F3 New Orleans

Tag: Russo

  • Back peddlin’ – from Russo

    Pax of 4 ventured to Granny’s in Goldilocks weather (not too hot, not too cold) to see how much sweat YHC could drum up.

    Early mumble revolve around basketball, podcasts, 80s rock, and how Soundgarden has been around for almost 30 years now.

    Warm-up (all IC)
    SSH (20)
    Cherry pickers (15)
    Self love (15)
    Toe touches (15)
    Torso twists (15)
    High knees (20)

    Pre-thang 1 (3 rounds, OYO)
    Freak Nastys and Step ups (2 is 1)
    15x, 10x, 5x

    Pre-thang 2

    Bear crawl slaloms through the columns at Granny’s, 5 calf raises for each step up the pilot house, bear crawl around said pilot house, 5 calf raises for each step down, back pedal slalom (it’s a thing) back to start.

    Mosey to the tunnel of love for Thang:
    4 merkins, mosey down the tunnel, 3 merkins, back pedal up the tunnel, 4 merkins. Rinse and repeat four times.

    Mosey back to start for a quick round of Mary: a few more freak nastys, durkins, crunchy frogs IC (requisite since Cowbell posted), 6 inch drill IC (requisite with YHC), hands to heels IC, leg raises IC.

    COT, name o rama, and prayer to close.

    Reminder about both the Northshore convergence this Saturday and F3/FIA get together later in the month (4/29 @ 6:30 PM)

    Thank you to the Pax for pushing me, there were some superstars out there. Until we do it all again, SYITG!

  • INFERNO – 9 CIRCLES OF HELL – from Zoolander

    The Northshore beatdown on Holy Saturday was themed around Dante’s Inferno. A group of 18 Pax, including a guest appearance from the Southshore’s SOGO, descended upon the Lakefront for 9 Circles of Hell. Warmup exercises were completed in reverse cadence (4-3-2-1) to align with the date (4/3/21) and to remind everyone it was Cowbell’s birthday. We traveled 9 blocks, circling up at each one to perform the 66 exercises illustrated below. Lots of Mumble Chatter, especially at Circle no. 2. We finished at the shovel flag with some Absolution, completing 666 total reps (or there about) for the day.

    Announcements:
    – Northshore 5 year Convergence to be led by Waterpik on Saturday 4/10.
    – Fia/F3 mixer at the Gipper on 4/29 at 6:30pm.

    Cowbell prayed us out. Happy Easter to all.

  • Watch your step? – from Shooter

    Ailing all week with the potential diagnosis of a broken foot YHC got the news Thursday he needed too go ahead and shed the boot 🥾 he had worn the previous 3 days.. Only problem now is the arrival and center stage monkey humper position of “Turbo Dawg” to lay out a Hershey squirt right in the center of the PAX. Which for whatever reason would find the PAX once again circling up around the damaged section of concrete for count and call and the addition of him emptying his bladder as if his territory was not marked up enough. “Watch your step!” Zoolander. YHC must have known the gloom would have presented these moments as Jose 10k arrived mentioning the fact of how his week started with a deranged axe 🪓 yielding fellow swinging it above head as the school week began. Be sure to ask him the next time you see him. As for the rest of us on top the parking garage we couldn’t resist the mention of #Floridaman by Russo to start reminiscing of the days of W&J broadcasting on B97 as Hammer recalls. The enormous “B” inflatable could be seen around town at car dealerships and on site broadcast events all around the Metro NOLA area and if there are still any 10% out there check them out on the 99.5 weekday mornings..

    Alright enough mumbling we can save for F2 at the Waffle House where the rest of the #floridamen meet before getting there assignments.. No judgement here just something I heard mentioned worthy of noting….

    Warmup
    All IC 10 Arm circles F/J, Cherry pickers, Toe touches, SSH, Windmills and Torso twists.

    Thang
    YHC parked his certainly Manly and always roomy Honda FIT a floor below with coupons for the beatdown. Stations were set with the dice of doom, jump rope, Ruck plate, the Black mystery bag, a wagon and a selection of light and heavy cylinder blocks..
    2 men alternate turns wheeling there fellow brethren up the ramp in the wagon completing a burpee at the top and returning for their pull back up. Rest of the PAX alternate through the station’s completing one arm plate swings, rolling your own destiny with the dice of doom, jumping rope, curls for the girls, squat thrusters, Tri-extensions and bag carries up and down the stairs.. Every man made it through each station and we finished with 3 mins to return the coupons to the FIT.

    We assembled back up top for countarama, namarama and COT with Russo closing us out in prayer.. Not quite sure why the PAX assembled back where we did, however I appreciate that we did because it certainly assisted with the naming of this backblast.

    Thanks for following my lead and until the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!!

  • Bear Poker – from Hogs Breath

    Somehow we welcomed back Shortcake!

    Feeling way too muggy for March, four met for today’s beat down.

    Warm-up
    20ish IC SSH
    10 each direction IC arm circles
    10 imperial walkers
    10 mountain man poopers

    The thang

    Well after last weeks hit, we had to bear crawl again! Up the stairs, around the tower, and back down!
    After, we all played a round of Deck O’ Death poker. YHC won with a pair of 7’s and my prize was to lead the round of exercises; some arm circles, plank jacks, derkins and some other stuff.
    Then we went back to the midway for a round of bear inch. Or an Indian run with bear crawls and planks!
    Then back for another round of Deck O’ Death poker. And this time shortcake won the round. We did some dips and other stuff….
    complaining about a lack of leg exercises, YHC decided to throw in a length of walking lunges and a mosey to the tunnel. This provided a reprieve and good mumblechatter about the crazy state of the world. However, YHC had us complete a bear crawl up the tunnel incline!
    We had just enough to time to mosey back to the shovelflag for another round of poker! Again some merkins, lbc, and stuff but we ended with a 25 second plank rounding us out to 0600!
    Ended with count-o-Rama, name-o-Rama, announcements, and COT!

    A great start to the day with some great men!

  • Up, Down Touch the Ground – from Akbar

    The Marsh was a cool 50 degrees this morning as we arrived at the gloom. Shooter had the Q but pulled an audible last minute after a ladder mishap, which resulted in an ankle injury. Just so happens that the next workout in Akbar’s Book of Beatdowns was a ladder. So we went Up, down, touched the ground – which put us in the mood, for food.

    Warm up: SSH, Torso Twist, Imperial Walkers, Arm Circles, Grass Grabbers

    Grab blocks, head to the playground for:

    10 Pull Ups

    20 Block Shoulder Thrusts

    40 Block Rows

    50 Goblet Squats

    Run to Marigny and back after each exercise

    YHC got tired of running so we moved to the court for the descending ladder

    50 Goblet Squats

    40 Block Rows

    30 Merkins

    20 Block Shoulder Thrusts

    10 Pull Ups

    Block carry the length of the BB court and back – PAX choice

    Next up were Lieutenant Dan’s up and down the court. 1 squat, followed by 2 lunges

    Return blocks and mosey to the picnic tables for Freak Nasties and Irkins. 3 sets of 12,8,5 IC

    Mary: Heals to Heaven, Hands to Heals, Hello Dolly, Leg Raises, IC x10, LBC ICx25

    Count, Name-o-rama, Welcome Shortcake!

    Announcements

    Northshore Conversion, San Antonio Grow Ruck coming soon

    COT: YHC prayed us out asking for safety, a chance to positively influence someone this week, and Shooter’s ankle.

    Naked Man Moleskin

    Great to have Shortcake this morning, and T-claps to Hogsbreath for the EH. Like Hogsbreath, a navy guy and just as stout. During the Farmer’s carry mosey, he carried the block like a set of car keys.

    Frazier is a family name of Scottish origin meaning Strawberry – thus Shortcake

  • Marsh Madness 2021 – from Zoolander

    Welcome to Marsh Madness 2021. Twenty-four Pax converged upon the Milestone Marsh for this second-time event1

    In the presence of the Pick Axe-entrusted Freedom Hammer, we started with a quick disclaimer, Warmorama, Bushwacker-style2 instructions, and then the THANG.

    The Pax counted off in 4’s and formed 4 x 6ish-man teams at each corner of the court with a basketball. While 1 member of each team backpedaled with their ball to half court, performed a Bobby Hurley, and drove to goal for a shot of his choosing:

    – Layup (1 point),
    – Free Throw (2 points), or
    – Three point shot (3 points)
    Zero points for missed shots

    the rest of each team completed the following series of exercises in cadence led by a rotating corner Q.
    • Burpees
    • Air Presses
    • Shoulder Tap Merkins
    • Copperhead Jump Squats
    • LBCs
    • Plank Jacks
    • Monkey Humpers
    • Flutter Kicks
    Each man – including FNGs, 2nd timers, and celebrity guests – had multiple chances to lead the cadence.

    Shooters marked their points with sidewalk chalk and fell in line to call the cadence for the next exercise. It took a few rounds before each team found its own rhythm, but after that it was like watching a philharmonic orchestra playing Mary had a little lamb.
    After “40 minutes of hell,” team member points were tallied, and the highest scoring individual from each of the 4 teams were down-bracketed to a 5-shot “Around-the-World” shoot out on their respective side of the court. The rest of the Pax performed Goofballs and Side Straddle Hops to distract the Final Four shooters.
    Grundy, with accountant like focus, out-calculated Speedy;
    Ocho outdanced Whip.

    Grundy and Ocho were then down-bracketed to compete in a best-of-10 shootout from the free throw line. As luck would have it, they tied, and we went to Sudden Death from the Three Point line. Despite Ocho’s shenanigans, Grundy stomped the Stomper and emerged as the 2021 Marsh Madness champion!

    – Trophy
    – Count-orama
    – Name-orama – Welcome FNGs Sonar (EH’d by Turbo Tax) and Gomer Pyle (EH’d by Sparky).
    – Announcements
    o Northshore 5-year convergence led by Waterpik at the Lakefront on April 10.
    o Next F3/FiA mixer is 4/29. Thank you Jose10k, some of us do have to plan ahead for weeknight workouts.
    o ZOORICH CLASSIC at the Lakefront on April 24. (See how I slipped that in there Cowbell?…never too early!)

    QIC prayed us out and group photo followed. Great job by all. We’ll see if Grundy can defend his title in 2022. Thanks for playing along men. See you in the next Gloom.

    Footnotes:
    1Seriously, footnotes in a Backblast? Why not? The first Marsh Madness was in 2019 with a small, dare I say Elite, group of 8. Bird was an FNG and drained 16 x 3-point shots. The B-ball gods did not favor him today though. And well, Corona (as it was called back then) had other plans in ‘20.

    2Bushwacker-style instructions typically include circumlocutory, sesquipedalian musings about man’s ultimate life purpose with some semblance of what the Pax should be doing for the next 40-50 minutes. They are often accompanied by Mumble Chatter and confusion by all within earshot. Bushwacker-style instructions are the exact opposite of Turbo-style instructions, which are direct, concise, and never to be interrupted without penalty.

  • We’re Caught in a Trap, and Can’t Walk Out… – from Akbar

    Because I love y’all too much baby.

    And so it began, the 2nd annual Merkin Trap on the lakefront. Last year around this time we did 400 Merkins, could it be topped? I think so.

    18 PAX converged at the Lakefront today (without Gnats!) to make ourselves better. It could have been an even 20 if TankedUp didn’t steel Bush and Steve for a OYO Marathon.

    Gloom Factor – overcast, chilly 47 degrees

    Warm up – Nada. It’s time to get to business

    THANG – multiple exercises, mosey’s, and a lot of Merkins with a surprise thrown in mid-way. Exercises were done IC, 12,8,5 (50 reps) and some OYO.

    Starting out at the shovel flag: SSH | Merkins IC 12,8,5

    Mosey to Rips for Calf Raises on the stairs | Dirkins on the curb. 12,8,5 IC

    Mosey to the wall: Step Ups OYO in sets of 12/8/5 | Irkins OYO 24, 16, 10

    Run 2 blocks to Jefferson, stop for 10 Merkins at Claiborne. Monkey Humpers |Stone Mountain 12/8/5 IC

    Run 2 blocks to Monroe stop at Madison for 10 Merkins. Squats | Leg-up Merkins 12,8,5 IC

    Run to the Marsh, stop at Livingston for 10 Merkins

    Milestone Marsh: 50 pull ups, 50 Freak Nasties OYO – modification was supine or negative pullups

    Cowbell gave me a time check before we hit the Marsh, and after 100 reps YHC had to modify to make it back in time.

    Run back to the flag, stopping at each street for 15 Merkins.

    On the way, some father son intensification took place with Hammer and Pickaxe. Hammer carried Pickaxe most of the way piggyback style, and I took a turn for 1 leg. While Hammer and I did Merkins, Pickaxe did a Luigi (I think) – or pretty much a Merkin with no arms. At least he didn’t have to carry Shooter for 6 blocks.

    Back to the shovel flag for the wrap up.

    · Crunchy Frogs for Cowbell | Merkins 12,8,5 IC
    · LBC’s IC 12,8,5 24 Irkins OYO 8,5 FIA Merkins IC
    · Hello Dolly | Merkins IC 12,8

    500 Merkins in an hour, Advil post beatdown OYO

    Count, Name – Welcome FNG Binky!

    Announcements:

    1. F2 with FIA Thursday March 25th, 6pm at the Lakefront Gazebo and Barley Oak afterwards. Bring your wife, girlfriend, your female children, and their friends. Who wouldn’t want to attend that!

    2. Zoolander Q next week at the Milestone Marsh – NOT THE LAKEFRONT

    Thanks for following my lead,

    Till Next Gloom – Akbar

    Moleskin

    I first did this workout in Atlanta and loved the cadence. Last year we did it with 400 Merkins and hit 500 this year. 600 in 2022?

    Great to see Blaze back at the Mothership again.

    Zoolander had a 3 man EH. T claps for What’s That making the trip all the way from Kenner.

    T Claps to Pickaxe who hung in there, that’s a long way to run for a young man.

    Great to see Steve again at coffee and glad he’s back in the workforce.

    TankedUp is either crazy, a beast, or both. He just decided to run a marathon in Covington on his own. Maybe because Hammer called him Geriatric. T Claps brother.

  • A la Moby – from Bushwacker

    It’s been too long…I’ll be missing a lot of F3 in the next few months…Jose’s a nagger. Take your pick, but YHC felt it was high time he made an appearance at the A1C (2nd of the year?) and as Q at that! Now there has been frequent talk and use of “coupons” lately. So much so, in fact, that the warning to “bring Gloves” has simply become assumed. The problem is that Q is NOT a fan of cinder blocks. They scrape forearms and lead to poor form – simply not ergonomic enough for a former weight lifter (yea yea boohoo). So, Inspired by a favorite beatdown, “Moby’s heavy-ass chain”, YHC brought a 50lb &30lb pair of doumbbells, as well as x2 25lb, 35lb, & 45lb plates!

    WARMORAMA

    This time inspired by Turbo Dog, we started off with (IC x10): Squats (sans poop), High Knees, T-Stretches, Torso Twists, Air presses, and Self Love.

    THANG

    With the plates on one end of the garage roof and the dumbbells at the other end, the PAX split up to either side. One man would carry any weights of his choice, so long as each hand was gripping metal, and move from one end to the other in any fashion he found sufficiently challenging. Meanwhile the rest would be doing a core exercise, changing each time someone returned with weights. There was walking and running, while doing shoulder presses, shrugs, flies, arm swings, or just carrying. While on the ground, you name it, someone did it. There were even games of keep away and fetch thrown in for good measure!

    MARY
    We finished with 2 minutes to spare, and the PAX were kind enough to grab the weights and return them to the back of my truck.

    COT
    BBQ prayed us out and all was right in the world! Thank you guys for rising to meet my ergonomic challenge and start the day out right.

  • Gnats 1 PAX 1 – from TurboTax

    It was a draw. The Gnats mobilized early and mounted a fierce attack, but the PAX persevered and evened the score with a strong showing. It all started with a burpee heavy warmup which, in all honesty, wasn’t much of a warmup at all. It was The Thang from the bell. Burpees were performed with a sprinkling of standard warmup exercises added to the mix and then it was on to the main event…PAX vs sandbag. Dividing up into teams of two and three, we moved back and forth in 10 yard increments carrying our sandbags in various fashions while bear crawling, running, burpee long jumping, etc in between rounds. We then dropped the sand bags and ran a few sprint relays wrapping things up with some Mary after returning to the Shovel Flag. Countorama nameorama and Russo prayed us out. Thanks for letting me lead guys and making us all look good for the little old lady videographer. Hammer, did you remember to give her Bushwacker’s contact info?

  • Oh I Bet! – from Russo

    If you’ve ever seen YHC at a beatdown, there are certain things you can bet money on:
    (1) There will be sweating. A lot of sweating. Shooter in a sauna sweating. Tanked up on mile 10 sweating. (Even money)
    (2) At some point the phrase “Yeah you right” will be uttered (2:1)
    (3) A deck of cards might find its way into the beatdown (5:1)

    If you had found a way to find a casino willing to take a three-bet parlay on those things happening at Granny’s this week, you would have made at LEAST $4.17.

    Pax of 4 this week to see what the cards had in store.

    Warmup (pretty much all IC)
    Seal jacks
    Toe touches
    High knees
    Arm circles
    Butt kicks
    Torso twists

    Thang before the thang

    Pax did a quick course YHC refers to as a “conveyor belt”: lunge walk to each column at granny’s, and drop to a burpee there. Up and around the pilot house, then lunge walk backward, hitting a burpee at each column on the way back as well.

    Thang
    It had been a few months since breaking out the stinky, dirty, stained deck YHC loves to use, so Pax did another deck of death (!!!), this time splitting into halves instead of fours

    1st half:
    Diamonds: Merkins
    Spades: jump squats
    Clubs: shoulder tabs (2 is 1)
    Hearts: Six inch drill (IC)

    Halftime: Almost as much fun as the puppy bowl is to the super bowl, a quick slalom mosey among granny’s columns, just to say we, ahem, “ran”.

    2nd half:
    Diamonds: Makhtar N’Diayes (which morphed into more merkins because exposed elbows and forearms don’t much enjoy smacking pavement repeatedly)
    Spades: Suicide squats
    Clubs: Freak Nastys
    Hearts: Leg Raises

    Having a little time left, Pax gave it a go for another mosey around the warehouse and past the stage.

    COT and Name-A-Rama closed us out. You can say it was, err, um, ahem: Aces!

    Thanks for joining me and we’ll do it all again soon.

    SYITG