Tag: Steve

  • Gassy Grandma’s House

    Grandma was feeling a bit gassy this morning.  I fear the PAX welcomed the abundance of Burpees about as they would a belching old woman. But, of course, they handled the Burpee theme like the champs that they are!  Thank you, gentlemen.

    Here’s the rundown:

    5 Burpees
    20 Imperial Walkers IC
    5 Burpees
    20 SSH IC
    5 Burpees
    20 Steel jacks IC
    5 Burpees
    20 Butt kicks IC
    5 Burpees
    20 High knees IC

    Mosey to Steve’s Bus Stop

    5 Burpees
    20 x freak nasties IC
    5 Burpees
    10 x derkins IC
    5 Burpees
    10 x irkins IC
    5 x Burpees

    Mosey to bridge

    5 Burpees
    Captain Dan (down, underneath, and up tunnel)
    5 Burpees
    Neon Deion Sanders (back)
    5 Burpees

    Mosey to stairs

    5 Burpees
    3 Calf lifts each step (rt lt both)
    5 Burpees

    Mary at top of steps
    20 LBCs IC
    20 R Side Crunch IC
    20 L side Crunch IC
    20 Freddie Mercs IC
    20 Flutter kicks IC
    15 push throughs IC

    5 Burpees (of course).

    Down to circle up.  Thanks to Shooter and Steve for reminding us of the upcoming workout schedule, Q list, and TOUGH MUDDER. Thanks to Nacho for a pointed and heartfelt prayer. It’s always a pleasure to work out with you F3 gentlemen, and an honor to lead.

    PS – I hope the workout wasn’t too light. When I got home, the M gave me a hard time. She said, “you don’t look too sweaty. The Q must have been off his game!”

  • F3 Baton Rouge or Bayon Rouge – It is finally official – Noah’s Ark

    Like a Mommy Hyena hearing her pups call in the night – I was forced to hand off my Mothership Q for a chance at 15 minutes of fun in the Red Stick.  I knew those guys were in the capable burpee filled hands of FRACSAC.  Thanks Frac for taking my NOLA Q.

    Alarm clock popped at 445am.

    Rain.

    Park and wait.  515am

    A quick iced coffee from Morning Call – a little FOMO at the post Mothership coffeeteria in that exact spot in 3 hrs.

    Clown car:  Jingle Vader, and Babyface and YHC.  Hawg decided to fly solo.   Hawg posted last night that he expected 30 guys to post – I was worried he had a line on the 30 guys and was trying to figure out riding situations.

    1 hr drive.  Good convo with the other clowns.

    620am stop at Walmart for towels.  Steady rain now – lack of driver preparation.

    650am arrive at AO.

    Upon arrival there are 4 Shovel Flags planted.  Some reunions – and 21 PAX settle in for Red Stick beatdown!

    Baton Rouge wins the award for the most unusual dress code:  in attendance today – lots of pants, parkas, raincoats, turtle neck, 2 pairs of jeans, did i see jorts?, steel toed shoes, and the monkey feet shoes.  Stay Classy Baton Rouge!

    Jingle Vader brought a 5th flag.  Baton Rouge flag, Houston Flag, Pontiff Flag, Uptown Flag, and a Northshore flag!

    700am Hawgcycle started the show with a little shock and awe.  YHC was looking forward to a 10-9-8 descending Burpee count but that is OBTs shock and awe.  Hawgs shock and awe always does 10 burpees.  (Hate)

    First pearl – SSH x 31 *not 30 because of Wally Pontiffs number, burpees x 10, Imperial Walkers x 25, burpees x 10,  windmill x 10, burpees x 11, Tiger Bait Q’d an over head clap x 15, Worms Q’d SSH x 15, burpees x 10,  Mega Dad Q’d pistol squats right leg x 10, left leg x 10, burpees x 5 Along the way during this circle.  During windmills – I may have hiked up my shorts a bit so that Rudy could notice my quads.  (I wonder if he did?)

    **2018 is the year of the clap according to Hawg he wants to give the burpee clap to everyone in F3.  Good luck with that brother.

    715am Long mosey to down to the base of a big hill.  Partner up .  Partner one goes up the hill backwards twice.  Partner 2 does AMRAP squats.  Then flapjack.  Then Partner 1 does goes up the hill backwards twice and Partner 2 does merkins AMRAP.   **Hawg split at this point.  Slippery on the hill…Kind of made it fun.   At one point f3 – Mega Dad called me out for not cresting the hill.  I laughed because it wasn’t a modification just me being lazy.  Next time up the hill I made sure to crest the hill with authority.  That is why I love F3 – the accountability — MegaDad was teasing but he was right.  We can always hold each other to that level.  If it is a modify that is one thing, if it is whiskey dicking then push yourself!

    From here we mosey’d to the sundial.

    730am At the sundial we did step ups-left x 15, dips x 20, step ups -right x 15, declined merks (dirkins) 10 oyo, here ROOTS with his excellent cadence got us doing Power Ups x 20 left, Power Ups x 20 right.

    740am Hand off to STEVE.

    Steve long mosey’d us to the baseball field across Highland Road.  He divided us into 4 groups.

    Group 1 25 burpees at homeplate (the count)   Group 2 Peter Parkers -amrap    Group 3 Plank Jacks – amrap   Group 4 – Squat Jumps – amrap

    home to 1st – bear crawl, 1st to 2nd – duck walk , 2nd to 3rd crab crawl, and 3rd to home – bunny hop.  A little mini-animals on parade or NOAH’s Ark in the RAIN.

    The rain really hit hard during the baseball field!  Good stuff from Steve and a good way to show BR all of the awesome stuff to keep in the F3 bag of tricks.

    748am Final mosey up the hill to the Flags.  At the final circle we still had 5 minutes so I explained the concept of 6min of Mary (6mom).

    755 am Jingle Vader led us in the Russian Twist x 20 and the Dr W x 10.  Damn that Dr W.

    Our final exercise of the F3 Baton Rouge launch was led by our guest from Texas.  F3 Houston’s TP led us in OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Mary.  An awesome exercise that I had never seen.  Will add it to my next NOLA Q.  and  a great way to FINISH!   Legs make a long circle while the Q says O Mary.  The count happens at the bottom – a goofy cadence but fun!  TP Tclaps for the gift!

    8am COT – Great prayer led by Shooter.  Thanks for the inspiring words brother (Tclaps).  We named FNG two shoes, FNG money cat, and FNG bow down.  So cool that this launch had reps from NOLA, Northshore, and Houston.  PAX headed to Franks for coffeeteria.  Nice spot for food-beats Starbucks.

    Excited for F3 Baton Rouge.  I hope it works.  You have been planted – it is up to you guys to make it grow.  You should try to add a weekday workout at a totally different AO soon.   Every guy who is posting needs to EH someone to join you in the gloom.  That growth will keep new ideas, energy and excitement at the workouts.    Don’t be nice with nicknames – workhorse and fastball got off easy.  Its OK to twist the knife a little.  Neck brace mentioned he would like a name change and at breakfast Roots came up with DOLLAR COLLAR.  I like that new one too.

    830am Franks

    945am back on the road to NOLA

    1040am drop off Babyface and JV

    11am show up at the hizzy

    Good luck BR – make it happen we are all counting on you guys.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Are you a 5% man?

    Just another day at the Cove: 4 men, 10k, 0445.

    Pre-thang, Bushwacker was on a fact-finding mission about tomorrow’s clown car up to BR for the launch:

    “You going?” YHC asked.

    “Ah, maybe.  Just gathering intel right now.”

    Uh-huh.  YHC knows what ‘maybe’ means.  Bushwacker himself said it not too long ago: “If someone says ‘maybe,’ there’s probably a 5% chance they’re actually going to do it.”  I parrot that back to him, then we do a quick countdown, nameorama, and we’re off to the races.

    Though with no Southshore to impress, our pace was considerably less aggressive than our Ivan pace from last weekend.  Still, we managed around a 9:20 average.  The Cove remains the only Northshore beatdown where you can get in some good F2 during the thang, and Shooter never lets me down as a running partner – making the long run pass quickly.   Bushwacker and Pelican were right behind keeping each other company.

    When Bushwacker rolled in to the finish line clutching his stomach and running for his car keys (something that happens every so often after a 10k), I realized I had forgotten the prayer and said so, but also mentioned that we’d understand his need to run for the nearest bathroom.

    Well, Bushwacker is no 5% man.  He found a comfortable position while Shooter prayed us out, and was almost immediately touched by the grace of God and regained his composure.  (He also committed to tomorrow’s BR beatdown.)  It’s as Captain always says, ‘Only above average men out here at the cove.’ Always a pleasure guys, thanks!

  • Celebrity Q

    Much like POTUS’ final season of Celebrity Apprentice which starred the likes of Geraldo Rivera and Ian Ziering, this morning’s Celebrity Q brought the biggest names of the Northshore PAX out of retirement.  Along with the return of Turtle came the long-awaited return of founding-father Nacho, as well as Ocho and Choppa.  It was also Tanked Up’s first foray into Grandmother’s House.  Had this beatdown been broadcast, it surely would’ve been a ratings bonanza. Like, totally huge.

    In keeping with Turtle’s dislike of rules and regulations (see Krazy Ivan disqualification for reference), the Q had us skip the warm-up portion of the beatdown and head straight into some shoulder work.  (Spoiler: there would be a lot of shoulder work.  In fact, that was the only thing Turtle had planned for us this morning.)

    The Thang: 40 merkins OYO, followed by shoulder taps 25x IC, arm circles forward 20x IC, reverse 20xIC, and air presses 40x IC.  Not sure at all about those numbers, even though YHC was the one doing the counting.  (Another Turtle thing, he has yet to conquer counting in cadence…)

    Round 2: After YHC deliberately disregarded the Q’s request for only 15x IC Shoulder Taps, the Q wrested back control of the beatdown and finally tried counting in cadence for himself.  Air presses 20x IC, arm circles forward and reverse 15x IC, and finally, 15x merkins OYO.

    Then a mosey through the woods to the tunnel, where the PAX circled up for… merkins, shoulder taps, air presses, and arm circles!  Then Turtle turned the Q over to YHC, who attempted to show the PAX a new 8-count exercise that consisted of a groiner (1-2), down into an elbow plank (3-4), plank jack (5-6), and back up to normal plank (or “F3 Plank,” as the Q today would call it).  This was semi-successful, as Tanked Up seemed to have it down.  So it’d be a partner routine, with P1 doing the 8-count exercise described above, and P2 sprinting have the tunnel, back-pedaling the rest, and doing 10 jump squats before returning in the same manner he came.  YHC had planned a few rounds with various exercises, but again, Turtle did not like the way things were proceeding and decided it was time to head to the bus stop for some leg work.

    Knee Ups, each leg 15x IC, Freak Nasties 15x IC, Bulgarian Splits, each leg 15x IC, Freaks, 15x IC.

    And the grand finale – turning the Q over to Choppa for 5 minutes of Mary: Crunchy Frogs, Flutter Kicks, Hello Dollies, Jane Fondas (L&R), and some merkins to bring it back full circle.  All to some intense music that I’m pretty sure is used for action movie trailers.

    Nameorama, countdown, and Turtle closed it down with a thoughtful prayer.  T-claps to all the men who made it back after such a long hiatus, it really was a lot of fun seeing you guys again.

  • Krazy Ivan 2018

    The events depicted in this Backblast are completely stupid and utterly pointless.  Any similarity to events which are neither stupid nor pointless is purely coincidental.  

    No animals were harmed in the running of the Krazy Ivan.

    The Inagural Northshore Krazy Ivan CSAUP went off as planned, sort of.  The Northshore won, the Southshore whined, and it was….warm??!!??  The lack of frigid conditions made for a slightly less stupid but still rather pointless event.  Next year, we will aim higher.  Without further ado…

    Twenty men gathered at the gazebo on the Mandeville lakefront on a beautiful, starry, breezy Saturday evening: 15 Northshore PAX, 1 Northshore Scorekeeper, and 4 Southshore PAX.  Lots of mumble chatter, a bit of trash talk, and some ogling at the Freedom Hammer ensued.  Somewhere around 2100, as the PAX waited for Triple Shift to open the needle valve to bleed some pressure (a little oilfield lingo, there), THE Manny rung the bovine bell.  Some quick instructions from YHC, including a warning of low visibility, potentially questionable footing, an offer of flashlights (offer summarily rejected), and the PAX gathered at the starting line.  Hawg mumbled something about the Gnarly Nutria always beginning on time.  Uh huh.

     

    With another ringing of the bovine bell, THE Manny released the hounds.  Turbo, Backdraft, Steve and all the other skinny dudes went out guns blazing.  Out and back to the west end seawall x 3 was the course.  The easterly breeze made for a nice tailwind on the way out that was as appreciated as was the equal and opposite headwind was loathed on the way back.  That is, unless you were Triple Shift.  You see, Triple Shift had a strategy, folks: get right on the heals of a really good looking, husky PAX and run in his ample slipstream the entire race, save for the last 50 yards when you turn on the reserves and blast past him.  So if you think about it, Triple owes YHC one of his points.  But more on the (contested) scoring later.

     

    The course was dark, sometimes nearly pitch black.  Although Orian’s belt and the waxing crescent were quite visible, the running path was at times not.  As 19 PAX trekked and traversed back and forth, forth and back, we passed those both ahead and behind us, those who lapped and those who got lapped.  This afforded the PAX opportunity to root for, hiss at, tease, encourage, or mock those we were passing.  I can speak for Triple, as he was behind me the entire time benefitting from all my hard work I mean seriously did I mention that already I mean it’s not a big deal that he got one more point than I did but really when you think about it I should at least be added to his Christmas card list but whatever I’m not bitter or anything.  Particular attentiveness and night vision skills were needed to navigate the last two tenths of the west end.  YHC had specifically warned the PAX about this risky, questionable section of the course.  So it’s a good thing that YHC himself did not take a tumble and nearly bust his ass on the exact part of the course on which the warning was issued.  That would be ironic.  Dontcha think.

    At the finish line, the PAX again gathered and coalesced.  Fracsac volunteered for Safety Caboose, finishing up the race and also ensuring that no man was left behind, injured, abducted, or absconded with.  Thanks Frac.  THE Manny tallied up the score and announced a 176-31 Northshore victory; looks of mistrust appeared on a few faces.  Perhaps that was because they were expecting a 177-31 loss.  But, abiding by the only rule of the Krazy Ivan – run the race in a tank top – THE Manny exercised legislative, judicial, and executive powers and stripped Turtle of his single point for finishing the race in a hooded sweatshirt.  Coutoramma, Nameorama, BOM, and off to The Barley Oak for some F2.

    At the BO, drinks were had an all was merry.  Tomatoes tested the neck twisting and head turning capabilities of Captain Sparkles (ok, his were not the only capabilities tested…hellLLOOO black dress).  An impromptu yet formal meeting of the F3 Rules Committee adjudicated on the ability to move an AO once it is established.  Verdict: negative ghost rider, pattern’s full brah.  At this point, Hawg petitioned the Rules Committee for a formal, third party review and calculation of the night’s score.  THE Manny’s honour in question, YHC immediately began the process.  Third party results are in, proving that you should sometimes watch what you ask for.  The final, certified, verified, bonafied count is 190-35.

     

    Excellent CSAUP, PAX.  T-Claps to the Southshore guys who posted.  We will see you at the 2018 Gnarley Nutria.  A pleasure to be amongst you.

     

    EiEi

  • A Mild Morning at the Mothership

    T-Claps to Butt Splice for continuing to bring out the FNG’s – producing not one, but two on this balmy 41° morning.  And in turn, t-claps to FNG The Clap for convincing fellow FNG Phooey that he was attending some sort of outdoor bible study group in workout clothes.  Hey, whatever it takes.

    Now you know that things have warmed up around here when everyone goes back to ordering iced coffees at coffeteria.  The cold front that brought temperatures down to a record 16° at The Gipper on Wednesday have hardened our PAX, and typical winter Louisiana weather now seems downright cozy.  So off with the knit caps and the Driving Miss Daisy gloves (Tanked Up!), and down to business:

    Warm Up: SSH, Seal Jacks, Windmills, IW’s, Good Mornings, Mummy Kicks, High Knees, Butt Kicks. Then mosey East to circle up for…

    COP: Holding plank, the PAX performed: Mountain Climbers, Peter Parkers, MC’s, Shoulder Taps, MC’s, all 20x IC, followed by 10x Merkins OYO.  Quick rest, before:

    Round 2: MC’s, Parker Peters, MC’s, Plank Jacks, 20x IC, followed by 20x Merkins OYO.  Recover and mosey to the Lakefront Playground for….

    Partner Routine 1: P1 does 20x Big Boy Sit-ups followed by 20x Merkins continuously while…

    P2 starts at Pad 1 with 20x LBC’s, then crab walks to Pad 2 for 20x Plank Jacks, bear crawls to Pad 3 for 20x Squat Jumps, then bunny hops to the start.  Partners flapjack until each has done 3 rounds.

    Partner Routine 2: P1 does Lt. Dans down the stretch, sprints back, while P2 does Burpees.  Switcheroo.  If you need instructions on the lunge-to-squat ratio for Lt. Dans, ask Maverick, I think he went to a fancy New Orleans school.  And if you need to know why shots of Cuervo the night before an F3 workout might not be a great idea, ask Phooey.  (Though to his credit, he was unaware of what he was getting into this morning, and was somehow able to finish without splashing merlot.  An impressive feat.)

    Then a Double Applesauce Bataan Death March back to the flag for…

    Mary: Putins 25x IC, Leg Raises 15x IC, Crunchy Frogs 12x IC.

    Countdown, nameorama, naming of the FNG’s, and…. hey, who shows up, but EiEi – just in time for free coffee and to plug his event, The Krazy Ivan.  Tanked Up sent us out to coffeteria with a great prayer.   Thanks gents for a great start to the weekend, it’s always a pleasure to lead this group.  And hey, wash your tank tops, dust off that ushanka, do what you need to do, but whatever you do – show up tonight.  The Ivan is finally here and our honor rests in your hands.

  • Pre-Crazy Ivan Quick-Step

    Has it gotten to the point yet (can it really ever) to where it’s passe, redundant, or simply monotonous to mention anything about the frigid temperatures we’ve been facing this winter? I didn’t think so either….It was DAMN COLD this morning! All the better reason to abbreviate this morning’s edition of The Captain’s Cove in anticipation of the juice we’ll need for our legs when the northshore’s honor is on the line tomorrow night at the inaugural Crazy Ivan. Despite halving the regularly scheduled 10k to a 5k, YHC  knew I would be pushed to the brink with the rest of the PAX consisting of members of F3 Northshore’s “8 minute mile club.” After all guys, I’m not really a runner…

    We quite quickly rolled off countorama/namorama, and with expedited efficiency we prayed a plainly direct prayer of appreciation and were off. Instead of the regular route, we just went the length of lakeshore dr. and back. T claps to Ei who eventually hung back for the slow mosier among us (I won’t mention any names), and tried his hardest to run slowly enough to stay with him.  Great run this morning guys, and an even better run tomorrow night! (hopefully with Butt Splice and Backdraft among us)

  • Global Warming at the Gipper

    Could not ask for a better morning with 9 bad ..ss F3 Warriors. Cold stopped no one this morning. Simply made for a great experience with the friendship thanks to F3.

     

    Warmup–we shot through 13 exercises with highlighted Side Straddle Hops where as 1 man at a time bounced to the center and back like a one man show during a wedding reception party. I think Bushwacker took that one as the best SSH dancer!  Other exercises included high knees, butt kicks, lunges, Merkins, side lunges, sumo squats-that was fun too, especially with the added arm gestures. Some of the exercises were repeated for a total of 13.

    The Thang–mosey to the courthouse (and a cyclist) for a little fun with merkins and Derkins… 5/20 rotation till it was 20/5 for a total of 100 merk/derks!

    Mosey to the parking lot for 3 more activities. 1- Four laps of a combination of lunges, bear hops, and bunny hops 2- circle around the imaginary flag pole. To the center and back with 12/3/6/9 rotation followed by crab crawl… Oh, when we got to the center it required a hand slap or twinkle toe touches.. Have to have been there to get the picture.3–Fifteen merkins with 2 runs blended in. Great for the cardio.

    Mosey back to the Gipper for some warm down exercises. Some discussion about the race this Saturday at 9 pm.. Be there, we are ready! And don’t forget Tough Mudder on the horizon.

    Hero of the day–Shooter–why you ask– no gloves!

    Closeout prayer by Bushwacker..reminded us how blessed we are.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Grandmas house has a new norm when it comes to attire!!

    Grandmas house has been changed by the appearance of leggings, beanies, gloves, sweatshirts, jogging pants, etc. in recent weeks.. The harsh winter weather on the Northshore has also hampered the turnouts to many locations, which in the past has seen upwards of 10 plus men on a weekday Gloom…. In past experience of being locked into a contract of the cosmetic facilities, I would always notice the high turnout for the New Years. However, with F3 I have seen a decline at most AOs with the exception of the Gipper. So I pose a question or two for my past and future F3 brothers.. Is it the weather? If so, then purchase some beanies, gloves, leggings, etc. and show up. Is it the price we pay? Doubtful, because as we all know it’s FREE and only requires 45 min of our day (much cheaper and less time consuming than the cosmetic facilities). So if your still reading this and haven’t posted in awhile let’s start packing the AOs once again and keep the commitment into the New year.. Statistics show 12% of all memberships for any given facility come in Jan. but it actually represents a 35-50% increase in volume and by the second week in Feb. only 20% of that increase remain committed. Also the cosmetics sell memberships with the intention of only 18% actually using them. Meaning there is a 1 in 5 chance you will actually use it consistently for longer than a month… Let’s not be a statistic my F3 brothers… Get out there beanies and all. No matter what the conditions, know that your body and mind will thank you.. And the F2 and chatter will be lagniappe as we like to say..

    warmarama

    25 IC SSH, IW, WM, BK

    15 IC GM, Arm Circles

    the thang

    Walkway for a set of 11s with Burpees on the bottom and squats at the top of the flag pole. Moseyed to the stage for some core work. Hit the 6 for some FK IC 30 followed by leg raises IC 15. Then LBCs IC 30 including left/right IC 15 side crunch’s rounding out with Superman’s IC 15. Moseyed to the bench’s by the trace for 15 Box jumps oyo then 25 Merkins, 15 oyo left to right side jump overs then 25 Merkins R/R. Moseyed back to the walkway for 1 min front, left and right plank and then to the benches under the flag pole for 15 IC Freak nasties and then 10IC Derkins. To the steps for completion, 5 calf raises 2 steps R/R up to the top. Descended the steps with 5 squats and 2 steps R/R back to the bottom.

    Count off, Announcements, COT

    Appreciate the Gloom with you two F3 brothers…

    Thanks to Bubba for praying us out!!

  • On Holiday At The Marsh

    Dashing out the door this morning in an effort not to be late to my own Q, I neglected to bring my gloves or even a sweatshirt.  As soon as the wipers hit a massive sheet of unyielding ice on my windshield, I realized I was woefully underdressed for the 29° weather.  Too late, no time.  And so, pulling up to the Marsh right at 0500, I sat in the car and began that inner monologue that has become too familiar over the past few cold weeks: Maybe no one will show today…  Maybe I can turn this car back around… Maybe I can get right back in bed… This mantra never really works, and post-beatdown, I’ve always been happy for that.  Which is why it was so shocking that today, for the first time in a long, long time, no one posted.

    I suspect that was partly due to the cold, and mostly due to the fact that it was MLK Day, and many were off work and could sleep in for a change (ahem…especially those returning from a big hunting trip).  Well, I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t a little bit excited by the prospect of a no-show.  But, in honor of King and his famous speech (which will have it’s 55th anniversary this year), YHC knocked out 55 pull-ups, followed by 55 merkins as quickly as humanly possible.  Then I drove back home (I’m not a total idiot), got my sweatshirt and gloves, and went for a short mosey.  And then… I got back into bed.

    It certainly wasn’t the caliber of a true F3 beatdown, but it was just enough to get out of bed for.  And it was a good reminder of why I need the F3 brothers in my life.  King’s notion that we are all brothers and sisters, despite our many differences, is a powerful one, and one that I see at work in the F3 nation every week.  So thanks to my brothers, enjoy your holiday, and YHC expects to see you men back out there tomorrow at Grandmother’s House.