F3 New Orleans

Tag: Zoolander

  • You call that cold? – from Russo

    32 degrees greeted Pax this morning as the South Louisiana Polar Bear/Bare Club (Northshore chapter) held its annual meeting at Granny’s. Look it up, it’s a thing.

    We get what YHC would consider “brisk” conditions maybe 5 or 6 times a year, and today was one of ‘em. Not enough for sleeves or full length pants, but we’re getting there.

    4 HIM asked “What’s Tabata with you?”:

    Warmup (10x – 25x, all IC)
    – Seal jacks
    – Toe touches
    – Self love
    – Cherry pickers
    – High knees
    – Grass grabbers

    Thang:
    Planned Tabata, generally 40 seconds on, 20 seconds rest.

    – Freak Nastys
    – Step ups
    – Urkins
    – Freak Nastys (again)

    Pax moseyed from Granny’s over to the Marsh, and then the long way home (using the trail) where Tabata continued with:

    Peter Parker’s
    Shoulder tap merkins
    Plank jacks
    Squats
    Lunges
    Crunchy frogs
    LBCs
    Crab cakes
    Hip slappers
    Apollo Ohnos
    Jump squats
    Big boy sit-ups
    Monkey humpers

    Between rounds at the Marsh, we talked laps around the b-ball court like we were punished in middle school for hiding the dodgeball.

    Back at Granny’s, we wrapped it up with some calf raises up the pilot house (3x each step) and then a quick round of American hammers.

    COT, Name-o-Rama, announcements, and prayer closed us out.

    Really enjoyed the conversation and camaraderie today, gents. Thanks for joining me and allowing me to lead the superstar crew.

    SYITG

  • Nashville Grinder – from Akbar

    8 plus YHC in a warm gloom this morning, completely opposite from the first time I experienced this beatdown in Nashville 2 years ago – 17 degrees and snowing. The results were the same, we all got better today.

    Warm up: ICx 10-15 SSH, Self-Love, Imperial Walkers, High Knees, Grass Grabbers, Arm Circles (f/b)

    The Thang went like this:

    6 exercises, 10 reps each. Once completed, run to Beck N Call and back or block carry around the Gipper. Return and add 1 rep each round.

    Squat Press
    Derkins
    1 arm block Row –
    Tricep extensions
    Squrls – Squat + Curl
    Block hold leg raise

    There are advantages and disadvantages on the run or carry. Some stuck with 1 or the other, some mixed it up. Most got 6-7 rounds in, 400+ reps. We went until 6:40, returned the blocks, and it was time for 3MOM.

    Mary: IC x 10-15 Leg raises, Hello Dolly, Rosalita, LBC

    Count, Namorama, Zoolander prayed us out.

    Announcements:

    – Tanked Up has New Year’s Day Lakefront Q, 6:30am
    – Krazy Ivan, Thursday Feb 3rd, 8pm Lakefront
    – Run Cajun Run starts Feb 1
    – Franco’s Ice Man Dip and Dash. 10am at Franco’s

    Was great to Q the Gipper again, thanks for letting me lead,
    Akbar

  • Holiday calories -BAM – from Waterpik

    YHC felt the need to work off some Holiday calories after a week of Big meals, late nights, desserts, beer, wine, and cocktails. The holidays—YHC enjoyed a bit of it all, and they’re not over yet. But, alas, it was time to get back to work, including “work in the gloom”

    After a brief warmup, YHC led the pax through a benchmark beatdown that was intended to be reminiscent of the origins of the milestone marsh- started by butt splice.

    One minute of AMRAP merkins.

    One minute of AMRAP big boy Sit-ups,

    1 mile timed run down to the lakefront’s sea wall and back. (Hence the moniker, milestone marsh)

    Back at the AO, it was time for 3-6-9. Thank you shooter.

    Pull-ups, burpees, merkins. 4 sets total.

    Close out by heading to center court for some mary.

    cot and thanks to Akbar for praying us out.

  • No Shoe Left Untied…No Cowbell Either? – from Bushwacker

    It was great to be back out at the Scramble, especially on a crisp clear morning with Christmas carols in the air! As we began the warm up, a bright pair of head lights made the corner and what to our wondering eyes did appear but Zoolander arriving to spread Christmas cheer…but no Cowbell.

    WARMORAMA

    x10 IC:
    SSH, High Knees, Imperial Walkers, Slow Squats, Windmills, Toe Touches

    THANG

    It seems since Ida took out out the pier, there is no more “Regular” route, and Qs have been trying to be clever with various trajectories and tribulations for the PAX to suffer through. QIC was similarly inspired last night, but that inspiration was dashed by a wave of life and the Scramble was all the better for it. We went something like this: Messina to Monroe to W Beach to Lakshore to Coffee to Villere (through Pik Pass) back to Messina and returning to city hall. Along the way YHC had to stop to retie his shoe, it’s always this pair, always the right one. So I chose to keep a brisker pace in order to catch back up the the pack O’ scramblers each of the 5000 times it happened!

    MARY

    7 minutes more, the better to kill the core! 100x OYO:
    LBCs, 100s, Freddy Mercurys, Flutter Kicks, Roslitas

    COT
    Count/name (still no Cowbell). Requesting special intentions for a friend, Bird reminded us that the holidays can be a hard time for some people. YHC took us out with a focus on the value we bring to each other, and the urging to share that value, in whatever form, to others we encounter.

    As were were concluding our activities, Waterpick’s Dick Tracy watch went off alerting us all that Cowbell had gone straight to Liz’s Where Ya At to reserve a table for a lil coffeteria . What do ya know, Cowbell showed up after all!

  • No Bricks Were Harmed During This Beatdown – from Steve

    Pax of 8 over at Granny’s yesterday morning, including a new face , Pass Interference. This guy Q’d his farewell Q on Thursday in Atlanta only to then move down to Pearl River over the weekend and post at Granny’s on Tuesday? Huh. Impressive. Also impressive are Granny’s numbers lately. It’s hard to say exactly, what with the lack of backblasts and all (I don’t wanna hear it, Akbar!), but YHC would say it’s been 7 pax or more for over two months. What caused this sudden resurgence? Russo’s number-themed beatdowns? Or maybe Zoolander’s continued efforts to grow the pax finally paying off? Or maybe it’s Granny’s recent facelift? (She’s all dolled up with Christmas lights these days and has a new splashpad – which feels like two years in the making and hardly looks different.) Who knows, but regardless, it’s great having a bigger group out there.

    Anyhow. The beatdown.

    Warmorama: SSH, good mornings, IWs, hillbillies, arm circles, windmills, seal jacks, 10x IC. Usually I stretch this out in anticipation of a Cowbell – arriving in Cowbell time – but no need to today. He clipped the curb coming in five minutes EARLY.

    Thang:
    Started off making the block, stopping twice to do 10x kraken burpees.

    Then onto an incredibly well-organized circuit including “shit brick sliders,” which a visiting pax (from Birmingham?) brought down to us a few years back. The man on the sliders would be a timer, taking two bricks and sliding them down the trace in a bear crawl-like position until he made it through the tunnel of lights. Run the bricks back, and the everyone rotates. Clockwise. Or counter clockwise. Doesn’t matter, Akbar is gonna do what Akbar wants to do when it’s this early in the morning. The other stations might have been:

    Lunges
    Leg raises
    Merkins
    Freak Nasties
    Situps
    Jump squats
    Suicides

    Unbelievably, the bricks survived (Pik took it easy this morning). But we did leave some red chalky streaks down the trace that give a little horror vibe to all of the otherwise festive decorations at the trailhead. Anyway, after everyone got a taste with the bricks, we Lt Dan-ned our way down the trace until we reached the bus depot, where we stopped for one final set of 10x kraken burpees.

    Two minutes to spare for a rapid fire set of leg raises, dollies, rosalitas, lbcs, and freddies.

    COT where we informed Pass Interference of the upcoming Braveheart screening, Mathlete Q, and Nightmare Before Christmas. Pik prayed us out. Thank you men for the post and the push, it’s always a pleasure.

  • Inaugural Fire Fighter Challenge – from Bushwacker

    Since April 27 of this year YHC has been, for better or worse, persona non grata around the F3 northshore. I’ve done my best to show my face at least enough so that yous guys don’t forget what I look like. The Wacker of bushes has been on a journey to become a community servant as a Wacker of Fires. And thus, the long awaited, highly anticipated Fire Fighter Challenge has arrived!

    During academy, and from time to time on shift, we don our turnout gear – boots, pants jacket, hood, helmet, and mask – and go “on air” slinging a self-contained breathing apparatus and 4000 PSI air tank onto our backs – up to 80lbs! We then perform a series of strenuous activities which test our strength, stamina and endurance. And so it was with great preparation and only last minute planning that YHC brought to the men of the Lakefront a facsimile thereof as well as could be expected in the gloom. And, perhaps, a tradition was born?

    WARMORAMA

    In increasing reps starting with 12 (excepting for supersticious 13):
    SSH,
    High Knees
    Butt Kicks
    Cherry Pickers
    Windmills
    Fire Hydrants

    THANG

    We mossied to the gazebo for a few quick rounds of Merkin Waves and Squat Waves. This allowed for 2 things: QIC’s opportunity to count PAX for teams, and one of our resident byciclists, Turbo, to catch up to the crew.

    We then mossied to the shaft where, thanks to help from early birds Steve, Shooter, and Waterpik, the field was set! Breaking up into teams of appx. 3 the PAX lined up, each at a station including the Tire Toss, the Ax Chop, the Tire Flip, the Tire Drag, the Tire Pull, and Moby Chain Drag. While P1 was tackling the task, P2 & P3 was doing a specified exercise, including LBCs, Flutter Kicks, Mnt Climbers, High Knees, Leg Lifts and Gas Pumpers.Somewhere along the way, Waterpick split the massive log, and in a temper tantrum over having not been he who split the mighty oak, the lugubrious Shooter shattered the hickory handle of the ax! There was continuous conversation as men of all ages and capabilities gave it their all battling amongst a sea of black rubber with shimmerings of silver links, all covered in the grassy morning dew. After a couple of rounds, proving to edict that many a hands make light a work, the PAX loaded all the coupons back on the trailer from whence it came, and back to the flag we mosied.

    MARY

    With 3 minutes to spare, it was on your 6 for 20 Putins IC, 20 Flutter Kicks IC, and 100 100s OYO.

    COT

    Count and name-o-rama before naming FNG Dangerfield. Turbo prayed us out. (and Cowbell made it just in time for “Amen”)

    Gentlemen, it was a pleasure that I’ve missed, being back in the main event, and I want to thank ll of you for making F3 Northshore what it is, and allowing me the humble honor of leading you bunch of yahoos through a taste of a new chapter of my life.

    SYITG

  • Clearing at the Park… – from Shooter

    YHC arrived to a clear park with all the debris cleaned up at the AO including our previous weeks coupons removed… Zoolander seemed to be the only man posting on this Gloom but then he shared that Bird had EHed him, so at that point I knew we would have at least 3. Then out of the darkness Waterpik arrived getting back to his old ways of running to the AO..

    Brief warmup of all 10IC Good mornings, Toe Touches, Peter Parker’s, Parker Peters, Butt kicks, SSH and Mountain climbers.

    Different route through Mandeville for 3.9 roughly..

    Appreciate the post gentlemen..

    Till the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!

  • Nothing but THANKS – from Russo

    YHC is a big fan of finding little things to be thankful for every day. Something new or different. Something unexpected. Something unique. Anything to keep me plugged into how blessed we are.

    Blessings like a bathroom at Grandma’s house. Like a cool, crisp 43 degree morning. Like lunch dates with potential love interests. Like 7 HIM sharing a common experience and making themselves better. Like Zoolander’s encyclopedic knowledge of early-to-mid 90s Halloween and witchcraft movies.

    Giving thanks was the name of the game today at granny’s.

    Warmup (all 10 to 20 IC)
    – Seal jacks
    – Grass grabbers
    – Torso twists
    – Imperial walkers
    – Arm circles
    – Cherry pickers

    Thang

    Mosey around the lakefront, where we stopped intermittently to give THANKS: each exercise starting with the proper letter. T claps to Cowbell for picking up on the pattern quickest (I think).

    T. T merkins (10)
    H. Hallelujah squats (15)
    A. Apollo ohno’s (10: 2 is 1)
    N. Not-so-lazy boys (10)
    K. Knuckle merkins (10)
    S. SMC’s (10)

    T. Traveler merkins (10 in a clockwise pattern)
    H. Hip slappers (20: 1 is 1)
    A. American Hammers (25: 2 is1)
    N. Freak Nastys (15)
    K. Kraken Burpee (5) – T claps to Steve for correctly guessing what was coming.
    S. Step ups (20: 1 is 1)

    T. Twinkle toes (20: 2 is 1)
    H. Hand release merkins (10)
    A. Alligator merkins (10)
    N. Nutcrackers (10 IC)
    K. Knuckle merkins (10) – Respect to JV and Slots (and maybe others) knocking them out on the concrete without gloves
    S. Scissor kicks (20: 2 is 1) – or maybe it was flutter kicks, I can’t keep them straight.

    The mosey back ended with one minute to spare, so Pax planked until the clock hit 0.

    COT, Name-o-Rama, announcements, and prayer closed us out.

    Here’s where I give thanks, not only this week, but every day for this group of (and all) HIM. Getting up before 5 to push harder with the vague goal of making ourselves better, however we want to define it, is never an easy decision, but it’s often the right one. I hope we continue to be able to take some time to give thanks for what God has blessed us with.

    Like breath in our lungs to do Hallelujah squats in a circle in the middle of Girod street, like a cult worship, without getting hauled away to jail to “sleep it off.”

    SYITG

  • A Bonnie Blair By Any Other Name Still Sucks – from Zoolander

    I know it says Zoolander was the Q for this one, but that’s only because YHC’s name isn’t on the dropdown menu yet. And, it was ultimately Zoo’s idea to get the fellas from down the bayou to Q a November Lakefront beatdown, and we couldn’t be more grateful!

    YHC showed up in the Goosemobile with four men and two boys who’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. It’s become very clear to me over the years that God has wired men in such a way that the more we suffer together, the more we come to care deeply about each other’s well being, regardless of differences in background, lifestyle, (number of kids), etc. So, it was easy to jump at the opportunity to travel north and lead a beatdown out of gratitude for the men who have allowed me to suffer with them and who first shared the gift of F3 with me. Now, the cycle is continuing down in Thibodaux with a growing PAX!

    Disclaimer was stated for the benefit of an FNG (Welcome, Crock Pot!). Warmups consisted of IC: SSH, Windmills, Imperial Walkers, Arm Circles, Cherry Pickers, Self Love, High Knees, and Butt Kicks, followed by a mosey to Noah’s Ark.

    YHC revealed an F3 Workout Deck, and three cards were pulled and listed exercises completed with a promise of more random suffering to come. This was followed by partner BLIMPS, but with a bit of a twist. Grundy’s late arrival provided an opportunity to reminisce back to YHC’s first beatown, whcih was Q’d by Grundy. It included Sister Mary Catherine’s in the warmup, which totally burned out my legs before we even got to Noah’s Ark. A fitting memory to share before introducing these BLIMPS:

    Thang 1:
    Partner 1 ran around Noah’s Ark, while Partner 2 huffed and puffed his way through their shared total of:
    50 Bonnie Blairs (another name for SMC’s),
    50 Lunge Jumps (another name for SMC’s),
    50 Iron Mikes (another name for SMC’s),
    50 Merkins,
    50 Plank Jacks,
    50 Sister Mary Catherine’s (SMC’s)

    Thang 2:
    Moseyed once again, stopping to complete exercises from three more cards from the deck, then lining up along the wall for two version of a newly minted “Indian Inchworm Wall Crawl”. The first version consisted of all PAX in dip position on the wall moving to the right and completing a dip with every “step” while the man in the rear of the line crab walked to the front. After a number of traffic jams and Bushwacker grumbles, the last of the PAX had crabbed their way to the front, so it was time to turn around and go the other way. Pax assumed the irkin position on the wall and moved to the right, completing an irkin with every “step”. The rearmost PAX bear crawled their way to the front of the line this time, so things moved a little more quickly.

    Thang 3:
    Another short mosey brought us to a grassy area big enough for the highly anticipated Tunnel of Love. Ironically, Zoolander had just shared his gratitude that YHC hadn’t included this exercise since it was a memorable highlight from my VQ a few years back. So, it was with a special joy that I announced that all PAX would be snuggling up shoulder to shoulder in plank position while the rearmost PAX in the line army crawled through Tunnel of Love. Bushwacker’s encouraging “love whacks” kept the line moving while the plankers’ shoulders burned and threatened to give out.

    Hope then rose in the hearts of many as we lined up for what would be a wildly chaotic Indian run back to the flag with many PAX digging deep, knowing that this would ultimately be the last time they’d have to push. But, YHC knew what lurked amongst the cards in the deck, and after two relatively harmless pulls to fill the small amount of time left before 7:30, a third and final pull was offered to the FNG. It was the new guy, at 7:29, who managed to pull the 400 meter sprint card, arguably the worst card in the deck. So, despite the shared astonishment and disbelief, the beatdown ended with 25 men sprinting toward an inhabited car and then back to the flag, all residual energy and will to live good and drained.

    COT, announcements, and prayer by Enron of F3 Thibodaux.

    Coffeeteria offered time to catch up and enjoy the beautiful weather before the long ride home to Thibodaux. All PAX in the Goosemobile shared their gratitude for the opportunity to experience F3 on that level and for the men who were willing to suffer with us as we continue to strive to get better at doing hard things. It was a great gift to get to spend such high quality time with you guys this morning, and I very much look forward to seeing you in the gloom (wherever that gloom might be)!

  • Face cards prevail, unfortunately not at the Casino.. – from Shooter

    7 PAX and a visitor to close at COT graced the YHC this Gloom for some card work..The face cards were a plenty, if only that could happen at the Blackjack table..

    Warmup
    15IC Toe Touches, Hillbillies, SSH, Air presses, Cherry pickers, Imperial walkers and Butt kicks..

    Thang
    Moseyed through Mandeville utilizing 2 bus stops, OLL overflow parking area and the corridor of Granny’s..
    Each stop instructions given for each suit with called exercises. First stop included jump stairs, freak nasties, Derkins and jump ups. Second stop sprints, calf raises, alternating merkins and American hammers. Third stop jump overs, Irkins, little Manny crunches and step ups. Returned to AO for the finale including Diamond Merkins, Burpees, Flutter kicks and a Joker at which YHC offered a called exercise of 25 LBCs by Hammer..

    Count, namorama, and COT with Wacker slipping in with flag and walkie-talkie in tow..

    Appreciate the post gentlemen and until the next Gloom 👊🏼💪🏼✌🏼!!!