Tag: Tool

  • Field of Dreams, and Rocks

    Well, summer is clearly here. Humidity, damp air, and sweaty shirts will be the norm for the next 3-4 months. And that means we are left with baseball and golf for the remainder of the summer. So to celebrate the nation’s (past) past-time, we worked in a beat down on the baseball diamond.  13 men showed up ready to sweat. A disclaimer and off we go.

    A short mosey to the warm-up COP:
    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial walkers x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm circles x 10 forward, 10 backward, IC
    Mountain climbers x 20 IC

    Grab a rock! Mosey to the baseball diamond for some Rock Circuits.
    Round 1: exercise, then run to the next base with rock overhead.
    Shoulder press x 20 IC, Curls x 20 IC, Rock Rows x 20 IC, Chest Press x 20 IC
    Round 2: exercise, then run to the next base with rock at chest level.
    Shoulder press x 10 IC, Curls x 10 IC, Rock Rows x 10 IC, Chest Press x 10 IC
    Round 3: exercise, leave your rock, bear crawl to next base, and pick up somebody else’s rock.
    Shoulder press x 10 IC, Curls x 10 IC, Rock Rows x 10 IC, Chest Press x 10 IC

    Mosey to the baseball outfield for Dora 1,2,3:
    Partner 1 exercises, Partner 2 runs across the baseball outfield and back.
    100 merkins, 200 squats, 300 LBC’s

    Stay in the outfield for Mary:
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Penguins x 20 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC
    Dying cockroaches x 20 IC
    American Hammer x 20 IC

    1 sprint across the baseball outfield and back. Then return your beloved rock to the rock pile. Run back to the flag for a finish right on time. Count off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions, and a prayer. Thanks for letting me lead!

    Walleye

  • 610 Stomping Grounds

    7 PAX gathered around 2 flags, enjoying the bright morning skies.  “I need some shades” commented Da Parish.

    Wisner bridge remains closed off, though the walkways look like they are nearing completion.  Soon we’ll be able to add that route to the regular routes.  But instead, since Rudy wants some mileage (gearing up for Gnarly Gnutria) – we’ll do the usual Bayou St. John out-and-back route.  Be back at 6:10 for Mary.

    The Thang

    Out and back along Bayou St. John.  Typical June sweat-fest.  Enjoyed a great outbound run with Triple Shift, always a pleasure to feed off of his energy.  Home Schoolers are well served by having such a passionate advocate on their behalf.  Keep Pushing!

    The Finish

    6:10 – finish up with some Mary, everyone join in as they return.

    • Flutter Kick x25
    • Dolly x25
    • Rosalita x25
    • Penguin x25

    Circle up for count-off, name-o-rama, announcements and intentions.  FracSac seemed to casually keep moving to the side of the circle opposite YHC (who, having noticed this behavior, kept casually crossing the circle to stand next to FracSac.  Is it my sweat?)

    Finish off with prayers for guidance and wisdom, to use the glorious gift of Today in service of Your wishes.

     

  • Bridge Over Stagnant Waters

    Leading 20+ men on Saturday beat-down is a tall order, so Your Humble Correspondent (YHC) needed to prepare. On the afternoon before the workout, my 9-year-old son and I took I bike ride to City Park to survey any hidden corners typically overlooked during Mothership workouts. Whenever the Pax moseys from the flag to the museum of art, the little hill of a bridge just after Morning Call is a nice little challenge, especially because we don’t have hills in New Orleans. But there’s too much traffic along that road to do a workout on. On my bike, YHC spied those foot bridges over the lagoon behind Morning Call and thought it might be a good spot to try something new. (At least, YHC hasn’t worked out there before.)

    YHC showed up a few minutes before the workout was to begin, and there was already a healthy crowd there. A few stragglers joined in as the PAX moseyed to the Great Lawn. Let’s get started:

    • Arm circles – 10 forward, 10 back
    • Cross-legged windmills – 10
    • Then some stretching – Runners stretch, crouching and holding it for 10, knee circles, legs open with stretch forward, soles touching and stretch forward

     

    Warm ups

    • Hillbillies x20
    • Merkins x20 (maybe too fast a cadence)
    • Jump squats x20
    • Floyd Mayweather x20
    • Peter Parkers x20
    • SSH x20
    • 10 burpees on your own

    To the bridges

    We did a Dora 123 where one partner runs over one bridge and returns over the second with some nice steps to climb up. Taps out and the other partner does the circuit. A combined exercise of:

    • 100 plank jacks
    • 200 toe-touches (from crab-walk position)
    • 300 mountain climbers

    To NOMA

    After a moment of hydration at the museum, we partnered up again at the main fountain.

    One partner bunny-hopped up the stairs, while the other partner did:

    • derkins
    • irkins
    • dips

    …partners switching each time between bunny-hops and the exercises at the fountain. When we were done, rinse and repeat.

    At the trees

    Short mosey to the field with the line of trees in front of NOMA.

    • Lunge walk (length of two trees)
    • 10 burpees on your own
    • Duck walk (length of two trees)
    • 10 burpees on your own

    Mosey back to the Great Lawn

    Time for some Mary

    • Flutter kicks x20
    • American hammer x20
    • Hello Dolly x20
    • Crunchy rolls and crunchy roll step-ups (something from my martial arts practice) – on your own
    • Freddy Mercuries (I think) x 20

    Times up! Back to the flag for name-a-rama where we named two FNGs: Calliope and Mary Lou. (Mary Lou’s leaving town anyway, so a silly name won’t haunt him for long.) Announcements, a prayer, and then some camaraderie at Morning Call.

  • RED Friday – Tommy Mac

    This year the first Friday of the month has been RED Friday at The Uptowner.  I have to give credit to F3 Greenwood.  I stole their idea and sometimes steal their workouts.  Today we celebrated the life and service of Sgt. Thomas MacPherson.  More on him in the NMM.

    Conditions: 81 degrees and 91% Humidity (Heat Index of 89 in the gloom)

    Equipment:  Rocks Ranging from 30 – 50 pounds

    Warm-up:  SSH x 31: IW x 31; Abe Vigodas x 10; Good Mornings x 10; Moroccan Night Club x 31; Self-love x 10; Copperhead Squats x 10

    The Tommy Mac uses 5 different lifts, so we practiced a few with the rocks.  These lifts actually require a barbell, so we made some slight modifications in order to perform them

    • Thrusters – Squat, then press rock above head.
    • Power Snatches – Pick up rock from the ground, lift over head, then throw it back on the ground real manly like.
    • Push Jerks – Shoulder Presses with a rock that’s too heavy to shoulder press.
    • Hang Squat Cleans – Curl the rock, then squat.
    • Overhead Squats – Just keep the rock at chest and squat.  Don’t get crazy.

    The Thang

    • 12 Burpees
    • 12 Thrusters
    • 12 Burpees
    • 12 Power Snatches
    • 12 Burpees
    • 12 Hang Squat Cleans
    • 12 Burpees
    • 12 Overhead Squats

    We went AMRAP.  I believe everyone completed 2 rounds in 28 minutes, some started a 3rd before time was up.

    NMM

    Today’s workout was in honor of Thomas MacPherson.  Sgt. Thomas R. MacPherson, 26, was killed in action on October 12, 2012 by enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. He was leading an assault against an enemy position when he was mortally wounded by small arms fire.

    MacPherson was a team leader assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. He previously served one deployment to Iraq and this was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.

    The “Tommy Mac” Hero WOD was created by elite-level coach Rudy Nielsen of CrossFit Outlaw (Alexandria, VA, USA), who first posted the workout on his “The Outlaw Way” blog as the workout of the day for October 27, 2012. The post included the following quote from Tommy’s former Platoon Leader:

    “The whole thing with Tommy is that he embodies everything that’s right about Ranger Battalion. He held the position of Ranger Team Leader which is literally the tip of the spear. He was the consummate, quiet professional—he expected absolutely zero recognition for what he did. He loved his job because he was a born protector. He was perfectly content to carry out his life’s work under the cover of darkness, with his and his comrades’ actions to remain forever under the cloak of shadows. He died doing what he loved; protecting all of us. What stood out about Tommy the most was his maturity beyond his years. I believe it was the fact that he was the older brother of younger siblings, but like another Sgt. said “Tommy wasn’t one of those guys who joined the Army and grew into a man. He joined as a man and grew others.” He left behind his beautiful wife wife, Claudia MacPherson, and their son, Brayden.”

    Lagniappe

    • It was great to be joined by 3 actual Uptowners at The Uptowner.  I believe that is equal to the number of Uptowners that have posted in the past year.  If Uptowners ever outnumber the World at the Uptowner, we may consider a name change.  These Uptowners handled themselves admirably.  Tools always said an Uptowner would never suvive the Uptowner, but these three proved him wrong.  I hypothesize that since they are relatively new to F3, they have not been sufficiently softened by the tickle fights that occur at the Skinny.  Let’s get Douille or Yankee out here and see what happens then.
    • It was agreed by all that the rock exercises were the best part of this workout.  #BurpeeLoveHate
    • No Mahatma today, so I believe it was Tool that took home the prize of WOD crusher.
    • Pay attention to what Abacus wears.  He gets it.
    • I did my best Cowbell impersonation and wore flip-flops to the workout.  Difference is that I worked out instead of drinking an umbrellaed libation and looking on.  Baby steps.  (If Shorty is reading this, this is where he says “I think you mean Cowbell steps.”)
    • 2 Rounds = 120 burpees which we all did correctly and can count toward the June ISI challenge of 10,000 merkins.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Memorial Day Murph

    Growing up, Memorial Day represented the first weekend of summer.  This was the first time we would pack up the car, hitch up the boat, and head to Lake Norfork on the eastern side of the Ozarks; a ritual we would repeat every weekend until Labor Day.  I loved Memorial Day and hated Labor Day.  Labor Day represented the end of summer, the beginning of school, and the end of fun.  Made sense that a holiday celebrating work would represent all those terrible things.  Also appropriate, Memorial Day represented freedom.  School was out.  It was time to be care-free and head to the lake.  I had a good understanding that Memorial Day represented freedom, but I never considered the cost associated with that freedom.  And that is unfortunate, because that is what the holiday is really about.

    So for Memorial Day 2018 F3 New Orleans did our best to recall the sacrifices made.  We, like many others around the nation, completed a Murph.  A Murph is a 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 merkins, 300 squats and a 1 mile run, named in honor of Lt. Michael Murphy, a Navy Seal who lost his life in Afghanistan.  I have feeling the real Murph didn’t modify his pull-ups as much as I did.  Oh and he wore a weighted vest through the whole thing.

    Naked Man Moleskin

    Great showing by the Uptown and World Pax, coming together at City Park.  I was impressed.  Further confirmation that 0530 is the right time to workout on the weekdays:  November Project showed up at 0600 only to find us on the equipment.  It worked out though, mainly because the F3 Pax crushed this Murph.  We were all running our final mile by the time they needed the pull-up space.  Lucky for them, there was no showdown.  Also lucky for us Da Parish and Rudy were not around.  I’m certain they would have broken into song from West Side Story.

    Impressive times by all.  I believe Mahatma and Gabrielle completed it in about 36 minutes. We finished with Mary, culminating in a 21 gun salute of the American Hammer.

    Great way to start the week and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.  Thanks guys.

  • Stomp #144

    A half dozen of NOLA’s most elite, middle-aged athletic phenoms showed up on Tuesday to prove we can still run like, or even better than, a bunch of youngsters.  After exchanging the usual pleasantries and kicking around some ideas on which route we’d run, it was concluded that we would embark on a variation the original route, which is now safe and enjoyable since we have some daylight to work with.  This week’s Stomp entailed the following:

    Mosey OYO down Marconi to Harrison (or Filmore for the non-conformists), down Harrison to Wisner, Wisner to the road in front of Pan Am, then make your way to the practice track which was 3.15 mile, or 4.5ish for the show-offs that went to Filmore.  Once back at the track, use remaining time for some speedwork, running the straightaways and jogging/walking the turns.  We headed back to the flag with a few minutes left for Plankorama and hip flexors to make sure we stay young and agile.  All PAX were able to run between 4-5 miles ea in 40+ minutes….well done men!

    Always a good way to start the day.  Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    Tool

     

     

  • Curls For The Girls

    Seven men got some loving with rocks on Friday at Pontiff…gotta get those guns and upper body honed for the summer.  No running involved so lot’s of time to hopefully build some muscle.  Here’s what we did:

    • IPW x25
    • Goofballs x20
    • AC x20
    • WM x20
    • Crab Cakes x20
    • LS Squat x20
    • 1 round of Crowd Pleasers (Merkin:Groiner, 1:1, 2:2, 3:3, 4:4, 5:5, 4:4, 3:3, 2:2, 1:1)

    Headed to the rock pile and grab something large for curling then circled up for Curls x12 IC

    Deposited large rock over outfield fence, grabbed a regular/medium rock, lifted overhead, and lined up for an Indian Lunge Walk to the field entrance.  From there we deposited med rock on baseline, then bear crawled to get large rock.

    Next up, everyone’s favorite, 11’s:

    • Side #1 – Curls w/large rock
    • Bear Crawl approx 10yds to…
    • Side #2 – Squat Press w/med rock
    • Backwards Bear Crawl Back

    Then time to break for some Mary:

    • Rosalita x25
    • Penguins x20
    • WWII Sit Ups x20
    • Chest Press w/large rock x20
    • Flutter Kick holding rock above chest x20
    • Russian Twist x20
    • Row ? x20?

    Just enough time left for one last upper body COP, this time rotating clockwise and using next rock in line.  YHC mentioned it never hurts to try some “strange”.  Seven rocks so seven quick rounds, all IC:

    • Curls x5
    • Curls x5
    • Curls x5
    • Shoulder Press x5
    • Shoulder Press x5
    • Curls x5
    • Curls x5

    Walked back to base, keeping rocks moving the whole time with more presses and curls.

    COT to cap things off.  Fine job men!

    Tool

     

     

     

  • Whiskey-free Wednesday

    City Park was graced this am with the presence of 11 F3 gurus ready to get stronger.  Summer is almost here so time to get the guns in shape and the dad-bods ready for the beach/poolside.  What better way to do that than some upper body circuits with a little something for the core as well.  YHC also reminded the PAX that we should strive to push ourselves the entire workout, and modify if you need to and not just because you want to.  This lead to a motivational gem from the F3 Lexicon that we’ve touched on in the past:  WHISKEY-DICKING (verb)-“Half stepping through a Workout or other Event. More generally, execution of anything without sufficient Zeal.”  After the disclaimer, here’s what we did:

    Mosey down RM with a pit stop for a warmup COP:

    • IPW x25
    • WM x20
    • Peter Parker x20
    • Lunge X20
    • Bat Wings x1 round (AC FWDx20, AC BWDx20, Seal Clapsx20, Overhead Claps x20)

    Next stop, The Foundry, where men become manly men.  YHC used the F3 website to get a few new ideas and opted to see what a 1/2 CINDY would be like.  This was a timed circuit (10 min instead of the usual 20), OYO rounds of 5 Pull Ups, 10 Merkins, 15 Squats, rinse and repeat AMRAP.  This was a tad long but some good mumblechatter helped pass the time.  We did approx 8-12 rounds ea.  It was also good practice for the upcoming MURPHs on the radar.

    Time to give the arms and shoulders a break so a little Mary it was:

    • LBT x25
    • Box Cutter x25
    • Non-whiskey-dick Penguins x15

    Partner up for a circuit of Plank Slaps (or some other name???):

    • Plank Slaps x50,  8-ct Body Builders x5
    • Plank Slaps x40,  8-ct Body Builders x4
    • Plank Slaps x30,  8-ct Body Builders x3
    • Plank Slaps x20,  8-ct Body Builders x2
    • Plank Slaps x10,  8-ct Body Builders x1

    From there, we headed back toward the flag with a stop at 6 different benches for Dips OYO x30, x25, x20, x15, x10, x5.  T-claps to Mahatma for pushing hard and knocking out some lagniappe Merkins.

    COT to cap off the morning.

    Good job men!

    Tool

     

     

     

     

  • 610 Stomp #143

    610 Stomp #143

    T-Claps to YHC for completing the CrawfishMan Triathlon.  Can you give t-claps to yourself?  HECK YES!  However, YHC’s run time left a little to be desired.  Why is that?  The rolling hills of Bush, LA presented quite a challenge.  There was a need to do some hill work at the 610 Stomp.  While we’re at it, let’s get back to the 6-10 meaning of the 610 Stomp.

    The Thang

    • West to Marconi, North to Zachary Taylor, East to Golf Dr, South to the Jogging Track, East to Wisner, North to Zachary Taylor, U Turn back to pass Pan-Am to Golf Dr, South to baseball/palm dr, around the Practise Track to the Flag.  This forms a 3.3mish Figure 8 with 4 “hills”.
    • Stop running every 6 minutes for 10 burpees

    Mary

    • LBC x 25
    • Hola Rosalita x 25
    • American Hammer x 25
    • Plank :30
    • Right Plank :30
    • Left Plank :30
    • Catalina Wine Mixers x 5….wait, that’s a plank walk. Okay, now Catalina Wine Mixers

    Countaroma, Nameorama, Annoucements, Intentions

    Announcements – NOTC Summer Series June 2; Murph challenge at Rock City

    Moleskin- Glad to have 2 PAX from F3 Metro, the Mothership. T-Claps to those guys for resodding the field where F3 was started

    Thank you for the opportunity to lead,

    Da Parish

  • Hold’m

    1st off – sorry for the delayed BB Post –

    Warm-Up:

    All in Cadence

    Michael Phelps x 16

    SSH x 25

    Peter Parker x 16

    Parker Peters x 16

    Shoulder Taps x 16

    Hill Billy x 20

     

    Grab your rock – Q recommended something in the “medium” range – NO Triple Shift boulders as goal was to never put your rock down!

    Head to the big field – line up on sideline for instructions – 11 was our 1st mission – Curls to squat press – running with your rock the entire time, keeping core engaged with rock held out front or overhead.  Solid work and the earlier finishers were tempted but held on the rocks!

    Q- did provide a 30 second reprieve while instructions for the 2nd mission was given – PAX broke up into teams of 2 –  Pax 1 (challenging rock to be shared) would run with rock across the mid field meeting Pax 2 who ran half the track on the other side, rock would then be passed for Pax 2 to run across mid field while Pax 1 now ran the other half of the track.  Initial enthusiasm and energy allowed for the mid field group to perform push ups waiting for partner to complete the track run but effort quickly caught up and there was just enouogh time to complete the transfer.  This was done 4 times until 1 mile had been accomplished.  No doubt there was some competition and challenging motivation across all levels of the Pax….. I want to give a shout-out to Circus Yo-Yo for taking a bit of ball busting…..no doubt not an easy task but some of the best lessons are learned under physical stress.  Keep pushing yourself!

    Now on to some Mary – Hold’m high with core engage Pax moseyed over to a clearing near the rock pile but held on to their rocks to accompany Mary.

    Tipping bird 4 count x 10 each leg.

    Rock swing – core engaged from waist to overhead position x 20

    Sitting leg press outward while overhead press x 16

     

    Return rocks to the pile – head back to flag.

    Count off – Name O Rama – Announcements – Special Intentions – Circle of Prayer and Thanksgiving!