F3 New Orleans

Tag: Mothership

  • Last Mothership of 2018

    Last Mothership of 2018

    With the end of the year approaching I wanted to finish the year strong with a good beat down at the Mothership. This would be my 150th workout of the year. Having started F3 on Feb. 2nd at WPM, I have come a long way, and all for the better. At 6:30 the the disclaimer was given and we moseyed to the Peristyle.

    Warm Up

    • SSH x 20
    • Hillbillies x 20
    • Mountain Climbers x 20
    • Plank Jacks x 20
    • Imperial Walker Squats x 20
    • Arm Circles -Fwd x 15, Rev x 15
    • 5 Burpees OYO
    • Mosey to the Fountain in front of NOMA

    Thang 1

    • Right Leg Step Up x 15
    • Dips x 10
    • Left Leg Step Up x 15
    • Dips x 10
    • Bulgarian Split Squats Right leg x 15
    • Dips x 10
    • Bulgarian Split Squats Left leg x 15
    • Dips x 10
    • Incline Merkins x 15
    • Line up for Indian Run to the “Rocks” – When “6” gets to front of line we halt and he calls out an exercise and did 5 reps, then continued run.

    Thang 2 – 11’s with the Rock – We found where Mahatma and Tool had stashed the blocks, and eached grabbed one. YHC was not sure where this was going to happen, but figured we could find a semi dry spot – Not the case, and as we began the sky tried to open up on us, but just briefly.

    • The 2 exercise where Squat Thrusters with the Blocks and Offset Merkins on the Block(2 is 1). Started with 10 Thrusters and 1 Merkin and proceeded to 1 Thruster and 10 Merkins. In the middle we did 11 Curls when going one direction and 11 Tricep Extension when coming from the opposite direction. The usual Mumblechatter ensued, like no one has ever done 11’s before…Let’s GO!
    • With time getting tight we finished the 11’s and returned our blocks to their home and moseyed to the Great Lawn.

    Thang 3 – Circle up for some Mary – The Great Lawn was soaked and trying to stay somewhat dry YHC opted for the Brick area where FIA warms up. which garnered plenty of mumblechatter.

    • LBC’s x 20
    • Dying Cockroach x 20
    • I had more but it was 7:30 so we moseyed back to the flag.

    COT – Circle up for Count-o-Rama, Name-o-Rama Two FNG’s – Both are ILoveYouMan’s Business Partners (they make Adult Beverages and Icees in pouches you freeze) – Antonio(ILoveYouMans, Brother) is Jesus Juice and Craig is Screw Top(He’s their tight, accounting guy). Welcome Both! Hope to see them again soon! Announcements for Crazy Ivan Jan 19th.

    With the New Year approaching, take these last few days of the year to set some goals for next year for your Life, Job, F3 and shoot for the moon. Write them down, make sure they are measurable, and have milestones through out the year to maintain focus. Not everyone is aware, but there is a tab in the Q Sign up Sheet called NYR2018 to track your workouts. I will make sure we have one for New Year Resolutions 2019. Keep track and compete with your brothers in F3. Thanks again for pushing and motivating me through 150 beatdowns this year. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

    SYITG

  • City Park Landmark Tour & Workout – Part 3

    City Park Landmark Tour & Workout – Part 3

    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.  

    Image result for the peristyle city park

    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.
    Image result for city park casino building

    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. 

    Image result for city park great lawn new orleans

    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.  

    Image result for bayou metairie
    Image result for bayou metairie

    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 

    https://www.nola.com/living/index.ssf/2014/08/city_park_throwback_thursday.html


    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. 

    Thanks for the chance to lead.

    Tool     

        

  • Rain or Shine at the Mothership!!!

    Pre-Thang

    23 PAX with 2 FNGs managed to meet up on a beautiful, wet, humid, warm Saturday morning on the first day of December.  At 6:30, YHC gave his standard disclaimer and off went the PAX.

    (missing PAX in the photo: Bogey, King Kong, Smooth, SwampCock)

    Warm-ups

    Short mosey to the Peristyle and did the following in cadence:

    SSHs x 20

    Windmills x 10

    Forward Arm Circles x 10

    Backward Arm Circles x 10

    Hill Billies x 20 (with Fracsac’s witty comments as YHC was trying to explain what the heck are the Hill Billies to the FNGs)

    Peter Parkers x 15

    MC x 15

     

    Partner Workout

    Picked a partner and jogged across the street to the Great Lawn. Magically, bunch of cones (dividing the field in halves) were set up in the middle of the field.

    Part 1 – Starting in the middle of the field, each PAX ran toward his sidewalk and back to the middle and performed 15 patty cake merkins with his partner, rinse and repeat with 10 reps, rinse and repeat with 5 reps.

    Part 2 – Starting in the middle of the field, each PAX ran toward his sidewalk and back to the middle and performed 20 synchronize big boy sit ups. Rinse and repeat with 15, 10, and 5 reps.

    Part 3 – Starting in the middle of the field, each PAX ran toward his sidewalk and back to the middle and performed 20 synchronize squats. Rinse and repeat with 15, 10, and 5 reps.

    Part 4 – Starting in the middle of the field, each PAX ran toward his sidewalk and back to the middle and each PAX performed 5 burpees jump over. One PAX was doing the burpee jump over the other PAX, who was in the low plank position. Flap Jack. Each PAX did 4 rounds (total 20 burpees jump over each)

    When finished, Mahatma-Ice gave a 20 second count, then moseyed to the fountain in front of NOMA and waited for the six.

     

    The Thang

    Starting off at the fountain in front of NOMA, each Pax had to do the following OYO:

    Round 1

    • 20 box jumps
    • 20 incline merkins
    • 15 box jumps
    • 15 merkins
    • 10 box jumps
    • 10 derkins
    • 5 box jumps
    • 5 diamond merkins
    • then moseyed to the last light post and back to the fountain (about 0.5 mile)

    Round 2 – rinse and repeat but shaved off the first set of 20 box jumps and 20 incline merkins, then moseyed to the 7th light post and back.

    Round 3 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of 15 box jumps and 15 merkins, then moseyed to the 5th light post and back.

    Round 4 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of 10 box jumps and 10 derkins (leaving with only 5 box jumps and 5 diamond merkins), then moseyed to the 3rd light post and back.

    In addition to the mileage, the PAX toughed out 100 box jumps and 100 different forms of merkins.

    T-claps to Mahatma-Ice for setting the tone early. Not an easy task to do 100 box jumps, all those merkins, and all those miles. Once again, everyone got stronger for coming out to a F3 workout. Respect!!!

     

    Round of Mary

    Moseyed to the grass field next to NOMA and did the following in cadence:
    Hello Dolly x 20
    Dying Cockroach x 20
    Flutter kicks x 20
    American Hammer x 15
    Moseyed back to the flag with 30 seconds left. Why not 3 more burpees???  PAX finished the workout at 7:30 a.m.
    COT

    Count-O-Rama 23PAX, Name-O-Rama, announcements, intentions. 2 FNGs (Hank and Hatchling).  Hank is a reference from King of the Hill. Hatchling because he is only 18. Our thoughts and prayers for I Love You Man’s niece with her recovery from brain surgery and King Kong’s 2.0 with her girls’ scout camping over the weekend. Thank You all again for the opportunity to lead. Always a pleasure and honor to workout with the PAX. SYITG

    King Kong

  • No Burpee Suicides?? What???


    YHC arrived to the Mothership a few minutes early, and was surprised to be one of the first on the scene. With only 5 minutes to go, there were no more than a dozen Pax, which is a low number for the Mothership, but is understandable given a holiday weekend. YHC was pleasantly surprised with the final push of arrivals, bringing the total posting to 23, including an FNG!
    With the clock turning 0630, time for a brief disclaimer, then…

    Mosey toward the Great Lawn, in a direction that threw the Pax off. Keep ’em guessing is the best policy. Circle up on the Great Lawn for the Warm Up

    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 15
    Ave Vigodas IC x 10
    Grass Grabbers IC x 10
    Arm Circles IC – 10 fwd, 10 bwd
    Chinook Squats IC x 10
    Plank-o-rama…Peter Parker IC x 15….Mountain Climber IC x 15….Parker Peter IC x 15.

    A quick countoff proves an odd number of pax. YHC had a game of “Catch Me If You Can” planned out, but the odd number threw a wrench in the cogs. Not to fret, YHC had the odd and even numbers split up into two groups. Odd numbers start running backward on Great Lawn, Even numbers do five Burpees and “Catch Up” to Odd numbers. Once first Pax arrives, all drop into a plank and wait. Even Pax run backwards while Odd numbers do five Burpees and “Catch Up” to Even numbers.
    One round of that was enough, YHC knew he should have put the cones out……but trying to infuse something new into the routine!

    Mosey to the NOMA Fountain.

    Box Jumps OYO x 10
    LL Step ups IC x 10
    Dips IC x 15
    RL Step ups IC x 10
    Derkins IC x 15

    Mosey to the Tree Line, line up along the first tree.
    Bear Crawl to 2nd tree, 10 merkins
    Bear crawl to 3rd tree, 10 shoulder taps (King Kong did Kongs…)
    Bear Crawl to 4th tree, 10 Floyd Mayweathers
    Bear Crawl to 5th tree, 10 Burpees OYO and stand back up

    Split the Pax in two groups again. Even number pax form one circle, Odd number pax form another circle.
    Circle Burps!
    All pax run in place. Each pax takes turns saying “down” which signals the entire circle to do a burpee, recover, and run in place. The odd numbers went around the circle twice, one can only assume the Even’s did roughly the same.

    Mosey to the Foundry for Stations!

    Station 1 – Dips AMRAP
    Station 2 – Pull ups AMRAP
    Station 3 – Merkins AMRAP
    Station 4 – Leg Lifts AMRAP
    Station 5 – Big Boi Sit Ups AMRAP
    Station 6 – Run to bike trail, 5 Burpees, Run back – Timer

    Complete 2 Rounds

    Mosey back to the Great Lawn

    Flutter Kicks IC x 20
    Crunchy Frog IC x 10
    Tin Snips IC x 10

    Seal the Deal with 10 Burpees OYO!

    Mosey back to the Shovel Flag.

    COT

    Count Off, Name-O-Rama, Announcements, Intentions, Close with a Prayer. Welcome Pele’!

    NMM
    The Pax were expecting some Burpee Suicides, but YHC threw ‘ em off with some new routines. Expect the Unexpected! Don’t worry, you’ll find yourselves doing Burpee Suicides again soon enough……
    Not exactly sure how a guy born in Venezuela is named after a renowned soccer player from Brazil….but it works!
    On a weekend of Giving Thanks, I’d like to say thank you to my F3 Brothers for continually pushing and supporting me to be a better person overall. This is a great organization, one that too many miss out on.

    Thanks for posting with me today!

    SYITG!

  • Bringing a Typical Uptown Beat-down to the Mothership

    Pre-Thang

    Gabrielle originally had the Q for this Mothership.  He had asked if YHC could take the Q.  Although YHC has another Mothership Q scheduled on Dec 1st, YHC was more than happy to help a F3 brother out and lead another workout. 22 PAX managed to meet up on a beautiful, dry, cool Saturday morning.  At 6:30, YHC gave his standard disclaimer and off went the PAX.

    Warm-ups

    Short mosey to the Peristyle and did the following in cadence:

    SSHs x 20

    Windmills x 10

    Seal Claps x 15

    Hill Billies x 20

    Imperial Walkers x 20

    MC x 20

    Peter Parkers x 20

    Then picked a partner and jogged across the street to the Great Lawn. Side hopped while facing the partner from one end of the field to the other.  5 burpees. Then side hopped back to the other direction facing the partner. 4 burpees. Rinse and repeat side hopped from one end to the other with decreasing count on burpees from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. When finished, moseyed with the partner to the fountain in front of NOMA and performed 10 box jumps. Planked and waited for the six.

    The Thang (Chipper Workout)

    Because YHC doesn’t see much of the PAX from Metairie and MidCity at Uptown AOs, YHC decided to bring a typical Birdcage / Skinny workout to the Metairie and MidCity folks. Starting off by the steps in front of NOMA, each Pax had to do the following:

    Round 1

    • 50 Rocky Balboa (2 steps count as 1) in front of NOMA,
    • to the fountain with 50 dips
    • to the first light post with 5 burpees
    • to the 2nd light post with 50 Hello Dollies
    • to the 3rd light post with 5 Burpees
    • to the 4th light post with 50 squats
    • to the 5th light post with 5 burpees
    • to the 6th light post with 50 leg raises
    • to the 7th light post with 5 burpees
    • to the 8th light post with 50 King Kong shoulder taps.
    • Then moseyed back about a quarter mile to the steps in front of NOMA.  Rinse and repeat.

    Round 2 – rinse and repeat but shaved off the reps for all exercises to 40 count and all burpees to 4 count.

    Round 3 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 30 count and all burpees to 3count.

    Round 4 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 20 count and all burpees to 2 count.

    Round 5 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 10 count and all burpees to 1 count.

    Each lap is approximately 0.5 mile.  In total, the PAX toughed out 60 burpees and 150 reps on each exercise and little less than 2.5 miles.

    While YHC was giving the instruction for the Thang, a lot of mumblechatter.  Triple Shift informed YHC with “that’s a lot of leg raises.”  The time was approximately 6:53 when the PAX started.  The goal was to finish all 5 rounds before 7:30.  YHC knew this would not be an easy challenge.

    Respect to Jingle Vader setting the tone early and starting at a very fast pace. Not sure what happened, but Triple Shift was screaming at JV telling him to come back during the first round.  The PAX finished strong.  T-Claps to Triple Shift, Tinkles, Rudy, JV, and Two Yutes for finishing the beatdown before 7:30. YHC had to call off the challenge right at 7:30, but much respect to few PAX (Mambi, Walleye, Fracsac – I may be missing few names here) ignoring the Q’s request and finishing all 5 rounds regardless of the time.  YHC loved it because he would do the same.  Needless to say, moseyed back to the flags few minutes late at about 7:35. YHC got a sense that everyone really enjoyed the challenge.  This was YHC’s most satisfying Q when he saw the PAX not giving up and giving every thing they had. The PAX who gave YHC a hard time about the leg raises finished first. 3 PAX finishing within the time were over 50. Everyone who came out today got stronger. Mad respect. YHC has a feeling the PAX will see this challenge again.

    COT

    Count-O-Rama 22PAX, Name-O-Rama, announcements, intentions. 2 FNGs (Flo and Gasper Goo) Our thoughts and prayers for I Love You Man’s niece, Hawgcycle’s mother and family, Two Yutes’ brother, Fracsac’s family, and safe travels for all family and friends during the Thanksgiving week.  Thank You all again for the opportunity to lead.  SYITG

    King Kong

     

  • Backblast – Catfish, 2018-11-10

    Another beautiful (albeit slightly chilly) day on board the Mothership at City Park.  Attendance stood at 16 total, with 13 existing members and 3 FNGs.

    The following members were in attendance: Two Yutes, Triple Shift, Pie Gow, Rudy, Gabrielle, Mahatma Ice, Willie, King Kong, Jingle Vader, Abacus, Tool, Justice, Catfish, Front Line (FNG), Ya Mama ‘nem (FNG), Centerfold (FNG)

    Today’s activites started with a mosey out to the grass next to the Museum for…

    Side Straddle Hop

    Arm Circles (Forward)

    Arm Circles (Backward)

    Peter Parkers

    Catalina Wine Mixers

    Parker Peters

    Windmills

    From here we moseyed to the fountain for a Dora featuring…

    100 box jumps, 200 dips, and 300 mountain climbers, while partners did the bunny hop up the museum steps.

    This was followed by two laps of Indian run around the main drag in front of the museum.

    From here we moved to the trees in the adjacent grassy area.  Here we did two series of bear crawls, duck walk, lunges, and burpee broad jumps, each for a distance of two trees and followed by 5 burpees between exercises.

    From here we moseyed back to the great lawn for Jack Webb up to 13, and then finished the workout with some Dying Cockraoches, Box Cutters, and Penguin Toe Touches.

    Thanks to everyone for coming out and participating!  Should be a great start to a gorgeous weekend!

  • Partnering in the dark

    6:30 am on the last day before Daylight Savings Time ends is, surprisingly at least to YHC, quite dark.  YHC had plans that included moseying through the forest over to the track – its been a while since we hit the track at the Mothership – but decided to improvise instead, and avoid the inevitable sprained ankle that awaited him if went blindly running through the tree roots in the pitch black NOLA morning.

    PAX were thus treated to a modified, sorta-improvised Q – and they noticed.  And mumble-chattered about it.  But c’est la vie: you get what you pay for…..

    To the Great Lawn!

    Heisenberg grumbled about the damp and cold.  So…  Thanks for the great idea Heisenberg – everyone on your 6 to start with LBCs!  Much gumbling ensued.  So – lets roll over for some Superman.  More grumbling.  That might have been the last YHC heard from Heisenberg for the rest of the workout.

    Then get started with SSH: 10 regular, 10 redbull, 10 triple-shift cadence.  Tried the same with IW – but IW in Triple Shift cadence proved to be, uh, weird.  So quick cancel of that one.  Monkey Humpers x30 (much grumbling and groaning as we hit the 30 count.  Don’t worry, we’ll see these again.) Abe Vigodas to finish stretching out hammies.

    Partner Up for Blimps

    Partner up for BLIMPS around the great lawn.  Start on one end with 5 burpees.  Then run around the lawn (stick to the sidewalk, appreciate the clarification call-out Frac) partners going in opposite direction.  When you meet your partner around the track (wherever it is), do the next exercise together.  Then keep running.

    5 Burpees.  Run.  Say Hi when you meet your partner.

    10 Lunges.  Run again.  Say Hi again.

    15 IWs.  ….

    After several repeated explanations, the light slowly dawned on the PAX.  Even  King Kong was able to figure it out.  So we were off.

    When finished, join the PAX circle in the middle for more LBC waiting on the 6.

    Partner Up for some Sprints

    Groups of 3 this time. PAX 1 does LBC on one side of the great lawn.  PAX 2 does Merkins on the other side.  PAX 3 sprints across the lawn tagging out his partner on that side.  Partner sprints back across the lawn.  Etc. etc. etc.  You are either doing LBC, Merkins or sprinting.  Rinse and Repeat until YHC gets bored.  YHC gently reminds PAX to sprint , not mosey.  There will be time for resting later.

    Go.

    6 mins later, PAX got a 16 count from JV.

    Start the mosey to the Fountain, but pivot instead to the foot of Roosevelt Mall.

    Partner Up for some Dips

    Partner up – find a different partner.  4 Minutes of Partner Dips at a bench.  What’s Partner Dip?  PAX 1 does 20 dips resting feet on PAX 2 who is planking.  Repeat.  YHC was sad and alone, and only could dip, looking longingly at the other PAX who had a partner and time to rest – with dirty feet on their back.

    Mosey to the Baby Foundry

    Parnter Up for a Circuit

    6 groups (3 PAX per group)

    • 15 Burpees (Timer)
    • Green Snake Jumping (or Box Jumps)
    • Pull Ups
    • Merkins
    • Hanging Knee Lifts
    • Dying Cockroaches

    Everyone gets a turn at all of ’em.

    Mosey Home

    But wait!  Two Yutes asks Q if we could PLEASE do some more Monkey Humpers!  Of course we can.  So we stop at Tools Wall for 2 rounds of Calf Raises x25 followed by Monkey Humpers x30.  Lots and Lots of PAX groaning after MH x30.  And lots of strange running form to be seen as we re-started the Mosey Home.

    Thanks, Two Yutes and Triple Shift, for pushing YHC on the run home!

    Peter Parker at the Flag waiting for the 6.

    COT

    Count-off (17 Strong!) Name-o-rama (no FNGs this week – everyone remember to keep EH’ing.  Bring F3 to your friends!) and close out with our intentions and prayers.  Thank you all for the opportunity to lead!

  • Vegas Gloom

    YHC stole Frac Sac’s thunder, so he had to produce.  So for the second-to-gloomiest Mothership, and expecting Reluctant Yankee to show up, YHC had an homage to Side Effects and Bubba with a tip to YHC’s first Q at the Birdcage (45 minutes of Mary).  After a lame disclaimer, the PAX were off to the Peristyle for the first Circle of Pain, where YHC produced not one, but two decks of cards:

    • SSHs 52xIC (Rudy, clever guy that he is, had lots of Mumblechatter for this)
    • Imperial Walkers 30xIC
    • Low Slow Squats 29.75xIC, with a segue into
    • Squat Pulses 10xIC
    • Peter Parkers 25xIC
    • Mountain Climbers 25xIC
    • Parker Peters 25xIC
    • Merkins 25xIC (get those justifiers and chests to the ground, gentlemen)

    The Deck of Death.  Let the games begin.  Les jeux sont faits.  Alea iacta est.  Yada, yada, yada.  Spades were burpees, hearts were real Freddy Mercuries, diamonds were jump squats and clubs were merkins.  For the two jokers, a tip to Side Effects: balls to the wall on the columns in the Peristyle for twice as many BTTW merkins as the last card (one was a Queen, the other a six).  The PAX had the choice of letting Aces be one or thirteen (or, if Reluctant Yankee had been here, I suppose, fifteen); the PAX chose poorly: it was only one.  So that was 91 burpees, 91 dying cockroaches, 91 jump squats, 91 regular merkins and 36 BTTW merkins.

    For a breather, the PAX moseyed around the great lawn for round two of the Deck of Death along the benches in front of the Peristyle.  Clubs were box jumps, diamonds were dips, hearts were crunchy frogs and spades were sprints across the Great Lawn (run past the number of the palm trees equal to the spade drawn).  The PAX got through only 24 cards before Rudy started to kvetch about the approaching hour, so the PAX finished off with 30 dying cockroaches, one for each remaining card.

    [Note to self: to finish two decks, the Q probably needs one round to be Mary with little to no pausing for the six.]  Back to the flag for announcements and COT.  Thanks, PAX, for pushing this old guy, Jingle Vader

  • Convergence ’18

    f3nola.com/…/uploads/2018/10/IMG_5366.mov

    In celebration of the 4 year Anniversary of the starting of F3 NOLA,  a Convergence was called at the site where it all started, the Mothership.  PAX from every AO in F3 NOLA; Northshore, Westbank, Kenner, Baton Rouge, Metairie, Mid-City, and Uptown, converged on City Park for a celebration of the past 4 years of Men growing in Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith, and the growth and success that F3 NOLA has experienced during that time.

    Rudy got the party started early with a small group that arrived at 6:30 with a quick 5K Run through City Park; around the Festival Grounds, the Lagoon and back around to meet up with waiting PAX back near the Peristyle.  8 Flags were planted in the ground at the corner of The Great Lawn and the PAX slowly began to gather.  The Detailed Disclaimer(“You can’t sue us”) was given by Triple Shift, and off we moseyed to the large lawn near NOMA.

    The Beat-down was divided into four 15 minute segments, each with a different Q taking an opportunity to lead.  Each Q was selected to represent each of the 4 years of F3’s existence.

    1st Q – Triple Shift – Led off representing the founding group that started F3 NOLA that first year

    2nd Q – Turbo Tax  – represented the 2nd year growth and addition of Northshore PAX to F3 NOLA.

    3rd Q – FracSac – represented the third year and the growth of the Metairie, and Lakeview/Mid City AO’s

    4th Q – Medulla Oblongata – YHC, represented the recent surge and growth Uptown by the recent “HNJ Invasion”

    After a quick mosey to the lawn to the side of NOMA we circled up for the a warm up.

    WARM UP  – In Cadence

    31 – Worlds Slowest, Side Straddle Hops

    10 – 6-Count Burpees

    20 – Imperial Walker Squats

    10 – Abe Vigodas

    10 – Arm Circles – Fwd & Rev

    20 – Plank Jacks

    20 – Peter Parkers

    15 – Merkins

    The Q was passed to Turbo Tax who moved the Pax over to lawn slightly closer to NOMA.  Turbo started off by asking everyone to take off their shirt and create a “Flag” by tucking it in the back of your shorts.  This generated plenty of Mumble chatter among the Pax.

    FLAG GAMES

    2 Minute Flag Games – Your shirt is your Flag, Don’t let it get pulled!

    1st Round – 2 Knee-to-Chest Jumps every time your flag gets pulled, reload and continue  pulling after jumps.

    2nd Round (x2) – Tennis Balls and a Nerf football were added as additional “Ammo”, In addition to Jumps for flag pulls, if hit with the tennis balls – 5 Merkins, hit by the football – 5 Burpees, reload flag and keep going after exercise.

    3rd Round (x2) – Same Rules as 2nd round, but no reload of flag, perform penalty exercise, Plank and wait in place till end.

    4th Round – Trophy Flags – Same rules as Round 3 but Flag puller keeps and collects flags he pulls, Person with the most flags wins.

    Not sure if anyone kept track of the winners but as Turbo Tax said we’re all WINNERS!

    The Q was then passed to FracSac.  We remained in place and lined up along the First Tree Line.

    SUICIDES

    Run to tree 1 and back 5 Burpees

    Run to tree 2 and back 5 Burpees

    Run to tree 3 and back 5 Burpees

    Run to tree 4 and back 5 Burpees

    Burpee Broad Jump to tree 1 and back

    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10

    Run to tree 1 and back 5 Merkins

    Run to tree 2 and back 5 Merkins

    Run to tree 3 and back 5 Merkins

    Run to tree 4 and back 5 Merkins

    KimChi lost his Applewatch in the Chaos that was Flag Games so we lined up and Bear crawled to the 4th tree while looking for the watch.  Not found, but later found by KimChi behind the area we bear crawled.  Crisis averted!

    The Q was passed to YHC and we moseyed back to the Great Lawn.

    CONVERGENCE CIRCUIT

    8 stations had been designated around the perimeter of the Great Lawn with a Flag positioned in the Center. Each station was marked with a sheet of paper with the exercise for each station.  The Pax was divided into groups at each station.   The Bobby Hurley station would provide the count of 20 reps,  while every other station did AMRAP of their designated exercise.   At Halt, Everyone ran to middle of lawn to CONVERGE and partner up for 5 Patty Cake Merkins, then rotate clockwise to the next station.  PAX was instructed to pick a different partner each time they returned to the middle between stations.  The stations were:

    Bobby Hurley’s

    Merkins

    Mountain Climbers

    Plank Jacks

    Low Slow Squats

    Jump Lunges

    Dips

    Monkey Humpers – (by the street, of course)

    One round was completed and time was getting short so we circled up for some quick Mary

    2 MINUTES OF MARY

    Dying Cock Roach IC x 20

    Wife Pleasers IC x 20

    We are done!

    COT

    Circle up for Count-O-Rama – 66 PAX!!,  Name-O-Rama 3 FNG!!

    FNG’s Named – Welcome to Blanks, Chalk Talk, and Green Screen!!

    Bring it in tight for a Sweaty Ball of Man!!  Butt Splice finished it up with a prayer.

    NMM

    We moseyed over to Morning Call  where a awesome spread of food awaited us.   Spinach Mushroom Egg Scramble, Bacon, Pork Loin, Bananas, Croissants, Bottled Water, and Iced Coffee.  Mike as usual took great care of us with plates and napkins and great service.  Rudy presented Mike with his honorary membership and a blue F3 NOLA shirt.   Some great F2 went down as we ate and drank our fill.  Big thank you to all who made it out for this awesome beat-down in the park.  Big thank you to everyone who organized and provided the food and drinks we enjoyed.  Finally, big thanks to Woz for documenting the whole event with pictures and video.   I know, I  speak for all the Q’s when I say, it was a pleasure to lead as always, and thanks for the opportunity to lead this great PAX.

    Hope to see everyone and more next year!!  SYITG!!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • A Stroll Down Route 66

    One of my favorite Saturday beat downs was a Route 66 down Esplanade Avenue lead by #Side FX a couple years ago. I am not a very original man, and I like to borrow work-outs from previous ones that I have enjoyed. And it’s fun to get off campus. So I revived the annual #Side FX Route 66. 23 strong men arrived at 0630 on this beautiful Saturday morning. The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    We moseyed to the green lawn on the side of NOMA for the warm-up COP.
    SSH x 24 IC, representing Notre Dame’s opponent for the day, the #24 Virginia Tech Hokies
    — at which time we realized that #Hokie Pokey was noticeably absent
    6 Burpees OYO, giving strength and support to the #6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Onward to Victory
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Peter Parkers x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm Circles 10 Forward, 10 Backwards IC
    Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    Mosey to the NOMA fountain to grab some bench.
    Left leg power-ups x 20 IC
    Dips x 15 IC
    Right leg power-ups x 20 IC
    Dips x 15 IC

    Then mosey over to the lamp posts on Lelong Drive in front of NOMA. Let the Route 66 begin.
    Stop at each lamp post for Merkins, start at 5 Merkins and increase 1 at each lamp post, ending at 14 Merkins.
    I think that makes 95 Merkins total.

    Circle up for some Mary.
    LBC’s x 20 IC
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Penguins x 20 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC

    Mosey off campus out of City Park to continue the Route 66 down Esplanade Avenue. It’s always nice to take in the sights on Esplanade Avenue as the sun is coming up. It even reminded some of the Grow Ruck. We stop at each lamp post for 10 squats. I don’t know how many lamp posts we stopped at. It felt like a lot. Continue on to Alcee Fortier Park, aka Dog Poo Park by Café Degas.

    Circle up for more Mary.
    Box Cutters x 20 IC
    Dying Cockroach x 20 IC
    Leg Lifts x 20 IC
    Crunchy Frog x 10 IC

    Back down Esplanade for more Route 66, heading back to City Park.
    Stop at each lamp post for 6 Jump Lunges.

    Once safely back inside City Park, we circle up for more Merkins.
    Left leg crossover Merkins x 10 IC
    Monkey Humpers x 20 IC
    Right leg crossover Merkins x 10 IC

    Route 66 back down Lelong Drive to NOMA.
    10 Plank Jacks at each lamp post.

    Circle up at the NOMA Fountain. Grab some bench.
    Incline Merkins x 10 IC
    10 Box Jumps OYO
    Decline Merkins x 10 IC
    Then 5 minutes to stretch the hamstrings.

    Mosey back to the flag. Count off, Name-o-rama, named our FNG Gyro (pronounced JI-RO) since he grew up in NOLA next to the Greek Orthodox church, announcements, special intentions, and a prayer. I love the ol’ Route 66. We miss ya #Side FX.
    Thanks to FracSac for the picture! And thanks for allowing me to lead!
    Oh, and the Irish beat the Hokies 45-23, in case you missed it.

    Walleye