February 7 will be my two month anniversary in F3 and what better way to celebrate than with a VQ. Although F3 NOLA has readily accepted me and keeps me motivated, YHC felt that leading a workout was the last piece of the puzzle to fully become a member of F3 NOLA. After all, the essence of F3 is peer lead workouts, and there’s no better way to repay the free workouts and fellowship than to lead a workout! A PAX of five met in the true gloom of fog for a beat down at the new Popeyes AO. A quick disclaimer and off we went.
Warm-up: Mosey to a grassy area near the lake and circled up for the following IC exercises
20 SSH
20 Arm Circles (10 forward and 10 backwards, with one nameless PAX counting down instead of up; however, as an untested Q, YHC was determined to keep the count and persevered, LOL! Nice try @revsox!
21 IW
20 Plank Jacks
The Thang: We moseyed from the warm-up area to a public sitting area. The PAX split into two groups on either side of the waterway. PAX 1 started at the first bench with five step-ups, increasing one step-up each bench thereafter (10 total benches). PAX 2 started at the first bench with five dips, increasing one each bench thereafter (10 benches total). The PAX assumed the high plank position to wait for the six. PAXs 1&2 switched sides and excercises.
After meeting back at the starting point, high plank to wait for the six, the PAX moseyed to the steps of the snack bar and circled up, approximately 50 yards away, for Dora (100 American Hammers-200 Squats-300 LBCs), while the other PAX ran to the steps to complete a Merkins ladder up the steps, six at the bottom one at the top.
With less than 15 minutes left, a highly motivated PAX ran approximately 250 meters to the workout equipment area for a quick round of step-ups, pull-ups, dips, and hanging knee-ups, with five knee-ups as the timer.
After one round the PAX made a brisk run back to the flag for some Mary, 21 penguins and 15 flutter kicks.
Count-off, Name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer
Thanks to the PAX for following my lead and staying motivated to get our money’s worth. Also thanks for the encouragement and support of those who weren’t able to make it to my VQ. Thanks to F3 NOLA for health, happiness, fellowship, and faith. It is truly an honor to lead, especially this fine group of men!
“Without continual growth and progress. such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” —Benjamin Franklin
The Muscleship blasted off in solid fashion this Saturday, thanks in part to the 16 PAX flight crew that hopped on board for the maiden voyage. This new workout and AO was strategically engineered to accomodate the every growing number of men eager to start their Saturdays with a F3 beatdown. Several guys got in some RRR miles before blast off…T-claps! As the clock approached 6:30, it was good to see several reguklars trickle in and a few koters to boot. After a brief description of what was in store, and of course the disclaimer, we made our way over to the front of NOMA to get started.
Warmup Part 1: IWx20, WMx20, LSSx20, SSAC (Sixty Second Arm Circles, from the F3 website…T-plank Left ACx15, LBCx15, T-plank Right ACx15), capped off with IPSWx20. In the middle of this we noticed The Mothership trying to invade our territory in the nearby field so we upped the volume on cadence in an effort to claim dominance. Before departing, YHC asked the PAX to start thinking of some good jokes, hoping Bogey would be the star of the show.
Warmup Part 2: Short mosey to the banks of The Big Lake for some Planking and Merkins. We lined up all holding a high plank, then 5 Merkins, then a joke, then 4 Merkins, joke, 3 Merkins, joke, 2 Merkins….at this point The Mothership did a fly by so our last joke was centered around them, then 1 last Merkin.
Foundry: Short mosey to The Foundry where YHC realized the PAX was too large for plan A so we settled for Plan B: Split up with group #1 doing 3 rounds of PIMPS (timer) near the pull-up bars and group #2 doing BLIMPS AMRAP in the grass. Flip flop with a “pimp daddy” being chosen in each group to be the timer. Lots of intense stuff here with very little opportunity for small talk.
Lake-North Side: Next stop was another stretch of shoreline for Inchworm Burpess x10, joke, x8, joke(s), x6, dirty joke, x4, another dirty joke, x2, maybe a final joke.
Lake-South Side: After a pit stop at the water hydrant to hydrate, we made our way over to the raised ledge along The Big Lake track. We rotated duties with mutiple PAX running cadence and various counts for LLSUx20, Dipsx20, RLSUx20, Derkins x15…breather….rinse and repeat with the highlight being Bogey and Abacus peforming a duet in tandem.
Lelong Drive for Cinco de Cardio: Here we gatherded for five 1-minute rounds of various cardio-rich exercises which proved to be much more manly than the moseying and frolicking that our counterparts were doing with The Mothership. We dug deep and did Semi-Circle Mountain Climbers, Rocky Balboas, Partner Plank Slaps, IPSW, and Groiners as the finale.
One minute left so back to the flag to call it a morning. COT, annoucements, prayer, and some admiration for the new steel encased shovel flag that may be worthy of it’s own name. Also, YHC thanked the PAX for posting and making The Muscleship launch a success. YHC wasn’t sure what to expect knowing so many of us enjoy and look forward to The Mothership each week and trying to split that up is no easy feat. The F3 vatican has always encouraged an “addition by division” concept when trying to grow so it was good to see all the PAX on board with that. YHC also mentioned a workout several years ago where a fellow PAX Q’d with some new exercises and routines, which worked well, and after talked about one of the strengths of F3 is that the group always supports those trying new things, typically with little or no heckling from the peanut gallery. Thanks to the PAX for pushing hard and helping to make it a good one!
My thermometer on the car showed 39 F driving in the gloom, could have been worst (610 Stomp yesterday…) given little wind and no rain. Regardless, (9) PAX showed up wide eyed and willing to help celebrate a beat down marking (3) years in F3 for me! Everything revolved around the number 3 or multiples of, so off we go into the cold.
Warm Up
(27) — SSH
(18) — IW
(18) — Arm Circles
(18) — Mountain Climbers
(18) — Toe Touches
Now to formally “Warm Up”:
Route 66 via Burpees at each park bench, easy enough….
Then to the open field across from the new Children’s Museum under construction
Bear Crawl Ring of Fire: All PAX form a circle and get in a plank position, in a counter clockwise order each PAX does 10 Merkins. After one rotation we near bear crawl 1/3 of the circle circumference. Repeat for one full 360 rotation.
Move on to Museum pond, after a brief recap of risks of box jumps and former incident…. exercises in cadence excluding Box jumps:
(18) Dips
(18) Right Leg step ups
(18) Left Leg step ups
Repeat 1 X
Mosey back to Track for Mary:
(30) LBCs
(18) Flutter Kicks
(18) Hello Dollies
(2) Laps around track sprint straight aways, jog curves, after curve (6) Jump Squats
Back to flag for COT. As I noted above, many thanks to F3 for the opportunity to lead and participate in this experiment. Emphasis on the 2nd F for Fellowship and the drive to get us all out here on a 39 degree morning for the good of all! Also welcomed PAX from Tallahassee F3 Chapter in town for a visit, and likewise Tclaps for the hurricane recovery efforts from F3 in the area ongoing from last season, hard to think about tropical storms on a morning like this, but we are familiar.
Take it easy and see you in the gloom and on the radio.
A beautiful, crisp Saturday morning for the Mothership, with a quick disclaimer we ….circled up.
For the last couple of weeks, YHC has been thinking about events that have occurred in our F3 family. These include Terrabyte’s passing, illness with our F3 brother’s loved ones and the impending closure of Morning Call and loss of employment, at least temporarily, for our faithful waiter, Mike. As YHC was preparing for his Q at the Mothership during the week, YHC noticed an old favorite movie had been added to Netflix, Black Hawk Down. This film is about the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in the early nineties which resulted in the death of 19 American Soldiers, YHC noted some explicit themes in the movie such as “No Man Left Behind” and “We fight for the man next to you”. There was also some implicit themes including no man is on his own. Clearly, all of these themes are echoed in the F3 credo “Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you found him”. So in honor of the 19 American Soldiers who died in Mogadishu and all of our F3 Brothers going through tough and uncertain times, this Mothership beatdown will have no OYO exercises. One other note on Blackhawk Down, in the movie there was multiple references to “chalks”. After some quick research with the source of all sources, Wikipedia, a “chalk” in military terminology is a group of troops (think platoon) in an airborne assault. PAX, count off 1, 2, 3, 4 and form up into Chalks 1, 2, 3 and 4. This will be your group throughout the workout. Each Chalk designate a Chalk Q and grab a Flag.
Mosey to Great Lawn for Warm Up
Form rows of by chalk starting with Chalk 1 then Chalk 2
followed by Chalk 3 and 4. Chalks try to
stay in formation Let’s begin:
All exercises until Q yells Halt
Walking Soldiers
High Knees
Butt Kicks
Carioca
Circleup for additional warm-up:
Self Love I/C X20
Imperial Walkers I/C X20
Hillbillies I/C X20
Form your Chalks into
circles on the Great Lawn for the next thang… Bear Crawl Ring of Fire:
Bearcrawl Counter-Clockwise till Q yells halt
10 merkins in ring of fire fashion starting with
the PAX to the left of the Chalk Q
Bearcrawl Clockwise
10 wide merks Bearcrawl Counter-Clockwise till Q
yells halt
Let’s increase the difficulty!
Boo Boo Bearcrawl Counterclockwise Right Leg Up
10 staggered right merkins in ring of fire fashion starting with the PAX to the left of the Chalk Q
Boo Boo Bearcrawl Clockwise Left Leg Up
10 staggered left merkins in ring of fire fashion starting with the PAX to the left of the Chalk Q
Chalks grab flag, form columns and march to road in front of
Storyland. Line up chalks in four
columns facing towards museum for Indian Runs to Fountain.
At Fountain circle up staying with your Chalk for Red Hot Chili Pepper:
Right Leg Step Ups x 16; Decline Merkins x 8; Left
Leg Step Ups x 16; Incline Merkins x 8
Right Leg Step Ups x 12; Decline Merkins x 6; Left
Leg Step Ups x 12; Incline Merkins x 6
Right Leg Step Ups x 8; Decline Merkins x 4; Left
Leg Step Ups x 8; Incline Merkins x 4
Right Leg Step Ups x 4; Decline Merkins x 2; Left
Leg Step Ups x 4; Incline Merkins x2
Next, down Lelong Drive for more Indian Runs in Chalks. T-claps to Chalk 3 for hanging back to keep their chalk together. Now you’re getting the idea!
Mosey in Chalk to side of NOMA and partner up in Chalk for
O.P.P.
One PAX does OH Claps (O) in People’s Chair (P) while the
other PAX does 20 Plank Jacks (P) Flapjack till Q yells halt. These were done in 2 count cadence. Let’s try to stay together on cadence Chalks!
Time is running out so grab Flags and mosey in Chalk columns
to great lawn for:
Quick Mary:
Flutter Kicks I/C X20
Hello Dolly I/C X20
Times up so circle around Flags in Great Lawn for CoT
Count-Off, Name-o-rama (1 FNG who was named Twin Span as he’s
from Slidell), Intentions and Prayer.
T-claps to all the PAX who did the daily double, the
Mothership and Krazy Ivan. Southshore brought
the Freedom Hammer home!
Thank you PAX for embracing the Beatdown’s theme of no man
is “on his own” in F3. As we all go
through life’s ups and downs, it feels good to know that we have our F3’
brothers to watch our six. We are truly
our Brother’s Keeper!
NM Moleskin
For 4 years, the PAX have been enjoying F2 and F3 at the Morning Call in City Park after the Mothership. For most if not all of those coffeetaria’s, we have arrived to ice cold water to refresh us and been served “Hot” au laits, “Cold” iced coffees and for a brave few “Hot Black” coffees by our faithful waiter Mike. We all know that this past weekend was the last for Morning Call and there is some uncertainty whether Mike will come back with Café du Monde. Even if he does, he will be out of work for at least a month. So in true F3 fashion, an operation was drummed up. In a short week, what became known as Operation Big Tip was put into full effect to thank Mike for all of his service to the PAX. The PAX raised $349 for Mike and a Framed Picture signed by the PAX was delivered at Coffeetaria. YHC even noticed a tear in Mike’s eye. The PAX should be proud of their efforts. This is the best of F3.
Amnesty made a special request for a dry workout. He recently purchased some new sneaks, and hoped to keep them mud free. The request was honored. After all, it’s Amnesty. His new neon green sneakers offered a beacon of light on this gloomy morning. 13 men showed up for the challenge. The usual disclaimer and off we go.
Warm-up COP:
SSH x 20 IC, IW x 20 IC, Plank Jacks, x 20 IC, Windmills x 10 IC, Arm Circles 10 forward 10 backward IC, Mountain climbers x 20 IC
Route 66 down Roosevelt Mall: Dips. 5 dips at first bench, increase 1 dip each bench, ending at 17.
Next we moseyed to NOMA.
Right leg power-ups x 20 IC, Left leg power-ups x 20 IC. Then a Merkin ladder up the steps of NOMA, with 8 Merkins on the bottom step and 1 Merkin at the top. Back to the fountain for 10 box jumps, right leg step-ups x 20 IC, left leg step-ups x 20 IC. And back to the steps to repeat another Merkin ladder.
Next, partner up for Dora 1-2-3. 100 Floyd Mayweathers, 200 Squats, 300 LBC’s, while the other Pax runs around NOMA.
Then we moseyed back to the flag, stopping halfway for some Mary. Flutter kicks x 20 IC, Hello Dolly x 20 IC, Dying cockroach x 20 IC. We ended back at the flag, and succeeded in our mission. We kept Amnesty’s sneakers dry. Count-off, Name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. Thanks for letting me lead.
F3 lost one of its own earlier in the week. Terabyte was a caring leader that pushed himself, and inspired other pax to become better. He will be missed.
YHC stated that we will carry a flag for our fallen pax as we trudged through the AO. We will sweat, push ourselves, and feel pain. In this way, we will honor him, ’cause that’s what we do. 40 men, including 3 FNG’s, were ready to go.
Brief disclaimer, then pick up the flag and mosey to the Great lawn for the warmup
SSH IC x 52 (Terabyte was only 52) IW IC x 15 Grass Grabbers IC x 10 Abe Vigodas IC x 10 Arm Circles IC x 10 Fwd x 10 Bwd Peter Parker IC x 20 Shoulder Taps IC x 20 Parker Peter IC x 20 Mountain Climber IC x 20 Recover, pick up the flag, and mosey….
Stop just short of the Bridge at Lagoon Number 11 on our way toward City park Avenue 10 Burpees OYO Mosey across the bridge and find an open space near City park Avenue Monkey Humpers IC x 20 10 Burpees OYO Mosey along to the next open green space LBC’s IC x 20 10 Burpees OYO Mosey to the entrance to NOMA at Lelong Drive Dying Cockroach IC x 20 10 Burpees OYO (there was much mumblechatter by this time) Mosey to the Tree line near NOMA YHC asked how may burpees left? We have smart Pax! 12 it is! 12 Burpees OYO which brings us to 52. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have more Burpees!
Mosey to the Fountain at NOMA Dips IC x 20 RL Step Up IC x 15 Incline Merkin IC x 10 LL Step Up IC x 15
Dips IC x 10 RL Step Up IC x 15 Decline Merkin IC x 10 LL Step Up IC x 10
Mosey to the tree line Sprint to first tree and back – 5 burpees Sprint to second tree and back – 5 burpees – plank and wait for the six
Starting at first tree, Burpee Broad Jump to third tree.
YHC requested Triple Shift to help explain the next exercise. Triple Shift had previously introduced the Genuflect and YHC wanted to incorporate it in. Genuflect from third tree back to first tree. Left knee down, right knee down, left knee up, right knee up, then lunge walk one step. Now do two genuflects followed by two lunge steps, then three……etc.
Mosey back to the Great Lawn for Mary: LBC’s IC x 30 Tin Snips IC x 20 Hello Dolly IC x 20 Flutter Kicks IC x 20 American Hammer IC x 10
Plank for one minute Recover, pick up the flag, and return to the other flags for the COT
Count off, Name-O-Rama, Announcement, and ended with a prayer.
Welcome Bingo Knight, Offsides, and CareBear! Great job on the EH’ing guys! We have had big numbers at the AO’s lately, let’s keep it going!
The Celebration of Life for Terabyte, aka Sidney Modica, will be held on Monday January 14th where visitation begins at 0900 with service to follow at 1030 at: Victory Fellowship 5708 Airline Hwy Metairie, LA 70003
If you have a flag or a ruck sack, please bring. Terabyte loved being part of F3, and we loved having him.
The PAX are all painfully aware of YHC’s deep love affair with the Irish, and all things related to Notre Dame. The PAX are also fond of pointing out the flaws in my beloved Irish – “What a cupcake schedule”, and “You should join a conference”. This year’s CFB Playoff offered the Irish another chance to silence the doubting PAX.
Returning from Dallas angry and a wee bit humbled, YHC asked the scheduled Rock City Q if he would be willing to give up his Q so the PAX could share in my pain. “Manbun” Hawg willingly agreed. So the PAX got to ring out 2018 with the Notre Dame Ladder of Despair.
Warm Up
Perhaps you are not already aware, but Clemson drummed the Irish in the Cotton Bowl by the score of 30-3. (YHC will happily discuss how the game was closer than that – but you’d have a hard time hearing him over the howls of outraged PAX).
Burpees, of course. 10x OYO. Repeat. Repeat. That’s 30 (for Clemson). 3 more (poor lonely 3 for ND).
SSH x30. 3 more burpees.
IW x30. 3 more burpees.
PP x30. 3 more burpees.
The Thang – The Ladder of Despair
Most PAX know that this was not ND’s first time getting blown out on the big New Year’s Day stage. But they may not understand the full depths of my despair. This morning, they will learn just how many consecutive times ND has gotten embarrassed this way. With a ladder. A ladder that calls out each of these games. How long will it take? How far back in time? Only YHC knows.
Game 1: 2018 Cotton Bowl. Clemson romps. 5 Burpees
Game 2: 2015 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State destroys. add 10 Shoulder Presses
Game 3: 2012 National Championship. Alabama cruises. add 15 Curls
Game 4: 2006 Sugar Bowl. LSU crushes. add 20 Merkins
Game 5: 2002 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State pancakes. add 25 Squats
Game 6: 2000 Fiesta Bowl. Oregon State thwacks. add 30 Rows
Game 7: 1995 Orange Bowl. Florida State trucks. add 35 Chest Presses
Game 8: 1994 Fiesta Bowl. Colorado routs. add 40 LBT
Fortunately for the PAX – the clock ran out, coinciding with the end of the streak. 1993 Cotton Bowl, ND romped over the Texas A&M Aggies. But now it was time to return the rocks. Final Tallies: 40 Burpees, 70 Presses, 90 Curls, 100 Merkins, 100 Squats, 90 Rows, 70 Chest Presses, 40 LBT. And worst of all – the cumulative scores of those 8 games? Foes: 304, Irish: 138. Average defeat of 38 – 17. Yikes.
Return to the flag for our COT. Count-off for 20 PAX. Nice showing, gang! (Even if the uptown members were too scared to show). Lots of upcoming stuff (Krazy Ivan, BR convergence, Mobile Spartan, Jackson Day race). Always exciting to hear all of the opportunities that PAX are pursuing. Remember – if you hear something you want to do, DO IT. Q IT. Talk it up with the PAX, you will almost certainly find someone to do it with you!
Thank you Rev, for taking us home with a thoughtful prayer, challenging us to be better men, better leaders, better followers into the New Year.
Thank you, as always, for the chance to lead you all.
When YHC set out to plan this workout, I first considered a few exercises that I felt I could handle with little threat of splashing Merlot or generally embarrassing myself. But then it dawned on me: this is my chance to repay those who have made me so sore I can barely lift my arms the next day and reduced me to a sweating, panting mess. So at 5:30 AM, after a quick disclaimer, we set off, 12 PAX strong, to see about returning the favor to some of my F3 brothers gracious enough to appear for my VQ.
WARMUP
YHC had a few tricks up my sleeve for the warmup, but the conditions quickly caused a change of plans. So we did a more traditional warmup:
SSH, Peter Parker, Imperial Walkersx20
Run in place, high knees, butt kicks, chop feet (this was a hs wrestling warm-up that would normally include some up-downs, but YHC decided it would be unpopular to get everyone completely drenched in the first 5 minutes). Mosey to Canal blvd for
Station 1
Pair up. One partner, Bernie Sanders up the hill, while the other works on 200 Floyd Mayweathers, 100 big boy situps, and 25 burpees. Cross the street very carefully in the fog for…
Station 2
Route 55 with burpees on the way out, Merkins on the way back in. PAX instructed to begin in opposite directions on this very foggy morning so as not to collide. Mosey to the leveee for…
Station 3
What is an Okwata workout without an Indian Run? A bit of mumblechatter about how Indian Run + disperse would have been the more manly option, but at this point, I was just glad to be still moving. Maybe next time we can thrown in a Bataan Death March.
Mosey to Flag and Finish Up
Continuing the theme, I had picked out several of my least favorite exercises to share with the PAX
Planking, high, low, one arm up, other arm up for about as long as I could go
Monkey Humpersx20
Dying cockroachesx20
LBC’sx20
Flutter Kicksx20 (led by the flutter kick king, JV)
Frac Sac’s favorite exercise that I cannot remember the name ofx20
And a few rounds of burpees o/y/o to close it out.
Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama, we discussed the Crazy Ivan, prayed for Brad Brechtel, and Rudy led us in a fine prayer.
On a serious note: I’m infinitely grateful for all of you who have pushed me, made me do countless [hated] burpees, made me plank until I felt like my arms would crumble, and inflicted all other sorts of punishment that made me tougher both mentally and physically. To name all the names of those who have pushed me – especially since I’ve been back the past few months – would be like writing out the entire members list, but I’m especially grateful to Mahatma, Frac Sac, Jingle Vader, Rudy, Mambi, Abacus, Tool, Two Yutes, and too many others to name, who never spare words of encouragement and motivate me to better.
Getting to lead an F3 workout of such a strong group is a honor, and I hope I was able to deliver. It means a lot that so many of you showed up for my VQ, and I look forward to doing it again soon.
Cool and crisp conditions this morning at Rock City, perfect “football weather” for a black and gold themed beatdown on the heels of the Monday night Saints vs. Panthers game. A few die-hards were sporting team gear and after the disclaimer along with a brief explanation of what lied ahead, we brought it in for a “Who Dat on 3″…not quite the same coolness as Brees in the Dome but it helped get the juices flowing. Then a mosey to the usual field for a quick warmup of SSH, Arm Circles, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and LS Squats.
Made our way to the rock pile to select a companion for the morning and over to the large field for some drills. First up would be a round of exercises paying homage to the Saints 11-2 record so far this season. What better way to celebrate the 11 wins than with 11’s! Here’s how it went:-Curl Press with rock (10-1)-Backpedal to parking bumpers (approx 15-20yds)-Hand Release Derkins w/feet on parking bumpers (1-10) -Lunge Walk back
Now we couldn’t forget about the 2 losses so in an effort to push ourselves to get stronger, we circled up for 2 minutes of Up-Downs. Might have been a bit ugly at the end but the PAX hung in there for a long two minutes.
Next up would be a “Heisman Run” giving a shout out to Mark Ingram and Cam Newton that would be taking the field later that night. In order to be considered for the Heisman Trophy, one must show superb running skills with the ball, maintain possession of the ball, and be fast. Using our rocks as footballs and making sure not to fumble, we warmed up with Squat Press x20 before tucking in the rock(ball) for a run weaving around the trees(defenders) and finishing with an endzone celebration of Squat Press x10. Then waited for the six with a wall con roca sit on the fence.
Still time for another circuit so this time we partnered up in a line for some “Boom and Zoom” to give props to our elite running backs, Ingram and Kamara. YHC assumed it was common knowledge that the talented duo is nicknamed “Boom and Zoom” but apparently he was wrong. After some heckling and discussion, we noted that to be a star running back you must be strong enough to keep from coughing up the ball and fast enough to gain yardage. Therefore PAX #1 stayed put for “Boom” curls AMRAP to work on the guns while PAX #2 “Zoom” ran around the tree and back (50yds total?) as the timer. We did this for approx 4-5 minutes with some grumbling from the peanut gallery after a few minutes in.
Two minute warning was approaching so we called an audible to keep rocks overhead as we made our way back to the rock pile. From there a mosey back to the flag, a few minutes of planking, concluded by a “Who Dat” plank/merkin circle.
COT included some lewd yet fitting nickname suggestions for our FNG but we landed on Piper…welcome! Also an announcement for Crazy Ivan race coming up in Jan. Prayer intentions for Brad Brechtel and for a good, safe, injury free football game tonight.
Thanks for letting me lead. Hopefully we’ll be 12-2 by the time anyone reads this. Who Dat!
28 PAX ignored the threat of rain and made it out The Mothership this Sat. We lucked out with a “calm before the storm” as the the guys assmebled and prepared for takeoff. YHC wanted to mix things up with an old school City Park history tour as part of the workout, similar to a few beatbowns circa 2015. The night before had the forecast looking nasty, so the plan was to stay close to cover and hone in on a few of the iconic landmarks right there in the original part of the park. The 1300 acre park was established in 1854 and has lots of history, great architecture, nature, wildlife, and of course trees….home to one of the largest collection of live oaks in the world. Generations of New Orleans residents and visitors alike have enjoyed the park so it only seemed fitting to pay homage to a few things that make it a great place. As the clock struck 5:30 we discussed the plan for the day, followed by the disclaimer, then off to….
First stop, The Peristyle, built in 1907 to have outdoor dances and concerts for the “well heeled” New Orleanians….some chatter from Rudy about Jingle Vader being in that category. Using the year as the rep count, we started with Imperial Walkers x19 and Windmills x7.
Then an ugly mosey around The Casino Building with some doubt from the PAX before going up and over Popp Bandstand for Stop #2 on the nearby grass.
With 12 granite columns and topped with a bronze dome, Popp Bandstand was named for is benefactor, John F. Popp, and is a replica of the Temple of Love in Versailles. In 1916, Popp made a donation to the park to build the Popp Bandstand which was completed in 1917. The Spanish Mission Revival-style “Casino” building opened in 1913 as a place that sold refreshments. Because of that, the City Park legend says that the building originally was called a cantina, using the Spanish word for a place where food and drinks are served. In a 2008 Times-Picayune story, City Park Executive Director Beau Bassich said he believed the New Orleans dialect colloquialized the word into “casina.” However, 1913 newspaper articles do use the word “casino” to describe the new building, explaining it will be “the amusement center of the park,” though there is no mention of gambling.
Here we circled up using 1917 and 1913 to inspire the rep count for Peter Parkers x19, Low Slow Squats x17, Mountain Climbers x19 and Arm Circles x13.
Then we recaped the age of the park, 164 years, with a Plank Merkin circle where all PAX held a high plank while merkins were cranked out individually in a clockwise manner up to 164 total.
Then a mosey over the stone bridge towards City Park Ave for a meandering jog through the oldest grove of mature live oak tress the world. We made sure to recognize the two oldest ones by looping around McDonough Oak and then, after some doubt from the PAX about my navagation ability, made our way to the Ansmen Oak, both of which are approx 800 years old. Here we circled up for an 8 round burpee countdown, one round for each century…Burpees x8,x7,x6,x5,x4,x3,x2,…x8 for the crowdpleaser! More about City Park trees here: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/trees-in-city-park
Then a mosey over the Ansmen Bridge, one of 9 built by the WPA, and back to The Peristyle where we lined up on one side for a partner circuit. This included 8 rounds of PAX #1 performing the specified exercise across the Peristyle and back (timer) while PAX #2 stayed put with a stationary exercise.
1)Inchworm & Wall Sit
2) Bearcrawl fwd/bwd & Balls to the Wall
3) Duck Walk & Declined Plank
4) Crab Walk fwd/bwd & Wall Sit
5) Lunge Walk & LBC
6) Kong & Balls to the Wall
7) Fiddler Crab & Flutter Kicks
8) Lateral Lunge & Wall Sit
Next up, we couldn’t leave out the adjacent Great Lawn that has hosted countless hours of F3 beatdowns. Built in 2010, the Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn is enjoyed by many and has seen a slew of picnics, concerts, yoga classes, and side straddle hops over the past 8 years. So we moseyed a quick loop to the Great Lawn and back to the nearby benches for a partner circuit of: PAX #1 Dips x20 OYO while PAX#2 runs to GL for Merkins x10 and back. Rinse and repeat for 3 rounds total follwed by a “victory lap” around the GL topped off with planking to wait for the six.
Still some time left for a few more history lessons so over to the rear of The Peristyle to gaze upon the banks of Bayou Metairie. Although it is now a landlocked lagoon, Bayou Metairie was originally a natural waterway spanning from Bayou St. John to the swampy area near what is now Old Metairie, essentially following the path of current day Metairie Rd. Once used by the Native Americans and early settlers, the banks of the bayou gradually formed the Metairie Ridge which provided high ground for ground transportation and later development of homes.
Since we didn’t have a year to use for rep count, we shifted our focus to 1946, the year of the first City Park Big Bass Rodeo, which is the oldest freshwater fishing rodeo in the country. At this point YHC had to alter the planned exercises and went with the first thing that came to mind, burpees, which really seemed to excite the PAX and peanut gallery, given the initial silence of disbelief followed by some grumbling and the “we already did enough burpees” comments. So PAX#1 knocked out Burpees x19 while PAX #2 held a wall sit on the ledge along Bayou Metairie, which had an awkward slope not conducive to said exercise. Then partner plank slaps, aka patty cake, holding a high plank and alternating hand slaps up to 46.
Nearing the end of our hour, we had just enough time remaining to circle up under The Persistyle for some themed Mary. YHC breifly talked about the various projects completed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930’s throughout City Park, including Tad Gormley Stadium, nine concrete bridges, a golf course, several art deco conrete benches, and Roosevelt Mall. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt came in town for the dedication ceremony. Pics below and more info at: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/works-progress-administration-in-new-orleans-city-park
In this undated archival photo, President Roosevelt chats with New Orleanian Paul Alfred Montreuil, 7, at the dedication of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mall in City Park. Also pictured: Marcel G. Montreuil, park superintendent; George Grundmann, chairman of the dedication committee and vice president of the park board; and James H. Crutcher, administrator of the WPA in Louisiana.
Our WPA and FDR themed Mary consisted of:
W – Weezey Jeffersons x10IC
P – Pickle Pounders x15IC
A – American Hammer x20IC
F – Flutter Kicks x20IC
D – Dying Cockroach x15IC
R – name??? exotic exercise led by Triple Shift x25IC
Moseyed back to the flag with some rain for added bonus. Capped things off with a COT and announcements. T-claps to War Eagle for stepping up to lead the prayer. He’s a pro at that stuff and much more eloquent in that field than YHC.
NMM – Thanks to the PAX for bearing with my non-professional tour guide ability and abbreviated history tidbits throughout the morning. As always, the peanut gallery led by Rudy and others kept it entertaining. T-claps to Mahatma and others for the occasional motivational cheers and USMC grunts to keep the PAX in high gear. Several guys asked for links (http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park) to some of the City Park history in so I included several in this backblast, which may be one of the longest in F3 history….sorry for the long read, if you made it this far. My wife asked if I was writing a book.
