F3 New Orleans

Tag: Lakefront

  • Smile for the Camera

    YHC decided that today would be the perfect opportunity to try out his new action camera. Perhaps this could be a new feature for the F3 website. Perhaps with Steve’s editing prowess the PAX of the Northshore could be a You Tube sensation! Perhaps YHC should have made sure the battery was fully charged.

    PRE THANG

    A solid crew ran the out-n-back 2 mile route to get the morning started with good rhythm.

    WARMORAMA

    A brief, but full-body-appropriate warm up consisting of:

    Goofballs

    Cherry Pickers

    Torso Twists

    High Knees

    Fire Hydrants

    Scorpion Kicks

    THANG

    Starting at the south end of Marigny, the PAX did x10 Burpees OYO then ran north to the next corner, planking to wait for the 6. Then x10 Burpees and x20 Squats – run north again. x10 Burpees, x20 Squats, x30 Putins. And so you see the pattern forming: x10 chest , x20 legs, x30 core north to the trace, over to Lamarque, and again southbound. Merkins/Lunges/Crunchy Frogs, T Merkins/Apollo OHnos/Flutter Kicks, Diamond Merkins/Copper Head Squats/100s, Partner Clap Merkins/Step Ups/Extended Plank

    Back at the flag, Q more broadly introduced the Motivator – a single count, decreasing, arm-level descending exercise that is sure to take you on a ride on the “pain train” (a la Akbar). Starting at 10 for each arm level, counting down to 1 with no rest. I can’t wait to hear about the cornucopia of calf soreness plaguing the PAX over the next day or 2.

    MARY

    LMCs (lil MANNY crunches)

    Freddy Mercurys

    E2K

    Banana/Superman

    To include Cowbell the 10mile man , who wandered up like a glowing beacon in the gloom, we wrapped up with a Circle Burp with SSH

    COT

    Count/Name

    Grundy’s Nightmare AFTER Christmas tomorrow at 1pm?

    Mick prayed us out.

    Thanks for coming out to join the communal casualties of the Saturday morning Lakefront beatdown, and for pushing yourselves under my humble leadership. Until next time…

    SYITG

    Author’s note: I apologize if I missed anyone. YHC is used to weekday PAX;)

  • Burpees n Basketball: F3ull Court Press

    Pre-thang was interrupted so that YHC and Jose could retrieve a tool to adjust the basketball goals at the Marsh. Said errand was then interrupted by a damn deer to the side of the truck. Shooter’s been desperatly hunting for a buck all season long, and Bushwcker hits one without even trying!

    WARMORAMA

    The PAX got down to business with SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Hill Billies, Arm Circles, and Burpees (Speedy’s new favorite exercise).

    THANG

    Mosey west, with a stop or two for OYO 15 Burpees, 15 Big Boy Sit Ups, and 15 Squats. Upon arriving at the Marsh, PAX divided into 3 teams for 1 on 1 full-court basketball, while the “non-participating” team did a continuous stream of 30 Squats, 20 Big Boy Sit Ups, and 10 Burpees. The original plan of 1st team to 10 points wins, was truncated to 1st to 5 points…and eventually teams switch on each point (White men can’t shoot). With rotating uniforms of shirts vs skins, the pace was frenetic and frenzied.

    Highlights of the ballers’ delight included competent offensive skills of Shooter, Hammer, and Bird, YHC’s aggressive strategy checked by a jewel shot from Moby Dick, and much fewer Burpees than Speedy may have hoped for. Overall, fun was had by all, as well as a different cardio work out than the usual Lakefront beat down supplies.

    The mosey back to the flag turned into a race between teams, with some trying harder than others. As would be expected, Tank poured it on with gusto and grit, with QIC (Speedy) pushing right next to him. Upon arrival, assorted planks were done as Splice ran back to pick up the 6.

    COT

    Count/name/announce – Shooter prayed us out with accompaniment by The Scorpions courtesy of a passing motorist.

    Congratulations and a job well done to Speedy on his successful VQ! It was a pleasure and a terror all wrapped into one, and we look forward to more of the same from him going forward.

  • Mean while…Machines at the Marsh

    A new day dawns and another gloom is met by the cantankerous crew of the F3 Northshore! The shovel flag is planted, the pre-thang crew comes rolling up, and away we go!

    To respect the time as best as possible, YHC took all Iron Pax Challengers on a mosey to the Marsh, while the rest hung back for the regularly scheduled beat down lead by Steve.

    Having deposited a supply of coupons ahead of time with the welcomed assistance of Jose and Speedy, the men of the Marsh were prepared to tackle this week’s IPC:

    10 Pull Ups

    15Hop over (coupon) Burpees

    20 (coupon) 2 Arm Bicep Curls

    25 (coupon) Squat Thrusters

    30 Gas Pumps

    AMRAP for 43 minutes

    The scene was grippingly intense – each man was handling the long ride in their own style in order to make it through. 1 round in to YHC’s 2nd attempt for the week, the heavenly songs of ceramic-throne seraphim began to call, thus assuring no PR would be set this day. Toto and Pickles were having a fraternistic chat relying on Russo math to set their pace. Speedy, dripping with double hate, was giving it his stoic all. Meanwhile, uncle Jose was across the playground in “leave me the hell alone” land staying in his head with his earphones blasting. Jose had to drag Speedy away kicking and screaming early in order to make soccer practice… go Coach Dad!

    Mick put every damn thing he had into the challenge (with a smile) and enjoyed a brisk run back to the flag upon completion. Also on the dark side of the moon it was Hammer time! He looked as though he should’ve had a grey hoodie on with giant beatz headphone on listening to the rocky 4 soundtrack – Eye of the tiger!

    But there was one area no more than 8 feet away from the monkey bars where the devil himself dare not tread. With the piston-striking intensity of the fabled John Henry, Frankie C – the Italian Stallion – worthy of double respect and more – Tanked Up attacked with every fiber of his being. SMASH! One cinder block couldn’t hang, so YHC scurried to bring him another. With the fully-vested totals brought forth this week by the likes of Turbo, Grundy, and Bean, there was clearly not an ounce left to give when Frank Caragliano completed 904 reps on the hallowed grounds of the Milestone Marsh….

    After moseying back to the flag and just missing COT, the PAX proceeded to do a 2nd COT, with Hammer praying us out, as we honored the loss of Captain Vincent Liberto, who was killed in the line of duty yesterday, and lifted up our prayers for the wife and 7 children he left behind.

  • Float like a butterfly, sting like a…

    The Killer B’s ended with a bang Saturday morning, with Grundy taking the Northshore lead by mere seconds.  Sure, we could debate the fairness of doing it on the lakefront’s luxurious grass vs. the Marsh’s unyielding concrete, or the legality of the proctor himself taking home first place, but when it comes down to it, we must (begrudgingly) give Grundy due credit (and hate!) – it was a pretty inspirational effort.  In fact, Tank was nipping at his heels the entire time and it seems the two were feeding off one another’s energy to push each other to their record times.

    So t-claps to those two men for giving it their all and, while we’re t-clapping, we might as well toss another one out to Zoo and his miraculous self-healing leg, for taking the opportunity to hit the challenge for a second time and improve upon his score.  Alright, the rundown:

    Usual pre-thang 2 miler featured guest appearances by both Bushwacker and Garfield, and then we went right into the warmorama: Arm circles (forward/back), IW’s, copperhead squats, toe touches, hillbillies, SSHs, mountain climbers, all x20 IC.

    Thang:  Half the PAX followed Grundy to complete the IP challenge, while those that had already had their fill followed YHC.

    First stop on our tour of the lakefront was an old favorite that can be difficult to use with a large pax: Rips.  Instead of the traditional stair run/Rocky Balboa’s, though, we simply grabbed a handrail and did one legged negative calf raises, at a slow cadence: x15 per leg.

    Then, eastward towards the baseball field, stopping for a quick COP of high knees and a burpee wave.  About 6 rounds, and then onward…

    To the pull-up bars behind the baseball field.  Circled up on our six for flutter kicks, while 2 men got up to do 5x pull-ups.  Around the circle again and again and again, until each man had 25 pull-ups.  We maxed out on flutters and at some point switched to Freddie Mercs, which did not really help all that much.

    Next up, flip over to a plank for plank jacks, while 2 men got up to do hanging knee tucks x10.  Round the circle a few times, switching about halfway to shoulder taps, until each man had 30 tucks.

    Mosey back towards the boat launch to split into two teams for a 100-yard sprint relay race.  Losing team gets hit with 25 burpees, winning team gets 25 merkins.  (YHC has learned that, in the realm of F3, the winning team never takes the easy way and sits out on the work so why even bother pretending there’s a reward.)  With Bean pulling double duty for Team 2 to secure the win, they performed their merkins and then jumped in to help Team 1 finish up with their burpees.  And then everyone took a page from Pik, who’s been keeping Old Mandeville clean for the better part of two years, and did a quick sweep of beer bottles before heading over to the playground for a quick partner routine.

    P1 holds people’s chair while doing air presses, P2 bear crawls up the small hill to the swingset pad for 10 merkins and then bunny hops back down to flapjack with P1.

    Just enough time to Indian Run back to Rips, get in one more set of calf raises (x10 each leg this time), and back at the flag for a round of boxcutters, x20 IC.  The rest of the gang joined us at this point, looking thoroughly destroyed, and we circled up for COT.  Zoo encouraged all to share the gift of F3 and bring out some new brothers, and Maverick took us out with a prayer, encouraging us to be men of strength. Then off to coffeeteria.  Thank you men for the opportunity not only to lead, but to get stronger and sharper alongside you.

  • Diamonds In The Rough

    Warmarama:

    10 reps IC for each exercise:

    Toe Touches, Wind Mills, Imperial Walkers, Slow Squats, Side Straddle Hops, Seal Jacks,  High Knees, Butt Kicks, Forward Arm Circles, Reverse Arm Circles, Overhead Claps

    Mosey

    Circle Burp……

    All pacs formed the best circle that 22 guys could make. Everyone starts doing High Knees. Starting and ending with yours truly, when Pac shouts “DOWN,” all pacs do one burpee. High Knees commence until the next pac says down. Rinse and repeat until all pacs have done one burpee.

    Mosey to the Park

    7 of Diamonds

    Not sure if anyone found any diamonds, but I am pretty sure everyone found the bottom of their gas tanks with this one.

    Starting at one corner of the park, all Pacs will perform an exercise layed out by THE Manny for 7 reps.  Once that exercise is complete, all pacs mosey to the second “corner” of the park. The same exercise is completed for the same amount of reps.  Pacs mosey to the third corner,   rinse and repeat the same exercise and reps performed at the first two corners. Once everyone gets back to the first corner, plank it up until 6 gets there and then wait for the next exercise and reps to be distributed to the troops.  Here’s how this went down this morning.

    Round 1 – 7 Burpees

    Round 2 – 14 Merkins

    Round 3 – 21 Squats

    Round 4 – 28 Plank Jacks

    Round 5 – 21 Mountain Climbers

    Round 6 – 14 Squat Jumps

    Round 7 – 7 Burpees

    Mosey to the spot of the Circle Burp and get on your 6 for some Mary.

    Little Manny Crunches – 15 IC

    Freddie Mercuries – 20 IC

    Flutter Kicks – 10 IC

    Leg Lifts – 10 IC

    Puttins – 10 IC

    100s – 10 IC

    Absolutions – 10 IC

    Pacs break into two groups and Mosey back to flag.

    Special appearance by Capt Sparkles for the Circle of Trust. Thanks for treating the 22 Pac Turn Out to coffee Capt.

    The Hammer prayed us out.

  • When Life Gives You Cinderblocks…

    Everyone can finish the saying, “When life gives you lemons…”. But not everyone knows how to complete the saying, “When life gives you cinderblocks….” So let YHC help everyone out; “when life gives you cinderblocks, you use them in your workouts!!!”

    The PAX learned the truth of this saying this morning in a more than intellectual level. And even though this workout was very difficult, I would argue that all the blame should be placed on TurboTax. For he’s the one who lent me his cinderblocks. I take no responsibility, Turbo should have known better.

    So after a disclaimer was given, the fun began.

    Warmup

    Side straddle hop In cadence to 52! I wanted the pax to remember Dredd’s saying when he came down for our GrowRuck, “Be prepared for the expected, but be ready for the unexpected.” Doing side straddle hops to 52 definitely drove that idea home.

    Then we did:

    Windmills in cadence, and a shoulder series warmup in cadence.

    The Thang

    Moseyed to the opening before the bridge where the Grundymobile was parked with the aforementioned cinderblocks. But first we did something called the welsh dragons.

    Welsh Dragons: Remain in plank position the whole time. Bear crawl forward 4 steps, do 1 merkin, 1 plank jack, and tap the BACK of each shoulder 1 time. Repeat adding 1 rep to each exercise each time – bear crawl forward 4 steps, do 2 merkins, 2 plank jacks, 2 sets of back of shoulder taps… etc. We went until We reached 10 reps each and covered 30-50 feet.

    Then the Q realized he had left the keys to his car back at the flag… So the Pax got a 5 minute plank/rest while the Q ran back to grab them. I’m sure everyone held a plank the whole time…

    Upon returning, the grundymobile was opened and the cinderblocks were distributed. It was time for the main event. Everyone partnered up (some teams had 3 people), and we did a Dora 1, 2, 3 with cinderblocks. Round 1 (100 step ups on to the sea wall with the cinderblock) partner 2 ran to the walkway and did 3 burpees and returned to take over the rep count. Round 2 (200 kettlebell swings), and round 3 (300 overhead presses).

    There was much pain involved but kudos to all of the pax for pushing through! We returned the cinderblocks and moseyed/walked back to the flag for some Mary.

    Like the beginning of the workout, be ready for anything. Like Little Manny crunches in cadence to 53!!!

    Circled it up and Manny closed us out wonderfully.

    Great job everyone!

    Until next time, Grundy

  • Return of the Green Mile

    19 pax showed up to the Lakefront on Saturday Morning, for a beatdown known as the Green Mile.

    Pre-thang; 2 miles Tanked up, Bushwacker, Barely Legal and a late arriving YHC.

    The thang:

    Warm up: SSH, IW, Mt climbers, Slow skwaats, and dippy birds all IC x 20

    The Green Mile: 1/2 mile from shovel flag to eastern playground with 7 fire hydrants along the way. The pax were instructed to perform 5 merkins and 10 squats at each hydrant on the way down and 10 merkins and 20 squat on the way back. The pax returned to the shovel flag with 30 min to spare, just enough time for a second round. Only this time it was 10 merks/20 squats on the way down and 5 merks/10 squats on the way back.

    Cooldown: SSH, IW, Mt climbers, Slow skwaats, and dippy birds all IC x 20

    It seems that the pax has some superhumans among them: with Zoolander only weeks out of surgery for a lower leg fracture, leading the front of the pax…unreal. And Tanked-up despite finding a 7th gear to end the workout up front, well done guys.

  • Running Games? I Thought You Said Fun ‘n’ Games!

    The mumble chatter started the previous night at the successful meet n greet campaign party for our very own Hammer about the fact that if Turbo had the Q for Saturday, then it was either fun n games or, more likely, plenty of running, much to the consternation of more than one PAX both present and away. While, in a sense, fun n games were in fact afoot, today was a run day!

    WARMORAMA

    x20 IC:

    Seal Jacks

    Imperial Walkers

    Toe Touches

    THANG

    Mosied westward down the lakefront for a stretch before we stopped for some merkins. Continued up Marigny and stopped for some Mountain Climbers. Finished up at the Marsh where we partnered up for a little competiton.

    4 4 minute rounds with a running total per team:

    Round 1- P1 SSH while P2 runs to opposite side of the court and performs 2 Burpees

    Round 2- P1Butt Kicks, P2 2 180 degree hops

    Round 3- P1 Lateral Hops, P2 2 Tuck (Squat) Jumps

    Round 4- P1 imaginary Jump Rope, P2 2 Bobby Hurleys

    In between each round was 30 seconds rest, 1 minute of Plank, and 30 more seconds of rest. Teams that scored under 82 total points (all?) dropped for 10 penalty burpees.

    Next, the Pax split evenly and competed head-to-head in a relay race from one end of the court to the other. The Odd numbered team performed another set of 10 penalty burpees. YHC must note that never has he seen such an intense show of drive and performance from every man at the same time as was displyed during this race!

    Same teams did a double-line Indian Run back to the Lakefront, where the PAX planked for the 6, followed by a slow mosy before an all out sprint to the flag.

    COUNTORAMA

    NAMEORAMA

    Naming of FNG Black Cat. Welcome brother, better late than never!

    Phoenix prayed us out.

    T Claps to Turbo Tax for a well put together, high intensity beat down. It’s always a privilege to follow a great leader. Who says running can’t be fun!

  • SHOULDERING the RUNNING Responsibilties of F3 Membership

    Foregoing the 2 mile pre-thang this gloom, YHC arrived in time to plant the Marsh flag next to the Scramble flag at the blustery AO and greet the menagerie of men gathered for a proper Saturday beat down

    WARM O RAMA

    With a focus on the shoulder demands of what QIC had in store…

    All x25 IC:

    Seal Claps

    Overhead Claps

    Air Presses

    Cherry Pickers

    Torso Twists

    Imperial Walkers

    Windmills

    High Knees

    THANG

    Mosied to Grundy’s Noah’s Ark for…

    Burpee Mile – 4 laps, each followed by 12 burpees

    Mosied to between Lamarque and Foy for…

    T Bombs x25 IC – Starting in crab position, 1 legs straight out, 2 feet wide, 3 feet back together, 4 legs back in

    Mosied to the splash pad area for…

    Blackjack – 1 merkin, run a little ways, 20 LBCs. 2 merkins, 19 LBCs, etc. until 20 merkins, 1 LBC

    Q had SO much more fun in store for the PAX, however with time running short, a 2 line indian run back to the flags capped off the somewhat HIIT-like beat down that kept heart rates elevated. By Q’s count, the ISI total was 378 . Also, 3.5 miles (5.5 for the pre-thangers).

    COT

    Count o rama (17 present), name o rama, and Suckles, who was back from Georgia for a quick visit, prayed us out.

    Guys, a valorous and highly impressive effort was put forth by each and every one of you. I am humbly appreciative of your willingness to show up and follow my wackie lead.

    Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads, and to those without kids, a happy Father’s Day to your own dear old man!

    SYITG

  • Party at Okwata

    There was excitement oozing from GroupMe yesterday in anticipation of the party at Okwata. Bones was trying to draw the uptown crowd in. The lakeview clown car(s) all showed up! 16 Pax joined YHC on the lakefront to celebrate the day a legend was born. Brief disclaimer, then a mosey around the mardi gras fountain with butt kicks, high knees, and carioca.

    Circle up on the grassy area for a warmup.

    SSH IC x 49 – Hokie Pokie figured it out……
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Arm Circles IC x 20
    Grass Grabbers IC x 15
    Peter parker IC x 20
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20
    Parker Peter IC x 20

    Party favor 1

    Mosey to the top of the levee for a disperse Indian Run. Last pax runs to the front and yells disperse and an exercise. Pax disperse either side of the levee, complete 3 of the exercise, and run back up the levee back in formation. YHC called it a little over half way through as time was a concern. Regular Indian run to a clear spot for:

    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10 (Crowd pleaser)
    Disperse Indian Run is a challenge with 17 Pax. But no complaints here!

    Party favor 2

    Mosey back to a drier area for a little Shock and Awe (Happy Birthday to Me!)
    SSH IC x 6
    10 Burpees OYO
    SSH IC x 6
    9 Burpees OYO
    SSH IC x 6
    8 Burpees OYO
    ……..
    ……..
    SSH IC x 6
    2 Burpees OYO
    SSH IC x 6
    10 Burpees OYO (cause we don’t do 1 Burpee)
    Nobody commented on the odd 6 SSH. YHC let an extra slide by the first time, but there was no chance of letting anyone actually know. So 6 SSH’s it was throughout…….

    Mary
    Tin Snips IC x 15
    Flutter Kicks IC x 20


    Party favor 3

    Mosey back to the levee for :
    Quadraphilia with 5 burpees at the top of the levee each time up. Completed approximately 5 minutes of this horrible evolution before time was up

    Mosey back to the virtual shovel flag for countoff, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and closed out with a prayer to the Sky Q.

    NMM

    Thank you for showing up in force this morning and celebrating my birthday with me. A legend was born this day. That’s right, YHC shares a birthday with Janet Jackson………

    Bar-a-thon tomorrow night!!!

    ISI point!

    SYITG