F3 New Orleans

Author: Rudy

  • The Day After

    LSU 45 – Clemson 28. And it seemed like it could have been much much worse than that.

    Tuesday morning, YHC expected a lighter-than-normal crowd at the Stomp, as many PAX would undoubtedly still be sleeping off the after-effects of The Stomping. And YHC wasn’t disappointed. OK, maybe a bit disappointed but not surprised.

    In the pea-soup, 8 hardy PAX arrived for their morning workout. 7 Regulars and 1 out of towner (welcome, 49er from Kentucky – and Thanks Hokie Pokey for shuttling another Hokie around!)

    30 Minute run down the typical route. 15 mins out and 15 mins back. Then lets get to the track. Holygrove bravely takes off with Shuffles and Catfish – I suspect he quickly regretted that decision. Eventually YHC caught up to him, and enjoyed the rest of the run – thanks for the F2 along the way! And thanks to Woz for pacing and pushing us!

    At the track for some speed work. But first – a brief recollection of this remarkable season

    • First 15-0 Season
    • Second Heisman Trophy Winner
    • Fourth National Championship

    Yup, 1-2-4. Sounds like a Ladder. So – lets finish up with the Sprint Ladder. 100, 200, 400, 200, 100 yard sprints. In between each, 100yd mosey/walk to recover.

    Back to the track for COT – prayers for discipline for all of us in facing our challenges, and for Mr. Holygrove (Alvin) in particular during his recovery.

  • Poker Run

    Its the game all the new cool kids are playing.

    “A poker run is an organized event in which participants, usually using motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, horses, on foot or other means of transportation, must visit five to seven checkpoints, drawing a playing card at each one. “

    YHC has previously over-estimated the PAX’s ability to listen to and understand directions. And YHC was afraid that this particular set of instructions was going to be beyond the attention span of the PAX. The PAX were warned that this was going to require attention. And all but Angie’s List seemed willing to give it a shot.

    Quick warmup with some SSH (x31 – to celebrate 31 years since ND’s last National Championship. YHC promised this would be the only ND reference during the workout) and Windmills.

    Then – PAX assume plank position while YHC explains the game. The more backtalk and sass, the longer we stay in plank position. Except Jingle Vader. JV apparently has some objection to Plank, so he stood in the Vertical Plank with arms crossed.

    The Rules: there are 5 stations around the park. See the map. At each station there are some cards (playing cards) and a card (workout card). Each group picks a playing card, and the workout card tells you what to do (which exercise, how many reps).

    Each team visits each of the stations, getting 5 cards. OK, there were other rules too. But I don’t need to go through them all here. The 3 teams (Hawg, King Kong and Bongo; Douille, Angie’s List, Jingle Vader; Catfish, Rudy, iHeart, Da Parish) each took off.

    5 Stations with Legs, Planks, Merks, Abs, Burpees. Side note: drawing the Ace of Hearts and its 30 8 Count Body Builder reward kind of sucked. Thanks Catfish.

    OK, its about 7:20 and everyone is back in the Great Lawn with 5 cards. Circle up for opportunities to replace cards.

    Monkey Humpers: Do Monkey Humbers for longer than YHC, and your team can exchange a card. Rudy got to x40. Hawg, King Kong and Bongo tapped out after 2, and assumed the Al Gore position of shame.

    Plank: Plank longer than Rudy and your team can exchange a card. Rudy got to about 90 seconds. Hawg, King Kong and Bongo tapped out after about 10 seconds.

    Burpees: Everyone on your team get 10 burpees in less than a minute? Exchange 1 card. Hawg, King Kong and Bogo tapped out at exactly 9 burpees each.

    NOTE: Everyone should have realized something by this point.

    The Wager: Each team automatically antes 10 burpee. Winner does no burpee, losing teams pay the bet. Douille, Angie’s List and Jingle Vader call the lazy triplets at 25 Burpees. While Catfish et. al. ponder their move, Hawg announces the natural full house they pulled. Fortunately, that allowed Catfish et. al. to Fold and only pay a 15 burpee penalty.

    Congrats to the winners who SWEAR they drew 3 7s and 2 10s blind.

    Thanks all for giving this a shot!

  • No really – Stop me if you’ve done this before

    YHC’s 4th year anniversary in F3, so what to do? Why – how about the same thing that he did for 3rd year, 2nd year and 1st year? The Q that writes itself…

    Looking for Amnesty

    YHC was joined on a gloomy, chilly Monday morning at Rock City by 13 PAX. Several had been there for previous celebrations. And one made his first ever appearance at the 4th celebration of his Fart Sacking of my first workout. Welcome, Amnesty! Conversely, thank you Bogey – not only did you drag me into this, you’ve actually been at the anniversary each year (as far as I recall, anyways…)

    The Thing

    Same thing again. Quick warmup before grabbing rocks and heading to the trees.

    Captain Dan

    With your rock, 2x Lunge, 1x Squat. Repeat, increasing reps each time. Get to the fence at the end of the field. YHC was up to 14x Lunge steps. Scantron and his legs seemed to make it in about 6x Lunge steps.

    Take a seat in the People’s Chair while we patiently wait for Triple Shift to arrive. Then we patiently continue sitting waiting for Triple Shift to realize that he is also supposed to take a seat.

    Jack Webb

    1x Merkin (hand on rock), 2x Shoulder Presses (with Rock). Start increasing. Up to 8x/16x. PAX humored YHC by following his slower-than-you cadence. But everyone powered through…

    Circle of Abs and Pull Ups

    Circle up for some ab work. While one group of 3-4 ran off to the playground to get 10 Pull Ups in, the rest of the group did some ab work. Box cutters, Flutters, Dollys and Penguins while everyone got their pull ups. Marlin gave a 20 count in his head. The rest of us waited in silence.

    Start heading towards home by Lieutenent Danning back to where we started.

    Bloom Where You’re Planted

    Lets run through some reps without putting the rock down. Shoulder Press, Curl, Row. x12, x10, x8, x6, x4, x2. YHC did need to take a break.

    Back to the Flag, still had time for 10 Burpees OYO. PAX – we are getting faster. Previous years, we’ve not had time for EXTRA work at the end.

    Thanks for a great 4 years!

  • It’s All About The Legs

    6 Pax showed up on a cool Tuesday morning. Disclaimer was given and repeated several times so we didn’t have a repeat of what happened on Friday (See BB)

    Mosey over to Loyola for Warm up

    SSH x 20

    • Self Love x 10 (Some guy named “Yankee” showed up)
    • Grass Grabbers x 10 (Lots of Mumble chatter from Yankee)
    • Mountain Climber x 20 (Finally some silence)
    • Peter Parker x 20
    • Arm Circles x 10 Backward
    • Arm Circles x 10

    Mosey to WPM. Backward run up the incline. Forward run when level. Stopped at every level for a 2:00 static hold. Pax were told they can stop whenever they want if they do burpees to finish out the 2:00

    • 1st level plank
    • 2nd level wall sit
    • 3rd level flutter kicks
    • 4th level Al Gores (Mumble chatter from JV saying things like “It’s all about the legs apparently” and “So much for getting a FULL body workout)
    • 5th level forearm plank

    Down the stairs and over to the Tulane quad.

    • Wilt Chamberlains 100 LBCs
    • 100 yard (ish) run
    • 100 Real Freddie Mercuries
    • 100 yard (ish) run
    • Repeat cycle but with 50 of each exercise
    • 10 Burpees OYO

    Mosey to flag

    Announcements: Please stay hydrated and always make sure you are not overworking yourself. Update contact list on Q sheet and include ICE numbers. Brown Bag said that beer is a great recovery drink… then something about new releases

    Intentions Yankee’s Family, Hollygrove

    Thanks for letting me lead!

  • Iron PAX Prelude

    YHC had plans for his 52nd birthday Q at Rock City (hint: what other workout option includes the number 52?). But Sunday night, Hawg posted the Iron PAX Prelude. And Tanner jumped in immediately – “Hey Rudy, lets do this!” So what option did I have? The belated 52-birthday-Q will have to wait…

    19 PAX were greeted by a typical humid August morning. Disclaimer issued, then mosey to the water fountain on the north end of the track. Circle up for a quick warmup (some Windmills, Grass Grabbers and Open/Close The Gate). Then explain the drill.

    6 times. 24 Squats, 24 Merkins, 24 (2 count) Lunges, then run 1 lap (a full lap, not a “Rudy” lap where you start late and end early). For Time – so push yourself (but make darn sure to hydrate!). Go.

    Billy Goat knocked it out of the park, coming in somewhere around 25 minutes. Hawg (barefeet and all) came in 2nd, followed by Mahatma. Nice work, gentlemen!

    As PAX finished, they gathered at the end line to cheer on the other finishers. Special #TClaps to Cheese Fries and Boo Boo who powered through to completion while we were moseying back to the flag. Way to persevere and keep after it!

    COT: count-off, name-o-rama, intentions and prayers for guidance. Then Hawg persisted in getting a few more people registered, and get our times logged.

    IronPAX Q makes for a pretty easy preparation. Thanks, F3 Greensboro!

  • A bit of Notre Dame, and a bit of YIPPEE!

    19 PAX (incluing Rewatch, downriver from Houston) in the morning gloom to help YHC celebrate the end of his 51st year. Yippee!

    Started out with a disclaimer, trying to be more thoughtful than normal with thoughts of Holy Grove in mind. Everyone: be mindful of your health. Hydrate. Modify. Its Hot and Humid. Most important – remain healthy. All this, while continuing to push yourselves. So with thoughts and prayers for Holy Grove in mind, lets get started.

    YHC brought along a YIPPEE! bag full of birthday gifts. The idea: all PAX feel free – at any point in the workout – come pick a gift from the YIPPEE! bag. What’s in the bag? A collection of goodies – exercises for the Q, exercises for the PAX, a few special gotchas. Each piece of paper is something new and different.

    Mosey over to the Great Lawn.

    Warmup with some stretching and SSH (x51). First dip into the YIPPEE bag produces 20 Dips for everyone at the benches! Its going to be a fun hour.

    7 Heisman Trophy Winners

    7 of Diamonds, in honor of the ND 7 heisman trophy winners (Bertelli, Hart, Lattner, Lujack, Hornung, Huarte and Brown). Yes, Douille is correct in noting that Hornung is the only Heisman winner from a losing team. Douile was incorrect in thinking Hornung lost to Tulane.

    PAX split into 4 groups. 4 cones set up in a diamond shape.

    Round 1: 7 Bobby Hurleys at a cone, Bear Crawl to the next. Repeat all the way around

    Round 2: 14 Merkins, Lunge Walks

    Round 3: 21 Squats, Crab Walks

    Round 4: 28 Flutter Kicks, Lunge Walks

    War Eagle and Catfish seem to be greatly enjoying the YIPPEE bag – produce burpees, merkins, squat jumps for the PAX, for themselves, for the Q. “10 Burpees for Me”. “20 Merkins for PAX of choice” (tough break, Angie’s List). “15 Squat Jumps for the Q”. “10 Genuflects for the PAX”. The cards are flying faster.

    YHC also especially enjoyed War Eagle’s “Sing Happy Birthday to the Q”. Thank you.

    11 National Championships

    Yes, YHC is aware that our glory days are old. No, YHC does not care. Yes, YHC always believes that next year represents our return to glory.

    11s with Burpees and Catalina Wine Mixers. Go. PAX now are running past the YIPPEE bag with more frequency, resulting in more draws.

    Pop Tart pulls a “Sprint vs the Q”, and pays dearly for his arrogance – slipping and falling as he turns to mock the slower Q. The Tortoise revels in his glorious victory. Rewatch and Catfish both draw Laps around the park.

    Triple Shift adamantly refuses to approach the Yippee bag. He must not like birthdays. Or presents.

    5 Pillars

    YHC has to call off the 11s somewhere around half-way point due to time constraints. 5 Pillars of Holy Cross Education: Mind, Heart, Zeal, Family, Hope. For each one, PAX will do 5 Rise Ups (squat for a 5 count, then jump up, return to squat position). Even while explaining the exercise, Hokie is standing at the bag waiting to draw. And of course, he pulls “10 Burpees for the Q”. Everyone else gets a 10 count while YHC gets 10 burpees in.

    At Zeal, Rev Sox pulls “20 Merkins for the Q”. Thanks. Rev Sox leads PAX in 5 Rise Ups while YHC knocks out 20 Merkins.

    Mary

    Circle up for last 5 minutes of Mary. But we never get to Mary. More cards are drawn – “10 Burpees for everyone”. Seems there were more Burpee cards than YHC remembers putting in the bag.

    Alas, we never got to the Duck Duck Goose game that YHC was really hoping for. Next time… But for now, return to the flag.

    COT

    Count-off: 19 PAX (including 2 FNGs). Thank you all for celebrating my birthday with me! First, from Atlanta, still a dirty bird fan, so the PAX were unanimous in welcoming “28-3” to the tribe. Then – deep voice, handsome beard, claims he might kinda sing a bit: Pavarotti, glad to have you with us!

    Close up with announcements, intentions and prayers to remember each day granted to us is a gift. May we treasure it, and use it wisely.

    Thank you all for the opportunity to lead. I welcome your patience with me as I try new and potentially stupid things at workouts.

  • Wisner Bridge, with a side of Burpees

    Good morning, rise and shine! YHC usually opens the Stomp with a Disclaimer and “The Usual”. But with lots of creativity at 610 Stomp of late (#TClaps to Kuch, FracSac and others who find new ways to liven up our early morning run!), YHC needed to try and think of something at least a wee bit different…

    Right, right. The Wisner Bridge. Our city’s version of “Hill Workout”. Yup, lets do it.

    So – after the disclaimer, and a reminder to everyone of directions to the bridge (go Left, not Right) – we were off. Run to the bridge (about a mile), then back and forth over it (each pass is just under half mile) until its time to come home (another mile). And just for fun – lets throw in 5 burpees after each pass.

    Shuffles (missing his running pal Smooth already) tried to stay back with the pack, but couldn’t help himself. Jumping to the front with Swiss Miss, they proceeded to go right (not left), disappearing in the gloom – only to reappear much later at the bridge.

    At the bridge, Dirty Dell and Briefs set the pace. Back and forth they went. Several “Good Mornings” – to dog walkers, other runners, other PAX. This would be a dangerous way for the Frac GM run. YHC was blinded on each pass by the approaching glow of the Surge Special outfit. That’s a lot of day-glo yellow.

    Nearing 6am, time to get the PAX together again at the foot of the bridge. YHC makes it to the bottom to find Ya Mom’n’dem and Pop Tart sitting around, apparently looking for some donuts and a cigarette or something to pass the time. More Burpees for them, YHC calls out. So PAX start burpeeing. And burpeeing. And burpeeing. While Hawg and Rev-Sox (closely watching their heart rate, apparently) saunter down the final hill.

    Mosey back to the flag for a round of Mary, before closing with our count-off, Name-o-rama, and send everyone off to start the day with St. Ignatius Prayer for Generosity.

  • Mahatma Modified

    Oh sure, Mahatma will blame it on being unable to hear the Q, or faulty Q instructions, or the Q just not knowing what the heck he was doing. All of which might be true. But on this glorious morning in City Park, Mahatma Modified.

    06:15: YHC joined Rev-Sox and others at the Peristyle for a round of prayer and stretching Thank you, Rev Sox, for getting this started. What a great way to welcome the morning and get ready for the workout.

    06:25: YHC bolts from the Peristyle to try and get back to MOMA and the Muscleship in time for his Q. Arrives at 6:28:30 to see a group of PAX questioning whether their Q would arrive. As expected, Bogey seemed to be in charge of the muttering and grumbling. Welcome back, Bogey!

    06:30: With a disclaimer, PAX are off – short mosey (WATCH OUT FOR THE CARS) to the Great Lake for a quick warmup watching the sunrise. SSH, Windmills, IW, Grass grabbers. Just enough to get the heart pumping. Then an Indian Run over to the Cinderblocks to get started.

    The Thing

    Grab a cinderblock.

    Round 1: Shoulder Press, Curl, Row x20. Then bear crawl about 30-40 yards, dragging your cinderblock. Some PAX took to throwing the cinderblock. YHC decided that was legal form, as long as PAX did not leave bear crawl form. Much fun had by all, so do the same – and bear crawl back to the starting line.

    Bogey relied on a note from his “doctor” (going by the name “Walleye”) as an excuse to modify his bear crawl.

    Round 2: Shoulder Press, Curl, Row x15. Then duck walk the same distance, again dragging your cinderblock. Again, throwing was deemed acceptable as long as one did not egregiously abandon duck walk stance. Then repeat and return to the starting line.

    Pop Tart’s form is impeccable. All duck-walking-wannabes: take time to watch Pop Tart, and marvel at how his butt can be that close to the grass whilst he walks. Watch and learn and imitate. YHC’s form is, uh, less-good than that.

    Round 3: Shoulder Press, Curl, Row x10. This time crab walk the same distance, again dragging your cinderblock. As YHC started his trek across the field – he saw the sight he never expected to see. Mahatma not following instructions. Instead of dragging, he CARRIED his cinderblock in his lap while crab-walking. Now – that may be just as hard, if not harder. But none-the-less – IT WAS A MODIFICATION.

    Return the cinderblocks. We’ve got more stuff to do.

    More Things

    Quick stop by Tool’s Wall for 2 rounds of Calf-Raise/Monkey Humber combo.

    Quick stop by the Foundry for everyone to get 10 full Pull Ups in. PAX plank while groups went to get their 10 done – using spotter’s as necessary. And for YHC, spotting was definitely necessary (thank you, Mahatma!)

    Indian Run back to the field for a game YHC learned in Houston.

    Ka-Burpee

    Divide into two teams each taking half of a very-imprecisely laid out field (roughly 15 yards across, each half about 30 yards deep). The game:

    PAX from one team crosses the line. Has 30 seconds to tag one member of the other team, then race back across the line to his original side of the field. Upon tagging an opponent, all members of opposing team do 1 burpee, then try to catch the tagger before he crosses back over the line. If the tagger is caught, his team does 5 burpees. If not, the taggee’s team does 5 more burpees.

    Trust me, it makes a bit more sense when you actually play it.

    Cycle through until everyone gets a turn as tagger. Strategies evolved, including Walleye using a Full Takedown maneuver to ensure Tanner would not make it back over the line. Nicely played!

    COT

    Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Then circle up for count-off, announcements (including a definition of CSAUP – Complete Stupid and Utterly Pointless event. Lets get some on the calendar!) Then clone in for a very very sweaty ball of man, and finish with a prayer – as always for YHC, ending with St. Ignatius’ Prayer for Generosity.

    Thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to lead.

  • This ain’t no democracy

    Just sit there and shut up. This ain't no democracy.

    A very very damp morning greeted the PAX, after yesterday’s squall lines rolled through. YHC had done a quick drive by one of the intended workout areas to see whether it was usable, and alas – discovered that it was quite soupy. So perhaps an audible was going to be necessary. More on that later.

    5:30 – Issue a disclaimer, and 21 PAX moseyed off to the track. YHC is not a regular at the Foundry. His recollections of the Foundry from way-back-when was of an intimate gathering of just a few close friends. Now we are at 21 PAX (and apparently that’s the new normal at The Foundry!) Fantastic to see such growth – more HIMs, more impact, more motivations. Thank you all.

    The Warmup

    Circle up on the track for a typical warmup, consisting of Windmills (oops – bad move on the part of the YHC, needed to restart , SSH, Arm Circles, Overhead Claps, more Arm Circles (alas, Amnesty kept chit chatting and missing the instructions to KEEP YOUR ARMS UP). Then some planks, just because.

    The Thing #1

    BLIMPS. Partner up for the BLIMPS-a-go-go. Partners run opposite directions on the track, and wherever they meet – do the next letter exercise. Then run opposite directions again. Start with Burpees x10. You all know the drill from there (except, apparently, YHC who attempted to spell out BIMPS). Ya Mom’n’Dem did a great job carrying an additional heavy weight on his back (“Jesus Juice”). Meanwhile, Holy Grove and Smooth finished about 15 minutes ahead of the next closes finisher.

    As PAX finish, start LBC’ing and Dollying awaiting the 6. YHC then offered the PAX a choice:

    • Elevens: PAX who want to do 11s, line up on YHC’s left
    • Get your shoes wet: PAX who want to get their shoes wet, line up on YHC’s right

    YHC was astounded to see a vote of 20-1 in favor of “Keep your shoes dry” (and the humble reader can guess who was the “1”). Apparently, a lesson in the Art of Manliness was in order. As this is NOT a democracy – the PAX moseyed off to collect a cinderblock from the swamp.

    The Thing #2

    Grab your cinder block and line up along the left field line in the puddles (you know, the area that looks like a baseball field when not covered by muck and grass clippings). Pop Tart scoffed at the rest of us, as the mud and water just oozed right out of his mandals…

    Round 1: 15 each Overhead Press, Curls, Rows, Bench Press. Then a Bear Crawl out about 30 yards, and Lunge Walk back. Briefs grumbling “my shoes won’t be dry for days”. Screw Top whining “Can’t we go do pullups instead? Its dry over there”.

    Round 2: 12 each. Crawl Bear out, Walk Lunge back. Words fail to express my disappointment at hearing Tool suggest that Walk Lunge would be easier if his footsies weren’t so wet.

    Round 3: 10 each. Not enough time for more out-and-back, so return our Cinderblock friends and slosh back to the flag.

    Finished about 5 mins late. Sorry PAX (but not really)

    Count-off and name-o-rama (lots of young guns at the Foundry – thanks for pushing me harder everyone!) Announcements and Intentions, especially praying for Holy Grove’s dad in his recovery from health challenges.

    As today is the feast day of St. Ignatius, YHC closed with his Prayer for Generosity. Thanks for letting me lead. And thanks for following where I go! Into the Muck and Mire!

  • One Trick Pony

    YHC generally has one favorite Rock City exercise. So in his first Q in many months, and with many new PAX since then, time was right to break it out again. So 5:30 am, time to start with the running disclaimer (we’ve got places to go, PAX….) and off to the rock pile.

    Warm Up

    • Sllllloooooowwww cadence Windmills x10. Oh look, welcome to the group Marlin.
    • SSH x25. Oh look. welcome to the group FastTax
    • IW x20. That it? I think we’re all here. Any one else rolling in hot?
    • Low Sllllooooowwww Squats x15. Gabrielle decides he only wants to do Slow squats (not the Sllllloooowwww variety) and is usually back to standing position by the 2-count.
    • Slllloooowwww Merkins x15

    Grab a rock

    Rock 11s

    Rocks in a line in the middle of the parking lot. 11s with Burpees and Derkins on opposite sides. Passing the rock towards the Derkins, do 11 Shoulder Presses. Passing the rock the other way, do 11 Curls. Go.

    As usual, this is a good time killer for everyone who’s F3 name doesn’t start with “Mahatm”. For PAX whose names do start with that – its just another day in the park.

    6:00 – time to wrap up to move to the next step. For PAX who didn’t finish – the goal will be to get further the next time YHC does this.

    Leg Times

    After working upper body, time to work the legs. Grab your rock and head to the pavillion.

    • Right Leg Step Ups x15
    • Pai Gow correctly predicts that Left Leg Step Ups are next. x15.
    • Monkey Humpers x25

    Take your friend to go have a seat. In your People’s Chair. Curls x15 while we enjoy our seat. Stand and shake ’em out. Repeat, this time with overhead presses. Shake ’em out. Back to the pavillion for another round through RLSU, LLSU and MH.

    Return Times

    Bring the rocks back home. Head back to the Shovel Flag and Freedom Hammer. On your 6 for some FK and Penguins until the clock hits 6:15am.

    Finish up with counting (up to 19!) and naming (Welcome back Billy Goat – been a while!). Then our announcements (lots of stuff going on – hope to see all the PAX out at the upcoming events). Finish up with our sweaty COT. Thanks for the chance to lead, PAX!

    PS: YHC had grad ambitions of celebrating the 645th anniversary of the largest occurrence of the Dancing Mania (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_mania), when reports have it that upwards of 400 people died in Aachen, Germany, from exhaustion brought on by non-stop dancing and gyrations. The celebration would have included Goofballs, the Side-straddle-hop ridiculousness seen at Okwata, and other exhaustion-inducing exercises. But alas, YHC ran out of time before being able to appropriately test such a workout. Maybe next year for the 646th anniversary.