Coming in hot for my Q. Arrived at 5:30 on the nose! The PAX seemed to be sweating it out. After the botched disclaimer we were off. (There was some chatter about how I was a not a personal trainer but I was a professional trainer).
Mosey around parking lot to the front of the stage for:
SSH x 20
Windmills x 15
Arm Circles Forward x 10
Arm Circles Backward x 10 (with a descending count to welcome Seaman back from vacation
Hillbillies x 20
Slow mosey to start of oak alley then: knee highs to first light, butt kicks to second light, bear crawl to third light, crab walk to final light.
Mosey to the front of the zoo for some low slow dirty mac deuce. After each set of exercises we ran a lap to magazine street and back. Tclaps to G-Spot and El wire who led the way on most of these. Also to Jadeveon and Flaming Lips who blew by me on every lap!
First Round
Low Slow Merkin x 12
Low Slow Squat x 15
Low Slow Peter Parker x 24
Second Round
Low Slow Incline Merkin x 12
Low Slow Bulgarian Split Lunge x 12 each side
Low Slow Peter Parker x 24
Third Round
Low Slow Decline Merkin x 12
Low Slow Dips x 20
Low Slow J-Lo x 24
Fourth Round
Low Slow Carolina Dry Docks x 12
Low Slow Monkey Humpers x 24
Low Slow Freddy Mercury x 24
Mosey to the pull up bars. Split up into 4 groups. Ten pullups was the count. Other groups were Plank Jacks, LBC’s, and Shoulder Taps.
After a time check of 6:11 we stayed where we were and squeezed in some Mary:
Russian Twist x 20
Dying Cockroach x 20
Box Cutters x 20
Fast as you can (or want to) run back to the flag. Count off & Namorama. Announcements to sign up for Iron Pax challenge. Prayers for Jadeveon’s mom as she deals with the loss of two parents. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to lead!
PAX think that YHC doesn’t like to mosey. Well, they’re mostly right, because it sux. Anyway, you gotta keep the PAX on their game. So JV-style (not too extreme, nothing Mariah- or Bieber-like), today’s wet and soggy Birdcage includes moseying. I mean it’s wet out there; might as well enjoy running through it.
Warm-Up in the slosh in front of the zoo:
SSHs 57xIC
Kim Jong Uns 20xIC
Imperial Walkers(?) 20xIC
Low Slow Squats 20xIC
Merkins 20xIC
Mosey up to the levee on the fly for some Elevens. Start with one merk at the bottom of the hill and ten squat jumps at the top; continue until 10 merks at the top and one squat jump at the top.
Mosey farther down (up?) the levee to pair up for patty-cake merkins.: 20 each hand. Apparently, the PAX was incapable of counting and finished before YHC and his partner, Douille. So rinse and repeat–correctly this time.
Mosey to the Maze (or, as YHC was corrected, the Labyrinth) for Circle of Mary:
LBCs 20xIC
Flutter Kicks 20xIC
American Hammerx 20xIC
Dying Cockroach 20xIC
Penguins 20xIC
Big Boy Sit Ups 20xIC
Hello Dollys 20xIC
some other ones I no longer recall.
Mosey back to the flag through the puddles for a minute (or two, maybe) of plank to finish at 6:15am at the dot (plus or minus). Count Off, Name-O-Rama, Announcements and thanks for the soggy morning. It was more moseying than YHC likes, but it’s good him.
I hope I got all the PAX. Video notwithstanding, YHC thought there were 23 PAX. But other PAX assured him there were only 22. If YHC weren’t a ludite, he might actually know how to properly record a video. So if I missed you, humble apologies. Thanks, JV
Much like my kids summer work for school some things are just hard to get done and 1/2-assed when they do get done. Apologies to school teachers and thorough backblast authors.
Warm-up: Not really sure anymore. Combination of jacks and maybe grass grabbers.
Warm up 2.0: Jog-sprint combo through the lights of the oak grove
The Thing: Traditional items such as catch me if you can, jack web, legs and arms at the benches, sprint-jog alternates, Mary at the grassy knoll, Indian Run all the way home.
Although lightning and thunder was forecast for Friday morning, the city of New Orleans was lucky to avoid the worst, especially after Wednesday. So 31 PAX gathered on a gloomy, humid, damp Friday morning intent on running some ramps in a parking lot for no reason other than the fact it’s hard.
A brief, yet still somewhat rambling disclaimer was given, and at 5:30 we set off to get after it.
Warm-up
Mosey up St. Charles and back down to grassy area in front of Tulane for a quick warm-up of
SSHx20
ISWx20
Peter Parker Peter x20 each
Arm Circles 10/10
10 burpees OYO to clear our heads of the backwards counting that always throws YHC off.
Mosey to the base of the Mountain for
10 Merkins I/C, sprint one ramp, mosey one ramp
10 Burpees OYO, sprint one ramp, mosey one ramp
10 8-count bodybuilders OYO, sprint one ramp, mosey one ramp
10 angle grinders I/C, sprint one ramp, mosey one ramp
Bernie Sanders one ramp, mosey one ramp
When we arrived at the top, it was a bit damp for the work we needed to do, so we headed down a level for some Catch Me if You Can in 3 rounds and 3 lines to keep it moving:
Rd 1: Squats while everyone else holds Al Gore; (when the person in front of you hits 5, you start, at 10, you run down a ramp and back up the stairs and back in line)
Rd 2: jump squats
Rd 3: jump lunges
Next, a little tabata for fun. Nothing quite gets the heart rate up like some high intensity tabata. 25 on/10 off. 8 exercises, crowd choice. We ended up doing:
flutter kicks
Box cutters
Burpees
8 count bodybuilders
merkins
LBC’s
2 other exercises I cannot remember
The rule was, if you don’t remember the exercise you suggested when it’s up, then we do burpees. Incidentally and unrelated, everyone remembered his exercise.
Finally, some Mary to seal the deal. 5 exercises
American Hammers (FracSac)
Leg raises (King Kong)
3 exercises by YHC I cannot remember
Mosey back to the Flag and arrive exactly at 6:15… or you know, right around that time. COT, name-o-rama, and a prayer of thanks. Thanks for letting this lakeview pax lead the uptown workout.
Gnarly little beatdown planned to work the heartrate in preparation for the Gnarly Nutria. Some highlights: Gatsby’s 2.0 Flying on the flats and dying on the Stairs, Angie’s List’s colon blowouts, El Wire’s hand signal at the video breakdown, the random plastic buckets at the top of WPM, the heat in the stairwells… 29 PAX for a 5th of July run through of WPM!
Good luck to PEPPA who has his first flights for Southwest this afternoon.
A good morning then jog over to WPM.
Disclaimer on the MTN.
SSH X 20, IMP Squats x 20, Jlo-s x 20 and Merks x 20
Up the stairs to the top of WPM
On the TOP – we did Bicycles x 20, Low COuntry Crabs x 20, Dying Roach x 20 and RTwist x 20 — Then we did a loop – down the stairs and up the opposite stairs.
Did Squats with Sally DOWN/ UP – (FLower by Moby)
Then another stair loop
Did Plank Jacks with Merks for Roxanne by the Police. Every Roxanne – merk Every Put on the Red Light = Plank Jack
Then we did another loop on the stairs.
At the TOP we used those giant plastic bins to do Dips x 20, Decline shoulder taps x 30 OYO, Bulgarian Split Left x 20, Incline Merks x 12, and Bulgarian Split Right x 20.
Still had a few minutes so we did LBC x 20 and Freddy Mercury x 20.
Down to the FLAG and circle up.
COT–prayed for our deployed and committed to being better men
Over 20 PAX gathered on a not-so-gloomy morning to hear a half-assed disclaimer by the Q. With a mosey over to the bandstand, a brief warm-up COP:
SSH x20, Seal-Jacks X20, Arm circles forward X12, backwards X only 10, moroccan dance clubs x10, IW x10, HB x10
On the the track for a double-time indian run to the rows. At the rows: 12 Burpees are the count for the rotation: Burpees, Peter Parkers, Jump Squats, Parker Peters & Rows
Back to track for another Indian Run – stopping halfway to the benches for another 12 Burpees
Prisoner run to the benches: RLSU x20, Dips X20, LLSU x20, Derkins x10
Another Prisoner Run to the green: Russian Twists x20, Flutter Kicks x15, Penguins x20 & Real FMs x15
Last Indian Run to the monkey bars: OYO – 10 pull-ups, 20 Burpees & 30 running men
Back to the flag for plank-o-rama & 20 seconds of MI
Count off, name-o-rama & a prayer of thanks, health and safe travels
YHC saw an opening to take the Q at WPM and jumped on it. Arriving early enough to welcome the Pax, the disclaimer was given, then mosey away from the Mountain so a U-turn could be made to the open grass in front of Tulane for the warmup.
First count off, which always throws the men of WPM for a loop, especially when they have to remember the number. 34 men were ready to get sweaty.
SSH IC x 31 Imperial Walkers IC x 15 Grass Grabbers IC x 10 Arm Circles IC x 20 Peter Parker IC x 20 Mountain Climber IC x 20 Parker Peter IC x 20
Mosey toward the Mountain. Stop for a 20 yard Bear Crawl and Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10.
Mosey to the Mountain and partner up for a little “Catch Me if You Can” up the Mountain. Pax 1 runs backwards up the Mountain while Pax 2 completes 3 Burpees and runs to catch Pax 1. Flapjack all the way to the top. Once on top, do shoulder taps waiting for the six.
Time to test the Focus of the Pax. Circle up for Fracsac Focus Fun! Asked a Pax for their number, which was maybe 19? The rules are simple, the Pax completes a total of 19 SSH’s IC. However, only 10 are counted out loud. For the final 9, all Pax must stop on time counting internally only. Counting out loud beyond 10 incurs a penalty. Not stopping at 19 incurs a penalty. The Q is the perfect count, aka “my cadence is pure.”
Round 1 – The Pax incurred a 10 Burpee penalty
Embrace the Suck 7 – SSH 7- Merkins 7 – jumpsquats Continue over and over for 3 minutes, yelling out rounds completed. 1 minute rest Rinse and Repeat for 3 minutes, trying to improve upon total rounds completed.
Try the Fracsac Focus Fun again. Ask for a number, maybe 23? SSH IC x 15 followed by the other 8 in silence. While calling out instructions, YHC looks over at some commotion and finds Mahatma penalizing 2 Pax for not knowing what the number of SSH’s to do would be! With the Pax on high alert, this one was for sure going to be a success!
Spoiler Alert – Fail! YHC announces the penalty will be at the base of the Mountain. Take the stairs down and complete Shoulder Taps while waiting for the six. Mosey to the grassy area by the benches for redemption!
10 SSH’s IC x 10 followed by 3 in silence. Oh Pax of WPM…how you must love burpees! With another failure in hand, time was running out. Mosey to the Touchdown Jesus grass for the 10 penalty Burpees OYO. Mosey back to the flag.
COT Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, closed with a prayer.
NMM
We had 2 FNG’s today, welcome Bubble Wrap and Butter! Keep posting! YHC enjoys WPM and always has a good time as Q. There was mumblechatter about how the Burpees were coming regardless of how well the Focus went. With multiple failures, one will never know….
Coffeteria at PJ’s was excellent as always. F3 has made me a better person, and I thank all my F3 brothers for continuing to guide and support me. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this and for posting with me!
When Hawgcycle posted May’s ISI Challenge, YHC was excited to see that there will be a workout every Sunday. Hawgcycle even called YHC out “@King Kong We have one if someone gets it going.” Without any hesitation, YHC nominated himself to Q the first Sunday Uptown workout. YHC originally wanted to meet at the Audubon Park entrance on St. Charles Ave because YHC wanted to go to places where we don’t go often. YHC was thinking to explore Tulane Campus, possibly to the Yulman Stadium since YHC is an alum. However, Yankee was messaging YHC about how he really wanted to have a Kettle Bell Workout in NOLA because it was never done before and that other AOs in other cities have dedicated Kettle Bell workouts. Yankee even suggested maybe the new AO can be the Hill at the Fly behind Audubon Zoo. YHC couldn’t agree more because the Uptown AOs lack a workout with weights. Cinder blocks were introduced at the Skinny and Birdcage during last year’s ISI Challenge. The PAX used those blocks for about 6 months until the maintenance crew of Aududon Park discovered them and tossed them away. This would be a perfect opportunity to bring weights back with kettle bells. With all that being said, Yankee didn’t even show up for the Inaugural Sweaty Bells Workout 🙂
YHC couldn’t ask for better weather. It was a cool, dry, sunny morning in the low 70’s. At 6:30 a.m., 8 strong PAX showed up by the Hill. YHC gave his standard disclaimer, and the PAX brought their kettle bells to a flat, smooth, soccer field right next to the hill with warm ups.
Warm Ups in cadence:
Hill Billies x 20 (with the help of Tool because YHC needed to get his phone out of his car).
Windmills x 15 (with the help of Tool)
Grass Grabber x 10
SSHs x 20
Forward Arm Circles x 10
Backward Arm Circles x 10
Peter Parkers x 20
Then a warm up jog to the end of the soccer field and back leading to our first set of exercises with our beloved kettle bells
Thang 1
Low Slow Goblot Squats x 20 IC
Curls x 15 IC
Kettle Bell Swing x 20 OYO
Triceps x 10 IC
Thrusters x 10 OYO
Rows x 10 IC
Reverse Grip x 10 IC
Overhead presses x 10 IC
High Pull x 10 OYO
Then moseyed to the end of the soccer field and back.
Rinse and repeat the same exercises with a different amount of reps.
Thang 2 – AMRAP
AMRAP in 3 minutes with the following exercises to celebrate Cinco de Mayo by doing each with 5 reps: 5 thrusters, 5 curls, and 5 SSHs = one set. Each round was 3 minutes. Then rested 1 minute. Rinse and repeat. The PAX did a total of 3 rounds. Every time a PAX finished one set of 5 thrusters, 5 curls, and 5 SSHs – he shouted out the number of set he just finished. YHC believes the highest was 10 sets in 3 minutes.
Thang 3 – DORA
Partnered up with a DORA 1-2-3 (100 curls, 200 kettle bell swing, 300 LBCs with or without the bell). While one PAX was doing those exercises, the other PAX was running up the hill and back with his kettle bell. In the middle of the workout, YHC called for modification with 150 kettle bell swing instead.
Round of Mary
With the help of the PAX, each PAX called out an exercise:
1.) Angie’s List – Penguins x 20 IC
2.) Peppa – Protractor
3.) Hokie Pokey – arm circles x 20 IC
4.) Tool – American Hammer with or without the bell – 20 IC
5.) Jingle Vader – flutter kicks with or without the bell x 20 IC
6.) Gabrielle – Reverse Mountain Climber x 20 IC
7.) Rev-It – Dying Cockroach x 20 IC
Finished at 7:31 a.m.
COT
Count-O-Rama 8PAX, Name-O-Rama, announcements, intentions. Thank You all again for the opportunity to lead. The PAX met up at PJs on Magazine St. after the workout. Always a pleasure and honor to workout with the PAX. I hope the Sunday workout will stick around beyond May. SYITG
