Tag: Tool

  • Stomp #153 – The Tribe Has Spoken

    A few more miles were added to the F3 odometer this Tuesday at The Stomp.  The scheduled Q was unable to make it so YHC became appointed to take the helm.  In an effort to mix things up, YHC suggested a Wisner route with some laps on the overpass but the silence and lack of enthusiasm meant the tribe had spoken so we opted to go the bayou route, as per Kimchi’s suggestion.  We ran for 40 minutes (20 out, 20 back) and enjoyed a little F2 chat early on before the PAX spread out at.  T-claps to Smooth for pushing hard and knocking out a little extra distance at the end.  Also, t-claps to Abacus for becoming a regular at The Stomp and becoming a better runner.  Once back, we utilized the last 5 minutes for: LBC x25, Penguins x15, Burpees x10, Plankorama 1 min, Hip Flexors 1 min.  COT to cap things off.  Solid way to start the day.

    Tool

  • Deck of Animal House

    July 28th, 1978.  A big date for all of us of a certain vintage.

    Yes, that’s right.  40 years ago today, Animal House made its debut.  YHC arrived at 6:20 to a moment of confusion.  “Dean Wormer” was there – and it took several minutes for the PAX to realize that this was not the same Dean Wormer named at Wolfpack Mountain yesterday, but was in fact a visitor from Up River in NC.  Welcome, Dean Wormer.  Little did he know that YHC had (quite unknowingly) prepared a personalized and appropriate workout for our visitor.

    As the clock ticked towards 6:30, the PAX continued emerging from the gloom – including one FNG, EH’d by our resident barber and newest F3 advocate – nice work, Calliope!  Then the clock struck the witching hour.  Time for a disclaimer, and then we were off towards the yard by the museum.

    The Thang – Pt 1

    First exercise is…..  Side Straddle Hop.  In Position.  In Cadence.  Begin.  x40.

    YHC then introduced the theme: 40 years since the release of Animal House.  The explanation of The Thang took a few minutes (sometimes the PAX seem “challenged” at following instructions).  Basically, its the Animal House Deck o’ Death:

    • Hearts are Burpees.  Same as always.
    • Diamonds are Neidermeyers.  (“Is that a Puh-ledge Puh-in on your Uniform?  Drop and Give me 20!”).  Yup, Neidermeyer == Merkin
    • Spades are usually squats.  So today, they were Otises (“Shout!  A little bit louder now!” etc…)  Otises == Squat Jumps
    • Clubs are usually Situps.  Follow along…  Situps == WWII Situps == D-Day.  So D-Days == Situps.  But we did Rower Situps

    Numbers represent Rep count.

    • Jacks = Pinto (“I lied a little bit; I’ve never done this before.  That’s ok, I lied too – I’m only 13.”)  11 reps
    • Queens = Mrs. Wormer (“What a coincidence.  I have a husband Dean Wormer also at Faber.  Do you still want to show me your cucumber?”)  12 reps
    • Kings = Otter (“Can we sit with you Mary?  I see you already have your lunch.  Can I just massage your thighs while you eat?”)  13 reps
    • Aces = Bluto (“Do you know what I am?  A zit!”)  15 reps
    • Joker = Flounder.  Double the previous exercise.
    • Deuce: YHC always finds the 2 cards to be a bit disappointing.  So to vary the workout, Deuce became another doubling card.  2 Hearts == Double the previous reps, in Burpees…

    Lots of mumble-chatter as instructions were given.  But YHC persevered through the mockery.  Then we were off to the races with the first card flip.  Mumble-chatter quickly halted.  Stopped for a 20 count after the Bluto of Hearts.  Stopped for a water break right around half-way.  Stopped for another 20 count somewhere around the Otter of Hearts.  Then powered through to completion.  Only one Q-dible: when the Deuce of Hearts appeared, we went with 2 Burpees (instead of 14 burpees, having followed the 7 of Clubs).

    Hydrate again, then recovery mosey to the Baby Foundry.

    The Thang, Pt 2

    Animal House.  Split into 6 groups of 4 for Animal stations

    • Pull Ups: The timer, each PAX in the group hits 10 Pull ups.  Spot if necessary.
    • Crunchy Frogs till timer.
    • Bear Crawl 10-20 yds, Crawl Bear back.  Repeat till timer.
    • Duck Walk 10-20 yds, Walk Duck back.  Repeat till timer.
    • Frog Jump 10-20 yds, Jump Frog back.  Repeat till timer.
    • Crab Walk 10-20 yds, Walk Crab back.  Repeat till timer.

    Stop by the Tool Wall for

    • Calf Raise x40
    • Monkey Humpers x40

    Mosey back to the flag.

    Back at the flag, we circled up for count-off and name-o-rama.  Some confusion by an unnamed-pax about which number followed 6.  Fortunately, other PAX jumped in to help.  I hope that Pax is able to bring better numerical skills to his day job at a hardware store.

    Naming of our FNG – a little too easy, given the theme of the day.  “Your Delta Tau name is Flounder.  Why?  Why not.”  Alas, we already have a Flounder, so we modifed – and he became Pinto.  Welcome aboard.  Then Frac corrected his train-wreck naming last week.  Welcome to the renamed Sac-a-lait (google it, if you need to.  Its totally SFW.)

    Close out with our prayers.  Intentions for recent passings and recovering friends and family.  Lord, be with your children who are suffering, and bless those who care for them.

    Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Fartlekkers Rejoice

    The Pax have been bringing their A game to the Stomp recently.  Multiple weeks of double digit counts and some all out effort have revitalized this legendary AO.  YHC had the good fortune to follow up a Rudy Q.  Surely I could make it over the low bar he had generously set for me.  It has been a minute since we have done farleks around here so I brought out my proven technique of yelling random percentage numbers at the Pax and letting them figure out what they mean.

    Disclaimer

    Fail.  I start off worse than Rudy.  Embarrassing.  In my zeal to give the Fartlek instructions I forget the disclaimer.  I hastily yell it as we run, after Recall brings the omission to my attention.

    The Thang

    Da Parish, who claims his super tight and bright cycling jersey must have shrunk recently, takes off on a solo trek around Lakeview.  I don’t know where he went, but where ever it was the women were blessed.

    The rest of us ran in relatively baggy outfits.  A picture is worth a thousand words:

    You thought I was going to post a picture of Da Parish’s outfit?  Sorry, I didn’t take one.  In case I ever decide to run for political office, I want to make sure no one finds anything like that on my phone.

    We started with your normal pace to the festival grounds.  As we reached the festival grounds we circled back around for the six.  For each of the following segments the early finishers circled around for the six so that we all stayed together.  Recovery pace between each segment

    • 70% effort to the big pavillion
    • 100% effort to the last tree before the path to the Wisner overpass
    • 60% effort up and over the Wisner overpass
    • Run backwards up the overpass, turn and run 75% effort down
    •  50% effort up and over the overpass
    • 80% effort to the turn that goes under the overpass
    • 75% effort to the turn that goes under 610
    • 100% effort to the top of the hill past 610
    • Normal pace to the backside of the track
    • 100% effort – 440
    • 100% effort -220
    • Recovery run back to flag

    We sealed the deal with 15 burpees.

    NMM

    If MapMyRun is accurate, and I have little reason to believe that it is, the entire Pax ran over 4.5 miles at a 9:00 min/mile pace.  That’s an impressive showing.  And they had plenty of breath to make several Junior High comments about entering the track from the backside.

    T-claps to El Guapo for EHing Swamp Cock to post at his first Stomp.  Hope you become a regular, brother.

    Looks like 33% of the LARC is taking their training seriously.

    I wore shoes.  I think that was a mistake.  I know Rudy was disappointed in me and for once I agree with him.

  • The Return of the Cusak

    The Q wanted to make sure he was on time this morning so he did not give Rudy any additional reasons to harass the Q.   Was a nice, warm, and muggy morning as the PAX met at the normal spot for Rock City.

    A quick disclaimer and PAX moseyed near the rock pile for some warm-ups as follows:

    Side Straddle Hops – 25x

    Hillbillies – 25x

    Peter Parkers – 25x

    Parker Peters – 25x

    Arm Circles – Forward – 10x, Backward – 10x (or maybe 9, I lost count), Overhead – 10x, and Seal Claps – 10x.

    Grab a rock from the rock pile and mosey to the football field for some fun.   Pax line up on the goal line with back to the goal post and facing the other end zone.   Start with 5 shoulder presses at the goal line, with the first press holding rock long enough to sing “In Your Eyes” – a nod to the Cusak – as defined in the F3 lexicon as follows:  (exercises completed while holding/carrying a CMU or block overhead, usually in conjunction with running or walking. A la John Cusak’s character in the popular 1980s movie “Say Anything.” Also allows for really poor versions of “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel to be introduced as #mumblechatter. )

    After 5 shoulder presses at the goal line, bear crawl to the 10 yard line for 5 merkins.    Lunge walk back to the goal line for more shoulder presses.   Increase number of reps by 5 for each exercise with each 10 yard increase in distance.  Finish the round with 25 shoulder presses, bear crawl to the 50 yard line, 25 merkins, and lunge walk back to the goal line.

    For active recovery – thanks Mahatma – run one lap around the track.

    Back to the goal line for more rocks.   After 5 curls at the goal line (Singing “Sledgehamer” on each curl was optional for second set), bear crawl to the 10 yard line for 5 monkey humpers.  Lunge walk back to the goal line for more curls. Increase number of reps by 5 for each exercise with each 10 yard increase in distance. Finish the round with 25 curls, bear crawl to the 50 yard line, 25 monkey humpers, and lunge walk back to the goal line.

    Mosey back to the rock pile and the flag, but wait we did not have a flag this morning.   We still knew where to circle up.     Count off, Name-o-rama, special intentions, and Ball of Man.   We named FNG “Frenchie” who was EH’d by Disclaimer.   Great Monday with 17 Pax at Rock City!

    Thanks to all for the opportunity to lead.

  • The Mother of All Great Lawns

    YHC made the trek on Friday to Wolf Pack Mountain to visit our neighbors of Uptown, which proved to be a serious beat down from 86, but you’ll need to see the back blast to find out more about that. While in the COT, Reluctant Yankee asked if anyone could take his Q at the Mothership the following day so he could run with other members of the NOLA Blue Ridge Relay Team.  YHC is impressed with the 12 men of NOLA committed to representing our region in the BRR, so YHC volunteered to take the Mothership.  Surely RY ran at least 8 miles right?

    Upon arrival at the Mothership, YHC set some cones out on the Great Lawn. When planning is short, one has to dig into the treasure chest of goodies, and this would be a real gem! We planted a couple shovel flags, said our hello’s, had some good laughs, but then the clock hit 0630, which means only one thing…..give the disclaimer….and then…mosey to the Great lawn for….

    Warmup
    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 20
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Sun Gods IC x 20 (10 fwd, 10 bwd)

    Plank-o-Rama (A Rudy Specialty)
    Peter Parker IC x 20
    Parker Peter IC x 20
    Plank Jacks IC x 20
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20

    Short mosey to the cones set up in the shape of a basketball court for…

    Suicides x 1 (just regular suicide sprints)
    Suicides x 1 with 5 Burpees each time you make it back to the baseline

    Now that the mumble chatter has been killed, time to team up. With 21 Pax, split into 3 man teams for…

    3 man Dora 123
    100 Burpees
    200 Merkins
    300 Squats
    Pax 1 begins exercise, Pax 2 and 3 do suicide sprint. Upon completion, Pax 2 relieves Pax 1, then Pax 1 and 3 do suicide sprints. Upon completion, Pax 3 relieves Pax 2, then Pax 1 and 2 do suicide sprint. Continue until all exercises are completed cumulatively. Once your team is finished, continue suicide sprint until all Pax are complete.

    Mosey about 20 feet away from the cones for a tribute to RY. Certainly all were expecting a DirtyMacDeuce with a RY Q, so YHC served one up!

    1st Set
    Merkins x 12
    Sqauts x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    2nd Set
    Catalina Wine Mixers x 12
    Lunges x 12
    LBC’s x 12
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    3rd Set
    Shoulder Taps x 12
    Copperhead Squats x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    4th Set
    Floyd Mayweather’s x 12
    Squats x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    Mosey Back to the Flag….

    COT
    Count off, Name-o-Rama, Announcements, Intentions, Closed with a Prayer.

    NMM
    This beat down was proof one doesn’t need to venture far to deliver a good beat down. It just takes a little creativity. We never left the Great Lawn!
    The Pax had a scare at the COT. During the DMD, Woz and Snookie walked off for some water. Turns out Snookie wasn’t feeling good and Woz was watching him to make sure he was ok. At the COT, Snookie and Woz returned, where Snookie had some signs and symptoms of a potential heat related illness. This is where Cliff Notes and Rudy jumped into action, getting him to the Hospital to get him some medical attention. The last update YHC received was that he was doing much better. We pray that all is well. Thank you to Woz, Rudy, and Cliff Notes!

    The return of Quick Draw (Kotter)! Glad to see you come back, Brother!

    We had an FNG today EH’d by (who else?) Triple Shift. Keep ’em comin’ Brother! Our FNG is from Sacramento, and rode like Lance Armstrong from Houston to New Orleans. Welcome One Sac!

    SYITG!

  • 300 is the # of the day

    Warm, gloomy, and muggy…perfect conditions for a F3 sweat fest.  That’s what YHC encountered as I made my way to the usual Foundry meeting spot.  It was 5:26 and not a soul in sight.  Was everyone getting their beauty rest?  Was I the only one from Team World that was manly (or crazy) enough to post twice in one day???  Fortunately several guys soon rolled up bringing our total to 7 PAX by kick off time.  With the Gnarley Nutria 15 hours later, the plan was to keep our legs fresh and focus on the core and upper body.  YHC had originally planned to bring out some concrete blocks but hit a snag with rain and time so on to plan B, albeit a hastily thrown together one.  Here’s what we did:
    Mosey down RM to the grassy area adjacent to the lagoon for a long no-impact warmup with a theme that would build as we went.  We knocked out 30ea of the following exercises IC:  IPW, AC, WM, Peter Parkers, Low Country Crab, Hill Billies, Shoulder Taps, 2 others??, and closed out with 30 Merkins OYO…..totaling 300 exercises in all.
    Then on to the illuminated NOLA 300 sign near the Big Lake.  In lieu of lighting 300 birthday candles for our great city, we instead would knock out 300 reps of a few different exercises, starting with:
    Partner Plank Slaps, aka Patty Cakes x50 followed by short mosey to lake ledge for Dips x25 OYO (ea PAX)
    Then PSx40, Dipsx20, PSx30, Dipsx15, PSx20, Dipsx10, PSx10, Dipsx5….totaling 150 PS and cumulative 150 Dips….only half-way there.  A PAX suggested we visit the water fountain so the audible led us to tweak the plan.  After a short mosey to hydrate, we knocked out round 2 of above exercises near the museum pond/ledge for a total of 300 PS and 300 Dips….Happy Birthday NOLA!  Wait, there’s more….
    Circle up around the oval pond/ledge for a few rounds of cumulative count exercises in an effort to once again reach 300:
    Round 1 – All PAX hold decline plank position, then in clockwise motion individually knock out a Derkin calling out the count until 100…each PAX did 14-15 in addition to holding a declined plank….lot’s of blood flowing to the head.
    Round 2 – Hold Russian Twist position and go around to 100.  In hindsight, YHC should have called for continuous RT but either way we were sweating.
    Round 3 – Hold inclined plank and go around to 100.
    Mosey back to the flag for COT.  Great way to start the day!
    Tool
  • Stomp 151 – Sprinting in the gloom

    Morning Forecast: Typical July morning.  Hot.  Preposterous humidity.  Low growls of thunder in the distance.  Good times.  The brief time when we could welcome the stomp with the sunrise seems to already be in the past, so instead we welcome the PAX in the Tuesday morning Gloom.

    The Pax: Another week with a near-record crowed: 13 PAX in the gloom to go out for a run.  Rudy Q – means we’re running.  None of this “Hey, lets kick a baseball.” stuff.  Nice to see Shorty back in the fold, as well as a newly Respected Amnesty.

    The Route: 30 minutes.  15 out and 15 back.  At your pace, meet back at the track at 6:00.  YHC enjoyed getting pushed by Smooth, El Guapo and Shorty (WELCOME BACK!).  At least until Smooth turned on the after-burners at the entry back into City Park, leaving us in the dust.  Good addition to Team World!

    The Track: Gathering back at the track at 6:00, give everyone a minute to catch their breath.  Then we’re on to the Sprint Ladder:

    • 100 sprint, 100 recovery
    • 200 sprint, 100 recovery
    • 400 sprint, 100 recovery
    • 200 sprint, 100 recovery
    • 100 sprint, 100 recovery

    As PAX finish, settle in on your backside to get some Rower Situps in.  x10.  Then x10 more.  Then x10 More.  That brings the 6 home to roost.  Mosey back to the flags (thanks FracSac for tending the flags!).

    Count-off, Announcements.

    • Gnarly Nutria tomorrow night.  Hawg promises to bring a Leg beatdown to the Birdcage tomorrow, while Tool promises an arm-focused workout at The Foundry).
    • Picnic on Saturday

    Intentions (safe travels, blessing on kids – and blessings on Belloq travelling with his Youth Group).  Close out with a prayer.  Thank you for letting me lead.

  • Backblast – Catfish Saturday VQ (2018-07-14)

    Greetings folks,

    Had a great workout this morning with Mr. Catfish’s Virgin Q.

    Attendees:  Catfish, Rudy, Mahatma Ice, Da Parish, Reluctant Yankee, Cliff Notes, Tool, Babyface, Triple Shift, Fracsac, King King, Mambi, Woz, Gabrielle, Medulla Oblongata, Bogey, Cooch, Calliope, Jinglevader, Dewey, Pie Gow, Abacus, Moist, Belloq, Whoop, Two Yutes

    Also had an FNG come in, who now has been officially christened as Beignet.  Turns out Beignet lives in Phoenix, so he will be bringing some N’awlins flavor back to his F3 group there.

    On to the workout:

    Started with a mosey over to the Great Lawn for Side Straddle Hop, Peter Parkers, Parker Peters, Plank Jacks, Imperial Walkers

    Moved to side of great lawn for a B.O.M.B.S. variant (50 burpees, 100 overhead claps, 150 merkins, 200 sit-ups, 250 squats).

    Moseyed to the fountain for some dips, step-ups, and derkins.

    Lined up and did 2 laps of indian run on the main road to the museum.

    Moved to the field adjacent to the museum for a combo of lunges, bear crawls, duck walk, and burpees.  This involved lunging for two trees, then 5 burpees, bear crawl two trees, 5 burpees, then duck walking two trees, 5 burpees.  Rinse and repeat.

    Moseyed back to flag for our CoT and naming of our FNG (beignet).

    Thanks again to everyone for coming out.  27 strong is a hell of a way to do a Virgin Q!  Hope be able to do it again soon!

    Catfish

     

  • Track to the Foundry

    YHC arrived at the Foundry AO a few minutes early, allowing for a sincere welcome to each Pax as they arrived.  One never knows how many will post at the Foundry, some weeks it’s a few, others it’s a pack.  This day we had 11 total, which is a great number.  0530 hit, time for the disclaimer.  During the disclaimer, YHC revisited the term “Whiskey Dicking”, which is basically the act of not doing something because it’s too hard.  The disclaimer is to modify to prevent injury, while pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do.  YHC doesn’t see Whiskey Dicking as an issue in our ranks, but it is fun to say!  Give it a try!

    Mosey to the track warm up area for the warm up

    SSH IC x 31
    ISW IC x 10
    Sun Gods IC x 20 (10 fwd, 10 bwd)
    Peter Parker IC x 20
    Shoulder Taps IC x 20
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20

    Mosey onto the track for Bataan Death March
    Line up in 2 columns
    Regular Indian Run with last man dropping off to do 5 burpees, then sprint to front.
    Continue doing Indian run until each pax in both columns complete 5 burpees

    Back to the warm up area for

    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10 (gotta fit them in!)

    Mosey to the Foundry for Stations

    Station 1 – Dips AMRAP
    Station 2 – Rower Situps AMRAP
    Station 3 – Step ups/Box jumps AMRAP
    Station 4 – Pull Ups AMRAP
    Station 5 – Run to walking/biking trail, 10 burpees, run back (timer)

    Completed 2 evolutions with second round of 5 burpees due to time.

    Mosey back to Shovel Flags

    Rower situps IC x 10 while waiting for the 6.

    COT

    Count off, Name-o-Rama, Announcements, closed with a prayer.

    Lots of events coming up, check the email and group me. Several Pax and families traveling in the upcoming week, prayers to keep them safe on their journey.

    NMM

    Thibodaux is back in town and has been posting at numerous AO’s. We always enjoy seeing him, and look forward to his next visit. On Saturday he is headed back to Shanghai, and we wish him a safe journey.
    YHC looked back to find when the term Whiskey Dicking (verb) was first used in F3 Nola.  On 27 April, 2016, Tool led the beatdown at the Birdcage, and encouraging everyone to give 100%, he tossed out the term from the lexicon defined as “Half stepping through a workout or other event.  More generally, execution of anything without sufficient zeal.”  Well said!

    Great looking group at the Foundry! Thanks for posting with me today!

  • Stomp #150 – Faster and Stronger Together

    If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford

    Before most people rolled out of bed this morning, 15 men got faster and stronger by posting at the The Stomp, a F3 running workout that meets every Tuesday in City Park, with this week being our 150th beatdown.  Some might ask, why would a bunch of guys drive from their homes to another location to simply run and maybe crank out a few body weight exercises?  Surely that can be done by walking out your front door and moseying down your street.  Burpees and core work can be done anywhere, right?   No need to get in a car and drive to do that, right?  Well for many of us, meeting up as a group, when possible, to do these things seems to help in several ways.  If you’re reading this, you probably grasp this already and routinely post at F3 workouts to push yourself, push others, break the boredom, and try exercise routines you may not normally do on your own.  Plus you get to heckle the usual suspects, rib on Hawg for always being late, as well as enjoy the 2nd F and 3rd F in the process.  For YHC, the Tuesday Stomp has been one I rarely miss since I know I’ll probably run further and/or faster that I would solo.  It also makes me put my running shoes on at 5:10 instead of 20-30-40min later and squeezing in a quick, lazy run before work.  For those that enjoy running and haven’t posted on Tuesdays, I suggest you put it on your radar.

    As the PAX trickled in, cool to see some a few more guys than usual.  Hopefully they weren’t expecting YHC to have some elaborate plan in store.  As go time came near, the plan was to run the Bayou route, 20 min out and 20 min back, but with a little twist…to try to start as a group and finish as a group.  Therefore we formed two lines for an Indian Run to the museum, then keep going at your own pace toward the bayou.  Once back at the flag, turn around and run back to sweep the six in an effort to finish as a group.  The IR went well with a 8:40 pace which is probably faster than most of us would have started with…t-claps to the PAX for pushing hard.  T-claps to Hawg for catching up to us despite being tardy, again.  Total distance covered varied from approx 3-5 miles.

    Once back, we had 4 minutes for the finale, or “sealing the deal”.  Since BURPEES were part of the original 610 Stomp, it was only fitting to work some in.  We partnered up for a burpee/plank countdown.  PAX 1 knocked out 10 burpees, while PAX 2 held a low plank.  Flip flop, then a round of 9 burpees, then 8,…with time running out around the 7-8 mark for most.  T-claps to Cowbell for demonstrating his new plank form with knees touching the ground…you get a pass since you helped lead the running pack.

    COT to cap things off.  YHC intended to bring up some cool pep-talk like stuff regarding the 150th Stomp milestone, however the run and burpees brought on a sweaty buzz.  Announcements include lots of races and events coming up so check your email or GroupMe if interested.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    Tool