5:30am on Monday morning felt like it came quickly this week. But once it hit, it was time to start off the week right with a little F3 Swolefest beatdown:
Warm Up:
side straddle hops – 20 in cadence
wind mills – 10 in cadence
plank jacks – 20 in cadence
arm circles – 10 forward, 10 backward in cadence
The Thang:
Dora 1-2-3 – partner up. One partner does the exercise, while the other partner runs a lap around the traffic circle
100 flutter kicks with the block (cadence count in your head) – 1,2,3, one, etc
200 squats with the block
300 curls with the block
Cool down lap around the circle
Dora 1-2-3 – again with partner. One partner does the exercise, while the other partner runs a lap around the traffic circle
100 standing overhead press with the block
200 side ab raises with the block (rotate side each time)
300 bent over rows with the block
Cool down lap around the circle. Then:
Dips on the big concrete circles – 20 in cadence
8 count body builders – 10 on your own
Next, we did the count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions & prayer. As always, thanks for the chance to lead, fellas. It’s always a pleasure.
As most of the PAX may be aware, YHC is a wee bit of an ND fan. And today’s a big day – #1 Clemson coming to town. As most of the PAX are also aware, and happy to remind YHC, Notre Dame does not exactly have a stellar record in these kinds of games. But perhaps the PAX don’t know just how abysmal the record is. They will soon learn.
Good crowd of 16 at the Mothership. Weather is delightful – summer heat is definitely gone. Just a few orange shirts in the group (looking at you Sogo and Pop Tart). Not sure if they did that just to spite me, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. No other green to be seen among the PAX. I will not forget that.
The Thang
Mosey to the lawn in front of NOMA. Start with SSH x27. Why x27? Because 27 years ago was the last Irish victory against a #1 ranked team (ND 31 – FSU 24 in 1993).
A few other warm ups, then lets introduce the game of “Burps or Merks”. YHC will call on a PAX to answer a question. Answer it correctly? 5 Merks for the PAX. Answer it wrong? 5 Burpees for the PAX.
And the theme? Notre Dame’s record in the last 20 games against Top 5 competition.
How many wins does ND have? Lots of burpees (including doubling up b/c Side Effects repeated a previous incorrect answer) before YHC had to provide the answer: 1 win. Yes, we are 1-19 in our last 20 games. Sigh.
Who beat us the most in that span? More burpees until Catfish saved the day – USC has beat us 5 times.
Who is the 1 win against? More burpees – until Snooze tossses out the correct answer of Michigan.
YHC now tries to end the game to move on, but PAX keep throwing out more teams that beat us. More Merks for right answers, and more Burpees for wrong answers (no, Oklahoma has not had their way against us in this particular streak)
Finally – enough of those burpees.
So lets do some more burpees.
The Current 11 Game Losing Streak
Yes, ND is currently on an 11 game losing streak against top 5 teams. What else goes with 11? That’s right – the Route 66. 11 Lightposts with burpees. 1 at the first, 2 at the second, etc… (SOGO seemed unclear on the concept so YHC took the time to help by explaining all the way up to 11).
The Overall Deficit in those 11 Games
Partner up, for some modified Dora. The total score in that 11 game losing streak? YHC now forgets the actual number but its roughly Bad Guys 380, ND 160. Yes, we are more than doubled up over those 11 games. So lets Dora. 160 Monkey Humpers, 380 LBCs. The other PAX bear crawl 3 trees and run back.
Then back to the Great Lawn.
Something Else
Change of Pace. This week, Sean Connery – the original 007 – passed away. A quick round of Burp or Merk to guess how many James Bond films he was in. 5 Burpees for a wrong guess, then the right answer of “7”.
Home Base – Dr. No, the first flick. After each other exercise, return home for 7 Dr. Ws. Thanks Side Effects for the demonstration.
The Exercises – around the great lawn, 6 stations for his other six JB flicks. Multiples of 7 for Diamond Merks (Diamonds are Forever), Russian Twists (From Russia with Love) and others.
Another quick Burp or Merk for guessing who was 2nd and 3rd in most JB appearances.
Finally – one of YHC’s favorite time-wasting flicks: The Rock. Sean Connery crawling around under Alcatraz with Nicholas Cage. Lets bear crawl across the lawn.
Mosey back to the flag. Its 7:30.
NMM
Thanks, everyone, for putting up with my never-ending ND drivel. Just hope that ND doesn’t actually win one of these games, as I may become insufferable if that were to happen.
Its quite humbling, and inspiring to watch this group. You guys are STRONG. Thank you for pushing. SOGO: I heard the “Way To Go Rudy” as you ran back to the center after the Diamond Merks. Those little encouraging words and pushes are what keep me going. I’d encourage all of the PAX to remember that – push, and ENCOURAGE. Remember – leave no man behind, but LEAVE NO MAN WHERE YOU FOUND HIM.
Prayers especially for Hokie’s Mom. May God be with her, with the whole family, as they start this next journey.
Lovely RED Friday this morning at the mountain with 10 PAX: Highrise, Walleye, Tool, YaMamaNem, Sheetrock, Saban, Jesus Juice, Dax, Doubloon (FNG), Catfish (Q).
Started with SSH, Toy Soldiers, Imp squat walkers, 8-counts.
Lined up on the path. Indian run to the base of the mountain.
Up to top of the mountain. Did a wallsit/leg rotation, holding wall sit for 60 seconds, then doing low slow squats, wallsit for 50 seconds, then bonnie blairs, wallsit 40 seconds, then Donkey Kicks, wallsit 30 seconds, then monkey humpers.
Down to other side of mountain for Bruce Lee – American Hammer, Leg Raises, LBCs, Penguins, Crunchy Frogs, and 100s. Did some peter parker peters to complete the core grind.
Back up to the mountain top for derkins, then mosey back to base camp. EMOM burpees 5 minutes, starting with 11, incrementing up by one each minute to 14.
A few mountain climbers to finish, then CoT. Welcome to Doubloon, our latest FNG!
For the Q I sported a fancy, shiny gold uniform with a big nasty black wig, red headband / wristbands, plus converse tennie’s, and frankenstein tube socks. I apologized to the pax for having to look at my sweaty ridiculousness for an hour. Also wanna give credit to Medulla Oblongata for ideas in his Halloween backblast from 2018. I would note that many of us did not have power because Category 2 Zeta had just rolled through.
After the disclaimer and rallying by the flags, the pax warmed up by the peristyle to 13 reps of SSH, peter parker, grass grabbers, windmill, arm circles, and some ol’ fashioned self-love.
Moseyed to field aside NOMA to circle up for 8 PUMPKIN exercises, 31 reps apiece:
P – plank jacks (1 is 1 in cadence)
U – up/downs on your own (burpee without push-up)
M – mountain climbers (in cadence, 2 count)
P – power jacks (in cadence, 1 is 1, legs straight spread with both hands touching ground between legs, than jump up bringing legs together and spreading arms straight out to each side)
K – kick squats (in cadence, squat then kick right, and vice versa, 2 is 1)
I – imperial walkers (in cadence)
N – Nolan Ryans (in cadence, 1 is 1)
S – sit ups (on your own)
Moseyed to pumpkin patch where pax picked their real pumpkin or cinder block coupon. Most of these pumpkins were big enough for a legit workout.
Paired up for modified Dora:
100x – pumpkin puller (flat on back, knees in air, place pumpkin overhead with arms outstretched on ground, and rotate outstretched arms to touch coupon to knees, then lower again to flat position); partner rifle carry coupon 35 yards to flag and broad jump over coupon 4x
150x – pumpkin thruster; partner carry pumpkin to flag and then bear crawl around it 1x
200x – pumpkin flutters (flat on back with pumpkin held straight out in bench press position, with flutter kick 2 is 1); partner carry pumpkin to flag and then do 4 kettle bell swings
Moseyed back to great lawn for 2 rounds of sprint suicides with four cones, including 5 bobby hurley’s at each cone on 1st round, backpedaling on the return in all reps.
Circled up at peristyle for Mary
COT, share and prayer and naming of our lil’ FNG “Super Duper” Cooper Brunet. Triple Shift joined us after biking workout.
As PAX arrived at Okwata it was revealed by Kuch that there had not been a Q on the sign up sheet for today. As he is prone to do, Kuch offered up me as the fill in Q. I have done this numerous times in the past and as I am prone to do I accepted. I have not Q’ed much at Okwata as I do find it challenging as the Q but I figured what the hell. Let’s do it.
Warm-up
Disclaimer was given and we took off towards the Mardi Gras fountain. While making the circle we did high knees, butt kicks, karaoke facing the levee, and karaoke facing the fountain. Circle up in the grass.
SSH x 20 IC
Windmills x 10 IC
Hillbillies x 15 IC
Arm circles fwd/rev x 10 each IC
Self love x 15 IC
Mountain climbers x 20 IC
Tha Thang #1:
Mosey over to the House of Pain. Split into 4 groups for 4 stations of exercises (I went solo).
Station 1: Bernie Sanders up the hill, 5 burpees at the top, and run down (timer)
Station 2: squats
Station 3: dips
Station 4: pull ups
Rinse and repeat for 2 total rounds.
Tha Thang #2:
Stay in our groups for a change in the exercises but the set up is the same.
Station 1: bear crawl up the hill, 5 burpees at the top, and run down to the bottom (timer)
Station 2: Reverse lunges
Station 3: derkins
Station 4: leg raises while hanging on the pull up bar (thanks to Mahatma for the assist on this exercise as I drew a blank on what to do)
Tha Thang #3:
After a 20 sec rest break everyone grabbed some space on the posts for some People’s Chair. 3 rounds for 30 sec with 15 sec rest break in between. The silence during this portion of the beatdown was defeaning.
Tha Thang #4:
Time for some 11s. Burpees on one side on the levee, run up and over, and LBCs on the other. 10/1, 9/2, and so on.
Mosey back to the mythical flag where Mahatma led us in a round of 100s to cap off the day.
Count off, name-o-rama, announcement, intentions, and COT. Once again it was a pleasure to lead a beatdown even when pushed to do it on the fly at what can be a very challenging AO.
The first disclaimer this morning, as I turned on my speaker and it immediately died, was that I forgot to charge may speaker last night. Swole Fest just ain’t as swole without some good 90’s tunes. So we had to make due with the iPhone speaker. Just not the same. Apologies to the Swole Fest Pax for letting you down so early on a Monday. Ashamed, I stumbled through the rest of the disclaimer and we got to work.
Warm-up COP: SSH x 20 IC, Windmills x 10 IC, IW x 20 IC, Grass Grabbers x 10 IC, Arm Circles 10 Forwards 10 Backwards IC, Mountain Climbers x 20 IC
We started with a Swole Fest cinderblock reverse pyramid. Time to get swole. 5 exercises, 3 rounds, decreasing reps.
Shoulder press x 20 IC, Curls x 20 IC, Goblet Squats x 20 IC, Rows x 20 IC, Chest Press x 20 IC
Shoulder press x 15 IC, Curls x 15 IC, Goblet Squats x 15 IC, Rows x 15 IC, Chest Press x 15 IC
Shoulder press x 10 IC, Curls x 10 IC, Goblet Squats x 10 IC, Rows x 10 IC, Chest Press x 10 IC
Next we moseyed to the Foundry. We worked the front, now time to work the back. And what better way to get Swole than to bring back Pull-Ups. Pull-Ups have always been a staple of the Foundry and City Park, but we had to abandon them for while during Covid when the exercise equipment was off-limits. Now that the equipment is back open, the Pull-Ups are back on. 3 stations, 2 rounds:
Pull-Ups x 10 (the count), Rows, Super-Mans, Dips
We moseyed back to the front of the Children’s Museum, grabbing our blocks on the way, for 11’s.
Deep Squats on one side, Jump Lunges on the other side.
Cinderblock in the middle.
When crossing to one side, 10 Curls in the middle.
When crossing to the other side, 10 Shoulder Press in the middle.
We moseyed back to the flag for count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and prayer. Thank you for the privilege to lead.
Conditions: Humid, 74 degrees, Humidity 95%, Wind 8mph from ENE
Warm-up: Mosey from the flag to the start. Warm-up on your own. No time for SSH or Grass Grabbers or J-Los, we’ve got work to do.
The Thang: The H8! F3 NOLA’s overly complicated, semi-annual, feat of strength. The stick by which our fitness is measured.
Each lap consists of running south to the top of the levee, crossing canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running south to the bottom of the levee, cross canal and run north to the top of the levee, cross canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running north down the levee and back across canal to the starting point. At the starting point you do a descending burp and merk pyramid starting at 8 (burpee with 8 hand release merkins, burpee with 7 hand release merkins, …, burpee with 1 hand release merkin)
At the end of the 2nd lap the burp and merk pyramid starts at 7, etc.
The goal is to complete 8 laps in 40 minutes. According to MapMyRun, each loop is approximately 0.4 miles. Therefore, to conquer the H8! you will have to do the following in 40 minutes:
Run over 3 Miles of Hills
550 Yards of Bear Crawls
36 Burpees
120 Merkins
NMM
The construction at the south base of the levee caused for a slight re-route. The H8! Committee did a good job of ensuring that the change was slight and the overall distance was not affected so that this fall’s running of the H8! Is considered official.
T-claps to all of the guys coming out for the first time. I think Heart-A-Quake, Mama’s Pride, Undertaker, Disclaimer, Bieber, Bartman, Catfish, Big Easy, Snooze were all first timers.
I didn’t keep a record of who made it and who didn’t. I am pretty sure the success rate was just north of 50%. That’s really good, especially for having so many new guys. Our fitness continues to accelerate.
One of the core principles of F3 is that it is open to all men. But just proclaiming that you are open to all men doesn’t cut it. We have to be intentional about making sure that we are welcoming to all men and that we are not unintentionally excluding anyone. There are lots of things that can make men different from one another, but most of them have nothing to do with what F3 is about. I just mean to say that participating in an F3 workout has nothing to do with what race you are, or what your financial situation is, or what religion you are, etc. (Side note: I do think it’s important to think about those things and make sure that we are not being unintentionally exclusive because of the make-up of our Pax. My point is just that the core principles of F3 workouts could apply to anyone, anywhere). One thing that does have a lot to do with F3 is fitness level. That’s why diverse fitness levels have to be considered when planning every workout. It is important that the guys that have a high level of fitness are getting smoked and it is important the that guys on the lower end of the fitness spectrum are staying with the group and are not being left behind on their own. I would like to think that we are pretty good across F3 NOLA at making sure that each work out feels like a team event, that we all have a goal of getting better and that we are supporting each other to reach that goal, no matter what our current fitness level is.
One of the complaints that I have heard about the Iron Pax Challenge is that it is not consistent with F3 in that way; that it puts the focus on the individual and even worse, ranks the individuals. Some men that aren’t at the top feel a sense of embarrassment or shame that they aren’t comparable to the guys at the top. You could make the same argument about the H8! There’s certainly a sense of completing it and not completing it.
Personally I think competition like this is really important. If you want to run faster, you have to run with faster guys. In order to accelerate our fitness, we need to be in the back of the pack striving to get to the front. I enjoy competition and I think it plays an important role in growth. But I also think that it is important that we work hard to keep the sense of comradery and teamwork that all F3 workouts have. The H8! Is something we all want to conquer and that we want to help each man conquer.
There are a couple of quotes that have stuck with me from the book “Run the Mile You are In: Finding God in Every Step” by Ryan Hall, the American Record Holder in the half-marathon and the fastest American to ever run the Boston Marathon (2:04). He said “Competition can be a beautiful thing if we are focused on making ourselves and others better and are not concerned about how we stack up with everyone else…..this is why comparisons in athletics and in life are so fruitless. When we compare, we miss the joy of the journey as well as the joy of the achievement.”
Let’s make sure we keep pushing ourselves and each other, without compromising the joy of the journey. A common motto at an F3 work out is that it’s “You against You”, and that is very true. But it is also true that it is “Us against H8!”
Getting wet and wild at the Mothership with 17 PAX: Rudy, Vagabond, Jingle Vader, Thumb War, Apostle, Thomas the Train, Disclaimer, Bogey, Double Fudge, Logo, Door Dash, Sogo, Abacus, Scantron, Heart A-Quack, Band Camp (visitor from Houston, TX), and Catfish (Q).
Our brother Fracsac was scheduled to Q, but he was absent due to a work-related offshore stint. Thus, we opted for a maritime-themed, burpee-inclusive beatdown.
Started with 10 burpees OYO, then a quick mosey over to the parking lot across from the flag zone. Warmed up with a quick abe vigoda, grass grabber, and SSH. 10 more burpees OYO.
Moseyed to front of the museum to the base of the steps, where we did some imperial squat walkers. 10 more burpees OYO. Headed to the top of the steps. and everyone got into boat position, held for 60 seconds. Next, did a round of Deep Sea Divers (decline merkin position at top of steps, 10 hip slappers in cadence, move hands down a step, 9 hip slappers in cadence, rinse and repeat until reach bottom of steps).
At the bottom of the museum steps, on our sixes for Flutter Kicks, Oblique Crunches (left and right side in cadence), and Crab Jacks. 10 more burpees OYO.
Moved to fountain for box jumps, irkins, right leg step ups, dips, left leg step ups, and derkins. 10 more burpees OYO.
Moseyed over to the field for Killer Bees, – bear crawl 3 tree lengths, broad jump back, stop every 5 jumps and do 3 burpees. LBCs waiting for the six, then Starfish Crunch (spread eagle on six, right hand to left leg, left hand to right leg, in cadence) and Aqua Mans (on faces chest to the ground, lift arms and legs for an SSH-type movement in cadence). Did another round of Killer Bees, where Crab Walk was substituted for Bear Crawl (i.e. crab walk 2 tree lengths, broad jump back, stop every 5 jumps and do 3 burpees). Box cutters and V-ups waiting for the six. One more round of regular Killer Bees (2 tree lengths for the bear crawl this time), then Gas Pumpers. 10 burpees OYO.
Finished up on the field with some Failure to Launch (hold Al Gore for a countdown, then jump in the the air, back to Al Gore, repeat), then some Monkey Humpers. Moseyed back to the parking lot where we warmed up. Plank Jacks, Mountain Climbers, then 10 burpees OYO.
Woke up early to this beautiful, cool, dry morning to setup the field in front of Audubon Zoo with our F3 flags. Then I moseyed to our usual Birdcage COT spot to meet up with 45 other PAX to celebrate F3Nola’s 6 year anniversary. Before the disclaimer, I told the PAX that this is our actual anniversary date, and The Birdcage was our very first weekday AO. We then headed over to the field in front of Audubon Zoo with our warmup exercises in cadence. To honor our 6 year anniversary, we started the day with 6 burpees OYO.
1.) SSHs x 20
2.) Windmills x 10
3.) Self Love x 10
4.) Imperial Walkers x 20
5.) Peter Parker, Parker Peter, MCs x 15
We divided the PAX in 2 groups in the middle of the field. One group was facing the Zoo while the other was facing Magazine Street. Each group had their own marker to reach to (which was about 50 feet away).
Round 1 – moseyed to the marker and did 10 hand release merkins. Then moseyed back to the middle of the field and went back out to marker to do 15 hand release merkins. Then moseyed back to the middle of the field and went back to the marker to finish off with 20 hand release merkins. Then converged back to the middle of the field to wait for the Six (SSHs until the Six was done).
Round 2 – similar routine as round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 big boy situps.
Round 3 – similar to round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 jump lunges. Also, instead of running, we were side hopping.
Round 4 – similar to round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 leg raises.
Round 5 – similar to round 3 except we did 10, 15, and 20 squats.
Round 6 – similar to round 1 except we bear crawled to the marker and moseyed back to the middle of the field with 20, 40, and 60 overhead air presses in between.
Round 7 – similar to round 6 except we bunny hopped to the marker and moseyed back to the middle of the field with 5, 10, and 15 burpees in between.
At some point during the workout, we saw a shooting star with a crescent moon in the backgound.
Round of Mary
We did the following in cadence:
1.) American Hammers x 20
2.) LBCs x 20
3.) Hello Dolly x 20
4.) Low Country Crabs x 10 (Yankee’s lead)
5.) Dying Cockroach x 20 (Hawgcycle’s lead)
COT
We finished the beatdown with COT. Announcements and prayers. Someone mentioned Bogey is buying for everyone who shows up at the Deutsches Haus tonight. We thank Sky Q for giving us the strength everyday so that we can do this on a regular basis. Always grateful to be out in the AM with the PAX and hopeful for many years of this.
Few of us had some F2 coffee at PJ’s on Magazine. Always entertaining conversations with the PAX. SYITG
