F3 New Orleans

Tag: Cardinal

  • Providence and Classics for the New Guys – from Goose

    YHC was excited about the potential for record breaking numbers at the Houma location, Lumen Christi, including a unique FNG: priest #2 for the Bayou PAX! (Fr. J.D. Matherne, pastor of St. Hilary in Raceland will heretofore be known as Cutthroat!). However, at 5:45am, with what sounded like a Category 3 outside the house, YHC was scheming hard about how to boost morale in the howling wind, the pounding deluge of rain, and lightning popping all around. I knew that with this relatively new crew, we couldn’t break one of the major principles of F3 this early in the game, so gear was donned and prayers were said as YHC prepped to walk out into this mother of a storm.
    Thankfully, things changed quickly, and not only did the rain let up, but the sky cleared and revealed a gorgeous sky (and eventually a full rainbow!). Even the ground was relatively dry (besides some slick patches of clover, which left some PAX eating turf when bear crawling down the hill). Morale was extremely high with little to no effort as the PAX continued pouring in for this young location. Ultimately, there were 8, a record, and the warmup commenced:

    Warmup: all IC–20 Side Straddle Hops, 20 WindMills, 15 Arm Circles (each way), 15 Moroccan Night Clubs (shimmy included), 20 Self-Love, 20 Imperial Walkers, 10 High Knees, 10 Butt Kicks

    Thang 1: Dora 1, 2, 3
    YHC wanted to make sure these guys get some solid experience of the classics, so we started with a standard partner Dora wherein partners split 100 Hand Release Merkins, 200 Apolo Ohno’s, and 300 American Hammers. For the first 100, partner 2 ran backward up the hill (Nur) and forward back down. For the second, it was run up and bear crawl down (clover is slick!); and for the third, crab walk up and run down.
    At first, YHC inadvertently looked pretty smart to Enron and a few others knowing Ohno’s middle name, but then Cutthroat ruined it by revealing that for a decade, everyone only ever heard all three names (Apolo Anton Ohno). But, YHC turned the tables in the next Thang (Cutthroat, you don’t know NOTHIN’!!)

    Thang 2: Double Song Power!
    Moseyed to the hill with the cross and pulled out “Flower” by Moby–hold Al Gore for every “Sally down,” and only come up for every “Sally up”. It’s a thigh burner, and a favorite of YHC, especially for new guys–an added element is that if they can guess the lyrics, we stop. They never do. FNG hopes are dashed on the rocks of ignorance, and it’s nobody’s fault but their own.

    Song 2: Chumbaburpee! Another favorite since it’s one of the rare times that burpees are a yearned for break from something unexpectedly worse. Side straddle hops for the duration of the song, and burpees for every “I get knocked down, but I get up again.” Side straddle hops for that long are pretty torturous at the end of a long workout, so flopping down to the ground almost feels good. Except at the end (20 burpees in a row).

    Classic Indian Run back to the flag for some Mary: in an effort to continue to grow the PAX’s knowledge of the Exicon, everything with a ridiculous name gets priority. All IC x15: Crunchy Frogs, LBC’s, Wife Pleasers, J-Lo’s.

    COT and Elmer’s prayed us out. Welcome, Cutthroat, and thanks be to God for a gorgeous morning and a great group of men!

    See You in the Gloom,
    Goose

  • Blue Abadeee – from Paradox

    YHC gathered some new props and an experimental new game for the PAX on a warm bayou morning.

    WARMORAMA
    SSH, IW, Windmills, AC, CP, BKs, HKs
    Wrapped up Warm up with Eiffel 65’s Blue
    Hold LBC formation and LBC crunch on Blue
    This is a long one, they get especially “broken” at the end.

    Thang 1
    Headed out to Sweat Grass Loop for a light mosey and we found some pre planned treasure in the straight away. YHC planted 10 cones on our course for my first attempt at 1st and 10s.
    Started the PAX at 10 yards with 10 diamond merkins and 1 burpee, sprint the remaining yardage, mosey back to 20 yard cone for 9 diamond merkins and 2 burpees…repeato
    NOTE**We only completed to 80 yard marker and capped off with merkin, derkin, werkin finisher due to YHC poor time management and wanting time for THANG 2 experiment.

    THANG 2 MEMORY GAME
    YHC was inspired by recent PAX creativity including Percolators sharpening of our mental fitness so we spiced up an old childrens game with a twist. 24 cards were organized with care and each had a mactching twin. Each pax took a turn flipping two cards, if they match we do just the exercise and they go into the bag. If they don’t its both exercises . Cards listed below. We only made it about half way here but looking forward to a PAX goal of finishing at a future beatdown.

    24 cards with Matches of:
    15 carolina dry docks
    25 werkins
    15 dips
    25 derkins
    25 sister mary K’s
    Bench sprint
    50 ssh
    25 flutter kicks
    50 LBCs
    1 lap track run
    25 Big Boy SitUps

    Only 3 minutes left so we wrapped up with a thunderstruck finisher (burpees on thunder, cherry pickers on rest)

    BIOSTATS
    Max HR: 179 thanks to Goose sharpening iron with his sprint effort
    Morale: 80% due to suprisingly warm weather
    Mumblechatter: 37% (YHC poor time management and underestimating 1st and 10s)
    Safety Level: 108% due to Tidy Whiteys flourescent hoody and YHCs approaching motorist etiquette

    COT ,
    Continued prayers for Ukraine/Russian conflict
    Thanks for another opportunity to lead
    SYITG

  • Lundi Gras and Mental Gymnastics – from Percleator

    YHC had some fresh ideas to keep the PAX on their toes this morning. The exercises included some references to Mardi Gras and some tasks that required everyone to be awake and alert (YHC hopping that some PAX were hung over from parades).

    PAX: Cardinal, Paradox, Goose, Pope, Coyote, Kilo, Percleator

    Warmuparama
    SSH, WM, HK, AC, Chinooks (called here “throw me somethin mista”), CP, IW
    A good warm up Indian run around the neighborhood (the Sweat Loop?) w/ 7 big boys before the sprint. Indian run devolved into an all out foot race on the last leg. YHC loves this energy so no penalties were given.

    PAX arrived back at the Stage for 3 rounds of 21s. 21 SSH in unison but only the first 5 were counted out loud. If PAX stopped at 21, an easy exercise. If anyone went over, a punishment exercise for all.
    1st round: squats x10 or squat jumps x15
    2nd: Merkins x10 or Derkins x15
    3rd: Plank Jacks x 15 or Burpees x 10

    Lucky for the PAX everyone kept the count. Coyote was especially lazer focused. YHC tried to force a punishment but didn’t have the heart.

    “Memory Game”
    PAX stood in wide circle performing a repetitive exercise (SSH, high knees, Moroccan night clubs, hold Al Gore) . One member runs to middle of circle and performs 3 reps of any exercise. Next member does three reps of that exercise and adds 3 reps of another exercise. Each member must preform the string of exercises from memory and add another. No talking or counting. Mumblechatter to a minimum.
    This was a trial run for the concept. First round was no stakes. Just see how long we could do it. Then if PAX couldn’t go all the way around once, a punishment exercise. There were also plans to punish the one who goofed up, but that ended up being YHC… YHC would be honored if other PAX might take this routine and tweek to make it better.

    Played Iko Iko by The Dixie Cups
    Hold plank position, when you hear “hey now” do a merkin, “Iko Iko” or “Jackamo” perform mountain climbers until phrase is over.

    Relay
    Partnered up. PAX 1 bear crawled down field. PAX 2 sprinted in same direction, touch cement, turn around, run until you touch cement again, turn around, catch your partner. Then switch so that the crawl is done as a team, the full length of the field, there and back. Luckily for the PAX there was just time for one round because alligator walks were next.

    Mary: Nolan Ryans, American Hammers, Crunchy Frogs

    COT and Goose prayed us out.
    It brings YHC much joy when others seem to like being the guinea pigs.
    Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
    SYITG

  • Cornhole Gras – from Cardinal

    A beatdown on the Saturday of Mardi Gras weekend couldn’t leave the PAX unprepared for the festivities that awaited them. So out of charity for the brothers, YHC couldn’t let them down for his first Q.

    The indisputable best way to pass the time as you’re tailgating waiting for the next parade is a rousing game of cornhole, so the PAX assembled at the Peltch for a cornhole beatdown like no other to ensure that they’d be pros by the time we finished.

    First, the basic warmups of the usuals: SSH, IW, AC and CP, WM, and SL.

    After that, we moseyed on over to the chimney for a more focused set of strength-training exercises. Even the most basic cornhole player knows that it’s all about the stance, the slight squat, the balancing arm (with or without a beverage in the other hand) (but definitely with). So we did some one-legged squats, nice and slow in cadence, 10 per leg, to get the balance of the throwing arm. To strengthen your core stability to ensure a clean throw, 20 big boy sit-ups followed. And to make sure you wouldn’t land a bag 3 feet in front of the board, a nice long stretch of air presses (35 in cadence).

    But because we didn’t want to just be average cornhole players, but legendary, we went into round 2: A set of 15 genuflections in cadence to really get the legs pumping, 20 American hammers in cadence to solidify the core, and 30 Moroccan night clubs to get that power throw down.

    To close out the preparatory exercises, and to get our minds in the right place, we listened to the hit single by Rhett and Link called none other than “Cornhole Song.” Truly an experience to listen to as a pump up before an intense game. The PAX held Al Gore position and dropped for a burpee every time “cornhole” was said. Sufficiently prepared, and thinking of themselves as “Don Cornholio,” we moseyed to our final destination – a set of cement cornhole boards that the PAX had never known was actually there the whole time.

    Now, YHC had high expectations after such expert training. Each PAX got 5 throws (1 warm up and 4 throws) to try to score 7 points. If they succeeded, they were gifted with a slightly easier reward. And if they didn’t, the whole group paid for it.

    Round 1: 6 or below: bear crawl around a nearby square court, with 5 diamond ‘mericans at each corner. 7 or above: run around with 5 regular mericans.
    Round 2: success got them a Carioca around the field with 10 smurf jacks at each corner, while failure got them an attempted murder bunny around the field, with 7 jump squats at each corner
    Round 3: if they were good, nur around the field with 10 LBC’s at the corners, and if they weren’t, crab walking around the field with 7 leg lifts at each corner.

    Each PAX got the chance to throw, cycling through each round, and YHC was sorely disappointed by the general performance (including his own). The threshold of success was quickly lowered to 5, and then to 3. Sometimes we succeeded, mostly we didn’t, but fun was surely had by all.

    To close us out, and to show that all he needed was a solid warm up round, Enron nailed a very respectable 7 points, and at that we moseyed back to the flag (which, I have to confess, was shamefully left in my car during the workout – forgive me, Father, for I have sinned).

    Closed out with a little bit of Mary: penguins and crunchy frogs. COT and Paradox prayed us out, and welcome to Piccadilly – a unquestionably Spirit-given name to our new FNG.

    Looking forward to hearing about all the cornhole games won by the PAX in the coming days.

    SYITG,
    Cardinal

  • Once You Prop the Fun Don’t Stop – from Paradox

    Every group needs a prop guy ,I thought as a peered into my garage (“beatdown laboratory”) for Q inspiration. Heavy bar? old bands? Lonely kettlebell? Abandoned pool noodle? A plan formed for a “prop guy” workout at the Stage on a warm (return of the warmup sweat) bayou morning. The Pax assembled with some great assorted chatter about Mardi Gras festivities. Still riding a wave of energy from the record setting beatdown at the Peltch we dove in.

    WarmoRama
    The usuals with a few beat laboratory trials
    SSH, IW, Windmills, Invisible Chairs, Old Man calf stretch, Arm Circles
    Short bumper to stop sign mosey with a discussion about relative AO run distances.

    Disclaimer
    Pax were instructed to pick a prop with caution. (30 lb bar soft bar, 25 lb kettle bell, 15 lb resistance band, standard unit pool noodle (orange for safety)

    THANG 1 LOVELY DAY (RIP Bill Withers)

    Gave a short disclaimer that his song is a great alarm tone to wake up to. Use it to get your mind in a peaceful state and reminder that each day is another in Gods creation. Its also a groovy 70s tune.
    Cherry Pickers until chorus hits then grab your prop for a rep on Lovely days
    Bar Man: OHP
    Noodle Man: extended shoulder raise
    Kettle Man: KB swings
    Band man: curls (1 foot in band, forms a triangle)
    When the chorus drops we change props clockwise (instructed by Enron that counterclock rotation was borderline communism )

    Notes: split the last chorus because Bill Withers sounds like hes broken and the song is skipping but there are really just a bagillion lovely days.

    Goose went full Price is Right mode and had the high guess on 86 for number of Lovely Days in the song. Actually 95. His prize. Hold the Noodle for the Prop Run.

    THANG 2 Prop Run

    We took off from the stage and headed for parts unknown down rich mans loop with every man holding a prop
    Each light we used props for 10 reps as follows:
    Bar Man OHP Squats
    Noodle man- Canoodles (holding pool noodle acrose chest and doing American hammers )123- 1
    Band man- Straight arm raise ups
    Kettle Man: Swings

    Did roughly 8 rounds of these at light poles with a break for a mini burpee ladder
    5 burpees , run two poles 4 burpees, run back etc
    Great discussion about the future use and naming of the the blank canvas street for sprints.

    The PAX had a lively discussion about the pronunciation of a floating cajun vessel (pirogue?). Goose and Cardinal nearly came to blows but we north La guys were able to step in and keep the energy on burpees.

    Wrapped up with a mosey to the flag with our props and a few needed “prop switches”

    Thang 3 Prop Tabata

    Same props with 30 sec work, 10 second rest
    Kettle man- goblet squats
    Bar man- wide curls
    Noodle man- Canoodles
    Band man- Straight shoulder raises

    Completed 2 cycles

    Just enough time to for a Thunderstruck Burnout
    Merkins on Thunder, Plank on the rest
    Switch half way and did burpees on thunder and SSH on the rest ( YHC shows mercy)

    Wrapped up with COT and Goose prayed us out.

    Moleskin:
    Todays prop workout is a physical reminder that many of us carry burdens of different shapes, sizes and appearances. You never know what someone’s previous or future burden will be but being there ready to shoulder the load with them is the key. Don’t shoulder those burdens alone. Put faith in God to provide your strength and to provide your support system for the burden.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead fellas
    SYITG

  • Starting EH Month a Couple of Weeks Early! – from Goose

    Naming 5 FNG’s in one week is definitely a record for F3 Thibodaux, as was the number of PAX at The Stage this morning. Three FNG’s made up for a couple of missing regulars to make for 13 total, and a glorious day it was!
    After a prolonged disclaimer and explanation of the benefits and culture of F3, YHC led us in a warmup meant to assuage the soreness brought on by Thursday’s F3 poker beatdown.
    PAX: Enron, Paradox, Cardinal, Pope, Coyote, Dumpster Fire, Red Card, Horse Pill, Tighty Whities, Kilo, Wet Tap, Percleator, Goose

    Warmup: Side Straddle Hops, Widmills, Arm Circles, Cherry Pickers, Imperial Walkers, Self-Love, High Knees, and Butt kicks (to wake the cardio system a bit).

    Thang 1:
    Moseyed to the Chimney for Partner Dora: 100 Burpees, 200 Twinkle Toes, and 300 LBC’. Transportation was Bear Crawl and run back, then Crawl Bear and Nur back, then Attempted Murder Bunnies (Murder Bunnies without the coupon) and run back.
    The FNG’s and relatively new guys were not too keen on this whole F3 thing about 2 minutes into this one. Once the intensity set in, the soon-to-be-named Horse Pill (Kip) bemoaned the fact that he had planned to do work on his house later in the day, no to mention having run five miles before we even started. (Jose 8K?) But, YHC knew the next couple of exercises would lift the spirits and make for some good memories and some good camaraderie.

    Thang 2:
    Moseyed to the Thunderdome (octagonal outdoor pavilion with bleachers setup around the edges facing the middle) where PAX found some bleacher space for a couple of rounds of Ring of Fire.
    Round 1: feet on the bleachers in decline plank while each PAX counted off in a circle executing one Derkin. After reaching the seeming insurmountable total of 100, and the cool feeling of yelling numbers in a circle of intensity under an echoey metal roof, we recovered to our feet for round 2.
    Round 2: PAX held Al Gore position facing the bleachers, and PAX took turns yelling numbers and executing a box jump, once again reaching 100, and once again enjoying the experience of shared intensity (this time with the added sound of crashing bleachers) and team accomplishment, which rolled nicely into…

    Thang 3:
    Moseyed to the practice field for the final round of Name That Tune. It took three beatdowns to get through the playlist YHC had put together erroneously thinking there would be enough musical knowledge to get through them more quickly. But, it made for an opportunity to spread the fun over a few days and allowed more PAX to get in on it. With a few more older PAX in the group this time, songs like “To Be With You” by Extreme and “Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm” by Crash Test Dummies were nailed relatively quickly, though the amount of Bonnie Blairs we ended up having to do was not foreseen–“Something in the Way She Moves” by James Taylor should have been an easy one, but I guess brains were foggy after the Dora. Or, YHC should’ve just assigned it a different exercise. Or, the PAX just needed to see the Q hate his life a little bit.
    After shoulder tapping our way through “Send Me on My Way” by Rusted Root (no one could get the artist), we moseyed back to the flag for some Mary:
    Crunchy Frogs x20 IC
    Freddy Mercuries x15 IC
    Penguins x15 IC

    Named 3 FNG’s: Welcome, Tighty Whities, Red Card, and Horse Pill!

    COT: shared gratitude for F3 and the awesome group, prayer intentions, and Cardinal prayed us out.

    Very encouraging morning! The soreness over the next couple of days will be a beautiful reminder! Thanks for joining me on the journey, gents, and for allowing me to lead.

    See You in the Gloom,
    Goose

  • New AO by Popular Demand in Houma!! – from Goose

    Cardinal is an EH specialist, though if you asked him, he’d deny it. However, after just one conversation, he convinced a group of young dads to commit to Tuesday morning beatdowns–not just one beatdown, but every Tuesday morning–in Houma. So, the Thibodaux shovel flag was planted this morning amidst the frozen clover on the top of the hill at the Lumen Christi Retreat Center overlooking a gorgeous sunrise on the lake.
    Two of the dads in the group showed up while two more who couldn’t come wailed and ground their teeth with commitments to move heaven and earth so as not to miss next week. Cardinal and YHC walked them through the basics and the disclaimer, and it was on.

    Warmup: side straddle hops, windmills, arm circles, Imperial Walkers, and self love; all x20, all IC.

    Thang 1:
    YHC wanted to wake the muscles and lungs up, introduce them to some F3 basics, and start a love/hate relationship with that hill, so we undertook a set of 7’s–Merkins on one side, Big Boi Situps on the other, with 5 jump squats every time the hill was topped.

    Thang 2:
    YHC also wanted to give them an experience of F3 creativity, so I thought back to a few of the highlights from my experience on the Northshore and settled on a game Steve came up with a few years ago. A playlist was created for a version of “Name that Tune,” and each song was assigned an exercise to be executed for the duration of the song unless any PAX could name the title and/or artist. If they just named the title or artist, we’d stop at 2 minutes, but if they could name both, we’d move on immediately.
    YHC’s playlist consisted of a lot of 80’s and 90’s stuff that would have been obvious to anyone over 35, so the list was pretty long to take a number of full skips into account. However, the PAX who showed were both uncultured and relatively young-ish, so reps completed were plentiful, but songs completed were not. Some may have been more attainable if the PAX’s brains were less affected by the hill, but they appreciated the creativity, the challenge, and the variety, nonetheless.

    Moseyed back up the hill to the flag for COT and naming of the two FNG’s: welcome Paradiddle and Elmer’s!

    The gratitude and excitement for the chance to do this regularly with other (more or less) respectable men was palpable, and YHC is filled with gratitude for the way God continues to provide for the deep hunger of men through the gift of F3.

    See You in the Gloom,
    Goose