F3 New Orleans

Author: Hawgcycle

  • 363 – There’s Just Something About That Number

    I saw Nip/Tuck had the Q this morning at the Birdcage.  Knowing that he is currently incapacitated, I nobly tucked my long-sleeve Perlis shirt into my searsucker shorts, grabbed a braided belt, slid my bare feet into a pair of loafers and headed Uptown.  Someone needed to step up and Q the workout and this provided a perfect time to reconnect with my Uptown friends and talk about the good times we had last Wednesday night at the Gnarly Nutria.

    Upon my arrival there were lots of rumors and innuendo regarding Nip/Tuck’s unfortunate fall on the very dark and lonely part of the Audubon Park Loop when Cowbell was the only person near him.  Let me repeat that it was only coincidence that Nip/Tuck won the Gnarly Nutria last year and suffered an unfortunate injury this year.  Having said that, Barcrawl should probably stay home next year.

    The Thang

    The Birdcage and Burpees have a long history.  This is where Mr. Awesome famously started a workout on April 1st telling the Pax that they were going to do 100 burpees.  They actually only did 25 at the time, but ended up completing 100 over the course of the workout.  It’s also where Bounty Hunter brought us his #SuddenChange workout from North Carolina, a scourge that has infested Louisiana similar to other nasty imports like Formosan Termites and Nutria.  Lastly it is where OBT did a redux of his “Shock and Awe” burpee slaughter starter at the GrowRuck weekend convergence.

    My hope was to continue the tradition by starting the workout with 100 burpees.  It’s no fun to do 100 burpees on your own, so we split them into manageable chunks and did them together (there is a life lesson there).

    Warmup:

    • 20 Burpees OYO
    • IW x 25; Windmills x 10; Good Mornings x 10
    • Burpees EMOM for 6 minutes.  Sets were 12, 12, 12, 12, 10, 10 – That made for 360 seconds worth of burpees, but as everyone Uptown knows – 360 is not enough.  We needed to do more.
    • Parker Peter x 25; Plank Jacks x 25; Peter Parker x 30 (This is the plank series made World Famous by Bubba and Rudy.  I hate it.)
    • 12 Burpees OYO – That makes 100 total.  I have a math degree from Arkansas State.

    We took an extremely short mosey (insert joke about Uptowners not liking to travel far here) and circled up to do some work using the World’s three favorite digits: 3-6-3.

    All exercises started with 3 super slow reps, 4 count going down, 4 count going back up, 4 count going down again and then holding that position until I called it.  Then we did 6 normal cadence reps, followed by 3 more super slow reps.  We did one set of this with each of the following exercises:

    • Merkins
    • Squats
    • Wide Merkins
    • Plie Squats (A Shorty favorite)
    • Diamond Merkins
    • Sissy Squats – stand on toes, cross arms over chest and squat as you lean back as far as you can.  This is the first time I had ever done this exercise and it is a burner.  I like it.  I promise I did not pick it out based on the name.  There is nothing sissy about The Birdcage.  The Skinny however….

    Next I had to modify.  Seems like all of the road construction uptown over the past 10 years has finally made it to the park.  I wanted to incorporate the bandstand into Dora 1-2-3, but it was sealed off so we used the picnic tables under the pavilion instead.

    Dora 363 – one partner performs the exercise while the other runs a short loop (another spot for a staying close to home joke) jumping over two picnic tables and returning to their partner.  Each team worked to complete the following reps:

    • LBCs – 363
    • Frog Squats – 242  (These are like Monkey Humpers without the humiliation of grabbing your ankles)
    • Merkins – 121 (Frog Squats + Merkins = 363…Yet another instance where my Math Degree from Arkansas State has proved invaluable.

    We were about 30 seconds from wrapping up the workout when G-Spot and El Wire bailed sending some finger gestures my way and telling me where I could go.  Seaman assured me that I should not be offended and that this is a type of Uptown salute that I myself should provide to people when I leave.  After that we sprinted to the flag where Jadaveon re-enacted the scene from the Gnarly Nutria where he sprinted by me and gave me the Usain Bolt stare down.

    We wrapped up with an explanation of F3 for our FNG, naming the FNG Pony Boy for absolutely no reason at all, an announcement about the Power Mile this Saturday, thanks to God, and prayers for a speedy and healthy recovery for Nip/Tuck.

    Moleskin

    T-claps to all of the guys Uptown.  They are good sports and they put up with my excessive obnoxiousness.  In all seriousness, what happened to Nip/Tuck last week sucks and we all hope for his speedy and healthy recovery.  Not only do we miss him, but he makes everyone of us better.  Thanks for the opportunity to Q today, it was fun.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 610 Stomp #101 – Back on Track

    This concluded our two week celebration the 610 Stomp Centennial Celebration.  The Inaugural Stomp went down on August 18th, 2015.  Four men attended that first Stomp and we can proudly say that we have seen the Pax increase a whopping 50% in the past two years as the attendance was 6 this morning.

    The original idea was to celebrate the Stomp by running the old route – up Marconi, across Filmore, back down Wisner and into the park past Pan Am Stadium.  Tool did some reconnaissance and found that the construction of the new overpass makes the route difficult, but still passable.  In the end, I decided to retire the old route for good.  It’s just not a very safe route (remember the silver 4 runner going 80 – not sure what the make and model was as it was always going 80 when it past me on Filmore).  There is a lot of running on or near the road, it’s dark, and at times you have to run with traffic.

    In memoriam of Cheech’s death during an F3 Lexington run, we went sleeveless and I used the disclaimer to preach running safety.  I went long on the disclaimer, but I thought it was important.  Some good tips I stole from someone else:

    • Ditch the badass black F3 shirt and wear something bright
    • Wear reflective bands or lights to make yourself more visible
    • Run against traffic and stay on sidewalks or grass if possible.
    • Run with a group – leave no man behind.
    • Bring your cellphone.
    • Get an ID bracelet or carry emergency contact info.

    The Thang

    The 610 Stomp was originally created to prepare for a Spartan race.  The idea was to jog for 6 minutes and then take one minute to do 10 burpees and catch your breath.  Then repeat until the 45 minutes are up and you are standing back at the flag.  The 6-10 Stomp.  The 6-10 part has been modified to mean different things.  If doing burpees, the Pax usually picks their own number to do.  Sometimes we run for 30 seconds in lieu of burpees (a SFx special).  Sometimes we do something totally different, but today, we were going to get back to the original intention, with one caveat.  Since Side Effects famously got our numbering system of track by making us repeat 610 Stomp #18, the Pax was instructed to do 18 burpees during 2 of the breaks – you could choose when, but extra points if you did them on back to back breaks.

    YHC hung with Shorty and we went too far.  We did complete the 86 burpees on the route.  When we got back (6 or 7 minutes late – #Cobains) everyone had to bail except Stubhub.  We sealed the deal with 15 more burpees bringing us to a grand total of 101 for the 101st running of the Stomp.  T-claps to Stubhub who makes his own rules and sealed the deal with 16 burpees.

    Moleskin

    Thanks to those that came out to celebrate today.  Cobains for getting back so late.  We had some great representation today.  I went back into the historical records and found that Tool was there with me for the very first Stomp.  Shorty showed up for the second one (he was an FNG at RockCity the day before).  Fracsac shows up in the Backblasts at Stomp #56, although I’m not sure that is his first.  Stubhubb debuted at Stomp #96 and Roots grabbed his passport and posted for the first time at Stomp #101. T-claps to all.

  • 610 Stomp #99 – Let the Celebration Begin

    Conditions:  Temp – 79,  Humidity – 90%, Wind – 1 mph from the SSW.

    7 men posted for the 100th running of the 610 Stomp.  (I realize the title says #99, that’s because SFx made us run #18 twice).

    Today was a shout out to the most important day in 610 Stomp History, Stomp #14 on 11/17/2015, when Tool took the Q and altered the route.  Tool decided that we would exit the park by the museum and run down the Bayou (Moss St.).  Tool suggested that we run to an area that at that time had a statue of Jefferson Davis on it.  That would be roughly 4.18 miles give or take 2 hundredths.  We completed that route and I don’t think we have ever gone back to the old one.

    The Thang

    Today’s instructions were to run as much of the route as you could in 40 minutes, getting back in time for a very special seal the deal.  Puddles, the only canine to every post at an F3 Nola workout has posted 13 times.  The Pax were asked to name the 12 men that have posted at the Stomp more times than Puddles.  1 burpee to honor each man, with a 5 penalty burpee if you shout out the wrong name.  We had about 5 misfires.  Here is the list of the top 12 all-time 610 Stomp Posters.

    1.  Tool
    2. Amnesty
    3. Rudy
    4. Jingle Vader
    5. SFx
    6. Hawg
    7. Shorty
    8. Cowbell
    9. Fracsac
    10. Kimchi
    11. Griswold
    12. OSHA

    Moleskin

    • The Stomp was created to train for the Spartan Race in Alabama.  I never really imagined that it would still be going 2 years later.  T-claps to Tool, Amnesty, SFx, Jingle Vader, and Rudy for making sure it had staying power.
    • Two people in the top 12 don’t even live in Louisiana.  Impressive on their part.
    • I think Cowbell is the only one on the list that was an FNG at the Stomp, although OSHA may have been also – but I can’t find any historical records for his FNG post.
    • We’ve had at least 4 guys from out of town AOs post at the Stomp, and one, F3 Beetle from Atlanta, has posted twice.
    • At least one of those four out of towners was still drunk when he posted.
    • Surge Qd the only 610 Stomp he has ever posted at – a 100% Q rating.
    • T-claps to Tool for coming up with the Bayou route.  It is infinitely better than what we had before.
    • T-claps to Triple Shift and Da Parish for joining us from the Coastie to seal the deal and end with a COT together.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • If My Math is Right – Today Must be Independence Day

    No one was signed up for the 4th of July running of the Stomp, so being the good F3 Nola member that I am, I waited until midnight, saw no one had taken it, and dutifully signed up.  I then rolled in hot.  I divided the 5 pax by two and gave each team a number of burpees to achieve during their 45 minute out and back run.  Both teams decided to start with 10 or so and then took off on their run.  When we finished we sealed the deal with 10 more burpees each.  That given the one extra that Stubhub did just for kicks brought the grand total to 231 the same number of years since our great nation declared it’s independence.  Wait, that’s not right?  It’s been 241 years?  Drat…ok everybody do two more burpees.  There we have completed 241 burpees, one for every year since our great nation declared it’s independence.

    Moleskin

    • Stubhub and I ran as a team and shared some good second F along the way.  Come to find out I taught both of his daughters math at Sacred Heart.  I told him that just minutes before I incorrectly subtracted 1776 from 2017.  Luckily they have been successful in spite of my efforts.
    • T-claps to everyone that made it out today.  No better way to kick off the celebration than practicing our freedom to assemble.
    • Thanks to Great Britain and their unreasonable rules, we banked 241 burpees for Operation Enduring Warrior Today.

    Thanks,

    Hawg

  • Expect the Unexpected

    Rock City was one of our many Q-less AOs on the list this week.  Being the excellent AO Q that I am, I waited until midnight Sunday night before signing myself up to take it.  I gave it some brief thought as I dozed off, and actually dreamt of some new exciting exercises – Quadraphilia with rocks anyone?  Alas, upon waking I faced the fact that there would most likely be a small clan this morning, given that 1) It’s the day before a holiday and 2) no one signed up to Q.  I decided it was a perfect time to do a half-murph.  I wanted to see how long it takes us.  Amnesty has an idea of making Pontiff the Murph AO and having Pax members opt for a Murph anytime they want, like when JV is the Q and you don’t want to do 45 minutes of Wall Sits, or when Amnesty is the Q and he leads us in the same workout he has led us in that last 12 times he’s Q’d as Bogey sings along to the 80’s Australian Pop emanating from Am’s iphone, and you want no part of that.   What is the name of that workout?  The Iron Eagle or the Steel Guitar or something like that.  Anyway, I digress.  I thought the optional Murph idea is worth trying so I thought I would get us used to it today by making it not so optional.

    As I rolled in hot on the bike, I found 5 or 6 guys ready to go.  More than I anticipated, but with a little creativity we could all find a place to do pull-ups.  We completed my standard set of warm-ups, since I know Amnesty doesn’t like change:  SSH x 25, IW x 20, and DQ x 15.  Then we took off away from the rocks toward the playground about the same time the train released 4 or 5 more cars.  There was a flurry of activity as cars screeched to a halt rutting up the local resident’s yards as middle-aged men in badass black slammed doors and hustled to join us.  No way we are fitting on the pull-up bars now….about face.

    A total of 13 men grabbed a rock (go big or go home – t-claps to Triple for taking me at my word – he stayed and went big) and circled up near the T-ball field.  We completed 3 sets of the following:  Shoulder Press (IC), Rows (IC), Curls (IC), Squats (IC), Calf raises (IC), and Dead Lifts (Down Up Cadence).  15 reps for the 1st set, 10 for the 2nd, and 7 for the last.  (T-claps to Walleye for helping a brother out).

    From there we moseyed half way back to the rock pile and got on a line.  Sprint 60 yards, bear crawl 30 and mosey back to your rock for the prescribed exercise.  Round 1 = 50 Bench presses, Round 2 = 40 Merkins, Round 3 = 30 Shoulder Presses, Round 4 = 20 Curls, Round 5 = 10 Burpees.

    Drop off the rock and mosey back to the VF.  Prayers for special intentions, safety during the holiday, and peace in our country.  Thanksgiving for our freedom.

    Moleskin

    • T-claps to the Pax for showing up today.  I was not expecting that many.  It’s always more fun with a big number.
    • There were some big rocks chosen today and a lot of sweat trying to lift them.  T-claps for going big.  We are getting stronger
    • Good times at coffeteria this morning.  I’ve been watching my macros all day.  So far today – Carbs 33%, Fat 30%, and Protein 36%.  Not sure what that last 1% MyFitnessPal?  I’m scared to look.
    • The Milkman continues to deliver – consistency is the key to success people.  Pay attention to what this man is doing.

    Thanks,

    Hawg

  • Physical Fitness Test

    We got a hot tip from OBT that Cadre Danny likes to use a Physical Fitness Test during his GRTs.  The test is 100 burpees, 1 mile run, 50 burpees, and a 1 mile run.  OBT said the time hack was 32 minutes one time and 36 another (there were hills).

    The Thang

    Mosey to the rock pile for the warm-up:  SSH IC x 25; IW IC x 25; Way Backs IC x 15; Windmills IC x 15

    Physical Fitness Test:  100 burpees, 1 mile run, 50 burpees, 1 mile run.

    Moleskin

    • Tool and Maverick got caught by the train and arrived right after we had started doing burpees.  They asked how many we were doing and we replied 100.  After 10 or 15 they asked again…”How many are we doing?”  Again, we replied 100.
    • I knew Rudy did not have clearance from his doctor to do burpees, so I told him he should go to the Skinny.  He didn’t listen.  When given the option between going to the Skinny or possibly breaking your pinky again, the choice is clear.  I wonder what it would take to get someone from Rock City to actually go to The Skinny?  The threat of a broken pinky is clearly not enough.
    • I was impressed by what the Pax accomplished today.  Everyone performed well and I believe we had 5 men finish sub 32 minutes.

  • Uptowner Yoga Challenge – Week #8

    The Thang

    • Wide Leg Hamstring Stretch
    • Twisting Torso Stretch
    • Split Leg Hamstring Stretch
    • Standing Side Stretch
    • Sun Salutations (x3)
    • Runner’s Stretch
    • Crescent Pose
    • Warrior 1
    • Warrior 2
    • Reverse Warrior
    • Triangle Pose
    • Twisting Triangle Pose
    • Right Angle Pose with Grab and Hold
    • Chair Pose
    • Prayer Twist
    • Tree
    • Namaste

    Moleskin

    • Do your backblast on time or you forget who was there and what you did.
    • This was the last Yoga session.  We did Yoga every Friday for 8 weeks and I’m not sure I am any more flexible than when we started.  I think my legs are a little stronger, as in I may be able to better handle one of JVs wall sit marathons.
    • Fracsac and I did end up with Yoga Butt, which is not as nice as you would think.  Basically it is a tear in the Hamstring tendon.  Not sure what to do about that.

  • TriskaiROCKaphobia

    Lo Siento as this BB is way late.

    I went to summer school between my Junior and Senior years of high school.  One thing I remember from it is that triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13.  It was also the name of a card game we played between classes, and it was the inspiration for this workout.

    The Thang

    I’m sure we did a warm-up but I am not sure what it was.  Knowing me, I think it was probably:  SSH IC x 30; IW IC x 30; Good Mornings IC x 15, Windmill IC x 15; Low Slow Squats IC x 25

    Triskaidekaphobia – Sort of like an organized deck of death, without the deck.  4 exercises, starting with 13 reps each, then 12, then 11, etc….We did Shoulder Presses, Curls, Rows, and Chest Presses all con roca in cadence.  We made it down to 4 reps of each exercise, so that comes out to 85 reps of each.

    We returned the rocks, ran to the flag, gave announcements and said a prayer.

    Thanks,

    Hawg

     

  • Uptowner Yoga Challenge – Week #7

    Conditions cool and breezy – 59 degrees

    What is up with the cool temps?  I was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt to a May workout.  Nice to see a couple of Uptowner Kotters this morning, Bogey recovering from a torn rotator cuff and Bubba getting back into it after his M’s boot camp.  They were looking for rocks, but I’m sorry…there are two weeks left in the Yoga Challenge.

    The Thang

    • SSHs IC x 30
    • IWs IC x 30
    • Squats IC x 20
    • Arm Circles IC x 15/15
    • Ocho count Body Builders x 10
    • Wide Leg Hamstring Stretch
    • Twisting Torso Stretch
    • Split Leg Hamstring Stretch
    • Standing Side Stretch
    • Sun Salutations (x3)
    • Runner’s Stretch
    • Crescent Pose
    • Warrior 1
    • Warrior 2
    • Reverse Warrior
    • Triangle Pose
    • Right Angle Pose with Grab and Hold
    • Chair Pose
    • Prayer Twist
    • Tree
    • Namaste

    Thanks,

    Hawg

  • 610 Stomp #88

    Shorty requested the prescribed GRT training today at the Stomp and YHC was happy to oblige.  The training for today involved sprints with some rest built in between.  We had 4 rucks among us so we modified some of the rest time.

    The Thang

    Ruck to the track and warm-up with SSH IC x 30; Imperial Walkers IC x 30; Windmills IC x 15; Squats IC x 20; Flutter Kicks IC x 20; and 8-count Body Builders IC x 10

    4 x 400m run with a 2 minute “rest” period between each 400.  When you finished the run you were to grab a ruck and do 15-25 reps of the given exercise.  Put the ruck down while the next man does his.  Keep alternating until the 2 minutes is up.  On average everyone did 2 sets of 20ish for each rest period.  Exercises were:

    • Rest 1 – Shoulder Presses
    • Rest 2 – Squats
    • Rest 3 – Shoulder Presses
    • Rest 4 – Squats

    Next we ran 8 x 200m runs with a 1 minute rest between each 200.  This was a true rest with no exercises included.  When we finished we rucked back to the flag and sealed the deal with 15 burpees.

    Moleskin

    So we ran 2 miles in 31 minutes and it sucked.  You can walk two miles faster than that, but running intervals for two miles is complete suck.  There is no way I would have completed that workout on my own.  We were all pushing each other and 4 different guys finished first at one time or another.  Running intervals hard is so much different than jogging at a steady pace.  Good lesson about running 10ks and half-marathon events – don’t start too fast.  It wears the body out quick.