F3 New Orleans

Author: King Kong

  • Return of KimChi

    Mothership is the AO where I met other PAX outside of Uptown. I miss those days where we were averaging 20 plus PAX. But because of COVID, as leaders in our community, we added new AOs to thin out the numbers of PAX at each beatdown. Well, 10 strong PAX (one FNG – Two Dollar) showed up this morning, and Bogey made sure I knew that none of my Uptown PAX showed up for my Anniversary Q. When Jingle Vader was coming in hot, I told Bogey “See, there is an Uptowner!” Bogey responded “He’s here every Saturday.”

    I can write about the exercises… we did Dora, partner workout at the Great Lawn, round of Mary…. but the highlight of the day was to see KimChi back. Even better was that I was able to catch up with him during the cleanup. BTW, our area of City Park is beautiful. Well done PAX. I am extremely thankful that I am part of the F3 community. I don’t know where my mental state will be during COVID if I don’t have this. KimChi – none of us can understand what you are going through, but I hope to see you back out regularly. There is no cure for your wounds, but I hope spending an hour with your F3 brothers on a Saturday morning will bring a little joy because it certainly does for me.

    SYITG

    King Kong

  • Good to be back at Rock City!

    Pontiff Playground maintenance crew must have known Uptowners were loitering in Metry. The gate to our AO spot was locked. But that didn’t stop the persistent PAX… the train tried…. running full speed at 5:25 a.m. …. blocking few PAX to the AO. But regardless, everyone managed to make it to the football field with his beloved rock just in time for the first exercise – 20 SSHs in cadence… leading into the following warm-ups in cadence:

    Windmills x 10, Grass Grabbers x 10, Hill Billies x 15, Forward Arm Circles x 10, Slow Merks x 10, and Self Love x 10.

    After warmups, everyone lined up about 20 yards from the endzone facing the goal posts.

    Round 1 – 10 curls, moseyed to the goal posts and back, 15 curls, moseyed to the goal posts and back, 20 curls. SSHs for the Six.

    Round 2 – same as Round 1 – instead of curls, the exercise was chest presses. At the end of this round, Mahatma did extra homework and ran to the goal posts and back after the last 20 chest presses. Few mumblechatters here mocking Mahatma how he didn’t follow instruction of stopping after the 20 presses. So the Q decided to add more running in the following rounds. Even more mumblechatters by now…. I think mostly from Rude-y.

    Round 3 – moseyed to the goal posts and back, 10 goblet squats, moseyed to the goal posts and back, 15 goblet squats, moseyed to the goal posts and back, 20 goblet squats, moseyed to the goal posts and back. SSHs for the Six.

    Round 4 – same as Round 3, the PAX did 5, 10, and 15 big boy situps with the rock instead of squats.

    Round 5 – same as Round 3, the PAX did 5, 5, and 5 manmakers instead of squats.

    From here on out, the Q shortened the field to about 15 yards instead of 20 yards.

    Round 6 – 5 thrusters, lunge walked with the rock, 10 thrusters, lunge walked back with the rock, finished the round with 15 thrusters. SSHs for the Six.

    Round 7 – 10 Hello Dollys with the rock, overhead carried the rock towards the goal posts, 15 Hello Dollys, overhead carried back with the rock, and finished the round with 20 Hello Dollys. SSHs for the Six.

    7’s – started with 6 burpee jump overs (over the rock), carried the rock to the other side, 1 overhead press. Carried the rock back to original side of the field, 5 burpee jump overs, carried the rock back to the other side and did 2 overhead presses. Rinse and repeat until you finished with 6 over head presses and 1 burpee jump over. SSHs for the Six.

    20 flutterkicks in cadence with the rock.

    Time to return our companions and moseyed back to the flag.

    COT – announcements – new Yoga session at Okwata (Thursday – 5:30 a.m.). Prayers to Willie’s friend and thankful to be out here with the PAX. Never take it for granted that we have the physical and mental strength to do this on a regular basis. SYITG.

    King Kong

  • 6 Year Anniversary (10-14-2020) – The Birdcage

    Woke up early to this beautiful, cool, dry morning to setup the field in front of Audubon Zoo with our F3 flags. Then I moseyed to our usual Birdcage COT spot to meet up with 45 other PAX to celebrate F3Nola’s 6 year anniversary. Before the disclaimer, I told the PAX that this is our actual anniversary date, and The Birdcage was our very first weekday AO. We then headed over to the field in front of Audubon Zoo with our warmup exercises in cadence. To honor our 6 year anniversary, we started the day with 6 burpees OYO.

    1.) SSHs x 20

    2.) Windmills x 10

    3.) Self Love x 10

    4.) Imperial Walkers x 20

    5.) Peter Parker, Parker Peter, MCs x 15

    We divided the PAX in 2 groups in the middle of the field. One group was facing the Zoo while the other was facing Magazine Street. Each group had their own marker to reach to (which was about 50 feet away).

    Round 1 – moseyed to the marker and did 10 hand release merkins. Then moseyed back to the middle of the field and went back out to marker to do 15 hand release merkins. Then moseyed back to the middle of the field and went back to the marker to finish off with 20 hand release merkins. Then converged back to the middle of the field to wait for the Six (SSHs until the Six was done).

    Round 2 – similar routine as round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 big boy situps.

    Round 3 – similar to round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 jump lunges. Also, instead of running, we were side hopping.

    Round 4 – similar to round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 leg raises.

    Round 5 – similar to round 3 except we did 10, 15, and 20 squats.

    Round 6 – similar to round 1 except we bear crawled to the marker and moseyed back to the middle of the field with 20, 40, and 60 overhead air presses in between.

    Round 7 – similar to round 6 except we bunny hopped to the marker and moseyed back to the middle of the field with 5, 10, and 15 burpees in between.

    At some point during the workout, we saw a shooting star with a crescent moon in the backgound.

    Round of Mary

    We did the following in cadence:

    1.) American Hammers x 20

    2.) LBCs x 20

    3.) Hello Dolly x 20

    4.) Low Country Crabs x 10 (Yankee’s lead)

    5.) Dying Cockroach x 20 (Hawgcycle’s lead)

    COT

    We finished the beatdown with COT. Announcements and prayers. Someone mentioned Bogey is buying for everyone who shows up at the Deutsches Haus tonight. We thank Sky Q for giving us the strength everyday so that we can do this on a regular basis. Always grateful to be out in the AM with the PAX and hopeful for many years of this.

    Few of us had some F2 coffee at PJ’s on Magazine. Always entertaining conversations with the PAX. SYITG

  • Last Mothership Before COVID-19 Changes Everything

    Back in January, I have already heard about the Coronavirus because of my family living in Hong Kong. My father, who is still currently stuck in Hong Kong due to the travel restriction, had informed me how bad this thing is and how many people had already died in China. I knew it was somewhat serious, but I never expect it to be THIS bad where it will affect everyone of us for a very long time. Particularly, I remember my parents were in Hong Kong when SARs broke out in 2003. Because Hong Kong did a great job containing SARs, I never thought a similar highly contagious respiratory infection would hit us all the way to NOLA.

    Before City and Statewide stay-at-home mandate, we get a chance for one last Saturday beatdown. 20 PAX showed up on a beautiful morning. I gave my standard disclaimer and off we went!

    We started off with a lap around the great lawn and back to the Peristyle for our warmups in cadence:

    SSHs x 20

    Forward & Backward Arm Circles x 10 each

    Windmills x 10

    Grassgrabber x 10

    Hill Billies x 20

    Peter Parker x 15

    Mountain Climbers x 15

    Parker Peter x 15

    Part 1

    Picked a column at the Peristyle. In plank position, each Pax did hands on the wall x 20. Then did 20 right leg step ups. Then back to a column and did another 20 hands on the wall in plank position. Then back to the bench to finish with 20 left leg step ups.

    Part 2

    Walked across the street to the Great Lawn. We were using palm trees on the right as our markers. At the first tree, we started off with 1 lunge (Two is One). At the second tree, we did 2 lunges (Two is One), at the third tree, ….. all the way to the eighth tree. Then sprinted back to the very first tree and planked / waited for the Six. Then we added another layer of exercise. At the first tree, we started off with 1 lunge (Two is One) and 1 big boy sit-up. At the second tree, we did 2 lunges (Two is one) and 2 big boy sit-ups. At the third tree…. all the way to the eighth tree then sprinted back to the beginning and waited for the Six again. Final layer of exercise we added on was everyone’s favorite: burpees. At the first tree, we did 1 lunge, 1 big boy sit-up, and 1 burpee….. all the way to the eighth tree again. So in total, each PAX ponied up 108 lunges (2 is 1), 72 big boy sit-ups, and 36 burpees.

    Part 3

    We moseyed to the fountain in front of NOMA. We picked a partner and did DORA 1, 2, 3. The exercises were 100 leg raises, 200 inclined merkins, and 300 LBCs. While one pax was doing the exercise, the other partner was burpee broad-jumping towards NOMA on the flat surface and bunny hopped on the steps. Then ran back to flapjack with the partner.

    We ran back to the flag for COT. We went overtime by a minute or so. At every COT, I always mention how grateful I am able to do this with the PAX on a regular basis. F3 is a big part of my life. I do this 4 to 5 times a week. I enjoy the F2 part the most. We had our last Cafe Navarre breakfast together. Now, I still workout with few PAX in a smaller group and keeping our social distance. I’ve been running into other smaller F3 groups here and there in the gloom. I cannot wait till we can all get back together with 30 plus PAX at the WPM, Mothership, Rock City, The Skinny, Chamber of Horrors, 610 Stomps, Tsunami, The Birdcage, Foundry, Popeyes, Okwata, Stiffler’s Mom, Master Melvin, Wally Run, Uptowner, Sweaty Bells, and Renaissance. Until then, stay safe!

    King Kong

  • Wait… WPM on a Monday???

    During coffeeteria after Sweaty Bells, YHC asked Douille “Who has the Q tomorrow for the Skinny?” Good thing YHC asked because Douille responded “You got the Q tomorrow!” With Run Ranger Run in mind, YHC knew he wanted to incorporate the workout with more than 3 miles within 45 minutes.

    YHC ran to the AO. YHC did this last year and will continue to do so in 2020 Run Ranger Run month. Upon arrival, he realized few others were doing the same thing. Roots got there early and ran a lap around Audubon Park. Angie’s List, Squeal, and Yankee all ran to the AO. T-claps to all the PAX who did extra homework to start the day!

    At 5:30, YHC gave his disclaimer and informed the PAX that they will be running today. Fast guys can log in extra mileage by sweeping the Six at every stop point. Everyone started with the warm-ups in cadence at the AO meeting spot:

    Forward Arm Circles (No reverse because Seaman was there) x 10

    SSHs x 20

    Windmills x 10

    First Leg – PAX got on the track and moseyed to the first stop, which was the bridge to the golf course. YHC was very happy to see high participation of sweeping the Six. Once the Six got there, the PAX did 20 mountain climbers in cadence.

    Second Leg – PAX moseyed to the Shelter where we met at the annual Gnarly Nutria. Everyone did 15 dips in cadence.

    Third Leg – YHC told the PAX to cross St. Charles and to head towards the base of Wolfpack Mountain. Few PAX got excited while they were entering uncharted territory on Monday! PAX once again swept the Six once they arrived to the base of the WPM. PAX formed 2 lines and Indian ran up the garage to the top, where everyone did 20 plankjacks in cadence, Held in position, then went right into slow merkins x 10 in cadence. PAX took the stairs back down and headed towards the fountain in front of Audubon Park

    Fourth Leg – At the fountain, everyone did 20 declined shoulder taps in cadence, then moseyed to the water fountain, then formed 2 lines and Indian ran from the water fountain to the monkey bars. PAX circled up at this spot and did the following exercises in cadence: LBCs x 20, Flutterkicks x 20, American Hammers x 20.

    Final Leg – PAX got back on the track and took a detour back to the flag by crossing Magazine Street towards the statue in front of Audubon Zoo and back to the track back to the flag. Everyone arrived at 6:14 a.m. so the PAX planked for 1 minute.

    On average, most PAX got approximately 3.2 miles while some got around 3.8 because of the multiple sweeping the Six.

    We ended with COT praying for the passing of F3 Noonan from Naperville and Pauly D’s colleague. We also prayed for speedy recovery for my sister after giving birth to Nephew Kong! I ended the workout by running back home with Angie’s List. What a way to start the week!!! Thank You for pushing me every morning!!!

  • 2 Year Anniversary – Year of the Rat – Happy CNY!

    15 PAX joined YHC on a beautiful, calm Saturday. The temp was 48 degrees F, which was perfect weather for a beatdown. Today marked YHC’s 2 year anniversary of joining F3 and was also first day of Chinese New Year (Year of the Rat). YHC gave his standard disclaimer and ran to the great lawn for some warm-up exercises.

    The PAX did the following warm-up exercises in cadence:

    SSHs x 20

    Forward Arm Circles x 10

    Backward Arm Circles x 10

    Windmills x 10

    Imperial Walkers x 20

    Peter Parkers x 15

    MCs x 15

    Parker Peters x 15

    The PAX formed 2 lines in Indian Run formation and jogged from the great lawn to the track.

    At the track, the PAX circled up to do some Dirty McDeuce.

    First Set:

    Slow Merkins x 10 IC

    Squats x 20 IC

    Flutterkicks x 20 IC

    Then ran to the middle of the football field and back.

    Second Set:

    Shoulder Taps x 20 IC

    Lunges x 15 IC

    Hello Dolly x 15 IC

    Then ran to the middle of the football field and back.

    Third Set:

    Burpees x 10 OYO

    Jump Squats x 15 OYO

    LBC’s x 20 IC

    Then ran to the middle of the football field and back.

    The PAX formed 2 lines again in Indian Run formation and moseyed to the fountain in front of NOMA. Each PAX partnered up for Dora 1, 2, 3.

    DORA 1, 2, 3

    100 Step-ups – while one PAX was doing the step-ups, the other PAX was Rat Crawling (thanks to Popalock for reminding the Q to stick with the Year of the Rat theme) instead of Bear Crawling from the fountain to the 2nd set of the steps in front of NOMA and back.

    200 declined shoulder taps – while one PAX was doing the shoulder taps, the other PAX was lunge walking from the fountain to the 2nd set of steps in front of NOMA and back.

    300 LBCs – while one PAX was doing LBC’s, the other PAX was bunny hopping the same distance as above and back. Flap Jack until all exercises were completed.

    SPRINT

    Upon completion – Picked a different partner and went to the field next to NOMA. Each PAX lined up by the first tree.

    First Set:

    One PAX sprint to the 4th tree and did 5 hand-release merkins and sprint back and tagged his partner. Flap jack until each PAX did 3 rounds of the sprint.

    Second Set:

    One PAX sprint to the 4th tree and did 10 SSHs and sprint back. Flap jack until each PAX did 3 rounds of the sprint.

    The PAX then moseyed back to the flag. Everyone ended the day with a 2 min plank (1 minute in high plank and the final minute in low plank).

    COT. I am very grateful to be able to workout with the PAX on a regular basis. I never take it for granted the fact that I am able to attend F3 workouts 2 years straight. I hope to do this for a very long time. SYITG.

    King Kong

  • 200th Beatdown in 2019!

    21 brave PAX joined YHC on a chilly, windy Wednesday. The temp read 40 degrees F on the dashboard, but it felt colder because of the windchill. Needless to say, it was cold! Today was YHC’s 200th F3 beatdown in 2019. After 2018, YHC set his goal to post 200 times in 2019….. looking like YHC has some room to spare with couple more weeks left in 2019.

    The PAX warmed up with a lap around the parking lot by the Audubon Clubhouse to the Bandstand. In front of the Bandstand, the PAX did the following warm-up exercises in cadence:

    SSHs x 20

    Imperial Walkers x 20

    Self Love x 10

    Windmills x 10

    Peter Parkers x 15

    MCs x 15

    Parker Peters x 15

    The PAX then jogged through the Oak Alley towards the track, did 10 burpees on your own and moseyed back to the shelter.

    To dedicate YHC’s 200th beatdown, YHC decided to do Dora 2, 2, 2. Partnered up. While one PAX was doing the exercises, the other PAX ran from the shelter through the Oak Alley to the track and back.

    200 – steps-up

    200 – declined shoulder taps

    200 – LBCs

    Upon completion – El Wire gave the PAX a 20 seconds count. Picked a different partner and did another Dora 2, 2, 2. with the following exercises:

    200 – air squats

    200 – inclined merkins

    200 – hello dolly

    Round of Mary

    The Pax stayed at the shelter and did the following exercises in cadence:

    Dying Cockroach x 15

    Flutterkicks x 20

    American Hammer x 15

    Moseyed back to the flag with some COT. I am very grateful to be able to workout with the PAX on a regular basis. Never take it for granted. I set my goal in December 2018 that I will try my best to participate 200 F3 workouts in 2019. Blessed with minor injuries and I was still able to achieve this goal. This is only possible because of the PAX. I could never do this on my own. I ended up posting 206 times in 2019. Thank You PAX and I hope to do this for a very long time. Happy 2020!!! SYITG.

    King Kong

  • The Day After the Tigers Defeated the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa – LSU 46 Alabama 41

    JV, Yankee, 86, Douille, and Mudbug joined YHC on a beautiful Sunday morning, the day after the Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa.

    Fun Fact on the Tigers scoring 46 points on Bama

    1 – Most allowed by Alabama in Saban Era.

    2 – Most scored by LSU against Alabama in series history.

    I hope you are reading this War Eagle. “FORTY” six points!!! You’re welcome.

    The PAX circled up by one of the sideline of the soccer field and did the following warm-ups in cadence: self love x 10, windmills x 10, hill billies x 20, SSH x 20. The PAX then ran a lap around the soccer field and ended with more warm ups with the kettle bells: figure 8 between the legs x 10 in each direction OYO, halo x 10 in each direction OYO, shoulder presses x 10 IC, slow low squats x 10 IC.

    Round 1

    1. Each PAX did 100 kettle bell swings, then ran a lap around the soccer field.
    2. 100 chest presses, then ran a lap around the soccer field.
    3. 100 American Hammers, then ran a lap around the soccer field.

    The catch is whenever the PAX has to stop within the 100 reps for rest, he must runs from one end of the soccer field to the other side and back before continuing with his reps.

    Round 2

    1. 100 air squats, then ran a lap around the soccer field.
    2. 100 curls, then ran a lap around the field.
    3. 100 hello dolly, then ran a lap around the field.

    Same as round 1 about the run if the PAX has to stop within the 100 reps.

    Mary

    86 led with some V-ups and Douille led with modified Russian Twists

    COT – always an honor and grateful to lead. Thank You for pushing me on a regular basis.

    SYITG

    King Kong

  • Happy Veterans Day 11/11/19

    17 other PAX joined YHC on this sunny, clear Veterans Day at 60 degrees for a Skinny beatdown. YHC couldn’t ask for a better day. We moseyed to the band stand with the following warmups in cadence: forward arm circles x 10, backward arm circles x 10 (thank goodness Seaman was not present), windmills x 10, SSHs x 20, Imperial Walkers x 20, and MC x 20.

    The PAX then moseyed through the Oak Alley toward the running track. However, everyone stopped at every other light post in the alley and did 3 burpees. In total, each PAX did 9 burpees before arriving to the track. Everyone then jogged across Magazine Street toward the main entrance of Audubon Zoo on Magazine Street. PAX stopped at the 2nd light post. Everyone completed the BLIMPS starting at the first light post with 5 burpees, next post with 10 lunges, following post with 15 Imperial Walkers… 20 merkins…. 25 plankjacks, and 30 squats. Then ran toward the statue in front of the Zoo for some DORA 1, 2, 3.

    DORA 1, 2, 3

    Partnered up. While one PAX was doing the exercises, the other PAX ran the loop and back.

    100 – box jumps

    200 – LBCs

    300 – Plankjacks

    After the completion of DORA, the PAX moseyed to the grass field in front of Audubon Zoo for some Suicide Drills

    Suicide Drills (each cone is about 20 yards apart)

    Round 1 – sprint to the first cone and back for 10 hand-release merkins, sprint to the 2nd cone and back for 10 hand-release merkins, and sprint to the third (last cone) and back for 10 last hand-release merkins. Total = 30 merkins with about 240 yards of sprinting.

    Round 2 – same as round 1 except the exercise was big boy sit-ups.

    Round 3 – just a plain full speed sprint from one end of the field to the other end.

    Quick Round of Mary in Cadence

    flutterkicks x 20

    hello dolly x 20

    Moseyed back to the flag for COT – we had one FNG ,who is an electrician. So we named him Shocker thanks to Angie’s List. I am always grateful to have the opportunity to lead and workout with the PAX. Thank You and Happy Veterans Day.

    SYITG

    King Kong

  • Saints Outlast Cowboys on SNF Thanks to Sweaty Bells – Final 12-10

    YHC woke up early with excitement because 1.) YHC hasn’t Q’ed a Sweaty Bells workout for awhile and 2.) YHC was ready to tailgate and make his way to the Superdome. YHC would have never guessed that the Saints would win on SNF with just 4 field goals, which total to 12 points. Turned out 12 was a significant number for the day. At 6:30 a.m., YHC gave his standard disclaimer and headed toward the middle of the soccer field.

    Warm Ups

    Arm Circles x 10 IC, Grass Grabbers x 10 IC, SSHs x 20 IC, Hill Billies x 20 IC, Swinging the kettle bells between the legs in figure 8 x 5 in each direction, Halo with the bells 5 times clockwise and 5 times counterclockwise.

    Dirty MacDeuce (12)

    Definition of Dirty MacDeuce – 4 sets of 3 exercises done to 12 4-count reps. Each set has one chest exercise, one leg exercise and one core exercise. After each set of three exercises, you run a lap of a track or whatever else is handy (which would be the soccer field)

    With a little modifying since we were using the kettle bells for our exercises…. and we also did Indian run around the field for our last lap.

    1st Set – 12 curls IC, 12 big boy sit-ups OYO, 12 low slow squats IC.

    2nd Set – 12 thrusters OYO, 12 flutterkicks IC, 12 lunges OYO.

    3rd Set – 12 kettle bell swings OYO, 12 hello dollies IC, 12 genuflects IC

    4th Set – 12 Rows on each side OYO, 12 American Hammers IC, 12 right and left leg step ups IC at the benches on the sideline of the soccer field.

    There are a lot 12’s in there. Some voodoo must be happening at the Fly this morning predicting the outcome of Saints final score. 4 sets x 3 exercises = 12 exercises or 4 fgs x 3 points = 12 points. I’m trying to not freak out here. Maybe I should Q a Dirty MacThirty next time so that the Saints will score 30 points.

    After Dirty MacDeuce, we did 12 (why not) dips IC before our final part of the beatdown.

    11’s (not 10’s)

    Definition of 11s – An exercise in which you start with 1 rep of one exercise and 10 reps of another exercise, then add one additional rep to the first exercise and subtract one rep from the second. The sum must always add up to 11. So our exercises were to start off with 10 thrusters on one end of the soccer field and 1 merkin on the other side. I guess I was going to predict the Cowboys score here, but I gave them too much credit and overshot the prediction by one.

    Final Score – Saints 12 Cowboys 10.

    What a great day for the Saints fans. But more importantly, what a great way to start a beautiful day with the PAX. Keep pushing each other to be mentally and physically stronger. We finished the workout with some stretches, announcements, and intentions. 4 of the 5 PAX were able to attend coffeeteria afterwards. Once again, thanks for the opportunity to lead. SYITG.

    King Kong