F3 New Orleans

Tag: El Diablo

  • The Wood – from Rev Sox

    After YHC’s run on Tuesday, he was exhausted. He comforted himself with the knowledge that tomorrow was Wednesday, and he could take the morning off, sleep in a few minutes, and do some reading.

    At 12:06pm on Tuesday, YHC received a text
    Hawg: Reminder that you have the Q at El Diablo tomorrow.
    YHC Response: Oh I forgot.
    Hawg: You are good? You can do it?
    YHC Response: None sent

    YHC awoke at 4:50am this morning with zero desire to run around Pontiff park and lift rocks. YHC wanted to sleep. YHC wanted to sleep and read. Thanks to Hawg and his stupid texts, he got out of bed, dressed for F3, walked out into the rain, and drove to Pontiff Park.
    YHC prayed a simple prayer on his drive to Pontiff. “Please Lord keep everyone home, so YHC doesn’t need to Q this morning. Encourage my brothers to rest or at least go to other AOs today.” In the Lord’s goodness, He did not give YHC the answer he sought. 7 Pax join YHC this morning.

    Following the most encouraging disclaimer in F3 NOLA history, “I don’t want to be here. I am not looking forward to this, and I made no plans for this workout. This is obviously not a professional workout. Don’t hurt yourself.” The Pax was off to mosey to the rock pile.

    The Warm-Up
    SSH – 27
    Imperial Walkers – 20
    Shoulder taps – 20
    Annies – 20
    Hillbillies – 20

    At this point Mahatma mentioned that he brought the wood, so YHC made an audible and decided to do something from different from his initial workout plans of nothing. Pax! Mosey to Mahatma’s truck.
    Sadly there were only six wood pieces in the back of Mahatma’s truck, so with eight Pax in total, YHC went the Dora route to make use of the wood.

    Dora on the Football Field
    Pair off for 100 rows, 200 curls, 300 chest press all with the wood. The partner runs forward to mid-field and backwards on the return trip to his partner while the partner knocks out the exercises.

    Route 66 but Not Really
    Drop the wood off at the flag, mosey to the rock pile, grab a rock, and go to the field lined with trees.
    10 trees are our markers. One shoulder press with rock at tree one. Two shoulder presses at tree two… Between the trees do one genuflect after the shoulder presses and then lunge walk to the next tree. Final set with 10 shoulder presses, so not a true Route 66.
    Return your rocks

    Mary
    Flutter kicks – 20
    Wife pleasers – 20
    Hello Dolly – 15
    Penguins – 15
    Mosey Back to the Flag

    The Closing
    Count-Off, Announcements, Intentions, Prayer in a Sweaty Ball of Man
    Thank you men for allowing YHC the privilege to lead. He didn’t want to be there, but as always, the men of F3 make YHC a better man, and he can only hope to do the same for all of you.
    And Rudy said my book is the 2nd best book he has ever read after the Bible.
    – Rev Sox

  • Bringing the Wood (-en toothpick) – from Rudy

    El Diablo Bringing the Wood. Thanks to Thumb War for inspiring Hawg to start a new tradition! The El Diablo bat was to make its first appearance this fine morning. From here on out – 30 El Diablo workouts, including 5 Qs, will get your name etched on this fine bat.

    The PAX were all anxious to see The Wood. The anticipation. The anxiety. The desire to be like Reggie Bush, bringing That Wood to El Diablo. YHC had the Q, so Hawg who was allegedly travelling delivered the wood the night before.

    YHC took one look at the Wood, and suspected there would be problems. And as the PAX gathered in the gloom, YHC was right. “Where’s the Bat?” asked Scantron. “Wait, is that it?” sez Bogey. “That looks like a Toothpick” mocked Bolt. And on and on it went. YHC had to deflect criticism, happily throwing Hawg under the bus – “Hey, don’t hate the messenger.”

    But anyway, this is our Wood (or Wood-let, or Wooden Toothpick). Whatever, lets get started.

    Quick Warmup, then all the PAX grab one of the presents that YHC had delivered to the football field. A Log, a Bag o’ Rocks, A workout rope, dumbbells (not the War Eagle kind), medicine ball, etc.. All in, some 10 toys were available. But alas – there were 16 of us (counting the late arriving Triple Shift). So make do with some other exercises (burpees – what else would FracSac pick, 8 counts, etc…). One good addition – balancing on a basketball for derkins. Challenge both the upper body and core to stay on that ball.

    The Thang: one PAX (“it”) runs a lap with the bat above their head. (shortly modified to half a lap in the interest of time). Everyone else is doing their exercise with their thing. Then we rotate. Everyone got a chance with all of the toys, and everyone got to run once with the glorious bat. FastTax had an interesting take on “Thruster” that looked strangely like a “Squat”.

    Still had time for a Brian Kelly inspired game of “Turncoats and Traitors”. Groups of 3 – one PAX sprint backwards across the football field. The other two start with 2 burpees (later 1 burpee, later 1 8 ct) then sprint to catch the traitor. If they caught him, the traitor did burpees. Otherwise, the chasers did burpees. Or maybe everyone did burpees. Depends on how YHC felt at the moment. So everyone got to be a traitor and get chased down. Good times. Enjoy your coach, LSU.

    COT – 16 PAX welcomed the bat. Great seeing everyone in the glom, and welcome to Downhiller from Birmingham. Thanks for letting me try some new things – look forward to June 22nd, 2022 (the 30th El Diablo workout from now) to see who may be first to get their name on the bat.

  • Twas an Epic Battle – from Fast Tax

    ‘Twas an Epic Battle
    The morning dawned bright and clear at El Diablo as 10 PAX made their way to the flag, having made the wise choice to avoid the pot-hole ridden millennial Frisbee game Uptown. You could feel the wonder and anticipation permeating in the crisp November air as questions swirled in the minds of the PAX present; what did Fast Tax have in store for us? Would there be chocolate as promised? Did I leave the iron on?

    After a quick disclaimer, we moseyed to our usual warm-up area by the rocks accompanied by Fracsac’s and Bogie’s moaning about it being a sprint instead of a mosey.
    Just for Hokie, YHC modified his regimented game plan to begin with Hillbillies, for a reason that I can no longer remember…something to do with some team winning something…

    Remaining warmups consisted of:
    o Arm Circles (fwd and bwd)
    o Seal Claps
    o Skydiving Australian Snow Angels

    Right as warmups completed, we were joined by Stripes, (Fast Tax 2.0) having returned from deployment.

    Unwilling to jump right into the main event, YHC selected the Ascending Testicles to kick things off: 10 Merkins OYO at 15 degrees (hold for PAX), 10 Merkins at 45 degrees, and hold at 90 degrees (aka balls to the wall).

    The next exercise, the Bruce Lee, would test the bounds of the concentration or understanding of many of the PAX (apparently), since the difficulty evident in following directions was paramount.

    The Bruce Lee was supposed to consist of 3 sets of 15 reps of each the following: Hammer, Leg Lifts, Dying Cockroach, LBCs, Heel Touch, and Crunchy Frog, with a 30 sec rest b/t sets.

    However, with time and comprehension both limited, YHC wisely decided to push on to the next event, the Flip-Flop.

    The Flip-Flop is a 2-PAX team exercise that begins on a starting line with PAX 1 flipping a pallet end over end to a designated finish line while PAX 2 lunges to the same line holding a 35-40lb rock. PAX switch at the line and race back. Admittedly, YHC could have engineered more creative uses for the pallets (thanks to Hokie for the pallet loaner) but, I didn’t want to take too much time away from the main event.

    After returning rocks and pallets, we moseyed to the field for the big reveal…BATTLE FRISBURPEE.

    To the wonder and delight of those in attendance, YHC explained the concept and the rules.

    Battle Frisburpee – The Concept:
    A blend of ultimate Frisbee and dodgeball, with an emphasis on individual burpee punishment, played running the width of a football field as the length and the 5 and 20 yard lines as the left and right boundaries. Each sides goal began 5 yards in from the corresponding end. This equates to a field 160 yds from end to end, including a 5 yd end zone on each side, and a width of 15 yards (or more if more than 10 players).

    Battle Frisburpee – The Rules:
    To score, a PAX must catch the Frisbee in the opposing team’s end zone (duh).
    When a team scores, the entire opposing team must do 4 burpees.
    If the Frisbee is dropped, i.e. thrown but not caught, the last person it touches (usually the one throwing it or the one who muffed the catch) must immediately drop and do 4 burpees. The Frisbee is still “live” and is treated as a fumble, any nearby PAX from either team can pick it up and resume play.

    If the Frisbee goes out of bounds, the last person it touches (usually the one throwing it or whoever it hits on the way out) must immediately drop and do 4 burpees. The Frisbee is “dead” and is treated like a soccer ball that went out of bounds, i.e. the opposing team now stands at the spot it went out and immediately resumes play (without waiting for burpees to be completed).

    If either of the player’s feet or any part of the Frisbee itself crosses the boundary, it is deemed out of bounds (clarification provided for Frac’s sake).
    Each team must appoint a “Baller” to act as a goalie of sorts. The Baller stays in the end zone and can throw the dodgeball at any approaching opposing team member, whether they are holding a Frisbee or not. A player hit with the ball, must immediately drop the Frisbee, if carrying one, and do 4 burpees. The Frisbee is still “live” and can be picked up by anyone else.

    The Baller is the only one who can throw the ball at an opposing player and the Baller must throw only from the end zone.
    The player is only “hit” if the ball doesn’t touch the ground first.

    With that out of the way YHC will finish the tale…
    Team 1: Fast Tax, Stripes, Bolt, Shooter, and Triple Shift
    Team 2: Boo-Boo, Hokie, Bogie, Frac Sac, Hawg, and Rudy

    The battle was close and hard fought…not really. It was close for the first 2 points, then admittedly, Team 2 pulled ahead, clearly due to their height advantage over Team 1. After several close calls and numerous burpees, Team 2 walked away with bragging rights, with a final score of 4-1.

    With game over we headed to COT for name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and prayer.
    Followed by Coffeteria at PJs.

    Thanks for the fellowship!
    SYITG

  • Look Mom! I’m 4! – from Rev Sox

    Everyone is born once. Many have been born twice. A select few have been born thrice. Today YHC celebrates the 4th anniversary of my third birth.
    On January 27, 1983 on a cold, wintry morning in Binghamton, NY, Shawn Willson was born to David and Becky Willson at Wilson General Hospital.
    At some point in the late 80s, YHC has no clue to the precise date, he had his second and most important birth. YHC believed and trusted in Jesus to save him and give him His life. At that moment, YHC was born again through the power and saving work of Jesus to now live with eternal life.
    On Veterans Day weekend in 2017, Hawgcycle and Channel Mullet heaped unending piles of guilt on YHC’s two scrawny shoulders and convinced YHC to join them for his first F3 workout. The following morning through sweat, tears, and much complaint, YHC was born a third time as Rev Sox. Hater of Red Sox and hater of step ups. The Pax celebrates that day, today.
    Circle Up for the Warm Up
    No mosey to the Rock Pile or some dark corner of Pontiff Park, the Pax starts this one hot with the warm-up right at the flag.
    SSH – 20
    Hillbillies (in honor of the hillbilly standing next to YHC who introduced him to this stupid group) – 20
    Smurfjacks – 20
    Low Slow Squat – 12
    Bat wings (don’t put your arms down until we’re done) – 10 forward arm circles, 10 reverse, 10 seal claps, 10 overhead claps, 10 Moroccan night clubs
    The Thang
    Mosey to the first pavilion, it’s occupied, mosey to the second pavilion to commence the memory of YHC’s first F3 – this means step ups
    Dips – 15
    Right leg step ups – 15
    Dips – 15
    Left leg step ups – 15
    Mosey to the bleachers
    Tooth fairy
    Seven merkins on the first bench of the bleachers, six on the second bench, and so on until you hit one at the top
    Alternating step ups – 20
    Mosey to the playground
    Alternating step ups – 20
    Mosey to the Rock Pile and Grab a Rock
    In Cadence, 6 curls and 1 shoulder press, 5 curls and 1 shoulder press, 4 and 1, 3 and 1, 2 and 1, 1 and 1
    Now with 6 shoulder press and 1 triceps extension
    Now with 6 chest press and 1 big boy sit up
    Now with 6 squats and 1 curl
    Return your rock and Mosey to the football field. At this point, Mop began to trash talk that he was feeling perfect and maybe the Q needed to step things up and make it more difficult. That kid is such a punk. Who lets a 9-year-old come to F3 anyway?
    Circle Up for Some Climate Change
    In honor of COP26, F3 NOLA did our part this morning by hugging our imaginary trees and putting our faces in the grass in remorse over all the noxious gases that have been released into the atmosphere during F3 workouts. The Pax held Al Gore while the first Pax went down and did 6 merkins, the second began his after 3 were completed. Two rounds around the circle.
    The Celebrating Fun
    It’s not a Rev birthday without Ultimate Frisbee and some guys running around without a shirt on in the cold so Boo Boo and War Eagle can complain about it on end for the next couple of years.
    The Pax split up in two teams – shirts and skins. The shirts won because they are a bunch of jerks who don’t let the Q win on his birthday celebration. Thankfully, since there were no Lakeview players present, cheating was at a minimum with everyone hitting the ground for their merkins after every turnover. Final score: shirts 5, skins 4.
    The End
    Short mosey back to the flag as the Pax counts off, name-o-rama, announcements, and prayer. Thank you all from the depths of my heart for what you have each meant to me over the past 4 years. Your presence is everything. Working out alone is the worst. May F3 endure from now until the end of Christ’s rule on earth. I hope to do F3 into eternity.

  • Dancing with the Devil at El Diablo – from Triple Shift

    Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
    Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
    If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
    But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.

    One of the main things I love about F3 is the brotherhood that gets forged when working out with another man. As you know, the immediate unknown of Covid-19 caused many to forego the gloom from a health perspective. Unfortunately, from my observation, many members have foregone the gloom from a habit perspective. Today, I wanted to incorporate a partner workout to bring back what I enjoyed the most about F3….shared suffering.

    Warmup
    Twelve other men joined me as we warmed up around the track doing butt kicks, high knees, side shuffles, and cariocas and then headed to the rock pile. We started with 31 SSH then 10 eight count squats, and 10 eight count merkins. After the warmup, I directed the PAX to get a heavy rock and head to the goal line on the football field.

    The Thang
    We partnered up for 25 Patty Cake Merkins, 25 BBSU, 10 Bulgarian Split Squats (Pax 1 is kneeling on the ground with one knee forward and one knee backward while Pax 2 props his back foot on Pax 1 front knee and performs the Split Squat), and finally the crowd pleaser of 10 Nordic Hamstring Curls.

    After we finished up those exercises, we performed the ‘Tortoise and the Hare B.O.M.B.S.’ on the football field. Pax 1 carries the heavy rock down the field to the other goal line while Pax 2 does 5 Burpees. After Pax 2 completes his five burpees, he runs and tags Pax 1 (who now does 5 burpees) to take the heavy rock and continues walking until he gets to the end of the field and then turns around to walk back. After the 5 Burpees, the next exercise is 10 Outlaws (think O Mary), 15 Merkins, 20 BBSU, and then 25 Squats until everyone finishes.

    Time is running short so we mosey back to the rock pile to circle up and perform 10 straight leg deadlifts (8 count). Head back to the starting point and finish up with 5 big boy sit ups then stand up without the use of your hands.

    Countoff, Namerama, and COT
    I thanked the PAX for allowing me to lead and I closed out with a prayer for God to provide healing and peace for all those struggling with disease and the difficult time we live in.

  • El Diablo in the Fall – from Fracsac

    El Diablo is an AO where limits are to be pushed and new nearly impossible feats of strength are to be embraced. This was the intent at Pontiff this day where 6 pax converged to embrace the suck. With a cool breeze signaling the entrance of Autumn, Bogey, Boo-Boo, Hokie, Thumb War, RevSox and YHC got after it.

    Disclaimer given, then short mosey to the waterlogged field.

    Warmup

    SSh IC x 31
    AV IC x 10
    GG IC x 10
    Bat wings with AC, OC, SC and MNC

    The Thang

    BLIMPS can be tough, but we would put a theory to the test that SBE is a real thing. Glad you asked (you know you did). SBE means Simple But Effective.

    BLIMPS are composed of Burpees, Lunges, Imperial Walkers, Merkins, Plank Jacks and Squats.

    Start with 5 Burpees OYO, then 5 of the LIMPS in cadence. Run a lap around the track.

    Next round was 10, followed by a lap, then 15, then 20 and onto 25 where we ran out of time. We got two-thirds through the 5th round.

    COT

    NMM

    -Check on your F3 brothers. A pax could be in a mental battle where the wounds are deep but strategically well covered. We need each other now more than ever.
    -Lafitte recovery trip is scheduled for Saturday leaving from some coffee shop that has other stuff. You had to be there to understand, but know it was funnier than that really funny Dad joke. Anyways, check Slack for details. Bogey has the deets.
    -Fall is here, at least for now. Let’s hope it keeps the hurricanes away.

    SYITG

  • Happy Birthday to Rudy – from Fracsac

    4 High Impact Men gathered at El Diablo for a beat down led by none other than YHC. Rudy was scheduled as it was his birthday, but he and 11 other HIMs are heady to the Pacific Northwest today for the Hood to the Coast run. T-Claps!
    Anyhow, YHC took the Q and recognized Rudy’s 54th year on the Big Ball with every 5 minutes complete 4 burpees, no matter what.

    Boo Boo , Hand Grenada, and Baloo joined YHC to get things done! The Shovel flag and yard sign were planted, the disclaimer was given.

    Warmup

    SSH IC x 20
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Arm circles IC x 15 fwd
    Arm circles IC x 15 back
    MNC IC x 15

    There were 4 burpees in there somewhere

    Dirty Mac Deuce:

    4 rounds of 3 x 12 rep exercises IC, an arm, a leg and a core. Run a lap on the track after each round.

    Round 1
    Merkins (2 count), Big boi sit-ups, squats
    Lap
    Round 2
    Shoulder taps, Hello Dolly, Lunges
    Lap
    Round 3
    Merkins (4 count), tin snips, side lunges
    Lap
    Round 4
    Catalina wine mixers (6 count), Flutter kicks, low slow squats
    Lap

    There were burpees sprinkled all over the DMD! Good Times!

    Cones were set up to use the short length of the field.
    5 x 8 ct BB on one end, bear crawl to middle, complete 50 LBC, lunge walk to other end.
    Bear crawl to middle, 50 LBC, lunge walk to other end.
    Rinse and repeat with burpees sprinkled in every 5 minutes. We got through nearly twice.

    COT

    NMM

    – No EMOM today, the pax seemed disappointed
    – It was great to see Baloo again! Keep coming back brother!
    – I felt I had a good variety today, probably one of the best Qs ever. Boo Boo said he’s going to talk his family into naming a future grandchild after me, it was that great!

    Thanks for posting with me! I love you guys!

    SYITG

  • Disclaimers Start at 5:29 – from Belloq

    Arriving early to Pontiff for my 1 mile warm-up run, I was trying to recall how I was assigned the Q for the day at El Diablo. Don’t remember signing up, just getting an invite on my calendar. Oh well, time to lead…Not knowing how many would arrive, I thought through several scenarios. As my run came to an end, I was happy to see 7 men stretching and preparing for a challenge and all pre-planned scenarios went right out the window.
    The time was 5:29 and I gave the disclaimer. 5:30 strikes and RevSox arrives as I give the direction to mosey to the rock pile. He begins to mention the missing disclaimer which I pointed out was done in such a way to maximize out time working out.

    Gave direction to circle up on me by rock pile to begin warm-up

    Warm-up
    15 8-count bodybuilders to get the blood pumping
    Arm Circuit (15 Arm Circles Front and Back, 20 Seal Claps, 20 Overhead Press, 20 Overhead Claps, 15 Moroccan Nigh Club)
    31 SSH
    3 rounds of Ring of Fire (Merkins to Monkey Humpers to Bonnie Blairs (2-is-1)
    Mosey to the Mound

    The Thang
    7’s
    Start on track side go to top, do 5 lunges both legs (i.e. 2-is-1), other side 6 8-count body builders, back to top for 5 lunges both legs, to track for 1 big boy sit-up…repeat with 5 8-counts and 2 big boy sit ups…etc

    Moseyed back to rock pile for Mary.
    5 Minutes of Core —30 seconds Halos Clockwise, 30 Seconds Halos Counter Clockwise, 1 Minute Corkscrew (reverse crunch with a twist), 1 Minute Dynamic Plank, 1 Minute Chainsaw, 1 Minute Slow, Controlled Big Boy Sit ups

    Followed with 10 8-count cinnamon toast crunches (1-2 Crunch, 3-4 Twist Right, 5-6 Crunch, 7-8 Twist Left).

    Moseyed back to flag for COT, Announcements, Intentions and Prayer.

    Always an honor to lead am F3 workout. 9 Total PAX for the workout.

  • Finding Plutonium – from Hawgcycle

    Conditions: 76 degrees, Humidity 83%, Wind 6 MPH from the SSW. Sunrise 0613.

    Pax: Ole Crooked Letter and Me.

    Warm-up: SSH x 31, IW x 20, DQ x 10, Peter Parker x 15, LSS x 15, Parker Peter x 15, Grass
    Grabbers x 10 (we didn’t clap because we aren’t 4th grade school girls at recess), Arm Circles (Forward x 15, Backerds x 15)

    The Thang:

    I knew the numbers would be low at El Diablo today. Too many Puddins thinking they need to rest up for the Gnarly Nutria. So I figured today would be a good day to experiment. Last night I came up with an idea. What if I take two simple exercises and combine them in a way that’s never been done before. Would the results be explosive, like throwing a chuck of sodium into a tub of water?

    In actuality, what happened during the 10 minutes after the warm-up was both fantastic and horrifying. It’s as if Hand Grenada and I stumbled upon nuclear fission. It came close to killing us, but we think we survived…we will see what happens later today. We aren’t sure what to do with our invention. Do we share it with the world? It could be the greatest thing that ever happened to F3. But what if it falls into the wrong hands? Can you imagine what would happen if some deranged sadist like Catfish or Jingle Vader got a hold of this? Or worse yet, some bumbling fool like Rudy tries to use it. And please help us if the LVCC sniffs it….imagine that scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey with the monkeys and the monolith. That could destroy F3. For now, Hand Grenada and I have determined that we should not give this information to anyone. It’s too dangerous. This exercise shall remain classified.

    After aforementioned explosion, we moseyed to the rock pile where for some 3-6-3 exercises……3 super slow counts, 6 regular cadence counts, ending with 3 super slow counts.
    • Squats sin roca
    • Shoulder Presses
    • Squats con roca
    • Merkins

    Then to the playground for a round 3-6-3 pull-ups

    Then to the wall for a round of 3-6-3 shoulder taps with the left hand and a round with the right hand.

    Back to the VF for some stretches (triceps, chest, hamstrings) and COT

    NMM:
    • Triple Shift has been on me because all I do is run. Every time I see him it’s the same question…”So…. Are you lifting any or just running?” I hear ya Triple. So, taking his encouraging words to heart, I thought today would be a good opportunity to get in some strength training. After the exercise that I can’t talk about, my arms will probably be permanently jacked. I may never have to work them out again. Only time will tell, but this may have solved my problem.
    • I am worried about Hand Grenada. His arms were already pretty jacked. We may have over done it for him. Can you imagine if Gabby had been at this workout? He would never find a shirt with sleeves large enough. All of his suits would get the Belichick treatment. Could he walk into board meetings at GNO, Inc. with his sleeves cut off? See why I can’t share this workout…..man I hope Hand Grenada is okay. If he survives, it will probably help him. He’s in medical sales. I’ve seen the women that go into pharmaceutical sales. The men are definitely at a disadvantage. Looking like a Chippendales dancer will probably help him out.
    • The 3-6-3 workout is a reminder of the Glory Days of the Gnarly Nutria. It was introduced at the Birdcage a week after the World beat Uptown 363-360 at the second annual GN. #NeverForget. The humiliation the Uptown felt doing that workout also lead to a 2nd World victory at GN III. But it’s been dark times for the World ever since the Northshore got too big for their britches and decided to go it alone. Here’s to a return to the glory days.