F3 New Orleans

Tag: Lakefront

  • Excuse Me While I Kiss the Ground

    So there we were…how every great story starts…today was the commencement of what will hopefully become an annual CSAUP, Uncle Hammer’s 1000 Burpee Beatdown.

    First: Special Shoutouts —

    Jose 10k –DJ Jose had the best possible music, with songs individualized for members of the PAX

    Moby Dick –Dude’s 71, that’s right, 71, and he is out there making us middle agers look bad.

    Hawgcycle — Did this CSAUP on the Southshore by himself in just over 2 hours…no idea how he accomplished that. Awesome work!

    Now onto the beatdown:

    0610: Knowing this would likely be an all day affair, we skipped the normal 2 mile pre-thang, instead moseying from the flags towards the beach, stopping at each fire hydrant for a set of 10 burpees (6 sets out, 6 sets back =120). DJ 10k had Brother Angus lead us off, picking the axe (See what I did there) like lightning, but sounding like thunder. Then, while most of us may be partial to Southern Belles, Mr. David Lee Roth, with help from Steve Vai, pined for a young lass named Yankee Rose. As if the blood wasn’t pumping hard enough by 0615, Vince Neil kickstarted our hearts even further. Before we knew it, we were 1/8 the way to our goal. We returned with the remaining PAX awaiting to begin.

    0630– No warmup necessary. Jump right into the EMOM of 6 burpees. Doing this mitigates the overwhelming thought of 1000, as well as helping with the physically challenging nature of the CSAUP. As the Zen philosopher Basho once said, or maybe it was Bushwhacker, “A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single burpee.” How true.

    Mentally, the wash rinse and repeat of doing this for an hour can be quite taxing. This is where DJ Jose was so great. Always thinking of other, he picked out songs for most of the PAX. Some included were:

    The Bird (Morris Day and the Time) –Bird

    U Can’t Touch This (MC Hammer) –Hammer

    Some Moby Song —Moby Dick

    Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) –Zoolander

    The Best Around (From Karate Kid) –Russo

    To be honest, the hour was over before we knew it. Most PAX were asking to continue for another hour, and Hammer could easily have been elected mayor of CSAUPtown but for all the mail in ballots. However, they all missed their wives so much, they could not bear to continue for another minute. That was the right choice, guys, as hard as it was to make.

    So, by 0730: 120+365 (5 minutes were sets of 7)+ 15 (a burpee for each PAX during COT) = 500

    Halfway home by coffeeteria!

    PHASE 2: Do 250 OYO throughout the day before reconvening at 6 pm at Grandmother’s House. Some went more traditional –Hammer did 25 sets of 10 throughout the day (looked weird doing it outside the Pelican Park gym before 2.0’s basketball game). DJ 10k did his while his M worked out. Of course, he overachieved, doing another 350 before lunch. Russo knocked the rest of his out before I got home, it seemed. Hawg’s Breath did a few with his adorable daughter on his back, like the true bad ass he is. However we decided to get it done, we finished 750 before twilight.

    PHASE 3: Final 250 at Grandma’s

    6 skrong at Grandma’s at 1800. Turbo, Bird, Jose, Hammer, Hawg’s Breath, Akbar. Knocked out the last quarter in just over 30 minutes. Having an eclectic mix to inspire us: CCR, NIN, and Billy Idol (twice, in fact. No really.)

    …And done! We then enjoyed some F2 at Old Rail, then home to bed.

    Thank you all for joining in this venture. Each of you inspired me along the way, and I am indebted to you all for the kindness, generosity, friendship, and leadership you all display.

    For those that “missed” it, there will always be next year!

  • Listening to the Birds

    (From Bird:)

    Better late than never posting the backblast, fellas.  It took me long enough to Q my first Saturday so it’s only fitting that it takes me this long to put this out, but PAX is always encouraging and won’t let you fall behind.  Thanks to the 22 who posted plus a few guest appearances.

    0610 – Handful of guys posting for the 2-mile pre thang to the end of the lakefront and back.  Q rolls in as PAX is already on the move after strategically placing the buckets for the impending beatdown.  

    0630 – PAX circled up for warm up following the required warnings and disclosures.  Warm up proceeded through side straddle hops, seal jacks, good mornings, windmills, toe touches, and imperial walkers. Cadence on the windmills and imperial walkers was a little quick creating some mumble chatter.  Those big moves are tough first thing in the morning.  PAX dropped to the ground for some fire hydrants followed by 20 pushups, uh I mean merkins, OYO.  

    App. 0640 – PAX mozies to open field past gazebo and fountain to buckets for first phase of workout – 30 for 30 – consisting of 3 rounds of 30 reps of an exercise, 30-yard sprint, and 30-yard walk back (lunge, bear crawl, and backwards bear crawl).  PAX thanked “coach” for reminding them to explode off the line and run all the way through to the end of the sprint!  There was some confusion first round of the walk back which got cleaned up during the second and third.  A few random 10 counts in between rounds kept the PAX together.  

    Round 1

    • 30 Sister Mary Catherines (each leg one), 30-yard sprint, 30-yard lunge walk
    • 30 merkins, 30-yard sprint, 30-yard ?
    • 30 big boy situps, 30-yard sprint,  30  yard YHC calls out “your choice!”
    • Hold plank until all complete
    • Brief forward fold and wide leg forward fold to stretch.  

    Round 2

    • 30 squats, 30-yard sprint, 30-yard lunge walk
    • 30 shoulder taps, 30-yard sprint, 30-yard bear crawl
    • 30 leg lifts, 30-yard sprint, 30-yard backwards bear crawl
    • Hold  low plank until all complete

    Round 3

    • 30 monkey humpers,  30-yard sprint, 30-yard lunge
    • 30 carolina dry docks, 30-yard sprint, 30-yard bear crawl
    • 30 groiners (collective groan amongst PAX), 30-yard sprint,  30-yard backward bear crawl
    • Hold side plank (alternate) until all complete

    App. 0705 – PAX remained in open field for second phase of beatdown spreading out along the seawall for 11s consisting of box jump burpees at the wall and crunchy frogs at road.  First box jump burpee seemed not so bad, but quickly “intensified’ as the PAX got deeper into the 11s.  The “mumble chatter” from the earlier warm up pretty much all subsided at this point as we ground through the phase.  Around 0720, YHC called off the remaining reps as only a few had completed the entire series.  \

    App. 0720 – Following a 10 count to regroup, the PAX mozied back towards the mothership stopping just short and circling up for the final phase of the work.  Final phase started with “failure to launch,” a 10 second countdown in Al gore followed by a jump squat and immediately back to Al gore for a total of 5 reps.  PAX on their six for 20 Russian Twists, LBCs, and Heel Touches (in cadence), and a round of 100s OYO to finish. 

    As PAX counted silently, the sounds of the lakefront became evident. The gathering seagulls began to make their presence known.  As if inspired by his aviary companions, Q (i.e, Bird) leads PAX in a sun salutation a (mountain pose, high mountain, forward fold, halfway lift, forward fold, jump back to plank, chataranga, up dog, down dog).  Q encouraged proper breathing for full effect – inhale rise up, ,exhale forward fold, etc..  Yoga session ended peacefully while the seagulls sounded their appreciation of the reverent moment.  

    App. 0730 – Pax mozies back to the mothership, circles up, and reports out in traditional fashion.  YHC prayed us out.  

    Post Beatdown – Tank, MIA as of late, and like a ghost, runs by on the lakefront as YHC returns to his truck.  Like a man on a mission, he doesn’t stop to chat and continues his journey, later texting to say that he was at mile 13.8 of a 14 mile run!  Coffeeteria was well attended with a guest appearance by Grundy, still recovering from injury.  

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead, guys.  

    Bird

  • Walking on Sunshine

    To commerorate the 15th anniversary of Katrina, as well as the recent tragedy of Hurricane Laura, YHC crafted a beatdown that was not designed to be finished within the allotted time. The indomitable human spirit, however, persevered, and several beasts completed the task.

    We began by saying the Pledge of Allegiance, which will always begin any beatdown Q’d by YHC, and I would encourage all of us to, when Q’ing, take the 30 seconds to unite our hearts as Americans. Regardless of our views, when we can unite as Americans, we can overcome anything.

    Warm-o-rama:

    SSH x 20

    IW x 20

    Windmills x 10

    Way Backs x 10 (Intensified versions of toe touches, with a fully extended reach back upon returning to an upright position — suggested by none other than our newest PAX, my beloved son Pickaxe.

    We then moseyed to Noah’s Ark (a fitting venue for the date). Upon arrival, we paired up, with one partner running approximately halfway down Noah’s Ark while the other did burpees. Each partner took a turn, and once Partner 2 returned, they each completed 50 burpees, starting from the lowest number completed by a partner (i.e. Partner 1 does 15, and Partner 2 does 13, then they each do 37 more to get to 50 apiece. Thus Partner 1 does a little bit more). This initial exercise was designed not to be fair, but to emphasize we give our best even when things are not, and we always pick up our brothers.

    We then broke into a series of high repetition exercises with our partners:

    Cumulative:

    250 Bulgarian Split Squats

    Partner 1: BSS on the seawall

    Partner 2: Run Noah’s Ark

    500 Shoulder Taps

    Partner 1: STs

    Partner 2: Lunge Walk to/from street

    750 LBCs

    Partner 1: LBC

    Partner 2: Crab Walk to street ( I meant Bear Walk, but was told I said Crab Walk –subconciously wanting to intensify), run backwards from street

    1000 SSHs

    Partner 1: SSH

    Partner 2: Run around Noah’s Ark

    A couple of things: ANY exercise, no matter how simple, is HARD after 400 reps. Two, I’m so proud of our young PAX, ranging in age from 9-16 for hanging w/ the old folks. They manifest far greater maturity and composure than I did at that age (or now). One of the great things about F3 is that, when you show up, you are treated as an equal, regardless of age or ability. No one is above, and no one is beneath. We require not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice. Keep up the great work, gentleman, you inspire YHC!

    As stated earlier, a couple of teams finished the beatdown as Rx’d. Amazing.

    We moseyed back to the flag for COT, and welcomed 9 year old Pickaxe to the group. I have on good sourcing that as soon as he got home, he jumped into his parents’ bed and started telling his mother all about the “beatdown”. When Mrs. Hammer asked if he liked it, he responded, “Mom, nobody likes a beatdown, but you push through it.” Pickaxe also wants to make every beatdown every day of the week, even before school, and he is ready for next Saturday. I am so proud of him for coming, and I am humbled by the way each of you inspired him.

    Lastly, as I was running on the lakefront Friday evening, after the rain (intentional nod to the Nelson song), I saw a beautiful rainbow in its full arch. Such ugly weather produced something so profoundly beautiful. I was reminded that is also true in our own lives. In Katrina, we saw the worst of nature, but after, we also saw and experienced some of the best of humanity. People serving other people. We will see that with Laura as well. I am seeing that in my own life, and I hope, when the storms come, you all see it in yours as well. You just have to look.

    Except Jose’s Gallon Sweat Jug. There’s nothing beautiful about that.

  • You Want Fun N Games, Call Turbo: Wacker’s Wild Ride!

    The Wacker writing this back blast is not the FNG that our very own Grundy named 3 years ago. The lessons learned – from leadership, kindness & generosity and compassion to grit, tenacity, and perseverance – have come from doing life with my F3 brothers. Fitness fanaticism and adventures of perilous proportions have helped make these last 3 years some of the best. Having gotten so much, giving back is now what it’s all about. And on that note…

    While the Pre-Thangers pre-thanged, YHC was out setting the scene for things to come.

    WARMORAMA

    x10 IC:

    Cherry Pickers, Imperial Walkers, Torso Twists, 30 second Plank, Mountain Climbers, 15 Second Plank, Fire Hydrants

    THANG

    Mosey to the Unit…

    BLACK/BURPEE, RED/RUN

    Split into 4 teams of 6, with each getting a completely random hand of 13 playing cards from a deck shuffled before the PAX’ very eyes.

    With 14 cones placed along the approximately 50 yards to the untit, teams were, as a group, to flip their cards one at a time. Clubs or Spades resulted in team burpees of the number on the card. Hearts and Diamonds sent the team member running to the corresponding cone and back. Out of pity and boredom from planking for so long, the entire PAX joined Manny’s team in finishing out their last 4 PURELY RANDOM cards.

    BURPEE LEAP FROG

    Ok, the wheels may have started falling off the bus around this time, but there were plenty of laughs on the way down! Teams were supposed to form a line with the continuously last man leap frogging the men ahead of him until he reached the front of the line where he did a burpee. There were to be 5 burpee hi 10s, 10 hi 5 merkins and 15 hi 10 squats along the way but that just became fodder for folly and school yard nostalgia.

    TAP BALL

    Finally, with each team grabbing a sadly deflated soccer ball or the one excitedly inflated pink bosu ball the PAX formed circles tapping the ball in the air like a volley ball drill, except after each man tapped, he had to drop for a burpee before he could touch the ball again. Play continued until he ball hit the ground, at which point teams planked until the last team standing finally dropped the ball.

    Mosey back to the flag for…

    MARY

    20-60 seconds each of:

    Freddy Mercuries, Leg Raises, Heel Pulses, 100s, LBCs, Oblique Crunches, and Supermans

    COT

    count, name, named FNG Pussy Cat (thanks Freon)

    Pussy Cat prayed us out.

    Gentlemen, I am humbled by your dedication to your fitness, your friendships and your fellow man. There is never a shortage of inspiration at an F3 Northshore beatdown. Thank you for teaching me how to lead, and for following that lead for the last 3 years, as verbose and boisterous as it may have been.

  • Only F3 Can Prevent Lakefront Fires!

    With a mystery co-Q cancellation at 5am and having to defend the claim to the Q itself, the challenges to be bested were already well under way with the arrival of 6:30. But challenges to be bested and elevated heart rates were on the menu as things began…

    WARMORAMA

    IC x10 were exercises such as:

    Good Mornings, Imperial walkers, T Stretches, Apple Pickers, and Fire Hydrants

    THANG

    With 4-6 fire hydrants along the lakefront between the flag and the yacht club, as Hammer said, I feel confident that no houses on Lakeshore Dr will burn to the ground. OYO, run from flag to playground doing 10 burpees at each fire hydrant and hold an isometric of your choice to wait for the 6.

    Lining up along the splash pad, partner up with P1 starting cumulative 500 squats then 500 LBCs, while P2 ran around the perimeter of the park & switch.

    After a few frenetic circuits of pushing each other, the Pax returned along the lakefront to Noah’s Ark, stopping at each fire hydrant for 5 8-Count Bodybuilders.

    At Noah’s Ark, Bear Crawl north to Claiborne and then High Knee- Skip back to the lake, with the option to continue to the flag in similar fashion.

    MARY

    With 2 minutes to spare there were 2 exercises IC for a minute each: 100s & Putins.

    COT

    After a few false starts, COUNTORAMA, NAMEORAMA, named FNGs Baby Shark, Pigpen and Broncho – Welcome! Broncho prayed us out.

    Well done, gentlemen, for showing up and giving everything you have to push yourself, your F3 brothers, and increasingly, the next generation of men.

  • Lakefront F3 Fest

    PAX: Akbar, Bean, Bushwacker, Cowbell, Grover, Grundy, Hammer, FNG, Shooter, Steve, Tarheel, THE Manny, Turbo Tax, Waterpick

    QIC: Akbar

    14 men posted Saturday to celebrate the New Orleans festivals that were not to be. Great to see everyone again in the gloom as things seem to be moving toward the new normal. And new faces too: Special thanks to Tarheel for making the long trip from Covington for what might have been his first Lakefront appearance. Great to see TurboTax back in action, bringing a FNG with him.

    T Claps to Tool for creating this beatdown to pay homage to our local musicians and those that would have played at festivals this spring, including a special tribute to the late Dr. John. A fun and simple format, yet sure to test our endurance.

    Prethang:  2 mile run

    Coupons:

    Grover and I missed the prethang and arrived to an assortment of coupons consisting of cinder blocks and ruck plates. Shout out to Waterpick for his Joseph like Technicolor coupon.

    YHC posted on GroupMe the day before to bring your own coupon, but not everyone got the message. Teddy Roosevelt said: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Bush and Manny took that to heart and grabbed a weed eater and a spare tire from their vehicles for coupons. Apparently Bean randomly travels with cinder blocks so we had enough to cover everyone.  

    Warmorama: The Meters and Galactic started us off with a 6 minute warm up of SSH, WM, IW, AC, MC, GG, and Self-Love – although no one knew what most of those abbreviations meant.  Evidently Cowbell struggled with that as well, and thankfully sent a detailed text explanation at 3:13 am – just 3 hours before the gloom.

    X20 in cadence: Side straddle hops, windmills, imperial walkers, arm circles, mountain climbers, grass grabbers, and self-love

    Thang:  14 songs, 48 minutes, 23 seconds rest in between.

    Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show:  X20 Curls, Bear Crawl 15yds and back, R&R (Rinse and Repeat) for duration of the song

    Everlong – Foo Fighters:  X20 Kettle Swings, Lunge Walk 15yds and back, R&R….

    It’s Your Thing – Marc Broussard:  Hold High Plank, Merkin on every “Thing”

    Buckjump – Trombone Shorty w/Rebirth Brass Band & 5th Ward Weebie:  X20 Jump Squats, Bear Crawl 15yds and back, R&R….

    Keep Going – The Revivalists:  X20 Shoulder Press, Lunge Walk 15yds and back, R&R….

    Treme – John Boutte:   Get “Down in the Treme” with a low plank and hold it 

    Right Place Wrong Time – Dr. John:   X20 Thrusters, Crab Walk 15yds and back, R&R….

    Fly Away – Lenny Kravitz:   Recovery song….easy mosey 15yds and back and forth, R&R, but drop for a Flying Squirrel (Burpee) on every “Fly”

    Jambalaya – Dash Rip Rock:   Lay your block down or find a step, curb, etc. for continuous Rocky Balboas, and drop for an 8ct Body Builder on every “Jambalaya”, then immediately back up for more Rocky’s.

    Here Come the Girls – Creole String Beans:  Hold Block w/both hands and get ready to do some “Curls for the Girls!!!”….perform a curl for every “Girl”

    I Thank You – Robert Randolf & The Family Band:   Plankorama….any plank variation for duration of the song…high, low, side, etc.  

    Count| Name-o-Rama

    Welcome FNG Kroeger from Charlotte – Named after Chad Kroeger from Nickelback

    COT

    Prayers for all those affected by the festival cancellations: musicians, organizers, hospitality, etc.

    Coffeteria

    Short mosey down to the Book and the Bean who have opened their outdoor seating.

    Here is the full workout with playlist, coupon and non-coupon option

    Pre-blast for F3 Fest

  • Episode 3: It’s a (MERKIN) Trap

    Date: 3/7/2020

    QIC: Akbar

    PAX: Backdraft, Barely Legal, Bart, Bean, Moby Dick, Grover, Hammer, Hogcycle, Jose 10K, Rev Sox, Russo, Steve, Tanked Up, The Manny, Waterpick, Zoolander

    After Admiral Akbar masterminded the rebel attack on the second Death Star, he shows up light-years later to join General Leia’s fight against the tyranny of the First Order. During an epic battle with Kylo Ren at the helm, a huge explosion hits the bridge, and the most esteemed military commander of his generation was gone. Or was he?

    Secret Intel from the Mon Calamari is leaked, and Akbar actually escaped with Leia using THE FORCE. Akbar travels to the Milky Way Galaxy and the land of milk and honey – returning to the Northshore Mothership – leading the rebels against Darth Fartsack and the Sad Clown Empire.

    He could not do it alone. Key Resistance fighters were AWOL this gloom – such as Baby Yoda, Shooter, Maverick, Goose, Chewy, Bushwhacker and Captain Sparkles. Luckily, @hawgcycle and @revsox joined the Rebels from a not so distant galaxy across the lake.       

    Gloom Factor:  slightly chilly, but sunny.  Yellow Stardust (pollen) in the air made YHC take the pink pill (Benadryl) in addition to the red pill this morning

    Warmorama:  not so much

    Thang: The MERKINFEST begins

    Start at the flag.  Mosey to Harbor Field with stops at Noah’s Ark, Lamarque Wall, and Splash Pad

    4 sets of 2 exercises, a mixture of 12/8/5 double count reps or 24 16 8 single count OYO

    Total count 50 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted

    SSH | Merkins IC

    Lunge Walk | Diamond Merkins OYO

    Wall Jumps | Derkins OYO

    Slow Squat | Stone Mountain Merkins IC

    Spaceball @ Harbor Field

    YHC had a feeling something was missing from this beatdown, and added Pull Ups to the delight of the bicep driven Zoolander. We needed bigger guns to continue the fight.

    5 Stations, 16 reps each. Run to next base after exercise completion until finished

    1st base                 Superman Merkins

    2nd base                Big Boy Sit-ups

    3rd base                 Wide Merkins

    Home                    Burpees

    Outfield                  Pull ups (AKA Zoolander’s)

    Mosey back to the flag with stops at the Wall and Rips

    Freak Nasties | Irkin IC

    50 LBC | 50 Calf Raises OYO

    Imperial Walkers | Merkins IC

    Mary

    Hello Dolly x 15

    20 Merkins OYO

    Lay flat on your back and stare at the sky for a minute

    At this point, YHC was at the end of the pain train, breathless from counting, and decided to give the other Rebels a chance to lead to close us out.

    2nd Mary

    X 20 each

    Hammer                Crunchy Frogs

    Bean                      Flutter Kicks

    Grover                   LBC’s

    Steve                     Leg Raises

    Tanked Up            Frankenstein/Mummy kicks – can’t really explain – more like an 80’s dance than an exercise – but requires extreme coordination which only Tank seemed to have. Sure to be exciting to onlookers.

    Count | Name-o-Rama

    COT – Prayers of thanks and safety, asking for opportunities to influence others for good this week.

    Tally ended up at 860 reps per man, including @ 400 Merkins each – well done gentlemen.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead, and be a part of this group.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    Whole Food Friday lunches start next week – more info to come on GroupMe

  • Episode II: I Am Your Father Yoda! OR Ain’t Nobody Humpin’ Around

    For the 2nd time in a week, 10 year old Baby Yoda stepped up to lead the Northshore PAX, this time co-Qing with his pappy, YHC. His reflections the following day (other than “Owww I’m sore”) were, “That was fun,” and, “I like telling the old guys what to do.” Well this is one old guy who likes anyone telling him what to do, so long as it results in good times and growth. And speaking of…

    PRE-THANG

    Being the last Saturday of RRR, these 2 miles held more desperate relevance to some than to others, but regardless, it was as strong a showing as ever.

    WARM-O-RAMA

    BY started us off with x15 IC:

    SSH, Imperial Walkers, Cherry Pickers, Mountain Climbers, Plank Jacks

    x5 T Merkins OYO

    x5 Burpess OYO

    THANG

    Mosey to the Gazebo for:

    A round of 100 Circle Burps while holding Al Gore,

    A round of 100 Circle Merkins while holding Plank

    Mosey to the Unit where it was time for Pappa’s Brand New Bag as QIC 2 handed back off to QIC 1 for the Tripple Check:

    In groups of 3, 1st man sprints 50 yards out and 50 back, while 2nd man holds plank and 3rd man hold Al Gore. Upon returning 1st man get to the back of the line and into Al Gore and so on. Repeat for 3 rounds.

    Mosey to Lafitte where the PAX of 19 circled up once again, this time for Circle Travolta Merkins – Merkin, 1-arm Plank with right arm high, reach under and accross body, and back up before returning to plank. Around the circle once, then reverse direction back this time with left arm high.

    With only one PAX within quick moseying distance, it was a fairly brief run as it was time for the inaugural Tour de Humpers! Mosey north on Lafitte where, upon reaching the corner of Lafitte/Claiborne PAX did 10 Burpees(?) OYO. Continued on for another 100 feet before reaching Casa de Breve`, disturbing Mrs. Breve`, and lining up across the street facing (with an upside down view) Steve’s gracious M for x20 IC Monkey Humpers!

    Ain’t nobody humpin’ around!

    Back on course to Claiborne /Girod for another exercise, and one last stop at our former coffeeteria site, Kona, to show them what F3 Northshore thinks of their “toxic” environment.

    MARY

    Back at the flag earlier than planned, co-Q’s laid forth an abdominal smack down for 15 minutes that was certain to have hit its mark.

    COT

    Count/Name/Our mysterious F3 “out-of-town” stranger prayed us out in his slightly baritone, solemn country twang before fading back into the gloom.

    On behalf of myself and Baby Yoda, many thanks, gentlemen, for following our lead and providing the example of strength and unity that so many men, especially myself, need in their life.

  • Doubling Down on 2-22

    When a last-minute request for a Saturday Q yielded no results, the man who’s up for anything, the holder of no secrets, keeper of Girl Scout cookies, and grand captain of all CSAUP’s – that’s right, Mr. Bushwacker himself – offered to co-Q with yours truly. A twofer? On 2-22. How could YHC resist.

    There had been a botched attempt of this beatdown around six months ago, but a tropical storm stymied it and we threw it on the back burner. (Even back then Wacker attempted to explain the rules of Speedball to me with no success. This time around, he sent an 8-minute youtube video to me the night before, which was somehow even less successful than the first attempt.)

    Pre-Thang: You could literally feel the average age of the PAX drop by five years this morning, as the two mile warm-up run had a noticeable shot of speed added to it with Whip, Grover, and FNG Fuzzy Balls leading the way. Of course, it didn’t help that many of us are now near-crippled from all of our RRR mileage. But still…. great to have some youth mixed into the group and YHC hopes we see more of these guys.

    Warmorama: YHC took the warmup and did some pretty basic stuff: SSH, windmills, seal jacks, IW’s, merkins, mountain climbers, plank jacks, etc. All IC, somewhere between 10 and 20.

    Thang: We took a short mosey over to Rip’s, , where the PAX split in two for a derkin stair climb. That’s right: from a plank position, climb the treacherously steep and semi-rotting stairs backwards, doing a derkin on each step. (Disclaimer properly given, mind you.) The rest of the men, having formed two circles, would do whatever exercise the next man up called out. One team added the football to the mix, which made a round of flutter kicks with a game of toss thrown in (penalty burpees for missed catches, of course) seem like it should naturally be added to the exicon. In fact, maybe all Mary should involve a ball?

    Once the painful part of the beatdown was over, it was time to turn the show over to Bush for the fun n’ games. (And, appropriately, let’s turn the backblast reins over to Mr. Wack as well):

    From Rips’s, the PAX moseyed on to the Marsh, football-tossing and rules-explaining along the way. Upon arriving and splitting off into HATS vs No-HATS, the rules were covered one more time for F3 Northshore’s 1st ever fast-paced, high intensity, more than slightly confusing game of Speedball (though little good it did). There was uncertainty ‘til the end…in which Tanked Up was single-handedly reponsible for his bonneted brethren losing 10-1 in a melee wherein each point resulted in the opposing team kissing concrete as they all preformed 5 burpees. With fun n games concluded and lessons learned for the improvement of the next experience, the teams each Indian ran back to the flag where, after one false start and another well-intentioned interruption, the COT was finally underway. Named/welcomed FNG Fuzzy Ballz and Jose prayed us out.

    Thank you guys for putting up with the two of us!

  • He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

    From Goose: As the PAX circled in the light of a cold Saturday morning, YHC received for the first time as Q the focused look of many men trying to guess the type and magnitude of the pain they’re about to endure. And, though the beatdown wasn’t an overwhelming challenge for most, it was certainly a different experience than they could have guessed.

    Warm-ups consisted of IC: SSH, Seal Jacks, Windmills, toe touches, high knees, and butt kicks. 

    The Thang was varied and sundry:

    First, moseyed to the small open field area before the gazebo and broke into two teams of eight, then into groups of four facing each other about 10 yards apart for 6 rounds of shuttle runs using small cones for moveables. Each round was followed by decreasing numbers of burpees and big-boy sit-ups.

    Then, moseyed about half a mile away from the flag, just over the bridge to a larger open field. Here, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we all got a little closer with some touchy-feely quality time. 

    This started with the Tunnel of Love during which all PAX lined up shoulder to shoulder in plank position while the man on the end army crawled through the tunnel followed by the next until all had wormed their way through and all jokes about overhead clearance were exhausted.

    We then flipped onto our 6 for the Bridge of Hate: all PAX lying shoulder to shoulder as the man on the end lowers himself onto the row of eager hands to be passed, crowd-surfing style, to the end. Each man endured the slow, sloppy process, though wardrobes threatened to malfunction, and the use of knees became necessary to move more than a few men. (Grover, however, being last, was shot like a javelin down the line.)

    This was followed by Three Amigos: the PAX split into groups of three, and each group stood back to back, linked arms, and dropped into a chair-sit position. They then walked in that position about ten yards, completed five copperhead squats together, and squat-walked back.

    We finished in that field with four rounds of exercises (50 LBC’s, 40 SSH, 30 jump squats, and 20 Merkins) each followed by a forty yard sprint into a ten yard army crawl.

    We moved back to flag using a lighter version of a Bataan Death March: Indian Run with the last man stopping and doing three burpees before catching up, tapping the new last man (so he can stop and do burpees), and running to the front. The line was long and the distance short, so most only had one round, but with the time left at the flag, we completed one round of vacuum cleaners and a couple of side-plank domino/waves in a circle. 

    Vacuum cleaners: partner 1 holds partner 2’s legs wheelbarrow-style and moves forward ten yards where partner 1 does 5 Derkins, then moves backwards in the same position to the start before flapjacking. Communication was key for this one, and hand-walking backwards was unexpectedly brutal.

    COT, Count, Name, and Maverick prayed us out.

    Thanks to all who posted for this VQ!  It’s truly an honor to journey with this crew!