F3 New Orleans

Author: Kuch

  • Coupon H8

    YHC is nothing if not not creative. After employing the pax at Popeyes a couple weeks back to transport coupons back to the flag, and noticing how little fun we all had doing it, the idea of a coupon run was born. Luckily, I overbought pavers a while back for a backyard project, and not wanting to do the walk of shame to return some pavers that each cost about 50 cents, we now have some “square running coupons”. They shall be referred to as the SRC’s henceforth, and they will always have been bought for the good of the F3 Nola pax, not my much smaller than expected backyard project.

    Warmup

    • Mosey to the center of the intersection with some high knees and butt kicks
    • SSHx20
    • Arm circlesx20
    • Parker Peterx20
    • Hold for planking on each hand
    • Open the gate, close the gate
    • LSSx10

    Station 1

    An abbreviated H8 with the SRC’s. Grab 1 in each hand, run to the top of the levee, deposit them, bear crawl across, run down to the bottom, straight back up, bear crawl across, retrieve SRC’s, down to the bottom at Lakeshore Drive for 5 Manmakers w/ the coupons. X 4.

    A few Pax completed 5 and even got in some Bernie Sanders while they waited for the slow guys, i.e., YHC to complete their 4th.

    Station 2

    Indian Run to the end of the levee on the concrete, where we got in a bit of Mary.

    • Crab Cakes x20
    • Absolution x10 (pretty sure I messed this one up again – going to need another demonstration the count, Triple Shift)

    Mosey down the levee and back to the flag, led by our FNG, Chips. Chips was EH’d by Hokie Pokey, and he put in a hell of an effort for his first workout. I saw he posted the next day at The Uptowner as well, so if you have not met him yet, you’ll probably see him soon. He’s a great addition to F3 Nola.

    We also bid farewell to Cowbell, who is going to the Northshore. Our loss, their gain. Cowbell is a quiet leader who pushes hard and helps those around him. Hopefully we’ll SYITG from time to time.

    Thanks for having me. I see the next month is covered, but we have been having some difficulty filling Q’s for Okwata. This is the best time to sign up for Okwata, as the days get longer, and we get absolutely beautiful sunrises over the lake. Show up for an Okwata or two when you can, and then sign up to lead one. With so many options for exercises, it’s truly one of the great AO’s we have. – Kuch

  • A Track so Soft you can run in Mandals

    While this title refers to everywhere if you happen to be Hawg, most of us resort to our carefully fitted and selected-for-foot-type running shoes. However, we could all borrow a page from Hawg’s book (maybe minus all the straps) and run barefoot on the track at Lafreniere. It’s some kind of composite rubber wizardry that feels both springy and cushioned at the same time, never leaving my knees hurting the next day.

    The other great thing about Popeyes is the dedication of Rev Sox. Most of us post, Q from time to time, and make a comment on the mumblechatter every once in a while. Rev has done everything in his power to get a great AO going out in the depths of Metairie, first manning a workout that regularly averaged only a few attendees, and ultimately moving it a bit closer in to an even better location, never giving up on it. This has already paid dividends in forcing some newer guys to step up, and drawing some new blood from that area. So T-claps to Rev Sox for a job well done. Repay his service by making your way out to this AO every once in a while, and I doubt you will be disappointed.

    The Workout

    Speaking of disappointment, I’m sure the PAX was less than thrilled when 5:30 struck, and YHC was nowhere to be found. The LV clown car was moving a little slower than usual this morning, and we had a few coupons to place, so we pulled up at 5:31 sharp, and the PAX, to its credit, had already moseyed and was doing some SSH, where we joined in for:

    • SSHx25
    • Arm Circles forward and back
    • Hill Billies
    • Peter Parker / Parker Peter

    Next, YHC asked for directions for the easiest path to the workout area where the coupons awaited. Helpful locals Boo Boo and Pai Gow showed us the way and off we set on a brisk mosey to the workout area for the thang:

    6 Stations, Rotating

    • Absolution x10 (timer – I messed these up a bit and excluded the plank jack when down on elbows. My mistake). Everything else, AMRAP
    • Arnold Press with pavers, drop set
    • Turkish Get-ups w/ 5 lb dumbells
    • Straight legged deadlift w/ 10 lb kettlebells (bought a couple of these – if anyone ever wants to use them, I can bring them)
    • Kettlebell swings with cinder blocks
    • Hang from pull-up bar as long as possible.

    PAX was encouraged not to cheat yourself. Get every rep. Don’t do 9.5. Don’t lose form. Don’t cut corners. Don’t be afraid to take as long as necessary to complete an exercise. Inspiration: I read this post yesterday, and it made me rethink some of my recent workouts – did I do all 60 burpees yesterday, or did I accept 57 or 58? Do I always do every merkin, or am I afraid of everyone finishing before me? Great read:
    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=683278642142599&id=100013814083617

    After that, we sprinted across the field and bear crawled back, where High Rise took over:

    • Wife pleasers w/ legs on bench x15
    • Single leg wife pleasers w/ legs on bench x10 each leg
    • W’s x20

    I’d promised High Rise more time, but had also underestimated the time it would take to get back to the flag. Plus, this time we had coupons. So we finished up with a 5-minute coupon run to the flag, where we all learned that it actually kinda sucks to run with a cinder block. Good to know for future reference. We also left some pavers behind with Rev Sox, so Popeyes now has some coupons.

    Some brief announcements, notably, the 5K run at the Belle Chasse base this weekend, and Rev prayed us out. Come be a part of the great thing we’ve got going at this AO. – Kuch

  • Sticking to the Classics

    YHC and Ya Mom n’dem learned Monday morning as they rode in the Lakeview clown car home from Rock City that Abacus would not be able to Q the Stomp today. Instead of throwing it out to the Mumblechatter in search of a Q, an idea was born: why not do everyone a solid and bring the burpees back? Who wouldn’t appreciate our generosity?

    And so, after a brief yet rambling disclaimer, 16 men set out to do the 610 Stomp our forefathers had envisioned when they created this workout many years ago: 6 minute run, 10 burpees; 3x on the way out, then turn and do it 3 times on the way back. Ya Mom n’Dem kept the time while YHC jsut tried to keep up. The Pax managed anywhere from about 4-5 miles (and however far Smooth ran) in 40+ minutes with 60 burpees thrown in for fun. Definitely a solid Tuesday.

    We closed it out with IC LBC’sx20 and IC crab cakes x15, and then 5 Turkish getups OYO. Everyone made it back to the flag in time, and we welcomed back Woz, who had a strong showing back from several months laid up with an injury. We prayed for those dealing with cancer in our F3 family and extended F3 family.

    This month I’ve tried to focus on appreciating each moment of each day, and making a concerted effort not to waste it. The basic concept is that if you do only what you have to do and what you really want to do, you will have more time to focus on those things, as opposed to procrastinating, playing on social media, or engaging in other non-productive/non-enjoyable habits we form. And so, we reminded ourselves to take advantage of today, but to also be thankful that we are able to – and to never take that for granted, because none of us is guaranteed anymore than this moment.

    Meanwhile, I’m thankful for the privilege to lead this group. – Kuch

  • A Little H8 to Start off your Thursday

    14 Pax set off into a mild, dry gloom that looked more like midnight than morning to find a good warm-up spot and get a little practice in for the upcoming H8. YHC was initially excited about not having to warm up in Surge’s favorite intersection, but the weeds were a little high, and we found ourselves back in the familiar intersection oval for warm-ups, consisting of:

    • Arm Circles
    • Hill Billies
    • SSH
    • Parker Peter

    After the warm-up, we were back to everyone’s favorite Okwata exercises: levees and burpees and burpees and levees, and a few merkins thrown in.

    Exercise 1: Sprint up the levee, jog down, 10 Burpees. Sprint back up the levee, jog down, 10 Burpees, 25 merkins, Plank and Wait.

    Exercise 2: Indian Run where the sprinter drops for 3 Merkins before sprinting to the front. Rudy claims Jesus Juice almost passed me on a sprint despite the 3 merkins, but I think we should all consider the source. Although Indian runs are not necessarily part of the H8 (or at all part of it), I do hate them.

    Exercise 3: Sprint up the levee, 5 Turk and Burps; jog down, 5 T&B; jog back up, 5 T&B; jog back down, 5 T&B. A little controversy about the form for these, so below is a demonstration of the Turkish Get-Up that I at least attempt to follow. It’s a great exercise for any workout, and worth practicing on your form. Start light if you do; a 10-lb kettlebell should be plenty at first.

    Exercise 4: At Okwata, there is always time for running backwards up a levee, and this workout was no exception, so we did a couple rounds of Bernie Sanders, planked and waited for the 6, and then moseyed back to the flag, where we got in a few LBC’s as the clock struck 6:15.

    We wished Jesus Juice a happy 35th, and welcomed Edible Arrangements from F3 Nashville. We prayed for some of our F3 brothers who are going through some tough times right now, and we recognized how thankful we are that we were able to come together this morning for a workout.

    I’m also thankful for the opportunity to lead this group. -Kuch

  • We’re up all night to get War Eagle a little culture

    [5:25 AM, City Park, on a wet gray morning]

    War Eagle: What is that thingamabob in your hand, Kuch?

    Kuch: That’s a bluetooth speaker. It plays music.

    War Eagle: Where I’m from, dancing is outlawed and the only music allowed is people singing Sweet Home Alabama.

    Thus, it became clear to YHC that some music would be important to War Eagle’s continuing New Orleans education. So after a quick disclaimer, off we set to find a dry spot to warm up and moseyed up Roosevelt Mall to an intersection. Only the day before, I’d been humiliated around this very spot as I attempted to sprint to the finish ahead of Cowbell and Hawg at the Stomp, only to have them “jog” right by me. Cowbell was a little late today and did not reach the mosey spot until after we had already warmed up, so I will call it even.

    Warm-up – all x20 or so

    • Arm Circles
    • Hill Billies
    • Windwills
    • Parker Peter
    • Some hip stretches
    • Mosey back down Roosevelt Mall to the far side of the track for the workout

    First Tune of the Day – Tubthumping by Chumbawamba

    • “I get knocked down, but I get up again” = burpee
    • Everything else = SSH

    We started getting a little sloppy on the SSH, so we did some in cadence. When we finished, one lap around the outside of the track to maximize those RRR miles.

    Second Tune of the Day – Get Lucky by Daft Punk

    • “We’re up all night to get Lucky” = airsquat
    • Everything else = Al Gore

    Again we got a little sloppy, and there was a bit of mumblechatter about whether YHC had thought this one through all the way. Instead of acknowledging that this might actually have been a pretty terrible idea, penalty burpees were handed out. When War Eagle critiqued YHC’s form on the penalty burpees, more penalty burpees were issued. Mumblechatter died down a bit after that. Another lap around the track, and T-claps to Cowbell, Smooth, War Eagle, & YaMom & Dem who took it upon themselves to sweep the six each time. I have been the six, and I know what it feels like to have people push you. Knowing you are not out there by yourself while everyone else moves on is a big deal, so kudos guys.

    Third Tune of the Day – Flower (the Sally song) by Moby

    Only one thing to do here, and that’s up and down merkins holding it at the top and bottom. Another lap around the outside with some more sweeping from the fast crew.

    Fourth Tune of the Day – Proud Mary

    What else would you do to Proud Mary other than some Mary? So we got down on the wet ground and alternated 10 lbc’s and 10 flutter kicks IC, one after the next, till the song ended.

    Out of tunes to play, we Indian ran back down the track to the exit, where we moseyed to the flag for a minute or two of planking. Next time, we will get to Thunderstruck…

    As always, thanks for letting me lead. It’s a privilege. F3 has stripped me of my excuses, and forced me to accept being uncomfortable. When we started RRR 4 weeks ago, I didn’t think I could run more than 2 days in a row, I thought I needed more sleep, thought my knee needed more rest and my shin splints and my back would keep me from ever running any real distance again and so on. As we close in on the end of this challenge, I know that I have vastly exceeded what I thought I was capable of just a month ago. For that, I can only thank all of you who set a constant example of hard work, dedication and consistency. SYITG – Kuch

  • Everyone Needs a Friend from St. Bernard

    • Kuch: next, we’re going to do 11’s, but a little different
    • Da Parish: How is this 11’s?
    • K: Well you go back and forth and do a different exercise on each side of the levee like 11’s, but we’re going to do it together.
    • DP: So you don’t count to 11?
    • K: Well, No
    • DP: Those are not 11’s
    • K: Look, I’m new here, okay?

    Cool, dry mornings at Okwata with a hint of a sunrise thrown in truly make the 5 AM wake-up call worth every minute of lost sleep. At 5:30 this morning, as we started out over the dark course ahead, I mumbled out a brief disclaimer and off we went into the 40 degree gloom for a bit of a leg workout. T-claps to Rudy who had already run a couple miles at that point, a decision he may have later come to regret…

    WARMUP

    • IW’s x 24 (everyone always starts with SSH, so we switched it up a little)
    • SSHx25 (a very little in fact)
    • Windmills x 15
    • Parker Peter x 25
    • 5 8-count bodybuilders OYO just for a bit of practice…
    • Mosey across the street and down the lakefront past canal for…

    FIRST EXERCISE

    Route 55, 8-count bodybuilders OUT, Low-Slow-Squats IN

    Route 55 v2, Low-Slow-Squats OUT, 8-count bodybuilders IN

    The nice thing about 8-count bodybuilder is, if you do enough of them, they make burpees feel like side straddle hops. I felt it was important to put this contrast on full display for the PAX in attendance, so we moseyed to the foot of canal for….

    SECOND EXERCISE

    “11’s”

    All Pax do one exercise for one minute on one side of the levee, and then scale the levee together to the other side, where we do another exercise for one minute, then back, rinse and repeat. We managed to get in:

    • Burpees – Monkey Humpers
    • Merkins – Squats
    • Shoulder Taps – Alternating leg lunges
    • Going up forwards got a little dull, so we did the last round Bernie Sanders, and then moseyed to the flag and got back right at 6:15 or so….

    It’s truly a privilege to lead this group.

  • In the Morning when you Rise Unwillingly – WHO DAT!

    In the morning when you rise unwillingly, let this thought be present- I am rising to the work of a human being. Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into the world? Or have I been made for this, to lie in the bed-clothes and keep myself warm? – The Meditations, Marcus Aurelius, Book 5.

    This pretty much summed up my feelings on getting out of bed this morning, and also serves as a constant reminder as to why to do so on a regular basis. After all, was I put here to sleep?

    After having an appropriate amount of fun at the game yesterday but having fallen victim to the bartender several times making my drinks a bit too strong, I was a little fuzzy, hence the counting.

    Warmup:

    SSHx20; Peter Parkerx14; Imperial Walkersx20; Grass Grabbersx14; Arm, Circlesx20; Windmillsx14 … or something like that.

    The rules: We are all happy that our Saints vanquished Philly and some of its loud obnoxious fans (F3 brotherhood excluded, of course) from the Crescent City. During the workout, if someone gets a little excited about the Saints and wants to let everyone know how much they love their Saints, they are encouraged to yell out “WHO DAT”, at which point the PAX, regardless of whether they are carrying a rock (or boulder, like Triple Shift), will drop what they are doing – not on Hawg’s bare feet – and do 6 burpees to celebrate the margin of victory. All PAX are encouraged to support the Saints in this fashion throughout the workout whenever they feel it’s appropriate.

    First St[WHO DAT!]ation:

    And we were off. An unexpected but enjoyable part of the workout was the regular cheers of Who Dat! while I attempted to explain the next station. Well done.

    Traverse the field, stopping at each tree to remember one of the Saints’ notable vanquished foes as follows. Bring your rock:

    5 burpees for the Buccaneers; 10 curls for Carolina; 15 second count Al Gore for Atlanta; 20 Merkins for Minnesota; 25 Rows for the Rams; 30 Elf on the shelves for the Eagles. People’s chair /plank for 6, and then head back doing the same thing swapping out the Curls and Elves on the shelf due to some mumble chatter.

    Second Station

    Finish the job, like the Saints finished off the Eagles in the playoffs after beating them during the season as well.

    11’s. Deadlift on one side, run 5 trees with the rock, and complete the movement with a clean and press.

    Finale

    Some quick abs, American Hammers w/ rockx10, Dying cockroachesx20 and lbc’sx20 oyo and Mosey quickly to flag to arrive right at 6:15.

    We prayed for Terrabyte and Mathlete and their family, Brad Brechtel, and several other F3 brothers and friends of F3 brothers.

    Total Who Dat Count: At least 10

    Honored to lead this group. T-claps to all for all the Who Dats and Triple Shift for regularly choosing the meteor that hit Arizona for his rock and refusing to quit.

    Thanks for letting me Q. – Kuch

  • A Few of my [least favorite] Things

    When YHC set out to plan this workout, I first considered a few exercises that I felt I could handle with little threat of splashing Merlot or generally embarrassing myself. But then it dawned on me: this is my chance to repay those who have made me so sore I can barely lift my arms the next day and reduced me to a sweating, panting mess. So at 5:30 AM, after a quick disclaimer, we set off, 12 PAX strong, to see about returning the favor to some of my F3 brothers gracious enough to appear for my VQ.

    WARMUP

    YHC had a few tricks up my sleeve for the warmup, but the conditions quickly caused a change of plans. So we did a more traditional warmup:

    SSH, Peter Parker, Imperial Walkersx20

    Run in place, high knees, butt kicks, chop feet (this was a hs wrestling warm-up that would normally include some up-downs, but YHC decided it would be unpopular to get everyone completely drenched in the first 5 minutes). Mosey to Canal blvd for

    Station 1

    Pair up. One partner, Bernie Sanders up the hill, while the other works on 200 Floyd Mayweathers, 100 big boy situps, and 25 burpees. Cross the street very carefully in the fog for…

    Station 2

    Route 55 with burpees on the way out, Merkins on the way back in. PAX instructed to begin in opposite directions on this very foggy morning so as not to collide. Mosey to the leveee for…

    Station 3

    What is an Okwata workout without an Indian Run? A bit of mumblechatter about how Indian Run + disperse would have been the more manly option, but at this point, I was just glad to be still moving. Maybe next time we can thrown in a Bataan Death March.

    Mosey to Flag and Finish Up

    Continuing the theme, I had picked out several of my least favorite exercises to share with the PAX

    Planking, high, low, one arm up, other arm up for about as long as I could go

    Monkey Humpersx20

    Dying cockroachesx20

    LBC’sx20

    Flutter Kicksx20 (led by the flutter kick king, JV)

    Frac Sac’s favorite exercise that I cannot remember the name ofx20

    And a few rounds of burpees o/y/o to close it out.

    Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama, we discussed the Crazy Ivan, prayed for Brad Brechtel, and Rudy led us in a fine prayer.

    On a serious note: I’m infinitely grateful for all of you who have pushed me, made me do countless [hated] burpees, made me plank until I felt like my arms would crumble, and inflicted all other sorts of punishment that made me tougher both mentally and physically. To name all the names of those who have pushed me – especially since I’ve been back the past few months – would be like writing out the entire members list, but I’m especially grateful to Mahatma, Frac Sac, Jingle Vader, Rudy, Mambi, Abacus, Tool, Two Yutes, and too many others to name, who never spare words of encouragement and motivate me to better.

    Getting to lead an F3 workout of such a strong group is a honor, and I hope I was able to deliver. It means a lot that so many of you showed up for my VQ, and I look forward to doing it again soon.

    -Kuch