F3 New Orleans

Tag: Pixie Stick

  • Q Source – Grover’s Graduation – from Akbar

    It was a rainy, gloomy morn with what looked like 5-6 PAX for the beatdown. But out of the
    gloom came more Pax to help celebrate Grovers graduation. After Pixie Stix woke up from his nap, the count was 16 HIM. Great to have Hawgcycle and Carpool join us as well.

    QIC was ready with the biggest Wiki ever, laminated for the rain, and reading glasses to boot. We went through the first half of the Q-Source, including Foundations, Q1, and Q2 – with beatdowns in between readings.

    YHC will summarize and post the full content at the very end of the backblast if you want to read through it.

    The Q Source is F3’s Leadership Philosophy and leadership manual, which supports the mission to invigorate male leadership in our communities.

    WARM UP x 15-16 SSH, Hillbillies, Imperial Walkers, Self-Love, Mountain Climbers

    FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES:

    Disruption, disturbance of the status quo.
    Language, the Lexicon of Virtuous Leadership
    Group, a voluntary combination of two or more people.
    Leadership Development Process (LDP), great leaders develop new leaders
    Preparedness, get ready for the expected while being ready for the unexpected.

    Mosey to the Gazebo wall

    PDerkin IC x 12 (8 count Derkin with Peter Parkers) OYO 50 Dirkin, 50 Freak Nasties

    Q1: Get Right – the pursuit of proper alignment.
    DRP – Daily Red Pill. The daily commitment to accelerate Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith.
    King. The daily discipline of training the physical body.
    Queen. The daily discipline over what is put into the Body
    Jester. The temptation of the flesh that hinders acceleration

    Wall – X10 IC Tempo Stone Mountain & Shoulder taps in Derkin position
    Circle up. X20 IC -arm circles – front, back, overhead and reverse, cherry pickers, Moroccan night clubs, overhead press, Randy, 20 count lateral hold
    OYO X20 Stone Mountain & shoulder taps

    FELLOWSHIP – a man’s healthy relationship with the people in his Concentrica, or closest circle.
    M – The transformational relationship between a man and his wife.
    Shorties – the Sacrificial relationship between a man and his kids.
    Shield Lock – the horizontal relationship between men
    Whetstone – The vertical relationship between Men.
    Mammon – The sustaining relationship between a man and His work..

    Wall. OYO – 50 step ups, 25 each leg. IC x 10 Bulgarian Split Squats each leg.
    Line up at the wall. 10 x Twinkle Toes, lunge walk to the sidewalk, 10x Monkey Humpers, run back. Rinse and repeat x9, x8, x7 – and Q said that was enough.

    FAITH is a man’s right relationship with his Creator.
    Prayer – The daily discipline of talking with the creator to build faith.
    Study – Faith is a practice that requires study to accelerate.
    Meeting – Public manifestation of Faith

    CIRCLE UP OYO X10 Superman (regular, feet and arms up) ; Y Superman, W Superman, T Superman (arms straight out), Superman Row, Superman Merkin, Renegade Row

    Q2 LIVE RIGHT – THE DEDICATION TO PURPOSEFULNESS. To live right, a man must have an ultimate purpose in mind, which requires self-sacrifice & helps a man to stay right
    Impact – Forcible contact to strong effect.
    Influence – igniting a strong desire for movement.
    Missionality – Service in the High Impact Zone.
    Positive Habit Transfer – ingraining advantageous tendencies in others.
    Accountability – submission to a standard through enforcement and consequence.
    Correction – zealously advocating for shared virtue.
    Targeting – initiating Missionality in others.

    Mosey Back to the Flag.

    Mary- IC x 15ish. Heels to Heaven, Hands to Heels (Penguins), Leg Raises, Crunchy Frogs, American Hammers, LBC’s, Hello Dolly

    Grover was then presented with a Q Source inspired shovel flag, which was his grandfather’s shovel, and contained the 4 Quadrants of Preparedness. Get Right, Live Right, Lead Right, and Live Right. ISI on the back right of the shovel and a F3 and Super Grover sticker on the front. A copy of the Q Source was given to him also on the way to Coffeeteria. Great fellowship and conversation as usual at the Book and the Bean with surprise arrivals of Amnesia and Slots.

    Many thanks to Zoolander who had the shovel flag idea; for Shooter helping me put it together; and for the M who painted the flag.

    Count, Name and Shooter prayed us out.

    Thanks for letting me lead!
    Til next gloom, Akbar

    —————————————————————————————————-
    FULL CONTENT

    FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
    Disruption: Disturbance of the Status Quo. A leader is a person who can influence people to do things that they would not have done otherwise. Leaders influence movement to advantage which causes disruption

    Language: The Lexicon of Virtuous Leadership. Leadership is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Effective groups have a unique language

    Group: A voluntary combination of two or more people. Man is by nature a Group-forming animal. 3 group types that must be led to advantage are Community, Organization, and Team. Dynamic teams are the heart of healthy communities and effective organizations

    In the Leadership Development Process (LDP), great leaders develop new leaders. There are 4 steps: schooling, apprenticeship, opportunity, and failure

    Preparedness: Get ready for the expected while being ready for the unexpected. The process of preparedness is deliberate and sequential. 4 quadrants: Get right, live right, lead right, and leave right

    Q1: GET RIGHT is the Pursuit of Proper Alignment. There are 3 components – Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. FITNESS is a man’s right relationship with himself through physical fitness. Fitness is inward seeking. A man must get right before he can do anything else. To be able to help others, a man must first help himself.

    DRP – Daily Red Pill – the daily commitment to accelerate Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. A man needs help to get right – to turn from amateur to pro.
    To do that, we must master 3 things

    King – Daily discipline of training the physical body. Fitness begins with the body and is maintained for reasons outside of ourselves. Fitness is best accelerated by running with faster men.

    Queen – Daily discipline over what is put into the Body. Man does not stay fit through exercise alone. Weight control requires accountability. You cannot out King your Queen

    Jester – The temptation of the flesh that hinders acceleration. Every man has his own personal Jester. The jester is a master liar – the jester and Virtue can coexist. Preparedness keeps the Jester at bay

    FELLOWSHIP – a man’s healthy relationship with the people in his Concentrica, or closest circle. Fellowship is the outward seeking act of relational rhythm – and takes as much discipline and attention as it does to maintain physical fitness – if not more.

    M – The transformational relationship between a man and his wife. The M is the most important relationship. Accelerating the M requires both skill and love

    Shorties – the Sacrificial relationship between a man and his kids. A man gives everything he has for his kids. The IMPACT that a man has on his kids cannot be underestimated

    Shield Lock – the horizontal relationship between men. Men Hunt best in a pack because we need someone to watch our six. Men recognize the advantage of mutual defense and lock shields together into a defensive wall to repel the invader. The shield lock must come together periodically to be effective.

    Whetstone – The vertical relationship between Men. It’s man’s natural desire to pass on what we have learned to a younger man. A man must be sharpened like a knife blade. The HIM acts as the Stone to the younger man’s Blade – providing the hard surface against which he becomes sharper. The Whetstone is necessary for both the blade and the stone to get right.

    Mammon – The sustaining relationship between a man and His work. Work is a virtue – Mammon is a relationship, not a pursuit. Mammon is a man’s least important relationship.

    FAITH is a man’s right relationship with his Creator. A man cannot live, lead, or leave right unless this spiritual relationship is accelerating along with Fitness and Fellowship. This is done in 3 ways:

    Prayer – The daily discipline of talking with the creator to build faith. A virtuous leader must have Faith. Prayer provides answers and is the antidote to worry.

    Study – Faith is a practice that requires study to accelerate. The acceleration of Faith requires a belief system. Study puts a leaders belief system to the test. If you stop studying, you decelerate.

    Meeting – Public manifestation of Faith. Faith is best accelerated in the company of others. To be competent in your Faith requires Skill, which results from practice. To leave a legacy, a man must be competent in the practice of his belief system – turning head knowledge into heart knowledge

    Q2 LIVE RIGHT – THE DEDICATION TO PURPOSEFULNESS. To live right, a man must have an ultimate purpose in mind, which requires self-sacrifice & helps a man to stay right

    Impact – Forcible contact to strong effect. Some movement – action taken in furtherance of Purpose – is required by at least 1 person. The proximity we create results in changes in the lives of the people that we meet. Sad Clown’s need help to Get Right, this can only be done in context of a relationship

    Influence – igniting a strong desire for movement. Persuasion is the initiation of first movement, using influence to convince a man to want to move. Movement must be voluntary and is influenced through word and deed.

    Missionality – Service in the High Impact Zone. The course of action taken to achieve an articulated purpose, which is made up of the tasks we undertake to bring our purpose to fruition. The comfort zone is a cultural myth that encourages men to be in-Effective. A HIM’s mission marks the boundaries of his high impact zone – his place of highest productivity, where he is the most effective. And preparedness helps resist straying from his mission

    Positive Habit Transfer – ingraining advantageous tendencies in others. 3 types of habits – negative, neutral, positive. A Positive habit is advantageous to the individual or others. We should help others minimize neutral habits and discontinue negative habits.

    Accountability – submission to a standard through enforcement and consequence. The HIM seeks accountability because his life is not his own. Accountability shines the light of Hope into a man’s blind spots. An effective shield lock provides mutual accountability.

    Correction – zealously advocating for shared virtue. The HIM preaches what he practices. Correction requires courage and love.

    Targeting – initiating Missionality in others. Missionality is an essential virtue. Targeting moves a man beyond himself. A man’s life is a single thing comprised of many components that must all work together in rhythm.

  • Northshore 5 year convergence – from Waterpik

    What a great day it was, as today’s experience crystallized the essence of F3 in so many ways. YHC awakened, checked my phone and noticed a text from cowbell, inquiring on the status of the beatdown on behalf of the PAX from Nola who were preparing to cross the causeway. That was at 0455! T-Claps to those guys for even considering making the trip across for the convergence. After all, and unbeknownst to them, the causeway was CLOSED at the time due to the severity of the weather.

    And don’t forget Goose, who decided to make a surprise appearance and left his home in Thibodeaux at 0445, driving through rain storms, lightning, and thunder at a mere 45 mph on the interstate before encountering the closed causeway bridge himself. T-Claps to you, Goose, for your perseverance and your faith that F3 would stick to its credo of “rain or shine”. And that we did! It was really go to see you, Goose!

    And what about Jose and Speedy and Bushwacker, who showed up at 0600, ready for the pre thing on the Lakefront? Thanks for sticking around, guys, until 0730, and for your dedication to our Organization.

    And then, despite the horrific weather over night, 15 PAX showed up the beatdown! T-claps to all of you guys who showed up for the convergence. Without a PAX, we are all sad clowns. And thanks to F3 for giving me more than I have given to it! I am definitely a better man now than I was before. That is, more dedicated, more confident, more responsible, more faithful, more resolute, more grounded, and more and more and more!

    And here’s a prayer for F3 Nation, who has had a change of leadership and has very ambitious goals to keep growing, thriving, and adapting. Those will be no easy tasks, but my prayer is that they (we) will succeed. It’s because of PAX like YOU GUYS that I have confidence that WE can do just that.

    And by the way, there was a workout. It was much of the same. You know the drill, merkins, cinder blocks, Mary, COT, special intentions and Goose to pray us out

  • 1 Mile Time Trial #2

    12 strong showed up for the 2nd running of the 1 mile time trial.

    We started off with some light active stretching:

    15 X SSH

    15 X Mountain Climbers

    15 Leg Swings, L&R and Forward/ Back

    15 X 4 corner hops

    Skips down the parking lot

    1 mile warm up

    The mile course I plotted started at Causeway Approach heading south with ONE left turn (heading east) on Villere St. and finishing just before Coffee St.

    Ringo was on bike with a flash light and stopwatch to guide us.

    Finish times were:

    Cowbell 6:03

    Steve 6:13

    Turbo 6:13

    Waterpik 6:13

    The Hammer 6:33

    Bird 6:40

    Pixie Stix 7:13

    Shooter 7:37

    Pelican 7:43

    Russo 9:14

    Bushwacker DNF

    The Pax did a 1 mile recovery mosey as a pack back to the flag.

    We had a few minutes to spare so YHC led some light static stretching and 15 X Crunchy Frogs.

    Sealed the deal with 5 Burpees OYO.

    Thanks for coming out and testing yourself this gloom.

    Targeting March 2021 for the 3rd running!

    Thanks for letting me lead.

    Cowbell

  • The Milestone Marsh

    Cool temperatures greeted the PAX in the gloom at the Milestone Marsh. After a long, hot summer, the drop in temperature offers a nice respite for the hard-charging men of F3 Northshore. Even Shooter would have sweat less if he was out there today.

    YHC led the PAX straight into the fray by Warming up with Sets of Tabata w/ increasing levels of difficulty

    Tabata Sets: (30 secs w/ 30 secs rest)

    SSHs, Arm Circles, Squats, Imperial Walkers. Then some ball buster sets: merkins, burpees, bobby hurley’s, crunchy frogs, plank jacks, mountain climbers.

    Mosey to Lakefront, stopping at each intersection:

    more exercises…jump squats, flutter kicks, hello dollies, J- Lo’s, Leg raises, more of Cowbell’s Crunchy Frogs, more merkins, more burpees.

    At the Lakefront, the PAX hit the seawall for some boxjumps and freak nasties.

    Mosey back to Marsh.

    Thanks to Grover for praying us out!

  • Main Event Was Not a Work Out

    Yes, you guessed it! The main event surrounded Jose’s pride and joy–his sweat jug! You remember… the one that some of his teacher friends reportedly spotted in the back seat of his car during a recent, quick trip for lunch. Mickey D’s, anyone? Just imagine the ‘splainin that must have taken place on that ride. Oh, to have been a fly on the windshield that day. To the amazement of the Northshore PAX, Jose 10k, in typical F3 fashion, rose to the, ahem, “challenge” and filled his sweat jug in a measley 16 DAYS! I’m sure in Zoo’s wildest dreams he did not figure he’d be getting doused on the Lakefront on September 12th. If I were a betting man, Halloween would be where I placed my moolah. And I’d imagine that’s what Zoo was counting on, too. But, not Jose. He “squeezed” in about 4 T-shirts a day! Let’s count em. 1) The beatdown in the gloom. 57 straight, but who’s counting? 2) ISI 3) mowing the lawn (everyday???) 4) moving Goose out of his house (lagniappe). 5) Who knows what else? It’s Jose. The man never stops!

    So there we were. Zoolander. Jose 10k. The entire F3 Northshore PAX. And the Smelly Bucket of Sweat with that BROWN STUFF at the bottom. Does anyone know what that stuff was? I was afraid to ask. Anyway, back to the moment. It was time for Jose to do the honors. And that he did, launching the Lowe’s bucket full of brown, rancid, baked / aged sweat at Zoolander, blasting him squarely in the chest. Zoo, then did the best thing he could to quickly cleanse the body, jumped in the Lake. But, hey, I give Zoolander credit; he took it like a man. The anticipation was palpable, Jose was giddy, and Zoo, a man of his word, was brave. And the PAX? We were nauseated, looking at the rife liquid in the bucket. The Hammer said he turned around so he didn’t barf. And poor Zoo, I don’t think he would have ever heard the end of it if he tried to get out of it. So T-Claps to him, for coming up with the challenge and taking it like and man, and to Jose, for filling the bucket so quickly, so we all could get a good laugh.

    Did I mention there were 2 beatdowns today?

    Well, there was, and the toughest one is part of a nationwide F3 challenge sponsored by F3 Greenwood, South Carolina. It’s called the Iron Pax Challenge, and it’s not for the faint of heart. After a brief warmup of Seal Jacks, Arm Circles, Cherry Pickers, Mountain Climbers, and Imperial Walkers, Steve led the Iron Paxers to the west on the Lakefront for a grueling 43 minute circuit beatdown, where the PAX moves from one station to the next, carrying a cinder block coupon, doing exercises along the way try in AMRAP fashion.

    Of course, it should come as no surprise that the Iron PAXers acquitted themselves admirably with the following rep counts:

    TankedUp – 651

    The Hammer – 545

    Butt Splice – 528

    Zoolander – 490

    Jose 10k – 486

    Toto – 450

    T-Claps to all PAX willing to endure Iron PAX. It definitely is a DOWNPAINMENT!

    Meanwhile, YHC led the rest of the PAX Eastward for a series of Tabata sets. Clock set for 30 second sets, with 30 secs of rest between. Exercises were merkins, plank Jacks, jump squats, smurf jacks, flutter kicks, Apollo Ono’s, monkey humpers, and leg raises.

    Mosey to playground equipment at East end of Lakefront for 4 rounds of the following exercise:

    19 Merkins (commemoration of 19 yr anny of 9-11-01)

    Bear Crawl 20 yards

    Pop up and Run around perimeter of entire fence at east end of lakefront, back to starting line.

    Rinse and Repeat 4 times.

    Mosey back to Flag.

    Thanks for the entertainment today, Zoolander and Jose 10k! We enjoyed it!

    Prayers for our nation and for those families affected by the 9-11 Terrorist Attacks. May we always REMEMBER. STAY VIGILANT. STAY STRONG

    Thanks for following my lead today, guys.

    COT and thanks to Russo for praying us out!

  • Jose’s Pride and Joy

    Yep, you guessed it! It’s his sweat jug! (Zoo is starting to get nervous, folks). It’s not that he has his very own AO, the prized, smartly named, A1C (reminds me of Vanilla Ice). Nor is it his nickname, which he re-branded himself from Jose Mourinho to Jose 10k, more recently to Grumble Grumble (and who knows what else).

    We came here to exercise didnt we, Pik? Oh, yeah, here we go…

    YHC broke out and old standby today at the A1C, the Tabata workout. Every 30 seconds, the PAX did an AMRAP exercise with 30 seconds of rest in between. The exercises were: big boy sit-ups, merkins, derkins, flutter kicks, Hello dollies, more merkins, jump squats, bobby hurleys, apollo ohnos, leg raises, stone mountains.

    Thanks for hard work this gloom my brothers! Until next time, SYITG

    Pik

  • Sayonara Fujiwhara

    Granny’s House was supposed to be a wash out this morning.  70% when I checked last night.  And as much as YHC appreciates a good wet beatdown, after the Marsh’s Week Zero IPC beatdown yesterday, it seemed like maybe some shelter was in order.

    Of course, there was no rain. But we remained sheltered regardless!

    Warmorama: Good mornings, windmills, torso twists, seal jacks, IWs, and SSHs.

    Thang:

    Starting at the trailhead stairs, we’d bear crawl to every 4th column in the corridor and then perform an exercise.  (The guys were probably dismayed to discover these columns just kept going and going…) 

    Exercises were:

    • 60 Squats
    • 50 LBC’s
    • 40 Merkins
    • 30 Flutter Kicks IC
    • 20 Donkey Kicks
    • 10 Burpees

    And then, of course, head back to the start:

    • 60 Dollies
    • 50 Scorpion Kicks
    • 40 Staggered Merks (20 ea. side)
    • 30 Jump Squats
    • 20 Groiners

    What, no 10 burpees? Well…

    Coconuts was on the brain after talking about him at coffee Monday, so I thought we should bring back one Coconut classics, The Dab:

    10 burpees EMOM for 5 minutes, followed by a 300 yard run.  Rinse and repeat! (This seemed brutal, but then I just kept thinking about the time that Maverick began a beatdown with 100 straight burpees.)

    Normally YHC would search for a GIF to insert here and make the Coconuts tribute complete, but I gotta get to bed for Goose’s final Q tomorrow.

    Mary: Dying cockroaches, leg raises, Freddie Mercs, Rosalitas, something else? 

    Countdown, nameorama, Chewy prayed us out, and Jose filled the sweat jug.  Thank you guys for the push this morning, it was one of those mornings that I really was not feeling, I definitely needed you men out there to get ‘er done! 👊

  • Murph: The Chill-mode Edition

    Yes, maybe it was a bit cruel to spring a Murph on the Marsh crew on a Monday morning.  I figured I’d get a, “Oh hell no,” from Cowbell.  And a, “Yeah, that’s great, thanks Steve.  After I’ve done 120 frickin’ ISI squats,” from Jose.  And a lot of eye rolling from the Wacker.  But c’mon, taken at slightly less intense pace (apologies Tank), the Murph is really not as bad as it sounds.  

    So we started with some warmorama just to give Cowbell some time to navigate around the deep and dangerous ditches surrounding the Marsh. Then ran the first mile down to the lake and back at a leisurely “warm up” pace, loosening us up for 20 sets of 5 pull-ups / 10 merkins / 15 squats.  We did it together, waiting after each set before starting the next, and I think the pax would agree, it really wasn’t so bad.  T-claps to Pixie Stick, who did great in his first (near-complete) Murph.  

    Another leisurely mile run to the lake and back, some flutters, and we were done.  Countdown, nameorama, and Jose offered up a powerful prayer to close it out, with intentions for Goose’s soon-to-be born baby, Akbar’s travel to the Smokey Mountains, and some healing for our divided nation.

    Thank you for the opportunity to get stronger and better alongside such good men.  I truly appreciate it.

  • By The Numbers

    It was supposed to be a Cowbell beatdown. YHC brought gloves, as I imagined it’d likely be something tough… maybe a lazy Dora… maybe a merkin ladder as a warm-up. One of those beatdowns that’s a constant push, no 10 counts, pouring Shooter-eque sweat in the first 5 minutes. No mercy, as the sensei of Cobra Kai might say.

    And to be fair, we waited for the Bell and even gave him his standard 5 minute grace period.

    Knowing that he sorta does his own warmup anyway, YHC took the Q and we started with the usual (good mornings, arm circles, SSH, IWs, WMs, etc.), expecting the truck to pull in at any moment. But with warmorama options fully exhausted and no Cowbell in sight, it was time to roll. After all, Pik and Pixie traveled to the AO on foot this morning (t-claps!) and would need to wrap it up quickly to get back.

    First up, mosey to the Marsh for some…

    30’s: 25 t-merkins / 5 hanging knee tucks on the pull up bars. 20/10, 15/15, etc. Next up, some…

    10’s: 9 pull ups / 1 big boy sit-up. 8/2, etc.

    YHC is not a quick thinker to begin with, and this becomes even more true at 0515, so we kept it simple and stuck with the number theme. Back to the trailhead for a true set of …

    11’s: 10 Freddie Mercs (4-count) / 1 Sister Mary K (2 count), with a bunny hop up the stairs because, yeah, that’s what I’ve been into lately.

    Finished up with some Mary: Putins, leg raises, crunchy frogs, LBC’s, and 10x burpees OYO.

    Nameorama and Goose prayed us out. Thanks guys for pushing and letting me lead on this gloriously hot and humid morning!

  • Light June Jaunt

    We’re gonna keep this short and sweet, as YHC is behind the eight ball on these backblasts.  The usual crew posted this morning (minus Shooter, who may still be hauling trees Commando-style out at his camp, and minus Bushwacker, who is attempting to heal a wide assortment of ailments).  Cowbell doesn’t really count, because he is usually “stuck” at the beach anyway on Mondays.  Jose 10k rolled in mid-warm up after a disoriented drive around Old Mandeville finally reminded him of the Marsh location.  

    Warmorama – Good mornings, toe touches, SSH, arm circles, air presses, seal jacks, IW’s, all IC somewhere between 10-20x.

    YHC missed Cowbell’s reopening of the Marsh last week (it’s been barricaded for months), and though it was nice to be able to warmup under on the court again (which could’ve used a Captain Sparkles sweep, btw), we decided to take it on the road this morning.

    Mosey towards the lake, with a stop at each intersection for 15 merkins, 20 squats, and 25 IC flutter kicks.  5 blocks later, we headed over to Rips for a backwards bear crawl up the stairs, followed by calf raises (5x each step) going back down.  Calf raises for the guys either waiting in queue or finished and waiting.

    Already time to head back the way we came, with the same 15 merkins, 20 squats, and 25 flutters at each intersection until we returned to the court just in time.  (Well, ok, maybe a minute late.)

    Pik prayed us out, wishing his brother a happy 40th on this day, and we went on our way.  Thanks gents, posting with you guys is the best way to start the week!