F3 New Orleans

Tag: KimChi

  • Hamilton v Burr

    As many New Orleanians might be aware, Hamilton has been playing at The Saenger for a 3 week run. As many F3ians might be aware, Da Parish and Rudy have a thing for musicals. So of course, the Hamilton workout was an obvious combination. And a plot was hatched – only publicized to those PAX that were In The Room Where It Happened….. So Hamilton and Burr signed up to Q the Mothership and Muscleship.

    6:29am, PAX loitering around both flags wondering who was stepping forward to claim the Q. Especially loud grumbling at the Mothership flag from Jingle Vader, who repeatedly expressed his dislike for all things in Pop Culture.

    6:30am, Rudy at Mothership and Parish at Muscleship give the disclaimers to PAX (most of whom seemed to be saying “Yeah, I figured.”). And both PAX took off to meet at the flag standing by a large box in the field in front of the museum.

    And what was in the box? No – this isn’t a Brad Pitt “What’s in the Box?” scene. Instead, it was the exercise gear for the Qs…

    And all the PAX grumbled and groaned, but still circled up in one large combined workout circle.

    The Warmup – Qs alternating exercise callouts

    • 16 SSH (Hamilton was 16 on arrival to US)
    • 7 Burpees OYO as we begin spelling out Burr
    • 21 Imperial Walkers (Hamilton was 21 when he became aide to Washington
    • Up/Downs to Burr’s cadence
    • 30 Peter Parkers (Hamilton was 30 at the Constitutional Convention
    • Rocky Balboas to more of Burr cadence

    Then (thanks to Mahatma’s good advice), PAX numbered off. 1s go with Hamilton (Rudy), 2s go with Burr (Parish). The Q vs Q Showdown begins…

    Burr – Round 1

    Dora 1-2-3 to Aaron Burr, Sir & My Shot. Pax 1 will perform the exercise while Pax 2 Burr Crawls to the 2nd tree & back.

    • Floyd Mayweather x 100 (2=1) – Hamilton upon meeting Burr advised he had recently punched the bursar of Princton
    • Squats x 200 – Burr advises Hamilton, Laurens, Mulligan & Lafayette that he’d rather sit than stand for the revolution
    • American Hammer x 300 – Hamilton does not throw away his shot and drops his American Hammer on Burr, Lafayette, Laurens & Mulligan

    MerKING Wave/Burr Crawl to You’ll be Back

    • While PlanKING during the song sung by King George, pax will do a MerKING wave (1 merkin performed in a wave around the circle). When the last pax merks, the entire circle will Burr Crawl clockwise 1 rotation. Repeat the MerKING wave with 2 merks, Burr Crawl, etc until song is complete.

    Mary to the song Guns & Ships.

    • Hold out your gun at Yorktown by holding a James Bond for :30 center/left/righ
    • Yorktown would not have been a victory w/out the French ships in the harbor. Hold your Boat/Canoe for :30 and finish out the song.

    Hamilton – Round 1

    Hamiltabata. 8 exercises, 45 seconds high intensity, 15 seconds of rest. To the songs Alexander Hamilton and My Shot

    • Happy Jacks (5 SSH, 2 Squat Jumps)
    • Absolution (8 count plank-position exercise)
    • Merkins
    • Imperial Squat Walkers
    • Lunges
    • T-Merkins
    • Outlaw
    • No Surrender (aka “The Genuflect”, in F3 Nola lexicon)

    20 Count

    To the 2:30 song Aaron Burr: Burpees. OYO. Go. Until the song ends. Yes, grumbly PAX – I mean it. Till the song ends.

    20 Count

    Mosey to the fountain for a version of the Cabinet Battle.

    • PAX 1 planks
    • PAX 2 dips x30 – with feet on PAX 1 back.
    • Flapjack.
    • Flapjack for x20
    • Flapjack for x10

    Interlude

    Both groups met at the lawn, and switched. Now the 2s go with Hamilton and the 1s go with Burr.

    Burr – Round 2

    Take a Break while we mosey to the Foundry

    Time for an amRAP Battle while we hear Cabinet Battle #1

    • 5 Pull ups, 10 Merkins, 15 Squats, Repeat until song is complete (3:35)

    How are you going to Say No To This first American Political Sex Scandal. Hamilton was being extorted by James Reynolds while Hamilton had sex with his wife Maria. The first time it happened Hamilton gave Maria $30. Perform 30 reps (IC) of these 3 Big Sexy Exercises

    • Pickle Pounders
    • Wife Pleasers
    • Monkey Humpers

    Mosey back to the flag…Mr Burr has business to settle with Hamilton. Your Obedient Servant

    Hamilton – Round 2

    Same as Round 1. Equal amounts of grumbling about the burpees. Some members of this group seemed to have an entirely different perspective on the Plank/Dip combo. Rudy suggests the Uptowners pull their minds out of the gutter.

    Rudy does note that this routine was significantly harder the 2nd time around….

    The Duel

    All PAX meet back at the flag for the final 10-Count Duel. Qs alternate calling an exercise, making a ladder.

    • 1 Burpee
    • 2 Squat Jumps (then 1 Burpee)
    • 3 Merkins (then 2 Squat Jumps, then 1 Burpee. You get the idea…)
    • 4 Lunges
    • 5 Country Crabs
    • 6 Dr W
    • 7 X Fit Merkins
    • 8 Box Cutters
    • 9 Turkish Getups
    • 10 Rise Ups – Hold a Squat while Q counts down from 5, squat Jump, immediately return to Squat.

    And with that, the F3 NOLA Tribute to Hamilton comes to a merciful close. Just a few minutes overtime.

    Countoff and Name-o-rama, welcoming our new FNG Water Boy (named quickly before the uptowners could start suggesting based on Water Boy’s pronounced profession of selling Industrial Hoses).

    Upcoming F1 / F2 this Thursday night at Greenway (6:30) and Wrong Iron (7:00).

    Intentions called out, ask all of us to offer our own prayers for the intentions (spoken and otherwise) for all of our brother PAX. Finally, circle up for our closing prayer. Offer of thanksgiving for the glorious day God has given us, and for the grace of His wisdom to use this gift wisely.

    Rudy and DaParish both thank the PAX for their merciful tolerance of this workout.

    We have the honor to be your obedient servants….A dot Ham….A dot Burr.

  • Maybe we should sit around & talk about our feelings

    It was chilly, rainy & dark when I got out of bed on Saturday morning, so I was dragging my feet a little to get dressed. On the Mumblechatter, Tool & Kimchi posted messages to get the PAX motivated to get out of bed & come post. While the LV fellas (Kuch, Half Nelson, Abacus & High Rise) & myself were clown carring to the AO, we bounced some workout ideas off of each other. One idea was to avoid the rain altogether & head strait to Navarre café so that the PAX could all drink coffee & share their respective feelings with one another in lieu of working out in the cold/rain. Once I saw Mahatma arrive at the workout, I knew this option would be a tough sell, so I proceeded to commence the beatdown.

    Warmup: We mosey’d to the pavilion by CBS; circled up, and then proceeded to do the following in cadence:

    • side straddle hops – 20
    • imperial squat walkers – 20
    • plank jacks – 20
    • high knees – 20

    Next, we split into 2 groups. Group 1 moved to 1 side of the pavilion, and group 2 moved to the other side:

    Group 1:

    • 10 inchworm burpees
    • 50 big boy sit ups
    • 100 seal jacks

    Group 2:

    • 10 regular burpees
    • 50 dips on the benches
    • 200 shoulder taps

    Group 1 did their exercises in cadence, and then made sure that Group 2 was aware that they finished their exercises first. We then switched sides / exercises. For this round, Group 2 did their exercises in cadence (loudly to jab back at Group 1), and Group 2 finished first. Group 1 pointed out that Group 2 did LBC’s instead of big boy sit ups, and that’s why they finished first. This was in part (and by, in part, I mean 100%) the Q’s fault, as I mistakenly said LBC’s to Group 2 when giving the instructions for round 2.

    Next we attempted to do a long jump / inchworm burpee combo, but it was too wet/slick in the pavilion, so we shut that down and mosey’s back to the fountain. Once at the fountain, we did an interval exercise where the PAX did 1 box jump on the fountain, ran to the museum steps, bunny hopped up the steps, did 1 merkin at the top of the steps, then ran down the steps back to the fountain. Once at the fountain, the PAX did 2 box jump, ran to the museum steps, bunny hopped up the steps, did 2 merkins at the top of the steps, then ran down the steps back to the fountain. We did this until we got to 10 box jumps / 10 merkins.

    Next, the PAX mosey’d to the side of the museum & proceeded to do the following:

    • Group 1 – people’s chair on the wall
    • Group 2 – 200 Rocky Balboas (timer)

    Once Group 2 finished the Rocky Balboas, we switched and had Group 1 do the Rocky Balboas & Group 2 lean against the wall to do the people’s chair. At one point, Rudy questioned Mahatma’s cadence technique while he was leading Group 2 in doing the Rocky Balboas, but ultimately the math checked out & we proceeded on with the workout

    Next, we mosey’d to the grass & did the following:

    • Lunge walk / inchworm burpee combo from Tree 0 to Tree 1 & back
    • Bear Crawl from Tree 0 to Tree 2; do 31 squats (not sure where the number 31 came from, it just felt like the right amount); and then Bear Crawl back

    Lastly, we headed back to the fountain & did the following in cadence:

    • Irkins – 21
    • Dips – 16
    • Left leg high knee step up – 21
    • Right leg high knee step up – 21
    • Dirkins – 16
    • Plank jacks on museum steps – 31 (there’s that 31 again for no particular reason. Classic)

    Once completed, we mosey’d to the flag for the count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions & prayer. Thanks for posting on Saturday morning, fellas. I enjoyed it!

  • The Running Ship

    Today’s the day for the inaugural Muscle Ship at City Park, so YHC decided to emphasize the difference between the workouts – for one day, the Mothership became the Running Ship. As the 15 PAX gathered in the gloom (after a brisk 3 mile pre-thang run) YHC gave notice that we would be running. We would to a quick fly-by and give any PAX the opportunity to join the loafers, if they wanted. With that warning, and a disclaimer, off to the races.

    First run to the lawn in front of NOMA for the warm-up:

    • SSH x25
    • Peter Parker x25
    • Parker Peter x25
    • Shoulder Touches x25
    • Mountain Climber x25

    Then run some more (looky by the lake, there’s a group of 16 men who appear to be laying down. I think I see yoga mats too), heading towards Roosevelt Mall.

    At the foot of Roosevelt Mall, Heisenberg chooses Merkins for the Route 66 exercise. Go. 11 benches to visit, 66 merkins. Plank up by the entry to the track.

    Time for an old favorite of YHC: The Dirty McDeuce. 3 exercises, 12 reps. Upper Body, Core, Legs. Then a lap. Repeat x4.

    • Merkins, Penguins, Squats (YHC struggled mightily with cadence counting). 1 lap.
    • Stagger Merkins, Dying Cockroaches, Low Slow Squats. 1 lap.
    • Stagger Merkins, LBT, Monkey Humpers. 1 lap.
    • Floyd Mayweather, Flutter Kicks, Jump Squats. 1 lap.

    Slowsey towards the pole-vault mat, half-way along the straight away. Partner up for the game of “Catch Me If You Can”. PAX 1 sprints half way round the track. PAX 2 moseys across the field to meet the sprinter. Tag up and reverse (PAX2 sprints, PAX1 moseys back). Repeat repeat repeat for 8 mins.

    Slowsey to the Refinery for 5 stations: Burpees, Jump the Green Snake, Pull Ups, Derkins and Hanging Knee Raises. 12 Burpees is the timer.

    Getting late, so lets mosey back to the flag. Stop half-way to get the group back together – doing Monkey Humpers while waiting for the 6. Then again at the flag, Monkey Humpers for the 6.

    All told, 4.1 miles earned towards RRR this am.

    Close out by remembering our PAX struggling with illness and deaths among family and close friends. Finish out with St. Ignatius Prayer for Generosity.

  • What we learned from BlackHawk Down…

    A beautiful, crisp Saturday morning for the Mothership, with a quick disclaimer we ….circled up.

    For the last couple of weeks, YHC has been thinking about events that have occurred in our F3 family. These include Terrabyte’s passing, illness with our F3 brother’s loved ones and the impending closure of Morning Call and loss of employment, at least temporarily, for our faithful waiter, Mike. As YHC was preparing for his Q at the Mothership during the week, YHC noticed an old favorite movie had been added to Netflix, Black Hawk Down. This film is about the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in the early nineties which resulted in the death of 19 American Soldiers, YHC noted some explicit themes in the movie such as “No Man Left Behind” and “We fight for the man next to you”. There was also some implicit themes including no man is on his own. Clearly, all of these themes are echoed in the F3 credo “Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you found him”. So in honor of the 19 American Soldiers who died in Mogadishu and all of our F3 Brothers going through tough and uncertain times, this Mothership beatdown will have no OYO exercises. One other note on Blackhawk Down, in the movie there was multiple references to “chalks”. After some quick research with the source of all sources, Wikipedia, a “chalk” in military terminology is a group of troops (think platoon) in an airborne assault. PAX, count off 1, 2, 3, 4 and form up into Chalks 1, 2, 3 and 4. This will be your group throughout the workout. Each Chalk designate a Chalk Q and grab a Flag.

    Mosey to Great Lawn for Warm Up

    Form rows of by chalk starting with Chalk 1 then Chalk 2 followed by Chalk 3 and 4.  Chalks try to stay in formation  Let’s begin:

    All exercises until Q yells Halt

    • Walking Soldiers
    • High Knees
    • Butt Kicks
    • Carioca

    Circle up for additional warm-up:

    • Self Love I/C X20
    • Imperial Walkers I/C X20
    • Hillbillies I/C X20

    Form your Chalks into circles on the Great Lawn for the next thang… Bear Crawl Ring of Fire:

    • Bearcrawl Counter-Clockwise till Q yells halt
      • 10 merkins in ring of fire fashion starting with the PAX to the left of the Chalk Q
    • Bearcrawl Clockwise
      • 10 wide merks Bearcrawl Counter-Clockwise till Q yells halt

    Let’s increase the difficulty!

    • Boo Boo Bearcrawl Counterclockwise Right Leg Up
      • 10 staggered right merkins in ring of fire fashion starting with the PAX to the left of the Chalk Q
    • Boo Boo Bearcrawl Clockwise Left Leg Up
      • 10 staggered left merkins in ring of fire fashion starting with the PAX to the left of the Chalk Q

    Chalks grab flag, form columns and march to road in front of Storyland.  Line up chalks in four columns facing towards museum for Indian Runs to Fountain. 

    At Fountain circle up staying with your Chalk for Red Hot Chili Pepper:

    • Right Leg Step Ups x 16; Decline Merkins x 8; Left Leg Step Ups x 16; Incline Merkins x 8
    • Right Leg Step Ups x 12; Decline Merkins x 6; Left Leg Step Ups x 12; Incline Merkins x 6
    • Right Leg Step Ups x 8; Decline Merkins x 4; Left Leg Step Ups x 8; Incline Merkins x 4
    • Right Leg Step Ups x 4; Decline Merkins x 2; Left Leg Step Ups x 4; Incline Merkins x2

    Next, down Lelong Drive for more Indian Runs in Chalks.  T-claps to Chalk 3 for hanging back to keep their chalk together.  Now you’re getting the idea!

    Mosey in Chalk to side of NOMA and partner up in Chalk for O.P.P.

    One PAX does OH Claps (O) in People’s Chair (P) while the other PAX does 20 Plank Jacks (P) Flapjack till Q yells halt.  These were done in 2 count cadence.  Let’s try to stay together on cadence Chalks!

    Time is running out so grab Flags and mosey in Chalk columns to great lawn for:

    Quick Mary:

    • Flutter Kicks I/C X20
    • Hello Dolly I/C X20

    Times up so circle around Flags in Great Lawn for CoT

    Count-Off, Name-o-rama (1 FNG who was named Twin Span as he’s from Slidell), Intentions and Prayer.

    T-claps to all the PAX who did the daily double, the Mothership and Krazy Ivan.  Southshore brought the Freedom Hammer home!

    Thank you PAX for embracing the Beatdown’s theme of no man is “on his own” in F3.  As we all go through life’s ups and downs, it feels good to know that we have our F3’ brothers to watch our six.  We are truly our Brother’s Keeper!

    NM Moleskin

    For 4 years, the PAX have been enjoying F2 and F3 at the Morning Call in City Park after the Mothership.  For most if not all of those coffeetaria’s, we have arrived to ice cold water to refresh us and been served “Hot” au laits, “Cold” iced coffees and for a brave few “Hot Black” coffees by our faithful waiter Mike.  We all know that this past weekend was the last for Morning Call and there is some uncertainty whether Mike will come back with Café du Monde.  Even if he does, he will be out of work for at least a month.  So in true F3 fashion, an operation was drummed up.  In a short week, what became known as Operation Big Tip was put into full effect to thank Mike for all of his service to the PAX.  The PAX raised $349 for Mike and a Framed Picture signed by the PAX was delivered at Coffeetaria.  YHC even noticed a tear in Mike’s eye.   The PAX should be proud of their efforts.  This is the best of F3. 

  • Amnesty’s New Sneaks

    Amnesty made a special request for a dry workout. He recently purchased some new sneaks, and hoped to keep them mud free. The request was honored. After all, it’s Amnesty. His new neon green sneakers offered a beacon of light on this gloomy morning. 13 men showed up for the challenge. The usual disclaimer and off we go.


    Warm-up COP:

    SSH x 20 IC, IW x 20 IC, Plank Jacks, x 20 IC, Windmills x 10 IC, Arm Circles 10 forward 10 backward IC, Mountain climbers x 20 IC

    Route 66 down Roosevelt Mall: Dips. 5 dips at first bench, increase 1 dip each bench, ending at 17.

    Next we moseyed to NOMA.

    Right leg power-ups x 20 IC, Left leg power-ups x 20 IC. Then a Merkin ladder up the steps of NOMA, with 8 Merkins on the bottom step and 1 Merkin at the top. Back to the fountain for 10 box jumps, right leg step-ups x 20 IC, left leg step-ups x 20 IC. And back to the steps to repeat another Merkin ladder.

    Next, partner up for Dora 1-2-3. 100 Floyd Mayweathers, 200 Squats, 300 LBC’s, while the other Pax runs around NOMA.

    Then we moseyed back to the flag, stopping halfway for some Mary. Flutter kicks x 20 IC, Hello Dolly x 20 IC, Dying cockroach x 20 IC. We ended back at the flag, and succeeded in our mission. We kept Amnesty’s sneakers dry. Count-off, Name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Tribute to Terabyte at the Mothership

    F3 lost one of its own earlier in the week. Terabyte was a caring leader that pushed himself, and inspired other pax to become better. He will be missed.

    YHC stated that we will carry a flag for our fallen pax as we trudged through the AO. We will sweat, push ourselves, and feel pain. In this way, we will honor him, ’cause that’s what we do. 40 men, including 3 FNG’s, were ready to go.

    Brief disclaimer, then pick up the flag and mosey to the Great lawn for the warmup

    SSH IC x 52 (Terabyte was only 52)
    IW IC x 15
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Arm Circles IC x 10 Fwd x 10 Bwd
    Peter Parker IC x 20
    Shoulder Taps IC x 20
    Parker Peter IC x 20
    Mountain Climber IC x 20
    Recover, pick up the flag, and mosey….

    Stop just short of the Bridge at Lagoon Number 11 on our way toward City park Avenue
    10 Burpees OYO
    Mosey across the bridge and find an open space near City park Avenue
    Monkey Humpers IC x 20
    10 Burpees OYO
    Mosey along to the next open green space
    LBC’s IC x 20
    10 Burpees OYO
    Mosey to the entrance to NOMA at Lelong Drive
    Dying Cockroach IC x 20
    10 Burpees OYO (there was much mumblechatter by this time)
    Mosey to the Tree line near NOMA
    YHC asked how may burpees left? We have smart Pax! 12 it is!
    12 Burpees OYO which brings us to 52. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have more Burpees!

    Mosey to the Fountain at NOMA
    Dips IC x 20
    RL Step Up IC x 15
    Incline Merkin IC x 10
    LL Step Up IC x 15

    Dips IC x 10
    RL Step Up IC x 15
    Decline Merkin IC x 10
    LL Step Up IC x 10

    Mosey to the tree line
    Sprint to first tree and back – 5 burpees
    Sprint to second tree and back – 5 burpees – plank and wait for the six

    Starting at first tree, Burpee Broad Jump to third tree.

    YHC requested Triple Shift to help explain the next exercise. Triple Shift had previously introduced the Genuflect and YHC wanted to incorporate it in. Genuflect from third tree back to first tree.
    Left knee down, right knee down, left knee up, right knee up, then lunge walk one step. Now do two genuflects followed by two lunge steps, then three……etc.

    Mosey back to the Great Lawn for Mary:
    LBC’s IC x 30
    Tin Snips IC x 20
    Hello Dolly IC x 20
    Flutter Kicks IC x 20
    American Hammer IC x 10

    Plank for one minute
    Recover, pick up the flag, and return to the other flags for the COT

    Count off, Name-O-Rama, Announcement, and ended with a prayer.

    Welcome Bingo Knight, Offsides, and CareBear! Great job on the EH’ing guys! We have had big numbers at the AO’s lately, let’s keep it going!

    The Celebration of Life for Terabyte, aka Sidney Modica, will be held on Monday January 14th where visitation begins at 0900 with service to follow at 1030 at:
    Victory Fellowship
    5708 Airline Hwy
    Metairie, LA 70003

    If you have a flag or a ruck sack, please bring. Terabyte loved being part of F3, and we loved having him.

    SYITG





  • Championship Monday

    Championship Monday

    Clemson vs Alabama
    January 7th, 2019

    For may this was just a normal Monday. For YHC, this is Championship Monday! The Alabama Crimson Tide vs. that orange team in South Carolina. Living in New Orleans, I have come to obtain a lot of respect for the boys in Baton Rouge, but at Rock City, there seems to be a lot of mumble chatter about the Fighting Irish. The Irish live by one motto:

    Image result for work like a champion everyday

    Unfortunately, playing like a champion at times gets you a point in the loss column, but hey at least they look good doing it. Alabama, on the other hand, has learned to be champions in everything they do, every day. Championships don’t start on the football field. Champions try to push themselves in everything. Coach Saban said it best:

    Image result for work like a champion everyday alabama

    So today the disclaimer--work like a champion. For YHC, that ended at the warm-up.

    Warm-Up

    SSH X 18…no make that 20.

    Hillbillies X 0 (now this where the train really derailed) Q can’t call a cadence to save his life. “Must be from Bama,” they said.

    Mountain Climbers X 25

    Arm Circles X 10 (forwards and backwards)

    The important thing to remember is that champions sometimes have to take one on the chin first. Like in 2009, when the #1 ranked Alabama had to block a field goal at the end of the game to beat unranked Tennessee 12-10.

    Or when the 2011 Alabama team got cheated out of a 9-6 game at home against LSU (I still argue OJ Howard caught that ball on the goal line)…

    Or when the 2012 Alabama team had to recover from getting sucker punched by Johnny Football 29-24 at home…

    Or when the 2015 Alabama team lost to Ole Miss in week three 43-37…

    Or when the 2017 Alabama team lost to that cow college in the Iron Bowl…

    You get it. Sometimes champions get sucker punched, but it is not how you start it is how you finish. So let’s look beyond a botched warm-up and move on to a championship style beatdown.

    The Thang

    Grab a rock and mosey to the football field for an extended version of Dora. Pair up. As a team, complete the following:

    Curls X 250

    Squats X 200

    Rows X 150

    Shoulder Presses X 100

    Burpees X 50

    One Pax member works while the other Pax member runs a 40-yard dash and back.

    Cowbell and KimChi finished early rewarding all who finished 100 LBCs.

    Post-Thang

    The PAX really did not like this idea. “I thought that was the workout,” they moaned. (Maybe in Gainesville or Knoxville but not here).

    Bear crawl or lunge walk 20 yards and do 10 merkins, 20 more yards 10 merkins. (Rinse and Repeat).

    Return Rock and mosey back to flag.

    “We still have two minutes. On your six.”

    Flutter Kicks X 20

    Penguins X 25

    “We still have 30 seconds. I paid for 45 minutes,” said Rev Sox

    5 Burpees OYO

    COUNTERAMA

    NAMERAMA– Welcome FNG Rougarou (from Cajun Country)

    COT- Lord Jesus, allow us to seek you in everything we do. Make us the husbands, fathers, and coworkers that you have called us to be. In Jesus name, Amen.

    Gentlemen, thank you once again for allowing me to lead. I could not do the things I do without the support of my F3 Family.

  • City Park Landmark Tour & Workout – Part 3

    City Park Landmark Tour & Workout – Part 3

    28 PAX ignored the threat of rain and made it out The Mothership this Sat.  We lucked out with a “calm before the storm” as the the guys assmebled and prepared for takeoff.  YHC wanted to mix things up with an old school City Park history tour as part of the workout, similar to a few beatbowns circa 2015.  The night before had the forecast looking nasty, so the plan was to stay close to cover and hone in on a few of the iconic landmarks right there in the original part of the park.  The 1300 acre park was established in 1854 and has lots of history, great architecture, nature, wildlife, and of course trees….home to one of the largest collection of live oaks in the world.  Generations of New Orleans residents and visitors alike have enjoyed the park so it only seemed fitting to pay homage to a few things that make it a great place.  As the clock struck 5:30 we discussed the plan for the day, followed by the disclaimer, then off to….      

    First stop, The Peristyle, built in 1907 to have outdoor dances and concerts for the “well heeled” New Orleanians….some chatter from Rudy about Jingle Vader being in that category.  Using the year as the rep count, we started with Imperial Walkers x19 and Windmills x7.  

    Image result for the peristyle city park

    Then an ugly mosey around The Casino Building with some doubt from the PAX before going up and over Popp Bandstand for Stop #2 on the nearby grass. 


    With 12 granite columns and topped with a bronze dome, Popp Bandstand was named for is benefactor, John F. Popp, and is a replica of the Temple of Love in Versailles. In 1916, Popp made a donation to the park to build the Popp Bandstand which was
    completed in 1917.
    Image result for city park casino building

    The Spanish Mission Revival-style “Casino” building opened in 1913 as a place that sold refreshments. Because of that, the City Park legend says that the building originally was called a cantina, using the Spanish word for a place where food and drinks are served. In a 2008 Times-Picayune story, City Park Executive Director Beau Bassich said he believed the New Orleans dialect colloquialized the word into “casina.” However, 1913 newspaper articles do use the word “casino” to describe the new building, explaining it will be “the amusement center of the park,” though there is no mention of gambling.


    Here we circled up using 1917 and 1913 to inspire the rep count for Peter Parkers x19, Low Slow Squats x17, Mountain Climbers x19 and Arm Circles x13.  

    Then we recaped the age of the park, 164 years, with a Plank Merkin circle where all PAX held a high plank while merkins were cranked out individually in a clockwise manner up to 164 total. 

    Then a mosey over the stone bridge towards City Park Ave for a meandering jog through the oldest grove of mature live oak tress the world.  We made sure to recognize the two oldest ones by looping around McDonough Oak and then, after some doubt from the PAX about my navagation ability, made our way to the Ansmen Oak, both of which are approx 800 years old.  Here we circled up for an 8 round burpee countdown, one round for each century…Burpees x8,x7,x6,x5,x4,x3,x2,…x8 for the crowdpleaser!  More about City Park trees here: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/trees-in-city-park

    Then a mosey over the Ansmen Bridge, one of 9 built by the WPA, and back to The Peristyle where we lined up on one side for a partner circuit.  This included 8 rounds of PAX #1 performing the specified exercise across the Peristyle and back (timer) while PAX #2 stayed put with a stationary exercise.  

    1)Inchworm & Wall Sit 

    2) Bearcrawl fwd/bwd & Balls to the Wall 

    3) Duck Walk & Declined Plank

    4) Crab Walk fwd/bwd & Wall Sit 

    5) Lunge Walk & LBC

    6) Kong & Balls to the Wall

    7) Fiddler Crab & Flutter Kicks

    8) Lateral Lunge & Wall Sit 

    Next up, we couldn’t leave out the adjacent Great Lawn that has hosted countless hours of F3 beatdowns.  Built in 2010, the Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn is enjoyed by many and has seen a slew of picnics, concerts, yoga classes, and side straddle hops over the past 8 years.  So we moseyed a quick loop to the Great Lawn and back to the nearby benches for a partner circuit of:  PAX #1 Dips x20 OYO while PAX#2 runs to GL for Merkins x10 and back.  Rinse and repeat for 3 rounds total follwed by a “victory lap” around the GL topped off with planking to wait for the six. 

    Image result for city park great lawn new orleans

    Still some time left for a few more history lessons so over to the rear of The Peristyle to gaze upon the banks of Bayou Metairie.  Although it is now a landlocked lagoon, Bayou Metairie was originally a natural waterway spanning from Bayou St. John to the swampy area near what is now Old Metairie, essentially following the path of current day Metairie Rd.  Once used by the Native Americans and early settlers, the banks of the bayou gradually formed the Metairie Ridge which provided high ground for ground transportation and later development of homes.  

    Image result for bayou metairie
    Image result for bayou metairie

    Since we didn’t have a year to use for rep count, we shifted our focus to 1946, the year of the first City Park Big Bass Rodeo, which is the oldest freshwater fishing rodeo in the country.  At this point YHC had to alter the planned exercises and went with the first thing that came to mind, burpees, which really seemed to excite the PAX and peanut gallery, given the initial silence of disbelief followed by some grumbling and the “we already did enough burpees” comments.  So PAX#1 knocked out Burpees x19 while PAX #2 held a wall sit on the ledge along Bayou Metairie, which had an awkward slope not conducive to said exercise.  Then partner plank slaps, aka patty cake, holding a high plank and alternating hand slaps up to 46.

    Nearing the end of our hour, we had just enough time remaining to circle up under The Persistyle for some themed Mary.  YHC breifly talked about the various projects completed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930’s throughout City Park, including Tad Gormley Stadium, nine concrete bridges, a golf course, several art deco conrete benches, and Roosevelt Mall.   In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt came in town for the dedication ceremony.  Pics below and more info at: 
    http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/works-progress-administration-in-new-orleans-city-park 

    https://www.nola.com/living/index.ssf/2014/08/city_park_throwback_thursday.html


    In this undated archival photo, President Roosevelt chats with New Orleanian Paul Alfred Montreuil, 7, at the dedication of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mall in City Park. Also pictured: Marcel G. Montreuil, park superintendent; George Grundmann, chairman of the dedication committee and vice president of the park board; and James H. Crutcher, administrator of the WPA in Louisiana.

    Our WPA and FDR themed Mary consisted of:

    W – Weezey Jeffersons x10IC

    P – Pickle Pounders x15IC

    A – American Hammer x20IC

    F – Flutter Kicks x20IC

    D – Dying Cockroach x15IC

    R – name??? exotic exercise led by Triple Shift x25IC 

    Moseyed back to the flag with some rain for added bonus.  Capped things off with a COT and announcements.  T-claps to War Eagle for stepping up to lead the prayer.  He’s a pro at that stuff and much more eloquent in that field than YHC.  

    NMM – Thanks to the PAX for bearing with my non-professional tour guide ability and abbreviated history tidbits throughout the morning.  As always, the peanut gallery led by Rudy and others kept it entertaining.  T-claps to Mahatma and others for the occasional motivational cheers and USMC grunts to keep the PAX in high gear.  Several guys asked for links (http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park) to some of the City Park history in so I included several in this backblast, which may be one of the longest in F3 history….sorry for the long read, if you made it this far.  My wife asked if I was writing a book. 

    Thanks for the chance to lead.

    Tool     

        

  • Convergence ’18

    f3nola.com/…/uploads/2018/10/IMG_5366.mov

    In celebration of the 4 year Anniversary of the starting of F3 NOLA,  a Convergence was called at the site where it all started, the Mothership.  PAX from every AO in F3 NOLA; Northshore, Westbank, Kenner, Baton Rouge, Metairie, Mid-City, and Uptown, converged on City Park for a celebration of the past 4 years of Men growing in Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith, and the growth and success that F3 NOLA has experienced during that time.

    Rudy got the party started early with a small group that arrived at 6:30 with a quick 5K Run through City Park; around the Festival Grounds, the Lagoon and back around to meet up with waiting PAX back near the Peristyle.  8 Flags were planted in the ground at the corner of The Great Lawn and the PAX slowly began to gather.  The Detailed Disclaimer(“You can’t sue us”) was given by Triple Shift, and off we moseyed to the large lawn near NOMA.

    The Beat-down was divided into four 15 minute segments, each with a different Q taking an opportunity to lead.  Each Q was selected to represent each of the 4 years of F3’s existence.

    1st Q – Triple Shift – Led off representing the founding group that started F3 NOLA that first year

    2nd Q – Turbo Tax  – represented the 2nd year growth and addition of Northshore PAX to F3 NOLA.

    3rd Q – FracSac – represented the third year and the growth of the Metairie, and Lakeview/Mid City AO’s

    4th Q – Medulla Oblongata – YHC, represented the recent surge and growth Uptown by the recent “HNJ Invasion”

    After a quick mosey to the lawn to the side of NOMA we circled up for the a warm up.

    WARM UP  – In Cadence

    31 – Worlds Slowest, Side Straddle Hops

    10 – 6-Count Burpees

    20 – Imperial Walker Squats

    10 – Abe Vigodas

    10 – Arm Circles – Fwd & Rev

    20 – Plank Jacks

    20 – Peter Parkers

    15 – Merkins

    The Q was passed to Turbo Tax who moved the Pax over to lawn slightly closer to NOMA.  Turbo started off by asking everyone to take off their shirt and create a “Flag” by tucking it in the back of your shorts.  This generated plenty of Mumble chatter among the Pax.

    FLAG GAMES

    2 Minute Flag Games – Your shirt is your Flag, Don’t let it get pulled!

    1st Round – 2 Knee-to-Chest Jumps every time your flag gets pulled, reload and continue  pulling after jumps.

    2nd Round (x2) – Tennis Balls and a Nerf football were added as additional “Ammo”, In addition to Jumps for flag pulls, if hit with the tennis balls – 5 Merkins, hit by the football – 5 Burpees, reload flag and keep going after exercise.

    3rd Round (x2) – Same Rules as 2nd round, but no reload of flag, perform penalty exercise, Plank and wait in place till end.

    4th Round – Trophy Flags – Same rules as Round 3 but Flag puller keeps and collects flags he pulls, Person with the most flags wins.

    Not sure if anyone kept track of the winners but as Turbo Tax said we’re all WINNERS!

    The Q was then passed to FracSac.  We remained in place and lined up along the First Tree Line.

    SUICIDES

    Run to tree 1 and back 5 Burpees

    Run to tree 2 and back 5 Burpees

    Run to tree 3 and back 5 Burpees

    Run to tree 4 and back 5 Burpees

    Burpee Broad Jump to tree 1 and back

    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10

    Run to tree 1 and back 5 Merkins

    Run to tree 2 and back 5 Merkins

    Run to tree 3 and back 5 Merkins

    Run to tree 4 and back 5 Merkins

    KimChi lost his Applewatch in the Chaos that was Flag Games so we lined up and Bear crawled to the 4th tree while looking for the watch.  Not found, but later found by KimChi behind the area we bear crawled.  Crisis averted!

    The Q was passed to YHC and we moseyed back to the Great Lawn.

    CONVERGENCE CIRCUIT

    8 stations had been designated around the perimeter of the Great Lawn with a Flag positioned in the Center. Each station was marked with a sheet of paper with the exercise for each station.  The Pax was divided into groups at each station.   The Bobby Hurley station would provide the count of 20 reps,  while every other station did AMRAP of their designated exercise.   At Halt, Everyone ran to middle of lawn to CONVERGE and partner up for 5 Patty Cake Merkins, then rotate clockwise to the next station.  PAX was instructed to pick a different partner each time they returned to the middle between stations.  The stations were:

    Bobby Hurley’s

    Merkins

    Mountain Climbers

    Plank Jacks

    Low Slow Squats

    Jump Lunges

    Dips

    Monkey Humpers – (by the street, of course)

    One round was completed and time was getting short so we circled up for some quick Mary

    2 MINUTES OF MARY

    Dying Cock Roach IC x 20

    Wife Pleasers IC x 20

    We are done!

    COT

    Circle up for Count-O-Rama – 66 PAX!!,  Name-O-Rama 3 FNG!!

    FNG’s Named – Welcome to Blanks, Chalk Talk, and Green Screen!!

    Bring it in tight for a Sweaty Ball of Man!!  Butt Splice finished it up with a prayer.

    NMM

    We moseyed over to Morning Call  where a awesome spread of food awaited us.   Spinach Mushroom Egg Scramble, Bacon, Pork Loin, Bananas, Croissants, Bottled Water, and Iced Coffee.  Mike as usual took great care of us with plates and napkins and great service.  Rudy presented Mike with his honorary membership and a blue F3 NOLA shirt.   Some great F2 went down as we ate and drank our fill.  Big thank you to all who made it out for this awesome beat-down in the park.  Big thank you to everyone who organized and provided the food and drinks we enjoyed.  Finally, big thanks to Woz for documenting the whole event with pictures and video.   I know, I  speak for all the Q’s when I say, it was a pleasure to lead as always, and thanks for the opportunity to lead this great PAX.

    Hope to see everyone and more next year!!  SYITG!!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • I guess Autumn is here…maybe?

    YHC was greeted by downright cool temps and a nice breeze when he pulled up to the Flag.  Can Autumn finally be here? Unfortunately, the weather was back to hot and humid by the end of the Beatdown.  Maybe next week.   So, it’s been a few weeks since YHC has been able to join his F3 brothers at the Mothership.  Why not have YHC’s Mothership VQ for YHC’s triumphant return?  Let’s go!  With a short disclaimer we were off.

    Mosey to Peristyle for

    • Imperial Walkers IC X20
    • Hillbillies IC X20
    • Forward Arm Circles IC X10
    • Reverse Arm Circles IC X10
    • Reverse Mountain Climbers IC X20
    • Parker Peters IC X20

    Short Mosey to the Great Lawn for:

    C.L.I.M.B.

    • Crab Cake
    • Lunge
    • Iron Cross
    • Mountain Climbers
    • Burpees

    1,2,3,4,5 on first corner add one rep at each succeeding corner.  Carioca to next corner left then right.  Add one rep at second corner then bear crawl to third corner add one rep.  Defensive slide to next corner left then right to fourth corner add one rep.  Crab crawl to last corner add one rep.

    Mosey to Fountain for:

    • For Dips IC X20
    • Right Leg Power Ups IC X20
    • Left Leg Power Ups IC X20

    Mosey to Sidewalk for:

    Route 66 – Start with Inch Worm to 1 merkin, 1 Plank Jack to Pop Jack and Inch Worm up then run to next light.  Add 1 merkin and 1 plank jack to the inch worm-merkin-plank jack-pop jack-inch worm sequence at each light up to 11 merkins and 11 plank jacks.

    Form two lines for Indian Run to Foundry for:

    Colonel Trautman

    Pair Up at track by the Foundry, Partner 1 runs to pull up bars for 3 Pull Ups while partner 2 does 10 Merkins then plank chilcutt until Partner 1 gets back. Flapjack and rinse and repeat 5X

    Time is running out so let’s form two lines and Indian Run to flag just in time!

    Circle up for count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions and prayer.

    Thanks for letting me lead!