Tag: Tool

  • Suicidal Tendencies

    Disclaimer:

    Warmup: SSH x 30, Pe/Pa x 20, AC 15/15, Abe x 15, Pa/Pe x 20, IW x 20

    To the track for Suicides with a twist…and a rock

    First quarter lap – mosey with rock held straight out, drop rock return to start for 5 each…burpees, squats, merkins, monkey humpers

    Half lap – grab rock at quarter point, mosey with rock overhead to halfway point, drop rock and return to start for 10 each…burpees, squats, merkins, monkey humpers.

    Three Quarter lap – grab rock at halfway point and mosey with rock held straight out, drop rock at 3/4 point and return to start for 15 each….burpees, squats, merkins, monkey humpers.

    Full lap – grab rock at 3/4 point and carry overhead to complete full lap, drop rock and return to start for 20 each…burpees, squats, merkins, monkey humpers.

    Tabata – mary style: 8 rounds, alternating between American Hammer and Crunchy Frog.

    COT: CO, Nameorama, anouncements, SI’s, Prayer, xxxoooo’s

  • With a little help from my friends…

    When Tool asked me if I wanted to Q the Muscleship the Thursday before, it brought to mind how far I’ve come since starting and that I could not have done without the support of my F3 friends. From Willie continuing to try to get me out here, from seeing Medulla’s transformation, from Tool literally giving me the shirt of his back, the support from my F3 brothers (including those who made sure to be there for my first Q) has made a profound impact on my life since starting a few months ago. Therefore, I took the opportunity to lead and after the disclaimer, we were on our way.

    Warmup

    • 20 SSHs
    • 20 Imperial Walkers
    • 20 Abe Vigodas
    • 20 Mountain Climbers
    • 30 Arm Circles (15 forward, 15 reverse)

    After warmups, we broke into pairs for a Dora of 100 Plank Jacks, 200 Alternating Lunges, and 300 LBCs. We then moseyed across the road to do Deconstructed Burpees (squats, followed by leg thrusts, then merkins, more leg thrusts, then squats). We did descending rounds of 10-8-6-4-2 with the Q receiving some help from his friend Hawg on cadence and a few extra squats for Q to get his cadence straight. Next, we pulled a page from an earlier Triple Shift workout and did Embrace the Suck – 6 SSHs, 6 Merkins, and 6 jump squats (clapping optional). We did three 3-minutes rounds with 1-minute rest. The PAX them moseyed back to the starting spot for some Mary with the PAX taking turns calling out exercises. We finished with announcements and intentions. Thank you to all for your support since I’ve started this journey and for giving me the opportunity to lead.

  • A Fill in Fartlekker

    Rudy’s not allowed to Fartlek right now, so he needed a fill in for the 610 Stomp. YHC is an old Fartlekker so it was not a probably for me. I showed up at roughly 0529:40 and gave the disclaimer. It was a beautiful day for a run. Here’s how it went

    • Normal Pace to the NOMA Fountain. I call it the fountain, but there is no fountain, just a lily pond with a huge statue of tri-colored bacon. Upon arrival I gave the instructions. I would call out an effort number from 1-100 (100 being a full out sprint) and a landmark to run to. After reaching said landmark, the pax was to circle back and pick up the 6.
    • 75 to the end of Lelong Drive
    • Easy jog to across Esplanade and down the sidewalk to Moss Street
    • 100 to the first big tree on Moss
    • 70 to the curve
    • Easy jog to Dumain
    • 50 to Orleans
    • 65 to the Lafitte Greenway
    • Easy jog to Bienville
    • 58 to Canal
    • Easy Jog back to Bienville
    • 70 to Conti
    • Avoid the car and truck at the Lafitte Greenway
    • 55 to Orleans
    • 70 to the curve (the real curve) near Cabrini
    • Easy jog to the bridge
    • 60 to Esplanade then an easy jog to City Park until the 6 arrives.
    • Easy Jog to Roosevelt Mall
    • 88 to the Flag
    • Seal the Deal with 20 Burpees
    The Skinny

    If you question the accuracy of the above – you should……my nine year old and Rev Sox both have this in common: they giggled when I announced our exercise this morning. I’ll have everyone know that fartlek is a bonafide Swedish running term used with a straight face by Kinesiology majors around the world no matter how funny it sounds in English……we covered approximately 4.5 miles give or take, depending on how many times you swept the 6. I feel like we got our money’s worth……I was glad to see that so many guys survived Tool’s Big Rock Challenge on Monday. Cowbell reminded me of my own foolishness. Is it better to not be able to perform any of the exercises or admit defeat and take the walk of shame? I contend that the walk of shame is never acceptable…….we had a Recall sighting. He ran with us for a bit on the bayou then peeled off to run the Wisner bridge. Not sure why he is choosing to run alone instead of with the pack. Perhaps it is the shame associated with being a Razorback fan. It does make life difficult, but you have to be tough and overcome it…….sealing the deal is a Stomp Tradition and it brings joy to Fracsac’s heart. Our next site Q needs to make sure it regularly happens ……. speaking of which, thanks to Cowbell for his reign as Stomp Commander. Under his tutelage the Stomp has grown at least two-fold in average attendance. If U.S. Presidents can take credit for economic growth, then Cowbell should be given credit for this ……. next man up. Who will take the reigns at the Stomp and fill the teeny-tiny shoes of Cowbell? From what I can tell, it mostly involves having someone else type your name into the spreadsheet, occasionally telling people to sign up to Q, then ignoring messages on GroupMe from people that need to reschedule their Q until someone else answers them and says that they will take it. You can’t really mess it up, well actually you can, but that takes a very special person.

  • Walk it like a duck

    12 PAX posted up this morning at the Foundry.  At 5:30am I gave the disclaimer and we were on our way to the track for a little warm-up.  At the track we did:

    High Knees
    Butt Kicks
    Karaoke Left side
    Karaoke Right side

    We then proceeded for a warm up run around the track. We stopped at the back part of the track for some more warm-ups:
    SSH X 25 – IC
    Self Love – X 15 IC
    Low Slow Squats – X 15 IC
    Jump Lunges – X 15 OYO

    We then moseyed on over to the Foundry where we split to 4 groups.  

    Group 1Timer – Duck walk to the water fountain and then sprint back- thanks Triple Shift for sending the animal exercise video yesterday to the group; the PAX really enjoyed doing this.
    Group 2 – leg lifts with a partner (not sure what this is called- it burns the hell out of your core though)
    Group 3 – Jump overs on the squiggly line
    Group 4 – Pull-ups
    Rinse and repeat for 2 circuits. 

    Quick mosey to the NOMA wall. Where we partnered up. One partner sat on the wall while the other partner is the timer doing shoulder taps- 1 is 2 —- Da Parish quickly corrected my count to 2 is 1 (newbie screw-up on my part). My initial plan was to do this for about 4 mins, however Da Parish enjoyed this so much we decided to go for 8 mins. Followed up by 10 decline merkins on the curb.

    Quick mosey to the Fountain for:
    Incline Merkins X 10 OYO then run to the stairs to Bunny Hop up the stairs with 5 burpees at the top. Bunny hop down.

    At this point we had about 4mins to get to the flag; I didn’t realize how far out we were……we came in 2 mins over schedule. Sorry about that PAX.

    We welcomed a new FNG – Breadsticks.  We finished off with COT and prayed for Patience. It was an Honor to lead this group.

  • Lone Rangers Need Not Apply

    teamwork (noun): work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole.

    Seven men showed up eager to build some muscle on Saturday.  YHC surfed the F3 site the day before for some fresh ideas and felt some sort of theme for the morning might help engage the PAX and keep the workout from being too blah, which YHC is occasionally guilty of when not adequately preparing a game plan.  After kicking around a few options, none of which could top The Hamilton throwdown, YHC decided on a refresher of the teamwork concept that helps fuel the impact of F3 and other group/partner workouts.  We may all get numb to hearing about “pushing each other” or “iron sharpens iron” so the plan for the day would strive to hone in on why team building, team leadership, and working as a team are all proven ingredients for success.  The other, “hidden” agenda for the morning included trying to squeeze in as much sweat provoking stuff to help burn off all the bacon and beer that several of us indulged on the week before at HFTC.  After the disclaimer, reading of the teamwork definition from Merriam-Webster, and a rundown of what would be in store, some of which may seem corny but “bear with me”, here’s what we did:

    Warmup – Short Capri Lap down Lelong Dr with some butt kicks, backpedaling, bear crawling, and high knees to get the juices flowing.  Then a COP on the Museum steps where YHC shared some Google findings….T-E-A-M….Together Everyone Achieves More…so we got loose with some T-E-A-M exercises, Travoltas, Elbow Plank w/leg lifts, Arm Circles, and Mountain Climbers.  Before departing for our next stop, YHC asked the PAX to start thinking of one person who stands out to them as an inspirational leader and we’d discuss more once at the next stop.   

    Thang #1 – Mosey towards the block pile with a pit stop half way for planking to wait for the six followed by merkins on the curb.  From here, we continued with a mosey to the green building, aka train shed, for the Da Parish Special aka “Get To Know Your PAX Wall Sit” while discussing some admirable leaders…cause every good team tends to have a good leader.  Piranha started us off and set the bar high with a lengthy yet awesome explanation of his pic.  From there we all had to up our game and give more than 3-4 words answers.  YHC can’t recall all of the names mentioned but does remember George Washington, Mother Theresa?, Mark Twain?, Coach Ed Orgeron, Yoda?, and a boss at work.  This took a while but was well time spent….YHC caught a whiff of piss and vinegar after from some of the PAX.

    Thang #2 – Short Mosey to the block pile to heckle The Mothership PAX and grab a coupon.  We lined up along the prison bars aka Tool Wall for our next circuit.  YHC found the Diego circuit on the F3 site and thought it would be a good partner workout since helps push each other and keeps PAX accountable.  Diego is like Dora, but tougher and longer.  YHC warned this would take a while but assured the PAX it would be worth it.  We did these one round at a time, planking for the six, and opted to mix it up by going “swinger style” with new partner each circuit in an effort to further mesh the team.
    Round One – 100 Merkins w/PAX #2 running to other prison bars for calf raises x20

    Round Two – 150 Overhead Block Press w/PAX #2 running for hip slappers x20

    Round Three – 200 LBC w/PAX #2 running for monkey humpers x20

    …breather and corny motivational quote from Google, “All progress takes place outside of your comfort zone” 

    Round Four – 250 Block Curls w/PAX #2 running for calf raises x20

    Round Five – 300 Squats w/ or w/o block w/PAX #2 running for hip slappers x20

    Note – proud to say the PAX dug deep and pushed through this, helping other PAX finish as needed.  Some good joking and F2 was in the air throughout.  Some motivational phrases were attempted in a Coach O voice but might have lacked the firepower he packs.  

    No time left for the last few things on the weinke so after depositing the blocks, we headed back to the flag.  One last quote found on the interwebs, “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else” – Booker T. Washington

    COT to seal the deal.  The Muscleship needs some Q’s in coming weeks so if you’re reading this, please consider stepping up.  T-claps to the PAX for posting and pushing each other to get stronger.  It’s always an honor to lead. 

    Tool   

  • Time Flies When You’re Having Fun, But I’ll Be Back To Finish What I Started!

    YHC hasn’t been to the NOLA Foundry since the start of the Popeyes AO.  Smartly, Amnesty volunteered me to Q so I can give back to one of the AOs that helped me get started in F3.  It was nice to see PAX YHC hasn’t seen in a while and a good reminder of all the NOLA Foundry has to offer.  Consider hitting an AO you haven’t been to in a while or ever!

    WARMUP

    After giving the disclaimer, YHC led the PAX in what was considered an unorthodox direction.  Some of the PAX were confused with the change, but the concerns were quickly quelled as we moseyed a short distance for the following warm up IC: SSH x 21, IW x 20, Arm Circles x 20 (10 each direction), Grass Grabbers x 20, Plank Jacks x 20, and Abe Vigodas x 10.

    The Thang

    The PAX were divided by 1s and 2s on either side of the Roosevelt Mall for a Route 66 (War Eagle would be proud!). PAX 1 to the left for incline merkins adding one at each bench and PAX 2 to the right for dips using the same counting scheme, for a total of 12. Plank and wait at the end, then switch sides. Once each PAX had their turn on either side with both exercise, rinse and repeat using LSS and step-ups, but the step-ups were cut back to ten so the opposing PAX didn’t have wait too long.

    Being my second Q ever, I did not estimate time correctly and had what would amount to another beat down that was going to go unused. Not a problem, I will return to finish what I started! With approximately seven minutes to kill, we did the following Mary IC: Tin Snips x 20, LBCs x 25, Dying Cockroaches x 20, Peguins x 20 (as a reprieve to silence some of the mumbling), and J-Lo’s x 20 (in honor of Amnesty who has been down and out with a nasty lung infection). Returned the PAX to the flag exactly at 0615. I noted Smooth wasn’t winded nor sweating, so the mumbling about the Mary was unfounded and attempts were made to make Cowbell take the fall for the mumbling, but we know better!

    After a quick reminder from the PAX on the proper order to end a beat down (another attempt to be unorthodox), COUNTOFF, NAMERAMA, and COT. Prayers for the sick, injured, struggling, and private intentions, as well as gratitude for this group of men who work hard and motivate each other.

    Once again, it was an honor to lead and I’m thankful for your willingness to follow. I’ll be back soon as a PAX and to finish the beat down.

    12 strong at the NOLA Foundry
  • Spartan Redux Adieu

    After finishing the Spartan Super in Alabama last Saturday, I had a great deal to be thankful for. Although I didn’t train enough for the mileage and obstacles, the base of fitness that I gained through F3 was exceptional. Given that most of the beatdowns are 45 – 60 minutes, I was surprised at how well Hokie Pokey, Fracsac and I did for this grueling race. 8.5 miles and 25 obstacles. We all missed at least 6 obstacles and which comes with a pleasant 30 burpee penalty. That’s right, 180 burpees for me and I believe 240 burpees for Fracsac and Hokie Pokey. Although, on paper, it seems impossible, we were all thankful for the F3 NOLA Pax that kept us accountable in our training.

    THE THANG

    No warmup, just grab a rock and three (3) water buckets (35 lbs) and proceed around the park on the path. We walk briskly around the park and do a series of exercises at random intervals.

    30 SSH IC, 30 Mountain Climbers IC, Lunge Walk x 2 on the ramp by the baseball stadium, 30 Burpees, a flow exercise to stretch our hip flexors in a lunge position and the bottom, mid and top floor elevator. As we get back to the rock pile, you guesed it….30 burpees and 15 Red Sun / Yellow Sun Supermans IC.

    Countoff, Namerama and COT. Encouraged to see all the new Qs leading and I encouraged the four PAX members (Fast Tax, Scantron, Vanilla and Grimace) who haven’t Qed a workout to plan on it in the near future.

  • Lost Left Eye

    8 men arrived at the Foundry in the dark. Sadly, we lost one along the way, but were reunited in the end. The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    We moseyed down Roosevelt Mall, and stopped half way for the warm-up COP. SSH x 20 IC, IW x 20 IC, Peter Parkers x 20 IC, Windmills x 10 IC, Arm Circles 10 forward 10 backwards IC, Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    We continued our mosey to the end of Roosevelt Mall for the 2nd COP: Legs. Low slow squats x 10 IC, Side lunges x 10 IC, Al Gore x 10 IC, Jump lunges x 10 IC

    Next off to the Foundry for some circuits. 4 stations with 2 men each. 2 circuits of Pull-ups, Squats, Dips, WWII sit-ups (15 count), followed by 2 circuits of Body Rows, Lunges, Hanging Knee-Ups, Crunchy Frogs (10 count).

    This is where things got dicey in the dark. We moseyed down the back drive, stopping at each light post for 10 Merkins. Then we lost Left Eye. We turned left, he turned right, things got fouled up, and YHC did a terrible job of keeping the Pax together. Tool circled back for our lost man, but alas, Left Eye could not be found.

    At the track, we paired up and completed 2 laps with one Pax sprinting 200 yards while the other Pax cut across the field. Then we circled at the end of the track for some Mary. Flutter kicks x 20 IC, LBC’s x 20 IC, Hello Dolly x 20 IC, Penguins x 20 IC.

    We moseyed back to the flag, ready to jump in the car to go find our Lost Left Eye. When out of the gloom, Left Eye appeared. He made an extra mosey to NOMA, then found his way back to the flag. Count-off, Name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. Luckily we were reunited in the end. A good reminder to always circle back for the 6, and leave no man behind. Thanks for letting me lead. I’ll do better next time!

  • Sticking to the Classics

    YHC and Ya Mom n’dem learned Monday morning as they rode in the Lakeview clown car home from Rock City that Abacus would not be able to Q the Stomp today. Instead of throwing it out to the Mumblechatter in search of a Q, an idea was born: why not do everyone a solid and bring the burpees back? Who wouldn’t appreciate our generosity?

    And so, after a brief yet rambling disclaimer, 16 men set out to do the 610 Stomp our forefathers had envisioned when they created this workout many years ago: 6 minute run, 10 burpees; 3x on the way out, then turn and do it 3 times on the way back. Ya Mom n’Dem kept the time while YHC jsut tried to keep up. The Pax managed anywhere from about 4-5 miles (and however far Smooth ran) in 40+ minutes with 60 burpees thrown in for fun. Definitely a solid Tuesday.

    We closed it out with IC LBC’sx20 and IC crab cakes x15, and then 5 Turkish getups OYO. Everyone made it back to the flag in time, and we welcomed back Woz, who had a strong showing back from several months laid up with an injury. We prayed for those dealing with cancer in our F3 family and extended F3 family.

    This month I’ve tried to focus on appreciating each moment of each day, and making a concerted effort not to waste it. The basic concept is that if you do only what you have to do and what you really want to do, you will have more time to focus on those things, as opposed to procrastinating, playing on social media, or engaging in other non-productive/non-enjoyable habits we form. And so, we reminded ourselves to take advantage of today, but to also be thankful that we are able to – and to never take that for granted, because none of us is guaranteed anymore than this moment.

    Meanwhile, I’m thankful for the privilege to lead this group. – Kuch

  • Maybe we should sit around & talk about our feelings

    It was chilly, rainy & dark when I got out of bed on Saturday morning, so I was dragging my feet a little to get dressed. On the Mumblechatter, Tool & Kimchi posted messages to get the PAX motivated to get out of bed & come post. While the LV fellas (Kuch, Half Nelson, Abacus & High Rise) & myself were clown carring to the AO, we bounced some workout ideas off of each other. One idea was to avoid the rain altogether & head strait to Navarre café so that the PAX could all drink coffee & share their respective feelings with one another in lieu of working out in the cold/rain. Once I saw Mahatma arrive at the workout, I knew this option would be a tough sell, so I proceeded to commence the beatdown.

    Warmup: We mosey’d to the pavilion by CBS; circled up, and then proceeded to do the following in cadence:

    • side straddle hops – 20
    • imperial squat walkers – 20
    • plank jacks – 20
    • high knees – 20

    Next, we split into 2 groups. Group 1 moved to 1 side of the pavilion, and group 2 moved to the other side:

    Group 1:

    • 10 inchworm burpees
    • 50 big boy sit ups
    • 100 seal jacks

    Group 2:

    • 10 regular burpees
    • 50 dips on the benches
    • 200 shoulder taps

    Group 1 did their exercises in cadence, and then made sure that Group 2 was aware that they finished their exercises first. We then switched sides / exercises. For this round, Group 2 did their exercises in cadence (loudly to jab back at Group 1), and Group 2 finished first. Group 1 pointed out that Group 2 did LBC’s instead of big boy sit ups, and that’s why they finished first. This was in part (and by, in part, I mean 100%) the Q’s fault, as I mistakenly said LBC’s to Group 2 when giving the instructions for round 2.

    Next we attempted to do a long jump / inchworm burpee combo, but it was too wet/slick in the pavilion, so we shut that down and mosey’s back to the fountain. Once at the fountain, we did an interval exercise where the PAX did 1 box jump on the fountain, ran to the museum steps, bunny hopped up the steps, did 1 merkin at the top of the steps, then ran down the steps back to the fountain. Once at the fountain, the PAX did 2 box jump, ran to the museum steps, bunny hopped up the steps, did 2 merkins at the top of the steps, then ran down the steps back to the fountain. We did this until we got to 10 box jumps / 10 merkins.

    Next, the PAX mosey’d to the side of the museum & proceeded to do the following:

    • Group 1 – people’s chair on the wall
    • Group 2 – 200 Rocky Balboas (timer)

    Once Group 2 finished the Rocky Balboas, we switched and had Group 1 do the Rocky Balboas & Group 2 lean against the wall to do the people’s chair. At one point, Rudy questioned Mahatma’s cadence technique while he was leading Group 2 in doing the Rocky Balboas, but ultimately the math checked out & we proceeded on with the workout

    Next, we mosey’d to the grass & did the following:

    • Lunge walk / inchworm burpee combo from Tree 0 to Tree 1 & back
    • Bear Crawl from Tree 0 to Tree 2; do 31 squats (not sure where the number 31 came from, it just felt like the right amount); and then Bear Crawl back

    Lastly, we headed back to the fountain & did the following in cadence:

    • Irkins – 21
    • Dips – 16
    • Left leg high knee step up – 21
    • Right leg high knee step up – 21
    • Dirkins – 16
    • Plank jacks on museum steps – 31 (there’s that 31 again for no particular reason. Classic)

    Once completed, we mosey’d to the flag for the count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions & prayer. Thanks for posting on Saturday morning, fellas. I enjoyed it!