F3 New Orleans

Tag: Okwata

  • Coupon H8

    YHC is nothing if not not creative. After employing the pax at Popeyes a couple weeks back to transport coupons back to the flag, and noticing how little fun we all had doing it, the idea of a coupon run was born. Luckily, I overbought pavers a while back for a backyard project, and not wanting to do the walk of shame to return some pavers that each cost about 50 cents, we now have some “square running coupons”. They shall be referred to as the SRC’s henceforth, and they will always have been bought for the good of the F3 Nola pax, not my much smaller than expected backyard project.

    Warmup

    • Mosey to the center of the intersection with some high knees and butt kicks
    • SSHx20
    • Arm circlesx20
    • Parker Peterx20
    • Hold for planking on each hand
    • Open the gate, close the gate
    • LSSx10

    Station 1

    An abbreviated H8 with the SRC’s. Grab 1 in each hand, run to the top of the levee, deposit them, bear crawl across, run down to the bottom, straight back up, bear crawl across, retrieve SRC’s, down to the bottom at Lakeshore Drive for 5 Manmakers w/ the coupons. X 4.

    A few Pax completed 5 and even got in some Bernie Sanders while they waited for the slow guys, i.e., YHC to complete their 4th.

    Station 2

    Indian Run to the end of the levee on the concrete, where we got in a bit of Mary.

    • Crab Cakes x20
    • Absolution x10 (pretty sure I messed this one up again – going to need another demonstration the count, Triple Shift)

    Mosey down the levee and back to the flag, led by our FNG, Chips. Chips was EH’d by Hokie Pokey, and he put in a hell of an effort for his first workout. I saw he posted the next day at The Uptowner as well, so if you have not met him yet, you’ll probably see him soon. He’s a great addition to F3 Nola.

    We also bid farewell to Cowbell, who is going to the Northshore. Our loss, their gain. Cowbell is a quiet leader who pushes hard and helps those around him. Hopefully we’ll SYITG from time to time.

    Thanks for having me. I see the next month is covered, but we have been having some difficulty filling Q’s for Okwata. This is the best time to sign up for Okwata, as the days get longer, and we get absolutely beautiful sunrises over the lake. Show up for an Okwata or two when you can, and then sign up to lead one. With so many options for exercises, it’s truly one of the great AO’s we have. – Kuch

  • 4-getta-bout-it


    It was a beautiful Thursday morning on the lakefront last week. After a little chatter amongst the PAX, I issued the disclaimer and we mosey’d to the corner of lakefront drive / canal blvd. Once there we commenced with the warmup:

    • side straddle hops – 20
    • imperial squat walkers – 15
    • grass grabbers – 15
    • peter parkers – 15
    • arm circles – 10 forward, 10 backward

    Seeing as how the H8 was coming up in 2 weeks, I thought it might be good to do a little H8 pre-work. After Kuch’s Q at Popeyes on Wednesday, the LV clown car was talking about some different TV shows, and one of the shows that came up was the Sopranos. Anytime i think of that show, the word “for-getta-bout-it” comes to mind. Well since i was thinking of that show at the same time i was trying to think about what exercises to use during my Q, a nice exercise creation was born. It would aptly be called, the “4-getta-bout-it” and it would entail 4 figure 8 laps up & down the paved part of the levee with bear crawls across the center (just like the H8). We would also do a burpee / merkin ladder like the H8 as well. The difference with the 4-getta-bout-it would be that the PAX would have to run up each of the levees backwards (Bernie Sanders style backwards). So the good news is that it would be only 1/2 of the laps as the H8; the bad news is that running up the levee backwards is not what most people consider fun. Ultimately, all of the PAX completed the 4 laps (Smooth actually completed 5 laps, which has come to be known as the “High Five”), and then after a brief 20 count from Cowbell, we mosey’d to the benches. Once to the benches, we did the following:

    • dirkins – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to next bench
    • left / right leg step ups (10/10)
    • squat jump clockwise to next bench
    • dips – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • irkins – 10
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • windmills – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • LBC’s – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • dying cockroaches – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • flutter kicks – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench

    Once completed, we mosey’d back to the flag for the announcements, intentions and the prayer. As always, thanks for the opportunity to lead, fellas. It’s a pleasure grinding through the beatdowns with y’all!

  • My 45 minute birthday party

    Party of 16 was ready to celebrate my birthday one day late.

    Gave the necessary disclaimer and off we went.

    Mosey around the fountain and circle up in the grassy area for:

    COP #1: Warm Up

    31 X SSH

    31 X IW

    31 X PP

    15 X JLO

    15 X LSS

    15 X Windmill

    Mosey down to the lakefront to get a little mid post Mary in:

    5 X LBC at Lightpost 1 increasing reps by 5

    continue until reps = 40

    Mosey further down the lakefront to a parking lot between the shelter and levee for:

    7 of Diamonds- pax split up into 4 groups, 2 on top of the levee, 2 in the parking lot- to make a diamond, or rectangle, or square….

    Perform each exercise, rotate, and increase next exercise by 7 reps.

    7 X Burpees

    14 X Flutter Kicks

    21 X Merkins

    28 X Can’t Remembers

    35 X Squats

    28 X Can’t Remembers

    21 X Merkins

    14 X Flutter Kicks

    7 X Burpees

    Mosey to a grassy area for:

    COP #2: Jack Webb

    1-10 Merks with 2-20 Air presses

    Time to head back to the flag, we moseyed along the lakefront with 2 sudden change stops of 5 X Burpees OYO.

    COP #3: Mary & Light Stretching

    31 X American Hammer

    31 X Crunchy Frog (crowd pleaser)

    Mosey across the street to the flag

    Countoff, Name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and prayer

    Welcome El Capitan!

    Thanks for letting me lead again,

    Cowbell


  • 40 – a.k.a. The Rudy Special

    With all the new NOLA PAX members that have taken the Daily Red Pill and joined our ranks, there are so many great workouts they have missed since the inception of F3 NOLA. One of my favorites at Okwata is the 40! Thank you, Rudy! Other epic beatdowns such as the H8 and Elevens with Burpees at Okwata are always crowd pleasers. Since the Army Corps of Engineers raised the height of the lake levee, this AO is like no other in the city. As a side note, you can also thank Mayor Cantrell and former Mayor Landrieu for keeping the grass well manicured over the years.

    WARMUP

    After my disclainer, we do a quick mosey around the Mardi Gras fountain with side shuffles, high knees and butt kicks and head over to the levee. The space between the sidewalk and the bottom of the levee is very spongelike and lumpy so watch your step.

    THE THANG

    As I give the instructions, I hear some groans from the veterans and get some puzzled looks from the newcomers as they process the task ahead of them. It’s pretty simple. Run up and over the levee 40 times and perform 10 exercises 40 times. The sequence of the beatdown is as follows:

    Burpees, Plank Jacks – 10 sec break

    Side Lunges, Catalina Wine Mixers – 20 sec break

    Supermans (Red Sun/Yellow Sun), Shoulder Taps – 30 sec break

    Reverse Crunches, Bonnie Blairs – 40 sec break

    Merkins, WW2 Situps / Wife Pleasers

    It’s 6:13am and we head back to the Freedom Hammer

    COUNTOFF, NAMERAMA AND COT

    Honored to lead all the HIM (High Impact Men) today and grateful for your friendship, camaraderie, and accountability. Prayers for those fighting cancer and those who have lost loved ones! Lord help us be the leaders we were destined to be for our wives, children, and community!

  • A Little H8 to Start off your Thursday

    14 Pax set off into a mild, dry gloom that looked more like midnight than morning to find a good warm-up spot and get a little practice in for the upcoming H8. YHC was initially excited about not having to warm up in Surge’s favorite intersection, but the weeds were a little high, and we found ourselves back in the familiar intersection oval for warm-ups, consisting of:

    • Arm Circles
    • Hill Billies
    • SSH
    • Parker Peter

    After the warm-up, we were back to everyone’s favorite Okwata exercises: levees and burpees and burpees and levees, and a few merkins thrown in.

    Exercise 1: Sprint up the levee, jog down, 10 Burpees. Sprint back up the levee, jog down, 10 Burpees, 25 merkins, Plank and Wait.

    Exercise 2: Indian Run where the sprinter drops for 3 Merkins before sprinting to the front. Rudy claims Jesus Juice almost passed me on a sprint despite the 3 merkins, but I think we should all consider the source. Although Indian runs are not necessarily part of the H8 (or at all part of it), I do hate them.

    Exercise 3: Sprint up the levee, 5 Turk and Burps; jog down, 5 T&B; jog back up, 5 T&B; jog back down, 5 T&B. A little controversy about the form for these, so below is a demonstration of the Turkish Get-Up that I at least attempt to follow. It’s a great exercise for any workout, and worth practicing on your form. Start light if you do; a 10-lb kettlebell should be plenty at first.

    Exercise 4: At Okwata, there is always time for running backwards up a levee, and this workout was no exception, so we did a couple rounds of Bernie Sanders, planked and waited for the 6, and then moseyed back to the flag, where we got in a few LBC’s as the clock struck 6:15.

    We wished Jesus Juice a happy 35th, and welcomed Edible Arrangements from F3 Nashville. We prayed for some of our F3 brothers who are going through some tough times right now, and we recognized how thankful we are that we were able to come together this morning for a workout.

    I’m also thankful for the opportunity to lead this group. -Kuch

  • Surge’s B-Day Q

    YHC turned 51 and wanted to celebrate F3 style. Okwata provided a beautiful sunrise and a light breeze. First, DISCLAIMER and then

    Mosey to the Center of the Universe for the warm-up: SSHx51, Abe Vigoda x10, Sun Gods 10f/10b, Peter Parker x20, Parker Peter x20, Imperial Walker x20, Concrete Grabbers x10

    Mosey to the levee for an 11 with burpees (descending) and low slow squats (ascending)

    Mosey to the seawall for a Hurricane Hoedown looking out over Okwata and the beautiful sunrise

    Mosey up and over the levee and back to the flag for some bonus Mary: American Hammer x20, Freddie Mercuries x20, LBCs x20 (courtesy of Kuch).

    Count off, Nameorama, Announcements, Intentions, Prayer

    The PAX had a F3 guest from North Carolina. YHC thinks he was impressed with our hill (aka, levee) and how we used it a lot. Thank you for a great birthday start. Teach me to be generous!

  • End of February, end of RRR

    Gloomy morning at Okwata. Last day of February, last day of 2019 RRR and YHC’s legs are definitely feeling it. Been a great month – getting pushed by all the PAX to pull a Forest Gump and just keep running.

    And as 5:30 approaches, out of the gloom emerge Kuch and Ya Mom’N’Dem – 2 PAX who have been pushing and inspiring me all month. Running to the workouts, running home. Way to go guys!

    Disclaimer given, and off we go – looking for a rare patch of dry ground in the swamplands of Okwata.

    Warm Up

    Circle up at the foot of Canal Street. Typical Warmup, as YHC is a bit of a creature of habit. As Triple Shift noted – all exercises in cadence x28 (28th day of February. SSH, Hillbilly, Peter Parker (“Stay here” yells frac, so we may as well stay here), Shoulder Taps (“stay here” the Pax grumbles, so YHC obliges), Parker Peter. Recover

    But wait – no warmup is complete without burpees. So we’ll do a Burpee Box: run the canal St loop with 7 burpees at each corner (28 total burpees). If you finish, sweep the 6 and join them for their burpees as well. Mahatma quickly identifies that the name of the game is “stay together”. But he and Cowbell sprint off anyway, earning the opportunity to sweep and pick up two more sets of burpees. Nice work!

    Animal Crossing

    A few rounds of mosey up the levee, animal walk across, and mosey back down the levee. First its Bear Crawls, then Crab Walks, then Duck Walks. Each time, plank at the bottom for the 6. Make room for the sandal-footed hippie who decided to disrupt the workout on his run to nowhere.

    Route 66

    Across the street. Route 66 with Merkins. Go. Certain unnamed PAX reached lightpole #10 and became confused with what to do next. Ole Miss apparently does not cover counting when numbers exceed fingers.

    Cirlce of Time / Benches

    Back across the street to one of the underutilized areas of Okwata – the circle of 8 benches. A PAX of 17 made this a bit crowded, but we’ll make do. Partner up at each bench. We’ll go clockwise around. PAX noted that it was wet. Quite wet. Shoes will be wet. But – no griping allowed. Persevere. Accelerate. Own It.

    • Right Leg Step Up x20 (everyone). Lunge Walk clockwise to the next bench.
    • Left Leg Step Up x20. Lunge Walk clockwise.
    • Monkey Humpers x25. Lunge Walk clockwise
    • Low Slow Squats x20. (this was to be Box Jumps – but the dampness and crowds seemed to make that a bad idea. So improvise…). Lunge Walk clockwise.
    • Dips x20. Bear Crawl clockwise
    • Incline Merks x20. Bear Crawl
    • Regular Merks x20, with the whole group throwing in extras to motivate the rest of the PAX. YHC shoulders are feeling the burn. Bear Crawl onward.
    • Derkins. AMRAP. YHC has a clock. Go. Much grumbling and groaning ensured. 1:10 of derkins.

    A soggy group of PAX gathered up and moseyed back to the flag, where we got in a last round of LBC x28

    And with that, we wrap up the end of February. 2.3 miles earned for RRR. Close out with intentions (several PAX praying for close friends and family suffering with illness). And then prayers – as always YHC asks for the grace of God’s wisdom to use the gift of a day in service of Him, and in service of his family and friends.

    Then – as a little bit of lagniappe, Team Okwata (cowbell, mahatma, kuch, ya mom’n’dem, rudy) took off on one last 2 mile run to celebrate the end of RRR. Thanks for the month – for the inspiration, and for the F2.

  • Just Being HIMs

    It’s a start of a new year.  So just get at it.  A PAX of eight on this blustery morning, waves crashing onto the promenade.  After a brief disclaimer and a mosey around the fountain and across the street, The Thang:

    Warm Up:

    • SSHs 25xIC
    • Low Slow Squats 25xIC
    • Merkins 25xIC

    First COP: Route 66 along the planters with box jumps: one at the first planter, mosey back; two at the second, mosey back; etc. up to 11 box jumps at the 11th planter.

    Second COP: Mosey down aways for

    • Dips 20xIC
    • Half V-Ups 20xIC
    • Dips 20xIC
    • Dying Cockroachs 20xIC

    Third COP: Mosey to the bottom of the levee.  Then lunge walk to the top, 50 LBCs, duck walk back down, Bernie Sanders back up, 50 more LBCs; then mosey back to the flag.

    Circle of Mary:

    • Russian Twists 20xIC
    • Big Boy Sit-Ups 20xIC
    • Flutter Kicks 20xIC
    • Penguins 20xIC
    • Dr. W’s 10xIC

    Close it out with 12 burpees.  Then count off, name-o-rama, and COT.  Thanks.  Push me harder for this year; I could use it.  –JV

  • The Dawn of the Single Reverse Indian Run

    With Run Ranger Run in full swing, I thought it would be good to get a few miles in during the beatdown on Thursday morning at Okwata. So without further ado, at 5:30am I issued the disclaimer & we mosey’d to the intersection of Canal Blvd / Lakeshore Drive for the Warmup

    Warmup

    • 20 side straddle hops
    • 15 concrete grabbers
    • 20 plankjacks
    • 15 imperial walkers

    The Thang

    After the warmup, we did a count-off in which each of the 12 PAX was assigned a number; 1-12. The number was relevant because we did a variation of an Indian run called the ‘Single Reverse Indian Run’ (which is a completely made up name) which entailed the PAX running in a circle up & down the paved part of the levee at the intersection of Canal Blvd / Lakeshore Drive. While the group of PAX was doing a traditional Indian Run, each individual member of the PAX would then peel off to take a turn sprosey’ing (running at a speed that falls in between a sprint & a mosey) the same route until they re-connected with the PAX. So PAX 1 would peel off first, and when he got back to the group, PAX 2 would go; and so on until all 12 PAX had a turn. Seeing as how I hadn’t done this before, there were a few hiccups along the way. When it was time for PAX 1 (High Rise) to peel off to do his individual run, he just ran down the levee & then back up to the group; he didn’t run the whole route before returning to the group. So when PAX 2 (Cowbell) began to run, I explained he had to run the whole route before returning to the group. What we soon discovered, though, was that this was a pretty tall order & that we would probably be there all day if we continued in this fashion. So, to his credit, Rudy, suggested that we keep the exercise the same, but have the individual members of the PAX do the individual runs in reverse, so that they would run into the group of PAX doing the traditional Indian Run instead of having to essentially catch up to the group of PAX doing the traditional Indian Run. Rudy then ran to get Cowbell to communicate the change, and after this tweak, most PAX were able to complete their individual lap using the reverse technique. To Smooth’s credit, he did not go in reverse; he completed his individual lap running the same direction as the group (using what some may refer to as the elusive reverse reverse technique).

    After one of the most complicated Indian Runs ever attempted in 21st century America was completed, we mosey’d down the lakefront to where the potted plants (or what many in the lower 48 refer to as planters) are located near the water. What I learned from my last Q at Okwata is that there are indeed only 10 planters on this part of the lakefront. With this knowledge fresh in mind, our next exercise was to run from the 1st planter to the 10th planter. Once at the 10th planter, the PAX would do 5 derkins, and then we’d run back to the first planter and do 5 irkins. We did this 5 times so that we did a total of 50 combined derkins & irkins.

    Once completed, I took a quick glance at my watch and noticed we had about 10 minutes left, which was plenty enough time for us to mosey back to the paved intersection of Canal Blvd / Lakeshore Drive so that we could do 2 laps of Bernie Sanders up the levee. For this exercise, the PAX would do a Bernie Sanders up the levee (run backwards), and then do a forward run down the levee. Once at the other side, the PAX would then do a Bernie Sanders back up the levee and then a forward run back down the levee. We did this twice, and truth be told, most of the PAX seemed like they were #FeelingTheBurn in a physical sense by the time we were done. Some of the PAX may have also been #FeelingTheBern in a political sense as well, but it wasn’t relevant to the exercise & I am not a mind reader, so who knows.

    After this exercise, time was up. So we mosey’d back to the flag & did the count-off, name-o-rama, announcements & prayer. Turns out we had cranked out a little over 4 miles during the beatdown, which was nice for all the guys tracking for Run Ranger Run. High Rise had also brought out an FNG with him to the Beatdown. It turned out the FNG had wrestled back in high school with Kuch, so he was aptly named “Half Nelson.” Thanks for letting me lead, fellas. I appreciate it & I enjoy it.

  • We’ll Never Finish in 45 Min….Yep it took 47

    I’ve been talking about it for some time now and had it loaded in my truck; the tractor tire was armor-alled and ready to roll……yet the levee was calling.

    Quick disclaimer and a challenge to push yourself to the limit before giving in. Mosey around the fountain to circle up for the warm up.

    All in cadence:

    Low Slow Squats x 10

    Leg swing left x 12 then right x 12

    SSH x 20

    Scorpion kicks x 10

    Shoulder taps x 15

    Pax moseyed up the levee – Q gave instructions – Indian run, disperse – Repeater 

    – once Pax gets to the front of the line he yells out his choice of an exercise movement then yells disperse – ALL pax runs to either side of levee and performs the  movement x 3.  Each time the next Pax runs to the front and gives the next exercise movement the Pax runs down to either side of the levee and performs the movement x 3 THEN runs up and over to repeat the 1st.  Each time a Pax gives a new movement all other movements are then repeated after running up and over the levee.   Regardless on how you count it…..we ran a lot of levees! 2.8 miles up and over

    This was on the boarder line of insane….and there was a lot of “chirping” by the those normally expected yet every pax pushed through and completed the task.  

    No time to spare mosey to the flags!

     COT

    Count off – Name O Roma – FGN made his presence known with a LOT more details so fittingly we came up with TMI!  He’s a welcome addition to our PAX and will be pushed by Hokie Pokey to make the Uptowner. 

    QIC was no doubt disappointed NOT having time to roll out the tire but none the less proud of the brothers on hand that pushed through!

    It’s a blessing and honor to lead!