, a feat in itself, and immediately solidified his status as Mr. Grumble Grumble. His truck, dubbed the “piece of shit,” welcomed us with its nostalgic vibes—turns out it’s the same clunker Cowbell used to cruise in back in high school. Talk about a blast from the past. Grumbling aside, we dove into the warm-up, marching headlong into the discomfort we all secretly crave.
The stage awaited us, as did an assortment of strange teenagers who seemed utterly transfixed by the bizarre spectacle of grown men willingly torturing themselves. Were they judging us? Plotting their escape? Just vibing? Who knows, but their silent presence made our suffering even more surreal.
The workout itself was pure madness: five brutal exercises—burpees, squats, lunges, big boys, and merkins—starting at a grueling 28 reps of each. After every round, we ran a lap around the trailhead, decreasing reps by 7 each time. It was a rinse-and-repeat system that quickly had us questioning our life choices. And yet, every lap brought us back to the stoic teen peanut gallery, still watching, still silent. It felt like a scene from some dystopian fitness reality show.
At one point, Bushwacker and I casually debated whether Santa’s sleigh, parked nearby, would make a suitable workout station. But even in our delirium, we decided that push-ups on Santa’s ride might be crossing a line.
Midway through the chaos, Jose slipped away, duty calling him to mold the minds of America’s youth. He is, without question, a hero, a legend, the wind beneath our collective wings.
We closed with a Circle of Trust (COT), sweaty, sore, and better for it. Cowbell, it was good to have you back. To the strange kids at the stage: we hope you were entertained. And to everyone else, see you at the next beatdown—bring your grumbles and your grit.
Okay, so Steve might be sick and I(Jose10K) wrote this backblast because of my abnormal obsession to reach my stupid goal!
A robust group assembled Saturday morning for some friendly strife on the Northshore Flickerball Field and a bit of personal challenge. The group began the work-out by competing in an abbreviated IronPAX 2022 Challenge, CARE BEAR SQUARED. Each competitor completed several iterations of a 100-yard course, with sets of 25 air squats, merkins, big boy sit-ups, and burpees interspersed by different forms of the bear crawl. Most hit the intended mark of 250 reps or 2.5 total iterations in the 20 minutes allotted.
With the warm-up complete, we turned to the main event, Youth versus Beauty (Seniors) in a 25-minute game of flickerball. As expected, the Seniors built momentum early and took the lead as Zoolander whizzed one into the narrow goal. The game remained 1 to nil despite constant attacks by the Seniors, with the Youth’s star defended, Dukes of Hazzard, devoting his body multiple times to the ensure a solid defense! Dukes’ dedication sparked several inspired runs by the Youth, capped off three times by the unstoppable Brexit. With the score flipped in the Youths favor and time winding down, the Seniors launched multiple attacks to no avail. The game ended dramatically with a ball in the Lake drifting towards New Orleans. Bushwacker, aka WaterBoy-Aquaman, bravely entered the ice-cold, gator infested waters to retrieve the ball and commit to a re-match against the Youth one day. Prayer and coffee followed.
Cool and windy at The Gipper this morning ~ 42 degrees.
WARMUP: all IC15x; toe touch, side staddle hops, arm circles, neck rolls, side to side lunge,
shoulder rolls, butt kicks, high knees, monkey humpers, smurf jacks, etc.
THANG: 3 sets of block work, mostly in cadence x15, separated by a run around the long block.
SET 1: curls, overhead press, rows, side stretch lift left, side stretch lift right, squat with block
RUN
SET 2: big boy sit-ups with chest press, blockee burpees, wind shield wipers, push up onto block-push down alternating sides, merkins
RUN
SET 3: 360’s while in derkin plank – clockwise then counter-clockwise, farmer carry around the triangle right arm,
farmer carry around the triangle left arm, rifle carry around the triangle,
rifle carry to return the coupon blocks.
MARY: Nolan Ryans and 1 minute plank to wrap it up
Shooter prayed us out with special intentions for DarkWingDucks uncle-in-law, and for Fletch’s man bunn
The Todd boys pulled up with 5 minutes to spare, and poured out of the swagger-wagon to see the flag blowing in the chilly breeze of the gloom, not a single man standing in its shadow. Shooter and Zoolander were off hunting, José woke with a migraine and wouldn’t be posting, but Steve and Waterpik jogged up, completing the prethang. There we few stood judging all the F3 Northshore world for their wussification in the face of 40° weather, when, as we should have known, the lakefront started getting more crowded with PAX coming in from every angle!
WARMORAMA
X10 IC:
SSH, Good Mornings, Torso Twists, Toe Touches, Windmills, Self Love
THANG
Starting at the flag, x5 OYO: Burpees, Sister Mary Katherine’s (1is1), Big Boy Sit Ups, Freak Nasties, Jump Squats
Mosey westward and at each street increase reps by 5 (Lafitte x10, Carroll x15, Coffee x20, Adair x25), and return, decreasing reps by 5.
Indian (Indigenous?) Run from flag, around Noah’s Ark and back
MARY
IC x20 Flutter Kicks
OYO 100 100s
COT
Hammer joined us just in time, and we even had a Cowbell sighting. Count, Name, True Coat prayed us out.
It was a tough one, and QIC was impressed and proud to be leading these guys. T Claps to Swoll Patrol for giving everything he had, plus some he didn’t even realize he could!
SYITG
So I was trying to keep up with Russo all morning. I really thought I had him for a while there. I thought there was no way he could beat me. I was wrong. In fact, I was foolish to think that I was ever in competition with one of the princes of the F3 sweat kingdom!
WARMORAMA
X10 IC: SSH, TRUE Abe Vigotas (Mr. Shooter;), IWs, Torso Twists, LRCs
THANG
Being we three, 1 man did cumulative 100 SMKs (1is1), 200 Monkey Humpers, 300 SSHs
Meanwhile, in a rotating fashion amongst the three amigos, 2 men slalomed the columns, ran up the stairs and returned.
Mosey to bus stop for:
X10 IC: Hop Overs, Freak Nasties, Derkins
Mosey to Tunnel where, in mirror image of the 1st routine, two men performed rounds of Freddy Mercurys and American Hammers while each man individually ran down the ramp, did 3 Burpees, Bear Crawled up the opposite ramp, did 3 SSHs, backwards ran back down the ramp, then turned and ran up the ramp to the start.
No Mary, as we squeezed all the juice (and sweat) out of the 45 minute beatdown. And being a good steward of our time together, QIC landed the plane just in time for COT
COT
Count, name, Steve prayed us out in an inspired fashion that likely impressed the Bible Study out of Russo, with intentions for Jose, Katie, and her family in their trials.
I’m sorry to have missed Pelican, though I suspect some conspiracy to avoid a Splashpad that would demand a pound of flesh (or sweat), but I appreciate getting in the trenches with the Shmedium Wacker and my fellow Raider. Until next time, gents…..
SYITG
With a late afternoon text to Steve and YHC, ole Wacker got the Band back together. While it’s been awhile since the 3 amigos from Mandeville had the chance to post at the Gipper. The morning would prove we could pick right back up like we hadn’t missed a beat from past car pooling.. That is what YHC loves most about F3.. These fine fellows are truly brothers from another mother that I am privileged to share the gloom with..
Besides, the Gipper has always been my favorite AO even if we sometimes get a little hate from BBQ the “Chef” fan in the group..
We arrived 10 mins early so we tackled a prethang mile and then returned with 5 HIMs assembled.
We took our time with a warmup of a bunch of regulars all 10IC.
GM, Cherry pickers, arm circles, Toe Touches, Imperial walkers, Hillbillies, seal jacks, Abe Vogadas.
Retrieved our coupons and utilized the breezeway.
R1 Curls for the girls
10 OYO for each PAX while the rest held half curl positions.
When finished 20IC as a group.
R2 Rows for the …….
10 OYO for each PAX while the rest held half hold.
20IC as a group.
R3 10 OYO overhead presses each PAX held overhead coupon hold.
20IC as a group once around.
Moseyed to the justice center and partnered up. Partners luged up and back down backwards. R/R while the rest did core.
Moseyed to the other side for bunny hops up and reverse bear crawl down. Rest of PAX held Al Gore..
R4 5 OYO kettle swings while PAX held coupon Gore and finished with 10IC kettle swings.
R5 20 OYO chest press while PAX held rifle.
40IC to finish.
Returned coupons and finished with 20 OYO LBCs..
Appreciate the chatter and the post gentlemen and until the next Gloom. 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!
In a scene that could only be described as part fitness, part fandom, BBQ showed up to the workout with a brand new Kansas City Chiefs flag, proudly waving it around after the Saints’ brutal Monday night loss. It might be the new flag of the A1C he claimed. The warm-up was a mixture of stretches, questionable dance moves (the music always inspires some moves), and a few BBQ chicken wings as the flag continued to flap in the wind, mocking all Saints fans present.
Then, it was off to the courthouse for a set of 11s. Copperhead squats at the bottom had everyone’s legs shaking like a Saints’ defense on 3rd and long. Sprinting to the stairs, the team powered through calf raises on each step, praying their legs wouldn’t fail them halfway up. At the top, merkins awaited — because why not add pushups to chisel the upper body for the ladies?
The race down the ramp and around the parking lot felt like a marathon, but with the crisp fall air making it slightly more bearable. But something was missing. The group looked around — where was Einstein, the brains behind the operation? Where was Darkwing Duck, swooping in to save the day? Alas, they were nowhere to be found. It was just Moby, BBQ, the Chiefs flag, and the painful reminder that leg day is forever.
All in all, it was a great workout — though maybe next time BBQ should leave the flag at home.
Doubled the count from last Thursday.
Six runners of different paces and two Ruckers.
Weather was mild and after brief warmup and chatter PAX ran the old Route.
Returned for Mary.
Count, announce and COT
Until the next Gloom 👍🏼✌🏼✌🏼!!
