F3 New Orleans

Tag: Grandmothers House

  • Carpe Diem Convergence

    The F3 Nation knew about YHC before YHC knew about the F3 Nation.  You see, YHC’s brother-in-law, Lynchpin, lives in Charlotte.  In the early days, before the F3 Nation planted its flag in NOLA, Lynchpin routinely and enthusiastically regaled YHC with stories of legendary beatdowns and CSAUPs, tongue in cheek nicknames, funny exercise names and other F3 lore.  Then, when F3 decided to expand to NOLA, Lynchpin tried to EH YHC, but YHC begged off.  It all sounded, well to be honest, like a cult and how could YHC trust Lynchpin anyway?  After all, he married YHC’s sister.  Ugh.  But resistance was futile.  The NOLA PAX crossed Lake Pontchartrain in its Durham boat, Reluctant Yankee at the helm like George Washington crossing the Delaware. Nacho and Chewy fell in upon the PAX’s arrival and, together, they planted the shovel flag in the Gloom on April 9, 2016.  F3 Northshore was born.  How could YHC resist a free workout in his own backyard?

    A few weeks later, the NOLA PAX boarded their Durham boat and retreated back across the Lake, leaving the Northshore PAX to make the most of their gift of F3.  We stumbled about, we made mistakes, we created a new AO only to abandon it a few weeks later, and we had more than a few beatdowns with one or two PAX.  Somehow, however, we made it and two years later look forward to seeing one another regularly to suffer and have fun together.

    As this morning’s two year anniversary convergence approached and YHC learned that the weather more likely than not would be awful, there was no concern.  Two years of meeting rain or shine, hot or cold, left no doubt in YHC’s mind that the PAX would post.  And post they did.  And you know what?  The weather held off just long enough for us to celebrate our birthday with a 3 hour beatdown, visiting 5 of 6 Northshore AOs by the mechanical device known as the bicycle.

    Mandeville Lakefront:  4 burpees OYO, 19 SSHs IC, 20 IWs IC, and 16 Seal Jacks IC.

    Captain’s Cove:  4 vertical jumps OYO, 19 Copperhead Squats IC, 20 Sumo Squats IC, and 16 Regular Squats IC.

    Milestone Marsh: 4 plyo Merkins OYO, 19 Merkins IC, 20 Shoulder Taps IC, 16 slow seconds Mission Impossible.

    At this point, Chewy politely pointed out that he had figured out what YHC was up to with the count but that our birthday is April 9, 2016, not April 19, 2016.  Point well taken.

    Grandmother’s House:  4 Sister Mary Katherine’s OYO, 9 front to back lunges IC, 20 45 degree lunges IC, and 16 later lunges IC.

    And then, after a 10 mile mosey on the Tammany Trace to Covington:

    The Gipper:  4 Freddy Mercury’s IC, 9 Freddy Flutters IC, 20 Hello Dolly’s IC, and 16 Flutter Kicks IC.

    Then we mounted our bikes for the 10 mile ride back to the shovel flag for the countorama, nameorama, Shooter’s prayer and a coffeeteria, arriving about an hour later than anticipated.  No one will confuse YHC for a Swiss train conductor after this morning’s logistics, that’s for sure.

    Thanks for letting me lead, guys, and thanks for your willingness to try something different and new and for posting despite the threatening weather and actually being disappointed it didn’t pour on us.

    Some parting thoughts:

    We’ve come a long way on the Northshore.  Things have become almost comfortable and, while there’s a lot of positive to that sentiment, there are dangers too.  We could stop growing.

    So here’s a call to action.  Commit to EH’ing more FNGs and supporting them through their virgin post so that they return.  Commit to Q’ing more workouts, putting time into planning your Qs, and posting timely BackBlasts.  Commit to a CSAUP.  Commit to making yourself better and leading by example, always keeping your eyes open for growth and leadership in all three of the Fs.  If we want F3 Northshore to grow, then we are the ones that need to make it happen.

    Carpe Diem.

     

     

     

     

  • Purple Rain

    If you live in Old Mandeville, and are up at odd hours like the men of F3, then you’ve surely noticed the otherworldly purple glow emanating from sky in the center of town.  Many have been beckoned by this glow, called upon to find out just what exactly is this heavenly luminescence?  And YHC can assure you, all were as disappointed as I was to discover that it was simply the car wash at the corner of Florida and Girod.  Effective marketing, though.

    But before I left the comfort of my home and saw the purple rain, my half-asleep wife asked me on my way out, “You guys still work out in this rain?”  The implication being, Well, maybe you work out in a light drizzle.  But a downpour like this?  That stopped me for a moment.  YHC has been in F3 for a year and a half now, and my wife doesn’t know the ‘rain or shine’ motto of F3 nation?  Hard to believe.  I guess I’ll have to double down on my efforts to post on rainy mornings in 2018.

    Luckily, though, Shooter and Chewy know the opportunities that a morning like this one provides, and were out there ready to go:

    Warm-Up: SSH, Seal Jacks, Windmills, IWs, Peter Parkers, Parker Peters, Plank Jacks, Nolan Ryans L / R, all IC, 20x.

    The Thang:  First up, a Dirty McDeuce.  YHC used to attempt to plan out all 12 exercises, but upon realizing the limits of my memory these days, I’ve determined the best course of action is to simply wing it.  So these may not be exactly right, but it went something like this:

    Merkins / Shoulder Taps / Lunges, all 12x IC.  Sprint half the corridor & back, sprint full corridor, up stairs and back.

    Burpees (12 oyo) / Mountain Climbers / Squats, 12x IC.  Sprints / stairs.

    Hand-release Merkins (thanks Turbo) / Absolution (killer 8 count exercise) / Slow-squat Jumps, 12x IC.  Sprints / stairs.

    Bodybuilders / Peter Parkers / Sister Mary Katherine’s, 12x IC. Sprints / stairs.

    Next up, onward to the benches for an old favorite: Freak Nasties IC, Lateral Jumps over Bench (oyo), Step Ups R / L, all 12x.  Then, more Freak Nasties IC, Knee Ups R / L, Bulgarian Splits R / L, all 12x.  And finally, Freak Nasties, Derkins, 12x IC.  This probably killed our chances of competing with Grundy in today’s ISI challenge (the likelihood of which was very slim to begin with).

    Mary: Mosey back to the stage for the finale, Hurricane Hoedown, a descending circuit of flutter kicks.  Start off seated, slightly reclined – 7x, IC.  Move to standard flutter, 7x, IC.  Then hands behind head, Freddie-flutters, 7x IC.  Back to first position, now 6x IC, eventually working our way all the way down.  With a minute to spare, we knocked out some Crunchy Frogs, did the countdown, nameorama, and Shooter prayed us out.  Thank you guys for posting in the rain and giving me the opportunity to lead, it really was pleasure!

  • Can there ever really be too much foreplay?

    We could get the M’s to weigh in on this one, but YHC believes we all know the answer: there can never be too much foreplay, so long as it doesn’t interfere with the thang.  The PAX clearly agrees, with Shooter now traveling on foot to AO’s, Carpool continuing his streak of foreplay before each beatdown, and the Pelican – nixing the cigarette and cuddling – and opting instead for a little extra mileage afterplay.  These guys don’t need tips from Cosmo to get things going…

    Started things off with:

    10x – 8 Count Bodybuilders / Windmills, IW’s / 10 bodybuilders / SSH, Seal Jacks / 10 bodybuilders / High knees, butt kicks / 10 bodybuilders

    T-claps to Turtle who has now made 2 consecutive beatdown after his lengthy hiatus of hunting deer, ducks, gators, turtles, coons, otters, nutrias, squirrels, mice… essentially, anything that moves (legal, of course -no outlaw activity here – anything legal that moves).  Of course, with his return comes growing pains, not just for him but for the entire PAX.  YHC’s goal is to put a hurt on and see if anything slows down his mouth, but again, this is a question I believe we all know the answer to. (Nope.)

    So… mosey to the grassy amphitheater for a COP.: Jack Webb’s, 1:4 ratio, up to 10:40

    Then onward to the tunnel on pain for a partner routine using the hill: P1 runs backwards up, forward down, to then flapjack with P2 who is doing jump squats.  Then monkey humpers.  Then burpees.

    Mosey back with just enough time for Mary: crunchy frogs, leg raises, Putin’s, LBC’s, Freddie Mercs, Hello Dolly’s, all 20x IC

    Countdown, nameorama, Choppa prayed us out.  Thanks for letting me lead!

  • Celebrity Q

    Much like POTUS’ final season of Celebrity Apprentice which starred the likes of Geraldo Rivera and Ian Ziering, this morning’s Celebrity Q brought the biggest names of the Northshore PAX out of retirement.  Along with the return of Turtle came the long-awaited return of founding-father Nacho, as well as Ocho and Choppa.  It was also Tanked Up’s first foray into Grandmother’s House.  Had this beatdown been broadcast, it surely would’ve been a ratings bonanza. Like, totally huge.

    In keeping with Turtle’s dislike of rules and regulations (see Krazy Ivan disqualification for reference), the Q had us skip the warm-up portion of the beatdown and head straight into some shoulder work.  (Spoiler: there would be a lot of shoulder work.  In fact, that was the only thing Turtle had planned for us this morning.)

    The Thang: 40 merkins OYO, followed by shoulder taps 25x IC, arm circles forward 20x IC, reverse 20xIC, and air presses 40x IC.  Not sure at all about those numbers, even though YHC was the one doing the counting.  (Another Turtle thing, he has yet to conquer counting in cadence…)

    Round 2: After YHC deliberately disregarded the Q’s request for only 15x IC Shoulder Taps, the Q wrested back control of the beatdown and finally tried counting in cadence for himself.  Air presses 20x IC, arm circles forward and reverse 15x IC, and finally, 15x merkins OYO.

    Then a mosey through the woods to the tunnel, where the PAX circled up for… merkins, shoulder taps, air presses, and arm circles!  Then Turtle turned the Q over to YHC, who attempted to show the PAX a new 8-count exercise that consisted of a groiner (1-2), down into an elbow plank (3-4), plank jack (5-6), and back up to normal plank (or “F3 Plank,” as the Q today would call it).  This was semi-successful, as Tanked Up seemed to have it down.  So it’d be a partner routine, with P1 doing the 8-count exercise described above, and P2 sprinting have the tunnel, back-pedaling the rest, and doing 10 jump squats before returning in the same manner he came.  YHC had planned a few rounds with various exercises, but again, Turtle did not like the way things were proceeding and decided it was time to head to the bus stop for some leg work.

    Knee Ups, each leg 15x IC, Freak Nasties 15x IC, Bulgarian Splits, each leg 15x IC, Freaks, 15x IC.

    And the grand finale – turning the Q over to Choppa for 5 minutes of Mary: Crunchy Frogs, Flutter Kicks, Hello Dollies, Jane Fondas (L&R), and some merkins to bring it back full circle.  All to some intense music that I’m pretty sure is used for action movie trailers.

    Nameorama, countdown, and Turtle closed it down with a thoughtful prayer.  T-claps to all the men who made it back after such a long hiatus, it really was a lot of fun seeing you guys again.

  • Getting Dirty at Grandmother’s House

    A little late-night rain and some warmer temperatures (in the 50’s!) made things a little sloppy over at Grandma’s house this morning.  Sloppy enough that Pelican requested a move onto the concrete for our warm-up.  Sure, why not.  We were gonna get dirty in other ways… (namely, by kicking the thang off with a Dirty McDeuce).  But first:

    Warm Up: Seal Jacks, Windmills, SSH’s, IW’s, Good Mornings, High Knees, Butt Kicks, all 20x IC.  Mosey over to the stage for…

    The Thang:

    Dirty McDeuce:

    Merkins, Lunges, Flutter Kicks, x12 IC.  Run a lap around the small amphitheater.

    Catalina Wine Mixers, Squats, Freddie Mercs, 12x IC.  Run a lap.

    Werkins, Squat Jumps, LBC’s, 12x IC.  Run a lap.

    Burpees (12 OYO), Sister Mary Katherine’s, Sit-Ups, 12x IC.  Then mosey to the corridor for:

    Partner Sprints: P1 performs shoulder taps while P2 sprints there and back.  Flapjack.  Next up, P1 does plank jacks while P2 sprints, flapjack, and finally, merkins/sprints.

    A couple of 10 counts later, and the PAX is ready to lunge walk the length of that same corridor.  Upon completion, everyone attempts to pick the most stable of the rotting benches for a set of Freak Nasties, 20x IC.  Then back to the corridor for Lt. Dans across, with an ascending squat count.

    Lastly, Animals on Parade: Duck Walk, Bear Crawl, and Bunny Hops down the corridor.

    Circle up for an extended (8 minutes of) Mary: Flutter Kicks, Freddie Mercs, LBC’s, Putins (Hammers), Leg Raises, all 20x IC, with Big Boy Sit-Ups (20 OYO) to bring it home.

    Countdown, nameorama, naming of FNG Penguin, welcome… oh wait, that’s just Pelican, he forgot his name… and Shooter prayed us out.

    Thank you gentlemen, had fun this morning.

  • 22% Do I NEED TO SAY MORE!!!

    Man I hate to admit this publicly but this Q on this day was really hoping to have a bunch of fart sackers so I myself could go back to my warm house!!! Sitting in my truck posting my soon to be morning routine on Facebook wondering if I’m helping or hurting F3 chances of getting any new FNG’s. Posting at 4:45am in 22% weather might or should I say probably sounds crazy to most! But the second thing I realized is how strong the fellowship is to bring brothers together in such extreme temperatures to get in a good beat down. There truly is no other group like F3!!!
    Thanks again Captain Sparkles

    Now for Warm ups in cadence
    40 Side straddle hops
    20 windmills
    20 Imperial walkers
    20 Butt kicks
    20 High Knees
    20 LBC’s
    20 Putin’s or American hammers

    The Thang

    5 times up down the stairs

    Up stairs every step doing the number of calf raises that coincides with the step your on. Step one 1 calf raise step two 2 calf raises step fifteen 15 calf raises all the way to step 27. That’s 378 calf raises.

    Down steps same thing except squats. That’s 378 squats

    3 times up down the stairs jog pace.

    20 Merkins on your own.

    Lung walk to end of covered trace area.

    Mosey to bus stop for
    10 box jumps on benches
    10 Freak Nasty’s
    10 box jumps
    10 Freak Nasty’s
    10 box jumps
    10 Freak Nasty’s

    Then hands on bench hoping over bench together on Q’s count to 15

    Mosey back to Flag area for the finish

    10 in cadence LBC
    10 in cadence Putin’s
    10 in cadence flutter kicks

    Holding legs 6” above ground for count to 60 ok that was to easy again

    Holding legs 6” above ground for 60 mississippi Little harder.