F3 New Orleans

Author: Reluctant Yankee

  • Sunrise over Loyola’s steeple

    Beautiful morning.  72 degrees, no humidity.  It was just short of a miracle.

    As I pulled up to the AO – I was happy to see Splash chilling with a brand new FNG. – Ashton.  Who is now known as Griswold – as in Clark from Vacation.  Griswold is the 6th FNG is the last week!  I was also psyched to see Tundra who made it out to post for his last time in a year.  His flight to Jordan where he will be for a year was leaving today at 10AM.  As soon as 530 hit we got this party started…

    Warm UP- Run down Oak Alley, Circle Up for a warm up COP.

    For SSH x 30 –we attempted to add the Black Widow.  A burpee on the 5th SSH.  It was tricky to keep the cadence with the burpee but we got it done mostly.   Thanks to whatever PAX I stole that from- I read about it in your backblast last night.

    Then Imperial Walker Squats x 25, Merks x 10, LBC twist x 25, Mtn Climbers x 25

    After the warm up COP – we hit Oak Alley for some  –

    Side hops both sides, then Bear Crawl, then Boo Boo Bear Crawl left foot up and then right foot up

    Then we hit the course around the park.  At 3 Circles Of Pain  we did the same workout.  As tribute to Tundra for his new job in Amman, Jordan we did 15 ‘Merican style push ups (merks).  Then we hit legs, and core.  Slow Squats x 25, LBC X 25, and Peter Parker x 25.    At the end of the route we had completed over 150 of all 3 of those exercises and over 75 push ups/Merks.

    We did one COP at 1/2 mile mark.  Then another at one mile.  At the Fountain on the St Charles side of the park we added another COP.  Lots of tomatos and bicycles (is there a F3 word for those 2 wheeled harbinger’s of death?)  Plenty of bike warnings for Hawgcycle who opted for a rare FARTSACK this AM.

    X25 Step Ups left leg, x25 step ups right leg x 25 Dips/Freak Nasties, x 10 Inclined Merks

    Mosey’d to the Water Fountain – Plank and wait while each member of the PAX got water

    At the golf green across from the water fountain – we did the 3rd COP from above.  As we walked on the fairway we were treated to an amazing sunrise with the Steeple of Holy Name back lit by a spectacular sight.  What a way to wake up on your last day in New Orleans Tundra!

    After that COP we filled in for an Indian Run.  2 Cycles through the 11 man PAX.  After that it was horses to the barn all the way to the FLAG!  #Tclaps to Splash and  Douille who led the way!

    Plank and wait at the FLAG.  Sorry we got back 1 min late.

    Amnesty commented on the repetitive COPs and was disappointed after YHC started with the Black Widow because he was thinking we would get all kinds of crazy stuff.  However – today I truly wanted to try and hit the 150 mark in Sit ups and Peter Parkers.  Squats was a bonus.  I also wanted those extra push ups!

    Finally we closed with the COT- asking us to be better men every day in all that we do and with all the people we interact with.  I dropped the ball here and I really should have talked about Katrina’s impact on my life philosophy but maybe I can piggyback on Friday!?

    Tclaps to FNG/Griswold for his first workout

    Tclaps to Shorty for his 3rd post this week!  Dang brah!

    Tclaps to the krewe that stayed for extra credit on the pull ups

    Tclaps to Tundra for posting today for his last workout for awhile!

    YHC had a great morning and really enjoyed the weather, the peer pressure and sunrise.  Looking forward to seeing (or not seeing)  you men in the GLOOM!

  • Chaka’s Kotter – So you think you can dance?

    OK – so a big surprise for the Pax on Wed AM.  We were greeted by an amazing sight – Chaka Khan’s Kotter.  Chaka – a school teacher by day and a competitive hip hop dancer by night took a summer break from everything including F3.  However we were thrilled to get him back in the fold on Wed AM.  Good job Roots on the re-EH.  Reveille originally had this Q but we had to make a sudden change the night before – he is moving to Denver next month and life is hectic!  Keep Rev and his family in your prayers.

    So with Chaka in the fold – off we went at a mosey to our first COP.

    Warm Up – SSH x 25, Merks x 15, Peter Parkers x 20, and Imperial Squats x 20

    Then we mosey out down Magazine St to the Levee.  The levee is blocked because of some powerline work so we sudden changed and followed the train tracks to the Fly.  On the way we did

    Wiley Coyote x 15 in honor of Keyman

    From there we worked our way to the levee at the Fly.  It was GLOOMY and obviously hard to see.

    I put down four orange cones that I was carrying with me.  And we started the squares.

    Bear Crawl one lap then 10 lunge jumps  then Backwards Bear Crawl another lap and then 10 lunge jumps.  Plank and wait.   Agassi and Jazzy got attacked by Fire Ants a few times during this exercise – sorry guys I wish we could see!

    Then we mosey’d over to the Fly – Riverview.

    Here we commenced the MerknMary.  It was designed for Bagasse who complained we didn’t do enough upper body last workout.  So I tailored this workout for him – unfortunately he FARTSACKED on us!

    1.  Putin x 15  2.  Diamond Merks x 15  3/4.  Hip Dips each hip x15 5.  Stagger Left merk x 15

    6.  LBC x 15  7. Stagger Right Merk x 15  8.  Parker Peters x 15  9.   Flutter x 15

    10.  Hello Dolly x 15  11.  CDD x 15  12.  Reverse LBC x 15, 13.  Cockroach dying x 15

    14.  Plank Jacks x 15,  15.  Freddy Mercury Real x 15   16.  Chuck Norris x 5

    For a total of 230.  Plenty of upper body and core!

    Then we hustled back to the Flag.  At  this point – Chaka informed us that the COP above was about what he does in his Hip Hop Dance class every week!  Yikes.  Who knew Chaka was a dancer?  Maybe F3 should have a name re-evaluation every year?!

    Anyway it was a pleasure to share the gloom and humidity with you guys.  Yeungling closed the COT with a prayer and I really appreciated him stepping up – I was so tired after the workout.

    Tclaps brother!

  • DB Blimps

    DB Blimps

     

    Pre Thang: Seven men met in the hot, humid and completely still gloom (not a good combination) and started to mosey at 5:30. Awesome came in hot and was a welcomed addition to the PAX before the 1st COP.

    The Thang: Mosey down St. Charles and swing around to the Tulane lawn for a COP:

    En route to this COP the jingle of Jazzy’s keys made us debate a name change.

    Kicked around:  Jingle bells, Jingle Jazzy, Tinkerbell, Jazzy bells, it might happen Jazzy watch out!

    SSH x25

    Windmills x20

    Imperial Walkers x20

    Peter Parkers x20

    Mountain Climbers  x20

    Bear Crawl over to lineup for a little tree to tree Boo Boo Bear Crawl (thanks to my daughters for naming their favorite exercise)

    Mosey through Loyola Campus to the top of Wolfpack Hill (and quite possibly the hottest location in NOLA this morning) for some DB Blimps to help the home team:

    Run down the parking garage one story then up the incline backwards intertwining the Blimps:

    Burpees x 5

    Lunges x10

    Imperial Walkers x15

    Merkins x20

    Plank Jacks x25

    Squats x30

    Mosey to the Danna Center benches:

    Incline Merkins x20

    Step Ups R x20

    Low, Slow Dips x20

    Step Ups L x20

    Decline Merkins x10

    Mosey to Touchdown Jesus for some Mary & Plank-O-Rama to finish the day:

    Real Freddie Ms x20 (reverse halfway)

    LBC x20

    Hello Dolly x10

    Flutter Kicks x10

    Plank, Right Up, Inverted, Left Up, Plank

    Mosey back to the flag for COT. T-Claps to Roots for pushing it to the flag.

    Shout Out: Thanks given by YHC to F3 for all the positive since starting over six months ago. Prayers for all those with friends and family members battling prostate cancer.

  • 5 Rounds with Rousey?

    My experiment with VQ schedules didn’t take.  With Bubba – a no show – I had the full Q to myself.  Lucky for me – I had a weinke in my back pocket.  In Bubba’s defense I just put him on the group schedule instead of checking in with him to make sure he was ready – oh and he has a new baby!  (Side Effect’s baby is only 3 days old and he was present so the excuse only kind of works).

    So anyway – lesson learned.

    A very hot and humid NOLA August workout.  The Peristyle is under some serious construction for the next few weeks.  The shovel flag will be nearby on the edge of the construction.

    Now down to business.

    Warm up:  SSH, Imp Walkers, Squats, Mountain Climbers, and Monkey Humps x 25

    We had a LONG mosey to our 2nd COP.  Hawgcycle and Side Effects were trying to guess where we were heading the whole mosey.  Mosey’d to the Christian Bros football field.   At the Field we did- 5 RDS with Tyson or as Side Effects said maybe Rousey is a little more current and it has alliteration.  Nerd.

    Anyway Round 1 – LBC, Rd 2 – Lunges, Rd 3 – LBC Twist, Rd 4 Slow Squat Hold for a full second, and Rd  5 Peter Parkers.  **Run to the 50 yd line do 25, opposite goal line 25, 50 yd line 25 and then the original goal line 25.  All totals after 5 rounds is 1000 yds of running, 500 leg/ab exercises.  Good job men.

    In the middle of Squats of the 4th Rd – Bagasse started to worry that his arms/chest weren’t getting worked at all.  So…

    We did 5 burpees at 50, 10 merks at goal line, 4 burps at the 40, 10 merks at the goal line, 3 burps at the 30, 10 merks at the goal line, 2 burps at the 20, 10 merks at the goal line, 1 burp at the 10, 10 merks at the goal line — this is a modified burpee suicide – I guess?  For a total of 50 merks, and 15 burps.

    I wanted to run us through some Dirty MacDeuce but time was a factor.   So we mosey’d past a water fountain and hit the blue collar gym.  Every guy in the PAX had to get 10 pull ups on your own.  Or negatives – if you couldn’t get your 10.  Plank and wait.    After the 6 joined the plank line – we did 1 arm/ 1 leg planks each set 30 sec. and 10 donkey kicks.

    Then we mosey’d to the Quad at Storyland for 6 min of Mary

    Superman to Bow x 10, Dying Cockroach x 25, Flutters x 25, Hello Dolly x 25, 10 Hip Dips each hip OYO, Parker Peters x 25, Plank Jack x 25, Plank Walk x 25    — Everything was In Cadence except the Hip Dips.

    Run to the flag!

    COT:  Positive thoughts and congratulations to Side Effects and his wife who have a new baby this week.  I forgot to get the name but I do know the baby was 10 lbs 2 oz at birth and asked for a bowl of red beans and rice with sausage 15 min later.

    We prayed for all of the kids and teachers starting school this week – that they can get into their routine quickly – make new friends and be intellectually curious.

    Good job men!

     

     

     

  • Burps at the Bandstand

    I originally had Cavalier scheduled to Q but YHC didn’t do a good job confirming his role – so we will have to wait for the Cavalier VQ!

    YHC suspected that Cavalier may not have read the schedule – so I had 2 COPs in my back pocket.

    It was a MUGGY/ HOT August NOLA workout.

    Mosey to Oak Alley.

    In Oak Alley for COP 1  – SSH, Imperial Walker Squats, Diamond Merks, and Peter Parkers x 25

    Mosey to the bandstand for some 6MOM.

    LBC, LBtwist, FLutter, Parker Peters, Plank Jack, Hello Dolly, Rosalita, x 25

    Hip dips x 15 each leg

    Hand off to Roots

    Mosey out to golf club and back to bandstand area for BS(Burpee Suicides) under the oaks. 10 reps x 5 progressing to the furthest light.

    Mosey to the shelter picnic tables. Dips x 20, LBC x 25, Step ups x 12, Incline Merkins x 12, Step ups x 12, Decline Merkins x 10, LBC x 31, Low Slow Dips x 15 all in cadence.

    Over to the lights for a quick sprint to the road and back to the flag.

    Good Times!  Not a lot of Mumble chatter.  Some angst/whining about the Burpee Suicides but it got quiet after 2 reps.

  • Douille or Do We Q in Cadence? or !

    Pre-Thang: Seven Pax showed up at the Monkey Cage for YHC’s often erratic VQ.

    The Thang: Mosey out to far end of the park towards the levee for a little COP. Yankee had fun clearing the spider webs on the way. Rough start for YHC with the cadence but the Pax were extremely supportive during the VQ.

    IC: SSH x 25, Imperial Walkers x 25, Plank Jacks x 20, Mountain Climbers x 20, T-Merkins (Tulane Tumblr) x 5

    Mosey over to the statue in front of the zoo. Yuengling added a little fuel to the unpredictable cadence by taking a few head dives into the bushes next to YHC.  Nineteen is good, right?

    IC: LF Step Up x 19, Incline Merkin x19, RF Step Up x19, Low Slow Dips x 12

    Mosey over to the fly for an escalator at the levee. Thanks to (#Tclaps) Roots for the coaching and encouragement on the way to levee.

    Escalator 3x

    Merkins x 10 bottom of levee

    Bear crawl to top of levee

    Squats x 20 top of levee

    Backpedal to trees by the road

    LBC x 30

    Sprint back to bottom of levee, plank when complete

    Ten count by Tool then mosey over to the soccer field after scaling the mound. Hawgcycle surprisingly found us circling up for Mary.  I still can’t believe he found us!

    Before Mary, Sudden Change – Burpees X 10   Tool tried to call BS which is like thank you in F3 lingo right?

    IC: Real Freddie Mercury x 20 (reverse halfway through), LBT x 25, Flutter Kicks x 15, Russian Twist x 15

    Indian run back to statue by zoo. Thanks to Yankee for reminding YHC about #1 rule, no man left behind.

    Plank up for the 6 then IC: Decline Mekins x 15, Dips x 10.

    Back to the flag at your own pace. Good job Hawg pushing it back with YHC.

    Name-O-Rama: Finished with 8. Thanks to all Pax by YHC for the somewhat shaky VQ.

    Prayers: Strength & Wisdom to the doctors around the country working to cure cancer: http://killingcancer.vice.com/

  • No Rocks in the Rock City

    YHC was pretty sure that it was going to be a very lonely Monday workout – to my surprise we had a solid PAX of 6!

    A very cool 65 degrees in NOLA in July – and gloomy workout this Monday.

    We did a very unusual delay start bc of a text I received right before 530AM.  Delayed start until 535AM when X and FNG – the brow (an Anthony Davis reference – no he does NOT look like Frida Kahlo).

    We broke tradition and left the flag behind by going left instead of right!

    First COP – SSH and Imperial Squats x 25, then Merkins and Peter Parkers x 15

    Mosey’d to the outdoor GYM.  At the playground we divided into 3 pairs.

    1 ran approx 1/2 mi to gate into park while the other partner did:

    5 pull ups, 10 burpees, 15 cross fit pushups (next time these need to be moved away from burpees), 20 LBCs, and 25 Squats

    Once the partner who ran to the gate got back – it was time to switch – no matter where you were in progression.  We did this cycle x 2.

    Then we mosey’d to the track.  At the track we did another COP –

    LBC x 12, Parker Peters, x 12 , Calf raises x 12, Peoples Chair counted out to 12

    Then we mosey’d 400 m

    Then we did 6MOM – LBC twist x 12, Dying Cockroach x 12, Putins x 12, Flutters x 12, Hello Dolly x 12 and Plank Jack x 12

    Then we mosey’d 200 m – during the Mosey we ran backwards x 50m , side hop left x 50m, side hop right x 50 m and then finished with a 50 m sprint – horses to the barn!

    COT:  Prayed for Maverick’s friends in lakeview who have a child with heart issues, prayed for Dr Keith.  We also prayed for all of our boys who are traveling right now!  Tclaps to Maverick who made his last workout for a month – as he takes his family to Santiago Chile for work.

    Tclaps to our FNG- the brow – who hates to get up early, Tclaps to Ecks (X) for coming back to join us after a few weeks off!  Not a bad way to start the week.

     

     

  • Another chevy to the levee

    8 Pax including an FNG were ready to roll at 8AM for a hot and humid sauna fest at the Birdcage this AM.  Where were you?

    The Pax huddled around the flag and broke out of the gates to the right.

    Warm UP

    A few side hops on the way to the first Circle of Pain.

    COP1 – SSH x 30, Merks x 15, Peter Parkers x 25, and Low Slow Squats x 20 **In Cadence – My first Q in a few weeks – rough start but I finally got the hang of it again.

    Then we mosey’d to the LEVEE.  A little complicated on my instructions but here is the THANG:

    The THANG:

    Chevy to the Levee:  Run over the levee and do 30 Parker Peters, then run back to the bike path and do 10 dying cockroaches.  Then decrease the Parkers by 2 until you hit 20.  And increase the Dying Cockroaches by 2 until you hit 20.  A modified CHEVY to the LEVEE!

    After a quick recover – Mosey to the Levee at the Fly.  Backwards Bear Crawl up levee x 2 -watch out for glass!  Regular Bear Crawl back down the levee.   We had to Suddenchange here and move the location due to a terrific smell of funky trash.

    Moved ourselves over to Audubon Statue.  At Audubon we did Left Leg and Right leg step up x 25 and we did Dips/Freak Nasty x 20.

    Mosey’d over to Hollywood South field.  The gentle hum of an air conditioned tent was calling our names.  But we opted for 6Minutes of Mary instead.

    LBC x 25, Russian Twist x 20 LBC Twist x 25, Hello Dolly x 25, Flutter x 20 and Plank Jacks x 25

    We pushed our final mosey back to the FLAG for the Circle of Trust.

    In the Circle of Trust we prayed for many who are sick and prayed to be better men in the lives of others.

    Thanks for the privilege of Q’ing this workout.

    Peace-Reluctant Yankee

     

     

     

     

  • No Rocks in the Rock City

    During my one day layover in NOLA I had to get my Q-on so that Hawg could get a break from Q duty for a few days.

    It was almost sunny when we started this AM!  Hot and humid as will be normal for the next few months here in NOLA.  Pontiff was dry which was pretty unusual.

    When Hawgcycle arrived Jazzy and I took off so that we could burn some cals.

    We turned left instead of the usual right – and went for a quick COP warm up.

    SSH x 25, Imperial Walker Squats x 25, Carolina Dry Dock x 20 and Peter Parkers x 25 IC

    Then we ran 1/4 mi to the gym with a pull up bar.  Today we went for a half murph.

    So OYO we did 50 pull ups, 100 merkins, and 150 squats.  I broke my work out in to a 5-10-15 rotation.  At the halfway point we did a plank and wait for the 6.  Then we finished strong.  Gotta get more pullups in the workouts!

    Next we ran out for a long run to the Rock City Hill.  At RCH we a backwards bear crawl up the hill, then a forward bear crawl down the hill and then 25 LBCs at the bottom.  We did that 22 times.

    Then we ran to the baseball field by the rocks and we did a quick flutter and hello dolly x25  IC

    From the field we pushed to the flag for a 615 finish.

    Tclaps to Hawgcycle and Jazzy for showing up this AM – lots of people out of town!

    COT – A prayer for gratitude for the things that make our lives easier – a prayer of gratitude for the things in our lives that don’t cost money.

    See you guys in 2 weeks on June 20th.

  • They did what to the Tulane sign?

    OK so I typed this up and left the computer for a bit – and the whole thing got deleted on a time out – so…this one will be less exciting.

    Funny intro about the Tulane University sign and a public image problem of recent graduations post-tweets of themselves in a cap and gown minus their under gown garments.

    At the sign, High Knees, butt kicks, bear crawl, grapevine, side hop each direction, sprint.  40 yards.

    Then SSH x 20, Mountain Climbers x 20, Imperial Walker Squats x 20, Monkey Humps x 20,

    Then we ran to Wolfpack Mtn.

    The Thang

    Run up the inclines, jog the flats and at each end of the parking garage each member of the PAX needed to do 10 cross fit merks.  Half way up we modified to 5 xfit merks.

    At the top plank and wait then circle up for 6MOM

    Lbc x 20 lbc twist x 20, flutter x 20 penguin x 20, hello dolly x 20 rosalita x 20

    Then the PAX divided into two groups – one ran down a floor of stairs and ran up the ramp and straight away back to the PAX.  While one group ran – the other did 10 merkins and as many LBCs as possible while waiting for the other group.   Then they switched.

    At that point we rain down the stairs and headed to the benches.  At the benches we did:

    left leg step ups x 20 right leg step ups x 20 freak nastys x 20 left leg squats x 15 right leg squats x 15

    Mosey back to the Flag.

    As always it was a pleasure to Q.  At the shout out – we reflected on the Memorial in Memorial Day – something I haven’t done in years.  YHC also asked for TShirts for the Nicaragua mission that I take on Saturday.  The breeze at the top of Wolfpack Mtn was a special treat in NOLA this late in MAY I hope you enjoyed that!