F3 New Orleans

Tag: Tool

  • 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!

  • 43 going on 44

    23 PAX posted in the the dark at Rock City. The effects of the time change were felt as I tried to wake up and get ready to make the trek to Metairie. It was still so dark I could barely see who all had shown up in the dark gloom. At 5:30 The announcement and disclaimer were given and off we moseyed to the grassy area near the rocks for Warm-up.

    Warm-Up

    SSH x 20, Hillbillies x 20, Moroccan Night Clubs x 15, Fwd Arm Circles x 15 Rev. Arm Circles x 15, Mountain Climbers x 20

    THANG1 :

    Grab a Rock – Form 2 lines on the path, walk path around to the hill doing Left, Right, Center with Rock above head (don’t rest it on your shoulder!)

    THANG 2

    Dora 1, 2, 3 First stop at the Hill – Partner up –

    100 Thrusters combined while PAX 2 goes over the hill and back, flapjack. Plank and wait for the 6

    Mosey to the large field with your rock

    200 Curls for the Girls combined while PAX 2 runs to tree line and back. LBC and wait for the 6

    300 Chest Press combined while PAX 2 runs tree line and back. LBT and wait for the 6.

    THANG 3

    Circle up for a Merkin wave. Plank up, Q starts with 10 alternating arm rock push ups, next person starts on second rep and goes around. With 23 PAX there was lots of mumble chatter about the length of time planking.

    6 MINUTES OF MARY

    LBC’s x 43 – (My last beat down at age 43)

    Flutter Kicks x 15, Penguins x 20, Dying Cockroach x 20, American Hammer x 15

    Put up your rock and Mosey back to the flag.

    COT

    Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama, No FNG’s, Very disappointing because I love naming people and then hearing about it the next day. Announcements: Sunnyside for 2.0’s March 17 at Audubon Park – Drew Brees Playground. F2 at Wrong Iron March 21st 6:30 PM. Special Intentions, & Prayed it out with a sweaty ball of man, still in the pitch black darkness.

    Always and honor and pleasure to lead this group of High Impact Men that motivate and drive me everyday to be the best I can be.

    SYITG

  • The 4th F is for “Fun”

    The 4th F is for “Fun”

    The early moring parade goers in Mid-City were treated to some sweet F3 eye candy on Saturday for the 4th annual Mardi Gras Mambo aka Endymion Run.  Our krewe consited of 22 PAX eager to start the day off right and get in the carnival spirit.  YHC had stewed on some new ideas for the past month and decided to incorporate a “float” consisting of a jogging stroller and boom box to be pushed along the route blarring some good ole Mardi Gras music to get the juices flowing.  Some festive chatter started as the Dr. John and Professor Longhair tunes came on.  Here’s a recap of our parade: 

    Warmup near The Peristyle:  IW, Lunges, WM, SSH with “bead wave” capped off with the tradional Mardi Gras Mambo song providing the guidance for 2+ minutes of syncronized planking, merkins, and plankjacks….always a crowd pleaser!  We followed with a mosey to City Park Ave and N. Olympia and stopped to go over the gameplan for the run topped off with burpees x10, just because.   

    Route Run – Leg #1:  Run at your own pace down Orleans trying to stay in clusters.  The float/stroller acted as the kaboose and stayed in the rear, similar to the speaker trucks following the Dance Connection, minus the purple fishnets.  Once at Carrollton, turn around and sweep the six.  T-claps to the PAX for taking turns pushing the float and also to the guys carrying two F3 shovel flags….Merica!!!  Lots of intrigued and possibly jealous onlookers wishing they were running with us. 

    Route Run – Leg #2:  Right on Carrollton all the way to Canal, at you own pace, sweep the six.  The motivational cheers from the spot watchers kept coming. 

    Route Run – Leg #3:  Back down Carrollton to Orleans veering off to the neutral ground for a COP.  Some grumbling was heard when YHC started with LSS x20, PP x25, ISW x20, and Plankorama w/Merkins.  Everyone survived and the moseying resumed.    

    Route Run – Leg #4:  Run back on Orleans to our starting point on N. Olympia, sweep the six.  Good to see lots of other running groups out there…”Happy Mardi Gras” and high fives were being dolled out right and left.  Might even try to work in some beads for next year. 

    Lagniappe Leg #5:  Once back along City Park Ave, we had enough time to take the long way back along Marconi for a peek at the floats, before heading back to the Great Lawn.  A few guys were able to modify the run with a shortcut.

    Great Lawn:  YHC wanted to make sure all PAX were ready for the rest of MG season and in stellar bead catching/throwing shape, so out came a bag of beads stashed in the bushes.  All PAX grabbed a good bead to throw and parterned up for “Bead Burpees” consisting of throwing beads 15 yards away to your partner, alternating with burpees.  This was not well received by the PAX, I’m guessing due to the sloppy terrain and the presumption that we were only going to run that moring.  After a minute of some hideousness with Bead Burpees, YHC felt the need to cut it short and move on to something more challenging.  Next up we did a bead throw and bear crawl circuit across the lawn, followed by a lunge walk and bead throw back.

    Mary:  After getting rid of the beads, we had enought time left to knock out LBC x20, Flutter Kicks x30, and Plankorama. 

    COT:  YHC was a tad woozy and run-drunk at this point so not sure of all the announcements and intentions.  We did pray for, among other things, a safe Mardi Gras weekened.  We also called out Amnesty for yet again missing the annual event he co-fathered. YHC forgot to mention that we consider striving to avoid over indulging this Mardi Gras season and instead focus on making the most of our time with family, friends, or perhaps ourselves, whether that be at a parade or elsewhere.  While pigging out and/or getting hammered may be something many of us have been guilty of during the carnival season, we should consider throttling that back on the guilty pleasures and possibly replace them with something more meaningful and healthy….just a thought.

    Thanks to the PAX for going along with my antics and helping to bring in the 4th “F”….FUN!     

    Tool          

  • 2nd Annual Death Star Trench Run

    OK my Disclaimer – I am not as creative as Tool. No babystroller with a speaker. No bead burpees. Tool is the man. This is a no frills, no extras run.

    The plan: Run down St Charles Ave in the valley of the ladders aka the Trench. Not Angie List’s trench. That is a totally different Trench. You don’t want any of that TRENCH.

    Brown Bag picked me up at 545am. On the way out the door we had our first strange encounter. A guy and a girls laughing or crying or fighting. Brown Bag and I made sure they were OK and we discovered she was crying because she was wasted and lost her cellphone.

    Then we moseyed down Napoleon to the launch site at Napoleon and St Charles. On our mosey Brown Bag informed me that in Jan and Feb of 2019 Urban South has sold more beer than their first 9 months! #tclaps Also got offers of beer , and the quote of the leg “i will drink for you, you run for me!”

    At NAP and ST CHUCK we assembled the Xwings for a serious trench run. A motley crew of men ready for the 5.5 mile Gnarly Nutria training run. Angie’s List was taking pics of the 80 yr old sleeping on the corner guarding her spot. It was a truly gloomy – gloom.

    First leg Napoleon to Louisiana – this is where the run gets its name. Lots of people protecting their spot. Ladders wall to wall on both sides of the route. You really do feel like you are running a trench.

    Second leg Louisiana to Jackson – things thin out – you could get a spot if you wanted one – apparently we saw Willie’s crew setting up their ladders for him. Let me say again that Willie was not setting up his ladders – a crew was doing it FOR #Willie. Could be Gabrielle and Mudbug just messing with Willy. This is the trophy table guys leg. They heckled us hard. Tclaps to Gabrielle for the hard e-headlock.

    Third leg from Jackson to the Circle formerly known as Lee. Tool and Hokey hit the circle and started back to Napoleon. Things really really thin out here. One person chilling per block. I learned here that Tool is a weed smelling expert.

    Fourth leg from the circle to Poydras – uneventful – the bleacher trenches. At Poydras we turned around. I am thinking next year we might push it through the quarter to Esplanade then back. On the circle back leg 5 – a Mazerati tried to impress us, then Voodoo had beads stuck in his shoes, then a guy stumbling back to his hotel looking for the Holiday Inn express he ran two blocks with us in jeans and a pink oxford shirt. LOL. The highlight of this leg was being behind the porta-potty emptying truck. I am still gagging on the smell of that – it was awful. Like running behind El Wire or Seaman.

    Leg 5 was the Circle to Jackson. More weed, more drunk kids, more sleeping people on the route.

    Leg 6 Jackson to Louisiana – just wanted to finish now – ran past the trophy crew again. Still getting rowdy.

    Leg 7 Louisiana to Napoleon – back in the trenches. Lots more people coming out of the wood work. Caught up with Tool and Hokie.

    We circled up – 12 pax and closed with a prayer. Angie’s List said it best – there is no way I would have got up today to run without the PAX making it easy to be out there together. It was a gloomy Sunday! #HailThoth #HailBacchus #HailMid-City #HailOkeanos


  • King Kong Escaped Audubon and Found His Way to Rock City

    Filled with excitement, YHC grabbed his passport this morning and went on a Metry field trip to Q his very first Rock City. YHC got to the AO about 15 minutes early and spotted Kuch, YourMomandDem, High Rise, and Abacus getting a head start by running a lap around the park to get some miles for the Run Ranger Run. T-claps for that!!! 22 strong Pax showed up on a cool, dry, windy Monday. YHC gave his standard disclaimer and told the Pax to mosey to the rocks, to pick up a decent size rock and mosey straight to the middle of the football field. Mumblechatter from Rudy telling YHC that Metry folks don’t lift up the rocks before warm-ups. Well… too bad. Off went the Pax.

    Warm-ups

    Circled up in the middle of the football field and did the following in cadence

    SSHs x 20

    Windmills x 10

    Hill Billies x 20 (YHC was trying to stay focus with his cadence count while Rudy was doing Imperial Walkers instead. Rudy claimed that Pax in Metry don’t do Hill Billies.)

    Seal Jacks x 20

    The Thang

    Pax lined up in the middle of the football field with their rocks facing the field goal. Pax did the following exercises in the following sequences without stopping except in the middle of the workout where Mahatma gave us a 20 count.

    Moseyed toward the field goal and performed 10 slow merkins IC.

    Moseyed back to the middle to the rocks and performed 10 manmakers OYO.

    Moseyed toward the other field goal and performed 20 plankjacks IC.

    Ran back to the middle and performed 15 low slow squats with the rock IC.

    Ran back toward the field goal and did 10 Cat Wine Mixer IC.

    Ran back to the middle and performed 15 thrusters OYO.

    Jogged toward the other field goal and did 20 Peter Parker IC.

    Jogged back to the middle and did 15 rows IC

    Jogged to the field goal and did 10 genuflects IC x 2 (10 on each leg).

    Moseyed back to the middle and muscled up another 10 manmakers OYO.

    Moseyed toward the other field goal and did 20 Parker Peter IC.

    Moseyed back to the middle and did 20 chest press IC. (With a serious tone, Mahatma said to the Q “lets do 100 of these,” and YHC knew that was not going to happen.)

    Ran to the field goal and did 15 lunges IC.

    Ran back toward the middle and muscled up another 15 thrusters OYO.

    Ran to the other field goal and lined up by the goal posts and bear crawled back to the middle and ended with last 10 manmakers OYO.

    To sum up the workout, Pax did 20 merkins, 30 manmakers, 30 thrusters, 40 plank jacks, 40 Peter Parkers, 40 Parker Peters, 15 low slow squats with the rock, 30 rows, 40 chest presses, 10 Cat. Wine Mixers, 20 Genuflects, 30 lunges, and about 1.6 miles of running in between.

    Round of Mary

    Everyone stayed in the middle of the football field and did the following exercises in cadence:

    LBCs x 20

    Flutterkicks x 15

    Hello Dolly x 15

    Dying Cockroach x 20

    Brought our beloved rocks back to their home and moseyed to the flag. While waiting for the Six, Pax planked and did 5 Nolan Ryan IC on each side.

    COT

    Ended the day with Count O Rama, Name O Rama, announcements and intentions. No FNGs. We prayed for all the mentioned intentions and also a safe Mardi Gras season for all of us. YHC is very grateful to be able to lead the workout. Always an honor to workout with my F3 brothers. Thank You for accepting an Uptowner at a Metry AO. SYITG.

    King Kong

  • Old Guys Rule… at least when no young bucks are around

    Thanks to Woodstock, Green Screen and YHC, age won before beauty or youth. So with apologies to Brown Eye as our youngster for the day, here’s The Thang.

    Warm up
    SSHs 35xIC (changing cadence was tricky for some, but YHC persisted)
    Low Very Slow Squats 20xIC
    Hill Billies 20xIC
    Slate Grabbers 20xIC
    Plank Jacks 20xIC
    Parker Peters 20xIC
    Peter Parkers 20xIC
    Merkins 20xIC

    Short mosey to the side of the Museum, where the PAX split up with half doing a Tooth Fairy up the 14 steps (one merkin on the first step, two on the second, etc., to 14 merkins on the 14th step) while the other half sat in People’s Chair watching the day go by. [YHC is convinced that the other half of the PAX was purposefully, and vindictively, slow on their round of Tooth Fairy.]

    Short mosey to the other side of the Museum, where the PAX again split up with half doing a reverse bear crawl up the 14 steps with the other half did LBCs.

    Short mosey to the great lawn for some tree trimming. One burpee at the first tree, all the way to 11 burpees at the 11th tree. In between it was bear crawls, then duck walks, then reverse crab, then forward crab, then Donkey Kongs; and then repeat because the PAX traversed across 10 trees.

    Short mosey to the fountain:
    Leg Leg Power-Ups 20xIC
    Dips 20xIC
    Right Leg Power-Ups 20xIC
    Derkins 20xIC
    Saunter to the curb for 50 Rocky Balboas, then bunny hop up the Museum Steps and 5 SSHs at the top; rinse and repeat twice more times.

    Short mosey back to the grass for Circle of Mary:
    Flutter Kicks 20xIC
    Dying Cockroach 20xIC
    Russian Twist 20xIC
    Hello Dolly 20xIC
    Penguins 20xIC
    And finish off with 30 seconds of Mission Impossible.

    Thanks for letting this old guy Q. Jingle Vader

  • The Power of Negativity or the Commitment to Accelerate

    In the last US Olympic Marathon Trials (2016) there were 108 finishers.  Only 3 men ran negative splits.  All three finished on the podium.

    The Thing:  Run along Bayou St. John for 20 minutes, turn around and return in less than 20 minutes.  AKA a Negative Split. Then plank and wait.

    IC Flutter Kicks 25 and Tin Snips 10

    Count, Names, Announcements, Intentions, Prayer

    There is debate whether running negative splits leads to faster race times.  I think we can all find joy in having the strength to increase our pace of movement and to ACCELERATE.   We must choose to accelerate every day.  Thanks Triple Shift for helping me make the connection.

    DAILY RED PILL: The Q’s daily Commitment to Accelerate his Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. Abbr: DRP