F3 New Orleans

Author: Steve

  • A Tale of Two Beatdowns

    It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, and…. yes, it was certainly the age of foolishness.

    The Pax were presented with two choices this morning, follow the Wacker of Bushes off to the Marsh where 35 lbs. cinderblocks awaited them or, for a potentially less-painful option, follow YHC into the unknown. So the Pax split, the Iron Pax-ers heading off to fulfill the week 3 challenge, and those who had already completed it stayed behind.

    Warmorama: 10x merkins OYO, arm circles, air presses, IWs, SSHs, high knees, all at various reps IC.

    Thang:

    Bear crawl approximately 400 yards to the lakefront gazebo. Caveat: if you need to pause for rest, perform 10x merkins then jog to catch up with the man in the lead. YHC declines to say whether or not this was intended to make the PAX rethink their choice of beatdowns but, impressively, there was relatively little grumbling. That is how difficult the IP challenges are – the minds of the PAX have been recalibrated and this – bear crawling 400 yards – is actually better than the alternative. T-claps to Grundy who (YHC believes) was the only one to make it the full distance without stopping.

    Next, circle up inside the gazebo for a quick round of squats, 20x IC, before assuming an Al Gore hold while each man takes his turn doing 10x Bobby Hurleys. Turbo explained to the young ‘uns who BH was, and that he did indeed slap the floor as a Duke player. Everyone seemed to sink their shots – with Chewy mixing in a few granny-throws – and we wrapped things up in the gazebo with a round of the ever-popular monkey humpers, x22 IC. A short recovery stumble down the path before moseying to the canal bridge for a partner routine.

    Partner 1 heads up the path, over the bridge and down a short distance – to where a young couple was necking in the grass – and then circles back to relieve partner 1, who will begin the cumulative reps of:

    • 50 Burpees
    • 100 Sister Mary’s
    • 150 T-Merkins
    • 200 Squats
    • 150 Freak Nasties
    • 100 Monkey Humpers
    • 50 Burpees

    T-claps to the young couple, who YHC figured would relocate to a more private spot within the first 5 minutes. These two, though, persevered the parade of sweaty men and continued to put on a show for nearly the entire duration of our routine. And this routine took some time – especially the t-merkins, which seemed to bring nearly everyone to their knees. Hey, maybe they’re exhibitionists and this is what they came for?

    Quick Indian run back to the flag and, with minutes to spare, we knocked out some Jane Fonda’s, quick pulses, and heel-to-knees, 10x IC each leg. Having reached the end, we looked around for our Iron Pax brethren, but to no avail. So, back on our six, we knocked out a bit more: flutters, LBCs, and Freddie Merc’s, all 20x IC. A quick look around again but, alas, still no one in sight.

    Time to call it – so we circled for countdown, nameorama, and COT. Shooter prayed us out with intentions for recently slain Captain Vincent Liberto and his family. Liberto, a father of seven, had served the Mandeville police department for over 25 years and was known to be a good man, who served his country and community with pride. His sacrifice comes as a shock, and is a reminder of just how lucky we are to have such great men and women protect and serve our community.

    Soon after, the Iron Pax-ers appeared and we circled up for COT, part deux, this time with Hammer praying us out. Double intentions for Capt. Liberto and his family.

    Then it was off to coffetería, where Tank regaled us with warm stories of Italian family gatherings. A near perfect morning. Thanks for the opportunity to lead and get stronger alongside you men.

  • Remembering

    5 men did the annual 9/11 stair climb on Tuesday to remember and honor those 2792 men, women, and children who died 18 years ago. Hard to believe it’s that long ago already, and how much that event changed our world.

    With the grueling Iron Pax Challenge happening both the day before and after this beatdown, this was a great opportunity for us to slow down a bit, talk, and reflect.

    Sweating profusely with the 100% humidity that seems to accompany every day here, we wondered aloud how difficult it must’ve been for those firefighters to ascend in all their gear, with all that weight and heat, and with the knowledge that things would likely not go well for them. YHC cannot imagine the fear that would produce, and that these men were able to push that aside and rush up is astonishing.

    So we climbed 82 1/2 flights at Grandmother’s, which according to Pelican’s calculations approximated the 110 floors of the WTC. Quick Mary of 20x Merkins, Hello Dolly’s, Freddie Mercs, and LBC’s. COT and Chewy prayed us out, reminding us to be thankful for the sacrifice those men and women made for our country.

  • Float like a butterfly, sting like a…

    The Killer B’s ended with a bang Saturday morning, with Grundy taking the Northshore lead by mere seconds.  Sure, we could debate the fairness of doing it on the lakefront’s luxurious grass vs. the Marsh’s unyielding concrete, or the legality of the proctor himself taking home first place, but when it comes down to it, we must (begrudgingly) give Grundy due credit (and hate!) – it was a pretty inspirational effort.  In fact, Tank was nipping at his heels the entire time and it seems the two were feeding off one another’s energy to push each other to their record times.

    So t-claps to those two men for giving it their all and, while we’re t-clapping, we might as well toss another one out to Zoo and his miraculous self-healing leg, for taking the opportunity to hit the challenge for a second time and improve upon his score.  Alright, the rundown:

    Usual pre-thang 2 miler featured guest appearances by both Bushwacker and Garfield, and then we went right into the warmorama: Arm circles (forward/back), IW’s, copperhead squats, toe touches, hillbillies, SSHs, mountain climbers, all x20 IC.

    Thang:  Half the PAX followed Grundy to complete the IP challenge, while those that had already had their fill followed YHC.

    First stop on our tour of the lakefront was an old favorite that can be difficult to use with a large pax: Rips.  Instead of the traditional stair run/Rocky Balboa’s, though, we simply grabbed a handrail and did one legged negative calf raises, at a slow cadence: x15 per leg.

    Then, eastward towards the baseball field, stopping for a quick COP of high knees and a burpee wave.  About 6 rounds, and then onward…

    To the pull-up bars behind the baseball field.  Circled up on our six for flutter kicks, while 2 men got up to do 5x pull-ups.  Around the circle again and again and again, until each man had 25 pull-ups.  We maxed out on flutters and at some point switched to Freddie Mercs, which did not really help all that much.

    Next up, flip over to a plank for plank jacks, while 2 men got up to do hanging knee tucks x10.  Round the circle a few times, switching about halfway to shoulder taps, until each man had 30 tucks.

    Mosey back towards the boat launch to split into two teams for a 100-yard sprint relay race.  Losing team gets hit with 25 burpees, winning team gets 25 merkins.  (YHC has learned that, in the realm of F3, the winning team never takes the easy way and sits out on the work so why even bother pretending there’s a reward.)  With Bean pulling double duty for Team 2 to secure the win, they performed their merkins and then jumped in to help Team 1 finish up with their burpees.  And then everyone took a page from Pik, who’s been keeping Old Mandeville clean for the better part of two years, and did a quick sweep of beer bottles before heading over to the playground for a quick partner routine.

    P1 holds people’s chair while doing air presses, P2 bear crawls up the small hill to the swingset pad for 10 merkins and then bunny hops back down to flapjack with P1.

    Just enough time to Indian Run back to Rips, get in one more set of calf raises (x10 each leg this time), and back at the flag for a round of boxcutters, x20 IC.  The rest of the gang joined us at this point, looking thoroughly destroyed, and we circled up for COT.  Zoo encouraged all to share the gift of F3 and bring out some new brothers, and Maverick took us out with a prayer, encouraging us to be men of strength. Then off to coffeeteria.  Thank you men for the opportunity not only to lead, but to get stronger and sharper alongside you.

  • The Backup

    Being called in as a last minute backup can go one of two ways: either you’re a little stressed because you have to plan a beatdown quickly, or maybe the opposite, a little too relaxed, shirking that preparation because… hey, you’re the backup, what’re they expecting?

    Now, I’m not gonna say that YHC came wholly unprepared, not my style.  But preparation was …light.

    We already knew Pik and Wacker were out this morning, so Shooter and I stood in the darkness wondering if it’d be just the two of us.  Then we saw Cowbell’s truck coming in hot… or at least, we thought it was Cowbell’s truck.  It came and went.  Hmm. “I guess that wasn’t Cowbell,” I say to Shooter. “No, that was him,” he responds. And sure enough, the car returns after pulling a three-point turn and Cowbell pops out.  Hmm. Well, it is early in the morning, no judgement here.

    Warmorama:  Torso twist, arm circles, SSH, IW’s, high knees, and butt kicks, all x20 IC.

    Thang:  Mosey a whopping 20 feet to the edge of the basketball court for a mix of suicides and AMRAPS:

    Full court suicide

    1 minute of merkins

    Full court suicide

    1 minute of BB sit-ups

    Full court suicide

    1 minute of jump tucks

    Full court suicide

    1 minute of one leg lateral hops, another minute for the other leg

    Full court suicide

    1 minute of Aussie pull-ups

    Full court suicide

    90 seconds of plank jacks

    Lunge walk half the court, bear crawl back

    1 minute of shoulder taps

    Full court suicide

    Over to center court for a rousing round of Burp n’ Merk (ascending merkins with each burpee), up to 10. Shooter requested we descend back down to 1, as real men would, but time was short.

    Closed it out with some Mary, little manny crunches, hello dolly’s, x 25 in random cadences.

    COT and Shooter prayed us out.  A sincere thank you for the opportunity to better myself with good men like yourselves.

  • Back Blasts from the Past

    Inspired by Chewy’s spate of back to back to back blasts, YHC figured it was time to put some fingers to the keyboard. I love to read these things, so why have I shirked my duty for my last 3 Q’s?  

    Alright, let’s forget the counts just this once, as I’ll be lucky to get the rest of it right:

    Warmorama – SSH, IWs, Cherry Pickers, arm circles, air presses, etc.

    And finally, high knees until called, then drop for a burpee…. round the circle we went, a few times.

    Thang: Over to the pull-up bars, my favorite feature of the marsh.  One man does 5 pull ups, while the rest of the pax does flutters.  5 rounds of this, (that’s 25 per man for you non-mathematicians) and then on to hanging knee tucks.  10 per man this time, while everyone does J-Los.  3 rounds here of this.

    A long mosey from the warm confines of the Marsh to the warm expanse of the lakefront.  Oh, forgot – we sprinted a few of those blocks.  Maybe… 2?   Then hit up the sea wall for none other than: Step Ups, Freaks, Bulgarians, Freaks, Step ups with Knee Raises, Freaks.

    Over to a grassy spot for some Captain Thor, 1 sit-up to 4 putins, up to 10/40.  This was Cowbell’s virgin Thor experience, he seemed to enjoy.

    Mosey back to the Marsh, this time stopping at each corner to do 10 merkins.  Switched it up each block, alternating between wide, diamond, T, and your plain ol’ average merkin.  

    COT and Cowbell prayed us out.  Thanks gents for the opportunity to lead, and for keeping each other sharp.  Love to start the week out here with you guys.

  • Traditional Scramble With A Few Untraditional Faces

    Sometimes taking a Q is just a way to ensure you actually post to the beatdown, which was the case for YHC and the Scramble yesterday morning.  Luckily, six other men required no such motivation. Well, I say six, but really there were only 5 others until the final minutes of the beatdown.  You can guess which man forgot the start time this morning (but did end up getting in most of the run!).

    Also of note, our favorite bickering couple returned to the fold, Chewy having convinced Ei to come back out of retirement for the seventh time by signing up for a half marathon and all the training that went along with it.

    Alright, warmorama: copperhead squats, good mornings, toe touches, torso twist, arm circles, SSH, all x12 IC

    Then, off on the traditional route.

    It should be on record that Shooter was part of the “gazelle club” on this particular morning, taking the lead with Pik as the rest of the PAX fell behind at a more leisurely pace.

    YHC ran with Demo, who had for some reason decided he wanted to completely annihilate himself before his family vacation: after a long period of inactivity, he posted for Grundy’s grueling cinderblock beatdown the day before, took an 11 mile bike ride that night, and then got up early to do this 5k.  I’m sure his M will be pleased that’s he’s incapacitated for their trip.

    Finally back at the flag, a mysterious figure that we had passed near Sunset Point revealed himself to be none other than the only member of the PAX to successfully be renamed (you don’t count, Jose, as YHC believes you’re still officially “Mourinho” on all legal paperwork).

    On our six, we closed it out with some Mary: Flutter kicks, LBCs, 100s, Hello Dollys, Rosalinas, and crunchy frogs, all x20 IC.

    COT, with announcements to sign up for the upcoming Iron Pax, and Pik prayed us out.  T-claps to Chewy, who stepped up to take Saturday’s Q (I figure if I keep applauding you, Chewy, you’ll be forced to make sure you have a sitter…). Thank you men for posting, for the great conversation, and for the always enjoyable run!

  • The Sounds of Silence

    It has been awhile since YHC has even thought about a beatdown where no one showed.  Come to think of it, I can pinpoint it to when Cowbell washed ashore this side of the lake.  With Pik consistently posting to the Marsh and Cowbell now consistently posting at Granny’s, you knew there’d at least be one other member of the PAX out there.

    But, alas, even Cowbell needs a vacation.  In Idaho, of all places.  Anywho, with no familiar cars in sight by 0525, and enough time using stretching as a delay tactic, YHC had to decide, would I pack it up and head back to the sack, or dig deep and get some in this morning?

    Well, YHC hit the trace hard, getting in a whopping 10 miles.  On top of that, I knocked out around 200 merkins and 200 big boy sit-ups along the way.

    Nah, I’m just kidding.  YHC got back in the car and went right back to bed!!!  (Well, after doing the ISI challenge.)  You see, it just goes to prove that there really is something to this whole accountability thing.

    Missed you gents this morning, SYITG!

  • Gainfully Employed (and Forgetful)

    Being on my feet over at the salon every day is no easy task and, with the Gnarly Nutria only a day away, it seemed like a good idea to give the legs a rest today.  While that may sound like YHC actually had a plan, make no mistake – this was one of those mornings where you wake up with a funny feeling that you might be the Q and, once verified, that maybe you should’ve checked that out yesterday rather than the morning of. 

    But YHC was in luck – it was a light crowd (thanks Cowbell for posting), and he had the fan-favorite ISI challenge of the month to fall back on. 8 minutes of the beatdown already planned for me! Shouldn’t be too difficult to scrounge together another 37 minutes…

    Warmorama: seal jacks, toe touches, arm circles, hillbillies, butt kicks, SSH, all x20 IC.

    ISI Plank, Part 1: 3 mins.

    Mosey over to the tunnel for a routine: x20 diamond merkins at the base of the tunnel, backpedal up to the top, x15 wide-armed merks, mosey back for x10 diamonds, and backpedal up for a final x5 wide-armed. Rinse and repeat, but with the following: Sister Mary K’s (IC) / monkey humpers (IC), big boy sit-ups / putins (IC).

    ISI Plank, Part 2: 3 mins.

    Mosey back to the trailhead for a quick round of partner suicides / squats. Then, just to make the final round of the ISI challenge a little more fun, over to the benches for a round of Freak Nasties, x20 IC.

    Closed out with a Mary of flutters, Freddie’s, and Dolly’s, all Cowbell-style and all IC x20. COT with Cowbell praying us out before diving into the final two minutes of our ISI.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead and get my head back in the game!

  • Holy piñata! It’s a tabata plankorama, Batman!

    Five PAX made it out to the Marsh this morning, itching to get back to work after a grueling holiday weekend.  This included a special appearance by (Chief) Captain Sparkles, who posted despite a traumatic rope swing injury suffered while impressing a lady.

    YHC imagines it looked something like this…

    Despite the busted arm, Sparkles suffered through the beatdown admirably, and we’re all hoping that, once healed, this’ll be the start of a Sparklanaissance. Ok, so here’s what went down this morning:

    Warmorama: Arm circles, SSHs, IWs, toe touches, good mornings, all x20 IC.

    Next up, knock out half the ISI with a 2 minute plank.  Shooter got an early start on this, planking as YHC arrived, so t-claps to him for getting a little extra in today. (And while we’re t-clapping, let’s also give it up for Waterpik, who continued his trend of running to the AO’s. At least someone is preparing for the Nutria!)

    Then over to the monkey bars for a tabata series.  We did three 4-minute series of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest.  We alternated between two different exercise each round.

    First round:  merkins / big boy sit-ups

    Second round: squat jumps / burpees

    Third round: hanging knee tucks / mountain climbers

    Next up, a game of Catch Me If You Can: Partner 1 runs toward the lake, P2 does 10 plank jacks and 10 mountain climbers before sprinting to catch up.  Flapjack.

    Once at the lake, we finished up our ISI with another 2 minute plank on the sea wall.

    Since we were there, why not knock out freak nasties, x15 IC?  YHC resisted the (very strong) urge to jump into some Bulgarians…

    And then another Catch Me If You Can back to the marsh, this time with 10x merkins as the exercise.

    Mary consisted of Cowbell Flutters, LBC’s, Freddie’s, and leg raises, all x20 IC.  

    COT, with Shooter praying us out.  This is hands down the best way to start off the work week, so thank you guys for the opportunity to lead, and for your dedication and consistency!

  • Memorial Day Murph at the Marsh

    Fourteen men posted this morning to pay their respects to Lt. Michael Murphy and the millions of others who have sacrificed everything for our country.    To honor that sacrifice, we did The Murph.

    YHC gave a quick recap of Lt. Michael Murphy’s story – he was part of a four-man Navy Seal team that was overwhelmed by Taliban forces in Asadabad, Afghanistan.  All four men had already been wounded and, unable to radio for help from their sheltered mountainside position, it was Lt. Murphy who opened himself to more gunfire in order to successfully make the call.  In fact, after being shot in the back and dropping the radio, he picked it back up and finished the call before returning to the fight. He saved one man’s life that day.

    The crazy thing is just how many similar stories there are.  There’s PFC Ross McGinnis, 19, who deliberately threw himself onto a grenade in Iraq to save all four people in his vehicle.  Or Sergeant Henry Johnson, part of the Harlem Hellfighters, who suffered 21 wounds while rescuing a soldier and repelling a German raid in WWI. Or 1st Lt Jack Lummus who continued to give orders at Iwo Jima after losing both legs to a landmine.  The list goes on and on.  And today, we should take a minute while we are at our family BBQ’s or poolside and reconnect with that history and remember the legacy of these heroes.

    With that in mind, we began the simple benchmark workout:

    • 1 mile run
    • 100 pull-ups
    • 200 merkins
    • 300 squats
    • 1 mile run

    The PAX broke up the middle section into 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups / 10 merkins / 15 squats, then hit the final run hard, finishing right around 50 minutes.  COT and Grundy prayed us out.

    It was an impressive sight to see so many men post to the Milestone Marsh at 0500 on their Monday off.  For me, the legacy of our fallen heroes is folded into the DNA of F3.  I see the qualities of leadership and selflessness spreading across F3 nation as if they’re contagious.   And it’s not simply as a group, but the individual men of F3 all seem to embody that spirit personally.  And isn’t that the best way to remember our heroes, to try and embody their greatest qualities?  Thank you men for the remarkable effort, and enjoy your Memorial Day!