F3 New Orleans

Tag: War Eagle

  • “F3 Has Changed My Life”

    In a feat only New Orleans can accomplish, the PAX arrived to a cool yet muggy morning at 5:30 today. The sun might even have been peeking through the clouds as we set off into the humid air for a run. With the H8 last week, the new sprint workout, and the general level of intensity at the workouts lately, YHC thought a simple run this morning – no burpees, no sprints, no Mary – would be a nice change of pace. And so, that is what we did.

    One of the nice things about a run is that it gives you time to talk. I personally got to run with several different PAX and catch up on all the latest. Among those I was able to run with was Steinbrenner from F3 Memphis, who is in town for a convention. We traded some war stories, learned we were both former high school wrestlers with a tendency to eat an entire large bag of chips in one sitting, and talked about the myriad ways F3 had affected our lives. Somewhere along the way, he looked me in the face and said “F3 has changed my life”.

    Later I went to lunch with a friend, and we were joined by another PAX member from this morning, Briefs. Briefs is new within the last month or so, but you wouldn’t know it from the workouts. As we were walking out of the restaurant and chatting about the run this morning, he looked me in the eye and said “F3 has changed my life.”

    They say good things come in threes, and it is F THREE, so I will say this much: F3 has changed my life. I think the myriad ways in which this statement is accurate are well known to all of us, and to suggest it’s only a physical change would be silly.

    So thanks to all of you for that, as well as the opportunity to lead this morning.

  • Better late than never Backblast – we put the “Ab” in Abacus

    YHC enjoyed the Easter weekend with Friends and Family and was a bit tardy with this backblast. Well off we go. YHC wanted the workout to focus on our “ABS”. Also wanted to focus on some pull-ups as I don’t think we do these often enough.

    On to the warmup as follows: (probably off a bit on some of the counts)

    Windmills x 15, Grassgrabbers x 15, Self love – arm stretch (ode to Hawgcycle) (this brought some mumble chatter from the PAX), SSH x 15, Peter Parkers x 15, Nolan Ryan x 15 each side, Low slow squats x 15

    Grab a rock and mosey to the playground – on top of the wood chips.

    THANG 1 – YHC wanted a new exercise combo so we did a Febreeze – 2 Big Boy sit-ups then 10 air presses. Increase sit-ups by one and air presses by 10 until the last round we did 9 Big Boy sit-ups and 100 air presses. Somewhere along the way we lost count but finished strong.

    THANG 2 – YHC continues with the Ab theme – each PAX does 10 pull-ups. While waiting for the pull up bars, all other PAX are doing flutter kicks on your own.

    THANG 3 – Bench presses 5 count followed by 10 LBC’s. Increase bench press by 5 and LBC’s by 10 until we did 25 presses and 50 LBC’s.

    THANG 4 – repeat of thang 2 – more pull ups and flutter kicks.

    THANG 5 – random exercise – 100 monkey humpers

    THANG 6 – bench presses with rock, combined with more flutter kicks

    Bring rocks back to the pile – close it out with some Yoga type stretches with guidance from Triple Shift. I think we each did about 892 flutter kicks. COT, name-a-roma – FNG Prodigal Son, and closing prayer from War Eagle. Impromptu coffeteria due to Easter holiday for some fellowship was a great way to end the morning.

    Thanks again to all – SYITG.

  • Spot Start at Popeye’s

    Rev Sox is on the IL with shoulder inflammation so the team at Popeye’s turned to YHC for the spot start. Temps were in the mid 60s and the birds were out in full force.

    Warm-Up

    SSH x 25, Mountain Climbers x 26, Imperial Walkers x 20, Grass Grabbers x 15, Parker Peter x 20 – this all occurred after a mosey of about 15 feet.

    The Thang

    We moseyed to the ledge by the replica of the West Metairie Canal, for some 363 exercises. For those that have forgotten, the 363 was the developed to commemorate the World’s victory over Uptown at the 2017 Gnarly Nutria: World 363 – Uptown 360. The exercise consists of 3 reps of super slow cadence. If you are doing merkins it is a 4 count to go down, another 4 count to come up, etc. You end up holding yourself in the worse possible position at the end of these 3 reps. That didn’t quite come out right, but I mean for merkins you would be holding a mission impossible, for squats it would be an Al Gore…you get it. After those 3 slow reps, you do 6 regular cadence reps that again bring you to Mission Impossible or Al Gore or whatever at the end. Hold that and then start 3 more super slow reps. It’s meant to be a burner, they way it burns the World Victory into your memory forever.

    We did 3-6-3 Merkins, 3-6-3 Squats (using the ledge for full compliance), 3-6-3 Inclined Merkins, then 10 box jumps, 3-6-3 Decline Merkins (by far the worst), Tatum Channings x 20, Channing Tatums x 20.

    Long mosey to a sticker filled soccer field near W. Napoleon for 5 minutes of 12 Burpee EMOM. That’s 60 burpees total for everyone reading this not named Abacus

    Partnered up at the outdoor gym for partner assisted pull ups on the rings: Reps of 10, 7, and finished with 4.

    Long Mosey around Gar Lake to the pavilion. Here we (and by we I mean I) introduced Dr. Webb to F3 NOLA. This is a marriage of Dr. Ws and Jack Webbs that comes from the sick and twisted mind of F3 Jackson’s SFx (formerly of F3 NOLA and F3 Valley Forge. I’m not sure if Jackson claims him or not. He’s definitely a nomadic ginger). JV will love this. 1 Dr. W followed by 4 Dying Cockroaches in cadence, 2 Dr. Ws / 8 dying cockroaches, 3/12, etc… We worked our way up to 5/20 before I felt like time was short (yeah, that’s why I stopped at 5) and moseyed to the flag.

    Luck would have it, we were two minutes early so we did another 3-6-3 set of merkins and squats.

    Boo Boo gave a good reminder to us all about the importance of gratitude in our prayers. I prayed us out, struggling to be heard over the chatter of the birds.

  • 4-getta-bout-it


    It was a beautiful Thursday morning on the lakefront last week. After a little chatter amongst the PAX, I issued the disclaimer and we mosey’d to the corner of lakefront drive / canal blvd. Once there we commenced with the warmup:

    • side straddle hops – 20
    • imperial squat walkers – 15
    • grass grabbers – 15
    • peter parkers – 15
    • arm circles – 10 forward, 10 backward

    Seeing as how the H8 was coming up in 2 weeks, I thought it might be good to do a little H8 pre-work. After Kuch’s Q at Popeyes on Wednesday, the LV clown car was talking about some different TV shows, and one of the shows that came up was the Sopranos. Anytime i think of that show, the word “for-getta-bout-it” comes to mind. Well since i was thinking of that show at the same time i was trying to think about what exercises to use during my Q, a nice exercise creation was born. It would aptly be called, the “4-getta-bout-it” and it would entail 4 figure 8 laps up & down the paved part of the levee with bear crawls across the center (just like the H8). We would also do a burpee / merkin ladder like the H8 as well. The difference with the 4-getta-bout-it would be that the PAX would have to run up each of the levees backwards (Bernie Sanders style backwards). So the good news is that it would be only 1/2 of the laps as the H8; the bad news is that running up the levee backwards is not what most people consider fun. Ultimately, all of the PAX completed the 4 laps (Smooth actually completed 5 laps, which has come to be known as the “High Five”), and then after a brief 20 count from Cowbell, we mosey’d to the benches. Once to the benches, we did the following:

    • dirkins – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to next bench
    • left / right leg step ups (10/10)
    • squat jump clockwise to next bench
    • dips – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • irkins – 10
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • windmills – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • LBC’s – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • dying cockroaches – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench
    • flutter kicks – 15
    • squat jump clockwise to the next bench

    Once completed, we mosey’d back to the flag for the announcements, intentions and the prayer. As always, thanks for the opportunity to lead, fellas. It’s a pleasure grinding through the beatdowns with y’all!

  • Hurpees (Hand Release Burpees) – The Gift That Keeps On Giving

    After the PAX moseyed up to our usual WPM meeting spot in front of the Audubon Park fountains at 5:30AM, QIC asked if we had any FNGs, which we did not, and welcomed our out of town guest, Iron Horse, from F3 Tallahassee. Imagine Iron Horse’s surprise when he was informed that he came all the way to New Orleans to receive a Hurpees beat down with his F3 NOLA brothers. The disclaimer was announced, and the PAX performed 5 Hurpees on their own before moseying to the lawn in front of Tulane University for warm up. The warmup consisted of the following, all in cadence:

    Imperial Walkers x 20, Windmills x 15, Arm Circles Front and Back x 10

    Before greeting Touchdown Jesus on the lawn in front of Loyola University, the PAX knocked out 5 Hurpees on their own.

    Once at the Loyola Lawn, the PAX partnered up to perform a 30, 60, 90 DORA consisting of Hurpees, Low Slow Squats, and Real Freddie Mercuries, respectively. While PAX 1 was exercising, PAX 2 had to cross the lawn as his favorite animal. PAX 1 and 2 alternated until all exercises were complete. QIC witnessed several Bear Crawls, Crab Walks, Bunny Hops, one Squirrel Slink, and something that resembled a wounded Duck Walk.

    After a 10 count by King Kong, the PAX moseyed to the base of WPM where we split into 3 lines for an Indian Run up to the 4th floor. Even though QIC directed the left and right lines to sprint on the outside, this direction was not followed. QIC did not realize that Hurpees negatively impacted the PAX’s hearing.

    Once on the 4th floor, Brown Bag was asked to indulge the PAX in a 20 count. Upon conclusion, the PAX circled up for a round of Jack Webbs. After several groans, the PAX progressed through the Jack Webbs to complete 10 merkins and 20 air presses. Before gathering to conquer the remainder of WPM, the PAX performed 5 Hurpees on their own.

    The PAX continued to the top of WPM sprinting on the flats and running backwards up the inclines. Once gathered under the stars, the PAX circled up again, this time for a round robin of MARY. QIC started the festivities with a slow cadence of Penguins x 15. The remaining exercises were as follows:

    War Eagle – Dying Cockroach x 15

    Brown Bag – Real Freddie Mercuries x 20

    Bartman – J Los x 20

    Angie’s List – LBCs x 40 (ridiculous)

    Quarter Pipe – I’m going to call this a low plank, reverse wife pleaser x 15 Imagine the PAX on Airline Highway, in the act of contracting a real case of Hurpees. The PAX would have been happy doing these on a crawfish farm, if you get my drift…

    After five more Hurpees on their own, the PAX moseyed down the stairs and gathered in front of TDJ for a brief round of shoulder, quad, and hamstring stretches, to which Angie’s List exclaimed was the cure for our recurring case of Hurpees.

    The COT commenced with a count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a closing prayer. The PAX was then dismissed for additional treatment.

  • My 45 minute birthday party

    Party of 16 was ready to celebrate my birthday one day late.

    Gave the necessary disclaimer and off we went.

    Mosey around the fountain and circle up in the grassy area for:

    COP #1: Warm Up

    31 X SSH

    31 X IW

    31 X PP

    15 X JLO

    15 X LSS

    15 X Windmill

    Mosey down to the lakefront to get a little mid post Mary in:

    5 X LBC at Lightpost 1 increasing reps by 5

    continue until reps = 40

    Mosey further down the lakefront to a parking lot between the shelter and levee for:

    7 of Diamonds- pax split up into 4 groups, 2 on top of the levee, 2 in the parking lot- to make a diamond, or rectangle, or square….

    Perform each exercise, rotate, and increase next exercise by 7 reps.

    7 X Burpees

    14 X Flutter Kicks

    21 X Merkins

    28 X Can’t Remembers

    35 X Squats

    28 X Can’t Remembers

    21 X Merkins

    14 X Flutter Kicks

    7 X Burpees

    Mosey to a grassy area for:

    COP #2: Jack Webb

    1-10 Merks with 2-20 Air presses

    Time to head back to the flag, we moseyed along the lakefront with 2 sudden change stops of 5 X Burpees OYO.

    COP #3: Mary & Light Stretching

    31 X American Hammer

    31 X Crunchy Frog (crowd pleaser)

    Mosey across the street to the flag

    Countoff, Name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and prayer

    Welcome El Capitan!

    Thanks for letting me lead again,

    Cowbell


  • 40 – a.k.a. The Rudy Special

    With all the new NOLA PAX members that have taken the Daily Red Pill and joined our ranks, there are so many great workouts they have missed since the inception of F3 NOLA. One of my favorites at Okwata is the 40! Thank you, Rudy! Other epic beatdowns such as the H8 and Elevens with Burpees at Okwata are always crowd pleasers. Since the Army Corps of Engineers raised the height of the lake levee, this AO is like no other in the city. As a side note, you can also thank Mayor Cantrell and former Mayor Landrieu for keeping the grass well manicured over the years.

    WARMUP

    After my disclainer, we do a quick mosey around the Mardi Gras fountain with side shuffles, high knees and butt kicks and head over to the levee. The space between the sidewalk and the bottom of the levee is very spongelike and lumpy so watch your step.

    THE THANG

    As I give the instructions, I hear some groans from the veterans and get some puzzled looks from the newcomers as they process the task ahead of them. It’s pretty simple. Run up and over the levee 40 times and perform 10 exercises 40 times. The sequence of the beatdown is as follows:

    Burpees, Plank Jacks – 10 sec break

    Side Lunges, Catalina Wine Mixers – 20 sec break

    Supermans (Red Sun/Yellow Sun), Shoulder Taps – 30 sec break

    Reverse Crunches, Bonnie Blairs – 40 sec break

    Merkins, WW2 Situps / Wife Pleasers

    It’s 6:13am and we head back to the Freedom Hammer

    COUNTOFF, NAMERAMA AND COT

    Honored to lead all the HIM (High Impact Men) today and grateful for your friendship, camaraderie, and accountability. Prayers for those fighting cancer and those who have lost loved ones! Lord help us be the leaders we were destined to be for our wives, children, and community!

  • Spartan Redux Adieu

    After finishing the Spartan Super in Alabama last Saturday, I had a great deal to be thankful for. Although I didn’t train enough for the mileage and obstacles, the base of fitness that I gained through F3 was exceptional. Given that most of the beatdowns are 45 – 60 minutes, I was surprised at how well Hokie Pokey, Fracsac and I did for this grueling race. 8.5 miles and 25 obstacles. We all missed at least 6 obstacles and which comes with a pleasant 30 burpee penalty. That’s right, 180 burpees for me and I believe 240 burpees for Fracsac and Hokie Pokey. Although, on paper, it seems impossible, we were all thankful for the F3 NOLA Pax that kept us accountable in our training.

    THE THANG

    No warmup, just grab a rock and three (3) water buckets (35 lbs) and proceed around the park on the path. We walk briskly around the park and do a series of exercises at random intervals.

    30 SSH IC, 30 Mountain Climbers IC, Lunge Walk x 2 on the ramp by the baseball stadium, 30 Burpees, a flow exercise to stretch our hip flexors in a lunge position and the bottom, mid and top floor elevator. As we get back to the rock pile, you guesed it….30 burpees and 15 Red Sun / Yellow Sun Supermans IC.

    Countoff, Namerama and COT. Encouraged to see all the new Qs leading and I encouraged the four PAX members (Fast Tax, Scantron, Vanilla and Grimace) who haven’t Qed a workout to plan on it in the near future.

  • One Last Winter Morn

    8 Pax. Upper 40s. Dry. Still winter at the time of the workout.

    Mahatma was kind enough to allow YHC to take the Q this morning, since I missed my recent Q at Popeye’s. After a disclaimer warning the pax (especially those from Uptown) about the diverse wildlife roaming the park, we headed toward the jogging track on the north end. We gave hurried instructions to Mahatma as he rolled in hot and eventually circled up in the NE corner

    Warm-up
    • SSH x 20 – Rev Sox noticed a tempo change at the end
    • Peter Parker x 33
    • Imperial Walkers x 25
    • Merkins x 10 – tried to keep it nice and slow.
    The Thang

    1st Soccer Field (burpees for the six) – Bear Crawl length (120 yards) Sprint back (100 yards)

    SE corner (planks for the six) – 10! (10 merkins, 10 Squats, 10 WWII Sit-ups, 9 merkins, 9 squats…)

    Southside – lunges for the six

    Outdoor Gym (planks for the six) – 8 Stations. 45 seconds with 15 second rest

    • Burpees
    • Dips
    • Squats (T-claps to War Eagle for pointing out the deficiencies in my form) #TShiftEffect
    • Flexed Arm to Dead Hang
    • Box Jumps
    • Flexed Arm to Dead Hang
    • Dying Cockroaches
    • Flexed Arm to Dead Hang

    Mosey back toward the flag and circle up for Mary (LBCs for the six)

    • Flutter Kicks x 20
    • Keep the feet off the ground
    • Hello Dolly x 15
    • Keep the feet off the ground
    • Flutter Kicks x 10
    • Keep the feet off the ground
    NMM
    • T-claps to Darkwing Duck on his second post.
    • T-claps to JV for finding Lafreniere Park. We were shocked to learn that this was not only his first trip to this AO, but his first trip to the park. #ClassicUptowner
    • T-claps to Triple for completing the Spartan this weekend and continuing to post
    • I didn’t notice nearly as many feral cats this time, but did see a nutria, one roster, and 3 geese. Minimal amount of wildlife today.
    • There seemed to be some mumblechatter concerning the length of the bear crawl, but the pax pushed through and performed admirably.
    • When I visited San Antonio they kept they did not let their feet touch the ground during Mary. I thought implementing this idea was good, but it seemed to meet some resistance, as in most everyone’s feet hit the ground. Maybe I didn’t explain the idea well enough. We were on concrete so maybe concrete was considered ok? Not sure. There were also a few pax complaining about the weight of their shoes. That has a simple solution.
    • Much prayer for those facing cancer.

  • Don’t Say B.O.M.B.S in an airplane…

    But saying B.O.M.B.S at Popeyes means a great beatdown.

    Warm-Up

    Hillbillies X 20

    Mountain Climbers X 20

    SSH X 20

    Peter Parker X 20

    Arm Circles X  20 (10 forward, 10 backwards)

    Abe Vigodas X 10

    The Thang

    Today, YHC decided to consult the F3 Exicon for an optimal beatdown. The best beatdowns are those where you are intentionally pushed by the man beside you so partner up for B.O.M.B.S.

    As a group/pair complete the following:

    Burpees X 50

    Overhand Claps X 100

    Merkins X 150

    Big Boy Sit-Ups X 200

    Squats X 250

    1st PAX runs to the corner of the walking path while the 2nd PAX works on the exercises.

    Two observations from Popeyes this morning. First, at some point during a week Rev Sox must complain about a workout–today was that day. Second, Popeyes is the only AO where a real chicken may join the workout. They are friendly, resilient, and completely harmess so just keep working.

    Post-Thang

    Mosey to the wall at the entrance of the dog park.

    Dips X 25 in cadence

    Irkins X 20 OYO

    Dips X 15 in cadence

    Irkins X 10 OYO

    Mosey Back to the Flag

    Counterama

    Namerama – Welcome FNG – Darkwing Duck (He is a private investigator by trade.)

    COT

    -prayers for those fighting cancer

    As always, it was a pleasure to lead. SYITG.