F3 New Orleans

Tag: Wiford Montana

  • Tuesday Tough, Mostly – from Goose

    YHC pulled into a crowded parking lot for a Tuesday after making a quick loop around the new lot across the street, which caused the loitering PAX much consternation and fearful curiosity. But, it was unfounded–YHC was only scouting for a usable stretch of street for the first Thang.

    During the first part of the warmup, YHC was again faced with the weak, quiet cadence counting that tends to characterize the Thibodaux PAX. This weakness in an otherwise perfect PAX rears its ugly head especially when downrangers are with us–the confused outsider counts loud and proud while only about 2 or 3 locals eek out a barely audible, inaccurate count between Paradox and Yankee Joe’s comments about Tana’s hair. So, YHC shared his shame this morning, assuming the Tuesday Tough PAX would receive the blow with rock hard abs, but, alas, it was not so. You would have thought YHC had pulled out a ruler and was coming after their nether regions. All downrangers were immediately condemned and banned from future beatdowns, and warmup counts for the next two weeks are guaranteed to be a combination of both overly loud and overly quiet with side plots to overthrow the count-shamer. Well, so be it. At least we’re not overly schism prone–we should get through this no problem.

    The first Thang was supposed to be a quick Bleep Test over by the bumper area, and as the PAX planked up while YHC and Pope set it up, YHC noticed that it seemed a little farther of a distance than usual. The typical bleep test consists of two lines a set distance apart, and you run from one to the other at the sound of a beep–you have to arrive before the next one because it signals the start of the return trip. So, you’re running across at every beep, and if you don’t make it before the next one, you have one more try before you’re “out”. Originally, YHC thought the distance was 40 meters (34 yards), and set it up that way, but after the first beep, it became very clear that YHC was woefully mistaken. Literally nobody made it. So, thanks to the invention of the internet, YHC was able to double check and saw that the official distance is actually 20 meters. This thew off the idea that we would be driven to finish at least 40 laps to make a full mile, but half a mile or so would have to suffice.
    These men were no less tenacious, though, and YHC found himself challenged by a PAX that hung in there way longer than in previous beatdowns. As the time between beeps continued to shorten, YHC settled into what would clearly be some long-suffering. After about 40 laps, more and more PAX started dropping off, but we made a rule that you could buy your way back in with 20 monkey humpers, so as Paradiddle, Pope, and YHC tried to outlast each other, PAX with refreshed(ish) legs kept jumping back into the mix, pushing us to drive harder. It was quite the mental challenge, but all said and done, we completed about 54 laps, which is by far the highest we’ve done yet. Super impressed and grateful for this crew!

    With about 15 minutes left, YHC had three songs and three core bombs to deliver. The first was “Walking on the Moon” by the Police during which we’d be on our sixes holding feet at six inches, with a big, slow flutter kick at every “walking”. This is a five minute song, so I gave the PAX a chance to end early by guessing the artist–after some work, they got it, and YHC was happy to stop after about three minutes.
    The second song was “Ooh, Baby Baby” by Smokey Robinson. We held static LBC position (crunched up) for the duration, and dropped down and back up with every “baby”. This was a first for YHC, and it really worked–we’ll definitely be seeing this again.
    The third was “Keep on Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve Miller Band–held static wife pleaser position (hip bridge up) for the duration, and down and back up for every “rockin’”. This was a killer, too–definitely worth repeating.

    With about 8 minutes left, we finished everyone’s mile by running three laps around the track (thanks, Paradox, for the push!), which left us with about five minutes for Mary. We started with Hello Dolly’s, and YHC’s goal was to keep going until Yankee was no longer able to sustain his high-energy counting. It was a nice distraction, but all distractions ultimately fail against increasing fatigue, so we made it to about 34 (2:1). We filled the last 4 minutes with as many Big Boys as possible. This sparked what YHC deemed the best mumblechatter line of the morning: YJ had brought his new F3 Broga mat and was pulling it out when Paradox commandeered it for group usage the way we’ve been doing with YHC’s for the past week. A mat that big is wasted on just one, so Dox and I assumed the three-man-butt-saver position, leaving a sliver for YJ, which led him to share that he felt “like the kid who brought a new toy to recess only to have the big kids take it away.” Shared suffering, bro. That’s how it goes.

    COT and the Animal shirt went to Superfun(d) (first time recipient) for his silent doggedness through the morning’s grind. Announcements and the typical accusations of exclusivity followed, and Paradiddle prayed us out.

    It was awesome to push through this morning with these guys, especially having Lil’ Cuz and Superfun(d) back in the mix, and Paradiddle posting three morning’s in a row! It’s amazing how the presence of each unique man makes such a huge difference–don’t think you’re not missed when you’re not there! You know how it feels to look around the circle at each guy with gratitude that they’re there–it’s no different when we look at you! So get there!

    SYITG,
    Goose

  • Move Your Feet, Work Your Meat (And Wet Concrete) – from Goose

    YHC went into this morning with much hope of being a part of a large group of F3 HIMs pushing hard together through a well curated beatdown before entering the 5K race of the year to represent in an undeniable way the benefits of F3 to the wider Thibodaux community. All would see the black-shirted clan exuding brotherhood, confidence, and joyful tenacity as we swept through the crowd singing sea shanties and laughing at one another’s clever jokes. Instead, YHC and Pope pulled into The Peltch late and stressed only to see a large, Gigi’d man and his smaller companion running toward me up the road, away from the park. Confused, YHC rolled down the window and asked Tana and Paradox where the heck they were going at 6:31am. They shared that they were the only ones there, and they figured a short mosey would get them warmed up nicely before YHC, the Q, got there. Although this was a little disheartening, the fact that Tana was wearing a headband the exact color of the Gigi lifted YHC’s spirits considerably, not to mention the promise of solid quality time with both the big man and Paradox. And, knowing that Yankee Joe (dealing with family stuff) and Wet Tap (facilitating birth) would be joining us for the run gave YHC some hope that it would be an enjoyable day even if we didn’t overwhelm the city of Thibodaux with the glory of F3.

    After a warmup of the usual suspects, we grabbed coupons and moseyed over to the Thunderdome for some Dora to score some points, log some miles, and get the legs warmed up. While one partner chipped away at 200 curls and 200 Big Boys, partner two ran around the building. This took some time, and it may have established the Broga/Yoda mat as the ideal situp platform. Tana confirmed both its springiness and its ease on the posterior, and YHC wouldn’t be surprised if more were found dragging one around for the month of May like Linus with his blue blankie.

    Next, YHC introduced these fellas to the Turbo Tax Tennis Ball Thang. Enron, YJ, and Dilly enjoyed the strain it provided last week as well as the competition, so YHC figured we’d give it another go. This time, the same partners moved from the Thunderdome to the gate by the track and back–the man with the ball can’t move, but has to throw it to his partner who can. If it was dropped, both partners had to complete 5 genuflections. Pope and Paradox came out swinging with long throws and acrobatic catches, which of course led to many drops and many genuflections. YHC and Tana went for shorter lobs and an easy rhythm, and with not a single drop, outpaced the younger team by many units of measurement. After waiting for the losing team to finally arrive after their 85th genuflection, it was time to mosey back to the flag for some pre-race stretching.

    It was here that we learned that Tana had never stretched a day in his life and couldn’t actually bend his knee more than one or two degrees on account of his quads being as tight as cold rubber. We had also learned earlier that on the previous day, Tana had run something like 8 miles around his neighborhood and played 16 straight hours of pickleball into the wee hours of the morning. We were in awe at his willingness to run a 5K after all that (though later events would prove that our awe was unfounded).

    Wet Tap arrived with Redfish with about 2 minutes left of stretching, and we followed one another to the fairgrounds. After parking, the owner of the home in front of which we had parked came out and asked how long we’d be there. He wanted to mow his yard before it rained. We promised to be out of there before 9:30, and this seemed to assuage him. On the way in, Paradox must have said about 17 times that it was his first time running an official race, and Redfish shared that he’s been in about 17 of them, starting at the age of 2.

    At the registration tent every third person had their phone out showing everyone around them the radar, which looked like a death blob flying toward us. In typical fashion, the mob just waited for someone else to tell us it wasn’t a good idea to run through a lightning storm, and since they didn’t, we lined up. We were in the middle of calculating our chances of survival when YJ sauntered up in full firefighter gear: tank, coat, hat, boots and everything. It was a sight to behold. It seemed he and his boys were gonna run this thing in 70 lbs. of firefighting gear. (That ought to rack up some points!). Not sure if he chose that himself, but what a dude.

    It was also during this time that Tana made his actual intentions clear. He let us know at the registration tent that he had to run back to his car for his credit card (though Paradox paid with cash no problem…). And, while we were lining up and looking for his head poking up over the crowd, Paradox got a text that said something like, “I got to the car, I looked at the radar, I got scared, and I peeled out. It’s every man for himself. I think the world is coming to an end. And my legs are tired.” So, it would be four of us.

    Soon, it was time to start (a bit chaotically), and we took off into the darkening horizon. After about a half a block, a lightning bolt slammed into the ground about a mile away as if to set the tone for what would be a memorable experience. Not long after that, the little bitty stinging rain started coming in sideways, and it only increased in size and quantity as the race went on. The lightning and thunder were constant, like a soundtrack for four manly men moving at a moderate pace through sheets of rain along busy highways. At one point, we were actually singing sea shanties (it seemed fitting in the driving rain), and we were enjoying one another’s company so much that the finish line snuck up on us. We pushed hard for the last hundred yards or so, but YHC felt sad that it was over. There was no possibility of winning the race, so we were able to enjoy the unique experience of running around Thibodaux in a storm with good brothers for a good cause. It was a memory maker, for sure, and I found myself wishing we had three more miles.

    We were done and headed to the cars by about 8:30, but no matter how early we were, old boy wasn’t gonna be cutting his grass today. YHC was grateful for the camaraderie, the seat covers, and even the rain this morning. The rest of you fartsackers missed out!

    SYITG,
    Goose

    FYI: The Q-sheet has reached the place where it’s basically gonna be YHC and Yankee Joe from here on out unless you start putting your name in there. It doesn’t matter if it’s close or far away, get on the schedule! Q-ing is your “down-painment” for the gift of F3 in your life!

  • There Goes My Hero – from Paradox

    On a gloomy spring morning on April, 20 2023 7 pax loaded into the back of big brother Yankees Time wagon (it’s kinda like the DeLorean but it runs on veggie juice and compliments) and headed to the Lions Den cinemaPlex circa 1985. YJ successfully posed as our dad to get our R rated tickets at the counter then Tana grabbed us some 64 ounce colas and we headed in after removing Enron from the stuffed animal claw game …”I was on a heater!”
    The cheap orange lights began to dim as Goose unpacked the Big league chew he smuggled in just for YHCs bday. We settled into creaky back row seats. You can smell it now can’t you? A fine mix of popcorn, cigarettes and regret. Cardinal assured us the place was lacking on Holy water. Nothing like a movie theater in the 80s. We covered Young Horns eyes through the atrocities of the first two trailers then came the last….

    A deep baritone voice describes the big screen …

    “This Summer….(screen flashes man loading grenades as ominous music plays) …
    In a world full of corruption (screen flashes man strapping on bazooka ) one man will Q a beatdown to single-handedly save the pax
    (Screen flashes tightening vest ) …
    His mission , relentless cardio (screen flashes JBL ) …
    His enemy …mumblechatter
    (Screen flashes boots lacing up )
    His help…there is none (screen flashes war paint ) …

    POOX Films brings you ….
    A Prestige Worldwide production …
    “Every 80s Action Hero”
    (Ominous music reaches crescendo )

    Duke! Put down those Mike and Ike’s and roll the footage!

    Warm Up

    The usuals with 35 reps of SSH to get the PAX in the right state of mind. Cardinal immediately regretted waking up after the 21st straddle hop.

    YHC gave the disclaimer that today we would honor two great gifts from the 80s. YHC andddd the great 80s action hero. Take a look at this list :

    Terminator
    Predator
    RoboCop
    Bloodsport
    Die Hard
    Lethal Weapon

    That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
    What a time to be born !
    Before CGI and remakes, no stunt doubles needed. Just a bazooka and a one liner and the lone hero saves the world. So we set out to honor the 80s action hero.
    But first some training.

    Bazooka Indian Run to the ball park. Last man does 3 bazooka squats with Ole hickory (30 lb bar) and runs the bazooka to the last man then sprint to the front. (I love the word bazooka , it just rolls off the tongue …bazooka)

    Arrived at the ball park where we learned lesson 2, shooting a million nameless henchmen.
    YHC dialed up that ole nurturing lullaby from Drowning Pool.

    “Let the Bodies Hit Floor “
    Bobby Hurley on Floor
    IW on song
    Air raises on 1..2…etc
    And there’s still nothing wrong with us !

    The Main Thang

    Jacked and Tan Circuit

    The 3rd and most important lesson of the 80s action hero is to always look good. So we needed a full body circuit.

    Setup: 7 stations , 1 central cone for the Hero who would serve as our timer while surrounded by goons with different weapons.

    Monkey Humper Trivia before each round

    Our first paradox hero was John Matrix , who YHC dressed as today
    He was the star of this 1985 action movie about a retired army colonel who must track down his kidnapped daughter ?

    COMMANDO

    What actor played John Matrix?
    ARNOLD

    I’ll stop here to note that watching 21 yo French Horn nail every single 80s trivia question when he wouldn’t be born for another 15 years is astounding. Like seeing Beethoven with his first piano. The kid has a gift. Keep shining Horn. T claps.

    Round 1 John Matrix Commando
    Center Cone – 35 big bar boy sit-ups

    1. KB swings
    2. Jump rope
    3. Coupon curls
    4. Brick flys
    5. Med ball Slams
    6. LBCs

    Round 2 John Rambo (1982)
    This 80s action movie launched an entire franchise
    About a Vietnam vet who wanders into a small town looking for a friend.
    Sly Stallone -Rambo-82
    15 monkey Humpers

    Central Cone – 20 squats

    Round 3 John McClane (1988)
    This 80s action movie is about a grizzled veteran cop who only wants to get home to his family but must batted 12 terrorists instead.
    Bruce Willis

    10 monkey humpers

    10 Peter Parker’s at central Cone

    The muscle fatigue was so intense that the distractions ranged from open air 5 year Thibodaux hard commits to YJ calculating how shredded he will be at 65. The pax (YHC included) continue to struggle with jump rope and it seems Enrons lack of rhythm is infectious.

    We ended with an all out “it’s gonna blow “ sprint to the flag where Goose let us know his shoulder may be injured but nothings wrong with the quads fellas. The old man is pure smoke in those new brooks!

    Some Mary where YJ melded animal noises with a cadence that created the time vortex to bring us back to present day Thibodaux.

    COT and the Goose prayed us out.

    NMM

    Has there ever been a more stupid phrase than “single handedly”? What has any human ever done completely by themselves? We are created by an all knowing , all powerful God , then birthed by our mothers and cannot provide a single bit of support for ourselves for roughly the first half decade of life. Yet here I am , time and time again, and with that special brand of pride. I can do it, I can pull it together, I can do this, just put it on my shoulders. And while that trope sells all the Hollywood tickets for action heroes, it’s only a path to destruction in the real world.
    For what did our real Savior look like. A bazooka? Nope just a legion of angels he left uncalled for. Surrounded by his enemies? Absolutely. So he went for nunchucks right? Nope, he took the relentless suffering then while nailed to a cross , forgave them instantly. And with his dying breath he must have nuked the place in a slow mo sprint ? Although it’s what I would have done it’s a nope again. Instead he poured out an ocean of Divine mercy and single handedly Saved the whole world.

    ….There goes my Hero

    SYITG
    Dox

  • Research and DeveLEGment – from Goose

    It was about 5:12 and YHC was still sitting in an empty parking lot beginning to wonder if the double Goose threat had scared all the PAX away. But, then YHC heard a choir of angels behind him and knew that the Tana had descended. He shared how many of the other PAX were shaking in their exclusive text thread boots, but that he wasn’t gonna miss out on an opportunity to get stronger.
    Since it was just the two of us, we realized we had a golden opportunity to answer the question that has been burning in men’s hearts for generation upon generation: how much punishment can a human quadricep take?

    After a brief warmup of nothing but legs and a few arm circles, we moseyed to the bumper and stop sign and back. Then, it was onto the first stage of research with a new one: something called Dutch Skaters. These are meant to be used by a group as a way to traverse a long distance in single-file Indian run style. YHC and Tana tried it around the track to get a sense for how it might be used in future beatdowns. You’re basically leaping from one leg to the other at a 45° angle and bringing your back foot to touch the opposite calf. So, you’re moving forward, jumping side to side as if you were ice skating and touching your laces to your opposite calf each time you land. It wasn’t too hard, but we were starting to feel it toward the end. It’s not the manliest of movements, but compared to the rest of the beatdown, it was the high point of our looking masculine and dignified.

    Next, we did 11s starting at one picnic table with 10 heel raises on the side of the benches so the heels would go below the bench on each raise, and then 1 alternating stepup (2:1) on the picnic table across the field, descending and ascending in rep count in typical 11s fashion. The transportation between the two tables was the kicker…this was a partner exercise. Big Tana and Lanky Goose squatted back to back and moved first forward/backward, then backward/forward, then sideways, then the other sideways. It was admittedly a little awkward at first without anyone else out there, but once we found our sync, we were unstoppable, kind of like when the Power Rangers linked up their individual robots to make that big huge robot, and you knew it was game over.
    The quads were burning more than YHC expected even after just the first set, but Tana’s positive attitude carried YHC despite heavier than usual car traffic passing through. I have no doubt the neighbors knew exactly what we were trying to accomplish and were cheering us on quietly from the confines of their vehicles: “Look at those two large, fit men making such progress in the fields of leg science! I feel proud that this is happening in the front of my neighborhood!”

    Once this was done, and the quads were sufficiently smoked, it was time for some howling monkeys. This consisted of a ring of fire with all participating PAX holding the ankles while each one in turn does 10 monkey humpers. Since it was just the two of us, we took turns and each did about five sets. As it turns out, holding that position after doing more monkey humpers than science has (up to this point) allowed is pretty dang hard, but we knew the passing neighbors were cheering us on, so we hold our ankles proudly and pressed on for the good of human progress.

    The next routine didn’t have a good name, so we decided to name it either Countdown to Death or The Nuclear Option—it was like Al Gore, counting down to when he turns the key and destroys the human race via nuclear holocaust in order to save the environment. It started with 10 jump squats, and then holding Al Gore position for a 10 count, then nine jump squats, followed by holding Al Gore for a nine count, then eight, then, seven, etc. But, instead of ending with one, we, of course, ended with 10.

    After this, we completed a much needed recovery lap, and though Tana at first questioned whether it was actual recovery, he quickly came to the conclusion that whatever came next would likely make the lap feel like recovery in comparison. And he was right.

    After the spaghetti-leg lap, it was time for The Motivator, a side, straddle hop routine used to burn out whatever legs and cardio you might have remaining. It starts with 10 regular SSH, then 10 half SSH, then 10 quarter SSH, then 10 hops with your feet together. Without stopping, you then do nine of each, then eight of each, then seven, etc., But, again, we ended with 10 instead of one because it’s F3.

    We had 8 minutes left for Mary and rejoiced at the chance to lie down and get off our legs. We did: WWI sit-ups, Freddy’s, heels to heaven, crunchy frogs, slow flutters, slow penguins, and leg raises.
    COT, and YHC forgot to pray (my bad, Tana!).

    Though the question remains unanswered, two brave PAX got stronger this morning thanks to the Tanacity of the big man. T-claps! Thanks for the camaraderie this morning, bro! Your legs are now scientifically classified as beefy.

    SYITG,
    Goose

  • On the Road Again – from Paradox

    Well Im running down the road trying to loosen my load , I got 7 Pax on my mind. 4 that wanna own me, 2 that wanna stone me and one says he’s a friend of mine!

    Come on Yankeeeeee, don’t say maybe!

    I gotta know if His sweet love is gonna Save me!

    We may lose and we may win
    But we will never be here again
    So let’s warm up , mountain climbin in and take it easy…

    Duke! Get the footage and plug Bucees into the gps
    It’s time to hit the road. (Jack)

    Today YHC wanted to kickoff the Easter season through one of my favorite resurrection stories : The Road to Emmaus
    It gives such a different perspective from two disciples heading home from Jerusalem and highlights many of YHCs struggles like expectations and contentment.

    7 strong at the stage with really fine cool spring weather, perfect for making music with my friends.

    Warmup
    The usuals and a bumper mosey with mild to moderate chatter including Tana (welcome back Kotter) in full blown insubordination and Kilo wasting no time tweaking the Qs transitions after missing roughly the last 97 beat downs. The man has clearly been keeping his knives sharp during the layoff. Even a seasoned Q questioner like Goose could respect the effort. T-claps. Most other notable chatter surrounding the incredible confirmation cookout for two of our pax last night and the unbridled power of 50 plus kids.

    To set the stage and mindset of these disciples we got started with a little F3 classic Flowers by Moby
    They brought Christ up and then down and they thought he left them to weap and moan….
    Alternate squats and Leg Raise.
    Always a joy Moby.

    Mosey to the yet to be named Finance Office lot where we tested out the fresh pavement with our first Gospel trivia.

    How many miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus?
    The pax overshot at 14 and paid with 10 oyo burpees

    A little trivia interlude with “On the Road Again “ by Willie Nelson.
    Rocky Balboas on parking bumper during song , burpee on Road . Ronnie with a JBL sponsored BreakOut Performance hitting some groovy rhythm looking like a young Travolta out there. Must have been a few drops of Jucifer left in the tank.

    Second trivia round where pax correctly guessed the Gospel of Luke and reduced the reps to 5 burpees .

    Mosey To Corner of Richmans loop

    Trivia 3 where YJ quickly answered Cleopas as the named disciple and not to be confused with YHCs uncle Clofas who always lets you know that “he knows his rights “

    For the remainder of the beatdown we ran the “big track “ with intermittent excerpts from the Road to Emmaus as our ten counts.
    We completed dry docks, Australian angels , and SSH in increasing fashion on the corners.

    Lastly, hopefully inspired by the disciples revelation, we made an all out push for the flag in running fashion as we left our own beatdown expectations behind. Great effort to push through the pain together here.

    Goose handed down the coveted Animal shirt and YHC is already doing hallway merkins to make sure the threads are peak strain on Thursday.

    COT and Kilo prayed us out.

    Tremendous gratitude for all God is providing in this community .

    NMM

    Sometimes YHC really pumps up my own expectations and discontent leading to further chaos and an endless search for the “greener pasture “. The story of the road to Emmaus always reminds me of how we can look back and see what God placed all around us even when we were too busy to see it unfold.

    With our own plans the sounds of our own wheels can drive us crazy! So lighten up while you still can. Don’t even try to understand. Just find a place to make a stand and take it easyyyyy!

    That’s all I have to say about that

    See y’all on that gloomy Road

    Dox

  • Attitude Determines Altitude – from Paradox

    YHC touched down at a crisp cool Den today with a single mission: Prepare the PAX for one of modern man’s most grueling mental and physical battles.

    An ultramarathon you say ?
    No , that’s fun …I guess..enjoy your 120.0 bumpersticker bro

    Surely it’s The Iditarod then??psssshh Child’s play and the dogs get all the cardio anyway.

    But wait …Swimming the English Channel? …yea sure that’s cute. My grancy used to do water aerobics too.

    No men , this grueling cauldron of chaos is not for the faint of heart. Today it is YHCs privilege to prepare the pax for …(dramatic pause) ….
    ….taking your family to the airport …there were audible gasps from the Pax as we had to fan Goose back to life after he fainted thinking about 11 suitcases in the van of power but we would soon find out the syncope was actually related to wardrobe vascular constriction.

    So the peanuts were fresh , the runway was clear and if you are getting nauseated by airport puns then you better get the Dramamine baby cus this little Cessna is just getting warmed up!

    Duke! Get your boarding pass
    It’s time for the bean footage!! (TM)

    Warm Up
    Standard issue where we discussed the NYT article about pickleball injuries being the leading cause of F3 fartsacks. Hope our F3 brothers can get some help soon. The first step is knowing you have a problem.

    Thang 1

    As with most fruitful endeavors, the real work starts in the home. When your wife sends you to the attic to get the luggage while she crams shoes into vacuum bags.

    We rifle carried over to the steps where YHC delivered a brief monologue enjoyed by all except the king of monologue’s. We want name him but he looked as if YHC was his 4th job applicant of the day who said “my greatest weakness is having no weakness”.
    Pure disgust from the professor.
    It fuels me.

    Packing luggage
    P1 100 thrusters/squats
    P2 takes coupon over stairs and back in rifle carry
    FencePost is a coupon thruster machine.

    Thrusters really got those propellers spinning and we were halfway through a second ten count when Goose took off his hoodie and changed F3 Thibodaux forever. YHC did an actual double take as my first glance revealed Goose was covered in turquoise body paint. Closer examination revealed a women’s extra small tank top with a euro strip in the back for full trap flex. Silence descended as the backstory unfolded. Our fearless leader had wrestled this item away from his M and 2.0s to better serve the pax after the recent demise of Animal shirt 1.0.
    It’s this brand of tenacity that allows Goose to lead this pirate ship with wreck-less abandon. (How he went 17 minutes with a straight face boggles my mind. )

    YHC tried to recover the blackbox flight plan after this crash but I’d be lying if I wasn’t sneaking peaks at the absolute unit turquoise pectoral muscles across from me. Away from me temptress!

    Alight alright , focus …this is what we trained for.

    Sooooo now You have the 12 year old gmc Acadia busting to the gills with luggage and half eaten cinnamon rolls. You give the ole girl two pats on the hood, she coughs to life and you try to remember when you got new tires, 2017? we’ll be ok. It’s time to head to the danger zone.

    Thang 2 ..the Danger Zone
    Side Block Hops
    Increasing block merkins (irkins ) on Danger zone
    Full disclosure I had no idea there were that many “Dangers “ and this got out of hand fast so I had to pull the plug. Can’t win them all.

    Next you arrive at the parking garage and hustle the short term lot for long term pricing (pro tip from money market Ronnie!)

    TSA final boss

    Conveyor belt race
    2 teams
    Plank side to side pull coupon under backwards when it passes pax does 5 plank jacks. Team Delta took the title with a plank Jack strategy that YJ figured out too late and Im sure there will be a Council of Jeaux about this slight very soon.

    Now you get to your Gate and have 2 hours to kill because that TSA precheck ultra boost double clear (Ronnie did it again!) got you through TSA in a flash so it’s time to impress your family with aviation trivia.

    Head for the hill in front of civic center.
    Right answer lunge to and Back
    Wrong answer , coupon lunge

    1. This American aviator made the worlds first nonstop flight from NYC to Paris
    Charles Lindbergh

    2. 1905 the wright brothers were credited with flying the worlds first plane. first names of the Wright Brothers. (Orville and Wilbur )

    3. What town did this occur in? Kitty Hawk, NC

    4. What does the letters TSA stand for? Transportation Security Administration (great save by Yj)

    Goose was full of that mean girls tank top swagger and crushed 4/4 questions for the pax , even guessing correct questions before YHC got them out.
    Do not bring your medium difficulty trivia into the house of Dawson unless you want to get swatted into the rafters.

    We finished with the main event ..
    The Delta Mile
    4 different layovers with a “flight in between “ and a return to baggage claim. We left Lil cuz at LAX a few times but all found our bags unharmed.

    25 coupon press
    25 coupon OHP
    25 coupon curls
    25 coupon squats

    Great effort here to get our flights on time.

    The real “M” VP of any travel is your wife who always plans the best travel, games, snacks, medicines and we wrapped up with a few rounds of Mary to honor our better halves.

    Goose then bequeathed the Tank of Destiny to YJ and it’s future looks bright.

    Announcements :
    Northshore 12 hour beatdown on Saturday . Goose leaving at 4:15 from the Stage.
    Buy those pre order shirts !

    COT and Goose prayed us out

    NMM

    Does anyone else have that phrase from your childhood that at the time made you sick to your stomach but in the light of adulthood looks better and better. Mine is “your attitude determine your altitude “and if I had one coach say it I had a thousand.

    F3 and our Thibodaux brotherhood has helped this phrase come to life for me. Carrying luggage, shuffling bags, coupon thrusters , silly plank races . These all can be put in the “that’s stupid “ file very quickly. But when combined with shared suffering , and an attitude of “I wont let a physical barrier break my spirit “ well then , the sky is the limit.

    Thanks for flying Paradox Air
    Please return your coupons to the upright position

    SYITG ,
    PDox

  • The Ab Ladder – from Enron

    YHC pulled up to The Stage at 5:05 with nervous anticipation for what was to come on this chilly Tuesday. There were no hard commits on the GroupMe from the night prior, so attendance was an all-out guess. In previous talks with a couple members of the PAX, a discussion had come up that an all core/ab-work beatdown has not been done lately, if ever, with the Thibodaux PAX. Therefore, YHC felt a calling to create something that would address this challenge, and from there the “ab ladder” was born. The waiting game for the remaining PAX to arrive had YHC second guessing if today’s plans may be too Tuff for Tuesday Tuff, but it was too late to make any adjustments. Even though his M, a nurse and previous kinesiology major, confirmed the abdominal intensity may just be a bit much. This came after she rolled her eyes from seeing the kid’s easel being stolen for beatdown creation…. again. Slowly the group started to arrive, not letting the colder than usual morning deter them from their fate of stomach hurting sneezes, laughs, and all-around torso pain. 3 men ready to roll arrived and circled up to start.

    As a great author once wrote. Duke, roll that beautiful bean footage:

    Warmup: SSH, IW, Windmills, Willie Mays Hayes, AC, Cherry Pickers, Self-Love – most with a cadence that was longer than normal due to the attempt to delay the inevitable.

    Thang 1: Just a regular mile run – this was originally going to be a “core work” mile with stops every quarter mile to partake in different forms of ab exercises, but with the prior concern of overexertion on abs, “we just started run-n”. YHC enjoyed the ability to partake in some chatter with the PAX instead of the usual sucking of wind by the second half of the mile.

    Thang 2: The Ab Ladder (all exercises were written on an easel for reference as the thang progressed) each exercise was completed in order, adding the next to the list each round after completing a lap around the stage (about 0.1 of a mile)

    5 – Merkins
    10 – BBSU
    15 – Pickle Pounders
    20- J-Lo’s
    25 – Leg Raises (as Tana and Superfun(d) made clear, these were the beginning to the end of the fun)
    30 – Penguins (1=1)
    35 – Freddie Mercuries (2=1)
    40- LBCs
    45- Flutter Kicks (2=1)
    50 seconds of 6 inch hold (the PAX was just short of getting to this one before time was called)

    COT and Tana prayed us out. It was a great morning in the gloom and YHC is so thankful to be surrounded by such an amazing group of men.

    SYITG,

    Enron

  • ParO’dox and the St Patrick Games – from Paradox

    YHC rolled into the Den on two wheels with just a few extra minutes to let some LepraCones (tM) stretch their legs in the ball park . YhC saw Dilly drive up to see what was happening, gave a fist bump and politely let him know that everything he had seen was “classified “. YHC then set out a few coin dishes and the last thing YHC saw was a gangly Irish fellow with a green mullet and a smedium Irish Affliction shirt (never change Thibodaux Walmart) coming toward me. He had Joy in his eyes and a prayer in his heart. He shotgunned a Guinness and told YHC this beatdown was his…that’s when YHCs lights went dim and all that’s left below are eye witness accounts and fragmented memories during an out of body experience.

    Duke !! Get the footage !!

    Warmup

    5:15am:
    Report from Dale at the
    Chic Fil La Drive Thru :

    “I saw several middle aged men loitering around a lion statue. They looked like they were waiting on someone. Then a maniac rounded the corner with green hair and it was business in the front , party in the back . I’m gonna be honest with you here, that guy looked high. Maybe bath salts. He ran around them in circles, obviously some pagan ritual chant playing from a wireless device. He paused in the middle and spoke in what sounded like a hybrid between Jeff Foxworthy and Connor McGregor. They followed him in unison and it only took a few minutes for them to work into a full lather. He gave them one last cussin and they disappeared toward the demon duck pond. Strange man …real strange. “

    5:22am
    Report from Martha who “gets her steps in” every morning at the demon duck pond track:

    “Youths today !! I tell ya what ! They ran by me in a line singing about drunken sailors and rambling rovers! Then they made the last man do a crude 1/2 lunge dance. This new generation is circling the toilet ! Now if you’ll excuse me I need 400 more steps so I can have my pastalaya for breakfast “

    Journal entry from Earl Thibodaux
    Who works maintenance for the parks department and keeps meticulous notes during his smoke break.

    “These young fellas poured into the ball field about 5:30a. They had cardinals, gooses and one guy was straight up named after a piece of wood. Clearly gang affiliated. The skinny mullet weirdo read them an excerpt from the St Patrick prayer and they danced around the field. The signs said :

    Station 1
    Christ Beneath Me
    10 big bois
    1 coin

    5 bonnie Blair’s

    Station 2 Center Field
    Christ on my right, Christ on my left
    15 (2 is one) Apolo Ohnos
    2 coins

    Station 3 Right Field
    Christ Above Me
    20 Star Jumps
    3 coins

    5 bonnie Blair’s

    That fella then organized some sort of exercise money game. Prolly with that real Lean fella they call Enron.

    First they went solo collecting coins at Stations and the losers did squats.

    Next he had them Split into teams
    They started at home base with 2 buckets for coins.
    1 fella was at at bucket doing jumping jacks at all times but could swap out with a team mate.
    The rest of them leapt to any station or a cone to complete reps or gather a prize which gave them gold coins for the bucket of gold.

    He had some cones out too , looked like this:
    Cone 1 (I) 20 LBCs 1 coin
    Cone 2 (R) 100 high knees (1 is 1)
    Cone 3 (E) 30 Leg Raises …(the answer to the preBlast riddle was set as a 0 coin trap . Sorry Dilly! )
    Cone 4 (L) 10 side Lunges (left right is 1)
    Cone 5 (A) 10 American hammers
    Cone 6 (N) 20 flutter kicks
    Cone 7 (D) 10 dolphin Hops

    I heard the one they called Dilly holler “stay away from the E cone, it’s a trap!” They never saw it coming.

    They played a few rounds and the team with the cranky bald fella that makes fake siren noises kept winning. Finally they jogged back around the civic center and I for one , wouldn’t be surprised if you saw those mugshots on the 6 o clock news. “

    5:58
    Dale from Chic Fil La again

    “Well that girl forgot my mini biscuits so I made another lap around the drive thru. That’s when I saw them kids sprinting back to the lion. They did a few more leg ups then counted each other and named each other. They said a group prayer and scattered before I could even jot down a plate number!

    6:20a
    Paradox:
    YHC woke up in his driveway with a foggy head and some scattered cones. A note on my windshield read “you’ve got a solid group of Lads there, now they know a proper Irish beatdown !
    St Patty Pray for us
    see ya next year
    – ParO’dox “

    NMM

    Was recently discussing the consistency aspect of F3 with Enron and we both agreed it had outlasted any previous “fad exercises” in our careers. A funny thing about F3 for YHC is the “frog in boiling water “ effect. One day you walk into your first gloom with old gym shorts on cus your friend said it was “a challenging workout ”. The next thing you know you have on a Irish national flag hat with a sewn in mullet singing sea shanties and yelling “Oui” as a response while you lead other men. Yet just as the frog can’t quite remember when the water started boiling, I can’t really pinpoint when F3 begin to make me a better man. I just know day by day, rep by rep , through suffering and triumph we improve each other a little more .

    See Ya Bonnie Lads in the Gloom
    Dox

  • SPORTSman Paradise VQ – from Superfun(d)

    YHC showed up at 4:55 to be the first one at his VQ since he usually shows up 2 minutes before to maximize his sleep. All behold, French Horn swoops in right before YHC like he’s preparing for Yankee Jeaux’s final. T-claps for him for his dedication and time he spends with his mentor. While sitting there waiting for more PAX to arrive, a douche wagon pulls up even with me but on the highway, the bald-headed man nonchalantly backs up to the entrance thinking no one is watching. A strong PAX of 12 showed up on this warm humid morning to witness my VQ.

    Warmarama: SSH, Imperial Walkers, Arm Circles (Front and back), Cherry Pickers, Self Love, Grass Grabbers with the clap

    Moseyed to the BB court. YHC jokingly wanted to have his VQ at Schneider Park for home field advantage. The park has the football and baseball field, but a while back, they demolished the tennis/basketball court. So the PAX was going to take a mosey down Chackbay until we found someone’s house to play BB.

    Thang 1: Basketball (Gotcha )
    – Chatter from the PAX(Paradox) murmured that they called it “Put Out” in the North. Well ole friend, this is bayou country, anything south of I-10 is Gotcha, Yankee! Knowing the PAX is very competitive, I made sure that the two basketballs were the same size with exactly 7 PSI each so I would hear no complaining. Once you were out, SSH until the game was over. Winner gets to pick the punishment exercise for the PAX for a 10 count. Knowing the Lions Den always had a double rim, I was waiting for some good laughs. Not thinking that 12 PAX would show up, the game lasted longer than expected. Eventually Paradox battled out Lil Cuz and became the victor. Paradox graciously gave out 10 burpees to the rest of the PAX. There was going to be round 2 but didn’t want to run out of time. Moseyed to baseball field.

    Thang 2: Football (11s)
    – Started with 1 squat, karaoke from the edge of the infield until the outfield fence (switch direction on each round), 10 Bonnie Blairs (2:1) then Nur back. Repeat. Moseyed to home plate.

    Thang 3: Baseball
    – The PAX split into two teams. This exercise was timed. One member at a time would run the bases until they got to home plate, then the second teammate would start and so on. Here’s the catch, each base had its own exercise to complete. 1st base: 10 merkins, 2nd base: 10 BBSU, 3rd base: 10 Toy Soldiers (1:1), then run home to tag next teammate. Team 1 would go first while Team 2 would plank the whole duration then vice versa. Team 1 edged out Team 2 with a time of 5:11 to 5:38. Team 2 graciously gave Team 1 15 burpees while they effortlessly did 15 imperial walkers. Moseyed back.

    COT and Goose prayed us out. Thank y’all for coming out to support my VQ. The fitness, fellowship, and faith is powerful in our group, and I greatly appreciate the F3 Thib PAX.

    Until next year,
    Superfun(d)

  • DJ DOD volume 3: Fat Tuesday Tuff – from Paradox

    A good beatdown can originate from many sources. Some days we sharpen iron, others we honor feasts. Sometimes a theme may be in order or maybe just a hodgepodge of track induced pain (yea Goose , we still salty).
    A few days ago after YHCc’s 3rd lifetime Mardi Gras parade, so many F3 worthy songs were heard that there remained only one course of action. A text to my DJ DOD counter part that it was time for volume 3. The supply of Mardi Gras jamz was high and the pax demand for fun on Fat Tuesday even higher. If only we had a professor of marketing (who is also a self proclaimed traditional NOLA Mardi Gras expert ) to guide us. Well maybe one day, I guess it’s next man up. So we dusted off the deck of death and two north La rednecks shouldered the burden of what became Fat Tuesday Tuff.
    Pit Boss Ronnie set the tone early with a pair of seizure shades and several parade props to distribute amongst the Pax. 4 more pax saddled up and we let the good times roll! ( it’s a traditional Nola greeting , look it up )

    Duke ! Get the bean footage!

    Warmup
    Ronnie led standard warmup
    While YHCc was adding increasing burpees between each warmup. Goose saw the tactic immediately and looked like he smelled a dead animal carcass in the bayou while Cuz begged for more than 1 each round because he wore his scuba shorts for extra sweat.

    The Twerkin Mile
    A twist on a TT classic to get the core fully activated.
    Standard Merkin mile course with four stops for :
    20 leg raises
    40 big boys
    60 gas pumps
    80 flutter kicks (2:1)

    This is where the chatter picked up and we were introduced to an entire new segment called the Tana Tumbler. Here’s how it works . During a group run you introduce a topic to Tana and he will run with it while introducing new topics on top of it until we are all in stitches. In this very manner we covered Scientology , The great hot sauce debate, what the Superman move actually means and even post BD he couldn’t be stopped and gave us a history of pre-ATT devices. We have our beatdown fact checkers working overtime and will give a full report on percent accuracy of the Tana Tumbler claims.

    Back to the flag for some DJ DOD

    Song #1
    Mardi Gras Day
    Boat hold into Superman on all “mardi gras days”
    YHCc kept feeling like a beached whale and in retrospect we might need to do this in the grass or maybe never again.

    DOD
    Special Mardi gras edition
    Ronnie will throw the cards up in the air and if you catch multiple you get to pick which exercise .

    Goose started with a great strategy to “breadbasket “ the cards and gifted us 100 calf raises
    Wet Tap gave us 14 Carolina dry docks and several excuses as to why he wasn’t a wide receiver.

    Song 2
    YHCc stressed again that we would stick to Traditional NOLA Mardi Gras music so we went for an old timer classic…
    Silentos “Whip and Nae Nae “ -hold plank
    Whip -merkins
    Nae Nae -side reach
    Stanky leg -lift leg
    Break yo leg – MC

    Still not sure I wanna know what a Superman is.

    DOD
    Tana brought us 9 ranger merkins and Cuz caught some high flutter kicks that were particularly nasty .

    Song 3
    Saints go marching in
    Bearcrawl /crawlBear to first picnic table
    Dolphin hop on Saints
    Silence followed by grumbling, ahhhh sweet music to my ears.

    DOD
    YHCc caught zero cards , blamed the wind and we did 60 2 is 1 Freddy mercuries. Lil Cuz has not fully learned to translate YHCc’s slurred speech and began to dutifully pound out 60 Freddy Merkins. Love that attitude cuz. Bonus Merkins with a smile will always get T claps at F3 thib.

    Ronnie was last, caught two cards with his hands and one on with his chest sweat (like a real man) and we rounded out with 20 low and slow squats.

    Song 4
    Carnival Time Finisher
    Burpees on carnival , SSH on rest

    COT and Wet Tap prayed us out .

    Had an absolute blast out there in the gloom today fellas. Special thanks to Ronnie for all the props and for willingly looking like a crazy person with me.

    SYITG
    DJ Texaco Cat