Tag: Mahatma

  • 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

  • Who me?

    After learning yours truly had the Q at 5:28am…

    Disclaimer

    Warm up : SSHx35/IWx20/ACx10f&10b/MCx20

    The Thang…

    Bear Crawl around Triangle of Trees(30yds)/Goblet Squatsx20 w rock.                                                          Lunge Walk around ToT’s/Squat Pressx20 w rock.                                                                                                Burpeesx10 at each Tree/Goblet Squatsx20 w rock.

    All with Rocks: Buddy sit upsx30 each man/Slow curlsx20/Slow Rowsx20/Stepupsx20(alt leg)/Slow Shoul. Pressx20/Slow curlsx15/Slow BBCL’s(ball buster core lifts)x15/Slow rowsx15/Buddy sit upsx20 each man

    A little change of scenery(and a 20 yd mosey…this is the uptowner, correct)

    Peoples Chair-1 min…last 20 sec rock overhead/Peoples chair-30sec…last 10sec rock overhead/Peter Parkerx20/Parker Peterx20

    Got to do a little running – 61 yd sprintx2

    Mary – LBC’sx35/Slow H. Dollyx20

    CO/NOR/Intentions/Prayer

  • Summer Sunrise

    7 seasoned PAX arrived in the gloom to welcome the day at the best AO in town.  The humidity remains brutal – but YHC continues to hold out hope for the elusive Cold Front which is always allegedly right around the corner.

    But not today.  Today is humidity and sweat.  So lets get started…

    Mosey to the swamplands in front of the fountain for warmup.

    • SSH x25
    • IW x25
    • PP x25
    • MC x25
    • PP x25

    Head to the benches in front of the fountain for The Conveyor.  7 PAX, so 6 stations:

    • LBCs
    • Box Jumps
    • Dips
    • Merkins
    • Step Ups
    • More Dips

    1 PAX at each station.  The 7th PAX runs the circuit around the fountain and takes the place of the LBC PAX.  LBC moves on to take over Box Jump.  And so on….  Keep  exercising at your station until your replacement gets there!

    The last Dip PAX gets tapped out and runs around to take on the LBC spot.  Repeat until everyone has hit all of the stations.

    Mosey over to the leveee for Stairway to Seven (modified from the Lexicon to fit our purposes)

    • 1 Burpee
    • Up to the top for 1 Squat Jump
    • Down to the other side bottom for 1 Squat Jump
    • Back up for 1 more Squat Jump
    • Back down to where you started and plank for the 6.  YHC notices that “plank for the 6” too often gets interpreted as “rest when you finish and wait”.  So he started pushing the PAX to PLANK.  No rest until everyone finishes.

    Repeat with 2x, then 3x, 4x, 5x (take a break, we’re halfway there…), then 6x and 7x.

    Mosey to the House of Pain.  Partner up

    • Bear Crawl up the Levee, 5 burpees, run down (the timer)
    • Pull Ups – goal of 10x per partner (spot as needed)
    • LBCs
    • Dips

    6:09 – time to head back for 6MOM at the flag.  25x of LBC, FK, Cockroach, HD.

    Circle up for Name-o-Rama, Announcements (Convergence!) and Intentions.  YHC in particular asks for PAX to offer a prayer for his Father, Father-in-Law and Sister who are all facing health challenges right now.  Its been a tough month helping each of them get situated and prepared to face whatever comes next.  But with Sky Q’s guidance and grace, we will all be given the strength to face what He has in store for us.  Thanks to all of the PAX for the prayers, kind words, and support.

  • Fracsac’s Foundry

    YHC filled the empty Q spot at the Foundry less than a day earlier.  Upon waking up to the pitter patter of rain on the roof, YHC was thinking that was a bad idea.  Then the phrase “rain or shine” came to mind, and all was better.  The rain actually held out for the most part.

    Six veteran Foundry F3 men gathered near the Shovel Flag at 0530 and heard the disclaimer, followed by a mosey to the track for the warmup:

    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 15
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    Arm Circles IC x 20

    Partner Up for Four Corners

    Starting at first turn of the track
    10 Carolina Wine Mixers IC x 10
    Sprint to next turn
    Partner Derkins IC x 10
    Sprint to next turn
    Merkins IC x 10
    Sprint to final turn
    Partner Derkins IC x 10 (Flap Jack from second turn)

    Mosey to road on the way to the Foundry
    Starting at first light post, 5 squats. Run to next light post and complete 10 squats, and continue to increase by 5 each light post. Continue up to 30 squats at Foundry.

    Stations
    Stay partnered up
    Station 1 – Pullups AMRAP
    Step Ups – AMRAP
    Run to bike path, 5 burpees, run back (Timer)

    3 Burpee Bataan Death March
    Indian Run on Bike Path. Last man drops off for 3 burpees and sprint to front. Complete one lap, approximately one mile.
    Return to Foundry for Rinse and Repeat of Stations.

    Indian Run back to the Track. 100 meter sprint, then mosey back to the flag.

    Mary
    Flutter Kicks IC x 20
    Hello Dolly IC x 15

    Times Up

    COT
    Count off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions, and Closed with a Prayer.

    Thanks for posting at Fracsac’s Foundry!
    SYITG!

  • 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!

  • Maupin Hero WOD at The Uptowner

    Such a late backblast…I’ll try to remember what happened.

    Hawqcycle was on the Q schedule, but, was out of town for the BRR and suggested I take it. So I did.

    Warm-up, IC:

    • SSH x 20
    • Windmills x 15
    • Mountain climbers x 10
    • Peter Parkers x 10

    Mosey to the track, where we began the Maupin Hero WOD, which consists of 4 rounds of the following:

    • Run 800 meters
    • 49 merkins
    • 49 Big Boy sit-ups
    • 49 air squats

    We had 4 “official” finishers before the time ran out. Thanks for letting me VQ again! Still not sure if it counts. One of these days I will create an actual workout!

     

     

  • 40 points are better than 0 points

    It was a rough Monday morning for us Saints fans on the heels of that embarrasing loss in the season opener.  Surely a 45min therapy session at Rock City would help cure any hangovers or headaches.  Here’s how the healing went:

    Started with a mosey to usual area for warmup x20ea SSH, AC, WM, LSS, LCC, follwed by a brief delay where YHC pointed out scoring 40 points in a game is nothing to shake a stick….gotta think positive!  YHC annouced we’d knock out 40 of the final exercise which were SSH, despite Rudy’s request for burpees, which would come later.  Then a bear crawl to the rockpile to make sure the juices were flowing.

    We picked our rocks and headed to the main field/track area, keeping the rocks moving along the way with curls and presses.

    Circuit #1:  We lined up on the back of the endzone and partnered up.  PAX #1 ran to opposite endzone for 10 Burpees and ran back (timer) while PAX#2 knocked out Curls x20, LBC X20, Curls x20, LBC x20,…until partner was back.  Flip flop, rinse and repeat twice for a total of 3 rounds.

    Circuit #2:  We lined up again, this time approx 1oyds from the edge of the track.  Got things going with a 10 Burpee pre-thang to bring our total up to 40 Burpees.   Then, 4 rounds of Shoulder Press x10, Bear Crawl to track, Merkins x10, Backwards Bear Crawl…..totaling 40ea on the two exercises.

    Mary:  Round Robin included Hello Dolly x20, V-Ups x10, In-Outs x10, Penguins x20, capped off with LBT x31 to give a shout out to the LSU Tigers scoring 31 points and to Mahatma’s son who is on the team.

    Time was ticking so time back to the rockpile, then a mosey to the flag followed by some planking.

    COT:  YHC explained the orignal workout plan envisioned was hinged around the Saints winning and using the points scored as rep counts and as a way to celebrate our road to the post season.  Since we instead ended with a loss, YHC thought it would be fitting to still use the points scored by the Saints as a reminder for us to be greatful for what you have in life and not stress over what you don’t.  Additionally, we all have rough days on occasion and need to remind ourselves that the next day is a chance to move forward and make any improvements….which is hopefully what our beloved football team will do.  Capped things off with a prayer with intentions for Hawg’s mom and YHC’s son Brady.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    Tool

     

     

     

  • The Fight Club: Round One

    The Fight Club: Round One

    After a false start a few years ago, F3 is back in Kenner! The Fight Club is on!

     

    YHC hated F3 when Hawg and Channel Mullet dragged him to his first F3 workout last October. YHC hated F3 when he continued to workout at the Birdcage as he was unable to finish any of the exercises. A few weeks later, YHC’s opinion of F3 slowly changed from one of hate to tolerate to love. YHC knew F3 was getting into his blood when he would drive by the boxing statues in Kenner and think, “that would be the coolest place to lead an F3 workout. We could run up the steps, take the long run up the ramp on the levee, and we could run to the park nearby for some suicides. Maybe we can incorporate some of the drift wood into a workout?” So here we are six months later with the launch of the Fight Club at LaSalle Landing in Kenner. The home to the first ever World Heavyweight Boxing Championship match, and now F3NOLA.  8 men came out and endured the rain and wind of Tropical Storm Gordon to workout in the gloom.

     

    The Warm-Up

    We moseyed over to the Rivertown area with plans to workout by the picnic benches following the warm-up. (Note to self, they lock up the Rivertown area at night). We circled in the parking lot outside of the area for a standard F3 warm-up.

    SSH -20

    Peter Parkers – 20

    IW – 20

    Plank jacks – 15

    Arm Circles – 20

    Annies – 20

     

    Double Dip

    We moseyed back to the levee to continue the Fight Club. YHC planned on doing the next workout at Rivertown picnic benches, but since the Fight Club is the best site ever for F3, he was not deterred. We took care of the decline merkins and dips near the statues.

    15 – decline merkins

    20 – dips

     

    The Rocky

    We split up into 2 groups of 4, one group at each set of stairs. We ran up the steps like Rocky and at the top, we raised our hands in a jumping celebration (5 burpees). We ran back to the bottom of the hill and back up for more celebrating (4 burpees). Continue up and down until we reach one small burpee celebration.

     

    Dora

    YHC thought Dora was a must for any F3 launch as it is the ideal F3 exercise in his humble opinion. Do more reps of 3 workouts than you ever thought you could with help from an F3 brother and it has a stupid cartoon name (Dora sums up what F3 workouts are all about). While one pax did the rep, the other ran the long way up and down the levee (over to the police station and up the long ramp on the levee). Props to Jingle Vader for tapping into the Dark Side when he took a nasty stumble and was still the first to complete the Dora with a little help from Amnesia.

    100 merkins

    200 jump squats

    300 American hammers

     

    Mary

    Wife Pleasers – 20

    Flutterkicks – 15

    Dying Cockroach – 20

    Penguins – 20

    O Dolly – 15

    LBCs – 20

    Nolan Ryan – 20

     

    Depature

    Counted off, name-o-rama, and we named our new FNG. Welcome Nick Hybart the next time you workout at the Fight Club, and call him “The Gremlin.” The only announcement was a call to travel to Mobile on the 22nd to help with the start of F3 in Alabama. Thanks for showing up men to help bring F3 to Kenner, praying that God will use 45 minutes in the morning on Wednesdays to help the men in our community be better leaders, husbands, and fathers for His glory.

     

    RevSox

  • Try Something New – 2 Year Anniversary

    2 Years ago, YHC arrived in the gloom of City Park at the suggestion of a work colleague. Little did YHC know that he was going to be embraced by fellow men and begin a journey to become a High Impact Man.   F3 took this Sad Clown out of his regular routine of pumping dollars into the gym, living the POGO40, and letting his Jester rule his life.  This was because YHC decided to TRY SOMETHING NEW; take the DRP.  Too many times we are scared by the unknown  that we deny ourselves the possibility of something we may enjoy.   Today, YHC remade the commitment he made 2 years ago and decided to try something new.   Rock City is the not the home AO for YHC.  What better way to take the DRP than to sign up to Q.

    During YHC’s Sad Clown days, he had a subscription to Men’s Health Magazine. In an effort to give the PAX a Downpainment, YHC skimmed the dusty magazines for Rock City inspiration.  While there was a lot of great information, there were also some exercises that should be put back on the shelf.

    Disclaimer; Mosey to rocks

    W/U – 1 mi. AMRAP each exercise

    • Squats
    • Merkins
    • Mountain climbers
    • V-ups
    • Split squats (:30 per leg)
    • SSH
    • Plank
    • Single Wife Pleaser (:30 per leg)
    • Burpees

    Grab a rock

    • Lunge & Twist x 20 paces
    • Curls, Press, Carry x 20 paces
    • Rinse & Repeat

    Mosey to the Pavilion

    • 10 IC Incline Bench, Military Press, Merkins
    • 10 IC Tricep Extensions, Bicep Curls, Rows
    • 10 IC Goblet Squats, Bulgarian Split Squats, Rock Swings

    Partner up

    • Big Boy Sit ups x 10 (each)
    • Standing Torso Twist x 10
    • Plank Combo x 10

    Mosey Back to the Rocks (Time toTSN)

    • Over – Under x 10 – Stand back to back with your partner and pass the rock over head, then bend down and pass it through your legs. This received quite a bit of Mumble chatter, but here we have Bogey & Wall Eye with excellent form.

    • 20 IC Merkins
    • Mosey to the Flag

    Counterama, Namerama,

    Announcements – Pelicanman Duathlon, New Kenner AO

    Ball of Man thanking the Sky Q for the gift of today, the opportunity presented by F3, request for strength, and the Serenity Prayer.

    Thank you for the opportunity to lead,

    Da Parish

  • Put Me In Coach

    “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”  -Vince Lombardi 

    Another notch was added to The Foundry belt when 10 of F3’s finest gathered in City Park for the weekly hump day workout.  Lots of themed workouts lately with Elvis, Notre Dame, Iron Pax, etc so YHC kicked around several themed ideas with no avail until finally formulating a plan 5 minutes prior to kickoff.  Nothing extravagant in store, just a mix of usual stuff and few things with a twist, all of which would hopefully break a sweat along with building some endurance and muscle.  Being that football season is upon us, why not steal a few drills from the world of pigskin….who knows, one of us may get called up to the big leagues.  After the PAX of 10 assembled and the usual disclaimer, the clock started for 4 quarters of sweaty goodness.

    1st Quarter:

    Mosey down Roosevelt Mall with some high knees, butt kicks, and backpedaling thrown in for good measure.  Huddle up in the grass for IWx20, PPx20, ACx20, WMx10, Seal Jacksx10, capped off with approx 20 Up-Downs.  Then, a mosey to The Refinery.

    2nd Quarter:

    5 Stations including Body Rows, Hanging Knee Ups, Squats, Pull Ups, with timer being Step Ups x12L + x12R.  Rinse and repeat.  YHC’s forearms were screaming from lots of bar gripping so thinking we should have substituted the rows for dips or merkins.

    Then to the sideline (large landscape timber) for Derkins x20 OYO, Lunge Walk to tree and back, followed by Derkins x20.

    Halftime:

    Mosey to water fountain for hydration and 1-2 min plankorama.

    3rd Quarter:

    Mosey over to Christian Brother’s Falcon Field for some turf time.  First up would be a partner routine with PAX #1 performing AMRAP Burpee Jump Overs in rapid fashion on the goal line while PAX #2 runs across the field to the opposite endzone for 10 Merkins then runs back.  Flip flop, rinse and repeat.  Lots of grunts and heavy breathing.

    4th Quarter:

    The last circuit was originally designed to be somewhat of an experiment to test our athleticism but YHC botched it up a bit due to a cardio buzz.  Plan called for a series of relay team sprints (40yds) to see if we could put any correlation to age, F3 tenure, etc….and get the competitive juices flowing.

    Sprint #1:  Line up by age with young bucks on one team and old dudes on the other.  First person from each team sprints 40yds and touches goal line, which then prompts next person to run, and so on.  This resulted in a photo finish so we concluded it was a tie.  Looking back, YHC could have laid this out in a different way but we rolled with it.

    Sprint #2:  Line up by amount of time participating in F3 which had it split with guys around 1 year or less on one side and the vets on the other.  Same 40 yd sprint with the newbies coming out on top.  T-claps to Mahatma for pushing hard, maybe too hard.

    Sprint# 3:  Line up again but due to time ticking and YHC having a brainfart, we settled for a group sprint then proceeded to mosey across the grass, alongside the track and back to the flag:

    Two Minute Warning:

    Plankorama and Hip Flexors to seal the deal.

    Overtime:

    COT and sweaty BOM to cap things off.

    Not much mumble chatter or buffoonery to report.  It was a rather quiet 45 minutes…YHC can only hope that was due to a good beatdown being delivered and not a just a poor job of keeping the PAX entertained.

    Thanks for the motivation, camaraderie, and chance to lead.

    SYITG,

    Tool