Cool and crisp conditions this morning at Rock City, perfect “football weather” for a black and gold themed beatdown on the heels of the Monday night Saints vs. Panthers game. A few die-hards were sporting team gear and after the disclaimer along with a brief explanation of what lied ahead, we brought it in for a “Who Dat on 3″…not quite the same coolness as Brees in the Dome but it helped get the juices flowing. Then a mosey to the usual field for a quick warmup of SSH, Arm Circles, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and LS Squats.
Made our way to the rock pile to select a companion for the morning and over to the large field for some drills. First up would be a round of exercises paying homage to the Saints 11-2 record so far this season. What better way to celebrate the 11 wins than with 11’s! Here’s how it went:-Curl Press with rock (10-1)-Backpedal to parking bumpers (approx 15-20yds)-Hand Release Derkins w/feet on parking bumpers (1-10) -Lunge Walk back
Now we couldn’t forget about the 2 losses so in an effort to push ourselves to get stronger, we circled up for 2 minutes of Up-Downs. Might have been a bit ugly at the end but the PAX hung in there for a long two minutes.
Next up would be a “Heisman Run” giving a shout out to Mark Ingram and Cam Newton that would be taking the field later that night. In order to be considered for the Heisman Trophy, one must show superb running skills with the ball, maintain possession of the ball, and be fast. Using our rocks as footballs and making sure not to fumble, we warmed up with Squat Press x20 before tucking in the rock(ball) for a run weaving around the trees(defenders) and finishing with an endzone celebration of Squat Press x10. Then waited for the six with a wall con roca sit on the fence.
Still time for another circuit so this time we partnered up in a line for some “Boom and Zoom” to give props to our elite running backs, Ingram and Kamara. YHC assumed it was common knowledge that the talented duo is nicknamed “Boom and Zoom” but apparently he was wrong. After some heckling and discussion, we noted that to be a star running back you must be strong enough to keep from coughing up the ball and fast enough to gain yardage. Therefore PAX #1 stayed put for “Boom” curls AMRAP to work on the guns while PAX #2 “Zoom” ran around the tree and back (50yds total?) as the timer. We did this for approx 4-5 minutes with some grumbling from the peanut gallery after a few minutes in.
Two minute warning was approaching so we called an audible to keep rocks overhead as we made our way back to the rock pile. From there a mosey back to the flag, a few minutes of planking, concluded by a “Who Dat” plank/merkin circle.
COT included some lewd yet fitting nickname suggestions for our FNG but we landed on Piper…welcome! Also an announcement for Crazy Ivan race coming up in Jan. Prayer intentions for Brad Brechtel and for a good, safe, injury free football game tonight.
Thanks for letting me lead. Hopefully we’ll be 12-2 by the time anyone reads this. Who Dat!
6 dedicated men posted in the gloom on a chilly 39 degree Wednesday morning. YHC was listed as the Q, so the Shovel Flag was planted, the disclaimer was given, and then….
Mosey to the track for the Warmup
SSH IC x 31
IW IC x 15
Arm Circles – 10 Fwd, 10 Bwd
Abe Vigodas IC x 10
Grass Grabbers IC x 10
Catch Me if You Can – Partner Up
Pax 1 – Run Backwards on the track
Pax 2 – 5 Burpees then sprint to catch partner
Flap Jack until each Pax does 20 Burpees
Four Corners At the start, sprint straightaway to first corner Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10 Mosey to corner 2 Partner Decline Merkins – Pax 1 holds Pax 2 feet off the deck while in Squat position – Pax 2 does 10 Merkins – Flapjack Sprint straightaway to corner 3 Merkins IC x 10 Mosey to corner 4 Diamond Merkins IC x 10
Mosey to Foundry, stopping at each lightpole for 5 jump lunges Stations Station 1 – Pullups AMRAP Station 2 – WW2 Situps AMRAP Station 3 – Run to bike track, 3 burpees and run back (timer) Rinse and Repeat
Find a pull up bar, and hang so your feet are not touching the deck. Hang for 1 minute. This was a great test of grip strength, and one we will see again.
Mosey back to the flag for Mary Flutter Kicks IC x 15 Tin Snips IC x 10 Hello Dolly IC x 15
Count off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions, and closed with a prayer to the Sky Q. Thanks for posting with me today! SYITG!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go….except City Park. YHC took extra care and effort to create a Map My Run Route for a Christmas 610 Stomp. This route would take the PAX down Roosevelt Mall and Lelong Dr and along the City Park Walking path next to the small lagoon so that we could witness the lights and celebration of the Holiday Season. I have attached a few photos below of the sites witnessed this morning.
Here are the lights at the corner of City Park Ave and CarroltonHere are the lights hanging in the trees as we crossed Anseman Ave near the City Park Ave. EntranceThe PAX mid stride as we admired the lights in the Peristyle Here’s me taking a selfie directly in front of the Celebration in the Oaks entrance. The rear view of the Botanical Gardens. Aren’t they magnificent?
The PAX reached the flag and then turned around to sweep the 6. As a team, we entered the practice track for 1 lap and circled up for some Mary (IC)
LBC x 24
Penguins x 24
Wife Pleasers x 24
Flutter Kick x 24
Dying Cockroach x 24
Plank (Center, Left, Right)
Merkins x 12
Mosey Back to the flag for Counterama, Namerama, and COT. Today YHC requested that we keep request intentions in our hearts and speak those intentions of thanks to the Sky Q for the fortunes we have received. Thank you for the opportunity to lead. SYITM
NMM – YHC has contacted City Park via a public tweet and requested that the lights be turned on from 0515 till sunrise. Now, we play the waiting game.
28 PAX ignored the threat of rain and made it out The Mothership this Sat. We lucked out with a “calm before the storm” as the the guys assmebled and prepared for takeoff. YHC wanted to mix things up with an old school City Park history tour as part of the workout, similar to a few beatbowns circa 2015. The night before had the forecast looking nasty, so the plan was to stay close to cover and hone in on a few of the iconic landmarks right there in the original part of the park. The 1300 acre park was established in 1854 and has lots of history, great architecture, nature, wildlife, and of course trees….home to one of the largest collection of live oaks in the world. Generations of New Orleans residents and visitors alike have enjoyed the park so it only seemed fitting to pay homage to a few things that make it a great place. As the clock struck 5:30 we discussed the plan for the day, followed by the disclaimer, then off to….
First stop, The Peristyle, built in 1907 to have outdoor dances and concerts for the “well heeled” New Orleanians….some chatter from Rudy about Jingle Vader being in that category. Using the year as the rep count, we started with Imperial Walkers x19 and Windmills x7.
Then an ugly mosey around The Casino Building with some doubt from the PAX before going up and over Popp Bandstand for Stop #2 on the nearby grass.
With 12 granite columns and topped with a bronze dome, Popp Bandstand was named for is benefactor, John F. Popp, and is a replica of the Temple of Love in Versailles. In 1916, Popp made a donation to the park to build the Popp Bandstand which was completed in 1917. The Spanish Mission Revival-style “Casino” building opened in 1913 as a place that sold refreshments. Because of that, the City Park legend says that the building originally was called a cantina, using the Spanish word for a place where food and drinks are served. In a 2008 Times-Picayune story, City Park Executive Director Beau Bassich said he believed the New Orleans dialect colloquialized the word into “casina.” However, 1913 newspaper articles do use the word “casino” to describe the new building, explaining it will be “the amusement center of the park,” though there is no mention of gambling.
Here we circled up using 1917 and 1913 to inspire the rep count for Peter Parkers x19, Low Slow Squats x17, Mountain Climbers x19 and Arm Circles x13.
Then we recaped the age of the park, 164 years, with a Plank Merkin circle where all PAX held a high plank while merkins were cranked out individually in a clockwise manner up to 164 total.
Then a mosey over the stone bridge towards City Park Ave for a meandering jog through the oldest grove of mature live oak tress the world. We made sure to recognize the two oldest ones by looping around McDonough Oak and then, after some doubt from the PAX about my navagation ability, made our way to the Ansmen Oak, both of which are approx 800 years old. Here we circled up for an 8 round burpee countdown, one round for each century…Burpees x8,x7,x6,x5,x4,x3,x2,…x8 for the crowdpleaser! More about City Park trees here: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/trees-in-city-park
Then a mosey over the Ansmen Bridge, one of 9 built by the WPA, and back to The Peristyle where we lined up on one side for a partner circuit. This included 8 rounds of PAX #1 performing the specified exercise across the Peristyle and back (timer) while PAX #2 stayed put with a stationary exercise.
1)Inchworm & Wall Sit
2) Bearcrawl fwd/bwd & Balls to the Wall
3) Duck Walk & Declined Plank
4) Crab Walk fwd/bwd & Wall Sit
5) Lunge Walk & LBC
6) Kong & Balls to the Wall
7) Fiddler Crab & Flutter Kicks
8) Lateral Lunge & Wall Sit
Next up, we couldn’t leave out the adjacent Great Lawn that has hosted countless hours of F3 beatdowns. Built in 2010, the Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn is enjoyed by many and has seen a slew of picnics, concerts, yoga classes, and side straddle hops over the past 8 years. So we moseyed a quick loop to the Great Lawn and back to the nearby benches for a partner circuit of: PAX #1 Dips x20 OYO while PAX#2 runs to GL for Merkins x10 and back. Rinse and repeat for 3 rounds total follwed by a “victory lap” around the GL topped off with planking to wait for the six.
Still some time left for a few more history lessons so over to the rear of The Peristyle to gaze upon the banks of Bayou Metairie. Although it is now a landlocked lagoon, Bayou Metairie was originally a natural waterway spanning from Bayou St. John to the swampy area near what is now Old Metairie, essentially following the path of current day Metairie Rd. Once used by the Native Americans and early settlers, the banks of the bayou gradually formed the Metairie Ridge which provided high ground for ground transportation and later development of homes.
Since we didn’t have a year to use for rep count, we shifted our focus to 1946, the year of the first City Park Big Bass Rodeo, which is the oldest freshwater fishing rodeo in the country. At this point YHC had to alter the planned exercises and went with the first thing that came to mind, burpees, which really seemed to excite the PAX and peanut gallery, given the initial silence of disbelief followed by some grumbling and the “we already did enough burpees” comments. So PAX#1 knocked out Burpees x19 while PAX #2 held a wall sit on the ledge along Bayou Metairie, which had an awkward slope not conducive to said exercise. Then partner plank slaps, aka patty cake, holding a high plank and alternating hand slaps up to 46.
Nearing the end of our hour, we had just enough time remaining to circle up under The Persistyle for some themed Mary. YHC breifly talked about the various projects completed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930’s throughout City Park, including Tad Gormley Stadium, nine concrete bridges, a golf course, several art deco conrete benches, and Roosevelt Mall. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt came in town for the dedication ceremony. Pics below and more info at: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/works-progress-administration-in-new-orleans-city-park
In this undated archival photo, President Roosevelt chats with New Orleanian Paul Alfred Montreuil, 7, at the dedication of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mall in City Park. Also pictured: Marcel G. Montreuil, park superintendent; George Grundmann, chairman of the dedication committee and vice president of the park board; and James H. Crutcher, administrator of the WPA in Louisiana.
Our WPA and FDR themed Mary consisted of:
W – Weezey Jeffersons x10IC
P – Pickle Pounders x15IC
A – American Hammer x20IC
F – Flutter Kicks x20IC
D – Dying Cockroach x15IC
R – name??? exotic exercise led by Triple Shift x25IC
Moseyed back to the flag with some rain for added bonus. Capped things off with a COT and announcements. T-claps to War Eagle for stepping up to lead the prayer. He’s a pro at that stuff and much more eloquent in that field than YHC.
NMM – Thanks to the PAX for bearing with my non-professional tour guide ability and abbreviated history tidbits throughout the morning. As always, the peanut gallery led by Rudy and others kept it entertaining. T-claps to Mahatma and others for the occasional motivational cheers and USMC grunts to keep the PAX in high gear. Several guys asked for links (http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park) to some of the City Park history in so I included several in this backblast, which may be one of the longest in F3 history….sorry for the long read, if you made it this far. My wife asked if I was writing a book.
“The American Dream means giving it your all, trying your hardest, accomplishing something. And then I’d add to that, giving something back. No definition of a successful life can do anything but include serving others.” -George H.W. Bush
The air was crisp and chilly on Wednesday at The Foundry, just the way we like it. Perfect conditions for paying homage to the 41st President of the United States on this national day of mourning. Regardless of one’s political beliefs, it was hard to not have respect for the guy and the days he spent as a leader of our country. With that being said, we read a few of #41’s quotes before takeoff. YHC also mentioned that he sifted through some of the Northshore’s backblasts to get some inspiration for the day. With The Crazy Ivan race coming up in January, us Southshore guys need to make sure we can meet or exceed the physical and mental fortitude of our brothers across the lake. Without further ado, the disclaimer was recited and off we moseyed down Roosevelt Mall.
Warmup (with a Northshore twist):
Good Mornings x10
Finkle Kicks x10R x10L (these were ugly, as expected)
Arm Circle x10F x10R
Lateral Lunge x10
Scorpion Kicks x10L x10R (a tad lackluster)
Forward Lunge w/forearm to ground x5L x5R (good stretching here!)
SSH x41 to cap it off for pres #41
Foundry:
This would be a circuit found in a Northshore backblast called 3-6-9 which consisted of:
3 Pullups, 6 Merkins, 9 Squats every minute on the minute (EMOM) for 10 rounds. At first, this seemed a tad too easy but it got the juices flowing a few rounds in. After round 5, we circled up for a tribute to G.H.W.B. with a plank/merkins circle counting up to 41, then holding a low plank for 41 seconds in silence, then another plank/merkin circle up to 41, topped off with Flutter Kicks x41IC and LBC x41IC. Finished with rounds 6-10 with some good mumble chatter to boot. Looking back, YHC feels certain the Southshore PAX can handle that circuit with 4-8-12 or even 5-10-15…we’ll see.
The Track:
After a mosey for the foundry to the practice track, we circled up for some burpees in honor of George H. W. Bush, stressing good form that would make him proud. We knocked them out in chunks, x10 x10 x10 x11 for 41 total. YHC was hoping for a lap around the track but it was time to mosey back to base.
COT:
The usual announcements of upcoming events and Christmas party/workout next week. A few more words about #41 before ending with a prayer.
Good way to start the day. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
It was a chilly morning at the Stomp, where 8 veteran Pax posted to get a little running in. YHC posted in sleeveless F3 Garb, in preparation for the upcoming Crazy Ivan! Based upon the outer layers the rest of the pax wore, one would think it was literally freezing outside! Rudy posted today, still upset he missed Walleye’s Notre Dame themed beat down. He was dressed in full winter attire, and he’s faster than me. YHC is, after all, the fastest slow guy in F3 Nation. So YHC got to thinking….is there anything Rudy and I have in common? First, we both belong to F3, which makes us both leaders. Beyond that, not sure. Oh wait! As of about 5 minutes ago, we did have one other thing in common: neither of us started a Back Blast for the last 610 Stomp we Q’d! Badada Boom!
0530…A brief disclaimer….simple instructions given to run 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back on the regular route….lots of mumble chatter! Just another day at the Stomp!
Back at the shovel flags, a little Mary:
Flutter Kicks IC x 20 followed by Hello Dolly IC x 20
10 Burpees OYO to seal the deal!
COT
Countoff, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and ended with a prayer to the Sky Q!
It has been said that the only reason the World wins the GN is due to the Northshore presence. Is that true? Well then how would that explain a World victory at the 2019 Krazy Ivan?! A GroupMe was sent to the Stomp runners to show up sleeveless and handsome. Thank you all for getting that at least half right.
The route would be similar to that of the Turkey Day Race. North on Marconi, South at the roundabout, East to NOMA and up Lelong dr, back down through Roosevelt mall and sweep the 6s. Seal the deal with 10 burpees, 25 LBCs, 10 R Alabama Prom Dates, 9 L APDs.
Counterama, Namerama, T-Claps to the Sky Q for the gift of the Day.
On the tail end of a surprisingly cold November week, four men proved their manhood by posting in the 45-ish degree gloom at Pontiff Park for The Uptowner. The scheduled Q requested a sub days prior so YHC hopped on it as to commit to posting and help ensure the frigid-fartsack would not prevail yet again. As the PAX trickled in, one could only notice some crazy dude walking up in beach-like attire….sleeveless, in shorts, no gloves, no hat….wait, that’s the one and only Jingle Vader! YHC is always in awe of his tolerance to cold weather. After exchanging a few stories to recap the frigid workouts throughout the week, the clock struck 5:30 and we kicked things off with a disclaimer followed by a quick warmup:
Hillbillies x20, WM x10, AC x20, ISWx10, Plank Roll x15
Circuit #1: Next up, grab a small “good form” rock to work with before moving on to a larger one. In an effort to avoid wet rocks and wet feet, we opted to stay on the pavement for:
Tricep Ext x10
Rock Overhead/Side Press to Opposite Knee x10 (Imperial Rock Press?)
One Hand Rock Curl x10 (use other had to balance/assist)
Squat x10
Rinse and repeat (all IC)
Circuit #2: Set small rock down, grab a larger “man maker” rock and return to the circle. JV once again declined an offer of the extra pair of gloves YHC had five feet away….must be immune to the numbness that the rest of the PAX encounters with chilly boulders. I’m envious. This circuit would be w/partners doing the following:
Gabrielle originally had the Q for this Mothership. He had asked if YHC could take the Q. Although YHC has another Mothership Q scheduled on Dec 1st, YHC was more than happy to help a F3 brother out and lead another workout. 22 PAX managed to meet up on a beautiful, dry, cool Saturday morning. At 6:30, YHC gave his standard disclaimer and off went the PAX.
Warm-ups
Short mosey to the Peristyle and did the following in cadence:
SSHs x 20
Windmills x 10
Seal Claps x 15
Hill Billies x 20
Imperial Walkers x 20
MC x 20
Peter Parkers x 20
Then picked a partner and jogged across the street to the Great Lawn. Side hopped while facing the partner from one end of the field to the other. 5 burpees. Then side hopped back to the other direction facing the partner. 4 burpees. Rinse and repeat side hopped from one end to the other with decreasing count on burpees from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. When finished, moseyed with the partner to the fountain in front of NOMA and performed 10 box jumps. Planked and waited for the six.
The Thang (Chipper Workout)
Because YHC doesn’t see much of the PAX from Metairie and MidCity at Uptown AOs, YHC decided to bring a typical Birdcage / Skinny workout to the Metairie and MidCity folks. Starting off by the steps in front of NOMA, each Pax had to do the following:
Round 1
50 Rocky Balboa (2 steps count as 1) in front of NOMA,
to the fountain with 50 dips
to the first light post with 5 burpees
to the 2nd light post with 50 Hello Dollies
to the 3rd light post with 5 Burpees
to the 4th light post with 50 squats
to the 5th light post with 5 burpees
to the 6th light post with 50 leg raises
to the 7th light post with 5 burpees
to the 8th light post with 50 King Kong shoulder taps.
Then moseyed back about a quarter mile to the steps in front of NOMA. Rinse and repeat.
Round 2 – rinse and repeat but shaved off the reps for all exercises to 40 count and all burpees to 4 count.
Round 3 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 30 count and all burpees to 3count.
Round 4 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 20 count and all burpees to 2 count.
Round 5 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of reps for all exercises to 10 count and all burpees to 1 count.
Each lap is approximately 0.5 mile. In total, the PAX toughed out 60 burpees and 150 reps on each exercise and little less than 2.5 miles.
While YHC was giving the instruction for the Thang, a lot of mumblechatter. Triple Shift informed YHC with “that’s a lot of leg raises.” The time was approximately 6:53 when the PAX started. The goal was to finish all 5 rounds before 7:30. YHC knew this would not be an easy challenge.
Respect to Jingle Vader setting the tone early and starting at a very fast pace. Not sure what happened, but Triple Shift was screaming at JV telling him to come back during the first round. The PAX finished strong. T-Claps to Triple Shift, Tinkles, Rudy, JV, and Two Yutes for finishing the beatdown before 7:30. YHC had to call off the challenge right at 7:30, but much respect to few PAX (Mambi, Walleye, Fracsac – I may be missing few names here) ignoring the Q’s request and finishing all 5 rounds regardless of the time. YHC loved it because he would do the same. Needless to say, moseyed back to the flags few minutes late at about 7:35. YHC got a sense that everyone really enjoyed the challenge. This was YHC’s most satisfying Q when he saw the PAX not giving up and giving every thing they had. The PAX who gave YHC a hard time about the leg raises finished first. 3 PAX finishing within the time were over 50. Everyone who came out today got stronger. Mad respect. YHC has a feeling the PAX will see this challenge again.
COT
Count-O-Rama 22PAX, Name-O-Rama, announcements, intentions. 2 FNGs (Flo and Gasper Goo) Our thoughts and prayers for I Love You Man’s niece, Hawgcycle’s mother and family, Two Yutes’ brother, Fracsac’s family, and safe travels for all family and friends during the Thanksgiving week. Thank You all again for the opportunity to lead. SYITG
