F3 New Orleans

Tag: Lakefront

  • Rain, Respect, and Route 66

    Rain pelted the gloom as five wise men – the RESPECT PAX – formed around the flag.  They knew a beatdown in the rain was to be savored and not avoided.  They knew as long as the mind was moving and counting, the rain did not matter.  First, DISCLAIMER.  Now for the thang:

    For the Warm Up, mosey to the seawall in front of the fountain and SSH x 25, Sun Gods x 10 (both directions), and Abe Vigoda x 10.  Another short mosey to shake off the rain and Peter Parker x 15, Parker Peter x 15, Hillbillies x 15, and Woodchucks x 10.

    1st ROUTE 66 (descending): burpies out and jump squats back

    2nd ROUTE 66 (descending): crab cakes out and lunges back

    3rd ROUTE 66 (descending): dying cockroach out and flutter kicks back

    Back to the flag for COUNTOFF, NAMEORAMA, ANNOUNCEMENTS, INTENTIONS, PRAYER

    This was the first PAX at OKWATA that consisted of only 50+ year olds, as far as anyone can remember.  YHC appreciates and congratulates these wise men for coming out on a rainy, windy morning for F3.

  • Winter Is Coming to Okwata!

    Okwata was angry, and it rose up beyond its borders to claim the space where F3 normally gathered. YHC indicated the Shovel Flag would be relocated to the corner of Canal and Lakeshore Drive, which brought on much mumblechatter through the Group Me feed. With a map supplied from Heisenberg, 12 men, including one FNG, showed up to get stronger while enjoying the cooler weather and lower humidity. The clock struck 0530, a disclaimer was given, and mosey to a dry track of space for the warm up

    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 20
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    Peter Parkers IC x 20
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20
    Parker Peters IC x 20
    Arm Circles 10 fwd, 10 bwd

    Mosey back to the corner of Canal and Lakeshore Drive for The DirtyMacDeuce!

    Merkins IC x 12
    LBC IC x 12
    Squats IC x 12
    Two Columns Indian Run over the levee on Canal and back

    Shoulder Taps IC x 12
    Flutter Kicks IC x 12
    Copperhead Squats IC x 12
    Two Columns Indian Run over the levee on Canal and back

    Floyd Mayweathers IC x 12
    Tin Snips IC x 12
    Alternating Lunges IC x 12
    Two Columns Indian Run over the levee on Canal and back

    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 12
    WW2 Situps IC x 12
    Monkey Humpers IC x 12
    Two Columns Indian Run over the levee on Canal and back

    Mosey over the levee on Canal for Route 66

    Start with one Burpee at the first light pole, increase by one at each light pole up to eleven. 66 Burpees Total.

    Return to the Shovel Flag

    COT

    Count Off, Name-O-Rama, Announcements, Intentions, Closed with a prayer to the Sky Q

    NMM
    Welcome Seawall! T-Claps to Heisenberg for the EH. The cooler weather brought on the comment that “Winter is Coming.” (As a GoT Fan, I had to capture it) This is true, and the weather felt great! It is hard to believe that only a few hours drive to our east was an area suffering from a powerful hurricane. Keep those suffering in your thoughts and prayers, and don’t let your guard down yet, as hurricane season is still upon us.

    Thanks for posting with me today!

    SYITG!

  • Why Merkins Are Beneficial

    Overall a good showing for yet a still humid fall NOLA morning.  We started promptly at 5:30 after the disclaimer for both my ability as a trainer and my lack of sleep…

    Warm up

    Abogotas or windmills — 15 very slow…

    PP – 15

    MC -15

    IW – 20

    SSH-25

    First event:

    Eleven at Canal Blvd. with Squat jumps at top of levee and LBCs at bottom.

    Next a recap from Hokey Pokey Face book post the benefits of push ups (good time to catch breath versus countdown.)

    Merkins – 12

    Incline merkins – 10

    Decline merkins – 10

    Shoulder taps – 15

    More Merkins – 10

    Then….  Time for a Red Barchetta (“This a song about a car”)

    Modified using light poles as boundaries and recommendation by Walleye to head west along lake due to a straight line versus east.

    Run up to 5 poles (not including the baseline) — 50 SSH

    4 poles — 40 MC

    3 poles — 30 Lunges

    2 poles — 20 LBCs (but truncated due to time)

    1 poles – 10 Burpees

    Six was regrouped after each exercise.

    Quick Mary

    Flutter Kicks — 15

    Plank hold 30-40 seconds and back to flag

    Round of numbers, names, announcements, intentions and COT.

    Great to lead and thanks for opportunity,  sorry it’s been so long…

    Bongo

  • Mind and Body Work – Penalty at Okwata

    YHC arrived at Okwata a few minutes early to get a little time put in for the monthly ISI challenge, which has me looking at a jump rope in a whole new way.  The pax started to trickle in at about 0525, so YHC set the jump rope aside and greeted each member.  With the shovel flags planted, one for ‘Merica and one for F3, we were ready to roll.  A brief disclaimer for the veteran crew of fine members of F3…..and then…..mosey around the mardi fountain and circle up on the green space in front for:

    Warmup

    SSH IC x 21 (not the normal number, but a bit of foreshadowing)
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    IW IC x 15

    We all have a lot going on, and we tend to go through the motions without using our minds beyond the basic requirements. Today, the pax would experience a beat down that had both mind and body engaged. Not engaging the mind would lead to a physical penalty. Fun, right?
    The pax were asked to count off 1,2,1,2,1,2 and to remember if they are a 1 or a 2. Mosey to the levee.

    Indian run on the levee.
    Once each pax made a run to the front, halt for the first test.

    SSH IC x 10 followed by a silent count to 21. If any pax makes an intent to continue a SSH beyond 21, the whole pax would be penalized. Spoiler alert: The pax got penalized!

    Penalty: 1’s run down one side of the levee, 2’s go the other way. Run up the levee, complete 5 burpees and continue across the levee. Run back up the levee and finish with 5 burpees.

    Indian run with a disperse call.
    The pax were instructed to count off 1,2,3,4,5,6 and remember whether you are odd or even, but don’t forget if you are a 1 or 2.
    When the last pax reaches the front, yell disperse and odds go down one side of the levee, evens go the other way. Complete 3 burpees and run back up the levee to take your place back in formation.
    Once each pax made it to the front, halt for the next test.

    SSH IC x 10 followed by a silent count to 19. If any pax makes an intent to continue a SSH beyond 19, the whole pax would be penalized. Spoiler alert: The pax got penalized again!

    Penalty: 1’s run down one side of the levee, 2’s go the other way. Run up the levee, complete 5 burpees and continue across the levee. Run back up the levee and finish with 5 burpees.

    Regular Indian run again. Once each pax made it to the front, halt and turn around.
    Indian run with a disperse call headed back. YHC had the pax count off 1,2,3,4,5,6 again.
    When the last pax reaches the front, yell disperse and odds go down one side of the levee, evens go the other way. Complete 3 plankjacks and run back up the levee to take your place back in formation.
    Once each pax made it to the front, halt for the next test.

    SSH IC x 10 followed by a silent count to 17. If any pax makes an intent to continue a SSH beyond 17, the whole pax would be penalized. YHC has never seen the pax so synchronized doing a SSH! No penalty!  Well done!
    Mosey to the corner of Lakeshore and Canal.

    Modified Dora 123
    partner up
    50 burpees
    100 OH claps with a jump (it’s a SSH with a clap)
    150 Squats
    Cumulative count, partner runs up to top of levee at Canal and back down, flip flop until all exercises complete. Once team is complete, plank and wait or continue running up and down.

    Times Up, mosey back to the Shovel Flags.

    COT

    Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and closed with a prayer.

    Thanks for posting with me today! Well done, Men! SYITG!

  • Zoolander’s VQ Was So Phenomenal That No Title Can Do It Justice

    YHC did not sleep a wink the night before due to the excitement of his VQ at the Mandeville Lakefront.  Weather and Pax support could not have been better.  Warmorama consisted of the following:

    Side Straddle Hops (IC)

    Don Quixotes (IC)

    Seal Jacks (IC)

    Monkey Humpers (IC)

    Twist & Pivot (IC)

    Toe touches (IC)

    Side-to-Side Squats

    In the frugal spirit of F3, YHC introduced 3 mostly filled 1 gallon paint cans from his garage as coupons for the Pax to be used throughout the beat down, which went something mildly resembling the following:

    Mosey – Indian Run Lunges while passing paint cans back.  Last person in line runs to the front with paint can and passes back. Rinse and repeat.

    Circle up for:

    –         Atlas Twists — The Hammer, as an example of brute strength, refused to relinquish his paint can.

    –         Alternating Forearm Plank with Arm Raise — switching arms after PAX counting off around the circle

    –         LBCs (IC)

    –         Peter Parker Peters w/ Leg Raise and Mountain Climb (IC)

    –         Sputter Kicks (IC) — aka slow flutter kicks. Thanks to Barely Legal for leading the cadence.

    –         Freddie Mercurys (IC)

    –         Alternating Forearm Plank Crunch (IC)

    –         Sister Mary Katherines (OYO)

    Bearmuda Triangle BLIMPS – Like the F3-defined Bearmuda Triangle but with BLIMPS.  Two times around the triangle with bear crawls between the 3 points (paint cans) and performing 1 exercise at each station.

    –         10 x Burpees

    –         10 x Lunges

    –         15 x Imperial Walkers

    –         20 x Merkins

    –         25 x Plank Jacks

    –         30 x Squats

    Impromptu Freak Nasties and Derkins on the Lake Wall, followed by another lap around the Triangle this time with squats at the points and Groucho Walks between.  Return to the Lake Wall for Box Jumps (IC).  Thanks to Turbo for simplifying “Up means Up, Down means Down”.

    Mosey back to shovel flag for the burn out.  Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties with the portable speaker and YHC’s inability to overcome them, our music was cut short during think drills, which included call outs of sprawls, burpees, merkins, high knees, squatting punches and superman banana.

    Closed out with COT – Counterama, Namerama (welcome FNG James, now known as Psycho) Announcements, and the compulsory closing prayer.

    Thanks for letting me lead, men.  Look forward to the next one.

  • Remembering Senator John McCain and Tech. Sgt. John Chapman

    “I was in solitary confinement when my captors offered to release me.  I knew why.  If I went home, they would use it as propaganda to demoralize my fellow prisoners…I wasn’t in great shape, and I missed everything about America.  But I turned it down.

    A lot of prisoners had it worse than I did…I always like to strut a little after I’d been roughed up to show the other guys I was tough enough to take it.  But after I turned down their offer, they worked me over harder than they ever had before.  For a long time.  And they broke me.

    When they brought me back to my cell, I was hurt and ashamed, and I didn’t know how I could face my fellow prisoners.  The good man in the cell next door, my friend, Bob Craner, saved me.  Through taps on a wall he told me I had fought as hard as I could…And then he told me to get back up and fight again for our country…

    I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else’s.  I loved it not just for the many comforts of lie here.  I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people.  I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for.  I was never the same again.  I wasn’t my own man anymore.  I was my country’s.”

    – Senator John McCain

    15 PAX  began and ended this morning’s beat down on the Mandeville Lakefront by honoring two American heroes.

    YHC shared Senator McCain’s recollection of his captivity in Vietnam in his own words, gave a brief disclaimer, and the PAX got to work with a warmup of 10 Burpees OYO, 10 Seal Jacks IC, 10 Don Quixotes IC, and 10 Toe Touches IC.

    Short mosey down the Lakefront for more warmup with Shoulder Circles, 10 OH Hand Claps IC, 20 OH Presses IC, and 10 Moroccan Night Clubs IC.

    Then an Indian Run to the Milestone Marsh AO basketball court for a three team possession game.  Shirts, skins and muscle shirts competed in a completely stupid and utterly pointless game of possession with a nerf football.  There were random rule changes, completely unpredictable stoppages in play, impressive displays of athleticism, and no shortage of smack talk.  In the end, the PAX got a good workout without realizing it and it was time to head back to the shovel flag.

    On our way, we honored Tech. Sgt. John Chapman whose widow received his Medal of Honor from President Trump this week during a ceremony at the White House:

    “Fighting in the early morning hours through brisk air and deep snow, Chapman sacrificed his own life to preserve the lives of his teammates during the Battle of Taku Ghar, Afghanistan, on March 4, 2002.  Chapman, upon exiting the helicopter, immediately charged uphill through the snow toward enemy positions while under heavy fire from three directions.  Once on the ground, the team assessed the situation and moved quickly to the high ground.  The most prominent cover and concealment on the hilltop were a large rock and tree.  As they approached the tree, Chapman received fire from two enemy personnel in a fortified position.  He returned fire, charged the enemy position and took out the enemy combatants within.

    Almost immediately, the team encountered machine gun fire from another fortified enemy position only 12 meters away.  Chapman deliberately moved into the open to engage the new enemy position.  As he engaged the enemy, he was struck by a burst of gunfire and became critically injured.  Chapman regained his faculties and continued to fight despite his severe wounds.  He sustained a violent engagement with multiple enemy fighters for over an hour before paying the ultimate sacrifice.  Due to his remarkably heroic actions, Chapman is credited with saving the lives of his teammates.”

    God Bless Senator John McCain and Tech. Sgt. John Chapman.  God Bless America.

    Countorama, nameorama, and The Hammer prayed us out on our way to the coffeeteria.

    Thanks for letting me lead guys.

  • 1 Year Into My F3 Addiction

    Do not count the days. Make the days count

    -Muhammad Ali

    That being said, it has been around 365 days since Ben Todd showed up to the Mandeville lakefront to see what this F3 thing he had been told about was exactly.  Uncomfortably out of place and uninitiated, he stood there , hands in his pockets just waiting for, he knew not what. When an older gentleman offered his hand and introduced himself as Captain Sparkles (RESPECT), he wondered what he had gotten himself into. That day he was pushed and, in turn, pushed himself. He heard all the nicknames and still had no clue. A burly bruiser of a man called Shooter chatted him up here and there throughout the “beat down” extending just enough extra welcome that a return the following week seemed like a slightly less uncomfortable idea. At the conclusion of the sweaty soreness-inducing session, he was given his own nickname, Bushwacker, and the social and physical discomfort slowly began to dissipate. YHC has been hooked on F3 ever since, and has love, gratitude, respect and appreciation for each one of his brothers.

    If you’re still with me, this is how it went down today…

    WARM UP

    Toe Touches x20 IC

    Scorpion Kicks x20 IC

    Air Presses x20 IC

    ACTION

    Mosied to Marigny for: Dora 1, 2, 3 – partner up, cumulative 100 merkins, 200 LBCs, 300 squats, p1 exercises while p2 runs up the block and back, switch

    Next, on to Lamarque for a roll of Dice of Doom – 20 putins IC

    On to Foy for another roll – 5 freak nasties

    Beachbound for Ring of Fire : 4 stations/4 groups – 3 exercises per station – rotate stations until all exercises have been performed by all groups for 1 minute (FNG Duck Sauce sealed his nickname with banter of foul fornication as it related to some of our sandy spastic movements and exercising efforts)

    Indian Run back to the Flag (T Claps to Tiny Tim, who didn’t have the juice to enjoy the full beatdown, but was awaiting our return, having never stopped moving in active recovery)

    MARY

    Crunchy Frogs x10 IC

    Freddy Mercuries x10 IC

    Superman/Banana

    Naming of FNG: Duck Sauce

    Tiny Tim prayed us out with heartfelt thanks.

    One year down, the rest of my life to to go! Many thanks for following my lead today and for y’alls friendship

     

  • Can You Feel The LOVE?

    We were all FNGs once…BUT….IF….you’ve been an F3 Northshore FNG recently, making your first post at the most logical AO, the Mandeville Lakefront, you’ve experienced some extreme H8 from on-Q-high.  Of course, I would never mention any Qs by name…but a few nicknames come to mind: Turbo (extreme H8), Maverick (he called it “a sampling” of H8), and who could forget Bushwacker and his “animal planet” on what had to be the longest set of city blocks in all of Mandeville (I attribute my slow typing to the blisters on my fingers from bear crawling).  And, there may have been another obstacle course beatdown sprinkled somewhere in there, but YHC cant remember that one very well.  To make a long story short, there seems to have been some sort of Challenge or Race at each Saturday morning beatdown this summer.   So YHC figured with all this H8, it was time for some LOVE.  So here’s how it went:

    Warmarama

    SSH, Imperial Walkers, High Knees, Butt Kicks.  x 15 all IC.  Then off we go for some fun and games.  Mosey to the Great Lawn…

    Thang:

    45 Minute game of Ultimate Frisbee with some school yard smack talkin’ mixed in.  It was awesome!  YHC felt like a kid out there.  Raise your hand if you’ve said, “Losers walk” in the last 30 years.    The game went great–we had some diving catches, some nice throws, some blocked passes and deflections.  Even Chris Berman and Tom Jackson would have been impressed if they had seen the full speed, Sportscenter-esque collision between Assets and TankedUp.    Relieved that no one was “Jacked Up” after the collision, YHC called “next point wins.”  With a quick score by the Shirts (the Skins fell asleep because the rest of the game was such a blowout), it was time to mosey back to the Flag for some Mary:

    Flutter Kicks, Hello Dollys, Putins, Rower Sit-ups, and Leg Raises.

    Countarama, Namorama, and YHC prayed us out.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead, men.  I appreciate it.

  • Northshore H8!

    There’s been a fair amount of mumble chatter emanating from the Southshore lately about the so called H8! beat down.  Never to be outdone by our Southshore brothers, the Northshore PAX decided to turn up the volume to 11 this morning with a modified version of the H8!   After the standard disclaimer and a warmup of SSHs, Seal Jacks, Toe Touches, Imperial Walkers, Front to Back Lunges, Lateral Lunges, and Windmills, all IC and with rep counts from 10-20, YHC led fourteen men westward on the Mandeville Lakefront to the launch pad for 40 minutes of suffering.

    The PAX started the clock and their first lap with one Merkin.  This one Merkin was the centerpiece of YHC’s diabolical plan to make the Northshore H8! .01% better than the Southshore version.  YHC’s poor reading comprehension and math skills actually made it a lot harder, however.  YHC misinterpreted Hawg’s Friday afternoon briefing, realized his mistake 1 lap into the H8!, but by that time the horses were out of the barn and it was too late to recall them for revised instructions.  Anyone who has Q’d a beat down know how that works.

    At any rate, after that first Merkin (which was terrific across the board by the way), the PAX bear crawled 35 yards, ran out and back for .4 miles round trip, bear crawled 35 yards back to our starting point and then performed 8 burpees and 8 Merkins within each burpee to complete one lap.  This last part is where YHC mangled Hawg’s instructions.  We should have performed descending Merkins instead of 8 Merkins for each burpee, i.e. 36 instead of 64.  Too late.  The die was cast, as mentioned above, and there was nothing to do but get on with it.

    So we did, completing as many laps as possible in 40 minutes, dropping the number of burpees and Merkins by one on each lap.  Whether it was the extra Merkins or our lack of fitness relative to our Southshore brothers, we’ll never know, but no one completed 8 laps in the prescribed 40 minutes.  The PAX cheerfully embraced the suck, however, which is something.  Even when the wind picked up, it started to rain hard, and the Sky Q started throwing lightening bolts nearby.

    Thanks for letting me lead this morning, guys, and welcome to FNGs Survivor and The Hammer.  See you in the Gloom.

     

     

     

     

  • Carry Anothers Burden and Push Yourself

    YHC unexpectedly took the Okwata Q this week for two reasons. First was to help a brother out, and the second was because Okwata is a Rockin’ AO! With all the recent talk of the H8 lately, YHC knew we needed to do something to begin training for it. There’s no doubt previous training for the H8 led to the World dominance at the Gnarly Nutria! Enough about the World’s victory….

    YHC planted two shovel flags, one for ‘Merica, and one for the Nation! With the ole watch telling us it was 0530, time for the disclaimer…and then….

    Mosey around the Mardi Gras fountain, carioca left, then carioca right and circle up in front of the fountain.

    Warm Up
    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 15
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10

    Plank-o-rama (Ode to Rudy)
    Peter Parker IC x 15
    Shoulder Taps IC x 15
    Parker Peter IC x 15
    Mountain Climber IC x 15

    Mosey to the top of levee behind the fountain for a Chaos Run.
    Pax line up and begin to run toward Canal. When the Q calls “Disperse”, the Pax runs down either side, executes 3 burpees, then sprints back to top of levee, then continue run in single column formation. The Q called “disperse” about 5 or 6 times before we made it to Canal.

    BLIMPS
    Starting at the first corner of Lakeshore Drive and Canal.
    Burpees IC x 5 (6 count)
    Run up Canal to Amethyst Street
    Lunges IC x 10 (4 count)
    Run across to other corner of Amethyst and Canal
    Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 15
    Run down Canal to Lakeshore Drive
    Merkins IC x 20 (4 count)
    Run to original starting point corner
    Plank Jacks IC x 25 (4 count)
    Run up Canal to Amethyst Street
    Squats IC x 30 (4 count)

    Well, that was the end of the first set of BLIMPS, time to throw in some H8 training!
    Burpees IC x 5 (6 count)
    Run to the top of the levee on Canal, Bear Crawl across, run down to Lakeshore Drive
    Lunges IC x 10
    Run back up to top, Bear Crawl across, run down to Amethyst
    Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 15
    Do this until the BLIMPS are completed….

    Times Up, Mosey back to Flag for COT

    Count off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions, and ended with a prayer to the Sky Q.

    NMM

    Upon completing Plank Jacks at Amethyst, YHC stopped everyone for a 10 count. YHC asked all Pax to push themselves as hard as they can on the last leg, symbolizing carrying the burden of someone for just that brief time. We can’t take the pain or the suffering away, but we can help them carry it, even if for just a short period of time. It may only be symbolic, but YHC believes it transcends much deeper.

    YHC got to meet the legendary Amnesia today! Not sure if he’ll remember where Okwata is…..

    Thanks to Hokie Pokey, Bongo, JV, and Mahatma for pushing me today!

    Thanks for posting with me! SYITG