F3 New Orleans

Tag: Rougarou

  • Looking for Amnesty. Again. – from Rudy

    Also known as “Waiting for Amnesty” (for 6 years now).

    6 years ago, I got dragged out to Rock City by Heisenberg and Bogey. On that fateful day, Amnesty was supposed to be Q – and before I understood what “Lexicon” even meant, I started learning about the “Fartsack”. Since then, it has become an annual event to replay that first workout:

    Looking for Amnesty

    And today, 6 PAX joined YHC for “Looking for Amnesty, Part 6”.

    Disclaimer – YHC botched it again. “Dont push yourself, …. ” Rogaurou took that advice to heart, making sure to find an even smaller rock than normal. Hand Grenada used that as a reason to continue his never ending stream of Irish-envy smack talk. Oh, how YHC hopes that the Rebs face the Irish one day soon…

    Off to the railroad tracks first. Just a quick few minutes trying to squat and hold balance. YHC has made teeny barely discernable improvements. And so will continue using the rails even while Boo Boo seemed scared of the approaching train.

    The Thang: Quick warmup of an assortment of exercises. Then grab a rock and head to the “Flag Football field” (so it was called 6 years ago, and apparently never so referred to again since).

    Lieutenant Dan’s. Thanks to War Eagle for reminding me how this exercise works. 1 Lunge, 2 Squat. 2 Lunge, 4 Squat. Keep increasing by 1 Lunge/2 Squat until the fence is reached. YHC was last to the fence after getting up to 11 lunges. Scantron’s seemed to stride the entire length in about 5 steps.

    At the other end, some Mary while 2 PAX at a time ran off to get in some pull ups. LBCs, Flutters, Wife Pleasers, Cockroaches.

    Then time to head back down the field with Lt. Dan again. Most PAX started with 1/2, 2/4, etc.. Mahatma showed up the group by picking up where he left off. 12/24, 13/26, …

    At other end, knock out some lifts and calf raises, then rifle carry the rocks back to home and mosey back to the flag.

    COT: count off, name-o-rama, announcements. Intentions. Thanks for another great year, gentlement! See you next year for more Lt Dans.

  • The Rocky Run – from Baywatch

    Conditions were cool and excellent for an early morning Friday beatdown. With pleasantries exchanged and a disclaimer given, we moseyed over to the rock pile for a warmup.

    Warmup (IC):

    SSH 20x
    Hillbillies 20x
    Stormtroopers 20x
    Peter Parkers 15x
    Parker Peters 15x
    Arm Circles F/B 15x

    Now the fun part…everyone grabbed a rock (well, except for Rougarou. He grabbed a pebble.) and we headed over to the track.

    The name of the game was 4-corners. We did 4 laps around the track, carrying our rocks, and stopping at each corner for some fun.

    Corner 1–25 curls & 25 flutter kicks (FK)
    Corner 2–25 overhead presses & 25 FK
    Corner 3–25 bent over rows & 25 FK
    Corner 4–25 squats & 25 FK

    After 4 laps we all finished right at the buzzer with Bogey and Vagabond leading the way. We dropped our rocks off (and one pebble) and headed back to the flag to close it out.

  • Leadership Exemplified – from Hawgcycle

    Conditions: 72 degrees, 98% Humidity, Wind 2 mph from the SSE.

    Many times the Disclaimer is mumbled at the start of the workout, something like “I’m not a professional trainer, push yourself don’t hurt yourself, follow me.” But what makes for a good disclaimer? It’s really the Q’s first act of leadership in the workout. So it’s worth giving some thought to it and using it to set the tone. The bare minimum that you want to accomplish with the disclaimer is to attempt and disavow yourself from any liability if things go terribly wrong in the workout. Now, I am not a lawyer, and I am fairly certain that a no-good, unscrupulous, slick, Yankee lawyer like Kuch could easily side step our good intentions and find a way to use the law to his advantage, but at least you will have tried. So the basic starting point of the Disclaimer is to inform the Pax that:

    • You are not a professional trainer
    • They are all present on their own accord
    • They are responsible for their own well being
    • That the workout may involve times where caution must be exercised (strenuous physical activity, running in the dark, uneven ground, lifting heavy objects, etc.)
    • That they should modify the exercises at any point if they believe their safety is in Jeopardy and that they can seek your advice for such modifications if needed (all the while remembering that you are not a professional trainer and that it was your original direction that lead them to this place of peril in the first place).

    That’s the bare minimum, but a good Q will use the Disclaimer for much more. Our number one goal as Q is to make sure everyone makes it through the workout safely. In addition to the minimum disclaimer, give any specific safety advice needed at this point. For example, if it is a running workout, talk about busy intersections, making sure you are running against traffic, and not leaving anyone to run alone. Make sure someone in the group has a phone. Assign someone to watch out for the six if needed.

    If you want to go above and beyond, this is a good time to reinforce the mission and core principles of F3, especially if new guys are present. If you have planned an interactive workout, you can also take this time to forewarn the pax of questions you may ask during the workout, e.g., what is the mission of F3, what are the five core principles, why did you post this morning, etc…

    Not all disclaimers will be the same, but you know when you hear a good one. When they are really good, they become a topic of conversation. After I gave the disclaimer this morning, we ran to the rock pile. I could hear Rev Sox and Boo Boo discussing the merits of the disclaimer I had just given. They wondered aloud if the new leadership would meet this level of excellence. Personally, I believe they can, but please, don’t get too disappointed if it takes a while.

    Near the rock pile, we circled up for the warm-up. I led the group in 31 SSHs in honor of our playground’s namesake, followed by 15 Imperial Walkers. After that, we did a series of plank like exercises in succession (15 Peter Parkers, 15 Mountain Climbers, and 15 Parker Peters). Back on our feet, we closed it out with 15 grass grabbers and 10 Windmills.

    The Thang

    I spent months preparing for this Q. I read (and re-read) the book Primal Endurance by Mark Sisson. There is a great chapter in the book focused on Maximum Sustained Power. By taking some basic MSP concepts and adapting them to Rock City, I developed today’s workout. The basic principles were to find a heavy rock (mine was marked 52) and do the prescribed exercises at maximum speed. We would hopefully come close to our maximum power output in each set. We used a stack to form the basis of the workout and gave ourselves about 20 seconds to recover between sets. We gave our selves a two-minute recovery time between stacks starting with the 4th stack.

    This was the workout with approximate reps included. Some may have done more or less:

    • 5 Manmakers
    • 5 Manmakers, 10 Shoulder Presses
    • 5 Manmakers, 10 Shoulder Presses, 15 Squats
    • Recovery – Plank, Tree Pose each leg
    • 5 Manmakers, 10 Shoulder Presses, 15 Squats, 20 Curls
    • Recovery – Southern Gentleman, Yankee Aggressor, Karate Kid each leg
    • 5 Manmakers, 10 Shoulder Presses, 15 Squats, 20 Curls, 25 Rows
    • Recovery – Reverse Plank, Warrior III each leg
    • 5 Manmakers, 10 Shoulder Presses, 15 Squats, 20 Curls, 25 Rows, 30 Bench Presses
    • Recovery – 10 Nolan Ryans each side

    After this, we did some balance work. I listened to an hour-long podcast in preparation for this Q that discussed the value of unbalanced work and core stability. In an effort to build those intrinsic muscles responsible for so much of our balance and stability we performed the following:

    • Curls x 5 with one foot off the ground…flapjack
    • Shoulder presses x 5 with one foot off the ground…flapjack
    • Rows in Warrior III x 5….flapjack

    We finished with some Core work – 20 LBCs, 15 flutters, 10 side crunches each side.
    Then we headed back to the flag.

    NMM

    About 25 minutes into the workout, Bolt prostrated himself. Was he injured? Should I check on him? Possibly, but unlikely. It seemed more likely that he was new to the Islamic faith and it was time for his morning prayer. How did I know he was new to the faith? He was totally facing the wrong way, unless he was trying to face Mecca, TX. I politely paused the workout and offered that East was the other direction. Leadership exemplified

    At one point, a train stopped on the tracks. One of the young women, running in the park needed to get back across the tracks. As soon as Rudy saw this, he dropped his rock and ran toward her and the train to offer his assistance. He is a gentleman and a scholar…well, at least a gentleman. The young woman seemed to recognize him as he sprinted toward her yelling “Perv! Perv!” Did she confuse Paul with Perv? We will never know. Just as he arrived the train started back up, she yelled “God help me!” (which Bolt had already been praying for), threw herself under the train and disappeared.

    On the way back to the flag, I EH’d a dog walker. I told him we meet in the park everyday at 5:30. He said, “I know (pause…sigh) you all park in my yard.” I feel good that he will join us in the gloom.

    After the workout, I had to pay up on a bet to Hand Grenada for the Ole Miss – Arkansas game. One burpee for every point scored in the game. Arkansas lost the game 51-52. Hand Grenada made me yell “Hoddy Toddy” as I completed each burpee, otherwise he wouldn’t count them. I got to 53 burpees before I had to take a break. At that time, Hand Grenada yelled “No breaks! Start over!” I was too gassed to protest. Looking a lot like Paul Neman’s character in Cool Hand Luke, I wearily began the burpees over. Fortunately, for Cool Hand Hawg, Rudy and Mahatma jumped in to tell Hand Grenada that he was being unreasonable. They pleaded to him to show me mercy and that his demands were jeopardizing my safety. Hand Grenada explained that my mistake was made when I made the bet. If I was not willing to pay up, regardless of the physical harm I may undergo, I should have never made the bet. Rudy and Mahatma continued to grovel for my mercy until Hand Grenada exclaimed, “Weak…I have to go to work. Parten – I’ll see you at El Diablo.”

  • My Fatal Forty – from Pop-Tart

    “Good art is purposeful” \ Grateful Dead Playlist

    Warm up:
    SSH – 40 IC
    Arm Circles -10 IC
    Reverse Arm Circles – 10 IC
    Head circles
    Shoulder circles
    Imperial Walkers – 10 IC
    Grass Grabbers – 10 IC
    Windmills – 10 IC
    _____________________________

    Forty yard sprint
    40 Merkins
    40 lunges 2 is 1
    40 Monkey humpers in cadence
    40 J-lo’s ( in cadence)

    40 yard sprint
    40 diamond merkins
    40 low slow squats
    40 SSH ( in cadence)
    40 V-ups

    40 yard sprint
    40 wide merkins
    40 yard duck walk
    40 mountain climbers ( in cadence)
    40 penguins (in cadence)

    40 yard sprint
    40 burpees on the minute / 4 minutes
    40 skater squat
    40 crunchy frogs
    40 American Hammer in cadence

    Lap around the track

    Circle up for Ring of fire
    40 Merkins total
    ___

    Father of all life
    Teach us how to live life to the fullest. Give us the courage to choose the best version of ourselves in each and every moment of our days. And allow our friendship and example to lead others to experience what it means to be fully alive… Matthew Kelly

    To bring it back around:
    …Once in a while you get shown the light
    In the strangest of places if you look at it right…. The Grateful Dead

  • Rush and the Giant – from Fast Tax

    It was a pleasantly coolish morning as eight Pax manned-up to start the week appropriately at Rock City, eagerly anticipating what YHC had in store.
    After disclaimer, we headed to the rock pile.

    Warmups consisted of:
    o Abe Bagodas X 10 IC
    o Matt Biondis X 20 IC
    o Seal Jacks X25 IC
    o Mountain Man Poopers X10 IC
    o Swan Dives X 10 IC

    After med-heavy rock selections, we headed to the field.
    The first exercise was Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum, starting on the line with your rock.
    Each Pax performed the following sequence OYO: Squat, double arm shotput rock, broad jump toward rock, lunge the remaining distance, pick up and overhead press rock, and repeat the sequence for 40ish yards, then, turn around and repeat back to the starting point.

    Colt 45s (basically a broken down curl) were next, with rock IC: 15 reps go from the bottom of the movement up to the halfway point (with your arms at a 90 degree angle and hands at elbow level). 15 reps go from the halfway point up to the top of the bicep curl (hands up near shoulder level). 15 reps Start at the bottom of the movement and complete a full range of movement all the way up.

    Captain Thor followed, a 1:4 ratio of BBS to American Hammer, performed OYO, increasing by 1:4 each rep (i.e. ending with 10 BBS and 40 Amer Hammer).

    The Red Barchetta was the next event (should have been done to the musical accompaniment of Rush’s 1981 hit – Red Barchetta if YHC had remembered to bring his phone).
    Sequence OYO but plank after each sequence until last Pax completes:
    o 100 yard dash, 100 SSH, run back to goal line
    o 75 yard dash, 75 mountain climbers (2 is 1), run back to goal line
    o 50 yard dash, 50 BBS, run back to goal line
    o 25 yard dash, 25 merkins, run back to goal line
    o 10 yard dash, 10 Burpees, run back to goal line

    Then it was back to the rock pile.

    With a little time to spare, YHC thought a little absolution would be good for everybody…make that 15 Absolutions OYO followed by 5 burpees (for Fracsac) and a mosey back to the flag for COT.

    Thanks for the fellowship!
    SYITG

  • Uptown(er) Beat Down – from Bolt

    Warmup IC (to Rapper’s Delight): Windmills, SSH, arm circles forward/back, tclaps, seal claps, Moroccan night clubs, self love (all 20x); Toy soldiers, IW (15x)

    The Thang:
    Mosey to gym and grab some wall for a plank to the song Bodies Hit the Floor: plank>donkey kick title>merkin the count>plank between

    With moisture in our foreheads it was time to mosey to the rock pile and select medium rocks and three heavy ones.

    Rocks in pairs at stations lined up with each tree along the parking lot. 2 PAX doing 20 reps/exercise: chest press, overhead press, squats, triceps press, curls

    Return to pile and finish with 30 dying cockroaches before a mosey to flag for the standard closing.

  • God Bless America – Keep 141, 156, 256 safe – from Hokie

    10 packs showed up on Friday to pay respect to America the 141 the 156 and the 256

    Mosey from the flag to the rock pile and then lineup on the football field in the end zone on a sideline

    21 side straddle hops and 10 Burpee‘s with a double Merkin

    400 m run and 30 side straddle hops

    10 tricep extensions and 10 Burpee’s with double Merkins.

    Lunge walk all the way across the end zone from one side line to the other.

    20 merkins and 10 Burpee’s with double Merkins.

    bear crawl from the side line all the way across the end zone back to the starting sign line.

    400 m run and 30 more side straddle hops

    30 shoulder presses and 10 Burpee’s with double Merkins.

    Lunge walk back across the end zone.

    40 squats and 10 Burpee‘s with double Merkins.

    Bear crawl back across the Endzone.

    400 m run and 30 side straddle hops.

    50 chest presses and 10 Burpee‘s with double Merkins.

    Lunge cross back across the Endzone to the other side line.

    60 shoulder taps and 10 Burpees with double merkins

    Bear crawl back across the end zone.

    Finished with 400 m run and 30 more side straddle hops.

    That is a total of 141 side straddle hops and a 1 mile run along with 70 Burpees with Double and Merkins for those doing the ISI challenge

  • A Few of My Favorite Things – from Fracsac

    Unable to join Hawgcycle for his mid year 10k a day milestone, YHC did the next best thing and took the Q at El Diablo.

    With the shovel flag planted, a disclaimer was given, then start with a lap on the track, which was sort of a tribute to Hawg.

    Warmup

    SSH IC x 31
    Grass Grabbers IC x 12
    Arm circles IC x 15 both directions
    Peter Parkers IC x 20

    YHC had cones set up at the goal line and the 50 yard line.
    Starting at the goal line, burpee broad jump to the 50 yard line.
    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10
    Bear crawl back to the goal line.
    

    Next up was an exercise in breaking things down….

    Deconstructed Burpees! Do the following IC:
    Squat IC x 10
    Squat Thrust IC x 10
    Merkin IC x 10
    Squat Thrust IC x 10
    Squat IC x 10
    OH clap IC x 10

    Squat IC x 9
    Squat Thrust IC x 9
    Merkin IC x 9
    Squat Thrust IC x 9
    Squat IC x 9
    OH clap IC x 9

    Continue down to 1 of each! Then put them all together and do 10 Burpees OYO!

    Now that the Pax has been introduced to YHC’s favorite things, time to put them together with 11’s:

    Starting at goal line 1 Catalina Wine Mixer, then run to 50 yard line for 10 burpees.
    Continue until 10 Catalina Wine Mixers and 1 Burpee.

    Return to flag for COT

    – The grass was surprisingly overgrown on the field, perhaps making the mosquitos worse. It just added to the overall suck….
    – Due to time constraints, the bear crawls were omitted from the 11’s. That’s the only thing that would have made it worse. Catalina Wine Mixers and Burpees in 11’s? Who is crazy enough to do that?
    – We lifted the troops in the COT, especially the 156 and 256.
    – We prayed for Landing Strip’s Father as he goes into surgery this morning.

    Thanks for posting with me today.

    SYITG

  • WF3Q: all the hits, all the time – from Bolt

    This early morning radio show included classics by artists such as Ludacris, Kenny Chesney, Darude, and Survivor, so basically a playlist created by a total nut job.

    Guest appearances by WB Pax (Frozone and Short Bus—thank you!) that’s what happens when cocktail-ing with Mahatma…

    Warmup IC: SSH, arm circles forward/back, tclaps, seal claps, Moroccan night clubs, self love (all 15x); Toy soldiers, IW, hillbilly squats (15x)

    Mosey to bleachers for dry docks up the bleachers, increasing by one rep each row except top one for 10 reps. Tricep dips down the bleachers staring with 10 reps, decreasing by one each row.

    Mosey, grab rocks, carry to parking lot and place pairs of rocks at each tree. Pair up for 5 rock station circuits (10 reps each) plus bonus track (Deca-die of pain): Squat , OH press, Curls, Lying press, tricep press. 3 rounds, moving between stations differently each round: mosey, reverse crab walk, bear crawls. Fracsac, ever the masochist, rolled out first deca-die after which we had to perform the move/count it landed on.

    Return to rock pike and circle up for Mary, Pax choice/lead in cadence. Return to flag for COT; thanks men for showing up and allowing me to lead!

  • It looked better on paper – from Rudy

    Large crowd in the gloom at El Diablo this am. Weather was delightful. Ground was moist, promising a nice, muddy workout. So at 5:30 – YHC gives a disclaimer and 12 PAX head to the football field. BooBoo starts the festivities by mocking the Q about said disclaimer, so all PAX get to start with 5 OYO Boo-Boo Burpees. Then we warm-up. Stretches, SSH, IW, arm circles. Get the blood flowing. And lo-and-behold, Vagabond emerges from the gloom just in time to make for an even 13 PAX.

    The Thang 1: Two teams, count total reps. Losing PAX team will have to do more Boo-Boo Burpees. What’s the event? 10 8-cts, run to the other bench and back (i dunno, maybe 20 yards each direction?) 10 BBS, run to the bench and back. That’s 1. Do it again. OYO. Count how many iterations you get done. YHC sets a timer (8 minutes, but don’t tell anyone. Its more fun when you have no idea how long you’ll be working….). Go. Team 1 (with only 6 members) still outshines team 2 28-27. Way to go FastTax and Hawg, leading the way.

    OK, that part worked ok.

    Lets head to the playground. Quick round of 6 stations with pull ups as the counter. I’m not even sure what other exercises we did. This part definitely did not work out right. YHC was very confused about how to split PAX into 6 groups. So rather than multiple rounds, lets just get the heck out of here and go get a rock.

    The Thang 2: Line up. What’s the event? 10 Overhead, 10 BBS, 10 Press, Bearcrawl 2 trees (20 yards-ish), mosey back. That’s 1. YHC sets a timer (again, 8 minutes. But don’t tell anyone). Go. OYO. Timer finishes, line everyone up by how many laps they got done (Bogey, FastTax, Vagabond and Hand Gernada led with 7). (one brief pause for 5 Hawg-Burpees as punishment for mocking the Q)

    Lets do it again – the winner of each group gets to watch the losers do burpees. YHC sets a timer again (4 mins this time). FastTax, BooBoo, LeftCoast and someone from the “other-side-of-the-fence” group were the winners. Everyone else got to do 5 RevSox Burpees.

    Overall, that one worked pretty well. Some room for improvement, though.

    The Thang 3: OK, this one didn’t work. I hesitate to write it. But it happened. Partner up. PAX 1 does *whatever PAX 1 wants*. PAX 2 mirrors it. 90 seconds, then flipflop. The idea is to challenge our awareness, responsiveness, agility. Rougarou nailed it with a weird Irish clog dance that Hawg desperately tried to follow. War Eagle seemed to take it to mean “Can I just stand here?” which is, technically, allowed.

    This one didn’t work so well. But YHC will adjust and try it again one day. Be warned.

    Mosey back to the flag (3 mins late…)

    NMM: Thanks, Vagabond, for sharing a story of forgiveness. Good reminder for each of us to avoid holding grudges. Reach out to those we may have hurt, or those who have hurt us. Offer forgiveness. Bring ourselves to feel the forgiveness in our heart, even when our brain is not ready to.