F3 New Orleans

Tag: TurboTax

  • Misty Morning Beatdown

    YHC ate way too much over his Christmas break and so was quick to respond to Steve’s call to Q this morning. After joining Legal, Hammer and Zoolander for a little Foreplay in the Gloom, YHC circled up the PAX, partnered up with Grover and got down to business with a warmup.

    YHC and Grover rotated warmup exercises of Imperial Walkers, SSHs, Hillbillys, Seal Jacks, Butt Kicks and High Knees, all 20x IC. Good job Grover in leading for the first time.

    The PAX then headed down the Lakefront for a set of Dora 1-2-3s with a partner: 100 hand release Merkins, 200 45 degree lunges, and 300 SSHs with bear crawls and crab walks in between.

    After a brief recovery walk and a short mosey a little further eastward down the Lakefront, YHC set up a few cones for a version of Catch Me if You Can. Partner 1 backpedals about 10 yards from cone 1 to cone 2 while Partner 2 holds at cone 1. As soon as Partner 1 hits cone 2, Partner 2 sprints to try to beat his backpedaling partner to cone 3 about 30 yards away. Recovery walk back with the partners switching spots and then repeating.

    Three more sets with three different partners and it was time to dig into the bag of tricks to retrieve a ball for the next stage of our beat down.

    The PAX divided into three teams, each with a ball, for a race to the Harbor playground. Despite HanDcock, Esquire’s attempt to confuse matters with lawyerly questions, the rules were very simple for the race: PAX cannot run when holding the ball and each time the ball hits the ground the entire team has to do one burpee before getting underway again. Serious high jinx ensued, and YHC cannot even remember who won except that it wasn’t his team.

    The PAX then hit some staggered Merkins and took a brief reprieve and then it was a race back to the starting point, this time using only your non-dominant hand to catch and throw.

    Mosey to the virtual shovel flag for some Mary with dynamic back and front planks.

    Countorama, nameorama and Goose led us out in prayer on our way to the coffeeteria.

    Moleskin

    If you are old and grumpy like YHC and think that our youth should be doing something other than spending all of their time glued to their phones, then you need to meet 9 year old Bear and 17 year old Grover. Bear can bear crawl like, well, a bear and singlehandedly kept his team in contention for the ball games this morning and his dad honest on the hand release Merkins. Grover quickly accepted YHC’s invitation to lead this morning’s warmup and cheerfully executed like a seasoned veteran. It is absolutely fabulous to see these two young men join their dads in the Gloom. Mathlete and Akbar should be very proud of their 2.0s.

    The Krazy Ivan is coming up, Comrades. All Northshore PAX need to clear their calendars for the evening of January 18th. It is imperative that we have maximum participation. The Southshore PAX have been gloating over last year’s victory and posting pictures of themselves with the Freedom Hammer all year. It’s enough to make you sick.

  • Select a (medium-sized) rock!

    Extremely proud of the PAX for joining me at the Gipper this cold morning. Thank you for keeping us accountable and making us better men!

    After a brief warm-up, the PAX gathered around the rock garden. Some men/boys chose a small-sized rock (hate), others chose medium/large-sized rocks (respect). The PAX enjoyed many kettle bell swings, hammer curls, squats, and overhead presses. Arms and shoulders felt nice and toasty, assuming you selected a rock that was appropriately sized.

    We made our way to the top of the parking deck and enjoyed a leisurely routine of either jump squats or burpees for everything three parking spaces. At each space the men would increase reps and at the end of the routine, the cold temperature did a number on our lungs (it burns!!!).

    Kudos to all that could join. Expect a similar workout next time…

  • Double Stuffed at the Gipper

    It was a dark and stormy morning… Considering those conditions, and it being mid-week, YHC glad to see such a strong turn out of 11. To our good fortune, the rain broke (for a bit). A few PAX did their usual Pre-Thang mile run, then we circled up.

    Warm Ups: Good Mornings, Toe Touches, Imperial Walkers, Hill Billies, Arm Circles.

    The Thang:

    Pax mosied over to the court house parking lot and did “Ascending Curb Crawls.” OYO, PAX Bear crawled to other side, turned & placed feet on curb and completed 1 derkin, crawled back and completed 2 derkins, and continued to 13. Moans and groans were heard almost immediately, and YHC took mental note as one of the PAX mentioned that on another occasion, the routine was done as “Descending” Curb Crawls, where merkins would decrease instead of increase.

    Next PAX mosied over to the parking garage where we partnered up and completed a modified “Burp Back Mountain.” Partner 1 proceeded to run backwards 1/2 way up the garage ramp and sprint forward back down, while partner 2 performed burpees. Partners continue to flapjack until 50 (modified from 100) total burpees were completed.

    Next PAX mosied to the front steps of the courthouse. OYO, PAX did merkins up the courthouse steps, did 5 Rocky Balboa’s at the top, and ran down the ramp around to the beginning. Pax Repeated 4 times changing the exercise up the steps each time. (1. Merkins, 2. Bunny Hops, 3. Squats, 4. Freak Nasties).

    (Began to rain)

    Next PAX did the “Burpee 1/2 Mile” (Modified from “Burpee Mile”). Total of 24 Burpees, 1/2 Mile. Pax did 6 Burpees, ran 1/4 mile x 2.

    At this point, one of the PAX feeling a bit sluggish confessed his Oreo habit, and soon others admitted some of their own indulgences.

    Finally, PAX mosied back to the flag to do some MARY under the pavillion out of the rain.

    Count O Name O.

    Shooter prayed us out.

    Later in the day, YHC was glad to get a text from an F3 Brother giving some kudos on the beatdown, saying the combination of burpees and bear crawls made the work out brutal, but that he liked it. Glad to hear someone got their money’s worth and was challenged, as YHC is usually behind in the game.

    Thanks Guys for letting me lead!

  • The No Power Menu

    10 men braved the Olga aftermath to see what was on the No Power Menu this past Saturday.  YHC may not be able to remember much of what was actually on the menu, but I can tell you what was not on the menu: a fun game of mud football wasn’t (or, really, any “fun” in general); a beatdown with a clear vision wasn’t; and a fast cup of strong coffee at coffeeteria wasn’t either.  But more on that later.

    First, there was much mumblechatter and confusion as to what exactly happened to Wacker.  He had posted on the GroupMe that Olga had “slipped in last night and screwed things up.”  But many men hadn’t heard that the tropical storm had been named and so, naturally, thought a Russian woman had slipped into Bush’s bed.  Obviously, there was a lot of concern and alarm until it was revealed Olga was “not the Russian lady he did that run with a few weeks ago.”

    Now, the beatdown.  Nevermind that YHC can’t remember the specifics of the warmorama (it’s pretty much the same 15 or so exercises anyway, right?), more of note was that it had to be the darkest warmorama on record.  With the power out in the entire neighborhood, it really couldn’t be any darker (unless, of course, we lost the light coming from Hammer and Pik’s phones).  YHC kept thinking, how can we do anything in this darkness?  No bear crawls, no suicides – what are we gonna just sit in a circle and do side straddle hops all morning??

    So… after some SSH’s, we carefully tread over to the playground equipment for a round of 7’s: pull-ups to merkins.  Then over to the benches for a second set of 7’s: Freak Nasties to Bulgarians (admittedly, Bulgarians were a bit ill-conceived due to the awkwardness of having to do each leg).

    Then carefully back to center court for a set of 1 minute AMRAPs, dealer’s choice: we went around the circle and each man picked an exercise.  I can’t remember the exercises: there were merkins, there were jump squats, there were burpees, oh, and then Maverick showed up about this time and made us do Merkins again.

    After that, Tank mercifully took the Q for a moment, just as light was starting to peek through.   He had us do runs across the court, with a merkin at each end.  About 5 laps here to get the heart rate going.

    YHC took the Q back for what I thought could be an interesting one: partner up for the slowest Catch Me If You Can ever.  P1 will inchworm down the block, P2 will perform 10 merkins, 10 squats, and 10 LBCs, before bear crawling to catch and replace P1.  YHC thought it would be fun to go sightseeing down the block (now that there was light) where there were downed power lines, fallen trees, frantic cars, and all sorts of other fun stuff to dodge.  But the wise Hammer pulled us back to the safety of the court.  This exercise turned out to be not so fun in the end anyway.

    Then we split into two teams of 5 and did a relay race across the court.  Jose ran so fast that I think he ran straight outta the court and into the home across the street, but he did seal the tie for his team.  So, 20 burpees for all.

    And… what else?  Ah, we finished with a round of Mary: again, a 1 minute AMRAP, dealer’s choice, around the circle.  And again, YHC cannot recall the exact exercises, but does remember that Pik had us do calf raises, because I remember thinking, “this isn’t core,” but hey, fair game nonetheless.  And Turbo had us do Scuba Steves.  And Jose pulled out his fave – Jane Fondas, 1 minute each leg to close it all out.

    COT where Tank took center stage to announce the Hundo, which is gaining some traction despite its utter insanity.   You gotta love these guys.  Akbar prayed us out and then we were on our way in search of coffee.  Despite the citywide outage, this group of stragglers wouldn’t take no for an answer and found the local Waffle House to be incredibly accommodating despite the lack of power.  T-claps to our cheery waitress, who put up with Hammer’s constant tea refills and a bunch of sweaty guys that had no intention of eating.  In the company of these men, that weak, slow-drip coffee was some of the best I’ve ever had.

    So while we may never know if those eighteen year olds were able to pull their truck out with bungee cords, like much in life, some things are just better left to the imagination.  Gents, thanks for the opportunity to co-lead with Tank, I believe I can speak for both of us when I say that it’s a privilege and honor that we don’t take for granted.

    Like the men of F3, Waffle House plans for the expected, but is prepared for the unexpected.

  • 5 year CONVERGENCE!

    Well – 5 years later we are still going STRONG! I remember when we started thinking I don’t have time in my life for this group. After a week of beatdowns I knew that we had to commit to growing this group – it had already begun to change my life and they way I interact with people everyday. I know after a nasty 530am beatdown – that I can handle anything the day throws at me. Thanks to all the guys here in NOLA that keep things running so that we can continue to be a group. Thanks to OBT for taking time out of his life to get us going in the GLOOM! Looking forward to 5 more years of F3 in NOLA.

    Today the pre-run started with about 20 PAX for a run down BAYOU ST JOHN. Beautiful weather, cool air and a crisp breeze. We ran 12 min out and 12 min back so that we could arrive in time for the fun.

    KUCH – has a been a great EH’er and a nice addition to F3 NOLA. Kuch started the party off with a WARM UP circle. SSH, Imp Walkers, Arm Circles, Peter Parkers, Merks.

    Then we divided up by 5 count into teams. We did 5 burpees, 5 Lunges, 5 Merkins, 5 Squats, 5 Plank Jacks. Bear Crawl across the lawn. Run back. KUCH did an excellent job getting the teams set quickly

    5 reps. We ran out of time and had to call it after 3 reps. No team won due to the shortened KUCH set. Kuch represented NOLA well – with a pretty gnarly start to a celebratory event.

    2nd set with DURACELL – FROM BATON ROUGE

    Duracell brought out 2 coupons. 40lb cinderblocks. 2 PAX ran to the center and did 3 thrusters. We went two different directions. A slow starter but once the PAX got the hang out this one – this was a solid beatdown. Duracell had to do about 15 exercises in cadence to 20. Exercises ranged from a regular plank, to shoulder taps, to merk variations to squat/lunge variations. The highlight of this section was Mathlete’s 2.0-Bear getting that cinderblock in the right position and up. Duracell represented the RED STICK well.

    THIGHS FROM THE WANK- 3rd quarter. We started with a solid mosey over the to the lawn in by the museum. Upon arrival we see that Thighs has organized with some printed out signs a 15 min beatdown that is going to suck. At each sign there was an exercise- PAX had to complete 20 reps the first time through, 15 reps the 2nd time through. (Possible 3rd time for the fastest pax members). Exercises were:

    1. Bonnie Blaires
    2. Diamond Merks
    3. Reverse Crunches aka Gaspumps
    4. Bobby Hurleys
    5. Merkin Toe Touches (need to incorporate this more in my Qs)
    6. Freddie Mercs

    RUN back to the start line and do this again. Thighs had the teams organized in a way by street names. Due to 75 PAX that didn’t quite workout but Thighs quickly modified and let the teams fall where they were. A good quick call. Thighs demonstrated that there is nothing easy about the WANK. Those guys are tough! Great turnout by the WB.

    STEVE FROM THE NORTHSHORE- FINISHED OFF The PAX back on the great lawn. Each pax got a partner.

    You had to do your partners age in burpees, your partners weight in LBCS, and your partners months in F3 in Freddies.

    Steve had a few minutes left so he finished with some Peter parkers, and some American Hammer.

    After a 75 PAX NAME O RAMA, NUMBERRAMA – Hokey POkey finished us off with an awesome prayer!

    After the whole beatdown we gathered at Cafe Du Monde for a 5 year celebration party. Tclaps to Rudy, Tool and Gabrielle for making that happen. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, biscuits, beignets and plenty of coffee!

    Thanks to our awesome Qs! IT is NOT easy to Q 75 PAX!

    So blessed to be a part of this group- cheers to 5 more years of F3 NOLA!

  • A very thankful 4 years of F3

    YHC was greeted this beautiful anniversary gloom by 11 PAX waiting to celebrate an F3 anniversary the right way, with a beatdown of course.

    While planning this beatdown, YHC started thinking how grateful he is of F3, Shorty EH’ing him hard to “just come out and see.” I’ll be forever thankful for the men (and Rudy) of F3 NOLA, and for the Northshore guys for taking a rival brother in like their own. You all are one of a kind!!

    The workout went something like this:

    COP: Warm Up: All IC X 20

    Grass Grabbers, Hillbillies, SSH, Windmills

    Mosey to the Justice center doing butt kicks and high knees en route. Arrive at Justice Center parking lot for some ‘Bone the Fish.’

    Left shuffle to one side, run forward, right shuffle back, back pedal to start

    Left Karaoke to one side, run forward, right karaoke back, back pedal

    Mosey to the top of the parking garage for 11’s (in honor of my favorite AO, Wolfpack Mountain)

    Burpees at the top of the mountain starting at 10, run down the ramp and do 1 merkin, descend burps and ascend merks until 1 burpee and 10 merkins.

    Because the breeze felt so nice, YHC decided to stay at the top of the garage for: Quarter Pounder: Each set of light posts represented 25 yds.

    Sprint 25 yds, 25 merkins, run backwards to start

    Sprint 50 yds, 50 squats, run backwards to start

    Sprint 75 yds, 75 LBC’s, run backwards to start

    Sprint 100 yds, 100 SSH’s, run backwards to start

    YHC REALLY wanted to make it a double quarter pounder but time would not allow, maybe next time.

    COP/ 6MOM: Hurricane Hoedown:

    4 variations of flutter kicks, meant to start at 7 reps each and work down to 1, but again, time messed us up so we started at 5 reps each.

    Hands up flutter kicks X 5, hands behind back flutter kicks X 5, lean back flutter kicks X 5, regular flutter kicks X 5

    Repeat X 4, repeat X 3, repeat X 2, repeat X 1

    Mosey back to the flag one minute late (sorry not sorry), where Grundy was waiting on us, apparently he went running with someone else? rude.

    F3 NOLA 5 Year Convergence this Saturday in City Park, 0630, Coffee, Beignets, breakfast to follow. 3 mile pre thang 0600.

    Northshore F2, Thursday October 17 at Barley Oak, 0600, 30 minute beatdown led by YHC with drinks to follow.

    Bean prayed us out.

    Thanks for letting me lead, and thanks for everything, F3.

    Heres to many, many more!

    -Cowbell

  • A Tale of Two Beatdowns

    It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, and…. yes, it was certainly the age of foolishness.

    The Pax were presented with two choices this morning, follow the Wacker of Bushes off to the Marsh where 35 lbs. cinderblocks awaited them or, for a potentially less-painful option, follow YHC into the unknown. So the Pax split, the Iron Pax-ers heading off to fulfill the week 3 challenge, and those who had already completed it stayed behind.

    Warmorama: 10x merkins OYO, arm circles, air presses, IWs, SSHs, high knees, all at various reps IC.

    Thang:

    Bear crawl approximately 400 yards to the lakefront gazebo. Caveat: if you need to pause for rest, perform 10x merkins then jog to catch up with the man in the lead. YHC declines to say whether or not this was intended to make the PAX rethink their choice of beatdowns but, impressively, there was relatively little grumbling. That is how difficult the IP challenges are – the minds of the PAX have been recalibrated and this – bear crawling 400 yards – is actually better than the alternative. T-claps to Grundy who (YHC believes) was the only one to make it the full distance without stopping.

    Next, circle up inside the gazebo for a quick round of squats, 20x IC, before assuming an Al Gore hold while each man takes his turn doing 10x Bobby Hurleys. Turbo explained to the young ‘uns who BH was, and that he did indeed slap the floor as a Duke player. Everyone seemed to sink their shots – with Chewy mixing in a few granny-throws – and we wrapped things up in the gazebo with a round of the ever-popular monkey humpers, x22 IC. A short recovery stumble down the path before moseying to the canal bridge for a partner routine.

    Partner 1 heads up the path, over the bridge and down a short distance – to where a young couple was necking in the grass – and then circles back to relieve partner 1, who will begin the cumulative reps of:

    • 50 Burpees
    • 100 Sister Mary’s
    • 150 T-Merkins
    • 200 Squats
    • 150 Freak Nasties
    • 100 Monkey Humpers
    • 50 Burpees

    T-claps to the young couple, who YHC figured would relocate to a more private spot within the first 5 minutes. These two, though, persevered the parade of sweaty men and continued to put on a show for nearly the entire duration of our routine. And this routine took some time – especially the t-merkins, which seemed to bring nearly everyone to their knees. Hey, maybe they’re exhibitionists and this is what they came for?

    Quick Indian run back to the flag and, with minutes to spare, we knocked out some Jane Fonda’s, quick pulses, and heel-to-knees, 10x IC each leg. Having reached the end, we looked around for our Iron Pax brethren, but to no avail. So, back on our six, we knocked out a bit more: flutters, LBCs, and Freddie Merc’s, all 20x IC. A quick look around again but, alas, still no one in sight.

    Time to call it – so we circled for countdown, nameorama, and COT. Shooter prayed us out with intentions for recently slain Captain Vincent Liberto and his family. Liberto, a father of seven, had served the Mandeville police department for over 25 years and was known to be a good man, who served his country and community with pride. His sacrifice comes as a shock, and is a reminder of just how lucky we are to have such great men and women protect and serve our community.

    Soon after, the Iron Pax-ers appeared and we circled up for COT, part deux, this time with Hammer praying us out. Double intentions for Capt. Liberto and his family.

    Then it was off to coffetería, where Tank regaled us with warm stories of Italian family gatherings. A near perfect morning. Thanks for the opportunity to lead and get stronger alongside you men.

  • Am I A Masochist?

    Something that Turbo said a couple of months back kind of has stuck with me. He said something like (paraphrasing) ‘I’m not sure there are many people who like putting themselves through painful workouts, except of course Grundy…’ I laughed it off at the time, but the more I thought about it I had to conclude that it was actually true! If I see or hear about a workout that is labeled “painfully difficult” or “crazy hard”, my next thought without fail is “when can I try it!!!!”

    This type of attitude might categorize me as a lower level Masochist which by definition is “a person who enjoys an activity that appears to be painful or tedious. ” But on some level though, if we are being honest with ourselves, everyone in F3 is a little bit like that to one degree or another.

    So when Turbo said that the hardest workout he did all of last year was the week 2 cinderblock workout from the Iron Pax Challenge (which is coming up again in September so sign up here with F3 New Orleans at https://f3greenwood.com/ironpax-form/ ), my ears perked up and I immediately went into planning how I can make it happen again. I was not there the first time, so I needed to experience the pain…

    Turbo got me the cinderblocks and the rest was history. 8 men in total were going to go through that beatdown again because I am indeed a Masochist..

    After a brief warmup in cadence with some SSH, arm circle series, and good mornings, we walked over to the gravel pit near the trailhead for the main and only event.

    Cinderblocks in hand, we embarked on the madness.

    4 sets of 8 minutes
    * Perform as many reps as possible in 8 minutes of each set
    * After 25 reps, run 25 yards out and back (50 yards total)
    * Rinse and Repeat until 8 minutes is up
    * Make note of your rep count
    *Rest 2 minutes exactly between sets

    Set 1 – Squat Thrusters w/Coupon
    Set 2 – Curls w/Coupon
    Set 3 – KB Swings w/Coupon
    Set 4 – Manmakers w/Coupon
    * Coupon – Standard concrete block – 25lbs-35lbs

    Total Score = Set1+Set2+Set3+Set4

    It was as bad as it was hyped up to be and, true to my nature apparently, I loved it! We limped back over to the flag for a quick count off and Shooter prayed us out.

    Truth be told though guys, doing all of this type of stuff wouldn’t be anything outside of doing it alongside one another. We truly make each other better and it’s amazing to be a part of a group of men of the highest quality.

    Until next time,
    Grundy

  • F2 With the boys

    Warmup– SSH, Windmills, Toe Touches, Mummy Walk,

    Main Event–10 minute circuit– 10 of each, Squats, Merkins, Scissor Kicks, LBC’s. Include stair run and 50 meter run.

    Move on to arm presses and extended arm rotations.

    Mosey back for some cool down exercises.

    Prayer led by Grundy then on to the Top Room for some refreshments

  • Circuit court in Session

    Recovering from Waterpik’s light rep but high intensity beatdown from the day prior. YHC decided to bring some coupons of his own to the Gipper crew. Arrived at the AO to the sights of Moby, Akbar and Maverick loosening up around the flag. Knowing the PAX would soon swell by 4 as Cowbell rolls in hot and the prethangers of Legal, Turbo and Einstein come strolling in. Brief chatter as the instructions are given to what this beatdown will entail and wanting to make sure no modifications would be needed we jumped to it..

    Brief warmarama all IC 15 SSH, Imperial Walkers, Windmills and Toe Touches followed by our first 1:30 of the daily ISI (15:30 total for our final day) T-👏🏻 to all the participants on this great challenge offered up by the Northshore’s Bushwacker.. I never could have pushed through without the push of the PAX for this one but certainly glad I did.. Cowbell mentioned adding up the total cumulative count to know officially how long of planks we completed.. Look forward to seeing that number Cowbell, not to worry we will confirm with Grundy on your specs just to be certain nothing’s missed..

    Circuit court in Session

    PAX starts the Mosey carrying the coupons over to the Justice center and along the way Q has one of the PAX retrieve a medium boulder from the rock pile to add to our gadgets that will be used on this Gloom.

    Arrived in the middle for a long explanation by your YHC, but thankfully this high IQ PAX was able to put it all together. We created 7 stations with the 8th acting as our timer of sorts.

    S1 Band curls, S2 Jump rope, S3 Mountain climbers, S4 Boulder Shoulder raises, S5 Stretch Ball sit-ups, S6 30lbs plate press, S7 Alternating Step-ups and S8 controlled the timing by running to JC up the ramp down the stairs back up the stairs and backdown the ramp returning to the start creating on round of completion once of course the PAX dropped and completed 1:30 of Plank before the switch and the next round..

    Timing played out perfectly as each PAX completed the 8 circuits by 0640.. We gathered up our coupons and returned to the flag with a min to spare, so Q introduced a sample of next months challenge with a 30 sec hold in the lowered squat position.

    Counted off, announced the F2 plans, COT.

    Thanks to Maverick for leading us out with a prayer!!

    Always enjoy posting the Gipper with the Covington PAX and till the next Gloom 👍🏻👊🏻✌🏻!!